Guyana Chronicle E-Paper 18-10-2022

Less debt, more ‘soft-term’ financing necessary

- to effectively fund food security, climate adaptation efforts, President Ali tells World Food Forum

- calls for establishment of special adaptation fund for Small-Island Developing states and low-lying coastal states

CONSIDERING the pe culiar and special needs of Small-Island Develop ing states (SIDs) and lowlying coastal states, there needs to be more climate adaptation financing on soft terms, meaning more

grants, concessionary in terest rates, and long-term repayment periods, Presi dent, Dr. Irfaan Ali has said.

In his passionate virtual address during the United Nations (UN)’s Food and

Agriculture Organisation (FAO)’s World Food Fo rum, President Ali said SIDs and low-lying coastal states face peculiar and inherent challenges to their food security.

“These challenges re

late to their smallness of land resources and the resultant diseconomies of scale, their remote ness from larger markets, susceptibility to external shocks and market vulner abilities, narrow revenue

bases, fragile ecosystems, and their vulnerability to climate risks.

“These climate-relat ed risks include flooding, overtopping of sea defenc es, swelling of rivers fol lowing extreme precipita

tion, drought, erosion, and natural disasters such as landslides and hurricanes,” the Head of State related during the discussion on the FAO’s Hand-in-Hand initiative.

Over 800 Region Two fisherfolk receive $150,000 one-off cash grant

HUNDREDS of fisherfolk in Region Two breathed a sigh of relief on Mon day after they collected the $150,000 one-off cash grant from government at the Rice Producers Asso ciation (RPA) bond in Anna

Regina.

The distribution exer cise was held months after President, Dr Irfaan Ali, announced the initiative which will benefit fisher folk across the country.

Similar exercises have al

ready been held in Regions Three, Four, Five and Six.

The grant is expected to help members of the fishing industry recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as cush ion the rise in cost of living.

Many of the young fish ermen were excited and said the money will be used to improve their lives. One such fisherman is 23-yearold Fitz Calvan of Charity.

He told the Guyana Chronicle that he arrived

Vendors, consumers thankful

at the venue around 08:00 hrs to ensure that he got a front row seat.

Calvan, who is work ing towards owning his own boat and employing persons to work with him, plans to use the money to

“improve his future.”

“As a young man, a fa ther of one, I want to own my own boat and go out to sea. I want to be my own entrepreneur in the fishing industry,” he said.

Vice-President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo (second from left) addressing fishermen at Anna Regina

Equip yourselves for leadership roles

-Vice-President urges Essequibo youths

By Tamica Garnett

VICE-President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo on Mon day appealed to young people on the Essequibo Coast to equip themselves to take up lead ership roles, given the great number of quali fied human capital Guy ana needs in light of its rapid development.

The meeting with the young people was the Vice-President’s third stop of the day on his outreach on the Essequibo Coast, where he met with fisherfolk during a cash grant distribution exer cise, and then also met with farmers at a meeting at the Anna Regina Sec ondary School.

During the various engagements, the VicePresident reiterated to the gatherings the various plans, programmes and policies of the govern ment to bring a better life to all Guyanese.

To the youths in par ticular, he emphasised the

need for them to make use of the various opportuni ties being made available by the government, and ensure that they equip themselves to become the kind of future leaders that Guyana will need.

“We have a deficit of leadership in many parts. What is happening is that sometimes we are in a mindset of complaining. And the same people who complain, if they just put some effort into fixing things, they’ll move fast er. But that requires train ing and leadership skills, and, often, people don’t have that. And if we’re going to change this coun try, we need leadership skills in all of our people, at all the different levels of our community,” the Vice-President said.

He reminded his audi ence that the government is simply not making de mands of the youths, but is actively putting in place the tools to equip them to rise to the occasion, pointing to the massive

Three weeks passed …

rollout of scholarships through the Guyana On line Learning Academy (GOAL), and other train ing programmes such as the Board of Industrial Training (BIT) through the Ministry of Labour (MoL).

Several professional certificates have also been offered to Guyanese over the past two years through Coursera and other initia tives.

Through these vari ous initiatives, the gov ernment is also going at length to facilitate courses for persons, from high school dropouts to the post-graduate and masters levels.

NECESSARY INFRA STRUCTURE

The government is also ensuring that the necessary infrastructure is in place to facilitate the learning, with the roll ing out of wider Internet services across the coun try, thereby enabling per sons to access the various courses, most of which

are Online.

However, the VicePresident noted that de spite all that is being done, he does not believe Guyanese are capitalis ing on the opportunities available as much as they should. He noted that thus far, just 561 persons from the Essequibo region have signed up for, and have been granted GOAL scholarships.

“We need not 561, we need maybe 3,000 peo ple in this region to get scholarships, from under graduate level all the way to post graduate masters, or a technical education,” Dr. Jagdeo noted.

He pointed out that if Guyanese do not upskill at an exponential rate, it will leave a worrying de ficiency in human capital in several sectors, includ ing health and hospitality.

“We have seven new hotels that are under con struction right now; they will need about 3,000 people to work in the ho tels. We don’t have people

Vice-President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo

trained as yet for that, and we have probably another five new international hotels in the works, so we have about 12 new hotels that will need about 5,000 people,” the Vice-Presi dent told the gathering of young people.

He added: “In the health sector, when we finish building these six new hospitals and up

grading some of the ex isting ones, we will need maybe 2,000 health sec tor professionals; new health sector profession als that we have to train. So, with more jobs in those areas, young peo ple have to start thinking about that already, because there is going to be a huge number of opportunities.”

Glen Lall yet to find investor

- promised company will produce power at US five cents per kW

KAIETEUR News pub

lisher, Glen Lall, is yet to apologise to the nation af ter he failed to deliver on his end of a commitment to find an investor who will produce electricity at a cost of US five cents per kilowatt hour for Guyana within three weeks.

Mr Lall, in an interview with Vice-President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, on Septem ber 13, 2022, told his listen ers that “the cost to produce electricity in today’s world is about [US] three cents” but the Vice-President, in pointing out how unrealistic Lall’s estimate is, challenged him to find an investor who would produce at a much

higher figure of five US cents instead. Lall agreed to do so and also committed to issuing a public apology for mislead ing the nation if he failed to accomplish the feat within three weeks.

“So, at five cents per kilowatt hour delivered to the government and if three weeks pass and you can’t get this company,” said the Vice-President and before he could complete his sentence, Lall interjected, saying, “I will apologise to the nation”.

He later agreed to broad cast his apology on his radio station and have it published in his newspapers.

However, five weeks have since passed and the

Kaieteur News publisher, who has no formal education in the field, yet styles himself as ‘oil and gas expert’, has shown no evidence of even searching for a company that will produce electricity at US five cents per kilowatt hour for Guyana.

He has so far also refused to apologise for misinform ing the nation.

During the interview, the Vice-President, in pointing out that Lall’s claim is not feasible, noted that many countries are building more gas power plants and explor ing the market for more oil and gas supplies to compen sate for the resources lost as a result of sanctions imposed

on Russia.

The Vice-President went on to say that it is clear that the world cannot achieve “net zero carbon emissions” without gas being used as a transitional fuel. This, he said, has been accepted by the US, Europe, and several other nations.

“What you’re speaking of is dated information; you’re talking about eight months ago before COP26. All of this has changed,” Dr Jagdeo said, adding that many of the nations that have attempted to dissuade Guyana and other developing nations from go ing into this have also begun to invest more in the transi tion.

“There is unlimited de mand,” the Vice-President related. He reiterated that net zero could never be achieved without a transitional fuel and the world has accepted that gas will be that fuel.

“In Guyana’s case, we have decided to monetize this gas and are making an in vestment that would be paid back from the liquids from the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant, and will gen erate enough power which will allow the government to sell it at half of its current price and further have stable power,” Dr. Jagdeo said.

Lall, during the inter view, had also claimed that he could build a three-story

hospital for $48M but is yet to attempt to show how he will accomplish such a feat.

Kaieteur News publisher, Glenn Lall, during the interview with VP Bharat Jagdeo

Less debt, more ‘soft-term’ financing necessary

adaptation efforts, President Ali tells World Food Forum

for Small-Island Developing states and low-lying coastal states

CONSIDERING the peculiar and special needs of Small-Island Developing states (SIDs) and low-lying coastal states, there needs to be more cli mate adaptation fi nancing on soft terms, meaning more grants, concessionary interest rates, and long-term repayment periods, President, Dr. Irfaan Ali has said.

In his passionate vir tual address during the United Nations (UN)’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)’s World Food Forum, President Ali said SIDs and low-lying coastal states face peculiar and inherent challenges to their food security.

“These challenges relate to their smallness of land resources and the resultant disecono mies of scale, their re moteness from larger markets, susceptibility to external shocks and market vulnerabilities, narrow revenue bases, fragile ecosystems, and their vulnerability to climate risks.

“These climate related risks include flooding, overtopping of sea defences, swell ing of rivers following extreme precipitation, drought, erosion, and natural disasters such as landslides and hur ricanes,” the Head of State related during the discussion on the FAO’s Hand-in-Hand initiative.

He went on to say that rising sea levels re sult in the overtopping of sea defences and the intrusion of salt water into farm lands and irrigation sources, while extreme weath

er events, including droughts and floods, disrupt food systems and cause destruction of crops and agricul tural infrastructure.

Owing to those threats and challenges, critical resources need ed to support produc tion often have to be di verted towards climate adaptation.

Adaptation, accord ing to the United Na tions Framework Con vention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), refers to adjustments in ecological, social, or economic systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli and their effects or impacts.

Climate adaptation financing is absolutely essential and founda tional for establish ing climate-resilient agricultural sectors in small-island developing and low-lying coastal states. And considering the challenges which SIDs face, financing for food security, Presi dent Ali said, cannot be de-linked from climate financing.

“Investment in climate financing re bounds to the benefit of a more resilient agricul tural sector,” the Head of State said, lamenting that without climate adaptation, the agricul tural sectors of SIDs and low-lying coastal states will be continu ously prone to climate risks.

At COP 26 (the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference) certain pledges were made to boost adapta tion financing.

“But, as I have al luded to elsewhere,

the level of financing promised by the devel oped countries will be inadequate to close the adaptation gap. And without climate financ ing, the agricultural sectors of SIDs and low-lying coastal states will be challenged to attract investment for production and produc tivity,” President Ali said.

SIGNIFICANT INCREASE NEEDED

The Guyana Head of State went on to high light: “An increase in climate finance by at least 500 per cent is needed. Adaptation fi nance remains far be low the scale necessary to respond to exist ing and future climate change. UNDP’s Ad aptation Gap Report, UNDP 2021, estimat ed annual adaptation costs and developing economies will be be tween US$155 billion and US$330 billion by 2030.”

The public sector continues to provide almost all adaptation financing, with adapta tion increasingly being prioritised in develop ment financing climate portfolios, yet, adapta tion finance represents 14 per cent of total pub lic finance. In the Latin America and Caribbean region, adaptation fi nance totalled US$4.6 billion in 2019-2020, of which US$300 mil lion was from domestic sources.

“According to CPI findings in 2019 and 2020, debt dominat ed the climate finance landscape. The majority of climate finance, 61 per cent, was raised as

debt, of which 12 per cent was low-cost or concessional debt.

“Equity investments, the next largest instru ment category after debt came to 33 per cent of total climate finance, up from 29 per cent during the previ ous year. Grant finance was US$36 billion or a meager six per cent of total flows compared to six per cent in 2017,” President Ali said.

In the case of SIDs, close to half of the lim ited bilateral finance provided was in the form of loans. Given the scale of climate financing needs and current trends, it is an ticipated that the largescale transfers will continue to be raised through debt rather than through grants.

This is particularly important because, ac cording to President Ali: “For SIDS, and particularly for CARI COM, the trend is of particular concern here. In the worsening debt situation that many face at death have been compounded as a result of COVID-19, global inflation, rising fuel prices, and the current Russian-Ukraine war that is crowding out climate finance- related issues.

“In addition, SIDs bear the added concern of being able to ac cess climate financing made available to them through the UNFCCC financial mechanism, which is largely de livered in the form of grants and concessional loans in a timely man ner.”

It is for this reason that President Ali en

couraged the FAO to conceptualise and fa cilitate the establish ment of a special ad aptation fund for SIDs and low-lying coastal states, disbursed on the basis of a vulnerability index rather than on the traditional measures relating to Gross Do mestic Product (GDP).

“I have also called for a Climate Vulner ability Fund. These will help unlock much needed and specially tailored resources for SIDs and low-lying coastal states to help boost their food secu rity. Climate change is too critically interlinked with food production. Climate change is too critically interlinked with the sustainability of the food production system and agriculture support,” President Ali said.

Back in July, dur ing a live broadcast hosted by the Atlan

tic Council, Adrienne Arsht, Latin America Center, in Washing ton DC, President Ali had said: “Guyana has all the natural assets to be a leading food producer in the region. But food production today must be backed by appropriate technol ogy and investment in infrastructure that will ensure the agriculture is sustainable and resilient to climate change and the effects of climate change.

“…and this is one example of how the revenues from oil and gas can be deployed to position Guyana, not only for the benefit of Guyana, but to position Guyana to contribute significantly to the food security of the region as a whole.”

The president be lieves that the pros perity of Guyana must also bring wealth and success to the region.

President, Dr. Irfaan Ali

meet on crisis in

Dr Irfaan Ali on Monday night participated in

CARICOM Heads of Government meeting to discuss the situation in Haiti. The CARICOM member state has been rocked by violent protests that have paralysed the country, including the activities of humanitarian partners. The President was accompanied

Foreign Secretary, Robert Persaud (Office

President photos)

Vendors, consumers thankful

say removal of VAT on agricultural inputs has stablised market prices

AS Guyanese celebrate Agriculture Month, the government continues to put measures in place to lessen the impact of the rise in cost of living that is being felt across the globe.

Some market-goers and vendors have ex pressed gratitude, as pric es for certain vegetables have stabilised at the local markets.

Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle, Ev lyn (only name given), a vendor at the Stabroek Market, commended the government for the re moval of value added tax (VAT) on a range of agricultural inputs.

She urged her fellow vendors to use their dis cretion when it comes to their prices.

“There are some ven dors in the market who raise the price of their produce based on the de mand for it, and that’s not fair on the consumers. With the removal of VAT, everyone should be able to have a few extra dol lars in their pockets, if we all do what is right,” she added.

She called on the rel evant authorities to look

into the matter.

Lynette (only name given), who is a vendor at the Bourda Market, ex pressed her heartfelt grati tude to President Irfaan Ali and his government for the withdrawal of VAT on agriculture.

She explained that it is “a great move” on the government’s part, but, like Evlyn, she is also calling on the relevant authorities to look into the issue of pricing, so that consumers can benefit.

Lynette said, “The government has given us so much relief by doing this, but when some ven dors realise that pump kin, for example, is not on everyone’s stand, the

price automatically goes up for them, and that is not fair to us as vendors or consumers.”

While Sharon (only name given), who also sells at the Bourda Mar ket, is happy about the

government’s “move”, she used the opportunity to ask President Ali to equip the market with security guards, so that the vendors and consum ers can “feel safer, and move around more freely without the fear of being robbed”.

A few other vendors, who preferred to remain anonymous, thanked the Government of Guyana for what they have been doing thus far.

They expressed similar sentiments regarding the prices, which they said was an “ongoing problem that is affecting everyone, but some are afraid to speak up”.

The Guyana Chronicle also spoke with some con sumers, and they, too, had positive things to say.

“I am in the market al most every day, so I know the cost of ‘greens’. What the President did here will

benefit all Guyanese, and I hope that the farmers and vendors do not sell us all at the same VAT price,” said Leon.

Government has also removed the excise tax on gasoline and cement; distributed $1 billion is fertiliser to farmers; in vested billions of dollars to improve drainage and irrigation in farming are as, and distributed billions more to farmers affected by flooding.

Additionally, cash grants have been distrib uted to sugar workers, private cane farmers and fishermen.

Other relief meas ures implemented by the government include the COVID-19 cash grant for every household, a $30,000 cash grant to each child attend ing public and private school, and the flood grant.

Vendors at the Stabroek Market (Carl Croker photos)

Does the Constitution say ‘free UG’?

THE question of remov ing tuition fees altogether from the national univer sity, University of Guyana, was raised for some time under the previous David Granger-led APNU+AFC government. The advocacy emerged from a contextual reading of Guyana’s Con stitution.

For clarity, the word “university” is mentioned in the Constitution twice. It is the second reference, how ever, that relates to the issue at hand. “Right to education” is addressed in Article 27 (1) and (2) where it reads: “Every citizen has the right to free education from nurs

ery to university as well as at non-formal places where opportunities are provided for education and training.”

Article 27 (2) reads: “It is the duty of the State to provide education that would include curricula designed to reflect the cultural diversities of Guyana and disciplines that are necessary to prepare students to deal with social issues and to meet the chal lenges of the modern techno logical age.”

The national university is nowhere mentioned within the Constitution of Guyana. One, however, can see how folks ran with the “Free UG” idea since at the time the

campaign rose to promi nence, it was largely the University of Guyana that provided most tertiary educa tion needs in Guyana.

Since the President, Dr Irfaan Ali-led People’s Pro gressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government came to office in 2020, there has been a thrust to build the techni cal and knowledge capac ity of Guyanese through vocational training, and also through scholarships from the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL). So far, thousands of Guyanese have received state-sponsored opportunities to study hun dreds of programmes from

certificate level all the way to Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).

Without a doubt, the GOAL programme largely satisfies the spirit of Article 27 of the Constitution. That attainment, however, has not been limited to the more frontal advocacy of removal of tuition fees at the Uni versity of Guyana. It could further be cautioned that removing tuition from the university would drastically shift the income model of the university to 100 per cent state-funding, as opposed to the current arrangement of annual subventions through the national budget. Those championing the call for tui

tion removal should properly consider the modality for achieving this, and the very future of the university if such a step were to be taken.

Added to the existing training and capacity-build ing opportunities for Guya nese as the country prepares for its future economic de velopment, President Ali announced on Friday at the 16th annual Berbice Expo and Trade Fair that Guy ana is working with the au thorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to launch a programme so that some 150,000 Guyanese can be trained as coders.

“We want to ensure

that Guyana can be a zone for data services and data centres and data banks. We are going to pass legisla tion as it relates to Guyana becoming a major player in data banks in the data industry. This by itself will create tonnes of new em ployment at the higher level,” President Ali had told the gathering at the Expo during his address. It is regrettable that some advocacies continue to be promulgated even though there are initiatives which, in spirit, satisfy the very requests emanating from those advocacies. It’s a matter of perspective.

Divide and overthrow will fail miserably

and the divide-and- over throw campaign currently underway.

Dear Editor,

WE all know the old colo nial model of domination was based not only on economic exploitation but also on divide and rule. Guyana was subjected to this sinister strategy; a strategy of creating and reproducing structural antagonisms among our people.

Formal colonialism may well be gone, but now, it has been replaced by an equally sinister plot, namely ‘divide and overthrow’ (my construction). The main objective of divide and over throw is to cramp the current administration in its efforts at economic and national development, and ultimately remove the PPP/C from office in the next national elections. The plan has al

ready begun, and daily itera tions of it are spread across the pages of a couple of dailies.

The crux of divide and overthrow is to split the PPP leadership at the top; in this instance, to create a wedge between President Ali and Vice-President Jagdeo.

The plan will fail, be cause both men are astute politicians, and are fully cognisant of what is afoot. They are superbly equipped to deal with the machina tions of the handful of selfdescribed activists who play on narratives foreign domi nation by the very compa nies that have put Guyana on a path to leapfrogging en tire stages of modernisation.

There are two similari ties between the divide-andrule methods of the 1950s and 1960s in British Guiana,

Firstly, as Fr. Andrew Morrison has admitted, the Church used its principal or gan, the Catholic Standard, to attack the PPP, because it was afraid of losing what Dr. Rishi Thakur some time ago labeled “Anglo-Chris tian hegemony” (Thakur, 1994). Today, the press is again at it. Not a day goes by without letters, editorials, or columns advocating the split in the PPP leadership. The Catholic Standard, of course, later became a lead ing light for the democrati sation of Guyana, once what it wanted (defeat of PPP) turned out to be a definitive failure.

Secondly, the language of race and racism is now, like the period of foreign in tervention, constantly used to divide the country, always disguised in the name of

greater equality and other worthy objectives that are actually manipulated and maligned. President Ali, just days ago, spotted this invasive narrational species and repelled it with an im passioned call for national unity.

In the current moment of divide and overthrow, politi cal mischief is hatched, pet ted, and fattened in so-called civil society outfits. Their products are then given full priority in various media spaces, both print and elec tronic.

Jagdeo and the PPP/C will prevail over the cur rent efforts to sow division within the party and its sup porters. They did it before. Just think of the security threats posed to the State in the early 2000s when Jagdeo was President, and the mid2000s when Irfaan was a member of the Cabinet. Many will also recall that

anything that Jagdeo and his government did in terms of development was char acterised as ‘bound to fail’. If you are not old enough to know, or do not recall, the purveyors of division had predicted failure for the National Stadium, the Berbice Bridge, the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, the Hope Canal, the Marriott Hotel, not to mention the then president’s signature long-term development plan for sustainable develop ment, namely, the LCDS.

All the above projects were successful, and the sustainable economic strat egy is still buoyant in the form of the LCDS 2030.

Space does not permit me here to go into Jagdeo’s transformation of Guyana from a seriously indebted nation to one with a sus tainable debt to GDP ratio, with renewed credibility of Guyana in International

Financial Institutions. More on this to come.

There is no doubt that those who do not want to re spect election results, or are worried about their chances in the next elections will re sort to innuendo, half-truths or outright lies to besmirch the name of Bharrat Jagdeo, with the aim of separating him from President Ali and the rest of PPP/C leadership. Why, might you ask? Well, the answer is straightfor ward. The Opposition and their so-called civil society backers know that Presi dent Mohamed Irfaan Ali and Vice-President Bharrat Jagdeo are an indomitable pair in political leadership.

Divide and overthrow will fail miserably. VicePresident Jagdeo is here to stay. If you doubt that, go to the next outreach that he leads.

Yours sincerely, Dr. Randy Persaud

Jagdeo

The government has left no one behind since 2020

Dear Editor,

WORLD Food Day was celebrated on 16th Oc tober, 2022 in more than 150 countries worldwide to commemorate the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), and, this year, there is a resounding plea to all to ‘Leave No One Behind’ through ‘Better production, Better Nutri tion, a Better Environment and a Better Life’. This government and the Min istry of Agriculture have proactively implemented this thrust for improved food and nutrition security, both locally and regionally since it took office in Au gust 2020.

This government has worked diligently, and en dured sleepless night to re solve the plethora of de bilitating issues which have

threatened to annihilate the agriculture sector. What would have happened to this sector if the ‘Coalition’ had managed to success fully rig the 2020 Elections and remained in power? The answer is obvious. The ‘Coalition’ had been merci lessly slashing the agriculture budget since they took of fice, and displayed complete disdain for this sector which they perceived as the PPP support base. Apart from the insane and malicious budget cuts, they taxed the sector with increased land rent and VAT on machinery and related supplies. With the windfall from oil, the shortsighted ‘Coalition’ saw no need for agriculture.

Agriculture crops are al ways invariably affected by adverse weather conditions, and the recent floods, four in all in 2021 and 2022, have devastated and almost wiped

out crops such as sugar. But timely intervention by the Minister of Agriculture and his government, and the de ployment of much-needed resources have rescued the sector. The Minister of Agri culture and all the other min isters, including the President and the Vice-President, vis ited all the affected areas and provided on-the-spot relief. Never has this massive scale of government intervention ever taken place in Guyana. The government spent bil lions of dollars on drainage and infrastructure, roads, cash grants and relief, sub sidies and free distribution of seeds, plants, chemicals and fertilisers. Today, the sector has fully recovered, with production in traditional and non-traditional crops increasing rapidly, and sugar production is increasing at an enormous rate. It must be mentioned that the entire

world was engulfed in the COVID-19 pandemic for the past three years, but this government has overcome this as well. Moreover, the minister is convinced that the sugar industry will achieve 100,000 tonnes in the next three years, thanks to this government’s tenacity and persistence. Today, also, our Regional Leaders have full confidence in the ability of our Agriculture Sector to drive the food security of the region. Minister Mustapha has stated in his address on World Food Day that Guyana is well positioned to become the breadbasket of the Carib bean.

In order to make this a reality, this government has implemented both short and long-term policies, and made increased budgetary alloca tions to ensure not only the survival but the continued progress of the sector. The

Minister of Agriculture Mr. Zulfikar Mustapha empha sised the fact at Albion when he stated that the govern ment has worked above and beyond to strategically place Guyana on the road that leads to the realisation of ‘Vision 25’, which is aimed at reduc ing the region’s food import bill by 2025. The minister never looked at things in iso lation. He stressed that in ful filling this vision, there will be sustainable employment opportunities for youths, women and other vulnerable groups, and he even went further when he said that it is not only about increasing food production, but making food accessible and afforda ble, and improving the nutri tion of all Guyanese, thereby leaving no one behind. This encapsulates the very theme of World Food Day, and, quite remarkably, the very objectives the government

has been vigorously pursuing over the past two years, and even before the advent of the ‘Coalition’.

The FAO Director-Gen eral, in his World Food Day message, spoke about the ‘need to empower the most vulnerable, including small-scale producers, and improve access to training, incentives, science, data, technology and innovation so that small-scale holders can be at the center of this transformation’. This is ex actly what Minister Musta pha has been emphasising since 2020. He realised that the small-scale farmers have a major role to play in the transformation of the agriculture sector, and he must be applauded for his keen perception and wisdom of what is required.

Yours sincerely, Haseef Yusuf

Kudos to a government that is for the people

Dear Editor,

I write to comment on the progress the PPP/C Gov ernment has made after being victorious in 2020 National and Regional Elections.

After the APNU+AFC tried arduously to hijack the election in the most bare faced manner in the presence of the ABC countries and the world at large, they attempt ed to reverse democracy by trying to deny the PPP/C their rightful place as the new democratically elected government. But glory be to God who has the final say.

As Guyanese, we all know the political history of Guyana since from the early 50s. From the 1964 national elections to 1985 national elections, including the ref erendum, the PNC cannot honestly say they won a national election because all were rigged in their favour because of the PPP ideologi

cal belief.

In extension, the PNC never really won a national election until 2015 when the APNU+AFC won the national elections by a very small margin. So after a sum mary of the APNU+AFC in government for five years, all I see is that they were ‘a lazy government’ just creat ing and raising taxes, by so doing, bringing real hardship on Guyanese. They just sit back raising taxes and wait ing on oil to flow, at the same time ensuring that Cabi net salaries ‘early O’clock’ were increased with a senior member in government say ing that will stop them from being corrupt (ridiculous indeed). As a senior citizen I walked the streets of George town during APNU+AFC time in office just to see the many youths of all races just walking with their degrees from the University of Guy ana in envelopes and cannot find employment, the dozens

that I spoke with. What a sad thing. Also what was sad and heart rending was when the Granger Administration sent packing some 7,000 sugar workers without find ing a solution, or having no contingency plan for those thousands of families. In my opinion, it was more of a racial and political act. To me that was indeed inhuman. I am saying this because directly and indirectly it af fected me by having a wife, 16 children, 34 grandchildren and seven great grandchil dren. But God has been good to us, he always make a way, where there seems to be no way.

Now looking at the PPP/C government track record for just over two years and that is why I say “Go PPP/C, just do it”. From day one, I admire the compre hensive plan that is being carried out by our youthful President, Dr. Ifraan Ali and his PPP/C Government.

Every Guyanese can see the PPP/C developmental plan in the way they pattern the annual budgetary allo cations. They have a good policy that will surely create a way for job opportunities for the youths especially, and all Guyanese. We can all see clearly the PPP/C Government systematic ap proach that is designed for the growth of Guyana and Guyanese. “Go PPP/C go, just do it”. APNU+AFC in troduced VAT on water and electricity, on education, on medical, on school sup plies, on construction and equipment. They took away the cash grant of $10,000 from the school children and parents. Construction and job opportunities were scarce. Yes, we all would agree that those tax burdens affected every Guyanese in every way, in every fam ily. Now look at the social support programmes of the PPP/C Government. Right

up front, the reintroduction of the “Because We Care” initiative from $10,000 to $30,000. This, I understand cost the government some $6 billion that Guyanese received as parents or guard ians of about 194,000 school children, irrespective of the area or where you live, all received the cash grant. “Go PPP/C go, just do it”. Dur ing APNU+AFC tenure, we had to pay VAT on water and electricity, now Guya nese enjoy VAT-free on water and electricity. Look at the COVID-19 cashgrant relief initiative which benefitted every Guyanese family in all the regions of Guyana. That was indeed a massive outreach by the PPP/C Government just because they recognised the financial hardship during the COVID-19 period. “Go PPP/C go, just do it”. Look at the massive housing drive which was stagnant during the APNU+AFC

time. Instantly, the PPP/C started to distribute house lots to Guyanese in which I understand that over 10,000 house lots have been given out to Guyanese of all walks of life. Senior citi zen pension went up and I understand that when we would uplift our pension books for 2023 shortly, this will be in company with a cash grant of $28,000 for pensioners. “Go PPP go, just do it”. Finally, in clos ing, kudos to a government that is for the people, by the people, and with the people for the way in which they do their best to main tain financial stability by promoting financial inclu sion throughout the nation. Even the IMF recognised and commended you for such smart financial strat egy or competency. “Go PPP/C go, just do it”.

Your sincerely, Leon Rampersaud

No amount and type of academic training prepares a teacher for the real-life classroom experience

Dear Editor, Education is a fluid, evolving, continually chang ing landscape and teachers have to keep in step with that process. Thus, the criti cal need for ongoing profes sional development (PD) for teachers, perhaps presented by master teachers in each school.

While this training must focus on the latest pedagogy it must not ignore other fac tors that impact the teaching learning dynamic. For exam ple, the two biggest strengths of ‘awesome’ teachers are their capacity to develop emotive connection and build trust with their students. Thus, teacher training must include emotive connection and trust building as well as empathetic communication

which is critical to both.

As well PD would en sure that teachers are stay ing abreast with whatever schools and the system in troduce at any and all times – instructional methodologies such as the workshop model, for example; differentiated instructions to ensure the needs of all students are met during instructions; types of assessments, beyond stand ardised tests; classroom man agement without corporal punishment et al.

In fact, it is highly rec ommended that all teach ers must do basic education courses to be adept with learning/teaching styles, (John Dunn), multiple intelli gences (Gardner), differential cooperative group learning, curriculum-based assess

ment skills to continuously measure learning, especially of the slow learners, to share with parents. Teachers must not only be fluent with the cognitive taxonomy of objec tives of Bloom, but also with the affective domain to ef fectively define instructional objectives (scientifically) according to cognitive and emotional level of students. And there should be teacher training in violence preven tion, conflict resolution, psy cho-social skills (at the levels of teachers and students), so cial problem solving, so cial and emotional learning, role-playing, supervised in teractions, student-centred instruction, basic learning disabilities such as dyslexia, modeling and reinforcement exercises.

Mentoring is another critical need. Experienced teachers can allow into their classrooms other teachers, especially inexperienced ones, as observers with each such session followed by the exemplary teacher helping the observing teachers to un pack, clarify, seek additional details. The other side of the coin is exemplary and/or master teachers observing the classes of the other teachers and then meeting with them to unpack, guide and mentor.

Additionally, new teach ers should be provided by mentors, drawn from either the current teaching staff or retired teachers. No matter what kind of training and skill set a new teacher pos sesses, it is manifestly unfair to throw that teacher into the classroom without the help of mentoring. No amount and type of academic training prepares a teacher for the real life classroom experience.

Periodic meetings of teachers according to grades (continuous improvement teams) are necessary to dis

cuss grade level practices, instruction, effectiveness of instruction, student growth, team policies, behaviour, and areas/needs for improvement as well as to share best prac tices, develop new strategies and address any deficits. Grade level teams help to ensure consistency in instruc tion (academic, behaviour, and social) by allowing for all teachers of a particular grade to share and bring successes and challenges to the table, reduce teacher stress and burnout, invite the expertise of each individual person on the team to present itself as a resource for addressing chal lenges to maximise capital, problem solve, share best practices and plan according to identified student needs.

Teachers must also meet across subjects to analyse stu dents’ performance data and come up with instructional plans based on such analyses. This fosters the process of evidence- based teaching and also creates scope to group students according to needs and offer related assistance

as well as determine areas of weaknesses that would need reinforced teaching and infer strategies to do so.

At the personal level, teachers should play a part in curriculum design, espe cially with respect to goal settings and standards to be met; be provided with an annual stipend for classroom supplies, and paid for after school teaching – evenings, weekends, holidays.

Consideration must also be given to teachers be ing provided with skills to address the various issues they come up against in the course of each working day. Thus, for example, why not provide anti-bul lying training directly to teachers, perhaps using the Olweus Bullying Preven tion Programmme - the most researched and best known such programme? Of course, a psychologist in each school would be the best way to go.

Yours truly, Anand Boodram

Over $300M spent on Region Two access dams, fertiliser

says VP Jagdeo as he pledges more support to rice farmers

WHILE emphasising that the government will continue to provide sup port in various forms to Region Two rice farmers, Vice-President Dr. Bhar rat Jadgeo said that over

and are presently reaping the benefits.

$250 million in fertiliser has been already been distributed and more that $50 million spent on the upgrading of access dams.

Dr. Jagdeo made these disclosures during a meet ing with the region’s rice farmers at the Anna Re gina Secondary School on the Essequibo Coast on Monday.

He reminded the farm ers that during his last visit to the PomeroonSupenaam region, he an nounced that $250 million in fertiliser would be dis tributed to them.

He said that he was happy to learn that those rice farmers have received their fertiliser vouchers,

During his address to the large gathering, Dr. Jagdeo said that the gov ernment will continue to support farmers, and that in addition to the fertiliser, over $30 million was spent on the upgrading of access dams in the region.

He said that a special committee was formed, and the money was re leased by the Ministry of Agriculture.

“I made it clear that if we are paying people to do the work, we must get the output. We must supervise the dams when they are building,” the VP said, before adding that more access dams will be upgraded.

A $24 million grader was given to the region to assist with the upgrading of the access dams.

Jagdeo noted that over the years, the government

has ensured that favour able conditions exist for farmers.

In addition to the fore going, he said that two dry ing floors were constructed at Somerset and Berks and Riverstown for farmers to dry their paddy, and that the steel door sluice at Andrews was reinforced to alleviate flooding at Somerset and Better Hope.

Farmers were also given seed paddy follow ing floods in the region, Jagdeo said.

According to the vicepresident, infrastructure is a very important element of the rice industry.

“It’s not just [about] market; it is about infra structure to support the industry. We came in to office, and we immediately increased the budget by billions of dollars,” Dr. Jagdeo said.

He said that the gov ernment has started to rebuild the infrastructure, thereby creating a “posi tive” environment for rice farmers. He used the op portunity to urge the farm ers to consider diversify ing and to “think outside of rice.”

Meanwhile, rice miller Rupan Ramotar has called for a “skilled” driver to be hired to operate the region’s grader, since the current one does not have the required knowledge to operate the machine.

Later, Jagdeo assured him that a new driver will be hired.

Other rice farmers used the occasion to once again call for a better price for a bag of paddy.

Rice millers are cur rently paying higher prices for the current crop. This followed Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha’s in tervention.

Rice farmers at the meeting held at the Anna Regina Secondary School

Rice miller Rupan Ramotar

Young Thomas fulfils childhood dream of becoming a lawyer

By Tamica Garnett

WHEN faced with an in justice, receiving the jus tice deserved is priority, but an important part of receiving that justice is getting the right represen tation if the matter ends up in the legal system.

In this regard, lawyers play a vital role in ensuring persons get an equal op portunity to receiving legal justice. It is for this very rea son that 24-year-old Jinelle Thomas knew, from a very young age, that she wanted to become a lawyer.

Last Tuesday, she saw her aspiration come through

when she was admitted to the bar, taking her bar call before her idol, Chief Jus tice (ag), Roxanne George. Her petition was presented by Attorney-at-law, Everton Singh-Lammy.

“For as long as I can remember when anyone asked me what I wanted to be when I was older, my

response was ‘I want to be a lawyer’,” The Bishops’ High alum shared in a recent interview with the Guyana Chronicle.

“As a child I watched a lot of crime shows and I always admired the way attorneys prepared for cases and the way seemingly help less people would be able to have their problems resolved in the end and that really sparked my interest in study ing the law, so that I can be able to assist and be a voice for those whose rights are being violated.”

Thomas took her bar call surrounded by family mem bers, including her mother, Rayan Thomas; brother, Justin; grandparents; numer ous aunts, uncles, cousins and colleagues from the Hugh Wooding Law School, where Jinelle completed her final years in her journey to that climaxing moment.

Thomas attended the Hugh Wooding Law School from 2020 - 2022, after attaining her Bachelor’s of Law Degree from the University of Guyana (UG) from 2017 - 2020. And as most lawyers would always say, it is no easy road getting there, but the commitment outweighs the work.

“It never occurred to me just how tedious and gruel ling the road ahead of me would be but I embarked upon this journey, neverthe less. It was the path that I was meant to trod. I was determined to make my childhood dream a reality,” Thomas shared.

After completing her secondary education at The Bishop’s High School where she successfully passed 13 subjects at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certif icate (CSEC) and nine units at the Caribbean Advanced

Proficiency Examination (CAPE), Thomas often wor ried about how she would fi nance her dream, being fully aware of how expensive a legal education can be.

All the more worrying was her mother became a single parent after her father died in a car accident in 2012. Though her father’s death took a toll on her, Thomas was all the more determined to see her aspira tions through.

LUCK ON HER SIDE Lucky for her, she would receive the help she needed from the government.

“As my days at UG be gan counting down, my new concern was how will I be able to foot the cost of law school? This caused me many sleepless nights but that quickly vanished when I received a full scholarship to complete my studies at

Attorney, Jinelle Thomas, (centre) with her mother, Rayan and brother, Justin

Young Thomas fulfils childhood...

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the Hugh Wooding Law School, and for this, I am grateful to the Government of Guyana,” she explained.

As she worked on achieving her necessary academic qualifications, Thomas also spent some time building her experience through holding a number of positions, including an

in a chair and staring at a computer screen for four and sometimes six hours a day. Online studies became mentally overwhelming, trying to balance the insur mountable amount of work with the feelings of despair and isolation brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said.

But even then, she said

one that encouraged me and did everything they could to help me realise my dream,” Thomas related.

“To my mother, Ray an Thomas, I share this achievement with you. You have supported me without hesitation or question in everything I set my mind to do and I simply do not have enough tongues to express my gratitude for you and the role you have played in my

achievements. I love you.”

Also sharing about memories of her daugh ter’s journey to becoming a lawyer, Rayan spoke about how hard it has been for her raising her two children as a single mother. She was however determined to never let her daughter give up on her dream to be a lawyer.

“I’ve always tried to be her support morally,

emotionally as well as fi nancially. I remember days of sleeping in the car on the tarmac of the University of Guyana waiting for her to finish her classes. Juggling Jinelle and her brother and all the responsibility of be ing a single mom wasn’t easy but I thank God for the commitment of seeing them through school, and seeing her becoming an attorney today,” the proud

mother said.

Aside from thanking her family and friends, Thomas said most of all she owes her success to GOD.

“None of it would be possible without God. I can assure everyone that if it were up to my strength alone, I would not be where I am to day. It is He brought me here,” she expressed.

Attorney, Jinelle Thomas

internship at the law firm DeCaires, Fitzpatrick & Karran in 2017.

From 2019 to 2020, she worked as an assistant at the Ministry of Legal Af fairs, before working as a paralegal on the Support for the Criminal Justice System Project. She also worked as a Legal Assistant and Junior Attorney at the 1966 Law firm.

As her journey to be coming a lawyer neared, Thomas related that her last few years were more dif ficult because she attended the Hugh Wooding Law School entirely online. She entered the school just as the world began dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Completing law school completely online was not an easy feat. It was accom panied by many back aches and eye pain from sitting

her support team came to her rescue and she feels very grateful to her many friends who were there for her dur ing the difficult journey.

“To say that I could not have made it out of law school without their support is a drastic understatement. They were always a mes sage or call away at any hour of the day or night to calm me down and offer words of reassurance in my deepest moments of selfdoubt and confusion,” she said.

SUPPORT SYSTEM

She also credits her suc cess to the huge support system in her family, par ticularly the support from her mother.

“I was blessed to be born into a family that fostered and nurtured all of my inter ests, especially my interest in the legal profession and

Over 800 Region Two fisherfolk receive $150, 000 one-off cash grant

many plan to purchase boats, be their own ‘boss’

HUNDREDS of fish erfolk in Region Two breathed a sigh of re lief on Monday after they collected the $150, 000 one-off cash grant from government at the Rice Producers As sociation (RPA) bond in Anna Regina.

The distribution ex ercise was held months after President, Dr Ir faan Ali, announced the initiative which will benefit fisherfolk across the country. Similar ex ercises have already been held in Regions Three, Four, Five and Six.

The grant is expected to help members of the

COVID-19 pandemic as well as cushion the rise in cost of living.

Vice-President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, who spearheaded the exer cise, was accompanied by Minister of Agricul ture, Zulfikar Mustapha and Minister of Local Government and Re gional Development, Nigel Dharamlall.

Over 800 fisher folks were recipients, and many used the op portunity to thank the government for rolling out the initiative in the region and for continu ously showing interest in their well-being.

Many of the young

be used to improve their lives.

One such fisherman is 23-year-old Fitz Cal van of Charity.

He told the Guy ana Chronicle that he arrived at the venue around 08:00 hrs., to en sure that he got a front row seat.

Calvan who is work ing towards owning his own boat and employ ing persons to work with him; he plans to use the money to “im prove his future.”

go out to sea. I want to be my own entrepreneur in the fishing industry,” he said.

He currently works on a boat name “Miss Kavita.”

catch. This grant helps us a lot especially dur ing the COVID pan demic. I am very thank ful for this,” Federicks said.

and now this.” Jagdeo said.

fishing industry recover from the effects of the

fishermen were excited and said the money will

“As a young man, a father of one, I want to own my own boat and

Andre Federicks re lated that he has been in the fishing business for approximately one year. The Charity resident said that he is hoping to also start his own busi ness soon. Federicks said that he is saving his money to purchase a boat and the grant will go a far way.

“The fishing busi ness is declining, low

Also speaking to this publication was Girin dra Lall of Pert Village. He is the owner of four fishing vessels and said he has about four em ployees.

Lall said he is hap py for his workers and he called for an annual grant to be distributed.

He related that over the years there were low catches and many fisherfolks left the job. He is very happy for the government’s interven tion and said that the grant is a boost for the industry.

Meanwhile, Minister Zulfikar Mustapha, in his remarks, said that the programme was ex tended to Region Two after systems were put in place by the minis try to ensure that the submitted names were scrutinised.

Jagdeo told the gath ering that the money that is being injected into the fishing industry will en sure that more cash is in persons’ pockets.

“It can’t solve all the issues, but it helps… We gave COVID cash grant

He assured the fish ermen that they are a part of the govern ment’s vision and said that the money earned from oil sales will be used to improved their livelihoods.

Dr. Jagdeo used the opportunity to high light the hardships that are ahead for the world’s fishing indus try, including the de cline of stock due to climate change.

“In this industry you can’t be so reliant on a sector. Climate change has changed a lot in this sector. Use the op portunity to expand and do better,” he urged the fishermen.

After urging them to start thinking about learning a different skill, he said that government will fund skills-training programmes for them.

“I want to urge, if you see a training programme, if you [have] finished school, we have scholarships through GOAL. You can pursue training… Soon, you will see an improvement in the fibre [internet]; we are co-investing to es tablish call centres” Jagdeo noted.

Fitz Calvan

Vice-President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo (second from left) addressing fishermen at Anna Regina. Also sitting at the head table are Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha (left); Minister of Local Government, Nigel Dharamlall (third from left) and Chairperson of Region Two, Vilma DeSilva (right)

Fisherfolks at the cash grant distribution exercise

Guyana pursuing additional airlift at World Routes Forum

Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister, Onei dge Walrond, is leading a delegation to the World Routes Development Fo rum 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada, US.

According to a release, the delegation includes Ramesh Ghir, Chief Ex ecutive Officer of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport and Kamrul Baksh, Direc tor of the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA).

The World Routes is an annual event, which brings together airlines, airports, tourism authorities, tour op erators and other key avia tion decision-makers. It is also dedicated to route devel opment and strategic plan ning in the aviation industry.

The release noted that, over the next few days, Min ister Walrond and team are expected to meet with sever al key persons in the aviation industry with the intention of encouraging investments in

destination Guyana.

“The forum presents an important opportunity for bringing additional airlift to Guyana,” Minister Walrond said, adding: “Our focus, as always, is to sell Guyana as a lucrative investment destina tion. We want to encourage investment that will allow cheaper airfares and increase travel and destination op tions.”

Additionally, Chief Ex ecutive Officer of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Ramesh Ghir, underscored that Guyana has benefitted tremendously from its partic ipation in such engagements.

“The majority of new airlines entering the Guy ana market are as a result of negotiations that have taken place at the Routes forum,” he said. During this visit, Minister Wal rond is also expected to meet with several Minis ters of Tourism from the region.

Inquiry into 2020 elections to commence November

THE Presidential Commission of In quiry into the 2020 General and Regional Elections is expected to commence on No vember 3, 2022.

This was announced by the government in a public notice which was recently published in the daily local news papers.

Last month, three commissioners set to preside over the CoI were sworn in. Those commissioners are Jus tice of Appeal (ret’d) Stanley John who is also chairman of the CoI; Former Attor ney General, High Court Judge and Act ing Justice of Appeal in the Eastern Carib bean, Senior Counsel Godfrey P. Smith; and former Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag) Carl

Singh.

According to the public notice, the com mission’s terms of ref erence are to inquire into and report upon the relevant circumstances and events leading up to and procedures fol lowing the General and Regional Elections in Guyana on March 2, 2020.

While the commis sion will have seven months to complete its inquiry, it is set to de termine what attempts were made to obstruct, frustrate and prevent the counting and tabu lation of votes polled and the declaration and the public declaration of the results by the Returning Officer for Region Four (Deme rara-Mahaica), Clair mont Mingo and other elections officers of the

Guyana Elections Com mission (GECOM).

The commission of inquiry is also expected to examine the conduct of the Chief Elections Officer, other elections officers, and other per sons as it relates to the execution of the duties of the CEO at the time.

According to the notice, the Commis sion is set to begin its inquiry into all matters at 95 Middle Street, South Cummingsburg, Georgetown.

Further, it stated that the Commis sioners will make recommendations as deemed fit and nec essary to permit the Guyana Elections Commission to dis charge its statutory functions as set out in the Representation of the People Act.

Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister, Oneidge Walrond, (centre) along with Kenneth Bryan, Minister of Tourism and Transport, Cayman Islands (left) and Kyle Rymer, Deputy Premier, Minister of Communications and Works, British Virgin Islands (right) at the World Routes Forum 2022

(From left) Senior Counsel Godfrey Smith, the CoI’s chairman Stanley John, and former Chancellor, Carl Singh

Inquest into murder of BV teen to recommence

ALMOST five years after 18-year-old Ronella Benfield was brutally murdered in a cemetery at Be terverwagting, East Coast Demerara, the coroner’s inquest into her death is sched uled to recommence, on Thursday, at the Sparendaam Magis trates’ Court.

In Guyana, a sitting magistrate acting as the coroner, empanels a jury and conducts an inquest.

The jury’s role is to examine all of the evi dence presented and de cide whether any crimi nal charges can be laid and, if so, against whom.

The inquest proceed ings in this case had started before Magistrate Alisha George, but, due to the Coronavirus pan demic, the hearing was suspended.

A total of 24 witness es are expected to testify

during the inquest.

The young Qualfon Call Centre receptionist was murdered on De cember 11, 2017, while on her way home.

Her mutilated body with the face disfigured was found in a Muslim cemetery along the Be terverwagting Access Road, by a passerby who alerted the police.

A post- mortem ex amination revealed that Benfield died as a re sult of crushing injuries to the face caused by a

blunt object. More than seven persons were de tained and grilled by the police. They were all released.

The police reported that the body of Ben field was found at ap proximately 07:00hrs with her face smashed in. The victim was last seen alive at approxi mately 18:00hrs on De cember 9, 2017, by her colleagues.

Detectives believe that the teen knew her at tacker (s) and was prob ably held at gunpoint or knifepoint and forcibly taken into the cemetery where she was beaten.

The body was found with her jeans pulled down almost to her knees and she was still wearing her blouse. Her hands were resting on her stomach.

Her handbag was found, but her cell phone was not inside.

Man admits to killing Brazilian farmer over ‘Labba’ meat

A 40-year-old MocoMoco Village, Ru pununi farmer, last Friday, admitted that he fatally stabbed his drinking buddy in 2018.

Darren Williams called “Fox” appeared before Justice Brass ington Reynolds at the Demerara High Court for the capital offence of murder. However, he opted to plead guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter.

He admitted that, on December 29, 2018, at Moco-Moco Village, he unlawfully killed Elvis Aulicio, a 44-year-old farmer of Bon Fin, Bra zil.

Justice Reynolds ad journed the matter until October 28, 2022, for a probation report on Williams.

According to re ports, Williams and Aulicio were known to each other and, on the day in question, they were at a birthday party

consuming alcohol.

An argument ensued between the men af ter Williams accused Aulicio of stealing his labba meat from his haversack.

Reports are that after Aulicio left the par ty, Williams followed

him to the Moco-Moco Savannah and stabbed him to the neck with a knife.

Williams left Au licio there to die and made good his escape. The body was later discovered by pas sersby.

Ronella Benfield

Darren Williams called “Fox”

Digitisation of agriculture improves productivity, reduces environmental impact, fosters social inclusion

The incorporation of digital technologies has tremen dous potential to improve productivity, improve social inclusion and reduce the environmental impact of ag riculture in Latin America and the Caribbean, agreed leading experts from the public and private sectors convened by the World Food Prize Foundation and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).

During a virtual forum organised by the two institu tions within the framework of the Borlaug International Dialogue—considered the premier conference in the world on global agriculture— experts underscored the need for countries in the region to develop state policies on this topic.

The theme of this year’s dialogue is “Feeding a Fragile World”, in light of the recent shocks to global agrifood systems and the triple threat of the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Eastern Europe and climate change, whose long-lasting effects are still being felt.

The Borlaug Dialogue is hosted each year by the prestigious World Food Prize Foundation, based in Des Moines, Iowa. It recognizes those who make the most significant contributions to improving the quantity, qual ity or availability of food on the planet.

The meeting, which seeks to build alliances in the strug gle against hunger and mal nutrition, includes a series of debates aimed at exploring pathways and alternatives for the future of agrifood systems. Participants include govern ment officials, private sector representatives, international organizations, agricultural producers, academics, scien tists, educators and students.

The panel “Priorities for driving agricultural digitali zation in Latin America and the Caribbean”, moderated from Berlin by journalist Pía Castro, sought to promote efforts to reduce the digi tal divide in LAC—a ma jor challenge for the region.

Participants discussed the importance of capitalizing on the opportunities afforded by digital technologies to foster inclusive development and guarantee food security, with rural women and youth play ing a key role

Kyle Poorman, Director of International Dialogues of the World Food Prize Foundation, and Jorge Werthein, Advisor to the Director General of IICA, opened the meeting.

“Digital tools are essential,

but especially for rural areas to improve their economy and education”, emphasized Poor man.

“We are shedding light on this issue and helping IICA’s member countries to develop policies to meet the demand for digitization, given that the benefits for rural popula tions are so obvious”, said Werthein.

THE CHALLENGE OF INVOLVING MORE STAKEHOLDERS

Diego Arias, Agriculture and Food Manager for the World Bank in Latin America, underscored the need for more and better information on the stakeholders involved in agri cultural innovation in the dif ferent countries. “We always think of public research insti tutes and large companies that offer agricultural technology such as Bayer, but we forget about other stakeholders, such as universities. The challenge involves achieving a system atic interaction between the public and private sectors”, he said.

Arias referred to the need to rethink investment in in novation. In that regard, he pointed out that projects car ried out in rural areas should focus on three aspects: re search, extension and educa tion. “We have a lot of data on research, some on exten sion and very little on what countries are doing in the field of education”, he noted. The World Bank expert also con sidered that technology design should place special emphasis on rural youth and women.

Mauricio Agudelo, Coor dinator of the Digital Agenda of the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF), noted that Internet use in the region was high among companies, but low in the production sec tor, as reflected by supply and production chains. “At CAF, we promote different digital transformation models for countries, based on an under standing of and specific as sessments of the issues facing such a critical sector”, he said.

Agudelo described the ef forts that CAF is undertaking in Peru to foster digitization in the agriculture sector. “In that country, agricultural digitisa tion is still in its early stages, but it has tremendous poten tial. New technologies offer opportunities for every link in the value chain”.

“Given the need to re activate and develop ag rifood value chains, the digitization of the rural sector affords a tremen dous opportunity to ad vance towards greater productivity and competi tiveness”, he concluded.

- agree experts convened by the World Food Prize Foundation and IICA

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Race 2 Honey Girl Race 3 Thy Kingdom Race 4 Shambo Race 5 Not A Game

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER

(Tuesday October 18, 2022)

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

Answers to yesterday’s quiz:

Tillakaratne Dilshan – 317 runs (SL)

(2) Tillakaratne Dilshan – 96* (SL vs WI, The Oval)

Today’s Quiz:

(1) Who took most wickets in the 2009 ICC T20 World Cup?

(2) What were the best bowling figures in a single game in the 2009 ICC T20 World Cup?

Answers in tomorrow’s issue

Scotland stun hapless West Indies

(ESPNCRICINFO) -

Two-time T20 World Cup champions, West Indies were stunned by Scotland in their opening match of Group B in Hobart. With the bat, opener George Munsey scored 66 off 53 to hold Scotland's innings together to help them post 160. With the ball, Scotland relied on their slower bowlers to rock West Indies to 118 all out and consign them to a 42run defeat.

It is the second time in two days that a Full-Mem ber side has gone down to an Associate nation, with Namibia beating Sri Lanka on the opening day.

West Indies started their chase strongly and were 53 for 1 in 5.4 overs, but then lost their next seven wickets for 26 runs, with left-arm spinner Mark Watt producing a penetrative and economical spell to finish with 3 for 12 in his four overs. Off-spinner Michael Leask also put in a stranglehold with the wickets of Nicholas Pooran and Rovman Powell, while right-arm seamer, Brad Wheal, got crucial breakthroughs at the top and then in his return spell.

The loss puts West In dies under pressure with matches against Ireland and Zimbabwe next on their docket. Scotland, mean while, will be looking to build on this comprehen sive win and will eye a sec ond consecutive Super 12 spot at the T20 World Cup.

WATT, LEASK OPEN WEST INDIES' WOUNDS

The pitch wasn't partic ularly difficult to bat on, and many of West Indies' key batters fell looking to play their shots in a chase of 161. Kyle Mayers was

the first to go, caught at deep midwicket going for a big hit even though he had just slammed a four and a six. Evin Lewis and Brandon King stayed posi tive through the rest of the powerplay, but Lewis per ished after his pull found the only fielder on the leg side boundary.

By now the skies were turning grey. Watt, who opened the bowling, came back after the powerplay. But a sizeable part of his focus -- and the captain Richie Berrington's -- was on the DLS sheet. At that point, Scotland were mar ginally behind, but the ta bles turned when King was bowled trying to cut Watt off the back foot.

With Scotland now slightly ahead of the DLS, it was West Indies who were try ing to force the play, and in the process hurt their own game since rain never ar rived in the second innings.

Leask, from around the stumps, had Pooran bowled for 5 after he missed a pull shot. Powell soon fol lowed, holing out to longon. And Shamarh Brooks was caught trying to heave a back-of-a-length delivery to the only boundary rider on the leg side to leave West Indies reeling at 77 for 6 after 12 overs.

Akeal Hosein was then run out after a mix-up. Watt induced a nick from Alzarri Joseph for a firstball duck to bring West In dies down to 79 for 8, and from there on, the result appeared to be a formality.

Jason Holder at No. 7 did save some face for West Indies with his 33ball 38 to take the team's total past 100. He was the last man to depart in the 19th over, caught at long-off by Chris Greaves, prompting a sedate and

composed celebration from the victorious Scotland side.

MUNSEY HOLDS SCOTLAND'S FORT

Scotland were asked to bat by Pooran at the toss. The West Indies captain said he wanted first use of the moisture on a fresh sur face only to then toss the new ball to medium-pacer Mayers and left-arm spin ner Hosein.

Munsey and his opening partner Michael Jones took full toll, racing away to a wicket-less 52 runs in 5.3 overs before rain stopped play for 45 minutes. Mun sey, in particular, took on Mayers and Joseph in the early salvo, using his wrists to pepper the leg side with fours or leaning in to drive through the covers.

However, a combina tion of a revamped bowl ing strategy, along with a sluggish post-rain outfield, slowed Scotland down. Holder got the first wicket just after the powerplay and made it two in his next over with Matthew Cross' scalp. From the other end, Hosein and Joseph recovered from their opening spells with the latter removing Riche Berrington for 16.

The set batter Munsey was struggling to find the boundaries with the field spread out, and Scotland appeared to be losing their momentum, but Calum Ma cLeod injected some piz zazz with four fours in his 14-ball cameo of 23. At the other end, Munsey slowburned his way to fifty in 43 balls in the 17th over.

At that time, Scotland looked set for a sub-150 score, a sharp decline from the position they were in after the powerplay.

But they got a timely boost, with two big overs

right at the end. The 18th over from Obed McCoy went for 12 runs and the 20th from Odean Smith cost 15 allowing them to

post what turned out to be a more than match-win ning total. Munsey con tributed three of the five fours Scotland hit in those

12 balls, making what was comfortably the high est score of the match and even picking up an award for it.

Petra launches MVP Sports Futsal

Tournament to feature female competition

THE Petra Organisation, on Monday, launched its MVP Sports Futsal Com petition with this edition expected to feature female competition. During the launch at Brandsville Hotel in Camp bellville, it was disclosed that female teams from the Guyana Police Force, Guy ana Defence Force, Fruta Conquerors and Santos FC will play alongside the tradi tional male teams.

This came in for high praise from title sponsors MVP Sports, Proprietor, Ian Ramdeo saying, “I'm very pleased to see that there's a female component of this tournament as well. So that's something that, as I'm aware of, has really been part of mandatory tournaments in Guyana prior to this, so hats off to you and we look for ward to an exciting tour nament and many years to come.”

GCB Senior Super-50 Inter-County Finals

Tournament to be livestreamed in Indian Subcontinent

AN upbeat Essequibo team, fresh from last Sun day’s massive win over Demerara, will oppose a strong Berbice contingent when the two teams meet in today’s final of the Guy ana Cricket Board (GCB) Senior Male Super 50 In ter-County Tournament.

The highly anticipated clash will witness the two teams vying for champion ship honours. The hosting of the Senior Inter-County Tournament saw a return to the GCB’s calendar of matches after an absence of more than five years and has created the great hype and interest among cricket enthusiasts.

This was evident from the thousands of spectators who witnessed the previous round of matches.

The tournament involves the competitive participation of a number of local players with regional and interna tional experience who are seeking to improve their chances of selection to this year’s Guyana Harpy Eagles Super 50 touring squad.

The Guyana Harpy Ea gles team departs Guyana

on Thursday, October 27, 2022, to compete in this year’s CG United Super 50 Tournament.

The Day/Night final is scheduled to commence at 1400 hours on Tuesday, October 18, 2022, at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, and will be Livestream in the Indian Subcontinent comprising of India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myan mar, Bhutan, Maldives and Afghanistan through a part nership agreement will with a promotion firm registered in India. This partnership arrangement is now in the testing stage of Guyana’s Cricket Product.

President of the GCB, Bissoondyal Singh stated, that the GCB is moving ahead smoothly with the development and promotion of the game.

“To date, we have lives treamed all matches in this Tournament and have engaged a potential com mercial partner to assist in the promotion of the game beyond the boundaries of Guyana and the West In dian region”, Singh stated.

The tournament, which kicks off on Thursday, Octo ber 20, at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH), has also garnered support from Ansa McAl through its Lucozade and Magnum brands, as the official beverage provider.

Ansa McAl’s Errol Nel son, in brief remarks, said, “It should be noted that Ansa McAl Trading which dis tributes the Magnum Tonic Wine and Lucozade brands, have had a very long term re lationship or partnership with the petra organisation where by we have been partnered with them to help promote

the sport from the grassroots level all the way up to the senior level.”

National Sport Commis sion’s (NSC’s) Director, Steve Ninvalle, who was also present at the event, said, “It is only natural that, with such levels of organisation, persons will tend to want to gravitate towards you. The National Sports Commission is one of those entities that have gravitated towards you and we would want to say that, after doing what they have done, we will continue to be one of your supporters throughout the years.”

Its fourth edition was contested in 2018 and this year’s edition is expected to

feature Albouystown, Alex ander Village, Avacado Bal lers, Back Circle, Belfield, Bent Street, Beterverwag ting, Campbellville, Channel 9, Crane, East Front Road, Future Stars, Goal Is Mon ey, Leopold Street, Melanie, Mocha Family, Pike Street, Sophia, Sparta, Stabroek Ballers, Swag, Tiger Bay, Vengy FC and Vryheid’s Lust.

The Men’s champion will cart off $500,000 while the runners up will take home $300,000.

Third will settle for $200,000 while the fourth place will receive $100,000.

Additionally, the winner of each of the six groups

in the male division will receive $50,000 while sec ond place will take home $30,000, third place will pocket $20,000 and fourth will receive $10,000. After the Group stage, the top two finishers in each group, along with the best two third place teams, will advance to the next round.

In the Women’s divi sion, the tournament win ner will pocket $200,000, second place $100,000 while third and fourth in centives amount to $50,000 and $25,000, respectively.

The Most Valuable Player (MVP) award will also be up for grabs in both divi sions.

Support for National youth boxer Britton officially kicks in USA-based Guyanese Gittens hailed by Ninvalle

NATIONAL youth boxer, Keyon Britton, recent ly received sponsorship courtesy of his personal financier, Samuel 'Stanley' Gittens, who adopted the career of the pugilist a few months back.

The USA-based Guy anese immediately threw his support morally and financially behind the youth fighter who was among the stars during the 2022 School Boxing tournament held in Guyana a few months ago.

According to Gittens, Britton of the Vergenoe gen Boxing Gym, is ex pected to have his full-time support, financially or any other means of career de velopment, making sure that all basis are covered going forward.

Guyana Boxing Associa

tion (GBA) president, Steve Ninvalle, stated that this unique relationship is a blue print for others to follow. He said with boxing on the rise, more youths will need such outside support in order to fully and quickly unlock their raw potential.

Ninvalle lauded the box ing enthusiast Gittens for allowing young Britton to have more opportunities to further his craft, as his sponsor promised financial support for overseas travel among other aspects of the fighter's career.

Ninvalle stressed that such opportunities are golden and as a result, rec ognized Gittens as a role model with regard to his genuine care and support for boxing and its future athletes (Clifton Ross).

Looking to Heaven, Foreign...

event featured a three-horse shootout for the win. Ari ana’s Vision took an early lead ahead of the pack, challenged by Everesting but a late surge by Look ing to Heaven right to the line ensured the Jumbo Jet

stable snagged the trophy.

Elsewhere, in race one which was for horses L Open & J3 Maidens & K Non Earners, it was ‘He’s A Prince winning ahead of ‘Plus Return’, ‘Prince of Peace’ and ‘Judge Not.’

Race two, the L – Non winners in 2022, ‘Bank Note’ won ahead of ‘O Suna’, ‘Awesome Banner’ and ‘Perfect Rose.’ Race four, for horses classed G & Lower was won by ‘Unsettled’ ahead

of ‘American Traveller’, ‘Princess Stefani’ and ‘Amicable Kate.’

The two-year-old Guy ana bred horses, race five, had ‘Rachel’ win ning ahead of ‘Hardcore’, ‘Shes a Star’ and ‘Halo.’

National Boxing Coach, Terrence Poole and national youth boxer, Keyon Britton (centre) alongside GBA president, Steve Ninvalle

(From

GCB aims to establish 18 cricket academies across Guyana Meets with President Ali

THE Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) intends to further develop cricket for both young male and young female players through the establishment of 18 cricket academies.

President of the GCB, Bissoondyal Singh, made the disclosure yesterday during a meeting with the President of Guyana, H.E. Dr Irfaan Ali.

Singh said that the aim is to give opportunities to bud ding players from the ages of 7-17.

Training will take place three times per week (af ter school) and on Saturday mornings.

Depending on the size of the classes, the Board would make the necessary adjust ments in terms of coaches needed, etc.

Of the academies, seven are earmarked for Essequibo,

five for Demerara and six for Berbice.

Essequibo’s academies are slated for Bartica, Le guan, Wakenaam, North Es sequibo, South Essequibo, East Bank Essequibo and Pomeroon.

In Demerara, academies will take place in George town, on the East Coast, East Bank, West Demerara and in Upper Demerara/Linden.

In Berbice, academies are allocated for West Berbice, New Amsterdam, Central Corentyne, Upper Corentyne and two other locations still to be decided.

MEETING WITH PRESIDENT ALI

During the meeting with President Ali at State House in Georgetown, the Cricket Board members were told that the government will

continue to make the neces sary interventions to support the growth of cricket in the country.

President Ali also chal lenged the GCB to think outside of the box and to for mulate initiatives to further propel the sport to greater heights.

Singh said that the Board was grateful to the President for accommodating them and for establishing a “direct relationship”. He said that they are looking forward to a continued partnership with the government in moving the sport forward.

Along with the academy, the board has also started a school cricket programme in conjunction with CWI and Republic Bank.

The aim is to target 75 primary schools and train 150 teachers.

Looking to Heaven, Foreign link steal show

Sunshine Snacks shows support for Junior Hockey Tournament

Proud to support the growth and development of hockey….

SUNSHINE graced the Bush Lot United Turf Club following days of intermittent rains and fans were rewarded with high quality horse-racing action.

The one-day meet, sponsored by AJM enter prises, Jumbo Jet Auto Sales and Banks DIH, had

six races carded for the day.

But the most intense action came in race three, the J & Lower open where the favourite Red Star, had the top bet for the win.

Red Star, owned by Shamsundar got away quickly over the six-fur long race and continued to

stride well past the fourth, third and second furlongs.

But a late surge from Foreign Link coming down to the finish line ensured that the Deniesh Deodattowned horse would lift the top prize and the AJM trophy.

Elsewhere, the main

THE Guyana Hockey Board, in its quest to see the sport become a household name, hosted its Junior Hockey Tournament at the Gymnasium, Mandela Avenue. The tournament ran for two consecutive weekends, starting on the 8th and concluded on the 16th of October 2022.

The children were grouped under four divi sions, starting with the under 11, 13, 16 and under 20. The under 11 and 13 categories were mixed teams. While the under 11 and 13 are still learning the game, they are familiar with the basics of hockey and are part of clubs. The youngsters showed much delight and enthusiasm while their parents and hockey fans supported them.

The GCC Pugs were crowned champions within the under 11 mixed division, defeating GCC Bulldogs. In the third position was YMCA Old Fort, and the Most Valuable Players were Letifa Fields and Khristian

Viapree.

In the under 13 mixed category, GCC Thunder took the trophy, with runners-up being Saints Scorchers and Saints Scalpels. The MVP for this category were Makeala Poole and Kyle Couchman.

In the under-16 girls' category, Saints Sensations outplayed YMCA Old Fort Wildcats, with GCC Tor nadoes bringing up the rear with the third position. GCC War Dogs are the new un der-16 boys champion, de feating Saints Scorpions, with Saints Supreme taking the third position. Kazaquah Uzzi who played for Saints was declared MVP girl, and Vladimir Woodroof of GCC was crowned under 16 boys MVP.

The under-20 boys and girls showed much skill and determination, with some being on the National Team and already representing Guyana. In the girls' finals, GCC Herricanes defeated their sister team GCC Spar tans. Abosaide Cadogan

netted both goals for the Herricanes, while Madison Fernades netted the lone goal for the Spartans. The MVP was Clayza Bobb of Saints Conquerors, who played a brilliant game in the semi-fi nals, but her team eventually lost to GCC Spartans in a penalty shootout.

What can be considered the highlight of the eve ning saw the YMCA Old Fort Top Form out-scor ing Saints Snipers 2 nil. Warren Williams scored both goals in the 1st and 9th minute, respectively. The game was fast-paced, with the skilful young men showing much willpower on both sides. The Snipers tried to bore the net of their opponent, but bril liant goalkeeping by Ken nard Jerrick denied their every attempt. In the end, Saints Snipers settled for the runner-up position, and Shakeem Fausette of Old Fort Top Form was adjudged MVP among his peers.

Bush Lot United Turf Club one-day horse race meet…

In the pics Mr. Kurt Waddel (sunshine Snacks)

pose with the winning under 13 team

Mr. Kurt Waddel (sunshine Snacks) pose with the winning team of the under 11 class

Ahead by a nose! Looking to Heaven wins the feature event of the Bush Lot United Turf Club one-day horse-race meet

hapless West Indies

West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran will have a lot to think about after losing to Scotland (ICC via getty images)

(from L-R) Director of the Petra Organisation, Troy Mendonca watches on as MVP Sports Proprietor, Ian Ramdeo presents a cheque to Nareesa Latiff. Ansa McAl’s Errol Nelson and Director of Sport, Steve Ninvalle watch on

President Irfaan Ali and members of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) during the meeting on Monday at State House