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Acting Commissioner of Police Mc Donald Jacob, right, speaks to participant of the parenting for men programme Kevin Frederick and Minister of Social Development and Family Services Donna Cox at the launch of the Ministry’s parenting programme at the Mt. Hope/Mt. Lambert Community Centre, on Monday. – AYANNA KINSALE

Social Development and Family Services Minister Donna Cox said the ministry has assigned an officer to offer counselling to the family of seven-year-old Mckenzie Hope Rechier, who was strangled to death by a close relative in Palo Seco on Friday night.

In a Whatsapp message in response to questions from Newsday as to what role the ministry would play in the situation, Cox said,

“The Ministry assigned an officer to offer counselling to the family. If the (woman) has mental health issues, that will be handled by the Health Ministry. All children’s matters are dealt with by the Children’s Authority.”

Acting Commissioner of Police Mc Donald Jacob said an investigation was being carried out into whether a report was made to police about possible death threats made by the mother in the weeks leading up to the child’s death. Reports are that neighbours reached out to the police and to the Children’s Authority but no response was forthcoming.

Speaking to the media following the launch of the National Family Services Parenting Programme 2022, Jacob said the investigation was being carried out by Special Victims Department head Snr Supt Claire Guy-Alleyne.

“An investigation was done to see whether or not a report was actually made in that regard and I think she will address the media soon.

“Some people will call in through our 999 system, and through that we have a dispatch system where all reports are recorded, so there are ways and means we can track back the recording.

“Even though the report was made to the station, we can get that information. We may not get the voice recording, but we will see that a call came from that particular number at that point in time. So it’s easy to track it down to see whether or not someone called the station to make a report.”

Jacob said people who are feeling overwhelmed and frustrated can call the police and receive active intervention through the department.

“The Special Victims Department was established to provide the initial support and do the referral to the Family Division, when we see people needing help, to provide the necessary counselling.

“We are here to provide that support to our communities. We also have social workers attached to the police service and the Victim and Witness Support Unit officers who work within that unit to provide the necessary support, so once someone calls, we will provide the initial support and counselling and we will refer them to the Family Division of Social Services where there are people with the requisite skills where counselling might be needed.

“Counselling sometimes is a continuation and sometimes when we analyse the situation we will see that the person may need other support and that is where the Ministry will come in.”

Jacob said there were other lines which people can call if they are in need of help such as 800-SAVE.

Anyone who needs help can call Lifeline (24-hour hotline) at 800-5588, 231-2824 or 220-3636

In case of an emergency (attempted suicide), people can call 990, 811, or 999.

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The Government has engaged the Regional Security System (RSS) to seek external assistance in its efforts to solve the murder of Ricardo “Paper Shorts” Fagundes.

This was confirmed by President Dr Irfaan Ali in an interview with the media on the sidelines of an event on Monday. According to him, the Government is eager to have this investigation move forward and be concluded.

“Its independent. I’ve always said, we are a Government with transparency. So, the questions arose about the investigation. I reached out to the RSS. And I’ve asked them to assess and evaluate what is taking place currently with the investigation.”

“And give us their opinion. And that is what they’ll do. We hope they’re here as we speak. Because we have definitely communicated our eagerness to have this (investigated),” President Ali said.

The RSS is a defence and security alliance of the Eastern Caribbean Region. RSS Headquarters is located in Barbados and is the Coordinating Secretariat of the Caricom Security Assistance Mechanism. As a result, it has additional responsibilities to the wider Caricom Region.

Government had previously sought assistance from the RSS, to aid investigators with the 2020 killings of the Henry cousins, Isaiah and Joel Henry, along with Haresh Singh and Chatterpaul Harripaul which occurred in the subsequent aftermath during a widespread unrest.

The five-member team, which was led by an Assistant Commissioner of Police and comprised officials from countries within the Regional Investigative Management Systems (RIMS), was in Guyana for one week. It subsequently completed its report and handed it over to the Guyana Police Force (GPF), recommending that the Police do additional work.

Ricardo “Paper Shorts” Fagundes was killed execution-style in March 2021 outside a popular Main Street, Georgetown night spot. Reports are the man was partying with a group of friends at the bar when his phone rang and he exited the club to take the call, but soon after, was shot and killed.

Days after being busted along with others by the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) with cocaine, Sergeant Dion Bascom claimed during a Facebook Live that he was being set up and alleged that a senior Police officer is covering up the murder of Fagundes.

Since making his allegations, Bascom is facing three lawsuits that run into several millions of dollars. They are from Police Superintendent Mitchell Caesar, the senior cop whom he alleged is covering-up Fagundes’s murder; from Mark Richmond; and from Richmond’s employer, businessman Azruddin Mohamed.

Bascom, through his lawyer, has since written President Ali for witness protection after reportedly being threatened. In the letter to President Ali, Bascom claimed that even though he was directed to arrest a person of interest in the case, the person had advance warning and subsequently called to threaten him.

But the Protected Disclosure Act of 2018, states “(1) Where a person seeks to make a disclosure in pursuance of this Act, in relation to a matter that would prejudice the national security, defence, or international relations of Guyana, the closure shall be made to the President, the Minster or the Ministers responsible for National Security. (2) The President, the Minister, and the Ministers responsible for public security shall establish and cause to be operated procedures for receiving, investigating or otherwise dealing with disclosures made under subsection (1).”

On this note, President Ali had stated previously that he was yet to see the content of the letter, but once he has a look at it he will address the issue.

Meanwhile, on Friday, Bascom and his attorney Nigel Hughes again made several statements in connection with the case but the Guyana Police Force was quick to point out several discrepancies.

The Force reiterated that it is currently being assisted by an internationally recognised law enforcement agency in conducting the Ricardo Fagundes murder probe. Further, it stated that items recovered from the crime scene were also sent overseas for analysis and are still to be returned.

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Prime Minister Hon. Philip J. Pierre is eager to lend government support to bolstering economic activity in the island’s south and, is encouraged by the formation of the newly minted “Faye Vieux-Fort” [“FVF”] club.

The FVF club is the brainchild of Mr. and Mrs. Jacques Chrétien, owners of Faye Gastronomie Caraibes, which is situated in Vieux-Fort South.

The FVF club has rallied southern based business leaders to consolidate ideas and efforts to enhance business development in the island’s south.

More from Rehani Isidore:

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SOURCE: Office of the Prime Minister

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Coconut farmers across the island are calling on the Coconut Industry Board (CIB) to increase the price it buys the fruit from the present $65.

The growers say they can get a wholesale rate of $90 per coconut elsewhere instead of selling to the CIB for use in the retail shop that the board operates on Waterloo Road in St Andrew.

“We must address the price of coconuts that we buy from the growers. If we do not address the price, we will not have an industry”, stated outgoing CIB director AA Bobby Pottinger to much applause at the coconut growers’ annual meeting last Saturday, August 20.

Pottinger, a former Custos of St Mary and former President of the Jamaica Agricultural Society, said he is able to sell coconuts from his farm for $90 each to vendors in Ocho Rios.

Speaking at the meeting at the Medallion Hall hotel in St Andrew, Pottinger announced that he would soon be stepping down as a director of the CIB after 27 years. He will join veteran attorney-at-law Frank Phipps, QC, who has also retired as a CIB director.

The former custos said the CIB needs to be more active in marketing coconut water and should be supplying all the sports camps and hospitals, as it did in the past.

However, CIB general manager Shaun Cameron, while noting the call for a price increase, said farmers registered with the CIB receive many benefits which help them establish their farms.

These benefits include free fertilizer and seedlings, weed grants and technical expertise from the team scientists.

“You can become a registered farmer free of cost once you own the land and it is suitable for growing coconuts”, Cameron told Loop News.

He noted that the CIB shop sells coconut water for $1,500 per gallon, which is below its competitors’ rate of between $1,800 and $2,000 per gallon.

Coconut growers pay keen attention to the annual growers’ meeting on August 20, 2022.

Also speaking at the meeting, director Nicholas Jones encouraged farmers to register with the CIB, and highlighted other benefits such as assistance in tackling the lethal yellowing disease, and no import duties on tree climbing equipment.

Jones disclosed that the CIB is establishing a drop-off facility in St Mary to ease transportation costs and develop a business model guide for new and existing growers.

“The coconut industry continues to grow in the areas of coconut water bottling, baked goods, ice cream and beverages. There’s also a market for coconut meat, coconut oil, lumber and coir”, Jones said.

He said the CIB intended to further expand the industry through research, private-public partnerships, plant breeding disease management and identification of the best soil types for growing.

Jamaica’s primary coconut producing parishes are St Mary, Portland, St Thomas and St Catherine.

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Jehovah’s Witnesses will resume their trademark door-to-door ministry beginning September 1; the two-and-a-half-year suspension of the work will end just in time for the launch of a global campaign featuring an interactive program for Bible study.

The decision to resume their door-to-door ministry marks the complete restoration of all pre-pandemic in-person activities for the 481 Jehovah’s Witnesses in the seven Congregations of Antigua and Barbuda. Houses of worship (called Kingdom Halls) were reopened on April 1, witnessing in public places resumed on May 31 and in-person conventions are again being planned for 2023.

“I’m excited and can’t wait to get back out to house-to-house ministry,” said Carl Harris from St. George’s, Antigua, who will be heading out to the neighborhood in the coming weeks with his wife, Sandy. “Telephone witnessing is good. I’ve had the opportunity to speak to ones we haven’t spoken to before. But I’ve missed the face-to-face witnessing. Nothing beats human contact.”

The suspension of the public ministry was a proactive response by the organization to keep communities and congregants safe. The move was also unprecedented. Jehovah’s Witnesses had been preaching from house to house without interruption for more than 100 years through an economic depression, two world wars and global unrest, but COVID-19 demanded a different response.

“We believe that the early decision to shut down all in-person activities for more than two years has saved many lives,” said Robert Hendriks, spokesperson for Jehovah’s Witnesses. “We’re now ready and eager to reconnect with our neighbors once again – person-to-person, face-to-face. It’s not the only way that we preach, but it has historically been the most effective way to deliver our message of comfort and hope.”

The return to an in-person ministry coincides with a global campaign to offer an interactive Bible study program, available in hundreds of languages and offered at no cost. The course comes in the form of a printed book, online publication or as an embedded feature within the organization’s free mobile application, JW Library. Released in late 2020, the interactive study platform combines text, video, illustrations and digital worksheets to help learners of all ages.

“This study program is designed to match the learning style of the 21st-century student,” said Hendriks. “We’re excited to begin sharing it with our neighbors as we return to making personal visits.”

The pandemic forced Jehovah’s Witnesses to quickly pivot to virtual meetings and conventions while conducting their ministry exclusively through letters, phone calls and virtual Bible studies. This has led to growth in meeting attendance and the number of congregants, with more than 400,000 newly baptized witnesses joining the ranks of 120,000 congregations globally in just the first two years of the pandemic.

For more information about Jehovah’s Witnesses, their history, beliefs and activities, visit their official website, jw.org, with content available in more than 1,000 languages.

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