Guyana Chronicle E-Paper 30-09-2022

National Breakfast Pro gramme was formally launched in Georgetown at a simple cer emony hosted by the Education Ministry at the West Ruimveldt Primary School on Thursday.

Under the programme, nu tritious meals will be provided to 10,300 Grade Six pupils across Regions Two (Pome roon-Supenaam), Three (Es sequibo Islands-West Dem

erara), Four (DemeraraMahaica), Five (MahaicaBerbice), Six (East BerbiceCorentyne) and Ten (Upper Demerara-Berbice).

Bess charged for alleged role in extortion plot - wanted bulletin issued for Burke

SHORTLY after business man Dorwain Bess appeared in the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court charged with two counts of conspiracy to de fraud, police issued a wanted bulletin for APNU+AFC activist and US-based social media commentator Rick ford Burke, who has also been linked to an alleged extortion plot which has led to two former reporters be ing charged.

Bess, 45, appeared before Magistrate Fabayo Azore on Thursday and denied the allegations. He was granted $100,000 bail on each charge.

Both incidents are in rela tion to the alleged plot by two reporters to extort money from businessman Afras Mohamed, in order to remove an offen sive post that was published by Guyana News Network (GNN), a “slanderous” online entity.

Bess was arrested by ranks of the Police Major Crimes Unit at CID Headquarters, Eve Leary, on Monday

After announcing the bail, the magistrate ordered that he lodge his passport and report to officer-in-charge of the Major Crimes Unit or his

deputy every Friday, start ing from September 30. The matter was then adjourned to November 1.

Meanwhile, Burke is want ed by the police for “question ing in relation to conspiracy to commit a felony, to wit, publication of defamatory libel in order to extort money.”

Reports are that former reporters Gary Eleazer and Alex Wayne had named and implicated both Bess and Burke as being behind the post about Mohamed.

Eleazer and Wayne were caught shortly after they col lected a sum of money from Mohamed in exchange for

removal of the post.

It is alleged that the two reporters, between August 27 and September 23, 2022, at Lusignan, East Coast Dem erara, conspired together with other persons to publish de famatory libel against Mo hamed, with a view to extort the sum of $150,000.

The two reporters recent ly appeared before Senior Magistrate Azore at the Cove and John Magistrate’s Court and pleaded not guilty to two counts of conspiracy to com mit a felony. There were re leased on $200,000 bail each for allegedly conspiring with each other to extort money

from Mohamed.

According to earlier re ports from the police, Eleazar told investigators that he was contacted by Bess, who told him that Mohamed was evad ing taxes on imported vehicles and he subsequently wrote an article on the matter.

The said article, Eleazar reportedly told investigators, was then sent to Bess, who reportedly then sent it to a Burke, who added several paragraphs before it was then posted on the GNN Facebook page and website.

The police had issued a wanted bulletin for Bess.

Based on the report, the re porters admitted that they were among the admins on the GNN page. They reportedly revealed too that an APNU+AFC activ ist, Rickford Burke, is also an admin on the page.

E leazer reportedly told investigators that he had ac cess to the GNN website for over a year and was given the website’s password and username by Rickford Burke to manage the website; he subsequently uploaded about five articles to the site.

The police report also alleged that Eleazar said that he sent five articles targeting

an individual and companies to Bess and Burke, who would then post the said articles to the GNN website and Facebook page.

According to the police, Mohamed, on August 29 filed a report to the police claiming that GNN posted an article with his photograph attached, alleging that he was involved in illegal activities.

In a statement to the police, the businessman allegedly denied the claims and stated that it was an attempt to hu miliate, embarrass, and cause him emotional distress.

As a result of the infor mation given by Mohamed, the police conducted a sting operation and gave the busi nessman marked bills to give to the reporters. On Septem ber 23, Eleazar and Wayne were arrested by police along the East Coast of Demerara.

Eleazar reportedly told the police that he had ac cess to the GNN website for over a year and was given the website’s password and username by Burke to manage the website. He admitted that he uploaded and wrote about five arti cles for the site.

Over 10,300 Grade Six pupils benefit from breakfast programme

217 schools to benefit from October

THE National Breakfast Programme was formally launched in Georgetown at a simple ceremony hosted by the Education Ministry at the West Ruimveldt Pri mary School on Thursday.

Under the programme, nutritious meals will be pro vided to 10,300 Grade Six pupils across Regions Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), Three (Essequibo IslandsWest Demerara), Four (Demerara-Mahaica), Five (Mahaica-Berbice), Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) and Ten (Upper Demerara-Berbice).

While lauding this initia tive, head teacher of the West

Ruimveldt Primary School Nikole Lewis reported that the institution has already re corded increased attendance since the introduction of the programme.

“We know that our chil dren will have improved performance; we already have improved attendance and punctuality,” Ms. Lewis said, adding:

“They [the children] are coming early; they are lining up, and they are waiting to

Dorwain Bess

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education Alfred King addressing pupils at the West Ruimveldt Primary School on Wednesday (DPI photo)

Rickford Burke

IMF lauds gov’t for good anti-corruption framework, fiscal transparency

- organisation highlights efforts to address inherited weaknesses in governance

THE Internation al Monetary Fund (IMF) has commend ed the People’s Pro gressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government for the progress made in strengthening Guy ana’s anti-corruption framework and fiscal transparency.

Several pillars of the anti-corruption framework were re cently strengthened, including the Integrity and Public Procure ment Commissions and the National Procure ment and Tender Ad ministration Board, the IMF said in a report documenting the con clusions of its Article IV Consultation with local authorities.

The international fi nancial institution went on to acknowledge the publication of audit reports on public ex penditures, including for COVID-19, and the government’s efforts to follow up on recom mendations made in those audit reports.

“Asset declarations of a large number of public officials are sub mitted annually, and public procurement tenders are streamed live,” the IMF said.

The authorities, the organisation said, also made progress in im plementing the recom mendations of the 2019 and 2021 Extractive Industries Transpar ency Initiative (EITI) reports, notably on the reconciliation with the fiscal regime.

“Some progress has also been made on information shar ing and publication of

extractive industries’ financial statements, and the authorities are strengthening capac ity to address remain ing gaps, including in moving towards elec tronic disclosure and adequate follow-up,” the IMF related.

This represents a significant improve ment from what was recorded by the IMF in its 2019 Article IV report.

According to the report which captures policies implemented by the former coalition administration, there were weaknesses in the governance and anticorruption frameworks that could have given rise to corruption vul nerabilities.

One initiative that was “hurriedly” im plemented by the coa lition, the Natural Re sources Fund (NRF) Act, was replaced by the People’s Pro gressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government’s NRF Act 2021, which came into operation on January 1, 2022.

The new act rep resents a significant improvement in trans parency and account ability and the overall management of the natural resource wealth of Guyana for present and future generations.

According to the IMF: “The recent amendments to the NRF Act set clear ceilings on withdraw als from the Fund for budgetary spending and promote transpar ency in the manage ment and use of oil resources. Staff praise

the authorities’ thor ough review of the NRF Act before mak ing amendments, and the restraint in using any oil revenues be fore the passage of the amendments.”

Minister of Parlia mentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira, had under scored that Guyana has a robust anti-corrup tion framework, not ing: “We believe that what we have started to develop and what we have already, in terms of an anti-cor ruption framework in our country, is a good and robust framework, in comparison to some other countries.”

She added: “Now, our focus should be on a systematic ap proach to ensure that we do not operate in silos. We have to de velop a systematic ap proach to dealing with anti-corruption in our country – a system atic approach, not a silo approach…when we look at what is our framework and the role of the various agencies, which structure and deal with the elements of the anti-corruption framework, we rec ognise the need for a more systematic ap proach.”

Teixeira had not ed that work on anticorruption is linked to building trust and con fidence, since acts of corruption undermine public trust and con fidence in the govern ment and also has an impact on democracy.

“It is important to recognise that this is

not the responsibility of one person alone. It is all of our responsibil ity to reduce corruption and to be able to make our anti-corruption mechanism work,” she said.

Senior Minister in the Office of the Presi dent with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, had said too: “We equally believe that openness, transpar ency and accountability in government is an ab solutely essential pre requisite in democratic governance. Indeed we

believe that democracy goes hand in hand with openness, transparency and accountability.”

He added that the PPP/C government, since 1992, has been working hard to es tablish and strengthen the institutions to op erationalise the anticorruption framework Guyana is subscribed to.

“Let me be clear that we are under no illusion that our work is done….we are not under the illusion that we can now sit and

rest on our laurels…. let me say unequivocally that we in the PPP/C are under no illusion that our work is done….we are con stantly examining the anti-corruption framework to identify areas for strengthen ing and areas for elab oration by way of subsidiary legislation and regulation,” Dr. Singh said, adding that the inclusion of technol ogy was also part of the improvement of the Guyana’s anti-cor ruption framework.

Over 10,300 Grade Six...

FROM PAGE 2

get their breakfast.”

The ministry’s Perma nent Secretary Alfred King said the programme adds to the list of other initiatives implemented by the ministry aimed at improving students’ performance and attendance.

He anticipates that by the end of October this year, 10,700 Grade Six pupils from 217 schools will ben efit from the breakfast pro gramme.

“In terms of providing for our national Grade Six learners right across Guy

ana, we thought it might be a good level if we can’t go right across the school to start with, because they are preparing for a common as sessment. And to make sure that they have a good chance, we thought that we needed all these interventions,” Mr. King said.

The government is in vesting $267 million in the breakfast programme this year. Caterers were con tracted within each region to provide the meals.

The co-ordinator of the programme, Mahendra

Phagwah, said the ministry will be closely monitor ing the programme at each school to ensure that caterers are delivering meals that are of an acceptable standard at all times.

The programme was officially launched at the Mackenzie Primary School in Region 10 earlier this month, as part of a pro gramme of activities to mark Education Month 2022. The initiative forms part of the national feeding programme, which totals $2 billion. (DPI)

A Florida town rebuilt after one hurricane endures another

(Reuters) - When the people of Punta Gor da on Florida’s Gulf Coast rebuilt Char lotte High School, they vowed it would never be pulverised by a hurricane again.

This week, it passed a major test, emerging seemingly unscathed in the wake of Hurricane Ian, one of the most powerful storms to hit the U.S. mainland in years.

The school, which opened in 1921, was one of more than 10,000 buildings decimated in the harborside city of Punta Gorda when Hur ricane Charley made landfall on August 14, 2004, at virtually the same spot Ian would come ashore.

Its restored neoclassi cal yellow-brick facade is now a proud symbol of how the city of about 20,000 people overcame destruction to rebuild it self to be more resilient.

On Thursday, af ter withstanding fierce winds that took down trees and power lines

throughout Punta Gorda, the school served as a reminder that the rela tively onerous building codes adopted by the state after prior hurri canes had their benefits.

“The whole back of it blew off in Hurricane

Charley,” Brenda Si ettas, 62, said of the school. “Since Charley, it’s been rebuilt better.”

Siettas, who works with children with spe cial educational needs, said her home had taken a little damage from Hurricane Ian.

Still, she thought re covery would be much quicker than in 2004, when Charley leveled Punta Gorda and neigh boring towns, causing $3.2 billion of damage in Charlotte County and destroying about 11,000 homes and 300 busi

nesses in Punta Gorda, according to the Fort Myers News-Press.

“For Charley, I actu ally stayed here for two weeks with no power, no water, no sewer,” Siettas said.

Ian blasted ashore at the barrier island of Cayo Costa on Wednes day afternoon as a Cate gory four hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 150 miles per hour (241 km per hour).

Ian’s winds and floods damaged build ings across the city, and streets on Thurs

day were covered with fallen trees and debris. Down at the harbor’s edge, there were mas sive chunks of broken masonry strewn about at a building complex that houses Hurricane Charley’s Grill, Sushi & Raw Bar.

Many residents were among the millions of Floridians with their power knocked out.

Joseph Barr, a 33-year-old HVAC tech nician, said Ian seemed more frightening than Charley, in part because its wall-rattling winds

lingered longer than the more swift-moving 2004 hurricane.

“When Charley hit, we had a lot more mess,” he said. “That school was practically demolished.”

Florida overhauled its building codes in re sponse to the destruction wrought by Hurricane Andrew in 1992, requir ing, among other things, that buildings have roofs strong enough to not be pried off by hurri cane-force winds.

In rebuilding after Charley, a plaque in stalled in the school as a rebuke to nature’s pow ers read: “Never again will the winds be feared, never again.”

The building stood gleaming after the rains from Ian cleared, and it appeared that not so much as a window pane was broken. The only visible structural dam age: a large metal sign denoting the school as a Florida heritage site and marking the school’s reopening in 2009 had been toppled text-side up.

Nearby, the Char lotte County Court house, which also had been damaged by Charley, stood unscathed besides a wind-shredded U.S. flag hanging from a flagpole. (Reuters)

An aerial view of a damaged boat and buildings after Hurricane Ian caused widespread destruction in Punta Gorda, Florida (REUTERS/ Shannon Stapleton)

Barbados: Oil prospects

MINISTER of Energy Kerrie Symmonds has defended the government’s push towards hydrocarbon explo ration, noting that oil and natural gas finds could mean significant foreign exchange earn ings for the economy.

What is more, he said an oil find would put the country in a po sition to fund its energy transition, which will require several compo nents, and could cost well over $1 billion for battery storage, and billions more for the renewable energy mix needed.

“You have to have a combination of things; you have to have wind, offshore more than likely, but an offshore small wind farm by the world standards, may be 150 megawatts or 200 megatwatts, will cost this country $2 bil lion, and it has to be financed,” Symmonds said.

“Therefore, we say to you, if we were to find the hydrocarbon resources, and we know there is a demand for the resources, we are quite prepared to sell to meet that demand to finance the way forward for this country’s pur poses, in so far as clean energy is concerned,” he added.

The government is pushing ahead with plans to make Barba dos 100 per cent reliant on renewable energy sources by 2030. At the same time, the admin istration has announced that by the end of this year, the bidding pro cess for licences to drill for oil and natural gas within some 22 blocks

in Barbados’ waters will begin.

This follows a seis mic study which was carried out by oil giant, BHP, which was taken over by Woodside En ergy this year.

Addressing a Bar bados International Business Association (BIBA) business lun cheon on Wednesday at the Savannah Beach Club, Symmonds re sponded to critics whom he said were taking the government to task for going after hydrocarbon finds when the country should be focused on building out its renew able energy sector.

He told the lun cheon, which had as its theme, The Road Ahead for Global Business in Barbados, that it was the government’s in tention to form closer linkages between the energy sector and the global business sector “in a more decisive and fundamental way”.

“The fact of the mat ter is that there has been a lot of recent seismic data that convinces us that there is good hydro carbon prospectivity in the deep and ultra deep waters of Barbados,”

said Symmonds, who pointed to a number of oil discoveries in the neighbouring waters of Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, and Suriname.

“Based on the seis mic data, the final re sults of which we should receive next month, there is every good reason to believe that Barbados may be a missing piece in what is becoming a red zone of gas discoveries in the Caribbean, and, quite frankly, in the world,” he said.

Symmonds said some people were “making the error” of

thinking that hydrocar bon exploration and re newable energy expan sion could not co-exist.

“The Barbados Na tional Energy Policy was passed in the Par liament of Barbados in 2019. That energy pol icy makes it unequiv ocally and abundantly clear that on the basis and the fact that we have for almost a cen tury been finding oil or gas around Barbados, those hydrocarbons that we can find we would use for export purpos es,” he said, adding:

“The world is not

going to stop using hy drocarbons in 2030 or 2040 or, quite frank ly, in 2050. People are making commitments, and some of them are already walking back from the commitments. The fact of the matter is, yes, we want to get to a hydrogen-driven world, and that would perhaps be the ideal, but that is going to be a long jour ney; many miles to go before we can get there. And during that period of time, this country has to be able to finance the plan that we have to move from where we are today, to be entirely fossil fuel-free in our domestic space.”

Pointing to the recent Nord Stream pipeline explosion, Symmonds said this was another reason for an increase in global demand for natural gas, and current suppliers would not be able to satisfy those demands.

He said: “It would be a foolhardy thing for Barbados, given all of the financial realities that we confront, to de cide that we are going

to find or have the re source, but choose not to exploit the resource for export purposes, or even in the context of gas, using it as a bridg ing fuel to get us to where we need to be.

“Therefore, I say to you, if we were to find oil offshore, then that is put into the internation al marketplace, because aeroplanes are still fly ing on gas, and aero planes are still going to be requiring hydro carbons. The ships that are sailing on the sea may move to a natural gas technology, because that is seen as the bridg ing fuel, but again, if we can find gas, we are supplying the globe’s demand for bridging fuel,” he said.

He also pointed out that experienced oil producers, despite many of them talking about climate adaptation, were not ready to put an end to their oil production, and would not be coming to Bar bados’ aid to help fund the renewable energy transition. (Barbados Today)

Barbados’ Minister of Energy Kerrie Symmonds

Guyana bouncing back

GUYANA has truly bounced back from a par ticularly precarious posi tion largely brought on by poor management of the economy by the former A Partnership for Nation al Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) gov ernment, which must never be divorced from the 2020 General and Regional Elec tions (GRE) crisis, but also resulting from the crushing blows of the COVID-19 pandemic and the conflict in eastern Europe.

The International Mone tary Fund (IMF) 2022 Article IV Consultation report noted: “A political crisis stalled the reform program and delayed the government’s response to the pandemic. After a no-confidence vote in December 2018 requir ing prompt elections, and a delay in transition from the March 2020 elections, a new administration took office in August 2020.

“As a result, the 2020 Budget was approved only in September, affecting confi dence, and forcing increased reliance on direct financ ing from the Central Bank as external funding slowed down.”

It truly was one of the worst public spectacles in the history of Guyana’s electoral culture, especially since the 2020 election was broadcast to the entire world. Surely, the political actors in the APNU+AFC reading docu ments such as the Article IV consultation must feel a deep sense of shame that they had intentionally brought Guyana to the point of brinkmanship.

The country remained largely ill-equipped to battle a deadly, rapidly-spread ing virus that warranted immediate, pointed public health measures across the world. Guyana, at the time, remained compromisingly bound to a situation that restricted the public sector’s

access to funding to a narrow margin of the overall budget, in keeping with the Fiscal Management and Account ability Act (2003).

“The COVID-19 situ ation has significantly im proved. In 2020, the govern ment implemented contain ment and mitigation mea sures that severely restricted mobility, and provided addi tional public resources to the health system. Guyana has administered ‘COVID’ vac cines to around two-thirds of the population. A three-phase reopening of the economy started in 2021,” the IMF September 2022 report re corded.

In a previous editori al, this newspaper noted: “Recognising the correla tion between unwavering democratic values and a prosperous society, a country that is on such a development trajectory as Guyana must have strong, well-functioning institutions which preserve

the peace and stability of the nation and, in turn, ensure the uninterrupted growth of the country and well-being of its people.” An additional charge was made that “What transpired in 2020 must nev er happen again.”

Guyana is on the recov ery pathway, and the IMF is quite familiar with this. IMF staff recorded: “In 2022, the government implemented tax measures to limit the pass-through to consumers of rising food and energy prices from the war in Ukraine.”

More specifically, the rep resentatives of the interna tional financial institution “welcome the authorities’ efforts to reduce electrici ty costs, improve transport infrastructure, diversify the economy, improve access to and quality of social services, and advance more broadly towards the Sustainable De velopment Goals.”

The measures felt direct ly by the citizenry have, time

and again, been recorded in this newspaper. Aside from sector-specific measures, the President, Dr. Irfaan Ali-led People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) government, since being elected to office in 2020, has introduced sev eral measures to put more disposable income into the pockets of Guyanese. From the outset, Value Added Tax (VAT) was removed from water and electricity, a bur densome measure placed on the backs of Guyanese by the former ‘Coalition’ adminis tration.

There has also been a constant increase in old-age pension and public assis tance, which, as it is, in one year put $2.3 billion and $432 million into the pockets of Guyanese.

Additionally, the PPP/C government reinstated the “Because We Care” cash grant and school uniform cash grant which stand at $30,000 per child in both

public and private schools.

Every household in the hinterland will receive a $25,000 one-off cash grant; fisherfolk have started re ceiving a one-off $150,000 grant; farmers will receive $1 billion in fertilizer sup port, and there were and are many other initiatives geared at addressing the rising cost of living induced by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

While these measures cannot be permanent, as also recognised by the IMF, Guyanese have seen a number of cushioning interventions which have largely shielded the pop ulation from the full blast of the economic shock ex perienced in other parts of the world. Guyana is truly bouncing back, and, with continued responsible lead ership, the country remains stable on its path to growth and development.

NY Guyanese in holy fasting and observance

Dear Editor,

GUYANESE Hindus in New York and in other parts of America have been engrossed in holy fasting and observance over the last month, not dissimilar to their breth ren in Guyana and in vari ous other parts of the large diaspora. Currently, they are observing Nav Ratri or nine days (and nights) of fasting that began Mon day and concludes this coming Tuesday. During this auspicious period, they observe or worship the feminine aspects of the

Lord, focusing on God desses Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati. It is a pe riod of gross spiritual up lifting to cleanse the mind of evil or wicked thoughts.

Guyanese Hindus have been blessed to be spending time in the city over the last month having access to holy places (mandirs and specially built tents) for worshipping. They also took advantage of services pre sided over by popular and well-known pandits visiting from Guyana. Pandit Rajin Balgobin of New Amster dam has been conducting nightly Navratri Puja in

Richmond Hill and also presided over services at varied locations during the last month. His services are known to be packed to capacity and the tent at the Arya Samaj ground was filled on cool Fall nights in the city. He is among the most favourite pandits in America. Pandit Vishnu Panday of East Bank and other visiting pandits from Guyana, Trinidad, and Su riname also presided over yajna in New York over the last month. Services are generally open to the public as is also the custom or tra dition in Guyana.

Large numbers of NY Guyanese Hindus took ad vantage of the many oppor tunities of Bhakti or devo tion in the city. They partic ipated in the week long Ra mayana at Sri Surya Mandir in Jamaica in mid-August and the one at the Arya Sam aj ground in late August for another week, Janam Astmi puja (birth of Lord Krishna) in August, various public yagyas in Kuly thru now, Lord Ganesh Chaturthi, Pitri Paksha puja or praying for the souls of the ancestors, and now Nav Ratri. The religious festivities contin ue with Diwali on October

22. Guyanese mandirs are known to observe every aus picious day in the Hindu cal endar with special puja. So there is never a shortage of a religious event for Hindus.

As Guyanese in mandirs remarked, it is a joy to be in a place of worship where one can imbibe Bhakti or devotional service to one’s heart’s content. As Guya nese Hindus did or are cur rently doing in the USA in terms of worshipping, those in Guyana also observed the holy periods at mandirs and at their places of abode. Al most all mandirs in Guyana have been holding special

nightly services as their counterparts in the diaspora in the USA and beyond. As in New York, mandirs in Guyana have been beauti fully lit up for the Navratri festival that ends with the observance of Dussehra. This is also the period for Ram Leela plays.

As pandits stated in messages to worshippers at satsangs or services in the USA, may the Divine Power of the Lord shower blessings always to all.

Yours sincerely, Vishnu Bishram

Nigel Hinds offers no tangible explanations or solutions to the issues he raised

Dear Editor

NIGEL Hinds has a lot to say about the Guy ana situation and the so-called out-of-control racism that seems to be so divisive and surmis es that Guyanese are at each other’s throats. The summary statement made by Hinds is that the ruling government is fixated on governing only one group. He means the government caters only for the Indian support base, while the Africans are being ignored and left out. Hinds, I believe, suffers from what cer tain social classes term privilege and he is thus removed from normal society, since a lot of these so-called activists do not understand the working man’s plight. They situate themselves as champions of a cause, yet, they are removed entirely from the poor

society.

Minister Ashni Singh commented on the rheto ric present within Hinds statements and indeed these are avenues utilised by persuasive speakers. Normally, one would see politicians campaigning and using heavy rhetoric in their speeches; rous ing substantial emotions around certain issues; spot lighting Guyana, racism is that rousing issue. A sore point in our history for far too long. However, what one should rebel against is the utilising of the rhet oric around racism as a means to an end. The end of which is yet to be re vealed, no doubt self-serv ing in nature. However, I offer some observations about Hinds’s Hyde Park statements.

Nigel Hinds speaks about uplifting a nation and focusing on its prob lems. He laments Guy ana’s tumultuous posi

tion of being a racially divided state spurred on by institutionalised racism stemming from two areas, the selection of ministers based on their ethnicities and the structuring of the political parties according to race. The narrative of divisiveness is akin to a plague that has besieged the country, yet he offers no tangible explanations or solutions in attempting to address this. Merely men tioning the issue is base less without some working solution if one were indeed serious about uplifting a nation.

When Walter Rodney wrote about the blacks, he included East Indians and Africans in the um brella term black. While blackness represented an ideology of people fighting against white oppression, that being imperialism. But Rodney’s position changed from that of a cultural nationalist perspective in

favour of a Marxist per spective which abandoned race and ethnic conscious ness, determining them to be limiting factors in a real inclusive society. The latter brand of social con sciousness did not sit well with the ruling party and his life was cut short. He represented in many ways an avenue by which Guy anese society could aban don the ethnic prefixes we often use. Ask yourself, what is an Indo-Guya nese and Afro-Guyanese? Are we always meant to stratify ourselves against this ethnic and quite rac ist backdrop? Why do Amerindians not use the terminology Amerindian Guyanese? Simply an swered, it makes no sense. Yet, stratification is often used to markedly empha sise ethnic distinction for some exploitable reason.

Curiously, he describes the selection of any one particular minister as pre

mised around either the colour of one’s skin or ethnicity. The conclusion must be based on some quantifiable assessment, none of which was pro vided. Scientifically, re searchers often use race or ethnicity as some measure of distinction; however, culturally, skin colour is entirely a different con versation. It is unclear whether it was a deliberate

distinction or it was rhet oric used to exploit more sensitive issues.

However, the contin uous momentum among particular individuals to use race rhetoric to en gineer a divide can only be seen for what it is: a dangerous tactic, yes, but ineffective thus far.

Yours Truly, Anson Paul

The North-South UN Debate in Century 21 Part 4: Saving the UN from itself!

By Earl Bousquet

THE late Dag Hammar skjöld, the Second Secretary General of the United Na tions (UN), famously said: ‘The United Nations was not created in order to bring us to heaven, but in order to save us from hell.”

That was back in 1954 - and 68 years later, Ham marskjöld’s wise words are again being quoted by those who strongly feel the global body has lost its way and is mainly serving the interests of the world’s richest nations, while poor lives no longer seem to matter.

But if Hammarskjöld’s patent observation is to be taken to its current logical extent, it is humanity’s turn to save the UN -- not from hell, but from itself.

There’s never been a paved highway to heaven, but after decades of failure to get the north to listen to and engage with the south and South-South Cooper ation halted at major roads by traffic signs within the UN system, more people in-the-know everywhere feel the UN has never been more threatened from within – and the south can save it.

Today, the south can in deed unite and build a new global alliance, led by devel oping countries, to drive their common agenda for building back better -- and faster.

Like never before, the

north is now also feeling problems once thought ex clusive to developing nations, like extreme weather and shuddering economic jolts.

But the richest nations are learning, in hard ways, that Planet Earth responds, fast and furious, in different ways but everywhere, to human kind’s refusal to acknowledge and respect nature’s power.

In less than a decade, the north has been forced to adapt, most unwillingly, to preparations for hurricanes and heatwaves, floods and drought.

But while climate change, COVID-19 and the economic blowbacks from Ukraine have helped level the playing field and forced higher levels of awareness of the urgency for global action, the south is still left holding the short end of the stick on two counts: the north’s failure to deliver on loud promises at annual UN-sponsored Conference of Parties (COP) summits on Climate Change; and the poorest 90+ UN member states promised COVID vac cines -- two years ago by the G-7 nations -- are still to be received.

The economic and polit ical turmoil unfolding in the north today sees the UK and German economies transi tioning, at breakneck speed, from inflation to recession, while pressing conditions from higher prices and lower currency values are causing

increased protests by Euro pean citizens who feel their scarce financial resources should be spent on improving conditions at home, instead of arming Ukraine.

The IMF is not only warning Britain that it’s cho sen path to economic recov ery is fraught with worsening problems, but also that unless current conditions improve, there’ll soon be street protests in major capitals over prices and failure of governments to address problems adequately.

However, the recipes and ingredients for closer and deeper South-South cooper ation have long existed.

Caribbean Community (CARICOM) nations have (since 2013) called for rep arations from Britain or the European Union (EU) for slavery and native genocide, with no response.

King Charles (as Prince of Wales) expressed (in Bar bados in 2021 and Rwanda in 2022) royal sorrow for slav ery, stopping short of offering the formal apology requested.

Interestingly, the slave trade started the process of populating the world with the People of African De scent (only now, belatedly but thankfully) being ac knowledged by the UN.

Reparations is also tied to native genocide in many parts of the world -- from Australia and New Zealand to the USA and Canada, the Caribbean and South Amer

ica -- following destruction of civilizations built by First People centuries before the Europeans arrived in 1492.

Queen Elizabeth’s death gave new life to Common wealth member states’ real isation that the relationship between ex-coloniser and colonised again needs to be urgently revisited, updat ed and upgraded, this time including binding commit ments to redress past wrongs.

Other elements of redress and today’s ingredients for recipes for the south binding together must also include ac knowledgement of, apology and atonement for, slavery, as well as return of illegal ly-acquired jewels and arte facts -- and easing-out of the eternity of royal leadership and constitutional rule by a monarchy over republics.

The list of common issues facing the south to be tabled for necessary dialogue with the north is long, but in ad dition to all the above, top agenda items should also include: Delivery on out rageously outstanding Cli

mate Change and COVID-19 promises, development of new funding sources and mechanisms for accessing international aid, searching for and finding new and cre ative methods to address old problems -- and uniting to share the supply of natural resources the North needs, according to new rules that rule-out old traditional SouthNorth dependency.

The strongest and longest common denominator uniting Africa and the Caribbean today (as well as the USA, Canada, North and South America) is the TransAtlan tic Slave Trade, which was declared -- since 2001, by the UN -- as the “worst crime against humanity.”

But short of annual me morial days and events, nei ther the General Assembly, nor the Security Council, has moved to promote repa rations for the world’s worst crime, because UN resolu tions are not binding.

However, CARICOM na tions can signal the serious ness of the times by taking

its quest for reparations from Europe to the next logical level: engaging African states and India to initiate related proceedings at the Interna tional Criminal Court (ICC).

The South also needs more dialogue with represen tatives of developing nations heading top UN bodies, to ensure more understandable perspectives of developing nations’ problems are shared at entities like (but not limit ed to) UNESCO, World Food Programme (WFP) and the Human Rights Commission, as well as the Committee on Racial Equality (CORE), Permanent Forum for People of African Descent, Frame work Convention on Climate Change, Regional Economic and Social Commissions, the Decolonisation Committee, Scientific and Technical Bod ies, among others.

The south needs to throw the lifeline out to save the UN -- and CAR ICOM and Africa can lead the way.

12B work days lost annually to anxiety, depression

measures to tackle mental health issues at work

THE World Health Orga nization (WHO) and the International Labour Orga nization (ILO) have called for concrete action to ad dress mental health con cerns among the working population.

An estimated 12 billion work days are lost annually through depression and anxi ety, costing the global econo my nearly US$1 trillion. Two new publications which aim to address this issue were pub lished on Thursday – WHO Guidelines on mental health at work and a derivative WHO/ ILO policy brief.

The WHO’s global guide lines on mental health at work recommend action to tackle risks to mental health such as heavy workloads, negative be haviours and other factors that create distress at work. For the first time, WHO recommends manager training to build their capacity to prevent stressful

work environments and to respond to workers in distress.

Further, the organisa tion’s world mental health report, published in June 2022, showed that of the one billion people living with a mental disorder in 2019, 15 per cent were working-age adults.

Work amplifies wider so cietal issues that negatively affect mental health, including discrimination and inequality. Bullying and psychological violence (also known as ‘mob bing’) are key complaints of workplace harassment that have a negative impact on mental health. Yet, discussing or disclosing mental health remains taboo in global work settings.

The guidelines also recom mend better ways to accom modate the needs of workers with mental health conditions, propose interventions that sup port their return to work and, for those with severe mental

health conditions, provide interventions that facilitate entry into paid employment. Importantly, the guidelines call for interventions aimed at the protection of health, humani tarian and emergency workers.

“It’s time to focus on the detrimental effect work can have on our mental health,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghe breyesus, WHO Director-Gen eral.

He added: “The well-being

of the individual is reason enough to act, but poor mental health can also have a debil itating impact on a person’s performance and productivity. These new guidelines can help prevent negative work situations and cultures and offer much-needed mental health protection and support for working people.”

A separate WHO/ILO pol icy brief explains the WHO guidelines in terms of practical

strategies for governments, employers and workers and their organisations, in the pub lic and private sectors. The aim is to support the prevention of mental health risks, protect and promote mental health at work, and support those with mental health conditions so they could participate and thrive in the world of work.

Investment and leadership will be critical to the implementa tion of the strategies.

“As people spend a large proportion of their lives in work, a safe and healthy work ing environment is critical. We need to invest to build a culture of prevention around mental health at work, reshape the work environment to stop stigma and social exclusion, and ensure employees with mental health conditions feel protected and supported,” Guy Ryder, ILO Director-General, said.

The ILO Occupational

Safety and Health Convention (No. 155) and Recommen dation (No. 164) provides a legal framework to protect the health and safety of workers. However, the WHO Men tal Health Atlas found that only 35 per cent of countries reported having national pro grammes for work-related mental health promotion and prevention.

The COVID-19 pandem ic triggered a 25 per cent increase in general anxiety and depression worldwide, exposing how unprepared governments were for its impact on mental health and revealing a chronic global shortage of mental health resources. In 2020, govern ments worldwide spent an average of just two per cent of health budgets on mental health, with lower middle-in come countries investing less than one per cent.

Protected Areas Commission gets new Board of Directors; first meeting held

source and Mobilisation Sub committee, the release added.

The PAC is a semi-auton omous government agency formed in 2012 under the Protected Areas Act of 2011.

The Act facilitated the cre

ation of an agency - the PAC - that would take the lead to establish, manage, main tain, promote and expand the protected areas system of Guyana.

The PAC’s vision, “A

world class National Protect ed Areas System in Guyana that protects nature and im prove lives”, is to be accom plished through the effective management of Guyana’s NPAS and the features of the

Protected Areas (PAs).

The PAC has a team of technical officers, ad ministration and finance staff and support field staff working throughout the NPAS towards this vision.

A NEW Board of Direc tors at the Protected Areas Commission (PAC) has been appointed by the cab inet to effectively manage Guyana’s National Protect ed Areas System (NPAS).

In a press release issued on Tuesday, the commission stated that the newly formed board met for the first time on September 20, 2022, in the boardroom at its Thomas Lands office.

The meeting was led by Chairman of the Board, Rob ert M. Persaud. Also at the meeting were the other ap pointees: Brian James, John Carpenter, Roger Yearwood, Ronald Harsawack, Pradeepa Bholanath, Omodelle George and ex-officio members, Da mian Fernandes (Adviser to the Board and PAC), Kemraj Parsram (Executive Director, Environmental Protection Agency), Joslyn Mckenzie (Permanent Secretary, Minis try of Natural Resources) and

Ryan Toolsiram (Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Amer indian Affairs).

The ad hoc Secretary to the Board, Fitzroy Sealey; the PAC Commissioner (ag) Natasha Ramdas, and Ja son Fraser also attended the meeting.

According to the release, during the meeting, the mem bers of the board dealt with some critical issues facing the commission including the need to develop a new strategic plan and improved conditions and functioning of all parks and areas under the purview of the PAC.

In order to carry out its duties more efficiently, the board has formed three sub committees which will func tion to enhance the operations of the PAC.

These subcommittees are the Administration and Fi nance Subcommittee, the Technical and Monitoring Subcommittee and the Re

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Friday, September 30, 2022 9 The newly elected directors during their first meeting (PAC photo)

Over 100 Guyanese employed on Linden-Mabura Hill road project

MORE than 100 Guy anese have found em ployment through the US$190 million Linden to Mabura Hill road construction project, which is being undertaken by a Brazilian company, Construtora Queiroz Galvao S.A.

After conducting his first inspection of the mul tibillion-dollar project on Wednesday, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill ex pressed satisfaction with the progress the team has made so far, noting that more employment oppor tunities will be created for Guyanese.

“We have more than 100 locals employed on the project. They have done the grubbing and the clearance up to 40 kilometres along the road. There is also some exca vation work being done,

and more than 80 pieces of equipment have been imported,” he said.

The government has been investing heavily in the Upper Demerara-Up per Berbice region, pro viding thousands of jobs for residents.

Job opportunities have been made available in the housing and telecommu

nications sectors, as over 150 gained employment under the housing minis try’s home-construction drive in the mining town.

Hundreds more have been employed through the call centre initiative, with almost a 1,000 more taking advantage of the government’s part-time jobs initiative.

The Linden to Mabura road project is another avenue for economic ad vancement for residents, as well as for the region. Guyana signed the ground-breaking contract for the project in May this year, a venture which has been in the pipeline for decades.

Minister Edghill said

the road will generate economic activities and is only one aspect of the larger plan to secure transformation across the country.

“We will have the proper reinforcement and we will be able to get every vehicle through the corridor from Linden through to Lethem on a consistent basis,” the minister said.

The project is expect ed to last for three years and will boost trade and open massive avenues for

business ventures between Guyana and Brazil.

The first phase of the project will see a two-lane highway being construct ed from sand and dirt to an asphaltic concrete surface. The road will be approximately 121 kilometres long and 7.2 metres wide.

It will also include a cycle and pedestrian lane measuring two me tres wide, along with 10 bus stops equipped with ramps for persons with disabilities. (DPI)

Public Works Minister Juan Edghill assesses construction works on the Linden-Mabura Highway (DPI photo)

Construction of paved road from Linden-Mabura underway (DPI photo)

DPP writes Chancellor seeking removal of Magistrate Daly from Bascom’s case

THE court matter involv ing Police Sergeant Dion Bascom on Thursday took another unexpected twist as Director of Public Pros ecutions (DPP) Shalimar Ali-Hack has written the acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Yonette Cummings- Edwards ask ing that Magistrate Leron Daly to be recused from the case.

The request came a day after Magistrate Daly told Police Legal Adviser Mandel Moore that he will be held in contempt after failing to hand over a video recording of a press conference held by Commissioner of Police Clifton Hicken and Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum to address the allegations made by Bascom.

Bascom’s attorney, Nigel Hughes had made an appli cation for the August 17, 2022 video recording to be submitted to the court, since it would aid his client’s case. Moore was ordered by the Magistrate to hand over the recording to the defence on Thursday.

However, in another turn of events, Moore showed

up in court without the re cording, and the court was informed by Magistrate Daly that the DPP wishes for her to be removed from the case.

According to information reaching the Guyana Chron icle, the DPP said that while Magistrate Daly does not appear to have any personal interest in the matter, her conduct, thus far, might lead to a miscarriage of justice or more legal challenges.

“Should the learned Mag istrate continue to adjudicate in this matter, there is every likelihood that the case will not be afforded a fair hearing.

This may not only be a mis carriage of justice, but will inevitably lead to legal pro cessing in the High Court,” the DPP said in her letter.

Hughes strongly opposed the contentions of the letter, and informed the court that he will be filing a constitu tional motion to challenge the DPP’s decisions, since it infringes on Bascom’s right to a fair hearing.

He argued that the Chan cellor has no jurisdiction to order the recusal of a Mag istrate from a case, and to do so would amount to a miscar riage of justice.

Businessman freed of Pearl vigilante-style murder

A BUSINESSMAN was, on Thursday, freed of a mur der charge after Senior Magistrate Leron Daly up held a no-case submission made by defence attorney Latchmie Rahamat.

Moses Singh, 63, for merly of Sarah Johanna, East Bank Demerara (EBD), was discharged of the of fence following a prelimi nary inquiry at the George town Magistrates’ Court.

He was on remand for al legedly murdering 21-yearold Seon Clarke on August 20, 2016, at Pearl Village, EBD.

Following the closure of the prosecution’s case, Rahamat made a no-case submission and argued that there was no evidence link ing her client to the crime.

The magistrate subse quently accepted Rahamat’s submission, noting that there was insufficient evidence against Singh.

The Guyana Chronicle had reported that Clarke was shot dead by vigilantes while his friend was badly

beaten. They were believed to be bandits.

According to reports, the men who were armed with a gun, were allegedly plan ning to rob a grocery store in Sarah Johanna. However, their plan was foiled when the alert proprietor of the store noticed their suspi cious movements.

The shop owner raised an alarm and called out to a policeman who was passing by at the time. The men managed to run into a near by bushy area and eluded authorities.

However, hours later the

duo emerged. They were spotted by members of the community on the Pearl Public Road and were ap prehended by public-spirited citizens.

It is alleged that the busi nessman who is a licensed firearm holder, shot Clarke while others inflicted a beat ing on the other man.

Clarke was rushed to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre and died while receiving treatment. His accomplice subsequent ly took investigators to a location where they had concealed a gun.

Among other things, Hughes stressed that the DPP misconducted herself when she went to the hierarchy of the judiciary and also failed to follow the proper proce dures.

He added that the “fright ening development” severely hinged on the independence of the courts as she is at tempting to influence the outcome of the case.

Magistrate Daly informed the court that based on this new revelation, she will ad journ the matter until Octo ber 18, for her ruling on the recusal. Bascom’s trial is

scheduled to commence on November 9.

Earlier this month, Bas com made his first appear ance before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan for allegedly accusing two senior officers of covering up the murder of Ricardo Fagundes, known as “Paper Shorts.”

Bascom denied the three charges, which alleged that he, during August, used a computer system to transmit electronic data with the intent to humiliate, harass or cause substantial emotional distress to Superintendents Mitch ell Caesar and Chabinauth Singh.

He was released on $300,000 bail, and was or dered to lodge his passport at the court, among other conditions.

Recently, Hughes filed a private criminal charge against the Crime Chief; however, the charge was later discontinued by the DPP.

On August 8, Bascom was arrested during a Cus toms Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) raid at a home in Norton Street, Georgetown. Bascom was eventually re leased.

He then posted a live video on social media, which he later deleted, naming busi nessman Azruddin Mohamed and several senior officers in allegations about the murder investigation.

A popular gold dealer and biker, 42-year-old Fa gundes was gunned down on Main Street, Georgetown, on March 21. Fagundes was shot more than a dozen times.

In the now-deleted Face book video, Bascom claimed that he believed his detention had to do with his work on the murder case.

Mohamed has filed a $200 million lawsuit against Bascom in relation to the claims he made. The busi nessman is contending that the allegations made by Bas com are false.

The Regional Security System (RSS) recently re viewed the work done by police investigators and con firmed that there was no evidence to suggest that there was any attempt to cover up the crime.

The RSS also found that there is also no evidence of corrupt practices.

Allergic reaction leads to lucrative business venture

By Cassandra Khan

A burdensome allergy to jewellery became a blessing in disguise for 35-year-old Matoya Grant, who not only found a creative way of dealing with this challenge, but also made a business using her unique ideas.

Grant, the owner of Mag Elegance, was diagnosed with allergic dermatitis, making her incapable of wearing jew ellery made from common precious metals.

In an interview with the Guyana Chronicle, the busi nesswoman said an immediate remedy to her situation was costume jewellery, which she made on her own.

Grant said she first started making jewellery after high school, using beads. “There is that period where you are just out of school, and, before you get into a job, that boredom comes over you. So, one of my mom’s friends, she had some beads, and she said, ‘Well, just do it over for me.’

“I did it, and I fell in love with it. I have allergic der matitis, so, the costume jew ellery that was available had nickel and copper, so I could not have worn it. I started

making the beaded jewellery, because I could have worn it, and, eventually, I started more projects for friends and family, and, in 2016, I started a business,” Matoya said.

The life of an entrepre neur was, however, “no bed of roses”, she said, as her busi ness took a dip just after she started, because she was not reaching her target audience.

“I wasn’t reaching the audience I wanted to, or as wide as I wanted to, because I first started with beads. And I would do bead weaving and the beaded necklaces, and so forth, and that is not really a young people thing,” Grant said.

She added: “So, while it was beautiful and elegant, it was only reaching a certain kind of people, which were those elegant, older ladies. It

would only appeal to them, whereas the younger folks, even though they would love it, they would say that it is for my grandmother.”

In 2020, Grant’s mother, unfortunately, passed away before the pandemic hit. She related that she had a lot of time on her hands, as well as a lot of grief to handle. One of the ways she dealt with the grief, she feels, was by putting her all into her business.

“I had the time, and in stead of dwelling on the grief, I threw myself into the busi ness,” Matoya said.

She also got into the res in work, and decided to in troduce the semi-precious stones, because she loves the variety that Guyana has to offer.

“I do not think a lot of persons appreciate it (semi-precious stones) as they should. So, I incorpo rated the Guyanese semi precious stones as well as imported [semiprecious stones] into the resin work, and I started making cos tume jewellery with that, and I was able to hit the wider cross-section,” the young businesswoman said.

Director of Public Prosecution Shalimar AliHack

Attorney-at-Law Nigel Hughes

FREED: Moses Singh DEAD: Seon Clarke

Police Sergeant Dion Bascom

Handmade gemstoneembedded cuffs made by Matoya Grant

Building a family empire on agriculture

-Laluni farmer, Morris Ferreira tells his story

By Naomi Parris

IT is said that the great est gifts a parent can give their child are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence. For Morris Ferreira, the moment he held his first child in his arms he knew those were the gifts he wanted to bestow upon him and his future children.

Ferreira, a father of six, like many of the hardworking men in the small Amerindi an village of Laluni on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway, first began his career at the Demerara Tobacco Company Inc.

At that time, Ferreira who is now in his mid-70s was working long hours as a secu rity guard to make ends meet.

“You know you work with people, you barely earn something to carry you through the week and in me time I use to do security

work at the tobacco company. It was hard,” Ferreira said during a recent interview with the Guyana Chronicle. With the need for an ad ditional income to provide for his family, Ferreira decided to begin farming and with just a small plot of land and a handful of tools, he planted his first batch of oranges, which he began selling to make an extra dollar.

“When I first began it was hard because I had to begin from small. I began with or anges and right now we got cherries, we got the cash crop like balanjay and pepper,” he said before adding, “It’s hard work. It’s axe work, manual labour, but I liked it.”

Ferreira recalled working long hours on his farm and then clocking in at nights for his security job at the tobacco

company, dedicating his time to ensure that his children and wife were well taken care of.

“I worked hard, really hard to see them get the best, and you know they went to school and some of them branched out and did their own thing, but I always made sure they were self-suffi cient. They all have they own farms,” he added.

Preserving Indigenous craft

By Naomi Parris

RECOGNISING that the making of Indigenous craft is a dying tradi tion, Mackernol Albert of Paruima Village in Region Seven is doing his part to ensure that his skills are passed on to the next gen eration.

The craftsman is teach

Guyana Chronicle from his booth at the arts, craft and cuisine exhibition held at the Sophia Exhibition Centre.

The exhibition was part of the Amerindian Heritage Month activities and saw Amerindians from across the country participating.

Art and craft is a big part of the Amerindian culture.

es of Amerindian craft can be found in tourist shops, stores and some supermar kets.

The colourful craftwork always catches the eye and for many persons, the in tricacy and beauty of the pieces naturally sway them to make a purchase.

Albert has been a crafts man all his life, carving,

For Albert and many other craftsmen and women, making these pieces usually begins with a grueling jour ney into the deep Mazaruni forest to source the raw materials.

Making bi-weekly trips, Albert often rides solo. He is sometimes accompanied by his son.

He told this newspaper

“I’m proud of them espe cially because they are doing other things and they are still farming,” he told this publi cation with a smile.

Together, the Ferreira family owns just about 25 acres of farmland aback of the Laluni Creek. They also reside on the land but in sep arate homes.

He said himself and his

late wife taught their chil dren from an early age to always be self-sufficient and independent by way of agri culture.

For Ferreira, farming is more than planting a crop here and there. He empha sised that agriculture is the foundation on which he built his family. He hopes that the family’s tradition of farming will continue for generations to come.

“One of my granddaugh ters, she just graduated from one of the GOAL [Guyana Online Academy of Learn ing] and you know I’m proud, but you know what, she has her own lil piece of farm where she grows cher ries,” he said.

While he is often told that he should “take it easy and slow down,” he still takes to the farm regularly, tending to his owns crops and sometimes those of his children.

it is a tedious process, it is one he enjoys.

The “rain stick” is one of his favourite pieces. It is made out of a special wood, which he sources from the forest near his village and small pebbles which he collects from streams.

The clearly excited Al bert explained to this publi cation that a piece of wood

like sound.

Outside of this piece, Albert makes the matapee, the bow and arrow, and the “maswah”, which is a fish trap used by the Amerin dians.

Albert noted that Indige nous artisans and craftsmen/ women create their unique pieces in celebration of their heritage and to pave a way

ing one of his sons how to make unique ornaments and pieces of jewellery out of materials found in the forest surrounding his village.

“I have three sons, two are teachers and the one I have here with me, he helps me out with the craft and I’m glad,” he recently told

For many of them it is a way of life and a means of getting by.

From bags to jewellery to place mats, one can tell that a lot of work goes into the creation of each item.

Aside from the annual heritage celebrations, piec

painting, weaving and building some of the most unique pieces of art from the treasures of the forest.

He specialises in many techniques of making craft, some of which he inherited from his father. He is now passing that knowledge and skill to his son.

that he leaves his home ear ly in the morning to source wood, rocks, bamboo and whatever other material he needs to make some of his most popular pieces.

He said that the real hard work begins with preparato ry process, especially when working with wood. While

is carved into a cylinder-like shape and writings, symbols and pictures are then skill fully carved into it. Paint is often used to add a pop of colour and vibrant spin to the piece. The pebbles are then placed inside the cylinder and when sealed and shaken, it makes a rain

for the future.

He disclosed that he has been lobbying for greater support and rec ognition for the Amerin dian talents and has been working with his son to preserve the somewhat dying tradition of craft making.

Morris Ferreira tends to a pepper plant on his farm Morris Ferreira hold a coconut that was grown on his farm. His coconut trees are his favourite plants

— Mackernol Albert passes on the tradition

Mackernol Albert and one of his sons at the arts, craft and cuisine exhibition (Delano Williams photo)

A patron inquires about a few pieces made by Albert (Delano Williams photo)

The famous ‘rain stick’ (Delano Williams photo)

President Ali commits to further support for Indigenous Peoples

— new headquarters for National Toshaos Council, a grand cultural extravaganza held to kick off heritage month celebrations

AMID a colourful display of the rich culture associated with the occasion, President Dr. Mohammed Irfaan Ali, on September 1, 2022, declared open Amerindian Heritage Month 2022 at the Guyana Na tional Stadium, at Providence, East Bank Demerara.

In his address to the gath ering, President Ali assured Guyana’s First Peoples of the government’s continued support in fostering an enabling envi ronment for the prosperity and economic development of Indig enous communities countrywide.

“Tonight, I reassure every

member of our Indigenous com munity that we stand strongly with you in ensuring that in cre ating the pathway to prosperity we will include you; every one of you. Every single family, every single region in our In digenous community, whether it’s in the riverine area; whether

it’s on the hill, or in the valleys, we will find you. We will work with you, and we will move you together as we build a country of prosperity for every single family,” President Ali said.

The head-of-state further noted that the government will continue to work to bridge dis

proportional gaps to ensure that every Indigenous person benefits equally from development and economic-boosting opportu nities.

“When you go to the hinter land and you look at the faces of the elderly, what do you see on those elderly faces? You see a symbol of strength; the symbol of character, the symbol of de termination, the symbol of sac rifices… When you look at the young faces, what do you see?

You see a story of hope, one of aspiration, one that is looking to the future for the same opportu nity every single other Guyanese has, and that is the gap that we must cover,” President Ali said.

And, reiterating that the government also wants to work with young Indigenous Peoples to ensure that they are a part of the new phase of development in the country in such fields as health workers, nurses, doctors, engineers and heavy equipment operators, President Ali said, “As I said in Region Nine, every single Amerindian with a qualifi

cation that wants to be trained as a nurse, as a teacher, as a dental technician, as a medical worker, I am saying to you, know we are committing that we as a govern ment will train every single one. We will provide opportunity; we will provide money, we will pro vide that environment, and we will give you that opportunity.”

Chair of the National Tosha os Council (NTC) Dereck John, who also delivered remarks, lauded the government for its many interventions in ensuring that Indigenous Peoples are rec ognised for their contributions to the melting pot that is Guyana.

He said that following the conclusion of the NTC meet ing in July, a commitment was made for the council to be relo cated into a new building.

“I am pleased to announce that very soon, we will be moving into a new sparkling NTC secretariat that is being built by His Excellency and the Government of the Peoples Progressive Party,” he said.

Karrau teen crowned Miss Amerindian Heritage 2022

KRISTIE Emily Rambharat, a 16-year-old of Karrau Village in Region Seven is this year’s Miss Amerindian Heritage Queen.

The teen’s participation in pageantry clashed with her CSEC preparations but with the help of her relatives and fellow villages, she was able to rise above her challenges and succeed.

“I said I will go and try my best…But I kept telling my self that I have to win this; I have to take home the crown to Karrau,” she said as she highlighted that this was her first major pageant.

President Ali joins the scores of Indigenous performers on stage for final performance of the night (Delano Williams photo)

Over

OVER $450 million in contracts have been signed to construct roads in Mainstay/Whyaka and Capoey, Region Two.

The construction of the roads is not only the fulfilment of a commitment made by President Dr Irfaan Ali back in May, but will significantly improve the liveli hoods of hundreds of residents in the two communities.

President Ali made the an nouncement during his address to residents at the Mainstay/Whyaka Heritage Village celebration on September 10. He joined hundreds to celebrate Heritage Village Day in Mainstay/Whyaka as part of Amerindian Heritage Month.

“We have awarded the con tract for the Mainstay Road and we have awarded a contract for the Capoey Road…More than $450 million have been awarded to give you these two roads here

roads for Mainstay, Capoey President Ali announces

ment was immediately welcomed by residents who said the roads have been in a deplorable condi tion for many years.

Long-time resident Annasta cia Joseph said it has been years the community has been asking for the road to be done.

“Sometimes the road be so terrible that vehicle doesn’t even want to take you out. I work at

the health centre and if we have an emergency with the road con dition… It is so terrible that the vehicle could not go fast enough. So, it is a big help for us,” she said.

Joseph explained that with the road, tourism is expected to be boosted as people will be able to access the popular lake without hindrance.

“It will attract more visitors; you know they always complain about the road. They want to come

to the lake but the road is in a bad state. So, it would be really helpful to us, the residents of this commu nity,” an elated Joseph stated.

Kishana Fernandes shared similar sentiments. She expressed satisfaction that school children will be able to better access edu cation when the roads are fixed.

“Right now the road is a disas ter for the community, especially for school children and with the road right now they meet late. As

the President said, he will be fix ing the road for us, that would be a great relief on us,” Fernandes said.

The PPP/C government in its manifesto committed to building and developing 2,000 kilometres of hinterland roads.

Budget 2022 had allocated some $76.7 billion for roads and bridges throughout the country. (DPI)

SOME 200 residents of Le them, Region Nine, are now closer to achieving home ownership as the Ministry of Housing and Water’s Cen tral Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) took its second ‘dream realised’ house lot distribution exercise to the township on September 16.

The allottees were allocat ed house lots in the new Tract CH&PA Housing Scheme, where $530 million is being spent on the first phase of infrastructural works.

Speaking at the opening ceremony held at the regional housing office compound in Tabatinga, Minister of Housing and Water, Croal said the activity forms part of the government’s national housing programme which aims to ensure that every citizen has access to decent, safe and affordable housing.

“At the end of the day, these are all intended to stimulate a transformation within this lovely Region Nine and how do we do this and what is the spinoff? It

in Mainstay and Capoey,” the president said.

President Ali said the money was recently approved when the government approached the Na tional Assembly for supplementary funding.

The roads will play a major role in improving accessibility and boosting the economic prospects of the communities which are both heavily dependent on tourism and agriculture.

The PPP/C government, since taking office, has emphasised the development of agriculture and tourism throughout the country. This is also reflected in successive budgetary allocations.

“This will transform the com munity, this will bring ease of access, this will bring the devel opment we are talking about,” President Ali stated.

The investment by the govern

also ensures that in all that we are doing, we are creating jobs and investment opportunities for residents all across this region,” he told the more than 500 per sons gathered at the event.

The minister said that these developments are being under taken under the ‘One Guyana’ umbrella, where every citizen regardless of their location or background, will benefit.

Meanwhile, the ministry officially launched its Lethem Housing Support Programme which allows prospective home owners to receive $1 million each to commence the con struction of their homes. The initiative was announced by President, Dr Irfaan Ali during an outreach to the Rupununi region in August.

A total of 350 allottees suc cessfully registered for the pro gramme. Representatives from the New Building Society (NBS) and the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) were also on the ground pre-qualifying persons for loans. (DPI)

President Dr Irfaan Ali at the Mainstay/Whyaka Heritage Village celebration (Office of the President photos)

Scenes from the Amerindian Heritage Month 2022 Cultural Extravaganza held at the National Stadium

Amel Griffith ‘bags’ third crown - becomes first-ever Miss Cricket Carnival Queen

By Shamar Meusa

WHEN 21-year-old Amel Grif fith won the coveted Miss Jam zone Guyana 2022 title back in August, little did she know that several weeks later she would be adding another crown to her collection.

Some might have said that Amel had the edge as she was participating in a pageant that was not only being held in her home country, but was organised by Guyanese.

On September 26, she showed the sceptics that the Miss Cricket Carnival crown belonged on her head.

“I’m so elated that my third crown is actually [from] a re gional pageant. This means so much to me,” she told the BUZZ moments after she was crowned.

She managed to defeat Bevi ny Payne who represented Barba dos, Tyra Spaulding of Jamaica, Melanie Lawrence of Trinidad and Tobago, Chalisa Parris of St. Kitts and Nevis and Claire-Maris sa Smartt of St. Lucia.

Amel made it clear to the Buzz that this ‘sweet’ victory did not come without its share of challenges and hard work.

“As I stand here, it shows that my hard work paid off. Of course, I was nervous, I was competing

with some of the Caribbean’s most beautiful women,” she said.

The smiling queen told the Buzz that she was excited to be pulling off a hat trick. This will be her third crown having previously won the Jamzone pageant and Miss Bartica Regatta.

Amel might be creating histo ry, as wearing three crowns at one time may be a rare occurrence.

Since copping the Miss Jam zone title in August, Griffith said it has been a “tiring” journey as she was practising seven days a week.

The pageant queen hailed the tremendous crowd support as the “wind beneath her wings” which motivated her to do her best

introduced themselves to the packed auditorium. They were wearing Carnival costumes that best represented their representa tive countries.

Based on the crowd’s reac tion, it was clear that Guyanese came out in their numbers to support Amel.

Hope was not lost for the oth er delegates as they had pockets of supporters which gave them a boost of confidence each time they sashayed across the stage.

The swimwear/bikini seg ment was followed by the talent and evening wear segments.

Quite a few delegates stood out during these segments as the clear front runners based on the audience responses and level of support. Aside from Amel, Miss Barbados and Miss St. Lucia captured the audience’s attention from the beginning.

Doing an ode to mother earth in the form of a spoken word piece was Miss Barbados. She left the audience speechless.

Miss Guyana also opted to do a spoken word piece as her talent. She spoke of representing Guyana throughout which was met with loud cheers from the audience.

Miss St. Lucia performed an interpretive dance which capti vated the crowd as they cheered her on during and after her per formance.

When it was time to choose the top three, the judges agreed with the audience and chose Griffith, Payne and Smartt as the delegates advancing to the final leg of the competition.

Just before the final question was asked, several special prizes were distributed with Griffith collecting the Best Talent, Best Evening Gown and People’s Choice awards, while Miss St. Lucia received the Best Carnival Costume and Best Swimsuit awards.

during the competition.

When it was announced that she had won, Amel could not con trol her tears. The screams that erupted in the National Cultural Centre’s Auditorium made her even more emotional.

The pageant was held as part of Guyana’s inaugural Cricket Carnival calendar of activities. The Cricket Carnival committee did not disappoint as they ensured each of the region’s cricketing nations was well represented.

As the competition began moments after the scheduled 8 pm start, a sea of colours explod ed on the stage as the delegates

All three delegates were asked the same final question by popular radio/tv personality and Mistress of Ceremonies, Feliz Roberts. They were asked, “If your pageant sister visited your country for vacation, which tourist destination would be a must-see and why?”

Griffith in her winning re sponse noted that she would take her pageant sister to visit the majestic Kaieteur Falls while also ensuring she gets a taste of the Cricket Carnival experience.

Miss Barbados copped the first runner-up position while Miss Lucia’s efforts earned her second runner-up.

Amel Griffth shortly after she was crowned

Miss Cricket Carnival (Delano Williams photo)

Packed weekend ahead to end Cricket Carnival

THIS weekend is expected to be a fun-filled one as the inaugural Cricket Carnival wraps up.

Following tonight’s CPL finals, hundreds are expected to attend the Stink and Dutty J’ouvert at the National Park. The organisers of the highly-anticipated event have already hinted that it will be a night of non-stop fun. “If you tired stay home,” they have warned.

On Saturday, CURL FETE 2022 returns. Dubbed the Caribbean’s Biggest Natural Hair and Beauty Expo, it will bring together the natural hair enthusiasts, those who fol low beauty trends and those who are just curious about the event and what it has to offer.

According to the organisers, the Carol’s Daughter Hair Show, Shea Moisture Live Big Chop, Bioré Spa Day and the all new, BiP Girls with Curls Scavenger Hunt and a super fun kids section with Nutribom treats and Haliborange bouncy castles, are among the major attractions.

There will be loads of give aways and prizes up for grabs.

Later, Guyanese and visitors will pack the Guyana National Stadium for Super Concert Two. Spice who has earned the title ‘Queen of Dancehall’; Machel Montano, ‘The King of Soca’ and Skillibeng, the Caribbean’s newest dancehall sensation will be per forming live.

Montano is well known for his energy-laced performances. The Trinidadian has performed in front of a Guyanese crowd before.

Jamaicans Skillibeng and Spice are expected to also deliver electrifying performances.

Skillibeng performed at the Guyana Cup in August. The event which was held at the Rising Sun Turf Club, West Coast Berbice, drew a large crowd.

The road parade which is the final event for Cricket Carnival, will be held on Sunday. Aside from good vibes and fun, those who venture out to view the pa rade can expect to see costumes that are eye-catching, colourful and creative.

Scenes from the Regional Food Festival, Miss Cricket Carnival Pageant

Mayers, Powell exude confidence ahead of showdown

… New Hero CPL champions to be crowned tonight

KYLE Mayers intends to come good with the bat to spur Bar bados Royals to their third title

when the 2022 Hero CPL final gets underway at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence tonight.

The Royals will face the Jamaica Tallawahs, also twotime champions who will also be gunning to lift the trophy for the third time.

The 30-year-old all-round er, captain of the Royals is the leading scorer for his team with 337 runs including three half-centuries and a top score this season of 79.

However, his bat has gone cold since the teams arrived in Guyana. In three matches played at Providence, Mayers has had scores of 16, 0, and 26. He hopes to do better with the bat when he faces up to the Tallawahs’ bowling attack.

“I look forward to big games, like tomorrow’s. I am always one of those players who want to do well for the team, especially when it comes to championships time,” he said during a pre-match media conference yesterday.

“I always believe I am one of those players who can win

a game for my team so I am looking forward.”

Addressing his current form, Mayers said he intends to have a reversal of fortune once the game begins.

“Since I came to Guyana, I haven’t been getting the scores I like but I look forward to tomor row. It’s a different challenge, a different mindset. A trophy is on the line and I am happy to be able to contribute tomorrow if given the opportunity.”

The Royals captain said the team was happy to be able to get some rest following their victo ry in the first of the qualifiers against the Guyana Amazon Warriors on Monday.

“It’s been a long tourna ment, very jam-packed so the guys were very happy to win the qualifier and not play the extra game,” he said.

“We won the game and had some time to recover and focus on this game to come.”

Meanwhile, Jamaica Talla wahs skipper Rovman Powell said it would mean the world to him should he lead his side to the title.

The 29-year-old Powell is in his third season as captain but the previous two seasons did not go well for the soft-spoken Ja maican, losing in the semi-finals in 2020 and failing to advance to the playoffs in 2021.

During the 2022 season, the Tallawahs began well, winning their first three games before ending with a record of four wins, five losses and a no-result, but managed to make it into the playoffs where they defeated St Lucia Kings on Tuesday and then the dangerous Guyana Am azon Warriors by 37 runs in an exciting high-scoring encounter on Wednesday night to advance to the final.

Winning it would be really special, Powell said.

“It would mean the world to me. The past two seasons that I have captained the team, it hasn’t gone well for the fran chise, so now for us to be in the final, for me to captain the team to the final and. maybe, a CPL championship would go well for me personally and go well for the franchise,” Powell said at the pre-final media conference.

“The Tallawahs hasn’t tast ed victory for a few years,” he said of the franchise that last won the title in 2016. “We have sat down and said we are a better franchise than that; so hopefully, given the opportunity tomorrow (today) we will do our best to change that.”

Powell said the team is upbeat but taking it relatively easy on the eve of the final in preparation for the big game tonight.

"The guys are feeling really upbeat. Barbados are a very strong team, possibly the best team in the CPL so far, so the guys are upbeat about facing the challenge," Powell said.

“The guys are looking for ward to the championships.

Today (yesterday) is a day when we just take it easy in a sense.

“We just came back down off the high of the game last night, put in a little bit of preparation, get in a little bit of rest and hopefully things go well tomorrow (today).”

(SportsMax)

COURTS-Petra sponsored ...

"I cannot congratu late the Petra Organisation enough. You are a valued partner to the GFF. Over the years we have recognised that GFF cannot develop football singlehandedly; we need partners like COURTS Inc. and Petra," Joseph quipped.

"It is definitely a privi lege to be here this afternoon to be part of this launch. Firstly, I would like to com mend the Ministry of Edu cation and the Petra Organ isation for this initiative for the holistic development of

the young people of Guyana.

“We spoke about health and discipline. We at COURTS are proud to be associated with the pro gramme. Being a good cor porate citizen is what we are all about at COURTS. We have been part of the landscape of Guyana for the past 29 years. We are cur rently celebrating our 29th anniversary.

“We really strive to con tribute to the communities which we serve. .We are definitely proud to be part of this programme today.

We know that the young people are the future and we really want to support such programmes.

“I would like to com mend everyone for the effort on the work that has been done and would like to wish all the teams the best in the competition," Allan gleeful ly announced.

The 9th annual COURTS Pee Wee tournament for schools will kick off on the October 8 and conclude on November 19. 24 teamssix groups of 4 - will play each other in the preliminary

09:42 hrs A Mere Bagatelle

10:17 hrs Licy Van Pelt

10:52 hrs Outback Flyer

11:27 hrs Moving Water

12:02 hrs Pale Blue Dot

B

Ascot

09:00 hrs Carnival Zain

09:35 hrs Gumball

10:10 hrs Sweet William

10:45 hrs Giavellotto

11:20 hrs Lethal Nymph

11:55 hrs Persian Royal

Fontwell

08:40 hrs Toad Of Toad Hall

hrs Saylavee

09:15 hrs Soul Icon

page

stage. The top 2 teams of each group and the best four 3rd-placed teams will ad vance to the KO round of 16.

Positions 1 to 16 will be de termined, with the winners and runners-up receiving trophies and medals. The 3rd and 4th positions will also collect prizes. In addition, there will be individual priz es at stake..

Brands manager for COURTS, Krystal Van Sluytman disclosed that a tablet will be given to each member of this year's win ning team.

09:50 hrs Bahtiyar

10:25 hrs Miss Fedora

11:00 hrs Up The Straight

11:35 hrs Princess T

12:10 hrs Blaze A Trail

Newcastle 11:40 hrs Finery

12:15 hrs Fortuotous Star

12:45 hrs Ladywantaway

13:15 hrs Melburnian

13:45 hrs Wan'em

14:15 hrs Canagat

14:45 hrs Poker Face

15:15 hrs Just Another

Fury calls on Joshua to sign fight contract by Thursday

TYSON Fury has urged Anthony Joshua to "give British fans what they want" and sign a contract for a heavyweight world-title fight in December.

WBC champion Fury, 34, had given fellow Briton Joshua, 32, an ul timatum to sign by Mon day, but said on social media he has extended the deadline to yesterday.

Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn says he is "baffled" by Fury's latest demands.

"The ball is in your court, everything is done," said Fury.

"We have (broad casters) BT, DAZN and ESPN all on the same page, they're happy with everything.

"If you have any dig nity and pride about you, you'll get this contract signed today (yesterday).

"I'm chucking you a massive bone but I know I can punch your face in so I'm willing to

give you an opportunity.

Let the British fans have what they want."

In an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live, Hearn responded by say ing he had "absolutely no idea" what Fury was going to do next.

"I don't think we're a million miles away but I don't know really wheth er Tyson Fury wants this fight," added Hearn.

"I think he just wants to fight Manuel Charr on December 3, but I don't think anyone else wants

that fight. Hopefully we can keep moving for ward.

"We'll carry on and while there's hope, we won't stop trying.

"From either side, I can't fault the process of trying to get done the biggest fight in British history. The only thing I can fault is we don't real ly know where we stand.

"One minute the fight's off, the fight's on; one minute he's retired, one minute he's fighting Manuel Charr. He's just

made another offer to Derek Chisora. I don't know."

Joshua's team have al ready verbally accepted Fury's offer of a 60-40 purse split for a fight on December 3, and televi sion executives from BT Sport and streaming ser vice DAZN were sched uled to meet on Monday.

Last month, Joshua failed to regain the WBA (Super), WBO and IBF belts in a rematch with Oleksandr Usyk, losing on a split decision.

"We are the B-side in this, whether right or wrong, because we accepted that position as challenger," added Hearn.

"We also accepted a date that was quite frankly to a disadvan tage to Anthony Joshua, because he's just coming off a fight.

"But he was prepared to do it and he's still prepared to do it. We all really want to get it done. But I don't understand the deadlines that keep popping up on Instagram when these deadlines are not being applied in ne gotiations, just on social media. It doesn't really help anyone."

Fury's promoter Frank Warren says he does not know what is preventing the contract being signed.

"Look, we can't go on forever. Tyson is fighting on December 3 whatever happens, but this is the fight we want and this is

the fight we've worked hard to get over the line," he said on Talksport.

"I, for the life of me, don't know what is hold ing this up. At the end of the day, he (Joshua) is the boss. Instruct your team if you want the fight.

"I want them to pick up the phone, them to get the contract across, instruct their lawyers to speak to our lawyers and get it over the line. It's not rocket science."

Ukrainian Usyk, 35, said he plans to have three more fights before retiring, including a uni fication bout with Fury, but Joe Joyce is now the mandatory challenger for Usyk's WBO title after beating Joseph Parker on Saturday.

Fury's last fight was a sixth-round knock out victory over fellow Briton Dillian Whyte in April. BBC Sport).

Tyson Fury (left) and Anthony Joshua

Nottinghamshire win Division

Two title after thumping Durham

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE needed just over two hours to take the seven Durham wickets they needed to be confirmed as Division Two champions on the final day of the County Champion ship season at Trent Bridge.

England's Stuart Broad, in his first appearance for his county since May, finished with 3-36, left-arm spin ner Liam Patterson-White took 3-41 and South African seamer Dane Paterson 2-27.

Durham, for whom David Bedingham was unable to bat because of a dislocated shoulder, were dismissed for 114 to lose by 462 runs.

Nottinghamshire had al ready won promotion after taking seven bonus points but they had wanted to end on a winning note - and gave

spectators free admission to witness their triumph.

Resuming on 14-2 after Nottinghamshire had de clared their second innings on 121-2, Durham suffered their first loss in the fourth over of the day when Broad angled one in to have Scott Borthwick leg-before.

Skipper Steven Mullaney, one of four first-innings cen turions, sprang a surprise when he did not enforce the follow-on after Durham were dismissed 455 behind on first innings, yet his decision seemed to be justified as a rested attack made life dif ficult for their opponents in

conditions freshened up by overnight rain.

Patterson-White claimed the second scalp of the morn ing in his first over when Liam Trevaskis's top-edged sweep looped gently to slip.

On-loan Warwickshire wicketkeeper Chris Benjamin took a positive approach, hitting five boundaries in his 33, but came a cropper when Broad returned for his second spell, edging to second slip. copied

Patterson-White bowled Ben Raine, Paterson had Matty Potts edging to sec ond slip, where Matt Mont gomery took his second catch of the innings before Patterson-White enjoyed the decisive moment as Jon athan Bushnell, sweeping off balance, was leg-before.

Injured Bumrah in doubt for T20 World Cup

INDIA'S T20 World Cup campaign is facing the prospect of a huge setback with spearhead Jasprit Bumrah in doubt for the tournament because of a back injury. Bumrah travelled to Bengaluru on Wednesday to undergo fresh scans on his back, and the results are awaited.

ESPNcricinfo under stands a final decision on Bumrah's participation in the T20 World Cup will be taken in the next few days. It is understood the BCCI's medical team has decided to wait for a few days and mon itor Bumrah to ascertain if he can work his way back to peak fitness to be available to play at some point in the World Cup, even if not from the start.

Bumrah had missed the Asia Cup in August and September with a back in jury but was then picked for the subsequent home T20I series against Australia and South Africa. He played the second and third T20Is against Australia on Sep tember 23 and 25, returning figures of 1 for 23 and 0 for 50, before missing the first match against South Africa on September 28 because of back pain.

"Jasprit Bumrah com plained of back pain during India's practice session on Tuesday," the BCCI said on

Twitter after the toss of the first T20I against South Afri ca. "The BCCI medical team assessed him. He is ruled out of the first #INDvSA T20I."

PTI, however, report ed yesterday that the fast bowler would miss the T20 World Cup, quoting a BCCI official who said Bumrah could be out of action for months. "Bumrah is not going to play the World T20 for sure. He has a serious back condition," the BCCI official told PTI. "It's a stress fracture and he could be out for a period of six months."

After the win against Australia in the second T20I in Nagpur, India captain Rohit Sharma had said it was good to see Bumrah bowling at "full throttle". "Honestly, coming back after a couple of months, a back injury can

be tricky," Rohit said at the post-match presentation on September 23. "So, we just have to give him more time.

“I am not going to anal yse too much about how he bowled - it was good to see him on the park … Slowly and steadily he is coming back to his rhythm, that's what he's been talking about when he is bowling in the nets as well. So it was good to see him on the park, bowl ing full throttle."

If the latest setback is indeed a stress fracture of the back, it will be Bumrah's second such injury in the last three years. The fast bowler was diagnosed with a "minor stress fracture in his lower back" in September 2019, an injury that sidelined him for about three months.

India have two fast bowl

ers - Mohammed Shami and Deepak Chahar - in their reserves for the World Cup. Teams that have directly qualified for the Super 12 round of the tournamentas India have - can make changes to their squad with out ICC permission till Oc tober 15.

If Bumrah doesn't make the cut, he will be the sec ond major player that India will miss at the tournament, after all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was ruled out by a knee injury.

India are in Group 2 in the Super 12 round of the T20 World Cup, along with Pakistan, South Africa, Ban gladesh and two teams from the qualifying round. India begin their campaign against Pakistan at the MCG on Oc tober 23.

India T20 World Cup squad: Rohit Sharma (capt.), KL Rahul (vice-capt.), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Har dik Pandya, R. Ashwin, Yuz vendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah*, Bhuvne shwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh.

Reserve players: Mo hammed Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Deepak Chahar. (Cricinfo)

I need luck to win title in Singapore, says Verstappen

SINGAPORE (Reuters)

- Max Verstappen said he would need a dose of luck to wrap up a sec ond successive Formula One title in Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix with the Red Bull racer yesterday feeling next week's race in Japan offered him a more real istic championship shot.

The Dutchman, who turns 25 today, is 116 points clear of Ferrari rival Charles Leclerc and 125 ahead of Red Bull team mate Sergio Perez.

He will be crowned champion in Singapore if he can leave with at least a 138-point margin to his closest challenger, with only five races left after Sunday's floodlit Marina Bay spectacular.

But he will have to chalk up a sixth con secutive win on Sunday and need other results to go his way to secure the earliest end to a ti tle battle since Michael Schumacher won his fifth championship with six races to spare in 2002.

"It's quite a long shot," Verstappen told reporters at the Marina Bay track. "It's a bit un realistic for it to happen, so I don't really think about it.

"I need a lot of luck for it to happen here."

The Singapore race is the first of a back-to-back on consecutive weekends with the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.

Both events have re turned this season after being left off the sched ule for two seasons due to the COVID-19 pan demic.

Verstappen said win ning the championship in Japan would be special as he had fond memories from when he made his Formula One weekend debut at the Suzuka track as a 17-year-old in Fri day's opening practice session in 2014.

It is also the home race for power unit sup plier Honda, who have officially pulled out of the sport but continue to assemble and supply engines to Red Bull.

"For me anyway it has quite special mem ories," said Verstappen. "The first time I drove an F1 car there in FP1, I will always remember.

"Beside that it is kind of a home grand prix with Honda and also I think my first proper opportu nity to win the title.

"Of course I’m look ing forward to Singa pore right now but I’m also very excited (for Japan)."

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER

(September 30, 2022)

COMPLIMENTS OF CUMMINGS ELECTRICAL COMPANY LTD

-83 Garnett Street, Campbellville, Georgetown (Tel: 225-6158)

Answers to yesterday’s quiz:

(1) Chris Gayle-2013 (Tallawahs)

(2) Dominic Drakes-2022 (Patriots)

Today’s Quiz:

(1) Who were the captains involved in the first CPL match at Providence this season?

(2) Who won the Man of the Match Award in Qualifier 1 in CPL 2022?

Answers in tomorrow’s issue

Nottinghamshire won eight of their 14 Championship games this season

India pacer Jasprit Bumrah is undergoing fresh scans on his back

Region Six Secondary Schools start to benefit from BCB/Lochan Samkarran Cricket Programme

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Friday, September 30, 2022 27 Bermuda awarded points after Montserrat’s withdrawal

… Region Five to benefit shortly

REPRESENTATIVES of 14 secondary schools turned up at the St Francis Com munity Centre Training Hall last week to receive close to $2M worth of uni forms and cricket gear as part of the Berbice Crick et Board (BCB)/Lochan Samkarran School cricket programme.

The schools who are based in Region Six were mainly represented by their head teachers. Three schools were absent at the simple presentation ceremony and would receive their supply of items later this week when executives of the BCB visit them.

Each school received a package that consisted of 15 pairs of branded white cricket uniforms, two boxes of red balls and some cricket gear. Among the gear were bats, batting gloves, seed guards and wicket-keeping gloves.

The schools who benefit ted were Line Path, Skeldon High, Black Bush Polder, Manchester, Winifred Gas kin, Corentyne Comprehen sive, JC Chandisingh, Lower Corentyne, Port Mourant, Canje Secondary, Berbice High, Vryman’s Erven, BEI

and Tutorial Academy. Ab sent were Tagore Memorial, Central Corentyne and New Amsterdam.

BCB president Hilbert Foster urged the teachers to take care of the items as they were obtained at great cost to Mr Samkarran, an overseas-based businessman.

Foster disclosed that with the donation of the items, the second phase of the BCB historic programme would start shortly, with coaches going into schools under the NAMILCO Thunderbolt Coaching project.

The BCB executives in cluded Foster, Secretary An gela Haniff, Competitions Chairman Leslie Solomon and Asst Secretary Ameer

Rahaman, who discussed the schedule for the coaching programme which would involve 15 coaches in Region Six. Foster also stated that at the end of the coaching, a squad of 60 players would be named by the coaches for a special two-week coaching camp.

This would be followed by four different tournaments at the inter-zone level. The zones - West Berbice, New Amsterdam/Canje, Lower Corentyne and Upper Coren tyne - would each provide a champion. The four cham pions would then play in a special tournament to decide on the overall Berbice Sec ondary School Champions.

Six schools in Region

Five would shortly collect their uniforms and gear and would also be involved in the coaching programme. Foster expressed thanks to Mr Samkarran for his assis tance and stated that his con tribution was most welcome. He assured the sponsor that the donated items would be used for the intended purpose and disclosed that BCB was confident that a batch of over 20 national players would emerge from the programme over the next few months.

Representatives of the schools expressed thanks to BCB and Mr Samkarran for their assistance and pledged to take care of the items.

Brooks hails the influence of team mates after maiden T20 century

batter Shamarh Brooks has hailed the influence of his team mates af ter smashing a crucial, maiden T20 century against the Guyana Am azon Warriors, in the Ca ribbean Premier League (CPL) on Wednesday night.

In the must-win en counter, Brooks both treat ed and horrified home fans with some spectac ular stroke-play, which underpinned the Jamaica franchise’s sizeable in nings score of 226 for 4. Personally, the batter piled on an unbeaten 109 off 52

balls, his best-ever return for the format.

The total, which in cluded 7 fours and 8 sixes was instrumental in the team’s win as they later managed to restrict the

Warriors to 189, which sealed the Jamaica fran chise's return to the final for the first time in four years.

“I had lunch with Bran don King and he was very

upset with the way I got out in the last innings, on 47. So, he told me I needed to take it all the way down regardless of what I think, that’s what I did and it paid off,” Brooks said.

“Imad Wasim coming in at the end, the partner ship with Ravi, Raymond as well, the guys just kept telling me to keep working it, just keep playing cricket shots and as we always say in the dressing room to keep making love to the cricket ball.”

The Tallawahs will face Barbados Royals in tonight’s final.

HAMILTON, Ber muda (CMC) – Bermuda have been awarded three points after Montserrat can celled their CONCA CAF Nations League Group B match here in June, the Royal Gazette said.

The newspaper said, according to the CONCACAF website which has updated the result of the fixture scheduled to be played at the Flora Duffy Sta dium, a 3-0 victory to Bermuda has been “decided by the disci plinary committee”.

Bermuda’s Football Association (BFA) said it has yet to receive any official confirma tion or correspondence from CONCACAF re garding the ruling, the Gazette adding that its attempts to clarify the reason for the abrupt cancellation had failed.

The points lift Ber muda off the bottom of Group B above Montserrat, reignit ing lingering hopes of securing a Gold Cup play-off spot for fin ishing second.

Kyle Lightbourne’s side now sit third on four points, six adrift of leaders Haiti, but

crucially only two below second-placed Guyana with two matches remaining against those sides in the next international window.

Bermuda will play Guyana at home on March 25 and Haiti away three days later.

The original can cellation of the fixture on June 10, just four days before the match, came as a shock with the BFA releasing a statement to confirm it had been notified by CONCACAF that the match had been called off.

When contacted by the Gazette at the time, CONCACAF confirmed it had been “informed by the Montserrat FA that its men’s national team were unable to travel to Bermuda for their CONCACAF Nations League match”.

However, the or ganisation was un able to confirm the reason behind its in ability to travel stating that the match has, “as per competi tion regulations, been referred to CONCA CAF’s Disciplinary Committee”.

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Bermuda awarded points over Montserrat cancellation

Representatives of the BCB pose with teachers after the presentation

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Story on page

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… New Hero CPL champions to be crowned tonight

COURTS-Petra sponsored Pee Wee football returns

"I CANNOT tell you how excited we are to be here af ter two years of absence of this tournament due to, as we all know, our pandemic situation. And we are here to launch the 9th edition of this tournament.

“To the management and staff of this company, COURTS Guyana Inc., we want to say ‘thank you’ for your commitment. You have really demonstrated what you believe in, bringing value home.

“You will definitely bring value to the lives of these youngsters who will be par ticipating in this tournament.

At its best, football is a pow erful force for the good of society and in this case it provides a platform for these young kids to be involved in

at an early age so they can realise their inner ability/ talent that otherwise would not have been.”

“It gives them an oppor tunity to interact with kids

from different background and also help to develop leaders in their own right and even contribute to their physical attributes, and so we see how important this

investment is." co-director of the Petra Organisation, Troy Mendonca, stated in his opening remarks at yester day's launch at the COURTS Main Street building.

Also in attendance were: Technical Director of Guy ana Football Federation (GFF) Bryan Joseph, Kurt Braithwaite of the Ministry of Education Allied Arts, and Director of Consumer Finance COURTS Guyana Inc., Richard Allan.

Braithwaite, on behalf of the Unit of Allied Arts, in his brief address, said that the ministry is vey happy to be part of any activity that helps with the development of children across our coun try. He expressed gratitude to COURTSs Inc.. and Petra.

"As it relates to football the best place we can start is the grassroots level and that is what the Petra Organisa tion has been doing.

“The Ministry of Educa tion is on board with any such

227-5204, 227-5216. Fax:227-5208

programme where develop ment is concerned. We are talking social development, physical development, men tal development and under standing that socialisation can come in many forms. And being part of sport makes it even better because we have children participat ing from as far as Timehri, East Coast, Region Three and Georgetown. Hopefully in time to come we can have it extended to all the Regions." Braithwaite declared.

Joseph, in his remarks, was loud in praise for the Petra Organisation and COURTS Inc. collaboration, stating that providing com petition for Pee Wee is very special and he hoped that in the future it could be extend ed nationally.

Barbados Royals captain Kyle Mayers (left) and Jamaica Tallawahs captain Rovman Powell with the Hero CPL trophy on the eve of the 2022 final in Providence tonight.(Delano Williams photo)

Director of Consumer Finance of COURTS Guyana Inc. (2nd from left) addressing the launch. Others at the head table (from left) Kurt Braithwaite, Troy Mendonca and Bryan Joseph. (Delano Williams photo)