The Guyana Update -- May 1996.

A Monthly Publication of the Embassy of Guyana, Washington DC, USA

Former US President Jimmy Carter, at the end of a three-day visit to Guyana from April 22-24 to discuss with the government the draft of this country's national development strategy, said he believed the overwhelming portion of the document "will be adopted enthusiastically by the Guyanese people".

Speaking to reporters before his departure, the head of the Carter Center said the draft of the document will be completed by May 31 then distributed to the Cabinet, opposition parties and other interested Guyanese groups or individuals.

President Carter's trip to Guyana in connection with the Center's involvement in the development plan has come in for severe criticism from opposition parties, most of whom saw its involvement as interference in Guyana's internal affairs and an election ploy by Cheddi Jagan administration as it prepares for general elections constitutionally due next year.

But Carter repeated government's views that the six-volume draft document was largely prepared by Guyanese experts. "This has been a product of more than 200

interested citizens and experts who are citizens of Guyana who have come together in 23 different committees and 350 meetings to address problems related to the development of this country," Carter told reporters.

The document will, among other things, look at ways government must tackle problems of the environment, the forestry sector, bauxite, gold and diamond mining sectors, the involvement of women in development, the special needs of Guyana's Amerindian communities, development of roads, sea defense, the fisheries sector, the divestment of the Guyana Electricity Corporation and the evolution of the country's financial sector.

Carter noted that the document will need extensive consultation and debate by the population. He said he had separate meetings with delegation from the main opposition People's National Congress (PNC), the Working People's Alliance (WPA) and Hamilton Green's Good and Green for Guyana (GGG).

He said he assured all parties that they would have an equal opportunity to share in the implementation of what he described as a "wonderful plan for the future of Guyana".

As we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the independence of Guyana, I take this opportunity on behalf of my family and the staff of the Embassy of Guyana to salute all Guyanese and extend best wishes on this momentous occasion.

This anniversary marks an important milestone in the history of our country. We now have enough time over which to look to assess what our country and our people have achieved over the years, and particularly in the past 30 years of political independence under which we have grown to become a full-fledged nation. Surely, in this period, many of our compatriots won great recognition in the fields of international politics, sports, culture and scholarship, thus earning a positive reputation for themselves and also for our country. During this period, too, we did experience our share of political and economic downturns , but through determination and political will, we have re-established democratic governance, and with it the right to an unfettered freedom of expression and association

Throughout our history, our people carried out a relentless struggle for freedom. From the period of the domination of the Amerindian nations by European colonizers, and throughout the exploitative periods of slavery, indenture, and Crown Colony government, they waged this struggle and nurtured it with their courage, sweat and blood. We bred our own martyrs who fell in the anti-colonial struggle and also in the post-independence period as our people struggled for democracy. Some also suffered unjust terms of imprisonment for standing up bravely to foreign and local opponents of the independence struggle and the struggle for democracy.

But despite the fact that we have achieved political independence, our nation, like those of the developing world, continues its effort to win economic independence. The enormous debt burden hangs like a millstone around our necks but our people are determined to over come this as evidenced by increased production and a viable growth rate in the economy. Guyanese residing in the United States are urged to explore the investment opportunities in Guyana and participate in the development of industries which can propel our nation toward economic independence.

I again invite our Guyanese compatriots to suggest constructive methods that can be applied to buttress our political freedom and democracy, and to work out strategies for the achievement of total economic independence of our nation.

A happy Independence Anniversary to all Guyanese!!

High level sources said several firms and groups have shown an interest in investing in the Guyana Electricity Corporation but the US-based Leucadia National Corporation is the most substantial bidder.

An advertisement for a partnership in GEC was first placed in the Financial Times of London and appeared in the local media in Guyana.

The sources noted that Leucadia has long been interested in the GEC and had held meeting with Prime Minister Sam Hinds on the issue.

Leucadia, which owns some 40 per cent of the Barbados power company, has been associated with electricity in Guyana in various forms over the last few years.

The Government is seeking formal, written expressions of interest from international power sector operations or operator-led consortia considering investment in the electricity business of GEC, currently a State- owned vertically integrated electric company.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Bharat Jagdeo and Inter-American Development Bank Representative Charles Greenwood initialed a technical assistance program that would facilitate the preparation of GEC for private participation in its management and operation.

According to Mr Greenwood, the assistance is valued at US$750,000 and the international accounting firm Deloitte & Touche will conduct the technical studies. The work of the firm should be completed within months, allowing GEC to be ready for private participation by the end of the year. The study will also determine what the private participation will take.

Because of recent spate of power outages, resulting from the ailing Kingston sets and the poor transmission and distribution systems, engineers from Caterpillar Diesel were working feverishly during most of April to install six units at the Kingston power station. This would provide 7.2 megawatts of electricity into the system. These units are being rented to bring short term relief.

In addition, a deal has been concluded for another 11 - megawatt Wartsila plant at Garden of Eden. Prime Minister Sam Hinds said that this should be commissioned by September. IDB's Representative indicated that the Bank would provide US$50M to rehabilitate the GEC's run-down transmission and distribution system, which was the main cause for extensive power outages in the Capital City.

Ten educators were inducted on March 23, as registrars for the General Elections which are due next year.

Ten Registrars were supposed to have been inducted before this date but this process had to be abandoned when objections were made against three of the names that were submitted at that time.

Chairman of the Elections Commission, Doodnauth Singh, has sought the assistance of another expert from the International Foundation for Electoral Systems to accelerate house to house registration which is billed to start by June.

The ten registrars are expected to start the training of recruits for the registration exercise which will lead to the compiling of a Preliminary Voter's List which the Elections Commission Chairman hoped would be ready for the end of this year.

The Inter-American Development Bank has approved some $US500,000 for projects in Amerindian hinterland communities. According to SIMAP's Co-ordinator of projects in the Amerindian communities, the green light for additional funding was given after IDB Consultant, Mr Carl Hall, expressed satisfaction over the implementation of 20 pilot projects.

Over 70 projects will be completed under Phase Two of the loan arrangement at a maximum cost of G$2M each. The IDB Amerindian pilot program is co-managed by the Guyana Government and is executed by SIMAP. It forms part of Government's Poverty Alleviation Program to help cushion the impact of the continuing structural adjustment program for the very vulnerable sections of the society.

Guyana became the seventh country to sign the CARICOM Social Security Agreement, paving the way for the preservation, protection and payments of social security benefits accrued to CARICOM nationals on retirement, or in circumstances determined by Social Security legislation. The Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social-Security signed on behalf of the government.

The PPP/Civic government's resolve to fight corruption has moved from the local to the international scene with its initialing of the draft document of the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption. Public Service Minister George Fung-On initialed the Convention on behalf of the government in Caracas recently.

The initialing of the hemispheric convention comes just weeks after the People's Progressive Party established an Anti-Corruption Committee to deal with reports of corrupt practices by its members and to take decisive action by way of example, to weed out this anti-social practice from the Guyanese society.

Students at the University of Guyana protested against the UG Administration recently and the police had to intervene following their barricading of the university's main entrance, the disruption of classes and minor damages to certain facilities. There were sporadic confrontations between students and members of the police force, which led to the temporary detention of 18 students.

The group of students, after obtaining no satisfaction from the administration, proceeded to the State House where they called on President Jagan to intervene in the situation at the University. President Cheddi Jagan later met representatives of the student body to discuss their various problems.

The President several weeks before appointed a high-profile Presidential Commission to make recommendations in improving the ailing University.

Students also protested against the behavior of a Sociology lecturer whom they accused of misconduct. This also fueled cries about the appalling sanitation and classroom facilities offered by the UG administration.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance has pointed out that whereas in 1992 the University was receiving $150M from Central Government, the figure has now reached the $450M level this year, including sums for capital works to be carried out. Finance Minister Bharrat Jagdeo noted that students' complaints against the conditions were legitimate as there have been no corresponding improvements at the university from the amount of funding granted.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has recognized Guyana as one of the Latin American and Caribbean economies to have registered significant growth in 1995. According to the recently-published 1995 IDB Annual Report, "economic growth in the region slowed sharply in 1995, falling from the 5% recorded in 1994 to only 0.6% in 1995. . ." According to the report, the economies of Columbia, El Salvador and Guyana grew more than 5.5% during the year."

Crime Chief Floyd McDonald said more persons may be called for questioning, and others may be charged, in connection with the multi-million dollar vehicle racket.

The scam involves the falsification of documents to show that customs duties were paid on imported vehicles.

Local auto-dealers have also been implicated in the racket. It was announced that former income tax chief Edgar Heligar and Senior Counsel Rex McKay have been retained to assist the police in this investigation which could unravel other scams in the graft-ridden Customs and Excise Department.

The Joint Services came together to embark on what they described as "a fitting birthday project" for the President's 78th birthday: providing a face-lift for the Out-Patients Units of the Public Hospital of Georgetown. Tradesmen from the joint services came together and descended on the Unit, where they cleared, cleaned, repaired and painted the floor, ceiling and walls of that section of the hospital. After the project was completed the GDF Chief of Staff and other Heads of Services (representing the Police, GNS, GPM, Fire and Prison Services) gathered at the Unit to formally hand over the "birthday gift" to the President.

The project was valued at $110,000 and was executed by ten tradesmen from the joint services.

Another 200 house lots have been allocated to persons at Lima Sands on the Essequibo Coast. Essequibo Coast is faced with a large number of Guyanese remigrants from Venezuela and presently experiences a housing shortage, sending hundreds to squat in various locations. The region is also working on regularizing of squatting activities in the region.

Meanwhile, some 300 squatters from Queenstown area have recently been told of moves to allocate plots for them in Capoey. The Lands and Surveys Department began to survey the Capoey area identified for housing and clearing of the area would begin shortly.

Coupled with a steadily worsening electricity situation in the capital, thousands of citizens of Georgetown grappled with water woes caused by a break in 70-year old feeder mains servicing huge areas of the city. Hospitals, businesses and homes in Stabroek, Charlestown, Kitty, Campbellville, Bourda and North Cummingsburg districts of the capital have had to make do with a trickle of water coming out of taps or in some cases no water at all.

During the last week in March, two main feeder lines broke as a result of high water pressure, causing residents in the city to scramble to break other mains so as to be able to get water.

The Georgetown Sewerage and Water Commissioners which is responsible for the city's water supply and sewage disposal said that workmen were repairing the breaches and by mid-April improvements were already being seen.

Sums from the $1.2 billion poverty reduction program in this year's budget will be used to expedite repairs to the Georgetown water supply system.

The Minister of Finance announced that $40M will be used to drill a new well to end water woes being experienced in the North Ruimveldt area.

This comes at a time when the Inter-American Development Bank and Government of Guyana funded US$15.5M remedial project for Georgetown water supply kicks into high gear.

The project will be tracing all the pipe lines for leakages and damage for replacement. The Shelter Belt plant will also be rehabilitated, along with increased well production at the Shelter Belt.

The project will also see the development of new water production site at Sophia, especially to serve impending housing schemes.

The Project Manager explained that the project, which carries a hefty administrative cost will provide back-up support at various well sites to ensure that in cases of emergency, services can be made available.

According to the company's General Manager, Omai Gold Mines Limited is bouncing back, with the value of the company's stock shooting back up on the Canadian Stock Market. The value of stocks went up by C$18.

Less than 48 hours after the company resumed operations on February 4, Cambior Inc., the major shareholder in the company, announced terms of a C$167-million-share offering.

Meanwhile, the General Manager estimated that the government of Guyana lost incomes valued at US$13M as a result of the spill and subsequent closure.

Omai's insurers, Chubb, have retained the firm of Cameron & Shepherd to settle compensation claims of up to G$100,000. Up to 30% of the claims were already settled out of court, according to the General Manager.

Finance Minister Bharrat Jagdeo has secured $700M from the Inter-American Development Bank to rehabilitate about 50 miles of Georgetown's pot-holed roads. The Minister said that the money is ready for drawing down and work would start immediately on the project.

Meanwhile, the IDB has indicated its willingness to help in the rehabilitation of major bridges, including the Mahaicony and Abary bridges. A feasibility study will also be conducted by the IDB on the bridging of the Berbice River.

The University of Guyana Senior Staff Association officially ended its three-day protest on Thursday, April 4, until the UG Council met with the Finance Ministry about its call for increased salaries retroactive to January 1, 1995.

A meeting with members of the Council and the UGSSA was held on the demands made by senior staffers, who are soon to receive a 16% wage increase on their wages for 1996.

"The UGSSA has agreed to call off its industrial action until after the meeting with the Finance Ministry," said the Registrar of the University.

Senior lecturers went on a three-day sick-out shutting down classes on campus. Senior UG staffers received a 100% increase on their wages and salaries in 1994.

Three Customs officers have been sent on vacation leave pending the outcome of the investigation of the vehicle importation scam.

Comptroller of Customs, Lloyd Forde, said the three officers sent on leave are Dexter John, F. DeSantos, and Jaideo Singh.

The police force is said to be making progress into the scam involving falsification of customs documents which showed that import duties were paid on vehicles when they were not.

Meanwhile, another customs officer - Walter Roberts - has also been sent on leave as investigations continue into the release of containers of goods without the full payment made on duties and taxes.

The Guyana Police Force has received over 80,000 applications for firearm licenses. This large amount, according to a leading police spokesman, is causing a delay in the processing of licenses.

Recently, a number of communities, including those in the Rupununi region, expressed concerns at the delays in the processing and issuing of licenses, given the extent of cattle rustling in their area.

The government, while warning against the negative effects of large-scale requests for firearms licenses, has made it clear that applications from categories such as farmers and businessmen will be treated with some urgency.

Cabinet in a strongly-worded statement lambasted the Guyana Public Service Union for calling out nurses on strike recently while negotiations on the retroactivity of meal allowances were still in progress.

"The Government team offered the Union retroactivity of meal allowances for nurses to April 1, 1994, an offer pending Cabinet agreement on Thursday. . ."

"The Union called a strike before the government side made Cabinet's position known," added the government statement.

The release went on to add: "Though Cabinet did not anticipate that the union would take strike action while it was discussing the new offer, it nevertheless agreed to pay retroactivity to April 1, 1994." However, the PSU's acting General Secretary rejected the government's offer.

Georgetown Hospital Administrator, Dr Vibert Shury, said all nurses had walked off the job, leaving no skeleton staff as required by the Essential Services Act. The disciplined services and public-spirited citizens with nursing experiences were invited and were manning Georgetown and other public health facilities.

The 12-day strike eventually ended on April 15, and the union and the Public Service Ministry have commenced negotiation on the retroactivity of payments.

Investigators have concluded that the origin of February 8 fire at the Ministry of Works records office was electrical, Fire Chief, Mr Tulsie John said.

He announced that the Government Electrical Inspector has submitted his report on the probe. "This report confirms our belief since the night of the fire, but we had to give the investigators some time to do their work," he said.

Fire on the evening of February 8, gutted the Fort Street, Kingston, Georgetown Works Ministry records office, destroying several studies, drawings and designs on various current and previous projects.

The Guyana Government received its first non-project grant of US$3M from the Japanese Government. The money to assist the indebted country and promote structural adjustment policy can only be used for overseas purchases.

Prime Minister Sam Hinds and Japanese Ambassador to Guyana, Mr Kuniaki Asomura signed the agreement at the office of the Prime Minister.

The Task Force of the Race Relations Committee is about to launch a country-wide education campaign to sensitize the public on what it is all about.

Also on the cards is a series of workshops and lectures to be held throughout the country.

Secretary to the Task Force said that the objectives of the education drive are: "To keep the race relations discourse in the public eye; to get ideas and opinions from as wide a cross section of the population as possible with a view to influencing national race relations policy and legislation; and to create an atmosphere of consensus and inclusion."

At its last meeting of the Race Relations Working Group, members also discussed the proposed work plan for 1996, out of which the adopted proposal for an educational campaign emerged.

Pipe-laying by the Guyana Water Authority is concurrently taking place with the road rehabilitation program on the East Bank Demerara highway. This will form part of the estimated 200 miles of new lines to be laid across the country.

A new nursery school for the La Jalousie community, West Coast Demerara, was officially opened recently. This is the first of four nursery schools budgeted for construction in Region Three. The school was being housed in private buildings in the area until the region funded the construction of an independent building.

President Cheddi Jagan recently paid a five-day visit to the Rupununi region where he toured the proposed site for a new secondary school and teachers training center at Surama. Meetings were also held with residents of the Amerindian location. A health center to be opened at Wowetta and a primary school at Aranaputa were also in the President's itinerary. Dr Jagan also inspected the Moco Moco hydro-project and commissioned the new access bridge to the proposed hydro station location.

The Environmental Protection Bill was expected to be the high point of the April 25 sitting of the National Assembly. After much public debate and consultation, the Bill was drafted to enhance the government's capacity to protect the environment

The Minister of Health has received the Auditor General's draft report on the alleged irregularities into the purchasing of large quantities of medical drugs by the Ministry of Health. The sum is suspected to amount to over $365M and mainly involves breach of Tender Board procedures for the procurement of the drugs.

The Guyana Electricity Corporation plans this year to install a line capable of transmitting some 69,000 volts of power from Berbice to Demerara.

SIMAP has handed over the repaired west wing of Queen's College to the school's Board of Governors, the Old Students' Association and the Parent/Teachers' Association. The entire block was rehabilitated by the government under a $20M loan agreement with the IDB.

More consultations are to be undertaken on the draft Domestic Violence Bill 1996, while a Parliamentary Committee decides whether the proposal should go to a Select Committee for closer scrutiny.

The power company, GEC, is likely to get help from Trinidad and Tobago as it battles with continuing generation problems at the Kingston station in Georgetown.

Officials have fine-tuned a master plan to transform some 100 acres of the Zoo and Botanic Gardens into a local bio-diversity park.

The Guyana Government has agreed to an out-of-settle-Court settlement with the Brazilian firm, Paranapanema, which has offered a total payment of about US$1M to compensate for delays in the Essequibo Road project. The company was fired last July for fundamental breaches of its US$9.5M construction contract, after long hold-ups in the road project, contractually scheduled for completion by January 19 this year.

President Cheddi Jagan announced that Police Commissioner Laurie Lewis and Deputy Commissioner Sultan Kassim will continue to head the Guyana Police Force beyond their retirement. Addressing Police Officers at their Annual Conference, the President said the decision to have them stay on was made after careful consideration.

A meeting with the Commissioner of Police and President of the University of Guyana Students Society was held to discuss clashes between students and police during recent protest demonstrations. A release from the Commissioner's office stated that the two parties agreed that there was need to address excesses on both sides. The Commissioner said that the right to protest will be respected by members of the force provided that right does not conflict with the lawful privileges of other members of the university community.

In Region Five some $109.5 M has been allocated for the rehabilitation of roads from Ithaca, West Bank Berbice to Mahaicony. Some of the roads to benefit from rehabilitation are: Ithaca Access Road; Rosignol Saw Mill Dam; Shieldstown Road; Cotton Tree School Dam; Hopetown School Dam; No. 22 Bel-Air Middle Walk; No 29 Access Road; Belladrum/Paradise Road; Cottage Village; Perth, Mahaicony; Woodley Park School Road and Bush Lot Secondary School Road.

The local poultry industry has recorded a six-fold increase in production of eggs and meat since 1991. Figures released by the Ministry of Agriculture showed that poultry meat production increased from 1,500 tonnes in 1991 to 7,300 tonnes in 1995. In 1991, 5.3 million eggs were produced; last year local birds provided 30 million eggs for the local market.

Water testing and monitoring equipment for cyanide, mercury and heavy metals were to be presented to the Government by local UNDP Resident Representative Carlos Felipe Martinez. The equipment will also be used to monitor the cyanide level in the Omai and Essequibo Rivers following the cyanide seepage last year and will be used to enhance the government's monitoring capacity.

The new $7.1 million Martindale Primary School up the Pomeroon River was recently handed over to the community's education authorities. Funding for the school was provided by the Inter-American Development Bank through a soft loan agreement with the Guyana Government.

There is now a new tailings pond at Omai gold mine site. The facility, which will store cyanide-tainted waste from operations, covers 211 hectares and is three times the size of the first pond which failed last August and led to the massive cyanide waste disaster at the main site.

Twelve areas have been prioritized to receive new water pumps from the Guyana Water Authority. The twelve areas are Henrietta and Riverstown, Vergenoegen, Belle Vue and L'Oratoire, Soesdyke and Land of Canaan, Willemstad and Bush Lot, West Coast Berbice; Springlands and Crabwood Creek.

The Williamsburg, Corentyne health center has been rehabilitated to the tune of $5.5M. Approximately 5,000 residents will benefit from the repaired facility. In a related development, the No. 47 Village and Fyrish health centers have recently been rehabilitated. The renovation to the Cumberland health center is also progressing rapidly. Contracts for the rehabilitation of Bush Lot and Brothers health centers in Corentyne and East Bank Berbice, respectively, have been awarded and these projects are expected to commence very shortly.

A new primary school is being constructed at Charity, Essequibo Coast, as part of the Region's program to construct four new primary schools costing $250M.

Eleven major access roads along the East Coast of Demerara have been completely rehabilitated and are ready for commissioning. These roads are located in Goedverwagting, Plaisance, Beterverwagting, Lusignan, Unity, Helena No. 2, Buxton, Mon Repos, Cummings Lodge, Cane Grove and Enterprise South. The Best Road has also been rehabilitated and is ready for commissioning.

The Parent-Teachers Association of the Kuru Kururu Primary School in collaboration with the Rotary Club of Demerara, has secured an improved learning environment for students of the Soesdyke/Kururu community. The newly rehabilitated school is now geared to offer its more than 200 students clean and spacious classrooms, a library and both interior and exterior washroom facilities.

Plans to construct a new building to replace the present structure which houses the hospital in Region Seven (Cuyuni/Mazaruni) were finalized when a contract valued at G$66M was signed for the commencement of work. The project is being financed by the Basic Needs Trust Fund and includes the construction of a two-flat concrete building, which will replace the old wooden and concrete structure built some 50 years ago.

Minister of Local Government, Moses Nagamootoo, addressed the Inter-American Conference of Mayors in Miami on April 18. This Conference was sponsored by the OAS. The Minister also held discussions with officials of the the National Democratic Institute during a one day visit to Washington on April 15.

For information on Guyana, INTERNET users may check the WEB SITE on GUYANA NEWS AND INFORMATION at: http://www.wam.umd.edu/~swi

Our E-mail address is: MAOIshmael@aol.com

Books available at the Embassy: (1) Amerindian Legends of Guyana by Odeen Ishmael; (2) Songs of Guyana. ($5 & $11 respectively). Also Visit Guyana Year Calenders ($3) Call the Embassy for information.

Reminder to Guyanese Nationals

Please ensure that yourPASSPORTS areVALID. Do not wait until emergencies arise before you check these documents.

GUYANA'S 30TH INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY BALL AND DINNER - Sponsored by Ex-GDF Association and Association of Concerned Guyanese. May 25 -- 8.00 p.m - La Fontaine Bleu,7963 Annapolis Road, Lanham, MD - Tickets: (in advance) $45 per person

Call: Arnold Fortune 301-277-8736 - Teddy Singh: 301-735-1533

Guyanese Assisting in Development (GUYAID) 11th Annual Tribute to Mothers - Luncheon and Entertainment - on May 12 at 1.00 p.m. at Martin's Crosswinds, Greenbelt, MD. Adult $35, Child $20. Call: Valda - 202-726-7106; Neville - 202-626-0431

Miss Guyana Metro Washington DC Beauty Pageant

Contestants being recruited for August 10 Pageant

Call 301-774-8359 (evenings) for information.

Hindu Dharmic Sabha of Washington Metropolitan Area 3909 53rd St., Bladensburg, MD - Services Sunday 10.00 a.m.

For information: James Beeharilal 301-699-9573

Maryland Hindu Milan Mandir

808 Forest Glen Road, Silver Spring, MD

Services - Sundays 9.30 a.m.- Pandit Sase N. Sharma 301-593-7638

Islamic Society of the Washington Area

Principles of Islam - 3rd Saturday every month

Imam Faizul Khan 301-588-3650.

GUYANA FOOD FAIR

Sponored by the Embassy of Guyana and Guyanese Organizations in the Washington Metro area. - Date: May 19, 1996

Place: Grounds of the Ambassador's Residence

6911 Bradley Boulevard, Bethesda, MD

GUYANESE ASSOCIATION Of HOUSTON 30th Independence Anniversary and Scholarship Fund - Concert/Dinner/Dance On May 18, 7 pm - 3 am At Stouffer Renaissance Hotel, 6 Greenway Plaza (SW FRWY) Concert/Dinner/Dance - $35, Dance Only - $20.

Call 713-484-1802 or 713-507-5642 .

GUYAID Round Trip to Guyana on June 28 Thru July 12,

For Information Call 202-726-7106

NEW YORK : Mr. Brentnol Evans, Consul-General

Tel: (212) 527-3215, Fax: (212) 527-3229

CALIFORNIA : Mr. Joseph D'Oliveira, Honorary Consul,

Tel: (213) 222-0899 Fax: (213) 222-0899

FLORIDA : Mr. Hilton Ramcharitar, Honorary Consul,

Tel: (305) 797-6844, Fax: (305) 797-7603

HONORARY TRADE REPRESENTATIVES

MINNESOTA: Mr. Earl Singh,

Tel: (612) 332-0351, Fax: (612) 342-2399

MISSOURI: Mr. Antoine Solomon, Tel: (314) 903-3195

TEXAS: Mr. Jai Sharma,

Tel: (713) 847-5800 Fax: (713) 847-3210 GEORGIA: Mr. Neilson Wray

Tel: 770-469-3337 Fax: 770-469-1915

All payments for services officially rendered by the Embassy must be made in cash or by money order, bank draft or certified check. Personal checks are not acceptable.

To publicize your group's activities in this forum , FAX the information to 202-232-1297 or call 202-265-6900.

To receive a copy of Guyana Update send $5.00 to cover one year's postage and handling to the address below.

Embassy of the Republic of Guyana

2490 Tracy Place NW

Washington DC 20008

202-265-6900/FAX202-232-1297

(After hours and holidays, FAX 301-365-9467)