Guyana Chronicle E-Paper 17-11-2022

By Shamar Meusa

at - as GWI awards $6B in contracts to upgrade water-treatment plants

ing a Guyana-UK partner ship-arrangement meeting. In his address APNU+AFC-controlled City Council unable to account for $347M from gov’t

the meeting,

President,

Dr Ir faan Ali said that from this signing, there must be direct outcomes concerning part nerships between the UK

two countries. This agreement was signed at the Guyana Marri ott Hotel on Wednesday, dur SEE PAGE 3 SEE PAGE 4 SEE PAGE 2 SEE PAGE 3 SEE PAGE 8 SEE PAGE 8

Guyana, UK sign Economic Partnership Agreement

on key projects, programmes

governance system, ef ficiency and more.

Considering the new developments and con tinuous work to enhance the economy, President Ali encouraged business es from the delegation to invest in Guyana.

He marketed Guyana’s geographic location as a strong point for consid eration among potential investors.

that vision.

“We share your ambi tion for Guyana to build its capacity and capabil ity; we share your vision for Guyana to be a hub for investment and Carib bean gateway. We would like to help you deliver that vision… British busi ness would like to help you deliver that vision,” Knott said.

By Shamar Meusa

GUYANA and the Unit ed Kingdom (UK) have signed a new Economic Partnership Agreement to further bolster the long-standing relation ship between the two countries.

This agreement was signed at the Guy

ana Marriott Hotel on Wednesday, during a Guyana-UK partnershiparrangement meeting.

In his address at the meeting, President, Dr Irfaan Ali said that from this signing, there must be direct outcomes concern ing partnerships between the UK and Guyanese businesses, and even be

tween the two govern ments.

He said: “What we would like to see out of this mission, we would like to see direct out comes and at least we should work on a vehicle that will take us to some possible outcomes.”

The Head of State added that since the pre vious trade mission from the UK visited earlier in

Sitting on the edge of South America, Guyana is slowly becoming the ideal passageway from the Caribbean to South America and vice versa. And this is supplemented by the country’s push to become a major indus trial, manufacturing and agro-processing nation.

In addition to the country’s innate features, the government is also encouraging investments through the incentivisa tion of various sectors.

He related that their reason for being here in Guyana is to deepen ties between the two coun tries and further be able to guarantee the quality of support they are able to offer.

Knott related that the trade delegation will be looking across a range of sectors to see how they could support pro grammes and projects to further energise and execute the partnership.

the year, there has been tremendous, positive en ergy from the UK, from the government and also from Guyana in pushing the envelope to under stand the developmental needs.

Guyana has been ac tively pursuing different models and opportunities; however, there are some key areas on which the government is heavily focused, which include technology transfer, the

Dr Ali affirmed that the cost of investing in Guyana will increase con sistently.

Meanwhile, His Maj esty’s Trade Commis sioner for Latin America and the Caribbean, Jona than Knott, told the gath ering that after being in the country over the past few days, he would have heard of the vision of the government for Guyana and noted that the UK would like to be a part of

He was hopeful that the two countries could establish a joint working

group which will define and deliver a time-bound action plan.

“And I emphasise time-bound, because we like you, are anxious to make programmes possible. We expect that working group to de liver the innovation, the technology the knowl edge which is needed to support faster, fairer and greener growth in Guyana,” Knott said.

- to create avenues for more decisive collaboration

President, Dr. Irfaan Ali

His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Latin America and the Caribbean, Jonathan Knott

Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hugh Todd (left); High Commissioner, Jane Miller OBE (centre) and His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Latin America and the Caribbean, Jonathan Knott (right) with the signed partnership agreement, on Wednesday (Elvin Croker photos)

Additional 60,000 persons to benefit from improved water supply

The Guyana Water In corporated (GWI), on Wednesday, awarded contracts for the up grade of 12 existing water-treatment plants, slated to benefit 60,000 persons.

The contract-signing ceremony between the utility and contractors occurred at GWI’s Head quarters on Vlissengen Road.

The upgrading of these plants forms part of GWI’s Coastal Water Treatment Infrastruc ture Programme, which has an implementation timeline of 2021-2025. The total sum of these contracts is just under G$6 billion.

Addressing the con tractors and GWI of ficials, Chief Executive Officer Shaik Baksh said the company is moving aggressively to provide treated water across the coastal belt of Guyana.

He said that the gov ernment’s mandate for GWI is ambitious and comprehensive, which the company is on track to achieving.

In addition to water

treatment, the CEO high lighted that works are moving apace towards 99 per cent potable wa ter access countrywide, targeting unserved areas and new housing devel opments.

He noted that the pri mary concern along the coast is high iron con tent, and the programme is designed to address that.

“Along the East Bank corridor, where there’s a huge housing develop ment, we have been able to restore, to major com

munities, treated water. They have been deprived of treated water for over six years from 2015 to last year.”

The CEO pointed out that the Grove, Cov ent Garden and Eccles water-treatment plants are now receiving an improved quality of water and residents are pleased. While this is so, further upgrades will still be done to these plants as part of the contracts signed on Wednesday.

Baksh urged the con tractors to put in good-

quality work in a timely manner, as GWI will be developing a qualitycontrol programme to monitor such projects. Supervision of these contracts will be done by GWI engineers, as the company continues to strengthen its in-house capacity.

The plants identified for rehabilitation are lo cated at Friendship, Mon Repos, Better Hope, ECD; Grove, Covent Garden, Eccles, EBD; Fellowship, Pouderoyen and Vergenoegen, Re

gion 3 and New Am sterdam, Port Mourant, Cotton Tree, Region Six. Upgrades and exten sion of transmission and distribution mains will complement the rehabili tation works to expand treated-water boundaries to an additional 60,000 persons.

These works are scheduled to be com pleted by 2025.

The companies awarded contracts are Compass Engineering, H. Nauth & Sons, D&R Construction, Dax En

gineering, International Import & Supplies, Sin gh & Sons, S. Jagmohan & Co. and Toshiba Water Solutions Inc.

Another component of the Coastal Water Treatment Infrastructure Programme is the instal lation of 10 new in-line filters, which GWI in tends to advertise for bids in early 2023. This method of treatment is a new approach to Guyana and as a result, a pilot will be conducted with two inline filters to test the efficacy of this sys tem in remote locations.

One month ago, GWI signed contracts to the tune of G$8.5 billion for the construction of seven new water- treatment plants at Onderneeming in Region Two, Parika, Wales and Lust en Rust in Region Three, Caledo nia, Cummings Lodge and Bachelor’s Adven ture in Region Four.

These plants will serve more than 100,000 people and also come under the Coastal Water Treatment Infra structure Programme.

President Ali extends invitation to Guyanaborn ‘Black Panther’ actress, Letitia Wright

PRESIDENT, Dr. Mo hamed Irfaan Ali, has written Guyana-born British actress, Letitia Michelle Wright, congratulating her on her resounding success in the ‘Black Panther’ movie and its sequel, ‘Wakanda Forever’.

According to a De partment of Public In formation (DPI) press release, President Ali, in a letter dated November 15, 2022, said he was moved by an interview in which Wright men

tioned the country of her birth and how much she wanted to make the people of Guyana proud.

“The Head of state expressed that the gov ernment would be hon oured to host Wright and will be more than de lighted to welcome her home,” the release said.

Wright, who was born in Georgetown, Guyana, moved with her family to London at the age of seven. The 29-year-old actress be gan her career with guest

roles in the television series, Top Boy, Coming Up, Chasing Shadows, Humans, Doctor Who and Black Mirror.

Wright rose to fame after her per formance in the 2018 Marvel Studio’s Black Panther movie as ‘Shuri’, the on-screen sister of ‘Tchalla’, the character played by the now deceased Chadwick Boseman. She played the same role in the recently released sequel.

GWI’s Chief Executive Officer Shaik Baksh (fourth from right) flanked by contractors and GWI officials after the signing of the contracts (GWI photo)

Letitia Wright attends the premiere of ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ in London, Britain, on November 3, 2022 (REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo)

- as GWI awards $6B in contracts to upgrade water-treatment plants

Major Louisiana business group explores opportunities in Guyana

- President Ali encourages team to examine possible ventures at all levels

GUYANA continues to be a magnet for inves tors, this time attract ing 25 private sector leaders from across Louisiana and other parts of the United States of America.

At a reception in honour of the visiting delegation at the US Ambassador’s resi dence, President, Dr Ir faan Ali, encouraged the members to not only go after the “big opportuni ties,” but also consider the small and mediumsized investments that would result in lucrative benefits.

According to a post

on his official Facebook page, the Head of State gave a brief overview of his government’s trans formational plans for Guyana that entail the diversification of its tra ditional sectors and con struction of an economy to function in 2030 and beyond.

The team led by the US Embassy in Guy ana and the Louisiana District Export Coun cil (LDEC), comprised economic developers, industrial training ex perts, Louisiana state officials, as well as U.S. government officials.

“Combined, the com

panies represent over US$238 billion in an nual revenue, and em ploy tens of thousands around the world,” the US Embassy said.

The delegation con ducted productive meet ings with key private sector contacts and experts to learn about Guyana’s business en vironment and the Gov ernment of Guyana’s efforts to promote in vestments and economic diversification, explore market-entry strategies, foster partnerships, and develop closer trade and investment ties between Guyana and the United

States.

US Ambassador to Guyana Sarah-Ann Lynch related that the close physical and cul tural ties between the United States and Guy ana are one of many in centives for US compa nies to invest in Guyana.

President Ali also made note of the excel lent private sector op portunities across vari ous sectors. In total, the US firms engaged with more than 70 local or ganisations in Guyana’s private and public sec tors.

Both US and Guya nese participants antici

pate future partnerships and business deals as a result of the meetings.

With 23 markets and 41 million people, the Caribbean presents a growing opportunity for US companies.

“The delegation sought to capitalise on the strong bilat

eral trade relationship between the US and Guyana, with bilateral trade reaching US$1.4 billion in the first half of this year alone. The delegation represented US resolve to advance inclusive prosperity through partnership,” the US Embassy said.

President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, greets persons at the reception held in honour of the visiting US delegation (Office of the President photo)

CAD $2.9M project launched to support mental health in Guyana

THE Guyana Mental Health and Well-Being (GWB) conference, con tinued Tuesday afternoon at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Lil iendaal, with the launch of the CAD$2.9 million International Develop ment and Relief Founda tion (IDRF) project to support mental health in Guyana.

Canada’s Minister of International Development, Harjit Sajjan, via video message, made the an nouncement of the first

such investment in the Car ibbean region.

Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony expressed the government’s gratitude to the people and Govern ment of Canada for the contribution.

“As you can see a large component of the IDRF programme would be work ing with students and with persons in community…. to have our communities prepared [to deal with men tal health]. It is wonderful to have this team here and

we express our gratitude to the Government and Peo ple of Canada for funding IDRF to come to Guyana to work with us in this area of mental health,” Minister Anthony said.

He pointed to the strong relationship shared by Guy ana and Canada, particular ly in the area of healthcare.

“Guyana and Canada we have a very strong rela tionship and I think that re lationship is even stronger in the area of healthcare… but more recently during

the COVID pandemic Can ada has really step forward in assisting the government and the people of Guyana when we did not have vac cine for example,” Minister Anthony said.

Meanwhile, Canadi an High Commissioner to Guyana and Suriname, Mark Berman, explained the need for financial in tervention in support of mental health initiatives.

“The magnitude of the mental health burden is not matched by size and the effectiveness in response, it demands …two thirds of countries allocate [only] one per cent or less of their health budget to mental health with the poor often bearing the greater burden in terms of risk and lack of access to treatment,” the ambassador highlighted.

Through the IDRF pro ject some 67,750 persons are expected to benefit over a five-year period.

This will be done in partnership with the Min istry of Health under the theme, Safeguarding the Human Dignity and Rights of Population At-Risk

for Ill-Mental Health in Vulnerable Communities Across Guyana.

The IDRF is a Canadian Non-Governmental Or ganisation (NGO), founded on principles that address the root causes of poverty. It concentrates on helping persons with long-term development to alleviate poverty and preventable diseases among other is sues.

The NGO has also been working with the health ministry to customize a therapeutic-driven ap proach to address ill-mental health as an underlying cause of vulnerability and

poverty, among vulnerable communities.

Many participants com mended the Government of Guyana for efforts aimed at addressing mental illness with complementary leg islation such as the Mental Health Protection and Pro motion Act and the Suicide Prevention Act of 2022.

Mahmoud Quasim, CEO, IDRF; Yasmeena Mohamed, Co-Chair IDRF Board; members of the international and local academic commu nity, UNICEF, PAHO/ WHO and other stake holders were in attend ance. (DPI)

Nine graduate from advanced emergency medical technician course

NINE persons graduat ed on Wednesday as Ad vanced Emergency Medi cal Technicians after un dergoing an eight-month training exercise.

According to a press release, the training com menced on February 19, 2020, as a collaborative effort between the Guyana Fire Service (GFS), the Na tional Emergency Medical Services, and the Ministry of Health.

The exercise was fa cilitated by Dr Shannon Langston and Andrea Fletcher, a registered nurse

of Vanderbilt University, and involved Zoom class es for the theoretical as pect, while the practical aspect was conducted at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation’s Emergency Room and Maternity Unit.

It was aimed at improv ing the quality of service offered by the EMS, as these technicians will now be able to administer medications to persons before they reach the hospital, potentially sav ing lives on the scene, the GFS release said.

Minister of Home Af fairs, Robeson Benn, con

gratulated the graduates and advised that they exercise empathy and be mindful of the level of service that is expected of them. He encouraged them to make better use of the resources available in today’s modern world to administer better care.

Minister Benn said the government will continue to support the EMS and ensure that technicians are well trained in order to achieve the goal of having ambulances in all regions. He further admonished the graduates to develop a pro

fessional culture, be dis ciplined, and make their country proud.

Meanwhile, Chief Fire Officer (ag), Gregory Wick ham, thanked the govern ment and Ministry of Home Affairs for their continuous support and expressed that the next move will be to ex tend the emergency medical services to Region Three.

He also congratulated the ranks and charged them to provide a service with confidence.

Nandaram Dat and Cleveland King were the best graduating students.

Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony

Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana and Suriname. Mark Berman, and other IDRF stakeholders at the project launch

Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn (seventh from left), senior fire officers and the new Advanced Emergency Medical Technicians following the graduation exercise. Also pictured in this Guyana Fire Service photo is Adviser to the Ministry of Health, Dr Leslie Ramsammy (sixth from left)

The other graduates were Orletta Crandon, Nioka Deyounge, Kelvin James,

Klein Knights, Andrew Patterson, Bhumika Sook deo, and Sandor Walcott.

Multi-sectoral Strategy

GUYANA’S road to eco nomic development is built on a multi-sectoral strate gy where there is no domi nant sector, but rather all the sectors are comple mentary to one another in order to drive economic growth. And while it’s true that oil and gas will have a significant impact on the nation’s economy, it won’t come at the price of any other industries, par ticularly the agricultural sector, which is still seen as the engine of the economy.

The country won’t be come dependent on oil, President, Dr Irfaan Ali has stressed repeatedly, but it will use it to speed up pro

gress in other areas. This is true despite the fact that the economy is set to gain bil lions of dollars from its vast oil reserves. The President asserts that Guyana’s econ omy will never be solely dependent on oil and gas.

The oil-and-gas sector provides the incentive to advance other facets of the economy and give the na tion the benefit of moving forward with projects that would improve its overall competitiveness.

In order to do this, Presi dent Ali had stated that he was interested in having the oil money strengthen the country’s efforts to combat climate change; strengthen

the agricultural sector; in crease the delivery of highquality healthcare and edu cational services; construct a modern manufacturing and industrial zone that would offer up chances for agroprocessing, fabricating and machining, research and development, and more.

There is no denying the fact that the oil-and-gas sec tor is a significant contribu tor to the growth trajectory of the country and in some important ways is an eco nomic game-changer. This is why we cannot be shy to optimise our earnings from our oil-and-gas resources within the framework of the country’s Low Carbon De

velopment Strategy (LCDS) which is currently being revised to take into account new developments in the economic life of the country.

Vice-President, Dr Bhar rat Jagdeo has said too that Guyana must go beyond oil and gas. Dr Jagdeo was right when he noted that the country had very little at tention from abroad before oil and gas were discovered, as opposed to now when this industry is the centre of attention.

According to Dr Jagdeo: “We have not been shy about saying that we want to get as much oil and gas out of the ground and sold and the money converted into a fund

and other opportunities as quickly as possible.”

This, he acknowledged, might sound crude in the era of climate change, but as mentioned earlier, there is a limited window of opportu nity to get this done and as a result the authorities intend to achieve this goal in an environmentally sound, fair and equitable manner.

And, as pointed out by the Vice-President, the ad ministration is doing so very conscious of the fact that a pathway exists based not only on the environment, but the economy and the interlinking of the two.

The government must be commended for embrac

ing a development path that is based on the sustainable harvesting of our natural resources in an environ mentally safe and friendly manner.

Some people don’t see potential in the oil-and-gas industry; they see only risks. This is undoubtedly not a wise decision. Only in an environment of expand ing prosperity can devel opment occur. A resource that has the potential to significantly improve the lives and general wellbeing of Guyanese citizens is available for the country to use. So, not utilising this would not be in our best interests.

The AFC’s grasping at straws while going down will not stop it from drowning

Dear Editor, WHAT levels of unabashed shamelessness one has to attain, as the country is now witnessing from the dying and useless political appen dix of the PNC, the Alliance For Change (AFC); that they would dare attempt to suggest alternative facts about the conduct of the 2020 elections, more than two years after their failed heist of those elections, to smokescreen their utter fear and trepidation in heading into another free, fair and transparent election?

In this very question lies the pellucid answer. The AFC is on its deathbed as a political entity, with every last breath of viability still being dubi ously snatched away by its colonizer, the PNC.

The AFC is now patheti cally still standing in apparent support of the PNC’s dishon est, obstructionist, and un democratic posture, in claim ing that a flawed list was used in 2020 and that they will not

contest the upcoming Local Government Elections on account of what they see as another flawed voters’ list. A definitive position cunningly yet undeclared by Norton.

These are the very folks who were duped, misled, de ceived, and prostituted by David Granger and Joseph Harmon for five long years under a so-called coalition government.

The very folks who sup ported David Granger’s illegal appointment of the elderly Retired Justice Patterson as GECOM’s Chairman, the appointment of Keith Lowen field, Roxanne Myers, Clair mont Mingo, and others as part of a well-orchestrated plot to steal the elections.

The same folks, who after their emasculation, undress ing and pimping by Granger for five long years, still stood in the bedroom of the PNC, aiding and abetting the fivemonth long election heist fol lowing the March 2020 elec tions, conjuring up mysterious

Russians from the depths of their empty imagination and selling their souls for another quasi-power place at a wouldbe APNU+AFC illegitimate governance table.

But as faith would have it, the very safeguards which remained in the electoral ma chinery that they did not think to dismantle as part of the plan for their attempted heist, and which are still there; such safeguards as the multi-lay ered counting and verification at the place of polls in the presence of party scrutineers and election observers; post ing of Statements of Polls on the external walls of polling stations immediately follow ing the counting; and ultimate ly the final transparent process for declarations under the vigilance of PPP/C and other parties and credible observ ers, and under the watchful ‘live’ streaming eyes of the world;… those are the ghosts of their horrid past which are haunting the dishonest de mons in them now.

Not anything to do with the voters’ list. The constitu tional path for the preparation for Local Government Elec tions was followed to the letter by GECOM.

A Claims and Objections period, intended to sanitise the voters’ list was opened to all parties for a prescribed period.

The AFC and PNC refused to participate in the exercise while still claiming that the list is bloated.

In fact, Leader of the PNC, Aubrey Norton, was bold enough to declare that theirs was a tactical political move. We are not sure what it is for their minions in the AFC, perhaps one of perpetual stupidity.

Well, as it turns out, other parties and many national stakeholders participated in the Claims and Objections exercise and issues raised therefrom were addressed by GECOM, before the list for LGE was declared settled.

So, let’s get to the real crux of the matter bothering

Ramjattan and Cathy Hughes.

Seeing the PNC being unable to muster more than a few dozen supporters beyond those bussed in for commu nity meetings in their strong holds, and Norton walking about in Linden, Mocha Ar cadia, and elsewhere virtually unnoticed on several occa sions recently, is the ghost of their haunted past few years that is really driving the shiv ers up the twisted backbones of the AFC.

They can see the dreaded writing of irrelevance and political oblivion on their walls, and they can hear the lullabies tuning up to usher their path to the cemetery where the dry bones of failed politicks lie

Having failed miserably at the last Local Government Elections, and seeing the real ity of how Guyanese of all classes, geographic locations, and political persuasions are reacting to President Ali’s Transformational Agenda with a “One Guyana” approach at

the heart of people’s empow erment and national develop ment, is a terribly frightening thing for them to contemplate.

The AFC lost its purpose over seven years ago when its leadership betrayed support ers who came along in the first place, to have a chance of being part of a viable Third Force movement in Guyana.

Their grasping at straws while going down, will not stop them from drowning. Their hallowed righteousness and shameless hypocrisy will ring out to the masses, unan swered.

And their inevitable de mise will simply whistle them away into the distance, as though they never were.

Keep trying to sing on Cathy, clutch to the straws Khemraj, it’s the least you can do in your final grasps.

Unfortunately, we have no sympathies to offer.

Yours sincerely, Hon. Kwame Mc Coy Minister within the Of fice of the Prime Minister

DeSinco teams up with Smile Train to help toddlers with cleft lip, cleft palate

Fortunately, with the help of the Smile Train team and DeSinco Limited, the toddlers will now have their “forever smile”

The local Smile Train team is headed by plastic surgeon Dr Shilindra Rajkumar and in cludes doctors from the Plastic Surgery, Paediatrics, Maxillofacial Surgery and Anaesthe sia Departments. They are supported by a core team of theatre and ward nurses.

transportation and accommo dation needs of the children and their guardians. This in cluded flights from the hinter land to Georgetown. The sur geries were performed at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

Executive Chairman, Frank DeAbreu, told the Guyana Chronicle on Wednesday that in April the company helped three children from Regions One,

Seven and Eight. The com pany later assisted an ad ditional four children from Regions One and Nine.

“We are fortunate to have and therefore it is our social conscience to help …We have allocated a part of our last year’s net profit to give to a needy cause. It makes me smile when children are happy because they’re born unfortunately this way and then with the help of com

panies like us and the gov ernment, they are able to recover,” DeAbreu said.

The businessman added that it warms his heart to see the transformation of the children post-surgery and to see smiles on their faces.

He used the opportu nity to call on other busi nesses to join efforts to help children with cleft lips and palates get a new lease on life.

DESINCO Limited has teamed up with internation al charitable organisation Smile Train to help seven toddlers from the hinter land, who recently benefit ted from cleft-lip and palate surgeries.

A cleft palate is an opening

in the roof of the mouth, while a cleft lip is an opening in the upper lip. Many children with cleft lips and palates are un fortunately stared at, ridiculed and at times neglected for their appearance and speech. They are forced to navigate life with their smiles hidden.

From September 2019 to now, the team, which is con stantly expanding, has restored the smiles of over 30 children.

This year, DeSinco Lim ited joined the initiative and sponsored a total of seven children from the hinterland regions, who needed urgent relief from their condition.

The company handled the

Executive Chairman of DeSinco Limited, Frank DeAbreu

Three children who benefitted from cleft lip and palate surgeries with their parents. Also pictured are plastic surgeon Dr Shilindra Rajkumar (second from right) and DeSinco’s Human Resources Manager, Vanessa Calistro (right)

Flood-prone Corentyne villages to get major drainage boost

RESIDENTS and farm ers from several villages along the Corentyne Coast, Region Six (East Berbice –Corentyne) will soon benefit from improved drainage in both the residential and farming communities.

On Wednesday, Agricul ture Minister Zulfikar Musta pha travelled to the region to meet with residents of Whim, Auchlyne, Lancaster, Letter Kenny, Alness, and Bloom field to discuss some of the upcoming works aimed at minimising flooding in the villages.

While engaging those who attended the meeting, Minister Mustapha said that after assessing the area, it was decided that the Na tional Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) will take charge of having the works done.

He further said that some $42 million will be expend ed to complete the drainage works in the residential area, while an additional $35 mil lion will be expended to clear drainage canals and rehabili tate dams within the farming areas.

“For this area, Whim/ Bloomfield, we know for a fact; when you look at all the villages in this area, this is the most flood-prone area.

Over the years, we’ve seen what happens when the rain falls. This is one of the areas that suffer from flooding very

fast. We’ve reviewed our resources, and within two months, we’ll have a fixed pump dedicated to Whim.

“In the communities, when you go around the ar eas like Whim, Auchlyne, Lancaster, Letter Kenny, Al ness, and Bloomfield; almost all of the internal drains are blocked. We’ve reviewed it and decided to get a contrac tor to do the internal drains. If bridges are blocking the drains, we’ll have to remove them because we have to get these works done,” Minister Mustapha said.

The minister said that As

sociated Construction, a Ber bice-based company, will be carrying out the works which are expected to commence today. He also said that the contractor has been asked to have machines working si multaneously in the villages, so that the work could be completed as soon as possible, and called on residents to help with monitoring the works.

While discussing works planned for the farming areas, Minister Mustapha assured farmers that works would soon commence to desilt the drainage canals within the cultivation areas.

“We know there are a number of canals that have been cleaned already. So, from Alness to Whim, / Bloomfield, we’ll clean all the canals in the cultivation, so that the farmers can ben efit. When that project is completed, we’ll have an ongoing maintenance pro gramme. Those works will be given to persons living in the community. You have to form yourselves into groups so that you can benefit from those works,” Minister Mustapha said.

He related too that cat

tle farmers will also benefit from the government’s as sistance and that works have been and will continue to be done to improve the existing infrastructure in areas such as PMU, and the Cookrite Savannah.

He also said that singleparent households from the Alness/Whim/Bloomfield area will each receive 25 Black Giant chicks to assist with poultry-rearing activities in the area.

Minister Mustapha added that farmers will soon ben efit from improved extension services.

“I’ve been saying this across the country, but from next year, our extension staff will be given additional train ing to better address the needs of the farmers. In addition to this, they will have to provide a weekly report detailing their extension activities within the various communities across this country,” he said.

Minister Mustapha was accompanied by the Min ister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat and other regional officials and senior officers from the Agricul ture Ministry.

ment Inc.

“In addition, invoices totalling $101.090 million were also submitted per taining to Dartmouth Skip Rental Inc. and Cevon’s Waste Management Inc.,” the Auditor General said.

THE Office of the Au ditor General is having quite a difficult time mak ing sure public funds are properly spent over at the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC).

Auditor General Deodat Sharma highlighted as much in his most recent report.

The Auditor General noted that back in Novem ber 2017, the APNU+AFC Cabinet gave its approval for a grant of $475.635 mil lion to be disbursed to the Georgetown Mayor and City Council through the Minis try of Communities.

The money was dis

bursed, but the City Council has been unable to provide the necessary documents to prove how it spent the sum.

The Auditor General re ported that his office was still unable to verify the completeness, accuracy and validity of amounts totalling $374.545 million.

The funds were report edly paid to contractors for sanitisation services pro vided to the City Council.

Sharma reported that only this year, the City Council submitted three contract agreements, two for Puran Brothers and one for Cevon’s Waste Manage

Being that the money was disbursed from the now Ministry of Local Govern ment, which used to be the Ministry of Communities, Sharma’s observations were highlighted under that min istry. However, the ministry is holding no responsibil ity for M&CC’s inability to submit relevant documents.

The Ministry of Local Government responded to the Auditor General, saying that the management of the Georgetown Municipality was informed to locate and present all relevant docu mentation to the Audit Of fice for examination.

The Audit Office has recommended that the ministry follow up with the Council to have the perti nent documents submitted for audit.

Residents and farmers from several villages along the Corentyne Coast, Region Six (East Berbice–Corentyne), will soon benefit from improved drainage in both the residential and farming communities (Agriculture Ministry photo)

Education Ministry launches breakfast programme in Region Five

THE Ministry of Ed ucation’s “Edutrition: Breakfast for Success” programme was on Wednesday launched in Region Five (Maha ica-Berbice).

During the launch of the programme at the Belladrum Prima ry School, Minister of Education Priya Man ickchand said that the initiative is part of the ministry’s plan to en sure every school-aged child has access to qual ity educational opportu nities.

She highlighted that

while the government remains committed to investing in the nation’s

children, parents need to play their role in their children’s development.

In brief remarks, Co ordinator of the Break fast Programme, Ma hendra Phagwah, told the pupils that the pro gramme was created to meet their needs, so they can enjoy a nutri tious but tasty meal.

Regional Chairman for Region Five, Vick chand Ramphal noted that the programme will not only benefit pupils, but also entire families across the region.

Headmistress of Bel ladrum Primary School, Savitrie Diaram, thanked the ministry for the programme, noting that through it atten dance and punctuality have improved.

The breakfast pro gramme was previously launched in 2016, but only seven schools had benefitted.

According to the Ed ucation Ministry, all 25 primary schools on the

coastland of Region Five are currently ben efitting from the break fast programme. This means that almost 900 students across grades six classes in the re gion are getting a daily breakfast meal.

This programme has also created employ ment for 25 caterers, who have now become small- business own ers to provide for their families. In addition, a

monitoring and evalu ation officer from the region was employed to help monitor the break fast programme so that excellence is always delivered.

As it is now, 12,401 students are bene fitting countrywide from the breakfast programme, while 235 persons are directly employed through the programme. (Ministry of Education)

US Ambassador pays courtesy call on Police Commissioner

THE United States Am bassador to Guyana, Sar ah-Ann Lynch, on Wednes day afternoon paid a cour tesy call on Commissioner of Police (ag) Clifton Hick

en

The police said on its Facebook page that the two had a “brief and cordial meeting.”

In addition to the two

at his Eve Leary office.

officials who accompanied Ambassador Lynch, Crime Chief Wendel Blanhum and Deputy Commissioner ‘Administration’ Calvin Brutus were also present.

The Ministry of Education’s “Edutrition: Breakfast for Success” programme was on Wednesday launched in Region Five

Coordinator of the Breakfast Programme, Mahendra Phagwah

Regional Chairman for Region Five, Vickchand Ramphal

From left to right: Deputy Commissioner ‘Administration’ Calvin Brutus, Crime Chief Wendel Blanhum, Commissioner of Police (ag) Clifton Hicken, US Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch and two US officials following the meeting at Eve Leary ( Guyana Police Force photo)

PAHO Director: Countries must be vigilant for ‘triple threat’ as holidays approach

Carissa Etienne, Direc tor of the Pan Ameri can Health Organiza tion (PAHO), called on countries, especially in the run-up to the festive season, to implement effective tools proven to keep communities safe, such as vaccines, surveil lance, mask-wearing and social distancing.

She noted that COVID-19 infections are on the rise, seasonal in

fluenza is on the rise, and Respiratory Syncytial Vi rus (RSV) cases are on the rise.

“The rise of a single respiratory infection is a cause for concern. When two or three start impact ing a population concur rently, this should put us all on alert,” she said during a media briefing on Wednesday.

Cases of COVID-19 have increased by 17 per

cent in the region over the past week, and deaths in creased in South America and Central America. A reduction in testing may be hiding the true number of infections.

“The situation can change quickly,” she warned. “Every time we become complacent with this virus, we run the risk of resurgence. We cannot lower our guard.”

Meanwhile, cases of

influenza in North Ameri ca are rising and an out-ofseason increase in cases in the Southern Cone is also being seen, particularly in Argentina and Uruguay, which is putting unex pected stress on health systems.

RSV infections have also increased significant ly, burdening health sys tems in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Uruguay and the United States, and having

a particular impact on children and infants under the age of one.

Etienne highlighted that the strategies used to limit the spread of COVID-19, including mask-wearing and social distancing, also apply to other respiratory diseases, including RSV, for which there is currently no vac cine.

Countries, she rec ommended must also strengthen genomic sur veillance of diseases and continue to encour age vaccination against COVID-19 and influenza.

This year, the PAHO Revolving Fund has pro cured 39.5 million vaccine doses against COVID-19, and 31 million influen za vaccines to Member States.

“We have enough vac cines to keep us all safe. Let’s use them,” urged the Director.

Turning to the addi tional outbreaks in the Americas, Dr. Etienne reported that the cholera situation in Haiti con tinues to worsen, with over 700 confirmed cases since early October, 7,000 suspected cases, and 144 deaths.

PAHO continues to support Haiti in provid ing life-saving care to

patients, deploying health workers and facilitating access to fuel for health facilities, but other coun tries must increase vigi lance, the Director urged.

Monkeypox infec tions have fallen in most of the severely affected countries, and Dr. Eti enne called on countries to continue to engage with those who are most at risk, “to drive cases to zero as quickly as possible.”

As far as polio is con cerned, the PAHO Direc tor reported no further cases in the region, though vaccination remains “his torically low.”

“We must remember that polio spreads silently, and it has no cure or treat ment,” she said. “Vaccines are our best tool to prevent this disease.”

As we head into the holiday season and travel to visit family and friends, people must remain vigi lant about all these health threats and learn from the lessons of COVID-19, Dr. Etienne said:

“We have the tools at our disposal to limit the impact of severe respi ratory diseases, and we must continue to respond to these crises as a re gion. Let’s not take these lessons for granted.”

— warns against taking COVID-19, influenza and RSV for granted

PAHO Director, Carissa Etienne

New sewing machines boost St. Ignatius Village garment construction programme

Man gets 15 years for raping 12-year-old girl thrice

RAY Williams called ‘Roy’ was, on Wednes day, sentenced to 15 years, three months in jail for several counts of rape committed on a 12-year-old girl.

Williams,33, was sentenced by Justice Sandil Kissoon at the Sexual Offences Court of the Demerara High Court.

Twenty Garment Con struction trainees in St. Ignatius Village will now benefit from the handing over of six new sewing machines geared to boost the progress of the train ing programme under taken by the Board of Industrial Training (BIT).

This development ful fils a promise made by Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton and BIT’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO),

lis tening to concerns raised on Monday last during their visit there.

Presently, the train ees are in the final month of their four-month pro gramme which covers theoretical and practical elements of the discipline.

As such, the visit al low them an opportunity to showcase their beau tifully well-constructed pieces under the tutelage

of Instructor Stephanie Bourne which ranged from work attire, pillow case, pot holders, school uniforms and aprons among others.

Also present were BIT’s Senior Technical Officer, Leon Greaves, BIT’s Human Resource Officer, Melinda Kelly and BIT’s Technical Of ficer with responsibility for Region Nine, Indira Singh among others.

Last month, Wil liams pleaded guilty to three counts of rape of a child under 16 years, which occurred between February and October 2021.

He was represent ed by attorney-at-law Teriq Mohammed, while the State was rep resented by prosecutors Cecilia Corbin, Caressa

Henry and Peneeta Per saud.

The judge, during his sentencing remarks, underscored the phys ical and psychological trauma the victim has had to face due to Wil liams’ actions.

He also considered the prevalence of such offences here in Guy

ana and the fact that Williams took advan tage of the closeness he shared with the victim and her family.

The judge delivered separate sentences for each count. Williams was sentenced to 12 years on the first count, 13 years on the second count, and 15 years, three months on the final count.

The judge ordered that the sentences run concurrently, which means Williams will only serve 15 years, three months in prison.

The judge further ordered that Williams undergo counselling for sex offenders while in prison.

Richard Maughn after

Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton (center), BIT’s CEO, Richard Maughn (behind Minister Hamilton) flanked by the Garment Construction trainees in St. Ignatius Village and the new sewing machines that were donated

Ray Williams

New GNBS sub-office opens in Lethem

THE Guyana Nation al Bureau of Standards (GNBS), on Wednesday, opened the doors of its brand new sub-office in the town of Lethem, Re gion Nine.

The modernised and expanded facility will bet ter enable the GNBS to provide its core services to the residents of the rapidly developing region which borders with Brazil. Ini tial services which will be provided include product monitoring, measurement verification and training.

Delivering her remarks at the opening ceremony, Executive Director (Ag) of the GNBS, Ms. Ramrattie Karan pointed out that the opening of the new sub-of fice is in keeping with the government’s plans to take its services to the people across the country.

As the GNBS works to promote quality, she stated, “it is important to have a physical presence in each administrative region, especially those close to the borders.”

Ms. Karan further add ed, “Coming into this re gion in a much bigger space, we (GNBS) want to start working with the small and micro business es through training and technical assistance so they can all meet the re quirements of first: na tional standards and then international standards.

This was welcomed by President of the Rupununi Chamber of Commerce &

pledged the commitment of the cham ber and businesses in the region to work with the GNBS towards imple menting standards.

Gajie urged the GNBS to educate the Rupununi Business community on the requirements of the relevant standards to en courage compliance.

Regional Chairman, Bryan Allicock, in his re marks, pointed out that many items are imported from neighbouring Brazil and he believes that the services of the GNBS will be beneficial to the resi dents of Lethem and the region.

“I am thankful for the presence of GNBS in Le them, which is the centre of the development in the region, to push quality because there are cases where persons purchase clothing and other items monitored by the GNBS which do not meet quality requirements. We must thank the GNBS and the Government of Guyana for providing this facility to the people of Region Nine,” he said.

The Lethem Office is the ninth sub-office opened by the GNBS in administrative regions across the country. With support from the gov ernment, the GNBS has successfully established offices in Anna- Regina (Region Two), Vreed-enHoop (Region Three), Fort

Wellington (Region Five), New Amsterdam and Cor riverton (Region Six), Bartica (Region Seven), Mahdia (Region Eight), and now Lethem (Region Nine). Shortly, the GNBS is set to open its office in Mabaruma, Region One.

While in Lethem, the visiting GNBS team also held several meetings with stakeholders including the Councillors of the Lethem Town Council, the Re gional Administration, and the Rupununi Chamber of Commerce and Industry to discuss mutual concerns and areas for collabora tion.

Further, a school lec ture was conducted with students at the St Ignatius Secondary School and an interview was conduct ed with Radio Lethem to create awareness of GNBS and its services in the region.

Stakeholders needing to contact the GNBS Let hem Office can call: +592693-0845 to speak with In spector, Jad Atkinson who is stationed in Lethem.

The opening ceremo ny was also attended by Regional Executive Of ficer (Ag), Ms. Coretta Lyken; Town Clerk, Ms. Keisha Vincent; Chair person of the Social De velopment Committee at the Town Council, Ms. Megan Thomas and Regional Commander, Senior Superintendent, Raphael Rose among others.

Industry (RCCI), Daniel Gajie who

Executive Director (ag) of the GNBS, Ms. Ramrattie Karan and Regional Chairman, Bryan Allicock, look on as a pupil of the Arapaima Primary School cuts the ceremonial ribbon

COP27: ‘We cannot compromise with catastrophe, so

THE Commonwealth Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland has urged countries at tending the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh to progress talks towards a meaningful outcome by the end of the week.

As the final days of negotiations approach for the annual summit, attended by more than 35,000 delegates from almost 200 nations, the Secretary-General called for actions that will close the gaps on emissions, finance and justice, while taking into account the needs of vulnerable countries.

In her statement to the conference plenary, Secretary-General Scot land emphasised:

“As climate change advances, we have lost momentum. The gap on emissions, finance and justice has widened, while the window for action continues to nar row.

“It is our duty to close that gap – and this process is our only chance. Because we cannot compromise with catastrophe, so we must compromise with

each other.”

She highlighted the series of climate disas ters that have affect ed millions of people across the Common wealth in recent months.

In Pakistan, devastating floods have claimed more than 1,700 lives and affected 33 million people since June. Sim ilarly in Nigeria, more than 600 people have died and 1.3 million displaced, due to the worst floods seen in the country in more than a decade.

The Secretary-Gen eral continued: “Vulner able states face being consumed by the waves or drowned by debt. The unthinkable has become typical… “We must reject the violence of inaction against those who need us to succeed, now and for generations to come, and commit ourselves to action on land, ocean, energy, fi nance and resilience.”

The Commonwealth comprises 56 member countries brought to gether by shared values and principles, includ ing 33 small states, 25 of which are small is land developing states.

In 1989, Common

wealth Heads of Gov ernment met in Langka wi, Malaysia, and raised the alarm on the “per manent and irreversible damage” to the envi ronment, demanding a “co-ordinated global effort” to address the challenge.

Since then, the Com monwealth has champi oned global advocacy around climate change and ocean action.

This year, Secre tary-General Scotland is heading a delega tion from the Common wealth Secretariat to COP27, with the aim of amplifying the concerns of member countries, advocating for small and other vulnerable states, supporting part nerships and raising awareness about the various Commonwealth programmes offered to support members.

This includes ini tiatives such as the Commonwealth Living Lands Charter, the Commonwealth Blue Charter, the Common wealth Climate Fi nance Access Hub and the Commonwealth Sustainable Energy Agenda.

we must compromise with each other’

— Commonwealth Secretary-General

Commonwealth Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland

Public hearings in Guyana/ Venezuela border case begin today

THE International Court of Justice (ICJ) will hold public hearings in the case concerning the Arbi tral Award of October 3, 1899 (Guyana v. Venezu ela) from today until No vember 22, at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the seat of the Court.

According to press re lease from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Inter national Co-operation, the hearings will be devoted to the preliminary objections raised by Venezuela in response to Guyana’s sub mission of its Memorial on the merits of the case.

In giving some back ground information, the ministry said that Guy ana brought the matter to the ICJ in an application submitted on March 28, 2018. The Court, in De cember 2020, confirmed its jurisdiction over the case, rejecting Venezuela’s objections.

Then on March 8, 2022, Guyana filed its Memorial on the merits of its case against Venezuela in accordance with the Court’s order of March 8, 2021.

Venezuela subsequent ly filed preliminary objec tions to the admissibility of Guyana’s Application to the Court to determine the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award on June, 2022.

In accordance with its

rules, the Court suspended the proceedings on the merits until the determi nation by the Court of the matter of Venezuela’s pre liminary objections.

The hearings will be streamed live in English, on the Court’s website and on UN Web TV.

“The people of Guyana have remained firmly unit ed in the quest to preserve Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. To this end, the Government in vited the Leader of the Opposition to name a rep resentative from the com bined Opposition to be part of Guyana’s delegation to The Hague. That invitation has been accepted,” the release added.

Guyana will be rep resented at the hearings by Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C.; Min ister of Parliamentary Af fairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira; Agent of Guyana in the case concerning the Arbitral Award of October 3, 1899, Carl Greenidge; Co-Agent and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-opera tion, Ambassador Elisa beth Harper; Director of the Frontiers Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, Donnette Streete; and Adviser to the Leader of the Opposition

on Frontier matters, Am bassador Ronald Austin.

Guyana’s legal team is being headed by Co-Agent and Counsel, Sir Shri dath Ramphal and includes member of the Bars of the United States Supreme Court and the District of Columbia, Paul S. Re ichler; Professor Emeritus of the University Paris Nanterre, former Chair man of the Internation al Law Commission and member of the Institut de droit international, Alain Pellet; Professor of In ternational Law at Uni versity College, London, Philippe Sands; Professor of International Law and Senior Fellow at Massey College, University of To ronto and member of the Bar of New York, the Law Society of Ontario and the Permanent Court of Arbitration, Payam Akha van; Professor ordinaire, Université Catholique de Louvain and member of the Institut de Droit Inter national, Foley Hoag LLP and the Bar of Brussels, Pierre d’Argent; member of the Bars of the District of Columbia, the State of New York, England and Wales, and the Law Soci ety of Ontario, Christina L. Beharry; Barrister from Matrix Chambers, London, Edward Craven; member of the Bar of the State of New York, Juan Pablo Hu gues Arthur and member

Youth gets 11 years for raping 12-year-old girl

HIGH

Last month, the First Phase, Kwakwani, Upper Berbice River resident, admitted that he raped the child on November 17, 2021.

Justice Kissoon, during his sentencing remarks, underscored the physical and psychological trauma the victim has had to face and continued to face, as a result of the incident.

The judge, after taking into consideration the nature and prevalence of the offence, sentenced Fontanelle to 11 years.

of the Bar of the District of Columbia, Isabella F. Uria.

Guyana maintains that a judicial settlement of the matter is the only recourse remaining as it has ex hausted all other measures.

As recently as October 4, the United States gov ernment reaffirmed the

validity of the 1899 Arbi tral Award and solidified its support for a “peaceful resolution” of the Guy ana-Venezuela border controversy through the proper court, if there is any deviation from that Award.

Guyana is seeking to obtain a final and bind

ing judgement that the 1899 Arbitral Award, which established the lo cation of the land bound ary between then British Guiana and Venezuela, remains valid, and that the Essequibo region belongs to Guyana, and not Venezuela.

Court Judge, Sandil Kissoon, on Wednes day, sentenced 22-year-old Mark Fontanelle to 11 years in prison for raping a 12-year-old girl.

Mark Fontanelle

Ten technical staff off to India for training on operation of new ferry

TEN employees, in cluding engineers, sur veyors, technicians, and crew from the Transport and Harbours Department, will be travelling to Kolk ata, India, for training on the new ferry vessel, MV Ma Lisha, accord ing to the Indian High Commission.

MV Ma Lisha is be ing built by Indian De fense Public Sector En terprise, Garden Reach Ship Builders Ltd. under a Government Of In dia-funded 12.77 mil lion Grant/Line of Credit line. They will be in In dia from 3-7 December 2022.

The selected em ployees are Victor Reid, Chief Mechanical Engi neer; Cleroy Haywood, Captain; Orson Lindie,

Mate; Matthew Burke, Mate; Paul Brotherson, Chief Engineer; Garfield Karl, Second Engineer; Courtney Melville, Ordi nary Seaman; Randy Oc tober, Ordinary Seaman; Courtney McDonald, Surveyor of Ships; Col lis Bethune, Technician (Electrical).

During a courtesy call on the High Commis sioner of India, H.E. Dr. KJ Srinivasa, discus sions were held on the progress of the project and training/inspection for which the team was visiting India.

Meanwhile, two rep resentatives of the Gar den Reach Shipbuild ers and Engineers Ltd are currently in Guyana where they are coordi nating final preparatory work for the ferry’s ar

rival and maintenance after arrival, expected at the end of January 2023.

During a meeting with HE Dr. KJ Srini vasa, the representatives briefed the High Com missioner on the prog ress of the vessel project and the co-operation be ing co-ordinated with the Guyanese authorities.

The ferry was launched into water in June, 2022 by Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill.

The MV Ma Lisha Ocean-going ferry will cater to the transpor tation needs of pas sengers and cargoes along the riverine and coastal routes of the Northwestern district of Guyana, fulfilling a long-standing demand of the region.

High Commissioner of India H.E. Dr. KJ Srinivasa with employees of the Transport and Harbours Department after their meeting (Indian High Commission photo)

UAE penalised for using saliva on ball

ESPNCRICINFO) - UAE were the first casualties of the ICC's decision to im pose a permanent ban on the use of saliva to polish the ball.

Yesterday, when Alis han Sharafu applied saliva to shine the ball during the second ODI against Nepal in Kathmandu, onfield umpires Vinay Jha and Durga Subedi awarded Ne pal five penalty runs in line with the ruling that came into effect this September.

In any case, the ban on saliva use had been in place for over two years as a COVID-related measure. At the time, the ICC Cricket Committee, headed by Anil Kumble had recommended that sweat and not any arti ficial substance should be used to shine the ball.

That sweat was a safer option than saliva was ap proved by the ICC's chief medical expert Dr Peter Harcourt, who had high lighted that COVID-19 was airborne respiratory infec tion and highly contagious.

In September this year, this temporary ruling was made permanent following

a meeting of the ICC Crick et Committee. Given the ongoing three-match series between UAE and Nepal has ODI status, the rule was automatically applied.

"If the umpires spot someone applying saliva on the ball blatantly, there's no option but to award five penalty runs to the opposition straightaway," a former ICC panel umpire confirmed to ESPNcricinfo.

"Earlier, when the rule was initially implemented after the pandemic, there was some leniency in the form of two warnings to the fielding team, since ev eryone was getting adjusted to the new ruling. We used

to talk to the captain and give him a heads-up simply because it was a new rule.

Two years on, teams and players are used to it now."

For the record, Nepal squeezed home by three wickets in a tight game to level the series at 1-1. Victory was orchestrated by Aarif Sheik and 16-yearold Gulshan Jha, who added 62 for the eighth wicket.

While Jha made 37, Sheikh remained unbeaten on 33 to take Nepal home in their chase of 191.

The series-decider will be played at the same ven ue - Tribhuvan University Grounds in Kathmandu tomorrow.

RACING TIPS

American Racing Tips

Aqueduct

Race 1 Signal From Noise

Race 2 Laughter

Race 3 Dat Dares Gold

Race 4 Anador Race 5 Runabout Race 6 Breeze Easy Race 7 Free Chickens

South Africa Racing Tips

Vaal

08:05 hrs Reunion

08:45 hrs Tabebuia

09:15 hrs Iphiko

09:50 hrs Rose For Trippi

10:25 hrs Burmese Tiara

English Racing Tips

Market Rasen

08:17 hrs Rock House

08:47 hrs Three Platoon

09:20 hrs Dame De Fortune

09:55 hrs Bempton Cliffs

10:30 hrs Bowtogreatness

11:05 hrs Romeo Brown

11:40 hrs Merrijig

Wincanton

08:25 hrs Corniccello

08:55 hrs Stormin Crossgales

09:30 hrs Last Royal 10:05 hrs Ebonello

10:40 hrs Don Alvaro

11:15 hrs Mae Be Lucky

11:50 hrs Almost Gotaway

Chelmsford City

13:00 hrs Majestic Pride

13:30 hrs Laurentia

14:00 hrs Longsider

14:30 hrs Soldier’s Minute

15:00 hrs The Nail Gunner

15:30 hrs Bethersden Boy

16:00 hrs Overstate

16:30 hrs Costa Adeje

Irish Racing Tips

Clonmel

08:42 hrs Corbetts Cross

09:12 hrs Green Glory

09:47 hrs Yischio

10:23 hrs Scarlet And Dove

10:53 hrs Blue Lord

11:23 hrs Womalko

11:53 hrs Transmission

Canadian Racing Tips Woodbine

Race 1 Stubborn Streak

Race 2 Chrome’s Angel

Race 3 Silver Sign

Race 4 Silent Guroo

"If the umpires spot someone applying saliva on the ball blatantly, there's no option but to award five penalty runs to the opposition straightaway" (Getty Images)

Novak happy to play Australian Open after visa ban overturned

(BBC) - Novak Djokovic confirmed he will play at next year's Austra lian Open, saying he was "very happy" his visa ban had been overturned.

The Serb, a nine-time champion, was deported before this year's event after his visa was can celled in a row over his COVID-19 vaccine status.

He was automatical ly banned for three years from entering Australia, but on Tuesday learnt a visa would be granted.

"I could not receive better news," the 21-time Grand Slam champion said.

Speaking to reporters at the ATP Finals in Turin after reaching the semi-fi nals, the former world number one added: "It was a relief obviously knowing what I and people closest to me in my life have been through this year with what happened in Australia and post Australia obviously.

"(The) Australian Open has been my most success ful Grand Slams. I made some of the best memories there.

"Of course, I want to go back there, I want to play tennis, do what I do best and hopefully have a great Australian summer."

When Djokovic arrived in Australia in January, COVID-19 cases were sky rocketing and government rules required anyone en tering the country to be vaccinated, unless they had a valid medication exemption.

He did not meet the requirements for entry, the government said, so his visa was cancelled and he was automatically not al lowed to return to Australia until 2025.

But Immigration Min ister Andrew Giles - whose government came to power in May - has overturned the ban.

Djokovic's detention and deportation dominated the headlines in the buildup to this year's Australian Open.

Many people in Aus tralia cheered the decision,

but it also sparked uproar among supporters who gathered outside his hotel, as well as in Serbia.

DJOKOVIC 'FLAW LESS' ON WAY TO SEMI-FINALS

Just hours after learning he would be able to com pete in Australia in Janu ary, Djokovic was on court putting in a clinical display against Andrey Rublev to reach the semi-finals of the ATP Finals.

He did not face a single break point in a 6-4, 6-1 win over the Russian, who was left smashing his rac quet on the floor at times in the face of 69 minutes of ruthless tennis.

Djokovic made the breakthrough against Ru blev in the 10th game to take the first set before embarking on what he described as a "flawless" second set.

"I played very, very

well," Djokovic, 35, said in his on-court interview.

"(It was) one of the best matches of the year, without a doubt, against an always tough opponent. It was an amazing perfor mance."

Later yesterday, Ste fanos Tsitsipas took on Daniil Medvedev in the other Red Group match, with both seeking their first wins. Djokovic will take on Medvedev in his final group game tomor row.

The season-ending ATP Finals will feature the season's top eight men's players and Djokovic is seeking to win the event for a record-equalling sixth time.

But 22-time major winner Rafael Nadal's hopes of a first title were ended on Tuesday when he lost to Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime.

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER

(Thursday November 17, 2022)

CUMMINGS ELECTRICAL COMPANY LTD-83 Garnett Street, Georgetown (Tel: 225-6158)

Answers to yesterday’s quiz:

(1) Brian Lara-2815 runs (30 Tests)

(2) Brian Lara-277 (Sydney, 1992/93)

Today’s Quiz:

(1) Which AUST batsman has scored most Test runs against the WI to date?

(2) What is the highest individual Test score made by an AUST player against the WI to date?

Answers in tomorrow’s

Five-time champion Djokovic is into the semi-finals of the ATP Finals for the 11th time

CWI announces three-member team to probe early World Cup exit

BRIAN Lara and Mick ey Arthur are part of an independent pan el assembled by CWI to undertake "a com prehensive review" of West Indies' firstround exit from the men's T20 World Cup in Australia.

West Indies, champi ons in 2012 and 2016, bowed out of the tour nament before the Super 12 stage after defeats to Ireland and Scotland in their first-round group, an outcome which CWI said had "caused great disappointment and frus tration among all West

Indies cricket stakehold ers" and saw Phil Sim mons step down from his role as head coach.

Lara and Arthur - who are currently employed by Sunrisers Hyder abad and Derbyshire re spectively - have been brought in as part of a three-man working group which will be chaired by Justice Patrick Thomp son Jr, a high court judge at the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.

They have been asked to conduct "a thorough and independent review of the West Indies men's T20 team's preparation

and performance" and will speak to "as many stakeholders as practi cably possible" over the next six weeks, including selectors, squad mem bers, management staff, board officials, ex-play ers, territorial boards and franchises and the Ca ribbean Premier League (CPL).

They will collate their findings and submit their recommendations as part of a final report to CWI's board of directors by December 15.

Ricky Skerritt, the CWI president, said: "It is vital that players,

coaches, administra tors, and all of us who love West Indies cricket, recognise that creating a sustainable learning culture, throughout the organisation is a prereq uisite for player growth and team improvement.

"Emotion-based and knee-jerk type deci sions have failed CWI repeatedly in the past. I am confident that this independent World Cup review process will produce findings and learnings that should be of great benefit to our cricket system go ing forward."

Ronaldo: I was close to joining City

(BBC) - Cristiano Ronaldo says he was close to joining Manchester City before following his "heart" by re-joining Manchester United.

The Portugal forward made headlines earlier this week after telling Talk TV he felt "betrayed" by the club.

The first part of the full interview was released yesterday in which he gave more detail on his version of events at Old Trafford.

"Honestly, it was close," he said of potentially joining City.

Ronaldo returned to Old Trafford from Juventus in August 2021 - 11 years after he left the club to join Real Madrid.

At the time it was reported he was wanted by City boss Pep Guardiola and, although Ronaldo confirmed the interest, he said he decided to sign for United after speaking with his old manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

Chess is more than making decisions to catch a king

BOARD Members of the Guyana Chess Fed eration (GCF) must be commended for taking an unwavering and unit ed stance on the need for accountability and transparency, thereby preserving the slow but steady gains made so far by chess locally.

The framers of the up dated GCF constitution recognised the importance of accountability, also en shrined in the regulations of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), of which Guyana is a member.

In similar vein, the en tire Board of the GCF re acted in unison and decided to sack their president last month; he allegedly refused to be accountable and at

tempted to foist a strange gambit on the executive members of the body. Ev idently, they would have none of it and demonstrated maturity and prudence to discredit the former presi dent’s act of sheer folly. It is seriously laughable!

Chess is more than making decisions to catch a king. In the small local chess community, a few aficionados recognise and subscribe to the time-hon oured maxim: “CHESS IS LIFE”.

Moves in chess are un leashed from a pattern of decisions made with the sole objective to check mate an opponent’s king. Perhaps, fate is one’s main opponent in navigating life when making decisions to

achieve personal uplift.

Decision-making is the main premise of execut ing moves in chess. Good decisions (moves) lead to good outcomes and bad de cisions lead to bad results. It’s that simple. Fortunate ly, chess is intended for the masses – the ordinary man, woman, girl or boy every where and NOT a select few only.

The game is easy to learn and a force for good, yet some with developed minds are misguided by its great lessons on life away from the chessboard.

I urge parents and guard ians, teachers, students and responsible adults to learn and spread the game of the mind to promote a better thinking society. Arthur

Fletcher, former head of the United Negro College Fund aptly coined the phrase “A mind is a terrible thing to waste”. He is right. Em manuel Lasker, one of the chess greats over a century ago warned, inter alia, “On the chessboard lies and hypocrisy do not survive long…” He is also right.

One hopes lessons are learned from the above episode and the drive con tinues earnestly to spread the game countrywide. Peace!

Sincerely, Shiv Nandalall Former President Guyana Chess Federa tion

The 37-year-old added: "As you know, my history in Manchester United, your heart, you're feeling the way that you did before, makes the difference. And of course, Sir Alex Ferguson.

"I spoke with him. He said to me, 'it's impossible for you to come to Manchester City'. And I say 'OK, boss'."

‘YOUNG PLAYERS DON'T CARE

Ronaldo, who will miss Portugal's friendly with Nigeria today because of a stomach bug, criticised the attitude and professionalism of young footballers during the interview, accusing them of "not respecting" their older and more expe rienced team-mates.

"Their hunger (is different)," he added. "I think they have things more easily, everything's easy, they don't suffer - and they don't care.

"I don't mean only a few in Manchester United, but all the teams in all leagues in the world, the youngers are not the same of my generation.

"But you cannot blame them, because it's part of the life and the new generation, the new technologies that distract them."

Ronaldo singled out his United and Portugal team-mate Diogo Dalot, 23, as one of the few young players he could praise.

Ronaldo also said Lisandro Martinez and Casemiro are other players he admires at the club.

“In Manchester United I can mention Dalot," he said. "He's young, but very professional but I don't doubt that he's going to have longevity in football because he's young, he's smart, intelligent and he's very professional. Probably Martinez, Casemiro is in his 30s, but I will say Dalot.'’

Diogo Dalot, right, was singled out by Cristiano Ronaldo as a player he admires

Thrills at 2022 Archery National Indoor Finals

THE curtain came down on the 2022 National Archery Indoor Championships last Saturday at the National Gymnasium as the finalists waged a tough battle for the top spots.

The match play events began in the Barebow divi sion with the finalists in their respective cartegories; Men U18, Women U18, Men and Women. In the Men U18, Luzigue Stanley of Nations Archery Club took the gold against Antuwan Lamazon of The Archery Guild who re ceived silver, and Alistair Ce darry also of Nations copped the bronze.

In the Women U18, Ma laika Bynoe took gold, as Katiffa Fraser took silver and Stephanie McTurk, bronze, all of whom are from Nations Archery Club.

The Men Barebow saw Archery Guyana’s Jeewan ram Persaud and ProArchers’ Mehandra Chatargum battle it out for the gold medal. Persaud emerged victorious, with Chatargum taking the silver and Muhammad Zama luddin also from Archery Guyana taking the bronze.

In the Men Recurve finals Persaud came up against Sean Duncan, but it was

The Men U18 recurve matches were all Nations’ archers as Christian Crai gen took gold over Nicholas Sookdeo’s silver and Alistair Cedarry’s bronze. Sookdeo was the youngest archer to have competed in the com petition.

For the Women U18 Re curve Nations Archery’s Ma laika Bynoe received gold as no other archer contested her division and category.

In the Women Recurve matches Samira Duncan (The Archery Guild) took home the gold medal against Archery Guyana’s Roshini

The final match was the Women Barebow which was a nail-biting affair. The Ar chery Guild’s Julie-Ann Wil liams beat Roshini Boodhoo to the gold in a 1-arrow shoot off with Williams’ arrow being closest to centre. Boo dhoo took the silver. Harshita Chatterjee of ProArchers took the bronze in this di vision.

At the Presentation Cer emony after the event, Sec retary-General of Archery Guyana, Mrs Vidushi Per saud-McKinnon thanked the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, Hon. Charles

Ramson,

als. Certificates of Participa tion were also presented to each and every participant.

Final Results are as fol lows:

Men U18 RECURVE

Christian Craigen1st gold

Nicholas Sookdeo2nd silver

Alistair Cedarry - 3rd bronze

Men U18 BAREBOW

Luzigue Stanley - 1st gold

Antuwan Lamazon - 2nd silver

Alistair Cedarry - 3rd bronze

Women U18 RECURVE

bronze

Men RECURVE

Sean Duncan - 1st gold

Jeewanram Persaud - 2nd silver

Nicholas Hing3rd bronze

Men BAREBOW

Jeewanram Persaud - 1st gold

Mehandra Chatargum2nd silver

Muhammad Zamaluddin - 3rd bronze

the

She went on to thank all the participants, coaches, parents, teachers, media, well-wishers and the general public for attending over the past week.

Mrs McKinnon was ex tremely pleased and encour aged by the largest-ever turn out of representatives from clubs noting that the event attracted participants from as young as twelve years old.

Secretary-General Mrs Vidushi Persaud-McKinnon announced the results as the Chair of Competitions Committee, Mr Umasankar Madray, presented the med

Malaika Bynoe - 1st gold Women U18 BAREBOW

Malaika Bynoe - 1st gold

Katiffa Fraser2nd silver

Stephanie McTurk - 3rd bronze

Women RECURVE Samira Duncan - 1st gold Roshini Boodhoo - 2nd silver

Bibi Saleema Salim - 3rd bronze

Women BAREBOW

Julie-Ann Williams - 1st gold

Roshini Boodhoo2nd silver

Harshita Chatterjee - 3rd

Director of Sport, Mr Steve Ninvalle stated that the National Sports Com mission and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport are happy with the trajectory of Archery. Director Ninvalle went on to say, “We have seen a meteoric rise in the development of the sport un der its present administration and stand ready to continue our support of this sport dis cipline.”

The Board of Directors wishes to convey its pro fuse thanks to the Archery National Judges for their professional work over the week. Special thanks to Director of Shooting Mr Robert Singh, Line Judge Mr Ryan McKinnon and Chairman of Judges, Mr Nicholas Hing.

Hales reprimanded for blackface comment

(ESPNCRICINFO) - Alex Hales has been reprimand ed by the Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) over an old photo of him in "black face" at a student party, which was published by a national newspaper last year.

Hales, who issued a pub lic apology when the photo was published by The Sun last year, questioned the need for "repeated publication of these old matters" during the CDC's investigation but Chris Tickle, the adjudicator, ruled that "the interests of transparency should prevail".

The CDC is described by the ECB as the body that

hears disciplinary cases in the professional domestic game in England and Wales and operates "at arm's length" from the board itself.

Hales was charged in Au gust with a breach of ECB di rective 3.3, which states: "No such person may conduct himself in a manner or do any act or omission which may be prejudicial to the interests of cricket or which may bring the game of cricket or any cricketer or group of cricket ers into disrepute.''

He admitted the charge and told the CDC's investi gation that he had taken steps "to ensure that the photo could not be linked to any of

his social media accounts" in 2015 and 2017.

According to the CDC's report, the ECB argued that Hales' breaches of their direc

tives in 2018 - which related primarily to his involvement in the infamous Bristol streetfight outside a nightclub in September 2017 - should be

considered "an aggravating factor" but Tickle disagreed.

"Neither of those breach es related to discriminatory conduct," he wrote. "They were wholly dissimilar. Fur ther, they occurred some eight years after the breach in this case. It would be differ ent if it were a case of repeat offending, of Mr Hales not having learnt his lesson. At the material time - 2009 - he had a clean record. This was his first offence and it is ap propriate to treat it as such."

Hales has previous ly been investigated and warned by Nottinghamshire, his county, and questioned the need to give the subject

"more airtime", according to the CDC report. "I have taken this into account but consider that the interests of transparency should prevail," Tickle wrote. "I direct that this decision should be pub lished so as to emphasise that such posting on social media, however historical, will not be tolerated."

Ateeq Javid, the for mer Warwickshire and Leicestershire all-rounder, has also been reprimanded over anti-Semitic messag es exchanged with Azeem Rafiq on Facebook in 2011 Rafiq was reprimanded for his involvement in the exchange last month.

Duncan who took the gold leaving Persaud with the silver and Nicholas Hing the bronze.

Boodhoo who took silver Bibi Saleema Salim also from The Archery Guild copped the bronze.

the National Sports Commission and Director of Sport, Mr Steve Ninvalle, for their usual kind support of

sport.

Some of the winners of the Archery Guyana National Indoor Finals

Alex Hales prepares to bat during an England nets session in Karachi (Getty Images)

Brian Lara has been brought in as part of a three-man working group which will be chaired by Justice Patrick Thompson Jr (BCCI) “If