Guyana’s future, its people safe with the PPP/C
- President Ali affirms; warns citizens of persons whose affiliations, agendas
AFC’s Laura George says amidst failure of coalition talks with APNU
Guyana’s future, its people safe with the PPP/C
THE September 1 General and Regional Elections is “more than just choosing a political party," but also a defining moment for Guyana’s national security, global standing and ensuring development for future generations, President Dr. Irfaan Ali has firmly stated.
The President made those remarks during a powerful address to thousands of persons who gathered at the Everest Cricket Club Ground for the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C)'s family fun day and fund raising activity.
Amidst loud chants and applause, President Ali reminded and reassured persons that the PPP/C is a strong force capable of uniting and developing all Guyanese.
The Head of State called on the wider Guyanese electorate to see beyond party lines, and to vote for the multiracial and inclusive PPP/C which has Guyana at heart.
In this regard, he pointed to the track record of the PPP/C, which has set Guyana on a path of unprecedented development.
Given the country's progress and global standing, the President emphasised that leadership must not fall into the hands of those whose affiliations and agendas may compromise Guyana’s terri-
- President Ali affirms; warns citizens of persons whose affiliations, agendas may compromise nation’s territorial integrity - says his party stands with Guyanese every day
torial integrity.
The President firmly stated that the nation’s safety and security, sovereignty and territorial integrity, require partners and allies to be on the same side with Guyana.
He said: “…Our allies and our friends have signalled to us that there are people in this country who are dangerous to the national security, who are dangerous to the sovereignty, who will put at risk the sovereignty of this country because their
dealings are intertwined with countries and this particular country that is an enemy to Guyana.”
Without naming persons, President Ali’s statement underscored the importance of preserving Guyana’s relationships with its international and regional partners, and persons not allowing those with insidious agendas cloaked in a flurry of attractive promises to mislead them.
Dr. Ali assured Guyanese
that the PPP/C would never seek to undermine the nation’s diplomatic foundation that has been solidified after years of hard work.
“We will never gamble with that.. This country, our Golden Arrowhead- every single square inch of this country must be protected. These elections are more than just electing the leaders and the political party, these elections are about the safety and security of our country. It's about moving
GPF to pursue extradition of Rickford Burke
The following is the full text of a statement from the Guyana Police Force:
“The ruling of the Chief Justice in the legal challenge filed by Rickford Burke notwithstanding, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) maintains resolutely that it is in possession of cogent, compelling, and irrefutable evidence that Rickford Burke has engaged in the conduct of extorting money from a local businessman.
The matter is under review, and the Police is awaiting further legal advice in relation to the institution of fresh charges.
Since Mr. Burke remains outside of the jurisdiction of Guyana, extradition proceedings will be pursued under the Fugitive Offenders Act in keeping with the ruling of the Chief Justice.”
forward, ensuring that we invest to make our people safe, to make every community safe…” the President said.
Guyana’s rising influence on the world stage, particularly in food, climate and energy security has been widely acknowledged.
President Ali told the mammoth crowd: “We are not an elections party. We are your partners. We are your partners every single day of the year. We are not a seasonal friend. We are
here with you, the people, in every single season, in the good times, in the bad times. Every time, the People's Progressive Party stands with the people.
“And my friends, that is important for you to understand, having the responsibility to lead the people of our country is an enormous task. It is not something that we can gamble with.”
In a moment of reflection, the President called on the voters to ask themselves: “Who can you trust to keep their commitment? Who can you trust to fulfill whatever they say they will do?”
The answer, he said, is clear: “There is only one honest answer, that is, the People's Progressive Party.”
As power-hungriness consumes other political forces, President Ali noted that the PPP/C is not asking for power but responsibility.
That is, the responsibility to uplift men, women, children and the elderly, the President said.
Dr. Ali supported his statements by pointing to the last five years which are testament to the consistent delivery of their 2020 manifesto promises.
This includes: improved infrastructure, stronger global alliances, increased investment, and visible progress in health care, education, housing, and job creation.
Thousands of Guyanese gathered at the Everest Cricket Club Ground for the PPP/C’s Family Fun Day
‘An abusive relationship is never different’ - AFC’s Laura George says amidst failure of coalition talks with APNU
AS Guyana heads towards the pivotal September 1 General and Regional Elections, the Opposition is continuing its descent into chaos, marked by bitter infighting and accusations of betrayal even at the highest levels.
Drawing a parallel to toxic relationships, Alliance For Change’s (AFC’s) member, Laura George commented on Facebook: “What had come out of this experience is just like what ol people always say, when you think you getting back into an abusive relationship believing that this time around it's gonna be different.. well no it usually don't be. Check the history of coalitions in Guyana ok.”
The AFC and the A Part-
nership for National Unity (APNU), once allies in government, are now airing their laundry in the public domain, unveiling their inability to unite amidst their ambitious target to lead Guyana. Notably, George is not the only member within the party who feels this way.
At a press conference on Friday last, the Leader of the AFC, Nigel Hughes, confirmed that his party has moved on from APNU and the small political force is prepared to contest the upcoming elections independently.
Hughes made this clear when he was asked about keeping the door open for a coalition with the People’s National Congress Reform
(PNCR)/APNU.
He said the prospects or outcomes of further engagements are marginal, and as such, his party is moving on to the election.
Meanwhile, earlier on Friday, PNCR and APNU Leader Aubrey Norton said the party is willing to continue discussions with the AFC. The animosity surrounding the failed negotiations is laid bare in the public domain, with many persons weighing in and criticising both parties for pursuing dominance fuelled by historically rooted grievances and personal ambition.
The APNU+AFC coalition, which secured victory in the 2015 General and Regional Elections, has long been facing issues of internal discord. The AFC has frequently accused the
larger partner, APNU, of sidelining it during their time in office and not adhering to the agreements made.
Notable grievances include the delayed swearing-in of AFC’s Prime Min-
allowing him to chair Cabinet meetings.
Recent events have only deepened these fissures. In a single day, last Wednesday, the AFC crumbled under the weight of political
nandes, Sherod Duncan and Deonarine “Ricky” Ramsaroop, crossed over to Norton’s camp, with Fernandes named as Norton’s running mate for the upcoming General and Re-
isterial candidate, Moses Nagamootoo, and the failure to honour an agreement
infighting, defections, and failed coalition talks.
However, it was not alone, as the PNCR faced its own battles. Adding to its wave of defections, Member of Parliament Amanza Walton-Desir left the PNCR to form her own political movement.
The AFC was blindsided after three of its Parliamentarians, Juretha Fer-
gional Elections.
The AFC attempted damage control after news of these crossovers was leaked by explaining that they had no knowledge of this and swiftly revoked those persons’ membership. Norton, in a later press conference, dubbed the AFC’s decision to purge the three defectors as “petty.”
Uncapped Marketplace set for digital leap as GMSA launches new online platform
- aims to boost visibility, access for local agro-processors and SMEs
By Shaniya Harding
THE Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) is gearing up to take its beloved Uncapped Marketplace to the next level, with the launch of a new digital platform designed to better connect Guyanese agro-processors and entrepreneurs with both local consumers and international markets.
Speaking at the launch of the initiative on Saturday at the Providence National Stadium, First Vice President and Chairman of the Agro-Processing Sub-sector of the GMSA, Ramsay Ali, shared that the project, which has been more than
launch it live in about two weeks.”
Also speaking at the
a year in the making, will soon be operational, opening up new opportunities for hundreds of vendors in just a few weeks.
He told the Sunday Chronicle that the project is currently in the last stages of testing, with the platform already up and running with 20 vendors. Highlighting the thought process and innovation behind the platform, Ali shared that it is in partnership with Mobile Money Guyana (MMG) to make the process more convenient for both vendors and consumers.
“It’s a portal, it has pricing, you can order it, and it goes to an email that goes to a vendor, and they will use MMG, because we partnered with MMG, make a payment to MMG, and we deliver the goods to you guys. It's actually working right now.”
He further added that, “We're testing it with about 20 people. And it's actually working. So we're going to
Khan challenged the audience to envision how this model could be extended
tures like Uncapped could have on small businesses.
“I’m from the forest -
event, President of GMSA, Rafeek Khan, noted the growing success and reach of the Uncapped Marketplace and the impact it has had and will continue to have with further collaboration and investment.
“What you have here is over 100, 110, actually, entrepreneurs and SMEs benefitting from this platform. Imagine if just 10 per cent of these companies each year found new markets in the Caribbean or beyond. It’s already happening, our products are in the UK, the U.S., and even in some European stores.”
into other sectors, highlighting the real, fast-paced, positive impact that ven-
ry sector. Imagine if, one year from now, we had 110 furniture manufactur-
ers using a similar model. Guyana’s wood products are loved, but many can’t ac cess them. Platforms like this can change that.”
Captain Gerald Gouveia Jr., Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), praised the initiative as a vital tool in supporting Guyana’s small, medium, and micro enterprises.
“Uncapped has become a flagship event. Back in 2023, its relaunch helped revitalise the economy post-COVID and pushed our entrepreneurs onto the international stage,” he said.
Gouveia emphasised that Guyanese businesses are ready to innovate and
grow when given the right tools and platforms. He also announced the launch of a new Business Support Desk, a PSC initiative done in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank, that will provide SMEs with business development support, including networking opportunities, feasibility planning, risk assessment, and access to financing.
With over 100 vendors now benefitting from the Uncapped initiative and even more poised to join via its online expansion, the platform is on track to become a powerful engine for growth, visibility, and regional integration.
With over 100 vendors now benefitting from the Uncapped initiative and even more poised to join via its online expansion, the platform is on track to become a powerful engine for growth and visibility for small businesses (DPI photos)
First Vice President and chairman of the Agro-Processing Sub-sector of the GMSA, Ramsay Ali
President of the GMSA, Rafeek Khan
AS Guyana nears the September 1 election, the opposition scene has turned into a confusing game that would be laughable if it weren't for the people who still believe in them.
The failure of coalition talks between the People's National Congress Reform (PNCR)-led A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) highlights a troubling fact: neither side wants to take responsibility for not uniting.
What we see is not just political disagreement but a serious betrayal of public trust. For months, APNU and AFC negotiated, but their talks fell apart over what can only be called self-interested disputes: arguments over ministerial roles, parliamentary positions, and who would be prime minister. Both parties accused each other of causing the collapse while secretly trying to recruit each other's members. The hypocrisy is overwhelming. The AFC expelled
three parliamentarians, Juretha Fernandes, Sherod Duncan, and Deonarine Ramsaroop, after learning they had covertly allied with APNU. APNU leader Aubrey Norton dismissed this action as "petty," even though his party had previously condemned such defections.
This double standard shows a political culture that prioritises opportunism over principles. A striking example is Amanza Walton-Desir, who left the PNCR to start her own party, Forward Guyana.
She cited being "repeatedly excluded from key meetings" and having her "voice silenced."
The voters must see this turmoil for what it really is, a warning sign. When political parties focus on power-sharing instead of real policies and recruit secretly while publicly negotiating in "good faith," they show a blatant disregard for democratic values.
As PPP/C General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo noted, these opposition parties "see government
as an opportunity to share spoils" instead of seeing it as a duty to serve the public. Voters should expect more as September 1 approaches. The opposition's internal turmoil highlights a bigger problem of leadership and vision. Instead of providing clear police frameworks, they present familiar faces with new titles, but the same outdated ideas.
This is not the opposition Guyana needs at this crucial time in our history. The voters must look past party loyalty and
assess candidates based on their integrity, vision, and commitment to democratic values.
The current chaos within the opposition is not just a tactical failure, but a moral one—a failure to prioritise the country over personal ambitions and party interests. As we get ready to vote, let's remember that democracy thrives only when its participants respect its core values.
When APNU failed the fisherfolk, PPP/C delivered Opportunism Over Principles
Dear Citizens of Guyana, OVER the past four years, Guyana has witnessed a transformative shift in the fisheries and aquaculture sector, one that marks a clear departure from the stagnation and neglect that characterised the period under the previous APNU administration and has also shown the visionless approach of the new parties who will be contesting this year's election.
Under APNU’s leadership, this sector, so vital
to our economy and the livelihoods of thousands, languished without direction, investment, or vision. Our fisherfolk were left without the infrastructure they desperately needed, while our nation remained overly reliant on seafood imports, draining valuable foreign exchange. It must be highlighted that since taking office, the current government has worked tirelessly to reverse this decline. Today, I am proud to see the success of the Brackish Water Shrimp farming,
the fisheries infrastructural sector and major improvements in the vessel monitoring systems among other areas.
When we speak about the Brackish Water Shrimp Farming, Guyana produced a mere 112,000 kg of brackish water shrimp in 2021; however, through strategic investments and targeted support, production increased to an astounding 1.1 million kg in 2024. This tenfold growth has not only reduced the dependency on imports but has also created jobs
and generated significant revenue for coastal communities.
As it relates to the Fisheries Infrastructure Development, while the previous administration allowed critical infrastructure to deteriorate, the government of the day has invested $300 million to develop and upgrade fisheries landing sites across Regions 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. These improvements are ensuring safer, more efficient operations for fisherfolk and boosting the sector’s productivity.
Furthermore, it must be noted that in keeping with the commitment to sustainability and maritime safety, 100 vessel monitoring devices were installed on commercial fishing vessels operating in Regions One through Six.
APNU had no such initiative in place, ignoring the need for resource management and enforcement mechanisms that are now essential to safeguarding our marine resources.
These are not just numbers; they represent lives
improved, communities uplifted, and a nation moving confidently towards food security and sustainability.
The contrast is clear. Where APNU failed to act, PPP/C delivered. Where they overlooked our fisherfolk, PPP/C empowered them.
Let us not return to a time of inaction and neglect. Let us stay the course of development and transformation.
Yours sincerely, Fawaz Harry
Lecturing Hughes and Campbell on what a scrapehead is
I WASN’T embarrassed and such embarrassment cannot be generated in me based on what happened in my life, but I was surprised when former PPP executive and former long serving Permanent Secretary, Hydar Ally, recalled on the Freddie Kissoon Show that he remembered me as a UG student wearing a pair of pin-up rubber slippers on the campus.
Hydar Ally has a huge memory because that was back in 1974 when that pair of half-dead slippers was all the footwear I had to use to walk through the abandoned train line to reach UG. Even as a UG student, poverty was my companion, so imagine what it was like growing up in Wortmanville without food.
Someone needs to give those two billionaires, Nigel Hughes and Terrence Campbell, a lecture on who or what a scrapehead is. Nigel and Campbell in an
ugly rejection of basic West Indian sociology went to the site of the accidental death of Adriana Younge at Tuschen, East Bank, Essequibo, and wax lyrical about the need of Guyanese to understand the depressed economy of the people who tried to burn down Region 3, 4 and 5 on Monday, April 28, after the father of Adriana, Subrian Younge, shouted across Guyana that he cannot accept the autopsy finding of his daughter.
Hooligans, goons and thugs, riding on shiny metal bikes that cost a fortune, after Younge’s emotional boom, began to beat up people, loot and burn business places and tried to burn down infrastructural standings in the Regions mentioned above. Campbell and Hughes then told the Guyanese people that they must be sympathetic to the people who rampaged that night, referring to them as scrapeheads who need society’s understanding and
assistance.
Campbell, if he lives a hundred years from now, will not understand what poverty is. By his admission, he has been a successful (his word) businessperson for the past 40 years. If Campbell is in his early sixties and has been enjoying money for the past 40 years, then Ravi Dev is right – Campbell is a billionaire. Hughes was born into wealth; his dad was one of Guyana’s most successful lawyers.
What do these men know about the lives of scrapeheads? I was one of Georgetown’s most authentic scrapeheads. There was no money in Wortmanville in my teenage days to buy food, much less a Harley Davidson that the rioters rode on the afternoon and night of April 28, when they beat and robbed people.
Our motorcycle in Wortmanville was a tennis roll and an intestinal slice of salami from Mr. Lee. That
had to last you for the entire day. Mr. Lee was a Chinese shop owner at the junction of Norton and Hardina Streets. He was married to an African woman, who lived next door to us.
Mrs. Lee was the only person my sister, Gwendoline, was afraid to take on in Wortmanville. Mrs. Lee was more boisterous and aggressive, and willing to fight, features for which my sister became infamous in Wortmanville.
Food and clothes were mirages for scrapeheads in Wortmanville, Lodge and Werk-Rust. You just live and die young, or go to jail or hope some angel comes along to save you. Imagine the temerity of Hughes and Campbell to refer to scrapeheads who buy expensive motorcycles and wear designer joggers and designer T-shirts as people the society needs to understand.
This election isn’t about clever slogans or political games
FOR those who relish politics, the shenanigans in the ranks of the PNCR, APNU, and AFC over the last week must have been highly entertaining in a Shakespearean sort of way. I confess, the events this last week strike me as highly unusual and a bit startling. Let me explain why.
The public feasted on what amounts to a bizarre case of musical chairs. First up was Amanza Walton-Desir’s tearful resignation from the PNCR, a party that she said “sidelined, undervalued and silenced” her voice. It took her long enough.
She could have joined with the late Amna Ally and Vanessa Kissoon back in March when they quit the party, citing concerns over leadership and the treatment of women. Difficult to say whether Aubrey Norton was bruised by her departure or whether he’s worried that her Forward Guyana party will certainly pull votes away from the PNCR.
A day later, Norton must
have been in a celebratory mood. Sherod Duncan, Juretha Fernades, and Deonarine “Ricky” Ramsaroop, heavy hitters in the AFC, displayed a lack of basic courtesy when they jumped ship and into the arms of APNU without even so much as an email to Nigel Hughes informing him of their exit. Small courtesies do count for something.
And as if that sting weren’t enough, APNU promptly dismissed yet another tired overture from Hughes’ AFC to join forces. By Friday, a deflated Hughes was left issuing a feeble statement confirming that talks had collapsed, all this with just two and a half months left to E-day?
Instead of turning their attention to campaigning, the minor and major opposition parties have resorted to attacking GECOM, questioning whether the Commission is prepared for the September 1 elections. Lamenting why prisoners should be voting and accusing GECOM of
treating the small parties unfairly, they’re now grasping at straws and now, pleading with the President to delay the elections and give time to get their house in order.
Let’s be clear, this was not a snap election; 2025 was always going to be an election year. I did some digging and discovered that the first time Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo publicly stated that 2025 would be an election year in Guyana was on January 4, 2024, during a press conference.
He repeated that fact numerous times in the last 18 months. Hughes, Norton, Simona Broomes, and Amanza Walton-Desir, every politician knew the time frame for national and regional elections. They had more than enough time to get ready. The fact that they are unprepared means they only have themselves to blame, not GECOM and certainly not the PPP/C. The stakes in this election are high, the highest they’ve ever been in the
The only designer clothes we knew in Wortmanville were when the Christmas season came around and the folks of Georgetown would go window shopping at nights. The designer clothes you saw in the glass case were another world that you will never see in your lifetime.
Here is a piece of autobiography. I came out of poverty, became educated, became a university lecturer, and never bought designer clothes and never went to a barber and still do not go to a barber. I just cannot go in that direction when I think of the vortex of poverty I was once drowning in.
It was an insulting and demoralising vulgarisation of West Indian sociology for Nigel (he ought to know better; this is not the Nigel I once knew) and Campbell to eulogise people who are above the lumpen proletariat
class and maybe fall into the category lower working class that robbed about 20 supermarkets and beat innocent people up.
Yes, I was a scrapehead, but I never robbed anyone. I never joined any group in Wortmanville that attacked and burned business places on D’Urban Street. Oh yes, I forgot. I was a scrapehead who stole things. At 16 years, I got a job at the PPP’s bookstore – Michael Forde Bookstore and I stole books from my workplace. I moved up by stealing books from the National Library. Those scrapeheads should start stealing books to learn about life.
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.
history of the country. We can’t afford to take a chance on inexperience and toy with a cabal that is so disunited they are now cannibalising each other. If the Opposition can’t agree on a shared platform, how in the world can they execute a shared vision for our country? Not a single individual in the PNCR or the AFC, or any of the other parties, has any executive or management experience to lead our nation on September 2, 2025. None.
The Opposition has spent the last year squabbling over the spoils of war, and when the campaign is finally underway, they have no plan, no policy and no platform that spells out the kind of future they envision for our country. It’s worth recalling what Hughes said when the government released its 2025 budget. He criticised the PPP/C's heavy spending on infrastructure, arguing that “we can’t eat roads and bridges,” forgetting that those same roads and bridges are the very lifeline that
delivers the food that we eat.
I believe what VP Jagdeo said, the Opposition took the PPP/C manifesto and asked AI to repackage it and then turn around and issue it as a newly minted vision. And Hughes dares to talk about trust.
What should be clear to anyone with eyes is that the Opposition, if you can still call it that, is driven by greed and opportunity. President Irfaan Ali’s labelling of it as a “coalition of convenience” is apt. This is not about the people; it’s glaringly about power and securing parliamentary positions.
We’ve seen this game before. The people of Guyana gave these very same political actors a chance in 2015, which they squandered. Instead of melting away and allowing new and perhaps deserving actors to take their places, they stubbornly insisted on hanging around, like a damp odour
in a mouldy room. At the end of the day, Guyanese have a simple choice to make. Do we hand the future of this country over to a group of people who can’t even work with each other, let alone lead a nation? Or, do we stick with a government that has shown it can deliver on jobs, on education, on health, and real opportunities for people?
This election isn’t about clever slogans or political games; it’s about who’s ready to lead from day one and who’s serious about building. And when you look past all the drama and distractions, the answer speaks for itself.
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.
Petty politics haemorrhaging the coalition
WITH fewer than two months to go before Guyana decides which party to put in government, the political dynamics are shifting, changing and becoming clearer by the minute.
In the last three weeks, the public has witnessed an emboldened People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) winning the support of a number of People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) and Alliance For Change (AFC) members, supporters, parliamentarians and party executives. This development has shifted the narrative and sent shockwaves throughout the opposition’s camp.
In response, the opposition PNC/APNU drew blood for its former bedfellow, AFC, after it failed quietly to attract any PPP/C politician. So, the AFC’s Sherod Duncan, Juretha Fernandes, and Ricky Ramsaroop, all sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), joined the APNU. The AFC responded, still in panic mode, by cancelling their memberships and putting a tongue licking on the PNC/ APNU.
Also, MP Amanza Walton-Desir resigned from the PNC and formed her own party to contest the upcoming elections. Walton-Desir's resignation has many layers to it, and the PNC seemingly is not bothered, but chose to issue a statement clarifying the
circumstances which led to it.
And, there are still more than a dozen other small parties that plan on contesting the elections this year. They are claiming that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is not providing them with enough information which is critical to their participation. The race is on to get the list ready for Nomination Day, which is slated for July 14. The smaller parties are struggling to get the required number of endorsements, signatures and backers for the list.
At the outset, General Secretary of the PPP/C Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, was right to arrive at the conclusion that the opposition seems to be in disarray and trouble; he said that they appear to be desperate and panicking. Dr Jagdeo hit the nail on the head when he said that they are not serious because they are worried about negotiating for positions at this point, rather than agreeing on policies and plans before coalescing to form a broad and overarching coalition. It would appear that they want to form a coalition of convenience and not a trustworthy, responsible, respectful and workable coalition.
This is an unfortunate and sad state of affairs to be in at such a critical juncture in the lead-up to elections, which are less than three months
away.
Firstly, if the opposition wants the public to take them seriously, they have to stop this game of stealing players from the same side. What sense does it make in the wider sense and picture if Duncan, for instance, plays politics for the APNU or AFC? They are busy cutting their noses to spoil their faces. It makes no sense, and it isn’t looking good to the public.
In all fairness, the APNU did not win anything here. They just got three washedup, worn, used, and recycled AFC politicians who were batting for the same team that attempted to steal the 2020 elections.
The public has to be foolish to think that these three AFC politicians and MPs would make a difference to APNU’s politics. They offer no new ideas and plans for Guyana’s development or APNU’s approach to coalitions. And, the experienced politicians just let a former confidential secretary become its prime ministerial candidate? With no track record in leadership, policy articulation and formulation? The APNU coalition must be truly desperate and have slim pickings. But the public will find Fernandes hard to accept befores a Carl Greenidge, Volda Lawrence, Dawn Hastings-Williams, Basil Wil -
liams, among others.
The other two are too easy and not worthy of expending energy, time and column inches. This is a case of an APNU coalition confusion. Why did they not say that they joined the PNC? The public awaits the answer to this question.
Secondly, the opposition is doing itself a disservice by the way it is playing politics. It is saying loud and clear it is interested in positions first, then party, and governance and policy last. It is shameful to read the circumstances that led to the collapse of what was to be a “broad coalition.” Position and power ought not to be the primary factors for entering politics. But this was the sole focus of the negotiations process for months. It was a fight for positions and power. Who would get the presidential candidate post, prime ministerial candidate post, Attorney General candidate post and Ministerial candidate nod?
It is disheartening to learn that policy and people did not seem to matter or take up a larger focus in the discussion of forming a coalition or alliance. They did not even discuss their policy positions, plans for the future, and ideas that would see Guyana being further developed.
It is ‘grudge and greed’ politics that were being
Street Talk 8Improper behaviour
THE question of courtesy, or the lack thereof, has been popping up recently in newspaper articles and comments heard on the streets. Usually, it is the elders bemoaning the lack of decorum exhibited by young people, especially schoolchildren.
"Dem ain got no manners," one man complained, while a passer-by hearing this added, "An ya cyaan tell dem nutting, dey ready fuh buse ya and cuss ya out."
Indeed, people from the 'old school' regularly comment that, 'dis time na lang time'. Those born in the 1960s and 50s and earlier refer to a time when schoolchildren were far more orderly on their way to and from school. And any adult,
friend, family member or stranger could have corrected them.
"Now ya dare not tell dem anything cause dey ready fuh tell ya how ya mudda mek ya," said an outraged woman, who recounted how she had been subject to a stream of verbal abuse when she attempted to "pull up" a young girl.
"Ah been passing dis gyurl an she friend an if ya hear she language. Is like every odder word she cussin." So, as a concerned parent, the woman admonished the girl, telling her there was no need for such language.
"Well she turn around and let me have it, tellin me why I doan mind mih so and so business. An she din dun deh. She carry on busing
even tho me ain had nutting more fuh tell she!"
This is not an isolated event. I have witnessed young people ' cussing out' older folks for little or no reason. Or simply being discourteous or disrespectful. As a child born in the 50s I know we, as schoolchildren, were well aware that any adult could correct us, and we had to ' mind our manners' in response.
Generally we had to desist from any behaviour that adults found inappropriate, and if we were guilty of such, we had to pray that the person did not know our parents. Otherwise, a full report, sometimes embellished, would be made to our homes, and we would find ourselves facing a
waged in farming out a possible coalition. It was positions and parties that were the centre of the talks as opposed to political ideologies, policy formulation and plans. This round of coalition talks that failed exposed the AFC and PNCR/APNU's commitment to coalition politics; it was not genuine from the start and was just lip service.
Aubrey Norton and Nigel Hughes fumbled the bag and sacrificed their political parties for their own ambitions and forward movement. They proved that they are not mature politicians but little men playing in a sport for big and mature men. But in the end, Norton schooled Hughes and now has him eating out of his hands.
Thirdly, Walton-Desir should never have cut ties with the PNC. She does not understand the dynamics of party politics or acts on her emotions as opposed to facts and sense. She should have waited for her turn and time. The PNCR is bigger than the position. This seems to be the vocal gripe, along with other things that she said she experienced over the last few years in the party.
She was weak, timid and immature. That being said, it is good that she founded another party, with which she can hopefully make a dent in the political landscape. If
she does not get results at the upcoming elections, and she won’t, she does not have anyone to blame for her failure to convince the public to vote for her.
The truth is, her obsession with being called an MP and politician got the best of her; she will learn that politics is not for the faint of heart. Finally, the PNC and APNU, and the AFC are not thinking in terms of strategy. They are losing political capital with the way they are playing their cards in the lead-up to this election, which, for the record, looks like a landslide win for the PPP/C. They are dividing up the opposition voters as opposed to uniting the voters. They are weakening the electoral appeal of the opposition and, by virtue, strengthening the PPP, which hasn’t had a political casualty or crossover in the last decade of any substance. In the end, coalition politics has been dealt a strong blow this time, thanks to the small-mindedness of Norton and Hughes. Pettiness breeds disaster.
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.
‘good licking.’ Now, adults, whether they know the child or not, are fearful of correcting them and often just turn a 'deaf ear' or a 'blind eye' to raucous schoolchildren and their 'colourful' language.
"Me ain able fuh no chile cuss me out," commented an elderly woman, " so I doan tell dem nutting, I does jus go about mih business."
But this should not be so. We need a return to those 'old school' ways, when children could be corrected by any adult at any time and accept this with good grace. Modern parents, many of whom were raised with these standards, need to pass them on to their children. The root cause of poor behaviour lies in the home;
it does not originate in our schools. If we correct our children when they are rude or use indecent language, then they are unlikely to stray away from our teachings when on the streets.
Writing in The Conversation newsletter, Sophia Waters, a lecturer at the University of New England in the US, advised parents: "Modelling good manners around the home and in your interaction with others is
obviously crucial."
And an elderly man put a finer 'point' on this statement when he said, in local parlance, "Monkey see, monkey do."
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.
The Greater Guyana Initiative’s impact on Guyana’s economy
GUYANA’S economic boom, fuelled by its offshore oil wealth, is being complemented by strategic investments aimed at longterm economic diversification. Critically involved in this effort is the Greater Guyana Initiative (GGI).
It is a US$100 million, decade-long commitment by ExxonMobil Guyana, Hess, and CNOOC. As Guyana continues to grapple with challenges of equitable development and capacity gaps, GGI has proven its effectiveness in helping to bridge these divides.
GGI will open a new call for proposals from July 1, inviting organisations and institutions to put forward projects that need support. The application window will close on July 31. This call forms part of GGI’s wider mission to strengthen lo -
cal capacity in education, health, and economic development across all regions of the country.
Launched in 2021, the initiative works in close partnership with government agencies, academic institutions, and non-governmental organisations. Projects are selected in consultation with stakeholders and supported by technical experts. The ultimate goal: to build a more skilled and resilient workforce, support the delivery of services, and promote self-sufficiency in key areas such as food production and healthcare.
Since its launch, GGI has supported more than two dozen projects, each tackling a different development need but all contributing to economic and social upliftment.
One example is a water purification and sustainability
project introduced at West Demerara Secondary School, following its successful rollout at Queen’s College.
Proposed by a SHOUT competition winner and executed by Recover Guyana with support from the Ministry of Education, the initiative installs advanced filtration systems that provide clean drinking water while reducing the use of single-use plastic bottles. Beyond the schools, the project benefits entire communities by promoting environmental responsibility and public health.
In the health sector, GGI is backing the rollout of a National Health Information Systems & Technology (HIST) Workforce Development Programme. Led by Mount Sinai Health System, the initiative is training more than 250 health information
specialists and launching a digital health records system that will be accessible at clinics across the country. Patients will also be able to access their records and book appointments through a new mobile app. This is a major leap toward a more efficient, integrated healthcare system and a digital-ready workforce.
GGI’s investment has also revitalised poultry production in Guyana’s hinterland. The Egg Sandwich project, executed in partnership with the Rupununi Livestock Producers Association, has reached all 57 communities in the Rupununi. Over 18,000 dual-purpose chickens have been sold, and more than 1,100 farmers have been trained. With a modern hatchery now operating in the region, this project is providing income opportunities and
improving nutrition.
Another standout is the Agricultural Innovation and Empowerment Programme (AIEP), developed in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture. It is helping Guyana meet its regional food security targets by engaging over 1,000 young people in Regions 2, 5, and 10 in smart farming practices like hydroponics. These farms grow high-value vegetables and herbs, contributing to import substitution and creating meaningful jobs for youth.
Together, these initiatives are expanding local capacity and building stronger foundations for economic growth. They are creating employment, modernising service delivery, and closing key development gaps, including in remote areas. The involvement of women and youth, in particular, is also making
growth more equitable. As the July application period approaches, it is crucial that more people learn about GGI and how its funding can support their work in communities across the country. Now is the time for local organisations, schools, and changemakers to step forward with bold ideas. If your work aligns with Guyana’s development goals, consider applying to the Greater Guyana Initiative. You can learn more about this application process by visiting https:// greaterguyanainitiative.gy/ apply/
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.
‘Girls should never feel ashamed’
By Naomi Parris
TO dispel myths surrounding menstrual hygiene and promote equitable access to sanitary products, Guyana’s First Lady, Arya Ali, on Thursday last, launched the Menstrual Hygiene Initiative in Kato, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni).
In her address at the Kato Secondary School, the First Lady emphasised the programme’s primary aim was to ensure that no girl in Guyana is hindered in her education due to period poverty.
“For me, this is more than just a project. It's a promise, a promise I made a few years ago that no girl in Guyana should ever have to feel ashamed to miss school or suffer in silence simply because she has her period. I was once a girl just like you, so I know the challenges,” she said, adding, “Many of us weren't allowed to speak
programme’s
about our periods, not at home, not at school, not at church, nor even in our communities; we have always been told that this is not ladylike and we have to keep it hidden away like something to be embarrassed about.”
She further noted that all too often, many girls are deprived of access to sanitary pads, either due to their unavailability at home or in local stores, or because the cost places them beyond reach.
The programme, which was initially launched in 2021, seeks to address long-standing challenges
surrounding menstrual health management.
“We are dispelling the myths around menstruation and tackling the problem head-on by providing free sanitary pads to girls in high schools across Guyana.”
A 2021 study conducted by the Ministry of Education highlighted the gravity of the issue, revealing that approximately one-third of female students in secondary schools across the country struggle to access or afford sanitary pads. These absences contribute to a broader pattern of educational disruption,
further disadvantaging young girls in their academic and personal development.
By prioritising menstrual equity, the initiative serves to normalise conversations around menstruation, empower girls, and promote dignity. Importantly, it guarantees access to essential hygiene products for girls irrespective of their age, economic status, or geographic location.
“I want you to know this, having your period is not a weakness, it is not a burden, and it certainly should never be a barrier. It is a sign of
life, of good health and of womanhood, and every girl deserves to feel clean, safe and confident every single day of the month.”
Since its inception, the Menstrual Hygiene Initiative has secured funding for the distribution of sanitary pads to approximately 3,200 schoolgirls across Guyana.
“I see you. I hear your stories, I understand your challenges, and I want you to know that as your First Lady, I will never stop fighting for your right to live with dignity, whether it's through projects like this one or the
many others to come. I am committed to lifting up our girls, our women and our communities, especially in places like Kato,” the First Lady said. Meanwhile, Kato’s Toshao, Sandra Brazao, in brief remarks, expressed that the community looks forward to continued engagement and strengthened collaboration.
“Today, we are humbled to host an initiative that emphasises the health and wellbeing and empowerment of our young girls and women.”
First Lady Arya Ali (centre) flanked by students of the Kato Secondary School during the launch of the menstrual hygiene initiative
The
primary aim is to ensure that no girl in Guyana is hindered in her education due to period poverty
- First Lady takes menstrual hygiene initiative to Region 8
Guyana eyes collaboration with Edna Manley College to expand creative industry
Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance and the Public Service, Dr. Ashni Singh, has reiterated the government’s dedication to developing Guyana’s creative sector, stating that the administration is “investing very heavily” in its growth.
He made the remarks during a recent engagement with a business delegation from Jamaica, including representatives from the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts.
The exchange came during a candid question-and-answer session in which a representative from the college passionately highlighted the absence of Guyanese students at their annual flag ceremony — a symbolic event meant to celebrate international student representation.
She expressed hope that future graduation ceremonies at
the Edna Manley College would once again feature the Guyana flag, symbolising the presence of Guyanese students at the institution.
She inquired about scholarship opportunities for Guyanese students wishing to study abroad, as well as the government’s plans to develop Guyana’s creative industries.
Dr. Singh acknowledged the importance of her concerns and addressed the issue of overseas scholarships. “Yes, we do give scholarships for students to study outside of Guyana, but they are relatively finite in number,” he explained, adding that while the government does offer such opportunities, the number is relatively small due to higher associated costs compared to online and in-country programmes.
Turning his attention to the creative arts sector, Dr. Singh admitted that his earlier
remarks had focused largely on the economic, infrastructural, and technological advances in the country. However, he was quick to assure the audience that culture and the arts have not been neglected.
“You’re absolutely correct… I didn’t speak substantially on what’s happening in culture and the arts. That doesn’t mean we’re not doing anything in that space. We are, in fact, doing quite a lot,” Dr. Singh stated.
He revealed that the government is actively supporting artists and musicians through various initiatives, including the construction of recording studios and the provision of grants.
“We’re working on providing a lot more support for people in music locally, including building studios for recording,” he said. “We are investing very heavily. We’re giving grants to the creative arts. We're supporting a number of groups in
Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance and the Public Service, Dr. Ashni Singh
promoting and developing their craft.”
Dr. Singh also announced
plans to establish a new cultural marketplace in Palmyra, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).
“We will be building… a cultural market which will have space for all of the aspects of art and painting and sculpting, but also the performance of creative arts,” he revealed.
Referring to the wider potential of the creative economy, Dr. Singh said Guyana recognises the value of what is globally referred to as the “orange economy” — the economic sector driven by culture, creativity, and innovation.
He expressed eagerness for future collaborations with Jamaica in this area, stating, “We can certainly speak about the college’s work and where the opportunities are.”
The session ended on a note of mutual interest, with both parties looking forward to exploring partnerships to enrich and expand cultural exchange
and education between Guyana and Jamaica.
The Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts said it is invested in promoting the cultural diversity of the Caribbean and enriching students’ aesthetic sensibilities through quality education and training in the visual and performing arts.
Steeped in the rich cultural tradition of the Caribbean, the college noted that it has been developing and preserving arts and culture for over six decades, beginning with the establishment of the School of Visual Arts in 1950.
The People's Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government has been actively investing in the creative industry as part of its overall development agenda. It involves investments aimed at promoting business, education, training, and employment in the sector.
Woman, husband cleaned blood-stained house after killing mother
WHAT began as a missing person report has tragically turned into a homicide investigation after police confirmed that 46-year-old Jenny Mohamed, also known as ‘Baby,’ was murdered
at her Non Pariel, East Coast Dmerara (ECD) home on June 10, 2025. Police Headquarters revealed that Jenny was reported missing on June 12 and was reportedly last seen around 06:15 hrs on
June 10 by her husband, Rasheed Mohamed, who claimed to have left for work that morning, leaving his wife in the company of their daughter and the daughter’s common-law husband.
The case took a grim turn on June 16, when investigators revisited the residence and made a shocking discovery. “Suspected bloodstains were seen on a couch, walls, and floor of the hall,” police said in a release, adding that further stains were found in a bedroom and kitchen.
The stains appeared to have been wiped clean. A human blood field test conducted at the scene returned positive results.
Jenny’s husband was immediately detained. Further investigation led to a cordon and search operation in the Vigilance Police
Station District, during which police arrested the deceased woman’s daughter, 25-year-old Saffia Mohamed, and her son-in-law, Austin Ramchand, 28, both residents of Non Pariel.
Police say a forensic team revisited the crime scene and collected key pieces of evidence, including swabs and bloodstained upholstery. A handwritten note, believed to be from Jenny, was also recovered but deemed suspicious. A vehicle linked to the suspects was examined, and strands of hair were recovered for DNA testing.
During an intense interview session on June 19, Jenny’s daughter confessed to the murder. According to police, Saffia admitted that “she and her common-law husband murdered Jenny on June 10th, 2025,” providing a detailed account of how they stabbed her and then strangled her using a rope.
Jenny’s body was then wrapped in a garbage bag
and tarpaulin and dumped in a trench along Eccles New Road, East Bank Demerara (EBD).
“Jenny then led investigators to the dump site, where the decomposed body was recovered, bearing multiple stab wounds and a rope tied around the neck,” the police said.
The discovery was documented with both video and audio recordings. Further interviews and confrontations followed. Police reported that the daughter’s common-law husband admitted his involvement in both the murder and the disposal of the body.
The deceased’s husband remains in custody as investigations continue. The police noted, “A file is currently being prepared to seek legal advice as charges are expected soon.”
Dead: Jenny Mohamed
Natural Resource Fund 101: What every Guyanese should know
By Shaquawn Gill, DPI
NEARLY four years ago, the National Assembly erupted into chaos as lawmakers clashed over a piece of legislation that would shape the destiny of every citizen – the Natural Resource Fund Act of 2021.
Amid shouts and confusion, the ceremonial mace itself was snatched away by Annette Ferguson, an Opposition Member of Parliament. Yet, from that turmoil emerged a law designed to protect the country’s oil riches and lay the groundwork for prosperity in years to come.
In this article, we explore this landmark piece of legislation, identifying its most protective measures, explaining how the average Guyanese can calculate the amount of money received and spent each year, and how this law will ensure Guyana stands resiliently against any potential economic shocks.
What is the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) Act?
The NRF Act is the cornerstone of Guyana’s approach to managing oil revenues. It established a sovereign wealth fund to ensure that the income from oil and gas benefits both current and future generations, while shielding the economy from the volatility of global energy markets.
Who watches over the NRF?
By law, Guyana’s oil earnings are deposited in an account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and is overseen by a Board of Directors appointed by the president. It includes a representative from the legal fraternity, a member from the private sector, and a person nominated by the National Assembly.
Currently, the Board of Directors is headed by Major General (Ret’d), Joseph Singh and includes Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett; former People’s National Congress (PNC) parliamentarian Dunstan Barrow; Private Sector Executive Ramesh Dookhoo, and former Chancellor of the University of Guyana Professor Compton Bourne.
The Board of Directors is responsible for reviewing and
approving the policies of the fund, as well as managing its performance.
The Investment Committee also has an extremely important role.
Among other things, this committee is responsible for ensuring that Guyana can earn no less than 3% a year from the monies deposited in the fund. You can find out more about the roles and responsibilities of the Investment Committee in Section 9 of the NRF Act.
Additionally, the Bank of Guyana serves as another tier of oversight and management, ensuring transparency by publishing monthly and quarterly reports. A Public Accountability and Oversight Committee, independent of government, adds yet another layer of scrutiny.
In crafting the legislation, the government recognised that oil revenues are hinged on global market prices, and any economy relying on this income could be impacted by market fluctuations.
The Fund also ensures that the natural resources do not affect the country’s overall competitiveness. This means that the development of the oil and gas sector must not hinder the growth of other sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing.
How does Guyana choose what to spend—and when?
The NRF Act outlines in no uncertain terms a formula for the extraction of funds from the account. You can see how the amount for the 2025 budget was arrived at when applying the formula outlined in the updated
website.
Can government officials go to jail for failing to comply with the terms of the NRF?
Absolutely. The law enshrines the security of the resources in the fund by imposing criminal charges on the Minister of Finance (and anyone else who is complicit) if he/she does not exercise their functions in a transparent manner. For something as simple as not properly declaring to parliament the amount that is injected into the fund, the minister faces up to ten years in prison.
How much money is in the NRF?
schedule gazetted on February 6, 2024.
This formula will be applied every time the government intends to withdraw finances from the NRF. When Guyana begins to earn more than $5 billion in any given year, only 10% of those revenues can be extracted and transferred to the Consolidated Fund. These funds are budgeted for and announced at the beginning of every year and cannot exceed the amounts stipulated in the law, except during national emergencies.
How is the money safeguarded against misuse?
It is important to note that no money can be withdrawn from the account without parliamentary approval. This approval ensures that each reason for expenditure is interrogated, and a detailed breakdown must be given to any parliamentarian who asks for that information to be made public.
This information is placed in the parliament’s Hansard and detailed in each volume of the Consideration of Estimates and Expenditures produced by the Ministry of Finance.
Not only is Guyana’s oil money subjected to intense scrutiny from the National Assembly, but it is also thoroughly audited by the Auditor General’s Office at the end of the fiscal year. This is detailed in Guyana’s current Fiscal Management and Accountability Act.
To ensure the average citizen is continuously informed about our oil proceeds, receipts are published regularly on the Bank of Guyana’s
As previously mentioned, withdrawals from the Fund can also be used to finance essential projects that are directly linked to mitigating the effects of a major natural disaster. Further, a significant sum is saved for the future, an effort the government says will ensure generational wealth.
How are Guyanese benefitting from these revenues?
further their studies through the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) in bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes. Also, with an injection of more than $1.1 billion, another thirteen thousand persons have been trained in technical and vocational areas, such as welding and fabrication, heavy-duty equipment operation, carpentry, and masonry, among others.
According to the first quarterly report of 2025, along with the most recent receipt for the month of April produced by the Bank of Guyana, a total of GYD 677 billion is currently in the NRF account. A significant portion of the amounts in the account has been accumulated through the ‘safe investment mechanisms’ outlined in the NRF Act. Since its inception, the fund has generated approximately GYD 58.4 billion in interest.
Where does the money go?
According to the Act, withdrawals from the Fund shall be transferred to the Consolidated Fund and expended for only two purposes: national development priorities and a national emergency. The national development priorities include any initiative aimed at realising an inclusive green economy.
Based on the trajectory of the country’s large-scale development projects, this ranges from physical infrastructural endeavours such as the new Demerara River Crossing to social programmes like the ‘part-time job’ initiative.
Further, the current administration has already linked its national development priorities to those found in Guyana’s National Development Strategy, the Poverty Reduction Strategy, and the Expanded Low-Carbon Development Strategy. These include new highways, bridges, climate-resilient sea defences, direct cash transfers, support to ensure the growth of small and medium-sized businesses, and targeted investments to catapult educational opportunities.
Already, the government has deployed more than $800 billion from the account from 2022 to 2025. These revenues have allowed for an injection into the highly anticipated Gas-to- Energy project. This project has seen a direct injection of more than G$178 billion before any foreign financing was secured.
For the first time in decades, the University of Guyana will be offering free educational programmes, tipping the annual government subvention to more than $13 billion, up from around $4 billion. This is in addition to the abolishing of fees for all technical institutes across the country.
Since 2020, the government has paid for more than 28,000 Guyanese to
Guyanese will also soon benefit from twelve modern, state-of-the-art healthcare institutions being constructed across the country, which will see less congestion at existing hospitals. Each hospital will cost approximately $7 billion and will benefit from thousands of trained nurses, lab technicians, doctors, pharmacists, and others. Schools are also being constructed across the country, as Guyana pushes towards achieving universal secondary education. These projects are now fully documented on a website and can be found at https://v5.education.gov.gy/all/ Investments in education and healthcare are critical for the alleviation of poverty in Turn to page 21
Guyana celebrates International Day of Yoga with focus on health, unity & partnership
By Shaniya Harding
CALM, relaxation and healthy living were some of the guiding themes being highlighted at this year’s celebration of the International Day of Yoga. Hosted on Saturday morning at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, the event was celebrated under the theme, ‘Yoga for One Earth, One Health’.
The event was spearheaded by the High Commission of India and the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre, in collaboration with the United Nations, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport.
This year marked the 10th anniversary of the global celebration, and the joint hosting of the event in Guyana reflected more than just shared appreciation for yoga; it showcased the strengthening of partnerships across borders and sectors.
Giving the keynote address, Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, emphasised not only yoga’s relevance in health and wellness but also the wider ties between Guyana and India.
Highlighting developments in the health sector such as the increased busi-
ness between Guyana and India and Indian pharmaceuticals now being avail-
able in Guyana, Minister Anthony shared, “When Prime Minister Modi visited us some time last year, we were very pleased to sign a number of agreements in health, which now allows Indian pharmaceuticals to be available in Guyana, and a number of other things that will be beneficial to our population.
“We've also more recently had several Indian companies who came here, and we will be doing more business with those companies, including renowned Apollo Hospital chain. And one of the things that we'll be doing with Apollo is to extend post-graduate education for a number of our healthcare workers here in India.”
While discussing the value of yoga as a tool for personal and public health, Minister Anthony also praised the collaborative origins of the international observance.
“We must thank the Government of India. Ten years ago, working with the
ger life, but if the last 20 or 30 years of that long life is one where you're dealing with different ailments, then that's perhaps not the quality of life that you would like.”
India’s High Commissioner to Guyana, Dr. Amit Telang, also addressed the gathering and reinforced the spirit of global partnership and unity.
United Nations in establishing this International Day of Yoga. Yoga might be a very ancient art, but it's one that has been tested over time and has been proven to improve health and vitality of all who practise it. And today, more than ever, as we strive to fight against chronic health and communicable diseases, yoga is one of those ways in which we do it.”
He urged attendees to incorporate yoga into their everyday lives, noting its relevance for mental well-being in a chaotic world. “In a world where we have so much chaos every day, so much things to worry about, yoga is one way in which we can calm our minds,” he said.
The Health Minister also pointed out the broader value of yoga in terms of longevity and quality of life, saying, “Every country also aspires to have the citizens of their country live longer and healthier lives. But what we're seeing now is we see that you might have a lon-
“As we celebrate the 10th anniversary of International Day of Yoga, let us recollect that, in 2014, with an unprecedented support extended by almost all the member countries of the United Nations, 21st of June
was declared as the International Day of Yoga. It is my esteemed honour that this year we are celebrating the International Day of Yoga here in Guyana, not only in the presence of all of you, but with the support of the United Nations and the CARICOM Secretariat.” Participants and attendees also heard from representatives from the United Nations as well as the CARICOM secretariat before they were guided through a yoga
session by Mohit Mann, Suchitra Patel and Narissa Mohamed.
More than 200 Guyanese and yoga enthusiasts came out Saturday morning at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall for a guided yoga session with Mohit Mann, Suchitra Patel and Narissa Mohamed (Yohan Savory photos)
India’s High Commissioner to Guyana, Dr. Amit Telang
Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony, participated in the yoga session
UG student working to solve real-world problems
--Launches AI platform that answers legal queries, connects citizens to lawyers
By Trina Williams
At just 21 years old, Rolex Alexander, a second-year computer science student at the University of Guyana (UG), has developed an innovative AI-powered platform that can reshape how ordinary citizens interact with Guyana's legal system.
Driven by a personal experience, Alexander developed “Law Search”, which aims to simplify legal queries while simultaneously empowering citizens with knowledge of their constitutional rights.
In a recent interview with the Sunday Chronicle, Alexander said that the inspiration for the groundbreaking platform stemmed from a relative’s plight. He explained that his cousin was issued a number of traffic tickets and had a short time slot to defend himself.
Despite being a tedious task, he said his cousin went
online and searched for the particular laws and other requisites needed to defend himself. This experience highlighted an evident problem for Alexander: how widely dispersed legal resources are online, making it difficult for the ordinary person to pinpoint the relevant information.
“So, my thought behind it is that if we can go on Google and search all the laws, which is like actually separated across various sources, and gain insight enough-why not get all the laws, the Constitution of Guyana, and put it in one unified platform, where all citizens can essentially get the information they need at their fingertips,” Alexander said.
The university student then decided to channel his expertise and build a platform powered by cutting-edge AI. This led to the birth of Law Search, which, according to Alexander, aggregates legal
documents, including Guyana’s Constitution, breaking them into searchable, digestible parts.
While the legal language can be a bit tricky, the AI platform allows users to ask legal queries using plain language and receive results that are accurate and actionable.
“So, when you search your normal question, it will rewrite it in the form of a structured legal query…for the underlying system to give you better results that are more accurate and meet the needs of what you're actually searching for,” Alexander explained.
As technology continues to rapidly evolve, there is a common fear over privacy and security. However, the innovative ‘Law Search’ platform is flipping this script, promising airtight protection in the age of digital vulnerability, all while adhering to the highest standards.
The university student
firmly stated: “We don't store your data or anything, and there is no export or using third-party services to actually do the processing of your data.
That way, everything is currently in-house and anonymised, so you have the highest security. You don't have to worry about privacy and so on.
“Everything is just right there, adhering to the highest standards.”
The platform also connects users with lawyers, providing a simple pathway to accessing professional help. This groundbreaking AI platform is about making the law accessible and actionable for everyone, Alexander explained.
Alexander envisions his platform as a game-changer, especially as Guyana continues its unprecedented growth.
“So, in the next five years, ten years, I see Law
Search being like the go-to place for actually accessing legal insight and then proceeding to finding the correct lawyer to actually suit your legal context, your situation.
In terms of the growth of the platform, I see it enabling Guyanese citizens to be more knowledgeable of the constitution, and it will help them with their day-to-day legal questions and help them navigate in their professional work,” Alexander posited.
Since its soft launch, the platform has attracted significant attention. “One of my goals is actually to continue to create platforms like these, AI platforms that can impact and solve real-world problems.”
Also, to expand the platform’s reach, Alexander is inviting Guyana’s legal professionals to join. A promo code is also being offered for the first 50 users- three months of free usage.
The promo code is: “LAWYERPROMO1M”
‘Buddy’s’ to break ground on US$25M Shoreline Mall at Enmore
BUDDY’S Housing Development, on Saturday, announced a US$25 million investment to its growing portfolio of mega projects in Guyana, through the introduction of Shoreline Mall – a new commercial and lifestyle centre at Enmore on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD).
The development, which spans 300,000 square feet and is expected to become a major commercial hub, offering a mix of retail, entertainment, dining, and professional services, will complement Shoreline Estates - an exclusive 89-unit condominium project at the same location.
Conceptualised as more than just a shopping centre, Shoreline Mall will feature a wide variety of outlets including a large supermarket, full-service pharmacy, home goods and furniture stores, fashion and footwear retailers, beauty and wellness shops, as well as mobile and electronics providers.
A press release from the company noted that the development also caters to service-based businesses, with spaces for banks, insurance companies, telecom agencies, salons, spas, courier services, and more. Dining options will include a full food court with international franchises, dine-in restaurants, cafes, dessert bars, and plans for a rooftop or terrace lounge.
The press release further noted that entertainment facilities will feature a modern movie theatre, an arcade or play zone for children, and
An artist’s impression of the $US25M Shoreline Mall
space for events and private functions. A bowling alley and gym are also under consideration.
It was further noted that office space will be available for professionals, startups, and business process outsourcing (BPO) companies. Coworking areas and meeting rooms are included in the design, making the space attractive to entrepreneurs and remote teams. According to the Managing Director of Buddy’s Housing Development, Shoreline Mall is being constructed to international standards, drawing inspiration from modern commercial centres in Toronto and other North American suburbs.
The layout focuses on ac-
cessibility, safety, and comfort, and aims to promote integrated community living through its direct connection to Shoreline Estates. “Buddy’s Housing Development has built a reputation for delivering high-quality real estate projects across Guyana, including condominiums, staff housing, and commercial spaces.
Past successes such as Shoreline Estates and Atlantic Towers have added notable value to the local real estate landscape,” the press release noted.
With more than 300 dedicated parking spaces, the mall is expected to attract shoppers and visitors from across the East Coast and wider regions.
The developer sees the project as a driver of job creation and a much-needed source of modern infrastructure for surrounding com -
munities.
Businesses interested in securing space at what is set to become one of Guyana’s top commercial locations are encouraged to contact Buddy’s Housing Development at (+592) 623-2483 or email info@buddysguyana. com.
Landmark surgery gives woman new lease on life
SETTING the benchmark for orthopaedic care in Guyana, the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) and the Chinese Medical Team recently performed a life-changing surgery. Last October, Jenny Persaud (pseudonym) faced a grim prognosis after a severe comminuted fracture of the left acetabulum from an accident, which left her struggling to walk.
The injury posed complex challenges, according to the Chinese Medical Team; the acetabulum's unique bone structure demanded precise anatomical reduction, strategic screw placement, and minimal blood loss - hallmarks of extremely difficulty hip surgery.
The surgical team was led by Dr. Wang Fei, the member of the 20th China Medical Team for Guyana and Dr. David Murrillo, the orthopaedic consultant of GPHC and local surgeon. The surgical team innovatively adopted a lateral rectus abdominis approach, achieving successful re -
duction and fixation of the fracture through an incision of less than 20 cm.
“Compared with the traditional surgical method, which requires two incisions with a total length of about 50 cm, this approach is not only minimally invasive and aesthetically pleasing but also significantly reduces patient trauma, facilitating postoperative recovery,” Dr. Wang Fei noted.
Meanwhile, Dr. Murrillo praised the collaboration: “Dr. Wang's mastery of minimally invasive techniques was transformative. His real-time mentorship on critical steps will enable me to perform similar surgeries independently in the future.”
GPHC Orthopaedics Director, Dr. David Samaroo, confirmed that this incision for acetabulum fracture is a first in Guyana. Persaud now walks unaided, returning to GPHC for follow-ups.
“I owe my mobility to their skill,” she said.
Thanks to the continuous deepening of medical co-operation between Guyana and China, the exchange and collaboration between
medical personnel of the two countries have been continuously strengthened.
An increasing number of advanced treatment concepts and medical technologies are taking root in Guyana, enabling the people of Guyana to benefit from them.
Dr. Wang Fei (middle), Dr. Elliot (right), and Dr. David Murillo (left) during surgery
Police arrest trio in New Star Backdam double murder
THREE suspects have been arrested in connection with the brutal double murder of 24-year-old Mark Thomas and Wendy James, both residents of the Barama River, Baramita, North West District (NWD), Region One (Barima-Waini).
The alleged killings occurred on June 16, 2025, at New Star Backdam, NWD.
Police identified the suspects as Kizzian Baird, a Guyanese woman of mixed ancestry, and Junior Richmond, called ‘Po-Pal’, along with Ewart Wilson, both male Guyanese
of African descent.
According to a police statement, the suspects fled the area following the incident.
“The suspects… fled from their residences after committing the act,” the police reported.
In response, ranks from Regional Police Division #1 launched an extensive search of the New Star Backdam area between June 16 and June 19, 2025.
The effort led to the successful capture of all three suspects, who were discovered “in various hiding spots within the Backdam region.”
Police have since conducted both video and audio interviews with the suspects. In addition, eyewitnesses
have come forward to provide sworn statements.
“Witnesses have provided written statements confirming the suspects’ involvement in the acts,” the statement added. The suspects remain in custody as the investigation continues.
A post-mortem examination for both victims is scheduled for Monday, June 23, 2025, at Port Kaituma. The police have not yet disclosed a motive behind the killings.
Int’l timber organisation bids farewell to James Singh, a ‘forest champion’
THE International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) has bid farewell to a champion of the world’s forests and a visionary leader, James Singh. His passing marks the end of an era for both Guyana and the international forestry sector, the organisation emphasised.
After a lifetime of extraordinary service and standing as a beacon of hope and integrity in the forestry sector, the ITTO, in a tribute, remembers the life of the former Commissioner of Forests, Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) and his impact regionally and internationally.
During his tenure, Singh was involved in significant forestry governance initiatives, including leading Guyana’s negotiations with the European Commission on the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA).
His leadership was recognised by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the GFC Board for his contributions to improving forest governance and coordination among government agencies. Beyond his administrative role, Singh also served as
Chairman of the Latin American and Caribbean Forest Commission.
The tribute noted that during his time as Commissioner, Singh represented Guyana at the ITTO with integrity and distinction. Standing as a trusted voice, advocating tirelessly for producer countries and their unique perspectives, the tribute reflects on his efforts in shaping global policies and programmes that tackle forest conservation.
Singh was instrumental in fostering dialogue and co-operation among stakeholders in forestry, the ITTO said. Even after retiring due to illness, he continued to represent Guyana at ITTO meetings.
This, according to the organisation showed his enduring commitment to forestry, even in challenging times.
“Mr Singh’s passing is a tremendous loss to the global forestry community.
His legacy of commitment, wisdom, and humanity will continue to inspire all who work for the sustainable management of the world’s forests. We extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends, colleagues, and the people of Guyana.”
ITTO hailed James Singh as a ‘forest chamption’
APNU’s sudden U-Turn: Now vows youth empowerment after years of neglect
AFTER building its 2015 campaign on similar promises and having a tenure in office marred by unfulfilled commitments, the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) stands before the nation, once again, presenting a grand vision for the youth of Guyana.
This time, the APNU is promising a National Youth Empowerment Scheme,
which, according to them, is aimed at empowering the youths of Guyana. While this bold promise may sound compelling and ambitious, for those familiar with the coalition’s record from 20152020, the promises sound hollow as they did in 2015.
Back then, the APNU vowed to transform the lives of young people with job creation, youth represen -
tation in governance, and development programmes to empower them. But the reality that followed told a completely different story.
During a Friday press conference, Leader of the APNU, Aubrey Norton, said his party believes the youth must not only lead themselves but also be trained to do so.
“In this regard, the APNU
will establish a National Youth Leadership Training Programme and the development of national youth training centres in all Regions of Guyana. The National Youth Empowerment Scheme is aimed at empowering the youth of Guyana,” he promised.
One of the first blows to youth empowerment by the APNU+AFC’s term in office came with the downgrading of the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sport to a mere department within the Ministry of Education. This reduced its autonomy and budget allocations for youth empowerment programmes.
But now, Norton is promising that the APNU will empower national athletes, telling them they will earn a liveable income and full sponsorship when they represent Guyana. Youth representation under the APNU+ Alliance For Change (AFC) government also suffered. Despite initial pledges to elevate young voices, the APNU+ AFC coalition government in Guyana from 2015 to 2020 took several
actions which resulted in youth marginalisation.
“The APNU does not see the youth as a problem; we see them as a resource to develop. It is to this end we will develop a programme to ensure that the youth as a human resource will be developed,” Norton said on Friday last.
But during its time in office from 2015-2020, youth employment programmes, especially those servicing hinterland communities, were disbanded or replaced, limiting opportunities for young people in those areas. Youth also bore the brunt of unemployment following the closure of the call centre in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), under the APNU+AFC administration. This decision led to job losses for over 100 young people.
These past failures have fuelled widespread skepticism toward APNU’s 2025 promises, which mirror the unfulfilled pledges of 2015, marked by inaction, stagnation, and broken commitments.
Police arrest trio in New Star Backdam double murder
THREE suspects have been arrested in connection with the brutal double murder of 24-year-old Mark Thomas and Wendy James, both residents of the Barama River, Baramita, North West District (NWD), Region One (Barima-Waini).
The alleged killings occurred on June 16, 2025, at New Star Backdam, NWD. Police identified the suspects as Kizzian Baird, a Guyanese woman of mixed ancestry,
and Junior Richmond, called ‘Po-Pal’, along with Ewart Wilson, both male Guyanese of African descent.
According to a police statement, the suspects fled the area following the incident.
“The suspects… fled from their residences after committing the act,” the police reported.
In response, ranks from Regional Police Division #1 launched an extensive search of the New Star Backdam area
between June 16 and June 19, 2025.
The effort led to the successful capture of all three suspects, who were discovered “in various hiding spots within the Backdam region.”
Police have since conducted both video and audio interviews with the suspects. In addition, eyewitnesses have come forward to provide sworn statements.
“Witnesses have provided written statements confirming
Young woman dies after crashing car into trench
POLICE have launched an investigation into an accident that claimed the life of a 22-year-old woman in the early hours of Friday, June 20, on the No. 7 Public Road, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).
The deceased has been identified as Stacy Walton of Alexander Street, New Amsterdam. She was driving motor car #PAG 2279, which is owned by Alfred De Jonge of New Amsterdam.
According to the police, preliminary enquiries revealed that Walton had been drinking before getting behind the wheel. “The driver of the car was imbibing earlier in the evening,” the police statement said. She later proceeded west along the southern drive lane of the No. 7 Public Road.
While driving, Walton reportedly lost control of the vehicle, which careened off the road and ended up in a trench on the southern side. The police confirmed that she was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.
The submerged car was later spotted by public-spirited citizens who pulled the unconscious driver from the vehicle and rushed her to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital. However, Walton was pronounced dead on arrival by a doctor on duty.
Her body has since been taken to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital mortuary, where it is awaiting a post-mortem examination. The police said investigations are ongoing.
Natural Resource Fund 101:
What every Guyanese should know
From page 11 countries around the world, as found in research published in the British Journal of Economics Management and Trade.
While these investments are being made for the longterm prosperity of people, the government has also considered the immediate needs of people with several short-term grants being delivered to different categories of citizens, as well as a universal cash grant of
$100,000 (approximately US$500) for every adult.
Essentially, the government’s management of the NRF has been hailed by credible multilateral institutions and other international organisations alike for one particular reason – its commitment to transparency and accountability.
“The NRF Act 2019— replaced by the NRF Act 2021 that strengthened accountability and transparency—established a
the suspects’ involvement in the acts,” the statement added. The suspects remain in custody as the investigation continues.
A post-mortem examination for both victims is scheduled for Monday, June 23, 2025, at Port Kaituma. The police have not yet disclosed a motive behind the killings.
sovereign wealth fund to delink public spend ing from volatile natural resource revenues, ensure that such revenues do not lead to a loss of economic competitiveness, fairly transfer natural resource wealth across generations, and finance national development priorities or emergency expenditures associated with a major natural disaster,” the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in its latest report.
Dead: Stacy Walton
SOUTH AFRICA RACING TIPS
GREYVILLE
08:05 hrs Quinns Tale
08:40 hrs Hat’s Queen
09:15 hrs Disting
09:50 hrs Cherry Ano
10:25 hrs Actor 11:00 hrs Miss Paget
ENGLISH RACING TIPS
FFOS LAS
09:30 hrs D Day Major Winter
10:00 hrs Blenheim Lad
10:30 hrs Magnetite
11:05 hrs Hunky Dory
11:40 hrs Scenario
12:15 hrs Three Yorkshiremen
HEXHAM
09:18 hrs Malangem
09:48 hrs Beny Nahar Road
10:18 hrs Man Of Action
10:50 hrs Maggies Boy 11:25 hrs Marty McFly 12:00 hrs Feach Amach
PONTEFRACT
09:10 hrs Bleep Test
09:40 hrs Roman Secret
10:10 hrs Liber Power
10:40 hrs Karmology
11:15 hrs Surrey Fire
11:50 hrs Rare Change
12:25 hrs Style Of Life
Wickramasinghe, Dhananjaya power Sri Lanka Emerging past
WI Academy
ST JOHN’S, Antigua, (CMC) – Ahan Wickramasinghe struck an impressive century and opener Nipun Dhananjaya scored a half century as Sri Lanka Emerging Players strolled to an easy five-wicket victory over the West Indies Academy in the opening 50-over match at North Sound on Saturday.
Wickramasinghe made 103, while Dhananjaya scored 88, as the visitors comfortably overhauled WI Academy’s total of 237 in 46.2 overs, finishing on 238 for five off 39.4 overs at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. The two batters shared a match-winning partnership of 155 after coming together following the loss of three wickets
Pacer Nathan Edward had earlier claimed the wickets of Shevon Daniel and Sohan de Livera, while McKenny Clarke dismissed Sahan Kasala for 19, to leave Sri Lanka 71 for three in the 14th over. But Wickramasinghe and Dhananjaya turned the match in their side’s favour, scoring at over six runs an over to wrestle the initiative away from the WI Academy.
By the time leg spinner Micha McKenzie finally broke the partnership to dismiss Dhananjaya after he had faced 125 balls and hit seven fours and two sixes, Sri Lanka required just 12 more runs for victory. Following his dismissal, Wickramasinghe brought up his century by hitting Joshua Bishop for two consecutive boundaries and looked set to carry his side over the finish line.
But he was needlessly run out by Edward with two runs needed, to end a wonderful counter-attacking innings in which he faced 79 balls and hit 10 fours and two sixes. Edward was the Academy’s best bowler with 2-44.
Earlier, Ackeem Auguste, Carlon Bowen-Tuckett and Rivaldo Clarke all smashed half centuries for the WI Academy. Auguste top-scored with 66, Bowen-Tuckett made 55 and Clarke 51, but apart from a partnership of 88 between Auguste and Bowen-Tuckett, the home side lost wickets at regular intervals. From a relatively stable position of 220 for six in the 44th over, WI Academy lost their last four wickets for 17 runs in the space of three overs. Traveen Matthew (3-40) and Garuka Sanketh (3-45), led the way with the ball for Sri Lanka.
Sunday, June 22nd, 2025
wickets
wickets
Ahan Wickramasinghe scored 103 for Sri Lanka Emerging Players against West Indies Academy in the first 50-over match.
Pope makes gutsy century before Bumrah late show
• From Page 32
England are 262 adrift of India’s 471, a total that should have been much greater.
(Scores: First Rothesay Test, Headingley (day two of five)
India 471: Gill 147, Pant 134, Jaiswal 101; Stokes 2-66, Tongue 4-86.England 209-3: Pope 100*, Duckett 62; Bumrah 3-48
Despite Rishabh Pant completing a thrilling century, the tourists lost their last seven wickets for 41 runs. Captain Ben Stokes and Josh Tongue claimed four wickets apiece.
Under a brooding sky - play was held up for 40 minutes by rain - England were faced with the threat of Bumrah, who promptly had Zak Crawley caught at slip.
Bumrah was electrifying, but England dug in through a stand of 122 between Ben Duckett and Pope. Duckett was dropped off Bumrah, Pope edged the same bowler through the slips.
Duckett fell for 62 to Bumrah’s second spell, in which Pope was dropped at third slip by Yashasvi Jaiswal on 60.
In the evening sunshine, Root overturned being given lbw. Bum-
rah was summoned for one more spell. Though he could not prevent Pope’s milestone, he snatched the bigger prize of Root.
Incredibly, there was still time for Harry Brook to be caught off a Bumrah no-ball. It was a heart-stopping end to an engrossing day.
England fightback has makings of Headingley classic
England were flattened on the opening day, forced to chase leather after gifting away the advantage of winning the toss.
Resuming on 359-3, India should have batted England out of the contest and then unleashed Bumrah late on.
Instead, the tourists offered a route back in with loose dismissals and dropped catches, and England, chiefly Pope, played well enough to grab the opportunity. Their batting was sensible, rather than cavalier, yet the hosts still scored in excess of four an over.
The conditions in which England had to start their innings, ideal for bowling, further highlighted just how good Friday had been for batting. When Bumrah had the ball, every delivery was an event and on another day he could have had an even bigger haul.
For all the talk of the toss and Bumrah’s brilliance, England have a foothold in the match. On a sluggish pitch that looks full of runs, the home side may be vindicated in a fourth-innings chase.
For now, India retains the upper hand through their lead and the presence of Bumrah. It could turn into a classic.
Pope ends number three debate for now
Despite a modest record against India, the most important innings of Pope’s Test career - 196 in Hyderabad - downed the same opponents 18 months ago.
Given the debate around his place, the match situation and the threat of Bumrah, this was the best hundred he has made at home. It was the Surrey man’s third in successive home Tests and his ninth overall.
Pope’s strength, scoring behind square on the off side, was also a vulnerability. He edged Bumrah between third slip and gully on 10, then should have been caught by Jaiswal.
Duckett had 15 when he cut Bumrah to point, the chance spilled by the usually reliable Ravindra Jadeja. Reprieved, Duckett drove
Konstas battles nerves as Test journey begins
FOR Sam Konstas, the biggest challenge in his early taste of Test cricket wasn’t the batting - it was managing the emotion of playing in front of a huge crowd at the MCG last December. At just 19, he is learning to steady his breath, trust his game, and find calm in the chaos of the international stage.
“It was my first few Test matches, and the emotions probably got to me with the crowd,” Konstas told reporters in Barbados, reflecting on his debut series against India which started with his 60 off 65 balls at the MCG. “But having a bit of time off to reflect and strengthen my game has helped.”
Konstas is a confirmed starter for Australia’s first Test against West Indies in Bridgetown, beginning June 25, with selectors announcing he and Josh Inglis will
return to the side. Marnus Labuschagne was dropped while Steven Smith was ruled out with a dislocated finger.
This will be his third Test cap after not playing in Sri Lanka, where Travis Head opened in a tactical switch, and narrowly missing out on the XI for the World Test Championship final when Labuschagne was promoted.
With a week to prepare for the Barbados Test after landing in the Caribbean, Konstas spoke about his personal diary, which he started at school, becoming a key tool to revisit the basics.
“The diary’s been important,” Konstas, who has Test cap No. 468 tattooed on his forearm, said. “Just reflecting on games, going back to my checkpoints, especially when you’re overseas. It helps me get grounded again.”
He also credited much of his early learning to the senior players in the Australian squad.
“I’m just trying to control my breath and have a good relationship with my batting partner to talk about things and how to go through, especially heated moments, when the game changes,” he said.
It is expected that Konstas, who is favoured to open although the batting order has yet to be confirmed, will have all three Tests against West Indies to try and bed himself into the side ahead of the Ashes later this year after a period where Australia have had a revolving door of openers since David Warner’s retirement.
After the first Test in Bridgetown, the series will move to Grenada for the second Test from July 3 and then to Jamaica for the third Test from July 12. (ESPN Cricinfo)
through the covers and pulled anything fractionally short.
Batting looked much more straightforward when Bumrah was out of the attack and Duckett fell via an inside edge when he returned. His replacement, Root, was given leg before to Mohammed Siraj on seven, only for the review to show it was missing leg stump.
Bumrah began his third spell. Pope, on 99, inside edged a single and leapt in celebration. Headingley had barely settled when Root was drawn into a poke to first slip and departed for 28.
In the final over, Brook inexplicably tried to pull Bumrah and miscued to mid-wicket. He was saved by umpire Chris Gaffaney raising his arm to signal the third no-ball of the over.
India leave runs out there
Given their first-day platform, India had the opportunity to push for 550 or even more. England’s anonymous first hour, when Stokes chose to delay his own entry into the attack, gave no clue of the collapse to come.
Pant, resuming on 65, planted off-spinner Shoaib Bashir for six. When he repeated the dose, this time with one hand off the bat,
Sam Konstas didn’t get into the XI for the WTC final
the left-hander reached his second Test ton since a life-threatening car crash in December 2022. Ever the showman, he celebrated with a somersault.
India were in complete control until captain Shubman Gill, who added 20 to move to 147, needlessly clipped Bashir to Tongue at deep mid-wicket. From then on, the visitors fell apart.
When Stokes finally brought himself on in the 12th over of the day, he again looked a threat with pace, a full length and swing. Karun Nair, in his first Test innings for eight years, drove to the flying Pope at short cover for a four-ball duck.
Tongue was poor on day one and ignored until 18 minutes before lunch on day two. He found the same movement as Stokes and got the crucial wicket. Pant, who should have been stumped by Jamie Smith off Bashir, was befuddled into leaving a Tongue in-swinger that trapped him lbw.
The clouds gathered, the floodlights came on and the lower-order did not resist. Shardul Thakur edged Stokes behind, Bumrah edged to second slip off Tongue, who then bowled both Jadeja and Prasidh Krishna. England took the last seven wickets in 68 balls. (BBC Sport)
Pacers push Thunder to Game 7 decider
The NBA Finals will be decided by a winner-takesall game seven for the first time in nine years after the Indiana Pacers defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 108-91 in game six to level the series.
A fine attacking display from the Pacers, which included 20 points for Obi Toppin off the bench, stopped the Thunder from claiming the Championship in Indianapolis.
Star player Tyrese Haliburton, who struggled in game five because of a calf injury, passed a late fitness test before tip-off and managed 14 points, five assists and two steals in 22 minutes of play.
“We just wanted to protect our court,” Haliburton said.
“We didn’t want to see those guys celebrate a championship on our home floor. Backs against the wall, we just responded.
“So many different guys chipped in. It was a whole team effort. I’m really proud of this group.”
The victory means the NBA finals will go to game
seven for the first time since 2016, when the Cleveland Cavaliers won their first Championship with a 4-3 series win against the Golden State Warriors.
The Thunder will host game seven on Monday (01:00 BST) but will need a much-improved performance to win their first Championship in Oklahoma City. Their only previous NBA title came as previous incarnation, the Seattle Supersonics, in 1979.
Shai Gilgeous-Alex -
ander, the newly-crowned Most Valuable Player, top scored for the Thunder with 21 points.
“Credit Indiana,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “They earned the win. They outplayed us for most of the 48 minutes. They went out there and attacked the game.”
Monday’s game will mark the 20th time the NBA Finals have gone to game seven, with the home side in the decider triumphing 15 times.
Soca Warriors escape with draw against 10-man Haiti
TEXAS, United States, (CMC) – Trinidad and Tobago were lucky to earn a point against Haiti in their crucial CONCACAF Gold Cup match after escaping with a 1-1 draw here at the Shell Energy Stadium in Houston on Thursday night.
With the score tied, Haiti’s Mondy Prunier missed an 86th-minute spot kick after Wilguens Paugain drew a penalty on the edge of the box.
Given the perfect opportunity to put his side in the lead in the dying minutes, Prunier skied his shot over the bar, much to the delight of his opponents.
It would have been a much-deserved win for Haiti, who was reduced to 10 men in the 39th minute after Jean-Kevin Duverne was sent off with the score still 0-0 for a challenge
on Trinidad captain Levi Garcia. Despite playing the entire second half a man down, Haiti nearly doubled T&T in total shots.
In the final minutes of the first half Haiti thought they had earned a penalty, but after a lengthy wait, VAR overturned the call.
However, Haiti went ahead in the 49th minute when Frantdzy Pierrot redirected a Louicius Don Deedson cross into the back of the net. The Soca Warriors drew level courtesy of a 68th minute goal from Justin Garcia, who rose to head home from a free kick past Haiti’s custodian Johny Placide.
Both teams had chances in the final minutes of the game as they seesawed back and forth down the field, but neither could find a late winner.
C.V. Nunes clinch Essequibo title in thrilling Future Warriors final
• From Page 32
C.V. Nunes Primary’s path to the final was equally impressive. In their semi-final clash, they comfortably chased down a target of 57 runs, reaching 60-1 in just 4.3 overs.
Zach Madholall continued his excellent form, top-scoring with an unbeaten 20 runs, ably supported by Kavory Garraway (10)*. Their opponents, Fisher Primary, had posted 56-4 in their eight overs, with notable contributions from Matthew Peters (15) and Julian Singh (11).
Kaysean Doodnauth was the standout bowler for C.V. Nunes in this match, claiming an impressive 3-8 from two overs.
The other semi-final proved to be a nail-biter, a true “humdinger” as described by spectators. Mainstay Lake Primary showcased incredible resilience to defend a modest total of 37. Their success was largely due to an exceptional bowling effort from Colin Jacobs, who claimed a remarkable 3-4 from two overs, restricting Suddie Primary to 31-8.
Meanwhile, Narine ended with 60 runs to be the tournament’s leading run-scorer while Jaden Robinson of Charity Primary had five wickets, for the leading wicket-taker.
“The enthusiasm and interest from the children here today is what this tournament is all about,” Tournament Director, John Ramsingh stated.
He added, “We had fun, and today, we are all winners.” His sentiments encapsulated the spirit of participation and enjoyment that permeated the day’s proceedings.
C.V. Nunes Primary now joins Grove Primary (Demerara) and Cropper Primary (Berbice) as the county champions, setting the stage for the highly anticipated Champions of Champions tournament.
This ultimate showdown is tentatively scheduled for early August, promising another exciting display of young cricketing talent.
The tournament’s impact extends beyond the immediate competition. The Most Valuable Player from each zone – Roles Melville (Demerara), Kenny Ishmile (Berbice), and Julian Singh (Essequibo) – will have the unique
opportunity to participate in activities related to the Global Super League, which runs from July 10-18.
Furthermore, the zone champions will be invited to attend day matches, a generous gesture courtesy of ExxonMobil Guyana. The ultimate prize awaits the winning team of the Champions of Champions tournament, who will be part of the activities for the home leg of the Guyana Amazon Warriors in this year’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL), scheduled from September 6-14.
These initiatives underscore ExxonMobil Guyana’s commitment to fostering cricketing talent at the grassroots level and providing aspiring young cricketers with invaluable experiences.
Trinidad and Tobago midfielder Levi Garcia (11) and Haiti defender Jean-Kevin Duverne collide in the first half during a group stage match of the 2025 Gold Cup at Shell Energy Stadium
The Indiana Pacers have never won an NBA Championship • Getty Images
Sri Lanka salvage draw in Mathews’ farewell Test
SRI Lanka batted out 32 overs in the final session and ensured that the first Test in Galle ended in a draw. But it wasn’t a result without minor jeopardy, as Sri Lanka lost four wickets on the way before Dhananjaya de Silva and Kamindu Mendis shut up shop for good.
The teams shook hands with five overs left to play in the day, with the pair having played out 53 balls in their partnership. But reflection later on might leave Bangladesh with the one hanging question - could they have declared sooner?
• (Scores: Sri Lanka 485 (Nissanka 187, Kamindu 87, Nayeem 5-121, Mahmud 3-74) and 72 for 4 (Nissanka 24, Taijul 3-23, Nayeem 1-29) drew with Bangladesh 495 (Mushfiqur 163, Shanto 148, Litton 90, Asitha 4-86, M Rathnayake 3-39) and 285 for 6 decl (Shanto 125*, Shadman 76, Rahim 49, T Rathnayake 3-102)
Dhananjaya and Kamindu had come together after Sri Lanka had lost both Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal in quick succession, both to the excellent Taijul Islam who ended on figures of 3 for 23. But despite Taijul and Nayeem Hasan’s best efforts, it was clear the remaining six wickets would not fall before the 37 overs were up. But what if Bangladesh had a further 13 overs to play?
Valid question, but one we may never get an answer to. As things panned out, Bangladesh added 48 runs in 11 overs in the postlunch session after a roughly two-and-a-half
... It was a case of what might have been for Bangladesh who declared with 37 overs left Brits slams 98 as Windies Women go down to SA in first T20I
TAZMIN BRITS slammed a career-best 98 not out, off just 63 balls, to lead South Africa to a 50-run win in the
• (Scores: South Africa 183 for 6 (Brits 98*, Claxton 3-39) beat West Indies 133 for 6 (Glasgow 53*, Kapp 2-27) by 50 runs
There was little resistance from West Indies with either the ball or the bat, though two individual efforts stood out: Jahzara Claxton’s three top-order wickets and Jannillea Glasgow’s 53 not out from 44 balls in the second half of the chase, but it was far too little.
Asked to bat, South Africa lost captain Laura Wolvaardt and Marizanne Kapp to Claxton inside five overs, and finished the powerplay on 44 for 2, but Brits and Nadine de Klerk were already starting to go fast. The two brought up a 71-run stand for the
hour rain interruption. Sri Lanka were set a target of 296 off 37 overs - at a required rate of eight an over - if they wanted to steal an unlikely win. Those 37 overs might have been more, but the primary goal of Bangladesh continuing to bat after the rain break seemed to be for Najmul Hossain Shanto getting to his second century of the game - it was the third instance of a Bangladeshi batter scoring two centuries in the same Test, and the second time Shanto had accomplished the feat.
It took 50 deliveries after the restart for Shanto to get to the milestone, during which Bangladesh had scored just 19 runs and lost the wickets of Litton Das and Jaker Ali - both
Tazmin Brits was named Player-of-theMatch after scoring 98 from 63 balls
succumbing to the growing turn on offer, and frustration with defensive lines down leg. In the next 16 balls though, Bangladesh ransacked 28 - including a trio of sixes from Shanto down the ground off the spinners.
That those runs had come as the pitch had begun to take some pretty extravagant turn, likely down to the moisture trapped under the covers, made them even more impressive. But it also served to bring into a more critical light the pace at which Bangladesh had proceeded at the start of the day. In the hour and a bit in the morning session before the rains came, Bangladesh had seemed content to plod along at a session run rate of just 3.15. Conventional wisdom
De Klerk fell in the
21,
would have indicated the need for a minimum of two sessions to bowl Sri Lanka out, and with Bangladesh no doubt wanting a lead in excess of 300 - a run rate of five or more seemed to be the call of the day. But with Sri Lanka also happy to set defensive fields, Bangladesh - who have a had a very lean period in Tests as of late - had no desire to put valuable World Test Championship points at risk.
In hindsight, maybe even with a lead of 247 - which is what they had by the breakthe early declaration might have still been the correct option. There were 50 overs in total to play at that point, and there’s little doubt Bangladesh would have liked every one of those available to them by the end of play.
Taijul and Nayeem certainly would have, with both utilising the now stricken Galle surface much better than their Lankan counterparts. Taijul in particular was proving a handful, threatening both edges - as highlighted by the wickets of Mathews and Chandimal.
The former was caught bat-pad following an arm-ball that took the inside edge and popped up to silly point; the latter had one rip past his forward defence and peg off stump.
Earlier he had seen Lahiru Udara advancing and dragged one shorter to zip it past the edge and have him stumped. Nayeem, meanwhile, had Nissanka playing early to one, and chipping it to short midwicket.
There’s no way to say for sure how exactly the game would have panned out if the declaration had come sooner, but Taijul and Nayeem, more than most, would have loved to have found out.
(ESPN Cricinfo)
from the rest of the batters bar Chloe Tryon’s 16 in nine balls before she was run out, Brits batted through the innings, hitting nine fours and four sixes.
Faced with a target of 184, West Indies started quickly, but lost wickets quickly too. They got 47 in the powerplay, more than South Africa had, but they lost an additional wicket, including the big one of captain Hayley Matthews. And by the end of the eighth over, they were five down and gasping.
The fight came from Chinelle Henry and Glasgow in their 81-run stand for the sixth wicket, but West Indies had fallen too far behind for the partnership to have an effect on the outcome.
In any case, Henry and Glasgow couldn’t quite get going, even though they batted together for 11-and-a-half overs.
Henry’s 26 took 32 balls, and Glasgow went at a rate of 120.45, remaining unbeaten at the close, having hit five fours in her innings.(ESPN Cricinfo)
opening T20I against West Indies in Cave Hill on Friday.
third wicket in just over six overs, Brits very much the aggressor, scoring 42 of the runs in that partnership.
11th over for
Claxton again the bowler with the wicket, and though there was no major contribution
Taijul Islam got Angelo Mathews out in his last Test innings • (AFP/Getty Images)
Reggae Boyz edge Guadeloupe to stay alive in Gold Cup
IT wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t polished. But when the dust settled at PayPal Park on Friday night, Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz emerged with a hard-fought and absolutely vital 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Guadeloupe in their Concacaf Gold Cup Group C contest, as they kept their quarterfinal hopes alive.
Goals from Leon Bailey (41st) and Jonathan Russell (45+4) overturned an early lapse that allowed Thierry Ambrose (32nd) to give Guadeloupe a shock lead. But despite the final scoreline, the win did little to mask Jamaica’s glaring vulnerabilities, especially on the defensive end.
In fact, had it not been for goalkeeper Andre Blake, whose late-game heroics included a pair of clutch saves in added time, Jamaica might be sitting on a single point heading into their final group match against Panama on Tuesday. However, they now have three, the same as Guatemala, who were down 1-0 to Panama in the late contest.
The Boyz began the match with a bit more fluency and attacking rhythm than in their lacklustre opener against Guatemala.
Leon Bailey was electric early, twice denied by the woodwork—first in the 20th
Leon Bailey scored in the 41st minute
minute after he burst past his marker and got a shot past the advancing Guadeloupean keeper Brice Cognard, only to see his shot cannon off the upright. Four minutes later, he spotted Brice Cognard off his line and attempted an audacious chip from a distance, only to be denied again, this time by the crossbar.
But just as Jamaica looked to be finding their groove, disaster struck.
In the 32nd minute, Amari’i Bell conceded a needless corner, and Guadeloupe executed quickly and caught the Jamaican defence flat-footed. Ambrose got on the end of the slick passes and lashed a right-footed shot beyond Blake to give the French-speaking island a
lead completely against the run of play.
To their credit, the Reggae Boyz responded with urgency. In the 41st minute, youngster Warner Brown played a crisp pass across the top of the area for Bailey, who made no mistake this time, as he stroked a low shot into the far corner to pull Jamaica level.
Moments before the halftime whistle, Demarai Gray showed his class as he weaved past his marker on the left flank and delivered a delightful cross for Russell to rise and nod home from six yards, completing the turnaround.
If the first half was lively and promising for Jamaica, the second was anything but.
Jamaica’s cohesion unraveled. Sloppy passing, questionable decision-making, and a disjointed midfield saw them absorb relentless pressure. Guadeloupe, despite being the underdog, outshot the Boyz 15 to seven, a stat line that reflected how much they dominated the latter stages.
In the 90+1 minute, Guadeloupe nearly found the equaliser. Substitute Ange Plumain found space in the six-yard box and fired from close range, only for Blake to make a stunning pointblank save. Two minutes later, Plumain again threatened and headed home what seemed to be a dramatic equaliser, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
And still, the danger was not over, as the Boyz failed to put the game to bed in 90+7. A long ball from the back was headed on by Kaheim Dixon, sending Renaldo Cephas on his way, but he selfishly tried to score under pressure instead of passing to an open Michail Antonio.
That decision almost proved costly, as in the 90+8, Florian Davide found himself unmarked at the heart of the Jamaican penalty area. But once again, Blake stood tall as he raced off his line to smother the shot and preserve the three points. (Sportsmax)
Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj
Injured Bavuma out of Zimbabwe Tests, Maharaj to lead SA
SOUTH Africa’s title-winning captain Temba Bavuma has been ruled out of the upcoming twomatch Test series against Zimbabwe due to a left hamstring strain. Keshav Maharaj will takeover as the captain for the red-ball series starting from 28 June.
Bavuma sustained the injury during day three of the World Test Championship Final at Lord’s while batting in the second innings. He continued to bat with pain and put on a fight with a well-made half century, stitching up a match-winning partnership with Aiden Markram. Bavuma is set to undergo further scans to assess the extent of the injury, while experienced Maharaj will lead the side, which consists of five uncapped players.
The Proteas had faced Zimbabwe in a warm-up fixture, before taking on Australia for the Ultimate Test at the Home of Cricket, where they were crowned the Test champions.
Proteas will take on Zimbabwe in the first Test on Saturday, 28 June, followed by the second Test from Sunday, 06 July, with both matches taking place at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo. (ICC Media)
• South Africa Test Squad against Zimbabwe: Keshav Maharaj (c), David Bedingham, Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis, Corbin Bosch, Tony de Zorzi, Zubayr Hamza, Kwena Maphaka, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi*, Lhuan-dré Pretorius, Lesego Senokwane, Prenelan Subrayen, Kyle Verreynne and Codi Yusuf.
• Fixtures: 28 June-02 July, First Test, Bulawayo 06-10 July, Second Test, Bulawayo
Eight candidates compete for three ICC Associate CEC seats
EIGHT Associate Members (AMs) are in the fray for three positions on the Chief Executives’ Committee (CEC) of the International Cricket Council (ICC). The election will take place on July 17, the opening day of the ICC Annual Conference, which is scheduled to be held in Singapore from July 17 to 20.
Anuraag Bhatnagar of Hong Kong, Tim Cutler of Vanuatu, Sarah Gomersall of Jersey, Gurdeep Klair of Canada, Palani Gurumurhty of France, Sankar Renganathan of Sierra Leone and Stella Siale Vaea Tagitau of Samoa
besides incumbent Sumod Damodar of Botswana are the contesting candidates.
Two other incumbents, Rashpal Bajwa of Canada and Umair Butt of Denmark, have opted out of the election. The positions carry a tenure of two years each. A total of 45 Associate Members will vote to elect the three representatives, with each voter required to cast votes for three candidates in order of preference.
“The nominees contesting for the CEC are worthy opponents, in their own right, albeit two of the incumbents do not feature,”
Sumod Damodar, an experienced ICC hand, told Cricbuzz.
“As the only incumbent in the race and having served previously on CEC, I truly hope that my credentials and experience would merit the required support to achieve the desired successful outcome.”
The Indian origin administrator from Botswana, who was elected to the CEC four times before, further said, “I have always maintained that representation at any level requires unequivocal neutrality and absolute commitment to serve without any bias.
“The diversity among Associate Members is also such an exciting environment, and the efforts to unite all corners of the globe are excellent challenges. I hope to continue my efforts to voice the concerns and needs of the AMs, if given an opportunity to do so.”
Cricket confirmed for 2027 Pan Am Games
Panam Sports has confirmed the 36 disciplines for the 2027 Peru Pan American Games and one of them is cricket. The Games will be held in Lima, the capital city of Peru, from July 16 to August 1, 2027. (Cricbuzz)
Sammy: I don’t let my emotions influence my selections
ROSEAU, Dominica, (CMC) – West Indies head coach Daren Sammy has maintained that his team selection is driven by data and not emotion, and that he has no bias towards players from any region in the Caribbean.
Sammy made the comments during a recent interview on QFM Dominica, where questions were raised about the exclusion of Dominicans Kavem Hodge and Alick Athanaze for the upcoming three-match Test series against Australia.
The 26-year-old Athanaze has played 13 Tests and scored 627 runs at an average of 25.08 with four half centuries, while Hodge, 32, has scored 556 runs in 11 Test matches at an average of 25.27 with one century and three half centuries.
While both players featured in the last Test series against Pakistan in January, Sammy explained that their recent performances did not merit them a place in the West Indies’ 15-man squad.
“I had the analysts dive into the top three teams in the world and the different batting positions, what the best of the top three are doing in those different positions, the roles they are playing and then we compared them to ours and what we are doing.
“During that last Test World Championship [cycle], Kavem I think scored 500 runs at an average of 25. As Dominicans we want our players to perform well, but we must not get emotional,” Sammy said.
“If there is one thing you must know about me, coming from a small island, coming from Saint Lucia, you know you hear of the talk of the insularity and all this thing. It is one thing I will not do.
“You watch my record as a captain, as a coach now in the CPL. If it’s one place you will see every single person from the Caribbean play it is in Saint Lucia, so I don’t bring my emotions in my decision making.
“Had I done that, probably Hodge and Alick would have been there as a Windward
Islander, but that’s not how I operate. I’m here for West Indies cricket,” he further added.
Despite them being dropped, Sammy said it was not the end of their cricketing careers.
He pointed out that they had featured for West Indies ‘A’ in the recent series against South Africa ‘A’.
“If you notice, these guys just played in the ‘A’ team series, so they’ve not been discarded, just that at this moment, the direction that the team is going, the roles that we see from the data collected that is required to play, they just don’t fit that role at that moment. However, it is not the end of the road for them.
“I think we’re doing Hodge and Alick a disservice by glorifying an average of 25 in Test cricket, thinking that myself and Miles and Jamal have some personal vendetta against any player,” Sammy said.
“We are trying to create an environment that breeds success, breeds excellence and we need to keep on challenging, and it shows
Excitement builds for 8th Awards Gala and 50th Anniversary of Men’s World Cup victory
St. John’s, Antigua – CRICKET fans across the Caribbean and beyond are gearing up for a spectacular celebration as Cricket West Indies (CWI) and the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) prepare to host the 8th CWI/WIPA Awards—a dazzling gala that will not only honour today’s standout players but also pay a stirring tribute to one of the greatest triumphs in cricket history: the 50th Anniversary of the West Indies’ legendary victory at the inaugural ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in 1975.
Set against the backdrop of rich legacy and modern excellence, this year’s Awards promises to be a landmark event in West Indies cricket. The gala will shine a spotlight on the region’s finest talents across all formats—Test, ODI, and T20—and feature heartfelt recognition of the pioneering heroes who blazed a trail to glory half a century ago.
Dr. Kishore Shallow, President of Cricket West Indies, said: “This is a special celebration of present players and West Indies icons. We are ecstatic to honour our living legends while applauding the brilliance of our current stars who continue to carry the flame.”
“Fifty years ago, the West Indies team, through their triumph at the first ever ICC Men’s World Cup, ignited a movement and changed the narrative for Caribbean sport. This gala allows us to honour their legacy while celebrating the resilience and achievements of our players today.”
Fittingly, the event will feature a special tribute to the 1975 World Cup-winning team, whose iconic triumph at Lord’s remains a defining moment in world cricket. Some members of that historic squad, including Sir Clive Lloyd, Sir Vivian Richards and Sir
Andy Roberts, will be in attendance, along with the current generation of the maroon men and women.
Wavell Hinds, President of WIPA, added: “The CWI/WIPA Awards stands as a powerful reminder of the pride, passion, and perseverance that define West Indies cricket. This celebration honours, not just performance, but the relentless drive, unbreakable spirit, and enduring legacy of our players. At WIPA, we are proud to stand alongside our players — past, present, and future — in celebrating excellence on and off the field.”
The Gala will take place today at the prestigious Wyndham Grand Barbados, and will be broadcast live across regional and international platforms, including Disney+ (Caribbean and US), RUSH Sports, CVM in Jamaica, CNC3 in Trinidad and CBC in Barbados, ensuring cricket lovers from across the globe get to join in this grand celebration.
Fans can expect red-carpet glamour, heartfelt speeches, and electrifying energy as players, legends, officials, and supporters come together for a night that blends nostalgia with next-level ambition. (CWI)
where our cricket is right now, when players averaging below 35 seem undroppable in our system and that shows how poor our system is, for us to be really talking about a 25 average…that will not bring us success.”
KINGSTON, Jamaica, (CMC)
– While the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) has revealed that it will not try to block the move by four of its athletes to switch allegiance to Türkiye, it has called for the proper protocols to be followed.
On Thursday, news broke that Olympic Games men’s discus record holder Roje Stona, men’s long jump silver medallist Wayne Pinnock, men’s shot put bronze medallist Rajindra Campbell and World Under-20 triple jump record holder Jaydon Hibbert, were in the process of completing a move to the Middle East country.
However, in a release from the JAAA by its president Garth Gayle on Friday, it said while they had spoken to some of the athletes involved, they had received no official correspondence from any of them for a request to switch allegiances, as outlined by its governing body World Athletics.
“The transfer of allegiance of athletes is a process that involves the requisite national federations and requires the approval of World Athletics.
“The JAAA wishes to inform the public that, to date, it has neither been notified nor received a request for the transfer of allegiance of any of our Jamaican athletes, whether those mentioned in the referenced media reports or any others,” it said in the statement.
West Indies head coach Daren Sammy
CWI president, Dr Kishore Shallow
JAAA president Garth Gayle
Ollie Pope’s gutsy century led England’s resurgence only for Jasprit Bumrah to give India the crucial wicket of Joe Root late on day two of the first Test.
Pope, preferred to rising star Jacob Bethell at number three, repaid England’s faith with 100 not out at Headingley. The ball after Pope completed his century, Bumrah had Root caught at first slip to leave England 209-3 - all three wickets falling to the pace maestro.
• Continues on Page 27
C.V. Nunes wins thrilling Future Warriors Essequibo Final
C.V. Nunes Primary showcased a dominant performance with both bat and ball to emerge as the new champions of the Essequibo Zone in the Future Warriors Tapeball for Primary Schools tournament.
The event, powered by ExxonMobil Guyana, saw young cricketers display immense talent and sportsmanship despite persistent rain at the Anna Regina Community Centre Ground on Saturday.
The newly laid outfield at the Anna Regina Community
Centre Ground proved its worth, allowing all 16 participating teams to compete safely and with great enthusiasm.
Persistent rain did little to dampen the spirits of the young cricketers, who played with remarkable vigour and camaraderie throughout the day.
In a tightly contested final, C.V. Nunes Primary held their nerve to successfully defend a competitive total of 52-0 from their allotted eight overs.
The foundation for their total was laid by skipper
Vidal Narine, who led from the front with a well-compiled 33 runs from 30 balls, an innings that included three fours and a six.
Narine’s impressive batting set the stage for the bowlers, who then delivered a masterclass in tight bowling.
Jadan Alan (3-8) and Zach Madholall (3-9) were the chief destroyers, ripping through the opposition batting lineup to seal the championship for C.V. Nunes.
• Continues on Page 28
C.V. Nunes Primary celebrate their title success
Part of the thrilling action in the final between C.V. Nunes Primary and Mainstay Lake Primary on Saturday at the Anna Regina Community Centre ground
Ollie Pope got his second ton in as many Tests • (Getty Images)
Pant hits India’s third ton before England fight back on day two of first Test | (Flashscore.com)