Guyana Chronicle E-Paper 12-04-2023

Singh photos)

Approximately US$7.5B needed to achieve ‘25 by 2025’ target

–– President Ali tells Caribbean leaders, says enhancing productivity in agriculture, food production requires technology

By Trina Williams

THE lack of access to nutritious foods has been a persistent problem not only in the Caribbean but around the world. At a discussion for Caribbean leaders on Tuesday, President, Dr. Irfaan Ali and several other officials discussed their views and insights on food insecurity in the Caribbean.

Approaching the issue head-on, the President, who has been championing efforts to improve regional food security, said that at least US$7.5 billion in investments would be required for the region to achieve its ‘25 by 2025’ target in a very conservative manner. The initiative entails lowering the region’s larger food-import bill by 25 per cent by 2025.

According to Dr. Ali, it is crucial for leaders to prioritise agriculture and food production in order to take the Caribbean where it wants to be.

The President spoke on a variety of strategic measures to help Guyana become self-sufficient in food production and a net exporter of food in the region. He also addressed the path towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of ending hunger.

“Now on a global scale, if we are to

achieve the SDG two… productivity must increase by 28 per cent” he added, noting that this goal requires the employment and utilisation of technology.

President Ali said Guyana has already started taking steps to enhance productivity and increase production, including working closely with other Caribbean nations to

develop innovative plans to increase food production. Among the initiatives rolled out so far is the new aquaculture project geared at increasing the production of prawns and tilapia.

And although there have been successes, President Ali related that there are sufficient studies on the region to

inform decisions made by financial institutions such as the World Bank to take action and work alongside Caribbean nations to eliminate food insecurity.

INCREASING PRODUCTION AND IMPROVING PRODUCTIVITY

According to the President: “We took a full analysis of every single country, looked at the competitive environment in every country and we sought to identify low hanging fruits, medium term strategies and long term strategies.”

The reason for this is not only to eliminate hunger, but to also refocus food production and agriculture as serious economic activities while dealing with different obstacles and constraints that impact the sector.

“If you look at some of the recent headlines on food security in the region, it’s a really a telling story,” Dr. Ali said, noting: “It is important for us to know that if we don’t take action now — and we are taking action— and we don’t make the necessary adjustments in our budgetary allocation for agriculture and food production, and prioritise agriculture we are going to face a catastrophe in the region.”

Those actions must be supported by technology so as to create an agriculture sector that is climate resilient.

IMF projects 37.2% local economic growth for this year

GUYANA is on course to record economic growth of 37.2 per cent by the end this year, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Driven by prudent fiscal management and growing sectors, including the burgeoning oil and gas sector, Guyana is on course to record significant economic growth and to persevere through global and domestic challenges.

The IMF in its latest publication, the World Economic Outlook: A rocky recovery, reported that real gross domestic product (GDP) growth could be even higher next year, reaching 45.3 per cent.

Recently, the World Bank projected that this year is going to be “substantially bleaker” for the Latin American and Caribbean region than it was last year, but Guyana is yet again expected to stand out among its counterparts with economic growth projected to hover above 20 per cent over the next three years.

The international financial institution in its latest report on Latin America and the Caribbean: “The Promise of Integration Opportunities in a Changing Global Economy,” related: “The Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region has proved to be relatively resilient in the face of increased debt stress, stubborn inflation, and uncertainty arising from the

Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“Income and employment have largely recovered from the pandemic, poverty has receded, and markets remain guardedly optimistic about the near future. However, headwinds have picked up, and the 2023 outlook is substantially bleaker than 2022.”

Guyana is the only country on course to record double-digit growth this year and in the near future. The country, according to the World Bank, is set to record real gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 25.2 per cent this year, 21.2 per cent next year and 28.2 per cent in 2025.

Consistent growth is expected even as the IMF has reported that tentative signs in early 2023 that the world economy could achieve a soft landing—with inflation coming down and growth steady—have receded amid stubbornly high inflation and recent financial-sector turmoil.

Despite the global situation, based on its economic performance over the past two years, Guyana has a solid foundation upon which to continue broadening its horizons and advancing significantly, especially in the medium term.

President, Dr Irfaan Ali, early this year said the government’s targeted expansion of

the other economic sectors, and diversifying of the economic pillar is showing direct results due to the policy formulation and measures that have been implemented.

“If you look at what is happening in different sectors, we see that there is renewed energy. There is renewed optimism; renewed investment in the manufacturing and constructive sectors, extractive sector, productive sector, agriculture, agriculture processing,” the Head of State said.

He added, “The last two years was really spent on rebuilding the architecture and framework that supports the upliftment and development of these sectors. In the coming years, we’ll see, in a greater sense, the impact of the investments we are making in different sectors.”

According to the President: “Though 2022 saw severe economic shocks, Guyana’s economic performance was still remarkable, with the shock of the global crisis not fully impacting the lives of the people in Guyana, thanks to initiatives, policies and measures that the government implemented that brought stability to our internal system.”

Notwithstanding all of the international pressure, President Ali said the government was able to reduce the impact of inflation, the

cost of living and food crises and keep prices relatively stable.

Though many countries experienced double and triple-digit inflation this year, Guyana kept inflation in single digits, with its projected seven per cent being below the global inflation rate.

“From a macroeconomic perspective, notwithstanding the complex international environment we’re operating in, we have seen the true results of the policies and measures adopted by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic government,” President Ali had said.

Contractors ramping up works to complete Ogle-Eccles road link

CONTRACTORS conducting works on the US$106.4 Million East Coast to East Bank De-

merara road link project have ramped up works to ensure that it is finished within the

stipulated time frame.

This was according to President, Dr Irfaan Ali, during a visit to the site

where the construction works are underway.

President Ali said that it is important for citizens to be able to see what the area that is being cleared for the bypass road looks like before it is transformed into a four-lane highway.

He said: “This is why we have to work 24 hours, we have a number of difficulties with [the] construction of these roads, not only are we below sea level…in some areas, our drainage system in the backlands; and most of the development is coming in the backlands, is far different, so all of that has to be

taken into consideration.”

While there, one of the engineers on site related that the land-clearing exercise commenced last year and thus far they have completed about 6.5 kilometres of the intended 7.8 kilometres long alignment.

The landscape, the engineer said, in the space of two years, is going to be transformed into asphaltic concrete finished road.

“So, it’s a significant development and we are going to be pushing the contractor to have this project delivered on time and of course within the budget,” the engineer add-

ed.

He told the Head of State that as land-clearing continues, teams are working at both ends of the road link to have this done.

Along the alignment, it was noted that there will be just around 48 small structures or bridges with one major structure.

The engineer mentioned that contractors are a little behind schedule, but they have ramped up work slightly to have the project completed on time. Essentially, work will be ongoing even into the nights.

Additionally, it was stated that by the end of this month, the entire embankment should be cleared and sand-filled.

The contract for the first phase of the construction of the East Coast to East Bank Demerara road linkage was signed in June 2022 with India-based company, Ashoka Buildcon.

This phase is expected to be a four-lane highway that stretches some 7.8km from Ogle to Eccles (Haags Bosch).

This new thoroughfare will develop the country’s infrastructure, as well as open up land to meet the needs of the agricultural, housing and oil and gas sectors, significantly complementing the government’s masterplan for the country.

The project was first conceptualised in 2014 by a previous People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration and was one of the first projects discussed after the party returned to office in 2020.

Oil production to reach 600,000 barrels per day by 2024

EXXONMOBIL Guyana, on Tuesday, announced the arrival of the Prosperity Floating, Production, Storage, and Offloading (FPSO) vessel in Guyana waters to service the Payara project, which is expected to come on stream this year.

Constructed by SBM Offshore, the Prosperity FPSO will develop the Payara field in the offshore Stabroek Block. It has an initial production capacity of around 220,000 barrels of oil per day and an overall storage volume of two million barrels.

“The arrival of the Prosperity FPSO is a testament to the strong partnership between ExxonMobil Guyana, the government of Guyana, our co-venturers and the many suppliers that support our operations. We are excited to contribute to Guyana’s energy future and create lasting opportunities for the nation’s growth and prosperity,” ExxonMobil Guyana Production Manager, Mike Ryan, said.

The Prosperity FPSO joins the Liza Destiny and Liza Unity FPSOs, which are currently producing more than 380,000 barrels per day. Production from the Prosperity vessel is expected to push daily production to some 600,000 barrels a day in 2024.

Installation campaigns are ongoing and development drilling is underway to support Prosperity’s start-up later this year.

In July of 2021, ExxonMobil’s Senior Vice-President of exploration and new ventures had said that the Whiptail discovery increases the company’s confidence in the resource size and quality in the southeast area of the Stabroek Block and could further form a basis for future development.

At that time, ExxonMobil noted that it envisions at least six projects online by 2027, with the potential for up to 10 projects to develop the current recoverable resource base.

With several new projects ongoing, the company said that these will continue to contribute to advancement of Guyana’s economy, as more than 4,400 Guyanese are supporting activities on and offshore.

As it is now, the company has four sanctioned projects offshore Guyana. Of those, Liza Phase One is producing approximately 130,000 barrels per day, using the Liza Destiny floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, while the Liza Phase Two, which started production in February 2022, is producing 220,000 barrels per day, using the Liza Unity FPSO vessel.

The third project, Payara, is expected to produce 220,000 barrels per day, using the Prosperity FPSO. The fourth project, Yellowtail, is expected to produce 250,000 barrels per day when the One Guyana FPSO comes on stream in 2025.

ExxonMobil is also moving ahead with plans for its fifth development project in the Stabroek Block, Uaru, which is expected to produce up to 250,000 barrels of oil per day.

“These projects will bring huge benefits to Guyana,” President of ExxonMobil Guyana, Alistair Routledge, said during a brief interview released by ExxonMobil.

It was reported that returns from the sector are expected to catapult Guyana to the ranks of wealthiest countries in the Western Hemisphere, thereby increasing the government’s fiscal space to invest in initiatives geared at

––

expanding the economy, and improving the overall welfare of citizens.

In order to solidify the foundation of Guyana’s economy and enhance the overall well-being and welfare of every Guyanese,

the government has said that it is crafting a framework for development that will be sustained through prudent and effective investment of oil funds into education, health, infrastructure and the non-oil sectors.

Amendments to fisheries act, development of aquaculture bill underway

–– as Guyana partners with FAO, SWM to commence robust discussions

By Naomi Parris

AS Guyana moves to further advance its aquaculture industry, the government in partnership with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Sustainable Wildlife Management (SWM) programme, on Tuesday, commenced stakeholder discussions for amendments to the country’s fisheries act and development of an aquaculture framework bill.

An introductory workshop on the “Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture Support project” is being held at the Herdmanston Lodge, and includes stakeholders from the international organisation and the public sector.

In his remarks at the opening of the workshop, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha said the legislative upgrade will create a robust and comprehensive legal framework for the sustainable development of Guyana’s aquaculture industry.

“When you look at our legislation now, it only caters for marine fisheries and I think it’s very important, because when you look today at our country you are seeing rapid transformation that is taking place in our agriculture sector,” Mustapha said.

Cabinet, he related, has already set up a sub-committee to look at various aspects of the Fisheries Act.

“The proposals and the works that we will be putting in for the next few days

will form parts of the work of the AG’s (Attorney General) office and also cabinet has already set up a sub-committee to look at various aspects and make changes to the legislation,” the Agriculture Minister said. With the rapid transformation of the sector, Mustapha said the improvements to the legislation are vital as Guyana looks to achieve sustainability in its aquaculture production and reduce the Caribbean’s

food-importation bill within the next two years.

“We try to expand it, diversify, and modernise and also to make it resilient and more competitive. We have to look at more creative ways to ensure that we have food security,” he said.

Already, draft documents have been prepared from previous stakeholder engagements, which covered regions One, Two,

Three, Four, Five, Six and Nine. Mustapha said that the legislations will address over-fishing, illegal and unregulated fishing as well as provide laws to protect special species such as the Arapaima and many others. The legislations will also seek to enhance the incomes of the rural population.

“So, we are trying to expand, diversify, and modernise it to make it more resilient and competitive… Guyana’s aquaculture industry development is now a national policy priority,” Mustapha said.

Meanwhile, Country representative for the FAO, Dr Gillian Smith, highlighted the importance of developing a framework to enhance the livelihoods of all stakeholders.

The FAO, she said, has continuously hosted discussions focused on the sustainability of fisherfolk and ensuring small farmers, communities and small and medium-scale fishers have access to the emerging opportunities.

“Sustainable fisheries, marine fisheries, aqua-culture, and inland fisheries is vital to the ambitious development agenda that Guyana has

“Being able to have a good regulatory framework, a set of rules, a set of guidelines that all of us are in agreement with and everyone is working around is a vital part of everything that will include and ensure sustainability, not only for this generation but the generations that are to come,” Dr. Smith said.

ExxonMobil Guyana, on Tuesday, announced the arrival of the Prosperity Floating, Production, Storage, and Offloading (FPSO) vessel in Guyana's waters to service the Payara project, which is expected to come on stream this year

with imminent start-up of Payara project after arrival of Prosperity FPSO

Stakeholders were on Tuesday engaged by experts from the FAO and SWM as Guyana seeks to make amendments to its Fisheries Act and develop a new aquaculture framework (Delano- Williams photo)

Guyana’s Cultural Diversity

GUYANA’s cultural diversity was in full display as Guyanese of all walks of life and from all religious and cultural backgrounds converged by the thousands to observe the Easter holiday.

Apart from the religious significance of the holiday, Guyanese took the opportunity to interact with family and friends in kite-flying and other forms of social and cultural activities.

Guyana is one of the few countries in the world where there are major national holidays for religious festivities. This speaks well of religious tolerance and our growing sense of multiculturalism. Guyana is a secular state but religious holidays are fully recognised and encouraged by the government.

This year saw a convergence of the major observances from the Muslim, Hindu

and Christian religions in the form of Ramadan, Navaratri and Easter respectively. In each of the observances, the underlying message of faith and sacrifice is common and a reinforcement of the fact that there is virtue in prayer.

Seen from the perspective of our Guyanese society, such a message has universal resonance. For one thing, it speaks to the unifying power of faith in a greater power which transcends the boundaries of colour, class and politics. This is very much in evidence in all of our national festivities such as Easter, Phagwah, Eid-ul-fitr and Mashramani.

Guyanese could be seen literally rubbing shoulders with their fellow Guyanese in ways that are fully in consonance with the ‘One Guyana’ vision as articulated by President, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali.

As pointed out by the Guyanese President, these festivals serve to bring the Guyanese people together in an environment of love, peace and mutual respect.

Easter is a message of hope over despair. It is indeed a triumph of hope of a better and brighter future. Never before in the country’s history has there been such levels of hope and optimism that a better future is within our collective grasp.

This year’s Easter celebrations coincide with the Lethem Rodeo and the Bartica Regatta, both of which has attracted thousands of Guyanese from all parts of the country including a significant number of overseas Guyanese. Sports and culture do matter, and have proven to be a unifying factor in our continuing quest for national cohesion and the creation of a just and tolerant society.

This year’s observances also comes at a time when our national sovereignty and territorial integrity have been re-affirmed by the International Court of Justice which had in a recent judgement upheld its adjudicative jurisdiction on the issue of the border controversy with Venezuela.

This is indeed a positive and forward looking ruling which offers renewed hope of a peaceful resolution of the issue in Guyana’s favour.

Things are clearly moving in a direction that is consistent with our national goals of a secure, cohesive and prosperous Guyana.

President Ali and the PPP/C administration must be commended for putting in place the necessary framework for durable and sustained economic growth and prosperity for all.

are now dealing with the WPA’s ‘lunatic fringe’

Dear Editor,

POLITE language is a required element of civilised political discourse.

All of us who engage and are engaged in the media, have a responsibility to uphold a level of decorum. The responsibility is on all of our shoulders.

But what should we do when the most uncouth, divisive, irresponsible, and downright dangerous bile is being peddled in defence of a treasonous call for subversion of the state, backed up by racial violence?

This question is now apposite because of the recent letters in the press defending Tacuma Ogunseye’s racially motivated call for subversion of the democratically elected Government of Guyana, and also

for violence against East Indians.

Mr. Ogunseye had himself admitted his instigation amounted to treason and was willing to plead guilty to the same, with explanation.

But mindless defences offered by WPA operatives, and silence by other civil society groups such as Red Thread and GHRA, have only buoyed this WPA man known for his racial charisma.

Over this past weekend, the already pathetic defence of Ogunseye’s race-baiting graduated from the unforgivable, to utter madness, well within the womb of the lunatic fringe. In this effort, Moses Bhagwan betrayed his claim to reasonableness by characterising the arrest of Ogunseye as “unwarranted and devious”.

What should the police have done instead, Mr. Bhagwan? The New York based WPA activist lamented that the police should have gone to Ogunseye’s home, but conveniently erased from memory the mayhem erupted only recently in Buxton, when police attempted to arrest a suspected drug dealer.

Bhagwan is content to characterise the police doing their job as ‘terror’, but in the same breadth, characterises the man whose inflammatory rhetoric amounted to treason (by his own admission), as a freedom fighter.

Bhagwan should know two things. Firstly, Ogunseye’s call for subversion of the state would be considered a high crime in any country where the rule of law prevails.

Secondly, Mr. Bhagwan should know that it is illegal for a United States citizen to support the overthrow of a democratically elected government.

It is regrettable that Moses Bhagwan has joined the lunatic fringe. Please understand that I am using the term according to its strict definition, namely, “members of a usually political or social movement espousing extreme, eccentric, or fanatical views.”

This is the only characterisation appropriate for Moses Bhagwan’s description of Ogunseye’s arrest as “cruel and unusual punishment.”

Yours sincerely, Dr. Randolph Persaud

Poor planning, incompetence of Athletics Association of Guyana being overlooked

Dear Editor,

In its usual quest to score points and bring the government into disrepute, the political opposition is laying blame at the feet of the Dr. Irfaan Ali-led administration for the issues surrounding Guyana’s national athletics team which participated in the 50th CARIFTA Games.

Though the source of these issues is directly related to poor planning and incompetence on the part of the Athletics Associ-

ation of Guyana (AAG), the opposition and members of its overseas-based lunatic fringe would have us believe that the government, with its god-like all-seeing and all-knowing powers, should’ve intervened beforehand in anticipation of the AAG “usual mess-up.”

Not an ounce of blame is being laid at the feet of the AAG. Of course, the usual suspects did not miss an opportunity to inject their poisonous narrative of race hate, so the incompetence of the Afro-dominated AAG was thrown aside and a story about the

indo-PPP government having a dislike for any other sport aside from Cricket was the preferred one.

But rest assured that if the government, in an effort to avert the disaster that unfolded, had attempted to play a more meaningful role (aside from providing funds as it did), those very critics and their media surrogates would’ve been shouting “control” and “government takeover.”

The letters and editorials denouncing the government’s “attempt to take over” would’ve

been voluminous as is the case with the Georgetown Mayor and City Council.

So, I guess the government is damned if it does and damned if it doesn’t.

Guyanese should ignore the usual suspects trying to score political points off of a non-political issue and what in my view is a demonstration of incompetence by the Athletics Association of Guyana.

Yours sincerely, Alvin Hamilton

Editor Navendra Seoraj

We

Unsound advice that Low provides to the Leader of the Opposition

Dear Editor, REFERENCE is made to a letter authored by the Economic Advisor to the Leader of the Opposition that was published in the Kaieteur News edition of April 10, 2023, with the caption “Elson Low responds to Jagdeo.”

From the tone of the letter, it would appear that the author was offended by some of the remarks about him by the Vice President. And in reacting to this, he felt the need to highlight his notable academic accomplishments. Congratulations!

Suffice it to state, however, qualifications and competence do not always correlate. The Vice President did not question his academic credentials, per se, instead he highlighted the poor quality of economic advice he’s been providing to the Leader of the Opposition.

For the sake of argument, let’s examine the merits and demerits?and the technical robustness of a few proposals put forward by the learned economic advisor to the Leader of the Opposition over the last two years.

WINDFALL TAX PROPOSED BY ELSON LOW

Following the introduction of a “windfall” tax on oil and gas companies in the United Kingdom (UK) on the back of soaring oil prices earlier this year, the political opposition and others have been advocating for similar to be implemented in Guyana.

JB’S COMMENTARY

It is critical that one seeks an understanding and appreciation for the current situation in the United Kingdom, the precedence and justification for the measure and more importantly the fiscal regime for the oil and gas sector in the United Kingdom.

While it is always good to examine comparatively these issues across other countries in the world with a view to apply similar policies in the home country, context is particularly important. Within this framework, the situational contexts are often times fundamentally different, hence, not pragmatically applicable.

The fiscal regime applied to the oil and gas sector in the United Kingdom prior to the introduction of the windfall tax (energy profits levy) in May 2022, comprised of three elements, namely (1) ring fence corporation tax (RFCT), (2) petroleum revenue tax (PRT), and (3) supplementary charge (SC). It is worthwhile to highlight that the UK’s fiscal regime is designed with a number of ‘built-in’ incentives.

For example, the 25 per cent tax levy or windfall tax includes an additional investment allowance of 80 per cent that can be claimed at the point of investment. Overall, the tax relief companies receive from qualifying expenditure in the UK has nearly doubled from 46p for every £1 to 91p for every £1. Put differently; for every US$1 billion invested in the UK oil and gas industry, the oil companies receive US$912.5 million in tax relief under the new (current) scheme.

In a comparative analysis conducted by this author, it was clearly shown that the economic situation and the fiscal regime for the oil and gas industry in the UK are completely different when compared to Guyana altogether.

In fact, the comparative assessment revealed that Guyana’s fiscal regime allows for a relatively higher government take even when the 25 per cent windfall tax is applied to the fiscal regime as in the UK?that is to say, should the UK’s fiscal regime be applied to Guyana. The oil and gas revenue contributes just about 2.5 per cent of government’s total revenue in the UK while in Guyana the (NRF withdrawal) accounts for 40 per cent total revenue based projections for FY 2023.

Notably, the windfall tax was introduced in the UK because the fiscal regime over the years would have undergone several changes aimed at making the industry more competitive and to attract new investments in the industry. For example, the PRT was reduced from 50 per cent in 1993 to 0 per cent in 2016.

Moreover, the windfall tax was implemented in the UK, in particular, to help restore fiscal stability which was weakened following the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

SUBSIDIZE FUEL IMPORTS

The Economic Advisor to the Opposition Leader had proposed to the Government to subsidise fuel importers to ease the high-cost burdens owing to rising fuel prices. He also proposed that the Government should subsidise the electricity bills for the vulnerable.

JB’S

COMMENTARY

The opposition’s economic advisor failed to perform any analysis to justify and/or inform the aforesaid recommendations as stated above and demonstrate the feasibility of both options.

In the case of the second option, to subsidize electricity for the vulnerable, the government has already subsidised electricity for the entire country and not just the vulnerable.

In this regard, though the fuel cost for power generation has increased substantially, the Government did not increase the electricity rates which mean that this increased cost has been absorbed by the power company, which is effectively a subsidy from the Government.

To further understand this level of increase, about 20 per cent of the country’s total fuel import bill accounts for electricity generation. Prior to the rising fuel prices, with no substantial increase in demand, the country’s total fuel import bill stood at about US$500 million of which approximately US$100 million accounts for electricity generation for the country.

Following the rising fuel price, the total import bill increased to a whopping US$823 million, representing a 65 per cent increase. As such, fuel import for electricity generation would have amounted to US$165 million, representing an increase of 65 per cent or US$65 million. Of note, this additional cost burden was not passed onto the consumers which mean that the Government has already subsidised electricity for the entire country.

The same argument/analysis would be applicable to another of opposition’s proposal where their economic advisor suggested that the Government should take the increase earn-

ings from the higher price on Guyana’s share of crude oil and provide subsidies to the vulnerable.

Again, while Guyana benefited from the higher price on its share of crude oil, this increase was more than offset with the increased cost for the fuel import bill of the country by over US$300 million or 65 per cent - from US$500 million to US$823 million.

With respect to subsiding fuel importers, the reduction of the excise tax on fuel imports from 50 per cent to 0 per cent, resulted in an annual foregone revenue to the treasury of nearly $20 billion.

OTHER COMMENTARY

Incidentally, at the time of writing this letter, I had already written another article (two days ago) which was sent to the media in which the undersigned dealt specifically with a more recent proposal by the opposition economic advisor.

This is in relation to his assertion to “intellectually space out” future oil and gas developments.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

Editor, the foregoing is just a few demonstrations of the unsound advice that the economic advisor provides to the Leader of the Opposition.

For an important portfolio of this nature, the economic advisor needs to delve beyond the usual surface level analysis to perform much more in-depth and rigorous analysis to inform his economic policy advice to the Leader of the Opposition. Nevertheless, I have no doubt that he is a brilliant, young, and upcoming economist and public policy expert within his political party.

Yours sincerely,

Joel Bhagwandin Financial and Public Policy Analyst

Caribbean Gangsters Paradise

Part 2: Imported illegal guns ‘shooting-up’ deadly regional gang violence

By Earl Bousquet

DURING the Easter weekend, I cautiously welcomed the repeated news reports of apparent return to normalcy in Saint Lucia after families in Vieux Fort, with relative peace and calm restored, had started burying their dead.

Also heavily-advertised was a family fun day planned for one of the town’s multipurpose courts, to encourage trust in the restored calm that had seen schools and businesses reopen after a sustained period of violence that had taken over 21 lives and instilled fear and anxiety island-wide.

The Police Commissioner had also, just ahead of the weekend celebrations, welcomed “the positive difference” made by the increased financial and material assistance from the government, including drones, scanners, bulletproof jackets, more vehicles and more officers being recruited.

She also welcomed the presence of the regional Special Services Unit (SSU) contingent in the town and elsewhere, as her officers moved “to take back our streets…”

But just as I started feeling my unease might have been (gladly) misplaced, I was proven wrong – and right.

Not to my surprise: Late Easter Sunday night and later on Easter Monday, four more persons were killed in Vieux Fort -- in less than 24 hours -- including a mother and her grandchild, in a neighbourhood often visited by police pursuing gangsters and investigating

Chronicles of a ChronicGuyana Chronicler

By Earl Bousquet

other criminal activities.

By Tuesday morning, the buzz -- at home and abroad -- was that “criminals” in Saint Lucia were bent on giving the island “a bad, new reputation” as “the most-violent in the OECS,” and giving currency to the unenviable impression of the island as the Caribbean’s latest Gangsters Paradise.

But this is by no means an isolated Saint Lucia problem, as recognised and signalled over a month ago by Grenada’s Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell.

Addressing parliament in March (while Saint Lucia’s suspected gang-related death toll was only seven), PM Mitchell cited the age-old maxim “When your neighbour’s house is onfire, wet yours…” to tell fellow MPs that with Saint Lucia’s experience, “We cannot take our own safety and security for granted…”

He also said it was not new to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), citing Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago among member-states that have also seen their own unfair share of different types of gun-related crime, over time.

Directly addressing one of the main sources of the matter, PM Mitchell blamed “the rise in access to illegal firearms” across the region and urged urgent regional attention to upscaling the collective CARICOM fight against the worsening proliferation of illegal guns into the region.

The illegal gun trade “must be tackled at all levels,” he said, because “proliferation of firearms and guns from North America is something to be openly and roundly condemned…”

The Grenada leader promised his administration will act soon to try to prevent illegal firearms entering the island, by taking urgent steps “to strengthen the security forces’ ability to detect and collect firearms.”

Government will also amend the Firearms Act, he said, “to introduce significantly-stiffer penalties for persons found with illegal firearms.”

PM Mitchell urged “full regional commitment to help Saint Lucia overcome its security challenges…”

The Grenada PM would later have reason to also sound the alarm about gang warfare having apparently arrived on the Spice Isle’s steps, following a death in February involving a suspected foreign assassin that nurtured national nervousness and anxiety.

With easier access to more sophisticated weapons than law enforcement in most CARICOM nations with gang violence experiences, gangsters have upgraded to more brazen and fearless acts of violence in their warfare of criminality affecting communities and neighbourhoods, resulting in more lives being cut short in their prime -- and more frequently by bullets.

Indeed, everywhere crime comes to the fore in such deadly ways (and not only in CARICOM), citizens at home and abroad, across the region and the global Diaspora, understandably react in ‘Shock and Awe’ and much horror, while fellow citizens facing the real fire and fury at home are forced to adjust to unprecedented realities.

Many Caribbean citizens abroad offer well-meaning but ineffective long-distance solutions, most based on or conditioned by their long exposure to metropolitan approaches and successes in their adopted countries, or simply the stuff seen on fictional police and crime TV series like ‘CSI’, ‘Miami Vice’ and their modern equivalents.

Interestingly (and significantly), the gangsters have also adopted many of the movie land styles now available free and anytime on their cell phones and through Netflix or YouTube.

But the end results are nothing like the movies, as it’s real people being robbed of their lives -- and leaving grieving families forever mourning.

Today’s upgraded crime-fighting and gangster movies (produced mainly in North America and Europe) only reflect the related upgrades in sophistry of gang and other related violent crimes, which are in several (if not most) cases comparatively worse (per head of population) than anywhere in the Caribbean.

Indeed, gun crimes and mass killings (including of victims of gang violence) is a continuing epidemic in the USA, where successive presidents and administrations have been unable to curb gun crime, thanks in great part to the powerful gun lobby, especially the National Rifle Association (NRA), whose influence extends beyond America’s borders, all the way to the UK, Canada and Australia.

But if Saint Lucians and Caribbean citizens were to believe we are alone in this gun crime quagmire, we’d better think again.

Why?

When I tuned to the world news headlines Monday morning, CNN’s headline report was that Americans were waking to another mass shooting...

Americans are no less bewildered about gun crime, this year having already seen several school shootings, one involving a child shooting a teacher in February, another featuring a former female student returning to her alma mater on a killing spree last month and Easter Monday’s shooting that took four lives, ‘shooting’ the number of mass shootings across the USA in 2023 to 146.

Amerindian villages throughout Guyana benefit from forest carbon

By Cindy Parkinson

LAST December, as part of a historic carbon credit agreement signed with Hess Corporation to sell Guyana’s carbon credits, Amerindian villages throughout Guyana are set to receive US$22.5 million in direct allocation.

At the signing ceremony in Baridi Benab at State House, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, the Vice President of Guyana, shared Government’s vision for this programme. He also outlined, during the event, that it was in accordance with the commitment made in LCDS 2030 to provide the Amerindian communities, in both forested and non-forested areas, with 15 per cent of the earnings from any sale of forest carbon. This will be in the form of direct payments.

Additional investment will be made from 85 per cent of total earnings in health, education, hinterland infrastructure, land titling, and ICT development, among other areas.

According to the Vice President, Guyana would receive $187 million as compensation for the “legacy era” (2016–2020), and with the new agreement, payments of $250 million for the years 2021–2025 and $350 million for the years 2025–2030 are anticipated. It was also noted that the Amerindian communities will determine the investment of these finances.

The Vice President said that even though the agreement between Hess and Guyana is a significant deal, market prices would likely increase in the voluntary market. According to him, it is genuinely transformative. It truly moves Guyanese closer to the two objectives

the country has been working towards for 15 years, namely, a world where Guyana will value more forest carbon, enabling the country to move closer to a compliance market.

In addition to receiving the 15 per cent, the Amerindians will directly benefit from all components of the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030, particularly programmes involving renewable energy and climate adaptation and mitigation. Several village plans have already been prepared, paving the way for village investments to commence.

To direct activities in the forest sector that reduce emissions from deforestation and

forest degradation, as well as the sustainable management of forests, and the conservation and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP) developed the REDD+ framework. The first TREES credits in the world were issued to Guyana by the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) last year, which also represents a historic first for a nation to receive carbon credits created for the voluntary and some compliance carbon markets for successfully preventing forest loss and degradation, or jurisdictional REDD+.

Following the conclusion of an independent validation and verification process and acceptance by the ART Board of Directors, Guyana has been granted 33.47 million TREES credits by ART for the five years between 2016 and 2020.

Because these serialised credits are listed on ART’s open registry, buyers can access them on the global carbon market.

This historic achievement has been lauded by Derrick John, the NTC chairman, and a Guy-

ana delegation member that attended COP 27.

The NTC expressed, in a news release in response to ART’s assertion, that the success will further support Amerindian communities’ attempts to develop sustainable methods of sustenance and protect their forests.

The NTC said it was glad that Guyana is leading efforts on climate finance that would directly assist indigenous peoples in promoting climate resilience and sustainable livelihood prospects. The NTC is the national body representing all elected indigenous village leaders in Guyana.

Guyana’s successful completion of the ART procedure for the years it has applied for so far opens the door for other governments seeking to benefit from carbon market financing for their efforts to protect and restore forests successfully.

(This is part of a weekly series on LCDS.) The author can be contacted at cparkinson0206@gmail.com

Primary district education officers get training to enhance countrywide literacy programme

THE National Literacy Department of the Ministry of Education on Tuesday opened a three-day literacy training workshop for District Education Officers (DEOs) who have responsibility for primary education in the 11 education districts.

According to a press release from the Education Ministry, Assistant Chief Education Officer with responsibility for Literacy, Samantha Williams, said that the three-day session will encompass the sharing of practices and knowledge to improve literacy across Guyana.

She said that it is no secret that many children in the school system cannot read. However, Williams said that the situation is not impossible to overcome.

“It takes each and every one of us to make a difference,” she said.

Williams called on the DEOs to become leaders who will not only chart the way forward in their respective districts, but also get involved in the day-today processes and support teachers on this journey to ultimately make every child “a reader.”

She said that over the three-day period, the officers will be exposed to the major and critical elements of the literacy programme so that they could develop a deeper understanding.

The Chief Education Officer, Saddam Hussain, during his remarks said that the ministry intends to have a literacy point person in every school.

He added that the ministry is also working to have every teacher trained in literacy so that they

could build on what they are doing in the classroom.

Further, Hussain said that a programme will be rolled out in primary schools that will focus specifically on children who cannot read.

He urged the officers to take advantage of the training sessions so that they could go back to their districts and begin to transform the lives of children.

Assistant Chief Education Officer (Primary), Rabindra Singh advised the DEOs that they must guide teachers and head teachers and help them to execute their duties. He said that this can only be done with dedication and commitment.

“There is no other good way to start than to empower education officers with the knowledge and skills,” he remarked.

The Deputy Chief Education Officer (Development), Volika Jaikishun encouraged the officers that they must embrace new knowledge and practices.

She said that there will be certain elements of literacy that will be new to them that are necessary to be implemented to address the issue.

She said that the education system can only move forward in the right direction when people are equipped with the right knowledge and skills. She also encouraged the officers to help schools to establish strong parental partnerships as parents are very important stakeholders in this process.

The three-day exercise is being held at the National Library and will also feature several facilitators.

District education officers present at the training exercise

False state media discrimination claims part of tactics by special interests

THE Department of Public Information (DPI) on Tuesday issued a statement condemning the content of an anonymous letter published by Village Voice.

The statement reads:

“Coming on the heels of the recent baseless and spurious claims about the creation of a hostile environment for the media, with press conferences being part of the setting during community outreaches, phantom writers posing as state media operatives are now falsely claiming discrimination in the training regime for the sector.

“This response refers to the letter published on April 9, 2023, by the Village Voice captioned, ‘State Media Journalists Need Support. President Ali left us out in the cold’ and purporting to be from an anonymous source.

“These unimaginative tactics simply provide opportunities for us to expose the cowardly opposition sympathizers masquerading as journalists and thwart their anti-PPP/C agenda.

“The records will show, that while all efforts to reboot and expand the capacity of practitioners and other workers in the state media and more broadly across the full media fraternity in Guyana since 2020 were announced and reported on publicly, we

wish to take this opportunity provided to once again iterate the rolling programmes and initiatives of the Department of Public Affairs (DPA).

“Between 2020 and 2021, refreshers training sessions were conducted across the entire state media spectrum, including with public relations and communication practitioners within ministries, departments and agencies of the government.

“In 2022, as part of its World Press Freedom Day invites, the DPA launched the Caribbean’s first Media and Communication Academy in partnership with the world’s leading online learning platform Coursera.

“Through the academy, which is open to all legitimate practitioners locally, more than 300 media workers were registered for courses with world-class certification, with more than 90 successfully completing at least one course by the end of 2022. This is funded by the Government of Guyana through the Department of Public Affairs.

“The academy has also engaged two separate cohorts of new entrants to the media, with almost half of those trained gaining internships, and some employment, with various media houses.

“Significantly also, we have seen dozens of practitioners gaining scholarships

to pursue first and advanced degrees at the University of Guyana and with international universities, through the Public Service Scholarships Initiative; and the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) platform, both free capacity-building and empowerment initiatives of the government,

for Guyanese across every sector of the society.

“In terms of specialised overseas engagements, it is well established that participants are selected on merit and specialisation based on the specific nature of those opportunities. In 2021, two persons, one from state media and the other from the private

media benefited from training in China through government facilitation.

“As the country continues on its transformational trajectory, the government’s commitment to capacity building and empowerment across all sectors, including the media, will continue to expand and

deepen.

“In this regard, actions will continue speaking louder than the words of detractors and those who seek to undermine positive developments to bolster their special-interest agendas and relevance ahead of the much-anticipated GPA elections.”

Foreign Secretary leads team to UK for discussions with diaspora

THE Government of Guyana has embarked on a diaspora outreach across the United Kingdom (UK). This follows a visit by

President, Dr. Irfaan Ali who visited the UK last year and met with members of the Guyanese Diaspora.

This is the first physical

outreach post-pandemic by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, which has otherwise been engaging the diaspora in

The Government of Guyana has embarked on a diaspora outreach across the United Kingdom the UK virtually during the pandemic period.

Leading the team is Foreign Secretary, Robert Persaud, who is also supported by Head of the Diaspora Unit, Rosalinda Rasul.

At the first engagement held at the Guyana High Commission in London, on Monday, April 10, the Foreign Secretary addressed scores of Guyanese and spoke extensively on the role of the diaspora in Guyana’s development and about supporting President Ali’s “One Guyana” initiative, and his plans for the creation of a modern Guyana that will benefit all Guyanese.

To this end, Persaud informed the gathering of their importance in fostering greater networks and diplomacy to advance Guyana’s development and advocating for the country’s interest at the international level, the role they can play in leading self-driven initiatives in areas that interest them and sharing their knowledge, skills, and networks to further develop Guyana.

The Foreign Secretary also updated the diaspora on many of the government’s development plans related to infrastructure, climate

change, the Low Carbon Development Strategy, health, education, and customer service improvements for the public and Diaspora.

The latter included the single window project and various other projects that the government will be implementing to enhance the ease of doing business and improve public sector efficiency.

Rasul updated the overseas-based Guyanese on how the unit has been involved in advancing the interests of the diaspora from all parts of the globe, and shared upcoming initiatives that the unit will be implementing to further enhance engagements with them in the areas of skills transfer, diaspora diplomacy and diaspora direct investments.

Rasul further indicated that one of her objectives on this outreach is to meet more of the second and third generation Guyanese to engage them on the role they can play in Guyana’s development.

The presentations were followed by a question and answer session.

Engagements will continue this week with more meetings in the UK.

Region Six local authorities engaged on Housing Ministry’s Single Window System

REPRESENTATIVES

from several Neighbourhood Democratic Councils, the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) and the Town Council within Region Six turned out in their numbers on Tuesday to participate in another round of consultation for the soon-to-be-launched Single Window Planning and Development System.

The consultation was held at the RDC Reg. 6 Boardroom. It was facilitated by the lead consultant for the project, Fareed Amin, Business Analyst, Kevin Sukhdeo, and the Ministry of Housing and Water-Central Housing and Planning Authority staff.

The activity aimed to

ensure that local authorities are equipped and ready to play their role in making the Single Window Planning and Development System effective.

Mr. Amin noted that the strengthening of capacity

within the various local authorities is key to making the system efficient. During the session, several issues were raised, including fee structure and the need for paper-based applications to be accepted, even as NDCs build capacity

to be fully operational with the requisite IT solution.

The Single Window Process is a move by the government to integrate agencies’ approaches to services, increase efficiency, and significantly reduce the processing

time for planning and building permission. With work ongoing on the IT solution and the Single Window Bill passed in the National Assembly, the system is expected to go live on July 1 of this year.

The legislative framework now paves the way for, among other things, standardized application forms and checklists, as well as minimising the time for completing a transaction.

Further, the electrical portal will enable investors to submit planning and building permits and check the status from anywhere around the globe, as this new mechanism forms part of the Government’s attempt to increase the ease of doing business and foster a business-friendly environment.

Over the next few days, a number of other regulatory agencies, government and private sector bodies will be engaged in another round of consultation.

A section of the gathering for the consultation held at the RDC Reg. 6 Boardroom.

Global security expert defends Nazar Mohamed’s unblemished track record

–– describes the businessman as an honourable, ethical person

By Cindy Parkinson

RETIRED acting assistant director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and global security expert of the BGR Group, Tom Locke, has defended the reputation of Guyana’s most renowned businessman and gold dealer, Nazar “Shell” Mohamed.

Locke, who was the lead investigator in the September 9, 2011 (911) attack on the World Trade Center, said that he has had 32

years of experience in the FBI and dealing with terrorists and people who commit unlawful acts.

According to him, someone from the Guyana Embassy in Washington, DC, asked the BGR team to investigate Mohamed, who was interested in reapplying for his US visa, but he has had a number of allegations made against him, even though none has proven to be true.

Locke, during an exclusive interview with the Guyana Chronicle, said that the individual

asked if he would conduct an independent investigation on Mohamed in regard to the allegations and report his findings.

The retired FBI agent said: “I met Mr. Mohamed almost a year ago, and I told him, look, I am going to do this investigation, and the chips will have to fall where they may. If I find something that is not exactly flattering to you, I am going to have to talk about it, and he willingly agreed. I am happy to say that, after my investigation, it has now been concluded that those allegations are completely invalid.

“I can say that this investigation was primarily carried out in order to erase some of the concerns that the US State Department had and to also knock down some fences that had appeared around Mr. Mohamed as well.”

The former FBI agent related that despite Mohamed’s achievements, he and his family have been prevented from obtaining a US visa because of false accusations that were made against him.

Some of the accusations range from “buying gold illegally from Venezuela, gunrunning, and drug dealing to the completely outrageous, terrorist financing, and murder.”

Locke said that while he was conducting

the investigation, “Apart from finding out that all the accusations were false, I also found out that Mr. Mohamed is a very honourable and ethical businessman who came from humble beginnings and gives back to people and students many times unknowing to others.

“I believe that Guyana should be very proud of him for his philanthropy, business ethic, and the charitable work that he is doing for the country. He should be recognised for what he is doing for Guyanese and not for the false allegations that are out there about him.”

In the copy of the document that shows what was uncovered by Locke, it is clearly stated that “Mr. Mohamed has not been investigated in connection with any crime, nor has he been arrested or charged with a violation of any sort.”

The most surprising finding about Mohamed, according to Locke, was: “To have a man who is so ethical that the only thing that can get you crossed ways with him is if you do something that is unethical, that he doesn’t agree with; it’s almost as if he divorces himself from such individuals, and he is very much a believer in his faith and standard business practices.”

Trial in Winston Jordan’s case postponed to April 24

COME April 24, 2023, the trial against former Finance Minister Winston Jordan,

accused of misconduct in public office, is expected to commence.

The trial was expected to commence on Tuesday, but it was postponed by Se-

nior Magistrate Leron Daly at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

The matter was postponed until April 24 by the magistrate due to “unforeseen circumstances”. Jordan is currently on $3 million bail.

Winston Jordan appeared in court to respond to this matter on December 28, 2021, but was not required to plead.

It was alleged then that while he served as Finance Minister under the APNU+AFC coalition government, Jordan willfully misconducted himself by acting recklessly when he signed the NICIL (Transfer of Property) Order, No. 50 of 2020. NICIL, the government’s holding company, fell under Jordan’s ministerial portfolio.

The substantive matter entails Jordan transferring and vesting to BK Marine Inc., all

buildings, erections, stellings, platforms, and further appurtenances at Mud Lots One and Two, F of Mud Lot Three, A, B & D, being over 2.553 acres.

In that transaction, it was reported that $20,260,276 was paid for a property initially valued at over $5,000,000,000.

The selling price was reportedly grossly below the actual value of the assets sold. This, the court heard from the prosecution, amounted to an abuse of the public’s trust without reasonable excuse or justification.

During the last hearing of the case, Jordan’s lawyers had contested that their client was not a ‘Public Officer.’

The former Finance Minister is represented by fellow APNU coalition party members, attorneys-at-law Roysdale Forde S.C., Khemraj Ramjattan, Dawn Cush, Joseph

Harmon, and Darren Wade. However, the prosecution had previously submitted that Chief Justice Roxanne George addressed the precedent in the case of Winston Brassington and Dr Ashni Singh V.S, the Chief Magistrate. In that case, Dr. Singh, who was also a Finance Minister, was considered to be a Public Officer and Article 232 of the constitution of Guyana provides that a ‘Public Officer’ means the holder of any public office and includes any person appointed to act in such an office, inter alia.

Magistrate Daly had reserved her ruling on the issue and will move forward with the case.

This prompted Cush to inform the court that the defence would be challenging Daly’s decision to the High Court.

China has strong capability to thwart ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist activities in any form

(People’s Daily, April 10, 2023) China has taken a series of countermeasures in response to the meeting

between the leader of China’s Taiwan region, Tsai Ing-wen and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, during Tsai’s

so-called “transit” through the U.S., which constituted a grave political provocation against China.

These countermeasures, while representing China’s resolute and forceful response to the attempt of Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities to “cling to U.S. support to seek independence”, as well as the U.S. attempt to use Taiwan to contain China, have fully demonstrated China’s resolve to safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Tsai’s “transit” trip was in fact an attempt to seek breakthroughs and propagate “Taiwan independence”, and the so-called “diplomatic breakthrough” was nothing but another step to bring great suffering to Taiwan.

During her “transit” through the U.S., Tsai didn’t stay at the airport or a hotel. Instead, she made contact with U.S. government officials and congressional members under various pretexts, in an attempt to make official interaction between Taiwan and the U.S.

It’s obvious to see that Tsai’s “transit” trip was not a personal activity at all. It was in essence a political adventure to further collude with the U.S. and fawn on the U.S. to seek support for “Taiwan independence.”

It was also an attempt to create “one China, one Taiwan” or “two Chinas,” find opportunities to peddle the

“Taiwan independence” claims in the international arena, and seek support from anti-China forces in the U.S.

While the DPP authorities take every opportunity to conduct separatist activities for “Taiwan independence” out of selfish political gains, the U.S. has wantonly used Taiwan as a pawn to contain China in total disregard of the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and the fundamental interests of the people in Taiwan. It is a “troublemaker” and “destroyer” of the peace and stability across the Strait.

The U.S. Congress, as part of the U.S. government, has the responsibility to fulfill the solemn commitments the U.S. government has made to China by strictly abiding by the one-China principle and refusing all forms of official interaction with Taiwan.

Under neither international law nor U.S. domestic legislation does “separation of powers” give the U.S. the excuse to defy international obligations and take actions that go against the basic norms governing international relations, provoke against China’s sovereignty, and break its own commitment on the Taiwan question.

Past mistakes cannot justify today’s mistakes, and repeating the same mistakes doesn’t provide any legitimacy for erroneous behaviour.

China firmly opposes any “transit” trip by the Taiwan region’s leader to the U.S. in any name or for any reason, and firmly opposes the U.S. government having any form of official interaction with the Taiwan region.

China has repeatedly lodged solemn representations with the U.S. side over Tsai’s “transit” trip to the U.S. However, the U.S. side has kept indulging and supporting the “Taiwan independence” separatist forces. China has to take resolute countermeasures against such egregious actions.

China’s taking countermeasures following the provocative trip is neither “overreaction” nor “military intimidation” as claimed by the U.S.

All the countermeas-ures taken by the Chinese government are what China is fully entitled to do to safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity. They are necessary and timely defensive countermeasures aimed at safeguarding China’s national sovereignty and security, and stopping the anti-China forces in the U.S. and the “Taiwan independence” separatist forces from going further down the

wrong and dangerous path.

The one-China principle has been recognised by the United Nations (UN) and the vast majority of countries. It has become a widely recognised basic norm governing international relations and is part and parcel of the international order established after World War II.

China’s resolute countermeasures against the escalation in the collusion between the U.S. and the Taiwan region are also a legitimate action to safeguard the basic norms in international relations and the post-war international order.

If China failed to react to the actions that interfere in China’s internal affairs and undermine its national sovereignty taken by the U.S., the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and basic norms governing international relations including respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity would be reduced to empty words.

China will resolutely fight against every separatist activity seeking “Taiwan independence” and every grave provocation made by external forces playing the “Taiwan card” to contain China. It will never allow its national sovereignty and territorial integrity to be wantonly trampled upon and undermined.

Facts have proven that the Chinese government has strengthened its strategic initiative for China’s complete reunification and consolidated commitment to the one-China principle within the international community by resolutely fighting against separatism and countering interference.

The Chinese government has great capabilities to shape the strategic situation and environment for its national reunification, and to thwart “Taiwan independence” separatist activities in whatever form.

The cross-Strait reunification is an overriding historical trend and the right course, while “Taiwan independence” is a retrogression leading to a dead end. The separatist forces seeking “Taiwan independence” and external interference will not stop the prevailing historical trend of China’s reunification or the course of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

The Chinese people have the resolve, the will, and the ability to defend their national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

They must and will realise the historic goal of reuniting their motherland.

Jamaica tops CARIFTA Games medal table for 37th year in a row

FOR the 37th year in a row, Jamaica have topped the medal table at the CARIFTA Track & Field Championships.

The unofficial medal tally saw Jamaica finish the 50th edition of the Games, which were held from April 8-10 at the Thomas A. Robinson Stadium in Nassau, The Bahamas, with 78 medals, 32 more than the hosts in second and 47 more than Trinidad & Tobago in third.

The top five was rounded out by St. Kitts & Nevis with 11 and Barbados with 10.

Of those 78 medals, Jamaica took home 40 gold, 22 silver and 17 bronze medals.

Furthermore, 36 of those medals came on the Boys side while 42 came on the Girls side. Hosts, The Bahamas, also had an excellent showing at home with 46 medals including 10 gold, 13 silver and 23 bronze while Trinidad and Tobago ended with nine gold, 10 silver and 12 bronze.. (Sportsmax)

16-team Speaker’s Softball Cup set for April 29

THE inaugural Speaker’s Softball Cup is set to bowl off on April 29 at various venues in Georgetown. The three-day extravaganza is organized by the executives of Everest Cricket Club (ECC) and promises to be full of excitement for players and spectators.

Patron of the tournament, the Honourable Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir, was present at the re-launch ceremony last Thursday in the members’ pavilion of ECC and said the time is right for the tournament. “We were preparing to play in 2021 but the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions prevented us from doing so but, as a club, we used

the opportunity to improve the facility then in 2022 the issue was rain but we are now in a strong position to announce definitively that Speaker’s Cup is on.”

At the re-launch, as the event was dubbed, John Ramsingh, on behalf of the organising committee, gave an overview of the tournament, noting that there will be two categories for competition: Legends and Masters.

The Legends category is for players 50 years of age and older while the Masters category is for players 40 years of age and older. There will be eight teams in each category while there will be two zones

within each category for round-robin action before the semifinals.

Ramsingh also indicated that apart from Everest CC ground , matches will also be played at the Queen’s College school ground and Police Sports Club ground at Eve Leary, making it easy for management.

The preliminary rounds will be on April 29 and 30 while the semi-finals will be on the second afternoon. The finals will be played at ECC on Labour Day with live streaming of both matches on FL Sport.

The winning teams will take away towering trophies and $250,000 cash while the losing finalists will

pocket $100 000. Additionally, there are individual prizes for Most Valuable Player in each category and Player of the Match in the respective finals.

All trophies for Speaker’s Softball Cup are compliments of Trophy Stall, who are delighted to be part of the historic tournament as was stated by their representative, Saleema Hussain.

At the initial launch in 2020,

there were two tournaments, including the traditional hard-ball format which the Honourable Speaker shed some light on. ‘In 2021, there were sponsors, donors and teams that expressed their interest in the tournaments who have all stayed on two years later, thank you for your patience and commitment. We will shortly announce the commencement of the Speaker’s Hardball tournament which will be in two zones: Berbice and Georgetown. We are going to

run off that format very soon,” Nadir, who is also President of ECC, said. Within the coming days the fixtures will be drawn and announced for the softball tournament which will see teams from across the country taking the field on April 29. This tournament may become a staple on the softball calendar alongside the popular and lucrative Prime Minister’s T20 Softball Cup, which is played in November annually.

England will not change attacking approach against Australia - Stokes

BEN Stokes says England will not alter their attacking approach when they take on Australia in the Ashes this summer.

England have won 10 out of 12 Test matches under captain Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum,

playing a bold and fearless brand of cricket.

That approach includes trying to force a result even if it risks defeat - something that will continue against Australia.

“I am not going to change any-

thing just because it’s the Ashes,” said Stokes.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Stokes added: “Every single game that I play in this Ashes is going to be to force a result and that doesn’t matter what the score is, what the situation

is. It won’t change. That wouldn’t be being true to myself.

“Every player knows that the Ashes is where everything just ramps up a bit, from pressure to exposure, but we’ll stick to what we do.

“I’ve been around long enough, so has Baz [McCullum] and our senior players to make sure those little things don’t creep into the dressing room.”

Stokes says he has asked the five Test venues to produce “fast, flat wickets” that will suit England’s batters, who play very aggressively and look to score as quickly as possible to put the opposition under pressure.

“We have been clear with the ground staff around the country about what we want and they have been really good,” said the Durham all-rounder. “We want fast, flat wickets because we want to score quickly and brings their guys in to the game too.”

Stokes says the attacking approach extends to the bowlers too, with veteran pace duo Stuart Broad, 36, and James Anderson, 40, buying into the philosophy

“Jimmy and Broady were pro-

England have won 10 out of their last 12 Tests with Ben Stokes in charge

tective of their economy rates and they hate going for runs, they like tying batters down and working them out but now they’ve started to see it a bit differently,” said Stokes, who has played 91 Tests for England.

“Having those two, who are so skilful and have taken so many wickets between them, they now have that mentality and it will do good for us going forward if Australia do start taking the attack back on us.”

Stokes bowling ‘pain free’

Stokes says he is bowling “pain free” as he continues to manage a long-standing knee issue, but will not take any risks with his fitness leading up to the Ashes.

The 31-year-old had an injection in his left knee before departing

to represent the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League last month.

He was initially expected to play as a specialist batter for the opening stages of the tournament but was able to bowl one over against Lucknow Super Giants last week.

“It has been a very frustrating year trying to manage this knee problem and not bowling much,” he said. “I have worked so hard over the last five weeks to get here. To be able to bowl pain-free - touch wood - has been great.

“Everything is going nicely and I am taking it step by step and not rush things too much because my number one priority is making sure I can be the fourth seamer in the Ashes. (BBC Sport).

Chawla, Rohit star as Mumbai earn first points in last-ball thriller

MUMBAI Indians held their nerve with the last ball of a scrappy, tension-fuelled basement battle against Delhi Capitals to claw themselves off the bottom of the IPL standings with their first win in three attempts this season, and condemn their opponents to a fourth consecutive loss in a season that is no closer to offering up any answers to their numerous issues.

(Scores:Mumbai Indians 173 for 4 (Rohit 65, Tilak 41, Mukesh 2-30) beat Delhi Capitals 172 (Axar 54, Warner 51, Chawla 3-22, Behrendorff 3-23) by six wickets)

Piyush Chawla rolled back the years, and ripped his googlies, to serve up game-shaping figures of 3 for 22 either side of a pair of chalk-and-cheese fifties from David Warner and Axar Patel, but despite a timely half-century from Rohit Sharma and 41 from 29 from Tilak Varma, Mumbai were forced to scramble over the line, into the teeth of a magnificent final over from a pumped-up Anrich Nortje.

With just five runs to defend against Cameron Green and the impact sub, Tim David, Nortje nailed his yorkers to perfection, and was let down only by his fielders – first by a bad drop from Mukesh Kumar at midwicket to reprieve David and then, with two runs needed from his final ball, a poor loopy shy from Warner at mid-off that allowed David to dive home for the second run and so avoid the Super Over.

In truth, it was a contest in which Mumbai had bossed the key moments – first through Chawla’s mid-innings incisions, then with the scalping of five wickets in the final ten balls of

Delhi’s innings that had kept their target to a gettable 173.

The early exchanges of the run-chase had fallen in the visitors’ favour too, with Rohit’s 65 from 45 including a 29-ball fifty that provided the impetus for a 68-run powerplay.

But after Mumbai failed to kill the chase when the going was still good, Nortje – armed with two death overs and aiming fast, full and furious throughout – so nearly saved the day.

Chawla shows he’s still got it

At the age of 34, and more than a decade after his last appearance for India, Chawla may be a touch more weather-beaten these days, but his googly has lost none of the startling impact it first made more than half a lifetime ago in 2005 when, aged 15, he bowled Sachin Tendulkar in a Challenger Trophy fixture. Two of his three wickets today were pitch-perfect wrong’uns to Rovman Powell and Lalit Yadav respectively, to rip the heart out of a Delhi batting line-up that, Axar’s cameo aside, was never allowed to emerge from second gear.

In an unbroken spell from the seventh to the 13th overs, Chawla returned the exceptional figures of 3 for 22, with only a brace of Warner boundaries disrupting his otherwise complete hold over Capitals’ batters. After a threatening Manish Pandey skipped to the pitch but was beaten in flight to scuff a leg-break to long-off, Powell and Lalit were confounded in consecutive overs by a pair of leg-stumpseeking googlies, the former thumping the pad, the latter plucking the stump clean out.(ESPNcricinfo)

..Delhi remain winless after four games despite a brilliant final over from Anrich Nortje

Aleem Dar to continue umpiring in international matches ..PCB has nominated the 54-year-old on the ICC International Panel of Umpires

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has nominated Aleem Dar on the ICC International Panel of Umpires. The 54-year-old three-time ICC Umpire of the Year has replaced Ahsan Raza in the international panel, who has been promoted to the ICC Elite Panel of Umpires.

Aleem’s appointment to the international panel means he will remain eligible to umpire in international matches, including Pakistan’s

Pakistan’s veteran international umpire Aleem Dar PCB Manager - Umpires and Referees, Bilal Qureshi: “The PCB had a detailed internal discussion on Aleem Dar and there was a consensus to recommend him to the ICC’s International Panel of Umpires as a PCB nominee so that international cricket can continue to benefit from his wealth of experience and knowledge.

velop and groom its own emerging umpires under his tutelage.”

home international fixtures as well as the upcoming ICC Major Events such as the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 and the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

As per ICC regulations, match officials on the international panel are only qualified to officiate in international matches. Match officials in this panel are nominated by the ICC Members.

To date, Aleem, who was included in the elite panel in 2004, has officiated in a world record 439 international matches, including 145 Tests, 225 ODIs, and 69 T20Is.

He has officiated in five ICC Men’s Cricket World Cups, seven ICC Men’s T20 World Cups and five ICC Champions Trophy events, including finals of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2007 and 2011, ICC Champions Trophy 2009 and

ICC Men’s T20 World Cups 2010 and 2012

Pakistan’s other three umpires on the international panel are Faisal Khan Afridi, Mohammad Asif Yaqoob and Rashid Riaz Waqar.

“Furthermore, the PCB will continue to involve him in its domestic season so that it can de-

India’s domestic season takes off from June 28

The 2023-24 India domestic season will kick off from June 28 with the Duleep Trophy, the BCCI announced on Tuesday (April 11), while the premier tournament Ranji Trophy will begin January 5 with the final slated to begin on March 14 next year. The early start to the domestic season is down to the fact that India are scheduled to host the 2023 World Cup in October-November.

The Deodhar Trophy , being reintroduced into the camedar after a three-season hiatus , will go on from July 24 to August 3. Both these tournaments will be played across six zones - Central, South, North, East, West and North-East.

Shortly after the one-off game of the Irani Cup, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy will get underway on October 16 while the Vijay Hazare Trophy will be played from November 23 to December 15. Both the white-ball competitions will see 38 teams divided into two groups of seven teams and three groups of eight teams.

For the Ranji Trophy, the 38 teams will be split into five groups. The four Elite Groups will have 8 teams each and the Plate Group will comprise 6 teams. The teams in Elite Group will play 7 league-stage matches each and two teams from each group will make it to the Quarterfinals.

India is set to witness an extensive domestic season in 2023-24 © Cricket Association of Bengal

The Irani Cup which will see current Ranji winners, Saurashtra, taking on the Rest of India side will commence on October 01, 2023.

The women’s domestic cricket season though won’t see a preponement. It gets underway with the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy to be played from October 19 to November 9, and will be followed by the Senior Women’s Inter Zonal Trophy that starts on November 24, The new year will begin with the Senior Women’s One-Day Trophy, commencing January 4 with the final slated for Republic Day, January 26. (Cricbuzz)

MIDDLE-order batter Ajinkya

Rahane isn’t ruling out a comeback to the Indian Test side for the ICC World Test Championship final, but maintained that there was “still a long way to go” for it

A stunning 19-ball half-century in the Indian Premier League on Saturday night against Mumbai Indians in his first game for Chennai Super Kings has put Ajinkya Rahane back in frame for a Test recall ahead of the WTC final in England in June.

Rahane, who was dropped from the Test squad, and subsequently from BCCI’s annual contracts, last

played a Test in January 2022 in South Africa

The middle-order batter, who played the final of the last WTC cycle, averages just 20.25 in his last 15 Test matches with no hundreds and just three fifties.

His place in the Test team was taken by Shreyas Iyer, who is doubtful for the WTC final in June after being ruled out of IPL 2023 with a back injury

Rahane, meanwhile, made merry at the Wankhede with a 27-ball 61 from No.3, but maintained that he was taking it one game at a time.

“Still, a long way to go [WTC final],” Rahane said at the post-match press conference after the IPL game.

“Today, I was not sure about my place in the eleven, (and) got to know just before the toss. For me, it is about playing one game at a time and staying in the moment.”

“Anything can happen. I will never give up. For me it is about playing with enjoyment and passion,” he added.

India take on Australia in the final of the ICC World Test Championship at The Oval in early June.

(ICC media)

‘Anything can happen’

— Ajinkya Rahane on selection for World Test Championship final

Manchester City take control against Bayern in quarters

MANCHESTER City took a giant stride towards the Champions League semi-finals with an outstanding performance to overpower Bayern Munich 3-0 at Etihad Stadium.

Erling Haaland, inevitably, was on target with his 45th goal of the season to make him the highest scorer in all competitions in a single campaign since the Premier League began 30 years ago, surpassing Mohamed Salah and Ruud van Nistelrooy.

City, however, gave a powerful all-round team display and Bayern, under new coach Thomas Tuchel, face a mountainous task to turn

this quarter-final around in the second leg at the AllianzArena.

Rodri broke the deadlock in spectacular fashion with a curling left-foot drive into the top corner after 27 minutes while Bayern had chances of their own, especially former City forward Leroy Sane, who brought a vital save out of Ederson early in the second half.

City were always a threat and extended their lead with 20 minutes left, Haaland crossing perfectly for Bernardo Silva to head home after Jack Grealish stole possession off Dayot Upemecano.

Haaland was not to be

denied and he pounced for City’s third six minutes later, getting on the end of John Stones’ headed knockdown to sweep a finish past Bayern keeper Yann Sommer.

Man City deliver complete display

Haaland’s record breaking will capture the headlines as the 22-year-old Norwegian’s voracious appetite for goals shows no sign of being satisfied.

This, however, was much more than a one-man show as Pep Guardiola’s side had outstanding performers in all areas as they go in pursuit of the one major trophy that has remained tantalisingly out of reach during the manager’s years of huge success at Etihad Stadium.

City have had mishaps before in the Champions League and will face either holders Real Madrid or Chelsea in a potentially hazardous last-four assignment if they complete what should be the formality of the second leg

in Munich, but they look in perfect shape.

And in Haaland, they have the goal machine that gives an already outstanding side an added edge amid the fine margins of Europe’s elite competition.

They also have a midfield powerhouse in Rodri, whose goal set them on their way, while they defended with real resilience, Nathan Ake continuing an outstanding season with a faultless performance. (BBC Sport)

Lukaku scores as Inter Milan win at Benfica

ROMELU Lukaku scored an 82nd-minute penalty as Inter Milan put themselves in a strong position to advance to the semi-finals of the Champions League after securing a deserved win away at Benfica.

Nicolo Barella’s downward header gave Inter the lead in the quarter-final

fries produced a crucial block from close range as Benfica pushed for an equaliser.

The Italian visitors wrapped up a solid win when substitute Lukaku, on loan from Chelsea, scored from the spot after former Inter player Joao Mario handled inside the box.

front of their own fans in the return leg on 19 April (20:00 BST).

Inter arrived in Portugal’s capital on the back of a poor run of form after failing to win any of their past six games.

But they took advantage of a hesitant Benfica to take a firm grip of the tie.

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Answers to yesterday’s quiz:

first leg in Lisbon.

IPL 2010?

(2) Which two teams contested the first IPL game in 2010? ANSWERS

Benfica struggled to dictate play in front of their own fans as Inter produced a defensive masterclass in Lisbon.

Rafa Silva was denied by Andre Onana’s first-half save before Inter’s Netherlands defender Denzel Dum-

Premier League referee Michael Oliver awarded the penalty after watching the incident on the pitchside monitor, with replays showing the ball struck the side of Mario’s head before hitting his hand.

Simone Inzaghi’s side will fancy their chances of finishing the job in

Barella’s goal came after an excellent cross by Alessandro Bastoni, with the Italy midfielder heading it back across the keeper and into the net.

It was Inter’s first attempt on target but Benfica keeper Odisseas Vlachodimos prevented further damage by saving from former Manchester United and Arsenal player Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

This was Benfica’s 13th European game of the season after starting their Champions League campaign at the third qualifying round stage back in August.

But they did not create enough and face a mammoth task to turn the tie around after Lukaku wrapped up the victory.

The Belgium forward had missed out on a starting place to 37-year-old Edin Dzeko but made an impact from the spot after beating the keeper for pace and power.

There was still time for Benfica to reduce the deficit but Goncalo Ramos’ 89th-minute attempt was kept out by Onana on a memorable night for Inter. (BBC Sport)

Rodri curled in a stunning opener against Bayern Munich

Benfica started their Champions League campaign way back on 2 August in the third qualifying round.

James, Carby star as Jamaica sweep sprint hurdles, distance relays

NASSAU, Bahamas, (CMC) –Alexis James and Kahiem Carby established new records as Jamaica swept the sprint hurdle titles, the regional powerhouses also running away with the distance relays to climax a rainy final night of the 50th CARIFTA Games here Monday.

On another drama-filled day at the Thomas A. Robinson Stadium, Bahamian Jamiah Nabbie completed the girls under-17 sprint double when she stormed to victory in the 200M final, Jamaica surprisingly shut out all but one.

Controversy attended the halflap, however. St Kitts and Nevis’ Jaylen Bennett, the silver medallist in the boys’ Under -17 400m on Sunday, missed out on the 200M final due to a technical hiccup, but was then allowed to do a timed run for a place on the podium.

The announcement came with all events completed and the 200M medal ceremony having already taken place, and with the final presentation nearing an end.

Needing to run at least 22.03 to secure a medal, Bennett produced a sterling effort but came up short at 22.07.

This added to the earlier controversy surrounding the boys’ Under-20 sprint relay which, organisers said, had to be re-run, following a successful protest by Barbados.

Jamaica had won the event on Sunday night ahead of The Bahamas

and Trinidad and Tobago but fourth placed Barbados argued they had been disadvantaged after the race was recalled half-way through the first leg, when the Bahamas were left in the blocks.

With the final set to be re-run just after 3 pm, the competing teams opted out, leaving the final result of the event unclear.

Jamaica also found themselves on the wrong end of disqualifications, which left their boys and girls Under-17 sprint relay teams disqualified for unlawful baton exchanges.

The boys had won silver and the girls, gold, in Sunday night’s finals.

However, James and Carby’s exploits went a long way in removing any sour taste from the Jamaicans’ mouths.

James successfully defended her Under-20 title when she raced to a time of 13.06, breaking the old record of 13.08 set by countrywoman Amoi Browne, five years ago here in Nassau.

Asharria Ulette ensured a Jamaican one-two when she grabbed silver in 13.24 while Barbadian Nya Browne produced a personal-best of 13.80 for bronze.

“I just keep a clear mind and think about what I want , and I wanted the gold medal so I kept it in mind and I came first,” said James, who also took silver in Saturday’s 100M final.

Alexis

and teammate Asharria Ulette celebrate their Jamaica one-two in the girls’ Under-20 sprint hurdles.

Carby was also brilliant, destroying his field in the boys’ Under-17 final with a new mark of 13.49, which broke fellow Jamaican Deshaun Lamb’s 13.54, four years ago in Cayman Islands

Shakir Lewis also made it a one-two for the Jamaicans with silver in 14.20; Bahamian Quinton Rolle taking silver in 14.49.

“I just came out here and told myself I was going to execute well and finish the race with my fellow teammate (Lewis),” Carby said.

In the girls ’ Under-17 final, Bryanna Davidson also completed a successful title defence to win in 13.31 with teammate Camoy Binger second in 13.51 while in the boys

COMPLETE CARIFTA GAMES MEDAL TABLE STANDINGS

Under-20, Demario Prince chased down Bahamian Otto Laing (13.49) to win gold in a personal best 13.37.

Nabbie proved herself a star when she clocked 23.67 in winning the Under-17 200m, outduelling the impressive St Lucian, Naomi London, who pushed the winner to the line before settling for silver in 23.72.

“It feels awesome,” said Nabbie, who also edged London in Saturday night’s 100M final.

The corresponding boys’ final was captured by Bahamian Cayden Smith in 21.70, with Grenadian Ethan Sam taking home silver in 21.96.

Trinidadian Sanaa Federick, meanwhile, won a chaotic girls Under-20 final in a time of 23.60, after Antiguan La’nica Locker and Sabrina Dockery of Jamaica were disqualified for false starts.

Malique Smith-Band produced Jamaica’s solitary success when he

jetted to the capture of the boys’ Under-20 title in 20.69, taking teammate Javourne Dunkley (20.88) with him as runner-up.

“They (false starts) threw me off at first but I realised I had to focus on my race and make sure that I executed right,” said Federicks, who was sandwiched between Locker in lane three and Dockery in lane five.

“[The execution] felt good. I didn’t have anybody to run off so I just had to push myself and run my own race.”

The 800m titles were shared around, Jamaican Alikay Reynolds taking the girls Under-17s in two minutes, 14.67 seconds and Guyanese Javon Roberts winning the corresponding boys title in 1:56.64.

Michelle Smith delivered the girls Under-20 crown for the British Virgin Islands with a time of 2:09.72 while Nathan Cumberbatch secured another gold for Trinidad and Tobago with a 1:51.34 clocking.

Jamaica’s Roshawn Clarke, who successfully defended his boys Under- 20 400m hurdles title and became only the second athlete to dip below 50 seconds (49.92) at the region’s premier track and field meet, was honoured with the Austin Sealy Award.

2023 Junior Pan Am championships: Guyana beat Barbados 1-0

GUYANA’s Under-21 men kept their hopes alive of advancing to the next round despite their 3-0 defeat to the United States of America (USA) on Monday with a calm 1-0 win against hosts, Barbados.

Following a series of unsuccessful penalty corners in the first half that piled on the pressure on the Bajans, Guyana finally broke the deadlock through Shaquon Favorite, who notched a field goal (FG) that proved to be the decisive play of the match.

The Under-21 boys will now lace up the cleats to face Canada in their final group B match tomorrow; a win will guarantee them qualification into the semifinals.

The Guyanese girls sprung into action yesterday with their first match yielding unfavourable results with a heavy 12-0 defeat to powerhouse, Canada, in their first group match.

Kuzyk Allison fired four goals in, while Mackesy Mallory supported with a hat-trick

for the Canadians. Also on the scoresheet for the winners with one goal each were Struchtrup Nora, Girgis Kenzie, McCusker Brooke, Delmotte Laine and Govan Imogan. The Guyana girls will be looking to turn in a bet -

ter performance when they match sticks with the Bajans at 12:00hrs in their second match, today.

The 2023 Pan American Under-21 championships is being contested in Wildey, Barbados.

James (right)

Samuel Woodroofe on the go for Guyana against Barbados (PAHF photo)

Dindyal’s ton spurs GCC to 49-run win over TSC l

LallBachan removed Rayan Latif (4) and Shilow Adams (2) to leave the score on 15-2 before a threating partnership of 50 in 11 overs between Mohabir and Shamar Apple steadied the innings.

But with the score on 66, Singh broke the 51-run stand when he bowled Apple for 18 to bring Honenkirk to join Mohabir, who was looking set for a big score.

The pair posted the 50 in 25 overs before Mohabir reached his 50 from 72 balls with a four and six before he was forced to retire on 53 due to cramps, at 115-3.

Riyad Latif and Honenkirk never gave up and Honenkirk reached his fifty from 69 balls with a four and a six before Philips dismissed Riyad Latif for 16 at 176-5 at which time Mohabir returned but only managed to add five to his 53 before he was stumped off of Singh at 184-6.

Four wickets fell for nine runs as Phillips and Singh wrapped up the lower order.

Earlier, Transport invited GCC bat on a good track and fairly fast outfield in a game which was reduced to 40 overs due to a late start caused by early morning showers.

Sachin James (2) was lbw to Walters with the score at 6-1 before Marlon Ramsurace (2) fell to Honenkirk at 21-2 and when Renaldo Phillips was removed by Walters for a duck, GCC, who has the highest total in the tournament (431-5 against Agricola) were 24-3 and in early trouble.

Jodah joined Dindyal, who scored an unbeaten 210 against Agricola and 91 against Peter’s Hall and he played the supporting role to elegant Dindyal.

Dindyal, who got off the mark with two boundaries off Honenkirk, stroked John Persaud for two glorious fours to the point boundary in the same over before caressing Stephon Sankar for four to reach his 50 from 54 balls with sixes fours.

Demerara Zone Champions GCC celebrate(Sean Deavers photo)

By Sean Devers

GEORGETOWN teams usually dominate Demerara’s cricket at all levels, so it was no surprise when two City teams qualified for the Demerara zone final of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB), Government of Guyana (GOG), and Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport (MCYS) U-19 Inter-Club 50-Over tournament yesterday at Bourda with Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) beating Transport Sports Club (TSC) by 49 runs.

GCC were led by the zone’s leading run scorer, Mavindra Dindyal’s second ton in the tournament, a magnificent 146 from 90 balls with 10 fours and five sixes to take the Man-of-the-Match award.

The 18-year-old Dindyal shared in a 94-run stand with Zakary Jodah who scored an important 29 as the pair rescued GCC from a precarious position of 24-3.

Krisna Singh ended unbeaten on 20 and, along with Dindyal, added 105 runs after joining forces on 124-5 when Omari LallBachan (1) was bowled by Riyad Latif who had 2-42.

Pacer Shaquan Walters had 2-24 for TSC who were restricted to 193-9 off 40 overs.

National U-19 captain, Alive Mohabir (58) and Jerimiah Honenkirk (53) scored fifties in a losing cause as Singh, Revaldo Phillips and Omari LallBachan had three wickets each for GCC.

CWI sacks Walsh and women’s team assistant coaches

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, (CMC) – Cricket West Indies (CWI) are now looking for three head coaches for their senior international teams.

This followed their decision not to renew the contracts of West Indies Women’s head coach Courtney Walsh after 2-1/2 years in the post, and comes on the heels of a recruitment drive for separate head coaches for the men’s Test, and men’s One-day and Twenty20 International sides.

CWI said the decision to remove Walsh, and assistant coaches Robert Samuels and Corey Collymore followed “a review of the senior women’s team performances and programme”.

“We are very grateful for the contribution of Courtney and his technical team over the past 2-1/2 years, and we wish them all the best going forward,” CWI director of cricket, Jimmy Adams said.

“CWI remains committed to our international women’s programme and will now be focussing on recruiting a new head coach and technical support team. An interim technical support team will be put in place during the recruitment period.”

Walsh started his tenure in October 2020, and under his guidance West Indies Women won only 11, lost 17, and tied two of 32 ODIs, and won only seven, lost 15, and tied one of 24 T20Is

The highlight for the former West Indies men’s captain and record-breaking pacer was home and away series wins against Pakistan, and a semi-final spot in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 New Zealand.

The tenure of Walsh was, however, marked by a transition in the team with a number of senior players either retiring or taking breaks.

It was highlighted by the decision of world -rated all-rounder Deandra Dottin to walk away from the international game last year at the age of 32, and long-serving off-spinner Anisa Mohammed to take a self-imposed exile.

Jodah, the son of former Guyana U-19 left-hander, Richard Jodah, looked good as the partnership progressed nicely.

But with the score on 118, Riyad Latif induced Jodah to edge a catch to slip and the fifth wicket stand was broken in sunny conditions.

Riyad Latif soon had LallBachan at 124-5 before Singh joined the inform Dindyal who deposited Sankar for an imperious six over cover and another back over his head onto the sightscreen.

Dindyal, who demonstrated excellent match awareness, hit Honenkirk on the top of the Rohan Kanhai stand to post the 200 as he put his foot on the gas.

With the score 229, Dindyal refused a single to long-on to keep the strike and with eight balls left in the innings, hit Rayan Latif high to cover to end an entertaining innings.

Singh played a majestic cover drive for four off Walters and along with Malachi Griffith (5) added 13 runs before the allotted 40 overs expired.

East Bank Essequibo are the Essequibo champions while Berbice are still in their play-off stage, which will be completed after the U-19 Inter-County which commences today at Bourda and Everest.

Jamaica tops CARIFTA Games medal table for 37th year in a row

Earnisha Fontaine

Former West Indies legendary fast bowler Courtney Walsh started his tenure as Head Coach in 2020 .

Jamaica’s Malique Smith-Band (left) and Javorne Dunkley (right) after finishing first and second in the Under-20 Boys 200m. (See Medal table on page 35)