Guyana_Chronicle_Epaper_07_11_2021

g Fulfillin as Fulfi als lling o g ir e th rs in s as ucatogoal edtheir ge in educ la ators il v e th the village ll are Sandra Brijlaminds of his wife, ing the are Brijlall anddecades mould retired and Chunilall have boththings in life who spent er educators these days, they photo) but ing the simpl(Carl Croker learners ce and enjoy gardening #68 Village, Berbi in while living Chunilall Brijlall and his wife, Sandra Brijlall are educators who spent decades moulding learners but these days, they have both the minds of retired and are gardening and enjoying the simpler things in life while living in #68 Village, Berbice (Carl Croker photo)

7th November, 2021

'

See Inside No.106538

$750M in contracts awarded –– for construction of 100 housing units in Williamsburg/ Hampshire, Corentyne, Berbice

Developer eyes new Mandela-Eccles four-lane road for ‘mega’ hotel

PAGE

02

PAGE

03

––facility to feature 150 rooms, modern amenities

An artist’s impression of the hotel

50,000 acres of prime Life imprisonment, ‘Royal Rumble’ ‘agri’ land to be made millions in fines for before PNC/R available in Berbice 05 electoral breaches 05 Congress 04 PAGE

PAGE

PAGE

2

$750M in contracts awarded for 100 housing units in Williamsburg

CONTRACTS to the tune of some $750 million have been awarded to 13 contractors for the construction of the first 100 homes in Williamsurg/Hampshire, Corentyne, Berbice.

On Saturday, the contractors attended a contract-signing ceremony with Chief

Executive Officer of the Central Housing and Planning Authority, Sherwyn Greaves, at the Berbice Chamber of Commerce office, Rose Hall Town, Berbice.

This signing will see commencement of construction for 100 20x30 ft, two-bedroom flat units within

the next few weeks.

The contracts have been awarded to Cardinal Enterprise, S.A.H Construction & Supplies, A.A. Construction, Singh and Sons Construction, Vickram’s Contracting Services, JS Engineering Services and Supplies, N. Ramnarine Construction, Rasheid

SUNDAY CHRONICLE November 7, 2021

CH&PA Chief Executive Officer, Sherwyn Greaves (centre); Housing and Water Minister, Collin Croal (second right), contractors and staff peruse the plan during the site visit Construction, SAWA InvestThese works will transment Inc., Ramsarran & Sons form the landscape and boost Construction, Triple A Con- economic activity in the restruction, E.C.S Construction gion. Croal implored the and General Supplies and contractors to utilise skills Feroze Construction Ser- from within the region. vices.

“The transportation sec-

CH&PA Chief Executive Officer, Sherwyn Greaves addresses contractors Greaves, in his remarks, said this venture should be seen as an indication of greater plans for the housing sector in Region Six. He explained that in another few weeks, contracts will be signed for an additional 100 housing units at Ordinance Fortlands.

“We are extremely pleased to do this, we are excited for what these homes will do for this region; job creation is a big focus, so if you calculate six persons per house, that will translate into 600 jobs,” he said.

He added that the Housing Ministry has been mandated by President Dr. Irfaan Ali to deliver 22,000 housing units over the next four years.

“We are well on our way to meeting this target as we have commenced construction of units to meet all income brackets in Cummings Lodge, Prospect, Providence and Linden.”

Minister Croal also noted that the project is another promise delivered by President Ali as the government forges ahead with its robust housing drive to deliver 50,000 house lots over the next four years. The minister added that over the coming months, the Central Housing and Planning Authority’s Project Department will be spearheading other infrastructure works in the scheme.

tor will benefit, the suppliers will benefit from this project.

Altogether, there will be massive economic activity which is a great spin-off from the housing and construction sector.”

In explaining the beneficiary selection process, Croal said persons will be selected from the agency’s database who indicated an interest in building units.

“We will go into our database and, based on the request, we will issue those persons with pre-qualification letters so that they can engage a financial institution of their choice for a loan,” the minister said.

To date, there are some 400 applicants who have indicated their interest in securing a built housing unit in the region.

Also, as the demand continues to grow for housing in Region Six, the Housing and Water Ministry is actively engaging the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), the Guyana Lands and Survey Commission (GLSC) and the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) to acquire more lands.

In December 2020, during an outreach, President Ali announced his government’s housing plan for the region, committing to deliver housing units for families.

3

Developer eyes new Mandela-Eccles four-lane road for mega hotel

SUNDAY CHRONICLE November 7, 2021

–– facility to feature 150 rooms, modern amenities

By Navendra Seoraj REFLECTIVE of the popular proverb, “strike while the iron is hot,” is a Guyanese developer’s plan to build a 150-room hotel in the Houston area, along the new four-lane Mandela-Eccles road, which is being constructed.

In April of this year, work had started on the extensive road project that is expected to reduce the traffic congestion along the East Bank of Demerara (EBD) corridor and expand the options available to investors who are examining the local market.

Envisioning increased economic activities and other opportunities for development when the fourlane road is completed, Caribbean Green Building Inc., a Guyanese company with American ties, has drafted a plan to construct a facility which, according to them, is affiliated with one of the most renowned hotel chain brands in the world.

While not naming the hotel chain, the local com-

pany, in its project scope which was submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency, related: “We are going to introduce elevated amenities like the Bistro Bar (a fast, casual restaurant) and collaborative lobby spaces; a sophisticated yet comfortable environment with an enduring, classic sensibility.”

According to the project scope, the developer also plans to offer an arrival experience which includes an optional porte cochère – a covered entrance which is large enough for vehicles to pass through-- and enhanced lighting.

Aside from a unique entrance, the main attractions include modern rooms which feature wide, comfortable sleeper sofas and framed headboard, a luggage drop, hospitality cabinet and outlets where most needed.

Additionally, there will be integrated walk-in showers, 55-inch flat-panel televisions and in-room refrigerators.

When outside of their rooms, guests will be able

to relax in the lobby, which would be focused on an elevated evening experience with special seating options to work or relax.

An extension of the lobby, the Bistro Terrace,

An artist’s impression of the main lobby of the hotel

A sketch showing a section of the state-of-the-art hotel will feature a community mier hotels, the Marriott, transformation, the way fire pit and upgraded out- is currently fully booked of thinking, acting, celdoor seating area. until January 2022. ebration of country, the “The Bistro provides Further, there have al- way we do business and guests with day and night ready been sod-turning organisational culture. It dining options through exercises for a number has to be incorporated into fresh, seasonal menu items of new, additional hotels, every aspect of our lives for breakfast and dinner, with two having taken and every level of service coffee, and premium wine, place close to the Cheddi has- to be transformed. It beer and cocktails,” the Jagan International Airport should be something to company said.

(CJIA). The aim, accord- take us to optimisation,” Apart from those fea- ing to local authorities, is President Ali said in a pretures, there are also plans to have at least 2,000 hotel vious report. to establish spacious meet- rooms available for visiGuyana, with its newing spaces and a conven- tors and to accompany the found oil wealth and thrivtion centre, to meet market anticipated growth in the ing productive sectors, is demands. local economy. on the cusp of economic There are also plans to President Dr. Irfaan transformation and has have 1,000 square feet of Ali had said that moving already received the title space for cardio, stretching forward and embracing of “investment capital” of and strength activities; this this potential growth and the Region and possibly would be supplemented by development would re- the world. an outdoor pool and tennis quire transition, not just Positioning ahead of court. physically, but also in the this economic ascension Within a month of the way people act, think, cel- is essential, since it is only government being in of- ebrate Guyana and conduct through this that busifice, Expressions of Inter- business. nesses and individuals est were sent out for inter“We have to transition would be able to capitalnationally branded hotels to create the transforma- ise on the opportunities to be built in the country, tion we want. It is not only which would accrue to since one of Guyana’s pre- physical, it is the human Guyana.

4

SUNDAY CHRONICLE November 7, 2021

‘Royal Rumble’ before PNC/R Congress -potential leaders question each other’s competence

Opposition Parliamentarian, Roysdale Forde LIKE the crowd that surrounds a ring to observe an ecstatic exchange of punches, Guyanese have been watching on as the ‘heavyweights’ of the People’s National Congress/Reform (PNC/R) ‘battle’ each other fiercely to stay in the race for leader of the party.

Almost like a “Royal Rumble,” contestants for the seat of leader have been trying to “toss each other out” through acts of verbal denigration, which have been reported widely since the announcement of the party’s plans to host its long-overdue

Leader of the Opposition, Joseph Harmon Biennial Congress on December 11, 2021.

Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Joseph Harmon; PNC/R stalwart, Aubrey Norton and son-in-law of the party’s founder, Dr. Richard VanWest Charles, all backed by their various supporters, have been hurling criticisms at each other and, to some extent, even questioning the credibility of the upcoming process.

Absent amidst the internal dissidence is the party’s leader, former President, David Granger, who “hung up

Aubrey Norton

Dr. Richard Van-West Charles

his gloves” temporarily in September, stating: “I did this because I was on the go for over 10 years.”

Though not “stepping down” as leader, there has been no official report of his intention to contest the upcoming PNC/R elections.

This is much unlike the posture of the listed candidates, who have been campaigning vibrantly across various social media platforms and even visiting the party’s known stronghold areas to make a case for the position of leader.

In their pursuit of leadership, candidates have not only outlined their plans for the party, they have also launched verbal attacks at colleague party members, questioning or criticising their position, competence and capabilities.

Last Wednesday, a statement from Dr. Charles’ campaign team related concerns over the free and fair execu-

tion of the party’s electoral process.

According to the statement, General Secretary of the PNC/R, Amna Ally, has to recuse herself from the election process for there to be fairness.

“Ms. Ally continues to misuse and abuse the office of GS by immersing herself in the election campaign, openly taking sides and supporting one candidate, when she should be professional and desist from compromising her office,” the statement related.

Dr. Charles’ campaign team further added: “Ally’s behaviour is not only untoward, unethical and unacceptable but it also goes against the principles of the party.”

Ally’s role, according to the candidate’s team, is to ensure that the upcoming process is free, fair, transparent and represents the true and legitimate will of its members.

HAUNTING Dr. Charles’ calls appeared similar to that of various stakeholders in 2020, when the country was faced with a General and Regional Elections which was protracted reportedly because of the actions of the then governing A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC), a coalition in which the PNC/R comprised the majority.

Having overcome the five-month long General and Regional Elections, stakeholders will now look on as the PNC/R addresses claims from within about the integrity of its own electoral process.

In dealing with this, the membership of the party will also have to examine the comments of senior party member and Parliamentarian, Roysdale Forde, who, in a statement which purportedly contradicted that of Norton, said: “Essential to consolidating the gains of the People’s National Congress/Reform is recognising that the PNC is not a tribe. It is a political party in which all the citizens irrespective of race must know and feel that their interests are protected.”

According to a report from Demerara Waves, Forde said that a leader who is perceived to be divisive could not advance the cause of the PNC/R supporters and could not much more advance the

cause and the interests of the people of Guyana as a whole.

“We must not use statements, we must not use euphemisms, we must not use the word ‘grassroots’ to mean a return or an acknowledgement that the People’s National Congress Reform is a Black people party. It is not a Black people party. It has not, it has never been and it must never be. A leader that is tribal, a leader that is tribalist cannot advance the cause of the people that support the People’s National Congress,” Forde said.

Harmon also took aim at the issue, noting at the launch of his campaign: “The PNC is not just a Black people thing.

It would be political suicide to ignore the youth and we are going to dedicate more resources to that.”

According to a Demerara Waves report, Norton reportedly frowned on Forde’s apparent warning to avoid anyone who was issuing a “grassroots” appeal, as that could see the party retaining or acquiring the image of “Black people party.”

“I find it laughable but mischievous that Mr. Roysdale Forde insinuated that the PNC/R under my leadership would turn the party into a Black party. If Mr. Forde was in the PNC/R long enough he would have known that Mr. Winston Murray was an Indo-Guyanese who Aubrey Norton supported for Leader of the PNC/R,” he said.

5

SUNDAY CHRONICLE November 7, 2021

50,000 acres of prime ‘agri’ land to be available in Berbice -as works progress on farm-to-market roads at Numbers 52, 58 -transformational Molsen-El Dorado road for Guyana, Suriname link also taking shape

Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh (centre); Regional Chairman, David Armogan (second left) and Regional Executive Officer, Narindra Persaud (left) engaging the various project managers on Saturday

By Nafeeza Yahya NEW and existing farmers in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) will soon have access to over 50,000 acres of land as work progresses on the new asphaltic farm-tomarket roads at Numbers 52 and 58 Villages.

The work done so far was inspected by a team of officials led by Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh on Saturday.

Dr. Singh, who was accompanied by Chairman of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) of Region Six, David Armogan; Regional Vice-Chairman of the RDC, Zamal Hussain; and Regional Executive Officer of Region Six, Narindra Persaud observed

the construction activities, and assessed the performance of the contractors.

Upon completion of his inspection, Dr. Singh was pleased with the pace of work and said that both projects are on course to completion by January and February, as stipulated by the respective contracts.

Dr. Singh said that both projects are of significant importance to the overall infrastructural development of Guyana, and mark just the beginning of the works in the pipeline.

“At both Number 52 and Number 58 Villages, we are constructing new roads from the Corentyne Highway all the way to Canje Creek… Those roads, I am told, will open up 50,000 acres of new farm

lands,” Dr. Singh said, adding: “Once that access is available to the new lands, we anticipate farmers will take up those lands, and you will have a significant expansion in cultivation, and significant increase in agriculture produce. And that is just a couple examples on the Corentyne Coast. We are doing the same elsewhere across Guyana.”

The contract for the Number 58 Village farm-tomarket road was awarded to GuyAmerica Construction Company, to the tune of $640 million, while the road at Number 52 Village, which was awarded to Associated Construction, costs $240 million.

Those projects, along with the Molsen-El Dorado Road, which was awarded to Shaffeeullah Sawmills for $151 million, are the largest road projects being executed in the region at this time.

Dr. Singh also visited the Molsen-El Dorado Road, where he observed that work is also moving apace.

This new infrastructure, which is being constructed with crusher run, spans 2.5 kilometers, and will end at the point where the new bridge across the Corentyne River, connecting Guyana and Suriname, will land.

Like the Numbers 52 and 58 road projects, this project, Dr. Singh said, in the first instance, will serve the needs

Construction ongoing on the Number 52 Village’s farm-to-market road of residents and the agriculture community, but it has more far-reaching benefits.

“This road is intended to serve multiple purposes, and what this road is going to do in the immediate instance when completed is improve access to the farmlands, and it is going to improve access to the people who live along this alignment.

“But beyond that into the medium and long term, this road is an extremely important artery that will lead to the Corentyne River Bridge,” Dr. Singh said, adding: “This is one of the major transformational projects…

The Corentyne River Bridge that links Guyana to Suriname, and I may go further to say, it’s part of a broader hemispheric vision, because we are speaking of not only bridging the Corentyne River, but we are speaking about building the road from Linden to Lethem.

“And you can imagine how significant that development is going to be, when persons can literally be able to travel from French Guiana and Suriname all the way to Brazil, via Guyana, and what that is going to mean for the economic activities.”

Dr. Singh further said that

the various projects represent what he described as “pieces of a single comprehensive puzzle, or a single integrated picture.”

Those pieces, he said, have been progressively put into place over a period of time, and they include the Berbice Bridge, the East Bank Highway, and the New Demerara Bridge, which is expected to be built soon.

Those projects are part of a larger, comprehensive plan drafted by the current administration to improve Guyana’s connectivity with its neighbours, not just for the purpose of connectivity, but also for economic benefits.

Life imprisonment, millions in fines for electoral breaches -proposed RoPA amendments also outline hefty ‘general’ penalties

TO ensure that Guyana never faces a recurrence of last year’s six-month-long elections debacle, stricter consequences for electoral breaches have been outlined in government’s proposed amendments to the Representation of the People Act (RoPA).

The proposed amendments are currently in the public domain for review and feedback, ahead of its presentation to the National Assembly.

With Guyanese voters still awaiting Statements of Poll (SoP) from the former A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC), the amendments assert that going forward, all SoPs must be promptly certified and posted on the Guyana Elections Commission’s website by the Chief Elections Officer (CEO).

It outlined that the CEO would be committing an offence should he or she “post

or caused to be posted, an electronic copy of a statement of poll that is not a true copy of the certified copy of the Statement of Poll delivered to him, or that contains a false statement.”

Such a breach, according to the amendments, would see the CEO being “liable on summary conviction to a fine of ten million dollars and to imprisonment for life.”

The amended document also outlines strict penalties for persons such as the returning officers who supply the CEO with falsified tabulation forms.

“A person who fails to deliver to the Chief Elections Officer a true, certified copy of a Tabulation Form… or who delivers a Tabulation Form with falsified information commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of ten million dollars and to imprisonment for life,” the amendments indicated.

Similar consequences

also apply in cases where the CEO fails to calculate the total number of votes on the basis of information contained in the District Tabulation Forms, which are the only basis for the calculation of votes.

As it is, former GECOM CEO Keith Lowenfield is before the court on charges pertaining to electoral fraud, having attempted to declare the 2020 General and Regional Elections in favour of the then APNU+AFC Government, using figures provided by the Region Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo, who is also before the courts, having been accused of inflating the Region Four votes in favour of the APNU+AFC. SPLITTING OF REGION FOUR With Region Four being the largest voting district and the most problematic as the previous elections would indicate, it is proposed that the region be split into sub-dis-

tricts with each having its own returning officer, who ultimately reports to the Region Four Returning Officer.

The amendments also outline a $10 million fine and 10 years jail for a sub-district returning officer who fails to submit a true and certified copy of the Sub-district Tabulation Form to the Region Four Returning Officer.

Nonetheless, in relation to the physical copies of the SoPs which are hung outside each polling station at the close of polls, persons found removing or tampering with these would be liable to a fine $10 million as well as 10 years in prison.

JAIL TIME FOR PRESIDING OFFICERS The amendments also include a new section of the laws, section 68A, which speaks to the role of the presiding officers and the consequences that come with failing to execute their functions. Simply put, the Presiding Officer is the person

who oversees the operations of their respective polling stations.

The law stipulates that at the opening of polls, the Presiding Officer has the responsibility of ensuring that polling agents are furnished with several documents, including a copy of the official list of electors or part of the list, as the case may require, containing the names of the Turn to page 7

6

SUNDAY CHRONICLE November 7, 2021

Student Attainment Levels

THE results of the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate Examination (CSEC) has once again demonstrated that our Guyanese students are doing well, thanks to the enhanced quality of education delivery at all levels of the education pyramid. Queen’s College, the premier secondary school in the country, has again topped the list by having four of the top 10 performers. That was followed by the Saraswati Vidya Niketan in Region Three and the Anna Regina and Abram Zuil Secondary Schools in Region Two.

The results highlighted some interesting trends regarding student-attainment levels. One such trend is a much more even spread of student-performance levels throughout the country. This is indeed an encouraging and welcome development and demonstrated that with good school management and strong parental and community involvement, any school can do well. Abram Zuil is one such example.

The school has grown in size and stature over the years to become one of the top performing schools not only in Region Two, but in the entire country. Its rise to a

top performing school came about largely because of high levels of commitment by staff members coupled with parental involvement.

These are essential ingredients for higher levels of student attainment and Abram Zuil Secondary School must be given credit for having now gained the national spotlight after having transcended the threshold of average performing schools. Indeed, there are valuable lessons to be learnt from Abram Zuil Secondary School, namely, that with good management of the curricula, high levels of teacher commitment and active parent/community in-

volvement, it is possible for any school to do well, regardless of geographic location.

Another interesting development is the emergence of an increasing number of private schools which now provide options to parents and guardians, who for whatever reason or reasons may opt to send their children to private schools. These schools, many of which are managed by religious organisations, have been doing relatively well in terms of student-attainment levels and have proven to be good complements to the public education system. These schools now offer a much

greater range of choices to parents and guardians, who otherwise may have been limited only to schools allocated to their children on the basis of the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA).

Then there is the noticeable trend of what is described as “male underachievement,” which refers to a tendency for female students to outperform their male counterparts, especially at primary and secondary schooling. This phenomenon is not unique to Guyana.

Several theories have been advanced by children development practitioners, some of which are sociological,

such as the absence of male role models in the classroom, differentiated attitudes by parents and teachers towards educating boys.

The government has done a commendable job in making quality education accessible to a much larger cohort of the student population and for creating the requisite teaching/learning environment for our students not only to do well, but also to excel. This augurs well for us as a country and as a society, especially at this stage in our economic life when a critical mass of brain power is so necessary to drive the development process

Prayers instil moral values, discipline, respect and tolerance

Dear Editor, I AM somewhat surprised as well as disappointed with former President of Guyana Mr Donald Ramotar, who stated in the ‘I-News Guyana’ on October 26th instant that: “It is my view that we should cease having prayers of any kind in schools.”

I am recommending that children and teachers continue to pray without ceasing.

Permit me to express my unbiased opinion on the views stated by Mr. Ramotar.

I am sure that Guyana still has freedom of religion. Prayers in schools is therefore constitutional and supports the principle of freedom of religion. Our children should be able to participate openly in this great heritage, seeking help, strength, and endurance from God as did their forefathers.

School prayers would instill moral values. Schools must do more than train children’s minds academically.

They must also nurture their

souls and reinforce the values taught at home and in the community churches.

I believe that people of any and all faiths should not have to feel intimidated when they wish to pray in a public situation. School employees and students alike should be free to pray at school.

Because of the diversity of faiths and beliefs in Guyana, schools should nurture an atmosphere of respect for people with religious convictions. Guarding schoolchildren from observing another person’s religious expression does not nurture understanding, it nurtures ignorance, and it deprives them of learning experiences that broaden their understanding of life.

Praying in school is also a form of expression, and along with the values taught and upheld by the school system, prayers can lay additional foundation for drama, art, music language concepts and creativity.

From my observation, when people are not given

the option to pray, there is a severe threat of spiritual decline that enters our communities. The individuals in charge of teaching children already have the responsibility to offer balanced learning options. How can they do so if they are forbidden from teaching prayer, but are permitted to teach students such ideas as evolution, while promoting personal perspectives on life? Prayer tells people that they are more than just an animal or a collection of energy and chemicals that occupy space. It is an action that proclaims the importance of all life and shows that there is a destiny for everyone if they are willing to take it. It also helps to guide students toward better choices throughout the year.

In addition, students of the same faith, and even of different faiths, can band together in unity and solidarity. Prayer brings people together to share in worship and appreciate each other’s beliefs. Furthermore,

school prayers could lead to increased tolerance and less bullying in school, since it can instil a sense of right and wrong and a love for others above oneself.

School prayers may cause students to acknowledge a power greater than themselves on whom they can rely for comfort and help in times of trouble. This will lead to decreased reliance on drugs, alcohol, sex, and dangerous amusements, as well as decreased suicides, the latter being prevalent in our society.

Mr Editor, The former President also stated that “Religion is a private matter for each individual and it should be kept that way.” I do not agree with this statement since nothing could be further from the truth.

If religion were private, it would dwindle and disappear, and atheists would be happy about it. But then it wouldn’t be religion at all.

Christianity, for instance, is founded on the idea that

we have good news to share with the world -- they are in trouble, in sin, under God’s wrath and facing judgement and eternal punishment, but the good news is that the same God has done an extraordinary thing to save us -- He died in our place. All religions command their followers to share their views and to do so in a loving, and non-offensive, non-coercive way. Religion is also a social construct aimed at living right, finding purpose, and trying to avoid the eternal damnation of our souls. Therefore, if you are aware of the truth and do not share this information, it becomes evil and selfish.

Keeping your religion private is harmful to others, and thus, the argument proposed for keeping religion private is quite ridiculous.

From my experience, I also believe that the best time to become aware of God as a Supreme Being and enjoy life’s blessings is in our youth, through

our prayers. Here is the advice from King Solomon, the wisest, “Remember thy Creator in the days of your youth before the days of trouble come…” Ecclesiastes 12: 1 Finally, let me say that praying at home and in church is not enough. Children spend at least 10 years of their lives in school. There is no better place to acquire a basic knowledge of the various religious beliefs of their classmates. Being exposed to other religions tears down the stereotypes of people who follow a certain faith and the culture that is tied to it. Prayer in schools can be an opportunity for students, teachers, principals, and other school officials to promote religious tolerance and acceptance. We do not want a beautiful country to degenerate into moral decay.

Thank you.

Sincerely, Rev. Dr. Joel Chinapen, D.D., M.A., B.A., B.S. Poet, Essayist,

7

SUNDAY CHRONICLE November 7, 2021

Oil development a key piece of Low Carbon Development Strategy THE government recently released major updates to the country’s long-term environmental strategy in time for the COP26 global summit on addressing the threat of climate change.

The new Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) will augment the previous strategies and puts in place goals for 2030 that will shape how Guyana responds to a warming world. This is the first of a three-part series that will examine Guyana’s broader role in the global fight against climate change and the impacts of the LCDS and COP26.

The updated LCDS, which has been an evolving document since 2009, explains how Guyana can be a larger part of global efforts to reduce planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions, like those being discussed in ongoing COP26 discussions in Glasgow.

COP26 is the 26th annual meeting of the United Na-

tions Climate Change Conference that brings together leaders and government delegations to co-ordinate efforts to combat climate change. Five years after the Paris Agreement was signed at COP21, COP26 is widely viewed as a crucial milestone.

For Guyana, it’s an especially interesting year. As a small country on the cusp of massive oil wealth and a historically massive absorber of carbon emitted by the developed world, Guyana’s role is multi-faceted.

It joins a growing movement of countries across the developing world fighting to have the industrialised world acknowledge a fundamental issue: developing countries, which have historically emitted very little of the pollution-causing global warming are being asked to curtail their economies and risk their futures in order to make up for the emissions of the industrialised world.

Developing countries have forcefully pushed back on the notion that they should leave valuable resources in the ground to make up for the actions of countries that have profited off coal, oil, and gas for two centuries. As the countries that will also face the brunt of changing weather and sea level rise, developing nations are pressing hard on their sovereign rights to monetise their natural resources and emphasizing the need to pay for vast new infrastructure and mitigation efforts to help their people and their economies survive a warming world.

The LCDS acknowledges this conundrum directly, saying oil and gas “has transformed the country’s development prospects,” and highlights that pressure to stop this pathway to development is unfair, especially given the UN’s simultaneous focus on development and resolving inequalities between countries.

Revenue from oil and gas is key to diversifying and growing the domestic economy while still preserving Guyana’s vast area of crucial carbon-absorbing forest. Oil and gas will also help finance efforts to decarbonise the power supply.

President Irfaan Ali recently stated that “several hinterland communities across Guyana are expected to undergo massive development… as the government pursues a revolutionary transition agenda to clean and reliable energy,” including solar, hydro, and wind power, over the next few years. The government’s pursuit of the Amaila Falls hydropower plant is one such initiative that will increase access to renewable energy in the country.

The LCD S also in corporates upgrading the country’s infrastructure to “improve transportation, improve access to finance, and create micro and small low-carbon enterprises,” that will increase efficiency

and sustainability. There are already plans in place to install a gas-to-energy power plant, that could cut prices and emissions by more than half, compared to Guyana Power & Light’s current use of pollution-intensive heavy fuel oil.

But, although important, these efforts pale in comparison to Guyana’s main historical contribution towards reducing emissions: its massive forests. Guyana is at the forefront of a special club of countries that have done much more than many others to help mitigate emissions—preserving vast forests that have absorbed huge quantities of otherwise-damaging carbon dioxide over the last hundred years.

The LCDS points out that the country’s forests store more than 21 Gigatons of carbon dioxide. To put that in perspective, the U.S. Congress has spent months debating a bill that would spend more than US $1 trillion on emissions re-

ductions. Analysts estimate those measures, many of which have now been ruled out as too costly, would have saved approximately one gigaton over the next decade.

That reality makes Guyana’s healthy and highly protected forests a crucial global tool for mitigating climate change. But it also further highlights the balance that developing countries are trying to strike this year at COP26 and more broadly, weighing a right to develop in the same way that industrialised countries have for centuries with an obligation to be part of the solution.

The LCDS is a bold effort on the part of the government to do both.

In Part two, Understanding Energy will examine that policy environment in more depth and explore how leaders and companies are thinking about meeting the world’s growing energy needs in a more sustainable way.

From page 5 electors entitled to vote at the polling place; a copy of the list of proxies; and the number of Statements of Poll forms issued to the presiding officer, along with a copy of the registration records of the electors.

“The copies of the lists given to each polling agent… shall remain the property of the polling agent after the close of poll,” the amended law indicated.

It further warned that a Presiding Officer who fails to execute their functions in accordance with the law, will be liable on summary conviction to a fine of five million dollars and to imprisonment

for 10 years.

Similar consequences also apply if a Presiding Officer allows a non-eligible person to vote.

Additionally, Section 83 of the amended laws state at every stage of the established voting procedure, the Presiding Officer “shall give every opportunity to the duly appointed candidate, counting agent and polling agent or alternate polling agent entitled to be present as attended to verify or ascertain every count, to examine every ballot and information recorded and to make objections or ask questions where necessary; and the polling agent or alternate polling agent shall

remain in the polling station throughout every procedure.”

Again, a Presiding Officer’s failure also attracts a $10 million fine and an accompanying 10-year prison sentence.

GENERAL-PENALTY PROVISION Meanwhile, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic, which almost lost the elections owing to falsified information, seems not to be taking any chances. As a result, the proposed amendment to RoPA includes a “general penalty provision” which specifies that any person who contravenes any provision of the Act for which a penalty is not provided, would also be

liable on summary conviction to a fine of $10 million and to imprisonment for life.

Another new section has been proposed for RoPA, in Section 150B which speaks to election manuals.

It states that “Any election manual to be made for use at any election shall be made, posted on the commission’s website and copies given to the political parties within 30 days of the date of the President’s proclamation of the election date.”

And, that “No provision of an election manual shall be inconsistent with any provision of this Act or any other law.” Any such document, the draft amendment

stated, would be considered null and void.

The need to amend Guyana’s electoral laws stemmed from the events of the March 2, 2020 elections, which were plagued with much violence and drama, which lasted for six months leading up to the August 2, 2020 swearing-in of President Dr. Irfaan Ali. As a result of the debacle, several constitutional officers were fired from the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), including Lowenfield, his Deputy Roxanne Myers and Mingo, who are all facing charges relating to electoral fraud.

Additionally, Chairper-

son of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), Volda Lawrence; Opposition activist, Carol Joseph; the CEO’s clerks, Michelle Miller and Denise Bob-Cummings; Elections Officer, Shefern February and Information Technology Officer, Enrique Livan, were also charged.

They are all accused of inflating the results of Region Four, Guyana’s largest voting district, to give the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Coalition a majority win at the March 2, 2020 polls, when in fact the PPP/C had won by 15,000 votes.

Life imprisonment, millions in fines for electoral...

8

SUNDAY CHRONICLE November 7, 2021

Politics & Society Forum Class dynamics in rural Guyana

Professor lomarsh roopnarine

IN my conservation some two months ago with Professor Ruben Gowricharan, a Surinamese- academic based in The Netherlands, I was struck by two fundamental factors.

The first is that he has taken on the humongous task of assessing and analysing the transformation of Indian peasantry in places where Indians were indentured, including Guyana. The second is that he was somewhat taken aback by my comments on Indians in rural Guyana, and in particular, Berbice. I told him that I am impressed with his remarkable understanding of the macro dynamics of the Indian peasantry regarding how some Indians were able to break away from plantation entrapment and became land and rice mill owners, shop keepers, and their close association with the western-controlled banking system. I advised him, however, that he still needs to capture the micro or face-to-face dynamics of the Indian peasantry to produce a convincing narrative, at least in Guyana.

I told Ruben that to understand the Indian peasantry one ought to examine

the petty capitalism among them. To recall, all Indians entered Guyana on an equal footing in that all of them were indentured Indians transported from their homeland to supply manual labour to the plantation owners. Over time, however, this equal arrival status, including their caste social structure, was transformed in ways in which some Indians were still trapped while others were moving out from the bound plantations to independent survival. Why and how this uneven transformation occurred depended on the superstructure of the plantation system itself and Indian adjustment, adaptation, and even resistance to it. In the end, some Indians did well while others became victims of circumstances in a capitalist system driven by production and profits. The human value, at least from the perspective of the labourers, was simply a dot. It was not a system in which anyone who tried hard “to reach for the highest star” would have had an average chance of getting ahead.

Fast-forward to the 1950s onwards, noticeably there were merely two class-

es of Indians occupying the countryside, namely, a petty bourgeoisie (owners of the means of production such as the capital and rice lands) and a large proletariat (workers). In between was a small middle class such as teachers and clerks who vacillated between the petty bourgeoisie and proletariat Indians in terms of helping out with important chores relating to educational and government-oriented matters. They have been almost invisible when compared to the two other classes, mainly because middle class occupations in the civil service have not been a prevalent and predominant trend in the countryside.

I argue that Indians in the countryside do not fit neatly into the sociological models of social class, notably, like the diamond and pyramid shaped class system in the United States and Guyana, respectively. In the former, a majority of people occupy the middle class while a smaller number of them occupy the high and low classes. In the latter, a majority of individuals occupy the middle and lower classes.

The Indian classes in Guyana share

some fundamental similarities which may not be aligned with the above description. Strong emphasis on family traditions, low divorce rates, education, religious beliefs, and politics are deeply ingrained class characteristics of rural Indians.

What is different in the class relation of Indians is that the upper class does not possess the attributes of power and property, and privilege at the same time while the lower class has been in the process of experiencing the aforesaid characteristics. The lower class has been experiencing gradual upward and intergenerational mobility through the strength of their labour.

In rural Guyana, class relations revolve around intimate community rather than impersonal associations.

Class positions are not fixed, and so the weight of Forbes Burnham’s cooperative socialism practically led to the collapse of rice planting elites.

Many went bankrupt, and new class dimensions have been formed in rural Guyana. To be continued (lomarsh.roopnarine@jsums.edu).

WHEN the APNU+AFC Coalition was in office throughout the period 2015 to 2020, the crime situation in the country was getting from bad to worse.

And every day, the newspaper headlines served as a reference that the Coalition was not proactive in the crime fight and did not satisfactorily arrest crime.

After all, citizens were crying foul at the alarming levels of crime that they were facing, including home invasions and murders.

The media had gotten sick of the police statistics showing crime on the decrease while citizens’ direct reports and the postings on social media indicate otherwise.

This was seemingly worrisome to the David Granger Administration because, from reports, it tried to strike a deal to

suppress the Police Force’s reportage of crime statistics and interfere with the management of the Force by putting the “yes” men in virtually all areas that had power.

This alleged clandestine interference had a debilitating effect on the force and their fight against crime. It shattered the high morale and confidence of the police because it seemed as if one did not bend to the will of the APNU+AFC Coalition, then one would suffer the fate of non-promotion, trumped-up charges and internal discipline and a toxic working environment.

The PPP Government is doing all that it could to fight crime in an intellectual and practical manner. It has used community policing groups and other non-gov-

ernmental organisations to fight crime. It has adopted a no-nonsense approach to fighting crime and testimony to its commitment to this is the huge capital and current estimates it passed in Parliament this year to tackle police reforms, administration, and the security apparatus. So, the Police Force is being given all that it needs to fight crime.

The government must also urgently get to the root of the problem that is hampering the Police Force in being proactive in its approach in the fight against crime.

The toxic working environment of the police must be addressed and enquiry made into the issues of promotion throughout the force.

Then, the government must be seen fully committed to using its resources to help further fund specialised housing

schemes and incentives that target the Police Force directly.

Similarly, the racism which exists in the police must be rooted out firmly as it is a deterrent to achieving an ethnically balanced and diverse Police Force.

Politicians must also be fully supportive of police ranks—they are fighting crime and criminality in our society.

They must not unjustly criticise the force to score cheap political points. The APNU+AFC politicians must also stop politising crime as this sends a dangerous message to the criminals.

We will get a safer Guyana if we all work together to resist and put up the blockade against crime.

One of the solutions is paying attention to the internal problems of the Police Force alluded to in this column.

Tackling crime, looking inward

9

SUNDAY CHRONICLE November 7, 2021

THE Pandemic New normal Lifestyle ADJUSTMENTS TO PRESERVE YOUR mental health Lifestyle modifications

It is almost two years in the COVID-19 pandemic with just over five million deaths and 250 million cases worldwide. We have made significant strides with the advent of multiple vaccines and now new anti-viral meds on the horizon; molnupiravir being first to hit the market to treat high-risk COVID-19 positive cases. In the interim, to curb the spread, collective efforts focused on prevention has impacted on the way we live, work, play and socialise. Universal lifestyle adjustments, across the spectrum of age, gender, race, political and social boundaries, are highly recommended by internationally acclaimed mental health specialist.

Especially so for the recovered cases and their family members, since there is a projected impact on their mental health sooner than later if measures are not put in place.

Can you imagine living through a pandemic without any kind of communication device such as the Internet, smart phones, regular phones, television or radio?

These technologies were not available to those before us who went through some of the world’s worst pandemics to date. Small pox raged in the 20th century with a death

toll of 300 million and has been the first disease to be eradicated due to the vaccination campaign. Both cholera and the influenza pandemic occurred in the19th century with a death toll of 800,000 and 50 million respectively. The great plague and the Black Death instilled fear in the 14th century, resulting in the invention of quarantine with a death toll of 200 million. And then there was the plague of Justinian, also known as the bubonic plague, from 541 to 750 AD, which claimed the lives of over 25 million people.

“This social phenomenon is both psychologically and practically relevant, in that the pandemics- including the 1918 Influenza and COVID-19 pandemics -significantly affect how we assess and act on risk, or stay resilient but also how we work, play and socialise,” reported CNN Health June 28, 2021.

This pandemic has restricted movement and social activities as well as physical contact with friends and family. Such restrictions may lead to stress which coexist with daily life challenges.

Stress may result in a plethora of symptoms.

The daily social issues which can contribute to stress are death of a spouse,

separation/ divorce from your partner, death of a close relative, hospitalisation due to injury or illness, just married or reconciled with partner, expecting a child, major health crisis of a close family member, job loss due to termination or retirement, new addition to family, death of a close friend, financial woes, career change, parental empty-nest, in-law synchronisation, work tensions, promotion or personal success, jet lag, house remodelling, job security threats, financial burden or charged with an illegal offence.

Mental Health includes a person’s emotional, social and psychological well-being translating to how we think, feel and act and most importantly, how we cope with stress, relate to others and make healthy choices.

Early warning signs on poor mental health are changes in sleep and eating patterns, loss of energy, sometimes a numb feeling or no reaction to emotional issues, unexplained aches and pains and feelings of helplessness/hopelessness.

After a prolonged period of non-treatment, you may hear complains like forgetfulness, confusion, aggression, crying excessively, negative self-talk which itself creates more stress and in worst case scenario suicid-

al ideation.

In our society road rage is dominant, some service persons become irritable, and some persons display abusive behaviours such as kicking, throwing something, yelling and cussing at their spouses, kids, neighbours and/ or friends. Others cope passively by taking alcohol, tranquilising or sleeping pills and avoid social interactions.

There are five adjustments to your lifestyle that needs to be made in order to enhance your mental health.

Firstly, seek professional help. Secondly, connect with others but ensure that the person is confidential. Thirdly, increase your physical activity: either get into some sport or dance etc. Fourthly, become involved in helping someone; it distracts the attention from your problems. Fifthly, sleep and take some “me time” to relax and unwind. Routines are also helpful.

Generally, there are two ways to manage stress: change the situation which causes the stressors or change your reaction to the situation which causes the stressors. This is simplified and remembered as the four As of dealing with the stressors; either “Avoid” the stressor, “Alter” the stressor, “Adapt” to the stressor or “Accept” the stressor.

The first two As deals with changing the situation but since this may not always be possible then the latter two can be considered, which deals with changing your reaction to the stressful situation. When you would have come to peace with your decision (and it has to be “your” decision) then you can select from a variety of ways to manage your stress.

Some positive coping skills you should develop to de-stress are as follows: go to church and pray, listen to music, go cautiously shopping with a friend, watch television or a movie at home, read a newspaper or magazine or book, sit alone in the peaceful outdoors, write poetry or pose, attend an athletic event, play an instrument or game, attend a lecture, go for a walk or drive, exercise at a gym or outdoors such as swimming, biking or jogging, play with a pet, taking a nap, get deeply involved in an activity, meditate, organise your desk, work station or home, take a shower, do some gardening or painting or refurbish some furniture, play a game and or discuss the situation with your spouse or close friends.

Technology has afforded us the opportunity to continue living safely by online shopping, telehealth and virtual meetings. The

benefits in such mechanisms by charting some course and providing solace, wisdom and social connections, far outweigh the downside of information overload and fake news. The world has learnt some good life lessons in hand sanitisation and general hygiene. But above all it has taught us about the credibility of newsfeed, by means of word of mouth or online.

So in setting global goals to fight COVID-19 where no one is left behind, we need to consider a comprehensive recovery plan that addresses the whole person, especially their mental health. We know that no one is safe until everyone is safe so before we get into what really matters, let’s hit the pause button on life, look around and look within and ask ourselves ‘are we handling our stresses well?’

For further pharmacological guidance and physician referral, consult the pharmacist at Medicine Express PHARMACY located at 223 Camp Street, between Lamaha and New Market Streets.

If you have any queries, comments or further information on the above topic kindly forward them to medicine.express@gmail. com or send them to 223 Camp Street, N/burg. Tel #225-5142.

10

SUNDAY CHRONICLE November 7, 2021

SBM Offshore provides $68M for mangrove restoration SBM Offshore has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI), which will see the company funding a Mangrove Restoration Project along a section of the East Coast of Demerara which will cost over G$68 million (US$332,000).

This one-year project involves the restoration of over 1.2 kilometers of mangroves from Buxton to Strathspey, ECD, and will benefit over 500 households from the adjacent communities, while also providing employment for residents. Geo-textile groynes will be

constructed along the foreshore at the project site to aid in the development of suitable conditions for the planting and growth of mangrove forests. Further, the project will facilitate the establishment of community nurseries to propagate the seedlings and subsequent planting of 20,000 Avicennia germinans (black mangrove) seedlings along the project site.

NAREI’s Project Coordinator for the Mangrove Department, Kene Moseley explained that residents will play a crucial role in the execution of the project, as they will form the see page 14

Chief Executive Officer of NAREI, Jagnarine Singh and General Manager of SBM Offshore, Francesco Prazzo display the signed agreement (DPI photo)

SUNDAY CHRONICLE November 7, 2021

11

12

SUNDAY CHRONICLE November 7, 2021

Grand Diwali celebration held at SVCC THE Festival of Lights was, on Friday night, celebrated in grand style at the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre (SVCC) Bel Air, Georgetown.

The event, hosted by the Indian High Commission, started with the lighting of the ceremonial

lamp and the guests were welcomed in the traditional way by applying sindoor on their forehead.

India’s High Commissioner to Guyana, Dr K. J. Srinivasa, in his address to the gathering, stated that Diwali is an important religious festival celebrat-

ed all over the world by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists -- some of the world’s oldest religions.

He explained that it is the day when Lord Ram returned to Ayodhya after defeating Ravana while it is also the day celebrated as the day of the birth

and marriage of Goddess Lakshmi.

In south India, he said, “we celebrate the home coming of the legendary King Bali. Bhai Dooj and Govardhan Pooja do form an integral part of this five-day long festival. The tradition of Diwali views wealth and riches provide us an opportunity to do good towards the betterment of society.”

Most importantly, the High Commissioner noted

that Diwali is a festival celebrating victory of good over evil.

“Lighting the lamp the diya - is a chance to remember, even in the midst of darkness, that light will ultimately prevail. Diwali is also a time for prayer, reflection and contemplation, to reflect on our obligations to help our fellow human beings, particularly the less fortunate. And as we light the diya -- the lamp -- we

Scenes from the Diwali celebrations held at the SVCC on Friday evening

recommit ourselves to the triumph of light over darkness, of good over evil.

Guyana’s harmonious co-existence of its multi-cultural and multi religious society was an example to emulate across the world -- similar to the ancient Indian concept of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam -- The world is one family,” the High Commissioner See page 13

13

SUNDAY CHRONICLE November 7, 2021

Grand Diwali celebration...

From page 12

added.

The event was graced by five Cabinet ministers, namely: Human Services and Social Security Minister, Dr. Vindhya Persaud; Agriculture Minister, Zu-

lfikar Mustafa; Culture, Youth and Sports Minister, Charles Ramson; Local Government and Regional Development Minister, Nigel Dharamlall; and Public Services Minister, Sonia

Parag, along with senior government officials, members of the diplomatic corps, Indian nationals, members of the Indo-Guyanese diaspora, friends and well-wishers of India.

The Cabinet ministers, who were the guests of honour, spoke about Diwali and its significance as they conveyed best wishes of peace, prosperity and happiness to all Guyanese.

The event also featured dance and music performances by the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Center Tabla teacher, Amjad Ali Warsi; Kathak teacher, Varsha Chaudhary, along

Scenes from the Diwali celebrations held at the SVCC on Friday evening

with Ganesh Vandana and Stuti; dances by Berbice Delight Dance Group, Jeevan Ka Nritya Dance Group and students of SVCC. There was also a tassa and dholl rendition.

14

SUNDAY CHRONICLE November 7, 2021

SBM Offshore provides $68M for mangrove...

From page 10 workforce for its implementation.

“We train persons in the communities to grow the mangrove seedlings for us, and then we pay persons to plant the seedlings when they’re ready to be planted.” She added that with the restoration of the mangrove ecosystem, nesting ground for crabs will be created, and this will pave the way for the return of crab-catching, creating more income-generating opportunities for residents.

Chief Executive Officer of NAREI, Jagnarine Singh explained that the Guyana Mangrove Restoration Project was initiated since 2010; however, the Institute recently reached out to SBM Offshore for assistance, and received a positive response.

“I am thankful to the company for assisting; they came along, and are helping us on the coast, because the coastline of Guyana is very important.

This is so critical for us, because we are living below sea level along the coast,” Singh stated.

Meanwhile, General Manager of SBM Offshore, Francesco Prazzo said the company is pleased to play a role in such an important project, which is also closely aligned with the company’s sustainability objectives. According to Prazzo, “Sustainability ranks very high on our agenda, as well as making an impact in Guyana in whatever we do.

I was particularly attracted by this project on mangroves when I came to Guyana, as I also realised how severely floods affect the country.”

POSITIVE IMPACT He noted that the Mangrove Restoration Project will positively impact over 500 households from the adjacent communities by providing flood protection, and will also contribute to SBM Offshore’s local content efforts, as over 45 residents from the nearby communities will be employed for the duration of the project.

SBM Offshore’s Sustainability and Social Impact Programme Development Officer, Recardo Bovell emphasised that the project will also contribute to increasing the biodiversity within the specified project area, and offer coastal protection, which is important as Guyana confronts the rising sea level.

“We see the benefits of mangroves, not just along the lines of coastal protection, but also we know mangroves will contribute towards the replenishment of our fisheries stock, which is an additional benefit this project will have,” Bovell said. He added that the company sees the project as a starting point, and hopes to be able to expand the scope of such an effort in the future.

The engagement between NAREI and SBM Offshore started in early 2020, with discussions between the parties on how best the company could support the activities of the project, following which NAREI selected the project location based on its annual action plan. This Mangrove Restoration Project is one of several SBM Offshore initiatives planned in-country that aligns with its commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

SBM Offshore is a trusted global leader in floating solutions for the energy industry, and has been contracted to construct, maintain and operate Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) units for Guyana’s oil production activities offshore. (DPI)

SUNDAY CHRONICLE November 7, 2021

CNOOC hosts essay competition on green energy CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited (CPGL) is hosting its inaugural Secondary Schools ‘Green Energy & Renewables’ essay competition, the company announced in a release on Saturday.

Students from both public and private schools are invited to submit essays. Junior Secondary Students (ages 11-14) are invited to submit their essays on the topic of “Green Energy Ideas for My Community” and Senior Secondary students (ages 15-18) are invited to submit their essays on the topic of “The Effect of Renewables on Climate Change in Guyana’’.

The Ministry of Education fully supports this essay competition and will encourage secondary schools to have their students participate. The ministry views the topics as very relevant to Guyana and its development at this time.

CPGL holds a 25 per cent working interest in the Stabroek Block, with partners ExxonMobil and Hess, located approximately 200 kilometres offshore Guyana.

“As a responsible company, CPGL views the environment as an invaluable asset and has responded to climate change challenges by implementing its own low carbon-green energy development strategy and is fully committed to being a resource-saving green company,” the release said.

Cognisant of the importance of a clean and healthy environment for the next generation, the company noted that the essay competition is intended to help youths understand the need for protecting the environment, especially as Guyana is headed into the future of oil and gas.

“We hope this essay competition promotes awareness among the youths of Guyana. As we shift gears focusing on low emissions and green energy as a company, it is important that we get this message out, that everyone should care what happens to the planet, especially as the numbers show that positive changes now will affect the environment for generations to come,” said President of CPGL, Liu Xiaoxiang.

He added: “We want as many young vibrant minds that care about the environment to enter this competition and share their ideas.”

To participate, junior secondary students must submit essays with a 500-1000 word count and Senior secondary students with a 1000-1500 word count. Students across Guyana will have the opportunity to win amazing prizes. Prizes include iPad Pros, iPhones and electric and kick scooters, and will be awarded for first, second, and third places.

Interested participants can expect to see full rules and regulations in the local media.

15

16

Inter-Caribbean Airways to service Guyana-Barbados route WHETHER it is for business or pleasure, citizens and visitors alike can soon expect more competitive options for air travel between Guyana and Barbados.

This comes as Inter-Caribbean Airways, on Friday, launched its new route, which seeks to tap into the growing interest for regional travel with Guyana as focal point.

The airline has scheduled 12 round-trip flights between the two destinations that will operate on a weekly basis.

Delivering the keynote

address at the ceremony held at the Roraima Duke Lodge, Public Works Minister, Juan Edghill, said the arrival of the airline is indicative of the administration’s efforts to facilitate development.

Minister Edghill said the airline has been introduced to Guyana at an opportune time, since there is insufficient connectivity to adequately move people between Guyana and the wider region.

While noting that the airline has an opportunity to efficiently live up to this task, the minister underscored, “the sustainability

SUNDAY CHRONICLE November 7, 2021

of this project is also very important. We want you to stay in the market. We want you to grow, even if there are competitors.”

Minister Edghill emphasised that Guyana’s engagement with Inter-Caribbean Airways is part of a wider effort by the President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali-led Administration to position Guyana as a critical hub for air travel.

He said discussions are underway with airlines in Europe and Asia to service Guyana’s market.

Additionally, Minister

Public Works Minister, Bishop Juan Edghill greets Chairman of InterCaribbean Airways, Lyndon Gardiner (DPI photo)

within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar, also lauded the airline’s presence, noting that it was possible due to the collaborative effort across numerous agencies to allow the airline a position in Guyana’s market.

Minister Indar added that, “in certain parts of the world, the aviation sector is starting to recover… This is testament to that recovery.”

Inter-Caribbean Airway’s Chairman, Lyndon Gardiner, while providing a history on the airline’s early beginnings in the 1990s,

commended the government for introducing the airline.

“I feel that Guyanese leadership is bullish on managing its economy and encouraging direct foreign investment in a way that is beneficial to the long-term strategic interest of Guyana,” the airline Chairman stated.

“With the open-forbusiness efforts of this government, we were able to put everything in place, and we are here to make the announcement to make the service a reality,” the airline

official continued.

Guyana marks the 27th destination for the airline and the new route will operate out of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA).

Officials representing CJIA, the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority, diplomatic corps and private sector were in attendance.

Remarks were also delivered by President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce, Timothy Tucker, and Capt. Gerry Gouveia Jr. of Roraima Airways. (DPI)

Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar

Several of the attendees at the launch of Inter-Caribbean Airways’ services in Guyana (DPI photo)

17

SUNDAY CHRONICLE November 7, 2021

Despite a regional ‘topper’, Guyana’s CAPE results decline slightly –– improvements recorded in Pure Mathematics and Digital Media

EVEN amid a global pandemic, Guyanese students have managed to maintain the country’s position as an academic topper within the Caribbean region; however, an analysis conducted on the preliminary results shows a slight decline in performances at the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE).

During the official announcement of the local results on Friday, Chief Education Officer (CEO) Dr Marcel Hutson indicated that the country’s pass rate for CAPE 2021 stood at 90.86 per cent, which indicates a decline of approximately three per cent when compared to the 93.28 per cent passes recorded last year.

In giving a breakdown, the CEO said that CAPE 2021 was written by 723 candidates from 10 secondary schools and four private institutions. “The gender distribution of the overall pass rate is 36 per cent males and 64 per cent females,” the Ministry of Education official indicated.

Candidates were offered units in 32 subject areas, of which 30 Units recorded 100 per cent passes. These include Agricultural Science Unit 1; Art and Design Unit 1; Applied Mathematics Unit 2; Computer Science Unit 2; Economics Unit 2; Environmental Science Unit 1; Food and Nutrition Unit 1; Geography Unit 2; Green Engineering Unit 2; Management of Business Unit 1; Animation and Gaming Design Units 1 and 2; Spanish Units 1 and 2; Physics Unit 2; Physical Education and Sport Units 1 and 2; Performing Arts Units 1 and 2 (Cinematic Arts); Digital Media Units 1 and 2; Entrepreneurship Units 1 and 2; Tourism Units 1 and 2; Logistical and Supply Chain Operations Units 1 and 2; Building and Mechanical Eng. Drawing – Mech Units 1 and 2; and Building and Mechanical Engineer Drawing – Building Unit 1.

Meanwhile, there was 75 per cent or higher passes in the areas of Accounting Units 1 and 2; Agricultural Science

Unit 2; Applied Mathematics Unit 1; Biology Units 1 and 2; Caribbean Studies Unit 1; Chemistry Units 1 and 2; Communication Studies Unit 1; Computer Science Unit 1; Economics Unit 1; Environmental Science Unit 2; Food and Nutrition Unit 2; Geography Unit 1; History Units 1 and 2; Information Technology Units 1 and 2; Law Units 1 and 2; Literatures in English Units 1 and 2; Management of Business Unit 2; Physics Unit 1; Sociology Units 1 and 2 and Integrated Mathematics Unit 1.

Hutson, in his analytical presentation, said that Caribbean Studies and Communication Studies continue to record an over 90 per cent pass rate but this year has seen a decline in performances for Integrated Mathematics, which recorded a drop from 82.18 per cent in 2020 to 78.67 per cent in 2021.

On the other hand, Pure Mathematics Unit 1 recorded improved performance with a pass rate of 58.89 per cent in 2021 as against

54.96 per cent in 2020.

E-TESTING Further, for the first time ever, schools, such as Queen’s College, St Rose’s High and St Joseph High, wrote their Paper Ones for several subjects, using the E-Testing modality.

These subjects include Accounting Units 1 and 2; Agricultural Science Units 1 and 2; Computer Science Units 1 and 2; Geography Units 1 and 2; Green Engineering Units 1 and 2; History Units 1 and 2; Information Technology Units 1 and 2 and Tourism Units 1 and 2.

“Digital Media and Animation and Gaming Design were also written electronically and continues to record 100 per cent pass rates,” CEO Hutson said.

Earlier in October, when the regional examinations results were announced, Dr. Nicole Manning, Director of Operations at the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), lamented the “stark socio-economic realities” that exist within our

societies. These, she said, were highlighted as candidates prepared for the examinations.

Her sentiments were echoed by Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, who noted that “The digital divide and other similar equity issues were brought into sharp focus as the deep fissures between those possessing the wherewithal to adapt and those ill-equipped to undertake such adjustments became very pronounced.”

Minister Manickchand said then that it is therefore vital that “as we examine strategies and approaches for the advancement for education within the region, equal attention is given to addressing the structural and systemic barriers that inhibit those from effectively participating and benefitting”.

Another area that requires attention, according to the Education Minister, is the extent to which the region has modernised its education system and the degree of internal flexibility that exist in order to withstand external shocks.

“The pandemic caught

us at widely different levels of readiness for the unprecedented demands and new modes of education delivery,” the minister admitted.

She said that equally notable is the fact that internally, countries responded to the disruption with varying degrees of alacrity.

“It is vital that we create sufficient institutional, organisational and individual capacity for crisis risk management,” Minister Manickchand noted.

She further emphasised that “we should fully embrace the important role that education can play in mitigating, in the first place, the impact of disasters and building our resilience.”

To this end, she stressed the need for regional systems to be retooled with the required safeguard against inequity.

Minister Manickchand, on Friday, reaffirmed her government’s commitment to delivering education in a manner that is equitable and fair, regardless of one’s social, financial or geographical position.

18

SUNDAY CHRONICLE November 7, 2021

SUNDAY CHRONICLE November 7, 2021

19

20

SUNDAY CHRONICLE November 7, 2021

Young attorney Paneeta Persaud admitted to the bar

By Clestine Juan

FULFILLING a promise he made several years ago on her 16th birthday, Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C., on Friday presented the petition of Attorney-at-Law Paneeta Persaud.

Persaud, 24, was admitted to the local bar to prac-

tise law in Guyana by High Court Judge Navindra Singh at the Demerara High Court.

The Attorney-General, in presenting a brief biography, said that the young attorney comes from a family which has a “reservoir of talent, industry, dedication and diligence”.

In 2019, Persaud graduated from the University of Guyana’s Turkeyen Campus

with a Bachelor of Laws degree.

Later that year, she commenced the first academic year of the two-year course of studies, assignments, examinations and practical training for her Legal Education Certificate (LEC) at the Hugh Wooding Law School (HWLS) in Trinidad.

Finally, in September 2021, Persaud was awarded her

legal certification.

During the period 20182020, she was a legal intern at Mohabir A. Nandlall and Associates and Christopher Ram and Associates.

“There is always space at the top for good lawyers,” the Attorney-General told Persaud in court. She is expected to join the legal team of the State.

In accepting the petition,

Justice Singh advised the young attorney to always remember her oath, and to uphold the ethics of the profession.

He also cited a quote from former Chief Justice of the Connecticut Superior Court, Bartlett Andrews, who, in 1891, said: “It is not enough for an attorney to be honest. He must be that, and more; he must be believed to be honest. It is absolutely essential to the usefulness of an attorney that he be entitled to the confidence of the community wherein he practices… A lawyer needs, indeed, to be learned.

“But all these may exist to a moderate degree, and yet he may be a credible and useful member of the profession, so long as the practice is, to him, a clean and honest function. If once the practice becomes to him a mere ‘brawl for hire’, or a system of legalised plunder, where craft and not conscience is the rule, and where falsehood and not truth is the means by which to gain his ends, then he has forfeited all right to be an officer in any court of justice, or to be numbered among the members of an honourable profession.”

It was a sentimental moment for Persaud when she addressed the court for the first time as an attorney.

She told the court that eight years ago, on her 16th birthday, the Attorney-General, who is a close family friend, made a promise to her that he would present her petition to the bar whenever that time should come.

PRAISE “I don’t recall at that time fully knowing whether I wanted to be a lawyer or an accountant, but, somehow, he had the foresight that I’d be a lawyer one day,” she said as she thanked the Attorney-General for believing in her.

She also credits her success to her law lecturers at UG, especially prominent Attorney-at-Law Teni Housty, who, she said, had been a great professor, mentor and friend throughout her journey.

While paying gratitude to her parents, Persaud said: “As I was preparing this address, I reflected on every moment leading up to this day. I recalled the day

Attorney-at-law Paneeta Persaud I found out I got accepted to read for my Bachelor of Laws, and how excited I was to share the news with you. I even remember the tough days.

“There was one day in particular my dad texted and said, ‘I saw your texts to your mom. Why are you letting trivial things distract or frustrate you?’ I told him, ‘Dad, I am so overwhelmed.’ He quickly referenced my late Aja, Ganesh Persaud, in his reply, ‘NOT for my Champion!

Remember that! You are on the path of taking this family to the greatest academic heights. A cane and rice farmer, labourer, son of a poor pandit and his humble new wife living in a rented bottom house with one wall missing to whatever they gave to us to where you are taking us, my champ,’” Persaud said as she reflected on the conversation.

The young attorney said every time she felt like giving up, she would remember that message from her father.

“I was reminded of all of the sacrifices our foreparents, grandparents and parents made for us to have a sound education. I was reminded of my Aja, especially, who made me feel like the most special girl in the world. The hardest part about today is that I wish he was alive to see that his loving granddaughter is the first lawyer in our family,” she said.

Persaud admitted that becoming a lawyer seemed impossible at first, and when she started UG, she did not think she would have been among the top 25 to attend HWLS, but she worked hard, prayed and persevered.

“Today, I feel so proud of who I’ve become, because I learnt to be resilient, and I persevered through all the challenges that came in my way.

Everything that I’ve done thus far, including volunteering with various humanitarian organisations, stems from my core belief in Seva (selfless service),” the young attorney said.

21

SUNDAY CHRONICLE November 7, 2021

87 Zeelugt households to soon receive land titles

SOME 87 households at Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo, Region Three, are expected to receive Certificates of Title within the next three months, for lands they occupy.

This assurance was given by Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs

house lots as far back as 1997.

Unfortunately, titles for these lands were never granted to the allottees, although the block title was passed from GuySuCo to SILWF, the release noted, pointing out that an occupational survey plan has already been

as, addressing anomalous situations where for some technical reason persons have not received titles for lands they have been occupying for protracted periods. The current exercise falls into the latter category,” the Attorney-General said.

Minister Nandlall also

Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mohabir Anil Nandlall, SC (second right) and Housing and Water Minister, Collin Croal (right) interacting with Zeelugt residents Mohabir Anil Nandlall, SC, who along with Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal and officials from their respective ministries and officers from the Sugar Industry Labour Welfare Fund (SILWF), met with the residents.

According to a release, the purpose of the meeting was to commence a process that will eventually result in the granting of Certificates of Title to 87 households in that community.

These persons, the release noted were either employees of GuySuCo or their descendants who had been allotted

completed and processing the titles to individual allottees will now begin.

The Attorney-General promised that the process will be completed within three months and hailed the comprehensive nature of the government’s housing programme as perhaps the best in the Caribbean.

“It embraces several components, including allocation of house lots; allocation of houses; partnerships with the private sector in the establishment of housing schemes; regularisation of squatter settlements, as well

stated that President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali has given him a special mandate to work in collaboration with other government agencies to address these technical, legal deficiencies, which frustrate the process of persons receiving titles to land to which they are entitled.

The minister reminded residents that a similar process was recently concluded which saw Certificates of Title being granted to over 50 families at Non Pareil, East Coast Demerara. Similar processes are currently ongoing at Number 46 Village,

A section of the gathering at the meeting

Corentyne; Cotton Tree and Number 3 Village, West Coast Berbice.

Minister Croal used the occasion to update residents on the activities of his ministry in Region Three, specifically, about the drilling of a new well at Parika

which will improve water supply on the East Bank of Essequibo, including Zeelugt.

The minister also addressed a number of other issues raised by the residents in relation to the housing and water sectors.

Also in attendance were Parliamentary Secretary Vikash Ramkissoon; Regional Chairman, Region Three, Inshan Ayube and the Neighbourhood Democratic Council Chairman of the locality, the release concluded.

22

SUNDAY CHRONICLE November 7, 2021

SUNDAY CHRONICLE November 7, 2021

23

24

SUNDAY CHRONICLE November 7, 2021

SUNDAY CHRONICLE November 7, 2021

25

26

SUNDAY CHRONICLE November 7, 2021

SUNDAY CHRONICLE November 7, 2021

27

28

SUNDAY CHRONICLE November 7, 2021

29

SUNDAY CHRONICLE November 7, 2021

Windies wind up T20World Cup with defeat as era...

FROM BACK PAGE been startling.

“If not, I would’ve announced it (retirement) long time. I would’ve been joining DJ Bravo in the back end in saying thanks to each and everyone but I can’t say that just yet.”

Clearly now devoid of his invincibility, Gayle managed only 15 as West Indies rallied to 157 for seven off their 20 overs after being sent in, captain Kieron Pollard hitting a top score of 44 off 31 deliveries with four fours and a six, and Evin Lewis (29) and Shimron Hetmyer (27) producing support knocks.

New-ball seamer Josh Hazlewood finished with four for 39, taking two of the three wickets to fall in the first powerplay as West Indies struggled early on.

In reply, Australia lost captain Aaron Finch for nine, cutting left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein onto his stumps in the fourth over at 33 for one but Warner carved out nine fours and four sixes in a 124-run, second-wicket stand with Mitchell Marsh (53) to erase any doubt over the result For his part, Marsh struck five fours and two sixes in a 32-ball stay before tapping the final ball of Gayle’s only over to Jason Holder at cover with scores level.

“I think overall it has been a disappointing campaign all-round,” said a dejected Pollard.

“In terms of our batting, we have not lived up to expectations. We have not done well at all when it comes to that. The bowling has been decent but it has not been good enough because we have not gotten over the line and we could have done better in our fielding as well.

“Having said that, it’s the end of a generation, an era. This is an opportunity for us to think about what

some of the guys in our dressing room would have done for West Indies cricket over a generation in the last ten years or so.”

Entering the contest at the Zayed Cricket Stadium already eliminated from semi-final contention and hoping to at least finish on a winning note, Lewis and Gayle briefly raised hopes of a huge total when they put on a whirlwind 30 off 14 balls for the first wicket.

But after pummelling two sixes off nine deliveries, Gayle dragged a booming drive at fast bowler Pat Cummins onto his stumps in the third over, the dismissal drawing a rarely seen emotional response from the 42-year-old who finished the tournament with 45 runs from five innings.

His departure saw three wickets tumble for five runs in the space of seven balls as Hazlewood accounted for Nicholas Pooran (4) and Roston Chase without scoring in the fourth over.

Lewis, who struck five fours, put on 35 for the fourth wicket with Hetmyer who hit just two boundaries while Pollard and Bravo (10) added a further 35, to repair the damage.

Leg-spinner Adam Zampa got Lewis to sky to long on in the 10th over and Hetmyer gloved a leg-side catch to the keeper off Hazlewood in the 13th.

And Bravo followed in the 18th to another catch in the deep off Hazlewood after supporting Pollard, leaving Andre Russell to blast a four and a couple of sixes in a seven-ball unbeaten 18, to get West Indies past 150.

Warner then put the final nail in the Windies’ coffin, racing to his 20th T20I half-century off 29 balls in the ninth over before hitting the winning runs with a tickle to the fine leg boundary off Chase’s off-spin.

30

PM Softball...

FROM BACK PAGE expected to be graced with the presence of President Irfaan Ali who will bowl the ceremonial first ball, signalling the commencement of the three-day extravaganza.

Matches are scheduled to be played at the Queen’s College, Police Sports Club, MYO, Guyana Defence Force and Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) grounds.

Like previous years, the three-day showpiece will see teams battle in three divisions - Legends (Over-50), Masters (Over-45) and All Stars (Open). The 2020 tournament was severely restricted because of the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting mainly in only teams participating in each division; but the usual excitement is expected to return this year.

The defending champions are Speedboat All-Stars (Open), Fishermen Masters (Over-45) and Regal Legends (Over-50). In last year’s Open final, Speedboat All-Stars

defeated archrivals Regal All Stars while Fishermen Masters registered a thrilling three-run victory over Wellman, with Keith Fraser etching his name in the record books with a scintillating 178. The Over-50 final saw Regal Masters retain their title with a five-wicket win over Savage Legends.

In recent years, the Over-50 have been increasingly gaining more interest and with the likes of New York Hustlers, New York Softball Softball Cricket League (NYSCL) and Orlando Legends battling to dethrone Regal Legends, lots of fireworks are expected to unfold in this division.

Meanwhile, the National COVID-19 Task Force has approved spectator attendance at 40 per cent at all venues, including the Guyana National Stadium and has stipulated that all spectators and players MUST be vaccinated. Adherence to all other COVID-19 emergency measures is mandatory.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE November 7, 2021

Man City cruise to derby win as United home woes continue

MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - Premier League champions Manchester City cruised to a 2-0 win over struggling Manchester United in their derby at Old Trafford yesterday.

Gifted two goals by United in the first half, City were happy to control the game after the break, while their hosts failed to present any sort of real threat.

“The best way to silence Old Trafford is to have the ball and we did it,” said City manager Pep Guardiola.

“I know how big talented players like Cristiano (Ronaldo) are. They suffer when they don’t have the ball. We wanted that,” he added.

It was ultimately a disappointing derby with City’s superiority in all areas confirmed abundantly while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s showed once again they simply lack enough quality to mount even a token title bid.

There has been constant speculation over Solskjaer’s future since the 5-0 home loss to Liverpool two weeks ago, but the Norwegian said his focus was on getting the team back to the promising form they had shown earlier in his reign.

“We can’t, or I can’t, look at myself and say this is the way I want Man United to play. I’m in good communication all the time with the club,” he said.

“I work for Man United, I want the best for Man United and, of course, as long as I’m here, I want to do what I can do to improve this,” he added.

Manchester City’s Phil Foden celebrates with teammates after the match v Manchester United at Old Trafford, Britain yesterday (REUTERS/Craig Brough) United are now winless in their last four home league games, losing three of them.

City are second, two points behind leaders Chelsea who hosted Burnley later yesterday.

City were handed an ideal start, going ahead in the seventh minute with an own goal from United defender Eric Bailly, who stretched out a leg but turned a low Joao Cancelo cross into his own net.

Cristiano Ronaldo forced Ederson into a full-stretch save with a fine volley, but that turned out to be United’s sole effort on the City goal.

United, shaky at the back despite playing a three-man central defence, relied on goalkeeper David De Gea to keep them in the game as the Spaniard made a series of saves.

De Gea smothered a close

range effort from Gabriel Jesus and tipped over a long-range shot from Cancelo before reacting well to stop another potential own goal after Victor Lindelof turned a low Phil Foden ball towards his own net.

The Spanish keeper then rose to the challenge again to deny Kevin De Bruyne as City searched for a second.

But just before the break, Pep Guardiola’s side profited from more woeful United defending with Luke Shaw inexplicably leaving a Cancelo cross deep to the back post, allowing Bernardo Silva to sneak in and poke a shot goalwards, that crept past De Gea. It was a moment which undid all De Gea’s work and left United with a mountain to climb in the second half. In

truth, however, they hardly got to base camp.

Substitute Jadon Sancho brought some life to United on the wing but there was no real pressure on City’s unruffled back line, while at the other end the visitors twice could have added to their tally.

De Bruyne at the back post blasted a volley wide and then Foden drilled a low shot wide of De Gea’s left-hand post.

United are eight points behind Chelsea in fifth place but are likely to fall further back after yesterday’s later games, while City very much remain in the race for top spot.

“We had the game of our lives today. Everything went right, a lot of possession and chances. We dominated from start to finish,” said Foden.

Burnley steal ’Chelsea point by pure luck’ PREMIER League leaders Chelsea would have won their game against Burnley 99 times out of 100, said boss Thomas Tuchel as they let the Clarets “steal a point by pure luck”.

Kai Havertz opened the scoring for Chelsea with a header from Reece James’ cross, only his second league goal this season.

The Blues could have scored a hatful with Thiago Silva’s header hitting the post, while Nick Pope saved well from Callum Hudson-Odoi in each half.

But Burnley levelled when Ashley Westwood whipped in a cross which Jay Rodriguez headed across to Vydra to stab home.

“That’s why everyone loves the game - a team can steal a point if the other team forgets to score the goals they deserve,” Tuchel said. “We played a fantastic match. Of course I’m disappointed.

“If we played this game 100 times, we’d win 99 times. Today we didn’t win it. The second goal would have decided it. It’s always possible you miss one ball, one cross, and this can happen.

“It’s our fault. We should have scored. We created so many chances.

“You have the opponents where you want to have them. You create so many chances. We let them believe it was possible to steal a point by pure luck and that’s what happened.”

Chelsea are three points clear of Manchester City at the top of the table, while Burnley remain in the relegation zone CHELSEA’S WINNING RUN COMES TO END Chelsea’s run of four Premier League wins in a row - and seven consecutive victories in all competitions including penalty shootouts - comes to an end.

Tuchel’s side have coped well without the injured striker Romelu Lukaku in recent weeks, but they could have done with him here.

It was not looking that way when James whipped in a cross for Havertz to score. That is the seventh Premier League goal that right-back James has been involved in in six starts this season.

They ended with 25 shots - their most in a Premier League home game without winning since August 2015 - but only four on target.

The European champions had a host of chances in both halves - with headers from Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rudiger, Jorginho, Havertz and Silva all going close.

Ross Barkley, on his first league start for the club since 2019-20, was wayward with several shots.

Burnley created very little until the 70th minute when they started to improve and, while Vydra’s goal was not inevitable, it was not completely

Matej Vydra’s goal was his first for Burnley since April against the run of play.

The visitors could have won it too. Jay Rodriguez lacked conviction in injury-time when

he headed for the corner flag instead of going for goal, and Vydra hit a half-volley wide from a long Pope clearance. (BBC Sport)

31

SUNDAY CHRONICLE November 7, 2021

England players touch down as Ashes hype builds THE first group of England players, led by captain Joe Root and talismanic all-rounder Ben Stokes, have touched down in Queensland more than a month out from the first Ashes Test.

Veteran seamer Stuart Broad, opener Rory Burns and spinners Jack Leach and Dom Bess were also on the flight that landed in Brisbane yesterday, when the party was moved away from an airport red zone.

They were taken to a Gold Coast resort, where they will spend a fortnight in quarantine before a pair of warm-up matches against an England Lions squad in Brisbane.

Players and staff have been granted exemptions to train at Metricon Stadium after completing three days of hard quarantine in their

England captain Joe Root at Brisbane Airport (Getty) hotel rooms.

“Cricket Australia is working with the

Queensland Government and Queensland Health to prioritise the health and

Cape Town to host New Year’s Test between India and South Africa

safety of the community, players and support staff,” England said in a statement.

“The team will quarantine for 14 days but have an exemption to undertake training at Metricon Stadium under strict quarantine conditions from November 10 to November 20.

The group includes both members of the senior Test and Lions squads.

T20 World Cup stars like Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler will join the Ashes squad in Australia after completing their commitments in the UAE. They will arrive well before the first Vodafone Test at the Gabba, starting on December 8.

Former England batter and current assistant coach Graham Thorpe will lead the side’s preparations before

head coach Chris Silverwood arrives with the World Cup group.

Former Ashes winners Paul Collingwood and Jonathan Trott, who were part of England’s successful tour in 2010-11, are also part of the 11-man coaching group.

Former Australia and England bowling coach Troy Cooley is also expected to assist the tourists during the series.

“In addition to the specialist expertise, we have individuals in our coaching team who have experienced success in Australian conditions, which will benefit the players’ preparation ahead of the Ashes and Lions competitive experiences,” said ECB Performance Director Mo Babat.

“For the period up until the end of the warm-up

matches, the coaching team will assist both groups of players. However, once we start the final build-up to the first Ashes Test, we will then split into two distinct groups with the Lions preparing for their four-day match against Australia A on December 9.”

(AAP & cricket.com.au) England’s Ashes coaching staff Head coach: Chris Silverwood Assistant coaches: Paul Collingwood, Graham Thorpe Specialists: Jon Lewis (pace bowling), Jeetan Patel (spin bowling), James Foster (wicket-keeping), Carl Hopkinson (fielding), Jonathan Trott (batting, L i o n s ) , B r u c e F re n c h (wicket-keeping, Lions), Ant Botha (coaching consultant), Min Patel (spin, Lions)

New York Knicks stage comeback to beat Milwaukee Bucks 113-98

JULIUS Randle scored a game-high 32 points as the New York Knicks came from 21 points down to beat the defending NBA champions Milwaukee Bucks 113-98.

The Knicks outscored their opponents 94-60 over the final three quarters for a first win in three games.

RJ Barrett finished with 20 points, to record his fifth straight game with at least 20 points while Derrick Rose hit 23 points off the

bench.

Giannis Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee with 25 points and seven rebounds.

“Obviously, you don’t want to get down like we did, but we did,” said Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau. “It’s a long game. You’ve got to keep fighting and get it to a manageable number.

“Once we got going a little bit and we made a couple hustle plays, it galvanised us and gave us energy.”

Elsewhere, Kevin Durant

scored 29 points and added 10 rebounds as Brooklyn Nets won their fourth straight game, holding on to beat Detroit Pistons 96-90.

The two-time NBA champion became the first player in Nets history to score at least 20 points in the first nine games of a season.

Durant also had five assists and LaMarcus Aldridge had 16 points for Nets, who had to hold off a fourth-quarter Pistons rally for the win. (BBC Sport)

India haven’t played a Test in South Africa since the 2017-18 season (AFP) INDIA’S first Test assignment of 2022 will be held in Cape Town against South Africa, after CSA confirmed that the upcoming New Year’s Test between the two teams will be moved away from Johannesburg.

The Wanderers was initially set to host two of the three Tests between South Africa and India, but ESPNcricinfo understands that strict bio-bubble rules in Johannesburg meant the second Test, scheduled between January 3 and 7, will now take place at Newlands in Cape Town.

“CSA is excited to welcome India back to South Africa, which also significantly marks the 30th an-

niversary of South Africa’s first tour to India after re-entry into International Cricket in 1991,” Graeme Smith, CSA’s director of cricket, said.

“This tour affirms our unique relationship with the BCCI.” India’s scheduled tour of South Africa between December 2021 and January 2022 had been confirmed as the marquee international series in South Africa’s home calendar. India are due to play three Tests, three ODIs and four T20Is between December 17 and January 26, with Netherlands and Bangladesh also due to visit South Africa later.

All the Test matches

are part of the 2021-23 World Test Championship cycle.

South Africa and India last met in a bilateral series in March 2020 in India, for three ODIs, but after the first fixture was washed out, the series had to be called off altogether because of the COVID-19 outbreak. India then confirmed a three-match T20I series with South Africa - initially scheduled for August last year and then in September-October this year.

But it hasn’t taken place yet, initially because South Africa was experiencing its first wave of the pandemic and then because of the rescheduled IPL. (Cricinfo)

Derrick Rose made a big impact off the bench

32

SUNDAY CHRONICLE November 7, 2021

Olympic champion Duffy off to a winning start in UAE

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (CMC) – Bermuda’s Olympic champion Flora Duffy got her World Triathlon Championship Series title defence off to the ideal start by holding off three Britons to win the women’s race here on Friday.

In her first return to competitive action since winning on her Super League debut in Malibu, California in September, the 34-year-old showed no signs of loss of form with a dominant display on the challenging Yas Marina Formula 1 circuit.

The performance came despite Duffy’s return to Bermuda last month for weeklong celebrations, which included a one-off national

holiday to mark her Tokyo victory in July.

Duffy, who earned Bermuda’s first-ever gold medal by winning the triathlon in this summer’s Olympics, completed the sprint distance of 750-metre swim, 20-kilometre bike and five-kilometre run in 55 minutes 42 seconds.

“It was a really hard race,” said Duffy, who was pushed hard on the final lap of the run by a resurgent Georgia Taylor-Brown, also runner-up to the Bermudian in Tokyo.

“Coming into the race I didn’t really know what to expect because over the past few weeks my world has been turned upside down with everything that has been going on since the Olympics.

“I really had to fight for it and use all of my experience and tactics to eventually get the win.

“I knew Georgia would come through on the run because she is such a classy athlete. It was a case of trying to stretch her on the downhill sections to try and break down her confidence a little.

“In that last 800 metres I went as hard as I could and at the end. I couldn’t even lift the finishing banner because I just think I’m physically and emotionally exhausted.

I’m just so happy this year is done,” added Duffy, a threetime world champion, who divides her time between Bermuda, her training camp in Boulder, Colorado, and

Olympic champion Flora Duffy South Africa – her husband Dan Hugo’s home country.

Duffy held off a strong c h a l l e n g e f r o m Ta y -

lor-Brown (55:53) whose compatriot Sophie Coldwell (56:11) completed the podium places.

Another Briton, Jessica Learmonth, was fourth in 56:27. Forty-three women finished the course.

Yorkshire County Cricket Club investigating after another ex-player alleges racial abuse the chin. I salute them all, as it couldn’t have been easy.”

Also on Friday, Hanif Malik and Stephen Willis stepped down from the Yorkshire board following an emergency meeting later that day.

Lord Kamlesh Patel of Bradford has been appointed as a director and chair and says his aim is “taking this club forward and driving the

Yorkshire chairman Roger Hutton resigned on Friday YORKSHIRE County Cricket Club (YCCC) have launched an investigation after another former player alleged he was subjected to repeated racial abuse at the club.

The Daily Mail reports the unnamed player, who is of Asian heritage, said he was once urinated on by a team-mate.

It comes amid continued criticism of Yorkshire’s response to a report’s findings of “bullying and racial harassment” towards Azeem Rafiq.

Rana Naved-ul-Hasan became the second player to allege racism at Yorkshire.

On Friday, Yorkshire

chairman Roger Hutton was one of several board members to resign over the club’s response to racism experienced by Rafiq, 30.

Hutton told BBC Sport there is no-one at the club he would “personally consider racist” but admitted their culture is “locked in the past”.

In the latest claims, the unnamed player said he faced “both blatant and sly” racist abuse at the club in the early 2000s.

In a statement seen by the Mail, the player said: “There are many Asian cricketers like myself who have had their careers ruined, but have moved on and taken the treatment on

change that is needed”.

Meanwhile, the BBC said former England captain Michael Vaughan would not appear on his BBC Radio 5 Live show tomorrow after it was claimed he made a racist comment to a group of Asian players.

Vaughan was named in Yorkshire’s report into Rafiq’s claims of racism during his time at the club.

He “completely and categorically denies” the claims.

EQUALITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION ASK FOR REPORT

The Equality and Human Rights Commission said on Friday it was looking into Yorkshire’s handling of the Rafiq case.

The organisation’s chief executive Marcial Boo said: “We have written to YCCC to ask for more information, including a full copy of their investigation report, to determine if there has been a breach of the law. We will take action if so.

“All employers have a duty to protect their employees from bullying and harassment.” (BBC Sport)

Barcelona surrender three-goal lead against Celta Vigo BARCLONA threw away a three-goal lead against Celta Vigo in interim manager Sergi Barjuan’s final match in charge.

Goals from Ansu Fati, Sergio Busquets and Memphis Depay had put the visitors in complete control at halftime.

But Iago Aspas scored twice - including a 96th-minute equaliser - as Celta Vigo produced

a sensational comeback.

Nolito had made it 3-2 with 16 minutes remaining and Aspas’ second means it is now four games without victory for Barcelona in La Liga.

It was confirmed earlier on Saturday that Barcelona legend Xavi has returned to the club as manager and he will officially take charge from Monday.

He will take over a Barcelona side ninth in the table following this draw - and at least eight points adrift of top-spot.

After Fati - replaced at half-time due to injury - slotted into the bottom corner with five minutes played, Busquets’ fine finish from the edge of the box and Depay’s header at the end of a sweeping team move appeared to have virtually sealed victory.

B u t C e l t a Vi g o were rewarded for a much-improved start to the second-half when Aspas struck from close range and, with Barcelona appearing nervous in defence following Nolito’s header, Barjuan’s side were punished in dramatic fashion as Aspas produced a sublime first-time finish to salvage an unlikely point.

(BBC Sport)

33

SUNDAY CHRONICLE November 7, 2021

Gayle reveals he hasn’t retired yet, hopes for farewell game in Jamaica ..”I want to give thanks to actually be standing here today, aged 42 still going strong”

HAS he played his last game for West Indies or has he not?

Chris Gayle hasn’t answered that question definitively yet, but he hopes he’ll get to play a farewell game in front of his home crowd in Jamaica.

Gayle was part of West Indies’ XI on Saturday as the two-time champions bowed out of the T20 World Cup with an eight-wicket defeat to Australia.

The game had an endof-era feel to it, with Dwayne Bravo having already confirmed his retirement from international cricket, and with both Bravo and Gayle getting a guard of honour from the Australia players.

“It’s been a phenomenal career,” Gayle said in a Facebook Live chat with ICC after the match. “I didn’t announce any retirement but [if] they actually give me one game in Jamaica to go in front of my home crowd, then I can say ‘hey guys, thank you so much.’

“Let’s see. If not, I’ll announce it long time and then

I’ll be joining DJ Bravo in the backend and say thanks to each and everyone but I can’t say that as yet.”

Gayle conceded, though, that he has played his last World Cup game.

“I was just having some fun today,” he said. “Put everything that happened aside. I was just interacting with the fans in the stand and just having some fun seeing as it’s going to be my last World Cup game.”

Then he joked that he would love to play one more World Cup. “But I don’t think they will allow me.”

Gayle went over his career in some detail, mentioning some of the setbacks he has faced including the heart surgery he underwent in 2005 after feeling an irregular heartbeat during a Test match against Australia in Hobart.

“I’ve been through a lot of struggle,” Gayle said. “You mentioned the heart condition but I’ve had a phenomenal career. I want to give

thanks to actually be standing here today, aged 42 still going strong. The career has been really great. I’ve had a bit of hiccups here and there. I’ve shed blood, I’ve shed tears in West Indies cricket, you name it, one leg, one hand, I’m still batting for West Indies.

“It was a pleasure always to represent West Indies, I’m very passionate about West Indies. It really hurts bad when we lose games and we don’t get the result and the fans [are] so [much] more very important to me because I’m an entertainer.

When I don’t get the chance to entertain them it really hurt me a lot. You might not that see that expression, I might not show those sort of emotions, but I’m gutted inside for the fans, and especially for this World Cup as well.”

Gayle revealed that he has had to play this World Cup against the backdrop of his father falling ill.

“Most people didn’t even know since the first game of

the World Cup my dad has been ill so I have to rush back to Jamaica tonight, see what the doctor have to say about him,” Gayle said. “He’s batting well, he’s 91 years old, but he’s been struggling a bit.

I have to go back home.

“Sometimes as a player we play through a lot of things and we don’t really express these things. We’re here to do a job.

Those are the behind the scenes, what you have to deal with as a player and then come and perform.”

While Gayle projects a seemingly laidback attitude to life and cricket, he was at pains to point out the hard work that’s gone behind building his formidable record across all three formats.

“I’m a very determined person. I work hard. A lot of people don’t see the hard work, but I work hard in silence. I’m a talent and I use it wisely.

“I grew up from nothing to something. I didn’t have any-

Chris Gayle isn’t joining Dwayne Bravo in international retirement just yet. (ICC via Getty) thing, I didn’t have the luxury when I was growing up so I used those things to motivate me as well. Start my career, ‘Mum I’ll get you a house’, when I make the first money, I’ll buy a car.

Those are the things that keep you going. With the stability and the mental strength I have, that carried me right through 20-odd years of playing for the West

Indies and playing around the world as well.

“At no time I felt like I’ll actually reach the bar, that I’m bigger or better than anyone else. I was very humble with it as well. I just give thanks to the almighty to actually be standing here telling you all these things.” (ESPNcricinfo)

Chaves siblings, Aiden Persaud outstanding at ISKF-Guyana National Kata Tournament

LAST Saturday, under strict COVID-19 protocols, the 2021 ISKF-Guyana National Kata Tournament was declared open

by Marlon George (the organisation’s secretary) at their HQ Dojo, National Park, Thomas Lands.

In his remarks, character development was germane to the message conveyed. It underscored the premise of Shotokan karate and highlighted that tournament is one of the vehicles that is instrumental in a karateka’s development. Given that, regardless of outcome, all are winners by mere participation.

‘Kata’ is a Japanese word meaning ‘form’ or routine. It is a detailed choreographed arrangement of martial arts’ defensive and offensive movements to be memorised through practice in order to perfect it. This, with its accompa-

efficient. Competitor’s performed at a high standard at both the junior and senior level exhibiting strong spirit, deportment, speed, power, form and camaraderie.

Medals were awarded at the end of each division so as to maintain adherence to COVID-19 protocols and to allow for a smooth flow of the tournament.

Outstanding participant

trophies were awarded to Kristian Chaves, Kristalia Chaves, and Aiden Persaud for winning 1st place in both individual and team contests.

The closing remarks were delivered by Sensei Christopher Chaves who thanked Mr and Mrs Andron Alphonso for sponsoring the medals.

He also thanked the parents, supporters, judges, volunteers and competitors for

making the tournament a huge success.

In closing, he announced that December 5 will be the Kumite (Sparring) tournament in which students continue to prepare for. And, that the separated format of these tournaments is to ensure COVID-19 adherence.

Outstanding winners, from left: Kristian Chaves, Aiden Persaud, Kristalia Chaves.

Guyana open U20 Qualifiers with draw against Cayman Islands Chaves siblings, Aiden Persaud outstanding at ISKF-Guyana National Kata Tournament nying elements, form, speed, tekas were competing for interpretation and continuity, top honours in both the deportment to name a few, individual and team kata formed the basis for how contest at various age and rank divisions. competitors were judged.

As the tournament proThis year, more than 40 ISKF Guyana kara- gressed, the event flow was

GUYANA opened their CONCACAF U20 Men’s Qualifiers with a goalless draw against the Cayman Islands yesterday.

Playing in the Dominican Republic, the Qualifiers will advance the top teams to the CONCACAF U20 Championships, which serves as the gateway to

the FIFA U20 World cup, as well as the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Though creating many chances, coach Wayne Dover watched from the sidelines as his players failed to find the back of the net.

Guyana would eventually play with 10 men from the 58th minute, after

second-half substitute Yohance Douglas, was given a straight red for a tough challenge on his Cayman Islands counterpart.

Douglas was one of two changes made by Dover.

Guyana will play the US Virgin Islands tomorrow, followed by Nicaragua on November 11.

34

SUNDAY CHRONICLE November 7, 2021

South Africa win, but Australia, England go through

Kagiso Rabada of South Africa celebrates after dismissing Chris Jordan to claim a hat-trick during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup match versus England at Sharjah Cricket Stadium yesterday, in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (Photo by Matthew Lewis-ICC/ICC via Getty Images) ENGLAND are through to the semi-finals and South Africa are out of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021, despite the Proteas winning a run-fest in Sharjah.

A Kagiso Rabada hattrick and Rassie van der Dussen’s unbeaten 94 were enough to beat England by ten runs in the final Group 1 game of the tournament.

But it wasn’t enough to save South Africa or knock out England.

The Group 1 permutations meant Eoin Morgan’s side started their reply knowing that they needed to pass 87 to guarantee qualification to the semi-finals, and they sealed that spot inside 11 overs of the chase.

Soon after, they had

done enough to ensure Australia were the second team through in the group as well.

But England side suffered a huge setback when opening batter Jason Roy pulled up with what appeared to be a serious calf injury in the fifth over, putting his participation in the remainder of the tournament in doubt.

Australia’s win over West Indies earlier in the day meant South Africa knew they needed a win, and a big one, to finish in the top two.

And the 189-run total, inspired by van der Dussen and Aiden Markram’s rapid 52 off 25, meant the Proteas had to restrict England to less than 131 in the second innings.

But, although South Af-

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (Sunday November 07, 2021) COMPLIMENTS OF CUMMINGS ELECTRICAL COMPANY LTD-83 Garnett Street, Campbellville, Georgetown (Tel: 225-6158) Answers to yesterday’s quiz: (1)

NZ & IND

(2) 20 Today’s Quiz: (1) Who was voted Man of the Tournament in the first ever Men’s T20 World Cup? (2) Which nation won the Men’s T20 World Cup in 2009?

Answers in tomorrow’s issue ………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………… ……….

rica did deny England the win thanks to a terrific spell from Tabraiz Shamsi and a final-over hat-trick from Rabada, they were unable to win by enough to seal the second spot in the group, as England finished on 179/8.

Match-up heavy Powerplay Earlier, South Africa’s top order had put England to the sword with a stunning batting display to post 189-2.

England’s Moeen Ali has a terrific career record against South African danger-man Quinton de Kock, so it was little surprise to see the all-rounder take the new ball.

But what was slightly more surprising was Ali bowling out his full four

overs straight out of the gate.

It is only the second time in T20 cricket that Ali has done so, the first being against West Indies earlier in this tournament, The spinner finished with tidy figures of 1-27 as his steady tournament with the ball continued.

And it was opener Reeza Hendricks whose wicket fell, with the flight luring him into a big sweep shot that failed to connect, the ball cleaning up middle stump de Kock and van der Dussen rallied for South Africa, building an impressive base for the team to launch off, with the pair still out in the middle after 10 overs.

The van der Dussen show The 32-year-old van der Dussen took over after de Kock was caught by Jason Roy off Adil Rashid for 34 from 27 in the 12th over. He was joined in the middle by Markram, who scored at a strike rate of over 200 in his outstanding half-century – the second fastest of the tournament after KL Rahul.

The pair went particularly hard after England’s seamers in the middle overs, targeting the returning Mark Wood, who was featuring in the tournament for the first time after replacing the injured Tymal Mills.

Wood finished with figures of 0-47 off his four overs, with Chris Woakes faring little better with 0-43, as England’s seamers strug-

English Racing Tips Sandown Irish Racing Tips 08:30 hrs Beauport Navan 09:00 hrs Minella Trump 08:10 hrs Ginto 08:40 hrs My Mate Mozzie 09:35 hrs He’s A Knowall 09:10 hrs Flooring Porter 10:45 hrs Hudson De Grugy 09:45 hrs Brides Hill 11:15 hrs Dancing Shadow 10:20 hrs Farrawaybay 11:45 hrs Lieutenant Highway 10:55 hrs Notebook 11:25 hrs Ballyadam 11:55 hrs Gringo D’aubrelle South Africa Racing Tips Greyville 08:15 hrs Cyber Time 08:50 hrs Mount Laurel 09:30 hrs Aquae Sulis 10:05 hrs Bernie’s Dream 10:40 hrs Pink Floyd

Ffos Las 09:20 hrs Flammarion 09:55 hrs Shakem Up’arry 10:30 hrs The Grand Visir 11:05 hrs Len Brennan 11:40 hrs Apache Creek 12:10 hrs Desque De L’isle

Jason Roy of England reacts as he retires hurt during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup match versus SA at Sharjah Cricket Stadium yesterday, in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (Photo by Matthew Lewis-ICC/ICC via Getty Images) gled in Sharjah.

ENGLAND’S REPLY The in-form England openers got off to a flier in their chase, racing to 37 without loss after four overs, with Roy and Jos Buttler looking in fine form.

But Roy pulled up as he attempted a single off the first ball of the fifth over, collapsing to the turf and being forced to leave the field.

England’s attempts at going for the win suffered a blow when Jos Buttler was dismissed for only the second time in the tournament, caught by Bavuma off Anrich Nortje for 26 off 15.

And Jonny Bairstow’s spell at the crease came to a swift end when he was trapped in-front by Tabraiz Shamsi off his third delivery faced.

MIDDLE-ORDER REBUILD England had reshuffled the batting line-up in response to Roy’s injury, with Ali coming in at No.3 in place of Dawid Malan.

But Malan was soon out in the middle alongside Moeen, and the left-handed pair built the recovery after the quick wickets of Buttler and Bairstow.

Ali unleashed against the spinners, hitting Shamsi out of the stadium with one monster maximum to take him to 37 off 26 balls. But

Shamsi had his revenge off the next delivery as Ali miscued another attempted six to David Miller in the deep.

THRILLING FINISH Liam Livingstone’s hattrick of sixes off Kagiso Rabada knocked South Africa out of the tournament and gave England great impetus in their chase of 190.

Another attempted maximum did for Livingstone just as he looked to be helping England to the win, with Miller taking a catch on the boundary to send the big-hitting Englishman back to the hutch for 28 off 17.

And England’s attempt to go for the win faltered late on as three catches in the deep, in succession, gave Rabada a hat-trick in the final over as South Africa defended 14 off the last six balls to end their tournament on a high.

England finish top of Group 1 with Australia in second, with Pakistan and the second qualifier from Group 2 awaiting the pair in the semi-finals this week.

South Africa’s win means that three teams finished level on eight points in Group 1 with four wins from five, with the Proteas the unfortunate outfit to miss out on NRR. (ICC Cricket.com)

35

SUNDAY CHRONICLE November 7, 2021

‘Trailblazer’ Bravo praised as one of the best of generation

ST JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC) – Veteran all-rounder Dwayne Bravo has been hailed as a ‘trailblazer’ and one of the finest players of his era, after bringing his international career to a close yesterday.

The 38-year-old announced Thursday he would retire following West Indies’ final group match of the Twenty20 World Cup against Australia, and came in for widespread praise in the wake of the outing which saw the Caribbean side slump to a heavy eight-wicket loss.

“Dwayne has been an outstanding cricketer of his generation, who has been popular with fans the world over. He was successful in all formats and is part of an elite club of two-time World champi-

ons,” said Geoff Allardice, the acting chief executive of cricket’s world governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC).

“His versatility and the experience of playing the world over have helped him gain immense understanding of the game and I hope he will be able to find ways to stay involved in cricket.

“On behalf of the ICC, I wish him all the best for the future.”

Cricket West Indies (CWI) also praised Bravo’s contribution to the game, pointing out the Trinidadian had evolved to become “one of the world’s leading whiteball death bowlers and a valuable mentor for the next generation of West Indies players.”

President Ricky Skerritt, under whose tenure

Bravo returned in 2019 following a 15-month retirement stint, said the former one-day skipper had also “added value to all levels of West Indies cricket.”

“On behalf of all West Indies cricket fans, I salute Dwayne on completing his illustrious international career,” Skerritt said.

“He performed admirably in all three formats and added value to all levels of West Indies cricket. He was a trailblazer in T20 cricket and set the standard for how the newest format of the game should be played.

“Dwayne’s talent, commitment, and dynamism thrilled fans of all ages and he was a star attraction for a generation of young cricket-lovers.

“He excelled and demonstrated his immense

GTTA president calls on corporate Guyana to support Shemar Britton

… hails Britton’s performance at Ecuador Open

Shemar Britton had an exceptional showing at the Ecuador Open

By Rawle Toney SHEMAR Britton came in for some praises from the president of the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA), Godfrey Munroe, following his performance at the Ecuador Open tournament, which wrapped up yesterday.

The 23-year-old was the lone Guyanese at the tournament which is part of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITT) Contender Series.

Britton won two matches before being knocked out in the round-of-16, where he went down in a hard-fought four sets to one, against India’s Manush Shah.

“His performance in Ecua-

dor just underscores his talent, position potential; to do this without a coach in attendance limited acclimatisation,” Munroe said.

Speaking exclusively with Chronicle Sport, the GTTA president called Britton “an exceptional and rare talent; physically gifted, smart, tactical, technically inclined and tenacious with warrior spirit, discipline-committed, talented.”

According to Munroe, table tennis players internationally revere the Guyanese player’s abilities based on his unique style of play, which is premised on fast pace attacks, highly spinning and tricky serves, short inside play, quick and high-spun loops.

“We still believe he has

more to develop but needs the investment to be able to attend training camps, competitions and tournaments globally and have the support systems of nutritional psychological support and physical preparation,” Munroe lamented.

Munroe, who once stood as one of the Caribbean’s top players during his time on the table, explained that “at the top level, the difference in application of tactical elements or misses can be the difference between winning and losing”.

Munroe explained that the GTTA will be working with the sport’s stakeholders to ensure that Britton receives all the support needed on his quest for qualification to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“The clock is ticking on us as an association in terms of getting him out to play in high-yield training and competitive environments hence we lose the opportunity of having one of the best prospects fulfil his potential,” Munroe stressed.

Meanwhile, the GTTA president is calling on sponsors to partner with them in supporting Britton, whom he said is “one of Guyana’s rare and exceptional talent”.

prowess with both bat and ball and created a legacy of top-quality performances.

He will always be a true West Indian champion and we thank you for that.”

Bravo was unable to have any impact on West Indies’ fortunes during the ongoing T20 World Cup, the now deposed champions losing four of their five games to finish fifth of six teams in Group 1 on two points.

He took only two wickets from 16 overs in the tournament at an economy rate of 8-½ per over and managed only 26 runs from five innings.

Captain Kieron Pollard, a close friend of Bravo, said the player’s immense knowledge remained valuable to West Indies cricket.

“What Bravo has done for West Indies cricket and sort of bringing all-rounders in the Caribbean when he started is paramount,” Pollard pointed out.

“He spoke about the discipline that was instilled in him and he was able to bring that discipline and enthusi-

Dwayne Bravo is given a guard of honour as he takes the field for the final time for West Indies yesterday.

asm and courage to each and every team he represented.

We are fortunate and lucky to have an individual like him amongst us the last 18 years or so.

“For me personally, I wish him all the best. Obviously we’ll still be seeing him on the cricketing circuit and I’m sure he has a passion to give back to West Indies Cricket, especially.

“Long may his career continue outside of international cricket, and thank

you for being a great role model and mentor for us in the Caribbean.

“I’m sure there are youngsters in the Caribbean still looking up to you and want to tap into the brain and knowledge that you have over these past 18 years.”

Bravo finished with 78 wickets from 91 T20 Internationals, while taking 553 wickets and scoring 6 627 runs from 512 matches overall.

SCA Winter season set to bowl off November 27 FOLLOWING the successful 2021 season, which saw the staging of an inaugural Over-50 tournament, the Scarborough Cricket Association (SCA) is embarking on another first with the introduction of a Winter season.

Set to get underway on Saturday, November 27, the proposed Winter season will be held at the luxurious and spacious Pickering Soccer Centre, Ontario with double-headers scheduled to be contested on a weekly basis, until April 2022. There will however be a break for the Christmas holidays.

An ebullient SCA president Shiv Persaud explained that his body has been exploring the option of a Winter season since 2019. He pointed out that the members were in full support.

“However, we were unable to proceed due to lack of availability of a suitable venue. Now that we have a great location and venue

SCA president Shiv Persaud that is relatively new, following its opening in 2014, we decided it’s the perfect opportunity to launch the tournament.

The Guyanese-born Persaud highlighted that outdoor cricket is limited to the Summer season in Canada.

He however said “It is critical to have competitive cricket for prolonged periods to truly develop the skillset and mindset of players.

“An indoor season

during the winter, although a shortened game, will provide clubs with the opportunity to grow, in addition to their indoor training. It will be helpful in honing skills as well since players have to learn how to rotate strike and minimise dot balls. Bowlers have different playing conditions to adapt to with little room for error,” Persaud emphasised.

While the registration of teams has been somewhat slow, Persaud pointed out that he expects at least eight to participate in the inaugural season. “Ideally, we would have liked to begin planning in September, so it is all coming together in a relatively short period of time.

Nevertheless, we expect it to be a great season which can only get bigger in years to come as cricket continues to be arguably the fastest growing sport across Ontario. (Frederick Halley)

Windies wind up T20 World Cup with defeat as era ends

36

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (CMC) – The sun set on the glittering careers of veteran superstars Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo but Australia spoiled their emotional farewell by inflicting them with a chastening eight-wicket defeat, as West Indies wrapped up their dismal campaign at the Twenty20 World Cup here yesterday.

Australia honoured the duo with a guard of honour after David Warner’s dominant

unbeaten 89 had orchestrated his side’s successful chase of 158 with 22 balls to spare, condemning the deposed champions to their fourth defeat in five matches and a lowly, fifth place in Group 1.

However, the charitable gesture by the Aussies did little to obscure the pall of gloom engulfing the Caribbean side, the tournament representing one of their worst-ever outings at a T20 World Cup. While Bravo announced

SUNDAY CHRONICLE November 7, 2021

his international retirement three days ago, Gayle remained mum until revealing in a post-match interview he would play one last game for West Indies in his native Jamaica before bowing out.

“I didn’t announce any retirement but they actually give me one (more) game in Jamaica in front of my home crowd and then I can say ‘hey guys, thank you so much,’” said the 42-year-old Gayle, whose decline in form has TURN TO PAGE 29

Former world champions to play qualifying round for 2022 World T20

Chris Gayle was all smiles in what was likely his final match for the Windies (Getty) West Indies lost four of their five matches at the 2021 T20 World Cup (Getty Images) Photo saved: Windies players

..West Indies’ defeat to Australia meant that they slipped to 10th in the T20I rankings, while Sri Lanka are ninth WEST INDIES and Sri Lanka will both have to play an additional qualifying round to make the Super 12s in next year’s Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia, while Bangladesh and

Afghanistan are assured of direct entry.

The automatic qualifiers for the Super 12s in 2022 were determined to be the winner and runner-up of the ongoing T20 World Cup,

alongside the next six highest-ranked teams.

Going into Saturday’s games, six teams - England, Pakistan, India, New Zealand, South Africa and Australia had already done enough to

ensure their ICC T20I rankings were high enough to seal a Super 12s spot next year.

West Indies’ eight-wicket defeat to Australia on Saturday, however, meant that they slipped to 10th in the rankings, while Sri Lanka dropped to ninth.

Benefitting at the two teams’ expense is Bangladesh, who rose to eighth despite losing all their matches in the Super 12s, on the back of recent home-series wins over

Australia and New Zealand.

Afghanistan, who are currently seventh on the table, will occupy the other automatic spot in the Super 12s.

West Indies, who are twotime champions at the T20 World Cup, lost four of their five matches in the 2021 edition, a notable low coming in their opening game against England when they were bundled out for 55.

Sri Lanka performed marginally better, registering vic-

tories over both Bangladesh and West Indies, but defeats to England, South Africa and Australia meant they were denied a place in the semis.

Joining West Indies and Sri Lanka in the first round of the 2022 T20 World Cup will be Scotland and Namibia - two teams who advanced out of the first round and into the Super 12s during the ongoing edition - as well as four qualifiers.

(Cricinfo)

PM Softball Cup set to bowl off Friday … Final to be staged at Guyana National Stadium

FLASHBACK: Defending Over-50 champions, Regal Legends, pose with their winnings after last year’s final

AFTER an agonising wait, the fifth edition of the Prime Minister (PM) Softball T20 Cup, organised by the Georgetown Softball Cricket League (GSCL) Inc., will be staged this coming weekend, November 12-14.

The three-day event, which features both local teams and those from New York and Florida, bowls off on Friday at several venues across the city and climaxes

with the final at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence next Sunday, marking a first since it was held in 2017.

According to the organisers, the draw will take place at 13:00hrs today at the Liliendaal ground.

Friday’s official opening ceremony, set to be held at the Muslim Youth Organisation (MYO) ground, Woolford Avenue, Thomas Lands, is TURN TO PAGE 30

Gayle reveals he hasn’t retired yet, hopes for farewell game in Jamaica Printed and Published by Guyana National Newspapers Limi ted, Lama Avenue, Bel Air Park, Georgetown. Telephone 2 2 6- 3243-9 (General); Editorial: 2 2 7- 5204, 2 2 7- 5216. Fax:2 2 7- 5208

PAGE 33

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2021