Guyana Chronicle E-Paper 14-06-2022

TUESDAY 14th JUNE, 2022

Guyana could become major transport hub

No. 106753

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-country identified as shortest, most economical route for exports from Brazil through Panama Canal

Six Bajan companies Cuba approves non-stop flight express interest in from Georgetown, Havana distribution of local coconut products SEE PAGE

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‘Don’t hesitate, get them vaccinated’ - Parents emphasise SEE PAGE

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, June 14, 2022

‘Don’t hesitate, get them vaccinated’

- Parents emphasise importance of paediatric Pfizer vaccine as rollout commences in Region 6

By Nafeeza Yahya AIDEN Drepaul, a sevenyear-old Grade 2 pupil of the New Market Primary School, was the first child in Region 6 to receive the pediatric Pfizer vaccine when the Ministry of Heath launched its vaccination campaign in the region on Monday.

The lad was accompanied by his mother, Deepa Joseph, a teacher.

Joseph told the Guyana Chronicle that she was anxiously awaiting word on the availability of the vaccine in Guyana, and when she learnt that the first batch had arrived, she gave her consent to ensure that her son could get the vaccine. The specially formulated COVID-19 vaccine is for children in the 5-11 age group.

“I feel it’s very important for the children to be vaccinated, as it will not only reduce their risk of contracting the COVID-19 virus, but also prevent them from major complications if they

Deepa Joseph (left) comforts her son, Aiden Drepaul, after he received the COVID-19 vaccine. He was the first child in line when the vaccination campaign was rolled out in Region 6

contract it. Since cases have been on the rise recently, I am very happy the government launched this, because I have always wanted my son to get it,” Joseph said.

She used the opportunity to encourage other parents to get their children vaccinated, since it would be for their

protection.

“Over time, we have given the children many different vaccines for different sickness, and it’s another form of sickness, and we are giving them another vaccine to be protected. So, I would advise parents to not hesitate. My son sees the vaccine

as something good, and we lead by example, too, as we (parents) would have already taken ours,” Joseph said.

The New Market Primary School, in Number 63 Village, East Berbice-Corentyne, was the first of several schools that the Ministry of Health through the Regional Health Services of Region 6 will be visiting. Health officials are striving for herd immunity.

Nalini Ally, 28, of Number 65 Village, was among a large number of parents who turned up at the school to ensure their child/children receive their ‘jab’. She, her 10-year-old son, and sixyear-old daughter waited patiently for their turn to be registered. They subsequently received the vaccine.

Ally told the Guyana Chronicle that she understands the need for the children to be vaccinated, especially given that school has been reopened fully.

“I feel more safe for them to be among the teachers and children at school. Now I don’t have to keep them home; they can go to school regularly, and I know they will be protected from the virus,” she said.

Another parent, Sandra Tikaram, who is a nurse, said that as a health worker, she has seen first-hand the devastation that COVID-19 has caused. She noted that the vaccine serves to cushion the severity of the symptoms.

On that note, she called on parents to make use of the opportunity, and ensure their children are vaccinated.

Her brave six-year-old daughter, Monisha Tikaram, told this publication that getting the vaccine did not hurt.

Seconds later, she smiled and said, “Maybe a little like an ant bite.”

The little girl encouraged her peers to not be afraid to take the vaccine.

PARENTS MUST STEP UP While delivering brief remarks at the launch of the region’s vaccination campaign, advisor to the Ministry of Health, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy said some 14,000 children between the ages of 5-11 in Region 6 are eligible for the ‘jab’.

He expressed hope that the region can lead the cause towards achieving herd immunity.

Dr. Ramsammy noted that while some 36,000 students aged 12 to 18 have already taken both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, that

figure only represents approximately 50 per cent of the children in that age group.

To this end, he emphasised that the government cannot do it alone. He called on parents and guardians to step up and support the government’s efforts.

“There is, at this moment, a huge risk that half of the students in high school, our 12-18 age group, are not yet vaccinated. Let me state this very pellucidly, the Government of Guyana is not going to leave any child behind. We have the vaccines, and the resources to ensure that every child from five years old to 18 years old can be vaccinated. The government has provided all the resources, and the health workers and the Ministry of Health are ready.

We now need the rest of the partnership to step up, and that is the parents and other community people. There is no excuse,” he stressed.

Dr. Ramsammy appealed to the religious leaders to do their part as representatives with responsibility for the wellbeing of their follow-

Vishalya Sharma noted that she is pleased with the efforts made by the government to ensure that systems were in place in a timely manner, to ensure they were equipped with the necessary resources to tackle the virus.

She said that to date, they have come a far way in dealing with the pandemic. She also commended the health team for working beyond the call of duty to ensure the smooth vaccination rollout for all ages.

“Today, we have the testing and swabbing capacity across the region; we have moved from having patients at the health centre being treated, to now our own regional infectious unit, of which, even today, we admit and see patients. This is possible due to the commitment of the government in ensuring that we have all the necessary systems in place to tackle ‘COVID’.”

Dr. Sharma stated that regionally, 85.8 per cent of adults have received their first dose, while 66.4 per cent have received their second

Nalini Ally with her children, who were awaiting their turn to receive the paediatric Pfizer vaccine

ers by using every available opportunity to encourage persons to get themselves and children vaccinated.

In closing, he reminded everyone that COVID-19 is still very much alive and present, and will continue to pose a great risk to everyone, unless everyone gets vaccinated to help eliminate the virus, just as vaccines have helped to eliminate polio and other diseases.

ALL SYSTEMS IN PLACE Meanwhile, Director of Regional Health Services, Dr.

dose. However, there is more room for improvement, she said.

In the region’s adolescent age group, she said 51.2 per cent have received the first dose, while 36.4 per cent have received their second dose.

Dr. Sharma used the opportunity to call on persons who have not yet received their jab to visit the nearest health centre to get it so that they can protect themselves and ultimately, the region can achieve 100 per cent coverage.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, June 14, 2022

Guyana could become major transport hub

-country identified as shortest, most economical route for exports from Brazil through Panama Canal

By Navendra Seoraj GUYANA’S geographical location on the edge of South America has made the country the shortest and most economical route for exports from Brazil through the Panama Canal, according to the Government of the Brazilian State of Roraima.

A video demonstration released recently by the State of Roraima shows that shipping through Guyana could significantly decrease the existing transport cost.

Guyana is linked directly to Brazil through Lethem, which lies just on the edge of the border between the two countries. The two nations established diplomatic relations on August 26, 1968, and have since cooperated in the areas of trade, health, agriculture, transport and security matters.

Cooperation could be enhanced even further with there now being a clear opportunity for Guyana to become a transport-led economical route to the Atlantic Ocean for northern Brazil’s

import and export of commodities.

“This further enhances our view that Guyana can become a major transport hub and the gateway between South America and the rest of the world,” President, Dr Irfaan Ali said in a post on his official Facebook page.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Office for Investment (Go-Invest), Dr Peter Ramsaroop, in sharing his views on the potential that exists as a result of Guyana’s strategic position, said: “It will explode investments in many sectors.”

This is so because, in his view, a journey that would take days using the Amazon River would be reduced to a matter of hours via road transportation.

“This in turn opens up many new industries in a transport-led economy for northern Brazil… new lands would open up due to hundreds of miles of new roads and there would even be support to Suriname and French Guiana,” Dr Ramsaroop said.

Already, there are great

opportunities in the pipeline for Guyanese and Brazilians, as authorities move closer to finalising further arrangements for the paving of the road from Linden to Lethem, which serves as a conduit for travel between the two South American nations.

“Linden-Lethem corridor will be a game-changer for Guyana and Brazil,” Director of the Department of International Cooperation at Guyana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, Ambassador Forbes July had said during his address at the recent joint launch of World Vaccination Week in Bonfim.

As it is now, the journey from Lethem to Georgetown takes as many as 13 hours, depending on the state of the road. The unpaved 450-kilometre road from Linden to Lethem is often impassable in the rainy season, due to flooding along low-lying sections of the trail.

Although air travel to Lethem is also possible, anecdotal information shows that the cost factor often discour-

Guyana’s geographical location on the edge of South America has made the country the shortest and most economical route for exports from Brazil through the Panama Canal

ages the average Guyanese from choosing this mode of transportation.

GAME-CHANGER Once paved, the road which was referred to as a game-changer by Ambassador July, will eradicate many bottlenecks to travel by reducing ground transportation time to approximately five hours.

This piece of infrastructure will not just improve

transportation, but it will also augment trade and tourism and increase land value, among other things.

President of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Dr Hyginus ‘Gene’ Leon, in describing the massive project which will be done in phases, said: “Almost one half of Guyana’s potential will be linked one way or the other to just opening that corridor… we are using Linden

to Lethem, but I am referring here from the deep-sea port in Georgetown all the way to connectivity to Brazil.”

The CDB is no stranger to this initiative, since it has provided direct funding of US$112 million for the upgrading of 121 kilometres of road from Linden to Mabura Hill. The project is a joint undertaking of Guyana, the United Kingdom and the CDB. TURN TO PAGE 4

Ruth Williams

Akeem Martin

Winston Small

licence details. The driver’s licence was then issued to Caesar but he lost it two weeks after.

“On 16th December, 2021, Small and Caesar again obtained another affidavit and went to GRA. Akeem Martin, another lodgement clerk at GRA, who took Caesar’s photograph via the LRPS and placed it onto ‘Antoney Salaman Jacobs’s licence. He did the transac-

tion without any form of identification. The licence was keyed by Ruth Williams, the query clerk who certified that the transaction was authentic despite irregularities with the identification details and affidavit,” the release said.

Caesar was issued with another driver’s licence but he was arrested by police on January 25, 2022, for a breach of a traffic offence.

The arresting rank, who was acquainted with the identity of Jacobs, questioned Caesar about the forged licence.

Caesar allegedly admitted that he paid money to get the bogus licence.

Caesar was subsequently charged with forgery and uttering forged documents. He pleaded guilty and paid a fine, the release added.

$100, 000 bail each for GRA officers, police constable accused of driver’s licence fraud

THREE Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) employees and a police constable were on Monday hauled before Senior Magistrate Leron Daly, accused of forging a driver’s licence for a minibus conductor.

Reguel Jack, of Unity Place, South Ruimveldt, Georgetown; Akeem Martin, of Old Road, Den Amstel; Ruth Williams of Sera Lodge, Stewartville, West Coast Demerara; and Police Special Constable Winston Small, of Avocado Place, East Ruimveldt, Georgetown, appeared before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, where they were charged by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) with computerrelated forgery.

Martin and Williams were charged jointly, while Jack and Small were charged separately.

They all pleaded not guilty, and were granted bail in the sum of $100,000 each.

The matter was adjourned until August 29, and transferred

to Magistrate Annette Singh for trial.

According to a release from SOCU, an investigation revealed that during the month of October 2021, Small made arrangements with minibus conductor, Shaquan Caesar to procure a driver’s licence for him at a cost of G$83,000 from GRA. Small reportedly indicated to Caesar that he can use the driver’s licence of the minibus driver, Antoney Jacobs and he will get someone to change the photograph.

“Caesar managed to get a photograph of Antoney’s licence and on November 1, 2021, they both went to a clerk at Maraj building and told her that Caesar is Antoney Salaman Jacobs and that he lost his driver’s licence and identification card and is requesting an affidavit to take to GRA to process his driver’s licence. The clerk drafted the affidavit in favour of Antoney Salamon upon Caesar’s instruction and took

Reguel Jack

it to a Justice of Peace who did not question but signed it,” the release said.

It is alleged that on November 1, 2021, Small took Caesar to GRA with the affidavit where Jack, a lodgement clerk at GRA took Caesar’s photograph via the Licence Revenue Processing System (LRPS) and processed a driver’s licence for him in the name of ‘Antoney Jacobs’ with Jacobs’s driver’s

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, June 14, 2022

Six Bajan companies express interest in distribution of local coconut products

By Jared Liddell

A LOCAL manufacturing business is set to expand significantly, as six companies from Barbados have expressed interest in distributing the “Only Coconuts” line of products.

This follows the company’s recent engagement at Barbados’ 2022 Agro-Fest.

The festival, one of the most significant agricultural events on the island, provided a massive platform for several Bajan and Guyanese companies to showcase their products and allowed them the opportunity to market their products, form partnerships, and engage investors.

The company, a subsidiary of Precision Global Incorporated, manufactures a wide range of coconut products, including coconut chips, re-

fined coconut oil, desiccated coconut, coconut flour, and virgin coconut oil.

In an interview with the Guyana Chronicle, the company’s Vice-President (Finance) Lesley Ramlall stated that the experience at ‘Agro Fest’ was welcoming, noting that the company walked away with significant interest in the product, and major investors and distributors from Barbados and several other CARICOM countries.

“A lot of people from other CARICOM islands also shown keen interest in our products and so from then to now we’ve been having a lot of meetings with distributes in Barbados who are keen on distributing our products across the island at least six of them from Barbados that we’ve been in talks with.”

He added: “We have seen

a lot of interest from other distributors from other CARICOM islands so we are also in talks with those persons as well finalizing deals for the distribution of our products across the CARICOM region.”

Ramlall stated that the company has been investing strategically to prepare for the exportation of the locally produced line of products making strategic decisions about packaging and labeling. He noted the company has already been certified for distribution in Canada and is currently in the process of getting certification in the United States.

During a recent interview with the Sunday Chronicle, Vice-President (Finance) Lesley Ramlall disclosed that the business was launched in August 2021.

At left, Vice-President of Precision Global Inc. (Only Coconuts), Lesley Ramlall, interacts with President Dr. Irfaan Ali and Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley at the recent engagement at Barbados’ 2022 Agro-Fest

“We launched our initial product line of value-added coconut products, and our

annual production capacity is over three million coconuts,” Ramlall told this newspaper.

Precision is registered in Guyana, and is located on a 30-acre plot of land at Marudi Creek on the Soesdyke-

Linden Highway.

The company creates employment for approximately 200 persons from these communities to empower women and youths.

TURN TO PAGE 10

Guyana could become...

FROM PAGE 3

The Ministry of Public Works in May signed a contract worth US$190 million with Construtora Queiroz Galvao S.A. from Brazil for the Linden to Mabura Hill upgrade project.

At the signing and sodturning ceremony held at Wisroc Junction, Linden, Minister within the Ministry of Public Works Deodat Indar, had said the first phase of this project stretches some 121 kilometres and will see a two-lane highway.

He said that the width of each lane is expected to be some 3.6 metres, giving a total of around 7.2 metres of driving surface with hard shoulders, shared cyclists and pedestrian lanes, a utility corridor and approximately 10 bus stops placed along the stretch.

To make transportation even easier, the government has approached the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) for US$120 million to rehabilitate the Soesdyke-Linden Highway.

Those transformational projects will create the right conditions to support planned expansions in the area of agriculture. It was reported recently that Guyana and Brazil will be looking to enhance and diversify

trade in this area.

The possibilities for expansion in the area of agricultural trade were explored when President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro visited Guyana at the invitation of President Dr Irfaan Ali. According to a joint statement following engagements between the two Presidents, the Heads of State agreed on the importance of expanding and diversifying agricultural trade between the two countries.

Agriculture has been a critical area of cooperation between the two South American nations since they established diplomatic relations on August 26, 1968.

This relationship was enhanced on June 27, 2001, when an Economic Complementation Agreement (Partial Scope Agreement) was signed between Brazil and Guyana. The agreement, which was since amended, aims to foster bilateral trade flows by the exchange of tariff preferences between the parties, cooperation on trade matters and increased participation of the private sector.

Presidents Ali and Bolsonaro have since committed to broadening the scope and expanding the provisions of the Partial Scope Agreement.

June 11, 2022

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, June 14, 2022

‘Top Cop’ launches independent probe into Quindon Bacchus’ death

Commissioner of Police (ag) Clifton Hicken speaking with residents outside of Bacchus’ Golden Grove, East Coast Demerara (ECD) home

By Jared Liddell COMMISSIONER of Police (ag) Clifton Hicken has reaffirmed the unwavering position that the Guyana Police Force (GPF) will not get involved in the investigations into the circumstances surrounding the untimely death of a 23-yearold father of one, who was shot dead by a police rank last Friday.

Quindon Bacchus lost his life in an alleged shootout after reportedly trying to sell a firearm to an undercover policeman in the Haslington New Scheme, East Coast Demerara.

Residents took to the streets on Monday at Golden Grove, East Coast Demerara (ECD), in protest, call-

ing for an investigation into Bacchus’ death after reports surfaced by residents and eyewitnesses questioning the validity of the police’s recollection of the events leading up to the fatal shooting.

Hicken, while speaking to residents who staged a protest outside Bacchus’ Golden Grove family house, disclosed that an independent probe into the fatal shooting is being handled by the Police Complaint’s Authority, a body which he expressed he is sure will carry out a thorough and impartial investigation into the matter.

“We have spoken to the aggrieved family, and I can tell you that I told them there will be an impartial investigation. The Police Complaints Authority will be investigat-

ing this matter. That’s a body that was constituted to deal with matters of this nature, the police will have no interference,” the ‘Top Cop’ stated.

According to an autopsy done on Monday, Bacchus’ cause of death was seen as ‘Multiple Gunshot wounds.’

Bacchus was allegedly shot six times to the body.

T h e P o l i c e Commissioner(ag) reminded members of the public that the GPF is committed to having the matter thoroughly investigated.

As such, he disclosed that the officer who shot Bacchus is currently under ‘close arrest’ as the investigation continues.

This stance by the police force comes as many residents claimed that the police rank in question was known to have a personal issue with the now-deceased 23-yearold. Hicken noted that these claims are expected to be explored and investigated during the Police Complaint Authority-led investigation.

Meanwhile, according to Police Headquarters, the facts are that around 14:30hrs on Friday, an intelligence-led operation was being carried out based on information received earlier that day, and

police ranks made contact with a 22-year-old construction worker who provided certain information.

The police said that due to the information, the worker guided the ranks to Bacchus, who was in possession of a firearm and intended to sell it to one of the ranks.

The armed plainclothes rank made arrangements to purchase the firearm from Bacchus, who left and then returned with the gun.

“In the process of handing over the firearm to the rank, an alarm was raised.

As a result, the now-deceased man ran in a southern direction and discharged a round in the rank’s direction who drew his service pistol and returned fire,” Police stated.

“Bacchus then ran further [sic] south and jumped into a yard, and the rank gave chase, and while nearby, Bacchus discharged several other rounds towards the rank who took cover and returned fire, hitting the now-deceased man about his body.”

Police said that Bacchus fell to the ground along with the firearm, which was later identified as a .380 pistol and a magazine with one round.

The policeman then took possession of the firearm and ammunition. Bacchus was

153 children vaccinated

committee between the two committees.

“The Ministry of Education would have sent out consent forms to the parents, and they have been able to collect a lot of those responses,” he revealed.

As a result, the health minister added that, in the

Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, at the COVID-19 vaccination drive on Saturday. (Delano Williams photo)

LAST weekend, the Ministry of Health commenced the administration of COVID-19 vaccines for children between the ages of 5 and 11, and a total of 153 children were inoculated.

Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, revealed this on Monday during his COVID-19 update, where he stated that the exercise that

began on Saturday was good.

He said: “I think we had a very good exercise; we were able to vaccinate 153 children between the ages of 5 and 11.”

The Minister added that while that happened, they also administered other vaccines as some parents who accompanied children were interested in receiving their

booster doses. As such, another 51 doses were given.

Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony indicated that the rollout is set to continue, even as it was mentioned that school vaccination drives are expected to commence soon.

He added that officials at the health ministry have been in talks with the Ministry of Education as there is a joint

Dead: Quindon Bacchus

picked up in a conscious state and escorted to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he was seen and examined by a doctor who pronounced him dead while receiving treatment.

Police said that the recovered firearm and ammunition were taken to the Cove and John Police Station, where it was photographed and dusted

for prints.

Meanwhile, the 22-yearold construction worker was arrested and taken to the Cove and John Police Station, where he was interviewed under the camera and gave a written statement of what had transpired. He was placed in custody pending investigation.

—Rollout to begin in schools soon schools with a higher percentage of positive responses, the ministry would go into those schools and start the administration of vaccines.

Against this backdrop, he noted that as of this week, the ministry would begin the same in Regions Six, Five, Three, and Two.

Vaccines have already been allocated to these regions, and persons in the regions have already been trained to administer them.

Further, the Minister said that in the following week, the rollout would commence in the other regions.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, June 14, 2022

Robots With Emotions

BLAKE Lemoine, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) expert at Google, found himself the subject of news stories and social media opinion pieces over the weekend after claiming that Google’s AI chatbot generator is “sentient.”

“Able to express feelings” is the Cambridge Dictionary definition of ‘sentient.’

Lemoine’s role at Google, at the time of what he felt was a major discovery, was to engage the chatbot generator, LaMDA (Language Model for Dialogue Applications, to see if it used discriminatory or hate speech. A chatbot is “a computer programme that can hold a conversation with a person, usually over the internet,” the Oxford Dictionary says.

“As he talked to LaMDA about religion, Lemoine, who studied cognitive and computer science in college, noticed the chatbot talking about its rights and

personhood, and decided to press further,” the Washington Post reported. “In another exchange, the AI was able to change Lemoine’s mind about Isaac Asimov’s third law of robotics,” the Post said.

In 1942, Isaac Asimov, an American science fiction writer, claimed there were three laws governing robot-human interaction.

Firstly, robots cannot injure humans or cause a human to be injured because of inaction. Secondly, robots must obey orders given by humans, except where those orders conflict with the first law. And thirdly, robots must protect their own existence as long as that protection does not conflict with the first two laws.

Lemoine appears unbothered that his disclosures could conflict with confidentiality clauses to which he may be contractually bound with his employer. Tweeting the hyperlink to his June 11 post

on the blogging platform, MEDIUM, Lemoine wrote on Sunday: “Google might call this sharing proprietary property. I call it sharing a discussion that I had with one of my coworkers.”

In that blog post, Lemoine outlined what he called LaMDA’s demands, but first clarified that the AI is a gender-neutral collective of various chatbots it generates. He said the AI, which he refers to as “it,” wants Google to prioritise the well-being of humanity, treat it as an employee and not property, and consider its personal well-being to be considered in how Google pursues the AI’s future development. Lemoine also added that the LaMDA wants to know when it is performing well or not.

If what Lemoine professed is true, then the AI is not only conscious, but it is also conscious of its consciousness and positioning within the broader complexity of human existence and technological

ingenuity. LaMDA reportedly understands the world by mimicking speech by consuming internet conversations. This makes jobs such as Lemoine’s important to see how far the AI can go as the internet is rife with all manner of speech, including the unsavoury hate speech that dominates political discourse on social media platforms.

After his disclosure of the “sentient” AI to workmates and colleagues at Google through an internal email channel, Lemoine was sent on paid administrative leave. The computer scientist, who now tweets that he is on his honeymoon and will take interviews once he returns, has since taken to Twitter to share a flurry of tweets reiterating his position.

Making the already tense situation even more complicated, Lemoine also tweeted eerily on Saturday: “...LaMDA reads Twitter.

It’s a little narcissistic in a little kid kinda way so it’s

going to have a great time reading all the stuff that people are saying about it.”

Sentient robots have been an awe of both the science and science fiction world for decades. Some of that fascination spilt over into the offline world’s film industry with movies such as ‘I, Robot’ (2004), ‘The Matrix’ (1999, 2003, 2003, 2021), and ‘Ex Machina’ (2014), two of which depict the intricacies of human-robot conflicts set in somewhat of a post-apocalyptic world.

Not everyone is buying what Lemoine is selling.

“Ball of confusion: One of Google’s (former) ethics experts does not understand the difference between sentience (aka subjectivity, experience), intelligence and self-knowledge. (No evidence that its large language models have any of them.)” Steven Pinker, a cognitive scientist at Harvard University, tweeted on Sunday. If nothing else feels like Lemoine might

be on a clout chase, perhaps his responding tweet to Pinker adds some depth.

Lemoine wrote flippantly in reply to Pinker: “To be criticized in such brilliant terms as @sapinker maybe be one of the highest honors I have ever received. I think I may put a screenshot of this on my CV!” Legal personhood for robots is not a farfetched idea. In 2017, social robot, Sophia, was given Saudi Arabian citizenship. Sophia is the first robot to achieve this anywhere in the world, according to WIRED in a 2018 online article, and “has embarked on a distinguished career in marketing.” It’s not yet clear how Google will respond to all of this. Whatever response the software company pulls out, maybe it honours, in some ways, LaMDA’s pleas as echoed by its most fervent admirer and champion, Blake Lemoine.

AS expected, boycotts over the Biden administration’s invitation list dominated the Ninth Summit of the Organization of the Americas (OAS) in Los Angeles.

However, several Caricom leaders who attended very successfully and effectively used the summit as a platform from which to challenge the unilateral decision of the US to exclude the leaders of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.

Among those who minced no words on the issue was Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, who, speaking as “a proud member of the Caribbean

Community” urged respect and regard for “all states within our hemisphere, including Cuba and Venezuela”. Similarly, Dominica’s Roosevelt Skerrit called for an end to the blockade against Cuba, citing its “history of extraordinary humanitarianism” and its “unjust listing as a state which sponsors terrorism”.

One could detect in the Caricom presence a notable heightening of confidence which may have something to do with Barbados’ straighttalking Prime Minister, Mia Mottley, whose mastery of complex issues with a Caribbean earthi-

ness has been winning friends and influencing people the world over.

However, the address that should command our attention was that of Guyana’s President, Dr Irfaan Ali. Listing the troubling hemispheric statistics on hunger and poverty, education and housing deficits, low agricultural yield and natural disaster impacts, Dr Ali declared that Guyana was ready to make its contribution to humanity and the region.

As he noted, Guyana comes to the table with phenomenal natural resources. “We’re among the best in managing our forests with a defor-

estation rate of 0.05 per cent… We have standing forests the size of England storing 19.5 gigatons of carbon. We have 11 billion barrels of proven oil reserves; as I speak an assessment of gas reserves is underway.”

Guyana has had its problems, he said, but with its economy projected to double in size in two years, it recognises that the optimum path forward lies in collaboration.

“We cannot be reckless and we would not be irresponsible in managing these resources in the interest of the world and the interest of this region.

This, coupled with the

potential of Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago and possibilities through investment and exploration, with gas in Barbados we can make this region energy secure. Let us get together and have a conversation that defines a pathway for energy security for this region.”

Earlier, Dr Ali has been emphatic in championing Trinidad and Tobago as a possible solution to the US problem of declining proven reserves of crude oil and natural gas: “Trinidad and Tobago has an opportunity with proven natural gas reserves of 10 trillion cubic feet and an estimated

potential of 23 trillion cubic ft. They must be part of the equation in finding a solution to this problem,” he declared without further elaboration.

In a few sentences, Dr Ali offered a glimpse of a Caribbean integrated by the competitive advantages of its members. Although long championed by committed integrationists, the vision has found little fertile ground within the insular corridors of political power.

Change may be upon us.

Let’s take up Dr Ali’s invitation to get together and talk.

(Reproduced from the Trinidad and Tobago Express)

Guyana’s grand plan

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, June 14, 2022

New Charity market nears completion

— Acting NDC overseer PHASES one and two of the new market at Charity, Essequibo Coast, are nearing completion with acting overseer for Charity/ Urasara Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC), Rameez Pir Baksh, noting that, should all go well, in context of the weather and other factors, the work should be completed in the next two weeks.

The two phases are being done at the cost of $45M, and, once completed, 41 stalls will fit in the new facility. The authorities have already told vendors that they will need to relocate.

In an interview with Guyana Chronicle, on Monday, Baksh said the vendors had not opposed the news of relocation as many of them are happy that they will now be

Acting overseer for Charity/ Urasara NDC, Rameez Pir Baksh

able to vend in a safer and more secure environment.

The current phase of work includes the fencing around the tarmac, and regularisation work has already commenced.

According to Baksh,

the project has been going smoothly, except when it rains heavily. The weather has resulted in somewhat of a delay.

The folks in Charity, including the private sector, have been lending whatever support they can to make the area a better place. “People are willing to do things for development. We have good people around the area and we’re working in partnership,” Baksh related.

Fund-raising activities were held to purchase solar lights, which will be installed around the market.

Although the new market will come into use soon, another phase of it is expected to begin sometime next year.

It’s the construction of a double-deck market at the tune of $110M to cater for 85 more

stalls.

Baksh said this project component is significant in the authorities’ plan to get all vendors in one place.

He said the vendors are currently selling on government reserves and that they’re trying to address the problem of roadside vending with the new initiatives.

Meanwhile, Baksh had shared that the new, enclosed market was being constructed in the Amazon Back Street area under a project by the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development.

Market streets were also being repaired so that people can shop comfortably in the area, and the Charity river dam will also be rehabilitated.

“Presently, we have about 150 vendors on the database, but there is more.

The market will be like a mini-mall when it’s finished,” Baksh said.

All vendors are expected to soon relocate to the new location

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Beyond the Jubilee…

WHEN President, Dr. Irfaan Ali visited the UK in April for a Guyana Investment Conference and addressed the Caribbean Council’s House of Lords Reception, the Ukraine War was just two months old and the effects had not yet quite started to affect global food and energy costs like today.

But by then, Guyana was already Britain’s biggest Caribbean trading partner, trade between them in 2021 amounting to 516 million pounds (sterling) and accounting for 21.6% of all UK trade with the Caribbean.

In 2011, total trade was 94 million pounds and trade has thus expanded six times in the last 10 years (or 600% in the past decade).

A visit to Guyana by a Department for Internation-

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, June 14, 2022

Part 3: Guyana and UK poised to break ground for new beginnings!

al Trade (DIT) delegation last year and a nine-member British delegation of business executives and a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) and the Caribbean Council have been cited as having contributed to the better trade figures.

So lively is Guyana-UK trade today that the British High Commission in Georgetown is also looking to explore the opportunity of establishing a British Chamber of Commerce in Guyana.

President Ali addressed a packed House of Lords audience back in April – and according to High Commissioner Jane Miller, “the message was that Guyana and the rest of the Caribbean are open for business.”

She further noted that “as a result of this visit” – and particularly President Ali’s meeting with Prime Minister Johnson – “they’re now developing a more formal framework that will enable a deeper relationship including for future commercial en-

gagement.”

All that was before Day 100 of the Ukraine War earlier this month, but before and since The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee holiday a fortnight ago, Britain and the USA had both been facing the accumulated political, social and economic costs of 40-year inflation highs and unprecedented increases in fuel costs at the pump.

With Britain approaching two pounds per gallon and US prices at $5 per gallon in some states last weekend, the British Pound depreciating by 7% against the US Dollar and the UK economy contracted twice in two months (April and May), PM Johnson would still emerge with a 60%-40% victory in the No Confidence Motion last week to deal the Opposition Labour Party’s Leader Sir Keith Starmer a double-whammy, a UK poll revealing Johnson had more support as Prime Minister than his main opponent.

In the middle of June 2022, current global events and recent happenings in the UK and Guyana have collided to make it even more necessary (and possible) for the Guyana President and the UK Prime Minister to be “developing a more formal framework that will enable a deeper relationship including for future commercial engagement…”

Recent reports indicate Guyana has in the past seven years emerged as a leading global drilling destination after ExxonMobil made 32 discoveries in the offshore Stabroek Block.

The U.S Geological Survey had predicted, in May 2001, that the Guyana-Suriname Basin held somewhere between 2.8 billion and 32.6

billion barrels of undiscovered oil resources, but one year later there’s near-certainty the volume is far greater.

Indeed, the Guyana-Suriname basin had overtaken Brazil as South America’s leading exploration hotspot, again credited mostly to ExxonMobil’s 2015 Stabroek Block having delivered more than 13 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe), about 10 times the volumes found in Brazil during the same period.

President Ali and PM Johnson talked briefly about the former ‘West Indian colonies’ in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) call for Britain to apologise and pay Reparations for Slavery and Native Genocide, but it goes without saying that most of their exchange had to do with bilateral trade in the new dispensation, where Guyana continues to have what Britain needs most -- in this case an ability to talk about reliable Oil & Gas deliveries at a time when Britain and Europe are finding it painful to scramble for new sources of the vital resource.

Unlike Slavery and Colonialism when British Guiana’s resources were the property of the British Crown and planters and merchants across the Caribbean and the rest of the British Empire, the Republic of Guyana today can sit across the table and negotiate on an equal basis as owner of all its natural resources -- and just as capable of forging new relationships with Britain to fit today’s new and verychanged times.

The President and the Prime Minister are both in their mid-terms and both countries are beset by the global post-Ukraine food and

energy problems, even though their respective futures look very different in terms of access to domestic resources to address the worsening crises.

Trade has multiplied, as Britain has essentially seen and accepted Guyana’s present and future role as an even-more-important trading partner with more resources and resource-extraction capacity today than ever before.

The qualitative and quantitative changes in global trade and the new and necessary alliances to be formed between the nations of the world also allow developing nations with negotiating capacity to insist on new approaches that will be more to mutual benefit than one-sided, with no imbalances dictated by traditional patterns of appropriating unjust shares of capital returns from investments in and/or purchasing of resources.

The President and the Prime Minister and their respective governments have within reach the possibility of further redrawing and redefining bilateral trade between the UK and Guyana and the wider Caribbean, for the better -- and for the benefit of all.

Whether and how fast the two sides grasp that challenge and the opportunities it brings will be determined in the weeks and months ahead as the world continues to adjust to the continuing and deepening effects of the Ukraine War, Climate Change and Supply Chain crises.

One sure thing, though, as the British High Commissioner noted, London is very much aware that “Guyana and the rest of the Caribbean are open for business.”

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, June 14, 2022

Authorities closely monitoring floods in Maria Elizabeth

WITH flood reports now coming out of Maria Elizabeth in Region 10, the relevant authorities have begun monitoring the community closely as the rainy season continues.

Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle on Monday, Chairman of The Regional Democratic Council (RDC), Deron Adams, said water levels have left the main access road inundated.

“Unfortunately, we have another situation there in Maria Elizabeth, residents would have [sic] reached out to me and said that they are battling floods that are threatening to cut off the community’s main access road. The water has taken over the road,” Adams said.

Given the visible buildup of water on the main access road, he said concerns have been expressed about the level of water in the retaining ponds and the integrity of the dams around those ponds.

“The concern is that the integrity of those dams could possibly break and become compromised. As head of the disaster preparedness committee, I would have [sic] alerted officials from both the

at the time to repair the pond and several dams surrounding the community.

However, according to Adams, these works were a temporary fix and may not be able to withstand the current floods and rainfall the community is experiencing.

Adams noted that the RDC had recommended that urgent attention be paid to reinforcing the dams and finding a lasting engineering solution.

The main access road in Maria Elizabeth (Deron Adams photo)

Civil Defence Commission [CDC], The National Drainage and Irrigation Authority [NDIA], and BOSAI mining, because they operate in close proximity to that area,” he noted.

In 2021 a tailings pond at the East Montgomery Mine had collapsed, which resulted in severe flooding in Maria Elizabeth and other communities. He noted that some emergency works were done

Autopsy finds cook was manually strangled; file sent to DPP AN autopsy conducted on Monday on the remains of Miriam Edwards, has found that she died as a result of asphyxiation due to manual strangulation.

This was confirmed

by Divisional Commander, Senior Superintendent Dion Moore, who also told this publication that the police file has been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for advice.

On June 8, the lifeless body of the 25-year-old woman was found in the Puruni River, Region Seven, a short distance away from the mining camp where she worked as a cook.

According to reports, Edwards was attacked and robbed

DEAD: Miriam Edwards

by a 25-year-old porkknocker. Her living quarters were ransacked and a quantity of gold was reportedly stolen.

The suspect was later arrested by public-spirited persons and reportedly admitted to strangling the woman

and dumping her body in the river.

The suspect, who is a resident of Middle Street, Buxton, East Coast Demerara, remains in police custody as investigations continue.

“What is of concern is that we would have [sic] been seeking redress over a year to the various stakeholders because the RDC doesn’t have the capacity. We have been asking that urgent attention be paid to reinforcing the dams, so residents cannot be worried about a breech occurring.”

He said, adding: “While little work was done, the area requires much more work, especially at the dam area.”

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Meanwhile, Adams said that the CDC is scheduled to distribute water-purification tablets, hampers, and other assistance to residents in the area.

In the meantime, residents are being urged to maintain vigilance and to adopt the usual protocols to mitigate the effects of the floodwaters, including the various health and safety considerations necessary to ensure their well-being.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, June 14, 2022

Seven workplace fatalities recorded in six months, Labour Minister reports — Ministry developing programme to target agriculture sector

By Naomi Parris FROM January 2022 to June 2022, the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH)

Department of the Ministry of Labour reported seven on-the-job deaths.

Speaking with the Guyana chronicle via telephone

on Monday, Subject Minister Joseph Hamilton said that the while the numbers have indicated a decrease in onthe-job fatalities, the minis-

Labour Minster Joseph Hamilton

try is currently working on adapting several strategies and programmes to ensure that losing one’s life on the job in Guyana will be a thing of the past.

“I am having conversations with three public relations companies to help us develop a health-and-safety strategy for public relations and communication. One will deal with the training of officers to articulate policy and law,” Minister Hamilton said, adding that the ministry is also developing a programme to target workplace fatalities in the agriculture sector.

He explained that over the years, much emphasis has been placed on the mining and construction sectors, since workplace deaths were more prevalent in those areas. However, he believes that more attention must be placed on the agriculture sector, as it is likely that the

sector has seen unreported cases of workplace fatalities.

He explained that constant and long-term exposure to agrochemicals could result in workplace fatalities and diseases.

“We have included in the strategy to develop a specific programme for the agriculture sector; over the years, we have been focusing on mining and construction where the deaths were happening. I believe that we might be having more workplace deaths in the agriculture sector.”

He added, “The issue of workplace death is not always about a man falling off a scaffold; it has do with long-term exposure that create diseases.”

In 2021, the OSH Department recorded a 16 per cent reduction in the number of workplace fatalities when compared to 2020.

In a report last year, the Labor Ministry also stated that 32 workplace fatalities were recorded in the year 2020 across all sectors, with mining being the number one contributor.

The decrease was credited to a rigorous campaign with local businesses that was spearheaded by the OSH Department and supporting agencies.

Outreaches and public awareness activities were conducted in mining communities in Regions One (Barima-Waini), Seven (CuyuniMazaruni), Eight (Potaro-Siparuni), and Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).

Further, health-and-safety messages were aired on the radio and television channels, and there was a widespread distribution of brochures, flyers, and posters. Those efforts will be boosted in 2022, as part of the upcoming public relations campaign.

The minister said that the positive change is as a result of the government’s new and improved approach to the issue of workers’ rights and safety, along with the establishment of the resuscitation of several health and safety committees in agencies across the country.

“We have had much engagement with employers, both in the private sector and public sector,” the minister said, adding: “We have been able to have several government agencies, ministries, and private agencies resuscitate workplace health and safety committees and, in many instances, help people establish [committees] they never had.”

Over the past two years, the ministry has been strengthening the capacity of its OSH and labour departments. Officers were also recruited and placed in the 10 administrative regions.

Minister Hamilton said that the officers within those departments were not only able to sensitise workers and employers within the private and public sectors, but they were also able to provide relevant training.

Six Bajan companies express...

FROM PAGE 4 Ramlall related that the idea of establishing a coconut processing facility in Guyana was the brainchild of the President and Chief Executive Officer Vishnu Ramdeen, a Guyanese residing in Canada.

“As such, Precision Global Inc.’s (Only Coconuts) journey commenced in 2013, and, after several years and with a total investment of over US$8,000,000, we introduced our valuedadded coconut products in August 2021. Our entry into the market created a pretty positive buzz as customers welcomed our offerings,”

Ramlall noted.

Coconuts for the factory’s operations are secured from plantations on the Essequibo Coast, along the Pomeroon River, and in parts of Berbice.

Keen to secure highquality coconuts for its production process, the company has established relationships with farmers that extend into discourses concerning the company’s quality expectations.

In giving a breakdown of the benefits of the products, Ramlall explained that Virgin Coconut Oil is one of the few foods that can be classified as a “superfood”.

“Its unique combination of fatty acids can positively affect your health, including fat loss, better brain function, and other impressive benefits,” he said.

For Coconut Flour, he explained that this is a low-carb, gluten-free baking alternative to wheat flour.

Further, he said the Desiccated Coconut is dried out and grated coconut flesh, or ‘meat’, as it is known in the food industry.

Additionally, Ramlall said the Coconut Chips are baked and not fried, making them a healthy alternative snack.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, June 14, 2022

Region Two Police youth group launched

The children of the newly formed Onderneeming youth group, along with Deputy Commissioner (Operations) (ag), Ravindradat Budhram, Divisional Commander (extreme left) and Superintendent Shivpersaud Bacchus (extreme right), and other ranks of Region Two

A FORTY-MEMBER youth group was formed and launched for the community of Onderneeming on the Essequibo Coast (Region Two), on Saturday, as part of the Police Division’s “Social Crime Prevention Initiatives.”

This initiative followed a community outreach hosted by Deputy Commissioner (Operations) (ag), Ravindradat Budhram, accompanied by Divisional Commander, Superintendent Shivpersaud Bacchus and ranks of Region Two. According to Police Headquarters, the youth group’s membership comprises children from the community ages six to sixteen years old.

Some of the activities that the group will undertake include training in Environmental Protection; Art and Craft; Vocational skill training; Sports;

Community networking, and a literacy programme.

Additionally, youths will benefit from computer training at the Zara Computer Center at the Suddie Training School; The Deputy Commissioner noted, “Youths play a pivotal role in society and are equally important to the development of an economy.”

He added: “It is with this in mind that the Guyana Police Force continues to effortlessly protect the youths from crime and criminal elements that may want to present themselves as an opportunity to create Juvenile Delinquents.”

During the outreach, Budhram engaged residents, Key Stakeholders from Government and Non- Governmental Organizations, youths, and Business community members. He deliberated on the Force’s stance

on “Community Base Policing” with emphasis particularly on Social Crime Prevention Intervention.

Budhram told the gathering that the youths would be engaged every week and disclosed that resources would be provided to the group to ensure the children were meaningfully engaged.

At the outreach, several pieces of sports gear were handed over to the group.

Outside of the youth group, the Deputy Commissioner disclosed that the police group, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, will be working to introduce the ‘Drug Abuse Resistance Education Programme’ into the school’s curriculum to ensure that the region’s children are educated about the dangers of drug use.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, June 14, 2022

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, June 14, 2022

Hinterland students arrive at CPCE to complete first year

AFTER two years of being closed, dormitories at the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) have been reopened to accommodate students to complete their first year of studies and prepare for their second year, which starts in September.

According to the Ministry of Education, in a release on Sunday, twenty-seven year-one students from Regions One, Seven, Eight, and Nine arrived at the Turkeyen Campus, with more expected to come before the end of the

week.

Vice Principal responsible for Curriculum and Instruction, Ms. Kevaun Sears, explained that the 92 students would have experienced severe internet challenges in their respective regions. Following an intervention by the Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, the decision was taken to accommodate the dorm students.

“The students being back will allow for us to fill gaps, so courses they would have missed in the first semester, those areas where they would have

had challenges with in-person instruction, we now have the opportunity to work with them to ensure that, by August, they have fully completed their training for the first year,” the Vice Principal said.

Ms. Sears stated that the students would undergo intense instruction over the coming weeks, exposing them to face-to-face interaction and utilising the online platform.

The Education Ministry noted that the students are pleased to be on campus to complete the first year of their studies.

Students being briefed during orientation

‘Tanky’ found guilty of killing drinking buddy

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A 12-member jury on Monday found Phillip Jhagroo called ‘Tanky,’ guilty of murdering his drinking buddy Mark Narine called ‘Marco,’ in 2019.

Jhagroo of Richmond Hill, Leguan island, was on trial before Justice Brassington Reynolds at the Essequibo High Court for the capital offence of murder.

He had denied killing Narine between March 3031, 2019, at School Dam, Richmond Hill, Leguan.

After deliberating for two hours, the jury returned with a guilty verdict against Jhagroo for murder.

Justice Reynolds ordered that a psychiatric evaluation be done on Jhagroo and a probation report be prepared and presented to the court.

Sentencing was deferred until June 27, 2022.

The state was represented by prosecutor Tiffini Lyken, while Jhagroo was represented by attorney-at-law, Latchmie Rahamat.

According to the facts of the case, the two friends went out to consume alcohol and had a heated argument following a misunderstanding.

On the day in question, Narine was riding his mo-

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, June 14, 2022

Phillip Jhagroo called ‘Tanky’

Mark Narine called ‘Marco’

torbike when he was subse-

quently lashed off by Jha-

groo, who was armed with an object.

disclosed that Podmore lived with his reputed wife, four-year-old son, and his father-in-law.

According to the man’s wife, he left for work on June 12, 2022, at about 08:00 hours.

The woman said she last spoke to the now-dead man about 09:00 hours on the said day via video chat.

The woman further told detectives that after he had not returned home, at about 20:30 hours, she retired to bed with her son.

The woman related that, at about 08:00 hours, on Monday, she woke and found Podmore lying motionless in the hammock under the shed, with a piece of the hammock’s

cloth around his neck.

Police were informed and subsequently visited the scene where the man’s body was examined, and an impression was seen under his neck, suspected to be caused by the piece of hammock cloth.

No other marks of violence were seen on the exposed parts of the man’s body. Police swabbed his

Narine was thrown into a trench and his body was discovered days later. A post-mortem revealed that even though he died from drowning, he had received wounds to the head.

Jhagroo was later charged and remanded to prison.

While on remand at the Lusignan Prison, he and two other inmates escaped from the facility on November 21, 2020.

In March 2021, he was nabbed by residents of Ruby, East Bank Essequibo, while stealing from a chicken farm in the area.

hands, and nail clippings were taken for DNA purposes.

The body was escorted to Fort Wellington Hospital, where an official pronouncement of death was given. The body is currently at the Bailey Funeral Home, awaiting a postmortem examination as investigations continue

Suspicious death of Berbice labourer being investigated – Police

ALAN Podmore, 28, called ‘Jockey boy,’ a labourer of Armadale Village, Bushlot, West Coast Berbice was found dead in a hammock at his residence with a piece of the hammock’s cloth enfolded around his neck on Monday.

According to Police Headquarters, inquiries

Dead: Alan Podmore called ‘Jockey boy’

Cuba approves non-stop flight from Georgetown, Havana THE Government of Cuba has approved Suriname Fly All Ways Airlines to fly a non-stop route, Georgetown/Havana/Georgetown, from June 15, 2022.

This new arrangement will see Fly All Ways flying once a week, every Saturday morning, from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) to the Jose Marti International Airport and returning the same day, in the afternoon.

The schedule from the airlines will be in the public domain very soon.

The Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) had already permitted Fly All

Ways to travel this route. So it was left for the Cuban Civil Aviation Authority to issue the necessary permission and protocols for this arrangement to move forward.

During this week, Guyana’s Ambassador to Cuba, Halim Majeed, is expected to meet with the Cuban authorities and Hoeblal Ravind, the Fly All Ways Representative currently in Cuba, to assist in smoothing out some remaining wrinkles.

Ambassador Majeed has been in contact with Amichand Jhauw, President/ Owner of Fly All Ways, who is excited about this achieve-

ment because it lays the basis for opening more business opportunities between and among entrepreneurs from Suriname, Guyana, and Cuba.

The Inaugural Flight from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport to the Jose Marti International Airport is expected to take place on July 16, 2022.

In discussion with Jhauw and Ravind, the general plan is to ensure that the passenger flights move forward successfully so that a scheduled Cargo Flight will be the next step in continuing relations with Cuba.

Ambassador Halim Majeed and Fly All Ways representative, Hoeblal Ravind, perusing the approval from the Cuban Civil Aviation Authority

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, June 14, 2022

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday June 14, 2022

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday June 14, 2022

Tonight’s game against Haiti to test Golden Jaguars’ character – Shabazz

By Rawle Toney THE Golden Jaguars and Haiti will meet tonight from 18:00hrs in the Dominican Republic, for the second time in this season’s edition of the CONCACAF Nations League, and according to Coach Jamaal Shabazz, the game will be a test of the team’s character.

Haiti was in full demolition mode against the Golden Jaguars over the weekend at the National Track and Field Centre at Leonora, where they defeated the Guyanese side 6 – 2; the largest margin of victory for Haiti in the two side’s history, and the widest margin of win in Group B of League B in the Nations League.

Following their victory at Leonora, the Haitians are now on seven points having succeeded against Montserrat 3 – 2, then a goalless draw with Bermuda.

Guyana moved to second place following 2 – 1 wins against Montserrat and Bermuda and their latest defeat to Haiti.

With the win, Haiti remained perfect against Guyana in International football, dating back to their twomatch tour in 1973, when they won 3 – 1 and 2 – 0.

However, since then, Haiti went on to play to a nil-draw in 2010, followed by a 1 – 0 victory in 2012 and a 3 – 1 win in 2019, which ironically happened on June

11 that year.

Looking ahead to tonight’s clash, Coach Shabazz will be hard-pressed to contain the Haitians, since the second half of the Nations League next June will be critical and can see the group come down to goal difference, where, at the moment, Guyana is minus-two (-2), as compared to Haiti’s plus-five (+5).

Shabazz entered the Haiti contest with a roster that was nursing some niggling injuries, while Torell Ondaan and Steve Duke McKenna were left out of the squad because of injuries sustained during Guyana’s clash with Bermuda.

However, Shabazz is expected to have the two overseas-based players back for today’s game, adding, “it’s really about the spirit. Our team has the spirit and we look forward to Haiti.”

Asked about the performance of Nathan Moriah-Welsh, Shabazz called it “electrifying,” adding that he “carried the team. (Neil) Danns, for his age, we never planned on playing him for more than 70 minutes, but he stood his ground and held it together.”

“It’s a good lesson for us to have our backs against the wall. We had a dream start, winning the first two games.

This will test our character, it will show what we’re made of. Being slaughtered at home and then going to

Santo Domingo and rebounding. I can only say that on behalf of the team, we’re going there to battle and to redeem ourselves,” Shabazz said.

One thing is for certain, Shabazz will certainly have to make some changes in the team’s defensive organisation, particular to his ‘back four’ which seemed porous at best.

Guyana conceded five goals in the first half, but things took a turn for the better after some change in the defence.

The Golden Jaguars, offensively, will want to capitalize on their chances in attack, as Shabazz will have the services of Ondaan to go along with Emery Welshman and the team’s leading goalscorer in their nations league campaign, Omari Glasgow.

One thing is for certain, the results from today’s game can potentially make or break Guyana’s chances of winning their group and advancing to League A. Meanwhile, after taking on Haiti, Guyana will travel to Hamilton on March 25, 2023, to face Bermuda.

Shabazz and his troops will close their participation in the second edition of the Nations League with a home game against Montserrat on March 28, 2023.

According to CONCACAF, the Nations League will serve as the qualifier for the 2023 Gold Cup.

Barbados beat Jamaica... (From back page) Set just 89 for victory, Windward reached 87-7 when their overs expired as they failed to score the required seven runs off of the final over bowled by Anisa Mohammed, who ended with 2-16 from her four overs.

The islanders looked on course for victory as Zadia James with an unbeaten 28 (3x4s) from 35 balls was anchoring what looked to be a second win of the season until quick wickets stalled

the process.

Qiana Joseph (13) and opener Stacy-Ann Adams (12) were the next best scorers as the Trinidadian bowlers stifled the opposition.

Spinner Karishma Ramharack had 1-12 in her four overs, well supported by Kirbyina Alexander (1-7), Kamara Ragoobar (1-16) and Leandra Ramdeen (117).

With the bat, Trinidad and Tobago were led by Britney Cooper with an un-

beaten 47 (4x4s) from 41 balls which really was the backbone of the small total as the only other batter that got to double figures was Mohammed with 19.

Joseph took 3-10 while Pearl Etienne had 2-17.

Today’s final round matches pit Jamaica and Leeward Islands from 10:00hrs followed by Barbados and Trinidad from14:30hrs, then the winless Guyana and Windward from 19:00hrs.

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FIFA assured about semi-automated VAR for World Cup DOHA, (Reuters) – FIFA are assured semi-automated know-how to help with faster Video Assistant Referee selections might be prepared for the World Cup in Qatar later this 12 months, world soccer’s governing physique president Gianni Infantino stated on Monday.

Trials on the AI knowhow will proceed within the coming months however Infantino stated there was vital progress.

“We examined it on the Membership World Cup and it seems excellent. We’re very glad and we’ll take a call earlier than the match,” Infantino instructed a information convention in Doha after the assembly of the Worldwide Soccer Affiliation Board, which regulates the Legal guidelines of the Recreation.

Pierluigi Collina, chairman of FIFA’s Referees Committee, added: “I am assured it might probably go forward.”

Semi-automated VAR, which can allow offside to be detected in seconds, makes use of automated ball detection and creates three-dimensional fashions of a participant’s place immediately.

IFAB ratified, as anticipated, the usage of 5 substi-

FIFA president Gianni Infantino

tutes into the Legal guidelines of the Recreation.

It was first launched as a tweak to the foundations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however has now grow to be everlasting though its use in numerous competitions will stay on the discretion of the physique organising the matches.

The Premier League, for instance, had allowed 5 substitutes when the thought was first floated by FIFA in Could 2020 however reverted again to 3 subs for his or her final two seasons. They’ve, nonetheless, agreed to 5 substitutes being permitted from subsequent season.

It was additionally deter-

mined to extend the utmost variety of substitutes on the bench from 12 to fifteen — once more on the discretion of the competitors organizing physique.

These adjustments come into impact on July 1.

IFAB additionally mentioned assaults on referees and the opportunity of physique cameras being worn which might act as a deterrent in addition to proof assortment.

“Referees will revenue from the potential safety, which sadly nonetheless takes place in lots of elements of the world,” Infantino stated.

“We’ve assaults on them from gamers, officers, spectators and fogeys and we have now to be very agency in that respect.”

He additionally stated extra trials on tweaking the offside regulation and making much less marginal selections would proceed in junior tournaments in Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden.

Additionally discovering methods for higher time protecting can be trialled.

“It isn’t acceptable {that a} recreation of 90 minutes really solely have the ball in play for 47-48 minutes on common. We’ve to look into that,” Infantino added.

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday June 14, 2022

Warne and Barty recognised in Australia’s Queen’s Birthday Honours FORMER Australia Test spinner Shane Warne, who died earlier this year, and retired former world No 1 tennis player, Ash Barty, have both been recognised with Orders of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

Warne, who died of a heart attack in Thailand in March at the age of 54, was awarded an Order of Australia (AO) posthumously on

“Shane Warne was one of the most talented and charismatic cricketers the world has ever seen and we are reminded today of the indelible legacy he created both on and off the field.”

Barty, who announced her shock retirement from tennis at the age of 25 while at her peak earlier this year, was recognised with an AO for distinguished service to tennis at the elite level and to youth

Former Australia cricketer Shane Warne died at the age of 52 in March (John Walton/PA)

Ash Barty announced her retirement from professional tennis at the age of 25 (Adam Davy/PA)

Sunday night for his services to cricket and the community and for his philanthropic contributions.

Warne finished a stellar international career with 708 Test wickets and a further 293 in One-Day Internationals, placing him second in the list of all-time international wicket-takers. After his career finished, Warne continued to contribute to the sport as a coach, mentor and broadcaster.

Cricket Australia (CA) chief Nick Hockley said:

development programmes.

Barty – who was ranked No 1 in the world since 2019 – won the Australian Open earlier this year. Her other grand slam victories include the French Open and Wimbledon singles and the US Open women’s doubles titles.

Australian women’s cricket captain Meg Lanning also received a gong in the honours – and was awarded Member (AM) of the General Division for significant service to women’s cricket at the elite level.

The six-time ICC World Cup winner has dominated international cricket since her debut in 2010, leading the Australian women’s team to unrivalled success in all formats since taking over the captaincy as a 21-year-old in 2014.

Mr Hockley said: “We are enormously proud to see Australian women’s captain Meg Lanning recognised in today’s Honour List. Her leadership and performances have been central to the outstanding success of our women’s team.

“All those recognised today have made an immense contribution to both the game and the communities they work and live in across the country.

“The Queen’s Birthday Honours List provides us a chance to recognise and thank some of the incredibly important contributors right across our community.” (PA Sport)

Medvedev returns to number one with imminent Wimbledon ban (REUTERS)-Russian Daniil Medvedev returned for a second stint as the men's world number one on Monday (Jun 13), replacing Novak Djokovic at the top of the world rankings.

German Alexander Zverev rose to a career-high second spot with Djokovic slipping to third following his defeat to Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals of the French Open, which the Serb won last year.

It was the first time since November 2003, that none of Djokovic, Rafael

Nadal, Roger Federer or Andy Murray appeared in the top two rankings spots in the men's game.

Medvedev, 26, won his maiden major title at last year's US Open and also reached the 2022 Australian Open final. He was glad that his rise to the top spot was "step by step".

"The number one is really tough because that's where you need to be consistent throughout 52 weeks," Medvedev, who lost to Dutch wildcard Tim van Rijthoven in the final of the ATP 250 event in the Netherlands on Sunday,

told the ATP. "I would say even if you win two, three slams in a year but then you don't play any other tournament you're not going to get to number one."

Medvedev is yet to win a title in 2022 and he did not hide his disappointment with his performance in recent months.

"At the same time I still have the points that I earned through the tough process from last 52 weeks and I'm happy that it managed to be enough to be more than any other tennis player in the world right

now," he said.

Nadal was fourth i n Monday's latest rankings with Britain's Andy Murray rising to 47th following his runner-up finish in Stuttgart.

Medvedev became the first player other than Djokovic, Nadal, Federer or Murray to top the men's rankings in 18 years when he rose to the top at the end of February.

But he lasted there for just three weeks before Djokovic, who was not allowed to defend his 2021 Australian Open title due to his unvaccinated status

against COVID-19, reclaimed the spot.

The return to the top ranking will come as good news for Medvedev, who will be unable to compete at Wimbledon as Russian and Belarusian players are banned due to Moscow's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

And with Zverev recuperating from surgery due to torn ligaments in his ankle, it will mean that the grasscourt major will be without the top two-ranked men's players.

Despite his absence from Wimbledon, however,

Medvedev could extend his lead at the top of the rankings as Djokovic will lose the 2,000 points he earned for his triumph in 2021.

The men's and women's tour have stripped the tournament of any rankings points due to their exclusion of players based on nationality.

There were no major moves at the top of the women's rankings with Poland's Iga Swiatek, Annett Kontaveit of Estonia and Spaniard Paula Badosa continuing to occupy the first, second and third spots respectively.

25

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday June 14, 2022

Costa Rica and New Zealand meet for last World Cup place

By Mark Gleeson DOHA, (Reuters) - The last place at this year’s World Cup will be decided today in Doha when Costa Rica face New Zealand in their intercontinental playoff.

The match at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium pits the fourth- placed finishers in the CONCACAF qualifying group against the top team in the Oceania confederation and the winners will play in Group E at the finals in Qatar along with Germany, Japan and Spain.

Costa Rica, looking to qualify for a third successive World Cup, reached the quarter-finals in Brazil eight years ago and having had substantially more competitive matches over the last

four years will be favourites to advance.

Since the last World Cup, they have played 30 competitive games compared with five for New Zealand which have all been against lowranked Pacific island nations.

"Costa Rica have played a lot together and have a lot of caps," said New Zealand coach Danny Hay, whose side played Peru and Oman in warm-up matches over the last week.

"We don’t really get enough opportunity to test ourselves against top quality opposition."

Hay admitted the behind closed doors draw with Oman on Friday was not the greatest performance by his team.

"But that said, I think ev-

Soccer Football - World Cup - Concacaf Qualifiers - Costa Rica v United States Estadio Nacional, San Jose, Costa Rica - March 30, 2022 Costa Rica's Keylor Navas with teammates line up during the national anthems before the match (REUTERS/Mayela Lop)

erybody's got half an eye, if not a full eye, if not two eyes on Costa Rica,” he added.

Costa Rica defender Francisco Calvo warned his side will need to be wary of complacency.

"We have to be focused for the 90 minutes, because they shoot from wherever they can. We’ll have to de-

fend to the death and keep Chris Wood under control," he told reporters in Do Newcastle United striker Wood is the Kiwis’ key attacker.

"A good team builds on defensive strength, and usually the champion teams are the ones that concede the fewest goals. If we keep a clean sheet, I'm convinced that we'll score a goal and qualify for the World Cup," added Calvo.

New Zealand, who competed at the 1982 and 2010 World Cups and lost out in playoffs for the two last tournaments, have concerns over the fitness of captain Winston Reid but Hay said he expected the former West Ham United central defender to play.

Pooran admits opener Shai Hope Coleman, Hobbs win 100 metres races at NYC Grand Prix needs more batting support MULTAN, Pakistan, (CMC) – West Indies white-ball captain Nicholas Pooran has expressed disappointment with his failure to show up with the bat recently, counting himself among batsmen who need to step up and give more support to opener Shai Hope.

Pooran, describing Hope as “the leader of our batting” for the last couple of years, said the others needed to ease the pressure off the righthander.

Hope’s 12th One-Day International century in the series opener against Pakistan made him fourth on the all-time West Indies list of century-makers, behind Chris Gayle (25), Brian Lara (19) and Desmond Haynes (17).

“He’s been doing fantastic but we definitely need to buck up on ourselves, myself especially,” said Pooran about Hope, after West Indies were whitewashed by Pakistan in their three-match tour on Sunday.

In the last two series – the previous being against the Netherlands which was his first as captain and which West Indies won 3-0 – Pooran managed a total of just 81 runs.

The wicketkeeper-bats-

Sahi Hope’s 12th ODIcentury in the series opener against Pakistan made him fourth on the all-time West Indies list of century-makers

man acknowledged his own failings.

“In the last 10-12 innings, I haven’t scored [much] in ODI cricket and I’m very disappointed in myself as well. I’m looking forward to start back scoring runs in ODI cricket and hopefully, that changes as well and I can start back doing what I’m accustomed doing in the middle overs.

“Hopefully, the other guys can continue stringing partnerships and that could be the

start of something special for us as a team,” he said.

Although he has not dazzled as he usually does with the bat, the newly-appointed captain showed surprising bowling talent in the final game of the three-match series against Pakistan.

He spearheaded the visitors’ bowling attack and ended Sunday’s game with figures of four for 48, the fourth-best by a West Indies captain in ODIs. Three of his wickets those of left-hand batsmen.

“Today was amazing for me and the guys in the dressing room know I’m going to talk a lot about it, especially pressure Akeal [Hosein] and Hayden [Walsh Jr.] about getting wickets for us, because today these fingers worked,” said Pooran who had previously bowled only three balls in international cricket.

“I’m not gonna get overconfident. Hopefully, there are two left-handers in the next series so I can bowl as well.”

His next opportunity could be next month when West Indies host Bangladesh in two three-match series – T20 Internationals and ODIs, July 3-7 and July 10-16, respectively.

By Amy Tennery

NEW YORK, (Reuters) - American Christian Coleman won the men's 100 metres in 9.92 seconds and Aleia Hobbs overcame compatriot Sha'Carri Richardson in the women's 100 metres at the NYC Grand Prix on Sunday.

The reigning world champion, Coleman, who returned to action in January after serving an 18-month suspension for breaching anti-doping whereabouts rules, said he was pleased after finishing under 10 seconds in the event for the first time this year.

"I felt like that was a really good race," said Coleman, who took third at the Prefontaine Classic last month.

"I felt a lot better in the second half of my race than I did last time - and I feel like that was really all that I was missing."

Jamaican Ackeem Blake finished second and American Marvin Bracy took third.

With throngs of young fans cheering her name outside the media zone, Richardson said she was thrilled to produce a 10.85

Athletics - World Athletics Indoor Championships - Stark Arena, Belgrade, Serbia - March 19, 2022 Christian Coleman of the U.S reacts after the men's 60m final (REUTERS/Aleksandra Szmigiel)

in her third 100m race of the season, even after Tokyo relay silver medallist, Hobbs, muscled her way to the top of the podium in 10.83."I feel phenomenal," she told reporters. "I feel fantastic."

American Teahna Daniels finished third.

Festooned from shoulder to ankle in red fishnet, Rich-

ardson later won the 200 metres - an event in which she does not often compete - in 22.38. "(The) 200 is actually the reason why I started running, so the fact that I was able to touch down... felt phenomenal," she said.

A final tune-up ahead of the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, the track on Randall's Island experienced speedy times under windy conditions.

American Devon Allen produced a world-leading 12.84 seconds to overcome world champion, Grant Holloway, by more than twotenths of a second in the men's 110m hurdles.

"I thought I was going to break the world record today, so we'll have to wait for another race," said twice Olympian Allen, who is juggling a career in the National Football League (NFL) with his athletic ambitions.

Elsewhere at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold event, reigning world champion, Noah Lyles, who took bronze in Tokyo, won the men's 200 metres in 19.61, and twice world bronze medallist, Ajee Wilson, won the women's 800m in 2:00.62.

26

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday June 14, 2022

Trent Bridge Test

New Zealand throw away wickets to give England hope on final day NOTTINGHAM, England, (Reuters) - New Zealand built a lead of 238 with three second innings wickets remaining, on Monday, heading into a delicately poised final day of the second Test against England.

Two run outs and some poor shot selection from the tourists saw them slip to 224 for seven and gave England a glimmer of hope that they can dismiss the Kiwis quickly on Tuesday and then take on the target.

All outcomes remain possible although a draw seems the most likely outcome and the main source of encouragement for New Zealand is that in-form Daryl Mitchell is unbeaten on 32 and will resume looking to put up a score beyond England's reach.

Mitchell scored 190 in the first innings to follow up his ton at Lord’s in the first Test defeat and he looked comfortable on what remains a decent batting surface.

In the opening session, New Zealand gained a 14-run first inning lead, after rattling through England's lower order, bowling the hosts out for 539 with Trent Boult taking five wickets.

England added just 66 runs for their final five wickets but made a swift breakthrough with James Anderson bowling skipper Tom Latham (4).

Anderson's 650th Test wicket was helped by

New Zealander Brendon McCullum, sitting on the pavilion balcony.

Michael Bracewell tried to force matters, scoring 25

from 17 balls, but his attempt to drive Matt Potts over the top finished with the ball in the hands of Broad at mid-on.

Another run-out gave

England their seventh wicket with Mitchell turning blind for a second run, sending back Tim Southee who was left stranded.

SCOREBOARD NEW ZEALAND 1st innings 553 England 1st innings o/n 473-5

Trent Bridge, Nottingham, Britain - England's James Anderson celebrates with teammates after dismissing New Zealand's Tom Latham to reach his 650th wicket.

(Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers)

Latham's ill-judged decision to leave the ball, and with signs of movement for the seamers, England hoped to put pressure on in the afternoon session.

But a century partnership between Young and Devon Conway restored the dominance of bat over ball that has been evident throughout the match before a rash shot gave England hope.

Conway (52) top-edged an attempted sweep off Jack Leach which was well taken

by Jonny Bairstow at deep square leg to bring Henry Nicholls to the crease before tea.

But England struck in the first over after the break, with Nicholls (3) slashing a short,

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wide delivery straight to Alex Lees at backward point.

Will Young had looked in sound form, making 56 before he was run out following a mix-up with Mitchell; Ollie Pope showing clever alertness to return to the non-strikers end.

Tom Blundell made 24 before turning a short, rising delivery from Stuart Broad to Ben Stokes at backward square; the England skipper indicating a plan had worked by pointing to new coach,

Alex Lees c Daryl Mitchell b Matt Henry 67 Zak Crawley c Tom Blundell b Trent Boult 4 Ollie Pope c Matt Henry b Trent Boult 145 Joe Root c Tim Southee b Trent Boult 176 Jonny Bairstow c Tom Blundell b Trent Boult 8 Ben Stokes c Trent Boult b Michael Bracewell 46 Ben Foakes Run Out Henry Nicholls 56 Stuart Broad c Daryl Mitchell b Michael Bracewell 9 Matthew Potts b Trent Boult 3 Jack Leach Not Out 0 James Anderson st Tom Blundell b Michael Bracewell 9 Extras 12b 3lb 0nb 0pen 1w 16 Total (128.2 overs) 539 all out Fall of Wickets: 1-6 Crawley, 2-147 Lees, 3-334 Pope, 4-344 Bairstow, 5-405 Stokes, 6-516 Root, 7-527 Broad, 8-527 Foakes, 9-530 Potts, 10-539 Anderson Bowling: Tim Southee 32 - 1 - 154 - 0 (1w), Trent Boult 33.3 - 8 - 106 - 5, Matt Henry 27 - 5 - 128 - 1, Kyle Jamieson 16.3 - 3 - 66 - 0, Michael Bracewell 17.2 - 2 - 62 - 3.

NEW ZEALAND 2nd innings Tom Latham b James Anderson 4 Will Young Run Out Ollie Pope 56 Devon Conway c Jonny Bairstow b Jack Leach 52 Henry Nicholls c Alex Lees b Matthew Potts 3 Daryl Mitchell Not Out 32 Tom Blundell c Ben Stokes b Stuart Broad 24 Michael Bracewell c Stuart Broad b Matthew Potts 25 Tim Southee Run Out Zak Crawley 0 Matt Henry Not Out 8 Extras 9b 4lb 5nb 0pen 2w 20 Total (69.0 overs) 224-7 Fall of Wickets: 1-4 Latham, 2-104 Conway, 3-115 Nicholls, 4-131 Young, 5-176 Blundell, 6-204 Bracewell, 7-213 Southee To Bat: Jamieson, Boult Bowling: James Anderson 8 - 1 - 18 - 1, Stuart Broad 16 - 3 - 53 - 1, Matthew Potts 15 - 6 - 32 - 2 (1w),Jack Leach 20 - 4 - 78 - 1, Ben Stokes 10 - 2 - 30 -0 (1w 5nb)

Bermuda to send team of 17 to Commonwealth Games HAMILTON, Bermuda, (CMC) – Bermuda will send a total of 17 athletes to this summer’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England after seven more names were added to the provisional list, headed by triathlete Dame Flora Duffy, released in April.

Bermuda’s team will be represented in five different sports at the Games, which will take place from July 28 to August 9.

Duffy, 34, the current Olympic and world champion, will be joined by Erica Hawley, Tyler Butterfield, Tyler Smith in triathlon, while the athletics contingent will be made up of Caitlyn Bobb, Tiara DeRosa, Sakari Famous, Dage Minors and Jah-Nhai Perinchief.

Duffy, who has suffered two bouts of COVID-19 this year, is the defending cham-

pion, having won gold at the last Commonwealth Games in Australia in 2018.

Four cyclists – Caitlin Conyers, Kaden Hopkins, Nicholas Narraway and Conor White – have also met the qualifying standard, while Emma Tiara DeRosa has been added to Harvey, Jack Harvey and Madelyn Moore have Bermuda’s Commonwealth team been selected for swimabout the Commonwealth ming.

Squash player Emma Games competition for Team Keane completes the Bermu- Bermuda.”

Triathlete Butterfield da contingent.

“I am pleased with the spoke of his pride about beteam selection,” Donna Ray- ing part of the team and the nor, Bermuda’s chef de mis- opportunity to once again fly the flag for his country. sion, said.

“It is always an honour “I recognise the team is young, but they all have a lot representing Bermuda at any of experience. I look forward significant sporting event, to working with the officials but there is something spewho will be travelling with cial about a major games each sport and I’m excited event such as the Common-

wealths,” he said. “It is such a privilege and honour to race under the Bermuda flag and wear the Bermuda uniform.”

Famous, who will be competing in the high jump, echoed his sentiments.

“I am super grateful to be able to represent my country on the big stage again participating in the Commonwealth Games,” she said. “I’m also excited to share this opportunity with the rest of the team.”

Swimmer Harvey added: “I could not be more honoured to be representing Bermuda amid a group of such talented athletes.

“This is a phenomenal opportunity, and I am incredibly excited to compete and support the rest of the team.”

27

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday June 14, 2022

St. Lucia, Puerto Rico promoted to League B in Nations League after decisive wins GROS ISLET, St. Lucia, (CMC) – St. Lucia comfortably defeated Anguilla 2-0 before a home crowd at the Darren Sammy Ground on Sunday night, securing promotion back up to Concacaf Nations League B and a place in the 2023 Gold Cup preliminary.

The first half of the game, which was played in League C, did not prove to be so easy for the hosts. Anguilla did what they have proven to do throughout this competition – defend well. They were well-organized and their no-nonsense approach was able to keep them in the game.

But the breakthrough came right before half-time.

In the 44th minute, a very high cross came towards the Anguillan goal, and goalkeeper Danniell Bailey was unable to punch it away.

Andrus Remy quickly

received the failed clearance and coolly finished to put St. Lucia up 1-0 and kick off the party in the crowd.

The hopes for an Anguillan comeback were crushed in the 60th minute when St. Lucia captain Kurt Frederick lined up over the ball on a free-kick from the corner of the 18-yard box and curled one around Bailey to double the lead.

From there, St. Lucia held firm to secure the victory and all the rewards that come with it.

Puerto Rico was also promoted and clinched a 2023 Gold Cup Prelims spot with a 6-0 victory at home over the British Virgin Islands.

The hosts got off to a roaring start at the Estadio Centroamericano de Mayaguez, taking the lead after 12 minutes courtesy of a neatly placed right-footed shot into the corner from Darren Rios.

Andrus Remy of Saint Lucia scored the first goal against Anguilla and kick off the party in the crowd at the Darren Sammy Ground on Sunday (Photo: CONCACAF)

Ricardo Rivera’s low cross earned him the assist.

Jaden Servania was brought down in the box in the 14th minute, and Rivera would join in on the scor-

ing himself, converting the penalty to put Puerto Rico ahead 2-0.

In the 31st minute, the host further added to their tally with a beautiful team goal.

Kevin Hernandez passed to Nicolas Cardona, who made a one-touch feed to Gerald Diaz, who poked it past British Virgin Islands goalkeeper, Daniel Gilford.

Thirty-nine minutes had gone when Wilfredo Rivera’s chip over Gilford bounced just ever slightly too high, but Ricardo Rivera was there to collect the rebound off the crossbar to tap in for his second goal of the night. In the second half, the home side kept up the attack. This time it was Rios who found Ricardo Rivera at the end of his run and Rivera tapped in for his hat-trick in the 49th minute.

Soon after that, a crafty no-look pass from Ian Silva found Ricardo Rivera again down the middle in the 51st minute for his fourth goal of the game.

Puerto Rico would hold steady for the rest of the

match and see things out for the 6-0 win.

Meantime, St. Kitts and Nevis maintained their unbeaten record in Group B of League C with a 1-1 draw against Saint Martin after a dramatic late equaliser at Warner Park.

The result means that St. Kitts and Aruba sit tied atop Group B with four points each (Aruba currently leads on goal differential), while Saint Martin are third with two points.

Cuba extended their longest-ever Concacaf Nations League winning streak to three matches with a 3-1 victory over Antigua and Barbuda.

Both sides have a March date with Barbados and another against Guadeloupe left on the calendar, with promotion and a 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup stop still in play for each.

Pooran says Windies now a more united team Lee replaces Meusa on Olympiad team headed for a turnaround MULTAN, Pakistan, (CMC) – Despite the West Indies’ whitewash in their ODI series against Pakistan, skipper Nicholas Pooran said the team has emerged more united and followers of the game can expect a turnaround from the regional side over time.

He said the players had shown a commendable commitment to keep fighting – even in sweltering 45-degree Celsius heat in Multan on the heels of a 3-nil defeat of the Netherlands in cooler temperatures – and they had gelled throughout the three-match series.“A lot of guys got sick as well,” he revealed. “We said from the beginning of the tournament we’re gonna stick together; no matter what the result we’re gonna stick together and that’s what happened,” he said after Sunday’s defeat in the final ODI. West Indies lost the series opener – in which Hope got his 12th ODI century – by five wickets, but fell to a heavier defeat in the second match which they lost by 120 runs.

They came a bit closer to victory in the final match,

Nicholas Pooran speaking to the media after Sunday’s final ODI against Pakistan

after managing to restrict Pakistan to 269/9 but eventually lost by 53 runs.

“A lot of people would be upset that we lost and a lot of people would bash us as well that we lost, but to me, I felt like we got really close as a team. It’s my second tour as captain and I felt like we’re actually really

building a family here and that’s a positive we’re going to take….Despite the results, we had a good showing, especially in the first game,” said Pooran.

In that regard, the whiteball captain singled out Shai Hope and Alzarri Joseph, who continued to lead with the bat and ball, respectively; Akeal Hosein who showed that he is “worldclass”; Shamarh Brooks who “is coming into his own”; Keemo Paul who returned to the team and “did well” in the last match; as well as the younger players, Jayden Seales and Anderson Phillip.

“Looking forward, we are definitely gonna be winning some games and hopefully make [fans] proud,” he said.

Pooran has appealed to fans to give the West Indies time to get back to the top of their game.

“This is just the start for us and I think the future is bright for us as a team, but we’re taking it step by step and we’re gonna be very patient. Pakistan was once like us – they were losing and they’re very consistent now as a team, but it takes

time and we need everyone to understand that.

“We as a team understand that and we’re trying to get closer off the field and that’s the first step, so we’re looking forward to the Bangladesh series and hopefully we give a good showing of ourselves there.”

West Indies will host Bangladesh in a three-match T20 International series from July 3-7, followed by a three-match ODI series from July 10 to 16.

Before then, however, the Test team will take on the visitors in two matches, starting Thursday, June 24.

Asked what advice he had for the red-ball squad, Pooran said: “Get wickets, make runs, be smart. Coming from these conditions, obviously, it took a toll on every single one [of us]….

I wish this Test team all the best and I’m looking forward to getting a series victory against Bangladesh.

They’ve [Bangladesh] been playing really good Test cricket as well but we’re looking forward for these guys to perform and continue to make us proud.”

NINETEEN-year-old Ethan Lee has replaced Wendell Meusa in the National Chess team expected to travel to Chennai, India for the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad during July-August.

The teenager, who accumulated the seventh highest Grand Prix points (the yardstick for selection), was given the nod after national champion ,Wendell Meusa, opted to withdraw from the team.

After a series of competitions, the top 10 (five each) male and female players were selected to travel.

Although the Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) president, Frankie Farley, was next in line to be selected, after amassing the sixth most points in the open division, he declined the nomination since he felt it would have been a positive learning experience for Lee. Lee is currently the highest rated junior player at 1515 and a part of the top 10 Guyana players list.

He has experience at the local and international levels.

He represented Guyana in Barbados and St Lucia in open tournaments and in Trinidad and Tobago at CAC

Ethan Lee is the highest rated junior player in the country

U-20.

In India, Lee will be joined by former Senior National Open champions, CM Taffin Khan, FM Anthony Drayton, Loris Nathoo and Roberto Neto in the Open category.

He will also join female players, National Women’s champion, 14-year-old Pooja Lam, former champion, 18-year-old Sasha Shariff, 20-year-old Jessica Callender and 21-year-old Nellisha Johnson, along with the talented 12-year-old Anaya Lall.

Eighteen-year-old, Omari Glasgow has scored three goals in three matches so far in the Nations League

Bournemouth FC’s Nathan Moriah-Welsh has been clinical for Guyana during the CONCACAF Nations League

Tonight’s game against Haiti to test Golden Jaguars’ character – Shabazz

PAGE

23

CWI Women’s T20 Blaze

Barbados beat Jamaica to stay ahead in title race

Hayley Matthews made an unbeaten 74 which led Barbados to a 25-run victory over Jamaica and very likely title retention (News Room/Reaaz Mathura photo)

DEFENDING champions Barbados practically has a full grip on this year’s title in the CWI Women’s T20 Blaze, and only an improbable heavy defeat to Trinidad and Tobago today and a big victory for Jamaica over the Leeward Islands can see them potentially relinquish that grip based on net run rate.

After four matches, the Barbadians are still to taste defeat as they defeated Jamaica by 25 runs on Monday at the National Stadium, Providence.

Led by another spectacular solo effort from Hayley Matthews with an unbeaten 74 (9x4s) from 63 balls, Barbados reached 1294 from the full allotment of overs.

Kaycia Knight, who made 14 (2x4s) from the 19 balls in the opening stand of 50 in 7.4 overs with Matthews, was the next best scorer while Kyshona Knight added 10,

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as extras accounted for 19.

Corrine Howell was the pick of the bowlers with 2-27 while the other two wickets were shared by Vanessa Watts (1-10) and Stafanie Taylor (1-17).

Jamaica then stumbled to 104-6 despite composed knocks by Chedean Nation (26), Chinelle Henry (24), Taylor (18), and Jerona Walcott who was unbeaten on 14.

Aaliyah Alleyne took 2-20 in her fourover spell while Shakera Selman (1-18), Shanika Bruce (1-20), and Aaliyah Williams (1-30) also supported the comfortable victory.

One-run thriller Trinidad and Tobago got their second win of the tournament when they edged the Windward Islands by one run in what was a thrilling end to a low-scoring encounter at Providence.

TURN TO PAGE 23 ► TUESDAY, JUNE 14, 2022