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Chief Secretary Farley Augustine at the launch of the Caribbean Code programme hosted by the Digicel Foundation and We Code Caribbean at the Tobago Information Technology Ltd in Signal Hill, Tobago on Monday. – Photo by David Reid

Chief Secretary Farley Augustine says the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) is working to close the digital gap by bringing free WiFi connectivity to all public spaces.

Augustine made the statement while addressing 200 students on Monday at the launch of the Digicel Foundation’s Caribbean Code+ programme at the Tobago Information Technology Ltd in Signal Hill. The foundation, has partnered with We Code Caribbean to host a coding programme for 24 schools, 11 of which are in Tobago.

Augustine said there is already a policy within the assembly that every government office must have open WiFi access to the public.

That policy, he said, has been around since January/ February this year and “so you should not be at a single public office on the island and not be able to have open WiFi available to you.”

He said people unable to connect while at any government institution should report such.

“Just tag me in a post on Facebook so that I could pull up that division so that they could get that done post-haste.”

Augustine said the world has moved past the stage of paying for WiFi, having found other ways in which money can be earned through open WiFi platforms.

“Whether it is through advertisements, but we understand that there is a great security advantage to having some open access.”

He recalled a time when students would be disciplined for having cellphones and other such devices while in the classroom, and schools treated internet access passwords as confidential.

“Could you imagine to be able to walk in and around Scarborough, and everywhere you turn you have access to some open WiFi facility?

“It means that you can get directions, it means that you can use an app to get a taxi – some ride-share feature, it means that you can WhatsApp call somebody if you’re without funds, it means that if you’re a tourist in the space and your device is not roaming and you cannot afford the roaming price, you can still communicate, and that’s the world that we’re moving towards.”

Augustine said the conversations have started with the Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC) about having all buses having WiFi access.

“So you should not be in a public transport anywhere and not have access to WiFi capabilities. It means that when you catch the bus from L’Anse Fourmi coming to town, you can potentially be completing your homework on your way to school. You can potentially be completing a task, because time spent in public transportation should be used productively – that’s the goal.”

He said the idea of GPS trackers on the buses as well as electronic tickers at the bus stops are two of the things being looked at, “so that you can predict when the next bus would be arriving.”

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The sod has been turned for a spanking new US$45 million Pasha Global/Blue Bridge hotel at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown, which will come on stream by 2024 and will feature approximately 200 rooms.

Blue Bridge Incorporated Project Director Lalit Sharma explained that the project would be constructed in phases and this particular sod turning was for the first phase, which would be completed by 2024.

“The key highlight of this project is that we will have conference facilities of around 1000 people sitting at one time. We’ll have car parks and we’ll be having a dedicated parking building. This entire project has been designed in consultation with the (EPA), all the local compliance has been done,” Sharma said.

Meanwhile, Assets Director for Blue Bridge, Sanket Balgi spoke about the smooth time the company had in interfacing with Government agencies, including the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

“Most of these organisations, when I visited, most of the staff were very helpful, very polite, understanding, accommodating… solved all my issues. So, most of the things were done very smoothly and I’m thankful,” he said.

A number of key officials attended the sod-turning ceremony, including President Dr Irfaan Ali; Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall; Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister Oneidge Walrond and Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr Peter Ramsaroop.

Pasha Global was founded in Suriname and operates hotels and casinos in a number of countries. It already has a presence in Guyana, through its Carnival Casino on Church Street, which opened in December 2020.

It has already been said that over the next few years, Guyana will see the construction of at least eight hotels. Last year, the sod was turned for a US$15 million boutique hotel under the Aiden brand to be constructed in the heart of Georgetown. The hotel, which would feature 101 “smart rooms”, is being constructed as part of the Best Western Hotels and Resorts franchise.

Globally-recognised hotel brands like the Hyatt, Hilton and Radisson hotels have also expressed an interest in investing in Guyana. In 2020, the Government of Guyana, through the Tourism, Industry and Commerce Ministry and GO-Invest, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with investors for a US$90 million Hilton Hotel to be constructed at McDoom, Greater Georgetown.

The investors in the luxury hotel are part of a joint initiative among 658 Guyana Holdings, GREC Investment Group, and TOTALTEC Oilfield Services Guyana Incorporated.

The 289-room branded hotel would be constructed in the already busy area which is home to many businesses such as Gafoors, Pritipaul Singh Investment, Guyana Shore Base Inc, Farm Supplies, and Schlumberger. Construction was slated to begin in January 2021 and was expected to last for two years.

Around the same time, the Chairman of the Giftland Group, Roy Beepat, announced plans to construct a US$100 million Radisson Blu Hotel as part of an international chain of hotels in several destinations around the world. According to Beepat, the agreement has already been finalised to offer this five-star package to Guyana.

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A 22-year-old policeman has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Advisor to the Home Affairs Minister Harry Gill, whom he has accused of videoing him without permission when he fell asleep while performing security duties at his home. The video was leaked to social media.

Constable Kelon Gilbert, through his Attorney-at-Law Eusi Anderson, had written to Gill in May demanding from him, a public apology as well as compensation in lieu of civil proceedings. Gill has failed to meet the demands of the cop who is now suing him for more than $5 million in damages.

Constable Gilbert is seeking against Gill, damages in excess of $1 million for intentional infliction of emotional distress or alternately more than $1 million in damages for negligent infliction of emotional distress, damages in excess of $1 million for negligence in so far as Gill, without prior informed consent, used a recording device to record him at his station of employment, more than $1 million in damages for negligence in so far as Gill recklessly or without due care aided and abetted the public dissemination of the recording and over $1 million in damages for trespass to his person.

Anderson said that on April 21, Constable Gilbert was rostered to work at Gill’s premises but there was no relief and he eventually did a shift of nearly 24 hours. As such, he noted that his client was overcome by a lack of rest and food—a fact of which Gill is personally aware since he observed the events. While performing duties, the lawyer said that Constable Gilbert opened his eyes to Gill directing a recording device to his face.

According to him, after the policeman caught Gill in the act, he turned away the camera and concealed it in his pocket. Anderson said that Gill’s image was captured at the end of the video which was subsequently posted to social media.

According to the lawyer, his client did not authorise, permit or otherwise consent to be recorded. This, he noted, is obvious from Gill’s decision to abruptly end the recording when Constable Gill caught him recording him. Since the recording “entered permanently” into the infinite boundaries of the internet, counsel submitted that his client has suffered public ridicule and tremendous opprobrium and he and his family cannot stop reeling from the emotional distress it has caused.

He argued that Gill “intended to violate the privacy and breach [Constable Gilbert’s] right to not be recorded without his consent and same is evident in his strident efforts to conceal the recording device once the [policeman] woke up.”

Apart from damages, the Policeman wants the High Court to order the Government official to publicly apologise to him, orders for costs and interest pursuant to the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, and such further or other order the court deems just.

This publication understands that following the incident, Constable Gilbert, who is stationed at the Tactical Services Unit (TSU), was charged departmentally with neglect of duties.

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La voleibolista Shirley Ferrer denunció en RADIO ISLA los ataques racistas y de índole sexual que experimentan las jugadoras de la Liga de Voleibol Superior Femenina por parte de la fanaticada durante los partidos. 

Shirley Ferrer, quien juega para Las Atenienses de Manatí, expuso que uno de los ataques racistas más reciente que ella experimentó fue por parte de la fanaticada del equipo de Corozal. Estos le cantaban la consigna “la mona está agitada”. No obstante, Ferrer expuso que, al terminar el partido, las personas le expresaron que la quieren a lo que ella respondió “sí, pero me dijeron mona”. 

Según Ferrer, estos le contestaron que lo hicieron con el propósito de “motivar”. “Yo les dije que espero que sus nietas, sus sobrinas y sus hijas nunca reciban esa motivación y menos una persona que ha representado los colores de su bandera internacionalmente”, manifestó  Ferrer.  

Sobre otros ataques, la deportista trajo el caso de una de las jugadoras de la liga, quien vino de Canadá. A ella, Ferrer indicó que los fanáticos llevaron una muñeca inflable al juego por ser rubia. Además, sobre los comportamientos de índole sexual, Ferrer comentó que a otra de las jugadoras le tocaron una parte del cuerpo. 

“Nosotros tenemos a una Isabel del Valle maravillosa que le gritaban yegua, o algo así, (a otra jugadora) que nos representó, le llevaban pancartas. Vino una (atleta) importada, una canadiense que le llevaban una muñeca inflable porque ella era rubia. Estos son ataques. Yo conozco de una jugadora, Michelle Cardona, en el pueblo mismo de Corozal, le tocaron una parte del cuerpo”, detalló Ferrer.

Ferrer indicó que entiende que hay normas que hay que seguir en la cancha, pero que no las hacen cumplir. “El presidente (de la liga) no puede estar en todos lados, yo tampoco quiero ser injusta con él, porque lo conozco y es un gran hombre, pero no necesitamos que él esté en un juego para que a lo mejor un árbitro le diga algo a la fanaticada”, formuló Ferrer.         

Lee aquí también: Discrimen y hostigamiento: rivales de las mujeres en la cancha del deporte puertorriqueño

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