2012: The Govt’s developmental drive and its challenges

The Government of the day entered 2012 with enthusiasm, full of plans to continue the developmental drive that it was fully involved in, consolidating previous successes of a growing economy, a country under modernisation with its people enjoying a much more enhanced standard of living.

President Donald Ramotar gives his inaugural address to the Tenth Parliament of Guyana

With a new President,  it was a trying period for the nation as the Government witnessed a year-long battle in the political arena as the main Opposition party A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance for Change (AFC) launched a continuous war on the People’s Progressive Party /Civic (PPP/C) administration.

The Government began the year with its 20-member Cabinet, many of whom were re-appointed and a new Ministry, that of Natural Resources and the Environment.

Unruly Parliament

The Opposition slashed the over $192Billion budget by more than $20B, thereby affecting the developmental path charted by the PPP/C Government, aimed at transforming the lives of Guyanese, and the country.

They then moved to slap a no-confidence motion on the Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee along with creating disturbances in Linden and Agricola. The Linden protest resulted in the deaths of three persons and injuries to others. During the Agricola protest, persons were beaten and robbed and school children and the elderly were stranded for many hours as the protestors blocked the road. Then Minister Rohee’s issue was sent to the Privileges Committee without him being given a hearing.

Hundreds of Public Servants protested Budget cuts threatening their jobs

The Opposition consistently refused to acknowledge that they did not have the authority of the Executive, and refused to work with it and with their one seat majority; they exhibited their negativity towards all of Government’s proposals during the year.

Meanwhile, Government pushed ahead with its development programmes regardless, and some progress was seen albeit not as much as was expected. A Court case ruling against the Budget cuts saw Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh accessing monies from the Consolidated Funds where necessary to ensure that Government’s work could continue.

Political situation

The first test of the administration was seen in the selection of the House’s Speaker from the Party with the least seats in the Parliament. The Deputy Speaker was taken from the Party with the second highest number of seats.

The question of Lindeners being asked to pay their fair share of electricity saw APNU reneging on an agreement with the Executive that the increased tariffs should be implemented. The AFC exploited an already fragile environment in the mining town by encouraging residents not only to protest, but to also block the strategic Mackenzie/Wismar Bridge. This act resulted in the tragic shooting of three of the town’s people.

Buildings destroyed during Linden protests

As a result, the Parliamentary Opposition called for Minister Rohee to resign. This was further heightened when a young resident at Agricola was shot and killed by police in very controversial circumstances. The AFC Chairman Nigel Hughes issued a 48 -hour ultimatum to the Government, demanding that Minister Rohee be relieved of his ministerial duties.

At the expiration of this time frame – Agricola erupted, with a fiery blockade on the  East Bank Highway, contiguous to the village. For about four hours, a reign of terror was unleashed on thousands who were stranded on either side of the blockade; citizens of all ages were robbed, coupled with other acts of criminality. But the security forces, in the face of deliberate acts of provocation by politically encouraged elements, managed to restore order.

Agricola road block

The Parliamentary Opposition then moved a no confidence motion against the Minister demonstrating  both APNU and the AFC’s disregard for due process, since the government had  already consented  that a Commission of Inquiry  be held to determine the events leading up to the shooting. Subsequent hearings of the Inquiry, exonerated the Minister from such an accusation.

Another motion was tabled by Opposition leader, Granger, and the issue was sent to the Privileges Committee. This action was contrary to the rules governing the functions of the Parliamentary body, as Members of the House, inclusive of Ministers of the Government, must only be summoned to this committee on allegations of wrong doing. There was no such charge made against the Minister.

Members of the Commission of Inquiry : Guyana’s former Justice of Appeal, Claudette Singh; former Chief Justice of Jamaica, Lensley Wolfe; former independent senator in Trinidad and Tobago, Senior Counsel Dana Seetahal and Jamaica’s Former National Security Minister, Senior Counsel K.D. Knight. The other COI member missing from photo is Justice Cecil Kennard

The Tenth Parliament which has seen the national interest sacrificed to the gross dereliction of patriotic duty has resulted in a year that could have been much more beneficial to the nation and its people.

Government however, continued with its mandate towards the people of Guyana.

Housing success

With $3.6B allocated to the sector for 2012, housing enjoyed great successes despite being set back by the opposition’s budget cuts. The work programme was completed with the house lot target of 6,500 surpassed.

More than 10 one stop shops facilitated distribution while major infrastructural works were done in new housing areas especially on the East Bank Demerara where hundreds of high income lots were given out.

The Ministry aided in the city’s enhancement with the Parliament Square, and had a massive building exposition to highlight housing related services and materials.

Guyana scores high

The achievement of four out of the eight CXC top awards in 2012 justifies the tremendous investments in the education sector. Sarah Hack of Abram’s Zuil Secondary School, Region Two topped the country and the region with 16 Grade Ones. Deowaitte Narine from the Bishops High got 13 grade ones, Tamasha Maraj also from the Bishops High with nine grade ones, and four grade twos and Karran Singh from St Rose’s High with 12 grade ones, one grade two and one grade three.

CXC top awardees Sarah Hack, Deowaitte Narine, Tamasha Maraj and Karran Singh with President Donald Ramotar and Minister of Education Priya Manickchand

The University of Guyana graduated 1480 persons during the year.

With focus on science and technology, the sum of $2B is being injected into the programme over the next few years at the institution.

Consultations on the improvement of inclusive education, corporal punishment and automatic promotion were conducted, aimed towards the development of a national plan for the improvement of special education.

Meanwhile 862 teachers graduated from the Cyril Potter College of Education with 197 completing the Associate Degree in Education.

Improved learning spaces were created through the renovation and rehabilitation of schools; establishment of 16 new secondary school IT labs; the  extension of 16 more; and  17 new primary school IT labs all to ensure that the nation’s children are ready to face a technologically advanced world.

The National School Feeding Programme saw over 46,000 students benefitting, while the National School Uniform Programme benefitted 165,000 throughout the coastal regions, and over 29,000 hinterland students.

Administering Justice

The greatest challenge in the Justice Administration Sector for 2012 remained the backlog of cases.

A Registrar of Deeds, who is also a lawyer, was appointed along with several more judges and magistrates all aimed towards clearing the backlog. The establishment of more specialised Courts began and includes a Commercial Court, a Constitutional Administrative Law Court and the Family Court which will become functional in 2013.

Further, in excess of $300M was spent to construct, rehabilitate and maintain court facilities countrywide in 2012. The renovation of more than nine Magistrate’s Courts and the Director of Public Prosecution’s (DPP’s) office in Georgetown and the establishment of a branch in Berbice along with  updating of the Supreme Court and DPP libraries, linking them technologically took place during the year.

The great challenges in the Parliament saw continued vigilance and filing of court proceedings, challenging the behaviour of the opposition led National Assembly.  Cases filed this year covered the cuts to the National Budget, the composition of the Parliamentary Committees and the no-confidence motion passed against Minister  Rohee.

Natural Resources

Guyana’s Natural Resources were placed under the stewardship of Minister Robert Persaud who holds responsibilities for forestry, mining, environmental management, wildlife, protected areas, land use planning and coordination.

In the Ministry’s first year of work, the availability of land for mining ensured that small miners no longer got into conflict with large scale miners in mineral rich areas.

In the gold mining sector, a record gold production ensured more than 400,000 ounces with more than US$700 million added to the national coffers.

“Operation El Dorado” found mining on the prohibited river bank buffer zones, while the Guyana Police Force discovered illegal weapons.

It was a historic year for the natural resources sector as following REPSOL’s offshore drilling of the Jaguar-1 well in Guyana on December 5, 2011, CGX’s rig the Ocean Saratoga began drilling in February 2012 at its Eagle well. While the Jaguar – I well was closed out of caution due to high pressures encountered at intervals, the company will be further exploring another Georgetown block.

CGX and REPSOL investing in oil exploration in Guyana

REPSOL, the operator for a consortium that includes CGX Guyana Inc Tullow, Guyana B.V, YPF Guyana, collectively expended over US$200M while exploring in offshore Guyana.

A Mining School was established at the Linden Technical Institute and Bartica with assistance from the Canadian Government. The defunct facilities at Omai are being used to enhance the practical aspect of training.

Investor confidence

Increased investor confidence in Guyana has seen growing numbers of shopping malls, fast food outlets and stores offering all types of goods and services, a trend showing positive growth of 2.8% by mid-year. These investments positively impacted Guyana’s economy and resulted in commendable growth over the year despite most of the world’s economies being in a worldwide recession, a direct result of sound macroeconomic policies by the ruling administration.

CGX’s Ocean Saratoga oil rig

The main areas of investment under focus were Information Technology, call centers, ethanol and aquaculture and mining. A significant portion has been described as re-investments as investors who are established, expanded their businesses.

Russian bauxite company, RUSAl invested in a fleet of heavy machinery and will soon be mining in Kurubuka and Korite, which have a combined deposit of close to 80 million tonnes.

Health

To support the tasks set out, $16.9 B was allocated for the continued modernisation of this sector which has seen the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) providing upgrades for 25 medical technicians in malaria microscopy, to strengthen its response to diagnosis and treatment of malaria. Specific areas were targeted during the year for awareness, distribution of bed nets and testing for the disease.

The GPHC admitted over 35,000 people. There were more than 7,000 emergency and elective surgeries, about 5,000 newborns were delivered, there were 70,000 emergency cases and more than 220,000 people accessed the outpatients’ services.

Several batches of health professionals successfully completed medical training in a number of fields locally and overseas, which  strengthened the cadre of medical professionals.

Over 5000 citizens benefited from medical outreaches in the city wards, business entities and rural communities. At these activities services were provided in eye care, VIA screening and treatment, dental care, TB sensitisation/educational sessions, voluntary counselling and testing and blood donation.

Twenty doctors and one pharmacist returned from Cuba and Russia to serve in the local health institutions and two on-line programmes were made available by the Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO) to ensure health care professionals upgrade their capacity within their respective disciplines.

Hinterland development

2012 began on a disappointing note for the indigenous people as among the projects affected by the budget cuts were presidential grants, hinterland electrification programme, one laptop per family programme and the e-government project.

Amerindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai presents keys to a tractor to Taushida’s toshao

Following a preliminary court ruling that allowed the Government to utilise money as was necessitated, the Ministry began working to ensure Amerindians received benefits. The Hinterland Electrification Project recommenced and by the end of the year most of the 11, 000 panels targeted were in the hands of beneficiaries.

Hinterland homes with solar panels

In September, the agreement between the Governments of Guyana and Norway and implementing partners for the release of the Guyana Redd Investment Fund (GRIF) was signed. This funding to the tune of $1.2B was deposited for the Amerindian Development Fund (ADF) through which an initial $360M is soon to be made available for commencement of execution of the Community Development Projects in Amerindian communities.

Improved access to potable water supply in the Hinterland inched to 75 percent moving towards achieving 80 percent water coverage by 2015.

The NTC meeting in August 2012 saw the election of a new executive body, chaired by Derrick John and Amerindian development and cultures were highlighted during Heritage Month in September.

Numerous communities received equipment and transportation boost during the year that significantly elevated their living standards.

Social Services

Over 44,000 pensioners received $10,000 monthly, an increase on the previous allocation of $7500. Over 9000 other persons benefited from the public assistance increase of 7% to $5,900 monthly for those in unfortunate circumstances.

More than 200 persons continued to access accommodation, meals, medical assistance, counselling, training and job placement assistance at the Night Shelter.

Women and Children

The amended Sexual Offences Bill was tabled and the Men’s Affairs Bureau got on board the anti-domestic violence campaign. The National Conversation on Domestic Violence was held to further awareness of this scourge.

The Ministry launched the new TELL campaign aimed at encouraging primary school children to disclose any form of sexual violence.

Hundreds of women including single mothers continued to access training and loans for investment in small businesses with the aim of increasing economic opportunities and generating income.

Public Sector

The industrial climate was sustained this year due to a more satisfied work force as far as conditions of service are concerned. Several initiatives were taken to improve and upgrade the skills of the workforce. Scholarships were granted to pursue studies in China, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, India, Cuba and Jamaica in the fields of medicine, architecture, agriculture, engineering, agronomy, veterinary medicine and computer science.

The scholarships awarded included students from the Hinterland communities. Additionally, the annual across the board retroactive pay hike saw a 5% increase in wages and salaries of all Public Servants across the board.

Tourism

Guyana hosted the Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development, which showcased local tourism product to 250 delegates and over 30 international journalists.  Guyana’s Rupununi Region again justified the resources poured into its development as it took the regional spotlight by winning the 2012 Caribbean Excellence in Sustainable Tourism Award and the Caribbean Tourism Organisation and Travelmole (CTO/Travelmole) award for improving the quality of life of the district’s inhabitants.  Additionally, Guyana won awards covering all aspects of sustainability, from overall excellence, to accommodation, community, heritage and biodiversity.

The expansion of tourism to Amerindian communities across Guyana saw a successful 11th Rupununi expo and the nine-day 529-mile journey of Guyana’s 10th Annual Pakaraima Mountain Safari.   The GTA recorded an overall increase of 17.2% in visitor arrivals in 2012.

Among some local events were Amerindian heritage month, Arrival Month, Emancipation Month, Diwali, Christmas, and   Eid-ul-Adha.

Energy

The 2012 expansion of this sector resulted in the National Grid being extended to include 45,000 households which never had electricity before, and the Hinterland Electrification programme resulted in the distribution of 11,000 solar panels bringing electricity for the first time to homes in the hinterland.

A new GPL substation in operation, in Region Three

The sum of $349M was spent to facilitate the implementation of the GPL Infrastructure Development Project where 1.8 kilometers of submarine cable was laid linking Kingston and Vreed-en-Hoop, as well as the operationalising of the substations at Kingston, Vreed-en-Hoop and Edinburg.

GPL replaced 6,000 meters with prepaid meters and metering 3,794 new connections with Itron meters.

Foreign Affairs

Guyana saw increased international visibility in 2012 by submitting candidates’ names for representation on several important international bodies which include UNICEF and UN HIV/AIDS among others.  New diplomatic appointments were aimed at strengthening relations at the bilateral, regional and international levels and the establishment of more overseas missions even as new foreign emissaries were welcomed to Guyana.

One of the most important events for 2012 was Guyana’s submission of a claim to an extended continental shelf under Article 76 of UNCLOS which brought an objection from Venezuela on the grounds that the extension was in Venezuela’s Atlantic waters.

     The diaspora initiative was launched in New York and Guyana continued to receive kudos for its Low Carbon Development Strategy.

In December the Governments of Guyana and China signed another bilateral cooperation agreement, following a similar agreement in March. The two countries celebrated 40 years of bilateral relations and Guyana received two modern ferries from that country which became operational late 2012.

The Government of Norway announced that Guyana would be receiving an additional US $45M  for climate related services and low rate of deforestation.

The economy

Guyana’s financial and economic performance in 2012 was praised by the International Monetary Fund for being commendable through efficient management of the economy in view of the fact of the country’s survival of the massive international economic downturn which almost crushed other economies.

Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh presenting Budget 2012, the first for the Tenth Parliament

The largest ever budget in the history of Guyana was laid in parliament. The sum of $192.8 billion was allocated and fully financed without the introduction of any new taxes. Additionally, internal revenue collection in 2012 raked in $116B while several banks extended their operations outside of the capital, catering for increased investment across the country in several sectors.

While rice, sugar and bauxite no longer occupy the dominant position, gold, other minerals, transport, ICT and construction all showed increased importance to a large portion of the economy. The Linden unrest revised the projection of the bauxite sector.

The Administration

The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration in October celebrated 20 years in office with a cultural presentation and a pictorial exhibition about Guyana’s journey since 1992 and the principal players in the now democratic society.

Agriculture

The sector focused on preserving and strengthening food security, reducing food imports, developing value-added, developing an agro-fuel industry and creating employment and generating wealth.

Agriculture contributes almost 23% of the economy, accounts for more than 33% of employment and about 50% of export earnings come from the sector. The rice production target was set at 412,000 tonnes, and at the close of the year, the Agriculture Ministry reported that as of December 18, production figures were at 420,000 tonnes, by far, the largest output in the history of rice production in Guyana, surpassing the 2011 production of 402,000 tonnes.

Rice export amounted to 300,000 tonnes with earning  standing at US$176M and has the potential to increase by US$20M by the end of December 2012.

Diversification advanced with spices being successfully produced in Region One.

Marine production figures indicate approximately 47,000 metric tonnes, surpassing 2011’s figures.

Excavators at work on the Hope canal

A number of infrastructure improvements occurred in 2012: the  completion of a new rice seed facility at Number 56 Village, commissioning of the Artificial Insemination Laboratory, procurement of six new mobile and  eight fixed site pumps  which are to be delivered early 2013, procurement of new equipment for improved animal health and  the completion of design for a new Animal Health Lab, progress of Hope Canal, completion of a new sluice at Bengal and a pump station and canal for Canal  Number 2 Polder, design for new agriculture scheme at Aurora, and the installation of two geo-textile breakwater tubes at Victoria.

Security

The forward movement of this sector was stymied early this year with the Parliamentary Opposition’s move against the subject Minister aimed at removing him from office. Nevertheless, work continued and saw members of the security forces awarded for their services towards the domestic security of the nation.

Prison Service and Police officers alike were rewarded for their invaluable contributions in 2012 to the safety and peace of the general public.

New crime reporting initiatives were launched such as the online crime reporting system, targeting bribery and reporting systems which allow citizens to anonymously report criminal incidents while new police outposts and stations were opened.

The forensic lab was almost completed and the contract signed for equipping it. Closed Circuit Televisions were installed at strategic points in an effort to detect negative activities.

Water

Guyana continued working toward fulfilling the Millennium Development Goal with respect to water. More hinterland residents accessed water. Access to treated water is now a fact of life for coastlanders, while subsidies to pensioners. increased 100%.

The $1.7B contract was signed for two water treatment plants, booster stations and storage facilities to be constructed in Linden.

Work on the sewer rehabilitation in Georgetown began and will be completed early next year.

Culture

Another series of the Guyana Classics was completed bringing it to 36 books  which were distributed to schools and libraries.

The second Inter-Guiana Culture Festival saw participants from Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana showcasing their cultural diversity and cementing their friendship among the Guianas.

The National Drama Festival, the National Music Arts Festival and the National Song Festival were aimed at improving and sustaining the country’s heritage in creative arts. The National Music School has also been successful with its first batch of 11 students graduating with distinction while the National Museums continued to function effectively as the ministry worked on improving the quality of exhibits.

The National Archives has also been beneficial to citizens and expanded the amount of materials kept in storage. Efforts have been placed on the digitalization of materials.

Youth

In 2012, more than 14,000 youths graduated from the various programmes and training courses through the Kuru Kuru Training Centre (KKTC), the Sophia training Centre, the Youth Entrepreneurial Skills Training (YEST) programme, the President’s Youth Award Republic of. Guyana Programme (PYARG) and the New Opportunity Corps (NOC).

A number of seminars were also held to develop the capacity of youth leaders, and youth clubs, groups and organisations have been receiving assistance.

Sport

Over 90 sports facilities in communities throughout the 10 administrative regions were rehabilitated and received close to $30M in sports equipment.

The establishment of the first Sports Institute and Research Centre has begun while the National Aquatic Centre at Liliendaal hosted the swimming competition of the Goodwill Games and the National Synthetic Track and Field facility was closer to completion.

Meanwhile, despite some difficulties, the Ministry has been actively involved in basketball, football and cricket.

Hydro project

Contractors worked towards having the Amaila Falls Access road completed by mid next year, to accommodate the construction of the hydro power plant on the Kuribrong River.

The US$506M Engineering Procurement and Construction agreement for the construction of the Amaila Falls Hydro power project and transmission lines was signed in China and works are expected to commence mid next year.

ICT

Thousands more laptops were distributed in 2012 and the fibre optic cable continued to be laid from Brazil to Providence. The containers to house the data centre arrived and were put in place as work continued on the e-government project.

Infrastructure

Urban, rural, community and hinterland roads were constructed, rehabilitated and maintained to the sum of $5.5B, while $2.4B was invested to upgrade construction of 85 kilometres of roads and construction of the 110 kilometers of virgin roads from Mabura Hill Road to Amaila Falls. The sum of $545M was spent for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of 20 critical structures from Belladrum to Rosignol.

The Governments of Guyana and China inked the framework agreement for a concessional loan to the tune of US$130M from the Chinese Exim Bank to fund construction of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) expansion project. The project would ensure that the CJIA is able to meet the needs of projected traffic for several years into the future, along with becoming a hub for regional and continental traffic.

The sum of $185M was invested on the country’s 43 airstrips in Regions 1, 2, 7, 8 and 9. The aerodrome at Ogle has now been completed under a multibillion dollar upgrade exercise.

The sum of $1.3B went towards infrastructural development programmes within the ten Administrative regions. Ten market tarmacs were handed over to communities in a bid to promote legal vending.