Guyana Chronicle E-Paper 21-10-2022

Local government poll set for March 13

MINISTER of Local Government and Re gional Development, Nigel Dharamlall, acting on the advice of President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, has appointed March 13, 2023, as the date for Guyana’s next Local Government Elections (LGE).

In light of this, President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, in a virtual message on Thursday evening, said: “March 13 is an important date… I call on all Guyanese to work in renewing efforts to build ing the local governance system, building and strengthening our communities, especially our

townships. For long, we have seen what misman agement could do in townships, in some areas.

–– President Ali urges every stakeholder to get ready, participate in this democratic process

“This is a time for us to come together, work together, strengthen our governance system and build a system that delivers to our people.”

The local government system, Dr. Ali said,

is an essential part of the country’s governance framework, and the government had promised to spare no time in calling elections once the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is ready.

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President Ali: Let the light of Diwali bring us together

PRESIDENT, Dr Irfaan Ali, ush ered in the Festival of Lights, Di wali, with a cultural event on Main Street, on Thursday night.

The event was attended by First Lady Arya Ali, government officials and members of the diplomatic com munity, as well as the public.

President Ali, in a brief speech, said that it is important for persons to come together as a community, and the hosting of this public celebration serves as a platform to accomplish this.

During this auspicious period, it is also the President’s hope that the “light” will contribute to improve ment of the lives of persons in com munities and eradicate many ills of the world, such as the issues of world hunger and poverty.

The event featured many cultural performances such as classical dances and singing of bhajans.

Persons were also given ‘seven curry’ at the end of the event.

Liz Truss resigns: PM’s exit kicks off another Tory leadership race

(Office of the President photo)

Scenes from President’s Main Street Diwali Light up

Carl Croker photos

Local Government Polls set for March 13

ready, participate in this democratic process

team that reflects ‘One Guyana’ agenda

MINISTER of Local Gov ernment and Regional De velopment, Nigel Dharam lall, acting on the advice of President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, has appointed March 13, 2023, as the date for Guyana’s next Local Government Elections (LGE).

In light of this, President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, in a virtual message on Thursday eve ning, said: “March 13 is an important date… I call on all Guyanese to work in renewing efforts to building the local governance system, building and strengthening our com munities, especially our town ships. For long, we have seen what mismanagement could do in townships, in some areas.

“This is a time for us to come together, work together, strengthen our governance system and build a system that delivers to our people.”

The local government sys tem, Dr. Ali said, is an essen tial part of the country’s gov ernance framework, and the government had promised to spare no time in calling elec tions once the Guyana Elec tions Commission (GECOM) is ready.

And with a date being announced, the Head of State called on all stakeholders, including political parties, to get ready since they have long notice to prepare themselves to be a part of this democratic process.

“With these elections we could bring together local leadership, women, young people… and that shows our seriousness to building and

strengthening governance at every single level,” President Ali said.

The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), in par ticular, will spare no effort in working with every communi ty and putting together a team that is reflective of the “One Guyana” agenda, The Head of State said.

He added: “[We will build] a team that will promote de

velopment, a team that will work integrally with regional and central government to en sure development takes place, brings people together and strengthens communities while delivering better services.”

The opportunity to achieve this goal arose after Minister Dharamlall wrote the GECOM Chairperson, Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh, on Thursday, informing her of the date for LGE.

The date was chosen based on the work plan that was submitted by GECOM to the minister on Monday.

“Please be informed that pursuant to Section 35 (1) of the Local Authorities (Elec tions) Act, Chapter 28:03, I appoint March 13, 2023, as

the day on which elections of Councillors for Local Author ities shall be held,” Dharamlall wrote to Justice Singh, accord ing to the statement.

Accordingly, an Order under Section 35 shall be published in the Gazette ap pointing the date. As part of the government’s commit ment, some $2.9 billion has been allocated to GECOM for preparatory works to ensure the successful planning and execution of LGE.

“The Government of Guy ana is committed to the up holding of democracy and believes that the holding of Local Government Elections is an important pillar in our democratic political system,” the statement said.

It is the responsibility of the Minister of Local Gov ernment to officially declare the date for LGEs based on correspondence from GECOM on when it would be ready to conduct the elections.

On Monday, GECOM had submitted this necessary corre spondence identifying March 13 to April 24 as the timeframe within which GECOM could hold the elections.

Guyanese have been an ticipating the hosting of LGE for some time now. It is at the LGE that Guyanese are given the opportunity to vote for the councillors that will con stitute their Local Authority Areas (LAA). Guyana has 70 Neighbourhood Democrat ic Councils (NDCs) and 10 municipalities, inclusive of Georgetown.

Local Government Elec tions were legally due last year and funds were budget ed in 2021 to facilitate this; however, several issues facing GECOM at the time prevented the hosting of the elections, including the lack of a chief election officer (CEO).

The LGE could not be held in the absence of a CEO, a position which was filled by Vishnu Persaud. The govern ment has repeatedly indicated that it is ready to hold the elec tions once given the necessary “go ahead” from the elections body.

Some $783 million was approved this year for the holding of LGE, as part of GECOM’s 2022 budgetary allocation.

Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall

President, Dr. Irfaan Ali

Teachings of late Janet Jagan still fundamental to development

By Shamar Meusa

THE People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) on Thursday celebrated the life of former President, Jan et Jagan.

At the simple but significant ceremony, President, Dr Irfaan Ali, said many issues that she identified remain fundamental to the de velopment of society and the advancement of women’s rights.

The Head of State re lated that Jagan’s name is etched in Guyana’s history and her achieve ments cannot be erased.

“We are comforted that her legacy cannot be erased or diminished, not by the passage of time or by the malicious ness of the detractors.

Comrade Janet Jagan will remain a timeless figure in our party and [in our] country’s histo

ry,” President Ali said.

Dr Ali hailed Jagan as a phenomenal woman who was a leader in the fight for the restoration of democracy, a champi on of the working class and one of Guyana’s foremost advocates for

women’s rights.

The PPP/C and gov ernment remain commit ted to the same causes and objectives champi oned by Jagan and have not deviated from the struggle for equality for women, among other

things.

On the issue of wom en’s rights, Dr Ali said that Jagan was a constant agitator for women’s rights and had proved the same as she took up the challenge in support of women’s rights just

one year after arriving in Guyana.

This challenge took the form of the found ing of the Political Af fairs Committee and the women’s political and economic organisation, which sustained the agi tation for women’s rights and empowerment.

At that time, Jagan linked the struggle for universal adult suffrage to the rights of women, seeing that many wom en were disenfranchised from voting.

This, President Ali said, was not only about the right to vote but also about empowering women politically.

While serving as minister, Jagan promul gated legislation which reduced the hours of work for store workers who were mostly women at that time and further ensured the protection of domestic workers.

Dr Ali said: “Janet Jagan expanded her un derstanding of women’s rights, she saw women’s rights as going beyond something that is enact ed in law and the consti tution. For her, women’s rights were not paper rights but must have social and economic di mensions.”

—President Ali says

Against this back drop, President Ali ref erenced a speech which Jagan delivered to the National Assembly in 1981, when she ad dressed what exactly women’s rights were about at that time.

In the excerpt of the speech read by the Head of State, Jagan noted that women’s rights were about the full em ployment of women, providing them with a decent wage. She added that it was about having proper pre - and post-na tal care, not having women carry buckets of water and spending hours queueing up for essential items.

President Ali said: “This is what comrade Janet said in 1981 when women’s rights and women empowerment was a taboo issue. The issues she identified then are still most relevant in our societies today. The issues she identified then are fundamental to the development of soci ety and the advancement of women.”

To this end, he added that this is the philosophy which still guides the PPP/C and the government.

President, Dr Irfaan Ali reflecting on the life of former President, Janet Jagan (Adrian Narine photo)

PM Phillips debunks APNU+AFC

‘untruths’ on electricity management

PRIME Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, in a statement, responded to some contentions made by Member of Parliament David Patter son, which he maintains are untrue about the national electricity company, Guyana Power & Light Inc. (GPL).

Patterson accused the gov ernment of not having a Stra tegic Plan for GPL, claiming that one was drafted by the AP NU+AFC while in government, and noted further that projects to improve the transmission and distribution network were com pleted without external loans.

PM Phillips corrected the

assertions made by Patterson, noting that not only does GPL have a Strategic Plan, but the government has also approved the GPL Development and Ex pansion Plans for Years 20212025, and Years 2022-2026.

All of these are available on the company’s website.

“It is noteworthy that APNU, while in Government, failed to approve and publish the statutory Development and Expansion Plans for Years 2017 – 2021, Years 2018 – 2022, Years 2019 – 2023, and Years 2020 – 2024.

“In fact, the APNU only ap proved and published a Devel

opment and Expansion Plan for Years 2016 – 2020,” he stated.

The Prime Minister, who has responsibility for electri fication, also noted that the Development and Expansion Plan for the year 2015-2019 was published by the utility company and is available on their website. This, he said, was done by the People’s Progressive Party/Civ ic (PPP/C) government before leaving office in 2015.

PM Phillips further noted that the major projects quoted by Mr. Patterson, which included the upgrade of the transmission lines, were birthed by the PPP/C under the President Donald Ra

motar government, with funding secured from the European Union (EU) and the Inter-Amer ican Development Bank (IDB).

This was done in 2014 for the execution of the Power Utili ty Upgrade Programme (PUUP).

He said that the APNU took credit for the PUUP, which contained components such as strengthening GPL’s manage ment capabilities, operational efficiency, and infrastructure investments for loss reduction, including conductor upgrading, transformer rightsizing, and re placement of aged transformers and meters.

Responding to claims that

the projects were completed without financing from any ex ternal loans, the PM said that the significant reduction in world market fuel prices during the period of 2015 to 2016 allowed for the self-financing of these generation projects in a number of areas across Guyana.

“The financial records of GPL reveal a starkly different situation at the time of APNU demitting office in August 2020.

“GPL’s loans had increased by more than G$21 billion. This means that in the five short years that APNU was in office, GPL’s debt increased by 65%. Also, the loans related to the IDB-funded

PUUP project were in fact from an external source contrary to the statement made by Mr Pat terson,” he stated.

He additionally noted that when the PPP/C government returned to office in August 2020, money owed to GPL by the government had increased by more than $10 billion.

This was a result of the APNU+AFC administration not ensuring the timely and full payment of electricity bills for government offices, the PM said.

Linden call centre to recruit 150 more persons

— boasts almost 100 employees in just one year of operation

THE resuscitated call centre at Linden plans to hire an other 150 persons after suc cessfully completing one year of operations and boasting a staff complement of over 100 people.

Senior Finance Minister. Dr. Ashni Singh, said that the call centre ran by Midas Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), has performed well in the past year.

Last October, a Memoran dum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between the Guyana Office for Investment (Go-In vest) and Midas BPO Inc. for the expansion of the BPO to Linden. Midas BPO had initial ly commenced its operations in Georgetown.

Last year, during Midas BPO’s launch in Linden, a large number of young persons from the town had flocked the venue with applications in hand hoping to land a job. A similar exercise is ongoing to recruit an additional 150 persons.

Dr. Singh said the govern ment will continue to support the industry and will ensure that an environment conducive to employment in a number of sectors is created, especially in the BPO industry which em ploys large numbers of young

people.

The Senior Finance Min ister said that the government will support any investor who wishes to invest and create employment in all of the ten regions of Guyana.

Dr. Singh lauded manage ment of Midas BPO for its employment of 70 persons cur rently as well as an additional 25 persons, who have already been hired on the spot since the commencement of the job fair.

By next year, it is expect ed that 250 Lindeners will be employed at the centre and soon daycare facilities will be established at the centre to accommodate the children of staffers.

“You now have 100 Linden families with an income. Where will they spend this income? Right here in Linden,” Dr. Singh said.

Minister Singh alluded to the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic’s (PPP/C’s) commit ment to Information Commu nications Technology (ICT) and recalled that the focus on this started since under former President Jagdeo’s tenure and has been continuing under Pres ident Irfaan Ali’s stewardship of the country.

He related that several other

steps are being taken by the PPP/C Government to promote the development of the ICT sector in Guyana.

Considering the ongoing development, Dr. Singh urged Lindeners to ignore the A Part nership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (AP NU+AFC), which has been hoping for the call centre to fail.

“This call centre is being managed by a young Guyanese entrepreneur. You cannot say with one side of your mouth

that you support young Guy anese entrepreneurs, we want young Guyanese business lead ers to emerge, how much you love Guyanese entrepreneurs and on the other side of your mouth undermining and speak ing disrespectfully of what this young Guyanese entrepreneur is doing in Guyana. And let me tell you this, there is no business that is not going to go through some periods of challenges,” Dr. Singh said, noting that the government will

encourage and support busi nesses as they navigate their challenges.

Midas BPO’s founder, Mal colm Sobers, over the years, accumulated approximately 20 years of experience in the call centre industry both in Guyana and Belize.

Sobers said that his mission is to provide jobs and give back to the region and to be

the largest private sector em ployer in Linden. He thanked the Government of Guyana for their continued support during his endeavors.

The PPP/C, since its as sumption of office in August 2020, has worked aggressively to promote the employment of persons. More than 1,200 jobs have been created in the BPO industry to date.

Greater opportunities

THE decision by the British Government to waive the visa require ment for Guyanese trav elling to the United King dom (UK) for a period of no more than six months, has opened a gateway to immense opportunities for locals who are looking for new places to explore and business ventures to capitalise on.

Already having vi sa-free access to approxi mately 86 nations world wide, Guyanese, as of No vember 9, will have much more to boast about, with open access to the UK for business and leisure when ever they please, without the burden of additional costs and the anxiety of awaiting an approval or rejection of a visa appli

cation.

The whirlwind of op portunities that are now available to locals are a direct result of the strategic plans and interventions of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Gov ernment over the past two years.

President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, had met with key of ficials including Prince Charles, now King Charles III, and former British Prime Minister, Boris John son, among others, while in the UK earlier this year.

One would assume that the President’s task ex tended beyond market ing Guyana as a growing hub for investment and opportunities, to one that entailed repairing the coun try’s image that was dam

aged by the actions of the former A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) administration during the March 2, 2020, General and Regional Elections.

There is no doubt that the Head of State was suc cessful in his efforts, as British High Commissioner to Guyana, Jane Miller, said: “This visa lift is a real sign of the confidence that the UK has in the growth of our relationship and togeth er with the direct flight that will be happening at the end of March; we believe this change is going to be transformative for our really strong relationship.”

British Airways, the official flag carrier of the United Kingdom, is sched uled to commence sched

uled flights to Guyana in March 2023.

Being perfect comple ments, the visa-free travel and direct flights would undoubtedly enhance eco nomic relations between the two countries and cre ate direct opportunities for increased trade, tourism and other lucrative ventures that would stimulate fur ther growth in the already booming local economy.

“The idea of this visa waiver for visitors is not only about strengthening the relationship but I’m building out expansion of our economic opportunities between Guyana and the UK… but it is important also too for people-to-peo ple contact as we try to build our tourism market and expand or tourism mar

ket, especially in the UK. Guyana has a very strong ecotourism product.

“This visa waiver [also] allows greater connectivity, greater contact and greater people-to-people contact. It would not only do well for the expansion of trade and opening up a new opportu nity but will do extremely well in bringing our people together, creating greater relationship, networking amongst our people. And I think these are critical ele ments in building a stron ger relationship,” President Ali said.

As it is now, Guyana is already the UK’s largest trading partner in the Ca ribbean, with trade between the two nations amounting to over 516 million pounds in 2021, accounting for

21.6 per cent of all the Eu ropean nation’s trade with the Caribbean.

This is expected to con tinue long into the future, as Guyana is constantly in creasing oil production and making key investments to advance development in every sector within the economy.

Considering the po tential that exists, there is even a possibility that the country could become the European Union’s (EU) largest trading partner in the Caribbean. And with there being visa-free travel to the UK, the EU could be motivated to offer the same concession to Guyanese, creating avenues for even greater opportunities.

“NY-based Attorney-at-Law” should publicly withdraw the words ‘wipe out their opponents’

Dear Editor,

I WRITE to register my disappointment with the advice provided by Dr Vivian Williams. Though Dr Williams is no doubt well-qualified, it appears as if the press considers him some kind of a wizard because he is, as we are always reminded, a “New York-based lawyer.”

It is not that what the “New York-based lawyer” is saying is incorrect. The issue is that literally ev erything he points out has been widely acknowledged,

discussed, analysed, and received sustained attention not only by the Ali adminis tration, but also by the oppo sition. Civil society actors in Guyana discuss phenomena such as “Dutch Disease” and “Resource Curse” on a daily basis.

Since the advice offered by Dr Williams is basi cally everyday knowledge in Guyana, I won’t bother giving them any analyti cal attention. This notwith standing, the “New Yorkbased lawyer’s” comments on agriculture do deserve a sentence or two.

Dr Williams seems to

be completely oblivious that Guyana’s LCDS 2030 economic strategy is spe cifically geared towards food security, not only for Guyana, but also for the en tire Caribbean. Dr Williams does not appear to know that the Minister of Agriculture has been on direct partici patory outreaches to every major agricultural region in Guyana. Minister Mustapha and his well-qualified staff, including engineers, agrono mists, marketing specialists, and the like, engage the full spectrum of issues facing the agricultural communi ties.

Some of Dr Williams’ observations on the 2020 Regional and National elec tions could only be consid ered banal. For instance, he seems to be shocked that “…each side [no doubt meaning PPP/C and AP NU+AFC] was like, ‘we can’t lose this.” He rumi nates that “…the country will now be in a perpetual electoral contest.” Well, as everyone knows, in demo cratic societies, all political parties go to the polls with the attitude “we can’t lose this.” As for the “perpetual electoral contest,” I must remind Dr Williams that he

is in a country where the election cycle never stops.

The most alarming and alarmist of the “NYbased Attorney-at-Law” concerns his ‘prediction’ that “…one can expect to see signs from political actors using all sort [sic] of mechanisms to domi nate and wipe out their opponents.” Dr Williams should be cautioned that this kind of speech act is extremely dangerous. This is the kind of lan guage associated with hate speech, and though not advocated by Dr Williams, simply introducing the

words into the political lexicon is tantamount to political irresponsibility. I call on Dr Williams to withdraw these words, namely, “wipe out their opponents” (quoted in Kaieteur News, October 20, 2022, p. 03). What Dr Williams might not know is that political advocacy often takes the form of ‘predictions. Among other places, it happened in per son on Brickdam Street during the 2020 elections.

Yours sincerely, Dr Randy Persaud

David Patterson should acquaint himself with the truth

Dear Editor,

I HAVE taken note of more concocted lies and false claims, embedded elements of the APNU + AFC cabal, being utilised by Mr David Patterson. Not shocking ly, Mr Patterson seeks to divert attention from his failed ad hoc approaches to power generation in Guy ana during his tenure as minister responsible for the sector. Instead of his kneejerk reaction to issues, Mr Patterson would do well to acquaint himself with the truth before he speaks to the salient issues surround ing electricity.

Mr Patterson made four main contentions: -

1) That the government currently does not have a GPL Strategic Plan

2) That when the APNU coalition government took office, that GPL did not have a Strategic Plan in Place

3) That the APNU admin istration developed a plan and executed a number of projects to enhance the gen eration capacity of GPL and improve the transmission and distribution network

4) That these projects were completed without fi nancing from any external

loans.

Allow me to enlighten readers on the truth relative to the aforementioned matters.

1) That the government currently does not have a GPL Strategic Plan

The current government in fact approved the GPL Development and Expansion Plans for Years 2021 to 2025 and Years 2022 -- 2026, and these are publicly available on GPL’s website. It is note worthy that APNU while in government failed to approve and publish the statutory Development and Expan sion Plans for Years 2017 – 2021, Years 2018 – 2022, Years 2019 – 2023 and Years 2020 – 2024. In fact, the APNU only approved and published a Development and Expansion Plan for Years 2016 – 2020. (Please refer to attached files)

2) That when the APNU Coalition government took office that GPL did not have a Strategic Plan in Place

These strategic plans re ferred tp in Mr Patterson’s missive were clearly doc umented in the GPL’s pub lished Development and Ex pansion plan for the year 2015-2019 and available on GPL’s website, which was published just prior to the

PPP demitting office in May 2015. These plans are also publicly available for the public to review on GPL’s website https://gplinc.com/ about-us/publications/. As an example, the Extract below is from the GPL Strategic plan published under the previous PPP administra tion for Years 2015 to 2019. As can be clearly seen, the plans outlined were similar to those expounded by Mr Patterson. (Please refer to attached file)

1.6.1 GENERATION

Investment of US$20.4M to:

• Construct a new 5.2MW, 60Hz HFO-fired power plant at Anna Regina

• Convert the two, 2MW (4MW total) Wartsila Units at Anna Regina to 60Hz

• Construct a new 5.1MW HFO fired power plant at Bartica with three (3) 1.7MW Units, in two phases

• Install a 1.2MW HFO fired Unit in Wakenaam

“It is projected that gen eration from renewable and HFO sources will increase to 97.9 per cent in 2015 from 89 per cent in 2014. Production from LFO-fired capacity cost approximately 39 per cent more than from HFO

fired Units. The increase in HFO-fired capacity and the introduction of this type of equipment in two of the three “island” operations in Esse quibo would position GPL to minimise its generation cost”

3) That the APNU admin istration developed a plan and executed a number of projects to enhance the gen eration capacity of GPL and improve the transmission and distribution network

The major projects quot ed by Mr Patterson, for the upgrade of the transmission lines etc, were in fact birthed by the PPP (His Excellency President Donald Ramotar) Administration with funding secured from the EU and the IDB in 2014 for the execution of the Power Utility Upgrade Programme (PUUP). Clearly, APNU took credit for the PUUP which contained the following components:

Component I –Strengthening GPL’s Man agement Capabilities

Component II – Op erational Efficiency

Component III--In frastructural Investments for Loss Reduction (Conduc tor Upgrading, Transformer rightsizing and replacement of aged transformers and meters).

Component III of The project was done in two (2) phases – Lot A and Lot B. The upgrade catered to reha bilitating 89 priority areas in Lot A and 87 priority areas in Lot B which will account for approximately 630 ki lometres of medium and low-voltage conductors in the distribution network. At the same time, the meter upgrade accounted for approximately 39,199 service upgrades us ing AMI compatible meters (Smart Meters). The network upgrade was intended to reduce technical and com mercial losses and improve reliability of service.

Please refer to the at tached link for details https://gplinc.com/ power-utility-upgrade-pro gramme/about-puup/

4) That these projects were completed without fi nancing from any external loans

The significant reduction in world market fuel prices during the period of 2015 to 2016, allowed for the self-fi nancing of these generation projects (Bartica, Anna Re gina and Wakenaam). The reduction in fuel prices also allowed for the 15 per cent fuel rebate and the five per cent tariff reductions that custom

ers benefitted from. The PPP government lead by President Donald Ramotar introduced a five per cent fuel rebate in 2015 before demitting office.

The financial records of GPL reveal a starkly differ ent situation, at the time of APNU demitting office in August 2020. GPL’s loans had increased by more than G$21 billion. This means that in the five short years that APNU was in office GPL’s debt increased by 65 per cent. Also, the loans related to the IDB-funded PUUP project were in fact from an external source, contrary to the state ment made by Mr Patterson.

In addition, when the PPP government was re turned to office in August 2020, GPL’s government receivables had increased by more than $10 billion. This was due to the APNU administration not ensuring the timely and full payment of its government’s electric ity bills.

Amanza Walton-Desir’s maritime comments reveal how far out she is at sea

Dear Editor,

REFERENCE is made to the Honourable Member of Parliament, Amanza Walton-Desir’s missive on Guyana’s need for Marine Spatial Planning.

The “information” ex pounded on by Ms Desir, is too much guesswork to be taken seriously. Ms Desir is obviously not ad ept with the current state of the maritime sector, or international affairs, for which she has responsi bility for opposition con stituents.

Her ignorance was also recently highlighted when in her zest to criticise

His Excellency President Ali, wasn’t aware that the country formerly known as Turkey is now Turkiye.

Nevertheless, I digress and will use this opportu nity to educate Ms Desir and the people of Guyana on the government’s in terventions made on the maritime landscape since assuming office in 2020 and its plans for the sector.

Marine Spatial Plan ning (MSP) as referenced by Ms Desir, is a prac tical way to create and establish a more ratio nal organisation of the use of marine space and the interactions between its uses, to balance de mands for development

with the need to protect marine ecosystems, and to achieve social and eco nomic objectives in an open and planned way.

(UNESCO MARINE Spatial Planning - A stepby-step Approach towards Ecosystem-based). It should be noted that this is an interactive process that takes time.

Ms Desir’s missive propounds that the Gov ernment of Guyana has made no plans for the maritime sector. The aver age Guyanese knows this is far from the truth.

The Honourable Vice-President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo in his ministerial statement on behalf of the

Government of Guyana in the introduction of Guy ana’s Maritime Economy Plans, reiterated the gov ernment’s commitment to managing this space in a sustainable and re sponsible manner for the benefit of all the people of Guyana, and humanity, generally.

(Maritime Economy Plan, Guyana: Common wealth Marine Econo mies Programme; March 2022). The Vice-Presi dent also alluded to the fact that shipping is the most economical mode of transportation, and in timated the government’s continued effort to create and implement a National

Maritime Strategy that is aligned with the Low Car bon Development Strate gy (LCDS) and Guyana’s overall development ob jectives.

To further dispel Ms Desir’s uncertainty about the Commonwealth Ma rine Economy Plan, the Government of Guyana has been constantly organ ising and executing vari ous elements of this plan.

MARAD is in constant contact with the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO), who has been lending support to our Hydrographic Sur veyors. In fact, although sensitisation of this proj ect commenced in 2017

and training for the use of multi-beam echo sounder technology equipment was conducted in 2019, little work was done in the updating of Hydrographic information.

Since 2020, the Gov ernment of Guyana has invested heavily in the updating of navigational charts to facilitate the rap id progress being made in port development.

It therefore cannot be said that issues surround ing the maritime space are not being addressed. It should be emphatically stated that since assuming office in August 2020, the President Irfaan Ali-led

Yours sincerely, Hon Brigadier (Ret’d), Mark Phillips Prime Minister of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana

Amanza Walton-Desir’s maritime comments...

From

administration has invest ed substantially in the maritime sector.

One such example of substantial investment is that on port infrastructure in Guyana.

While port infrastruc ture is mainly privately driven, the Government of Guyana has rendered tre mendous support, having recognised the importance in ensuring that our ports are resilient.

Further, the Govern ment’s recognition of the demand for port facilities in Guyana and the strain placed on Port George town has led to repeated declarations of its inten tion to develop a deep-wa ter port in the Berbice

River.

Concomitantly, MA RAD and other regulatory agencies are currently processing several ap plications for the con struction of port facilities. This is not an overnight process, but one that calls for thorough research and planning which is ob viously foreign to Ms. Desir and her opposition colleagues.

In preparation for the increase in marine traf fic, seven hundred and eighty-seven million dol lars ($787,000,000.00) has been spent thus far to remove the three wrecks at the mouth of the De merara River.

Dredging of the Main Access Channel is cur

rently ongoing as well.

The Demerara Main Ships’ Channel is not the only area being dredged. Dredging activities are currently ongoing in the Waini access channel.

It is crucial to note that this area hasn’t been dredged since the early 1980s. MARAD is also in the process of organising dredging activities in the shallow areas up to Port Kaituma. This area will soon be cleared of debris and other obstructions that hinder safe navigation.

Ancillary to its plans to enhance the maritime sector, the central gov ernment allocated one hundred and seventeen million dollars ($117M) for the construction of 15

concrete beacons mark ing rocks in the upper reaches of the Essequibo River. The project is still underway, but thus far 11 beacons have been built at SAIL ROCK; CHOU – CHOU; KUJAROU ROCK; RATTLE SNAKE ROCK; BARTICA GROVE BEACON; HES PER ROCK; NEGRI COP ISLAND ROCK; LADY HOPE ROCK; ARIMARI ISLAND ROCK ; ST EDWARDS MISSION ROCK; PALMER PT.

Mariners will tell you of how useful these bea cons are when navigating through the Essequibo River. In addition to en hancing safe navigation, this project will support increased tourism with

yachts and other pleasure craft in the area.

In anticipation of in creased marine traffic and the need for additional Marine Officers, MARAD has since August 2020 certified and appointed nine new pilots to conduct ships in the Georgetown Pilotage District.

Additionally, five new inspectors of shipping were appointed to inspect and certify vessels oper ating in Guyana. The de partment is cognisant that more manpower is needed in the sector to meet the exponential growth. As such, the department is currently finalising plans to train scores of young men and women as cadets for service as ships offi cers, pilots, inspectors, surveyors, marine com munications officers, etc.

To safeguard national infrastructure, MARAD’s pilots are also now re quired to be on all seago ing vessels transiting the retractor span of the De merara Harbour Bridge.

To accompany this in flux in the demand for pi lotage services, a total of five hundred thirty million dollars ($530,000,000.00) was expended towards the acquisition of a new pilot boat - ML ABDULLAH.

This is the first new vessel of such nature to be acquired since the early 1980s and is expected to be delivered within the first quarter of 2023. This is a remarkable achieve ment by the administra tion, and it is a demon stration of its commitment to the development of the maritime sector in the face of steady growth of marine traffic.

The administration looks forward to this vessel since it can be seen as a saviour when compared to the pre viously acquired pilot vessel David P, which was bought in April, 2018, under the AP NU+AFC administra

tion.

The David P to date has never worked to its full capacity and is a festering wound in the administration, since it has been costing the department huge sums of money to maintain.

This does not seem as if proper Marine Spatial Planning was exercised in that era, when approximately one year after its pur chase, the APNU+AFC government spent an other $400 million dol lars in spares for the said vessel.

I will end as Ms De sir started. It is no secret that the damage caused by the Motor Tanker Tradewind Passion on Saturday, 8th October, 2022, inconvenienced the entire country. The current administration inherited a Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB) that was on the verge of collapse. Since assum ing office in 2020, the government has poured billions of dollars into the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation to literally keep the bridge afloat and operational.

His Excellency, President Irfaan Ali has pledged his efforts for the speedy construction of the New Demerara River Bridge, which this administration has commissioned. This is public knowledge.

The Government of Guyana is not igno rant of the importance and intricacies of the maritime sector. Since its return to office, the government has made it its duty to transform the maritime sector to ensure that it is prepared to operate in a modern economy.

Yours sincerely, Hon Bishop Juan Edghill, Minister of Public Works

First Lady donates house to parentless siblings

FIRST Lady Arya Ali, on Thursday, of ficially handed over the keys of a brandnew house to six sib lings who have lost their parents.

The keys to the new home were hand ed over to the oldest brother, 28-year-old Deeyawd Rasheed, who became the im mediate caretaker of his siblings following his mother and father’s passing.

The First Lady, who related that she knows what it feels like to lose a parent, told the siblings that they should stick together, especially now that they have a place of their own.

The family was chosen as the benefi ciary of this home after they lost their father to a fire in 2020, just one year after the death of their mother.

After facing severe hardships due to the loss of their parents, the siblings reached out to the First Lady’s

office for assistance in acquiring a house.

After a careful as sessment of the situa tion, the First Lady and her team committed to assisting the family.

Subsequently, the land was acquired through the Ministry of Housing and Water and a 910 square feet, three-bedroom house was constructed at La Parfait Harmonie, West Bank Demerara.

With the support of sponsors, on Wednes day, just about one year after construction began, the First Lady was able to hand over the keys to the partially furnished house over to the siblings.

Mrs. Ali said: “We are doing this for you guys because we want you all to know that we care. I am presenting you this house with much love in my heart today because I am happy for you. I am happy that you have your own home, and to know that you will not have to worry about

being put out.”

Rasheed told the media, that he was grateful for this signif icant gesture, noting that he was filled with joy after hearing that the First Lady agreed to assist his family with housing.

Rasheed said that he did not know prior if he would have ever been the owner of a home and thus be able to better take care of his younger siblings.

He said: “On be half of my brothers and sisters, I would like to thank you a thousand and one times First Lady for doing this for us. We really appreciate your help and will take care of this home.”

The new home that was handed over to the Rasheed family on Wednesday (Adrian Narine photo)

First Lady Arya Ali shares a light moment with Deeyawd Rasheed (Adrian Narine photo)

St. Stanislaus College gets $5.5M smart classroom

THE Minister of Educa tion, Priya Manickchand, on Thursday, commissioned a smart classroom at the St. Stanislaus College.

According to a press re

lease from the Education Ministry, in addition to out fitting the classroom with an interactive board and cam era along with desktop and laptop computers, the $5.5

million project saw the reha bilitation of the room which included electrical works, renovations to the floor, and the installation of lights and an air-conditioning unit.

In brief remarks, Minister Manickchand said the smart classroom will allow for technology-infused learning and noted that it will not only enhance the way teachers deliver lessons, but also the way students learn.

She related that the com missioning of this smart

classroom is in keeping with the ministry’s plan to utilise technology to transform the education sector.

The establishment of smart classrooms is integral to creating equity and access across the country.

Minister Manickchand commended the secondary

institution for its blended ap proach to education delivery.

A new Board of Gov ernors of St. Stanislaus College was also appointed Thursday afternoon. Min ister Manickchand encour aged the board members to serve in the best interest of the school.

Oral arguments in Ramp Logistics case set for November 11

COME November 11, Acting Chief Justice Roxane George, S.C., will entertain oral ar guments in the matter filed by Ramps Logistics Guyana challenging the denial of its application for a local con tent certificate.

A Case Management Con ference (CMC) was held on Thursday, at the Demerara High Court.

The logistics company which was incorporated in 2013 and is parented by Ramps Logistics Limited out of Trin idad and Tobago, through Se nior Counsel Edward Luck hoo, is seeking several orders to force the Local Content Secretariat (LCS) to issue the document.

The respondents in the case are the Minister of Natural Re sources, the Attorney General, the LCS and its director.

During Thursday’s Zoom hearing, the Chief Justice laid out timelines for the parties to file their written submissions. The matter was then adjourned until November 11, 2022.

The logistics company had made a request to be part of Guyana’s Local Content Reg ister.

However, in June, the LCS, after reviewing the company’s application, determined that the information submitted was insufficient for a proper com pliance evaluation to be done by the Secretariat in accor dance with the requirements of the Act.

The company is seeking a declaration that it has satisfied

the statutory requirements and/ or pre-conditions necessary for the grant of and/or issuance of the certificate.

It is also seeking another declaration that “as a Guyanese Company” it is “entitled” to be issued with a Certificate of Registration and to be en tered into the Local Content Register.

The company stated that the Minster and Local Content Secretariat, on June 8, 2022, unlawfully refused to grant it the certificate and misconduct ed themselves.

Against this backdrop, the logistics company is asking the court to grant an order compelling the Minster and the LSC to issue the certificate or to reconsider their application.

It was reported earlier this year that some 51 per cent of the local company was sold to Trinidadian businessman, Deepak Lall, who Ramps had said, has Guyanese parentage.

The sale of majority shares of the local logistics company came just after Guyana’s Par liament enacted its updated local content rules which are set to protect the interest of Guyanese and Guyanese com panies in the growing local oil and gas sector.

Shaun Rampersad during a recent press conference at the local subsidiary’s New Market Street, Georgetown headquar ters, said he was of the view that the company complied with specifics of the local con tent legislation. He had said, too, that the company felt that

it went about the process in the right way.

Following the passing of the local content law, Ramps reportedly sold 51 per cent of the company’s shares to Lall who, Rampersad said, paid GY$210 million.

The goal, Rampersad had noted, was to include someone from the Guyanese diaspora. Lall reportedly received his Guyanese passport in 2021.

Recently, the Guyana Rev enue Authority (GRA) institut ed 10 charges against Ramps in accordance with the provisions of the Customs Act, Chapter 82:01, following an investiga tion by its Law Enforcement and Investigations Division.

That case is expected to be called at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court today.

Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand engaging the headmistress, teachers and new Board of Governors of St. Stanislaus College

Education Minister Priya Manickchand assists students of St. Stanislaus College in cutting the ceremonial ribbon to officially commission a $5.5 million smart classroom at the school

Acting Chief Justice Roxane George

Diwali a NYC school holiday from 2023

By Vishnu Bisram

DIWALI, the Hindu cel ebration known as the “Festival of Lights,” a public holiday in Guy ana, Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname, will be a public school holiday in New York City starting next year.

Diwali Day has been an excused school day for the last 12 years for students and staff who celebrat ed the festival. Parking rules were also suspended during that period. From next year, Diwali Day will be an official school hol iday.

NYC Mayor Eric Ad ams made the announce ment on Thursday morning at a press conference to include the holiday in the public school schedule.

Adams called the de cision a “long overdue” acknowledgment of Hindu, Sikh, Jain and Buddhist communities.

The mayor said: “We are going to encourage children to learn about what is Diwali. We’re going to have them start talking about what it is to celebrate the Festival of Lights, and how do you turn a light on within your self.”

The mayor was joined by Democratic state as semblywoman, Jenifer Ra jkumar and Department of Education schools chancel lor Dr David Banks. The assemblywoman also ref erenced lighthearted de scriptions of Adams as “the Hindu mayor” because of his plant-based diet and yoga meditation practice.

Politicians from both

sides of the political di vide welcome the policy to make Diwali a holiday. School and public holidays must reflect the commu nities. Diwali is a school holiday in Schenectady and several districts in New Jersey. NYC is the largest city and school district in America. The holiday sets a precedent for other dis tricts to follow.

Democratic and Repub lican legislators have been celebrating Diwali at their offices and at the legisla tures over the last decade around the country.

LONG OVERDUE

The mayor made a promise in his election campaign last year to make Diwali a holiday. He told Hindus at several Guya nese mandirs that the rec ognition was long overdue. At several public functions this year, the mayor was mocked and faced sarcastic remarks by Hindus for not honouring his promise. At Diwali celebrations last Saturday, he was reminded again. The embarrassed mayor must have decided it was time to deliver his commitment to Hindus. A hastily announced press conference, organised last night, was scheduled for Thursday at 10:00 hrs.

State and City Legis lators decided to swap Anniversary Day, tradi tionally celebrated on the first Thursday in June, for Diwali in the public school calendar. It is not known how many city students are Hindus, but the number is in the tens of thousands. There are approximately 400,000 Indian Guyanese

in NYC with over half being Hindus. There are over 50 Guyanese mandirs in the city.

Diwali is a major Hindu festival but is also celebrat ed by Indian Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains. The date of Diwali fluctuates de pending on the lunar cal endar. It falls in the darkest night in the Fall. This year, the holiday is on October 24.

TIME HAS COME State Assemblywoman Rajkumar said: “The time has come to recognise over 200,000 New Yorkers of the Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh and Jain faiths, who cele brate Diwali, the Festival of Lights.”

Rajkumar, who intro duced legislation to rec ognise Diwali, said in the press conference, “Anni versary Day is an obscure and antiquated day as com pared to Diwali, which is celebrated by a growing number of New Yorkers.”

She commented that people have said that “there’s simply not enough room in the New York City school calendar to have a Diwali school holiday. Well, my legislation makes the room.”

State law requires 180 school days. The calendar is tight with five Jewish days, two Muslim Days, one Chinese Lunar Day, several Christian days, an Italian day, Black American Emancipation Days, holidays for Lin coln and Washington, among others. An extra day could not be found. Anniversary Day is re placed by Diwali Day.

Democratic and Republican legislators have been celebrating Diwali at their offices and at the legislatures over the last decade around the country

HPV vaccine now available to women 45 years and older

THE Human Papillo mavirus (HPV) vac cine has been made available to women up to 45 years of age.

Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony an nounced the change in criteria for the vaccine which helps to prevent

certain cancers.

“Previously, we were only offering these vac cines for persons, both male, and female, nine

to 15 years of age, but the new guidelines pub lished by all the rep utable organisations dealing with cervical cancer would have [sic] advised that we could go beyond 15 years of age.

“And that is why we

people with compro mised immune systems are given a three-dose regimen.

The Human Papil lomavirus is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections and is known to cause several types of cancers.

in Guyana. To address this scourge, the Health Ministry has rolled out a campaign that is stra tegically tailored to sen sitise persons across Guyana.

“We can prevent this by ensuring that all women in Guyana

have now updated our schedule to include per sons beyond 15 years of age, who can access the vaccines. Previously a woman who was 26 years of age could not have had access to these vaccines,” Dr Anthony said.

The minister noted that women ages 19 to 45 years old should re ceive three doses of the vaccine. Additionally,

“So, you have cervi cal cancers, that HPV can cause, you have anal cancers and you have oral cancers, so one way of preventing persons, later in life from getting these can cers is to make sure that they are vaccinat ed,” the Health Minister said.

Cervical cancer is the second most prevalent cancer among women

get vaccinated, so that’s one of the reasons why we have this campaign to educate, especially young people, about HPV vaccination, what it can do what it can pre vent, and once persons get it, would prevent them from getting these types of cancers,” Dr. Anthony said.

The HPV vaccine was first launched in Guyana in 2012. (DPI)

Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony

Liz Truss resigns: PM’s exit kicks off another Tory leadership race

LIZ Truss has resigned as prime minister af ter 45 days in office marked by turmoil, triggering the second Tory leadership elec tion in four months.

Ms. Truss said her successor would be elected by next week after a rebellion by Tory MPs forced her to quit.

Boris Johnson is among MPs said to be considering bids, but Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has ruled himself out.

Tory MPs revolted against Ms. Truss after a series of U-turns on her economic plan sapped her of authority.

In a brief speech out side Downing Street, Ms. Truss said the Con servative Party had elect ed her on a mandate to cut taxes and boost eco nomic growth.

But given the situa tion, Ms. Truss said: “I recognise that I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party.”

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and other opposition parties called for an immediate gen eral election following Ms. Truss’s resignation speech.

Ms. Truss said she would remain in post until a successor for mally takes over as party leader and is appointed prime minister by King Charles.

While Mr. Hunt - who was appointed chan cellor last week - will not challenge for the leadership, none of the candidates who stood against Ms. Truss in the previous contest have indicated whether they would stand.

Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 committee of backbench Conservative MPs, said a new leader could be chosen by next Friday.

Under party rules, leadership hopefuls will need to secure the sup port of 100 MPs in order to enter the contestthis means a maximum

of three candidates can stand.

A first ballot will be held among MPs and the person with the lowest number of votes will be eliminated, if there are three candidates.

If a second ballot is needed, MPs will be able to signal who they prefer through an indicative vote.

And if both candi dates opt to stay in the race, the final decision will go to party members via an online vote.

Ms. Truss will be come the shortest-serv ing PM in British history when she stands down.

Leaders of allied na tions thanked Ms. Truss for her co-operation, in cluding US President Joe Biden and French Presi dent Emmanuel Macron, who said he wanted “sta bility” from the next UK prime minister.

In her speech, Ms. Truss said she entered “office at a time of great economic and interna tional instability”, as war rages in Ukraine and liv ing costs skyrocket.

The prime minister said her government de livered on providing sup port for energy bills and reversing a rise in Na tional Insurance, a tax on workers and companies.

But Ms. Truss’s resig nation comes after a pe riod of political and eco nomic turbulence, which forced her government to ditch tax cuts that sent financial markets into a

tailspin.

The prime minister sacked close political ally Kwasi Kwarteng as chancellor and appointed Mr Hunt as his successor as she attempted to calm the markets.

At Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednes day, Ms Truss insisted she was a “fighter, not a quitter” after Labour’s leader asked her why she had not resigned.

But more instability followed, when Suella Braverman quit as home secretary and a vote on fracking fell into disar ray, with some Tory MPs accused of bullying.

Ms. Truss’s resigna tion sets off a scramble to find a successor to lead a deeply divided party, which is lagging behind Labour in the polls after 12 years in power.

Candidates who con tested the last leadership election earlier this year included Ms Braverman, International Trade Sec retary Kemi Badenoch, Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt, and former Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

Their supporters are talking them up as po tential candidates in the contest to succeed Ms Truss, but none have confirmed their position on standing.

Nor has former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose supporters have not denied reports that he is considering standing again for the Conserva

tive leadership.

A source close to Mr. Johnson told the BBC they were “not saying anything either way” at the moment.

In a tweet, another former prime minister, Theresa May said “MPs must now be prepared to compromise.

“It is our duty to pro vide sensible, compe tent government at this critical moment for our country,” she wrote.

As Tories assessed their chances of winning the leadership, opposi tion parties poured scorn on the idea of another prime minister taking office without having a general election.

Sir Keir said the Con servative Party “no long er has a mandate to gov

ern”, saying “the British people deserve so much better than this revolving door of chaos”.

Scotland’s First Min ister Nicola Sturgeon said a general election was a “democratic im perative” following Ms. Truss’s resignation.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said his party would be will ing to work with Labour to “get the general elec tion our country needs to let the British people have their say”.

The next general elec tion is not due to take place until at least 2024, after the Conservatives won a landslide majority in the last one in 2019.

The Liberal Demo crats has also urged Ms. Truss to turn down an

allowance, worth up to the £115,000 per year, to which former prime ministers are entitled.

The money, called the Public Duty Costs Allowance, is to help with “necessary office costs and secretarial costs arising from their special position in pub lic life”.

The Liberal Demo crat’s cabinet office spokesperson Chris tine Jardine said: “Liz Truss will forever be known as the 50day prime ministerthere is no way that she should be permit ted to access the same £115,000-a-year for life fund as her recent pre decessors - all of whom served for well over two years.” (BBC)

British Prime Minister, liz Truss

China’s diplomacy made ‘historic

Vice-Foreign Minister

Relations with LAC will continue to grow

By Samuel Sukhnandan in Beijing

AMID a new period of massive global change and enormous chal

Expert

lenges, China’s rela tions with the world has remained stead

fast, making historic leaps over the past dec ade under the leader ship of President Xi Jinping.

This is according to the country’s ViceForeign Minister, Ma Zhaoxu, who told a news conference in Beijing on Thursday, on the side lines of the ruling Com

munist Party’s twice-adecade congress, that China’s foreign policy has never been stronger.

“The decade in which Xi Jinping ‘Thought on Diplomacy’ has led Chi na’s diplomacy to forge ahead, is a decade in which China’s relations with the world have made historic contribu tions to the international community,” he said.

Ma also boasted about China’s work to advance diplomacy with Chinese characteristics, promote the building of a community with a shared future for man kind, and advocate for the practice of true mul tilateralism.

China’s active role in promoting reform and development of the global governance system and safeguard ing and supporting the United Nations-centred international system and the international order were also highlighted.

“We have promoted the construction of a new type of internation al relations, actively par ticipated in the reform and construction of the global governance sys tem, and significantly enhanced China’s inter national influence, ap peal, and shaping pow er,” Minister Ma said.

Besides that, the country has also taken concrete actions to sup

port the global pandemic response, address cli mate change, promote sustainable development and put forward China’s proposals on addressing the global governance deficit and global chal lenges.

This is reflected in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Global Development Initiative (GDI), among others, which have pro vided much-needed technical and financial support for developing countries while at the same time bridging the developmental needs gap in many countries.

So far, the joint con struction of the BRI has attracted the active par ticipation of 149 coun tries and 32 international organisations, as well as a large number of land mark projects such as the China-Laos Railway, among others.

Additionally, Chi na has signed 19 free trade agreements with 26 countries and regions to promote the entry into force and imple mentation of the Re gional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.

As such, the Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister noted that efforts will continue to be made by China to perfect the comprehensive, multilevel, and multi-faceted

China’s Vice Foreign Minister, Ma Zhaoxu

‘historic leaps’ in 10 years

way of engaging in dia logue, exchanges and cooperation with other countries in the world.

Meanwhile, over the past 10 years, the to tal number of countries that have established diplomatic relations with China has increased from 172 to 181, and the num ber of partnerships estab lished with countries and regional organisations in the world has increased from 41 to 113.

During that same pe riod, President Xi vis ited 69 countries on five continents 42 times, re ceived more than 100 heads of state and gov ernment in China, and built a more compre hensive and solid global partnership network for the country.

Looking ahead, Min ister Ma told the global press that the diplomatic

front will unite more closely around the Com munist Party Central Committee and Presi dent Xi, as they forge ahead with vigour and courage to constantly create sound Chinese di plomacy and make new contributions to the in ternational community.

LAC RELATIONS

China’s diplomat ic relations with Latin American and Caribbe an (LAC) countries have grown significantly un der President Xi’s term in office.

Cooperation with the region is focused on numerous areas which include trade and in vestment, agriculture, energy, infrastructure, manufacturing and tech nological innovation. In fact, 19 governments across Latin America and the Caribbean have

joined President Xi’s signature BRI.

Rasheed Griffith, a senior fellow at the In ter-American Dialogue, a Washington, D.C.based think tank, said that the people-centred principle is the defining feature of China’s diplo macy, which continues to build momentum and popularity within the global community.

“Unlike many other large countries, they (China) treat small countries with the same kind of vigour, policywise. And that is why when they do business with the Caribbean or Latin America, it is at that very high level, from the president to president level. “You don’t actually see that much from others,” he added.

The Caribbean-China

expert told this publica tion in an interview that the scale of China’s for eign policy has no doubt expanded under Presi dent Xi, but in a more dynamic way over the past decade, especially since the country’s dip lomatic thinking reflects

that of developing na tions of the world.

Griffith said because China wants to have a “bigger place and space” in the world, en gagements will grow and continue in the areas of policy and politics for all Caribbean and Latin American countries. He also feels there will be no slowing down on engagements at both the bilateral and multilateral levels.

Meanwhile, over the past five years, several countries within the re gion have broken ties with Taiwan in favour of solidifying relations with China. In 2017, Panama took that step, and the following year, the Dominican Republic and El Salvador fol lowed suit. In December 2021, Nicaragua became the latest LAC country

to end diplomatic rela tions with Taiwan.

The senior InterAmerican Dialogue fel low predicts that Tai wan’s last remaining allies will swap alle giance to China within the next 10 years. He said the momentum to ward China is felt not only from Beijing itself but within the region too. As more LAC coun tries align with China, the bloc could influence Taiwan’s remaining al lies to make the swap.

(Reporting cour tesy of NCN Editor, Samuel Sukhnandan). Sukhnandan is cur rently in Beijing on a China International Press Communication Centre (CIPCC) 2022 Fellowship at the in vitation of the China Public Diplomacy As sociation

China-Caribbean expert and senior fellow at the InterAmerican Dialogue, Rasheed Griffith

-says

‘Being different doesn’t prevent you from being great’

fashion designer

By Cindy Parkinson

WHILE being a fashion designer in any part of the world comes with its fair share of challenges, one who is a member of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ+) community of ten times encounter more obstacles.

One such person is Nash Narine, who, before his suc cess in the fashion world, had to jump many hurdles.

He and his sister were raised by a single-parent mother on a farm in Bush Lot, West Coast Berbice, with their grandparents and extended family.

As Nash progressed in school, his grandfather rec ognised that he was doing very well in his academics and “pushed” the idea of him becoming a lawyer and joining the Progressive Youth Organisation (PYO).

After joining the group, Nash became the president of the Bush Lot PYO group.

Despite his newfound re sponsibilities with the youth group, his grandfather’s wish was always on his mind. He felt pressured and believed that his grandfather was us ing him to fulfill an ambition he failed to achieve.

Nash wanted to become a journalist and, unknowingly to his grandfather, he went ahead and applied online to study journalism in England. However, that was put on hold when he discovered his passion for fashion.

Nash comes from a fami ly of seamstresses, including his mother, his aunt and now deceased grandmother. Hav ing a keen eye and a love for fashion and unique designs were not surprising to him.

“I remembered seeing a lot of people wearing the same outfit, which I didn’t like, so I went home and made dresses for my sis ter’s dolls. I will take pieces of fabric that my mother wouldn’t use, put the doll on it and cut out the shape

because I didn’t know how to cut free-handedly and I will sew it with the needle and thread by hand,” he told the BUZZ.

An emotional Nash ex plained how hard life was for his mother. Apart from being a seamstress, she also planted vegetables which he and his sister “walked down the road and sold.”

He said: “We did that before we went to school and when we came home from school. I was the only one in the extended family that was doing well in school and I was determined to do some thing to make my family proud and bring relief to our financial situation.”

With that in mind, Nash studied diligently and wrote seven Caribbean Second ary Education Certificate (CSEC) subjects.

Though he did well, his grandmother knew he could have gotten better grades and she paid for him to rewrite Mathematics and English at a private institution.

He did get better grades at the second sitting and was asked by the principal of that school to teach the summer classes. He was then retained for an additional six months.

Nash Narine has sown hundreds of outfits for satisfied customers including brides and the reigning Mrs Guyana World, Kristal Inshan. In this photo he wears his own design (Nash Narine photos)

Rock/folk musician representing Guyana at ‘Ethno’ world event

GUYANESE folk/rock musician, Gavin Men donca, is dedicated to chasing after his dreams, while contributing to the preservation of the country’s folk songs and culture, and building cultural bridges around the world.

Gavin is most known for being one half of the popular folk duo - Gavin & Chucky - who have been on a mission to ‘Folk Up De Place’ since meet ing for the first time at the Rupununi Music and Arts Festival back in 2015.

He is the bassist for local heavy metal band, Feed The Flames, the gui tarist for NYC-based rock band, Mindfield Play ground, and one of the directors of the Rupununi Music and Arts Festival which is scheduled to be held again in February 2023.

Gavin is representing Guyana for the first time at an Ethno World event in its 20 plus years of ex istence.

Ethno World produces super camps for musicians in over 40 countries.

Gavin was supposed to go to the inaugural edition of Ethno USA in 2021, but was selected to be part of the cultural contingent that represented Guyana at the Dubai Expo.

Ethno USA 2022 fea

tures musicians from Ar gentina, Brazil, Canada, Chad, Chile, Denmark, Estonia, Guyana, India, Italy/Netherlands, Jordan, Poland/Uruguay, Portugal, Sweden, the Hopi Nation and the USA. The event which is being held in the mountains of Western North Carolina began on October 11 and will con clude on October 23.

Each musician teaches the group a song from their country and they all learn them as a world mu sic orchestra.

Gavin has taught the group the popular Guy anese folk song, Small Days. He and his fellow musicians have been liv ing together since October 11 at the YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly in North Carolina.

Every day they re

hearse the songs being taught. They have since performed at the Black Mountain Folk Festival and will be heading to LEAF Festival this week end.

“The entire experience has been transformational and transcendental; to be able to live and work and play music with so many people from different parts of the world…They grow not only as a musician but as human beings in the spirit of community, all made possible through music. Music really is the key to bringing people together and a powerful tool that can change the world,” Gavin expressed during an interview with the Buzz.

It is his intention to one day coordinate and host Ethno Guyana and Eth no Caribbean with each year’s event being held on a different Island.

Meanwhile, Gavin & Chucky will be releasing a new album - Folk It Up Vol. 2 – this December and will feature more iconic folk songs and even a few original songs, produced by Burchmore Simon / Kross Kolor Records.

Gavin is grateful to all of his friends, family and sponsors who have helped him to embark on these “transformational” journeys.

‘Being different doesn’t...

It seemed that all was going well in Nash’s life; he knew that that wasn’t his passion. By then, he had got ten better at stitching on the machine, but cutting was still a challenge for him.

His mother did the cut ting for him and he started to sew his own clothing.

Wherever he went, he was noticed and compli mented on his unique outfits, which made him happy.

One of his neighbours and her husband did trade from Barbados to Guyana, and after seeing some of Nash’s designs, decided to take him to the Caribbean Island with the intention of introducing him to other de signers. Unfortunately, this

did not go as planned.

After spending nine months in Barbados, Nash returned to Guyana feeling down and frustrated.

Some family friends came together and took him to the Bahamas to give him an opportunity to study fash ion and to give him a “break” in life. He did not waste that opportunity.

When he returned to Guyana, he settled in Georgetown, and before long he had a clientele.

He had no choice but to learn to cut his own designs after his mother had surgery and was unable to help him.

“She told me that she wouldn’t be here always and you have to learn to do it.

I went home that night and started to cut the designs on

newspaper and today my mom and aunt will come and ask for my advice on cutting. I enjoy sewing gowns and cocktail dresses, bridesmaid dresses, wedding dresses…I can proudly say now that I can sew about 16 fishtail dresses in one day depending on the details,” he said.

“I can safely say that I am now happy and living out my dream as a fashion designer, but I also remem ber being ‘tired of running’ from myself, my family and society,” Nash added.

FEAR OF REJECTION

He told the Buzz that coming from an extend ed family that was strict, religious and had a nar row-minded perception of life, “I feared being judged

and I struggled with express ing myself and my sexuality. As much as they didn’t say anything to me, I knew that being gay wasn’t accepted.”

He said that from a very young age, he had girl friends, but felt that some thing was wrong with him.

“I didn’t have anyone to talk to, not even in Bar bados, but when I went to the Bahamas, that is when I saw that it wasn’t anything that was wrong with me. I just felt different than some males and for the first time, I actually felt normal. I didn’t have to pretend, I just felt free, but on the other hand, I was also trying to fight the feeling because I knew my family and society wouldn’t accept me and that scared me,” he added.

The fashion designer fi nally built up the courage to have the conversation with his mother. She was not sur prised by his revelation and she offered her support.

“As long as you are hap py, that is all that matters,” Nash recalled his mother saying.

Nash is now confident and comfortable in his “own skin.”

Having faced all the challenges and turmoil in his life, nothing bothers him anymore.

“I may have gotten hurt and have faced a lot in life, but I got back up and I have learnt some very good les sons about life,” he said.

In conclusion, he said, “One advice that I will give to the young people of Guy

ana who want to become designers or anything else in life, is that nothing is im possible. As long as there is life, there is hope. When you set your mind on something, work hard towards it, you will achieve it and do not let the hardships of life keep you down. “

Anyone who is interested in Nash’s designs can con tact him on (592) 686-5400 or visit his store - Burning Desire Designs- at 113-115 Merriman’s Mall, directly across from Bonny’s Market ing Complex.

He can also be reached on his Facebook Pages, Burning Desire and Nash Desire, and on Instagram at @TheDesireWithADIP and @BurningDesireDe signs.

Local folk/rock musician, Gavin Mendonca

Musicians participating in Ethno USA 2022 pay close attention to Gavin Mendonca as he performs a Guyanese folk song

Gavin Mendonca teaches the group the lyrics for Guyanese folk song, Small Days

Case made for clean music

Merritone, Harding endorse Broadcasting Commission ban

(Jamaica Observer) - A WEEK after the Broad casting Commission is sued a ban on music promoting lottery scam ming, use of the illicit drug Molly, and ille gal guns, Errol “Mon te” Blake, principal of the Merritone sound system, and Zachary

Harding — producer and chairman of Delta Capital Partners Limit ed — are endorsing the move.

This came to the fore front on October 17, at the launch of the 32nd Merritone Reunion & Family Homecoming held at the Edward Sea

ga Suite on the grounds of Devon House in St Andrew.

“Everybody has their own thing. I don’t think it’s going to stop the mu sic from going but you have to have some control over what is played on the radio. You can’t let it let loose; you have to have

regulation. I don’t play that kinda music, but I know it’s popular among the children. You have to be careful with the kids,” Blake told the Jamaica Observer shortly after the ceremony.

The Broadcasting Commission issued a di rective to operators of electronic media to ban, with immediate effect:

“any audio or video recording, live song, or speech which promotes and/or glorifies scam ming, illegal use or abuse of drugs (eg Molly), ille gal or harmful use of guns or other offensive weap ons, ‘jungle justice’, or any other form of illegal or criminal activity;

“any edited song which directly or indirect ly promotes scamming, illegal drugs, illegal or harmful use of guns or other offensive weap ons, jungle justice, or any form of illegal or criminal activity. This includes live editing and original edits (eg edits by produc er/label) as well as the use of near-sounding words as substitutes for offen sive lyrics, expletives, or profanities.”

Blake further said that musicians ought to be cognisant of the fact that

singing substantial lyrics has a better chance at longevity.

“You have to sing mu sic that is not just dispos able, but music that is lasting…good music nev er gets old and that’s why most of the older dances that you have still exist. As my brother always says, good music is made all the time; it’s just not being played,” he said.

Blake, the youngest of four brothers who manned the Merritone ‘sound’ since the 1950s, heads the list of selectors.

Winston, second of the siblings, was the face of Merritone which his father Val started in 1950 in their native St Thom as. He and older brother Trevor took control of the sound system after their father died in 1956 and transformed it from a country ‘sound’ to world renown.

Tyrone Blake, the third of the brothers, died in 2012.

Meanwhile, in his address as the keynote speaker at the function, Zachary Harding fully en dorsed the Broadcasting Commission, citing a dire need for regulation in the Jamaican society.

“It [music] has pro

found impact. This has nothing to do with cen sorship and freedom of speech. I get all of that—that’s fine. But free speech becomes very ex pensive when it starts to cost people their lives. We just have a respon sibility to guide people morally with some sort of compass,” he said.

Harding further said that a continuous output of violent lyrics will im pact children over time.

“Yeah, they can sing two bad man song and two scamming songs… great! But we can’t be promoting that on a reg ular basis. Kids don’t necessarily have the fil ter to be able to differ entiate and understand [that] that’s just creativi ty. They’ll take it to heart or it becomes a self ful filling prophecy so we have to be very careful,” he continued.

Harding is the co-founder of 2 Hard Productions, credit ed for their work on Sean Paul’s Dutty Rock album, No Shame by Bounty Killer, Harry Toddler’s Tired Fi See Mi Face, Ce’Cile and Merciless’ We Nah Talk and Beenie Man’s Who Am I (Sim Simma).

Monte Blake and his daughter Monique (right) present a branded T-shirt to Entertainment and Culture Minister, Olivia “Babsy” Grange (Jamaica Observer photo)

Shaneil Muir to walk straight and narrow

God and no matter how this ship may rock Jesus Christ is the anchor,” Muir said.

She will be performing in Belize, St Croix, New York, St Thomas, New Jersey, St Lucia, St Marteen, Atlanta and Jamaica in the coming weeks.

“Thank you to everyone

who has reached out. Thank you for your encouragements, know that I am grateful. I am in great spirits! I will be a new! JEHOVAH IS IN CONTROL! HE WINS!” she concluded.

Hailing from Flanker in St James, Muir recorded her first single, Proud Side Chick, for Good Good Pro

ductions shortly after making the top five in the Magnum Queen of The Dancehall in 2016.

She has since collabo rated with Vybz Kartel on Ride It and Loyal. Other releases include Naturally, Exclusive and Justice.

Shaneil Muir (Jamaica Observer Photo)

(Jamaica Observer) – SHA

NEIL Muir is confirming that she’s stepping away from the dancehall spot light to walk the straight and narrow. The entertain er made the declaration via Instagram on October 19, but noted she would honour the gigs which she had been previously booked for.

“I’m not leaving dance hall for Christianity because

I have always been a Chris tian. A sinner yes, but aren’t we all? I’m leaving to do God’s work, to find peace, happiness, salvation; this world cannot offer me that. My reward is not in the hands of men and (Ephesians 6:12) wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principal ities, against powers,” she posted.

Her announcement came

four days after she collapsed due to exhaustion in her hometown of Montego Bay. She had also gone live on Instagram on Sunday night to allude to her conversion.

“Because of my secular choices, I have obligations to conclude this chapter of my life. I do not know what to morrow brings but by God’s grace and mercy I will bap tize and rededicate my life to

K-pop star BTS member Jin to release first solo single next week ahead of military duty

(Reuters) - K-POP singer Jin, a member of the hit boy band BTS, will release his first official solo single next week, the seven-mem ber band’s agency said on October 19, following this week’s announcement that he will soon start military duty.

The song, titled ‘The As tronaut’, will be released on October 28 at 13:00 hrs. Pre-orders began October 19.

“Since it’s a song made with so much love toward the fans, we hope ‘The As tronaut’ can be a gift to all of you,” according to the Bighit Music statement post ed on global fandom platform Weverse.

The announcement came after band’s management group HYBE (352820.KS), which owns Bighit, on Oc tober 17, said Jin will cancel

a request to further delay his enlistment in late Octo ber. The other younger band members also plan to serve their compulsory service.

In June, BTS announced a break from group musical

activities to pursue solo projects, but reunited on October 15 to perform a free concert in the city of Busan, in support of South Korea’s bid to host the World Expo 2030 in the port city.

K-pop boy band BTS member Jin poses for photographs during a photo opportunity promoting their new single ‘Butter’ in Seoul, South Korea, on May 21, 2021 (REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/ File Photo)

American Racing Tips

Belmont

Race 1 Born Dancer Race 2 Dark Storm Race 3 Endowed Race 4 Runabout Race 5 Disarmed Race 6 Liquidity Pro vider

Race 7 Ragtime Blues Race 8 The Grey Wizard

Canadian Racing Tips Woodbine

Race 1 Alicia’s Kid Race 2 Passionplate Race 3 Jack Race 4 Jackie’s Pride Race 5 Pleasure’s Gold Race 6 Quiet Intent Race 7 Banff

South Africa Racing Tips Fairview

08:40 hrs Ushuaia

09:15 hrs Chloris

09:50 hrs Bold Strike

10:25 hrs Cat Daddy

11:00 hrs Absolu Noir

English Racing Tips

Newbury

08:25 hrs Rajasthan 09:00 hrs Moush

09:35 hrs Misty Dancer

10:10 hrs Frantastic 10:45 hrs Bell Shot 11:20 hrs Bernardo O’Reilly

11:55 hrs Zikany

Cheltenham

08:35 hrs Lively Citizen 09:10 hrs Uhtred 09:45 hrs Music Drive

10:20 hrs Hang In There 10:55 hrs Spanish Pres ent

11:30 hrs Super Citizen 12:05 hrs Hullnback

Doncaster

08:45 hrs Sea Of Roses

09:20 hrs Doom

09:55 hrs Satirical

10:30 hrs Asjad

11:05 hrs Traila

11:38 hrs First Officer 12:10 hrs Morning Sun

Irish Racing Tips

Dundalk

12:00 hrs Affable 12:30 hrs Scarlet Angel 13:00 hrs Kuwait Direc tion

13:30 hrs Company Keeping

14:00 hrs Midnight Toker 14:30 hrs Frosandpsyche 15:00 hrs Golden Temple 15:30 hrs Fleet Com mander

Joseph should lead attack - Holder

(ESPNCRICINFO) - There’s a familial feel to this West Indies camp at the moment. On other occasions, a limp defeat against an Associate nation to start off a World Cup campaign might have been all the spark required for any internal harmony to implode.

When head coach Phil Simmons seethed at the “un professionalism” in the way his side batted, it may have been little surprise to see murmurs of discontent begin to find their way out of that camp. When Zimbabwe looked like putting them to the sword, it wouldn’t have taken much for the campaign to go bust before it had taken off, recriminations and disillusionment circling each other in vicious cycles, but when Alzarri Joseph took the first Zimbabwe wicket, his team-mates huddled around him. Jason Holder enveloped him in a warm embrace, a ten der, parental hand on the young bowler’s head.

Despite most wickets fall ing to individual bowling bril liance, no bowler set off on self-congratulatory laps around

the Bellerive Oval, the young side huddling together instead, pumping their fists, roaring in celebration and firing each other up on a frigid Tasmanian night.

Following the game, Jo seph referred to Holder as a “fatherly figure to all in the camp”.

A few hours after that, Holder, who went past 50 T20I wickets on Wednesday, found himself facing up to a press conference of his own. It was past 23:00hrs the previous night before the West Indies players broke free from media duties, but at 09:30hrs next day, Holder had been roused to do another round.

He might have wondered why the press conference was necessary at all, but, as ever, struck the right, thoughtful notes with his usual poise and eloquence. At the first mention of Joseph’s performance the previous night, his eyes lit up.

“Alzarri should be proud of his progression,” Hold er said, adopting the sort of solemn tone a father might while talking up his son’s achievements. “I see him as a

leader. He’s leading the attack at a young age and showing great attributes as a leader. His performances don’t surprise me because of the work he’s put in. His discipline, dedica tion towards the cause and his business-like attitude are really great to see for a young player. My simple words to him are: ‘Just lead the attack. Get us onto the right track’.

“That’s what he did yes terday, got us that first break through and that really set the tone. I see him as an impact player. He’s got pace and skill too, and when he has the ball in hand, I expect big things from him. He’s now really matured as an all-format bowler, one or our only at the moment. It’s great to see that progression and I hope he can fulfil his dreams.”

HOLDER ON JOSEPH

Holder’s face never seems to give much away, but even when delivered in the most in scrutable monotone, the pride behind those words is impossi ble not to spot. For all the plau dits that have come Joseph’s way following Wednesday’s win where he picked up a four

wicket-haul, it is easy to for get Holder’s own sensational bowling performance and the part he played in freezing Zimbabwe out of that contest.

He was full value for his figures of 3.2-0-12-3, even if two of those wickets were numbers nine and ten. There’s a reason it’s easy to forget: because Holder himself would be the last man to bring them up while talking up a younger team-mate.

“We were all pumped up for the game,” Holder said. “We knew what was at stake and the importance of the match. For us, this is just a way of really driving ourselves to the right direction. We spoke a lot about attitude and it was important we brought the cor rect attitude to the game. It was just we showing our love and passion that we’ve honed through years playing this sport and it was important we brought the right energy to the game yesterday.”

Aware that the side will often be held to the near-im possible standards of the ones that went all the way in 2012 and 2016, Holder has the em

pathic intelligence to extend his protective embrace to the under-fire batting group.

“The teams that won in 2012 and 2016 were domi nant,” he said. “They had some very big T20 players. This cur rent team, we’ve still got some young batting stars who’ve really established themselves on these circuits. It’s for us now to be a lot more senior and spend a bit more time on the international circuit. When you lo ok around the dress ing room, we’ve got a fairly young team. Most of the guys are around mid-to-late 20s. It’s a great sign for West Indies cricket. My point was basical ly rejigging our T20 mantra to try and establish ourselves as a

new-look T20I side.”

This is the same side that, remember, just days before the start of the tournament, lost one of its brightest batting stars in Shimron Hetmyer to a disciplinary issue. A stray question hinting at that is picked up and brushed aside by the media manager, un willing to sully the mood of a happy family that’s more famous for its bickering.

The West Indies side have been through the whole gamut of emotions over the first two games, and continue to have each other’s backs. And with men like Holder and Joseph at their core, why wouldn’t they?

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER

(Friday October 21, 2022)

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

Answers to yesterday’s quiz:

(1) Scotland won by 42 runs

(2) George Munsey (SCOT)

Today’s Quiz

(1) Where was the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2010 held?

(2) How many matches were scheduled in the 2010 tournament?

Answers in tomorrow’s issue

Xhaka scores winner as Arsenal beat PSV Eindhoven

(BBC) - Granit Xhaka scored the winner as Arse nal edged closer to the last 16 of the Europa League with a narrow win over PSV Eindhoven at Emir ates Stadium.

The result leaves Mikel Arteta's side five points clear at the top of Group A after they maintained their 100% record.

It was also the Gunners' eighth successive victory in all competitions and they more than merited it in the rearranged contest that was originally scheduled to be played on September 15 but was postponed because of "severe limitations on police resources" following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Gabriel Jesus and Bu kayo Saka had the pick of Arsenal's opportunities but some errant finishing and the performance of PSV's Argentine goalkeeper Walter Benitez made for a nervy evening.

However, Swiss inter

national Xhaka drove a low effort into the bottom left corner from Takehiro Tomi yasu's cross to finally break the visitors' resistance.

Arsenal will confirm their progression to the knockout

stage as group winners if they claim at least a point in the reverse fixture in the Netherlands next week.

ARSENAL PASS HARDEST TEST

Nistelrooy's free-scoring side at the Emirates provided Ar senal with their stiffest test in this season's Europa League.

But Arteta will be sat isfied after seeing his side pass it with flying colours,

with the only disappointment being that the scoreline did not truly reflect their overall dominance.

Aside from two specu lative Xavi Simons efforts, PSV offered very little going

forward with reported Man chester United target Cody Gakpo a peripheral figure throughout.

Instead of taking the game to their Premier League oppo nents, the visitors were penned back and spent much of the encounter attempting to stem the flow of Arsenal attacks.

Eddie Nketiah had six of the Gunners' 25 efforts on goal, failing to hit the target once, while Xhaka pulled a chance wide on his favoured left foot from an arguably easier position in the first half than the chance he converted.

Saka saw two powerful efforts superbly repelled by Benitez, while Jesus was also wasteful in front of goal.

The Brazilian prodded a weak left-foot effort into the arms of Benitez after weav ing past two defenders and saw the former Nice goal keeper save another goalbound effort with his foot, although by then Xhaka had thankfully intervened.

UAE register first win of T20 World Cup

(ESPNCRICINFO) - It has taken UAE six matches in two tournaments, spread over eight years, but finally they have notched up a win at a T20 World Cup. They scored their second-highest tournament total and de fended it fiercely, dismiss ing Namibia for 141.

From 69 for 7, Namibia had no business being in the Super 12s but they have got there, and got there by top ping their group and breaking Dutch and Emirati hearts in the process. Namibia's win means both they and Sri Lanka advance, with Neth erlands' hopes hinging on a UAE win and UAE being denied their first win at a T20 World Cup.

Actually, in a match to confound every writer of match reports, it was UAE who triumphed despite David Wiese and Ruben Trumpel mann putting on 80 off 56 balls for the eighth wicket after Namibia were 69 for 7. Namibia needed 14 runs off the final over, bowled by Muhammad Waseem, but Wiese was dismissed off the fourth ball and Namibia did

not have enough muscle at the end.

The result matters most to Netherlands, who will ad vance in second place to the Super12s alongside Sri Lan ka, with Namibia knocked out despite being the favour ites. UAE will also depart the tournament, but with some points to show for it.

They very nearly dropped their chance of victory when Waseem, who had set up UAE's total with a half-centu ry and was tasked with bowl ing the 17th over, dropped Wiese off his own bowling on 33. Wiese slogged and the ball went straight up, giving Waseem time to get there but he could not hold on. He then bowled the final over and had Wiese well-caught by Alis han Sharafu at long-on - the ball was heading for six had Sharafu not timed his jump and held on - to end Namib ia's chances. Incidentally, Waseem had bowled only 22 balls before in 19 T20 games and one of his three victims before yesterday was Wiese.

Earlier, on a surface that seemed to get better for bat ting as the ball got older,

UAE's innings began with a slow burn but finished strongly. They were 58 for 1 in the first 10 overs and only reached 100 in the 16th over. But, they scored 51 runs off the last five overs to push the total close to 150 and notch up their second-highest total in T20 World Cups.

Namibia's effort in the field was mostly disciplined but the left-armers JJ Smit and Jan Frylinck conceded 69 runs in seven overs be tween them while opening bowler Ben Shikongo only delivered one over, the 15th.

In contrast, the UAE cap tain Chundangapoyil Rizwan made some inspired deci sions in the field. Basil Ha meed became the first bowler to deliver three successive overs in the power-play in Geelong in this tournament and took two wickets to leave Namibia on 26 for 3 inside five overs. Karthik Mei yappan removed Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus and ran-out Smit to open up the middle-order.

From 46 for 5, even with David Wiese to come, Na mibia could not find a way

back and that was under lined when Zahoor Khan was brought back in the 13th over. He took two wickets in his second over to leave Na mibia in tatters but Wiese and Trumplemann resurrected their cause only to fall short in the end.

WASEEM LEADS THE WAY

UAE's most accom plished batter anchored their innings with the right mix of energy and aggression to set them up for a com petitive score. He found his first boundary when he went down on one knee to sweep Bernard Scholtz over deep backward square and then worked the the ball around through a quiet period before showing off his strong foot work against Jan Frylinck.

Waseem advanced down the track to push him over mid-off and then straight back over his head for one of the group's biggest sixes. His fifty came off 40 balls and despite the slow scoring rate, Waseem maintained a strike rate of over 100 and he did that by running well. He ran 16 singles and six twos and

shared partnerships of 39 for the first wicket and 58 for the second to give UAE a base to build on.

FINISHING STRONG

The UAE entered the final two overs on 115 for 3 and were still being kept fairly quiet but with 140-plus in their sights, had to hit out. Hameed began the assault when he carefully ran Wiese wide of Zane Green to third for four and then tucked into a short ball and pulled it over deep square for six. Wiese's final over cost 12 runs but the best for the UAE was still to come. JJ Smits was preferred over Ben Shikongo to deliver the 20th over and immediate ly missed his yorker.

Rizwan sent a waist-high full-toss over fine leg for six. He then ran three to put Hameed back on strike and he finished by whacking a length ball over midwicket and then reverse-scooping another over the wicketkeep er's head. In-between Smit got one in the right place but his final over went for 21. UAE scored 33 in the last two overs.

NAMIBIA BEGIN TO

BOTTLE IT

Namibia made a nervy start to their reply as UAE made good use of a short-ball strategy upfront. Stephen Baard faced five of the balls from Junaid Siddique: got one away for a single, mis timed another, swung and missed at a third, sent the fourth to deep third for four and then inside-edged to give Ahmed Raza at short cover catching practice.

Michael van Lingen faced three from Hameed, cut the first one for four, de fended the second and then tried to hit the third over deep backward square but found Sharafu, who was perfectly positioned for the catch. But the biggest blow came when Rizwan opted to keep Hameed on for a third over in the pow er-play and Jan-Nicol Loft ie-Eaton missed a sweep. Though it looked like the ball was going down leg, Rizwan was persuaded to review and ball-tracking showed it would go on to hit the stumps. Namibia were 26 for 3 after five overs.

The arrival of Ruud van

Arsenal have won their last eight matches in all competitions

Mendis 79 helps Sri Lanka cruise past Netherlands

(ESPNCRICINFO) - Sri Lanka rode on Kusal Mendis' outstanding 79 off 44 to reach 162 for 6 on a sluggish surface, before their spinners cut Netherlands down - Wan indu Hasaranga getting into fine wicket-taking form ahead of the main draw of the tournament.

Although Netherlands were never really ahead of the game, opener Max O'Dowd kept them in the hunt for the duration, get ting the requirement for the last over down to 23, following Maheesh Th eekshana's wayward 19th, which cost 16 runs.

straight ones, you proba bly shouldn't bowl at leg stump. You especially shouldn't stray down leg if the batter is Kusal Mendis - an excellent hitter to that side.

Mendis got his first boundary via a miscued heave over midwicket in the third over, and he kept finding the ropes in that arc between cow corner and fine leg. He hit each of his five sixes over this region, pulling, slog-sweeping, and in the 12th over flick ing Timm van der Gugten into the stands beyond fine leg. He hit five fours too, only two of them on the off

the wickets. He had Col in Ackerman caught and bowled off the leading edge third ball, after the batter failed to adequately play Hasaranga's googly. van der Gugten and Fred Klaassen were also bowled by the googly, later in the innings, giving Hasaran ga 3 for 28 from his four overs.

O'Dowd makes a game of it

With Theekshana also getting wickets, and Sri Lanka fielding well, it did not seem like Netherlands had the measure of their target. O'Dowd did his

(one off a no-ball) next over to keep victory within their reach.

Theekshana helped out by bowling three ex

tras in a row at the start of this over; but 23 off Kumara, in the company of a hobbling Roelof van der Merwe (who came

in at No. 11), proved too much. O'Dowd managed one four over backward point, but only six came off that over.

But seamer Lahiru Ku mara held his nerve in the final burst for Sri Lanka to secure a 16-run win, and a place in the next round.

Which group they end up in will depend on the results of the evening match between Namibia and UAE.

Netherlands will watch that match with particular interest. They need UAE to beat Namibia to get into the next round. The net run rates do not matter - only the result.

Mendis feasts on Neth erlands' leg-side offerings

On a pitch that did not allow batters to hit clean ly through the line, and on a ground where the square boundaries are sig nificantly shorter than the

side. Sixty-four of his 79 came on the leg side.

Through the course of this knock, which went right into the 20th over, Mendis forged sever al good partnerships, the most fruitful of which was the 60 off 45 alongside Charith Asalanka, whose contribution was 31 off 30.

Mendis' innings meant Sri Lanka made an above-par score on a difficult track.

Hasaranga decks Neth erlands' middle order Sri Lanka were already in control before Hasaran ga came to the bowling crease, having kept Neth erlands to 40 for 2 in the power-play. But although he conceded seven runs off his first two balls, Hasa ranga was quickly among

best to defy the opposition however, hitting 71 not out off 53 balls.

He wasn't particularly proactive in the first ten overs, hitting just 23 off 21 with two fours. As wick ets fell around him in the middle overs, he remained happy to play a measured innings. In fact, at the end of the 17th over, O'Dowd was still 38 off 35 balls, with only three boundaries to his name. Netherlands needed 54 off 18, and had only two wickets left.

And yet, O'Dowd, with the help of some Sri Lan ka’s indiscipline, made half a game of it. He hit a six and two fours off succes sive deliveries from Binura Fernando to reap 15 in the 18th over and then bashed Theekshana for two sixes

Kusal Mendis hit five fours and as many sixes in his 44-ball 79 (AFP/Getty Images)

Mackenzie High; ‘Multi’ battle for track honours

TRACK and field defend ing champions Macken zie High School, with 344 points jumped into the lead of the GTU Upper Demer ara/Kwakwani inter-school track and field, swimming and cycling championships.

Mackenzie led rivals Christianburg/Wismar Sec ondary ‘Multi’ (339 points) after 50 field events were

completed Wednesday, but now face the tough task of maintaining it when the track events are held today at the Mackenzie Sports Club ground.

Wisburg follow MHS and Multi with 210 points, New Silvercity Secondary School have 195, Linden Founda tion Secondary (LFS) 160, Harmony Secondary 141,

Kwakwani Secondary 115, Marcia Craig’s Institute 58 with Linden Technical Insti tute in the cellar on 37 points.

In the Teachers category, CWSS are leading with 99 points, ahead of LFS 66, LTI 57, MHS 52, Harmony 42, New Silvercity Secondary 41, Ituni 20, St Aidan’s 15, Kwakwani nine and Wisburg six.

Heat of the moment got to me – Ronaldo

In the Inter-Primary championships, Regma on Tuesday were ahead with 96 points.

St Aidan’s were second on 86, followed by Ituni 75, One Mile 61, Watooka Day 53, Mackenzie 49, Coomacka 47, Kwakwani 39, Ame lia’s Ward 36, Wismar Hill 35, Christianburg 30 and at the bottom Bamia have 22

points,. Regma Primary con tinued to show their class and captured the swim ming championships with 102 points, from defending champions Coomaka, who were relegated to runners-up with 100, Bamia next on 55, Watooka Day 34, St Aidan;s 12 and Amelia’s Ward three.

Regma then took top hon

ours in the cycling champi onships with 83 points from Watooka Day on 20, Chris tianburg eight and Amelia’s Ward with five points.

The track events in the Inter-Primary champi onships concluded with a massive turnout yesterday at the MSC ground.

Villa sack Gerrard after Fulham defeat

(BBC) - Aston Villa have sacked manager Steven Gerrard following yester day's 3-0 Premier League defeat at Fulham.

A club spokesman said: "We would like to thank Steven for his hard work and commitment and wish him well for the future."

Villa have won just twice in the league this season and only sit above the relegation zone on goals scored.

Gerrard succeeded Dean Smith as Villa man ager in November 2021 after leaving his role at Rangers.

But the former England and Liverpool midfielder, 42, led Villa to only 13 wins from 40 games during his 11 months in charge.

"It doesn't matter who's in charge of that team. It's nothing to do with the manager - the players have to look at themselves in the mirror. We've definitely not lost faith in (the manager)it's we who are responsible.

"He's a top manager, he's hurting just as the players are. We've let him

get criticised."

In Gerrard's time at Villa he signed some high-profile players in cluding Barcelona forward Phillipe Coutinho, Sevilla defender Diego Carlos and French midfielder Bou bacar Kamara, who had been linked with some of Europe's top sides.

(BBC) - Cristiano Ronal do says "the heat of the moment" got to him in the incident that led to Man chester United dropping him for tomorrow's game at Chelsea.

The Portugal forward left Old Trafford before the end of Wednesday's 2-0 win over Tottenham - for which he was an unused substitute.

"I've always tried to set the example myself for the youngsters that grew in all the teams that I've represented," he wrote on Instagram yesterday.

"That's not always pos sible."

He added: "Sometimes the heat of the moment gets the best of us.

"I just feel that I have to keep working hard in

Carrington (United's train ing ground), support my team-mates and be ready for everything in any given game.

"Giving in to the pres sure is not an option. It nev er was. This is Manchester United, and united we must stand. Soon we'll be togeth er again."

United say the 37-yearold remains an important part of the squad but regard this as a disciplinary matter.

The game he will miss at Stamford Bridge is a big one, with United just one point behind fourth-placed Chelsea.

Several media outlets are reporting he refused to come on as a late sub against Spurs.

Ronaldo left the bench and walked down the tunnel

in the 89th minute, even though United had only made three of their permit ted five substitutions. He briefly went into the dress ing room before leaving the stadium.

Manager Erik ten Hag said afterwards that he would have dealt with the issue later yesterday.

Ronaldo had also showed his displeasure at being substituted during Sunday's 0-0 home draw with Newcastle.

Former England striker Gary Lineker said Ronal do's behaviour took atten tion away from United's impressive performance against Spurs.

"That is unacceptable - it is so poor," Lineker said on BBC Match of the Day.

After the defeat by Ful ham, he told BBC Match of the Day: "Inconsistency has cost us; that's the po sition we find ourselves in. I took over the team in a very similar situation. We've tried to recruit to get us out of that situation.

"I'm a fighter - it's in my DNA. I'll continue to fight unless I'm told dif ferently."

About an hour later his time as Villa boss was over.

Before Gerrard's depar ture was revealed, captain John McGinn said: "It's embarrassing to be part of. We've let the travelling fans down, the manager down. It's a bad night for us.

down tonight. It's up to us now to put in a perfor mance for him."

Villa fans sang various anti-Gerrard chants during the game at Craven Cot tage.

McGinn added: "I un derstand the fans' frus tration. There can be a nasty side to those shouts. The supporters are very demanding so I can under stand the frustration. You're playing at a top level and if you're not performing, you

However Carlos suf fered a serious ankle injury on his home debut and Ka mara is expected to be out until the New Year with a knee ligament injury sus tained against Southamp ton last month.

In the summer Ger rard removed England defender Tyrone Mings as captain and replaced him with Scotland's McGinn - who has made a poor start to the season.

Ronaldo was spotted walking down the tunnel at Old Trafford in the 89th minute

This was Steven Gerrard’s first managerial job in the Premier League

Archer to join England Lions’ training camp

(ESPNCRICINFO) -

Jofra Archer will join England Lions' training camp in the UAE next month as he continues his rehabilitation from a back stress fracture which ruled him out of the 2022

fracture while preparing to make his comeback earlier this year.

He has been building up his bowling over the last few months and retained his central contract for 202223, with England believed

who also missed most of the 2022 season through injury. The camp takes place from November 6 to 27.

Mo Bobat, the ECB's performance director, said that Archer would play "a meaningful part" in the Lions training camp and suggested he could play "some sort of part" in the three-day practice match against England's Test team, which starts on November 23 ahead of their tour to Pakistan in December.

"I rang Jofra to talk to him about this training camp," Bobat said, "and he said to me, 'this is the first positive selection call I've had in a long time.' We had a bit of a giggle about the fact that all he's had is dif ficult injury news recently and he's missed having someone tell him he's been picked for something.

18-year-old leg-spinning all-rounder, is the standout name in the Lions squad. He has only played three first-class matches but is highly rated by the ECB and could travel to Paki stan with the Test squad as a net bowler. He is one of three spinners in the touring party, along with Notting hamshire all-rounder Liam Patterson-White and Sus sex's Jack Carson.

Dom Bess and Matt Parkinson were both con sidered for selection but are not involved in the tour. Bess will instead play grade cricket in Sydney, while Parkinson is due to work closely alongside the spin-bowling coach Carl Crowe - Lancashire's assistant - after a disap pointing season in red-ball cricket.

West Indies tour of Pakistan rescheduled to 2024

summer, and could play a role in their practice match against England.

Archer has not played for England since March 2021 and has not played any competitive cricket since July 2021. He spent last year struggling with a long-standing elbow issue which required multiple bouts of surgery and then suffered his back stress

to be optimistic about the prospect of his return to full fitness in time for one of their tours in early 2023.

Archer is one of three fast bowlers, along with Saqib Mahmood and Bry don Carse, who will travel to Dubai and Abu Dhabi to continue their rehab, shadowing a 15-man Li ons training group which includes Matthew Fisher,

"He's in a good place mentally and is really ex cited about getting back in volved. He's been bowling at reasonable volumes and intensity. One of the dan gers is rushing people back too quickly so what we're trying to do with Jofra is build that really strong base of bowling over a period of time."

Rehan Ahmed, the

Haseeb Hameed and Dan Lawrence, who both played Test cricket last winter but have not been involved since Brendon McCullum took over as head coach in May, are both named in the Lions squad, while Matthew Potts - a surprise omission from the Pakistan tour af ter 20 wickets in five Tests this summer - is also due to travel.

(CMC) – West Indies’ threematch Twenty20 Interna tional series against Pakistan set for next January has been rescheduled to 2024, Cricket West Indies con firmed Wednesday.

In a media release, CWI said the decision had been taken in order to help bolster the Caribbean side’s prepara tion for the T20 World Cup scheduled to be hosted by the region, in conjunction with the United States, in two years time.

“The decision has been made considering 2024 is an ICC Men’s T20 World Cup year, with the event due to be hosted in the West Indies and USA in June 2024 and the shortest format matches will therefore help both the sides to prepare for the tournament,” said CWI.

“The three-match T20I series in Pakistan scheduled for January 2023 was not part of the recently announced 2023-2027 ICC Future Tours Programme.

“The West Indies played their ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League matches against Pakistan in Multan in May 2022, while the Decem ber 2021 series comprised three T20Is in Karachi.” West Indies were swept 3-0 in the Karachi T20s and 3-0 in the Multan One-Day Internationals.

Two-time former T20 World Cup champions, West Indies are currently cam paigning in the qualifiers of the T20 World Cup in Australia, in a bid to reach the main draw of the tourna ment which begins in earnest next week.

Pakistan Cricket Board has postponed the three-match T20 series

Jofra Archer trained with England in Barbados prior to his stress fracture diagnosis (Getty Images)

Muhammad Waseem put on an all-round show (ICC via Getty Images)

Alzarri Joseph celebrates with team-mates after getting Regis Chakabva (ICC via Getty Images)