After reviewing a broadcast of the speech made by former President Bharrat Jagdeo at Port MourantFormer President, Bharrat Jagdeolast month, the Media Monitoring Unit (MMU) of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) says the remarks he made were racially divisive.The MMU, on Tuesday made public its first report on the media’s coverage of the election campaign where it addressed the public outcry?over Jagdeo’s delivery at a Memorial Ceremony held for former President and founder-leader of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Dr. Cheddi Jagan.Noting that Jagdeo’s delivery at the Corentyne, Berbice memorial site on March 8,Blank Chile Jersey, last, had been broadcast on national television, National Communications Network (NCN),Cheap NFL Jerseys China, the MMU said that this opened the way for it to address the matter.The report on the March 1 to March 31 period,Nike Air Max Tn Shoes For Men Sale, focused on part of Jagdeo’s speech which it noted stirred significant negative public reactions.The controversial part of the speech it focused on reads “…but they consistently, they shout about racism of the PPP,Authentic China NFL Jerseys, but they practise racism. They whisper campaigns. In the last elections they went to some of the Afro- Guyanese villages and beat some drums at 6 o’clock in the morning and say let us throw out these coolie people. Get up, go out and vote, throw out the coolie people. That’s the kind of language they use. Anybody from our party who uses that sort of language, we will kick them out. This is our approach.”The MMU said that this was sourced from NCN TV which broadcast Jagdeo’s entire speech the following day.After reviewing the remarks made, the Unit took the position that it was obvious that Jagdeo was using a racial mobilization incident that allegedly occurred during the 2011 elections to make the point that racism will not be tolerated by his political party, the PPP/C.For the record, the MMU said that Jagdeo’s speech was the first time such details were ever publicly disclosed by anyone from the ruling PPP/C, the opposition political parties, local civil society, international elections observers, or the media.The body noted that on the face of it, this is salutary. “However, what was palpably disconcerting about the remarks made is where they were uttered, the occasion on which they were stated,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, and the immediate receptors of the message.”The MMU is of the view that it would be counter intuitive to view Dr. Jagdeo’s comments in isolation from the environment in which they were uttered.“At close up, he was speaking in a known PPP/C stronghold, before a predominantly East Indian audience, and, to boot, in a highly-charged political and ethnic environment,” it said.“Taking into consideration the historically and politically influenced divisions that persists up to now between Africans and East Indians in this country, and which are usually more pronounced during elections periods, the Unit came to the conclusion that the anecdotal illustration used by Dr. Jagdeo to make his point about racism, boomeranged disastrously, since it came over as a calculated exploitation, for political purposes, of the known fears and insecurities of one section of the population – East Indians.”The Unit added that it is within the foregoing context, that it concluded that the remarks made by Jagdeo “were racially divisive and should have been edited by all sections of the media that broadcast or printed the remarks verbatim.The media was reminded that the airing/publication of the comments as is, was a breach of Section B (1) of the Media Code of Conduct (MCC), which among other things state, that the media should “…refrain from publishing or broadcasting any matter with the potential for, or likelihood of promoting or inciting hatred of any kind (including ethnic and political hatred)…”The unit said that it observed that two television stations aired Jagdeo’s speech in full, while one newspaper and some online news sites carried only the excerpted part.It noted that many media houses from both the state and private media shied away from reproducing the full speech or the contentious part thereof.“The actions of these media houses should not go unmentioned, hence,` we unhesitatingly take a quality time out to commend them for their nous and adherence, in this instance, to the MCC,” the body ended.

Two persons caught with marijuana were denied bail yesterday after the prosecution submitted facts to convince the court that they ought not to be granted their pre-trial liberty.Edmond PrescottThey will make their next court appearance on May 7.Edmond Prescott,Cheap Custom Jerseys, 59 of 214 Freeman Street, East La Penitence is accused of having 322 grammes of cannabis in his possession on April 20 at the said address for the purpose of trafficking.The police are also alleging that Dawn Barclay of Sparendaam had 300 grammes of cannabis in her possession,Jerseys NFL Wholesale, on the day in question at the aforementioned address, also for the purpose of trafficking.They pleaded not guilty to the charges after they were read to them at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.Police Prosecutor,NFL Jerseys From China, Corporal Kerry Bostwick, told the court that the police acting on information went to the address mentioned for Barclay, when they saw the woman putting a tin under the step. A search was carried out on the tin and a quantity of leaves, seeds and stems were found which was suspected to be cannabis.The prosecution noted that based on information received from Barclay another search was conducted and Prescott was also arrested and charged.Attorney Adrian Thompson represented the defendants. However,Cheap Sittched Jerseys China, his bail application was unsuccessful.During his submission the lawyer told the court that the police are not even aware of who had the drug in their possession. He pointed out that Barclay does not reside at the address mentioned in the charge and at the time of the police’s search she was visiting the premises.Further,Cheap Nike Free Run Shoes, Thompson noted that the drug was not found in Prescott’s possession.The prosecution strongly urged the court not to grant the defendants bail because special reasons were not provided by the defence.Magistrate Judy Latchman upheld the prosecution’s request and remanded them to prison.

As part of the Ministry of Agriculture’s drive to increase food production, the Grow More caravan will soon be visiting several hinterland communities.This move is to encourage food production in light of the current global increase in demand for food,Matt Ryan Falcons Jersey, and the resulting hike in prices.The distribution of seeds and planting material to hinterland communities began several weeks ago through the assistance of the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, and residents will now have the opportunity to interact directly with the Minister of Agriculture and officials from the key agencies coordinating and spearheading the Grow More food campaign.Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud had indicated that the imminent shift to the hinterland region,Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping, which follows visits by the caravan to various locations along the coast, including several Amerindian communities, aims to stimulate greater food security and create opportunities.Numerous agricultural opportunities exist in Guyana, since the country’s vast expanse of arable land and the abundance of fresh water place it at an advantageous position to become once again the bread basket of the Caribbean, an official of the Agriculture Ministry said.With this in mind,Cheap NFL Jerseys, the ministry is placing emphasis on various initiatives that promote and facilitate agricultural diversification.One such activity is the production of spices locally targeting hinterland communities, particularly Regions One and Nine.This will further promote and foster the development of Amerindian communities and their livelihoods. Spices such as black pepper, tumeric (dye),Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale, and nutmeg will be grown through germaplasm technique.Additionally, a rice and peas cultivation project has been established to benefit nine hinterland communities in Regions Eight and Nine.The overall objective of the project is to increase the food self-sufficiency and incomes, thus improving the livelihood of residents in these communities.The project will present the opportunity to produce two commodities — rice and beans — normally imported from Brazil and from the coastland of Guyana at relatively high prices.Transport costs from the coast are relatively competitive to produce from Brazil,Nike Air Max Outlet Store, thus production at coastal prices will make production in the Rupununi Savannahs competitive and sustainable.Several communities across Guyana have already been visited by the Grow More caravan, among them Santa Mission, Dora, Kairuni and several other locations in Regions Two, Three, Four, Five and Six.

–?? ?company also hired to convert Kingston plant to 60HzGovernment has extended its contract with the Finnish corporation W?rtsil? for another four years to operate and maintain its three largest power plants.According to a statement from W?rtsil?, the agreement will represent the longest ongoing service agreement for the company. The contract will also see W?rtsil? working to convert the frequency output of the Kingston 1 power plant of the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) from 50Hz to 60Hz.GPL has hired W?rtsil? for another four years to manage its three biggest power plants.In addition to a power plant at Kingston, Georgetown, GPL has W?rtsil? generating sets at Garden of Eden, East Bank Demerara. Another plant of 26MW is being built at Vreed-en-Hoop, West Bank Demerara. The latter will be among the three that W?rtsil? will manage.W?rtsil? said that the contract, until 2016, will cover responsibilities for the production of some 80MW of power.The company signed its first operations and maintenance (O&M) agreement in 1994, ensuring the “continual optimization of the plants’ performance,Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping, efficiency and availability.? Indicative of this capability is the fact that the engines, which were installed almost twenty years ago,Cheap Jerseys From China, are still in operation and have provided an uninterrupted flow of power to consumers in Guyana.”The frequency conversion part of the agreement,Wholesale Jerseys Supply, W?rtsil? explained, involves converting the electrical and automation systems, and is intended to remove the need for dual equipment.“The operations and maintenance agreement extension furthers our long standing partnership with GPL, and is a prime example of the commitment of W?rtsil? towards its customers. By working to support and maintain the lifecycle efficiencies of the GPL facilities,cheap nfl jerseys elite, we can help the customer to meet the challenges of the changing energy market,” says Marc Tarbox, General Manager, W?rtsil? in the Caribbean.“Guyana Power and Light is pleased with the results of the cooperation with W?rtsil?, and looks forward to the same consistent high level of service for the next four years,Cheap Air Max 90 Kpu Sale,” says Bharat Dindyal, CEO of GPL.With Guyana’s demand for electricity currently centered on using fossil fuel and more than 80MW needed daily on the coast, on average, the W?rtsil?-made sets have been crucial.An O&M agreement is a comprehensive form of asset management. Typically, such agreements can be tailored to cover the entire scope of operational, management, and maintenance services, as well as providing performance guarantees for the installation.“By taking responsibility for operating and maintaining the facility, W?rtsil? implements its global best practices to ensure that it delivers the design output with maximum efficiency.”According to the company, it manages some 17 GW of generating capacity in 55 countries.In the Americas, W?rtsil? operates approximately 2.4 GW of power generation capacity.It is also a global leader in complete lifecycle power solutions for the marine and energy markets.In 2011, W?rtsil?’s net sales totalled EUR 4.2 billion with approximately 18,000 employees. The company has operations in nearly 170 locations in 70 countries around the world.