15th August, 2022 MONDAY No.106815 $100PRICEVATINCLUSIVE ' PAGE 02 ‘We are with you’ –– Orealla and Siparuta residents tell President PAGE 03 ofagentofasrememberedShadicktowerstrength,changePAGE 13 Diaspora welcomes direct flights from the UK airlinesongoingDiscussionswithfor direct flights to Canada PAGE 08 President, Dr Irfaan Ali on Saturday assured residents of Siparuta, on the Corentyne River, that they will not be left out of the government’s development agenda (Office of the President photo)
For the first time in its history, Guyana will have a direct connection to Eu rope. Previously, travellers from the UK had to rely on connecting flights through Barbados or Trinidad and Tobago to get to Guyana. The British Airways introduction into the Guy anese market is the cul mination of an initiative which commenced with an engagement among Presi dent Irfaan Ali, Minister Walrond and British Air ways officials in London, England earlier this year. (Story by Media and Communication Academy interns Kesi Henry, Mesha Sealey, Vivekanand Rajku mar, Lorenda Cuffie and Shamia Grant)
The airline’s operations will commence by March 27, 2023 (photo by skytrax.com)
Diaspora welcomes direct flights from UK
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THE introduction of in ternationally accredited airline, British Airways, in Guyana, has been lauded as an “excellent initiative” and a “welcome conve nience” by Guyanese cit izens living in the United Kingdom (UK). The airline’s operations will commence by March 27, 2023, plying the Guyana route twice weekly while making stops in Caribbean Community (CARICOM) sister country, St. Lucia. Amna Bartholomew, a Guyanese citizen who has been living in Southampton for the past 18 years, was among those who expressed excitement, noting that she has not visited Guyana since 2007 due to the high cost and hassle of travelling. Speaking to the Guyana Chronicle, Bartholomew described the journey as ‘troublesome’, and com plained that travelling from the UK to Guyana was “never a smooth journey”. “Because there was nev er a direct flight, it was never a smooth journey. Getting your baggage and transferring from one flight to another is a huge in convenience. Your time is never all yours. We would be stuck at a terminal for hours and sometimes even overnight, waiting for a connecting flight,” she ex plained.She added that she found it less expensive and, in some cases, even easier to travel to New York and get a flight to Guyana from there.She divulged that many times the thought of return ing home was what made the strenuous journey some whatAudreybearable.Harding, who has been a resident of Lon don for approximately 12 years, said she would travel once a year to meet family in Guyana, since ‘life is short’ and she intended to make the most of it. However, with the ad vent of the COVID-19 pan demic, travelling had been reduced for her, not only due to travel restrictions, but also due to the hike in travelTheprices.cost to travel from the UK to Guyana is ap proximately £1,070, an amount Harding described as “costly”.“Travelling to Guyana is terrifying. The hustle and the other routes to get to Guyana is quite over whelming, because waiting to board another flight [in the Caribbean] takes hours,” she Shelamented.hadinitially seen that advertisements for the direct flights from her granddaughter, but thought they were false, due to the assumed unlikelihood of direct flights. “So since it is true,” she said, “this is an excellent initiative to have a British Airways flight directly to Guyana.”
RESIDENTS of the river ine communities of Ore alla and Siparuta, Coren tyne River, East Berbice Corentyne, Region Six, on Saturday, welcomed President, Dr. Irfaan Ali to their respective villag es and told him that they were committed to, and fully supportive of, his ‘One Guyana’ concept. “We are with you”, “You have our support” and “We are behind you 100 per cent” were some of the phrases used by the residents after listening to the President’s plan and solutions to the issues af fecting them. The President began his presentation by asking a few “Todayquestions.is about you, today is about listening to you; what are your thoughts on what we are doing? What are your new ideas that you have? What are your new dreams and aspirations? How can the Government be part of that journey of ensuring that you realise your dreams andAfteraspiration?”listening to each and every concern raised, he addressed them and offered solutions. Some were fixed on the spot while Local Gov ernment Minister, Nigel Dharamlall and Agricul ture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, along with other stakeholders were tasked with following up and ensuring everyone’s concern is DuringEVERYONEaddressed.MATTERShispresenta tion, the President reit erated the importance and significance of every citizen to him and his Government, regardless of their race, creed or political affiliation. “In this community, we are delivering on every single promise we have made to you. We do not have a different message for communities, villag es, depending on who we are talking to. If you are Amerindians, Indo-Guya nese, Afro-Guyanese, Por tuguese , Chinese; know one thing, you are part of ‘One Guyana ’ and you will benefit equally from the opportunities, the pro grammes, the development that we want to deliver. The time in this country for race-baiting, when we seek separation by the way you look, for immature political thinking, when people believe they have superiority over another— that time has long gone. You the Amerindians are equally important in this country . You will bene fit, you will get your fair share, you will be part of the development,” he said. Speaking directly about the developments and programmes for the communities, the Presi dent underscored the value of the GOAL scholarship initiative. The programme is now available to the indigenous communities and provides them equal opportunity to access high er education.He,however, noted that the programme alone is not enough.“…we have to support them better, we have to invest more in ensuring we have the capacity in these villages, will help them get better access to the Internet facility, we have to ensure that all our teachers can sign on online from these communities and they can all become trained teachers right here in the villages. We have to support our nurses and our health care workers, right here from the villages so they can be connected to the Internet and they can all have the opportunity that their colleagues on the coastland and those closer to infrastructure can have. This is the vision, this is the journey; this is what we want. We want sports and cultural development. We’re working on enhanc ing sport opportunities, creating an enabling en vironment in which sports and culture can play an integral part in community life It can play an integral part in uplifting commu nities and building of the concept of One Guyana.” heMOREsaid.
–– Orealla and Siparuta
President, Dr Irfaan Ali addressing residents of Siparuta during the meeting on Saturday (Office of the President photo) secondary school to serve Siparuta and Orealla,” the President said and com mitted to expanding the nursery school in Siparuta. In relation, to the road linking to the coast, the President said, “The road is something we have to do, we have to do it in phases; we’ve already decided that every year we’re going to continue to push forward until we have that road complet ed; so definitely you will see works continuing on the road.”
A section of the gathering during the meeting with the President on Saturday (Office of the President photo)
communitymenttodentcomeforandtheWhileINCOMEDISPOSABLEcommittingtodevelopmentofyouthmakingprovisionsmoredisposableintoeveryone,PresiAlimadereferencethetemporaryemployprogrammeinthe. “That is $2 million ev ery month of new revenue that will come into this community to support the community economy , to support the local economy and to support the develop ment of your community. This is tangible. This is real development. This is understanding the needs of our people and responding to the needs of our peo ple.... No one will be left behind, all of us now must embrace this concept of de velopment, all of us must embrace the opportunity that comes before us and all of us must reach out We must reach out… this is a time for us to be imag inative; this is a time for us to realise our aspirations or ambitions. You have in this Government a team that is ready to embrace you, re alising those aspirations,” the President Meanwhile,said.with re gards to issues on Housing and Water, a team from the said ministry will be visit ing the community to look into those matters. A request for a boat house was made by resi dents of Orealla, to which the President responded that he will ensure it will be delivered before year end, using labour and material from the community. A commitment was also made to have the road leading to the community health cen tre rehabilitated before year end. In addition, a request was made for a jetty. An assessment will be made to see whether it can be included in the next budget. Further, the need for a secondary school for both communities was high lighted.“We are going to try to see what we can do in next year’s budget to have a ‘We are with you’ residents tell President
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SAUDI oil giant Aramco has broken its own record with a US$48.4B (£39.8B) profit for the second quar ter of 2022. It is a 90 per cent yearon-year increase and marks the biggest earnings for the world’s largest energy ex porter since its public listing three years Russia’sago.invasion of Ukraine has seen oil and gas pricesRussiaskyrocket.isone of the world’s biggest exporters but Western nations have pledged to curb their depen dence on the country for their energy needs.
4 GUYANA CHRONICLE M onday, August 15, 2022 13/08/22 - 02, 03, 09, 13, 16 13/08/22- 2, 5,6, 11, 13, 14, 1713/08/22 - 5 7 8 13/08/22 - 1 6 1August 13, 2022 July 27, 2022 03 09 12 15 17 23 04 02 08 12 18 24 25 28LJ
According to Bloomberg, the Saudi oil giant’s figure represents “the biggest quar terly adjusted profit of any listedAscompany”.wellas the record profits, the state-owned Sau di energy giant announced it would keep its dividend unchanged at $18.8B for the thirdThequarter.company said it would keep expanding to satisfy“Whiledemand.global market volatility and economic uncertainty remain, events during the first half of this year support our view that ongoing investment in our industry is essential both to help ensure markets remain well supplied and to facilitate an orderly energy transition,” Aramco president and chief executive Amin Nasser said. “In fact, we expect oil demand to continue to grow for the rest of the decade, despite downward economic pressures on short-term glob al forecasts,” he added. Oil prices were already rising before the Ukraine war as economies started to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and demand out stripped supply. The world’s biggest oil producers, including Exx onMobil, Chevron and BP, have all posted huge earnings this year - leading to growing calls on governments to im pose a windfall tax amid an alarming rise in living costs. In June, US President Joe Biden said Exxon had made “more money than God this year”.Saudi Arabia is the larg est single producer in Opec, a group representing the world’s biggest oil producers. Last week Opec+ agreed to raise production slightly in an effort to help ease high oil prices. However, the latest production output increase is at a much slower pace than in recent months. The decision was a blow to leaders including Biden, who have called for pro duction to be ramped up. (BBC)
Saudi oil giant breaks profit record with US48.4B
There are growing calls to impose a windfall tax on oil giants’ earnings as living costs soar (GETTY IMAGES)
Activists were critical of the confinement ordered by authorities in May (GETTY IMAGES)
owners were told to call a special hotline, then find and detain the offending feline. Any breach would result in a fine. An owner whose animal injured or killed one of the protected birds had to pay up to €50,000 (£42,000). Authorities had been attempting to protect the local population of the crested lark, saying the species was endangered in the state of Baden-Württemberg, and widerTheyGermany.saidthere were just three breeding pairs left in WalldorfActivistsitself.criticised the restrictions, saying they would harm the cats’ welfare, while also stressing they support ed efforts to protect the larks. Many millions of birds die naturally each year, but there is no evidence that attacks from cats in gardens is causing populations to decline, according to Britain’s Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). It is not clear whether the Walldorf lockdown has benefitted the larks, but the authorities announced they would lift the restriction two weeks earlier than expected. Birds which hatched in the spring are now considered to be sufficiently developed and less vulnerable to attack.
CAT owners in one German town will be allowed to let their pets out for the first time in three months when the authorities lift a special lockdown. People in Walldorf, in the south-west, were ordered in May to keep their cats indoors to protect an endangered bird.Cats were only allowed to venture outside if they were kept on a leash no more than two metres (6ft) in length.But the animals will again be allowed to roam free from 00:01 local time on Monday. If a cat escaped while the lockdown was in force,
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The mayor of Walldorf said this was good news, but he and the local cat community may find their celebrations short-lived: the lockdown is expected to return next spring, and in subsequent years during the birds’ breeding (BBC)
Cats to be freed from special lockdown in German town
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Dear DEVELOPMENTEditor, inevi tably brings changes, new arrangements, new views and, hence, are full of con tradictions. More often than not the conflict is between different rights. Often too, certain improvements are required but not some of the features that accompany the im provements.The“legalities” must be taken into account as the base on and from which some reconciliation is sought. In the consideration of the “traditional/natural” rights of Amerindian vil lages, recall that at indepen dence when the British left, there were 65 Amerindian villages listed. It was towards the end of the 1980s that movement from coast to hinterland generated amounts of evi dent contradiction that re quired resolution. Dr Jagan and his PPP/C administra tion moved to demarcate and mark on the ground the original 65 villages, whilst opening the door to the proclamation of new Amerindian villages, now more than 150 are listed, and the door was opened too to extension of earlier villages. In the extension and proclamation of new villages, conflicting situa tions with existing mining and forestry rights were inevitable; and in the case of the Kaieteur National Park somewhat reversed, the Park was extended to the village boundary, whilst the village wanted to be expanded to the earlier KNP boundary. Most of the conflicting min ing and forestry situations were resolved generally by encouraging the miner/ logger to accept alternative areas but a few intractable knots remained and the par ties approached the courts as they were free to. Was it noticed in a re cent newspaper one arti cle denouncing the mining at Chinese Landing and another by some resident women villagers bemoaning no opportunities in that area to earn money? With all protections in place, a winwin solution is a possibility if mutual respect could be attained and retained. Pres ident Ali’s proclamation of, and urging the develop ment of a sense and reality of “ One Guyana”, within what many sense as “One World”, would be a good starting point. History is full of wrongs that could not practically be righted today. Mutual understand ing, respect and reasonable accommodation [are] what is called for and possible now. The case could be made that all Guyana was Amerindian, just as all the Americas were held by the Indigenous peoples. We must go forward. We can hustle forward under a banner of “One Guyana” a part of “One World”. Yours sincerely, Samuel A A Hinds Former Prime Minis ter and Former President India at 75
TODAY marks the 75th anniversary since India obtained her independence from Britain. At the time, India was among the least developed nations with one of the lowest GDP per capita, lowest litera cy and life expectancy rates and highest unemployment, poverty and infant mor tality rates and incidence of polio, and among the most de-industrialised large economies. Since then, a free India has pursued stren uous efforts to combat poverty, illiteracy, persistently high unemployment, negative growth of British rule, and the degrading health sector administered by the imperial ruler. In spite of notable problems, India has made significant progress and has shared her wealth and technology with developing countries, including Guyana. Britain governed India for two hundred years. During that period, the colonial power impoverished India, sucking the wealth of the colony for the benefit of the motherland. After decades of struggle by nationalist lead ers like Gandhi and Nehru, among others, demanding from colonial rule, India got her independence on 15th August 1947. After 1947, India has made great strides in differ ent fields like education, engineering, science and technology, agriculture, energy, manu facturing and industrialisation, employment creation and health, among others, all made possible largely through indigenous technol ogies and a policy of self-sufficiency. Britain inherited a wealthy India and left it an impoverished nation at the time of her departure. When Britain took over, India’s GDP was 24 per cent of global GDP and when Britain departed in 1947, Indian’s share of global GDP had sunk to three per cent. Since then, India has been rebuilding, accounting for nine per cent of global GDP now. Unlike many other territories that were granted independence by imperial powers, India has remained a secular democracy. It has earned the sobriquet of the world’s largest democra cy (1.4 billion) where people have the right to vote in secret ballot for the government of their choice and with the outcome respected. At independence, despite being a largely agricultural economy, India was deficient in food production. Starvation was rampant during colonial rule with millions dying from hunger as food production was sent to feed Britain. Right after independence, there were bouts of drought and famine with India heavily reliant upon imports of food, grains in particular, and the generosity of the West to feed a huge population. India made every effort to become self-reliant in food production. The country experienced the Green Revolution (improved varieties of seeds along with use of fertilisers and other chemical inputs) in the late 1960s and 1970s, making India self-sufficient in food with surplus to help other nations. Today, India is the largest producer of pulses and the second-largest producer of rice, wheat, and sugarcane globally. India is the largest producer of fresh fruits, milk, pulses and oil seeds, sunflower seeds and second largest producers of wheat, rice, sugarcane, potato, tea, cotton, cement, coal, etc. in the world. It has one of the largest rail-line with 64,000 KM, many times the length the British built. Per capita income in 1947 was less than US$40. Today, it exceeds US$2,000. Illit eracy, which was just 12 per cent in 1947 is almost 80 per cent today. Poverty has de clined substantially from 90 per cent in 1947 to less than 20 per cent today. At indepen dence, India’s foreign exchange was a mere $2B. It has grown to over $ 350B with India providing soft loans to developing countries, including Guyana. The Indian economy has grown almost 25 times in size since 1947. Today, it is the sixth largest economy and is on course to becoming the third largest within a decade. India has also made strident gains in health. At independence, India had one of the highest incidents of polio, accounting for two thirds of the world’s cases and had one of the lowest life expectancy among all nations. Since then, India has eradicated polio attaining “Polio-free certificate from the World Health Organization in 2014”. In 1947, India’s life expectancy was 32 years. Today it exceeds 70 years. At independence, agriculture accounted for 80 per cent of the economy. Today, it comprises only 14 per cent of GDP. Brit ain de-industrialised India. Manufacturing was hardly two per cent in 1947. Today it is 18 per cent. In 1947, India had no space programme or satellites. Today, India has one of the most advanced space and satellite programmes. India launches her own sat ellites and those of several other countries, including the US and France. In 2008, India set a world record of sending 10 satellites in orbit in a single mission through PSLV-C9. And a few years later, it launched 108 sat ellites in one mission. India also partakes in UN peacekeeping missions. When Britain governed India, only a few Indians had access to education and it was geared towards benefitting Britain and British businesses in India. Since then, ed ucation has become a right and compulsory elementary education for every child. After independence, India has also strengthened the defence of the nation. In dia is a nuclear power and has an advanced missile system with missiles that can travel 10,000 KM with the Brahmos Missile among the fastest in the world. India has the second largest military force and the largest volun tary army in the world to defend the nation. Guyana has benefitted enormously from India’s 75 years of progress and develop ment in the billions of dollars. Guyana has availed itself of various training programmes for government officers and the private sector as well as media operatives. Dozens of scholarships are taken up annually by Guyanese students for higher education in India. Hundreds enroll in online programmes offered through the GOAL. And dozens are studying at Indian universities on a self-financing basis. Cultural exchange and co-operation take place on a continual basis ever since Guyana became independent. The Swami Vivekanand Centre of ICCR, in Georgetown, has emerged as an important venue for promotion of cultural activities in Guyana. The centre holds classes in disci plines of Hindustani music, Hindi language, and yoga. The Government of India has recognised the contributions of prominent Guyanese, including Bharrat Jagdeo, Yesu Persaud, Rohan Kanhai, Shridath Ramphal, Dr. Vindya Persaud (Dharmic Sabha) and Ashook Ramsaran, among others. And Guy anese of Indian origin are entitled to status as Overseas Indian Citizens that exempts them from the requirement of a visa to travel to India and benefits that come with citizenship such as studying at Indian universities (virtu ally for free), health care, and ownership of properties, among others. India deserves commendation for her significant achievements at 75 and for her generosity of financial assistance, develop mental aid, cultural exchange and sharing of soft power to nations around the world, including Guyana.
Chinese Landing: a problem of resolving and reconciling conflicts which emerge as we develop
The social costs must be weighed against the opportunity costs
Photo credit: GETTY IMAGES rate hiked to 69.5 per cent as inflation hits 20-year high
Dear Editor, THE 2006 Amerindian Act makes provision from Sec tions 48 to 53 for dealing with mining in the villages and provides safeguards for the villagers if they allow mining activities within the boundar ies of their titled villages. Section 48 establishes the procedures any individual or corporate body wanting to mine in the titled villages must follow while Section 49 sets out terms and conditions that could be included in any agree ment between the village coun cil and the prospective miner Section 50 allows the vil lage to refuse its consent in respect of large-scale mining while allowing the minister responsible for mining to act in the public interest; Section 51 deals with ben efits-sharing while Section 52 gives recognition to the traditional mining privileges of Amerindians;Section53 deals with some of the obligations of the Guy ana Geology & Mines Com mission (GGMC) in providing additional safeguards for the villages where mining is taking placePart XIV of the Mining Act 1989 sets out special pro visions to treat with mining in the Amerindian Villages and Communities. These include, inter alia, the exclusion of areas from mining if these areas are officially earmarked for Village Title, Extensions…. Thus, implicit in this provision is the requirement that GGMC be in formed of a clear intent on the part of the village to apply for a Grant of Title or an extension of land.GGMC, as a precautionary measure, does enforce a buffer zone of one mile around the periphery of Amerindian Titled lands. In addition, the Mining Act specifies that miners cannot exercise any right over or interfere with farm ing operations. This reduces the probability of mining concessions being granted in areas traditionally occupied by Amerindians but outside of the titled village.
Argentina
THE DuringAGREEMENTMININGmytenure as ad viser to the Minister of Am erindian Affairs, the Hon. Pauline Sukhai M.P., we did cause to be prepared a mining template to guide the Amerindian Village Councils in preparing a Mining Agree ment with an investor. This template covers, inter alia, issues raised and concerns expressed over time by village toshaos, village councillors, the Board of Directors of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), the En vironmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Ministry of Am erindian Affairs and consensus on procedural issues i.e. how these must be addressed. In this regard also, reference was made to several relevant sec tions of the 2006 Amerindian Act, the1989 Mining Act, the 1996 Environmental Protection Act and the obligations of the contracting parties under these Agreements.Mostof the mining activ ities on village lands are of a small and medium scale and here, the Village Council has powers of veto under the 2006 Amerindian Act. Prior to the 2006 Amerin dian Act, there was no legal requirement for consultation with the villages. Thereafter, persons wishing to mine in the Amerindian titled villages were required to consult with the village and get the approval of two-thirds of the residents present at the village general meeting at which the mining application was considered. Thus no new miner could mine in a titled village without the expressed permission of the village.Thoseminers who had al ready entered into agreements prior to the Act were allowed to complete the unexpired period of the agreement and expected to enter into a new agreement with the village or GGMC could not issue them with a MiningExceptPermit.fora small number of cases, miners were able to effect agreements with Village Councils. The Ministry of Amerindian Affairs helped in some cases by providing advice to the Council and seeking GGMC’s intervention where considered necessary. For the first time, Village Councils could include in their agreements provisions to cover employment of persons from the village; purchases of food from the villages, provision of social services by the miner/ investor, a minimum tribute to be paid by the miner, etc. The implementation of the 2006 Amerindian Act while providing more benefits to the villagers has not been without several challenges: A number of miners who were established before the 2006 Amerindian Act have successfully challenged the decisions of GGMC before the court. They include: (1) Winston Rambarran against GGMC and the Mi cobie Village Council before Justice Roxanne George in a decision dated 19/02/2009 ii) Lalta Narine against GGMC and the Isseneru Vil lage Council of Region Seven before Justice Bovell Drakes in a decision dated August 18th,iii)2008However, it should be noted in the case of Devroy Thomas and the Arau Vil lage Council versus the At torney-General that the Court ruled that “the applicants Devroy Thomas and the Arau Village Council were entitled to an environment that is not harmful to their well-being”. The respondents, GGMC and GoG “ have a duty to make reasonable efforts to ensure that such mining activities though outside the titled land do not af fect interim rights and the value to the land of the applicants”. There have also been is sues of the Village Council not wanting to renew agree ments because of allegations of breach of faith by the Miner viz: Wayne Vieira and the Chi nese Landing Village Council of Region One. Issues of pollution of river and creek water used by villag ers viz, in the Kariako and oth er villages of the Barama River of Region One and in the Arau Village continually engaged the attention of the Minister of Amerindian Affairs and the MOAA, the GGMC, miners working with the affected vil lages to address these concerns. Recall that I did on several occasion head a team of staff of the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs and we did engage the Chinese Landing Village Council and residents; the Isseneru Village Council and residents on several occasions in a determined effort to ad dress concerns of the respective Councils and residents. Recall the training of per sons identified by several of the titled villages to serve as Com munity Mines Rangers for their villages: a commendable effort on the part of the GGMC as these rangers were tasked with assisting in monitoring mining activities in their respective villages.Yes, there are social and economic issues associated with mining activities across Guyana. And while we must address these issues /con cerns, the social costs must be weighed against the opportu nity costs. In this regard, the Minis try of Amerindian Affairs/the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission/the Environ mental Protection Agency/the Amerindian Village Councils/ the Miners/ residents of the villages themselves all have an important role to play. Yours sincerely, Norman Whittaker former Adviser, Minis try of Amerindian Affairs former Minister of Local Government & DevelopmentRegional
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The country’s inflation rate is forecast to top 90 per cent by the end of the year. Controlling soaring prices, tackling high debt levels and reining in gov ernment spending in South America’s second largest economy are at the top of the agenda for Argentina’s latest economy minister, SergioMassa,Massa.who is the third person to hold the post since early last month, aims to calm inflation using a more conventional approach than his Alongpredecessors.withraising in terest rates, he has pledged to not call on the central bank to print more money this year to fund govern mentInspending.July,Martín Guzmán resigned as finance minis ter after being in the role for more than two and a half years. His successor Silvina Batakis lasted just a month in the post. Earlier this year, Ar gentina avoided defaulting on a $44bn International Monetary Fund loan. However, the impact of measures the govern ment has to implement to meet the conditions of the deal is a major cause of concern for many in the country. In recent weeks, pro testors have taken to the streets of the capital Bue nos Aires to demonstrate against President Alber to Fernández’ handling of the economy. (BBC)
ARGENTINA’S central bank has raised its main rate of interest to 69.5 per cent as it tries to contain soaring inflation. The bank put up its 28day benchmark rate by 9.5 per cent percentage points, its second hike in as many weeks.Itcomes as new fig ures showed inflation in the country had hit a 20-year high of over 70 per cent. The numbers dashed hopes that price rises had peaked after the latest US data showed that inflation had“Theeased.rise in the policy rate will help reduce infla tion expectations for the remainder of the year,” the bank said in a statement. The move came after the bank raised the rate by eight percentage points two weeks ago and marks its eighth hike this year.
the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) is aligning expan sion with the country’s de velopment and additional works are being undertak en at the airport. “We have just opened bids for a new admin building that will be across the road from the airport. What we are seeking to do is move all the admin istrative offices from the airport into a new building so those spaces could be used for other commercial activities.”Thoseworks, he said, will see the airport being expanded to create greater capacity for transit pas sengers.“During the in-transit period to get connecting flight they [passengers] must be able to get a good restaurant, a nice hot meal; they must be able to get facilities; their children must get a play area. So, we are putting in all those otherHeamenities.”addedthat a new building will also be erect ed to accommodate airline offices. “We are putting in a new building to accommo date offices for the airlines
Government in discussion with airlines for direct flights to Canada
THE Government of Guyana is engaging a number of airlines to provide direct flights from Guyana to Canada, Public Works Minister, Juan Edghill said. In February of this year, President, Dr. Ir faan Ali; Tourism, Com merce and Industry Min ister, Oneidge Walrond and Minister Edghill had engaged representatives from Air Canada, one of the largest airline provid ers in the country. “We are talking with many airlines; Air Canada just happens to be one. President Ali has been clear to us that we need to do everything to ensure that we have direct flights to Guyana- Canada, and that is something we are pursuing whether it comes out as Air Canada, West Jet or maybe a local carrier that somebody develops or somebody else comes into the market. We are talking, we are negotiating, we are engaging,” Edghill told a recent media conference. Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest air line of Canada by fleet size and passengers. The airline provides scheduled and charter air transport for passengers and cargo to 207 destinations world wide.Edghill noted that an aviation team from the Public Works Ministry is scheduled to attend the upcoming routes confer ence in Las Vegas, US, where discussions will be held with other airline service providers desirous of entering the Guyanese market.Edghill said that, since the government assumed office in 2020, four new airline carriers entered the Guyanese market, with British Airways being the most recent to join, with scheduled flights set to commence as early as MarchMeanwhile,2023.
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Public Works Minister, Juan Edghill and bonds for conces sions. With more airlines you have to have office space for the airlines to operate and you also have to put in facilities for the concession.” Those works, he said, are expected to be com pleted within the next 18 months.
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IN a bid to mitigate the pe rennial build-up of traffic on the East Bank corridor, the government has teamed up with a local private firm to erect a few high defini tion (HD) light-emitting diode (LED) screens at strategic points along the way. The devices, four in all, were erected in the vicinity of the overhead walkways at Houston and Diamond, on the East Bank Demerara, and the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB), and officially commissioned on Saturday. According to former journalist, Leonard Gildarie, Managing Director of Pixels Guyana Inc., the company with which the Ministry of Public Works has agreed a Memorandum of Under standing (MOU), the idea is to allow persons to see, in real-time, what the traffic situation is like before they leave home, either on their cell-phones or other electron ic devices.Another consideration for investing in the “just under G$100M” initiative, Gildarie said, is not only to add to the aesthetics of a fast developing Guyana, but to also provide the public with important information such as the Demerara Har bour Bridge updates, Pub lic Service Announcements (PSAs), and advertisements. And while the screens, which measure 18’ X 10’ and have the capacity to stream 4k quality data, did not come equipped to do so live, that was soon remedied by a team put together by Pixel just days before the commissioning, with the aid of eight cameras, for now, and 50 more before the end of theSpeakingyear. at the com missioning on Saturday, Minister within the Min istry of Public Works De odat Indar lauded the ini tiative as being the kind of “entrepreneurial spirit that can be replicated in Guyana”, saying that if persons can see the traffic situation from the privacy of their phones, or up on the screens, they would be in a better position to deal with it Seizingaccordingly.theopportunity to commend the young busi nessman for making such a wise investment, Minister Indar told Gildarie that this is just the beginning, as plans are afoot to develop more highways countrywide, so he will be in business for a very long time. Also joining the min ister in commending the initiative was Ryan Alexan der, Vice-Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), saying that the or ganisation is particularly delighted to know that it is being undertaken by a Guyanese at a time when the accent is on local con tent. in bid to ease traffic congestion along East Bank corridor
Camera-enabled LED screens deployed at Houston, Diamond and DHB
One of the four newly commissioned LED screens on the overhead walkway at Houston
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com A MESSAGE FROM THE CHILDCARE AND PROTECTION AGENCY, MINISTRY OF HUMAN SERVICES AND SOCIAL SECURITY If your child is 0 – 5, read this
10 GUYANA CHRONICLE M onday, August 15, 2022
IF children can’t learn the way you teach, teach them the way they learn. That is a famous quote, but right now, some peo ple haven’t got the time or inclination to teach their children anything. They have little regard for whether their child learns successfully or falls by the wayside. Their concern for their off spring’s future is so small that they fail to support their child academically from a young age. From birth, babies have an inherent desire to attach themselves to an adult or caregiver, seeking comfort and safety (and food). As they grow, it is for adults to expose babies, toddlers and children to different things from which they can learn and to consider their child’s social, emotional, intellec tual, spiritual and physical development.Weneedto put things in place for children against the backdrop of whatever else we have happening in our lives – we must prior itise their welfare. Not so we can boast and swell our heads as we show off their achievements and compare them to their less-abled peers. No, we nurture chil dren to give them the best chance in life, to help them manage their lives respon sibly and moderately. So they develop coping mech anisms, problem-solving skills and critical thinking instead of negative traits such as emotional out bursts, alcoholism, lying, cheating, cussing people and deceiving others. Did you know the most critical years for child de velopment are from birth to three? And by that age, 80 per cent of a child’s brain has already developed. What goes into that brain during those crucial three years and how it is allowed to flourish is the job of par ents, family members and day care staff. Attachment to parents and caregivers for little ones (0 -5) is one of the attributes that help children learn well and growDependinghealthy. on the rela tionship between child and adult, there are different attachments, but a ‘secure attachment’ is the best to have with a child. A secure attachment develops when a child has a good rela tionship with his primary carer(s). When they are separated the child will still learn, play and interact confidently with others, (adults and children) until his primary carer returns. People get vexed when a child separated from his parent or carer, cries. The longer the child cries, the more intolerant people be have. They fail to see the child’s distress; he is inse cure. His tears are a testa ment to how he feels with out his ‘attached’ person. Attachments are important to small children; some infants will not play with others unless they know their ‘attached’ person will be watching and waiting in the wings (for them) and in case of a Likewise,mishap.when two people have a child, the baby is attached to both parents. Although the child will grow and build rela tionships with siblings, grannies, uncles and aunts, no bond will be as strong as the one with parents. If one or both parents go away , it can significantly impact the child’s state of mind leading to physical illness or an adverse change in behaviour that can have a life-long effect. Children are not toys for people to play with as they choose. They are small people with feelings, trying to navigate the world with the support and en couragement of adults. The pain of neglect and abandonment are real and deep-rooted for chil dren, and even though they cannot talk or describe the feeling, children know when they are safe and comfortable, and when they have suffered a loss. Do not underestimate the awareness of children. If parents sing to their baby at two months and read a book to the baby at three months, the infant will get used to these de lights. He will learn from the tone of voice used in the story, from seeing the pictures and facial expres sions to hearing the words. Once the parent/carer con sistently shares and spends time with the baby, the child will become recep tive.Some still think that sharing stories and rhymes with babies is silly. They believe babies are too young to understand such things; when, in fact, they are the ones who do not understand. They fail to grasp the concept that chil dren start learning from day one, even though they cannot talk or even coo –the brain is already at work gaining and processing information.Bythetime children are three years old, and long before they enter pri mary school, their parents or family member should teach them primary educa tion, such as counting from one to ten at least; and the alphabet (without singing the alphabet song). They should know their colours; recognise letters and num bers, and have a concen tration span that enables them to sit and listen to a story or sit quietly looking at aSadly,book. some children reach secondary school age and can barely write a sentence. They’ve fallen through the net and missed out on education. Although it is never too late to learn how to read and write, it takes a patient person to teach an older child (or an adult) basic educational skills; a foundation that should be built in infancy. Some parents have a fantastic relationship with their children. They con stantly challenge and test them by asking questions. They teach them knowl edge and share relevant in formation; they encourage them by ensuring they have the right clothes, equip ment and nourishment to attend school. Along with providing love, affection and secu rity, they have put mea sures in place for their child to succeed. If you are concerned about the welfare of a child, call the CPA hotline on 227 0979 or write to us at childcaregy@gmail
When we think about indigenous people in Guyana our minds immediately go to the tribes which make up our Amerindian people, living in our country’s hinterland. However, there are an estimated 476 million indig enous peoples living in 90 countries across the world. They speak the majority of the world’s estimated 7,000 languages and though they are less than five per cent of the global population, they are 15 per cent of the poorest. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), “Indigenous peoples are in heritors and practitioners of unique cultures and ways of relating to people and the environment”. The United Nations also recognises that this group has been marginalised over the centuries, despite the signif icant traditional knowledge base they possess, which has allowed them to develop modes of survival and “ideas about meanings, purposes and values”.
Despite this undeniable link to nature and their in trinsic understanding of how to preserve and protect the world’s biodiversity, so crit ical in this time of climate change, the way of life of indigenous peoples is under threat. The World Bank reports that indigenous peoples have a life expectancy up to 20 years lower than non-indige nous people worldwide, lack formal recognition over land and territories, often the last to receive public investments and “face multiple barriers to participate fully in the formal economy”. Much of this imbalance has been addressed in Guy ana, where our indigenous people enjoy greater par ticipation in the political, economic and social life of the country, with improved infrastructure and education and sweeping land rights. The role of indigenous women is seen as crucial in all of this as breadwinners, knowledge keepers, caretak ers, leaders and human rights defenders. They are consid ered to be the backbone of indigenous peoples’ com munities, playing a pivotal role in the preservation and transmission of traditional knowledge. Yet, according to the UN indigenous women suffer high levels of poverty; low levels of education; lim itations in access to basic sanitation, credit and employ ment and domestic and sexu al violence, among other ills.
The world’s Indigenous Peoples and the role of women
By Vanessa Cort WOMEN have long been acknowledged as the pri mary caretakers of children and the elderly in every society. They are the nur turers, the fundamental educators and the ‘glue’ that keeps the family to gether. We have a saying in this country that when a mother dies or leaves ‘de family dun’. The Karam group, based in India, says, “Women are the epitome of strength, love, sacrifice and courage.” And last Tuesday the world cel ebrated International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peo ples 2022 under the theme, “The Role of Indigenous Women in the Preservation and Transmission of Tradi tional Knowledge.”
It is against this back drop that the UN has cho sen to turn the spotlight on indigenous women, disclos ing that the gap between indigenous people who have access to employment and education is even wid er for indigenous women and calling on us all to “reclaim the role of these heroines”.
It has been noted that in
And UNESCO defines ‘traditional knowledge’ as “a cumulative body of knowl edge, know- how, practices and representations main tained and developed by peo ples with extended histories of interaction with the natural environment.”
GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, August 15, 2022 11
digenous women have made small but significant progress in decision-making affecting their communities and in na tional affairs and have stood on the frontlines defending the planet’s biodiversity. But the UN points out that, “The reality, howev er, remains that indigenous women are widely under-rep resented, disproportionately negatively affected by deci sions made on their behalf, and are too frequently the victims of multiple expres sions of discrimination and violence”. This is certain ly borne out by the Indian Law Organisation in the US which observes that violence against indigenous women has reached “unprecedented levels” and notes that “the number of missing and mur dered American Indian and Alaska Native women and the lack of a diligent and adequate federal response are extremely alarming to indig enous women, tribal govern ments and communities.”
Third, citing Professor Hunte: “the Fi nancial Analyst make the prediction that, ‘The estimated gross revenue is approxi mately US$177.3B (this is: 2,638 million barrels times $67.22 per barrel); the total Government’s Take is an estimated US$49B or 28 per cent while the Oil Companies’ Take is an estimated US$42B or 24 per cent.” Adding together the revenue shares of the Government (US$49B) and EEP GL (US$42B), this total of US$91B falls short of the total revenue of US$177.3B by US$86.3B (48.7 per cent). In the circum stances, the Financial Analyst must explain who this unknown party is who is receiving the largest share of the revenue (48.7 per cent) when in fact the only two known enti ties in this arrangement are the Government and EEPGL. I implore the Financial Analyst to shine some sunlight on this hidden entity.” Again, I am flabbergasted at the above question from Professor Hunte on who is getting the 48.7 per cent of revenue. Nev ertheless, for Professor Hunte’s benefit the 48 per cent of revenue represents the cost recovery of the capital expenditure and the operating expenses. This is the most elementary fundamental in finance where from revenue, cost of sales is deducted and totalWhereexpenses.Professor Hunte went on to argue that the oil companies receive 72 per cent of the revenue by including the capital recovery costs and operating ex penses (which is the 48.7 per cent), this is an incorrect and misleading interpretation. Part of the operating expenses are to pay for employees’ wages and salaries, suppliers for goods and services, etc., cannot be monies going to the oil compa nies. This is another elementary concept in business, economics, and finance. Of course, there is always the issue of transfer pricing but this is a different matter and an issue for the audit of cost oil. More importantly to note, the capital injected into these projects are sourced from the oil companies and not the Gov ernment of Guyana. In other words, the oil companies invested their own capital. Speaking to the project life-cycle – in the article published I only spoke about the productive life of the projects based on their estimated reserves and not the full life cycle. For clarity, therefore, the project lifecycle includes the exploration stage which can last for about 5-10 years or even 15 years, the development stage once oil is found in commercial quantities, this is another five years and then the pro ductive life another 10 years per project. In total, the total lifecycle is around 30 years or more. (This was explained in my full report which Professor Hunte was not privyFourth,to). citing Professor Hunte: “It is reported in an article in Kaieteur News August 7, 2022, written by Kiana Wilburg, that Financial Analyst Joel Bhagwandin objected to the Government share of 59 per cent of revenue made by Schreiner Parker, Rystad Energy’s Senior VicePresident. The Financial Analyst contends that this share is overstated due to the fact, ‘… that taxes are included as part of what the Government already gets from profit oil. He said this occurs based on the structure of the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA).’ Editor, may I remind the Financial Analyst that EEPGL does not have to pay income taxes on its profit share and the Government has to provide a receipt that can be used for tax deduction purposes. Undoubtedly, issuing a Govern ment receipt for money not collected is fraud and corruption. The implication of this situation is that Government would be giving-up its sovereignty to a private company, and therefore Guyana would be a laughingstock for all time.”
iv) The gross revenue to be generated over the productive life of the four proj ects combined using an average price of US$60 per barrel is an estimated US$177 billion. Hence, using the higher end cost per well, the total exploration cost for the dry wells so far is an estimated US$300 million which represents 0.17 per cent of the total revenue that will be generated from four out of thirty commercially via ble wells. Therefore, the impact of the dry wells on the total development relative to all of the commercially viable discoveries so far could be far less than the 0.17 per cent.v) It is worthwhile to note as well that the lack of ring fencing is actually a good thing for Guyana as it incentivises the industry to attract more investment which is crucial for Guyana. Other countries with more stringent fiscal terms are now look ing to relax their fiscal regime to be able to compete and attract investments in the sector. The aim in this regard is to develop and extract the resource as quickly as pos sible and as much as possible before the global industry winds down to the extent of no longer being commercially viable. This is due to the global energy transition agenda. (In a separate and forthcoming article, this thematic area will be dealt with in moreSecond,depth).Professor Hunte argued that no business will be financially viable, if it cannot cover all its costs. Referencing Articles 11.2, 11.3, 12 and 13 in the PSA, Professor Hunte went on to argue that: “This condition implies that EPGL will most likely be ramping up exploration, development, and extraction, since they have a guaranteed soft landing in place that is fully covered by current revenues. It is therefore useless to write 14.5 per cent or any other percentage in the contract, given this extravagant gift.” Admittedly, I don’t quite understand what Professor Hunte meant here other than to say he contradicted himself where, on one hand, he agrees that EEPGL needs to recover all its cost in order for its invest ment to be viable and on the other hand he is describing the 25 per cent profit share of which EEPGL, and its partners gets 50 per cent and the Government gets 50 per cent as an extravagant gift.
SPHEREX Analytics responds to Professor Hunte who contradicted himself in his counter-arguments
By Joel FinancialBhagwandin,Analyst
i) To date there are just about three dry wells out of a total of thirty-three wells in the Stabroek block.
ii) The 30 commercially viable wells amount to the estimated 11 billion barrels of crude oil in the Stabroek Block. To date, approval has been granted for the development of four projects as previously mentioned. These four projects account for an estimated 2.64 billion barrels of recoverable crude oil which represents 24 per cent of the total discovery in the entire block so far.
With respect to Professor Hunte’s fourth argument above, I can’t blame the journalist for paraphrasing what I said and in so doing drive home the main point of emphasis. At the forum, I offered a technical explanation which I suspect the journalist, who is not trained in finance, business, or economics, did not fully un derstand the technicality other than to em phasise the point that Government’s take cannot be 59 per cent of Rystad included the taxes. Someone of Professor Hunte’s caliber though should have consulted the actual recording where he would have heard for himself my contentions verbatim and not a paraphrased version that ignored the technicalities of my explanation. Again, for Professor Hunte’s benefit, I argued that the tax is a nominal tax and therefore cannot be included in the rev enue stream for the Government’s Take. Finally, with respect to Professor Hunte’s final point in his letter, I al ready addressed that aspect in my re sponse to his first point on ring fencing above.
iii) The estimated capital expenditure (CAPEX) for the four projects combined is US$29.3 billion. Importantly to note is that the CAPEX includes the exploration costs and development costs. This means that the cost for the dry wells which ranges between US$60 million per well on the lower end and US$ 100 million on the higher end are included in the CAPEX.
I AM elated to offer greater clarification and respond to some of the questions posed by Professor Kenrick Hunte in his letter published in Kaieteur News edition of August 10th, 2022. Readers would recall that Professor Hunte and the undersigned have recently been engaged in a public debate on the fiscal terms of the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA). To this end, I recently published a comprehensive forecast which I have conducted based on the project eco nomics of the four approved developments to date, namely: Liza 1, Liza 2, Payara andUnfortunately,Yellowtail. Professor Hunte was not privy to the full report as only parts of it were published. As such I would like to invite Professor Hunte to visit my Linke dIn page to access the full report here: https://www.linkedin.com/ systematicyourhouses.sofullandurn:li:activity:6958434256062693376/feed/update/foreasierreferenceIhaveattachedthereporttotheemailsenttothemediathathecanaccesssamefromthemediaNotwithstanding,forthebenefitofreaders,Iampleasedtoprovidearesponsetothe
specific issues raised by Professor Hunte in his August 10th letter, which he contended are issues I did not consider. First, Professor Hunte argued that I did not consider ring fencing in the modelled forecast. This is not true. I am well aware that there is lack of ring-fencing provision in the current PSA framework; however, the following should be noted:
Joel Bhagwandin, Financial Analyst
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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, August 15, 2022 13
President, Dr Irfaan Ali addressing the gathering (Office of the President photo)
President, Dr Irfaan Ali; Prime Minister, Mark Phillips; Minister in the Office of the President with Respon sibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh and Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir, among others at the funeral service for the late Bibi Shadick on Sunday (Office of the President photo)
SCORES turned out on Sunday to say a final goodbye to Bibi Shadick, a former Commissioner at the Guyana Elections Commission ( GECOM), who passed away on Sat urday. Shadick was also a for mer teacher, attorney, Min ister of Human Services and Social Security and Pro Chancellor at the University of Guyana.President, Dr Irfaan Ali, speaking at the funeral ser vice held at her East Street, Georgetown residence, said Shadick gave her time and energy for the upliftment of all Guyanese.Guyanahas lost a great asset, he said. The President reminisced on the times Shadick would educate him about the members of her family and would quiz him month later to see if he took her Shadickseriously.was an excep tional humanitarian, he also contended.“Ifshe went to a com munity and saw a child in need, rest assured she would reach back out to the child by the end of the week,” he Attorney-Generalrelated.
and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall said that Shadick had a long life of “good karma” and sound achievements.Shadickwas born on October 28, 1945 in Wa terloo Village, Leguan, Re gionSheThree.was born in a fam ily that had no attachment to success of any type but Shadick elevated herself to greatSheheights.gained a scholar ship from Waterloo Prima ry School to study at The Bishops’ High School in the 1950s and never looked backNandlallsince. described her as a fiercely independent woman, who did not see male support as necessary. A formally trained teacher, she taught thousands, in cluding at the Cyril Potter’s College of Education. Her students today are scattered across the globe. When she retired at age 55, she started law studies at the University of Guy ana.According to Nandlall, while he was studying law, they all lived in the same house and Shadick man aged their affairs as they were young and unexposed and never lived away from theirSpeakerparents.of the National Assembly, Manzoor Na dir, shared that he knew Shadick for over 50 years and recalled that, in 2001, there was a story raging at the Thattime. concerned the age of consent, which was 12, and she had wanted it to be 18. It was eventually changed to 16 years. Home Affairs Minister, Robeson Benn, who also spoke, related a message he received from former head of Elections Commission of India, Nasim Zaidi. Zaidi said it was with a heavy heart that he re ceived the news of Shad ick’s death. He related that he had many memorable interactions with her in Georgetown, in 2020. Minister Benn reflected on watching her perfor mance in some of the com mission meetings and said that she was an effective member of the commis sion.GECOM was also sad dened by her death.
“This is extremely shocking since she actively participated as usual at the meetings of the commis sion as recent as Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week (last week),” the commission said in a release.Asa commissioner at GECOM, Shadick’s efforts were consistently focused on the efficient management of registration and election projects as constitutionally mandated, enacted in the legislation as well as inter national best practices. “Her principled po sition was to ensure that there was compliance with fiscal and administrative procedures,” the com mission said, adding that “Commissioner Shadick’s tenacity of purpose was an ever-present feature during deliberations at the level of the commis sion on matters of impor tance. Her contributions were always meaningful.”
Shadick remembered as tower of strength, agent of change
GTT supports Shark Tank competition with business connectivity solutions
14 GUYANA CHRONICLE M onday, August 15, 2022
GTT recently solidified its support for the Amer ican Chamber of Com merce’s (AmCham) Shark Tank Competition with the provision of special busi ness connectivity solutions valued at a total of over US$7,000 for the top three winners.
The winner of the Shark Tank competition, the re lease said will be awarded one year of free subscription to several GTT services, including GTT’s conneX 600 plan – GTT’s superfast business Internet connectiv ity that provides download speeds of 600 Mbps and 6000 voice minutes monthly. It also allows for calls to the USA and Canada. The release noted that, additionally, the winner will walk away with a smart phone, a corporate mobile plan and GTT’s 3CX Host ed PBX service. The PBX service is a cloud-based Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) solution that allows calls through an Internet con nection instead of a regular phoneTheline.second and third place winners will also ben efit from the conneX 600 plan. First Vice- President of AmCham, Iman Cummings, underscored the organisa tion’s appreciation to GTT. “We are grateful for GTT’ s continuous sup port and take pride in the fact that our organisations continue to collaborate in ways that strengthen both of our missions, builds ca pacity in our communities, and provides greater op portunities for Guyanese,” the release quoted him as saying. The release noted that GTT continues to aggres sively improve its fibre tech nology to ensure faster Inter net speeds and easy access to data to enhance connectivity services. The company is cur rently conducting a mas sive campaign to increase access to fibre Internet across the country allowing for 65 per cent of its copper base to have access to fibre by December 2022.
Eshwar Thakurdin, who is GTT’s representative on AmCham’s Board, made this commitment to AmCham’s Business Development Officer, Sarah Shaffie
He added that GTT will continue to demonstrate its commitment to the develop ment of small- and mediumsized businesses and that the company strongly supports innovation entrepreneurship, the release said. “As the most compre hensive connectivity service provider in the country, GTT will be playing a major role in ensuring that it provides the necessary support for the growth of the private sector.”
According to a release, Chief Operations Officer for Home Solutions and Fixed Networks, Eshwar Thakurdin, who is GTT’s representative on AmCham’s Board, made this commit ment to AmCham’s Business Development Officer, Sarah Shaffie, even as the company partnered with AmCham to host an engagement with Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Vindya Persaud, for members of the private“We’resector.confident that Shark Tank will produce innovative entrepreneurs that will birth revolutionary products and services and we have ensured that we equip them with the best business solutions Guyana has to offer, in order for them to thrive,” Thakurdin said. He further stated that this support “is in keeping with the company’s promises to innovate for all in our country, reliably connect our customers and strengthen the community.”
Water restored to Central Georgetown
Sand filling following the installation of a line on Merriman’s Mall
GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, August 15, 2022 15
Replacement of Church Street transmission mains along Merriman’s Mall
GUYANA Water Incor porated (GWI) has apol ogised to the citizens of Central Georgetown for the prolonged disruption of water service experienced on Saturday into Sunday morning. According to a release, the disruption was due to a major breakage on a 20-inch transmission main on Church Street, within the vicinity of the Indian High Commission. “It should be noted that our technicians toiled throughout the night on Sat urday to effect repairs under difficult circumstances. Wa ter supply to the City was turned on at approximate ly 09:30 hours on Sunday morning. However, due to the length of time it was off, communities received water through their taps at vari ous times. GWI thanks all customers for their patience and understanding during the execution of works,” the releaseGWIsaid.is undertaking the installation of pipelines along Merriman’s Mall to upgrade the aged Georgetown trans mission network, particularly those along Church Street. Many of the transmission mains within the Georgetown pipe distribution network are approximately 100 years old and are prone to breakages, particularly under the pres sure of heavy-duty vehicles. “As such, it is a contin uation of works undertak en at Newtown, Kitty and Cemetery Road to replace and upgrade the old pipe in frastructure in the city. These upgrade works would not only improve the integrity of the pipelines, but would also improve the level of service and quality of water customers receive, as well as minimise disruptions. This is phase one of the project and the transmission lines will run from Shelterbelt to East Street. The duration of the project is six months,” the releaseOversaid.the past two years, GWI has expended close to $1B on the Georgetown In frastructure Renewal Project, which includes upgrades to transmission mains at Vliss engen Road, Cemetery Road and now Church Street. Another $200M in Gov ernment’s supplementary budget is slated for projected works from Church Street to High Street, along Avenue of the Republic and from Lama ha Street to Pegasus Hotel. GWI is committed to improving its service to customers countrywide through a number of ongo ing upgrade projects, the release said. after major disruption
Repairs to breakage at Church Street on Sunday morning
The uneven distribu tion of natural resourc es across countries forms another key determinant of comparative advantage in food and agricultural trade. For example, wa ter-stressed countries rely on importing water-in tensive foods to comple ment domestic production and ensure food security. Countries with abundant land or water can export food and agricultural prod ucts that use these factors more intensively and cap ture large shares of global trade.The productivity gap in agriculture is enormous. The richest 10 per cent of all countries produce 70 times as much agricultural value-added per worker as the 10 per cent poorest countries.Hightrade costs can inhibit the exchange of goods and prevent coun tries from reaching their production potential. Trade costs are deter mined by trade policies, transport costs, costs re lated to insurance, export and import procedures and time delays at the borders. In low-income coun tries, trade costs are esti mated to add up to 400 per cent to a product’s price. Such high costs inhibit trade integration and make it difficult for people to move out of poverty. Trade agreements and co-operation at mul tilateral and regional lev el can reduce trade costs, boost trade and promote economic years.putnetworksregionalresilientcountriesevolving.turalglobalAsCONSTANTLYgrowth.EVOLVINGwehaveseen,foodandagricultradeisconstantlyButhowcanbecomemoretoglobalandshocks?Tradehavebeentothetestinrecent
Food and agriculture trade
TRADE plays a vital role in our everyday lives. It connects food systems and people and provides consumers with sufficient, diverse and nutritious food. It also generates income and employment for farm ers, workers and traders around the world. During the pandemic, international trade con tinued to link food deficit areas to surplus regions, contributing to food secu rity and nutrition. But the war in Ukraine is threaten ing multilateral coopera tion and risks fragmenting the global food market. How can trade policies in food and agriculture address today’s challenges and how can they contrib ute to long-term sustain able development for all? Between the first years of the new millennium and 2008, the global trade of goods and services be came more important in the world economy and during this time, trade in creased rapidly. However, since the financial crisis in 2008, this globalisation process has been stagnant. Food and agricultural trade expanded rapidly in the 2000s, with more countries trading with each other and greater participation of low- and middle-income countries. Countries expanded their participation in glob al food and agricultural trade and the landscape and geography of trade has changed.Between 1995 and 2019, the structure of the global network of food and agricultural trade be came more decentralised. In 1995, a few large trad ing hubs dominated the trade network. Over time, more hubs emerged and the dominance of the in dividual hubs
COST OF ofmakeproduction,creasestheofforage,uniqueencenologyDifferencesTIONPRODUCintechusecaninflucosts.Agricultureisinthat,onavertechnologyaccountsaboutthree-quartersproductivitygrowthatgloballevel,whileininthefactorsofsuchasland,upforone-quarterproductivitygrowth.
See page 17
Here we’ll see how they fared, or are faring, in the face of two recent shocks and get insights into how our trade net works can be further strengthened.Theoutbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic test ed the resilience of the food and agricultural trade network. COVID- 19 affected demand, supply, logistics and trade of food and ag ricultural products. Yet, despite the multiple chal lenges, the food and agri cultural trade network
oftenmore.whichferentbetweensidethantradetendencyandRegionalisationweakened.offoodagriculturaltrade-theofcountriestomorewithinaregionwithcountriesouttheregion-increased1995and2019.CountriesformeddiftradeclusterswithintheytendtotradeTheseclustersareshapedbygeograph ic proximity and economic integration fostered by trade agreements. Countries engage in trade to export what they can produce at a lower cost relative to other countries while im porting what is relatively more expensive to be produced domestically.
The war in Ukraine is threatening multilateral co-operation and risks fragment ing the global food market (FAO photo)
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Food and agriculture ... proved resilient to the shock. In fact, the only vis ible effects at the global level were short- lived disruptions of trade at the beginning of the pandemic, when sig nificant restrictions on people’s movements wereTheimposed.ongoing con flict between the Rus sian Federation and Ukraine sparked con cerns about the impacts of the war on global food security, including through the disruption of global food and ag ricultural markets. The Russian Federation and Ukraine are important players in the global food trade. Together, in 2021 the Russian Feder ation and Ukraine were key global exporters of wheat, maize, rape seed, sunflower seeds and sunflower oil. Today, more coun tries are connected to more trade partners, which can strength en their resilience to shocks in domestic and exporter markets. Nev ertheless, only a few countries still account for most of the value traded and only some countries source a large variety of food and ag ricultural products from many different export ers. To further strengthen their resilience, coun tries should aim to di versify the products they import and increase the F pagerom 16 number of their trading partners.Theincreased con nectivity between countries can strength en the buffer capacity of the global food and agricultural trade net work. Countries that are well-integrated in the global market and have a high number of trade links can benefit from trade by leveraging their comparative advantage globally. Global cooperation in agricultural trade pol icies can address global challenges, such as eco nomic crises, pandem ics, conflicts and cli mate change, and it can contribute towards food security and healthy diets for all. Natural resources, such as land and wa ter play a key role in determining food and agricultural production and trade. For countries with scarce land and wa ter, and where climate conditions are unfa vourable to agricultur al production, trade is key to food security and nutrition. (FAO)
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The umpires I admired
Looking back to the days of Douglas Sang Hue, Col Egar and Charlie Elliott UmpireSangDouglasHue
• Central Press/ Getty Images
THE untimely death of South African umpire Rudi Koertzen in a car accident was a further reminder of the fragile nature of life It also high lighted the importance of umpires and the role they play in cricket Koertzen had an uncom mon saying - that he “was never scared to apologise”. As one who did not always agree with umpiring deci sions, I preferred the man tra “Get it right in the first place.”
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By Ian Chappell
However , the fact that Koertzen created an atmo sphere that allowed players to remind him he’d made a mistake is a credit to his um pire’s friendly nature While I never played under Koertz en, I watched him perform in some of his 128 Tests and he maintained control without challenging players But that wasn’t how I found South African um piring to be on my two official tours , in 1966-67 and 1970. In general , it was bad , with a couple of umpires who were blatantly “ patri otic”. Before I toured India and South Africa in 196970 - poor programming by the Australian board - I had heard a lot of uncompli mentary remarks about Indi an umpiring I found Indian umpiring was okay and any mistakes were genuine The South African umpiring , however , was appalling, and Tony Greig later told me that provin cial players had at one time decided on a moratorium on walking if they were out because the officiating became so biased I put the lack of criti cism of the umpiring by the Australians ahead of the South Africa tour down to white players not wanting to criticise the apartheid en vironment As I used to say to people who asked if the South African tour was the best for Australian players: “ If you were white , you might’ve enjoyed it.”
The late Rudi Koertzen (far right) with Mohammad Yousuf and Simon Taufel during the New Zea land-Pakistan series of 2009•Marty Melville/Getty Images
Charlie Elliott (right) didn’t suffer stupidity, and was not shy of admonishing spectators
The best three officials I played under were Aus tralian Test umpire Colin Egar, the quick fire West Indian adjudicator Douglas Sang Hue, and England’s leather voiced Charlie El liott.In addition to being a very good umpire , Egar had a way with players He would use your first name when asking what guard you wanted and then when confirming you had the right spot One day he said to me: “I never spoke to you in the middle until you started a conversation.” He’d learned very quickly that I didn’t like talking until my innings was established Sang Hue , of Jamai can Chinese origin , um pired all five Tests on our tour of West Indies in 1973 and right through World Series Cricket He had the quickest trigger finger I’ve ever seen but he got most of his decisions right. He made one mistake that series - he gave Lawrence Rowe not out lbw in Ja maica - and Rod Marsh reckoned it was the best decision of the series as it probably stopped a riot `` People talk about umpires’ integrity but Sang Hue took it to another lev el During the series he wouldn’t stop and talk when I said good morning to him When the series finished , I congratulated him on his performance and asked why he hadn’t stopped. “I didn’t want anyone to think I was biased,” he answered He also had a quirky sense of humour. During WSC , West Indies ap pealed for lbw against an Australian batter one time One of the appeals came from midwicket fielder Collis King Sang Hue sim ply looked at King and said , “ What you can see from there?” Apart from being a very good umpire, Elliott will be remembered for his extreme ly loud voice. “Sit down!” he would boom out to any patron who was moving behind the bowler ’ s arm , and this proved to be a great amusement Players would sometimes ask Elliott to ad monish a patron just to hear his trumpet like voice Elliott umpired 42 Tests and he didn’t suffer stupidity We thought he was unfair ly punished for his strong opinionsIplayed my career with home country umpires offici ating While some decisions could be dicey in those times, with the advent of television replays, this shortcoming is more easily overcome It ’ s time for a per manent return to one home country umpire, as, like players , they enjoy the honour of officiating at local Test grounds . If we accept the adage that all umpires are impartial (Cricinfo)
… Sabbir Rahman, who last played a T20I in 2019, returns to Bangladesh squad for the Asia Cup
The regulator’s view is that if the bidding were to go to a second round, disclosure is futile as it automatically means all the bids are close. The ICC has been silent on the boycott talk but Cric buzz understands that there may be a feeling in Dubai that the threat may only be posturing Besides, the over whelming impression in the ICC is that there is no align ment of a single issue on the broadcasters’ demands and making changes at this stage would compromise the sanctity of the process as it may favour one and go against another . So it has confirmed the process exactly as it was announced in the ITT But the final word on the whole thing is yet to be said (Cricbuzz)
Haddad Maia will have been dreaming of a similar upset against Halep , but will have to be content with breaking into the world’s top 20 after her run to the womein’s final in Toronto Two time Grand Slam champion Halep showed all her resolve to record a 38th win of the season - only world number one Iga Swiatek has won more with 49 She was broken in the opening game after serving four double faults, but from 3-2 down rattled off four consecutive games to win the opening set. Haddad Maia went into the final having lost two of her three previous matches against the Romanian, but won their last encounter in three sets in the semi final at Birmingham, on her way to the title And the 26 year old ensured a decider in Toronto after racing into a four game lead at the start of the sec ond set before holding that advantage to level the match Halep has looked vulnerable at times this season, suffering a panic attack on court during a second round defeat in the French Open, but also showed some fine form en route to the final in Toronto, winning one title in Melbourne in January and also reaching four other semi finals - most notably at Wimbledon She traded breaks at the start of the final set before producing some of her best form of the season to make a decisive second break to lead 3-1 and was able to serve the match out, cementing her place among the favourites for the US Open title later this month
CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (Monday August 15, 2022)
The doubles finals follow , with GB ’ s Evans facing off against compatriot Neal Skupski, while French Open runner up Coco Gauff is in action in the women’s
COMPLIMENTS OF CUMMINGS ELECTRICAL COMPANY LTD- 83 Garnett Street, Campbellville, Georgetown (Tel: 225-6158) Answers to yesterday’s quiz: (1) WI – 15 players (2) IND -17 players Today’s Quiz: (1) How many T20 Int’l matches the WI & IND have now played against each other?
Halep beats Brazil’s Haddad Maia to win third Canadian Open title
Broadcasters
Simona Halep celebrates with her trophy
THE boycott threat, it ap pears, is more serious than the International Cricket Council ( ICC ) could be perceiving it to be and the four broadcasters of Indian television industry , who have separately written to the ICC over certain clauses of the media rights tender have , rather unwittingly , been united by a common cause To begin with Star, Sony, Viacom and Zee are set to boycott the mock auction As first reported by Cricbuzz , the ICC wants to hold the mock e auction on August 16 and 17 “The whole process is too opaque . That is the unani mous inference of all the four broadcasters It is designed to give them (ICC) too much flexibility,” said a representa tive of one of the four parties
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Shakib Al Hasan is back at the helm set to boycott mock auction, demand changes in tender process
The mock auction was initially scheduled from August 12 to 16 and later postponed to August 16 and 17 in view of the holidays in India. The other major concern is the closed process There is a perception that the online bidding would have been the right approach but the ICC has maintained that given the complex nature of its tender, e auction, which was success fully employed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the IPL rights, is not feasible The ICC also says the bid figures of competing parties will not be revealed when the envelopes are opened on August 26 and it has also not gone down well with the broadcasters
The broadcasters have asked for a few changes in the rules, particularly over the bid submission schedule The ICC seems insistent with the original time frame of August 22 when the bids are to be submitted and to be opened on August 26 “How can I leave my big figure with another party for four days? It is simply outrageous,” said the offi cial, highlighting the broad casters’ primary concern It is not often that the four major media houses in India, business rivals otherwise , come together for a common cause and the ICC may take dubious credit for that But it now appears that none of the four broadcasters will participate in the mock auc tion unless there is a major relaxation of rules
Middle order bat ter Sabbir Rahman, who last played a T20I in 2019, returns to the squad, while Mushfiqur Rahim , who was rested for the T20I series against Zim babwe , is also back While Litton Das misses out due to his hamstring injury, there was no place for Shoriful Islam, Munim Shahriar and Najmul Hossain Shanto All rounder Mohammad Saifuddin returns though his recurring back problem re mains a concern, while fast bowler Ebadot Hossain also earns a place Nurul Hasan has been named in the squad de spite a finger injury, but BCB said they are expecting an update on him on August 21 While Sabbir did not have a great BPL season - where he made 109 runs in six matches - he scored 515 runs at 39.61 average in the Dhaka Premier League one day tournament He also caught the eye during the Bangladesh Tigers pro gramme, where a number of fringe players are trained . Sabbir has been sent to the Caribbean to play one day matches for Bangladesh A against West Indies A He has played 44 T20Is so far, for 946 runs at an average of 24.89 “We have seen him (Sab bir) in the domestic T20 side,” selector Minhajul Abedin said . “ We think he has the experience We have sent him to play in the one day series against West Indies A, to give him some game time.” Bangladesh had missed the initial deadline for naming the Asia Cup squad, while the board sorted out the Shakib sponsorship issue Bangla desh will be one of six teams contesting the main round of the Asia Cup, along with India , Pakistan , Sri Lanka , Afghanistan and a qualifier The identity of the qualifier will be known via a qualify ing tournament that starts on AugustShakib20 was “misguided” into the deal with Betwin ner and vowed not to repeat the “ mistake ”, according to BCB ’ s cricket operations chairman Jalal Yunus Shakib had met with the BCB high ups, including board president Nazmul Hassan , in Dhaka earlier in the day. “Shakib admitted his mis take ( regarding Betwinner controversy ), but he is im portant for us,” Yunus said “He is still our best player We had already decided on Shakib being the captain earlier, so we are sticking to it “He thought it was an on line news website He felt he was misguided He has said he has terminated the (Betwin ner) contract We are hopeful he will not repeat it We have asked him not to commit such a mistake again We have end ed the whole thing.” Nurul had taken over in T20Is from long time white ball captain Mah mudullah for Bangladesh’s previous assignment in Zimbabwe , before being sidelined by a fractured finger Mosaddek Hossain then captained the team in the last of three T20Is in Zimbabwe, as Bangladesh went down 2-1. The T20I tri series in New Zealand, which also involves the hosts and Pakistan, starts on October 7 and will be Bangladesh’s last chance to fine tune for the T20 World Cup, which is set to be played in Australia in October No vember Bangladesh’s Asia Cup squad : Shakib Al Hasan ( captain ), Anamul Haque , Mushfiqur Rahim , Afif Hossain , Mosaddek Hos sain , Mahmudullah , Ma hedi Hasan , Mohammad Saifuddin, Hasan Mahmud, Mustafizur Rahman, Nasum Ahmed , Sabbir Rahman , Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Eba dot Hossain, Parvez Hossain Emon, Nurul Hasan, Taskin Ahmed. (Cricinfo)
SHAKIB Al Hasan is back in charge for Bangladesh in T20Is , being named captain for the upcoming Asia Cup , New Zealand tri series and the T20 World Cup The Bangladesh Cricket Board ( BCB ) made the an nouncement yesterday after noon, bringing to an end the uncertainty of the past couple of weeks, when Shakib was told by the board to choose be tween playing for Bangladesh or keeping his endorsement with a “betting company”. Shakib had duly ended his deal with Betwinner News It is understood that he is likely to be asked to stay on as a long term captain in the for mat He was appointed Test captain in June after Mominul Haque stepped down The BCB also announced a 17 member squad for the Asia Cup , which will be played in the UAE from Au gust 27
Answers in tomorrow’s issue SIMONA Halep produced a battling performance in Toronto to beat Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia in three sets and claim a third Canadian Open title. The 2019 Wimbledon champion pulled through 6-3 2-6 6-3 to cement her rise back up to sixth in the world rankingsHalep, 30, dropped from second in the world to 20th after missing a large part of last season with injury Spain’s Pablo Carreño Busta beat Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz 3-6 6-3 6-3 to win the men’s title The 31 year old pulled off what he de scribed as the “ best title of his career ” after seeing off Brit ain’s Dan Evans in the semi finals Carreño Busta , 23rd in the world , battled back after losing the first set on a single break of serve to turn the ta bles on world num ber 10 Hurkacz for a deserved victory.
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Shakib Al Hasan named Bangladesh captain for Asia Cup, T20 World Cup
(2) How many the WI have won?
Jamaica’s big three set to clash over 100m at Diamond League meet in Lausanne, August 26
Mohabir family donates to ‘Project cricket gear’
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Formerly from East Canje , Berbice , Mohabir said that he is following the work of the project and is impressed with how far and how many youths and cricket clubs have benefitted, hence his support The joint initiative between Anil Beharry of Guyana and Kishan Das of the USA has progressed well since its inception and will continue to provide towards the development of young people and cricket in general Or ganisers of the project is very thankful for the assistance provided by Mohabir and family Total cricket related items collected so far are: $250,000 cash, two trophies, 12 cricket boots, 19 pairs of batting pads, 21 bats, 15 pairs of batting gloves, 19 thigh pads, one pair of wicket keeping pad, one arm guard, six cricket bags and two hel mets. In addition to the above, $600,000 worth in gear was donated by Sheik Mo hamed , former National wicket keeper / batsman. To date, 38 young players from all three counties of Guyana have already benefitted from three junior gear bags, two trophies, one arm guard, 14 bats, one box, two helmets, 11 pairs of cricket shoes, 10 pairs of batting pads, one bat rubber and 12 pairs of batting gloves In addition, two clubs in the Pomeroon area benefitted from two used bats Pomeroon, Leguan and Wakenam Cricket Committees and Cotton Tree Die Hard club received one box of red cricket balls each while RHCCCC received two They also received fifteen white cricket shirts, one pair of junior batting pads, one pair of wicket keeping gloves and a set of stumps and bails each from the Essequibo Cricket Board Cricket related items, used or new, will be distributed free of cost to young and promising cricketers in Guyana . Skills, discipline and education are important characteristics of the recipients Talent spotting is being done across the country and club leaders also assist in identifying talent Progressive and well managed clubs will also benefit
Mr and Mrs Latch Mohabir to host athletics
Tobago
The Tobago West MP said that cy cling (National Cycling Centre), swim ming (National Aquatic Centre) and a number of other events will take place in Trinidad
The Commonwealth Sports Minis ters Meeting was geared towards ad vancing the Commonwealth consensus and co operation on key sport policy issues across the Commonwealth. TT will stage the seventh edition of this competition in 2023 The first Commonwealth Youth Games was held in Scotland in 2000 with the event subse quently hosted in Australia, India, Isle of Man, Samoa and the Bahamas in 2017 Cudjoe said she also held conversa tions with representatives of former host nations to get a clearer understanding of what is required to ensure the event is a resounding success She is also being guided by TT Olympic Committee (TTOC) president Diane Henderson , TTOC member Annette Knott and Caribbean Associ ation of National Olympic Committees ( CANOC ) president Brian Lewis , a former TTOC head. (TT Newsday)
Minister of Sport and Community De velopment Shamfa Cudjoe made this an nouncement on Thursday at the welcome ceremony for retuning Commonwealth Games athletes at Piarco International AirportCudjoe, who joined team TT for part of the Games in Birmingham, England two weeks ago, was also part of the 10th Commonwealth Sports Ministers Meeting there, on July 27 Coming out of that meeting, Cudjoe said, “We already began conversations for planning the Commonwealth Youth Games which will be hosted by TT next year August. “We are working on recycling some of the material used at Commonwealth Games 2022 as part of our project to get ready for 2023 “We also spoke about doing the ath letics side of the Commonwealth Youth Games in Tobago , because when the Commonwealth officials came to TT they were blown away by the Dwight Yorke Stadium and Tobago “We are looking at beach volleyball and some of the other beach games for Tobago also. It’s a lot of work to be done between now and next year We will be more than happy to welcome the rest of the world to Tobago.”
ANOTHER USA based Guyanese, Latch Mohabir, and his family have provided $ 20,000 towards the ‘ cricket gear for young and promising cricketers in Guyana project.’
at 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games
MARION Jones ’ meet record of 10.72 is on bor rowed time after three of the four fastest women in the world this year have been confirmed for the 100m at the Lausanne Di amond League meeting on August 26. Newly minted five time world 100m champion Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce who has run under 10.70, a record extending six times this season , including a world leading 10.62 in Mo naco on Wednesday , has been confirmed for the meet Mommy Rocket is the first woman to run under 10.70 , a record six times in the same season and has eight times under 10.60 overall In her last six finals, the 35 year old Jamaican has run 10.67 ( Nairobi ), 10.67 (Paris), 10.67 (Ore gon), 10.66 (Silesia), 10.67 (Hungary) and 10.62 (Mo naco). With the prospect of a two week break from competition in which she is expected to get take some well needed rest after run ning 10.6 three times in a week , Fraser Pryce will be aiming to extend that record even further to seven when she lines up in Switzerland, where she will face compatriot Sher icka Jackson, who ran a lifetime best of 10.71 in Monaco. Jackson, the 200m world champion and the fastest woman alive over the dis tance, has said she has not run her best 100m so far this season and will be looking to improve on that time that saw her finish second to Fraser Pryce Also confirmed for the blue riband clash is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic champion Elaine Thomp son Herah , the fastest woman alive courtesy of the blistering 10.54 she ran in Oregon in August 2021 after establishing a new Olympic record of 10.61 while winning gold in To kyo two weeks earlier Admittedly , the dou ble double Olympic cham pion has not been at her best this season but she enters the meet coming off a confi dence boosting sprint double at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, En gland, where she ran 10.95 to win the 100m title and a season best 22.02 to claim the 200m crown
From left: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Elaine Thompson-Herah and Shericka Jackson are set to clash in Lausanne, August 26 her the fastest African woman in history. Fraser Pryce , Jackson and Thompson Herah swept the medals at the Tokyo Olympics and again at the World Championships in Oregon in July Olympic champion Hansle Parchment gets another crack at two time world champion Grant Holloway in the 110m hur dles. In Monaco, Holloway ran a season best to defeat Parchment, who was third in a season best 13.08 . (Sportsmax)
The 30 year old Thompson Herah ran 10.79 in Oregon in May, which made her the third fastest woman in the world this year until last Wednesday when Marie Jose Ta Lou of the Ivory Coast eclipsed that time when she was third in Mo naco in a lifetime best of 10.72, a time that makes ALL track and field events at the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games will be hosted at the Dwight Yorke Stadium in Tobago.
Regarding the future , the Minister pointed out that French Guiana and Suriname will be involved in the up coming Inter Guiana Games (IGG) which runs from No vember 25, 26 and 27 Also , a special Youth mentorship programme is set to be launched in a few weeks, with the workshops providing skills and life ad vice for students, according to Ramson Meanwhile, Guyana Am ateur Swimming Association ( GASA ) president Dwayne Scott thanked the Minister and the Government of Guyana for their continued support of aquatic sports in Guyana. Scott further credited the coaches for their time, adding that swimming is a life skill and will come in handy at the upcoming IGG , where they could find themselves as rep resentatives Meanwhile , Dow Rich ardson, during her remarks, said she was happy to see young children and parents coming out in support of the programmeNinvalle echoed similar sentiments but specifically thanked the coaches and students for making the programme incident free and highly successful.
Guest Speakers Minister Ramson ; Director of Sport Steve Ninvalle, and Assistant Director of Sport Melissa Dow Richardson, representing the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, and the National Sports Commission(NSC), re spectively, were elated to see hundreds of new swimmers being produced in a matter of weeksMinister Ramson, during his feature address, outlined numerous areas of focus go ing forward , most notably speaking on the importance of Science, Business and Tech nology , with regard to the future of the generation and their success outside of sports. “ Parents responsibility to guide their children”, was among the most notable points the Minister spoke on, as he added that such a journey requires growth He added that because most kids entered the pro gramme not knowing how to swim , now weeks later almost 1000 new swimmers were produced, minus any hurdles during the stint of the countrywide clinic The Minister advocated for a good working relation ship among kids , parents , communities, the government and private sectors, citing such values as key components in the continued growth of the country’s youth He further urged parents to commit more to children as he has been seeing, as the world of work is changing rapidly and as such adaptability is needed in the building on the journey of success; something which is found specifically in sportsWith the upcoming Na tional Science fair set for Au gust 27 and 28 at the Aquatic Centre and a whopping GYD $1M Dollar cash prize up for grabs, Minister Ramson hinted that the Science Fair will be an annual event
G$1M prize for upcoming Science Fair Tobago to host athletics at YouthCommonwealth2023Games
Minister Ramson dubs swimming clinic a resounding success annnounces
KINGSTON, Jamaica, (CMC) – West Indies snapped a five game losing streak with a con vincing eight wicket victory over New Zealand, ending an otherwise miserable three match series on a high note here Sunday. Chasing for the third straight time, West Indies were this time confronted with a more manage able target of 146 and overhauled it with an over to spare, courtesy of contrasting half centuries from Shamarh Brooks (56 not out) and Brandon King (53). Man of the Series Glenn Phillips had earlier top scored with 41 from 26 deliveries but New Zealand never really found their best gear after choosing to bat first at Sabina Park, and could only muster 145 for seven from their 20 overs Fast bowling all rounder Odean Smith again led West Indies’ attack with three for 29 while left arm spinner Akeal Hosein supported with two for 28, the Black Caps labouring to 64 for three at the half way mark and managing only 39 runs from the last five overs The victory came on the back of defeats in the opening two Twenty20 Internationals and a whitewash in the three match series against India last month With Rovman Powell leading the side in the absence of captain Nicholas Pooran, the hosts made a strong start when Martin Gup till (15) missed a sweep at Hosein and was bowled leg stump in the third over with the score on 18 Devon Conway (21) and the promoted Mitchell Santner (13) then added 30 for the second wicket and when both fell to leave the Black Caps on 57 for three in the ninth, Phillips and captain Kane Williamson ( 24 ) put on a further 47 for the fourth wicket to push the score beyond the 100 run mark Phillips lashed four fours and a brace of sixes while Wil liamson spent 27 balls at the crease and counted two fours, before New Zealand lost a clat ter of wickets at the back end to decline swiftly. In reply, King thrilled in his first match for West Indies in front of his home crowd, belting four fours and three sixes as he posted an entertaining 102 for the first wicket with Brooks who counted three fours and two sixes in a patient 59 ball knock While King, who missed the first two games due to injury , raced to his fifth T20I fifty off 30 balls in the 12th over, Brooks took his time to raise his maiden half century off 52 balls in the 17th over King eventually holed out to deep square in the 14th over off seamer Tim Southee and Devon Thomas perished in the next over for five, but Powell arrived to smash an 15 ball unbeaten 27 in a 37 run stand with Brooks, to see West Indies home.
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By Clifton Ross MINISTER of Sports , Charles Ramson Jr along with Director of Sport, Steve Ninvalle , praised the 900 plus students who are now full fledged swimmers, fol lowing Sunday ’ s closing ceremony of arguably one of the largest swimming programmes to date The National Aquatic Centre, situated at Liliendaal on the East Coast of Demer ara , hosted a large number of students and parents who attended the month long pro gramme which ended yes terday
Minister of Sports, Charles Ramson Jr. (centre) flanked by Director of Sport, Steve Ninvalle and Assistant Director of Sport, Melissa Dow Richardson, with students, teachers, parents and coaches following Sunday’s closing ceremony (Carl Croker photo)
Windies finish dismal T20 series on a high with eight-wicket win
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Brandon King celebrates his fifth T20 International fifty on Sunday . ( Photo courtesy CWI Media)
