Black Immigrant Daily News

–           hands over $3M for Mainstay water treatment facility

President Dr Irfaan Ali said that his Government is working on creating more lucrative and technical jobs for residents in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) through the expansion of the innovation industry.

The Head of State made the statement during his feature address at the Amerindian Heritage Celebrations held in the Mainstay/Whyaka Village this afternoon.

According to President Ali, with Anna Regina Multilateral School topping the country at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination, it proves that the Region has the capacity and capability for new innovative development.

“We don’t want to create a situation where talent must migrate to have the opportunity. So, we are working to not only have call centres but the whole innovation industry. We are working on having the whole innovation industry expanded to this Region so that we can create higher paying jobs and more technical jobs.”

The President also explained that the Government is working on making agriculture more attractive to young people using research, development tools and techniques and science. He added that the two marine cages for the Mainstay/Whyaka Village have arrived in the country and will be installed after the celebrations.

“We have not only earmarked the money to develop your poultry sector, but we have started the construction of the facility, and we are buying the equipment.”

President Ali stated that the Government has already set aside resources and machinery for the Region to expand its pineapple production, which he calls the “best in the world”.

In addition, to the initiatives announced by the Head of State, he presented a cheque valued at $3m to the Toshao of this year’s Heritage Village, Ms Yvonne Pearson, to be used for the construction of a water treatment facility.  

NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR ALL COMMUNITIES

During his speech, President Ali reiterated his commitment to developing all communities across the country equally. He said that “every single community must be part of the development story of our country”. This, he explained, requires the Government to invest in the productive capacity of the country.

“No community is too small to participate in the productive capacity of our country. So what we have been doing is that we have been working on a national development plan that looks at the advantages and competitiveness of each of those communities and then work on creating the investment and the infrastructure to support the development of your comparative advantage.”

He added that the communities in Region Two have an excellent opportunity to develop their tourism potential. To this end, the Government, through the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, will work with Mainstay/Whyaka on an extensive programme where training, certification and upgrades will be provided to support a strong, sustainable and resilient tourism industry.

“We do not only want to build infrastructure, we want to build activities around the infrastructure. We want young people here to participate in the activities around the infrastructure.”

The President underscored that there is “absolutely no other way” to build Guyana on a common platform of equitable development–which is a hallmark of his Government.

Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, the Honourable Dr Ashni Singh; the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Honourable Hugh Todd; the Minister of Amerindian Affairs, the Honourable Pauline Sukhai; the Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, the Honourable Oneidge Walrond; the Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, the Honourable Nigel Dharamlall; President of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly H.E Abdulla Shahid; members of the diplomatic community and other government officials were also at the event.

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A shooting in Malick on Saturday afternoon led to the deaths of two men and the wounding of a man and two women.Police said Anthony Sergeant, 58 and Kunta Andrews, 39, were liming in a group at Tenth Street, Upper Sixth Avenue, Malick, at around 5.39 pm, when a black car approached them.Two gunmen got out of the car and shot at the group.The attackers got back in their car and drove off.Passersby took Sergeant and Andrews to the Eric Williams Medical Science Complex where they were declared dead.A 49-year-old man was shot in the right side of his back, leg, and upper right arm, while a 40-year-old woman was shot in her face.Investigators said a 30-year-old woman attempted to shield nearby children from the gunshots and was shot in one of her calves.Police from the Homicide Bureau of Investigations Region II are continuing enquiries.

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A rise in the frequency, intensity and duration of heatwaves will not only increase wildfires this century but also worsen air quality – harming human health and ecosystems, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) launched on Wednesday, the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies.

“As the globe warms, wildfires and associated air pollution are expected to increase, even under a low emissions scenario,” said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.

“In addition to human health impacts, this will also affect ecosystems as air pollutants settle from the atmosphere to Earth’s surface”.

‘Foretaste of the future’

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The annual WMO Air Quality and Climate Bulletin warned that the interaction between pollution and climate change would impose a “climate penalty” for hundreds of millions of people.

In addition to reporting on the state of air quality and its close interlinkages with climate change, the Bulletin explores a range of possible air quality outcomes under high and low greenhouse gas emission scenarios.

The impact of last year’s wildfire smoke has served to augment this year’s heatwaves.

Mr. Taalas pointed to 2022 heatwaves in Europe and China, describing stable high atmospheric conditions, sunlight and low wind speeds as being “conducive to high pollution levels”.

“This is a foretaste of the future because we expect a further increase in the frequency, intensity and duration of heatwaves, which could lead to even worse air quality, a phenomenon known as the ‘climate penalty’”.

The “climate penalty” refers specifically to the increase in climate change as it impacts the air people breathe.

Air pollutants

The region with the strongest projected climate penalty – mainly Asia – is home to roughly one-quarter of the world’s population.

Climate change could exacerbate ozone pollution, which would lead to detrimental health impacts for hundreds of millions of people.

Because air quality and climate are interconnected, changes in one inevitably causes changes in the other.

The Bulletin explains that the combustion of fossil also emits nitrogen oxide, which can react with sunlight to form ozone and nitrate aerosols.

In turn, these air pollutants can negatively affect ecosystem health, including clean water, biodiversity, and carbon storage.

Looking ahead

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report provides scenarios on the evolution of air quality as temperatures increase throughout this century.

If greenhouse gas emissions remain high, such that global temperatures rise by 3° C from preindustrial levels by the second half of the 21st century, surface ozone levels are expected to increase across heavily polluted areas, particularly in Asia.

This includes a 20 per cent jump across Pakistan, northern India and Bangladesh, and 10 per cent across eastern China.

Fossil fuel emissions will cause ozone increases that will most likely trigger heatwaves, which in turn will amplify air pollution.

Therefore, the heatwaves that are becoming increasingly common due to climate change, are likely to continue degrading air quality.

Low-carbon scenario

To avoid this, the IPCC suggests a low-carbon emissions scenario, which would cause a small, short-term warming prior to temperature decreases.

A future world that follows this scenario would also benefit from reduced nitrogen and sulfur compounds from the atmosphere to the Earth’s surface, where they can damage ecosystems.

WMO stations around the world would monitor the response of air quality and ecosystem health to proposed future emissions reductions.

This could quantify the efficacy of the policies designed to limit climate change and improve air quality.

SOURCE: UN News/ SLT. Headline photo courtesy Thijs Stoop (Unsplash.com).

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Tourism Minister Charles Max Fernandez said it would be a catatesrophie if Antiguans and Barbudans allowed another government to lead their country, especially at such a crucial time in its history.

“We are working hard, we are doing ok and we will continue to do that. I think the most important thing is that the government has handled the most challenging period of Covid-19 in an exemplary way,” Fernandez said on Thursday.

He said the strength of the government and its love for people was ever so prevalent during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic

“Prime Minister Gaston Browne, Lennox Weston, and others in finance ensured that every government employee was paid throughout the pandemic which was a very challenging time,” he said

The world saw millions of people losing their jobs throughout the pandemic and it also affected some residents.

“Many people told us to go to the International Monetary Fund but when you go to the IMF they tell you to lay off people and that will not make it any better. I think we handled it well,” he said

Fernandez is also commending the work of the Ministry of Health for the progress that the island realized during the pandemic.

“The Ministry of Health did a tremendous job in keeping us safe. Antigua is one of the safest in the region. We had one of the highest vaccination rates in the region and that augered very well for our tourism product and the population,” he said.

He said Antigua and Barbuda was the first in the region to reopen because “tourism is so vital to the economy. People know that they are safer with labour “, he said

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