Acting Chancellor of the Judiciary Yonette Cummings-Edwards, who is to be conferred with Order of Roraima, leads this year’s list of national awardees.
Justice Cummings-Edwards, who is the second woman to be appointed to the position of acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, has been a part of the legal fraternity since 1988. She has served as a Judge on the Court of Appeal of Guyana for several years and was sworn in to her current post on March 28, 2017.
Justice Cummings-Edwards, who will be the lone recipient of the Order of Roraima this year, is one of 31 women who, according to the Ministry of Presidency, have been honoured for their outstanding service and sterling contributions toward national development.
In total, 69 awardees have been named, including five persons who will receive the Cacique’s Crown of Honour, 44 who will receive the Golden Arrow of Achievement, 14 who will receive the Medal of Service, two who will receive the Military Service Medal and three who will be receive the Disciplined Services Medal.
Among those to receive the Cacique’s Crown of Honour are acting Chief Justice, Roxane George, who was admitted to the Bar in October 1990. She has been awarded for her service as a Senior State Counsel, Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions, Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions and Director of Public Prosecutions.
Secretary General of the Caribbean Community Ambassador Irwin LaRocque and Vice Chancellor of the University of Guyana
Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith are also to receive the award. While the list does not include individual citations for these awardees, the Cacique’s Crown of Honour may be awarded to those who have rendered service of an exceptionally high quality beyond the normal call of duty in the public service, social and voluntary services, industry or trade unions, or in any other area of public service, or achieved excellence of national or international standing and recognition in the arts, professions, sciences or sport or in any other area of activity.
The intended recipients of the Golden Arrow of Achievement, which is the fourth highest award in the Order of Service of Guyana, include veteran Journalists Julia Johnson, Enrico Woolford and Adam Harris.
Environmental activist and pilot Annette Arjoon-Martins has been recognised for being a driving force in the marine conservation and mangrove replanting projects. Also acknowledged were the Secretary General of the Guyana Red Cross Society Dorothy Fraser; Chief Librarian of the University of Guyana Gwyneth George; General Secretary of the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) Coretta McDonald; Veterinarian Dr. Karen Pilgrim; veteran educator Gem Rohlehr; artist Winslow Craig; and Human Resources Management and Organisational Development Specialist Sandra Jones, among others.
In a statement accompanying the names of the awardees, the Ministry of the Presidency noted that President David Granger has said that the conferring of national awards is recognized as a mechanism, provided under the Constitution of Guyana, to give due national recognition to outstanding citizens.
Explaining that the regular conferral of national awards is a commitment made by the president, the statement added that under the current administration, 51 Guyanese women have already been conferred with national awards.
“In 2015, 19 women from a total of 53 received national awards. The Order of Roraima was received by one person; three received the Cacique’s Crown of Honour (CCH); seven received the Golden Arrow of Achievement (AA); five received the Medal of Service (MS) and three received the Disciplined Service Medal (DSM) while in October 2016, a total of 32 women received awards; four received the CCH, 14 the AA, 12 the MS and two received the DSM. A total of 86 individuals were conferred with awards. Additionally, 12 groups were conferred with the MS insignia on the occasion of Guyana’s 46th Republic Anniversary in February, earlier in 2016,” the statement added.
The 2017 list of National Awardees
Order of Roraima
Yonette Decina Cummings-Edwards
Cacique’s Crown of Honour
- Alison Roxane McLean George
2 Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith
3 Moeen ul Hack
4 Irwin La Rocque
5 Murtland Raphael Massiah
Golden Arrow of Achievement
1 Ramsay Ali
2 Annette Arjoon-Martins
3 Lloyd Fitzgerald Austin
4 Everette Lancelot Carberry
5 Rhoda Amelia Stephne Clarke
6 Winslow Marcellous Craig
7 Jose Louis Da Silva
8 Jennifer Dewar
9 Dorothy Fraser
10 Gloria Regina Fraser
11 Ameena Gafoor
12 Samuel Jaidatt Goolsarran
13 Gwyneth George
14 Adam Elias Harris
15 Hilton Gregory Hemerding
16 Sandra Hooper
17 Julia Ann Johnson
18 Sandra Valerie Jones
19 Raymond Mark Kirton
20 Hemraj Kissoon
21 Doris Ann Lewis
22 Tota Charran Mangar
23 Hyacinth Gloria Massay-Thomas
24 Julie Andrea Matthews
25 Coretta McDonald
26 George Gladstone McDonald
27 Ann Elizabeth McLennan
28 Marie June Mendes
29 Abena Nkenge Moore30 Cecil Norman Murray31 Vibert Virnen Parvatan32 Jawahar Persaud33 Karen Pilgrim34 Andrew Godfrey Proctor35 Khakan Ally Ramjohn36 Gem Ann Rohlehr37 Sonya Indira Roopnauth38 Pradeep Parmanand Samtani39 Godfrey Steve Statia40 Barbara Patricia Thomas-Holder41 Desmond Trotman42 Patrick Everton Williams43 Enrico Mortimer Woolford44 John Carlson Yates
Medal of Service 1 Sandra Michelle Adams2 John Andries3 George Rupert Barclay4 Erma Hyacinth Bovell5 Camille Patricia Carrington6 Patrick Nigel de Groot7 Denise Dias8 Merlene Ellis9 Joan Anges Fredericks10 Heeralall Makhanlall11 Jenevieve Murray12 Julio Perreira13 Ryan Perreira14 Emelda Sandy
Military Service Medal 1 Lt Col Lawrence Anthony Fraser2 Lt Col Ramkarran Doodnauth
Disciplined Services Medal 1 Assistant Commissioner of Police Nigel Anthony Hoppie2 Acting Director of Prisons Gladwin Samuels3 Deputy Chief Fire Officer Winston Michael McGregor
