..remaining $60M to be paid in weeksPresident of the Guyana Rice Producers Association (GRPA), Leekah Rambrich, has said that post-dated cheques were issued last Friday to most of the unpaid Black Bush Polder (BBP) rice farmers who were owed millions of dollars by Mahaicony Rice Mills farmer, Surinamese national, Mr. Jai Beni.The GRPA President,Cheap NFL Jerseys, speaking to Kaieteur News, said that these farmers would have been able to encash these cheques yesterday. He revealed that $80M in post-dated cheques were issued to most of the farmers. The remaining $60M owed by Beni would be paid within two weeks.Two weeks ago, irate BBP farmers protested, blocked the roads and burned tyres because of almost $140 million owed to them by a Black Bush Polder miller since last year.After being told that the Manager of the Black Bush Rice Mill was not around, several rice farmers became irate and started to burn wood, tyres and other debris on the road leading to the factory. After that incident,Cheap NFL Football Jerseys, General Secretary of the GRPA, Mr. Dharam Kumar Seeraj stated that Beni was given a few days to pay the farmers, or his assets would be seized and he would be taken to court.Rambrich said that Beni “had a late transfer through a bank—they had to establish a bank transaction from some people in Jamaica, and that was what actually delayed the transfer, and that’s what caused the set- back.”“Jai Beni gave us the assurance that the post- dated cheques would be cashed on Wednesday (yesterday).”But not all the farmers would be paid. Some paddy was shipped out to BBP over the weekend, and Rambrich said that the remaining farmers that are owed $60M would be paid “in a matter of a week or two—that was related to us from the General Manager of the GRPA.”Rambrich noted his concerns about such late payments and what it is doing to the industry. “On Friday in BBP,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, I saw a huge gathering of people at the rice mill and I stopped to investigate what was going on, because they were supposed to be paid.”He said that upon his intervention, he was told by farmers that no individual from the GRPA came to listen to their complaints, or to see what was happening. Immediately, he telephoned Georgetown and intervened.“But I became very annoyed, because you have over 200 people wasting their day—these people could have gone and do some other work, you know, and you are frustrating farmers, and this is not good from an industrial point of view.”Another bumper crop expectedRambrich said that at present, most of the crop is at the heading stage. He added that farmers are anticipating a “very good crop.” Over 600,000 tonnes of paddy, he added, are being anticipated at the national level when harvesting does occur.“The crop looks good in the fields, and once the weather prevails, we can harvest a good crop.”The Corentyne rice miller credited the high anticipated output to the large expansion rice is currently undergoing especially in the Kokerite Savannahs in Black Bush Polder where more homesteads are being converted into rice cultivation.Rambrich added that currently in Berbice, 62,000 acres are under cultivation—the highest ever being cultivated. He added that Region Six has more lands that can accommodate rice farming as well.One challenge facing the industry, he said,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, is the late payments to farmers. “Then we are foreseeing for this (Spring) crop that there will be a lot of paddy in the system; farmers would face a hard time getting their paddies out, due to the huge lines at the mill—we can foresee that coming.”Speaking about prices, Rambrich said that from the way the market trends are going, “We can safely say that the prices can remain the same during the next crop, or dip a little—not too much.”“Now that the government is bringing in (fertilizers), the private sector prices drop real down to $5,200.” This was opposed to $6,Cheap NFL Jerseys China,000 per bag by private sellers during the time when the government did not import the item for sale to farmers. “Government importing fertilizers plays a major role in the assistance to farmers.”Rambrich, a popular miller along the Corentyne, a few months ago also cultivated his variety of rice called the Bengal Aromatic Rice, which is doing very well on the market.

Like the rest of Guyana, Timehri North residents have made preparations for the Christmas holidays notwithstanding the eventuality of their homes being bulldozed by the Public Works Ministry. These residents have extended their properties and renovated and painted them for the holidays. They seem ready to defend their investments if the need arises.With the expansion of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport’s (CJIA) facilities, residents have been ordered to remove from the airport environment as they were labeled as squatters on the facility’s property.But with no proper proposal on a relocation plan for the community, residents say they cannot remain on “pause” as “life goes on.” The residents are adamant that their social and family life must continue.This sand covered road was once asphalt coated, but this is just one of the issues that will not deter this resident seen painting for the seasonWhile some residents expressed concern over the next move the Public Works Ministry will make, they say that they have received no word from the government lately.They are unclear as to what the future holds in that regard.The Ministry has on more than one occasion bulldozed homes within the community, destroying new but incomplete structures, old homes and even foundations. It was stated at the time that no more homes were to be built, no extensions were to be done and the semi-finished buildings destroyed to prevent the completion of properties.However, Public Relations Officer (PRO) for the Timehri North Community Development Council (TNCDC),Cheap Jerseys NFL China, Sherlander Daniels, told Kaieteur News yesterday that residents are going about their business, although the thoughts of the Ministry’s threats are still very fresh in their minds.Daniels related that residents are going about with the Christmas preparations; extending, painting and making other investments in their properties.She explained that the residents are not just catering for the holidays but they are living, “because lives cannot be brought to a standstill because of the government.”The PRO said that the government has refused to meet with the community to iron out the issues which has primarily been their fault.Timehri North residents are being regarded as squatters, but according to them, it was this very government that had removed them from the now regularized Timehri Base Road in the early 90s,Cheap Jerseys USA, saying that the area would have been for farming purposes only. A great number of those residents were said to have moved to Timehri North where a small amount of persons were already resding aand were engaged in subsistence farming.Over time, the community grew and under this same People’s Progressive Party (PPP) government Timehri North residents were told to get their acts together to accommodate the regularization of the community. It was recalled that some time in 1997, Philomena Sahoye-Shury, National Director of Community Development Councils, told the community to apply for water, electricity and other facilities as the government was working to facilitate the regularization.Excited and optimistic, the residents did so and to date, the community is lavished with all those amenities including landline telephone service.However, the government’s offer never materialized. Now the Timehri North community is being chastised; it is slated for destruction, residents say. The PRO continued that the residents take the Minister’s refusal to meet with them as a negative sign. Daniels reminded that after demanding an audience with the Public Works Minister Robeson Benn and by extension the government, the authorities chose the persons they wanted to speak with; some of whom are alleged to have accepted small cash amounts to remove.Daniels said that Timehri North residents have no problem with removing from the community, but the government must have a reasonable package for the residents. Daniels said the government has never engaged the community with information on an environmental assessment impact study which would encompass the affects of the project on the community.She said there has been no real involvement of the Ministry of Housing if the government indeed seeks to relocate residents with minimal impact on their lives.“The government has never addressed the magnitude of the interference on the family aspect of this issue,Cheap NFL Jerseys China,” Daniels said. “These are people’s lives and they are very much attached to the social fabric of things. It’s not like a bag of stone that you can remove from one place to another,” she urged.When persons are ripped from their environment they are ripped from that social fabric, she reiterated. The government needs to properly address this issue before and even after they would have removed residents, the PRO co