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Despite the delay, Indar said once the shipments arrive, preparations are already in place for installation to commence immediately.

On Tuesday, Indar visited the site in Columbia, East Coast Demerara where the installation of the 17 generator sets will take place. He was accompanied by the contractor and officials from the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Company.

The country’s power company was forced to implement a load-shedding schedule across the country as it did not have the capacity to feed the increase in demand for electricity.

Meanwhile, according to Indar, over the past week, GPL has recorded a decrease in its peak demand to 165 megawatts, without having to remove customers from the national grid.

At present, GPL has the capacity to generate 167 megawatts. The demand at the beginning of November was 172 megawatts.

The policy dialogue sought to build on the technical consultation held in Georgetown earlier this month, with a view to gaining a better understanding of each other’s priorities.

The two sides exchanged views on several thematic and regional agenda items on the Security Council. Guyana’s priorities identified for its tenure on the Council were also discussed, including food and climate security, Haiti and Colombia.

Both sides agreed to coordinate on areas of common interests, with the objective of promoting the mandate of the Security Council in maintaining international peace and security.

The Foreign Secretary was accompanied by officials from the Permanent Mission of Guyana including Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett and Guyana’s Ambassador to the U.S, Samuel Hinds.

The US team comprising experts of the Department of State was led by Ambassador Michele Sisson, Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of International Organisation Affairs.

Guyana will assume the non-permanent seat on the Security Council for the third time in January 2024.

“Women spoke of being excluded from education, and working conditions,” Kendra-Ann Pitt, a researcher on the team, said.

Some 30 women participated from Regions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 10. They shared that during the pandemic, they had severe challenges in accessing basic needs. In particular, for persons living with disabilities, they rely on the people around them for support.

Ruth Rodney, another researcher, said 52 recommendations based on the findings, are included in the report.

“What we want to do is really look to create a comprehensive framework for government and CSO services are widely available cross geographical locations in Guyana.

“One of the things we heard from the women is that not only are services centrally located but also if the services were more widely disseminated or decentralised it would address the challenges,” Rodney said.

She added, “It should be in consultation with the disability community to eliminate the stigma and oppressive conditions experienced by the disability community within Guyana in their familial homes, intimate relations and wider society.”

Some of the recommendations include the revision of the Disability Act, the Domestic Violence Act and the Sexual Offences Act to focus on accessibility for diverse women.

According to Rodney, rural communities need to have resources and that migrants and the LGBTQ community should be considered when making interventions to help persons living with disabilities.

In the case of gender-based violence, the study found that women living with disabilities were abused in many forms which includes sexual, physical, emotional. Their medication, devices and money were withheld and they were prevented from socializing during the lockdowns.

The study found that this treatment was meted out to them from loved ones, family members and members of society.

In many cases, the family ignored the situation and neigbours did not intervene. Agencies that offer essential services did not have adequate resources such as interpreters for communication, according to the study.

“We found all of these women were doing so much for their families but they were told so many times that they do not have value that they felt like they weren’t,” Rodney said.

The researchers hope that the recommendations will be implemented by civil society and government agencies.

“He was supposed to return by Friday afternoon to Saturday (November 18) morning but he didn’t come back.

“When we didn’t see them back Saturday, we made contact with the boss man’s relative and he told us that they are coming back in and would meet Monday morning. Then on Tuesday (November 21) the boss come he self and tell me what happened and that he send out a boat to look for them.

“It happens that the boat didn’t find them either and on Thursday (November 23), the Red Snapper come in and said they didn’t know my husband was going there and they never saw him,” Ashby said.

Ashby said after the boat did not return, coast guards were alerted and a search party was sent out.

The woman and Yipsam have been in a relationship for 11 years and he is the main breadwinner for their home. The couple has three children of ages 2, 6 and 9.

“I am not working and we have three children and right now it’s not easy because my children didn’t go to school for two days because we just keep studying and hoping that my husband returns safe.

“It’s not easy because every day these children asking for their father because they know he didn’t go out to work, they know he tell them that he coming back,” the distraught wife said.

The family is currently squatting along the sea reserve at Herstelling but Ashby said her husband was saving up to build a house at Little Diamond where they were allocated a house lot.

She is hopeful that the authorities will continue to search and that her husband will return safe.