Guyana Chronicle E-Paper 07-12-2021

TUESDAY 7th DECEMBER, 2021

No. 106568

COVID booster shots for all adults as Christmas spike expected

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Bolstering relations, generating investment opportunities

- Guyana and Ghana agree to remove hindrances to business development

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Celebrating the many ‘firsts’ of women in aviation SEE PAGE

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The Guyana Power and Light (GPL) has partnered with several agencies to create a spectacular light-up, on Main Street, between Middle and Lamaha Streets, Georgetown, in celebration of the festive season (Adrian Narine photo)

Guyana receives additional 42,120 doses of Pfizer Vaccine

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O&G sector to generate US$3.5B by 2025 SEE PAGE

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- resources will be used to enhance traditional economy, build new, sustainable sectors

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, December 7, 2021

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, December 7, 2021

Bolstering relations, generating investment opportunities - Guyana and Ghana agree to remove hindrances to business development PRESIDENT Dr Irfaan Ali said that the ensuing discussions at the governmental and private sector levels between Guyana and Ghana are aimed at bolstering bilateral relations and generating business-investment opportunities.

The President made these remarks at the official meeting between the delegations of government and private sector representatives from Ghana, led by the country’s Vice- President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) on Monday.

“This morning [M onday] is about building relationships, opening up doors and examining possibilities,” said President Ali. The Head of State said that the Government of Guyana is pleased to be part of the process that not only seeks to integrate the people of the two countries but, more importantly, to integrate the two local private sectors.

This linkage, the President added, will be important in finding common ground where mutual opportunities can be examined and joint strategies built.

He noted that from the level of both governments there has been clear direction and agreement that their private sectors will be the “engines that will drive the process forward.”

The President also explained that present bureaucratic red tape would be removed in order to expedite business opportunities.

“Both governments agree to make the functionaries of government and the system of government accessible to the private sector of both countries.”

PRIVATE SECTOR IMPORTANCE President Ali stated that while the government is responsible for making the policies and the environment conducive for business development and investment, it is the local private sector that will execute the activities.

He implored representatives from both private sectors to have direct and meaningful engagements that would advance the opportunities that they are seeking to pursue.

“Make good use of this opportunity that exists on both sides. It is not only about an opportunity that exists in Guyana or opportunities that exist in Ghana; it is how we combine the power of the twin opportunity to become a dynamic and major player. And this is the level of engagement and thinking we want at the private sector.”

The President stressed that the intention should not only be growing a business in Guyana or Ghana, but combining efforts and economies to become a more significant player on the international market.

Natural resources, agriculture (particularly in food production and food security) and infrastructure were listed as some of the investment areas by the President who gave assurance that both governments are ready to “listen, engage and

work with you in making things happen.”

“So my encouragement to the private sector is to think at a higher level too, at the more macro level. Be innovative in your approach. It is not about an opportunity; it is about sustaining industries and sectors and combining efforts that would bring real value out of this engagement.”

SHARED PROSPERITY The Head of State also underscored the importance of following through with the agreements and indicated that Dr Bawumia and Vice-President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, will work on a framework agreement that examines how engagements, which include shared prosperity and common outlook, are going to be made. “How do we work on core initiatives like reducing disparity, inequality, removing hunger, building our capacity to enhance infrastructure, reducing the cost of energy, improve trade?”

The government’s role, according to the President, is to open the door, create the environment and put the necessary fiscal and other policy arrangements in place.

Vi c e - P r e s i d e n t Bawumia also delivered remarks at the meeting and expressed Ghana’s intention to improve bilateral relations with Guyana. He noted that the recent upsurge in economic growth for both countries has provided a new opportunity and enabling environment for their private sectors to enhance commercial

President Dr Irfaan Ali speaks at the official meeting at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) on Monday (Office of the President photo)

ties.

He added that there is a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Guyana Office for Investment (Go-Invest) and the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre to train

agencies in Ghana to provide services for Guyanese investors and to assist prospective Guyanese investors with specific information, especially relating to key sectors.

Additionally, he

pointed out that the Ministry of Trade and Industry in Ghana will liaise with its local counterpart to establish a Ghana-Guyana Chamber of Commerce. (Office of the President)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, December 7, 2021

Guyana, Ghana universities seeking collaboration in oil and gas, health, technology

IN an effort to enhance cooperation between Guyana and Ghana, VicePresident of the west African nation, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Guyana (UG), Dr. Paloma Mohamed-Martin, met on Monday to identify areas where universities of the two countries could collaborate.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hugh Todd, who was also part of the meeting held at UG’s Turkeyen campus, said the shared history of the two countries

will foster strong engagements. He said the united ties of Guyana and Ghana are vital to development.

Dr. Bawumia said the two countries, with their similar challenges and prospects, have much to share.

“In Guyana, there is a lot of opportunity for us to collaborate on work.

We are looking forward to this strategic partnership that’s been built between our two countries. We will look into exchanging ideas; learning from you and you learning from us,” the VicePresident said.

Among areas open for collaboration are the en-

Vice-President of Ghana, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia (fourth from left), University of Guyana’s ViceChancellor, Professor Paloma Mohamed-Martin (third from left) and their representatives. Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hugh Todd, is seated at second left (DPI photo) vironment, technology, healthcare, agriculture, infrastructure, and humanities, as well as the oil and gas industry.

On the hydrocarbon industry, Ghana has already begun offering support to Guyana on its Natural Resources Fund (NRF) and local content legislation.

Notably, the PPP/C Government is looking to lay the local content Bill in the National Assembly before the end of the year.

“Across the board, we are looking forward to having some interactions between your and our university. Students building collaboration. We believe that if we get the universities involved then we will bring the countries closer,” Dr. Bawumia.

Still on the oil and gas sector, Dean of UG’s School of Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation (SEBI), Professor Leyland Lucas, indicated that, while the centre has been collaborating with different institutions to offer programmes, it still needs support in some courses. They include oil and gas taxa-

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tion, strategic procurement, contract management, and understanding the business environment in the context of an oil-producing nation.

Meanwhile, Vice-Chancellor, Dr. MohammedMartin related that the institution’s focus is on the future of Guyana; making the country resilient and ensuring that resources multiply.

“In terms of social engineering, Guyana is a perfect place and model for this. We want to change people through education and training, access, inclusion,” she said.

She reminded that faculties at the institution work closely with government agencies including agriculture, energy, sustainable tourism and infrastructure, as well as national security, among others.

There are 15 national public and 10 technical universities in Ghana.

The institutions are specific to science and technology, education, business, health and allied sciences and communication, among others.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, December 7, 2021

O&G sector to generate US$3.5B by 2025

- President Ali says resources will be used to enhance traditional economy, build new, sustainable sectors REVENUE generated from the local oil and gas sector is expected to catapult Guyana to the ranks of wealthiest countries in the Western Hemisphere, thereby increasing the government’s fiscal space to invest in initiatives geared at expanding the economy and improving the overall welfare of citizens.

“Guyana is now poised to be one of the wealthiest countries in the hemisphere… [we intend to] employ the gains from exploiting these deposits into initiatives geared at expanding the economy, improving competitiveness, giving people the best social services, increasing productivity, enhancing food production and building new sectors,” President Dr. Irfaan Ali said in his keynote address during a virtual faculty workshop on the microeconomics of competitiveness, hosted by Harvard Business School, on Monday.

In painting a vivid image of what is expected from the oil and gas sector in the near term, Dr. Ali said that by 2025, operating cash flow, based on total investment, is expected to reach US$3.5 billion.

The performance of this sector is expected to improve even further as the years go by, since the success rate is 80 per cent and there are

already 26 commercial discoveries.

ExxonMobil’s first offshore Guyana project, Liza Phase One, began producing in late 2019, well ahead of the industry’s average for development time. Liza Phase Two remains on track to begin producing oil by early 2022.

Liza Phase Two will produce up to 220,000 barrels of oil per day at peak rates, using the Liza Unity FPSO. Late last year, the oil giant, following an agreement with the Government of Guyana, decided to proceed with the Payara field development offshore Guyana.

Payara is ExxonMobil’s third project in the Stabroek Block, and is expected to produce up to 220,000 barrels of oil per day, after start-up in 2024. The US$9 billion development will target an estimated resource base of about 600 million oilequivalent barrels.

And even as the industry gears up for further production, there are six drill ships operating offshore Guyana, namely the Stena Carron, the Stena DrillMAX, the Noble Bob Douglas, the Noble Tom Madden, the Noble Don Taylor and the Noble Sam Croft.

Westmount Energy had said that Guyana, with its positive prospects and vast

President Dr. Irfaan Ali delivers the keynote address during a virtual faculty workshop on the microeconomics of competitiveness hosted by Harvard Business School, on Monday potential, remains one of the few areas of “blue-chip” interest in high-impact exploration. Investopedia defines blue-chip stocks as secure investments because they pay out dividends as well as consistently and steadily grow over time.

As it is now, Guyana is expected to end the year

with over US$600 million in its Natural Resource Fund (NRF).

Revenues reaching close to US$70 million could be earned from the sale of the country’s final oil lift for this year, which was completed a few days ago.

Guyana had earned close to US$80 million from the

sale of its penultimate lift for 2021, taking the total earnings in the NRF to over US$534 million.

According to the Bank of Guyana’s monthly report on the NRF, the aggregate sum moved from US$436,132,855.53 in September to US$534,016,987.03 in October.

This is as a result of the country earning G$16,757,920,000 from “profit oil” and G$3,647,083,000 (approximately US$17 million) in royalties from ExxonMobil.

A report compiled by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) early this year showed that earnings from Guyana’s oil and gas sector could reach US$31 billion (roughly G$6.7 trillion) by 2035.

Moving ahead, considering the immense direct and indirect benefits that will accrue to Guyana from the oil and gas sector, President Ali said there will be key initiatives for managing the sector, with some already in the draft stage.

He said that among those initiatives are the draft Lo-

cal Content Policy and Bill, building local content for audit, revising fiscal management, and establishing an accountability and transparency framework.

“Resources will be used to enhance the traditional economy and create a pathway to build sustainable and diversified sectors to bring long-term prosperity,” Dr. Ali said.

The overarching plan, as outlined by the Head of State is to build an equitable society, in which every Guyanese person, irrespective of the region in which they live, irrespective of their ethnic or religious background, would have an equal opportunity and stake in the development of the country.

He said that in order to achieve that plan, which will see prosperity for all, it is absolutely necessary to have the correct framework for development.

The need to build Guyana’s human capacity through universal education was listed by the President as a centrepiece of personal empowerment.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, December 7, 2021

Visionary Leadership VISION, it is said, is the ability to see things not as they are, but as they will be; it is about that ability to see beyond the immediate. Few men and women in world history are gifted with such visionary qualities, and wherever they are found, it is cause for celebration.

President Dr Irfaan Ali, since assuming office as Executive President, has been demonstrating that he is capable of thinking big.

He has shown a remarkable capacity to transcend the ordinary and to put the welfare and well-being of the Guyanese people above partisan interests. His ideas and initiatives are intended to, as it were, lift all boats, both at the national, regional and international levels. His recent calls for the dismantling of trade barriers at the regional level have resonated with people all across the Region. The same can

be said for his advocacy for a more humane and fair global order, one in which developing countries are not saddled with a crippling debt burden and unfair trade practices.

His call for the richer countries to make more resources available for climate change mitigating purposes and for a more equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines are just a few manifestations of a mindset that transcends the narrow boundaries of race, nationality and parochialism The President’s visionary qualities have not gone unnoticed.

Several leading personalities and institutions have been high in praise of his sterling contributions to a global architecture encompassing the needs of humanity as a whole, especially those who still remain at the margins of an unjust global economic system. Only recently, the President was invited

to deliver the keynote address at the Harvard Business School Macroeconomics of Competitiveness (MOC) workshop. The address was well received by participants and set the tone for more elaborate discussions on the way forward in the field of global competitiveness.

The President during his address took the opportunity to highlight some key developments in Guyana and the plans and strategies his administration is employing to strategically position the country as a major player in regional and international affairs, especially in the context of new opportunities generated by the emerging oil and gas sector.

Since taking office just over a year ago, the country has already made significant strides in a number of critical areas such as job creation, housing, greater access to quality education at all levels and remov-

ing barriers to education based on urban/rural differences and better health care for all. Oil and gas, the President said, is not an end in itself, but the means to a much greater end, namely, to enhance the quality of life of the Guyanese people and, for that matter, the Region as a whole.

These are indeed forward-looking ideas and initiatives, which has now been shared with a global community of academics and university professors from more than 120 institutions across more than 65 countries which made up the Harvard Business School Macroeconomics of Competitiveness (MOC) workshop. It is indeed an honour, not only for the President but for the country, to be invited to deliver the keynote address to an esteemed grouping of academics drawn from leading universities, including the Harvard Business

School, one of the most prestigious and reputable in the world.

The invitation was extended by distinguished American academic Michael Porter in recognition of President Ali’s impressive leadership and ‘strong commitment to making Guyana a global example in the sustainable use of natural resources and endowments to benefit the people of the country.

The MOC Course at Harvard was created in 2002 by Professor Porter and the staff and affiliates of the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness and explores the determinants of competitiveness and successful economic development from the perspective of bottom-up microeconomic model. Professor Porter is himself the recipient of several awards and has to his credit, 24 honorary doctorates.

The importance of talking to children about sexual abuse

Dear Editor,

CHILDLINK Guyana recently launched its Caring For Boys research as part of the One Thousand Boys initiative. This initiative and the associated research highlights the sexual violence that young boys face. It comments on various factors that make them vulnerable and which deter reporting of abuse against them.

Child Sexual Abuse is very commonplace, but

despite this, there is still a reluctance of many adults to have open conversations with their children about it. Seen as “impolite” conversation, sexual violence is often relegated to the shadows and often only comes up until someone unfortunately becomes a victim.

In the Caring For Boys research findings, it was indicated that the lack of communication within families on sexual abuse continues to see many being unprepared and uninformed about what

sexual violence is and the various forms it can take.

This is especially true for young boys, as they are not usually afforded the same conversations parents might have with young girls. Hence, in contrast to boys, girls continue to benefit from more discussions on the issue.

This lack of communication often makes children extremely vulnerable to abusers, particularly prepubescent boys who often lack information on their sexuality and bodies.

This lack of com-

munication is based on several factors such as, sexual abuse being seen as a taboo topic, lack of knowledge by parents themselves about what constitutes sexual abuse, and lack of skills to communicate effectively with children.

For positive caretakers who aim to create safe and nurturing environments for their children, honest and age-appropriate conversations surrounding sex and sexual abuse must be had. Young persons must be taught that sex in itself

is not bad, but must be done safely and with consent. Equipping them with knowledge about things such as sexual grooming, molestation and rape will enable them to readily identify these occurrences within their environments and to seek out the support that is needed. While most parents tend to begin having these conversations with children when they are teenagers, having them earlier can be even more helpful. Sharing age- appropriate information with young children on these

issues will not only make them more knowledgeable, it will lessen their vulnerability and create an environment in which they know they can have open discussions about the things that affect them and those close to them.

Yours sincerely, Akola Thompson Blue Umbrella Consultant, ChildLinK To report or to seek counselling, please call 914/227-0979/2272023/233-3500

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, December 7, 2021

New York Guyana Democracy Project writes US Congress on Burke’s advocacy of violence

By Vishnu Bisram THE New York Guyana Democracy Project (NYGDP) has sent out a letter to members of Congress and the NY State Legislature informing them of the advocacy of violence and overthrow of the democratically elected Government of Guyana by one Rickford Burke, a Guyanese American supporter of the opposition APNU. He reportedly resides in Brooklyn. NYGDP, founded to advocate for and champion democracy in Guyana, is led by academician Dr. Tara Singh, who is also a Caribbean community advocate in America.

The letter states: “We … bring to your attention a pressing matter of grave importance to the Guyanese people and to our country, Guyana… a very troubling development in the political perception by a Brooklyn-

based Guyanese group of the new emerging oil-producing country. At a time when our country is moving towards prosperity, the first time in its history (mainly because of the discovery of 10 billion barrels of oil by Exxon) and where investors from the United States and other countries are pouring into Guyana to seek out investment opportunities, Guyana’s stability as a democratic country must be upheld. Destabilisation efforts and calls for violence, including revolution, will destroy not only Guyanese dreams but also wreck the new road to prosperity that is being laid out by the government.

Unfortunately, this small group of Guyanese whose political party lost power in the 2020 regional and general elections, cannot come to grips yet with this reality.

It should be noted that all the western diplomatic missions, including the U.S., CARI-

COM and Latin America agreed that the PPP/C party won the elections fairly. The CARICOM high-level oversight team certified the viability of the conduct of polls and the legitimacy of the election results; and because their findings ran counter to what the Brooklyn group had harboured, they quickly vilified this esteemed team of CARICOM professionals.

In fact, this Brooklyn group has demonised the entire Caribbean leadership because of its staunch support for democracy and the legitimately elected PPP/C Government.

We cannot emphasise enough, our deep concern over this Brooklyn group’s incitement of violence against the legally elected Government of Guyana. Mr. Rickford Burke, an Afro-Guyanese supporter and advocate of the official opposition party (PNCR) in Guyana, is purportedly the leader of this group. He has called for

GCOPD clarifies incorrect statement

Dear Editor,

IN observance of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the Guyana Council of Organisations for Persons with Disabilities (GCOPD) issued a press release which was disseminated to all media houses.

H o w e v e r, G C O P D wishes to clarify an incorrect statement published in the Kaieteur News under the headline, “Stop providing lip service to people with disabilities and implement structural changes – Advocacy group to government” dated December 4, 2021.

It seems that our statement, “The key stakeholders including policymakers need to stop providing lip service to the community of PWDs and implement structural changes that will be

sustainable and positively impact the lives of PWDs,” was either misconstrued or deliberately sensationalised in an attempt to make the Government of Guyana appear as though they are not doing anything for Persons With Disabilities.

In our press release, we at no time specifically mentioned government or singled out government to implement structural changes. What was said is that “all stakeholders,” including policy-makers, need to stop providing lip service and implement structural changes.

In our advocacy, when we use the term “stakeholders,” we are referring to members of the public, members of the private sector, civil society, donor agencies, and policymakers (both government and opposition politicians and bureaucrats).

GCOPD has an excellent partnership with the current Government of Guyana and has partnered on a number of initiatives to improve the lives of PWDs. These include the training of PWDs through the Board of Industrial Training, grants to PWDs through the Small Business Bureau, the allocation of houselots to PWDs and training of PWDs through the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, among other initiatives.

We know that the government has a plan to improve the lives of PWDs and we pledge our continued partnership in this process.

Yours sincerely, Ganesh Singh GCOPD Programme Coordinator

war against the democratically elected government, including violence against the PPPC’s supporters (mostly Indo-Guyanese), and for partitioning of Guyana.

While we recognise a person’s right to free speech and his right to defend his group against any perceived wrongdoing, such outbursts go beyond the norms of civility, especially since the basis of his allegations lacks empirical support. He has distorted the situation in respect of racial discrimination and his frequent claims that the PPP/C Government killed 420 Black men are mere speculation.

The PPP/C killed no one.

The reality is: 75 per cent of the Public Service workers are Afro-Guyanese; 90 per cent of the army are AfroGuyanese; 75 per cent of the Police Force are Afro Guyanese; 70 per cent of nurses are Afro Guyanese; 65 per cent of teachers are Afro-Guyanese and 80 per cent of the academic staff at the University of Guyana are Afro-Guyanese; 65 per cent of the students at UG are Afro-Guyanese. The proportion of Afro-Guyanese in the general population is 29 per cent. The ethnic composition of the government and staff at its agencies are representative of the pluralist nature of the

population. How could Burke and associates make out a case for racial discrimination?

Unbelievable!

As to the killings, those were murders committed during the PPPC’s governance in the early 2000s, not by the government. The respected national daily newspaper, Stabroek News, did an analysis of the murders and published the results for public consumption. First, of the 420 persons killed were not all Black men; 119 for example (28 per cent) were Indian-Guyanese and some were Amerindians and some of mixed racial ancestry.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, December 7, 2021

Police targeting motorcycle, Teleperformance Guyana bicycle bandits in campaign urged to expand operations

AS part of its aggressive crime-fighting strategies, the Guyana Police Force said it is going after those perpetrators who use motorcycles and bicycles to execute criminal acts.

According to the Guyana Police Force, the enforcement campaign is also aimed at persons who are driving motorcycles that do not have the necessary documentation.

A number of motorcycles for which the drivers failed to produce the relevant documents are in police custody at the Traffic Headquarters, Eve Leary, Kingston, as the requisite investigations proceed.

Further, the police force has assured the general public that it continues to aggressively pursue crime-fighting strategies in order to maintain its mandate of public safety and security.

These intelligence-led strategies include mobile, foot and bicycle patrols; roadblocks, raids and searches among other things, along with the support of the Community Policing Groups.

Further, the force is encouraging members of the public to confidentially communicate tips and information of any criminal activity via telephone numbers: Headquarters – 226-6978/225-8196 and 225-2700/ 225-6411.

Seized motorcycles at Traffic Headquarters, Eve Leary

TELEPERFORMANCE Guyana has been urged to expand its operations beyond the boundaries of Georgetown, Region Four.

The invitation was extended by Senior Minister within the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh.

Dr. Singh was delivering the feature address at the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) company’s fifth anniversary observance in Guyana.

Minister Singh said government’s liberalisation of the telecommunications sector has made expansion for BPOs much easier. He said he would like to see the company leading regional expansion in places such as Essequibo and Berbice.

“I would like to encourage you to consider those destinations because we want those jobs. The tremendous growth that you have achieved here thus far can be replicated and expanded upon elsewhere.

So, as you consider that Caribbean expansion, I would urge you to consider regional expansion within Guyana to other towns beyond Georgetown.”

By August 2020, the BPO industry in Guyana had in its employ some 2,906 persons. From then to now, the sector has seen an increase of 1,229 persons, taking the total to 4,135.

The Finance Minister said government welcomes the advancement of more value-added services.

Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for finance, Dr. Ashni Singh “We would like to see more value-added services and within the sector, there is tremendous potential for value-added services to be delivered. We know we have a sufficiently talented pool of people in Guyana to be able to adapt to the delivery of the more value-added services that BPOs can deliver,” Minister Singh stated.

He said government is committed to working with BPOs in their expansion and development.

“You have in this government, a partner that recognises the vastness and potential of the BPO sector. We view the sector in an extremely positive light and you can be assured that we are committed to continue working with you very closely… we see the BPO sector as a sector that has more potential than most other sectors to create jobs for young Guyanese,” Dr. Singh reminded.

Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of

Teleperformance Guyana, Luis Barreto, said the company has had five exceptional years of operating in Guyana. He noted that Teleperformance Guyana will be expanding its services in the country.

The CEO said the company will create “a 1,000 plus new jobs in 2022. That is the number that we are committing to the company; that is the number that I am committing to Guyana and that is the number that I am committing to all of you… with 1,000 new jobs, we are going to be creating 100 or more staff supervisory management director positions in the next 12 months.”

The company plans to expand its operations in Georgetown by establishing a new facility that could house 800 work stations. In Guyana, the company employs 1,200 staff serving seven clients in the United States.

(DPI)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, December 7, 2021

ExxonMobil rewarded for significant social work in Guyana

APART from increasing Guyana’s capital base by producing oil offshore this Caribbean nation, ExxonMobil has invested millions of dollars into social projects over the years, an act which has earned the company the World Petroleum Council Excellence Award (WPCEA) for Social Responsibility.

According to a press statement from ExxonMobil, the company was recognised for its efforts to build local economic capacity, protect the environment and support communities in Guyana.

The objective of the WPCEA is to distinguish companies, institutions or any public or private organisation engaged in the oil and gas industry for promoting or operating with high excellence standards.

Community Relations Manager, Suzie De Abreu, accepted the award on the company’s behalf at the ongoing 23rd World Petroleum Congress in Houston, Texas, on Monday. She was accompanied by Community Relations Advisor, Ryan Hoppie.

“We are pleased to be recognised for our work in

building Guyanese capabilities to support oil and gas and the broader economy,” De Abreu said.

She added: “This work to accelerate local content and our social responsibilities started with economic and industrial baseline surveys and engagement with key stakeholders to identify priorities, leading to the establishment of the Centre for Local Business Development in 2017, before the final investment decision was made for Liza Phase 1 project.”

To date, more than 3,000 Guyanese companies have registered with the centre and accessed training in several areas.

Support for the centre is now part of the Greater Guyana Initiative (GGI), which, the company said, epitomises its commitment to long-term capacity building in Guyana.

It is a 10-year pledge of G$20 billion by ExxonMobil Guyana and the other Stabroek Block co-venturers, Hess and CNOOC to advance their commitment to improve regional economic development, education and healthcare outcomes, and promote sustainable econom-

ic diversification in Guyana.

To date, in addition to supporting the centre, the Greater Guyana Initiative has engaged the Council for Technical and Vocational Education (CTVET), providing curriculum and equipment support necessary to produce graduates for new and growing industrial settings.

“We have also partnered with the University of Guyana in several areas, including support for professors of practice, improved campus security, and setting up ‘Zoom rooms’ to enhance learning across the various campuses,” the oil giant said.

Additionally, the ExxonMobil Foundation made a US$10 million commitment in 2018 to train Guyanese for sustainable job opportunities and expand communitysupported conservation.

ExxonMobil Guyana has also invested more than G$2.5 billion in various programmes that are geared at advancing STEM education, empowering communities, women and youth and supporting environmental sustainability.

FROM PAGE 7 Second, many of those killings took place in confrontations between the police and criminal gangs; others were killed by gang members in gang warfare; some were killed in family/ domestic problems; while a few were killed when they tried to topple the government. Above all, the PPP/C Government did not kill anyone or ordered anyone killed. It is just like blaming the U.S. President for all those murders committed in the inner cities. This Brooklyn-based extremist group has soared above reason and logic in their effort to build a political fortress on sand from which they could shoot a barrage of lies and deception.

The language used by Mr Burke is “seditious” and racially hostile. (We will be happy to provide you with the tape if so requested). We are shocked and disappointed that such hateful remarks and language of violence could emanate from a group in the USA that professes its

love for Guyana. And while America grants freedom of speech, hateful speech and advocacy of violence are not protected. The Guyana Government regards the calls by Mr Burke for violence and revolution seriously and has issued a Wanted Bulletin for Mr Burke to answer several charges.

We join with fellow Guyanese in the USA, Canada, and other parts of the diaspora as well as those in Guyana to strongly condemn such advocacy of violence and hate speech against fellow Guyanese. We are heartened that Guyanese at home have ignored such chilling calls for violence against a democratically elected government. Guyana is a pluralist nation and our people have learned to respect one another despite our diversity.

Creating racial hostility and advocating partition, are symptoms of losers.

Under the “One Guyana” initiative we must continue to build on this (societal cohesion) and thus pave the way for the good life for all

Guyanese, irrespective of race, religion and gender or disability. We must continue to support each other and ignore and isolate those with radical and racist motives.

As a nation, Guyana faces incredible obstacles to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, the loss of jobs and the devastating flooding that ravaged the agricultural sector. All our energies should be directed to rebuilding our economy and getting students back to school, as well as getting the unemployed back to work. Guyanese should not allow the calls for violence and the spewing of incendiary rhetoric to derail the country’s development trajectory, where every person of every ethnic group is expected to play a vital role.

Guyana needs builders and not destroyers or detractors.

The NYGDP organisation appeals to the members of Congress to send a congressional team to Guyana to gather firsthand information on the government’s programmes and policies.

New York Guyana Democracy...

ExxonMobil’s Community Relations Manager, Suzie De Abreu, and the company’s Community Relations Adviser, Ryan Hoppie, share a light moment after receiving the World Petroleum Council Excellence Award (WPCEA) for Social Responsibility (ExxonMobil photo)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, December 7, 2021

US investment enhances Coast Guard facility

US Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch and acting Commander, Coast Guard, Lieutenant Commander, David Shamsudeen cut the ribbon symbolising the official handing over of the renovated facility

US Ambassador, Sarah-Ann Lynch, with staff of the training centre

THE Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Coast Guard is the most recent beneficiary of continued collaboration between the GDF and United States Armed Forces.

As part of EXERCISE TRADEWINDS which was hosted in Guyana earlier this year, the Engineer Troop Unit of the US military conducted renovation works at the GDF Coast Guard training school at Kingston and also constructed a solid concrete boat pad at the Coast Guard Headquarters.

Those works were recently completed. Guyana will host the US-sponsored exercise again in 2023.

A simple ribbon-cutting ceremony was recently held to officially hand over the completed projects.

United States Ambassador to Guyana, SarahAnn Lynch, who was on hand for the ceremony, noted that the investment should leave no doubt of

how serious the US considers the security of Guyana and its importance to the region.

The envoy noted that it represents her government’s support to enhance the overall effectiveness of joint exercises between the US and partner nations.

Acting Commander, Coast Guard, Lieutenant Commander, David Shamsudeen, expressed gratitude to the ambassador for the US assistance.

“Your commitment to the success of this endeavour is highly appreciated. We assure you that we will strive to upkeep the standards set through these initiatives and to utilise them purposefully and with great care,” he said.

Works at the training school included replacement of the entire roof of the building, replacement of windows, doors, lights, ceiling fans and toilet facilities. The solid boat pad was constructed to accommodate vessels.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, December 7, 2021

Women in aviation: an invaluable asset to Guyana

- to be celebrated today for their many ‘firsts’

Captain Feriel Ally Captain Cheryl Pickering-Moore

Felesha Johnson

By Jared Liddell AS Guyana joins the rest of the world, today, to celebrate International Civil Aviation Day 2021, several women will be remembered for the phenomenal and inspirational mark they have left on the sector and the contributions they continue to make.

Known the world over as a male-dominated sector, pilots Beverly Drakes, Cheryl Pickering-Moore, Simone Dowding, Feriel Ally and Deborah Fiedtkou-Gouveia; Air Traffic Controllers Paula McAdam and Sandra Persaud; Aircraft Maintenance Engineers Kharashna Bhagwandeen and Tesia Alicia Alexander and flight dispatchers Tammy Massiah and Felesha Johnson, chose to follow their dream. In so doing, they have inspired other women to take up careers in the local aviation sector.

This year’s celebration will be held under the theme “Advancing Innovation for Global Aviation Development.”

Like in Guyana, women in other parts of the world have proven that they too are worthy of recognition for their invaluable service to the sector.

Among them are Blanche Scott, who became the first woman pilot in 1910, when

Kharashma Bhagwandeen the plane that she was allowed to taxi mysteriously became airborne and Harriet Quimby, who, in 1911, became the first licensed woman pilot and in 1912, the first woman to fly across the English Channel.

Recently the Guyana Chronicle spoke to some of the outstanding women in the local aviation sector. They all detailed their respective careers and urged women desirous of entering the sector to do so with passion and for their own personal fulfillment.

Mc Adam, who is Guyana’s first female Air Traffic Control Officer, achieved the distinction of being the longest-serving staff member of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) to date.

During her 48-year career she has achieved many firsts for women in aviation.

In April 1979, she was appointed Air Traffic Control Officer 1 and thereafter continued climbing the ladder.

She was appointed to several other high ranking positions including Deputy Director (Acting) in July 2001, and Aircraft Accident Investigation Officer/Chief Aircraft Accident Investigation Officer in 2014, a position which she held until March 2021.

FIRST FEMALE ARMY PILOT Pickering-Moore made

Paula McAdam her name in the sector as the first woman pilot for the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).

In 1973, PickeringMoore joined the GDF as a personal assistant to the Commander. In 1975, she was the first female officer to carry the GDF’s colour as the colour ensign. She was also the first female ADC to VicePresident Viola Burnham.

Pickering-Moore who retired as a Captain, attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Upon completion of her training, she was hired as one of the first two GDF women pilots. She flew the Britten Norman Islander, Twin Otter, HS 748, and the DHC- 8. She also served as Executive Officer of the Air Corps.

In 1980, PickeringMoore was transferred to the government-owned Guyana Airways where she spent nine years before moving on to LIAT. In 2013, she and other pioneer aviators of Guyana were honoured with their likenesses being featured on postage stamps.

According to the statistics in ‘Women in aviation: A workforce report,’ women in the United States make up only 3 per cent of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and Chief Operating Officers (COOs) in the world’s top 100 airline groups and 8 per cent of airline Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) are women.

DETERMINED TO SUCCEED Meanwhile, Dowding related that she received the Prime Minister’s award for her contribution to aviation in Guyana. The 34-yearold has worked at both the Cheddi Jagan International Airport and the GCAA and has made a significant mark in the local aviation sector.

She noted that she believes that, while there were a few barriers to women joining the male-dominated

sector, she never allowed that to stop her.

“There’s always a sense of consciousness involved; I would not necessarily put it as fear because I was always determined to succeed with my dreams and aspirations.

Therefore, I never used fear to become my failure; in fact, I used it, as my aspiration to succeed,” she told the Guyana Chronicle.

She disclosed that while

employed at the GCAA her role was to draft, upgrade and enforce compliance with the regulations set out by the aviation body.

Dowding used the opportunity to advise women who are considering a career in aviation, not be discouraged or dissuaded from following their dream.

“There were a few barriers, but they did not dissuade nor discourage me from

what I loved doing best. I did it. You can do it. You will face challenges, as you try to navigate in a maledominated workplace. But it’s important to stay focused on the positive and put your challenges into perspective,” she added.

Massiah, a 10-year aviation specialist echoed similar sentiments as she encouraged women to leave their mark in the sector.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, December 7, 2021

Guyana receives additional 42, 120 doses of Pfizer Vaccine from the U.S. GUYANA has received an additional 42,120 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine from the U.S. as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to fighting the pandemic, as the leading fi-

nancial donor to COVAX. The donated doses of vaccine arrived in Guyana on Monday. This brings the total number of vaccines donated to Guyana through the COVAX facility to 308,340.

This is in addition to the

The vaccine arrived at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport on Monday 143,250 Pfizer vaccines donated directly from the U.S. to Guyana.

“This is the fifth donation of COVID-19 vaccines to Guyana through COVAX. There should be no doubt how seriously

the United States takes the health and welfare of the Guyanese people, and I hope everyone takes advantage of this and gets the jab,” said U.S. Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch said in a release.

OPR probing shooting of Linden man who allegedly attacked police THE Office of Professional Responsibility of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) is currently probing the police shooting of 36-year-old Marlon Brewster on December 1.

A police statement on Monday said two ranks had attempted to arrest Brewster after a report was made that he allegedly stole a generator.

The incident occurred in South Amelia’s Ward, Linden.

The statement said Brewster was notified of the allegation by the visiting officers. It was then that Brewster reportedly became verbally abusive to them. “He then armed himself with a cutlass and attacked the ranks, causing them to retreat and seek police assistance,” the police statement said.

Police say ranks of the Divisional AntiCrime Patrol responded and removed the cutlass from Brewster ’s pos-

session. “He, however, continued verbally abusing and threatening the ranks while at the same time hurling beer bottles at them,” the police statement continued.

After allegedly breaking two bottles, the police said Brewster attacked one of the ranks and it was then he was shot to his body and subsequently escaped.

“The shop on Marlon Brewster ’s premises was searched and the stolen generator was found. Two brushcutter machines and a stereo speaker that are suspected to be stolen or unlawfully obtained, 115 grams of marijuana, and utensil [sic] used for smoking marijuana were also found,” the police statement further alleged.

Brewster was later discovered by police at the Linden Hospital Complex. Police said he is currently under their guard.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, December 7, 2021

Scenes from Official Dinner for Ghana’s Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia

PRESIDENT Dr Irfaan Ali and First Lady Mrs Arya Ali, on Sunday evening, hosted an Official Dinner for the Vice-President of the Republic of Ghana, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and

his delegation at State House, Carmichael Street, Georgetown.

Prime Minister, Mark Phillips; Vice-President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo; and other government ministers, along

with members of the diplomatic community and the local private sector, attended the event.

Following the dinner, President Ali and Vice-President, Dr Bawumia,

along with other officials, did a meet and greet along Main Street, Georgetown.

Dr Bawumia is here on a four-day Official Visit which ends today.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, December 7, 2021

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, December 7, 2021

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, December 7, 2021

COVID booster shots for all adults as Christmas spike expected H E A LT H M i n i s t e r, Dr Frank Anthony, announced, on Monday, that COVID-19 booster shots are now available for all adults.

The statement was an adjustment to previous health ministry guidelines which established criteria for who can access COVID-19 booster shots.

With the Christmas season already here, family and other types of gatherings could result in a spike of COVID-19 cases.

“We have to be careful as we go forward during the Holiday Season with how we interact with each other. We will have a lot of cases… and these are persons who have been confirmed with a COVID-19 test,” Dr Anthony said during his daily COVID-19

press briefing.

Dr Anthony cautioned that there were persons who have had milder forms of the COVID-19 virus who would not have been tested because they did not have symptoms.

That, he said, meant there are persons who could contract COVID-19 once they are exposed to persons who do not know they have the virus.

The potential of death is high for persons with underlying conditions who are exposed to those persons who have not been tested , do not show symptoms but have COVID-19, the Health Minister reasoned.

Guyana recorded 57 new cases as of December 5, Dr Anthony confirmed. The majority of these cases were in Region 4 (Demerara-Ma-

haica).

He asked for persons to be cautious in how they meet with their friends and family as they should continue to wear their mask and practise physical distancing. “If we don’t, these gains that we’ve made over the last couple of weeks can be quickly eroded and you can see new cases coming up, new hospitalisations, and new deaths,” Dr Anthony continued.

Guyana has administered over 738,000 COVID-19 vaccines, including booster shots. “Those persons who received their second dose but now we are almost six months after the second dose, they can come back and get a booster,” Dr Anthony said.

The concern shared by Guyana’s Health Minister was also shared by Director

GECOM completes Chief Election Officer interviews; report to Chairman expected soon THE Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) will meet on Tuesday for deliberation after successfully completing interviews for Chief Elections Officer on Monday afternoon.

It is expected that after Tuesday’s statutory meeting, a report will at some point be submitted to GECOM Chairman Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh. The two candidates, Vishnu Persaud and Leslie Harrow were interviewed virtually between 13:00hrs and 16:25hrs.

GECOM Commissioners Sase Gunraj and Bibi Shaddick confirmed this.

According to Shaddick, the evaluation criteria for some commissioners focused on academic qualifications, but other criteria were explored including training, professional qualifications and knowledge of Guyana’s electoral system including applicable laws.

The Guyana Chronicle recently reported recently on the shortlisting of the two candidates. Commissioner Shaddick said Harrow was questioned on a recent imbroglio involving his placement at the country’s disaster management agency after he was seconded for six months from his substantive

position in the electoral office of Jamaica.

Harrow served as director-general of the disaster management agency and opted not to renew his secondment after the six months, thus returning to the electoral body.

The Jamaica media carried headlines that Harrow resigned from the position of director-general because of the treatment he received while working at the body and also because he reportedly did not appreciate the political directives handed to him.

Harrow has since denied the allegations made by the Jamaica Observer and Jamaica Gleaner newspapers. In a letter sent by Harrow and published by the Observer, Harrow wrote: “I came to the agency on November 1, 2020, on a six-month secondment [sic] from my substantive position at the Electoral Office of Jamaica, with an option to seek an extension at the end of that period.

“This period ended on April 30, 2021, and I wish to state publicly that my decision to return to the EOJ has nothing to do with any unhappiness with or interference from the minister,

ministry or the agency, as is being implied and stated in media reports. I had and still have a cordial relationship with the honourable minister [of local government] and the permanent secretary and, indeed, other members of the ministry.”

The Jamaica media, however, maintained its position, citing a reliable confidential source connected to the government of Jamaica.

While Harrow remains on the job at Jamaica’s electoral body, Commissioner Shaddick said he understands the urgency of the placement and if he were successful, he would be prepared to be in Guyana by the end of December as his superiors have been notified of his interest in the senior election position for Guyana.

Now that the interviews for chief election officer have been completed, GECOM moves closer to filling a number of vacancies at the body following a massive overhaul of its operations resulting from the prolonged General and Regional Elections in 2020, which saw three former top elections officials being hauled before the courts for electoral fraud.

(Photo: Delano Williams/Guyana Chronicle/ September 11, 2021) of the Pan American Health following last year’s holiday urged persons to get vacciOrganization (PAHO), Dr season. And it took months nated and to observe COVCarissa Etienne, during a for countries to reduce the ID-19 emergency measures, virtual press conference last incidents of new cases,” Dr including wearing masks and month on the situation in Etienne lamented, during that avoiding large gatherings.

Latin America and the Car- press conference.

“These vaccines have ibbean.

She said we now have helped to lower the hospital “Our region witnessed more tools to protect our- bed occupancy,” the PAHO a large jump in new cases selves from the virus as she Director added.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, December 7, 2021

Gov’t pathologist testifies in Agricola murder trial

GOVERNMENT Pathologist, Dr. Nehaul Singh, has given testimony about a post-mortem examination he performed on the body of Melissa Payne, who was fatally shot during an armed robbery at Agricola Public Road, East Bank Demerara, in 2008.

Sylvester Vanderhyden of Block ‘A’ Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo, who is currently on trial before Justice Jo-Ann Barlow and a 12-member jury at the Demerara High Court, recently pleaded not guilty to the capital offence of murder.

It is alleged that, on No-

vember 5, 2008, at Agricola, East Bank Demerara, he murdered Payne during the course or furtherance of a robbery.

He is being represented by attorney-at-law George Thomas, while prosecutor Lisa Cave is on record for the State.

During Monday’s hearing, Dr. Singh gave the cause of death as perforation of the lungs and artery due to a gunshot wound. The post-mortem report was then marked, tendered and admitted as evidence in the trial after Dr. Singh was deemed an expert in pathology.

Dr. Singh told the court that, upon examination of the body, he observed a circular wound on the right side armpit, and, during dissection, he observed that a bullet had entered the chest cavity and pierced the artery which caused the lungs to collapse.

The bullet also fractured the sixth rib before becoming lodged in the left shoulder.

Dr. Singh testified that he extracted the bullet and lodged same with the police.

The trial will continue today.

According to reports, on the day in question, at about 08:30 hrs, Payne, along with her reputed husband, Devon Thomas, were in a canter

truck heading to Georgetown to conduct business.

As the couple approached Agricola, the truck encountered mechanical problems.

Fraser came out and tried to fix the truck, while Payne stood and watched him.

A few moments later, one of two bandits came up to them with a gun and demanded their money. The armed man snatched Fraser’s gold chain and attempted to pull away Payne’s handbag.

Payne resisted and was fatally shot in her chest. The men then escaped with some $110,000 in cash that was in the woman’s bag, along with her jewellery.

In November 2017, Jermaine Savory, formerly of Second Street, Agricola, was sentenced to 15 years in prison by a High Court judge after he was found guilty of killing Payne.

Savory had confessed to investigators that he had participated in the robbery but was not the trigger

Accused: Sylvester Vanderhyden man. In 2016, after being on the run from the police, Vanderhyden was finally arrested and charged for the offence.

Farmer accused of ganja trafficking and cultivation remanded A 23-year-old man, who pleaded not guilty to trafficking cannabis and cultivating the prohibited plant, was, on Monday, remanded to prison by Magistrate Fabayo Azore.

Shafeer Sanichar appeared before the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court charged with the two offences which

were allegedly committed on December 3, 2021, at St. Cuthbert’s Mission on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway.

He was remanded to prison until January 11, and the case was transferred to the Mahaica Magistrate’s Court.

In court, Sanichar, who had no legal representation, told Magistrate Azore that he

Shafeer Sanichar

was beaten by ranks from the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU).

While showing his injuries to the magistrate, the accused said that, on the day in question, he was at his farm at St. Cuthbert’s Mission, when he was picked up by CANU ranks and taken into the backdam to an alleged cannabis farm.

He further alleged that he was beaten on his chest and abdomen by the ranks until he was unconscious.

He claimed that he was also beaten on his buttocks.

According to his medical certificate, Sanichar had abrasions on both of his wrists along with multiple superficial abrasions to his abdomen and hematoma to his left gluteal region. These injuries, however, were not life-threatening.

In a press release, CANU said that ranks, acting on intelligence received, conducted a narcotics operation during which they discovered a camp located on 2.5-acres of land with a total of 3,000 cannabis plants, ranging from 3 to 6 feet in height along with processed cannabis, and a quantity of seeds.

Sanichar was allegedly discovered under a makeshift tent processing cannabis plants in one of the fields.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, December 7, 2021

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, December 7, 2021

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday December 7, 2021

Sport enthusiast questions GASA and good governance Dear Mr. Sports Editor, THE President of the Guyana Amateur Swimming Association (GASA) will be travelling to Abu Dhabi on December 18, 2021 to discuss and ratify several critical areas of reform in the International Swimming Federation (FINA), namely: Governance; Marketing; Events Communication; Digital Transformation and Safeguarding; Medical and Equity. In many regards, GASA is at a critical crossroad as it relates to the first area of FINA reform: Governance.

On one side, they can continue to let corrupt practices continue and hide these corrupt practices from FINA, or on the other side,

they can choose to stop misleading FINA and correct their gross misconducts of the past. As I will illustrate to you, GASA has chosen to continue with its corrupt practices and misinforms FINA. As disclosed to you in my last letter, GASA had uncovered deliberate falsification of receipts in accounting for the expenditure of FINA Olympic Aquatics Support Programme (OASP) funds in 2018. The lack of action in executing the decisions of GASA’s own General Meeting held in September 2019 to investigate and address these misappropriations indicates that consecutive administrations are shielding persons from being investigated for financial wrongdoings.

To compound the issue of OASP funds, GASA has provided information to FINA on a Governance Survey which they know to be untrue. The Survey is an evaluation tool that scores points towards the ranking of the national federation in relation to governance. The higher the score, the higher the amount of funds will be given to each national federation in 2022. So, if the national federation is evaluated as having a high level of governance they are eligible to receive USD$30,000; a medium level of governance being USD$22,500; a basic level of governance gets USD$15,000; and developing governance is entered into the Mentorship programme. The following twelve responses provided to FINA are simply false: Q1: GASA stated that there is a strategic or operational plan. As far I know, GASA has not tabled a strategic plan or operational plan to the General Meeting for approval in over a decade.

Q3: GASA stated that their (current) constitution was ratified by FINA in 1993.

Yet the current version of GASA’s constitution is dated 2005, this is the document that is used to guide its affairs.

Q14: Even though GASA does not have a Code of Ethics in place, they still informed FINA that they did.

Q15: Part of the reason GASA has not sorted out its financial issues is that it does not have a disciplinary commission or ethics commission in place, yet it reported to FINA that it has one.

Q16: GASA reported to

FINA that it has financial statements audited on an annual basis by an external financial auditor. As I indicated in my last letter, GASA’s last financial audit report (2018) indicated that an opinion on the finances could not be provided since they could not even verify the existence of the cash balance.

There were no audits done for the period 2011 through 2017.

Q17: GASA has not presented a budget to its General Assembly (General Meeting) in more than a decade, yet, GASA responded in the affirmative to FINA when asked about this.

Q18: GASA informed FINA that a summary of its financial information is published in open access to external partners and the general public. This is simply not true and you can easily verify this.

Q21: On June 4, 2021, FINA approved new rules on the protection from harassment and abuse, GASA has not implemented any new byelaws or rules of its own in more than a decade and does not have any protection from harassment and abuse rules, yet GASA responded that it has implemented similar rules as FINA on the protection from harassment and abuse.

Q22: GASA does not have any policies or rules on the protection of athletes’ health and medical care, yet GASA informed FINA that it has these policies or rules in place.

Q23: GASA has not incorporated FINA Doping Control

South Africa Racing Tips Vaal 08:40 hrs Liverpool Legend 09:15 hrs Flame Flower 09:45 hrs Opera Glass 10:15 hrs Jet Captain English Racing Tips Fontwell 08:20 hrs Oceanline 08:50 hrs Rizzardo 09:20 hrs Albert Van Ornum 09:50 hrs Hamilton Dici 10:20 hrs Houka D’oudaires 10:50 hrs Bleue Away 11:20 hrs Kepy Blanc

Rules into its own rules: it does not appear in any of the 2 ratified documents of GASA – the constitution or the financial by-laws. Yet, GASA indicated to FINA that it has.

Q24: Even more surprising is that GASA informed FINA that it conducts Anti-Doping Education on a yearly basis.

This is simply not true.

Q25: Finally, GASA stated that it engages in activities to promote principles of fairness and fair play and fights against the main threats to those values. There are dozens and dozens of examples of athletes, coaches and officials being sidelined by GASA simply because they are from the Dorado Speed Swim Club – and it continues to this day. So we can assure you that GASA does not promote principles of fairness and fair play and it has driven many swimmers away from the sport.

Mr Editor, I have highlighted many issues to GASA over my short stint so far as President of Dorado, and there are others who have been doing so for years with no solutions being implemented. For example, the Dorado Speed Swim Club has been asking that GASA treat swimmers fairly by implementing transparent selection policies for athlete and coach selection. This transparent process is impossible due to a coach who is the head coach of three of the clubs affiliated with GASA (and GASA doesn’t see any issue with this inherent conflict of interest) also [allegedly] controls Uttoxeter 08:30 hrs In Our Dreams 09:00 hrs Dorisa Queen 09:30 hrs Call Me Lord 10:00 hrs Kalzari 10:30 hrs Clondaw Promise 11:00 hrs Wolfspear 11:30 hrs Sidewaysinmilan Southwell 12:00 hrs Zoom Zoom Babe 12:30 hrs Night On Earth 13:00 hrs Eagle’s Realm 13:30 hrs Viola 14:00 hrs Vaxholm 14:30 hrs Justcallmepete 15:00 hrs Teumessias Fox 15:30 hrs Kodi Gold

who is selected to represent Guyana by shifting the goal posts when it suits his narrative. What is jarring is that he has (allegedly) admitted to defrauding FINA in 2018, but because he coaches half of all affiliated clubs in GASA and is the leader of the cabal that controls GASA nothing will come out of this. In the end, there is no fairness in the swimmer selection process since the process can change even after the team selection meet is completed.

Mr Editor, we must teach our young charges that hard work and only the best performances are what get you to the top. We should not teach our young swimmers that playing politics, trading in favours and covering up serious improprieties is the way to go. Not at all!

GASA should be following the FINA Good Governance Guide 2021 and as part of the FINA reform process currently underway, transparency in its activities with all stakeholders including the media is paramount.

Therefore, I invite you to again verify all that I have written above with the current executive of GASA. Ultimately, the evidence shows that GASA doesn’t practice good governance, and if this is the case, how is GASA's president going to contribute to FINA’s reform agenda in Abu Dhabi this month given their track record?

Yours sincerely, Nicholas Fraser Bachelor of Physical Education and Sport Irish Racing Tips Tramore 08:40 hrs Guily Billy 09:10 hrs Robyndeglory 09:40 hrs Angels Dawn 10;10 hrs Lovely Moon 10:40 hrs She’s Some Doll 11:10 hrs Springfield Lodge 11:40 hrs Viva Devito American Racing Tips Mahoning Valley Race 1 Doctor Lee Race 2 Giles Race 3 Megraw Race 4 Happy As You Go Race 5 Hampton Dancer Race 6 Star Rules Race 7 Royal’D

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday December 7, 2021

US announces diplomatic boycott of 2022 Winter Olympics (BBC) -The US has announced a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China.

The White House said no official delegation would be sent to the Games because of concerns about China's human rights record.

But it said US athletes could attend and would have the government's full support.

China has previously said it will take "resolute countermeasures" in the event of a boycott.

US President Joe Biden said last month that he was weighing up a diplomatic boycott of the event.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed the boycott on Monday, saying that the administration would not contribute to the "fanfare" of the Olympics.

"US diplomatic or official representation would treat these games as business as usual in the face of the PRC's [People's Republic of China] egregious human rights abuses and atrocities in Xinjiang," she said. "We simply can't do that."

The Biden administration's diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics falls far short of a previous US boycott in 1980, when it pulled its athletes out of the

Moscow Olympics to protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan the previous year.

The Soviet Union and its allies, in turn, boycotted the following 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles.

BIPARTISAN SUPPORT Ms Psaki said the US government did not feel "it was the right step to penalise athletes who had been training for this moment", but that not sending an official US delegation to the 2022 Games "could send a clear message".

The US is itself due to hold the Summer Olympics in 2028 in Los Angeles.

Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have called for the boycott as a means to protest against Chinese human rights abuses.

The diplomatic boycott was quickly praised by politicians from both sides of the political spectrum.

Republican Utah Senator Mitt Romney tweeted that the Biden administration was "right to refuse" a diplomatic presence at the Olympics.

Democratic House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she applauded the administration's decision.

"While we must support

Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have called for the boycott

and celebrate our athletes, America - and the world cannot give our official imprimatur to these games or proceed as if there is nothing wrong with holding the Olympics in a country perpetrating genocide and mass human rights violations," Ms Pelosi said.

Some US politicians, however, said they believe that the diplomatic boycott is not enough. Senator Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas, called the diplomatic boycott a "half measure" and argued that the administration should have opted to "fully boycott" the games.

"American businesses should not financially support the Chinese Communist Party and we must not expose Team USA to the dangers of a repugnant regime that disap-

Fifth ashes test moved from Perth (BBC) -The fifth Ashes Test between Australia and England will no longer be played in Perth because of Covid-19 restrictions.

Western Australia has a 14-day quarantine rule and Perth's Optus Stadium was set to host the final Test from 14 January.

The fourth Test takes place in Sydney between 4-9 January.

Discussions about a replacement venue are under way, with Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and Hobart the possible options.

The Ashes start in Brisbane on 8 December with Australia pausing plans to reopen its borders to some foreign nationals because of fears over new Covid variant Omicron.

Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley said

it is "very disappointed" the fifth Test has to be relocated from Perth.

"We did everything we could in partnership with the Western Australia government and Western Australia Cricket to make it work under the current border and health arrangements, but unfortunately this was not possible," he added.

"We are particularly disappointed for Western Australian cricket fans who were so looking forward to seeing the first ever Ashes Test at the new stadium."

Ashes Tests in Perth were held at the WACA Ground from 1970 until the previous series in Australia in 2017-18, with the Optus Stadium taking over after its completion in January 2018.

Cricket Australia said that "absolutely every effort"

was made to try to stage the final Test in Perth but the "border controls, quarantine requirements and the complexities of staging a five-Test series in a tight schedule" meant it could not balance the priorities of all parties involved.

"These complexities also mean that any suggestion of changing the order of the venues would not be feasible," it added.

The fifth Test could be moved to Melbourne, which hosts the third game of the series, and could be played as a day-night match. The second Test in Adelaide is a day-night match.

Other options include Sydney hosting both the fourth and fifth Tests or the final game being played in either Canberra or Hobart.

pears its own athletes."

Congressman Tim Ryan, an Ohio Democrat, said that while he is "glad to see the Biden administration take steps to hold China accountable", the diplomatic boycott "does not go far enough".

"China has demonstrated again and again that they do not deserve the honour associated with hosting the Olympics, and the Games should be hosted elsewhere," Mr Ryan said.

The US has accused

China of repression of the Uighurs and other Muslim minorities living mostly in the autonomous region of Xinjiang.

Tensions have also risen over the way China has acted to suppress political freedoms in Hong Kong, and because of concern for the Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai, who has accused a top government official of assault.

The Women's Tennis Association last week suspended all tournaments in China because of "serious doubts" about Ms Peng's safety.

Other countries, including the UK and Australia, are said to be considering boycotts.

'POLITICAL POSTURING' China earlier described the possibility of a boycott as wishful thinking and grandstanding, given that no US officials had yet been invited to the games.

"I want to stress that the Winter Olympic Games is not

a stage for political posturing and manipulation," foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a regular press briefing.

"If the US is bent on having its own way, China will take resolute countermeasures," Mr Zhao added.

Responding to the US announcement, China's Washington embassy said the boycott was a "grave distortion of the spirit of the Olympic Charter".

"No-one would care about whether these people come or not, and it has no impact whatsoever on the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics to be successfully held," said spokesman Liu Pengyu, quoted by Reuters.

High-level government representatives - from the US and other countries - are usually present at Olympic Games.

Earlier this year, First Lady Jill Biden led the US delegation at the summer Olympics held in Tokyo.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday December 7, 2021

India hand New Zealand Powell fails to save Kandy series loss Warriors

The Indian team pose with the winners' trophy, India vs New Zealand, 2nd Test, Mumbai, 4th day, December 6, 2021 © BCCI

(ESPNCRICINFO) - Jayant Yadav struck three times in the first half-hour of the fourth morning and four times in nine legal deliveries to finish with career-best figures of 4 for 49, as India wrapped up their biggest win in terms of runs -- 372 -- and also handed New Zealand their biggest loss.

The result sealed the series 1-0 for the hosts who also regained the No. 1 spot in ICC Test rankings, with New Zealand in second place now.

Overnight batters, Henry Nicholls and Rachin Ravindra, played out the first 20 minutes against Jayant and R Ashwin, with both bowlers beating the

outside edge nearly every over. Jayant was the more wayward of the two and was punished for fours

by Ravindra whenever he pitched short outside off.

Ravindra collected two fours in the third over of the morning and two more four overs later.

Between the first two of those fours, Ravindra also survived a very close lbw shout when Jayant struck him in front of middle stump, but umpire Nitin Menon adjudged it not out. India didn't review despite the close shout and ball-tracking later showed it was clipping off for umpire's call, which wouldn't have overturned the decision anyway had India reviewed.

Jayant ensured India didn't have to wait long for the breakthrough though.

As soon as Ravindra swept him for back-to-back fours past backward square leg, Jayant drew his outside edge for a catch at second slip to start the march towards victory.

In his next over, he drew sharp turn from outside off to trap Kyle Jamieson lbw for a duck. Two balls later, he rattled the stumps when Tim Southee danced down to miss a big heave also for a duck, and three balls later, in his next over, Jayant bagged his fourth by getting Will Somerville caught at the second short-leg fielder who had just been brought in.

Ashwin then wrapped up victory in the next over with his 300th Test wicket at home and also his 50th this year. Nicholls had blocked plenty of deliveries from Ashwin the previous evening and this morning around the off stump carefully by pressing forward regularly, but as soon as he stepped out of the crease to attack, Ashwin's flight and turn went past the swinging bat and Wriddhiman Saha completed a quick stumping to dismiss the batter for 44.

Ashwin finished with 8 for 42 in the match and spinners lapped up 33 of the 36 wickets that fell to bowlers, apart from Tom Blundell's run out on the third evening.

Rain washes out Bangladesh vs Pakistan day 3 (ESPNCRICNFO) - The third day of the Dhaka Test lived up to its very rainy forecast with a fullday washout. The covers never came off the Shere Bangla National Stadium, and Bangladesh and Pakistan players didn't come to the ground, as the country's capital bore the brunt of a depression at the Bay of Bengal.

Play was called off at 2pm local time, a foregone conclusion, though it could have happened much earlier. Match officials usually

cling on to the hope of rain relenting. Even in that case, it takes an hour to clear the water off the ground and the covers. None of that was required on Monday.

The last time a full day's play was lost in a Test in Bangladesh was in July-August 2015, when South Africa toured the country.

Only 30 minutes of play was possible on the second day, when Pakistan resumed their first innings for just 6.2 overs. It was enough time for Azhar Ali to move from his overnight 39 to his 34th Test

half-century and then to 52 not-out. Babar Azam struck a few boundaries to move to an unbeaten 71.

Babar started the day with an easy boundary off Khaled Ahmed, before Azhar brought up the 100run stand. He then struck two fours off Ebadot Hossain to reach his fifty, off 126 balls. The pair have so far added 118 runs for the unbroken third-wicket stand.

Earlier on the first day, visitors made an unsurprisingly strong start, with Abid Ali and Abdullah Shafique

adding 59 for the opening stand. It was Pakistan's fourth successive 50-plus stand for the first wicket, equalling the same feat from 2002. Taijul Islam removed both Abid and Shafique, but Azhar and Babar remained solid.

The weather, however, promises to be better on the fourth and fifth days.

There is no more rain in forecast, but it might take a while for the ground staff to rid of the excess water even when the sun comes out.

Rovman Powell hits out during his 42 for Kandy Warriors on Monday

(BBC) - Rovman Powell warmed up for West Indies’ series against Pakistan starting next week with an explosive knock but his efforts proved in vain as Kandy Warriors slumped to a 20-run defeat to Dambulla Giants in their opening game of the Lanka Premier League here Monday.

In pursuit of a challenging 191 at the R Premadasa Stadium, Warriors found themselves tottering on 88 for six in the 13th over, with West Indies batsman Devon Thomas (2) and Jamaican Kennar Lewis (17) both perishing cheaply.

Arriving at number six with Warriors in deep trouble, the right-handed Powell launched a brutal assault, hammering a four and four sixes in 42 off 21 balls, to rally the innings.

He put on 40 for the seventh wicket with Ishan Jayaratne (18) before falling at the start of the 17th over with 63 runs required from 24 balls, miscuing a slower ball from new-ball seamer Nuwan Pradeep (331) to mid off.

Powell, along with Thomas, were late callups to the West Indies side following injury to captain Kieron Pollard which has ruled him out of the series.

Jayaratne added a

further 31 for the eighth wicket with Sachindu Colombage, who lashed an unbeaten 27 from 16 balls, before the innings subsided to 170 for eight.

Off-spinner Ramesh Mendis, who starred in the recent Test series against West Indies, finished with three for 21 from his four overs.

Earlier, Powell had proved perhaps the most economical bowler with one for 12 from his two overs of medium pace as Giants, choosing to bat first, tallied 190 for seven off their 20 overs.

Englishman Phil Salt slammed 64 from 27 balls, lashing four fours and five sixes in a rollicking 97run, opening stand with Niroshan Dickwella who made 37 from 23 balls.

Salt was one of three wickets to tumble for 23 runs off 17 balls but Dasun Shanaka struck 24 off 18 deliveries to steady the innings before Mendis provided a dashing 11-ball unbeaten 22 towards the end.

In the other game of the doubleheader at the venue, out-of-favour West Indies batsman Sherfane Rutherford failed with ten but his Colombo Stars beat Galle Gladiators by four wickets.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday December 7, 2021

Linden, Colts, Ravens and Eagles to match up at Rawle Toney 3X3 launch Competitive basketball will make a return to Georgetown for the first time since 2019 on Friday, December 10, when the Rawle Toney 3X3 Classic will be launched at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

The February 19 – 20, 2022, tournament will be launched with a four-way 3X3 event featuring Ravens, Colts, Eagles and Linden, which event organizer, Rawle Toney, explains is to showcase what the game’s shortest format is about.

According to Toney, the launching of his marquee 3X3 tournament which gets underway from 18:00hrs, is to give sponsors, potential sponsors and the public a glimpse of what is in store next February.

“Everything about the

tournament next year will be different, so the idea behind the launch is to create a similar atmosphere at the Cliff Anderson Hall,” Toney said.

He added, “3X3 basketball is where entertainment and sports collide; on Friday, fans will see some of Guyana’s top talents also performing some of their most popular tracks.”

With strict COVID-19 regulations in place, Friday’s event will be streamed live via Facebook and other popular social media platforms, catering for those who might not be able to make it, or have reservations of attending a live sport event.

“We haven’t had basketball being played at the club level since 2019. This is to also give those players a chance to get back into

the habit of playing with officials and doing so at an event and with trophies and cash prizes at stakes,” Toney said.

Meanwhile, Toney said since the announcement of the tournament, inquiries came pouring in from several teams in the Caribbean and North America.

“Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname are very, very interested, while teams from Canada and the US would’ve also reached out to gather more details, inquire about hotels and so forth,” Toney revealed.

Several other major announcements will be made soon, including which local star will be performing on Friday, as well as unveiling the tournament’s official uniform supplier.

West Indies to welcome Ireland in January (CMC) - West Indies will welcome Ireland to the Caribbean at the start of next year for four white-ball matches, which are expected to lay the platform for an active 2022 international calendar.

Sabina Park in Jamaica will host three One-Day Internationals from January 8-14, and a one-off Twenty20 International on January 16 which is expected to serve as veteran left-hander Chris Gayle’s international farewell.

“We are looking forward to welcoming Ireland back to the West Indies in January. They last visited the Caribbean in 2020 and we had some exciting encounters, so we can anticipate a competitive series to start the new year,” said Cricket West Indies chief executive, Johnny Grave.

“This will be the start of a very busy year for us at CWI, as we host several international teams as well

as the ICC Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup. “We want to thank the Government of Jamaica and our colleagues at the Jamaica Cricket Association who have been working closely with us to make sure that the tour can take place safely and smoothly.”

The Ireland tour comes on the backdrop of a busy 2021 for West Indies when the region hosted the likes of Sri Lanka, South Africa, Australia and Pakistan in Tests and white-ball matches.

Last year, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic decimated CWI’s international home itinerary as Caribbean countries were forced into government-enforced lockdowns, while regional travel slowed to a crawl.

Naz Farrow, the CEO of title sponsors, CG Insurance, said the pandemic had created unprecedented challenges which all stakeholders had been forced to navigate.

“When we first began our partnership a few years ago, we would have never imagined that the teams, and the world, were about to face one of the biggest challenges of this generation,” he pointed out.

“Throughout the pandemic, we have been thrilled to see the players and teams work through the various obstacles to constantly deliver world-class cricket.

“Even now, as Ireland joins to play the ODIs in January, we are proud to continue to support CWI, and this series, and look forward to these exciting matches in 2022.”

Ireland’s last tour of the Caribbean came in January 2020 when they lost the ODI series 3-0 and drew 1-1 in the T20 phase.

West Indies are currently in Pakistan for a six-match white-ball series comprising three ODIs and three T20Is from December 13-22.

Dinar Trading sponsors GFF/ Kashif and Shanghai super-16 Dinar Trading has thrown its support behind the Guyana Football Federation-Kashif & Shanghai Super 16 Cup, becoming the latest company to sponsor the elite year-end competition.

Clifton Singh, Manager at Dinar Trading, one of Guyana’s leading gold, diamond and currency trading firms, presented the monetary donation to Aubrey “Shanghai” Major of the K&S Organisation on Friday.

“We are happy to welcome Dinar Trading on board for this incredible tournament,” Major said. “Support like this from corporate Guyana is vital for the successful delivery of the competition and we look forward to welcoming more partners into our team as we near kick-

off.”

Singh said Dinar Trading was proud of its long-term track record in supporting football competitions, and that the firm was happy to provide further resources for the development of sports in Guyana.

“As passionate football fans and proud sponsors of the sport, we are excited to see this GFF-K&S competition come to fruition as football returns to play,” Singh said. “ GFF president, Wayne Forde, thanked Dinar Trading for its contribution to the competition.

“On behalf of the GFF, I would like to praise Dinar Trading for providing this support. It is inspiring to see that corporate Guyana is really getting behind the GFF-

K&S Super 16 Cup,” Forde said. “We encourage more companies to partner with us as we roll out what promises to be a spectacular return to senior competition over the holiday season.”

The GFF-K&S Super 16 Cup is scheduled to be held over the period December 12 – January 1, the GFF Women’s Super 16 Festival 2021 to be held over the period December 11 – January 2 and the GFF-K&S Futsal Championship to be held over the period December 14 – January 8 will be played in venues across the country, including in Georgetown, Buxton, St Cuthbert’s Mission, Providence, Leonora, Linden, New Amsterdam, Bartica, and Essequibo.

Anderson to miss first Ashes test BBC - England fast bowler James Anderson is set to miss the first Ashes Test against Australia at the Gabba.

The tourists look likely to manage the workload of the 39-year-old, with the series now on course to include two day-night Tests.

Anderson's absence would then leave England with a decision on the balance of their attack.

They could opt for four frontline pace bowlers, or include the left-arm spin of Jack Leach.

That decision looks to hinge Ben Stokes' ability to play a full part with the ball.

Stokes has not played any meaningful cricket since July, so England could be reluctant to ask him to fill the role of a fourth seamer.

If Stokes is deemed fit enough to bowl his full quota of overs, it could open the door for Leach and leave pace bowlers Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood and Ollie Robinson vying for three places.

Doubts over the fitness of players have not been helped

by England's preparations, with rain limiting them to only two full days of action.

Anderson, England's alltime leading wicket-taker, managed only four overs during the last Ashes series in the UK in 2019 before being ruled out with a calf problem.

Writing in his newspaper column for the Telegraph, he said he was targeting playing three Tests on this tour, his fifth trip down under.

England will want to use his skills in the second, a day-nighter in Adelaide, which begins only four days after the first ends.

With the fifth Test being moved from Perth, a further pink-ball match looks set to

be added to the schedule.

England are looking to regain the Ashes, which Australia retained with a 2-2 draw in the UK in 2019.

The first Test begins on Wednesday 00:00 GMT with Alex Carey set to make his debut for Australia after being called into the squad as a replacement for Tim Paine.

England have not won at the Gabba since 1986, though Australia did surrender a 33-year unbeaten record on that ground when they lost to India in January.

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (Tuesday December 7, 2021)

COMPLIMENTS OF CUMMINGS ELECTRICAL COMPANY LTD 83 Garnett Street, Campbellville, Georgetown (Tel: 225-6158) Answers to yesterday’s quiz: (1) SL won 2-0 (2) Ramesh Mendis (SL) Today’s Quiz: (1) Which WI player scored most runs in the recent Test series against SL? (2) Which SL player made most runs in the recent Test series against the WI? Answers in tomorrow’s issue

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday December 7, 2021

ExxonMobil National Indoor Hockey Championships…

Pepsi Hikers, GCC Roulettes and Saints Sensations win classes

GBTI GCC Roulettes - Women's Division Winners

The Pepsi Hikers, GCC Roulettes and Saints Sensations all finished the hockey year on a high with victories in the three divisions of the ExxonMobil National Indoor Hockey Championships, the only local competition for the entire 2021.

The Men’s final showed some promise in the early minutes as, despite Hikers captain, Randy Hope’s early goal in the 3rd minute, Guyana 40s captain, Chris Low equalized five minutes later making the statement that the favourites, Hikers, were in for a genuine fight.

As the half progressed, the Hikers scored a pair more by Aroydy Branford and Jason Clarke. As the 40s tired, the Pepsi Hikers would re-emerge after a refreshing half-time and dominate the second half with a string of six unanswered goals.

MVP Jamarj Assanah led the charge with five goals of his own to complete the 9-1

victory for the Pepsi Hikers.

Abosaide Cadogan was unstoppable in the women’s final as she led the score sheet with five goals supported by tournament MVP, Leo Berlie, with a double.

The GBTI GCC Roulettes were relentless in their goal pursuit and managed a 7-1 victory over the GBTI GCC Spartans. While the Spartans put up a brave fight and the run-of-play was more closely matched than the scoreline, it was the clinical finishing of Cadogan and the high work-rate and skill level of Berlie that separated the teams. Spartans captain Gabriella Xavier connected with a pass from Marzana Fiedkou late in the match to salvage some pride with the lone goal of the match for the Spartans.

The Garnett brothers, Shomere and Tahrea, managed five of the six goals scored for Saints in their 6 – 2 drubbing of YMCA Old

Pepsi Hikers -- Men's First Division Winners

Fort. The final goal of the match was the most memorable moment as Tahrea sprinted up court on the left side, leaving the Old Fort defence in the dust before gently lifting the ball over the advancing goalkeeper, Paul D’Andrade, and into the net.

In the presentation after the conclusion of the three finals, the individual awards were: Second Division: Most Promising Player Federico Cush (GCC Pitbulls) Best Goalkeeper – Raol Whittaker (Saints) Women’s Division: Most Valuable Player – Leo Berlie (GBTI GCC Roulettes) Best Goalkeeper – Donyale Nurse (Saints) Men’s Division: Most Valuable Player – Ja-

marj Assanah (Pepsi Hikers) Best Goalkeeper – Anthony Cole (Guyana 40s) Full Results are as follows: MALE Division Final Pepsi Hikers defeated Guyana 40s by 9 - 0 Goals: Pepsi Hikers (9) – Jamarj Assanah 5, Randy Hope 1, Aroydy Branford 1, Jason Clarke 1, Robert France 1 Guyana 40s (1) – Chris LowKoan Pepsi Hikers defeated 50 Not Out by 11 - 0 Goals: Pepsi Hikers (11) – Aroydy Branford 4, Andrew Stewart 3, Jamarj Assanah 2, Jason Clarke 1, Shane Samuels 1 Guyana 40s defeated Bounty GCC by 4 - 3 Goals: Guyana 40s (4) – Devin Hooper 2, Dwayne Scott 1,

Brian Asregado 1 Bounty GCC (3) – Kareem McKenzie 1, Lennox Carrol 1, Kevin Spencer 1 FEMALE Division Final -- GCC Roulettes defeated GCC Spartans by 7 - 1 Goals: GCC Roulettes (7) – Abosaide Cadogan 5, Leo Berlie 2 GCC Spartans (1) – Gabriella Xavier 1 GCC Roulettes defeated GCC Ignite by 4 - 1 Goals: GCC Roulettes (4) – Abosaide Cadogan 1, Alysa Xavier 1, Leo Berlie 1, Shebiki Baptiste 1 GCC Ignite (1) – Makeda Harding 1 GCC Spartans defeated Saints by 4 - 1 Goals: GCC Spartans (4) – Marzana Fiedtkou 2, Gabriella Xavier 1, Madison Fernandes 1

Saints (1) –Nicole Eastman 1 MALE Second Division Final - Saints Scorpions defeated YMCA Old Fort by 6 - 2 Saints Scorpions (6) – Shomere Garnett 3, Tahrea Garnett 2, Shakeem Fausette 1 YMCA Old Fort (2) – Daniel Woolford 1, Theodore Thierens 1 YMCA Old Fort defeated Hikers Cadets by 5 – 0 Goals: YMCA Old Fort (3) – Shaquon Favorite 3 Hikers Cadets (1) – Jason Clarke 1 Saints Scorpions defeated GCC Pitbulls in a penalty shootout after a 2 – 2 draw Goals: Saints Scorpions (2) – Shomere Garnett, Tahrea Garnett 1 GCC Pitbulls (2) – Samuel Woodroffe 1, Meshach Sargeant 1

Guyana Amazon Jaguars new name for Guyana Jaguars Stemming from legal reasons, the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) has taken a decision to rename the country’s senior male franchise team, Guyana Jaguars, to the Guyana Amazon Jaguars.

Guyana Amazon Warriors is the country’s privately-owned franchise team that competes in the Caribbean Premier League.

This announcement was made on Saturday when the GCB held an in-depth press conference at Grand Coastal, East Coast Demerara.

According to GCB President, Bissoondyal Singh, Cricket Guyana Inc. (CGI), who previously managed the Jaguars, is a “private entity” and they still have not gained control over such and the corresponding accounts.

“It must be noted that in the other territories, CWI [Cricket West Indies] affiliate boards own the franchise company; this is not the case in Guyana, the Guyana Cricket Board does not own CGI, and this along with other reasons has caused the GCB to effect a name-change of

the national franchise team”, the GCB President explained at the press briefing which lasted over two hours.

Singh, who is also a CWI Director and sits on the Financial Committee, added, “we have asked Cricket West Indies to deal directly with the GCB and no third party.”

Now that the GCB has rebranded the team, they will issue new contracts to the players and appointed coaches, and potentially be able to soon access the Cricket Development fund.

CGI was created when

Cricket West Indies launched their Professional Cricket League for senior male FourDay and 50-over cricket.

CGI managed all the affairs of the Jaguars and subsequently started a local Academy in which players outside of the 15 contracted Guyana Jaguars players were paid monthly salaries from CGI. The players will brand the new name when they compete in the regional Four-Day Championship which commences in February 2022.

Players will now sport the name Guyana Amazon Jaguars instead of Guyana Jaguars on their attire

27

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday December 7, 2021

BCB hosts well-attended bowling clinic last weekend THE Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) held its bowling clinic specifically intended to target fast-bowlers and off-spinners, with a huge turnout on Sunday at the Albion Cricket Ground, Berbice.

The sessions were conducted by former Guyana/ West Indies Test pacer, Reon King and ex-Guyana/ Windies youth off-spinner turned cricket journalist, Sean Devers.

Close to 60 players attended the clinic which

bowled off at 11:00hrs under the guidance of a few national and Berbice coaches the likes of Winston Smith, Leslie Soloman and Balram Samaroo, who assisted the main facilitators.

The BCB handed over two special gifts to the visiting coaches, who both expressed their happiness at the way the BCB was conducting the affairs of Berbice Cricket.

While the BCB promised a more detailed release on their assessment

One of the coaches and former Guyana/Windies U-19 spinner, Sean Devers

BCB president Hilbert Foster speaking with the attendees

of the clinic in the near future, they neverthe-

less took the time to express their gratitude to

both King and Devers for their initial support of the

youth programme.

Saints - Second Division Winners

ExxonMobil National Indoor Hockey Championships…

Pepsi Hikers, GCC Roulettes and Saints Sensations win classes PAGE

26

Dinar Trading sponsors GFF/Kashif and Shanghai super-16 PAGE

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Clifton Singh presented the monetary donation to Aubrey ‘Shanghai’ Major TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2021