23rd August, 2022 TUESDAY No.106823 $100PRICEVATINCLUSIVE ' IDPADA-G press conference leaves more questions than answers $50M atcommissionedwellWakenaam –– 3,500 residents now able to access water 24 hours a day President, Dr. Irfaan Ali and GWI CEO, Shaik Baksh, test the water pressure at the new well at Noitgedacht, Wakenaam as Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues and others look on (Elvin Croker photo) Guyana records first monkeypox case –– country prepared, says President; don’t panic, urges health minister Regional security agency to assess Fagundes murder probe Cemetery Road to get four lanes –– enhancement works set for Independence Boulevard PAGE 02 PAGE 02 PAGE 04 PAGE 05 PAGE 03
Minister Juan Edghill addresses residents (Adrian Narine photos)
Cemetery Road to get four lanes –– enhancement works set for Independence Boulevard as part of a major facelift for South Georgetown
An artist’s impression of what Independence Boulevard will look like
Items recovered from the crime scene were also sent overseas for analysis and the GPF noted that it is still awaiting the results of that analysis to continue its investiga tions.
PRESIDENT, Dr Irfaan Ali, on Monday, con firmed that he has enlist ed the support from the Caribbean’s Regional Security System (RSS) to assess the investigation into the murder of Ricar do Fagundes also known as ‘Paper Shorts’. Speaking with report ers on the sideline of an event in Wakenaam, Re gion Three, the President said the RSS was engaged to bring an added level of independence to the inves tigation.“It’s about indepen dence. I’ve always said we are governing with transparency. So questions arise on the investigation and I reached out to RSS and we’ve asked them to send support to assess and evaluate what is taking place so far in the inves tigation and to give us their opinion. That is what they’re doing,” the Presi dentTheexplained.RSSwas created in 1982 out of a need for a collective response to security threats impacting the stability of the region in the late 70s and 80s. It focuses on the defence and security of the Eastern Caribbean region.
President, Dr. Irfaan Ali
getandplacesaid.”Iministerthegiven)ident,Meanwhilecommunity.anotherresGlendon(onlynamesaid,“Forme,Iknowannouncementsthatthemakes.IlikeitandappreciateeverythingheThemanadded:“Theneedstobedevelopednowweknowwegongoodroads”. However, for the feel of a safe environment, Glen don recommended that surveillance cameras be installed on the promenade once completed. “When putting in the lights, they need to put in cameras too for safety,” he said.
2 GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, August 23, 2022
legal proceedings against him for defamatory state ments, while the Guyana Police Force (GPF) has since discredited several of the allegations made by Bascom.Thepolice, in a state ment last Friday, said it is being assisted by an internationally recognised law enforcement agency in conducting the Ricardo Fagundes murder probe and that several tosincevisitedexperts/investigatorsforeignalsoCIDHQandhaveprovidedassistancelocalpolice.
Regional security agency to assess Fagundes murder probe
A popular gold deal er and biker, Fagundes, 42, was gunned down on Main Street, Georgetown, on March 21. Fagundes, who was a close associate of convicted drug dealer Roger Khan, was shot more than a dozen times. Since August 11, Bas com, in series of social media videos and state ments, has accused a local businessman, one of his security personnel and a senior police officer of having a hand in disrupt ing the investigations into Fagundes’ murder probe. Bascom’s allegations were made following his arrest days earlier during a Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) raid of a home in Norton Street, Georgetown. Bascom claimed that he believed his detention had to do with his work on the mur der BascomhavePoliceandsonnelMohammed,Goldinvestigation.dealerAzruddinsecurityperMarkRichmondSuperintendentofMitchellCaesarallsincewrittentoaboutinitiating
RESIDENTS of South Georgetown will soon see a decrease in traffic woes as works to upgrade the existing two-lane carriage way at Cemetery Road into four lanes are underway. This was, on Monday, announced by Public Works Minister, Juan Edghill, during the launch of en hancement works for Ceme tery Road and Independence Boulevard in Albouystown. Aside from the expan sion of Cemetery Road, the G$1.4B project includes the enhancement of Indepen dence Boulevard with the road being extended into three lanes and the estab lishment of a recreational promenade.Minister Edghill said the aim of the project is to align the community with the modernisation of the capital city and “Albouystowncountry. must move from being [a] shan tytown into being part of the development of the George town city as this country modernises,” Edghill said. “We are making this community attractive so your property value must go up. People will want to come and live in this neigh bourhood. When they come and see how it looks - green spaces for children to play, safe neighbourhoods - they will want to start moving in,” he Additionally,added. the minis ter disclosed that a fence will be erected at the La Repentir Cemetery which is necessary to facilitate the upgrading of the “Inroad.case somebody is concerned that you going into the burial ground, we are not digging up no grave, we are going to fence the burial ground with a proper fence on both sides,” Edghill said.Meanwhile, in Indepen dence Boulevard the en hancement project will see the erection of a double lane carriageway on the north ern side and a single lane on the southern side with a recreational promenade for residents and children. “Between those two car riageways, we are going to have [a] promenade, just like we did on Lamaha Street. It will be three meters wide and about just over 10 feet (ap proximately three meters). In that promenade, you will have all the necessary lights and the rest of it. On both sides of the road, we are putting in concrete drains,” he added.Tofacilitate the works along the boulevard, the minister said some utilities will have to be relocated. As such he pleaded with residents to be accommo dating during the period. Edghill also urged residents to remove derelict vehicles and buildings that do not belong on the boulevard. In welcoming the initia tive, one resident, Jacklyn Fordyce, who has lived in the community for almost 17 years said, “It’s a very good initiative and it will help the community a lot, enhancing the community and putting more value to the commu nity.”Miss Fordyce added that such a project is long over due and it will change the outlook of the
“I hope they are here as we speak because we have definitely communicat ed our eagerness to have this completed because I just want to push forward and deal with these chal lenges quickly and move the country forward,” the President said. Last Friday, Vice-Pres ident, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo said that President Ali was seeking external support in investigating the alle gations made by Police Sergeant, Dion Bascom about Fagundes’ murder.
“Theseinitiative.arethe invest ment that will transform lives that will improve your quality of life. These are the investments your government is willing to make on your behalf so you can enjoy that life,” Dr. Ali commented He added: “This wa ter facility here must be linked to something big ger, something that would not only give you a good supply of water, but lead to eventual economic prosperity of families. You must be excited to be part of the development and expansion growth of thisWithisland.”the well now commissioned, the island is now scheduled to get a water treatment facility next year that will further improve the quality of the water on the island. The $50M well is part of a wider developmen tal plan by government Other investments in in frastructure include fixing of roads, sea defences and provision of equipment to assist in drainage and irrigation.Housing and Water Min ister, Collin Croal, who also spoke at the event, pointed out that since assuming office two years ago, the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Government has significantly increased investment in the GWI. “By the time we are finished this year, GWI will see input of $10.2B. So the demand for access to clean water is heard in all communities,” Croal said.Croal also called on the residents to use the resource wisely.
PRESIDENT, Dr. Ir faan Ali, on whichdacht,$50McommissionedMonday,anewwellatNoitgeWakenaam, will benefit some 3,500 residents on the island in the Essequibo River. The well was complet ed by the Guyana Water Inc (GWI) in February.
“They used to rotate, so if one village get to day, another village will get the other day, so it would take a few days to come back to you. But now all the villages can get water,” commented 77-year-old retired head teacher, Leila that all of us on Wake naam will work to up keep this,” Mansarally said. The well was drilled to a depth of 340 feet, and has a pressure of 58 psi, which GWI Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Shaik Baksh noted is of the highest pressures for a well in the country. The well also has specific ca pacity of 27 cubic metres per hour, whereas most wells around the country has a capacity of 20 cu bic metre per hour. The specific capacity is the rate at which the well is being replenished. The well is estimated will last between 30 to 50 years.
President Ali , during his remarks, commended GWI on building the well on a conservative budget. He noted that the provi sion of better water supply on the island fits into the government’s agenda for the overall development of the country, and partic ularly in the development of infrastructure to support advancement in the food security
Prior to its operation, res idents on the island faced many water woes given that the two existing wells on the island were each over 40 years old. With the new well, residents on the island are now able to access water 24 hours per day.
“We need to ensure that we protect these as sets and use the water in a safe manner. Too often there is wastage, leakage and callous use of water delivered to residents,” Croal observed.
$50M well commissioned at Wakenaam
“This well can pro duce more water, about 200 per cent more water than is needed on this island. This one well is so high producing and the water can reach all over the island,” Baksh related. The price of the well was also half the custom ary cost for digging such a well, thanks to GWI for using its in-house ca pabilities to dig the well instead of outsourcing the task to private contractors.
GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, August 23, 2022 3
thishisthankqualitygoingthatnowaresometimessometimesgetpipetimestainedcomparedmuchtap,teredentirelivedMansarally,Mansarally.whohasontheislandherlife,alsocommendthequalityofthewacomingthroughthewhichshenotedwasimprovedwhentowhatobbefore.“Wehavecomevery,veryfarway.Longagowhenyougetthewateryoucouldn’tuseit.Someyouhavetoopentheandsetlittlebowlstowater,itwouldcomeinatrickleandnotatall.Wegettingbetterqualityandwearethankfulweheardthatwearetogetevenbetteryet.WewanttothegovernmentandCabinetandGWIforgestureandwepray
A section of the gathering at the commissioning of the well in Wakenaam on Monday (Carl Croker photo)
The Health Minister said, “We have prepared for it. Our team is on the ball. They have been able to detect this, and we’re now working to treat the patient. The patient is stable, and we will continue working with that patient to make sure that everything is fine.”Headded that the min istry has already placed an order for some monkeypox vaccines which is currently in high demand across the world. The ministry he said has been working with the Pan American Health Or ganisation (PAHO) to source same.Dr. Anthony went on to say that the hope is to have that first set of vaccines here within another Monkeypox,month.according to the WHO, is a virus which is transmitted to humans with symptoms similar to those seen in smallpox patients. The virus can be spread through animal to human transmission, and through direct contact with blood and other bodily fluids. Human-to- human transmission can result from close contact with respiratory secretions or le sions of an infected person.
Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony
–– ‘country prepared’, President Ali assures; ‘stay calm’, Health Minister urges
President Ali also con firmed that the family of the man who is Guyana’ s first case was already tested, and will be isolated even as con tact tracing will take place. According to the Health Minister, a lot of surveillance personnel at various borders and healthcare facilities in the country have already been trained to detect the virus. To this end, he men tioned that the ministry has been working along with the Pan-American Health Organ isation (PAHO), and through this collaboration, many per sons were sent abroad for training and have returned and shared their knowledge to healthcare staff here.
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It was revealed that this patient does not have a recent travel history. He started developing signs of the Mon keypox and showed up at the hospital.“We have since isolated the patient. So, that patient is now in an isolated area at the Ocean View Hospital, and that patient is stable and is doing very well,” Minister Anthony said. He mentioned that some amount of contact tracing was done as persons who were in contact with the in fected man were already contacted and are currently in quarantine.Meanwhile, President, Dr. Irfaan Ali on the side lines of an event on Monday, mentioned that Guyana has had systems in place since the announcement of the Monkeypox outbreak by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a public health emergency of international concern in July. “We had the systems in place, so I’m very confident the Ministry of Health will be dealing with this. As a mat ter of fact, we have already ordered, some time ago, the vaccines although they are in very limited supply,” the PresidentPresidentsaid. Ali went on to say that the system at the Ocean View facility has already been activated and with the confirmation of this first case, there will be greater monitoring.Hewent on to add that at this time there will be no restrictions put in place as he mentioned that there is no need for those, calling instead for persons to be responsible.
Guyana records first Monkeypox case
GUYANA has recorded its first confirmed case of the Monkeypox virus with the first infected person already placed in institutional iso lation. This first case was con firmed on Monday by Min ister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony in a recorded state ment.He noted that over the last weekend, there was a suspected case of monkeypox as the individual presented with all the clinical signs of the Thedisease.case was confirmed as health officials were able to collect samples and do the required testing here. The index case was iden tified as a male from Region Four (Demerara- Mahaica) who is currently in his 50s.
IDPADA-G press conference leaves more questions than answers
The organisation was founded in 2018 during the David Granger led coali tionDuringgovernmentthepress con ference, Chairman of ID PADA G , Vincent Al exander , stated that the organisation is not one that is generally funded to provide grants He said, however, that in 2018 they received a sum of $10 million from the Ministry of Finance for grants Those grants, he continued, were disbursed between 2018 and 2019 Alexander maintained, in face of strong criticism, that the staff at the organi sation, which accounts for a large portion of the over all annual budget which appears to be 100 per cent funded through govern ment subvention, is paid to give service to the Af ro Guyanese community.
THE Guyanese taxpayer is still in the dark as it relates to how the Inter national Decade for Peo ple of African Descent Assembly - Guyana (ID PADA G ) organisation has utilized close to half a billion dollars in gov ernment funding over a period of five years. The organization , on Monday , hosted a press conference as they scram bled to respond to disclo sures by Vice President , Dr . Bharrat Jagdeo that although it received $468 million for a period, it still cannot demonstrate how Afro Guyanese benefit ted
GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, August 23, 2022 5
The Vice President , on Friday last, noted that the organisation has never submitted a work plan to the Ministry of Culture , Youth and Sport, adding that the last financial state ment that was submitted was for the year 2020 That statement showed that a significant portion of the budgeted funds went to overhead expenses while less than $500,000 covered direct disbursements to Guy anese.
Chairman of IDPADA-G,AlexanderVincent
“Every cent of IDPA DA-G’s subvention or other revenue is spent in service to the African Guyanese community, indirectly as in the case of salaries or di rectly through programmes, projects, engagements, and financial assistance,” Alex anderFurthersaid. to this , the Chairman told those at the conference that IDPA DA G is a not for profit company, and the directors were the executive mem bers when the company wasThesefoundedpersons, he said, are volunteers and are not in receipt of any material benefits from the compa ny However, he added that the organisation , also in 2020, had expended $42 million on salaries He said that when persons visit the organisation and possibly request assistance with project proposals among other things, a “salaried” person does that work This, he said, is service to the community through the employees who are in direct contact with the communityInaddition to this, ID PADA G’s Chief Execu tive Officer, Olive Samp son, stated that the organ isation also awards small grants to support activities within the community in cluding market days and support with education For capacity building exercises , Sampson re vealed that the organisa tion expended $22,386,555 in 2018 ; $ 44,324,848 in 2019; and $11,762,671 in 2020As it relates to the scholarships and tuition assistance for secondary and tertiary levels , they expended $ 1,879,036 in 2018; $2,083,751 in 2019; and $1,846,140 in 2020. Among the expenditures of the company, in 2021 it was stated that IDPADA-G conducted a flood-relief survey to the tune of some $4.9 million which, it said, reached some 3,868 per sons. The CEO of the or ganisation mentioned that the purpose of this survey was to address the “dis parities” in the flood-relief distribution.Meanwhile, in response to the press conference , Vice President , Bharrat Jagdeo, stated that Alex ander ’ s attempt at “ de flecting” from the misuse of government funding has left more questions than answersInthe statement , the Vice President said that what was shocking was the revelation that some $ 4 million was spent on a survey which, he said, amounted to another ex ample of misuse of the fundsVice President Jagdeo, in the statement said, “In spite of all of Alexan der’s ramblings today, Af ro Guyanese still remain in the dark as it relates to the benefits of the close to half a billion dollars utilized.” As such , Dr Jagdeo asked for the organisation to provide further details as it relates to how many persons benefitted from the capacity training that was mentioned along with the process used to select trainers and beneficiaries of sameThe VP further asked how much of the $100M allocated in 2019 and $68M in 2018 were spent on paying salaries along with who are the individu als that were paid and how they were Additionallyselected,he called on IDPADA G to provide answers as to why the company was registered as a private limited liability company instead of a not for profit organisation
Why the vocal NGOs are silent on Norton’s threat to the GECOM Chair?
Dear Editor, BY his admission, Aubrey Norton has spent a lifetime in politics and should sure ly know that the leadership of the People’s National Congress is an important office in our country; it is therefore bewildering to witness the level of ignorance Norton demonstrates with his threats to the Chair of the Guyana Elections Commission, Jus tice Claudette Singh (R’td). “And there are many things we can do to put the pressure on the elections commission and Claudette Singh. But we had first given her the opportunity to tender her resigna tion as a decent judge.” Claudette Singh’s response to Norton was succinct but the si lence of ‘civil society organisations begs for explanation’.
The attempts by Alexander to justify that IDPADA-G is not a grants organisation was even more worrying considering the large amounts of money provided to the body, that Alexander admitted during the press conference operated more as an umbrella or ganisation for other African descent interest groups in Guyana. Even more astonishing is that with such an already herculean task of having to account for the hundreds of millions allocated to it, and demonstrate how its sole target population benefitted, the organisation is opting to request an increase to $158 million per year of that subvention that already stands at $100 million per year.
6 GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, August 23, 2022
Any ‘fit and proper’ legally appointed GECOM Chair cannot be removed from of fice except by choosing to resign or death; it is much the same as a Supreme Court Justice in the United States and in my opinion, a threat to Chairman Singh should be treated with the same seriousness as one to a US Supreme Court Judge. In a world’s first and much to the surprise of many, Policy Forum has self-anointed itself an ‘umbrella body’ for NGOs in Guyana; this clears up the sharing of address and phone numbers with that body and McCormack’s GHRA and The Ursuline Sisters and maybe the collective/selective silence of these organisations on Norton’s threat to GECOM’s Chair and by extension, Democracy in Guyana.
IDPADA-G must do more to demonstrate how its target population benefitted from taxpayer monies.
Alexander repeatedly refused to respond to questions as to why other organisations did not receive funding through IDPADA-G, saying, instead, that the focus on his organi sation was to organise activities to benefit the target population, and mobilise their target population to access services. The press con ference leaves quite a number of questions unanswered. The allegation that $42 million was spent annually on staffing for the body seems to have quite a few truths behind it, for an organisation that has approximately 20 full-time staff members. Alexander admitted that the organisation’s salaries amounted to $42 million for a particular year. Additionally, as far as its claim to suc cess is concerned, the organisation’s Chief Executive Officer, Olive Sampson, said $4.9 million was spent on a survey to identify persons in communities who had not yet received government assistance in late 2021 after a flood. There must be wider probing of the spending practises, especially since it was admitted that approximately 50 per cent of the annual subvention was spent on operations alone.
IDPADA-G’s almost half a billion dollars
If the organisation has based its budget lines on the public sector model, it ran the risk of being unsustainable if not guaranteed a fund ing source. That funding source, however, cannot be the public purse.
In his attempt to outline the areas which IDPADA-G worked, Alexander said these include “education and training, disaster re sponse, public education, entrepreneurial fa cilitation and youth development”. Much of these were soft-skills related and resulted in very little direct benefit to the communities.
Considering the work of the organisation, there’s a likelihood that there were quite a few duplications of services already offered by the public system as some of its pro grammes reflected work either already done by public agencies or, by all indications, still required technical support of persons within the public sector in order to deliver on the “capacity building”. These sessions, in turn, appears to be the dominant programme activity invested in by the organisation, ac counting for $78 million spent between 2018 to 2020. It is, therefore, still to be answered on how training was facilitated, who were paid to facilitate these trainings, how many persons benefitted from the trainings, what were the costs associated for these trainings, and, were the outputs and outcomes realised.
In his remarks, the IDPADA-G’s Chair man, Vincent Alexander, on Monday, said that the organisation’s salary-to-over all-budget ratio is more in line with the salary-to-current-expenditure ratio utilised in Guyana’s public sector. Interestingly, one would think that IDPADA-G operates within the third sector, civil society, and would budget internally based on the idea that its funding sources are never guaranteed as compared to the public sector which is guar anteed funding through the national budget.
Editor, every election cycle sees the emer gence of new and/or dormant political parties, all eager to contest for various reasons, it is odd that none of these groups of concerned citizens has seen fit to condemn the PNC’s Norton; wither the party of doctors or hotel proprietors? Wither Ralph and Timmy? There may be no glamorous self-serving photo ops in standing up for/with GECOM’s Chair on this occasion but the value of this vital autonomous agency to democratic free dom in Guyana should not be judged by such frivolous yardsticks. Political activism is not only about elections and aspiring to office, it should be about making Guyana a better place for all to live, without threats from Aubrey Norton or anyone else.
THE persons behind the organisation calling itself the International Decade for People of African Descent Assembly –Guyana (IDPADA-G) attempted a monu mental feat on Monday to justify how $468 million of public funds from the period of 2018 to 2022 were spent. These are public funds allocated to the organisation through the national budget by way of a subvention from a government ministry.IDPADA-G opted for a one-hour and 23-minute press conference where a head-ta ble mixture of technical officers and com mittee members provided mostly anecdotal evidence of impact on the communities they supported, which later culminated in a four-page document with brief numbers attempting to justify how the monies were spent. Questions still abound. The clamour to justify the multi-year expenditure comes after damning allega tions from Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo on Friday that the organisation was yet to show how it expended public monies given to it over the last four years to support people of African descent, which appears to be the organisation’s target population. It is now public record that more than $42 million was spent by the organisation on salaries alone based on financial documents which were shared with the government upon request.
YoursRobinsincerely,Singh
Many are quick to take offence at crit icism of ‘Civil Society’ organisations and label this as attacking the messenger, or in a case like this the lack of message, but bias must be called out and silence often speaks volumes. Consider what the response from these ‘impartial’ organisations would be if the PPP/C responded to Norton’s threats with a strong statement of defence such as “touch one hair on the Chair’s head” … need I say more?
The IDPADA-G was housed for some time in a Regent Street, Georgetown building which is now where the Office of the Leader of the Opposition is located. IDPADA-G has been relocated to a North Road, Georgetown building where former President Desmond Hoyte once called his home. Who owns the Regent Street property and how much money was spent on rental there? Why was the organisation regis tered as a private company rather than as a Friendly Society as other not-for-profit organisations? Was government’s funding the only source of funding for IDPA DA-G? If not, what percentage of the or ganisation’s overall operations were paid for directly by Guyanese taxpayers who are yet to benefit from this arrangement?
4)“Weentrepreneurship.willexhaust all efforts to ensure everyone is fully briefed,” assured Floyd Haynes. If only Raphael Trotman had adopted that approach before signing that lopsided oil agreement!
35) Speed or spin, Mr. Nandlall cleared the boundary with, “The magistrates with in the system are not proceeding with the matter with the seriousness and expediency in which they should, having regard to the importance of the matter and having regard to the length of time the matters are pending before them.” And the canary sings about the “royalty of loyalty!” Guess, Burnham’s flag is still fluttering high!
24) “He knows politics well as a former Minister of Home Affairs, so I expect him to bring his institutional knowledge here,” GECOM Chair, Claudette Singh beamed. Hats off to Mr. Clement Rohee on his ap pointment as a GECOM Commissioner.
The PPP/C Government in its first two years in office has outclassed what the PNC Government did in their five years in office from 2015 to 2020. The PPP/C Government can boast about action in action. The PNC brags about action in inaction.
19)President Ali told the residents of Orella and Siparuta: “You have in this government a team that is ready to embrace you, realising those aspirations.” And the people replied, “We are with you. You have our support. We are behind you 100 per cent.” The PPP/C Party hit the ground running from day one in office and has not stopped to pause for breath. They do not wait to visit the hinterland only at election time like the PNC and to make countless, false20)Khemrajpromises.
33)President Ali told the gathering in TT, “You can look forward to a very action able platform through which this relation ship will advance and develop.”
16)Berbice is referred to as the Ancient County, shortly to be renamed the Modern County; Essequibo is referred to as the Cinderella County; Demerara is referred to as the Garbage City from the known Garden City, thanks to all the mayors, past and17)“Letpresent.whoever will win rule us.” No, not words from Granger but from a Kenyan, Daniel18)“ForgiveChepkwony.them Lord for they know not what they do,” said Nicaraguan Car dinal Brenes. He may as well be referring to the infamous eight suspended Coalition MPs.
31) “I hold firm to the belief that the previous administration acted in total disre gard for citizens, whose tax-paying dollars could have been used more wisely,” Min ister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill exclaimed. As the glaring and disturbing evidence was presented, Guyanese have the opportunity of being the judge, jury and executioner.32)“The thought of oil money floating around has been creating exaggerated ex pectations by Guyanese who have begun to show impatience and want their years-long nagging problems, fixed almost immedi ately,” wrote former UG senior sociology lecturer, Dr. Tara Singh. The shrewd PPP/C Government will not encourage or indulge in any fly-by-night programme to resolve issues and remedy any malady.
7) Tiffany Johnson, co-founder of Amazon’s Black Business Accelerator commented, “And I am really glad I did because, now I am here… and who knows what is to come next.” Like they say, “The best is yet to come.”
14)The Honourable Attorney-General, Mr. Anil Nandlall was very explicit, ex plosive and exasperated when he declared, “The government will not leave the incom petent Georgetown M&CC to handle the case, because should the SCS win, the com pany can levy on City Hall. His Lordship, the Mayor, continues to hang an albatross around his neck proudly, pompously and portentously!15)H.E.the President of Guyana, Dr. Irfaan Ali reflected at the passing of Bibi Shadick MP: “She knew this day would eventually come and she structured her life and her work always in preparation for this day.” The PNC thought that they will remain forever in power. They never imag ined that they will not draw first blood in the management of the revenue from the oil industry. They were busy building castles in the air and shopping until the bottom of the bucket dropped out on 5Th August, 2020.
Dear Editor, THE week in Guyana began on a sad note with the passing of PPP/C Mem ber of Parliament, Bibi Shadick. On a prospective note, plans by DDL for an US$18M dairy plant at Soesdyke-Linden was announced and Pooran Brothers is to invest in a $300M sand/loam mining project in Essequibo. US manufactur er, Chemtech, is anticipating to invest US$200M in a port facility project as the horses kicked off at the Rising Sun Turf Club last Sunday. As ‘Silica City’ gets going with the clearance of 185 acres of land, President Ali flew to Trinidad & Tobago to partake in the launching of the EU-Guyana chamber of Commerce. Congratulations to Amel Griffith for winning the ‘Miss Jamzone’ crown. The roaring sound of the high tuned engines and the fast speed of the flying cars will occupy the ears and eyes of motor fans at the GMR&SC Int. car racing event on Sunday. Others will lay back and retreat on the weeks developments as captured below:
29)“Moreover, I completely reject the phrase ‘resisting the emerging apartheid state’ to describe conditions in Guyana. In my view, this statement is a disservice to all Guyanese, as such, I wish to categorically disassociate myself from it,” banker and financial expert, Floyd Haynes clarified. Ouch, that has to hurt the Opposition in all the wrong places! Racial insinuation will not be tolerated by any sober-minded person.30)“We can’t have our people going to Suriname to spend three days to get a travel document to come back. It’s non sense! Absolutely ridiculous,” President Ali protested. Guyana’s President opens his mouth and puts his foot down in order to drive home his point.
Finally, he has the blessings of Norton to use the “R” word.
3)“We have to give people a chance to either succeed or fail,” Minister within the Ministry of works, Mr. Deodat Indar remarked on the commissioning of Pixels Guyana East Bank project. The PPP/C Government does allow equal opportunity for
11) Former Finance Minister opinioned, “Government is spending the oil money like wildfire and rushing the development of the oil...” Guru ji, if the PNC was in power, that government would have done one thousand times worse and you know it. It would have been “Déjà vu,” i.e., spending the money to pamper only the chosen few to live and enjoy “the good life” while the small man become the smaller man. The boys are missing out and hurting on the 100 per cent salary increase which was in the pipe
GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, August 23, 2022 7
1) “It is about your energy, youth, inspiration, ideas and how we can listen to see how you would like the world to be,” British High Commissioner, Jane Miller told the Youth Parliament participants. The world must not be seen through the eyes of the rebellious eight Coalition MPs.
34) The Attorney-General took a swing and found the meat of the bat: “I have ex pressed my concern about the pace at which these cases are being dealt with in the Mag istrates’ Court, or the lack of pace.” There is no hope of, Roberts to Holding, but, despair of, turtle to snail!
21) “It’s an exciting time to be in Guy ana,” remarked the EEPGL President, Mr. Routledge. Indeed, cricket is in the air and it creates that magical moment of enthusiasm!
6)“The National Toshaos Council wishes to state that the case referred to is misleading and does not represent the true situation, as Guyana has one of the more sophisticated process of securing land rights for Amerindian peoples,” Derrick John had previously informed the UN Permanent Forum. Who is minding the store?
25) “So, we need to have a staff that reflects what Guyana looks like and this is going to be extremely important,” newly appointed Commissioner, Clement Rohee reminded Guyana. The pleading voice of a local language speaks about an ailing and ancient affliction plaguing a mischievous and modern management. Induce a formula, less PNC’s math, so that the scale can be balanced in order to fix it now, not fumble it later.26) “When the time comes, I will leave,” responded GECOM Chair, Claudette Singh, calmly and dismissively ignoring Norton, the man who wants to be king without a flock in no man’s land! 27) “When you listen to him speak about his policies, you realise that this man is in ‘la’ land; he is dreaming; he is not living in reality because every single thing he says, they did the very opposite when they were in government,” chided the Attorney-Gen eral in rebuking Norton’s absurdity! Is there a “Lost and Found” agency?
Jenella Pollard is all smiles, winning Miss Region 10 pageant. Keesha St. John and Bayeeshmaal Ramsundar are smil ing away after being awarded Fullbright Scholarships at universities in the US. Aldo smiled as the winner of the One-Mile trophy.Eileen Richards, a livestock farmer from Den Amstel, is smiling at 90 not out. Six-year-old Aden Persaud is back home smiling, after recovering from his illness.
Lieutenant Terence De Peana will engineer his way to a Romanian schol arship. Ten beauties will be smiling for the Miss World Guyana. Do light up, not with a cigarette, but with George Eliot’s, “Wear a smile and have friends, wear a scowl and have wrinkles.”Yours respectively,JaiLall
Ramjattan back peddles as he admits to his former administration’s errors in agreeing to the terms in the oil contract. The AFC Leader confessed, “We should support the government in any of its renegotiating process for a better deal…”
23) “They weren’t bloated. They were legally there,” GECOM Chair, Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh cautioned the Opposition in their scandalous accusation about any bloated voters’ list!
Norton going south and other matters
5)“It is really to determine the validity of the costs claimed or the claimed costs,” the head of the audit consortium said. Inter jections are many: Witch hunt, Got ya, See, or, I told you so. But the “let’s wait and see” may serve its realistic purpose.
8)Canadian High Commissioner, Mr. Mark Berman sited, “Indigenous People have been the custodians of a vault of knowledge on the environment, arts, foods, medicines and traditions, to name a few, that we must preserve as we focus on a pathway to learning, respect and reconcili ation. Giving due respect where it is owed!
13)A Haitian Pastor commented, “The Bahamas is not America. In America, there isn’t any retaliation once you talk….” He can safely include Guyana alongside Amer ica. The PPP/C Government applauds, ap proves and appreciates all and sundry when they are vociferous. Freedom of speech is guarantee and encouraged without any fear or favour. Uncle Freddy is very liberal, sympathetic and inclusive in describing and analysing the many civic (civil?) societies comprising Guyana’s community: some masquerading as a single person; others aspired to be “lunatic fringe”; the “usual suspects” are openly veiled behind closed doors; the “Creole Middle Class” wants to be noticed and pampered; and … okay, to be an all-inclusive and impartial event… the PNC… is haunting, hurting and hege monic?
28)“More importantly, I am a firm supporter of His Excellency, the President of Guyana and I am absolutely convinced that it is not part of the President’s agenda to create any disparity based on race,” ex plained Floyd Haynes. Most people can still think for themselves and not be influenced by the Coalition’s illusion.
12)Guyanadream! President (ExxonMobil), Mr. Alistair Routledge surmises, “Yes, some people have criticised bundling, but it actually serves a very useful function in cascading opportunities...” Guyana has a popular proverb, “Careful who you tie bundle with.” A bundle can be a weight to fetch.
10)The VP expostulates, “On the one hand, you see Rystad Energy and Exxon trying to prove that they are the best thing for Guyana, which is not so. The contract was bad, we have to change it in the future but we are not going to renegotiate now.” A silver lining with a sliver of hope?
9) “We all forgot about the parking me ter projects. Well, the company that was re sponsible has not forgotten,” reminded the Attorney General. Thanks former Mayor Patricia Chase-Green for putting George town in a bigger and deeper hole.
22)Playing offense, India remains on 75 Not Out and Pakistan playing supportively also on 75 Not Out, as, Guyana on the de fense, joins them on 56 Not Out.
East Bank commuters are smiling with their four new LED screens commissioned by Leonard Gildharie, providing real-time viewing of the traffic flow. Dayvishanie Naipaul is dancing her way to India on a three-year scholarship and six more young ones will familiarise themselves on another trip.
2)Carlos Silveira held up a sign in Brazil which read, “The military doesn’t count votes.” Guyana will not forget when Burn ham ordered the Army to seize ballot boxes. Many PPP supporters died in defense of the ballot boxes and defiance of such illegali ties. The PNC Party and current members are still proud of such infamous acts.
shipEmancipation,tionstruthday’ssimplytotoAgainstmentsourouringouractionscallyhomagewrongIndians,AfricansdescendantsaribbeanisandCOLONIALISM’SBousquetlongeverlastingfootprintstillsodeepintheCapsychethatwe,ascommunityofmajorityofenslavedandIndenturedstillseenothingincontinuingtopaytoandmechanirememberactsandthatgrindagainstownhistory,fromhonthosewhosubjectedfore-parentstoeleofTheWorstCrimeHumanityknownHumankind(Slavery),celebratingholidaysthathavenoplaceintoCaribbeanquestforaboutandReparaforSlavery,Abolition,ApprenticeandIndentureship.
By Earl Bousquet
Chronicles of a ChronicChroniclerGuyana
By Earl
August
Take the observance of August 1st as Emancipation Day in the (British) Com monwealth Caribbean. This colonial holiday has been observed for as long as any Caribbean person alive can remember, but most not really understanding why it wasButdeclared.since1998, the Unit ed Nations (through UNE SCO) has been calling for observance of August 23 as the International Day for Remembering Trans-Atlantic Slavery and its Abolition Ca ribbean Community (CAR ICOM), a call governments have absolutely ignored. Why the UNESCO call? Because our infatuation with the August 1 holiday has blinded too many to too many facts about Emanci pation and slavery that ought to be known to better under stand where we stand today, what we should really ob serve on August and whether it should be a celebration.
August 23, 1791 observes the date of the start of the Haitian Revolution that led to independence in 1804 and made Haiti – a Caribbean nation -- the first in the world to outlaw slavery and guaran tee that any enslaved person who lands on its shores will be free.British West Indians and now Caribbean people have, for 88 years, been made to believe August 1 was the date Slavery ended in the BritishButEmpire.freedom was con ditional for the enslaved, who had to still slave for another four years for their same masters, on the same plantations, through appren ticeship, which was more of a ruse to find time and ways to replace slave labour with Indian labour through Inden tureship.Generations of Caribbean people’s interpretations of transatlantic slavery have been framed from school days by British colonial his tory books like ‘Nelson’s West Indian History’ and ‘New Worlds To Conquer’ that made British colonialism look and sound good. On the other hand, noth ing was ever taught in co lonial history books about the significance of August 23 to Caribbean, African and world history as the date of the start of the end of Trans Atlantic Slavery, which, through Chattel Slav ery, legally reduced African humans to private property after kidnap/capture in their own homeland, insured for the risky passage across the Atlantic, sold by auction on arrival and forced to slave on estates for the rest of their short lives. It is because of the par ticularly brutal nature of TransAtlantic Slavery that the colonial historians paint ed it as a Great Triangle with a Middle Passage that Europe invented instead of the trian gular trade of death it really was – and why Emancipation Day was sold as a day the en slaved automatically became free thanks to the mercies of the British theintradition’sed’havesixgovernments,Successivemonarch.Caribbeanoverthepastdecadesofindependence,traditionally‘celebratAugust1,ifonlyforsake,mostcitizensCARICOMnationsusingholidayforreasonsother than finding out what the hol iday really represents. But August 23 ought to be explained in Caribbean histo ry texts today as the date that not only started the process that led to the establishment of the world’s first Black Republic, but also legally and institutionally ended the TransAtlantic slave trade and showed enslaved people and the enslavers – worldwide –that freedom is possible and slavery can be outlawed. The Europeans combined to kill the Haitian revolution, after which France punished Haiti by demanding 150 mil lion French Gold Francs (US $21 Billion today) as repa rations for losses of proper ty (land and slaves) by the French planters, which Haiti started paying in 1825 and only ended in 1947.
Why 23 is more important to History than Emancipation Day!
Haiti’s history is part of CARICOM’ s and its his torical achievements also belong to the region and should therefore be shared and highlighted, promoted and defended with regional pride.But alas, that’s just not so. Governments have had a very long time – 24 years since the UN’s call -- to (at least) observe August 23, to correct the historical anoma ly of still paying blind tribute to a purely colonial holiday –and for all the wrong reasons. More needs to be done to better explain what Eman cipation, Apprenticeship, Abolition and Indentureship really meant to Britain and Europe, vis-à-vis the eternal contribution of what started in 1791 in Haiti (two years after the French Revolution of 1789) to the eventual abo lition of slavery worldwide.
The process of rewriting the Caribbean’s true history is ongoing one, but must not only be left to historians and publishers.Thirstfor knowledge is eternal and never quenched, so those who know more must share more with Carib bean people, who are now -- more than ever – waking up to the fact that we know less of what we should know more about us. Our long slumber was not our fault. But it is entirely our responsibility to learn, teach and share more about who we really are as Caribbean people, because, as has been said and sang, taught and reminded by so many, none but ourselves can free our minds from the mental slav ery inherited and sustained over generations. In this time when the UN is encouraging the world to learn more about people of African and In dian descent, governments must start thinking of treating and explaining Emancipation and Indian Arrival Days for what they really were, while giving appropriate regional recog nition to August 23.
August 1, 1834 is an im portant date in the calen dar of Britain’s role in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and the holiday is/was meant to celebrate Emancipation of Slaves on that day.
Caribbean
8 GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, August 23, 2022
Guyanese
Senator Joseph Addabbo (fifth left) with members of the Guyanese community
By Vishnu Bisram
Another is challenging an established incumbent in Queens in the greater Little Guyana neighbour hood He is expected to go down in OtherdefeatGuyanese are also involved in the elec tion – fundraising for can didates and/ or engaged in grassroots campaigning Several Guyanese are en gaged in phone banking, door knocking, and liter ature distribution on the streets and house to house A group of Indian Guy anese organised a fund raiser on the evening of August 11 at a Richmond Hill Guyanese restaurant where they endorsed Sen ator Joseph Addabbo for re election . The event was organised by well known real estate broker and community advocate, Romeo Hitlall The Guyanese com munity has consistently supported Addabbo His district encompasses ar eas where thousands of Indo Guyanese are settled, including parts of Lit tle Guyana, Woodhaven, Howard Beach and Ozone, amongSenatorothersAddabbo , a former NYC Council man, was first elected to the Senate in 2008 He is seeking re election for the eighth two year terms Addabbo has been a good supporter of the Indi an Caribbean community He has done work in the Senate for the district to access high quality public services and has stood on the side of Indians during crisisCommunity advocate and organiser, Romeo Hit
New Yorkers urged to vote today
lall said : “ Senator Joe Addabbo has been a con sistent advocate for our community His work doesn’t go unnoticed He was there condemning the attack on the Gandhi statue The community has concerns and they feel Addabbo will listen and work on our behalf and on behalf of the people of the district We know he will continue to be a champion of ourThecommunity.”attendees,includ ing businessman, Bhola Ramsundar, at the fund raiser, said they are proud to endorse him and look forward for his contin ued service in the district They note that Senator Addabbo has proven time and again that he is a tire less community advocate. Addabbo said he is honoured to have the endorsement of members of the Indian Caribbean American community and commits to champi oning their causes.
GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, August 23, 2022 9
TUESDAY is Prima ry Election Day for the House of Representative of the US Congress and seats to New York State Senate (NYS) and Guy anese are urged to come out and vote. Polls open at 06:00 hours and closes at 21:00 hours Primary election selects the candidate or nominee for a position for a party The nominees of each party face off in the November ballot, the first Tuesday of the month. A few Guyanese are on the ballot for NYS Senate One from Brook lyn is coasting to victory
10 GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, August 23, 2022
Two Guinness Book of World Records: most number of flags flown simultaneous ly at an event and largest ensemble of the damaru, the twin-headed drum at the event. FIA Chairman, Ankur Vaidya said that these re cords are dedicated to the global Indian community. At the end of the pa rade route, there was a food festival and a cultural programme of songs and dances on a huge stage on 25th Street. acknowledged at India Day Parade in New York
GUYANA was acknowl edged at India’s 75th In dependence anniversary parade held in mid-town Manhattan between 38th and 27th Street on Mad ison Ave, New York, last Sunday. The parade attracted some 200,000 onlookers of varied nationalities and eth nicities, including many Guy anese and other Caribbean people.Itwas graced by the Mayor Eric Adams; Prime Minister, Gaston Browne of Antigua and Barbuda; pop ular actor of Bollywood and Tollywood (Telugu films), Ally Arjun; and Miss Uni verse, Harnaaz Sandhu (who won the 71st edition of the global contest earlier this year).The popular actor and Miss Universe Sandhu were cheered on the parade route. The parade was broadcast live on TV and FB. The India Independence parade is the largest gath ering of Indians outside of India.At Sunday’s parade, Guy ana was represented by Fazal Joe Yussuff from the Con sulate who brought greetings from President, Dr Irfaan Ali. Yussuff saluted India on her 75th anniversary and applauded her achievements. The emcee cheered the his torical and cultural ties and close relations between Guy ana and PrimeIndia.Minister Browne, who was a special guest, said India is a trailblazer in independence of colonial territories. He congratulated India for this achievement and the Indian diaspora for its contributions to development worldwide.Theparade is usually held on a Sunday right after Au gust 15 or on the date itself if it is a Sunday. Sunday’s was the 40th edition of the celebration. The parade was planned and organised by the Federation of Indian As sociations. It began in 1981, an idea of the late Indian patriot Yash Pal Soi, who was also the architect behind the founding of the FIA. This writer was at the inaugural parade in 1981 distributing handouts on authoritarian abuses in Guyana.
Guyana
GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, August 23, 2022 11
Moreover, during the period 2006 – 2014, capital expenditure accounted for 41 per cent of total expenditure in 2006 and 2007 and averaging 32.3 per cent for the period 2008 – 2012. In 2015, this trend changed dramatically where there were notable increases in current expenditure as a percentage of the total expenditure versus capital expenditure as a percentage of the total budget, wherein capital expenditure for the period 2015-2019 accounted for 21 per cent on average, the lowest average recorded over the past two decades. During the period 2015 – 2022, budget allocations towards the economic sectors declined by 10.32 per cent in 2016 and 27 per cent in 2019, thus resulting in the underperformance of some of the major economic sectors during this period. This trend changed in 2020 where allocations towards the economic sectors increased by 24.46 per cent in 2020, 25.31 per cent in 2021 and 27 per cent in 2022. In the infrastructure sector during this period there was a sharp increase of 146 per cent in 2016 largely because of a sharp decline by 19 per cent in 2015. In 2015 allocations increased by 24 per cent which then declined sharply by less than one per cent in 2018 and one per cent in 2019. This trend changed dramatically in 2020 with a 21 per cent increase in 2020, 38 per cent in 2021 and 91 per cent in 2022.
BACKGROUND Reference is made to the former Finance Minister, Winston Jordan’s argument that Guyana is already gripped by the Dutch Disease. Mr. Jordan argued that “the Government’s incessant ‘diversification talk’ does not change the fact that the contributions of other sectors are declining due to what he believes is a clear case of economic mismanagement. Jordan reasoned that there is only so much blame that the Government can throw at the feet of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.”
Bad policies by Jordon create condition for Dutch Disease
See page 12
Joel Bhagwandin Financial and economic analyst
An analysis conducted by SPHEREX Analytics, however, evidently, and arguably contradicted Mr. Jordan’s contentions.DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS Public Expenditure Analysis
As a result, several budgets were re-engineered where sharp cuts were imposed by the political opposition. Due to the many deadlocks that characterised this period in Guyana’s political history, a snap election was called in 2015. This also explained the starker decrease in capital expenditure by 40 per cent in 2015. In 2016, capital expenditure increased by 53 per cent but continued a downward trend in 2017 through 2020.
An examination of the growth trend for current and capital expenditure for the period 2008 – 2022 (spanning 15 years), current expenditure increased from $78.5 billion in 2008 to $335 billion in 2022 or by 329 per cent or an average annual growth rate of 22 per cent. Capital expenditure on the other hand increased from $36 billion in 2008 to $218 billion in 2022 or by $182 billion, representing an increase of 505 per cent. This level of increase in capital expenditure alone represents almost 91 per cent of the total budget for 2022. During the period 2008 – 2014, there were three instances that recorded marked decline in capital expenditure. In 2008, capital expenditure declined by 16 per cent relative to the previous year but recorded a sharp increase by 31 per cent in 2009. In 2010 capital expenditure declined by a mere one per cent, however, in 2013 capital expenditure declined by 11 per cent. This was largely due to a change in the political landscape for the first time where in 2011 following national elections, a minority Government emerged, and the political opposition had a one-seat majority in the National Assembly.
During the period 2013 – 2021, private sector loans and advances moved from $128 billion to $191 billion by the end of 2021 or by 49 per cent. During this period, it was observed that the highest growth rate for private sector loans and advances was recorded in 2014 of 14 per cent. In 2014, with a handicapped minority Government, growth was more or less stagnated; loans and advances grew by seven per cent and four per cent in 2014 and 2015 respectively. In 2017 and 2018, the growth rate for loans and advances recorded were a measly one per cent. It should be mentioned that this period was characterised as a paradigm shift in the underlying philosophy of public policy by the administration at that time. To this end, the public policies pursued arguably inhibited private sector growth, inter alia, increasing the cost of doing business and the implementation of a web of burdensome tax measures. In 2018 and 2019, credit to the private sector started to recover with a four per cent growth in 2018 and 10 per cent growth in 2019 – largely owing to increased activities in the oil and gas sector. This trend was short-lived in 2020 when growth fell to two per cent on account of the pro-longed political impasse in that year coupled with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, with a shift in the public policy philosophy once again to a more business friendly environment, credit to the private sector recorded its highest growth rate in 2021 of 13 per cent since 2013.
SUMMARY: the contractionary fiscal policies and lack of an economic diversification programme, lack of substantive capital projects across all sectors by the previous admin istration, under the stewardship of the former Finance Minister, resulted in the decline and underperformance of the non-oil economy during the period 2015–2020. This in turn led to the creation of the foundational work upon which the paradoxical Dutch Disease permeates the economy during that period. The reversal of the economic policy philos ophy to one that is expansionary and conducive to broad-based and inclusive economic growth by the current administration through budgets 2020, 2021 and 2022; and notwithstanding the challenges posed by COVID-19 pandemic, and external shocks, the non-oil economy is show ing visible signs of recovery and projected to experience positive growth in the medium-term. Consequently, it is safe to conclude, therefore, that budget 2022, in particular, sought to build out the prerequisite foundation for the economic diversification and transfor mation of the economy, and in so doing, to mitigate the risks of the paradoxical resource curse and Dutch Disease.
During the period 2014 – 2021, loans and advances to the agriculture sector declined by three per cent in 2015; - three per cent in 2016; and 5.52 per cent in 2017. In 2018, credit to the agriculture sector increased by 18 per cent and declined by nine per cent in 2019 be fore improving by 14 per cent in 2020 and 19.43 per cent in 2021 – following the change in economic policy. A similar trend was observed for the mining and quarrying sector and the manufacturing sector. Overall, business enterprises experienced the highest growth in credit in 2021 by 17.48 per cent compared to an average annual growth rate of 2.74 per cent during 2014 – 2020.
The economic policies administered through budgets 2020 through 2022 in response to inflationary pressures and improving the competitiveness of businesses – have resulted in notable improvements in the performance of the non-oil traditional sectors. Further, it is important to highlight that budget (s) 2020, 2021 and 2022 contained substan tial allocations towards economic diversification and improving the non-oil economic sectors. This is critical to avoid the paradoxical resource curse and / or Dutch disease. Moreover, 40 per cent of the total budget are allocated towards capital projects – that is, to finance a number of major infrastructure development projects. Comparing capital expenditure in budget 2022 relative to 2021, it is observed that capital expenditure increased by approximately 110 per cent over the previous year. It is this type of “investment posture” versus reckless spending on recurrent and non-productive expenditure that avoids the resource curse or Dutch disease.
Overall, budget 2022 laid the foundation for Guyana’s economic transformation. In this regard, several major transformational projects are slated to commence in 2022, namely the Amaila Falls Hydro project, the gas-to-energy project and these coupled with the massive investments in public infrastructure, including housing, roads, and bridges, etc.
He added: “We be lieve that the impartation of information and the acquisition of knowl edge that will redound to personal and commu nity empowerment of residents, remain vital to the shifts in social dis position that is required for the town of Linden and the region at large to move forward with the rest of the country, hence our symbolic but meaningful book drive as the first undertaking.”
Children reading from the collection donated formed to help change mindsets and social dis positions towards de velopment coming to the region at the hands of the ruling party, is here to work across the region in support of the national transformation al agenda and the ‘One Guyana’ programme of President, Dr. Moham med Irfaan Ali.”
The average market rate for the USD/GYD exchange rate during the period 2013–2021 moved from $205.81 in 2013 to a high of $215.75 in 2020 representing a depreciation of about five per cent of the domestic currency against the US$ over an eight-year period. However, as is expected with the oil windfall, stronger exports, and increased inflows of foreign exchange (FX); the domestic currency is expected to appreciate–albeit gradually. In this regard, the average market exchange rate moved from $215.75 in 2020 to $208.88 reflective of an appreciation of 3.2 per cent of the domestic currency against the US dollar
It is safe to conclude, therefore, that budget 2022, in particular, continue to build on the strong foundational work as a prerequisite for the economic diversification of the economy and to mitigate the risks of the paradoxical resource curse and Dutch Disease.
Bad policies by Jordon create condition for. . . F pagerom 11 NEWLY formed civic group 10Forward, on Monday, donated a quantity of books to the National Library in Linden, Region 10. The books collect ed by members of the group represented the first public communi ty project of 10FWD, ahead of Education Mo nth, celebrated nation ally in September, a re leaseAssaid.part of the ex ercise, learners from across various levels of the Mackenzie Primary School participated in a reading stimulation session at the library and were themselves pre sented with new books as tokens of apprecia tion.Delivering remarks at the presentation cer emony, Co-Chair of the group, lmon,Specialist,CommunicationDarioMcksaid:“Ourgroup,
Newly formed civic group makes book donation
Meanwhile, Librar ian, Potoni Henry, ex pressed gratitude for the timely intervention and used the opportunity to remind residents of all ages that the library is still a fun reservoir of information and knowl edge to visit regularly. Co-Chair of 10FWD, Renautha Chin, told the media that while the group will quickly move on to a range of other com munity projects, the book drive will remain a rolling undertaking for which Lindeners and other Guyanese at home and in the dias pora can partner with the group.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
12 GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, August 23, 2022
Members of the newly formed civic group 10Forward handing over the books to staffers at the National Library in Linden, Region 10
–– GTA Director urges Guyanese during cricket carnival GTA KamrulDirector,Baksh
GUYANESE national, Anuja Reyada Singh, will pursue studies in a course on “Using Dig ital and Social Media Marketing for Organisa tion Growth” at the Lovely Professional Uni versity, Punjab, India, a release from the High Commission of Indian, Georgetown, said.
As such, Gonputh is lobbying for permanent coaching support and up grades to several sporting facilities in the commu nity.We have football and cricket taking place here every weekend. We have lots of sports going on right here in our commu nity,” the deputy village chief said. “With the football, we have a club from George town that comes every weekend, but it would re ally be nice if the govern ment could assist us with a permanent coach,” he added.
Since May 2022, the High Commission of India in Guyana has re-started on-site training in India, under the ITEC programme after a twoyear hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Till date, over 675 Guyanese have undergone training with the ITEC programme, including of ficers of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), Guyana Defence Force (GDF), officers and staff of the various ministries of the Government of Guy ana and members of the public/ private sector. The ITEC programme comprises of short-term fully-funded courses at prestigious institutions of India by the Government of India to select partner countries across the world. High Com mission of India urges all Guyanese to seize the opportunity to get themselves trained at some of the most prestigious universities in India in various sectors. For more information please contact edu. georgetown@mea.gov.in or access web site www.HCIgeorgetown.gov.in,” the release concluded.
programmemediascholarshipawardedfordigital,socialmarketinginIndia
The course, under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme, com mences on August 24 and concludes on Septem ber 6, 2022. Singh works with the Government of Guyana, volunteers with Art of Living and the Guyana Zoological Park.
“We will promote these conditionally approved busi nesses so that you would get the marketing push because what we want to do is to drive traffic to businesses that are conditionally approved,” Baksh said. He noted that the number of conditionally approved properties is also on the Airb nb platform.“So,this initiative is for cricket carnival, but I’m sure it will extend beyond cricket carnival,” he Providingsaid.bed and break fast services offers an addi tional stream of revenue and more persons are encouraged to get on board providing this service, as there is support. Events surrounding Cricket Carnival 2022 be gin on September 16 and conclude on October 2. (DPI)
Efforts being made to advance tourism in St. Cuthbert’s Mission
St. Toshao,Mission’sCuthbert’sDeputyLeroyGonputh
GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, August 23, 2022 13
AS the Caribbean Premier League 2022 and Guyana’s first ever cricket carnival draw closer, Guyanese are being urged to take ad vantage of opportunities to provide Bed and Breakfast (B&B) services through the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA).
“We have an inspectorate that would come out and see whether you actually satisfy the requirements of a bed and breakfast property, and once that inspection is completed; of course there may be cases of non-conformity for you may need to fix something or create a policy, or put in some signage or something like that; we assist in that regard, and once things are fixed, we would come back, do a re-inspection and then issue you with a letter of conditional approval,” Baksh told the Department of Public InformationMarketing(DPI).isalso a pri ority for the GTA and reg istered, approved providers are published on the Stabroek Travel, cricketcarnival592. com, GTA’s Facebook page, and other platforms.
“We have the Bimi chi Lodge, but that is pri vate-owned. We also have the guest house near the creek and we have a lot of attractions there, so we want to improve the facil ities there so we can offer more.”Meanwhile, Gonputh said that, within the last year, sports have played an integral role in the de velopment of the commu nity’s youth and children, with a few of them being given the opportunity to represent Guyana at inter national“Theregames.hasbeen a big boost from sports. Recently, one of our girls made the national team to represent Guyana in the Under-14 Football Championship in Miami,” he said, adding: “Besides that, we had a lot of other girls who were called to trials, and we had about six young males who were called to represent Guyana.”
High Commissioner, Dr. KJ Srinivasa con gratulated and briefed Singh on the ITEC pro gramme and the course she will be pursuing.
Anuja Singh
Anuja Reyada Singh with High Commissioner, Dr. KJ Srinivasa
GTA’s Director, Kamrul Baksh, said the programme will provide alternative ac commodation for the upcom ing “Thisseason.new product which is cricket and carnival be ing blended together for the September- October period, we recognised that a lot of the hotels in the country are fully booked… now how do we solve this problem, so the charge was that we needed to get some additional rooms so we thought of coming up with this bed and breakfast initiative,” Baksh said. So far more than 102 per sons have registered with the GTA, equating to some 390 rooms, most of which have been inspected, and given the green light to begin hosting visitors.The GTA has been pro viding hospitality, CPR, and other relevant training that may be helpful to bed and breakfast providers.
Provide Bed and Breakfast Services
The GTA Director said a team from the agency will take interested individuals through the entire process, sharing information and get ting persons registered.
IN a bid to advance its hospitality and tourism sectors, more efforts and resources will soon be pumped into the small Amerindian community of St. Cuthbert’s Mission. This is according to the community’s Deputy Toshao, Leroy Gonputh, who, in a recent interview with the Guyana Chroni cle said that, with several development projects on the cards for 2022, tourism will take centre stage. Since taking office in May 2021, Gonputh said the local authorities se cured funding to oversee the rehabilitation of the community’s guest house. He said the works were 80 per cent completed and will see upgrades to the accommodation facility to create a more spacious and hospitable environment for visitors.“We have our guest house, which is about 80 per cent completed. All these projects came into effect when we took office which was May of last year. So, from then to now, we had a lot of develop ment that has taken place,” Gonputh said. “We have a cabin; we have lots of visitors who would come on the week ends. We have a lot of visitors who would come from the coast and outside the country. We have a lot of attractions, so we have to develop our services, “heCurrently,added. the commu nity is home to a privately own eco-lodge and while the community does ben efit, Gonputh noted that more accommodation will create greater capacity for expanding the sector.
Public Works Minister, Bishop Juan Edghill during the site visit to Kwakwani on Monday
PUBLIC Works Min ister , Bishop Juan Edghill, on Monday, met with contractors tasked with the upgrad ing of internal roads in Kwakwani, Region 10. A combined cost of $327M will cover the rehabilitation of approx imately 1.5 KM of roads in Kwakwani, which will, in a short while, im prove access to schools, health centres, the police station and other public spaces in the community. Roads will be graded and compacted, and fin ished with an asphalt sur face with slipper drains. Minister Edghill gave the assurance that his ministry will continue to work hand-in- hand with the Neighbourhood Democratic Council, to see the completion of these roads within the next six months, accord ing to the contractual agreement D&R Construction and Machine Rent al has been awarded $157M for the reha bilitation of Internal Roads in Kwakwani (asphalt roads and slip per drains); Ideal En gineering Service Inc. $169.5M for similar works, while Handel Garnette Construction Firms, will upgrade the Hururu Road Network, with a contract sum of $24M.
$327M for rehabilitation of roads at Kwakwani
14 GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, August 23, 2022
One of the roads that will be rehabilitated
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16 GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, August 23, 2022
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18 GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday August 23, 2022 American Racing ColonialTips Downs Race 1 Mom’s Town Race 2 White Lilaccs Race 3 World Of RaceWinder4 Luck In The RaceDusk 5 Nali Rolling RaceTide 6 Nomadie Fighter Race 7 Blame B B South Africa Racing VaalTips 08:10 hrs Summer land 08:40 hrs Atlantic 09:10City hrs King Of Crusade 09:40 hrs Arlington 10:10Actionhrs Baby Don’t Hurt 10:40Mehrs Ridge To EnglishReef Racing Tips 09:40Kampala09:00Voucher08:30WorcesterhrsMinellahrsCarrigeenhrsFestive Glory 10:00 hrs Bannister 10:30 hrs Sheila Nash 11:00 hrs Justified Bangor-on-Dee 08:45 hrs Lelantos 09:15 hrs Masked 09:45Matgilhrs Go On 10:15Chez hrs Yees Porto 10:45cervo hrs Courtand11:20boundhrs Bridge FonrwellRoad 12:00 hrs Sure Touch 12:30 hrs Alramz 14:00 hrs Viking 14:30Ruby hrs Aslukgoes Irish Racing 12:15Monarch11:40BellewstownTipshrsMandarinhrsOceanOf Mercy 12:45 hrs Jeremy’s Flame 13:15 hrs Ask Charlie 13:45 hrs Lieutenant 14:15Highwayhrs 14:45SandbanksGoldenhrsNotnowned
The 16 second class was won by Phillip Archer and his Toyota AE91, with the 15 second class going to Peter Deen and his Toyota Glanza.Ravi Singh and his Toy ota starlet won the 14 sec ond class ahead of Reyaz Hamid and his Toyota Ver ossa who snagged the 13 second class.
GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday August 23, 2022 19
Gill's ton fires India to series whitewash despite Raza's brilliant 115 Sikandar Raza almost derailed India with 115 off 95
INDIA completed a 3-0 ODI series clean sweep courtesy of a Shubman Gill ton, beating Zimbabwe by 13 runs in Ha rare. KL Rahul was a late addition to the Indian squad, with Shikhar Dhawan ini tially set to lead the side. In order for the Indian vice-captain to get some much-needed match practice ahead of the Asia Cup, it was decided to draft him into the side for the series. Rahul did not get to bat in the first game and only made 1 in the second ODI. The opener finally got to spend time in the middle, facing 46 deliveries for a knock of 30. Though he did not look at his flowing best, his time facing some deliveries could prove to be invaluable with some tough testsGillahead.has had a stunning start to life in ODI cricket as he pushes his case to be a permanent fixture in the squad. And he did his case no harm by notching up a maiden international century. His knock was control personified while also crisply timing the ball. After India's sedate start, he helped the visitors up the ante, scoring at run-a-ball. He also al lowed Ishan Kishan to settle in, with their partnership of 140 laying the foundation for India to post a reasonably big Hisscore.knock of 130 came in only 97 deliveries, before perishing against Brad Evans (who notched up his first five-wicket haul in interna tional cricket). But the job was done as India ended up posting a total of 289/8. Zimbabwe had a tall ask in hand to chase this total down. They were not helped by three of their top four batters failing to notch up big scores. Takudzwanashe Kaitano (13), Innocent Kaia (6) and Tony Munyonga (15) all fell relatively cheaply. But Sean Williams and Sikandar Raza kept the hosts' fight going. Williams first took the attack on, scoring a 46-ball 45 before being trapped by Axar Patel. His knock included 7 boundaries. As Zimbabwe kept on losing wickets, Raza, Zim babwe's man in form un leashed a fiery knock. Raza was severe against the Indian bowling at tack, especially Shar dul Thakur, smash ing him for 20 in one over. By this point he was their last hope alive, being well set after bringing up his fifty, as Zimbabwe had already lost seven wickets.Raza wouldn't give up though, bring ing up a brilliant century, the sixth of his career. His partnership with Brad Evans would be worth 104 runs, which got Zimbabwe close to the target. Evans would do his job brilliantly, rotating the strike, while Raza went all guns blazing. The big breakthrough would finally come when Avesh Khan trapped Evans lbw for 28. Gill made anoth er big contribution, taking a brilliant catch as Raza's stun ning knock of 115 came to an end, with Shardul Thakur getting the Zimbabwewicket.still needed 15 runs when Raza fell and agonisingly they ended up short by 13 runs, with Khan getting the final wicket of Victor Nyauchi. But it was a performance which would leave them with a lot of positives. Rohit Sharma, KL Ra hul and Shubman Gill have all scored their maiden ODI centuries against Zim babwe. (ICC Media)
The lower classes were decided based on qualifying times set earlier in the day with Romeo Singh winning the 12 second class, Denzel Hopkinson and the Kong Supra won the 11 second class and the Trans Pacific’s Toyota Verossa of Sahadeo Ramswayk and Suriname’s Seshe Redjinder (Toyota Altezza) sharing the 10 second trophy by virtue of them setting the same qualifying time. Hans Yzer and the ‘An gry Bird’ Pontiac Firebird snapped up the 9 second class while Kervin Rebeiro of Trinidad and his second Generation RX7 were cham pions of the 8 second class. Rebeiro’s 0.010 split second reaction time won him the fastest reaction time trophy donated by Imran AutoHowever,Works. his day ended upside down quite literally, with his final run of the day ending after the car lost traction and went onto the run-off area, turning turtle. The driver sustained no injury with only cosmetic damage to the car but, in the interest of safety, the club put a halt on the event. The only run left was another try at the record for Bissessar and his rail car. Mark Menez won the 1000cc bike category with Navin Lalbiharie of Suri name recording an 8.466 second time for the fastest bike trophy.
ANOTHER record-break ing performance from the Team Mohamed’s camp underscored a dominant Sunday at the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club’s International Drag Race. While their Godzilla GTR failed to do the job, their Pro-Mod car stepped up and produced a stun ning run to retake the strip record, shattering Sheldon Bissessar’s Saturday record of 7.208 with a whopping 7.036Thetime.day started well with Qualifying getting un derway from 08:30hrs. Several smaller classes were able to complete sev eral runs before the Team Mohamed’s unit took over to prep the track for their try at the record. Up first was the Godzil la GTR, the former record holder which ran a 7.5 sec ond time, not close enough to what was needed. But when Clint Satter field took the track in the ‘pro-mod’ mustang, the crowd grew silent. The deaf ening roar of the engine down the straight seemed eternity for the fans and en thusiasts alike and as the car roared off into the distance, all eyes swung to the timing booth.“7.036, A new strip re cord!” was what the an nouncer said, the pandemo nium ensued in all the areas across the Immediatelytrack. after, the rains came and curtailed more than four hours of running time; when they finally restarted, it took a mammoth effort from the Team Mohamed’s camp to get the track dried off. However, the downpour had done enough to immo bilize the timing system for the remainder of the day, with the event turning to a hand-drop method.
GMRSC International Drag Race 2022… Team Mohamed’s are kings of 1320
20 GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday August 23, 2022
The new season presents an array of logistical challenges, including the risk of missile strikes.
Jamaica lead Caribbean medal tally with 24 as NACAC Championships come to an end
EXILED DONETSKFROM Shakhtar, one of the favou rites for this year's title who will also compete in Europe's Champions League, are no strangers to war: they had to relocate from their home city of Donetsk in 2014 when the city was captured by Russia-backed separatists.Theforced relocation didn't stop Shakhtar's on-pitch suc cess: they have won five titles in eight seasons since then. They were leading the table on Feb. 24, when the season came to an abrupt halt as Russia invaded and missiles rained down.For years, Shakhtar, owned by Ukraine's richest man Rinat Akhmetov, relied on superstars from Brazil, where the club built a large scouting network, to make the core of its team. After an exodus of foreign players caused by the war, Croatian head coach Igor Jo vicevic who was appointed in June is now trying to rebuild the squad with young, home-grown players."For a long time, there was a Brazilian Shakhtar, a top team," Jovicevic said on the sidelines of Shakhtar's training session on Monday. "But now we have to forget about this, and prepare the new (team) as quickly as possible," he said.
BERNIE Ecclestone has denied fraud over an al leged failure to declare about $650m in overseas assets. The 91-year-old former Formula 1 boss indicated a not guilty plea to a charge of fraud by false repre sentation at Westminster Magistrates' Court. He is accused of failing to declare a trust in Singa pore with a bank account containing funds that at the time would have been worth more than £400m. Police warned photog raphers not to mob him outside court because of his Afterage. arriving at court for his first hearing in a white Range Rover, the business magnate was es corted through the exit of the court building by his le gal team and court security. Chief magistrate Paul Goldspring allowed Mr Ecclestone to stand outside the dock after his barrister, Clare Montgomery QC, said her client was "having a little bit of trouble hear ing".Mr Ecclestone stood to confirm his name and address in Knightsbridge, central London, before in dicating a not guilty plea. The charge brought against him in July fol lowed an investigation by HM Revenue and Customs, which said the probe had been "complex and world wide", relating to a period between 13 July 2013 and 5 OctoberProsecutor2016. Robert Simpson told the court: "During the course of that investigation he was asked about any trusts placed abroad that he was involved with."The Crown has based this charge on the basis he failed to declare a trust in Singapore with a bank account containing approx imatelyEcclestone$650m."is alleged to have disclosed "only a single trust" to tax author ities, one in favour of his daughters, according to the charge read in court. The court heard he said he was "not the settler or the beneficiary of any other trust" and the prosecution alleged the businessman acted "with the intention of making a gain for yourself". Mr Ecclestone was granted unconditional bail ahead of his next appear ance at Southwark Crown Court on 19 September during the hearing, which lasted about five minutes. He ran Formula 1 from the late 1970s until January 2017 when he was removed as its chief executive. (BBC)
Ukraine set to restart soccer league as war rages on Shakhtar Donetsk's players train at the NSC Olimpiyskiy stadium before the first soccer match of the Ukrainian Premier League, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine August 22, 2022 (REUTERS/Gleb GaranichReuters)
Pavelko said much of the impetus to restart the soccer season in the fraught circum stances had come from Presi dent Volodymyr Zelenskiy and the Ukrainian army, who hope the league will help lift national morale."Many people at the front lines asked us to start thinking about restarting football in our country," Pavelko said. He toured Ukraine in March and April to convince club presidents not to let their teams wither away, and to prepare them for a new season, he said.
ANDBOMBSHELTERSGOALPOSTS
By Max Hunder KYIV (Reuters) - As soon as the air raid sirens had stopped, Shakhtar Donetsk's players ran out onto the pitch for their final training session on Monday before Ukraine begins an extraordinary new season of its national soccer league. As Ukrainian soldiers battle Russian forces in the east and south, Shakhtar are due to play Metalist 1925 from the embat tled eastern city of Kharkiv in the opening game of Ukraine's Premier League at 1000 GMT on Tuesday. The match in Kyiv kicks off a day before Ukraine marks six months since Russia invaded its smaller neighbour in a war that has killed thousands of people, displaced millions, destroyed whole cities and is still raging on.
JAMAICA secured 24 medals to lead all Carib bean nations at the 2022 NACAC Open Champi onships which concluded on Sunday in Freeport, Bahamas. Entering Sunday’s final day with 12 medals, the Ja maicans doubled their tally to finish second overall on the medal table, trailing the USA who finished with 69. Those 24 medals were split into six golds, nine sil vers and nine bronzes. Cuba was the next best placed Caribbean country with six medals including two golds, one silver and three bronzes. Jamaica’s final day was highlighted by Andrew Hud son’s personal best 19.87 to win the Hosts200m.The Bahamas was next with one gold, two sil vers and four bronzes for seven medals overall. That gold medal came from home town hero Shaunae Mill er-Uibo who ran 49.40 to win the 400m. Also registering gold medals were The British Virgin Islands through Ky ron McMaster’s brilliant season’s best 47.34 in the 400m hurdles and Domini ca through Thea LaFond's 14.49m in the triple jump. Trinidad & Tobago got silvers in the men’s 4x100m and men’s javelin through Keshorn Walcott Bermuda (one silver), St Vincent & The Grenadines (one silver), Barbados (one silver), Antigua & Barbuda (one bronze) and Puer to Rico (one bronze) also registered medals. (Sports Max)
All stadiums must have bomb shelters. To start with, matches will only be played in Kyiv, its surrounding region and two western provinces near the border, though that may change later, Pavelko said. Every time an air raid siren sounds, a daily occurrence in most regions, the game will be stopped for players and match officials to take shelter in basements until the all-clear, PavelkoThatsaid.has left some play ers like Shakhtar's stalwart midfielder Taras Stepanenko worried about how they will keep their muscles warm in games that are broken up with long"Itbreaks.will be hard if it lasts more than an hour. Maybe they should set up some (training) bicycles for us," Stepanenko said.Military officials will be present at every game and if an air raid siren lasts more than an hour, they will confer with the referee to decide whether to wait or to postpone the match completely, Pavelko said. Pavelko said the war has not only destroyed facilities, but has also scuppered the futures of thousands of young talented soccer players. "This isn't just about los ing stadiums. This is about a whole generation of foot ballers who won't be able to develop."
Bernie Ecclestone was met by photographers and camera crews as he entered court on Monday
Bernie Ecclestone denies fraud over Singapore assets
"This will be a unique com petition: It will happen during a war, during military aggression, during bombardments," Andriy Pavelko, head of the Ukrainian Association of Football, told Reuters in an interview. Matches will be played without fans in the stands due to the risk of bombs and missiles. Two top-flight clubs - Desna Chernihiv and FC Mariupol - are being replaced in the 16team league after their stadiums were destroyed in fighting. FC Mariupol's whole future has been thrown into question after Russia captured the club's home city in a brutal threemonth siege that Ukraine says killed over 20,000 residents.
WASHINGTON, (Reu ters) – The White House has taken a dim view of former U.S. professional basketball player Dennis Rodman’s plans to visit Russia and secure the re lease of U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner, a said a source familiar with the matter on Monday. Griner, 31, is a two-time Olympic champion and star player in the Women’s Na tional Basketball Associa tion (WBNA). Earlier this month, she was convicted by a Russian court and sen tenced to nine years in pris on for drug trafficking.
Two –time Olympic champion and star player Brittney Griner was convicted by a Russian court and sentenced to nine years in prison for drug trafficking Paris (AFP) – World num ber two Alexander Zverev has withdrawn from the US Open as he continues his recovery from torn an kle ligaments, tournament organisers announced on Monday. Zverev, 25, has not played since the injury he suffered during his semi-fi nal against Rafael Nadal at the French Open in June. He left the court at Ro land Garros in a wheelchair and subsequently under went surgery to repair three torn ligaments in his right ankle.
The German lost the 2020 US Open final to Dominic Thiem, having led by two sets, and reached the semi-finals last year. He is still waiting for a maiden Grand Slam title, despite winning five Mas ters trophies and the ATP Finals twice. His place in the main draw of the August 29-Sep tember 11 tournament will be taken by American Ste fan Kozlov. Zverev had played in 27 consecutive Grand Slams since his 2015 debut before the injury forced him to miss Wimbledon. He has been named in Germany's team for the group stage of the Davis Cup finals next month. Zverev might not be the only top-10 men's play er absent from the year's final Grand Slam. Novak Djokovic is unlikely to be able to play because of his refusal to get vaccinated against Covid. The 21-time major winner was forced out of last week's Cincinnati Masters and Montreal earlier this month for the same reason.
Fury has declared himself retired, but said in a post on social media shortly after the match that he “is here to stay.” “He and Usyk would be a really good fight,” Warren told the BBC on Monday. “It’s a fight that I think will be made because both teams would like to see that happen. “Usyk said after the fight that it’s the only fight he’s in terested in, and it’s certainly the same case with Tyson. It’s just a matter of where it will generate the most in come because it’s a unique fight, a historic fight. “It’s the first time for God knows how long that the four belts are on the line. Both fighters are undefeated. The whole world of boxing will be captivated by this fight.”
Oleksandr Usyk
Warren added that an all-British showdown be tween Fury and Joshua could take place in the future, but said Joshua would need to return to winning ways to make it happen. “If AJ manages to get a couple of wins under his belt -- and I believe Tyson will beat Usyk -- that may be a fight to be made,” Warren said. “But AJ’s got to re-es tablish himself before you can even think about fights like that.”
England's men's and women's teams were with drawn from playing whiteball games in Pakistan last year.
US President Joe Biden condemned the verdict, calling it “unacceptable”. The United States offered to exchange him for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer serving a 25-year prison sen tence in the United States. Rodman told NBC News on Saturday that he plans to travel to Russia to seek Griner’s release. “I got permission to go to Russia to help this girl,” Rodman said. “I’m trying to go this week.” The NBC story did not explain who he got permission from.
Zverev pulls out of US Open with ankle injury
Fury, Usyk interested in heavyweight unification bout, says Warren celebrates winning the fight against Anthony Joshua Action Images Couldridg
England's schedule for three Test matches in Pakistan in December has been confirmed
(REUTERS) -
Both Olek sandr Usyk and Tyson Fury are interested in staging a potential heavyweight uni fication bout, the Briton’s promoter Frank Warren said on Monday. Usyk retained his WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO heavy weight titles with a split-de cision win over Anthony Joshua on Saturday, before calling out WBC heavy weight champion Fury in a post-fight interview.
"We have been working closely with the PCB (Paki stan Cricket Board) over re cent months and I am grate ful to them for everything they have done, and continue to do, to make our Test and T20 tours a mouth-watering prospect for all involved."
ENGLAND SCHEDULETESTIN
GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday August 23, 2022 21
Ben Stokes took over the England Test team captaincy from Joe Root
A senior administration official, who asked to remain anonymous, made it clear that the White House did not approve.
U.S. disapproves of Dennis Rodman’s planned rescue mission for Griner
CAPTAIN Ben Stokes' side will play Tests in Rawal pindi, Multan and Kara chi in the second part of England's first tour of the country since 2005. England and Wales Cricket Board interim chief executive Clare Connor said it would be "an historic oc casion".The tour's first leg will see England's men play seven Twenty20s in Pakistan from 20 September to 2 October.
"Both the sides have evolved since they last played in Pakistan in 2005 and have recently been play ing entertaining and exciting cricket."Iremain confident this series will live up to the expectations of the global cricket fans who want to watch and enjoy competitive and thrilling matches." No international cricket was played in Pakistan for six years following an attack on the Sri Lanka team by gunmen in 2009, with Pa kistan holding the majority of their home matches in the United Arab Emirates. Touring teams began to return in 2015 and Pakistan hosted their first home men's Test for 12 years when Sri Lanka travelled in 2019. Pakistan toured England in both 2020 and 2021, amid the coronavirus pandemic. In 2020 in particular, Pakistan agreed to strict bio-secure conditions in order to play in the UK.
“It is public information that the administration has made a significant offer to the Russians and anything other than continuing ne gotiations through the es tablished channel is likely to complicate and hamper release efforts,” the official said. The official also noted that the State Department is sued a travel advisory warn ing Americans not to travel to Russia. Rodman has sought to inject himself into inter national diplomacy in the past. He is one of the few Westerners to have met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
FirstPAKISTANTest-1-5 December, Rawalpindi Cricket Stadi um, SecondRawalpindiTest-9-13 Decem ber, Multan Cricket Stadi um, ThirdMultanTest- 17-21 Decem ber, National Stadium, Ka rachi
via Reuters/Andrew
"The opportunity to play Test cricket in front of pas sionate cricket lovers in Paki stan after such a long time is something to be cherished," added Connor.
"We are pleased that Pa kistan and England Test ri valry, which has historically produced close and tight matches, will return to our backyards in December," said PCB director of inter national cricket Zakir Khan.
CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (Tuesday August 23, 2022) COMPLIMENTS OF CUMMINGS ELECTRICAL COMPANY LTD 83 Garnett Street, Campbellville, Georgetown (Tel: 225-6158) Answers to yesterday’s quiz: (1) 170 (2) Today’s171Quiz: (1) What was the result of the recent ODI series between WI & New Zealand? (2) Who was declared Man of the Series? Answers in tomorrow’s issue
MANCHESTER United produced an outstanding display to defeat Liver pool and give manager Erik ten Hag his first Pre mier League victory at a thunderous Old Trafford. Ten Hag took the bold decision to drop captain Harry Maguire and Cris tiano Ronaldo and was re warded with a performance that lifted the mood of crisis around Manchester United and leave Liverpool still searching for a first win of the Jadonseason.Sancho showed superb control and compo sure to deservedly put Unit ed in front after 16 minutes before Marcus Rashford raced clear to beat Alisson from substitute Anthony Martial's pass eight minutes after the interval. Mo Salah set up a tense finish when he scrambled in a header with nine minutes left but United survived to give Ten Hag just the sort of triumph he needs to make his mark at Old Trafford.
MAN UTD RISE TO THE OCCASION Manchester United were at their lowest ebb after a 4-0 humiliation at Brentford followed an opening day home defeat by Brighton. And while thousands protested against the own ership of the Glazers before kick-off and the chants con tinued throughout the game, United's fans rallied behind a performance of fierce intensity and commitment that left Liverpool bullied for long periods. New £60m signing Casemiro was paraded in front of the Stretford End before kick-off and how he must have relished the magnificent atmosphere in side Old Trafford as United turned the misery of their abject first two league per formances on its head. Liverpool won 5-0 here last season and 4-0 at An field but United mustered more energy and aggression in the first 10 minutes here than in both of those embar rassing performances. Ten Hag employed pace to take advantage of Liver pool's high defensive line and they should have been ahead even before Sancho opened the scoring, Antho ny Elanga hitting the post after racing clear. United contested every challenge with a fired up Lisandro Martinez setting the tone early on with a ro bust challenge on Mohamed Salah.Rashford's form has been indifferent in recent times but his confidence will surely soar after the composed manner in which he scored what eventually proved to be the winner. And this was a landmark night for Ten Hag, who knew his decision to leave out Maguire and Ronaldo would have brought scruti ny had United lost. Instead, he enjoyed the sort of night that he will hope gets his Old Trafford reign up and running. (BBC Sport)
ESPNcricinfo has learnt that Kyle Verreynne's grandfather was struggling to breathe in the Edrich Stand and was stretchered out of the ground before being admitted to an ICU ward. He remains in hos pital. Verreynne was listed on South Africa's team sheet at No. 6 but was held back when his grandfather began having trouble and was helped by medical staff at the ground. That was shortly before Sarel Erwee was dismissed. When Erwee was bounced out by Ben Stokes, South Africa's team management opted to send Marco Jansen in instead and inform Verreynne of the situation and he batted next.Verreynne provided Stu art Broad's 100th wicket at Lord's when he edged behind to Ben Foakes for 11 after spending just over half an hour at the crease. South Af rica went on to win the match by an innings and 12 runs. Verreyne will remain with the South Africa squad ahead of the second Test, beginning in Manchester on Thursday.
Kyle Verreynne walks back to the pavilion after losing his wicket on day two of the first Test at Lord's (AFP via Getty Images)
Kyle Verreynne's grandfather in hospital after falling ill in stands during Lord's Test
Head of Events Chris Tetly also expressed his excitement at the an nouncement. "We are de lighted to announce the host cities for both women’s events taking place in South Africa in early 2023. "It is a very exciting time for women’s cricket with the first U19 T20 World Cup showcasing the future stars of our sport and the next edition of the ultimate prize in the T20 format. "I have no doubt the host venues identified across both events will pro vide the best platform to deliver two unforgettable World Cups and another significant milestone for women’s sport," he added. (ICC.com)
Outstanding Man United claim first win under manager Ten Hag
22 GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday August 23, 2022
Host cities for Women's U19 and Senior Women's T20 World Cups unveiled ICC Head of Events
Chris Tetly
HOST cities for the inaugu ral ICC Women's U19 T20 World Cup and the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023 have been announced. Both events will take place in South Africa. While the U19 tournament will hap pen in January 2023, the se nior women's event will take place from February 10-26. The coastal cities of Gq eberha (formerly Port Eliza beth), Paarl and Cape Town will host the ICC Wom en's T20 World Cup, while the first edition of the U19 Women's T20 World Cup will take place in Benoni and Potchefstroom.Tennations will partic ipate in the senior women's tournament, eight of which have been confirmed – South Africa, Australia, India, En gland, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, West In dies. The remaining two teams will be determined at the ICC Women's T20 World Cup Qualifiers, which will take place in the UAE in September"We’re2022.thrilled to an nounce the three cities to host the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup,” Tournament Director, Russell Adams said.“The Eastern and West ern Cape are prime cricket and tourist locations with great facilities and infra structure. We have no doubt that these venues will step up to make this a memora ble and uniquely African celebration of cricket for the local and international fans attending the event.”. The U19 T20 World Cup will be a 16-team event. With 15 teams decided (Aus tralia, India, England, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, West In dies, United States of Amer ica, Zimbabwe, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Nether lands), the final spot will be confirmed at the conclusion of the Africa Qualifier in September.U19Women’s T20 World Cup Tournament Di rector Sivuyile Mqingwa na is looking forward to the tournament. "This is a special time for women’s cricket in South Africa, we are excited to be host of the inaugural U19 Women’s T20 World Cup and look forward to the spotlight focusing on the world’s best cricketers," she ICCsaid.
Marcus Rashford ended a run of 997 minutes without a goal in all competitions for Manchester United against Liverpool
West Indies Women head coach, Courtney Walsh News Windies Women captain, Hayley Matthews
West Indies fined for slow over-rate in third ODI defeat to New Zealand
Big wins for Ann’s Grove, Cummings Lodge West Indies have been fined and hit with a World Cup Super League points de duction for maintaining a slow over-rate in Sunday's third ODI defeat to New Zealand, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced. Nicholas Pooran's side fell to a 2-1 series defeat on home soil with a narrow six-run loss in Sunday's decisive third meeting, as Kyle Mayer hit 105 – the second highest ODI score of his career – in vain. West Indies will also be deducted two points from their Super League tally after being adjudged to have fallen two overs short of the target by the on-field umpires. An ICC statement read: "West Indies have been fined 40 per cent of their match fee for maintaining a slow overrate against New Zealand in the third and final ODI in Barbados on Sunday. "In accordance with Ar ticle 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Play er Support Personnel, which relates to minimum over-rate offences, players are fined 20 per cent of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time.
West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran(left) and vice-captain Shai Hope
THERE were big wins for Cummings Lodge Sec ondary and Anns Grove as the ExxonMobil Boys and Girls U-14 Football tournament continued at the weekend. The Girls Division saw Tucville defeating West Ruimveldt 3 – 0, Charles town trouncing New Cen tral High 3 – 0, while Tucville and New Central High battled to a draw in anotherTucville’sshowdown.ladies record ed a stalemate in the first match of the day but re turned with a strong show ing led by Shania Waldron, who scored in the 10th and 40th minutes, to secure a victory. Allegra Williams accounted for the victor’s other goal. In the other female match, Charlestown had a goal each from Rondel la Anderson (9’), Chelysi Lupe (17’) and Hadassah Smith (37’) as they cruised to victory over New Central High.The Boys division had contrasting wins around every turn, however, Ann’s Grove’s 8 -- 0 triumph over Tucville was the largest victory margin of the day. They were led by a hat-trick from Shaquan David (4’, 6’, 12’) while doubles from Isaiah Pellew (15’, 18’) and Selwyn Fraser (35’, 40’) and a single strike from Devon Chance (30th) was more than enough to push them over the line. Cummings Lodge fired six past New Campbell ville, who answered only once. The 6 – 1 result was attributed to Rovin Henry (3’), Dequan Thom (10’), Nickolas Watts (20’, 38’), Malachi Anderson (16’) and Keshawn Daniels (30’).
Head coach watching to see how squad responds to new captain
ExxonMobil Boys and Girls U-14 Football…
"In addition, as per Arti cle 16.12.2 of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League Playing Conditions, a side is penalized one point for each over short. Consequent ly, West Indies will lose two points from their points tally during the Super League. "Pooran pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing." West Indies are cur rently seventh in the Super League standings, having posted just nine wins from their 24 games after New Zealand recorded successive wins over Pooran's side. (Sportsmax)
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As for the series itself, the head coach said he is looking forward to another comprehensive series. “Obviously, we want to win, we want to win every series that we play and that’s the only way we’re gonna rise and get above. So I want it to be competitive. Once the girls give 100 per cent and we’re satisfied with that then we can always look at where we can improve as well,” she said. West Indies Women are set to host New Zealand Women for the first time in eight years, with all games to be played at the Sir Viv ian Richards Stadium in Antigua. “They’ll be obviously coming here to play good cricket as well. It’s a very good team. They’re ranked above us, so I think it will be a good test for us.”
BRIDGETOWN, Barba dos, (CMC) – West Indies Women head coach Court ney Walsh says one of the key things he will be look ing for in the upcoming series against New Zealand Women is how the squad works with recently-ap pointed captain Hayley Matthews. The 24-year-old Barba dian took over in June as skipper from Stafanie Tay lor, who was at the helm for seven years, and the three ODIs and five T20Is start ing next month will be her first assignment as the new captain.“We have to give her all the support,” Walsh said in a brief interview with CWI media.“It’s just going to be interesting to see how ev erybody responds to the new captain, to the new ideas that we have, and to sort of get back into playing competi tive“Wecricket.have probably two, two and a half tours before the next T20 World Cup, so I think it’s very, very im portant that we start planning and trying at getting things sorted for that,” he added. Walsh said, however, that he would have liked to see the women in action more this year before the upcoming series – the ODIs running from September 16-21 and the T20Is from September 26 to October. He also shared that the squad for the series would have to be chosen before the Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL), scheduled for August 31 to September 4, is“Iconcluded.wouldhave loved to have a touch more cricket, if I’m going to be brutally honest. The thing is that we’ll have to start picking the squad before the CPL is concluded, but we have a chance at looking at players that we can bring in,” Walsh said.“But in an ideal world I would have loved for CPL to be finished before we go into the New Zealand series, so we could have judged them from CPL and then take them into the series, but that’s not the case. So we’ll have to pick from what we have and look at the combi nations that we have to suit us best.“But the good thing about CPL being involved is that it will give us a chance of seeing some more players play, more exposure, and then obviously if there are any injuries or any replace ments that we might need, depending on how the series is going, we can always bring them in,” he added.
North Ruimveldt eased past Plaisance Bosco’s Or phanage 3 – 2 as Emanu el Lewis (5’) and Mickel Mills (14’, 36) were the goal scorers for the vic torious side while Joshua Harris (38’) and Cleontae Williams (40’) accounted for the opposition’s goals. New Central High were able to secured a 2 – 1 win over Freeburg. Trevor Gor don (5’) and Kaden White (7’) scored early for New Central High while Jaden Welcome (37) was able to pull one back for Freeburg. Lodge wiped the deck with Westminster 4 – 0 with a goal each coming from Emmanuel Tinch (6’), Samuel Tinch (35’), Melchizede Holder (38’) and Emmanuel Lesperance (40’). Charlestown got the full points against St. Wine fride’s following a 2 – 0 result. The goal scorers in that match were Nicholas Nieuelder (30) and Malcom HendricksDolphin(41).needled East Ruimveldt compliments of the decider which finally came in the 36th minute whenTyshawn James found the back of the net. In the only tied Boys encounter, Charlestown and Tucville ended with two goals apiece. Charles town’s scorers were Mal com Hendricks (22’) and Adion Marks (25’) while Eric Griffith (21’) and Kev in Jordon (30’) scored for Tucville. The tournament is co-sponsored by Pepsi.
Jason-Ray and Nryon Joseph defeated Jamaicans Bruce Burrow es and Julian Morrison 2-0 (11-10, 11-7) to secure a place in today’s final from 11:20h. The combination of DeGroot and Khalil will compete for the Wom en’s Doubles title against the Caymanian duo Jade Pitcairn and Michaela Rensburg from 10:00h, while Fernandes and Daniel Ince topped Trin idadians Chayse Mcquan and Claire Barcant 11-8, 11-10 to secure their spot in the final from 10:40h on Tuesday.
Kervin Rebeiro’s RX7 turned turtle after sliding off the strip. The driver sustained no injuries
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Number-one seed, Ashe ly Khalil has booked her spot in today’s final of the Caribbean Area Squash Association (CASA) Senior Cham pionships after she de feated countrywoman Akeila Wiltshire 11-6, 11-6, 11-7 in the semi-fi nals on Monday evening in Kingston, Jamaica. It will be the first se nior CASA final for Khalil who recently competed at the Commonwealth Games in England, and she will face either fellow Guya nese Taylor Fernandes or Ashley DeGroot, who was competing up to press time. More so, Alex Arjoon faced nine-time and current defending champion Chris Binnie Monday evening in the Men’s semi-final.
The Team Mohamed’s Pro-Mod on its record-breaking run (Amir Sattar Photography)
Team Mohamed’s are kings of 1320
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Additionally, all three of Guyana’s doubles teams are through to their respec tiveGuyana’sfinal.
Ashely Khalil through to Senior Caribbean Squash final
Ashely Khalil has booked her place in today’s final Zverev pulls out of US Open with ankle injury Akexander Zverev cried out in pain following the nasty fall in the French Open semi-final against Rafael Nadal and was taken off court in a wheelchair
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