Kaieteur News

Govt. approves environmental permit th for

5

Vice President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo revealed yesterday that an Environmental Permit for ExxonMobil'sfifthprojectat theUarufieldintheStabroek Block has been approved. TheUaruprojectisexpected to cost US$12 7B and produce about 250,000 barrels of oil per day after comingonstreamin2026. With the environmental permit being issued, Dr

oil project

Jagdeo said ExxonMobil is expectedtoprovideaparent guarantee within a month's time. This form of financial assurance would be used to coveranycostspertainingto an oil spill. He said the oil gianthastoreceiveapproval fromitsshareholdersonthis matter The official said, “Hopefully,thatwillbedone shortly but the wording on everything and everything else for the agreement has beensettled.”

- ExxonMobil has 30 days to provide parent guarantee

Inaseparateanddetailed statement, the EPAsaid that the permit is armed with several robust provisions coveringseveralmatters.

The regulator said the five-year Environmental Permit for Uaru strictly prohibits routine flaring and venting, and specifies that flaring is only permissible duringcommissioning,startu p a n d s p e c i a l circumstances. The permit alsomaintainsthatpayments

must be made by the permit holder in instances where flaring is conducted beyond permitteddurations.

President,

On the matter of how produced water is to be treated, the permit holder which is Exxon affiliate, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), is required to ensure that the oil content specification of produced water to be discharged does not exceed 42 mg/L on a daily basis or 29 mg/L on a monthly average (Note: Produced water is a term used in the oil industry or geothermal industry to describe water that is produced as a byproduct during the extraction of oil and natural gas, or used as a mediumforheatextraction.)

Further, the permit requires EEPGL to examine and develop a plan for a phased reduction of oil content specification of produced water to levels lower than the above standards and in keeping with Good International

Petroleum Industry Practices.

With respect to liabilities, the document states that EEPGL and its partners shall bear all costs of the restoration, rehabilitation and compensation required as a result of damage incurred due to an oil spill or other emergency resulting from theexecutionoftheProject.

K a i e t e u r N e w s understands that the costs herein referred to shall be independently assessed and evaluated by a third-party determined by the EPA. It also states that nothing shall prejudice the right of public and private actors to pursue criminal and/or civil action againstthepermitholder

Furthermore, the document states that the permitholderisliableforall

costs associated with clean up, restoration and compensation for any damages caused by any d i s c h a r g e o f a n y contaminant, including the costofallinvestigationsinto pollution incidents or discharge of contaminants, conducted at the instance of theEPA.

It also states that the permit holder shall compensate any person who suffersanylossordamageas aresultofanycontravention of the Environmental Protection Act This newspaper also observed that the permit holder, his servants and/or agents shall be jointly and severally liable for any negligence or willful misconduct which causes harm to the environment, biodiversity, protectedspeciesandnatural habitat Additionally, EEPGL and its related parties can be liable jointly and/or severally for any gross negligence or willful misconduct to the marine environment, biodiversity, protectedspeciesandnatural habitat with respect to any release or discharge, spill, contaminant fluids, oil or lubricants any facilities permittedunderthisproject.

Importantly, the permit holder, his servants and/or agents can be liable jointly and/or severally for environmentaldamagedue

(Continuedonpage3)

Vice

Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo

Exxon must submit books for audit even if two-year contractual deadline is missed – VP Jagdeo

Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo gave all assurances yesterday that ExxonMobil's affiliate, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) will have to submit its books for audit when authorities require.

He said this will have to be obtained even if it is beyond the twoyear deadline specified in the 2016 Stabroek Block Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) At a press conference on Thursday, the Vice PresidentsaidExxonMobilcannotuse the two year cut-off date as an excuse to not comply He said too that the company itself has agreed to open its books as the authorities require. The official said, “The PSAsays the audit has to be completed in two years. So wehavegonepassedthat.Evenunder theAPNU+AFCperiod,thetwoyears hadpassedbeforetheystartedtheaudit ofExxon'sexpenses.Wemadeitclear oncewegotinofficethatExxonandits Co-Venturers could never use as an excusethetimelinein(thePSA).”

Iftheydo,hesaid,“theywillhavea ton of bricks falling on their head on otherissuesontheregulatoryside.We madeitclearandExxoncameoutwith astatementsayingthatthetwoyearin the PSA didn't matter So it was

Exxon makes final investment decision for US$12.7 billion fifth project in Stabroek Block

ExxonMobil said last eveningthatitmadea final investment

decision for the Uaru development offshore Guyana after receiving the required government and regulatory approvals.

The company expects Uaru, the fifth project on Guyana's offshore Stabroek block, to add approximately 250,000 barrels of daily capacity after a targeted startup in 2026.

MODEC is constructing the FloatingProductionStorageand Offloading(FPSO)vesselforthe Uaru project, which will be called the Errea Wittu

ExxonMobil is utilizing its diversified supplier base to help reduce costs and safely

fourth offshore project, Yellowtail,lastyear

The company is targeting to havesixFPSOsonlinebytheend of 2027, bringing Guyana's productioncapacitytomorethan 1.2millionbarrelsperday

ExxonMobil's Guyana

clarified.Itwasdealtwith…”

TheGovernmentiscurrentlyinthe process of finalising two audits on ExxonMobil's Stabroek Block expenses. One was conducted on expenditure totalling US$1 6B incurred from 1999 to 2017. Another block of costs totalling US$7.3B was incurred from 2018 to 2020 and audited by an international and local team. Government has promised that thefinalreportsonthesetwoexercises would be made public at the appropriatetime.

“Our fifth, multi-billiondollar investment in Guyana exemplifies ExxonMobil's longterm commitment to the country's sustained economic growth,” said Liam Mallon, president of the ExxonMobil Upstream Company “Our Guyana investments and unrivalled development success continue to contribute to secure, reliableglobalenergysuppliesat thiscriticaltime.”

The US$12.7 billion Uaru project plans to include up to 10 drill centers and 44 production and injection wells aimed at developing an estimated resource of more than 800 millionbarrelsofoil.

Govt.approvesenvironmental... Gov

Frompage2 to pollution from its activities within Guyana, its territorial waters, contiguous zones,continentalmarginscontinentalshelf, and Exclusive Economic Zone, inclusive of damage to the marine environment, biodiversity, protected species and natural habitat with respect to any release or discharge, spill, or contamination which is attributable to the Permit Holder and his agents or contractors. This is in accordance with Section 49 (1) of the Maritime Zones Act2010andissubjecttoanyotherexisting or forthcoming laws, regulations and standards governing the protection of the marineenvironment.

The permit also states that EEPGLshall providetotheState,withinareasonabletime of signing of this permit, a combination of variousformsoffinancialassurancetocover all its legitimate environmental liabilities underthispermit.

These shall include: Insurance to cover wellcontrol,and/orcleanupandthird-party liabilityontermsandinadequateamountsof coverage that are market standard for the type of Insurance; and a written declaration of EEPGL's and its Co-Venturers' financial capabilitytofulfillallliabilities.

The required declaration shall be accompanied by EEPGL's and each CoVenturers'statementoffinancialpositionfor the preceding year indicating each Companies' assets, liabilities, equity, and suchfurtherfinancialinformation,asmaybe necessary

The permit holder is also required to provideoneormoreguaranteeagreement(s) in which the parent company or affiliate companies of permit holder and its coventurers (“affiliates”) shall undertake to promptlyandwithin30days,uponnoticeof default,provideadequatefinancialresources for the permit holder and its co-venturers to payorsatisfytheirrespectiveenvironmental obligationsregardingtheStabroekBlock.

The companies are also required to indemnifyandkeepindemnifiedtheEPAand theGovernmentofGuyana,againstallsuch environmental obligations regarding the StabroekBlock.

Kaieteur News understands that one key conditionforapprovalwastheconclusionof negotiationsontheparent/affiliatecompany guaranteereferencedabove.

This is expected to be executed shortly with the signature of the guarantor and beneficiary

In seeking to ensure EEPGL meets its obligations to prevent and mitigate environmentalharm,thepermitalsoimposes comprehensiverequirementsformonitoring and management of any impacts affecting biological, physical, and socio-economic resourceswithintheAreaofInfluenceofthe project.

The permit also requires EEPGL to submit safety case information, including a risk assessment prior to drilling and development of wells. The full text of the UaruPermitisavailablefordownloadonthe EPA'swebsiteatwww.epaguyana.org.

accelerate development in its Guyanaoperations.

The company's diverse supplier base includes nearly 1,000 unique local Guyanese suppliers, exemplifying Guyana's growing in-country supplychaincapabilities.

TwoFPSOs,theLizaDestiny and Liza Unity, are currently operating in offshore Guyana and safely produced an average of375,000barrelsofoilperday inthefirstquarter AthirdFPSO,theProsperity, isexpectedtobeoperationallater thisyear,adding220,000barrels ofdailycapacityfromthePayara development.

ExxonMobil made a final investment decision on the

developments are generating around 30% lower greenhouse gas intensity than the average of ExxonMobil's upstream portfolio According to the independent research firm, Rystad Energy, they are also among the best performing in world with respect to emissions intensity, outpacing 75% of global oil and gas producing assets.

ExxonMobil affiliate, Esso Exploration and Production GuyanaLimited,isoperatorand holds 45% interest in the Stabroek Block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd holds 30% interest and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited holds 25% interest.

Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo

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

Editor-In-Chief: NIGEL WILLIAMS

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

JAGDEO AND OIL COMPANIES

Guyana’sapprovalofthe5thoilproject,Uaru,in the Stabroek Block was inevitable. Now it is almost official, with ExxonMobil and its partnersrejoicing,andtheGuyaneseleftholdingtheirhands out,andwonderingiftheywillevergetmorefromtheiroil treasure. What is revealing is the sequence around which this5thoilproject’sapproval. Insteadofstraightnessfrom the PPPC Government, there were these schemes, which foolfewercitizensdaily

Hess Corporation’s CEO John Hess in early August 2022 announced that a plan of developmentwas to be submittedtotheGuyanaGovernmentbytheendoflastyear Theapprovalofthis5thoilfieldwasexpectedearlyin2023, with the 1st quarter end floated as a strong possibility In March,theCEOofMODEC,theJapanesefirmbuildingthe FloatingProductionStorageOffloading(FPSO)vesselsaid approvalofthe5thprojectwasjustaformality

ThisiswhatthemanagementofGuyana’soilboilsdown to:Americans rushing excitedly ahead with their plans for richprofits,andtheJapanesesayingapprovalisaformality

Meanwhile, the Guyanese people are in the dark of wheremattersstandorthatwhenthe5thprojectisapproved, morehasbeennegotiatedforthem. Itisnowalmosttheend ofApril,andfromnowhere,Guyanesearegreetedwithtwo pieces of news relative to their oil patrimony First, CEO Hess reported that oil has been found in the Lancelet-1 exploratoryfield.

The second is that, within hours of Hess’s big announcement, Guyana’s oil czar, Bharat Jagdeo unveiled his own bigger announcement: the 5th project’s pending approvalbytheGuyanaGovernment.

WhatisconspicuousisthatJagdeoistryingtomakethe Guyanese people believe that it is a government decision, and not his alone. By now, most Guyanese laugh at that pieceofleadershipacrobatics. Whatisalsocrystalclearis thattheproject’sapprovalwasindeedamereformality(like the Japanese said earlier). This late April approval by Jagdeoispartofthelipglossappliedtoputaneatsheenon theprocess,whenitwasadonedealallthetime.

It is obvious that the PPPC Government, and the Vice President,donotcarehowtheirstewardshipofthisprecious nationalcommodityisseenandevaluated.

ItwastheVicePresidenthimselfwhosaidthathisparty ispreparedtolosesomevotes,ifthatistheconsequencethat follows. Stateddifferently,thereisnocareregardinghow theGuyanesepeoplereact,andwhattheydotoregistertheir disapproval.

What matters above all else is how he is in total sync with ExxonMobil and its partners (Hess Corp and the Chinesecompany)withthisoilwealthofGuyana,bygiving themwhattheywant,whentheywantit,andallowingthem todecidehowmuchtheyaregoingtopayforit.

Guyaneseknowthatthe5thoilprojectistocostUS$12 billionattheminimum.

But beyond that they do not know much more at this time,whenGuyananearsapproval.Fromallindications,it doesn’tmattertothemanmanagingtheoil,BharatJagdeo thatthesenewprojectsbeinglinedupforapprovalprovide openingsforGuyanatoexploreforitsadvantage. Nordoes itmatterthattheseprojectscouldbeusedbyGuyanatogive it significant leverage in extracting some comparatively bettertermsfromwhatthiscountryhasbeengettingfromall of its previous oil projects. To sign-off on this 5th project withtheequivalentofourhandstiedbehindourbacksisthe worst way imaginable to represent the interests of the Guyanesepeople.

When all this is given careful consideration, it is now beyond doubt that Guyana’s Bharat Jagdeo is as one with ExxonMobil’sRoutledgeandHessCorporationJohnHess. HeisclosertothemthantheGuyanesepeoplewherethisoil isconcerned. Itgivesnewmeaningtoalltheduckingand dodging that are now constant with him, whenever he is askedforrealanswersandgenuinetruthsaboutthenation’s oil. The other projects being lined up for approval look similarlyforegone,meaning,donedealsunderthesamevile terms.

Guyana and Venezuela: a David and Goliath match up?

DEAREDITOR, The International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued its latest ruling in the on-going judicial saga between Guyana and Venezuela on April6,last,duringtheweek when three of the world’s m o s t i n f l u e n t i a l religions Christianity, Islam, and Judaism—were either celebrating or beginning to celebrate high holy periods: Easter for the Christians, Ramadan for the Muslims, and Passover for Judaism’sadherents.

As this writer listened to and later read the ruling by ICJ President, American-born Joan Donoghue, even though the entiredramaisn’tconcluded, thebiblicaltaleofDavidand Goliathcametomind.

The story is told in the Old Testament book of Samuel of the underdog battle between a young,

diminutive shepherd David andgiant,aggressivewarrior Goliath, in which David defeated Goliath with weaponsconsideredtobeof dubious utility given the enemy’sweaponsandarmor David wielded a slingshot andstones.

THERUNUP, THEVOTE

Butbeforeaddressingthe April judgment it’s useful to note the run up to it. Recall that Guyana referred the controversy about the validity of the 1899Arbitral Award to the ICJ in 2018 after several resolution efforts over many decades were futile. In accordance withitsrules,theICJneeded to ponder whether it had jurisdiction to hear the matter

In December 2020 the Court decided that it did, indeed, have the relevant jurisdiction, and in March

2021Guyanawasgivenuntil March 8, 2022, to submit its Memorial(casebrief),which itdid.Venezuelawasgranted until March 8, 2023, to

present its CounterMemorial All things considered, the decision on the substantive case was expected to be made by March2024.

However, Venezuela

adopted a different legal/judicial strategy

Rather than work on its Counter-Memorial, in June

2022 the Bolivarian Republic filed preliminary o b j e c t i o n s t o t h e admissibility of Guyana’s petition.

Under ICJ rules, the trajectory of the substantive proceedings was suspended, and Guyana was then granted until October 7, 2022,tofilearesponsetothe objections, following which the Court held hearings on

the matter from November 17 through November 22, last The essence of Venezuela’s objections was that since the United Kingdom was a party to the 1899 Arbitral Award it is, therefore, an indispensable thirdpartytothecaseandthe Court cannot adjudicate the matterwithoutitsconsent.

In its 29-page judgment, the 15-member judicial organ of the United Nations system, noted that “the practice of the parties to the Geneva Agreement further demonstrates their agreement that the dispute could be settled without the involvement of the United Kingdom.”

More substantively, the jurists noted “the Court concludes that, by virtue of being a party to the Geneva Agreement, the United Kingdomacceptedthatthe (Continuedonpage6)

Is the Traffic Chief weak and incompetent or deaf and remorseless?

DEAREDITOR,

In Guyana, playing loud m u s i c i n p u b l i c transportation is illegal However, it has been allowedtobecomeprevalent in our society As a result, it hasbecomeamajornuisance forcommuters.

Despite numerous complaintsfrompassengers, the law enforcement agencies have consistently failedtoaddressthisissueby not taking action against the offenders.Thisnegligenceis not only causing discomfort tothepublicbutalsoputting theirhealthand lives at risk. It also created a sense of helplessness among the public and sends a message that the authorities are not interestedinaddressingtheir concerns. Playing loud musicforanextendedperiod can cause hearing loss, tinnitus, and other health issues Therefore, it is essential to condemn the negligence of law enforcement agencies in Guyana as it relates to playingloudmusicinpublic transportation.

Playing loud music in public transportation is a violation of basic human rights by disturbing the peace. Moreover, it is also distracting for the drivers, which increases the risk of accidents. If a driver is listening to loud music or

musicwithaheavybassline, itcanbedifficultforthemto concentrateontheroad.

Thisisparticularlytrueif themusicisunfamiliarorhas a fast tempo. Research has shownthatthiscancausethe driver to become more excited or agitated. Hip hop and dancehall music which are most popular in public transportationareknownfor theirheavybasslinesandfast tempos.Thiscanincreasethe risk of distraction and ultimatelyleadtoaccidents.

M o r e o v e r , t h e negligence of law enforcement agencies has also contributed to the normalization of this behaviour. When the authoritiesfailtotakeaction against offenders, it sends a message that playing loud, vulgarandobscenemusicin public transportation is acceptable This has emboldened the offenders, and they continue to violate thebasicrightsofthepublic withimpunity

The negligence of law enforcement agencies in Guyanahasalsohighlighted the need for stronger laws and regulations.While there are laws in place to address thisissue,theyarenotbeing enforced. Therefore, it is essential to strengthen these laws and regulations and ensurethattheyareenforced by the authorities. This will

send a message that playing loud music in public transportation is a serious offense that will not be tolerated.

Manypersonssufferedor died using public transportation in which loud musicwasplayed.

I urge the relatives, familiesandfriendsofthose whosufferedordiedinthese accidents in as well as those who depend on public transportation to speak out and protest against the negligence of the relevant authorities in enforcing the law

In conclusion, playing loud music in public transportation is a violation

of basic human rights and a serious threat to the health andsafetyofthepublic.The negligence of law enforcement agencies in Guyana in addressing this issue is unacceptable. It not onlycausesdiscomforttothe publicbutalsocontributesto the normalization of this behaviour Therefore, it is essential to condemn the negligence of law enforcement agencies and call for stronger laws and regulations to address this issue. The authorities must take action to ensure the safety and well-being of the public.

Respectfully, Benedick

Persaud

Guyana’s SurinameAmbassador clarifies son’s involvement in PS Mae Toussaint Thomas’detention

DEAREDITOR, Iamwritingtoprovidea correction to an article published in your online edition on April 27, 2023 titled “Permanent Secretary (PS),MaeToussaintThomas visa revocation, ‘roughingup’wasa“normalroutine”PresidentAli.”

The article erroneously statedthatmysonwaspartof the delegation that was involved in the temporary detention of PS Thomas at MiamiInternationalAirport. I want to clarify that my son

was not part of the delegation, nor was he traveling to China on the mentioned date, after, or has ever traveled to China. I appreciatetheopportunityto make this correction, and I hope that you will publish thislettertoensurethatyour readers have accurate information.

Sincerely,

Virjanand

Dépoo Ambassador of

the

Republic of Guyana to the Republic of Suriname.

Cooperative

Ministry of HomeAffairs PS response leaves more questions than answers

DEAREDITOR,

In the statement by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs (“Mae Thomas sets the record straight,” NR, April 26,2023),thePSisreported as saying, “There was a misunderstanding over my official cell phone without me being able to advise my officials.”

What really does this mean? Equally bad was the President’s response, as stated in the article, ‘No motive; was normal procedure’ – Ali on PS’ treatment at US airport (iNews, April 26, 2023)

Neither the statement from the PS nor statements from the President will enlighten anyone. President Ali told reporters that the matter is “no issue” for the GovernmentofGuyana.

TheGovernmentshould know that all Guyana is glued to this story and want to know the truth The Guyanese people also know not to trust public pronouncements and they can detect easily when Government folks are less than truthful and covering up So given all the commentaries on social media and the Guyana media, here are some questionsthepeoplewantto know:

Was the China trip personal, PPP party or Government’s business? If

First quarter oil report

it’s PPP party business, is that allowable under Public Service rules and ethics?

Who paid for the delegation togo?

If personal, did the PS use a “diplomatic passport” orapersonalpassport?

If Guyana’s business, what Guyana Government businesswasthePSgoingto doinChina?

Whatwasthetopicofthe training she was allegedly attending?

What was the length of timeforthetraining?

Who else were in the delegationfortraining?

Is it true or not true that thePSwasbracedagainstthe wall, handcuffed, and phone confiscated, as was reported?

If so, the Government, women’s groups, GHRA, IPADA-G,andCivilSociety must protest such disrespectful treatment of ourAfro-Guyanese PS, who seemstobesuchanicelady. Hope there was no racial profilinghere.

Mr. President, it is not normal to brace people against the wall, handcuff them, take away their phone andthenrevoketheirvisa,as part of “secondary screening.” This is not a routine practice by US Customs Why is your Government not protesting against such shabby treatmentmetedoutagainsta topofficialinakeyMinistry,

travelling in an official capacity?

The PS phone probably contains sensitive Guyana Government information. Is theGovernmentnotworried about such information being compromised, and presents a security of data p r o b l e m s f o r t h e Government?

WasthePSonsome“US Watch List?” If so, what list and why? Did Government know she was on a watch list?

What was the alleged questioning for 3 hours all about? What type of questions were they asking forsuchalongtime? Didinformationfoundin the phone, led to revocation ofthevisa?

There are pictures circulating allegedly showingthePS,husbandand amemberofafamilywhose visas were revoked by the US.Doesthishaveanything to do with the PS visa being revoked?

TheUSdoesnotrevoke visas willy-nilly, so what was the compelling reason why they did that in this case?

Will the phone be returned to the Government of Guyana? Does the US action set a bad precedence for other countries to do the same to Guyanese officials? Can the US take away our Vice President’s phone too when he travels, given the

Su-Suinterviews?

The US Ambassador to Guyanaisbuddybuddywith the Government and is with themallovertheplaceinand outofGuyana,sohowcome the Government did not get timely briefing from the honorable Ambassador? No l o y a l t y f o r s u c h chumminess?

Is the US Embassy spying on Guyanese and Governmentofficials?

Why? Who else will be heldupandhandcuffed?

Just recently, the United Nations issued a rare rebuke of the United States after reports that those leaked documents allegedly revealed the US was spying ontheSecretary-Generaland other high ranking UN officials (CNN, April 18, 2023). A New York Times article, “Leaked Documents Reveal Depth of U.S. Spy EffortsandRussia’sMilitary Struggles” (NYT, April 8, 2023) also shows that U.S. intelligence services are eavesdropping on important allies such as Korea and Israel and even some Ukraine’s leaders The Government needs to come clean on this matter and show the country it believes i n t r a n s p a r e n c y, accountability, and clean Government. Credibility is lost when Government is in apparentcover-upmode.

Sincerely,

M.Singh

DEAREDITOR, I refer to your article captioned, ‘Guyana earns US$219Minroyalties,profit oil in first three months for 2023’ (KN, April 20, 2023) in which it is stated that GuyanareceivedUS$161.86 million as profit oil and US$57.59millionasroyalty This information was released by the Bank of Guyana(BoG).Editor,while I would like to applaud the BoG for the release of a small part of the financial data, this information about earnings is less than what waspublishedbytheBoGin the recent past More specifically, without the publication of the total numberofbarrelsofoilsold and total revenue earned, together with the fact that thereisalowprobabilitythat the full EEPGL audited reports will be made public (seeArticle9,pages22to24 ofthePSA),thisinformation release by the BoG is no better than a publicity stunt that obviates any standard associated with complete transparency Nevertheless, and because of this lack of financial data, I decided to use the royalty information to derive what is the estimated total value of the oil sales in the first quarter, andtoestimateEEPGLshare oftotalrevenue.

In this regard, and in keeping with Article 15.6 page 39 of the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA), where it is stated that ‘the Contractor shall pay…’the Government… a royalty of

two percent (2%) of all Petroleum produced and sold…’I calculated that the total revenue is US$2,879.5 million (this is, US$57.59 milliondividedby0.02).

Verification of this total revenue amount and the numberofbarrelsofoilsold, willhaveimplicationsforthe shareofthetotalrevenuethat GuyanaandEEPGLreceive. In fact, if the total sales amount of U$2,879 5 million is correct and Guyana share is US$219 million,thenEEPGLshareis US$2,660.5 million, which Guyana can accept or Guyana can raise an objection.

However, an objection can be a very expensive undertaking, as all disputes have to comply withArticle 26 (pages 59 to 61) of the PSAwhichrequireahearing before the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)inWashingtonDC. Equally important is the fact that EEPGL is a companythatisincorporated by its three owners in three different countries, namely, theBahamas,Barbados,and theCaymanIslands;anditis only registered in Guyana (Page 1 of the PSA). The mainimplicationofthis (Continuedonpage6)

Guyana and Venezuela: a David...

Frompage4

disputebetweenGuyanaand Venezuela could be settled byoneofthemeanssetoutin Article 33 of the Charter of the United Nations, and that it would have no role in that procedure The preliminary objection raised byVenezuelamusttherefore berejected.”

Thus, by a 14-1 vote the Court rejected Venezuela’s preliminary objection, and bythesamevoteitfoundthat it can adjudicate upon the merits of Guyana’s claims. Thesolejudicialdissentwas cast by Judge Phillippe Couvreur, who Venezuela had appointed as an ad hoc jurist in the case. In effect, hiswasasympathyvote.The effect of the April 6 Court decision is that the case trajectory is being restored, with a modification

Assuming that Venezuela will remain party to the proceedings,itnowhasuntil March8,2024,tosubmitits Counter-Memorial A decision on the substantive case should be forthcoming withinayearafterwards.

LEGAL/JUDICIAL SLINGSHOT

Unsurprisingly, the authorities in Caracas derided the decision, with Executive Vice President Delcy Rodríguez asserting that “the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela does not recognize the judicial mechanism as a means of r e s o l v i n g t h e aforementioned dispute” and that “the 1966 Geneva Agreement is the only valid and current instrument to resolve the dispute” through “directpoliticalnegotiations forthesakeofapracticaland satisfactory solution.” With these statements Venezuela seemstobesettingthestage for a repudiation of the Court’s final decision if it favors Guyana, which is a distinct possibility The implications of repudiation extend way beyond the purview of the two immediate judicial parties and will be the subject of a subsequentdiscussion.

V e n e z u e l a ’ s exasperationovertheApril6 decision must surely be

drivenbythefactthatit’sthe secondlossbeforetheCourt; the first was in December 2020, when the Court rejected them and affirmed having jurisdiction in the matter

Moreover, Guyana’s continued petro-power successes most likely is playingmindgameswiththe political elites in Miraflores Palace, the center of Venezuelan political power

In this respect, February 24, marked a milestone with production of 400,000 barrels of oil that day, heading to the desired 1 million barrels per day beforetheendofthisdecade. Theelitestheremustalsobe frustrated that “little Guyana” is chalking up continuous victories before theWorldCourtdespitetheir superiorresources.

For instance, while Guyanafieldedateamof15 legal advocates, diplomats, and political operatives led byAgentandformerForeign Minister Carl Greenidge for the April 6 delivery at The Hague, Venezuela amassed twice the number—32—of legal scholars, diplomats, and political heavy weights, led by Agents Executive Vice-President Rodríguez and Ambassador to the United Nations Samuel MoncadaAcosta.

Venezuela dwarfs Guyana in several crucial respects. While Guyana has alandmassof214,969sqkm and a population of about 780,000,Venezuela boasts a size that’s more than four t i m e s t h a t o f Guyana 912,050 sq km—and a population of 28 million, which is 36 times thatofGuyana’s.

On the military front, Guyana’s security establishment of barely 5,000 soldiers pales in comparison to that of its neighbor, which exceeds 120,000 active personnel. Moreover, with proven oil reservesof11billionbarrels equivalent, Guyana is far out-matched in petro-power potential by Venezuela, whichhasprovenreservesof morethan300billionbarrels equivalent and ranks as the

world’s number one oil reserve holder Yet, when it comestothejudicialfront,it appearswehaveaDavidand Goliathline-upwhereDavid is using a legal/judicial slingshot to vanquish his bigger and stronger challenger.

Guyana is on a petropower roll. The week following the ICJ decision, the Prosperity, the third oil production ship, known formally as a Floating, Production, Storage, and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, arrived in Guyana from Singapore. Prosperity has a 220,000 barrels per day initial capacity and will boost Guyana’s daily productiontoabout600,000 barrels a day by the end of next year, inching closer to the goal of 1 million barrels per day by the end of the decade.

Inevitably, the country’s continuousoilsuccesseswill lead to enhanced economic andgeopoliticalprofiles,not just regionally, but internationally Forexample, earlier this month Guyana received the endorsement of all32membersoftheGroup of Latin American and C a r i b b e a n S t a t e s (GRULAC) at the United Nationsforitscandidacyfor a seat at the UN Security Councilin2024-2025.South America’s sole Anglophone republic is poised to secure the seat when elections are held in New York this coming June and will likely serveintheexaltedprincipal organ of the United Nations System.

Coincidentally, the ICJ decision on the substantive case is expected during the very time Guyana is serving on the Security Council Thus, things could be awkward for Venezuela, especially if Caracas contemplates repudiating the ICJ decision if it favors Guyana. It is important to consideroptionsGuyanaand theinternationalcommunity could pursue in that eventuality This will be the subject of consideration in a subsequentseries.

Regards, Ivelaw

DEAREDITOR,

I was most disappointed toheartheFormerPresident say, during a recent press interview, that he did not have any interest in the allegedincidentinwhichthe Indianlawyerhadspatupon the African policewoman and addressed her in very insulting terms Such a statement contradicted the very claim he was making about his Party’s interest in serving and representing all Guyanese of every race, class and creed. He is

certainly undoing whatever the President has achieved through his efforts This must mean that the General Secretary would not be seeking to understand and correct any situation which createsdiscord.

Hisstatementexposesan emptiness in the President’s effortsin“nation-building”.

The General Secretary must have heard that the Office of the Director of PublicProsecutionhadbeen picketed The Former President has much to learn

about the late Dr Cheddi Jagan. Our Ordinary People expect (rightly so) to be protectedbyour“Leaders”. Uniting a country is no easy task (sometimes it becomes a prolonged event miredinwarandbloodshed), and can become even more difficult when wealth is thought of as the most productive instrument Guyanese Africans are very sensitive and sincerely empatheticpeople!

Regards,

MalcolmParrisC.C.H

First quarter oil...

Frompage5 arrangement is that Guyana, the resource owner, is not considered an equal in this PSA arrangement; and the Guyana Court System has been reduced in its importance Moreover, contract sanctity in the presence of matched unequals due to information hardships, knowledge gaps,and selective inattention by one party relative to the other, have resulted in our sovereignty being usurped by our new colonial masters, who ‘…can do whatever they w a n t ’ ( https://wwwkaieteurnewso nlinecom/2023/04/26/govtreversed-re-injection-ofproduced-water-foryellowtail-project/).

Given these unfortunate circumstances, it appears that we have not learnt anythingfromourhistory In particular,itappearsthatwe have replaced the Sugar Barons with the Oil Barons. RecallthattheSugarBarons unashamedly mistreated the peopleofGuyanafor‘White Gold’.

Today,theOilBaronsare gearing-up like the former Sugar Barons to harvest our ‘Black Gold’ without any seriouscareorconsideration for the people and our environment Is history repeatingitselfasmoreoilis found?

to deposit(US$15 448 billion), while Guyana from itsownresourcesisconfused with crumbs from which taxes for EEPGLhave to be paid; insurance premiums have to be deducted; and environmental costs have to be subtracted. No one who owns a non-renewable natural resource should be treated in this manner; indeed, I can almost hear a localsinger:

Replacing the sugar baronswithoilbarons; Dem don’t care if we punishing; all the way to the bank, demsmiling;

DrillBaby,Drill; Eleven billion barrels andcounting; evenifwewatching; wecan’tdoanything; so dem saying, Drill Baby,Drill.

The environment is crying;

But dem don’t care who complaining; For dem in charge saying;

DrillBaby,Drill.

Telling fiction at DemeraraBridgeCrossing; Truth telling gone walking;

Making more money thanGod;

foreign Direct investment are never deployed in the Guyanese economy, but are disbursed to the foreign owners of EEPGL.I would therefore contend that instead of Guyana reporting the inflated value of GDP, Guyana should be using instead, Gross National Product (GNP) as its main economic indicator This is because GNP is an estimate of the total value of all the final products and services produced and owned by a country’s residents ( I n v e s t o p e d i a : https://wwwinvestopedia c om/terms/g/gnp asp) The owners of EEPGL are not Guyanese; and as a result, the estimated share of the totaloilrevenuecapturedby EEPGL(85.5 percent, some US$13.208 billion for the periodMarch2020toMarch 20,2023)willbeexcludedin GNP; and this will reflect a more accurate accounting f o r t h e e c o n o m y Additionally, a more equitable sharing of the benefits and costs of these resourcesmustbethegoalof this arrangement between the people of Guyana and EEPGL.

LloydGriffith

Editor, I noticed that the total amount of money deposited in the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) during the period March 11, 2020 and March 20, 2023 is U S $ 2 2 4 b i l l i o n (https://www.kaieteurnewso nline com/2023/04/20/guya

na-earns-us219m-inroyalties-profit-oil-in-firstthree-months-for-2023/)

GiventhatGuyana’sshareis estimated to be 14.5 percent of total revenue, it is therefore pellucid that EEPGL is smiling all the waytothebankwithbillions

Yetnoremorse,butDrill Baby,Drill. Who could believe we cometothisagain; We have not grown; we havenotgained; Take time, reflect and rejectthepain;

Without equitable sharing,noDrillingBaby,no Drilling.

The view that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Guyana has more than tripled since the first discovery of oil in 2015 is a misleading economic indicator. This is because Guyana is a raw material exporter, where the owners ofthelargestinvestmentare not Guyanese; and the incometheyearnedfromthe

Iwouldcontendalsothat this same approach of employing the GNP indicator should be adopted for gold, diamonds, bauxite, manganese,otherrenewable and non-renewable resources.

Editor, in closing I am reminded of the Guyanese proverb:‘Orangeyellow,but yuh nah know if he sweet’; meaning that: ‘You cannot judge everything from the outside’. Consequently, it is timeforEEPGLandGuyana tosignontoamoreequitable deal, for what is current is past history that Guyanese would not want experience again.Getitdone!

Sincerely,

Dr.C.KenrickHunte Professor and Former Ambassador

Jagdeo’s statement exposes the emptiness in the President’s efforts in “nation-building”.

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BAR OWNERS AND DRINKERS

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In Guyana, it is unknown for bar owners to limit drinkers.

Even when the drinkers have gone way overboard.

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Sometimes bar owners join in the excessive drinking.

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To ask them to slowdown intoxicated drinkers means well.

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But, given local culture, it would be of limited traction.

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‘Govt. halts sale of profitable Marriott Hotel’ ...Jagdeo says bids too low

Several days after s i x b i d d e r s submitted their proposal for the acquisition oftheMarriottHotel,which isownedbytheGovernment of Guyana, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo onThursday announcedthatthe“bidsare too low” and added that the governmentwillnotproceed with the sale of the hotel untilthebidreflectsthetrue valueofthehotel.

TheVicePresidentmade

theannouncementduringhis party'spressconference.

Hesaid,“OntheMarriott again, I saw a lot of controversy on who the guy is, who is the highest bidder…”He explainedthat the government went to tendertestingthemarketbut, “none of the bids meet our price expectation, and we willnotproceedwithanyof thosebids.”

The Vice President assured that the hotel will

continuetobeownedbythe government until an appropriate offer that mirrors the true value of the hotelisreceived.

“We know what the true value will be in the current contents.

So that matter should be put to rest, that we will not proceedwithanyofthebids, becausewebelievethatthey are too low based on the value of that asset now and its capacity to earn,” Jagdeo

continued.

The Marriott Hotel started under the Jagdeo administration when he was President using taxpayers' dollarsandwithasyndicated loan through the Republic Bank Limited of Trinidad and had opened its doors on April17,2015.

Under the syndicated loan agreement, the preferredrightsgoestothose investors – meaning that in the event of the hotel being

unable to service the loan –the unknown investors would have the first lien on theproceedsofanysale.

On April 17, the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) disclosed that six persons have tendered their proposals for theprofitablehotel.Coming in as the highest bidder at US$65 million was Ramy El-Batrawi who is listed as the principal of X, LLC, local businessman and ownerofthePegasusHotel, RobertBadalinsecondwith a bid of US$55.5 million. The third highest bidder spot went to a local consortium, Integrated Group Guyana Limited, headedbyRavindraPrashad withabidofUS$55million.

Atfourthspot,therewas Georgetown Investments and Management Services Inc (Princess Hotel), General Manager, Mustafa Eray Kanmaz bidding US$50 million. The lowest bidders came from NCB Capital Markets Limited, a Jamaican Company headed bySteveGoodingwithabid of US$33 million and Muneshwers Limited, owned by Amarnauth Muneshwer with the bid of US$25million.

Kaieteur News recently highlighted that the hotel's topbidderwasbarredbythe UnitedStatesSecuritiesand Exchange Commission (SEC) back in 2010 from acting as an officer or director of a public companyforaperiodoffive years.

It was reported that the US body had filed fraud charges in 2006 against Ramy El-Batrawi, and others arising out of US$130 million stock loan and manipulation scheme.

Notably, while El-Batrawi n e v e r a c c e p t e d wrongdoings, inApril 2010 the final judgment resulted in him being barred from running a public company forfiveyears.

This publication had also highlighted that ElBatrawi visited Guyana

twice last year, October 2022, and November 2022.

The American businessman hadpraisedthetimehespent with President Irfaan Ali duringhisvisitstoGuyana.

One month later, NICIL a n n o u n c e d t h e Government's decision to sellthehotel.

In March 2023, Jagdeo revealed that despite the criticism the hotel faced when the construction was announced – the hotel has emerged as a profitable venture,butjustifiedthesale ofthehotelbystatingthatit wasabusinessdecision.

In fact, the VP said during a press conference that while the hotel is making a profit, it is of no supreme benefit to the Government owning it anymore.

Jagdeo continued by saying that within a few years several hotels are expected to come on stream and in order to avoid competition, this is the best time to maximise the profit andsellthehotel.

AccordingtoJagdeo,the proceeds of the sale was supposed to be used, “to clear off the remaining loan and some of it will come back to the Treasury to be used back for whatever purposeisdetermined.”

Notably, a decision by the former administration has resulted in US$1 1 million ($226 million) of taxpayers' dollars coming out every six months (since 2017) to service the US$27 millionloanfromthebank–fora13-yearperiod.

This was after the hotel was unable to service the loan.

In order to prevent the hotelfrombeingacquiredby the bank, the former Government in April 2017 madethedecisiontotransfer the hotel's financial obligations to the Central Government.

However, VP Jagdeo stated that while in Opposition, the PPP administration was opposed to the hotel's financial obligationbeingtransferred.

The Marriott Hotel

JAGDEO IS OUT OF TIME AND OUT OF LINE

Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeohastolearntimeand place A party press conference is hardly the place or the time to make announcements about government’sdecisions.

Jagdeo has been in the political fray for many decades Today, he is perceived to be the maximum leader within the PPPCandisalsobelievedto wield inordinate influence within the government. It is thereforesurprisingthatheis yet to master the difference in content between a party press conference and a g o v e r n m e n t p r e s s conference. Not only this, buthealsospeaksonmatters thatareoutsidehisportfolio.

Atyesterday’sPPPpress conference, he made some astonishingremarks.Hesaid that the government invited the bids for the Marriott Hotelasawayoftestingthe market But is this not duplicitous? How do the bidders who spent considerablesumstoprepare their bids feel about being usedtotestthemarkettosee what price the hotel would attract? Those who submitted bids would have been under the impression that they were bidding for the hotel and not being used to see what price the hotel would attract. Is this fair to

them?

Itisonethingtosaythat mostofthebidswerebelow the floor price which governmenthadinmind.No person selling a property wouldbeobligatedtosellto thehighestbidderespecially if that bid does not meet the price which the government expects But it is a completelydifferentthingto saythatthegovernmentwas testing the market. Testing the market may be something which may be done for private property sales but not for a bid for a government –owned hotel. And even private real estate dealers are frowning on the practiceoftestingthemarket which is fraught with disadvantages. There is no need to test the market. The government would have received a market valuation for the property - or at least onehopesso.Thatvaluation obviates the need to test the price which the hotel would fetchontheopenmarket. Is this how the government does business? Or is this a cakeshopmannerofrunning government.

The government says it was testing the market and thatthebidswerelowerthan the value which the government was seeking But how do we know for certain this is indeed the

Dem Boys Seh...

case? Could it be that there was a push-back on the government?Coulditbethat the government wants to avoid,atleastatthisstage,a controversy, over the sale of aprofitableventure? Glenn Lall, the publisher of this newspaper,hasbeenmaking a strong case as to why the hotel should not be sold. Others have raised similar concerns.

Asecondpush-backmay havecomefollowingreports that one of the bidders had some issues in the United States years ago The governmentmaynotwantto be caught-up in a controversy over due diligence and as such may have decided to place the saleofthehotelonhold.But whataboutthewayforward? Will the hotel be readvertised? And if so, will the government announce a floorprice?

Or are there other twists to this saga? Is the governmentgoingtoinvitea favouredinvestortoprovide a bid that is superior to the onessubmittedandoncethis is done the government goingtohandthehoteltothe favored bidder? It is not beyond the realm of possibilityforthistohappen. The public must therefore watch this hotel sale with ‘hawk-likeeyes”.

Cheating husbands does help finance de female economy

Mendoestekabeating–averballicking –overdewaysomeofthemdoescheatpun dembetterhalf. Andeventhoughisnotall mendoescheat,isallmendoesatonetime ordeother,beaccusedofcheating.

Anddesedaysnuffwomencomplaining aboutcheatingmen.Anddatcriticismdoes haveaneffectonmen’ssenseofself-worth. But dem boys read something on Tik Tok that dem boys feel could help in boosting men’smoraleandself-worth.

One person, pun Tik Tok ask, “If all married men opt to be faithful to dem wife foralltimewhatganhappentodemfemale university students whose fees getting paid bymarriedmen?”

What gan happen to all dem single womenwhogannolongerbeabletoafford topaydemrent?

What gan happen to all dem women

whosecarloanrepaymentsarebeingpaidby marriedmen?

What gan happen to some of dem hairdressingsalontowhichwomendoesgo tododemnailsandhairandwherethetabis beingpaidbymarriedmen?

Cheatingisbigbusinessdesedays,and dis is not something anybody should be proudtosay Butitisreality

Amanwasrecentlyseenscratchinghis head and being thoughtful. He friend go up to he and ask he what was de problem. He explain dat he read a survey which found thatoneineverythreewomendoescheat.

He friend ask he, “So what is de problem?”

De man answer, “I trying fuh think whetherthatonepersonismehwifeormeh girlfriend.”

Talkhalf.Leffhalf!

Itisimportantthatthere befairnessandtransparency in the sale of the hotel. The hotel is a public asset. The public must insist on competitive bidding for the hotel so as to deter the possibilityofthehotelbeing handedtosomefriendofthe governmentatapriceabove those who were recently tested in the market. The people therefore must insist thatanyfutureinvitationfor bids must be via a competitive and transparent process. Bidders must also be given adequate time to

preparebids.

Better yet, the people should impress on the government not to sell the hotel.Apeaceful protest, by forming a peaceful and orderly human chain around the hotel, and which attracts thousands of peace loving persons, may be enough to dissuade the government from selling In the meantime,somebodyshould advise Jagdeo that NICIL falls under the Ministry of Finance. There is a Minister intheOfficeofthePresident with responsibility for

Finance. That Minister should be the one speaking about the sale of the hotel, notJagdeo.

(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.)

H@RD TRUTHS

BY GHK LALL

AN INDEPENDENT IN GUYANA

To be an Independent in Guyana is a wonderful vision. Ilikethecleanlines, strokes conveyed in that word Independent. Two words, really: political Independent. Is such a creature, such presence, actually possible in the Guyana of today? Though there are considerable doubts, it is not an i n s u r m o u n t a b l e undertaking, definitely not an impossible dream. This isbecausethecircumstances are not in favor; still, at the end of the day, it all comes down to one priceless element. It is the nature of

the man or woman, the caliber of character that wraps the banner of Independentaroundself.

As a disclaimer, this writing is prompted by the media announcement of a candidate proudly proclaiming that he is runningasanIndependentin upcomingpoliticalcontests. Iwishhimthebestisthefirst praise offered; his courage in doing so is the second commendation tendered But I make clear this has nothing to do with this brother, his candidacy, or thatheseesitfittorun.Itis lessaboutthemanandmore

oftheconcept,andallthose attributes that have to be inseparable from that despised label in Guyana. Indeed,thisiswhattobean Independent has come to signifyhere:detestation. At its core, to be an Independent is about the reality,ideal,andchallenges embeddedinthecategoryof Independentwithinthelocal politicalscheme.

Independent means no affiliation now, none intended at any time in the future, no matter how attractivetheoverturestobe otherwise. Ratherforlornly, such has not been what has

graced us in the political arena. Because of this, the word Independent when employed in a political context has come to represent a ploy, merely a rusetogetrecognised,anda footinthedoor InGuyana, that would be the holy of holies, to wit, the good favors of the ruling, dominating,rampagingPPP Government, and its top people.

Thereisonlyone,andin his hands the fates of Independents have transformedinto,ifIwillbe pardoned,whatcouldnotbe more distant from the intended ideal. In fact, the label of Independent is as goodasgone.

Whether it was through ambitions harbored deep inside, or attractions extended most artfully, or simply the guiles of a particular platform in politics that leads to personal rewards, any of those, or some combination of them, this has been the reality of Independents in Guyana. I will not insult anyone by attaching the prefix of ‘so-called’to their claims to be Independent through and through. I admititisdifficult.

I will give the fairness thatvisionsmayhavestarted out that way with real sincerity and real authenticity Then, those ideals about being a true Independentinthedomestic domain collided with the powerful realities of

political Guyana. Regrettably, when such collisions have o c c u r r e d , Independents lost all their sense of purpose, of direction, and of regard for thetrustvestedinthem,and collapsed into ignominious heaps. Icastnoaspersions; all I do is simply to point to thehighheaps,andthereare the skulls of the fallen, the decay of what began well, but them succumbed to whatevercametheirway It has been an assorted bunch, and includes not only political aspirants, a la the lengthy list from the last elections, but also those from the proud realm of the press,thepiouspractitioners inspiritualsanctuaries.

Tothatnoblegrouping,I can add others who were oncethoughttobeabovethe fray, or at least held themselvesouttobeso,and thoseinsistentthattheywere wholly outside the clutches ofthetwodominantpolitical presences in this town. Due to the new standard I am working to inject into local conversations, I refuse to name anyone. They are known commodities, with proper baggage that trace to them.

Politics aside, to be worthwhile of the c l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f IndependentinGuyana,and genuinely so, one has to be without need, devoid of certain personal impulses, barren of what makes other menandwomenexcited. It

c an be atadontheburdensomeside forsome. Iwouldasserttoo many, come to think of it, whenacensusisdone.

FortobeanIndependent meanswillinglyabandoning (and this is dangerous) the powerful ties to race, to money,andtowhatseduces others. In Guyana, one has tobefor,andithadbetterbe nothingelse.

Forifoneisnotfor,then oneisagainst.

This is the incredible narrowness to which Guyana’s politics, and the life of Guyanese, has constricted. According to the partisans, there is no such animal as a centrist, a neutral, a self-made, selfassured, and self-contained man or woman. It is either for,anddamnthosewhoare against. Most Guyanese have shown so far that they cannot take the second half ofthatbrutalequation. How one measures up in the crunchis whatrecommends rebonafidesaboutbeingan Independent. It is the one whostandssteadfast.

(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 BYGHKLALL

Investigative report into death of BOSAI bulldozer operator presented to Labour Minister

More than a monthafterthe p a r t i a l l y decomposed body of 59year-oldNeptridHercules,an

employee of BOSAI

Minerals Group Guyana, who was buried alive was found – Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton has receivedtheofficialreportof the investigation into Herculesdeath.

T h e r e p o r t h a s recommended that a sectoral coordinating group comprised of representatives of the Ministry of Labour, Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a

representativeoftheworkers union should be established; there be a promulgation of the Regulations made under the Occupational Safety and HealthAct,BOSAIMinerals Group Guyana to establish a

Health and Safety

Committee for the

Reclamation Dump

Construction; BOSAI

Minerals Group Guyana must install and maintain geotechnical engineering, ground and surface water hydrology capacity supported by the appropriate field and laboratory equipment;BOSAIMinerals Group Guyana must prepare and submit the report required by Part 111 (13) (q)

of the Occupational Safety and Health Act; BOSAI Minerals Group Guyana must submit a document to stack or dump any waste product resulting from miningoperationstoGuyana

Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) for approval; BOSAI Minerals Group Guyana must prepare andsubmitanEnvironmental Management Plan and ContingencyandEmergency ResponsePlanasrequiredby t h e 2 0 0 5 M i n i n g

Amendments; BOSAI Minerals Group Guyana mustcommissionandsubmit ofanupdatedEnvironmental Impact Assessment containing a description of

best available technology and with a risk assessment andanEmergencyResponse Plan and that BOSAI Minerals Group Guyana must provide a report to the Ministry of Labour bearing thesealandthesignatureofa professional engineer addressing ground stability toensurethataworkerisnot likelytobeendangered.

T i m e l i n e s f o r i m p l e m e n t i n g t h e recommendations were givenandBOSAIisrequired to adhere to them, the Department of Public Information (DPI) reported on Friday. The Labour Ministry's Permanent Secretary, Bishram Kuppen, Occupational Safety and Health,Consultant,Gweneth King and members of the BOSAIFormalInvestigation team were present at the handing over of the investigation report to the MinisterofLabour

The investigation began on March 27, 2023, and was done in compliance with Section 72 (1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, Chapter 99:06, LawsofGuyana. The Act empowers the Minister to direct formal investigation into any accidentarisingoutofandin thecourseofemploymentof any worker where he considers it expedient to so do.

The persons appointed are referred to as 'The court' and 'shall hold the investigationinopencourtin such a manner and under such conditions as the court

Dead: Neptrid

may think most effectual for ascertaining the causes and circumstances of the accident'.

The investigating team was appointed 'to determine the cause (s) of the accident and make recommendations for the prevention of accidentsgenerallyandmore inparticulartherecurrenceof similaraccidents.'

Herculeswentmissingin the wee hours of March 11, 2023 along with the CAT D9TDozerhewasoperating atthetime.Thiswasduetoa failure experienced at the Overburden Dump in the East Montgomery Mine where he was working, which caused Hercules and his bulldozer to be covered by the overburden material. The body of Hercules was foundseveraldayslaterafter an extensive and painful search.

The Minister of Labour hopes that the report's

findingswouldprovidesome satisfaction to those concerned, notably Mr Hercules'familyandfriends, during the report's presentation. He stated too that moving forward; workplace incident investigations will employ thesameprocessasthisone.

Thisinvolvessettingupa jointTechnicalCommitteeto supplement the current one and working together with other government ministries and organisations to control the mining sector to stop futureincidents.

“We have to give the recommendations life if we f a i l t o g i v e t h e recommendationlifethenall of us would have done an injusticetothememoryofthe man whose death, we have investigated so we hope that together we can have companies comply with the recommendation made,” he stated.

GT Mayor calls for national policy to deal with integration, migrants

Georgetown Mayor Ubraj Narine on Wednesday made a call for national policies in Guyana to address critical issues like integration, and migrants.

Mayor Narine joined community leaders from the Western Hemisphere for the Cities Summit of Americas held in Denver, Colorado. During a panel discussion on the socio-economic, socio-cultural and political issues affecting migrants, Mayor Narine explained that Georgetown has many challenges, calling for policies to deal with integration and the influx of migrants in the city He added that another challenge is healthcare services which he said is way belowaverage.

During his address, Narine also thanked theprivatesectorfortheircontributionsover the years. The Cities Summit will promote regional cooperation, convening subnational leaders including representatives of government, civil society, business, academia,youth,culture,arts,indigenousand underrepresentedgroups.

Georgetown Mayor, Ubraj Narine

The Cities Summit commenced onApril 26 and comes to an end today The event included plenary sessions, stakeholders roundtables, expert panels, networking sessionsandmoreallaimedtoaddressarange of priorities local communities across the Americas.

Hercules

PPP and PNCR using press conferences to squabble over electoral fraud claims

The ruling People's Progressive P a r t y / C i v i c (PPPC) and the Opposition led A Partnership for NationalUnity(APNU)over thepasttwoweekshavebeen involved in a political squabble over the holding of the upcoming Local Government Elections (LGEs).

Both partiesare accusing each other of fraudulent conduct with regard to the local government polls. At his press conference held on Thursday, Vice President (VP), Bharrat Jagdeo dedicated a significant portion of his press conferencetospeakaboutthe APNU and its alleged fraudulent acts geared at railroadingtheLGEs.Aspart of his contention, the VP urgedthecountrytoreadthe r e c e n t l y r e l e a s e d Commission of Inquiry

(COI) report into the March 2020 Regional and General Elections.

Jagdeo said, “There isn't a single instance when the PPP was ever accused of r i g g i n g a n e n t i r e elections…Thatisthelegacy of the PNC… we know now when they are exposed, they keep falling back on what is familiartothemwhichisthe list is bad and the PPP is committingfraud.Thisisnot new, so Mr Norton has a majorproblem.”

WithregardtotheLGES, the VP said that the opposition agents are on the groundterrorisingthepeople ofRegionFive.Henotedthat most of the allegations of fraudaremadebyopposition members in Region Five. They have been bullying the people there into signing forms.Inoneareatheyhada template printed at congress placetellingpeoplethatthey

didn't sign the list He claimed that some of the people signed the forms becausetheywerefearfulfor theirlives.Jagdeostatedthat, “someofthosepeoplecalled me and said you know, we l i v e i n a h o s t i l e community They would harassusandourchildrenso

we choose to do this but we are still very supportive of the PPP So if the matter is

reported to the police as a fraud and you match the signatures, you would easily seethatthesignaturesmatch actualsignatureandthatisin one particular area in Berbice.”

He continued that in another case where they are saying that they dead people onthelist,thepersonwhois the husband of the deceased is part of team and he is campaigning with us. “The problem is that his wife died a few weeks ago and the persons were not vigilant enough to take off her name off the list. A lot of the signing of names on the list were done since last year when we though local

government elections would have been held.” The VP claimedthat99percentofthe allegations made by APNU against the government can beprovenasuntrue.

In a similar tone and language, APNU officials at itsweeklypressbriefingheld at the Office of the Opposition Leader on Thursday spent an extensive period accusing the PPP of electoral fraud. In its press statement, the party alleged that most Guyanese have learntfromtheevidencethat the submissions of the PPP contain numerous instances of forgery, fakery, impersonationandblatant (Continuedonpage22)

Leader of APNU, Aubrey Norton

Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo

21 cops before the court on criminal charges

Acting Commissioner of Police, Clifton Hicken on Thursday said the Guyana

Police Force (GPF) continues to be challenged byroguecopsbeingcharged criminallyandthe“lackofa comprehensive structure when responding to crimes in the country's mining district.

Hicken was at the time deliveringhispresentationat theopeningceremonyofthe Annual Police Officers Conference held at the force's Officer Mess, Eve Leary, Georgetown The acting police chief said,

“Hereunder are some of our challenges currently; we have 21 police who are before the court that are charged criminally”. From January to February at least four police officers were charged criminally. On January6lastitwasreported thatapoliceCorporal,Rawle Haynes was slapped with three counts of laundering millions he allegedly stole from the Guyana Police Force (GPF) back in 2019. Later that month it was reported that another cop was charged for collecting a $200,000 bribe. On January

26lasttwomorepoliceranks were charged jointly with a mason for drugs and ammo possession.

They were identified as 29-year-old Albert Beresford and 22-year-old Julius Cambridge and accordingtothereportsthey were held at a road block in Mahaicony On February 8 another police officer, Constable Shane James was released on $1.6M bail after he was slapped with two counts of manslaughter charges for a new years day shooting death of his colleague, Detective

-Hickensays

DwayneMcPhersonand22year-old fisherman, Kishan Budburgh.

Apart from rogue cops, Hicken during his presentation noted that the lack of a comprehensive structurewhenrespondingto crimes in Guyana's Mining district is also a challenge. Police stations or outposts arelocatedmanymilesaway fromtheareaswherecrimes take place. Although police would respond, it takes them days to arrive at some locations due to rugged terrain and distance. This sometimes allows suspects enoughtimetoslipunderthe radar. Other challenges according to Hicken are, “negative social media influence, substance abuse, language barriers, gender-

Acting Commissioner of Police, Clifton Hicken

b a s e d v i o l e n c e , transnational crime, cyber threat, narco-trafficking, illegal migration, porous borders and increase in mental health relatedcrimes.”

Meanwhile, also speaking at the conference,

President Irfaan Ali called for a new standard of p e r f o r m a n c e a n d professionalism as he commended what he describedasthe“remarkable performance of the Guyana PoliceForce(GPF)inthe (Continuedonpage22)

$319M estimated to build magistrate court at Timehri

Ontheheelsofthe opening bids for the construction of a magistrate court at FriendshipontheEastBank of Demerara (EBD), the SupremeCourtofJudicature has announced bids to build another court at Timehri for anestimated$319,231,900.

This was revealed when tenders were opened on Thursday Eight contractors have applied for the project which is to build the court and living quarters The contractors are: PD Contracting - $289, 289,100;VGGroupGuyana Inc - $285,214,503; S&K Construction/ Consultancy Service & General Supplies

Inc - $360,643,590; Builders Engineering & Architecture Consultancy -

Narine - $291,894,850;

Avinash Contracting & Scrap Metal Inc$409,937,200; and Emerald General Contracting & Distributors-$480,178,000.

Kaieteur News had reported last week that the SupremeCourtofJudicature would build the court at Friendship for an estimated costof$418million.

A total of nine contractors have applied for that contract This publication understands that thisyear,theJudiciarysector was allocated some $4 billion for the further developmentofthejudiciary system.

At a re-commissioning ceremony for the Mibikuri Magistrate's Court last year October, Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC, had announced plans for the construction of the Friendship and Timehri

courtsamongothers.

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

Nandlall said at the time thatgovernmenthasitseyes on building a modern complex to be the headquartersofthejudiciary The headquarters, he detailed, will house all of the High Courts, the Court of Appeal and the Land Court He pointed out that such investments are being made because access to justice is important as access to any importantservice.

The $177 million Bartica Magistrate's Court and Living Quarters which was commissioned back in 2021.

OmarKhanappointed newGDFChiefofStaff

President Irfaan

A l i o n T h u r s d a y promoted Colonel Omar Khan to the rank of Brigadier and presented Khanwithhisinstrument of appointment to perform the functions of Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), during a simple ceremony held at the OfficeofthePresident.

The two- fold ceremony also saw the President confirming Brigadier Godfrey Bess asthe11thChiefofStaff of the Guyana Defence Force Bess will be proceeding on preretirement leave from April28,2023.

The Defence Act [at Section 169] empowers thePresident,whoisalso the Commander-inChief of the Armed Forces to appoint an officer to command the Defence Force where it states:

“The President shall appoint an officer, being amemberoftheForce,in whom command of the Force shall be vested and, subject to the terms of such appointment, such officer shall have commandofthatForce.”

Theappointmentwas madeinkeepingwiththe head of state exercising hispowersasMinisterof Defence vested within the Defence Act, a statement posted on the GDF'sFacebookpageon Friday said Brigadier Bess officially hands over command to Brigadier Khan during a change of command paradetoday Theparade begins at 15:30h at the DrillSquare,BaseCamp Ayanganna.

Colonel Omar Khan was on Thursday promoted to the rank of Brigadier and was presented with his instrument of appointment to perform the functions of Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF). In this photo, President Irfaan Ali and outgoing Chief of Staff, Brigadier Bess pin Khan's new badge of rank. (GDF photo)

Outgoing Chief-of-Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Brigadier Godfrey Bess receives his letter of confirmation from President Irfaan Ali on Thursday. (GDF photo)

GTTpartnerswithWANSATNetworkstoprovide high-speedsatelliteinternetserviceacrossGuyana

Soon persons living in the ruralandhinterlandareas would have the same internetconnectivityasthoseliving in coastal areas, as the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GTT) CompanypartneredwithWANSAT Network to provide high-speed satellite internet service across the country

GTT and WANSAT on Wednesday at the Marriott Hotel

launched “Connectivity Anywhere”,anewsatelliteinternet service that would deliver affordable and reliable satellite internet to rural and hinterland areasinthecountry

WANSAT Networks Inc (WANSAT) is a Guyanese-owned Internet Service Provider with a focus on providing satellite broadbandconnectivitytoruraland hinterlandcommunities.

GTTsaidinastatementthatthe partnership between the two entities will provide much-needed connectivity to communities that are currently underserved or unserved.

“We are thrilled to launch this new service with WANSAT,” said Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GTT,DamianBlackburnsaidatthe launch.

“This partnership is a significant step towards achieving our goal of providing connectivity to every corner of Guyana. By expanding our network and

leveragingWANSAT'sexpertisein satellite technology, we can now p r o v i d e r e l i a b l e telecommunications services to customers in areas that were

previously unreachable,” the CEO explained.

William Moseley, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of WANSAT shared that “Guyana

needs reliable satellite broadband connectivitynow,andweareproud topartnerwithGTTtomakethisa reality

Our service will open doors in

all sectors of society, from health and education to border security, mining,andtourism.”

Thenewservice,accordingto

(Continuedonpage19)

(From left to right) Board Member of WANSAT, Stephen Spengler; CEO OF GTT, Damian Blackburn; CEO of WANSAT, Andre Jones; Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond; Chief Operations Officer (COO) of WANSAT, William Mosely; and COO of GTT Business, Orson Ferguson.

National Public Health Referencing Lab to house Collaborating Centre on Influenza

… through partnership with MoH,WHO and Harvard University

DPI - Guyana's health sector will soon see massive transformation as the ministry moves ahead to collaborate with two influential bodies to modernise the health system andhouseoneoftheRegion's

collaborating centres on globalinfluenza.

During his appreciation

speech for Medical

Professionals Laboratory

Week on Thursday, Minister ofHealth,DrFrankAnthony notedthatanalliancewillbe

formed with the World Health Organisation (WHO) andHarvardUniversity

The collaboration will see improved operations at Guyana's National Public Health Referencing Laboratory (NPHL) and will

allow the country to be integrally involved in determining vital disease statistics and how to combat them.

“The National Public Health Referencing Lab will soonbeaWHOcollaborating centre on influenza which allowsGuyanatonotonlybe one of the few countries in the Caribbean with this capacity for detection but alsobeabletocontributedata to global influenza surveillance and respond system as well as to contribute to WHO's recommendation on the composition of the influenza vaccineeachyear,”thehealth ministersaid.

Even though the laboratorycanperformnextgenerational sequencing for COVID, specifically the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the minister noted that it will soon do the same for the influenzavirus.

Influenza is a viral infection that affects mainly the nose, throat, and occasionally, the lungs. The infection usually lasts for about a week and is characterised by sudden onset of high fever, aching muscles, headache, and severe malaise, among other symptoms.

Additionally, efforts are being made to sequence the plasmodium falciparum (malaria).

“We'recollaboratingwith Harvard University to sequence the plasmodium

Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony (DPI photo)

falciparum The new sequencing capacity will put Guyana in a better place to respondtocurrent,emerging, and re-emerging diseases,”

DrAnthonystated.

Over the years the health sector has improved its laboratory services by training its staff and expanding in several services, such as PCR tests and point-of-care tests for diseases including COVID19andMonkeyPox.

The government has also invested in a range of diagnostic kits to ensure accurate and timely diagnosisoftheviruses.

Meanwhile, during the

lasttwoyearsoftheCOVID19 pandemic, the ministry managed to procure several vaccinesforthediseasefrom variousinternationalentities.

The procurement has since lessenedthenumberofcases that were being reported daily

As the country continues to join with international bodies to celebrate Medical Laboratory Professionals Week from April 23-29, Minister Anthony expressed his appreciation for local personnel,whoarededicated toprovidingefficientservice. Medical laboratory week is being celebrated under the theme,'Savedbythelab.’

GTT partners with WANSAT Networks...

Frompage20

GTT will enable the Ministry of Health to economically undertake numerous healthcare initiatives that require connectivity, including critical telemedicine services in the hinterland regions. Additionally, this new service facilitates distance learning and ongoing online teachers' training for the Ministry of Education.

Thenewservicewillalso allow students and teachers to have access to the same level of education and training,fromRegionOneto Region10.

Additionally, GTT said that it has been working closely with WANSAT to ensure that the planned service meets their strict requirements for reliability and affordability, and addresses the connectivity needsoftheircustomers.

Commenting on the partnership, Andre Jones, C E O o f WA N S AT mentioned that “This new service initiative has the potential to transform the telecommunications landscape in Guyana and positionGTTandWANSAT as leaders in ubiquitous connectivity across Guyana's entire territory, includinglandandsea.”

He noted that they are also committed to creating employment opportunities for members of the remote communities, by engaging them to play a role in the operation and maintenance of the satellite broadband hardware.

K a i e t e u r N e w s understands that the service will be available from July 2023, but customers will be allowed to pre-order the service on a priority basis fromMay

US$6.6M Good Hope Secondary School near completion

Fiveyearslaterand two contracts valued at US$6.6 million (GYD$1.3B) Good Hope Secondary School, EastCoastDemerara(ECD) isnearcompletion.

This was announced by Minister of Education Priya ManickchandonWednesday during the launch of the Literacy and Robotics ProgrammeattheEnterprise PrimarySchool,ECD.

“We will close this primarytopshortly So,allof thechildrencurrentlyinthis primary top will go to discreethighschools,ahigh schoolbythemselves.We're

going to be able to do that because the Good Hope Secondary is going to be completed shortly. The school started many years ago As you know the previous government was unable to finish it,” she told the parents gathered,” the minister was quoted as sayingbytheDepartmentof PublicInformation(DPI).

Upon the school's completion of the Good Hope Secondary School, some 479 students will be placed there This, the ministerhadsaid,willallow her ministry to close the Paradise, Enterprise and the

schools Further, the ministersaidtheGoodHope Secondary will also help in reducing overcrowding at the Cummings Lodge, Bladen Hall, Golden Grove andthePlaisanceSecondary Schools.

In December 2022, the Education Ministry inked a US$2,607,879 engineering, p r o c u r e m e n t a n d construction/turnkey contract for the completion oftheGoodHopeSecondary School with DEEN+ Partners.

Notably,theprojectfalls under the Secondary

– Education Minister

Education Improvement Project and is being funded bytheWorldBank.

The original contract to construct the secondary schoolwasawardedin2018 to B K International for US$4,082,506 ($840M) Work commenced on October 15, 2018, with the original completion date beingJanuary14,2020.

However, the firm was unable to deliver despite benefiting from four extensions given on March 10, 2020, May 18, 2020,

Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand (DPI photo)

June 15, 2020, and August 17, 2020 respectively B.K. International's contract was terminatedonMay25,2021.

The Government of Guyana had indicated that it will be taking legal actions againstB.K.

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Nigeria’s NNPC, Norway’s Golar sign MoU on floating gas plant

Africa’s biggest oil producer holds some of the world’s biggest gas reserves and is seeking investment to boost its domestic supplies and exports.

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Aljazeera - Nigeria’s state oil firm has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Golar LNG of Norway to build a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in the country, the company

said late on Wednesday. Africa’s biggest oil producer, Nigeria, holds some of the world’s biggest gas reserves and is seeking investment to boost its domestic supplies and exports.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPC) said on Twitter that the MoU was signed by NNPC chief executive Mele Kyari and Golar CEO Karl

Fredrik Staubo in the federal capital, Abuja.

The company did not provide further details and did not respond to requests for comment.

Golar has in the past indicated plans to set up a power project in Nigeria that could use one of its vessels to import LNG.

Nigeria also recently signed an MoU with Algeria

and the Niger Republic and the ongoing construction of the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline, a 614km (381.5 miles) long natural gas pipeline beginning in northern Nigeria. There is no official word on when the pipeline, first mooted in the 1970s, will be completed but it is slated to run through northern Nigeria into Niger and Algeria, connecting to Europe eventually.

PPP and PNCR using press conferences to squabble...

From page 13 electoral fraudulent acts.

“These blatant acts of fraud by the PPP amount to an orchestrated attempt to rig the 2023 LGE. They expose the PPP’s desperation and waning popularity among the Guyanese people. Worse, they are high criminal acts that must be punished by the full force of the law,” the party said in the statement.

The opposition party also claimed that the PPPC agents have engaged in intimidating nominators to remove their names from the APNU lists, coercing and threatening persons to support the PPP or

otherwise lose their jobs and hand-outs, and compelling ten-day workers to participate in PPP political activities.

According to the party, many of the affected persons have written to, or have directly approached, GECOM regional offices and the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to lodge complaints.

“On our part, the APNU has written to the Commissioner of Police to request a meeting to present the evidence and to demand that the police take action against the fraudsters and their controllers at Freedom House,” the party said adding that

GECOM is suggesting that they cannot investigate the illegalities that the PPP is involved in.

“It is apposite to note that the responsibility for ensuring free and fair elections lies squarely at the feet of GECOM.

It is therefore a dereliction of duty on GECOM’s part if it fails to engage the Guyana Police Force to take legal action against the perpetrators of electoral fraud. By GECOM’s action, the credibility of LGE 2023 is in question and should not proceed until an investigation is done into the irregularities involving

the PPP and its activists,” the Opposition Spokesperson said. “It must be noted here that Justice Claudette Singh, Chairman of GECOM has removed all pretensions of being independent and interested in free and fair elections. It should be evident to all that she is a pawn of the People’s Progressive Party and can never deliver free, fair and credible elections. She has made herself an enemy of fair play and democracy and therefore is unsuited to be Chairman of GECOM. She should do the decent thing and resign,” Opposition Spokesperson continued

21 cops before the court on criminal...

From page 14 past year.” Ali acknowledged the significant role the Guyana Police Force has played in addressing social issues in various communities. “I must accord credit where credit is due. The Guyana Police Force has been working with my administration to fashion a modern, diversified, and accountable

organisation. It has made significant strides over the past year. “To see officers and their ranks cleaning medians, painting roadways, building houses, delivering hampers, cleaning drains, walking in the community, talking to every section of the Guyanese people is most admirable,” the president underscored.

pointed out.

With over 2000 officers already trained or in training, President Ali has challenged the GPF to overcome the many challenges in building a stronger and safer future for the country.

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He noted that policing involves much more than simply ‘walking around with guns’, and patrolling the streets. “You are not just officers representing the Guyana Police Force. You are officers leading other ranks to deliver an environment that is secure, comfortable, and…importantly, one that offers a higher standard of living,” he told the senior ranks.

To confront those challenges, President Ali emphasised the need for a proactive thinking organisation that can anticipate and address security issues, rather than a reactive and passive one.

He also called for a new standard of performance and professionalism within the force, emphasising the need for a force that is, ‘driven by performance and fuelled by professionalism.’

ers, who endanger their own lives and families and put other persons at risk. President Ali said the issue must receive special attention at the conference and suggested a large-scale educational campaign to address these matters.

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Speaking on the dynamics of policing, President Ali noted the importance of understanding the level of duty that policing calls for in national development. He explained that the complexity of the global, regional, and national architecture has drastically changed due to advancements in technology, and therefore, the dynamics of policing have also changed. “Policing is not isolated from development and development is not isolated from policing…The security architecture of a country is a bedrock through which development, sustainability, resilience, and progress can be achieved,” the head of state

Meanwhile, the head of state expressed his distress regarding the current situation on Guyana’s roadways. He said the issues stemmed from the country’s infrastructure capacity and an increasing number of vehicles as well as ‘recklessness and stupidity’ on the part of some driv-

“This must stop…We passed legislation to make bar owners and bartenders accountable also, not just the drivers…we must implement this legislation, this guideline.” Attending the opening ceremony were Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn, other senior ranks of the Guyana Police Force, Acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Yonette CummingsEdwards, Acting Chief Justice, Justice Roxane George and members of the diplomatic corps. The conference is being held under the theme ‘Improve Partnership, Human Development and Accountability to Enhance Service Delivery.’

Finance Minister meets UN’s Deputy Secretary-General

…talksupCARICOM’sfoodsecuritystrategyandGuyana’s LCDSatCountriesofLatinAmericaandtheCaribbeanForum

Senior Finance Minister, Dr AshniK.SinghonWednesdaymet the United Nation’s Deputy Secretary-General (DSG), Amina J. Mohammed, in Santiago, Chile.

Dr Singh is in Chile for the Sixth Meeting of the Forum of the CountriesofLatinAmericaandthe Caribbean on Sustainable Development currently underway there.

According to the Ministry of Finance, Dr Singh during discussionswiththeDSG,updated the DSG on the economic developments and prospects in Guyana Minister Singh also reaffirmed government’s commitment to advance implementation of Agenda 2030 aimed at achieving the SDGs, notwithstanding the challenging globaleconomiccontext.

Meanwhile, during his presentation as part of the panel which addressed ‘Strategies to Advance Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable DevelopmentintheCaribbean’,the Finance Minister highlighted two pertinent strategies to advance the nationalandsub-regionalagendain a manner fully consistent with

Agenda 2030, namely CARICOM’s ‘25 by 2025’ food security strategy being spearheaded by Guyana as well as its second-generation Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) which is a successor to the first LCDS.

“Guyana has demonstrated intellectual leadership and global advocacy in climate action. The Low Carbon Development Strategy sought to transition its development along a low carbon development trajectory, while simultaneouslycombattingclimate change.In2022,amajormilestone wasachievedforGuyanaandforest countries in the world in the achievement of that vision – when the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions Secretariat issued the world’s first jurisdiction-scale, market-ready carbon credits to Guyana In total, almost 33 5 million credits were issued for the period 2016-2020, one of the biggest issuances of carbon anywhere in the world,” the Ministry said in a press release on Thursday

The statement also references thesaleofa“significantpercentage

of Guyana’sART-TREES credits”. Under the agreement, Hess Corporation will buy 2.5 million creditsperyearfor2016to2030to a total of 37.5 million credits for a minimum payment of US$750 million to be paid to Guyana between2022and2032.

Additionally, Guyana also holds the portfolio for responsibility for Agriculture, Agricultural Diversification and Food Security in CARICOM, and isspearheadingtheregionalefforts ofreducingitsfoodimportbill.

The strategy outlines specific actions that are required by each state in achieving the 25 by 2025 goalofreducingCARICOM’sfood importbillby25percentby2025.

The press statement noted that Guyana is amongst the fastest growing economies in the world, with growth of 62 3 percent recorded last year and mediumterm average annual growth projected at 25 percent for the period2023to2026.

“It is now considered as a premier investment destination, attractive for investment in the oil and gas sector, infrastructure and the requisite support services,” the

Ministry of Finance said while noting that the Government of Guyana prioritises the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs)initseffortstosecure

broad-based economic

development, which is demonstrated in successive nationalbudgetsinrecentyearsthat areinclosealignmentwithAgenda 2030andnationalpriorities.

While meeting with the UN Deputy Secretary General, Dr Singh also used the opportunity to

advocateforcontinuedattentionto the challenges being faced by the smallest and most vulnerable member states of the UN, particularlythesmallislandsofthe Caribbean.

Ms Amina Mohamed first joinedtheUnitedNationsin2012 and led the process that resulted in global agreement around the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the creation of the Sustainable Development Goals

of PS Thomas

President Irfaan Ali on Thursday at the opening ceremony of the annual police officer’s conference calledouttheGuyanaPolice Force (GPF) for not completing case files in a timelymanner

“One of the favourite phrases I have learnt as President is that the file is incomplete…‘CommanderI need an Update on this’… ‘Sir the file is incomplete,” Alisaid,whileaddingthatit isanissuethatmustbedealt with.

Ali continued that professional policing requires completeness of tasks.

“We have to ensure that your work and that of ranks below you, present that completeness.” Police over the years have frequently used the phrase when responding to queries from reporters. Recently it was reported that a National Athleticscoachwasarrested for sexually assaulting a 14year-old girl. It took almost five months before the file could have reached the Director of the of Public Prosecutions (DPP)

chambers Prior to that, reporters when asking for updateonthecasewouldget theresponse:“thefilehasnot been completed as yet”

Weekshavegonebysinceit reached the DPP and police are yet to give an update on the case. “Incomplete files”

have also been one of the main reasons why court trials would be met with delays There has been numerous media reports, where magistrates have had toadjourncasesbecausethe “file is incomplete” and the prosecutorisnotready

The United States Ambassador to

Guyana, Sarah Ann-Lynch on Thursdaysaidthatthedetentionof the Ministry of Home Affairs Permanent Secretary, Mae Toussaint Thomas and the confiscationofhercellphoneis“amatterof privacy”.

“That’s an issue of privacy I have no commentonthat,”Lynchsaidafterareporter asked her about the seizure of Thomas’ phone. Thomas was detained at the Miami International Airport some three weeks ago while travelling to China for training with a PPPC delegation. Not only was her phone confiscated but her US visa was revoked.

President Mohamed Irfaan Ali has since labeled the PS’s experience as a “normal routine”. Thomas in a statement also confirmed that her visa was indeed revoked ant there was misunderstanding between the USairportofficialsoverhercellphone. Meanwhile Kaieteur News on Thursday erroneously reported that one of the persons she was traveling with was the son of Guyana’s Ambassador to Suriname. The Ambassador in a subsequent letter to this mediahousehoweverclarifiedthatitwasnot his son. Kaieteur News apologises for the misinformation and for the inconvenience thiserrormayhavecausedtheAmbassador

Senior Finance Minister Dr Ashni K. Singh and United Nation’s Deputy Secretary-General (DSG), Amina J. Mohammed, in Santiago, Chile.

‘Roughing up’

“a matter of privacy”

- US Ambassador

US Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah Ann-Lynch Permanent Secretary, Mae Toussaint Thomas

President Ali calls out police force for not completing case files

President Mohamed Irfaan Ali

Royals surge to top of IPL after blistering batting against Super Kings

SportsMax - Yashasvi

Jaiswal and Adam Zampa led Rajasthan Royals to the top of the Indian Premier League with a sensational knock in a 32-run win over Chennai Super Kings.

Jaiswal plundered 77 from 43 deliveries to propel the Royals to 202-5 from their 20 overs yesterday.

The Royals opener finally succumbed to Tushar Deshpande in the 14th over, though the damage had been done, with Rajasthan having reached 132 at that stage.

Jos Buttler scored 27 as he helped mount an openingwicket partnership of 86 with Jaiswal, who also saw Sanju Samson come and go.

Dhruv Jurel added 34 from 15 balls and Devdutt Padikkal tallied up an unbeaten 27 from

R. Ashwin dismissed Ambati Rayudu for a first-ball duck. (BCCI)

Headley/Weekes Tri-Series Match 2: Day 2 WIA vs. Team Weekes Team Weekes maintain firm grip heading into 3rd day

- lead West Indies Academy by 312 runs should give them some hope on day 3.

Another solid day of action by Team Weekes, gave them a huge 312-run lead over West Indies Academy with Day 3’s action today set to be mouth-watering.

After restarting their innings on 365-7, Team Weekes eventually ended on 401 all out. Kevin Sinclair, the fourth and final player to score fifty after a solid day 1 performance, took his overnight score of 52 to 86.

13 to nudge the Royals over the 200 mark.

Despite Ruturaj

Gaikwad’s 47, the Super Kings lacked the pace needed in the chase, and his stand

Friday April 28, 2023

ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19)

Look for answers to your question today, Aries. The good news is that the answers are now out there and easily accessible. Seek the truth and you will find it.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20)

You may not necessarily approve of the behavior of the people around you, Taurus, but that doesn't mean you need to make their lives miserable.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20)

You have an extra amount of physical vitality to work with now, Gemini, so take advantage of it to give your body a good workout. Eat well and avoid fatty, salty foods.

CANCER (June 21–July 22)

You may keep having the same thoughts over and over in your head, Cancer. Each day you may work out a different scenario for the way it comes to an end.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22)

You may feel like you're on the run in some way or other today, Leo. It may even seem like someone is chasing you. They're right on your heels and you're doing everything

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Se pt. 22)

Every day is a new start and new chance, Virgo. Don't get upset or angry over past events. Don't dwell on things you can't change. Your whole life can turn around in a day.

was ended by the brilliant Zampa in the 10th over, who took 3-22.

Shivam Dube’s 52 handed Chennai hope, yet with Zampa sending Moeen Ali

packing, the Super Kings were battling against the odds.

In the end they just did not have enough, Dube’s dismissal in the final over capping off a fine win for the Royals.

IPL first for the Royals

No team had surpassed the 200 milestone in an IPL match played in Jaipur until now, with the Royals holding that unique record.

Seamers McKenny Clarke (3-101) and Nyeem Young (391) were the pick of the bowlers for WI-A. At stumps on day 2, the Academy XI were placed strongly on 89-2, Kirk Mckenzie’s (50*), which

The In-form Mckenzie struck 8 fours in his 2nd fifty of the series and will be key come today when his team resume their pursuit of a monster total. Right-arm pacer Jair McAllister snapped up 2-21 to help Team Weekes gain more advantage over their opponents. Sinclair looked set for a hundred after batting extremely well on day 1 but like his partners before who all crossed the 50 mark, the Guyanese all-rounder fell as he carried his team to a good 1st innings.

Day 3’s action at Coolidge continues to today.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22)

You're apt to move in and out of sync with people today, Libra. At first it may seem quite natural and easy to be in your situation, then the next minute you feel alone.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21)

You may feel as if you're the only one who picks up on the nuances of conversations and actions around you, Scorpio. Your reaction to things is more than likely quite strong.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21)

You may feel emotionally on fire today, Sagittarius. One conversation with someone will suddenly spark a discussion of some sort that proves extremely valuable to you in the long run.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19)

Bring more of your feelings into the open today, Capricorn. Don't be so paranoid about what other people think. At times you may feel as if you're in some sort of spy movie with you playing the lead role.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18)

Have fun today, Aquarius, but make sure you're always professional and polite. Appearance and a good-natured demeanor will get you far.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20)

Today may be filled with conflict when your legs carry you one way while your heart tugs you in a completely different.

They are onto 10 points and sit top of the pile.

Jaiswal the star of the show

While Zampa impressed with the ball, it was Jaiswal’s knock that really put the Royals in command.

The opener struck 12 boundaries, including four sixes, with his 77 coming at a strike rate of 179.06.

Scores: Rajasthan Royals 202 for 5 (Jaiswal 77, Jurel 34, Deshpande 2-42) beat Chennai Super Kings 170 for 6 (Dube 52, Gaikwad 47, Zampa 3-22, Ashwin 2-35) by 32 runs.

USA Boxing barred from IBA events after formal withdrawal

(Reuters) - USA Boxing’s withdrawal from IBA to join a breakaway world body will hurt its members as well as depriving others of opportunities, the Russianled association said yesterday

U S A B o x i n g , representing the most successful country in the sport’s Olympic history, announced on Wednesday it had left the International Boxing Association (IBA) with immediate effect and wassettojointhebreakaway WorldBoxing.

Mike McAtee, chief executive of USA Boxing, wrote in a letter to members that the board had approved unanimously a resolution to terminatemembership.

IBA said in a statement thatallU.S.boxers,officials and coaches were now automatically barred from

involvement in any IBA competitions.

“Not only did the USA Boxing’s decision hurt all theiraffiliateswhowillnow not be able to take part in IBA’s or affiliated member

competitions, but it also deprives the boxing community as a whole from competing together and increasing the level of the talent within the boxing family,”itsaid.

“The IBA remains committed to protecting the organizationanditsmember national federations from any harm caused by individualsorentitieswithin oroutsideoftheIBAboxing

family.”McAteeaccusedthe IBAof failing to uphold the principles of its constitution and to respect the Olympic charterandmovement.

“USA Boxing is committedtoworktirelessly with World Boxing, likeminded national federations and worldwide Olympicstyle boxing community to earn the privilege to be part of the Olympic Movement now and in the years to come,”headded.

Swiss-registered World Boxing was set up this month by countries, including the United States andBritain,concernedabout thetroubledsport’sOlympic future.readmore

TheIBA,ledbyRussian Umar Kremlev and s u s p e n d e d b y t h e International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2019, has denounced World Boxing as a “rogue”

organisation.

Formerly AIBA, it filed an official complaint to the Boxing Independent IntegrityUnitonWednesday against the individuals and entities involved in the breakaway Boxing’s place in the Olympics after next year’s Paris Games remains uncertain, with the sport not ontheinitialprogrammefor Los Angeles 2028, pending reforms demanded by the IOC.

USA Boxing is certified by the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee as the national governing body forOlympic-Styleboxingin theUnitedStates.

The U.S. has won 117 Olympic boxing medals, including 50 golds, since 1904 but boycotted recent IBA women’s world championships in New Delhi.

Spurs fight back to draw 2-2 with Man United in thriller

LONDON, (Reuters)Tottenham Hotspur rallied fromtwogoalsdowntodraw 2-2 with Manchester United inathrillingPremierLeague clash yesterday that saw the visitors cementing fourth spot.

The point left United six points clear of fifth-placed Spurs with two games in hand and all but ended the London side’s hopes of Champions League football nextseason.

Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford had put United2-0aheadathalftime but goals from Pedro Porro andSonHeung-minafterthe break salvaged a draw for battlingTottenham.

“Ofcoursewhenyouare 2-0upthenyouarealittlebit disappointed when you

draw,” said United manager Erik ten Hag. “We had the chances after 2-1 to score ... and we didn’t and we concededthegoal.Ithinkin this week 2-2 is a good draw.”

Some fans protested against Spurs chairman Daniel Levy outside the groundbeforethematchand there were chants of ‘We want Levy Out’ after the team went behind against Unitedinthewakeofthe6-1 maulingatNewcastleUnited onSunday

The mood soured when Sancho opened the scoring aftersevenminuteswhenthe forward cut in from the left andstruckalowshotintothe far corner past goalkeeper FraserForster Sancho almost doubled

United’s lead after 19 minutes when his deflected effortwasclearedofftheline byIvanPerisic.

Rashfordthenmadeit20 just before halftime when he ran onto a long ball from Bruno Fernandes, outpaced Eric Dier and fired past Forster after Pierre-Emile Hojbjerglostpossession.

Tottenham fullback Porro got the hosts back in the game when he cleverly hooked a shot past keeper David De Gea in the 56th minute after a Harry Kane effortwasblocked.

Bruno Fernandes then hadachancetoputUnited31aheadwhenhewasthrough on goal but he blasted his shot against the crossbar when it looked easier to score.

Keyshawn Davis of the United States in action against Andy Cruz of Cuba at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. (Pool via REUTERS/Buda Mendes)

Tottenham Hotspur’s Ivan Perisic in action with Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes. (Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs)

NBS lends support to GCA to host 2nd Division 40-over cricket tournament

SportsMax-WestIndies white ball opener Brandon King was a significant contributor asTeamWeekes ended day one of their Headley-Weekes four-day series fixture in a strong position against the West IndiesAcademyatCoolidge onWednesday

Kingmadea148-ball92, supporting Zachary McCaskie’s 147-ball 93, as TeamWeekesendedtheday 365-7 off 90 overs. Jahmar Hamilton (57) and Kevin Sinclair(52*)alsogotfifties ondayone.

Entering this contest, King had an average of 34 84 in 32 First-Class games including three hundredsand12fifties.

The New Building

Society (NBS) and

Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) have partnered to host the GCA’s Second Division 40-over cricket tournament for the ninth year at an official launching held on WednesdayattheNBSHead Office on North Road and AvenueoftheRepublic.

The partnership has provided a platform for many young players to showcase their skills, and some of them have gone on to represent Guyana and the

We s t I n d i e s T h e tournament, which has already started, features eighteen teams under the Georgetownumbrella.

The tournament has helped players climb the cricketing ladder, as highlighted by Guyana’s latestTestplayer,Tagenarine Chanderpaul, who had his elementary years in the tournament.

Speaking at the launching GCA’s VicePresident Roger Harper, indicated that teams are eager to dethrone defending

champions Georgetown CricketClub,whohavewon the tournament multiple times The hope is to conclude the tournament before year-end, if the weatherpermitsusto.

M e a n w h i l e , t h e Chairman of NBS, Dr. Nanda Kishore Gopaul, has expressed his satisfaction with the GCA’s work in executing the tournament over the years and envisioned hosting champion teams from other counties for one grand final inthefuture.

King’s last four-day appearance came in March last year when he made an unbeaten119fortheJamaica Scorpions against the Windward Islands Volcanoes at the Brian Lara Stadium.

Hespokeabouthisreturn to red-ball cricket after the day’splay

“Very happy to be back playing red ball cricket. It’s been a little while. It was great fun batting out there with no time restrictions,” King said. The West Indies batsman opener got to the crease with his side 82-3

having lost the wickets of Keacy Carty for 12 and captainAlickAthanazefora two-ball duck He then formed a crucial 136-run fourth wicket partnership withMcCaskie.

“It’s4-daycricketsoyou have time on your side and you want to try and build a partnershiptoputtheteamin abetterposition,”Kingsaid.

“We kept it simple. The pitch wasn’t doing a great deal so we just tried to take aslittleriskaspossiblewhile still putting the bowlers underpressureanditworked outforus,”headded.

Regarding the team’s plan going into the innings, Kingsaiditwassimple.

“We know that the pitch isgenerallygoodforbatting and that in the first session the bowlers would get somethingoutofit.Ourplan was always to try and bat throughthefirstsessionwith as little wickets as possible then bat the rest of the day,” Kingsaid.

“We weren’t too focussed on the number of runs but we knew that if we batted the whole day we’ll get a good score,” King added.

Madushka, Mendis hit double tons as Sri Lanka pummel Ireland

AFP- Nishan Madushka andKusalMendisbothmade double centuries against Ireland yesterday as Sri Lanka’s top four batters all hit hundreds for only the thirdtimeinTesthistory

In reply to Ireland’s 492 all out, their highest-ever Test score, Sri Lanka declaredtheirfirstinningson 704forthreeafterteaonthe fourthdayofthesecondTest inGalle,212runsahead.

Ireland lost two early wickets in their second inningstoendtheday54for two,needingafurther158on the final day to avoid a second straight innings defeat.

Ireland could still achieve a historic first draw if they can hang on after losingallfiveoftheirgames sinceobtainingTeststatusin

2017. “We struggled to get Sri Lankan wickets. But the positive for us is the application and skill our batters showed in the first innings,”IrelandcoachGary Wilsonsaid.

“The challenge for us now is to do it again tomorrowandgobackhome withadraw,”headded.

Madushka converted his maiden Test century into a double hundred, becoming the second-youngest Sri Lankan to score a Test 200 afterMahelaJayawardene.

Hewasdismissedfor205 in the third over after lunch, lbw to Andy McBrine, with Ireland successfully reviewing the decision after the initial appeal was turned down.Madushka’smarathon knock lasted six minutes short of eight hours after he

faced 339 deliveries and hit 22foursandasix.

Mendis, who had twice been dismissed in the 190s, reached his firstTest 200 by pushing a Ben White delivery behind square to stealasingle.

Heamassed245runsand was one short of Wasim Akram’s world record of 12 sixes in a Test innings when he was caught at long-off attempting to equal that mark.

Angelo Mathews was dismissed for a duck in the first Test and was put down on one this match, but made the most of his reprieve to posthis16thTesthundred.

That gave the hosts their quadruple-centurions entry in the history books, after India against Bangladesh in 2007 and Pakistan against

SriLankain2019. Captain Dimuth Karunaratne, who scored 115 onWednesday, declared immediately Their monster total of 704 for three was also the highest-ever score in Galle, eclipsing Bangladesh’s 638 alloutin2013.

The pitch was still a batter’sparadisebutRamesh Mendis cleaned up James McCollum for 10 before PrabathJayasuriyahadPeter Moor caught at short extra cover Andy Balbirnie and Harry Tector took Ireland to stumps without further

Kusal Mendis and Nishan Madushka both scored their maiden Test double-centuries. (AFP/Getty Images)

trouble, with the captain on 12 not out and the Ireland numberfouronseven.

Scores: Ireland 492 and 54for2(Moor19,Balbirnie 18*, Ramesh 1-17) trail Sri Lanka 704 for 3 dec (Kusal 245, Madushka 205, Mathews 100*, Hume 1-87) by158runs.

West Indies batsman Brandon King. (GGSM Sports)

“It was fun batting out there with no time restrictions”

-Kinghappytobebackplayingred-ballcricket

CEO of NBS Anil Kishun (left) hands over cheque of sponsorship to Vice- President of the GCARoger Harper.

Bucks eliminated after more clutch Butler heroics in Heat upset, Warriors claim rare road win

SportsMax - Jimmy

Butler delivered another clutchdisplaywith42points including a dramatic gametyingshottosendGame5to overtime before the Miami Heat eliminated the topseeded Milwaukee Bucks 128-126onWednesday

The OT victory at Fiserv Forum meant the Heat completed a shock 41 first round series triumph, becoming the sixth eight seed to beat a top seed and the first in more than a decade, dating backto2012.

The Heat launched another fourth-quarter rally led by Butler, similar to Game 4, fighting back from a 102-86 threequartertimedeficit

Butler scored 14 fourth-quarter points including a game-tying three-pointer with 2:11 left, along an incredible falling alley oop layup from Gabe Vincent’s inbound with time almost expiringtosendthegameto OT Miami went ahead early in OT and did not surrender their lead, although the Bucks spurned the final possession as the clock expired with Grayson Allen unable to get a shot

away Butler finished with 42 points on 17-of-33 shooting with eight rebounds, four assists and twosteals

Kevin Love made five triples with 12 rebounds, while Gabe Vincent added 22 points and Bam

Adebayo had a tripledouble with 20 points, 10 reboundsand10assists

For the Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 38 pointswith20reboundsand Khris Middleton shot fourof-10fromthree-pointrange inhis33points.

Road Warriors take lead inseries

The Golden State Warriorsclaimedarareroad winattherighttime,asthey claimed a 3-2 series lead over the Sacramento Kings

Jimmy Butler delivered another clutch display with 42 points including a dramatic game-tying shot.

the first time since Christmas 2019 with 21 pointsoffthebench Grizzlies stay alive, Knicksprogress

Desmond Bane and Ja Morant starred as the Memphis Grizzlies stayed alive in the playoffs with a 116-99 win over the Los Angeles Lakers after a strongfirsthalf

The Grizzlies led by as much as 17 points in the first half and while the Lakers closed the gap, Memphis pulled away again led by Bane’s 33 points with four threepointers, while Morant added 31 points with 10 reboundsandsevenassists.

witha123-116victory

Stephen Curry scored 31 points on 12-of-25 shooting, making only two-of-10 from beyond the arc, coming up with a patient three-point play to ice the game with 22 4 secondsleft.

The Kings had closed withinonepoint at111-110 with 4:14 left, with Malik Monk getting hot to finish

with 21 points after being scoreless midway through thethird

De’Aaron Fox scored a team-high24pointsonnineof-25 shooting with seven reboundsandnineassistsbut sixturnovers.

Klay Thompson went five-of-11fromthree-point range in his 25 points, while Draymond Green scored 20-plus points for

Speaker’s Softball Cup 2023…

Xavier Tillman did a brilliant defensive job on LeBron James who was kept to 15 points on fiveof-17 shooting, going scoreless in the fourth quarter

Anthony Davis had 31 pointsand19rebounds.The Lakers lead the series 3-2 withGame6inLA.

The New York Knicks advanced into the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals with a 106-95 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers rounding out a 4-1 series win, their first series triumphsince2013

Regal take on Trophy Stall in volatile opening clash

As the Parliament of Guyana continues to observeits70thanniversary thisyear,a10-teamsoftball cricket tournament is organized as part of the celebrations and will be bowled off on Saturday April29inthecity

The tournament dubbed the ‘Speaker’s Cup’ is organized by the Everest CricketClubwherematches willbeplayedincludingthe finals on Labour DayMondayMay1.

The tournament has attracted10ofthecountry’s best softball teams where the stalwarts of the country’s indigenous game will showcase their talents in two categories; Legends and Masters. The Masters category will have players 40yearsandolderwhilethe Legends category is for

players50yearsandolderor fortheguyswhoareseenas the true pioneers of softball cricket The Masters category will see fierce competition among Regal Masters, East Coast Titans, Success Masters, Ariel Masters and Fisherman Masters while the Legends category will feature Regal Legends, Trophy Stall Lions, Essequibo Legends, ParikaDefendersandVapes Guyana.

Each team will face the otherteamsintheircategory in a round-robin league format on Saturday and Sundayafterwhichthetable leaders and second placed teamswillcontestafinalon Mondaytoseewhowilllift thetoweringandimpressive Speaker’sCup.

In the opening round in the legends category at

EverestCC,pre-tournament favourite Regal Legends will be challenged by Trophy Stall Lions a team that has been known for upsetting Regal in various competitions in and out of Guyana While in the Masters category, arch rivals Success Masters take on East Coast Titans in the opening round at the Queen’s College school ground. These two teams have been at each other in therecentpastandbothwill be hunting the opening win andtwocrucialpoints.

All matches in the league stage in the masters category will be played at the Queen’s College school ground while the legends willdobattleatEverestCC except on Saturday afternoon when the action will switch to the Guyana

Defence Force Base Camp Ayangana ground for two rounds This switch is necessary as Everest Masterstakeonanoverseas basedsideinafeatureOver50 hardball match from 12 noon.

The league matches are 15 overs per side while the finals will be 20 overs per side on the final day of the historic 3-day tournament. The finals will also be live streamed on FL Sport on theirYouTubechannel.

The winners will also get $250,000 while the runner-up will take home $100,000.Thebatsmenwith the most runs in each category will get $25,000 whilethetopwicket-takerin both categories will also pocket$25,000each.

In February this year, there was a feature football

match between Parliament and the Diplomatic Communitywhichendedin favouroftheDiplomatsalso atEverestCC.

Honourable Speaker of the National Assembly, ManzoorNadiristhepatron of the tournament and will be doing the ceremonial bowl off on Saturday at EverestCCwhereheisalso the President. It is the hope of the planning committee headed by Tournament Director, John Ramsingh that the tournament will become another permanent fixture on the calendar of events for softball cricket following the Prime Minister’sT20SoftballCup whichisplayedtowardsthe endoftheyearamongteams inandoutofGuyana.

Communications, Raj Ace Auto Plus, Coss Cutter Supermarkets, MMD Hollow Blocks and Pavers, ACS Auto Parts, The New Doctor’s Clinic, Rohan Bhojraj, Lisa Gulamoidin, Power Producers and Distributors Inc, Colin Talbot Contracting Services, New Dimension Services,Vishal’sAutoToy Store, We Care Health Supplies,FriendsofEverest Masters, Movements Family, Imtiaz Sadik, M.S. Imports, General Marine Company, JSB Bumpers, Clermont Cricket Team, Mike’s Pharmacy, Two Brothers Gas Station, Right Aid Pharmaceutical, Guybiz Establishment, Rohan

BCB secures cricket sponsorship from Armco Construction Ltd and Ali Bakery for youth cricket tournaments

The efforts of the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) on Tuesday received a major boostwhentheysecuredtwo major sponsorships for the hosting of cricket tournaments at the

Secondary School and Under-17levels.

The BCB secured sponsorship from Armand Ramdial of Armco Construction of Kildonan Village, Central Corentyne for the hosting of a 30 overs inter-secondary school tournamentforsixschoolsin the Lower Corentyne area.

Ali Bakery of Cotton Tree Village is on board for the hostingofanunder17county wide tournament for clubs.

BCB president Hilbert Foster who has returned to his duties after a three months long medical absence,expressedthanksto the two sponsors for the investment in Berbice cricket.

The BCB President noted that the Lower Corentyne tournament would be one of four inter zones that would be played across Berbice - the others being Upper Corentyne, New Amsterdam/Canje and WestBerbice.

The teams involved would be Lower Corentyne

Secondary, JC Chandisingh

Secondary, Port Mourant

Secondary, Corentyne

Comprehensive Secondary, Manchester Secondary and Wilfred Gaskin Secondary School.

The winner of the zone would then go on to play the champions of the three other zones for the overall countychampionship

The winner and runner up of the zone would each receive cash prizes along withtrophies

Mr Ramdial, whose company is currently involved in several major projects including the expansion of the Port Mourant Hospital, stated that he was delighted to be a part of the rapid

development of Berbice cricket and pledged to make the tournament an annualevent

Each of the schools would play in white uniforms that they have already collected from the BCB and sponsor Lochan Samkarran under a multi-million dollar uniformproject

The sponsorship from AliBakerywouldcaterfor the annual U17 inter-club tournament

A total of 15 clubs are expected to play including Cotton Tree, Bath, Achievers, Bush Lot United, Tucber Park, Guymine, Rose Hall Canje, Edinburgh, No 19 Kendall, Albion, Port

Mourant,

RHTYSC,

NO 73andSkeldon.

The cutoff date of birth would be the 1st of September,2005andamong the players expected to play would be Rampertab Rampersaud, Shiv Harripersaud, Matthew Pottaya, Romesh Bharrat andDamionCecil.

The tournament would seetheteamsbedividedinto four zones with - West B e r b i c e , N e w Amsterdam/Canje, Lower Corentyne and Upper Corentyne.

The winner and runner up of each zone would advance to the quarter finals and the knockout phases

The tournament overall winnerandrunnerupalong with the Man of the finals would win attractive cash prizes and trophies Mr Zaman Ali, CEO of the Bakery stated that he was very delighted to be a part of the game that has made the county proud over the years and expressed confidence that the BCB would do a great job in organisingthetournament Fosterreassuredhimthat the tournament would surpass all expectations and would be used to select the Berbiceintercountyteam.

GHB head uncertain of the future for hockey

Th e G u y a n a Hockey Board (GHB) and the National Hockey team both men and women have been able to achieve a considerable amount of success in the recently concluded Pan Am Hockey championship. Our Junior Boys finished fifth amongst some of the best hockey teams in the region, our women fought hard throughout the competition but perhaps they didn’t achieve as much success.

With the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games slowly approaching players are still faced with unavailability of venues in which to train; to get themselves ready to compete.

Guyanaisanationwitha small capacity of players. Hockey is a numbers game, if we are able to have larger

numbers playing the sport; youarelikelytofindgreater pocketsof talentandgreater individual talent at the nationallevel.Fromwhatwe saw at the Pan Am championship, it is easy to conclude that, our men and womenhavedonefairlywell forthemselvesandcountry

Whatournationhasbeen able to achieve, against teams that have a much larger capacity, in terms of players participating at competitive level and teams that have daily access to artificialpitches;ofwhichall international championships are being played to date is indeedremarkable.

Despite of our past success on the regional and international platform, we are still a long way from maintaining that success c o m p e t i n g a t t h e internationallevel.

Solely, this is caused by

the absence of artificial surfaces,crammedspacesin which to do so and the unavailability of facilities to train. These are things that continue to hinder the

growth of the sport in Guyana.

Agreeably,oursuccesses are a clear demonstration of the passion and fortitude of our players and the commitmentsofourcoaches

have for the sport but with lack of adequate facilities and specially approved surfaces we are placed at a major disadvantage in order to compete at our fullest potential.

Speaking with the President GHB Phillip Fernandes on the issue, he stated, “I think that Guyana has been overachieving in theInternationalCircuit.

Ifyoutalkwithpeoplein internationalhockey,theyall say the same thing. What Guyana has been able to achieve, the type of performancewewereableto produce.

Against what we should beabletodoatthisstage,in terms of results, against nations all of whom have artificialpitches.

One may say,There’s no way we (Guyana) should be w i n n i n g m a t c h e s internationally.”

He added, “Our success has been largely due to the kind of time and effort both coachesandplayersinvestin thegame.

We train harder than the rest. And that is what has keptusalive.”

Accordingtohim,“Ithas reached that time, where they should have more tangible conversations with both Minister and Director of Sports regarding the i s s u e s a f f e c t i n g development of hockey in thecountry.”

He explained, “I can’t helpbutfeelthatitiscoming to a stage where we will not be able to sustain our success.

If, we don’t have artificial pitches for our players to develop their gameandliftittothehighest level, it will make it harder for us to keep up with these internationalteams.”

Phillip Fernandes

The Secretary of Ali Bakery presents BCB Secretary Angela Haniff and Competition Chairman Leslie Solomon with sponsorship cheque.

Arepresentative of Armco Construction hands over the sponsorship to BCB PRO Jonathan Rampersaud.

St Lucia Boxing Association President praises GBA for extra ordinary performances

David ‘Shakes’ Christopher, President of the St.LuciaBoxingFederation, has extolled the Guyana BoxingAssociationfortheir outstanding performances at the recently concluded Champion of Champions Tournament in Castries, noting that the country remains the unquestionable point of reference for the Caribbeanregion.

This was disclosed during an exclusive interview Christopher, who isofGuyaneseorigin,stated, “Guyana’s performance at the tournament is as per usual off the hook. Anywhere they go in the Caribbeantheystandoutand they are a mirror of the Caribbean. The programme Guyana has is outstanding and dominant, and if it wasn’tforthenumbersthatI hadattheevent,therewasno waywewouldhavewonthe tournament.Guyanawasthe most experienced and skillful team at the tournament.”

Guyana ended the event on 24 points with a major haulofsixgolds,twosilvers, and bronze from their fight rostertocopsecondplacein the medals standings behind

thehostnation.

TofinaBarker(junior5457kg),AleshaJackman(elite 60-63kg), Kevon Harris (elite 80-86kg), Emmanuel Pompey (elite 86-92kg), Tiquan Sampson (junior 5760kg) and Shaquan James (youth 63.5-67kg) secured gold medals, whilst Jamal Eastman (elite 60-63.5kg), andQuincyBoyce(elite7580kg) battled their way to silver medal acquisitions Brian Harris (elite 71-75kg) was the lone bronze medalist. On the technical side, Sebert Blake, Clifton Moore, and his namesake Clifton Barker served as the coachesduringthesojourn.

Asked why Guyana continues to excel at this level and remains the standardbeareroftheregion, Christopher said, “It is because of their history and culture. Guyana is not like someoftheotherislandsand countries in the Caribbean. Guyana was always rated from years prior Since the Blackmoreera,theyalsohad Six Head as a world champion and have had several other world champions.Boxingispartof thefabric,life,andculturein Guyana and different places in Georgetown, Linden, and

Berbice.

Added to this, is that Guyana has a bright and passionatepresidentinSteve Ninvalle.

He is a standout and respected not only in the Caribbean, but across the world and when he speaks big men listen.” He further said, “Everyone is into boxinginGuyana,andwhile we have people here who

like boxing, they don’t continue in the sport and become coaches and trainers. We have to almost begthemtocomebackbutin Guyana it is different, it’s in their culture and they will always be the flagship and standard bearer of the Caribbean.”

A c c o r d i n g t o Christopher, the Guyanese model of development is

being mirrored in St. Lucia andislargelyresponsiblefor thegrowthanddevelopment that has transpired in the islandnation.

H e e x p l a i n e d , “Definitelywehaveadopted a lot of things that Guyana has done in terms of their developmentalprogrammes.

I am a Guyanese from Linden, my parents are St. Lucian and the reason why

St. Lucian boxing is on the upward trajectory and on that level is because of the Guyanese connection Conrad Fredericks who is also a Guyanese is the head coach,andRedsPerreiraisa former President. It’s the Guyanesecontingent,andoil that they just found that is rubbingoffonSt.Lucia,and pushing St. Lucia’s boxing scene.”

David Christopher (right) with Team Guyana in St Lucia at the closing of Champion of Champions.

DDL / Savannah Milk Sponsors First National Junior Golf Championship at Westside Golf Course

De m e r a r a Distillers Ltd and the Guyana Golf Association (GGA) announced on Tuesday, that the first ever Guyana National Open Junior Golf Championship, scheduled for May 20-21, 2023, at the Westside Golf Course in Vreed-en-Hoop, is being sponsored by Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL), via their popular Savannah Milk brand. Present at the DDL headquarters for the official announcement was several CSEC students from Friendship Secondary School, Mr Philip Haynes (Site Director for the LPGA/USGA Girls Site), GGA president Aleem Hussain and Ms. Schemel P a t r i c k , B r a n d CommunicationsManager.

Patrick said, “We wish to acknowledge the exceptional work being done by the Ministry of Education Unit of Allied Arts, Aleem Hussain and t h e G u y a n a G o l f Association with the development of Golf in the country

We’re proud to be associated with this event, asakeyfocusforusatDDL / Savannah Milk is the advancement of youth through education and sport We look forward to being a part of this programme that has attracted many women and childrenplayers ”

The tournament will be open to all players ages 1018

The team that will represent Guyana at the Caribbean and USGA Juniors later this year will be drawn from the participants Format of the tournament will be Chip, Putt & Drive and there will be three age categories (1013; 14-16 and 17-18) with 1-5th place prizes for both maleandfemaleplayers

Registration closes May 15that6pmandcanbedone by contacting the GGA via e m a i l guyanagolfassociation@gm ail.comorcall645-0944.

Savannah Milk is the latestadditiontothegrowing list of sponsors who have thrown their support behind theGuyanaGolfAssociation and Nexgen Golf Academy, Ideal Autos Inc and RelianceInc.

They join; Banks DIH,

Assuria General Insurance, Trophy Stall, Guyana Beverages, Blue Life Waters,DiamondInsurance, Sunshine Snacks, Darthan Investments, Puran Brothers, Toolsie Persaud Ltd,AracariResorts,Caliper Drones, Party Castle, Praetorian Security Services, the Region Three Private Sector Inc and Region Three Regional Offices, in supporting the facility which is already turning heads and bringing attentiontosportstourismin theregion.

DDL Brand Manager Schemel Patrick (center) presets the sponsorship check to executives if the GGA.

Regal take on Trophy Stall in volatile opening clash

Headley/Weekes Tri-Series eekes T ies

Match 2: Day 2 WIA vs. Team Weekes

of the future for hockey

Team Weekes maintain firm grip heading into 3rd day

President of the GHB and Head Coach of National Hockey team Phillip Fernandes.

Honourable Speaker of the NationalAssembly, Manzoor Nadir (centre) poses with the winner’s trophy and representatives of the competing teams and Tournament Director, John Ramsingh (left).

Kirk Mckenzie oozed class during his 2nd fifty of the series.