Kaieteur News

Govt. reverses re-injection of produced water for Yellowtail project

…hundredsofthousandsofbarrelsofoiltobedumpedoverboard-AFC

The Permit granted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), authorizing ExxonMobil’s thirdprojectintheStabroekBlockthe Payara development- required the operator to conduct a study to determine the feasibility of reinjecting 100 percent of the producedwaterfromthereservoirs.

Produced water is a liquid that is extracted during oil production activities. It contains dissolved mineralsalts,ormaybemixedwith organic compounds such as acids, waxes,andmineraloils.Itmayalso bemixedwithinorganicmetalsand byproducts or with trace amounts of heavy metals and naturallyoccurringradioactivematerials,the USDepartmentofEnergysaidina research paper It is also usually very high in temperature, and can bedeadlytomarineorganisms.

Due to its toxicity, this substance is best re-injected into the wells, though this may be a costlyexercise.

The EPAPermit for the Payara project required that a study be done by Permit Holder to investigate the feasibility, benefits andimplicationsofthisalternative.

ThisisstatedinSection4.10ofthe document.

It must be noted that even though the Permit to Exxon provides for treatment of the producedwaterpriortodumping,it alsomadeitclearthatthiscondition wassubjectedtotheoutcomeofthe investigation.

Section 4 10 6 states, “Condition4.7maybeamendedby the Agency in consideration (of) theaforementionedapprovedstudy andtheconclusionsoftheEPA,the Permit Holder and the Minister of Natural Resources, the Minister responsibleforPetroleum.”

This report should have been completedapproximately210days afterthePayaraPermitwasissuedconsidering Section 4.10.1 and 4.10.2 of the document. Efforts by this publication to ascertain whether the EPA received this reportwerefutile.

Meanwhile, the Yellowtail Permit-forExxon’sfourthprojectmakes no mention of reinjecting theassociatedproducedwater

Instead, the document states that the Permit holder will be required to treat the substance to

ensure“oilcontentspecificationof produced water to be discharged doesnotexceed42mg/lonadaily basis or 29 mg/l on a monthly average” This is outlined in Section4.4ofthePermit.

This requirement is also the current standard utilized at the two producing fields, the Liza One and LizaTwoprojects,offshoreGuyana

As such, former Head of the EPA,Dr VincentAdamsiswarning that the accumulated dumping of produced water can have dangerous impacts on both marine andhumanlife.

DuringanAllianceForChange (AFC) press conference on Friday, Dr Adams a Petroleum and Environmental Engineer told reporters that whileVice President BharratJagdeoboastsoftightening environmental provisions in the Permits, the government failed to ensure the operator reinjects this toxicwastebackintothewells.

Dr Adams said that the Payara Permitwasdraftedundertheformer Coalition but was signed by the People’s Progressive Party, after assumingofficeinAugust2020

“Theotherthingtheydid,inthe Payara,thatwealsowrotethatthey signedafterwards,wesaidthatthey have to re-inject all of the water back into the reservoir They removed that completely to let the waterbedumpedintheocean,”he said.

The former EPA head believes government is allowing Exxon to “do whatever they want” out of

“greed”.

Heexplained,“Wehavegotall that water being dumped into the ocean instead of re-injecting so over the life, and when we see the EPA send out this narrative here about they are treating the water, therearestilloilinthewaterandif you calculate that small concentration over the life of the field,wewillhavehadhundredsof thousands of barrels of pure oil dumped in the ocean with that water.”

The Petroleum Engineer thereforenoted,“Sowhentheytalk about its only 29 milligrams per liter, it adds up. For every million barrelofwaterthatisdumped,29to 40barrelsofoilisgoingthere.Soif you add it up, you are going to be dumpinghundredsofthousandsof pure oil into that ocean, not to mention the toxic metals such as led, mercury and radioactivity, naturalradioactivitythatiscoming fromthewaterfromtheearth.”

Simplyput,Dr Adamssaidfor every million barrel of produced waterthatisdischarged,29barrels ofoilisalsobeingreleasedintothe ocean.

Former EPA Head, Dr. Vincent Adams

Losing approx. US$230M every 3 months by not applying new 10% royalty on Stabroek Block

As oil production increases offshore and ExxonMobil Corporation and its partners continuetoaddmoreships,Guyana is set to lose out hundreds of millionsthisyearduetothefailure of the government to renegotiate the Stabroek block Production SharingAgreement(PSA).

If the royalty from the new model contract is applied to the StabroekBlock,Guyanacouldearn a lot more each year For example,

Guyana’s last royalty payment couldhavebeenaboutUS$230Mif the royalty for the projects was 10%, instead of the industry-low

2%.

For the last quarterly payment for 2023, Exxon and its coventurers paid G$12B (US$58M) to Guyana’s Natural Resource Fund (NRF) coffers This represents 2% of the crude producedandsoldfortheprevious quarter If this was 10%, it would

have been US$288M Hence, Guyana has lost out on the opportunity to earn US$230M for oil produced in just three months because the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) administration refuses to pursue a better royalty payment.

Thiscouldprovideasignificant boost to the country’s economy, particularly given the large amounts of oil that are expected to be produced from the Stabroek

Block over the coming years Government could use such earnings to invest more in protecting the environment, through adaptation and mitigation efforts.Jagdeocomplainsendlessly aboutnothavingenoughmoneyfor this purpose because of developed countries not keeping their promises.

ThatUS$230Mcanevenrepay the US$138M loan Guyana took from China EXIM Bank for the

renovation of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), with nearlyUS$92Mtospare.Itwasthe PPPC government that borrowed that money from China and plungedGuyanaintodebt.

If US$230M is paid to Guyana onceeveryquarteroverafullyear, itwouldadduptoUS$920M.That could pay off the full cost of the Gas-to-energy facility that the governmentplanstobuildatWales.

Continued on page 8

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

Editor-In-Chief: NIGEL WILLIAMS

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

EDITORIAL

CONTRACT TERMINATION

The media recently covered two instances where contractsforpublicworkswereterminatedinMahdia.One projectisforGY$87millionandbeingdonebyK&PProject Management,whiletheotherisforGY$60.527millionand is being executed by United Contracting. Both projects involvedroadconstruction,andbotharewayoverdue,with thetimelinesprovidingrevelationsonhowsomeprojectsare handledandoverseeninthiscountry,andhowlongittakesto dropthehammeronthosefailingtodeliver

The $87 million road under the hand of K&P Project Management was signed in 2020 and should have been finishedinsixmonths.ItisnowpastthemiddleofApril2023 andtheroadisstillincomplete,accordingtotheMinistryof PublicWorks. Interestingly,inJunelastyear,MinisterJuan Edghill had given K&Pa deadline of a month to finish the remaining works. It follows, therefore, that this particular contract, if not satisfactorily finished, should have been cancelledbytheendofJuly2022.

Forthistooccursomeeightmonthslateristoolong,and it makes citizens and contractors conclude that the governmentisnotserious. WhenaMinisterannouncesthat somethingwillhappen,ifexpectationsarenotmet,thenthat consequencemustfollowinswiftorder Ifthechronologyof developments with this contract (signing, delivery date, delays, extension, and so forth) are accurate, it means that thisroadwasoverduebyatleastayearandninemonths. The government and responsible minister had to have acted sooner, if only to send a message that this kind of unacceptable contractor standard has gone on too long and patienceisexhausted.

Thesecondinstanceofcontractterminationinvolvedthe Danjah Hill road being constructed by United Contracting. ItshouldhavebeendonebeforeChristmas2022. Now,four months later, the $60.527 million contract had to be terminated,withonly42%oftheworkcompleted.Fortheir part, contractors have given a number of reasons for their inabilitytohandovertwocompletedroadprojects. Erratic weather pattern, shortage of stone, and equipment malfunction have all been blamed for the delays. Though thosemayhavetheirmerits,thesetwoprojectssimplytook toolongtogetfinished. Additionally,itisourpositionthat the government took too long to move on from the contractorstogettheworkdone,sothatresidentsinMahdia couldbenefit.

Currently, the government can demonstrate how committeditistoholdingcontractorsaccountable,andtothe letter of their contract terms, especially where time is concerned. There is the test case of a third road project in Mahdia, the main access road, for $108 million that is delayed. TheforemanofthesameUnitedContractingspoke of the poor weather impeding progress on the project, but withwhichclaimboththevisitingministerandarearesidents disagreed.

Now, United Contracting has one month to finish this mainaccessroad. Itwouldbeinterestingtolearnwhatisthe state of affairs by this time in May (of this year). There shouldonlybeoneoftwodevelopments:theroadisfinished andhandedover,or,ifitisstillincompleteinamonthfrom now,thenthecontractisterminatedimmediately

Taking this into consideration, and the recent development with the Sheriff Street/Mandela road, it could be said that the woes about delays and shoddy work with roads continue like before. It is our belief that these constitutemeredropsinthebig,richinfrastructurebucketof Guyana. Meanwhile,itisgoingtocostmillionsmoretoget thesetworoadsinMahdiacompleted,whichraisestheissue ofhowthisimpactslocaltaxpayers.

They should not be made to pay a penny more, and the government should take steps to recover the monies advancedtothetwocontractors.

Further,thissetsanewstandard,andonethatshouldbe consistentlyappliedwhenthereisfailurebycontractors.In doingso,thegovernmentsendstherightmessages,andthere arepowerfulones:dothejobrightandontime,andeveryone willbepleased.Doitpoorly,orinanyoldtime,andtherewill beconsequences.

APLEA FOR POSITIVEACTION IN THE OILAND GAS SECTOR

DEAREDITOR,

This is an open letter to HisExcellencythePresident making a fervent plea once again for positive action in theoilandgassectorandthe management of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana Action Mr President so that you can pass on to succeeding generations, a country where all of our people can live in peace where there is plentyforallandwherethere isrespectfortheRepublicat homeandabroad.

Others have dealt minutelywiththequestionof oilandgas.Theabsurdityof yourGovernment’shandling of our natural resources is palpable.. For example, this twelve and a half percent (12-½%)of profitsharingis the lowest in the industry worldwide.

Let us not be distracted bylayingblameatthefeetof

agreements made in 1999 and 2016. What is urgently necessary is for you Mr President to recognize that duringanelectioncampaign you are like the rest of us, a politician, but once you accedetothePresidencyand Commander-in-Chief, it is expectedthatthegarmentsof apoliticalanimalarethrown away and replaced by the robes and crown of a Statesman concerned about the welfare of every Guyanese.Second,youDear Excellency and your government officials have persuaded us that this question of the sanctity of a Contract must be in my wordssacrosanctheldsacred not to be violated. I assume Excellency by either of the contractingparties,thegasto shore projects have been heraldedbyyouandthevicePresidentasasortofSaviour telling us that the cost of

electricity to we your citizenswouldbecutinhalf. Thisisglorygoodnews.

This gas to shore of US$1.3Bisbyfarthelargest economic, financial and engineering project ever The contract documents we have been privy to suggests there has been no feasibility study related to this massive undertaking. Thisinessence violates the sanctity of contracts. Excellency, as a simple,ordinarylayman,but one who this year would have been in the political hustings for seventy years and all I therefore ask on behalfofsomeIhavespoken to is a lucid and plausible explanationforwhatappears tobealeapintothedark.Mr President,Iamawarethatin s o m e m a t t e r s t h e Commander-in-Chief reserves the right to keep certain matters as we say, in thetopsecretenvelope.That

is why I will not ask for the truth, and the whole truth of this billion US dollars project, but in response something that is plausible thatourcitizenscanswallow withoutchoking.

At the risk of being tedious and repeating myself, the only way to extract much much more fromtheoilgiantsandthose who are harvesting our nonrenewable natural resources is for us to speak with one voiceasanationanddemand more than what we are now getting. Let us not use what seemstobethedirtywordof re-negotiation, but any people’s government must be able to bring those who are exploiting our gold, minerals, oil, gas and other resourcestothetabletotalk.

Those discussions with developers, the government andthosewhorepresentthe

(Continuedonpage6)

Respect the press: respect our journalists

DEAREDITOR,

The press, media, the fourth estate in any country, and more specifically, in a democratic state, is vitally important in the services it provides Its independent voicemustbesupportedand respectedbyall.

Journalism can be considered one of the pillars ofdemocracy Thepressalso represents the citizens of a country, and it has an essential role to keep the government and other powerful bodies in check. Journalists work hard to gather information from reliable sources, investigate issues of concern, and present news stories that are relevant, informative, and engaging. Despite the g r o w i n g s h a r e o f opinionated content on Facebook,Twitter,andother social media platforms, journalism remains a vital sourceofinformation,andit has shaped history in numerousways.

One of the most vital rolesofthepressistoensure accountability Journalists aim to expose corruption, misconduct, and any other actions that might harm the publicinterest.

By keeping a close eye on the government, businesses, and other entities, the press helps to prevent abuses of power, discrimination, and illegal activities. theimportanceof journalism helps to hold the

powerful accountable and ensuring transparency in governanceisexperienced.

Another critical role of the press is to inform the public. The press provides citizenswiththeinformation they need to make informed decisions about their lives and the world around them. By presenting factual and credible information, the press helps the public understand the implications of policies, laws, and other decisions made by the government. For example, the press covers stories on issues such as healthcare, education, and the environment, which help citizens stay informed about criticalissuesthataffecttheir lives. Without the press, citizens would be uninformed and unable to hold their representatives responsiblefortheiractions.

The press plays an e s s e n t i a l r o l e i n championing the underdog, by providing a platform for those who are traditionally marginalized or oppressed, the press can help spark socialchange.

For example, the reporting of political and civil rights activists such as Walter Rodney, Ronald Waddell, Courtney CrumEwing, Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X provided the public with an understanding of the harsh realities of the need for politicalchangeandexposed

the issues of discrimination and systemic racism

Similarly, the reporting on the #MeToo and George Floyd, Black Lives Matter movement, helped expose the widespread issue of sexual harassment and a racist police culture that targeted innocent black people which sparked a global conversation that continueseventodaydowna road with optimism of achievingpositivechange. Through their work, journalists give a voice to thosewhomaynothaveone, whichisvitalin promotingajustsociety Mr editor, journalists andthepresshavelongbeen regardedasguardiansoffree speech. They serve as a check on the government’s p o w e r t o c o n t r o l information, and they promotethefreeexchangeof ideas. Journalists have put themselves at risk to obtain andreportonstories,andasa result, they promote diversityandtolerance.

This very important profession compels by expectation, Journalists to adhere to ethical standards By providing reliable and trustworthy information, journalists help to form opinions, change people’s perceptions, and influence publicpolicy

Without ethical standards,thepresswouldbe vulnerable to manipulation

by those with the most significantresources,andthe public would be less informed Ethics in journalism require reporters to be fair, impartial, and committed to the truth. The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) has developed a code of ethics that serves as a benchmark for journalists The code advises journalists to show integrity,betransparent,and correctmistakespromptly Mr Editor, I reiterate journalists play an essential roleinoursociety Theyserveasawatchdog forthegovernmentandother powerful bodies, ensuring transparency,accountability, and democratic ideals. Through their work, journalistsinformthepublic, promote ethical standards, and provide a platform for marginalizedgroups.

Thepressandjournalists deserve respect from political leaders, activists, and civil society influencers f o r t h e i r c r i t i c a l contributionstocontributing to a more free, transparent, andjustsociety Withoutthem,thepublic would be vulnerable to manipulation, oppression, and tyranny Therefore, we should value the press and journalists for their important role and contributiontooursociety

Yoursrespectfully, H o n J e r m a i n e

ANational Intelligence and SecurityAgency:At Long Last

DEAREDITOR,

Finally, a government in Guyanahastakenaboldand puissant step to establish through legislation a National Intelligence and SecurityAgency(NISA).

This step is the first cock’scrowheraldinganew day for the Co-Operative Republic.

Nowatlastthecitizensof Guyanacanbreatheasighof relief from fear and uncertaintythatoncestalked thelandindaysgoneby

Welldowerememberthe wantonabuseofpowerfrom a chief executive who presided over a bunch of sycophantswhounleasheda reignofterroronnotafew

T h e p a s s a g e o f legislation to create NISA willputastoptotheabuseof this type of presidential power and at the same time through its information gathering and rigorous a n a l y s i s ( o f s a i d information)byitscollection and analysis capabilities provide value-added to executivedecisionmaking.

In short, this is another worthwhile step propelling Guyana forward into the twenty-first century But it mustbedonerightandwitha keen sense of weighty responsibility For this is a weightystep.

What is loosely called “intelligence”isnotanewor novel phenomenon in statecraft.

Theintelligencefunction istraceabletoBiblicaltimes when Moses sent out 12 spies to gather “useful” i n f o r m a t i o n , n o t intelligence,aboutthelayof the land, its topography, peoples, resources such as food and water, and how much of a threat the peoples of this “promised” land posedtoIsrael.

In modern times, States, small and large, powerful and not so powerful, established national intelligence agencies to gather secret information about the capabilities and

intentions of other States in order to be prepared to respond to threats to their national security For example,Guyanahasnoway of knowing what Maduro’s plansandintentionsare,real or imagined, towards Guyana. Why, because it lacks a dedicated Intelligence capability that will have the requisite mechanismsin place to find out. Flip this script for a moment and imagine the advantage Caracas has over Guyana.

The Venezuelan EmbassyinGeorgetownhas anumberof“spies”working under diplomatic cover in Guyana.

Maduro knows much moreaboutGuyana’ssecrets than his counterpart in Georgetown knows about Venezuela’s.

Guyana’s Embassy in Caracas does not have any operator who is trained in espionage.

The Venezuelan Embassy has quite a few as dotheUS,Russia,andChina operating in Guyana with a freereign.

A n d G u y a n a ’ s counterintelligence capabilityisatbestimmature andinchoate.

This brings us to the functions of a national intelligenceagency

But contrary to the adumbrations and fears expressed in one of the Dailies a day ago, the citizens of Guyana have nothingtofearwiththelegal creation and operation of NISA.

The guardrails that would and must be in place in the legislation combined with laws relating to the i n t e r c e p t i o n o f communications should act asrobustbarriersagainstthe abusesofpoliticalpower

The idea expressed in that Daily newspaper about the Director reporting and answerable only to the President is nothing to lose sleepover

The CIA, which was created by the National Security Act in 1947 is a good example. The Director of the CIA answers to and executes the directives of one person, the President of the United States of America.Inotherwords,the CIAworksforacustomerof One.

The GRU in Russia also worksforacustomerofone, Putin.

Unlike the GDF and the Special Branch of the GPF, state entities with IntelligenceUnitsthatgather a narrow bandwidth of information to execute specific functions such as logistics operations or crime-related information to solveaspecificcase,thatofa national intelligence agency is broad in scope and gears toward protecting the nation’s interests Information gathering, for example, is one of the primary functions of a nationalintelligenceagency

This function involves collecting information from varied sources, both domestic and international, in order to identify potential threats to national security And this information can be collectedthroughavarietyof platforms that include signals intelligence ( S I G I N T ) , h u m a n intelligence (HUMINT), open-source intelligence (OSINT), and other technical mechanisms such assatelliteimagery,acoustic and laser and infrared signals.

Technical collection platforms are reliable, sophisticated and very costly, hence out of NISA’s range of acquisition capability

After information of national security interests is collected, it is then rigorously analyzed by the agency’s intelligence analysts to determine the potential threat to national security

Before providing a

judgment or insight, the agency will assess or evaluate the credibility and reliabilityoftheinformation and try to piece together the biggerpicture.

This rigor embedded in the analytical process is essential to helping policy makers make informed decisions about national security In short, intelligence adds value to both tactical and strategic decisionmaking.

Another important function of a national intelligence agency is counterintelligence.

Thisinvolvesidentifying andthenneutralizingthreats tonationalsecurityposedby foreign intelligence operators, terrorist groups, and other hostile actors

Counterintelligence activitiesinvolvemonitoring and surveilling potential threats, identifying potential vulnerabilities in government’s operational systems that could be exploited by foreign adversaries.

Guyana needs a national intelligence agency with a robust counterintelligence capability to conduct surveillance of foreign operators It must shake itself out of its long bout of senescence.

Finally, a national intelligence agency, legally created and functioning by strict adherence to the laws that govern its operations does notpose a threat to its citizens.

The singular advantage such an agency has lies its capability to collect secret informationsecretly

Thetimehascomeatthis propitious juncture in its history when heightened interest in Guyana’s economic development comes calling, Parliament must do the right thing and actinthenationalinterestto protect the country from threatstonationalsecurity

Regards,

Prof.DanielK.Gibran

Neglecting the Nation: President's lack of transparency and accountability criticized by concerned citizen

DEAREDITOR,

As a citizen of the Cooperative Republic of GuyanaIwouldliketoknow theroleofthePresident.

Since he took up the Presidency, I have seen him hosting numerous dinners and receptions with foreign dignitaries.

He is touring all over Guyana and the world Touring is not the problem but he fails to address the nation fully on his trips and how they would benefit the country

The President has failed to hold press conferences to enlighten the nation of what isgoingon.Forthepastfew months he failed to address the nation on the Oil Sector Astheleaderhehasallowed corrupt officials to lead the nation with a set of lies. I know in other countries the President leads but it seems as though hisVice President

is leading and putting his position at stake come next election. I wonder how this man can call himself President and has been neglecting the nation. I see him dancing, cleaning drains, and doing other odd jobs to impress the nation that he is a down to earth person.

However, I see it as a distraction so that the nation will not focus on the other majorissuegoingon.Iknow thattheno-confidencewould not be passed but for me I havenoconfidenceinhimas a leader He is more like a boss.

I am calling on all right thinking Guyanese to come outandholdthegovernment accountableforthenonsense they are doing in the oil sector and the sale of the MarriottHotel.

Sincerely,

ConcernedCitizen

POOR RECORD KEEPINGAT GECOM

DEAREDITOR, GECOMisatragedyand under the current management it is a national embarrassment in many ways.

The fraud as it relates to backersshouldnothavebeen accepted in the first place. Again GECOM seems clueless and even today no wordonthematter

There was a time in GECOM when someone worked as a party official they could not work as a GECOM staff. Why has this changed? Persons who are highly affiliated with party, or party works such as Men

On Mission are now

employed to work at this electionsagency GECOM needs to do proper record keeping to avoid persons with partisan historytobeworkingasstaff for the upcoming local election.

Persons who worked as party agents or canvassed should not be employed for theseelections.

Regards,

A.Singh

Regional FIU delegation in Guyana to conduct on-site visit

Gold miner remanded for 2018 murder of his brother

Thirty-three-year-old Gordon Henry, a gold miner of FallsTopVillage, NorthWestDistrict(NWD) was on Tuesday remanded to prison for the 2018 murderofhisbrother

LastThursday, the gold miner was apprehended during a raid exercise at FiveStarLanding,NWD.

Attorney General

and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC, on Tuesday met with a visiting delegation from the Financial Intelligence Units (FIU) of Trinidad and Tobago and the British VirginIslands.

T h e d e l e g a t i o n comprised of Mr Nigel Stoddard,DirectorofActing DirectoroftheFIU,Trinidad and Tobago and Mr Errol George, Director of the Financial Investigation Agency, British Virgin Islands.

Accompanying the Attorney General were Mr Matthew Langevine, DirectoroftheFIUGuyana, and Mr Rommel St. Hill,

A n t i - M o n e y Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Officer attached to the Attorney General’s Chambers. The visiting delegation is currently in Guyana conducting an on-site visit with regards to Guyana’s application to join the Egmont Group of FIU

Subsequenttotheirvisit,the delegation will provide a report to the Egmont Group in July, 2023 in Dubai for consideration.

If successful, this will enable Guyana to join the Egmont Group in early2024. Guyana’s joinder to this important international institution will significantly enhanceitsFIUinstitutional

capability to access 1 internationalplatformandto receive and be able to d i s s e m i n a t e v i t a l informationandintelligence in relation to organized crime, terrorist financing, and other local and crossborder illicit activities. The delegation commended Guyana on its current AML/CFT framework and the consistent exchange of informationandcooperation within this domestic network.Thedelegationalso hailed Guyana’s FIU for executing Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with almostallofitscounterparts across the Caribbean and other key stakeholders, a statementfromtheAttorney (Continuedonpage24)

From the Port Kaituma Police Station, the murder accused appeared virtually before Magistrate Dylon Bess at the Georgetown Magistrates’Courts.

He was not required to plead to the indictable charge and he was remanded to prison. The matter was then adjourned toJune6,2023.

Gordon was on the run after the May 5, 2018 murder of his brother Clinton Henry, a 34-yearold gold miner According to reports, the brothers were imbibing at Yambay, EclipseFallsTop,NWD,in frontoftheirparents’home. However, a while later when Clinton’s wife went to check on the brothers, she found her husband lying on the ground with a stabwoundtohishead.

The Guyana Police Force (GPF) reported that at 04:30 hours onApril 20, ranks from the Port Kaituma Police Station acted on information received and went to Five StarLanding,NWD,where theysearchedtheshopofa 24-year-old female for arms, ammunition and narcotics.

However, while the ranksdidnotfindanything

illegal, they saw Gordon andapprehendedhim. ThePolicereportedthat themurdersuspectwastold of the offence committed, cautioned and he responded,“Damanwudda killmeifIdidn’tkillhe.” Gordon was then escorted to the Port Kaituma Police Station, where he was placed into custodyastheinvestigation continues.

APLEA FOR POSITIVEACTION IN THE OILAND GAS...

Frompage4

Opposition may be stressful but an absolute necessity if we are to make a reality of One People, One Nation, OneDestinyandifweareto translatethisrecentMottoof One Guyana into a reality

People from Corentyne, Babu Jaan, from Ann’s Grove to Buxton, Georgetown to Parika, Essequibo Coast to North West, the Highlands, the Hinterlands and the Savannahs, I am confident, authorizeyouourLeaderson every side of the political dividetodemand,requestor ask, the language is yours, much, much more than this paltry sum we are now getting.

In a few days time we will celebrate two significant events, May 1, May Day, the triumph and trials of the working class against the plantocracy and May 5, Indian (Official) Arrival Day of our Indian brothers arriving in two ships. They worked hard on the plantations, particularly in the sugar industry and by dint of sacrifice, hard work and deferred gratification, the majority of them have

now become a credit to our nationstate.

Ofcourse,thetragedyof the other large group, the enslavedAfricans,isthatthe imperial masters were so cruel that credible records cannotbefoundforthename of the ships that transported them from West Africa and enslaved them on arrival in Guyana.

May I remind you Excellency of what the late Dr Yesu Persaud once said that we came in different ships but today in Guyana, we’reallinthesameboat.So letuspaddleinunisontothe beat of the sambula (Amerindian drums),the congo drums, the tassa drums, the tanggu and tung (Traditional Chinese drums), the Adufe (Portuguesedrums) andthe traditionalEnglishdrums.

The attitude of what we earlierdescribeasMassahas not changed much over the many generations Their techniques of course are d i ff e r e n t b u t t h e u n d e r p i n n i n g s o f exploitation, divide and rule and providing distractions have not changed Guyanese, particularly the

Amerindian brothers, African, Indian and others must be careful, must be courageous to put aside selfishness and shared stupidity to avoid lessons of the murky past repeating themselves.

Overthepasttwoweeks, I painfully listened to the people of Sri Lanka, formerly British colony Ceylon, leaving their country of birth for a better life. In India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, the tension between Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and Christians still exists.

In East,West, North and South Africa, the plunder started by the colonizers continues unabated and in spiteofthehomeofprecious metals, including gold and oil, many Africans still experience abject poverty and circumstances where they are persuaded by centuries of mis-education that the Creator made them lessthanequaltothosewith nomelanin.

Today in Sudan there is strifeandstruggle.Ilearntof a British Intelligence Officer, celebrated as Lawrence of Arabia, and

speakingtoafriendwhohas beentopartsofWestAfrica, I asked where are the resources, money, guns, food ect. coming from to keep the warring factions in Sudan fighting for so long. Hisanswerwassimple.

Weapons supplied keep the war machine by the rich west countries in the rich west going, while instead of producing tractors and fertilizer plant foods, they are producing weapons to destroy their kit and kin in Sudan and other places Years ago, R.R. Madden began his poem with these words

“Behold the peace that ownedbyhimwhofeels

He does no wrong, or outragewhenhedeals In human flesh or yet suppliesthegold

To stir the strife whose victimsyoubehold.”

These sentiments expressed years ago are r e l e v a n t i n o u r circumstances.

Dear Mr President, you haveadutytobeaStatesman and graciously invite the Oppositionthatwhetheryou like it or not, represent a substantial portion of our

population. Mr. President, you must rise above the bleating of those who still subscribe to the belief that” awepontop.”

Our Parliament must be used,notasasham, ashow piece or abuse but as a listening post for a truly concerned and caring government to listen, learn and where necessary take action.AsIdictatethisletter, the Government intends to table the first reading of the National Intelligence and Security Agency Bill. Mr President, how is this different from the efforts of AdolphHitler,whenheused the Reichstag (German Parliament) or Bonito MussoliniinItalyduringthe 1930s in the second World War

This Bill is an abomination, an absurdity and an affront to all. We understand democracy and decencytobeallaboutgood governance, or is this another distraction crafted by your well staffed information outfit to consume our energies away from the vital issues of a rising cost of living in the fastest growing economy

This Bill is a demonstration ofalackofconfidenceinthe leadership and members of theGuyanaPoliceForceand the Guyana Defence Force and ought to be withdrawn posthaste.

Iwritethisletterbecause I am an enthusiast of Civil Rights Leader, Martin Luther King, Jr who reminded us “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things thatmatter.”

Mr President, the proverbial ball is in your court. Withdraw this Bill, callintheOpposition,agree on anAgenda to discuss our Natural Resources in the distribution of our vast wealth so that tomorrow everyGuyaneseboyandgirl would be afforded equal opportunity for education, health care and cultural activity

Thank God, there is no shortage of money to fulfill the dreams of our noble ancestors, whose blood, sweat and tears nourished this place we know as a Cooperative Republic of Guyana.

Yourhumbleservant, HamiltonGreen

Remanded: Gordon Henry

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC, on Tuesday, met with a visiting delegation from the Financial Intelligence Units (FIU) of Trinidad and Tobago and the British Virgin Islands.

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KNOCKING GROUPS, KNOCKING REPORTS, KNOCKING PEOPLE

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Any group that PPPleaders doesn’t like has to go down.

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Any report that makes the PPPGovt. look bad is trashed.

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Any question that causes the PPPproblems is canned.

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Any journalist that makes the PPPnervous is smeared.

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Thanks to the PPPfor this kind of democracy.

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Billpassedtoincreasecomplementofappellatejudges

The‘longoverdue’Court ofAppeal(Amendment)Bill of 2022 was on Monday passed in the National Assembly to improve the efficiency of court proceedings as well as increase the complement of judges in the Court of Appeal.

This comes in response tothemammothcaseloadon the Court of Appeal docket andthesmallcomplementof judges to dispose of matters inatimelymatter Currently, only three Permanent Appellate judges sit on the Court of Appeal. The Court ofAppeal(Amendment)Bill of 2022 amends section 34(1)oftheCourtofAppeal Act, Cap 3:01, which presently provides that the judges of the Court of Appeal shall include no

more than five Justices of Appeal.

It is aimed at increasing the number of appellate court judges to at least five and no more than nine Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mohabir Anil Nandlall, SC, said the increase in the complement of judges is long overdue, amid a tremendous increase in litigation.

“In my view, the propensity to litigate in Guyana has grown progressivelyovertheyears. It is, therefore, both u n r e a s o n a b l e a n d impossible to expect the same number of judges to copeefficientlyinthefaceof such an increase in workload. “Our government has been a willing and

reliablepartnerinsupporting the judiciary in every initiative designed to improve the justice system and bring to its processes greaterdispatch.”

The AG reminded that the administration s p e a r h e a d e d t h e implementation of several systems to advance this agenda, such as the introduction of the audiovisual recording system, which allowed for the automatic recording of proceedings in court, with a written transcript being produced,andsavedtime,as judges were no longer required to take notes using ‘longhand’.

Similar measures included the introduction of new civil procedure rules and an increase in the

complement of High Court judges from 12 to 20 Further, the government is also building out the infrastructuralframeworkto

foster greater efficiency in the court proceedings, as millionshavebeenexpended for the expansion and renovation of the Court of Appeal building, located at Kingston,Georgetown.

These improvements willalsoseetheconstruction of a new courtroom and larger facilities to allow for simultaneous sittings of the courtofappeal.

“It would be reasonable for the public to expect that once more judges are appointed, there will be greater alacrity in the hearinganddeterminationof cases,” the AG said, adding that it’s the government’s hopeforsystemstobeputin place to allow the Appeal Court Justices to sit in different counties to hear matters.Adding his voice in support of the bill, Member of Parliament, Sanjeev

The Court of Appeal

Datadin said the heavy backlog of cases puts strain on the appeal court judges, andtheamendmentwillplay a key role in fostering efficient administration of justice.

“So, what we need to do is make sure that those obstacles are removed. We needtomakesurethatweput it on a little even footing, so that when we have appeals, and we have a larger complement of judges, hopefully,theadministration of justice overall will improve.Wewillgetquicker rulings, more written decisions, and the people of Guyana will get their issues resolved in a timely manner,” Datadin stated Alsosupportingthebillwere Opposition Members of Parliament, Khemraj Ramjattan, and Geeta Chandan-Edmond.

Losingapprox.US$230M...

Frompage3

SuchasituationwouldpreventGuyanafromhavingtogoto the US EXIM Bank for the US$646M it is pursuing in loan financetosupporttheproject.

These numbers are only for oil production at less than 400,000 barrels per day (bpd). The Prosperity floating production,storageandoffloading(FPSO)vesselispreparing tostartproducingthisyear,takingproductionto600,000bpd. Exxonplanstoincreaseproductionto1.2Mbpdby2027.

Leaving Guyana to deal with a 2% royalty for the exploitation of 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent will cause the country to lose out on the opportunity for billions of US dollars in earnings over the lifetime of the Stabroek block PSA.

The new model contract is expected to be finalized later this month. Government said the terms will be used for the blocksthatwillgooutintheauctionandblockscurrentlyheld byoilcompaniesoffshoreGuyana.

TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL IS PART OF AN IMPERIALIST AGENDA

Lack of transparency is not a measure of corruption, justashowinequalityisnota measure of poverty It is therefore a mistake for anyone to assume that because a country ranks lowly when it comes to global measures of transparency, this means corruptionisrampant.

Equating lack of transparencywithcorruption becomesmoresuspectwhen dealing with the findings of an organization such as Transparency International, whose annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) doesnotmeasurecorruption, but is merely a highly contestable index of the perceptionofcorruption.

The serious flaws inherent in the Corruption Perceptions Index was unmasked years ago by Staffan Andersson and Paul Heywood in their article

“The Politics of Perception: U s e a n d A b u s e o f T r a n s p a r e n c y International’s Approach to MeasuringCorruption.”

These two writers identifiedanumberofflaws in the CPI produced by Transparency International (TI) Andersson and Heywood indicate that firstly, the CPI does not measure incidents of corruption but rather perceptions of corruption. Secondly, the CPI is a composite index derived fromanumberofsurveysfor which there is no common methodology amongst these surveys.

One can add to these criticisms that these surveys do not measure the perceptions of Guyanese towards corruption in their

country, but are the perceptions of external organizations,noneofwhom can be said to have any interestinGuyana.

If the CPI was based on theperceptionsofGuyanese towards corruption in their country,Guyanawouldhave rankedfarlower

The CPI produced by Transparency International should be dismissed outright. It certainly flows from a flawed methodology and cannot be said to truly measurecorruption.Norcan it be said to be a representative perception of the lack of transparency in Guyana.

There are other limitations that support the view that the CPI is really a bogusindex.

Forone,thedefinitionof corruption used by TransparencyInternational–misuse of power for private gain–encouragesanalmost exclusive focus on public corruption.

Yetyearsagointhevery week when Transparency International released its recent index, a major US bank agreed on a billiondollar settlement for alleged money laundering activities ofitsMexican-basedbranch.

And when one considers that major private corporationswereentrapped inmajorcorruptionscandals and Ponzi schemes, then, had a much broader definitionofcorruptionbeen used to account for private corruption, America may have been listed as the most corruptcountryintheworld.

It is not so recorded in TransparencyInternational’s C P I b e c a u s e t h a t organization is part of an

Dem Boys Seh...

imperialistagendatodeepen economic and political liberalization in developing countries.

Itiswellestablishedthat liberal economies demand more openness so that the developed countries can increase their economic and politicalpenetration.

More openness requires greater transparency and improved regulations to accommodate private capital: both foreign and domestic.

The call for greater transparency has become a pretext for entrenching certain norms, under the rubricofgoodgovernance.

These norms serve the interestsoftherichcountries by facilitating the opening up of the economies of poor countriesbecausecapitalism knows that its survival depends on increased consumption, including consumptionabroad.

The capitalist countries are also wary of what happened in Russia – and one can now add Guyana –where state divestment created powerful economic oligarchies.

The way to avoid this in otherliberalizingeconomies is to encourage regulatory reforms as part of a good governanceenterprise.

And critical to these reforms is the insistence on greater accountability, which means fair and open competition But fair competition amongst unequals favours large and powerful multinationals and localmonopolies.

In this way, the call for greater transparency in the awardofcontractsservesthe interests of the powerful

Dem boys gat use fuh Lot 12

Degovernmentstilltodecidewhatdem gan do with de Camp Street Prison. De government say that most of de inmates theregansoonbeoutofthereandadecision gangattobemadeastowhattodowithde prison.

Peopledonestarttalkingaboutwhatuse can be put to de Camp Street Prison. Some people seh turn into into a ballfield fuh de nearby residents who nah gat nowhere for recreation.

Other persons seh how de government could turn it into a large parking lot for parkingindearea.

Thereisnoshortageofsuggestionsasto what to do with the Prisons which tek up a wholeblockgoingNorthtoSouthandwhole blockgoingEasttoWest.Nowonderpeople

doesrefertoitasdeblock.

But dem boys wondering why de governmentgattodecideonwhattodowith dePrison.Demboysgatusefuhdeprisons. De country gan gat good use fuh de Camp StreetPrison.

Demboyswantmekitintoapenitentiary fuh dem politicians. It gan become a politicalprison.

And once dat happen nuff of dem politicansganendupindejailhouse.Andde restganketchsenseandstarttodobetter

Itmekdemboysrememberdemanwha get 25 years in de slammer fuh calling Burnham and idiot. He get 5 years fuh insulating Burnham and 20 years fuh revealingstatesecrets. Talkhalf.Leffhalf!

economicenterprises. Good governance is also about promoting democratic government.

Itisarguedthatthemore accountable the government is, the more responsive it is likely to be towards its citizens. This certainly has appeal, but the overall agenda in encouraging greater democratization is that liberalization of the economy requires a democraticframework.

Without a democratic political system, economic liberalization will be threatened.

Organizations such as Transparency International, while genuinely seeking to ensure that there is reduced corruption worldwide, have

become entrapped in this imperialistagenda.

Butwhatisdisconcerting about organizations such as TI,istheirrefusaltocallfor greater transparency in international organizations such as the World Bank, the IMF,theSecurityCouncilof the United Nations and the World Trade Organization.

Certainly, developing countries need a greater voiceintheseorganizations. The absence of this voice makes these organizations less responsive to the needs of developing countries and thus, less transparent ButforalltheNGOsaround promoting greater transparency, few are developing any indices that measure the degree of

responsiveness of international organizations towards developing countries.

T r a n s p a r e n c y Internationalwouldbebetter advised to drop its controversial CPI and concentrate its energies towardsdemocratizingthese international organizations, rather than being used as an instrument for imperialist domination.

(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.)

BYGHKLALL

H@RD TRUTHS

BY GHK LALL

FLOODS, A NATIONAL EMBARRASSMENT, LGE A NATIONAL JOKE

For a capital city, this is what Guyanese have, lived with, have endured forever It is Friday, April 21st.

From Lamaha Street’s edge to about Sussex Street 90% of the roads of Georgetown were under about a foot of water. The bare black spots signaling asphalt were as rare as an oasisintheSahara.Literally ThebusyNewMarketStreet entrance of the GPHC, with its concentration of people going to and fro, was 100% underwater This is at an addressthathastodealwith

thousands of citizens daily

This is Guyana, oil rich Guyana,anditisasinkhole, reduced to a virtual rathole. This is our national shrine, ourhome.

I hate myself for having to say it, but somebody has to say this -let’s all look in the mirror, we all have a share in this national embarrassment (voters, politicians).

Seven years after oil’s firstdiscovery,thisiswhere Guyana’s most populated, most energetic, most seen and walked city stands in miserable waterlogged wretchedness. Almost 5

years of PNC governance and almost 3 years of PPP rulership, and this is what our flagship capital looks like after a hard, driving, torrentialrain.

During those years, the PNCbashedthePPP,andthe PPP has been only too glad toreturnthefavorwithgusto since its return. The Local Government Ministry rubs thenoseofCityGovernment into the dust, and City Government is reduced to futile pawing of the air Nothing moves, except the garbage occasionally, the municipal markets reflexively and, of course,

the rainwater, as it inches upwards.

When the spirit moves him,ExcellencyAlirollsup his sleeves and manhandles ashovelorgarbagebag. It’s good for a lush photo moment,goodpolitics,good idea, but bad for city residents and visitors. Utterly bad, inconceivably bad.

Thinkdrainage,roadsin astateofdisrepairinswaths, stench,muchmore.

Butweareallstormand fury already about this melodramathatisknownas Local Government Elections (LGE). For what objectives,mayIask?

With what pluses for r e s i d e n t s ? W h a t distinguishing features than before?

Throughthecarwindow I watched the broad rivers and long lakes that was Guyana’s capital on Friday, April 21st, and I reminded myselfthatGuyanesearethe richestpeopleglobally

I should be happy We have the fastest growing economy,andImustkeepan eye and an ear out for an engine stall. Yes, the water was that high, the anxiety that palpable. Given that thisisthecontradictorystate of the national economy, Guyanaislikeamanwithall the money in the world, but one who has no teeth. He can’t smile when the world rushes to his door and feet, andhecan’teat.

Whoever wins this unfolding LGE farce, and after the squabbling is over,

is sure to talk about studies, the Dutch, pumps, and koker operators. If city residents hit the jackpot, they might hear talk about a program of sustained drainage works to keep them flowing, to clear the runoff in times of heavy rain. Inallthis,thereisone commoncharacteristic:talk.

TalkaboutwhatthePNC shouldhavedone,butdidn’t do, if the PPP fails to bring Georgetown under the control of Freedom House. This would be a signal for the resumption of Local Government Ministry m a c h i n a t i o n s a n d shenanigansinthecity

Ontheotherhand,ifthe PPP did upset the betting boards(notanoutsideshot), itwouldbemoreofthesame big talk about improvement plans in a variety of municipalareas.

Therewouldbeaspecial vision in mind to deal with rains, floods, and all the f o o l i s h n e s s a n d frivolousness that have plagued the capital city for years. Weshallsee,butthis Ihavetosayfrankly

Anynationalleaderwith a hint, just a speck, of leadership and personal respect about him would commit unswervingly to address this embarrassing state of flooding once and forall.

Justgetthejobdone,and if that means that the cooperation of the PNC has to be had, then let it be worked out. For sure, it is

going to cost a treasure houseofcash,butjustdoit. Unless the plan is to wait until the high new city is built5-10yearshence.

As I offer these things, there is the understanding that two negatives are in play, one favorable to the PPP,theothernot,andwhat has featured prominently in itsexercises.

First, a huge amount of money will be required to alleviate the flooding woes inthecity,whichmeansthat alotofmoneywillendupin the wrong pockets Unfortunately,thatissimply a necessary, unavoidable, insurmountable evil in Guyana.

Absorb the charge and move along, it is the cost of politics, government. The secondisthatGeorgetownis predominantly PNC, so that could be a showstopper for any substantial flood works that holds out the best chance to cure what is a StoneAgesituation. Maybe it is the IceAge, one that is melting, with Georgetown as the reservoir basin that collectstherunoff.

(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.)

HARDTRUTHS

Exxontoconductitsownenvironmentalmonitoring …on the hunt for local companies

EssoExplorationandProductionGuyana Limited (EEPGL), the subsidiary of Americanoilgiant,ExxonMobiliscurrently hunting for local consultants to conduct Biodiversity Assessments and EnvironmentalMonitoringforthecompany In a Request for Information (RFI), available on the Ministry of Natural Resources website, EEPGL- commonly referred to as ExxonMobil Guyanaexplained that it is seeking consultants interestedinconductingconsultancyservices for onshore and nearshore biodiversity assessments and environmental monitoring inGuyana.

It was explained that, “Through 2023, EEPGL has conducted a series of environmental studies and monitoring activities which provide a scientific

understanding of current state of the environment, as well as the social and economicneedsofcommunitiesinGuyana.”

As such, to continue these programs, the company plans to put in place enabling agreements for the provision of onshore environmental, regulatory, and socioeconomic(ER&S)services.

AccordingtotheRFI,Consultantsforthe BiodiversityAssessments will be required to (a) collect information on the distribution, habitatquality,seasonalvariability(spatialand temporal trends), nesting sites, relative abundance and diversity of coastal birds and coastal bird habitats; (b) collect and analyze information on the distribution (spatial and

temporal trends), seasonal variability, breeding sites, relative abundance and diversity of specific riverine and coastal mammals, crustaceans, and reptiles; (c) field verify (ground-truth) and map mangrove and estuarineaswellasfishspawningandnursery areas along the Guyana coast and (d) field verifyandmapcoastalecosystemservicesand local community dependance on coastal habitats

Meanwhile, environmental monitoring consultants will be tasked with developing various oversight and mitigation programs, including planning, implementation, and subsequentdataanalysis.

Some of the activities will include

conducting water quality sampling/ monitoring of riverine and estuarine zones; monitoring of onshore ambient air quality conditions at selected onshore locations; conducting vessel and road traffic studies; conducting emissions (acoustic, air and treated wastewater discharge) monitoring and modelling as well as monitoring emergency response and remediation measures.

Exxon said these services are to support the onshore support activities such as the shorebases,officebuildings,communication infrastructure, waste management and potential major projects, among others as wellasitsonshoreinfrastructure.

The oil company pointed out that Consultants must be in conformity with the LocalContentrequirements.

LawamendedtocutpowersofDPP

The Criminal Law (Procedure) Amendment Bill of 2022 has been modified to ensure the constitutional rightsofaccusedpersonsareprotected.

The adjusted legislation was successfully passed in the National AssemblyMondayevening. Therevisedbill amends section 72 of the Criminal Law (Procedure)Act,Cap10:01.

It follows the ruling of the Caribbean CourtofJusticeinthecaseofMarcusBisram vTheDirectorofPublicProsecutions(DPP) [2022]CCJ7(AJ)GY

Bisram,whowasaccusedofmurder,was discharged by the magistrate who heard the evidence at a Preliminary Inquiry (PI) into the murder charge. Consequently, the DPP directed the magistrate to reopen the PI and later to commit Bisram to trial, with which themagistratecomplied.Bisramappealedto

theCCJ,whichagreedthatSection72ofthe Criminal Law (Procedure) Act violates the separationofpowersandisalsoinconsistent with Article 144 of the Constitution, which governsaperson’srighttoafairhearing.

Section72empoweredtheDPPtodirecta magistrate to commit an accused person to stand trial, even if the said magistrate, after conductingapreliminaryinquiry,discharges theaccusedperson.

The amendment now provides that the DPP may make an application to a judge of the High Court for a warrant to arrest and commit an accused person who was

discharged by a magistrate under section 69 or71A(4)ofthePrincipalAct.

This application must be made within three months of receipt from the magistrate, of the authenticated copy of the depositions and any other statements or documents involvedintheproceedings.

Thejudgemayonlygrantthisapplication if he or she believes such an action is warranted, based on the evidence placed before the magistrate who discharged the accused. Both the DPP and the discharged personhavetherighttoappealthedecision.

Defending the bill in the National

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mohabir Anil Nandlall, SC

Assembly,AttorneyGeneralandMinisterof Legal Affairs, Mohabir Anil Nandlall, SC, saiditprioritisestheimportanceofseparation ofpowersandconstitutionalrights.

“Webelievethatthisbillaccurately Continued on page 22

...Govt. says amendment aimed at protecting constitutional rights of accused persons

regionalbodiescondemnattacksonjournalists

- call on Govt. to put an end to such acts

The Association of Caribbean Media Workers (ACM) and IFEX-ALC networkhavecondemnedin the strongest possible terms the intimidation of journalistsinGuyana.

IFEX-ALCisanalliance of IFEX members promotinganddefendingthe right to freedom of expressioninLatinAmerica and the Caribbean. In a statement on Tuesday, the regional and international bodies called on the Government of Guyana to immediately set the tone for a cessation of such acts that ultimately serve to fertilise the ground for an escalation of such acts that can ultimately lea physicalharm.

TheACMand I F E X - A L C further implore the government to urge its supporters to refrain from intimidatory behaviour It was outlined thatGuyanais a signatory to the Media Freedom Coalition which recognises that a strong democratic tradition requires a free and fair media Threats and harassmentofjournalistsrun countertothatprinciple.

“The ACM and IFEXALC note with concern the harassmentdirectedtowards Kaieteur News reporter, Davina Bagot at a press conference hosted by President Mohamed Irfaan Ali. She has since been subjected to cyberbullying and personal attacks from government supporters.The President of the Guyana Press Association, Nazima Raghubir has also been the victim of cyberbullying and personalattacksinthestateowned newspaper It is important to note that Ms. Raghubir is also the vicepresident of the ACM,” the statementread.

It was then underscored that these are not isolated cases that are only confined to the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC)-led administration as there have been instances in which the oppositionanditssupporters have also engaged in hostilities towards state media workers The

lso highlightedtherecentverbal

ttack on Guyana

hronicle’s ,Tamica

Garnett, who was verbally abused by a senior member of People’s National Congress Reform she called for a comment. The ACM believes that there is no coincidence between the posture of senior political operativesandcontentinthe State-owned media as well asaFacebookprofilethatis believed to be controlled by an associate or associates of thegoverningparty

The ACM and IFEXALC are calling for cooler heads to prevail and for politicians to exercise restraintandencouragetheir members and supporters to dothesame.

The ACM and F E X - A L C s t a n d s i n solidarity with journalists Davina Bagot, N a z i m a Raghubir,Tamica Garnett and other media workers in Guyana in their quest to perform their duties freely The organisations endorse steps that have been taken to report the two latest incidents to the Guyana Police Force and the Constitutional Women and G e n d e r E q u a l i t y Commission.

Only last week a group of 23 women and two men issued a letter to the press, calling on government and otheralignedactorstocease their vile attacks against activists, journalists, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and human rights defenders who are doing their part to represent the interests of vulnerable groups The concerned Guyanesewerekeentonote that over the past month, they have observed that verbal attacks, denigrating comments, erroneous accusations, name calling and threats against journalists, NGOs, environmental activists and humanrightsdefendershave mushroomed. They posited that such actions have originated from several sources, including senior members of government, individualswhoappeartobe paid or unpaid advisers, social media personalities, columnists, and anonymous Facebookpageoperators.

Theysaidaquickcount

Continuedonpage22

Manrobs‘friend’atknifepointafterfreedrop

AcanterdriveronSaturdaywasstabbed, chopped,androbbedatknifepointatEccles, East Bank Demerara (EBD) by his ‘friend’ aftergivinghimafreedrop.

The canter driver according to information received by Kaieteur News saw the suspect standing in front of an auto dealership along the Eccles Public Road and offeredalifttoGeorgetown.

As they were journeying, the suspect whippedoutaknifeandattemptedtorobhim the canter Fearful for his life, the driver stopped the truck and jumped out. He attemptedtofleeleavinghistruckbehindbut thesuspectranbehindandcorneredhimata shop.

There the suspect, stabbed and chopped thedriverabouthisbodyashereachedinthe victim’spockets.

Theentireordealwascapturedonsecurity cameras mounted on nearby buildings. The driver was seen trying to bar the chops and stabswithhisforearm.

KaieteurNewsunderstandsthathaditnot beenfortheinterventionofalicensedfirearm holder in the vicinity, the driver could have

died.Thesuspectranawayandthedriverwas rescued and rushed to the city hospital for medicalattention.

Investigationsareongoing.

Labourer crushed by log at Mackenzie Sports Club Ground

ALabourer on Tuesday was crushed by a log (piles) at the Mackenzie Sports Club (MSC) groundatLinden,RegionTen.

The dead man was identified as Cledwin Richard,a43-year-oldlabourerofSoesdykeLindenHighway

The MSC ground is presently under constructionandaccordingtopoliceRichard was employed by a contractor who was

contractedtodrivepilesatthesite. Reportsarethatthelabourerwaswalking on one of six logs that were stacked on each other on the ground when he fell between another log.As a result, the log rolled down and crushed Richard’s head before he could havegottenoftheway

Hisco-workersrushedtoremovethelogs butfoundRichard’slifelessbodyunderneath. Investigationsareongoing.

The canter driver being attacked by the suspect.

A wounded canter driver being stitched up at the hospital

Labourer Cledwin Richards hunched over a log after he was crushed on Tuesday.

To accommodate the nurses being trained in various health programmes at the Suddie Public Hospital, the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) of Region Two on Monday signed a $21 4 million contract to have the nurse’s hostelbeextended.

Accordingtoinformation provided on the RDC’s Facebook page, the $214 million contract was signed by Regional Executive Officer (REO), Ms Susanah Saywackandcontractor,K&J PersaudContractingService

$21.4M contract signed to extend nurses’ hostel at Suddie Public Hospital

hesaid Oudit said that the current building can only accommodate 12 persons and so with the ongoing trainings, more medical persons will be employed in the system so provision has

tobemadefortheworkersto overnight.

This year, the health sector was allocated some $84 9 billion from the national budget to further develop the healthcare systeminthecountry

The project which was awarded by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) is expected to be completed within four months and is expected to accommodate an additional 10roomsand15nurses.

Kaieteur News had reported that this project whenitopenedattheNPTAB office back in March it was estimated to cost

$25,425,000 A total of 25 contractors had bid for the contract and K&J Persaud Contracting Service

submitted the lowest bid for thejob

In an invited comment, Regional Vice Chairman, Mr Humace Oudit said that the reason for the extension isthatcurrentlythebuilding where the nurses are being accommodated in is “very muchcrampedforspace.”

“RegionTwonowhaving the training of nurses, pharmacy assistants, community health workers and so we have to make p r o v i s i o n f o r accommodation we are presentlycrampedforspace,”

Fibre-glassrebarsbeingusedinGuyanaforthefirsttime

One year after MST- rebars, a building material made of fibre glass strands and resin, was introduced by Mings Products & Services Ltd. at the International Building Expo in Guyana, a local company, C&F Mall is the first to use this new form construction technology

On Thursday, the company casted the foundation of the 156 feet by 25 feet three-storey structureatBagotstown,EastBank Demerara(EBD) using only MSTRebars.

Thebuildingmaterialiswidely used to build bridges and other megaconcretestructuresintheice coldwatersoftheUnitedStatesand Canada and one of the reasons is becauseitisresistanttocorrosion.

Theproductisconsideredtothe perfectalternativetosteel.

C&F Mall’s proprietor, Peter Fraserexplainedthatbuildingsthat service the oil and sector require

Foundation using only MST-Rebars for a three-storey structure at Bagotstown.

sturdyconstruction.

“Thebuildingis156feetby25 feetwideandIamtargetingtheoil

sector in the first instance,” Fraser said noting that his engineer recommended the use of the MST

Rebarssinceitisadurableproduct.

MeanwhileOperationsManager of Mings Products & Services Ltd,

JohnChinsaidthatMST-Rebarsare four times stronger than the traditionalSteelRebars.

The use of MST-Rebars also reduces the amount of concrete usedtoconstructbuildings.

“You can also reduce the concrete required…with steel you would need about two inches of cove between the steel and the surface of the concrete that is mainly to minimize moisture intrusion and affecting the steel rebar you can reducethatcover by 31/4ofaninch…”Chinadded.

OtherbenefitsofMST-Rebars include reduced handling costs, less labour required, no need for coated bars, and no wastage of materials.

To purchase MST-rebars contact can be made with Mings Products and Services Limited where an engineering team will advise customers on existing designsofFibre-GlassRebars.

The $21.4 million contract being signed for the extension of the nurses’hospital at the Suddie Hospital. (Photo courtesy, Regional Democratic Council of Region Two)

The Suddie Public Hospital located on the Essequibo Coast.

‘GuyanaShopCorner’createspositivevibesnationally - Consumers impressed with high quality local products

Thousands of Guyanese across the country now have access to more agroprocessed commodities manufactured locally as the Guyana Marketing

Corporation (GMC) collaborates with members of the business community t o i n c r e a s e l o c a l consumption through awarenessandaccessibility

In January 2023, the GMC intensified its efforts to establish more ‘Guyana Shop Corners’ at various supermarkets across the country to increase the accessibility of agroprocessed commodities producedlocally

S i n c e t h e commencement of the ‘Guyana Shop Corner’ initiative, a total of 43 supermarketsareonboardto further expand the range of local agro-processed commodities offered to consumers within their communities.

As part of the initiative, the GMC provides all brandedmaterialstobeused

for the ‘Guyana Shop Corner’along with products locally produced at an affordable cost for participatingsupermarkets.

According to Mr Richard Hanif, GMC’s Marketing Manager, the exercise has cascading benefits at all levels of the businesscycle.

“Through greater awareness of our products produced locally, especially sincemanyoftheseproducts are manufactured using internationally accepted guidelines from fresh ingredients grown locally under environmentally friendly conditions, our consuming public is guaranteed affordable, wholesome foods and other products which in some cases are creating a stir on both regional and internationalmarkets.”

Mr Hanif noted that many emerging agro processorsareembracingthe initiative since it provides a pathway for market penetration locally through greater accessibility and

awareness of their products and importantly economic empowerment for young entrepreneursandwomen.

In an invited comment, Mr Clarence Hinds, Proprietor of Kumaka

G r o c e r y, K u m a k a Waterfront,Region1praised the ‘Guyana Shop Corner’ initiative and expressed satisfaction with regard to the affordability and excellent packaging of locallymanufacturedgoods.

Meanwhile, ‘Uncle Junior’, an elder resident fromWhiteWater,Region1, was pleasantly surprised at the extensive range of productsmanufacturedfrom materials grown here in Guyana and lauded the ‘Guyana Shop Corner’ initiativeasanexcellentone.

Mrs Wendy Sajon, Proprietor, Tru Value Supermarket, Yarrowkabra, Linden Soesdyke Highway, remarkedthatnotonlyisthe initiative making local productsmoreaccessiblebut it also helps the business community in timely sourcing and restocking

these products through the GMC.

In Region 9, Mrs. Khan

Supermarket, located in Central Lethem, remarked that she is a strong advocate for local content and is

extremely excited and pleased to have such a wide variety of local products in hersupermarket.

Customers showcase products from the ‘Guyana Shop Corner’initiative.

Govt.tables 2016 Treasury Memorandum in keeping with statutory requirement

The Ministry of Finance’s Treasury Memorandum pursuant to the Auditor General’s 2016 report was tabled in the National Assembly on Monday by Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance GailTeixeira.

The tabling of the Treasury Memorandum is in keeping with the ResolutionNo.46/2022datedNovember30, 2022, on the PublicAccounts of Guyana for theyearendedDecember31,2016.

The Treasury Memorandum outlines the Government’s recommendations that are to be implemented to resolve the issues which arose at the Public Accounts Committee (PAC)fortheyear2016.

Following accusations that the governmenthasbeenstymieingtheprogress ofcorrectingthediscrepancieshighlightedin the 2016Audit Report and subsequent PAC deliberations by failing to lay over the Treasury Memorandum to the Parliament, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo clarified that Government, in keeping with the statutory requirements had already submitted the documentfortheyear2016totheClerkofthe NationalAssemblyforitbetabled.

The Vice President (VP) also clarified that government is not delinquent in complyingwiththeprocessmeanttocorrect the financial irregularities highlighted in the AuditorGeneralreports.

His comments came on the heels of an accusation made by Chairman of the Public

Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira

Accounts Committee (PAC), Jermaine Figueira.

Figueira accused the Government of dragging its feet on implementing measures to correct the repeated skullduggery perpetratedatthelevelofStateagencies.

He claimed that this is owing to the government’s failure to adhere to the Parliamentary Standing Orders which stipulates that recommendations to help addressthoseirregularitiesaretobemadevia aTreasuryMemorandumwhichhastobelaid intheParliamentbytheMinisterofFinance.

The Treasury Memorandum contains recommendations for accounting officers to addresstherepeatedfinancialand

Continued on page 20

GRA’scaseagainst RampsLogisticsdismissed

The Georgetown Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday dismissed all charges brought against Ramps Logistics Guyana Inc.bytheGuyanaRevenue Authority(GRA).

Thematterwasheardby Magistrate Dylon Bess. The GRA, which brought the caseagainstthecompanyon October 5, 2022, had called four witnesses to testify during the two-day trial and Magistrate Bess ruled that Rampshadnocasetoanswer to and dismissed all charges againstthecompany

In a statement following the matter, Ramps Logistics said“Wearegratefulforthe support from our lawyers, Pratesh Satram and Mahendra Satram of Satram & Satram and Attorney Nigel Hughes of the Law Office of Hughes, Fields & Stoby, who led our defence in this matter We also sincerely thank our team members and other stakeholderswhohavestood by us throughout this unfortunateincident.”

The company noted that it remains committed to working closely with the GRA and all other agencies to ensure all processes are transparent and within the realmofthelaw

“We aim to continue to positively contribute towards Guyana’s growth and development in the energy and non-energy sectors,” the statement added.

Last October, the Law

E n f o r c e m e n t a n d Investigations Division (LEID) of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) instituted 10 charges in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court against Ramps Logistics for false declarations.

The Departments’ investigations determined, amongothers,thatduringthe period of 2021 to 2022, Ramps made several untrue declarations to the revenue authority

The Revenue Authority saidthemovetothecourtsis in keeping with its mandate to ensure there is a ‘level playing field’ for legitimate businessesandthecollection ofrevenue.

The GRAalso called for individuals/companies involved in any such illicit activities to cease and desist there from and bring their businesses into compliance with the nation’s Tax, Trade andBorderlaws.

The Authority’s records also revealed that the Law

E n f o r c e m e n t a n d Investigation Division was probing Ramps Logistics Guyana for allegedly abusing blanket tax waivers granted for the importation of goods to be used by Stabroek Block operator, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited ( E E P G L ) , a n d i t s subcontractors.

A report by the division citedacaseonDecember13, 2019, when it checked a shipment of goods consigned to EEPGL and R a m p s L o g i s t i c s Incorporated was listed as thedeclarant.

The LEID report said, “The said declaration was deemed false since the quantity of the goods declared was inconsistent with the information stated on the invoice. The said act constituted a breach of Sections217(1)(a)and219 oftheCustomsAct,Chapter 82:01,respectively.”

In the said matter, the Commissioner General (Godfrey Statia) in accordancewithSection271 oftheCustomsAct,Chapter 82:01, invoked his discretionary power and waived the proposed compensation of $500,000 fortheactscommitted.”

OnWorldMalariaDay,the

lth Organization (PAHO) Director, Dr Jarbas Barbosa calledoncountriestointensify malaria elimination efforts amongindigenous,mobileand remote communities, the p o p u l a t i o n s disproportionately affected by thedisease.

Although the total number ofmalariacasesintheRegion spiked from 2015 to 2019, increased efforts towards elimination in the 18 endemic countries have yielded positive results, with 520,000 casesreportedin2021–a13% reduction from the previous year,PAHOsaidinapressrelease.

— PAHO Director says

Thenumberofdeathsalsodeclinedfrom 197 in 2019, to 120 deaths in 2021 thanks to improvedcasemanagementincountrieswith the highest disease burdens. Early diagnosis and treatment remain key to preventing mortality and reducing transmission. “We havethetoolsneededtoprovidepopulations with highly effective diagnosis, treatment, and prevention interventions, but we need to step up our efforts and tailor responses to specific settings,” the Director stated in a videomessagetocommemoratetheday

To ensure this, countries must “engage localcommunities,strengthenprimaryhealth care, and ensure sustainable funding to maintain progress towards elimination,” he added. In 2018, Paraguay was certified malaria-free, followed byArgentina in 2019 and El Salvador in 2021. Belize is also on track to receive certification,after remaining malaria-freeforthepastthreeyears.

Malaria is an acute disease caused by Plasmodium,aparasitetransmittedbythebite of an infected Anopheles mosquito Symptoms, including fever, headache and chillsappear10-15daysafterabiteandmay be mild or, left untreated, can progress to severe illness and death Insufficient availability of malaria services in remote endemicareascontinuestoaffecttheresponse to the disease. The theme of World Malaria Day 2023, Time to deliver zero malaria: invest, innovate, implement, highlights the

criticalimportanceofsustainedinterventions tailored to reach these vulnerable communities.

To ensure consistent progress, PAHO recommendstheimplementationofevidencebased actions that address local realities. Generation of granular data is key to inform the transition from control to elimination as this is the only way to interpret local transmission dynamics and design appropriate interventions “Eliminating malariaispossible,”Dr Barbosaadded.“Itis time to urge mobilization of resources and support towards malaria elimination in the Americas.”

PAHOcontinuestoworkwithcountriesof the Region and partner networks to support the elimination of malaria, one of the 30 diseases and conditions PAHO seeks to end by 2030 through its Disease Elimination Initiative: Towards Healthier Generations. To advance malaria elimination, PAHO has also created Malaria Champions of the Americas,aninitiativerecognizingadvances towardseliminationofmalariaintheRegion, including projects that focus on high burden municipalities and areas with limited access to health services and hard to reach populations.

Nominations for Malaria Champions of the Americas are currently being accepted until 12 May 2023. The winners will be announced on 6 November 2023, which coincideswithMalariaDayintheAmericas.

Govt. tables 2016 Treasury Memorandum...

Frompage19 managerialanomaliesthatwereidentifiedby theAuditorGeneral.

In response VP Jagdeo said that the Treasury Memorandum pursuant to resolution No. 46/2022 dated November 30, 2022onthepublicaccountsofGuyanaforthe year ending 31st December 2016 was submittedonFebruary24,2023.

According to Jagdeo, the Government is now waiting on the PAC Chair to move a Motion in Parliament so that the next memorandumcanbelaidovertotheHouse.

Jagdeosaid:“Thefactofthematteristhat onlythe2016hassofarbeenadoptedbythe National Assembly After a resolution [is] passed….TheMinisterofFinancewithin90 days has to submit his Treasury Memorandum. This was done and the Minister has submitted his Treasury Memorandumon24February2023.”

He continued: “So the 2017 and 2018 reports…ItisMr Figueiranowneedstogoto the[National]AssemblyandmoveaMotion

and the Motion have to be debated and only when the debate is concluded then the Clerk can issue the resolution and thereafter the MinisterofFinancehas90daystosubmitthe treasury memorandum. So the Minister of Finance cannot submit a memorandum now, ifthePACChairhasnotdonehispart.”

Meanwhile,inresponsetotheexplanation profferedbyJagdeo,APartnershipforNational Unity +Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) Member of Parliament (MP), Ganesh Mahipaul said that the Opposition members cannot be blamed for raising the allegation againstthegovernment

“We have had no parliament for the longestwhilesoifitissubmittedtotheClerk tobeplacedontheOrderPaperbutnotlaidor circulated to MPs, there is no way of us knowingthis,”hesaid.

Mahipaul had previously called out the government for flouting the Parliamentary Standing Orders to help address the irregularities highlighted by the Auditor General’sreport.

Countriesmuststepupefforts toreachvulnerablepopulations

Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director, Dr. Jarbas Barbosa

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Businessmanremandedforstealingover$2M inconstructionequipmentfromstoragebonds

ALa Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara (WBD) businessman was on Tuesday remanded to prison for allegedly “stealing and selling” the stolen items.

The defendant was identifiedas26-year-oldDevindra Moteeram.

Moteeram is accused of breaking into several storage bonds on the East Bank of Demerara(EBD)andstealing over $2M worth of constructionequipment,toolsandwindows.

Moteeram made his court appearance at the Diamond/ Grove Magistrate Court before Principal Magistrate, Dylon Bess.

The court heard that he broke into at least four storage bonds on the EBD from March25toApril3,2023.

OnMarch25,atProspect, EBD, he allegedly broke into a 40 ft storage container

owned by Aranco Services Inc. and stole 52 sash windows, 6 awning windows, two buckets of oil paint and two electric saws valued at $1.1M.

Days later, between March 28 and 29, Moteeram allegedly struck again at Prospect, this time at a storage bond owned by a 27year-oldLusignancontractor From that bond he allegedly stole a green and black Total generatorvaluedat$85,000.

During that period, he also allegedly broke into the property of a 37-year-old managerofPremierInsurance Company at Covent Garden, EBD and stole a grinder, a generator, a compacter, an electricsaw,anelectricdrill,a water pump and a welding plant.

Thetotalvalueofthestolen items according to police is$610,000.

Thefourthoffencereport-

Remanded for being in the business of “steeling and selling”, Devindra Moteeram

edlytookplacebetweenApril 3 and 4 last at the Providence new Housing Scheme, EBD when he allegedly broke into the storage bond belonging KamrulBaksh,Directorofthe Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) and stole two water pumps, a number of tile cutting machines, a drill, a sander, a screw gun, power

vibrator,ahammerdrill,circle saw, an angle grinder and a YamahaGenerator The total value of that heistwaspeggedat$910,000. Moteeram reportedly pleadednotguiltytoallofthe allegations leveled against him but bail was refused. Heisexpectedtoreturnto courtontheonMay15,2023.

Law amended to cut powers of...

From page 13 captures the jurisprudential aspects of the CCJ’s decision and directives as well as it occurs due protection to the constitutional rights of the accused person,” the AG said.

The CCJ had recommended that section 72 be amended to reflect that the DPP may apply ‘ex parte’ (where orders are granted without waiting for a response from the other side) to a judge of the Supreme Court for an order that the dischargedpersonbearrested

andcommittedifthejudgeis of the view that the material placed before them justified such a course of action.

“If an accused person is charged with murder and placed before a magistrate, andrightlyorwronglyisdischarged by that magistrate, therefore is free once again, andthepresumptionofinnocence has not been dismantled, so he is presumed innocent.

“Ibelievethatitwouldbe repugnant to go before a judgeexparteandreinstitute a criminal charge, and get an

arrest warrant issued against that person and commit him to stand trial before a judge and jury ex parte, meaning, withouthimbeingheard,”AG Nandlallexplained.

TheAGsaidthe‘exparte’ portion of the recommendation was excised in the drafting of the bill, which allows for the preservation and protection of the rights of accused persons.

“The DPP can make the application, and if the judge wishestoheartheapplication ex parte, that is up to the judge.Butifthejudgewishes

to hear the defendant…we should let the judge determine,” he added.

Meanwhile, Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce,OneidgeWalrond,and Member of Parliament, Sanjeev Datadin also supported the bill, noting that it isanimportantpieceoflegislation that maintains respect fortheruleoflaw

The bill also received high commendations from Opposition Members of Parliament, Khemraj Ramjattan andGeetaChandan-Edmond. (DPI)

Int’l, regional bodies condemn attacks on...

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From page 14 identified at least 10-12 such attacks over the past few months. But what they found to be alarming is the increase of such attacks, and the denigratingcomments,namecalling and slanderous statements against a well- known and respected NGO, Red Thread,acollectiveofdiverse grassroots women who have stood in solidarity with and defended women’s rights for over 30 years. Recently, Red Thread has been mounting monthly pickets outside the President’s Office calling for adherence to the rule of law, accountability in the oil and gas sector, and for the high costoflivingtobeaddressed.

Themorerecentincidents of this type, they said, have been a smear campaigns againstDavinaBagotaSenior KaieteurNewsJournalistand NazimaRaghubir,Presidentof the Guyana Press Association. The group said these journalists have been singled out just for reporting on matters of national interest to

Guyaneseandmattersaffecting Guyanese right to public participationandinformation on national and environmentalmatters.

Furthermore, the citizens 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 undemocraticsocieties.

Attacks on journalists doing their job of ensuring accountability and transparency of public and state authorities and institutions are unacceptable and are strongly condemned as are attacksonenvironmentaljusticeandhumanrightsdefenders and on ordinary Guyanese exercising their constitutional right to freedom of expression, associa-

tionandinformation.”

Significantly, the group saidallthisistakingplaceon the eve of the second meeting of the Conference of Parties to the “Regional Agreement on Access to Information,PublicParticipationand JusticeinEnvironmentalMatters in LatinAmerica and the Caribbean”–betterknownas the Escazú Agreement. This is being held in Argentina fromApril19to21,2023.The Escazú is the world’s first treaty to include provisions to protect human rights defendersinenvironmentalmatters.

Guyana has signed and ratifiedtheEscazúAgreement and is therefore, an implementing country. On this premise, they called for the government to guarantee the fullandeffectiveimplementationoftheEscazúAgreement – including effective measures to recognize, protect and promote the human rights of defenders of the environment and of all citizens to live in a healthy sustain-

ableenvironment,whereright tolife,personalintegrity,freedom of opinion and expression, peaceful assembly and association, free movement, and rights to access of informationarerecognized,implemented and realised. The advocates for transparency and accountability also called on Volker Türk, the United NationsHighCommissionerfor 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 mediaworkerstotakenoteof allviolationsagainstjournalists 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,NGOsandhuman rights defenders and to observe the constitutional right of all Guyanese citizens to safe and healthy environments.

Five consultancy firms vying to supervise construction works at 4 secondary schools

Five consultancy firms are vying to supervise c o n s t r u c t i o n a n d rehabilitative works at four secondaryschools.

This was revealed at the openingoftendersthisweek attheNationalProcurement and Tender Board Administration(NPTAB).

The Ministry of Education, the procuring

entity,isseekingdesignand supervision services for the construction of a dormitory and rehabilitation of the existing dormitory at President's College The ministry is also seeking a consultant to supervise the extension of a school building, construction of a dormitory and teachers' quarters at Aishalton

MinistryofEducation

Designandsupervisionservicesfortheconstructionofa dormitorytohouse200pupilsandrehabilitationtothe existingdormitoryatPresident'sCollege,RegionFour.

Village,andtosupervisethe construction of brand new secondary schools at Kopinang,RegionEightand Jawalla villages, Region Seven.Theconsultantswho have submitted bids are SizweJacksonConsultancy; GR Engineering Company, Caribbean Engineering & Management Consultancy Inc.; CB & Associates Inc.;

andOriginInvestment. Asreported,theministry is planning to construct several new secondary schools across the country having received some $12 billion from the national budget to improve infrastructure in the educationsector

B e l o w a r e t h e companiesandtheirbids:

Supervisionservicesforconstructionofamodernschool building/complexandadormitorytohouse500studentsin classroom,400pupilsinthedormitoryand40teachersin Teachersquarters/housesatJawalla,RegionSeven.

NationalCommunicationNetwork Supplyofbroadcastnetworkand productioncomponents2023.

RepairstoNarine'sBuilding

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Supervisionservicesforconstructionofamodernschool building/complexandadormitorytohouse500studentsin classroom,400pupilsinthedormitoryand40teachersin Teachersquarters/housesatKopinang,RegionEight.

RepairstoOfficersMessHall,BaseCampStephenson.

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MinistryofHealth

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2 killed, 10 wounded as Russian forces hit Ukrainian museum

AP—ARussianmissile hit a museum building in a Ukrainian city on Tuesday, killing at least two people andwounding10others,part of a relentless barrage that comesasUkraineisreadying its forces for an expected springcounteroffensive.

Ukrainian officials said the Russian military used S300 air defense missiles to attack Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region, hitting the museum of local history in the city center The Russian military has repeatedly used S-300s, which Ukraine's air defenses can't intercept, to attackgroundtargets.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted a video from the site that shows the ruined building and emergency responders examining the damage.

“The terrorist country is doing everything to destroy us completely,” Zelenskyy said “Our history, our culture, our people. Killing Ukrainians with absolutely barbaricmethods.”

Zelenskyy said that a museum worker was killed, and Kharkiv regional Gov Oleh Syniehubov later reported that the body of another victim was pulled fromundertherubble.

Syniehubov said that three people were hospitalized and seven

receivedminorinjuries.

Kupiansk was captured by Russian forces in the earlier stages of the Russian invasion but was reclaimed by Ukrainian forces in a surprise counteroffensive in September that saw the Russiansdrivenoutofbroad swaths of the Kharkiv region.

RUSSIAUKRAINE WAR

A woman also died in Russianshellingofthetown of Dvorichna, near Kupiansk, and two civilians were killed in the eastern Donetskregion,accordingto the Ukrainian presidential office.

The governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, Serhiy Lisak, said that two people were wounded in Russian heavy artillery fire that hit the cities of Marhanets and Nikopol on Tuesday evening. Both are on the western bank of the Dnieper River just across from the Russia-held ZaporizhzhiaNuclearPower Plant,whichbothRussiaand Ukraine say has been endangeredbyshellinginthe region.

TheUkrainianmilitaryis now preparing for a new massive counteroffensive, relyingonthelatestsupplies of Western battle tanks and other weapons and fresh

Five consultancy firms...

From page 23

Construction

troops that were trained in theWest.

Zelenskyy on Tuesday met with the top military brass to discuss the battlefield situation as well as prospects for new weapons supplies and the preparationoftroops.

“We have to accelerate the pace of weapons supply becauseeverydayofdelayis the lives of our soldiers,” ZelenskyysaidonFacebook.

Ukraine's military intelligencechief,Maj.Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, in an interview with RBC-

Ukraine released Monday, described the planned counteroffensive as a “landmark battle in Ukraine's modern history” that would see the country “reclaimsignificantareas.”

T h e K r e m l i n , meanwhile, has regularly reminded the West about Russia's nuclear arsenal in a bid to discourage the U.S. and its allies from ramping up weapons supplies to Ukraine.

The U.S. and its NATO allies have denounced Moscow'snuclearrhetoricas

dangerousandirresponsible, but noted that they haven't seen any change in Russia's nuclearposture.

On Tuesday, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of theSecurityCouncilchaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin, warned that “the world is likely on the verge of another world war” and declared that Moscow wouldn't hesitate to use nuclear weapons if it faced anexistentialthreat.

Medvedev described atomic weapons as pviotal for Russia's survival, saying

that “for our country, the nuclearweaponsarethejoint holdingthestatetogether.”

He vowed that the Kremlin will achieve its goalsinUkraineandpointed at Russia's nuclear doctrine envisaging that it could atomic weapons in response to a nuclear attack or an attack with conventional weapons that threatens “the very existence” of the Russianstate.

“

O u r p o t e n t i a l adversaries shouldn't underestimate that, ” Medvedevsaid.

Sudan crisis: WHO warns of biological hazard at seized lab

Fighting in Sudan's capital Khartoum has continued into a second week (Getty Images)

BBC -TheWorld Health Organization (WHO) says there's a "high risk of biological hazard" at a laboratory caught up in the ongoingconflictinSudan.

Officials said it was unclear who was behind the occupation of the National Public Health Laboratory in the capital Khartoum The city has been ravaged by fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).The WHO told the BBC on

Tuesday that workers can no longer access the lab.And it warned that power cuts were making it impossible to properly manage material at the lab.Officials said that a broadrangeofbiologicaland chemicalmaterialsarestored in the lab. The facility holds measles and cholera pathogens, as well as other hazardousmaterials.

A lack of power is also putting depleting stocks of bloodbagsstoredatthelabat riskofspoiling.

Whereisthelab?

Thelabisnearthecentre ofKhartoumandnotfarfrom city's main airport.It lies just outside the area where S u d a n ' s m i l i t a r y headquartersarelocated,and wherealotofthefightinghas beentakingplace.

Theparticulargeography of Khartoum means key strategic sites which are being targeted, such as military buildings, are close tocriticalinfrastructure.

Both the military

headquarters and the airport are right next to a residential area, with several schools and hospitals nearby.Only a fractionofhealthfacilitiesin Khartoum are providing servicesduetoalackofstaff, medicine and other supply shortages, power outages, or attacks.The Federal Ministry of Health in Sudan has reported that 36% of health facilities in Khartoum city are non-functional and a n o t h e r 2 5 % a r e unresponsive.

Regional FIU delegation in Guyana to...

Frompage6 General’sChamberssaidonTuesday

During their visit, the delegation met with the Finance Secretary, the SpecialOrganisedCrimeUnit(SOCU), the Customs Anti Narcotic Unit (CANU), and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), and also representatives from the Bank of Guyana, Guyana Securities Council and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).

They are also scheduled to meet with reporting entities including the

commercial banks and the Guyana Immigration Service The Attorney Generalthankedthedelegationfortheir visit He informed them of various piecesoflegislationcurrentlyindraftto strengthen and update Guyana’s AML/CFT regime and to meet the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) international standards, including amendmentstotheprincipalAML/CFT Act,aBilltocreateanomnibusagency as a supervisory authority for unsupervised entities, and a draft Real Estate Bill which will provide the

regulatory framework for real estate agentsanddevelopers.

The Attorney General indicated that he is optimistic that the delegation’svisitandinputwillhelpto accelerateGuyana’sapplicationtojoin the Egmont Group, as Guyana is becoming a sophisticated economy attracting large 2 investments and therefore the importance of creating a strongregulatoryframeworktoprotect its growing financial sector is of par

ount importance to the Government.

of120fttimberrevetment atPrincessStreet,Werk-en-Rust.

Court allows Greenpeace to challenge

UK oil, gas licensing round

ALondon’sHighCourtonTuesdaygrant Greenpeace permission to proceed with a challenge to the country’s last oil and gas licensingroundonclimategrounds.

Greenpeace is a global network of independent campaigning organizations that use peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peacefulfuture.

Reuters reported that Greenpeace’s legal challenge against the British government overitsinvitationtooilandgasexplorerslast yeartoapplyforlicencesintheNorthSeacan proceedtoafullhearing.

The media entity also reported that last year, Britain held its first oil and gas explorationlicensingroundsince2019,with the government saying it was looking to boost domestic hydrocarbon output as EuropeweansitselfoffRussianfuelandafter energypricesspiked.

It was stated that Greenpeace says the government and the oil and gas regulator NSTAshouldtakeintoaccounttheemissions from burning the oil and gas produced as a result of the licensing round, rather than merely the emissions from the extraction process.

“Ministerswillnowbeforcedtojustifyin front of a judge why they want to unleash a

new drilling frenzy in the North Sea,” said Greenpeace UK climate campaignerPhilipEvans.

In a written argument, the defendants’ lawyers had said the government believed “there was an insufficient causal connection between the extraction of oil and gas and the downstream emissions arising from its consumption to enable a meaningful assessmentoftheenvironmentaleffects ofthelatter.”

A spokesperson for the government did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Ahead of Tuesday’s decision, a

spokesperson pointed to the importance of energy security, adding that despite significant investment in renewable and nuclear projects “the transition to non-fossil formsofenergycannothappenovernight.”

Jimmy Butler drops career-high 56 points in remarkable Heat comeback, Lakers go up 3-1

SportsMax-MiamiHeat starJimmyButlerscoredthe fourth-most points in NBA playoff history as he led a remarkable 119-114 comeback win in Monday's Game 4 against the MilwaukeeBucks.

The win in front of Miami's home fans gave the Heata3-1seriesleadagainst theleague'stopoverallseed, and it was on the back of a spectacular 56-point explosionbyButler

Butler had 35 points throughthreequartersashis Heat trailed 89-78 heading intothelastperiod,butafter the Bucks jumped ahead 101-89 with just over six minutes remaining, Miami cameroaringback.

The Heat put together a 13-0 run from that point to stick their nose in front, settingupButlertocarryhis teamhome.

Butler, a six-time AllStar, put up 21 points in the fourth quarter to finish with 56 all up, shooting 19-of-28 fromthefield,three-of-eight fromdeepand15-of-18from the free throw line to set a newMiamiplayofffranchise record.

His56pointsistiedwith Charles Barkley (1994), Michael Jordan (1992) and WiltChamberlain(1962)for the fourth-most ever in a playoff game, trailing only Donovan Mitchell's 57 (2020), Elgin Baylor's 61 (1962)andMJ's63(1986).

No other Miami player scored more than Bam Adebayo's15points(six-of16shooting),althoughCaleb Martin provided a crucial spark off the bench with 12 points (four-of-five), nine reboundsandtwosteals.

For the Bucks, two-time

M V P G i a n n i s Antetokounmpo was terrific in his return from a twogame absence, putting together a big triple-double with26points(12-of-22),13 assists, 10 rebounds, two blocksandasteal.

Brook Lopez was also immense,withtheDefensive Player of theYear candidate contributing a team-high 36 points (13-of-23), 11 rebounds, three blocks and

Wednesday April 26, 2023

ARIES(Mar.21–Apr.19

This is a moment to start beingcreativeinyourlifeand stop being afraid of not having any talent. Who's to saywhattalentis?Andinthe romance department, the love of your life might be rightinfrontofyou.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20)

You may be a bit unclear about your professional directiontoday,Taurus.Your motivation has disappeared withoutwarning.

GEMINI(May21–June20)

It could be that you see mirages, Gemini, most notably in the environment around you. You may have the impression that people arelyingtoyou.

CANCER(June21–July22)

Hold tight to your money, Cancer, because you may have some strange {though noble) impulses to give it awayorspendalargeamount on something completely useless.

LEO(July23–Aug.22)

Todayisn'tagooddaytosign contracts or make any substantial purchases. Go to the grocery store, by all means, but buy hamburger nottenderloin.

VIRGO(Aug.23–Sept.22)

Areyoucertainthatyoucan't modifyyourcurrentsituation, Virgo?Areyouaprisonerofa lifestylethatisn'tofyourown making.

LIBRA(Sept.23–Oct.22)

The forecast for you is excellent,Libra.Youcanrely on today's aspects to restore your confidence, which has been sorely tried in the past fewdays.

SCORPIO(Oct.23–Nov.21)

You may have some trouble communicating today, Scorpio It's as though something is distorting your perception.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21)

You're radiant and glowing withhappinesstoday.Thisis a refreshing change after the gloom and doom of the past few weeks. Apparently the decisions you made worked outforthebest.

CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19)

Your goal for the day seems to be to enchant your mate. There's no reason not to try Indeed,todayisexcellentfor love. But don't exaggerate your romantic wiles, Capricorn.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18)

You're in splendid shape today, Aquarius! Did a fairy godmother conjure away all the little difficulties of the pastfewweeks?

PISCES(Feb.19–Mar.20)

It's certainly clear that you have faith in your actions, Pisces!

You feel no fear or doubt as you progress toward your goals,cruisingalongoncalm seasunderclearskies.

twosteals.

The Bucks will look to keep their season alive back in Milwaukee for Game 5, andiftheycantakethat,they will head back to Miami for Game 6, with a chance to

earnaGame7athome.

LeBronsetsnewcareer highinovertimewin

LeBron James is somehowstillsettingcareerhighs in year 20, snatching down a personal-best 20

rebounds as he carried the LosAngelesLakerstoa115108 home win in Game 4 against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Jameshadneversecured more than 19 rebounds in a gamebefore–regularseason orplayoffs–buthehadfive offensive rebounds to go with15onthedefensiveend, andhisLakersneededevery bitofhisefforts.

Trailing104-102withsix seconds remaining, James wastheonetonailthegametying layup and send the contest to overtime, and he woulddrainthedaggerinthe extra period as well with a three-point play against GrizzliesrivalDillonBrooks to jump ahead 113-108 with less than 30 seconds on the clock.

The four-time NBA FinalsMVPfinishedwith22 points on eight-of-18 shooting, dishing seven assists and blocking two shots,andheplayedateamhigh45minutes.

James had no choice but toproducegivenhowpoorly his star team-mate Anthony Davis played on the offensiveend,finishingwith just 12 points on four-of-13 shooting, and he only had seven points at the conclusion of regulation, although his 14 rebounds and five blocks were important.

Desmond Bane was the offensive focal point for the Grizzlies, scoring a gamehigh 36 points on 13-of-29 shooting, while Ja Morant wasclearlyhamperedbyhis injured shooting hand, finishing eight-of-24 from the field for his 19 points, sevenassistsandthreesteals.

The Grizzlies will attempt to keep the series alive when the series heads back to Memphis for Game 5,nowtrailing3-1.

Jimmy Butler scored the fourth-most points in NBAplayoff history.

Orealla Falcons male and female teams win Volleyball tournament

over the weekend in Berbice

OreallaFalconsmaleand female volleyball teams made sure that their travel from the Upper Corentyne River to the coast was not in vain.

The two teams were unstoppable as they defeated their opponents to win when the Berbice Volleyball

Association (BVA) successfully held two volleyball tournaments on Saturday and Sunday at the Guysuco Training Centre in Berbice.

The tournaments were a maleAcademy and a female extravaganza which featured a number of top teams in the AncientCounty. ThemaleAcademyteams that participated were Falcons of Orealla, No 47 Challengers, GTCPM 1, GTCPM 2 and Berbice High School(BHS).

The teams were placed intotwozonesandintheend GTCPM 1 and Orealla Falcons clashed in the final. Due to inclement weather and bad light the encounter was reduce to a 30 points affair.Itwasathrillingaffair

whichsawFalconsemerging winners30–27.

At the presentation ceremony the two teams were presented with the winner and runner up trophies. The top individual players were also rewarded withtrophieswithLawrence France of Falcons receiving the MVP and best Spiker awards.

The best Libero was Staffon Lewis of GTCPM, bestsetterAcaduanAndrews of GTCPM with Ronaldino Felix of Falcons the best defence.

The female segment saw Orealla seniors, Orealla 'B', Orealla U16, Hopetown Ninjas, Rollers females and G T C P M F e m a l e s participating.

The teams were also dividedintotwozoneswhich saw Orealla Females and GTCPM again clashing in thefinal.Itwasanotherding dong affair with the Falcons emerging winners 30-26 The two teams received trophies.

Accolades were presented to the outstanding

individual players. Arianna Herman of Falcons was adjudgedtheMVPaswellas the Best Spiker, The best setter was Amisha Mohabir ofGTCPM.Thetournaments were held to select under16 male and female squads, a senior female squad, and an under17 male squad to represent Berbice in upcomingtournaments. The president of the Guyana Volleyball Federation (GVF) lauded Berbice for the bold venture taken and highlighted that youths are the vanguard to the development of V o l l e y b a l l i n Guyana.Appreciation was expressed to the National Sports Commission, Guysuco Apprentice Training Centre, Poonai's PharmacyandCircuitCentre Store among others for their sponsorshipandsupport. The next tournament in Berbice will be for Secondary Schools and will feature both males and females. The teams will be dividedinthreezones.

(SamuelWhyte)

The winning Orealla Falcons female team.

The winning Orealla Falcons male volleyball team.

Persaud, Mohamed, Ramnarine lead

Wakenaam

Rhinos to victory

The Late veteran cricketer from No.19 Kendall's Union honored posthumously

Afinehalfcentury

from Tomesh Persaud coupled with incisive spells from ShahidMohamedandVinesh Ramnarine handed

Wakenaam Rhinos a threewicket victory over

Wakenaam Eagles when the Wakenaam Cricket Committee/New Doctor's Clinic U19 40-over tournament continued recentlyinWakenaam.

Wakenaam Eagles took firststrikeandposted152all

out in 25.4 overs at the Wakenaam Community Centre ground in Good Success.JustinDowlinmade 37andGladewinHenryjr29.

VineshRamnarineclaimed310 and Shahid Mohamed 3 for30.

Wakenaam Rhinos in reply scored 154 for 7

Tomesh Persaud struck 64 and Trevel Evans 34

Gladewin Henry jr had 3 for 28andVarendraPooran2for 19.

Industrial Safety Supplies Inc supports GuyanaNRA for CFSC

Guyana National RifleAssociation (GuyanaNRA)

were yesterday boosted with a substantial donation from its long serving partner IndustrialSafetySuppliesInc (ISSI), this donation will cushion the cost for their participationintheupcoming Caribbean Shooting championship.

IndustrialSafetySupplies

Executives handed over a handsome cheque to GNRA Secretary Ryan Sampson at the brief presentation ceremony held at the company's Camp Street location, in support of the team of shooters as they prepare for the Caribbean

Fullbore Shooting Championship in Antigua andBarbudafrom7-14May

The Caribbean Fullbore Shooting Championship is a short-range (300-500-600 yards) shooting event which will feature teams out of Canada, Jamaica, Barbados, G

Trinidad and Tobago as well as Bermuda have opt out of thisyear'scompetitiondueto unpreparednesstocompete.

According to the team's captain Dylan Fields, “We expect to bring back the championship trophy as well as other individual trophies with the aim to making our partner'sandcountryproud.” The Guyana team comprises of Dylan Fields, Leo Romalho, Sherwin Felicien, Ryan Sampson, Mahendra Persaud, Peter Persaud, RobertoTiwariandRansford Goodluck.

Meanwhile, speaking at thepresentation,Secretaryof the GNRA Ryan Sampson, expressed his gratitude to ISSI, stating, “On behalf of the GNRA, we would like to thank you for this generous contribution, we've been partnering for a number of yearsandweareconfidentof a good performance at this year's competition. We also look forward to your continuedsupport.”

Pertab Chanderjit popularly

called Uncle Muntuk, formerlyofNo.19Kendall's Union,(nowdeceased)washonoredby Krishna Appiah on behalf of himself and the Appiah family Chanderjit played cricket for many decades and helped nurture many cricketers in and out of the area, providing leadership andbeingagreatrolemodelonandoff thefield.

He was considered a mystery offspin bowler who could have held his ownwiththebat.

He was a fierce yet friendly competitor

Atasimpleceremonyheldrecently in Queens, NY, Appiah presented a plaque to his wife Varone in the presence of his daughter Lita, her husbandandsonsIndranauthandDeo.

Mukesh continues the tradition of

his late father RamnarineAppiah also known as Brother Appiah, in giving back to his place of birth through sports, honoring outstanding sons and daughters of the area and providing support for the school children of BohemiaPrimarySchool.

In addition, he annually provides hampersandtokensfortheelderlyand persons with disabilities in the No.19 straightroadarea.

Tomesh Persaud

Krishna Appiah hands over the plaque to Varone Chanderjit.

Shahid Mohamed

Record Ireland Test score as Stirling, Campher hit tons in Sri Lanka

AFP-Irelandpostedtheir highest-ever Test score of 492 on Tuesday as Paul Stirling and Curtis Campher became only the third and fourth Irishmen to hit centuries in cricket's longest format.

Sri Lanka were 81 without loss in reply before rainstoppedplayondaytwo in Galle, 411 runs behind with Nishan Madushka unbeaten on 41 and Dimuth Karunaratne39notout.

But the day belonged to Ireland, with Stirling scoring 103 and Campher 111 after captainAndyBalbirniemade 95ondayone.

Lorcan Tucker scored a useful 80 while Prabath Jayasuriya,thehomeheroof the first Test, took five wickets for 174. Asitha Fernando and Vishwa Fernando took two wickets each."ScoringaTesthundred isprobablysomethingIdidn't believe I could achieve," Stirlingadmitted.

"Scoringahundredinthe sub-continent is very special," he told reporters. "So, I am very delighted. It willmeanahellofalotmore ifwecangetapositiveresult here."

Ireland only gained Test status in 2017 and have lost

all five of their matches so far

Their previous highest score was 339 against Pakistan in their inaugural Testin2018.

In punishingly hot and humid conditions, Stirling had retired hurt with cramps onMondayafterreaching74, but came back to the crease onTuesdayafterTuckerfell.

He reached his maiden Test hundred in style, uppercutting Asitha Fernando for sixoverdeeppoint,andnow has centuries in all three formatsofthegame.

Soon afterwards, the same bowler dismissed him

for 103 as the batsman hooked a short delivery into the hands of Dhananjaya de Silva on the fine-leg boundary

Campherwaswellcaught by a diving De Silva at first slip to give Jayasuriya his thirdwicketintheinnings.

Sri Lanka's openers negotiated the final session without much trouble, although Ireland's quicks found the outside edge of Madushka'sbatwiththenew ball.

"Tomorrowisgoingtobe a big day," said Jayasuriya. "We need to score big and take a considerable first innings lead and should be lookingtobatonlyonce.

"That should be the plan butwe'llseehowitgoes."

Ireland lost the first Test byaninningsand280runs.

Scores: Sri Lanka 81 for

Hassan may look to emulate Zatopek's distance triple in Paris

A M S T E R D A M , (Reuters)-LondonMarathon women's champion Sifan Hassan may try to emulate CzechgreatEmilZatopekby goingforgoldinthe5,000m, 10,000m and marathon at next year's Paris Olympics, according to reports on Tuesday The 30-year-old Dutch athlete, who won the Olympic 5,000m and 10,000m titles in Tokyo, made a stunning marathon debut in London on Sunday, coming home first in two hours, 18 minutes and 33 seconds.

Karunaratne 39*) trail

Ireland 492 (Campher 111, Stirling 103, Jayasuriya 5174)by411runs.

Netherlands' Sifan Hassan reacts as she crosses the finish line to win the elite women's race. (REUTERS/Andrew Boyers)

Hassan's coach, Tim Rowberry,toldtheAlgemeen Dagblad newspaper that she started talking about Zatopek'sfeatafterSunday's race. The Czech won the three distance golds at the HelsinkiGamesin1952.

Rowberry said Hassan has been pointing to the fact that no one had won the 5,000m, 10,000m and marathon at an Olympics since Zatopek, suggesting a seed had been planted in her head.

Hassan, who also finished third in the 1,500m inTokyo,typicallykeepsher

plans close to her chest and onlydecidesthingsatthelast moment.

Asked after her London triumph on Sunday whether shewouldnowbeturningher attention exclusively to the marathons, Hassan said: "I can'tdothat.Ireallyenjoyed themarathon,Ievenenjoyed the journey, the leg and stretchingthings.

"I want to do marathons butIreallywanttostayonthe track also. I love the track, thisdoesn'tchangethat.

"I am someone who wants everything and wants tobeeverywhere."

Paul Stirling became the second Ireland batter to have a century in all formats. (Getty Images)

Centurion Curtis Campher added 89 for the seventh wicket with Andy McBrine. (NurPhoto/Getty Images)

Jackson, Asher-Smith and Richardson headlineloaded 100m field at Doha

Diamond League on May 5

SportsMax - 200m World champions Shericka Jackson and Dina Asher-Smith as well as American Sha'Carri Richardson are settoclashinaloadedfieldassembledforthe Women's100mattheDohaDiamondLeague scheduledforMay5.

Jackson, the reigningWorld champion in thehalf-lapevent,entersthisraceontheback ofaworld-leading10.82whichshedidtowin atVelocityFest13attheNationalStadiumin Kingston onApril 22. She famously became thefastestwomanaliveinthe200mwhenshe ran 21.45 to win that 200m title in Eugene. Shealsoranapersonalbest10.71forsilverin

the 100m.Asher-Smith, who took top spot in the 200m at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, will be competing in her first outdoor race of the season. In February, she set a new British record7.03onherwaytowinningthe60mat theBirminghamWorldIndoorTourFinal. Also in the field will be American Sha'Carri Richardson, who ran wind-aided times of 10.75 and 10.57 at the Miramar Invitational on April 8 The line-up is completed by Zoe Hobbs, Abby Steiner, Melissa Jefferson, Teahna Daniels and TwanishaTerry

Super Giants lift 2nd annual Viscom Mahaica SoftballCricketCuptitle

Super Giants Softball team of Cane Grove lived up to their name and expectations as they outplayed defending champions Rohan Auto Spares to lift the 2nd annual Viscom Mahaica Softball CricketCupthatwas played on April 16th at the Strathavon Sports Club GroundinMahaica.

Super Giants team

After some exciting softball cricket in the first round of the one-day knockout competition, Strathavon A, Rohan Auto Spares, Premier Insurance, Success, Super Giants, and C a n e G r o v e H i g h Performanceadvancedtothe quarter-finals.

In the first quarterfinal play at pitch # 1, Premier Insurance taking on Cane Grove High Performance, Premier Insurance won the toss and decided to have a bowl with Cane Grove scoring 71 for 8 off their

allotted 8 overs, while T Persaud took 2-7. In reply, Premium Insurance made light work of the chase by finishingtheinningsoffin4 oversat74for2.

In the second quarterfinal played at pitch 2, defendingchampionsRohan Auto Spares (R.A.S) made light work of Strathavon Sports Club. Strathavon won the toss and decided to giveRohanagofirst. Rohan Auto Spares ended their innings with a massive 178 in their 8 overs. Strathavon inreplymade81for5intheir allottedovers.

Inasemi-finalreducedto 5 overs a side due to rain Super Giants had to take on RohanAuto Spares (R.A.S), while Premier Insurance advancedtothefinal. Super Giant won the toss and sent in R.A.S to bat and ended their innings at 64 for 5 off their allocated overs. In reply,SuperGiantshadarun for their money as the game

went way into R.A.S favor with Super Giants needing 16off6balls. SuperGiants made66for2in4.4overs.

In the final which was furtherreducedto3oversper innings, Premier Insurance won the toss and elected to bat Premier Insurance made 38 for 3. In reply, Super Giants won the game in the last ball ending their inningsat39for3.

Prizeswerealsoawarded tothetopthreeteams.

President of the Strathavon Sports Club, Mr Fazal Khan, at the presentation ceremony thanked everyone that attended the event for their support.

He went on to thank all the teams for being part of thesecondMahaicaCupand moreover,hethankedallthe sponsorsthatmadetheevent a reality and success. He saidthatin2024heexpected to competition to be bigger andbetter

th Nandu, 9 Guyanese to get Headley-Weekes Tri-Series call-up

Guyana Harpy Eagles (GHE) opening batsman

Matthew Nandu is the latest playerfromtheGuyanateam to be called up for the Headley-Weekes Tri-Series tournament.

Nandu, a former West Indies Under-19 opening batsman,madehisFirst-Class debut during this year's West Indies Championship (WIC) where he finished with 273 runs from five (5) matches including a century on debut against Barbados in the first round.

He joins Kevlon Anderson, Ashmead Nedd, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Gudakesh Motie, Kevin Sinclair, Veerasammy Permaul, Nial Smith, and Tevin Imlach as nine players who have now been selected from the successful GHE teamthatwontheWICjusta fewweeksago.

The President and Executive members of the

Guyana Mixed Martial Arts Karate Mar Association team for US event next month

GCB would like to congratulate the players selectedforthisseries.

Prime Minister's Dominoes competition to commence on Sunday at Linden

The Guyana Mixed MartialArts Karate Association (GMMAKA) OneGuyanaTeamhasbeganmaking swift preparation for the North AmericanFederationofMartialArts tournament on the 26th and 27th of May,2023.

Theteamstoodtheirgroundwith the representation of 10 team

members to participate in this upcoming international event. The President of the GMMAKA Team is fully confident and assures that his team members will excel and make Guyana proud once again since this is the third time the team is participating in this spectacular eventintheUnitedStatesofAmerica.

Master Ramnarine is humbly requesting financial sponsorship to havehimselfandhisteamparticipated intheevent,whichtheirdreamistobe deemed successful For more information on sponsorship towards the team feel free to send WhatsApp/Message to 698-6727, 681-1701,689-9288or698-7456.

Prime Minister retired Brigadier Mark Phillips (centre) presents the winning trophy to Mark Wiltshire, Secretary of the Guyana Dominoes Association in the presence of Executive of the Kashif & Shanghai Organisation Collin "BL" Aaron.

ThesecondannualPrimeMinister'sdominoes competitionwillcommenceonSundayat Shanghai residence,Amelia'sWard,Linden.

Entrancefeeis$15,000andthewinningteamwilltake homeatrophyand$600,000,runnerupatrophyand $300,000,thirdplaceatrophyand$100,000andfourthplace atrophyand$50,000.Thebestuniformedteamwillreceive $75,000andMVPinthefinalatrophyand$20,000.The competitionwillconcludeonMay1atthesaidvenue. InterestedteamcancontactMarkWiltshireon659-8672 orColinAaronon622-3497.

The Guyana Mixed Martial Arts Karate Association One Guyana Team are in preparation mode.

Matthew Nandu