…final cost could double original US$15.4M – APNU’s HarmonA section of the Amaila Falls road, with one of the many crossingsBy Gary EleazarThe cost of building the Amaila Falls access road, for which government had originally issued a contract to Makeswhar ‘Fip’ Motilall’s Synergy Holdings Inc, for US$15.4M, will in the end possibly double and the latest on December 30 deadline for completion will not be met.This is the conclusion of A Partnership for National Unity’s (APNU), Joseph Harmon, who along with party colleague, Dr Rupert Roopnarine, Alliance for Change (AFC) David Patterson and Senior Technical Engineer Charles Sohan, was provided with a site visit of the road construction.The visit was facilitated by the Ministry of Public Works at the behest of Head of State, Donald Ramotar.Harmon, speaking with this publication following the visit yesterday, said that given the revelations, the party will be looking for full financial disclosure, not just on the road but for the entire Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Project,NFL Jerseys Outlet, which he opines will reach more than the US$840M currently being touted.The APNU Shadow Minister for Public Works informed this publication that the most troubling section of the road is that of ‘section seven’ for which the contract was recently awarded to China Railway.That contract, he said, is for US$8.5M; significantly more than had been proposed by Motilall, who had received the contract to build the entire seven sections of road for US$15.4M.Harmon says that the party has since been in receipt of a copy of the contract, which it has begun to scrutinize closely and will make further pronouncements at a future date.According to Harmon, given the numerous variations over time, the final cost for the road project could very well double.He pointed to the fact that the works being undertaken on ‘section two’ of the road had to be recently pulled from the contractor and the Ministry is currently looking to retender.Harmon opines that the various contractors had all underestimated the scope of work and the price.The Chinese contractor for section seven yesterday began offloading its equipment to transport to the site to build the last remaining section.Harmon concedes that this section of the road will prove to be extremely difficult as it is being undertaken in ‘virgin land.’He disclosed that the section contains a number of huge boulders and as such will require significant blasting.“Section seven remains a major challenge…it’s tough terrain with a lot of rocks.”According to Harmon, during discussions with the Chinese contractor, they indicated that they are not optimistic about completing the section of the road within the stipulated six month deadline.He said that even if China Rail were to be allowed an extra week to mobilize its equipment it will be extremely difficult to complete the task by December 30.Speaking to the fact that the final cost of building the Amaila Falls road is yet to be determined, Harmon pointed out that the crossing for the Kuribrong River is still only at its design phase.The Bridge across the Kuribrong River is included in the building of the access road to Amaila Falls.That Contract has been awarded to Dynamic Engineering and is being done under a ‘Build Own Operate Transfer’ model.The site visit utilized the services of the two Bell 206 helicopters owned by the Guyana Defence Force and saw the personnel being taken to each of the seven sections.According to Harmon, given the magnitude and complexity of the entire project it cannot be left up to the government and the contractors alone.He said that stakeholders, along with parliamentary oversight, must be included, adding that it holds the potential to become “an albatross around the necks of our children and grandchildren.”Harmon said that the officials, inclusive of Public Works Minister,NFL Jerseys China, Robeson Benn, provided an excellent overview of the works being undertaken.He said that among the concerns on the road is the troubled section two, which has been plagued particularly as a result of the high water levels in the Essequibo River.Harmon related to this publication that sections three, four,China NBA Jerseys, five and parts of six have gone a far way in terms of completion.The Contract for Section Six had to be pulled from Hassan Pasha and given to Ivor Allen.The 165MW Hydroelectric Power Plant is slated to be built at the base of the Amaila Falls.Funding for the project comes from a variety of sources, including US$100M in equity from the Guyana Government.The majority of the AFHEP funding (70 per cent) will be coming from the China Development Bank and the IDB.Engineers, workers and other stakeholders along one section of the Amaila Falls access roadThe IDB is being sought after for US$175M wh

…collapses, hospitalised after taken to Brickdam Lockups Proprietor of the CNS TV Channel 6, Chandra Narine Sharma, was last evening questioned by Police ranks at Eve Leary after he was invited there following reports by the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security’s Child Care and Protection Department of multiple rapes committed on four underage sisters.Following a bout of questioning he was taken to the Brickdam Lockups where he collapsed and was subsequently hospitalised at the Georgetown Public Hospital.Earlier in the day formal reports were lodged against Sharma at the Brickdam Police Station and Eve Leary Headquarters after the reports had been made to the Child Protection Agency.That arm of the Human Services and Social Security commenced investigations of its own and unsuccessfully sought to remove two young girls (ages five and nine) from their home facilitated by Sharma adjacent to his business place, located at Robb and Wellington Streets.Sharma has since retained the services of Attorney-at-Law Nigel Hughes who escorted him to Eve Leary last evening.The action comes in wake of revelations that a 13-year-old girl in a sworn affidavit signed by Justice of the Peace and Commissioner of Oaths to Affidavits Lachman Narine,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, dated April 12, 2010, recounted a most harrowing tale of repeated rape and sexual molestation of four sisters over several years.The teen decided to make public her allegations against the offender whom she named as Chandra Narine Sharma, owner of CNS TV 6, given the fact that he is now,Wholesale NFL Jerseys China, according to her preying on one of her younger sisters.This newspaper visited Sharma’s Home/Business but was unable to make contact with him even after providing his Office Manager with a copy of the Affidavit and soliciting an interview.This newspaper was told that he was busy in meetings and the interview would be facilitated later in the day but this was never to materialize.The child in the document states “I am afraid of him because he raped me when I was seven years old and I still have to go with him up to now.”This newspaper managed to secure a copy of the now teenager’s Birth Certificate which lists her Date of Birth as July 23,Wholesale Jerseys China,1996.The girl stated that,Wholesale MLB Jerseys, “He raped me when I was living with my mother…He call me in my (then) house in Alexander Street said to come for this thing…He hold me down in the room and raped me…my sisters them come in and they see and they come out and waited outside until he finished.”The girl is alleging that when Sharma “called me he just say come for this thing…He hold me down and take off all my clothes…He didn’t tell me anything after doing that…He raped me.”According to the now 13-year-old girl, when she was approximately age 10,Jerseys From China, her mother told her to go upstairs with him, “and it won’t hurt and I went and it hurt and I came back downstairs and from since then I have to go with him to get money.”The girl alleges that she would have to sleep with him and he would have sex with her. “He would give me the money…. $2,Wholesale Jerseys Authentic,000 a week.”The girl claims that Sharma, “would come to the house in North Road where he would carry girls…Now in North Road he has a house where he carries girls there…He put a girl to live there now downstairs.”Asked if he had any special requests she answered in the negative adding that, “he would just put me on the bed and rape me.”The girl insists her sisters were also raped and molested by Sharma, “My mommy used to send her and my other sister…My other sister told me some of what happened…She would collect money.The girl states that her mother never told them why she did it to them.“I am now afraid for my little sister because one time he pushed his finger into her and I am afraid that he will do her the same thing he did to me…I know about the incident when he pushed his finger in her …She said he called her, hold her, put her to lie down and pushed his finger up into her.”She in her statement said that, “When I was raped I cried… I was attending school when this was happening to me.”This newspaper has since learnt that Sharma along with his Attorney showed up to the Police Station last evening in the possession of two Affidavits countering the allegations of the girl and one of her sister.The Affidavits that Sharma showed up with at the Station last evening were reportedly those of the girl’s mother, who has been an employee of Sharma for several years, as well as her eldest daughter.The social workers who showed up at the home of the childr

The overcrowding situation at the country’s nursing schools is perhaps one of the prices that the Ministry of Health must pay in its quest for further development of the health sector.Minister within the Ministry of Health Dr Bheri RamsarranThis observation was made yesterday by Minister within the Health Ministry, Dr Bheri Ramsarran,Wholesale Cheap Jerseys, as he reflected on the massive strides that have been made to improve the delivery of health care, which he noted includes the training of an increased number of nurses.He opined, though, that concerns have been raised in some sections of society over the massive number of nurses being inducted into the health care system, which initially catered for smaller numbers.“We could probably be criticised for this, but then we had to make some decisions…Hospitals are being built,Wholesale NFL Jerseys Online, health centres are being refurbished, and so we need staff,” Minister Ramsarran asserted.He, however, acknowledged that the Ministry of Health has indeed been stretching the limits of the existing training facilities – the Georgetown School of Nursing, the New Amsterdam School of Nursing, and the Charles Rosa School of Nursing in Linden.“Over the past few years, we have inducted just under 1,000 new nurses. This year, I personally inducted 430 new nurses. Last year, in February, we inducted 250…While that was being done, we already had in the system over 600 persons at the training level,” the minister added.But in recognition of the evident challenge,China Jerseys Free Shipping, Minister Ramsarran said that the ministry has decided to rent additional space for classrooms in Georgetown and New Amsterdam. He noted that similar arranges have been made in Linden.In Georgetown, space has been rented at the Critchlow Labour College, and since Monday last,Wholesale Jerseys, classes have been operational there.“One hundred and thirty five first-year students are already being tutored in more spacious accommodation there…They are a bit more comfortable there…Conditions may not be five-star but they are definitely better than the previously cramped condition.”In the case of the New Amsterdam school, the minister said, efforts were made to rent a spacious private sector building which the ministry is obliged to modify to make it suitable for classroom purposes.“My idea was to have it up and running for the beginning of the term, so that we could have decanted some of the students from the crowded nursing school building. And we could have started some other new classes. For example,NFL Jerseys China, the midwifery class has suffered a bit. It has been deferred because of cramped conditions.”Until the private sector facility is completed, the minister said, the ministry will intervene in the midwifery programme by allowing it to be accommodated at the New Amsterdam Hospital.The minister noted, too, that he is appreciative of the tutors, students and parents who have persevered with the ministry, even as he added that bringing about a solution could sometimes take time.According to the minister, over the past few years, the administration has in a significant way been replacing the infrastructure of the health sector, as was assured in the 2006 manifesto.This, he noted, is evident in the construction of hospitals at Diamond, Leonora, Suddie and Mahaicony, which are all up and running even as similar works at Mabaruma and Lethem are taking shape.In addition to the Ophthalmology Centre at Port Mourant,Cheap NBA Jerseys China, the minister said, massive works are ongoing at Linden, while small scale work, such as improvement to the Moruca Hospital, has commenced.“This means that we are improving our structures, but structures alone don’t provide services. We need to get more doctors, more nurses, and more technicians.”But, according to the minister, over the years, this objective has been a major challenge to the Health Ministry. This he attributed to the attrition of staff due to migration.“We have bright people who are well trained, but, as it turns out, we are training for stronger economies,” the minister opined.However, he assured that the ministry will not give up training, in order to give young people an opportunity and to satisfy the need to create jobs, even as a better health team is established.It was for this reason, he divulged, that the ministry had engaged a programme which allows for the training of hundreds of doctors over the past few years.“If you read the report coming out of the Cuba/Caricom meeting, you will see that this is now even being expanded. Over the next two years, Guyana is going to be trai