Author: Aliyah Persaud

The Carter Center is warning that Guyana could miss this year’s statutory deadline for Local Government Elections unless the current impasse at the Guyana Elections Commission is resolved.

In a statement yesterday, the election observer mission said it remains “considerably concerned” that GECOM has been unable to function fully since last September’s General and Regional Elections.

GECOM has not held a statutory Commission meeting since the elections, with opposition-nominated commissioners accusing Chairperson Justice Claudette Singh of refusing to convene a meeting.

However, Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed has called on the three opposition-nominated commissioners, who were appointed under a previous Opposition Leader, to resign, arguing that WIN now holds the largest opposition bloc in Parliament.

The Carter Center said the deadlock also threatens efforts to implement electoral reforms before Guyana’s next General and Regional Elections.

The Center has welcomed Attorney General Anil Nandlall’s support for amending the Constitutional Reform Act to reflect Parliament’s new political makeup, saying the change was one of its key recommendations.

New walkways, drains, streetlights and fire hydrants are among nearly 100,000 metres of infrastructure works planned for Non Pareil and Melanie, East Coast Demerara, under a development plan unveiled to residents on Thursday.

The plan under the government’s Model Village Initiative, covers roughly 470 acres across 73 roads and about 1,730 households. It was presented by President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali as he continued nationwide consultations aimed at creating safer, cleaner and more sustainable communities.

The engagement, held at the Melanie Nursery School, brought together residents, community leaders and government officials to discuss the proposed plan and gather public input before implementation.

President Ali said the initiative extends beyond infrastructure development, aiming to improve every aspect of community life.

“Stronger, resilient and sustainable communities are communities that are built to last… It is not only about the physical infrastructure. It is about how we process our own existence within the community,” he said.

He said the programme is designed to foster a greater sense of belonging, dignity and ownership among residents while keeping development centred on people, adding that each village will retain its unique identity while receiving an equal standard of public services.

The development plan includes improved drainage systems, CCTV cameras, enhanced security, fire hydrants, economic opportunities for small businesses, upgraded recreational spaces, landscaping and better integration of community facilities. It will also establish designated industrial parking areas, organised vending zones, entertainment districts and green spaces intended to reduce conflict between residential and commercial activities.

“We don’t want every community to be the same, but we want every community to have the same level of service. The transformation that you see in one area in Georgetown must be the lived transformation of every citizen across our country,” Ali said.

Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony presented a technical assessment conducted by engineers and planners, outlining current conditions in the community and proposed interventions.

“We want to do the roads, proper drainage, walkways, landscaping, lighting and create streets of wellness where health, wellness and mental health are taken into consideration,” he said.

According to the assessment, Non Pareil and Melanie comprise several public facilities, including schools, health services, places of worship and recreational spaces.

The proposed works include roughly 26,900 metres of walkways, more than 43,000 metres of concrete drains, 32,200 metres of hardened road shoulders, rehabilitation of bridges and culverts, installation of 122 additional streetlights, replacement of more than 100 utility poles and expanded fire hydrant coverage.

Plans also provide for the planting of 423 trees, the enhancement of four playgrounds and three green spaces, the removal of derelict vehicles and illegal encumbrances, improved garbage disposal systems and the creation of structured vending and tourism areas.

Dozens of patients at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) who have been declared medically fit to leave remain at the facility, waiting for relatives who have not come to take them home.

Head of GPHC’s Communications Stacy Peters said some 43 discharged patients remain at the hospital’s Infectious Diseases Hospital at Liliendaal, while six others are housed at the main hospital awaiting collection by relatives.

“This issue has been ongoing for a few years now here at the Georgetown Public Hospital, where patients are discharged, their relatives failed to come and pick them up, because of this we have been moving these patients from the hospital wards to the infectious disease hospital that is located in Liliendaal, previously known as Covid hospital,” she told Ignite News.

Peters said patients are usually kept for a day or two after discharge while the hospital’s Social Work Department attempts to contact relatives. When those efforts fail, patients are transferred to the Infectious Diseases Hospital to prevent overcrowding in the wards, though the move can also expose them to viruses and infections.

She noted that many of those left abandoned are elderly persons living with chronic illnesses who need support at home, and are already known to the hospital, having been admitted several times before. She added that while their conditions can often be managed at home with medication and lifestyle changes, some stop following their treatment after discharge and are later readmitted.

Peters said the Infectious Diseases Hospital, while physically large enough to accommodate the patients, still places significant strain on the hospital’s resources.

“So while we have the space, the physical infrastructure available, the challenge on our end has been the human resource to take care of those patients,” she said.

She noted that GPHC usually sees an increase in abandoned patients around the Christmas season.

Peters added that a previous system had allowed relatives to easily identify patients using photos, identification and fingerprints, but it was discontinued after some persons were found to be using the information to access patients’ pensions without taking responsibility for their care.

She encouraged relatives to come forward and collect their loved ones once they are medically discharged, saying the hospital cannot replace the care and support that families provide, and urged relatives to contact the hospital’s Social Work Department on 226-1811 or 227-0051.

PPP Member of Parliament James Bond defended murder charges against three MV Barima crew members on Thursday, pushing back against an irate crowd that heckled him and other officials leaving a Model Village consultation.

Bond told the crowd the accused have legal recourse if they disagree with the decision to charge them.

“The police have done their investigations and sent the file to the DPP and that is how she charged. If we disagree with whatever decision a administrative or judicial person would have made, there is recourse in the law. The lawyer could file for grounds of judicial review of the DPP’s decision,” he said.

The men charged are Captain Kevin Price, 40, called “KP”, of Melanie Damishana, East Coast Demerara; Chief Mate Rondell Dwayne Roberts, 42, of Meadow Grove Public Road, East Bank Demerara; and Goods Superintendent Delon Granderson, 33, of Fellowship, West Coast Demerara.

The vessel, which was carrying 179 passengers, sank on July 18.

The protest was held on the sidelines of President Dr Irfaan Ali’s public consultation to advance his Model Village Initiative at the Melanie Nursery School, East Coast Demerara, amid growing calls for the resignation of Public Works Minister Bishop Juan Edghill and Public Utilities and Aviation Minister Deodat Indar, following the MV Barima tragedy, which has claimed 73 lives, with 30 people still missing.

Residents are calling for full accountability for the disaster, stressing that the three crew members charged with murder were unjustly accused and should be released.

“The problem is that the captain of the boat living in this district. And for the people of this district, they feel that it wasn’t right to charge them, lock him up. And then the thing is they charge him for murder. Nobody can’t come out clearly to the public, the country and give an assessment of what happened,” resident Victor Benjamin said.

The Government has maintained that the independent international Commission of Inquiry (CoI) established to examine the disaster will determine its causes and recommend reforms to prevent a recurrence.

Director of Public Prosecutions Shalimar Ali-Hack has said the CoI’s work will not affect the murder charges already instituted, noting that both processes can proceed simultaneously.

Every time the phone rings, Esther Frank still hopes it is her son.

Three weeks after the MV Barima sank with her son Rawle, 33, among the crew, Esther refuses to accept that he is gone, even after official search operations have concluded.

Rawle, of #42 Village, West Coast Berbice, had served with the Transport and Harbours Department for more than a decade when the vessel sank.

Esther, 54, said recent assurances from President Irfaan Ali that efforts would be made to raise the vessel had given the family renewed hope.

“The President said they are going to get people to come and help bring up the boat. That is all I prayed for, that they would be able to bring up the boat so we could be satisfied with whatever,” she said.

She said she had earlier heard suggestions that the vessel might be left on the seabed as a memorial because of the challenges involved in recovering it.

“When I heard what the President said, it gave me hope. I am praying that things work out just as he said,” she added.

“No, I’m not giving up hope. I still feel that he’s alive. I’m not giving up. I just pray that if I could at least see him, I would feel satisfied. But I feel like he’s still alive, that’s how I feel and I’m not giving up hope,” she stated.

Esther is appealing to those leading the ship recovery efforts to do everything possible to get it up.

“If they could do something, bring up the boat. Try your best, get whatever help or assistance is needed to bring up that boat. It would make everybody feel satisfied,” she said.

Esther said that even if her son is not found aboard the vessel, she continues to place her faith in God.

“If he’s not in the boat, I pray that one day God will show us. Many times when the phone rings, I hope it’s him. I still try calling his number. It rings, but there’s nothing. I just keep praying and trying to stay strong,” she said.

The Frank family says it will continue to hold onto hope until it receives the answers and closure it has been seeking.”