It now costs over $2,000 a day to feed a family of four, immediate relief is needed

Stabroek News – April 27, 2008

Dear Editor,

Guyanese families have been feeling the effects of the global food crisis as the cost of living rises severely. Anyone who has gone into the market recently has come home noticing the same amount of money buys much less than before. It now costs over $2000 a day to feed a family of four (2 adults, 2 children) with a breakfast of tea, bread and an egg each. Lunch is a pound of chicken and bora and rice, a snack of fruit and biscuits for the children at school and bread and tea in the evening. A month of food is $60,000, and then there is rent, electricity, water and transportation costs to cover.

Yet the minimum wage is between $18,000 (private sector) to $28,000 (public sector) a month, if you are lucky enough to have one of these jobs regulated by these wages.

As prices for food and electricity skyrocket in Guyana it is increasingly difficult for many families to make ends meet. Those families that were barely scraping by last year are now facing a severe crisis in their homes, and many more families are being thrown into poverty and hunger during this critical time.
Although this is a global food and energy crisis and the cost of living is rising dramatically all over the world, it is the responsibility of the national governments to take action during this global crisis and ease the burden on their populations, especially those who are most vulnerable and in need. This government cannot continue to blame the global situation, repeat the mantra of the millions of dollars allocated to increasing pensions and social assistance payments and fail to implement measures for immediate relief. The budgeted amounts do not amount to lunch money for each household.  

WPO welcomes appointment of Ministers Rodrigues-Birkett, Sukhai

Guyana Chronicle – April 15, 2008

THE Women’s Progressive Organisation (WPO) has welcomed the appointments of Ministers Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett and Pauline Sukhai with responsibilities for Foreign Affairs and Amerindian Affairs respectively.

The WPO noted: “Minister Rodrigues-Birkett is the first woman to hold the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs in Guyana. We are encouraged by this further act of confidence in women expressed by the government. We also recognise that Minister Sukahi’s appointment increases the percentage of women in Guyana’s Cabinet”

The WPO statement also wished Ministers Rodrigues-Birkett and Sukhai full success in their new areas of responsibility and congratulates the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government for its continued efforts to increase the participation of women in decision-making at all levels throughout the country.

GUYWID congratulates Ministers Rodrigues-Birkett, Sukhai

Guyana Chronicle – April 14, 2008

GUYANESE Women in Development (GUYWID), a non-governmental organisation working in the interest of the development of women in Guyana, has joined in congratulating Ministers Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett and Pauline Campbell Sukhai, on the occasion of their appointments to head the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Amerindian Affairs respectively.

A press release issued by the organisation last Thursday said:

The appointment of Ms. Carolyn Rodrigues as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Ms. Pauline Sukhai as Minister of Amerindian Affairs is indeed heartening and inspiring to all Guyanese. Both women of humble backgrounds add to the many other examples of how far Guyanese women have come, and the recognition they have gained as equal partners in the development process.”

“Just a few decades ago, Guyanese women, led by the indomitable Mrs. Janet Jagan, fought for and won the right to vote, and to be elected. As the first woman to be elected to the Legislature in the 1950s, and to become the first female minister of government, Ms. Jagan paved the way for many others to follow.”  

Carolyn Rodrigues appointed new Minister of Foreign Affairs

- Pauline Sukhai-Campbell takes Amerindian Affairs portfolio
Guyana Chronicle – April 10, 2008

PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo has named Ms. Carolyn Rodrigues as the country’s new Minister of Foreign Affairs, and has handed her Amerindian Affairs portfolio to long-time activist of women and Amerindian rights, Mrs. Pauline Sukhai-Campbell.

The Office of the President made the announcement in a statement yesterday, noting that Minister Rodrigues has become the first woman and the first Amerindian to head the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Rodrigues had served as Minister of Amerindian Affairs since March, 2001 when the People’s Progressive Party/Civic was re-elected to the seat of government for a third straight term. The job of Minister of Foreign Affairs became vacant with the recent retirement of Dr Rudy Insanally, who cited medical and other personal reasons.  

Perhaps Rev. Gilbert should practice what he preaches

Guyana Chronicle – April 7, 2008

Dear Editor,

As I read Reverend Kwame Gilbert’s essay on societal structure (April 6, Guyana Chronicle) and the means by which he feels society is constructed and then reconstructed, I could not help but note the irony that the female contribution to society was completely neglected until the very end — as if nothing more than an afterthought.

Gilbert asserts in his essay that although Guyanese society was constructed one way by men of the past, it can be better reconstructed by men today. He refers to the contributions of men to society over and over again throughout his essay and only brings women in as he ends his writing.

It appeared as if he only realised – perhaps after proofreading his article – that he should have included women as reconstruction workers in a better Guyana (he never once acknowledged their part in the original construct).

Guyanese to head UN human resources department

Guyana Chronicle – April 5, 2008

UNITED Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced that he has selected Guyana’s Catherine Pollard to be the new Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management, calling her appointment a cornerstone of his efforts to strengthen the United Nations in this area.

Ms. Pollard, currently the chief of staff in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), has a proven track record in financial, human resources and general administrative management, UN spokesperson Marie Okabe told reporters yesterday.

“Ms. Pollard brings to OHRM [the Office of Human Resources Management] her demonstrated capacity to forge collaborative partnerships with different groups of stakeholders in order to get the job done,” Ms. Okabe said.

At the world body, she has worked with the UN Development Programme, the UN Protection Force in Croatia and the UN Volunteers programme among others.

As Assistant Secretary-General, Ms. Pollard succeeds Jan Beagle of New Zealand, who was appointed Deputy Director General of the UN Office in Geneva. (UN News Centre)