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Bauxite sector in Reg. 10 turning around – Bharrat appeared first on News Room Guyana.

concluded successfully on Wednesday, culminating in an agreement that will increase teachers’ salaries and provide other benefits.

However, the achievement has been overshadowed by comments from the political opposition which Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo believes exposes the deep-seated attempts to undermine the agreement’s finalisation.

The agreement outlines a 27% salary increase for teachers over the next three years. Specifically, teachers will receive a 10% increase in 2024, an 8% increase in 2025, and a 9% increase in 2026.

The salary increase will add to other benefits for teachers.

The agreement was formalised by GTU President Mark Lyte and the union’s second Vice President Julian Cambridge, alongside the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary Shannielle Hoosein-Outar and Chief Education Officer Saddam Hussain.

Jagdeo told reporters on Thursday that opposition parties attempted to sabotage the agreement and accused GTU General Secretary Coretta McDonald of working to disrupt the signing and undermine the credibility of those who supported it.

He pointed to recent statements from the People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R), the Alliance for Change (AFC), and the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) as confirmation of this effort.

The opposition parties have criticised the agreement as an “insult” to teachers. In response, Jagdeo highlighted that the PNC-led government, when in office in 2015, had failed to deliver on promises of significant salary increases.

He noted that during the APNU+AFC administration from 2016 to 2020, the highest increase offered was 10%, which he argues was insufficient given the circumstances.

Jagdeo detailed the financial implications of the new agreement, noting that in 2015, the total wage bill for teachers was $14.9 billion, with a 10% increase costing around $1.5 billion.

Now, the wage bill has escalated to $40 billion annually due to larger teaching staff with higher salaries. Under the new agreement, the PPP/C government will need to allocate $4 billion in salary increments.

Jagdeo further stated that the real insult was the minimal 10% increase offered in 2015 and emphasised that the current agreement, which received approval from the GTU general council, represents a significant improvement.

Jagdeo accused those opposing the agreement of having political motives rather than genuine concerns for teachers’ welfare.

The post Opposition attempting to sabotage new teachers’ agreement – Jagdeo appeared first on News Room Guyana.

National Toshaos Council (NTC) Conference ongoing at the Arthur Chung Conference Center from August 19 to August 23, was criticised by Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo for what he describes as a distortion of the outcomes.

Jagdeo spoke on Thursday at a press conference held at Freedom House.

He said both Stabroek News and Kaieteur News are engaged in misrepresentation of the outcomes of the conference.

He claimed that these publications exaggerated the role of the Amerindian People’s Association (APA) ‘s role and magnified a few individuals’ comments while overshadowing the “overwhelmingly positive” aspects of the event.

“Today’s coverage has confirmed what I predicted last week… that there would be misrepresentation,” Jagdeo said.

He asserted that a truthful report would highlight the conference’s success and its model of good governance. According to Jagdeo, the NTC conference represented an unprecedented level of government consultation with indigenous people, a practice he claims cannot be found anywhere else in the world.

“In which country would an entire cabinet spend a week with elected Indigenous leaders discussing their development issues? That is precisely what happened during the past week at the NTC,” Jagdeo remarked.

The Vice President described the discussions at the conference as respectful, constructive, and focused on problem-solving.

He noted that his presentation and subsequent discussions with Toshaos and other village leaders were met with support and no negative feedback.

Jagdeo expressed frustration that the newspapers’ reports gave a misleading impression of the event as a site of controversy.

He argued that by prioritising the APA’s voice and elevating it above other contributions, the newspapers were disrespecting the Amerindian people.

He also countered claims regarding Amerindian self-determination, emphasising that this right is established under the Amerindian Act, which also provides for the establishment of the NTC.

Jagdeo highlighted that village councils have the authority to set development priorities, which are then funded by the government, including through revenues from carbon credit sales.

Jagdeo said he told the NTC of APA’s involvement in attempting to block the release of those carbon credit funds to advance the development of these communities.

The Low Carbon Development Strategy (2030) commits 15 per cent of all revenues from carbon credit sales to Amerindian villages for investment in village development activities.

The government has decided to allocate 26.5 percent of the earnings from 2024- a sum that amounts to US$23.2 million- to 242 Amerindian villages and new entrants.

Jagdeo, in recognizing a small number of dissenting voices, said that the APA has advised people not to collect the development funds and noted that people have a right to refuse the monies – opt-out.

The post Jagdeo rebuffs media misrepresentation of Toshaos’ Conference appeared first on News Room Guyana.

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Guyanese pair Ashley Khalil and Ashley DeGroot underlined their dominance in Senior Caribbean Doubles squash, charging to the Women’s Doubles title at the ENet Senior Caribbean Championship on Wednesday evening at the National Racquet Centre, Woolford Avenue, Georgetown.

The dynamic duo defeated Amanda Haywood and Sumairaa Suleman of Barbados 11-3, 11-9, putting up a clinical performance on home turf to win gold for the third year in succession.

Khalil and DeGroot have been a dominant force in this category, having copped gold in Jamaica in 2022 and the Cayman Islands in 2023.

Their success in 2024 marks a historic moment for local squash, as the pair became the first Doubles champion of the newly commissioned Doubles courts at the National Racquet Centre.

“I think it’s unbelievable, because the pressure was on us,” Khalil told News Room Sport moments after completing the three-peat.

DeGroot added: “The last two years we were in Jamaica and Cayman Islands, so it was nice to do this with the home crowd behind us, so we’re happy to keep it home.”

Khalil and DeGroot had a flawless run this year, winning their semi-final in straight sets earlier in the day against the Jamaican pair Mia Todd and Mehar Trehan.

The earned a bye in the first round.

“We only started doing Doubles in the Caribbean in the last four years, so I think we’ve started a nice trend here,” DeGroot said.

Both players also welcomed the construction of the Doubles Courts in Guyana, noting that it now affords them the luxury of training on the standarised court for doubles.

Previously, they were forced to conduct training on singles courts.

The post ENet Senior CASA: Khalil/DeGroot crowned Women’s Doubles champion for third straight year appeared first on News Room Guyana.

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Guyanese Alex Arjoon and Mary Fung-A-Fat had to settle for silver in the Mixed Doubles at the ENet Senior Caribbean Squash Championship as Khamal Cumberbatch and Margot Prow won gold on Wednesday evening at the National Racquet Centre, Woolford Avenue, Georgetown.

In a hotly contested championship game, Cumberbatch and Prow, who won the Men’s Open and Women’s Open titles respectively on Tuesday night, took the doubles title with a 2-1 scoreline.

They won the opening set 11-6, and Arjoon and Fung-A-Fat regrouped to level the game with a 11-10 set.

In the decider, Cumberbatch and Prow produced an 11-5 set to close out the contest.

Both players were ecstatic with the victory, especially since it was the first time they played together as doubles partner.

“Super, super happy with the victory,” Prow said.

“Been a long time coming for us to get a Mixed Doubles medal. We had a game plan and we stuck to it.”

Despite coming into the match on the back of their Singles success the previous night, Cumberbatch felt they still had a point to prove.

“Playing in Guyana against the Guyanese team in the final obviously you need to back it up and really show what you’re worth,” Cumberbatch related.

Mixed Doubles silver medallist Alex Arjoon (left) and Mary Fung-A-Fat of Guyana (Photo: News Room/Jeremy Jagroop/August 21, 2024)

Arjoon and Fung-A-Fat were playing their first final as a Mixed Doubles team, and the latter felt they feared well, especially against the backdrop of little to no training as a pair.

“I think our chemistry is obvious. We complement each other well. I’m proud of our performance, even if we didn’t get the gold this time, now that we have the (doubles) facility up and running, we’re coming for it next year,” Fung-A-Fat declared.

Arjoon added: “We were playing the two CASA champions on a team, I think we went in there and had a slow start. I think you really have to start strong- even if you don’t win, it has to be competitive. So they did hit a big lead before we clawed out way back and by the end it was a bit too late.”

“We took the second, which we really played well, and I think the difference was just a few unforced errors we made.”

Men’s Doubles champion Julian Jervis (left) and Cameron Stafford of the Cayman Islands (Photo: News Room/Jeremy Jagroop/August 21, 2024)

Jervis and Stafford make successful defence of Men’s Open title

Cayman Islands’ Julian Jervis and Cameron Stafford made a successful defence of the Men’s Open title they won at home in 2023.

The pair defeated Shawn Simpson and Darien Bess of Barbados in a highly competitive final, winning in straight sets 11-10, 11-7.

“It awesome to defend the title- elated and massively emotional about it,” Jervis said after the win.

It was a comeback of sorts for Stafford, who picked up a groin injury earlier in the week and had to miss the third place game against Guyanese Alex Arjoon in the Men’s Open.

He pointed out that beating the Bajan pair in straight sets “is actually quite an accomplishment” after they were taken to a three-set finish by the same opponents in the 2023 final.

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