Guyana Chronicle E-Paper 29-03-2022

TUESDAY 29th MARCH, 2022

No. 106677

Hemp farmers to be licensed - areas in Regions Six and 10 earmarked for cultivation

SEE PAGE

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Persons enjoying the serenity of the riverfront and lush green environment at the Watooka Guest House (Tajeram Mohabir photo)

President Ali appoints Hicken Acting Police Commissioner SEE PAGE

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Timely and strategic - President Ali hails launch of new UG master’s programme with regional focus SEE PAGE

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‘Banana’ gets 23 years for killing Regent Street Multiplex owner SEE PAGE

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President Ali appoints Hicken Acting Police Commissioner

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PRESIDENT, Dr. Irfaan Ali, has appointed Deputy Commissioner “Operations” (ag), Clifton Hicken, to act in the capacity of Commissioner of Police of the Guyana Police Force (GPF).

According to a press

statement from the Office of the President, the appointment will take effect from tomorrow.

Hicken’s appointment was made possible after Commissioner of Police (ag), Nigel Hoppie, proceeded on pre-retirement

leave on Sunday, March 27, 2022.

In August 2020, Hoppie was selected as the acting Commissioner of Police. He has been acting in the capacity of the country’s Commissioner of Police and was not

confirmed nor was there a selection process to name his successor due to the defunct state of the Police Service Commission (PSC).

Hicken, who is known for his dynamic style of management, is widely

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Deputy Commissioner ‘Operations’ (ag), Clifton Hicken

A HIGH-LEVEL delegation of world-renowned, India-based leading hospital chain, Narayana Hrudayalaya, visited Guyana and held discussions with President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali; Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony and India’s High Commissioner to Guyana, Dr KJ Srinivasa, to explore opportunities to invest in the healthcare sector of Guyana (Photo credit: High Commission of India, Georgetown)

known and had received public support when he held the position of Commander of Berbice and later Georgetown and the entire Region Four.

In 2019, Region Four, owing to its large populace, was split into three sub-divisions: Georgetown, East Bank Demerara, and East Coast Demerara. As a result, there are three commanders within Region Four.

Hicken, in 2019, was seconded to the Department of Citizenship by the then A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) government.

The next acting “Top Cop” is well known for his work within several communities in and around Georgetown, focusing on crime prevention.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Hemp farmers to be licensed - areas in Regions Six and 10 earmarked for cultivation

By Tajeram Mohabir LICENCES will be issued to farmers to cultivate hemp in Regions Six and 10 once the government approves the requisite legislation to make planting of the herb legal.

This is according to VicePresident, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, who was at the time engaging members of the Region 10 business community during a community outreach held on the lawns of the Watooka Guest House, Linden, Region 10, on Sunday.

The Vice-President told the business community that the legislation on hemp and legalisation of small quantities of marijuana will soon be taken to the National Assembly for approval.

Region Six is primarily a farming region and Region 10 is also involved in agriculture. Both regions are affected by unemployment. In

Cleveland Tappin said the licensing of farmers to cultivate hemp is a step in the right direction and contended that the government must now move quickly to legalise cultivation of the plant.

“Hemp can be very useful in the pharmaceutical industry. It can help in remedying many ailments and outside of the health industry, it can be used to make over 1,000 products and these include bulletproof glass, tyres and rope, as well as support agriculture development,” said Gerald George.

Oliver Tappin, another of the farmers who spoke with this publication, believes that the legalisation of hemp will support the green revolution in the agricultural sector and commended the government for its vision in taking steps to regulate the industry.

According to Business Wire, the Global Industrial

cultivators already have the expertise in planting and the resources to make the switch to what he described as a great investment opportunity.

“Great opportunity lies ahead in terms of the hemp industry and what it can do in terms of the technological push, construction material, pharmaceuticals. I have looked at some numbers, unbelievable numbers on the return per acre and I have a duty, the government has a duty to analyse all of this,” the President had told reporters.

Industrial hemp can be used to produce medicine, milk, healthy foods, clothing, organic body-care products, biofuels and construction materials, among other products, said President of the Guyana Industrial Hemp Association, Aaron Prince.

HEMP IS NOT MARIJUANA In Guyana, there is a

Oliver Tappin, Cleveland Tappin and Gerald George, the farmers who spoke with the Guyana Chronicle Region Six, over 7,000 sugar workers were laid off by the former APNU+AFC Government and in Region 10, the level of private investment has not been great.

Mr Jagdeo said that the hemp industry can be a major provider of jobs and the government is targeting Regions Six and 10 to help fill their unemployment gaps. These two regions have a significant number of people and expertise in farming.

Several farmers in Region 10 who were present at the meeting told the Guyana Chronicle that the announcement by the Vice-President was most welcome news, as it paves the way for the creation of a multibillion-dollar industry.

Hemp Market Report and Forecast 2021-2026, the global industrial hemp market attained a value of US$ 4.7 billion in 2020.

The report went on to say that aided by the introduction of favourable regulations, the market is projected to further grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 22.5 per cent between 2021 and 2026 to reach a value of US$14.6 billion by 2026.

Earlier this month, President Dr Irfaan Ali at a news conference encouraged persons who are planting marijuana to repurpose their lands to facilitate hemp production.

GREAT INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY The President at the time indicated that the marijuana

common belief that hemp is marijuana – even though they belong to the same family – they are notably different.

“The difference in hemp and marijuana is that hemp is used to describe cannabis that contains 0.3 per cent or less tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content by dry weight, comparatively. THC levels in marijuana flowers are generally between three and 15 per cent or more, depending on the strain. THC is the chemical compound that gives you euphoria when you smoke marijuana; the 0.3 per cent THC in hemp cannot get you high,” Prince had previously explained to the Guyana Chronicle.

Guyana’s Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances

Vice-President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo speaking to members of the Region 10 business community (DPI photo) (Control) Act 1988 criminalises possession of, and trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances and cultivation of certain plants, including hemp, which is classified as an illegal narcotic. The government is crafting a legal framework to allow cultivation of hemp and the regularisation of the industry.

At a separate meeting with members of the religious community, also on the lawns of the Watooka Guest House, members of the Rastafarian community called for the legalisation of marijuana, reiterating that the substance is an integral part of their culture and religion.

On that note, the Rastafarians pointed out that the marijuana it not a recreational but a sacramental drug to members of their community.

AMENDMENTS TO LEGISLATION Mr Jagdeo, in responding to their call, said that the government supports removal of the custodial penalty for small quantities of marijuana.

Earlier this month, the

public was invited by a Special Select Committee of the National Assembly to make submissions on the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Control Amendment Bill 2021.

The proposed amendments introduce mandatory counselling by a certified counsellor specified by the court for anyone convicted of being in possession of cannabis, which does not exceed 15 grammes. The period of counselling will be determined by the counsellor after an assessment.

For persons convicted after being in the possession of a quantity of cannabis which exceeds 15 grammes, but does not exceed 30 grammes, the court shall make an order requiring that person to perform community service. The bill also shifts the burden of proof to the defendant, who, once found in possession of more than 15 grammes of cannabis, has to prove that he is in possession of the narcotic for a purpose other than that of trafficking.

Ras Richard Taylor, ViceChairman of the Rastafari Initiative for Social Economic Empowerment (RISEE) and Secretary of the umbrella body, The Rastafari Community, Wozeiro Esther Gittens in an interview with the Guyana Chronicle hailed the invitation for submissions from the public on the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Control Amendment Bill 2021 as a victory for the Rastafarian community.

Amendments to the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Control Amendment Bill to remove criminalisation of small amounts of marijuana were first tabled

by APNU+AFC Member of Parliament, Michael Carrington in 2015, during the Coalition’s tenure in office, but the bill was never debated.

Mr Jagdeo said the PPP/C Government is committed to removing the custodial sentence for small amounts of marijuana in keeping with its 2020 elections manifesto promise.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Pandemic recovery an opportunity to transform regional development model

- Dr Singh says, lauds IDB group’s commitment to continued support for small Caribbean States THE period of recovery from the pervasive COVID-19 pandemic presents an opportunity for the region to transform the existing development model in order to better address challenges facing various stakeholders, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, has said.

“Recovery from the pandemic presents an opportunity to transform the development model of the region, while enhancing climate resilience, strengthening the capacity of public institutions, and supporting private institutions in making meaningful contributions towards attaining the 2030 agenda for sustainable

development,” Dr Singh said during his address to stakeholders at the annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and IDB Invest, on Monday.

The senior minister who was speaking on behalf of The Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, said the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in one of the worst recessions in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region in a century, causing a seven per cent decline in regional GDP in 2020 -- the largest regional contraction in the world.

He lamented that for some of the countries in the Caribbean, the contraction was

much sharper, especially in the tourism-dependent economies of the sub-region.

Dr Singh added that even though LAC’s economy is estimated to have grown by 6.8 per cent in 2021, this growth has not been balanced.

“The largest expansion is estimated in Central America at 7.7 per cent, followed by the Andean sub-region at 6.3 per cent, and the Southern Cone at 6.2 per cent. On the other hand, the Caribbean is expected to have a milder recovery at 1.9 per cent, reflecting the acute vulnerabilities we face in the sub-region, even as we are all committed to working towards achieving a more robust recovery,” he said.

The senior minister went on to say: “This, coupled with increasing maturing debt, implies amplified gross financing needs. For the Caribbean, the threat of a protracted financial crisis lingers as tourism remains subdued and climatic events increase in frequency and intensity.

“Consequently, our governments are faced with difficult decisions on prioritizing interventions to stimulate a recovery, support reforms to unlock economic potential, catalytic projects to enhance development prospects, and initiatives to build resilience against the increasing threats of climate change.”

It is against this background that it is crucial for

Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh the IDB group to maintain its Small and Vulnerable and Small and Island Country targets to ensure that support is granted to the countries which require the most assistance in grappling with the economic crisis.

He lauded the commitment of the IDB group for its continued support to the Caribbean sub-region.

“The bank’s instruments to support our countries in achieving our development agendas are crucial and must remain agile to respond to mounting needs in this volatile environment. Therefore, the Caribbean welcomes the proposal to adjust the instruments on offer.

“We particularly wish to highlight the important role of PBLs (Performance-based loans) in supporting integral reforms at this critical juncture and support the call for PBL caps to be made more flexible.

We also welcome the proposal to exclude green PBLs from counting against the PBL cap,” Dr. Singh said, adding that guarantees will be key in mobilising private resources to contribute to confronting emerging development challenges and delivering on the 2030 agenda.

He said that the regional stakeholders recommend that emphasis be placed on incentivising the use of guarantee

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instruments.

“We also take this opportunity to express support for the strategic climate change and sustainability facility that will provide new concessional resources for climate action in the Caribbean,” Dr Singh said.

Dr Singh concluded by encouraging the IDB group’s management to fulfil their pledge to develop a sub-regional strategy for the Caribbean, with emphasis on health, education, infrastructure, private sector development, the digital economy, climate change, the “blue” economy, and the “orange” economy.

He also encouraged the bank to move with alacrity in delivering support at the scale needed, on both the public and private sector sides of the group’s operations, to facilitate a sustainable recovery in the Caribbean and to help the sub-region embark on a path towards lasting economic growth and prosperity.

The minister then reiterated the strong appreciation of the Caribbean for the support provided by the IDB to the sub-region over the years, as well as the importance of the group to the development of Latin America and the Caribbean, in particular. He added that the bank remains the premier strategic partner of choice in member countries.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Timely and strategic - President Ali hails launch of new UG master’s programme with regional focus

By Jared Liddell A M I D S T t h e e v e rgrowing need for regional cooperation and coordinated action on challenges facing various countries within the region, President Dr Irfaan Ali, has said that a new Master’s Degree in Strategic Development Studies offered by the University of Guyana (UG), will contribute significantly to the regional integration process, since it is beneficial to the entire Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

The new programme which falls under the Institute for Human Resilience, became the sixth master’s programme to be launched by the university within a year.

It aims to develop national analysts to evaluate and interpret the changes in regional, national and international affairs from the policy framework perspective, and equip them with the knowledge to critically analyse policy formulation, shared responsibility, threats challenges, and opportunities in these systems.

Owing to the programme’s agenda, President Ali, at the launch of the programme on Monday, said that he is confident it would ben-

University of Guyana Vice-Chancellor, Professor Paloma Mohamed-Martin

efit not just Guyana, but also its sister CARICOM states.

“The programme is not meant only for Guyanese. We’re hoping and the aim of this programme is for all of CARICOM to start it.

Because all of us must be integrated into the regional plan the regional agenda. And I must say our new SG [Secretary General] is working hard on pushing this regional agenda. But we must first get at every level, especially at this level the level of universities, an interest in the regional agenda,” Dr Ali said.

He added that one of the major selling points of the programme is that its courses include real-

life scenarios that are currently at play within the international system.

This, he believes, would aid in developing the capability of each individual to strategically deal with those challenges and find lasting solutions.

The President noted that the hope is that those who pass through this programme will be in a position to apply themselves analytically to the different scenarios that are presented to the region as a whole.

The programme will

equip its students with the understanding of treaties, agreements, and regional institutions, how they work, their weaknesses, their challenges, and their benefits.

All of this is in a bid to ensure that students of this master’s programme understand why there are, in many cases, variations of views on international matters.

President Ali highlighted that the programme serves to underscore the inner workings of countries and their

international agreements and will seek to highlight strategic development solutions to issues regarding food security, climate change, water scarcity, as well as the inner workings of international institutions and treaties that affect same.

“The policymakers of the future must be able to understand how international organisations operate the institutions themselves, how critical are institutions to the whole framework of global development, and this programme will allow you to do that… [it will] allow you to learn about important international institutions not only the United Nations but also the Security Council, even UNICEF, and all the other umbrellas that play a role in advancing development,” Dr Ali said.

Vice-Chancellor of UG, Professor Paloma Mohamed-Martin highlighted the importance of the programme at this pivotal juncture of Guyana’s development.

She said that this programme will equip future Guyanese leaders with the knowledge to

advance the country’s agenda on the international platform.

The programme is expected to produce graduates who possess the competencies essential for analysing policies and practices of the contemporary environment to generate conceptual, theoretical, and practical solutions necessary for national development.

“For a country like Guyana, which is on the cusp of economic transformation, and emerging into an increasingly complex global and national political player, the question of safety and security is paramount and the leadership that can produce the results of safety, stability, and a resilient nation will be the leadership that will have the greatest positive impact on this country and this planet for decades to come,” she said.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Hard at Work

PRESIDENT, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali and his PPP/C administration are hard at work to transform the lives of the Guyanese people and to create opportunities for people to become meaningfully involved in the process of development, both at the community level and the national level.

Both President Ali and Vice-President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo have been visiting several regions of the country to have direct interface with residents on how best to advance the growth and development of their respective communities in terms of job creation, small-business development and overall development.

Development for the PPP/C administration is all about people, advancing their material and spiritual well-being within the over-

arching framework of the ‘One Guyana’ vision, as articulated by President Ali. A multi-pronged development programme is being rolled out across the country to empower citizens in all facets of national life.

Only recently, President Ali was in Region Five where he launched the Black Belly Sheep Project at the Mahaica-Mahaicony-Abary Agricultural Development Authority (MMA-ADA) at Onverwagt, West Coast Berbice. The project is aimed at empowering farmers with a special focus on women and young people. The project has already attracted 80 farmers and is intended to have at least 20 per cent female farmers with a minimum of 35 per cent youth involvement.

According to President Ali, “This is part of building the future. This is part

of empowerment. These are real targets and a real approach in the involvement of people. Not only must agriculture be about food production, it must be built on erasing biases. Agriculture must demonstrate that it has the ability to create an equal society.”

Mutton is very much in demand not only in Guyana, but in the Caribbean and the rest of the world.

The price of mutton on the local market is relatively expensive and could be a valuable source of income.

There is also a high demand for the produce in the country with Guyana importing approximately 18 metric tonnes of mutton annually, with an estimated value of US$130,000. Describing mutton production as a ‘low hanging fruit,’ the President urged residents of Region Five to take full

advantage of this opening which could potentially satisfy both regional and international markets later down the road. According to President Ali, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, The Bahamas and Barbados are the top consumers of mutton in the region, with Barbados already on board to source mutton from Guyana.

This is exactly what the project is intended to do, namely to kick-start the project in Region Five. In this regard, 1,000 black belly sheep will be arriving from Barbados within the next two weeks. The President assured the farmers that his administration is fully supportive of the initiative, even as he encouraged them to ensure that their lands have the needed grass for the animals.

And in Region 10, Vice-president Dr Bharrat

Jagdeo assured residents there that the PPP/C administration is doing everything possible to transform the lives of citizens and spur economic growth in the region and the economy as a whole. In this regard, he announced that some 800 jobs will be made available to residents of Region 10, as part of the government’s plans to subsidise household incomes, especially in light of the rising cost-of- living caused primarily by external factors. A similar initiative was announced in Region Two during an outreach to that region by Dr Jagdeo.

In addition, several other interventions will be made, including the provision of grants to small businesses and the construction of call centres, all aimed at creating job opportunities to residents of the outlying

regions. The government is encouraging micro-enterprise development, which can create employment and stimulate economic growth.

The approach to development by the PPP/C administration is both holistic and comprehensive. It is about empowering people and communities through better access to quality education and health services; upgrading and modernisation of the physical and social infrastructure, including housing and water.

All of these are clear manifestations of a government in action; an administration hard at work to improve lives and living conditions of the Guyanese people. In this regard, no region in Guyana is left behind, for which the PPP/C administration must be commended.

Electoral reform consultations and the merits and demerits of arguments on whether or not the Voters’ List is bloated

Dear Editor,

THE analysis and viewpoints contained herein were captured about two years ago during the period of the national elections saga, and were published in sections of the media back then. This particular letter was published in response to a prominent businessman, Mr. Stanley Ming, who came up with this argument, backed by his own mathematical gymnastics that the voters list is bloated.

I find it necessary to republish this piece in light of recent positions from the leadership in certain spheres of the political spectrum who continue propagate the view that the government won an election on the basis of a bloated list. These electoral concerns were communicated to the highlevel U.S. officials who recently visited Guyana and had meetings on these issues with various stakeholders, including both the government and the political op-

position wherein again, the view was put forward that the national recount shows that “460,352 ballots were cast, but there were 661,378 eligible voters”.

In my original letter two years ago in response to Mr Stanley Ming, Ming was questioning some 100,000 ballots that should be invalidated and further went on to argue that it is virtually impossible for the Official List of Electors (OLE) to have over 500,000 voters.

My response was as follows: There are several important variables that Mr Ming did not take into consideration in his analysis as mentioned hereunder: (i) The Representation of the People Act was amended to cater for cycles of continuous registration in 2005. The enactment of this amendment effectively replaced the need for a “fresh” house-to-house (HTH) registration exercise each time there are

national elections. This is also the reason why GECOM has regional offices across the country.

Consequently, the registration system became more efficient, and reduced substantially – the cost incurred for HTH. To this end, GECOM conducted an HTH exercise to create a new NRR database following which the first cycle of continuous registration that began in 2006, recommenced in 2009. GECOM has so far conducted eight cycles of continuous registration up to 2016. (ii) More so, it should be noted that it goes without saying that any HTH registration exercise can actually disenfranchise thousands of persons. For example, in Guyana many persons work away from home in the mining and forestry sectors within the interior regions, who would not be found at home to be registered and the same applies to persons who might be out of the country as well. In addition, the law guar-

antees Guyanese who migrated to vote once they are in the country and have been registered. Therefore, Guyanese living abroad cannot be legally removed from the National Registrar of Registrants (NRR). This was precisely the ruling of the Chief Justice (ag) when the last HTH was aborted. (iii) As it pertains to dead persons on the list, the GECOM Public Relations Officer confirmed that there is a mechanism in place whereby the Guyana Post Office (GPO) sends a monthly list of persons who have died, which is then used to remove those persons from the NRR. It is in fact ludicrous to posit HTH is needed each time to sanitise the NRR or OLE from dead persons when people die every day. So, there will always be deceased persons on the list. What is needed is an efficient mechanism to remove such persons within the parameters of the law, and which GECOM has already confirmed

is in place. (iv) The population of Guyanese living abroad is by far greater than the population living in Guyana and, therefore, one cannot base the number of persons registered to vote relative to the population in Guyana alone.

Overseas-based Guyanese who are already registered and who can register whenever they visit Guyana ought to be taken into consideration in such analysis as well. (v) If one were to examine the two recent population censuses of 2002 and 2012 respectively, one would observe that from 2002 to 2012, persons in the age group of 15 – 19 increased by 18,000 or 27 per cent. In 2012, the population within the age groups 10-14 was 83,139 and 15 – 19 was 84,798.

With this in mind, it therefore means that for the 2015 national and regional elections the age group 15 – 19 would became eligible voters and thus would have

been added to the list; and, the age group 10 -14 in 2012 which was 83,139, would have also became eligible voters in the 2020 elections, thus added to this list as well. This means that in the 2015 and 2020 elections cycle, over 160,000 new voters would have been added to the OLE. (vi) Another important variable that needs to be taken into consideration, is: reasonable deductions can be made wherein from 2015 to present, many Guyanese returned home largely owing to developments in the emerging oil and gas sector. In fact, in all fairness to the government, the current administration implemented a number of reasonably attractive policies, such as duty-free concessions, to attract Guyanese from the diaspora to return home. (vii) A reasonable inference can be made when one examines the arrival and departure data

Continued on page 7

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, March 29, 2022

NY Guyanese observed Phagwah last Sunday Dear Editor,

THE large Guyanese-American community in New York City observed Phagwah last Sunday afternoon in Richmond Hill, just below the sign of “Little Guyana” on Liberty Avenue with a cultural variety concert. The area became a kaleidoscope of colour as revellers “played Phagwah” or Holi with one another with powder.

The celebration was sponsored by the Hindu Federation of America and the Arya Spiritual Center. The programme was organised by Romeo Hitlall, Herman Singh, Vedo Basdeo and Dhanpaul Narine.

Phagwah was officially observed on March 18, a weekday.

Mandirs observed the festival that

the many constraints that the Hindus had to deal with. But, today it is widely recognised in New York and other parts of America by local and state governments and by participation of politicians. Since the late 1980s, it has been celebrated in a grand style the Sunday after the official day of observance with a parade and a concert. Just as in Guyana, it is usually celebrated with colourful powder, abeer and talc in addition to songs, music, dance and special foods.

Usually, New Yorkers celebrate Holi with parades and a cultural concert. But the parades in the Bronx and Queens and concerts were suspended in 2020 and 2021 because of COVID-19.

The parades this year was also

A scene of the Phagwah celebration in New York

day and the previous evening with the burning of Holika. A permit for a public celebration was granted for an event only on March 27.

Holi was brought to New York and made prominent by Indo-Guyanese and Indo-Trinis going back to the 1960s. It was spread to neighbouring states and Florida by Indo-Caribbeans. Holi was originally brought to Guyana and the Caribbean by Indian indentured labourers going back to 1839. In the early years in Guyana and in America, the festival was observed very modestly because of

suspended but the city allowed a concert, though not in the usual location of the public park in Richmond Hill. A concert permit was granted for Liberty Avenue and Lefferts Blvd. A Diwali concert was also held on the same spot last October. Last Sunday’s Holi was celebrated with pomp and gaiety.

On Liberty Avenue on Sunday afternoon, the celebration included classical dances from Natraj Cultural Center, the Swarsattie Dance Group, tassa drumming, and Chowtaal singing by a group led by Pandit Baya of

Electoral reform...

From page 6

from the international airport for the period 2013 - 2018 (available on the BOS website). During this period, the records showed that 1,644,957 persons arrived in Guyana and 1,638,867 persons departed, giving rise to a difference of 6,090 persons who did not depart.

Hence, it can be deduced with reasonable certainty that of these 6,000 people, a large percentage of this represents remigrants. This excludes 2019 figures which may well show an increase in persons who did not depart, thus implying it is possible that thousands of Guyanese returned home since 2015 to date.

In the final analysis, Ming’s assertion and equally, other proponents of this view ignored completely all of the aforementioned pragmatic variables from their analyses and an important legal factuality. With the number of persons from the age of 14 since the last census in 2012, which increased evidently by over 100,000, coupled with Guyanese who returned home since 2015 (which is also factual), and the fact that Guyanese living abroad who are registered cannot be removed from the NRR – substantiate the argument that the OLE and NRR cannot be bloated by any standard.

One of the limitations of this analysis, however, is the data to confirm how many persons were added to the NRR during the eight cycles of continued registration.

This information to ascertain the number of persons, which I am sure is in the possession of GECOM, would have helped to strengthen this analysis.

Also, one ought to consider with the massive housing development across the country over the years from 2008-2015 – the dispensation of the regional population would obviously change and it is this that would account for the regional increases. The fact that the overall population remained relatively unchanged from 2002 to 2012, it is reasonable to deduce that this explains the regional increases, while other regions would have shown a proportionate decline.

In view of the above, it is also safe to conclude that Mr Ming’s analysis is egregiously flawed and seeks to give legitimacy to an unfounded and absurd notion that is without merit.

Yours faithfully, JC. Bhagwandin Financial Analyst

Yakusari. Terry Gajraj, Rikki Jai, Rakesh Yankarran, Randy Ramdhin and other artistes entertained the large crowd of hundreds with their chutney-type Phagwah songs.

Among the mandirs that made Holi-related presentations were Trimurti, Sundar Gopal, Arya Samaj USA, USA Pandits Parishad, Sanatan Dharma, Arya Spiritual

Center, United Madrassi Federation, Tulsi Mandir and others.

Many celebrants were unrecognisable with their faces daubed with a variety of colours. People rejoiced with the chowtaal and Phagwah-related renditions.

Dr Vindya Persaud was the keynote speaker, bringing greetings from the government of

Guyana. She explained the significance of Phagwah and how it is celebrated with peace and playful jollification.

The event was also graced by politicians, including the Mayor Eric Adams, Jennifer Rajkumar, Joann Ariola and Roxanne Persaud. James Sanders, Linda Lee and several elected judges.

Three outstanding senior citizen women were honoured for their contributions to the community --Bahen Bhagmati Balli, Bahen Champa Singh, Bahen Chandrawati Persaud.

Yours sincerely, Vishnu Bisram

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Sustainable forest use helps tackle the climate crisis and achieve the SDGs

From drinking a glass of water to building a house, forests are precious resources for people’s lives and are key to solving many global challenges, including the climate crisis and poverty, according to a new report developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with the European Forest Institute (EFI).

The publication: Forest Products in the global bioeconomy: Enabling substitution with wood-based products and contributing to sustainable development goals, was launched on the occasion of the International Day of Forests 2022, celebrated at the EXPO 2020 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The report is a comprehensive document that outlines woodbased innovations that pave the way for the use of forest products in ways that decrease environmental impact and waste

generation. It also offers the private sector, governments, international cooperation bodies and researchers a set of recommendations to both enable and boost the substitution of products which are not sustainable from a social, economic on environmental perspective.

Currently 75 per cent of global material consumption is based on non-renewable resources, since the extraction, transport, processing and disposal of these resources implies an enormous impact on the environment, climate and biodiversity. Wood-based products can assist with climate change mitigation by storing carbon, as the report shows, while also helping to avoid or reduce the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the materials they substitute for, such as concrete, steel, plastics and synthetic fibres.

High-level event

Our future is unthinkable without the goods and services produced by forests. Covering about one-third of the Earth’s surface, forests provide clean water and air, timber, fuel, food. The sector employs at least 33 million people and billions of people benefit from the goods and services produced, remarked the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), QU Dongyu, at the opening of the ceremony of the International Day of Forests 2022, held in hybrid form at the Swedish Pavilion at EXPO 2020 in Dubai and broadcast simultaneously on the web.

“However, the global area of forests has been shrinking in the last decades … today, only twenty-five percent of total material demand is met by biomass, including wood, the remainder by non-renewable resources” Qu said, adding that

we need to take action.

High-level participants at the ceremony included Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment, Egypt, UNFCCC COP27 Presidency; Siti Nurbaya Bakar, Minister of Environment and Forestry, Indonesia; Beth MacNeil, Assistant Deputy Minister, Canadian Forest Service, Vice Chair of the FAO Committee on Forestry; Jaana Husu-Kallio, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland, and Jan Thesleff, Ambassador of Sweden, Commissioner General of the Swedish Participation at Expo 2020 Dubai.

The theme for International Day of Forests 2022, annually decided upon by the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, is: “Forests and Sustainable Production and Consumption”, and FAO has adopted the accompanying slogan “Choose Sustainable Wood for People

and Planet.” This highlights how forests can play a critical role in achieving more sustainable production and consumption, and thus achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 12 (Responsible consumption and production) and SDG 15 (Life on land). This includes improving livelihoods, contributing to healthy landscapes and cities, and reducing the world’s carbon and material footprint. Forests also underpin sustainable agricultural practices and sustainable food production. In addition, new products are rapidly emerging from forests.

“Effective problem-solving requires the involvement of all stakeholders, collaboration across disciplines and sectors, consideration of local contexts, and the use of the best available scientific knowledge,”

said John Parrotta, President of IUFRO, the global network for forest science cooperation, which jointly organised the ceremony with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU).

“Global trends underpin the important role of forestbased innovations, advances in science and collaboration across sectors and networks to accelerate the journey towards more sustainable lifestyles, sustainable forest ecosystem services, responsible communities and industries. The IDF event will show possible pathways towards greener, more inclusive economies and stronger, more resilient societies also on a local level,” said Fredrik Ingemarson, Director of the IUFRO 2024 World Congress. (FAO)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, March 29, 2022

IDB develops new business model —to tackle social issues, strengthen private sector and combat climate change

THE Board of Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and IDB Invest, on Monday, approved a roadmap for a series of institutional reforms of the IDB and made a proposal for a capital increase for IDB Invest, the Bank’s private-sector arm.

This was disclosed during the 2022 Annual Meeting of the Boards of Governors of the IDB and IDB Invest.

“Our record year in 2021 proved how the IDB can optimise its balance sheet and mobilise resources, but the new IDB can do even better.

This is a historic moment for the IDB and IDB Invest.

The boards’ actions mean we are gaining the muscle, flexibility and tools needed to support the urgent needs of Latin America and the Caribbean in the 21st century,” IDB’s President, Mauricio Claver-Carone, said at the bank’s annual meeting.

He continued: “The pandemic hit our most vulnerable citizens hard. Now the region faces rising inflation, higher global interest rates, and shifting geo-economic and geopolitical concerns.

We rose to the occasion in 2020 and 2021, but we can now do even more by leveraging our strengths. Thanks to the Governors’ actions, we are now empowered to better help the region by mobilising more private-sector resources and doing more in critical areas such as climate change and gender equality.”

IDB President, Mauricio Claver-Carone, at the bank’s annual meeting

The new business model envisioned for IDB Invest, or IDB Invest 2.0, will be developed over the next six months and submitted to the board for approval this fall.

The approval to advance with the new vision signifies confidence in IDB Invest’s ability to develop an even more impactful approach to development.

The new model will allow it to scale up work with investors and companies throughout the region. IDB Invest’s innovative, new approach will focus on originating more impactful projects, de-risking private-sector investment, and using new financial and technical tools, to help crowd-in investment.

The new business model goes hand-in-hand with the mandate for a capital

increase proposal for IDB Invest, the details of which will be presented to the Boards of Executive Directors this fall.

The bank noted that these new capacities will help IDB Invest build on the record level of mobilisations it achieved in 2021 and enhance its role as the region’s foremost private-sector-mobilisation partner for development.

A more ambitious IDB Invest will work even closer with the IDB, which will also have new tools to creatively collaborate with, and support, borrowing member countries to create enabling business environments that attract investment and are more conducive to job-creation.

This 21st-century business model will help the

IDB promote reforms to improve social protection and health, inclusion, labor markets climate action and gender equality.

“It will also help the IDB work well with governments to correct market failures and structural bottlenecks that today prevent investment, improve institutions, strengthen the rule of law, and improve

the business climate. This dovetails with IDB Invest’s new focus on originating socially impactful projects, de-risking them and offering them to institutional investors,” the IDB related.

The new approach also calls for transitioning IDB Lab from an innovation lab to an innovation hub, allowing it to do more to scale up the impact of private-sector projects and leverage its capacity to take on risk to do experimental work in frontier sectors and invest in early-stage projects.

IDB Lab’s agility and ability to respond rapidly to clients’ needs will enhance the bank’s capacity to test innovative ideas and carry out pilot programmes that could be expanded to meet regional development goals.

The Governors’ endorsement will make the IDB more innovative and responsive, with enhancements to project design, a new Comprehensive Portfolio Management System to measure and achieve results, and up-

dated financial and technical instruments.

This will lead to more effective support for government reforms, new contingent and rapid-disbursement facilities, more innovative climate-change instruments, increased execution capacity for counterparts, and risk-appetite and equity-investment policies that will favour private-sector projects and operations.

“I am immensely proud of the analytical work done by our experts, and I thank our Boards of Governors and our Executive Directors for their overwhelming support,” President ClaverCarone said, adding: “This is not the destination, but truly the beginning of our journey to help our member countries, as we make the IDB the gold standard of operational excellence. Our region deserves no less.”

The next annual meeting of the IDB and IDB Invest will take place in Panama.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, March 29, 2022

‘Banana’ gets 23 years for killing Regent Street Multiplex owner

SIX years after the fatal shooting of the owner of Regent Multiplex Mall, Ganesh Boyo’ Ramlall during a robbery at his La Jalousie, West Coast Demerara (WCD) home, his killer was sentenced to 23 years imprisonment on Monday.

Earlier this month, Kurt ‘Banana’ Erskine was found guilty of manslaughter, after being on trial before Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall and a 12-member jury at the Demerara High Court for the capital offence of murder.

During the course of the hearing, Erskine denied killing Ramlall on the night of July

5, 2015 during a robbery at his West Demerara home, and sought the services of Attorney-at-Law Lyndon Amsterdam to speak on his behalf.

The State, on the other hand, relied on Special Prosecutors Konyo Sandiford and Narissa Leander to present its case.

During the sentencing hearing, a probation report was read in court by the relevant statutory officer, who said that Erskine not only denied committing the offence, but expressed remorse that a life had been lost.

“The accused stated that the death of the deceased was

shameful, senseless and foolish; that he is a father, and is absent from the lives of his children and wife due to his incarceration,” the probation officer said, adding: “The accused said that he is aware of the hurt and pain the deceased’s daughter is experiencing, owing to the fact that her father will be absent from significant and memorable occasions in her life, such as her graduation or marriage.”

The deceased’s wife, Chitrakha, to whom Erskine also apologised, read from her Impact Statement, detailing how his criminal actions have not only resulted in the loss of her

Kurt Erskine, called ‘Banana’

Deceased businessman Ganesh Ramlall

“beloved husband”, but also affected her life.

“My husband knew me so well, he never put me in those situations,” Chitrakha said, adding: “He also protected, sheltered, loved and cared for me; his presence was my safe haven. It breaks my heart to know that today, when I speak, it is because I am pleading for justice for his life; justice for my late husband, our hero, Ganesh Ramlall.”

While fighting back tears, the grieving widow said, “This accused and the others who planned and executed the robbery with him are all responsible for all the sufferings my family and I have endured.

They trespassed into our home, and they breached every bit of sanctity, safety and peace there is. My husband was innocent; he worked very hard, and earned an honest living from scratch. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t weep for my husband.”

In detailing some of the adverse affects Erskine’s greed has had on her life, Mrs. Ramlall said: “I have even developed anxiety and insomnia; some nights I get up feeling suffocated, and my heart races…The extent of my trauma and emotional

damage I have sustained cannot possibly be measured in words.”

According to the grieving woman, since her husband’s gruesome death, she has found it difficult to communicate with her daughter, who has become so withdrawn, she is now unable to trust people and let them into her personal space.

“I lost my husband; it felt soul-wrenching to lose his accomplishments. Yet, it hurts every day that I did, because he should have been here; he always knew what to do… I do not think I will ever be able to find peace and recover from the emotional and mental suffering that the criminal actions of this accused have caused me,” Chitrakha Ramlall said.

During Monday’s sentencing hearing, the defence counsel made his plea of mitigation in favour of his client; he also asked the court to consider that his client can be rehabilitated.

Special Prosecutor Sandiford, on the other hand, asked the court to send a strong message to deter Erskine and other like-minded persons from contemplating similar crimes.

She also asked the court to consider the nature, gravity and prevalence of the crime.

The judge, during her sentencing remarks, said that she considered the seriousness of the offence, the impact on the deceased’s family, among other factors.

In the end, the judge sentenced Erskine to 23 years, and ordered prison authorities to deduct the time he has already spent on remand.

Erskine’s co-accused, Fezeel Bacchus, was released from prison because of the time he was incarcerated while awaiting trial. He, too, had opted to plead guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter.

On February 28, 2022, Bacchus was sentenced to six-anda-half years for his role in the fatal shooting. He was released from prison the following day, due to his being on remand since July 2015.

Bacchus testified on behalf of the State in Erskine’s trial.

Another co-accused, Lennox ‘Soldier Man’ Roberts had pleaded guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter. On March 17, he was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment.

According to reports, the businessman had just returned home and proceeded to use the outside bathroom when he was confronted by four men who shot him about his body and relieved him of his licensed firearm, jewellery and wallet.

It was also reported that after Ramlall saw the gunmen approaching him, he’d raised an alarm, and called out to his relatives to secure the house.

The bandits successfully escaped. Ramlall was rushed to the West Demerara Regional Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Days later, police arrested Bacchus, who confessed to being the getaway driver.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Janet Jagan remembered as a revolutionary leader

Persons gathered at the small memorial service held for former President Janet Jagan on Monday DURING a small memorial service in observance of her 13th Death anniversary, Former President Janet Jagan was remembered as a towering figure, and an outspoken and generous woman.

The event, which was held at the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre on Monday, saw several members of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) and the Women’s Progressive Organisation (WPO) sharing some of their most cherished memories of the former president as they celebrated her life and exemplary work as a politician, journalist and stalwart in the party.

WPO President Indranie Chandarpal described Mrs. Jagan as a revolutionary leader who cared greatly for the poorer class of citizens.

Similar sentiments were also shared by Former President Donald Ramotar, and Former PPP/C General Secretary Clem-

ent Rohee.

March 28, 2022, marked 13 years since her death.

Born Janet Rosenberg in Chicago, USA, on October 20, 1920, Mrs. Jagan left home at a relatively young age to join her husband, the late Dr. Cheddi Jagan, in a struggle that would change the power dynamics of the then British colony to one of internal selfgovernment, and then to full political independence status.

While she believed in women’s emancipation, she also recognised how irresponsible it would have been to obtain emancipation in the environment that existed at the time.

Adult suffrage had to be for women, and freedom from colonial rule was also necessary.

According to her, Comrade H. Hubbard, better known in political circles at the time as Jocelyn Makepeace Hubbard, had

political vision and astuteness, and it was he who urged her to form a women’s organisation, and even assisted on the many aspects of the establishment of the WPO. She was a pioneer of the movement to improve the conditions of Guyanese women, organising them in their communities and at the national level for equal treatment and full human rights.

The former president lived a purposeful life filled with many challenges and triumphs. The challenges were numerous, starting from the decision she took when she decided to marry Dr. Jagan and to come to the then British Guiana.

Those challenges continued up to the time of her presidency.

Her feats are chronicled in various documents. Her passion and commitment were referenced by Dr. Jagan in his book, ‘The West on Trial’.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Engaging communities,

LEADING from the front! President, Dr Irfaan Ali, on Sunday, launched the Black Belly Sheep Project at the Mahaica-Mahaicony-Abary Agricultural Development Authority (MMA-ADA) in Region Five, while Vice-President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, on the same day, engaged residents of various communities within Region Ten. (Office of the President and Office of the Vice-President photos)

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, March 29, 2022

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, creating opportunities

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Public transportation to be regulated - Minister Benn says

MINISTER of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn, has said more stringent systems will be put in place to get operators of public transportation to conduct business in an acceptable manner.

Those remarks were made on Friday when he addressed the National Road Safety Stakeholders’ Forum, in the presence of the mini-bus association.

“We believe and we want the persons who

are going to be driving us to work, to school, to the market places and for other services that they should be dressed properly, that they should speak properly, that they should be polite, that they should not be aggressive in terms of handling their passengers, but more importantly in respect of how they operate the vehicles, the minibuses and the taxis,” he said.

The forum sought to engage stakeholders to

develop a comprehensive plan of action to reduce traffic accidents and deaths by 50 per cent by 2030; this plan would guide the council for the next five years.

The plan will be used to mitigate offences of transportation operators who drink and drive, as well as play vulgar music.

With Guyana experiencing steadfast transformation, Minister Benn has urged citizens to change the existing cul-

Minister of Home Affairs Robeson Benn

ture to complement the country’s development.

“Guyana is at a new paradigm, we have to operate in a new framework. The developments which are occurring in our country suggest or rather, identify that we are in a new paradigm of cultural change, behavioural practices at the social level, at the economic level, in how we comport ourselves, in how we engage people who come into the country,” the minister said.

Meanwhile, the government in its effort to curb road accidents has increased its subvention to the Guyana National Road Safety Council from $3 million to over $11 million. (DPI)

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, March 29, 2022

38 adolescent mothers equipped with cosmetology skills

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— after graduating from Education Ministry’s re-integration programme

SOME 38 mothers are now equipped with skills in cosmetology to gain employment or to become entrepreneurs in the field.

This was made possible through a Ministry of Education programme which focuses on the re-integration of adolescent mothers into the education system.

The programme was co-ordinated by the Health and Family Life Education (HFLE) Unit of the ministry and the Carnegie School

of Home Economics in Georgetown, and Kevin’s Reflections in Region 10.

The programme benefited mothers from Regions Three, Four and 10. Following a symposium on resilience last Wednesday, the young mothers were given start-up kits and care packages at the graduation ceremony.

The young women were congratulated on successfully completing the programme

and were encouraged to position themselves to take advantage of future opportunities.

(Ministry of Education)

Young mothers receive their care packages from officials

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Minister Mustapha appointed ViceChair of FAO regional conference

AGRICULTURE Minister Zulfikar Mustapha has been elected to serve as Vice-Chairman of the 37th Session of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO)’s Regional Conference of Latin America and the Caribbean (LARC) that is being held in Quito, Ecuador,

At the five-day conference which opened on Monday, those representing the 33 member states will be establishing the regional priorities of the organisation for the next biennium.

They are expected to discuss the adapting and localising of the FAO Strategic Framework 2022-2031 to the conditions of Latin America

and the Caribbean.

Additionally, the participating countries will analyse the work done by the FAO in the previous two years in the region and agree on recommendations for initiatives and priorities that will guide the organisation’s work during the 2022-2023 period.

Minister Mustpaha in a

Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha

previous interview with this publication had disclosed his plans to address a number of issues in relation to food production in the region.

“At this conference, a number of issues will be discussed there – food production, looking at the measures to improve food production – because with the pandemic for the last two years and now with the war in Russia and Ukraine, the FAO predicted that we may have a

shortfall [of] about 20-30 per cent in food production,” the minister said.

At the conference, Minister Mustapha will have the opportunity to share Guyana’s vision, while discussing technological, institutional and organisational innovations with other Heads of Government to find joint solutions to the challenges associated with food, agriculture, and climate change.

“This conference here

will help to brainstorm ways and means on how we can improve as [a] region, how we can ramp up food production and at the same time make sure that everybody gets enough food to eat for the next few years,” he added.

During the first two days of the conference, there will be meetings involving high-level authorities. The officials will be presenting and analyzing the main results obtained by the FAO and Latin America and the Caribbean during the 2020 - 2021 period. They are also expected to the highlight priorities for the next two years.

The other days are reserved for a series of ministerial meetings. There will also be national-level consultations and regional-level consultations with various stakeholders in order to identify areas of interest.

Man gets 50 months for ganja trafficking; co-accused on $2M bail each MASSIAH Durant was, on Monday, sentenced to 50 months’ imprisonment for trafficking $79 million worth of cannabis, while his two co-accused were each released on $2M bail.

Durant, 50 along with Shawn Lindie Snr, 44, and his 29-year-old son, Shawn Lindie Jnr. appeared before Magistrate Wonda Fortune at the Linden Magistrate’s Court.

The men were jointly charged for having 1,580 pounds (717 kilograms) of cannabis in their possession for the purpose of trafficking, on March 26, at De Veldt,

Massiah Durant

Upper Berbice River.

Durant pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 50 months imprisonment together with a fine of $251,100,000.

Both father and son pleaded not guilty to the charge and were each released on $2M bail. They will return to court on May 20.

Durant was represented by attorney-at-law Keoma Griffith, while his co-accused were represented by attorney Siand Dhurjon.

According to reports, the men were nabbed during a special operation carried out by the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) and officers of

the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Coast Guard.

During the operation, officers searched a building that was occupied by several individuals including miners and discovered several parcels of suspected cannabis.

The three men were arrested and escorted to CANU Headquarters with the suspected narcotics, which tested positive for cannabis with a street value of over G$79 million.

According to CANU, the cannabis seized is believed to have been intended for transshipment to another territory.

Shawn Lindie Snr

Shawn Lindie Jnr

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, March 29, 2022

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, March 29, 2022

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday March 29, 2022

Amsterdam guarantees podium... (From back page) 27 – 30, who was fighting out of the blue corner.

However, Piroska Beki of Hungry scorecard saw Sell winning 30 – 27, while Roderico Garcia of Guatemala had the Guyanese behind 29 – 28.

With four judges splitting the card, it came down to Puerto’s Hector Mal, who scored in favour of Amsterdam, 28 – 29.

With the win, Amsterdam would be certain of at least returning to Guyana with a bronze medal if he fails to progress to the finals of his division.

Steve Ninvalle, president of the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA), said the local custodian of Amateur boxing in the country is happy that Amsterdam “could’ve pushed himself to be on the medals table. This will be the first time that we’ll have a Guyanese who’ll be able to earn, as an amateur, earn financially from it. In that part, he’s created history.”

Amsterdam is now two fights away from claiming the US$10,000 prize for each of the 13 men’s weight category winners.

If he fails to clinch the top podium spot, Amsterdam could pick up US$5,000 for finishing second. As it stands, Amsterdam is guaranteed US$2,500, which is given to each of the two bronze medallists in each division.

“This will be the first time that we’ll have a Guyanese who will earn financially from competing in an amateur fight, so he has created history for that,” Ninvalle said.

The GBA president said that “Amsterdam is one of the better boxers in the Caribbean, he’s the former Caribbean Middleweight champion and now he has pushed himself into being an AMBC medallist.”

Before the team’s departure last week, Ninvalle had stated that the Championships would’ve been a testing ground for the local pugilists, taking into consideration that they have been out of competitive boxing since the advent of COVID-19, except for Keevin Allicock, who was in action at the 32nd Olympics and the World Championships.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday March 29, 2022

Golden Jaguars Ex-England captains call for Joe Root going hunting to step down after West Indies defeat today...

(From back page)

maculate,” adding, “maybe, 20, 25 or 30 years, we’ve not seen that clinical finishing from the Trinidad and Tobago team, but of course, for them to do that against Guyana, they’ll have to get close to the goal. Trust me, they’re going to find some difficulty in this game (against Guyana).”

“It is going to be a good game for people in Trinidad and Tobago to come out and watch, and It will be a good game to measure both teams as well,” Shabazz said.

Against Barbados, Shabazz’s starting team featured Akel Clarke, Leo Lovell, Marcus Wilson, Quincy Adams, Shemar Fraser, Omari Glasgow, Javier George, Daniel Wilson, Trayon Bobb, Pernell Schultz and Tyrell Ondaan.

Except for Gorge, Ondaan and Clarke, all the other players in the starting line-up are locally-based.

“We’re building a team based on what we have in front of us. In this first game, we wanted the local players to start to measure the work we’ve done.

Against Trinidad, we’re going to play more of the overseas-based players, and try to make it a match,” Shabazz said.

Shabazz, when asked about balancing the talent pool in the team, pointed out, “we have the locally-based players training four days a week in Guyana, and the only way we can test their level of readiness, is to give them the match-exposure. We have 14 overseas-based players that we could’ve called on, but we’ve called on six on this occasion, and two of them are playing in Jamaica.”

It is always a gruelling

battle between Guyana and Trinidad at any level and gender of the game.

The last time the two sides met, was during the FIFA World Cup campaign in March of 2021 at the Estadio Panamericano, San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic, when Levi Garcia, Sheldon Bateau and Ryan Telfer helped the Soca Warriors to a 3 – 0 win.

However, Shabazz, grilled about how tonight’s game will be played, said “it comes down to who gives more respect to the team that they deserve.

Trinidad has some monsters in the team; Garcia, Telfer – a lot of guys that I like and like to see play.

But we also have some villains and some monsters of our own. But I think it’s going to be a nice game and this is what both teams need at this time.”

GUYANA 5 – 0 BARBADOS Meanwhile, looking back at the game against Barbados, Quincy Adams, in the 11th minute, headed home Guyana’s first goal, while Pernell Scholtz doubled the lead in the 37th minute.

Eighteen-year-old, Omari Glasgow, scored his first of two goals in the 40th minute to give Guyana a 3 – 0 cushion at halftime.

Neil Danns converted from the penalty spot in the 49th minute to make it 4 – 0, and Glasgow scored in the 60th minute to put a cap on the Golden Jaguars’ exceptional performance as they won 5 – 0.

Guyana, just like Trinidad and Barbados, is preparing for this season of the CONCACAF Nations League, which gets on the way in June.

…Atherton, Hussain and Vaughan lead calls for change of leadership MICHAEL Atherton, Nasser Hussain and Michael Vaughan are among the ex-England captains who have called for Joe Root to be removed from his position after West Indies cruised to a ten-wicket win in Grenada to seal the Richards-Botham Trophy.

England's defeat on the Spice Isle was Root's 26th in 64 Tests as captain since his appointment five years ago, meaning that only two men in Test history - Stephen Fleming (27) and Graeme Smith (29) - have overseen more defeats.

While Root said he had "spoken quite enough on the subject" in his post-match press conference and insisted his side had made "big improvements" and played some "brilliant cricket" over the course of the series, several of his predecessors suggested that the decision should no longer be his to make.

"Root's captaincy is untenable, and he must surely know it deep down," Atherton, who has consistently called for Root to step down

since England's defeat in the 2021-22 Ashes, wrote in his Times column. "His team have now gone five series without victory and have only won one Test in the past 17, a shocking run for a team so well resourced.

"As was obvious to anyone who was present in Australia, and should have been obvious to anyone who wasn't, Root has reached the end of the road as captain.

A change will not cure all ills - this is a poor team and England are paying the price for the neglect of the first-class game - but there simply comes a time when a captain has nothing new to say, no new methods of motivating his players and a different voice or different style is required.

"He had reached that point at the end of the Ashes and nothing has changed. It would have been a cleaner break to have finished then but that decision will now be for the new managing director, the date for applications for which closed on Sunday evening. How Root could feel he had the right to go

Joe Root is clinging on to the England captaincy (Getty Images)

on after Australia or how he could remain in situ while so many others with whom he shared responsibility were sacked, was a mystery, and remains so.”

Hussain, writing in the Daily Mail, said that the decision to leave James Anderson and Stuart Broad out of the squad had been "a cop out" and that Root - along with the interim selection panel of Andrew Strauss, Paul Collingwood and James Taylor - had selected a team of "yes men".

"Root is a world-class batsman and a very likeable

lad but I feel he has never had that instinctive feel for the game as captain," Hussain wrote. "Clearly, under Joe and Paul Collingwood in the West Indies, England tried to create this atmosphere where they were all mates and all in it together.

They want to be a likeable team but you need more than that to win Tests.

"Sometimes you need those tough characters even if they are difficult to captain and coach. It's such a cop out to leave out people who are perhaps difficult to manage and pick a team of 10 yes men and yourself.

The whole point of captaincy, and the aspect of the role I enjoyed the most, was trying to get the most out of people who did things differently."

England's incoming managing director of men's cricket will appoint a head coach and decide what to do with the captaincy before the start of their home summer against New Zealand on June 2, and Hussain suggested Ben Stokes should be offered the role.

(Cricinfo)

Tewatia powers Titans past fellow IPL newbies Super Giants RAHUL Tewatia thrashed a brisk 40 to secure a five-wicket victory for Gujarat Titans in their maiden Indian Premier League game against fellow newbies Lucknow Super Giants on Monday.

Half-centuries from Deepak Hooda (55) and Ayush Badoni (54) guided the Super Giants to 158-5 having lost four wickets in the first five overs.

That recovery was not enough, however, as Tewatia saw the Titans to the target of 159 with two balls to spare.

Titans captain Hardik Pandya (33) and Matthew Wade (30) laid the foundation for a successful chase, David Miller also contributing a quickfire 30 as Gujarat's batting depth provided the difference.

KL Rahul started his IPL campaign in disappointing fashion as he was caught behind – on review – from the first ball of the innings from

Mohammed Shami (3-25), who removed Quinton de Kock (seven) soon after.

A superb Shubman Gill catch off Varun Aaron (2-45) then dismissed Evin Lewis (10) and Shami collected his third by bowling Manish Pandey (six) as Lucknow limped to 32-4 in the powerplay.

Hooda headed the fightback alongside Badoni in an 87-run partnership as the Super Giants scored 111 runs in the last 10 overs to reach a competitive total.

Dushmantha Chameera (2-22) boosted Lucknow's hopes by dismissing Gill for a duck and bowling Vijay Shankar (four) to reduce the Titans to 15-2.

Eighty runs were still required off just over eight overs despite Hardik and Wade's repair work, but Tewatia hit two sixes and five fours, the last of which clinched victory to power the Titans to triumph.

Rahul Tewatia hit five fours and two sixes in an unbeaten 40 off 24 balls. (BCCI)

Krunal earns Pandya bragging rights Hardik looked in scintillating touch as he hit 33 off 28 deliveries, with five fours and a six, before sibling Krunal Pandya had him caught by Pandey.

The left-arm spinner finished with figures of 1-17 from his four overs, boasting the lowest economy of any bowler in the match (4.25).

RAHUL FAILS TO DELIVER Only Ruturaj Gaikwad (635) and Faf du Plessis (633) scored more runs in last year's tournament than Rahul, who managed 626 for the Punjab Kings, but the new Super Giants captain's failure set the tone for a disappointing performance from his side.

(Sportsmax)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday March 29, 2022

South America World Cup woes a Rescheduled Windies ODIs set for product of European-based stars, June in Rawalpindi says Colombia coach Rueda South America has not produced a World Cup-winning side for two decades because so many of their players are spread across the globe, Colombia coach Reinaldo Rueda has suggested.

Brazil were the last nation from the continent to win the biggest prize in football, triumphing at the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea.

Since then, Italy, Spain, Germany and France have all won the title, with only Argentina coming close from the CONMEBOL confederation when they finished second at Brazil 2014.

Brazil and Argentina will be among the favourites at Qatar 2022 later this year following superb qualification campaigns, alongside a host of familiar European rivals chasing success.

Asked ahead of Colombia's final qualifying clash with Venezuela this week

Captain of the amazing 2002 Brazil World Cup winning squad, Cafu

– in which they must at least draw and rely on results elsewhere, too, to make an inter-confederation play-off – Rueda offered an explanation for why CONMEBOL sides have come up short over the past four editions.

"Without doubt, [players playing in Europe] has always been our biggest worry,

the problem that we have in South America," Rueda stated. "I have said so many times.

"South America, with the potential and talent that it has, we are approaching now 20 years without a World Cup winner because of that situation.

"Because our biggest talents go to Europe and for some of them, it is difficult, depending on the percentage of those players that are in the national teams, to respond in the same way.

"Then players coming from Europe must attend two or three tournaments. South America has been a victim of this problem in the last 20 years "That has been a factor that explains why strong national teams haven't been able to consolidate good performances and to win a world title that hasn't happened since 2002. (Yahoo Sport)

West Indies and Pakistan set to renew their rivalry

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, (CMC) – West Indies will travel to Rawalpindi in June to complete their white-ball tour which was suspended last December because of an COVID-19 outbreak in the touring side’s camp.

The Caribbean side will play three One-Day Internationals from June 8-12, matches that form part of the International Cricket Council’s Super League.

The top seven gain automatic qualification for next year’s World Cup. West Indies have also

agreed to play another three Twenty20 Internationals against Pakistan early next year.

West Indies suffered a whitewash in the threematch T20 series in Karachi last December and by the end, found their squad depleted by COVID infections.

Following discussions between Cricket West Indies (CWI) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), it was agreed to postpone the pending ODI series in the interest of health and safety of players.

The ODI series will get underway a week after the conclusion of the ongoing Indian Premier League, which features a plethora of West Indies’ white-ball players including captain Kieron Pollard.

West Indies are scheduled to arrive in Islamabad on June 5 before taking the short ride to Rawalpindi.

Full Match Schedule: June 8: 1st ODI at Pindi Stadium, Rawalpindi June 10: 2nd ODI at Pindi Stadium, Rawalpindi June 12: 3rd ODI at Pindi Stadium, Rawalpindi

West Indies name 16 players for two-week white ball skills camp in Antigua ...three Guyanese players included Cricket West Indies (CWI) has named 16 players for a white ball camp to be held at the Coolidge Cricket Ground from Thursday, March 31 to Wednesday, April 13.

There are three uncapped players in the list – Guyanese fast bowler Nial Smith, all-rounder Nyeem Young and Keacy Carty, the middle-order batsman.

Young was a member of the West Indies Rising Stars squad at the 2020 ICC Under-19 World Cup, and has also played for Barbados Royals in the Caribbean Premier League.

Carty has been a consistent member of the Leeward Islands Hurricanes squad for the last five years. He was Playerof-the-Match in the final of 2016 ICC Under-19 World

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (Tuesday March 29, 2022) COMPLIMENTS OF CUMMINGS ELECTRICAL COMPANY LTD 83 Garnett Street, Campbellville, Georgetown (Tel: 225-6158) Answers to yesterday’s quiz: (1) WI: 83/59; 14/14 (2) ENG: 12/24; 4/51 Today’s Quiz: (1) What was the result of the recent third Test of the WI/ENG series?

(2) Who was voted man of the match?

Answers in tomorrow’s issue

Cup won by the West Indies.

Smith has played all three formats for Guyana at the senior level. Smith aside, two other Guyanese- opener Chandrapaul Hemraj and all-rounder Keemo Paul- have been included.

Head Coach, Phil Simmons outlined that the camp will focus on improving skill sets as the West Indies look ahead to two major global events over the next two years – the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia later this year and the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup to be played in India.

Simmons said: “The camp will be a chance for us to do some work with players in the white ball formats, players who might have a chance to play in the coming white ball teams later this year. The most important thing is that we will be doing things in the camp that we have not been doing well, such as rotating strike, sweeping, and playing spin better.

It’s about working on things that we’re not 100 percent at yet. We have several

Keemo Paul

Chandrapaul Hemraj

players at IPL who will be working at their games as well, so we’re working with the players here to make sure they keep up the standard and improve.”

Simmons added: “Keacy Carty was a reserve for the team which toured India in February. If there was any reason why players couldn’t go he was the next batsman in line. He is one of the players we have looked at before. Nyeem Young is one of the potentially good young all-rounders we have around

the Caribbean, so we just want to bring them in and get them to understand what we expect of them if they get to that level.”

The camp will be held at Coolidge Cricket Ground, the new home of Cricket West Indies in Antigua.

It will also help preparation for West Indies 2022 schedule with home and way tours all featuring white ball cricket.

In late May, West Indies travel to The Netherlands for the first ever three-match

One Day International Series between the two teams, to be followed by the rescheduled three-match ODI Series against Pakistan which was postponed in December.

These fixtures form part of the ICC ODI Super League, where teams will have the opportunity to secure points to try and secure one of the top seven places, excluding hosts India, to gain automatic qualification for the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup. West Indies will then be hosting tours by Bangladesh, India and New Zealand with all three series featuring white ball matches. Details of these tours will be announced in the coming weeks.

PLAYERS: Nkrumah Bonner, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, Keacy Carty, Roston Chase, Justin Greaves, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Shai Hope, Brandon King, Kjorn Ottley, Keemo Paul, Anderson Phillip, Raymon Reifer, Nial Smith, Devon Thomas and Nyeem Young. (Windiescricket)

23

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday March 29, 2022

Region 10 welcomes Queen’s Baton Relay in fine style

By Joe Chapman REGION 10 (Upper Demerara/Upper Berbice) last Saturday welcomed the Queen’s Baton Relay to the town of Linden as athletes, regional officials and schoolchildren graced the streets in several communities.

Some 37 stops were made outside historic sites and buildings along the route from Bamia on the Linden Highway, Mackenzie and ended at the site where the Bayroc Synthetic Track is being constructed.

It was a momentous occasion as the baton, which arrived in Guyana on Friday last from Belize, made its way to Linden the following morning at Bamia where UNICEF Deputy Representative Irfan Akhtar, in the presence of British High Commissioner Jane Miller, Assistant Director of Sport Melissa Dow-Richardson and the GOA’s Dr Karen Pilgrim and Charles Corbin, relayed the baton to Regional Chairman Deron Adams.

After receiving the ba-

ton from Adams, Mayor Waneka Arrendel made the first pass for the journey to National cycling champion Suzanne Hamilton as the trek headed to the mining town.

Among those who carried the torch were Chairman Adams, Mayor Arrendel, Member of Parliament Jermaine Figuiera, National table tennis player Ibo McNeil, National athletics coach Johnny Gravesande and former national basketball player Shanna Chester.

They were accompanied by British High Commissioner Jane Miller who ran along the route; while schoolchildren and residents lined the chosen thoroughfares across the banks of Mackenzie and Wismar.

After crossing the Mackenzie/Wismar Bridge, the relay continued on Burnham Drive and the several stops included the Waterwheel at Christianburg, Blueberry Hill and the synthetic track where Chester completed the route around midday.

For over 60 years, the baton has been the forerun-

ner to the Commonwealth Games. A message from the Monarch has been read at every game since the inaugural 1930 British Empire Games, but it was only in 1958 at Buckingham Palace that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II first placed the message into a specially-designed silver-gilt and enamel Baton for the Cardiff Games.

According to Mayor Arrendel, “today we stand at Millie’s Hide Out to begin the Guyana leg and are grateful that Linden, the talent basket of Guyana was chosen. As this baton foreshadows the Commonwealth Games, Linden, the beacon of hope for sports in Guyana, will lead the baton through.”

The mayor also paid tribute to those Linden athletes who represented Guyana, adding “I will hand this baton to Lindener Suzanne Hamilton, current female national cycling champion.

But as I do, I remember some of our most dedicated athletes who could not have been with us today because they are away represent-

Mayor of Linden Mrs. Waneka Arrendel (left) hands over the Queen's Baton to national champion cyclist Suzan Hamilton

ing Guyana. They include Chantoba Bright, Daniel Williams, Dashana Skeete, and Compton Ceasar.

“We welcome the baton and declare that Guyana will remember where we came from and where we are now. The vision to unite as we do today with athletes in their respective fields, clubs, NGOs, CBOs, Private Sec-

tor, Government and education officials, differently able residents, and diaspora representatives, who will pass this baton until it reaches the end. This unity shared today is the unity we will sustain, and as Linden is in its 52nd year as a Town, I say, "Let's Take It On." Regional Chairman Adams worked feverishly with

his counterparts and made contact with all the sports associations to ensure they were on board and extended warmest congratulations on the combined performances.

“I am so happy to have been a part of the coordinating team and happy to be serving as your Regional Chairman. History was made today. I do hope that you will all continue to make us proud again and again; keep doing your great work at the various association and organisation levels.

Congratulations to you all!”

Adams pointed out that he expects that coming out of this activity, that the RDC will have a better relationship with the various sports associations in Linden and Region 10.

GOA’s Charles Corbin, who was integral in the planning, gave a historical background to many of the sites and important aspects of the various communities along the route and was pleased with the general performance of the relay which he said was splendidly executed.

ICC Women’s World Cup DCC, Everest to clash in GCA/ Noble House Seafoods WI hoping to enjoy semi-final after ‘nerve-wracking’ wait: Matthews 2nd division final WELLINGTON, New “Obviously, us waiting as many matches.

Walsh said he was thrilled AFTER some intense action this past weekend, Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) will now lock horns with Everest Cricket Club when they meet in the semi-finals of the Georgetown Cricket Association’s (GCA)/Noble House Sea Foods 2-day 2nd Division tournament.

Over at Queenstown on DCC's home turf, Malteenoes were knocked over for 74 after making 143 in their first innings. Shemroy Barrington pulled off a cameo innings of 26 off 13 balls featuring one four and three maximums.

DCC made a first innings score of 145 then ended on 71-4 batting a second time with Jaden Campbell hitting 31 and Raymond Perez chipping in with 26.

Spinner Daniel Mootoo finished with a match-haul of 8- 79 after grabbing an impressive 5-49 in the first innings before snatching 3-29 bowling in the second.

Further support came from national youth player, Sachin Singh with (3-11) and Kareem Whitney (2-26), securing the

much-needed points which helped their team to the final.

Meanwhile, at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) ground, in another drawn yet exciting affair, the home team, GCC managed to finish on 141 after resuming on 34-3, replying to Malteenoes' 1st innings score of 207.

All-rounder Bernard Bailey hit 38 while Thaddeus Lovell (22) and Aryan Persaud (19) were the other players to reach double-figures for the home team.

Everest were indebted to left-arm spinner Javed Rasheed, who took three wickets before his team returned to post 86-5 in their 2nd innings, thus securing a place in the final.

Dwayne Adams showed his seniority with a solid knock of 21 which aided the likes of West Indies U-19 Captain, Matthew Nandu, who stroked 41 with seven fours.

Both DCC and Everest will now look to the final which will have its time and place announced shortly.

Zealand, (CMC) – Leading all-rounder Hayley Matthews said there was widespread relief in the West Indies camp after a “nerve-wracking” wait to find out their fate in the final four of the ICC Women’s World Cup. West Indies finished their group stage with seven points from three wins, three defeats and a no-result, but aware they could be overtaken in third by both England and India who had a game to spare.

On a dramatic day on Sunday, however, England thrashed Bangladesh by 100 runs but India, needing to beat South Africa in Christchurch in order to leapfrog West Indies, slumped to a three-wicket defeat to South Africa off the last ball.

With the win, England climbed to third on eight points while West Indies slipped to fourth but managing to secure the all-important last semi-final spot.

on those results was pretty nerve-wracking,” said Matthews.

“I think after losing the game against Pakistan and the rain-out against South Africa, we knew we were in a tight spot and results had to go our way. So watching the chain of events happen … it was pretty nerve-wracking but pure ecstasy at the end.”

She continued: “It means a whole lot. Coming into this World Cup we were definitely underdogs. No one had us in their semi-final spots, so to be able to come here and exceed expectations by even just reaching the semi-finals has been amazing.

“Being able to beat some of the bigger teams was massive on our list and we were able to do that so I’m really happy we’ve been able to get into the semi-finals.”

West Indies will take on seemingly unbeatable Australia who played the entire group phase unbeaten to end with seven wins from

In their two previous meetings in the tournament, West Indies suffered a 90run hammering in a warm-up game in Lincoln before going down by seven wickets here in Wellington.

However, Matthews said West Indies had nothing to lose, and would be free to chase an upset without any pressure.

“We obviously know the quality team that Australia have but at the same time I don’t feel like there’s any pressure on us,” said the 24-year-old.

“We’re playing against the best team in the world and we just have to go out there and play our natural game and have fun on the field.

“I think we perform best when we go out there and have fun and we enjoy ourselves, and I think that’s the exact mindset that we’re going out there with come Wednesday.”

Head coach Courtney

with the achievement, noting it was now important for the Caribbean side to “leave everything on the park” against Australia.

“I feel very happy and proud for the girls. They played some very good cricket. They deserved to be in it,” Walsh said.

“I know it was a long wait … but you can see all the excitement in the girls, so I’m really happy for the team, happy that we’re here and we’re going to give it our best shot.

“They just have to be relaxed and enjoy the occasion, leave everything out there on the park which is what we have been saying all along.

“Once you go out there and give it a hundred per cent and you leave what you have to do on the park, nobody can ask you for more.

“So for me personally, it’s for them to go out, express themselves, execute well and enjoy the process.

Golden Jaguars going hunting today against Soca Warriors

Guyana’s Omari Glasgow (left) tries to hold off a Barbados opponent during international action at the Hasely Crawford Stadium on 27 March 2022.

(Copyright: Daniel Prentice/ Wired868)

‒ Coach Shabazz praises the team’s performance in their 5 – 0 win against Barbados

By Rawle Toney AFTER roaring to an impressive 5 – 0 win over Barbados on Sunday evening, the Golden Jaguars are going hunting once again tonight, and the Hasely

Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain will be their territory, and the prey is the Soca Warriors. Kickoff time is 7:00 pm.

The two countries share a bitter rivalry in the sport of football, but Guyana’s only victory, since

their triumph in 1978, came on November 11, 2011, when the Golden Jaguars celebrated a 2 – 1 win, which also knocked Trinidad out of the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers.

Shabazz is in charge of the

Dharry meets Prime Minister Phillips

Golden Jaguars for just the second time since his return to the helm of the country’s national team last September.

Trinidad and Tobago, who played in their first game on Friday, was impressive in their 9 – 0

drubbing of Barbados. However, against Guyana, Shabazz is warning that things will be different for Coach Angus Eve’s side.

Shabazz described Trinidad’s finishing against Barbados as “ i m - TURN TO PAGE 21 ►

Amsterdam guarantees podium finish in Ecuador ‒ GDF boxer advances to semi-finals at AMBC Elite Championships

Guyana's Desmond Amsterdam connects to Venezuelan refugee boxer, Eldric Sell, during their Middleweight contest at the AMBC Elite Continental Championships in Ecuador.

(Photo compliments: IBA)

Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips and ace Guyanese boxer, Elton Dharry ACE Guyanese boxer Elton Dharry, who is expected to step into the ring next month, met with Prime Minister Mark Phillips yesterday afternoon at his office on Camp Street.

The US-based Dharry, who suffered a debatable loss against Andrew Moloney in

November of 2019, is carded to fight the undefeated Orlando Penalba from Panama.

The bout is set for April 23.

At yesterday’s meeting, Dharry was joined by the Guyana Boxing Board of Control president, Peter Abdool, and several other officials.

GUYANA will be certain of a medal in this year’s American Boxing Confederation (AMBC) Elite Championship in Guayaquil, Ecuador after Desmond Amsterdam reached the semi-finals of the Men’s middleweight division.

Amsterdam, fellow middleweight Jamal Eastman and light welterweight, Colin Lewis, are the country’s representatives at the Championship which will conclude on Saturday.

Lewis was edged out in a somewhat controversial decision, while Harvey was

disqualified in the second round of his clash with Colombia's Elin Orobio.

Facing Venezuelan Eldric Sell, who competed at the Tokyo Olympics as part of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Refugee team, Amsterdam won his fight via a 3 – 2 judges scorecard at the event of the five-round contest.

Spain’s Jose Hernande scored the fight 28 – 29 in favour of Amsterdam, while the USA’s Kevin Hope also scored his card in the Guyanese favour, TURN TO PAGE 20 ►

WI hoping to enjoy semi-final after ‘nerve-wracking’ wait: Matthews Printed and Published by Guyana National Newspapers Limi ted, Lama Avenue, Bel Air Park, Georgetown. Telephone 2 2 6- 3243-9 (General); Editorial: 2 2 7- 5204, 2 2 7- 5216. Fax:2 2 7- 5208

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TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2022