Guyana Chronicle E-Paper 24-03-2021

WEDNESDAY 24 th March , 2021

’ No. 106310

Guyana interested in 03 400,000 doses of ‘Covaxin’ PAGE

–– working closely with India to facilitate commercial arrangement

President Ali: Guyana poised for ‘boundless’ opportunities 09 PAGE

Excess natural gas 02 could be sold to India PAGE

Two prison escapees, woman shot dead in 05 Better Hope backlands PAGE

This fisherman at the Bartica Municipal Market, Region Seven (Cuyuni – Mazaruni) displays a fresh, large catch while signalling same to potential customers (Richard Bhainie photo)

City Council extends waiver of interest on residential, commercial taxes 04 PAGE

Dead: Ryan Jones

Dead: Imran Ramsaywack

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, March 24, 2021

Excess natural gas could be sold to India –– Indian HC says, affirms India’s technical support for O&G development

By Vishani Ragobeer INDIA remains interested in entering into a long-term procurement deal with Guyana to purchase Guyana’s share of its oil extracted but Indian High Commissioner to Guyana, Dr. K. J. Srinivasa, also noted that India may buy natural gas from Guyana if it has excess supply.

Previously, the High Commissioner noted that the Government of India

is willing to purchase Guyana’s share of oil lifts at the market value, annually and on a long-term basis, through a Government to Government agreement since the country is a mass importer of oil.

The High Commissioner had noted that Indian companies such as Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), Bharrat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) – all State-owned

Selected quote from Dr Cheddi Jagan “DEMOCRACY and health are interlinked and interacting.

Without democracy, there can be no economic development.

And without economic development, there can be no social progress and health care.”

Indian High Commissioner to Guyana, Dr. K. J. Srinivasa companies – would be interested in buying crude from Guyana in the future.

During an interview with the Guyana Chronicle on Tuesday, the High

Commissioner noted that the two countries are still negotiating that procurement deal. In another section of the local media, Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, recently confirmed that the Indian Government is currently in talks with Guyana for the purchase of crude for short-term oil contracts in order to off-

set its earlier high priced long-term contracts entered into. While that request was made, the minister noted that a decision is still to be taken.

India has also signalled its willingness to help Guyana develop its gasto-shore project, once that project is finalised. The High Commissioner noted that assistance can be provided to use the gas for the energy purposes, use it as fertilisers or to bottle the gas as Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

Importantly, Dr. Srinivasa highlighted: “If you want to set up a processing plant here, we will help you set that up… but if they have excess gas to market, yes, of course we will talk to them once we know what is the quantity and what is going to happen because we don’t know anything right now.”

LARGE DEMAND He, subsequently, highlighted that India also has a large demand for gas which has resulted in it entering into large contracts with several countries. Once Guyana has excess natural gas to market, he assured that the Indian Government would consider purchasing from Guyana.

A special task force established by President Irfaan Ali to assess the feasibility of a gas-to-energy project has since determined that close to 2,000 acres of land would be needed to construct a power generation facility.

Part of the plan by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government is to reduce the cost of energy by 50 per cent through an energy mix, which includes the conversion of natural gas from ExxonMobil’s offshore operations to electricity. Though environmental assessments are needed, the gas-to-shore project seems to be more feasible in the community of Wales on the West Bank of Demerara.

Beyond purchasing the oil and gas being produced in Guyana’s Stabroek block, the High Commissioner noted that India has a keen interest in helping to develop Guyana’s technical capacity for its burgeoning oil and gas industry. As such, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to fund the training and capacity-building of Guyanese has been proposed to the Natural Resources Ministry. Under this MoU, Guyanese will travel to India for training with the local oil and gas corporations there.

“We will be very proud to join Guyana in its development journey and also share our expertise with Guyana because we understand that Guyana needs a lot of skills and capacity building in that sector,” Dr Srinivasa highlighted.

“An educated and highly-skilled workforce is critical to our competitiveness as a destination for investment, but also critical in ensuring that the Guyanese people are able to get jobs,” Senior Minister with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, emphasised in an interview with the Guyana Chronicle in December

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, March 24, 2021

Guyana interested in 400,000 doses of ‘Covaxin’ –– working closely with India to facilitate commercial arrangement, says Indian High Commissioner

By Vishani Ragobeer

THOUGH Guyana has not finalised any purchase agreements, the country is interested in some 400,000 doses of the ‘Covaxin’ vaccine for COVID-19 created in India by the Bharat BioTech company and the Indian Council for Medical Research, according to Indian High Commissioner to Guyana, Dr. K. J. Srinivasa.

In an interview with the Guyana Chronicle on Tuesday, the High Commissioner noted that many countries, including Guyana, have signalled their interest in purchasing the Covaxin vaccine. The demand, he said, has increased since the AstraZeneca vaccine -- which is produced by the Serum Institute of India and in South Korea -- has now become a scarce commodity.

Guyana has received 3,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from the quantity of vaccines donated to Barbados by India and subsequently, its own donation

of 80,000 doses from India. These vaccines, along with a donation of 20,000 sinopharm vaccines from China, have allowed Guyana to start vaccinating its frontline healthcare workers and elderly persons over the age of 60, in all 10 administrative regions.

Dr. Srinivasa related that information on this Covaxin vaccine was submitted to the Ministry of Health in January, and since then, the two countries have been working “closely” on facilitating this commercial arrangement.

“We understand that Guyana does have a requirement (for vaccines) and we are willing to facilitate that, so I have told the guys in India to hold onto the vaccines, not to send it off the supplies while we await the decision from the Ministry of Health,” the High Commissioner highlighted.

He also emphasised that Guyana signalled a strong interest in procuring vaccines but the country has been following the relevant internal procedures needed

before the vaccines can be procured.

The High Commissioner also noted that Bharat Biotech has given the local authorities a proforma invoice, which is a preliminary bill of sale.

“They have expressed their interest to buy it… once they say okay to that and sign on the dotted line then we will begin the process,” Dr. Srinivasa assured. He later told this publication that the local authorities have requested about 400,000 doses of the vaccines but the current process will only be for 100,000 doses.

“In India also, 400,000 doses will be alot to send out so we will do it in chunks,” he said, explaining why only 100,000 doses are currently being processed.

“Once that comes, it has to go through the process with the Ministry of External Affairs which is our Foreign Ministry, because they are controlling our supplies and sending them all over the world, and because it is a precious resource we don’t want to overdo it in one place,” he noted

also.

This Covaxin vaccine has received emergency use authorisation in India since January 3 and has been taken by frontline healthcare workers and elderly persons over the age of 65, who are currently being vaccinated in the SouthAsian country.

The country’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, also took this vaccine, which was found with an efficacy of 80.6 per cent from the early analysis of trial results.

It is being monitored by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the vaccine is administered in two doses, with the second dose being given four weeks (or 28 days) after the first dose.

Currently, Guyana is also purchasing 200,000 doses of the Sputnik V vaccine from Russia.

The first 50,000 doses are expected next week, and the same amount is expected weekly until the entire amount is received.

Flashback! Prime Minister of Guyana, Brigadier (ret’d), Mark Phillips (second left) received the ‘Covishield’ Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines donated by the Government of India from the High Commissioner of India to Guyana, Dr. K. J. Srinivasa (second right). Also in the photo is Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony (left) and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hugh Todd (right) (Elvin Croker photo)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, March 24, 2021

City Council extends waiver of interest on residential, commercial taxes –– Mayor Narine says many projects unhindered despite COVID-19 pandemic

By Naomi Parris

THE Mayor and City Council of Georgetown (M&CC), as part of its response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, has extended its tax relief measures offered to individuals and businesses.

Georgetown Mayor, Ubraj Narine, during a press conference on Tuesday, said that the council has made a decision to waive the interest on residential and commercial taxes for the year 2021.

“The council is cognisant of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the general populace and has opted to waive the interest on residential and commercial taxes for the year 2021,” Mayor Narine said.

He clarified that the waiver is not an amnesty;

Georgetown Mayor, Ubraj Narine -however it will provide some relief during the pandemic.

“This 2021 waiver of interest is not an amnesty; it is something similar we have done in the year 2020 so that we can be able to bring relief to our residential areas and commercial areas… this measure will provide relief to homeowners and businesses within our municipality,” Mayor Narine reasoned.

Although the council has offered tax relief/ waiver on the interest for general rates and taxes for the year 2020 and 2021, interest owed for previous years are still to be paid.

“But all of the interest in 2019, they’ll still have to pay that, but we waiver 2020 and now will con-

tinue 2021 until further notice,” Mayor Narine clarified.

Outside of the direct relief measures, he said that during 2020, the council had ‘reignited’ its partnership with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in not only areas related to COVID-19, but also other aspects of public health management.

The relationship with PAHO has extended into 2021, with the organisation already donating a dell laptop, a HP laser jet pro printer, a Cannon camera and an Epson projector. The organisation has also assisted with the creation of info-graphic publications on COVID-19 and vector-borne diseases.

RESLIENCE Despite the challenges created by the pervasive COVID-19 pandemic, Mayor Narine said that the council has managed to accomplish a lot throughout the first quarter of 2021.

The council, he said, has managed to execute a

Citizens going about their business at the Stabroek Market number of projects to ensure that vendors, who ply their trade in Georgetown, could operate in a safe and clean environment.

“The Mayor and councillors continue to partner with our vendors in ensuring that we are able to deliver the most efficient service to them through social projects such as our recent clean-up exercise,”

he said.

The clean-up campaign, which concluded recently, focussed on the Stabroek Area from Schumacher Street to South Road (Mahaica Bus Park), and from High Street to Water Street.

“We are grateful to all of our vendors who joined in this activity so that we can have cleaner vending

areas “The council will continue to remain resolute in the provision of services to the general public and is willing to listen and work with partners, domestically and internationally to enhance in the improvement of the general aesthetics of our municipality,” Mayor Narine affirmed.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, March 24, 2021

Two prison escapees, woman shot dead in Better Hope backlands

TWO prison escapees and their alleged female accomplice were shot dead by officers, who, acting on a tip, swooped down on a shack surrounded by bushes in the desolate backlands of Better Hope, on the East Coast of Demerara.

The dead prisoners were identified as 25-year old Imran Ramsaywack and 22year old Ryan Jones, who both had escaped from the Mazaruni Prison in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) on February 16, 2021. The woman has been identified as 49-year-old Savita Rajkumar, called ‘Debbie.’

Rajkumar was positively

Dead: Ryan Jones identified by her 26-year-old daughter, who had received information that her mother was involved in a shooting incident on Monday evening.

According to information from the Guyana Police

Force, the deceased woman was a close acquaintance of Imran Ramsaywack.

Reports are that investigators found a cellular phone, from which they were able to retrieve valuable information.

In a recap of the incident, the police said that officers received information at around 20:40 hours that the escapees were hiding out in a desolate, swampy field surrounded by bushes.

The officers, acting on this information, visited the location where they observed that there were three wooden shacks on the field, with two partly constructed.

It is alleged that the police entered the first shack but found no one; however, they heard a ‘voice’ emanating from the third shack.

But, before they could act, a male emerged and discharged one round at them before making good his escape.

Officers reportedly returned fire, and, in the aftermath of the exchange, they discovered the bodies of the woman, Jones and Ramsaywack, inside the shack.

There were visible gunshot wounds on the bodies.

Police said that the man, who allegedly fired at the police, escaped, but a sawnoff double-barrel shotgun was found at the scene.

Jones and Ramsaywack were among four prisoners who escaped from the Mazaruni Prison after cutting the bars from within their cell and breaking the

Dead: Imran Ramsaywack padlock to the entrance gate.

The other escapees are Kenrick Lyte, 44, who is facing a death sentence after being tried for murder, and Samuel Gouveia, 26, who is imprisoned for murder.

Lyte’s last known address is Grant Goodintent Lower Pomeroon River, while Gouveia’s is lot 13 Goedverwagting, East Coast of Demerara (ECD).

Ramsaywack, also known as ‘Kevin Jones’, or ‘Coolie Boy’ was sentenced to death in December 2019, for the murder of 45-yearold US-based Guyanese businesswoman Samantha Benjamin, whose dismembered body was found at the Buxton Seawalls, East Coast of Demerara in 2015.

He was a notorious gang member of Lot 7, Adelphi Village East Canje, Berbice.

Ryan Jones, who was

The shack the wanted men were killed in a resident of Bartica, was sentenced in July 2018 for the murder of Puranand ‘Andrew’ Baljit. It was reported that Jones confessed to killing Baljit during a home invasion on June 9, 2016, at

his Timehri, East Bank of Demerara home.

Jones was serving 28 years imprisonment and had attempted to escape from the Georgetown Prisons in 2020; he was among two of

the masterminds behind the attempted prison-break.

Jones’s father, Ralph Jones, was remanded to prison last month after he admitted to aiding the prisoners in their escape.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, March 24, 2021

Positive signals in sugar industry THE recent announcement by GuySuCo that the Albion/Port Mourant Estate has surpassed its production target for the fourth week is welcoming news for the industry which is being repositioned to return to profitability.

It is probably safe to say that the Albion/ Port Mourant Estate, the largest of all the sugar estates in Guyana, is not only taking the lead in production, but also leading by example in terms of teamwork to achieve set targets.

The 80 per cent turn out by workers is a demonstration of the positive impact of what could happen when the workers collectively put their shoulders to the wheels of production.

The survival of the industry will require similar and better performance from the workers, consistently, throughout the industry.

However, it is important to note that the senior management of GuySuCo and the workers and their unions must work as a cohesive unit in order for sugar to again become a force to be reckoned with.

It goes without saying that this should become the new culture of the industry since in time past, poor management-worker relationship exacerbated the problems of GuySuCo.

The need to work as a team and building strong management-worker relationship cannot be overstated. It was only a few years ago, on assuming power, the Coalition Government swiftly moved against the recommendations of a commission of inquiry it had commissioned on the industry and closed four estates, namely Skeldon, Rose Hall, Enmore and Wales.

In doing so, more than 7,000 sugar workers were placed on the breadline. During this time, many encountered severe hardships and, in many instances, families could not have afforded to send their children to school.

On returning to power, after having to endure five long months following the attempts by the then APNU+AFC Government to rig the 2020 elections, the People’s Progressive Party Government, against all odds, moved ahead with its promise to reopen the estates shuttered by the Coalition.

Today, many struggling sugar workers and businesses affected by the decision of the Coalition Government are returning to a better life, thanks to the investments by the current government to put sugar back on the path of economic viability.

While the government was able to reopen the Skeldon, Rose Hall and Enmore estates, it was unable to do the same for the Wales

Estate, which was heavily vandalised, but alternative systems are being put in place to benefit the affected workers and communities.

The work done by the current government to lift the sugar industry out of the perilous state it degenerated to under the Coalition Government could hardly go unnoticed.

In less than a year, the investments in this regard have been manifold. In 2020, GuySuCo was allocated a sum of $7 billion; $3 billion was used to recapitalise the Rose Hall, Skeldon, and Enmore sugar estates while the remaining $4 billion was allocated to support rehabilitation works at the Uitvlugt, Blairmont and Albion sugar estates.

A further $2 billion was included in Budget 2021 for capital works to be carried out at the various sugar estates across the country.

More recently, it was reported that over $50M was expended on repairs at the Uitvlugt Sugar Estate, West Coast Demerara, and this, along with good management-worker relations, has resulted in the estate performing above average.

This aside, the government through GuySuCo has also introduced the Weekly Production Incentive (WPI) which was unceremoniously discontinued by the Coalition Government.

Here again, some 7,000 workers are set to benefit from this scheme in the form of one day’s pay once the estate, in which they work, surpassed its weekly production target.

It was great to see many workers, who worked diligently for their respective estates, receiving this benefit, including Sachin Sooknandan of the Albion Sugar Estate, who did not shy away from expressing his delight, saying thusly: “I just received a day’s pay, and this is something real good, and it will benefit me and my family. It will be better for us; we are going to be more motivated, because my partners are already talking about working harder to make the day’s pay. This is real nice, and we are glad if it can continue, so it will benefit the people in the country. I feel real good what the government is doing, and what we getting right now is real good.”

Also, from GuySuCo’s end, more focus is being placed on packaged sugar and efforts are being made to pay greater attention on valued-added.

Undoubtedly, the industry is on the move and while the government is doing its part, it is also important that the workers and management work as a cohesive team to lift the industry out of its current state, a task, though challenging, is not one out of their reach.

First International Phagwah Conference Dear Editor,

The grand festival of exuberant colors and feelings is in the air. History was created when the National Council of Indian Culture (NCIC) in Trinidad and Tobago triumphantly held the first international Phagwa conference virtually on the 13th and 14th March, 2021. This program amassed some 65 professional scholars assembled from around the world to deliver a number of papers on various topics on Indian Diaspora, with the theme based on “Phagwa in the Global Village: Traditions, Innovations and Future developments.” Countries taking part included Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Jamaica, Grenada, USA, Canada, UK, India, Fiji, Mauritius, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. Speakers spoke on the historical, religious, scriptural and cultural significance of this great festival which will be celebrated this week-end, the 28th of March, throughout the globe. Comparisons were made from the ancient customs and traditions to modern day practices and, an anticipation for the future generation attitude for their continuity and maintenance. It was quite enlightening to learn about the methodology adopted in each of the participating country from the respective speaker, sharing valuable information about the common practices, choreographing all aspects of Phagwa and how time has retained most of the inherited ways celebrating the occasion from India and

also, the changes brought about from generation to generation.

Phagwa was painted colourfully by all the presenters and some even discussed the dangers, disadvantages and dislikes experienced by some disdained women, who expressed disgust when engaged in the playing of the festival with some males, perceived with disguised motives.

Many panelists conversed on the planting of the Holika, the days leading up to Phagwa, Holika Dahan, Phagwa day and the day after.

The traditional and non-traditional observances were enthusiastically explored and expounded in glorious forms and shapes, educating and enriching the audience. Discussants also traversed into Indian cultural anthropology and issues pertaining to today’s society, affecting the Indian community in terms of political, economic, social, cultural and religious positions. According to one of the organisers, Surujdeo Mangaroo, “While Phagwa has gained in popularity over the years, few efforts have been made to study this festival from an academic standpoint.”’

She added, “As many colors as there are in the festival of Phagwa, or Holi, so too are the legends associated with it. This ancient Hindu festival is celebrated with the coming of spring each year.” Inclusive in the agenda were films, poetry, songs and chowtals. The romanticising of Phagwa was depicted through the journey of stories, the eyes of the lens, the dancing feet and melodious voices.

There were a total of five Guyanese who presented papers on various aspects of the pro-

gram. Guyanese/American-based Electro-Cardiologist, Dr. Keshwar Ramkissoon, set the pace and mood for the week-end when he introduced “Legends of Holi,” laying the foundation for the spirit of the season, by divulging the deep seeded religious aspect of Phagwa. He related the story of the Asura King Hiranyakashipu, his sister Simhika (Holika) and his son, Bhakt Prahlad and the significance of the chronology and the moral. Popular for his outstanding articles and writings in the Guyanese newspapers, Dr. Vishnu Bishram, also a Guyanese residing in New York, expounded on “Introduction and Evolution of Phagwa Celebrations in Guyana”.

The first day also involved the young Guyanese, Praem Rambharak, who participated on the 8 youth session, “Kal, Aaj Aur Kal (Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow) – Youth Perspectives for Phagwa in the Diaspora.”

The second day witnessed the famous Guyanese past UG senior lecturer in Sociology, Dr. Tara Singh, chairing Panel 8 dealing with “Developing Trends in the Phagwa festival in India and the Indian Diaspora. The well-known philanthropist and columnist/writer both at home and abroad, also spoke on the subject, “Holi Sammalian Celebration in New York.”

The ardent and illustrious media commentator and writer, Shri Ravi Dev, brilliant for his political, social and cultural reflections and work, participated in the Indian Diaspora Round Table discussion along with Dr. Tara Singh, to wrap up the weekend Phagwa presentation. Children were certainly not excluded and The Confer-

ence Chair as the last speaker, Dr. Primnath Gooptar who hails from Trinidad and Tobago, presented his paper on “The children’s Phagwa in Trinidad: passing on the tradition to the next generation.” Noteworthy was the bravery of the youngest presenter, 10 year old daughter of Dr. Keshwar and Prarthna Ramkissoon, who on Saturday accompanied her dad to read a poem entitled, “Happy Holi,” written by her nana, Jai Lall.

Each session was followed by a question and answer segment and one of the cumbersome and controversial enquiries was made concerning, why Trinidad and Tobago has not declared Phagwa a national holiday. It was an internationally well-organised and successful conference. Two resolutions were tabled by Sri Deoroop Teemal and accepted: 1. Be it resolved that the NCIC Heritage Centre continue to explore the role, place and celebration of festivals in the Indian Diaspora, in order to ensure continuity of research of these festivals and to establish relevant global linkages and bodies that are sustainable.

2. Be it resolved that the NCIC heritage center establish a quarterly virtual forum for youth in the Indian Diaspora to identify, research and discuss relevant issues and challenges and undertake possible pathways and projects that will address the needs and concerns of the Indian diasporic youth.

Respectfully, Jai Lall

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, March 24, 2021

Acute hunger set to soar in over 20 countries, warns FAO

Acute hunger is set to soar in over 20 countries in the coming months without urgent and scaled-up assistance, warn the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP) in a new report.

Yemen, South Sudan and northern Nigeria top the list and face catastrophic levels of acute hunger, with families in pockets of South Sudan and Yemen already in the grip of or at risk of starvation and death according to the Hunger Hotspots report.

Although the majority of the affected countries are in Africa, acute hunger is due to rise steeply in most world regions - from Afghanistan in Asia, Syria and Lebanon in the Middle East, to Haiti in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Already, over 34 million people are grappling with emergency levels of acute hunger (IPC4) -- meaning they are one step away from starvation -- across the world.

“The magnitude of suffering is alarming. It is incumbent upon all of us to act now and to act fast to save lives, safeguard livelihoods and prevent the worst situation,” said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu.

“In many regions, the planting season has just started or is about to start. We must run against the clock and not let this opportunity to protect, stabilise and even possibly increase local food production slip away,” urged Qu. “We are seeing a catastrophe unfold before our very eyes. Famine - driven by conflict, and fuelled by climate shocks and the COVID-19 hunger pandemic - is knocking on the door for millions of families,” said WFP Executive Director David Beasley.

“We urgently need three things to stop millions from dying of starvation: the fighting has to stop, we must be allowed access to vulnerable communities to provide life-saving help, and above all we need donors to step up with the US$ 5.5 billion we are asking for this year,” he

added.

URGENT, AT-SCALE ACTION NEEDED The report recommends critical short-term actions in each hunger hotspot to address existing and future needs.

These range from scal-

ing up food and nutrition assistance, distributing drought-tolerant seeds, treating and vaccinating livestock to rolling out cash-for-work schemes, rehabilitating water-harvesting structures and increasing income opportunities for vulnerable communities.

Agong and her child in South Sudan, where over seven million people are projected to fall into crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity (FAO photo)

CONFLICT, COVID-19 AMONGST KEY DRIVERS OF ACUTE FOOD INSECURITY

One or a mix of the following factors is behind the projected rise in acute food insecurity in the 20 hunger “hotspots” between March and July 2021. * Conflict or other forms of violence may protract or is likely to increase in parts of Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Central Sahel, Ethiopia, northern Nigeria, northern Mozambique, Somalia, South Sudan and the Sudan. * COVID-19 will continue to impact numerous countries around the world, leaving them highly vulnerable to economic shocks. Latin America is the region hardest hit by economic decline and will be the slowest to recover. In the Middle East, Yemen, Syria and Lebanon are seriously affected by a rapid currency depreciation and skyrocketing inflation. * Climate extremes and la Niña-driven weather will likely continue in April and May, driving hunger in several parts of the world - from Afghanistan, Madagascar to the Horn of Africa. * Desert Locust outbreaks in East Africa and on the Red Sea Coast remain of concern.

In Southern Africa, in parts of Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe, African migratory locusts threaten to ravage the summer crops. * Increasingly constrained access in some countries to help people in need has been making things worse.

Agricultural production is possible and essential, especially where access is constrained and people are even more reliant on local production.

Earlier this month, FAO and WFP called for US$ 5.5 billion to swiftly scale up actions and avert famine through a combination of humanitarian food assistance, cash and emergency livelihoods interventions.

HUNGER HOTSPOTS - UP CLOSE People in South Sudan, Yemen and northern Nigeria remain most at risk of rising and dangerously high acute food insecurity. In Burkina Faso, food security has slightly improved since last October, but the situation is still very concerning.

In South Sudan, in parts of Jonglei State, people were likely already grappling with famine last October and November, and will continue to do so through this April-July lean season. FAO and WFP call for urgent and at-scale action now to stop likely widespread starvation and death, as well as a complete collapse of livelihoods in these areas.

Over 7 million people across South Sudan are projected to fall into crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity, including over 100,000 at catastrophe level (IPC5), during April-July 700,000 more since the same period last year.

In Yemen, continued violence and economic decline as well as severe disruptions to the humanitarian response are likely to persist over the coming months.

In Al Jawf, Amran and Hajjah governorates, the number of people in catastrophe level of food insecurity is estimated to triple - reaching 47,000 in June 2021, up from

16,000 in October-December 2020.

With already highly vulnerable populations, severe malnutrition, rising displacement and the deteriorating economic situation, the risk of famine in Yemen is increasing.

Overall, over 16 million Yemenis are expected to face high levels of acute food insecurity by June 2021, an increase of some 3 million since the end of last year.

In conflict-hit northern Nigeria, projections for the June-August lean season show that the number of people in emergency level of acute food insecurity is likely to almost double - to over 1.2 million - since the same period last year. In the next six months, food and nutrition insecurity is set to rise considerably in northern Nigeria with some 13 million people affected unless food and livelihood assistance is scaled up.

Burkina Faso has seen a slight improvement in food security since June 2020 due to a good agricultural season and people in remote and previously, inaccessible areas reached with food. But the situation remains very worrying and needs close monitoring as violence is likely to continue pushing people into acute food insecurity.

Some 2.7 million Burkinabe are projected to face high acute food insecurity between June and August 2021 - a sharp increase from 700,000 in 2019, before violence escalated in the West African nation.

Other countries identified by the report as amongst the worst hunger hotspots - where life-threatening hunger is on the rise - are Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, the Sudan and Syria. (FAO)

Time for Coalition to recognise the winner of the 2020 elections Dear editor,

Over the past few days, I saw and heard a lot about the letter which Opposition Leader, Hon. Joseph Harmon MP send to a number of organisations, venting his frustration and complaining about the President, in extent the Government do not want to engage him and the opposition PNC (note, I didn’t say APNU or AFC because both are PNC hiding under the PNC umbrella as APNU) in various matters of interest.

I must admit that I didn’t read a lot into the letter because I find that most of the letters that come from the office of the opposition or its MPs have no substance or merit to read.

However, I will like to remind the Opposition Leader, Hon. Joseph Harmon MP, that he is the leader of the legal main opposition political party in Guyana and therefore I must congratulate him

on his role as the legal Opposition Leader.

A role that Mr. Harmon fully and legally accepted after 2020 Regional and General Elections.

Mr. Harmon and those in the opposition I assume are very educated people and they should know that as long as there is a loser there has to be a winner. So, I will like for the opposition party to acknowledge that there was a winner in 2020 regional and general elections.

Mr. Harmon, the winner of that election was announced by GECOM and therefore the winner is a legal one. And that winner which was legally and democratically- elected by the majority of the people to govern this land is the People’s Progressive Party\Civic (PPP\C).

However, you as the opposition leader has been parading across Guyana and the world as the legal Opposition Leader, which you are proud to be. But yet you and your opposition members do

not want to acknowledge, recognised, and accept President Ali as the legal elected President and the PPP\C as the legally-elected Government.

Hon. Harmon, you and the members of the opposition have failed in acknowledging, recognising, and accepting His Excellency President, Dr. Irfaan Ali and his Government as the dulyelected President and Government of this land since GECOM has declared him and his party as the legally elected winner through a democratic process in March 2020 elections.

Because you and the opposition has failed to acknowledge, recognised, and accept HE President Ali and his Government as the legal Government, it is the most and correct thing to do that the President has been doing and that is to allow you and your members to repent and come to grip with the truth, which is the PPP won the March 2020 elections legally.

The President is absolutely correct and

right not to meet with you as the legal Opposition Leader. You as the Opposition Leader needs to face the nation and say the truth by publicly accepting HE President Ali and his Government as the legally-elected President and Government.

I believe and know hundreds of thousands of Guyanese and those aboard would agree with me that the President should not meet with you as the leader of the main opposition party unless you, Mr. Harmon publicly acknowledge, recognised, and accept President Ali as the legally-elected President and the PPP\C as the legally- elected Government.

His Excellency President, Dr. Irfaan Ali is totally and absolutely in order.

Yours sincerely, Abel Seetaram Frm. AFC Reg. 5 Councillor

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, March 24, 2021

All frontline healthcare workers in Reg. 9 vaccinated –– health authorities mull scaling up vaccination in Brazil border regions

ALL of the frontline healthcare workers in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) have received their COVID-19 vaccination which allows them to be immunised against the Sars-Cov-2 virus which causes the disease, COVID-19, according to Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony.

Though on Monday, during his COVID-19 Update with the Department of Public Information (DPI), the minister mentioned that few regions have been able to achieve

100 per cent immunisation coverage of healthcare workers, on Tuesday, he clarified that it was only Region Nine.

“Other regions haven’t achieved 100 per cent (coverage), but certainly a large per cent, and that is Region Two and Region Six. In both Regions Two and Six, they have about 70 per cent of their healthcare workers,” the health minister said during his update on Tuesday.

He noted that other regions have been “lagging” in getting their healthcare workers vaccinated. Last

week, he mentioned that Region 10, in particular, has had a slow uptake of vaccines.

Aside from the 100 per cent coverage of frontline workers in Region Nine, Dr. Anthony said that the local health authorities have been deliberating whether they should allow more persons in Region Nine, and also in Region Eight, to get inoculated.

“I think those two regions are a bit concerned because of their proximity to Brazil and sometimes you have people coming across from Brazil who

A nurse at the National Infectious Diseases Hospital at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown, preparing to administer a dose of the Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine to a local healthcare worker on Thursday (Vishani Ragobeer photo) might not come through the official channels, so there is no way of knowing whether they have crossed over into Guyana,” the health minister lamented.

He, however, noted that a surveillance network has been instituted in the Rupununi and in Region Eight to enable local authorities to detect whether persons have crossed over and to test those persons for the virus.

“That type of monitoring is going to continue.

We are also going to monitor to reduce the amount of people crossing,” Dr. Anthony said, adding: “We know that the challenge that Brazil is currently experiencing with the P1 variant and certainly we would like to reduce that kind of influx of people coming across the border.”

Amid concerns over the continued illegal cross-

ings from Brazil, patrols and checkpoints at the Guyana-Brazil border will be increased in a bid to reduce the importation of COVID-19 cases, according to Director of the National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF), Colonel Nazrul Hussain.

Last Wednesday, members of the NCTF engaged the regional authorities and residents in Regions Eight and Nine; this was done as part of efforts geared at intensifying monitoring of the porous and expansive Guyana/Brazil border. While there, the enforcement of the National COVID-19 guidelines and other issues, such as trafficking in persons, were discussed.

Cognisant of this, Colonel Hussain noted that the Task Force would be increasing the number of soldiers monitoring the border and adding several new checkpoints.

“We plan to use the ranks of the Guyana People’s Militia to be able to assist in this regard… and we will be mobilising the local ranks from the Guyana Police Force because we will be increasing the force in the area,” Colonel Hussain also highlighted.

A gate and COVID-19 checkpoint constructed at the front of the community of Saurab, which is the gateway to the ‘Deep South’ (Vishani Ragobeer photo)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, March 24, 2021

Guyana poised for ‘boundless’ opportunities –– President Ali tells Guyana-EU investment forum

AS Guyana advances along its path to prosperity, the country is ripe for a plethora of investment opportunities, and from all indications, the wider world is interested.

On Tuesday, the Delegation of the European Union (EU) in Guyana in partnership with the Caribbean Export Development Agency and the Guyana Office for Investment (Go-Invest), hosted the first-ever ‘Invest in Guyana’ virtual conference. The engagement attracted an audience of approximately 500 delegates from 47 countries within the EU. In his message to the forum, Guyana’s President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, assured the potential investors that the country’s growing economy will facilitate business expansions and innumerable investment openings in every sector.

“The opportunities will be boundless; this conference allows our investors to gain insights into the economic opportunities which will become available. Investors doing business with Guyana can be assured of an ever-improving enabling environment for business. They can be sure of a growing economy which will support business expansion,” Dr. Ali noted.

The Head-of-State added that potential investors can also anticipate a macro-economic framework that guarantees stability and protects their assets, as well as fiscal incentives to attract their investments and ensure greater competitiveness.

“They can look forward to improvements in ease-of-doing-business and respect for property rights and the rule of law. Guyana offers a number of advantages for European firms,” the President said.

He reminded the participants that Guyana

President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, delivering remarks to the inaugural ‘Invest in Guyana’ virtual conference hosted by the Delegation of European Union and its partners has been engaged in an economic partnership with Europe for the past 45 years and, therefore, has well-established investor relations.

He said that Guyana presents a number of advantages for European firms, and is also strategically positioned to offer access to key markets, including the Caribbean.

Dr. Ali further said that Guyana welcomes investors from Europe and looks forward to European foreign-direct investments and for Euro-based firms to partner with local companies to seize the many unfolding economic opportunities.

“Guyana is on an upward trajectory. We

will soar to greater heights. This is a time of great change in Guyana. It is also an opportune moment for us to reset our relations with Europe. Investment must be a key element of that process. And, you are the trigger to ensuring it happens.

“Guyana is pursuing a transformative agenda which will require significant investment. The European Union, in turn, is charting its post-pandemic reopening and recovery, and this will drive the bloc to explore new trade and economic opportunities for enhancing its global reach and influence,” Dr. Ali reasoned.

He said too that the conference is taking place against the prospects of a renewed long-term partnership between Europe and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group (ACP). Against this backdrop, the event was seen as the ideal opportunity to reposition Guyana-EU relations.

DEMOCRATIC STANCE Reflecting on the one-year anniversary of Guyana’s unprecedented six-monthlong elections, Dr. Ali reiterated his appreciation for the democratic stance by the EU in 2020.

He said too that the EU has been a bastion of promoting respect for human rights and democracy.

“Guyana’s relations with the European Union and its member states are based upon respect for human rights and democratic norms. Democracy remains indispensable to ensuring a favourable environment for attracting investment, stimulating trade, and fostering economic development,” President Ali surmised.

He said that Guyana is also grateful for

the EU’s support over the years, especially in the areas of private sector development and supporting climate adaptation and mitigation.

Through the European Development Fund and its support for Guyana’s National Indicative Programme, the EU has made a significant contribution to the country’s efforts to reduce poverty and build greater climate resilience.

“This conference must add impetus to this intent by becoming a pacesetter in encouraging greater investment flows from the European Union to Guyana. In doing so, it will serve to reposition Guyana’s long-standing ties with the EU,” Dr. Ali said.

He reminded of his government’s transformative agenda, which is likely to see unprecedented levels of growth and development within the next five years, opening up investment opportunities across all sectors.

The EU Ambassador to Guyana, Fernando Ponz Cantó, said that the participation of close to 500 delegates from 47 countries is proof of the potential and the importance of Guyana as a business-friendly destination.

He referenced this period as being just the beginning of Guyana’s potential, given that it is the fastest-growing economy in the hemisphere and one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.

Also delivering remarks was the Executive Director for the Caribbean Export Development Agency, Deodat Maharaj, who pointed to the “spirit of optimism and possibility” that pervaded the event.

He reiterated the agency’s commitment to partnering with Guyana in an effort to further promote investment opportunities in Europe and the wider world.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, March 24, 2021

Doubling rice production attainable in five years –– with necessary investments, new markets says ‘agri’ minister

INCREASED investments and access to new markets have cleared a path for the production of rice to be doubled within the next five years.

Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha has said that the conditions are right for the Government of Guyana to double production, and increase exports of this commodity within five years.

Hungary and Guyana, two of the new markets being serviced by Guyana, together received some 250 tonnes of white rice last year.

Minister Mustapha said, too, that with the recent exports to the Caribbean, there are clear indications that more persons are interested

in Guyana’s rice. To this end, the government is investing heavily to ensure there is sufficient rice for new markets.

And with the push for public-private partnerships, the Ministry of Agriculture is currently collaborating with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to examine the possibility of producing a zinc candidate bio-fortified rice variety.

Minister Mustapha relayed that the project, which is currently ongoing at the Burma Rice Research Station in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), would allow Guyana to access preferential prices for rice.

The minister further said that some 4,650 farmers nationwide, and thousands more in CARICOM are expected to benefit from this project.

Last October, Minister Mustapha launched the GRDB-16 rice variety for cultivation. The GRDB-16 produces much better yields, which is set between 30 and 60 bags per acre. This variety can see farmers producing up to 9.5 tonnes of paddy per hectare.

“Rice is the government’s business, and we will work to see the industry flourish.

We assessed the rice industry and found that our rice farmers were enduring many challenges.

“Farmers were required to pay increased land and drainage and irrigation fees, especially those in Region Five. That region is one of the most productive agricultural regions in Guyana, producing 43 per cent of national rice production.

This has placed the farmers, especially the rice farmers, under severe duress over the past years,” he said.

To alleviate some of the hardships faced by farmers in Region Five, the government has reversed the drainage and irrigation charges to the original rates.

The Mahaica/Mahaicony/Abary-Agriculture Development Authority (MMA/ ADA) rates were also decreased from $15,000 per acre to $3,500 per acre. This single measure immediately left an average of $1.3 billion in the hands of farmers.

Minister Mustapha noted that even though the pre-

GRDB’s Chief Scientist, Dr. Mahendra Persaud, and Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha examining rice grains (DPI photo) vious government had increased the fees, the drainage and irrigation structures and access dams were not maintained.

He said the neglect of infrastructure by the former A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition administration was unconscionable, and caused rice farmers unnecessary hardships.

The Minister noted that since August 2020,

the MMA-ADA was able to repair six bridges and three sluices, saving about 96,000 acres of rice from r o t. A d d it io n al ly , th e MMA-ADA was able to grade and maintain 200 miles of dams and access roads. The scheme also cleared over 60 miles of secondary drainage.

The cleaning and maintenance of 608 miles canals were also done per month.

(DPI)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, March 24, 2021

Judge to decide on ‘Two-Colours’ matter on May 6

MAY 6, 2021 is the day when High Court Judge, Navindra Singh, is expected to make his ruling in the constitutional motion filed by murder accused, Lennox Wayne, called ‘Two Colours’, who is seeking a permanent stay of the case against him.

Wayne is currently on remand, awaiting a re-trial for the murder of cosmetologist, Ashmini Harriram, who was shot, execution style, moments after disembarking a minibus not far from her Lusignan,

Lennox Wayne, called ‘Two Colours’ Railway Embankment,

East Coast Demerara home on July 10, 2014.

The case was first tried in 2017 before Justice Jo-Ann Barlow and a 12-member jury at the Georgetown High Court, but ended in a hung jury.

Justice Barlow subsequently ordered a re-trial, and the matter was listed to be heard during the January 2021 session of the Demerara Assizes.

Wayne’s co-accused, Melroy Doris, has since pleaded guilty to manslaughter, and is currently awaiting sentencing.

His attorneys, Nigel Hughes and Ronald Daniels, had initially engaged the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) regarding a possible plea bargain, but after that failed to reach certain terms and conditions, Wayne changed his mind.

In his constitutional motion against the State, Wayne is seeking an or-

der admitting him to bail, pending the hearing and determination of his application, and a permanent stay of proceedings for the murder charge against him.

According to Wayne, his right to a fair hearing within a reasonable time as guaranteed by the provisions of Article 144 of the Constitution has been

infringed. He is also seeking damages to the tune of $100,000 for the breach of his fundamental rights.

On Tuesday, Justice Singh, at the Demerara High Court, commenced hearing into the matter, and after hearing from the prosecution and Wayne’s attorneys, he set May 6 for his ruling in the application.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, March 24, 2021

Rayon Carter murder trial…

Court to hear closing arguments today STATE prosecutor, Tiffani Lyken, on Tuesday, March 23, 2021 closed her case as the trial of murder accused, Rayon Carter, continued before Justice Navindra Singh and a 12-member jury at the Demerara High Court.

She closed after the final witness, former Chief Police Inspector, Debra Small, had testified. As such, the matter was ad-

Murder accused, Rayon Carter

journed until today, for the hearing of closing statements.

Carter, who is represented by Attorney-at-law Rachael Bakker, pleaded not guilty to the charge, which alleged that on January 13, 2018, in the County of Demerara, he murdered Ishwar Ramanah, called ‘Jack’, during the course or furtherance of a robbery.

The former Diamond Housing Scheme, East

Bank of Demerara resident opted to give a statement in court, saying that he had an alibi for the day of the incident.

According to Cater, on the day, date and time of the incident, he was at his girlfriend’s home, and as such had no knowledge of the incident, and only learnt of Ramanah’s demise after reading about it in the daily newspapers.

According to reports, Ramanah was shot in the abdomen during a robbery at his Kaneville, East Bank of Demerara home on December 13, 2017.

He was rushed to the Diamond Hospital, where he was treated and transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.

He died there a month later, on January 13, 2018.

Dead: Ishwar Ramanah

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, March 24, 2021

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, March 24, 2021

GTT lends financial support to differently abled persons

–– through contribution to art, poetry exhibition in Linden

AS part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT), has provided financial assistance to differently abled persons through a recently held ‘Paint and Poetry’ event held in Linden.

The telecommunications company, in a press statement on Tuesday, said that the proceeds from the event will aid in assisting the dif-

also provided sponsorship worth $200,000 through the purchase of tickets to attend the event.

Lewis commended GTT for its support to persons living with disabilities, noting: “I am grateful to GTT for helping me to give back to the people of Linden through the purchase of my painting.

I wished there was a counter bid to raise more money; GTT did issue the challenge - but I am still thankful my

Mayor of Linden, Waneka Arrindell, displays her painting at the event ferently abled residents of Linden.

GTT’s Public Relations Manager, Jasmin Harris, was quoted in the statement as saying: “We have bid and purchased the painting done

by Curator of GT Memoirs, Damien Lewis, at the cost of $40,000. The proceeds from the purchase of this painting, as also announced by Lewis, would be donated to the Linden Centre for the Disabled, as an additional fundraiser to the event.”

The charity event was hosted by the Mayor of Linden, Waneka Arrindell, in conjunction with the Town Council and the tourism committee of Region Ten (Upper Demerara-Berbice).

Harris said too that GTT, in addition to purchasing the painting to support the cause,

painting was able to garner the amount it did and that it will go directly to those who need it the most.”

An Amazon best-selling Author and Organiser of the art and poetry exhibition, Leon Labastide, also said: “This is the first of its kind in Linden and it was a great success. We are grateful to GTT for its partnership; the community and our upcoming young entrepreneurs appreciated GTT’s presence and input. Because of the example set by GTT, other companies are already contacting us to partner on future events and we are excited about this.”

The organiser said that plans are already in place to conduct events of the same nature in the coming months.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, March 24, 2021

Early childhood educators access training in distance learning –– through CARICOM, UNESCO, UWI – Open Campus collaboration

TEACHERS and educators in early childhood education from across the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) are involved in a four-week training workshop to improve their capacity to deliver high quality distance learning experiences for young children.

The workshop commenced on Wednesday, March 17, through a partnership among the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the CARICOM Secretariat and the Caribbean Child Development Centre (CCDC) of The University of the West Indies (UWI) Open Campus.

Concluding on April 7, the free online workshop explores topics including how to help parents to support

Noting the severe challenges teachers and parents encounter with the technologically-enabled learning environment, she said the CARICOM Secretariat is pleased to collaborate with UNESCO and the UWI Open Campus to offer the capacity building opportunity.

In her remarks, Dr. Faryal Khan, Programme Specialist for Education at UNESCO’s Cluster Office for the Caribbean, applauded the courage teachers have demonstrated in ensuring continuous leaning for young children, despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Outlining the widely known impacts of the pandemic on education, she also acknowledged the tests teachers

their children during homebased learning, expectations for teachers and children, the appropriate timeframe for children’s attention span, and how to keep children engaged during online learning.

Speaking during the virtual launch event on Wednesday evening (March 17), Dr. Laurette Bristol, Programme Manager for the Human Development at the CARICOM Secretariat, underscored the importance of high quality early childhood education in individuals’ growth and development.

She acknowledged that the education sector’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has placed greater emphasis on the upper levels of basic education, understandably so, because of the need for those students to transition to higher levels of learning.

With this training, she urged the participants to “buy-in to the responsibility to share” the knowledge they will obtain with their colleagues, and to exchange best practices among themselves to “build a strong foundation for quality early childhood education in the Region”.

and parents face with applying technology to distance learning.

Dr. Khan said UNESCO has been supporting regional education stakeholders’ responses on the principle of Sustainable Development Goal Four, which seeks to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all.

Part of those efforts included a series of webinars coordinated by UNESCO and the CARICOM Secretariat on COVID-19 Education Response in April 2020.

That collaboration saw six webinar sessions discussing safe reopening of schools, gender inclusion, social and emotional skills, and technical and vocational skills and training.

The UNESCO Education Specialist said that Early Childhood Education and Care is a priority area, but attention to it has been inadequate. Fully aware of that fact, she said UNESCO recently organised high level and technical dialogues with advocates to prioritise the sector in the COVID-19 response, and to work towards a global strategy on Early Childhood Education and Care.

Encouraging the partici-

pants to immerse themselves in the training, she noted that the facilitators and the materials are “state of the art and high quality.”

Speaking at the opening, Head of the Caribbean Child Development Centre and Director of the Consortium for Social Development and Research of The University

of the West Indies, Ceceile Minott said the university is pleased to be associated with the “incredible partnership” with the CARICOM Secretariat and UNESCO. She said the registration for the workshop was overwhelming and expressed regret that the coordinators had to limit the number

to 40 practitioners. In this vein, she stressed the need for the participants to share the knowledge they will gain during the course of the workshop.

Minott noted that the activity is not a seminar, but a workshop that will be “very participatory”.

She assured the partic-

ipants that they were “in very capable hands” with facilitators who were Early Childhood Development coordinators and teachers. Minott added that the UWI-Open Campus has developed expertise in distance learning methodologies, which it is pleased to share.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, March 24, 2021

Revised Local Content Policy to cover aviation workers –– GCAA Director-General tells new pilot association

Some members of the newly formed Pilot Association of Guyana, along with other players within the aviation industry (photo courtesy of GCAA)

THE emergence of Guyana’s lucrative petroleum sector has attracted much attention, with many foreigners already inching closer to the nation in order to access the numerous direct and indirect opportunities stemming from the production of the infamous “black gold.”

The government’s Local Content Policy, which was crafted with the intention of ensuring that GuyPublic Works Minister, Juan Edghill, flanked by Director-General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority, Lt. Col. (Ret’d) Egbert Field A.A (left), and Ministerial Advisor on Aviation, Lenox Shuman (photo courtesy of GCAA photo) anese get an equal ‘bite’ of the “oil pie,” has since been revised, and will now include conditions that allow for the employment of local pilots by foreign airline operators.

This was confirmed by Director-General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Lt. Col. (Ret’d) Egbert Field A.A, during a recent meeting with executives of the newly formed Pilot Association of Guyana.

The engagement, hosted on Friday at the Wings Aviation Hangar at Ogle, East Coast of Demerara, was led by Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, who underscored the government’s commitment towards the expansion of the aviation industry, and the wellbeing of its stakeholders.

Edghill outlined the government’s vision for the future of aviation in Guyana, pointing to three priority areas, namely safety, the training of pilots, and the need to capitalise on the opportunities within the local aviation sector and, by extension, the tourism sector.

The public works minister said that the government has been facilitating the expansion and development of the business and aviation sectors, by attracting investments from reputable airlines for the operations of more modern and larger aircraft services such as those from the Asian, European and the African markets.

The GCAA also granted approval recently for

Fly Always and InterCaribbean Airlines to operate flights to and from Guyana.

The authority indicated, too, that the advent of the petroleum sector is likely to result in an increased need for helicopter pilots.

On this note, Edghill said that the government will engage stakeholders through partnerships, joint ventures and affirmative government action to have more locally trained helicopter pilots available to provide much-needed services.

Also attending the engagement was Ministerial Advisor on Aviation, Lenox Shuman, who encouraged the pilots to scrutinise the Local Content Policy in light of the burgeoning oil-and-gas sector.

The aviation expert expressed hope that the pilots will examine the document and see how it affects not only them, but also the wider industry.

The engagement also included Director for Aviation Safety and Security Regulations, Abraham Dorris; Chief Flight Operations Inspector, Captain Christopher Kirkcaldy; Captain Malcolm Chan-ASue; President of the Pilot Association of Guyana, Captain Paul Ramdat and other senior executives.

Several pilots from the various aircraft operators and Bristow Helicopters, which supports the operations of ExxonMobil, were also in attendance.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, March 24, 2021

Guyana marketing itself on the world stage –– says tourism minister

GUYANA’S pristine and untouched eco-tourism beauty continues to capture the attention of millions of people from around the world.

Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond, during a recent interview with the Department of Public Information (DPI), said Guyana continues to ‘sell’ itself on the world stage with its pristine beauty.

Recently, the country won another award for the best ‘Stay Safe’ video at the Golden City Gate Awards.

The multimedia con-

test was held for the 21st time during this year’s ITB, the world’s largest travel trade show, which was held virtually from March 9 to 12, 2021 due to the pervasive novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

This is the second time that Guyana has been awarded first place in the “Golden City Gate” category. In 2019, Guyana also secured first place after submitting a video in the ‘destination’ category.

“It is testimony of the sheer beauty of Guyana and that there is not much that we need to do to market

ourselves. We just capture that beauty, awesomeness on camera and it attracts people because it so pristine and untouched. Guyana sells itself,” Minister Walrond said.

The contest, streamed live from Germany, saw a total of 122 film entries from 23 countries. After much consideration, the 32-members “international jury” honoured the “Welcome back to Guyana” video which was produced by the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA).

The tourism authority, in its award-winning video, highlighted the country’s diverse natural and cultural heritage, and encouraged visits to Guyana once the

pandemic subsides.

Minister Oneidge said too that the emerging petroleum sector is also serving as an impetus for interested travels.

“Because of the oil and gas, more eyes have turned to Guyana or more attention is geared to Guyana because oil and gas is money.

“So yes, more people are coming because of the oil and gas and when they research Guyana, they realise that Guyana is not just oil and gas, we have just a pristine, wonderful product so that has been highlighted and amplified because of the sheer number of people that have been interested,” she said, adding that the government

remains committed to building a diversified economy.

“When we hit oil, it was such a huge reserve; it caught everybody’s attention and we have been able to capture that attention with our eco-tourism product. And we continue as government to promote Guyana as a diversified economy where tourism, oil and gas, agriculture and all other sectors are going to be developed,” she said.

Minister Walrond further said that the petroleum sector has been a real springboard for the economy and it is helping the tourism sector to “bounce back” from the damning effects of the dreaded

Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond COVID-19 pandemic. (Extracted from DPI)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, March 24, 2021

Guidelines on post-infection vaccination expected this week

By Vishani Ragobeer

LATER this week, Guyana is expected to have standard guidelines on when persons who have been infected with the disease, COVID-19, will be eligible to receive their vaccine doses, according to Min-

ister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony.

During his daily COVID-19 update with the Department of Public Information (DPI), he explained that after someone recovers from COVID-19, the antibodies created as part of the body’s immune response

to fight off the coronavirus would be circulating in the body. Once those antibodies are present, chances of becoming re-infected are quite low.

Due to the scarcity of vaccines, he noted that the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended

that persons who recovered could wait for about six months before getting their first ‘jab’. This, he explained, is particularly important in “resource-poor setting”.

“In other settings where they have more resources that are available, the trend has been if you want vaccines, there is nothing stopping you from getting the vaccine,” Dr. Anthony explained. In Guyana, however, he noted that local experts are working with the health authorities to review the guidelines for vaccinating those persons who recovered from the disease.

Dr. Anthony related that

about 20,000 persons have been vaccinated locally.

Guyana’s vaccination rollout is occurring in all 10 administrative regions whereby healthcare workers and elderly persons over the age of 60 are being inoculated.

So far, Guyana has been able to secure 3,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from Barbados; 80,000 doses of the same vaccine from India and 20,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine from China. Beginning next week, the country is expected to receive 200,000 Sputnik V vaccines from Russia.

Dr. Anthony commented that the vaccination roll-

out has been quite good so far. He related that in some areas, members of the community have been integrally involved in organising the target populations, specifically the elderly persons, and he encouraged other communities to follow suit.

“As we rollout this week, our plans are that we will increase the amount of sites that we have. Apart from those fixed sites that we have setup, we have been able to work with our healthcare workers at the health centres and you would see us now shifting to a lot of the health centres across the country,” the Health Minister noted.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, March 24, 2021

Monument honouring ‘the Jagans’ erected in Region One

By Rabindra Rooplall A memorial monument honouring the lives of former Presidents, Dr. Cheddi Jagan and his wife, Janet Jagan, has been erected at Whitewater, Region One (Barima-Waini).

The two-pillar monument was unveiled on March, 22, 2021, the eve of Dr. Jagan’s birth anniversary, by Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, who is also the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C)’s Parliamentary representative for Region One. Minister Croal, in delivering remarks at a simple ceremony, reminded those gathered there that Dr. Jagan is one of the founding fathers of the country, as it was he who fought for democracy and guided massive development in Guyana.

The contributions of both former Presidents are too many to forget. And, according to Croal, it is for this reason that the month of March is significant, since it is one which marks the birth and death of Dr. Jagan, and the death of Mrs. Jagan.

Dr. Jagan was widely regarded in Guyana as the “Father of the Nation,” while Mrs. Jagan was the

first female President of Guyana.

Croal, who was representing the General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), Bharrat Jagdeo, at the memorial event, also reflected

on the work of Mrs. Jagan, reminding the audience of her role in the mobilisation of the Women’s Progressive Organisation (WPO) and her activism for women and workers’ rights.

“This monument will

always recognise the legacy and the contribution of Dr. Cheddi Berret Jagan and Janet Rosenberg Jagan who travelled with her husband from Chicago to accompany Dr. Jagan back to Guyana and stayed resolutely behind

Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, in his capacity as Parliamentary representative for Region One, cuts the ceremonial ribbon to declare the monument open. The minister is flanked by Regional Chairman, Brentnol Ashley and Regional Vice-chairman, Annansha Peters, and other officials of the region

The new monument commissioned in Whitewater, Region One by PPP/C Executive, Collin Croal

PPP/C Executive, Collin Croal, addresses the gathering at Whitewater prior to the commissioning of the new monument

him and remained part of the struggle,” Croal reflected.

Croal, a member of the PPP/C’s executive arm, further said that the Party will be constructing an office in Mabaruma within the next two years. This facility will be used to conduct meetings and training sessions.

“We must be out there in the communities, we must always ensure that the political structure functions, and we must always be spending time with the comrades to explain the national and international situations,” Croal said.

Sharing his advice with members of the Progressive Youth Organisation (PYO), the youth arm of the PPP/C, Croal said: “You must learn to understand what your parents went through, what your political leaders went through, and to ensure that democracy was returned to our country and that the freedoms that they fought for must never be taken away again.”

Noting that democracy will always prevail, the PPP/C executive said leaders chosen to represent the Party must always remember that service to the people

is paramount.

“We are servants of the people and we must never operate in our communities with any disrespect. If there is one thing that Dr. Jagan taught us is to spend time speaking to every single citizen, even if you go to the street corner and there are two persons there at a meeting, still spend time and explain the political situation in the country so that people can always be kept abreast,” Croal reasoned.

At the conclusion of his remarks, Minister Croal cut the ceremonial ribbon to officially recognise the construction of the monument. This was done in the presence of the Regional Chairman of Region One, Brentnol Ashely; Regional Vice-chairperson, Annansha Peters; Mayor of Mabaruma, Chris Phang; and Regional Executive Officer (REO) of Region One, Teka Bissessar.

Also witnessing the ceremony were former Regional Chairman and PPP/C stalwart, Fermin Singh; village councillors, Loiselle Robinson and Lorena John, as well as toshaos and members of the WPO and PYO.

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Climate-Smart agriculture, intercropping to enhance coconut industry

By Rabindra Rooplall Over the next four years, the Alliances for Coconut Industry Development, Expansion and Enhanced Support for the Caribbean, will be leading initiatives to enhance nurseries, intercropping (open field and climate-smart agriculture), pest management, tissue culture and waste management, to transform Guyana’s coconut industry.

This will be done in collaboration with the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) and the International Trade Centre (ITC).

Country representative for CARDI, Jhaman Kundun, told this publication that a pilot project was launched to diversify the income generation streams for coconut farmers and make coconut cultivation in Guyana profitable. This activity is being

funded under Phase II of the European Union (EU)/CARIFORUM, Alliances for Coconut Industry Development, Expansion and Enhanced Support for the Caribbean project, jointly implemented

by CARDI and ITC. Kundun said CARDI Guyana has overseen the construction of two climate-smart shade houses, each being 2,000 feet, located on private holdings in Dalgin, Soesdyke-Linden Highway and Mahaica, East Coast Demerara.

He explained that both shade houses were outfitted with gravity flow drip irrigation system, noting that the shade house at Mahaica focused on raise bed technology while the one in Dalign, focused on soil amelioration.

“The sandy soil is highly leached where nutrients and moisture rapidly pass through the soil profile, leaving the crop to be severely stressed

and result in poor yields.

Activated biochar serves as a sponge within the sandy soil, thereby, trapping nutrients and moisture and making them available to plant roots, hence, a productive crop.

“These shade houses will be dedicated to demonstrating alternative intercropping options for coconut farmers, as a means of both diversifying their operations and multiplying their income stream,” he said.

CARDI, he explained, has also partnered with the National Agricultural and Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) in Guyana to provide technical support to the farmers. In February this year, the first cycle of bell peppers completed harvest, totalling a production of 1,053 pounds.

“Mr. Adams’ farm where the bell peppers were grown is excited and happy for the initiative and thanked the

EU for funding this project.

The second shade house crop at Mahaica cultivated with Broccoli will be ready to harvest soon. Mr. Ganesh’s farm where the Broccolis are grown is also moved by this initiative and can see the impact the shade house will have on his livelihood. Both farmers expressed thanks to CARDI, ITC and NAREI for the technical support during the project and committed

zones. The spacing between coconut plants, he explained is effective corridors for intercropping complementary crops – providing an opportunity for farmers to increase their incomes.

He emphasised that new coconut cultivation takes between three to five years to commence production and during this ‘wait period’ farmers have to spend money to maintain their farms.

Bell Peppers grown at Dalgin, Linden Highway on the Adams’ Farm (CARDI photo)

Farmer, Mr. Ganesh at Mahaica, East Coast Demerara, plants a broccoli seedling in his shade house (CARDI photo)

to further expand this initiative,” Kundun said.

By using the ‘Alliance for Action’ (A4A) approach, Kundun said these shade houses will be used as demonstration sites, where secondary farmers in the communities can learn best practices and gain new knowledge on commercial intercropping of coconuts with cash crops.

The plan, he said, is to scale-up the adoption of climate-smart shade houses by coconut farmers across Guyana’s diverse agro-ecological

Therefore, intercropping is necessary to have a positive impact on farmers’ livelihood.

“CARDI, in collaboration with NAREI and the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), will also develop a manual on good agricultural practices for intercropping coconuts.

From the data collected from these operations, recommendations for the optimum combination of crops to achieve profitability will be presented,” he underscored.

Emphasis, he said, is being placed on high valued in-

Country representative of CARDI, Jhaman Kundun tercrops such as bell peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, onions, beet root amongst others. These crops, he said, have the potential to justify the capital investment of a shade house, irrigation system and soil amendments. In addition, these crops grown locally carries a longer shelf life and quality when compared to imported counterparts.

“The coconut sector is the third largest agriculture sector in the country and government has committed to the transformation of this sector and we are extremely pleased to join government on this path. The benefits go beyond the growth of these crops since it contributes to coconut farmers becoming climate prepared and brought new skills and technologies to support coconut farms,” Kundun said.

Kundun explained that in Guyana and the Caribbean, the coconut sector is going to be further enhanced through production and productivity, value addition and marketing.

Authorities mull legal action over illegal mining and logging DESPITE continuous warnings and, in some cases, legal action, authorities continue to receive reports of illegal mining and logging within several protected areas such as the Kaieteur National Park, Iwokrama, Kanuku Mountains, Shell Beach, and the Kanashen Amerindian Protected Areas.

In a notice issued on Monday, the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), in conjunction with the Protected Areas Commission (PAC), called on all miners and loggers, who carry out illegal operations within des-

ignated protected areas, to cease forthwith.

“These illegal activities are not in keeping with the various Acts that govern these regulatory agencies.

As such, seizure of all equipment and legal actions will be instituted to prosecute those found guilty,” the notice warned.

Earlier this month, a multi-stakeholder team comprising representatives of the Iwokrama International Centre, together with teams from the Corps of Wardens, under the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Guyana Geology and Mines Com-

mission, the Guyana Forestry Commission and the Guyana Police Force, carried out a monitoring and enforcement exercise in the Iwokrama Forest and buffer zone area, along the Siparuni River, where continued breaches were detected.

“The mining activities, which were detected in 2019, have escalated during 2020, owing to the COVID -19 pandemic,” the centre noted in a press statement subsequent to the recent site visits.

As a result of reduced monitoring, the centre said: See page 23

An aerial view of some of the illegal operations detected along the protected areas of the Iwokrama Forest (Iwokrama International Centre photo)

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, March 24, 2021

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Single-permit window for Bartica Town Council –– Dharamlall advises council to craft distinct by-laws, commits to providing resources for advancement

By Richard Bhainie INCREASED efficiency in the issuance of permits for operations in the Town of Bartica is anticipated, as Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall, has committed to establishing a “single-permit window” at the Bartica Town Council.

Dharamlall, during a meeting with officials of the Bartica Town Council, on Tuesday, said that the Government of Guyana is currently working to implement a “single-permit window” at the Georgetown Town Council, and this will be replicated at the Bartica Town Council.

He noted that this system, once established, will increase efficiency in the issuance of permits by the councils.

Present at the Town Council meeting were Phebe Wallerson, Town Clerk; Arita Embleton, Deputy Mayor of Bartica; Gifford Marshall, Mayor of Bartica; Nageshwari Lochan-Prasad, Regional Vice-Chairman of Regional Democratic Council (RDC) of Region Seven; and Kenneth Williams, Regional Chairman of Region Seven RDC. In addressing those

“The issue of vendors paying quite substantial interest rates or late payment fees, I believe is something the council should take account of, because a lot of vendors have complained that they are not getting business and business has been slow for a long time, and that is why they are unable to pay their market fees much less late payment fees.”

From left to right: Phebe Wallerson, Town Clerk; Gifford Marshall, Mayor; Arita Embleton, Deputy Mayor; Nigel Dharamlall, Minister of Local Government and Regional Development; Nageshwari Lochan-Prasad, Regional Vice-Chairman; Kenneth Williams, Regional Chairman and Kerwin Ward, Regional Executive Officer persons gathered at the meeting, Minister Dharamlall said that the government is committed to working with the council for the development of the town and will provide resources where necessary.

Mayor Marshall, in speaking about the concerns of the town, said that there are impediments to doing business in Bartica because of the absence of by-laws tailored to the needs of the municipality.

The by-laws currently utilised by the council were adopted from those of Georgetown.

INCREMENTAL DEVELOPMENT

Minister Dharamlall explained that for incremental development to occur in the town, there must be distinct by-laws that are applicable to the conditions of the town, and the council should begin consultations with members of civil society to begin drafting them.

Outside of business, Alden Marslowe, President of the Bartica Football Association noted that the Bartica Community Centre Ground is currently utilised for cricket solely; however, there is another ground nearby that can be developed for multi-sports purposes,

which he wishes to be developed for footballers and other athletes.

Dharamlall committed to highlighting this matter to Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Charles Ramson, who he explained is currently providing resources in different communities to develop sporting facilities.

Michael DeSantos, the principal and proprietor of the St. Michael’s Primary School, expressed desire for the establishment of a Community Development Council (CDC) in Mora Camp, Region Seven, for the development of the community.

The Minister directed his staff from the CDC Department of the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, who were present at the meeting, to liaise with DeSantos to facilitate the establishment of a CDC in that community.

“There are some physical issues with the market which I think could be fixed, so I committed to have the Regional Democratic Council work with the municipality to have the market roof fixed because that is an issue that has been outstanding for a long time,” Dharamlall explained.

He further added:

NEW SCHOOLS Regional Executive Officer of Region Seven, Kerwin Ward, said that in 2021 the RDC intends on doing major infrastructural rehabilitation and maintenance.

As part of these works, four new schools will be built in the region as well as the execution of major road upgrades.

Prior to his stop at the Town Council, Dharamlall visited the Bartica Municipal Market and the vendors’ arcade area where vendors raised several issues, some of which were related to faulty infrastructure at the market, competition from unregulated boats bringing produce to sell at Bartica, interest rates being charged at the market and water issues.

‘Cheebu’ to know his fate on April 1 COME April 1, 2021, High Court Judge, Gino Persaud, is expected to pass sentence on Alvin Calder, called “Cheebu” or “CD”, who was recently found guilty of unlawfully killing a man during a brawl at White Water Landing, Mahdia, in 2007.

The date was set on Tuesday when Calder, formerly of Great Diamond, East Bank Demerara, appeared a second time before the Essequibo High Court, where mitigating and aggravating factors of the case were presented to the court by State prosecutor,

Lisa Cave.

Back in January, Calder was indicted for manslaughter, and later found guilty of the offence, which was that on April 12, 2007, he had killed Joseph Willie at White Water Landing, Mahdia.

According to a Guy-

ana Chronicle report at the time, Calder had told police that the reason he and Willie had gotten into an argument was because he [Willie] owed him money and did not want to pay him back.

Reports are that it was Willie who had challenged Calder, and the

latter, on seeing he was carrying a cutlass, beat a hasty retreat, but not before letting off a warning shot in his direction.

Unfortunately, Willie was hit, and later succumbed to his injuries, while Calder was arrested in Georgetown.

Alvin Calder, called “Cheebu” or “CD”

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Authorities mull legal action over illegal mining ...

From page 20

“Small dug pits escalated to felling of trees and use of small dredges to extract the gold hence creating huge gaps.”

Iwokrama’s authorities had indicated that its staff, along with the Government of Guyana, has expended enough time and resources on education and awareness with regard to these illegal

activities, and, as such, will continue its zero-tolerance approach to these activities, especially gold mining and other illegal activities.

The centre believes that the only way to target the illegal mining activities is to maintain the five-agency task force, which continues to detect and dismantle illegal operations.

“Therefore, in keeping with the mandate of Iwokrama, the centre’s monitoring team, together with the regulatory institutions in Guyana, will increase monitoring and targeted enforcement activities within the environs of the Iwokrama Forest,” the Iwokrama centre said.

The centre had previously said that it will also

be rigidly enforcing the prescribed penalties under the Iwokrama Act and other laws of Guyana to any person(s) found illegally operating in the Iwokrama Forest.

Iwokrama also plans to continue offering rewards for any information leading to the arrest and successful prosecution of persons(s)

involved in illegal activities in the Iwokrama Forest.

“The centre will also be following up on information it received on specific mining operators within the Iwokrama Forest. Any convictions will be fully publicised,” the statement noted.

The natural resources ministry has now joined forces with other stake-

holders, including members of the public, to report suspected cases or incidences of illegal mining and logging to the various agencies or the ministry, via telephone numbers: 231-2503, 231-2506, 2312507; on Facebook: https:// www.facebook.com/mnrgy; and Email: ministry@nre. gov.gy.

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Two more die of COVID-19 TWO males, ages 50 and 48, have become the latest victims of COVID-19, taking Guyana’s overall death toll to 220, the Ministry of Health has announced.

Both men died on Tuesday while in the care of a medical facility. There are currently 927 active COVID-19 cases in Guyana, following the addition of 64 new ones as at March 20, 2021, according to the health ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.

The good news, however, is that even as new cases were being recorded, 80 persons were said to have recovered from the virus, bringing the total number of recoveries to 8,602.

The 64 newly-confirmed cases were recorded in Regions One (Barima-Waini); Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara); Four (Demerara-Mahaica); Six (East Berbice-Corentyne); Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni); and 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice).

Thirty-four of the newly- confirmed cases were males, with the remaining 30 being females.

Regions Four and Seven each accounted for 20 of the new cases, while Regions One and 10 recorded one each; Region Three, 17; and Region Six, five, all from a total of 829 tests.

This brings the number of confirmed

cases the country has recorded since the first COVID-19 case was reported here in March 2020 to 9,732.

There are currently 927 active cases, 11 of which are under watch at the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the National Infectious Diseases Hospital at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown, while another 61 persons are in institutional isolation; 840 in home isolation, and 15 are in institutional quarantine.

Many of the persons infected with the virus are said to be asymptomatic; that is, they are not exhibiting any of the symptoms associated with the disease.

The updated COVID–19 Emergency Measures are in force from March 1, 2021, until March 31, 2021, and 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, however, all persons are required to wear face masks when leaving their homes. Physical distancing and adequate sanitisation are also important. The current curfew time is 22:30 hours to 04:00 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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Lusignan beautician’s murder trial…

Sentencing of co-accused rescheduled to April 1 CONFESSED killer, Melroy Doris, is expected to be sentenced by Justice Brassington Reynolds on April 1 for the execution-style killing of a 19-year-old cosmetologist, Ashmini Harriram, in 2014.

Earlier this month, Doris had appeared before the Demerara High Court for the capital offence, but opted to plead to the lesser count of manslaughter, having admitted that on July 10, 2014, at the Lusignan Railway Em-

DEAD: Ashmini Harriram bankment, on the East Coast of Demerara, he unlawfully killed the teen.

Sentencing was initially scheduled for March 25, but was put back to April 1 to allow for a probation report to be prepared on Doris’ behalf.

The State is represented

by Prosecutor Seeta Bishundial, while Doris is represented by attorney-at-law Stanley Moore.

Doris was jointly charged with Lennox Wayne, called ‘Two Colours’, for the capital offence, but the latter has

Confessed killer, Melroy Doris since filed a constitutional motion in the Demerara High Court, seeking a permanent stay of the case against him, and asking that he be granted bail, pending the hearing of his application.

The Guyana Chronicle had initially reported that Wayne was allegedly the ‘triggerman’, while Doris was the taxi driver who facilitated the execution.

It is also alleged that following the commission of the crime, Doris took Wayne back to the city, where the victim’s cellular phone was handed over to one of the two persons who’d allegedly contracted the duo to carry out the ‘hit’ for $2.5 million.

The two men were reportedly contracted by the hairdresser’s brother-in-law and an accomplice who wanted her dead after they suspected that she had ‘snitched’ on them.

They reportedly believed that it was she who’d informed the police of a drug operation they were engaged in, resulting in the narcotics being seized.

Wednesday March 24, 2021 – 02:00hrs - 03:30hrs Wednesday March 24, 2021 – 12:30hrs - 14:00hrs

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FIBA Americas 2023 World Cup Qualifiers…

Head coach elated with Rose, James additions

ACCORDING to head coach of the National Men’s Basketball team, Junior Hercules, the arrival of captain Stanton Rose has bought some form of intensity to the ongoing training camp as they prepare for the FIBA Americas 2023 World Cup Central American and Caribbean Pre-qualifiers, set for El Salvador from April 16 - 18.

Rose was the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in Guyana’s inaugural Caribbean Basketball Championships (CBC) which was won in 2018 in Suriname.

After his arrival last week from the USA, the player commenced training with the local crop of players over the weekend. The team is also to be joined by professional player, Delroy James, semipro Anthony Moe and college players, Kevon Wiggins and Jason Ramrattan.

H e rc u l e s d i s c l o s e d , “First of all, I’m happy that Stanton Rose is home and he definitely brought with him a degree of experience, which we’ve seen being translated on the court.

We’ve definitely seen an increase in the pace at which our offensive is being run. So far it’s been a positive.”

He continued: “As it re-

lates to Delroy James, we’re excited for his arrival and it’s our hope that the level of experience and talent that he brings with him will be able to add to our chemistry and also our offensive support.

We have high expectations for him and we’re elated that we have received that level of commitment. From our end; the federation’s end, we have done everything necessary to secure him for this tournament. And he’s excited too.

I’ve spoken with him, and we can’t wait for him to get here.”

The head coach was quite impressed with Rose’s advancement, stating that he hopes he continues down this progressive path.

“One of the main things or one of his strengths, which we’ve seen improved, is his leadership on the court. You could see him directing, encouraging players, adding points and pointers and so forth. So, we expect him to continue with his excellent decision-making on which will ultimately translate to improve the team chemistry, further allowing us to improve our chances of being successful,” the head coach mentioned.

Meanwhile, after joining the team, Rose recounted that the sessions were im-

proving daily.

“When we started the first day, it was scrappy, and it showed we still have a lot more work to do; not just a lot, but a lot, lot, lot more work to do. It still showed that we need some more conditioning.

Even though we don’t have a long time, we know how to do what we can to be where we want to be. The second day, we started off very scrappy, a bit lackadaisical but later on in the practice, we picked it up a little bit. But it still shows that we have a lot more work to do but, I am confident by the final 12, that we’ll be there or we will get to where we want to be,” the captain said.

“It was hard watching it, but I myself was out of condition and had to readjust to the conditions over here. So, I mean that everything takes time and we will get to where we want to be, or probably not where we want to be but close to where we want to be, once the guys put in the work overtime. I wouldn’t say that it was very bad, but we’re not where we want to be,” Rose added.

The final 12 is expected to be named soon since the team has less than a month left to complete their preparations for the event.

FROM BACK PAGE off Brathwaite’s occasional off-spin.

On 148 for one at tea, Sri Lanka became increasingly dominant before the introduction of Mayers turned the tide.

With his first ball, the right-armer Mayers tempted Fernando to nibble outside off and nick a catch to wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva and followed up by removing Chandimal in identical fashion with the fifth ball of his next over.

Roach then brought back one to beat Thirimanne’s drive and bowl him comprehensively as Sri Lanka slumped to 189 for four approaching the first hour after the interval.

However, Dhananjaya countered with five fours in a 74-ball knock, putting on an invaluable 66 in an unbroken fifth wicket stand with Nissanka, to control the final hour.

SCORECARD SRI LANKA 1st innings 169 West Indies1st Innings (overnight 268 for eight) *K Brathwaite c Dhananjaya b Lakmal 3 J Campbell c wkp Dickwella b Chameera 42 N Bonner lbw b Embuldeniya 31 K Mayers c Dhananjaya b Lakmal 45 J Blackwood b Lakmal 2 J Holder b Lakmal 19 +J Da Silva c wkp Dickwella b Chameera 46 A Joseph c Chandimal b Lakmal 0 R Cornwall b V Fernando 61 K Roach not out 4 S Gabriel lbw b V Fernando 0 EXTRAS: (b1, lb6, w1, nb9) 17 TOTAL: (all out, 103 overs) 271 Fall of wickets: 1-13 (Brathwaite), 2-69 (Bonner), 3-95 (Campbell), 4-120 (Blackwood), 5-133 (Mayers), 6-169 (Holder), 7-171 (Joseph), 8-261 (Da Silva), 9-271 (Cornwall), 10-271 (Gabriel) Bowling: Lakmal 25-9-47-5 (nb3), V Fernando 17-6-52-2, Chameera 22-1-71-2 (w1, nb2), Embuldeniya 28-6-64-1 (nb4), Dhananjaya 11-2-30-0.

SRI LANKA 2nd Innings L Thirimanne b Roach 76 *D Karunaratne c Campbell b Roach 3 O Fernando c wkp Da Silva b Mayers 91 D Chandimal c wkp Da Silva b Mayers 4 D de Silva not out 46 P Nissanka not out 21 EXTRAS: (b10, nb4) 14 TOTAL: (4 wkts, 86 overs) 255 Fall of wickets: 1-8 (Karunaratne), 2-170 (O Fernando), 3-178 (Chandimal), 4-189 (Thirimanne) Bowling: Roach 13-3-28-2 (nb2), Gabriel 11-2-30-0, Holder 144-22-0 (nb1), Joseph 12-2-46-0, Cornwall 25-3-85-0, Brathwaite 7-1-24-0, Mayers 4-0-10-2 (nb1).

POSITION: SRI LANKA LEAD BY 153 RUNS WITH SIX SECOND INNINGS WICKETS INTACT.

2020 CONCACAF MEN’S OLYMPIC QUALIFYING

Group B wide open as Honduras, El Salvador settle for draw GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Central American rivals Honduras and El Salvador battled to a thrilling 1-1 draw in Group B of the 2020 Concacaf Men’s Olympic Qualifying championship on Monday at the Estadio Akron in Zapopan, Mexico.

The result lifts Honduras to four points through two games and ahead on goal difference over second-place Canada (4 points), while El Salvador have one point and are third in the group, nudging ahead of Haiti (1 point) on goal difference.

There was not much in the way of chances in the first half due to the intensity of both defenses. Jose Garcia of Honduras had the best chance at a score in the 8’, but was unable to land his shot on target.

For El Salvador, their closest look at a goal in the first 45 minutes was a free kick in the 42’ that Joshua Perez fired over the crossbar.

The team talk at halftime in the Honduras locker room was no doubt inspirational, as 16 seconds into the second stanza, Douglas Martinez had the game’s first goal with a flying header off a Luis Palma cross that gave Honduras a 1-0 lead.

El Salvador would battle back though and in the 64’

the Cuscatlecos pulled level 1-1. A long-range effort from Enrico Duenas tipped off the fingertips of Honduras GK Alex Barrios, allowing the charging Marvin Marquez to surge forward and head into goal.

GK Mario Gonzalez. The rebound fell to Juan Carlos Obregon, whose shot from a few yards out pinged the crossbar and was ultimately cleared.

The two teams would have to settle for a share of

José García of Honduras (left) and Eric Dueñas of El Salvador seek for possession in a Group B match of the Concacaf Men’s Olympic Qualifiers at the Akron Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico on Monday (Photos: Mexsport/ concacaf.com)

Honduras were on the verge of striking back for a late winner in the 80’, only to see Jose Pinto’s shot deflect off the face of El Salvador

the spoils and turn their attention to Thursday’s group stage finales, with Honduras taking on Canada and El Salvador meeting Haiti.

BCB/Troy Halley Grassroot Cricket Tourney

D’Edward CC win thriller to lift another BCB Title THE Berbice Cricket Board (BCB), on Sunday last, successfully completed the finals of the ten grassroot games of cricket, following an enforced absence of one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The final leg was played at the Bush Lot Village ground for the Troy Haley Challenge Cup. Four teams were involved in the one-day tournament: D’dward CC, Achievers CC, Bush Lot United and Bush Lot Rising Stars.

ran took 3-37 from his four overs while Rajpat Khemraj and Rajeef Kishun took one wicket apiece for 13 and 44, respectively, from four overs each.

In reply, the home team fell short by six runs as they ended on 175 for 8 from their twenty overs. Needing to score 14 runs from the last over, Bush Lot United only managed eight runs to give D’dward CC the title.

Nawindra Prasad scored a

The winning D’Edward Cricket Club team

D’Edward CC won the toss and batted first, amassing a healthy 181 for 7 from their allotted 20 overs. Lakeraj Sukwah top scored with 60 which included four massive sixes and five boundaries.

He received support from Altaf Khan (28), Deonauth Persaud (20) and Keith Fraser (18). Bowling for Bush Lot United, Andrew Rambar-

polished unbeaten 51, which included two boundaries and three sixes; he got support from Kymant Ally (29) and Rajpat Hemraj (42).

Bowling for the visitors, veteran Heeralall Bridgelall took two wickets for 11 runs from two overs while Lakeram Sukwah completed a fine all-round performance by taking 2 for nine from

one over.

Earlier in the day, D’Eward CC defeated Bush Lot Rising Star CC by eight wickets while Bush Lot United eased past Achievers CC by eight wickets.

The nine other tournaments were sponsored by a wide range of former cricketers associated with Berbice cricket.

They include former players, Narsingh Deonarine, Hemnarine Chattergoon, Vishal Nagamootoo, Karran Singh, Arjune Nandu, Mukesh Appiah, Jermey Gordon and Shimron Hetmeyer.

BCB president Hilbert Foster announced that teams in the four sub zones: West Berbice, Upper Corentyne, New Amsterdam/Canje and Lower/ Central Corentyne would now clash in their own inter zones knockout tournaments before the county wide round-robin tournament starts later in the year.

BCB vice-president Robby Saywack extended gratitude to Troy Haley, a former West Berbice player, for his support and called on others to follow in his footsteps.

The winning and runner-up teams received monetary prizes along with trophies, while Lakeraj Sukwah was named Player of the finals and received a medal and cash as well.

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BCB /Premium Asphalt and TR Construction 20/20 tournament…

Rose Hall Town Tigers clinch first ever title following 10-wicket victory —Baldeo hits majestic century THE Rose Hall Town Tigers defeated arch rivals, Chesney, by 10 wickets in the final of the Berbice Cricket Board Premium Asphalt and TR Construction 20/20 tournament.

Founded in 2015 by several veteran members of the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC), the team had reached several semifinals and finals but failed to clinch a BCB title.

The tournament had started in late 2019 but the Covid -19 virus had forced the board to suspend the final, which was to be played last year March.

Rose Hall Town Tigers won the toss and elected to field. Chesney was given a flying start by openers Yogendra Gurdyal and for-

mer National player, Imran Khan.

The aggressive pair added 85 for the first wicket in eight overs; Khan struck four boundaries and two sixes in his score of 43, but Gurdyal, in a brilliant display of power hitting, carried Chesney to an imposing 194 for two off their allotted 20 overs.He ended on 99 not out while J Latchana contributed 25 with a six and a boundary.

Leroy Bristol took one wicket for 29 runs from four overs in an otherwise poor bowling display by the Tigers bowlers.

Needing to score 195 runs from 120 legal balls to clinch their first ever title, Rose Hall Town Tigers started like a house on fire

Rockets beat Toronto Raptors to end 20-game losing run THE Houston Rockets have ended their 20-game losing streak with a 11799 victory over the Toronto Raptors.

John Wall scored 19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his first triple-double in five years, while Christian Wood added 19 second-half points.

The longest losing streak is 28 games, set by the Philadelphia 76ers over the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.

“It’s indescribable for a win in March of this crazy season; I’m proud of the guys,” said head coach Stephen Silas. ‘’When you’re going through it and fighting so hard, seeing the disappointment in the players’ faces after loss after loss after loss, to go into the locker room and everybody is so happy and joyous is just super cool and great.’’

Wall, who joined the Rockets in December, told Silas: “We finally got one.

“I told him I’m riding with him no matter what, and he said the same thing to me. No coach

wants to deal with all this adversity he’s had to deal with in their first year.

I’m happy for him.’’

Silas, who is in his first year as a head coach, said he has received support from fellow coaches around the NBA. ‘’What those guys did for me means the world to me, and I’m going to reach out to every single one of those guys to say thank you,” he added.

Full NBA results Elsewhere, the Los Angeles Clippers fought back from 22 points down in the second half to win 119110 and end the Atlanta Hawk’s eight-game winning run.

Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers with 25 points, and Terance Mann added 21 points and 10 rebounds.

Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points as the NBA-leading Utah Jazz beat the Chicago Bulls 120-95.

Mitchell was supported by Rudy Gobert, who had 21 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high nine blocked shots.

(BBC Sport)

Delbert Hicks and Balchan Baldeo

as former national player, Delbert Hicks, struck medium pacer, Imran Khan, for three sixes in the first over, which costed 24 runs.

The Chesney bowling attack never recovered and were taken apart by Hicks and his opening partner, Balchan Baldeo. Baldeo, a former national player, blasted eight massive sixes and 10 boundaries in a majestic 116 not out while Hicks also ended unbeaten on 77 not out in a record 201 unbeaten opening stand; a Berbice cricket second division 20/20 record for an opening pair.

BCB president Hilbert Foster congratulated the Rose Hall Town Tigers on winning their first BCB title and urged them to use the championship win to

achieve more success.

H e a l s o u rg e d t h e Chesney team to continue working hard as there is a lot of cricket tournaments coming up. Special thanks were extended to the management and staff of Premium Asphalt and TR Construction Ltd for their support. Foster expressed confidence that the relationship would continue in the future.

Foster also urged the teams to invest their championship prizes in to obtaining cricket gear for themselves and to stop supporting the nearby rum shops. He sternly stated that clubs cannot expect the BCB to support them at all times if they do not invest in themselves.

Latham hits century as NZ seal ODI series win over Bangladesh

(REUTERS)-Skipper Tom Latham led from the front with an unbeaten century as New Zealand beat Bangladesh by five wickets in Christchurchto take an unassailable 2-0 lead in their three-match ODI series.

Half-centuries from Tamim Iqbal and Mohammad Mithun had powered Bangladesh to 271-6 after being put into bat at Christchurch.

The Black Caps wobbled early in their chase but Latham’s 110 not out from 108 balls, his fifth ODI century, helped the hosts reach the target with 10 deliveries to spare.

There was a moment of controversy when Kyle Jamieson took a return catch from Tamim on 34, with the batsman given out.

TV umpire Chris Gaffaney overruled the soft signal on the grounds that, while the catch

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was taken cleanly, Jamieson had not been in complete control of the ball as he fell to the ground, allowing it to graze the pitch.

to stay alive in the threematch series.

Skipper Tamim led by example after his side were inserted at Hagley Oval, scoring

New Zealand skipper Tom Latham saw his side home against Bangladesh with an unbeaten 110 at Hagley Oval

Bundled out for 131 in the Dunedin opener, which New Zealand won by eight wickets, the tourists needed an improved batting display

78 from 108 balls before being run out.

Mushfiqur Rahim had defended a Jimmy Neesham delivery before the batsmen

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decided to steal a single - and, with no time to stoop and pick the ball up, the bowler kicked it onto the stumps with Tamim short of his ground.

Mithun, who smashed 73 not out off 57 balls, provided the Tigers’ late surge with his clever shot making, while spinner Mitchell Santner finished with 2-51.

New Zealand began the chase briskly but slumped to 53-3 in the 11th over before Latham put on a partnership of 113 with Devon Conway (72 from 93) to calm his side’s nerves.

Tamim sent back Conway with a direct hit but Latham remained until the end, supported by Neesham (30 from 34) to fashion his side’s second successive victory.

The third and final ODI will be played in Wellington on Friday.

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39

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, March 24, 2021

Concacaf World Cup qualification for Qatar 2022 kicks off today THE long-awaited kick off of Concacaf World Cup Qualification (CWCQ) for Qatar 2022 takes place today with a number of exciting matches that will go a long way toward determining who makes the next round.

First up in Group A, Antigua and Barbuda welcome southern neighbours Montserrat, fresh off a second-place finish in their League B group in the Concacaf Nations League. Antigua and Barbuda hope two heads are better than one with Tom Curtis and Mikele Leigertwood set to lead the squad, along with familiar faces Tamorley “Ziggy” Thomas and Peter Byers.

Montserrat look to

get a strong result with Nations League foe El Salvador waiting on the back half of the FIFA window.

In Group B, Suriname manager Dean Gorre will be able to count on a number of new recruits like DFs Ryan Donk and Kelvin Leerdam, plus GK Warner Hahn joining familiar attackers Ivenzo Comvalius and Gleofilo Vlijter. Gorre’s team welcomes a Cayman Islands squad looking for an historic first-ever victory in WCQ. Group F will see Saint Kitts and Nevis try to use their speed advantage against a Puerto Rico team that wants to make a mark in Dave Sarachan’s coaching debut.

Sarachan called in a young squad of players based in the mainland United States with captain Sidney Rivera included to inject experience, as

<<POLAND’S PANDEMIC POSITION>> Meanwhile, Poland was absolutely rattled by the pandemic and the effects have forced the country into a state of lockdown as the infection surges.

The country has suffered a staggering 49,441 deaths since the pandemic commenced and currently has a whopping 260,000 active cases. Poland has the highest new daily rates of Covid cases since November 2020.

However, despite the lock-

Group D as he heads up a Dominican Republic team led by GK Miguel Lloyd and FW Domingo Peralta and bolstered by the young Germany-based forward

Suriname Senior Men’s National Team in training ahead of the CWCQ (Photo by SVB media)

Guyana to make inaugural appearance at AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships

PRESIDENT of the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA), Steve Ninvalle, recently disclosed that a Guyanese team is scheduled to make its inaugural run at the International Boxing Association (AIBA) Youth World Boxing Championships, which is billed for April 10-24 in Kielce, Poland.

With the astonishing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, even the president has his doubts about the team attending the event. However, he reiterated that the association is exploring every option to make Guyana’s inaugural participation possible.

Less than three weeks remain for the four-member team that includes 2019 Caribbean Gold Medallist Abiola Jackman, along with Mark Crawford, Richard Howard Jr. and Emmanuel Pompey. Elton Chase has been named as the manager while Lennox Allen has been tasked with the coaching aspect.

Ninvalle disclosed, “We are now trying to see all the Covid protocols and when we can tie that down, then we will make the travelling arrangements. But it is good thing for them to go out to the World Championships and test their skills. All of these guys are either the best in the Caribbean or number two.”

The president further stated that he expects the team to arrive in Poland on or before April 8, giving them just two days to be acclimatised. This, he said, would not be a bestcase scenario but they have to work within Covid’s confines.

the majority of the team looks to win their first-ever WCQ cap.

Jacques Passy is another manager making his WCQ debut Wednesday in

down, AIBA continues to forge ahead with the hosting of the event. An AIBA team recently visited Kielce to inspect the venue, hotels and logistical organisation for the upcoming Youth World Boxing Championships.

The Championships will be held under the motto “Protect yourself and others at all times”, noting safety during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The tournament is set to be held at the Hala Legionow Sports Complex, which has a seating capacity of 3,000.

India win ODI series opener after Krishna and Thakur derail England PUNE, India (Reuters) Debutant Prasidh Krishna and fellow seamer Shardul Thakur combined to derail England’s chase and bowl India to a 66-run victory in the one-day series opener in Pune on Tuesday.

Shikhar Dhawan made 98 but it was the blistering unbroken century-plus partnership between KL Rahul and debutant Krunal Pandya which helped India to a strong 317-5.

Jonny Bairstow led England’s robust reply with an incendiary 94 before the wheels came off their chase and the

Dhawan combined with Virat Kohli (56) in a century-plus stand before Wood returned to dismiss the India captain and Shreyas Iyer in his successive overs.

Stokes dismissed Dhawan for 98 and the 300-mark looked beyond India when they slumped to 205-5 in the 41st over.

Rahul, who made 62 not out, and Krunal launched a spectacular late assault as India plundered 112 runs off the last 10 overs.

Krunal raced to a 26-ball fifty, the fastest by an ODI

Krunal Pandya hit the fastest half-century by a player on one-day international debut

Reigning Caribbean bantamweight champion, Abiola Jackman

duo of Rudolf Gonzalez and Luis Coordes. They face a Dominica side that also will be relying on veteran GK Glenson Prince.

He’ll need to shine for Dominica to move into the next round as they did in the 2018 qualification cycle.

The nightcap features Guatemala and Cuba in Group C. Guatemala had recent success in friendly matches against Concacaf opposition, but will need to get past a Cuba squad reinforced with potential Europe-based debutants including FWs Onel Hernandez and Joel Apezteguía and DF Carlos Vásquez Fernandez.

(Concacaf)

tourists folded for 251 in 42.1 overs.

India fielded the Pandya brothers -- Krunal and Hardik -- while England had the Curran siblings -- Sam and Tom -- in their playing XI. Put into bat, India got off to a steady start with Dhawan and Rohit Sharma raising 64 runs.

Playing his first ODI since his man-of-the-match performance in the final of the 2019 World Cup, Ben Stokes dismissed Rohit to break the blossoming partnership.

debutant, with his audacious strokemaking and finished 58 not out.

England got off to a flying start with Bairstow combining with Jason Roy (46) in a free-flowing 135-run opening stand.

Debutant Krishna (4-54) finally ended the stand, dismissing Roy and Ben Stokes, who made one, in his successive overs.

Eoin Morgan (22) came out to bat with four stitches in his right hand having split his webbing earlier while fielding.

The England captain could have been dismissed for a firstball duck off Krishna but counterpart Kohli dropped him in the slip.

Bairstow smashed seven sixes in his 66-ball blitz but Thakur turned the match on its head with three quick strikes that also included the wickets of Morgan and Jos Buttler.

Cruising at 135 for no loss, England slumped to 176-5 and could not recover from there.

The remaining two matches are scheduled on Friday and Sunday, both in Pune.

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER Wednesday, March 24, 2021

COMPLIMENTS OF XTRA ENERGY DRINK – STABROEK BAZAAR (Tel: 683-9500) & CUMMINGS ELECTRICAL COMPANY LTD – 83 Garnett street, Campbellville, Georgetown (Tel: 225-6158) (1) (2) (1) (2)

ANSWERS TO YESTERDAY’S: WI: 77 players SL: 69 players

TODAY’S QUIZ:

Who scored the first Test hundred for the WI against SL? Who hit the first Test century for SL against the WI?

ANSWERS IN TOMORROW’S ISSUE

Oshada Fernando and Lahiru Thirimanne Test on edge after Mayers double put on 162 for the third wicket strike stalls Sri Lanka (RANDY BROOKS/AFP/Getty Images)

MAGIC ARM! Kyle Mayers celebrates one of his two wickets on Tuesday as he is joined by captain Kraigg Brathwaite

Test on edge after Mayers double strike stalls Sri Lanka ..Thirimanne-Oshada stand scripts Sri Lanka’s fightback with 162 third wicket stands

...Thirimanne-Oshada stand scripts Sri Lanka’s fightback with 162 third wicket stand

NORTH SOUND, Antigua, (CMC) – Kyle Mayers earned his first Test wickets when he produced two critical strikes in as many overs to break a dangerous, record century stand, as he hauled West Indies back into the opening Test after half-centuries from Oshada Fernando and Lahiru Thirimanne threatened to put Sri Lanka in the ascendancy here yesterday.

With Sri Lanka cruising on 170 for one, half-hour after tea to wipe out their 102-run first innings deficit, newly-installed captain Kraigg Brathwaite summoned Mayers, who removed Fernando for 91 with his first delivery of brisk medium pace before accounting for veteran Dinesh Chandimal for four in his very next over.

Experienced seamer Kemar Roach added the wicket of Thirimanne for 76 a few overs later as Sri Lanka lost three wickets for 19 runs in the space of 45 deliveries, before

Dhananjaya de Silva stroked 46 not out and Pathum Nissanka, an unbeaten 21, to see Sri Lanka to the close on 255 for four.

Mayers finished with two for 10 from four overs while Roach has taken two for 28, leaving West Indies trailing by only 153 runs heading into today’s critical fourth day at the Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium.

“I’m happy to get my first Test wicket.”

Mayers said afterwards.

“I like to be in the game – I’m that kind of person. I like to win games for my side, so bowling, batting, fielding – any part of cricket at all I can play to win the game for my side, I will do that.”

He added: “I think the wicket is a good one – it has flattened out nicely. Obviously they had the upper hand today but the game is still evenly poised. We’re still in the game.”

Sri Lanka needed only two overs to wrap up the West Indies innings for 271 after the home side resumed the morning on 268 for eight, left-arm pacer Vishwa Fernando (2-52) bowling Rahkeem Cornwall for 60 and then hitting Shannon Gabriel in front without scoring, four balls apart in his first over.

Armed with a healthy lead, West Indies pressed home their advantage when Roach induced a false stroke from captain Dimuth Karunaratne and had the left-hander caught at third slip by John Campbell for three in the fifth over of the innings.

However, Oshada Fernando and Thirimanne then combined to frustrate West Indies in a 162-run, second wicket stand which steered Sri Lanka safely to lunch on 67 for one and then kept the hosts wicket-less in the second session.

The partnership was Sri Lanka’s highest for the second wicket against West Indies and

also the highest for the wicket at the venue.

A compact right-hander, Fernando scored steadily, carving out 11 fours off 149 deliveries to complete his second Test half-century in his eighth Test.

The left-handed Thirimanne, meanwhile, hit four fours off 201 balls to notch his second half-century of the match and the eighth of his 39th Test career.

Fernando survived a chance on 16, about 25 minutes before lunch, when former captain Jason Holder spilled a straightforward chance at leg slip off off-spinner Rahkeem Cornwall.

Unbeaten on 34 at lunch, he reached his fifty about half-hour afterwards with a single to cover off Cornwall while Thirimanne, on 28 at the interval, brought up his landmark in the fourth over after the drinks break with a single to square leg

TURN TO PAGE 37

FIBA Americas 2023 World Cup Qualifiers…

Head coach elated with Rose, James additions

SEE PAGE 37

Delroy James (left) is expected to arrive soon to join Guyana’s National Basketball team

Guyana’s captain Stanton Rose

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24, 2021