Guyana Chronicle E-Paper 01-10-2022

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EXPRESS International Inc., on Friday opened a new call centre at Henrietta Village, Essequibo Coast, Region Two, an investment that is expected to create 40 new jobs by year end and 150 in 2023, with the potential to grow even more.

Speaking at the launch, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Express International Inc,

Ken Deocharran, thanked the government for its support and commitment to the Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) industry that led to the new investment in Essequibo.

Express International Inc. commenced operations in 2013, and to date, has employed 335 persons at its Georgetown branch.

Senior Minister within the Office of the

President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, who delivered the feature address at the launch, said the government continues to work assiduously to facilitate the rapid expansion of economic activities countrywide to boost the economy and sup port diversification of the non-oil sector.

The President Irfaan Ali-led govern

ment has prioritised a strong diversified economic base, and in the earliest days of oil production, placed the highest level of importance on a strong and competitive non-oil economy.

Tallawahs are CPL 2022 Champions

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IN commemoration of Month of the Elderly, celebrated in October each year, the Ministry of Human Services & Social Security is caring for its se nior citizens in a special way with the launch of The Century Club – Extra care for 100 years and beyond.

The ministry in a release said the club will honour those citizens in Guy ana who have made it to 100 years and even exceeded 100 years. Currently,

there are 90 listed centenarians who will benefit

“This programme aims to bring ease and comfort to Guyana’s longest-serv ing citizens by providing quarterly personal care packages, pampers and health checkups. Centenarians will also receive monthly food hampers [and] fruit and vegetable baskets. Assistive aids will also be provided as needed,” the release noted.

Additionally, there will be planned visits to the centenarians’ homes by vol unteers of the ministry and WIIN train ees in the area of Care for the Elderly. These items will be procured directly through the ministry and through collaboration with various businesses, organisations and entities.

Home Affairs Ministry: Lawful power will be used to address crime, criminality

1st O ctober, 2022 SATURDAY No.106862 PRICE $100 VAT INCLUSIVE PAGE 02 ' (See full story on page 03) Centenarian club launched

Home Affairs Ministry: Lawful power will be used to address crime, criminality

THE Ministry of Home Affairs, on Friday, said a statement from the AP NU+AFC in support of overseas-based social media commentator, Rickford Burke, has come as no surprise.

“Burke is well known for his racist rantings and race hate writings using social media and other platforms, in his persistent attempts to incite racial and ethnic hostil ities among the citizens of Guyana,” the ministry said in a statement.

Recently, the Guyana Police Force said that it has unearthed damning evidence implicating Burke and two reporters in a conspiratorial scheme to extort money from businessmen in Guyana. The two reporters have both implicated Burke as part of this criminal enterprise. As a result, a wanted bulletin has been issued for Burke.

“Rather than stand on the side of law and order and with the victims of this crim inal extortionist plot, the APNU+AFC, true to form, chose the side of criminality. One would recall the draping of the national flag across the coffin of notorious criminal Linden ‘Blackie’ London, their connections with the infamous five escapees from the 2001 jailbreak and their relationship with that marauding gang of criminals hiding out in Buxton backlands and holding that village at ransom – just to mention a few,” the statement said.

The ministry noted that the AP NU+AFC claims that they have reviewed

the evidence, and has apparently taken it upon themselves to usurp the function of the statutory role of the Guyana Police Force.

“It is difficult to even understand what ‘evidence’ they have reviewed and how they became privy to the evidence in the possession of the Guyana Police Force. The Government of Guyana restates its commitment to use all the lawful powers and facilities available to the State to ad dress crime and criminality both within and beyond its borders.

Burke is no exception,” the statement from the Ministry of Home Affairs con cluded.

New call centre opens in Essequibo

–– 40 new jobs by year-end, 150 in 2023

EXPRESS International Inc on Friday opened a new call centre at Henri etta Village, Essequibo Coast, Region Two, an investment that is ex pected to create 40 new jobs by year-end and 150 in 2023, with the potential to grow even more.

Speaking at the launch, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Express International Inc, Ken Deocharran thanked the government for its sup port and commitment to the Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) in dustry that led to the new investment in Essequibo.

Express International Inc. commenced opera tions in 2013, and to date, has employed 335 persons at its Georgetown branch.

Senior Minister within the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, who delivered the feature address at the launch, said the government continues to work assiduously to facilitate the rapid expan sion of economic activi ties countrywide to boost the economy and support diversification of the nonoil sector.

The President Irfaan Ali-led government has prioritised a strong di versified economic base, and in the earliest days of oil production, placed the highest level of im portance on a strong and competitive non-oil econ omy.

Minister Singh high lighted that since assum ing office, the PPP/C gov

ernment has taken steps to promote development of the ICT sector in Guyana, including liberalisation of the telecommunication sector and investment in ICT education.

The liberalisation of the sector has resulted in tangible benefits, includ ing greater access to con nectivity, with expansions in Linden, Essequibo and Berbice, and reduced pric es.

“As a direct result of the liberalisation of the telecommunications sec tor, the conditions were immediately created for rapid private investment in telecommunication. And amongst that pri vate investment in tele communications, was the laying of a fibre-optic cable across the Esse

quibo River for the very first time. So, as a direct consequence of the lib eralisation of the sector, what you have now is better quality connectiv ity, higher speed, greater reliability as a result of the existence of redun dancy, and perhaps most importantly, as a result of competition, reduced pric es. The establishment of a fibre-optic cable across the Essequibo River im mediately creates the con ditions for investments such as this one today.”

Minister Singh fur ther assured that the gov ernment will continue to support any economic venture that will provide skills and employment for persons countrywide in keeping with its economic diversification policy and

skills-enhancement plans. Job-creation, the minister posited, will provide more income for families and assist in stimulating the economy.

‘Since we assumed of fice in August 2020 to to day, more than 1,000 jobs have been created by the BPO sector alone across Guyana. As a govern ment, we want every sin gle Guyanese of working age to be in employment, to be earning an income to be improving their lives.”

He referred to the pro-private sector stance adopted by the PPP/C government in fostering an environment for in vestment in the BPO sec tor, highlighting that the government itself is cur rently investing in phys ical facilities that could house new call centres, including two facilities in Essequibo and two in

Berbice.

The Senior Finance Minister then commended the Guyanese businessman on behalf of President Ali, on expanding his opera tions to the region and re sponding to the policy en vironment, the government has created for the sector, noting that it represents the first BPO operation being established in Essequibo, and that it is an example of a Guyanese in the diaspora who saw an opportunity in Guyana and an example of what can be achieved in the sector. He further encouraged expansion of the operation in the future, as government continues to promote Guyana as a pre mier destination for BPO operations.

CEO of GO-Invest, Dr Peter Ramsaroop and Regional Chairman, Velma DaSilva were also present at the launch.

Senior Minister within the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh and CEO of GO-Invest, Dr. Peter Ramsaroop assist Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Express International Inc, Ken Deocharran in cutting the ceremonial ribbon as the CEO’s wife Cindy and Regional Chairman, Velma DaSilva look on

Senior Minister within the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh

Visit Guyana: Taking pride in showcasing Guyana to the world

By Cindy Parkinson

WITH women becoming more fearless and taking up leadership positions in today’s society, Guy ana’s very own Stacey Dos Santos Rahaman, co-owner of “Visit Guy ana ”, explained that her main objective is “to showcase all that is beautiful and positive about Guyana”.

Stacey Rahaman and her “Visit Guyana” page is a household name in Guyana, the Caribbean and in many countries around the world. It has even drawn the attention and/ or following of Bar badian international sing er, Rihanna, whose mother is of Guyanese descent.

But all of this accom plishment did not happen overnight.

Stacy, who had lived abroad for some time, related to the Guyana Chronicle that at the time, in conversations with co-workers and friends, most of them only knew of Guyana because of the “Jim Jones” massacre or the “political unrest” in the country.

So she decided to try and change that narrative by making her social me dia page public so that her friends and the wider dias pora could see that Guy ana is a rich and diverse nation, a multi-cultural society, with a platter of different dishes, hospitable people and bountiful natu ral resources.

She was not prepared for what was about to come her way; the diaspo ra responded immediately with a feeling of nostalgia,

having left Guyana with one image in their mind and seeing a very different, a more modern outlook on their country.

Non-Guyanese began also to inquire about Guy ana, what it had to offer, and, more importantly, how they could visit this country. At this point, “Visit Guyana” was born.

Visit Guyana, she said has impacted Guyana’s tourism and the economy greatly based on the feed back that she has received from folks, both locally and abroad.

What she finds interest ing is that people feel more comfortable knowing that they are speaking or hav ing direct contact with her as she guides, advises, and encourages them in regards to places to visit, activities to partake in, and, like any other coun try, how to protect them selves and be safe while vacationing in Guyana.

Apart from Georgetown, Stacey also men tioned that she has no

ticed a new trend with a lot of her followers and tourists; enquiring and venturing off from the traditional tourist destinations to places like Moraikobai in Ma haica-Berbice and St. Cuthbert’s Mission in the Demerara-Mahaica region, all of which were showcased on her page.

BEST MEMORIES

In many instances, she and her husband took it upon themselves to serve as tour guides for these tourists, tak ing them to different restaurants and the craft booths in the hibiscus plaza, among other plac es, only to ensure that they have the best mem ories after leaving Guy ana. In aid of promoting tourism in Guyana, they have also printed a “Visit Guyana” magazine.

Stacey praised and credited the Government of Guyana , the Guyana Tourism Authority, the Ministry of Tourism, as

well as the private and public sectors for doing an outstanding job in host ing such a lavish event -- Cricket Carnival -- for the first time in Guyana’s history.

She noted the tremen dous love and joy with which the Guyanese art ists and their talents were showcased at the different events during the Cricket Carnival, thus far. She opined that the quality and standard that were shown throughout this event, it clearly shows that it was a

team effort and everyone played their part success fully.

“I cannot wait to see what the other two years will look like,” she said.

Stacy and her hus band, like any other cou ple, face various chal lenges on a daily basis; her juggling being a mother and a wife while producing new content and, in many cases, live events , something that their fans have grown

Visit Guyana: Taking pride...

Form page 4

accustomed to and expect.

“Sometimes we are in Berbice in the morning and rushing to go to Linden for the afternoon, or out of town.” To ensure that fans are not disap pointed with the lack of content, Visit Guyana has decided to bring a few influencers on board with them so that the concept of showcasing Guyana is upheld through diverse shows and events

Visit Guyana, she said, is a privately owned en tity that has funded all its travel expenses, accom modation, and food in the promotion of its page.

Recently, Stacy said it has gotten a few spon sors on board but explained that they have never charged a tourism business for any sort of promo tion and this will continue whether it’s a restau rant, hotel or resort. “We take pride in supporting and helping small businesses in whatever way we can,” she said.

She also said that it is impossible to thank one individual, but she is grateful for the outpouring of love, support, and encouragement that she re ceives every day. It is her hope that the content on her page continues to inspire people to come back and visit Guyana with their families and friends.

She is encouraging all Guyanese to become ambassadors of Guyana and to showcase the majestic beauty of its culture, people, cuisines and sceneries.

Kitty man gets ‘life’ for killing popular city businessman

CONFESSED murder er, Aubrey Bobb, was on Friday handed a life sentence for the murder, in 2017, of 64-year-old Godfrey Scipio, called “Saga”.

Bobb, formerly of Wil liam Street, Kitty, was sentenced by Justice JoAnn Barlow at the Demer ara High Court. He will become eligible for parole after serving 30 years.

On September 5, Bobb, who was arraigned for the capital offence of murder, admitted killing Scipio, a popular businessman, on the night of October 12, 2017, outside a hotel on Stanley Place, Kitty.

The State was rep resented by Prosecutors Latifiah Elliot, Marisa Ed wards and Simran Gajraj, while Attorney-at- Law Teriq Mohammed was on record for Bobb.

Reports are that the po lice had arrested Bobb one day after reviewing CCTV

DEAD: Godfrey Scipio, called ‘Saga’

footage retrieved from the Kitty hotel where Scipio was shot and robbed.

He had reportedly said that it was former ‘Best Cop’, Detective Corporal Derwin Eastman, who had given him the gun to carry out the hit, and sub sequently named him as the mastermind.

Scipio was said to be leaving the hotel in the company of a female

friend and was about to enter his car, which was parked in front of the building, when he was accosted by a gunman.

The gunman, accord ing to the police, dis charged a round, hitting Scipio in the abdomen, before relieving him of his jewellery and escap ing on foot in a northerly direction.

Scipio was rushed to a private city hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The stolen jewellery was never recovered, and Eastman is current ly on remand awaiting trial at the High Court for Scipio’s murder.

JAILED: Aubrey Bobb

A New Global Human Order

GUYANA and the Caribbean Com munity ( CARICOM) have long been making serious contributions to devel opment of a new and better world order in which people will have food, shelter, education and all the opportunities equally available on all continents.

Back in the early 1970s, Guyana con tributed significantly to consolidation of the presence of the Movement of NonAligned Countries (better known as the Non-Aligned Movement) in this part of the world, at a time when its foreign policy, under the likes of the late Rashleigh Jack son and later Carl Greenidge, was outright progressive and identified with the fight against Apartheid and for the Freedom of Nelson Mandela -- and free-and-fair elections in South Africa based on ‘One Man, One Vote.’

Guyana also hosted a Non-Aligned Summit that saw erection of the landmark monument on Main Street, Georgetown, featuring the original founding leaders of the movement and led the sporting boycott

of South Africa as called for by the Com monwealth in the 1980s.

From 1992 to present, Guyana’s for eign policy also gained a prominent place on the international stage, thanks to the thoughts of the late President, Dr Cheddi Jagan and the related positions taken and policies adopted while he was alive by then Foreign Affairs Minister Clement Ro hee and his successor Carolyn Rodrigues, right up to current External Affairs Minis ter, Hugh Todd.

The New Global Human Order, pro posed by Dr Jagan while in office between 1992 and 1996, was eventually adopted (although a full decade after he died) in 2007 by the 62nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

As noted in an April 7, 2010 article by Hyder Ally for the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre, titled New Global Human Order –Grassroots Democracy: ‘It is to the credit of Dr Jagan and the diplomatic efforts of the Foreign Affairs Ministry that the res olution received co-sponsorship of some

74 countries, including China and India, two of the most populous countries of the world.’ The resolution had also received co-sponsorship from neighbouring Suri name, Brazil and Venezuela, in addition to CARICOM.

Ally also notes: ‘The crux of Dr Ja gan’s New Global Human Order is that there is enough food and resources in the world to feed every man, woman and child. The problem, essentially, has to do with the distribution of such resources which are heavily skewed in favour of the rich.

‘In addition to the uneven distribution of resources, there is also the question of valuable resources being spent on weapons of mass destruction, which if mobilised for human development could end hun ger, death and ignorance in the world at large…’

Dr Jagan died in 1997 and the UN subsequently adopted a series of Millen nium Development Goals (MDGs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),

‘Poverty Eradication’ gave way to Pover ty Reduction, old conventions governing everything from the Law of the Sea to Hu man Rights were given new life, as were Rights of Children and Women, Youth and Civil Society.

But the main problems continue to confront human beings the world over, worse now than ever in many instances, as progress in addressing them at global levels has been too slow.

Africa and Asia, Arab nations, Latin America and the Caribbean can reach back and look ahead and create new mecha nisms to pursue a new and more just world order.

As things stand worldwide today, with the same old problems only multi plied and manifested in new and differ ent ways alongside new ones, President Jagan’s proposals for A New Global Human Order and others like that for A New World Information and Com munication Order, are certainly worth revisiting.

May the blessings of Durga Maa reign on all

Dear Editor,

NAVRATRI is the grand Hindu festival inherited from our ancestors who arrived from different parts of India over a hun dred and fifty years ago and it is celebrated for nine days (technically, nine nights).

There are four Navratri celebrated four times per year: Vasanta Navratri – celebrat ed in the month of Chaitra (March April); Ashad Navratri- during the month of Ashada ( June July); Sharad Navratri – during the month of Ashwin ( September October ); Pausha/Magha Navratri – in Paush month (December January 8 days only). In Guy ana and other parts of the Caribbean and in Suriname also, only Vasanta and Sharad Navratri are mostly observed For Vasanta Navratri, in Guyana, Hindus are accustomed to giving homage to the deity, Mata Durga, the first three nights for strength, courage and protection Mata Lakshmi is worshipped the next three nights for health, wealth and prosperity The last three nights are dedicat ed to Mata Sarasvati, paying obeisance for education, fine arts in music and dancing and literature For Sharad Navratri, the festival celebrates the nine incarnations of Goddess Durga (Fort) and each night is dedicated to a specific form of the Goddess It is referred to also as “Durga Puja” because many devotees would conduct this Puja (religious ceremony) specifically during this auspicious period. Her nine manifestations are : Shailputri , Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda,

Skandmata, Katyayani, Kalyatri, Mahagouri and Siddidhatri Hinduism is a “way of life,” comprising of various philosophes There are three sub parts of Hinduism, referred to as Vaishnavism ( Lord Vishnu ), Shaivism (Lord Shiva) and Shaktism Goddess Durga is the primary deity in Shaktism She is an other form of Goddess Parvati and came to be known as Durga after she destroyed the demon Mahishasura Navratri is one of the most important Hindu festivals observed in the Hindu calendar and it falls in the month of Ashwin This year the festival is being ob served from September 26th to October 4th.

The nine (Nav)- day/night (Ratri) is dedi cated to the Universal Mother -- Mata Durga, the Goddess of a feminine form of energy, strength, wisdom, prosperity, protection and the destroyer of demonic powers. Upon the culmination of the nine-day period, on the tenth day, Dussehra is celebrated, which is also believed to be the day that Lord Rama defeated the demon King Ravana of Lanka in a battle between the forces of good and evil, with Vijay Dashami (the destruction of the demon King Mahishasura) and Durga visarjan (immersion of the murti). Included in the custom is the Kanya Puja which is done on Maha Ashtma (the eight night of the festival). On this night, nine little girls, ages 2 to 9 would sit and repre sent the nine manifestations of Durga Ma. Dev otees would honour them with gifts and also feed them. During this nine days/ night period, devotees would fast, abstain from meat-eating and alcoholic consumption, the interior and

exterior of the homes would be thoroughly cleansed, new clothing would be purchased and an extra effort would be made to attend services at the mandirs each night. The atmosphere and environment are filled with joy, devotion and happiness throughout the country and people celebrate the festival with great spirituality.

The manifestation of Durga Ma is related in this simple story form so that children in particular, can follow and understand why Hindus celebrate Navratri and its signifi cance Long ago there was a wicked demon King- Mahishasura.

He wanted to be powerful and rule the three worlds Therefore, he performed severe penance to please Lord Brahma When Lord Brahma was pleased and appeared before him, Mahishasura asked a boon- to be immor tal- that is to never die and to take the form of any human or animal But Lord Brahma said “Mahisha — all that is born must die. That is the universal law You cannot escape that”. Mahishasura thought for a while and said “if I must die, my Lord, it should be in the hands of a woman”.

Lord Brahma agreed and granted him the boon and returned to his abode Mahishasura thought- How can a woman kill a man? That is Impossible I am now the most powerful person in the whole universe Mahishasura immediately ordered his army to attack the humans on the earth and the Gods/ Devas in the Devaloka (heaven). Mahishasura and his men became a menace- they started bullying and destroying the Devaloka and no one could

touch him The King of Devas- Indra, went to the Trimurtis- Brahma, Vishnu and Siva and explained the situation to them The three Gods created a powerful woman with several hands (transformed Mata Parvati, as she her self was Adishakti, the supreme power). Lord Shiva offered his trishul to Her Vishnu, his Sudarsana chakra, Lord Indra his Vajrayudha or thunderbolt.

They named her Durga Durga -- now, a powerful Goddess armed with inner strength, courage and wisdom with arms gifted by the powerful Devas -- set out on a lion to destroy Mahishasura Mahishasura’s heart skipped a beat when he heard the thunder of Goddess Durga ’ s arrival Still , he asked “ A mere female trying to attack me?” Durga Ma re sponded “I not an ordinary female, Mahisha.

I am here to fulfil your desire to be killed by a woman” He immediately realised it was a danger sign for him and changed himself into a buffalo and charged the Goddess with all his might.

Ma Durga with her inborn power and acquired weapons destroyed Mahishasura after a long battle.

The day Goddess Durga annihilated the wicked demon Mahishasura is celebrated as Vijayadashami.

This day is also celebrated as a victory of Good over Evil. May the blessings of Durga Maa reign on all.

Yours respectfully, Jai Lall

Diaspora’s presence helped boost economy and cricket success

By Vishnu Bisram

THE Guyanese diaspora maintains and sustains connections with the homeland and ever since they left, they have main tained connectivity, seek ing to help families if not the country as a whole.

In seeking to help fam ilies financially, the coun try as a whole also bene fits. They maintain links to cricket that also helps with cricket development in Guyana. The diaspora from North America and the Caribbean descended on the Providence Stadium for cricket that was staged last week (Wednesday thru Friday of this week) that was a major boost to the economy. Non-Guyanese also came to watch cricket, to support their teams. Their presence would have boost ed the economy by some 10 times in terms of value of economic activities, not to mention the spread effects and circular flow of mon ey, which is estimated by economists to be at least five times that spent. The sport entrepreneurship and diasporan financial support contributed to or stimulated the economy in a way that was never contemplated or happened before. The games were hyped up, and Guyanese came down in large, perhaps record, num bers. The Guyanese dias pora take cricket seriously. And there were a lot of emotions expressed at the games by local Guyanese, as well as by the diaspora.

By far, the Guyanese visiting cricket enthusiasts from America outnumbered all other groups. In no oth er regional territory has the diaspora of a fellow CARICOM nation, returned home with so much ex citement and enthusiasm for cricket. The first four nights of play did not disap point as Guyana won all its matches. But the two play off games were a major dis appointment as Guyana was humiliated, getting knocked out of the competition.

The diaspora’s presence has been a financial bounty for the Amazon Warriors, the CPL, and the national economy as a whole. Match tickets were sold out. Dias porans experienced diffi culties to obtain tickets just like locals, with some un able to get into the stadium because of lack of tickets.

Scalpers had a field day in some matches, although some reported losses in the first two matches. Hotels were fully booked without a room to spare. Many guests had to stay at the homes of relatives or at bed and breakfast facilities of pri vate homes. Restaurants, bars, clubs, night spots, hang-out joints, fast-food outlets, cottage catering, and other eateries did brisk business. Taxis and other transport businesses also did well during the last two weeks.

And families got huge handouts from generous relatives and friends. Air lines also benefitted – with diasporans from the Carib bean region and from North America purchasing tickets at relatively high prices for off-season travel to come to Guyana. A lot of money was spent on parties, spirits, food, jerseys, paraphernalia, etc. Parties or fetes have been planned post com petition that would also result in more spending. Large amounts of money in the millions of US dollars may have been collected in taxation.

Sports, cricket in partic ular, is the most followed event in Guyana. Over the last two decades, cricket has become commercialised. It has become a business and has relied on entrepreneur ship (sponsorship, as well as patronising of games) to ensure its survival, as well as its competitiveness.

The Guyanese diaspora, indeed all Caribbean dia sporas, is highly active in cricket in their country of adoption – the US, Canada, etc. But Guyanese in par ticular came down from the USA in record numbers to support the Amazon War riors. They don’t follow teams in USA and Canada as they do in Guyana and other territories. In fact, most Guyanese in America or Canada don’t know their local teams or players and few actually go out to watch the games played from May thru early October. Crick et is played in every area where Guyanese, Caribbean people, and South Asians are concentrated, such as in far-away Minnesota, Texas, Georgia, South Carolina, Washington DC/Maryland, Illinois, Washington State, British Columbia, etc., and of course the New York, New Jersey, Connecticut,

and Pennsylvania, and To ronto and other parts of Ontario Province.

Cricket is earnestly fol lowed all over the US and Canada and players and fans followed West Indian cricket, including the CPL; they also go crazy over the IPL in India. Social net works of North American cricket fans and local teams may have caused or encour aged many to come down to Guyana. Thus, it was not

surprising that many Guya nese and CARICOM people came down for the matches at Providence because they love to see certain cricketers in action.

The number of Guya nese who came down for cricket is not known, but it would be in the thou sands. There were also some “Trinis” who came from North America as well as from Trinidad. They were seen at the stadium

waving flags and dressed in Knight Riders jerseys. In dian nationals from the US also came for the games. At least three teams, Barbados, Trinidad, and St. Lucia, are owned by Indian nationals.

Two (Guyana and Jamaica) teams are owned by Guy anese. This would have boosted entrepreneurialism around cricket and business activities related to the sta dium matches.

While it is not known

if the CPL has been a major financial success as say similar games staged in India, Australia, New Zealand, UK, etc., the presence of the diaspora and their spending had a major impact on the economics or businesses (food, entertainment, bev erage, transport, etc.) tied to staging of the games in Guyana, as well as aiding the airlines that traverse the Guyana route.

Joel Bhagwandin

Financial and economic analyst

The Production Sharing Agreement, Renegotiation, and the Stability Clause (Part 2)

SUMMARY

THE argument by the proponents for re negotiation that the oil companies are not paying any taxes in Guyana is a miscon ceived notion.

The clause in the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) that speaks to the govern ment paying the oil companies’ corporate taxes from the government’s share of profit–following which the Guyana Revenue Author ity issues a tax certificate to the oil companies is essentially a nominal tax. In other words, the normal corporate tax rate is not applied to the oil companies, but the oil companies benefit from this in the form of a tax credit in the case of ExxonMobil in the United States (U.S). While some analysts are critical of this provision, it is in fact beneficial for Guyana such that, the tax credit obtained in the home country is an incentive for the oil companies to ramp up future investments, inter alia, reducing their tax liability in the U.S while maximising profit.

It is worth noting that it is normal practice universally for petroleum producing countries to design a separate fiscal regime specifically for the oil and gas industry that is usually dif ferent from the mainstream fiscal regime ap plied to companies operating in other sectors. This is the case in the United Kingdom and in Guyana. There are different types of fiscal regimes that can be applied to the oil and gas industry. The reason for this is largely be cause of the highly capital-intensive nature of the industry, the nature of the project life cy cle which spans about 30 years, 10 – 15 years of exploration, another five years developing the fields for production (provided that the fields are commercially viable), and another 10 years of productive life; the volatility of oil prices which is impacted by market conditions (demand and supply) as well as geopolitical tensions, and more so, the high-risk nature of the industry.

Guyana is poised to earn approximately US$49 billion from four approved projects by 2036. As more FPSOs come on stream, Guyana’s earnings will increase substantially. The criticisms concerning the current PSA which are often on the extreme end ignores many other practical variables. The govern ment has done a commendable job in terms of maximising value for the country through better contract administration.

Two critical elements in which the government has succeeded in this regard is (1) the local content legislation and (2) the financing of the gas to shore pipeline infrastructure from cost oil.

BACKGROUND

In part 1 of this series, the author ex amined the subject matter of this analysis from three dimensions, namely: (1) the project lifecycle, (2) the investment risks and capital-intensive nature of the indus try, and (3) the impact of climate change policies and energy transition on the future demand for the global industry.

In these respects, it was argued that the project full lifecycle of the oil and gas busi ness is around 30 years or more. During the exploration and development stage which spans about 20 years before production, the oil companies continuously inject capital to explore and develop the resource. The nature of the oil and gas business is one that is of high investment risks and capital intensive. The exploration and development cost for Liza 1 alone amounted to about US$4 billion, the total estimated development cost for Liza 1, Liza 2, Payara and Yellowtail is about US$29.3 billion, representing 100 per cent of Guyana’s pre-oil GDP in the case of Liza 1 and for the four approved projects combined represents 7.3 times Guyana’s pre-oil GDP. Many countries are already accelerating cli mate change policies, designed to transition from a fossil-fuel driven energy system to re newable energy with investments amounting to hundreds of billions in U.S. dollars which ultimately means, that these developments will have a direct impact on global oil prices which will be on a downward trajectory, at some point into the future.

That said, as the public debate continues, Professor Hunte in a recent missive to the local media argued that the lack of taxes and ring fencing shortens Guyana’s profits from the oil sector. Prof. Hunte went on to argue that by not renegotiating the deal before the end of the period outlined in the contract (2036), Guyana will essentially have “nothing to get”.

He explained, “Given this non-inter ference by Guyana; and in light of the fact that (Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited- Exxon’s subsidiary) EEPGL will be accelerating the extraction of Guyana’s oil by introducing several new floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) ships, it is conceivable that come 2036, EEPGL will be ready to shut-shop and leave, as all the commercially viable oil would have been extracted and Guyana will have nothing to get.”

DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

Oil and Gas Fiscal Regimes

The argument by the proponents for renegotiation that the oil companies are not paying any taxes in Guyana is a mis conceived notion.

The clause in the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) that speaks to the Gov ernment paying the oil companies’ corporate taxes from the Government’s share of profit–following which the Guyana Revenue Author ity issues a tax certificate to the oil companies is essentially a nominal tax. In other words, the normal corporate tax rate is not applied to the oil companies, but the oil companies benefit from this in the form of a tax credit in the case of ExxonMobil in the United States (U.S). While some analysts are critical of this provision, it is in fact beneficial for Guyana such that, the tax credit obtained in the home country is an incentive for the oil companies to ramp up future investments, inter alia,

reducing their tax liability in the U.S while maximising profit.

Corporate Income Taxes are typically applied to the operating profit made by cor porations at various rates in Guyana. Thus, in principle, the Government’s Take in profit oil at a rate of 50 per cent is no different from this basic fundamental in terms of the application of corporate taxes. The Corporate Tax rate applied to telephone companies in Guyana is 45 per cent on chargeable profits; 40 per cent on chargeable profits of a commercial company other than a telephone company; and 25 per cent on the chargeable profits of any other company.

With this in mind, it is safe to say that the oil companies are effectively subject to a higher tax rate than any other local and for eign company operating in Guyana under the regular national tax regime.

It is worth noting that it is normal practice universally for petroleum producing countries to design a separate fiscal regime specifically for the oil and gas industry that is usually different from the mainstream fiscal regime applied to companies operating in other sec tors. This is the case in the United Kingdom and in Guyana. There are different types of fiscal regimes that can be applied to the oil and gas industry.

The reason for this is largely because of the highly capital-intensive nature of the industry, the nature of the project life cycle which spans about 30 years, 10 – 15 years of exploration, another five years developing the fields for production (provided that the fields are commercially viable), and another 10 years of productive life; the volatility of oil prices which is impacted by market conditions (demand and supply) as well as geopolitical tensions, and more so, the high-risk nature of the industry.

In the case of Guyana, for example, the projected investment by the co- ventures (EEPGL, Hess and CNOOC) for the Sta broek block is about US$60 billion of which US$29.3 billion have already been committed to develop and produce from four approved projects. The total projected investment (US$60 billion) is 15 times Guyana’s pre-oil GDP of US$4 billion.

Here is a different perspective based on some interesting facts:

a) Trinidad and Tobago (TT) which has been in the oil business for more than a cen tury, hence, TT took this long (100 plus years) to attain a GDP of US$20 billion, just five times Guyana’s pre-oil GDP. In other words, TT was five times richer than Guyana before Guyana became an oil producing nation.

b) Guyana took two decades to move from US$200 million GDP to US$4 billion GDP. Therefore, all things being equal, and assum ing Guyana never discovered oil resources in commercial quantities; at the same rate of de velopment for the past two decades, it would have literally taken Guyana another 300 years to become a US$60 billion economy.

With this perspective in mind, from the US$29.3 billion which represents 49 per cent

of the total budgeted / projected investment for the Stabroek block that has already been committed to develop the four approved projects, Guyana is projected to earn cumu latively by 2036 US$49 billion. Again, all things being equal it is safe to assume that from the entire Stabroek block investment which would amount to US$60 billion, Guy ana is poised to earn about US$100 billion or more over the productive life of the Stabroek block. Put differently, this simply means that what Guyana would have taken 300 years to achieve, can be achieved in 50 years with the current PSA, all things being equal.

Of course, this level of investment comes at a cost and with certain risks that have to be borne largely by the oil companies.

It is, therefore, a highly misleading notion as propagated by Professor Hunte et.al, that Guyana will earn “nothing” within the fiscal framework of the current PSA.

RING FENCING

The lack of ring-fencing provision in the current PSA framework was heavily criticised at the outset of oil production.

In hindsight, however, the lack of ring-fencing provision is another form of incentive for the oil companies that is encour aging the scaling up of future investment to explore and develop new fields. Moreover, out of the 33 wells in the Stabroek block to date, there are only three dry wells of which the cost of exploration on the higher end is about US$300 million.

Notwithstanding, the cost recovered from the dry wells as a percentage of total revenue from the approved projects is less than one per cent and therefore has an im material impact on the overall bottom line.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

Guyana is poised to earn approximately US$49 billion from four approved projects by 2036. As more FPSOs come on stream, Guyana’s earnings will increase substan tially.

The criticisms concerning the current PSA which are often on the extreme end ignores many other practical variables. The govern ment has done a commendable job in terms of maximising value for the country through better contract administration. Two critical elements in which the government has suc ceeded in this regard is (1) the local content legislation and (2) the financing of the gas to shore pipeline infrastructure from cost oil.

(In part 3 of this series, the author will delve into the geopolitics of oil referencing the case of Venezuela versus ExxonMobil, the consequences that followed after ExxonMobil lost the legal battle against Venezuela, and lessons for Guyana.

This will be examined in the context of the renegotiation debate of the current PSA and the stability clause. Finally, in part 4, the author will conclude the series with some considerations on the fiscal terms for the new PSA framework).

Roll out of fisherfolk grant in hinterland regions commences next week

THE roll out of the government’s one-off $150,000 fisherfolk grant will commence in hinter land regions next week, Agriculture Minister Zu lfikar Mustapha has said.

“We will be going shortly into the hinterland, hopefully next week; we will roll out Region Two, Region One will be done shortly too,” Mustapha told the Guyana Chronicle on Friday.

Over the past few weeks, the Ministry of Agriculture spearheaded a number of distribution exer cises across Regions Three, Four, Five and Six. These exercises saw more than a 1,000 fisherfolk receiving their monies.

“The process has been fairly smooth so far, I don’t think we have any issues with it. There were some who claimed their names were not on the list and we are verifying it, as long as they are bonafide fisherfolk, they will receive the cash.”

Mustapha also noted that through the distribu tion exercise, the ministry has been able to establish a registrar of fisherfolk across the country.

“We are now having a registrar; you know a lot

of fisherfolks don’t have licensed but now we are getting a proper database,” he said.

In June of this year, President Ali, during a pub lic meeting at Windsor For est on the West Coast of Demerara announced that fisherfolk will be the bene ficiaries of a one-off grant of $150,000.

President Ali noted that after the government did a complete assessment of its revenue streams and finances, it determined that

the $150,000 grant will be issued to the fisherfolk.

“We are announcing an initiative for every single person identified; we are going to help you with a one-off grant of $150,000. This is an immediate step that we are taking to assist you, in addition to all that we’re doing to expand the industry,” President Ali said.

The President noted that the grant for the fisher folk ties in with the gov ernment’s commitment to

increase support for the agriculture community, as Guyana and the rest of the Caribbean strive to increase the production of food, in keeping with the ‘Vision 25 by 25’ target.

“Our goal is to create the system in which we can increase productivity; we’re working to make Guyana an important part of the food supply to help the whole Carib bean. To do this, we have to invest in every sector and every segment, in developing our produc tive capacity; that is why we are addressing, today, our fishing industry spe cifically,” the President had said.

Vice-President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo and Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha addressing the concerns of fisherfolk at the MMA-ADA during a recent distribution exercise in Region Five (Delano Williams photo)

Second batch of Black Belly Sheep to arrive in three weeks

SOME 868 Black Belly Sheep are scheduled to ar rive in Guyana from Bar bados within the next three weeks, Agriculture Min ister, Zulfikar Mustapha disclosed on Friday.

He said the arrival of the second batch will see the official role out of the project

“ The 15th of October , the sheep will be available to leave to come to Guyana, its 868 sheep have to come to Guyana to make up the 1,000 when all the sheep

come to the country then we will roll out the programme

We have already registered a number of farmers,” Minister Mustapha told the Guyana Chronicle in a telephone interview

In August, the first ship ment was received by Guy ana; some 132 sheep, inclu sive of 20 rams and 112 ewes arrived

The Guyana Livestock Development Authority ( GLDA ) was tasked with weaning the sheep to ensure

that they adjust to Guyana’s climate as well as introduc ing them to new diets, and according to the agriculture minister, the weaning process thus far has been successful

“This is a brand and an industry that we are now creating in Guyana; we will build the Black Belly brand in the Caribbean We have the facilities here like land space, fresh water and good breeding ground,” Mustapha added

President, Dr Irfaan Ali,

during the launch of a Black Belly Sheep Project at On verwagt , West Coast Ber bice back in March , had said the project is intended to pave the way for Guy ana to tap into the region’s hefty food importation bill, which sees CARICOM countries collectively spend ing some US $ 43 million on import of mutton alone And even though Guyana’s food production capabilities are impressive, the country still imports approximately US$130,000 worth of mut ton

With an initial investment

of US$3 million, Dr Ali said that the onset of the Black Belly Sheep Project targets 2,000 heads of sheep, and is slated for significant expan sion in order to produce at least 7,000 tonnes of mutton by the end of five years It is also expected to create at least 4,500 direct and indirect jobs

President Ali , at the launch of the project back in March , had pointed out that the world import value on mutton and mutton prod ucts is US$8B CARICOM alone imports 7,900 tonnes of mutton at US$48M annually.

Bahamas, Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago are the four major markets that Guyana can target

Meanwhile, the minister disclosed that works were currently moving apace in Region Five to prepare sev eral pens for the additional sheep that are scheduled to arrive in Guyana.

Already, several farm ers have signalled their in terest in the project, which is one of many initiatives being rolled out by Guyana and Barbados to reduce the Food Import Bill by 25 per cent in 2025.

The first flock of Black Belly Sheep received by Guyana back in March

Two months behind bars for cocaine possession

JOHN Beatah, a 55-year-old unem ployed man, was on Friday sentenced to two months in jail for cocaine traf ficking.

Beatah, of East Ruimveldt, George town, appeared before Magistrate Leron Daly at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court and admitted that the 6.7 grams of cocaine he was caught with on September 27 was for recreational purposes.

According to reports, police ranks saw Beatah acting in a “suspicious” manner in the Albouys Street, Albouystown area, and when a search was conducted on him, the cocaine was found in his right side pants pocket.

Beatah, who was unrepresented, was ordered to pay a fine of $30,000, and serve two months in prison for having the illegal substance in his passion.

Three years on …

Mahaica farmer pleads guilty to attempted murder

–– to know fate October 25

FAZAL Osman, a Mahaica farmer who three years ago assaulted his re puted wife with a deadly weapon, on Friday pleaded guilty to attempted murder before a High Court judge.

Osman, now 41, was arraigned at the Demerara High Court before Justice Jo Ann Barlow on Friday, and admitted that on February 24, 2019, at Mahaica, East Coast Demerara, he wounded the woman with intent to commit murder.

Prosecutor Latifiah Elliot pre sented the State’s case, while Attor ney at Law Teriq Mohammed is on

record for Osman.

According to reports, Osman and the victim had shared a common law relationship, but due to the prolonged domestic abuse she suffered at his hands, she decided to end it.

On the day in question, the victim, while in the company of a Rural Con stable, had reportedly gone to Osman’s home to serve him with a restraining order, when he whipped out a cutlass and dealt her several chops about the body.

Sentencing has been deferred to October 25.

Fazal Osman

44 complete firefighter training

–– 30 certified as Emergency Medical Technicians

THE Guyana Fire Service (GFS) staff complement was on Friday boosted by the addition of some 44 new firefighters and 30 certified Emergency Med ical Technicians (EMTs).

Their graduation cere mony was held at the Guy ana Fire Service’s Leonora Training Centre.

Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn, who deliv ered remarks at the occa sion, applauded the effort of the fire service for continu ing efforts to train young people in the discipline.

The EMTs provide a critical service that is vital to the work of the GFS.

This addition he said comes at a time when there are significant develop ments taking place across the country and others that will come in the near future, one being the gas-to-shore project at Wales, West Bank Demerara, Region Three.

With projects such as these, Benn said that it is

critical to have adequate, skilled firefighters in the case of emergencies at all major facilities.

“That’s why we’re do ing all of this, to protect our people, to further our development, to make sure

that the taxpayers’ monies are well spent and protect ed,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chief Fire Officer Gregory Wickham said the GFS has stuck with its plan to ensure that it has members who are trained to

execute duties when called upon.

The GFS has identified two main pillars with which they will lead the organisa tion, namely education and discipline.

On this note, he said it has taken the lead by hav ing training programmes prepared not only for the recruits, but also for mid dle-management staff to be trained in management, supervision and communi

cation.

Also in light of fires at several schools, the GFS he said has trained no less than 250 security officers attached to the Ministry of Education and is building capacity across the country.

“We understand clearly that we need to, in every way possible have our pres ence in every region and in the very near future, every community,” he said.

It was with this in mind,

he said, that the fire service launched the training for Emergency Medical Tech nicians.

The Chief Fire Officer also used the opportunity to urge the recruits to be strong, disciplined and to lead as they were trained to lead.

The 74 persons who graduated from the pro gramme underwent nine weeks of rigorous train ing.

Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn (seated second from left) with the 30 newly certified EMTs, along with Chief Fire officer, Gregory Wickham (seated third from right) and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Mae Toussaint Jr Thomas (seated first from left) (Elvin Carl Croker photo)

Home Affairs Minister, Robeson Benn (seated second from left) with the 44 new firefighters along with Chief Fire officer, Gregory Wickham (seated third from right) and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Mae Toussaint Jr Thomas (seated first from left) (Elvin Carl Croker photo)

Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn addressing the graduation ceremony on Friday (Elvin Carl Croker photo)

The new firefighters during a drill exercise following their graduation on Friday (Elvin Carl Croker photo)

GTA: Tourism sector has rebounded with amazing results

NOW that World Tour ism Day celebrations have concluded, the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) said the launch of 12 new tourism experiences, in collaboration with the tourism private sector and tourism-focused commu nities, is one of its priority areas of focus in 2022.

This move forms the basis of the GTA expanding its reach and diversifying the country’s tourism product offerings, a release said.

a unique twist to adven ture-based experiences.

Earlier in September, the GTA launched the Bush Cow Eco Trails Experience in Nappi Village, Region Nine and the Quarrie Water fall Tour, Region Nine.

As the GTA embarks on enhancing key sites around the country, a mural was un veiled at the Moleson Creek ferry terminal. This mural aims to provide a calming, welcoming atmosphere to persons who will be enter

9 ‘Safe and Clean Tips for Tourist Sites’ were donated to the team by the GTA, in addition to a “Litter-Free” zone notice which has been erected at the site. The team also took part in a clean-up session.

“The GTA is commit ted to providing the nec essary support to all of our tourism destinations to ensure that they provide the highest quality of ser vice to visitors. After all, protecting our environment starts with respecting our environment,” the release said.

The sector, the release noted, has showed resilience at its most difficult moment and has since rebounded with amazing pace and the results prove that the re covery road is well under way. However, as the sector emerges into a new light, new challenges lie ahead.

World Tourism Day was launched under the theme: “Rethinking Tourism” and to mark the occasion, four new tourism experiences were launched.

Through Touring Guy ana, the Mangrove Heritage Tour and the New Amster dam Heritage Trail Tour will certainly attract history lovers who are seeking to incorporate softer adventure experiences into their itin eraries. Azure Experiences on the other hand, through their new offerings - The Kopinang Waterfall Tour and the Yoga Breakfast & Nature Walk Tour adds

ing Guyana at this port of entry. This initiative ties into the GTA’s inclusive, multi-stakeholder approach to tourism development.

Local artist Colin Nedd pro duced this phenomenal body of work.

In addition, GTA Di rector Kamrul Baksh, in collaboration with the Mayor of Bartica Gifford Marshall, as well as the Bartica Tour ism Committee officially launched the Baracara Falls tourism- enhancement ini tiative.

A number of gar bage-disposal items and posters highlighting the top

Travellers have become more discerning, expecting a higher level of service, safety, quality tourism of ferings and an overall good experience.

The GTA said Guyana has embarked on a path way to create new tours and packages for all the right types of travellers. Crucially, the efforts to integrate the Caribbean region will allow Guyana to tap into new mar kets, as opposed to focusing on saturated ones.

“This diverse product portfolio will allow us to cater to the international and business markets but also the diaspora and domestic markets. The digital expan sion strategy will address the footprint issues and access

to services. More seamless transactions translate into higher visitor satisfaction and that is a top priority for the sector. Importantly, Re thinking Tourism involves

strengthening partnerships with all sector actors that will result in sustainable development. A stronger unit will reflect a positive image for Destination Guyana on

the global stage. The future of tourism development and management in Guyana is exciting yet challenging.

Let’s acknowledge that together,” the release said.

Baracara Falls Tourism Enhancement Initiative

Centenarian club launched

– extra care for those 100 years and beyond

IN commemoration of Month of the Elderly, cel ebrated in October each year, the Ministry of Hu man Services & Social Security is caring for its senior citizens in a special way with the launch of The Century Club – Extra care for 100 years and beyond.

The ministry in a release said the club will honour those citizens in Guyana

who have made it to 100 years and even exceeded 100 years. Currently, there are 90 listed centenarians who will benefit

“This programme aims to bring ease and comfort to Guyana’s longest-serving citizens by providing quar terly personal care packages, pampers and health check ups. Centenarians will also receive monthly food ham

pers [and] fruit and vegetable baskets. Assistive aids will also be provided as needed,” the release noted.

Additionally, there will be planned visits to the cente narians’ homes by volunteers of the ministry and WIIN trainees in the area of Care for the Elderly.

These items will be pro cured directly through the ministry and through collab

oration with various busi nesses, organisations and entities.

“Our senior citizens have contributed in diverse spheres in our country and, I believe it is incumbent on us to ensure that in their later years they’re able to enjoy all amenities, facilities and opportunities to have a good quality of life,” Human Services and Social Security Minister Dr Vindhya Per saud emphasised.

The ministry has been constantly working on ways to improve the lives of its senior citizens

“We have moved a great distance with regard to pen sion in terms of our increase in pension, the early deliv ery of pension books, the introduction of the banking system and also alternate

venues and we are working on other improvements that will come later so that pen sioners can really, not have to suffer frustration and hassle.”

During October, the min istry will be planning a num ber of activities to engage and involve senior citizens that can impact on their men tal health well-being and overall wellness.

Commenting on the im pact the Century Club will make on the lives of senior citizens, Dr Vindhya Persaud said, “you will agree with me that when you hit 100 years, that century, you’ve done

what not a lot of people not only in our country and our world have been able to do.

I believe we should honour, we should salute, we should pay tribute to those who have. This is the Ministry of Hu man Services way of saying thank you to them and, really acknowledging their years on earth with us, with something that’s impactful, practical and something that I’m sure they will enjoy and appreciate.

I’m very proud to launch the Century Club, and this is in honour of all those Guyanese who hit and surpassed 100 years.”

Scenes from CPL Final at the Guyana National Stadium

Getty I mages

Den Amstel farmers’ group receives tillers to boost production

AGRICULTURE Minister Zulfikar Mustapha on Thurs day handed over two tillers to the Den Amstel Progressive Fellowship Farmers’ Group.

The donation came following a commitment made by Vice-President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo during a recent outreach in Region Three. During the outreach, the farmers requested assistance to increase and improve production in the village.

During the handing-over exercise, Minister Mustapha said that the government remains committed to ensuring that farm ers from every village benefit from the country’s resources. He also said that the ministry will continue to work with the farmers to increase their production as part of CARICOM’s overarching goal of lowering the regional food-importation bill by 25 per cent by 2025.

“During an outreach in Region Three, this group met with the Vice-President and requested the government’s assistance because they are interested in agriculture and took note of what the government is doing for the sector in terms of support and investment. We had a follow-up meeting with the Vice-President and he committed to having the requested works done, as well as donating some equipment. These tools will help them to enhance their land preparation and improve

and increase their production,” he said.

Lloyd Harvey, a member of the farmers’ group, said since the group was formed just over six years ago, this was the first time it has received assistance from the government to push agriculture.

“We met with the Vice-President about two months back during an outreach in Region Three. He invited us to meet with him again at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre to discuss in detail what were some of the things we needed to get agriculture going. Accepting this donation on behalf of the group, I must say it is really timely and I want to assure the Vice-President along with the minister and his team that our farmers’ group will make a difference. In relation to the excavation works that are being done, I want to say a heartfelt thank you also,” Harvey said.

The farmers’ group consists of approximately 35 mem bers who cultivate mostly cash crops with approximately 400 acres of farmland. Harvey explained that not all 400 acres are currently under cultivation. However, he noted that with the donated equipment and other interventions to improve drainage in the farming areas, the farmers will be able to move towards increasing their cultivation and output.

Minister Mustapha also explained that in addition to til lers, the ministry is currently executing infrastructural works to complement drainage in the farming areas.

“In addition to this, we are also doing massive drainage and irrigation works in Den Amstel. Approximately $13 mil lion has been budgeted to clear clogged canals. This shows our commitment to improving agriculture across the country. This is how our government works. We have to ensure the available resources are stretched and divided across this entire country, so that every citizen benefits,” he added.

Given CARICOM’s food security efforts, Minister Mustapha said the government is investing heavily in agriculture and remains committed to not only reducing the regional food-importation bill, but also to diversifying, improving, and increasing production in all areas within the agricultural sector.

Minister Mustapha and other Ministry of Agriculture officials handing over the tillers to members of the farmers’ group of Den Amstel

WHO, ILO call for new measures to tackle mental health issues at work

THE World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) have called for concrete action to ad dress mental health concerns in the working population.

An estimated 12 billion workdays are lost annually due to depression and anxiety costing the global economy nearly US$ one trillion. Two new publications which aim to address this issue are published today – WHO Guidelines on mental health at work and a derivative WHO/ ILO policy brief.

WHO’s global guidelines on mental health at work recommend actions to tackle risks to mental health such as heavy workloads, neg ative behaviours and other factors that create distress at work. For the first time WHO recom mends manager training, to build their capacity to prevent stressful work environments and respond to workers in distress.

WHO’s World mental health report, pub lished in June 2022, showed that of one billion people living with a mental disorder in 2019, 15 per cent of working-age adults experienced a mental disorder. Work amplifies wider soci etal issues that negatively affect mental health, including discrimination and inequality. Bully ing and psychological violence (also known as ‘mobbing’) are key complaints of workplace

harassment that have a negative impact on men tal health. Yet discussing or disclosing mental health remains a taboo in work settings globally.

The guidelines also recommend better ways to accommodate the needs of workers with mental health conditions, propose interventions that support their return to work and, for those with severe mental health conditions, provide interventions that facilitate entry into paid em ployment. Importantly, the guidelines call for interventions aimed at the protection of health, humanitarian and emergency workers.

“It’s time to focus on the detrimental effect work can have on our mental health,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Direc tor-General. “The well-being of the individual is reason enough to act, but poor mental health can also have a debilitating impact on a per son’s performance and productivity. These new guidelines can help prevent negative work situations and cultures and offer much-needed mental health protection and support for work ing people.”

A separate WHO/ILO policy brief explains the WHO guidelines in terms of practical strat egies for governments, employers and workers and their organisations, in the public and private sectors. The aim is to support the prevention of mental health risks, protect and promote mental

health at work, and support those with mental health conditions so they can participate and thrive in the world of work. Investment and leadership will be critical to the implementation of the strategies.

“ As people spend a large proportion of their lives in work – a safe and healthy working environment is critical. We need to invest to build a culture of prevention around mental health at work, reshape the work environment to stop stigma and social exclusion, and ensure employees with mental health conditions feel protected and supported,” said Guy Ryder, ILO Director-General.

The ILO Occupational Safety and Health Convention (No. 155) and Recommendation

(No. 164) provides a legal framework to pro tect the health and safety of workers. However, the WHO Mental Health Atlas found that only 35 per cent of countries reported having national programmes for work-related mental health promotion and prevention.

COVID-19 triggered a 25 per cent in crease in general anxiety and depression worldwide, exposing how unprepared gov ernments were for its impact on mental health and revealing a chronic global short age of mental health resources. In 2020, governments worldwide spent an average of just two per cent of health budgets on mental health, with lower-middle income countries investing less than one per cent. (ILO)

RACING TIPS

Turffontein

08:20 hrs Now I Got You 08:55 hrs Bug Burn 09:30 hrs Puerto Minza no 10:05 hrs Supreme Dance 10:40 hrs Meebisi

English Racing Tips Newmarket

08:31 hrsCrystal Estrella 09;06 hrs Woolhampton 09:42 hrs Saffron Beach 10:17 hrs Imperial Em peror

10:52 hrs Military Order 11:27 hrs Whimsy 12:03 hrs International Girl Ascot

08:51 hrs King’s Lynn 09:25 hrs Hamish 10:09 hrs Flaming Rib 10:36 hrs Silent Film 11:10 hrs Primo Bacio 11:45 hrs Equality

Irish Racing Tips

Gowan Park

08:45 hrs Cougar 09:17 hrs Riaan 09:52 hrs Wa Wa 10:27 hrs Walking On Glass

11:02 hrs Easy Game 11:37 hrs Kitty Galore 12:12 hrs Ain’t That A Shame 12:42 hrs True Faith

American Racing Tips

Belmont

Race 1 Banetrra

Race 2 Fredis the Red

Race 3 Lost in Rome

Race 4 Brattle House

Race 5 Magiadoro

Race 6 Frank’s Art

Race 7 Life Is Good

Canadian Racing Tips Woodbine

Race 1 Trinity Love

Race 2 Midnight Ram bling

Race 3 Handcarved

Race 4 Stormy Derby Day

Race 5 Forest B

Race 6 Renegade Rebel

Race 7 Katchy Name

JOSH Hazlewood be lieves that bowlers will be in the game during the upcoming T20 World Cup and not just at the mercy of the big-hitting batters.

It will be the first time that Australia will host the men's tournament, which will take place at seven venues across the country.

In terms of domestic T20 games played over the last two years - which gives a much broader sam ple than T20Is - Australia ranks mid-table in run rate at 8.22. Australia travel to five venues during the Super 12s stage so will need to adapt to a different ground for each opposition

they face.

Due to the pandemic border restrictions, T20Is have only been played in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra over the last two seasons, with the latter not hosting World Cup matches.

"Think T20 in Austra lia, it's probably a little bit better for the bowlers in a lot of regards," Hazlewood said.

“The outfields are big ger, the wickets have a bit more pace, (you can) use those boundaries to your advantage, depending where you are playing on the squad sometimes there are short and long bound aries.”

Hazlewood expects Australian World Cup conditions to give bowlers a chance

…believes home side’s attack better after challenging series in India

There have been some questions raised about the health of Australia’s death bowling, but in T20Is this year they stack up reason ably well against the other World Cup nations with an economy rate in that phase of 9.85

A variety of options were used in the closing overs against India on the recent tour although three of them – Cameron Green, Daniel Sams and Nathan Ellis – are not part of the World Cup squad, while Mitchell Starc was rested from the trip.

“It was a great test being in that situation,” Hazlewood said. “A lot of guys got the opportu nity to bowl at the end against some of the best hitters in the game on the flattest wickets and small

IOC to review IBA after surprise

boundaries. There’s always stuff to work on, of course, what fields you want, what balls you want to bowl, but there’s no practice like that and we’ll be better off for the run.”

Hazlewood is current ly the No.1-ranked T20I bowler in the world – one of only two quicks in the top 10 alongside Bhuvne shwar Kumar – but while the bid to retain the World

Cup is the immediate prior ity, he admitted having an eye on Test season against West Indies and South Af rica, having played just two matches in the format since the start of the last season.

He picked up a side in jury during the first match of the Ashes series in Bris bane which ruled him out for the series. He was se lected for the opening Test in Pakistan on a featherbed

pitch in Rawalpindi before being left out for the rest of that tour, and the two matches in Sri Lanka, as Australia fielded Mitchell Swepson as the second spinner.

“I’m really looking to the red-ball stuff coming up,” he said. “I haven’t played a great deal in the last few years which has been a little bit disap pointing.” (Cricinfo)

UDFA senior league continues today with double-header

THE Upper Demerara Foot ball Association (UDFA) se nior league l championship resumes this afternoon with a double-header while the Guyana Football Federation (GFF)/NAMILCO Flour Power Under-17 competi tion kicks off with one game from 12:00hrs at the Mack enzie Sports Club (MSC)

ground.

That opening game is between Capital FC and Milerock to start the U-17 tournament, but the senior league championship will see champions Eagles United clash with Kwakwani Strikers at 14.00hrs.. That will be fol lowed by Net Rockers versus Amelia’s Ward Panthers at

16:00hrs.

Tomorrow, the first game will be the Under-17 tournament where Golden Stars take on Amelia’s Ward Panthers from 12:00hrs and the Senior League will con tinue at 14:00hrs as Topp XX tackle Blueberry Hill United and 16:00hrs Hi Stars take on Silver Shattas.

Yorkshire appoint Pakistan batter Shan Masood as captain from 2023

(REUTERS) - The Internation al Olympic Committee (IOC voiced serious concerns over the International Boxing Asso ciation’s (IBA) surprise ban of Ukraine’s national federation, saying it would conduct a full review at its next meeting in December.

The IBA is already on the brink of losing its Olympic Games spot over governance, finance and refereeing issues dating back years.

Amateur boxing’s world governing body was also stripped of involvement in last year’s Tokyo Olympics, and the sport is not on the initial programme for the Los Angeles Games in 2028 pending a string of reforms demanded by the IOC.

The IOC is running the box ing competitions for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

“The IOC is extremely con

cerned about the situation in the federation (IBA),” the IOC told Reuters in a statement yesterday.

“Amongst other concerns, this includes the fact that the recognised Ukrainian National Boxing Federation was sus pended shortly before the IBA Congress for disputed reasons.”

The board said it would review the situation at its next meeting, scheduled for Decem ber 5-7

The IBA, run by Russian businessman Umar Kremlev, suspended the Ukrainian federa tion last week, leaving it unable to cast a vote at the federation’s elections.

The IBA does not recognise Kyrylo Shevchenko as president of the Ukrainian federation but instead considers Volodymyr Prodyvus, an ally of Krem lev who left Ukraine after the Russian invasion of Ukraine

in February and is now an IBA vice-president, as head.

In an unprecedented move this week the IBA also forbade the Ukrainian junior boxing team from competing under their flag and anthem at the European championships in Italy, citing the ongoing dispute with the coun try’s boxing federation

“The fact that the Ukrainian junior boxing team is not al lowed to participate in the Eu ropean Championship in Italy if they compete using national identifiers such as the national flag, anthem and any symbols of Ukraine, adds to the many concerns expressed before,” the IOC said.

It had already warned last month that slow-moving reforms and IBA’s financial dependence on Russian energy firm Gazprom were of grave concern.

SHAN Masood was con firmed as captain after Yorkshire's end-of-season defeat by Gloucestershire on Wednesday.

Yorkshire's new over seas-signing Shan Masood has been appointed as the club's captain, from when he arrives at Headingley for the 2023 season.

The Pakistan interna tional, 32, is leaving Der byshire to become one of the Tykes' two overseas players.

He joined Yorkshire on a two-year deal, having turned down the offer of a new contract with Der byshire.

"The conversations we've had with Shan is that he will be captain going forward," said head coach Ottis Gibson.

Speaking to BBC Radio Leeds, Gibson added: "The

players know that. He will bring his own style of lead ership."

That left their place in Division One riding on War wickshire's result against Hampshire at Edgbastonand the Bears sensationally beat Hampshire by five runs to sentence the Tykes to the drop for the first time in 11

years.

But Gibson was already planning ahead for 2023and admits he is looking for more than one leader.

"If Gary Ballance comes back early next year, he brings leadership with his volume of runs," said the former England bowling coach.

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Saturday, October 1, 2022 29 Shan Masood was appointed Yorkshire captain after defeat by Gloucestershire on Wednesday

"There's still a possibil ity of signing another over seas player, whether that's a seamer or a spinner, which will add more leadership to the squad.

"The young guys also have to step up and show that, whether it's lead ership or learning. For me, I want them to show learning that we've moved on and have learned some thing from the experiences of this year that we can take forward going into next year." (BBC Sport)

Josh Hazlewood is an integral part of Australia’s T20 attack (Getty Images)

India to depart for Australia on October 6 for preparatory camp

… Likely to pick second-string ODI squad to face South Africa, October 6-11

games prior to the tourna ment proper.

THE Indian team is set to depart for Australia on October 6, two days after the conclusion of the T20I series against South Africa, for a preparatory camp ahead of the T20 World Cup. This also means the selectors are likely to an nounce a second-string squad, led by Shikhar Dha

wan, for the three ODIs against South Africa from October 6 to 11.

India will train in Perth until October 13 where they are also scheduled to play a practice game against West ern Australia, before pro ceeding to Brisbane to take on Australia and New Zea land in two more warm-up

As many as five members of the T20 World Cup squadincluding the standbys - have no experience of playing topflight cricket in Australia. They are Suryakumar Yadav, Harshal Patel (made one trip with the U-19s in 2009), Ar shdeep Singh, Deepak Hooda (made one trip with U-19s in 2013) and Ravi Bishnoi. So these games might help these players acclimatise better and be more match-ready

As things stand, India are waiting on the fitness of Hooda and Bumrah, both of whom are currently at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru nursing back injuries. Hooda was ruled out of the South Africa

series entirely, Bumrah was only pulled out on Wednes day, the eve of the first T20I, after he complained of back pain.

Bumrah, who missed the Asia Cup with back issues, had only just come back for the T20Is against Australia earlier this month. But now he's back under the care of the medical team at the NCA, where he is believed to have undergone scans.

While he hasn't been ruled out of the T20 World Cup entirely, there are con siderable doubts over his participation. If injuries do rule out both Hooda and Bumrah, it's likely Chahar

and Mohammad Shami will be called into the main squad.

India head into the T20 World Cup on the back of ex tensive preparation. They've been on the road for the past three months, having played T20Is in Ireland, England, the Caribbean, the UAE to go with the home series against Australia and South Africa.

India are in Group 2 at the ICC event, alongside Pakistan, Bangladesh, South Africa and two qualifiers. Their opener at the MCG against Pakistan on Octo ber 23 will be followed by matches on October 27 (vs Qualifier in Sydney), Oc tober 30 (vs South Africa

in Perth), November 2 (vs Bangladesh in Adelaide) and November 6 (vs qualifier in Melbourne).

India ICC T20 World Cup squad: Rohit Sharma (capt.), KL Rahul (vicecapt), Virat Kohli, Suryaku mar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeep er), Dinesh Karthik (wicket keeper), Hardik Pandya, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bum rah*, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh.

Reserve players: Mo hammed Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Deepak Chahar.

Phil Salt stars as England level Twenty20 series

PHIL Salt smashed an un beaten 88 from 41 balls as England stormed to an eight-wicket win over Paki stan in the sixth Twenty20 international.

and four years for women's events. There are 16 men's events lined up over the eight years starting 2024, and six women's events between 2024 and 2027.

THE International Cricket Council (ICC) has invit ed bids for media rights to global cricketing events over the next four (or eight) years for the Australian, US, Caribbean and Canadian markets.

This is the second phase in the ICC's media rights pro cess, after sealing a deal for the Indian market last month for an undisclosed sum. That winning bid, thought to be in the region of just over US$3B, came from Disney Star* and covers both television and digital rights to men's and women's global tournaments

between 2024 and 2027.

Days after the winning bid was announced, Disney Star announced it would in turn be licensing part of the rights to Zee Entertainment Enterprises in another landmark deal.

Like the Indian deal, this new ITT (Invitation to Ten der) allows players to bid sep arately for the rights to men's and women's tournaments. But unlike the Indian deal, though, television and digital rights will not be up for grabs separately.

The bids must be made for four or eight years for men's events, starting from 2024,

ICC chief executive Geoff Allardice said the US market, in particular, has a lot of po tential for growth: "The USA is one of the ICC's targeted growth markets, and with 30 million cricket fans already enjoying the sport there, a World Cup scheduled to be co-hosted in that country in 2024 and our exciting am bition for inclusion in the 2028 Olympic Games, there couldn't be a better time for cricket to find a broadcast partner to help grow the game across the region."

ESPNcricinfo understands the bids need to be submitted by November 18 for Australia and November 7 for the other markets, but deadlines may be tweaked if needed.

The ICC will invite bids for other markets across the globe in due course. It is expected to finalise deals for all markets by December this year. (Cricinfo)

Chasing 170 for victory in Lahore, Salt bludgeoned his way to a 19-ball half-cen tury - the third fastest by an Englishman in T20 interna tionals - in a stunning dis play of hitting as the tourists levelled the series at 3-3 with one to play.

It was a good toss for England captain Moeen Ali to win, as a heavy dew made batting that much easier as the game went on, but despite that, the manner in which England knocked off the runs was remarkable.

Salt was at his brutal best in hitting 13 fours and three sixes and England had the luxury of being able to slow down and cruise to their target with 33 balls to spare.

Earlier, Pakistan captain Babar Azam had made an unbeaten 87 from 59 balls and showed all his class but lacked any significant support.

England's three left-seam ers - Reece Topley, Sam Cur ran and David Willey - were the pick of the bowlers and it quickly became apparent the

169-6 they restricted Paki stan to would not be enough.

"The way we batted was outstanding, we almost killed the game off straight away," said Moeen.

"It just shows if you stick to the process, you don't have to slog. They were proper shots.

"That was a really im pressive performance from everybody. It's great for the series that it is 3-3, I think it's been a brilliant series so far. We're looking for an exciting game in the last one."

The teams will remain in

With Pakistan losing T20 debutant Mohammad Haris and Shan Masood early - and their leading run-scorer in the series Mohammad Rizwan left out - the onus was soon on Babar to take the side to a competitive total.

He anchored the innings to perfection, seemingly managing to play risk-free cricket while also scoring comfortably in excess of a run a ball.

The closest England came to dismissing him came via a run-out when he was on 24, with Curran's shy at the stumps missing its mark.

Promising stands of 47 and 48 with Haider Ali and Iftikhar Ahmed respectively were cut short by Curran, who took 2-26 from his four overs, but Babar could not be dislodged.

The opener was in com plete control and after easing to a 27th T20I fifty from 41 balls, effortlessly lofted the ball back over Richard Glee son's head to go past 3 000 runs in the format.

It was Babar's 81st in nings, making him the joint fastest to the milestone, alongside India star Virat Kohli. (BBC Sport)

India head into the World Cup on the back of extensive preparation (BCCI)

Lahore for the decider tomor row (15:30 BST).

Phil Salt has the highest batting strike-rate in T20s for England men (minus 20 runs)

CWI shortlists 22 players for ICC Women’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup

ST JOHN’S, AntiguaTwenty-two of the best Under-19 women’s players from across the West In dies have been shortlisted as a provisional pool from which the squad for the ICC Women’s U19 Cricket World Cup, South Africa 2023 will be selected.

All six Regional Un der-19 teams returned to competition in the West In dies Rising Stars Women’s U19 Championship held in Trinidad in July, following two years without any re gional age-group cricket due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Following the tourna ment, 15 of the 22 players identified, played a historic five-match U19 T20 Inter national (T20I) series against the USA at the Broward County Stadium in Lauder

hill, Florida in August.

The CWI Selection Panel had the opportunity to see the team at play for the first time and despite the 4-1 loss to the USA, were pleased with the opportunity for West Indies Women’s Under-19 players to get international match experience and for the Pan el to better understand the talent within the group. This team is a historical one, as it is the first-ever West Indies Under-19 Women's team.

CWI’s Lead Selector for Women’s cricket, Ann Browne-John, said: “The Rising Stars Under-19 tour nament saw a welcome re turn to competition for young women in the region.

Following the tourna ment, these 22 players have been shortlisted to prepare for the World Cup in January

players

in South Africa, as well as some additional preparation matches.

After the long pandemic disruption, it was refreshing for the selectors to see some new talent which augers well for future development. This pool, apart from World Cup participation, can also serve as a feeder for the senior team. It contains a great mix of players both right- and left-handed and a variety of up-and-coming bowlers.”

The Rising Stars agegroup tournaments within CWI’s Future Stars pro gramme play a crucial role in the growth and development of the next generation of cricketers in the region.

These tournaments are a key component in the sys tem for identifying the West Indies U19 Men’s and Wom

en’s teams. This provides the best opportunity for our most talented players to thrive and develop further with the goal of ultimately feeding into the West Indies Senior Men’s and Women’s teams.

One of the players short listed is opening right-handed batter and captain of Trinidad and Tobago women’s U19 team, Shalini Samaroo. Sa maroo was part of the squad to play in the five-match T20I Series in Florida and she emerged as the Player-ofthe-Series.

Speaking to CWI Me dia, Samaroo said, “It was a dream come true, to be selected to play for the West Indies, because it was one of my goals as a cricketer to be able to wear the maroon colours.”

Samaroo added, “It was a learning experience for me, new coaches, new team mates, understanding differ ent personalities and abilities. I am happy that we got to play in the Rising Stars tour nament again after the delay due to COVID-19.

ing hard on our games wait ing for this tournament to put our skills on show to the se lectors and coaches and I am happy that I was one of the 22 to be selected as the best Under-19 women cricketers in the region.”

PROVISIONAL WEST INDIES WOMEN’S U19

PLAYER POOL

JOHNSON Charles of St Lucia Kings and Kyle May ers of Barbados Royals were among the 12-man 2022 Hero CPL Team-of-theTournament released yes terday.

Noticeably absent, how ever, is Brandon King of Jamaica Tallawahs, who is the second highest run-scorer in the tournament and one of only three men who have

scored hundreds in this year’s tournament.

Also, no Guyana Amazon Warriors player was named in the 12-man squad as was the case of St Kitts and Nevis Patriots team.

The team that was picked by the Hero CPL commentary team – Ian Bishop, Samuel Badree, Daren Ganga, Simon Doull and Danny Morrison, also includes South Africa’s

Faf du Plessis, who captained the Kings and Tallawahs cap tain Rovman Powell.

In fact, players from Kings and Tallawahs domi nated the selection with only Sunil Narine of four-time champions Trinbago Knight Riders among the selectees, while apart from Mayers, only Jason Holder was se lected among the 11 from the Barbados Royals.However, the selection panel picked the Royals’ Ramon Simmonds as the 12th man as a result of his impressive performances throughout the tournament.

Simmonds is one of the 12 emerging players in the Hero CPL squads and has been an important part of Bar bados Royals team in 2022.

The 2022 Hero CPL Team-of-the-Tournament: Johnson Charles (St Lu cia Kings), Kyle Mayers (Barbados Royals), Faf du Plessis (St Lucia Kings), Rovman Powell (Jamaica Tallawahs), Raymon Reif er (Jamaica Tallawahs), Imad Wasim (Jamaica Tall awahs), Jason Holder (Bar bados Royals), David Wiese (St Lucia Kings), Alzarri Joseph (St Lucia Kings), Mohammad Amir (Jamaica Tallawahs) Sunil Narine (Trinbago Knight Riders) and 12th man – Ramon Simmonds (Barbados Royal

“We have all been work

The West Indies Rising Stars Women’s Under-19 team are due to have a train ing camp and trial matches in Trinidad in October, be fore playing an away series against India in November as part of the preparation plans for the ICC Women’s U19 World Cup South Africa in January 2023. (CWI)

Asabi Callendar, Keni ka Cassar, Jahzara Claxton, Naijanni Cumberbatch, Destiny Edward, Jannillea Glasgow, Realeanna Grim mond, Trishan Holder, Zaida James, Djenaba Jo sep Maria La Foucade, Na miah Marcellin, K. D. Jazz Mitchell, Ashmini Munisar, Niveena Ramnath, Cyanna Retemiah, Selena Ross, Shalini Samaroo, Shunelle Sawh, Lena Scott, Abini St Jean and Kate Wilmott.

Secondary schools football continues today

THE Guyoil/Tradewind

Tankers Secondary schools under-18 football League will continue today at the Ministry of Education ground on Carifesta Ave nue with 4 more matches.

The match Day-3 action will kick off at noon when bottom team of the 8-team PETRA organised League, Friendship Secondary go in search of their first point and goal in a meeting with 4th position President's College, one of 3 teams on 4 points.

Leaders, Christianburg Multilateral with 2 wins from as many outings take on 5th place North Ruim veldt Multilateral on a sol itary point

. The Region 10 team who are yet to concede a goal will look to add to their tally of 13 goals when the match gets underway at 13:30hrs. The George town-based boys will be hoping to improve on their win and draw and their tal ly of 5 goals scored and 6

against.

The 3rd fixture today set for 15:00hrs will bring together 2nd placed Golden Grove Secondary on 4 points and 2nd from the bottom West Ruimveldt Secondary on 1point and a -5 goal dif ference.

The final game in the PETRA organised 8-team league will match 3rd place Cummings Lodge Sec ondary against 6th place Dolphin Secondary at 16:30hrs.

Guyanese Ashmini Munisar

Jamaica

Jamaica Tallawahs cart off third Hero CPL title

…King, Allen star in eight-wicket victory

By Clifton Ross

JAMAICA Tallawahs romped to their third Hero CPL title after Brandon King's half-century was instrumental in his team's commanding eight-wick et victory over Barbados Royals in last night's final at Providence Stadium.

With no Guyana Amazon Warriors to cheer for, the local crowd still supported the two overseas franchises who put on one final show to bring down curtains on the 10th season of CPL T20 action.

The Royals were in debted to Azam Khan, who banged the ball last night for his top-score of 51 off 40 balls, smashing three sixes and four fours as Barbados Royals reached an inade quate 161 for seven in their 20 overs, after opting to bat first.

Openers, Captain Kyle Mayers (29) and Rahkeem Cornwall (36) set the tone for Azam, as little contribu tions were made by the other batters.

It was a two-man show of mixed bowling for the Tall awahs, with medium-pacer Nicholas Gordon snaring 3-30 while the left-arm spin of all-rounder Fabian Allen yielded returns of 3-24, as the pair did the majority of the damage for their team.

In reply, it was a bril

THE winners of the 2022 T20 World Cup in Aus tralia will take home US$1.6M in prize money, the same amount as the last year's edition, the ICC announced yester day. Similarly, the run ners-up will collect $800 000 and the losing semi-fi nalists $400 000 each.

The 16-team tourna ment, starting October 16, will be played in two rounds.

The eight teams - Na mibia, Sri Lanka, Nether lands, UAE in Group A, and West Indies, Scotland, Ireland and Zimbabwe in Group B - will play the first round. For any win in this round, a team will receive a prize money of $40 000.

Four teams - the top two from each group - will qual ify for the Super 12 round. They will join Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, En gland, India, New Zealand,

Pakistan and South Africa there. The ones who get knocked out in the first round will get $40 000 each.

In the Super 12 phase too, each win will fetch a team $40 000. The eight teams who exit at the Super 12 stage will receive $70 000 each, just like the 2021 edition.

The total prize mon ey for the tournament is $5.6M. (Cricinfo)

liant chase by the eventual champs, who cruised to victory, surging to 162 for two in 16.1 overs, thanks to a king's knock from the opener King, who led the charge with an undefeated 83 from 50 balls.

The right-hander punched 13 fours along with a pair of sixes, one of which finished the game in grand style, taking his team to yet another ti tle, following triumphs in 2013 and 2016.

Centurion from the previous game, Shamarh Brooks played a classy hand despite missing out on a half-century. The Bajan stroked a 33-ball 47 which was laced with six fours and two sixes, shar ing a second wicket stand of 86 with King.

King and Brooks con solidated after Kennar Lewis (0) failed yet again. The pair cut loose as they put the Tallawahs in pole position to facilitate cap tain Rovman Powell (14 not out), who came in af ter the departure of Brooks but was there in the end to see his team to their title.

King teamed up with his skipper and the pair made light work of the remaining runs, racing to an unbroken third-wicket stand of 75 from 35 balls, knocking the wind out of the Royals sail, as they strolled across the victory line with ease.

The Barbados Royals

had earlier sought to keep the little momentum they had as Cornwall and May ers added 63 for the first wicket.

Cornwall muscled two fours and four sixes while Mayers clobbered six fours as both batters looked ominous, before Allen snuffed the wickets of both openers.

Khan settled into his knock with tempered ag gression and a touch of class, stabilizing the in nings. The Pakistani kept things together, helping the Royals past the 100run tally in the 13th over.

The burly Khan eventually reached his half-century off 39 de liveries, adding 48 with Holder (17). With the de parture of both batsmen, the lanky Gordon ripped through the lower-order to wrap up the innings in a hurry.

Following the match, King was named Hero of the tournament, while Allen who was adjudged Hero of the Match, dedi cating his three wickets to his late father.

Royals all-rounder Ramon Simmonds was named the emerging Under-25 player of the tournament. Jamaica have now become the only franchise to win a CPL title after placing fourth the preliminary stages of the tourna ment.

Opener Brandon King followed up his hundred against the Guyana Amazon Warriors a few nights ago, with a matchwinning unbeaten 83 (CPL/ Getty images)