Guyana Chronicle E-Paper 12-10-2022

Better quality of life for Region

residents

THE need for assistance with farm ing, drainage and irrigation, reha bilitation of sports and recreational facilities and issues with land titling, were some of the main concerns raised by Lindeners on Monday in

an engagement with President, Dr Irfaan Ali.

The President was in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice), grounding with residents there.

President Ali spent more than four

Seedling distribution pulls massive crowd

hours in the mining region where he was warmly greeted by the residents, who flocked around him to speak and take pictures with him.

The President was accompanied on the visit by Minister of Public

Works Juan Edghill and Minister within the Ministry of Public Works Deodat Indar, among other officials.

Young Figueira

to

commissioned

Trucks can cross DHB from midnight to 4:00hrs

VEHICLES weighing up to 18 tonnes will be allowed to transit the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB) but only through a special ar rangement, the public works ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

Following the bridge’s re-opening on Monday, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill had said the bridge would be open to vehi cles weighing up to 12 tonnes. He committed then to have an update on when vehicles weigh ing more than 12 tonnes but less than 18 tonnes would be allowed to tra verse the bridge.

In Tuesday’s press statement, Minister Edghill said “Structural Engineers are recom mending that the weight of 18 tonnes and under be allowed to cross the bridge” but only between the hours of midnight and 4:00 hours when there is less traffic on the bridge.

The special condi tions took effect from midnight last night. The decision was made fol lowing another inspec tion of the bridge by structural engineers, the release further quoted Minister Edghill as say ing.

As it relates to speed

limit, the minister said drivers must adhere to the speed limit of 32 ki lometres per hour across the bridge.

He also said that shift supervisors and special constabulary ranks will closely monitor the tran sit of vehicles on the bridge to ensure that the temporary special ar rangements are met.

“I want to reiterate my gratitude to com muters and drivers for their patience during this unexpected ordeal and urge them to use the bridge with care,” the public works minister noted further, adding: “I implore you to follow the rules; your safety is very important, and we want you to reach your destination safely.”

The Demerara Har bour Bridge was re opened on Monday eve

ning to vehicles weigh ing up to 12 tonnes after undergoing close to three days of intense repairs following a major acci dent on Saturday morn ing when a fuel tanker MV Tradewind Passion slammed into it.

On Monday, Minis ter Edghill, in a media engagement prior to the re-opening of the bridge, committed to having the bridge back up to capac ity to handle vehicles weighing more than 12 tonnes but less than 18 tonnes.

He also explained at that time that by no means has all of the work that has to be done on the bridge been completed; however, enough has been completed to allow for the passage of some vehicular traffic.

He noted then that while initial checks re corded damage to one pontoon, subsequent investigations have re vealed that two other pontoons have also sus tained damage and will have to be replaced.

The Demerara Har bour Bridge sustained the worst possible dam age recorded in its more than four-decade-long history, authorities have said.

A Board of Inquiry was launched to investi gate the circumstances surrounding the costly weekend accident. A report is expected after seven days of work. A new Demerara Har bour Bridge is already in the works.

Public Works Minister Juan Edghill engages the media corps on Monday evening for the reopening of the Demerara Harbour Bridge (Adrian Narine photo)

President Ali ‘grounds’ with Region 10 residents on improving quality of life

THE need for assistance with farming, drainage and irrigation, rehabilitation of sports and recreational facilities and issues with land titling, were some of the main concerns raised by Lindeners on Monday in an engagement with President, Dr Irfaan Ali.

The President was in Region 10 (Upper Demer ara-Upper Berbice), ground ing with residents there.

President Ali spent more than four hours in the mining region where he was warmly greeted by the residents, who flocked around him to speak and take pictures with him.

The President was ac companied on the visit by Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill and Minister within the Ministry of Public Works Deodat Indar, among other officials

During the walkabout , the Head of State checked in with several communities for discussions about how to im prove their quality of living

“I’m just here throughout different communities today to come to you, to listen to you and to see how we can work together because what we want to do is uplift all of Guyana

“ I don ’ t have time to waste on nonsense, on stu pid talk and division and stupidity; that’s not me,” the President expressed during one stop in Victory Valley

“All I want to hear about is how we bring this country together , how we can love each other , how we uplift each other , [ and ] how we uplift the communities and uplift the country

“ We know every com munity is different, and has

different challenges That is why today I am here to listen to you,” President Ali assured

In response, the residents expressed their gratitude to the President for personally coming into the communities to get a first hand under standing of the challenges faced by those residing there

“I am pleased and happy that you come by foot and not by vehicle,” expressed one 53 year old resident, whose main concern was the need for regularisation of land, and land titling in his community

He also brought up the need for the rehabilitation of the community centre in his area, and the need for a regulated garbage disposal system

The President said that the Minister of Local Gov ernment and Regional Devel

opment will look into it.

In each community vis ited by the President, con

cerns raised by residents were documented Sub sequent meetings will be

held Those meetings will be facilitated by ministers of the government.

‘Agri’ Ministry’s seed, seedling distribution pulls massive crowd

By Cindy Parkinson

HUNDREDS turned out on Tuesday at the Ministry of Agriculture ’ s Regent Street, Georgetown main office for the seed and seed ling distribution drive as

part of the activities for Agriculture Month 2022 Agriculture Month 2022 is held under the theme “Championing Food Secu rity Through Innovation , Investment and Resilience”.

The atmosphere was

filled with excitement, and smiles gleaned across faces of adults and children as they attended the distribution ac tivity The event was well at tended by people from all walks of life trying to get their hands on a plant or two,

–– more to be distributed across Guyana

and some of the seeds that were offered Agriculture Minister , Zulfikar Mustapha told the Guyana Chronicle that the distribution will be done across Guyana He remains optimistic that the intensi fication of Guyana ’ s food security programme is one of the best courses of action for the country, as he noted that many countries faced food and food item shortag

pandemic

This initiative , he con tinued , also forms part of Guyana’s and the Caribbe an ’ s push to achieve food security and ultimately food import bill The Government of Guyana’s vision is to re introduce a kitchen garden in every household throughout Guyana, in urban and rural areas alike

Minister Mustapha praised the public for turning up to the seed and seedling

distribution drive in their large numbers He acknowl edged that it was President, Dr Irfaan Ali, who instructed him and his ministry to en sure that such initiatives are carried out.

He also mentioned that his ministry is not only promoting the traditional crops, but will also push for the uptick in new, high-value crops such as

Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha engages members of the public (Adrian Narine photo)

President, Dr. Irfaan Ali meeting with residents in Region 10 (Department of Public Information photo)

Candidate for PNM leadership says T&T is in crisis

(T&T Guardian) - RON ALD BOYNES, one of three candidates challeng ing Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley for the lead ership of the People’s Na tional Movement (PNM), has expressed condolences to the family of the man shot dead by an off-duty police officer during an argument over a parking spot, on October 7.

Boynes said the man’s wife had been a member of his campaign team some years ago.

“As we look across Trin

idad and Tobago, it is clear that we are a nation in cri sis. There is great anger, sadness, and hopelessness in the land. The murders that are taking place, some of them seem disturbingly senseless, a petty argument escalating to death,” Boynes said.

“Of course, our con dolences to the family of our sister Heather Sede no-Walker whose husband lost his life in that tragic car park incident, that car park shooting in South Trini dad. Heather was actually

a member of my team in 2014 when we contested the internal elections,” he said.

Sedeno-Walker’s hus band, Jamie Walker, 39, of Orchid Gardens, Pleasant ville was the person killed in the incident.

Boynes made the com ment hours after filing his nomination for the PNM’s leadership.

He said this country’s crime rate is unacceptable.

“The runaway crime in this beautiful land is threat ening to certainly go to re cord numbers. In fact, it is

already at record propor tions and we pray and hope that by the end of this year it does not get to 600,” he said.

Boynes said for his cam paign he will not be major ing in the minor.

One of those minor is sues, he said was his pre vious membership with the United National Congress.

Boynes said 26 years ago a friend encouraged him to join the UNC.

He said he stayed a member of that party for a few weeks before joining the PNM.

Boynes said the decision to challenge Rowley was not taken lightly.

“There was a part of me even as I was confirming this decision which said ‘why put myself through this, bearing in mind the cantankerous nature of pol itics in T&T,” he said.

“My faith tells me that even Jesus Christ said Father take this bitter cup from me when he was fac ing crucifixion although he later said that [is] not my will but thy will be done, so I am using that

Ronald Boynes (T&T Guardian photo)

example to say this that I am willing to put myself on the line because I feel it is necessary for the inter est and the welfare of the people of T&T,” he said.

Switzerland discriminating against men on pension benefits, ECHR finds

(BBC)- THE Swiss gov ernment is discriminat ing against men in its rules on pension benefits, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has found.

The decision will cost millions in backdated pay ments, and force the gov ernment to rewrite pension law.

Currently, women whose husbands die are paid a pension for the rest of their lives, while men only receive payments if they have children under 18.

The “male breadwin ner” concept is not enough to justify this, the ECHR found.

The decision centred on the case of Max Beeler, a Swiss man whose wife died in an accident in the early 1990s.

Then 41, he quit his job to care for their two young children and was support ed by a widowers’ pen sion, local media reported.

But in 2010 the pension payments were stopped as his younger child reached 18 years old.

Had Mr Beeler been a woman, the payments would have continued for the rest of his life, regard less of whether or not he had children.

Mr Beeler, who had been out of the workplace for many years relying on

A pensioner looks at his documents (BBC/GETTY IMAGES)

the pension, lodged an ap peal against the decision.

This was quashed, as

the court in his local re gion said the law deliber ately recognised men as

the main breadwinner in most families.

It argued that widowers with childcare responsibil ities could be expected to return to work once those children became adults, while the same was not true of widows.

The case was eventu ally brought to the ECHR, where Mr Beeler suc cessfully argued that he had been discriminated against.

The court found that the role of women in the workplace had changed, and so the discrepancy violated Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights in discrim inating against men.

Mr Beeler will now receive his pension, and other widowers will be able to come forward to claim unpaid benefits.

The decision is expect ed to re-open a long-run ning debate in Switzerland about how much power European judges should have over domestic law.

The ECHR is an in ternational court based in Strasbourg, France, which rules on alleged violations of the European Conven tion on Human Rights.

The convention has 46 signatories, including several countries, like Switzerland, which are not members of the Eu ropean Union.

‘Agri’ Ministry’s seed, seedling distribution ...

soya , corn, cauliflower, broccoli, etc.

The agriculture minis ter expressed satisfaction with the number of young people in attendance yes terday as more young peo ple must be involved in agriculture.

“They are young and bright and have shown an interest. It was heart ening to see them today in their numbers as they collected plants and seeds. This works out well for us as a country; it is in line with the initiative that was launched by His Ex cellency the President of Guyana,” he related.

He also told the Guy

ana Chronicle how elated he was to see the vast turnout of school children at the drive, noting that his ministry had started the initiative of relaunching the gardens in the agri culture departments in schools across the country. Minister Mustapha said his ministry is working closely with the Ministry of Education for this.

Shade houses , seeds and technical support will be provided to schools by the agriculture ministry to boost the interest of students.

“Guyana has to play a leading role in agriculture in order to have a reduc

tion on the food import bill by 25 per cent by the year 2025,” Mustapha empha sised, noting that there has certainly been renewed in terest in agriculture among Guyanese.

Also speaking at the event was Jagnarine Singh, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Agriculture Research and Extension Institute (NA REI). Singh echoed the sentiments of the agri culture minister , adding that over 6,000 seedlings (fruits), in excess of 400 coconut plants, and seeds of 15 different varieties of food -bearing plans were distributed. The overall

value of the seed distribu tion was $3 million.

Singh commended government for “leading a very good drive”.

He added that NAREI will have an “open day” for the public on October 20 at the Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara (ECD) branch where plants will be distributed free of cost. The NAREI CEO asked recipients to make full use of the seeds and seedlings distributed

Speaking with the Guy ana Chronicle, one of the recipients, Karen James said, “We are excited that the government decided to do this; it will give us a

chance to do something at home and it will make us eat better.”

Sarah (the only name given) stated that her and her daughter decided to “start-up” a kitchen garden so that they can grow their own food “which will be healthier for us”.

Donovan (the only

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name given) said, “I am a bus driver, but I see how the President and his Minister are pushing for us to eat better and do better in our life, so I said that I have to get on board with this thing too… the President’s ad vice is not bad and he is looking good too.”

Vote of Confidence

ACCORDING to Trin idad & Tobago’s Daily Express of October 6, 2022, the twin-island republic’s Minister of Finance, Colm Imbert said Port-of-Spain can no longer sustain its con tributions to the CAR ICOM Development Fund (CDF), “because it no longer had the rev enues…”

The article went on to say that it was suggest ed that “… it might be feasible for CARICOM countries to ask Guyana to take a more dominant role in this fund.”

The minister was re sponding to questions from a fellow parliamen tarian during a Stand ing Finance Committee meeting on October 5, as to whether a TT$105 mil lion increase in the CDF

contribution represented arrears.

Minister Imbert said the fund “was established in a time of plenty”. This was clarified to mean between 2005 and 2006 when the twin-island re public saw major returns from its oil.

This, in other words, would have been “when oil was US$140 a barrel and gas US$13, and there was a view that T&T, because it was in a good economic position, should assist the less fortunate member states within CARICOM,” that coun try’s national assembly heard.

But, he said, “there are questions about… whether the T&T Gov ernment should continue to provide funding of this magnitude.”

Undoubtedly, Guy ana can take a bow for the Trinidad & Tobago Finance Minister’s Vote of Confidence in its of ten demonstrated will to assist CARICOM neigh bours.

As the minister also acknowledges, the final decision is with Guyana. Georgetown’s decision, on the other hand, is or will be a purely domes tic matter that will not necessarily be based on Port-of-Spain’s ability to live-up to its regional commitments.

As the minister noted, his nation’s commitment was made at “a time of plenty”, but this was no longer possible because his country’s fortunes have changed.

Trinidad & Tobago knows the full extent of

both opposites that ener gy-dependent economies can face if leaders are not careful in their planning. The minister also knows Guyana is taking a differ ent approach to its future as an oil-based econo my by learning from the many global examples of not doing it correctly.

That’s why, under the President, Dr Irfaan Ali administration, Guyana, also early in a time of plenty, has been very busy laying the basis for a fu ture of economic devel opment which includes a heavy emphasis on ag ricultural development, food security, improving energy efficiency, and increasing manufacturing.

Guyana, as the seat of the CARICOM Secre tariat, has always been a sharing bilateral and mul

tilateral regional partner, both in good times and bad.

Even though better times are smiling on us at present, we also continue to be a member of the international community, borrowing and applying for regional and interna tional assistance to ensure continuity and sustain ability of important longterm national programmes like education, like any other developing country in the world.

Guyana is still creep ing where Trinidad & Tobago walked and ran eons ago. And so, while well-intentioned, Minister Imbert’s recommendation for CARICOM states to “call on Guyana to take a more dominant role” in the regional development fund may be a bit far-

fetched and probably also too fast-forward.

But be that as it may, after all is said and done, Guyana can only reassure the minister that it will never shirk its regional responsibilities. We have seen the strong thrust in this regard under Presi dent Ali and the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government.

The minister and the region can also rest as sured that Guyana will do its best, within its means and as a member-state of CARICOM, under all circumstances, to offer sustainable levels and degrees of assistance to regional programmes to which it is a signatory.

The assistance, how ever, will always take history and existing pos sibilities into account.

PPP/C has done more than the APNU+AFC to empower African communities

Dear Editor,

THE recurring mantra of “Emerging Apart heid” is nothing but propaganda used in a desperate effort to gain political traction by a drowning set of peo ple clutching at straws, which themselves are weak. There is abso lutely no evidence, as peddled by those quix otic naysayers , who are trying to let the world

believe that our society is deeply divided.

In its five years in government, the AP NU+AFC created a Min istry of Social Cohesion with the purpose of unit ing Guyanese of all walks of life. In the end noth ing was achieved, man ifested by victimisation and violence by one race against another, instigated by leading politicians, at West Coast Berbice in 2020, Mon Repos in

2022 and crime generally perpetrated by one race against another. None of these so-called leaders have beseeched their fol lowers to keep the peace and these followers are itching to be egged on due to the spoils collected from plundering, and their own lack of a work ethic.

Having failed as a government, some op position backers are now weeping and gnashing their teeth crying apart

heid when all other ef forts have failed. They lament about inequity in the awarding of contracts. People have to understand that to prequalify for con tracts prospective con tractors must have capital: tools, equipment and ma chinery, cash and lines of credit, compliances from GRA and NIS among other prerequisites. This precludes many, some of whom cry foul, from bidding for large contracts

of hundreds of millions of dollars. The fact is that people of all races, not ex cluding Afro-Guyanese, secure contracts. Just factcheck who gets contracts in Buxton, Linden etc.

In the social sphere, there is absolutely no evidence of emerging apartheid anywhere in Guyana. Young people as well as adults of all races, for the most part, mix and mingle without qualms.

Be it a wake house, funer

al, wedding, party, con cert, carnival or sporting event, all races in Guyana co-exist without division. They support each other’s snackettes, diners, restau rants, shops and other businesses regardless of race and generally do not boycott others for any collective reason. Further, they employ others as builders, masons, plumb ers, electricians, welders

Public Debate on the Dutch Disease and the Political Opposition’s Counter Proposals on Economic Issues: Joel Bhagwandin versus Elson Lowe (Part 1)

By Joel Bhagwandin

THERE was a highly anticipated debate between the undersigned and economic adviser to the Opposition Leader, Elson Lowe, which was to be held on a popular social media platform (the Guyanese Critic) that has close to some 300,000 followers, on October 6th, 2022. The one-on-one debate was in the making for three weeks prior wherein Lowe confirmed his participation even up to the day before the event.

Disappointingly, Elson Lowe called in at the time the show was scheduled to go live (7pm), only to state that he had an emergency and could not attend the debate. None theless, the moderator decided to proceed with the show without him and used the opportunity to solicit my response to some of Lowe’s contention on the Dutch disease as well as his counter proposals to some of the government’s economic policies.

Suffice it to state that Elson Lowe holds a very critical portfolio of national importance wherein he is the economic adviser to the Opposition Leader, who is a constitutional office holder. Lowe’s failure to participate in the public debate, therefore, is a disservice to the people of Guyana and, more importantly, their (the Political Opposition) constituents.

While I was extremely disheartened at Lowe’s no-show, I was not surprised. In fact, my fear was that if Lowe con ducted a simple google search, he would have stumbled upon a wealth of articles and letters in the public domain that I have authored pertaining to the subject matter and a variety of economic and finance issues in Guyana. Had he done so, which I rather suspect he did, there is no way he could have confidently participated in a live debate with this author and more so be able to credibly defend his socalled economic counter proposals.

This article is intended to document my responses to Elson Lowe’s argument on the Dutch disease as well as his counter proposals on a few economic related matters, which, by virtue of his portfolio as stated earlier, by exten sion, are those of the Political Opposition.

WHAT IS THE DUTCH DISEASE?

The parodical Dutch disease refers to the adverse ef fects on manufacturing of natural resource “discoveries”. Specifically, when a country experiences a resource boom due to a tradable resource discovery and/or to an increase in a resource price, it normally undergoes a real appreci ation of its exchange rate and, as a result of rising wages, a relocation of some of the labour force to the resource sector. A real appreciation reduces the international compet itiveness of other tradable sectors because resource-based exports crowd out commodity exports produced by those sectors (Krugman, 1987). The country faces the risk of a de-industrialisation process. This phenomenon, known as the “Dutch Disease”, first drew attention in the late 1950s when natural gas discoveries in the Netherlands eventually hurt the competitiveness of the Dutch manufacturing sector.

ELSON LOWE’S ARGUMENT

Lowe argued that the midyear economic outcome for the period January to June 2022 confirmed that there are signs of the Dutch disease. The basis of Lowe’s contention was the contracted growth recorded in the manufacturing sector, and three out of six sub-sectors in the agriculture sector.

BHAGWANDIN’S ARGUMENT

However, Lowe ignored completely, the positive overall growth in the agriculture sector, the construction and ser vices sector also recorded positive growth and the positive growth in the non-oil economy altogether. The economic performance for the half year period 2022 is demonstrative of the positive outcome of the economic policies, timely interventions, the allocation of financial resources towards

infrastructure development, economic diversification, and transformational development projects implemented through the national budgets of 2020, 2021 and 2022.

More importantly, it is not necessarily the contraction of the non-oil subsectors that is cause for much concern, because the contraction is merely derived as a consequence of a number of factors. For example, (1) as a direct or indi rect result of economic policies implemented by the gov ernment; (2) the consequence of non-action by government or counterproductive and / or contractionary / regressive policies; (3) operational issues; and (4) external shocks stemming from the global economy.

In this case, the contraction of the manufacturing sector and the other agricultural subsectors were not attributed to the outcome of government action or policies, per se, rather they were attributed to inclement weather for the agriculture subsectors, and external factors (rising cost for input materials and a fall in demand) in the case of the manufacturing sector.

The Dutch disease typically occurs when the govern ment does nothing, by way of policy intervention, and investment in the other sectors, viz-à-viz, implementation of a robust economic diversification agenda, and structural transformation of the economy to prevent the occurrence of the Dutch disease.

That said, had there been a continuation of the type of policies by the previous administration during 2015–2020, then the Dutch disease would have been undoubtedly in evitable.

In fact, the previous administration’s economic policy philosophy was evidently and arguably regressive and con tractionary in nature–that is to say, creating an environment that was counterproductive for the expansion of the other non-oil sectors of the economy. There was also no substan tive investment in public infrastructure, no economic di versification programme, or any transformational projects.

To substantiate the foregoing contentions, the following were the results of the economic performance attributed to the contractionary type and regressive policies of the previous administration during their five-year tenure in government (2015 – 2020) and another five-year tenure in Opposition, prior, when they had the majority of seats in the National Assembly, thus controlling the National Assem bly. The government at that time was deemed a minority government (2011-2015):

➢ The major non-oil sectors (agriculture, forestry, fish ing, mining and quarrying, and services sector) experienced stronger growth during 2009-2014, than during the period 2015– 2020. Cumulatively, these sectors underwent a loss of $130 billion in productive output from their 2009 posi tion, by the end of 2020.

➢ Export earnings from sugar, bauxite, molasses, timber and plywood, incurred a cumulative loss of another $107 billion for the period 2015-2020 relative to 2009-2014.

➢ Total loss in export earnings and productive output from the non-oil economy during this period amounted to a whopping $237 billion or US$1.14 billion.

➢ Budgetary allocations towards the economic services sector declined by 10 per cent in 2016, 27 per cent in 2019, which rebound in 2020 with an increase of 24.46 per cent, 25.31 per cent in 2021 and 27 per cent in 2022.

➢ Capital expenditure which accounted for 40 per cent of total budget during the pre-2015 period, declined to a low of 20 per cent of the total budget during the 2015 –2019 period.

➢ The Bank of Guyana foreign exchange (FX) re serve weakened from five months import cover in 2009 to less than three months by the end of 2020.

➢ The exchange rate depreciated by 2.25 per cent during the period 2009-2014. Conversely, the exchange rate depreciated by 3.84 per cent during 2015-2020.

➢ The exchange rate in 2009 was $203.9, as of HY 2022 exchange rate was $206.92 (when the rate goes below $200, thus implying an appreciation against the dollar) that would be considered a sign of the Dutch disease feature.

➢

Credit to the private sector recorded strong growth of 114 per cent during 2009 – 2014, compared to weaker growth of 21 per cent during 2015 – 2020.

➢ Growth of private sector deposits in the banking sector during 2009 – 2014 averaged 14 per cent annually, conversely, weaker growth during 2015– 2020 was record ed which averaged a low of three per cent annually.

➢ Non-performing loans in the banking sector stood at seven per cent of total loans in 2014 and 11 per cent in 2020.

Credit to the private sector by 114 per cent during the period 2009 – 2014, conversely, weaker growth was attained of 21 per cent during 2015 – 2020.

The exchange rate depreciated by 2.25 per cent

2009-2014, and 3.84 per cent

Financial Analyst, Joel Bhagwandin

PPP/C has done more than the APNU+AFC...

etc., regardless of race and can be found daily in bars and restaurants exchanging ideas, many times jovially, with each other.

In the political are na there is a blend of peo ple from all races—from the central to the regional to the local government tiers –governing, working

together for the advance ment of Guyana. This is also evident in the Public Service, teaching, nurs ing and other professions where workers cooperate with each other without fear of victimisation due to race.

Editor, it was the Chairperson of the PNC, who was also a minister of government, who boast

ed in November 2018 at Sophia that “…the only people a gon give wuk to is PNC …..”. Where were the elements who are now crying emerging apartheid then ? Conveniently hi bernating as usual as what they did, rather omitted to do, between March 3 and the end of July 2020, when their accomplices were blatantly trying to

rig the elections. Contrast that men tality with what the PPP is doing for Guyanese. The part-time job initiative initiated by Vice-Presi dent Jagdeo has provid ed thousands of jobs for young people from all races. The only qualifi cation for eligibility is to be Guyanese. Addition ally, Guyanese in gener al are the beneficiaries of the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) scholarships, through which they can study online and improve themselves. This some times is not accorded the appreciation it warrants. (I lived in Canada where students are working at nights, many as security guards, to finance their studies).

Where is the emerging apartheid be ing peddled by desperate wannabees who cannot accept blame, cannot

apologise, try to govern through the backdoor and dream of high offices which continue to elude them? They are no less than mischief makers who want to “undermine this government.”

It’s a figment of their imagination, like that of the Man of La Mancha—Don Quixot ic—who had delusions of grandeur. Do they re ally know what apartheid means? More likely, they are trying to stir up trou ble after the unsuccessful five-month attempt at rig ging the 2020 elections.

Editor, their mantra will not have the effect they desire. Joseph Goeb bels, Hitler’s Minister of Propaganda, preached that if you tell a lie as often as possible people will start to believe it. That was 80 years ago when it was possible, not today. With social media and instant, ubiquitous knowledge

people cannot be fooled the same way. Come again, advocates with the mantra Emerging Apart heid with a new mantra; try something else.

The undisputed fact is that the “The People’s Progressive Party/Civic administration (PPP/C) has done more than the previous administration to empower African com munities through their deliberate policy that tar gets housing, land, jobs, health, and economic prosperity under the ‘One Guyana’ platform. ”

The irrevocable dis pensation is that the PPP/C, without prac tising apartheid in any shape or form, is uniting our country under the slogan ONE GUYANA and will continue to do so indefinitely.

Thank you.

Karan Chand Region 2 Resident

Mother of 3 loses home to fire

A MOTHER of three is now homeless after a Tues day afternoon fire of un known origin razed her Sophia, Georgetown home.

When the Guyana Chronicle visited the scene of the fire, the mainly wood en building had already been flattened by the blaze. Akel lia Daly, the owner of the home, told this newspaper that she was at work at the time of the fire.

Daly said that she re ceived a phone call around

16:15 hours from one of her children’s teachers who told her to rush home as her home was on fire.

This call came as a shock to her, she said. Daly left home for work on Tues day morning around 06:00 hours. Subsequently, her two younger children left for school. One of her children remained at home.

At the time of the fire, one neighbour who asked not to be named, told this publication that the children

were not in the home at the time, but highlighted that just prior, there were about three consecutive power outages.

Daly, who was lost for words, noted that she could not estimate her losses at the time as most of her belong ings were lost in the fire.

Firefighters were on the scene on Tuesday after noon as they began inves tigations into the supposed cause of the fire.

Street in Queens, New York, named after Guyanese woman

By Vishnu Bisram

A STREET in South Ozone, Queens, New York, was last week named after a Guyanese woman who was killed in a hit-and-run accident some two years ago. Thousands of Guya nese reside in the area.

Ritwantee Persaud, known as ‘Aunty Rita,’ was mowed down by a vehicle that “ran” the red light. The killer went into hiding.

Aunty Rita was very pop ular among Guyanese Hin dus, serving several mandirs and volunteering her time at public events. She was also an outstanding singer of Hindu bhajans.

After months of investi gation, New York City Po lice detectives were able to trace and find the driver and made an arrest in Septem ber 2021. In honour of her memory, community advo cates lobbied the New York City Council to co-name the street where she was killed off Rockaway Blvd, not far from Liberty Avenue and

Ritwantee Persaud known as ‘Aunty Rita’

Woodhaven Blvd. Community Advocate Romeo Hitlall, a Guyanese, spearheaded the effort to co-name the street and was ably assisted by several other Guyanese.

The elected City Council member of the area, Joann Ariola, made the case to the council and gained their ap proval without dissent.

Present at the street co-naming ceremony were Hitlall, community leaders, elected politicians, police officers, pandits, and mem bers of the Lions Club.

What was left of the razed home where Daly and her children resided (Adrian Narine photo)

Belvedere Business Incubator Centre commissioned

— over $100 million invested so far

BUSINESSES in Berbi ce now have access to a fully functional Belve dere Business Incubator Centre. The centre was officially commissioned on Tuesday morning by Minister of Tourism, In dustry and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond.

The centre compris es various pods, outfit ted with high-quality

agro-processing machin ery constituting produc tion lines for coconut oil, teas, indigenous flours and packaged fruit prod ucts.

The equipment in the facility includes coconut de-shelling and grinding machines, teabag pack aging equipment, filling machines and a root-tuber peeler, for the washing

and peeling of ground provisions.

Speaking at the com missioning, Minister Wal rond said investment in the facility to date ex ceeds $100 million and is testament to the govern ment’s commitment to the agro-processing sector.

“Beyond today’s com missioning, the ministry, through the Small Busi

ness Bureau, will continue to examine ways to ex pand the operations here. Soon, a warehouse facility will be added, and more staff will be employed to facilitate the realization of our vision for this region,” she said.

The minister told the audience that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration invested heavily in the fa cility because Berbicians should also benefit from the resources of the state as part of the ‘One Guy ana’ philosophy.

The fact that the pri vate sector plays an es sential role in the growth and development of the country, as well as the im portance of agriculture to the non-oil development of Guyana, were also im portant elements that in spired the investment in the incubator, the minister explained.

“The

ing of this incubator is a small step towards ensur ing Berbicians have fair access to the resources of the state and to facilitate the growth and expansion of your small businesses as part of our job-creation plan,” Minister Walrond said.

Pointing out several initiatives by the gov ernment to create jobs and spur development in the region, Minister Wal rond stressed that those

interventions illustrate that the government has a comprehensive plan for the social and economic development of both East and West Berbice.

“I wish to assure you that your government will continue to invest heavily in this region as we will in all regions, because we care for all of the cit izens of our country,” she added.

The minister encour aged those utilizing the centre to maximise its use and to care for the equip ment.

The centre was pre viously commissioned in 2020 under the last administration, but Min ister Walrond described that commissioning as a farce, noting that there was no budget, staff, equipment nor plan for the facility at the time that event took place.

Minister Walrond receives a tour of the new facility (Department of Public Information photo)

The gathering at Tuesday’s event (Department of Public Information photo)

Products on display at the commissioning ceremony (Department of Public Information photo)

CCJ upholds granny killers’ conviction

— reserves date for ruling on sentencing

of the CCJ, Justice Adri an Saunders, along with Justice Jacob Wit, Justice Maureen Rajnauth-Lee, Justice Denys Barrow, and Justice Andrew Bur gess.

After hearing argu ments from the men’s attorney, Arud Gossai, the CCJ judges denied the appeal and reserved a date for ruling on the grounds of sentencing.

The Guyana Chronicle

had reported that the four men murdered Fiedtk ou-Parris pursuant to an arrangement, whereby money was to be passed from one person to an other.

On the evening of June 30, 2011, two men went to Fiedtkou-Parris’ Robb Street, Georgetown house and asked for ‘Auntie,’ a name by which she was called.

They were directed up

a sidestep and as Fiedtk ou-Parris emerged from her bedroom, one of the men pulled out a gun and shot her several times to the upper part of her body.

The men then en tered a waiting car and fled the scene. The injured woman was rushed to the George town Public Hospital Corporation where she was pronounced dead on arrival.

THE Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), on Tues day, upheld the convic tions of two men who were tried for the 2011 murder of 72-year-old Clementine Fiedtkou-Par ris.

In 2015, Orwin and Cleon Hinds of Mocha, East Bank Demerara (EBD); Kevin October of Agricola, EBD, and Roy Jacobs of Evans Street, Charlestown, George

town, were sentenced to 81 years in prison by Jus tice Navindra Singh after a jury found them guilty of the crime.

The men subsequent ly filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal chal lenging their conviction and sentences. In 2021, October died in prison while the appeal was be ing heard.

Four months later, the Court of Appeal upheld

the men’s conviction but reduced their sentences to 50 years.

Dissatisfied with the decision of the appeal tribunal, Orwin and Cleon filed an appeal to the Trin idad-based court, which is Guyana’s final appel late court, to overturn the CoA’s decision.

Jacobs did not file an appeal.

The matter is being heard by the President

‘Fake doctor’ released on $80,000 bail — court orders psychological evaluation

MIKHAIL McLennon, the man who allegedly imper sonated a medical doctor, was, on Tuesday, released on $80,000 bail and ordered to undergo a psychological evaluation.

McLennon, 27, of Pat tensen, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown was arraigned before Magistrate Judy Latchman at the Diamond Magistrates’ Court.

He denied that, on June 3, 2022, at Peter’s Hall, East Bank Demerara, he pretended to Bibi Hassan that he was a person qualified to practise medicine.

McLennon’s attorney, Bernard DaSilva made an application for his client to be psychologically evaluat ed. DaSilva also asked for McLennon to be released on reasonable bail.

Magistrate Latchman lat er released McLennon on $80,000 bail and granted the attorney’s request for a psychological evaluation to

be done.

The case is adjourned until October 28.

The Guyana Chronicle previously reported that McLennon’s qualifications were first publicly called into question in June when Has san, the president of Guyana Cancer Foundation, distanced the organisation from him. McLennon was previously named an affiliate of the or

ganisation.

“Guyana Cancer Foun dation wishes to notify the General Public that Mikhail Radius McLennan is not a doctor and they [sic] are no records showing he is registered at [the] Medical Council of Guyana. He had asked to volunteer with Guy ana Cancer Foundation. I took him as a Volunteer but then persons from the Media and others called to confirm that he is not a doctor. I ques tioned him about his Medical Degree, and he refused to send a copy of it to us. He said he is working as a Med ical Officer/Pharmacist at ROK Pharmacy and there is no such Pharmacy exist [sic]! He no longer affiliated with Guyana Cancer Foundation!” Hassan had shared on social media.

A copy of a document reported to be McLennon’s curriculum vitae was also published by the founda tion.

Mikhail McLennon

Winifred Gaskin Secondary wins first round of JOF Haynes debating competition

THE Georgetown-based Winifred Gaskin Memo rial Secondary School on Tuesday walked away with the first-round win at the annual JOF Haynes Debating Competition, according to the educa tion ministry in a press statement.

The debating team from the Georgetown-based school beat out Fort Wel lington Secondary School, Region Five (Mahaica-Ber bice) at the Latchmans ingh Primary School Annex where the ministry-spon sored competition was launched.

The point debated was, “The rapid increase in pri vate schooling in Guyana is an indictment of the public education system.”

Representing Winifred Gaskin Secondary were Crystal Smartt, Quincie An drews and Masani Jordan. Jordan edged ahead of his

team, which overall scored 268 points, to cop the Best Speaker prize.

The proposing team which was Fort Wellington Secondary, was represented by Christal Welch, Tejwat tie Sirirampersaud and Bas mattie Chrisendat. The team scored 244 points.

The competition was held virtually over the last two years in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Assistant Chief Education Officer with re sponsibility for Secondary Education, Tiffany Harvey.

Harvey, however, praised the return to face-

to-face debating. Additional rounds of the JOF Haynes Debating Competition will be held across Guyana.

Also present at Tuesday’s event, the Ministry of Education noted, were Education Officers Lal chand Salik and Sheldon Granville.

(from left) Quincie Andrews, Crystal Smartt and Masani Jordan of the Winifred Gaskin Memorial Secondary School, and Christal Welch, Tejwattie Sirirampersaud, and Basmattie Chrisendat of the Fort Wellington Secondary School pose for a photo following Tuesday’s competition (Ministry of Education photo)

The filled Latchmansingh Primary School Annex at the first round of debating for the JOF Haynes Memorial Inter-Secondary School Debating Competition (Ministry of Education photo)

The winning Winifred Gaskin Memorial Secondary School team receive their trophy from the Assistant Chief Education Officer (Secondary), Tiffany Harvey (Ministry of Education photo)

Minibus conductor found guilty of fatally stabbing fruit vendor

TIMOTHY McKenzie, a minibus conductor ac cused of fatally stabbing a fruit vendor near Stabroek Market in 2018, was found guilty of manslaughter on Tuesday by a 12-member jury.

On Tuesday, after a twohour deliberation on whether he was guilty of murder, the jury returned a verdict that confirmed McKenzie was liable for the lesser offence of manslaughter.

The case was tried before Justice Sandil Kissoon at the Demerara High Court.

He will return to court on November 5, when a probation report will be pre sented. Thereafter, he will be sentenced.

He is being represented by attorneys-at-law Edrianna Stephen and Ronald Daniels, while prosecutor Muntaz Ali is on record for the state.

McKenzie, 25, a minibus operator of Kitty, George town, had denied murdering 22-year-old Richard Noel.

According to police re ports, Noel and McKenzie knew each other. They had a misunderstanding after McK enzie reportedly assaulted Noel’s sister.

On the day in question, about 13:30hrs, the two men had a heated confrontation while in the vicinity of Corn

hill Street, Stabroek. McK enzie, armed with a knife, approached Noel and report edly dealt him a single stab to the left side of his chest.

The victim collapsed to the ground and was taken to the Georgetown Pub lic Hospital Corporation (GPHC) in an unconscious state. He died while un dergoing treatment for the wound.

DEAD: Richard Noel Timothy McKenzie

Norton ‘frets’ over DJ acknowledging President Ali at CPL matches

THE recently concluded Guy ana leg of the Caribbean Pre mier League (CPL) and the ac companying Cricket Carnival undoubtedly served as tools of unification, fostering cohesion among Guyanese, who turned out in their numbers to enjoy the festivities and support their teams.

Leader of the Opposition, Aubrey Norton, when asked about the unifying effect of such events, related that sports and other national activities indeed

unite people, and events of this nature must continue be forces of unification.

“Cricket should continue to be a unifying force,” Norton said during a virtual press briefing, on Tuesday.

He, however, believes that while such events are unifying, the recent activities were politi cised because the announcers briefly acknowledged the pres ence of President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, and other officials who joined

the thousands of Guyanese in support of the Guyana Amazon Warriors.

President Ali, who is a known cricket fan, was present at most, if not all of the local matches, spectating from the stands, which were filled with Guyanese from all walks of life.

It is not unique for an offi cial to be an observer at sporting activities and be acknowledged by commentators, announcers and others. This is common in

the Caribbean and further afield, where officials are invited to speak on live television about the game and even outline devel opments in their country.

In Guyana, it was the first time that the country hosted the playoffs and finals of the CPL. And this major feat was made possible through some level of government intervention.

According to an insightful report published recently by Barbados Today, as a result of President Ali’s vision, Guyana secured hosting rights for match es in the CPL preliminary round, playoffs, semi-finals and final on a three-year 2022-2024 contract.

MASTERSTROKE

“Not content with just the mere acquisition of the pres tigious CPL rights, President Ali then went a step further by announcing his government’s intended establishment of an an nual Cricket Carnival to be held in conjunction with Guyana’s annual hosting of its scheduled matches. President Ali’s con ceptual vision for the Cricket Carnival’s establishment fea turing the very best of culture, cuisine and music from not just Guyana mind you, but rather also CPL’s other participating Caribbean territories: Barbados, Jamaica, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, as well as Trinidad & Tobago, was a masterstroke of breathtaking brilliance,” the report stated.

Guyana received high praise even from Former West Indies Cricketer and cricket commen tator, Darren Ganga, who said: “Guyana has won overall just by hosting the playoffs and the finals, which is a testimony to

the Government and the people of Guyana investing in a product that’s going to bring plenty of value from an economic stand point, a social standpoint, and a psychological standpoint since cricket is a part of our psyche as a Caribbean people.”

He went on to say: “I’ve actually seen with my own eyes the unity and coming together of the Guyanese people under the One-Guyana tagline to host such a magnificent event, and I was also impressed to see that the Guyanese people went out and supported the CPL finals in large numbers regardless of the Amazon Warriors (the home team) not being a part of it. That shows how well invested the people are in the CPL.”

He particularly commended President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, and the government for creating an environment for great cricket and celebration.

BREATH OF FRESH AIR

He said with all assurance: “President Ali has the heart and soul of the Guyanese people within, and he’s a breath of fresh air in terms of leadership, not

only in Guyana but in the entire Caribbean nation. He does not focus on the development of Guyana alone, but his vision is for a better Caribbean collec tively.”

Although the benefits of the cricket/carnival activities are evident even to outsiders, Norton believes that resources should be allocated towards the enhancement of the quality of life of every Guyanese before being injected into such events.

It was widely reported, how ever, that the government has been taking several steps to significantly enhance the lives of every Guyanese, and Cricket Carnival was just another part of the wider plan to ensure that every economic sector advances at an equally rapid rate.

Minister of Tourism, Indus try and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond, had said that the gov ernment’s commitment to secur ing the rights for the hosting of the CPL final was part of a strat egy for inclusive development.

Walrond said: “We had our sights set not only on the prima ry revenue streams associated with the cricket itself, but also on capturing wider benefits that such an event could bring to a broad cross section of ordinary people in many sectors. Indeed this was the primary motivation for the twinning of cricket with carnival.”

This was done to ensure that there were opportunities for meaningful participation by small, medium and micro enterprises right down to the individual sole proprietor. And those benefits were realised in all sorts of businesses.

One plead guilty, another remanded over cocaine in curry at CJIA

TWO men were, on Tues day, hauled before sepa rate courts for attempting to smuggle $6.3 million worth of cocaine concealed in two bowls of curry out of Guy ana, through the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA).

Loaknauth Persaud, 36, of Parika Backdam, East Bank Essequibo was arraigned be fore Magistrate Judy Latchman at the Diamond Magistrates’ Court.

Persaud pleaded guilty to trafficking 6.28 kilograms of cocaine on October 7, at CJIA. He was remanded to prison un til October 31 for sentencing.

However, his co-accused, Manzil Ali, 43, of Section C “D” Field Sophia appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

Ali pleaded not guilty to

the charge and was remanded to prison until November 3.

According to a release from CANU, Persaud was scheduled to fly on Jet Blue Airways Flight B61966 to the John.F. Kennedy (JFK) Inter national Airport.

He was intercepted by offi cers who searched his suitcase and found a white substance suspected to be cocaine.

Persaud was escort ed to CANU Headquarters, where the substance was tested and confirmed to be cocaine weighing 6.28 kilo grams (approximately 13.8 pounds), with a street value of US$310,000 (approximately G$6.3 million).

Further investigations led to the arrest of Ali.

Loaknauth Persaud Manzil Ali

Leader of the Opposition, Aubrey Norton

Young Figueira demonstrates example of statesmanship to Norton

OPPOSITION Leader and head of the People’s Na tional Congress/Reform (PNC/R), Aubrey Norton, has denied claims that he threatened to remove Co alition Member of Parlia ment for Region 10, Jer maine Figueira as Chair man of the PNC/R Region 10 Committee for shaking hands with President, Dr Irfaan Ali President Ali was greet ed by Figueira with a warm handshake and broad smile during his visit to Region 10 on Monday.

The President also re ceived a warm welcome from Lindeners during his walk about in several communities in the region. During the walkabout, the President listened to the residents’ con

cerns and outlined steps to have them addressed.

Figueira, a Lindener, was among those who came out to greet the President and share concerns of the region. However, unlike Norton, the PNC executive shook hands with the President and raised matters of the region with him.

Norton had said that his refusal to shake the Presi dent’s hand is a form of pro test against what he claims is mismanagement of the coun try, even though he has not provided credible evidence of such.

Norton’s refusal to shake the President’s hand has been viewed by many as childish, particularly given that sever al of Norton’s fellow party members have no issues in

greeting the President by shaking his hand.

Norton was questioned about Figueira warmly greet ing the President during his weekly virtual press confer ence on Tuesday. Reports were that Norton was not pleased with the encounter. However, according to Nor ton, he has never instructed any of his party members to not shake the President’s hand.

According to Norton, if he had to give Figuei ra instructions, it would have been to picket the President’s walkabout in Linden. However, there was no picketing or negative reaction as residents came out in full numbers to meet and even take pictures with the President.

President Dr Irfaan Ali (right) shaking hands with APNU+AFC Region 10 Member of Parliament Jermaine Figueira (OP photo)

20th National Congress of the CPC set to present road map for future

BEIJING, Oct. 10(CHI NADAILY) Amid the in creasingly complex risks and challenges China is facing, the upcoming 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China will have the central task of presenting the Party’s road map for the next five years and beyond, a key period in realising national rejuvenation.

The 20th CPC National Congress, which is expected to open in Beijing on Sun day, is regarded as especially important as the Party is leading the Chinese people in embarking on a new journey to comprehensively build China into a modern social ist country, after the task of building a moderately pros perous society in all respects was completed last year.

The seventh plenary ses sion of the 19th CPC Central Committee, which started on Sunday in Beijing, will make preparations for the opening of the 20th CPC National Congress

A total of 2,296 delegates have been elected to attend the Congress. In addition to setting national policy goals, it will elect a new CPC Cen tral Committee, the Party’s top leadership, and a new

CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. Amendments to the Party Constitution are also expect ed at the Congress.

The CPC could use its 20th National Congress to reiterate the people-centered governance philosophy and the need to firmly adhere to socialism with Chinese char acteristics, observers said. It could also highlight the need to coordinate development and security given the new circumstances of China’s de velopment, reform and open ing-up, as well as mounting external risks and challenges.

Speaking at a workshop attended by senior party and government officials in July, Xi Jinping, general-secretary of the CPC Central Com mittee, said the 20th CPC National Congress would emphasise the strategic tasks the party will have and the major steps it will take over the next five years , which hold the key to the country’s modernisation drive

An effort must be made to work out new plans and mea sures to tackle the problem of unbalanced and inadequate development nationwide, Xi said.

Qi Weiping, a professor of politics at East China Nor

mal University in Shanghai, said that on the journey to ward national rejuvenation, the Party will unite and lead the people in making substan tial progress in tackling the problem of unbalanced and inadequate development and seeking common prosperity among more than 1.4 billion people in order to constantly meet their growing demand for a better life.

Namibian Ambassador to China Elia Kaiyamo said he expected the CPC would continue to lead the Chinese people in further develop ing socialism with Chinese characteristics after the 20th CPC National Congress and provide a good model for other countries in choosing an independent development path.

Ali Obaid Al Dhaheri, ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to China, ex pressed his wish that the 20th CPC National Congress would be a complete success.

“Under the guidance of the CPC, China’s peace ful rise is truly historic, with positive repercussions throughout the world. This is especially impactful in the Middle East, as we witness burgeoning trade and invest ment from China.

“The CPC has played an integral role in transforming China from a largely ag ricultural, underdeveloped country to an engine of global growth. Both the UAE and China have been beneficiaries of the bilateral comprehen sive strategic partnership, and we look forward to even greater achievements and prosperity in the years to come.”

While pursuing high-quality development, the CPC takes national se curity seriously as another pillar of its governance of the country.

Speaking of the rapid evolution of profound chang es in the international land scape at July’s workshop, Xi said China faces fresh strate gic opportunities and tasks in its new stage of development, and the risks , challenges and problems it faces are increasingly complex and complicated

He underlined the need for the whole Party to strengthen risk awareness, prepare for the worst-case scenario, and strive to cope with the changing domestic and international situation with proper strategies.

Analysts said that over the next five years, it is es

sential for China to stick to the right direction under the strong leadership of the CPC amid the increasingly complicated and challenging international environment in order to maintain national security while continuing to promote development.

Amid uncertainties brought by challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the widening divide aris ing from geopolitical rivalry, the CPC is expected to re new its call at the Congress for countries to implement the China-proposed Global Development Initiative and Global Security Initiative to promote global peace and development as part of an effort to advance the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, they said.

Gao Zugui, a professor at the Institute for International Strategic Studies at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, said in an article in Study Times that the Party emphasizes the importance of coordinating development and security in its gover nance, an important philos ophy that has been extended from national governance to China’s active participation in global governance.

The two initiatives have

been widely regarded as Chi na’s solutions to addressing the problems the world faces in the cause of peace and development. Since its incep tion, the Global Development Initiative has been positioned as an all-inclusive accelerant to the United Nations’ agenda on sustainable development.

The initiative’s relevance to a world in distress is diffi cult to understate at the mo ment as protracted conflicts, climatic spillovers, rampant poverty and wide resource shortages threaten to com pound existing inequalities and adversely affect the de velopment potential of many states, Hannan Hussain, a foreign affairs commenta tor and a former assistant researcher at the Islamabad Policy Research Institute, said in an article published on the China Global Television Network website.

Adriel Kasonta, a for eign affairs analyst and commentator in London, said in an article published on the CGTN website that being the fruit of Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy, the Global Security Initiative provides a united response to the increasingly complex challenges faced by the in ternational community.

SHANGHAI, Oct. 11(CHI NADAILY ) -- China will steadily advance the pro cess of the renminbi’s in ternationalisation and the country will make its finan cial market more accessible to international investors in terms of product supply and trading mechanisms to achieve the goal of lifting the global profile of the Chinese currency, industry experts said.

The comments came after the People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank, said in an article published on Sunday that it would fur ther boost the global use of the renminbi , especially in cross border trade and in

vestment The central bank also pledged to improve the liquidity of renminbi denom inated assets and simplify the process for foreign investors to enter the Chinese market.

The global profile of the renminbi will gradually rise as the nation’s strength grows and its reform and opening up agenda deepens, reflecting the international community’s confidence in China’s economic develop ment, the central bank said.

Zhou Tianyun, a profes sor at Sun Yat-sen Universi ty’s International School of Business and Finance, said all around institutional open ing up of the Chinese finan cial market is fundamental to

increasing renminbi assets’ liquidity.

Two-way opening-up, including connect programs in the country ’ s stock and bond markets , should be deepened More financial products should be rolled out in the onshore market while trading activity in the secondary market in China should be further elevated, Zhou said.

The endogenous growth momentum and the resilience of the Chinese economy have helped the renminbi to remain largely stable, thus adding to the attractiveness of renmin bi assets at a time of rising global volatility complicated by stagflation worldwide

and the tightening monetary policies of the United States Federal Reserve, said Cheng Shi, chief economist at ICBC International.

“The investment value of renminbi assets is especially noticeable at present thanks to the controllable inflation level and the clear economic recovery route in China,” he said.

Guan Tao, chief econ omist of BOC Internation al , said that more foreign investors will likely enter the Chinese capital market given their relatively lower allocation of renminbi assets at present.

According to US invest ment bank Morgan Stanley,

the renminbi will account for five to 10 percent of global foreign exchange reserve assets by 2030, making it the world’s third largest reserve currency, only next to the US dollar and the euro.

China’s cross-border renminbi receipts and pay ments in non banking sectors reached 27.8 trillion yuan ($3.91 trillion) from January to August, up 15.2 percent year -on-year, according to data from the central bank.

The renminbi ’ s accel erated internationalisation is reflected by its lifted weighting in the Internation al Monetary Fund’s Special Drawing Rights currency basket , which became ef

Canton Fair Is

fective in May, according to Zhou Maohua, an analyst at China Everbright Bank. Its weighting of 12.28 percent at present , up from 10.92 percent, shows the wider use of renminbi in internation al payment and settlement, reserves , investment and financing, he said.

Ming Ming, chief econ omist of Citic Securities , said that there is still much to explore concerning the Chinese currency’s function in financing and investment.

To that end, China should further open up the onshore bond and interest rate swap markets while providing necessary hedg ing tools, Ming said.

Prelude to Diwali

Scenes of Deep Jale at Central Corentyne, Palmyra Heritage Monument Site, D’Edward Village and at West Coast Berbice, organised by the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha. The grand Diwali light up is set for Saturday, October 15 at 18:00 hours at Kitty Seawall Roundabout. (Photo credit: President of the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha, Dr Vindhya Vasini Persaud’s face book page)

Four in custody for KN armed robbery

— over $6M in cash recovered

AS police continue their investigation into the armed robbery commit ted at Kaieteur News, four men have been arrested and millions of dollars that were in a stolen safe along with a firearm and other items have been recovered.

Based on the informa

gold-coloured Spacio motor car, registration number un known, stormed the build ing through an eastern door on the bottom flat and held security guards Noel Junor, 63 and Joshua Junor, and Wayne Little, a 20-yearold Graphic Designer, at gunpoint.

The three employees

reviewed the company’s CCTV camera footage, but due to the face masks that the suspects were wearing, it was difficult to identify the bandits.

In its update on Tues day, the police disclosed that a firearm, ammunition, and other items were also in the stolen safe.

woman who handed over $3.5 million.

Another suspect handed over $2,667,900 along with US$685 (approximately

G$137,000), the release said.

According to the po lice, ranks were taken to a trench at Cane View

Avenue, South Ruimveldt Gardens where the stolen safe was recovered. The safe was photographed and lodged.

tion released by the police on Tuesday, investigators managed to crack the case in less than 48 hours, arrest ing the alleged mastermind and three of his accomplic es. Efforts are being made to locate two others.

The police identified those in custody as Ryan Wharton, a former employ ee of Kaieteur News and the alleged mastermind, 36-year-old taxi driver Harry Stongster, Whar ton’s cousin Lemuel Grant, whose mother owns the Spacio motor car that was allegedly used by the gun men, and 40-year-old Col lis Haywood. Police said that their efforts to arrest 35-year-old security guard, Joshua Junor, who was one of the three persons robbed and held at gunpoint, and 25-year-old Ivor Belingie also known as ‘Wildlife’ have been unsuccessful so far.

In a press release issued hours after the robbery, the police said that the inci dent occurred around 01:15 hrs, when three men in a

were taken to an office where they were instructed to lie on the ground.

Police said Noel was robbed of $5,000 cash, Lit tle was robbed of a $44,000 cellphone and Joshua was robbed of a Samsung S7 cellular phone valued at $40,000.

One of the suspects re mained with the victims while his accomplices went straight to the Accounts Department which is locat ed on the upper flat of the building.

“The door was secured with a Yale padlock which was wrenched off by the suspects. The lock on one of the desk drawers inside the Accounts Department was also broken off. Under the said desk there was a small safe with an undisclosed amount of cash which the suspects took. The suspects spent about five minutes in the building, exited through the front door and escaped in the said motor car in a southern direction,” the police release stated.

Police investigators

It was explained that the stolen cash was divided into four and the clothing worn by the gunmen and the fake number plate that was on the Spacio were burnt short ly after the robbery.

One .32 Taurus pistol, 209 live .32 rounds of am munition, 71 live 9mm am munition, five 9mm maga zines, two .32 magazines, one pistol (Glock) case, one holster and three hand grips were placed into a black strap haversack and given to a Tucville resident, the police said in a release.

Detectives were later led to his home where he hand ed over the items which are the property of Glenn Mohan Lall, the owner of Kaieteur News. He was arrested.

Another suspect, it was stated placed his share of the money into a plastic bag, along with his cellphone, and took it to his “child-mother” for her to keep. He allegedly told her that “he won the mon ey from Superbet.” Po lice made contact with the

The stolen cash, firearm and other items which were recovered by the police (Guyana Police Force photo)

India storm South Africa

(ESPNCRICINFO) - IN

stormed to a fifth successive ODI series win with a crushing victory over South Africa in Delhi. Their spinners combined to bowl South Africa out for 99, their lowest ODI total against them - and fourth-lowest in the format - inside 28 overs. Spinners Washington Sundar, Shah baz Ahmed and Kuldeep Yadav shared eight wick ets between them, with Kuldeep completing his third four-for against South Africa.

As a result of the loss, South Africa end the series at 11th position in the Super League table, after having already cancelled their ODIs against Australia. They must finish in the top eight if they seek direct qualification for the 2023 World Cup.

This is the fourth time in ODI history that South Afri ca have been bowled out for under 100, and the second time in 2022 after they were dismissed for 83 by England. The batting collapse apart, Tuesday added to a mount ing list of concerns for the visitors ahead of the T20 World Cup: regular captain Temba Bavuma, stand-in skipper Keshav Maharaj and wristspinner Tabraiz Shamsi all sat out the fixture with an illness.

While Maharaj is freshly infected, Bavuma and Sham si had also missed the sec ond ODI, with CSA saying they are "feeling better" but benched as a "precaution".

David Miller led the team for the first time in an ODI but was unable to lift them from 43 for 4. They lost their last six wickets for 33 runs in 50 balls, and found themselves with an improbable task in the field.

No team has defended less than 125 in a 50-over match, while South Africa's lowest successful defence remains 129. They had to attempt to better that without

their pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada, who was rested, and Wayne Parnell, who played in the previous two matches but made way for the other allrounders Andile Phehluk wayo and Marco Jansen in this one.

India reached the 100run target in the 20th over. The chase was as routine as they come after India had already won the match in the field with a bowling performance that exposed South Africa's perennial weakness against spin, and what appears to be a return of the yips that creep in in pressure situations.

Their line-up was com pletely blown away by spin, although it may not be very effective during the T20 World Cup in Australia. However, it has still left big questions about their readi ness for the big tournament, where they are grouped with all three heavyweight sub continent sides - Bangla desh, Pakistan and India - and may also be joined by Sri Lanka after the first round.

Washington opened the bowling with Mohammed Siraj, and immediately found spin. He troubled Quinton de Kock, who was beaten by a ball that just passed his outside edge, and then top-edged a pad dle that went over Sanju Samson and the lone slip.

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But de Kock soon slashed at a wide ball and sent it straight to Avesh Khan at short third.

Shubman Gill fell just one short of his fifty (Getty Images)

WIPA congratulates sir Richie on doctorate

(CMC) - The West In dies Players’ Association (WIPA) has congratulated Windies cricket legend Sir Richie Richardson on his honorary doctorate, saying it is a “deserving recognition”.

The former West In dies captain received the honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) for his contribution

to sport, during the Uni versity of the West Indies (UWI) Five Islands Campus graduation ceremony last Saturday.

“The WIPA team con gratulates Sir Richardson on this deserving recogni tion,” WIPA President and CEO Wavell Hinds said in a statement on Monday night.

“Sir Richie’s contribu

tion to the sport is a note worthy and commendable one and will live on in the hearts and minds of the people of the West Indies for years to come. We wish him all the best in his future endeavours.”

The 60-year-old Anti guan, who was knighted in 2014, amassed 5949 Test runs at an average of 44.39

and 6248 ODI runs at an average of 33.41.

Following his last inter national in 1996, he went on to become a team man ager and referee.

The former right-handed batsman was appointed to the elite panel of match referees by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2015.

Hussain Surprises, London and Kishore Confirm Dominance

THE Annual Suriname Republic Bank Guyana Invitational was held over the past weekend at the Paramaribo Golf Club and saw the largest num ber of Guyanese golfers challenging for honours at that country's major event which included players from Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad, French Gui ana, Holland and United States.

Suriname's Asif Baboe retained the top spot in the Championship Category but Guyana performed exceed ingly well in all the other flights.

Guyana's team was made up of players from the Lusignan Golf Club which was represented by current and past Guyana Open champions Avinda Kishore, Avinash Persaud and Mike Mangal, support ed by David Harry, Rakesh Harry, and Pandit Ravi Per saud, and the Nexgen Golf Academy that was spon sored by Digicel Business and represented by Aleem Hussain and Vishal Harry, joining forces to play for Guyana in the Champion ship Category.

The major surprise of the tournament was Aleem Hussain, who hasn't played competitive Golf in over two years, climbing the leader board to second place after Day 1, earning him a spot in the prestigious final group on Sunday with Guy ana Open Champion Avinda Kishore.

After a hard-fought day, interrupted by rain delays, it

was Hussain who emerged as the top Guyanese golfer in the championship catego ry (tied for second overall), ahead of Kishore. Kishore however produced a dom inant overall performance winning both the best gross overall and longest drive on Day 2.

According to Hussain, "The course is suited for accuracy and the fact that I was playing with an injured back actually helped to en sure that I kept my swing at 60%, allowing me to stay in contention throughout. I want to thank my caddy Dhanai Harry and team member Vishal Harry, who came in 13th overall for helping Nexgen Golf Acad emy achieve such good re sults in our first tournament.

Also to our sponsor Digicel Business who sup plied essential rain gear to help us through the last day. In the B Flight, first place went to Brian Hackett with current president of the LGC Patanjilee Persaud coming in second.

In the C Flight, Carlos Adams slipped from first place on Saturday to finish in third place with Jordi Pinol in fourth.

In the Women's Catego ry, current Ladies Guyana Open Champion Shanella London proved she was the top female golfer in the region with a convincing performance, winning best gross and overall Women's Title, along with the longest drive on both days.

Eureka Giddings showed grit to come in third in the

Women's second Flight. Ms London said, "I am happy to show that I can perform as well as I do in Guyana and it's only a matter of time be fore I prove myself in other countries as well.

“I'm constantly practis ing to improve my game and wish to thank my sup porters and Coach Pope Emmanuel who believed in me from the beginning."

LGC President Patan jilee Persaud said in his remarks, "The focus now turns to the Guyana Open scheduled for October 29th and 30th at the Lusignan Golf Club that promises to be a grand event for golf and tourism."

Final results were: Championship Category: Aleem Hussain tied for 2nd, Avinda Kishore 5th, Mike Mangal 7th, Rakesh Harry 10th, David Harry 12th, Vishal 'Butters' Harry 13th, Avinash Persaud 15th and Pandit Ravi Persaud 17th.

Flight B: Brian Hack ett 1st, Patanjilee Persaud 2nd, 6th Videsh Persaud 6th, Hardeo 'Curry' Ghan pat 7th, Paton George 8th, Guillermo Escarraga 10th, Rohan Albert 14th, Pope Emmanuel London 17th, Parmanand 'Nax' Persaud 18th, Miguel Oviedo 19th, and Troy Cadogan 23rd.

Flight C: Carlos Adams 3rd, Jordi Pinol 4th and Chet Bowling 5th and Ian Blue 8th.

Women's A - Shanella London 1st and Women's B–Eureka Giddings 3rd.

Sir Richie Richardson

Guyanese Golfers Excel in Suriname

Celtic beaten at home by Leipzig

(BBC) - Celtic's hopes of Champions League prog ress are over after their profligacy was punished in a frustrating home defeat by RB Leipzig.

Matt O'Riley and Greg Taylor struck the woodwork in quick succession and Da izen Maeda and Kyogo Furu hashi also passed up glaring chances for the opener.

Leipzig showed the ruth less edge Celtic lacked with late goals from Timo Werner and substitute Emil Fors berg.

It leaves the Scottish champions bottom with one point from four games.

But while a top-two fin ish is now beyond Celtic, their hopes of salvaging a Europa League place were boosted by Real Madrid's late equaliser away to Shakhtar Donetsk, who are now four points ahead in third and visit Glasgow in a fortnight.

Celtic's group-stage fail ings were encapsulated in a dizzying sequence midway through the first half. O'Riley rattled the base of a post with a 20-yard strike and Taylor pounced on the loose ball only to scuff it on to the bar with the goal at his mercy.

Seconds later, Kyogo

grazed the woodwork with a gilt-edged header from Sead Haksabanovic's delivery.

Maeda had set the tone

of frustration in the opening seconds, scooping an awk ward header inches over, and wasteful finishing is ulti

mately what has condemned Celtic to an exit with two games to spare.

They were eventually undone by a slick Leipzig outfit that had found Joe Hart in imposing form. The Celtic goalkeeper, who gifted a goal in last week's defeat in Germany, stuck out a leg to brilliantly divert Christopher Nkunku's powerful drive past a post then spread him self to foil Willi Orban.

Celtic looked increasing ly ragged as the second half swung from end to end and the only surprise was how long it took for a goal to arrive. Leipzig full-back Mo

hamed Simakan blazed over at one end, Maeda volleyed Aaron Mooy's cross wide at the other.

But Leipzig's growing menace was rewarded when Werner guided a header from Andre Silva's drilled cross into the bottom corner.

Still Celtic had chanc es, with substitute Giorgos Giakoumakis unable to con vert from close range.

But Leipzig put the re sult beyond doubt when Werner rolled a pass to Forsberg, who took a touch then sent an unerring finish into the top corner.

Binny set to become new BCCI president

(ESPNCRICINFO) - Roger Binny, the former India allrounder, is set to become the new BCCI president, replacing Sourav Ganguly, who is not expected to have a position in the board any longer. Binny will as sume charge on October 18, when the BCCI annual general meeting will be held, in Mumbai.

Jay Shah, son of India's home minister Amit Shah, will continue as BCCI sec retary, the most influential position in the board. Rajiv Shukla will also stay on as the board's vice-president.

Along with Binny, there will be two first-timers in the new administration: Ash ish Shelar, who served as Mumbai Cricket Association president between 2017 and 2019, will be the treasurer, and Devajit Saikia, currently secretary at Assam Cricket Association, will be the joint secretary.

Another key appointment is that of Arun Dhumal, who is set to take over as the new IPL chairman, a post held since 2019 by Brijesh Patel, the former India batter, who will be forced to vacate the seat as he turns 70 soon [on November 24]. That is the maximum permitted age limit for an office bearer or administrator in the BCCI's constitution.

Dhumal, who became a BCCI functionary during the Ganguly administration, is the brother of former board president Anurag Thakur, the current sports and youth affairs minister in India's central government.

Roger Binny has served in various capacities at the Karnataka State Cricket Association over the years (Getty Images)

As a formality Dhumal will initially need to contest for a position for being a IPL governing council member. Also joining the governing council will be Avishek Dalmiya, son of former BCCI and ICC bigwig Jag mohan Dalimya. Avishek, who is the Cricket Associa tion of Bengal president, will replace Khairul Majumdar, who will be nominated as the BCCI's general body rep resentative on board's Apex Council.

Binny, 67, has a lot of experience in cricket ad ministration. He has served in different positions at the Karnataka State Cricket As sociation (KSCA) over the years, and has been its pres ident since 2019. Prior to that, Binny also was part of the KSCA administrations led by Patel and Anil Kum ble (2010-12).

ESPNcricinfo has learned that Binny was the sole candidate for the BCCI president's post so far with the deadline for filing nom inations ending on Wednes

day for the five office-bear ers' positions, which were meant to be contested at the board elections on October 18. As things stand, there will be no elections for any position after the top brass of the BCCI, including Gan guly, along with senior past and current administrators from prominent state asso ciations, finalised a shortlist of people that will occupy key positions in the BCCI over a series of meetings in Delhi last week and one on Monday evening in Mumbai.

Among those present at these meetings includ ed former BCCI president and ICC chairman N Srini vasan, former BCCI secre tary Niranjan Shah, former BCCI treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry, and Delhi & Dis tricts Association president Rohan Jaitley

The age-cap rule, which has led to end of Patel's run, will also restrict 1983 World Cup-winner Binny's tenure to one term of three years.

This, despite the Su preme Court recently dilut ing several RM Lodha Com mittee recommendations. In cluding the big one, that any office-bearer who had held any post for two consecutive terms in the BCCI shall not be eligible to contest any further election in the BCCI without completing a cool ing-off period of three years. Also, if a person has served two consecutive terms each in a state association and in the BCCI, or vice versa, without any break [12 years in total], such a person shall not be eligible to contest any

further election in a state association or in the BCCI, without completing a cool ing-off period of three years.

That was a modifica tion of its 2018 judgment, where it had ruled that an office-bearer would need to serve a three-year cool ing-off period once they had served six years at a state

association and/or the BCCI.

If that rule had not been amended, the entire set of office-bearers in the Ganguly administration would have become ineligible to carry on in any capacity in the BCCI.

However, the likes of Shah can now continue till 2025. He had taken over as BCCI secretary in 2019,

when Ganguly was elect ed president, after board elections were held for the first time since Supreme Court mandated a new constitution, drafted as per the Lodha Committee recommendations, which were meant to overhaul the structure and running of BCCI.

Timo Werner guided in the opener 15 minutes from time

Chelsea enjoy comfortable victory at AC Milan

(BBC) - CHELSEA enjoyed a comfortable victory at AC Milan after former Blues defender Fikayo Tomori received an early red card.

Tomori was sent off for pulling back Mason Mount in the area, with Jorginho converting the penalty.

Pierre-Emerick Au bameyang doubled the lead with a confident strike against his former club.

But Chelsea and England suffered a blow in the second half when right-back Reece James limped off.

The win continues Gra ham Potter's unbeaten start as Chelsea manager, with four wins in his first five games.

It moves Chelsea top of Group E with seven points from four matches, but it remains extremely tight with Red Bull Salzburg on six points and both Milan and Dinamo Zagreb on four.

Bad night for Tomori and

James

Tomori has not enjoyed his reunion with his boyhood club over the past couple of games - after Milan were beaten comprehensively at Stamford Bridge last week, the Chelsea youth product lasted just 18 minutes on Tuesday.

What looked like being a tight game was blown open when Tomori put his arm on the shoulder of England team-mate Mount, putting the midfielder off balance enough to send him tumbling to the floor.

Referee Daniel Siebert, who was central to the dra ma throughout to the ire of the home support, deemed it enough contact to be a penalty and that Tomori had not attempted to play the ball, thus overriding the double jeopardy rule and causing him to show the red card.

The decision was debated

long and hard by Tomori and Milan's players, but eventu ally he had to leave the field and after a lengthy delay Jorginho calmly slotted the penalty away.

"I definitely don't think the referee has had one of his better evenings," said Milan

boss Stefano Pioli.

He added: "The penalty and red card changed every thing. Chelsea didn't need to play with a numerical superiority.

"I don't want to review the episode, it seems too obvious. I don't want to com

ment. I told the referee what I think, I don't speak English very well but I think he un derstood."

Mount was excellent for the first 45 minutes before being substituted for Conor Gallagher at half-time, hav ing picked up a booking for

arguing with Olivier Giroud in the aftermath of the pen alty.

Potter decided to remove Mount from the firing line of both the irate home fans and the card-happy Siebert - but not before the England mid fielder caused Milan endless problems and showed why he is so admired by his manag ers for club and country.

While his form is a boost for Gareth Southgate, the sight of James hobbling off minutes after jarring his knee in the turf while making a challenge is worrying, with the World Cup less than six weeks away.

Having been so well stocked at right-back pre viously, Southgate is now sweating on the fitness of James as well as Kyle Walker and Trent Alexan der-Arnold, who have all suffered injuries in recent weeks.

Ten-man reach last 16 of champions League

(BBC) Ten-man Manches ter City missed a penalty and had a goal ruled out in a VAR-dominated goalless draw at Copenhagen, but still reached the last 16 of the Champions League.

Pep Guardiola's side qualified for the knockout phase of the competition after Sevilla failed to beat Borussia Dortmund in Tues day's other Group G fixture.

A dramatic opening saw two contentious decisions set the tone for the evening.

Rodri's superb 25-yard effort for City was ruled out after Riyad Mahrez was penalised for handling, while the visitors benefitted by be ing awarded a penalty when the ball struck home defend er Nicolai Boilesen on the arm as he competed for a corner with Manuel Akanji.

But Copenhagen goal keeper Kamil Grabara bril liantly saved Mahrez's spot-

kick to the delight of a rau cous Parken Stadium crowd before Guardiola's side had Sergio Gomez sent off for a professional foul on 19-yearold forward Hakon Haralds son five minutes later.

The decision again came after the Portuguese referee Artur Dias was referred to the pitch-side monitor and left the English champions forced to reshape and play the final hour a man down.

Erling Haaland was left on the bench against oppo nents that had suffered a 5-0 thrashing in Manchester just under a week ago.

Explaining his decision not to play the Norwegian, Guardiola said: "He finished the game against Southamp ton so, so tired and didn't recover well.

"Yesterday was not good, today a little better but not perfect so we decided not to take the risk."

City's winning run comes to an end

While City saw a run of six consecutive victories come to an end with the loss of their 100 per cent record in the competition, Guardi ola appeared satisfied by a point in an encounter they dominated early on.

A youthful Copenhagen side featuring six players aged 20 or under initially struggled to deal with the experience and slick passing on show from the visitors, with Julian Alvarez also close to opening the scoring.

And despite the loss of Gomez just before the half hour mark City still man aged almost 70 per cent possession before the break, though the dynamic of the game altered thereafter.

With Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden only intro duced late on, rested for City's impending trip to

Anfield to face Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday (16:30 BST), the visitors were limited to long-range efforts.

Joao Cancelo and Kevin de Bruyne both tested Grabara, while at the other end Lukas Lerager's dipping shot

was the closest Jacob Neestrup's side came to registering their first goal in the tournament this term.

Jorginho (left) has scored seven of his eight Champions League penalties

Riyad Mahrez has failed to score two of his last three penalties in all competitions for Manchester City

Estwick says Windies still have work to do

CMC – Despite West In dies’ win in their first warm-up match ahead of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup which begins in just under a week, assistant and bowling coach Roddy Estwick says the squad still has some work to do.

West Indies registered a comfortable 17-run win over minnows United Arab Emir ates at the Junction Oval in Melbourne on Monday.

“Any game that you go into you want to win and you want to try and plan proper ly and execute those plans properly. There are still one or two areas that we need to work on,” said Estwick after

the game..

“We lost some early wickets; we didn’t assess the conditions as you would like.”

However, Estwick ac knowledged the polished half-century from Brandon King and an incisive spell of bowling from Raymon Reif er that handed the two-time World Cup champions the warm-up win.

The stylish King led the batting with 64 off 45 balls with seven fours and two sixes, helping West Indies to post 152 for nine from their 20 overs after they were sent in.

“He continues to improve

and that’s a good thing. He has an appetite for big runs. We’re looking at phases for each batsman and when you look at Brandon’s phases, it goes from first over down to 20, so you know that he’s very, very capable of making big scores,” Estwick said of King who went in at number three.

“…. He looks in good touch and hopefully he’ll continue right throughout the series.”

Reifer was introduced into the bowling attack when left-hander Yannic Cariah was struck on the right hand by a rising delivery and re tired from the game.

Caribbean Mini and Pre Cadet Table Tennis Championships serves off on Friday

DR, Puerto Rico and Jamaica among confirmed countries

SEVERAL big names, in cluding the likes of the Do minican Republic, Puerto Rico and Jamaica have confirmed their partici pation for the Caribbean Mini and Pre Cadet Table Tennis Championships, which is scheduled to serve off on Friday at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

According to informa tion from the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA), Trinidad and Tobago, Bar bados, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Su riname will also travel for the event, which runs until next Wednesday, October 19.

Guyana was slated to host the tournament in 2020 before the pandemic started.

To this end, President of the GTTA, Godfrey Monroe explained that due to the postponement over the last two years, “the competition has taken on a different level

of importance to regional table tennis development”.

He said that this year’s championship provides Guy ana the opportunity, as host, to expose and showcase 32 of the country’s pre cadet players (eight boys and eight girls in the 11-years-and-un der category) and a similar amount in the 13-years-andunder category.

This, he explained, will help to enhance the skills of a new generation of players.

“The GTTA has selected some of its emerging, talent ed, disciplined and brightest prospects to represent Guy ana at this engagement.”

Some of the big names include Jasmine Billingy, Samara Sukhai and Akira Watson, along with Malachi Moore, Ebo Mc Neil and Darius Daniels.

The association’s plan is to use the championship as a catalyst to jump start, synchronise and market

Guyana’s national cadet and its other development programmes.

Munroe also spoke about the fruitful collaboration between the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport and the National Sports Commission in developing nursery table tennis pro grammes.

Schools have also been invited to witness the cham pionships to spur additional interest in the sport.

Both divisions of the tournament, will have boys and girls team events, sin gles, doubles and mixed doubles clashes.

Matches will start with team events, doubles and mixed doubles and con clude with singles in the respective age categories. The first set of matches will start on Friday with the formal Opening slated for Saturday October 15 at 15:00 hours.

West Indies at that time required a rate of 7.5 runs per

over, and Reifer got the ball to swing both ways with his left-arm medium pace, taking three wickets in the space of 11 balls as UAE innings went into rapid decline.

Estwick was not surprised at that performance.

“With Raymon, you know what you’re gonna get – you’re gonna get 100 per cent every time…. Raymon has never let anyone down because he’s such a deter mined and hardworking guy, you know, so you’re obvi ously happy for him when he does well,” he said.

The assistant coach was also pleased that captain Nicholas Pooran was able

to score 46 off 31 deliveries. The skipper and King had ral lied the innings in a 95-run, fourth-wicket stand.

West Indies will remain in Melbourne where they will have their second warm-up match against the Nether lands on Wednesday night at the MCG. First ball is 7 p.m. local time (4 a.m. Eastern Caribbean/3 a.m. Jamaica).

From there, the Carib bean men who are in Group B of the tournament will travel to Hobart, Tasma nia for Round 1 in which they will face Scotland on October 17, Zimbabwe on October 19, and Ireland on October 21.

Juventus suffer shock loss to Maccabi Haifa

(BBC) - Juventus face a tough task if they are to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League after suffering a shock loss away to Maccabi Haifa.

Omer Atzili scored two first-half goals for the Israeli side to leave Juventus third in Group H with two games left.

Atzili's first came after only seven minutes when Pierre Cornud's cross bounced off Atzili's back and crept in.

The second saw Atzili fire a shot into the top corner after a bright run and pass by team-mate Frantzdy Pierrot.

Juventus only have three points from their four match es, after they had beaten Maccabi Haifa 3-1 at the Allianz Stadium last week.

Massimiliano Allegri's side now have to win at Ben fica on 25 October and at home to Paris St-Germain on 2 November to have any chance of making the last 16.

PSG and Benfica drew

1-1 in the other match in the group and are now level on eight points.

For Maccabi Haifa, this was their first Champions League group-stage victory since a 3-0 triumph over Manchester United in Octo ber 2002.

Two-time European champions Juventus are also struggling domestically after a 2-0 loss to AC Mi lan on Saturday left them eighth in Serie A, 10 points behind leaders Napoli.

West Indies assistant and bowling coach Roddy Estwick

Maccabi team celebration

Caribbean Mini and Pre Cadet Table Tennis Championships serves off on Friday

The

Guyanese golfers