Leading the debate from the opposition benches, People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) Parliamentarian Priya Manickchand, told the National Assembly on Thursday that the Party was not against asset recovery and exposing corrupt politicians.

As the second speaker on a list of 18, Manickhand laid out the opposition’s position on the State Asset Recovery Bill, just after Attorney General Basil Williams moved the second reading.

The PPP MP said the opposition is in total agreement with the concept of asset recovery. She did, however, have some reservations particularly with the government’s push to pass what she believes, was a poorly drafted Bill that lacked consultation.

“The concept is excellent, it is needed and timely but it is the way it is being done,” she said.

The former PPP Minister told the Assembly that she believed the consultations held by the government were a sham since none of the recommendations were taken on board.

Manickchand also argued that the Bill undermines the authority of several Constitutional office holders and shows disregard for several laws.

She lamented that the Bill was poorly drafted and also questioned the means by which it seeks to appoint a Director and a Chief Executive Officer of for the State Asset Recovery Agency. Her contention is that the Agency seems political.

In fact, Manickchand believes that if the government was serious about addressing corruption it would have voted on a PPP Motion, calling for all MPs to declare their assets.

The opposition wants the Bill to be sent to a Special Parliamentary Select Committee where it can be further discussed.

 

Source: http://newssourcegy.com/news/more-consultation-should-have-been-done-on-sara-bill-manickchand/

Former Education Minister Priya Manickchand is questioning whether the real reason the Government has taxed private education is because President David Granger believes there is education apartheid in Guyana.

Granger, as Opposition Leader in 2013, said education delivery in Guyana was akin to ‘apartness’, another form of ‘apartheid’, and “we must avoid and avert the danger of children being separated along lines of gender, social class or geographical location”.

Manickchand, speaking to reporters, pondered if Government imposed the burdensome tax on private education so as to limit the number of children who access quality services from private institutions.

“I have a question for Mr Granger; his view was that a certain set of children were accessing, a certain ethnicity was accessing certain education. By now, he should have been disabused of that view, because everybody wants good for their children whether you’re black, you’re Indian, you’re Chinese, you’re Portuguese, you’re yellow, you’re pink or you’re blue; most people want their children to do better…So is that the reason they have now taxed private education, because he believed that a certain set of people only were accessing that?” she enquired.

Nonetheless, the former Education Minister posited that there was no education apartheid in Guyana and said the President should have used his time in office to inform himself that children from all backgrounds benefit from private education – in some cases at the cost of personal sacrifices.

Protests in various forms have erupted against the 14 per cent tax on private education and educational materials, since Government imposed the measure in its new tax regime in the 2017 National Budget.

Protests have taken the form of petitions and picketing actions outside the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) as well as the Finance Ministry.

In response to the outcry, President Granger maintained that the tax must remain on education because some private schools were not tax compliant.

Finance Minister Winston Jordan had also defended the decision to add the 14 per cent tax to the private school fees by contending that the public school system was always free.

He ignored the fact that the public school system, as admitted by Government Ministers, was not at the level which it should be in order to guarantee quality education delivery.

Additionally, he failed to assess the capacity of the public system to receive an influx of students who can no longer afford private education and would have to resort to the public sector.

Many stakeholders, including educators and students, have argued that taxing education was definitely not the way to go in modern society as education is the backbone of any developing country.

They questioned the Government’s logic to tax education, especially since President Granger peddled the rhetoric of wanting an educated nation to build and develop Guyana.

Joining the campaign, the former Education Minister called on the Government to remove the 14 per cent tax on education, noting that it would only result in Guyana regressing.

 

Source: https://guyanatimesgy.com/manickchand-questions-real-motive-behind-tax-on-education/

Red House fiasco

People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Member and Attorney Priya Manickchand has rubbished claims made by Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Basil Williams that the Conservatory Order requested by the Management Committee of the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre Incorporated (CJRCI) was refused.
Last Friday, the local media was informed that Attorneys Anil Nandlall and Manickchand had secured a Conservatory Order on behalf of Hydar Ally, Chairman of the CJRCI Management Committee. The Order, granted by Chief Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards, seeks to restrain the Attorney General, his servants and/or agents and every officer of Government or the State, from interfering with or removing or destroying any property, materials, artefacts of the CJRCI stored at Red House

Priya Manickchand

However, the following day, the Ministry of the Presidency issued a statement calling for the retraction of reports that the Order was granted. In the State’s release, Attorney General Williams claimed that the Conservatory Order was refused after it was pointed out during Friday’s hearing that the declarations requested by Ally had no basis. He noted too that he had informed the Chief Justice that the lease was already cancelled and Government has taken possession of the Red House.

However, on Tuesday, Manickchand told <<<Guyana Times>>> that the claim by the Attorney General, who along with the Guyana Lands and Survey Commission (GL&SC) was named respondents in the legal action, is “bizarre”.
She noted, “It was a bizarre claim by the Attorney General that (the order) was not granted when there is a perfected order entered to that effect… It is also a rather bizarre claim from the Attorney General. That really needs clarification, when he said that Government has possession of the property.”
Furthermore, Manickchand pointed this newspaper to the Court Order, copies of which were also posted on the Party’s Facebook page, outlining that “… upon hearing Attorney-at-law for the Application/Plaintiff and the Respondent/Defendants it is by consent ordered that the first named Respondent/Defendant give an undertaking that all items property and artefacts of the Application/Plaintiff stored at the demised property that is Area ‘A’, now called Red House, comprising Lots 65, 66 and 67 High Street, Kingston… will not be interfered with or removed until further ordered.”
In the court document, the Chief Justice also granted leave to the respondents to file an Affidavit in Answer within 21 days from Friday’s ruling date, and further ordered that the applicant file an Affidavit in Reply within 14 days thereafter.
On Thursday last, President David Granger ordered that the lease for Red House, which houses CJRCI be revoked and give the occupants up to December 31, 2016, to vacate the property. He also instructed Minister of State Joseph Harmon to see that the building be assigned to house the National Trust of Guyana, its staff, stores and equipment effective January 1, 2017.
However, quick action by the PPP-backed Management Committee saw legal actions taken to reverse the President’s decision.
In the meantime, workers from the Ministry of the Presidency on Friday hammered down the hallmark sign of the Red House. A major commotion erupted outside of the High Street premises as the workmen stripped the building of its identity and barred the gates to the premises even though Government had given the occupants up to Saturday (December 31, 2016) to vacate the property.
PPP members had rushed to the scene to defend the legacy of former President, Dr Cheddi Jagan. The workmen attempted to transport the wooden sign bearing the words “Cheddi Jagan Research Centre” but fierce opposition from the PPP members and stewards of the Red House prevented them from doing so.
The men eventually drove off in a canter; the PPP members worked together with others on the scene to re-hoist the sign onto the building. Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo who was on site during the standoff with the Government officers, noted that the attacks against Dr Jagan and his legacy is the height of indecency and callousness of the Government.
“This is heinous, reprehensible act on the part of this Government. They have so many things to deal with in this country than to come and do what they did here today (Friday) to forcibly eject the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre from this building,” Jagdeo said.
Later that evening, the PPP’s peaceful candle vigil to voice concerns over Government’s move to evict the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre from Red House was marred by a protest by group of People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) supporters, led by the Social Protection Minister Volda Lawrence.
This ‘Red House saga’ has sparked immense public outrage, with countless of Guyanese condemning the Government for its unjustifiable attack on the legacy of Dr Jagan – who significantly contributed to the struggle for a free, independent and democratic Guyana.

Opposition Member of Parliament Priya Manickchand yesterday called on the APNU+AFC government to listen to the reactions of the people and withdraw the proposed 2017 budget, which she deemed shocking and unconscionable.

Manickchand, who served as education minister from 2011 to 2015 and is now shadow minister for the PPP/C, told the National Assembly that as the government intends to impose Value-Added Tax (VAT) on goods and services to be used by the government, the actual budgeted sum for education is $1 billion less than the $43.1 billion announced.

Excluding allocations made for the Department of Youth, Sport and Culture, Manickchand said that $11 billion was spent on education in 2016, while $12 billion was budgeted for education in 2017.

“But when they deduct the 14% VAT, we will actually be spending $766 million less than last year under current expenditure, and $382 million less under capital expenditure,” Manickchand argued, while noting that VAT would reduce education’s budget by some $1 billion.

“It is a fallacy to claim we are spending more on education. It is untrue. Because goods and services will now be taken back by the government over $1 billion will be stolen from our children, which means less schools, less services, less training for teachers,” she declared to loud heckling from the government side of the House.

“What is the point of building a fancy school if our children cannot access it? What is the point of aiming to improve mathematics grades if a mother cannot put food in her child’s lunch kit? What is the point of giving a family more disposal income if they can’t save because of the provisions of this budget?” Manickchand queried before calling out the ministers of government on their reactions to criticisms of the 2017 budget.

She told the House that political parties win hearts and minds by their policies, while noting that it was by responding to the requests of the people that they maintain power, which was their ultimate aim. This government, she argued, has responded to the concerns from the citizens with disrespect, arrogance and insensitivity.

She added that she couldn’t recall another budget that received criticism and push back from as many citizens and sectors before, with reactions ranging from anger and rage to bemusement and outright fear of what was going to happen.

“It has caused distress, worry and fear across the nation in every single sector. All the campaign promises of this administration have proved to be lies and this budget is the same, it promises the nation prosperity via taxation and that is a big fat lie,” Manickchand declared before labelling the budget a stop gap, short-term spending plan with no actual innovative ideas about growth.

“Brace yourself Guyana for what is to come,” Manickchand advised, “your quality of life will change because the government is unimaginative.”

 

Source: https://www.stabroeknews.com/2016/news/guyana/12/06/manickchand-calls-govt-reconsider-unconscionable-budget/

…brace yourself for what is about to come ‒ Manickchand

Unconscionable, a waste of time and an exercise in futility were the reaction to the 2017 National Estimates by former Education Minister Priya Manickchand, as she made her presentation on the annual debate which got underway Monday in the National Assembly.

Manickchand, a frontbencher in the Opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), in an impassioned presentation joined her colleague Parliamentarians in the Opposition benches, to call on Government to withdraw the Budget and craft a new one in keeping with the guidelines of the Constitution of Guyana.
She was in fact adamant that the reaction on the part of Government ministers to the growing voices of discontent is indicative of a disrespectful, arrogant and insensitive Administration which is simply being a bully.
The coalition A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government, according to Manickchand, “is being a bully.”
The former Government minister in the PPP/C Administration told the House that the 2017 Budget is the first such in recent history that has been so widely criticised by formal bodies, such as the Private Sector Commission (PSC), in addition to the citizenry.
Manickchand told the House that she would have been happy to be able to congratulate the Minister on an early Budget, had its contents been in keeping with the needs of the people.
She dismissed the 2017 Budget as a short-term spending plan—a plan that does not define a trajectory for the nation over the next five or ten years.
The Budget instead lacks innovation since there are no plans to promote growth, she said.
Manickchand told the debate that the Budget is also devoid of any measures that would tackle the constraints facing the private sector, such as unavailable human capital, high energy costs and lack of access to capital.
Reminding the House that as Opposition Members of Parliament, her colleagues are representing a vast section of the Guyanese population, Manickchand boldly asserted that the 2017 Budget is in fact useless and ill thought out.

Misleading
Speaking to some of the effects of the allocations and measures in the 2017 Budget, Manickchand used the occasion to rubbish the decision by Government to apply Value Added Tax (VAT) to all of the budget agencies.
According to Manickchand, this in itself defeats the arguments by Finance Minister Winston Jordan, who had suggested that the spending on Education has been increased over the previous year.
Manickchand countered, saying that the Minister is being misleading since with the application of VAT at least $1 billion has been slashed from the Ministry’s expenditures.
She suggested that the monies being taken back by Government could have in fact been invested to upgrade the infrastructure in the education system, but what obtains is that Government has in fact robbed the children of the nation.
A visibly livid Manickchand also railed against Government’s decision to apply VAT on education materials and queried if Government had seriously thought out the consequences of the collective Cabinet decision.
According to the former Education Minister, there are more than 15,000 students in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) alone that attend private schools and will now be subjected to paying fees that will now attract a 14 per cent VAT.
Manickchand queried if Government was prepared to accommodate those students should they be unable to afford private schools.

Taxing the nation
She lambasted the Administration’s inability to present a long-term developmental plan such as serious investments in the University of Guyana, a Deep Water Harbour, or investments in human capital.
“There is nothing new in this Budget, just an attempt to tax the nation… it is a waste of time, it’s useless, an exercise on futility, it is a waste of time in terms of developing this country,” according to Manickchand.
She stated that what Government is in fact focused on is taxes on just about everything, including educational and medical services and supplies.
“People now have to pay VAT on medical services, on medicines,” Manickchand said, and suggested that persons cannot even afford to get a headache now since medications will now be 14 per cent more expensive.
She lambasted too the imposition of VAT on accessories required by the differently abled.
Manickchand observed that in a year when the Finance Ministry boasts of a sign language interpreter for the presentation of the 2017 Budget, the Minister has instead slapped VAT on hearing aids.
The former Education Minister also lambasted the Administration over the proposed measure to remove items from the zero-rated list that would in fact drive up the cost of living for all.
“This is a brace-your-self budget… Brace yourself Guyana for what is about to come,” Manickchand said, even as she sought to castigate the decision to apply VAT on the staple of any child’s education—play dough.
According to Manickchand, the promises of the APNU/AFC coalition were in fact big fat lies, and that Budget 2017 now only promises prosperity by taxation. (Gary Eleazar)

 

Source: https://guyanatimesgy.com/2017-budget-unconscionable-a-waste-of-time/

The Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) has revealed that 30.8 per cent of persons in Guyana condone – approve or understand – violence against women, a recent LAPOP report said and Shadow Education Minister Priya Manickchand has expressed concern that the responsible Ministry is silent on the matter.
According to the LAPOP report, Americas Barometers Insights 2016, on average across 16 countries, one out of four individuals either approves or understands a man hitting his wife if she neglects household chores. On this particular issue Guyana ranked third, right behind Suriname which has a 43.7 per cent acceptance rate for violence against women. The top ranking country was Guatemala which has a 53.9 per cent tolerance rate. 

The report stated that women, those in the oldest age cohorts, those with more years of schooling, those in urban areas, and those who are wealthier, are less likely to accept spousal violence against women. It also added that stress and dislocation matter – individuals whose households are facing economic hardship and those who intend to live or work abroad – are more likely to accept spousal violence against women.

Recently, the United Nations Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) disclosed that the highest level of acceptance of wife beating occurs in the Indigenous communities, with one in every four adults believe that it is justifiable to hit the woman. There were high incidence rates in Regions Nine (Upper Takatu-Upper Essequibo), One (Barima-Waini), Five (Mahaica-Berbice), Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) and Eight (Potaro-Siparuni). It underscored that domestic violence is more accepted among those living in the rural areas than those living in urban settlements, for both men and women. Further, it stated that it is also highly prevalent in the poorest of families.
The report stated that overall, 10 per cent of men and women between 15 and 49 years old believe it is justifiable for a husband to hit his wife if she goes out without telling him, neglects the children, argues with him, refuses sex or if she burns the food.
Manickchand highlighted that while gender-based violence is not unique to Guyana, the Social Protection Ministry, which has responsibility over women rights, has opted to remain mum on the matter.

She stated that violence against women occurs because of the prevailing inequality of gender, in which people generally believe that men are superior and women are inferior. Therefore, she said it is imperative to change the perspective of “our population and educate our youths”.

Manickchand emphasised that she has seen no effort carried out by the Ministry to fight the scourge, adding that the Ministry has to stop being silent and address the issue on the frontline.

Nevertheless, she indicated that this issue cannot be tackled alone by one Ministry instead it has to be multisectoral.

“No one Ministry can address this issue… we need the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Public Security and the Private Sector,” she said, adding that the Education Ministry needs to be incorporated into that Ministry to teach young children that violence should not be condoned.

“We don’t want them to grow up in the same culture, and the harmfulness of violence,” she noted, stating that the Police Officers should be educated and responsive to complaints made by victims of domestic violence.

Manickchand further stated that Guyana needs to empower its women, educate them on their independence and create opportunities for them to be independent.

In the last eleven months, 14 women were murdered by the spouse, boyfriend or ex-lover. UNICEF stated that domestic violence has a straight connection to gender-based violence. “Between 2006 and 2007, there was an estimated 50 per cent increase in the total number of GBV victims, 3600 more than the previous year,” it said, adding that the largest increase was recorded in Berbice (Regions Five and Six), where reported cases rose steeply from approximately 300 in 2006 to 1890 in 2007, representing a 500 per cent increase.

It stated that a combination of social norms and social and cultural practices have been identified as the main factors that influence violence against women. It added that lack of punishment for those men that perpetrate violence against women was appointed as one factor that reinforces violent acts in the country, contending that between January and November of 2015, 582 cases of domestic violence were reported in Berbice, from these, 326 reached the court, and only 17 men were convicted.

According to LAPOP, policies and programmes that increase education, economic opportunities, and social stability are key to shifting norms with respect to tolerance for domestic violence.
“These broader efforts might be pursued alongside more targeted programmes that seek to empower women while encouraging men to curb their comparatively higher degree of tolerance for domestic violence against women,” it stated.

 

Source: https://guyanatimesgy.com/social-protection-ministry-mum-on-violence-against-women-manickchand/

 

Government has come in for some harsh flogging by People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Member of Parliament (MP) Priya Manickchand who last Thursday criticised it for backpedalling on its promise of inclusive governance and its continued “inaccessibility”.

Her criticism came in light of the recent revelation regarding the change of format of the examination paper for students scheduled to sit the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) this month-end. The former Education Minister has concerns with the students now having to write their names on the exam paper, and also condemned Government for not reaching out to the people and members of the Opposition.

“This is the same Government which said that it was going to be inclusive in its governance. Never told, never asked as a parent, as a person who has been in that seat for a couple of years, as a citizen, as a Member of Parliament and the Opposition’s representative to say on particular issues,” she complained, noting that her stint at the Education Ministry was very much different to what is taking place now.

“We were always accessible. We could have been reached. Ask us questions on social media, meet us in the market, call us, etc. This Government is running this country out of their offices and comfort of the homes of their supporters. This is not happening the way it should be happening.  The Government has dozens of Ministers and advisers, but is not touching people. They are going by planes, because they are travelling frequently,” she told Journalists.

According to her, when she was Education Minister, she would meet with the Shadow Ministers of both the then Opposition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) at her invitation.

“We never announced anything big under my watch in the newspapers. They were told about it first and had an input in it,” she said.

Manickchand reminded that when a decision was made to change the age of entry into nursery school and begin the distribution of the cash grant, Shadow Ministers were first informed.

She said since she left the office, she has never been invited to the Ministry as the now Shadow Minister of Education to have any discussion on any matter.

The former Education Minister said this was among the many reasons the Opposition would not be participating in the education Commission of Inquiry (CoI).

“There is no consistent engagement with the people who have standing in the country. While we represent the whole country, if you are talking specifically to the number of votes, then that is something different,” Manickchand said, continuing that good governance requires that all be involved and Government makes itself accessible. Changes, she said, should not be made without proper public consultation.

She added that women of the PPP were not even invited to any of the Women Affairs programme.

“It’s like the PPP does not have women or none of the PPP women have never contributed to the development of women in this country,” Manickchand stated.

 

Source: https://guyanatimesgy.com/manickchand-scolds-govt-over-its-inaccessibility/

THE Ministry of Education, through its planning unit, has begun training for private schools in Region 4, and commenced training in Region 6 on Wednesday. According to a statement from the ministry, the programme is intended to update its database on private schools and to conduct a series of training sessions with them, so that they could provide the information that will be required by the new Education Bill.

A proposed Education Bill, the first of its kind since Guyana gained independence, according to subject Minister Priya Manickchand, was tabled in the National Assembly on June 19, 2014, and was read for the first time.
The current Education Act came into being since 1876 and was last amended sometime in 1976. The proposed Bill, on the other hand, is intended to repeal the Education Act, reform the legal framework for education in Guyana and provide an effective system of education related to the needs of the people.
The Education Bill 2014 provides for the inspection of private educational institutions with a view to their being granted a permit to operate; establishment of Parent Teachers Associations (PTAs) and granting permits issued by the ministry for the institution or school.
This Act will apply to every private educational institution or private school providing all or any of the following educational services at pre-primary education; primary education; secondary education; special education; instructional services in general education at the tertiary level; instructional services in vocational education; and training at the secondary, tertiary and adult levels.
According to the statement, training has begun with private schools in Region 4 — excluding Georgetown — and commenced in Region 6 on Wednesday. Dates for the start of training sessions with private schools in Georgetown and other regions will be announced in the coming weeks.
The Ministry of Education is therefore inviting all private educational institutions to make contact with the Department of Education in their respective regions to ensure that their school is on the list of participants.

 

 

Source: https://guyanachronicle.com/2015/01/30/moe-to-conduct-training-for-private-schools

Responding to a recent claim by the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) that eligible teachers have been waiting for years to receive agreed duty-free concessions, Education Minister Priya Manickchand has said a miscommunication is to blame and both the ministry and the union share responsibility for the situation.

Despite claiming that her ministry’s relationship with the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) is “a good one,” Manickchand on Friday lashed out at recent comments made by the union and deemed its approach “extremely unhealthy.”

She expressed surprise at the GTU’s approach after President of the GTU Mark Lyte reportedly raised concerns over the union waiting for years for duty-free concessions at a press conference last week.

Some of the issues raised by the GTU, including the duty-free concessions for teachers and the debunching of salaries, needed to be cleared up, Manickchand said. “I would stop short in saying they were dishonest representations in the media… so I’m going to instead offer clarifications,” she said.

Due to miscommunications, Manickchand said, there had been some teachers who had been eligible for duty-free concessions but did not receive them. She further emphasised that the problem had been created by both the ministry and the union and had not only been the ministry’s fault. “To try to say this is the ministry’s problem is highly misleading,” she maintained.

Manickchand explained that head teachers and deputies of Grade A and B schools, once they have served three years on the job and have five years remaining, are entitled to a duty-free concession.

She further said that there had been about a dozen teachers who were eligible in 2009, according to the rules outlined in a Memorandum of Understanding between the union and the Education Ministry. All of these teachers, Manickchand went on, had gotten their duty-free concessions. She added that all of the applications had been addressed and there was no backlog.

In regard to debunching, Manickchand once again cast the blame away from the ministry. According to her, a joint committee had been set up in 2010 to deal with the issue of salaries debunching. She explained that the committee met and a memo was sent out in May, 2010, with a request for information. After an entire year, only about 10% of the union’s membership had returned information, Manickchand said.

A subsequent reminder was sent out in 2011 to members of the union and by mid-2012 the committee had received about 90% of the forms that had been sent out. A salary structure was later made and in 2013 a copy of the proposal was made and sent out by the committee. The GTU had agreed to the debunching agreement but recently Lyte had shared his dissatisfaction with the agreement, which placed teachers in different salary scales based on their number of years on the job.

According to Lyte, the benefits of the agreement have been minimal.

Manickchand, however, maintained than any issues with the debunching process could not rest solely with the ministry.

“I am saying that both sides should’ve have done something a bit quicker… but this is not us. We’ve been waiting on the union forever to give us this information. So to lay the blame at our doorstep is less than honest,” Manickchand said. She added, “The government sat and entered into a Memorandum of Under-standing with the union because we want to do what is in the best interest of our teachers, as far as our economy would allow. Why would we not then want to do this?”

Manickchand maintained that over the years the Education Ministry and the GTU had shared a good relationship, with an open-door policy coming from the ministry. Their collaborations, she further said, came from a mutual desire to see the enhancement of the union’s members.

Manickchand opined that the union’s approach is an attempt to gain attention or to stay or become relevant. “If they were really concerned about addressing this then they would have raised it with us; we’re not preventing you thereafter or even simultaneously to go meet with the media but it cannot be healthy way of engaging partners,” she emphasised.

“We are in touch by telephone and up to last week there was a meeting… I’m very surprised to see some of the issues that the union has been raising, for the first time, in the media. So there is no engagement with us to address some of these issues,” she emphasised. She went on, “They’re engaging the ministry through the press and I think it’s a very new and worrying form of engagement. I would caution them to rethink that strategy.”

 

 

 

Source: https://www.stabroeknews.com/2015/news/guyana/01/21/manickchand-blames-miscommunication-delay-teachers-getting-duty-free-concessions/