Guyana Chronicle E-Paper 28-09-2022

Immense benefits being derived from Cricket Carnival

–– Minister Walrond says events create meaningful opportunities for many Guyanese

–– exemplifies gov’t’s vision for a sustainable tourism industry which benefits everyone

MANY persons have acknowledged and recognised the obvious, direct op portunities that flow from the ongoing Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and Cricket Carnival, but there is an unsung story, “an untold script,” that features thousands of Guyanese who have been able to derive significant benefits from Guyana’s staging of

these events.

This was according to Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond, during her remarks at a reception hosted by US Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch, on Monday, in cele bration of World Tourism Day.

Guyana, in addition to hosting seven group games, three knockout matches

and the Hero CPL final, is running, for the first time, Cricket Carnival which fea tures a number of events and activities.

“Our commitment to securing the rights to the CPL finals was part of our strategy for inclusive development. We had our sights set not only on the prima ry revenue streams associated with the cricket itself, but also on capturing wider

benefits that such an event could bring to a broad cross section of ordinary people in many sectors.

Indeed this was the primary moti vation for the twinning of cricket with carnival,” Minister Walrond related.

Hungry Warriors ‘hunt’

For many, the long wait has come to

the way

tonight

full story on

(Office of the President photo)

Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond

New tourism products introduced to local market

–– Director Baksh says many more in the pipeline

A NUMBER of new tour ism products have been launched in Guyana by various companies, and there is more to come, Director of the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA), Kamrul Baksh has said.

In his address at the launch of a new tourism product by Azure Experiences and Touring Guyana, Baksh said both companies are nascent but they have been blazing the trail when it comes to providing unique products in a short space of time

At the GTA, there is a plan to launch as many tourism products as possible; this commenced in 2020 when the authority introduced three new initiatives

The authority, according to Baksh, went on to launch

seven new tourism products and aims to introduce 12 by the end of this year

“We have more in October and November They are not just products being launched

for the sake of it, as you can see the diversity in the prod ucts in terms of geographic

diversity you have Regions Six, Nine, Eight and Four,” he said

In relation to the two compa nies, Azure Experiences of fers its signature yoga break fast and nature walk along with their Kopinang Falls Adventure, while Touring Guyana offers tours to many areas including their New Amsterdam Heritage tour

Those tours could cater for various markets, and would attract enthusiasts not just in Guyana but also those re gionally and internationally

The GTA, which is a facili tator of development in the tourism industry, plans to continue assisting existing and potential tour operators in their efforts to market Guyana as an ideal tourist destination

Inclusive policies transforming lives of every Guyanese

–– Minister McCoy says

THE lives of every Guya nese are being transformed through the implementa tion of inclusive and effec tive policies, according to Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister with

responsibility for Public Affairs, Kwame McCoy.

McCoy, in a recent state ment, said the government is laying the foundation for the development and further advancement of Guyana and

its people.

“At this very juncture, Guyanese in every nook and cranny of this country are beginning to feel their lives transforming for the better and are witnessing the reali sation of a promised prosper ity for all,” the minister said.

He added, however, that

while this is being done, there are persons in the po litical opposition who are choosing to divide the nation and prevent the achievement of “One Guyana.”

Minister McCoy said since the main opposition’s failed attempt to subvert the will of the Guyanese people by purportedly interfering in the 2020 general and regional elections, there has been no indication of their intention to relent their “assault” on Guyana’s democracy.

Although this is the case, the minister related the Dr Irfaan Ali-led administration has maintained its focus on fulfilling the promises made to Guyanese.

The thrust of the govern ment to advance develop ment, Minister McCoy said,

continues to be resented by the opposition.

“They resent the mag nanimous approaches our government is taking to cater to the needs of all Guyanese, including the very supporters and electors of the PNC who are mostly Afro-Guyanese,” the minister said.

He further noted that the Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton, and his enablers in various organisations have banded together to stoke “ra cial flames” and to keep the fear of racism alive.

To this end, McCoy said that the resolve of the Presi dent and the government to lead the country to prosperity will not yield to the whims of unpatriotic detractors. And it is evident that Guyanese are rejecting the racially

Director of the Guyana Tourism Authority, Kamrul Baksh (Delano Williams photo)

“We want more ambassa dors, we want more promo tion, we want marketing so that persons are aware of what exists,” Baksh said The GTA, as it is now, is working to ensure that systems are in place so to make the tourism expe rience more seamless in Guyana.

divisive and fear-mongering campaign and are supporting the vision of the government.

He said: “The irrefut able evidence playing out before our eyes daily, in facts and figures, that the PPP/C administration is serious about transforming Guyana into a prosperous nation for all Guyanese.”

Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister, Kwame McCoy

A section of the gathering at the experiential product launch on Tuesday at the Herdmanston Lodge (Delano Williams photo)

Immense benefits being derived from Cricket Carnival

MANY persons have ac knowledged and recognised the obvious, direct oppor tunities that flow from the ongoing Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and Cricket Carnival, but there is an unsung story, “an untold script,” that features thou sands of Guyanese who have been able to derive signifi cant benefits from Guyana’s staging of these events.

This was according to Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Oneidge Wal rond, during her remarks at a reception hosted by US Am bassador Sarah-Ann Lynch, on Monday, in celebration of World Tourism Day.

Guyana, in addition to hosting seven group games, three knockout matches and the Hero CPL final, is running, for the first time, Cricket Car nival which features a number of events and activities.

“Our commitment to se curing the rights to the CPL finals was part of our strategy for inclusive development. We had our sights set not only on the primary reve

nue streams associated with the cricket itself, but also on capturing wider benefits that such an event could bring to a broad cross section of ordi nary people in many sectors. Indeed this was the primary motivation for the twinning of cricket with carnival,” Minis ter Walrond related.

The minister said the gov ernment’s commitment to securing the rights for the hosting of the CPL final was part of a strategy for inclusive development.

Walrond said: “We had our sights set not only on the primary revenue streams asso ciated with the cricket itself, but also on capturing wider benefits that such an event could bring to a broad cross section of ordinary people in many sectors. Indeed this was the primary motivation for the twinning of cricket with carnival.”

It is the commitment to inclusion that drove authorities to design the overall archi tecture of CPL and Cricket Carnival with its attached signature events over a two-

week period.

According to Minister Walrond, this was done to ensure that there were oppor tunities for meaningful partic ipation by small, medium and microenterprises right down to the individual sole proprietor. And those benefits were real ised in all sorts of businesses.

For instance, there were advertisements for expres sions of interest for Guyanese to provide bed and breakfast accommodation for some of the visitors.

The response, Walrond said, was significant, as close 150 expressions of interest were received, and of those, the government was able to certify almost 50 applicants to provide bed and break fast accommodations for the CPL.

“Looking forward, we know that even with the planned expansion of our hotel room stock we will have similar demand next year and likely into the third year of the contract. And it should be evident that the benefits of this programme have the potential to readily extend beyond the CPL,” the minister underscored.

Additionally, the One Guyana Festival attracted well over 100 small vendors into a marketplace which featured thousands of patrons, allowing them a period of extraordinary sales that would have by far eclipsed their normal earnings.

The Regional Food Festi val too on Main Street, had 51 registered vendors including participants from Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and Lethem.

“Once again, these small businesspeople were, by de sign, given affordable access to a marketplace for their products that afforded them extraordinary revenues for their businesses. Revenues that would otherwise not have been possible,” Minister Wal rond said.

The benefits from the CPL also extended to the many en tertainment and cultural events which brought earnings and exposure to artistes and pro moters. Activities and events

would have also benefitted or dinary providers of goods and services such as taxi drivers, restauranteurs, caterers, farm ers and a whole host of Guy anese who, in all likelihood, number in the thousands.

“And CPL Cricket Car nival is but one event. Our plan is to consistently bring a number of such major events each year to our shores.

Thus, with a deliberate policy of inclusion, aimed at delivering broad-based benefit, we incrementally increase the opportunities to a wide cross section of Guyanese for the benefit of the collective,” Minister Walrond said.

BENEFITS FOR ALL

She went on to say: “So Cricket Carnival then, ex emplifies the philosophy and vision that grounds our approach to tourism devel opment.

That vision is for a sustain able tourism industry which benefits Guyanese in all 10 regions of our country. An industry where communi ty-led tourism experiences exist alongside larger massbased offerings, where our environment is preserved in an unspoilt state for the enjoy ment and benefit of future gen

erations and an industry where the benefits accrue equitably to all of our citizens.”

The ongoing events, in Walrond’s view, are a “very good example” that the gov ernment’s approach to social and economic development places them at the cutting edge of re-thinking tourism as it regards inclusion.

“I am happy to observe that we are already in the van guard as regards the “re-think ing” that is needed in the tourism industry. Many of our core eco-tourism offerings

take place in the open spaces that are envisioned in the re-thinking.

“The new emphasis on rural development is well exemplified by our communi ty-based tourism.

Most importantly, the targeting of broad-based benefit is reflected in our ac tive development of tourism events to benefit all segments of the business landscape from the large firm to the micro-enterprise to the indi vidual sole proprietor,” the minister said.

–– Minister Walrond says events create meaningful opportunities for many Guyanese

–– exemplifies gov’t’s vision for a sustainable tourism industry which benefits everyone

Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond

Two of the many participants in the first-ever Cricket Carnival Food Festival (Elvin Croker photo)

Mini tourism expo held in Region Two

TOURISM-RELATED businesses in Region Two were, on Tuesday, given an opportunity to show case what they have to offer during a mini expo held at the Independence Park, Anna Regina.

The event was organ ised by the Ministry of

Tourism, Industry and Commerce, in collabora tion with the Guyana Tour ism Authority (GTA) and the Region Two Tourism Association in recognition of World Tourism Day, which was held under the theme, “Rethinking Tour ism”.

Over ten businesses par ticipated in the event.

President of the Re gion’s Tourism Associa tion, Shaleenie Sukdeo, said that the association is happy to host such an event espe cially after the pandemic.

She said that Region Two has many lakes and resorts and she used the op portunity to encourage per sons to visit those places.

She explained that the

expo provides an opportu nity for tour operators, hotel owners and others operating in the tourism industry to interact with the public and showcase what they have to sell as a business.

At the expo, businesses showcased art and craft and other items and provided in formation on resorts, hotels and other businesses.

A representative of Ovo taxi service, Ravin Carroll,

said that he is happy to be a part of the expo.

He explained that he is part of a taxi service that provides one-day tours to leading resorts at a cost of $20,000.

The taxi service also provides delivery services, bus services, car and canter rentals and bicycle rides around the town of Anna Regina. Representatives can be contacted on 671-

4878 or 642-3332.

Collen Prince, a rep resentative of All Things Sweet Décor, located at Charity and Providence, East Bank Demerara, also spoke with this publication.

She said that she is hap py to be a part of the expo and that her jewellery and the other items on display will be attractive to tourists.

“I bring in unique things that tourists love to wear. I am also specialised in event decorations for all occa sions,” Prince added.

Afifah Rahman from Brint’s Design printing and photography said she was happy to be a part of the expo and said that she spe cialises in printing designs on t-shirts and mugs.

Amerindian craft items, foods and wines were also on display.

The Ministry of La bour, Guyana Tourism Authority, Jaigobin Ho tels and Chief Wines were among the other partici pants.

The Chief wines, which are made in Mainstay/Whyaka

HAVING lobbied for years for the right to be consid ered regular employees at public institutions and receive similar benefits, sweeper/cleaners at pub lic schools are celebrating government’s recent deci sion to immediately offer full-time contracts with gratuity.

For many, the long wait has come to an end, paving the way for more spending power and a better quality of life.

Over the years, sweeper/ cleaners have been employed and paid at public schools un der arrangements that did not see then receiving many of the benefits that are enjoyed by the regular public ser vants. These benefits include salary increases and bonuses, leave with pay, leave passage and the payment of National Insurance Scheme (NIS) contributions.

They are now looking forward to these benefits. Many have questioned the lack of these benefits as they work just as hard as the other public servants.

“Many times I go home late after 5’ o clock. Some times night catch me on the road,” one sweeper/cleaner at a school in Region One recently told this publication as she shared some of her experiences on the job.

The job has also seen her developing some medical complications, the woman said.

“The dust does affect me bad. My skin get some rash, but I’m still coming. Right now my skin get some rash,

some terrible itch. I’m taking some medication that doctor gave to me, and he give me some injections,” the mother of six explained to this pub lication.

Noting that she has been employed at the school for the past four years, the clean er shared that she has not received any annual leave in the four years she has been there.

She hopes that this new change will bring relief, as the sweeper/cleaners will now be recognised as official employees.

“Since I’m working for the past four years I never get a leave, is only sometimes when I sick I would take a day,” she said.

It was earlier this month that the President, Dr. Ir faan Ali announced, that the Cabinet had instructed that the sweeper/cleaners, most of whom are women, to be employed on the full-time contract-gratuity basis at the public service minimum wage level.

This was done in order for steps to be taken to reg ularise the manner in which sweeper/cleaners are em ployed and paid at public schools.

Government made the an nouncement in a press release last week. It was explained that the decision brings to closure a long outstanding matter which has affected this category of workers in the public school system, and forms part of the gov ernment’s ongoing efforts to improve the conditions of employment of public sector workers.

Over the years, the sweeper/ cleaners have em phasised how unfairly they are being treated.

“Growing up I never re ally like sweeper cleaner but I say it’s a job and I hold on to it,” commented another public school cleaner from Mahdia.

She added: “It’ s very good for me. It’s [the job] helping me in a way, with me and my children and my fam

ily. Sometimes when I get paid, it helps me with buying the groceries and paying bills and [I] have money for the children.”

She has worked as a clean er at a nursery school for the past three years, and believes the job she does deserves to be respected. She said too that all sweeper/cleaners need to en joy the same benefits as other employees.

“I feel like as cleaners

we were being let down. We deserve to be paid the money. We do a lot of hard work, especially when the children make a lot of mess. I used to feel left out, and I feel real down sometimes when I see others get a certain amount of money when December come and then we don’t get nothing Sometimes you feel like give it up, but I hold on,” she shared.

“I say we are supposed

to get it so why leave us out as school cleaners. I say they supposed to give we it. So I am glad now that we will be able to get it. It will benefit me a lot.

With the money you get I could buy something that I need.

You can do a little more, and you can put up a little more.

I think it will benefit me a lot,” she added.

Sweeper/cleaners at work

Greater spending power, better quality of life –– sweeper/cleaners happy the long wait is over for full-time contracts

The Pathway to Development

THERE are few in Guyana who fail to recognise that life in Guyana is getting better.

True enough, there has not been as yet any dramatic improvement in the standard of living of the Guyanese people, but who can, with a straight face, deny the fact that life for the average Guyanese is getting better and better with each passing day.

This fact of the rising tide of prosperity, even though not spectacular, is being felt by all segments and strata of the popula tion. Only recently, a decision was taken by the PPP/C Administration to place all sweepers and cleaners of the public schools in Guyana on the monthly payroll with a salary no less than the current minimum wage in the public sector. This is indeed a welcome development and even though be lated speaks volumes to the pro-people and pro-working class orientation of the PPP/C administration.

But there is more good news. According to Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, the government is

now in the process of engaging the Council of Legal Education (CLE) with a view to establishing a law school in the country. Again, this is an overdue but welcome development especially coming at a time when the country is experiencing a process of modernisation and change. The dialectics of growth and development makes it all the more imperative for the supporting infra structure to be in place including the legal infrastructure. Business and investments require a strong, predictable and rules-based environment to allow for investor-confi dence and security.

In the case of the establishment of a law school in Guyana, there are a number of other benefits that can accrue to the coun try. Apart from the agonising wait some Guyanese students experience to further their professional dream of becoming an Attorney-at-Law due to limited places at the Hugh Wooding and the Norman Manley Law Schools, the fees can be prohibitive not to mention the high cost of air travel and boarding and lodging.

This initiative to have a law school in Guyana is consistent with the PPP/C Administration’s commitment to promote Guyana as an education hub not only within the country but in the region as a whole. The school is expected to attract students from across the region and beyond.

Credit for the establishment of the law school in Guyana must be given to the Ministry of Legal Affairs for the robust en gagements with the CLE after several failed attempts by the previous APNU+AFC ad ministration. Based on a proposal submitted by Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, the Guyana Govern ment will provide the land and buildings based on the criteria and specifications set by the Council.

The management and administration of the school will, however, remain in the hands of the CLE which will allow for con sistency and uniformity in terms of quality assurance and accreditation.

This is indeed a forward-looking step by President, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali and the

PPP/C Administration. Guyana is certainly going places and the establishment of a law school in Guyana will certainly raise the regional and international profile of the country as an off-shore education destina tion. Scores of people from all across the world are already taking advantage of the relatively inexpensive course offerings at the University of Guyana and other accredited tertiary institutions in the country, especially in the fields of medicine and nursing. The establishment of the law school will be a welcome addition to the menu of course offerings in Guyana which will be a major boost to the new and dynamic skill-sets of a modern economy.

The whole of Guyana, indeed the region, benefits when there are investments in hu man capital.

The PPP/C Administration has demon strated that when it comes to education, no cost is considered too high.

This is indeed the pathway to sustain able development for which the PPP/C Administration must be applauded.

than making

claims of discrimination

Dear Editor,

WHEN Mr. Aubrey Norton was elected the new leader of PNC/R in December 2021 having defeated former PNC/R strongman, Joseph Harmon, that mo ment signalled a new direction of the party.

However, subsequent developments indicate that it is not a new direction but a rendezvous with the history and strat egy of the PNC/R that helped to shape his leadership style. Mr. Norton drew inspiration from PNC founder Mr. LFS Burnham and embraces President Des mond Hoyte’s street tactics.

Like Mr. Burnham, Mr. Norton en joys wielding centralised power. A Daily News report of 9/20/22 states: “Autocracy creeping up in PNC under Norton.” The story continues: “The Leader seems more concerned with surrounding himself with ‘yes men and women’ that he can control and tell what to do.” Whatever strategy Mr. Norton is using is not working, ac cording to Temple University LAPOP poll. This finding is also supported by PNC/R members/activists who point grudgingly to the inspirational leadership

style of President, Dr Irfaan Ali.

PNC/R activist, Norman Browne wrote: “President Ali is in every nook and cranny dressed like a regular street man, sitting on the ground with the poor, playing dominoes with our brothers and sisters and eating mangoes and drinking coconut water from the chopped-out hole of the coconut. People love that. He offers them help but countless would be happy just to know he grounded with them while looking like them. Meanwhile, our opposition confabulation is replete with disunity and division and unable to match the PPP’s energetic strides among the grassroots. The current Leader of the Opposition is failing miserably with re gards to grassroots representation.” (SN: 8/31/22).

Is this reported failure of the PNC/R leadership also connected with the mar ginalisation of well-known PNC/R members: Basil Williams, Dr. George Norton, Ronald Bulkan, Joseph Harmon, President David Granger, Winston Jor dan, Amna Ally, Dr. Van West Charles, James Bond, Simona Broomes, and Robert Corbin, many of whom played an important role in the attempted electoral

heist of 2020?

Like Mr. LFS Burnham, Mr. Nor ton views his party supporters (mostly Afro-Guyanese) as victims of a system calculated to defeat them. He therefore feels that his primary role is to carry out an aggressive campaign to not only to change the system to reduce or elim inate perceived inequity and perceived race victimisation. It is doubtful if he considers that his leading role is head of the “government in waiting.” But why does his perception of inequity and racial victimisation apply only under PPP/C governance? Under the PNC administra tion did Mr Norton find any evidence of inequity or racial victimisation? Unlike Mr. Burnham, Mr. Norton does not ful ly appreciate the critical importance of ‘image’ and ‘leadership style’ in politics.

Mr. Norton’s combative approach was aptly demonstrated again on Monday 9/18/22 after which the Attorney-General (AG), Anil Nandlall had to admonish him for making several misleading statements against the PPP/C Government for seizing Afro-Guyanese lands and giving them to PPP/C supporters (meaning Indo-Guya nese). The AG believes that was a racist

position designed to incite inter-group tension. The Prime Minister, Brigadier (r’td) Mark Phillips has also rejected false narratives. “As an Afro-Guyanese myself from the town of Linden, I am proud to be part of the PPP/C administration where all Guyanese, inclusive of Afro-Guyanese, have equal access to opportunities and where national policies and programmes are never influenced by race.”

Nothing is wrong with fighting to defend and protect the rights of his supporters, but Norton’s cases must be evidence-driven, and not guided by emo tion or hearsay or false theory. The AG produced evidence to refute Norton’ s allegations.

The victimisation theory has allowed Mr. Norton and his party to apply the concept of ‘apartheid’ to Guyana. This is most unfortunate.

Apartheid is an institutional system based on convoluted values and an ide ology of racial superiority/inferiority which regulates social stratification patterns in areas such as housing, ed ucation, residential neighbourhoods,

The

in

Part 2: The South can be heard loudly, even in silence!

By Earl Bousquet

I ENDED Part 1 con cluding that the NorthSouth dialogue at the 77th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) was yet another hard try by developing nations to di

alogue with a deaf and dumb North.

But I also pointed out that ‘It doesn’t have to and will not remain so…’ and that ‘…this is not the end for CARICOM and other developing nations,’ but ‘far from it…’

The PNC/R can do better than making ...

jobs, and governance. Blacks and Browns are con demned to the lowest level at every institution, and their freedom of expression, freedom to travel, hu man rights are violated with impunity. Apartheid is a ‘tale of multiple segregated neighbourhoods’ structured and regulated according to race (colour).

It is ingenious therefore to identify a perceived de ficiency (race discrimination or race inequity) in public policy on housing and land allocations, for example, and try to squeeze this into a slot of an apartheid system that only exists in the minds of some Guyanese. This startling embrace of apartheid is an abuse of reason as well as of scholarship.

The PNC/R can do better than making unsubstanti ated claims of discrimination. Despite their mediocre performance in office (2015-2020), they lost the 2020 elections by only 2.7 per cent. Had they responded to the concerns of the public and not ignore their calls for help, they would have been in a better place. By preach ing apartheid now they are weakening their chances of electoral victory in 2025. How would they be able to break down the segregation barrier that they have erect ed to increase their share of votes in 2025? Any apart heid system would not allow cross-over voting. The reality is that there is no apartheid and the PPP/C and PNCR+AFC, need cross-over votes to win an election.

It is within the competence of the PNC/R to create an effective political strategy, However, Mr. Norton and his party must first address some necessary pre-requi sites. (1) He should apologise on behalf of his party to put the country through five months of post- election trauma. (2) He should have conceded that his party was wrong not to accept the findings of the CoI into the sugar industry and thus prevented 7,000 workers from joining the bread line. (3) He should stop referring to the President and his government as “installed.” (4) He must strive to create a strong opposition (government in waiting). (5) He, like other leaders, must renounce racism and street violence as political tools. (6) He should defuse his confrontational approach and replace it with rapprochement. Finally, if Norton wants to be come a national Leader, he must be able to transcend his own party boundaries and reach out to all segments of the society.

If he does all or most of the above things, he would be on the path to narrow or even eliminate the gap in political support between PPP/C and PNC/R.

Yours sincerely, Dr Tara Singh

Chronicles of a Chronic Guyana Chronicler

By Earl Bousquet

Why? Because just like the world never stops turn ing, so does the struggle by developing countries, at all levels at home and abroad, irrespective of the obstacles and challenges.

In this case, ever since the age of independence in the 1960s, the Caribbean has had to adjust to chang ing times and climes at the United Nations, first seeing themselves and being treat ed like sardines learning to swim among sharks, con sidered so small and too little to be of consequences, described by the likes of British Prime Minister Win ston Churchill and French President Charles de Gaulle as “mere specks of dust” on the global landscape.

Likewise African na tions that started gaining independence in the 1950s from Britain and France as the burdens of colonialism were becoming too heavy, liberation movements scor ing victories across the con tinent and Europe deciding to take early steps to avoid revolutions by granting co lonial independence with limited sovereignty to min eral and resource-rich con tinental colonies.

The colonial powers granted ‘independence’, while holding on to ultimate power by tying the new na tions to the imperial thrones and parliamentary coat-tails and petticoats through im posed Constitutions drawnup in London and Paris and bequeathed on silver plat ters to the former colonies.

European colonialism affected the entire world and the United States of America (USA), born in 1776, emerged premature ly (if not forcibly) from the womb of British colo nialism on the American

continent, its freedom also fought for by enslaved Af ricans never compensated, though promised, with 40 acres of land and a mule, per family.

A major common de nominator uniting most poor and developing coun tries that comprise the vast majority of the UN’s 193 member-states is colonial ism, which left similar and different scars on the backs and bodies of millions of enslaved Africans and In dentured Indian labourers, in the Caribbean and saw prized jewels and artefacts of infinite value stolen, cap tured or otherwise illegally obtained in and from the colonies, which have end ed-up as crown jewels and museum displays in Europe.

Another shared joint inheritance from colonial ism is the lifelong scars that have led to the calls by 14 Caribbean Commu nity (CARICOM) mem ber states (all ex-Euro pean colonies and UN members) for Reparations for Slavery and Native Genocide as reparatory justice for the pillage and decimation of people and cultures in the 530 years since the Italian explor er Christopher Colum bus accidentally landed in Hispaniola (the island now shared between Haiti and Dominican Republic), naming the islands and the region the ‘West Indies’ after mistakenly believing he’d landed in the western part of India, as described in his copy of Marco Po lo’s diary.

The African Union (AU) and CARICOM, as well as India, have common roots in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade started by the Royal British and French Afri

can Companies that started Chattel Slavery that led to the common claim by the 14 Caribbean nations on the 13 member states of the European Union (EU) that built empires off and in oth er ways directly benefitted from the slave trade.

India’s indentured la bourers were transported to the Caribbean on the same ships that brought enslaved Africans to the ‘West In dies’ and The ‘Americas’.

Africa, the Caribbean and India have all belonged to the major international bodies established since independence to promote and pursue the causes of the South, from the NonAligned Movement to the Group of 77 to the Alliance of Small Island States (AO SIS).

Caribbean ex-colonies have always belonged to the British Commonwealth and the French Alliance Fran caise (AF) groupings, as re spective umbilical cords to the former colonial ‘mother countries’, through which multilateral ties are nurtured between the ex-colonisers and colonised.

Caribbean nations have also joined South American nations in more recent re gional entities with similar intent such as the Petro Caribe, ALBA and TCP initiatives and the Commu nity of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).

But here too, like else where, the former colonial powers still running things at the UN and through other major international institu tions like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), the North At lantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the EU have always used ideological and political yardsticks to

measure and guide their attitudes to such groupings.

Today, all these entities – and related others – al ways find ways to put the needs of the North above and ahead of those of the South and causes of poor and developing nations pe rennially end-up at the bot tom of the global agenda.

But while the former colonisers and new impe rial overlords are losing no time taking decisions that set poor and develop ing nations even further back in time, it’s time for the developing world, with the numbers necessary and backed by their majority control of most of the natu ral resources the developed world cannot do without, to start taking stock of their collective value to the inter national trade and economic system.

Be it Oil and Gas or Food, the North’s Energy and Food Security needs today and in the near future are as threatened as the continuation of the very existence of many poor and developing nations, along lines of current global economic and social con ditions.

These are realities that have long existed and were only compounded by neglect and the resulting acceleration of negative effects globally, so it’s fruit less to expect the current global political leadership to change or positively ad just.

So: What is to be done? (and) Where to begin?

The challenges are many, but so are the op portunities, including that the South has always been able to and is now even better able to speak loud ly, even in silence.

New squatting areas will not be recognised

–– Housing and Water Minister says

HOUSING and Water Min ister, Collin Croal, has said that with much emphasis being placed on tackling squatting to create whole some communities and en sure citizens enjoy a better quality of life, the ministry will not be recognising any new “squatter settlements.”

“We will not be recognis ing any new ones [squatting areas], but we recognise what we have met and we will work with those areas,” the minister said during a recent housing drive at Uitvlugt, Region Three.

Minister Croal said that persons must move away

from the idea that they could illegally occupy state lands or any property belonging to another individual, with the view of making it their own.

“Whether we are in Suc cess [East Coast Demerara], we have to do the right thing. Whether we are in Ame lia’s Ward, we have to do the right thing…but we just can’t behave as if we have a God-given right to assume what we don’t own,” he said.

The Housing and Water Minister related that there is a process that must be followed through which persons could apply for land at the housing ministry.

Those persons who are squatting and have been doc umented by the Central Hous ing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) will be regularised as far as possible.

In other instances, he said that persons might have to be relocated to other areas, once they fall within an area ear marked for sea defence, roads or other critical infrastructure.

The minister, however, assured citizens: “You have a very loving and caring Pres ident and government, so we will work with all areas.”

Since being elected to office in August 2020, hun dreds of informal settlers in

Regions Four and Five have been regularised, while sev eral persons were relocated to developed communities.

The ministry is now fo

cusing its attention on Region Three, where 45 squatter settlements were found. And, according to the ministry, many of those areas will be recognised and regularised.

“When we’re finished with those 45, we will see over 3,000 persons being

able to finally own their own home,” Minister Croal said.

He added that the PPP/C Administration has an aggressive housing pro gramme that caters to the housing needs of all citizens, so there is absolutely no need for squatting. (DPI)

Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal

Former reporters on $200,000 bail each for alleged extortion attempt

TWO former reporters, were, on Tuesday, released on $200,000 bail each for allegedly conspiring with each other to extort money from a businessman to re move an offensive post that was published by Guyana News Network (GNN), a “slanderous” online entity.

Gary Eleazar and Alex Wayne appeared before Senior Magistrate Faba yo Azore at the Cove and John Magistrate’s Court and pleaded not guilty to two counts of conspiracy to com mit a felony.

Particulars of the first charge alleged that the duo, between August 27 and Sep tember 23, 2022, at Lusig nan, East Coast Demerara, conspired together with other persons to publish defama tory libel against Afras Mo hamed with a view to extort the sum of $150,000.

The second charge al leged that the pair, during the same period in ques tion, conspired with others, and offered to abstain from publishing defamatory libel against Mohamed with a view to extort the sum of $150,00 from him.

The men did not have any legal representation but were released on $200,000 bail each. The matter was adjourned until November 1, 2022.

On September 23, Elea zar and Wayne were arrested by police during a sting op eration along the East Coast of Demerara.

Reports are that Mo hamed, on August 29, filed

a report to the police claim ing that GNN posted an article with his photograph attached, alleging that he was involved in illegal activities.

In a statement to the po lice, the businessman al legedly denied the claims and stated that it was an attempt to humiliate, embar rass, and cause him emotion al distress.

The victim told investi gators that he was contacted by the duo, who are allegedly close associates of business man, Dorwain Bess, with whom he has an ongoing dispute and told him that it was he who told them to publish the article. They then allegedly demanded a large sum to remove the said post.

According to the report, the police, as a result of the information given by Mohamed, conducted the sting operation and gave the businessman marked bills to give the duo.

The two reportedly ar rived at the location and during a conversation with Mohamed, they allegedly demanded money to remove the offensive Facebook post.

Based on the report, the duo admitted that they were among the admins on the GNN page. They reportedly revealed too that an AP NU+AFC activist, Rickford Burke, is also an admin on the page.

The men were reportedly arrested by police with the divided cash on them. The police also confiscated two cellular phones and a laptop which was also found in their

possession.

According to the report, ranks also conducted a fur ther search at the home of one of the reporters and seized a laptop and three hard drives.

While under caution, one of the suspects reportedly admitted that he acted in concert with the other along with the businessman who has an ongoing feud with the victim, to create and pub lish the said post on GNN’s Facebook page, the report stated.

It is alleged that Eleazar, while under caution told police that he was contacted by Bess, who told him that a businessman was evading taxes on imported vehicles and he subsequently wrote an article on the matter.

The said article was then sent to Bess, who then sent it to Burke, who added sev eral paragraphs before it was posted on the GNN’s Facebook page and website.

Eleazar reportedly told police that he had access to the GNN website for over a year and was given the website’s password and us ername by Burke to manage the website. He admitted to uploading and writing about five articles for the site.

Police have since issued a wanted bulletin for Bess’ arrest in connection to the crime.

Burke in another sec tion of the media has de nied any association with the controversial post and the online entity in ques tion.

Digicel gives Albion Under-15 Cricket Club CPL treat

DIGICEL has given 25 youngsters from the Albion Under-15 Cricket Club an all-expense-paid trip to a CPL match at the Nation al Stadium Providence to watch the Guyana Amazon Warriors in their winning streak.

According to a release, Digicel has, over the years, been giving young and bud ding cricketers a chance to experience CPL in very tan gible ways. Over the years, Digicel has been integral in connecting young people with the sport they love and their heroes. For some of the young cricketers, it was their first experience visiting the National Stadium and watching a live game.

The release noted that this long standing initia tive by Digicel has given young cricketers from Bux ton, West Cost Demerara, Ptolemy Reid, Diamond Special Needs School, Ever est Cricket Club and Enmore Under-15 club an opportu

ing these young people with an ‘experience’ that will ignite that spark and maybe one day,

one of these very young men will have a different view of the stadium, one with them

playing from the pitch. And they will remember when Digicel invited them to watch their first live cricket match.

The essence of this activity is to foster development and growth of tomorrow’s sport ing generation. CPL exem plifies this not only in Guyana but throughout the region and Digicel cannot be any prouder to be a part of this,” Vidya Sanichara of Digicel said.

The youths, ranging from ages 15-8 years, are from the Berbice Corridor. They were accompanied by their Coach, Simon Naidu.

“Thanks to Digicel for giving us this opportuni ty. Many of the kids have never been to the stadium and it is an experience for them, especially watching Veerasammy Premaul, leftarm spinner for the GAW, who is a product of the Albion Under -15 cricket club, many of them know him and seeing him with the team is very exciting for them,” the coach said.

nity to interact with the CPL tournament and the players over the years.

“We are very pleased to be a part of this activity today, simply because we are provid

Vidya Sanichara of Digicel speaks with the youths from the Albion Under-15 Cricket Club

Development gaps being narrowed with strategic investments

–– Prime Minister Phillips says, hands over $5M cheque to St. Ignatius

PRIME Minister, Brig adier (ret’d) Mark Phil lips, on Tuesday, hand ed over a cheque valuing $5 million on behalf of the government to the St Ignatius Village for the construction of a benab.

The Prime Minister made the presentation to the Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) village after delivering the opening remarks at its Heritage Day celebra tions.

Prime Minister Phil lips was accompanied by his wife, Mrs. Mignon Bowen-Phillips and the Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Pauline Sukhai.

During his speech at the St Ignatius Com munity Centre Ground, he highlighted the gov ernment’s unwavering commitment to the ad vancement of Amerindian rights and development.

“You have a govern ment that remains com

mitted to supporting your heritage, you have a gov ernment that respects you as our first people, and a government that is com mitted to your develop ment under the concept of “One Guyana,” bring ing development to all your communities here in Region Nine and across Guyana,” Prime Minister Phillips said.

He related that as Guy ana’s development enters a new and rapidly expand

ing phase, the government remains committed to including Amerindians in the national development agenda.

“We took an early de cision that the revenue from oil will be utilised for the development of all the people of Guyana. It doesn’t matter whether you live on the coastland or whether you live in the hinterland, development must come to you and your community,” the Prime Minister said.

He alluded to devel

opment in the area of information and com munication technology development (ICT), not ing: “We are addressing the whole issue of ICT connectivity because it is our plan, our desire, to have every village, every community connected so that you can do business, you can communicate, you can benefit from the GOAL scholarships and programmes you want to benefit from, via the internet.”

The Prime Minister

told residents that among the many initiatives be ing rolled out for their benefit is the land titling programme and the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030.

He also noted that efforts to bridge the dig ital and energy divides are ongoing, adding that hinterland education, health, and infrastruc ture are being re-posi tioned to help eliminate inequalities and ensure Amerindians continued development. (DPI)

One of the cultural performances which was a part of the Heritage Day celebrations at St. Ignatius

Prime Minister, Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips engages a resident of St. Ignatius

China Focus: China's contributions to global development

BEIJING, Sept. 24 (Xin hua) -- China is strength ening its efforts to push forward global develop ment, addressing fun damental issues such as poverty, healthcare and climate change in an era of unsettling challenges and uncertainties.

By pooling strengths from across the world through multilateral co-op eration mechanisms and initiatives such as the Glob al Development Initiative (GDI), China is seeking international co-operation to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development

Goals (SDGs). POVERTY ALLEVIATION

Eliminating poverty is the common aspiration of all people across the world, and a shared mission of the international community. The first goal of the SDGs is to "end poverty in all its

forms everywhere".

China achieved its goal of eradicating absolute pov erty as scheduled, improv ing the living standards of hundreds of millions of people through decades of hard work.

Over the past 40 years, China has contributed close

to three-quarters of the glob al reduction in the number of people living in extreme poverty, according to a joint report released in April by China's Ministry of Finance, the Development Research Center of the State Council, and the World Bank.

As the world's most populous country forges ahead toward its rural revit alisation goal, it is sharing its valuable experience in fighting poverty with other developing countries.

In Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia, China has launched pilot projects to improve the organisational abilities of local villages, encourage farmers to com bine their efforts through agricultural activities, and cultivate a new vision for development to shake off poverty, according to a white paper titled "China's International Development Co-operation in the New Era," issued by the State Council Information Office in 2021.

China has also organised training programmes and

cal medical workers, offered free mobile clinic services, and donated medicines and equipment, according to the white paper.

After the outbreak of COVID-19, China contin uously offered vaccine aid and medical support to less developed countries.

As of Aug. 23, China has provided 189 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to 27 African countries since the Eighth Ministerial Con ference of the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation in November 2021. Lo calised annual production capacities, in co-operation with African partners, now total nearly 400 million doses.

By 2030, China would have sent 5,000 profession als from the China Medical Team to other developing countries in need to help build up their infectious disease response and medi cal treatment capacities, ac cording to the deliverables of the High-level Dialogue on Global Development held in June.

co-hosted seminars with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation to share ideas and actions for targeted poverty allevi ation with other developing countries, the white paper stated

.

ENHANCING

HEALTHCARE

China has always em phasised putting people and their lives first, and has been actively assisting develop ing countries to improve their public health systems and medical services.

From 2015 to 2019, Chi na dispatched 3,588 medical workers overseas in 202 groups, and they in turn provided treatment to 11 million patients, organised professional training for lo

PROTECTING NATURE

Adhering to the vision of the harmonious coexis tence of humans and na ture, China has prioritised clean energy development, biodiversity protection and climate change response, among other fields.

The country is aiming to peak its carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.

Currently, China's in stalled capacity of renew able energy is 1.1 billion kilowatts. Its hydropower, wind power, solar power and biomass power capac ities all rank first globally, the National Development and Reform Commission

Renminbi's global use set to expand

BEIJING, Sept. 26 (China Daily) – China's renminbi is expected to continue its steady rise in global use and play a bigger part in safeguarding international financial stability, as the country further advances its financial opening-up while deepening trade and investment co-operation, experts said.

Their comments follow a report released last Friday by the People's Bank of China, the central bank, saying that the renminbi has played a growing international role in payment, investment, financ ing and foreign exchange reserves.

The renminbi internation alisation composite index — a gauge created by the central bank to describe the extent to which a currency is interna tionalised — rose to 2.86 in the first quarter of the year, up 14 per cent year-on-year, the report said.

The PBOC will steadily advance renminbi interna tionalisation in line with the market-driven principle, the report said. The cen tral bank pledged efforts to facilitate the use of the renminbi in cross-border

said on Thursday.

China has launched a clean energy pilot project to increase power supply while minimising environmen tal impacts in Gabon, and supported Fiji in working toward the goal of raising renewable energy to 90 per cent of its total energy consumption by 2025, ac cording to the white paper.

The first phase of the 15th meeting of the Con ference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biolog ical Diversity was held in China last year to negotiate an effective post-2020 glob al biodiversity framework that can bend the curve of biodiversity loss.

China announced at that time that it would invest 1.5 billion yuan (about 214.5 million U.S. dollars) to es tablish the Kunming Bio diversity Fund to support biodiversity protection in developing countries.

GLOBAL DEVELOP MENT INITIATIVE

Since its inception a year ago, the GDI has received a warm response from the international community, with more than 100 coun tries extending their support to date.

The Group of Friends of the GDI was launched at the UN in January, and over 60 countries have joined the

trade and investment, deepen the financial market's open ing-up, promote local cur rency settlement with more central banks and enrich the products offered by offshore renminbi markets, according to the report.

Experts said the rising global profile of the renminbi can contribute to the world's shift to a multipolar currency system that is less dependent on the greenback — a course that has become critical amid negative spillover effects caused by the US' monetary tightening and the use of dol lar dominance in sanctions.

Former PBOC governor Dai Xianglong said at a fo rum on Wednesday that the US' tightening has made the defects of the global currency system more prominent, ne cessitating efforts to promote a diversified international currency system and to build a mutually beneficial co-op eration mode based on free use of the renminbi.

Thanks to China's signif icance in the global supply chain, the rising use of the renminbi can help buffer shocks in the global financial system brought by the US' tightening, said Hu Zhihao,

forum so far.

The GDI has taken a leap from "laying the foundation" to "building the framework," and a stride from "freehand brushwork" to "meticulous painting," Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minis ter Wang Yi said when chair ing the Ministerial Meeting of the Group of Friends of the GDI on Tuesday.

On the achievements made in the implementation of the GDI, Wang said that co-operation platforms have been built, resource input has been increased, and urgent challenges have been addressed in the past year.

The China-Pacific Is land Countries Climate Ac tion Co-operation Center has been established, Wang said. The Global Devel opment and South-South Co-operation Fund was also launched to support the co-operation projects of the GDI. Since the begin ning of this year, China has provided emergency food assistance to developing countries and will continue to do so, according to Wang.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres lauded the GDI at the same meet ing, calling it a valued contribution to addressing common challenges and accelerating the transition to a more sustainable and inclusive future

deputy director of the Nation al Institution for Finance and Development.

For instance, Chinese companies can choose to provide their trade partners with renminbi-denominated financing to help them deal with the rising cost of financ ing in dollars, Hu said.

According to the central bank report, cross-border ren minbi receipts and payments in non-banking sectors hit a record high of 36.6 trillion yuan ($5.1 trillion) last year, up 29 per cent year-on-year.

Also, the share of the ren minbi in global payments by value had risen to 2.31 per cent in August, compared with 2.15 per cent a year ago, said the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecom munication, or SWIFT.

Besides facilitating in ternational trade and in vestment, experts said, the renminbi can also provide growing investment oppor tunities and diversification benefits for global investors as China's financial market reform and opening-up en

rich the renminbi investment environment.

As of the end of last year, foreign investors held 10.83 trillion yuan in onshore ren minbi financial assets, up 20.5 per cent year-on-year, according to the report.

Nevertheless, experts not ed that renminbi internation alisation still faces multiple challenges, particularly the renminbi's recent deprecia tion pressure and headwinds facing the Chinese economy.

While remaining stable against a basket of curren

cies, the onshore exchange rate of the renminbi weak ened against the dollar by more than 11 per cent this year to 7.1 on Friday.

Against a more compli cated geopolitical landscape, it may not be a good time to make big steps in inter nationalising the renminbi, said Wang Tao, head of Asia economics at UBS Invest ment Bank.

Rather, it is sensible for China to cement the foun dation for the global use of its currency, she said.

Teen with lupus still awaiting kidney transplant

SIXTEEN-YEAR-OLD

Adaicia Semple is hop ing that she will soon be able to undergo a kid

ney transplant which has been delayed because of a “flare up” of her lupus.

In 2020, she was di

agnosed with lupus, a disease that occurs when your body’s immune sys tem attacks your tissues

and organs. Inflammation caused by lupus can affect different parts of the body, including your joints, skin,

kidneys, and other vital organs. The kidney failure diagnosis was made in 2021.

Because of the disease, she is unable to see with her left eye; the sight in the right eye has also been affected.

The teen was set to have a kidney transplant in January of this year, however, it was delayed following a blood trans fusion.

Doctors subsequently informed the teen and her relatives that the surgery would have to be delayed as she is battling a “flare up” of lupus which would make it difficult for them to operate.

According to her moth er, Ulex Semple, doctors said that the teenager’s lu pus must be suppressed be fore they can move ahead with the transplant surgery.

Despite the long wait, Adaicia is optimistic that she will soon get better and would be able to move forward with the kidney transplant.

16-year-old Adaicia Semple

Since her diagnosis, the teen has not been able to partake in her usual routine. Nevertheless, she hopes to one-day return to her old self.

Back in June, she had told the Guyana Chronicle that once recovered, she was hoping to complete her secondary education at the Berbice High School and, subsequently, to fur ther her studies at Presi dent’s College and then the University of Guyana.

An online fundraising platform, https://gofund. me/625fb003, has been set up to assist the teen with her medical expens es.

Minibus driver remanded for allegedly trafficking cannabis

A 58-year- old Route 50 minibus driver, who was allegedly busted with almost 120 pounds of cannabis, was, on Tuesday, remanded to prison by Magistrate Alisha George.

Lal Bahadur Byjoo of Plantation Hope, Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice appeared at Sparendaam Magis trate’s Court and pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Particulars of the of

fence alleged that By joo, on September 24, at Beterverwagting, Rail way Embankment, East Coast Demerara, had 54.2 kilograms of can nabis in his possession for the purpose of traf ficking.

He was remanded to prison until November 1, 2022.

According to a re lease from the Cus toms Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU), Byjoo

was arrested by CANU ranks during an oper ation in Beterverwag ting.

CANU ranks inter cepted Byjoo’s minibus and conducted a search, which led to the discov

ery of several parcels of cannabis.

He was arrested and later charged.

REMANDED: Lal Bahadur Byjoo

Teen remanded on cannabis trafficking charge

A 19-year-old man, who was recently nabbed with cannabis in his haver sack, was, on Tuesday, remanded to prison for

allegedly trafficking nar cotics.

Errol Latchoo of Me ten-Meer-Zorg, West Coast Demerara, appeared

before Magistrate Zamilla Ali-Seepaul at the Leonora Magistrate’s Court and denied the charge.

Particulars of the

charge alleged that La tchoo on September 23, 2022, at Young and Rest less Street, De Kendren, WCD, had 118 grams of cannabis in his possession for the purpose of traf ficking.

He was remanded to prison until November 29, 2022.

According to a release

from the Customs An ti-Narcotic Unit (CANU), Latchoo was arrested during a narcotics opera tion at De Kendren.

He was intercepted while carrying a hav ersack. A subsequent search of the said hav ersack revealed several transparent Ziplock bags containing cannabis.

Errol Latchoo

Cornwall, Khan blast Royals into CPL final

... Amazon Warriors to play in Qualifier 2

THE Barbados Royals sealed a place in Friday's 2022 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) final with a compre hensive 87-run win over Guy ana Amazon Warriors at Guyana National Stadium, Providence, yesterday.

Guyana Amazon Warriors won the toss and chose to field, but Barbados Royals scored the joint-highest total of this season by reaching an imposing 1955. Opener Rahkeem Cornwall starred in the innings, launch ing 11 sixes in his innings of 91, while Azam Khan support ed with his own half-century.

The Warriors' hopes of a successful chase were derailed

in the power-play, as they lost four wickets, with Kyle Mayers and Ramon Simmonds proving effective with the ball. Despite the attempts of Shimron Het myer, it was not to be enough as the Warriors fell for108 all out.

Barbados Royals had ini tially got off to a cautious start, but Cornwall played one of the most destructive innings seen

this season, 91 runs from just 54 balls, to put the Royals into the ascendancy.

After losing his wicket just nine runs short of a century to the bowling of Shakib Al Hasan, the responsibility of the innings fell on Khan, whose vital half-century helped his side to 195-5 by the end of the innings.

Guyana Amazon Warriors lost early wickets in their chase. In-form batter Rahmanullah

Gurbaz departed in the first over, before a flurry of wickets fell that left the Warriors on 36-4 by the end of the pow er-play. Simmonds excelled with his bowling, taking three key wickets, including that of captain Hetmyer, who was the Warriors’ highest scorer in the innings.

In the end, the Warriors finished on 108 all out and will play in tomorrow night’s qualifier. (CPL)

Kent build big lead against...

pressive 85, edging Kasey Aldridge to Rew to bring his best knock of the summer to a close.

After Kent had nudged into the lead and picked up a second batting point, Al dridge rearranged the stumps of Daniel Bell-Drummond (36) to make it 251-3 and less than four overs later tempted Joe Denly (38) into an inju dicious pull shot which was caught just inside the deep square leg boundary by Sajid Khan.

Jack Leaning was caught by Abell at backward point for 41 after mistiming a deliv ery from Sajid with the lead already at 152.

In his final Kent appear ance before joining Durham, Ollie Robinson gave a re minder of what Kent will be missing with a swashbuckling 52, in which he cleared the ropes twice, before being bowled by Sajid in his next over.

Rew put down another chance, with Hamid Qadri given a reprieve off Overton,

but Sajid held on when he was picked out by Joey Evi son (21) to become Aldridge's fourth victim.

Qadri cracked six fours and brought up maximum batting points on his way to an unbeaten 27 before bad light saw the players leave the field with the score on 405-7a lead of 203.

Warwickshire's declara tion capped their potential points haul, meaning they can only overhaul Yorkshire if they are to secure Division One survival.

Memorable day for Ste vens

At the end of the first session, Kent players and staff formed a guard of hon our through which Darren Stevens walked out at Can terbury for the final time as a Kent player.

The all-rounder was de nied the chance to pull on a Kent shirt for the 644th and final time this week by a groin injury sustained in their OneDay Cup triumph at Trent Bridge on 17 September.

10:45 hrs Al’s My Daddy

English Racing Tips

(From page 25)

Since his first appearance against Derby in April 2005, 'Stevo' has amassed 22,506 runs and collected 864 wick ets for the club, helping the Spitfires to claim three tro phies along the way.

Throughout the day, fans were encouraged to record their memories in a book of thanks hosted in the club shop, while the familiar giant 'Stevo is God' flag fluttered in the autumnal breeze at the deep square leg boundary.

In the middle it was strik ing that Kent's opening part nership of Zak Crawley and Tawanda Muyeye were 73 days younger than Stevens, combined.

After a morning of largely bright sunshine, angry clouds gathered as lunch approached before dumping a sharp shower on a crowd of several hun dred who had gathered in front of the pavilion to hear Stevens' emotional final interview and to watch a video montage of his finest moments on the big screen.

12:00 hrs Pastiche

12:30 hrs Kyogo

13:00 hrs Notre Belle

American Racing Tips

Delware Park

Race 1 Lucky Freedom

Race 2 Salsa Rita

Race 3 Ghost Of Khozan

Race 4 Sneaky Cheeky

Race 5 Leopardess

Race 6 Powerfully Built

Race 7 Bound By Destiny

Race

Nottingham 08:35 hrs Run Simba

09:10 hrs Glorious Angel 09:45 hrs Fantasy Master

10:20 hrs Tathbeer

10:55 hrs Saint Riquier

11:30 hrs Sly Madam

Bangor-On-Dee

Another Flirt

South Africa Racing Tips

Greyville

08:30 hrs Inhlr Intombi

09:05 hrs Pretty To Pearls

09:35 hrs Amberglo Star 10:10 hrs Magicallee

08:55 hrs Midnight Jewel 09:26 hrs Apple Away 10:01 hrs Getaman

10:36 hrs Blakeney Point

11:11 hrs Keep Running 11:46 hrs Glendruid

12:16 hrs Trick Of The Tail

Kempton

Bete

13:30 hrs Pillar Of Hope

14:00 hrs Royal Thunder

14:30 hrs Elsaah

15:00 hrs Shin Saw Gyi

15:30 hrs Flying Standard

Irish Racing Tips

Bellewstown

09:00 hrs James Henry

09:35 hrs Heer At Dawn

10:10 hrs Ransom

10:45 hrs Polar Bear

11:20 hrs Harry’s Hill

11:55 hrs Cara Susanna

12:25 hrs Artic Blaze

Mickelson, three others drop out of LIV Golf lawsuit against PGA Tour

WASHINGTON, USA (Re uters) – Hall-of-Famer Phil Mickelson and three other golfers dropped out of a lawsuit yesterday which had been filed against the PGA Tour last month over its decision to suspend play ers who participated on the new LIV Golf circuit.

Mickelson asked to be dismissed from the lawsuit along with Talor Gooch, Ian Poulter and Hudson Swaf ford.

Mickelson told Sport Il lustrated recently that he was considering dropping out of the litigation because LIV had entered the fight.

Mickelson and a long list of golfers filed the lawsuit in early August over its decision to suspend players, including Mickelson, for playing on the new LIV Golf circuit.

The $255 million LIV series is being bankrolled by Saudi Arabia's Public Invest ment Fund, which critics say is a vehicle for the country to try to improve its image in the face of criticism of its human rights record.

It was reported in July that the U.S. Justice De partment was investigating whether the PGA Tour broke

antitrust law in fending off the LIV Golf circuit.

The lawsuit also shed light on the status of fan-fa vourite Mickelson, who took a self-imposed break in Feb ruary when excerpts from an unauthorised biography revealed he had called the Saudis "scary" but was will ing to look past their human rights record.

According to the lawsuit, Mickelson was suspended by the PGA Tour in March for, among other alleged reasons, trying to recruit players to LIV Golf and that his appeal was denied.

Mickelson applied for reinstatement in June, the lawsuit says, but that request

was denied given his partic ipation in the inaugural LIV event earlier that month.

In addition to denying Mickelson's request, the lawsuit said the golfer was forbidden from seeking rein statement until March 2023, which was then extended until March 2024 after he played the second LIV event.

Mickelson's ban was only announced in June, shortly after he teed off in the first LIV event, when the PGA Tour announced its decision to suspend all members who joined the lucrative series and said anyone else who made the jump would face the same fate.

FIBA investigating fight between Mali players at Women's World Cup

SYDNEY: (Reuters) - The International Basket ball Federation (FIBA) launched an investigation yesterday after two Mali players were filmed fighting with each other after their team wrtr eliminated from the Women's World Cup.

The incident took place after Mali lost 81-68 to Ser bia in their Group B clash in Sydney on Monday - their fourth straight defeat at the tournament.

The fight between Sali matou Kourouma and Kamite Elisabeth Dabou broke out as Serbia's Sasa Cado was being interviewed in the mixed zone.

Kourouma was seen throwing punches at Dabou before other Mali players ran in to break the pair apart in front of a visibly shocked Cado.

"FIBA acknowledged to day that there was an alterca tion between Mali players in the mixed zone following the Group B game Serbia-Mali at the FIBA Women's Basket ball World Cup 2022," FIBA said in a statement.

"Following the incident, FIBA has opened an inves tigation. Once the investi gation is concluded, FIBA will decide on any applicable disciplinary measures."

Mali are bottom of Group

B with four points from four games and finished their campaign against Canada later yesterday.

They qualified for the tournament after African champions Nigeria pulled out citing administrative difficul ties around the sport in their country.

Seven teams have quali fied for the knockout stage, with South Korea and Puerto Rico fighting for the last berth.

The United States, Chi na and Belgium have qual ified from Group A, while Canada, France, Australia and Serbia are through from Group B.

Jennings falls for 199 as Lancs dominate county champions Surrey

LANCASHIRE ripped through the Surrey top order to leave the county champions facing an uphill battle to avoid a first defeat of the season.

In reply to the home team's 512 in which Keaton Jennings was out for 199 and George Balderson fell three short of a maiden first-class hundred, Surrey lost three wickets for one run to slip to 38-3.

The weather had the play ers on and off field during the afternoon and evening ses sions, but Lancashire chipped away with a couple more to leave the visitors in trouble at 123-5.

Only number five, Cam eron Steel, showed any real resistance as he ended on 29 not out from 106 balls on a tough batting day.

It is a very unfamiliar position for Surrey to find themselves in from a cam paign in which they have won eight and drawn five of their 13 matches.

The day had begun with Jennings only needing 10 more runs to reach his third score of 200 or more of the season after previous efforts of 238 versus Yorkshire and 318 against Somerset.

Instead, he fell one short after he went lbw to a Jamie

Overton ball which struck him on the foot - the third Lancashire batter to make 199 after Alan Wharton and Michael Atherton.

From there, the question was whether the lower or der could stick around long enough to help Balderson reach his ton.

He passed his previous highest score of 77 but lost partners at the other end and the sight of number 11 Matt Parkinson arriving at the crease forced him to dance down the wicket to Dan Moriarty and be caught in the deep as the left-arm spinner finished with 5-163.

Surrey's openers had started well but they were rocked by losing three wick

ets for one run in 15 deliv eries.

Ryan Patel was caught at second slip off Tom Bai ley for 19, Rory Burns was bowled by Will Williams for 18 and Bailey had Jamie Smith trapped lbw for one.

Hashim Amla made it to 29 and was starting to find his groove before he was removed by a fine delivery from Balderson, before Wil liams produced the ball of the day late on to knock over two of Tom Curran's stumps.

With a deficit of 389 runs, Surrey will have to battle hard to avoid defeat before they are handed the Championship trophy at the end of this game. (BBC Sport)

Kent build big lead against Somerset and are safe from relegation

By Alex Hoad

KENT secured Division One survival with a classy batting display against Somerset at Canterbury.

After resuming on 1959, the visitors lost their final wicket for the addition of just seven runs on the second morning.

Kent then turned the screw as Zak Crawley and Tawanda Muyeye produced a glorious opening partnership of 176 - the home side's best of the season.

The runs continued to flow down the order and Kent collected maximum bonus points, putting them mathe matically beyond the reach of Warwickshire following their early declaration against Hampshire.

Day two of this match

was billed as Stevo Day in honour to Kent stalwart Dar ren Stevens, who leaves the club this week at the age of 46 after 18 years of service at Canterbury.

On a day when home supporters were encouraged to celebrate the past, they were treated to a tantalis ing glimpse of the future as Crawley, 24, and 21-year-old Muyeye produced an array of quality shots which found the rope at regular intervals to lay the foundations for a big first-innings lead.

It took just 10 minutes for Nathan Gilchrist to wrap up the Somerset innings, with Lewis Goldsworthy edging to keeper Ollie Robinson after adding one run to his overnight 93.

The 22-year-old paceman ended with a career-best 6-61,

while Matt Quinn finished with 3-33.

Kent's reply began bright ly and Somerset used seven different bowlers in the open ing 26 overs as skipper Tom Abell searched for the right formula.

Muyeye was put down by keeper James Rew off the bowling off Craig Overton on 20 and the youngster made them pay as he breezed to a half-century.

At the other end Crawley passed 3,000 first-class runs for Kent and produced some sumptuous drives before he was eventually bowled by Ben Green for 79 from 102 balls, 13 of which were boundaries.

Muyeye followed him back to the pavilion just 11 balls later for an equally im

Hall-of-Famer Phil Mickelson

Keaton Jennings has a top score of 318 this season

Australia's system produces good captains, but you can't say the same about England

… Pat Cummins is an example of the former. For England, Stokes apart, the lack of candidates makes it a lottery

By Ian Chappell

THE subject of captaincy has provoked some vocif erous discussion lately, with the daring deeds of England captain Ben Stokes, and manoeuvring in Australia following the announce ment that Aaron Finch had retired from ODIs.

Finch's retirement was lamented in many circles. This is understandable be cause he is a good whiteball captain. However, his replacement ought also to be an experienced player with strong leadership qualities. The Australian system for producing leaders, while diluted, is still the best of an increasingly cluttered set.

Finch's retirement needs careful handling; otherwise it could be construed that no other Australian captain would have performed as

well. That is an incorrect assumption; there were a number of viable options.

Then there's the much publicised episode of David Warner requesting the case for his leadership be reas sessed by a different manage ment group at Cricket Aus tralia (CA). That raises the obvious question: why, fol lowing the original ball-tam pering incident at Newlands in 2018 did Warner receive a more stringent punishment in respect to captaincy than the captain at the time - Steve Smith?

They both committed a serious crime at Newlands, but Smith's as a captain in saying "I don't want to know" was a greater infraction than Warner's.

“If Warner had been alone in hatching the plotwhich is not proven - then it was Smith's job as captain

to know about it and put an end to it.

Either way they should have received an identical suspension and the fact that they didn't raises serious questions about whether there

India, South Africa arrive at the last leg of World Cup preparation

THERE’S a sense of sched uling absurdity to South Africa's tour of India for white-ball games just four months after they last vis ited, but today marks the start of the final week of World Cup preparation for both these sides.

Interestingly, a lot has happened in both worlds since June when they previ ously played each other.

India have had Virat

Kohli make an appreciable return to the top of the order, even if his strike rate has some room for improvement. The race for the third pacer option has perhaps narrowed down to Harshal Patel and Arshdeep Singh, with both having a chance to impress in the South Africa fixtures, while the team management's preference of Dinesh Karthik over Rishabh Pant is also starting to take shape.

For South Africa, life in the T20I lane has been refreshingly good in the last 12 months - winning 13 of their 18 T20Is. Since sharing the honours in the five games with India in June, South Af rica went on to win a series in England and against Ireland, finding consistent top-order riches along the way.

The dilemma for them will be about who makes way for Temba Bavuma, the regular skipper who returns having just been overlooked by all six franchises at the auction for the inaugural season of the SA20.

Probable XI: Rohit Shar ma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Yuzven dra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh.

Probable XI: Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram/Rilee Rossouw, Temba Bavuma, Heinrich Klaasen/Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Wayne Parnell, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje. (Cricbuzz)

was prejudice towards War ner.

And surely, no one be lieves that only three players - the banned trio of Smith, Warner and Cameron Ban croft - were the only ones involved in the plot?

While Warner has cre ated an intriguing situation with his assertive request, he shouldn't be appointed captain of an Australia side.

The captaincy should al ways be awarded to a player who still has some prime years remaining. A captain must have in his armoury the ability to regularly lead by example on the field. Warner,

with his aggressive approach, would have been a good onfield leader but sadly his best now only appears occasion ally and it's time to appoint a younger captain.

In the case of Stokes, the job was his if he desired a leadership role. While Joe Root is a top-class batter, he was no captain, and in hind sight, should not have been appointed. If Root was the best choice at the time of his elevation - there was a list of potential captains - then the English system is not produc ing enough true international leaders.

Now England have the right captain in place, it be comes a matter of choosing the best combination to win in the prevailing conditions. It's not surprising that their results have greatly improved following their disastrous tour of Australia.

Their recent games have been in the more comfortable environment of home, and they replaced Root's dubious leadership with the enterpris ing captaincy of charismatic all-rounder Stokes.

England were certain ly unlucky in Australia be cause they were deprived of some first-choice fast bowlers through injury. However, it's patently clear that selecting

the ageing Jimmy Ander son and Stuart Broad in the same team anywhere but in England is a mistake. It's acceptable, but not ideal, to select a right-arm seam attack in England because it can suit the pitch and surrounding conditions.

However, that doesn't work on Australia's bouncy pitches, where you need va riety and the genuine pace of a Jofra Archer and a Mark Wood to have a chance of victory.

Spin bowling is another major headache for England.

Jack Leach or Moeen Ali ar en't the right bowlers to suc ceed against teams like Aus tralia. England tend to choose a holding spinner, where as what they really need is a potential wicket-taking one. Ideally they need a spin bowler like Graeme Swann, who could handle either role because he was a top-class operator.

Apart from Stokes, Test captaincy in England is currently a lottery because of the lack of candidates. However, the Australian system still generally pro duces acceptable leaders, with Pat Cummins being the prime exhibit in the case of outstanding captains. (Cricinfo)

Kipchoge will be at London Marathon, but not to race

By Mitch Phillips

LONDON, (Reuters) - Eli ud Kipchoge will be the star attraction at the Lon don Marathon this week end but the Kenyan, who smashed his own world record for the distance in Berlin on Sunday, will restrict his exertions to handing out medals in the Mini-Marathon.

Kipchoge, a four-time winner in London, clocked 2 hours 1.09 seconds to take half a minute off his own re cord, set on the same Berlin course four years ago.

Returning to London he will present medals to thou sands of youngsters who will be racing parts of the course

on Saturday, finishing under the famous gantry on The Mall.

In an initiative for this year, new race sponsor Tata

Consultancy Services (TCS) will give the school of ev ery child who finishes £10 ($10.78) per participant to spend on PE or IT equip ment.

“We are thrilled that Eli ud will be with us this week end. He is, without doubt, the GOAT of marathon running and will be a huge inspira tion to everyone taking part, said event director Hugh Brasher.

The London Marathon will revert to its usual April date next year, increasing the chances of a return for Kipchoge as the optimum course of Berlin, tradition ally held in September, re mains his main draw when records are in his sights.

David Warner (right) has recently revived the debate over why he was given the harshest punishment for the ball-tampering at Newlands in 2018, while others, including the captain at the time, got away lighter (ICC via Getty)

Eliud Kipchoge is a four-time Lonson Marathon winner

ECB offers to host India-Pakistan Test series

New date set for postponed junior triathlon

HAMILTON, Bermuda, (CMC) – The CARIFTA Triathlon, Aquathlon and Mixed Team Relay, called off last week because of the approach of powerful Hurricane Fiona, has been rescheduled for November 12-13, officials said Mon day.

The event, in its fourth year, was scheduled to take place last weekend at Clear water Beach close to the airport at the island’s east end with more than 100 young athletes from several Carib

bean nations taking part.

It had been forced to take a two-year break because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are delighted to be able to reschedule the championships and are espe cially pleased that triathlon federations from across the Caribbean are able to join us in November,” Sharon Hammond, the president of the Bermuda Triathlon As sociation, said.

“It also seems fitting for Bermuda that this event will take place the weekend after

the World Triathlon Cham pionship Series event where our home-grown champion, Flora Duffy, will be racing.

“We hope that many will come out and support the Bermuda team.”

The original event was set to see teams fly in from Antigua and Barbuda, Aru ba, Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, Trin idad and Tobago, as well as Puerto Rico, which was badly damaged by Fiona on its deadly trek across the northern Caribbean.

Matthews tops ICC Women's All-rounder rankings in ODIs

WEST Indies captain Hay ley Matthews has risen to number one on the ICC’s latest women’s All-rounder rankings in One-Day Inter nationals.

The Barbadian most re cently led the Windies in a home ODI series against New Zealand which they lost 2-1.

THE England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has offered to host men's Test cricket between Pakistan and India in an attempt to end the long wait for a bilateral series between the two sides.

Pakistan and India have not played men's cricket against one another - outside of multi-team events - in any format since January 2013, and their last Test match was played in December 2007.

Martin Darlow, ECB's deputy chair, has been in Pa kistan for England's ongoing T20 international series and has floated the idea to PCB chair Ramiz Raja during his visit. It is a further sign of the ECB's attempts to rebuild relationships with the PCB after England's last-minute withdrawal from

a scheduled two-match se ries in Pakistan last year.

ESPNcricinfo under stands that the PCB is un likely to take up the offer. It has made significant prog ress in bringing international cricket back to Pakistan after staging "home" games in the UAE for a number of years, and playing at a neutral venue would risk undermining some of that.

The PCB has hosted two Tests in England before, drawing a two-match series against Australia one-all in 2010 with games at Lord's and Headingley. But rela tionships between the boards deteriorated after Pakistan's series against England later in the year was marred by the spot-fixing scandal.

Moeen Ali, England's captain, said the prospect of a Test between the two

teams on English soil was an "awesome" prospect. "That would be brilliant," he said. "It's a shame that they don't obviously play each other unless it's a World Cup or an ICC event but they're two great teams and two massive playing nations.

"With the viewing (fig ures) and all that, it would be one of the biggest games because it's not been done for a very long time. It would be a great game be cause Pakistan have a really good bowling attack as well as India now, and India have a great Test side. It would be really good."

The two sides could, theoretically, meet in the World Test Championship final at Lord's in 2023 if they win the majority of their remaining fixtures in this cycle.

Matthews scored 88 runs in the three games, the most for West Indies, and also picked up five wickets, which took her to the No. 1 position on the all-rounders’ table, a jump of three positions past Australia’s Ellyse Perry, En gland’s Nat Sciver and South Africa’s Marizanne Kapp.

The 24-year-old Mat thews has so far played 72

ODIs since her debut in 2014, scoring 1 852 runs at an average of 27.23 with three hundreds and six fif

ties. She also has 83 wickets at an average of 24.27 with three four-wicket hauls. (Sportsmax)

Spain snatch dramatic win over Portugal to advance

Alvaro Morata grabbed a dramatic winner as Spain beat Portugal in Braga to qualify for the Nations League Finals.The ex-Chel sea striker scored in the 88th minute from close range after Nico Williams headed the ball into his path.

Portugal only needed a point to advance and had chances to score but Liver pool's Diogo Jota and Man chester United's Cristiano Ronaldo both missed.

Spain will be joined in June's finals by Croatia, Italy and the Netherlands, who are expected to host all the games.

BRUNO FERNANDES

Portugal began the night top of Group A2 and will be wondering just how they failed to book their place at next summer's four-nation tournament.

They had won the inau gural competition in 2018-19 and were the better team for most of the match in northern Portugal.

An excellent pass from Manchester United's Bru no Fernandes was collected by Jota, who shot at goal but was denied by a fine one-handed save by Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon.

The hosts continued to create the better opportuni

ties with Fernandes hitting the side-netting and Ronaldo having a shot blocked by Si mon early in the second half.

Substitute Williams, who plays for Athletic Bilbao, made a difference for Spain and twice had efforts saved by Diogo Costa.

But the Portugal goal keeper was beaten with only two minutes remaining when Williams' header went past him with Morata hooking the ball into the roof of the net from close range.

Spain were runners-up in the Nations League Fi nals in 2021 and now have a chance to win the tourna ment in June.

West Indies captain Hayley Matthews

Bilateral cricket between India and Pakistan has dried up due to political tensions between the two countries (AFP/Getty Images)

Cornwall, Khan blast Royals into CPL final

... Amazon Warriors to play in Qualifier 2

Mayers describes Royals as a ‘great team’ following win over Warriors

BARBDADOS Royals skipper Kyle Mayers believes his team have the po tential to capture their third CPL title, pointing out that "our team is a great team”.

Speaking shortly after Barbados Roy als had inflicted an 87-run victory over the Guyana Amazon Warriors (GAW) in their Qualifying encounter, played at the Guy ana National Stadium yesterday, Mayers pointed out that “we just had a bad game the other day (against GAW), referring to only their second loss in the 2022 season.

The robust left-handed opener, who took over the reins of captaincy follow ing the departure of South African David Miller for national duty, showered prais es on fellow opener Rakeem Cornwall,

According to Mayers, “Cornwall hasn't had a great run but we have encouraged him. Azam continues to do well in these conditions. And then Simmonds – bril liant, emerging to be a great player."

GAW captain Shimron Hetmyer, whose side had won all their previous four games on home soil, after a somewhat disappointing performance in the earlier games, said "on a day like today, they played well.

“We have to, next time do whatever we have to do to win. Today, also we backed ourselves to go out there and get 196. Concerns are that some players went

down with some niggles. Game-wise we know where we went wrong."

According to man-of-the-match Cornwall, "at the start, I wanted to give myself a chance so I hung in a bit. The energy in the dressing room is good. The guys back us in the dressing room. We had confi dence in the second innings knowing we had a good total to defend, but we needed a good start.

Simmonds gave that. As an all-rounder, I want to do as much as I can. Good feeling to reach

the final. The team has put in a lot of work from the start of the competi tion."

ECB offers to host India-Pakistan Test series

Pakistani Azam Khan and the youthful left-arm fast medium bowler Rammon Simmonds.

Barbados Royals captain Kyle Mayers

Rahkeem Cornwall blasted 11 sixes in his innings of 91 (CPL/Getty Images)

Azam Khan clobbered 52 during his stay at the crease (CPL Getty Image)