By Kiana WilburgThe Private Sector Commission (PSC) has been granted Observer Status by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) for the upcoming Local Government Elections (LGE) on March 18.Members of the Private Sector Commission and the Diplomatic Corps during the press conference yesterday .It will be accompanied by the United States of America (USA), the United Kingdom and Canada, which have also been granted Observer status.This was revealed during a press conference, yesterday, held by the Commission and members of the Diplomatic Corps at the PSC headquarters, on Waterloo Street.Speaking to members of the media, PSC Chairman, Norman Mc Lean, said that the Private Sector, in its quest for the maintenance of good governance in Guyana, has consistently been proactive in supporting the conduct of free, fair and peaceful elections.In this regard, Mc Lean emphasized that the Commission would be willing to lend its support to the relevant authorities.He recalled that the Local Government Elections,Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping, which are being held for the first time since 1994, present the opportunity for the will of the people to be exercised in ensuring the election of stable, properly functioning local government organs and systems.The Chairman noted that the PSC is however concerned that there may be a tendency for citizens,NFL Jerseys Cheap, who are unaccustomed to having a voice in the election of their local government officials, to place a low premium on the value of their votes.He said that the danger exists that these persons may stay away from the polls on March 18. In this regard, he said that the Commission would like, therefore, to call for the full participation of all Guyanese in the electoral process and to urge every citizen to go out and cast their vote.Mc Lean said that the casting of votes in the 2016 Local Government Election is the right of each and every eligible Guyanese. He said that the right, moreover, is no longer being denied.As such, it is incumbent upon everyone to exercise their constitutional right to vote for the candidates of their choice.British High Commissioner, Greg Quinn, noted that United Kingdom will also have observers for the elections. He recalled that his predecessors have been calling for the holding of Local Government Elections for some time and is therefore happy that it will be taking place.The diplomat reiterated that it is now incumbent on the people go out and exercise their democratic mandate. He said that this is the time for people to be able to exercise their power so that they can choose those persons who are fit to properly address their concerns.The Ambassador said that he is urging all Guyanese to exercise their right so that they can be properly represented at this level after some 23 years. Quinn noted however, that at this point in time,Claudio Bravo Chile Jersey, he would be unable to say how many observers the UK would have on the ground.He said that focus would be on the Georgetown area based on logistics.Deputy Head of Mission at the US Embassy, Bryan Hunt,Cheap NHL Adidas Jerseys, said that Local Government Elections will be critical to the people of Guyana. Hunt said that it is the first line of defense in any democracy and the citizenry has waited for more than two decades for it to take place.The envoy revealed that the USA would have just over 70 observers.He said that they will have observers in almost every region where voting will be taking place and looks forward to a large turnout come March 18.Charge d’ Affaires of the Canadian High Commission. Daniel Joly, also spoke to the importance of Local Government Elections. Like Quinn, Jolie was also unsure about how many observers from Canada would be working come March 18.Mr Mc Lean said that while GECOM did a commendable job on educating the public on LGE, more could have been done.But Hunt intervened at this point,Wholesale Soccer Jerseys, stating that it may be easy for someone to say it is GECOM’s responsibility to inform the citizenry. He said however that the responsibility is one that should be shared.The USA Deputy Head said that GECOM does not and should not bear the sole responsibility for education on LGE. He said that some of the burden also falls at the feet of the political parties, the candidates running for the positions and even the media.Quinn said that it is not constructive or helpful for anyone to spend too much time criticizing GECOM and agreed with Hunt that everyone has a role to play in the education process.The British envoy also said that these elections are important because there have been people who have been sitting on councils and not necessarily representing the will of the peop

The European Union (EU) has contributed $600M as part of the co-financing of the ongoing chainsaw and milling project, which is being undertaken by Guyana.Yesterday, a two-day workshop on chainsaw lumbering in the Guiana Shield/Caribbean begun at the Regency Suites with participants from several regional countries, inclusive of Trinidad,Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys China, Suriname, Belize and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.Also participating in the workshop were representatives from Ghana and Bolivia.Within the framework of the project: ‘Developing alternatives for illegal chainsaw lumbering through multi-stakeholder dialogue in Ghana and Guyana’, the EU is making available significant resources for the improvement of forest governance, both in Guyana and Ghana.During the opening ceremony for the two-day forum, EU Ambassador to Guyana, Geert Heikens, said that the support for the initiative is part of a global support towards the preservation of the sustainable use of the environment.The $600M that was contributed by the EU to the project covers about 80 percent of the venture’s total cost.The project, ‘Towards sustainable chainsaw milling in Ghana and Guyana’ aims to reduce the level of conflict and illegality associated with chainsaw milling.This project focuses on the role of multi-stakeholder dialogue as a mechanism to reduce conflict, adjust perceptions of the nature of the problems and create shared views of solutions among stakeholders.Minister of Agriculture with responsibility for Forestry, Robert Persaud, during the opening ceremony yesterday, said that chainsaw milling has been an activity,Wholesale Cheap NFL Football Jerseys, which has been addressed at several levels, in terms of policy and operational aspects.He pointed out that it is a matter that has been, and remains, very important to forest resources planning and utilization, especially at the level of small and medium-sized operators,Claudio Bravo Chile Jersey, particularly community logging associations.Chainsaw milling, at the policy level, is allowed in Guyana, and its existence is supported by the necessary institutional framework to permit and regulate its use. This framework will continue to be reviewed, the Minister pointed out.He explained that this dialogue on chainsaw milling is even more important now given Guyana’s thrust of finalizing a Low-Carbon Development Strategy.This type of forest activity, Persaud stressed, has significant bearing on the strategy since it supports rural and hinterland livelihoods for many, and at the same time, can have various environmental and social impacts.Chainsaw lumber production in Guyana is a significant part of forestry sector production, increasing from 28,800m3 in 2000 to 67,000m3 in 2008.It is an activity that generally presents economic, social and environmental benefits, and also provides substantial forestry sector employment.An important part of the small and medium-sized operators, who are allocated leases, are community-logging associations, of which 27 have been established to date and support thousands of persons, directly, the Minister notedPersaud explained to the participants that the policy objective of chainsaw milling is to ensure a working framework where the goal of attaining economic and social benefits does not lead to environmental sustainability and sound forest management being compromised.“We cannot ignore the fact that our chainsaw milling sector faces several challenges.? Recovery is overall lower than expected. There is still an identified need for capacity building in the use and maintenance of chainsaws.”While some efforts have been made in the past involving the use of guides to enhance recovery, he added, more still needs to be done to increase recovery,Cheap NFL Jerseys Supply, execute better practices and decrease the level of wastage generated.“And much more needs to be done in implementing effective health and safety standards to protect operators.”At the same time, Persaud said, despite the small size of the operation, more can be done in shifting the existing marketing paradigm to forward plan conversion activities so that milling is done to specific orders, thereby enabling maximum benefits to be gained.“From the operational perspective, we cannot ignore the fact that chainsaw milling offers additional advantages of decreased transportation cost owing to the fact that semi finished products are brought to markets directly from the forest.”This practice,Cheap Jerseys Paypal, he explained, often offers a level of versatility, since chainsaw milling, once done properly, allows for defects to be avoided and for optimal cuts to be taken from a log, despite low recovery.Thes