Guyana Chronicle E-Paper 14-03-2022

MONDAY 14th March, 2022

Rose Hall Estate 51 per cent complete No.106662

–– 1,200 hired to date, on track for 2023 opening 03 PAGE

Country to fully Farmers’ Market a 05 success at Albion re-open – Pres. Ali 02 PAGE

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Families flocked the Georgetown seawall on Sunday. All public spaces are expected to re-open next week (Elvin Croker photo)

The Farmers’ Market Day was in full swing at the Albion Estate Road in Region Six (Ministry of Agriculture photo)

Children under 16 will be 08 Go-Invest to conduct study for barred from using electric bikes BPO expansion in Guyana 11 PAGE

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, March 14, 2022

President to end all COVID-19 restrictions – Full re-opening of country expected next week

ALL public spaces, religious institutions, and facilities in Guyana are expected to be fully re-opened without COVID-19 restrictions and President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, is expected to sign the necessary order as soon as next week.

“Moving to the full opening of countries to allow for predictability, planning and economic expansion is now the critical path in recovery.

“It is in this context that, in the coming week, Guyana would approach and embrace the full re-opening of our country,” the President said Sunday.

He further noted that: “All public spaces, religious institutions, and facilities in our country can now proceed to normalise operations, while keeping in place all the necessary public health amenities and support systems to operate in a safe environment.”

The President noted that Guyana is at a point in the management of the pandemic where public education, awareness and vaccination are the most effective tools, while cer-

tain restrictive measures which affect economic development are no longer contributing to curbing the spread of the deadly virus.

“We must now altogether focus on educating each other as we move towards the new framework of living with COVID,” the Head of State said.

Notwithstanding the removal of the COVID-19 restrictions, measures such as the wearing of masks and the utilisation of sanitisers and sanitation booths at places of businesses will continue, while the government will continue its COVID-19 vaccination drive.

“Wearing of masks not only reduces the possibility of transmission of COVID-19 but also reduces the potency if infected.

I would therefore highly recommend that we utilise our masks as far as possible and for those not vaccinated to get vaccinated,” the President said.

This new move will mean the removal of previous measures, including the recently released guidelines for the upcoming holy month of Ramadan which begins on April 1, and allowed for limited

participation of Ramadan activities.

The President’s announcement comes just a few days after Guyana marked two years since the first COVID-19 case was recorded and resulted in swift, restrictive measures all across the country. Guyana had recorded its first COVID-19 case on March 11, and on that same day, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic.

The country’s index case was a 52-year-old woman who had travelled to Guyana from Queens, New York, six days prior to her death.

Immediate measures to curb the spread of the virus had included the closure of all schools, closure of the two international airports, restrictions on internal travel and movement, and the implementation of a national curfew, among other measures.

Guyana, and the rest of the world, suffered devastating economic issues, including rising cost of living, a supply chain crisis that affected freight costs and learning loss due to school closure.

Guyana, and several countries have since been doing the gradual relaxing of several measures as the world gradually returns to normalcy, largely bolstered by the implementation of inoculation against the virus.

In Guyana, the country has been seeing the

results of the increased vaccination through the sharp reduction in the number of cases that the country has been recording. As of March 11, 2022, 84.9 percent of the 18 year and older population had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine,

while 64.8 percent are fully vaccinated.

Some 54,195 persons have also been administered booster doses. In vaccination among adolescents, 46.5 percent of this cohort has received at least one dose, while 33.7 percent have been fully vaccinated.

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Rose Hall Estate 51 per cent complete

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, March 14, 2022

–– 1,200 hired to date, on track for 2023 opening

By Nafeeza Yahya-Sukar WITH the work pro grammes reflecting a 51 per cent completion status of works necessary for the re-opening of the Rose Hall Estate, East Canje, Berbice and 1,200 plus persons recruited to date, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GuySuCo, Sasenarine Singh, is confident the targeted 2023 start date for grinding can be achieved.

In an interview with the Guyana Chronicle while touring the Rose Hall, Albion and Blairmont cultivation fields on Friday, the CEO of the largest single employer in Guyana said that, despite the major setbacks affecting manufacturing industries worldwide over the past two years, the factory is still on track for opening next year.

“Rose Hall factory is scheduled to start grinding in the 2nd crop of 2023 and we are still on that agenda; we haven’t changed that agenda path. I know there is a lot of hearsay that we can’t do it. The point is the naysayers haven’t recognised that three things happened over the last two years that have hurt everybody in this world: COVID which has shut down the manufacturing capabilities in the world; supply chain has deteriorated -- orders that took six months in the past are now taking a year to

GuySuCo Chief Executive Officer, Sasenarine Singh (Centre) and team inspecting a cultivation field in Canje Berbice on Friday gramme has now been 14 months; and now the war moving ahead.

“All pumps and motors that will impact prices on “We have ordered the pushed back by six months are in the country for the agricultural equipment and tractors to plough the land but that’s fine because we factory; they are being ininput. We are still pressing at Rose Hall since May of understand the nuances of stalled at the various parts on and creating value and I 2021 and they are now com- the new world.” of the factory. We are in the assure you every single day ing until the end of April process of trying to build out TOTAL REBUILD something is being added to 2022; now we were expectthe front end of the factory, The CEO explained changing out some crysthe factory.” ing that before Christmas so Albeit the slowdown we have lost this entire crop that the factory is going talising pans; those are all which is beyond their con- to do the cultivation of the through a total rebuild planned and scheduled for and many of the critical this year. Two generators trol, the team is working Rose Hall land. around the clock to achieve If you don’t plough the components needed are to power the factory has just set deadlines. Some pro- land, prepare the land, already in the country landed; those are going to grammes have been pushed how you gonna expect and some will be installed be installed soon. Everyday back and others are still cane? That whole pro- before the end of the year. things are happening. We

are at 51 per cent complete and recruited over 1,200 persons already and are pressing on,” he said.

He said, too, that GuySuCo has adopted the position to be an eagle instead of a parrot.

“We choose to soar above the naysayers or parrots, many of them have no idea what it takes to run a manufacturing industry in this time. We will not dwell on them but rather press ahead with our agenda and get the work done that is in best interest of the people.”

Under the APNU+AFC administration, some 7,000 persons were placed on the breadline when they closed the Wales, Rose Hall, East Demerara (Enmore) and Skeldon estates. During the election campaign, the current administration had promised to re-open the estates due to the socio-economic benefits and Rose Hall was slated as the first to be re-opened.

The once bustling Canje area was reduced to a ghost town with the estate’s closure and is now slowly returning to some level of economic activity as 1,200 residents from the area are already employed.

With the opening date fast approaching, the numbers that are employed will continue to grow and many are hoping the community can be returned to its former glory days.

Rewa Eco-Lodge secures second place at international awards

THE Rewa Eco-Lodge located in the North Rupununi, Region Nine, has won second place out of 100 countries in the ‘Communities & Culture’ category of the 2022 Green Destinations Story awards.

The award ceremony was held virtually on March 11. A release from

the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) stated that the ‘Communities & Culture’ category of the award, not only acknowledges local life, culture and traditions, but also addresses the negative impact of tourism on the local communities.

The GTA said that, while not surprised by the award, it was more than

pleased by the honour bestowed on the local company.

“Through the support of the GTA, Rewa Eco-Lodge presented a detailed conservation story on the Arapaima species and the sustainable steps that they have implemented to mitigate the challenges faced by the community.”

GTA’s Director (ag),

Kamrul Baksh, in the statement, noted that, “It is certainly remarkable, although not quite surprising that Rewa Eco-Lodge has been awarded such a prestigious recognition.

We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to Green Destinations for working with us to make this a reality.”

He said the agency will continue to work with the

community-led and owned tourism 9+487enterprises in the journey for sustainable tourism development.

Baksh also congratulated the team at the Rewa Eco-Lodge. Other award categories included: Localising and Decarbonising the Supply Chain, Environment and Climate, Nature and Ecotourism and Tourism Reset

and Recover.

The Green Destinations Story Awards is an annual event staged at ITB Berlin.

Guyana in recent years, has copped several international awards for excellence in sustainable tourism, including the Number One Best Eco Tourism Destination in 2019.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, March 14, 2022

Women as single mothers in the pandemic

By Vanessa Cort

AS the world paid tribute to women everywhere last Tuesday, on the occasion of International Women’s Day, I wondered how women running households on their own have been coping.

On the cusp of the third year into a pandemic which has seen both sexes lose their jobs, children pulled out of schools, daycare facilities closed and prices rise, women have been bombarded.

Mothers who head single-parent families have been especially chal lenged. Many depended on day-care services in order to work. And the domino effect has been catastrophic as these centres were forced to close their doors

because their staff – mostly women – had to stay at home and take care of their children.

Ironically, some of these workers too were the sole breadwinners for their families and were also scrambling to keep food on the table and adjust to their radically changed circumstances.

But they had to get it done. Those who could started working from home, some resorted to selling clothing and items not often used, others reached out to family members for help and all were forced to “cut and contrive”, as one woman put it. The race was on to find alternate means of raising money.

While economic factors differ from country to country and within rich and poor countries, single

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mothers all over the world have certain things in common.

Kristen Rogers reporting for CNN said, “Many single moms are the only people who can ensure their children are fed, educated, comforted, disciplined and safe…”

And single mothers have had to draw even more on their woman’s ability to multi-task and ‘wear several hats’, as they juggled routine household tasks with children constantly underfoot and acted as home-schoolers in addition to all their other roles.

However, experts at the Child Mind Institute in the US have come up with some suggestions to help single mothers cope, while acknowledging, “There’s no magic bullet that will make living through this crisis

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easy.”

At the top of the list is acceptance of the situation or what Rachel Busman calls “radical acceptance”, which means that you “accept what is happening in the moment without judgement rather than fighting what you’re experiencing”.

She points out that accepting the situation does not mean you have to like it but it means you are better equipped to deal with feelings like anger and frustration.

Single mothers are also advised to acknowledge that they are in “survival mode” and urged to be kind to themselves and remember that though they may feel lonely they are not alone because, “Everyone is going through this in one way or another”.

Stephanie Lee, a clin-

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ical psychologist at the Child Mind Institute says, “I think we need to dispel the myth that this is a good time to work on things. This is a time to survive and get by and that’s okay.”

Certainly, many single mothers were in ‘survival mode’ even before the pandemic and felt ‘at the end of their rope’ as the virus struck and their stress level surged.

For as the UK Gingerbread Organisation put it, “Since the beginning of the pandemic, in March 2020, single-parent families have borne the brunt of the economic and social fallout. Prior to the pandemic, single parents were already more likely to live in poverty than coupled parents”.

Since the majority of

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single-parent households are run by women then this means that women, in particular, have been struggling under the tremendous weight of providing for their families.

Now that countries are opening back up, along with schools and daycare facilities, the intense pressure has eased somewhat on women who single-handedly run their homes, but the crisis is far from over.

And perhaps the best advice from the Child Mind Institute is for single mothers to lower the parenting bar and “Accept that there are going to be some days when if you can get everybody fed and bathed and squeeze in a little activity, that is a good day.”

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, March 14, 2022

Agriculture Ministry takes Farmers’ Market to Albion

THE Ministry of Agriculture on Sunday hosted its second Farmers’ Market Day at the Albion Estate Road in Region Six, which saw scores of consumers turning out to purchase fresh commodities at affordable prices. The farmers’ market is one aspect of government’s efforts to bring down food prices.

manufactured in Guyana. In February, a farmers’ market was held at the Lusignan tarmac, East Coast Demerara, with resounding success.

General Manager for ‘Only Coconuts,’ Leslie Ramlall, said the market day is a necessary initiative as the country continues to develop.

“It’s really good, and not

proud of local products. He also reiterated the importance of packaging when promoting products for local and international markets.

“Packaging plays a very essential role in the promotion of your product, as well as being able to entice customers to your products… so I would encourage any businessman it’s not only about

Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, examines a product (Ministry of Agriculture photo) The event has also allowed farmers to market a wide variety of produce including vegetables, seedlings, meat and livestock.

The initiative also gives them the opportunity to showcase and sell their packaged products that were

only for businesses like ours, but also to educate customers, educate citizens of Guyana. Guyana is moving and for us to be moving forward we have to be competitive,” Ramlall said.

He said Guyanese should support farmers and be

producing your products, but to ensure that whatever you’re producing is of that standard.”

‘Only Coconut’ is the largest coconut-processing facility in the Caribbean, with all their products being organic. Some products

Some of the products on photo) exhibited at the market day included coconut flour, coconut oil, coconut chips, and desiccated coconut, among others.

Owner of Dixie’s Punch De Crème, Dixie Jorden, said the market will allow businesses to reach consumers they were unable to reach.

“I think it’s an excellent idea…for people like me to get my product to people that I wouldn’t normally reach on my own, so I think this is an awesome initiative that we have here and I really think they should keep continue doing it,” Jorden said.

sale at the Farmers’ Market (Ministry of Agriculture Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, said the ministry plans to host the event at least once every month and in all regions across Guyana.

“I’m hoping that in each region in this country we can at least have these markets once monthly and this is a tremendous success here in Region Six… “So, farmers and consumers are calling that they want these markets to be held more regularly, so what we are doing now as I said we’ll be going to other regions and at the end of the

first pilot exercise, we’ll be looking to group farmers so that they can go to the different markets,” the minister said.

The Agriculture Minister also said the market will enhance Guyana’s agro-processing facilities and allow agro-processors more markets for their products.

He reiterated that Guyana has a future in agricultural production. He said within the next two to three years, the country will be the “agriculture power house” in the Region. (Modified from DPI)

$900 million repairs slated for Demerara Harbour Bridge

SEVERAL components of the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB) is slated for repairs in 2022, as part of a $900 million allocation in the landmark “oil budget.”

This was confirmed on Sunday by engineer and General Manager of the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation, Wayne Watson. Tenders have already been published for the construction and installation of 204 anchor blocks; fabrication and installation of 200 deck plates; rehabilitation of 24 regular and four large pontoons; fabrication and delivery of 30 notched h-beams.

As efforts continue to build a massive replacement for the harbour bridge, millions of dollars are being spent to replace the existing structure. Already, more than $924.5 million has been spent over the past four years to repair the bridge; and this is

outside of the annual maintenance budget, and usually as a result of damage caused by vehicular and marine activity.

In 2020, that sum stood at a whopping $263,163,644.

In 2019, $104,157,912 was spent on repairs. Earlier in 2018, the cost of repairing the bridge was $367,231,456; in 2019, the cost of executing repairs was pegged at $190,034,756.

This means that within the last few years, the DHBC has spent exactly $924,587,768 on repairing damage done to the bridge. In cases where an errant party can be clearly detected, those persons are liable to fund the requisite repairs to the age-old structure.

According to statistics provided by the DHBC, in 2020, some 75 per cent of marine accidents have been compensated for, while 95 per cent of those responsible

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for vehicular accidents have financed the repairs.

Public Works Minister Juan Edghill had previously explained that apart from accidents, the bridge continues to be damaged by speeding marine vessels, as well as by speeding trucks applying brakes suddenly. In such cases, no particular person or agency could be pinpointed to provide compensation.

As such, these repairs are often funded by the DHBC, with the support of government subventions. It was only recently that significant damage was done to ‘Span Nine’ of the floating structure, forcing government to institute measures that monitor the number of trucks going onto the bridge at once.

“We have to get a new culture of truckers driving on the bridge,” the minister posited. With trucks traversing

the bridge at intervals, there is usually a daily build-up of trucks at both ends of the bridge.

Minister Edghill had said that at one point the DHBC was even considering having police traffic ranks stationed with their ‘speed guns’ along the bridge itself. The Public Works Minister indicated too that the owners and captains of marine vessels were also being engaged in relation to speeding, as well.

“Because some of them [the vessels] are moving with such speed, and they are creating waves and current, they are causing misalignment to the bridge,” Edghill had explained.

Meanwhile, as authorities continue to grapple with the high cost of maintaining the existing Demerara Harbour Bridge, works are progressing on the construction of a new,

state-of-the-art structure, which is likely to commence before the end of 2022.

As it is, the Government of Guyana is in talks with the company that will be constructing the Amaila Falls Hydropower Plant to also construct the new river crossing; that company is China Railway First Group, which is part of a consortium of companies, and the second

lowest bidder for the bridge project The new bridge has become far more essential, as the importation of vehicles continues to grow, and as traffic becomes more and more exhaustive. The new structure is also likely to open up a number of new roads that will further lend to the alleviation of traffic congestion.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, March 14, 2022

Sadhguru

THE Government of Guyana recently hosted a visit by world-renowned spiritual leader Jagadish Vasudev, popularly known as Sadhguru.

It is not that often the country is graced with high-profile spiritual leaders such as Sadhguru whose message transcends the boundaries of spirituality and found resonance with the developmental aspirations of the Guyanese people and, for that matter, people across the globe.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed with Sadhguru and the Government of Guyana to preserve the country’s soil in keeping with the country’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). The signing ceremony took place at State House in the presence of President, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali; First Lady, Arya Ali; Vice-President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo and other senior government officials, including Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, who signed on behalf of the government.

The delegation was earlier treated to a

breakfast reception at State House. A presentation on the importance of soil sustainability was also made by the Guru at the National Cultural Centre.

Sadhguru was accompanied by Trinidadian Soca artist, Machel Montano.

The ‘Save the Soil Movement’ is a global entity aimed at addressing the soil crisis by bringing together people, all across the world, to rally around soil health and advocate for the implementation of policies and programmes to increase the organic content in cultivable soil, a project launched by Sadhguru.

Sadhguru is known world-wide for his strong views and social commentary on a variety of issues. He has a huge following on social media and has become an opinion leader for a countless number of people. He is also famous for his teaching of yoga in southern India since 1982. He established the Isha Foundation in 1992 which also operated an Ashram and Yoga Centre. In recognition of his distinguished contribution to humanity, he was conferred with

a number of presidential awards, the Padma Vibhushan and India’s highest environmental award, the Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar.

Soil degradation poses a serious threat to our planet and could lead to soil degradation. It refers to the physical, chemical and biological decline in soil quality. This could result in the loss of organic matter, decline in soil fertility, erosion, changes in soil acidity and alkalinity, among other harmful effects.

Guyana, with its rich and fertile agricultural land and pristine forests has to take all possible measures to guard against any adverse impact on its soil health.

The Memorandum of Understanding between Guyana and Sadhguru is therefore a welcome initiative and could not have come at a better time, as the country is positioning itself to, once again, become the food basket of the Caribbean. The MoU is also fully in line with the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS).The new LCDS 2030, currently under public consulta-

tion, will result in a new low carbon economy in Guyana by establishing incentives which value the world’s ecosystem services and promoting these as an essential component as a new model of global development with the main focus on sustainability.

Guyana, with its vast forest cover, can earn billions of dollars in carbon credits. According to President Ali, our forests have an estimated value of up to US$54 billion annually which the new LCDS is expected to market on the international carbon market.

The visit to Guyana by Sadhguru has once again served to raise awareness on Guyana’s low carbon development strategy and its impact on the global effort to reduce carbon emission levels in the world.

President Ali and his PPP/C administration must be commended for the visionary thinking and leadership role in the establishment of a safe and environmentally friendly global dispensation.

Freddie Kissoon replies to Stabroek News’ accusation I AM submitting this letter to the four dailies because an important principle of journalism is involved.

I expect the offending newspaper, the Stabroek News, to publish my explanation.

If the newspaper does not, I will expect to see the logical reaction from other organisations and the Guyana Press Association.

With the photograph of the editor-in-chief (eic) on a Stabroek News Meta (facebook) posting, here is what was written about me: “Plagiarism of SN material by Kaieteur News …continues unabated….

Freddie Kissoon published a section of a court story without attribution….”

This is not true. It is deliberately misleading. The eic of SN does not have an academic background, so he would not be familiar with the origin and meaning of plagiarism. The term came from academia.

It denotes the publication of any form of material that was not acknowledged as belonging to others with the intention of the person to make it appear that it originated

from him/her.

Here is a hypothetical example of plagiarism. A columnist writing about the Barbados Prime Minister wrote: “Her radiant smile evokes the calm waves of the beautiful Caribbean sea.” If those very words were published by another columnist, named John Jones, then the columnist should have stated that those words came from John Jones.

In writing about the court case I was unambiguous in stating my source. I said, “as reported in the press.” The eic of SN has been around a long time in journalism to know that the words, “as reported in the press” has been standard practice in global journalism long, long ago. Today the word, “media” is substituted for “press.”

Not frequently, but almost daily, we see on television and read in the newspapers, famous sporting personalities and global figures being quoted by editors, journalists, columnists and anchors, with the words, “has been quoted as saying.” Let me offer another hypothetical example.

“Chris Gayle told a radio station he is retiring.” It doesn’t say which radio station, but it stated that Gayle spoke publicly. Here is another example we find almost daily around the world: “Jane Smith is quoted as saying that she will no longer visit Australia.” Now that could have come from Smith friend’s Facebook page, a newspaper or a radio station or a television interview.

The media is under no obligation to state where a quote came from, once it is acknowledged that the person spoke or wrote what is quoted. It is important to note that once the television station, the radio station and the newspaper published the fact that the person’s words are in the media, then that is not plagiarism. Plagiarism is an entirely different affair.

I have spent 43 years in journalism and I know at an absolute level that court cases are mentioned by editors and columnists which they say, “as reported in the press.”

I will continue to do so. It is a choice of mine if I want to say where I got the materi-

al from. In court cases, I don’t think that is necessary simply because that is the nature of court cases.

In politics, business, governmental affairs, etc, the yardstick is different. Because of the nature of the subject, it is an option if the newspaper wants to state the source of the remark. If the President tells the Department of Public Information (DPI) that there will be a bridge linking Suriname and Guyana, that announcement is news and the newspaper does not have to state that the President spoke to DPI. I don’t know if SN feels it will score points by picking on me, but countless times I read where SN made news stories that originated from the mouths of ministers or the DPI and did not state they came from the DPI. I end in the hope that journalistic requirements are adhered to and SN published my response here.

Yours sincerely, Frederick Kissoon

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, March 14, 2022

Raphael Trotman is engaging in frivolous arguments Dear Editor, FORMER Petroleum Minister under the Coalition, Raphael Trotman, writing last week, assailed the current PPP administration for not inviting the opposition to participate in last month’s International Energy Conference.

He claimed that when he was minister, PPP opposition figures were invited and participated in energy conferences held under his watch.

Last month’s energy conference was not a government undertaking but

a private sector initiative.

The Energy Conference (EC) was not sponsored by the government, though it received support from the administration. The EC was open to the government, opposition, and public. No one was excluded. There was a registration fee for attendance. Anyone who was interested as a participant simply paid the fee and gained confirmation. The organisers wanted Guyana’s policy-makers to talk about opportunities for investment in the energy sector. Thus, government figures were invited and

made presentations on opportunities available for investment in Guyana.

There was no need to invite specific political parties or opposition politicians, unless they were experts in the field who could have made significant contributions in energy and investment. Carol Joseph was the petroleum adviser to Trotman. Is she an oiland-gas expert? If she or other opposition politicians are experts in energy, they should have made it known to the organisers. PNC/R members, including Dr Van West Charles, were at the

EC. On speaking about the oil sector, it is not forgotten that Trotman and the Coalition concealed the Exxon contract for over one year before public pressure caused its release. Asked about the lopsided contract and who gave approval for the deal, Trotman said that he was instructed to sign the contract. Up to this day, he has failed to say who instructed him. There was also the Coalition government’s secrecy of the signing bonus of US$18 million. The money was hidden from the public until

investigative journalists and Christopher Ram exposed it, embarrassing the government.

Also, Trotman and the Coalition agreed to pay the taxes of Exxon and partners amounting to billions of dollars, saddling the PPP administration with the expense. The Coalition never consulted the then opposition PPP or other political parties or civil society or the public, when it negotiated with Exxon or when it signed agreements.

Rather than now complain about issues that have no significant outcomes

and pretend that it cares about Guyanese, the Coalition should demonstrate initiative and creativity by advocating transformative projects and programmes, such as participating in clean-up campaigns to better the life of Guyanese.

Raving and ranting will not move the country forward or create a ‘One Guyana.’

The Coalition must use talent to uplift Guyanese from distress and economic woes.

Democratic Council contracted workers were doing work and an object pitched and damaged a car. The driver of the vehicle was very frustrated, as no one wanted to take responsibility to repay for the damage.

In another instance, I heard of another story where a brick pitched up and hit an elderly man on his shoulder as he was sitting in a vehicle while someone was weeding.

In all of these cases, there is no compensation or anything as the persons who are doing the job are contracted by other individuals and companies and are firm in their view that

there is nothing that could be done. All this is happening, because there is no legislation in place, which would hold persons accountable for operating in this manner.

This happens regularly and the authorities must do something urgently to address the situation. In other countries, persons weeding in highly populated areas would hold a net as a barrier between the person weeding and passersby and vehicles, etc. This is standard safety practice in other countries which Guyana must adopt.

Also, the time these weeders start working in the

mornings, especially weekends, is another matter, which I would not delve into at this time; suffice to say that it must be addressed as it is a nuisance to persons who are tired and want to get their

rest.

I am therefore calling on the authorities to have the necessary legislation in place that would make it mandatory for all involved in weeding or cleaning to

ensure that these safety methods are employed to protect life and property.

Yours truly, Name withheld by request

Some complaints against weeding machine operators

Dear Editor,

PLEASE allow me space in your letters column to bring a matter to the authorities for urgent attention.

The issue is in relation to weeding machine operators, who undertake works along the roadside and other areas close to where persons walk or drive.

Editor, in the past, several persons have complained that they have had their vehicles damaged or they were hit by bricks and other objects, owing to the actions of weeders.

As recent as last Thursday, the Parika Neighbourhood

Yours sincerely, M. Persaud

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, March 14, 2022

Children under 16 will be barred from using electric bikes –– National Road Safety Council says users will have to be licensed

–– Bikes to be covered under motorcycle law

By Jared Liddell

THE use of electric bikes has been increasing locally, with adults, and even children under the age of 16, utilising them to undertake day-to-day activities such as work, shopping, and even school, in both the rural and urban parts of the country.

Since this mode of transportation first started gaining popularity within Guyana, these bikes were uncategorised and left unregulated for some time.

Commissioner of Police (ag) Nigel Hoppie, on Thursday last, disclosed that the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) are currently drafting rules to govern the use of these bikes.

“That is an ongoing discussion right now with GRA; the Traffic Chief is actively involved because we have seen where persons using these bikes, there is no age limit and that is one of the

things. So we are in discussion to ensure those things are regularised,” the Police Commissioner noted.

Meanwhile, Coordinator of the Guyana National Road Safety Council, Ramona Doorgen, during an interview with this newspaper, disclosed that a major part of the rules currently being drafted includes barring children under the age of 16 from operating the bikes.

Retailing for between $70,000 to $150,000, the electrical bikes cost considerably less than the conventional motorcycles, and due to the ease with which they are operated, they are becoming the go-to mode of transportation for many. Most of the bikes have speeds below 50kmph.

Doorgen stated that the Road Safety Council welcomes the decision by the GPF and GRA to regulate the use of these vehicles due to the notable misuse by operators across the country.

She explained that, in

“We saw the problems they were having. They had small kids and big people riding the bikes in the traffic and all of that too, and we saw the dangers that it was posing, not only to the persons that riding them but also to the public and drivers at large.

So, we had approached the ministry and asked the minister to let us look seriously at it.”

Coordinator of the Guyana National Road Safety Council, Ramona Doorgen many cases, persons using these electric bikes, especially children, are seen without helmets, which is in direct breach of the road safety procedures. She said this practice goes hand in hand with the fact that these “bike” users do not hold licences and have not undergone training on proper road use.

USERS WILL HAVE TO BE LICENSED The new rules governing the use of these bikes, according to Doorgen, will seek to categorise electric bikes as motorcycles, allowing them to be registered and given a motor vehicle road service licence, in addition to requiring the operator to be the holder of a valid driver’s licence.

This change will directly affect those users of the vehicle who are under 16, and cannot apply for a driver’s licence and according to Doorgen, this is to safeguard their lives.

“You’ll have to have a licence to be able to operate it in public spaces. They’re now going to look at it as a motor vehicle; they’re using the same Act and whatever policies that govern motorcycles are the same ones that is going to be used to govern electric bikes. So, definitely

An elderly man (left) learning about his new electric bike children would not be able believe this new set of rules to ride in public spaces with would negatively affect the them.” day to day lives of citizens.

The road safety coordina“Just like how they were tor noted that, since the bikes using the motorcycles, this started gaining popularity new rule would just encomlocally, there have been four pass electric bikes so people recorded fatalities involving will be able to continue using electric bikes. their bikes, with the only difShe explained that, while ference being that they would none of the recorded fatal- have to get their licence and ities were children under so and follow the road rules the age of 16, she believes regarding helmets and all of there needs to be systems in that which would all add to place to prevent such from their own personal safety; happening. so I believe that this would Speaking to the use of the positively impact them too,” bikes in rural communities Doorgen said. such as Wakenaam and LeShe reiterated that the guan where motorcycles and aim of the policy was not to most recently electric bikes disenfranchise any memplay a major role in transport, ber of the population but Doorgen told the Guyana to protect all categories of Chronicle that she does not road users.

GPL shutdown due to trip in transmission lines THE Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS) experienced yet another shutdown on Sunday, this time due to a trip in the L2 and L5 transmission lines which link the Guyana Power and Light (GPL)’s Golden Grove to Sophia and Sophia to Kingston Substations, respectively.

The trip occurred at approximately 11:15hrs and caused generation units at the Garden of Eden Power Plant to shut down. This resulted in service disruptions to customers in Demerara and Berbice, a statement from the GPL said.

“At the time of the trip, the transmission lines were transferring approximately 34 megawatts of power,” the company said.

The company did not say what caused

the transmission lines to trip, but noted that restoration works commenced immediately.

“At approximately 11:22hrs the first area was repowered in Demerara. Incremental restoration continued until all areas in Demerara and Berbice were repowered at approximately 12:55hrs. GPL continues to work assiduously towards minimizing these occurrences and remains cognisant of the inconveniences associated with unplanned service interruptions,” the company said.

This is was at least the third shutdown of the DBIS for the year, in addition to the power outages consumers have been experiencing due to scheduled maintenance that the electricity company carries out on a regular basis.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, March 14, 2022

Guyana Cancer Society launched to help patients, survivors

IN an effort to provide service and support in the fight against cancer, the Guyana Cancer Society, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) promoting prevention, early detection, and treatment, was officially launched, on Saturday, at MovieTowne Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown.

The organisation’s founder and President, Sharir Chan, noted that, while the government has been putting systems in place to cater to the growing needs of cancer patients locally, the vision is to create a supporting NGO to supplement the services being provided by the Ministry of Health.

“We will, in coordination with the Ministry of Health, work towards increasing VIA screenings. We need to work with the health centres… we will intensify our efforts

Reddi; Dr. Navindranaught Rambaran; Dr. Jason Ramcharran; Dr. Surujpaul Singh; Dr. Desiree Ross; Sharon Rodrigues- Alguram; Asif Owal; and Sasha Hatim.

He stated that although the NGO will be stationed in Region Four, outreaches have been planned to provide screening and cancer education across the country.

According to Chan, statistics from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) indicate that Guyana is one of the countries with the highest order of non-communicable diseases in the Americas.

When it comes to the cancer death rate in Guyana, Chan said the country is estimated to have a 97 per 100,000 rate. He said it was with that in mind that the NGO was formed as a way to beat the disease and protect the lives of men and

ment of every person with Hepatitis C in 2022.

“Because of the cost, we were unable to treat people who had HEP C but we are currently working on a programme which is going to start this year.

Guyana Cancer Society founder and President, Sharir Chan the fight against cancer locally can only be won with collaboration and joint resources. He noted that the government intends, in the next two months to roll out its Human Papillomavirus Virus (HPV) vaccine

Minster of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, (third left) with US Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch (fourth left) and Guyana Cancer Society (GCS) founder and President, Sharir Chan (fifth left) along with Members of the NGO and other officials (Delano Williams photo) in education, both in the schools and health centres, so that persons can arm themselves with the tools necessary to prevent cancer,” he said.

According to Chan, the NGO will also provide a network to share information as well as inspiration to persons undergoing treatment and to those who have survived.

The NGO will be run by a ten-member executive board inclusive of Chan; Dr. Meer Khan; Dr. Mark

women living with cancer locally.

“Guyana has a population of 282,685 women 50 years and older and they are all at risk of developing cervical cancer. Every year, 121 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and 63 died from this disease. This is the second most frequent cause of cancer in Guyana after breast cancer.”

Meanwhile, Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, lauded the vision of the NGO, noting that

programme, in an effort to minimize cervical cancer.

“If you have any other non-governmental organisation, any other group that is interested in helping us, we want you to come on board. So, one of the things that we’ve been doing…is to get a number of stakeholders together, and discuss the strategy of how we roll out the HPV vaccines.”

He noted that another major undertaking by the ministry will be the treat-

So, for every person who was diagnosed with HEP C, we are going to start by treating them this year, and not just treating them, we are planning to cure and get the treatment that we have so that vaccine would not

be required.”

Hepatitis C is a liver infection caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV).

Hepatitis C is spread through contact with blood from an infected person.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, March 14, 2022

Dysfunction can damage

DYSFUNCTIONAL adults love each other today and ‘cuss’ and fight tomorrow.

They stop talking for weeks, sleep out, and find ways to hurt each other for revenge. They have a ‘sweet’ man or a ‘sweet’ woman on the side for

kicks, and they flirt. They do not make good parents; their focus is in the wrong place, on the wrong things.

When all is good between them, they are very good, and when things get bad, children suffer.

They can take out their frustration on their children

leading to physical or verbal abuse. In addition, they are inattentive and self-satisfied. They never connect to their children enough to impact their overall development positively. Unfortunately, children are pawns or collateral in their games and dramas; and through

their behaviour, children attain a warped idea about relationships, loyalty, love and life.

Dysfunctional adults love their children in their way; they mean them no harm. They cannot see how their poor conduct and instability can shape a child’s

outlook and view on life.

But children are easily influenced by their parents and environments. They witness their behaviours to be normal and unwittingly portray what they learn – they know no better.

One young man recalls: ‘My Parents were not married and I lived with my mom in a small apartment from as far back as I remember. Daddy would come some nights and sleepover; I would wake as mom opened the door to let him in. I heard them talking and even laughing sometimes, but he paid little attention to me.

When he was still there in the morning, he would call me and talk about education and getting a good job. He gave mom a small piece when I needed anything, and that was the extent of his fathering. My mother did her best, but her limited experiences meant that mine was too. I learnt a lot of things by myself or through trial and error.

I remember feeling bad when other boys spoke of their fathers; I could not contribute because I hardly had contact or communication with mine. I’m an adult now, with three children and two baby mothers. I live on my own cause I don’t get on with either woman. I see my children and buy what I can for them when they need it. Every month I buy milk, rice and biscuits. Those children are growing up, just like I had, without the security and consistent love of a father, but such is life’.

More children grow without knowing fathers than mothers. Some adults like to think, the things you’ve never had, you’ll never miss. But fatherless grown-ups are still aware that something more, or someone should have been there for them as they grew - there remains a void. One should not underestimate the warmth, security, love and inspiration of a solid, reliable father.

A young lady says: “My brother and I had a dismal childhood. Not because we didn’t have food, clothes or a decent place to live. But looking back, what I realise is that my mother and father were miserable people.

They used to antagonise each other over small, unimportant things; it seems they got joy out of it. The subject would soon become a quarrel that went on for weeks whenever their paths

crossed. Living in that type of atmosphere was damaging for us, but we didn’t realise it at the time.

If we were watching TV, trying to escape the gloomy atmosphere, dad would come home, turn it off and send us to bed.

We were not to blame for their decrepit relationship but felt the brunt of their displeasure with each other.

As a child, you could have all the material things you need, but if you don’t feel love from your parents or feel they appreciate you, you’ve lost.

Our parents were divorced just before we left home. So all four of us went separate ways. My brother and I often speak about the two of them; we wonder why they got married in the first place and whether they loved us. I’m a single mother, but I have a great relationship with my 9-year-old son. I would never make him feel miserable or unloved. My brother says I can be cold at times, and some of mom washed off on me, but I can’t see it.

Luckily for him, he seems unblemished by our childhood.

He has a nice place, a girlfriend and a good job.

I hope he keeps it up, gets married and becomes a great dad someday. Time will tell. I give my parents the respect they deserve; I call them to see how they’re going and give Mother’s Day and Father’s Day presents. If we are having a party, I invite them but other than that we do not socialise. I don’t go out of my way to have them around me. They remind me too much of my gloomy childhood.”

Emotional scarring is just one of the symptoms leftover from a toxic childhood. Having relationship difficulties as an adult and low self-image are others.

While no childhood is perfect, it is important to highlight where parents go wrong, to modify their behaviour and help them improve—strengthening families, community and nation and thus becoming a beneficial influence.

If you are concerned about the welfare of a child call the CPA hotline on 227 0979 or write to us at childcaregy@gmail.com A MESSAGE FROM THE CHILDCARE AND PROTECTION AGENCY, MINISTRY OF HUMAN SERVICES AND SOCIAL SECURITY

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, March 14, 2022

Go-Invest to conduct study for BPO expansion in Guyana

By Tamica Garnett

THE Guyana Office for Investment (Go-Invest) is preparing to conduct a major study in Regions Two, Three, Five, Six and Ten to understand the workforce capacity and assess the regions’ potential for the expansion of the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) outlets in those regions.

In an exclusive interview with the Guyana Chronicle, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Go-Invest, Dr. Peter Ramsaroop, noted that there is significant room for expansion of the BPO sector, which primarily involves call centres that do outsourcing work.

“We’re putting some emphasis on better understanding what we have and how we can help the back office process and attract the Fortune 500 clients to Guyana.

We’re undertaking a major study to understand better what are the potential job opportunities, and in which areas we can concentrate on to drive consistent employment for our people,” Dr. Ramsaroop related.

The study is being funded through Caribbean Export Development Fund.

The plans for the study comes following some $2 billion being approved in the 2022 budget to cater for the construction of two call centres in Regions Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) and Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

Business process outsourcing (BPO) is a business practice in which an organisation contracts with an external service provider to perform an essential business task. Over 1,100 additional jobs at call centres were created in Guyana since August 2020 through growth in the BPO industry, while an additional 1,500 new jobs by 2023 are anticipated.

“We believe that the back office processing, the call centres, is a significant expansion for Guyana and we have a lot of interest for Fortune 500 companies that want to outsource their work to some of the back-office providers in Guyana. We already have Amazon, and Uber, and we believe we can get other big companies in the world outsourcing their back office to Guyana operations. So we are concentrating on that sector,” Dr. Ramsaroop said.

Some of Guyana’s current top BPOs include Teleperformance, Itel, Midas BPO, Qualfon and Express International Inc., to name

a few.

However, Dr. Ramsaroop noted that the aim is to ensure that the BPO businesses are not just relegated to offices in Georgetown, or Region Four, but are taken into other regions, to develop job opportunities there.

As such, Go-Invest is focusing on attracting such companies to those regions.

Through this planned study, the agency will be better equipped to understand the region’s workforce and attract the BPO companies to the other regions.

“Companies that come in, we are pushing them out to these regions. For example, in Region Two, we have a very solid young workforce available and the BPO offers immediate job opportunity for young people across the regions,” Dr. Ramsaroop noted.

“The study will be maybe in two months. In the meantime, the providers are also doing their own studies to see where they best fit, in which regions, based on the quality of the workforce, and the type of work being outsourced. We see that as a high employment opportunity for young people in Guyana.”

Over the past two years, the government has been placing particular focus on providing a stable environment for BPO firms here to invest and grow. This growth of the BPO industry will be further facilitated through the robust Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) development in Guyana.

Last year, some 125 new jobs were created, through the government’s partnership with a private operator to reopen a call centre in Linden.

An additional 100 jobs are anticipated to be created at that call centre by June 2022.

Guyana has been noted as a hub for BPO investments with its diversified economy and culture affinity with the North American market, giving Guyanese the opportunity to build and take advantage of the opportunities provided by the industry.

Guyana has been involved in the BPO industry for over a decade but the industry, like many others, has been growing at an exponential rate, proportional to Guyana’s massive projected economic growth.

Dr. Ramsaroop noted that Go-Invest is in conversation with a number of new providers to come into Guyana, and has been working along with the BPO companies to assure foreign companies of government’s

investment and backing of the sector, in support of the businesses.

The government’s support for the expansion of the BPO sector is parcel to an

overall promise to ultimately create over 50,000 jobs during its five year term from 2020 - 2025.

“We are well on our way to meeting that goal

and we continue to aggressively look at the ICT sector as having the opportunity for young people coming out of secondary school,” Dr. Ramsaroop noted.

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CEO of Go-Invest, Dr. Peter Ramsaroop

Scenes from Sadhgu

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, March 14, 2022

RENOWNED yogi and philosopher from India, Jagadish Vasudev, better known around the world as Sad movement on Saturday. Sadhguru, who is founder of the Isha Foundation, was accompanied on his visit he

uru’s visit to Guyana GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, March 14, 2022

dhguru, was on a one-day visit to Guyana to promote his Save Soil Movement. Guyana formally joined the ere by Soca superstar Machel Montano. Montano is a practising yogi (Office of the President photographs)

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ICC Women’s World Cup

West Indies women taste first defeat against India

HAMILTON, New Zealand –(CMC) West Indies wilted under the pressure of scintillating centuries from Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur and slumped to their first defeat of the ICC Women’s World Cup here Saturday.

Asked to chase a mammoth 318 at Seddon Park after Mandhana smacked 123 and Kaur stroked 109, West Indies collapsed to 162 all out in the 41st over, to go down by 155 runs.

Deandra Dottin defied back pain throughout her innings to top-score with an aggressive 62 off 46 deliveries while opening partner Hayley Matthews hit a stylish 43 from 36 balls.

Together, the pair fired West Indies to 100 without loss in the 13th over but once the stand was broken, the last nine wickets tumbled for just 54 runs with off-spinner Sneh Rana claiming three for 22 and seamer Meghna Singh (2-27).

The defeat came on the heels of dramatic wins in their opening matches against hosts New Zealand and reigning world champions, England, but Captain Stafanie Taylor said her side would not be dented by the result.

“It happens in any game.

You have one of those days

– you have one of those bad days. You brush it off and move on to the next one,” she told media afterwards.

“We have no time to sit down and cry about this game. We have a big game coming up against Australia.

I think what we can take from this some learning and hopefully whatever we could take from this going into that game to help us.”

She added: “I thought the way they batted – they batted really well. As I said, they had a plan and obviously, they would have played on the pitch and known the conditions there about how they would win the game.

“I still think we didn’t execute how we would like.

So I think as bowlers, we

have to put up our hands. But they batted well though, but I find that we probably gave away this.”

Opting to bat first, India were given a healthy start as Mandhana and Yastika Bhatia, who struck 31 off 21 balls with half-dozen fours, put on 49 for the first wicket.

Once Bhatia got a leading edge back to seamer Shakera Selman in the seventh over, India lost three wickets for 29 runs, but Kaur arrived to partner Mandhana and take the momentum away from West Indies.

Left-hander Mandhana faced 119 balls and struck 13 fours and a couple of sixes while Kaur, a right-hander, punched 10 fours and two sixes off 107 deliveries, the

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Player of the match Smriti Mandhana hit 123 as India dominated West Indies on Saturday in Hamilton (AFP Photo)

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (Monday March 14, 2022) CUMMINGS ELECTRICAL COMPANY LTD-83 Garnett Street, Georgetown (Tel: 225-6158) Today’s Quiz (1) What was the result of the first Test of the current WI/ENG series?

(2) Who was voted Man of the Match?

Answers in tomorrow’s issue ……………………………………………………………........................

duo putting on 184 for the fourth wicket.

India was eyeing at a much larger total at that stage but lost their last five wickets for 53 runs as they tried to accelerate even further at the death.

In reply, Dottin slammed 10 fours and a six in notching her 22nd One-Day International half-century in a stellar career, the landmark coming from 35 balls in the 10th over, while Matthews

counted half-dozen fours in a 36-ball cameo.

At the height of the partnership, West Indies were galloping along at eight runs per over, putting pressure on India’s bowlers and increasingly raising hopes of a successful run chase.

The breakthrough came when Dottin top-edged a slog-sweep at Rana and was taken by Meghna Singh running around from short fine

leg, and suddenly the floodgates opened.

Kycia Knight holed out in the deep in the 16th over off Meghna Singh, Taylor nicked behind for one in the bowler’s next over before Matthews finally followed in the 19th over, edging a cut behind off Rana.

Her dismissal proved the end of the resistance as West Indies struggled to mount a partnership of any merit thereafter.

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Second Test in Karachi..

CAPTAIN Pat Cummins resisted declaring late on day two of the second Test with Australia preferring grinding a weary Pakistan into the ground, as they passed 500 in their first innings on a Karachi pitch showing signs of deterioration.

Australia reached the close in a commanding position at 505 for 8 with Mitchell Starc 28 not out and Cummins yet to score.

Starc and Alex Carey batted almost through the entire final session in an attempt to break the back of Pakistan, who have spent two whole days in the field but in-form openers Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq were surely relieved not to have faced a tricky period before stumps.

Cummins is set to face scrutiny for not sending Pakistan in late on the day although Australia gave a clear indication they want to bat just once in this pivotal match in a belief the pitch will deteriorate further. Australia batted their highest number of overs in an innings in Asia since 1956, but inconsistent bounce and sharp turn was evident later in the day.

Carey fell for 93 just before

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, March 14, 2022

Khawaja 160 and Carey 93 grind Pakistan into the ground

stumps and agonisingly short of his maiden century after batting fluently to energise an otherwise dull final session, where everyone was seemingly waiting for Australia’s declaration but it never came.

Australia’s indefatigable

Usman Khawaja hit brilliant 160 off 369 balls innings was dominated by Usman Khawaja’s brilliant 160 off 369 balls as he fell just short of his highest Test score of 174 against New Zealand at the Gabba in 2015. His 11th Test century - and first in the country of his birth - was marked by un-

wavering concentration, but he could only score 33 runs off 103 balls on day two underlining the changing nature of the pitch.

Khawaja’s innings ended midway through the second session when he was bowled by a cracker of a delivery from offspinner Sajid Khan, who produced drift and sharp turn to hit the top of off stump.

After a memorable first innings in the city his family hails from, the 35-year-old departed to a standing ovation from a boisterous crowd having become the first Australian Test centurion in Pakistan since Mark Waugh’s 117 in Peshawar in 1998.

Eyebrows were raised after tea as Carey and Starc resisted the temptation of throwing the bat to ensure the match went through the motions. That’s been a familiar sensation during this historic series.

Australia just kept batting as Carey, who had been somewhat under pressure due to patchy glove work and batting, effectively reverse-swept his way to his second Test half-century of his career.

An increasingly confident Carey powered to his highest score in what should be a

tonic ahead of an important stint behind the stumps. While he capitalised on Australia’s strong platform, middle-order batters Travis Head and Cameron Green missed out after being dismissed during a lively second session where the match appeared to be moving only for that to prove fool’s gold after a laborious final session.

Pakistan toiled amid oppressive conditions in their Karachi fortress. They did attempt a fightback in the second session with spinners Sajid and Nauman Ali conjuring sharp turn on a pitch showing the first signs of encouragement for bowlers seven days into the series, the first between the teams in Pakistan since 1998.

Sajid bounced back with variations in pace and flight after notably struggling on day one where he pursued a defensive line of bowling before and after tea. The 28-year-old did a lot of heavy lifting and finished with 2 for 151 from 54 overs.

Shaheen Shah Afridi couldn’t rouse the same energy he memorably produced during the tame draw in Rawalpindi apart from a lethal spell of reverse swing in the second ses-

SCOREBOARD AUSTRALIA 1st innings David Warner c Mohammad Rizwan b Faheem Ashraf 36 Usman Khawaja b Sajid Khan 160 Marnus Labuschagne Run Out Sajid Khan 0 Steven Smith c Faheem Ashraf b Hasan Ali 72 Nathan Lyon b Faheem Ashraf 38 Travis Head lbw Sajid Khan 23 Cameron Green b Nauman Ali 28 Alex Carey b Babar Azam 93 Mitchell Starc Not Out 28 Pat Cummins Not Out 0 Extras 10b 5lb 7nb 0pen 5w 27 Total (180.0 overs) 505-8 Fall of Wickets : 1-82 Warner, 2-91 Labuschagne, 3-250 Smith, 4-304 Lyon, 5-347 Head, 6-360 Khawaja, 7-405 Green, 8-503 Carey To Bat : Swepson Bowling : Shaheen Afridi 30 - 8 - 85 - 0 (4nb), Hasan Ali 24 - 7 - 67 - 1 (2nb) Faheem Ashraf 21 - 4 - 55 - 2, Sajid Khan 54 - 10 - 151 - 2 (3w), Nauman Ali 45- 6 - 115 - 1 (2w).

Babar Azam 4 0 7 1 1.75

sion that was repeatedly thwarted by Khawaja’s stout bat.

Pakistan’s flagging bowlers were understandably weary by the time they took the third new ball, which only made scoring easier for Carey and Starc who finally started upping the ante.

In what felt like an eternity ago, Australia resumed day two at 251 for 3 and nightwatchman Nathan Lyon stole the show in

the first hour with a breezy 38 to frustrate Pakistan’s bowlers hoping for early inroads. But he fell short of a maiden Test half-century after being comprehensively bowled by Faheem Ashraf in Pakistan’s only success in the morning session.

Lyon’s unexpected cameo provided a rare source of entertainment in another hard grind of a day during this slow-moving series. (Cricinfo)

Bumrah, Pant and Iyer leave Sri Lanka struggling to survive

IT was so one-sided that there was talk of a third-innings declaration in the fifth session of the match. Jasprit Bumrah completed his first five-for at home, Rishabh Pant casually knocked off the fastest Test fifty by an Indian, and Shreyas Iyer scored his second half-century of the match to bury Sri Lanka under a mountainous

deficit.

Five-and-a-half hours of Sri Lanka’s bowling - improved but still lacking the control needed to exploit helpful conditions - were bookended by incisive halfhour spells of Indian bowling, which brought them five wickets.

The first half hour took care of the four remaining Sri Lankan first-innings wickets; the last,

SCOREBOARD INDIA 1st innings: 252 Sri Lanka 1st innings 109 India 2nd innings Mayank Agarwal c Dhananjaya de Silva b Lasith Embuldeniya 22 Rohit Sharma c Angelo Mathews b Dhananjaya de Silva 46 Hanuma Vihari b Praveen Jayawickrama 35 Virat Kohli lbw Praveen Jayawickrama 13 Rishabh Pant c&b Praveen Jayawickrama 50 Shreyas Iyer lbw Lasith Embuldeniya 67 Ravindra Jadeja b Vishwa Fernando 22 Ravichandran Ashwin c Niroshan Dickwella b Praveen Jayawickrama 13 Axar Patel b Lasith Embuldeniya 9 Mohammed Shami Not Out 16 Extras 8b 1lb 1nb 0pen 0w 10 Total (68.5 overs) 303 decl Fall of Wickets : 1-42 Agarwal, 2-98 Sharma, 3-116 Vihari, 4-139 Kohli, 5-184 Pant, 6-247 Jadeja, 7-278 Ashwin, 8-278 Iyer, 9-303 Patel Did Not Bat : Bumrah Bowling : Suranga Lakmal 10 - 2 - 34 - 0, Lasith Embuldeniya 20.5 - 1 - 87 - 3 (1nb) Vishwa Fernando 10 - 2 - 48 - 1, Dhananjaya de Silva 9 - 0 - 47 - 1, Praveen Jayawickrama 19 - 2 78 - 4 SRI LANKA 2nd innings Lahiru Thirimanne lbw Jasprit Bumrah 0 Dimuth Karunaratne Not Out 10 Kusal Mendis Not Out 16 Extras 0b 2lb 0nb 0pen 0w 2 Total (7.0 overs) 28-1 Fall of Wickets : 1-0 Thirimanne To Bat : Mathews, de Silva, Asalanka, Dickwella, Lakmal, Embuldeniya, Fernando, Jayawickrama Bowling : Jasprit Bumrah 3 - 1 - 9 - 1, Mohammed Shami 3 - 0 - 13 - 0.

under lights with a new pink ball, accounted for Lahiru Thirimanne in the second innings.

Sri Lanka must have started the day hoping to keep India out in the middle for some time, but they didn’t even last six overs. It was long enough for Bumrah to complete a five-wicket haul in a fifth different country. He preyed on the short-ball weakness of Lasith Embuldeniya before following Niroshan Dickwella with a short ball that took his glove. At the other end, R Ashwin took out two wickets with carrom balls.

Asked to bat for 35 minutes before stumps, Sri Lanka faced the wrath of Bumrah again. Thirimanne, who fell to his awayswinger in the first innings, got a full, fast inswinger this time, three ball into the innings.

They have lost 31 wickets in 167.5 overs in this series, but Sri Lanka’s batting has been made to look much worse than it is by India’s bowlers; their five-man attack for this Test match has 1051 wickets at a combined average of 24.13. Give them conditions where the ball is seaming and swinging in the evening session, and turning and going up and down in the afternoon, and it’s your worst nightmare.

All you can hope for is for your bowlers to give you half a

chance, but Sri Lanka’s bowlers continued to waste the conditions. They continued to either overpitch or let the batters play risk-free shots off the back foot.

So while there were unplayable deliveries every now and then, Karunaratne couldn’t afford too many catching men.

India’s batters did their bit with a positive approach. Rohit Sharma’s counter to the conditions was the reverse-sweep to go with the sweep. He played three reverse-sweeps in this innings of 46; in the rest of his international career, he has played only seven.

Hanuma Vihari was quick with his footwork in his second score in the 30s: he would press right forward, but drop back the moment the ball was even a touch short. Iyer did the same but with the added gift of boundary-hitting at will.

And then there was Pant, who took India’s attacking approach to its extreme. The fear he strikes in the hearts of bowlers and captains showed in how he walked out to a deep square leg, a deep midwicket and a long-on on this pitch. He didn’t care, though. The second ball he faced, he jumped out of the crease and launched Praveen Jayawickrama over deep midwicket.

It didn’t matter that Jayaw-

ickrama was in the middle of an improved display despite an injured knee. It was he who bowled the shooter to get Virat Kohli out this time. Pant was not going to wait for any such misbehaviour.

Do unto others before they do

Jasprit Bumrah followed up a first-innings five-for with the early second-innings wicket of Lahiru Thirimanne unto you. Dhananjaya de Silva takes the ball away from the lefthander, but Pant still hit him for a four and a six to reach 20 off seven. The sixes took him to No. 8 on the six-hitters’ list for India.

There was nothing frenetic about the Pant innings. A reverse-sweep here, a lap sweep

there; a bowling error now, a charge to a seam bowler then.

The fifty came up with a pristine cover drive all along the floor against the turn just as Jayawickrama pitched too close to him. It was the 28th ball he faced, two fewer than Kapil Dev took in setting the previous India record.

When he tried to celebrate it with a six and ended up skying one, Pant left India with a lead 327 just before the dinner break.

A declaration at that point was not entirely out of question, especially knowing that the night session brought the Indian quicks into play on the first evening too.

However, India decided to bat on. Iyer used the time to once again ease his way to within striking distance of a century, a landmark he missed in the first innings as he ran out of partners.

Once Iyer got out lbw to one that didn’t turn as much as expected, India let Mohammed Shami have some fun with the bat before putting Sri Lanka in again.

Following that Bumrah strike in the first over, Ashwin nearly had Kusal Mendis with the last ball of the day, but the bat-pad just lobbed wide of short leg. Just one final reminder of what awaits the batters on the third afternoon.

(Cricinfo).

23

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, March 14, 2022

Resources needed to ‘counter attack’ on grassroots cricket, says Adams

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, (CMC) – Expressing concern that grassroots cricket in the region is under threat, Cricket West Indies (CWI) Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams says administrators are desperately trying to regain momentum to preserve and nurture current and future talent.

He said there is a particular need to identify and develop female talent in the sport.

Speaking at a press conference where he discussed the launch of the CWI Emerging Players Academy which is aimed at supporting the development of world class players from the Caribbean, Adams said while there is raw talent across CWI territories, “if we don’t protect our grassroots cricket, then we might not be saying that in 10 years’ time”.

“Our grassroots cricket is under attack at the minute. We’re trying desperately to work with governments across the region to ensure that we don’t lose that base

that we’ve had and that we depend on going forward,”

CWI Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams he said.

“When I say ‘under attack’ I don’t mean in a malicious way; I mean forces of nature, the market, economics.”

The former West Indies captain further explained that the loss of Scotiabank as a partner in developing regional

talent, including through the Kiddy Cricket programme, had been a blow.

“For many years we’ve had an association with Scotiabank and we did a massive amount of work at the grassroots level through Scotiabank and Scotiabank recently pulled out, just as the pandemic hit. Maybe the pandemic has bought us just a little bit of time because no one really could go out and play organized sport the last year and a half, but right now we’re really busy trying to get those linkages to give us the resources, not only to get back where we were but the approach pre-pandemic was to keep growing that grassroots level even more.

“We can’t afford to stay still. While we’re desperate for results at this [international] level we’re very conscious that if we don’t keep expanding our base then other issues come into play and we can’t afford to be losing our kids that early,” Adams added.

He was also adamant that while the academy will see both male and female cricketers participating in several high-performance training and development camps, women’s cricket is in particular need of support.

“We need to get hundreds more of our young girls playing cricket and Scotiabank Kiddies Cricket used to be the entry point for that. So we’re just desperate to make sure we don’t lose any momentum there,” he said.

Adams said the CWI Emerging Players Academy will be a world-class facility staffed by world-class practitioners who will work to bring out the best in cricketers aged 19 to 25.

“We felt that up to age 19 we’ve got decent enough support structures for them to carry them through youth cricket. However, for those who leave youth cricket and move immediately to franchise cricket, we think that we’re losing out on some of

our best talent. “[We want to] say ‘listen, if you come here and spend time in a programme at this facility, with our practitioners, there’s every chance that if you do your part…that you’ll make it’,” Adams said.

Adams said the academy will provide a great start towards bridging the critical gap between junior and professional levels.

“It’s a starting point for us. We don’t think it’s going to be the ending point because obviously, we want to grow that concept not just here in Antigua but throughout the region so that each territory will eventually be able to handle that aspect of development,” Adams said.

“Whatever goes into creating an international player, we want to have it here but we also want to make sure that we become almost a template for the rest of the Caribbean, and territory by territory we can say… ‘look at us, this is what it looks like’ and then

help them to create if not a mirror image as close to it as possible. So that eventually those kids that were lost in the past can still have a chance at becoming international players,” the cricket director said.

“We recognize that however many players we choose they’re still going to be more players out there so it’s going to be incumbent on us to make sure that the territories become part of this whole process as well.”

The first intake for the CWI Emerging Players Academy will be in July 2022 and run for a year. Up to 30 players will be selected from both the Men’s and Women’s talent pool for the training and camps at the Coolidge Cricket Ground here, the new Home of West Indies Cricket, according to CWI. Selected players will have to meet the CWI minimum fitness requirements before they are exposed to the training programmes and camps in Antigua.

Australia women crush New Zealand in Wellington

Australia tore through New Zealand in Wellington to maintain their winning start at the Women’s World Cup. The tournament favourites posted 269-8, Ellyse Perry and Tahlia McGrath both making half-centuries, while Ash Gardner crashed an astonishing 48 not out from only 18 balls.

With some devastating pace bowling, Perry, McGrath and Darcie Brown reduced the hosts to 35-5.

New Zealand limped to 128 all out, Australia taking victory by 141 runs.

It leaves Australia top of the eight-team table with six points from three games and already on the verge of a place in the semi-finals.

South Africa, who have played a game fewer, are the only other unbeaten side in the competition.

New Zealand have won two and lost two and now go on to meet South Africa and England, crucial games in their bid to secure a last-four spot.

In the tournament’s first game at the historic Basin Re-

Australia have won all three of their matches so far. (ICC via Getty Images)

serve, the White Ferns had reduced Australia to 56-3 before Perry, who made 68, added 57 with Beth Mooney.

Even at 113-4, the game was in the balance, only for

McGrath’s 57 to come in a stand of 101 with Perry, the latter dismissed by a magnificent running, diving catch at long-on by Maddy Green.

Gardner, who missed the first two games after contracting Covid-19, arrived at the end of the 45th over and plundered four sixes and four fours.

No player has scored more runs at a strike-rate better than Gardner’s 266.66 in a women’s one-day international.

Faced with what would have been the highest successful run-chase in a Women’s World Cup game, New Zealand’s top order was blown away, primarily by the pacey 19-yearold Brown, who claimed 3-22.

Bowling with hostility and control, Brown had Amelia Kerr caught at second slip, induced a miscue from Suzie Bates, then trapped Frankie MacKay leg before.

New Zealand lost their first five wickets in 11.1 overs, and the result was a formality. Australia’s margin of victory was their second-largest in terms of runs against New Zealand in an ODI. (BBC Sport).

Mixed bag of performances by GCC Hockey ladies in Philadelphia

The GBTI GCC Ladies hockey team managed to pull off a victory against the highly regarded North Eastern Premiere in a closely-fought 4-3 battle on the first day of the Big Apple International Indoor Championship, being held in the WC Eagles Training Centre, Philadelphia.

Captain Gabriella Xavier placed GCC in the lead in the fourth minute of the match with a powerful penalty corner flick. Dana Bozeck then equalised two minutes later.

This all but set the tone for an evenly fought match that would see GCC take the lead no less than four times, only to have Premiere level the scores on three of the four.

Just before half time, GCC’s Aliyah Gordon produced a moment of brilliance by receiving a pass deep into her

own team’s half, turning with a burst of speed and evading four Premiere defenders before slipping her pass to the open Samantha Fernandes in the scoring circle. Fernandes banked the second goal for the GBTI Ladies to give them a half-time lead.

Upon resumption, Emma Bozeck then equalised with a field goal seven minutes in, but the teams would trade two more goals when Abosaide Cadogan for GCC and Emma Bozeck again for Premiere, scored penalty corners.

A Sarah Klautky rebound penalty corner goal, however, with four minutes left on the clock, made the difference between the teams and gave GCC their first victory of the competition by 4-3.

GCC had lost their opening match against the Syracuse Sharks (7-1), which dominated possession and ex-

posed the first game jitters of the inexperienced GCC side. Going into their third and final match for the day, however, a more confident GCC, which had split the results of their earlier two matches, were favoured to win over Team Reds.

Despite taking the lead in the fifth minute through Aliyah Gordon, GCC squandered the match 1-2, when they appeared to be the team with greater scoring chances. The loss eliminated GCC from making the semi-finals and instead, placed them in the ranking to challenge for fifth to eighth places of the twelve-team competition.

The outcome of matches has set GCC up to play a second fixture on Sunday against North East Premiere with the winner challenging in a subsequent match for fifth place.

Team GBTI GCC: Back row (from left): Mickelly Rahaman, Kirsten Gomes, Gabriella Xavier (Captain), Kerensa Fernandes, Abosaide Cadogan, Samantha Fernandes and Philip Fernandes (Coach). Front row (from left) Sarah Klautky, Makeda Harding, Alysa Xavier (GK), Madison Fernandes and Aliyah Gordon

Simmons says flat pitch made first Test less competitive

24

NORTH SOUND, Antigua, (CMC) – West Indies head coach, Phil Simmons, says the first Test here against England could have been more competitive with a better pitch and he is hoping for a better wicket at Kensington Oval when the next match of the Apex Series kicks off in Barbados on Wednesday.

A flat pitch at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium proved to be a major factor in the match which ended in a draw on the final of the opening Test on Saturday, as Nkrumah Bonner and Jason Holder worked together to nullify England’s attack.

“It’s disappointing for the fact that the cricket could have been better. Both sides bowled well on the pitch, but I think with a better wicket we would have a better Test match, a more difficult Test match for either of the sides because the two bowling at-

West Indies head coach Phil Simmons tacks are good bowling at- so you need an even surface tacks,” he said. and let us compete.”

“I’m hoping for a little Simmons said there was more in the wicket [in Barba- no nervousness on his part dos]. I think it will make for on the final day’s play, even a better Test match. I used to after West Indies ended on be a batsman but you can’t let 147 for four. batsmen have it easy all the “I was more nervous when time and I think it’s hard for the review went up for Jason’s bowlers on wickets like these, caught at slip,” he said. “The

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, March 14, 2022

wicket has been flat and once you settle in and you put your head down, it’s difficult to get wickets on that; so I wasn’t that nervous.”

The head coach admitted that England, missing the iconic fast bowling duo of Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad, who were both omitted following the disastrous Ashes Series in which the side went down 4-0, had not made it easy for West Indies.

He reiterated a previous warning that in the absence of the experienced bowlers, younger players were hungry to make their mark and could not be underestimated.

“They’ve come here to play a hard-fought series and they’ve shown that they’re not going to lie down and give us the series, so it’s good to see the fight from them and we know that the other two matches are going to be just as hard,” he said.

“It’s good that we ended

up being put under pressure in the end there because they’d given themselves a chance with 70 overs to bowl against us and that’s how you want to finish a Test match -- looking to win.”

Simmons spoke highly of Bonner, the eventual Man-ofthe-Match, who followed up his first innings 123 with an unbeaten 38 in the Caribbean side’s final session.

Recalling the Jamaican’s scores of 86 and 90 in his debut series in February last year, he said Bonner continues to prove himself.

“He’s getting more and more consistent and he’s understanding his game more and more, so that’s brilliant for us,” Simmons said.

West Indies played before a crowd in which England supporters outnumbered the home crowd, leading the head coach to joke: “We were playing in Trent Bridge for the last few days; we were playing

in Lord’s in Barbados in the T20s. We have no support but we’re fighting on.”

However, he said after a period of not having any fans at all in the stands, as COVID-19 protocols prevented spectators, it was great to see the fans and hear the music again. In fact, West Indies played behind closed doors at the same venue last March when Sri Lanka toured the Caribbean in what was the first Test series to be staged in the region since the start of the pandemic.

“It’s great that people are coming back to cricket,” Simmons said. “Things are getting back a little bit normal where cricket is concerned.”

The second Test will run from Wednesday to next Sunday and will be followed up March 24-28 with the third and final Test of the Apex Series at the National Cricket Stadium in Grenada.

First Test draw is a ‘huge step forward’ says Captain Joe Root ENGLAND’s draw against West Indies in the first Test is a ‘huge step forward’ after a ‘difficult year’, says Captain Joe Root.

Root’s side has won only one of their past 15 Test matches and were beaten 4-0 by Australia in this winter’s Ashes.

But they showed prom-

ise across the final two days in Antigua before being thwarted in their push for victory by a stubborn West Indies on Saturday.

“We showed a huge amount of character,” Root told BBC Sport.

England suffered an all-too-familiar collapse on day one as they slumped to 48-4, before Jonny Bair-

stow’s superb 140 helped them post 311.

After West Indies replied with 375, the tourists declared on 349-6 on day five following centuries from Zak Crawley (121) and Root (109), before the hosts reached 147-4 at the close.

England failed to pass 300 once in 10 innings in the Ashes, after which di-

Rain fails to dampen GMRSC circuit race event

Sport tuner action was hotly contested in the wet conditions

rector of cricket, Ashley Giles, head coach, Chris Silverwood, and batting coach, Graham Thorpe, all left their roles.

“I’m really pleased with the way we played, especially given the position we were in after that first hour,” said Root, who now has 24 Test centuries.

“The guys stayed calm and showed great maturity to get us to a total, especially off the back of a difficult Winter and a difficult year where we’ve not scored anywhere near enough runs.”

On a docile pitch, England only stood an outside chance of victory on the final day, but took four wickets for eight runs either side of tea to boost their hopes, before Nkrumah Bonner and Jason Holder dug in with a stand of 80 that lasted 35.5 overs.

The tourists were limited by the absence of fast bowler Mark Wood because of an elbow injury.

“The way the guys stuck at it, especially having one bowler down as well, showed a huge amount of character and it was a huge step forward in many respects,” said Root.

“No one stopped believing or gave up all day. We really did give ourselves the best chance of winning this game.”

Wood, who only bowled five overs on day three before sustaining the injury, is

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England pacer Mark Wood is a major doubt for the second Test in Barbados England left out James now a major doubt for the second Test in Barbados, Anderson and Stuart Broad, which begins on Wednes- their top two leading wicket-takers in Tests, for this day.

England said Wood series, but neither is undertried to bowl in the nets stood to be on the list of before the start of day five reserves.

“Mark will be assessed but struggled with “acute in Barbados and we’ll see pain”.

Ollie Robinson missed how he is when we get the first Test because of a there,” said Root.

“It’s bitterly disapback injury, but returned to training during the match, pointing for him because w h i l e u n c a p p e d d u o , you know how much it Saqib Mahmood and Mat- hurts him. He’ll never let thew Fisher, are the other anyone down and he’s seam-bowling options in a wholehearted player.”

(BBC Sport) the squad.

MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2022