AN expansion of the East Rui mveldt Secondary School worth $175M, and another at St. Wine friede’s Secondary worth $85M were signed on Monday by the Ministry of Education (MoE).
Immediately after the exercise, which coincided with the turning of the sod at both locations, work is scheduled to commence on both contracts, and run for five months each. (Full Story on page 3)
WITH claims of the voters list being “bloated” already discredited, given that over seas-based Guyanese are legally on it, the Alliance For Change (AFC) could only be using this as an excuse to not contest the Local Govern ment Elections (LGEs) in order to “save face”, Attor ney-General Anil Nandlall, S.C., has said.
The AFC, in a statement on Sunday, said that its National Executive Committee (NEC)
has arrived at a consensus that the party will not contest the upcoming LGEs without changes to the list of electors.
“The Alliance For Change (AFC) has indicated that it will not contest the Local Govern ment Elections. To save face, they have opportunistically latched on to the discredited bloated list argument peddled by their larger coalition part ner,” Minister Nandlall said, adding:
“In the press statement,
they rehashed the selfsame, frivolous and vexatious con tentions advanced by APNU in respect of the voters list. They also resorted to the repetition of their irrational and ridicu lous allegations of electoral irregularities in respect of the 2020 Regional and General Elections.”
The AFC, which is a mem ber of the coalition with the A Partnership For National Unity (APNU), had said that they have concerns of going
to an elections with the current voters list, claiming that it was bloated by some 200,000 persons.
However, Leader of the Opposition Aubrey Norton, at a press conference last week, revealed that the opposition was basing this premise on the amount of Guyanese that are based overseas.
Claiming to cite US Home land Security Statistics, Norton said that there are approximately ( See full story on page 4)
PRESIDENT Dr. Irfaan Ali and a high-level Cabinet team on Monday met with executive members of the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF).
The Bank’s team included Executive President Sergio Diaz-Granados; Corporate Vice-President (Strategic Programming) Christian Asi
nelli; and Senior Executive (Protocol) Juan Claudio Mo rales.
Senior Minister with in the Office of the Presi dent with responsibility for Finance Dr. Ashni Singh; Minister of Agriculture Zu lfikar Mustapha; Minister of Foreign Affairs Hugh Todd; Minister of Housing and Water Collin Croal; Minister of Public Works Bishop Juan
Prior to the meeting at State House, the Bank’s of ficials met with Dr. Singh to discuss its potential role in Guyana’s development.
According to a press re lease from the Finance Minis try, CAF promotes a sustain able development model, and the integration of the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region through credit operations, non-reimbursable
resources, and support in the technical and financial structuring of projects in the public and private sectors of Latin America.
During the meeting, Min ister Singh welcomed the bank’s president to Guyana, noting that the government is open to partnerships with financial institutions such as CAF, as it forges ahead with its development agenda.
Discussions centered on how the financial institu tion could partner with the government to ensure its newly-found oil- and-gas
AN expansion of the East Ruimveldt Secondary School worth $175M, and another at St. Winefrie de’s Secondary worth $85M were signed on Monday by the Ministry of Education (MoE).
Immediately after the exercise, which coincided with the turning of the sod at both locations, work is scheduled to commence on both contracts, and run for five months each.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education Mr. Alfred King signed both contracts, with the one at East Ruimveldt being for a flat modern building to accommodate approxi mately half of the 599 stu dents it currently caters to.
ing, which will be 17.7m by 6.24m, will house class rooms and a modern, ful ly-outfitted science labo ratory. Some sections will also include air condition ing units.
The new classrooms are expected to accommodate approximately 100 stu dents. The school currently has 409 students.
The expansions at the two schools will comple ment the $198.9M ex pansions already ongoing at Queen’s College, The Bishops’ High School, St. Stanislaus College, and St. Joseph’s High, all of which are slated for next year. It also adds to the $566.9 million reconstruction of the North Ruimveldt Mul tilateral Secondary that is currently ongoing.
sulting in overcrowding at several secondary schools, and to deal with this, the MoE, in collaboration with the Parent Teachers Asso ciation (PTA) at various schools, has implemented several alternatives, in cluding the use of air-con ditioned tents, having stu dents attend school on a rotation system, or renting buildings.
The expansion and con struction of the schools are also part of the Min istry’s overall wider plan of achieving universal secondary education all across Guyana. Universal education means that all across the country, there is sufficient accommodation at secondary schools for all of the students leaving primary school.
Currently, in Guyana, several areas utilise “pri mary top” schools, which are used as an alternative for students who did not attain enough marks at the secondary school place ment examinations, or where the existing second ary schools are full, and cannot accommodate any more students.
However, the govern ment is striving to create more secondary schools, and eliminate the need for “primary tops”.
the minister warned.
Cautioning that in cas es where the contractor cannot deliver on time, the government would be going after them for liqui dated damages, Minister Manickchand called on the PTA of both schools to be extra eyes and ears
on the ground, and to con tinuously assess the work being done by the contrac tors. She noted that the re spective Bill of Quantities would be given to each of the PTA, so that they can ensure that the contrac tors are using quality and quantities of materials as
outlined in their contracts. Minister Manick chand praised the PTAs and the schools’ adminis tration for working with the Ministry to find solu tions to the high retention issue currently facing the secondary school system.
The expanded facility, which will be 58.5m by 37.4m in dimension, will cater for 10 classrooms, an administrative block, and its own separate sanitary block, and besides having an independent electrical infrastructure, inclusive of a transformer, it will also be fully air-conditioned.
The building is be ing constructed by Delph Construction and General Supplies, and will be sit uated in the north-eastern section of the East Ruim veldt Secondary School’s compound.
At Winefriede’s, the contractor will be Singh and Son’s Construction, and the two-storey build
The expansions and constructions are part of the MoE’s plans to widen intake capacity at sever al secondary schools in Georgetown, and all across the country, given the mas sive increase in retention of secondary school students currently being seen across the country.
As a result of effective policies being implemented by the People’s Progres sive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government, more primary school pupils are being retained by the secondary education system.
However, this is re
Making remarks at the ceremonies held at the re spective schools , Minister of Education, Priya Man ickchand, as usual, sternly warned the contractors, telling them to ensure that they deliver as expected, and on schedule, given how significant their proj ects are to ensuring stu dents can receive improved education facilities.
“I am saying to all contractors on board now, don’t be dishonest; don’t cut corners… I expect you to make sure you give us the quality that these chil dren deserve. You bid on this project, saying I can do ‘X’ amount of work in ‘X’ amount of time. The coun try is moving away from the high tolerance level we have for people who fail,”
WITH claims of the voters list being “bloated” already dis credited, given that overseas-based Guy anese are legally on it, the Alliance For Change (AFC) could only be using this as an excuse to not con test the Local Govern ment Elections (LGEs) in order to “save face”, Attorney-General Anil Nandlall, S.C., has said.
The AFC, in a state ment on Sunday, said that its National Execu tive Committee (NEC) has arrived at a con sensus that the party will not contest the up coming LGEs without changes to the list of
electors.
“The Alliance For Change (AFC) has in dicated that it will not contest the Local Gov ernment Elections. To save face, they have op portunistically latched on to the discredited bloated list argument peddled by their larg er coalition partner,” Minister Nandlall said, adding:
“In the press state ment, they rehashed the selfsame, frivolous and vexatious contentions advanced by APNU in respect of the voters list. They also resorted to the repetition of their irrational and ridiculous allegations of electoral irregularities in respect
of the 2020 Regional and General Elections.”
The AFC, which is a member of the coali tion with the A Partner ship For National Unity (APNU), had said that they have concerns of going to an elections with the current vot ers list, claiming that it was bloated by some
200,000 persons.
However, Leader of the Opposition Au brey Norton, at a press conference last week, revealed that the oppo sition was basing this premise on the amount of Guyanese that are based overseas.
Claiming to cite US Homeland Security Sta tistics, Norton said that there are approximately 200,000 Guyanese mi grants with permanent visas living in the US, and another 50,000 that are in the US on tempo rary visitors’ visas.
However, non-res idency is not a basis for the removal of a Guyanese from the vot ers’ list. Nandlall un
derscored that the list cannot be bloated if the people that are on it are there legally.
As it is now, once a Guyanese is registered to vote at an election in Guyana, there is no requirement that he/ she must be resident in Guyana or out of Guy ana.
This law was re inforced in the 2019 ruling of Chief Justice (ag) Roxanne George, in which she established that the failure of regis tered persons to be pres ent or resident during a “house-to-house” ex ercise by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) would not be a criterion to remove a person from the Na tional Register of Reg istrants (NRR) or Of ficial List of Electors (OLE), since to remove that person on the basis of residency would be unconstitutional.
A person’s name can only be deleted if he/ she no longer meets the qualifying criteria on the Article 159 (2) of the Constitution. In order for this constitu tional establishment to be changed, it would require the acquies cence of at least twothirds majority of the 65-member National Assembly.
Vice-President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, in ad dressing the matter of house-to-house regis tration and the removal of names from the list, had affirmed that the government is not going to make decisions that would disenfranchise people; that rather, they would implement sys
tems that would enfran chise all eligible voters. Although the AFC continues to perpetuate their claims, the de cision by the party’s Executive Committee to not contest the elec tions came as no sur prise, as its membership has been on the decline due to the migration of some former lead ers including Raphael Trotman, and former Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo being rel egated to the fringes of Guyana’s political landscape.
It is well document ed, too, that the list of electors scheduled to be used in 2023 is the same one used in 2015 that saw the APNU+ AFC win the government. It is also the same list of electors that used in the 2016 and 2018 LGEs, in which they were forced by the People’s Nation al Congress (PNC) to contest those elections alone.
On both occasions, the AFC suffered im mense defeat, partic ularly in 2018 when the party could attract only four per cent of the votes.
Additionally, the losses have been com pounded further, as the AFC has been reduced to begging the PNC to honour agreements at the local government level to have its candi dates in top positions.
The latest such ex ample is in Linden, where the PNC has re jected the AFC’s candidate to fill the post of Vice-Chairman of Region 10.
(Jamaica Observer)
Insurance premiums are expected to rise in 2023 as reinsurers face the retreat of invested capital due to rising interest rates and significant loss es from catastrophes which have been com pounded by elevated levels of inflation.
According to In vestopedia, reinsur ance is also known as insurance for insurers or stop-loss insurance. Reinsurance is the practice whereby insur ers transfer portions of their risk portfolios to other parties by some form of agreement to reduce the likelihood of paying a large obliga tion resulting from an insurance claim.
“We certainly have observed rate increases as high as 15 per cent in several territories this year. We do expect this trend to continue into 2023. Our rein surers who support our risk and are our suppli ers of risk have experi enced significant losses so far this year in 2022. In fact, some reports indicate catastrophe losses that amount to close to US$100 billion not including recent Hurricane Nicole.
“As a result, we predict reinsurers will have no choice but to increase their rates and we will be constrained to manage and share this burden with our customers,” said newly installed chief execu tive officer of Guard ian Holdings Limited (GHL) Ian Chinapoo at NCB Financial Group Limited’s investor briefing last Friday.
GHL had exited the reinsurance business at the end of 2021 follow ing a US$10-million (TT$67.94-million) loss it incurred in the
third quarter related to floods in Germany.
Guardian Re (SAC) Limited was the sub sidiary that reinsured GHL’s hurricane and earthquake risk along with reinsuring the bulk of risk to external, professional reinsur ance companies. GHL operates in 21 countries across the English and Dutch-speaking Ca ribbean with Guardian Life Limited in Jamai ca being a core profit maker for the regional insurance group.
Inflation has reached record levels in 2022 across the globe with central banks in turn increasing their poli cy rates to combat the scourge. Reinsurers benefited before the ris ing interest rates when non-traditional money from hedge funds and private equity funds in vested into reinsurance type products. With interest rates rising, so does the cost of capital.
“Across the industry, as the cost of claims in crease, insurance rates will have to be read justed upwards so we can continue to pay for the future claim. Infla tion has become a ma jor focal point across the insurance industry as well. It has increased the cost of claims and values of insured prop erties.
“Additionally, infla
tion will clearly impact the sums insured for both new policies and policy renewals to en sure that appropriate replacement values and thus adequate coverage is in place. Notably, for example, the cost of vehicle parts, building materials and labour escalate because of inflation. Thus, when rates are applied to these higher values, we do expect insurance premiums will rise,” Chinapoo added on the impact inflation has on the cost of insurance premiums to custom ers.
The Caribbean is typically grouped to gether as a basket for reinsurers when they price reinsurance to companies in the re gion. As a result, when a Caribbean country is impacted by a hurri cane, it can in turn drive up the reinsurance rates in other countries and territories even if their risk has not material ly increased. Reinsur ance companies include Swiss Re, Munich Re, Allianz and Lloyd’s of London.
Locally, Insurance Association of Jamaica President Sharon Don aldson mentioned the fact that there was a hard reinsurance mar ket and that reinsurance rates were likely to rise based on the evolving
market dynamics.
Donaldson, who is also the managing di rector of General Acci dent Insurance Compa ny Limited, mentioned that claims inflation was being impacted especially on the motor side where parts have increased by as much as 40 per cent in recent times.
“We must do the best that can to price the product in such a way that reinsurers will stay with us and to pro vide the insuring public with proper terms and conditions in their pol icy to do a little bit of education to help them to see how they can mitigate against their losses,” said Donaldson on September 14.
The rising claims situation also comes at a time when insurance companies are spend ing more to prepare for the implementation of IFRS (International Fi nancial Reporting Stan dards) 17 on January 1. IFRS 17 will replace IFRS 4, which current
ly permits a wide range of accounting practices for insurance contracts. As noted on www.ifrs. org, insurance contracts combine features of both a financial instru ment and a service con tract.
“Our group em barked on this IFRS 17 implementation jour ney since 2018. We’ve implemented robust IT infrastructure, made all the necessary techni cal quality decisions in both our group finance and actuarial depart ments.
“We are currently nearing completion in the preparation of our financials and updated disclosures required by the standard includ ing proactive reviews conducted by our au ditors PWC. The group is confident therefore, that we will adopt the standard as planned and as required on January 1, 2023,” Chinapoo
explained on GHL’s readiness for the new standard.
GHL third quarter saw it record a 206 per cent increase in net result from insurance activities to TT$652.48 million which was largely driven by ac tuarial reserve releases during the quarter. Al though net result from investing activities was relatively unchanged year over year, GHL’s net profit attributable to shareholders grew 209 per cent to TT$619.97 million which was almost comparable 2021’s performance of TT$782.33 million.
For the overall nine months, GHL’s net result from insurance activities is up 112 per cent to TT$1.33 billion with net profit attributable to share holders increasing by 131 per cent to TT$1.06 billion.
MAKING wild unsub stantiated allegations about the voters list, the minority opposition, AFC, the junior partner of the APNU or PNC-led co alition, has announced that it will not contest the March 2023 Local Gov ernment Elections.
Is “issues” with the list the real reason why the AFC will not enter into the fray? The public thinks, and the evidence shows otherwise. And, isn’t it that the APNU+AFC ‘combo’ is in for a political trashing at the polls that is the real reason why it does not wish to contest the elections?
The AFC betrayed its constituents since 2015, and was punished by voters in subsequent elections. It stands to be defeated again
come 2023.
The evidence shows that the AFC did very poor ly when it last contested elections in 2018 on its own. The APNU ditched it. The AFC contested on its own, but was accommo dated by the APNU, which mostly stood down in con stituencies where its partner contested. And yet the AFC did badly, pulling a measly 4 per cent of the total votes.
Prior to 2018, the AP NU+AFC alliance did poorly at the 2016 Local Government Elections. The then Opposition PPP/C re soundingly won both Local Government Elections as well as the General Elec tions that followed in 2020.
It is not accidental that a majority of the voters has been gravitating towards
the PPP/C. Since 2015, the APNU and AFC ‘combo’ has been losing ground to the PPP/C, because of its poor performance in gov ernment.
Voters have not forgot ten that the APNU+AFC closed down sugar estates and terminated the services of thousands of workers.
The now ruling PPP/C is on course to winning a large majority, if not all, of the 80 Local Authority Areas (LAAs).
The AFC offers a lame excuse for standing down from the 2023 elections.
The voters list for the 2023 elections is not much dif ferent from the ones used in 2015, which was won by the ‘Coalition’, and the ones used in 2016 and 2018. The election law mandates that
the voters list must be up dated at periodic intervals.
The 2023 list has simply been updated with new eli gible electors. GECOM has carried out its constitutional mandate, accordingly. Not one issue has been put forth on real problems with the voters list by the opposition parties.
The law allows political parties, organisations, and individuals to scrutinise the list for aberrations or issues; to add names of eligible voters and to remove the deceased. GECOM has act ed on the request of parties or other entities to remove the names of the deceased with accompanying death certificates. But GECOM cannot remove the names of registered voters.
The Court ruled, in a
challenge a few years ago, that the names of registered voters cannot be removed. And neither can the names of Guyanese living abroad be expunged from the up dated list without proof of death.
So, there are no legal is sues with the list. Elections are already more than a year late, and, when held come March, it will be 18 months late. GECOM has done its job to hold elections as soon as possible. The AFC has not offered justifiable reason not to contest the overdue election.
Commentators believe that the real reason the AFC does not want to contest the LGEs is its fear that its real strength will be revealed. And that strength of politi cal support will be minimal.
Thus, the party wish es to lie low to avoid re vealing its lack of support among the electorate that was wised up to bad gover nance of the ‘Coalition’ and its attempt to interfere with the 2020 elections. Voters intend to punish the party for supporting electoral fraud.
The now ruling PPP/C has been making gains in the traditional heartland of the PNC. And it crushed the AFC in districts where the AFC did well in earlier elections.
Instead of focusing on non-issues about the voters list, the AFC should seek to rehabilitate its badly tattered image that was obtained from poor governance and of sup porting rigging.
AS food insecurity and global warming rise, governments, in ternational development part ners and industry should invest in sustainable food cold chains to decrease hunger, provide livelihoods to communities, and adapt to climate change, the United Nation (UN) said today.
Launched today at the 27th Climate Change Conference, the Sustainable Food Cold Chains report, from the UN En vironment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Na tions (FAO), finds that food cold chains are critical to meet ing the challenge of feeding an additional two billion people by 2050 and harnessing rural communities’ resilience, while avoiding increased greenhouse gas emissions.
The report was developed in the framework of the UNEP-led Cool Coalition in partnership with FAO, the Ozone Secretariat, UNEP OzonAction Programme, and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition.
“At a time when the inter national community must act to address the climate and food cri ses, sustainable food cold chains can make a massive difference,” said Inger Andersen, Executive
Director of UNEP. “They allow us to reduce food loss, improve food security, slow greenhouse gas emissions, create jobs, reduce poverty and build resilience – all in one fell swoop.”
The number of people affect ed by hunger in the world rose to 828 million in 2021, a year-onyear rise of 46 million.
Almost 3.1 billion people could not afford a healthy diet in 2020, up 112 million from 2019, as the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic drove up inflation. This year, meanwhile, the conflict in Ukraine has raised the prices of basic grains threat ening food security.
All of this comes while an estimated 14 per cent of all food produced for human consump tion is lost before it reaches the consumer. The lack of an effective cold chain to maintain the quality, nutritional value and safety of food is one of the major contributors to food loss.
According to the report, de veloping countries could save 144 million tonnes of food an nually if they reached the same level of food cold chain infra structure as developed countries.
As post-harvest food loss reduces the income of 470 mil lion small-scale farmers by 15 per cent, mainly in developing countries. Investing in sustain able food cold chains would help lift these farm families out of poverty.
Sustainable food cold chains can make an important differ ence in our collective efforts to achieve the Sustainable Develop ment Goals. All stakeholders can help implement the findings of this report, to transform agrifood systems to be more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable – for better production, better nutrition, a bet ter environment and a better life for all, leaving no one behind” said QU Dongyu, Director-Gen eral of FAO.
The food cold chain has serious implications for climate change and the environment. Emissions from food loss and waste due to lack of refrigeration totalled an estimated one giga tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent in 2017 – about two per cent of total global green house gas emissions.
In particular, it contributes to emissions of methane, a potent
but short-lived climate pollutant. Taking action now would con tribute to reducing atmospheric concentrations of methane this decade.
Overall, the food cold chain is responsible for around four per cent of total global greenhouse gas emissions – when emissions from cold chain technologies and food loss caused by lack of refrigeration are included.
Lost food also damages the natural world by driving unnec essary conversion of land for agricultural purposes and use of resources such as water, fossil fuels and energy.
Reducing food loss and waste could make a positive impact on climate change, but only if new cooling-related in frastructure is designed to use gases with low global warming potential, be energy efficient and run-on renewable energy.
The adoption of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol and the Rome Dec laration on “the contribution of the Montreal Protocol to sustainable cold chain develop ment for food waste reduction” provide a unique opportunity to accelerate the deployment of sustainable food cold chains. (FAO)
From page 2
resources are steered towards boosting its economy, and diversifying a number of critical sectors such as agriculture, tourism, social services and infrastructure.
The government is also pushing its Low- Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), an area which the bank has expressed keen interest in pursuing.
Dr. Singh pointed out, as well, that the bank’s visit is a historic one, and said that the government would like to see the financial institution play a pivotal role in Guyana in the exciting transformation underway in the country.
In return, Diaz-Granados highlighted that the bank belongs to the region, and it would be a priority to increase its presence in the Caribbean, and to assist its members in their development drives.
He noted that the bank’s focus is on regional inte gration, stressing that CAF would like to increase its presence and expand operations across the Caribbean.
The financial institution, which was created in 1970, comprises 21 countries, 17 of which are in Latin America and the Caribbean. It also includes Spain and Portugal, and 13 private banks in the region. CAF was originally established by five Andean member coun tries, namely: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
Its relationship with the Caribbean started in 1994, when Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) signed the agreement to become a Series “C” CAF, following which Jamaica and the Dominican Republic be came a Series “C” shareholder in 1999 and 2004, respectively.
ONE of the predictable slams on events such as the COP27 climate talks at Sharm el-Sheikh is the irony of many of the presi dents, PMs and other ‘bigshot’ delegates generating large carbon footprints by flying in with private jets.
The size of the footprint created to talk about re ducing the global footprint isn’t unimportant, but in the big scheme of things it’s the low-hanging fruit. We should resist the temptation to pick it. There are bigger criticisms to be made of these conferences. We’ll talk shortly about climate cost accounting.
First, this needs to be said. COP27 is necessary and important, and a lot of hard work and negotiating go on.
Some policy proposals are hard to swallow and can be politically disadvanta geous for countries such an India and US. Phasing out carbon energy means cutting jobs. Christmas is coming, but it doesn’t mean that political leaders want to act like turkeys.
New oil economies like Guyana face different cir cumstances. Guyanese lead ers bristle at talk of keeping the oil in the ground, espe cially coming from countries already built and developed on petroleum wealth. Guy ana has argued that devel opment driven by oil rev enue and environmental protection don’t have to be mutually exclusive.
At COP27, the cleareyed realisation is that the global environment has been damaged way past the point of taking small steps. We’re in a crisis. We know that the patient is in a terrible state, but who’s going to pay for the expensive medica tion and care that she badly needs?
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley – arguably the world’s most eloquent artic
ulator of the cost of climate change and fiercest advocate of the ways to fight it – has global influence beyond the size of her island. She’s not fazed about having what Aussies call “hard yakka” with the leaders of much bigger nations, to get them to increase and maintain their commitments.
Important breakthroughs were made at previous cli mate summits such as Paris in 2015, when delegates set numerical targets on rich na tion funding and greenhouse gas reduction that went fur ther than before towards matching the urgency and rapidity of the environmen tal damage being done by emissions.
Government reps, NGO reps, scientists and techno crats really go at it. COP27 is the Egypt equivalent of the smoke-filled room, with the increasingly exasperat ed leaders of small states bringing the smoke. These agreements aren’t easy to arrive at, and that has been reflected in the blunt and impatient language from Mottley and her small island colleagues.
As necessary as these cli mate conferences are, there are well-founded criticisms of them. One of the big ones is the measure of the extent to which financial targets such as the US$100 billion dollars a year from rich na tions to poor ones by 2020 – extracted in Paris – have been met.
One Caribbean climate change NGO executive said last month: “The largest amount of financial aid –roughly $83 billion – was dispensed in 2020.”
Oxfam disputes this figure. In an October 19 press release that previewed COP27, it said: “Even though rich countries claim to have mobilised around $83 billion in climate fi nance in 2020, of which $68 billion they claim was provided as public climate finance, recent Oxfam anal
ysis shows that the actual support provided was just a third of what the reported figures for public finance suggest.”
That, according to Ox fam, is between $21 billion and $24.5 billion. Loans and costly high-interest private financing are counted to wards the grant, it says.
“There are too many loans, too much debt, too few grants, too little for adaptation, and too much dishonest and misleading accounting”, Oxfam said in its report.
It’s not the first time that Oxfam has said that the climate sums don’t add up. It did so ahead of COP26 in Glasgow last year. I haven’t seen pushback on that. What I did see a year ago was the
same Caribbean executive stating the same $83 billion claim.
The people leading the climate change re sponse can’t keep returning to the same claim every year, as if skepticism about their figures doesn’t exist. The Oxfam reporting must either be knocked down or acknowledged as factual.
We need not only clarity in the accounting of the con tributions; but also line-item detail on how the money was/is being spent. One Ca ribbean climate NGO lists on its website a solar panel manufacturing project in Trinidad, without sufficient details on costs, timelines or even location. I’m not sure whether the funding comes through the COP pipe; but
detail is an issue.
What both sides agree on is the increased push in Egypt for so-called “loss and dam age” compensation from rich countries. It proposes that they compensate poor ones that had suffered catastrophic damage from climate change-induced natural disasters.
More hard work on this lies ahead. US climate envoy John Kerry – a former Secre tary of State and Democrat ic presidential nominee and therefore an encouragingly high-level front man on cli mate – told the UK Guard ian that loss and damage isn’t fully defined, and funding can’t be agreed until it is.
The Sharm conference attracted 30,000 delegates. A UK Guardian story head lined “Like Vegas, but worse”
chronicled the problems of a too-big and unwieldy event, and the time delegates wasted. There were too many people for the purpose of intense, high-level negotiation and crafting of policy. Amid the good, hard work was a waste of time and resources.
One Barbadian delegate said the world must abandon fossil fuels. Get real, chief. That’s not going to happen.
Guyana, handed the national development opportunity of a lifetime, isn’t going to pass it up. And alternative clean/ renewable energy is a long way away from filling the breach.
This is too many ex perts talking amongst themselves. (Orin Gordon is a consultant, at oringor don.com.)
THE government, through the Ministry of Housing and Water, has served the final notice to five Cane View/Her stelling (Mocha) squat ters, who have refused to move from the area earmarked for the new Eccles to Great Diamond Highway.
Subject minister Collin Croal said extensive work was done to ensure the res idents were relocated to de veloped housing schemes,
and were compensated, based on the market value of their structures.
However, Leader of the Opposition Aubrey Norton recently visited the area, and urged the five remain ing squatters on the reserve to remain, stating that the area is “ancestral lands”.
Minister Croal de scribed the Opposition’s statement as “reckless”, noting that the APNU+AFC
is not interested in the de velopment and upliftment of the very people it claims to represent.
“There is nothing new about the thoughtless mes saging from the opposi tion leader; they are not interested in giving the best possible advice, so that we can work and build this nation,” the minister said in a recent interview with the Department of Public Information (DPI).
He said that the govern ment reserve at reference is between Mocha and Her stelling, and has always been earmarked for infra structural expansion.
“So, those persons [the squatters] would have never been able to be regularized, or have a document for ownership, as well as apply for utility, in terms of elec tricity and water,” Minister Croal said.
He added that the pro cess to remove the squatters was done in such a way as to minimise the disruption of the families, while mak ing sure that homeowner ship is legally achieved as a means of building gener ational wealth.
“We have served notic es; we have gone to those persons repeatedly, and that is why we have moved it to the level of publicising
all the steps we have taken so far, so the people of this country can understand where we are at now. So, it is not a case where we woke up overnight, and we just said tomorrow you must move; its months now, and we are going to over a year in trying to remedy this situation, while im proving the lives of our cit izens,” Minister Croal said.
Some of the residents who were relocated to the Farm-Herstelling housing areas have begun construc tion of their new homes, while others have already completed theirs.
Giving an update on the progress of the new Eccles to Great Diamond Highway, Minister Croal said: “The lots are moving well; it is only this one lot that must be addressed. Work has started on both ends of the highway, but the squatters are in the mid dle of the lots, which is impeding completion of the new four-lane highway alignment.”
Minister Croal remind ed that the housing sector was not prioritised under the APNU+AFC’s tenure, noting that the sector was reduced to a department, with little funding and no real plans for housing de
velopment.
“History will show that [with] all PNC administra tions, little has been done in the housing sector. In fact, little was done during their [last] five-year tenure that they have had; making people’s lives better, putting people in a better envi ronment and a much more comfortable environment has never been a priority of theirs,” the minister said.
Pointing out the contin uous reckless behaviour of the Opposition in stymieing the development of commu nities, Minister Croal said the PPP/C Administration will continue to work with every community to im prove the living standard of citizens.
“We are building a One Guyana, so it means that it does not matter your po litical persuasion, it does not matter your race, your creed; we will come in your community and work with everyone, and sim ilarly when you look at what we are doing at hous ing, it is for everybody and this is what you will get from every PPP/C govern ment…” the Housing and Water Minister said.
The PPP/C Govern ment is committed to ful filling its Manifesto prom ise of delivering 50,000 house lots within five years. (DPI)
GUYANA has an extremely bright future ahead with the booming oil and gas sector and is on the brink of achieving energy security, industry experts have said.
Addressing the Guyana Business Journal webinar recently, Global energy strategist and Vice-Presi dent of Eversource Energy, Roger Kranenberg, high lighted that the gas-to-en ergy project will secure prosperity into the region.
“Once you get the gasto-shore, and you strip off the propane, you offset the propane imports and you use that gas to generate electricity and you do it through aero-derivative turbines, which are used on FPSOs, that’s half of the reliability,” he said.
Lecturer in the Depart ment of Chemical Engi neering and Petroleum Studies, University of the West Indies, Dr. Lorraine Sobers, noted that Guyana has begun to move away from energy insecurity with the development of the Low Carbon Devel opment Strategy (LCDS), and emphasised the need for reliable power genera tion and distribution.
“It is critical to so many services, spanning from healthcare to com munication to commerce. So, in the next decade, we’re looking at an in crease in demand. Another challenge would be the decarbonisation of power generation,” she said.
The LCDS seeks to align its operations with global climate change goals. The administra tion’s manifesto promise featured a dedication to developing measures to decarbonise the economy, especially the transport sector.
Further, Dr. David Lewis of the Caribbean
Policy Consortium and Manchester Trade Co-op eration, stressed the need for collaborative efforts among the government, private sector and civil society to facilitate the dispersion of profits across the country.
“That has to do with how are we going to use these new resources, this new technology, this link age to some of the most competitive and bench mark private companies in the world now operating in Guyana, to figure out how we get from double-digit non-reliable 24/7 power to single digit 24/7 power for Guyana and eventually for the rest of the Caribbean,” Lewis related.
There have been sev eral reports that the gov ernment is constantly en gaging stakeholders to facilitate a sustainable en ergy future. The country’s developing National Gas Strategy will open op portunities for trade and energy security between Guyana and its bilateral partners.
The establishment and implementation of sever al lucrative projects will profoundly alter the social and economic tapestry of Guyana. The Wales gas-to-energy project will cut electricity costs by more than half. The project will see Guyana transition ing to a cheaper and more sustainable natural gas reserve.
Additionally, the coun try continues to honour its commitment to facilitating a reduction in the use of fossil fuels, as agreed upon during the United Nations
Conference of Parties (COP26). This goes hand in hand with the imple mentation of solar farms in hinterland regions in keep ing with the goal to utilise
and develop low-carbon energy resources to de crease emissions.
This is in keeping with the administration’s manifesto commitment
to embrace renewable energy technologies and provide incentives for biomass-to-energy projects to reduce dependen cy on fossil fuels. (DPI)
SENIOR Minister in the Office of the President with respon sibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, on Monday, participat ed in a roundtable meeting with a multi-stakeholder Brit ish Trade Mission, to further discuss how Guyana and the United Kingdom could forge closer ties.
The mission, led by British High Commissioner to Guyana, Jane Miller, is a partnership among the Department for In ternational Trade of the British High Commission, the Caribbe an Council and the Georgetown
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI).
According to a press release from the Ministry of Finance, the aim of the mission is to increase growth in trade and investment between Britain and Guyana.
During Monday’s meeting at the Marriott Hotel, Dr. Singh said that Guyana and the United Kingdom share a long-stand ing relationship grounded in diplomatic and political ties as well as economic ties through investment and trade, people and culture.
The British Trade Mission,
he said, presents an excellent opportunity for both Guyana and British companies to forge closer ties and look forward to the expansion of the British business presence and relations in Guyana.
Dr. Singh indicated that as a result of its ramped-up oil-pro duction, Guyana is now the fastest growing economy in the world, with growth of over 50 per cent projected for 2022 and medium-term average annual growth projected at 25 per cent.
He added that Guyana is considered as the premier invest
ment destination in the world, attractive for investment in the oil and gas sector, infrastructure and requisite support services. There also exists avenues for investment and expansion in the non-oil extractives, such as gold, bauxite, agriculture, tourism and hospitality, ICT and energy.
Dr. Singh also said that un der President, Dr. Irfaan Ali’s One-Guyana vision, the govern ment is committed to leveraging the skills and investment poten tial of the Guyana Diaspora in the United Kingdom as it contin ues to implement its aggressive development agenda.
Guyana recently collabo rated with the UK Caribbean
Infrastructure Fund, with the latter contributing US$66 mil lion towards the US$190 million Linden to Mabura road project.
The two-lane highway between Linden and Mabura Hill forms part of the arterial link between Linden and the Lethem High way, enhancing the physical link between Guyana and Brazil.
Additionally, through the UK Export Finance (UKEF), the Government of Guyana is constructing a Paediatric and Maternal Hospital. The building and equipping of the state-ofthe-art hospital will cost 149 million pounds.
Meanwhile, co-operation programmes/projects between
Guyana and the UK also in clude the Diamond Diagnostic Centre, the Lethem Hospital, the Leonora Cottage Hospital, the Mabaruma Hospital and the Paramakatoi Hospital.
As of November 9 last, through collaboration between the two countries, Guyanese are now able to visit the UK visa-free.
President Ali had stressed as well during the announce ment of this waiver on visas that the two governments aim to further expand bilateral relations with the hope of fur thering investments, including the expansion of Guyana’s tourism market.
A SPECIAL investigation has been launched into the purchase of 100,000 birth certificates by the Minis try of the Presidency (now Office of the President), according to the 2021 Audi tor-General (AG)’s report, which was released last week.
According to Registrar General of the General Reg ister Office (GRO) Raymond Cummings, the birth certifi cates were purchased for the sum of $288.098 million, under the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) coalition government.
He explained to this pub lication that in or around 2013 or 2014, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) decided to increase the security of the certificate. As such, the implementation of a programme sponsored by the International Organ isation for Migration (IOM) to digitise the records of the GRO began.
It was explained that when the APNU+AFC took office in 2015, they bought certificates on paper which were copied, instead of con
tinuing the programme.
According to Cummings, this was not a secure certif icate, because if someone were to have a blank one, all they needed to do was fill in the information.
“Those certificates were purchased sometime be tween 2017 and 2019,” he noted.
Cummings related when the PPP/C took office in 2020 and he became Reg istrar General, they start ed printing all certificates through the Guyana National Printers Limited.
Cummings said that the cost is being reduced, by far, as they have not yet spent that amount of money to print certificates. The 2022 budget for the printing of all certificates is $30 million.
“Our print budget does not even reach $30 million, and that includes all the printing that we have to do. For 2022, the printing budget was $30 million, and that does not include only birth certificates,” he said.
It includes birth, death, and marriage certificates, registration forms, applica tion forms, discharge cards,
and more.
Included in the $288 million spent by the AP NU+AFC, were amounts amounting to $18.599 mil lion, which represented full payments on two con tracts for the acquisition of 100,000 birth certificates.
“The contracts were awarded by NPTAB, through the single-source method of procurement. The Ministry, in its request to NPTAB to utilise the single-source method of procurement stat ed that blank birth certifi cates are printed with highly sensitive security features which are confidential,” the AG report stated.
The Ministry also stated that the incumbent supplier and its “sister company” had successfully delivered on previous contracts, and have proven to be reliable and confidential, and provided “high-quality security-fea tures enable blank certifi cates”.
At the time of report ing, a special investigation was being conducted into the said acquisition of birth certificates.
As the country achieves universal secondary educa tion, the Ministry of Educa tion is considering reworking secondary school placement structures for pupils after sit ting the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA).
The new structure would see the top performing pu pils placed at national, then regional secondary schools, and the remaining pupils placed at the secondary school closest to their homes.
This is according to Minister of Education, Pri ya Manickchand, as she made announcements at a sod-turning event in the City, on Monday.
“The ministry is cur rently exploring a reformed type of placement at NGSA. It can’t happen now. When we get all our [secondary] schools in place and there’s a secondary school available to every child then NGSA can serve the purpose of saying children who are extremely gifted are offered places at the national school, then the regional school, then everybody goes to a school close to their homes,” Minister Manickchand said.
The Ministry is currently on an aggressive plan to build several new secondary schools across the country, expand others, and rehabil itate some.
According to the Minis ter, the new format is being explored as something to be accomplished by 2027.
“We have begun to think that through. We cannot do it without access to secondary education that is universal across the country, and we don’t have universal second ary education [right now],” Minister Manickchand said.
She emphasized that the change in no way means that the Ministry is moving towards removing NGSA, while noting that the assess ment is too significant.
“We are not ending NGSA; I want us to be very clear about that. Barbados, Trinidad and a couple other countries explored ending their primary exit examina tion, but it’s not happening, and that’s because it’s hard to do, for a variety of reasons. The exit exams measure a
whole set of other things in addition to placement. So, I didn’t speak about ending it,” the Minister clarified.
Customarily written an nually in April, the NGSA administers examinations to Grade Six pupils in Mathe matics, English, Social Stud ies and Science. The scores attained by the pupils are used to assess their place ment at a secondary school.
The examinations can often become very com petitive and be a source of anxiety for the apprehensive pupils, who can, at times, feel pressured to do well at the examinations to earn a place at one of the country’s national secondary schools, all of which are based in the capital city.
Students with the highest marks are awarded a place at Queen’s College, followed by Bishop’s High and St Stanislaus College.
The perception is that students will be afforded a better secondary school edu cation at the national second ary school over a secondary school closer to their homes or one with lower grades or lists.
However, Minister Man ickchand explained that the Ministry’s vision for univer sal education will not only be about improving the number of secondary schools but will be a holistic plan that also looks at improving the quali ty of education being offered at the various community secondary schools.
“The quality should be so high in every school that it doesn’t matter what school you go to, you can shine and do well because whether you are coming to St Winefride’s, East Ruimveldt, Brickdam or Annandale, you are getting the same type of education.
That’s the dream. That is not a dream we can work on only at the Ministry of Edu cation,” the Minister noted.
The Minister said to achieve this, the Ministry will be demanding the best from teachers.
“The country has to want to move to a place where we demand performance from our teaching service and the
administration of schools, because for every teacher that doesn’t teach its dozen of children; we are damaging dozens,” she added.
The Minister believes that the perception that stu dents at national secondary schools are better off has to do with the high number of subjects these students often do at the Caribbean
Secondary Education Certif icate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Ex amination (CAPE).
However, she indicated that there needs to be more equity in the reporting of the accomplishment being made by the other second ary schools, while she also reminded that a student does not need to do a large num ber of subjects to be accom plished.
“The truth is a child
needs five subjects with Maths and English, you don’t need to write 24 subjects. If you can write 24, write it, but the schools not writing 24 are not necessarily failures. There are peo ple at schools you never even heard about are doing enormously well. We are seeing better and better results at all the schools, ” Manickchand explained.
THE Government of Guyana is currently exploring all available options, including an appeal of the ruling of Acting Chief Justice Roxane George, S.C., who, among other things, ordered the Local Con tent Secretariat (LCS) to issue a local-content certificate to Ramps Lo gistics Guyana.
Last Friday, the Chief Justice ruled in favour of the Trinidadian-owned company, which had sold 51 per cent of its shares to a Trinidadian native who is of Guyanese parentage.
The Ministry of Natu ral Resources, in a release, said: “The Government of Guyana respects the Rule of Law and the indepen dence of the judiciary, and, therefore, will com ply with the ruling.”
It was noted, howev er, that the ministry has
“strong concerns” about the eligibility of Ramps’ application for local-con tent certification, and as such, the State is currently exploring all available op tions, including an appeal of the ruling.
According to the re lease, the government also noted the recent settlement by the company and the Guyana Revenue Author ity (GRA) on the matter of tax evasion, and also the ongoing litigations in 10 false tax declarations to the GRA.
“The Local Content Secretariat will continue to act in a professional man ner and defend the People of Guyana, consistent with the Local Content Act,” the release added.
The logistics company, which was incorporated in 2013 and is parented by Ramps Logistics Limited out of Trinidad and To
bago, had moved to the court, arguing that its ap plication for the certificate was unlawfully denied.
Ramps, through Senior Counsel Edward Luckhoo and Attorney-at-Law C.V Satram, had sought several orders to force the LCS to issue the document.
The acting Chief Jus tice had found that Ramps had satisfied the statuto ry requirements, and/or pre-conditions necessary for the grant of and/or issuance of the certificate.
In June, the LCS, after reviewing the company’s
application, determined that the information sub mitted was insufficient for a proper compliance eval uation to be done by the secretariat, in accordance with the requirements of the Act.
It was reported earlier this year that some 51 per cent of the company was sold to Trinidadian busi nessman, Deepak Lall, for G$210 million.
The Guyana Chronicle understands that Lall has never represented Ramps Logistics publicly at any of its press conferences, and Trinidadian, Shaun Rampersad, remains the face of the company.
Last month, Ramp ersad was released on $500,000 bail for 10 charges of false declara tions made over the past two years to the GRA. Rampersaud pleaded not guilty to the charges. He
will return to court on No vember 25.
Meanwhile, the Attor ney-General’s Chambers, in a statement on Monday, said that it will examine the Chief Justice’s ruling in the case to determine further course of actions.
The statement ex plained that the Local Content Act was an initial attempt to create a novel statutory framework in respect of a new under taking.
As a result, the Cham bers promised that it will remain under constant re view, and will be modified and refined with time and experience.
“We are satisfied that the Act provides a sol id foundation which has guided the sector thus far, and enabled a protective network for the interest of Guyanese and Guyanese companies operating in
the sector.
“Importantly, Regu lations and Guidelines are already in draft, and will now benefit from the Chief Justice’s ruling and experience garnered in the sector,” the release added.
According to the Chambers, these Regula tions and Guidelines will further enhance the legis lative framework, as well as set out criteria which will inform the exercise of discretion, and guide the decision-making pro cesses enshrined in the legislation.
The measures will also address the con duct of operators in the sector, including their compliance levels with related legislative and administrative require ments, to protect and promote Guyana’s best interest.
AS Guyana joined the rest of the world on Monday to observe World Diabetes Day, Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony said that the ministry’s part nership with the US-based Mount Sinai Hospital will see improved access to treatment for diabetes pa tients, as well as enhanced medical services and train ing.
Speaking during Mon day’s COVID-19 update, the health minister said mea sures are being put in place to pilot a one-stop diabetic centre to enable persons to access all diabetes services at one location.
“We have already com pleted a building at Lusig nan and we are putting in the equipment right now. So, before the year comes to an end, we should be able to initiate our first one-stop shop for diabetic patients,” Dr. Anthony said.
He added: “You would come there as a diabetic pa tient; you would be seen by a doctor and get specialised treatment from an endocri nologist. You can also get nutrition counselling. So, all the services would be grouped together so that when you come there, you can get those services. You wouldn’t have to go from
one clinic to another to ac cess those services. We be lieve that if this works as we anticipate it would, we would need to replicate it in other regions.”
Meanwhile, with regards to dialysis treatment, Minis ter Anthony emphasised the importance of preventative measures to ensure per sons do not arrive at a point where that sort of treatment becomes necessary.
The Department of Public Information (DPI) recently said that a new dialysis centre was commis sioned in Essequibo as part of the transformative agenda to expand health services.
Persons who undergo dialysis now have access to
financial assistance to fund their treatment.
The government had set aside $180 million in Budget 2022 to alleviate the burden of expensive dialysis treatment for persons with chronic kidney disease.
Minister Anthony had announced in March that the initiative would provide $600,000 annually to dialy sis patients.
He noted that even with several non-govern mental organisations pro viding dialysis to patients and subsidising the cost, it remains a challenge, especially for persons re ceiving dialysis three times per week.
‘One-stop’Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony
PRESIDENT of the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA), An dron Alphonso says there has been a spike in the number of people entering the mining industry, both foreign and local.
Alphonso was at the time speaking at the organisation’s recent Annual General Meet ing, it’s 38th to date.
He said: “The number of persons entering the mining industry is on the rise; we have seen more new entrants, both foreign and local. The industry is continuing to grow, as is our membership.”
The meeting was the first large gathering of the Associ ation since May 2022, when the members of the GGDMA met with Vice-President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo at the Arthur
Chung Conference Centre, during which the Government announced several measures that assisted in the mining sector.
In reporting on the progress for the past year, Alphonso not ed that through strong lobbying efforts and collaboration with the Government, the GGDMA has been able to unlock several benefits for miners, including tax incentives for the industry.
The executives requested a mandate of the GGDMA, and subsequently granted by the membership present, to allow for a review of the organisa tion’s original charter, and to propose necessary changes in keeping with the sector’s current needs.
Alphonso also outlined some significant objectives that the GGDMA will be
IN consonance with Pres ident Dr. Irfaan Ali’s commitment to ramp up monitoring and enforce ment of littering laws, Solid Waste Management Director for Georgetown, Walter Narine said an an ti-littering campaign will commence today.
In an interview with the Department of Public Information (DPI), Narine said that tremendous re sources are being expend ed to enhance the outlook of Georgetown. However, some persons continue to flout the laws and regula tions.
“It is really troubling to know the number of re sources that we are putting into this effort, and some folks are still bent towards littering,” he said.
As a result, the Solid Waste Director said strin gent mechanisms will be es tablished to ensure persons who continue to litter face the full brunt of the law.
“From Tuesday, we’re gonna have a [anti-litter] campaign rolled out again, and we are going to arrest you. And we are going to charge you for littering, and you will have to pay fines,” Narine affirmed.
Through the enforce ment measures, convicted persons could be sentenced to mandatory community service, and assist in the continued enhancement of the city.
“[Community service] is what I prefer; I prefer you come and do community service, and you clean up the mess that you would
Director of Solid Waste Management Walter Narinehave created,” Narine said.
During the national clean-up exercise held on November 12, President Ali said heavy focus will be placed on enforcement to ensure the country remains clean.
“We have given enough time, enough education programmes; enforcement is going to become a ma jor aspect of what we are doing,” the President said.
The countrywide beautification project is being spearheaded by the Ministry of Public Works’ National En hancement Committee, and will continue to see the involvement of vari ous stakeholders, includ ing government agencies, the diplomatic corps, the private sector, non-gov ernmental organisations, the joint services, and the public. (DPI)
focusing on in the coming year, such as: Renewal of the Investment Development Agreements (IDAs) for miners; improved infrastructure for the
Mining Sector; opening up of new mining lands; allowance for miners to have the option to be paid up to 100 per cent of funds earned from gold
sales in foreign currency; and the removal of restrictions on the age of ATVs, for which waivers can be garnered.
According to GGDMA Ad ministrative Manager Avalon Jagnandan, the Association has launched an initiative to support miners in need of work grounds.
He added that several min ing blocks would be made available to miners of all scales to access, and urged miners to visit the GGDMA Secretariat for details.
Members in attendance raised concerns about the in creasing malaria cases in the
interior, and called for more significant intervention and support from the Ministry of Health.
Members also urged the GGDMA to continue to lob by the government for new roads; the rehabilitation and upgrading of existing roads, bridges and airstrips; to examine a reduction in late fees charged by the GGMC; to seek additional funding for Mercury-Free Mining Technology; and to engage with banks and suppliers for better financial terms for the industry.
WELL-KNOWN Coren tyne businessman, Nakool Manohar, called ‘Fyah’, and his alleged accomplice, on Monday, denied playing a role in the deadly 2018 pirate attacks.
Manohar, 42, of Number 43 Village, Corentyne, and Premnauth Persaud, 46, also known as ‘Sinbad,’ were ar raigned before Justice Navin dra Singh at the Berbice High Court.
The men denied that be tween April and June 2018, while in Guyana’s territorial waters, they murdered Ma
hesh Sarjoo called ‘Kuba’ and Tilaknauth Mohabir called ‘Camion’, on board the vessel, Romina SK 764, while committing the offence of piracy.
It is further alleged that
the men, during the same period, murdered Bandara called ‘Spanish man’, Laita Sumair called ‘Bora’ and Lokesh DeCouite, on board the vessel, Joshua SK 1418.
The state is being repre sented by special prosecutor, Latchmie Rahamat and state counsel, Nafeeza Baig.
A 12-member jury was empanelled on Monday and trial is currently underway.
It is alleged that during the period April 14 and June 3, 2018, four fishing vessels were attacked by pirates and during the incidents, several fishermen were savagely beaten, chopped and burnt with hot oil and left to die, while others remain missing and are feared dead.
Five fishermen survived the traumatic ordeal.
A CORONER’S inquest into the death of 70-year-old Chanderjit Sanichar, called “Canter”, who was killed in an accident on the Bet ter Hope Public Road, East Coast Demerara (ECD), is expected to commence on November 23.
An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law ju risdictions, and is held to determine the cause of a person’s death. In Guyana, a sitting magistrate, who acts as the coroner, empanels a jury, after which the inquest is conducted.
Magistrate Alisha George will preside over the in quest at the Sparendaam Magistrates’ Court, with a five-member jury to deter mine whether Police Ca det Officer James Tappin is criminally responsible for Sanichar’s death.
A total of six witnesses are expected to be called.
On June 23, 2013, San ichar, a fish vendor, was allegedly struck down by
Chanderjit Sanichar, called ‘Canter’
Tappin’s motorcar along the Better Hope Public Road. Tappin was later charged with driving under the influence of alcohol.
On the night of the ac cident, there were no eye witnesses, and the reported point of impact, the location of the pedestrian crossing and where the victim’s body was removed from, posed some challenges for inves tigators.
DIABETES is a lead ing silent but most pre ventable killer in the Caribbean, according to Executive Director of the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CAR PHA) Dr. Joy St. John in observance of World Diabetes Day 2022.
World Diabetes Day is observed annually on 14 November. The theme for 2021 to 2023 is Access to Diabetes Care.
She noted that the training of healthcare pro viders strengthens and standardises the manage ment of diabetes in pri mary care settings, which is a cost-effective and re sults-intensive way of im proving good outcomes in diabetes care region-wide.
Crucial to an effec tive response to the di abetes epidemic, Dr. St. John said, is access to high-quality, integrated and people-centred pri mary healthcare services, with the appropriate num ber of healthcare pro fessionals who are well trained and equipped to care for persons with di abetes.
According to CAR PHA, diabetes was re corded as the fourth lead ing cause of death and disability in the Americas in 2019.
According to the IDF Diabetes Atlas, North America and the Carib bean are ranked 4th in the world, with an age-adjust ed comparative diabetes prevalence of 11.1 per cent in adults 20-79 years of age.
Projected prevalence in 2030 and 2045 are 12.3 per cent and 13.0 per cent, respectively. In 2019, the country in the Americas with the highest age-stan dardised mortality (ex cluding chronic kidney disease) due to diabetes was Guyana, with 82.6 deaths per 100 000 pop ulation.
Several Caribbean countries were in the top ten, including 3rd placed Trinidad and Tobago, and 4th -placed Haiti at 69.6 and 68.2 per 100,000,
respectively.
This year’s observance of World Diabetes Day emphasises the need for better access to quali ty diabetes education for health professionals providing care and peo ple living with diabetes. While the high preva lence of diabetes and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs) were thought to exacerbate the impact of COVID-19, it showed the need to im prove the prevention, di agnosis and management of NCDs.
“Diabetes: Educate to protect tomorrow is one of the key messages for the 2022 World Diabetes Day. It reminds us that ed ucation supports diabetes prevention, early diagno sis, and the reduction of diabetes complications.
Healthcare providers should know how to de tect and diagnose diabetes early and provide the best possible advice and care for people living with di abetes,” CARPHA noted.
According to CAR PHA, access to diabetes education increases the likelihood that healthcare providers will have pro ductive interactions with informed-activated clients empowered to take charge of their health.
Information provid ed to clients should in clude: The risk factors that increase the risk of developing diabetes and the associated complica
tions; signs of diabetes and blood sugar control; and managing diabetes through healthy lifestyle and nutritional choices such as eating a healthy diet, which includes at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day, and reducing the in take of fats and sugars.
Further, CARPHA underscored the need to remain physically active, at least 30 minutes of reg ular moderate-intensity physical activity on most weekdays (for adults); 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day (for children); and avoiding tobacco use and maintaining a normal body weight.
CARPHA provides technical support to Mem ber States to improve ac cess to care for persons living with diabetes, and minimise the impact of the disease.
The CARPHA Guidelines for Dia betes Management in Primary Care in the Caribbean, updated in collaboration with the Organisation of East ern Caribbean States, offer a framework for the care for persons living with diabetes, and are intended to support, strengthen and standardise the management of diabe tes, and improve out comes in the care of diabetes in the Mem ber States.
A SUPREB knock of 94 from captain, Brian Man gar not only ensured Guy ana Knight Riders Ariel All Stars maintain their unbeaten streak which started last year but also allowed them to retain championship honours in the All Stars Open catego ry when the sixth edition of the Prime Minister T20 Softball tournament cli maxed under lights at the Guyana National Stadium on Sunday night.
The slimly built Man gar tore the Name Brand attack to threads with an in nings that belies his stature, blasting six fours and eight sixes off a mere 43 balls as Ariel All Stars made abso lute mockery of the 143 for five made by Name Brand in their allotted 20 overs, reaching the target in 13.3 overs, losing two wickets in the process.
Mangar, who shared in two important partnerships, added 85 for the first wicket with Shaz Grovesnor, whose 35 contained two fours and two sixes while he also dom inated in a second-wicket partnership of 56 with for mer Guyana and West Indies batsman, Zamal Khan whose contribution was a mere five
not out. Khan, in fact, played second fiddle after realizing Mangar was in sight of a well-deserved century.
With just three needed for victory, a somewhat dis appointed Mangar departed, caught at mid-wicket off Kishan Gangaram, allowing Khan and Jonhattan Fer nandez to complete the for malities. Gangaram finished with one for 29 in 3.3 overs while Joshua Sampson took the other wicket, conceding 36 runs.
Earlier, Name Brand innings was bolstered by half-centuries from opener Ramanrine Jugastair (53) and the consistent Sase narine Sookoo (56), but fine bowling from Ariel All Stars bowlers never allowed them to cut loose. Jugastair hit a four and two sixes in his knock while Sookoo, who was singlehandedly responsible for Name Brand reaching the final, slammed two fours and two sixes. Andy Narine claimed two for 40 and Vishal Phillips one for 22.
Sookoo, it will be re called, broke the hearts off Regal All Stars players and supporters, spanking three consecutive sixes in the final over to earn Name Brank victory in their semi-final encounter, played at the
Queen’s College ground on Saturday.
Ariel All Stars collected the winning trophy and the whopping $600,000 first prize while Name Brand received the runner-up tro phy and $50, 000. Mangar copped both the man-of-thematch and Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards, the latter being a 50-inch TV, compliments of Regal Sta tionery and Office Supplies. The winners, runner-up, man-of-the-match and MVP trophies were all sponsored by Trophy Stall.
At the presentation cere mony, Prime Minister Mark Phillips gave the assurance that once he remains in his position, the three-day soft ball extravaganza will con tinue to be an annual affair.
While praising the Georgetown Softball Crick et League (GSCL) for doing an excellent job, the Prime Minister urged them to en sure that teams are given ad equate notice on the staging of the tournament.
According to the Prime Minister, who witnessed the entire game, while there must be a winner and a loser, he considers both teams as winners and extended congratulations to them for reaching the final.
Federation (GFF). “It’s a major step taken by the GoG. I believe that no sport (Association or Federation) in this beautiful country should be doing things all by themselves. Sports in its en tirety, not just football, will reap major rewards from
far-reaching support which the One-Guyana President’s Cup football tournament has created the base model for others to follow.”
He concluded that, “The executive of the Esse quibo Football Association and the players in our zone
have been longing for com petition, on behalf of them I would like to express heartfelt gratitude to ev eryone that played a part in making this competition a success. I am excited at what’s in store.” (Calvin Chapman)
were at least four clear scor ing chances by Block 22, with the most glaring one coming two minutes into the game when the goal-keeper of Blueberry Hill was caught stranded just about ten yards out, but the Blueberry Hill striker/s shot went wide of the open goal.
At least three other chances went abegging be fore Adams gave Blueberry Hill the lead at the end of the first- half with them ahead 1-0. Blueberry Hill then held sway until that strike from the penalty spot.
Clearly fouled was Andre Webster soon against the run
of play to what appeared to be a non-call in the box when under pressure, there was a clear handled ball by a Block 22 defender.
This was acknowledged as the assistant referee initial ly raised his flag but it was not captured by the referee in the middle.
At the other end of that play with two minutes left, Webster was fouled by the Blueberry Hill custodian as he advanced towards the goal.
Sent to take that penalty was Webster and his rightfoot shot crashed to the left upright and from that re
bound, he tucked home the equaliser.
That questionable goal saw the kicker play the ball again without any other play er touching it, and this did not sit well with Blueberry Hill. Regulation and extra time plays did not unlock that 1-1 stalemate.
Following that un changed score from the five mandatory kicks taken, Block 22 emerged winners 4-3 and Chronicle Sport was told a protest was like ly to be launched yester day with the UDFA about the penalty decision. (Joe Chapman)
(REUTERS)-Prime Min ister Shehbaz Sharif and cricket great Imran Khan led tributes to Pakistan's valiant fight in Sunday's Twenty20 World Cup final against England saying the country was proud of the team led by Babar Azam.
Pakistan made a li on-hearted effort to defend a below-par total of 137-8 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) but were dealt a body blow when pace spearhead Shaheen Afridi injured himself while taking a catch and eventual ly hobbled off the field wit...
Jos Buttler's England prevailed by five wickets at the MCG to claim their second T20 World Cup title
but Pakistan's never-say-die attitude drew praise from fans that included the coun try's top politicians.
"We are proud of our boys in green for making it to the final match of this mega tournament." Pakistan, at the same MCG 30 years ago, had beaten England in the final of the 50-overs world Cup under Khan's inspiring leadership
The cricket er-turned-politician was happy at least Babar's team showed the same fighting spirit.
"I know the country has suffered a heartbreak, be cause we had hoped we'd win the World Cup," Khan said in a video shared by
Dawn newspaper. "Win and loss are part and parcel of the game. I used to tell my team to fight till the last ball, try your...
Former all-rounder Khan said Afridi's injury had a major bearing on the out come of the final. "No one can do anything about that and unfortunately it hap pened at a time when the match was at a very import ant stage and Shaheen could have made a difference.
Another former cap tain, Waqar Younis, said Pakistan could be proud of their display in Australia. "Chin-up boys! You guys made us all very Proud. Better Luck next time," he tweeted.
NEW YORK (Reuters) -
The National Basketball Association has been sued by three longtime referees who say the league fired them this year after they refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19 over religious objections.
In a complaint filed on Saturday in Manhattan fed eral court, Kenny Mauer, Mark Ayotte and Jason Phillips said the league im properly forced compliance with its "hygienic norms," and wrongly concluded that their sincere religious objections fell short of its "high standard" against be ing vaccinated.
The plaintiffs said the NBA's "jab or job ultima tum" led to their suspen
sions for the 2021-2022 season, when the league re quired COVID vaccinations for all employees other than players.
They said the league refused to reinstate them despite lifting the vaccine requirement for the 20222023 season, consistent with the ban on vaccine mandates under its new sev en-year collective bargain ing agreement with referees.
"Had the NBA not taken upon itself to force faithbased conscientious objec tors to adhere to secular norms, none of plaintiffs' complained-of injuries would have manifested," the complaint said. "In sum: Plaintiffs were persecuted."
The NBA and the for mer referees' lawyer did not immediately respond to
requests for comment.
Mauer and Ayotte said they were NBA referees for 35 years and 17 years, respectively, before being suspended, while Phillips was a referee for 19 years before becoming vice pres ident of referee operations and a replay center prin cipal.
The lawsuit accuses the NBA of violating federal civil rights law and New York state and city human rights laws. It seeks front and back pay, punitive dam ages, and damages for rep utational harm and for pain and suffering.
The complaint is Ayo tte v National Basket ball Association et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 22-09666.
THOUSANDS of racing spectators were treated to a grand day of racing on Sunday as the Guyana Mo tor Racing and Sports Club (GMRSC) hosted its Nation al Race of Champions.
Saturday’s rains damp ened the qualifying session but Sunday’s sunny skies set the tone for a perfect day of racing.
Unveiling its new 1.6 km track, the club also put on a spectacle of groups with bat tles all day long.
The highly competitive Street tuner (1500cc) class of action were the first set of classes out the blocks with Jorge Zafiro Ramirez taking race one ahead of Vicky Per saud and Altabh Khan.
Race two had a different winner with Sanjeev Caimraj taking the chequered flag ahead of Vickey Persaud and Ramirez.
Race three, a combined running with the Sports Tuner (1600cc) class was red flagged after an incident on lap one left two competitor cars and a section of fence damaged.
Due to fading light and the amount of time needed for the clean-up, their race did not restart.
In the earlier Sports Tuner event, Azaad Hassan won race one ahead of Adrian Fer nandes and Mohamed Ahmad while Ahmad beat Adrian Fernandes and Darrel Singh of Trinidad, in that order.
Shan Seejatan’s domi nance of the group two class transcended both wet and dry conditions on Sunday as the champion driver overcame challenges all round.
Qualifying second on the grid on Saturday alongside
pole sitter Chet Singh, See jatan was a force to be reck oned with, sweeping up all three wins on the day.
In race one, he finished ahead of Mark Williams and Nasrudeen Mohamed while in race two, he survived an early tussle with Barbados’ Ahmad Esuf who finished second and Williams third.
Race three featured the same running order as race one, Seejatan, Williams and Mohamed.
It was a similar kind of dominance for Stefan Jeffrey in group three, showcasing the reliability of the Unruly Civic.
The GP3 class was a high ly touted one prior to race day but when the dust settled, it was the lone Jeffrey who snagged all three wins.
Jeffrey won race one ahead of Danny Persaud and Vishok Persaud comfortably with race two being a com bined fixture with the Starlet Cup.
Again, Jeffrey won con vincingly over Neil Persaud and L. Samaroo.
The third race of the day was a GP3/GP4 fixture, which Jeffrey won comfortably ahead of Anand Ramchand and Shairaz Roshandin.
The highly anticipated Toyota Starlet cup featured one win a piece for Anand Ramchand and Rameez Mo hamed in their two races.
Ramchand picked up the first win ahead of Mohamed and Shairaz Roshandin while the tables were turned in race two; Mohamed beating Ram chand into second place and Danny Persaud.
Unfortunately, fading light and a damp track meant that organisers were not able to complete the third race
After Saturday’s back and forth with Kristian Jeffrey and Mark Vieira for the group four pole position, taken by Jeffrey on the last lap of the session, there was bound to be a titanic battle come Sunday.
But it was Mark Maloney who produced the most fight for the Guyanese namesake.
In the end though, it was Vieira with two wins on the day.
Only one race apiece was available for both the super bikes and 125cc class as a damp track made it unsafe for action.
Matthew Vieira won ahead of Kevin Persaud and Shem Chattersingh.
The final leg of the Radi cal Sr3 Caribbean Cup rolled into Guyana as well with Kristian Jeffrey and Kristian Boodoosingh both looking to claim the title.
And things did not get off to a suitable start for the Guyanese when Stuart Ma loney won race one ahead of Suleman Esuf and Boo doosingh respectively; Jeffrey finished fourth.
Mark Maloney finished Race two first, ahead of Esuf and Jeffrey with Boodoosingh falling out, leaving an all-out war for the last race and the championship.
And he did it in spectacu lar fashion. Fading light and a damp track meant that Jeffrey had his work cut out for him and with Boodoosingh on the charge, it was not going to be easy.
However, he managed the eight lap affair with great skill, winning the final race and celebrating his championship win.
NORTH SOUND, Anti gua, (CMC) – Captain Shai Hope constructed a high class half-century to pow er Barbados Pride to a five-wicket victory over Leeward Islands Hurri canes and into the semi-fi nals of the Super50 Cup here late Sunday night.
Faced with a challenging revised target of 271 off 48 overs in the day/night Zone B encounter at the Vivian Rich ards Cricket Ground, Pride stitched together a clinical run chase to reach their target with an over to spare.
At the centre of the effort was the enterprising Hope, the stylish right-hander top-scoring with 88 off 67 de liveries – his third half-cen tury of the campaign coming three days after celebrating his 29th birthday.
Opener Zachary Mc Caskie struck a patient 49 from 70 balls, Nicholas Kirton lashed a breezy 39 from 34 deliveries while Kyle Hope – Shai’s older brother – weighed in with 36 from 62 balls at the top of the order.
All-rounder Roshon Pri mus put the finishing touches on the chase, blasting a cou ple of sixes in a 10-ball un beaten 21, including the win ning runs – a mighty blow over the ropes at mid-wicket off the expensive left-arm pacer Colin Archibald.
“We just [needed] to set it up. Set a foundation and then we can explode at the end,” Man-of-the-Match Hope said afterwards.
“There’s never a need to panic. I always think we have much more time than we think, and that’s something I like to portray to the dressing room and I think we need to
do it a lot more in the West Indian culture.
“If it’s 10 runs an over [which is required], that lit erally means we just need 10 runs in the last over to win the game.”
Hurricanes posted 273 for seven from their 50 overs after being sent in, captain Jahmar Hamilton hitting his third successive half-cen tury with 51 off 70 balls, Rahkeem Cornwall getting 46 from 38 deliveries and left-handed opener Kieran Powell carving out 40 from 56 deliveries.
In-form right-hander Keacy Carty punched 36 while Karima Gore (33 not out) and Hayden Walsh (33) chipped in with key knocks, which appeared to give Hur ricanes in the upper hand in the contest.
With the defeat, however, – their second in six outings –Hurricanes slipped to second on 14 points but are now in danger of missing out on the semi-finals as they can be overtaken by Jamaica Scor pions (12) who play minnows
West Indies Academy on Monday.
“I think we lost it in the back end with our faster bowlers. We didn’t stick to our plans as long as we need ed to,” Hamilton lamented.
Hurricanes batted well in partnerships after the early loss of Kofi James for six in the fourth over with 19 runs on the board, Carty and Pow ell rebuilding the innings in a 65-run second wicket stand.
When both perished 15 runs and 27 balls apart – both to rookie leg-spinner Javed Leacock (4-48) – Hamilton struck three fours and two sixes and Cornwall, two fours and four sixes, as Hurricanes benefitted from a 86-run fourth wicket partnership.
Walsh and Gore then fol lowed up with their cameos which helped Hurricanes past the 250-run mark.
Bad light caused by a floodlight failure forced a stoppage early in the chase resulting in a revision of the target but once play resumed, McCaskie and Hope put on 93 for the first wicket to keep the game interesting.
Both were casualties as Pride lost three wickets for 29 runs but it only paved the way for Hope’s arrival and the resurgence of the innings.
The West Indies whiteball star stroked half-dozen fours and four sixes, dom inating a 103-run, fourth wicket stand with Kirton, which put Pride in sight of victory.
By the time he perished in the 46th over, pulling off-spinner Cornwall into the lap of deep mid-wicket, Pride still required a fur ther 24 runs from 16 balls but Primus entered to seal the deal.
(REUTERS) - Manchester United said they would address forward Cristiano Ronaldo's comments that he felt betrayed by the club and was being forced out only after establishing the full facts.
Ronaldo, who rejoined United from Juventus for a second spell at Old Trafford in 2021 on a two-year deal, said in an interview with Piers Morgan for TalkTV aired on Sunday that he had for manager Erik ten Hag.
"Manchester United notes the media coverage regard ing an interview by Cristia no Ronaldo. The club will consider its response after the full facts have been es tablished," United said in a statement on Monday.
"Our focus remains on
preparing for the second half of the season and continuing the momentum, belief and to getherness being built among the players, manager, staff,
and fans."
Ten Hag said last month that the 37-year-old Portu guese refused to come on as a substitute against Tottenham Hotspur when the Portugal player walked down the tun nel with a few minutes of the match remaining after being left on the bench.
The five-times Ballon D'Or winner was not part of the squad that faced Chelsea the following Saturday and missed United's 2-1 win over Fulham on Sunday due to illness.
United are fifth in the league table on 26 points from 14 games with the season pausing for the Nov. 20-Dec. 18 World Cup in Qatar. Ronaldo will captain Portugal in the tourna ment.
SOUTH Africa have named an almost fullstrength squad as they look to make it four straight Test series victories in Aus tralia.
Dean Elgar will captain the Proteas for the first time on Australian soil with a 16-player squad announced for the three-match NRMA Insurance Test series.
South Africa's highly acclaimed pace attack will be operating at full capacity with Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Marco Jansen and Lungi Ngidi all fit after mak ing it through the T20 World Cup unscathed.
In a big boost for the tourists, key batter Rassie van der Dussen has recov ered from the finger injury that ended his tour of En gland in July which was South Africa's most recent red-ball outing.
Experienced batters Temba Bavuma, Theunis de Bruyn and keeper-batter Henrich Klassen also come into the squad to strengthen the Proteas' middle order.
However, top-order batter Keegan Petersen is out with a hamstring inju ry and the powerful Aiden Markram has missed out on selection after being dropped during the tour of the UK
It's been six seasons since the African nation has toured Australia for a Test series when they infamously rolled the hosts for 85 on a green Hobart wicket.
Such has been the turn
over in South African crick et however that only four players (Elgar, Bavuma, Radaba and spinner Keshav Maharaj) have lasted since that series.
The Proteas have blood ed eight debutants in the last 18 months, twice as many as Australia in that same period
And there could be an other one too with 22-yearold quick Gerald Coetzee selected in the South African Test squad for the first time after taking 40 wickets in his first 13 first-class matches.
South Africa have a strong record on these shores, undefeated in a Test series in 17 summers dating all the way back to 2005-06.
In 2008-09, Graeme Smith's side became the first visiting side to knock off Australia in 16 years with inspiring victories in Perth and Melbourne to seal a 2-1 victory
When they returned in 2012-13, Michael Clarke
was at his peak but a stun ning debut from Faf du Ples sis denied the Aussies in Ad elaide and set up a 1-0 series victory for South Africa.
And most recently, in 2016-17, the Proteas won big in Perth and Hobart to consign Australian cricket to a moment of soul-searching.
The three Test matches will be held in Brisbane (Dec 17-21), Melbourne (Dec 26-30) and Sydney (Jan 4-8) and South Africa will also play a four-day warm-up match against an Australian XI at Allan Bor der Field (Dec 9-12).
South Africa squad: Dean Elgar (c), Temba Bavuma, Gerald Coetzee, Theunis de Bruyn, Sar el Eree, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Heinrich Klaas en, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Glenton Stuurman, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Ver reynne, Khaya Zondo.
AFTER witnessing their Legends counterparts win a dramatic last-over final to retain championship hon ours in the Legends Over50 category, Regal Masters ensured another title for the prestigious Campbell ville-based club with an emphatic nine-wicket vic tory over Ariel Masters in their Masters Over-40 final, played as part of the sixth edition of the Prime Minister T20 Softball tour nament which ended at the Guyana National Stadium on Sunday night.
Set 119 for victory, after Ariel Masters were bowled
out for 118 in 19,2 overs in the 20-over affair, Regal Masters cruised to 119 for one in 13.1 overs with the ex perienced Chien Gittens un defeated on 43 and number three batter, Khemchandra Dindial 34 not out.
The two came together with the score on 59 in the sixth over after opener Pat rick Rooplall went via the run-out route for a quickfire 31, which included four fours and a six, and were still together when victory was achieved, sharing an unbeat en second-wicket partnership of 60.
Mixing aggression with solid defence, Gittens struck six fours in his 43 while Din
dial counted two fours and an equal number of sixes in his knock.
Earlier, skipper Samuel Kingston, who entered the fray following the first-ball dismissal of opener Patrick Khan, dazzled with a spec tacular innings of 58.
Khan, who got a brute of a delivery from Captain Bobby Parasnauth, edged to the wicket-keeper after Ariel Masters were inserted.
Undaunted by the ear ly loss, Kingston was in a no-nonsense mood, playing some pugnacious strokes in his entertaining knock which was decorated with four fours and three sixes. His partner, opener Oslyn
Batson (17), was content to play second fiddle, the two sharing a second-wicket part nership of 76.
Once Kingston’s stumps were rocked back by Roy Persaud in the 11th over, it was all down hill for Ariel Masters as they lost their re maining eight batters for the addition of 42 runs with only number 10, Shawn Hubbard (12) reaching double figures.
Persaud, who started the demolition job, ended with the impressive figures of four for 24 from his four overs while Gittens “cleaned” up the lower-order, finishing with two for five from 2.2 overs.
Regal Masters pocketed
the $600,000 winner’s prize and a trophy while Ariel Masters received $50,000 and the runner-up trophy. Gittens deservedly won the man-of-the-match award while the Most Valuable Player (MVP) prize went to Patrick Rooplall, who took home a 50-inch flat screen TV, compliments of Regal Stationery and Computer Supplies. All the trophies were sponsored by Trophy Stall.
Meanwhile, the organ isers took the opportunity to express sincere thanks to the several sponsors, which included Banks DIH Ltd. (Rainforest Waters), Dan ny Persaud (YouTuber)
It’s Our Life ARD, Tro phy Stall, Pro Signs, I & S Trading, Tourism Guyana, Reliance Services, Parsram Discount Store, Ameer & Amrit Furniture Store, Khan’s Trading Enter prise, HL Latino America Furniture (Panama), P&P Insurance, Regal Statio nery & Computer Centre, Mohamed’s Enterprise, Chung’s Global Enterprise, Atlantic Marine Supplies Inc., Crown Mining Sup plies, Rudisa Motor Com pany (Guy) Inc., Freelancer Advertising Agency, Krsna & Amp; Balram Printery, Rajiv Gandhi University and Ofimak Office Supplies (Panama).
HEAD of the Essequibo Football Association, Mar vin Pearson, in a chat with Chronicle Sport during the opening match of the One-Guyana President’s Cup, in Region Two, on Sunday, sent out a warning to the traditionally stron ger footballing Regions in Guyana, stating that Region Two are not to be underestimated while also hailing the tournament overall as an excellent ini tiative.
Pearson noted that, “ It (The tournament) will en hance the ability of the play ers on the coast, so I want to say thanks to the President of Guyana, Irfaan Ali, for having us involved in this competition. What it does is gives the players in Esse quibo a chance to showcase
their talent and represent the region.”
“I believe Essequibo have become very competi tive throughout recent years and I’m sure the players are
licking their lips at the pros pect of making the final 25man squad for Region Two, that will play in the second phase of the competition. I am very confident that we can be a force to be reckoned with football-wise.”
However, the adminis trator remained humbled and noted that, “We foresee a challenge (in the compe tition against the other re gions), and while we will not take any team lightly, we are hoping that we are afforded the same respect because we have raw talent and ability. We have players that have represented Guyana at the highest level.”
Pearson hailed the part nership between the Gov ernment of Guyana (GoG) and the Guyana Football
(UDFA)-organised Region 10, One-Guyana President’s Cup fixture
which was played on Sun day afternoon at the Wis burg Secondary School ground, Wismar, Linden.
The game was played on a heavy outfield and the end result was somewhat contro versial since Blueberry Hill seemed set for victory with
less than two minutes to play in regulation time, after they had nudged home the lone goal early in the first-half when Isiah Webster scored in the 15th minute.
Following a good open ing run in the first-half there
EFA’s Pearson says Region 2 not to be underestimatedEssequibo Football Association president, Marvin Pearson A dramatic 4-3 penalty shootout win by Block 22 over Blueberry Hill was the end result of the lone opening game in the Upper Demerara Football Asso ciation
