Guyana_Chronicle_Epaper_02_12_2021

Happy New Year

FRIDAY 12th February, 2021

' No.106270

Guyana to become region’s energy capital SEE PAGE 03

–– as authorities push ahead with creation of ‘world-class’ energy mix –– plans afoot to form energy corridor with Brazil and Suriname (See full speech President, Dr Irfaan Ali delivering his inaugural address to Parliament on pages 8-12)

Vaccination for COVID-19 begins!

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Three in Suriname 04 arrested for ‘backtrack’ mishap PAGE

Transformative budget today

SEE PAGE 02

Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for finance, Dr. Ashni Singh and his team reviewing Budget 2021 ahead of its presentation in the National Assembly today (Adrian Narine photo)

Hilary Edwards gets life sentence for gruesome murder of schoolboy 23 PAGE

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, February 12, 2021

Transformative budget today

–– to springboard development across all sectors

By Navendra Seoraj IT is often said that a solid foundation is a necessity in the construction of any sturdy structure, as it provides a solid base for ascension and expansion, results which Guyana is anticipating to derive from Budget 2021 which will be

presented in the National Assembly today.

With unprecedented investor interest in the local economy and potential for continuous growth across all sectors, the government will be looking to utilise this budget as a ‘springboard’ which will catapult Guyana into a future which is prosperous

for all.

The budget, which will be presented today, will be the new People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government’s first full budget, and will outline, in broader terms, the party’s medium and long term plans for the country.

While not divulging specific details of the budget, President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, said it will set out, in great detail, the government’s development plan.

“We plan to expand our road system across the country, including community roads and hinterland roads.

We will also build a bypass road with connections to Mocha, Eccles and the Demerara Harbour Bridge. We will initiate work on several transformative infrastructural projects, that will take years to complete, but we will start them,” President Ali said during his inaugural speech to the Twelfth Parliament, on Thursday.

Among some of the transformative projects to

be initiated by the budget are a deep water harbour at the Berbice estuary, support to shore-based facilities, support to private investment that will see new branded hotels, support to agriculture that will see mega investments in large scale agriculture, opening up of new lands through the construction of farm-to-market access roads, and the commencement of the Linden to Lethem road.

It also includes plans for a four lane highway from Georgetown to Timehri, the commencement of the Parika to Goshen Road, upgrade and development of new all-terrain road links from Timehri to Bartica, the upgrade of regional airports and the building of new ferries.

President Ali said too that there are also plans for the construction of a fourlane link between Mandela and Diamond with an interconnection to the existing highway to reduce travel time, completion of the new

Demerara River Bridge, and the construction of a new super-highway from Schoonard to Parika.

“We are also working with our neighbour Suriname to establish a Corentyne River Bridge which would have great benefits for the private sector in enlarging markets, expanding the scale of business and increasing employment,” President Ali related.

HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT Even with those opportunities abound, the Head-ofState said there is great need for human capital development, as this is crucial for inclusive economic growth and transformation.

It is for this reason, the government, through Budget 2021, will be introducing more programmes which will equip Guyanese for the potential transformation of the local economy.

“My government will ensure that all Guyanese are equipped for transformation in the economy by identifying employment intensive sectors and ensuring that our people are trained to enable

them to meet the demand in these sectors,” President Ali affirmed.

Investing in Guyanese is not only good for the economy but has broader equity and welfare implications, he reasoned, adding that with rapid change in technology, the government recognises that investing in its people is pivotal.

“Our move towards knowledge-intensive industries will also enable greater participation from female Guyanese and help to reduce the gender gap in our society,” President Ali said.

Access to the knowledge-intensive industries, according to the President, will be supported by the 20,000 scholarship programmes, expansion and improvement in educational facilities, expansion and use of ICT in education, enhancement of opportunities in technical vocational education, curricula reform, establishment of an online university to promote e-learning, and provision of textbooks to school children, among other things.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, February 12, 2021

Guyana to become energy capital of the Region –– as authorities push ahead with creation of ‘world-class’ energy mix –– plans afoot to form energy corridor with Brazil and Suriname

By Navendra Seoraj DRIVEN by an energy mix of solar, wind, hydro and natural gas, Guyana could soon become a major player in the energy market, and ultimately the energy capital of the Region, President Dr. Irfaan Ali has said.

According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), access to modern energy services is fundamental to fulfilling basic social needs, driving economic growth and fuelling human development. This is because energy services have an effect on productivity, health, education, safe water and communication services.

For developing nations such as Guyana, the need for reliable and affordable energy is more fundamental.

The general understanding is that reliable energy, in these countries, supports expanded industry, modern agriculture, increased trade and improved transportation.

In Guyana’s context, “energy security,” as said

by President Ali during his inaugural address to the 12th Parliament, will be driven by an energy mix that will see solar, wind, hydro and natural gas being utilised to make this nation the energy capital of the Region.

The integration of those energy sources will provide Guyana with 400 megawatts of newly installed power. As it is now, the national grid is providing 120 megawatts of electricity, an amount which is equal to the consumer demand of 117-120 megawatts of power.

line with the President’s policy,” Dr. Singh said during an exclusive interview with the Guyana Chronicle on the eve of the presentation of the budget.

The minister, who, along with his team was conducting a final review of the budget, said that the government’s aim is to accelerate development across all sectors in Guyana.

This, he said, will be achieved through a “heavy agenda,” comprised of features which will advance rapid growth - something which Budget 2021 is also designed

to achieve.

The budget has a comprehensive agenda and outline, in great detail, the government’s position on every major sector.

The country, prior to the passage of the Emergency 2020 Budget, went more than eight months without a national budget because of a protracted electoral process, which ended on August 2, 2020. A $329.5 billion Emergency Budget was cleared by the National Assembly on September 25, 2020.

President Dr. Irfaan Ali making his inaugural address to the 12th Parliament (Adrian Narine photo)

Based on what the President has outlined, the potential “world-class” energy mix will not just increase Guyana’s energy capacity, but will also significantly reduce the cost of electricity for households and businesses.

The overarching aim of the new People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government is to reduce the overall cost of energy by 50 per cent through this energy mix.

Local capacity aside, President Ali is confident that the government’s plan will make Guyana’s energy costs globally competitive.

Essentially, the country could become a net energy exporter. A net exporter is

a country or territory whose value of exported goods is higher than its value of imported goods over a given period of time.

“Our potential to become a major player in the energy market is not only limited to our borders, but we have already commenced discussions with our neighbours, Brazil and Suriname, in the establishment of an energy corridor,” President Ali said.

International experts say that energy corridors may accommodate multiple pipelines for oil, gas, or hydrogen, electricity transmission lines, and related infrastructure, such as access and maintenance roads, compressors,

Transformative budget ...

But, the drive towards diversification and sustainable employment requires a vibrant private sector to absorb labour and labour market that allows flexibility, skills building and reasonable compensation.

“My government will continue to work with the private sector, recogniaing that they are the backbone of any economy. Our local companies must be given a level platform to compete; training and capacity building initiatives

to produce power at cheaper rates. It was reported that the price paid by Guyana for kilowatt per hour of electricity could be reduced by about 80 per cent when the proposed gas-to-energy project comes on stream.

The cost factor associated with this project has, however, been a topic for discussion in the public domain.

But Vice-President Jagdeo believes that the overarching benefits of this project outweigh any cost associated with establishing the facilities.

“It could be from US$500 million- US$800 million to develop the pipeline, depending on the design, geo-techni-

cal study and so on… when we go out to tender that is the only time we will know the actual cost,” Vice-President Bharrat Jagdeo said during a press briefing at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre on Tuesday.

Another US$300 million is estimated to be spent on the construction of a power plant, but again, a definitive cost will only be ascertained when the government goes to tender.

“We are working through the numbers… remember we are still in the preparatory stages, so a lot of these are estimates, but those are the magnitude of the types of estimates… one man said it is not feasible, but how can you determine it is not feasible when you have not done a feasibility study,” the vice-president reasoned.

In his view, with power being generated at six cents per kilowatt hour -- about 80 per cent less than the current US$30 cents per kilowatt hour -- the average Guyanese and the private sector would surely benefit.

“It is a no-brainer, the benefits are enormous… the gas is also less polluting than diesel,” Jagdeo said, noting that definitive projections will soon be available as the government is in the process of hiring people to conduct four sets of studies.

The studies will not only determine the feasibility of the project, but it will also assess the proposed location for the project, which is likely to be Wales on the West Bank of Demerara (WBD).

along with the transfer of skills and technology are important to this process,” President Ali said.

The government, he said, is cognisant of the impediments to businesses, especially in the area of finance and cost optimisation in the oil-andgas-sector.

LOCAL COMPANIES To this end, the government will ensure that regulatory frameworks are conducive

for local companies that work in this sector, so that they can garner the necessary resources needed to take advantage of new opportunities.

“In supporting the new economy, the government understands the necessity of developing skills in emerging areas such as oil and gas, agro-processing, industrialisation, manufacturing, climate services, environmental services, bio diversity, sustainable tourism management and

pumping stations, and other structures.

PHYSICAL LINKAGE Guyana is already closer to building a physical linkage with Suriname through the construction of a bridge across the Corentyne River.

The Lethem to Linden road is also on the cards.

Those physical linkages will pave the way for increased cooperation, especially now that Guyana and Suriname have joined Brazil in the ranks of oil-producing nations.

Locally, the government has already indicated its intention to utilise natural gas from its oil-and-gas-sector FROM PAGE

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aquaculture, while at the same time strengthening our capacity in the traditional sectors with the aim of making them more productive and competitive,” President Ali reasoned.

Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, confirmed that Budget 2021 is aligned with the President’s policy statement.

“The budget has been prepared in a way that is in

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, February 12, 2021

Three in Suriname arrested for ‘backtrack’ mishap

By Nafeeza Yahya-Sakur

THREE persons in neighbouring Suriname were, on Wednesday, arrested as investigations continue into the #63 beach ‘backtrack’ mishap that left two persons dead and a third still missing.

Sources in Suriname have confirmed to the Guyana Chronicle, that the captain of the vessel, a helper and a relative of one of the victims were sought and arrested by Surinamese police on Wednesday.

The source revealed that the men told investi-

gators that they dropped off the trio in the vicinity of the Number 63 beach on a sandbank and were making their way towards the shore with Alwin Joseph, the lone male assisting the two females, 77-yearold, Baboni Harihar and 48-year-old, Sharida Hussein.

They further stated that they saw the trio walking towards the beach and believed everything was satisfactory so they turned the boat back towards Nickerie, Suriname and left, unaware that the trio were in any danger.

Missing: Sharida Hussein

On Monday evening around 19:00 hours, a speedboat departed for Guyana with three passengers, Alwin Joseph, said to be in his 30s; a resident of both Guyana and Suriname, Sharida Hussein, 48 , a mother of three from Pilot Street, New Amsterdam and 77-year-old, Baboni Harihar of Palmyra Village. The trio, upon arrival, notified relatives but a little while later Hussein called her youngest child in a fit of emotions, stating that they were in waist high water that was fast rising and unable to see land.

Two days later the bodies of Joseph and Harihar were found washed up on the shoreline almost a mile apart, while the search for Hussein continues.

The police have since recovered in the vicinity

of #70 Village, a bag and purse belonging to Hussein. Relatives of Hussein are still hoping to find her, being fully aware that should Friday pass if she too perished like the others then her body would already be in a badly decomposed state.

Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle late Thursday night, her distraught son, 19-year-old Joshua Samaroo, said he has not had more than a few hours’ sleep since Monday night but his body is not tired as his only goal is to find his mother.

With the help of friends and relatives, he has been using every available moment to search the land and sea in between tides and even venturing onboard the search and rescue river patrol hoping to find his mother.

“At this point, if it is that she drowned, I am just hoping to locate her body but given the timeframe, we already passed three tides which is an average time for the body to float up, we are now going on to the fourth day which means if there is any chance tomorrow will be the slightest of it for us to find her based on tonight’s tide,” he related.

On Thursday, the team left at dawn and searched from Number 55 Village, all the way to Scottsburg Beach on the coastland and continued into the day on the river between Number 50 and Number 78 Village.

Meanwhile, Divisional Commander Jairam Ramlakhan has confirmed that the post-mortem on the remains of Harihar and Joseph will be done today (Friday) at the Anthony’s Funeral home in Epsom Village, East Berbice, Corentyne.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, February 12, 2021

House clears amendments to Small Business Act ―Hire Purchase Bill sent to Special Select Committee

By Rehana Ahamad

THE National Assembly on Thursday evening passed a Bill to amend the Small Business Act of 2004, thereby paving the way for small businesses to compete on a more level playing field. This is according to Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce Oneidge Walrond, who presented the amendments to the House, on the grounds that the Act, in its current form, puts small businesses at a great disadvantage.

She said that presently, businesses are only mandated to satisfy two of the three criteria before being qualified as a small business. Those criteria are: “…That the small business has to have less than 25 employees; that it has to have less than $20 million in assets, and has to have less than $60 million of annual profits.”

In trying to bolster her arguments, the minister presented two hypothetical scenarios, where a business that has 16 employees, $19 million in assets and $40 million in its annual revolving fund has to compete with a business that has the same 16 employees, the same $19 million worth of assets, but rakes in a whopping $250 million as part of revolving fund. In the foregoing scenario, both businesses would qualify as a small business, but the latter would have the upper hand, having had access to more finances.

“The amendments will have the effect of enhancing and enlarging secured markets within which our small businesses may thrive and grow,” Minister Walrond said.

She reminded the House that the Small Business Act was birthed from a need to provide more support to small businesses, in that “special incentives were developed, and a small business council was formed to nurture entrepreneurship, and to institutionalise support for a sector

that contributes significantly to the GDP [Gross Domestic Product].”

In addition to leveling the playing field for small businesses providing goods and services, the amendments to the Act also pave the way for small construction companies to be included and considered as a ‘small business’.

This means that small contractors would benefit from a legislation that seeks to ensure that they are able to compete in a level playing field. This, Walrond said, is especially important, given Guyana’s current status of being an investment magnate. She made specific reference to the government’s transformation agenda, and the various projects that that agenda would encompass.

“We heard His Excellency [President Irfaan Ali] speaking of all the major transformational infrastructural changes that are going to happen in Guyana: The new Demerara Harbour Bridge; the Corentyne Bridge connecting Guyana to Suriname; the Linden Aerodrome Development, [are] just a few of the large capital projects to come,” Minister Walrond posited.

She further indicated that with the amendments, “our small businesses will be able to access opportunities for downstream contracts, for works under these and other large capital projects.”

Walrond’s proposed amendments were supported by her colleagues on the government side of the House, including Minister within the Ministry of Public Works Deodat Indar, along with Local Government Minister Nigel Dharamlall and Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Charles Ramson. Eventually, the Bill was passed, unopposed, while the government’s landmark Hire Purchase Bill was deferred to a Special Select Committee for further considerations.

Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister Oneidge Walrond

Teen to make court appearance today ―to face manslaughter charges in sleep-over- turned-deadly saga A 16-year-old boy is expected to be arraigned before a city magistrate today for the alleged manslaughter of his 15-year-old ‘bestie’, Rockey Sawh.

The suspect, who is currently on $100,000 station bail, is scheduled to appear before the Children’s Court of the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

According to reports, on November 18, 2020,

DEAD: Rockey Sawh

Sawh was found lying in a pool of blood at the suspect’s Sandy Babb Street, Kitty home during the course of a ‘sleep-over’.

It is alleged that the 16-year-old suspect had breached the lock of the wardrobe in which the licenced .32 Taurus pistol his father owned was kept.

The teen was reportedly showing the weapon to Sawh when he accidentally pulled the trigger.

Sawh, who was reportedly hit in the head by the lone bullet, immediately fell to the

ground. He was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corpor, where he later died.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, February 12, 2021

Tajeram Mohabir

The time has arrived

TODAY, Budget Day 2021, sees Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, presenting the government's comprehensive blueprint for improving the lives of Guyanese over this year and into the medium and long-term future. Every Guyanese everywhere eagerly anticipates today's budget presentation with resounding optimism sweeping the Guyanese landscape, as the nation enters a new era of accelerated prosperity, monumental progress and democratic peace.

A sense of excitement is in the air as government lays out the path to the future.

Against the backdrop of the world fast undergoing major and far-reaching systematic and structural reforms as the global pandemic causes serious socioeconomic damage to every sector in the global village, the Guyana Government recognises and is fully cognisant of the fact that the international order is evolving into a new global society, and Guyana must position itself to play with strategic good sense in that new environment. This budget thus lays out not only the progressive

domestic agenda for national growth and development, but also the vision and positioning of the country that is necessary to play a significant role in the world community of nations.

Having achieved the world's respect as a full-fledged, functional democracy, this country now stands ready to ramp up its socioeconomic clout in the Caribbean and Americas as a major oil-and-gas producer on the world stage, and to raise the standard of living for its people to record new highs.

These are exciting times for the Guyanese nation. Instead of Minister Singh presenting the national budget in a state of fear or panic, given the frightening advent and stubborn staying power of the pandemic, Guyanese are in the positive position of having an exciting budget on its hands, looking forward to a future that is one of the more upbeat and morale-boosting in the world today.

Many countries are alarmed at the social and economic devastation that the pandemic would rout, with major global economies facing depression and recession. Not so for Guyana. Under the government of the People's Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), every sector is showing real

signs of dynamic life and growth, with even the sugar industry promising to perform well in 2021.

One thing that generates this feeling of great optimism and positive, forward-looking agenda for the Guyanese nation as Budget 2021 is rolled out today is the big-thinking ambition and aggressive goals of the President Ali government.

When the PPP/C first mentioned figures such as 50,000 jobs, 20,000 scholarships, and 10,000 house lots for Guyanese, the opposition and other small-thinking critics heaped scorn and disbelief on the promise, claiming that Guyana could never achieve those things. Now, having seen what this government could accomplish in just six months since taking over the reins of the state last year, the critics are silent, almost in awe. Budget 2021 follows along this vein, of setting the benchmark for national development high and lofty and way above anything that had ever been even conceived in this country before. This big-thinking way of President Ali’s government is inspiring Guyanese everywhere, to see their nation with new eyes, with new vision, with new possibilities.

As with previous budgets of the

PPP/C governments, Budget 2021 incorporates a balanced, rounded approach to the task at hand, with strong programmes for social stability and taking care of the welfare of citizens, exciting policies for economic development, including to attract international investments and increase local business opportunities, and for technological progress through high-speed Internet across the country and real encouragement for a Guyanese digital landscape online.

Three factors shape today's budget: the global pandemic and Guyana's response to it in a way that rides the wave to come out victorious and with the population safe and healthy, through strategic health care measures; the impact of the oil-and-gas sector on national life, with the Wales gas-to-shore project promising to be a flagship turning point in energy provision to the society, which will accelerate industrial activity and ease electricity rates for Guyanese; and the big-thinking agenda of the government, with the set goal over the term of the government for those jobs, scholarships, and house lots to transform the national well-being.

Budget 2021 sets the stage for this five-year term of government to launch Guyana into a new realm of prosperity and progress, never before seen in this land. By the end of the term, Guyanese would see a dynamic society, way better than they know today, one that is on the path to real wealth, as a shining example of a well-developed democratic nation on the world scene, and a nation that is a mecca for providing a great livelihood for its people. Budget 2021 sets the agenda for this new future for Guyana, and today every Guyanese everywhere is excited, motivated, inspired, and full of optimism.

Everywhere in the world, Guyanese of the diaspora are watching their homeland with swelling hearts, many planning to engage with the new landscape that Budget 2021 is unfolding. For Guyanese, their time has arrived, and the voice of Minister Singh echoing cross the nation, at home and overseas, is a welcome sound of calm confidence that, this time, Guyana is achieving its dreams and ambitions.

Max Persaud touched the lives of many Dear Editor, IT started on Monday when we at “Nations” realised that Max had missed teaching a class – he didn’t miss classes. We tried calling, visited his apartment – no joy. On Tuesday we saw a photo in the media of an ‘unidentified man’ who had been struck down and killed by a motorbike as he was simply trying to cross the road. There followed a flood of messages

from many parts of the world, noting how Max had touched so many lives.

He worked part time at “Nations” for more than a decade teaching the ABE courses on business and entrepreneurship.

He helped youth in Bartica, Mabaruma, Morawhanna and throughout the coast to establish simple income-generating projects.

He worked selflessly, quietly and without any desire for thanks or recognition. He

played a crucial role in the “Nations” two-year consultancy with the IDB on prison reform. He made repeated visits to each of the prisons – helping the inmates develop plans for creating small businesses on their release from prisons.

Max then became a key resource person as “Nations” introduced the ABE programme with young girls in The Gambia and with Baha’i refugees in Turkey from Iran, who had to flee

their country as the regime prohibited them from attending university in their own country. He related to them in a profound way and this is reflected in comments they shared on his passing; Shahin, one of the refugees in Turkey, shared, “We were just informed of our beloved lecturer’s tragic death …his memory will always remain with us….. with great sorrow.”

Another refugee, Shima,

said,” I can’t find words to say how sad I am to hear this news… he was a very lovable person that we all respected so much.”

Hoda, also a refugee in Turkey, added, “He was one of the best tutors we had … he was so kind... my heart broke when I heard the news .. I told my friends how proud I was to be his student.”

Keressa Carrington, the Head of ABE in the Caribbean, shared, “Max

was a light.....he was such a cheerful spirit. The students loved him....I saw this first hand.......The sacrifices he made to support the most far-flung regions was more than admirable.....he was warm, welcoming and always willing share his knowledge.........may his soul rest in peace.”

Without any doubt : a life well lived Dr Brian O’Toole Director, “Nations”

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, February 12, 2021

Winston Jordan wriggling himself out of a real debate Dear Editor, I AM happy that the former Finance Minister responded to my letter in which I called him out to an open debate. Mr. Jordan, however, digressed on the main theme in which I challenged him. He instead opted to elaborate on the work he did with the IDB Invest over the years as Finance Minister.

For the record, I never took any issue with that aspect of his work which was a good and noteworthy effort on his part. My contention, however, was that it was counter-productive work – having worked so hard for the IDB invest to engage in more private-sector lending, while at the same time destroying the productive sectors of the economy and failure to address the development challenges and needs of Guyana – thus leading to limited or absolutely no bankable private-sector projects.

Hence, his elongated defence was totally irrelevant.

Highlighting his accomplishments, he mentioned the reduction of corporate income tax to 25 per cent and the VAT of 14 per cent and claimed that he had never added any new taxes. All the tax measures that were reversed in the emergency budget -- such as VAT on utilities and expanding the list of VAT exempt from zero rated – are examples of the burdensome new taxes. While he reduced VAT to 14 per cent, the list of items to which VAT was applied was also expanded. The exorbitant increases in licence fees and leases etc., are included. Further, what’s the point of boasting of reducing corporate income tax to 25 per cent while doing nothing about the country’s energy problem?

Having said that, outlined hereunder is a summary of my analyses on the economy – drawing from the work I have done over the last three and a half years – analyzing the outcomes of Mr. Jordan’s economic policies and governance of the economy: i) The former minister stated in another letter that the Hon. Minister Dr. Ashni Singh is pulling “the proverbial wool over the eyes of the discerning public, since the ev-

idence will show that over the last five years, the APNU+AFC regime racked up a deficit of $92 billion.”

Then he went on to state that the deficit for 2020 projected under the current regime was projected at $75 billion, before they went to parliament on December 28, last, to extract another $17 billion.” By this comparison, Mr. Jordan sought to argue the point that the current government’s deficit in 2020 alone is equivalent to the accumulated deficit under his tenure in five years. ii) In other words, the simple interpretation by a layman reading Jordan’s statement would lead one to believe that the current government in less than one year in office would have expended the equivalent of all the monies expended by the previous government in five years.

This notion, however, is far from the truth and the real evidence will in fact prove the inverse of Jordan’s postulations. iii) Government’s total expenditure for the period 2010 – 2019 revealed that total expenditure during the period 2015 – 2019 amounted to $1.143 trillion, while for the period 2010 – 2014 total government expenditure amounted to $794 billion.

By the time the new government assumed office in August 2020, Mr. Jordan had racked up over $1.2 trillion in five years – which is almost twice the amount of monies expended during the period 2010 – 2014 by Dr. Ashni Singh, who was also Minister of Finance during that period. It is humorous and sad at the same time – reflecting on the fact that the former Minister Jordan and by extension the previous government – have absolutely nothing to show for the more than 1.2 trillion expended twice the amount of monies expended in a five-year cycle by this current government. (In the interest of space – a table with the data is omitted but the source of the information was extracted from various Bank of Guyana Annual Reports and the Auditor General Reports). iv) To clarify the $92 billion deficit to which the former Minister was referring – he was actually referring to the overdraft balance on the government’s deposit accounts at

the central bank. From examining the data presented in the above table for the period 2010 – 2020, one would observe that the deposit account balance stood at a surplus of almost $70 billion in 2010, which then fell to a surplus of $21.4 billion by the end of 2014. v) Notably, during the period 2010 to 2014 – the government’s deposit accounts were never allowed to reflect an overdraft balance. Contrasting this for the period under which Winston Jordan served as Finance Minister – combining the balances in the Consolidated Fund (CF) and the deposit accounts amounted to a net deficit of $45 billion by the end of 2015, which reached a whopping net deficit position of $148.2 billion, which is the highest in this country’s economic history post 1992. vi) While the figures for 2020 are not yet revealed to the public, by this trend it is almost certain that the combined net-deficit position in the CF and deposit accounts would have reached $200 billion, thus cementing the argument that it is the highest net-deficit position on the national treasury in Guyana’s post-historic economic recovery period since 1992. vii) In fact, it should be mentioned that what Jordan did with those deposit accounts for five years was in breach of the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act which states that any overdraft balances on official bank accounts by the Minister of Finance must be cleared at the end of the fiscal year. The former minister never did this and there is a reason why he never complied with the Act to clear those deficit balances apart from the reason cited by the Hon. Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh. viii) That is, whether intentionally or by default, the fact that the overdraft balances are not captured in the reporting of the country’s official stock of public debt would have effectively resulted in the understatement or underreporting of the true state of the country’s public debt.

This is what the current Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh, is now correcting by raising the debt ceiling so that those balances can now be cleared by the issuance of the appropriate debt instruments, which would allow the

deficit to be reflected in the official stock of public debt. ix) Further, not only did the Former Minister of Finance and by extension the previous government engage in reckless spending, the evidence would show that there was also huge misallocation of resources, which resulted in the underperformance of the country’s many productive sectors. The former minister’s philosophy in administering fiscal policy was one that was contractionary rather than expansionary and was devoid of any transformative developmental trajectory of the country.

In this regard, as can be seen from the data presented during the period 2010 – 2014, capital expenditure accounted for more than 30% of government’s total expenditure. x) Capital expenditure are those expenditures allocated in productive activities such as infrastructural development which in turn leads to the creation of employment and opportunities for businesses to grow, inter alia, new investments based on how and where government allocates resources towards such productive activities. xi) During the period 2015 – 2019 on the other hand, capital expenditure declined from a high of 35% of total expenditure to as low as 23% of total expenditure. Thus, more monies were expended on unproductive activities, which resulted in excessive wastage of public funds – many of which are being uncovered almost on a daily basis. xii) Had it not been for oil discovery in 2015, today the economy would have been in serious trouble, especially since the Bank of Guyana (BoG) has been struggling to meet its international reserve target or three months of import cover since the last quarter of 2017. This is in fact the main reason why it has had to sell off its gold reserve and has been buying up foreign exchange (FX) from the private FX market (commercial banks) since 2017. The BoG has had cause to buy up about US$300M to prop up its reserves. xiii) Thankfully, the FX in the commercial banks has not been depleted and that is largely because of oil and gas related activities, where there is a continuous inflow of FX

coming into the system, and it is helping to maintain some stability.

Bearing in mind that the BoG has never had cause over the last 10 years or so, prior to 2017, to buy up FX from the commercial banks. It has in fact always enjoyed a net sales position to the commercial banks. xiv) The findings of the analyses conducted over the last three years on the economy by the undersigned showed that the oil and gas related activities and gold have been miraculously keeping the economy afloat since 2015 to August, 2020. xv) What was witnessed over the last five years is an egregious pattern of excessive and reckless spending on consumption goods, thereby increasing gov’t’s recurrent expenditure, wastage of resources, a bloated public sector, at the expense of shrinking the other productive sectors of the economy. Overall, the economy shrunk by $182 billion (US$840 million) with the exclusion of the growth rates in gold and private investments out of the equation – given the argument that private investments were driven largely by oil and gas related activities; while noting that the total losses in exports (except for gold and other exports), public investments and private consumption combined amounted to a whopping $647 billion or US$3 billion – when compared to the period 2010 – 2014.

Editor, Mr. Jordan has already indicated that he does not intend to respond to me further, but I rather believe that he is wriggling out from a real debate, given that a real budget will soon be presented in the National Assembly, and he perhaps lacks the wherewithal to engage me in any meaningful and scholastic manner. As the former Finance Minister, he ought to make it his business to defend his track record. For Mr. Jordan’s reference, all of my work can be accessed here: https://jbconsultancy.info/insights-the-economy-finance-published-articles/.

Yours faithfully, JC. Bhagwandin Chief Financial Adviser /Analyst JB Consultancy & Associates

8

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, February 12, 2021

Address of His Excellency Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces at the Ceremonial Opening of the 12th Parliament.

February 11, 2021 Honourable Speaker of the National Assembly Chancellor Honourable Prime Minister and Leader of Government Business Honourable Vice President Honourable Members of the National Assembly Your Excellencies of the Diplomatic Community The Hon. Chief Justice Chief of Staff Commissioner of Police Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen The eyes of the people of Guyana are upon us.

All of us.

Me, as President, Ministers of the Government, and you, the members of the National Assembly, from every political party, here represented.

The people of Guyana are waiting to see what we will do with their affairs.

Will we serve their interests faithfully – every one of them, regardless of race or creed?

Will we deliver the good governance and accountability each of us, each political party promised?

Will we strive to make their lives better, as all of us pledged to do?

For me, our nation stands at a crossroads in its history, particularly after we endured an alarming period of uncertainty when our democracy was threatened at home, and our place of respect was imperilled abroad.

The paths before us, as already embraced by my Government, is to lead to a better Guyana where its bountiful potential will be realised and from whose bounty we ensure every Guyanese benefit.

For me, as the Ninth Executive President of our beloved nation, there is no doubt of the path my Government and I have chosen. It is a path that celebrates the collective wisdom, strength and character of our Guyanese people, the very people who stood up fearlessly in defence of democracy, the very people who have sacrificed much in bringing our country together, regardless of race or political persuasion.

For those who choose an alternate path, you too will be held accountable, but I assure you, such a path brings nothing or adds nothing to the Guyana we want to build.

All of us gathered here today have been summoned by the spirits of our ancestors

who laboured in its cause.

Their voices have called us from the depths of our nation’s past to govern this land at an extraordinary time of our people’s history.

And those summons those calls - have not been made to the government representatives alone.

They have been made to all who serve in the National Assembly as representatives of the people, regardless of their party-political support.

The people of this nation elected the parties represented in the Assembly.

They want us to be partners in serving the country, not adversaries in pulling it apart.

That is not to say that they did not expect us to disagree, or that they did not anticipate that we would differ.

But they do not expect us to differ at their expense, or to disagree to their detriment.

They put us all here in the same ship of state.

They expect us to navigate it through calm seas and turbulent waters alike, and to take them to a haven of progress, prosperity and peace.

To do so, calls for political maturity that puts, at all times, the national interest and the people’s welfare above all else.

The success of our nation depends on it.

None of us should let our nation down.

In the words of our national Poet, Martin Carter: “Like a jig shakes a loom; like a web is spun the pattern.

All are involved; All are consumed”.

Our most acute challenge is the national emergency we face - tackling the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Coronavirus has taken a toll on our economy, substantially reducing the projected growth in our gross domestic product (GDP), forecast by the International Financial Institutions for this year.

In human terms, the immediate economic impact of the pandemic, which necessitated the closure of our borders and the shuttering of many businesses, is the hardship that has been visited on the most vulnerable in our society.

The elderly, single mothers and children are the worst affected.

Their situation demands our immediate and intense attention.

They have suffered far too long already.

And my Government is determined to move decisive-

challenges that confront the nation.

Since its installation, my Government has encountered huge issues of transparency and accountability; of cronyism; of waste; and of fraud.

Unemployment is much higher than the nation was led to believe.

To fix this grim situation, we need to move now, and we need to move swiftly.

We are faced with what Barack Obama described as “the urgency of now”.

President, Dr Irfaan Ali

ly to improve their condition.

I assure you, no resources will be spared in this effort.

But it is as a public health emergency that the silent cruelty of this fearsome disease has been most brutal.

The consequence is that, so far, we have endured the anguish of 8023 confirmed cases and suffered the loss of 181 lives.

All of those lives mattered.

Some of them would have been the sole breadwinners in families now left to struggle, not only with the pain of their loss, but with the strain of no livelihood.

And that is why tackling COVID-19 is my Government’s most pressing priority.

Safeguarding the health of all must be our highest priority.

Amongst the actions we took is the mobilisation of regional, national and international support whilst supporting the livelihoods of families with direct cash and food transfers.

We also implemented various measures through the Central Bank to help small and medium sized businesses in particular, to cope with the economic fallout of the pandemic.

We have supported frontline workers, our children’s education and created an innovative environment for our economy and governance systems to continue.

Whilst we continue our fight to contain the virus, we are aggressively pursuing every avenue that will lead to

the complete vaccination of our population by the end of the year.

I assure you; no resource will be spared in this effort. ooOoo I remind this Parliament that our nation suffered five long months of fear, anxiety, and nervousness waiting for the results of general elections; a circumstance caused by those who put themselves above the law and their political greed over the wellbeing of the people.

In all that time, no Budget was presented for consent, no borrowing was authorised, and no spending approved.

In defiance of the law and the rulings of the highest Courts of this land, the previous administration arrogated power unto itself, spending the taxpayers’ money with no authority and no legitimacy.

This must never occur in Guyana again.

That is why constitutional reform to guarantee a democratic Guyana will receive priority attention, based on a national consultative process.

My Government will introduce, in the National Assembly, a Bill to authorise such a consultative process by an independent body.

Lawlessness must never be tolerated in Guyana again.

Contempt for the people must never, ever, be allowed in Guyana again.

Over the last months, feverish and difficult work has been undertaken to put before the National Assembly, a full Budget to address the myriad

We want our factories humming with production; We want our people back at work; We want our businesses turning profits and investing in new and expanded enterprises; We want a Guyana that rises like the fabled phoenix from the ashes of neglect, spreading its wings and soaring proudly to the heights that should, long ago, have been its perch.

And we want every Guyanese to be part of that rising, sharing in its transformation and in its resultant benefits.

This is no young man’s dream, nor is it an old man’s vision.

It is a reality within our grasp as a nation.

What we need is the will to seize it – together!

And that is what I invite every Guyanese, every man, every woman and every child to do.

As the President of Guyana and the Head of Government, my credo and the credo of this Government is “Nation Building”.

The key word of my Government is “oneness”.

The essential character of my Government’s vision is “inclusion”.

Stop being defined by race.

Stop being defined by politics.

Start being defined by our one nationality, and by our common love for our one country.

Let us lift it up together And by doing so let us liftup each other and ourselves.

One people.

One nation.

One destiny.

I propose to give meaning to my call for “One Guyana” by requesting the Leader of Government Business in the National Assembly, Prime Minister, Brigadier, the Honourable Mark Phillips, to introduce, for adoption, an Act of Parliament establishing a “One Guyana Commission” which he will head.

As the great West Indian

philosopher, C.L.R. James, puts it: “A nation is built not on abstraction, but on tackling and solving the problems which occupy its people.”

The purpose of the Commission would be to try to do just that in relation to the practical steps we can take to cement our one society, encompassing and respecting the diversity from which our “oneness” springs.

The work of the Commission would be countrywide, and it would listen to the free expressions of all voices, concerning ways in which every Guyanese can honour their ancestral heritage while giving the highest regard to our blended Guyanese civilization.

Among the matters which it would address include education concerning our history; our religions; how we ensure equal opportunities for education, employment and entrepreneurship, and the institutional strengthening of the existing Ethnic Relations Commission to make it more effective.

In all this, we must be guided by the wisdom of Nelson Mandela that: “No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion.

People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite”.

We must move nation building from abstraction to action.

And lose, not one more moment in doing it.

Let us stand up for our one nation, our one Guyana.

Let us stand up for what we know in our hearts and in our minds to be right.

Let us stand up for our one identity – the Guyanese identity!

I say a special word about our Amerindian-Guyanese community – the first people of our nation.

They – and their ancestors - have been in Guyana, and of Guyana, longer than any other community in our one society.

Throughout the lands of what is now the Americas from Canada in the North to Argentina in the South - the indigenous people suffered historic injustices, including colonization by European nations, dispossession of their lands, and prevention from developing in accordance with their particular needs and interests.

In our one Guyana, the

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, February 12, 2021

Address of His Excellency Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President ... (Continued) Amerindian community occupies a special place as our first people.

This is a circumstance we must never forget and must always honour.

They deserve the respect of all of us for their indigenous knowledge, culture, and traditional practices that contribute to the sustainable development and informed management of the environment that we all share, and from which we all benefit.

Over the next five years, while my Government is tasked with the responsibility of managing our country’s affairs, we are determined to improve the lives of our Amerindian-Guyanese communities, through a range of measures that we will implement.

These include updating the Amerindian Act after consultation with every Amerindian community, as well as improving education, health facilities, housing, and infrastructural development in the areas in which they live.

The culture of the Amerindian Guyanese is a golden thread in the rich tapestry of the common civilization that we have collectively fashioned for almost two centuries.

All of us should be proud of it, treasure it, and celebrate it.

We must do all in our power to strengthen their status and their contribution, thereby enhancing not only their community but our one nation to which each group is integral and from which no group is divisible.

Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members of the National Assembly, we are at an unprecedented time in our nation’s history.

We stand together on the cusp of what can be a new economic era of prosperity in which all will share now, and from which future generations will benefit.

But let us not fool ourselves that this new economic era will happen without our collective effort.

That it will happen without our national unity.

That it will happen despite ourselves.

There has never been a greater moment when we, as Guyanese, need to stand as one to secure the benefits of our natural resources and to protect our sovereignty – the right to make decisions in our national interest – and our territorial integrity.

Regarding our territorial integrity, the threat from our neighbour Venezuela has not receded simply because the International Court of Justice (the ICJ) has ruled that is has jurisdiction in the matter and is proceeding to adjudicate the merits of the case before it on the Guyanese Venezuelan contention.

We all know that recently, Guyanese fishermen were arbitrarily arrested and detained by the Venezuelan military while they were operating in waters of Guyana’s Exclusive Economic Zone.

This demonstrates that the threat is an ever present danger even as we pursue a path of settlement by peaceful means through international law.

In respect of our sovereignty – that right to make decisions in our national interest – while the prospect for wealth from oil and gas is now real, it could dissipate if we fail to take the necessary steps to ensure that Guyana’s interests and its rightful income are safeguarded.

Our nation is dealing, for the most part, with giant companies in the oil and gas industry.

This is uncharted territory for us, but we will have to map the way that leads to the best circumstances for our country.

For sure, we will need expert advice, based on sound knowledge and robust experience of the industry, including operating agreements, concessions, laws, and regulations to promote good governance and prudent management of the oil and gas sector, to make sure our people benefit.

But, above all else, we need every Guyanese, united as one, to stand in defence of our rights and entitlements.

Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial in-

tegrity must be the Nation’s constant unified watch.

In this patriotic duty, every Guyanese must stand up to be counted.

Every political party, every trade union, every business organisation must stand up and be counted.

This National Assembly must stand up and be counted.

Mr. Speaker Let me be clear.

My Government wants a co-operative partnership with the companies now licensed to operate in the oil and gas sector of our economy.

Leaving oil and gas in the ground is not an option.

It cannot be an option when their production and sales can transform the economy of Guyana, bringing in considerable revenues that can be utilised to dramatically improve the lives of all our people.

We must also acknowledge that we cannot take advantage of our oil and gas resources without the considerable investment of the companies now operating in the sector.

They are entitled to a fair return on their investment.

Therefore, our relationship should be based on fairness, on equity and on mutual interests.

That is the goal to which the Government will work to ensure future production contracts resound to the significant benefit of Guyanese without seeking to disincentivise foreign investment.

To support Government in managing of the Oil and Gas sector, we will be pursuing various legislative and institutional initiatives; update to the Petroleum Act, building the capacity and the institutional framework for the audit of expenditure and the drafting of new production agreements with international standards under which any new production licence will fall.

But even as I look forward to the establishment of the Petroleum Commission, my Government will introduce legislation for consideration by this session of the National Assembly.

One of the pieces of legislation will be to fortify, in law, the Local Content Policy, which is currently undergoing the phase of public consultation.

The aim is not only to align the Policy with international best practices, particularly regarding reporting and transparency, but also to deliver more business and more jobs for our people.

That legislation will be drafted based on the outcome of consultations that I will hold with stakeholders in our society, concerning provisions in the law that would best serve our national interest.

Guyanese must not be second-class citizens in the oil and gas sector in our own country.

They must be its principal beneficiaries, ahead of all and second to none.

Thousands of Guyanese will be trained at every level to create a national corps of managers and technicians to effectively administer the sector.

For the benefit of this generation of Guyanese and those yet unborn, we will establish an arms-length Sovereign Wealth Fund insulated from political interference.

Legislation will be enacted to define how finances will flow from the Fund into the budget, and the purposes for which they will be used.

My Government also intends to account to the nation for every cent earned from the industry and for every cent that is spent.

To accomplish this, legislation will be introduced during this session of the National Assembly, making the Finance Minister and the Finance Secretary responsible for publishing details of all revenue and expenditure in the Official Gazette, allowing the people to track all transactions.

Failure to do so will be punished severely under the law.

The revenues from the sector, like all other sectors, are the people’s money; they are entitled to know how much money is earned, how

much is spent and on what it is spent.

I have also made it clear to my Ministers that transparency and accountability are the fundamental principles by which I expect them and myself to conduct ourselves, and to which I will hold them accountable.

We are the custodians of the people’s assets and we will account to them for all that we do.

That is why we will also establish a regulatory framework that is independent of politicians.

And why we will build strong national capability to hold oil companies accountable, and to verify production and other expenditures.

Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members of the National Assembly, let me be clear on something else.

My Government does not intend to allow the Oil and Gas sector to encourage what is called “Dutch Disease” which dominates all other sectors of the economy and diminishes them in value and sustainability.

Our country must not suffer the fate of other nations that came to depend on oil and gas so substantially that they faced ruin when the sector floundered, contracted, or diminished.

Revenues from oil and gas resources must be used to strengthen the agriculture, mining, manufacturing, and services sectors to make them globally competitive so that Guyana can be a resilient nation, now and in the future.

And that brings me Mr. Speaker, to the Manifesto which my party presented to our nation at the March 2nd general and regional elections.

Our Manifesto is a statement of my Government’s ambition for our country.

It is an ambition we shall aim to fulfil.

Like all ambitions we shall have to mould it to life’s changeable realities – to the realities of Guyana as impacted by the world of which we are part.

It is the path we shall follow in fulfilment of our dream for Guyana.

There will be times when we pause to check our bearings; times when our bearings call for variable tracks.

But our goals will be constant and our promises secure.

We shall do so over the life of the Government.

Fulfilment cannot be instant in all matters; some will be delayed by circumstance.

But you will have no cause to doubt our resolve to keep our promises.

Mr. Speaker, without going into detail of every pledge in our Manifesto, which remains publicly available on the Internet, my Government will strive to honour in our period in office, every aspect, every promise, every commitment. Let me mention here a few that must command immediate attention.

We stated quite clearly that our objective is to create 50,000 jobs.

That goal which, once, seemed distant and impossible, is now within our nation’s reach, made possible by the transformative agenda of Government that would see the expansion of construction, investment in mega-scale infrastructure, reduced cost of energy leading to industrialisation and upscale agro-processing and manufacturing, environmental services, engineering services and the spin-off of major private sector investments in new hotels and shore base facilities.

The area of logistics and energy security would also see massive investment and opportunities. These, supported by the revitalisation of our agriculture sector, support to mining and expansion in quarrying will pave the way for job creation.

Even with inadequate shipping facilities, we already supply fish, vegetables, and fruit to regional markets, and even further afield to our diaspora communities in the US, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

An example of the market opportunities available to increased agricultural and fisheries production is that last year, the countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) imported

more than US$5 billion worth of food.

There is every reason why our farmers, including our rice farmers, should seek a significant share of that market.

Therefore, my Government will give every assistance to farmers by improving drainage and irrigation, by incentivising young people to pursue farming as profitable careers, providing concessions for large-scale farming, remove VAT on machinery, equipment, fertiliser and pesticides and providing grants and a support system for small farmers.

We intend to do the same for fisheries, manufacturing and forestry by providing incentives, concessions and support.

We want our farmers, fisherfolk, miners and livestock growers to think globally as they develop and increase their production and the marketing of their products.

My Government is committed to providing the infrastructural framework in which these enterprises can develop and expand, improving directly the lives of all who invest their efforts in them, and benefitting our country as a whole indirectly by increasing its wealth and the welfare of our people.

Mr. Speaker, I say a special word about sugar.

Sugar is more to us, as a people, than a mere agricultural crop.

In a real sense, it represents our beginnings as a Guyanese nation.

Yes, our ancestors were brought from different lands to the place of our first people – Amerindian Guyanese – but sugar was the start of the fashioning of our identity as Guyanese, and our struggle as one people to end colonialism and exploitation and take control of our destiny.

Dr. Cheddi Jagan, once observed that both Afro-Guyanese and Indo-Guyanese “watered the sugar cane fields with their blood”.

We should all ponder that thought.

Those sugar cane fields, in which our ancestors toiled and in which their blood was shed, represent the shared exploitation of our people.

Well, the blood, sweat and tears of our people should never again water fields for any exploiter.

In the words of the Jamaican-American Poet, Claude McKay: “If we must die, let it not be like hogs Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot, While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs, Making their mock at our accursèd lot.

If we must die, O let us nobly die, So that our precious blood may not be shed In vain”.

All of this is why, we Guyanese must resolve to nurture and care for what we have built together, and never allow the circumstances to arise where we dilute our “oneness” or weaken our one Guyana.

Sugar symbolises all that.

But, even more, sugar still has every possibility of continuing to provide jobs, revenues and modern skills to our people, while providing them with dignity.

In resuscitating the Industry, I have already directed a detailed revitalisation plan of every estate, whilst we are examining possible private investment to support the diversification, expansion and modernisation of the industry, leading to its sustainability and economic viability.

Mr. Speaker, every Guyanese aspires to a better quality of life.

Each of us wants a home, reliable electricity, water when we turn on the taps, education for our children, health facilities, and a job that will allow us to pay for those things.

That is why job creation is at the top of my Government’s priorities.

But, we recognise that while we create the conditions for more jobs and better incomes, there are immediate steps that must be taken to improve living conditions for all.

That is why, we have removed VAT on electricity, water, medicines, and certain food

10

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, February 12, 2021

Address of His Excellency Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President ... (Continued) items.

That is also why we will upgrade health facilities across the country, including expansion of diagnostic services such as CT Scans, ultrasound, and echocardiogram, at key regional hospitals as well as improve ambulance services.

We will also focus major investments to address issues of mental health, reproductive health and invest in a state- of -the -art maternity and children’s hospital.

We will also create the enabling environment to drive private investments in healthcare, thus making Guyana a regional and international hub for health services.

We will also ensure that there is adequate supply of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies with a focus on timely procurement, proper storage and reliable delivery to hospitals and health centres.

Very aware that our medical practitioners – doctors and nurses are in the front line of maintaining the health of our people, particularly now– we intend to improve conditions of service and remuneration for health care workers generally.

And, let me take this opportunity at this Parliament – the highest decision-making body of our nation – to express, publicly, our deepest appreciation and gratitude to the medical personnel who have risked their own health to help our nation in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Even as I note that the battle is far from over, and more will be expected of them, I thank them most sincerely on behalf of a grateful nation, and I call on all here gathered to applaud their effort with respect.

As a nation, we will not be judged only by the way we treat human beings, but we must also pay particular attention to the environment, our natural heritage and the way we treat animals.

My Government will support initiatives and invest in programmes that addresses all these issues, sometimes referred to as ‘soft issues’ but which importantly adds to the story of who we are as Guyanese.

Mr. Speaker, Guyana is blessed with an abundance of natural resources that provides opportunities for every Guyanese.

Few other countries in the world can boast of being home to gold, diamond, bauxite, sugar, rice, cattle and other livestock, forestry, oil and gas, abundant agricultural lands, fresh water and tourism.

There is no reason for our country to be poor, or for our people to want.

We, together, have to take hold of these natural resources that have been gifted to us and turn them into national treasure.

My Government intends to lay down the infrastructure that will result in the full utilisation of all these resources.

Mr Speaker, I do not wish to pre-empt the Budget that will be presented to the National Assembly in a few hours.

Our development plan will be set out in granular detail in the budget.

However, I give this honourable House and the Guyanese public insights into elements of our development plan, including some of what we are doing, and why we are doing them.

We plan to expand our road system across the country, including community roads and hinterland roads.

We will also build a bypass road with connections to Mocha, Eccles and the Demerara Harbour Bridge.

We will initiate work on several transformative infrastructural projects, that will take years to complete, but we will start them.

They will include: - A deep water harbour at the Berbice estuary -Support to shore- base facilities -Support to private investment that will see new branded hotels -Support to agriculture that will see mega investments in large scale agriculture -Opening up of new lands through the

construction of farm to market access roads -Commencement of the Linden to Lethem road -Four Lane highway from Georgetown to Timehri -Commencement of the Parika to Goshen Road Link to Bartica -Upgrade and development of new all-terrain road links from Timehri to Bartica -Upgrade of regional airports -Building of new ferries -The construction of a four-lane link between Mandela and Diamond with interconnection to the existing highway to reduce travel time -Completion of the new Demerara River Bridge - The construction of a new superhighway from Schoonard to Parika We are working with our neighbour Suriname to establish a Corentyne River Bridge which would have great benefits for the Private Sector in enlarging markets, expanding the scale of business and increasing employment.

Mr. Speaker, we are very conscious of the rich but fragile environment with which we have been endowed by nature.

As promised in our Manifesto, the government will reinstitute an expanded Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). The strategy as it is now will be broadened to include wider environmental services, water resources management, climate resilience, biodiversity, renewable energy, and the marine economy.

We believe that this strategy will allow Guyana to earn substantial revenue that can be utilised to diversify the economy and create employment opportunities for our people as we did previously under the Norway Agreement.

In this agreement, we can earn hundreds of millions of USD as we have established in our earlier arrangement with the Norwegians.

From this agreement we seek to ensure the creation of new clean jobs. We also intend for the benefits from the Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) to flow to all Guyanese, especially our indigenous communities, where First Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) principles and the Opt-In Mechanism shall be strictly observed. The expanded LCDS will also include the establishment of an International Centre of Excellence for Biological Diversity with objective of promoting cutting edge research and developing and exporting educational services.

The national strategy will also seek to strengthen the institutional mandate of the Environmental Protection Agency by providing an empowering regulatory framework to guide economic growth initiatives. This also means that the National System of Protected Areas will also be strengthened and expanded in accordance with international standards of environmental integrity.

Finally, the expanded LCDS will provide opportunities to our people by creating avenues that will provide grants for start-up businesses of a renewable energy nature.

Beyond the management of our natural resources, the expanded LCDS will also ensure the issue of land management and access to land is also addressed. This will be done by the establishment of a formal inter-agency mechanism with the intention to coordinate among key sectors to address various land use conflicts in Guyana via the implementation of the Land Use Policy.

The implementation of this policy is also expected to be implemented with a regional dimension that would ensure to incorporate the interests of both residential and commercial users.

The expanded LCDS will guide our developmental trajectory along an inclusive, low carbon, sustainable, clean, resilient path with increased economic opportunities and investments linked to greater social and infrastructural development for the benefit of all.

Mr. Speaker, Beyond the richness of our natural resources, Guyana has no greater wealth than

its people.

We recognise that human capital development is crucial for inclusive economic growth and transformation and it is the responsibility of government to ensure that its people are prepared for this change. Therefore, my government will ensure that ALL Guyanese are equipped for transformation in the economy by identifying employment intensive sectors and ensuring that our people are trained to enable them to meet the demand in these sectors.

Investing in Guyanese is not only good for our economy but has broader equity and welfare implications. With rapid change in technology, we recognise that investing in our people is pivotal. Our move towards knowledge-intensive industries will also enable greater participation from female Guyanese and help to reduce the gender gap in our society.

These fields are expected to see higher future demand as our economy continues along its diversification path and will be supported by the 20,000 scholarship programmes, expansion and improvement in educational facilities, expansion and use of ICT in education, enhancement of opportunities in Technical Vocational Education, curricula reform, establishment of an online university to promote e-learning, and provision of textbooks to our school children among other things.

The drive towards diversification and sustainable employment requires a vibrant private sector to absorb labour and labour market that allows flexibility, skill building and reasonable compensation. My government will continue to work with the private sector, recognising that it is the backbone of any economy.

Our local companies must be given a level platform to compete; training and capacity building initiatives along with the transfer of skills and technology are important to this process.

We are cognisant that there are impediments to businesses providing goods and services to the oil and gas sector, especially in the area of finance and cost optimization. My government will ensure that our regulatory frameworks are conducive for local companies that work in this sector so that they can garner the necessary resources needed to take advantage of these new opportunities. Our economy is changing, and we have to ensure that our policies are flexible and fit for purpose. These incentives will ensure that our Guyanese people continue to prosper and truly benefit from the oil and gas sector.

It is our firm belief that the Guyanese people are the greatest asset that this nation possesses.

In supporting the new economy, my Government understands the necessity of developing skills in emerging areas such as Oil and Gas, Agro-processing, Industrialisation, Manufacturing, Climate Services, Environmental Services, Bio Diversity, Sustainable Tourism Management and Aquaculture while at the same time strengthening our capacity in the traditional sectors with the aim of making them more productive and competitive.

Mr Speaker, Our potential to become a major player in the energy market is not only limited to our borders, but we have already commenced discussions with our neighbours, Brazil and Suriname, in the establishment of an Energy Corridor.

Guyana’s Energy Security will be driven by an energy mix that will see solar, wind, hydro, natural gas all being key components in making us the energy capital of the region.

This of course will see tremendous investment in manufacturing and industrial development that will be supported by the gas-to-shore project, the natural gas plant and the establishment of the Wales Development Authority.

We have already received numerous proposals from major manufacturers looking at Guyana as their next investment destination.

To support the growing demand and potential for commodity trading, Government will

be establishing Free Zones to facilitate trade and open up new opportunities.

These investments will also see the expansion of the hinterland electrification programme, and the development of micro grids for large hinterland villages for off-grid areas.

Mr. Speaker No country or society can progress without the safety and security of its people.

We have committed to the reform of the security sector, the update of laws, strengthening of capacity and building institutions that will support our plans and programmes for safer communities and country.

We have already commenced tackling crime with the involvement of people. To this end we are strengthening community policing, intelligence services and widening focus on making existing institutions stronger.

We are investing in new and appropriate technologies, providing tools and equipment to allow for better response to crime and more proactive policing, whilst, at the same time, we are working on the improvement of welfare and conditions of service for our men and women in uniform.

Critical to the strategic approach to crime fighting is the strengthening of the regionalised structure of the Guyana Police Force.

Greater integration with interest groups and stakeholders at the regional level will be facilitated to improve accountability and transparency in crime fighting.

We will also be strengthening our ability to secure our borders with the establishment of a Border Patrol Unit. Special Legislation is being drafted to give effect to this.

Mr. Speaker, when my Government’s Budget 2021 is presented to the National Assembly and when my Ministers contribute to the debate, greater details will be provided on the implementation of our Manifesto pledges, covering more aspects than I have mentioned in this address.

However, I want to speak myself on the matter of partnerships between Government and representative bodies in the governance of our One Guyana.

The watchword for the governance of our country must be “partnership”.

I propose to have regular high-level consultations with the representatives of the private sector, the trade unions, religious bodies and other civil society groups to address key issues that confront our nation.

I intend also to directly engage communities and community leaders across every village in building trust and deepening relationships to the benefit of the people of those communities and I intend to do this personally, leading this personally; in every village, every community we will build trust, we will win hearts and we will develop in the interest of all of the people of this country.

With these representatives, it is my desire that consensus will be found on how to tackle these issues effectively.

I have encouraged my Ministers to establish similar consultative machinery so that, in making decisions, government can be advised by the best brains and talent in every area of our national endeavour.

And the hand of partnership will also be extended to the Guyanese diaspora.

It is my intention to enhance the oversight of ‘diaspora’ affairs so that we can maintain meaningful links to the diaspora and for convening meetings with their organisations.

In this connection, we are in the process of establishing a Diaspora Council to engage the government in a structured and regular manner.

Our diaspora is a source of investment, of talent and of knowledge – all of which can benefit our nation.

They can also be an important influential body in the countries where they have made their second homes, for promoting the interests of Guyana.

All must be involved, All must be consumed.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, February 12, 2021

Address of His Excellency Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President ... (Continued) Mr. Speaker, My Government understands the importance of youths in the development of the country. It is for this reason I have established the soon to be operationalised – Youth Advisory Council which will be at the heartbeat of policy making.

Our support for young people will go beyond education, health and sports. We will be establishing a special development, innovation and research fund to stimulate new business ideas and to create a space for youth participation in the new economy.

Young people can expect investments in every region that will give access to stateof-the-art sporting facilities, and importantly, incentivising participation in the creative industry.

Our support to cultural development and the creative industry will be critically linked to our tourism and hospitality sector.

Home ownership for young people with support from the banking sector is also a top priority for my Government.

Mr. Speaker, All of which I spoke is dependent on the institutions, systems and various arms of Government understanding their distinct role in the common future of our country.

Whilst the arms of Government are separate, they must all assess the direction of the country and build the relevant institutional capacity to meet the demands of the future.

This of course requires training, retraining, retooling and expansion of the existing framework in which they operate.

To support this, my Government will unfold a legislative agenda that will create the statutory and legal foundation on which a new and modern Guyana will rest.

This will require the modernisation of archaic laws and the introduction of a new set of laws to reflect the changing nature of our new economy.

However, the legislative agenda must be people-focussed, making it easier and less costly to do business, whilst at the same time creating a more efficient and affordable system to give justice to the ordinary man.

Mr. Speaker, In closing, I wish to share just a few targets my Government will pursue over the next five years in key areas.

We believe that that we must be held accountable and in holding us accountable, you must know where your country is going. You must know the target. Therefore, I wish to state just a few of these targets.

ENERGY - The development of a world class energy mix - Installation of 400 mega watts of new installed capacity inclusive of hydro power, solar, wind and natural gas.

- Reduction of electricity cost for households and businesses - Making Guyana’s energy cost globally competitive - Working with Brazil and Suriname to create a new energy corridor - Outlining a clear path to becoming a net energy exporter.

ENVIRONMENT - Adopting an expanded LCDS as our national development framework to create opportunities to tap into and earn hundreds of millions of US dollars through the sale of environmental services. The Vice President will lead these efforts. We have already started and we are confident about the returns that will come to Guyana. We did it before and we will do it again.

- Establishing a world class biodiversity centre - Pursuing opportunities for payment of eco system services - Incentivise good environmental performance in the Private Sector. The Private Sector

also has a role to play and we are going to support them in that role.

INFRASTRUCTURE TRANSFORMATION - Opening up of hundreds of thousands of acres of agriculture lands through the investment in farm to market roads and drainage and irrigation systems - New super-highways on West Demerara, East Coast and East Bank corridors - New Demerara River Bridge crossing - Support private investment in new hotels adding at least 2000 more rooms to our stock - Creating an environment to make Guyana a major logistics hub - New shore base and harbour facilities supported by Government policies and planning - Investment in new ferries and capital drainage equipment to improve efficiency of our ports. You know, one of the major difficulties of our ports is the dredging of the Demerara River, and it has caused our ports to become very inefficient. We are going to invest in the Capital equipment to resolve this issue and make our ports viable, sustainable and operate at an optimal manner.

- Create an enabling environment that would see investments leading to a new deep-water harbour connecting to regional and international markets - Commencement of the Linden to Lethem Road Highway - Creating the infrastructure that will see more investment in agro-processing and manufacturing supported by a ballooning of engineering services - Creation of new road networks in the hinterland and riverine communities - A new road and river link between Timehri and Bartica - Commencement of works on the Parika – Goshen Road - Investment in key transformative infrastructure in the hinterland, Region 10, Region 2 and Region 6 - Modernisation of our community roads across all regions and investment in hinterland and regional airstrips to boost our tourism product.

Already on the bright side, we were able to, in just six months, bring forward the approval of the new four-lane road from Ogle to Eccles, funded by the Indian Government, by almost a year.

Today we received the news that all of the approval has been given in India. We are moving to the procurement stage. This is a project that was delayed for almost seven years.

Today we are on the journey of achieving this and bringing relief to the people of Guyana.

HUMAN RESOURCES - Building a world class and highly skilled, and literate population - Investing in technical and vocational education leading to international certification - Creating opportunities for training, retraining, and retooling of our human resources to meet the future demands of the economy - Conducting a market driven analysis as the basis on which our education system will be geared to ensure that there is a right match between educational output and economic input. On the positive side we are in an advanced state of discussion to have our own institute of oil and gas here in Guyana, TECHNOLOGY - Creation of a masterplan for ICT development in Guyana - Investment in technology to improve our competitiveness, efficiency, transparency and reliability - Moving Government services towards a paperless environment - Ensuring every child leaves school computer literate

- Investing in a patient care management system that would see every Guyanese connected through one card - Expanding access to internet services across all communities - Reduction in the cost of data to individuals and households - Increasing the number of persons using the internet from 36% by 100% by the end of our five years - Increasing the number of households having access to a computer from 31% by 100% in five years - Investment in technology that will increase competitiveness in doing business and breaking down barriers - Investing in software development that will reduce time in processing construction permit, getting electricity and water connection by 50 % .

Important to all of this, we must have world class social services.

WORLD CLASS SOCIAL SERVICES - Public and Private investment that will see world class health care system acting as a net foreign currency earner for our country. Already we have tremendous interest in this area and I am delighted that many Guyanese are coming together in pursuing this interest also.

- Specialised healthcare for maternity and children services - Comprehensive and reliable access to primary health care across every region - World class educational facilities as incentivising private investment - Building of sustainable communities in achieving the 50,000 houselots - Commencement of a new, modern, sustainable secondary city - In addition to the provision of free university education during this term and the granting of 20,000 scholarships, you will also see the establishment of an internationally accredited Oil and Gas Institute - Investments will be made in training and increasing the quantity of educators whilst modernising the curriculum, expanding the use of technology and improving educational facilities - The mix of new communities and infrastructure links will be geared towards reduction in traffic congestion, improvement in road safety, the physical security of our people, expansion of affordable homes and a quantum leap in the eradication of squatting.

- Investment in water resources to ensure 100% access by every community and expanding treated water coverage to at least 70% of the population.

- Direct investment and allocation will be placed in the National Budget to support persons with disabilities.

- Direct investment and allocations will be made to support Associations and Organsiations in our efforts to prevent cruelty against animals.

- Specific provisions will be made to support mental health and reproductive health.

Important to the achievement of all of these targets is a sound, stable and viable macro-economic framework.

MACRO ECOMOMIC FRAMEWORK - The aim is to create an environment that would ensure our competitiveness, diversify the economy, support sound monetary and fiscal policies whilst enhancing transparency in a pro-poor approach to growth and development - Whilst we are targetting high economic growth rate this acceleration must, and I emphasise, must, be managed to minimise the risk of overheating - Our focus will be on maintaining exchange rate stability and managing inflation in lower single digits - Rebuilding our depleted foreign reserves - Diversification of new industries for large scale plantation type agriculture including aquaculture, among other things.

I am pleased to say that we have already

managed to bring out livestock producers together and with the enthusiasm of private and public investment, we anticipate that all of the protein needs in the production of feed will be produced locally; all the corn , all the soya bean.

We will support businesses, we will support the private sector, we will support workers.

Let me be clear, every single worker, public sector worker; whether you are nurses, doctors, members of the judiciary, I assure you by the end of our fifth year, not only will you be better off from a salary perspective but the benefits, the society in which you live and the services that will be delivered to you, would enable you to live a good life, a great life in Guyana.

No more must the dream be to exit the shores. There is a bright future ahead. Let us embrace it. Let us support it. Dream big, your Government will support those dreams.

Mr. Speaker, there is no end to the Manifesto tasks that lie ahead, for there is no end to the efforts we must make for the homeland. We all want Guyana to be for each of us and all of us – and for the generations that will follow.

To build that home, it would not be right for us to forget or neglect our obligations beyond our shores – in the Caribbean Community, in the Americas, in the world of small states and in global affairs.

For we are not an island unto ourselves.

We owe a special debt to CARICOM for helping to ensure that we could sit in this democratically elected Parliament today.

It is one we shall never forget, as we work to build a Caribbean Community worthy of the highest ideals of regional integration.

Nor will we be neglectful of members of the international community who kept vigil with us; Canada, the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom among others.

We will honour their vigilance for us, by joining them in pursuing the values of equality, of peace and of the rule of law, world-wide.

Mr. Speaker, For too long, our country has been held ransom to the ambitions of partisan politics and the narrowness of partisan ambition.

It is time to set those two impostors aside and to embrace in their place the virtuous cause of patriotic duty. A commitment my Government has made already.

Guyana and the Guyanese people deserve no less; they have endured enough.

We are at a decisive moment in our history with a greater opportunity than previous Parliaments to make our country a better place than it has ever been.

This is the honour and the challenge that time, and events have laid at our door.

We must – each of us – live up to it.

The people of Guyana expect us to not spend our time squabbling and bickering; they want us to find common ground on which we can build a nation in which they are safe and their children’s future is secure.

I pledge myself to that task.

And I urge every representative in the National Assembly to join me in striving for its fulfilment.

There can be no task more fulfilling; no task more honourable; no task more noble!

Let us, together, run with endurance the race God has set before us.

God bless you.

God bless our beloved Guyana.

And may God bless our joint endeavours.

Thank you.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, February 12, 2021

Improving ranks’ wellbeing, greater community involvement –– among pillars of new national defence policy outlined by President Ali

By Richard Bhainie STRENGTHENING of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) as an institution; emphasis on improving the wellbeing of ranks; the fortification of national security through foreign policy and greater involvement of the GDF within the communities, are four pillars of the new national defence policy.

The multi-faceted national defence policy, conducive to Guyana’s national development strategy, was outlined by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, during

his inaugural address to the Annual Officers’ Conference of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), on Thursday at the National Cultural Centre.

“We must not see a difference between national development strategy and our defence strategy, the success and sustainability of our national development strategy requires a strong defence strategy that supports the growth and development of our country,” President Ali highlighted.

While recognising the critical stage of development and economic growth Guyana has embarked on, the Pres-

ident elaborated on his defence policy which entails the “retooling, re-organising and reskilling” of the members of the force, for the development of a well-skilled and versatile force, to execute the policy in line with the national development strategy.

INSTITUTION The Head of State announced that the first pillar of the new policy is to strengthen the Defence Force as an institution so that it may be able to better execute its mandate.

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President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, with Home Affairs Minister, Robeson Benn (left); Chief of Staff (ag) of the Guyana Defence Force, Brigadier Godfrey Bess (second right) and Prime Minister, Mark Phillips, share a light moment (right) (Delano Williams photo)

President Dr. Irfaan Ali (centre) is flanked by Prime Minister, Mark Phillips (left); Chief of Staff (ag), Brigadier Godfrey Bess (right); Home Affairs Minister, Robeson Benn and other officers of the Guyana Defence Force in this traditional ‘family’ photo (Delano Williams photo)

A foreign company is exploiting Guyanese Dear Editor, THIS letter serves to bring a matter of gross exploitation of Guyanese to the attention of the relevant authorities with the hope of an urgent intervention.

At present, persons who traverse the Puruni- Olive Creek Road are being charged exorbitant fees by a foreign company to cross the Puruni River via its river pontoon.

Form time immemorial, an initial toll has been paid at the Teperu Mazaruni crossing and the subsequent

Puruni Crossing did not attract any charge. In recent months, however, we have seen spontaneous and drastically varying imposition of tolls at Puruni.

The crossing at Teperu to Itiballi extends approximately 1000m across the Mazaruni river and tolls are charged as follows: ATV- $2000, Excavator $45,000 and 4x4 TM Trucks $35,000. The crossing at Puruni, with high water, is approximately 120 m and low water 30 m; however, the foreign com-

pany’s charges are: ATVs $3000 to $5000, Excavator $100,000 to $300,000 and 4x4 TM Trucks $50,000.

With no alternative, persons are forced to pay, without being issued a receipt, whatever is charged by the foreign company, on the day. This situation has been ongoing for several months and it is my hope that something would be done to address this outright abuse.

Your sincerely, Concerned miner

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, February 12, 2021

US$400,000 programme to improve functioning of judicial system THE U.S. Embassy in Georgetown, in partnership with the Judiciary of Guyana, has announced the development of an automated court case management system in Guyana.

According to a release from the embassy, the overall goal of this project is to improve the functioning of Guyana’s judicial system.

The new case management system will help Guyana’s judiciary ensure criminal cases are handled

expeditiously, reduce the case backlog, and increase public trust and confidence in the justice system.

“The court case management system will utilise a shared, open-source, and cost-effective technology to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of judges and court staff by automating document production, improving processes, and facilitating data sharing,” the release said.

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of In-

ternational Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs is supporting the project, and the National Center for State Courts will implement the project alongside the Judiciary of Guyana.

The US expects to invest more than US$400,000 in the system, making it the largest new investment in a judicial sector assistance programme in Guyana in years. The programme is scheduled to be completed in 17 months.

Improving ranks’ wellbeing...

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While this will be done through the acquisition of equipment, aircraft and marine vessels, which will allow the force to exercise improved surveillance over Guyana’s terrain, technological advancement will also play a pivotal role.

“A stronger force however, does not mean a larger force; we are building a smarter defence force with an emphasis on increased use of technology and intelligence so that we can know what is occurring on our borders and within our territorial sea and EEC,” the President said.

INDIVIDUALS Of utmost importance is the wellbeing and welfare of ranks who serve within the GDF; this forms the second pillar of the defence policy and heavy investment will be channeled into improving the lives of members of the force and their families.

“A grateful nation takes care of those who are prepared to lay down their lives to protected our motherland, no soldier should therefore live in want and destitution,” President Ali said.

He noted that a number of scholarships and training opportunities, improved health services and a special housing programme will be set aside for members of the force and their families; the policy also caters for ranks after their retirement.

“I am pleased to say to you that we have already communicated to the chiefof-staff to have the first 150 officers and ranks pre-qualify with the banks for the first roll out of not only house lots but housing facilities,” the President announced.

NATIONAL SECURITY “The third pillar of our defence policy is the fortification of national security through the pursuit of a foreign policy which places primacy on respect for inter-

national law and the protection of our territorial integrity and national sovereignty,” President Ali explained.

Relations with friendly militaries and states will be founded on friendship and co-operation, he said and noted that the country will be no pawn or puppet of any foreign power, no foreign power will establish a presence that Guyana and the GDF do not request.

“We will exercise our sovereign right to choose our friends and to enter into agreements which will enhance our defence force’s capabilities and our people’s development," The Guyanese Head-of-State noted.

He also noted that the first line of defence Guyana will employ is that of diplomacy and will embark on peaceful resolution to disputes while maintaining utmost respect and adherence to international law and the cultivation of strong foreign relations.

“But while we are a peaceful state no one should underestimate our resolve at protecting our territory and safeguarding national sovereignty, let not our peaceful intent be mistaken for weakness,” the President asserted.

He made reference to the recent detaining of Guyanese fishermen by Venezuela while they were fishing in Guyana’s exclusive economic zone and thanked the international community for their support while noting that Guyana will continue to court the solidarity of the regional and international community in deterring threats to our territorial integrity and sovereignty.

“Guyana will also forge close cooperation with sister militaries and friendly states in enhancing the capacity of its armed forces. At present this co-operation has manifested in joint and multilateral military training exercise through donations of non-le-

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thal equipment from our friends and allies,” he said.

NATIONAL INTEGRATION The fourth and one of the most important pillars of the defence policy the Head of State outlined was that of the integration of the force within the communities of Guyana.

“This will involve a more pronounced identification with our communities. The Guyana Defence Force is part of the State, it is not aloof from the people and the communities in which they live, and it is not intended to be an elite exclusive institution,” the President said.

He explained that the members of the Force are highly skilled and versatile and these skills will be made available to the people of Guyana through the force becoming more involved in the communities.

“I believe we have done ourselves an injustice by not allowing that skillset to be optimally utilised in communities so Guyana can understand the holistic nature of our GDF,” the President said.

Through the new defence policy, the GDF will play a greater role in search and rescue operations; responding to disasters; in the provision of infrastructural services; the defence and protection of border communities; in medical outreaches and responding to medical emergencies and in coaching and honing the talents of Guyana’s athletes.

The President explained that while the country will enjoy greater economic influence and opportunities, the country will also develop greater responsibility and the force must be prepared to offer support; the defence policy is tailored to elevate the force to be able to do so.

US Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch at the opening of the INL programme with the judiciary (US Embassy photo)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, February 12, 2021

Vaccination for COVID-19 begins!

–– first set of frontline health workers receive ‘jabs’, no adverse reactions recorded

–– pandemic ‘turning’ around, health minister says

By Vishani Ragobeer EXACTLY one month before the first ‘anniversary’ of Guyana’s first

recorded COVID-19 case, healthcare workers at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) and those at the Nation-

al Infectious Diseases Hospital at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown, received the first dose of the Oxford-Astrazeneca

COVID-19 vaccine.

These frontline workers were the first to receive the vaccines since they are at a higher risk of contracting the novel coronavirus from patients and visitors. There are approximately 300 frontline, medical workers

“We are really happy to know that today we can give them what is necessary, so that they can continue in assisting us in the fight against COVID-19,” he highlighted.

And so, on Thursday, vaccination for COVID-19 officially began with the distribution of the Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine.

The vaccines used were do-

the very first administration of these vaccines.

As she waited for the vaccines to arrive, Frontline Doctor, who works in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Christopher Hochan, kept her company.

Soon after 09:00 hours, the vaccine carriers, which allowed the vaccines to be stored at an adequately cold temperature, were brought

Pharmacist at the GPHC, Brinnet Bernarai, was the first Guyanese to receive the first dose of the Oxford-Astrazeneca COVID-19 vaccine (Vishani Ragobeer photo)

A nurse collecting basic information from head of Medical Services at the GPHC, Dr Mahendra Carpen before he gets the COVID-19 vaccine (Vishani Ragobeer photo)

at the two health facilities.

“The GPHC has been at the forefront in the managing of COVID-19 patients since the inception. My staff has been brave and courageous working with these patients even though the uncertainty and fear existed,” GPHC Director of Medical and Professional Services, Dr. Fawcett Jeffery said.

nated by Barbados after that country was able to secure 100,000 doses from India earlier in the week.

Pharmacist at the GPHC, Brinnet Bernarai was the first Guyanese to receive the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. She was surrounded by many of her colleagues, officials from the Ministry of Health and members of the media who were eager to capture

to the vaccination room at the GPHC. The pharmacist was given a vaccination card, which is particularly important as she is required to take a second dose of the vaccine in about three weeks’ time or sometime after if the health guidelines provided for the dosage schedule is modified.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, February 12, 2021

Vaccination for COVID-19 ... approaches to the disease, have only been around for a short while.

“I can understand the fear that people may have but when we look at the scientific evidence, the scientific scrutiny and everything that is presented, it’s very clear that the benefits outweigh the risk…. and that is what we look for in every medication, in every new medical device,” he said.

Dr. Carpen was among the many healthcare workers who took the vaccine on Thursday and he simply said this was so because he was Nurse Edoll Ainsworth places a plaster on the arm of Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC)’s Director of Medical and Professional Services, Dr. Fawcett Jeffery, after he received a dose of the Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine at the National Infectious Diseases Hospital at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown (Vishani Ragobeer photo)

As she walked into the room with all eyes on her, she was provided with basic information on the vaccine and what potential side effects she could experience.

Subsequently, the vaccine dose was taken out of the carrier, inserted into the syringe and finally, inserted into Bernarai’s arm.

As part of the standard protocols instituted, Bernarai was required to sit down for 15 to 20 minutes. During that time, she would be monitored for any adverse reactions or side-effects to the vaccine.

Common side-effects include redness and/or soreness at the site of the injection. Fortunately, she did not experience any concerning side-effects and was able to return to her duties.

The Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine, reportedly, has an efficacy of 62 per cent. However, it is also reportedly 90 per cent efficacious with a lower dose than the required two doses.

The Guyana Chronicle was subsequently informed that there were no adverse reactions recorded among any of the healthcare workers who were vaccinated, but at the time the information was provided, all reports had not yet been received.

‘TURNING AROUND’ Following Bernardo’s ‘jab’, Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, highlighted, “This might look like a very simple moment but it marks what I would say is the be-

ginning of the turning around of this pandemic in Guyana.”

He said that it is the ministry’s intention to ensure that all 22,000 health workers, both in the public and private sectors, are vaccinated and protected from COVID-19. It is expected that by the end of month, most of these workers will be vaccinated.

Subsequently, once Guyana has been able to secure more vaccine doses from the various bodies and countries it is engaging, vaccination of other frontline workers such as the joint services, the elderly and persons diagnosed with comorbidities (other underlying health conditions such as diabetes and hypertension) will be done.

“Our intention is to ensure that we get to herd immunity,” Dr. Anthony said.

Herd immunity will occur once about 80 per cent of the population is immune to the disease. Vaccination is a way of ensuring immunisation.

As such, Dr. Anthony indicated that efforts are being made to secure vaccines for the entire adult population in a short period.

‘VACCINE HESITANCY’ Though Thursday’s vaccination drive was symbolic, there were few healthcare workers, who were eligible to receive the vaccines but did not take this first dose of the vaccine. Many of them had concerns over the short time in which these vaccines were developed, how long

immunity would last and generally, whether the vaccines were safe.

These concerns are not unique to Guyana. In fact, the World Health Organisation (WHO) noted that vaccine hesitancy -- which is a delay in the acceptance or outright refusal of vaccines despite the availability of vaccination services -- as a threat to global public health.

This sense of hesitancy, the WHO reported, may be driven by complacency, lack of confidence, fear and misinformation.

Dr. Anthony has consistently emphasised that vaccination will not be mandatory but encouraged persons to get vaccinated since it will help to protect individuals from the virus.

Nevertheless, on Thursday, he did acknowledge that a recently completed study indicated that there are some groups of people who are indeed reluctant to take the vaccines, or at least, take these vaccines now. Though he did not state who the individuals encompassed in these groups are, he related that the ministry could engage in focus group sessions to understand what factors are driving this hesitancy, among groups of people.

Meanwhile, later that day, Head of Medical Services at the GPHC, Dr. Mahendra Carpen, noted that healthcare workers have “real concerns over these vaccines” which is understandable, since COVID-19 and the medical

“comfortable” with the ratio of benefits to risks. At about five hours after receiving the vaccine, he reported that he had operated on a few patients and did not feel any side-effects.

“I still have feelings in my fingers,” he half-joked, while flexing his fingers. “I can still smell, I can still see out of both eyes, I don’t have any of the known side effects and I don’t feel any different today than I felt yesterday.”

Over at the Liliendaal hospital, Dr. Dave Persaud, a doctor who was been working in the COVID-19 ICU

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since March, also related that his decision to take the vaccine was informed by his reasoning that the benefits outweighed the risk.

Dr. Persaud was keen an advocating for the use of the vaccines since he has seen the devastating impact of COVID-19 - i.e., the loss of lives.

“Everyone is entitled to their opinion, when you think of the risk of COVID-19 versus protecting against it, there is no second guessing,” Dr. Persaud said.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, February 12, 2021

Incentives for renewable energy the way to go —WWF Country Manager says

THOUGH Guyana has its burgeoning petroleum sector, the country has been a longstanding beacon of “green” development, and Country Manager of WWF Guyana, Aiesha Williams says that incen-

tives for businesses opting to integrate renewable energy sources are necessary.

“There’s one thing in talking about renewable energy, but creating the right atmosphere; creating

the enabling environment, especially for businesses in the country is very important,” Williams said in a recent interview with the Guyana Chronicle ahead of today’s presentation of the National Budget.

Incentives for the private sector have been a central component of the current government’s emergency budget, which was presented shortly after taking office last year. Such incentives are seen as necessary to

stimulate investments and business activity, and Williams is of the opinion that incentives for renewable energy will encourage more businesses to add to sustainable development efforts.

into renewable energy,” she emphasised.

She also noted that globally, there is a shift towards renewable forms of energy, whether solar, wind or hydropower. Bloomberg

WWF Guyana Country Manager, Aiesha Williams

The Country Manager reasoned that investing in renewable energy carries a cost, and if businesses are willing to make that investment in a bid to transition to more sustainable practices that are better for the environment, supporting systems should be in place. Fiscal incentives can include exemptions for Value Added Tax (VAT) and import duty on renewable energy equipment and appliances.

Additionally, Williams noted that supporting legislation could be introduced to allow for the excess renewable energy which may be produced by a business to be supplied to the national grid.

“There are small-islands that are going down this route in the Caribbean, and allowing ordinary people to really move towards renewable energy… We should look towards this, so that more persons; more Guyanese homes and businesses can find ways of investing

Green, in 2020 reported that indeed, while the pandemic caused a ‘slowdown’ in the use of non-renewable forms of energy such as oil, the use of renewable energy was on the increase.

Commenting on whether Guyana’s oil-and- gas developments signal any departure from Guyana’s commitment to “green”, sustainable development, Williams pointed out that the local development drive and “green” development are not mutually exclusive.

This, according to her, means that it is possible for Guyana to pursue sustainable ways of exploiting its natural resources.

However, she cautioned that environmental and social safeguards are crucial components of sustainable development.

These would include ensuring that the environment and local ecosystems are not irreparably damaged, and that people are central in the decision-making platforms.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, February 12, 2021

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, February 12, 2021

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, February 12, 2021

MMA land dispute resolution sub-committee in place

AGRICULTURE Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, on Thursday, met with members of the Mahaica Mahaicony Abary Agriculture Development Authority’s (MMA-ADA’s) land dispute resolution sub-committee and provided a brief on a number of pressing matters.

Most of those are in the MMA scheme that the committee would need to review.

“The creation of this sub-committee came about when the Attorney-General and I were discussing the land issues that were coming out of the MMA scheme.

There are a number of legal issues pending there and there are a number of issues with land distribution. There are hundreds of acres of land that were leased to people who are residing overseas.

In turn, they are renting it to small farmers who are forced to pay double or triple the cost of the lease fee in rent.

As you know, we have a new Board of Directors for the MMA. I’ve tasked the new board with coming up with proposals because we want to start works on the second phase of the scheme.

We have to do a feasibility study to look at all the ramifications that could occur,” Minister Mustapha said.

Minister Mustapha told the three-member sub-committee that it would be mandated to look at the disputes between the farmers and provide timely proposals and suggestions on how the MMA and the government can resolve those issues amicably among the farmers.

“We are looking to double rice production over the next five years. Last year, we produced 1.2 million metric tonnes of paddy. In five years we hope to produce 2.4 million metric tonnes.

That means we have to open more land, and bring these lands under cultivation. This also means we’ll have to settle land disputes in areas that have already been developed. Farmers have been coming to my open days and meeting me at outreaches with open conflicts and bad relations. There are also a number of matters pending in the court so I know for a fact we’ll have to have advice on how to deal with these issues,” Minister Mustapha said.

Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, during the meeting with members of the sub-committee on Thursday

The subject minister said that a draft Terms of Reference (ToR) will be created and given to the sub-committee by the board for review and recommendations shortly.

Minister Mustapha also informed the members that

the MMA Board will also be looking at developing a zoning policy because of conflicts among cattle rearers and rice and cash crop

farmers.

The sub-committee is being headed by Justice (ret’d) Cecil Kennard, and comprises former CEO

of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission, Andrew Bishop and Lands and Surveys official, Jewel Cheong.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, February 12, 2021

10 samples sent to CARPHA not COVID-19 variants

By Vishani Ragobeer THE 10 samples of COVID-19 that were sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), in Trinidad, for genomic sequencing in order to identify whether these samples are newer variants of the coronavirus are not COVID-19 variants, Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony has reported.

The minister made the announcement during his

Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony

daily COVID-19 update with the Department of Public Information (DPI), on Thursday. Since the beginning of this year, there have been concerns that newer, more transmissible (easily spread) variants had been imported to Guyana. Samples that seemed ‘abnormal’ were sent to CARPHA for testing at the end of January.

“Last night, CARPHA informed us that the 10 samples we sent to them -- they were able to complete the gene sequencing -- and they

haven’t found any of the new variants that are currently talked about,” Dr. Anthony said.

CARPHA in collaboration with a team from the University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine Campus has been engaging in a type of genetic analysis, called genomic sequencing, to determine whether COVID-19 samples are the ‘normal’ strain or variants.

A new variant of COVID-19 was discovered in the UK late last year, after

genomic sequencing was conducted on a number of samples. This variant is reportedly more transmissible but it does not seem to be more deadly.

The UK variant, called the B117, prompted many countries to institute bans on persons travelling from that country. In the Caribbean, Jamaica was among the few countries to institute such a ban but that country has since recorded four cases of the UK variant. Last month, CARPHA’s genomic sequencing revealed that one case of the UK variant was imported in Trinidad.

Variants have also been detected in South Africa and in Guyana’s southern neighbour, Brazil. The Brazilian variant has been particularly concerning given the proximity of that country to Guyana and the porous border between the two countries. Travel between the two countries has been restricted.

Though CARPHA’s sequencing indicated that those 10 samples were not variants of COVID-19; that does not definitively mean that there are no variants already in Guyana. It means that Guyana has not yet been able to identify whether those variants are here.

Nevertheless, the Health Ministry will be sending more samples to CARPHA for similar genetic analyses and partnerships that would allow for genetic sequencing elsewhere are being explored.

“That does not mean that we have to decrease our vigilance, we have to continue taking samples and sending them out just to get a sense of what is circulating here in Guyana,” Dr. Anthony emphasised on Thursday.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, February 12, 2021

India approves plan for Ogle-Eccles road

By Navendra Seoraj FUNDING for the ‘retailored’ Ogle, East Coast Demerara to Diamond, East Bank Demerara, bypass road project, which was delayed for almost seven ye ars, has bee n approved by the Government of India.

It was reported in August 2020 that the Government had retailored the Ogle to Diamond bypass road project to conform to the loan available to execute the major works.

Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar, had said that the new, four-lane project will extend from Ogle to Eccles, rather than to Diamond. This move will save taxpayers approximately US$158 million.

“Already, on the bright side, we were able to, in just six months, bring forward the approval of the new four-lane road from Ogle to Eccles, funded by the Indian Government, by almost a year,” President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, said during his inaugural address to the 12th Parliament, on Thursday.

By approving funds for this project, the Government of India has paved the way for the project to move into the procurement stage.

Identifying the previously proposed connection at Mocha as a difficult area to execute works, the Minister Indar had said the swamped terrain contributed to an astronomical increase in the total project cost.

“For you to do those swamps, the cost of the earth works pushed up the cost to US$208 million. Remember, the Indian Government only had US$50 million allocated to this project. So, we had to redesign the project to bring it to the original design,” Minister Indar explained.

Before the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) demitted office in May 2015, former President Donald Ramotar had conducted an official visit to India, where he received the commitment of a US$50 million loan from the Indian Exim Bank to fund the proposed bypass road.

When the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) took office the same year, the designs of the project were altered, drastically increasing the cost of the project to some US$208 million.

The loan agreement, secured by the Ramotar administration, was signed in 2017 by the then APNU+AFC Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan.

With the recent modifications, the construction of the 20-kilometre road will be covered entirely by the US$50 million loan.

It was reported that work on the first phase of the Ogle to Diamond bypass road is moving smoothly and will be completed by the end of April 2021.

Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, had told the Guyana Chronicle that the four-kilometre road, which is being developed on new, virgin soil, is 65 per cent complete.

Croal said the ongoing work includes the construction of two heavy-duty culverts and two heavy-duty reinforced concrete bridges, and the installation of street lights along the road.

This first phase of the project is being executed by the Ministry of Housing and Water through the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA).

“It was designed by the experienced staff of CH&PA… so, completion of work is on schedule,” Minister Croal said.

While leaving the official announcement of

the macro impact of this project for President Ali, Croal said briefly that the road will undoubtedly create new lands for housing and other economic activities.

A section of the Eccles to Diamond road

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, February 12, 2021

House approves amendments to Law Reform Commission Act

By Rehana Ahamad AMENDMENTS to the Law Reform Commission Act of 2016 were passed in the National Assembly on Thursday. In proposing the 2020 amendment bill, Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, said that the Act needed to be amended to allow for the a diversity of qualifications on the commission.

“In addition to legally trained persons, [the commission] must also have persons trained in social sciences, in

the natural sciences, in economics, and commerce and in law enforcement,” Nandlall noted.

He further explained that, as part of its mandates, the commission will be required to draft and/or recommend laws to cater to various sectoral needs and interests, and that such will require expertise outside of just law.

“Scientific research may have to be done; social surveys conducted; economic and commercial activities examined to inform legislative policies and law reform itself, Hence the need to ex-

Attorney-General, Anil Nandlall, presenting his arguments to the National Assembly

pand qualifications,” Nandlall noted.

He said that even though the 2016 Law Reform Commission Act was a commendable initiative by the previous A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Government, it had become mired in a series of questionable undertakings.

“While in the opposition we were vehemently critical of the appointment process and manner in which the commission was constituted, and we expressed those sentiments to the bill in the [2016]

He said that shortly after the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) assumed office in August 2020, an immediate decision was also taken to terminate the rental of the building, along with all the utilities.

Nandlall told the National Assembly that the Law Reform Commission could not have been instituted during the PPP/C’s previous tenure, since this was dependent on the outcome of a law revision which commenced in the 1970s; an updated revision was later pursued and was only completed in 2012. The

Public Service Minister, Sonia Parag providing supporting arguments for amendments to be made to the Law Reform Commission Act of 2016

debates,” the Attorney-General noted.

He lamented the fact that several persons were employed by the Commission, without any commissioner being appointed. Nandlall informed the House that since its establishment, the non-functioning commission has cost the country in excess of $100 million. “[During] 2017, 2018 and 2019, huge sums were budgeted for, including $800,000 rent monthly,” Nandlall posited. He said too that 10 clerical staff were appointed and paid exorbitant amounts of monies.

“When we examined credentials of the staff, one person who only has an LLB [Bachelor of Laws degree] was hired and paid a whopping sum of $750,000 when compared to a fully-trained attorney-at-law attached to the AG’s chambers, who work for less than $300, 000,” the minister highlighted to the house.

NO TERMINATION He said that instead of terminating the employment of those persons, a decision was taken to “employ all of them, as clerks within the ministry, and of course, adjusting their salaries and bring them in conformity and consistency with the range of employment enjoyed by persons of that status”.

“This constitutes once again, another manifestation of a colossal waste of taxpayers’ dollars, characterising the APNU+AFC style of governance,” the AG surmised.

PPP/C was eventually voted out of office in 2015, before the initial bill could have been brought to the National Assembly.

It was the Coalition Government that presented the bill to establish the commission. As Thursday’s amendments were being proposed, the main Opposition Members of Parliament were not in the chambers of the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.

The Coalition’s Chief Whip was outside tending to a protest being mobilised against the Government, while his other colleagues remained occupied in other parts of the venue.

Nandlall’s Bill to amend the Law Reform Commission Act of 2016 was unanimously supported by his colleagues in the Government side of the House, including Public Service Minister, Sonia Parag and attorney-at-law, Sanjeev Datadin, and eventually passed; however, with one consideration from Deputy Speaker, Lenox Shuman, for the inclusion of organisations representing Indigenous peoples.

The Law Reform Commission is intended to serve as an advisory unit to the State, possessing the permission to recommend new legislation, as well as possible amendments and repeal to existing laws. It was established as a critical component of the Support for the Criminal Justice System Programme funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to the tune of US$8 million.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, February 12, 2021

Hilary Edwards gets life sentence for gruesome murder of schoolboy with the community report.

However, the family remains saddened over the gruesome death of their young relative who was a loving and respectable child, whose aspiraton was to become a teacher.

Archibald’s mother Abigail, said her son’s death cannot be forgotten, not only because of the manner in which it was done, but because it occurred on her husband’s birthday. The family had planned a celebratory dinner and was waiting on Leonard to join them. He never came home.

In his statement, Hilary Edwards maintained his innocence while telling the judge

Leonard Calvin Archibald

By Jeune Bailey Van Keric HILLARY Edwards known as “Country” was sentenced to 27 years imprisonment for the horrific murder of Leonard Calvin Archibald, 13, whose badly decomposed body was found afloat in the Berbice River, days after he was last seen riding his bicycle along the East Bank Berbice roadway.

Probation and Welfare Officer, Maisie Sheppard, in her report had narrated acts of sexual molestation allegedly committed on several males residing within the Sisters-Brothers catchment areas.

Further mention was made against parents of the accused, who reportedly would offer compensation to victims whenever reports were made against their son.

There were also reports of injuries to the bodies of the alleged victims.

Prosecutrix, Tuanna Hardy, had noted that the probation report was unchallenged and she reminded the court that the community had suffered due to multiple reports of luring of boys for sexual intercourse.

“Leonard Archibald was killed in his own community. He was riding his bike when he disappeared…. He [Edwards] betrayed the trust of his paternal cousin. He took Leonard to a house and “b......d’ him until he became lifeless.... He (Edwards) needs rehabilitation… need a sentence to deter him and others who prey on children.

We must protect our children.

The sentence must reflect the nature and gravity of the offence,” she posited.

In his victim-impact statement, Orin Archibald, the eldest sibling of the deceased, expressed satisfaction

Hillary Edwards

that he was shocked at the jury’s verdict.

In handing down her sentence, Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall, having considered the circumstances, the offence of murder, and that not only was the life of a 13-year-old snuffed out, but the violation of the body continued as it was left to the ocean and scavengers..

NO REMORSE She noted that there was no remorse by the accused, neither did he accept responsibility during his address to the court.

Further, the judge noted that while the probation report highlighted several allegations of inappropriate conduct and larceny by the accused, he was never charged nor convicted.

‘I discern no mitigation [sic] circumstances. He is a first offender. No previous conviction…. I impose a life sentence with a possible parole after he would have served a minimum of 27 years, before he is eligible for parole. I have ordered that he receive counselling on a quarterly basis during his period of incarceration, the judge said.

A mixed jury, after deliberating for just under three hours, returned an unanimous verdict last month convicting Edwards of the gruesome

death of Archibald.

The defence counsel was Surihya Sabsook.

The partial skeletal remains of Archibald was discovered off the river bank at Korthberaadt Village, East Bank Berbice, six days after he was reported missing on September 17, 2017.

The body of Archibald was pulled from the bank

of the Berbice River just before 16:00hrs on Saturday, September 23, 2017, after it was spotted on the river bank, among the mangrove trees in the vicinity of Korthberaadt Village, East Bank Berbice.

The lad was last seen by relatives after he rode ahead of three of his four sisters, who were returning home

from a birthday party.

The Guyana Chronicle was told that one of the alleged perpetrators, a relative of the now deceased, was standing by the bus shed in the village while the teenager passed by as night fell in the bushy, lonesome community.

He was snatched off his bicycle and carried behind a yard, a stone’s throw

from the Sister’s Police Station where an unnatural sexual act was committed.

It was during the act that the teen lost consciousness. He was then carried out to the nearby Berbice River where his body was disposed of along with his bicycle.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, February 12, 2021

‘Traveller profile’ in the making AS Guyana continues to push for tourism recovery, all efforts are being made to promote domestic tourism on all fronts. In addition to promoting a number of local destinations and sites, the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce is also partnering with stakeholders

to develop a ‘Traveller Profile,’ so as to be able to craft better and more customised tourism packages for various target groups.

During a virtual forum hosted by the Ministry’s Director General, Donald Sinclair, stakeholders were afforded the opportunity to provide much-needed Aerial view of Kurukabaru Village located in the North Pakaraimas of Guyana (Michelle Kalamandeen photo)

feedback and give critical insights on travel data.

Camille Ishmael of the University of Guyana conducted a survey which indicated persons between the ages of 18 and 25 choose to travel in groups, highlighting no specific destinations.

The survey revealed that group travels are chosen particularly as a means of reducing cost and maintaining high levels of fun.

According to Ishmael’s data, persons within the aforementioned age group find that travelling alone is a little boring.

The survey specified that persons between the ages of 26 and 30 prefer travelling for family vacations, with Baganara and Arrowpoint resorts being specifically named. The surveyed persons within that age group who said that their preference for those locations has to do primarily with the fact that the venues are not only popular, but fall within a familiar route that is deemed to be safer and less stressful.

Ishmael’s survey also showed that 85 per cent of those who travel do so for work, while five per cent travel for leisure, citing particular activities such as fishing and hunting, etc.

Another 10 per cent of those surveyed travel mostly for business.

Another survey conducted by the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG), also took into consideration, the budgetary needs and constraints that prevent or to some extent, limit domestic travels.

The forum discussed these and several other areas that are important to consider when crafting specifically-targeted travel packages.

For decades, the aim of the tourism industry had been to attract foreigners and entice

them to come to Guyana and discover all that the country has to offer, even though a large percentage of Guyanese themselves are oblivious to the gems contained in various regions of the country.

When the coronavirus hit Guyana in March 2020, the tourism sector was crippled; the locally instituted lockdowns and curfews highlighted the fragility of the industry, and its glaring oversight of the domestic market. Even though the pandemic has brought much heartache and worries, there are perhaps a few silver linings; most notably is the fact that many persons and sectors were forced to look within, before looking out.

KITCHEN GARDEN For instance, the pandemic inspired the creation of kitchen gardens and buying more locally produced items, as opposed to relying on imported products, the arrival of which were threatened by global lockdown regulations. Similarly, the advent of COVID-19 exposed the importance of domestic tourism, and the need for authorities to invest even more heavily in this area.

Consequently, the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce has begun to partner with relevant stakeholders to inspire and entice more Guyanese to vacation within Guyana.

Back in January, the ministry launched its third ‘Hotspot Magazine’, which focused on highlighting the hidden gems contained in the various regions.

President of Visit Rupununi, Melanie McTurk, had encouraged Guyanese to travel within the country, advising many to keep an eye out for various packages.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, February 12, 2021

Date fixed for PI into GECOM’s Roxanne Myers matter –– to determine whether there’s enough evidence to try her for ‘misconduct in public office’ as alleged A PRELIMINARY inquiry (PI) is expected to be conducted in the matter against Deputy Chief Elections Officer (DCEO) Roxanne Myers for two counts of misconduct in public office in relation to the March 2020 General and Regional Elections.

On Thursday, Senior Magistrate Leron Daly, at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, upheld a submission made by Myers’s lawyer, Nigel Hughes, asking that the charges against her remain indictable.

By ruling in favour of the submission, Magistrate Daly is expected to conduct a PI to determine whether there is sufficient evidence against the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) official to warrant the matter going to trial at the Demerara High Court.

In the circumstances, Special Prosecutor, Attorney-at-Law Ganesh Hira, has already indicated to the court that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) will be appealing the decision, and that they will be hearing from her on March 9.

Back in October 2020, Myers was first arraigned in court, and was released on $300,000 bail by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.

The charges against her was that between March 4 and March14, 2020, in Georgetown, while being a public officer, that is to say the Deputy Chief Elections Officer of the Guyana

Elections Commission, she wilfully misconducted herself, together with Clairmont Mingo and others, to declare a fraudulent account of votes for the General and Regional Elections, which amounted to a breach of the public’s trust in the office of the said DCEO of the Guyana Elections Commission, without any reasonable excuse or justification.

On October 6, 2020, Myers turned herself in to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) after she was tipped off that the police were preparing to release a wanted bulletin for her arrest, after she’d reportedly eluded them for over a month.

During her interrogation, she was asked 11 questions, to each of which she stoically replied, “I reserve my right to remain silent.” As such, she was not granted station bail, and had remained in custody until her court appearance.

Chairperson of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), Volda Lawrence; PNC activist, Carol Joseph and GECOM Returning Officer for Region Four, Clairmont Mingo are all accused of inflating the results of Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), the country’s largest voting district, to give the APNU+AFC coalition a majority win at the March 2 polls, when in fact the PPP/C had won by 15,000 votes.

The quintet first appeared at the Georgetown Magis-

‘Traveller profile’ in ...

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“…from free public events, to once-in-a-lifetime-experiences; there are sites and activities to meet a range of preferences, as well as packages to meet every budget… tourism dollars directly create jobs and support village economies, right here at home in Guyana,” McTurk said.

Given that many Guyanese often cite financial constraints as reasons for their lack of travel, McTurk believes that the key to travel, even at home, lies in effective planning.

“It is important to do your research. Be realistic about what you can afford on your budget and in some instances, be prepared to save towards that special experience,” she advised.

Similar sentiments were at that time shared by Mitra Ramkumar, President of the THAG.

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“None of us can doubt the beauty of our regions.

What this publication has done, is highlight those beauties,” Ramkumar said. He had posited that improved domestic tourism serves as good promotion for tourism businesses to generate income, thereby encouraging them to continue their investments within the various regions. “… and for them to stay in those communities and keep the history and the cultures alive,” Ramkumar added.

The Guyana Civil Aviation Authority had recently said too that prior to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, domestic travels were on a notable increase, with more and more Guyanese opting to explore more of their own country.

trates’ Court on October 21, 2020 before Principal Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus, and were each released on bail.

The Guyana Police Force (GPF) has launched a ‘comprehensive’ investigation into all allegations of criminal misconduct in the aftermath of the 2020 elections.

Deputy Chief Elections Officer Roxanne Myers

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THE highly anticipated grand finals of the Chutney Soca Monarch (CSM) will go down tomorrow night (Saturday) at 21:30 hrs., with a ‘Queen of CSM’ being selected for the first time in the competition’s history from among the female contestants with the highest score.

Four Guyanese artistes, Vanita Willie, Vicadi Singh, Prince JP and Remesh Brijnauth, known as ‘Tony Cuttz’, have made it to the finals of the competition; a competition that continues to “break new ground even with a raging pandemic”, according to Producer George Singh.

At a virtual press conference recently, Singh explained that for this year, five women will be participating and that the new title that will be up for grabs came as part of recognising the great impact women have made on the competition since its beginning in 1996.

The new feature of the competition will not require the women to do anything additional and will be a permanent fixture for future CSMs. In a social media post a few days ago, popular musician Terry Gajraj congratulated the four Guyanese who are pressing on to the finals and expressed that he was happy to see the direction in which Guyanese chutney music is progressing. “ Yo u are an

inspiration to other talented Guyanese performers like Bunty Singh, Nishal B and so many others. This has given hope to other struggling artists in Guyana,” Gajraj said, adding, “Just remember not everyone can win but all of you can find success in many different ways.”

Gajraj, known as the original ‘Guyana Baboo’ advised the team to learn from the experience. “This is an amazing experience and it is super easy to get carried away but always try to stay humble.

Countless talented artists have let egos destroy their careers. Please do not fall into that trap. My heartfelt congratulations…I know you will make Guyana proud,” he said.

CSM prides itself in being the “most important and largest Indo Caribbean event, presenting a unique and exciting celebration of the fine arts of Chutney Soca music, a gathering of music enthusiasts and industry professionals.”

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, February 12, 2021

ing to the CSM Facebook Page, through the staging of this event, pathways have been created for the development of culture and opportunities for artistes to expose their talent internationally, for the likes of audiences all over Europe, USA and Canada.

“It remains one of the most colourful productions on the annual Carnival Calendar in Trinidad and Tobago and ranks itself amongst the four prestigious events, the International Soca Monarch, the Dimanche Gras and the Panorama Finals,” the CSM page said. “ C h u t ney Soca Mon-

arch has become an integral part of the culture and an important tool in the promotion of our Trinidad and Tobago and it will continue to hold its place for many years to come,” it added.

Vanita Willie

Prince JP

Remesh Brijnauth, known as ‘Tony Cuttz’ Vicadi Singh

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, February 12, 2021

New kid on the block

With a zeal like no other, 11-year-old rapping sensation Damani Hardy is Guyana’s newest voice in the music arena.

Set to release his first single on March 1, this young man is a force to be reckoned with, due to his relatable lyrics and sensational voice.

Damani, a pupil of the St.Gabriel’s Primary School, told this week’s Buzz that his dream is to be a performer and rapper and with the help of his father Simeon Hardy, the inspiring artiste wrote and recorded his first single.

Sharing details about his song ‘pain’ which tells TURN TO PAGE 24

Baby Damani with his father Simeon Hardy

Damani Hardy

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, February 12, 2021

TURN FROM PAGE 23

the story of the struggle of providing for one’s family, he said, “Well it’s about struggle and what other kids are going through and some kids’ parents can’t afford new school shoes for them and new school clothes and those kinds of things.”

The eager young man stated he is excited to be sharing his talents and to possibly be releasing even more music after he drops his first single.

However, due to unforeseen circumstances, his music career was not able to take off the way he had hoped. Nevertheless, he followed sports and academics.

After discovering his son’s interest in the art form, Simeon provided all the necessary means to ensure that his son is given a chance to pursue his dreams.

“I used to take him to the studio with me back then, and I always thought, if I

Damani Hardy

“I want to keep making more music because I think it’s fun and I know people would like it so I just want to keep making more,” he explained.

Damani noted that he is also looking forward to performing his new song since it’s a habit for him to perform for his neighbours and friends within his neighbourhood, however, he noted that performing on a big stage like the artistes he looks up to is his ultimate goal.

“I would be kind of nervous, but I wouldn’t too nervous because it will feel great to go and perform at a concert. It will be fun and I like to watch other [performers] on stage,” he said.

Proud as a peacock, Damani’s father, Simeon told the Buzz that he exposed his son to music at an early age and would often take him to studio sessions while he, too, was pursuing a music career.

couldn’t do it then maybe he could in ten years’ time.

He is the one that I will be pushing, and now is that time, so this is something that I envisioned and I have all the resources to assist him,” the young musician’s father said.

Simeon stated that he has been working closely with his son, helping him to write and find his voice in the music world.

“It’s been fun speaking with him and brainstorming with him and I’m not cutting him out.

I’m not telling him what he should do. I am giving him the options. It’s all about him and it’s all up to him,” he said. “I feel so proud and happy that he took the venture and the step to do it, because I didn’t force it on him.

I told him to just do it for the experience and he liked it.”

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, February 12, 2021

Lyndon ‘Jumbie’ Jones

THE producers of Nothing to Laugh About, Love and Laughter, and Uncensored, are continuing to entertain their fans on social media despite the Coronavirus Pandemic has significantly limited the amount of work that they can do.

Well-loved comedian Lyndon ‘Jumbie’ Jones says it’s important to be adaptable and to know how to adjust in changing circumstances so that they can continue with their work. Like many others in the industry, Jones has suffered severe setbacks with the onset of the pandemic here in Guyana.

What he and his team have been doing lately is uploading videos on their various

his talent and would do better to use all of his time in the entertainment industry.

Although many businesses have reduced the amount of sponsorship that they give for television and radio programmes, Jones told the Buzz that he is grateful to those businesses who continue to support him and his team.

While they are unable to produce a lot of new content, he said that they’ve been uploading videos that they’ve never posted before. “We have years of work that we would have filmed and recorded.”

They also from time to

about the possibility of going ahead with it using his own funds.

This new project sees him featuring human interest stories about random persons in Guyana. “There’s so much negativity on social media and elsewhere. We decided that we can make a difference, maybe not a whole lot, but at least we can do little things to spread positivity out there,” Jumbie had said.

While “Positive Vibes” would not feature the usual acting skits and videos, Jones wants to focus on his interactions with random people on the road, and their reaction upon receiving gifts a n d money

social for no media platreason at all. forms, which The various have been segments receivinclude ing very helping the poor positive feedback. man, questions It proves to them f o r children (mostly that their work Social Studies), trick is missed and questions for adults, Talented artistes in the local entertainment ‘ S a y s o m e t h i n g quite valued industry who work along with ‘Jumbie’ in the entertainment nice’, and ‘What field. would you say to the In some developed coun- time film new content. “At world today?’ tries, uploading videos in this first when we came up with Perhaps the most fun manner can earn the producers ideas, we could have shelved segment would be ‘Would some money. So Jones and them, but now as soon as we you like to win $6,000?’ team are trying to figure out have an idea, we work on it.”

The random person chosen how the system would work One of the exciting new to play will answer “easy” here in Guyana so that they projects that Jones has been questions and has the option too may be able to cash in on working on to spread posi- to quit after winning or prosomething. tivity through comedy and ceeding to the next question, Almost all local artistes entertainment on his new which can earn them more have attested to the fact that “Positive Vibes” page, has money. entertainment in Guyana can- been stalled for a bit because Continuing to explain not earn them enough to make he hasn’t managed to get the his plans further, Jumbie ends meet; this results in them sort of support he was look- said: “We’ll just walk up having to have a full-time job ing for. However, because he to someone and say here’s and having to work on their is convinced that people will $5,000. They’ll obviously talents after hours. This can be like the initiative, he has not believe we’re joking or it’s quite sad at times, especially given up hope on being able a prank, and we will film when the individual is great at to continue it. He even spoke their reaction.”

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, February 12, 2021

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, February 12, 2021

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, February 12, 2021

Bonner half-century keeps Windies afloat DHAKA, Bangladesh (CMC) – Strokemaker Nkrumah Bonner struck his second half-century in as many innings to inspire a West Indies recovery on the opening day of the second Test against Bangladesh here yesterday.

Fresh from his match-winning 86 in Chattogram five days ago, the 32-year-old followed up with an unbeaten 74 as West Indies climbed to 223 for five at the close at the Shere Bangla National Stadium.

His knock proved especially invaluable especially after West Indies stumbled after lunch losing three wickets for 29 runs to tumble to 116 for four.

Bonner then anchored the innings with two crucial partnerships which frustrated Bangladesh in the last session-and-a half of the day, and helped West Indies regain their balance.

Captain Kraigg Brathwaite missed out on a well deserved half-century with 47 while his left-handed opening partner John Campbell got 36.

Jermaine Blackwood chipped in with 28 and wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva was

unbeaten on 22 at the end in partnership with Bonner.

Seamer Abu Jayed, who replaced Mustafizur Rahman in the attack, led with two for 46 while left-arm spinner Taijul Islam picked two for 64 but champion off-spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who shared the new ball, went wicket-less.

With memories of their historic first Test win still fresh in their memory, the Caribbean side started well after winning the toss, with Brathwaite and Campbell posting 66 for the first wicket to keep the hosts without success in the first hour.

Brathwaite, once again showing positive intent, counted four fours in an innings spanning 122 deliveries in a shade over 2-¾ hours to reach lunch on 39.

Campbell, meanwhile, faced 68 deliveries in just under 1-½ hours while belting five fours and a six. He was given out on 13, lbw to Abu in the morning’s ninth over but was reprieved via DRS. He was not so fortunate about half-hour before lunch when he missed a sweep at a full-length delivery from Taijul

Tokyo Olympics chief to step down over sexism row

THE head of the Tokyo Olympics organising committee is set to resign after he was criticised for making “inappropriate” remarks about women.

Yoshiro Mori, 83, was quoted as saying women talk too much and that meetings with many female board directors would “take a lot of time”.

The remarks set off a firestorm of protest and Mr Mori apologised at the time but said he would not resign.

However, the pressure on him to step down had been steadily increasing.

Mr Mori, a former Japanese prime minister, is expected to formally step down at a special committee meeting today after making the comments last week.

Major sponsors had also come forward to criticise the comments including Toyota, one of the biggest Olympic backers.

Toyota’s president Akio Toyoda said the company was “disappointed” at the remarks.

On Tuesday, a group of female lawmakers wore white in a protest against his re-

marks, with some men doing the same in solidarity.

According to local media, almost 400 people have also withdrawn applications to volunteer at the Olympic Games, which are scheduled for later this year.

The committee board currently has 24 members, five of whom are women.

In 2019, the committee - which is responsible for selecting Japanese Olympians - set itself a goal of increasing the number of female board directors to 40%.

“If we increase the number of female board members, we have to make sure their speaking time is restricted somewhat, they have difficulty finishing, which is annoying,” Mr Mori was quoted as saying.

“We have about seven women at the organising committee, but everyone understands their place,” he said.

Mr Mori is known in the country for a string of gaffes and undiplomatic statements made while in office from 2000 to 2001.

He told Japan’s Mainichi newspaper that female family members had also lambasted him after his comments.

“Last night, my wife gave me a thorough scolding. She said: ‘You’ve said something bad again, haven’t you? I’m going to have to suffer again because you’ve antagonised women’,” he said.

“Th is morn in g, my daughter and granddaughter scolded me as well,” the paper quoted him as saying.

(BBC Sport)

and was adjudged lbw.

Brathwaite and Shayne Moseley took West Indies to lunch on 84 for one but the left-handed Moseley (7) added just one to his interval score before perishing in the fifth over afterwards, edging a drive at a wide delivery onto his stumps.

His dismissal set in train a slide for West Indies as Brathwaite and first Test hero Kyle Mayers (5) fell in a period where Bangladesh took control of the game.

Brathwaite was nearing his 21st Test fifty when he gifted his wicket, caught at first slip edging to cut an innocuous delivery from part-time seamer Soumya Sarkar.

Mayers, entering with the fireworks of his unbeaten double hundred in Chattogram still hovering, lasted only 18 balls before departing, as he nicked a drive at Abu to Soumya at first slip.

With the innings falling away, Bonner stepped up as he did in last week’s first Test, posting 62 for the fifth wicket with Blackwood to deny Bangladesh any further success before tea, adding 45 in an

unbroken sixth-wicket partnership with Da Silva in the final session.

Exuding confidence, Bonner swept and cut Taijul for boundaries to move into double figures and followed up by disdainfully lifting the same bowler to the straight boundary a few overs later.

On 30 at tea with West Indies on 146 for four, Bonner reached his half-century about 40 minutes after the resumption, with a single to long off off Taijul.

Bonner, given out lbw to

Mehidy on 57, only to be let off by DRS, has so far hit half-dozen fours off 173 deliveries.

Blackwood, unbeaten on 18 at tea, perished on the stroke of the first hour afterwards when he punched a simple catch back to Taijul after facing 77 balls and striking five fours.

However, any hopes of running through the lower order were stifled as Da Silva, who has faced 46 balls and notched a single four, proved immovable.

SCOREBOARD WEST INDIES 1st innings K. Brathwaite c Najmul Hossain Shanto b Soumya Sarkar 47 J. Campbell lbw b Taijul Islam 36 S. Moseley b Abu Jayed 7 N. Bonner not out 74 K. Mayers c Soumya Sarkar b Abu Jayed 5 J. Blackwood c & b Taijul Islam 28 J. Da Silva not out 22 EXTRAS: (lb-2, nb-2) 4 TOTAL: (5 wkts, 90 overs) 223 Fall of wickets: 1-66, 2-87, 3-104, 4-116, 5-178 Bowling: Abu Jayed 18-5-46-2, Mehidy Hasan Miraz 22-539-1, Nayeem Hasan 12-1-42-0, Taijul Islam 30-5-64-2 (nb-2), Soumya Sarjar 8-1-30-1.

Guyana Jaguars look to continue winning ways

By Rajiv Bisnauth OPENING batsman Chandrapaul Hemraj has backed Guyana Jaguars to build on their first-round momentum when they clash in match five of the CG Insurance Super50 Cup against Leeward Islands Hurricanes from 13:30hrs today at the Coolidge Cricket Ground.

In a battle of two well-build teams, Hemraj, the attacking opener believes that keeping the winning momentum would be crucial for the team to progress past the preliminary rounds.

“It is important that we continue the momentum and sustain the same kind of focus,” he said.

Guyana have not won a Regional One-Day title since Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s side bested Courtney Browne’s Barbados by seven runs under the Duckworth Lewis Method 15 years ago at the now decommissioned Bourda Oval.

In 14 tournaments staged since then, they have failed to reach the semi-final 11 times,

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lost at the semi-final three times and in the final thrice.

However, after their 56-run win in a rain-affected opening game against Barbados Pride last Monday, the Jaguars skipper Leon Johnson feels that his side need to do more, especially the batsmen.

“We played well; the bowlers did a good job. Obviously ‘Hetty’ and ‘Sheppy’ brought their international experience for us … 235 is just about par, but the second-innings teams have struggled to pass 190 runs, so we were always confident with the total on the board. We just have to take each game as it comes; Leeward Islands pose a different challenge, so it’s just about execution on the day,” the left-hander said.

The game saw Shimron Hetmyer (80) give Guyana Jaguars innings a much-needed boost while Romario Shepherd (58 not out) provided the impetus late in the innings.

In the meantime, Jaguars cannot take anything for granted since Hurricanes have some quality players in their ranks.

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Hurricanes blew past Barbados Pride on Wednesday night on the back of Keacy Carty’s magnificent performance – his maiden List A century which came off 125 balls and included nine fours and three sixes.

It gave the Leewards four vital points and left Barbados winless after two matches and at the bottom of the table.

Leeward Islands Hurricanes squad reads: Devon Thomas (captain), Montcin Hodge (v-captain), Amir Jangoo, (wkp.), Ross Powell, Kieran Powell, Keacy Carty, Nitish Kumar, Hayden Walsh Jr, Jeremiah Louis, Sheno Berrige, Quinton Boatswain, Colin Archibald, Nino Henry, Ashmead Nedd and Terrance Ward.

Guyana Jaguars squad reads: Leon Johnson (captain), Shimron Hetmyer (vice-captain), Assad Fudadin, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Kemol Savory, Christopher Barnwell, Keon Joseph, Romario Shepherd, Kevin Sinclair, Ramaal Lewis, Nial Smith, Gudakesh Motie, Anthony Bramble, Akshaya Persaud and Tevin Imlach.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, February 12, 2021

Bayern Munich beat Tigres to win FIFA Club World Cup BENJAMIN Pavard scored the only goal as Bayern Munich beat Tigres to win the FIFA Club World Cup final in Qatar, their sixth trophy in nine months.

Bayern have won the UEFA Super Cup, German Super Cup and are now world champions, to complete a clean sweep of trophies after last season’s Treble.

Pavard’s goal was initially ruled out for a Robert Lewandowski offside but given after VAR consultation.

Joshua Kimmich had earlier had a goal disallowed by the VAR. This is the eighth year in a row that a European club has won the Fifa Club World Cup, including Liverpool last season.

Tigres of Mexico were the first team from North or Central America to reach the final but could not end the dominance of European and South American teams in the tournament.

Former France striker Andre-Pierre Gignac failed to add to his three goals in

Qatar, although still won the Golden Boot.

Qatar was hosting the tournament, which is being viewed a trial run for next year’s World

delayed because of Covid.

Since Hansi Flick took over in November 2019, they have won 58 out of 68 games - and lifted a trophy every 11.3

Carty’s maiden List A century lifts Hurricanes to victory over Pride

side position and adjudged to have distracted the goalkeeper.

Lewandowski was flagged offside when his header was saved in the second half but

Keacy Carty won the man-of-the match award for his unbeaten 123

Bayern Munich have won six trophes in Hansi Flick’s 68 games in charge

Cup. A limited amount of fans were allowed to watch at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan.

The victory cemented Bayern’s status as the outstanding club team of 2020 - the Club World Cup was meant to be in December but

games.

They deserved their victory over Tigres, despite being far from their best.

Kimmich had a goal controversially ruled out by the VAR in the first half because Lewandowski - who did not touch the ball - was in an off-

Pavard’s half-volley into an empty net was allowed to stand after VAR consultation.

Leroy Sane hammered a shot off the angle of post and bar, and Corentin Tolisso had a shot tipped on to the post as they could have won by more.

Neymar to miss Barca Champions League clash, out for up to four weeks NEYMAR will miss Paris Saint-Germain’s trip to former club Barcelona in the Champions League after being ruled out for up to four weeks.

The Ligue 1 club, who head to Camp Nou next Tuesday, confirmed the Brazilian had suffered an adductor injury in the Coupe de France win over Caen on Wednesday.

The estimated recovery time would also put Neymar in doubt for the return leg of the last-16 clash with Barca, which takes place on March 10.

Neymar suffered the injury around the hour mark of the 1-0 win, with the 29-yearold clutching at his groin.

Though team-mate and midweek match-winner Moise Kean told Eurosport afterwards that “all is well”, head coach Mauricio Pochettino was less optimistic.

Regional Super50 Cup

“His left adductor muscle is affected and they will examine him to see what type of injury he has,” he said.

Neymar: “Suffered a lesion to the left adductor on Wednesday evening”, it read.

“After analysis of clin-

Neymar will be out of action for four weeks

“The reality is that we do not know the extent of the injury, tomorrow we will know more.”

Sure enough, a PSG statement released yesterday confirmed a notable setback for

ical exams and scans, it is expected that he’ll be out for around four weeks depending on the evolution of the injury.”

Neymar has often suffered untimely injuries at a

similar time in previous seasons during his stint at PSG. In 2018, Neymar sustained a broken toe in February, meaning he missed almost three months of action, with PSG losing 5-2 on aggregate to eventual Champions League winners Real Madrid in the last 16 in his absence.

An ankle injury then kept him out from January to April in 2019, with PSG going out at the hands of Manchester United, though he was fit to help the Parisians overcome Borussia Dortmund in last season’s tournament, prior to the coronavirus-enforced suspension.

PSG went on to lose in the final to Bayern Munich, though Neymar has lifted the trophy before, having scored in a 3-1 win over Juventus in the 2015 showpiece.

A SUPERB, unbeaten century by Keacy Carty and a cameo from Hayden Walsh Jr led Leeward Islands Hurricanes to a sensational victory over Barbados Pride in Match 3 of the CG Insurance Super50 Cup on Wednesday night.

Man-of-the-match Carty, who was a member of the West Indies team which won the ICC Under-19 World Cup in 2016, recorded his maiden List A century, an unbeaten 123, that included nine fours and three sixes on a good pitch at the Coolidge Cricket Ground.

However, it was Walsh who turned the match in the final stages. With an asking rate of close to 14 runs per over, the left-handed Walsh smashed three massive sixes off a Chemar Holder over to score 28 off just nine balls which kept the chase alive.

Twenty-six runs came from the over that helped put Leewards on the path to victory while chasing 302.

In the high-scoring contest, Barbados Pride made 301-8, Leeward Islands Hurricanes replied with 305-6 as they reached the target with three balls to spare and picked up their first points of the tournament.

“I just kept going because I kept the team goals in mind.

I knew I had to stay there for the team and bat to the end,” Carty said afterwards.

“It was a really good knock, but the others around me also played well and overall it was a great win for the team. I will look to do a similar kind of job in the next match and the others to come. We are confident and this win will give is a big boost.”

Earlier, Shamarh Brooks had top-scored with 96 off 88 balls, while left-hander Jonathan Carter made 58 off 91 balls. The pair added a record 160 for the third wicket for Pride.

Fast bowler Quinton Boatswain, who claimed two wickets off successive deliveries in the 48th over, finished with 4-52 - his second four-for in as many matches - while leg-spinner Walsh claimed 3-75.

Dominant Nadal reaches third round with easy victory MELBOURNE, Australia (Reuters) - Rafael Nadal dispelled any remaining doubts over his fitness with a commanding 6-1, 6-4, 6-2

Rizwan ton spurs Pakistan T20 win over SA

MOHAMMAD Rizwan has smashed his first hundred in Twenty20 cricket to help Pakistan beat South Africa by three runs in the first of their three-match series.

Defending 170 for victory, the Rizwan-inspired home side fought back impressively in Lahore to restrict the tourists to 166-6.

Wicketkeeper Rizwan

Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan

scored a red-ball hundred against South Africa earlier this month and reached three figures again this time off 64 balls.

It was the 28-year-old’s first century in the sprint format at the 112th time of asking and his remarkable innings of 104 not out included seven maximums.

An inexperienced and youthful South Africa

made a fantastic start in reply to Pakistan’s 1696, with Janneman Malan hitting 44.

Fellow opener Reeza Hendricks added a patient 54 but Rizwan ran him out in the 18th over.

That dismissal backed up Usman Qadir’s excellent figures of 2-21 as the hosts held their nerve to edge the series-opener.

Rafael Nadal

win against American qualifier Michael Mmoh yesterday to march into the Australian Open third round and stay on track for a record 21st Grand Slam title.

The second seed did not play a match in Spain’s ATP Cup campaign last week with a back problem and following his opening win in Melbourne he had said the injury was still bothering him.

Nadal showed no sign of discomfort, however, against the 177th-ranked American under the closed roof of the Rod Laver Arena and peppered the blue court with winners from both forehand and backhand sides as Mmoh watched on helplessly.

The 2009 Melbourne Park winner, who is tied with Roger Federer at 20 Grand Slam singles titles, will next meet either Briton Cameron Norrie or Russian qualifier Roman Safiullin.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, February 12, 2021

Struggling Essequibo face tough challenge against Berbice

By Rajiv Bisnauth

ESSEQUIBO youth teams have continued on the path of being consistently inconsistent, and this year the Inter-County Under-19 team did nothing different.

The capitulation in the opening game of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) OneDay tournament against hosts Demerara sums up the gloomy state of affairs that has hovered over Essequibo’s cricket for the past two decades.

The team meekly surrendered and were walloped by

76 runs - a defeat that left ardent supporters watching the steady and painful decline as they become the whipping boys of youth cricket locally.

Interestingly, the team will lock horns with Berbice in round two of the tournament today at LBI, but will definitely be gasping for survival to turn things around.

Speaking with Chronicle Sport yesterday, manager of the Essequibo team, Nazeer Mohamed, disclosed that the team failed to get off to a good

start both in batting and bowling, and those would be areas that need amends.

However, Mohamed admitted that it will not be any easy challenge.

“Our preparations were good, but we were unable to execute our plans in the first game fully. As a group we are lacking a little bit in confidence at the moment, but we are up for the challenge … a challenge we are fully aware will not be easy,” Mohamed said.

The Chronicle Sport tried to make contact with the management team from

Berbice but was unsuccessful.

Berbice: Isiah Thorne, Rampertab Ramnauth, Ricardo Ramdehol, Seon Glasgow (vice-captain), Marvon Prashad, Shamar Angel, Jonathan Rampersaud, Tyrese Sealey, Chanderpaul Govindhan, Nigel Deodat, Gourav Ramesh, Doorsammy Mahadeo, Aaron Beharry, Gevon Shultz (captain) and Leon Swammy. The Berbice standbys are: Collis Noble, Jeremy Sandia, Reyad Karim, Sarwan Chaitnarine, Zeynul Ramsam-

Nazeer Mohamed

my, Tomani Casear, and Abdul Ramsammy. The manager is Neil Rudder and the coach is Winston Smith.

Essequibo: Lance Roberts, Ameer Singh (captain), Azim Mohammed, Bhadesh Parsotam, Nicko Vincent, Carl Gilgeous, Jarrad Allicock, Mahesh Ramnarine, Abdol Nadir, Sheldon Charles, Wazim Mohamed, Mark Mohabeer, Jason Holder, Oren Gibson and Aryan Persaud. The manager is Nazeer Mohamed and the coach is Andy Ramnarine.

Copa Airlines Valentine’s Golf tourney tees off today

THE Guyana Golf Association (GGA), in partnership with its flag sponsors Copa Airlines, will tee off its inaugural 3-Day Valentine’s tournament from today at the NexGen Golf Academy, Woolford Avenue.

Among the various prizes, contestants will vie for the main prize of one roundtrip ticket to any of their destinations, during the ‘HOLE-in-ONE’ event, which gets underway from 16:00hrs to 19:00hrs today, Saturday and during Sunday’s final.

Copa Airlines and Nexgen Golf Academy will also be targetting a number of locations across the country such as Berbice, Linden, Essequibo and Leonora as part of the grand promotion of the Hole-in-One format Anyone can participate in the four categories - women, children, beginners (men) and experienced golfers - within the month of February, with golfers earning a free shot at winning a ticket (one try per person).

“Guyanese youth have incredible talent

and only lack facilities and opportunities to play golf - something that we are focussing on providing. The Ministry of Education has done something amazing - opening up the sport to children, a programme now being copied by other countries.” said GGA president Aleem Hussain.

Hussain pointed out that it was Ms Melissa Dow-Richardson, Assistant Director of Sport in the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, who in 2019 highlighted the fact that golf was

on the CXC/CAPE syllabus. That jumpstarted the creation of a programme that was fully realised over the past few months by the Allied Arts Unit, CEO of the Secondary Schools and Minister of Education.

This activity is the first of many planned for 2021 between the two entities, with schools and regions across the country being targetted as the sport seeks to use its fully COVID-19 compliant format to reach every household.

James stars as Lakers beat Thunder to win six in a row Kenin knocked out of Australian Open, Barty through

LeBRON James scored 25 points as Los Angeles Lakers won their sixth game in a row by beating Oklahoma City Thunder 114-113 in overtime.

James also made seven assists and six rebounds in the defending champions’ third straight overtime contest.

Antetokounmpo missing a 20-foot jumper as time expired.

Suns’ Devin Booker made the decisive free throw with 32 seconds left on the clock to win 125124, ending Bucks’ fivegame winning streak.

Meanwhile, Brooklyn Nets overcame Indiana Pac-

LeBron James scored 25 points, seven assists and six rebounds against Oklahoma City Thunder

Lakers’ Montrezl Harrell was also in inspired form to score 20 points while Dennis Schroder contributed 19 and Kyle Kuzma added 15.

Lakers remain second in the Western Conference, behind Utah Jazz.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a season-high 47 points but Milwaukee Bucks came up short against Phoenix Suns, with

ers 104-94 for their first win in four games.

Zach LaVine scored 46 points as Chicago Bulls swept past New Orleans Pelicans 129-116.

Denver Nuggets dominated Cleveland Cavaliers 133-95, with Paul Millsap scoring 22 points.

Atlanta Hawks’ Danilo Gallinari missed a jump shot with 0.9 seconds left against Dallas Mavericks,

with Luka Doncic scoring 28 points in a narrow 118117 victory.

Kawhi Leonard hit 36 points for Los Angeles Clippers in their 119-112 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

An inspired performance from Kyle Anderson helped Memphis Grizzlies overcome Charlotte Hornets 130-114, with Anderson hitting six three-pointers.

Toronto Raptors finished strongly in their 137-115 triumph over Washington Wizards with Norman Powell scoring 28 points and Pascal Siakam chipping in with 26.

(BBC Sport)

SOFIA Kenin said she “couldn’t really handle the pressure” of being defending champion after being knocked out of the Australian Open by Kaia Kanepi.

The American fourth seed, 22, was beaten 6-3, 6-2 in the second round in just 64 minutes.

Unseeded Estonian Kanepi, 35, dominated throughout, hitting 22 winners to Kenin’s 10 at Melbourne Park.

“I felt like I couldn’t find my rhythm. I was way too nervous. I guess it’s the outside pressure,” said Kenin.

“I feel like everyone was always asking me, ‘Would you want to? Do you see yourself getting there and winning again?’ Obviously I said yes.

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER Friday, February 12, 2021

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TODAY’S QUIZ:

(1) When and where did BANG win a Test match for the first time?

(2) Which WI player has scored most Test runs without hitting a century?

ANSWERS ANSWER S IN TOMORROW’S ISSUE

“I know I couldn’t really handle the pressure. I’m not used to this, so right now I just got to figure out how to play at that level that I played at.”

Kanepi will face Croatian 28th seed Donna Vekic in the third round.

Kenin, who acknowledged that she struggled to control her emotions during her firstround win, was nowhere near her best against Kanepi, making 22 unforced errors and failing to convert any of her seven break-point chances.

The big-hitting Kanepi beat Simona Halep at the 2018 US Open when the Romanian was world number one and has made an excellent start to 2021, reaching the final of last week’s Gippsland Trophy in Melbourne.

“I served really well; I think this helped a lot. My plan was to play aggressive as I usually do,” said Kanepi.

Fifth seed Elina Svitolina was the more consistent player as she saw off 16-year-old American Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-3 under the roof of Rod Laver Arena.

Svitolina broke for the first time to take the first set and consecutive errant forehands from Gauff allowed the Ukrainian to get the decisive break in the eighth game of the second set.

The 26-year-old will play Yulia Putintseva next after the Kazakh beat Alison van Uytvanck 6-4, 1-6, 6-2.

World number one Ashleigh Barty overcame fellow Australian Daria Gavrilova 6-1, 7-6 (9-7) to move into the third round.

Barty looked set for a routine win when she served for the match at 6-1, 5-2, but Gavrilova broke twice to force a second-set tie-break.

The 24-year-old, who did not play for almost a year because of the coronavirus pandemic, saved set points before securing the victory.

Afterwards, Barty said the second set “was turning into a bit of a prickly pear” but she was “happy to bring it back around in the tiebreak when I needed to and win some big points”. Next up for Barty is Russian 29th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.

She was joined in the third round by sixth seed Karolina Pliskova, who saw off American Danielle Collins 7-5, 6-2 and will now play fellow Czech Karolina Muchova.

Swiss 11th seed Belinda Bencic outlasted Russian veteran Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 to set up a meeting with Belgian 18th seed Elise Mertens, who beat China’s Lin Zhu 7-6 (10-8), 6-1.

Meanwhile, 22nd seed Jennifer Brady accelerated past fellow American Madison Brengle with a 6-1, 6-2 victory in 52 minutes and will face Slovenian qualifier Kaja Juvan next.

(BBC Sport)

35

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, February 12, 2021

CSU Cougars football coach goes ‘hunting’ in Guyana … Trevor Banks welcomes Nicholas McArthur to NCAA D1 football

Nicholas McArthur in action for Fruta Conquerors football club

By Rawle Toney WITH Nicholas McArthur becoming the first Guyanese to feature for Chicago State University football programme, he will certainly not be the last according to head coach Trevor Banks, who rolled out the ‘red carpet’ to welcome more players from the Land of Many Waters

to the NCAA Division One institution.

McArthur, 19, who plays for Guyana’s senior men’s National team and Fruta Conquerors Football Club, will depart shortly for the ‘Windy City’ in Illinois on a full scholarship at Chicago State University, which is also one of the leading historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU).

Coach Banks had reached out to Canadian football legend, Guyanese Alex Bunbury, to help find a new talent from Guyana, having been impressed by what he (Banks) would’ve seen from National youth captain Jeremy Garrett (LSU Eunice) and Curtez Kellman (Daytona State College) on the junior collegiate arena.

“I had asked Alex (Bunbury) if he can find a striker for me, preferably a guy that can come and play right away, and I know he knew exactly what I meant when I said that. Where I’m at right now is that we’re in a situation where we have a full ride,” Banks said.

McArthur ’s ‘full ride scholarship’ is an award that covers all expenses related with college, which includes tuition, books, fees, room and board, and possibly even living costs.

“I know that you guys (Guyana) produce high-level players and you guys (Guyana) produce high-level individuals … and I’m not worried about the culture that they’ll bring.

I want to continue this relationship (with Guyana) and look forward to having more of your players to come here and play for Chicago State,” Banks noted.

Coach Banks and Chicago State University will

Regional Super50 Cup

Lewis slams 107 as T&T Red Force romp to five-wicket win over Jamaica Scorpions

EVIN Lewis’ better than a run-a-ball century helped the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force romp to a five-wicket victory with 55 balls to spare over the Jamaica Scorpions at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium yesterday.

Lewis’ 107 was made in just 92 balls and included eight fours and seven sixes as the Red Force successfully chased down 258 for 6 made by the Scorpions.

The big-hitting Lewis featured in a 112-run second-wicket partnership with Jason Mohammed that laid the foundation for the Red Force chase after Lendl Simmons was trapped lbw without scoring five balls into the first over bowled by Sheldon Cottrell.

When Mohammed got out for 28, Lewis put on 49 in quick time with Darren Bravo to maintain the momentum. Lewis was finally out to leave the Red Force at 161 for 3 at the end of the 25th, just 98 runs shy of the target. Those runs were quickly achieved as Darren Bravo and Nicholas Pooran mounted a fourth-wicket stand of 62 that took the Red Force within 27 runs of victory with 77 balls left.

Bravo was unbeaten on a run-ball 59 that included two fours and five sixes, while Pooran hit six fours in his 43.

Captain Kieron Pollard was dismissed for one by Andre McCarthy who finished with 2 for 30. Dennis Bulli also took two wickets but was expensive, conceding 84 runs from his allotment of overs.

to leave the Scorpions at 155 for 3.

However, Jamaica only managed 103 runs from the last 17 overs on a good batting pitch.

They only managed to get past 250, thanks to 43 from 44 balls by Rovman Powell, who also featured in a 46run fifth-wicket partnership

Evin Lewis’ 107 came off 92 balls with eight fours and seven sixes

Earlier, Brandon King’s 97 was the backbone of the Jamaican innings but the Scorpions failed to capitalize.

King and Andre McCarthy posted a third-wicket stand of 116 before McCarthy got out for 40 in the 33rd over

with Paul Campbell, who made 21.

Anderson Phillip took 3 for 66 from his 10 overs, while there was a wicket each for Kieron Pollard, Ravi Rampaul and Akeal Hosein.

(SPORTSMAX)

be making their National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division One football debut this season and McArthur is hoping to open doors for more players from Guyana to join him on the ‘D1’ collegiate circuit.

“This is a stepping-stone for me to leave Guyana to play football; not only football, but to study my academics, make my family proud and Guyana proud. This is something that I’ve always dreamed about, to leave this country,” an elated McArthur said.

The Fruta Conquerors winger told Chronicle Sport that an opportunity had previously presented itself for him to play collegiate football, but the lack of finances, coupled with a breakdown in other critical areas, saw the scholarship not materialising.

McArthur and the ‘Cougars’ will play in the NCAA D1 Western Athletic Conference in the 2021 season and will host their home games at the Ray and Joan Kroc Stadium in Chicago.

Banks, a United States Soccer Federation (USSF) “A-Senior” licensed coach, comes to Chicago State from Brown University where he was the associate head coach (2017-20) and assistant coach (2016).

Cougars coach Trevor Banks

During his time at Brown, Banks was part of all aspects of the programme and helped develop multiple award winners on and off the field, including three players selected to the United Soccer Coaches AllEast Region Team, 19 All-Ivy selections, one named to the All-New England Freshman team, multiple Academic AllIvy selections and one Unit-

ed Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America honouree.

A native of Carencro, Louisiana, Banks played collegiate soccer at Kentucky Wesleyan College (2006-09) where he earned a degree in communications then continued his education, earning a Master’s degree in Athletic Administration from William Woods University (2010).

Campbelle, Gajnabi and Grimmond to sponsor female cricket tourney ... Foster urges U-19 team to be good ambassadors GUYANA and West Indies players Shemaine Campbelle, Sheneta Grimmond and Shakiba Gajnabi will jointly sponsor a 40Over female cricket tournament.

The event marks another planned addition to the Berbice Cricket Board’s (BCB) plans for cricket development this year.

BCB president Hilbert Foster met the players last Wednesday and they readily agreed to his request of giving back to the game, which has made them household names across the West Indies.

Rose Hall Town Metro, the defending champions, are the heavy favourites to retain their title but can expect a strong challenge from West Berbice and New Amsterdam/Canje.

The strong RHT Metro team would include four West Indies players and a number of national and Berbice players. They include Campbelle, Grimmond, Gajnabi, Erva Giddings, Plaffina Millington, Dian Prahalad and Marian Samaroo.

West Berbice would be spearheaded by Kantana Mentore and Devona Frank while New Amsterdam/Canje would be led by former West Indies all-rounder Tremayne Smartt, Ashnini Munisar, Ameera Adrams, Nirveera Ramnauth and Jamie Campbelle.

Foster expressed thanks to

the three female cricketers, who are all members of the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club Metro Team.

ongoing Guyana Cricket Board (BCB) Under-19 tournament and urged them to be good ambassadors of the Berbice brand.

The three Guyana and West Indies players show off the Campbelle/Grimmond/ Gajnabi Trophy that will be up for grabs Campbelle, speaking on beHe reminded the players in half of the trio, said the ladies the presence of their parents that were delighted to contribute to they would be representing the Berbice cricket as the county has legacy of Rohan Kanhai, Basil invested heavily into their career. Butcher, Joe Soloman, Alvin The Windies all-rounder Kallicharran and Roy Fredericks. stated that it was her hope that He also handed over face more females would follow in masks, face shields and hand her footsteps and play for the sanitisers to the teams as part West Indies. of the BCB COVID-19 protecM e a n w h i l e , F o s t e r o n tion campaign. Each player Wednesday also met the selected received a Berbice Inter-counBerbice Under-19 team for the ty cap.

Bonner

Nkrumah Bonner pulls during his unbeaten 74 in the second Test yesterday

half-century keeps Windies afloat SEE PAGE 32

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Yoshiro Mori acknowledged that his comments about women were “inappropriate” and against the Olympic spirit

Guyana Jaguars captain Leon Johnson SEE PAGE 32

Guyana Jaguars look to continue winning ways

… Clash with Leeward Islands Hurricanes from 13:30hrs today

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CSU Cougars football coach goes ‘hunting’ in Guyana

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| FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2021