Kaieteur News

Anniversary of BP well blow out…

What would Guyana government do if, God forbid, there was an oil disaster?

With today, April 20, 2023, being th the 13 anniversary of the tragic BP Macondo well blow out, International Lawyer, Melinda Janki has proffered a critical question forcitizenstoponder—what would the Guyana government do if, God forbid,therewasablowout?

Inherlettertothemedia yesterday,Jankirecalledthat the Macondo blowout is what had caused the Deepwater Horizon Rig to explode,leadingtothedeath of 11 persons, and the extermination of millions of animals (including birds, dolphins, whales, fish, crustaceans,seaturtles).

The disaster also destroyed the livelihoods of thousandsofpeople.

She highlighted in her missive also that BP, a technologically savvy oil

company, took 87 days to cap the well. She further notedthattheresponseeffort included the United States Coast Guard, Louisiana National Guard Troops, the US Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanic and A t m o s p h e r i c Administration, other federal agencies, private contractors and volunteers. Nevertheless, Janki said over 3 million barrels of oil polluted over 40,000 square miles of ocean and 1,000 milesofcoastland.

Additionally, Janki said theNationalCommissionon the disaster had concluded that, “The immediate causesoftheMacondowell blowout can be traced to a series of identifiable mistakes made by BP, H a l l i b u r t o n , a n d Transocean that reveal

International Lawyer, Melinda Janki

–Int'lLawyer,MelindaJankiasks

costBPanditspartnersmore than US$70B. But it's not over She said, “Hundreds oflawsuitsareinAmerican courtsfrompeoplewhosay they got cancer as a result of contamination during clean-up.”

such systematic failures in riskmanagementthatthey place in doubt the safety culture of the entire industry.”

Janki reminded that BP had hired Schlumberger to test the cement job done by

Pump stations to be constructed in Regions Three, Four to mitigate flooding

- Farmlands to be empoldered in the Upper, Lower Pomeroon River

Several pump

stations and sluices will be constructed in communities across Regions Three and Four, as the government continues to make heavy investments in the country's floodmitigationsystem.

Meten-Meer-Zorg, Bell Vue, and Pouderoyen along the West Coast Demerara, Region Three are slated to benefit from pumping stations, as well as Jimbo and Grove on the East Bank Demerara,RegionFour

The undertaking is critical since these regions arepronetoflooding,which can result in livelihoods beingaffected.TheMinistry of Agriculture through the

National Drainage and IrrigationAuthority(NDIA), is currently inviting bids from suitable contractors to undertaketheseprojects,the Department of Public Informationreported.

In addition, farmlands will be empoldered in the UpperandLowerPomeroon River, Region Two. This projectisalsoessentialasthe government pushes the agriculture sector nationwide, to meet

CARICOM's goal to lessen the almost $5 billion food importbillby25percentby the year 2025. Interested eligible bidders may inspect the bidding documents and obtain further information from the Procurement

Office, during normal workinghours.Allbidsmust be deposited in the tender box at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board, Ministry of Finance, Main and Urquhart Streets, Georgetown no later than 9:00amonTuesday,May9, 2023.

A whopping $19 7 billion was set aside in budget 2023 for critical drainage and irrigation interventions countrywide. Thegovernmentalsointends tobuildoutthedrainageand irrigation infrastructure utilising funds earned through the expanded Low Carbon Development Strategy(LCDS2030).

Halliburton on the well

According to Schlumberger, BPdecidednottodothetest and sent the Schlumberger team home at 11am. At around9.50pmthatnightthe well blew Janki said it is prudent for readers to know that Halliburton's website boasts of its involvement with ExxonMobil's Payara Project. She highlighted too that Schlumberger is also in Guyana.

Importantly, Janki highlighted that the Macondo well blowout has

Meanwhile, Janki noted that ExxonMobil's subsidiary,EssoExploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), has been operating the Liza Destiny vesselintheStabroekBlock above its safety level of 120,000 barrels a day It has also been operating the Liza Unityaboveitsdesignrateof 220,000 barrels a day. She referenced ExxonMobil Chairman, Darren Woods who has also boasted in his letter to shareholders that production from these two vessels is above 360,000 barrels a day She also reminded of the concerns Guyanese have about production being ramped up with the blessings of the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA).

Given that Esso's

environmental documents for its Liza Phase Two ProjectwheretheLizaUnity operates shows what a blow up could look like with oil spillingacrosstheCaribbean after just 30 days, let alone 87, Janki alluded that it is crucial for Guyanese to stop and ponder about the dangersofoilproduction.

And on this note, she thereforeasked:Whatwould the Guyana government do if, God forbid, there was a blowout?

While the EPA and the Government by extension have said the country has a US$600M insurance coverage for oil spill in place,stakeholdershavesaid this is not merely enough given the cost of the Macondodisasteralone.

Authorities are currently in the process of closing up discussions for a parent guarantee for the Stabroek Block which is expected total some US$2B. They havesaidmoredetailswould bereleasedattheappropriate time.

Publisher: DR. GLENN LALL - TEL: 624-6456

Editor-In-Chief: NIGEL WILLIAMS

Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210

EDITORIAL

REBUILDING STEAM

Afterafive-yearabsencetheSTEAMFairisback. Itis notamomenttoosoon,consideringallofthedevelopments inGuyanathatcouldusethesuccessesofSTEAMstudents to catapult this country to a greater presence in its national businesses.

STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics. All of those components are urgentlyneededinthiscountry’srapidpushtocapitalizeon itswealththatcomesindifferentforms. Takentogether,itis clear that Guyana needs as many students as it can get in those fields. Scientists to understand more about geology and forestry; engineers to be intimately invested in ouroffshore oil operations. An army of technology oriented,techsavvy,citizenscanonlybeanassetforus,and themoreofthemthebetter

AcarefulpruningwiththeArtscanaddwhatbolstersthe numbers, science, and logic, and gives Guyana a young, vibrant,andeducatedpopulationtowatchoveritsinterests, its national ambitions. The more we have students so engaged, the closer and quicker we can come to grips with ournationalvisions,andfulfillingthem.

Scienceandengineering,andtosomeextenttechnology, callforextraprowessinmathematics. Thismeansthatthe fourgotogether,andwithachoiceofstudyandoccupations standingbeforeouryoungandgiftedstudents. Wewantto seemoreandmoreofthemandtheirplans,andtohearthem representwhatthoseplansandprojectsmean. TheSTEAM Fairisworthitsweightingold,andgivesthemthenecessary timely exposures. An idea is something always worth pursuing, and there could be extraordinary ones that need assistancetoliftofffromtheground.

It is our belief at this publication that we desperately need waves upon waves of students focused on one or the other components of STEAM, and being given every encouragement to run with them. Financing would help, plus facilities that bring their visions to fruition, as well as lendingahandwithsellingtheirideasthroughexposandso forth to attract much needed interest. Therefore, the focus shouldbeonmoreSTEAMmindedstudentsbeinggivenan earlykickstart,andconsistentattentioneverystepalongthe wayintheirformativeyears.

Emphasizing and celebrating success in 15 or 20 or 25 subjects at regional examinations have merit. But narrowing the band to the STEAM elements could be of infinitevalueforstudentsandcitizens. Toomanysubjects can be a distraction, and too much time spent with the highfliers could have the unintended consequence of too little attention to the students who are less gifted. Among that almost ran (for top honors) group, there may be a few gems with visions dancing in their heads that could startle, andleadtotherevolutionary

Parents, students, teachers, administrators and State officials should all bear in mind that some of the biggest names and most talked about lions of Silicon Valley never completed college. Their body of work speaks for them decadeslater,andwithaworldcheeringtheoutputoftheir minds. ThatcouldbeGuyana’sworldalso,whereourless than stellar academically come into their own, when the freedom is given to them to tinker and experiment. What goes into the STEAM Fairs possess some of such ingredients,inthattheworkofthelaboratory,andthelittle crudeworkshopsinthehome,areputondisplayforothersto studyandjudge.

The coronavirus pandemic held our students in check, plustheenvironmentwas,attimes,notofthemostoptimum. Nowisthetimetomakeupforlosttime,consideringthatwe are losing in so many other ways. The bulk of the people operating and overseeing our patrimony on land and at sea are foreigners. The sooner this dependency is whittled away,thebetterforus,forthenwewillbewell-positionedto trust fully those of our own placed in strategic positions to learnandgrow

STEAM is about learning and growing with the right things. This is where we must spend money to develop talent, to build bench strength, to put the power of our promiseinGuyanesehands.

The vicious attacks on journalists, NGOs

DEAREDITOR,

Over the past month verbal attacks, denigrating comments, erroneous accusations, name calling and threats against journalists, NGOs, environmental activists and humanrightsdefendershave mushroomed.

Such actions have originated from several sources, including senior members of Government, individualswhoappeartobe paid or unpaid advisers, social media personalities, columnists and anonymous Facebook page operators These attacks including threatshavebeenpublicized in the media so they are widely available for anyone to read, plus the probability that similar attacks could take place places persons identified and others at increasedriskofharm.

A quick count identified at least 10-12 such attacks over the past few months. What is alarming is the increaseofsuchattacks,and the denigrating comments, namecallingandslanderous

statements against a wellknown and respected NGO, Red Thread, a collective of diverse grassroots women whohavestoodinsolidarity with and defended women’s rights for over 30 years. Recently, Red Thread has been mounting monthly pickets outside the President’sOfficecallingfor Rule of Law” and accountability in the oil and gas sector and the unaffordable cost of living formostGuyanese.

The more recent incidents of this type have been a smear campaigns against Davina Bagot, a Kaieteur News reporter and Nazima Raghubir, president of the Guyana Press

Association, These journalistshavebeensingled out just for reporting on mattersofnationalinterestto Guyanese and matters affecting Guyanese right to public participation and information on national and environmentalmatters.

There appears to be a deliberate orchestrated campaign on the part of the

State to silence and isolate those who ask reasonable questions and those who dare to express an opinion contrary to the powers that be. What is alarming about thisspateofattacksisthatit indicates a growing level of intolerance which is a hallmark of undemocratic societies.

Attacks on journalists doing their job of ensuring

accountability and transparency of public and state authorities and institutionsareunacceptable and are strongly condemned as are attacks on environmental justice and human rights defenders and on ordinary Guyanese e x e r c i s i n g t h e i r constitutional right to freedom of expression, associationandinformation.

It is no coincidence that the vast majority of these attacks have been against Guyanesewomen.

And it is of no coincidencethatthemajority of these ‘critics’ and ‘naysayers’ have been men and men in positions of

power and influence in Guyana.

Whatdoesthissayabout the status of women in Guyanese society? let there benoconfusiontheseattacks are a form of gender intimidation and gender discrimination. It is also no secret that many of the Guyanese women under attackhavealonghistoryof struggle against all forms of violence including genderbased violence, racism, racial insecurity and class injustices.

The attack on the KN reporter Davina Bagot is particularly appalling and warrants legal prosecution. The struggle continues against patriarchy, gender inequality and impunity when it comes to women’s rights, equal rights and justice.

Allthisistakingplaceon the eve of the second meetingoftheConferenceof Parties to the ‘Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public ParticipationandJusticein (Continuedonpage6)

Atribute to a Permanent Secretary, a sister

DEAREDITOR,

It is with great pride and joy that I write to congratulate my dear sister, Joylyn Nestor Burrowes, on completing thirty-five (35) yearsofstellarpublicservice tothenation.Shestartedher career in the prime of her youth, as a typist clerk, and moved through the ranks of the public sector where she ended her career at the highest level of public administration, that is, as Permanent Secretary (PS). Joylyn Nestor-Burrowes began her long and distinguished career at the Regional sub-office Timehri in 1988 and in 1993 she sought and was granted transfer to the Ministry of Agriculture.

It was at this Ministry thatSisterJspentmostofher career She worked there for twenty-five(25)consecutive years, where she was appointed Permanent Secretary(ag)in2017before she was transferred to the Ministry of Legal Affairs in 2018 and later confirmed in thatposition. Sheisthemost competent, hard-working, p r o f e s s i o n a l a n d knowledgeable PS. I know Herknowledgeof,andbelief in, the rules and regulations of the public sector are unquestionable. In fact, her thirty-five (35) years of unblemished public service will speak to that fact. She

loved her job and knew it well!

During her career she worked with seven different administrations and approximately ten (10) Ministers of Government. Throughout those many years she might have encountered her own challenges, but she would tellyouthatherfaithinGod, support of family and prayers from a cadre of pastors kept her steadfast. It isnevereasytoworkwithso many people of different personalities.

H o w e v e r , h e r professionalismandpositive attitude helped her to navigate changes without much confidence and poise.

PSNestor-Burrowesisatrue leader! She takes criticisms, good or bad, but is never afraid to push back when things seem out of line. She is principled!/One of her most operative words is respect.

Regardless of the office sheholdssheensuresthather first mission is to respect everyoneregardlessofstatus orageandurgesotherstodo thesame.

SisterJ,asIcallher,isa leader who is deliberate, methodical, and principled. She would be ready to defend her Ministry and acceptblameformistakesof those whom she supervises, regardless of whether or not

sheknewoftheerrors,atthe time. She is not the kind of leader who dodges responsibility or throws her subordinates “under the bus.” Thisisthepostureofa true leader. P.S Burrowes wouldalsobereadytoguide, support and encourage others in the process to elevate themselves, her staff maybeabletotellyoumore aboutthis.

She was genuinely concerned for her staff and was committed to seeing them reach their full human potential.Suchistheposture ofatrueleaderandservantof people.

My sister, you have covered great grounds, you havegivenyourcountryand people all of your still youthful life and all of your working years, yet. You’ve worked earnestly and given your very best. You have met every challenge, even somemostunfortunateones, but yet you persevered and stood tall because of your unblemished character and boldintegrity

The God we serve has keptyou! YourfaithinGod haskeptyouthisfar! Sister J,youareabrilliantexample that should remind all of us that Permanent Secretaries cantrulybeapolitical. Your service speaks to your integrity!

You started very humbly and ended this stint of your

service in like fashion

Despiteallofyoursuccesses you would never announce them as yours, but speak of “the Ministry’s” successes andtheteamyouworkwith. You are truly an inspiration and shining example for young people who are thinkingofpursuingacareer inpublicservice. Youarean inspiration to me! I am proud to call you my sister and the most brilliant and professional Permanent SecretaryIknow /

In closing, I want to thank the Staff, Attorney General and Minister of MinistryofLegalAffairsfor recognizingyourserviceand paying tribute to your excellent work Their decision to host a wonderful celebration event in recognition of your stellar serviceiscommendable.My sister, Sister J, Madam PS, I wish you every ounce of happiness in your next chapter

This one is over, but I know with your wealth of knowledge and skill set you have a whole lot more to offer.I thank you for your servicetoGuyana,acountry you love dearly /The Public Service can do well with more of you. With more of your kind of professional ethicsandstandards!ToGod betheglory!

Regards,

LurleneNestor

Ayoung President on the move, hate on the way out

DEAREDITOR,

TheflightstoGuyanaare practically full, with passengers who are not residents of Guyana. We seemtobebenefitingfroma leader who knows that this country needs to be modernized in many areas. Impressive is the fact that this president is constantly stepping out of his office to meet and greet residents in differentregionsandlistento theirconcerns.Thisoutreach initiative to various regions is a brilliant idea. Any boss who runs a factory will tell you;onceinawhilemeeting the factory workers, to hear what is actually happening on the ground is a sound idea.Thisoutreachinitiative isnotaboutbuyingvotes.

It’s an effective way of getting information and being familiar with what’s happening all over Guyana and resolving problems That’s being smart. Kudos, to the Men on a Mission program as well. If Jimmy Carter (once a president of the US), stood side by side with ordinary citizens of the US and built homes under the program-Habitat for Humanity, why can’t this

president. Shame on those people complaining that there is a Ministry of Labor or Housing to do these things. 80% of people in Guyana are under 40 years old.TheyareNOTinterested inCheddiJaganorBurnham or past history. They are not i n t e r e s t e d i n t h e Elders/Ogunseys/Alexander ’s or Lewis’s of the world; who are still living as if it’s the 1970’s, most of whom are nearly 100 years old. Thosewhoareconsumedby thefactthattheyhateIndians morning and night have shown that they CAN’T adjust to a modern world or know what is important to theyoungpeopleinGuyana. And while they are so consumed with living as if it’s still the 1970’s, foreignersarecomingin,and building businesses in Guyana The time spent hating, should have been used to create businesses, needed to support different aspects of the Oil sector Guyana is now being exposedtotheworld-aworld of technology/innovation andclearaccomplishments. We have a young leader, who realises that

Local Govt.? Since when has the PPPbeen about local Govt.?

DEAREDITOR,

modernization is needed in many areas in Guyana. And by the way, we need to see theblueprintforSilicaCity

Let’s see how modern this New City is going to be andwhatisgoingtobebuilt. Let’s have those Chip cards.

Tothosewhoarenearly100 yearsoldandjusthate,hate, complain or live in the pastWelcome to a new world!!

The young people in this country are more interested in good roads (with pavements), so they can use their electric scooters, good salarysotheycannowmake trips to Britain, places to park when they leave their homes, conducting their financial transactions on their phones, (like other developedcountries)instead of going to the bank and waiting in a long line. The list is endless Many governmentofficesstillneed to modernize and be made more efficient. Yes, thank goodness we have a young leader for a modern world. No, thank you to those who are consumed by hating Indiansinparticular Their time has gone and theworldischanging.

Anonymous

DEAREDITOR,

In the recent budget debatesinParliament,PPPC parliamentarians in their usual style wasted no opportunity to remind APNU+AFC about its bad management and policies. But,thisistheclassiccaseof the ‘pot telling the kettle, its bottomblack’.

It would appear that on the President’s outreaches, school children are being asked or used to welcome him. We used to hear that Burnham and Granger liked thesepageantries.

How different is President Ali? Considering the distance from Georgetown to Berbice or Linden,whydoesheneedto be travelling in helicopter? How much does it cost the nationforoneofthosetrips? These distances are traversed daily by the ordinary citizen, why can’t the President do the same?

The same pageantry is enjoyed by the PPP, no different. The Minister of Education should be concerned that her children are out welcoming the Presidentinsteadofbeingin the school. Parents should haveasaywhethertheywant

their children to be in a classroom or out in the hot sun waiting the President’s arrival This happened recently at Linden, Berbice andmanyotherplaces.

This Covid-19 caused tremendous learning loss and, therefore, children should not be used for politicalpurposes.

The President has enough persons employed by the government who can carry out welcoming duties. There are 10-day workers, regional officials, NDC workers, other government officials, spare our children.

The media should update us onthenumberofreceptions, lunches, dinners and fetes hosted by the PPP since it assumed office in 2020. It’s shameful to see how the oil moneyisusedtosatisfytheir immediate needs, but for citizens, their benefits will beinthefuture.

The PPP must be reminded of its founder’s words,‘wecan’twanttolive aCadillaclifestyleindonkey cart economy’ Save taxpayers’moneyandletour childrenbeinschools.

Yourstruly, K.

Singh

Someone drew to my attention, the PPP’s mouthpiece newspaper, the Chronicle Editorial of Tuesday 18th April, 2023

e n t i t l e d ‘ A c l e a r choice?”Thearticleatbestis a classic example of hypocrisy and inaccuracy The editorial went out of its way to refer to the major municipality, that is the capitalcityofGeorgetown.

The article emphasizes the importance of local government as it said and I quote ‘ this event marks a significant milestone for the democratic process, as citizenswillhaveadirectsay in who will represent them and make decisions on their behalfatthelocallevel.They claimthatpeopleareleaning towards the PPPC to lead Georgetown Some folks have no shame, no understanding of the truth. Briefly,Isetoutbelowfacts for which there is abundant evidence I have mentioned timeandtimeagain.

SincewhendoesthePPP leadership recognize the importance of local government as set out in those high sounding phrases above?One, for twenty-one years,thePPPinofficefailed to hold local government elections?

And it took the David Granger administration to restart the process.Second, everyeffortwasmadebythe PPP administration to s u f f o c a t e t h o s e municipalities, such as Georgetown where they

lost.Third, everyone knows thataMunicipalitytodeliver its service requires money and management. The PPP haswithoutexceptionbutin particular Georgetown denied those councilors access to these two vital ingredients, money and management. They refused every initiative of the GeorgetownMunicipalityto raise funds and disallowed the Mayor and Councilors the opportunity to identify qualified persons to take charge of the several important divisions of the Council.

This includes ignoring the several reports and recommendations to streamline and modernize the municipalities. It is time the PPP hierarchy and their media outlets stop fooling citizens You can fool some of the people some of the time but not all the time and do not expect the statecontrolled media to publicize this letter But if any of the letter writers question the veracity of the contents of this letter, I challenge them to an open debateanywhere,anytime.

This will give me and others an open opportunity togointodetailsandfactsto expose the hypocrisy if not dishonesty of the PPP asseverations that it is wedded to the principle of localgovernment,whichina truly democratic society is the lynchpin of good governance.

No one should be fooled in Georgetown or elsewhere

by this robust rhetoric flowing from a well-funded andwell-staffedinformation machinery An important factor for decent people is, unlike the PNC and independent groups, no Party since the Waddington Constitution triggered in 1953therightforeveryadult to vote has had such an enormous sum of money to s p e n d o n a n L G E Campaign For many with the rising cost of living, this moneywhichthePPPhasin abundance is a temptation. I say to those who are being offeredcashforballots,they must not forget the way an evilempireoperatesandnot beinsultedbytheofferingof a few ‘grangers.’ I say accept it but remember the story and wisdom found in the Holy Bible, where history reminds us of the shortsightedness of Esau selling his birthright (your vote)forameal.

So they shared out a few thousand dollars, while they have millions and billions here and abroad and insult you by thinking that is all you are worth In our circumstances, take the moneybutdon’tfeelthatyou are like a piece of wood for sale.Attheendofthevoting, they must respect us even though we are poor and not amongthewealthy To d a y, c i t i z e n s everywhere must know it is onlythetruththatwillsetus free.

Yourstruly, HamiltonGreen Elder

Our children belong in the classroom, not as props to greet the President

Avote for the PPPC in Local Govt. Elections

DEAREDITOR,

ItwaswithinterestthatI watched the proceedings held on Nomination Day around the country by the various political parties and independent candidates Editor, it is interesting to note the vigor with which ourlocalauthorityareaswill becontestedthisyear

The main political parties will seek to outdo each other In many areas, t h e e m e rg e n c e o f independent candidates will oust many of those that wastefully occupy seats at the NDC and municipality levels. Many of these local councillors have got to go. Theyhavefailedtorepresent theinterestsofthepeopleof theircommunity

Thisistragic,asmanyof theselocalgovernmentareas and their residents suffer becauseofmismanagement.

Local democratic organs which include NDCs and municipalitiesprovidealink between the central g o v e r n m e n t a n d communitiesandassuchitis

important that these democratic organs function intheinterestsofthepeople, ensuring development at the communitylevel.

This development includes implementing and enforcing local laws such as building codes, zoning regulations, and business licensing requirements, maintainingroadsandpublic spaces, and waste management,amongothers. ThePeople’sProgressive P a r t y C i v i c h a s demonstratedingovernment an unmatched ability to governintheinterestsofthe people of Guyana This political movement is phenomenal. It is noted that the PPPC will be contesting all the 600 constituencies in Guyana. This political party hassome2000candidatesas wasreportedandhasalways taken LGE seriously The People’s National Congress Reform which controls Georgetown has failed the citizens of the capital since the 70’s, having always mismanaged the city This

The vicious attacks on journalists...

Frompage4

year the citizens of Georgetown will make changes in the city, voting outthePNCanditsaffiliates.

As a resident of Georgetown,Iwillbevoting for the People’s Progressive Party Civic which has a proven track record of development.

Every municipality and NDC area controlled by the PPPC has been successfully managed in the interests of the people of those areas. This competency is needed all across Guyana to foster good governance and improvedevelopment.

LGEs are, therefore, important,astheywillallow citizens to have a direct say in who will be representing themandmakedecisionson theirbehalfatthelocallevel. As a citizen it gives me a voice in the shaping of policies and priorities of my community and ensures that local government officials areheldresponsibletome,a constituent.

Yourstruly, BrianAzore

Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean’–betterknownas the ‘Escazú’ Agreement –being held in Argentina on 19-21April2023.

The ‘Escazú’ is the world’sfirsttreatytoinclude provisions to protect human rights defenders in environmental matters Guyana has signed and ratified the Escazú Agreement and we are, therefore, an implementing country

TheobjectiveofArticle1 of ‘Escazú’, guarantees full a n d e f f e c t i v e implementationoftherights of access to environmental information, public participation in the environmental decisionmaking process, access to justice in environmental matters, creation and strengthening of capacities and cooperation for the protection of the right of every person of present and futuregenerationstoliveina healthy environment and to sustainabledevelopment.

O n a c c e s s t o information, ‘Escazú’ reminds State parties that this right is not only about access but also accessibility t o e n v i r o n m e n t a l informationasapublicright of citizens but also requires full disclosure of environmental information

in the Government’s possession, control or custody, the right to request such information and the right to be promptly informed and the right to challenge and appeal when such information is not delivered.

Theunderstandingisthis doesnot,however,extendto issues of serious national security

Article 9 outlines the issue of human rights defenders in environmental matters.

This article requires a safe and enabling environment for persons, groups and organizations that promote and defend h u m a n r i g h t s i n environmental matters, free from threat, restriction and insecurity and for State Partiestotake adequateand effective measures to recognize, protect and promote all the rights of human rights defenders in environmental matters, including their right to life, personal integrity, freedom of opinion and expression, peaceful assembly and association, and free movement, as well as their ability to exercise their accessrights.

We call on the High Commissioner for Human Rights, OHCHR, whose duty and mandate are to promote, protect and ensure

the right to freedom of expression including media freedom and the rights of journalists and media workers to take note of all violationsagainstjournalists in Guyana including the recent attacks against journalist Davina Bagot of Kaieteur News and Nazima Raghubir media worker, journalist, and president of t h e G u y a n a P r e s s Association.

We also call on the Government of Guyana and all others to stop the attacks against environmental activists and advocates, NGOs and human rights defendersandtoobservethe constitutional right of all Guyanese citizens to safe and healthy environments (Article 149J), freedom of association (Article 147), freedom of expression (Article146)andthedutyof everycitizentoparticipatein activities designed to improve the environment and protect the health of the nation (Article 25) of Guyana’sconstitution.

Finally, we call on Government, and on all Guyanese, to guarantee the full and effective implementation of the Escazú Agreement –includingeffectivemeasures to recognize, protect and promotethehumanrightsof d e f e n d e r s o f t h e environment and of all citizens to live in a healthy sustainable environment, where right to life, personal integrity,freedomofopinion and expression, peaceful assembly and association, freemovement,andrightsto access of information are recognized, implemented andrealized.

Sincerely,

DanutaRadzik

VidyarathaKissoon

SalimaHinds

SherlinaNageer

VandaRadzik

KarendeSouza

E l i z a b e t h D e a n e Hughes

MichaelAdams

Sharmaine Narine

WintressWhite

JoyMarcus

SusanCollymore

HalimaKhan

JonelPerreira

NormaAdrian

MaeveRamsay

ShirleyAult

MichelleJohn

VanessaRoss

MosaTelford

ChristineSamaroo

JanetteBulkan

MelindaJanki

SimoneMangalJoly

JocelynDow

AlfredBhulai

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BIG BOOM BOX, SMALL SQUEAKY SOUNDS

PresidentAli talking about “business” for families from oil.

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The President dealing in pebbles, but dodging the boulders.

The PPPGovt. says no to ring-fencing, no to taxes (NO! NO! NO!).

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That is where the big business and the real money is Excellency.

Please stop fencing with shadows for scraps.

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Please focus on things with much substance, with big benefits for Guyanese.

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BLUNT...BLUNT...BLUNT...BLUNT

Guyana earns US$219M in royalties, profit oil in first three months for 2023

Bank of Guyana d i s c l o s e d yesterday that the Natural Resource Fund (NRF)forthefirstquarterof 2023sawinflowsamounting to G$45 7B (US$219 45 million)comprisingofprofit oil - G$33.7B (US$161.86 million) and royaltiesG$12B(US$57.59million).

The financial institution saidlowerlevelsofprofitoil and royalties were recorded for this quarter in comparison to G$105 8B (US$507 64 million) and G$13 9B (US$66 95 million) respectively for the previousquarter

These funds were deposited into the Natural ResourceFundaccountheld at the Federal Reserve Bank ofNewYork.

Since its inception, the Fund has accounted for G$408 9B (US$1,961 25 million) from 24 lifts of profit oil and G$57 9B (US$277.66 million) from royalties.

Overthequarter,Bankof Guyana said the Federal Reserveincreaseditsinterest rates target range twice, movingitfrom4.25%-4.5% to 4.5% - 4.75% and then to 4.75% - 5%. As a result of theseincreaseswhichcaused interest rates on overnight depositstorise,andahigher

account balance, the Fund continued to earn a higher levelofinterestincomeonits overnight deposits than previousquarters.

The Fund earned some G$3.3B (US$15.66 million) in interest income over the quartercomparedtoG$2.3B (US$11.30 million) in the previousquarter

During the quarter, transfers to the Government of Guyana's Consolidated Fund account amounted to G$41,700 million (US$200 million).

This amount represents 19 96% of the estimated amount budgeted to be withdrawn in 2023G$208 9B (US$1,002 million).

Additionally, Central BanksaidtheFundrecorded a profit of G$3 3B (US$15 66 million) this quarter in comparison with $2,356 73 million (US$11.30 million) for the precedingquartersolelydue to interest earned on deposits.

Thisresultedinareturn1 of 1.059% for the quarter compared with 0.863% in thepreviousquarter

The Fund earned an annualizedreturnof0.824% sinceitsinception.

During the quarter as well, Central Bank said a

formal Investment Mandate wasestablishedfortheFund following discussions between the Board of Directors and the Bank of Guyana.

Itwasmandatedthatthe funds be maintained in the deposit account held at the Federal Reserve Bank of NewYorkearningovernight deposit interest at the prevailingfederalfundsrate.

It was also agreed that the Bank of Guyana will continue to monitor overnight interest rates and inform the Chairman of any changestoconsideradopting a ladder approach investmentstrategy

The Natural Resource Fund was formed by the enactment of the Natural Resource Fund Act 2019 which was passed in the National Assembly on January3,2019andassented to by the President on January23,2019.

T h i s a c t w a s subsequently replaced with the Natural Resource Fund Act 2021 which was passed intheNationalAssemblyon December 29, 2021 and assented to by the President onDecember30,2021.

The Act gives the Bank ofGuyanatheresponsibility for the operational managementoftheFund.

Civil society group urges women Mps to condemn attacks against female journalists

The Oil and Gas

Governance N e t w o r k (OGGN)hasissuedawritten appeal to the nation's 24 women Parliamentarians, urgingthattheycondemnall attacks against journalists here.

The call by the civil society group comes on the heels of recent attacks against the President of the Guyana Press Association (GPA), Nazima Raghubir and Kaieteur News Senior Journalist, Davina Bagot Both women were the subjectsofdespicablesocial mediaattacksbyaFacebook pagewithknownlinkstothe currentadministration.

In the letter addressed to the officials, the group was keentopointoutthatwomen Members of Parliament (MPs) make up 37 per cent of the policy leaders in the House and represent all political party positions, beliefs and values of the Guyanesesociety “As Parliamentarians, you serve as potential role models for all Guyanese

w o m e n a n d g i r l s Additionally, being women, you are also sensitive to the dangers of unchecked misogyny, made visible in thehighpercapitanumberof wife/femalepartnermurders and mutilations in our country,”thegroupsaid.

Given the position and powerwomenMPshold,the group asked that they offer solidarity and support to their counterparts in media whoarebeingsubjectedtoa torrent of male denigration, abuse and vitriol on social media.

At its best, OGGN said the Fourth Estate holds a mirror up to society It stressed that that journalists ask the probing questions that are at the bedrock of democratic societies Women journalists in Guyana, the group asserted, also excel in their calm, polite yet penetrating interventions in the oftenrough-and-tumble world of politicalengagement.

Furthermore, OGGN said, “Anyone who is uncomfortable under the

Press queries should engage withtheirquestions,notcast aspersions on their bodies. We know that the socially fractured nature of our country is mirrored in the National Assembly But for the sake of our country, we ask you to use the power of your legislative positions to stand with female journalists.”

Asashowofsupport,the groupinitsmissivestrongly urgedwomenMPstodothe following:TagonFaceBook alloffensivepages/poststhat are sexist, racist, and misogynist against Guyanese; issue a strong statement deploring public expressions that target the bodiesofwomenandthatso often lead to violence; and privately work with their respectivepoliticalpartiesto raise the tenor of public discourse The letter in question was signed by the group's members, namely Alfred Bhulai, Andre Brandli, Janette Bulkan, Darshanand Khusial, Joe Persaud, Mike Persaud, and GangaRamdas.

DON’T THROW OUT THE BABY WITH THE BATHWATER

It is being constantly reportedthatGuyana came in fifth in the overallstandingsatthetrack and field events at the recently-concluded CARIFTAGames.However, the table of medals –presumably from which this so-called ranking is derived however establishes otherwise.

Guyana secured 8 medalsatthegames–3gold, 2 silver and 3 bronze. In termsofoverallmedalswon, Guyana came in seventh, behind Jamaica (78), The Bahamas (46), Trinidad and Tobago (25), St. Kitts Nevis (11), Barbados (10), Grenada(10).Intermsofthe medal count, Guyana straddles far behind the R e g i o n ’s a t h l e t i c powerhouses Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados.

But there is no shame in thisbecauseseventhplaceis stillcredibleconsideringthat 21 countries participated in theGames.

WhileGuyanesecanand should rightly sing the praises of its track and field stars and should continue to encourage those who participated in the Games, thereisnoneedtogetcarried away

I t w o u l d b e counterproductive to make these athletes feel that they have arrived as top-class performers Guyana’s overall performance at the Games was far from spectacular.In2013Guyana won6medals;in2014itwon

four medals; in 2017 its athletes won 8 medals; and in 2019, Guyana’s medal haul was 10.. This year’s takethereforeisnotanything togetexcitedabout.

TheCARIFTAGamesis notagoodmeasureofworldclasstalent.

It falls way below the gold standard of track and fieldintheRegion.

Indeed, given Jamaica’s medal haul and historic domination of these Games, there have been suggestions within that country that it should not be placing as much emphasis on participationintheGames.

But one official of the Jamaica Athletics Administration Association indicated that the country willcontinuetosendathletes totheCARIFTAGames.He said it was important for the development of Jamaican athletes and for the development of athletics in theRegionasawhole.

In other words, he was saying that Jamaica benefits andtheregionbenefitsfrom having Jamaica at the Games.

Guyana’s performance was overshadowed by the controversiesposedbysome members of the team’s late arrivalattheGames.

But Guyana was not the only country which suffered from this problem, as was observed during the commentary of the Games. That said, a case has been madetoexaminethereasons for the delay and whether or not there was negligence

Dem Boys Seh...

whichcontributedtothelate arrival of the athletes. It would be unfortunate if at thisstageofthedevelopment of local track and field that the athletic association should be thrown into turmoil.

There is clearly a need for a strong association to continue to improve local athletics, especially in light of the proposed investments in track and field facilities which the government has announced.

It will take some years forthoseinvestmentstobear fruit in terms of the performance of our athletes. Therehasneverbeenadirect correlation between investments in track and field infrastructure and performance.

In Trinidad and Tobago, ittookalongtimebeforethat country began to reap the benefits of the modern facilitieswhichwereerected by that country’s government during the oil boom years. So there has to be other more important factors which accounts for Trinidad’ssuccesses.

Guyana has to aim to do well at the Pan Am Games and the Commonwealth Games. These represent the litmustestforourathletes.

In order to do this, Guyana will need much more than stadiums and training facilities It will needpropercoaches.Ifthere is any investment which the athletic association should be making is to try, with the supportofthelocalbusiness

Servitude is alive and kicking

DehstillgatservitudeinGuyana.Butde difference is that now is de rich who does exploitdepoor Demdoestekadvantageof some of dem poor people and work dem to debone

Veryoftendisexploitationinvolvechild labour Some of dem owners of big fancy houseandbusinessdoesgoandlookfuhde poorestofdepoor Demdoesfindsomeone reallyinneedanddemhefeelthatdemcare fuh he. De younger de better Dem does give de person lil food when de day come butdemdoeswork hetodebone.

De poor chap does gat to sleep underneath dem bottom house and almost everytaskwhichgattodoarounddehouse, depoorchapdoesgattodo.Hegattosweep de yard, clean de fowl pen, wash de cars, washdewares,lookafterdedogs,cleande

dogpen,chopfirewoodplusdoanyheavy liftingarounddeyard.

Ifthereisanythingtobuyindeshop,is depoorfellowgattogoandbuyit.Hegatto goalsotodesupermarketfuhhelpdeowner wife fetch bags. And when he go back to demhome,hegangetaplateoffoodanda glass of water But he can’t eat at de same table with de family He gat to eat in saucepan in de yard. When guest come, he gattodisappear Hecan’tcannotdaretalkto any friends of de household. Dese things still happening today! Is exploitation to de max. Depoorfellowdoesgetmaggafrom dehardwuk.And whendedecideoneday fuh end de exploitation and move out, de owner does meet he afterwards and tell he hoeheungrateful.

Talkhalf.Leffhalf!

community, to recruit world classtrackandfieldcoaches.

Jamaica has had a long traditionofathleticprowess. And this is because it has a good system beginning in theschools.Guyanadoesnot have anything comparable. There are few good coaches in the school system but thereisawoefulshortageof athletic development programmes in Guyana’s schoolsystem.

These are the things which need to be fixed. But they cannot be fixed by government In fact, government should stay

clearoftryingtointervenein the work of sporting associations.

As we have seen in

cricket, government interference is a recipe for underdevelopment.

It is for this reason that the Guyana Athletics Association should emerge stronger from this controversy over the participationoflocalathletes intheCARIFTAGames.

If we are truly honest about Guyana’s successes at regional athletic meets, we would recognize that the creditformuchofthishasto

go to the incumbent athletic association, including its nowsuspendedPresident.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of this n e w s p a p e r a n d i t s affiliates.)

23 Women call on Govt., other actors to cease attacks against activists, journalists

A group of 23 women and two men have issued a lettertothepress,callingon

government and other aligned actors to cease their vileattacksagainstactivists,

j o u r n a l i s t s , n o ngovernmental organizations (NGOs) and human rights

- Urge UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to take note of abuse, violations

defenders who are doing their part to represent the interests of vulnerable groups.

TheconcernedGuyanese were keen to note that over the past month, they have observedthatverbalattacks, denigrating comments, erroneousaccusations,name calling and threats against journalists, NGOs, environmental activists and humanrightsdefendershave mushroomed.

They posited that such actionshaveoriginatedfrom several sources, including senior members of government, individuals who appear to be paid or unpaid advisers, social media personalities, columnists, and anonymous Facebookpageoperators.

They said a quick count identifiedatleast10-12such attacks over the past few months.Butwhattheyfound tobealarmingistheincrease of such attacks, and the denigrating comments, namecallingandslanderous statements against a wellknown and respected NGO, Red Thread, a collective of diverse grassroots women whohavestoodinsolidarity with and defended women’s rights for over 30 years. Recently, Red Thread has been mounting monthly pickets outside the President’sOfficecallingfor adherencetotheruleoflaw, accountability in the oil and gas sector, and for the high cost of living to be addressed.

The more recent incidents of this type, they said, have been a smear campaigns against Davina Bagot a Senior Kaieteur NewsJournalistandNazima Raghubir, President of the Guyana Press Association. The group said these journalistshavebeensingled out just for reporting on mattersofnationalinterestto Guyanese and matters affecting Guyanese right to public participation and information on national and environmentalmatters.

Furthermore,thecitizens said there appears to be a deliberate orchestrated campaign on the part of the

State to silence and isolate those who ask reasonable questions and those who dare to express an opinion contrary to the powers that be.

They added, “What is alarming about this spate of attacks is that it indicates a growing level of intolerance which is a hallmark of undemocratic societies. Attacks on journalists doing their job of ensuring accountability and transparency of public and state authorities and institutionsareunacceptable and are strongly condemned as are attacks on environmental justice and human rights defenders and on ordinary Guyanese e x e r c i s i n g t h e i r constitutional right to freedom of expression, a s s o c i a t i o n a n d information.”

Significantly, the group saidallthisistakingplaceon the eve of the second meetingoftheConferenceof Parties to the “Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean” – better known as the Escazú Agreement. This is being held in Argentina from April 19 to 21, 2023. The Escazú is the world’sfirsttreatytoinclude provisions to protect human rights defenders in environmental matters Guyana has signed and

ratified the Escazú Agreement and is therefore, an implementing country On this premise, they called for the government to guarantee the full and effective implementation of the Escazú Agreement –includingeffectivemeasures to recognize, protect and promotethehumanrightsof d e f e n d e r s o f t h e environment and of all citizens to live in a healthy sustainable environment, where right to life, personal integrity,freedomofopinion and expression, peaceful assembly and association, freemovement,andrightsto access of information are recognized, implemented andrealized.

The advocates for t r a n s p a r e n c y a n d accountabilityalsocalledon Volker Türk, the United NationsHighCommissioner for Human Rights, whose duty and mandate are to promote, protect and ensure the right to freedom of expression including media freedom and the rights of journalists and media workers to take note of all violationsagainstjournalists in Guyana including the recent attacks against Bagot andRagubir.

They also called on government and all other actors to cease their attacks against environmental activists and advocates, NGOs and human rights defendersandtoobservethe constitutional right of all Guyanese citizens to safe andhealthyenvironments.

The persons who made the aforementioned appeals arelistedbelow

1. DanutaRadzik

2. V i d y a r a t h a Kissoon

3. SalimaHinds

4. SherlinaNageer

5. VandaRadzik

6. KarendeSouza

7. Elizabeth Deane Hughes

8. MichaelAdams

9. SharmaineNarine

10. WintressWhite

11. JoyMarcus

12. SusanCollymore

13. HalimaKhan

14. JonelPerreira

15. NormaAdrian

16. MaeveRamsay

17. ShirleyAult

18. MichelleJohn

19. VanessaRoss

20. MosaTelford

21. ChristineSamaroo

22. JanetteBulkan

23. MelindaJanki

24. Simone Mangal

Joly

25. JocelynDow

26. AlfredBhulai

Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

Teixeira rails against global corruption index

...says Caribbean countries should write their own stories, strengthen their democratic institutions

MinisterofParliamentary AffairsandGovernance,Gail Teixeira has stressed that anti-corruption measures should see the strengthening of democratic institutions even as she knocked Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perceptions Index(CPI)asfaulty.

The minister was at the time speaking during a session at the 9th Annual Conference of the Commonwealth Caribbean Association of Integrity Commissions and AntiCorruption Bodies (CCAICACB) being hosted at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Liliendaal.

Minister Teixeira highlightedwhatsheclaimed as inaccuracies of the global index used to measure corruption in Caribbean countries, the Transparency International(TI)Corruption PerceptionsIndex(CPI).She pointedoutthatmanyarticles in international media paint Caribbean countries as corrupt.

Rather, the minister identified empirical data as the only credible source recognised by Guyana and expressed the importance of Caribbean countries conductingmoreoftheirown research, and writing their ownstories.Sheexpandedon this point, noting that these indices give numerous amounts of power to a small number of persons in evaluatinganentirecountry

“How is it that the CPI oftheTIpointsoutthatthe southern part of the world is more corrupt than the others? Isn't that rather coincidental?Forme,thisis a reflection of prejudices and biases against persons inthedevelopingworld.“In the Caribbean, we have to find a way to deal with the smallness and the uniqueness of some of our

countries. We also need to strengthenourinstitutions, if we want to make a good forward movement to reduce corruption,” she added A key aspect of strengthening democratic institutions, Minister Teixeira said, is engaging directly with the people, ensuring that they are knowledgeable of the anticorruption measures being taken, while also garnering their views on challenges faced.

T h e 9 t h A n n u a l

Conference of the Commonwealth Caribbean Association of Integrity Commissions and Anti-

Corruption Bodies (CCAICACB), is being hosted at the Arthur Chung

Conference Centre, Liliendaal

Theparliamentaryaffairs ministernotedthatfollowing the identification of major sources of corruption,

relevantlegislativemeasures should be put in place to strengthen the country's response. The forum, titled

'Factors that impact AntiCorruption efforts in the Region' , saw intense discussions on the role played by a country's policies, laws, people, and institutionsinadvancingthis charge. Further, the forum identified key measures on the anti-corruption agenda, such as deepening c o n n e c t i o n s w i t h communities and civil society and increasing the numberofresearchactivities or projects on understanding various anti-corruption initiatives in each country The annual conference will continue for the rest of the week.

According to the results of the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), Guyana continues to rub shoulders with some of the

most corrupt nations in the world. The index shows that Guyanagainedascoreof40, one mark more than its standingin2021.

Nations which score in the range of 0 to 49 are perceived as more corrupt than those with a mark of 50 to99.India,Maldives,North Macedonia, Suriname and Tunisia received the same marks as Guyana. Others in the 49 to 42 range include: China, Malaysia, Cuba, Jamaica, Ghana, Senegal, South Africa, Kuwait and TrinidadandTobago.

Out of 180 countries reviewed, Syria, South Sudan, Venezuela, EquatorialGuinea,Chadand Haiti are in the bottom pile with scores ranging from 12 to 20. Countries with strong institutions and wellfunctioning democracies often find themselves at the top of the Index. Denmark heads the ranking, with a

scoreof90.FinlandandNew Zealandfollowcloselywitha score of 87 Norway, Singapore, Sweden, S w i t z e r l a n d , t h e Netherlands, Germany, Ireland and Luxembourg completethetop10thisyear

Inthepastfiveyears,only eight countries have significantly improved their scores,and10countrieshave dropped significantly, including high ranking countries such as Austria, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom.

The rest (90 per cent of countries) have had stagnant corruptionlevels.

The CPI was created and used by Transparency International, a nongovernmental organization established in 1993 with the aim of bringing together

business, civil society, and government structures to combat corruption The indexwas firstused in1995, and it covers a growing number of countries in annualsurveys.

The CPI is based on surveys of domestic and international business executives, financial journalists,andriskanalysts. Therefore, it reflects the perceptions of experts and business elites, not of the general public. It represents average scores from several polls and surveys for each respective country from the two years prior to its release and the year of release (e.g., CPI 2004 was based on sourcesfrom2002,2003,and 2004).Theminimumnumber of surveys used for each country is three, while some countries are evaluated with theuseofasmanyas14to15 surveys.

Furthermore, the CPI focuses on the public sector and evaluates the degree of corruption among public officials and politicians Corruption is defined by the organization as an abuse of public position for private gain, which in practice usually means bribe taking. Because in corrupt countries thequalityandindependence ofthejudiciaryandmediaare usuallylow,officialstatistics on corruption exposure and prosecution underestimate the level of corruption in more-corrupt countries. The CPI, being based on evaluations, is also considered a valuable alternative source of informationaboutthedegree of illegal practices among civil servants and politicians inagivencountry

2022 Corruption Perceptions Index with scores for some of the 180 nations reviewed

Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Gail Teixeira

Paid gunmen confess to killing cop and burying body in shallow grave at highway

ByShervinBelgrave

Detectives on Wednesday found the skeletal remains suspected to be that of missing policeman, Constable Quincy Lewis after two paid gunmen reportedlyconfessedtokillinghim and burying his body in a shallow grave along the Soesdyke/Linden Highway Lewis mysteriously disappearedalmostthreeyearsago, onJune19,2020.

Since then Criminal Investigation Department (CID) ranks from the Cold Case and Major Crimes Unit (MCU) have been gathering evidence as they investigatedhisdisappearance.

Theirhardworkpaidoffaround 17:00hrs on Wednesday after they foundskeletalremainsburiedatthe MadewiniSandPitarea.Policewill now send the remains overseas for DNA testing to confirm that they belongtotheLewis.

Accordingtoastatementbythe Guyana Police Force (GPF), the two suspects in custody decided to cooperate with the detectives after they were shown evidence linking them to the disappearance of Lewis.Theyweretheoneswholed policetosearchforLewis'sbodyat Madewini, Linden Soesdyke Highway

Kaieteur News learnt that they were allegedly paid by a couple-a manandhiswife-tomurderLewis and then bury his body The cop was allegedly involved in a romanticrelationshipwiththewife and was reportedly lured to the couple's East bank Demerara (EBD) home on the day he disappeared.

Lewis was allegedly shot in their presence at the location and his body then transported to the Madewini Sandpit area where it was buried. The couple, Kaieteur News understands, has since fled thejurisdiction.

The GPF however, have since committed to using all legal avenues to extradite the couple backtoGuyana.

“TheGuyana PoliceForcewill alsousealllegalavenuesavailable to ensure that the other two (2) suspects are extradited to Guyana to answer to the allegations in relation to the death of the deceased,” GPF stated on Wednesday

As police do their best to track down the couple, Kaieteur News has learnt that Lewis relatives had warned him about returning into a relationship with a woman he had gottenintotroubleforbefore.

KaieteurNewsunderstandsthat she resided in Cummings Lodge, EastCoastDemerarabuthadtiesto apropertyinGreenfieldPark,East Bank Demerara (EBD), an area where Lewis was last seen driving intowithhiscarbeforevanishing.

According to information, a 'problem'hadarisenbetweenLewis

and the woman's family over her Lewisdidnotdivulgethenatureof theproblemtohisrelativebutthey suspect that her parents did not approveoftheirrelationship.

Thewomanhadleftthecountry after then but returned close to the time Lewis disappeared. The cop hadreportedlynotifiedhisrelatives thathewasspeakingwithheragain and they warned him to be careful and “not get tie up with the girl again”.

Lewis

, however, was not too keen on taking their advice and had told them that the woman has always beengoodtohimandhelpedhima lot.

Relativesdonotknowifhehad hooked up with her again but recalled that he disappeared a few monthslater

Lewiswaslastseenalivebyhis mother, Charlene Jordon, around 17:15hrsafterleavingtheirhomeat

La Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara(WBD).

He left in a silver-grey Toyota PremioMotorcarthatheborrowed fromafriendforworkdutiesatthe Agricola Police Station Lewis nevermadeitthere.

Security cameras had captured him crossing over the Demerara Harbour Bridge and heading into GreenfieldPark.

Neither Lewis nor the car was everseenagainsincethen.

Detectives recovering the skeletal remains believed to be that of the missing cop, Quincy Lewis

Missing Constable: Quincy Lewis

...skeletalremainsdugupaftersuspectsleaddetectivestoscene

Govt. warns bar owners, operators of charges for violating

Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Act

The Attorney General's ( AG) Chambers has issued a warning to bar owners,operatorsandthepublicof the provisions of the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing (Amendment) Act2022.

Thewarningcomesevenasthe Government of Guyana continues to be concerned with the senseless deaths on our roadways which, many times, are attributable to drunkdriving.

In the statement, the AG Chambers noted that the Government being mindful of this reality, and in an effort to combat the devastating effects which are caused by drunken driving, amendments to several pieces of legislation, including the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic Act and the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Act were enacted and came into operationin2022.

Under the Act, licence holders aremandatedtoimposeobligations on drivers at their establishments and are required to play a more active role in the prevention of drinkinganddriving.Theprincipal objectives of the Amendment Act areto,amongotherthings,createa mechanism for licence holders to

be more accountable by imposing obligations that require them to play a more active role in the preventionofdrinkinganddriving.

Unfortunately, the statement added that based upon reports and complaintsreceived,itappearsthat license holders, particularly bar owners, have not been in compliance with their obligations imposed under the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing (Amendment) Act.

As such, an appeal is made to suchbarownerstoplaytheirpartin the promotion of the public good and the preservation of a safe society,freefromdrunkendriving. Bar owners who are not in compliance with their obligations under theAmendmentAct, will be chargedandprosecuted.

Afewimportantsectionsofthe Amendment Act are summarized hereunder: 1 Section 4: inserts a newsection'54A'intothePrincipal Act. This new section imposes a duty upon license owners or their servants to verify the age of a person before employing such person, selling any intoxicating liquor to them, or allowing them into any bar on the licensed premises Section 5: amends

Section54ofthePrincipalAct.

It expands license holders existing obligations not to permit drunkenness on the licensed premises and creates new obligations which require the license holder to discourage drinkinganddriving.

Some of the obligations imposed on the license holder include: Not permitting drunkenness or any violent, quarrelsome, or riotous conduct to take place on his premises; Not to sell, give or barter intoxicating liquor to a drunken person; Not to allow another person [for example anemployeeorservant]tosell,give or barter intoxicating liquor to a drunkenperson;Nottosell,giveor barter intoxicating liquor to a person he knows is likely to leave thepremisesbydrivingunlessthat person has identified another person to be the designated driver of the motor vehicle; Not to sell, giveorbarterintoxicatingliquorto any person identified as a designated driver; To inform the nearest police station and request theirimmediateassistanceincases where he knows that a drunken personisattemptingtodriveorisin charge of a motor vehicle on the

road or other public place; Post signs that discourage drinking and driving at conspicuous places on the licensed premises; Ensure that announcementsaremadeatregular intervals on the premises that personsshouldnotdrinkanddrive.

Additionally, Section 54 has also been amended to increase the finesforbreachoftheseobligations bythelicenseholdertoG$100,000 for the first offence, and to G$200,000 for a second offence.

Section6:amendssection56ofthe Principal Act. This amendment

now makes it mandatory that a license holder refuse to admit any person who is drunk, violent, quarrelsome or disorderly into his licensedpremises.

This section has also been amendedtoincreasethefinestobe paidforbreachofthisprovisionto G$100,000.

Below, are templates of signs, which are being provided for the purposes of guidance, only These templates may be placed in conspicuous places at the licensed premises.

‘Get more women, youths involved’

...Pres. Ali tells Private Sector Commission to include women, youths in business leadership

The government w i l l w o r k assiduously with members of the private sector to ensure that women and youth play an integral role in developing Guyana's business and investment climate.

PresidentDr Mohamed Irfaan Ali made the commitment while delivering the feature address at the 31st annual general meeting of the Private Sector Commission (PSC)onTuesdayafternoon.

Dr Ali told the private sectorthatmuchmoreneeds tobedoneinordertoinvolve women and youth in business and business leadership As such, the government will lead in the partnership to implement policies and programmes that will open up opportunitiesforwomenand youth to establish and operate their own businesses. “You cannot be single-barrel. The opportunities are enormous. Wehavetoensurethatyoung people are engaged in investment opportunities,”

DrAlitoldtheprivatesector representatives.

He outlined a number of

government initiatives aimed at increasing the participation of these two groups in the country's rapidlyexpandingeconomy, including the corn-and-soya integrated farm project in R e g i o n N i n e , t h e construction of the national hospitality training centre in Port Mourant, and call centres being established acrossthecountry

The head of state noted that these initiatives are all part of a wider initiative aimed especially at giving young people and mothers thechancetoearndisposable income and bring families

closer to prosperity The government has embarked on discussions with oil and gas partners to explore possibilities through which more Guyanese can become involved in the sector.

“We're exploring different possibilities.Inmyview,we are coming closer to finding opportunities that can bring in a greater number of Guyanese shareholders being a part of, and feeling ownership of the sector,” he

said.

President Ali also committed to continuing to partner with the private sector in order to address challenges facing its membership,andthecountry atlarge.Theseincludeissues of trade, currency and labour. He stated that sourcing skilled labour remains an issue that will require government and private sector partnership, but assured that government

will make the necessary interventions to sustain continued economic growth inthecountry Sinceentering office in 2020, the government has embarked on a slew of programmes aimed at upskilling and boostingthehumanresource capacity in Guyana. These programmescoveranumber of sectors, including engineering, education, healthcare, hospitality and others.(DPI)

A mangled motor car that was involved in an accident at Stewartville West Coast Demerara

President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali

A section of the gathering at the 31st annual general meeting of the Private Sector Commission

$90M more to fix up Cliff Anderson Sport Hall Spor

Withapproximately$218 million already expended on the rehabilitation of the Cliff Anderson Sport Hall, the Ministry of Culture, Youth andSportislookingtospend an estimated $90.5 million more to continue another set ofworksonthebuilding.

In an invitation for bids published in Wednesday's editionoftheKaieteurNews, the Ministry is seeking contractor(s) to execute plumbing installation works, sealing of vents and vented wallsworks,andtocomplete the works at the northern facesofthebuilding.

The ministry's engineer estimated that the plumbing works at the sporting facility would cost $9 million, the ceiling works is estimated at $14.9 million while the completion of northern faces isestimatedat$66.6million. Bidding for the projects whichwouldbedonethrough the National Competitive Bidding (NCB) procedures, specified in the Procurement Act 2003 and Regulations, 2004, is expected to open on May 9, 2023 at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB)office.

As previously reported, the ministry commenced a rehabilitation project last year to have the sporting facility enhanced and modernised. Kaieteur News had reported that in November last year, contractor,ECSConstruction had won a $97M contract to

havethefrontofthebuilding r

contractor was awarded another contract worth $89 million to install the HVAC systems.

This means that ECS Construction has been awardedatotalof$186Mfor thetwoprojects.

DuringavisittotheSport Hall back in November, Minister ofYouth, Sport and CultureCharlesRamsonhad told this publication that the $97M covers only the first phase of the rehabilitation project.

The minister explained then that the work at the Sports Hall will be done in phases that will run concurrently.

Speaking of the first phase, the Minister had said, “thisoneisfortheredesignof the front section; the entire front section is going to be pulled down and be modernized.”

This specific phase is expected to be completed in eight months The other phases will see the entire facility air conditioned, and the installation of bucket seats.TheMinisterdisclosed thattheSportsHall'sflooring will be enhanced as well, whilethebottomsidesofthe building are to extended “to give us a little bit more room.”

Ramson said that the Sports Hall is old and rehabilitation is aimed at modernizing the facility

“You know we are in a moderncountry

We need to have a modern facility especially a modern indoor facility, it would be the only air conditioned facility that is indoor in the country and that's important not only for the sports that we play there currently, let's say we wanna hostinternationalboxingthis would be a good facility for that,”heexplained.

Following the tender to rehabilitate the facility, the Ministry had also invited bidsfortherepairofthemain roof which is estimated to cost $12 5M, electrical installationworkswhichwas estimatedtocost$37.9Mand the heating, ventilation and, air conditioning (HVAC) installation works, which was estimated to cost $74.2M.

Back in December, NPTABhadawardedanother contractworth$31millionto A. Orgasein and Sons to execute the electrical works

Linden Hospital receives over $10M in medical supplies from Chinese Govt.

In excess of $10 million in medical equipment and supplies were on Monday handed over by the 18th ChineseMedicalBrigade.

Minister of Public Works,BishopJuanEdghill received the equipment on behalfoftheGovernmentof Guyana at a simple ceremony at the Linden Hospital Complex The minister said the donation speaks to the prosperous relationship between Guyana and the People's Republic of China, as the partnership has seen a number of advancements in Guyana'seconomy

“Since 2020 when we got back into Office, President Ali has highlightedthatweintendto make healthcare in Guyana world-class Procedures,

surgeries, and interventions that people would have normallyhadtotraveltothe North,Europe,andasfaras India for, we are making it availableinGuyana.”

He said the government has also been paying keen attention to the state of the medical facilities in Region 10. “We've been very keen to ensure that our basic list ofsuppliesisavailableatall health centres and at our mainhospital.

We have increased capacity at Linden and at Kwakwani. We are bearing the fruit of good policies, goodpartnerships,andgood spending,” the minister pointedout.

In the 2023 budget, the health sector saw a mammoth allocation of $84.9billiontoadvancethe

atthefacility. Thisyear,the government has allocated a total of $4.3 billion for the

overall development of sportsinthecountry

This allocation, will also

government's agenda of transforming the health sector into one with world classcapabilities.Daysago, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was inked between the GPHC and the Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital of China to furtherimprovethedelivery of tertiary healthcare services in Guyana, while medical equipment was handed over to improve operations at the primary healthcarefacility

Another agreement was also signed between the Embassy of the People's Republic of China and the Minister of Health for local medical specialists to undergo training which will be conducted by the 18th Chinese medical brigade. (DPI)

be used to fund the rehabilitation of the Cliff AndersonSportsHall.

The Cliff Anderson Sport Hall where rehabilitative works is ongoing.

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RamsayAlinewPresidentofGMSA

ChiefexecutiveOfficerof Sterling Products Limited, RamsayAliwaselectedPresidentoftheGuyanaManufacturing and ServicesAssociation (GMSA) when that group held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Wednesday The AGM was held in two parts, as is customary.

On March 31, 2023, thirteen board directors were electedthroughanelectronic voting process which saw a blended attendance of members both in person and virtually.OnApril19,2023,the President, three Vice-Presidents and Treasurer were elected.Theremainingmembers were elected to form the Board of Directors inclusive of Chairpersons of the variousSub-Sectors,GMSAsaid in a press release.

theGuyanaResponsibleParenthood Association where he also serves as Chairman andGeorgetownCricketClub and the Scouts Association of Guyana where he is the VicePresident. Foryears,Mr AlihasmadeinvaluablecontributionstotheGMSAwhere he aggressively pushes for success and development in the manufacturing sector

Heisthebrainchildofthe GMSA’s UncappeD Marketplace and continues to support small and micro enterprises in their development, marketingandotherpertinent areas.

The 2023/2024 Board

Members are as follows: -

1.SterlingProductsLimited – RamsayAli, President ofGMSA

Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Products Limited, Ramsay Ali has been elected President of the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association

Cook needed. Call: 2235273/ 223-5274.

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Ali, according to the GMSA was elected unopposed as President of the association. He will be supported by Rafeek Khan, Immediate Past President of GMSAandManagingDirector of Durable Wood Products Inc. as First Vice President, Vasudeo Singh, Group Finance Director & Deputy Chief Executive Officer of DemeraraDistillersLimitedas Second Vice President and Treasurer and Orson Ferguson, Chief Operations Officer – Business Solutions of GTT as Third Vice President.Ali’sprofessionalcareer began in 1988 with a background in sales and marketing. Over the years he has worked with entities such as ColgatePalmolive,BanksDIH Ltd., and then Sterling ProductsLimited.Mr Alihasgiven of his time in helping nonprofit organizations such as

2. Durable Wood ProductsInc.–RafeekKhan,First Vice-President&Chairmanof Extractive Industries SubSector

3.DemeraraDistillersLimited–VasudeoSingh,Second Vice-President&Treasurer

4.GTT–OrsonFerguson, ThirdVice-President

5.GuyanaSugarCorporation (GUYSUCO) –Sasenarine Singh, Chairman ofAgriculture Sub-Sector

6. Khayr Organics –Earlecia Hieronymo, ChairmanofAgro-ProcessingSubSector

7. Brass Aluminium & CastIronFoundry(B.A.C.I.F)

–PeterPompey,Chairmanof Construction & Engineering Sub-Sector

8.NewGPCInc.-Keshwar

Singh,ChairmanofChemicals & Pharmaceuticals Sub-Sector

9. Kanoo(Guyana)Inc.–Chet Bowling, Chairman of Information,Communication

and Technology (ICT) SubSector

10. EnvironmentalManagement Consultants - Representative,ChairmanofServices Sub-Sector

11. DENMOR Garment ManufacturersInc.–Upasna Mudlier,ChairmanofTextiles &SewnGoodsSub-Sector

12. BanksDIHLimited–DavidCarto,BoardMember

13. ActionINVESTCaribbean Inc. – Dr Vishnu Doerga,BoardMember

14. Barama Company Limited – Mohindra “Neil” Chand,BoardMember

15. NationalMillingCompanyofGuyana(NAMILCO) – Vishal Lalbachan, Board Member

16. BulkanTimberWorks Inc.–RoseannBulkan,Board Member

17. UMAMIInc.–Chris Persaud,BoardMember

18. EdwardB.Beharry& CompanyLimited–Raymond Ramsaroop,BoardMember

Friendship,EastBankDemeraraMagistrate Courttocost$418M - Engineer’s Estimate

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Pure honey, wholesale and retail quantity. Call: 6214273.

With a Magistrate Court located at Diamond on the EastBankofDemerara(EBD), theSupremeCourtofJudicature is looking to construct another one at Friendship to the tune of $418,259,540 accordingtoitsengineer’s estimate. This was revealed during Tuesday opening of tenders where it was disclosed that nine contracting firms haveappliedforthecontract. These firms submitted bids rangingfrom$255millionto $827millionfortheproject.

A magistrate court and living quarters are slated to be constructed at the location.

struction of the Friendship Court among others.

Kaieteur News had reported that the AG announced that new court houses are being constructed at Mabaruma, Region One, Vigilance,CoveandJohnand Mahaicony on the East Coast Demerara (ECD), La Parfaite Harmonie on the West Bank of Demerara (WBD) and also at Timerhi and Friendship on the East BankofDemerara(EBD).

Nandlall said at the time that government has its eyes onbuildingamoderncomplex

to be the headquarters of the judiciary

The headquarters, he detailed, will house all of the High Courts, the Court of Appeal and the Land Court. He pointed out that such investments are being made because access to justice is important as access to any importantservice.

Below are the companies and their bids: Supreme Court Judicature

Phase 1: Construction of Friendship Magistrate’s Court and Living quarters.

VEHICLES FOR SALE

OneCRVHonda,$3.3M negotiable and 1 Toyota Allion, $3.350 M, fully loaded immaculate condition,lowmileage.Contact: 649-0956.

Kaieteur News understands that this year, the Judiciary sector was allocated some$4billionforthefurther development of the judiciary system.

At a re-commissioning ceremony for the Mibikuri Magistrate’s Court last year October, Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs,AnilNandlall,SC,had announced plans for the con-

Collective approach needed to maintain aviation standards in CARICOM th - Edghill tells 26 CASSOS meeting

Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill on Tuesday declared open the th26 Board of Directors Meeting of the Caribbean AviationSafetyandSecurity O v e r s i g h t S y s t e m (CASSOS) at the Pegasus HotelinGeorgetown.

A c c o r d i n g t o a Department of Public Information (DPI) press release, this was the first inperson meeting for the regional aviation oversight body since COVID-19 restrictions were lifted by countries around the world. Addressing the members of the Board and other attendees, Minister Edghill underscored the importance ofaviationtotheeconomies of member states within CARICOM and called for a collective approach to be taken, to strengthen the region's aviation sector, since many countries and islands' tourism sectors dependonthis.

“We have to be able to appreciate how dependent we are on each other for the success of us all, and we havetobeabletounderstand that when one succeeds, we all succeed, and when one fails, we all fail,” Minister Edghill asserted. CASSOS, which was formally launchedinFebruary2009at the CARICOM Secretariat here in Guyana, is tasked with coordinating, establishing infrastructure, and implementing development programmes aimed at the standardisation of regional safety in areas such as licensing, aviation security, certification, inspection,andsurveillance. Drawing attention to the advancement of tourism in

the region, the Minister noted that countries who depend on their tourism sectors as a main income earner would also need the aviation sector to be on par withinternationalprinciples, therefore the need for the regional sector to be periodically evaluated and broughtuptostandard.

Further,henotedthereis no need or room for competition among the regional grouping “Big brother and main island, small island conversations, thereisnoneedforthat,what there is need for is a collective approach to ensure the standards of aviation in the CARICOM region, in the Caribbean is the highest it has ever been because we must be able to sell our product which is necessary for the sustainability of a lot of our e c o n o m i e s i n t h e internationalmarket.”

Minister Edghill said what needs to be marketed always, is the fact that this regionhasthebesthotelsand best beaches, and the safety oftouristsisguaranteed.“As policymakers,wehavetobe abletotellpeoplewhenyou board flights and you're coming to the Caribbean, you are doing interCaribbeantravel,youareina region where safety has a very high record and you havenothingtofearaboutit. This can even bring down your cost of insurance, and onceyoucanbringdownthe costoftheirtravelinsurance you have more money to spendinareas.”

The Minister also noted that aviation will play a key role in helping CARICOM achieve its goal of reducing

itsfoodimportbillby25per centby2025.“Reducingthe food import bill requires greater connectivity, collaboration, and safety in the movement because the probability increases as we increasetraffic.”

Heencouragedthegroup tofindwaystocollaboratein all areas including climate change, food security, and aviation safety “I want to say to CASSOS at this opening session, let us use all our strength for the development of the Caribbean Region, and let aviation continue to be safe and secure, and let us provide a service second to none so that this Region wouldbeknownforwhatwe do.”

M e a n w h i l e , t h e Chairman of CASSOS and DirectorGeneralofJamaica CivilAviationAuthority,Mr Nari Williams-Singh received an award on behalf of Jamaica for its successful electiontotheCouncilofthe International Civil Aviation Organisation(ICAO)forthe period 2022-2025. Minister Edghill presented the award while congratulating Jamaica on its achievement. Additionally, a posthumous award was given to the widow of the late Captain MalcolmChan-A-Sue,A.A., M.S,forhisworkinthefield of aviation in Guyana and the Caribbean Region for over 50 years Director GeneraloftheGuyanaCivil AviationAuthority (GCAA) Lt.Col.(Ret'd)EgbertField, A.A.,presentedtheawardto Mrs. Margaret Chan-A-Sue on behalf of CASSOS. The th26 MeetingoftheBoardof Directors of CASSOS will endonApril20,2023.

Works Minister, Juan Edghill and aviation officials

GPA condemns abuse of

and

PNCR/APNU now one common feature

rejectingarequestbyherfor information.“Thisattackon MsGarnettmarksanewlow in relations between the media and the political directorate in Guyana. It is now apparent that the transgression against the media by the People’s Progressive Party and the PNCR/APNU is the one common feature both political parties share,” the GPAsaid.

Chief Reporter of the Guyana Chronicle, Tamica Garnett

The Guyana Press Association (GPA) has condemned what it termed the most dastardly and pathetic expletive-laced attack on Guyana Chronicle reporter Ms Tamica Garnett by a senior political operative of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the People’s National CongressReform(PNCR).

According to a GPA release, based on Ms Garnett’s account, a recordingofwhichhasbeen provided to the executive of the GPA, the APNU Chief ScrutineerCarolJosephused indecent language in

The GPA called on Mr Aubrey Norton, who is the PNCR Leader, Chairman of APNU and Guyana’s Opposition Leader to publicly apologise to Ms Garnett and issue a commitment that his party would not subject members of the media to such acrimonious and indecent outbursts by any of his membersorsupportersmore so at the senior level. The mediabodysaidfailuretodo sowouldcertainlymakehim complicitatminimum.“The GPA fully recognises the diverse ownership and influence in a number of mediahousesbutatthesame timecondemnsanyattackon media workers in the execution of their duties.

Economicdiversificationkeyto

long-term

to

Emirates have diversified intocapital-intensivesectors

Mindful of the need to provide fair and balanced coverage in keeping with international standards, the GPA is cognisant of the historic fact that the government-owned media operates at the behest of whichever party is in government. Media workers in the State media are subjected to more than just editorial control. The brutal psychological attack on Ms Garnett is yet another such example that puts at greater risk journalists and other media workers in the course of the performance of their duties,”thestatementended.

Given Guyana’s newfoundoilwealth,manyhave arguedthatonlyfocusingon oil can lead Guyana down the path of the Dutchdisease “The rapidly expanding oil sector and associated rising oil revenues have placed Guyana on a path of economic transformation However, the experience of otherresource-richcountries urges caution,” Dr ArnoldMcIntyresaid.

The economist stated that many resource-rich countries have attempted to reduce their dependence on natural resources by pursuing economic diversification strategies focused on creating local linkages and productive employment, thereby reducing the potential for DutchDisease.

“The results have been mixed. Oil producers in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)likeBahrain,Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab

Swiss charge ex-Gambian minister with crimes against humanity

Ousman Sonko was interior minister from 2006 to 2016 when he fled to Sweden and on to Switzerland, where he applied for asylum.

(AL JAZEERA) Switzerland’s attorney general has filed an indictment against The Gambia’s former interior minister for crimes against humanity committed under former authoritarian leader Yahya Jammeh, it said in a statementonTuesday

Ousman Sonko is accused of having supported, participated in and failed to prevent “systematic and generalised attacks” as part of a repressive campaign by security forces against Jammeh’s opponents, the Office of the Attorney General said Sonko’s lawyer,PhilippeCurrat,told Reuters on Wednesday that his client disputed the chargesandthatsomeofthe alleged acts occurred before articles on crimes against humanity came into force in theSwissCriminalCode.

Sonko was interior minister from 2006 to 2016 whenhefledtoSwedenand

such as finance and telecommunications,aswell as oil-related downstream value chains such as petrochemicals and energyintensive heavy industry,” it wasadded.

It was further stated that in the Caribbean Trinidad andTobago’sdiversification strategy promoted new industries, notably refining fuels, Liquefied Petroleum

G a s ( L P G ) , a n d petrochemicals together with other downstream activities from gas like m e t h a n o l I t w a s underscored that utilizing the energy supply the manufacturing sector expandedtosupplyavariety of products, particularly consumer goods, to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) regional market.

Dr Arnold-McIntyre stated that the government has made clear that economicdiversificationisa medium to long-term policy priority To support diversificationtheeconomywide impediments to investment and growth will need to be addressed, including closing the infrastructure and skills gaps.

He added that Guyana’s road density is far below Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) countries andthelimitedroadnetwork constraintsthemovementof goodsandpeople.

He said, “Transportation infrastructure is weakest in the interior, which limits accesstopublicservicesand economic opportunities and contributes to deep regional disparities.Investmentshere are likely to have large economic impacts on the productivityofallsectors.”

Switzerland, whose Supreme Court is pictured, has brought charges of crimes against humanity against a former Gambian minister [Denis Balibouse/Reuters]

on to Switzerland, where he applied for asylum In January 2017, he was arrested by Swiss police aftertheGeneva-basedlegal group TRIAL International filed a complaint under the principle of universal jurisdiction that allows for the prosecution of the most serious crimes irrespective of where they were committed. Sonko has been held in Switzerland ever since. The case is set to be

heard by Switzerland’s FederalCriminalCourtatan unspecified date. It will be the country’s second-ever crimes against humanity trial. “We are very satisfied thatthisisgoingahead,”said Philip Grant, executive director of TRIAL International. “We hope this will generate momentum and that the trial will put pressure on Equatorial Guinea to eventually extradite Jammeh,” he

added.TheGambia’sformer president fled there after a political crisis in 2017 Human rights activists in The Gambia welcomed the indictment Sheriff

Mohammed Kijera from the Gambia Center for Victims of Human Rights Violations said the indictment set a precedent for The Gambian government to “take its responsibility to bring Yaya Jammeh and his henchmen tofacejustice.”

significant investments in the education and health systems.

Also, the economist underscored that a supportive business climate will be essential to promote investment and facilitate economic diversification

“Business facilitation reforms to reduce or eliminate bureaucratic delay and ‘red tape’ and with increased digitization of processes and the establishment of egovernment. These reforms will rely heavily on improvinglabourforceskills to utilise modern i n f o r m a t i o n a n d c o m m u n i c a t i o n technology,”hesaid. Moreover, it was stated that diversifying and modernising the agricultural sector also offers potential activities for economic diversification.

“In conclusion, d e v e l o p i n g a n d implementing an economic policy framework that protectsGuyanafromDutch Disease includes adopting appropriate fiscal and monetary policy to contain inflation, mitigating pressures on the real exchange rate, and maintaining economic stability,” he said adding, “Macroeconomic policies need to be supported by structural policies that over the medium to long-term will support economic diversification, reducing dependenceonthedominant oil sector and contribute to muting Dutch Disease that could result from the “booming”oilsector.”

In addition, it was stated thatthelackofadeep-water port reduces Guyana’s export capacity Added to this, he said increased electrification will require significant investment in grid rehabilitation and modernisation and that Guyana’s oil reserves could provide cheaper and cleaner electricity by enabling it to usenaturalgastosupplantits current reliance on carbonand pollution-intensive heavyfueloil(HFO).

He explained that with the low base in education in Guyana a concerted effort will be needed to build human capital – knowledge, skills, creativity and wellbeing through

Dr Meredith ArnoldMcIntyre has been an economistforover30years. Hehasworkedinavarietyof Caribbean regional institutions including the Caribbean Development Bank, Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, and the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery in the 1990’s. Dr McIntyre joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in February 2001 and worked oncountriesinAfricaandthe Caribbean including leading IMF country team missions toGuyana.

Dr McIntyre has published a book and a variety of articles on issues inmacroeconomicandtrade policyinsmallstates.

He is currently an Associate, Manchester TradeLtdandaFellowwith the Caribbean Policy Consortium.

APNU Chief Scrutineer, Carol Joseph

Caribbean Economist, Dr Meredith ArnoldMcIntyre, in a recent article stated that economic diversification is the key to long-term development in Guyanainordertoavoidthe ‘Dutch-Disease.’

developmentinGuyana,

avoid‘DutchDisease’– Economist

TeamHeadleyvs.WestIndiesAcademyDay1Headley/WeekesTri-Series

Da Silva century gives Team Headley lead heading into day 2

Captain Joshua Da Silva scored a classy 136, his 3rd 1st class ton, which bailed his team out of trouble as his troopsendedDay1witha210runleadingheadingintoDay2 of the Headley/Weekes Tri Series.

After the captain's heroics, Team Headley posted a 1st innings 259-9 in 70.4 overs. Akeem Jordan (54) scored his maiden1stclassfiftytoaidthe centurion Da Silva in a strong rebuildingeffort.

West Indies Academy seamer Johan Layne returned magical 1st innings figures of 5-39,buthisteamwerebehind the ball at stumps, resuming their innings today on 49-2 from 19 overs, trailing by a

Thursday April 20, 2023

ARIES(Mar.21–Apr.19

People could be exploding withrageallaround,andyou may wonder what the big deal is. If anyone is likely to have a level head through today's chaos, it's you, and this gives you a tremendous advantageinanysituation.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20)

The more you try to control others,theharderitwillbeto get what you want, Taurus. People with equally strong wills are making it known theywon'tbebulliedbyyour manipulativebehavior

GEMINI(May21–June20)

You may join hands with a spokesperson who's willing to attest to your honesty and goodnature,Gemini.

CANCER(June21–July22)

Youmaygetfrustratedwhen people who've taken shortcuts gain on your position,Cancer Youbelieve thathardworkisnecessaryto getwhereyouneedtogo.

LEO(July23–Aug.22)

Youmaynotrealizetheeffect of your erratic behavior on otherpeople,Leo.Theymay try to understand your viewpoint, but at times it seems you're talking in riddles.

VIRGO(Aug.23–Sept.22)

Itmaybebestifyoustayout of the line of fire, Virgo. Don't get into others' battles. Bychoosingsides,youcreate enemies.

MHS, 'Multi...

Frompage22

LIBRA(Sept.23–Oct.22)

Althoughyourgeneralmood is good, Libra, this doesn't mean your day will go off without a hitch. When it comestoprojectsandgetting thingsdone.

SCORPIO(Oct.23–Nov.21)

Difficultsituationsmayarise in which you feel like you're doomed no matter what you do Finding a working solution seems impossible duetotheegosofthepeople involved.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21)

Be quick to point out when you see an injustice, Sagittarius. If someone says something offensive or untrue,don'tletitslide.

CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19)

Your emotions may be erratic, Capricorn. You may wanteveryonetoknowwhat you're feeling and act out in an immature manner to get noticed.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18)

You may be fidgeting, Aquarius,givenyourgeneral restlessness. You're anxious togetupanddosomesortof song and dance, and yet you insistonwaitingfortheright time.

PISCES(Feb.19–Mar.20)

Although you may pride yourself on your patience, Pisces, this quality could be hard to come by today It's possible that you've bent as farasyoucanandreached.

huge deficit. Left-hander Kirk Mckenzie was 31 not out heading into day 2, as the fastbowler Jordan (2-16) then returned with the ball to show histrueclass,snappingupboth wickets to put his team in a commandingposition.

Layne earlier on accounted for the key wickets of opener Kieran Powell (0), Darren Bravo (5), Kaveen Hodge (10) andTevynWalcott(15),whoall perished before the lunch with thescore93-5.

However when play resumed, Da Silva who was tasked with rebuilding during his century partnership with Jordan, he was first eased himselftoahalf-century

Theskippersoongottohis mark, after notching up his ton before the tea break, batting beautifullywhilerunningoutof partners as a successful 1st inningscametoanend.

GM Nigel Short...

Frompage24 Federation to use the State Housefortheauspiciousevent. He, along with cabinet membersMinisterofEducation Priya Manickchand and Minister of Finance Dr Ashni Singh stopped by to cheer on the Guyanese players in the match. Spectators and players alike were treated to a surprise visit by Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley who interacted with youngsters at theevent.

President Ali has consistently supported and encouraged the Federation's efforts in taking chess to all corners of the country This supportwastakenastepfurther with a donation of one million dollars to the Guyana Chess Federation GM Short yesterdayengagedmembersof thepublicattheAmazoniaMall from3pmto5pm.

Additionally, he is visiting several schools throughout the day to educate students on the benefits of chess and the opportunities it offers. These schoolswereMarianAcademy, Queen's College, School of the Nations and St Stanislaus College.

The GM Short's visit to Guyana, as the FIDE Director of Chess Development, has been welcomed by the Guyana Chess Federation, who is pleasedtohosthim.

GM Short's aim is to advance for chess as a sport in Guyana,

improving chess programmes toprovidelong-termbenefitsto bothchildrenandadults.

Wismar Secondary School picked-up three crucialpointsyesterday with a 1 – 0 win over New Silvercity Secondary.

Khriston Louis' 13th-minute goal helped his side to pick uptheirsecondwinand movetosixpointsfrom as many matches. They will play Harmony

Secondarytoday New Silvercity Secondary,ontheother hand, will likely finish

secondinGroupA,with yesterday's results being their first defeat to go along with their twowins(sixpoints).

The winning school will receive $400,000, whichwillgotowardsa project at their institution, equalling thefirst-placepurse.

Second place will receive $200,000, and the school coming in third will collect $100,000,withallprize money going towards a schoolproject.

Captain Joshua Da Silva scored a breathtaking century on day 1. (CWI)

Heart-breaking draw for Lady Jags against Dominican Republic -GuyanaoutofCONCACAFWomen'sU20Qualifiers

Guyana had a goalless draw

against the Dominican Republic last evening, a result that ended the team's quest to qualify for the CONCACAF Women's U20 Championship and ultimately, the FIFA U20 Women's WorldCup.

Entering the match both teams were undefeated, but the Lady Jags needed a win since they were behind by a two-goal differenceonthepointstableinGroupC.

Before facing Guyana, the Dominican Republic scored a 15-0 win over Dominica anda3–0resul t o v e r Suriname.

TheLadyJags,ontheotherhand,hada6 – 0 victory over their South American neighbours whi l e r o m p ing to a 10 – 0 winagainstDominica.

Withonlyoneteamadvancingtothenext round, the game became a must-win for Guyana, while t h e ' D R ' just needed to salvageadrawtosecureitsplacetocontend

fortheWomen'sU20WorldCup.

It was a heated contest between Guyana andtheDominicanRe p u blicattheFélix Sánchez Olympic Stadium in Santo Domingo and one that produced much excitement, but the score at the end of the match wasn't what the Guyanese wanted

Se-Hana Mars, Sandra Johnson and Jalade Trim tried to put G u y ana on the scoresheet,buttheDominicanRepublicwas

resilientinthedefence.

Likewise,Guyanawassolidattheback, coupled with superwoman-like work from their goalkeeper but in the end, the points were shared, and the Dominican Republic willadvance.

Meanwhile, Mars' eight goals in the qualifiers would see her walking away with the most in the tournament, while Trim finishedwiththreeinthreematches.

(RawleToney)

MHS, 'Multi, LTI, Silvercity secure semi-final berth

- ExxonMobil/New Era Ent. Inter-School Football C/chip semis set for Saturday

By Rawle Toney

TheMackenzieHigh School, Linden Technical Institute (LTI), Christianburg

Wismar Secondary and New Silvercity Secondary School have advanced to Saturday's E x x o n M o b i lsponsored, New Era Entertaining InterSchool Football Championships' semifinals.

As teams battle and up the ante to see who will top their respective groups, in the latest round of matches, LTI e n d e d Wi s b u r g Secondary's hopes of making it out of Group Bwhentheyralliedtoa 4–1win.

Dixie Peters (4'), Bryan Kendall (9'), Kemar McLaren (40') and Phillip Lawrence (53') found the back of thenetforLTItosecure their second win of the tournament,whichwent

points.

along with a draw, which saw them ending their Group stage unbeaten on seven

Wisburg needed a win to remain in c o n t e n t i o n f o r advancing, but their defeat to LTI was their s e c o n d i n t h e tournament.Theyended with three points, with their only win against KwakwaniSecondary T h e

i n d e n

Technical Institute will advance as the top team fromGroupB. Meanwhile, New Silvercity Secondary booked their spot in Saturday's semi-finals with an emphatic 5 – 1

win over Harmony

Secondary, thanks to a double from Rawle Henry(6',42'),followed by single strikes from Latrell John (25'), Marvin Cort (50') and ClintonCharles(55').

Jayden Johnson was the only player from Harmony Secondary to register on the scoresheet in his side's losingcause.

Christianburg

Guyana's Women's U20 team at the CONCACAF U20 Qualifiers in the Dominican Republic.

Banks DIH running with Boyce and Associates Relay Festival

- Event set for April 30 at Eve Leary

Athletes from the nation's premier track and field clubs are set to match stridesatthelucrativeBoyce and Associates Relay Festival on April 30 at the Police Progressive Youth Clubground,EveLeary

These and other details were disclosed yesterday during the formal launch of the inaugural event at the Banks DIH Limited Sports Club.

According to organizer Colin Boyce, athletes are scheduled to get into the blocksfrom13:00hrsforthe fixture which will see fans witnessing 11 exciting relay races and four individual events.

Boyce stated that he has

extended invitations to all clubs to compete at the AAG-sanctioned event “which is designed to showcase the talent within the athletics arena in Guyana.”

He stated that the cream of the nation's athletes, includingteensensationand CARIFTA Games gold medallist, Tianna Springer, willbeinactiononraceday According to Boyce, each race will have $70,000 up for grabs with $40,000 awardedtothewinningrelay team Twenty thousand dollars and ten thousand dollarswillgotothefirstand secondrunners-up.

In conclusion, Boyce then thanked Water

Beverages Manager Colin King on behalf of the conglomerate for being a majorsponsor

Meanwhile, King stated that, “Banks DIH is always happy to be associated with activities of this nature and magnitude As corporate citizens, we have always fulfilled our mandate of empowering our people in every sphere of endeavour, and this competition is just another of those that we are committedto.”

Noting that the weather is very humid, King posited that Rainforest Water is the preferred product the athletes, officials, and patrons can use to keep hydrated so that they can

Aliyah Abrams focused on being consistent this season

By Rawle Toney

Aliyah Abrams has been keeping the Golden Arrowhead flying on the trackoverseas,onestrideata time, with considerable success.

Abrams has been one of thecountry'smostconsistent athletes, and speaking with Kaieteur News recently, the former University of South Carolina stand-out athlete said her focus this season is “increasing strength and maintaining poise in my running,thesmallerdetails.”

Last weekend, Abrams became the first Guyanese athletetobookherspotatthis year'sWorldChampionships in athletics after finishing secondinthewomen's400m at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational.

The Guyanese 400m specialist clocked 50 77 seconds and was second behind Jamaican Stacy-Ann Williams, who won the race

in a time of 50.12s. The USA's Brittany Brown was third(51.15s)attheJamesG. PresslyStadiuminFlorida.

South American Indoor 400m record-holder's time was her Personal Best and shy of Aliann Pompey's National Record of 50.71s, set at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, Germany “I was very p l e a s e d w i t h m y performance,” Abrams said while admitting, “I wasn't running intending to hit the standard.”

“Iwasjusttryingtowork on my new race execution whichwentwellandresulted in a personal best and a qualification,” the US-based Guyaneseathletesaid.

T h e W o r l d ChampionshipsinBudapest, Hungary, is set forAug 19 –29 and carries a qualifyingstandard time of 51.00s for thewomen's400m.

At the 2022 World Championships, Abrams

reachedthesemi-finalsofthe Women's 400m; she was 5th in the finals at the Indoor World Championships last year Abrams, 27, believes, “Keepingafloatisdependent on the goals I set for the season, once I have somethingtostriveforIkeep that at the forefront of my mind.

Alltherealworkhappens at practice, so consistent effort and focus will yield consistentresults.”

Meanwhile,toqualifyfor the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris,France,Abramswillbe asked to replicate or better Saturday's performance during the Olympic

Qualification July

1, 2023

June30,2024window

The 2024 Olympic qualifying time for the women's400mis50.95s.

Abrams was the only Guyanese athlete to run the qualifying-standard time for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

performtotheiroptimum. Registration closes on April 26, and teams are to

pay $1000 for each athlete. Only athletes 16 and older willbeeligibletocompete.

Admission is set at $1000foradultsandhalfthe priceforchildrenunder14.

YouthCoachbenefitsfromProject

Everest Cricket

C

, Travis Mohamed was gifted one box of red cricket balls from this joint initiative of Anil Beharry of Guyana and Kishan Das of theUSA.

The balls will assist Mohamed with his coaching programmes.

At a simple ceremony heldrecently,Mohamedwas thankful for the balls while Beharry pledged to continue to support young and talented cricketers in Guyana.

Total cricket related items received/purchased so far: Thirteen colored cricket uniforms, two trophies, seventeen pairs of cricket boots, thirty pairs of batting pads, thirty one cricket bats, twenty eight pairs of batting gloves, twenty one thigh pads, three pairs of wicket keeping pads, four arm guards, two boxes, nine cricket bags, six bat rubbers andsixhelmets.$330,000in cashwasraisedaswell.

Inadditiontotheabove, $600,000 worth in gear was donatedbySheikMohamed, former National wicket keeper/batsman.

Todate,fiftythreeyoung players from all three counties of Guyana have benefited from three junior gear bag, two trophies, four armguards,twentyonebats, two boxes, four helmets, twentypairsofcricketshoes, thirteenpairsofbattingpads,

twothighpad,onebatrubber and nineteen pairs of batting gloves.Inaddition,twoclubs in the Pomeroon area benefited from two used bats.Pomeroon,Leguanand Wakenaam Cricket

CommitteesandCottonTree

Die Hard also received one box of red cricket balls each while RHCCCC received two, fifteen white cricket shirts, one pair of junior batting pads, one pair of wicket keeping gloves and a setofstumpsandbails.

The Essequibo Cricket Board also benefited along withtheTownofLethemand youth cricket coach Travis

Persaud with one box of red balls.

Cricket related items, used or new, are distributed free of cost to young and promising cricketers in Guyana Skills, discipline and education are important characteristics of the recipients.

Talent spotting is being done across the country and club leaders also assist to identify talent. Progressive andwellmanagedclubswill also benefit Anyone interested to contribute can contactAnil Beharry on 623 6875orKishanDason1718 6640896.

Banks DIH's Water Beverages Manager Colin King, making his company's presentation to Relay Festival Organiser, Colin Boyce. Also present are members of the Police Progressive Youth Club and Banks' Mortimer Stewart.

“CricketGearforyoungand promisingcricketersinGuyana”

At Left is Anil Beharry handing over the box of balls to Travis Mohamed.

Aliyah Abrams at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

GM Nigel Short took on 20 players simultaneously in Chess Exhibition event at State House

FIDE Director for chess development Grandmaster

NigelShortMBEonTuesday

night, concluded a simultaneous exhibition match against 20 Guyanese chess players from as young as nine years old to as old as 30. GM Short started his onslaughtjustafter5pmand was completely engaged for the first 2 hours of the exhibitionastheGuyanaside fought valiantly to scratch out an advantage over the Grandmaster

Heplayedagainstformer Open National Champion

CM Taffin Khan, FM Anthony Drayton, Davion Mars, Roberto Neto, Ethan Lee, WCM Sheriffa Alli, Jessica Callender, Nellisha Johnson, 2022 National

Women's Champion Pooja

Lam, 2022 Junior Champion

RicardoNarine,2023Under-

14 Open Champion Kyle Couchman, 2023 U14 Girl's ChampionAnaya Lall, 2023 National U-12 Champion Aquilani Swaminadha, Keron Sandiford, Sasha Shariff, Micaiah Enoe, RonanLee,MayasKhanand siblings Alexander and NicholasZhang.

Around 8 pm at the beginningofhour3,thepins sadlybegantofallanditwas all over by 9 pm, with the final capitulation by CM TaffinKhan.

The best game in the exhibition was against AnthonyDrayton.

Tensions were high as playerafterplayerbattledfor achancetoedgevictoryover one of the best chess players in the world. Outstanding games from 9-year-old Aquilani Swaminadha, 12year-old Anaya Lall and 16-

year-oldRonanLeewhokept theGrandmasterengagedfor the entirety of the event, outlasting almost all of their moreexperiencedpeers.

Candidate Master Taffin Khan, notably one of Guyana's most decorated chess players, held on the longest.Onlyafteralongand suspenseful three hours did hefinallyconcedeandletthe finalkingfall,leavingformer world championship finalist Shortwithacleansweep.

More than 100 chess enthusiasts and future champions were in attendance to observe the games, including students from several schools across Georgetown and special guests from the New Amsterdam Special School, who are part of the Federation'sChessinSpecial NeedsSchoolsprogramme.

continues as bowlers

He added that he also hopestoseeGuyanabecome

President Irfaan Ali donates one million dollars toward chess development HisExcellencyPresidentAli kindlyextendedaninvitation totheGuyanaChess

(Continuedonpage21)

DDL extends sponsorship of Mike Parris boxing programme

In round 4 of the Demerara Cricket Board (DCB) Under-17 InterAssociation Tournament, partly sponsored by Team Mohamed, Singh and Dindialsteeredtheirteamto victory

Over at the Farm

Ground, Upper Demerara won the toss and elected to bat,scoring63alloutin15.1 overs from their allotted 50 overs.

Rohit Ramnauth and CoryCharlesscored12each. Darius Singh was the most destructive bowler grabbing 5 for 20, while Farhan Hussain collected 3 for 12; support came from Sayyad Lakeram, and Deonarine Dindial took one, respectively

In reply, East Bank Demerara blazed their way to the target scoring 66 without loss in 6.5 overs.

Deonarine Dindial top scoredwith40whileSayyad Lakeram supported with 18.

East Bank won by 10 wickets.

Meanwhile, over at Zeeburg, West Demerara wonthetossandchosetobat first, scoring 93 all out from 37 1 overs Opener

ParmeshwarRamtopscored with 21 while his opening partner Robin Seecharan chippedinwith11.

Spinner Stephon Sankar collected 3 for 13, while Dave Mohabir and Shane Princetook2for5and2for 21.

In reply, Georgetown racedtotheirtargetof98for 3in12.2overs.Midderorder batter Jonathan Van Lange top scored with 36 while openerRyanLatifchippedin with 28, and Shiloh Adam scored12.

Robin Seecharan claimed 2 for 22, and Kevin Benn took 1 for 20 Georgetown won by 7 wickets.

In excess of one million were yesterday handed over to Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) to assist with sponsorship of the Pepsi/Mike Parris U16 boxing programme The Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) has been the programme's longest partner, and yesterday morning the leading beveragecompanyextended their support of the programme for its 12th consecutive year of sponsorship with a brief presentation ceremony held atthecompany'sboardroom, DiamondPlantation.

In a brief ceremony, the c o m p a n y ' s B r a n d Communication Manager Schemel Patrick handed over sponsorship for the Pepsi Mike Parris Youth Boxing championship to Technical Director Terrance Poole (MS) and GBA's A s s i s t a n t Secretary/Treasurer Seon Bristol.

The DDL has served as sponsors of the Michael Parris U16 boxing card for the past eleven years, this programme served as a nurseryforupcomingboxers over the years It is

programme like these that produced athletes such as elite boxer Keevin Allicock who have gone on to represent us (Guyana) at major championships such as the Olympic Games as well as the Jackman sister (AleshaandAbiola)whoare now International Boxing Association (IBA) ranked boxers.

Speaking at the presentation Ms Patrick, commended the association forthegoodworkstheyhave done in the past. Last year, they were able to successfully host all of its U 1 6 s c h o o l b o y s tournaments Not to mention, our U16's were also afforded the opportunity to compete overseas.

The Mike Parris boxing card is expected to have at least one tourney each month. The first was held 1 April last, followed by anotherlaterthismonth.

AccordingtoMsPatrick, "Itispeopleandpassionthat drivessuccessfulventures.I say that to say, we're very happy to be on board, this our12thyear Thekeyfocus for us at DDL/Pepsi is the advancement of our youth

through education and sports We have been partnering because we all have seen what the programmehasdoneforour localathletes."

The DDL will continue tosupportamateurboxingin Guyana. With the hope of otherbusinessentitiestaking apageoutoftheirbooksand join hands with the GBAso thattheycancontinuetohost successful events for our local boxers with the aim of raisingthebarofourathletes both regionally and internationally

Meanwhile, GBA's a s s i s t a n t Secretary/Treasurer Seon Bristol stated, "Since we s t a r t e d o u r friendship/business relationships with DDL, we have gained a life time relationship. With that, we thank you for your sponsorshipovertheyears.I promise that the association will continue to pick fruit from the tree you have planted. Most of the guys that are excelling in the sport,startedrighthereatthe nursery level. This tells us that we are we are growing. Forthat,Iwanttothankyou guysforthesupport.”

...Grandmaster Nigel Short wants to see Guyana become “regional powerhouse” in chess

Grandmaster Nigel Short and CM Taffin Khan involved in the action. (Office of the President photo)

Bailey XI triumph despite Imlach 98

Bernard Bailey XI defeatedAdrian Hinds XI by 41 runs in a 40-over fixture played recently at Queen's Collegeground.

BaileyXItookfirststrike andposted241alloutin34.1 overs Richie Looknauth

struck nine fours and three sixes in a top score of 79 while Ntini Permaul made 48, Owen Andrews 36, Jeremiah Scott 22 and BernardBailey20.

Adrian Hinds took 2-18, Mervin Permaul 2-24,

JonathanVanLange2-38and Laurel Parks 2-56. Adrian HindsXIrepliedwith200all out in 31.5 overs. Tevin Imlach stroked 98 with 10 fours and four sixes while Van Lange made 24, Laurel Parks 23, Joshua Ferrell 14

Persaud's10-122pushesEssequibo closer to victoryonDayTwo

The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB), GovernmentofGuyana(GOG)andMinistry ofCulture,YouthandSports(MCY&S)Boys Under-19 Inter County Three-Day cricket tournament continued yesterday at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) ground, Bourda.

After the first day Select XI would have takencommandofthematchposting209-10 from 71.3 overs in the first innings with EssequiboU19battingfor16oversinthelast session on Day One losing four of their top orderbattersintheprocess,atstumpsonDay One Essequibo were 51-4, trailing by 154 runs.

Essequibo returning on Day Two added 83 runs onto their overnight score as Select XI bowlers shared the wickets: Dillion Ramsaroop 2-20, Ezekiel Wilson 3-37, Chanderpaul Ramraj 2-16 and Matthew Pataya2-5.ShaahidVieiratopscoredwith34 runs while Theddeus Lovell stroked a gritty 32runsasEssequiboweredismissedfor13410trailingby75runs.

Select XI batting in the second innings posted 157-10 with a solid 28 runs from the flamboyantright-handerwicketkeeper-batter Kevin Kristen, while Nityananad Mathura top scored with 30 runs. Aran Persaud grabbed10-122inthematchashepickedup his second five wicket haul (5-53) on day two.

EssequiboU19cametobatinthesecond innings needing 233 runs to win with ample timetodoso.AtstumpsEssequibowere70-1 from22overs.MyhiemKhanunbeatenon46 runs and Shaahid Vieira 19 runs. Essequibo stillneeds163runstowinwithninewickets intact.

Meanwhile, across at Everest, Isaiah ThornestormedBerbicetoaconvincingnine wicketwinoverDemerara;taking7-33inthe

secondinnings.

Demerara 1st Innings 122 all out in 50.1

overs Rivaldo Phillips 57, Mavindra

Dindyal 20. Jeremy Sandia 3-33 (9), Leon Cecil2-14(7),IsaiahThorne2-25(11).

Berbice 1st Innings: 119 all out in 42.4

overs Tomani Caesar 32, Rampertab

Ramnauth 22. Krishna Singh 3-38 (16), Dindyal2-18(8).

Demerara2ndInnings:101alloutin29.3

overs.Anthon Lin 42, Nehemiah Honenkirk 22 not out. Thorne 7-33 (10), Jonathan Rampersaud2-22(13).

Berbice2ndInnings:107-1in24.5overs. RampertabRamnauth53notout,Hemendra Gurdayal28,ZeynulRamsammy24notout.

and Colis Rimple 10 Stephon Wilson claimed 331, Scott 3-49 and Ntini Permaul2-26.

The following players received awards; MAN OF THE MATCH- Permaul Ntini;LETSCRACKITSIX & FOUR- Tevin Imlach;

Looknauth; MOST RUNS-

WICKETS:StephonWilson.

Thegamewassponsored by Quality Deliverer, One Movement Entertainment,

Beverages INC Guyana National Printers, Eclpise

Enterprise, 007 Hhot spot bar, JS17 Online Cricket Shopping, CR7 Bats Repair Shop,GuyanaCricketBoard, OCK Farm Productions Arm Productions, C and C Detailing Services, At Taweeh Wan Noor Variety and Supermarket, Sneakers LineandJacobJewelleryand PawnShop.

The runner up Adrian Hinds XI

The victorious Bernard Bailey XI

Aryan Persaud took 10-122 at GCC

Some of the young chess players involved in the exhibition against Grandmaster Nigel Short. (Office of the President photo)

DDL's Brand Communications Managers Schemel Patrick (2nd from right) hands over cheque toAlesha Jackman-Technical Director Terrance Poole, Secretary/Treasurer Seon Bristol andAbiola Jackman shares the moment.