Guyana Chronicle E-Paper 08-12-2022

Home ownership within reach for 700 Region Three families

Explosive revelations…

GECOM staff was forced to use ‘Mingo Spreadsheet’ for tabulation

THE unraveling of the plot to rig the 2020 elections, that included the use of a pre-populated spreadsheet for the verification of votes in District Four, has taken

an explosive turn.

Assistant Registra tion Officer at the Guy ana Elections Commission (GECOM), Alexandra Bow man testified on Tuesday

before the ongoing Presiden tial Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the March 2, 2020 elections.

She implicated the em battled Returning Officer for

the District, Clairmont Min go and his assistant Michelle Miller in providing the in struction to substitute the Statements of Poll (SoPs) with what is now known as

the “Mingo spreadsheet,” during the verification pro cess.

Bowman faced several questions pertaining to the introduction of the spread

sheet, which she admitted is uncommon for electoral purposes, since it does not carry the same safeguards as the SOPs.

FULL STORY ON PAGE 2

New high-yielding coconut variety a game-changer for industry

THE Ministry of Agri culture’s Hope Coconut Industries Limited, in collaboration with the Caribbean Agriculture Research and Develop ment Institute (CAR DI) hosted an exercise to launch the Brazilian Green Dwarf coconut variety in Guyana.

The first shipment comprising 1,000 seed nuts arrived in Guyana from Brazil last October, paving the way for inten sive research and product development intended to become a game changer for the local coconut in dustry.

GECOM staff was forced to use ‘Mingo Spreadsheet’ for tabulation

THE unraveling of the plot to rig the 2020 elec tions, that included the use of a pre-populated spreadsheet for the veri fication of votes in Dis trict Four, has taken an explosive turn.

Assistant Registration Officer at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Alexandra Bowman testified on Tuesday before the on going Presidential Com

mission of Inquiry (CoI) into the March 2, 2020 elections.

She implicated the em battled Returning Officer for the District, Clairmont Mingo and his assistant Michelle Miller in provid ing the instruction to sub stitute the Statements of Poll (SoPs) with what is now known as the “Mingo spreadsheet,” during the verification process.

Bowman faced several

questions pertaining to the introduction of the spread sheet, which she admitted is uncommon for electoral purposes, since it does not carry the same safeguards as the SOPs.

The Assistant Regis tration Officer, who was seven months pregnant at the time, testified that on March 4, 2020, while at the Ashmin’s building, the office of the District Four RO, she was instructed by Mingo’s Clerk, Michelle Miller, not to call votes from the SOPs.

“When it was my turn [to call out figures to verify the votes] I was instructed that we won’t be calling from the SOPs anymore, we’ll be calling from a spreadsheet,” she told the CoI.

The Assistant Regis tration Officer said that Miller was the “middle man” between “those up stairs,” including Mingo and the Deputy Chief

Elections Officer, Rox anne Myers, and other GECOM staffers who operated in the tabulation room.

Bowman told the com mission that after she was told about the decision to use a spreadsheet, she recommended that the spreadsheet be projected onto a wall so that party agents would have had the opportunity to follow.

“[However], we ob tained two projectors, nei ther of them was showing brightly on the wall but we didn’t have a screen,” she said.

After the attempt at what she viewed as trans parency failed, Bowman went ahead with her task to call the numbers from the spreadsheet.

She told commission ers that immediately after she started calling the votes from the spread sheet, she was met with objections by the Peo ple’s Progressive Par ty/ Civic (PPP/C) party agents, who said that the numbers she called did not correspond with that which was reflected on the SOPs.

Bowman said that she could not compare the two sets of figures.

She said that none of the SOPs were in her possession. Instead, they were placed at the back of the tabulation room in the custody of clerical as sistants. Miller was also

at the back of the room, involved with the han dling of the SOPs.

Bowman also testi fied that GECOM staffer Enrique Livan, was the person who downloaded the infamous spreadsheet onto her personal flash drive and handed it to her for use on a laptop.

However, she testified that at no point did Miller, or Livan, who was also in the tabulation room, offer to verify the figures on the spreadsheet to ascer tain whether they were correctly recorded.

Bowman testified that despite the vehement ob jections, she was instruct ed by Miller to “keep calling” numbers from the spreadsheet. She com plied.

Eventually, former Deputy Chief Elections Officer, Roxanne Myers, and the GECOM Chair, Ret’d Justice Claudette Singh, intervened and she was given permission to leave due to health con cerns. She did not return to work until after her delivery.

She further related that several attempts were made to recover her flash drive used during the tab ulation process. However, she was told that it could not have been returned to her as it was “evidence.”

Miller, who is facing criminal charges over election fraud, was sum moned to appear before the COI today but opted to exercise her right to remain silent.

CXC releases 2023 timetable

THE Caribbean Exami nations Council (CXC) has announced the dates and released the timeta bles for its various 2023 examinations including the Caribbean Second ary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advance Proficiency Ex aminations (CAPE).

The January sitting of CSEC has been set for January 4-31, 2023, while

the customary May/June sitting will be done May 8 to June 16, 2023. Mean while, CAPE has been scheduled for May 8 to June 13, 2023.

The 2023 Caribbean Vocational Qualification assessments will be con ducted between April and September, with specific dates to be determined in collaboration with par ticipating Ministries of

Education.

Timetables for the vari ous examinations are now available on https://www. cxc.org/download-time tables.

For CSEC, Mathe matics Paper Two is set for May 17, while Paper One will be on June 13, English A Paper Two will be on May 16, while Paper One will be on June 16.

Assistant Registration Officer at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Alexandra Bowman

Home ownership within reach for 700 Region Three families

A MOTHER of two who is medically unfit to work and receives public as sistance had the fees at tached to her house lot waived by Minister of Housing and Water Col lin Croal on Wednesday at the housing drive in Leonora, Region Three, where approximately 700 residents are expected to be allocated house lots at the Stewartville and Meten-Meer-Zorg housing schemes.

Ms Diane Udit got emo tional after Minister Croal waived the fees attached to her house lot.

Ms. Udit had a right temporal brain mass that was surgically removed during a procedure in Trini dad three years ago. She endured hearing loss in her right ear, blurred vision, headaches, dizziness and loss of bladder control as a result of the illness and is being treated for PostSurgical Right Temporal Cystic Mass and a C5-C6 Disc Bulge.

She was allocated a house lot at the MetenMeer-Zorg Housing Scheme. The new land owner lauded the work of President, Dr Mohamed Ir faan Ali and Minister Croal for being a caring govern ment and providing her with another start at a brighter future.

She praised the Head Master for the West Dem erara Secondary School, “Sir Harry,” for assisting her throughout the process, although she is incapable of working and lives off public assistance.

“This is for my two girls to further their studies and become somebody and el evate themselves in life. Education is the key to success,” she said, while noting that her faith in God

has given her the strength and sustenance to persevere.

Meanwhile, Region Three had over 14,000 ap plication backlogs when the new government took office in 2020. This exercise aims to satisfy regional hous

ing needs and will add to Region Three’s more than 4,000 lots allocated at pre vious housing drives.

In his address, Minister of Housing and Water Col lin Croal told the gathering at the Leonora Track and

Field facility that Region Three has the highest de mand for housing and the requisition of lands to es tablish housing develop ment remains critical and time-consuming to meet the demand.

He told the applicants that the physical identifica tion will happen in the new year as upgrades continue within the region of existing and new housing schemes.

Further, Minister Croal explained that the construc tion of housing units in part nership with banks will see 124 units under construc tion and will be completed by the end of January 2023; and the construction of an other 100 will begin in a few weeks.

“On a more macro lev el, I am pleased that the legislation for the Single Window System has been laid and will be passed in Parliament. This clears the way for the establishment of a more centralized facility which will serve as a one stop shop for all aspects of residential, commercial and industrial constriction,” Minister Croal noted.

He explained that the

new system will be more efficient since everything can be done in one place.

“This is really a giant leap forward for our country as we move towards making our system and process more modern.”

The Housing Minister added that at the end of 2022, the ministry expects to complete at least 20,000 allocations.

“The reduction of in terest rates for loans and access to more affordable mortgages are no doubt driving these activities,” he added.

Also in attendance were the Minister within the Ministry of Hous ing and Water, Susan Rodrigues; Permanent Secretary, Andre Ally; Chief Executive Officer of the CH&PA, Sherw yn Greaves, as well as Vice-Chairman of Region Three, Omesh Satyanand.

Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, interacts with the mother of two, Diane Udit, who had the fees for her house lot waived

A section of the gathering at the Leonora Track and Field facility in Region Three

- among beneficiaries is mother with health complications who had her house lot fees waived

THE Iwokrama In ternational Centre for Rain Forest Conserva tion and Development and the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCC) in separate statements have commended the Government of Guyana for earning significant revenue from the coun try’s forest resources through the sale of car bon credits.

Guyana was issued 33.47 million forest car

bon credits for preventing and reducing deforesta tion and forest degrada tion in the period 20162020. The country has since been able to sell 30 per cent of its carbon credits to Hess Corpora tion for a minimum of US$750 million.

The new agreement is the world’s first under the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) ini tiative and The REDD+ Environmental Excel lence Standard (TREES)

system.

“It is important to note that accreditation under the TREES process in cludes the quantification, monitoring, reporting and verification of Green house Gas (GHG) emis sion reductions and re movals from REDD+ ac tivities at a jurisdictional and national scale, which is assessed and verified by international thirdparty auditors. Guyana’s success in this process is a significant and signal

achievement,” Iwokrama said in a statement on Wednesday.

The centre added: “Indeed, the landmark Low Carbon Develop ment Strategy (LCDS) initially launched in 2009 was innovative in demon strating the value of forest services in combatting climate change, while concurrently providing

economic returns that maintain livelihoods and contribute beyond tradi tional means of the timber trade, to the gross domes tic product (GDP).”

Of equal importance, the centre said, is the sub stantial financial benefits provided by the agree ment to the local commu nities – the true stewards of Guyana’s forests.

The wider scope LCDS 2030 to include blue carbon and other natural assets, exempli fies the ever increasing prominent role forests and the environment hold on the national agenda.

Chief Executive Of ficer of Iwokrama, Dane Gobin, said: “These are exciting times for Guyana as it continues to mobi lise its forest services in the fight against climate change.”

The 1,000,000-acre Iwokrama Forest is an integral part of Guyana’s demonstration of how tropical forests can be conserved and utilised sustainably for local, na tional and global benefit.

Gobin said that the Guyana - Hess agreement signals, finally, recogni tion by the private sector of the substantial value of ecosystem services and the urgent need to sustain them.

The GCCI, in its state ment, said this agreement assists Guyana in building its resilience to climate change and transitioning to a sustainably stable economy.

In its statement con gratulating President, Dr Irfaan Ali; Vice-President,

Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo and the wider government, the GCCI said sale of carbon credits which covers 10 years, will see Guyana being compensated for keeping its rainforests intact.

GCCI understands that the purchase by Hess will be for 2.5 million credits per year for the years 2016-2030.

“GCCI applauds the government for making Guyana the first coun try to complete the ART process (Architecture for REDD+ Transactions) for generating high-integrity, Paris Agreement-aligned carbon credits that will allow Guyana to access market-based finance to continue to implement forest-stewardship strate gies,” the chamber said.

Following the 2009 Norway REDD+ agree ment and COP27, GCCI sees this second agree ment as an indication that highly developed nations are increasingly recog nising the value of forest climate services.

With rising sea lev els, warmer tempera tures, and more adverse weather conditions, cli mate change is evident. In June 2021, Guyana experienced severe flooding in several re gions, adversely affect ing the agricultural and infrastructural sectors and compromising food security.

Hundreds of issues resolved at second NIS outreach in Region Six

“It’s not going to happen overnight, but our government… our president is very seri ous for us to clear the backlog of problems that we inherited when we came into office, and address the institu tional weaknesses that need to be addressed to ensure that going for ward, these problems become fewer,” Dr. Singh related.

He pointed out mat ters where persons did not meet the contribu tion mark but are quali fied for a grant, while in other instances, there are persons who toiled for years, but their em ployers did not contrib ute to the scheme on their behalf.

outreach.

He was thankful for the opportunity to meet with the minister.

“He [Minister Sin gh] said I am entitled to a grant. He made [a]wonderful arrange ment for me to have it in a few days. I was not fully aware of the laws but now I understand and I know what my position is,” an elated Roopan said.

A number of similar exercises were con ducted in Regions Two, Three, Four, Five, Six and 10. The two latest NIS consultations in Region Six have now brought the total there to five.

THE National Insur ance Scheme (NIS) continues to make great steps towards resolving several of its age-old issues coun trywide, with the lat est of such being the second phase of out reaches in Region Six (East Berbice–Coren tyne).

Senior Minister in the Office of the Presi dent with Responsi bility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh led a team

to the ancient county last weekend, and a number of issues were resolved on spot.

“Our objective is to address all of the frustration that any body might have. This is, of course, part of our broader effort as a government, to try to improve the quality of service we provide to people,” Dr. Singh said.

The consultations were held in the towns of New Amsterdam and

Corriverton on Satur day and Sunday respec tively.

Minister Singh said the group which he led was attentive to resi dents, which resulted in hundreds of problems being fixed, even be fore the weekend con

cluded.

The minister said while the exercise was extremely productive and most persons were assisted, there still remains other issues which need to be as sessed at the head of fice.

Meanwhile, Deonar ine Roopan was among the scores who sought assistance during the

The finance minis ter remains adamant that these regional engagements will strengthen systems at NIS. (DPI)

Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, and other officials listen attentively to the concern of a senior citizen

Moving Forward

THE amendments to the Representation of the Peo ple Act (ROPA) have been passed in the National As sembly after a year of pub lic consultations, in which the APNU+AFC failed to participate or contribute towards, although claim ing to be interested in the enhancement of Guyana’s electoral laws and initiatives that would safeguard the will of the people.

The primary goal of the changes to the election law is to analyse the entire pro cess—from registration to the announcement of results—in order to make sure that each stage is clear cut and trans parent.

The significance of these revisions cannot be overstat

ed, especially in light of what happened in the most recent general and regional elections, and with Local Government Elections upon us.

Every Guyanese is a stakeholder in the election’s accountability and transpar ency. The vote is sacred and cannot be tampered with in any way. The final deciding factor in which party forms the executive and who is chosen to represent us in Parliament is the totality of individual voters’ preferences.

The right to vote did not come about easily. Prior to 1953, not everyone was al lowed to vote. That right was limited only to the rich and the propertied class. It was not until the formation of the PPP in 1950 that pressure was

intensified to have universal adult suffrage, which was eventually granted just prior to the holding of the 1953 elections. It was only then that all Guyanese, 21 years and over were allowed to vote. That was a monumental gain at the time when the expatri ate class exercised enormous influence over the colonial government.

Interestingly, the League of Coloured People (LCP) op posed the granting of univer sal adult suffrage. The League was an African middle-class organisation which later be came part of the People’s National Congress (PNC) after the split of the PPP in 1955. The records will show that it was the PPP that again advocated for the voting age

to be reduced from 21 to 18 years and it was the PNC that opposed the move.

But the biggest blow to the franchise took place in the 1968 elections when massive electoral fraud took place by the Burnham administration to perpetuate the life of his regime after the United Force was kicked out of the PNCUF Coalition government just prior to the elections. For nearly three decades the PNC rigged its way to power, making a mockery of that hard-fought right to vote. Voting became an exercise in futility as the PNC regime used every conceivable means at its disposal to return itself to power against the wishes of the electorate.

All of that sounded fa

miliar, having regard to what transpired in the March 2, 2020 General and Re gional Elections when the APNU+AFC Coalition again attempted to return itself to power by fraudulent means. What it did not factor in this time, however, was the changing nature of the local and international environ ment. The days of party para mountcy had long come to an end and the justice system was no longer subservient to the Executive as was hitherto the case. The Cold War ended over three decades ago and there was no longer any ap petite for rigged elections on the part of the international community.

Many Guyanese, particu larly the younger genera

tion, witnessed first-hand the APNU+AFC coalition’s bra zen attempt to rig the elections with the assistance of some rogue elements within the GECOM Secretariat. It was a memorable encounter and another disheartening one that will live long in the memory.

In Guyana now, democ racy is much more institu tionalised than it was in the past, and it is harder to gain power through deceitful tactics. However, this does not imply that we should take anything for granted.

The past still has a hold on it, but there is no reason why it cannot move past that re pulsive history with modern thought and a concern for the democratic well-being of the society.

Father Malcolm Rodrigues stood up for democracy

NEWS of the passing of Father Malcolm Rodri gues is sad for Guyana, as he is remembered as someone who fought to restore free and fair elections, at a time when Burnham’s goons were out to squelch all opposi tion to the PNC dictator ship.

The younger gen eration must know that despite Guyana being the “richest” country in CARICOM, but having the lowest standard of liv ing and lowest currency (lower that Haiti) started under the PNC’s era of rigged elections and un democratic rule.

Mr. Burnham and the

PNC established “Para mountcy of the Party” and you were okay as long as you kowtowed to the party and do not oppose its practices, including on going rigging of elections.

Your fortunes rose, if you supported the PNC dictatorship, and fortunes sank if you criticised the PNC’s policies and prac tices. The PNC controlled the “commanding heights of the economy” and all the public corporations were named “GUY” something – GUYWA, GUYSTAC, GUY BRIDGE, GUYBANK, etc. So, the PNC and its operatives controlled eve rything, as the govern

ment had an oversized, controlling role in the economy (just like now).

It is in this context that Father Rodrigues shone brightly and was a voice for the poor and destitute, struggling daily to survive (just like today). The PPP was the Opposition in 1968-1992, and stood in the gap to fight the PNC dictatorship and restore democracy.

At that time, a lot of people were silent and did not openly oppose the Burnham dictatorship. Everybody was scared. The church people were silent, especially the Pen tecostals – Assemblies of God, Full Gospel Fel

lowship, New Testament Church of God, Elim Pen tecostal, and others.

These church people “prayed” for Burnham and the government, but did nothing to protest or oppose the dictatorship.

The two strongest voices against the PNC’s reign of terror were the Catholic Church under Bishop Benedict Singh and the Anglican Church under Bishop Randolph George. When the oth er churches were tell ing people to pray for the government, that the PNC were Christians, and the alternative – the PPP were Hindus and athe ists – Bishop George and

Bishop Singh bellowed denunciations against the various atrocities commit ted by the PNC.

Father Rodrigues also became one of those Christian voices against the PNC dictatorship, speaking at many public forums. He was a nice man, fearless, and spoke up for the people of Guy ana when it mattered most and his life was at risk of harm by the governing powers.

He is not like some of those religious leaders today who say nothing about national ills. Father Darke and Father Mor rison were other heroes.

As Martin Luther

King said: “The ul timate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and con venience, but where he stands at times of chal lenge and controversy.”

Father Rodrigues stood for the masses as a giant, lending his sup port and involvement to restore democracy to Guyana. To honour the legacy of this Guyana hero, we must emulate him. Rest in peace dear Brother. All Guyana appreciates your ser vice and difference you made.

Yours sincerely, Dr. Jerry Jailall

New high-yielding coconut variety a game-changer for industry

distribution of coconuts and its by-products. The coconut sector in Guyana is contributing to the Green Goal, for example by intercropping, you really make sure that you have more biodiversity, you’ll need less pest control, and you’ll diversify the income from

the land. This presents a win-win situation for all those involved,” Ambas sador Van-Nes noted.

An additional shipment containing 1,000 seed nuts is expected to arrive in Guyana before the end of the year.

The introduction

of the Brazilian Green Dwarf variety will result in the expansion of Guy ana’s local genetic diver sity, adding to the govern ment’s efforts to further develop its national coco nut breeding programme which is expected to com mence shortly.

THE Ministry of Agri culture’s Hope Coconut Industries Limited, in collaboration with the Caribbean Agriculture Research and Develop ment Institute (CAR DI) hosted an exercise to launch the Brazilian Green Dwarf coconut variety in Guyana.

The first shipment com prising 1,000 seed nuts ar rived in Guyana from Bra zil last October, paving the way for intensive research and product development intended to become a game changer for the local coco nut industry.

The Brazilian Green Dwarf variety is best known for its high-yielding properties, as well as its high tolerance to attacks from common pests and diseases that usually affect other varieties of coconuts.

Its most outstanding characteristic, however, is its ability to produce a higher volume of water than other varieties com monly grown in Guyana. This variety is also said to produce water that has a very high sucrose level, making it sweeter than other varieties.

At the launch of the co conut variety, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Musta pha said coconut is one of the priority commodities that has been identified for increased production.

“Approximately $1.5 billion was earned from the export of coconut and coconut products during the period January to Sep tember 2022. As CARI COM seeks to reduce the food import bill by 25 per

cent by 2025, with Guyana having the lead responsi bility of agriculture in the region, coconut is one of the priority commodities that has been identified for increased production. A large portion of the coco nut industry engages in the primary processing of co conut. We are working with our private sector counter part to produce more valueadded products,” he said

The minister also said with the international co conut industry anticipat ing tremendous growth by 2026, it was critical for Guyana to ensure it was in a place to tap into that market.

“Internationally, the co conut industry is expected to be a US30 billion indus try by 2026, therefore it is important for us to set the stage to tap into this mar ket. We will be working to develop industries utilising four popular bi-products of coconut which include the husk, shell, meat, and water.

“This is why the min istry has been working to develop coconut nurseries and decentralise the pro duction of coconut seed lings across the country. Through close collabora tion with CARDI, Hope Estate was able to devel opment of one of its first coconut nurseries under the National Coconut De centralisation Programme. This intervention has seen further expansions over the past two years. This has led to Guyana becoming one of the leading produc ers of coconut seedlings in CARICOM,” Minister

General Manager of Hope Industries Limited, Ricky Roopchand said that the introduction of this variety was conceptual ised following discussions held during the inaugural Agri-Investment Forum and Expo which was held in Guyana last May. He further said that through support from the govern ment, and CARDI, Hope Estate was able to improve its seedling production ca pacity tremendously over the last two years.

“Over the last two years with the government’s sup port, we’ve expanded the local coconut industry in terms of seedling produc tion. We now have nine seedling nurseries across the country, with the tenth expected to be established soon in Lethem. If these nurseries are operated at full capacity. With the sup port of CARDI and the EU, by the end of the year, we would’ve acquired some 2,000 Brazilian Green Dwarf seed nuts that will be used for developing plantations across the 10 administrative regions of Guyana,” he said.

European Union Am bassador to Guyana, Rene Van-Nes related that the coconut industry will also play a role in Guyana’s “green goal” and presents a win-win situation for everyone involved.

“I’m really proud that the European Union is sup porting Guyana and the Guyanese farmers to create better livelihoods for all the people involved in the production, processing, and

Mustapha said.

The Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha

Ambassador of the European Union to Guyana, Rene Van-Nes

Online payment options now available for GRO, immigration services

THE Ministry of Home Affairs in partner ship with GTT’s Mo bile Money Guyana (MMG), launched pay ment services for the

General Register Office (GRO) and Immigration Support Services, on Wednesday.

Citizens will now be able to make payments through MMG when ap plying to GRO for birth, death and marriage cer tificates.

In addition, the MMG payment options will be available for applications for visa extensions, work permits and other services provided by Immigration Support Services.

During the launch, Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn said since being elected to office, the government has been attuned to the need for efficient online services.

“I am pleased that we are finally at this point, when we took office originally the first few things, we thought of was to provide more efficient, efficacious services to the public by putting more things online, because we recognise that people were taking a lot of time and a great deal of ef fort, especially those who come from far-off places in Guyana, you know how large our country is…to get basic things done,” Benn said.

This forms part of the government’s plan to tran sition Guyana to a digital economy. Online payment services will make do ing business hassle-free and reduce the need for citizens to carry around

numerous documents and large sums of money.

The minister said it is the government’s priority to go beyond this launch, so that citizens can have better access to services.

“We hope, [and] in tend [to go] beyond the services being provided through the GRO and Im migration Services; there are other services within the ministry [that] would require payments and of course, the best way now is through an online por tal, through MMG,” Benn said.

Meanwhile, General Manager of MMG, Babita Ram, dubbed the event historic for the country and its citizens.

“The Ministry of Home Affairs… has made doing business in Guyana easier by implementing a digital option for us to pay for services” she said.

Registrar General of GRO, Raymond Cum mings, also applauded the initiative.

“This is something that we have been look

ing forward to, simply because from around June this year we made facili ties available that persons can apply online. The problem was that there was no way for them to pay, so what this has done is enable persons [to] … save time and man hours… [and] you can apply online, you can use your MMG account [and] you can pay to have the certificates delivered and we will have it posted to you,” Cummings said.

Persons submitting ap plications for the various transactions will be able to do so from the comfort of their homes, or wher ever there is access to an electronic device.

Another form of this service has already been rolled out through the ministry with the Guy ana Police Force taking the lead – new drivers writing the driver’s ex amination, can now ap ply online to sit the ex amination and have the study package mailed to them.

Minister of Home Affairs Robeson Benn

MMG’s General Manager Babita Ram

‘Keep my name out your mouth’

me state for the record that I have never met that individual before, and I do not even know who he is,” the Olympian said

Youth and Sport and I ex pressed my gratitude for that support,” Allicock affirmed.

DESCRIBING the cur rent Ministry of Cul ture Youth and Sport as “the most active, supportive, effective and visionary that this country has ever seen,” national featherweight boxer Keevin Allicock, on Wednesday, took to social media to refute claims by the political opposition that he has not received support from the government as a national athlete.

In a post on his official Facebook page, Allicock explicitly called on the People’s National Con gress Reform (PNC/R) to leave him out of their “drama,” as he does not wish to be dragged into their baseless politics.

The opposition, in a statement issued on Tuesday, had referred to Allicock as being among “national athletes” who had said that none of the money allocated to the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport had gone into helping them. But Allicock set the record straight that the opposi tion’s statement could not be further from the truth.

“As we say in Guy ana, you have to give jack his jacket - this Min istry of Culture Youth and Sport has been the most active, supportive, effective and visionary that this country has ever

seen. Anyone who does not say that is lying to themselves.

“I would like to ex press my gratitude once again to His Excellency President Irfaan Ali and Minister of Culture Youth and Sport Honourable Charles Ramson for all the tremendous work they have been doing,” Allicock said in his post on Wednesday.

The PNC/R, which is the largest party in the APNU+AFC coalition, on Tuesday, questioned the spending of the $3.2 billion allocated to the Sports Ministry in the 2022 national budget.

The statement was read by PNC/R mem ber, Randolph Critchlow, who also made a number of other dubious claims about culture and youth section of the ministry as well.

Allicock, now ranked 54th in his division by the International Box ing Association (IBA), said he has no idea why Critchlow chose to single him out, and maintained that he was never con tacted before his name was alluded to in the claim.

“Someone who I do not know made mention that I indicated that the government’s money has not gone into helping me and other athletes. Let

Critchlow, in his state ment, also referenced a recent incident whereby Allicock had called out the Guyana Boxing As sociation (GBA), in Oc tober, over treatment that was meted out to him during his attendance at the XII South Ameri can Games in Paraguay, which was held earlier in October.

Allicock, who was one of only three medal ist in the Guyanese con tingent at the Games, had called for local sporting associations to do better by their athletes after he was diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis while in Paraguay, but there was no medical official trave ling with the Guyanese team. As such, Allicock was forced to depend on assistance from another team as he faced a medi cal emergency while in Paraguay.

He, however, made it clear that this was an issue with the sporting bodies - GBA and the Guyana Olympic Asso ciation (GOA) - and had nothing to do with the government. The GOA is responsible for arranging Guyana’s attendance at the Games.

“Let me also clarify that my previous public statement had nothing to do with the Government of Guyana and the Minis try of Culture Youth and Sport, but had to do with the sports associations. In fact, I issued a subse quent statement imme diately thereafter stating that I have “ALWAYS had the support of the Of fice of the President and the Ministry of Culture

After Allicock made the post against the sport ing associations in Octo ber, President Dr. Irfaan Ali, publicly called on Minister Ramson Jnr, to open dialogue among his Ministry of Sport and national associations and federations.

The President ad dressed greater co-opera tion between his Ministry of Sports and sporting federations and associa tions, to come up with “minimum standards” for sporting contingents that will represent this coun

try on the international stage.

Dr. Ali had said that he stood in solidarity with athletes, who had

complained of lack of resources and person nel when travelling for international engage ments.

National boxer, Keevin Allicock

PNC/R Member, Randolph Critchlow

- National boxer tells PNC in challenge to party’s ‘false claims’

New protected areas to be designed, developed

- as Guyana signs MoU with Frankfurt Zoological Society

By Tamica Garnett

GUYANA, on Wednes day, signed a new fiveyear Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Frankfurt Zo ological Society (FZS) to collaborate on de signing and developing new protected areas in Guyana over the next few years.

The country has com mitted to having some 30 per cent of the coun try’s land and marine space designated as pro tected areas, and sees the partnership with FZS as an important boost to as sisting in this direction.

“Because we have plans for 30 per cent of our marine as well as land space to be consid ered protected area, we also need some capacity building in this regard, and partnering here with

the FZS allows us to develop that partner ship to get that type of support and to build up our ability to properly manage our protected areas system,” Foreign Secretary and Chairman of the Protected Areas Commission (PAC) in Guyana, Robert Per saud, said during the signing ceremony at Herdmanston Lodge, on Wednesday.

“We have a very ag gressive approach in terms of reaching out, collaborating and engag ing our partner because we want to develop a world class protected area system. It is to work with our international partners, those who have experience, expertise and the resources for us to build that world class system and allow us to achieve our world class target,” Persaud said. Protected areas or

conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognised natural, ecological or cultural values. In protected ar eas, human presence and the exploitation of natu ral resources is limited.

Formed in 2012 un der the Protected Areas Act of 2011, the PAC is a semi-autonomous agency with responsibil ity to manage, maintain, promote and expand the National Protected Ar eas System (NPAS) of Guyana.

The FZS is an inter national conservation organisation founded in 1858 with headquarters in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

The society focuses on maintaining biodi versity and conserving wildlife and ecosystems in protected areas and outstanding wild places.

The FZS leads and supports about 30 pro jects in 18 countries. This organisation is ac tive in biodiversity-rich areas in central and East ern Europe, East Africa, central South America and south-east Asia.

Wednesday’s MoU was signed by Perma nent Secretary of the Of fice of the President of Guyana, Abena Moore, while signing on behalf

of FZS was Dr. Antje Mullner, Head of the FZS South America and South East Asia Depart ment.

This is the second MoU that FZS signed with Guyana, with the first having been signed in 2015.

The FZS first started working in Guyana eight years ago, giving support on both strategic and organisational develop ment of the PAC, while supporting the effec tive management of the Kanuku Mountain pro tected area in the south.

The support included technical advisors, funds to the PAC to recruit and train rangers, and to establish wildlife moni toring systems.

“From the beginning, we’ve felt really wel comed here in the coun try. I am really glad that after these many years we meet to sign another MoU for another five years; this supports a very special FZS core principle which is long term commitment,” Mullner said.

Guyana’s commit ment to maintaining and expanding its protected areas is an important part of the country’s Low Carbon Develop ment Strategy (LCDS) 2030.

Mullner congratu lated the country on the work it has done on the LCDS 2030, describing it as ambitious and im portant.

Through the LCDS 2030, Guyana, last Fri day. signed an agree ment with oil giant Hess Corporation, which would see Guyana re ceiving a minimum of US$750 million to pur chase 30 per cent of the country’s high quality, REDD+ jurisdictional carbon credits. This is the first deal of its kind.

The deal proved that Guyana is able to lever age its vast forest pres ervation as a means of gaining economic re turns for the country.

Foreign Secretary commented that the deal shows that even as Guy ana develops its oil and gas industry, the country is still committed to be ing a model and exam ple of environmental stewardship.

“An important el ement of our policy in terms of national development is creat ing that harmony and draw that equilibrium to utilise our natural resource but at the same time not sacrific ing our environmental stewardship,” Persaud said.

Guyana, on Wednesday, signed a new five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS) to collaborate on designing and developing new protected areas in Guyana over the next few years (Adrian Narine photo)

New commercial, medical zone unlocked through Sophia-Eccles housing project

Minister Croal says, following inspection of works on Cummings Lodge Housing Development

MASSIVE infrastruc tural works are ongo ing in the new Cum mings Lodge Housing Development which starts from Sophia and

fice we sought to make resources available for at the back here,” he said.

The Cummings Lodge development will

with the East Bank –East Coast Road be ing constructed through the Ministry of Public Works.

“So, you have seen the distance we have covered and now one can grasp the level of infrastructure works that are taking place

“We are pushing the contractors now to move quickly…there was an issue of access, there was an issue in terms of having to drive all the way and then dealing with the conges

tion of the traffic. So, now that we had that breakthrough in terms of coming through Au brey Barker Road, we are able to now move quicker in this direc tion,” Minister Croal said.

He also visited the area where the govern ment is constructing a number of elevated and flat housing units.

While a number of persons have begun to occupy their homes, the ministry is working to complete the remaining

ends in the vicinity of Eccles, East Bank Demerara.

Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal during a visit to the area on Tuesday, said some $1.4 billion is being invested in developing the area.

During the visit, he was accompanied by Director of Projects at the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) Omar Narine and a team of engineers.

Works being un dertaken include landclearing and the creation of road networks such as the Aubrey Barker Road access road.

Minister Croal said that with the initial phase of works com pleted, a number of persons who were al located house lots in the area will begin to access their lands from next week.

“Initially, we were concentrating closer to Sophia and there is where we have the con struction of the houses.

“The next develop ment that will happen is that there were allo cations that were done many years ago and no infrastructure works were done in the last government tenure; and so immediately when we came back into of

also unlock a commer cial and medical zone at the southern end of the scheme. An area is also being cleared to commence the construc tion of a massive watertreatment plant.

Notably, the access road at the southern end will interconnect

homes earmarked for that scheme.

Minister Croal said that there were some is sues with some contrac tors who were lagging with regard to complet ing some units. Some of those contractors were terminated and mecha nisms are in place to ensure that the units are completed in a timely manner.

However, he said the construction of the ad ditional 84 flat threebedroom units recently awarded, are moving ahead smoothly.

The Cummings Lodge Housing Devel opment is part of the government’s national housing programme which involves the cre ation of sustainable schemes. (DPI)

-

Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal and Director of Projects at the central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), Omar Narine, at the Cummings Lodge Housing development site

Works ongoing at Cummings Lodge

One of the flat housing units under construction

OWNER of Unique’s Play School, Day Care, and Nursery Program, Taneka Latoya Sanchara, perma nently changed both her life and her career after utilizing the free training opportunities provided by the Board of Industrial Training (BIT).

Thanks to a partnership between BIT and UNICEF, Mrs. Sanchara was one of the fortunate recipients who, in 2019, got training in an Early Childhood Develop ment programme.

She asserted that her ex perience at BIT had equipped

“It [BIT] has helped a lot; there are a number of things I’ve put into practice from the course that have so far shown great outcomes,” Ms. Sanchara said.

She advised that when accessing this programme keep in mind that each pro fessor takes a unique ap proach to making their lec tures interesting and as such, persons need to be openminded.

After this achievement, she completed a two-year Early Childhood Profes sional Course (ECP) online through the Arizona-based

- Mother of

several

Childcare professional praises BIT certification for boosting career

textbooks to enhance pre-school learning

Among her other achievements are that she finished Childcare Part One at the University of Guyana in 2011 and Childcare Part Two with the Alpha Founda tion in 2013. Having four lovely children and being married are two more lifechanging accomplishments for her.

Before achieving these many successes, Ms Sancha ra was concerned about her future due to having to drop out of high school. But as she embarked on her experience as a Sunday school teacher, this quickly changed, and the

ings and began to lean more toward childcare that every thing started to spring forth and fit together like a puz zle,” she said.

Throughout her voyage, Ms. Sanchara discovered several hidden abilities, which she now uses to her institution’s advantage.

Four teaching approaches are available through handson activities at Unique’s Play School, Day Care, and Nursery Program to ensure her pupils can enjoyably understand material.

To take things a step further, Ms. Sanchara also wrote and published several instructional textbooks, in cluding sensory books, for her students to enhance their learning.

Using these books, she may replace conventional teaching strategies with ac tivity-based learning for her pupils. For the time being, it is being provided to Re gions Three, Four, Five and 10 to help other pre-school instructors.

The energetic instructor has also started, for young children, a collection of online classes called Unique’s Day Care/Play School and Nursery Program on Facebook, You Tube, and Instagram.

This was done to keep the nation’s future leaders from losing knowledge during the COVID-19 pandemic.

development of this creative teaching strategy.

Sanchara said she would not swap her experience but would urge others to follow her lead and enroll in a life skills programme to improve their quality of life and launch a fulfilling profession.

want to excel at something because they have the po tential but lack the resources to do that, and so the Board of Industrial Training is the place to be.”

her with the skills she needed to advance in her work as a teacher of young children, thus boosting their growth.

Penn Foster College. Cur rently, she is pursuing her diploma at the University of Guyana.

rest is history.

“I felt I had a particular skill, but it wasn’t until I was exposed to many teach

She attributes her knowl edge and abilities to BIT’s Early Childhood Develop ment programme and to the

People must take advan tage of the numerous op tions provided by the Ali-led administration since, as she pointed out, the institution was created to enhance and grow citizens in the country.

The energetic teacher added, “right now, we have a lot of young people who

Because of this, Ms. San chara suggested a possible alliance between BIT and her institution to help other interested people acquire the abilities and areas of exper tise to find employment and to enrich her community and those around.

Unique’s Play School, Day Care, and Nursery Program is located at La Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara.

Primary school teachers fulfill passion with BIT certification

A primary school teach er, Marlyn Brown, can now fulfill her childhood passion of becoming a caterer, thanks to her certification in Com mercial Food Prepara tion.

She was one of 36 residents of Region Nine who recently graduated from various vocational and technical programmes offered by the Board of Industrial Training (BIT). However, this success was made possible after a friend informed her about the training programme on the last registration day.

Ms Brown told BIT

officials that she had come to terms with the fact that she would not be able to realize her dream, particularly since she had been involved in other activities.

As a result, being of fered the opportunity to follow her passion of be coming a skilled cook is a dream come true for the ecstatic graduate. To this end, she expressed grati tude to BIT for resolving her long-lost ambition.

Ms Brown now hopes to share her knowledge of how to make delicious, mouth-watering dishes, pastries, and beverages with her students during

the fun day and cook-out competition.

She also mentioned the possibility of shar ing her talents with other women interested in a small workshop.

“I would encourage others to participate in this (Commercial Food Preparation) or any oth er Board of Industrial Training programme,” she said. “However, you must be patient and make sacrifices in order to grow yourself because it was a difficult path for me, but if you want development, you will make the required deci sions.”

four published

instructional

Taneka Latoya Sanchara received her BIT certification from Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton

(Centre) Owner of Unique’s Play School, Day Care, and Nursery Programme, Taneka Latoya Sanchara flanked by her supportive team at work

Primary school teacher, Marlyn Brown

Man gets eight years in prison for murder of Cuyuni businesswoman

A 25-year-old Helena No 2 Mahaica, East Coast Demerara resident was, on Wednesday, sentenced to serve a minimum of eight years in prison for the 2014 murder of busi nesswoman Bibi Shaniza Khan-Bhola.

Though now an adult, because he was charged as a juvenile in accordance with the Juvenile Justice Act, the man’s identity was protected.

He was sentenced by Justice Jo-Ann Barlow at the Suddie High Court, Region Two.

Last month, the defend ant pleaded guilty to the capital offence and admitted that, between February 26 and 27, 2014, he murdered the woman during a robbery.

He was represented by attorney-at-law, Latchmi Dindyal, while the State was represented by prosecutor,

Dead: Sheniza Khan-Bhola

Tiffany Lyken.

Dindyal, in his plea of mitigation, said that his cli ent was a juvenile at the time of the act. He added that his client could spend fewer days in prison if he obeys the court orders.

Justice Barlow relied on the sentencing guidelines set out in the Juvenile Jus tice Act and noted that the convict was still a “child”

when he carried out the bru tal crime.

Upon considering the court recording of guilt, the probation and prison reports, victim impact statements and the plea mitigation, the defendant was sentenced to a minimum period of eight years with time spent on re mand to be deducted by the prison authorities.

The judge further or dered that the offender be exposed to behaviour modi fication programmes and counselling sessions com mencing no later than Janu ary 2023.

It was also ordered that Guyana Prison Service shall also provide academic stud ies tailored to the offender’s needs and ability.

He will also be exposed to courses in carpentry and masonry and his perfor mance would be recorded.

The offender will also

be required to undergo a half-yearly assessment by a probation officer in the programmes

Throughout his sentence, he will have to appear be fore the judge for periodic reviews. The review period shall be every two years, commencing in the October sitting of the Essequibo As sizes 2024.

While the judge deliv ered her sentencing remarks, the offender showed signs of remorse. He will have to spend Christmas in prison for killing the 34-year-old mother of two during a rob bery at her Rock Creek, Cuyuni River shop in 2014.

On the day before she was found dead, she report edly had a heated argument with two men over a pump she had given them for min ing.

Her body had three stab wounds. The horrific discov

ery was made around 10:00 hrs on February 27, 2014, after a young man visited the shop and found it locked.

The offender was named as the prime suspect, since he was employed by the now-dead woman and also

lived with her. He fled the jurisdiction to Suriname after the murder.

However, in December 31, 2018, he was arrested by police at a Berbice loca tion after he had returned to Guyana.

One Guyana President’s Cup is first step towards World Cup 2026

By Calvin Chapman

THE inaugural and pres tigious One Guyana Presi dent’s Cup football tourna ment was officially launched last evening at State House in a significant ceremony that had in attendance His Excellency, President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali who gave the feature address, Members of Parliament, corporate supporters and other football stakeholders.

The One Guyana Presi dent’s Cup football tourna ment begins the second stage that will see the top players

from each Administrative Region work towards helping their side emerge champions of the inter-Region arm of the competition, which kicks off this Sunday at the National Track & Field Centre (NTFC) and culminates on January 1, 2023.

During his address, the Head of State revealed his visionary plan for this tourna ment, which has an incentive budget of $30M, as the first step towards Guyana Se nior National Men’s side; the Golden Jaguars, qualifying for the 2026 World Cup that is scheduled to be hosted in

USA, Canada and Mexico.

“This is about us getting into the next World Cup. The government is committed to removing all barriers that are preventing you (Golden Jag uars) from reaching the World Cup”, President Ali said.

He further disclosed, “We will put together the best 75 players to form the nation al pool, and be part of the National Football Academy. Football will be their food and fuel for the next few years in preparation for the next World Cup.”

In addition to being com pensated for being part of the

academy, His Excellency pos ited that the players will have to remain committed, “You will have to subject yourself to training. You will have to make positive contribution to the community and will be part of the part-time employ ment programme (for added income).”

However, President Ali maintained that the GFF and the GoG are not abandoning the Lady Jags, and hinted that a similar tournament for the ladies may be brewing for Easter 2023.

The One Guyana Presi dent’s Cup football tourna

ment is a collaboration of the Government of Guyana (GoG), the Guyana Football Federation and the Kashif & Shanghai Organinsation.

President Ali stated that “we must remember those who invest in us and we must invest in them too”, before revealing some of the sponsors who have come on board so far: Caribbean Airlines, New GPC, Ansa McAl, GTT, Digicel, E-Net works, Edward B. Beharry Group, Sterling Products Ltd, Banks DIH (tentative) and Tiger Rentals.

'No small teams anymore', FIFA chief hails...

From page 24

said in comments released by FIFA yesterday.

“Well, there are no more small teams and no more big teams. The level is very, very equal.

“For the first time as well,

national teams from all conti nents going to the knock-out phase, for the first time in history. This shows that foot ball is really becoming truly global.”

Infantino has pushed through the expansion of the World Cup from 32 teams to

48 for the next edition, which will be held across 16 cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico in 2026.

Infantino yesterday said he had been delighted with the number of fans crowd ing into the stadiums and fanzones in the country and

thought the final TV view ership figures would exceed five billion.

“At the end (of the day), we simply want to give some joy and some smiles to peo ple all over the world,” he added.

“That’s what football is

about, that’s what the World Cup is about, and that’s what should also happen from now until the end.

“We have already seen some great action on the field, which, (ultimately), is the most important part of what you do.”

Russia, Belarus sporting sanctions must remain - IOC

SPORTING sanctions against Russia and Belarus must re main, says the president of the International Olympic Com mittee.

But Thomas Bach says sport faces a "big dilemma" in ensuring athletes do not suffer as a result.

After Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, the IOC

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(2) Who was declared Man of the Match?

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called on sports federations to exclude athletes, officials and teams from Russia and Belarus from international events.

However, Bach says the "uni fying mission of sport" must be restored.

"We are a sports organisation with our mission being a unifying factor; we are about to explore ways how we can come back to this unifying mission, and how we can avoid sport being fully politicised and being taken over by political interests, because these are two different areas of our society," he said.

Bach added: "The sanctions against the Russian and Belaru sian state and government must firmly remain in place.

"These sanctions were im posed because of the breach of the Olympic truce, which means also a breach of the Olympic charter."

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Following the invasion, Rus sia and Belarus were banned from March's Winter Paralympics - though athletes were allowed to compete under a neutral flagwhile Russian football clubs and national teams were suspended from all competitions by FIFA and UEFA.

Further sanctions were an nounced across other sports, in cluding rugby, Formula 1, cycling and swimming, while in tennis, Russian and Belarusian tennis players were banned from playing at Wimbledon this year.

However, Bach - speaking at the conclusion of the IOC's exec utive board meeting in Lausannesaid the Committee was conscious of the impact such sanctions have on the athletes.

"The sanctions and solidarity, there was no big debate but we had a debate then which took

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several hours about the athletes and what the impact of this war is on the athletes," he said.

"I will never get tired enough to repeat, to make it clear all over again, that this question of the participation of athletes is very different to the question of sanc tions for their government.

"The position of the Olympic Movement was always, is and re mains, that athletes cannot be pun ished for acts of their government as long as they do not contribute to it or support it.

"Therefore the question of athletes’ participation was always a protective measure, and not part of the sanction, to safeguard the integrity of inter national sports competition and to ensure safety of athletes from these two countries." (BBC Sport)

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Rohit's cameo in vain as Bangladesh seal series

BANGLADESH completed a sensational win to clinch the ODI series 2-0 after a clinical performance with the ball in defence of 271, a total that came on the back of more batting heroics from Mehidy Hasan who finished with his maiden ODI hundred.

A late cameo from Rohit Sharma, who finished with an unbeaten 51 went in vain as Bangladesh kept alive their stel lar home record - they haven't lost a home ODI series since October 2016.

With the ball, Bangladesh were helped by timely strikes

from Ebadot Hossain who also started the wicket glut when he had Virat Kohli chop on. Kohli had stood in as opener for Rohit who had injured his left hand while fielding.

Rohit, who eventually walked in at No./9, delayed the inevitable and stretched the chase into the final over after managing to hit four sixes against Ebadot Hossain and Mahmudullah. India needed 20 off the last over against the ex perienced Mustafizur Rahman.

Rohit stretched it until only six was needed off the final ball but Mustafizur kept it full

enough to prevent Rohit from getting under.

Before it came down to Rohit, however, India had been propped up by a 107-run stand for the fifth wicket between Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel. India had slipped to 65/4 at one stage as Bangladesh kept chip ping away regularly before Iyer and Patel managed to counterat tack in clinical fashion.

The latter kickstarted the proceedings hitting the left-arm spinners for three sixes while Iyer joined in later. Iyer, howev er, fell in the process of taking on Mehidy Hasan and holed out to deep midwicket, which was soon followed by Axar chipping Ebadot to cover. At 189-6, India were still a far way away from the target but managed to mount a challenge eventually, thanks to a stunning cameo from Rohit, even as they fell short by five runs.

Bangladesh's 271 came on the back of a spectacular come back staged by Mehidy Hasan and Mahmudullah after being reduced to 69-6 at one point. The duo put on a partnership of 147 to help Bangladesh fight back with the bat for the second

game in a row, while Mehidy registered his maiden ODI ton as well.

After opting to bat, Bangla desh had slipped up early after Mohammad Siraj struck twice with big off-cutters getting rid of both Anamul Haque and Litton Das. Umran Malik added to the damage getting rid of Najmul Hossain Shanto with a 151kph delivery that uprooted the offstump. Pushing Bangladesh further down was Washington Sundar who picked up three wickets in two overs including the big ones of Shakib Al Hasan

and Mushfiqur Rahim.

Losing six for 69, Ban gladesh were in a precarious position when Mehidy joined Mahmudullah. The duo took chances early, with Mahmud ullah in particular surviving a couple of chances that did not go to hand. Mehidy got going after the spinner, cutting Axar Patel for a couple of boundaries and then lofting Washington Sundar for a six.

The fifty-run partnership came off 62 balls after which the duo stepped on the accelerator.

Bangladesh raced away through the middle overs with both get ting to their fifties in quick succession before Mahmudullah was dismissed for 77, caught behind against Umran Malik.

India had another chance to keep a check on the scoring rate at this point, but Mehidy Hasan went ballistic in the end overs, hitting 34 by himself in the last four overs, including two sixes in the final over that got him to his maiden ODI hundred off the final ball of the innings.

Three India players ruled out of final ODI against Bangladesh

INJURIES continued to hamper India's tour of Ban gladesh after three players were confirmed to miss the third and final ODI of the series.

Skipper Rohit Sharma was among the three players confirmed by head Rahul Dravid to miss the third ODI against Bangladesh. Dravid stated that Rohit would miss the third ODI and head to Mumbai to consult an expert.

A call on his participation in the Test series would only be taken after that.

"Rohit will certainly miss the next game, fly back to Bombay, consult with an expert and see how it is and whether he can come back for the Test matches or not, I'm not sure. It's too soon to say that."

Deepak Chahar, who only bowled three overs in the second ODI in Dhaka, was also ruled out of the final ODI as was Kuldeep Sen, who missed the match on Wednesday.

"All three of them won't play the next game for sure,"

Dravid said after the game which India lost narrowly after Rohit's late heroics.

The skipper copped an injury to his finger in Bangla desh's batting innings while attempting a catch. The ball hit his thumb and he was seen bleeding as he walked off.

The BCCI later con firmed he had gone for scans after the BCCI medical team assessed him.

However, with India in dire straits in the run chase, Rohit walked out to bat at No.9, slamming an unbeaten 51 off just 28 balls to take India to the brink off a win.

He hit a six with 12 runs needed off two balls, but could only manage a single off the final ball as Bangla desh wrapped up a series victory with the five-run win.

"It was phenomenal," Dravid said of Rohit's knock.

"I think for him to show that level of courage. He had a serious dislocation, he had to go to the hospital to get that set right, stitches in his hand, a couple of injections to go out and bat.

"Credit to him, he was re ally determined to go out and have a go and take a chance and it's amazing how close he got us with that innings, it was an absolutely phenom enal innings by the skipper.

"Great courage to be able to go out there and give us a chance." (ICC Media)

Mehidy Hasan Miraz (left) slammed his maiden ODI century

India captain Rohit Sharma is one of the three players injured

Williams fifty in vain as Windies suffer series defeat

NORTH SOUND, Antigua (CMC) – Rashada Williams’s second One-Day International half-century provided little solace for West Indies as they endured another heavy drub bing with a 142-run loss to England Women.

Asked to chase 261 under lights in the second ODI at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground on Tuesday night, the home side again folded meekly, capitulat ing for 118 in the 32nd over, despite the 25-year-old Williams producing a defiant, unbeaten 54 from 80 deliveries.

The right-hander counted four fours and a six in also her second ODI at the venue but lacked support, no other batter reaching double figures in yet another lack-lustre batting effort.

Twenty-year-old Lauren Bell claimed four for 33 while her new-ball seam partner Kate Cross (2-35) and left-arm spin ner Sophie Ecclestone (2-25), provided support.

Only last Sunday, West In dies Women slumped to an iden

tical 142-run defeat in the open ing ODI when they mustered only 165 in pursuit of 308. “I am very disappointed. I think in both games we haven’t batted,” said head coach Courtney Walsh.

“In the first game we didn’t bowl as well as we could’ve –we let a lot of chances slip at crucial points in the game.

“(In the second ODI) I

thought we were a lot better with the ball … and for the score that we had (to chase) I thought we would have made a better ap proach batting, but unfortunately we lost a couple of early wickets and never recovered.”

Player-of-the-match Amy Jones had earlier propped up the England Women innings with an unbeaten 70 from 63 deliveries while Sophia Dunkley struck 57 from 56 balls, ensuring the tourists rallied to 260 all out in the 49th over.

Emma Lamb (25) and Tam my Beaumont (21) put on 42 for the first wicket and when three wickets tumbled for 40 runs, Dunkley struck seven fours in adding 51 for the fourth wicket with captain Heather Knight (25).

Both fell within the space of 20 deliveries to leave England Women on 146 for five in the 28th over but Jones lashed eight fours as she held the lower order together.

West Indies Women then had a nightmare start, Bell and

DCC congratulates Imlach, Nedd, Rutherford on Super50 performances

Cross combining to wipe out the top order and reduce the hosts to eight for four in the fourth over.

Captain Hayley Matthews (1) drove at a wide ball from Bell and edged to first slip at the start of the second over, lefthander Kycia Knight (0) edged behind off another wide delivery two balls later while Aaliyah Alleyne (2) played back and nicked a defensive stroke to the ’keeper off Cross at the start of the next over.

When Shemaine Campbelle missed an in-swinging fulllength delivery from Bell and was lbw in the fourth over, West Indies Women were in danger of an embarrassing rout.

However, Williams strung together a series of small part nerships – posting 20 for the fifth wicket with Chedean Na tion (17), 21 for the sixth with Shabika Gajnabi (0) and 35 for the seventh with Chinelle Henry (13) – to help West In dies Women past the 100-run mark.

ENGLAND WOMEN innings

T. Beaumont c Gajnabi b Alleyne 21

E. Lamb run-out 25

S. Dunkley b Fletcher 57

N. Sciver lbw b Fraser 5

H. Knight c wkp. Kycia Knight b Matthews 25

D. Wyatt c Grimmond b Fletcher 13

A. Jones not out 70

S. Ecclestone b Henry 11 C. Dean c Gajnabi b Alleyne 7 K. Cross c & b Matthews 5

L. Bell b Matthews 1

Extras: (b-1, lb-1, w-18) 20

Total: (all out, 48.1 overs) 260

Fall of wickets: 1-42, 2-65, 3-82, 4-133, 5-146, 6-175, 7-197, 8-229, 9-245.

Bowling: Fraser 9-0-53-1, Henry 8-0-41-1, Matthews 9.1-0-50-3, Alleyne 8-0-47-2, Grimmond 4-0-26-0, Fletcher 10-1-41-2.

WEST INDIES WOMEN innings

H. Matthews c Knight b Bell 1

A. Alleyne c wkp. Jones b Cross 2

K. Knight c wkp. Jones b Bell 0

R. Williams not out 54

S. Campbelle lbw b Bell 3

C. Nation c wkp. Jones b Cross 17

S. Gajnabi c wkp. Jones b Bell 0

C Henry lbw b Ecclestone 13

A. Fletcher lbw b Dean 6 C. Fraser b Ecclestone 2 S. Grimmond c & b Dean 5

Extras: (b-3, w-12) 15

Total: (all out, 31.3 overs) 118

Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-3, 3-4, 4-8, 5-28, 6-49, 7-84, 8-99, 9-108.

Bowling: Cross 5-0-35-2, Bell 8-0-33-4, Ecclestone 10-3-25-2, Sciver 5-0-13-0, Dean 3.3-0-9-2.

Series: England Women lead three-match series 2-0.

Player-of-the-Match: Amy Jones

THE Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) in a recent statement offered con gratulations to three of their own, Tevin Imlach, Sherfane Rutherford, and Ashmead Nedd for their ef forts at this year’s Regional Super50 which took place in Trinidad & Tobago and Antigua & Barbuda.

Imlach and Rutherford played for their native Guy ana Harpy Eagles, who man aged to reach the semi-finals, while Nedd featured for the West Indies Academy, who finished bottom of Zone B.

Imlach, a wicketkeep er and top-order batter by trade, finished as the leading run-scorer for Harpy Eagles with 268 runs from seven in nings at an average of 44.66. The 26-year-old had a best of

75, which was one of his two fifties in the tournament.

Rutherford’s all-round skills brought him 186 runs at a strike rate of 106.35 with a best of 56 along with four wickets and an economy rate of 5.41.

Nedd, who savoured success recently with the Jamaica Tallawahs at this year’s Hero Caribbean Pre mier League, was one of two Guyanese in the Academy squad. Kevlon Anderson was the other.

The left-arm spinner fea tured in five matches and was the team’s second-most eco nomical bowler with a rate of 4.29, and took five wickets.

“We the Executives and Members of the Demerara of the Cricket Club, recognise the credible performances

from three of our young stars and we look forward to seeing them do even better in the future and bringing success to the teams they rep resent,” the club expressed in a statement.

On a different note, the club is concerned over the non-selection of all-rounder Christopher Barnwell from the national setup, despite still being one of the leading all-rounders in the country.

Barnwell was axed from the recent squad despite be ing a standout performer over the past seasons in the format.

The Queenstown-based club, established in 1912, is known for producing some of the most prominent names in Guyana and West Indies cricket.

Tevin Imlach

Sherfane Rutherford Ashmead Nedd

Rashada Williams top-scored with 54 not out

Warner withdraws appeal against lifetime leadership ban

DAVID Warner has with drawn an appeal to lift his lifetime leadership ban in Australian cricket claiming the process would involve a "public trial" of his part in the infamous ball-tamper ing scandal.

The 36-year-old was giv en the chance to appeal after Cricket Australia's code of conduct changed in Novem ber.

Warner's leadership and 12-month ban from elite cricket began in 2018.

"Some things are more important than cricket," said Warner.

In a lengthy statement on Instagram, he added: "I am not prepared for my family to be the washing machine for cricket's dirty laundry."

The opening batter's statement comes the day be fore Australia's second Test against West Indies begins at the Adelaide Oval.

Warner said he was not

prepared to subject his fam ily and team mates to "fur ther trauma and disruption", brought about by the review panel wanting to "conduct a public spectacle" and a "cleansing".

He says he submitted an application to Cricket Aus tralia (CA) on November 25 saying he wanted to "demon strate" to the review panel his "deep regret and remorse and that my rehabilitation and

transformation are profound."

CA said it "supported" Warner's wish "for these dis cussions to be heard behind closed doors", but that it was "disappointed with the outcome".

"Our intention was to give David the opportunity to demonstrate why his lifetime leadership ban should be var ied at an independent hearing and we amended our Code of Conduct accordingly," CA

added.

"David is a very senior and highly regarded member of the Australian team who has been a great ambassador for the game as a whole since his return from a year-long ban."

After Aaron Finch stepped down as Australia's one-day international cap tain, there had been calls for former vice-captain Warner to fill the vacancy.

Pat Cummins, Australia's Test captain, was named as Finch's successor in Octo ber, but he said he would be willing to share the ODI captaincy to ease his burden.

Former Test captain Steve Smith was also banned from playing for a year and from leadership roles for three years after the scandal and will lead Australia against West In dies because Cummins is injured. (BBC Sport)

Djokovic to make Australia return in Adelaide one year after deportation

NOVAK Djokovic will play in January's Adelaide International, a year after being deported from Australia because of his COVID-19 vaccination status.

The Serb, who has won a record nine Aus tralian Open titles, is also set to compete at the first Grand Slam of the year after his visa ban was overturned.

Britain's Andy Murray, Kyle Edmund and Jack Draper will also play in Adelaide, with the event beginning on January 1.

The Australian Open starts 15 days later in Melbourne.

Along with world number five, Djokovic, there will be three other top-10 men's players in Adelaide, with Felix Auger-Aliassime, Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev also competing.

The women's field is strong too, as top-10 players Ons Jabeur, Aryna Sabalenka, Daria Kasatkina and Veronika Kudermetova will take part.

Djokovic, 35, won the season-ending ATP Finals in December and will be bidding to win a 22nd Grand Slam title, which would take him level with Spain's Rafael Nadal, who claimed the title in Melbourne at the start of this year.

A THREE-MEMBER

Guyana contingent is off to Bogota, Colombia, to represent the nation in the International Weight lifting Federation’s World Championship from De cember 5 to 16.

This event will serve as a qualifier for the Pan American Games in 2023 and Paris Olympic Games 2024.

The team departed Guy ana on Saturday evening and will return on Decem ber 13. It is understood this is Guyana first participation at the World Championships in over fifty years.

“The GAWA would like to thank the Guy

ana Olympic Association (GOA) for assisting (and) making our participation at this very important event possible.” Guyana Amateur Weightlifting Association (GAWA) said in a press release.

Serbia's Djokovic was deported before the 2022 event after his visa was cancelled. He was automatically banned for three years from entering Australia, but in November learned that he would receive a visa for 2023.

Meanwhile, Britain's Emma Raducanu will start her season at the Auckland Open in New Zealand, which starts on January 2. (BBC Sport)

Athletes Delice Adonis

(64kg Class) and Shammah Noel (81kg Class) are being accompanied by coach Sean Cozier.

David Warner stood in as Australia's ODI captain in 2016 and 2017

From left: Delice Adonis, Shammah Noel and coach Sean Cozier

Novak Djokovic won his first Australian Open title in 2008

Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappe, Neymar, other stars set for quarter-finals

By Shamoon Hafez BBC Sport in Doha

EIGHT teams remain in the 2022 World Cup, all with the same dream of lifting the trophy on December 18.

After a tournament of shocks in the group stage, we are now progressing to the real business end, and the quarter-finals are stacked with talent.

Six of the teams left in are former champions or finalists - and they have won the competition 10 times among them.

There's a surprise pack age too, with Morocco now aiming to become the first semi-finalists from Africa having reached their first quarter-final.

BBC Sport looks at some of the themes brew ing as players aim to un derpin their greatness and go down in footballing folklore.

Friday: Croatia v Brazil (15:00hrs GMT), Netherlands v Argentina (19:00hrs).

Saturday: Morocco v Portugal (15:00hrs), En gland v France (19:00hrs).

Shock group-stage ex its for the likes of Ger many and Belgium - and Spain's elimination in the last 16 - mean they have missed out on being part of a quarter-final line-up for the ages.

Lionel Messi and Cris tiano Ronaldo provide the headline names, but big guns such as Ney mar, Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe and Luka Modric are still standing.

The four ties are so closely matched you just can't call them. It is going to be epic.

AN ANGLO-FRENCH BATTLE

England and reigning

champions France meet at a major tournament for the first time in 10 years, and for the first time ever in the knockout stages.

The teams drew 1-1 in the group stage of Euro 2012, but you have to go back to 1982 for their last meeting at a World Cup.

Bryan Robson scored twice in a 3-1 England victory over a side cap tained by France great Michel Platini.

The Three Lions didn't go on to become world champions in Spain that year, but the only time they did - back in 1966one of the teams they beat on their way to glory was, you've guessed it, France. Not a bad omen.

However, now they have the daunting prospect of facing in-form striking sensation Mbappe, who leads the Golden Boot race with five goals, and plays alongside his coun try's all-time top goalscor er Olivier Giroud.

"Saturday will be real ly difficult," said England captain Kane. "France are a great team, reigning world champions, so we know it is going to be a really tough evening.

"I think if you are go ing to win the World Cup, you have to play the best sides in the world, and France are certainly up there.

A Messi v Ronaldo final?

Sunday, December 18. A showdown at Doha's Lusail Stadium. The two greatest players of their generation going head to head - their last shot at World Cup glory. It's on!

Argentina's Messi and Portugal's Ronaldo have pushed each other to re write the record books for years. At this tournament

alone, Messi scored on his 1,000th career appearance in the last-16 win over Australia, while Ronaldo became the first man to score at five World Cups.

Both have won their continental titles - Messi claimed the Copa America last year and Ronaldo the European Championship in 2016 - but the biggest prize in football remains elusive.

With 35-year-old Mes si hinting this may well be his last World Cup and Ronaldo turning 41 by the time the next tourna ment comes around, this is surely their final hope

of lifting the famous gold trophy.

However, Ronaldo had to settle for a bit-part role in Portugal's last16 tie - relegated to the substitutes' bench as his 21-year-old replacement, Goncalo Ramos, smashed in a hat-trick against Swit zerland.

A final involving the two superstars would leave neutrals salivating. Will the 'GOAT' debate finally be settled?

Before that, a mouth-watering semi-final could be on the cards.

Should both progress past Croatia and the Neth

erlands respectively, a heavyweight South Amer ican battle will ensue be tween Brazil and Argenti na at Lusail Stadium.

Five-time champions and tournament favourites Brazil showcased their credentials by coasting past South Korea, while Argentina needed the bril liance of their skipper Messi to edge them past Australia.

The teams have met four times at the World Cup, though not since 1990, when Claudio Can iggia's late winner took Argentina through to the quarter-finals.

Hopes of wrestling the trophy away from Europe lie heavily with these two sides, with Brazil the last non-European team to win the competition back in 2002.

Star man Neymar re covered from an injury picked up in their open ing game to score in the last-16 victory over South Korea and now needs just one more goal to match the great Pele's 77 strikes for the Selecao.

But Luka Modric's Croatia and Virgil van Di jk's Netherlands will have a big say on whether that huge spectacle comes to fruition or not

BERGKAMP'S BRILLIANCE

Talking of the Neth erlands, Louis van Gaal's side and Argentina are familiar foes in this tour nament, set to meet for the sixth time for a place in the semi-finals.

It's a repeat of the 1978 final, which the South American side won, and their most recent meeting was in the last four eight years ago, with Argentina victorious on penalties.

But one of the most fa

mous moments - not only in this fixture but in World Cup history - came in 1998 when Dennis Berg kamp scored a sensational last-minute goal to take the Netherlands through to the semi-finals.

"Dennis Bergkamp, Dennis Bergkamp, Dennis Bergkamp," screamed the Dutch commentator as the Arsenal man expertly controlled Frank de Boer's raking pass, before turning inside Roberto Ayala and flicking a finish into the net.

Cody Gakpo to do something similar this time...?

MAGNIFICENT MOROCCO

Achraf Hakimi's winning penalty in the shootout victory over Spain was majestic, dinked down the middle of the goal to spark wild celebrations at Education City.

Their progression to the quarter-finals of the World Cup was given a royal seal of approval too, as boss Walid Regragui received a phone call from Morocco's King Moham med VI after the game.

Well organised and dif ficult to beat, Morocco are bang in form - they are yet to lose at this World Cup and have conceded only one goal in their past seven games.

Morocco are just the fourth African nation to reach the last eight and are looking to become the first side from the continent to make it through to the semi-finals.

However, another stern test against Euro pean opposition awaitsand Portugal are aiming to make history of their own by reaching a first final.

World Cup 2022:

Argentina’s Lionel Messi

France’s Kylian Mbappe

Brazil’s Neymar

One Guyana President’s Cup is first step towards World Cup 2026

'No small teams anymore', FIFA chief hails best group stage

becoming ever more global.

Former champions Argentina, Spain, Ger many and Brazil all suf fered shock group-stage losses and Africa, Asia and North America were represented in the last 16 along with tradition al powerhouses South America and Europe.`

Infantino said the matches, played in beau tiful stadiums, had al ready attracted a TV au dience in excess of two billion viewers.

Russia, Belarus sporting sanctions must remain - IOC

DOHA: (Reuters) -

FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, has hailed the group stage of the Qatar World Cup as

the “best ever” and said the number of upsets and geographic breadth of the teams progressing indi cated that football was

“Fantastic atmo sphere, great goals, incredible excitement, surprises, small teams beating big teams!” he

President Irfaan Ali (centre) posing with Region Four's team jersey and flanked by Minister of Culture, Youth & Sport, Charles Ramson Jr (right) and E-Networks' Principal, Vishok Persaud (left) (Elvin Croker photo)

FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, gives thumbs-up during Qatar 2022 World Cup Group G match between Brazil and Switzerland (AFP)

Thomas Bach wants the "unifying mission of sport" to be restored