Black Immigrant Daily News

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Videsh Dookran,15, a student of Ste Madeleine Secondary School killed. –

FOUR days after the gruesome murder of schoolboy Videsh Dookran, police have identified people who may be “of interest” in the case, but no arrests have been made to date.

Police are also investigating any possible link to gangs, as the profile of a Facebook account bearing the same name and spelling as Dookran was updated in October 2021 with an image of “G-City Movement Est 2012.”

There is only one other photo on this page, of men dressed in Muslim garb, carrying large guns. There is a message on the image which reads “6 willing 9 killing 9,” a moon and star image on a green background, as well as the number 100.

On Monday, Dookran’s relative Curt Seebaran told Newsday Dookran had not been involved in anything illegal – neither guns, drugs or gangs.

His grandmother Salisha Seebaran also attested to his being a good child who was very helpful and would do favours for anyone who asked.

Relatives said his mother Devika Seebaran identified his body at the Forensic Science Centre on Monday, but a date for an autopsy is yet to be determined.

Police discovered the body of Dookran, 15, stuffed inside an outhouse at the back of a pluck shop at Golconda between Saturday night and Sunday morning.

Police said an anonymous female caller told them of the homicide and when PC’s Balgobin and Matloo responded, found his body stuffed into the latrine. His broken legs were sticking out, his cousin said on Monday.

He also said when the police came to her Church Street home at Golconda on Sunday morning to inform her of his death, they showed his mother a photograph of his body with chop wounds to his head and face. It is believed he was also shot in the chest.

Relatives want to know the identity of the woman who called the police, and urged her to tell the police what she knows about this brutal murder.

Dookran had left the home of relatives in the area around 2 pm to take a meal for another relative and meet up with friends. The Form Three Ste Madeleine Secondary school student never returned.

His grandmother said he had been temporarily suspended and was due to return to school on Monday of this week.

Homicide Region III is continuing investigations.

The brutal murder has caught the attention of the International Women’s Resource Network (IWRN) director Adriana Sandrine Isaac-Rattan, who questioned whether Dookran’s death was a case of systemic failure.

In a statement on Tuesday, Isaac-Rattan said, “The IWRN is deeply saddened by the gruesome murder of yet another youngster…

“Whilst we are still investigating to determine if Dookran’s murder was linked to his suspension, it should be noted that the IWRN is on record as stating that suspension in the absence of proper psychosocial follow-up and related counselling is useless, as suspended students return into the same space more than likely with the same mindset.

“Additionally, the causal factors of the suspension would emerge again once the student returns to school and no action (is) taken.”

IWRN repeated its call for the Ministry of Education to identify creative strategies to discipline children.

It said 2022 was coming to an end “and as a country, we cannot continue doing the same thing repeatedly, and expect optimal results which are in the best interest of the nation’s children.

The organisation also told parents and guardians that in-depth and continuous engagement with children, to understand their challenges and support needed to address those challenges, is critically important, and if done in a timely manner, can mitigate loss of life.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Over 2,884 residents will benefit from a more reliable and efficient supply of electricity with construction of a new 686kWp turn-key solar farm in the Mahdia community.

The solar farm would be constructed on 1.7 acres of land which will be secured by 2 meters high perimeter fencing along with solar-powered perimeter lighting. The facility would have two security huts equipped with the necessary lighting and lavatory compartments.

Electricity for this community is currently being produced and sold to the residents by Mahdia Power and Light Inc. (MPL) from a 1.5mw Diesel Generation Power Plant; however approximately 67% of the MPL’s expenditure is directed to the purchase of fuel which is transported from Georgetown some 200km away.

The design, supply and installation of the Turn-Key Solar PV system and its interconnection to Mahdia grid would be done in compliance with the NEC & National Grid Code,in addition to the adherence to all quality assurances, environmental standards and social regulations.

The Solar Farm would be constructed into two (2) identical subsystems with each faction having a capacity of 343.2kWp of PV Power connected to 375kW of Grid-Power Inverters, and a Storage Capacity 750kWh Lithium Battery Bank connected to 400kW of Grid Forming Hybrid Inverters which will support Off-Grid operations and Cloud-Coverage.

In addition to offsetting 30-65% or more of the annual electricity to the Mahdia mini-grid; the Solar Farm would have the capacity to supply electricity to the community in excess of 2-hours daily without the operation of Diesel Generators.

At a total PV Capacity of 686.4kWp, Storage of 1500kWh and an average peak area load of 375kW, it is anticipated that about 25% fuel saving is likely in the first 5-7 years of operation.

A comprehensive SCADA System would be implemented for reporting and providing remote monitoring. On completion of the construction of the Turn-key Solar Farm technical training will be provide to MPL Inc. along with the appropriate factory warranties and service tools/spares parts.

Following an open tender process, the for the Mahdia solar PV project was awarded to Standby Power Engineering Company (SPECOM) for the sum of GY$ 362,411,200. Mr. Aundrea Cambridge, General Manager and Marketing Engineer of SPECOM, at the signing ceremony, provided his personal assurance that the project will be completed before the end of 2023 and on budget.

The 0.65MW Mahdia Solar Farm is being financed under the Energy Matrix Diversification and Strengthening of the Department of Energy (EMISDE) programme funded by a loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) with Guyana Energy Agency being responsible for project implantation.

GEA recently commissioned its first mega-scale solar farm at Lethem. The 1MW Solar farm was commissioned on August 5, 2022 and has since avoided the consumption of some 72,711 litres of diesel or about 457 drums. A 1.5MW solar farm at Bartica is expected to be commissioned during the last quarter of 2022.

In keeping with the country’s Low Carbon Development Strategy, Government’s programmes between 2021 and 2022 would complete the installation of solar farms at Lethem and Bartica, 28 solar mini-grids, and 29 off-grid locations, totalling 3.415MW of installed capacity, avoiding 3,542 tons of carbon dioxide per year and benefiting some 52,940 persons.

The government remains committed to realising the objectives and targets of the Low Carbon Development Strategy; particularly investing in clean energy to stimulate future growth and providing affordable, stable and reliable energy to benefit both households and businesses

As part of the sustainable energy transition, the government is advancing an energy mix of hydropower, natural gas, solar and wind, leading to more than 500MW of newly installed capacity. This expansion in installed capacity is geared towards addressing the anticipated tripling in electricity demand.

Ultimately, these plans will decouple economic growth from using fossil fuels for electricity by developing low-carbon energy resources to meet rapidly rising demand and keep greenhouse gas emissions low.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Member of Parliament (MP) for St Catherine South, Fitz Jackson, has laid the blame for the illegal construction of up to 30 houses on lands adjacent to the community of Clifton in Bernard Lodge, squarely at the feet of the landowner, SCJ Holdings Limited.

The land is located in the Greater Bernard Lodge development area and was the scene of a demolition exercise last week Thursday when 10 of the unfinished buildings there were torn down.

While Prime Minister Andrew Holness has said the notorious Clansman gang which is based in Spanish Town, St Catherine fraudulently sold the lands to the persons who were building at the location, Jackson is insisting that SCJ Holdings is not without some blame.

“SCJ knew this (the illegal construction) all along. Others told them, I told them,” Jackson said Tuesday in the House of Representatives. He was responding to a lengthy statement from Holness in which the prime minister provided more details about the development, and why some of the structures were demolished last week.

According to Jackson, from the time the illegal construction of houses started in 2021, he informed the SCJ about what was happening.

Addressing the prime minister directly, Jackson said: “SCJ failed to do anything about it to the point where I alerted you that SCJ has been failing and continuing to fail to do anything where a new community is springing up and I can’t speak to it because I don’t know about it.

“That’s why I go to SCJ who owns the land, it’s their land, they are the Government authority and it’s their duty and obligation to act,” added Jackson.

He said he did not want anyone to imply that there was any complicity on his part, “because I reported it to SCJ and repeated it to them again when nothing was happening”.

While Holness stated that public officials had expressed concerns about their safety amid the gang activities in the area, Jackson sought to brush that argument aside.

“While that may be so (being fearful), SCJ has organs of the state at its disposal. It has the investigative arms and it has the law enforcement arms at its disposal. It saw the problem emerging and mushrooming and it did nothing,” he emphasised.

The Opposition MP argued that it should not be made to appear that SCJ Holdings was being a good superintendent of the lands under its jurisdiction. He said lack of action on the part of SCJ Holdings only served to compound the problem.

“When one person starts doing something (building), two more, then four more and nothing don’t happen, it is deemed to be okay because the authorities knew,” said Jackson.

He argued further that if the authorities were going to be complicit with the illegal activities, then they should make sure they put in the requisite infrastructure to support it

Jackson asserted that he did his duty as Member of Parliament, to report the matter when it emerged. He lamented that the illegal development had threatened to compromise the community of Clifton, which is now being regularised by the authorities.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

UPP Candidate Pearl Quinn Williams (left) engages store owner, Kareem Knight (right) as part of the weekly UPP Small Business Pull-Up

The ‘Small Business Pull-up’ has become one of the raves in weekend entertainment as an organized group of United Progressive Party (UPP) supporters patronizes eateries, bars, convenience stores and other enterprises in communities throughout Antigua and Barbuda.  Since late August, this social gathering ventures to a different constituency every Saturday, as part of the UPP’s ongoing drive to support small businesses and highlight the culture, connections and community pride.

The 7th installment of this weekly initiative was staged in the constituency of St. John’s Rural North on Saturday October 8th.  UPP Candidate Pearl Quinn Williams led a convoy of supporters from Harriette’s Roadside Eatery in Coolidge, to Jabberwock Beach, Hodges Bay, Cedar Grove, and ended in the community of Yorks. Embarking on this fun expedition that is equipped with a mobile sound system, supporters stopped at a number of unique small businesses, generating significant revenues and visibility on the ground and on social media.

Among the caravan of patrons was former Prime Minister, Dr. Winston Baldwin Spencer, who celebrated his 74th birthday. Known for his humility and a “man of the people,” Spencer chose to spend his birthday as part of this small business tour, patronizing and encouraging close to 20 small business owners. Many noted that the presence and support of the former UPP political leader was well received by business owners and customers alike.

UPP Candidate,  Pearl Quinn Williams who has attended all 7 Small Business Pull-Ups thus far, was delighted with the positive outcomes of the initiative in her constituency. She expressed gratitude for the level of support that she received from her family, colleagues, constituents and supporters.

“Small businesses are critical to the growth of our community and economy and we are proud to do our part to highlight and support our small business owners.  Not only do they help to create and sustain jobs, but they also keep the community vibrant and buzzing with activity. Unfortunately, many of them are struggling in a difficult economy and they welcomed the additional sales and exposure that they received from the Small Business Pull-Up.”

Kareem Knight, proprietor of R & J Superette in the Yorks community for over 30 years, was one of many business owners who praised the UPP for implementing the novel initiative.

“I would like to thank whoever came up with this idea for putting it together. It is a wonderful program and it is well needed by small business owners like me. I really hope it continues, because it really helps,” he said.

The UPP team also capitalized on the opportunity to share the Party’s Small Business Agenda for development and growth with patrons and owners of small establishments.

The “Small Business Pull-Up” moves to the adjoining constituency of St. John’s City West on Saturday October 16th. UPP Candidate Alister Thomas will lead the caravan from the ABWU Headquarters on Newgate Street at 12 noon. More than 20 small businesses in the community will be highlighted on the tour. For further information, please contact tel: 770-9940.

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