Guyana Chronicle E-Paper 13-11-2022

$12B for development of Region Two communities

THE government has allocated in excess of $12 billion towards the regularisation and de velopment of a number

of communities across Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam).

Of that amount, some $200 million will be al

located towards the regu larisation of the Charity squatting area.

In his address to infor mal settlers at Charity on

Saturday, President, Dr. Irfaan Ali said 60 persons living in the area will re ceive their certificates of title and will be able to use

it to further enhance their lives.

President Ali said that the Ministry of Housing and Water and the Central

Housing and Planning Au thority (CH&PA) worked diligently to process the titles within four days. FULL STORY ON PAGE 3

[Elvin Croker and DPI photos]

Greater enforcement necessary

to maintain clean environment, President Ali says

ACKNOWLEDGING

that the government’s efforts have been catch ing on and there has been improvement in the cleanliness of certain areas around George town and other parts of Guyana, President, Dr Irfaan Ali on Saturday said that authorities will now focus heavily on en forcement to ensure that a clean environment is

maintained.

Dr Ali made those re marks on the sidelines of the continuation of the Na tional Clean Up Exercise.

“Definitely after this segment of the National Clean Up Campaign, we will now have to focus heavily on enforcement. We have given enough time, enough education programmes, so enforce ment is going to become a

major aspect of what we’re doing,” the President un derscored.

The country-wide clean-up exercise is be ing spearheaded by the Ministry of Public Works’ National Enhancement Committee, and saw the involvement of various stakeholders, including government agencies, the diplomatic corps, the pri vate sector, NGOs, the joint services and mem bers of civil society.

The initiative dubbed, “Operation Clean Up,” started earlier this year to transform Guyana into a clean environment.

For some time now, Guyana has been battling a severe garbage problem, with citizens indiscrimi nately dumping refuse in waterways and at illegal dumpsites.

Since the commence ment of “Operation Clean Up,” the President believes it is slowly but surely be ginning to yield gains.

“I wouldn’t say that there has been a marked

improvement, but there has been improvement in the right direction. Not the level of dumping of garbage as we saw the last time, although we still have dumping,” the Presi dent said.

Donning gloves and long boots, President Ali, joined by Prime Minister, Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips, once again led from the front in the Na tional Clean Up Exercise. Cleaning was done along Vlissengen Road in the vicinity of St Sidwell’s Primary School, in the area around D’urban Park, the seawall, and at Stabroek Market, among other ar eas.

The President and Brig adier Phillips raked grass

TURN TO PAGE 4

President, Dr Irfaan Ali, assists during the National Clean Up Exercise in Georgetown (Elvin Croker photo)

Senior Minister with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh (centre) and others taking part in the National Clean Up Exercise in Georgetown (Elvin Croker photo)

$12B set aside for development of Region Two communities

for that moment for years and he was happy that he could access a loan, and move closer to formal home ownership.

Another beneficiary, Mo han Singh, said that he had been living in the area for over 10 years and was very happy to be receiving his title. He thanked President Ali and his government for their timely intervention, which was a clear indication of the People’s Progres sive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration’s intention to ensure there is widespread development.

REJECT NEGATIVITY

You must bury it and those who continue to push it and use it as a mobilisation tool,” Dr. Ali said.

Development in Region Two, for instance, would be far-reaching and inclusive. To this end, two call centres will be constructed; one in Charity, and one in Suddie. This, President Ali said, will bring 300 jobs to the com munities.

“We expect that you will become trained, you will enroll in the programme, so that you can help to improve the disposable income of your families, with those call centres,” Dr. Ali said.

tres in length.

Other projects slated for the region include the con struction of a $700 million pump station to help al leviate flooding during the rainy season. Dredges and pumps will also be placed at the mouth of the Pomeroon River towards that cause.

A brand-new hospital of international standard will also be constructed opposite the Lima pump station.

The President committed as well to assisting farmers with 10 acres of land and the raising of their planting beds to avoid them being water-logged.

THE government has al located in excess of $12 billion towards the regu larisation and development of a number of communi ties across Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam).

Of that amount, some $200 million will be allocat ed towards the regularisation of the Charity squatting area.

In his address to informal settlers at Charity on Sat urday, President, Dr. Irfaan Ali said 60 persons living in the area will receive their certificates of title and will be able to use it to further enhance their lives.

President Ali said that the Ministry of Housing and Water and the Central Hous ing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) worked diligently to process the titles within four days.

The Ministry of Hous ing and Water, through the CH&PA, was able to process 60 land tiles and also com plete the layout and design for 2.5 kilometres of road and 40-foot-long concrete bridge linking Charity to an adjoining community.

Dr. Ali told persons gath ered that an assessment was conducted, and 226 lots were identified for regularisation. Further, out of the 226 lots, 123 have been identified as lots that could be regularised immediately.

Of the 123 squatters, 27 have already paid up their fees while 33 will receive their titles on Monday. The remaining 63 persons will have to sign up and start the process.

“Outside of that, we will be spending $20 million to bring water to the commu nity and another $20 million to expand electricity for the regularised area... this is how this government delivers to you,” President Ali said.

He added that an invest ment of $200 million will remain in the community, and it will bring great relief to the hundreds of residents.

“We have already en gaged the banks… the banks will come here within your community and they will sit within your community and approve your loans... that is why we have negotiated a special low-interest rate... we want you to improve your homes” President Ali said.

He added that once they are qualified for the loans, they will also qualify for additional benefits such as the steel and cement sub sidy that the government is offering.

Minister within the Min istry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues, said that the ministry acted on the President’s instructions to regularise the area.

She expressed happiness that the process has made significant headway and persons have started receiv ing their titles. This, she related, is in keeping with President Ali’s “One Guy ana” initiative to provide for every Guyanese irrespective of race.

Persons who benefitted from the process and were able to receive their titles, expressed great excitement and contentment.

One such person was Antonio Feanxia Gonsalves, who said that he was waiting

“The narrative that some people push at the national level is as far away from the reality and you know this. We have to reject that. I’ve already said that we are not going to be divided by race or anything in this country.

Further, $4 billion is also earmarked for the construc tion of a brand-new water treatment plant.

Outside of all of that, the government has identified 251 roads that have to be done in Region Two. Those roads total some 55 kilome

“This is what is going on in every single region. Investing in the lives of people, investing in com munities, investing in in frastructure, investing in improving the lives of peo ple. That is what we are about,” President Ali said.

President, Dr. Irfaan Ali listens as one of the land title recipients commends the government for the work done so far

President, Dr. Irfaan Ali said 60 persons living in the Charity squatting area will receive their certificates of title and will be able to use same to further enhance their lives

FROM PAGE 2

and leaves, and helped in filling the garbage bags.

President Ali and Briga dier Phillips were joined by several members of the Cabinet as well as the Guyana Defence Force Chief of Staff, Brigadier Godfrey Bess, and Private Sector Commission Chair man, Paul Cheong, among others.

The President empha sised that the cleanliness and the upkeep of the en vironment is a shared re sponsibility.

“The entire Cabinet is out, the private sector is out, and young people are out, the City Council, they’re all out. Members

of the different political groupings are out here also. This is what we want, the responsibility to be shared responsibility in bringing our country to the sight that we all want it to be,” the President commented.

Dr Ali noted how heart ening it was to see support for this initiative from a group of youngsters from the Albouystown area.

“I am so proud of these guys today; all the young people from Albouystown, we went into those areas, we are working in all of these areas and the boys are responding. I am very pleased we brought out an entire group of young people showing positive living, positive life. This is the type of influence we want all across the coun try,” the President said.

Dr. Ali also expressed his gratitude to the private sector for the support and assistance that was given to this initiative.

“They have been a great partner. They have brought out tremendous assets. The many trucks, excavators, bulldozers, weeding machines, all mo bilised through the private sector. So, the private sec tor must be lauded for the great support in this programme. The police force, the prison service, the joint services, also all did tremendous work,” the President said.

He added that right after this national cleanup effort, there will be efforts across the coun try to address secondary drainage run-offs.

Guyana Defence Force soldiers do their part to clear the environment of garbage (Elvin Croker photo)

Guyana, UAE to benefit from enhanced co-operation

CO-OPERATION between Guyana and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has substantially improved over the past two years, and the relationship ap pears to be deepening with Vice-President Bharrat Jagdeo’s ongoing high-level engagements in the Middle Eastern country.

During his visit so far, Guyana’s Vice President has already engaged His High ness Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum, a member of the ruling family of Dubai. A release from the Office of the Vice President noted that talks between the two lead ers centred upon further cooperation and investments.

Dr. Jagdeo also met with the UAE’s Minister of State for International Co operation, Reem Ebrahim Al Hashimy. Strengthening the role and interest of the south in the global multilateral system and climate change negotiations were among the discussions between the two.

A bilateral agreement on Cyber Security was also formalised between Guyana and the UAE.

Other high-level meet ings were held with Dubai Ports (DP) World and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) on areas of mutual interest and co-operation.

The Vice President is ac companied by the Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar and Guyana’s National Informa tion and Communications Technology (ICT) Advisor, Daryl Akeung.

“Further engagements will be held in the UAE over the next few days,” the re lease stated.

It is important to note that the Vice President’s ongoing meetings build upon several earlier engagements between

- as VP Jagdeo meets with top Emirati officials

matic engagements between the two countries.

One year later, in October 2021, the Sheikh engaged President Ali and members of the Guyanese private sector in Dubai, the most populous city in the UAE and Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE.

Guyana’s Head of State and the local private sector players visited the country for the World Expo- Expo 2020- hosted by Dubai. Even so, numerous busi

ness engagements outside of the expo were held. In fact, President Ali also visited Abu Dhabi’s Ports ultra-modern temperature-controlled vac cine storage warehouse fa cility.

At a press conference after that visit, President Ali said that Guyana is eyeing the establishment of a deepwater harbour in the Atlantic Ocean to accommodate large vessels. This project, the President said then, could be funded through private

Emirati investments.

“Abu Dhabi Port is look ing at leading the studies to come up with a technical evaluation and then finan cial evaluation… the initial assessment is one of great optimism,” Dr. Ali said at that press conference.

With the Vice President now engaged in a series of discussions with key Emi rati officials, oil and gas co-operation is a key area of mutual interest.

the Guyanese and Emirati leaders.

In November 2020, just months after the Dr. Irfaan Ali administration was sworn into office, Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum came to Guyana on a three-day of ficial state visit. The Sheikh and his Emirati delegation were made privy to the abun dant investment opportuni ties across all major sectors of Guyana.

And that State visit her alded in more frequent diplo

Vice-President Bharrat Jagdeo and the UAE’s Minister of State for International Cooperation, Reem Ebrahim Al Hashimy sign an agreement

Vice-President Bharrat Jagdeo during his recent meeting with His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum

Energy Security

THE modernisation pro cess in Guyana is picking up momentum. This is manifested in the estab lishment of several new mega-projects which in cluded the oil-and-gas pro ject at Wales on the West Bank of Demerara, which, when completed, will see a drastic reduction in the cost of energy not only to Guyanese consumers, but also to the business or commercial sector.

One immediate conse quence of that development, apart from a steep reduc tion in the energy bills to consumers, will be the en hancement of the country’s competitiveness on the in ternational market.

Only recently, the Gov ernment of Guyana through a Cabinet decision gave the green light to construction of the 300-megawatt com

bined cycle power plant and natural gas liquids (NGL).

According to President, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, this is a significant move forward which will allow not only for energy security, but will also see the reduc tion of energy costs. The cost of manufacturing and industrial development will be significantly lowered and consumers will see a substantial reduction in the cost of electricity.

This is indeed transform ative and exactly what the country needs at this stage of its development. Only recently, Vice-President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo announced that the government has commenced the process of inviting interested bidders to submit proposals to finance and build the country’s first oil refinery.

The decision, accord

ing to Dr Jagdeo, was tak en in order to enhance the country’s energy security, especially against the back ground of the ongoing Rus sia-Ukraine conflict which has taken a severe toll on the supply of oil on the world market and, as a con sequence, the cost of energy.

Energy cost is an impor tant element in production cost and any hike in energy cost is bound to impact neg atively on the overall cost of living as the current war in Ukraine has demonstrated.

As noted by the VicePresident, the emergence of Guyana’s oil industry has attracted considerable inter est from across the world to build a refinery. This, he pointed out, will be done in a measured and calibrated manner as the country has no interest in becoming the “refining capital” of the

region.

The administration, ac cording to Dr Jagdeo, is intent on avoiding a large refinery since that would involve signing an agree ment with the company for continued supply.

The PPP/C administra tion is fully cognisant of the fact that the window for exploiting our oil and gas resources is limited, but it does not follow that such exploitation will be done in a hasty and irresponsible manner, having regard to our embrace of a Low Car bon Development Strategy (LCDS), and our commit ment to the carbon-emission goals set by the United Na tions sponsored Conference of Parties (CoP) currently in session in Egypt.

Indeed, Guyana is ahead of most countries in terms of its carbon footprint and its

net zero carbon emissions status. It is among few coun tries in the world to have committed itself to complete deforestation by the end of this current decade.

The above, notwith standing, it would be equally irresponsible for the country not to optimise the proceeds from its new-found petro leum resources, especially given the historical under development of the country and the concomitant need to enhance the quality of life of the Guyanese people.

These are indeed trans formative projects which will change the economic and social landscape of the country in deeply profound ways. For one, it will result in the creation of thousands of new jobs, in particular high-paying jobs. The fact is that Guyana still lags behind several countries in

the region when it comes to high-paying jobs and the establishment of petroleum and petroleum-related jobs will most likely bridge the income gap between Guyana and other countries in the region.

Guyana is on a clear path to prosperity based on the principles of so cial and economic justice and equity. But in the final analysis, it is the creation of wealth and the manner in which that wealth is dis tributed that is the defining characteristic of a socially just society.

President Ali and the PPP/C administration are committed to the building of such a society, one in which, in the words of the President, no Guyanese, regardless of race, religion or political affiliation will be left behind.

One Guyana plan, 1000-man initiative will make us One People with One Destiny

Dear Editor,

WHEN President Dr Irfaan Ali was officially sworn in on August 2, 2020, as Guyana’s Ninth Executive President after the five-month elec tions fiasco, many felt that he would encounter some major problems because the country was badly divided along racial lines.

Indeed, the country was unquestionably divided af ter a bruising election cam paign which the PPP/C won on March 2, 2020, but was not allowed to take office until five months later. As the former Minister of Housing and Tour ism, Dr Ali became the PPP/ C’s presidential candidate not only because he was elected by his party, but also because he had a vision to develop the country, improve the lives of the people, especially the poor, and heal the deep-seated racial divide that has plagued the country for more than five decades.

One of his primary goals is to unite the people in peace and harmony. Very many persons

were aware of President Ali’s ability and his vision for a united and developed Guyana.

In office for less than three months, President, Dr Ali, Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips and the Cabinet embarked on a “meet-the-people” campaign across the country to listen to citizens, learn about their problems and find solutions for them. They met with many individuals, regardless of their ethnicities, party affiliation, or whether they had voted for the PPP/C or APNU+AFC.

President Ali has vowed that no one will be left behind, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or party affiliation. He has told the nation that the time has come for us not to see one another as Indo-Guyanese, Afro-Guyanese or Amerindian but as Guyanese. Since the late 1950s, race has always been in jected into election campaigns and this has spilled over into one party criticising the other, and Afro-and Indo-Guyanese neighbours becoming enemies. The end result was vio

lence in some communities. However, in a recent statement, President Ali has vowed that the government will “destroy” and “bury” race as a politi cal mobilisation tool in the country. It is one of the boldest statements by the president. Likewise, Prime Minister Phil lips has wisely stated time and again that insularity, petty, reckless and partisan politics has no place in Guyana. He stated clearly that the govern ment will work with everyone in the country, regardless of race or party affiliation to make sure that they benefit from the government’s programmes.

Owing to his constant trek to every town, village and district, President Ali has been dubbed the “hands on” or the “on site” President; this is a first for Guyana. The President knew that trust is not given or granted, it is earned and after less than three years in office, many felt that he has earned the trust of the majority of Guya nese. Truth be told, in some areas of the country, people are saying that they did not sup

port the PPP/C, but they liked President Ali’s vision for the country and they believe that he is honest.

Many are of the opinion that President Ali has taken Guyana to new heights never seen before. Today, even with the high cost of living, the country is on the move on many fronts. In the area of housing, more house lots have been given out to the residents and more houses have been built than in the five years of the previous administration. Education and health care have and continue to be expanded and improved and the nation’s infrastructure is being mod ernised. Not to mention that the government has enlarged the agricultural sector by pro viding hundreds of thousands of acres of new agricultural land to farmers for rice culti vation, cash crops and dairy farming. However, the most heroic decision by President Ali was to re-open some of the sugar factories shuttered by the Granger-led coalition government.

Now we turn to his other major achievements which have grabbed the attention of the nation. One of those achievements is his “One Guy ana” vision, which is to get everyone fully involved in the development of the country and move it from the status of an underdeveloped country to a semi-developed or developing country and finally to a devel oped nation.

Also included in the “One Guyana” initiative is the Presi dent’s heartfelt desire to heal the racial animosityt which has afflicted the country for more than five decades. And while many have attempted and failed to unite the races, we are confident that President Ali’s “One Guyana” vision will succeed, mainly because of its widespread appeal.

It needs to be emphasised that perhaps the boldest of all President Ali’s plans is his 1000-man programme. It is a positive approach to help men and youths accept their responsibilities and become not only leaders in society, but also

decent, law-abiding and pro ductive citizens. The President has said many times that while each of us is responsible for our own actions, we are also responsible for the well-being of our neighbours.

Too frequently we focus on ourselves while forget ting that God has created us to live together. Our own well-being is bound forever to the well-being of everyone. He knows that while everyone needs proper education, secure housing, adequate nutri tion, and reliable health care, they are not luxuries. They are what is due to those who have worked hard and to those who cannot care for themselves.

His “One Guyana” ini tiative and his 1000-man programme are bold plans that will inspire everyone to be involved in the devel opment of the country and become One nation with One destiny.

Yours respectfully, Dr Asquith Rose

The ideal person for the New Delhi Embassy

Dear

Editor,

I’ve read several commen taries in the papers, in cluding the non-factual, sarcastic critique with un substantiated claims of one GHK Lall (Nov 5) on the suitability of academic Dr Vishnu Bisram, to serve as an Ambassador (High Commissioner) of Guyana to India. Let me offer some corrections to Lall’s conten tions and testimonials on Dr Bisram’s character.

I got to know Vishnu Bisram first-hand, personally, and in depth since his first year in college in Septem ber 1977 through now and could attest to his volunteer ism, philanthropy, intellect, knowledge of diplomacy, struggle against the Guya

nese dictatorship, contribu tions to organising the dias poras of Guyana, Trinidad, India, and other countries, founding of Guyanese and “Trini” organisations, work ing with other immigrant groups in the USA, voluntary reporting as a journalist, oped commentaries, polling, fund-raising capacity, and more – credentials that make him the ideal person to be Guyana’s person in Delhi.

He stood unique in his incalculable contributions to the Guyanese diaspora and to Guyana itself. There was and is hardly any comparison with any other figure in the diaspora.

At City College in NY in the fall of 1977, there were several students from

Guyana but no Guyanese stu dents’ club. Indian West In dians got to know each other through the India Students Club. Indian students, re gardless of nationality, gravi tated towards the India Club founded by students who preceded us. Two youngsters stood out – Vishnu Bisram and Baytoram Ramharack, both Guyanese who through their activism and writings would acquire eminence like few other West Indian students.

Bisram recruited students to attend India Club Thurs day meetings and organised activities, various cultural celebrations, and refresh ments for same. There was not an Indian West Indian Club. The Caribbean Stu

dents Association did not welcome Indo-Caribbeans who were also not comfort able in the India Club. Bis ram, Ramharack, myself and a few others founded the Indo Club (that attracted Indian students from Af rica, the Caribbean, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere – a true Indian diaspora organisation) in the late fall of 1977 and began organising activities centreing on Indian culture and campaigning against the Burnham dictatorship.

The Indo Club organised protests, marches, rallies, petition drives, and picketing exercises, and we published newsletters (focusing on rights abuses) on Guyana and the Guyanese diaspo

ra in America. Bisram and Ramharack were the key contributors to those exer cises. I served as mentor and ideologue to both.

Bisram and Ramharack were pre-med majors in their freshmen year. I was a po litical science major and their senior. I pointed out to them that Guyana lacked political and social scientists and that they would be more use ful and an asset to Guyana and the struggle against the Burnham dictatorship if they were to study politics or the social sciences. Ramharack switched his major going on to do BA, MA, PhD in Pol Science. After completing his BS in Bio-Chem, Bisram pursued MAs and PhDs in Pol Science and several other

social science subjects, as well as Education Adminis tration.

Ramharack, Bisram and I contributed significantly to the struggle against the Burnham dictatorship as few others did. They displayed unparalleled courage in op posing Burnhamism. In ad dition, they were outstanding researchers.

It is not an understate ment to say that Guyana would have languished un der continuous authori tarian rule had Bisram, Ramharack, and a few others, including me, not led a struggle from abroad to help liberate the country in 1992 and again in 2020.

Yours truly, Vassan Ramracha

The Commission of Inquiry is exposing the blatant riggers

Dear Editor, THANK you for the op portunity to express my voice for the hearing and consideration of your wide audience. The support this media outlet continuously provides encapsulates the rational acceptance and wisdom endowed in the words of Martin Luther King, who said: “Our lives begin to end, the day we become silent about things that matter!”

Lest we desire to dimin ish ourselves individually and collectively as a people among nations, we must not remain silent on the very seri ous matters associated with the blatant attempts to steal power, derail our democratic principles and throw Guyana off a precipice at the whims and fancies of those who played key roles.

It is anticipated, there fore, that many will continue to come forward and provide testimony of the wilful ac tions within and from behind the scenes, coupled with the glaring abuse of laws and procedures that many in volved in the attempted coup orchestrated.

President Ali’s move to ensure the commencement of a highly accredited State Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the antecedents of the flagrant and contrived, thiev ing, rigging, and denial of the truth is on point and in keeping with the spirit and intent of the Commission of Inquiries Act, Cap 19.03. In deed, Guyana and the world

deserve to know the truth and this ongoing inquiry are instrumental to ensuring an environment in which people could provide the facts with out fear of suppression that would have otherwise been a significant threat, if the thiev ing cohorts had succeeded.

It is accepted that the findings and recommenda tions of the CoI are not en forceable for the imposition of penalties and cannot bind courts, considering the sub ject matter. Notwithstanding this, it is anticipated that the impartial, fact-finding undertaking will provide the scope for informed rational conclusions. These will also provide exposure to the truth regarding the roles played by those known and various others in the abhorrent and unholy suppression attempt on the Guyanese people, who must continue to unite in our struggle for free and fair elections. Further, the world would know the truth and our citizens would be more aware of the existing mon sters among them when their silken covers are stripped

away in this process.

Editor, the testimonies provided since the com mencement of the ongoing CoI have already exposed elements of the clandestine concoction in play at the tab ulation process at the Ashmin building, which housed the command centre of Region Four.

The GECOM Head of Security, Ronald Stuart, con veyed that he defied instruc tions from Deputy Chief Election Officer (DCEO), Roxanne Myers, concerning evacuating people from the building due to an alleged bomb threat which, in his, view had no truthful basis.

He also informed the commission that all the ac credited, eminent person alities refused to leave the building, as the assigned operatives made a genuine effort to avoid using the le gitimate Statement of Polls and tried desperately to read from a false spreadsheet to which there were strong and voluminous objections by the attending representatives of political parties. Stuart

resigned in fear of being dis missed because his honesty and integrity were at stake. Assistant Police Commis sioner, Edgar Thomas, who

We are here: Indenture Papers: Studies on Girmitiyas

FOR over three-quar ters of a century (main ly from 1834-1917), British, Danish, Dutch, and French govern ments transported an estimated two million indentured Indian labourers from the Indian subcontinent to Mauritius, South Africa, Natal, and the Carib bean.

The arrival of inden tured labourers corre sponded with a labour shortage arising from the abolition of slavery in the 19th Century Euro pean-controlled colonies and disjunctive colonial capitalist development in India.

The indentured la bourers were drawn principally from north

and south India, and var ied in age, gender, reli gion, and language. The largest group was that of single young males be tween the ages of 20 and 30, while families, chil dren, and single women made up the minority. The female-male ra tio of Indian migrants was as low as three to 100, but climbed gradu ally to 40 to 100 towards the end of the indentured service. The religious composition of the mi grant group mirrored the religious distribution in India: 84 per cent were Hindus, while 16 per cent were Muslims and other religions. Until recently, the academic attention of these people was lim

ited. Their stories were mainly relegated to foot notes in the larger his tory and places where they have been a major ity like in Guyana. They have not been robustly included in the school curriculum, from nurs ery to university.

I have addressed this unfortunate academic marginalisation for dec ades at various physical and paper venues.

In one of my articles in the journal of Labour History (July 2014), I declared the following: “A journal of indenture based in the Caribbean would likely resolve the problems of indenture studies dispersed in vari ous journals around the globe, which has be

come a nightmare for researchers and doctoral students even in the age of globalisation. Addi tionally, the journal will have a clear focus on indenture, and thereby, perhaps, relieve the bur den of journal editors to reject submissions of articles on indenture on the basis that they are unsuitable for their journals.” Moreover, it might also reduce the disappointment among indentured writers who cannot find a suitable place for their work.

I ended my frustra tion by saying that un til there is a journal of indenture studies, the field of indenture studies will most likely remain loose and uncoordinated,

searching for a home. Then something hap pened.

In March 2017, to mark the 100th year of the end of Indian Inden ture, the Fiji Institute of Applied Studies hosted a conference, and one resolution of the confer ence was as follows: To support the establish ment of the Global Gir mit Research InstituteCentre for the Study and Advancement of Girmit Diaspora to provide con tinuity and sustainability in all areas of research, publication, documen tation, educational and awareness material de velopment, community outreach, and advance ment of the Girmit Dias pora globally. As a part of the resolution, work commenced in 2018 on setting up a journal.

The late Professor Brij Lal was appointed the Editor of the jour nal, and he established an Editorial Advisory Committee, made up of scholars from across the

globe. Unfortunately, he could not advance the project to the pub lication stage due to his circumstances.

In 2021, the Global Girmit Institute invited selected institutions to enter into a partnership to publish the journal Indenture Papers: Stud ies on Girmitiyas. The following institutions formed the Girmit Part ners to publish the jour nal: Global Girmit Insti tute, the NCIC-Heritage Centre (Trinidad), Ba naras Hindu University (India), Tata Institute of Social Sciences (India), the IIT (Patna, India), and the University of the South Pacific (Fiji).

This year, I am the Editor-in-Chief, along with Professor Ganesh Chand. I am attach ing a copy of the freeaccess online journal. www.girmit.ac.fj

Shenanigans and people’s development

LAST Wednesday, Pub lic Service Minister Sonia Parag was locked out of a building at Belladrum, Mahaicony, Region Five, by a small group of political persons who posed as the owners.

It is strange to note that one of the persons is a sitting member of Parliament for the Opposition, Vinceroy Jordan, who was very vocal.

Jordan reportedly told the minister that the community did not want development, and even if it decided to ac cept the goods and services which the central government was offering, it “must” come through the channels being the NDC or CDC. He then threat ened the minister to exit the community before he called out the community.

This was even though Minister Parag was follow ing the direction given by her boss, President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, to follow up with a request made by residents of the com munity. She belaboured the point that she was there to meet with the residents and youths to discuss opportuni ties for GOAL scholarships and other skills training pro grammes and to get an as sessment of the building to facilitate development.

Despite this, she was barred on the account of an audit to be done first. Then, there were a whole lot of po litical shenanigans.

First, the entire ordeal should be condemned in the strongest possible terms with the locking out of a sitting minister and parliamentarian.

To add insult to injury, the building was built, in part, by the government to be used for community enhancement and development.

Ministers should be al lowed access at any given time to assess the assets or needs of a facility that oper ates under the guise of com munity good and develop ment.

So, Jordan and his small group of strong men should be condemned by all rightthinking and law-abiding citi zens for standing in Minister Parag’s way as she tried to execute her duties at the Presi dent’s instructions.

Secondly, there is no rea sonable excuse for a parlia mentarian like Jordan to stand in the way of the govern ment’s intended development of goods and services for the

people of Belladrum or any part of the country. He must be ashamed of his party’s stance and record in the com munity, as opposed to holding the race-baiting meetings and group engagements to strike down the development taking place in Region Five; he has not done a single thing for the community since being elected to parliament.

After all, residents want the building to be used solely for the community and peo ple. It must meet the needs of youths by tackling skills train ing and job empowerment.

For Jordan to stand in the way of Minister Parag is tantamount to stifling the free flow of development and investment that the govern ment plans to make in all communities.

Thirdly, Jordan was not acting alone. He has the full backings of IPADAG and its mother organisation, the PNCled APNU+AFC Coalition. He ought to know the public is not fooled. They appear to know he is just executing the instructions of his master to stymie the government and stop the message of ‘One Guyana’.

Fourthly, Belladrum needs to access the development too. The residents are Guyanese too and must share in the spoils of development too, just like any other residents of Mon Repos, Rosignol, Bath and Sophia, regardless of who and which government organisation or NDC it comes through.

They do not care about politics. They are only inter ested in the benefits and not being discriminated against.

Finally, Jordan does not own Belladrum, nor does the APNU+AFC opposition. They might be political representa tives of the community, but that is where the responsibility stops.

President Ali and his team of ministers must keep meet ings and hold sessions with every single community in the country. They must listen to the people and seek to del egitimise the race-mongers and opposition political czars who only seek to promote hate and racial tendencies among people. His approach is, development is a must, and community development through the people is critical to enhance villages across Guyana.

Meanwhile, Belladrum,

use

While

to,

the same

state as

Mocha Arcadia, Sophia and Buxton, as well as all AfroGuyanese communities must not be used as political scape goats or bait. They must push back against those who would

their development as a political weapon.

these communities languish in underdevelopment, the APNU+AFC politicians or Fat Cats, as they are referred

are getting richer and have flourishing businesses. These opposition politicians drive around in their air-conditioned vehicles to party meetings while the residents remain in

poor

they were in 2015 because of the psychological abuse that the residents endure whenever they are presented with devel opment by government.

Understanding Energy: Guyana updates fiscal terms ahead of major oil block auction

OPEN oil and gas bidding rounds involve a process in which the government in vites oil and gas companies to bid for the rights to ex plore, develop and produce any oil and gas found. Open bidding rounds are most often used once some dis coveries have been made and global interest is high—this is the position Guyana now finds itself in.

Earlier this month, the government held a press conference to outline the up coming auction of offshore blocks with new fiscal terms. Through the Ministry of Natu ral Resources, the Government of Guyana will auction off 14 oil blocks, which will mark the country’s first-ever com petitive offshore oil and gas licensing round and serve as a guide for any future offshore investments or projects that end up reaching the production stage. The blocks being put up for auction range in acreage from 1,000 sq km to 3,000 sq km, with 11 in shallow water

and the other three in deepwater.

The bidders will be evaluated on their work pro grammes, financial offers and local content commitments. There won’t be any restric tions to the number of bids a company is allowed to submit, but a successful bidder will be limited to an award of no more than three blocks. The win ning bidders of the shallowwater exploration blocks must pay a minimum US$10 million signing bonus and twice that for the deep-water blocks and bidders will be required to provide a development plan for consideration, along with their financial bids.

The government is seek ing to generate investment and build on the success it has seen with the Stabroek Block with this auction, but doing so requires a careful balance of the fiscal terms and non-fiscal factors.

In oil and gas producing countries, fiscal terms are what govern the relationship

between various operating par ties such as private companies and governments and deter mine how financial benefits and risks are divided. At the Stabroek Block, exploration went on for years before any discoveries were made and the risks of finding nothing despite hundreds of millions of US dollars spent fell entirely to the companies.

Under the terms of that profit sharing agreement (PSA), Guyana was entitled to two per cent of all pre-cost revenues as a royalty and 50 per cent of all profits with a cost recovery ceiling of 75 per cent, which is roughly average when compared to agreements with other frontier oil and gas countries. The average take for Guyana will be around 60 per cent of profits or 14.5 percent of overall revenues, when both the pre-cost royalty and the post-cost profit sharing are accounted for. More generous terms in contracts such as the Stabroek PSA are often used for “frontier” regions with no

existing oil production, and are a way to draw in companies and entice them to take big risks on unproven areas.

Comparatively, the new fiscal terms recently an nounced by Vice-President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, reflect Guyana’s much more mature status as an oil producer and the lower risks that companies face. During the press confer ence, Vice-President Jagdeo said that the cost recovery ceiling will be “a cap of 65 per cent, 35 per cent remains to be divided. So, at a 50-50 profit share, you get 17 and a half per cent of the gross and then another 10 per cent royalty.” These new terms are a direct reflection of billions of US dollars already spent to make discoveries and reduce the risk for new investors.

But even now, this process is about balance. Guyana is in a very different position than it was seven years ago, but com mercial discoveries have still only been made on one block. There are trade-offs through out this process that can attract or push away investments, speed or slow development or increase or decrease revenues.

Contracts that are too heavily weighted to the re

source owner can drive away investors, as in Suriname, which held a bid round for shallow-water blocks back in 2021 that was met with little interest. Only three of eight blocks received any bids and at least 60 per cent of Suriname’s offshore acreage remains unli censed.

Despite several commer cial discoveries, no company has committed to develop any wells to production. As a result, Suriname has yet to see any revenues from its offshore oil finds and is unlikely to in the near future, despite prom ising geology. That ultimately means a “better deal” remains purely hypothetical. Getting that balance right requires fine tuning the fiscal and non-fiscal factors that go into a contract, which Guyana has prioritised doing and is clearly reaping the benefits from.

This year is likely to be a competitive one globally. Ac cording to IHS Market, there are about 65 countries this year that are in a bid round or launching one.

“It’s harder to raise money now for the oil and gas sector. We’ve had cases where loans are vetoed, so it’s becoming more and more difficult to

finance the oil and gas sector,” Jagdeo said.

To position Guyana to get what it deserves in its next deals with international oil companies Jagdeo highlighted: “We had to give them what we wanted at the beginning: a greater share of the revenue for the government and people of Guyana for Guyana, which we believe we will succeed and with this new fiscal formula a significantly greater share of the proceeds […] that was one of our objectives but a second objective was still to remain globally-competitive and to accelerate the exploration in the context of net zero.”

While Guyana is aiming to receive the best prices for the blocks, non-fiscal terms need to be considered as well, including local content policies, regulations and policy issues like ring fenc ing. Examples like Suriname stand in sharp contrast to the double-digit growth Guy ana has experienced and these next block auctions likely will only increase that growth. Guyana remains a highly desirable destination for investment as it continues to try and strike the right balance for the future.

Lessons learnt from the opioid saga in North America

ACCORDING to the Stanford-Lancet Com mission on the North American Opioid Cri sis, there has been 600,000 deaths associ ated with opioid over dose since 1999, and it is projected that 1.2 million more persons in the US and Canada will die in the next decade if this scourge is not inter cepted now.

This man-made crisis has been 20 years in the making. It is described by the Center for Dis ease Control (CDC) as the worst drug overdose epidemic in the history of United States.

The American Medi cal Association Journal of Ethics 2020 highlighted how the failures of the Food and Drugs Author ity (FDA) contributed to the opioid crisis. The responsible authority to properly enforce mar keting regulations was further highlighted on a 60-minute televised pro gramme. However, by law, the regulators are not responsible for the con tinuing medical educa tion of prescribers, their prescribing influence and evaluation of risks.

These responsibilities are usually the preroga tive of the manufacturers, who employ and train medical representatives as sales agents, to gen erate business for their companies. The market ing campaigns by the opioid drug manufactur ers were classified as aggressive, irresponsible and unethical. Generally, there is a notable gap in

the system between the approval of a drug by the FDA and the mar keting of the drug. This opportunity was utilised indiscriminately by the opioid manufacturer re sulting in the promotion of its off-licence indica tion. Additionally, mon etary donations and free samples of opioids were baited for sales.

The culture of the opi oid prescribing trend was influenced significantly, as other new manufactur ers wanted to cash in on the billions, which the first company had break through, leveraging the off-label or unauthorised use of opioids, not only limiting to pain caused by fatal diseases. So, opi oids were irrationally pre scribed (against treatment protocols) for common pain related conditions such as lower back pain and fibromyalgia, for per sons who were far from facing end of life crisis.

The spin off effects witnessed in this epi demic were overdose, addiction and accidental death. Some babies were born having been ex posed by their mothers’ use of opioids causing a spike in neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome. Other associated social phenomena were evident such as foster care re quirement for children of addicted parents, heroin and fentanyl addiction, injection related diseases and decline in workforce participation and home lessness.

The American Addic tion Centers indicated

that, in 2013, almost 59 million prescriptions were written for oxyco done despite the con cern for potential abuse flagged since 1960. To day, it is estimated that 25 million persons are in recovery financed under the Affordable Care Act.

The American Bar Association highlighted that fines to the tune of US$635 million were paid in 2007 by the opi oid manufacturing com pany for misleading marketing. Thereafter, numerous subsequent or ders from 23 states, total ing a tentative settlement US$12 billion over time were negotiated, with the company filing for bank ruptcy simultaneously.

So, moving forward, twelve recommendations were currently made to clinicians for prescrib ing opioids, according to a CNN report dated November 7, 2022; an update to the 2016 CDC guidelines which was designed to reduce inap propriate and danger ous prescribing. The old guidelines had created a barrier for some genuine cases over the past six years. So from patients’ feedback and participa tion, review of new pain management strategies and evaluation of the sta tistics of addictions and deaths from substance overdose, the following revised strategies were implemented with the aim to eliminate the “un intended consequences”:

> Three distinct cat egories of pain were differentiated -- acute

(pain lasting less than 1 month), subacute (one to three months of pain) and chronic (pain for more than 3 months).

> Non-opioids pain medications to be consid ered as the preferred firstline of treatment for all three categories of pain except in indicated cases

> Immediate release versions of these pills were preferred over ex tended or slow release formula

> The lowest dose should be prescribed to reach the maximum ef fect for naive patients

> Only prescribe enough to last the short course of treatment

> The gradual with drawal of opioids is rec ommended to wean off

effects; treatment cessa tion should not be abrupt

> Evaluation of bene fits versus risks and indi vidual patients’ response to opioids must be done within a four-week period

> Patient history on controlled substances must be ascertained from patient records

On November 2, 2022, on Voice of Amer ica news, it was an nounced that, as the legal battle against abuse of opioid continues, two of the biggest chains of pharmacies in the United States, namely CVS and Walgreens, pleaded no admission of wrong do ing or liability but indi cated the intent to pay almost US$10 billion collectively over a dec

ade and to work along on strategies to eliminate the illegitimate opioid use.

The only way forward is opioid stewardship or the responsible use and safe prescribing initia tives for those persons who really need it.

For further discus sion, contact the phar macist of Medicine Express PHARMACY located at 223 Camp Street, between Lama ha and New Market Streets. If you have any queries, com ments or further information on the above topic kindly forward them to medicine. express@gmail.com or send them to 223 Camp Street, N/burg. Tel #225-5142.

‘Immense value for Guyanese youth’

- PM says, as Scouts Association celebrates 113 years of scouting

By Cassandra Khan

THE Scout Association of Guyana has been in existence for 113 years, and Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips believes that scouting still offers valu able experiences to the Guyanese youth.

The Association’s an niversary coincided with its National Camp or ganised under the theme, “Building bonds and mak

ing memories”.

Prime Minister Phil lips, who spoke at the camp’s opening ceremo ny on Saturday, said that scouting has been a long and proud tradition in Guyana. Based on reports, Guyana was the first in the Caribbean to have a scout association, the second in South America, and the fifth in the world.

The Prime Minister, however, contended that scouting must respond

to the challenges of each successive generation if it is to be continued for

all time.

“I've met many par ents, and many of them worry about the lack of social interaction of their children. Many expressed concern that their chil dren, unlike them, do not spend as much time en joying outdoor games and adventure, but instead bury their head into video games and cell phones,” he said.

Prime Minister Phillips related that others have expressed alarm for the time children are spend ing on social media, and are concerned that chil dren are withdrawing into themselves rather than being open to the world and human interaction.

“These are con cerns which cannot be

dismissed as a case of overprotective parents. The primary fear is that the time spent on digital devices is depriving our children of the type of rounded development that parents desire for them, and which parents feel is essential for their mental and physical well-being,” he said.

The Prime Minister added that from psychol ogists, they know that childhood experiences affect adult character, so it is for this reason that greater emphasis is being placed on making sure that children have a happy childhood.

With these concerns and considerations, he suggested that the camp also focus on “putting the

fun back into childhood.”

A revitalised focus on fun, outdoor activities could relieve some of the pressures children grapple with, the Prime Minister reasoned as well.

And scouting, he be lieves, could help do just that; ably relieve youths of some of the pressures they grapple with.

Phillips related that scouting provides hope for young people, and brings them together to enjoy time in each other's company, savour the out doors, enjoy recreational activities, promote healthy habits, and inculcate val ues that would shape their outlook on life.

“Scouting promotes fellowship among scouts,

The Commission of Inquiry...

FROM PAGE 7

was at the time in charge of the Police Division, was brutally humiliated and sent packing from his post at the tabulation centre because he did not get the support of the genuine persons who were at the Ashmin build ing, to evacuate and pave the way for the “riggers’’ to manipulate the results of the elections.

Thomas’s explanation of what took place at the tabu lation centre in the presence of the local and international observers was indeed an in sult to Guyana. Notably, the roles of key players in the Guyana Police Force come up for a keener interroga tion and it is hoped that this commission allows the full picture to be defined.

Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Len nox Shuman, narrated his experience and serious con

cerns about the safety of the GECOM Chair, Claudette Singh. According to his testi mony, from all appearances, she was held captive and at tempts to communicate with her were futile.

The account of what took place is indeed alarming as doors were broken and heavily armed police were around. Shuman’s account of the involvement of GECOM staff in skulduggery was very touching.

Guyanese are always suspicious of the fact that there are attempts to derail the elections. Hence, the commission must be cog nisant of all attempts to obstruct, frustrate, subvert and interfere with the proper counting and tabulation of the results. Further, there were several attempts by the PNC/APNU+AFC to postpone the National and Regional Elections and it

was the relentless struggle of the people of this coun try that forced the Granger Government to hold the elections.

The missing Statements of Polls and the events that took place under the instruc tions of the DCEO must be dealt with fully. Our democ racy was under severe threat and we must be fully aware that GECOM staff were heavily compromised. The extent to which these inef ficacies brought our citizens face to face with hell, must, therefore, be fully interro gated and those responsible exposed.

The CoI must serve its purpose of stripping the cover of those dirty riggers still in hiding, and provid ing apt recommendations to be acted upon to prevent the recurrence.

Yours sincerely, Neil Kumar

Scenes from the National Camp and opening ceremony to commemorate 113 years in scouting, held by the Scouts Association of Guyana (Elvin Croker photos)

Equity is foundational to government’s policies, programmes

By Dr. Tara Singh

THE incessant cries by PNC/R operatives and some opposition elements over alleged race discrimi nation in the allocation of state resources could hard ly find support in available evidence.

Recycling the old cli ché: “The Government must avoid repeating the funda mental mistakes that led to justifying the oppression of Africans,” does not enhance Guyanese’s understanding or edification of the PPP/C Government’s pursuit of equity. What would satisfy people’s heightened social consciousness are rationality and evidence.

The claim that the PPP/C Government is creating an “apartheid” state is astonish ing. Invoking this system and trying to apply it onto Guyana is dangerous, selfserving, and devoid of reason and scholarship.

Apartheid is an institu tional system based on con voluted values and an ideol ogy of racial superiority/

inferiority which regulates social stratification accord ing to skin colour. Guyana is a democracy based on consti tutional rule and it subscribes to the various United Nations (UN) conventions on free doms and individual rights.

The country’s stratifica tion system is determined mainly by open market forc es and not by executive fiat and authoritarian rule central to apartheid. This obnoxious system exists only in the fuzzy minds of critics.

The evidence is abun dant: Guyana is on the track of equity (fairness). There is still some distance to travel on this path, but it is in the right direction. The gov ernment’s position is that development must touch all Guyanese.

This is encapsulated in its philosophy of “One Guy ana.” Accordingly, the Dr. Irfaan Ali government has established several projects, such as on infrastructure (roads, bridges), housing, land titles, jobs, and educa tion that reflect equity (fair ness).

Two of the most power ful tools of empowerment are: housing and education. Owning an asset like land and a house is crucial for a person’s/family’s self-worth and self-fulfilment. While the PPP/C government inher ited in 2020 a huge backlog of 70,000 house lot applica tions, they insist that they will meet their 50,000-mani festo target by 2025.

Minister within the Min istry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues, says that the government is committed to equity in house lot dis tribution. And the data pro vided by the Prime Minister on the first 11,000 house lot allocations are supported by the minister’s position.

Afro-Guyanese have a house lot allocation rate of 19.98 per 1,000 population while Indo-Guyanese have a rate of 15.46 per 1,000, while for Mixed and others have a rate of 5.63 per 1,000 population. Also, the govern ment has initiated 37 housing schemes nationally that re flect the ethnic and regional diversity of the country.

While discrimination of any kind is repulsive, allegations by opposition political operatives

must be founded on evidence (empiricism) and not based on polemics and platitudes.

The government’s foundational principle is equity (fairness) in the allocation of resources.

On the question of eq uity, one would recall that in Region Five, the PNC/R coalition seized legally titled lands from Afro-Guyanese farmers, and it was left to Mr. Anil Nandlall, S.C., to fight to restore those lands through the Court system to the 50 farmers.

Is this a classic case where the PNC/R coalition discriminated against their own supporters? Beyond this case, Mr. Nandlall in his capacity as Attorney General and Minister of Legal Af fairs, is leading an initiative to sort out land titling and

African ancestral land issues in Regions Four and Five.

“We are doing regularisa tion now for Afro-Guyanese villages in Berbice where residents are going to get titles for land that they are living on for centuries since slavery,” the Attorney Gen eral said.

The PNC/R regimes (of 1964-1992 and 2015-2020) never regularised those lands.

Another powerful em powerment tool is education. The Guyana government knows that one of the quick est ways to develop the coun

try is through the strengthen ing of its education system. Accordingly, one approach has been the granting of 6,000 GOAL scholarships that cover all disciplines and at all levels, in the first batch allocation.

Mr. Aaron Pires conduct ed a content analysis and found equity in the alloca tion. Afro-Guyanese have rate of 10.69 per 1,000 vs 8.07 per 1,000 for IndoGuyanese and 5.46 per 1,000 for Mixed and ohers. Space would not allow for the pres entation of more data on equity.

Teen with Guyanese roots dies after shot in US

JAYZ Agnew, a 13-year-old boy whose mother is Guyanese, died in a United States’ (US) hospital on Friday, just days after he was shot while raking leaves in front of his house in Temple Hills, Maryland.

CK. Nunes, the boy’s uncle, confirmed that Agnew succumbed to his injuries.

“My nephew has succumbed to the in juries he suffered from the gunshot wounds. I’ve said this before,

our loved ones remain with us forever. They become our memories and we live through them. Forever with us, JAYZ AGNEW,” Nunes said in a Facebook post.

Last Monday, Jayz stayed home from school for a countywide day of “asynchronous learning.”

His mother, 36-yearold Juanita Agnew, re portedly told the Wash ington Post that the boy did his homework before starting some chores, including raking the leaves in the back yard on Monday.

On Tuesday, the mother recalled getting a fateful call from her

husband.

“Oh, my God, our son just got shot,” she recalled him saying.

Jayz was rushed to the hospital while the three bags of leaves were still sitting in their yard, as family, neigh bours and friends gath ered at the Agnew resi dence near the hospital.

His mother recalled taking Jayz’s sister to see him afterwards, also.

“She hovered by his hospital bed and stand ing on her tippy toes, she said to her broth er, “I love you.” She remained silent, then turned to her mother and asked, “Can he hear

me when I say that?” Juanita, a former Presi dent’s College student, said.

According to the Post, Jayz’s mother, who is also a nurse, ex plained that her son was on life support two days after the incident took place and noted that the doctors thought that her son was brain dead, but they are preparing to undergo two separate tests that would deter mine if that is so.

Jayz, his fam ily members recall, is known for his distinct tastes and his playful ness.

“Knowing who he is, I don’t think he would be able to cause anyone to be angry at him to the point of wanting to take his life,” Agnew said.

“He was just being obedient; I asked him to rake the leaves.”

The Prince George County Police have not disclosed whether Jayz was targeted, nor have they made any arrests in connection with Jayz’s shooting thus far.

Juanita claims that she always felt secure in her neigh bourhood and finds it difficult to under stand why somebody would want to harm her son. The family is left with more ques tions than answers at this time.

Jayz Agnew, right, with his parents and 6-year-old sister (Courtesy of Juanita Agnew / Washington Post)

The three bags of leaves near the scene where 13-yearold Jayz Agnew was shot in Prince George’s County (Courtesy of Jasmine Hilton/The Washington Post)

Jayz Agnew and his mom, Juanita Agnew (Courtesy of Juanita Agnew / Washington Post)

Mitigate crime, foster unity

Top Cop

‘charges’ Enterprise residents

WITH the objective of strengthening strong po lice-community ties in line with the Guyana Po lice Force’s (GPF’s) stra tegic plan, Commissioner of Police (ag), Clifton Hicken, engaged residents of Enterprise at the Enterprise Community Centre Ground on East Coast Demerara, in his countrywide outreach to communities.

Commissioner Hick en, during his recent visit, called for collaborative work between the commu nity and the Police Force to mitigate crime and foster unity.

Hicken made it clear that the Police Force was

committed to pursuing all means possible that are aimed at fostering better relationships with residents in various communities in Guyana.

Bridging the gap be tween the police and citi zens was an area of fo

cus the GPF was working diligently to achieve and something that Mr Hicken has been at the forefront of since assuming the helm of the law enforcement agency.

The recent outreach saw scores of residents coming

to meet, greet and interact with the Police Commis sioner and his team, in cluding the Commander of Regional Division 4 ‘C’, Assistant Commissioner Khali Pareshram.

The residents raised several concerns with Mr. Hicken, most surrounding crime and security in the Enterprise community.

While interacting with the residents, Hicken em

cial to the general public, especially when people visit the police stations.

Furthermore, the Top Cop implored residents to be their neighbours’ keep ers and to make “commu nity togetherness” their top priority.

He also made it clear that the GPF was ready and committed to serving the general public to eradicate crime at the community

Commissioner Hicken took the opportunity to greet residents and take photo graphs with community members.

The residents who at tended were outspoken in praising the GPF’s in creased enthusiasm and dedication to fighting crime and creating strong er relationships with the neighbourhood.

In a bid to ensure that

phasised the need for unity and partnership between the police and communi ties, stating that the GPF was continuously develop ing its internal capacity to meet the citizens’ demands.

The Top Cop informed those present that the GPF was going through a rapid modernisation phase. He told the residents that an environment would be cre ated that would be benefi

level.

The Top Cop also as sured the residents that “no haphazard behav iour” would be accepted by members of the Police Force, stating that, un der his leadership, ethical standards and professional ism will be maintained in the Force.

Upon the successful conclusion of the outreach in the Enterprise area,

the measures taken are im plemented, Commissioner Hicken committed to return to the Enterprise commu nity within two weeks.

Also present at the community outreach were Deputy Commander for Division 4 ‘C’, Super intendent Alistair Rob erts, Deputy Superinten dent Mohamed Ally, and Assistant Superintendent Colin Sullivan.

Commissioner of Police (ag), Clifton Hicken (centre) flanked by Enterprise residents and other senior ranks, at the culmination of the meeting

Commissioner of Police (ag), Clifton Hicken, addresses a section of the gathering at the Enterprise Community Centre Ground, East Coast Demerara

Ten soldiers complete grade three photography training

TEN Guyana Defence Force ranks, drawn from vari ous units, have com pleted Grade Three Photography Course training and were urged to ensure that their photos show professionalism along with their per sonal touch.

The graduates are now equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to func tion efficiently and effectively as Grade Three photographers in the Guyana Defence Force.

The course com menced on Monday, August 8, 2022, and officially concluded Friday, November 11, 2022 with a sim ple closing ceremony held in the Conference Room, Headquarters Medical Corps, Base Camp Ayanganna, Thomas Lands.

The areas covered included the exposure triangle, depth of field, focal length, sensor size, focus, sharp ness, camera settings – basic photography settings, editing, and photography tips for beginners, among oth ers.

In his address to the graduates, Officer Commanding of the Medical Corps, Ma jor Fidel Fredericks, emphasised the impor tance of photography

in the military and its role in ensuring that a positive image of the force is always pro jected.

In this regard, he urged the photogra phers to ensure that their photos show professionalism along with their personal touch and that their photos be memorable, eye-catching visuals that stand out.

He reminded the soldiers that, in keep ing with the Force’s Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs) re garding proper care, maintenance, and ac countability of the force’s assets, the cameras they use in the execution of their duties are no excep tion.

“Keep your equip ment from getting wet, keep your lenses clean, avoid dropping your equipment, and always store them properly after each as signment,” he urged.

Major Fredericks also urged the ranks to be professionals and to use the knowledge gained as a stepping stone to further their newly acquired skills.

Lance Corporal Shane Pearson was adjudged the Best Graduating Student and Private Shellon Samaroo was award ed the Runner-up Prize.

Officer Commanding of the Medical Corps, Major Fidel Fredericks (seated in centre), flanked by other senior ranks and the successful soldiers who completed training on the Grade Three Photography Course (GDF photo)

New Commonwealth grants available for ocean projects

THE Commonwealth Secretariat has an nounced the first call for proposals under the

newly established Com monwealth Blue Charter Project Incubator. New technical sup

port and funding are being made available to govern ments to support projects that promote ocean pro

tection and marine devel opment, while tackling climate change.

This includes small

grants worth between £5000 and £50,000 target ting a range of activities that support ocean policy

and project development, such as training, capacitybuilding, knowledge ex changes and rapid climate

risk or vulnerability as sessments, ideally carried out in collaboration with a non-government partner.

Speaking at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), the Commonwealth SecretaryGeneral, Patricia Scotland, urged all member countries to apply:

“With 49 out of 56 member countries border ing the ocean, including 25 small island developing states, the Commonwealth accounts for more than one third of the ocean un der national jurisdiction. The Commonwealth Blue Charter Project Incubator is a critical step forward in supporting these coun tries in the delivery of their ocean commitments, including those under Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14 as well as their Nationally Deter mined Contributions.

“I strongly encourage member governments to take advantage of this call for applications and sub mit robust proposals that support the development of sustainable blue econo mies, while addressing one of the greatest global challenges of our time –climate change.”

Dr Nicholas Hard man-Mountford, Head of Oceans and Natural Re sources at the Common wealth Secretariat, added:

“The Blue Charter Pro ject Incubator provides a vehicle for all Common wealth governments to pilot innovative solutions addressing their most ur gent national priorities for ocean sustainability and resilience, learn from each other’s experiences and build capacity for imple mentation.

“With ocean action

Commonwealth Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland

Charity Cameraman remembered as humanitarian, community representative

DON TREVOR PATRICK, a photographer who died Tuesday in the Pomeroon River, was described by President Dr Irfaan Ali as a true representative of his community.

Patrick formally of lot 330 Charity Extension Scheme was a former employee of Ra dio Essequibo and freelanced in other media sections.

He accompanied Presi dent Ali’s media team, last Tuesday, during a visit to Region Two. He was laid to rest on Saturday.

President Ali, who spoke at the funeral service said that his trip was a bittersweet moment for him, but the com munity of Charity must for ever be grateful for Patrick’s efforts.

He said that when he vis

ited Tuesday last, Patrick was the first person he met, and he spoke about his community.

The President noted that Trevor represented his com munity by requesting that squatters get their titles.

Further, the Head of Stat ed said that persons within the Charity squatting area received their certificate of titles on the day of Patrick’s funeral. President Ali noted that residents should remem ber Trevor’s efforts as a hu manitarian.

Attending the funeral ser vice was the Minister of the Ministry of Housing and Water Susan Rodrigues; the Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister, Kwame McCoy; Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dhar

amlall and regional officials.

Reading the eulogy was the daughter of the deceased, Nirvana Patrick. She de scribed her father as a very loving person. She said that her father worked for 13 years at Alfro Alphpnso RCA television and later as an op erator and a part-time Gov ernment worker at Radio Essequibo. He was also a freelance cameraman for Kaieteur News. The de ceased daughter said her father had a good relation ship with the community and would try to help those around him.

Pastor King conduct ed the funeral service. Tributes were done by his friends and well-wishers. The body was then buried at new road cemetery.

Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister, Kwame McCoy; Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall along with regional officials and well-wishers who attended the funeral

President, Dr. Irfaan Ali flanked by the wife of Don Trevor Patrick, Chairperson of Region Two, Vilma De Silva and Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues, at the funeral service, on Saturday

FAO: US$2T rise in global food-import bill expected with higher prices

THE world food import bill is estimated to rise to US$1.94 trillion in 2022, higher than previously ex pected, according to a new report released on Friday by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

The new forecast pre sented in FAO’s Food Out look would mark an all-time high and a 10-percent in crease over the record level

of 2021, although the pace of the increase is expected to slow down in response to higher world food prices and depreciating currencies against the United States dollar. Both weigh on the purchasing power of import ing countries and, subse quently, on the volumes of imported food.

According to the FAO, the bulk of the increase in the bill is accounted for

by high-income countries, due mostly to higher world prices, while volumes are also expected to rise. Economically vulnerable country groups are being more affected by the higher prices. For instance, the ag gregate food import bill for the group of low-income countries is expected to remain almost unchanged even though it is predicted to shrink by 10 percent in

volume terms, pointing to a growing accessibility issue for these countries.

“These are alarming signs from a food security perspective, indicating im porters are finding it dif ficult to finance rising in ternational costs, potentially heralding an end of their resilience to higher inter national prices,” the report from FAO’s Markets and Trade Division warns.

The Food Outlook re port, which breaks down food trade patterns by food

behind the foreseen increase. Both are particularly rel evant in import bills, posing strains for the current ac counts of low-income and lower middle-income coun tries. As a result, some coun tries may be forced to reduce input applications, almost inevitably resulting in lower agricultural productivity and lower domestic food avail ability. “Negative repercus sions for global agricultural output and food security” are likely to extend into 2023, according to FAO.

are forecast to fall to their lowest levels since 2013 due to inventory drawdowns in major countries as a result of anticipated declines in pro duction. Global coarse grain production is forecast to fall by 2.8 percent in 2022, to 1 467 million tonnes. While it will likely drop in 2022/23, world rice output is envis aged to remain at an overall average level, buoyed by resilient planting levels in Asia and recovering output in Africa.

Global oilseed produc

groups, warns that exist ing differences are likely to become more pronounced, with high-income countries continuing to import across the entire spectrum of food products, while developing regions are increasingly fo cused on staple foods. In this context, FAO welcomes the approval by the International Monetary Fund of a Food Shock Window - broadly based on FAO’s Food Import Financing Facility proposalas an important step to ease the burden of soaring food import costs among lower income countries.

The Food Outlook also assesses global expenditures on imported agricultural inputs, including fertilisers. The global input import bill is expected to rise to US$ 424 billion in 2022, up 48 percent from the year before and as much as 112 percent from 2020.

Higher costs for import ed energy and fertiliser are

FOOD TRENDS

Issued twice a year, Food Outlook offers reviews of market supply and utilisation trends for the world’s major foodstuffs, including cere als, oil crops, sugar, meat, dairy and fish. It also looks at trends in ocean freight rates. Supplies of most of these major commodities are at or close to record levels, but multiple factors point to tighter markets ahead.

World wheat produc tion is forecast to reach a record 784 million tonnes in 2022/23, buoyed by sig nificant harvest recoveries in Canada and the Russia Federation. That should push global wheat inventories to record levels, although the report notes that the ac cumulations are expected mostly in China and the Russian Federation, while stock levels are predicted to drop by 8 percent in the rest of the world.

Coarse grain inventories

tion is forecast to rebound and reach an all-time high in the 2022/23 marketing year, with increased outputs of soybean and rapeseed expected to offset a likely drop in sunflower seed pro duction.

Global sugar produc tion is also forecast to increase, buoyed by ex pectations of a significant recovery in Brazil’s pro duction and larger crops in China and Thailand, while consumption is seen grow ing at a slower pace.

Worldwide outputs of meat and dairy products in 2022 are both expect ed to increase modestly, while total fisheries and aquaculture production is expected to increase globally by 1.2 percent, with a 2.6-percent ex pansion in aquaculture output anticipated to more than offset a slight fall in capture fisheries output.

Low enrolment in tertiary institutions a worry for CXC

ALTHOUGH sig nificant strides have been made in re forming the delivery of education across the English-speak ing Caribbean, the enrolment of young people into tertiary institutions remains at its lowest

This was on Friday revealed by Professor Hilary Beckles, Chair man of the Caribbean Examinations Coun cil (CXC), during the council’s second an nual ministerial sum mit which was held in Grenada.

“We all know that a country’s potential for economic growth is an expression of the percentage of its popu lation that has received higher education and therefore moving our children from primary to secondary to the ter tiary is the key mandate for all of us,” Professor Beckles told the gath ering.

Further, he stated that without a high pro portion of citizens in volved in the pursuit of professional develop ment, skills training, and academic training, a lot of potential will remain untapped.

While Beckles did not share any statis tics, he noted that the English-speaking Car ibbean states have the lowest enrolment rates for tertiary education across the hemisphere.

“In the Englishspeaking Caribbean, we have the lowest enrol ment in higher educa tion among our young people, and [the] entire hemisphere,” he said, adding: “If you take our hemisphere from Alas ka …to Argentina… and you collect your data on the percentage of young people un der the age of 30, the English-speaking Car ibbean is at the bottom of the pile.”

He noted that this is

a cause for concern and it must be addressed by policymakers.

“This is a tragic situation. The Frenchspeaking Caribbean are ahead, the Dutchspeaking Caribbean are ahead, the Spanishspeaking Caribbean are ahead and [the] English curriculum is at the bot tom of the pile in terms of moving our young people from primary to secondary and into ter tiary,” Beckles stressed.

It is for this reason Beckles believes that the Caribbean region has seen a delay in its development and transformation over the years.

“We’re not generat ing the professional training, the academic specificity, to push in novation, to push eco nomic development, to push transformation,” he added.

Continued collabo ration and gatherings such as the forum is needed to address this and similar concerns, he said.

“We’re all gath ered here this morn ing to deal with the institutional issues of the CXC, the minis terial interventions to help to chart the path for this institution, but also to recognise that it is a part of a broad

er conversation about education, about de velopment, about na tion-building and the challenges that we are faced with as a people,” Beckles said.

Meanwhile, CXC Registrar Dr Wayne Wesley said that the COVID-19 (corona virus) pandemic has highlighted the impor tance of stakeholder collaborations.

This has resulted in the birth of the minis

terial summit, which aims to create a plat form for all the regional stakeholders to discuss and strategise mean ingful initiatives and solutions to further ad vance the delivery of education.

“This is a summit that we have coined or formed to have mean ingful engagement with our stakeholders to en sure that the collective challenges we face, we don’t face it alone.”

He added that the council will be embark ing on a programme which will see the body playing a much more active role in the deliv ery of education.

“The council has embarked on a pro gramme of transfor mation which calls us not just to see our selves as an examining body, but as a regional enterprise,” Wesley said.

Chairman of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), Professor Hilary Beckles

CXC Registrar, Wayne Wesley

‘Immense value ...

FROM PAGE 12

fostering mutual respect for each other. It nurtures the talent of our young people, thereby helping them to realise their con fidence and competence, self-reliance, self-worth social responsibility and respect,” the PM said.

GET INVOLVED

Owing to those bene fits, the Prime Minister is encouraging more people to get involved in the scouting association. Im portantly, he pledged the government’s support for the work of the Associa tion and challenged them to expand across all of the country’s ten administra tive regions.

Chief Scout David Carto agrees with the Prime Minister, saying that as far as he could remember, scouting had always been an important part of his life.

“Scouting is the world’s oldest youth movement which has sur vived years, and most recently the pandemic that has affected the en tire world. Our Associ

ation has survived the pandemic,” he said, add ing that it has provided a platform for youths to express themselves and learn. And, other speakers also addressed the value of scouting.

Director of Youth at the Ministry of Cul ture, Youth, and Sports Suresh Singh said that scouts could attest that through scouting, they have built life skills that have changed the way they think, the way they go about life, and the way that they approach life.

Singh related that it helps with critical think ing and problem-solving, teaches youths respon sibility, and builds their confidence.

Chief Commissioner Andrew Ramcharitar was heartened to witness nu merous scouts and lead ers at the event, given the decline in the num ber of scouts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said that it is now his dream to see a scout group in every school in Guyana.

New Commonwealth...

FROM PAGE 18

and marine conserva tion (SDG14) being the least-funded among all the Sustainable Development Goals, this is an important contribution that recog nises the role of our ocean as the world’s largest car bon sink and a home to the majority of Earth’s living species.”

To apply, countries must be a member of at least one of the 10 Com monwealth Blue Charter Action Groups or indicate their commitment to join. The Commonwealth Blue Charter is an agreement by all 56 Commonwealth nations to work actively together to address some of the world’s most press ing ocean challenges. It is implemented through ten country-led action groups focusing on key thematic areas: coral reef restora tion, mangrove ecosystems and livelihoods, marine plastic pollution, marine protected areas, ocean acidification, ocean climate action, ocean observation, sustainable aquaculture,

sustainable blue economy and sustainable coastal fisheries.

Dr Jeff Ardron, who leads the Commonwealth Blue Charter programme at the Commonwealth Secre tariat, said:

“The Blue Charter Pro ject Incubator is a ‘onestop shop’ for countries and their partners working on ocean issues. It supports the full lifecycle of project development, from new ideas through to proven approaches, and everything in between.”

The Commonwealth Blue Charter Project In cubator is supported by an initial contribution from the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation, with additional support from Bloomberg Philan thropies’ Vibrant Oceans Initiative. The deadline for submissions is on the 10th January 2023.

For more information visit: https://thecommon wealth.org/bluecharter/ commonwealth-bluecharter-project-incubator

GDF Engineers construct bridge at Catherina Lust

RANKS of the Guy ana Defence Force (GDF) 4 Engineer Battalion are cur rently constructing a Two-Span Heavy Duty Timber Bridge at Catherina Lust, West Coast Berbice, Region Five.

According to GDF, the Bridge which will measure 45ft in length and 16ft in width, is being constructed to the tune of $11M. It is meant to provide ac cess to Catherina Lust and will also serve as an alternate access for Fort Wellington rice farmers to their farm lands.

Government of Guyana Project Engi neer, Brigadier (Ret’d) Gary Beaton, made a routine inspection of the site where the

work is moving ac cording to plan.

This project, like the many others being executed by members of the Engineer Battal lion, forms part of the heightened role of the GDF in the country’s national development and infrastructure transformation and is in keeping with the Commander in Chief, President Dr Irfaan Ali’s vision for a more community-oriented military.

The works began on Monday, October 31, 2022, and is ex pected to be completed shortly.

Site Supervisor for this project is Staff Sergeant Kwa mina Whyte. This is Whyte’s fourth de velopmental project.

Soldiers during the construction of the Two-Span Heavy Duty Timber Bridge at Catherina Lust, West Coast Berbice, Region Five (GDF photo)

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER

(Sunday November 13, 2022)

CUMMINGS ELECTRICAL COMPANY LTD -83 Garnett Street, Georgetown (Tel: 225-6158)

Answers to yesterday’s quiz: (1) ENG defeated IND by 10 wickets (2) Alex Hales (ENG)

Today’s Quiz: (1) How often has PAK played in a Men’s ICC T20 World Cup Final? (2) How often has ENG done so?

Answers in tomorrow’s issue

RACING TIPS

English Racing Tips

Cheltenham

09:10 hrs Bardenstown

Lad 09:45 hrs Edwardstone 10:20 hrs Back On The Lash

10:45 hrs Severance 11:30 hrs Springwell Bay 12:00 hrs Notknowned

Fontwell 08:30 hrs Pedley Wood 09:00 hrs Tip Top Moun tain 09:30 hrs Aviles 10:05 hrs Full Back 10:40 hrs Irish Hill 11:15 hrs Calvinist 11:50 hrs Shesupincourt

Irish Racing Tips

Navan

08:15 hrs Maxxum 08:45 hrs Flame Bearer 09:20 hrs Three Card Brag

09:55 hrs Zanahiyr 10:30 hrs Ferny Hollow 11:05 hrs Changing The Rules

11:40 hrs Found A Fifty

South Africa Racing Tips

Greyville

08:10 hrs Captain Rocket 08:55 hrs Tribute To You 09:20 hrs Party Time 09:55 hrs Giambattista 10:30 hrs African Dusk

American Racing Tips

Aqueduct

Race 1 Bourbon Chase Race 2 Vallarand

Race 3 Speaks For Itself Race 4 Mo Rewards

Canadian Racing Tips Woodbine

Race 1 Red Zeppelin Race 2 Taste My Candy Race 3 Agenda Race 4 Epilogue

ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Final

Skippers remain focused despite weather distraction

PREDICTED heavy rain is threatening to derail a potential classic Twenty20 World Cup final between Pakistan and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

Weather has already washed out three games at the Melbourne stadium during this tournament and the decider could become the fourth.

Up to 20mm of rain with a possible storm is expected for Melbourne today, with the Bureau of Meteorology forecasting a 100 per cent chance of showers.

A rematch of the fa mous 1992 ODI World Cup decider at the same venue, Pakistan and England are trying to put the dire weath er predictions to one side.

England's only loss of the World Cup so far came in a rain-shortened contest against underdogs Ireland at the MCG on October 26.

"The Ireland match was a big disappointment for us as a team but it certainly feels a long time ago now," England captain Jos Buttler told reporters at the MCG yesterday.

"Being able to sit in this position on the eve of the World Cup final, we have learnt quite a few lessons throughout that game.

"The weather around Melbourne was dominating the whole tournament at that stage and was definite ly a distraction at times.

"We've seen a reaction to that game in the rest of the cricket we've played.

To constitute a match, a minimum of 10 overs is required per team in the final, unlike the group stage when only five overs per-side was needed to complete a game.

If the final is washed out, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has left Monday as a reserve day with play beginning at 15:00hrs.

But Melbourne's weath er is looking similarly om inous then with a 95 per cent chance of showers and

up to 10mm of rain forecast for tomorrow.

If play starts today and is stopped, the game will resume tomorrow.

In the event rain washes out any prospect of play the competing teams will share the trophy.

England are attempting to add a T20 World Cup to the 50-over trophy they claimed at home in dramat ic circumstances in 2019.

Their only victory in a 20-over World Cup final came in 2010 when they defeated Australia by seven wickets in the West Indies.

After their shock loss to Ireland, England have found form and are coming off a blistering 10-wicket thumping of India in the semi-finals.

"I've certainly had a few dreams about that and it re ally links back to what you were like as a kid, in the garden with your brother and sister, pretending to lift a trophy," Buttler said.

"To be able to have the opportunity ... to live that kind of thing out is incred ibly special."

Fast bowler Mark Wood and batter Dawid Malan missed the resounding tri umph over India in Ad elaide on Thursday and remain in significant doubt to return for the final.

Pakistan will likely take an unchanged team into the decider after overcoming

New Zealand by seven wickets in their semi-final.

Babar Azam's side have hit form at the right end of the tournament, becoming the first team in T20 World Cup history to qualify for the final despite losing their opening two games.

"The way our team (have) come back ... they perform very well," Azam said yesterday.

"We are playing good cricket in the last four matches so will try to con tinue that momentum."

T20 WORLD CUP FI NALS

2007: India defeated Pakistan by five runs

2009: Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka by eight wickets

2010: England defeated Australia by seven wickets

2012: West Indies de feated Sri Lanka by 36 runs

2014: Sri Lanka defeat ed India by six wickets

2016: West Indies de feated England by four wickets

2021: Australia defeat ed New Zealand by eight wickets

Men's T20 World Cup 2022

Semi-final 1: Pakistan beat New Zealand by seven wickets

Semi-final 2: England beat India by 10 wickets

Final: Sunday Novem ber 13, MCG, 19:00hrs (AEDT)

Prime Minister T20 Softball tournament climaxes today

…Defending champions Ariel All Stars, Regal Legends set to defend titles

From page 32

test from 9:30 hrs.

Two teams – Guy ana Knight Riders Ari el All Stars and Regal Legends are set to de fend their titles in the Open All Stars and the Legends Over-50 cate gories respectively fol lowing semi-final vic tories over Speedboat and Parika Defenders. Regal Legends will do battle with archrivals New York Softball Cricket League (NY SCL) Legends who got the better of East Coast Legends while Ariel All Stars confront Name Brand who de feated Regal All Stars in a last over thriller. Meanwhile, a new champion will be crowned in the Mas ters Over-40 Division after defending cham pions Fisherman Mas ters failed to get past the preliminary round stages and an inaugu ral women’s champion will be known when 4R Lioness and Trophy Stall Angels clash in the day’s opener. The Masters Over-40 will feature Regal Masters and Ariel Masters.

In what is expected to be a mouth-water ing contest, the Leg ends Over-50 final is a repeat of the Inde pendence Cup final, played in New York last July, which saw Regal edging out their opponents in a nail-bit

er which went to the last over.

The New York ers have been flaw less to date, winning all their preliminary round matches while Regal Legends, despite topping their group, suffered a shock de feat at the hands of Toucana Rangers in their final preliminary round game, played at the Police Sports Club ground.

In their semi-fi nal encounter, played at the MYO ground, Parika Defenders, who reached that stage fol lowing the disquali fication of Invaders Legends of Essequi bo who were guilty of playing an under-age player, batted first and reached 136 for eight in the reduced 15 overs with Oswald Chandla leading the way with 44 (one four and five sixes). Ramesh Na rine and Eric Thomas claimed two for 12 and 14 respectively.

Regal Legends rushed to 141 for three in 10.5 overs with con sistent scores of 39 from Mohendra Ar june, 37 from Yunis Usuff and 32 from Na rine. Chandla came back to pick up two for 35.

At Eve Leary, NY SCL continued their winning ways with an 53-run victory over East Coast Legends. Sent into bat, NYSCL

reached a challenging 138 for eight in their 15 15 overs with Ravi Sahadeo (41) being the principal scorer. Skip per Mahesh Chunilall took three for 16.

East Coast Leg ends were dismissed for 85 in 13.1 overs with Chunilall hitting a top score of 31 as Qayyaam Farrouq, Doodnauth Nandlall, Jagdesh Persaud and captain Ronald Evelyn took two wickets each.

Over at the Queen’s College ground, Ariel All Stars proved why they will be difficult to beat in today’s final, with a huge 89 =-run win over Speedboat. In a game, reduced to 12 overs, Ariel All Stars rattled up 171 with Jonhattan Fernan dez blasting 63 with three fours and seven sixes while Keon Sin clair contributed 45, laced with six sixes in the brutal assault.

Speedboat were shut out for 82 in 9.5 overs with Eon Hooper (four for 34, Sinclair (three for 19) and Fer nandez (two for 17) being the main de stroyers.

In the other semi-final, Name Brand needed 18 off the last over to over haul Regal All Stars 164 and duly reached the target off the last ball after S. Sukhu blasted a fine 65.

Babar Azam and Jos Buttler chat after yesterday’s media conference (Getty)

FIFA will launch a new performance analysis service for World Cup

(REUTERS) - A new per formance analysis service, which FIFA announced on Friday, will allow all par ticipating teams, fans, and media to access detailed match data, graphics, and video from every World Cup game in Qatar.

The service, developed by the High Performance Unit of FIFA and headed by Arsene Wenger, head of global football development, will provide analysis on 11 parameters, such as expected goals, possession control, and phases of play.

According to FIFA, each

game will have a distinct set of in-game and post-game improved football intelli

gence images that are pre sented in augmented reality and standard graphics.

These updated statistics give operational definitions, several video examples, and granular breakdowns of ev ery aspect of the game.

FIFA has also established a dedicated teaching website that offers thorough video breakdowns of each metric.

Wenger, a former Arse nal manager, claimed that making the information ac cessible was done to allow "everyone to comprehend the game more fully.

"Enhanced football in

telligence" will serve as the model for future football analysis, he continued.

"We'd like to present our idea for developing a new football intelligence by combining technical expert interpretation with statistical analysis of football data.

"My team will continue to produce fresh and per ceptive football analysis content to aid in the dissem ination of new knowledge of the game combined with performance data, video examples, and technical ex planations," the statement reads.

IPL auction set for December 23 in Kochi

By Nagraj Gollapudi

THE IPL player auction for the 2023 season will take place in Kochi on December 23. It will be a mini auction as opposed to the mega auction ahead of the 2022 edition, when the ten franchises had to rebuild their squads virtually from scratch.

In addition to the money left over from their pre vious auction purse and the value of the players they release, each team will have an additional INR 5 crore (approx. US$607,000) to spend at this auction, making the overall purse INR 95 crore (approx. US$11.5M).

NORTH SOUND, An tigua (CMC) – Veteran all-rounder Jonathan Carter’s five-wicket haul derailed a prom ising run chase by West Indies Academy and earned Barbados Pride a comfortable 82-run win in the Super50 Cup here Friday night.

With the develop ment side cruising at 98 for one in the 24th over in pursuit of 280 at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, the 34-year-old Carter intervened with his medium pace to claim five for 30 and send the innings crashing to 197 all out off 44 overs.

He made a double strike in the 24th over, removing Kirk McKen zie (10) and Kevin Wick ham (0), and the innings never really recovered despite opener Keagan Simmons’ 50 off 77 balls

and Kevlon Anderson’s 36 from 44 deliveries.

Earlier, the experi enced Hope brothers – Kyle (69) and Shai (50) – had both gath ered half-centuries while rookie Zachary Mc Caskie pitched in with 54 as Pride rallied to 279 for six off their 50 overs.

Sent in, Pride flour ished courtesy of a 102-

run opening stand be tween Kyle Hope, who struck two fours in a 97-ball knock, and Mc Caskie who lashed three fours and two sixes in a 78-ball stay at the crease.

When McCaskie fell in the 25th, Kyle added a further 54 for the second wicket with Shai who then put on 31 with Car ter (9) for the third wick

et, before perishing at the end of the 45th – one of four wickets to fall for 35 runs.

Shamar Springer then propped up the lower or der with an entertaining 17-ball 41 which includ ed three fours and two sixes.

In reply, Simmons led the Academy run chase, counting half-dozen fours in a 65-run open ing stand with Leonardo Julien (32) and then in a 33-run, second-wicket partnership with McK enzie.

But Carter’s dou ble strike set back the innings significantly as four wickets then tumbled for 21 runs, and neither Anderson, who struck four fours, nor captain Nyeem Young – with a 19-ball 24 –could have arrested the decline.

Punjab Kings had the largest purse left over - INR 3.45 crore (approx. US$425,000) - after last year's auction, while Lucknow Super Giants had exhausted their entire purse. Chennai Super Kings had INR 2.95 crore (approx. US$358,000) remaining, followed by Royal Challengers Bangalore (INR 1.55 crore, or ap prox. US$188,000), Rajasthan Royals (INR 0.95 crore or approx. US$115,000) and Kolkata Knight Riders (INR 0.45 crore, or approx. US$55,000).

Defending champions Gujarat Titans were left with INR 0.15 crore (approx. US$18,000) while three teams - Mumbai Indians, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals - had INR 0.10 crore (approx. US$12,000).

The IPL is expected to finalise the player pool for the auction by early December after the franchises submit the list of players that are being released, the deadline for which is November 15.

While the mega auction in February was held over two days, the mini auction will be wrapped up in just one day. Mini auctions in the past, however, have pro duced some of the most expensive buys especially in the overseas players’ category.

This year franchises are keen to see if all-rounders Ben Stokes, Sam Curran and Cameron Green will put their names forward for the auction. If they do, they are likely to be in high demand.

Three teams - Punjab, Delhi and Lucknow - bought only seven overseas players in the 2022 auction, so they could be on the lookout to fill that eighth and final spot.

Six franchises had also brought in injury re placements for last season and they will have to decide whether to retain the replacement player or the original player, or both if the player limit allows. (Cricinfo)

Arsene Wenger is head of global football

…Each franchise will have a total auction purse of INR 95 crore, an increase from last year

The IPL auction is heading to Kochi for the first time (BCCI)

project assists six West Berbice schools

THE Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) continues to invest heavily in the develop ment of cricket talent at the school level.

A delegation of executives, headed by BCB president Hil bert Foster, on Friday handed over uniforms, cricket balls and gear to six secondary schools in the West Berbice area. The total donation was worth close to $1M.

Foster, in his remarks stat ed that the BCB is committed to taking Berbice Cricket to a very high level and he believes that in order to do so, the board would have to invest heavily in youths at both the club and school level.

Schools, he stated, are the nursery for clubs and BCB’s main objective is to see the game played at both the prima ry and secondary level.

He announced that the BCB in early 2023 would be hosting a 30-over Under-19 tournament for six secondary schools and a tapeball tourna ment for 14 primary schools in the West Coast Berbice area.

To loud applause, Foster announced that sponsorship for both tournaments had been obtained. Firstly, a compre hensive coaching programme

in secondary school with sponsorship from NAMILCO would be organised.

Following the two tour naments, an elite squad of 30 players from each level would be selected for special coaching sessions with BCB coaches.

Foster urged the schools to take proper care of the items and to use them for the in tended purpose: Each school received 15 pairs of uniforms with the names of the school, two boxes of red balls and cricket gear including bats,

batting gloves, wicket-keeping gloves and private guards. The schools benefiting were Fort Wellington, Rosignol, No. 8, Belladrum, Woodley Park and Bush Lot.

Government Member of Parliament, Faizal Jaferally, congratulated BCB for its outstanding leadership of the game. Noting that investment at the school level is very important, Jaferally urged the leadership of the schools to place special emphasis on the game.

He traced the legacy of

Berbice Cricket from the days of John Trim, Rohan Kanhai, Basil Butcher and stated that the legacy must be upheld at all cost.

He also pledged his sup port to the BCB in the future. The PPP Member of Parlia ment since 2018 has worked closely with the Foster-led administration to develop the game by sponsoring tourna ments, a cricket trust fund and also securing sponsorship for tournaments in the West Ber bice area.

President of the West Ber bice Cricket Association Da vid Black expressed thanks to BCB and sponsor Lochan Samkaran for the investment.

The donation, he stated, would play a major role in identifying new talents for Region Five. Black expressed delight with the special empha sis being placed in the sub-as sociation with assistance to schools and clubs while sever al tournaments were organised along with coaching sessions.

Mr Lochan Samkarran is a US-based businessman and with his support BCB was able to assist 23 secondary schools across the county with an estimated $3M worth of uniforms, balls and gear.

Hamstring injury puts Keegan Petersen out of Australia tour

Petersen sustained the injury at the weekend, during the CSA T20 Challenge final, and will need between six and eight weeks to recover. This is the second tour Petersen will miss since making his in ternational debut in 2021; he contracted COVID-19 last year and was left out of the touring party to New Zealand.

CSA is also waiting on a medical update on Keshav Maharaj, who suffered a groin injury at the men's T20 World Cup 2022. Maharaj was unable to run while batting against Netherlands in South Africa's last match, and will be assessed this week to determine his availability.

Selection convener Victor Mpitsang confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that the squad for the Australia series, which starts on December 17, will be announced next week.

FIFTEEN-year-old Khishun Khedaroo of No. 35 Village, Corentyne, Berbice is the latest beneficiary of Project Cricket Gear, an initiative started by USA-based Kishan Das and Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) executive member Anil Beharry.

Khedaroo, who is a student of JC Chandisingh Secondary School, recently joined Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club Cricket (RHTYSC) team. He was the recipient of one box, one thigh pad and one arm guard, compliments of Tro phy Stall, Bourda Market, with branches at Port Mourant, City Mall and South Road, George town.

At a simple ceremony held recently at the Port Mourant branch, young Khedaroo said, “I am crazy about cricket and I am thankful for this help and promise to do my best to realise my dream of representing the

West Indies one day.”

In response, Chitra Bedes sie, a representative of Tro phy Stall, stated that “Ramesh Sunich, the owner of the com pany, is happy to be part of this project and to be given the opportunity to help this kid. He is also pleased with the work of the initiative and its level of accountability and mileage sponsors have benefited from.”

The project expressed thanks to Sunich for the kind gesture.

To date, 43 young players from all three counties of Guy ana have benefited from three junior gear bags, two trophies, three arm guards, 17 bats, two boxes, three helmets, 12 pairs of cricket shoes, 10 pairs of batting pads, one thigh pad, one bat rubber and 12 pairs of batting gloves.

In addition, two clubs in the Pomeroon area collected two used bats. Pomeroon, Leguan and Wakenaam Cricket Commit tees and Cotton Tree Die Hard also received one box of red cricket balls each, while Rose Hall Community Centre Crick et Club (RHCCCC) received two boxes, 15 white cricket shirts, one pair of junior batting pads, one pair of wicket-keeping gloves and a set of stumps and bails. The Essequibo Cricket Board and the Town of Lethem also benefited.

Cricket-related items, used or new, are distributed free of cost to young and promising cricketers in Guyana. Skills, discipline and education are important characteristics of the recipients. Talent-spotting is being done across the coun try and club leaders also assist to identify same. Progressive and well managed clubs will also benefit.

In Petersen's place, South Africa have some experienced options to choose from. Rassie van der Dussen, who broke his finger against England in Au gust and missed the World Cup, has recovered and will play red-ball cricket in the lead up to the Tests, while Temba Bavuma, who missed the England series with an elbow injury, is also fit.

Ryan Rickelton and Khaya Zondo, who played in England, are likely to be part of the squad but Aiden Markram, who was dropped in England, could miss out.

South Africa will travel with a regular-size squad of 15 or 16, rather than the enlarged groups they de ployed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Given conditions in Australia, they are unlikely to take a clutch of spinners but concerns over Maharaj could see Simon Harmer included. The fast-bowling pack is likely to be made up of familiar faces: Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje and Marco Jansen.

South Africa do not play any cricket from ear ly January to late February, to accommodate for the new T20 franchise league, SA20, which means Petersen is likely to only become available for the national side for their two-Test series against West Indies in late February 2023.

KEEGAN Petersen has been ruled out of South Africa's three-Test tour of Australia because of a hamstring tear.

Representatives of the schools pose with Government M.P Faizal Jaferally and BCB officials

Chitra Bedessie (left) with Khishun Khedaroo

The Australian tour will be the second series Keegan Petersen will miss since his Test debut (Getty Images)

Greg Barclay re-elected as ICC chairman

GREG Barclay has been re-elected unopposed as the chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) as re ported by Cricbuzz on Friday.

At an ICC board meeting in Melbourne yesterday, Barclay's opponent, Dr Tavengwa Mukuh lani, the chairman of Zimbabwe

Cricket (ZC), withdrew from the contest. Barclay, a former head of New Zealand Cricket (NZC), will now hold his second term for two more years.

Going into the election day there were two contestants with the incumbent heavily favoured

to win the face-off. With only a simple majority needed for one to be declared elected, Barclay had the backing of more than a dozen directors in the 17-mem ber board, including the support of the all-powerful Board of Control for Cricket in India

(BCCI).

The BCCI has been repre sented by secretary Jay Shah.

The general perception in the ICC is that Mukuhlani join ing the race was more symbolic than serious. He would have been representing the smaller full members in the Elite ICC board which is largely lopsided with BCCI, ECB and CA, the super rich boards on one side and Ireland, Zimbabwe, Afghan istan and Sri Lanka on the other side of the spectrum with South Africa, Pakistan, New Zealand, West Indies and Bangladesh in the middle.

Commenting on the elec tion, Mukuhlani said: "I would like to congratulate Greg on his re-appointment as ICC Chair, as the continuity his leadership will provide is in the best interests of the sport. I therefore decided to withdraw my candidacy."

Barclay thanked the fellow ICC directors for their support. "Over the last two years we have made significant strides forward with the launch of our global growth strategy that provides clear direction to build a suc

cessful and sustainable future for our sport.

It is an exciting time to be involved in cricket and I look forward to continuing to work closely with our members to strengthen the game in our core markets as well as grow it be yond that, ensuring more of the world can enjoy cricket."

Barclay, an Auckland-based commercial lawyer, was orig inally appointed as the ICC Chair in November 2020. He was previously the Chair of New Zealand Cricket (NZC) and was a director of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2015.

JAY SHAH ELECTED HEAD OF F&CA PANEL

In the board meeting, Jay Shah was elected as the head of the powerful Finance and Commercial Affairs (F&CA) committee. He replaces Sourav Ganguly in the panel and will take over as its head early next year.

(Cricbuzz)

Overlooked Toney helps Bees to victory at Man City

IVAN Toney responded to be ing overlooked for England's World Cup squad by deliver ing a match-winning two-goal performance in Brentford's thoroughly deserved Premier League win at Manchester City.

Toney missed out on a place in Qatar but demonstrated his vital importance to Brentford with an outstanding all-round display that left the reigning Pre mier League champions stunned as the Bees took all three points with a 98th-minute winner.

It was fully merited for Brentford's positive approach as they refused to take a backward step from the first whistle, even after Manchester City's Phil Foden restored equality with a crisp left-foot half-volley sec onds before the interval.

City, inevitably, turned up the tempo after the break, Ilkay Gundogan missing a glorious chance to put them ahead, but Brentford were a constant threat on the break with Ederson twice having to save from the ev er-dangerous Toney.

And it was a fitting con clusion to that added period of 10 minutes, mainly for a head injury to Aymeric Laporte, when Brentford caught City on the break for Toney to sweep home Josh Dasilva's cross - the striker almost completing a hat-trick seconds later only for Kevin de Bruyne to clear off the line.

BRENTFORD SHOW THE WAY

Brentford demonstrated that bravery can be rewarded at Man chester City, not even needing any real slices of good fortune to deliver another outstanding victory under manager Thomas Frank.

Leicester City's risk-averse approach at home to the cham

pions recently drew a nega tive response, their stand-offish manner made to look even more unwise when they lost 1-0.

Brentford went for Manches ter City from the first whistle, perhaps noting the vulnerability that saw them just scrape victory over Fulham with a last-minute penalty last weekend.

Toney was thwarted by Ederson even before he opened the scoring and with the out standing Rico Henry providing pace and threat on the flanks, Brentford did not change their approach even after Foden's equaliser looked to have changed the game.

Brentford may have caught City on an off-day but Frank produced a game-plan that kept Erling Haaland quiet for once while posing a constant threat that eventually brought that dra matic late winner.

The ecstatic scenes at the fi nal whistle were understandable and thoroughly deserved. Noone could begrudge Brentford their celebrations.

Manchester City just crawled over the line against Fulham with a stoppage-time penalty from Haaland but there was no escape this time and they did not deserve one.

City started as if in a daze, conceding early chances, and they were still only half awake even after Toney headed Brent ford in front.

It looked like they were back on track after Foden's lev eller but for all their increased pressure there was none of their trademark fluency as they were frustrated by Brentford's de fensive resilience and determi nation.

It could have been a lot worse but for keeper Ederson and it was hardly a huge shock when Brentford raided so deep into added time to take the points, City caught in disarray at the back as the Bees swept forward.

This is a result that dents City's hopes of retaining their title and sends them into the lengthy break for the World Cup on the worst possible note. (BBC Sport)

Greg Barclay will now serve as ICC chairman until 2024 after his rival Tavengwa Mukuhlani pulled out of the contest (Getty Images)

Only Mohamed Salah (29), Harry Kane (28) and Son Heungmin (26) have scored more than Ivan Toney's 22 goals in the Premier League since the start of last season

Harpy Eagles clobber CCC to bounce back in Super50 Cup

PORT OF SPAIN, Trin idad (CMC) – Guyana Harpy Eagles wasted little time in regaining their winning momentum in the Super50 Cup by thumping Combined Campuses and Colleges by 129 runs here yesterday.

In a lopsided Zone A encounter at Queen’s Park Oval, the in-form Tevin Imlach struck 75 from 88 deliveries while Kemol Sa vory weighed in with 69 from 101 balls, to propel Harpy Eagles to 266 all out in the 48th over.

CCC offered very little in reply, bundled out for a disappointing 137 at the start of the 37th over, cap tain Denesh Ramdin again

top-scoring with an unbeat en 32 and Kirstal Kallicha ran also getting 32.

Seamer Nial Smith (321) and off-spinner Kevin Sinclair (3-25) both claimed three-wicket hauls as CCC declined from 90 for two in the 21st over, losing their last eight wickets for 47 runs.

Coming off a defeat to reigning champions Trini dad and Tobago Red Force in their last game, Harpy Ea gles ensured there were no major gaffes this time, even though their batting once again lacked consistency.

They lost Anthony Bramble (18) cheaply in the seventh over at 26 for one, edging behind a cross-batted

heave at seamer Matthew Forde (2-41) but recov ered through a 133-run, sec ond-wicket stand between Imlach and Savory.

Imlach, a 25-year-old right-hander, struck a four

and two sixes to push his tally for the campaign to 248 runs while Savory, a 26-year-old left-hander in only his eighth List A match, punched half-dozen fours. Their stand was flour

ishing when off-spinner Romario Greaves (2-64) intervened to remove both, Savory spooning to short extra cover in the 34th and Imlach bowled at the end of the 38th, missing an al mighty heave, after adding a further 32 for the third wicket with Shimron Het myer (21).

His dismissal led to a cluster of wickets for CCC –three falling for four runs in the space of nine balls – as Harpy Eagles slipped to 195 for five in the 40th over.

Sinclair then chipped in with a 19-ball 27 to rally the innings late on.

CCC’s reply started on a high, the 22-year-old Kalli charan lashing five fours

and a six in a breezy 25-ball knock, in an opening stand of 52 off 44 deliveries with Kyle Roopchand (21).

Fast bowler Romario Shepherd (2-25) got the breakthrough when he en ticed Kallicharan to hole out to deep square on the pull and Jonathan Drakes followed for six with only 10 runs added, taken smart ly at slip by captain Leon Johnson edging a drive at left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie (2-21).

The innings never re covered thereafter. Ram din was left stranded for the second straight game after facing 48 balls and counting two fours.

GCB, TTCB presidents ink agreement to host U13 tournament

… Singh lauds another significant initiative step in Youth Cricket Development

THE Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) in collabo ration with the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) will participate in a bilateral Regional Un der-13 Tournament sched uled for Guyana from December 10 to 17, this year.

This Inter-Regional tour nament is novel to Guyana and complements the Crick et West Indies (CWI) plans of two-year incremental development programmes.

Consequently, it is ex pected that the Under-13 players will be adequate ly exposed to competitive cricket which will facilitate their growth and devel opment for future GCB’s two-year incremental devel opment programmes such as the National Under-15, Under-17, and Under-19 training activities.

Currently, GCB has es tablished structured cricket development activities for the Under-11, Under-15, Under-17, Under-19, and Senior levels. The Under-11 activities are conducted through the Republic Bank Five for Fun Cricket Devel opment programme.

Additionally, GCB and Republic Bank are in the planning stages of initiating a national Under-23 In ter-Club tournament.

President of the GCB, Bissoondyal Singh, ex pressed delight at being able to positively engage the president of the TTCB, Azim Bassarath. Singh said “both Territorial Boards are keen on exposing our future professional cricketers at an early age to the highest competitive standards pos sible.

“We recognise the need for children to develop their art,:bowling, batting, and fielding in a fun-relat ed manner. However, we strongly believe that players in the Under-13 age group can begin to challenge their minds a bit more than is cur rently being done. Learning cricket techniques is good but executing the respec tive skills in competitive environments will set the players on a greater path to

success.”

Singh says, “This ini tiative paves the way for a Regional Under-13 tourna ment. We believe in pro moting the training aspects of cricket so that players can inculcate the recommended practices for the game as well as a person.

“Our planned cricket academy which will cater to the needs of players aged seven to 17 is geared at making our players rounded cricketers. In addition to technical and skill development, our Academy will focus on areas of Cricket Laws, Scor ing, Match Referee, Um pire duties and Etiquette including Personal Com munication, Interviewing as a priority activity, and Psychology.”

Tevin Imlach top-scored with 75 to push his run tally to 248 runs so far in the Super50 Cup

President of the GCB Bissoondyal Singh

President of the TTCB Azim Bassarath

One Guyana President’s Cup kicks off today

THE highly anticipated One Guyana President’s Cup nationwide football tournament kicks off today, at four locations in Berbice, Linden and Essequibo.

The one-of-a-kind tourna ment will feature two stages. First, 16 inter-ward teams in each Administrative Region of Guyana will compete for top honours.

The second stage will see

a 25-man squad, comprising the best players in each of the 10 regions, being selected for a grand battle to decide the victors of the One Guyana President’s Cup on January 1, 2023.

The first match of the tournament, a double-header, will be in Region 10 at the Wisburg ground. One Mile will match skills with Blue berry Hill at 13:00hrs before

Block 22 are pitted against Central Amelia’s Ward in the other match.

Meanwhile in Region Two, the first match of that zone will get underway at 15:00hrs at the Anna Regina Multilateral school ground.

Later in the day, Region Six will get into action with a double-header at the Scot School ground in New Am sterdam. Central New Am

Director of Sport upbeat about return of upcoming IGG Games

… Over 500 athletes, officials to take part as Guyana hosts 2022 edition

DIRECTOR of Sport, Steve Ninvalle, said the upcoming Inter-Guiana Games, which will be held in Guyana, is expect ed to be one of the better spectacles as the event returns from November 25 to 27.

Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana will com pete in nine beats with the French nation only competing in basketball, athletics and table tennis.

Ninvalle told Chronicle Sport yesterday that this event is significant as it was promised that the 2022 Games would be bigger and better than in previous years.

Among the beats are soccer, table tennis, swim ming, cycling, athletics, basketball and a few oth

ers. Host venues include Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, National Gymnasium, National Aquatic Centre, Racquet Centre, National Track and Field Centre, Leonora.

The National Sports Commission (NSC) and the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sport have been doing a lot to ensure the event is a success accord

ing to Ninvalle, by creating a special organising com mittee which includes Nin valle himself, along with other experienced persons familiar with the Games over previous editions.

Most specifically, the director pointed out that the highlight was His Ex cellency, President Dr Ir faan Ali’s promise for the return of the IGG Games, while giving his full sup port as Guyana seeks to host a premier competition.

Meanwhile, Ninvalle closed by confirming that more than 500 ath letes and officials will participate in this year's Games, adding that he expects to cap 2022 with the monumental and suc cessful return to the IGG Games.

sterdam will play Lower Corentyne at 17:00hrs while North New Amsterdam will try to boot Canje out in the feature fixture at 20:00hrs.

A double-header is also scheduled for Region Five. Paradise versus Number 28 Village at 18:00hrs and Rosignol against Number Five Village at 20:00hrs under lights at the Rosignol Community Centre.

Prime Minister T20 Softball tournament climaxes

By Frederick Hal ley

THE sixth edition of the Prime Minister T20 Softball crick et tournament, orga nized by the George town Softball Cricket League (GSCL) in collaboration with the Office of the Prime Minister and the Min istry of Culture, Youth and Sports, climaxes today at the Guyana National Stadium with the four finals, start ing the women’s con

The One Guyana President’s Cup trophy that will be up for grabs

Director of Sport Steve Ninvalle