Guyana Chronicle E-Paper 01-11-2022

Unfounded and irresponsible

— Minister Teixeira calls out AFC ‘swipe’ at ROPA consultation

MINISTER of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira has described the Alliance For Change (AFC) swipe at the recent consultation on the amendments to the Representation of the People Act (ROPA)

and the National Registration Act (NRA) as irresponsible.

The draft amendments seek to safeguard democracy in Guyana by protecting the national electoral process. The AFC, at a recent press conference, criticised the

consultation as unhelpful.

Minister Teixeira, however, said the claim by the AFC is far from true.

She noted that on October 29, 2021, President, Dr. Irfaan Ali announced that the draft amendments to the electoral laws would be made publicly

available on social media within one week of the announcement.

On November 5, 2021, the amendments to the ROPA and draft regulations to the ROPA were posted on the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance’s

Facebook page, Minister Teixeira said, and pointed out that the public was invited to submit comments, observations, and changes first, within six weeks, which then stretched to almost one year.

“To the credit of the

then General-Secretary and Chairperson of the PNC, Ms. Amna Ally and Ms. Volda Lawrence, both asked the ministry for hard copies of the draft amendments, which were promptly provided to them,” the minister said.

Muneshwers Ltd modernising operations with US$4M mobile crane

THE Inter-American Devel opment Bank (IDB)-Invest and Muneshwers Limited, on Monday, inked a US$4M loan agreement for the pro curement of a mobile crane for the conglomerate.

The signing was witnessed by Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh.

The acquisition of the ma chinery by Muneshwers will see the modernisation of its wharf, a release said, which also pointed out that it signals the financial institution’s as sistance and support for a pri vate sector investment project.

The mobile crane is the first in Guyana to be deployed in the shipping industry.

The signing ceremony took place just after a cour tesy call on Dr. Singh by new General Manager of the Ca ribbean Country Department (CCB), Tariq Alli. Minister Singh expressed his appreci ation to the CCB as well as to Chief Executive Officer of IDB-Invest, James Scriven,

for the work done in order for Guyana to have reached this point in terms of partnership with the IDB.

The CCB is an arm within the IDB. The minister also thanked the private sector in Guyana, including the team at Muneshwers led by Robin Muneshwer, whose persever ance, according to Dr. Singh, played a great part in the proj ect being materialised.

“I think it goes without saying that this is an incredi bly exciting time in Guyana’s economic history. The coun try is undergoing unprece dented economic growth. We are going to be growing by more than 25 per cent over the medium term, easily by more than 25 per cent in the next three to four years. This has catalysed the re markable expansion in the non-oil economy,” Dr. Singh explained.

He added that the gov ernment wants to use this period in Guyana to build out as quickly as possible ‘the foundation of a strong

and competitive non-oil economy and for this reason we are building out infra structure very aggressively, building out capacity for so cial services, roads, bridges, ports, hospitals, schools etc. and we are doing this with the support of a number of strategic and important development partners, not least among whom is the IDB.

Minister Singh, accord ing to the release, also ex pressed appreciation for the strong support the IDB has been providing on the public sector side.

SUSTAINED INVEST MENT REQUIRED

“Given the changes that are taking place in the Guy anese economy, we see the role played by institutions like the IDB changing somewhat in the course of the next few years. And in particular, we see the need for increased em phasis on private sector opera tions because, in fact, this rap id expansion in the Guyanese economy is being driven by the private sector and requires sustained investment by the private sector going forward,” Minister Singh said.

“We would like to see more private sector operations done because we see this as absolutely critical to ensure that we are able to realise the private sector-led growth that we anticipate will take

us through the medium term to long term,” the Finance Minister emphasised.

Alluding to the impor tance of this specific project, Dr. Singh concluded that the significance of the project does not only lie in the amount invested but in the fact that the IDB can do business with the private sector in Guyana.

The release also noted that, in April this year, the Finance Minister hosted a Roundtable meeting with rep resentatives of the private sec tor and Scriven at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre where the teams discussed Guyana’s development agen da.

The meeting focused on the wide range of private-sec tor opportunities for possi ble investment by the bank, such as an expansion of trade financing with commercial banks and providing support to micro-enterprises.

Additionally, discussions centred on various sectors poised for rapid expansion, including oil and gas, agri

culture and agro-processing, tourism and Information Communications Technology (ICT).

It also allowed for an examination of available fi nancing instruments, various mechanisms, and modalities of accessing this financing and examples of how these mechanisms have worked in other countries.

IDB-Invest is the private sector arm of the IDB. Its aim is to advance economic development and improve lives by encouraging the growth of the private sec tor. It offers an array of in vestment opportunities and provides its clients with cus tomised financing solutions and expert advice, tailored to their specific industry and market.

Government has been working aggressively to create the conditions for private sector-led growth with government policies designed to create jobs and allow for income genera tion, the release concluded.

Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh (fourth left) with representatives of the IDB and Muneshwers Limited

AFC ‘swipe’ at ROPA consultation highly irresponsible — Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance

MINISTER of Par liamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira has de scribed the Alliance For Change (AFC) swipe at the recent consultation on the amendments to the Representation of the People Act (ROPA) and the National Reg istration Act (NRA) as irresponsible.

The draft amend ments seek to safeguard democracy in Guyana by protecting the na tional electoral process. The AFC, at a recent press conference, crit icised the consultation as unhelpful.

Minister Teixeira, however, said the claim by the AFC is far from true. She noted that on October 29, 2021, President, Dr. Irfaan Ali announced that the draft amendments to the electoral laws would be made publicly available on social media within one week of the an nouncement.

On November 5, 2021, the amendments to the ROPA and draft regulations to the ROPA were posted on the Min istry of Parliamenta ry Affairs and Gover nance’s Facebook page, Minister Teixeira said, and pointed out that the public was invited to submit comments, ob servations, and changes first, within six weeks, which then stretched to almost one year.

“To the credit of the then General-Secretary and Chairperson of the PNC, Ms. Amna Ally and Ms. Volda Law

rence, both asked the ministry for hard cop ies of the draft amend ments, which were promptly provided to them,” the minister said.

On May 9 and 19, 2022, she said, Attor ney-General Anil Nand lall met with the re spondents to the draft amendments to the ROPA, but neither the APNU+AFC coalition, the PNC, nor the AFC submitted any com ments or changes to these drafts, prior to or after the May meetings.

On September 29, 2022, the draft amend ments to the National Registration Act were also publicly posted on the Ministry’s Face book page, the minister related.

“These parties were invited to the national consultation on October 25th and predictably walked out, alleging that Minister Nandlall and I had taken two hours out of a threehour consultation. The AFC forgets that in this electronic age, records of time are captured.

First of all, I spoke for seven minutes in my opening. The AttorneyGeneral was asked to do an overview of the draft laws and rationale behind the amendments; he spoke for one hour and 15 minutes. After this, he began the ex amination of the draft amendments to the acts. We then took a break at 2:50 pm and conclud ed after 5:00 p.m. The APNU/AFC represen tatives, Mr. Khemraj Ramjattan, Mr. Roys dale Forde, and Ms. Tabitha Sarabo-Halley walked out only one hour after the consulta tion began. For the AFC to assume what were the reasons for Mr. Jo nas’ and Mr. Mahadeo’s departure is rather pre sumptuous, particularly as the latter publicly stated why he was leav ing, and it was not for the same reasons as the AFC representatives,” Minister Teixeira said.

She added: “More importantly, how does the electorate treat with any political party and its elected Members of

Parliament who are so dismissive and uninter ested in amendments of these statutes, after the punishment and stress

that the nation and the citizenry went through during the five-month delay following the March 2, 2020 Elec tions? Is this not the height of political irre sponsibility?

“These very statutes define and protect the electoral process in our country, and guard our fundamental right to elect our representatives to government period ically, as enshrined in the Constitution. These amendments emerged to ensure that there would no “Mingo-ism” in fu ture elections.”

The consultation saw

participation from rep resentatives of faithbased organisations, political parties, private sector and other civil society organisations and actors.

“Contrary to re sponse by the AFC, the feedback received from the consultation participants was especially positive, as they noted to have found the session informa tive and enlightening, and they appreciated being invited and in cluded in the ongoing electoral reform process,” Minister Teixeira said.

Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Gail Teixeira

Guyana completes national risk assessment report ahead of CFATF evaluation

GUYANA has successfully completed its second Mon ey Laundering/Terrorist Financing (ML/TF) Nation al Risk Assessment (NRA) Report ahead of its Fourth Mutual Evaluation by the Caribbean Financial Ac tion Task Force (CFATF), and will now focus on im plementing several recom mendations, including the development of an updated National ML/TF Policy and Strategy.

These announcements were made by Attorney-Gen eral and Minister of Legal Af fairs, Mohabir Anil Nandlall, S.C, on Monday.

In a detailed statement, he confirmed that the Anti-mon ey Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation Financing, National Coordination Com mittee, which he chairs, has completed its report.

He said that the NRA ex ercise was conducted in line with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)’s Recom mendation 1, which requires all countries, on an ongoing basis, to identify, assess, and

understand their ML/TF risks, and to act and apply resources and preventative measures to mitigate the identified risks, using a risk-based approach.

This exercise is the second ML/TF NRA to be completed by Guyana within the last six years. It was conducted using the NRA tool developed by the World Bank.

According to Minister Nandlall, the second NRA commenced back in Decem ber 2019, and was conducted by a Working Group of over 70 persons representing over

40 public and private sector agencies in Guyana.

“Notwithstanding numer ous challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Working Group concluded the exercise in June 2021. The World Bank provided guidance and support to the Working Group throughout the NRA process. The results of the exercise are detailed within the NRA Report, and an accompanying Risk Based Action Plan, which contains over one hundred recommen dations to be implemented by various agencies. These documents have already been shared with key AML/FT stakeholder agencies locally to commence the implemen tation of the Action Plan,” the release said.

In conducting the exercise, the working group assessed and identified Guyana’s ML/ TF threats and vulnerabilities, which included the identifica tion of weaknesses and gaps in the country’s ability to effectively deal with the ex isting ML/TF vulnerabilities and threats.

He said that the group

City Hall owes

THE Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) owes the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) between $400 to $500 million in un remitted Pay As You Earn (PAYE) income tax deduc tions that the municipality took out of its employees’ salaries but failed to pay over to the revenue collec tion agency.

This was admitted by Georgetown Mayor Ubraj Narine, who said that he is nonetheless hoping that the municipality can negotiate with GRA to hold off on a warning that it will begin legal proceedings to levy on property belonging to City Hall if the debt is not addressed.

“They have threatened us with a court action; we ask them to hold on it, and we are trying our very best,” Mayor Narine said, adding: “We are government agen cies; we shouldn’t fight down each other; we should

examined vulnerabilities faced by 20 sectors that are consid ered as possessing higher than normal risk for ML/TF locally.

These sectors included banks, insurance companies and brokers, money transfer agencies, cambios, securities businesses, attorneys-at-law, accountants, notaries, trust or company service providers, house/ real estate gents, used car/ parts dealers, registered charities, dealers in precious metals (gold dealers), dealers in precious and semi-precious stones (diamond dealers), credit unions, cooperatives, betting shops, casinos, lotter ies, and pawnbrokers.

“The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing threat and vulnerability posed by financial inclusion products, the country’s risk of exposure to proliferation financing, the risk associated with illegal wildlife trade, and money laundering risks associated with Guyana’s emerging oil and gas sector, were also as sessed by the working group,” Minister Nandlall said in his statement.

in PAYE deductions

It is roughly $400 to $500 million that is owed,” May or Narine said.

seek to work with each oth er. Let us negotiate and find a common ground to work together again, because we are government agencies.”

City Hall has approx imately 600 employees, and pays approximately $120 million in salaries per month, Mayor Narine not ed. He said that the period across which the money is owed is decades long, and predates his assumption of office.

“That’s years story; de cades you talking about.

However, he admitted that the Council continues to accrue more debt, since the current deductions are also not being paid. Asked why City Hall is not remit ting the money, Narine said he is awaiting the resolution of a previous discussion held with the GRA Com missioner-General Godfrey Statia that the revenue au thority would hand over back to City Hall Value Added Tax (VAT) that was previously paid to the GRA by City Hall.

“We had an agreement in 2019 with Mr. Statia, where Mr. Statia said to me that all the VAT paid to GRA through the solid waste department, those monies will be remitted to us. We’re not supposed to pay VAT on garbage; we’re still to negotiate on that,” Narine said.

According to Narine, the discussions were started in 2019 but were never final ized, and the amount of VAT that was to be paid is still to be determined to this day.

“I can’t give a figure, because GRA did not sup ply me with that figure. We did follow up, and at one follow up, they said we have to go back in our re cords and find it [the figure] and give them. It’s a back and forth,” Narine said.

Narine believes if the figure is determined, and the agreement goes through, then the amount can be deducted from City Hall’s PAYE debt. Repre sentatives from City Hall had met with representa tives from the GRA earlier this year for yet another follow up on the state of the agreement. Narine said he was not present for the meeting, and was debriefed after, but a way forward is still not clear.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Some of the recommen dations put forward by the working group to address the existing ML/TF threats and vulnerabilities include the development of an updated formal National ML/TF Pol icy and Strategy.

“This policy has been drafted, and we hope to have it finalised with some technical support and guidance from the World Bank, by November 30, 2022,” he said.

Also on the table is ad ditional amendments to the AML/CT Act and other leg islation. Some of these pro posed amendments have al ready been drafted and passed by President Mohamed Irfaan Ali since August 11, 2022.

Other recommendations include outreach activities to the relevant authorities. Training programmes for the private sector have already been initiated.

“Additionally, efforts to strengthen domestic co operation and coordination among competent authorities concerning the development and implementation of AML/

FT activities are ongoing. These are just a few of the ongoing measures by the rel evant agencies in response to the recommendations by the working group. The country’s efforts to combat financial crimes including money laun dering and terrorism financing will continue to be prioritized by the Government,” the AG said.

He added that these efforts are also being implemented to ensure Guyana’s readiness, as the country prepares for its Fourth Round of Mutual Eval uation by the CFATF, which is scheduled for the third quarter of 2023.

The mutual evaluation process has already com menced, with a Pre-Assess ment Training facilitated by the CFATF for both public and private Sector AML/ CFT stakeholders. The aim of the training, which was held from October 12-14, was to ensure that these key stakeholders under stand their AML/CFT roles and responsibilities, and are equipped and prepared for Guyana’s assessment.

policy among

Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs Mohabir Anil Nandlall, S.C.

Mayor of Georgetown Ubraj Narine

PNC/R leaders silent on ‘internal elections rigging’ claims

MEMBERS of the People’s National Congress/Reform (PNC/R) continue to remain mum about concerns of glar ing “irregularities” raised by party member Annette Fergu son at the People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R) October 2 Georgetown Dis trict Elections.

Frustrated over the con duct of the party’s Georgetown District Elections which she contested, Ferguson had written to the Central Executive Com mittee (CEC) of the PNC/R ex pressing her concerns over al leged irregularities which were observed before and during the polls.

Attempts by the Guyana Chronicle on Monday to con tact Ferguson for an update on the matter proved futile.

However, several members of the party noted that they would not be commenting on whether or not any official response was ever sent to Fer guson, or if any of the list of irregularities she outlined were ever addressed.

“I wouldn’t wish to com ment on those matters, they are party matters and they will be treated with and dealt with internally. I have no response,”

PNCR Member Annette Ferguson

said party member Roysdale Forde.

Ferguson in her missive to the CEC, which was published in some sections of the media, named Forde as being among the party members who were disenfranchised at the elections after he was not allowed to vote, despite being registered to do so.

The Georgetown District is the PNC/R’s largest support base.

Another party member, who spoke to the Guyana Chronicle on the condition of anonymity, said if the matter

was addressed, it would have been done during the party’s last CEC meeting on October 19.

“All I know is that Annette Ferguson made some com plaints and I’m not sure what direction the party took with it due to my absence at the last CEC meeting,” the party member said.

In her letter, Ferguson is said to have complained that prior to the day of the election, candidates did not receive im portant information regarding the number of delegates reg istered, the amount of ballots printed and how the actual voting would be done.

On the elections day, the irregularities reportedly includ ed unregistered persons voting, while a number of registered persons were prevented from voting, and ballots not being counted and verified in the presence of candidates.

Ferguson implored her par ty to examine those “irregu larities” through a thorough internal probe, and to strive and develop a better internal system to manage future elections, since there was a “glaring ab sence” of checks and balances at the recent district polls.

Ferguson pointed to the fact that the final ballot count of 213 votes exceeded the 211 votes that were cast. According to reports in the media, Ferguson lost the election to Troy Gar raway after receiving 87 votes to the 121 votes for Garraway. Five spoilt ballots were record ed, according to reports.

In previous comments, PNC/R Leader Aubrey Norton had endorsed the polls as “free and fair,” dismissing the irreg ularities as being of no concern. He endorsed the elections.

“I want to say this to you. The elections that were held there were free and fair. There were some contention that when the numbers [votes] add ed up it [ballots] had exceeded [the votes] by two. Now in the particular election the gap was more than 75, so I don’t know that materially could’ve affect ed the elections results,” Norton had declared.

Aside from dismissing the inconsistency in the ballot num bers, Norton did not address any of the other discrepancies that Ferguson outlined in her letter.

The PNC/R is known for rigging the results of national elections, with the latest ac

cusation being the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections.

Guyanese, after casting their votes on March 2, 2020, had to endure a five-month wait for the results of the

General and Regional Elec tions, as they witnessed what was described as the most transparent attempt at elec tion rigging on behalf of the APNU+AFC coalition.

To what end?

THE circumstances sur rounding the role of Gee ta Chandan-Edmond as General Secretary of the People’s National Congress/Reform (PNC/R) are murky at best. There is clearly something amiss and members of the PNC/R must inquire why it is that a senior function ary of the party has been missing in action for close to four months.

Internally, there are claims that the repres sive culture manifested by the current leadership of that party has created a less-than-favourable envi ronment which was already lacking morale and group cohesiveness following the dismal efforts of some operatives associated with the opposition to steal the 2020 General and Regional Elections and deny Guya nese people their democratic right.

At this stage, the internal crisis of the PNC/R is also

what reflects externally. So mediocre has been their performance that Attorney General Anil Nandlall, S.C. had cause to quip during a public meeting some time ago that the political opposi tion must be more responsi ble and effective in carrying out its duties, even as that duty means criticising the government.

The Attorney Gener al is correct. It should be recalled that due to their non-participation in the con sideration of the estimates for the most recent national budget passed early this year, government-affiliat ed members of parliament were forced to ask their col leagues, who were ministers of government, questions so that a detailed parliamentary record could be created for access to future generations on the rationale behind some spending priorities.

Non-participation has been a fundamental theme of the political opposition’s

new tactic which has con sistently forced especially younger voters away from the opposition coalition of parties and into the camp of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic. If Mr Norton is asked, as evidenced by his recent reliance on a ficti tious, secret poll, he would say differently.

It is befuddling that not withstanding these tactics, there are those who would still claim that the Presi dent Irfaan Ali-led PPP/C government has not done enough to engage the op position parties on matters of national importance. A few examples of the olive branch being extended by the PPP/C but tossed aside by the PNC/R are necessary.

Recall the confusion sur rounding the engagement between President Ali and Opposition Leader Norton, during which it was claimed that the Opposition Leader’s schedule was so busy that the President had to bend his

timeline around Mr Norton’s availability.

Graciously recognising his role to create the con ditions for governance in keeping with Article 13 of the Constitution, President Ali, with AG Nandlall at his side, kept the door open for an Opposition Leader who was a no-show at one such important consultation. Recall the political oppo sition’s effort to dupe the public into believing that there was sound reasoning, without ego, which created that situation.

Similar was seen during the national stakeholders’ meeting on the amendments to the electoral laws. Sup porters of and voters for the APNU+AFC should be wor ried that despite the political opposition shouting from the mountaintops about this issue and that regarding the electoral process, as duly elected representatives of a significant portion of the voting population, their

first plan was to boycott the event. Hopefully, feel ing ashamed at the initial decision, they quickly re scinded and attended the consultation last week. The Guyana Chronicle report ed that the representatives of the political opposition left the consultation before the open forum- discussion commenced. To what end?

Again, we saw similarly bizarre tactics months ago when an invitation for the political opposition to name a representative to serve on one of the committees relat ing to the petroleum fund, was ignored. Yet, they will continue to claim exclusion and the like. Again, to what end? The announcement of the date for local govern ment elections is yet another example where we have seen the political opposi tion engage in aggressive advocacy for a particular course of action, and then boycott that action once it is implemented by the PPP/C

government. For the third time, to what end?

The chaos and confu sion consuming the inter nal affairs of the PNC/R, as one of Guyana’s larg est parties, threatens the very stability of our gov ernance system. It simply cannot make up its mind on what its role is, and that is clear. The leadership of the group must take stock of where the tension lies, even if the tension comes from the very leader of the party, and work quickly to remove that tension and all that birthed it. Guyana’s Westminster-styled system creates a non-negotiable arrangement where the political opposition must have a say. The nation, however, cannot advance while continuing to be held hostage by the politics of brinkmanship exercised by the APNU+AFC. But, despite public pleas, they continue, to what end?

Heartening to see students of David Rose Special School show love, compassion

Dear Editor, PRESIDENT, Dr Irfaan Ali’s message of building a “One Guyana” through initiatives such as Men on Mission (MoM) is certainly unfolding quickly and reach ing the masses. It all starts

with the right education at a young age and students from the David Rose Special School certainly demonstrat ed today what sharing and caring for the community means. A group of 10 Grade Four students accompanied by three teachers visited the

Georgetown Public Hos pital Corporation (GPHC) Oncology Department on Monday morning. They dis tributed get-well cards made by students from the school to all the patients who at tended clinic today. This kind gesture is laudable on

the last day of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Dr Latoya Gooding expressed the hospi tal’s thanks and appreciation for this wonderful initiative and praised the Headmistress, Ms Dionne McKenzie, the teachers and more in particu lar the kind-hearted students

for their artistic work in pre paring the beautiful cards and wanting to reach out to the patients. This simple exercise sends the right mes sage to society which shows that all should show love, compassion and concern for those affected by medical,

challenging issues.

Yours sincerely, Jai Lall Public Relations Officer Georgetown Public Hospi tal Corporation

Refreshing to see due attention given to matters raised by Fernandes and Allicock

Dear Editor,

NICOLETTE Fer nandes, probably the most successful individual athlete who has represent ed Guyana within recent years, and Keevin Allicock, one of our more success ful boxers, have pub licly pointed out that our sports teams and individual athletes representing Guyana at international com petitions are seldom given the support by their respective sporting associations, including the Olym pic Association, and, yes, the government, which they deserve and which they must have for success.

Fernandes de scribed a health-emer gency situation which arose when our ath letes were representing Guyana at the South American Games when the team was not accompanied by either a doctor or a qualified physio and was de pendent on assistance from the doctor of an other competing team.

What Nicolette Fer nandes described, un fortunately, has not been the exception, but rather the rule across the board. The excuse has always been, and with some justifica tion, that there is in sufficient money to finance this kind of support.

I speak from experi ence. I had the honour of serving as President

of the Guyana Rugby Football Union from 2001- 2006 and, then again, from 2010 –2012. Rugby is not one of Guyana’s ma jor sports, but, during those years, we pro duced Rugby Sevens teams, both men and women, who were champions of the Ca ribbean and Central America and rep resented Guyana at the Commonwealth Games.

We too struggled for financing, but, yet, managed with the Olympic Association and government help to travel with profes sional support that a team must have. Ev ery one of our players was medically exam ined and certified fit to compete by a doctor at home before trav elling. We travelled with a qualified phys io/coach. Our teams were insured to cover any health emergen cy. Our players had to meet required inter national fitness stan dards to qualify for selection. Sadly, the Rugby Union cannot make that claim today, nor can many of our sporting associations.

It was good, there fore, to see President Ali positively re spond to Nicolette and Keevin’s public reve lations and I congrat ulate them for speak ing out. In contrast, the response from the President of the Guy ana Boxing Associa tion, Steve Ninvalle,

and of the Olympic Association, Juman Yassin, was negative, defensive, typical, and unacceptable.

Ninvalle also heads the National Sports Commission and is in a conflict of inter est by remaining head of the boxing associ ation. Juman-Yassin has been President of the Olympic Associa tion for some 26 years, much, much, too long. No one should head a sporting association or club for more, at most, five years.

Jamaica has pro duced some of the best athletes in the world and has shown the way. Other Carib bean countries have done well too. At the last Commonwealth Games, Guyana could not manage a medal and we were not even represented at Rugby, nor for that matter, any team sport. There is no excuse for this.

President Ali is reported as having asked the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport to engage all of our sporting as sociations on these matters and has said “we can’t ask our athletes to give us their best and to per form at an optimal level when we don’t support them to do so.” He is so right. Let’s look forward to that happening from now on.

Yours sincerely, Kit Nascimento

Chandan-Edmond may not return to Parliament

PEOPLE’S National Congress/Reform (PNC/R) General-Secre tary Geeta Chandan-Ed mond may not return to Parliament unless the rift with party leader Au brey Norton is repaired, according to multiple party sources.

According to Opposi tion Chief Whip Christo pher Jones, Chandan-Ed

mond is expected to be among the Members of Parliament (MP) present on the Opposition benches come Monday.

“Monday is Parlia ment, all of the MPs will be in session save and ex cept for the eight of us that [sic] have been suspended.

Monday is the sitting and all of the members will be

there,” Jones related.

Chandan-Edmond has been on extended leave for close to three months.

Questioned about the situation, Jones said he sees nothing unusual.

“She’s an officer of the party and officers of the party would go on leave every now and again depending on what it is,

whether personal leave or whatever the case may be. But unless she is out of the jurisdiction, as MP you would be expected to attend Parliament,” Jones related.

Jones confirmed how ever that Chandan-Ed mond has still not giv en a timeline on when she would be expected to return to her Gener al-Secretary post. That is notwithstanding the need for political parties to get into campaign mode with the upcoming Local Gov ernment Elections (LGEs), with nominations day just weeks away on December 12.

Chandan-Edmond had initially applied for leave from the party from Au gust 10 to September 4, re portedly to deal with per sonal matters. However, at the end of that period, she

applied for an extension of her leave. The extension appears indefinitely.

An Attorney-at-Law and former Magistrate, Chandan-Edmond had been appointed to serve as the PNC/R Gener al-Secretary since Janu ary, 2022, shortly after the party’s elections in December. Unlike other members of the PNCR ex ecutive, the General-Sec retary is not elected but is appointed by the leader of the party. Current Leader of the PNC/R is Aubrey Norton.

However, details have been emerging that Chan dan-Edmond extended her leave as a result of a strained relationship be tween herself and Norton.

Several sources within the party laid blame on Norton’s leadership style for the wedge driven be

tween Chandan-Edmond and the party’s leadership. The sources pointed to Norton’s “arrogance” in his approach to conten tious issues, oftentimes seeking to silence dis senting voices within the party.

It has been close to three months since Chan dan-Edmond was seen at a public event hosted by the party or its umbrella, the A Partnership for Nation al Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition, of which the PNCR is the largest mem ber.

In addition to suppos edly being sidelined by Norton, Chandan-Edmond has also been keeping a low profile, giving up pub lic appearances. Several calls to her phone went unanswered in the past few days.

There are growing concerns by party stal warts about the confron tational stance adopted by Norton that alienates parts of the party mem bership.

PNC/R General-Secretary Geeta Chandan-Edmond

Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton

Water ambulance, boathouse commissioned at Supenaam

MINISTER of Health Dr Frank Anthony on Mon day commissioned a water ambulance and a boathouse totalling $24 million at Su penaam, Region Two.

Dr Anthony was at the time wrapping up a one-day visit to the region.

While noting that the wa ter ambulance is the newest addition to the region’s fleet of health boats, he pointed out that the ministry is aim ing to expand and improve the delivery of health in Es

sequibo. As such, the water ambulance is a necessity for the region.

He said that boat will provide services to riverain communities, including the Supenaam Creek.

According to Dr Anthony, the boat has the capacity to transport patients in emergen cy situations to Parika.

Meanwhile, Regional Health Officer, Dr Ranjeev Singh, said that the boat will also be available to assist the people of Region Three and

neighbouring areas.

He said that when pa tients in emergency situations cannot be air-dashed to a medical facility, the boat will be used to transport them.

Dr Singh added that giv en the presence of the new water ambulance, the re sponse to emergency cases will be quicker.

Regional Chairperson Vilma De Silva in her re marks said that the region is very thankful for the water ambulance.

Guyana records decrease in adolescent pregnancies

By Naomi Parris

GUYANA has recorded a decrease in adolescent pregnancies, according to the Director of Primary Health Care Services at the Ministry of Health, Dr Ertenisa Hamilton.

Dr Hamilton, in her address at the launch of the “EQUAL Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR)” project in Guyana, said that the re duction in adolescent preg nancies is due to the many initiatives implemented by the Ministry of Health.

“We started off in 2012, with 25 per cent of our teen adolescents being pregnant, and now we can say we’re at 19 per cent,” she related.

The ‘EQUAL SRHR’ project, which is being funded by the Canadian government, is another ini tiative that will also con tribute to a further reduc tion in those figures, as it zeroes in on women, girls and migrants in Re gions One, Seven, Eight and Nine, with the aim of enhancing systems to prevent and address in cidents of Gender-Based Violence (GBV), among other things.

Dr Hamilton said too that the ministry has also seen an increase in insti tutional deliveries, notably in the hinterland commu nities.

“We know that the sur vival of our country is de pendent on the survival of our children, and so more women who are delivering in health facilities means that there are lower ma ternal mortalities and also the neonates have an op portunity to survive the 28 days,” she related.

Dr Hamilton also allud ed to the roll out of other initiatives and projects by the ministry in collabo ration with international partners.

“There are a couple of initiatives that we’re work

ing on that would have started showing progress, but we’re hoping to expand over the next couple of years,” she said.

One of the many ini tiatives is the ministry’s maternity waiting homes established in several hin terland communities.

“Now this is mainly for our indigenous regions, where we encouraging women to come early from [their] villages to a home where they can be assured the requisite care until they’re ready for labour,” Dr. Hamilton said.

The ministry, she add ed, has also focused on the training of healthcare work ers to safeguard against women against postpartum haemorrhaging, which was the leading cause of mater nal deaths in the country’s indigenous communities.

“… one of the areas also we are looking at is zero maternal deaths by haemorrhage. Not so long ago, postpartum haemor rhage was the main cause of death in Guyana. And I don’t have to tell you that a lot of it also came from our indigenous communi ty,” Dr Hamilton said.

Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony (second from left); Region Two Chairperson Vilma De Silva (centre) and other regional officials commissioning the boathouse and water ambulance at Supenaam

The Director of Primary Health Care Services at the Ministry of Health, Dr Ertenisa Hamilton

US trade mission explores opportunities in Guyana

THE US Embassy in George town recently hosted a Depart ment of Commerce “Trade In the Americas” delegation con sisting of five firms represent ing some US$205M in revenue from across the United States.

According to a release, the firms were part of a larger trade conference that took place in Mi ami and brought together nearly 200 firms which were interested in the Caribbean market.

Select firms travelled to Guyana and other Caribbean na

tions during the week. The US businesses participated in meet ings with local firms throughout the Caribbean’s key sectors such as energy, infrastructure and agriculture.

During their October 25-28 visit, the companies held a pro ductive day of meetings with key private sector contacts and ex perts to highlight Guyana’s busi ness environment; learn about the Government of Guyana’s ef forts to promote investment and economic diversification; ex plore market-entry strategies, foster partnerships, and develop closer trade ties between Guyana and the US.

The release noted that the US and Guyanese participants stressed the serious potential for future partnerships and busi

ness deals as a result of their meetings.

The US firms were very impressed with Guyana’s private sector and the opportunities their over 30 engagements with local organisations provided for partnerships, the release added.

“With 23 markets and 41 million people, the Caribbean presents a growing opportu nity for US companies. The delegation sought to capitalise on the strong bilateral trade relationship between the US and Guyana, with bilateral trade reaching $1.4 billion USD in the first half of this year alone. These initiatives are part of the United States’ goal to advance prosperity in Guyana and the region,” the release concluded.

Tourism Month kicks off in Linden today

A PACKED agenda, inclu sive of cross-cutting proj ects, is in store for Tourism Awareness Month 2022, which kicks off today in Linden.

Director of the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA), Kamrul Baksh said the much-anticipated period, cel ebrated under the theme “All Sectors, One Tourism”, will be used to spread the message that tourism is cross-cutting, and all sectors need to be on board.

Director Baksh said that the theme is relevant because tourism cuts across many different service industries.

He noted that a typical example of this would be the different industries used for a simple tour: Aviation, travel, on-ground transportation, tour services and more.

“There’s so much that you need to engage with, and we feel that we need to have everybody on board. So, we will be pulling together all the sectors to come on board with us. We have a drive for this all-inclusive approach, so that persons understand that we’re not here just to sup port one segment of society,” Baksh said.

The results achieved through the synergistic ini tiatives of the Authority will soon be revealed when it launches several new tour ism products that are in the pipeline.

One such project that’ll be launched, officially, is Wayne’s World in Linden.

So far, the GTA has launched six new tourism products, and will launch at least six more to bring new experiences to the country.

During this month, the Authority will also host tour ism entrepreneurial work shops, which Director Baksh would be leading on the Esse

quibo Coast as well as in the Berbice regions.

“We want to share some ideas, because we feel more can be packaged within these regions. There are just a few operators, so we want to spur some ideas; we will pitch some itineraries to them, so that they can see how this can all come together,” he said.

Baksh related that this will be done in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism, Industry, and Commerce.

There will also be a minigolf tournament and paintball competition to make these activities more accessible to youths.

He added that several operators are offering tours that are more in the coastal area, and a few operators in the Berbice region are also packaging great tours.

The director noted that while domestic tourism has increased because of the way the attractions are now marketed, the Authority also wants to bring in foreign tourists.

He said that now that the beauty of Guyana is being exposed, persons are showing a greater appreciation for the country’s nature and sites.

Baksh also related that most of the new tourism products are affordable; this is a factor contributing to the increase in domestic tourism.

US Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch (fourth left) and Georgetown Mayor Ubraj Narine (third right) with members of the US trade delegation (US Embassy photo)

GTA Director Kamrul Baksh

Burke’s townhall utterances described as ‘racist propaganda’

THE government said it remains committed to an all-inclusive, peo ple-centred develop ment of Guyana as it warns Guyanese and others at home and abroad to beware of Rickford Burke, a rabid opposition activist in the US, who appears hell-

the Guyana Elections Commission to remain in office although they had lost the elections; 7,000 sugar workers, majority Indo-Guyanese, 1,972 Indigenous/Amerindian Community Service Offi cers and 2,000 public ser vants, who were majority one ethnic group and/or

out Slowe for holding back the upward mobili ty of many of his fellow Afro-Guyanese senior officers in the Guyana Police Force?” she asked.

Minister Teixeira said unlike the picture that Burke and others are try ing to paint of Guyana under the PPP/C Gov

ernment, the affairs of government are being managed transparently and inclusively since its assumption of office on August 2, 2020.

She also pointed out that in contrast to the PNC and APNU+AFC, the records would show that the PPP/C govern

ment has brought eco nomic and social devel opment and lifted Guyana from being one of the poorest countries in this hemisphere to one of the fastest-growing econo mies.

“This is accompanied with people-cen tred policies and pro

grammes targeting the poor and vulnerable, and constitutional and parliamentary reform to strengthen this new born democracy and its institutions after the first free and fair election in October 1992,” the minister noted.

bent on fuelling ethnic animosity in Guyana.

Minister of Parliamen tary Affairs and Gover nance, Gail Teixeira in a statement on Monday de scribed comments made by Burke at a townhall meeting he organised on October 30 as racist pro paganda and contended that it was unfortunate that a few local officials in the US, who rely on the electorate of Brooklyn, gave attention to him.

“It was extraordinary that any of these local elected leaders would attend such a racist forum organised by people who were silently or open ly supportive when: the APNU+AFC Coalition conspired with senior of ficials of GECOM repeat edly to delay the General and Regional elections. This went on for 14 months following their loss of government to a no-confidence motion on December 18, 2018; President Granger and his Cabinet had the high est number of court rul ings in the CARICOM on constitutional violations; this was a government abusing the Constitution with executive lawless ness; the APNU+AFC government conspired with senior officials in

considered ‘politically incorrect’ by their admin istration were terminated; the APNU+AFC gov ernment discriminated against communities that did not vote for them during their five-year tenure of office; the AP NU+AFC government ministers brazenly dis pensed with Guyana’s assets through blatant acts of corruption, and when the ANPU+AFC Government attempted to steal the oil revenues of Guyana,” Minister Teix eira said, as she pointed out that Burke is trying to rehabilitate his discredit ed image following recent allegations that saw the police issuing wanted bulletins for his arrest.

The forum was also addressed by former As sistant Commissioner Paul Slowe, who has been charged with sexual as sault of a woman in Guy ana. Slowe, the minister reminded, was suspended as Chairman of the Po lice Service Commission because he refused to appoint senior police of ficers recommended by the then Commissioner of Police (acting), 90 per cent of whom were Af ro-Guyanese.

“Why didn’t these lo cal elected officials call

Rickford Burke

Guyana, India discuss areas of co-operation in energy sector

INDIA’S Petroleum and Nat ural Gas, Housing and Urban Affairs Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri and Natural Re sources Minister, Vickram

Bharrat, on Monday, discussed areas of co-operation in the energy sector.

The ministers met in Abu Dhabi on the sidelines of the

Abu Dhabi International Petro leum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC 2022), a release from the Indian High Commission in Georgetown said.

Minister Puri underlined that Indian companies will assist Guyanese in training engineers for upstream and downstream sectors, so that they can max imise production from their landmark discoveries.

“India and Guyana’s historical bilateral relations are underpinned by robust

ongoing cooperation in dif ferent sectors, especially in healthcare, education, culture, finance, training and capac ity building. A large number of developmental coopera tion projects being executed by Government of India in Guyana, under various assis tance, in the form of support

to combat COVID-19, ITEC/ ICCR scholarships, Grant/ Line of Credit developmental infrastructure projects, etc., demonstrate the commitment of India in being a reliable partner in Guyana’s develop mental journey,” the release said.

Nomination Day for LGE is December 12

THE Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has set aside December 12, 2022, as Nomination Day for the Local Government Elections (LGE).

GECOM, in newspaper advertisements, said that all political parties desirous of contesting in the local gov ernment polls on March 13, 2023, are required to submit a symbol for approval by the elections body before Nomi nation Day.

“In accordance with section 48(1) of the Local Authorities (Elections) Act, Cap. 28:03, all political par ties, voluntary groups, and individuals who are desirous of contesting the upcoming Local Government Elections are required to submit, to the Guyana Elections Commis sion (GECOM), a symbol for approval, no later than 21 days before Nomination Day,” the advertisement stat ed.

In October, Minister of Local Government and Re gional Development, Ni gel Dharamlall, wrote the GECOM Chairperson, Jus tice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh, informing her of the date for LGE.

As part of the govern ment’s commitment, some $2.9 billion has been allo

cated to GECOM for pre paratory works to ensure the successful planning and execution of the LGE.

Local Government Elec tion was legally due last year and funds were bud geted in 2021 to facilitate this; however, several is sues facing GECOM at the time prevented the hosting of the elections, including the non-appointment of a chief election officer (CEO).

The LGE could not be held in the absence of a CEO, a position which was later filled by Vishnu Persaud.

The two primary objec tives of local government are to enable democratic local decision-making and action by and on behalf of communities, and to pro mote the social, economic, environmental, and cultural

well-being of communities. Some of the key goals of the LGE are to improve the local environment; provide and develop local open spac es and recreational facilities; set strategic policy direc tions; and prepare annual plans, budgets and long-term council community plans.

LGE will be held in 70 Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) and 10 municipalities, throughout the country using a hybrid system of Proportional Rep resentation and First Pastthe-Post.

Fifty per cent of the councillors for each Local Authority Area (LAA) will be elected through Propor tional Representation while the other 50 per cent will be elected through First-Pastthe-Post.

India’s Petroleum and Natural Gas, Housing and Urban Affairs Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri (fourth right) and Natural Resources Minister, Vickram Bharrat (fourth left) during their meeting on Monday (India’s High Commission in Georgetown photo)

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) headquarters

CAD$2.25M gender equality project launched

By Naomi Parris

THE government, through support from the Canadian government, has launched a CAD$2.25 million Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) proj ect, which focuses on the development of indigenous women and migrants.

The project, which is being implemented by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) through the Ministry of Health, the Min istry of Human Services and Social Security, the Guy ana Responsible Parenthood Association and Help and Shelter, was launched during a ceremony held at the Cana dian High Commissioner’s Bel Air Gardens residence on Monday.

The official document for the implementation of the project in Guyana was also signed at the event.

The project is being im plemented in several other Caribbean states.

Delivering the feature address at the event, Human Services and Social Security Minister, Dr. Vindhya Per saud said that while Guyana

has made significant prog ress in addressing gender in equality and other issues af fecting women, more needs to be done, especially in the hinterland regions.

“This initiative, anoth er partnership which sees international and local part ners coming together to ad dress the key issue of sexual and reproductive health and rights, could not have been timelier… I say this because it is concentrated in Regions One, Seven, Eight, and Nine, where we do acknowledge, as the government, we need to amplify the efforts that have been made,” Dr. Per saud said.

Despite the inevitable gaps that exist, and the work to be done, the minister un derscored Guyana’s positive standing in the area of gen der equality.

She referenced the World Economic Forum’s Glob al Gender Report, which ranked Guyana 35th global ly, and second placed among CARICOM countries for gender equality.

Minister Persaud said the government will, how ever, continue to address the

triggers, the factors, and the causes, which will inevita bly lead to the widening or the continuation of gender inequality.

“We are very happy to have partners like Canada, and also our sister ministries, as well as many NGOs and

— to prioritise well-being of indigenous women, migrants

implementing partners like UNFPA, and also the over arching spotlight initiative that would help us to ensure that we eradicate some of the major things that con tribute towards still having the presence of gender-based violence in our country,” the

minister said.

Dr. Persaud added that issues affecting women and girls must be addressed in a wider context, as it affects family life; the morbidity and mortality of children and women.

She related: “When we

address sexual and repro ductive health in our country, it is imperative that we not only focus on the formal avenues of getting education and awareness out there. But we must also look for creative areas where we can

Human Services and Social Security Minister Dr. Vindhya Persaud

Human Services and Social Security Minister Dr. Vindhya Persaud looks on as the official document for the implementation of the SRHR project is signed by Canadian High Commissioner Mark Berman

Woman to stand trial for fatal shooting of elderly lover

RADHA Sukwah was, on Monday, committed to stand trial for the unlawful killing of her elderly lover in 2018.

Sukwah, 50, was commit ted by Magistrate Esther Sam at the Charity Magistrate’s Court following the closure of the preliminary inquiry

(PI) into the matter.

According to the State ment of Offence, Sukwah, on August 3, 2018, at Grant Lower Pomeroon River, un lawfully killed 73-year-old Deonarine called ‘Russian.’

She will go on trial at the next practical sitting of the Essequibo Assizes and will

remain on $400,000 bail.

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Shalimar Ali-Hack, S.C., had granted a fiat to attorney-at-law Ber nard DaSilva to prosecute the case on behalf of the State.

According to reports, on August 3, 2018, around 20:00 hours, Sukwah and Deonar

ine had a heated argument after he accused her of being unfaithful to him.

Sukwah had reportedly told the police that Deonarine pulled a knife on her as they scuffled. She also claimed that he had a gun and, during the scuffle, she pulled the trigger and shot the elderly

man to the left side abdomen. The elderly man died on his way to the Oscar Joseph Hos pital at Charity.

However, when Sukwah was initially questioned by investigators, the woman reportedly told the police that she and Deonarine were attacked by a masked man who was armed with a gun and a knife.

She stated, at the time, that she held on to both weap

ons during the ordeal and later she heard a gunshot.

The investigators did not believe her story, since she kept giving different versions of the incident while being questioned.

A post-mortem exam ination confirmed that De onarine died as a result of shock and hemorrhage due to the gunshot injury he sustained.

CAD$2.25M gender equality...

page 13

educate our people across the country so that better choices can be made, so that we can achieve what we want to achieve.”

High Commissioner of Canada to Guyana and Suri name, Mark Berman, in his remark also highlighted that accessibility, affordability, sustainability, quality, ac countability, and availability of sexual and reproductive health without discrimination continues to be a major issue, hence the launch of the SRHR project in Guyana.

The project, he added, highlights both Canada and Guyana’s commitment to empowering women and girls.

“I’m extremely pleased to be here to launch this wit ness, and to highlight Canada’s commitment to empow ering women and girls, and reflect on our government’s feminist international assistance policy,” the Canadian diplomat said.

He added: “The current project also aligns with the priorities of the Government of Guyana, which has made significant progress in promoting sexual and re productive health and rights for women and girls over the years.”

The project aims to provide, primarily indigenous women and migrants with the ability to make decisions about their sexual reproductive health by strengthening the systems to prevent issues like gender-based violence (GBV).

“The project will help women and girls to have bodily autonomy, and to make essential decisions about their own bodies. There are still pockets of the population that are unable to access sexual and reproductive health services and support for victims of gender-based violence. And that’s why this project was conceptualised,” Berman said.

Radha SukwahDeonarine called ‘Russian’

Athanaze hundred powers Volcanoes to

in the 38th over.

The first half of the contest belonged solely to Athanaze, the 23-year-old handing his side a superb start, first in a 119-run first wicket stand with Charles and then in a 127-run, sec ond wicket partnership with Hodge.

Charles lashed two fours

and five sixes before falling in the 23rd over and Hodge counted two fours and a six before perishing in the 44th over, seven deliveries after the demise of Athanaze.

The Dominican raised his hundred in style with two successive boundaries to square leg off fast bowler Shepherd in the 36th over

before eventually holing out to long on off left-arm spinner Motie, the best Har py Eagles bowler with two for 57.

Athanaze was one of three wickets to fall for 11 runs before Descarte (21 not out) and Sunil Ambris (16 not out) put on a brisk 39 in an unbroken fifth wicket

stand.

Facing a stiff run chase, Harpy Eagles were given a flying start by Chanderpaul and Anthony Bramble (18) who posted a hasty 44 from 38 balls.

However, Bramble per ished lbw to seamer Ryan John (2-54) in the seventh over and left-hander Shim

ron Hetmyer followed for 12 in the 11th over, caught at short mid-wicket off Ken neth Dember (2-46).

And when Chanderpaul was brilliantly taken at back ward point in the 14th over, Harpy Eagles were slipping at 80 for three.

Captain Leon Johnson (22) then posted 37 for the

back

fourth wicket with Imlach who in turn added a further 48 for the fifth with Sherfane Rutherford (28) before a collapse saw five wickets go down for 55 runs.

Motie and Veerasammy Permaul (28) made a last gasp effort in a 48-run last wicket stand but Harpy Eagles left it too late.

T20 World Cup permutations: What does everyone...

Net run-rate is calculated by subtracting the opposi tion's run-rate from the other team's run-rate.

The winning side will therefore have a positive net run-rate, and the losers a negative net run-rate.

In a tournament, net runrate is worked out by taking the average runs per over scored by that team in each game and subtracting the average runs per over scored against them in each game.

(w2).

Dember

8-0-41-3 (w1, nb1),

Points: Volcanoes 2, Harpy Eagles 0.

A Athanaze.

Albion beat Port Mourant to lift...

ed by the BCB for 2022 af ter the BCB/Tenelec under 15 was completed in April. Port Mourant had defeated Rose Hall Canje in that final at the Albion Ground to emerge as champions. The 2022 under-17 tour nament was sponsored by national and West Indies player, Kevin Sinclair.

Albion won the toss and decided to take first strike after early morning rain had forced the um pires to reduce the overs from fifty to forty. Albion scored 137 all out in 36.5 overs.

Ari Afrizal Kadir top scored with 42 off 54 balls (4x4, 1x4) before he was run out by Vishal Williams after attempting a quick single; he was support ed by Afraz Budhoo and Tameshwar Mangal, who scored 17 and 14 respec tively. Bowling for Port Mourant, Ravin Boodwah grabbed 2 for 14 off 6 overs and Salim Khan 2 for 28 off 8 overs.

In reply, Port Mourant was bowled out for 117 in 33.3 overs, with Guyana

Under-15 player Navin Boodwah scoring 25 off 35 balls, Salim Khan 24 off 49 balls and Ravin Bood wah 14.

Bowling for Albi on, Tameshwar Mangal grabbed 3 for 23 off 6.2 overs; Shiv Harripersaud 3 for 22 off 8 overs; Afraz Budhoo 2 for 15 off 7 overs and Kumar Deoper saud 2 for 20 off 8 overs.

Chairman of the BCB Competitions Committee, Leslie Soloman, congratu lated Albion for emerging as champions and urged the players to build on their success.

Soloman also congrat ulated Port Mourant on being the runner-up. Spe cial thanks were extended to Kevin Sinclair for his support of Berbice CrIcket.

The BCB is also cur rently hosting an under-19 tournament involving over twenty teams and the finals is expected to be played by this year end.

Soloman also disclosed that the proactive board would next weekend host the finals of the West Ber

page

bice Jaferally 20/20 finals at the Shieldstown Ground and the Ivan Madray 20/20 first division tournament.

The board would also be starting the countywide second BCB/Dave West Indian Imports 40 overs tournament involving close to ninety teams. Four inter nal zone champions would emerge from West Ber bice, New Amsterdam/ Canje.

Lower Corentyne and Upper Corentyne. The four zone champions would then clash to decide who would become the overall Berbice champion. The board also intends to start its 2023 under 15 and un der 17 tournament shortly as it forges ahead with its preparation for inter-coun ty tournaments.

Both teams in the Under-17 final received trophies and financial prizes while Tameshwar Mangal copped the man of the final award. Carl ton Sinclair, grandfather of Kevin Sinclair, handed out the awards in Kevin’s absence.

them in pole position to reach the final four. A win in one of their two remaining games would all-but guarantee their progress because only one of India and Bangladesh, plus potentially Zimbabwe, could match a seven-point tally.

India are also in a strong position and know that wins against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe would see them through. A defeat against the former in particular would put their progress in doubt though.

Bangladesh are similar and know that two wins sees them through. A win against India on Wednesday would put them into the top two, but they could miss out on net run-rate if they lose their final game.

Zimbabwe can still make the top two, but will need to beat the Netherlands and India to stand any chance because of the other fixtures that remain.

Pakistan can also still progress but need to win their remaining two games and hope numerous other re sults go in their favour. Even then they will be relying on net run-rate.

Netherlands are out after losing their first three games, How is net run-rate cal culated?

Run-rate is the average number of runs scored per

over by a team in their entire innings - so, for example, a score of 160 off 20 overs equals eight runs per over.

If a team is bowled out inside their allotted overs, their run-rate is calculated by dividing the runs by the maximum overs they could have batted - 20 overs in the case of this tournament.

(BBC Sport)

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LeBron James and Anthony Davis lead Lakers to first win

(Reuters) – LeBron James scored 26 points, Anthony Davis added 23, with 15 rebounds, and the hosts Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Denver Nuggets 121110 Sunday night for their first win in six games this season.

Lonnie Walker IV scored 18 points, as did reserve play er Russell Westbrook, who also had eight rebounds and eight assists for Los Angeles.

Nikola Jokic had 23 points and 14 rebounds to speed Denver. Jamal Murray scored 21 points, Aaron Gor don 18, Michael Porter Jr. 17 and Bruce Brown 10 from the bench.

The Nuggets played with out Bones Hyland, who was injured while warming up.

PISTON 128, WARRIOR 114

Saddiq Bey netted 28 points, Isaiah Stewart deliv ered a career-high 24 points and 13 rebounds, and Detroit broke a five-game losing streak by beating visiting Golden State.

Cade Cunningham con tributed 23 points, 10 re bounds and nine assists for Detroit while Bojan Bog danovic had 21 points. Bog danovic agreed to a two-year contract extension ahead of the competition. Rookie

Jaden Ivey added 15 points in the Pistons’ first win since opening night.

Stephen Curry led Golden State with 32 points and Jor dan Poole had 30 points. The Warriors rested starting guard Klay Thompson in the second game of a back-to-back.

PELICANS 112, CLIPPERS 91

CJ McCollum scored 22 points and Zion Williamson added 21 points and 12 re bounds as the New Orleans guest beat Los Angeles.

Williamson, who was absent from two games with a hip contusion, fell three assists short of his first tri ple-double of his career.

Naji Marshall had 17 points, Trey Murphy III and Larry Nance Jr. had 15 each and Jonas Valanciunas add ed 11 as the Pelicans won despite the absence of two starters – Brandon Ingram (concussion) and Herbert Jones (knee), both of whom had theirs missed third game in a row.

CELTICS 112, WIZARDS 94

Jaylen Brown scored 24 points and Jayson Tatum and Malcolm Brogdon added 23 each to lead hosts Boston ahead of Washington.

Brown also hit 10 re

bounds, Tatum hit five 3-pointers, and Brogdon fin ished the season with a scor ing high for the Celtics, who suffered a slip in two games. Boston led by as much as 25 in the fourth quarter.

Kristaps Porzingis was a rebound from a first-half dou ble-double and finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds to speed up the Wizards, who have lost back-to-back games.

CAVALIERS 121, KNICKS 108

Donovan Mitchell con tinued his stellar start with his new team, averaging 38 points and 12 assists as host Cleveland heated up on the stretch and rallied to beat New York.

Mitchell, who was re portedly traded to the Knicks before Cleveland brought him from Utah on Sept. 1, finished his fifth game with at least 30 points to help the Cavaliers to their fifth straight win. Kevin Love added 29 for a career-high eight 3-pointers.Jalen Brun son and Evan Fournier led the Knicks with 16 each. RJ Barrett and Julius Randle each added 15 and Isaiah Hartenstein finished on 12 as the Knicks missed 13 of 20 shots in the fourth and lost their second straight.

MISFIT 114, MAGIC 105

Luka Doncic scored 30 of his 44 points in the first half and led hosts Dallas to a win over Orlando.

Doncic recorded his sixth consecutive appearance with at least 30 points after mak ing 17 of 26 shots from the ground. The Mavericks have alternated losses and wins in their first six games of the season.

Orlando rookie Paolo Banchero finished with 18 points, the first time he’s been under 20 this season. Bol Bol amassed 16 points and 11 rebounds while re

serve RJ Hampton and Wen dell Carter Jr. each had 15 points.

SPURS 107, TIMBERWOLVES 98

Keldon Johnson scored 25 points and Doug McDer mott added 23 from the bench as the shorthanded San Anto nio beat the visiting Minneso ta in the third game between the teams in seven days.

Spurs went up 15 points in the fourth quarter before Minnesota came on three early in the period. But San Antonio extended their lead to 10 after a 3-pointer from McDermott at 5:03, and

Johnson closed the game with a three-pointer and two free throws in the last minute.

Keita Bates-Diop scored 18 points for San Antonio while Tre Jones scored for 10 and Jakob Poeltl had a gamehigh 14 rebounds. Karl-An thony Towns led the Tim berwolves with 26 points and 11 rebounds, while Anthony Edwards scored all 18 of his points in the second half.

SUNS 124, ROCKETS 109

Devin Booker scored a game-high 30 points on his 26th birthday to help Phoenix stave off the Houston visit.

Booker shot 14 of 24 overall, though he missed 6 of 7 from 3-point range to accelerate seven suns into double digits. Phoenix led by as much as 12 points in the first half, but kept having to fend off spurts from the Rockets before finally taking a double-digit lead in the final three minutes.

Chris Paul finished with 10 points and 15 assists, and Cameron Johnson added 19 points on 5-of-11-3-point shooting for the Suns, who scored 53.6 percent. Kevin Porter Jr. led the Rockets with 26 points and added eight rebounds and six as sists, while Alperen Sengun had 16 points with nine boards.

T20 World Cup permutations: What does everyone need to progress to semi-finals?

THE Super 12 stage of the Men's T20 World Cup is set for a thrilling climax with all to play for as we enter the final round of matches.

The top two from each group will qualify for the semi-finals, with 11 of the 12 sides still mathematically in with a chance of reaching the last four.

With a number of teams likely to end level on points, net run-rate could decide who progresses and who is getting the next flight home.

But what are the permu tations? And how do you calculate net run-rate?

BBC Sport has been crunching the numbers to find out...

Remaining fixtures (all times GMT): Tuesday, 1

Nov: Afghanistan v Sri Lan ka (04:00), England v New

Zealand (08:00). Friday, 4

Nov: Ireland v New Zealand (04:00), Australia v Afghan istan (08:00). Saturday, 5

Nov: Sri Lanka v England (08:00).

New Zealand are in a good position to progress to the last four. One victory in either of their two remaining games is likely to be enough to see them through, while two wins would guarantee it.

Australia moved into the top two with a 42-run win over Ireland on Monday. They are still likely to need a result against Afghanistan in their final game because of other games that remain. Even a victory in that game could see them eliminated because their net run-rate is currently inferior to New Zealand and England.

England were displaced by Australia, but have the

chance to go back into the top two - and potentially even top - with a win over New Zealand on Tuesday. Two wins would practically guarantee England's prog ress, unless Australia beat Afghanistan by a large mar gin. Jos Buttler's side have the advantage of playing last in the group so they will know exactly what they need to qualify.

Ireland's hopes of reach ing the semi-finals were dealt a major blow with the defeat to Australia on Monday.

Victory over New Zealand on Friday could see them through, but it would need other results to go their way and a net run-rate swing.

Sri Lanka need to win

both of their games and hope that Afghanistan beat Aus tralia in their final game to go through.

Afghanistan need to win both of their games and hope that one of England or New Zealand lose at least one game.

Remaining fixtures (all times GMT): Wednesday, 2 Nov: Zimbabwe v Nether lands (04:00), India v Ban gladesh (08:00). Thursday, 3 Nov: Pakistan v South Af rica (08:00). Sunday, 6 Nov: South Africa v Netherlands (00:00), Pakistan v Bangla desh (04:00), Zimbabwe v India (08:00).

South Africa's victory over India on Sunday put

Los Angeles, California, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon (50) guards Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) in the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Hardik, Dhawan to lead India in New Zealand

ROHIT Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul have been rested from India's tour of New Zealand in November, with Hardik Pandya and Shikhar Dha wan named captains of the T20I and ODI squads respectively.

Rishabh Pant has been named vice-captain for the entire tour that is set to begin with the T20Is on November 18, five days after the T20 World Cup final in Austra lia. Neither Jasprit Bumrah nor Ravindra Jadeja, both of whom missed the T20 World Cup because of injuries, were picked for the tour.

Dhawan's selection as ODI captain, chief selector Chetan Sharma said, was another indicator of his place in India's 50-overs plans in the immediate future, espe cially with the next World Cup in India exactly a year away. Dhawan most recent ly led India's second-string ODI squad in a home series against South Africa last month.

Though Rohit, Kohli and Rahul are skipping the trip to New Zealand, as many as eight players from the T20 World Cup squad are going: Hardik, Pant, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar

and Arshdeep Singh have been selected for the T20Is in New Zealand.

Among those who could consider themselves unlucky to miss out, especially with the senior players rested, is opener Prithvi Shaw. The Mumbai batter has played a key role in the team's jour ney to the knockouts of the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s, topping their runcharts with a tally of 285 in seven innings at a strike rate of 191.27.

"We basically are looking at Prithvi, we're constantly in touch with Prithvi, he has been doing well. There's nothing wrong with him at all," Sharma said. "The thing is - the players who are al ready playing and those who are performing, they have got their chances. He [Shaw] will definitely get his chance. The selectors are in constant touch with him, talking to him, he is doing well and he will get his chances very soon."

While R Ashwin is be lieved to have asked for a break, Sharma did not reveal whether the decision to leave out Dinesh Karthik, the eldest member of the T20 World Cup squad, was a sign that India is moving on from the 37-year old finisher.

In the fast bowling de partment, Mohammed Siraj and Deepak Chahar come in for the T20Is and ODIs re spectively. Mohammed Sha mi has been given a break to manage his workload,

with India scheduled to tour Bangladesh in December for their next World Test Cham pionship assignment.

Shubman Gill is the only uncapped player in the 16-member T20I squad, while the ODI squad features three uncapped players - all fast bowlers - Arshdeep, Kuldeep Sen and Umran Malik.

As an opener, Gill was the second-highest run-getter for IPL champions Guja rat Titans in the 2022 sea son, scoring 483 runs in 16 innings at a strike rate of 132.32. Sen and Umran also had breakout seasons for Ra jasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad respectively.

Sen and Umran are com ing off stints for their respec tive state sides in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Sen managed two wickets in five T20s for Madhya Pradesh at an economy of 10.16, while Umran finished with better numbers: eight wickets in seven matches at an econo my of 8.08 and a best of 4 for 27.

The presence of both Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav in the whiteball squads meant there was no place for a third wristspin ner in Ravi Bishnoi. Wash ington Sundar, part of both squads, and Shahbaz Ahmed (ODIs) were picked as the allrounders.

India play three T20Is

and three ODIs in New Zea land from November 18, five days after the T20 World Cup final. The T20Is will be played in Wellington (No vember 18), Mount Maun ganui (November 20) and Napier (November 22), while the ODIs are in Auckland (November 25), Hamilton (November 27) and Christ church (November 30).

India last toured New Zealand in 2020, when they won the T20I series 5-0, lost the ODIs 3-0, and suffered a 2-0 defeat in the Test series. (Cricinfo)

India T20I squad for New Zealand tour: Hardik Pandya (c), Rishabh Pant (vc), Is han Kishan, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Suryaku mar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshal Pa tel, Mohammed Siraj, Bhu vneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik.

INDIA SQUAD FOR NZ ODIS

Shikhar Dhawan (C), Rishabh Pant (vc & wk), Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Surya Kumar Ya dav, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson (wk), W Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Shah baz Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Sen, Um ran Malik.

Finch, bowlers power Australia to a commanding win over Ireland

LORCAN Tucker's brave knock of 71 not out from 48 deliveries went in vain as Ireland lost their Super 12 encounter of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup to Australia by 42 runs at the Gabba in Brisbane on Monday.

The hosts got off to a slow start as the Ireland bowlers used the conditions well to keep Australia quiet. Barry McCarthy dismissed David Warner in the third over of the innings before Australia could get any sort of momentum going. Finch and Mitchell Marsh tried their best but they could take Australia to a score of 38/1 at the end of the powerplay.

Australia held off Ireland by 42 runs for a comfortable victory in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022.

Things changed soon, though. Marsh and Finch started taking on the bowl ers after the powerplay and added the necessary impetus to the Australian innings. Finch was involved in two crucial partnerships of 52 and 70 with Marsh and Mar cus Stoinis respectively, which helped Australia in getting to such a competitive total. It was McCarthy once again who brought an end to Finch's knock while Stoinis also played a good innings of 35 from 25 deliveries. Mat thew Wade and Tim David, who remained unbeaten on seven and 15 respectively, also added valuable runs towards the end.

Skipper Andrew Bal birnie and Paul Stirling played some breathtaking shots to start off the Irish in

nings. They put on an open ing stand of 18 runs within just two overs but the Aus tralian bowlers made a quick recovery and destroyed Ire land's top and middle-order completely.

The collapse started with Andrew Balbirnie's wicket as Pat Cummins cleaned him up with an excellent inswinger. But Ireland then lost two wickets in the third over to Glenn Maxwell and then another two in the fourth over to Mitchell Starc. These successive jolts left Ireland reeling at 25/5 and made it extremely difficult for them to get back into the contest.

partnerships with Gareth Delaney and Mark Adair. He did the bulk of the scoring in both the stands and also in the ones that followed, carrying his bat right until the end.

The match seemed like heading towards an early finish when Ireland were reduced to 25/5 within the fourth over of the innings. But Tucker stepped up and played a brave knock to keep his team in the chase.

Aussies

The 26-year-old paced his innings well and built crucial

Tucker remained unbeat en on 71 from 48 deliveries finally as Ireland got bowled out for 137. Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa, Glenn Max well and Mitchell Starc claimed a couple of wick ets each while Stoinis also chipped in with one scalp. The win over Ireland has taken Australia level on points with New Zea land but they have played a match more and are still behind on NRR. Their NRR has imprpved to -0.304, though, whereas Ireland's NRR has dropped to -1.544.

(ICC

Hardik Pandya (right)will lead the 16-member T20I squad in New Zealand (© AFP)

Chief selector backs Brathwaite, Chanderpaul to form productive partnersbhip

BRIDGETOWN, Barba dos, (CMC) – Chief selec tor the Most Honourable Desmond Haynes believes the opening combination of Kraigg Brathwaite and the uncapped Tagenarine Chanderpaul, can pay dividends for West Indies in Australia despite their almost identical batting styles.

The 26-year-old Chan derpaul has been included in the 16-man squad for the two-Test series starting next month, and in the absence of attacking opener John Camp bell, is expected to partner Brathwaite at the top of the order.

Both Chanderpaul and Brathwaite are attritional in their approach, trending more towards being occupiers of the crease rather than fluent run-scorers, but Haynes said this could prove a boon for West Indies.

“I believe [they can work well together]. I think what you have to take into con

sideration too is with Tage, a young man, he’s got a very good technique to the new ball which is good,” said Haynes, himself one of Test cricket’s legendary openers.

“He leaves alone very well. When you go to places like Australia, you don’t want to see the number three batsman coming in too early or the number four.

“So I think he and Kraigg would definitely complement

each other because at least they would be looking at what openers should do for a team as well, which is build a foundation for the side so the guys coming in down the order would not get the new ball.”

Captain Brathwaite is renowned for his slow batting which has nevertheless yield ed nearly 5 000 Test runs at an average of 34, including 10 hundreds.

His powers of concen tration were never more evi dent than in the second Test against England at Kensing ton Oval last March when the 29-year-old hit a marathon 160 in the first innings and an unbeaten 56 in the second.

All told, he spent a com bined 15 hours and 45 min utes, along with 673 balls at the crease – a record for a West Indies batsman in a single Test.

Left-hander Chander paul, meanwhile, the son of former Test captain Shiv Chanderpaul, has scored five first class hundreds with an average of 34. The last of those hundreds – 109 against Bangladesh A in St Lucia last August – required 337 balls in 6-¾ hours at the crease.

Haynes, who formed Test cricket’s most feared opening partnership with Sir Gordon Greenidge, said the

upcoming series would be an excellent starting point for Chanderpaul’s career.

“I think it’s a good choice of picking the young man. [There is] no better place to start your cricket career than Australia where a lot of people believe if you do well against Australia then you’re rated,” Haynes explained.

“It’s always been con sidered a tough place to play cricket and I think he has the ability to do it and I want to wish him all the best.

West Indies are expected to assemble in Australia on November 10 and will play a three-day game against an ACT/NSW XI at the Philip Oval in Canberra starting seven days later, before fac ing the Prime Minister’s XI in a four-day match begin ning November 23 at Manuka Oval in the same city.

The first Test bowls off in Perth on November 30 with the second in Adelaide – a day/night affair – sched uled to start December 8.

of Project Cricket Gear

SEVENTEEN-year-old batting all-rounder, Jer emiah Hohenkirk, is the latest beneficiary from the “Cricket Gear for young and promising cricketers in Guyana,” a joint initiative

by Kishan Das of USA and Anil Beharry, executive member of the Guyana Cricket Board.

Hohenkirk, who plays for the Transport Sports Club, a Georgetown based cricket

club, represented the Pres ident’s X1 in the recently concluded GCB Inter County Under-17 tournament. He is a student of Government Technical Institute.

According to Hohenkirk, “I am very thankful for this bat and promise to fulfill my full potential in the game and at the same time, concentrate on my studies.”

In response, Beharry said that the initiative is more than happy to assist this young player, while promising more help in the future.

Total cricket-relat ed items collected so far: $270,000 in cash, two tro phies, 12 cricket boots, 19 pairs of batting pads, 25 bats, 15 pairs of batting gloves, 19 thigh pads, one pair of wicket-keeping pad, two arm guards, six cricket bags and three helmets. In addition to the above, $600,000 worth in

gear was donated by Sheik Mohamed, former National wicket-keeper/batsman.

To date, 42 young players from all three counties of Guyana have already bene fitted from three junior gear

bag, two trophies, two arm guards, 17 bats, one box, three helmets, 12 pairs of cricket shoes, 10 pairs of bat ting pads, one bat rubber and 12 pairs of batting gloves.

In addition, two clubs in

the Pomeroon area received two used bats. The Pomer oon, Leguan and Wakenam Cricket Committees and Cot ton Tree Die Hard Club also collected one box of red cricket balls each while RH CCCC got two boxes, fifteen white cricket shirts, one pair of junior batting pads, one pair of wicket-keeping gloves and a set of stumps and bails. The Essequibo Cricket Board and the town of Lethem also benefitted.

Cricket-related items, used or new, are distrib uted free of cost to young and promising cricketers in Guyana. Skills, discipline and education are import ant characteristics of the recipients. Talent-spotting is being done across the country and club leaders also assist to identify same. Progressive and well-man aged clubs will also benefit.

West Indies opener and captain Kraigg Brathwaite

Uncapped opener Tagenarine Chanderpaul

Persaud confident of retaining title despite Sampson’s absence

By Frederick Halley

WHEN the sixth edition of the Prime Minister T20 Softball Tournament, or ganised by the Georgetown Softball League, in col laboration with the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Sport, bowls off on November 11, de fending Open champions, Georgetown Knight Riders Ariel All Stars, will be with out star player, Quentin Sampson, who is part of the Guyana National Oneday squad participating in Cricket West Indies (CWI) Super-50 tournament in Trinidad and Tobago.

While Sampson’s ab sence is seen from the outside as a significant blow to the team’s chances of retaining honours in this year’s tour nament, co-manager of Ariel All Stars, Ariel Persaud is extremely confident of his team’s chances of coming out tops for the second consecu tive year.

Sampson had the unique distinction of earning both the man-of-the-match of the final and the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tourna

ment awards with his brilliant all-round performances as Ariel All Stars played unbeat en in the Open category.

In the final, versus Re gal All Stars, played at the Guyana National Stadium, the no-nonsense batsman completed the demolition of his opponents, thumping four sixes in an unbeaten 25 off a mere six balls as Ariel All Stars cantered to victory in 11.2 overs after being set 130 for victory in the 20-over affair.

Sampson, who also smashed a fine century in the final round preliminary match, took home the manof-the-match trophy and a 43-inch Smart television, compliments of Regal Sta tionery and Computer Centre for being the MVP.

Describing his team as being “super dangerous,” Persaud, son of veteran soft ball player, Dharam Persaud, boasted that his side possess quality players in skipper Brian Mangar, vice-captain Keyon Sinclair, Eon Hooper, Johnathan Fernandes and Da vid Williams, among others.

In addition, they will be further boosted with the

inclusion of former Guyana and West Indies Under-19 batsman Zamal Khan who is based in New York and is seen as an ideal replacement for Sampson.

Quizzed on whether his players will adopt easily to the round-arm bowling which will be used in the Open cat egory for the first time this year, Persaud said they are raring to go following several practice sessions over the past few weeks. He pointed

France midfielder Pogba to miss World Cup in Qatar

JUVENTUS midfielder Paul

Pogba will miss France's World Cup defence in Qatar as he needs more time to recover from a knee oper ation.

Pogba, 29, has not played for the Serie A side this sea son since re-joining from Manchester United in the summer.

He suffered a knee injury in July and initially opted not to have surgery in a bid to be fit for the tournament.

France's first World Cup match is against Australia on 22 November.

In a statement on Monday, Pogba's agent Rafaela Pimen ta said: "Following yesterday's and today's medical review in Torino and Pittsburgh, it is ex tremely painful to inform Paul Pogba will still need recovery time from his surgery.

"For this reason, Paul will not be able to join Juventus'

squad before the World Cup break nor the French national team in Qatar."

Pogba, whose last appear ance for France came in a 5-0 friendly win over South Africa in March, returned to training early last month be fore opting for surgery, which had kept him on the sidelines until two weeks ago when he recommenced partial training

with Juve.

Italian media reports on Monday also suggested that Pogba had sustained a thigh injury to further set back his recovery, while Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri recently said it was "very unlikely" that the midfielder would play for the club be fore the World Cup. (BBC Sport)

out that they have also been involved in a few practice games which included a vic tory over Regal All Stars last Saturday under lights at the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) ground.

Meanwhile, Regal All Stars will be hoping for a bet ter showing this time around in the six-team category which also includes Florida Finest (Florida), Speedboat, Name Brand (Berbice) and Softball Cricket Canada.

Led by Fazal Rafeek, with the likes of hard-hitting left-hander Sachin Singh, Sieuchand Budhu and Delroy Perreira, they will be also be boosted with three stalwart players in Greg Singh, Wazir Hussain and Wazim Suldar, who previously donned co lours for the powerful Speed boat team but have opted to join Regal All Stars.

Apart from the Open, Masters Over-40 and Leg ends Over-50, this year’s

tournament will also see four female teams participating with the winners guaranteed $200,000 and a trophy and the runners-up $25, 000 and a trophy. The player of the match in the final will collect a trophy while the player of the tournament gets a blender.

The winners of each of the three categories will waltz away with a huge $600,000 first prize and a trophy while the runners-up will collect $50,000 and a trophy. Each man-of-the-match gets a tro phy. The MVP in the All Stars Open is guaranteed a 50-inch flat screen television, the same as the Over-40 Mas ters winner while the Leg ends Over-50 MVP receives a three-piece sofa.

Among the venues iden tified for the preliminary rounds are Police Sports Club, Guyana Defence Force, Demerara Cricket Club, Muslim Youth Or ganisation, Queens College, Transport Sports Club and Gandhi Youth Organisa tion. All four finals are set for the Guyana National Stadium on Sunday, No vember 11.

Albion beat Port Mourant to lift Kevin Sinclair /BCB U17 trophy

ALBION defeated Port Mourant by 20 runs at the Area H Ground in Rose Hall Town to lift the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB)-organised Kevin

Sinclair Under -17 tro phy.

The victory ensured that Albion, under the leadership of Damien Ce cil, successfully retained

the title of which they were defending champions.

The tournament is the second junior tournament to be successfully complet

Prime Minister

Flashback: The victorious Georgetown Knight Riders Ariel All Stars team following their victory last year

Paul Pogba's last appearance for France came in a 5-0 friendly win over South Africa in March

The Champions pose with officials of the BCB

Persaud played his 'best' to win 11th Guyana Open title

London continues her dominance

AVINASH Persaud kept his nerve, made his drives and sank his putts to register a dominant second day performance, which saw him coming from behind to take the 2022 Guyana Open male title.

For Persaud, the win was national, be cause he was battling against a seasoned Fiji/ Canadian golfer, Jalen Raman and Surinam ese, Ridel Doekoe.

He said that being the only Guyanese left standing, he had no other choice than to play his “best” and to give it all he had. “I am happy and proud of myself.”

The champion also praised God for his strength and focus and his family and spon sor, Meditron, for their support.

On the distaff side, Shanella London proved that she is currently the best female

golfer in the country by retaining her title in the premier event of the Lusignan Golf Club, sponsored this year by GTT.

In the male battle, the trio had separated themselves on day one with Raman, a former US Fiji Open winner, leading with a twoover par score of 72. Persaud was second on 74 and Doekoe third on 76.

Defending champion Avinda Kishore, the younger brother of Persaud, was tied for seventh with a score of 83. He never recovered and although he managed to put together 78 on day two, it was not enough to be competitive.

Persaud, on the other hand, managed to score four over-par on the mentally draining second day to edge the foreigners en route to the title.

His overall score of 150 was better than Raman, who finished with 80 on day two. Doekoe also fell short on the final day with a score of 84.

As a single handicapper (Raman and Kishore played without handicaps), Persaud also copped the best net score in the Men’s 0-9 category.

Aleem Hussein had finished day one on net 72, while Rackesh Harry finished day two on net 71.

DOMINANT LONDON

Defending female champion, London, was able to withstand a surge by former champion Christine Sukhram on day two to hold onto the female title.

She managed to finish with an accumu lated score of 171 over the tournament, while Sukhram finished second on 175 and Julie Stephenson third on 183. Another former champion, Joaan Deo, did not play this year.

Athanaze hundred powers Volcanoes to comfortable win over Harpy Eagles

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, (CMC) – Alick Athanaze struck a maiden List A hundred as Wind ward Islands Volcanoes opened their Super50 Cup campaign with a 28-run victory over Guyana Harpy Eagles here Monday.

Sent in at Queen’s Park Oval in the Zone A contest, Volcanoes marched to 296 for four off their 50 overs with the left-handed Athanaze gathering 133 from 140 balls, while counting a dozen fours and four

sixes.

Opener Johnson Charles, fresh from West Indies’ failed Twenty20 World Cup trip to Australia, chipped in with 64 from 63 deliveries while Kavem Hodge hit 42 from 57 balls.

In reply, Harpy Eagles were held to 268 all out in the 47th over, West Indies’ newest Test recruit Ta genarine Chanderpaul top-scoring with 48 from 47 balls.

Tevin Imlach chimed in with 36 from 46 balls, Kevin Sinclair

belted 33 from 23 balls and Guda kesh Motie, an unbeaten 31 from 27 deliveries but Harpy Eagles never found the crucial partnership they required.

Lively seamer Shadrack Des carte snatched three for 41, first claiming the key wicket of Chander paul before returning to knock over Romario Shepherd (1) and Clinton Pestano (5) in successive overs to leave the run chase in tatters at 194 for eight

Sabi Dhori, on the other hand, finished with the best overall net score of 141.

The tournament, which was divided into several divisions, according to handicap, had other winners.

In the 10-18 handicap flight, Suepaul Suknanan finished with an overall gross score of 166 to win the division ahead of Richard Haniff, who finished with a com bined score of 167. Ayube Subhan placed third overall in the division with 169. Sub han also finished with the best net score in the division and third best net score overall with 143.

In the 19-28 flight, Roy Dhori finished with the top gross and net scores. His 181 won him the best gross and his 135 net, won him the best net score in the division and in the overall tournament.

Miguel Yunes finished second in the flight with 186 and Sanjay Persaud third with 187.

Alick Athanaze 133 came off 140 deliveries and included 12 fours and four sixesTURN TO PAGE 27 ►

Pogba to miss World Cup in Qatar

Avinash Persaud (left) is now an 11-time champion

Shanella London defended her title