With flood waters receding in some communities in the Mahaica and Mahaicony region, some farmers have begun to recultivate the land. There are reports also that in the Pomeroon and Black Bush Polder waters have completely subsided , allowing for recultivation and revitalization efforts to begin. Chairman of the National Relief Unit, Colonel Harry Hinds noted that the provision of food relief would come to an end during this month and that a Task Force will begin to deal with post-flood rebuilding. An inter-agency committee to assist this task Force has already put into operation a program to accumulate needed resources so that residents in the flood-hit areas can resume economic activities as soon as possible. Meanwhile, more than 200 families in the North and Central Savannahs in the Rupununi region received relief supplies over the past month. These areas felt the brunt of the flooding in that region.
Guyana's foreign relations took another positive swing with diplomatic ties being established between Guyana and the Gulf State of Qatar. A diplomatic agreement was signed in mid-August by Guyana's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Samuel Insanally and the Permanent Representative of Qatar to the UN, Ambassador Dr. Hassan Ali-Hussain Al-Ni Mah on behalf of the Governments of Guyana and Qatar respectively. Relations with this latest Gulf state follow the establishment of relations with Kuwait, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. In October 1995, Guyana also became an observer member of the Organization of Islamic Conference.
September is Amerindian Heritage Month, and various Amerindian settlements have planned a number of activities to mark the occasion. The Amerindian Affairs Ministry also announced that the celebrations will take the form of cultural promotion and exhibition of Amerindian art and craft. In Georgetown, the Amerindian Hostel will be launching an Amerindian Handicraft and Curios Center, while an exhibition and cultural presentation is also planned for the Umana Yana.
The Ministry of Education during August conduced a special program for 100 untrained hinterland teachers as part of the Primary Education Improvement Project. The teachers were selected from North West District, Pomeroon, East Demerara, Cuyuni, Mazaruni, Potaro, Rupununi, Linden and Berbice River. The training was aimed at improving their content and methodology in the core subjects - English, Mathematics and Social Studies. The special sessions were conducted by the Cyril Potter College of Education where the teachers were housed. A Ministry official stated that the training program was directed at the hinterland areas because of the high percentage of untrained and under qualified teachers in the schools in those areas.
Guyana is experiencing a crime wave caused by criminals returning home after being deported
from the United States, government officials have declared. Deputy police commissioner Floyd
McDonald said that some of these deportees have involved themselves in drugs and other
crimes. So far for this year 62 criminals have been sent back to Guyana, mostly from the United
States where most of them were jailed for drug offences. In 1995, 54 Guyanese were deported.
The police official said that their arrival has been associated with an increase in US-style crimes,
and car thefts and armed robberies have increased in recent months.
Finance Minister Bharrat Jagdeo told a money laundering conference on money laundering on Wednesday September 4 that the Government was very concerned about the crime situation and Guyana's 4000-strong police force was in danger of being overwhelmed.
The head of an international human rights legal group on Tuesday September 4 cited Guyana's return to democracy as a key factor for holding a major forum in the country. Interights, the British-based International Centre for the Legal Protection of Human Rights, opened a three-day conference at the Pegasus Hotel in Georgetown. Some thirty judges from around the Caribbean and other countries attended the sessions aimed at helping the jurists decide what the law is with reference to human rights. In remarks at the opening, Interights President, Lord Anthony Lester, said that it was appropriate for the delegates to be in Guyana at a time when the country has restored democracy in government, which he pointed out was a necessary condition for Guyana to be chosen as a site for the conference.
Guyana and the United States on September 4 intensified cooperation on combating the illegal drug trade at a major meeting on money laundering and forfeiture of assets of drug lords. The Finance Ministry and the US Department of Treasury sponsored a two-day conference at the Embassy Club in Georgetown where officials examined ways at strengthening law enforcement, among other issues. The conference was addressed by Finance Minister Bharrat Jagdeo and Director of the Executive Office for Asset Forfeiture of the US Treasury Department, Ms. Jan Blanton. Both officials agreed to work towards an exchange of information between the two countries. Ms. Blanton said that as organized criminal elements operate with little regard for national boundaries, a cooperative international response would be crucial to protect stability and prosperity.