Guyana Chronicle E-Paper 23-01-2022

23rd JANUARY, 2022

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$300M multi-complex mall for Soesdyke No.106613

- proposed four-storey building to have 17 rooms, 30 commercial spaces

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Described as a true ‘son of the soil’, the renowned, well-respected Guyanese businessman, Dr. Yesu Persaud, was laid to rest on Saturday following a funeral service at his East Bank Demerara home and at the Indian Monument Gardens in Georgetown (Delano Williams photos)

A giant in business development, Dr Yesu Persaud, laid to rest

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From teen mom Big boom projected Denial is to UG graduate for local another SEE PAGE

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businesses

- can earn more than US $400M from O&G

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side effect of COVID-19

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Big boom projected for local businesses

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, January 23, 2022

- can earn more than US $400M from oil and gas - Gov’t plans to spend big on training Guyanese

WITH the passage of the new Local Content law, Vice-President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has highlighted that Guyanese nationals and businesses are expected to earn more than US $400 million annually.

The Vice-President said this during a televised interview on Friday, where he also talked up the government’s plans to invest heavily in training thousands of Guyanese to guarantee that even more earnings can be secured in the future.

The new Local Content law was enacted in December 2021, and demands oil-andgas companies, their contractors and sub-contractors to hire/procure goods, services and employment from Guya-

nese companies and Guyanese nationals. Outlined in the first schedule of the Act are 40 different services that the aforementioned parties must utilise by the end of 2022.

Those 40 different services were determined after consultations with local service providers. Essentially, it outlines the level of service and the number of goods local entities can provide currently. A percentage requirement for the procurement of these goods and services by the end of 2022 has been detailed, too.

While this law has been hailed as a much-needed avenue for Guyanese to capitalise on the country’s burgeoning oil-and-gas industry, the VicePresident pointed out that the

law will directly contribute to an increase in earnings.

In fact, Dr. Jagdeo explained, “We believe that we can supply those goods and services now; this could be US$400 million to US$600 million in a year in those areas that we have carved out for our people already.”

For context, the estimated earnings highlighted by Dr. Jagdeo are expected from the provision of the services in the 40 specified areas.

By the end of 2022, 100 per cent of the services in the following areas should be from Guyanese businesses: Immigration support, custom brokerage services, ground transportation (moving personnel), and local insurance.

The other remaining areas have targets ranging from five per cent to 90 per cent, but it is expected that, over time, skills training and knowledge transfer could lead to increasing capacity, and increased local participation.

It is important to note that these earnings add to what the government is expected to receive through royalties, and from the sale of its share of the profit oil that is produced.

Guyana has already earned about US$608 million from the sale of its share of profit since production started in December 2019.

The Local Content law, however, allows for a review of the 40 sectors, over time, and the government has already signalled its intention to increase the number of sectors carved out for Guyanese, once local capacity is built.

Increasing the percentage requirements has also been alluded to.

To do that, the Vice-President said that the government has to invest in training Guyanese, especially in the more technical competencies.

“In the budget, you’re

Vice-President of Guyana, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo going to see more money for training Guyanese to ensure that they get more jobs, now we are establishing a training institute from this budget, and we have set aside money to train welders and everyone else,” the Vice- President revealed.

The budget he referred to is the 2022 National Budget.

According to a statement issued on Friday by the Ministry of Finance, that budget will be presented to the National Assembly on Wednesday, January 26.

And the Vice-President emphasised that this targeted investment in training Guyanese is part of the government’s efforts to “grow the oil and gas industry in a manner that creates more value for people.”

Previously, Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat had noted that with the

passage of the Local Content legislation, the government will continue to hold consultations on how to further strengthen the Act to the country’s benefit.

Now that the legislation has been enacted, it provides for the creation of two local content registers: At a local secretariat that will encompass Guyanese nationals to work in the new sector, and Guyanese companies that can provide goods and services as needed.

This law has been notably welcomed by members of the local private sector.

Based on reports, several of the private sector bodies will be encouraging their members (Guyanese businesses) to register at the secretariat, so that they can benefit from the procurement opportunities that will arise because of the law.

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$300M multi-complex mall for Soesdyke

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, January 23, 2022

- proposed four-storey building to have 17 rooms, 30 commercial spaces

By Navendra Seoraj LOCAL investor, Kirtis Davis has crafted an ambitious plan to construct a $300 million multi-complex mall at Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara (EBD), with the aim of transforming the commercial landscape within this massive community.

The idea for the construction of this facility, named Kings and Queens Multi-Complex Mall, was inspired by the emerging oil-and- gas sector, and an increasing demand for a high-quality, state-of-the-art facility to service the needs of persons living within the upper EBD area, and along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway.

A study done by the University of Pretoria, South Africa, had found that some of the major benefits of shopping centres are direct employment, indirect employment, and capital investment.

There is also anecdotal evidence of Guyana benefiting in the same way from the construction of shopping centres like the Giftland Mall, MovieTowne Mall and the Amazonia Mall, among others.

Cognisant that most of those facilities are situated in Georgetown, or on the outskirts of the city, Davis plans to decentralise the opportunities and benefits with the establishment of his facility.

According to a project summary seen by the Sunday Chronicle, the multicomplex mall will have 17 self-contained rooms, 30 rental spaces, a restaurant, bar and fast-food outlets.

“The name Kings and Queens Multi- Complex Mall was inspired by Mr. Davis; this adds to homely, efficient service, ambiance and welcoming atmosphere which the project was designed around,” the project summary outlines.

The facility will not only be customer-friendly, but also environmentally-friendly, since the architecture of the building was done with “a lot of emphasis” on blending it with the surroundings.

“The design process investigated the feasibility of several building types and construction materials, however, in the end, the final product was a four-storey concrete structure, with the fourth floor being an open space as a roof garden, or to be used for special functions,” the developer says.

It is unclear at this time how many jobs will be created, but, as evidenced by similar projects, there will be jobs during the construction phase, and direct and indirect opportunities upon the completion of the mall.

Unlike other private projects, which oftentimes benefit persons within and around the city, this complex will create opportunities for a dif-

An artist’s impression of the facility to be built at Soesdyke, EBD

ferent section of the population, especially those persons residing in rural communities along the upper EBD. It was reported recently that with Guyana slated for massive growth and development as a result of its burgeoning oil-and-gas sector and other productive sectors, the authorities have urged existing and potential stakeholders to look at investment opportunities outside of Georgetown, so as to ensure that advancement is widespread.

“Major developments are not for the capital city alone; we wish to see major developments in every region of the country, and within these regions, development must be widespread, and

across-the-board,” Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond had said at a ceremonial sod-turning exercise for a US$32.2 million Hyatt Place Hotel at Providence, EBD. There has been a notable increase in the number of opportunities for Guyanese, with the latest symbol of this being the approval of 48 private projects which, collectively, have the capacity to create over 2,300 jobs.

The Sunday Chronicle understands that the local economy has been a magnet for investors who have expressed an interest to invest in massive projects across the various economic sectors.

Based on information

shared with this publication, of the 48 projects which have been approved, 17 are in the services sector, 17 in the manufacturing sector, five in agriculture, four in mining, three in forestry, two in tourism, two in Information and Communications Technology, and one in the energy sector.

Those project proposals signal the growing interest and confidence in the local economy, from both Guyanese and foreigners.

Noteworthy amidst this advancement is the fact that 33 of the approved projects are from locals.

Speaking during a recent interview on Globespan, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Go-Invest, Dr. Pe-

ter Ramsaroop, said that 65 per cent of the private investments made this year were from locals.

Dr. Ramsaroop said that, even as the economy continues to grow, President Dr. Irfaan Ali, and, by extension, the government, are committed to having Guyanese benefit from the investment opportunities that are available locally.

“So, when people think the foreigners are coming in and benefitting, I can say that 65 per cent of my signatures on investment opportunities this year, through the Senior Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh, have been local businesses,” Dr. Ramsaroop said.

A giant in business development, Dr Yesu Persaud, laid to rest

President Dr. Irfaan Ali consoling family members of Dr. Yesu Persaud at the funeral service held at his Nandy Park home (Office of the President photo) DR. YESU PERSAUD, the renowned, well-respected Guyanese businessman, and philanthropist was laid

to rest on Saturday, days after he passed away. Dr. Persaud was 93 years old when he died at his East

Bank Demerara home on Monday last.

An intimate funeral service was held at his residence

in Nandy Park on Saturday morning. There, President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, hailed the businessman for his numerous contributions to the development of Guyana and thousands of Guyanese.

It was Dr. Persaud whose vision led to the creation of the Institute of Private Enterprise Development (IPED); this institute has allowed over 4000 micro, small and medium-sized entrepreneurs to access financing and kick start their businesses.

Beyond that, the Guyanese icon also spearheaded the buyout of the then stateowned Guyana Distillers Limited and transformed it into an internationally acclaimed rum producer Demerara Distillers Limited

(DDL).

“As President, his examples in life is an inspiration and motivation to me to serve people with humility, simplicity and to do so to the best of my ability,” President Ali was quoted as saying in a social media post published on the Office of the President’s Facebook page.

The President also highlighted that Dr. Persaud was “strong in his conviction” that better could be done for Guyana.

Similarly, following that funeral service, Minister of Human Services and Social Security Dr. Vindhya Persaud said that Guyana was TURN TO PAGE 5

Dr. Yesu Persaud on his wedding day

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, January 23, 2022

Education sector gets $65B boost in 18 months - Minister Manickchand says AFC’s calls for free tertiary education ‘opportunistic, hypocritical’

GUYANA’S education sector has transcended the stifling effects of the COVID-19 pandemic within the past 18 months, as a result of an injection of $65 billion by the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) into innovative, sustainable and revolutionary initiatives.

The government’s interventions were highlighted

by Education Minister, Priya Manickchand, in her scathing criticisms of the Alliance For Change (AFC), which sought to overlook the investments made by the government within a matter of months.

“I have noted the AFC’s call for the PPP/C government to provide free tertiary education particularly for students at the University of Guyana. The call is oppor-

tunistic and hypocritical. The PPP/C said in 2019 all over its campaign that there would be free university education at the University of Guyana within five years and a pathway found for those students who had already incurred debts thereat,” Minister Manickchand said in a post on her official Facebook page.

The minister contended that the PPP/C was able to accomplish more in 18 months than the former coalition government, which the AFC was a part of, was able to achieve in five years.

“During the AFC’s tenure in government, they did nothing to advance even slightly any of the calls they now hypocritically make.

All cash grants were taken away from students and they said loudly and proudly that

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introduce and train more and /or mass numbers of young Guyanese at Universities nor in technical vocational education. When the PPP/C assumed office the Cyril Potter College of Education was closed with no prospect of soon re-opening (this would mean not a single teacher would have been able to graduate this year),” Minister Manickchand lamented.

Education Minister, Priya Manickchand it was a waste of money that could not be sustained.

Basic food items, healthcare and education, water and electricity were taxed,” Minister Manickchand posited.

She added: “The procurement of textbooks for children was all but stopped, schools that were designed and funded by the PPP/C were not completed, the University was left in shambles, and nothing was done to improve same, a correction of the sewage system that has haunted the University for years was budgeted for, appropriated and awarded and took more than a year - only after the PPP/C entered office - to begin.

All civil works projects (the bursary, the pump house, the medical school) were stalled

and had gone way past their projected contractual completion date.”

Even further, Minister Manickchand said the former government did nothing to promote or foster distance education, advance virtual education for children and mass train teachers in the usage or technology to deliver education.

“I ask you to recall the blatant lies told by its senior member Cathy Hughes, both from the floor of the House as well as on television, that she had installed across the country several smart classrooms in schools where teachers, students and parents of the said schools openly and to various media houses said this was untrue.

“Nothing was done to

In further criticising the AFC, the minister said: “This political party came onto the scene with such promise, holding themselves out to be better than any who existed and as people with all the answers. Imagine the disappointment when we were all to learn visibly and forcefully that it was all a sham. Pseudo intellectualism and pseudo sophistication.

All exhibited only for the attainment of power. I remain curious as to why the AFC wanted that power. It was never to serve the people of this country and certainly not to serve the children of this nation or students in the education sector.”

This, she said, was evident throughout the AFC’s term in office with what they did and what they “failed to do” for the nation’s children.

“Things that could easily have been done. Without the need for “oil money” which the PPP/C government did in the last 18

months,” Minister Manickchand said.

Among the things the government did in those few months were the restoration and increase of the “Because We Care” cash grant and the expansion of the Guyana Learning Channel to Berbice, Bartica, Lower East Bank, Lower East Coast, West Bank Demerara and Georgetown on Atlantic Cable and ENetworks. The Guyana Learning Channel has also expanded its reach to over 100 Amerindian communities in 2021.

Other important developments within the sector included the purchase rights to two new Primary level textbooks, Social Studies Made Easy and Science Made Easy; the launch of CAPE at the Anna Regina Secondary School and the West Demerara Secondary School; text books, workbooks, past papers and material were provided to each Grade Six student in 2020 and 2021 and the free professional development arrangements with the Commonwealth of Learning and Coursera, where over 55,000 citizens, including over 8000 teachers, benefitted from a myriad of certifiable courses of study from internationally recognised institutions, among others.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, January 23, 2022

Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips on Saturday joined other government officials on a one-day visit to the village of Kurutuku in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni). The high-level team addressed several concerns and discussed areas that can benefit the people of the hinterland. Team members also made a commitment to support training initiatives for women and youths from the community, and to furnish the school, enhance the school-feeding programme, and address birth certificate issues. The residents also raised concerns pertaining to security, transportation for students, and health services, and requested that an airstrip be re-established in the community, in the hope of complementing river transportation, supporting mining operations and medical actions. Further consultations on the issues were promised

Backers of Venezuela referendum ask court to intervene with electoral commission

(Reuters) - Some supporters of an effort to remove Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from office through a referendum said on Saturday they would ask the country’s top tribunal to review signature

collection conditions set by the electoral commission.

The national electoral commission said earlier this week that three opposition groups had requested a recall vote against Maduro, which would need 4.2

million signatures of support to go ahead.

Venezuela’s constitution allows officials who have completed at least half their term to be removed from office by a vote. Maduro completed the first

three years of his second term earlier this month.

The commission - whose five-member board includes three people connected to the ruling party - said late on Friday signatures supporting the

A giant in business development, Dr Yesu...

FROM PAGE 3 bidding farewell to an “extraordinary yet humble son.”

And evidently, he contributed to that. Dr. Persaud managed to obtain a licence to start up Demerara Bank Guyana’s first and only local bank. And that was where many people were able to pay their final respects to him.

If you drove past the Camp Street, Georgetown Branch of the Demerara Bank on Saturday morning, you would be forgiven for

thinking that dozens of people were out there protesting.

Dressed in their black and white attire, those people held placards - not in any form of protest, but as part of their efforts at paying their last respects to Dr. Persaud.

There, many emotional tributes were made, forcing many to hold back tears.

But these events were only a small part of the events organised over the past week for Dr. Persaud.

On Thursday night, the Pri-

vate Sector Commission (PSC), held a night of reflections for Dr. Persaud.

“In almost every aspect of economic, commercial and industrial life, Dr. Yesu Persaud has made his mark like no other person in Guyana that I can think of,” Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, posited at that event.

During the week, the PSC also had a Book of Condolences for the busi-

nessman, allowing people to share final words about Dr. Persaud. It is important to note that the PSC is the umbrella private sector body in Guyana and Dr. Persaud was its Founding Chairman in 1992.

Dr. Persaud was awarded the Golden Arrow of Achievement for his works in developing and expanding the Distilling Industry in Guyana and the Cacique Crown of Honour for the development of new industries.

referendum can be collected during just 12 hours on Jan. 26 at only 1,200 locations. Two opposition figures - Nicmer Evans and Cesar Perez Vivas - sent a request by email for the country’s Supreme Tribunal asking it to review the commission’s decision and said in an online news conference they would use all legal means to get the referendum.

“You would have to process five voters per minute for 12 hours,” to reach the signature threshold under the rules, commission member Roberto Picon, who is close to the opposition, said on Twitter late Friday. “It’s not feasible.”

Pollsters say seven of every 10 Venezuelans would

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro

support a change in government, as the country’s economic and social collapse grinds on.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, January 23, 2022

Budget 2022 BUDGET 2022 will be presented on Wednesday, January 26. This will be the first budget to be partially financed from revenues accrued to the country from oil following the passage of legislation to allow for withdrawals from the Natural Resources Fund.

This is a welcome development which, according to Vice-president Bharrat Jagdeo will allow for more money to finance the massive capital programme of the government; the money will reduce Guyana’s reliance on borrowing. One immediate consequence of this development will be a lowering of the fiscal deficit compared to the previous years because of lower borrowing.

The reality is that the country has been spending more now with the coming on stream of bigger capital projects which had

resulted in the widening of the fiscal deficit. The early withdrawal from the Natural Resource Fund would allow for funding of development projects without resorting to massive borrowing which could otherwise result in a heavy and unsustainable debt burden as happened under the PNC regime, when the country was saddled with one of the highest per capita debts in the entire Region. In fact, the country was at one time declared as ‘uncreditworthy’ by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), thanks to reckless borrowing and poor governance by the PNC regime.

Those who are now vocal against utilising the NRF to finance critical development funds were at one time closely associated with the PNC regime, which created a virtual millstone around the necks of the Guyanese people, when over 90% of government revenues were

used to finance debt repayments and crippling interest rates. Under such a dispensation, there was hardly any fiscal space for the payment of a living wage to public servants or to meet the basic needs of the people such as access to quality education, health, housing, and water among other essential social services.

Thankfully, we have gone past that period and the country’s debts are much more sustainable today and it will only get better as more and more oil revenues begin to flow. As it currently stands, a significant amount of development financing comes from the domestic financial market, but this is likely to change as more money becomes available to government from oil-and-gas revenues.

One consequence of such a development will be a larger volume of money in the local banking system for

private-sector lending.

Currently, the NRF has a sum of U.S.$607 million, which will be used to finance developmental works in the 2022 Budget. This is likely to be the country’s biggest budget from a financing perspective and will be used to further enhance the standard of living of the Guyanese people. The 2022 Budget is in fact an annual work plan of the government within the framework of a specified financial envelope. The larger the financial envelope, the greater are the possibilities for additional developmental works so necessary to facilitate the country’s modernisation plans.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the main emphasis of the 2022 Budget will be on infrastructural development, tax reduction and the overall enhancement of the welfare and well-being of the Guyanese people.

As pointed out by Vice-president Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, the framework of the budget mirrors the commitments made in the PPP/C Manifesto to provide a better life for all Guyanese. ‘New highways, roads, investing in power grids, and ICTs; the same things that make our businesses more competitive, so we can generate more jobs and more diverse jobs in agriculture, in ICT and other areas, not just oil and gas,’ Dr Jagdeo said.

The 2022 Budget was crafted after consultations with key stakeholders, including several government agencies, members of the private sector and other civil society groupings.

These consultations were led by Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance Dr Ashni Singh. It is the third budget that will be presented by the President Dr Mohamed Irfaan

Ali-led PPP/C administration and will build on the already solid progress made over the past two years. It will be recalled that the first budget was an emergency one presented in August 2020. Several critical months were lost as a result of the refusal of the APNU+AFC coalition government to concede defeat at the March 2020 polls. The 2020 Budget, even though truncated, saw the reversal of several punitive taxes instituted by the previous regime and was followed in February 2021 with a focus on economic recovery, dynamism and resilience.

This year’s budget holds out much promise for further enhancing the quality of life of the Guyanese people, based on the visionary and pro-people orientation of President Irfaan Ali and his PPP/C administration.

Tribute to Balram Singh Rai

By Dr. Vishnu Bisram

I WRITE to condole the passing of Balram Singh Rai who died over a week ago at 102 in Oxford, England. He was formerly of Beterverwagting (BV) and also lived on Main Street, Georgetown. Rai made a huge contribution to Guyana.

He served in an executive position of the Public Service Union. Dr. Jagan recruited him into politics. Dr. Jagan would pick him up at BV and the two would go campaigning.

He helped in Dr Cheddi Jagan’s election to the colonial legislature in 1947 and to the PPP’s rise to power. He remained actively involved through 1964, serving as a legislator and minister of government. After his defeat, he left Guyana in 1970.

Rai was a very religiously devout person, an Arya Samajist. He was of the Rajput Kshatriya (Chatri) caste. People spoke fondly of his looks, wisdom, and integrity. He lived by his Hindu values, principles, and vision. He was committed to his belief. He spoke out and fought against the injustice that Hindus and Muslims faced – in public schools and in obtaining state employment.

During his tenure as a legislator, as Education and Home Affairs Minister, he worked selflessly for the welfare of the country, serving with distinction and incorruptible honesty. Under his watch, the number of Indians in the police increased as was recommended by the International Commission of Jurists. He went village to village convincing young Indians to join the force.

Under his watch as Minister of Education, Rai boldly removed mandatory Christian prayers at public schools and the requirement that to become a teacher, Hindus and Muslims had to convert to Christianity.

During the period of racial violence in the 1960s, Rai braved protesters and rioters. He won the admiration of the public.

Even critics and opponents respected him. People I spoke with said he had a magnetic, charismatic personality. Even those who opposed Rai respected and admired him. He affectionately greeted people everywhere winning over their friendship.

Rai had a fall out with Dr. Jagan and was expelled from the PPP. He founded the Justice Party that contested the December 1964 election. It was decimated.

Rai left Guyana with his wife and two sons a very disappointed person never to return. He retreated to London where he lived honourably. After his departure from Guyana, many missed his loyal friendship and erudition.

Ever since he left Guyana, Rai became an extremely private person and hardly engaged in public conversation with others on or about Guyana. He was willing to converse with Dr. Baytoram Ramharack who approached him to write his biography – a brilliant piece of work.

About a decade ago, on a visit to London, I wanted to meet and interview him for an article. Pandit Rampersaud Tiwari, formerly of Buxton, East Coast, with who Rai was close and respected, introduced me to him. Rai and his wife

Aunty Shannie agreed to entertain me at their home.

He was residing somewhere in the Ealing area, near Heathrow, a long journey from Lewisham where I was putting up. They subsequently moved to Oxford near their son’s home as Rai’s physical condition deteriorated. We spoke several times in my trips to London as well as from my home in New York. His wife, Aunty Shannie, facilitated the conversations.

BS Rai had a warm, charming, engaging personality. He spoke softly. He was a man of tremendous intellect, legal acumen, and wit. He was well ahead of his times in terms of realpolitik. He recognised and knew since the late 1950s that the West would not tolerate a leftist (socialist) government in Guyana, long before Ramharack and

I studied realpolitik.

I happened to spend some time with Fenton Ramsahoye who was a colleague of Rai in Parliament.

Fenton spoke fondly of Rai. Fenton said Rai was a man of erudition and sharp analysis. BS Rai was well read. He was very articulate on a gamut of issues. He described him as a brilliant lawyer, articulate orator, capable political strategist, and outstanding parliamentarian whose knowledge and insights of law and politics had very few parallels in then British Guiana.

Fenton noted that both Rai and himself rebuffed Burnham’s entreaties to join his government after 1965.

Rai will always be remembered for his towering legacy, transformative vision, non-racial politics, devotion to faith, and commitment to his people.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, January 23, 2022

GECOM must stop ‘pussy-footing’ and hold Local Government Elections!

Dear Editor, A SENSE of uneasiness and uncertainty still prevails concerning approaches by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to deliver on its constitutional mandate. This fact and its consequential related perceptions, ought to be the driver for strong, speedy corrective and remedial actions.

Please permit me to highlight a few areas informing a lingering nationwide concern that emanate from the Commission’s seemingly self-convinced attempts to convey that ‘slow pace’ implies the conduct of an acceptable and transparent process. Rather, the focus of the principals seems distorted, and the lack of, or delayed constitutional delivery is being more and more affected by these eroding of confidence internal processes. The holding of Local Government Elections (LGEs) which is now way beyond the statutory period is just one of the critically affected areas.

This created ‘pussy-footing’ syndrome dilemma must be countered, given the embarrassing March to June 2020 elections results fiasco.

With the abundance of evidence against the former CEO Keith Lowenfield-led cabal that challenged and frustrated the authority of the Commission, one would have thought that GECOM, having the

legal authority, would have immediately moved to have forensic examinations of the undercurrents and contaminants. All of the persons within the close clutches of the former CEO should be keenly scrutinised.

It is indeed most disgusting to read and listen about the former controversial GECOM Secretariat employee Duarte Hetsberger’s attempts to get re-employed at the institution.

There should be no hesitation for the Commission to call in the police to do their work under Section 19 of the Cybercrime Act. There must be no consideration to reverse his termination as he allegedly played a central role in the big cabal that had their knees on this nations ‘neck’ for five long months.

A full investigation must be done concerning the clean sweep of the data from several GECOM computers, and a thorough investigation conducted of all the internal that took place in preparation for the 2020 National and Regional Elections. Given the absence of an elections report from the CEO, the commission and new CEO should carefully review the activities that took place over the five months after the elections including the massive spending and illegal activities that went on during the five months after March 2, 2020.

It is essential for GECOM to swiftly ensure it has on-

board, a cadre of transparently selected professionals to advance its mandate. The advertising process for filling vacancies created by recent firings of the Chief Elections Officers (CEO) and others facing fraudulent electoral charges, commenced in October 2021. Publications of those shortlisted for final interviews and potential selection present the opportunity for exposure if there are known issues. Notably, some rogue elements have been able to get past the initial screening process.

GECOM facilitation of the next LGEs is way overdue, and this is not for want of the PPP/C’s urging and support. The government ensured that sufficient funding was placed in the 2021 Budget for the holding of these elections. These elections were not held as a consequence of GECOM’s inability to do so, due to the absence of a CEO and other key secretariat personnel. Notably, the PNC agents who have mastered the art of postponing LGEs, are hard at work in trying to ensure further delays.

While former President David Granger kept his promise and held the LGE’s in 2016 and 2018, the PNC

now back in opposition, has moved to reinforce their old characteristic ways. Hence, the PPP/C must not step back, but demand that GECOM put all systems in place and hold LGE’s as early as possible. Questions now being advanced by the PNC acolytes regarding a new voters list must be rubbished as GECOM has legally supported procedures to update the Register of Registrants using the MERLIN database in sync with the General Registration Office.

This updated register will then be followed by a period of Continuous Registration and then by a short period of claims and objections. This in keeping with the usually established precedence, will serve to establish a preliminary list of voters; effectively setting the stage for the holding of LGEs. Consequently, the PPP/C Government must never allow any procrastination and delaying of LGEs as it is designed to realise significant parallel community development, in synchrony with the national programme.

On the contrary, it is the opposition’s proven aim to disrupt the synergies from such programmes and to render our citizens dissatisfied.

Chairperson of GECOM, Justice Claudette Singh, must recognise that she will have to assert herself and be more decisive. This is given that the APNU/PNC+AFC Commissioners are bent on using delaying tactics and always try to put spokes in the smooth path of development. The several vacancies for key senior positions within the Election Secretariat must be carefully and thoroughly discussed and the best persons must be employed. There must be no place for ‘rogue’ elements!

The timeline for the LGEs must be set now! As such, Madam Claudette Singh must put immediately on the agenda the pertinent issues, and carefully let the CEO and his staff provide the Commission the earliest appropriate period and schedules, for the holding of LGEs. The Commission must ensure that

the pussy-footing stops now, allowing the catalysation of community development initiatives.

While the PPP/C Government is doing an excellent job at the national level, citizens at the local or ground level must be fully prepared for the further development of the country. Several areas where dynamic community leadership is required are suffering from attrition due to unavoidable circumstances. Further, several of the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils have become weak and urgently need to be resuscitated through these elections. Hence, with new and urgent LGEs, many vacancies will be filled, and better persons will be in positions to develop the communities.

Yours sincerely, Neil Kumar

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LET us be clear, the politics of power, greed and hatred of the People’s National Congress/Reform (PNC/R) is to be blamed for the rundown and cash-strapped state of the Georgetown City Council.

It is not the central government!

Despite how hard it tried for four decades, the PNC has not loosened its chokehold on the oxygen levels of the City Council to allow it to breathe freely.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, January 23, 2022

PNC politics, power, and greed must be blamed for City Hall’s state

There continue to be issues of concern to the citizens of Georgetown related to the leadership, public purse, and performance in general.

Recently, there has been growing concern about solid-waste management, garbage disposal and cleanliness of the environment, coupled with governance matters.

Since 1994, the central government has been supporting the City Council by giving it the financial resources it claims it needs to function well. This is aside from the fact that the PNC-led City Council has every means to get the finances from rates and taxes it receives from citizens.

One can hardly argue that it should be dependent on the central government for anything.

But gross mismanagement and misdirection of its finances over the years have led to the City Council being in a cash-strapped state today.

Research shows that the City Council has more than a billion dollars outstanding to date and newspaper articles show telling tales of the ‘PNC

council’s’ political brawls and self-generated issues with the central government.

So, A New and United Guyana (ANUG) party has its facts and story mixed up when it puts the blame squarely at the feet of the central government for the City Council’s sad state of affairs.

It is foolish to argue that the government is responsible for the City Council’s state, because it has not enforced property valuations in the city. This is disingenuous, considering that all the steps taken by the Council since 1996 have ended in a myriad of controversies and political grandstanding for one thing or the other, without it reaching the level of central government.

Also, ANUG does not ask itself if it makes sense to open up the revenue streams of the council, when there are still major financial discrepancies and management issues at the very council.

The council must also find ways of getting the money owed first from the rates and taxes at current costs before it can fathom any increases.

Any sensible person would understand this, but seemingly not ANUG. Maybe ANUG seems to be seeking political relevance when it criticises the government, but fails to see the real issue.

The truth of the matter is that the PNC-led Mayor and Georgetown Councillors are not managing the affairs of the city properly. They treat the affairs of City Hall as if they are treating the internal affairs of the PNC party in which chaos and confusion are the order of the day.

Secondly, the easiest thing for the PNC to do is transfer blame to the central government for everything that is wrong with the council. One must ask if the problems did not continue through the reign of the PNC-led APNU+AFC Coalition Government. Why did the council not get its valuation of properties done in Georgetown then? Why did the council not raise objections to the clean-up campaign which it supported fully under the previous administration but yielded little results? What are its major flagship projects in which it

plans to get more revenue?

What are the council’s plans for the oil and gas sectors that will primarily source its labour and supplies from Georgetown? What is the plan for the private sector and other civil society groups which are interested in helping to keep the place clean?

The answer is that the Mayor and Councillors want to play politics while Georgetown burns and becomes the garbage city. They are continuing the legacy of hegemony, buffoonery, political biases, and foolery of Hamilton Green through the office of the mayor. They must first address the management and administrative issues that are eating away at its socioeconomic and moral fabrics. Then and only then they must start to have the conversation about increases in taxes and rates to the Council and public property valuations.

In conclusion, the central government with the private sector and civil society decided to partner to have a clean-up exercise last Saturday; did ANUG participate?

I hope they lead by example.

The PNCR and its internal squabbles ORDINARILY, the internal squabble and schism in the PNC faction of the APNU+AFC Coalition as to who should be the Leader of the Opposition, notably, the choice between Aubrey Norton and Joseph Harmon, should have been welcome. The ordinary person would have appreciated the long-waited procedural approach and sentiments to choose the Leader of the Opposition. However, the reality on the ground does not seem to support such assertion as attitudes of rootedness have joined the bandwagon of past PNC politics when appointments were entitled positions not easily replaced or removed.

This is hydra-headed politics.

The determination of the newly-elected PNC leader, Aubrey Norton, to be also the Leader of the Opposition, and

Joseph Harmon’s reluctance to give it up, on whatever grounds, show a befuddling non-appreciation of honouring the succession of leadership, a throwback to the Forbes Burnham years and beyond. This saga has plumbed the embattled PNC party in new depths of disappointment, marred by a high voltage of intolerance towards the fluid transfer of power, and disillusioned and disarrayed by the failed attempts to rig the March 2, 2020, general election, as well as the subsequent removal from office. Sigh!

In one fell swoop, this writer believes that the Leader of the Opposition should be Aubrey Norton. This is not to say that one is better than the other. They are chips off the same block. In the absence of transparency, and to avoid aspersions, one is forced to make a decision based on the scintilla of evidence. Harmon

must leave this post, by first, declaring to the public that he would do so honourably, and second, following the necessary protocols, if so needed.

If the aforesaid did not materialise, then a No-Confidence Motion should be tabled on Harmon. This move is required insofar as protecting the nation from stress, and more importantly, securing the modest “democratic” gains the PNC has made in the past years as well as to assuage fears that opposition will not slide into embarrassing public mayhem.

For its part, the beleaguered AFC partner in the Coalition had initially maintained an undignified silence on the schisms, and later, the leader Khemraj Ramjattan, “sided” with Joseph Harmon to remain as opposition leader.

Ramjattan was bullish in the fulsome defense of Harmon in another section of the media.

He stated “when you have legislative posts, you follow processes in accordance with the law. So not because the PNC Leader feels he should be Opposition Leader, Joe must leave. Joe has been appointed for five years and until such time he resigns or there is a No-Confidence Motion against him by the APNU+AFC party block, he ought to serve.” Ramjattan’s declaration has failed to remove the apron string from the political impasse, and indeed, his indecorous approach brought about much criticism from his own rank and file for a more precise position on what he meant who should be the Leader of the Opposition. I would have liked to leave this one for the comedians. However, Ramjattan’s ramblings confirm that the right SEE PAGE 9

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, January 23, 2022

Cervical Cancer – A leading cause of cancer death of women in Guyana

AS it is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, I have decided that my first column for this year will focus on this cancer type. It is an area that I have been ardently trying to raise awareness of because Cervical Cancer is killing too many of our women.

CERVICAL CANCER INCIDENCE According to Globocan (Global Cancer) estimates, we are rated amongst the highest in the world for Cervical Cancer incidence and deaths. And for a cancer that is 100 per cent preventable and curable, this is unacceptable.

THE STORY OF CAROL DABIE -- THE CANCER WARRIOR Today as I sat scrolling through my Facebook page, I saw the story of Carol Dabie -- a Cervical Cancer warrior.

Carol Dabie started having abnormal bleeding in her teenage years. She sought medical attention and was placed on oral contraceptive pills for years. She had several diagnoses made (UTI, hormone imbalance, Kidney Stones), before her eventual diagnosis of a rare type of Cervical Cancer called Clear Cell Adenocarcinoma. She

also has a family history of her mother of using hormones to conceive and of suffering similar symptoms and subsequently dying at the age of 48 years without a diagnosis.

WHAT IS CLEAR CELL ADENOCARCINOMA (CCADC)?

This is a rare histologic subtype of adenocarcinoma and can occur anywhere -from the vagina to the cervix (mouth of the womb), the uterus and even to the ovaries).

It is one of the most aggressive subtypes of cancers. This means that for most women, when the diagnosis is made, it is already at a later stage as compared to the most common subtypes.

DOES THIS MEAN THAT CAROL DABIE HAD THIS CANCER SINCE SHE WAS 16? OR THAT THE CANCER IS HEREDITARY? It is well-established that almost all Cervical Cancers are caused by persistent HPV infection (which is sexually transmitted). However, the exact cause of this rare subtype of cancer is unclear. In

the past, it had been linked to in-utero exposure to Diethylbestrol (a hormone that was given to women). Because this hormone is banned, the incidence of this cancer has become scarcer over the years.

The few cases that are now seen are non-DES related.

Evidence suggests that this rare cancer (non-DES related CCADC) can affect women in menarche and menopause. It generally presents with abnormal bleeding, which is often misdiagnosed in adolescents, as seen in Carol Dabie’s case.

Some studies have shown an association between this cancer subtype and cervical endometriosis.

WHY HER LATE DIAGNOSIS This type of cancer (CCADC) falls in the family of Adenocarcinomas. This cancer type generally produces lesions that are endophytic, meaning that they grow inwards. This makes it difficult to diagnose through visual examination of the cervix since it may appear healthy and is the reason why it is often missed on pap smears. Additionally,

FROM PAGE 8 hand in the Coalition does not only know where the left hand is, but also if the left hand actually exists.

This pattern is a carryover from when the Coalition was in power.

What has emerged from the conflicting and overlapping dynamics in the Coalition is suggestive of the true nature of political hardliners, individuals who are fixed by a set of ideas, that are often stoic, and refuse to accept any change that would challenge them.

Does this sound familiar?

Joseph Harmon, given his years in the military, in the opposition, and a short stint in the leadership of Guyana, has exposed his core political values as suspect regarding his refusal to give up the head post of the Opposition. Observers have drawn a correlation between Harmon and David Granger, the latter an

admirer of Forbes Burnham, a confirmed despot. To prove them wrong now is the time for Harmon to tighten up and exit the leadership position of the opposition gracefully, avoiding disrepute. This move, in the tandem with the thought that the position is more important than the holder of the position, far outweighs any other considerations, including personal ambitions.

Similarly, it is not axiomatic for Aubrey Norton to accept the leadership of the PNC and the Opposition without addressing his past political stance. One characteristic that has repeatedly waxed lyrical is his inclination to street politics of mobilisation. Recently, he came up short in accepting what he and the Coalition call an installed PPP government.

This will be a challenging area for him, and he must take the necessary steps to correct these statements and

perceptions because, if let alone, will be risking public trust and confidence –outside his support base – which are vital ingredients for sustainability.

The imbroglio in the PNC, and by extension, the coalition, is worrisome.

The longer the PNC takes to resolve its internal conundrum, the more it will play to the gallery of putting itself outside the limelight of politics. The public understands that the opposition does not choose to be in opposition but in the same vein will like to see a well-organized political party with a sound vision that will not take to streets when things do not go its way, cry foul when losing an election, and blame everything else for its problems. Put differently, we will not like to see the main opposition party descend into chaos (lomarsh.roopnarine@jsums.edu).

The PNCR and its internal ...

because of the aggressive nature of this type of cancer, often when diagnosed, the cancer has already spread.

Therefore, a high level of suspicion of this cancer is often warrants additional study with patients with unexplained and persistent vaginal bleeding. One such study to diagnose these lesions is an endocervical curettage (scraping the inner canal of the cervix) and sending that for a biopsy.

One might also argue that Carol had abnormal bleeding and pelvic pain. However, it is important to note that many other conditions can cause these very symptoms and when a woman presents with these symptoms, the cancer is already spread outside of the cervix and to other organs.

It is for these reasons that “continuous” screening of Cervical Cancer is warranted, so that abnormal changes to the cervix can be diagnosed and treated before they progress to cancer.

TREATMENT OF CERVICAL CANCER The treatment of Cervical Cancer depends mostly on the

stage at diagnosis. Early-stage disease can be managed with surgery alone. Sometimes however, the patient might need additional treatment. In patients with advanced stage cancer, Chemo-radiation therapy is the indicated treatment.

It is therefore important for women to be properly staged and managed by specialists who are trained in this field.

In patients with cancer type (Clear Cell Adenocarcinoma) such as Carol Dabie, if they are fortunate to be diagnosed early, because of the aggressive nature of these cancers, they might need more radical management. The bottom line is no two cancer patients are alike.

PREVENTION OF CERVICAL CANCER This cancer is one of the most preventable cancers.

It can be prevented through HPV vaccination of our boys and girls and through regular screening. HPV vaccines are available for boys and girls so parents must play their part to encourage their kids to get vaccinated.

RECOGNITION FOR CAROL DABIE

Carol Dabie’s courage to share her story, in order to bring awareness to our women, is commendable.

Too often, cancer diagnoses are discussed behind closed doors and patients lack the support that they need to fight. This support system should not only come from the family, but from communities and other support groups.

We must use Carol Dabie’s story to highlight how deadly Cervical Cancer is and why regular screening is important. Also, we must recognise that if a patient has persistent symptoms despite treatment, a high level of suspicion must be there to warrant further studies or referral. The bottom line is -- screening and regular screening -- lead to early detection which saves lives!

(Dr. Shivani Samlall.

MBBS, Specialist in Obstetrics and Gynecology with a sub-specialty in Gynecology Oncology, with over 10 years of practice. Dr Samlall can be contacted at drshivanisamlall26@gmail.com)

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, January 23, 2022

Part 8: Hail Shirley Edwards, The Lion Queen!

Shirley Edwards I DIDN’T get to meet and greet many friends and comrades before leaving Guyana during the last week before Christmas 2021, but I did see my elder and friend Shirley Edwards, a veteran PPP Central Committee member

and parliamentarian, whose life story is long and lively, but still largely unknown and therefore worthy of sharing on a very special day in her life.

Sixty years ago today (January 23, 1962), a youthful Shirley joined the PPP, aged 22.

At the time, the party was just 12-years-old, still led

by Cheddi Jagan and Forbes Burnham, leading the anti-colonial fight as a united political front embracing and representing the two main races and all other mixes in between against Britain’s continuing exploitation of people and resources in another land far away.

Shirley soon lived through the bitter but brave experience

of standing up in defence of the PPP administration during the 1963-64 disturbances, alongside other stalwarts like EMG Wilson and Cyril Belgrave, fighting to keep the ferries running and the docks operating to overcome the 80day strike that preceded the externally engineered split that resulted in the creation of the People’s National Congress (PNC) and the weakening of the local anti-colonial mass movement.

She witnessed the PNC’s assumption of power in 1964, the subsequent political fires in Georgetown, the disturbances and difficulties of the 28 years of virtual one-party rule that followed, through to the restoration of democracy in 1992, riding the waves

with the PPP/Civic in and out of power over the next three decades.

Shirley often demonstrated her strength of conviction whenever she and family members, resident in Lodge, would be accused of ‘treachery’ or ‘betrayal of her race’ for supporting the PPP, each time valiantly defending her and her family’s individual rights – like her accusers -- to support parties of their choice.

After 58 years of service and still attending meetings at Freedom House up to two years ago, Shirley proceeded gracefully into retirement and even today at home looking out at the world from her reclining chair in her Princes Street balcony, Shirley will tell you “Nothing” in the past six decades has caused her to regret joining -- and remaining forever -- with the party of her choice.

She was never deterred for all of her 60 years in the PPP by anything thrown at her -- neither banishment to the interior as a Georgetown teacher, nor arrests or detention, violent attacks or verbal abuse.

After a long life of sacrifice and service to the PPP and for Guyana, Shirley’s left a legacy in the legislature waiting to be perused by historians, while resting in retirement, proud of her personal contribution -- and even more, that her sons and daughters all followed in her footsteps as loyal members of and activists for the party in which they grew up and also proudly remained with, to this day.

Her heirs and successors have also earned plaques of appreciation from their party for decades of loyal service.

Before and since my six years of service to and in Guyana (1993-1999), I’d never visit Guyana without spending some time with Shirley on her balcony, each time adding rich chapters to the volumes of knowledge accumulated from our exchanges over four decades of friendship and political kinship.

Her sons and daughters are also all and each clear evidence of the truth of the saying that ‘The fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree’ -- each with their own lengthy chapters to add to the family’s long and extraordinary history, growing up in a society already disunited or torn apart, separated or divided, by the politics of race, religion and culture.

A staunch Catholic in the leadership of a communist party wasn’t (and still isn’t) something easily understandable to anyone reluctant to even think it’s ever possible, but Shirley lived that experience for all of her 60 years in the PPP, alongside majority comrades who’re Hindu and Muslim, or Atheist – not once feeling or made to feel uncomfortable.

The peaceful coexistence of members of multifarious religions in a party adherent to Marxis- Leninism is another subject future historians will certainly examine as part of the unique political landscape of Guyanese and Caribbean politics from the 1938 revolutions, through the post-war Federation days, to the age of CARIFTA and CARICOM. For all of that, Shirley has always been my favourite Lion Queen in the Jungle of Guyana’s politics.

Many other stalwarts will have similar stories to share, but Shirley’s is one (of the many) only waiting to be known and shared alongside the many others who also silently endured pain and agony in pursuit of freedom from colonialism and staunch defence of democracy.

Shirley has lived to share the tales of six decades purposefully roaming that vast political jungle, forever confident that her sacrifices would one day be rewarded by seeing her country finally getting on track for a path of development that will ensure her grandchildren and future generations of Guyanese share the good health and wealth she worked hard, fought for and dreamed of for six long decades.

She wasn’t alone: EMG Wilson, Ashton Chase (still alive at 95), Cyril Belgrave, Brindley and Patricia Benn (and their son Robeson), Clinton Collymore, Philomena ‘Fireball’ Sahoye-Shury, Doris Awah (and more contemporary figures like Sam and Yvonne Hinds…) all come to mind, all of whom remained proud PPP and/or civic stalwarts despite all the racial slurs and pathetic ethnic epithets or other unfair selected partisan political criticisms thrown their way for choosing to associate with the PPP. But the identification with the PPP by Afro Guyanese stalwarts of the struggles for freedom and against colonialism was no less honourable than the Tuskegee Airmen

who flew their war planes low down and sky high to fight and win for the USA, not because of their colour, but because they were Americans.

Indeed, those were the thoughts running through my mind on the morning of my last day before leaving Georgetown on December 23, when I was also wheeled to my self-promised ‘must see’ visit to the 1823 Monument along the Georgetown Sea Wall memorialising the Demerara Slave Rebellion of August 17 that year, unveiled on August 5, 2013, by then President Donald Ramotar.

Shirley’s parliamentary contributions are recorded in the National Assembly’s Hansard, but her personal contributions are still the subject of oral history recorded in the hard drives of the memory board of surviving colleagues, fellow comrades-at-arms and Demerara Catholics, friends and relatives, who know her story.

One of the failures of most Caribbean political parties has been to document the contributions of ordinary members who went to extraordinary lengths to keep them alive and active, especially the women who’ve been the driving forces in every election without due recognition or acknowledgement, their habitual, dependable contributions too often taken for granted.

Not so Shirley, who has plaques observing her decades of service to the PPP; but there are countless others like her -- men and women in both major parties -- whose selfless contributions are yet to be recorded for acknowledgement and appreciation, if only for history’s sake.

Here’s hoping Shirley’s 60th anniversary will mark the beginning of a greater appreciation for the need to tell the untold stories of the Lion Queens and Kings who’ve survived all the roaming in the jungle to eventually roar triumphantly in their greying years, living to see the yielded fruits of their patient prowling in pursuit of political harmony and happiness for all.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, January 23, 2022

What Exxon’s net-zero commitment could mean for Guyana

LAST week, Stabroek Block operator ExxonMobil announced ambitions to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This announcement builds off of previous 2030 emission-reduction plans, but significantly increases the company’s focus on investments in ‘green’ technologies that reduce carbon in the atmosphere.

This announcement puts Exxon in line with other major oil companies which have publicly committed, over the past few years, to curb planet-warming emissions over the next few decades. “ExxonMobil is committed to playing a leading role in the energy transition,” said Darren Woods, its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

In addition to being aligned with Guyana’s Low-Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), ExxonMobil’s plan is aligned with the international Paris Treaty’s net-zero goals, including the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 2018 Special Report; the International Energy Agency’s Net Zero by 2050 scenario; the

U.S. and European Union’s Global Methane Pledge; and the U.S. Methane Emissions Reduction Action Plan.

International groups were cautiously optimistic about the announcement.

Andrew Logan, a senior director at Ceres, a nonprofit that pushes corporations to focus on climate change issues, said that the plan is “a step forward to a more ambitious approach to addressing climate change,” while cautioning that much more work will be needed to actually meet goals.

This plan is part of a larger global push to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and find new ways to make much-needed energy production more environmentally-friendly. ExxonMobil’s detailed emission-reduction roadmap will focus on emissions from exploration, production and development as a start, but also includes $15 billion in planned investment over the next five years into promising new technologies like carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), hydrogen, and biofuels.

The plan is not likely to significantly impact Exx-

onMobil’s operations in Guyana immediately. As a very new oil-and- gas producer, the technologies used in Guyana for exploration, discovery, and extraction are already lower-emitting, and more environmentally-friendly than those used in many areas. The plan primarily focuses on emissions reductions in the Permian Basin in the Southern United States, where the company has extensive operations, as well as older production operations globally.

But the pledge helps signal that becoming a major oil producer is not completely incompatible with Guyana’s long-term sustainability ambitions.

For example, the Liza Unity floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, which recently arrived in Guyana’s waters, and is the country’s second FSPO, uses state-of-the-art technologies that avoid all longterm routine flaring.

It is also the first FPSO in the world to receive the American Bureau for Shipping’s (ABS) SUSTAIN-1 notation. This is one of the most prestigious sustainability awards that the

Past Chairman of the Private Sector Commission Manniram Prashad and Executive Director, Mr Ian Cheong, this morning handed over the Book of Condolence to the son of our founding Chairman, the late Dr Yesu Persaud

organisation offers, and denotes the vessel’s alignment with key elements of the Environmental, Social and Governance requirements outlined in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

More environmentally-friendly FPSOs will be vital to helping Guyana meet sustainability goals, with special attention to pollution and waste, coastal and marine ecosystems, energy-efficiency and performance monitoring, low-car-

bon fuels, human-centered design, and asset recycling.

Guyana already has two additional planned FPSOs that will incorporate the same state-of-the-art emissions reductions technologies as the Unity.

Eventually, Guyana may play an even greater role through technologies like carbon capture, that could help further limit the damage of climate change.

Exxon recently signed a memorandum with Pertamina, the State-oil company

of Indonesia, to evaluate potential large-scale carbon capture and storage projects in their country.

As Guyana continues to develop, the government should stay vigilant for opportunities like these to pursue low- carbon and environmentally-friendly practices that satisfy global emission reduction goals, and keep companies honest and accountable for obeying international best practices for sustainability.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, January 23, 2022

Gov’t eyeing ‘long COVID’ units across the country

Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony

MINISTER of Health Dr Frank Anthony has said that the government intends developing several specialised units across the country that will allow for the treatment of patients

who continue to experience some symptoms of COVID-19 even after they have recovered from the infection.

During his daily COVID-19 update on Friday, the Health Min-

ister related that a special unit has already been set up at the Georgetown Public Hospital to manage the care of patients battling ‘long COVID.’ People experience this ‘long COVID’ when their COVID-19 symptoms last more than four weeks. It may also refer to those long-term health issues people experience months after recovering from the coronavirus infection, even if they did not display initial symptoms.

Dr Anthony has assured members of the public that several local doctors have been monitoring people who

recover from COVID-19, including those who have developed the long COVID symptoms.

He, however, noted that many of the patients experiencing long COVID are treated at the Georgetown Public Hospital, Guyana’s main referral hospital. With hundreds of people infected in all regions of Guyana, though, he said that the government is interested in “replicating” such units throughout the country. “... and if those doctors believe they can’t manage those patients there, they will refer them to the Georgetown

Hospital,” the Health Minister said.

The establishment of these units across the country is expected to boost the local management of COVID-19.

Though long COVID is a phenomenon that is still being investigated globally, some symptoms of this include extreme tiredness, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, chest pain, problems with memory and concentration (known as brain fog), changes to taste and smell, and joint pains.

With the more recent emergence of the new Omicron coronavirus variant, however, Dr

Anthony said that the scientific community is yet to determine how this variant will affect people in the longer term.

What is known already is that people infected with the Omicron variant experience less severe symptoms and are usually hospitalised for shorter periods.

While studies on COVID-19 continue, Dr Anthony emphasised that people should get vaccinated -- that is, taking the full dosage and a booster shot -- to protect themselves from experiencing the more severe or life-threatening symptoms of COVID-19.

Construction of Lusignan Prison 70% complete Ongoing construction of the Lusignan Prison

THE construction of the Lusignan Prison, East Coast Demerara, is moving apace and is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of this year.

This was disclosed by Director of Prisons (ag) Nicklon Elliot on Friday, after a walkthrough of the facility.

“Currently the construction work on this location is about 70 per cent complete and we are on schedule and that is dependent on rainfall at the moment, but we are scheduled to be completed by the end of March this year,” Elliot said.

The $1.2 billion facility is a commitment of the PPP/C Administration, following the destruction of sections of the Georgetown and the old Lusignan prisons.

It also forms part of the administration’s manifes-

to promise to create safer prisons with improved conditions. Upon completion, the facility will house approximately 1000 inmates.

However, aside from providing comfortable conditions for inmates, the new prison will also focus on their rehabilitation. This will see the construction of a school where inmates can further their academics or learn a trade.

Elliot said when the facility is completed, inmates will almost immediately be housed in the building.

“The operationalising of the building on completion would just be about a week or so,” he stated.

The three facilities being constructed was contracted out to Mohamed’s Construction and Real Estate Agency, M&P Investment and Nabi Construction Inc.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, January 23, 2022

Gov’t hosts ‘housing outreach’ for East Coast residents

Residents at one of the stations set up at the Lusignan Market Tarmac on Saturday ( Delano Williams photo) AS the government moves ture); Area B Lusignan to achieve its mandate (Grassfield); Good Hope of providing affordable Area X; Good Hope Tract A homes to eligible citizens (Phase 1); Block 7 Plantaacross the country, the tion Mon Repos (D’ Jango Ministry of Housing and Town); and Mon Repos Water on Saturday hosted (Block 8). a series of outreaches on The outreach comes as the East Coast of Dem- the ministry extended the erara for its Core Home deadline for application Support and Home Im- from its initial February 07, provement Subsidies un- 2022 deadline to February der the Adequate Housing 25, 2022, in a bid to ensure and Urban Accessibility all eligible persons were Programme (AHUAP). given the chance to apply.

Ministers of HousMinister Croal noted ing Colin Croal and Su- the outreach acted as a onesan Rodrigues and Chief stop shop for potential benExecutive Officer of the eficiaries of the initiative, Central Housing and Plan- noting that persons could ning Authority (CH&PA), not just bring in their docuSherwyn Greaves, were sta- ments, but would also be tioned at the Mon Repos informed about the necesMarket Tarmac, Lusignan sary documentation needed Market Tarmac, and Good and how they could benefit Hope Secondary School from the programme. until 15:00hrs to facilitate “The persons allying applications and on-the-spot here today, once they’re interviews for Core Home prequalified it goes as part Support and Home Improve- of the master list for which ment Subsidies we would have to evaluate Minister Coral disclosed it. So, persons are coming that the initiative is intended here as a one-stop shop to be to target the poor and vul- able to have their documents nerable and to reduce the in- be dealt with and have all of cidence of housing instabil- the necessary information ity which poses a significant provided, because somechallenge in communities times they’re not adequately across the country. equipped with the necessary He noted that a major information, so that they aspect of the project is that can benefit, or if they can it allows persons who earn prequalify.” monthly incomes of less The project boundary than $75,000 the opportu- for AHUAP includes Westnity to qualify for home- minster, Onderneeming, ownership.

Lust-En-Rust, Recht door Minister Croal noted that Zee and Parfaite Harmonie this directly correlates with Phase 2, on the West Bank the government’s mission to Demerara, Region Three; provide affordable housing. In Region Four, it spans “As a government, we Georgetown to Grove on the are continuing to ensure that East Bank of Demerara and we implement programmes up to La Bonne Intention on that cater to all segments of the East Coast of Demerara, our population or categories as well as nineteen (19) of pending applicants, so other East Coast villages. you’ll understand when we In 2021, the governtalk about a community or ment had budgeted for the a wholesome community, two aspects of the project we also talk about a govern- US$10M: US$5M for the ment that caters for all of its home improvement subsipeople.” dies and US$5M for core The outreach targeted home support. residents in Lusignan Block Through the programme, XXI; Lusignan Parcel 99 low-income earning Guya(Binkey Alley); Lusignan nese living in vulnerable Tract ‘A’ (Lusignan Pas- households or poor struc-

tures that are not habitable can benefit from a 20ft x20ft concrete core home, which can be expanded over time or up to $500,000 in materials with the Home Improvement Subsidy.

The home improvement subsidies will be a $500,000 grant in the form of construction materials for repairs to walls, floors, electrical works, sanitation improvements, and other non-cosmetic improvements that are consistent with the programme’s objectives.

In November, CH&PA Chief Executive Officer Sherwyn Greaves noted that some 2,000 Home Improvement Subsidies have been earmarked under the programme. During

Minister of Housing and Water, Colin Croal, interacting with residents on the East Coast of Demerara the first tranche of the programme, 236 subsidies have been approved for

118 residents in Sophia, Georgetown, and 118 La Parfaite Harmonie resi-

dents, leaving room for an additional 1,764 eligible applicants to now benefit.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, January 23, 2022

‘Very strange’ Opposition made proposals on tax reduction, food security - Jagdeo

Vice-president Dr Bharrat Jagdeo THE Opposition is in no position to lecture anyone on the reduction of taxes based on their track record in office. That was the position taken by Vice- president Dr Bharrat Jagdeo in response to proposals by the Opposition on measures to bring relief to citizens.

“I find it very strange that a party that demitted office 18 months ago, that has sought to put taxes on every

single area, increased taxes by about $40 billion more on basic food items, on medical supplies, would now have any proposal for [a] budget that seeks to reduce taxes,” the VP said during an interview with the National Communications Network on Friday.

The previous administration through its tax measures had taken disposable income out of the pockets of Guyanese. This could have been seen with the introduction of taxes on education, healthcare, water, and electricity, among other areas that affect the livelihoods of Guyanese.

Since taking office, the PPP/C Administration has removed those taxes, easing the burden placed on them by the previous administration through two successive budgets.

Dr Jagdeo said Budget 2022 which will be presented on Wednesday, January 26,

will continue to build on the foundations set by the first two budgets.

“We are looking at tax reduction generally, so you may see adjustments on issues like threshold and all of that, but have looked at the disposable income,” he said.

“And that is why we have made it clear that the PNC should look at all the items that they had put the taxes on and we had to remove. They should annualise it and see what it brings to Guyana and the people of the country,” the VP further added.

The Vice-president said if government had not removed the slew of burdensome taxes imposed by the Coalition, one can only imagine how hard it would have been for Guyanese with the rise in the cost of living globally.

The Opposition also made suggestions on food security, pointing to ways government

can do more to invest in agriculture.

However, the actions and words of the Opposition are not coinciding with their claims as during their tenure in office, the Vice-president pointed out that they closed several sugar estates, increased water charges, placed taxes on agricultural machinery and increased the cost for land-lease rentals, which are just a few to mention.

He said the PPP/C Gov-

ernment has a clear plan for agricultural development, as it believes that the non-oil sectors are just as important to Guyana’s development as the oil and gas industry.

Government has since invested billions of dollars in the agricultural sector which also caters for diversifying the sector. The sum of $500 million was invested in the planting of corn and soya bean which has proven to be fruitful.

Added to that, President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali is

leading and encouraging young people to get involved in agriculture.

With that, the VP said “the person who will peddle that or take that statement and replicate it has to be a person who never looked at APNU’s policy carefully, or is probably new to Guyana.”

The national budget will be presented by Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh.

(DPI)

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, January 23, 2022

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, January 23, 2022

Denial is another side effect of COVID-19

By Rehana Ahamad

that hijack your body muscles, I know what it’s like to be restricted to a single room.

Don’t get me wrong, I love curling up in my bed with my laptop and the air conditioning fan set on high speed, but, like Fareeza, I too only enjoy doing this by choice. Being forced into doing anything takes all the fun out of it. And let’s not pretend as if we don’t crave the care and attention of our loved ones when we’re sick.

In my case, my 11-yearold brother Irshan and I tested positive on November 22, 2021. I was experiencing the worst fever of my life; my eyes burned, my body ached, and I lost my senses of taste and smell. What I wouldn’t have given for a hug from my mother, only God knows.

As soon as I developed symptoms, my family and I went to get tested and immediately isolated ourselves from the rest of our loved ones, while I isolated myself from them, having been the only one displaying symptoms.

We were also forced not to have any physical interactions with my other brother Ashraf, his wife Alisa and my five-year-old nephew Arshad, who had recovered from the virus just a few months before. They live next door, and to not be able to wake up to my nephew’s banging on my bedroom door almost daily really broke my heart. It was also quite painful to not be able to hug my little brother at random.

This went on for more than two days. In the afternoon of the third day, we got a call from health authorities saying that everybody tested negative, except Irshan and me. It made sense, because

he and I are always like two peas in a pod. After school, he and I would spend our days together, whether at my office, or at home.

Even though we were both positive, I was keen on staying confined to my room, while he stayed in his, because for some strange reason, I feared that if he was around me, he could start developing symptoms. Those fears didn’t last very long: Irshan soon developed fever and body aches. That night, around 11, he called me via video chat to say that he was beginning to get fever and was feeling horrible. I asked him to grab his pillow, haul his blanket over his head and run over to my room.

There, he and I would go on to spend the next two weeks. Every time his fever shot up, I would give him a paracetamol and signal him to the shower. Usually, after about an hour, he would be back to normal. This went on for the most part of a week, since Irshan’s symptom-period was much shorter than mine.

Still, I would stay away every night to make sure that his temperature was down and he was going okay. In the meantime, we had our gadgets to keep in touch with our loved ones, including my mother and sister who were overseas, and who were constantly worried sick.

During the family video calls, my mother would sometime try to put on a smile, desperately trying to hold back tears, but daddy would always chime in to say that he has everything under control.

Locked away in a room, we quickly developed a schedule: Irshan would spend

Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud showing the mobile application ‘iMatter’ that allows persons to access help and information on Gender-Based Violence

THE Ministry of Human Services and Social Security’s Gender-Based Violence Application (App), ‘iMatter’, can now be downloaded from both the Google Play and Apple stores.

Calling 914 is literally at your fingertips, as the 914-panic button in the ‘App’ is linked directly to the hotline number.

Subject minister Dr. Vindhya Persaud shared, “The App is part of the continuing work we are doing to tackle domestic violence. I wanted to ensure that persons out t TURN TO PAGE 17

LAST week, my colleague and friend, Fareeza Haniff, Editor-In-Chief at the News Room, wrote an article about her battle with COVID-19 in December, and the toll that it took on her family.

While her family was not infected with the virus, they were the ones who faced the brunt of the stigma and discrimination that have been so unjustly attached to it.

So much so that even the Haniff family business, a meat centre, suffered the backlash of Fareeza contracting the virus for the first time; a virus that has been among us for two years; a virus that can be contracted by a person merely taking a breath of “fresh” air; a virus that can infect any person, at any time, unless they live in a bubble with filtered air and absolutely no physical outside contact whatsoever.

Once Fareeza took to Facebook to announce that she had been tested positive for COVID-19, and warn those who would’ve come into close contact with her, the members of her community on the “West Side” of the Demerara River were more or less, concerned; less for her safety and well-being, it seems, and more about getting the family to shut down their business for fear of contamination.

All the while, Fareeza was confined to her room, starved of human contact and comfort.

As a COVID-19 survivor myself, I know the pain and extreme discomfort that comes with the virus. Aside from the fever that stops you in your tracks, and the aches

Gender-based violence -914 hotline now ‘App’ launched at your fingertips

Fareeza Haniff (seated) tested positive for COVID-19 in the latter part of December 2021, while I became ill earlier in November. Our experiences gave insights into the stigma and denial attached to the virus, both of which we had the unfortunate opportunity to encounter

a couple hours on school work, while I would catch up on my favourite shows, which was the only activity that kept me sane.

In the afternoons, Irshan and I would play Ludo and checkers on his tablet, before going on to talking to our loved ones for hours.

Like Fareeza, I too was quick to make the announcement on Facebook, because it was important that my friends and colleagues know that we had been tested positive, so that they themselves could get tested and prevent further spread to their loved ones.

DENIAL We even made sure that our neighbours were informed of our status, and that people were on the lookout for any symptoms. What is important to note is that while Fareeza and her family were faced with discrimination, my family and I had to deal with people who were in denial.

Relatives and friends would physically show up and our home to check in on us and members of our West Bank Demerara community were still flocking our yard as per normal. I was appalled at how many of our neighbours randomly came over to “buss a lil gyaff,” wearing no masks and keen on implementing no preventative measures whatsoever, because “the virus ain’t real.”

I’m unable to count how many times I’ve been told, “the virus is a money-mekkin thing,” or “I can’t get duh.

Ize drink ginger tea.”

My favourite line was perhaps, “Is mussy a case of the worms. Come lemme give yuh a shot ah high wine fuh knack it out; yuh gon good to go after dah.”

I’m yet to try the high wine concoction, but my father did make sure my brother and I were treated to daily teas made of ginger, fever grass and lemon, as well as coconut water and regular water. We also consumed lots of citrus fruits, and our meals consisted of mostly vegetables.

Nonetheless, I had persons from the neighbourhood call me to come outside, saying that I was wasting my sick-leave days locked away in a room, when I could be having fun, and making up for all the cancellations I was forced to make over the past year, due to commitments at work.

Suffice to say, it didn’t take long for me to realise that the people who lack empathy are far less dangerous than the ones in denial.

We can depend on the hyper-vigilant “posse” to keep us a little more alert, but if you surround yourself with people who are constantly in denial, then you may never know of the dangers that lurk. Denial has even led to some of the deaths in my community, simply because people have told themselves that COVID-19 isn’t real, and it therefore cannot affect them.

I know persons who delayed getting tested and delayed seeking medical attention up until the very end, when it had become much too late.

SPUTNIK MIGHT’VE SAVED ME I believe that for the rest of my life, I will continue to say that the Russian-made Sputnik V saved my life.

Those close to me are aware of my medical history and would appreciate the fact that my immune system might not

have survived without the protection it got from both doses of the vaccine.

Even though I may face some travel restrictions because of the global politics being played with people’s lives, I will never regret taking the Sputnik V jabs, and like Fareeza, I too will continue to encourage every Guyanese to get vaccinated.

Do not wait until it’s too late; we have lost two many lives, largely due to unvaccination.

If you have questions, do not be afraid; as a journalist, I can tell you that curiosity saves lives, so don’t be deterred by having concerns; direct those concerns and questions to the people in authority; there are hotlines set up to deal with your queries.

Do not harbour such little value for your life that you’d give up on vaccines altogether. Almost every Guyanese has been immunised against multiple illnesses including chicken pox and yellow fever, long before we could even learn to talk.

I know that Guyana wasn’t prepared for what March 2020 brought, both in the form of the six-month elections saga and the virus; both were unprecedented.

In the case of the virus, I believe that Guyanese have become so accustomed to being God’s favourite that we were truly unable to fathom a deadly virus being able to spread to our pristine shores, but I pray that the years 2020 and 2021 have taught us enough to want to do better to protect ourselves and those around us.

The more we do that, the faster we can exit this pandemic and return to sharing hugs and taking breaths of fresh air, without the fear of death.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, January 23, 2022

Curious about history, Science student tops Caribbean

ASPIRING Civil Engineer, Abdul Subhan, who studied History only out of curiosity, managed to top the entire Caribbean in this subject area at the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) level.

The 19-year-old from Bush Lot, Berbice, and former student of Saint Stanislaus College, during an interview with the Sunday Chronicle, said that at the time he decided to do CAPE, the school did not offer History. He was told that the school would facilitate him going to another school to study this subject, but in light of the pandemic, this did not materialise.

Still, his curious mind did not let that stop him. He took it upon himself to study at home since classes at the time were online-based.

Subhan expressed that the COVID-19 pandemic did have a significant impact on his studies since his internet connection was not the best so he could rarely attend online classes.

“The internet service in my area basically limited the chances of me attending classes but, nevertheless, I would have used the textbooks to work on my own,” Subhan shared.

Additionally, he said that he only received help from a teacher with his SchoolBased Assessment (SBA) and studied on his own at home with the resources available to him. Therefore, he could not believe the outcome.

He said that he was surprised and happy when he heard the news as it shocked him. His family also shared the same feelings.

Subhan emphasised that he chose to study History because it is a very appealing subject to him.

“It helps you to understand the various aspects of the historical process in the Caribbean and how it affects us and influences Caribbean society today,” he shared.

FROM PAGE 16 here have multiple ways to reach our help, and putting the panic button in the App was something I insisted on.

“The team working on the App spared no effort to review and revise it to have a user- friendly App that contains information and educational resources that will appeal to all ages and needs. I appeal to persons living in violent situation to get on to 914, either by phone or App, because you matter to us, and we do not want to see continued acts of violence that leave so much death, pain and scars in their wake,” Minister Persaud said, adding: “I encourage people to have every member of their family download the “iMatter App”. Let’s save lives and stop the violence!”

This technological development allows persons to access help and resources on Gender-Based Violence, and is a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security and the Guyana Spotlight Initiative, a European Union-United Nations global partnership to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls. Its creation involved initial input by a local GBV activist, while Techlify Inc. took the App to its current form under the guidance of the UNFPA, and the Minis-

try of Human Services and Social Security.

The application was launched in March, 2021 at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre at the ‘We Lift’ event hosted by the Human Services Ministry, and is available on all android (iMatter) and IOS devices (iMattergy), and easy to use. After downloading from your app store, simply select the region you live in to get started for educational information on Gender Based Violence, and to find support services for you or someone you know who is affected by violence.

The categories that can be selected include: Sexual violence and disability; sexual exploitation and abuse: trafficking in persons; domestic violence; child abuse; and elderly abuse. The application also contains useful resources and answers to frequently asked questions that would help users understand more about Gender-Based Violence.

Dedicated GenderB a s e d Vi o l e n c e c a s e workers assigned to the Gender-Based Violence technological platform will respond by reaching out to a Gender-Based Violence survivor or individual at risk via the communication channel that the individual has expressed a preference for.

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- now aiming to become Civil Engineer

Gender-based...

To prepare for his exam, Subhan said he followed the syllabus objectives and read the prescribed texts, in addition to looking at YouTube videos. While sharing that there was not much of a difference between studying for CAPE and the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations, he said the only thing is that CAPE required a little more advanced and critical thinking skills.

Additionally, it tests more of your ability to apply yourself into situations as opposed to CSEC which is basically recording knowledge.

Subhan also did Sociology, Law, Geography, Caribbean Studies, Communication Studies, Integrated Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology, Entrepreneurship, Environment Science and Tourism at the CAPE level.

Subhan is currently studying to achieve a degree in

Civil Engineering at the University of Guyana. He said that he intends to get into the field of entrepreneurship.

“Given the fact that Guyana would expect significant growth in investments, directly and indirectly from the oil and gas industry, there would be a great demand for entrepreneurial business ventures in construction and structural design,” he shared. (Cassandra Khan)

Top CAPE History performer, Abdul Subhan

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, January 23, 2022

From teen mom to UG graduate - mother of two overcomes challenges to become role model for daughters

By Tamica Garnett WHEN 26-year-old Onecia Bacchus got pregnant at just 16, while still at school, she faced a lot of challenges

in continuing her academic pursuits, but she rose above it to obtain an Associate Degree in Social Work, with distinction, from the University of Guyana.

Onecia Bacchus with her two daughters

Bacchus will be among the over 2,200 UG students who will be graduating next month, and, like many others, she is sharing her story of achievement through trials in the hope of encouraging others not to give up.

“No matter the challenges life throws at you, never let them keep you down; always remember that you can rise above any situation.

No position is permanent; always be prepared for upward mobility,” Bacchus said during an interview with the Sunday Chronicle.

Currently a Constable in the Guyana Police Force (GPF), Bacchus is now looking forward to continuing her studies for a Bachelor of Social Science in Social Work, and also hopes to do her master’s in psychology.

Having risen above her own challenges with teenage pregnancy, Bacchus particularly hopes to be a role model to other young women who may find themselves becoming teenage mothers, or face other socioeconomic challenges, and perhaps feel like they cannot do much with their lives.

“I hope one day to become a guidance counselor for teenagers, and work with organisations to eradicate teenage pregnancy. To teen mothers, I say, always remember that you can do it,

even if you think that you can’t; nothing is impossible.

“Find a job; it doesn’t matter where you start. My first job was packing shelves at a supermarket;then I went on to Qualfon,” the former Mahaicony Secondary student shared.

Growing up in Mahaicony with relatives, due to her parents being overseas took a toll on Bacchus, who took it even harder when her parents divorced. She was just 14 years old.

At age 16, while in Grade 11, and in the middle of preparing to write her Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) subjects, Bacchus became pregnant.

Almost immediately, she began to feel the brunt of condescension from others, which led her to dropping out of school, and not wanting to write CSEC. A STAR ATHLETE At the time, Bacchus was a star athlete as a middle and long distance runner, and did well academically. Suffice to say, she felt the weight of the disappointment.

“I can still remember the look of disdain on the faces of the market vendors whenever I was passing on my bicycle. I was laughed at by some of my colleagues, which forced me to stop attending school. So, CXC time I was at home for an

Shirley Edwards celebrates 60 years of PPP membership TODAY, Shirley Edwards, a veteran stalwart of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), celebrates a rare milestone: 60 years as a member of Guyana’s oldest political party.

Edwards, 82, was for several decades a member of the Central Committee of the PPP and served a long time as a parliamentarian in the National Assembly.

She joined the PPP on January 23, 1962, and party sources testify that she served selflessly and consistently for all of her six decades.

A long-time resident of Princes Street,Lodge, Georgetown, Edwards was formally honoured and decorated with a plaque by the PPP’s Central Committee at its 30th Congress at Port Mourant on the Corentyne on August 2, 2013, ‘In recognition of 50 Years of Dedi-

cated and Selfless Service to the Party in the Struggle for Peace, Democracy and Prosperity.’

Edwards only recently proceeded into retirement from active parliamentary and party politics, but friends and relatives say she continues to pay daily attention to political developments through the media and through direct contacts with friends and officials associated with the PPP. She is also reported by one relative to be “in tune with the times,” utilising both traditional and social media to connect and contact friends and relatives in Guyana and overseas.

A member of her household said, “Shirley reads the newspapers every morning and discusses the political issues of the day, all day with friends on her cellphone, or

by WhatsApp…” A pensioner with occasional medical difficulties associated with ageing, Edwards is a mother of five --two boys and three girls (Elme, Jomo, Judy,Nikki and Tessa) – all of whom are also still active PPP members.

Her daughter Elme has also been an active PPP supporter for three decades and was on December 17, 2016, honoured during the PPP’s 31st Congress at Cotton Field, Essequibo Coast, with an Award of Excellence “In recognition of 25 years of dedicated and selfless service to the party in the struggles for Peace, Democracy and Prosperity for the People of Guyana…”

At 60 years a party member today, Shirley Edwards is observing a record achievement by a woman politician who’s transi-

Shirley Edwards tioned from the 20th to the 21st Century and retired from active politics with her party again in office, at a time when, as she once told a close friend, “Guyana’s future is buttered with oil and everybody will be taken care of, at last…”

UG graduate Onecia Bacchus entire term,” Bacchus explained.

Notwithstanding her own family also feeling disappointed at first, they would eventually come around, and rally and encourage her not to give up on her education.

It would be a phone call from her dad on the day she had to write her first CSEC subject that would push her to turn up for the exam.

“He said, ‘Your belly is already on you; nothing that those people say about you can remove it. Hold your head high, my daughter; go and do your best,’” she shared.

With those words, she would go on to write and pass six subjects at CSEC, with four Grade Twos, and two Grades Threes. And soon after, she would give birth to her daughter.

But with a daughter to take care of, Bacchus fiercely felt the need to ensure she became independent, and was passionate about providing for herself, independently. This became all the more important to her after she ended the relationship with her daughter’s father.

“I wanted to be independent; I knew I was smart, and I wanted to do something for myself,” she said.

She worked several jobs before joining the Police Force in 2016, and is now stationed at the Felix Austin College. In 2019, Bacchus would also go on to graduate as valedictorian from the Guyana Learning Institute with a Certificate in Supervisory Management. She is

also trained in floral arrangement, through a course at the Carnegie School of Home Economics.

Through her own experience of dealing with teenage pregnancy, and having also spent a year working at the Sophia Juvenile Holding facility, Bacchus would become passionate about studying social work.

With the encouragement of her husband, Bacchus applied, and was accepted, to UG in 2019. But even this was not without its challenges.

Bacchus was one month pregnant when she started her programme, and so, was once again faced with the challenge of studying and dealing with the struggles of a pregnancy.

“I would be traversing back and forth in public transportation, dealing with morning sickness, having to rush to the washroom in between classes, falling asleep during late night classes, standing in front of the class with my eight months full-size tummy doing my presentation,” Bacchus shared.

But already one not to let challenges overcome her, Bacchus persevered to not only complete her programme, but to end it with a Distinction, achieving her aim of ensuring that she is also a good example to her own daughters.

“I really wanted to study and make myself a role model for them, and ensure that they don’t fall into the kind of things like I did.”

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Eight more die from COVID-19, over 900 new cases recorded

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, January 23, 2022

EIGHT more persons have died after contracting COVID-19, taking Guyana’s overall death toll to 1,130 the Ministry of Health has reported.

The ministry said that the latest fatalities are three persons from Region Three - a 51-year-old fully vaccinated man who died on January 21; a 60-year-old fully vaccinated man who died on January 21; and a 67-year-old man unvaccinated man who died on January 22.

Four additional fatalities from Region Four were recorded - a 79-year-old man

whose vaccination status is unknown and who died on January 21; a 65-yearold fully vaccinated man who died on January 21; a 48-year-old partially vaccinated man who died on January 22; and an unvaccinated 74-year-old man who died on January 20.

The remaining fatality is a 28-year-old woman from Region One who died on January 22.

Meanwhile, there are currently 13,263 active COVID-19 cases in Guyana, following the addition of 957 new cases on January 22,

2021.

The 957 newly confirmed cases were recorded in all 10 administrative regions.

Region Four accounted for 535 of the new cases; Region One recorded 44 new cases; Region Two recorded 31 new cases; Region Three recorded 123 new cases; Region Five recorded 44 new cases; Region Six recorded 67 new cases; Region Seven recorded 18 new cases; Region Eight recorded 60 new cases: Regions Nine and Ten recorded 20 and 15 cases, respectively.

The country has now

recorded a total of 56,585 confirmed cases since the first COVID-19 case was reported in March 2020.

Of the active cases, 16 persons are in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the National Infectious Diseases Hospital, Liliendaal; 177 are in institutional isolation; 13,050 are in home isolation, and 20 are in insti-

tutional quarantine.

The updated COVID–19 Emergency Measures are in force until January 31, 2021.

They may be extended or amended by notice of the Minister of Health, after an assessment of the prevailing public health conditions of the pandemic.

As per the current measures, all persons are required

to wear face masks when leaving their homes; and physical distancing and adequate sanitisation are recommended. The current curfew is 12:00 hours to 4:00 hours.

Persons with symptoms of COVID-19 are asked to call the COVID-19 hotline numbers: 231-1166; 226-7480; or 180/181 for assistance.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, January 23, 2022

Education Ministry completes Atlantic Reader collection THE Ministry of Education (MoE) has finally completed its production of the locally produced reader and work books in the Atlantic Reader series of literacy textbooks, which will help the ministry to avoid the high cost of importing such books that need to be used in the teaching of literacy to grade school pupils.

The book one to three in the series were first launched in February 2015, when

emphasis was placed on how many third world countries were disadvantaged in education due to the extraordinarily high prices for textbooks.

Produced in full colour, the Atlantic Reader books were created to aid in the development of reading skills, written with Guyanese culture in mind, with characters, pictorial representations and scenarios and focused on a balanced approach of reading skills at the various

grade levels.

When the first three readers were launched in early 2015, the accompanying workbooks, as well as books four to six, along with their workbooks were also expected to follow shortly after.

However, when the government was changed in May 2015, continuation of work on the project was completely stalled and no progress was made.

Minister of Education,

Minister of Education Priya Manickchand Priya Manickchand, who primary goals to get the had been at the helm of series completed when she the creation of the books returned to office in August in 2015, made it one of her 2020, as she had questioned

the previous government on several occasions about completion of the books.

“Although I had asked several times from the floor of the House for their completion, sadly, nothing was done to move towards the competition of any of the remaining books. I am beyond pleased to announce that we have completed the work books for Readers One, Two, and Three, and readers and workbooks for levels four, five and six,” Manickchand noted.

Manickchand thanked the hardworking staff of the MoE, who worked towards completion of the long- awaited textbooks.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, January 23, 2022

Second GDF officer graduates from U.S. Naval Postgraduate School Colonel Raul Jerrick

THE U.S. Embassy in Georgetown, on Saturday, congratulated Colonel Raul Jerrick of the Guyana Defence Force who was awarded a Master of Arts in Security Studies, with an emphasis on Countering Terrorism, from the United States Naval Postgraduate School.

He is only the second Guyanese officer to graduate from this prestigious institution.

Colonel Jerrick’s thesis focused on ideological radicalization. He also studied Defense Capability Development and Innovation and Adaption in the Military, the Embassy said in its statement.

The Naval Postgraduate School, located in Monterey, California, offers over 75 unique academic curricula to military and civilian members of the U.S. Department of Defense and its allies around the world.

Colonel Jerrick’s education was funded through the U.S. Government’s

International Military Education and Training (IMET) programme.

IMET trains military students throughout the world and builds alliances for the future.

In 2021, IMET funded education for 32 members of the Guyana Defence Force and two members of the Government of Guyana, totalling US$539,000.

The investment is part of the U.S. commitment to Guyana’s security.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE January 23, 2022

FROM BACK PAGE

IPL 2022 likely to Holder stars for West Indies... start from March 27 … Mumbai slotted in as first option to host 10-team tournament, with UAE, South Africa as back-ups

THE 2022 season of IPL is set to start in the last week of March and is scheduled to run until the end of May. ESPNcricinfo has learned that in a meeting with the ten franchises yesterday, the IPL authorities informed owners that they had pencilled in March 27 as a likely start date.

The franchises were also told that the tournament would be held in India, with Mumbai as the main venue. And in case the COVID-19 numbers in India are low at the time, Ahmedabad could be considered as a second venue to host the playoffs.

In case the pandemic situation in India is not feasible to host the tournament, then South Africa and the UAE will be the back-up options in no particular order.

At yesterday's meeting, the IPL told the franchises that a final decision is expected to be taken by February 20.

"I am delighted to confirm that the 15th season of the IPL will start in the last week of March and will run until May end," BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in a statement released last evening. "A majority of the team owners expressed their wish that the tournament be held in India.

The BCCI was always keen on staging the 2022 edition that will see two new teams - Ahmedabad and Lucknow - in India. I can tell you that we will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that IPL stays in India.

“The BCCI has not compromised on the health and safety of its stakeholders in the past and will concurrently work on Plan B since the COVID-19 situation with new variants remains fluid.

“The mega IPL auction will take place on February 12-13 and we will lock in venues before that."

The reason the IPL has zeroed in on just one venue in Mumbai, which has multiple grounds, was to avoid travel and the debacle of 2021 edition, when the tour-

Brabourne Stadium and the DY Patil Stadium. There is also the Mumbai Cricket Association-run ground in Bandra-Kurla Complex, which has hosted domestic tournaments and where IPL teams have trained in the past.

The BCCI is keen on holding the 2022 IPL in India (BCCI)

nament had to be called off at the halfway stage due to the spike in the number of cases among teams.

One key reason responsible for teams reporting growing COVID-19 positive cases was travelling between different cities. The tournament was postponed, before the second leg was held in the UAE in September-October.

India is currently experiencing the third wave of the pandemic, with the Omicron variant dominant across the country. Though the impact is less severe, the high degree of transmissibility has led to stringent curbs on movement and public activities in big cities.

Incidentally, even in 2021, the IPL had thought about holding the entire tournament in Mumbai, before deciding to host it across two cities at a time. This time they have decided to wait until mid-February, by which time the necessary government permissions would have been received and the feasibility of hosting the tournament, which will feature 74 matches, in Mumbai can be checked.

Along with the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai also has two other grounds that have hosted international matches: the

Teams split over UAE and South Africa It is learned that not all teams are unanimous about either of the two back-up options. Some of the franchises pointed out that the UAE, which has three venues, was becoming more predictable in terms of results as witnessed during the men's T20 World Cup that was held in 2021, as well as the second leg of IPL 2021 that immediately preceded it.

Another concern with the UAE was that the pitches could become weary by April-May, after a long season with multiple tournaments. However, others felt that barring Sharjah, which dished out slower pitches with low bounce last IPL, Dubai and Abu Dhabi hosted close contests.

Some franchises also backed UAE only because there was no internal travel involved and the venue itself overall had been one of the safest spots globally during the pandemic.

It was also pointed out by the IPL authorities that South Africa had one clear advantage in terms of multiple venues, but the counter to that - as pointed out by some franchises - was that any travel during the pandemic came laden with risks, as was already experienced in the first half of IPL 2021 in India, when the country had struggled to cope with the Delta variant.

It is learned that some franchises said that one crucial aspect that the IPL had to take into account was the absence of any window in 2022 in case the tournament was to be disrupted once again, due to travel-related reasons. (Cricinfo)

Rashford snatches late win for Manchester United against West Ham

MARCUS Rashford scored the winner with virtually the last kick of the game as Manchester United leapfrogged West Ham into the Premier League's top four.

It seemed certain to be another frustrating afternoon for the hosts, who were stifled by the Hammers' organisation and otherwise came no closer than Fred's second-half effort that was saved by Alphonse Areola.

But with less than 30 seconds of the three minutes of injury time remaining, United broke and in a move that involved all three substitutes, Edinson Cavani held his run to remain onside as he collected Anthony Martial's short pass before rolling a cross to the far post, where it was converted by Rashford.

The result was harsh on the Hammers. In a game of few chances, Jarrod Bowen drove a shot into the side-netting before Tomas Soucek's glancing header bounced just wide of the far post with four minutes remaining.

But Rashford had the final word as United secured backto-back wins for the first time under Ralf Rangnick.

Manchester United have now won successive games for the first time under Ralf Rangnick

The result takes United into the top four for the first time in three months, with the Hammers dropping down to fifth, although Tottenham and Arsenal could overtake them if they win their games today.

Jason Roy (6) was first to go, losing his middle stump as he advanced to Cottrell, the ball after advancing to smash the left-arm seamer for six. Then it was over to Holder.

The big all-rounder found a hint of swing and was able to use his height to extract extra bounce from the surface, with that combination helping him to find Tom Banton's (4) outside edge.

Nicholas Pooran took the chance at slip.

Moeen Ali came and went, slashing his first ball to backward point to put Holder on a hat-trick. He could not quite get it but batting was proving extremely difficult and two maidens followed before James Vince got after Cottrell (2-30).

Back-to-back boundaries were followed by a topedged hook for six, only for Vince (14) to slap the next ball - short, wide and begging to be hit - straight to cover and become the second of three England batters to fall the ball after hitting a maximum.

The early damage had been done by the seamers but Akeal Hosein showed there was plenty in the pitch for the spinners too, ripping the ball past Sam Billings (2), who was stumped by a mile to end the seventh over.

Morgan and Liam Dawson (2) tried to rebuild and got through to the halfway stage of the innings but a calamitous run out the ball after drinks saw the latter heading back to the pavilion and Morgan (17) was not far behind, smashing Romario Shepherd

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over the offside for six before being deceived by a slower ball next up and picking out Kieron Pollard at cover.

Jordan and Rashid did at least manage to provide some resistance over the next five overs, Jordan clubbing three big sixes before he holed out off Fabian Allen in the 17th over and then it was left to Holder to wrap up the innings, castling Rashid the ball after dismissing Saqib Mahmood (5).

England desperately needed early wickets to give them any chance of defending such a low total but with the West Indies not needing to take any risks and the pitch having steadily improved through the match, none were forthcoming.

King and Shai Hope eased through the powerplay, smartly playing the situation and turned the chase into something of a non-event.

Rashid (1-21) removed Hope (20) with a superb legbreak, Billings with quick hands to complete the stumping, and Dawson (0-12) offered as much threat as any England bowler in a tidy spell, but the result was never in doubt.

King and Pooran (27no) steadily took the home side towards their target before King, the over after bringing up his second T20 fifty from 47 balls, hit the winning run from the first ball of the 18th over.

After a disappointing start, England will aim to bounce back today and show why they are the No 1 ranked T20 side in the world.(Sky Sports).

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE January 23, 2022

Medvedev reaches fourth round as Andrey Rublev loses

RUSSIAN world number two, Daniil Medvedev, reached the Australian Open fourth round with a straight-set win over Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp.

The 2021 finalist claimed a comfortable 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 win against the world number 57 inside Margaret Court Arena.

The US Open champion will play American Maxime Cressy in the last 16 after he beat Australian Christopher O'Connell.

However, fifth seed Andrey Rublev is out after the Russian lost to Croatia's Marin Cilic in four sets.

Cilic, a finalist in 2018, prevailed 7-5, 7-6(7-3), 3-6, 6-3 to set up a meeting with Canadian ninth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Auger-Aliassime, 21, earlier beat Britain's Dan Evans 6-4, 6-1, 6-1.

Meanwhile, Greek fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas progressed with victory in four sets against Benoit Paire.

Two-time semi-finalist Tsitsipas, 23, recorded a 6-3, 7-5, 6-7(2-7), 6-4 victory on Rod Laver Arena against Frenchman Paire, ranked 56th.

After coming through an entertaining four-set match against Australian Nick Kyrgios, Medvedev encountered few problems against the only player to win a set against him on his run to the US Open title in September.

A break of serve in the third game of the opening two sets was enough to put the Russian, 25, in control of his third-round match although the second seed did face a break point when leading 3-2 in the second.

But Medvedev, the highest ranked player in the draw, recorded a double break in the third set as he clinically closed out the match by winning five consecutive games.

Upcoming opponent Cressy, 24, beat wildcard O'Connell 6-2, 6-7(68), 6-3, 6-2 to secure his first major fourth-round appearance.

Daniil Medvedev lost to Novak Djokovic in the 2021 Australian Open final

"I was hoping you were going to be a little bit easier on me you guys," Medvedev joked to the crowd, after he received boos following his win over Australian Kyrgios on Thursday.

"I'll put it this way; it's easier

Sabalenka, Halep through to Australian Open fourth round SECOND-SEED Aryna Sabalenka fought her way past Marketa Vondrousova to reach the Australian Open fourth round.

The Belarusian, bidding to reach the semi-finals at Melbourne Park for the first time, recovered well to beat the Czech 31st seed 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.

She will face Kaia Kanepi next after the Estonian beat Australian wildcard Maddison Inglis 2-6, 6-2, 6-0.

Earlier, Simona Halep continued her dominant streak with a crushing 6-2, 6-1 win over Danka Kovinic.

Sabalenka had a breakthrough 2021, reaching both the Wimbledon and US Open semi-finals.

She has struggled on serve this season with 70 double faults in her previous four matches this year, including 31 in her first two matches at the Australian Open.

"I'm really happy right now and mostly happy that I made only 10 double faults," she joked on-court.

"I'll just keep working on my serve and keep hoping it gets better match by match."

Two-time Grand Slam champion Halep has had a more straightforward time at this year's tournament.

The Romanian 14th seed has won all eight of her matches this year and won the Adelaide WTA

Simona Halep reached the final of the Australian Open in 2018 but lost to Caroline Wozniacki

event in the build-up to a tournament.

Halep has lost just 12 games in her first three matches and has yet to drop a set.

"I always love to play in Australia so that's why maybe I play good matches," Halep said.

"It's super hot today. I did not look relaxed but I feel good and more confident now."

She will face Alize Cornet next after the Frenchwoman beat Slovenian 29th seed Tamara Zidansek 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.

"The Australian heat is brutal and I can't believe I won," Cornet said. "It was mostly about survival."

Seventh seed Iga Swiatek kept

up her strong form with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Russia's Daria Kasatkina.

Poland's Swiatek has also yet to drop a set at Melbourne Park and has not lost more than five games in a match.

The 20-year-old meets Romanian Sorana Cirstea in the last 16 after she defeated Russian 10th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in three sets, winning 6-3, 2-6, 6-2.

American 27th seed Danielle Collins, a semi-finalist in 2019, saw off talented Danish teenager Clara Tauson 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.

She will play Elise Mertens after the Belgian beat China's Zhang Shuai 6-2, 6-2. (BBC Sport)

to play a guy from the Netherlands than a guy from Australia in Australia, in Melbourne.

"Every good relationship must have its ups and downs so I think it's good, it's entertaining and it's real, there is some relationship going on."

Cilic pulled off the biggest upset yesterday, as the 2014 US Open champion secured only his second win against a top-10 opponent since 2018.

The 33-year-old stunned the world number six as he landed 24 aces and hit 55 winners in an impressive display.

The 27th seed took control by winning the second set tie-break, having broken late in the first, and responded to Rublev's third set recovery to seal a memorable victory.

Tsitsipas had won his previous three meetings with Paire and took his first break point of the match as he raced into a 3-0 lead on the way to claiming the first set.

The 23-year-old escaped two

break points on his opening service game in the second and was unable to take one of three opportunities in the following game - but he eventually made the breakthrough in the 11th game before serving out the set.

He could not find a way through Paire in the third and the Frenchman was rewarded for his resolve as he dominated the tie-break.

However, Tsitsipas struck the decisive blow with a break to love to seize his first match-point after two hours and 45 minutes.

The Greek will face American Taylor Fritz for a place in the quarter-finals, after the 20th seed overcame Spanish 15th seed Roberto Bautista Agut in five sets, battling back to win 6-0, 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Italian 11th seed Jannik Sinner's 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 win over Japanese qualifier Taro Daniel means he will play Alex de Minaur, after the Australian defeated Spaniard Pablo Andujar 6-4, 6-4, 6-2. (BBC Sport)

Curry buzzer-beater seals Warriors win against Rockets

Stephen Curry finished with 22 points

STEPHEN Curry hit the first buzzer-beating game-winner of his NBA career to help Golden State Warriors to a dramatic win over Houston Rockets.

The sides were tied at 103 as the 33-year-old drove into the lane, created space and made the winning shot to seal a 105-103 victory.

"About time!" he told an on-court TV interviewer. "That's my first one!"

Curry, who finished with 22 points, had earlier missed two three-pointers as the game reached its climax.

Earlier this season, the twotime NBA Most Valuable Player broke the league's all-time record for three-pointers.

After losing in overtime to In-

diana Pacers last time out, Warriors made a slow start with Curry himself missing nine of his 10 attempts from the field in the first half and he let his frustration show when he kicked a courtside chair.

Warriors trailed 54-43 at halftime, but scored 33 points in the third quarter to go into the final quarter with the score level at 76.

With 11.5 seconds remaining after Houston's Garrison Matthews missed a three-pointer, Golden State got the rebound and on the inbounds after a timeout got the ball to Curry who worked his magic.

"This whole game was crazy," he added. "Back to back, we were kind of stuck in the mud and trying to find our way through it."

Elsewhere, Los Angeles Lakers bounced back from their embarrassing loss to Indiana Pacers with a 116-105 victory at the Orlando Magic.

LeBron James scored 29 points while Carmelo Anthony added 23 points off the bench, 19 of them in the second half and Russell Westbrook had 18 points with 11 rebounds and seven assists.

Brooklyn Nets regained the lead in the Eastern Conference with a 117-102 victory over Spurs in San Antonio as Chicago Bulls lost top spot following a 94-90 loss at Milwaukee Bucks. (BBC Sport)

30

SUNDAY CHRONICLE January 23, 2022

Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh advance to Super League

Centurions Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Raj Bawa

… Centuries for Raghuvanshi and Bawa

RAJ Bawa and Angkrish Raghuvanshi powered India past several batting records as they set Uganda an insurmountable total of 405.

After captain Nishant Sindu fell for 15 in the 16th over, Raghuvanshi and Bawa worked together to add 206 runs in 22.4 overs.

Opener Raghuvanshi was eventually dismissed for 144 from 120 balls. Bawa then continued to pile on the runs as Kaushal Tambe and Dinesh Bana made useful cameos.

By the time left-hander Bawa reached 150, 66 per cent of his runs had come from boundaries and at the close of the innings, he held the highest score of the tournament, surpassing the 154 not out from England’s Tom Prest, to end with 162 from 108 balls including 14 fours and eight sixes.

The overall total of 405 for five marks India’s second-highest score behind their 425 for three against Scotland in 2004. In that match Shikhar Dhawan hit 155 not out, the previous highest individual score for India at an ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup. Uganda’s challenge got even

tougher as opener Isaac Ategeka was forced to retire having been struck on the forearm by a Rajvardhan Hangargekar delivery. The right-arm seamer then dismissed his replacement Cyrus Kakuru for a first-ball duck off the final ball of an eventful first over.

Captain Pascal Murungi, who earlier took Uganda’s best figures of 3-72, batted bravely for 34 but could not stop the inevitable victory, as Uganda ended on 79 for nine from 19.4 overs with Ategeka unable to retake the field.

Opener Muhammad Shehzad shone with ball rather than bat as Pakistan earned a nine-wicket win over Papua New Guinea to set up a knock-out meeting with Australia.

Papua New Guinea started positively as Christopher Kilapat and Boio Ray put on 24 for the first wicket. However, once Kilapat, who top-scored with 11, fell, Papua New Guinea lost the next nine wickets for 26 runs.

Pakistan’s bowling was impactful as well as wayward, the bowlers contributing 19 extras to Papua New Guinea’s total of 50. Ahmed Khan

claimed the wickets of the two openers on his way to three for 10 before captain Barnabas Maha was run-out having added only two to the total.

Chasing the modest total of 51, Shehzad was out for a duck from six balls before Abbas Ali and wicketkeeper-batter Haseebullah Khan combined to put on the runs needed for a comfortable victory.

Pakistan top Group C having won all three of their matches to set up a repeat of the 1988 and 2010 finals with Australia, while Papua New Guinea will meet hosts West Indies in the Plate League.

Suliman Safi’s century helped Afghanistan to victory over Zimbabwe in the final game of Group C to earn a quarter-final tie with Sri Lanka in the Super League.

The Afghanistan captain put on 111 from 118 balls, including 14 fours and three sixes, to move Afghanistan to 261 for six. He was dismissed on the final ball of the

innings. Four other batters posted scores of over 20, with opener Nageyalia Kharote contributing an important half-century from 45 balls.

Alex Falao was the pick of the bowlers for Zimbabwe with three for 54 from his ten overs to tally eight wickets for the tournament so far.

In reply in Diego Martin, Zimbabwe opener Matthew Welch led the charge with Steven Saul contributing nine to the score before being given out lbw to leave his side on one for 49.

Welch’s next two partners added only one run to the total before it was Welch’s turn to fall, having made 53 from 61 balls.

Zimbabwe eventually slipped to a 109–run defeat and will now face Scotland in the plate quarterfinals.

Bangladesh bowlers worked in tandem to restrict the United Arab Emirates to 148 on their way to a nine-wicket victory.

The UAE slipped to eight for two inside three overs as Ashiqur Zaman dismissed the two openers to earn himself figures of two for 14 from eight overs. Dhruv Parashar

and captain Alishan Sharafu then combined to steady the ship for the UAE, putting on 44 runs for the third wicket.

Punya Mehra then top-scored with 43 off 64 balls but could not find a partner to stay with him, as the final seven wickets fell for 98 runs. Ripon Mondol returned Bangladesh’s best figures of 3-31, with three other bowlers also coming away with dismissals.

Chasing 148, Bangladesh made a commanding start, reaching 86 before losing their first wicket as Iftakher Hossain was caught by Soorya Sathish off the bowling of Jash Giyanani.

Hossain had added 37 runs from 70 balls, with fellow opener Mahfijul Islam putting on 45 runs before the players were taken off the field due to rain in Basseterre.

Mahfijul was able to reach his half-century as the team had a new target of 107, the opener eventually reaching 64 not out from 6 balls, as Prantik Nawrose Nabil joined him in the middle. They sealed the victory and safe passage to the knockout stages. (ICC Media)

BCCI rejigs schedule of India St Cuthbert’s Secondary gets vs West Indies ODIs. T20Is to table tennis equipment boost avoid clash with IPL auction

THE BCCI has confirmed that the venues for the limited-over series at home against West Indies will be Ahmedabad and Kolkata, and has also advanced the third ODI from February 12 to 11, to avoid a clash with the IPL auction set for February 12-13.

As reported by ES PNcricinfo on January 20, the board had planned to keep the venues to two instead of the original six, to limit any chance of the COVID-19 pandemic affecting the series.

The BCCI said the move was "to mitigate bio-security risks by cutting down on travel and movement of the teams, match officials, broadcasters, and other stakeholders."

The tour will begin with three ODIs, which will all take place in Ahmedabad, and the teams will then move to Kolkata for three T20Is. The ODIs are scheduled for February 6, 9 and 11. The opening T20I will now take place on February 16 instead of 15, and the remaining two T20Is will go

DCEO-AHED, Marti DeSouza plays a friendly game with a student

The series will now be played at only two venues

ahead on February 18 and 20, as originally planned.

As reported by ESPNcricinfo earlier, the BCCI had mooted the change of dates, and was waiting to make an official decision after discussions with Cricket West Indies (CWI).

Last September, while BCCI unveiled India's home calendar for 2021-22, it had named Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Kolkata as the venues for the ODIs with the original dates being February 6, 9 and 12.

The T20Is were to be played in Cuttack, Visakhapatnam and Thiruvananthapuram, on February 15, 18 and 20.

Apart from avoiding a clash with the IPL auctions, the change in schedule is a precautionary step by the BCCI, taken in response to the growing number of positive cases in India, which is currently experiencing a third wave of the pandemic, with the Omicron variant dominant across the country.

Though the impact of this wave has been less severe than the preceding Delta wave, the high degree of transmissibility of Omicron has led to stringent curbs on movement and public activities, particularly in big cities.

(Cricinfo)

THE Ministry of Education recently handed over two complete table tennis sets to St Cuthbert’s Secondary School.

Deputy Chief Executive Officer with the responsibility of Amerindian Hinterland Education Development (DCEOAHED), Marti DeSouza, said that this is in keeping with the ministry’s vision to produce rounded students. He added that it will also enhance the school’s Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (CSEC) Physical Education programme.

“It is a little gesture of where we want to be heading in terms of sports development and producing well-rounded individuals not just in academics.”

He encouraged the students to get involved in the sport.

This is part of a larger programme which will see secondary schools across the hinterland being given access to sporting equipment.

St. Cuthbert’s Secondary School Head Teacher, Janice Williams, expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Education for the timely donation.

The equipment is part of

the second tranche of 50 table tennis tables from the People’s Republic of China through the Embassy in Guyana and is aimed at promoting the sport in schools.

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (Sunday January 23, 2022)

COMPLIMENTS OF CUMMINGS ELECTRICAL COMPANY LTD 83 Garnett Street, Campbellville, Georgetown (Tel: 225-6158) Answers to yesterday’s quiz: (1) Akeal Hosein-6 wickets (2) Andy McBrine-10 wickets Today’s Quiz: (1) When and where did the WI and ENG first contest a T20 International game?

(2) Who were the captains involved?

Answers in tomorrow’s issue

31

SUNDAY CHRONICLE January 23, 2022

2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup

Lady Jags to begin journey, against Turks and Caicos in February

THE Lady Jags, Guyana’s Senior Women’s National football team, will take on Dominica and the Turks and Caicos Islands in February in the qualifiers for the 2022 CONCACAF W Championship, a tournament that serves as the regional gateway to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and the 2024 Summer Olympics.

The Guyana Football Federation (GFF), in a release, said the fixtures, rescheduled from November by CONCACAF due to challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, will bring the Lady Jags squad together for the first time since October’s encampment in Puerto Rico, which included two friendly matches against the hosts.

On Wednesday, February 16, Guyana will start their Group F qualification campaign with a home tie against Dominica at the Leonora Stadium, which will kick off at 20:00hrs, followed by an away

Guyana's Senior Women's National players and coaching staff

fixture against the Turks and Caicos Islands on Saturday, February 19.

Further details will be announced for the away game.

“The first two rounds will be an extended training camp for us, as we try and assess our players and evaluate where we are as a team,” said head coach Ivan Joseph.

“This will be the first time in

Chase Academy awards Police’s female footballers with scholarships

my tenure as a coach where we will have our full programme assembled, and it will take us some time to come together as a cohesive unit.”

“Turks & Caicos and Dominica will be formidable opponents, who have been working hard these past few months to build a solid programme,” he added.

“TRULY educated persons are those who thrive to make society a better place”. These were the words of Henry Chase, Director and Principal of Chase Academic Foundation, who mentioned this during an interview with Guyana Police Force’s Corporate Communications Unit, after granting scholarships to two young females who are members of the Force’s female football team and are also students at the Chase Academic Foundation.

The two players, Mani Maxwell (17 years old) and Martha Chance (13 years old), are both members of the Guyana Under-20 and Under-17 National teams respectively.

Chase said that the two girls were selected after seeing them perform in previous matches and recognising their potential, the Henry Chase, Director and Principal of discipline within them and the love Chase Academic Foundation (centre) they have for the sport, adding that along with the two scholarship awardees his goal is to develop football and The two recipients expressed their the scholarship programme in his school.

He further stated that the scholarship gratitude to the Guyana Police Force and programme began in 2012 and has been Chase Academic Foundation for their continuous to date - having eight other support and noted that the scholarships females currently on scholarships from will play a significant role in their academic and athletic development. various football clubs.

The recipients were accompanied Chase, who also has a passion for by Deputy Superintendent Rockwell education and sport, expressed his satisfaction in working with the Guyana Delph, along with head coach of the Police Force and wishes that other busi- Guyana Police Force female football nesses and organisations will emulate his team, Vurlon Mills, and assistant coaches Trevon Lythcott and Gordon actions.

Henry.

“We hope to get the results we need to put us in the right position to advance out of the group, but we will have our hands full.”

After the opening two matches in February, Guyana will face Nicaragua on April 8 and Trinidad and Tobago on April 12 to complete their qualification group matches.

Each of the six group winners

will join automatic qualifiers Canada and the United States – the reigning champions – in the 2022 CONCACAF W Championship, which will take place in Mexico in July.

“I am very excited to have our senior team playing in the upcoming W Qualifiers,” said GFF Director of Women’s Programmes Paul Beresford.

“We have a mix of veterans and new players available to us, and I am confident the coaching staff will put a very competitive team together.”

“Both of these games are critical in building momentum and we expect Dominica and Turks & Caicos to present stiff competition,” Beresford continued.

“It will be great to have the women’s team playing in Guyana again, and I expect the football fraternity to come out and support the Lady Jaguars.”

Parchment, Thompson-Herah named Jamaica's Sportsman, Sportswoman of 2021 SPRINTER Elaine Thompson-Herah and sprint hurdler, Hansle Parchment, were named Jamaica’s National Sportsman- and Sportswoman-of-the-Year 2021, at the RJRGleaner Sports Foundation’s National Awards Ceremony held on Friday night.

The event was held virtually, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thompson-Herah had a phenomenal 2021 seaSportsman (2021) Hansie Parchment (left) and Sportswoman (2021) son, which included her Elaine Thompson-Herah winning the 100m at the Diamond League final in Zurich and running 10.54 at the Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (who fin- League final in Zurich.

His teammate Ronald Levy, Eugene Diamond League to be- ished as runner-up for the Sportswoman-of-the-Year award), and who was the runner-up for the come the fastest woman alive and second fastest woman of all-time. Shericka Jackson, who won the Sportsman-of-the-Year Award, Her greatest achievement in gold medal in a national record took home the bronze medal in Tokyo.

2021, however, would have to be 41.02.

Parchment shocked the world Other major awards givwhen she became the first woman to win gold in the Men’s 110m en out on the day include the in history to win the sprint double Hurdles in Tokyo, nine years after Chairman's Award to veteran at consecutive Olympic Games.

Backing up her exploits from his bronze medal performance at journalist Lance Whittaker; the People's Choice ‘PerformanceRio in 2016, Thompson-Herah the London Olympics.

He ran 13.04 to win gold in of-the-Year Award’ to Fraser produced times of 10.61 and Tokyo ahead of prohibitive favouMcConnell; the VM Group 21.53 to win gold medals in both Y.O.U.T.H. Award to sprinter the 100m and 200m at the Tokyo rite Grant Holloway of the USA. The past student of Morant Tina Clayton and the Gleaner Olympics, in addition to being a Bay High and Kingston College Newspaper Iconic Award to part of Jamaica’s 4x100m relay team, alongside Briana Williams, was also third at the Diamond Michael Holding. (Sportsmax)

32

National Junior and Cadet table tennis..

SUNDAY CHRONICLE January 23, 2022

Van Lange wins two National Junior Doubles titles … .Jeffrey, Burrowes victorious in Novices battle

Jonathan Van Lange (middle) won the U19 Mixed Doubles title with Jasmine Billingy (left) and the U19 Boys’ title with Niran Bissu

NATIONAL table tennis player, Jonathan Van Lange, surged to two Doubles titles when the National Junior and Cadet Table Tennis Championships served off yesterday at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

The opening day of the two-day event saw five finals played, including the Mixed Doubles finals, which Van Lange won with up-and-coming star Jasmine Billingy and the Boys’ Doubles finals, which he won with rival Niran Bissu.

Crystal Melville and Thuraia Thomas also teamed up to dominate the Girls’ Doubles, while in the Novices competitions, Samirah Burrowes finished as the top female and Emmanuel Jeffrey as the top male.

Today, the U15 and U19 Singles, which started yesterday, are expected to culminate,

with Van Lange looking to repeat as Junior champion and Melville and Thomas ready to duke it out in the Junior Girls’ competition.

When the competition was last held in 2020, Melville finished as Junior Champion, while Thomas copped the Cadet title. This year, age has limited them to just the U19 Girls’ battle.

Eleven-year-old players Billingly and Samara Sukhai are favourites for the U15 Girls’ title, while with Colin Wong suffering an injury yesterday, the U15 Boys title will be within the grasp of 12-year-old Malachi Moore.

NOVICES BATTLE Burrowes defeated Shacikecy Daman 11-7, 11-4, 11-2 in the semis and Tricelle

Holder stars for West Indies in a comfortable win in T20 opener JASON Holder took 4-7 as England were bowled out for 103 on their way to a comprehensive nine-wicket defeat to West Indies in the first T20 international at Kensington Oval in Barbados.

England quickly found themselves in trouble after being asked to bat as Holder and Sheldon Cottrell did damage with the new ball, reducing the visitors to 10-3 which swiftly became 29-5 and then 49-7.

It took a 36-run stand between Chris Jordan (28) and Adil Rashid (22) for the eighth wicket to take England up to anything close to respectability before Holder wrapped up the innings with two balls to

Henrietta clean-sweep: The three friends from Henrietta, Essequibo, from left, Gavin Narine, Emmanuel Jeffrey and Dasean Verwayne dominate the Novices division

Clarke 11-5, 6-11, 11-5, 11-6 in the final of the Girls’ division, while for the Novices Boys, it came down to a battle between three friends from Henrietta on the Essequibo Coast.

In the end, it was 18-year-old Emmanuel Jeffrey who edged out Gavin Narine with a come-from-behind 3-2 (13-11, 5-11, 10-12, 11-4, 11-9) victory.

Another Henrietta resident, Dasean Verwayne, who lost to fellow 16-year-old Narine, 11-5, 11-6, 11-5, finished tied for third with William Penn.

DOUBLES ACTION In the Girls’ Doubles final, Thomas and Melville defeated Billingy and Sukhai 3-1 (11-3, 4-11, 11-5, 11-7).

Van Lange and Bissu partnered well in the Boys’ Doubles. They got past seasoned players Wong and Krystian Sahadeo 3-1 (911, 11-8, 12-10, 11-7) in the championship clash, after defeating U. Persival and S. Rahim in the semi-finals.

Sahadeo and Wong had defeated Moore and Ebo McNeil 3-1 in the other semi-finals.

The Mixed Doubles competition had a number of solid teams, but the duo of Van Lange and Billingy proved to be the best.

They defeated Moore and Sukhai 11-9, 11-5, 11-7 in the semis before beating Bissu and Thomas 3-1 (7-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-2) in the final.

Thomas and Bissu had gotten the better of Sahadeo and Melville (11-8, 11-6, 11-5) in the other semi-final.

Jason Holder took 4-7 as England were skittled for 103 at Kensington Oval

spare.

Brandon King then hit an unbeaten 52 as West Indies calmly knocked off the runs with 17 balls to spare to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

The one positive for England is that they have less than 24 hours to wait before trying to put things right, with the second T20 taking place at the same venue today.

England collapse early in Barbados At the toss, Eoin Morgan insisted that he would have chosen to bat first as they aim to work on setting a total ahead of another T20 World Cup at the end of the year and if it was a challenge he wanted, he got it Brandon King finished unbeaten on 52 as three wickets fell in the first two overs. as West Indies cruised to victory

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IPL 2022 likely to start from March 27 28 PAGE

SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2022