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AFC wants NEWS feasibility study on Guyana’s oil refinery AIETEUR

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Sunday Edition August 20, 2023

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VP Jagdeo loses temper when questioned on ExxonMobil’s US-multibillion $$$ expenses Govt. unsure if Chinese company paid off US$5 million owed for GTT shares it sold 10 years ago

Man stabbed to death at Reg. 7 backdam, three persons arrested GMSA Pres. wants removal of VAT on locally produced goods, data services

Govt. would not hand over oil sector management to Parliament ...Opposition would try to cripple the industry or delay operations - VP Jagdeo

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Kaieteur News

Sunday August 20, 2023

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 20, 2023

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VP Jagdeo loses temper when questioned on ExxonMobil’s US-multibillion $$$ expenses Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo during a media engagement at the Arthur Chung Conference Center (ACCC) on Thursday lost his temper when questioned by a Kaieteur News reporter on releasing the Cost Recovery Statements and forecast of expenditure by the ExxonMobil-led consortium, developing the resources in the oil-rich Stabroek Block.

So far, ExxonMobil has recovered US-billions in costs related to oil production. Last year alone, the company reported that a whopping US$7.4 billion in expenses were cleared through Guyana’s oil. This was over five times the revenue Guyana earned during the same period which totaled a meager US$1.4 billion.

The Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) Guyana signed with Exxon and partners allow for 75 percent of the revenue to be deducted each month towards the recovery of costs. This means Exxon is repaid a handsome sum of the proceeds each month towards recouping its investment.

In the absence of a ringfencing provision, the deal sees Exxon recouping costs from an oil producing project to pay for expenses unrelated to that specific development. For instance, last year the two producing fields, Liza One and Liza Two generated revenue that p a i d f o r t h e decommissioning (cleanup) costs for the third and fourth oil projects- Payara and Yellowtail- which are yet to commence oil production.

I m p o r t a n t l y, t h e government has been failing to conduct and complete timely audits of the company to verify the expenses being claimed by the Stabroek Block partners. In the meantime, the co-venturers continue to rack up expenses unrestricted, since Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo previously made it clear that

in the absence of a “comanagement arrangement” Guyana is restricted to merely checking the bills after they have been s u b m i t t e d . https://www.kaieteurnewso nline.com/2022/08/20/intribute-to-bibi-shadick/ Notably, the lopsided oil deal with Exxon requires the oil companies to furnish the Guyana Government with various documents on their expected expenditure for a given year. They are also required to provide details on how much of their investment has been cleared off using Guyana’s oil.

Annex C of the contract which outlines in detail the accounting procedures Exxon must comply with states that the Contractor shall prepare an annual budget pursuant to Article 7 of the Agreement that will distinguish between Exploration Costs, Development Costs, and Operating Costs. The statement must also show a forecast of expenditures and receipts under the Agreement for the calendar year as well as cumulative expenditures and receipts to the end of the said calendar year.

This publication has reported that several industry stakeholders have called for the foregoing to be in the open to deepen the public debate on how the nation’s oil resources have been and would continue to be utilized.

COST RECOVERY STATEMENTS It is in this regard that the VP was asked on Thursday to say whether these statements can be made public. This is the second for this year the question of the Stabroek Block expenses have been put to Jagdeo, who is tasked with managing the petroleum sector.

In March, Jagdeo said he was comfortable releasing the statements since he believes Kaieteur News would “nitpick” and “lie about it”. He nevertheless

Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo responding to Kaieteur News during his Thursday press conference noted that “we are open to exploring it and seeing what more could be done.”

During his press conference on Thursday, the VP was reminded of his commitment and was asked whether he had arrived at a conclusion regarding the release of the cost recovery statements especially. https://fb.watch/mwLU5 6Bxm7/ (From 2:14:43) The query noticeably caused the chief policy maker to become annoyed.

In his response, he said, “What is it that you want about the financial statements because I pointed out that Kaieteur News couldn’t read the financial statements so what did I say?

What further?”

He was reminded by a Senior Journalist from this publication that he explained before that this request would be explored, however he articulated: “but they are in the Court documents that you have, it’s just that you couldn’t read it, not you, but Kaieteur News whoever wrote that article couldn’t read a financial statement.

It’s in the Court document already.” ExxonMobil’s

Cost Recovery Statements have never been attached in any Court document.

The Journalist also sought an update on whether the country has since managed to pay off the Liza Two development costs, to which he said he was not sure. This project was pegged at US$6 billion, however due to the lack of ring-fencing provisions this cost could still be pending.

In February this year, Country Manager for ExxonMobil Guyana, Alistair Routledge in response to a question from

this publication revealed that the Liza One project expenses have been cleared.

He explained, “On Liza, it all goes into the same cost bank but we have now recovered cost that would be equivalent to the original investment for Liza Phase One.” Routledge also pointed out that significant progress has also been made in terms of repaying the investment on the second deepwater project, Liza Phase Two. He could not state at that time how much of the expenses were paid off on the company’s second deep water project, but noted that these details would be included in the company’s upcoming financials.

SECRECY OF EXXON’S US-MULTIBILLION EXPENSES The Vice President’s posture on this critical aspect of the country’s oil and gas sector would raise further concerns regarding the administration’s management of the industry.

A l r e a d y, t h e p o l i t i c a l Opposition has chastised the government for “drowning” the sector in secrecy.

In its Manifesto, the PPP said it would “ensure that expenditures are

transparently determined and go through the Parliamentary process.” It is not clear whether this was specific to the expenses of oil companies or expenditure relating to the use of funds in the Natural Resource Fund ( N R F ) . H o w e v e r, t h e Opposition believes this is a major letdown, as there is no transparency when it comes to any oil related expenses.

Economic Advisor to the Opposition Leader, Elson Low said, “The government’s refusal to release cost oil audits or to commit to a timeline for their completion and release also violates their manifesto promises since they said they would hold oil companies accountable and verify expenditures.”

Additionally, he noted, “There is a lack of specificity as to what exactly oil revenues are being spent on, which also violates their c o m m i t m e n t t o transparency.”

He was referring to the circumstances under which revenue from the oil and gas sector is being transferred to the public purse without a clear outline of what “national development priorities” are being funded through that source.

Kaieteur News

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Sunday August 20, 2023

Kaieteur News Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana.

Publisher: GLENN LALL - Tel: 624-6456 Editor-in-Chief: Nigel Williams Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210

EDITORIAL

Migrant boat people People are running away from the lands of their birth to get to any place that offers them a chance of living with some dignity. They sacrifice through perilous travels to be able to breathe a bit more freely. We read the horror reports of men, women, children, and even babies, dying at sea as they fall short in their desperate quest to rise above their punishing, dirt poor, circumstances.

Some have died in the Mediterranean Sea, others around the coast of Italy, and just recently a half dozen met their end in the English Channel. It is the ultimate cruelty, for so hard was their journey, and so close to their 21st century promised land, yet so far in their failure to find succor by the fingertips.

Grinding poverty is a driving factor that pushes many poor people to take a risk, brave stormy oceans, and inhuman boat conditions. Their hope is of finding a place in some hospitable country, so that they can begin to stand on their feet financially, and live like human beings should. Another condition is the breakdown of government, and where lawlessness and brutality take hold, frightens citizens in many countries, and forces them to get away from the land of their birth, and from family and friends. A third set of circumstances is fear and alarms generated by authoritarian governments, with power drunk national leaders, which chase citizens to jump their borders by any means possible, and at any cost, in the search for a better, more confidence inducing, life.

The people running away from their homelands are primarily from resource rich Africa, dictatorial Latin America, and some other places, like India. At the core, it is of poor lands poorly ruled, or ones rich with natural resources, but impoverished of ethical and transformational governments and leadership.

Hundreds of thousands of Guyanese can relate to migrant boat people, and people travelling in overland caravans. For the last six decades Guyanese have been bailing out of this country by the droves, due to desperate economic circumstances, tyrannical leaders, and governments that shame the name. At one time or another, Guyanese have been terrorized, pauperized, and demonized, which sent them hurrying for any available welcoming harbor. What started 60 years ago has never really ceased, it could be asserted not even so much as significantly slowed down.

On any given day, the American Consulate has a full calendar of locals lining up, waiting, and hoping to get a prized visa to the land of milk and honey. This is despite the decay of American cities, the usual destination of Guyanese migrants, the exploding levels of crime and violence, and the worrying signs of racial inequality and racial hostility.

Though lesser than before, there is an active ‘backtrack’ across Guyana’s borders, with adventurous Guyanese bent on taking their chances for a better life anywhere they can find it.

In sum, Africa has its migrant boat people, Latin America its caravan people, and Guyana, its migrant plane people.

In the richest country in the world, this is the reality of Guyana. Guyanese have been classified as “high income people have the winning Powerball ticket (oil), but one in two Guyanese cannot fully house and clothe themselves and their families. The reality is that they do not have enough to eat in what is a daily fight for a decent survival. The bills and housing and clothing, and tending to any illnesses, therefore, all become secondary and suffer from a chronic and severe lack of funds.

The savage irony is that in the country calculated to have the biggest GDP per capita in the world, there is a mass of Guyanese needing help, and hoping that something will come their way.

Because next to nothing has been coming into their hands from their incredible oil wealth, Guyanese who are trapped on the lower rungs of the nation’s economic stairway have no alternative but to keep going, casting their eyes on any welcoming foreign shore that will receive them. Because politicians in both the government and Opposition partner with foreigners to strip Guyanese of hope, of their chance at riches, they go elsewhere to grasp any prosperity they can get.

Stop blaming the “other” DEAR EDITOR, In the wake of this year’s commemoration of Emancipation Day, there have been several panel discussions and symposia o rg a n i z e d b y A f r i c a n Guyanese activists discussing “the AfricanGuyanese condition”. I have emphasised that each of the groups in Guyana have their own narrative of their history and these discussions and presentations illustrated the African Guyanese. As with other narratives, they directed fingers of blame to the “other”, signalling they are conflicted in valued areas of national endeavour.

We need to consciously construct a “national narrative” that would give each group in our country

their just desserts. Narratives are stories emplotted to make sense of our lives and our need to create them appears to be wired into our brains.

An event occurs – say the elections contretemps at Ashmins - and we are driven to explain how or why it did.

What happened first…what followed? Who were the persons involved? What did each person do and what were their choices? What were the background circumstances – social or physical – that might have brought the event about? In a word, we want to know about “causation”.

But in the creation of narratives, since very few of us are in a position, or have the inclination, to conduct rigorous enquiries from

ground zero, we reflexively also resort to narratives that others might have constructed around similar events. In a word, we fall back on our “remembrances” – whether at the individual or collective level. Narratives, then, are not only constituted; they are constitutive as far as they “explain” our experiences.

Much of what we are fighting about can be described as “memory wars”.

In accepting there must be some factual historical truth “out there”, we should appreciate we have to be careful to filter out, as best as we can, the inherent subjectivities of all narratives - especially when they concern history “writ large”. We must begin with

an agreement on the objective facts that should constitute “history”.

However, while reality may be created by events and processes, our experience of that reality is the “remembrance” of it – that is, “our-story/narrative”.

History and remembrance are not the same. History is the chronicle of that reality as collated by historians but it is our “remembrance” of the events that structure our responses.

Why is it, we should ask, do the PNC/APNU/AFC coalition supporters justify Mr Mingo’s interference with the tabulation of the Reg. 4 SOP’s because of the claimed subsequent recount “anomalies” uncovered?

(Continued on page 6)

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 20, 2023

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Respecting Guyana’s National Heritage – Monuments Dear Editor, I write to you today with a deep sense of concern and urgency regarding the state of our national heritage – monuments here in Guyana.

Our nation boasts a rich and diverse history, one that is reflected in the myriad of monuments and historical sites scattered across our landscape.

However, it is disheartening to observe the lack of respect and attention these vital pieces of our past often receive. In this letter, I wish to implore our fellow citizens to recognize the importance of preserving and respecting these monuments for the sake of our collective identity and

No need to be perplexed that two top judicial appointments arenot substantive DEAR EDITOR, The Elder should not be perplexed as to why the two top judicial appointments are not substantive (SN August 19). This has been so for close to two decades. He didn’t ask when the former office holders demitted office in acting capacities.

Why is it hard to understand it is the same reason the current holders are still acting? Until and unless there is the will of both sides to break the gridlock the Elder ’s perplexity will continue.

Sincerely, Shamshun Mohamed

future generations.

Guyana’s historical sites and monuments are not mere structures made of bricks and mortar; they are symbols of our identity, telling the stories of our ancestors, their struggles, and their triumphs.

These monuments include sites like Fort Zeelandia, the Whitby, and the 1763 monument of Cuffy, which have witnessed the unfolding of significant events and have contributed immensely to the shaping of our national identity. They are a testament to the resilience of the people who built and maintained them, often under challenging circumstances.

Sadly, many of these invaluable pieces of our heritage are in a state of disrepair, neglected, or subjected to acts of vandalism.

This negligence not only disrespects our ancestors but also deprives current and future generations of the opportunity to connect with our history.

It is essential to remember that preserving

our heritage is not merely about safeguarding the past; it is about ensuring a meaningful future.

Preserving our national heritage monuments is not just a matter of sentimentality; it has economic and cultural benefits as well. Tourism is a vital industry for our nation, and our historical sites have the potential to attract visitors from around the world.

These visitors, drawn by the allure of our rich history, would contribute significantly to our economy. Neglecting these sites sends a message that we do not value our own heritage, discouraging potential tourists and investors alike.

Furthermore, our monuments serve as educational tools. They offer an opportunity for our youth to learn about the struggles and achievements of those who came before them.

These lessons in history, perseverance, and cultural diversity are crucial for the development of responsible, informed citizens who will

contribute positively to our society. Neglecting our heritage robs our youth of these invaluable learning experiences.

To address this pressing issue, I propose a multipronged approach to the relevant authorities.

P u b l i c Aw a r e n e s s Campaigns – The government and relevant c u l t u r a l o rg a n i z a t i o n s should launch a sustained public awareness campaign to educate citizens about the importance of our national heritage monuments. This campaign should emphasize the cultural, economic, and educational significance of these sites.

Increased Funding – Adequate funding should be allocated for the preservation, restoration, and maintenance of our historical sites and monuments. This funding should be used to hire skilled conservators and professionals who can ensure the longevity of these structures.

C o m m u n i t y Involvement – Encourage local communities to take

ownership of nearby historical sites. This involvement can lead to a sense of pride and responsibility, resulting in better care and protection of these monuments.

Legislation and Enforcement – Strengthen legislation related to the protection of historical sites and monuments, with strict penalties for vandalism and neglect. Law enforcement agencies should prioritize the security of these sites.

Tourism Development – Develop sustainable tourism initiatives around historical sites, creating employment opportunities for local communities and generating revenue for the maintenance of these sites.

Education Programs – Integrate heritage preservation education into school curriculums and conduct outreach programs to schools and communities

near historical sites.

It is high time we recognize that preserving our national heritage monuments is not a luxury but a necessity. We cannot afford to let these symbols of our identity crumble into oblivion. By taking collective action, we can ensure that future generations inherit a rich and vibrant heritage that they can be proud of.

In conclusion, respecting and preserving our national heritage monuments is not just a matter of civic duty; it is a reflection of our commitment to our country’s past and future.

Let us come together as a nation, uniting to protect and cherish these invaluable treasures that connect us to our roots and inspire our future.

Sincerely, Wayne Lyttle Journalist

Kaieteur News

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Good Morning Jagdeo DEAR EDITOR, Good Morning Jagdeo.

There is probably not an article that I have written that you have not read.

Today I want to give you a reality check, share with you something which I don’t think your ego has allowed you to grasp: Your brand of communist/cake shop economics has long failed Guyanese. Now more than ever, Guyana, Guyanese, GUYSUCO, the banking system, virtually every economic sector has

outgrown you and your ideas for development.

This is not even considering the national embarrassment of having you and your administration continue to agree to maintain the Exxon contract in its current form.

An embarrassment it is Bharrat, because only you probably don’t know that Exxon executives are laughing at you behind your back on their way to the bank every day while Guyanese suffer under the yoke of your

ignominy. You can only imagine what the other foreign investors think of you. You don’t want to know the words people are using to describe you and your government Bharrat? This is not a joke, Jagdeo.

Guyanese really think you have imprudent to agree to keep the Exxon Contract as it is.

Not only on Exxon, there are numerous other deals and contracts like Bai Shan Lin, etc., plus the ones that you intend to sign under this new

law which allows you to make contracts without bringing them to parliament.

If that move isn’t the height of eye pass and disrespect for Guyanese, Jagdeo, I don’t know what is.

Yo u d e m o n s t r a t e d recently that your administration is now practicing what I can only describe as ‘wacko’ economics, pure nonsense and destruction. There is no way on God’s good earth your last two budgets could be justified, this last one more than double the 2020 budget, reducing the rest of the economy’s share of GDP to 37%. Absurd? That is the point, my friend. This is because your government’s budgets are exacerbating Guyana’s supply constraints in both the real sector and our foreign currency markets, absent the benefits of our oil revenues, it seems.

Yo u r a d m i n i s t r a t i o n continues to irrationally insist, against sound economic sense, that bigger government spending is always better. Well mister chief, you are seeing the (Continued on page 9)

Sunday August 20, 2023

Stop blaming the “other” From page 4 Mingo’s stipulated power of divination has to do with the narrative used to “explain” the experience. African Guyanese have a historical fear of being ‘swamped and subordinated” by Indian-Guyanese when the PPP wins elections via their votes.

And justify manipulations such as Burnham’s and Mingo’s to “rectify” that advantage. To assert that Indian- Guyanese are now one minority in a nation of minorities, in which either of the two major blocks have an equal chance of securing office through attracting votes outside of their base constituency, does not cut much ice.

Today, we and all those who would examine our history, have the advantage of hindsight and access to a wider array of accounts than those who lived through the events. In attacking the possible illusions of retrospective determinism – that “there is no alternative” - we should connect the past with the present in a broader, more unified narrative that is healing rather than destructive. We cannot change the past but we can certainly shape the future.

John Paul Lederach, the “International peace builder”, defines constructive social change as “the pursuit of moving relationships from those defined by fear, mutual recrimination, and violence toward those characterized by love, mutual respect, and proactive engagement.” If not love, let us at least have mutual respect to listen to the narrative of the “other” and address their fears. We must recognize the complexity of relationships and eschew the “us vs. them” mentality as we “generate, mobilize and build our moral imagination” by creating links between memory and vision.

Don’t we all have a vision of a future peaceful and prosperous Guyanese community? By shifting the meaning of the past through a differential emphasis on particular events, we can transform how we act in the present.

That past may not literally exist - any more than the future does - but it lives on in its consequences, which are a vital part of it. Our past was certainly not all hate or division.

Sincerely, Ravi Dev

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L B T LUNT.. UNT...B BL B Sunday August 20, 2023

Kaieteur News

It is now clear why Jagdeo was not holding press conferences.

He was deciding who he wants to attack, so he can distract Guyanese.

The oil is sending him crazy.

Everywhere he turns, he sees an enemy.

On oil, he can’t be about clean speaking.

So he resorts to head butting.

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Kaieteur News

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Sunday August 20, 2023

AFC wants feasibility study on Guyana's oil refinery A

s the world transitions to cleaner energy sources amid threats from climate change, the Alliance For Change (AFC) is calling on the Government of Guyana (GoG) to conduct a feasibility study for the nation's maiden oil refinery.

The facility, once made operable would ensure a reliable source of fuel for the country, in keeping with President Irfaan Ali's vision for an energy efficient nation.

The industrial processing plant would treat and refine crude oil into products such as gasoline, diesel, kerosene and other useful fuels.

Even with its benefits, the project can have drastic impacts on the environment and even the country's economy should it turn out to be a white elephant, largely

owing to the global shift to renewables. To avoid a wasted investment, the political group has called for an independent feasibility study to be conducted for the project.

Shadow Minister of

Natural Resources and Executive Member of the AFC, David Patterson during a party press conference on Friday said he supports the vision of an energy efficient economy, however any such major project should be rooted in a thorough study.

Patterson, in response to a question from Kaieteur News explained that the Ministry of

Natural Resource and a Japanese Consultant conducted a study which concluded that a modular refinery would only be appropriate for Guyana, considering its supplydemand balance, by 2027 or

2040.

The report was completed by the Japan Cooperation Center Petroleum Chiyoda Corporation (JCCP) and is available on the Ministry of Natural Resources website.

The document is dated February 2021. According to the study “Even keeping steady growth, the

conventional size of refinery is too large for Guyana from the viewpoint of supplydemand balance. 'Modular refinery' explained hereunder, is appropriate for Guyana to support the domestic demand in 2027 and later to 2040.” It estimated that such a facility could cost US$150 million for a 20,000 to 30,000 barrel per day refinery.

Given the findings of that study, the AFC believes an analysis for the project's viability is critical to its success. Patterson stressed, “The Japanese that did the Oil and Gas Master Plan for Guyana indicated the volumes that we use here daily will be challenging for an oil refinery and they broke it down to the question of logistics.”

He went on to point out

Shadow Minister of Natural Resources, David Patterson that the vessels that transport the oil out of Guyana stores about 1.5 million barrels of oil, making it uneconomical to bring the vessel to shore.

According to him, “Guyana cannot take off, even if we take our lifts, which is one in every five and we bring it to shore, we cannot store 1.5 million barrels, we can't even land the barge and it is uneconomical for you to get a massive big tanker and then stop it to take out what we need in Guyana which is 30,000 barrels a day and obviously...what we will have to do is transship it.”

The Shadow Natural Resource Minister explained that Guyana may have to operate a special vessel to transport the daily required crude to the facility to be refined. This, he said, could attract an additional cost which must be considered in the daily operation expenses for the facility.

To this end, he noted, “So while it is a lovely idea and I am in support of self efficiency, it requires more study to make it feasible.”

On August 8, 2023 it was revealed that Guyana and the Dominican Republic took a significant step in energy cooperation by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) geared towards identifying competent public or private entities from both nations eager to construct an oil refinery in Guyana. This refinery is projected to have a refining capacity of a minimum of 50,000 barrels of crude oil daily.

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday during a press briefing at the Arthur Chung Conference Center (ACCC) however clarified that while Guyanese authorities are interested in building the nation's first oil refinery, it is not in any hurry to bring a second on stream.

The official's comment followed questions from Kaieteur News to explain the rationale for the State's independent pursuit of a refinery with a capacity for 30,000 barrels of oil per day

(bpd) while also agreeing recently to explore the possibility of establishing one here with the Dominican Republic.

With respect to the 30,000 bpd refinery, Jagdeo said there was a first round of evaluation and authorities are awaiting more information.

“But even as we do that, a number of countries are sending in proposals to us. At the end of the day, if it (a refinery in partnership with another country) goes forward, it has to be on conditions that are good for our country and they have to meet all the technical and financial requirements,” the Vice President said.

Simultaneously, he said the government has an interest in examining the costs of sending some of its crude abroad to be refined and have those products returned and stored as “strategic reserves.” In other words, the administration would create a holding place for oil products that can be tapped in instances of emergencies.

“So one of the reasons we wanted a refinery was to ensure national energy security and we are exploring what it would take to toll some of our crude and what fee we may have to pay for tolling the crude and then bringing back the refined products and storing them; like in the USA, they have strategic reserves,” the Vice President said.

With respect to queries about the government's consideration of Trinidad and Tobago which has over 100 years in the oil refining industry, Jagdeo said there was some discussion about this at one stage but those did not materialize. “…But if we are doing a refinery, it would be (have to be located) here because (having it elsewhere) defeats the purpose of your energy security…but if you can get a tolling fee, it can be refined anywhere in the world and you then store the refined products here,” the Vice President said.

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 20, 2023

PAGE 09

Why are we building a refinery?

Jagdeo remains a bundle of contradictions. At his most recent press conference he said that Guyana can only handle one refinery at this time. By that he probably meant that given the present level of oil production, the country would not be able to have sufficient crude for processing by more than one small refinery.

In July, President Ali announced that oil production was averaging 400,000 barrels of oil per day. This would suggest an insufficient volume of crude for more than one smaller refinery each capable of processing 30,000 barrels of oil per day. Guyana only obtains profit oil of 12.5 % of total production. It markets its share of profit oil internationally. It has signed contracts for the sale of this oil. Based on the present levels of production, there is not sufficient oil available to operate more than one small refinery.

But you don’t plan to build refineries based on existing levels of production. That would

amount to cake shop management. A refinery takes years to build and therefore plans have to be based on future production.

By 2027, Guyana is projected to produce more than 1 million barrels of oil per day. By then, which is only 3 and one half years away, Guyana should be in a position to have a second small refinery since there will be enough profit oil to run a second refinery at a capacity of 30,000 barrels per day.

It is not therefore a question as to whether Guyana has enough crude presently to invest in plans for a second refinery. It is more a question as to whether we are planning for when oil production peaks in a few years.

But do not tell that to Jagdeo. He does not realize that he has to start planning today for the next four years since even a small refinery cannot be built in one year.

His reasoning is therefore flawed.

Refineries are not going to be built exclusively by the

government. Or at least one hopes that Jagdeo has no plans to use government funds to build a refinery. The building of a refinery, even a small refinery, is costly. One study has estimated that building 100,000 barrels per day refinery would cost US$5B. An estimate to build a refinery for processing 30,000 barrels per days has been given as around US$2B. No need exists for the government to use precious resources to build refineries.

The investment has to originate from the private sector.

Why therefore is Jagdeo trying to speak about there being no need presently for a second refinery? If the private investors want a second refinery, that is their decision and their risk. Or is the government trying to shield its proposed one refinery from competition? This would be anti-competitive.

Is there a plan to have a refinery built with syndicated investors just like what was done with the loan for the Marriot Hotel? Are

Good Morning Jagdeo...

From page 6 results for yourself. I am quite aware that revenue from our oil wealth has changed Guyana’s financial dynamics. But then why is there this problem?

While I personally consider you a smart fellow, however, you seem unable to grasp the limitations of your economic philosophy.

Your problem is because you think you know everything, you have stopped learning. Why is it that after all these years our poverty rate has jumped to over 40 percent?

This might be unreal to you, but travel around Guyana, visit Sophia, Albouystown, all the regions and communities across Guyana.

Because of you, Bharrat, your glorified

defunct communist/cake shop economics our national outcomes hold true for the conclusion of the politics of communism.

Maintain the working class. Give them enough to live, to survive, and to come work tomorrow. Yes, in your eyes, by your measure of success, you have done well.

But you know communist economics has failed everywhere Jagdeo. It has failed here.

Guyanese have nothing to hope for in you.

There is a path to economic development which allows EVERYONE to achieve financial and social prosperity and happiness.

And it doesn’t reside with you.

Sincerely, Craig Sylvester Democratic National Congress

Dem boys seh...

Only time will tell We roads bustling more than Santa’s workshop on Christmas Eve. Dem metal monsters, wah we calling vehicles, zooming by like dem auditioning for a place in Fast and Furious 27. And de poor cyclists dem getting push off de road by de breeze when dem vehicles pass. Dese days, de roads are like a racetrack. If yuh blink, yuh might just miss de chequired flag.

All of dis mekkin’ life riding, a hell for dem bicyle man. Imagine a cyclist trying to squeeze through a gap the size of a shoestring.

It’s like trying to fit a bangamary through a keyhole - not a pretty sight!

And don’t even mention them potholes. Is it a road or a crater collection? It’s like cycling through a minefield.

With every pedal, it’s a leap of faith hoping you don’t take off like a rocket to the moon. Nuff of dem new road done start get hole, as if dem mekkin space fuh when de burial ground full up.

But is dem speed monsters wah is de greatest threat. Dem testing out dem accelerators fuh see if de spring strong. Instead of

cruising at a leisurely 60 km/h, dem zipping by at a cool 160 km/h. These road rangers, or should we say road ragers, mekking life hard fuh others Only time will tell about de future of cyclists on de road. But one thing is for sure: as long as we have drivers treating de roads like racetracks, and we gat potholes big enough to fit a small elephant, de humble bicycle might need to sprout wings. Until then, keep pedaling… and praying, folks!

Talk Half! Leff Half!

such plans being hatched?

Jagdeo is the sole custodian of the country’s National Depletion Policy. It is all in his head. He says that given Net Zero, Guyana has to exploit its oil resources and as fast as it can. No wonder, Guyana is approving field development plans at rapid pace.

But if Jagdeo feels that Guyana only has a narrow window to exploit its oil resources given the global trend towards renewables, and if implicitly this means that oil’s shelf life is limited, why then is his government moving towards building a refinery?

The construction of a refinery is a long term investment. Therefore, if Guyana is exploiting its oil resources at break-neck pace, what sense does it make for anyone to build a refinery in Guyana?

Jagdeo’s explanation is energy security. A refinery he contends will allow greater energy security. But this is yet another contradiction because the government says it is transitioning away from fossil fuels towards natural gas and then towards renewables. The government is even suggesting incentives for electric cars.

Government’s transition away from renewables has led it to make huge investments in the gas-toenergy plant and to resurrect the controversial Amaila Falls Hydroelectric Facility.

Given these investments, does it make any sense, other than to Jagdeo, for the government to be inviting expressions of interest for a proposed refinery?

The media and civil society should seek

clarification as to the financing for the proposed refinery for which the government has invited expressions of interest.

Certainly, it would be contradictory for the government to be putting resources into the proposed refinery project given its own approach towards oil extraction and renewables.

But you dare not tell that to the Vice President!

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of this newspaper and its affiliates.)

Kaieteur News

PAGE 10 S

UTH

D TR

HAR

HK

BY G

L

LAL

Sunday Monday August May 02, 20,2022 2023

H@RD TRUTHS

BY GHK LALL

How Exxon stole a Third World Country Somebody was kind enough to forward a YouTube video titled, “How Exxon stole a 3rd World Country”.

The Guyanese sister is still held as a friend, despite sticking this obscenity of a recording all of 13 minutes and 51 seconds in my face, in my consciousness, and deep into my soul. It is corporate pornography, bestiality, and the down and dirty lifted from ominous Guyanese reality. It is Nazi terror

unleashed on colored people in this South American plantation called Guyana.

This is confirmation of an American Reich riding astride Guyanese in full jackbooted Aryan march.

And they tell me that this is not a slave master's paradise.

What Kaieteur News and Stabroek News, (to a lesser extent and at a lower pitch), have had the courage to lay bare before Guyanese, is now flitting on electronic wings

across global boardrooms and barren hamlets in sunspiced Guyana.

What a production it is, a magnum opus of oil and how the mighty crushes the lowly, after first recruiting its traitors, defanging its potential subversives.

In breathless Yankee accents, there is this torrent of words that represents a cascade of the captive conditions in primitive Guyana. This country is taken back against

its will (more frequently willingly) to the days of Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Benjamin D'Urban, except that the names that illustrate the pages are now that of Darren Woods and Alistair Routledge. The Englishmen got to kneel before their Queen to collect their honors; the Americans get the world to kneel before them to receive the homage due to them for capturing a 3rd World Country without so much as lifting a finger, raising a hostile eyebrow.

Banks kowtow.

Hedge fund billionaires fall in line.

Governments tie themselves into knots. Leaders, like Ali and Jagdeo cannot prostrate enough. Institutions like the EPA have perfected the art known as follow the leader.

And Guyanese law firms and accountants and its legislative body, parliament, turn cartwheels (some would say tricks) to get any leftover piece of the action. Any questions as to whom they are fighting for, fighting against? My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken….?

Not a shot fired, and Exxon owns and controls and patrols and extols this oil rich Third World country. The inference, the conclusion, is that this is a nation overrunning with cowards and weasels. But there are many brave Guyanese, those whose ears are finely tuned to Exxon's unspoken command, bent to detect its inaudible dog whistle. I no longer have to waste pearly words like lackeys and lapdogs and flunkeys to describe these brave Guyanese; they apply those sleek unguents to themselves, and with gayful

pride. For they are the ones who snarl and lunge and grind their teeth at the few Guyanese who say something is wrong.

Something is wrong with Mr. Alistair Routledge's attire, and it is more than his slip showing. Candidly, it is an ugly sight, a canvas of voracious appetite, and rapacious intent.

Every single point in “How Exxon stole a 3rd World Country” is searing in its starkness, in its sinister implications for Guyanese.

Some of those consequences are already deeply embedded in the craw of a country more consumed at condemning its own, than in curtailing the new Gestapo that has taken root in this rich land. I had denounced them as slave masters before, and I damn them as slave masters today.

As always, the American carpetbaggers have their Guyanese scalawags standing ready to do any slobbering, slithering, sickening duty. Nothing is too low, no trick too dirty, no duty too grisly. Need a writer, there is one; they are a dime a dozen. Callout for a media practitioner, and there is a small riot of Guyanese kicking at each other to get to the front of the line. This is not the rat race for the Yankee dollar. It is the Guyanese black man, the Guyanese brown man, and the inbetween Guyanese version of yellow man, scraping the ground, breathing in the sawdust, in their race to kiss the white man's boot.

This is for their own wealth, the sweat of their forefathers never properly

paid . “How Exxon stole a 3rd World Country” is a smooth, glittering, creation that pinpoints the mystery of where the Government of Guyana ends, and where Exxon begins. For people like me, those who know the world like some of us do, it has never been a mystery; only the story of leaders who have grown to love making pitiful losers of themselves, and the people who trust them, before the whole world. On other days, in another context, I would contain the rage at the slavery implied.

Today, the ire spirals when there is this corporate barbarity (Exxon) and the putrid political reality of a castrated PPP blending so effortlessly, and saturating the senses in living color.

The Coalition Government sold the entirety of this country's anatomy to Exxon.

The PPP Government peddles its political flesh, for a seat at the dinner table with corporate cannibals, and the worst type of inhuman predators imaginable at any time, and in any place.

Indeed, Exxon stole a 3rd World Country. Exxon also stole its wisdom, courage, intellectual capacity, and all the balls that once bounced here.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of this newspaper and its affiliates.)

Sunday August 20, 2023

Kaieteur News

PAGE 11

Kaieteur News

PAGE 12

Eight MPs given final warning to pay outstanding court cost

Attorney: Sase Gunraj programme “Issues in the News” recently that those steps have already been taken to recover the judgment sums from those who refused to pay.

He explained that “the Opposition could also face jail time for failing to honour the judgments or cost orders.

He said another option is going to their employers to garnish wages/salaries due to them monthly, or depending on

how they receive their remuneration.”

He revealed that, “They were sent notification letters, they were sent reminders, the matter was widely published in the press when I made comments that enforcement proceedings would be filed and notwithstanding all the above, they have refused, obstinately refused, to pay the costs.”

“This constitutes contempt of court and I have already instructed my lawyers to begin the process of enforcing the judgments or the cost orders. It means that persons' vehicles and other movable properties will be seized by Marshals of the High Court and sold at an execution sale to recover the monies.”

Among the cases in which the Opposition is yet to pay costs is the case in which Christopher Jones and Norris Witter were each ordered to pay some $1.2 million in costs after the judge had dismissed their case against the State over the legality of the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) Act passed in National Assembly in December, 2021.

The High Court had refused an application to overturn the suspension of eight Opposition parliamentarians for their role in the unrest in the Chamber of the National Assembly in December 2021 over the passage of the Natural Resource Fund Bill.

Public Invited to Attend the Launch of the University of Guyana's International Centre for Migration and Diaspora Studies and to Witness Apology from Gladstone Heirs

Legacies and Future Invitation

Eight Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) were given a final warning to pay outstanding court costs or face possible consequences of their action.

Last January, the eight MPs Annette Ferguson, Christopher Jones, Ganesh Mahipaul, Vinceroy Jordan, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley, Sherod Duncan, Maureen Philadelphia and Natasha Singh-Lewis were ordered to pay court costs to the tune of $350, 000 each to three respondents involved in the case filed over their suspension from the National Assembly.

Letters from local law firm, Gunraj and Co. addressed to the eight MPs, outlined that they will face the consequences of failing to pay the outstanding sums.

“In the circumstances, we are instructed to demand, as we hereby do, that the said costs be paid within 14 (fourteen) days hereof, failing which our clients will institute proceedings to recover the same without further notice to you,” Attorney Sase Gunraj wrote to each of the MPs. In the case, Attorney General (AG), Anil Nandlall, SC, Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir and Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs were listed as respondents.

Nandlall had revealed during his

Sunday August 20, 2023

The University of Guyana launches its International Centre for Migration and Diaspora Studies in collaboration with the National Reparations Committee and Heirs of Slavery, on Friday, August 25, 2023, in the George Walcott Lecture Theatre (GWLT) of the Turkeyen Campus, in Georgetown, Guyana, from 8:30 hrs. to 11:00 hrs.

The Diaspora and Migration Centre is set up to pursue five (5) specific areas of research interest including, but not limited to Diaspora and Migration in and around Academia, Youth, Technology and Vulnerable Communities, Indigeneity, Indentureship and Slavery as specific and integral aspects of dispersion.

The research track for Slavery and indentureship is the reason why it was deemed appropriate to launch the Diaspora and Migration Centre (MiDias) in this historically auspicious month in regard to the emancipation of enslaved peoples as well as the 200th anniversary of the 1823 Slave Revolution in Demerara. The University has been collaborating for several years with several Universities and the Guyana Reparations Committee on specific aspects of the impacts of the plantations' enterprise of Slavery and indentureship as well as indigeneity on native populations, including relations being experienced today.

As such UG and the Guyana Reparations Committee invited members of the Gladstone family, part of an heir of slavery grouping to participate in the event since

Quamina and his son John, who led the 1823 Rebellions were enslaved on Gladstone Plantations. The University itself is founded on Plantation Lands upon which part of the revolutions were enacted. The Gladstone family, which includes several historians, has today confirmed that they will in fact offer an apology given the role their ancestors would have played here.

Given this development, The University and Reparations Committee have specially invited and continue to invite several elders, the Guyana Reparations Committee and other groups, Students and senior potentates to witness and receive the formal apology at the short formal ceremony which begins at 9:00 hrs. at the GWLT on Friday, August 25, 2023. After the formal ceremony, the moment will be marked by an intergenerational dialogue between University of Guyana students and youthful members of the Gladstone family; a linking of the University of Guyana Library with digital archives of the Council of World Missions and an exhibition of scholarly work throughout the day on the subject matter.

The public is invited to attend either virtually or in p e r s o n . F o r Vi r t u a l registration, please use the following link: https://zoom.us/webinar/r egister/WN_Ob0sefwYTYYVypQZPTePA#/registration The Guyana Reparations Committee also has a series of events and conversations to mark this occasion, including a church service.

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 20, 2023

PAGE 13

Government unsure if Chinese company paid off US$5M owed for GTT shares it sold 10 years ago

T

en years after selling out its 20% share in the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT) to a Hong Kong firm for US$30M, the government is unsure if an outstanding amount of US$5M was ever paid off in full.

Kaieteur News raised the question about the owed monies at a Press Conference held on Thursday by Vice

President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo at the Arthur Chung Conference Center (ACCC), Liliendaal, Georgetown.

Responding to "if the US$5M was paid off or not", Jagdeo said, "I, I am have to verify that but most likely it has been paid but I have to verify it" The PPP led government in 2012 had sold the shares valued at some GYD$6B (US$30M) to Hong Kong

Body of missing ‘Rasta’ floats up The body of a man called 'Rasta' on Friday floated up in the Mazaruni River, Region Seven, four days after his disappearance in a boat mishap.

At the time of the incident, police had only known him as 'Rasta' and Mark, but found out that his real name is Ray Payne.

Dead, Ray Payne According to reports better known as "Rasta” Payne was among three passengers in a wooden speed boat that sank on Tuesday night while navigating through a falls in the Middle Mazaruni River.

Investigators learnt that at around 20:30hrs that evening, Shojhi Roberts, a 32-year-old Ranger of Isseneru Village, Middle Mazaruni River, borrowed the village's wooden balahoo boat powered by a 75 Horsepower outboard engine, to go to Apaiqua Landing, located some five minutes away from where they were.

Roberts took 'Rasta' and another man named Mark Benn with him. However, shortly thereafter while navigating through one of the waterfalls in the river the boat collided with a rock.

The passengers were thrown overboard and the boat sank.

Benn and Roberts managed to swim to safety but 'Rasta' disappeared.

Several checks were made for 'Rasta' soon after but they were futile.

Golden Telecom Limited (HKGT). Upon the signing of the sales agreement with the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), HKGT only paid US$25M. The outstanding payment was to be made within two years but the company never met the deadline.

PPP lost power and the coalition administration took over negotiations with the Chinese Company for the owed cashed After a two-year-long negotiation failed, the Coalition took GTT to court in 2018. According to reports HKGT only wanted to pay US$3M and the government did not agree.

The latest update on the owed monies came in 2020 when the High Court ordered GTT to pay US$3.2M to the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL).

Justice Franklin Holder presided over the case and in February 2020 issued a g ar n is h men t o n G TT' s account for US$3.2 million.

Payments of the

The Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT).

Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo US$3.2M were to be made within 14 days of the order and all future GTT dividends were to be paid to NICIL until the remaining US$1.8 million is canceled. The company and its shareholders were also ordered to foot NICIL's court costs.

However, since then, there have been no further updates by the Government or NICIL on whether the entire US$5M was paid off.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 14

Week-In-Review

Sunday August 20, 2023

Preparation works ongoing for the pipeline being laid by ExxonMobil

SUNDAY Government refuses to have parliamentary scrutiny for oil blocks awarded through direct negotiations In recent Parliamentary discussions surrounding Guyana’s Petroleum Activities Bill 2023, Opposition Member of Parliament, David Patterson, voiced critical concerns regarding the provision that would allow the government to issue oil blocks without a competitive tender. He also proposed an amendment that would add parliamentary scrutiny to this process, but it was rejected by the government’s side.

According to the provision, the process to grant a license under the act can be executed through direct negotiations, when “special circumstances exist, which, in the national interest or national security, justify the use of direct negotiation to grant a license.”

While he acknowledged that there may be cases where national interest necessitates direct negotiations, Patterson argued strongly that there is a need for oversight.

Patterson further accentuated his stance by revisiting a past incident from 2020. “I want this assembly to recall,” he began, “an [Arabian] prince arrived in Guyana… to look at agriculture, housing, and infrastructure projects. But he left after three days… with a US$50 million contract to supply COVID vaccines with the approval of the Cabinet…”

Patterson explained that the justification for the manner in which this transaction was handled, lack of transparency and all was not dissimilar to the ‘national interest’ provision that has been injected into Guyana’s oil law. The provision gives the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) administration the power to award bypass the competitive process, award oil blocks however, and to whomever it wishes, then claim it is in the national interest.

The example of the COVID vaccine deal with the low-ranking royal from the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook al-Maktoum, serves as a cautionary example of the potential misuse of such provisions. While Guyana got the vaccines it needed, it significantly overpaid. Such transactions could be fronts for rampant corruption and theft.

Given this, Patterson emphasized the need for a legislative safeguard. “We’re saying, sir, if [someone] comes and you decide that you’re interested in him nationally, you have to come back to this parliament and tell the people the conditions under which you’ve awarded the contract, and,

sir, that is transparency.”

Patterson wittily remarked that the opposition does not want another prince arriving for a visit to an eco-resort and leaving with a petroleum license, all under cabinet approval for the national interest.

The PPP/C rejected this proposal, and the Bill was passed as is.

The awarding of the Canje and Kaieteur blocks stands as a significant point of contention, showing the potential pitfalls of direct negotiations for contract awards. These licenses, initially granted to distinct entities through direct negotiation, were subsequently acquired by ExxonMobil, prompting significant public and industry scrutiny. Such transactions shrouded in opacity, fuel suspicions of favouritism and misconduct, especially when vast economic interests are at stake. Critics argue that without rigorous oversight and transparency, direct negotiations can stifle competition, and allow undue concentration of power in the hands of a few corporations. In

the context of Guyana’s oil industry, these concerns are amplified, with many fearing that the nation’s vast oil wealth may not be equitably leveraged for the collective good.

Citizens question ExxonM’s US$50 million expense on Wales gas project - in Court document Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), the operator of the Stabroek Block that was granted an Environmental Permit to undertake works related to the Gas-to-Energy (GTE) project recently told the High Court it has already expended over US$50 million in development works.

The company however did not provide any documentation to support this claim, a move that has been criticized by the applicants challenging the Permit as lacking any credibility.

EEPGL, the subsidiary of American oil giant ExxonMobil, in its application to the High Court dated May 4, 2023 stated, “To date,

Esso and its co-venturers have expended US$206 million in design and construction works for the Gas to Energy Project. Further or additionally, Esso and its coventurers anticipate spending in the region of an additional US$792 million to complete and commission the pipeline element of the Gas to Energy Project.”

In a subsequent submission to the Court dated July 14, 2023, the company said, “To date, the second respondent has expended in excess of US$50.67 million upon the project, of which US$31.67 million on initial preparation of the plant site, US$8.75 million on construction of a material offloading facility, US$6.34 million on construction of a heavy haul road, US$2.88 million on construction of a site for the pipeline seawall crossing and US$0.94 million on improvement of West Bank Demerara public road and bridges.”

The huge discrepancy in the figures presented by the company would raise concerns regarding the monitoring of expenses related to the project, even as ExxonMobil is yet to announce the Final Investment Decision (FID) or cost of the venture. Already, the GTE project is the country’s single largest financial venture ever pursued.

Vanda Radzik and Elizabeth Hughes who filed the legal challenge against the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) decision- to award a Permit for the pipeline works to Exxon-responded to the o i l c o m p a n y ’s c l a i m s o n expenditure incurred so far in an application to the High Court dated July 28, 2023.

The applicants reasoned, “The Deponent now asserts that Esso has spent more than US$50 million on the Gas to Energy project.

Moreover he has produced no supporting documentation, no bills, no receipts and no independent verification. Given the magnitude of this assertion, the Deponent’s failure to provide even one piece of paper robs his statement of any

credibility.”

During Wednesday’s Sitting of the National Assembly, Opposition Member of Parliament Volda Lawrence asked Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh to tell the House how much has been spent by Exxon on the project to date. Notably, the Finance Minister did not respond to her specific concern, but instead addressed spending by government on the project.

He said, “In relation to the construction of the power plant and associated investment including the T&D (transmission and distribution), those investments are being financed by the government of Guyana out of the budgetary appropriations that the Budget has approved and now these supplementary appropriations being sought.”

Former Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson followed up on the response and asked the Minister to disaggregate the sum that has been expended on the activities so far, but Dr. Singh committed to providing the information to the Assembly at a later date.

It must be noted that the GTE project features three components including the pipeline being developed by Exxon along with the Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) facility and 300-megawatt power plant being pursued by the Government of Guyana (GoG).

Exxon will be funding the 12inch pipeline that will transport the n a t u r a l g a s t o t h e Wa l e s Development site, West Bank Demerara (WBD). In the meantime, government has pursued the United States Export Import (US-EXIM) Bank for a GY$134 billion (US$646 million) loan to finance the other two components.

There has been no indication so far that the application was approved by the financial institution.

Court case On March 27, 2023, Radzik and Hughes filed a legal proceeding in the High Court, challenging the (Continued on page 15)

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 20, 2023

From page 14 Environmental Permit granted to Exxon for the pipeline component of the project. The 12-inch pipeline, some 225 kilometers will be used to transport gas from the Liza One and Two fields in the Stabroek Block to the Wales Development site.

Through their lawyers, Melinda Janki, Abiola Wong-Inniss, and Joel Ross, the citizens are seeking an Order of Certiorari to quash the decision made by the E PA t o a w a r d a n Environmental Permit to ExxonMobil Guyana to undertake the GTE project activities, on the grounds inter alia that the decision was in breach of the provisions of the Environmental Protection Act (Cap. 20:05), and more particularly, the Environmental Protection (Authorisation) Regulations.

The citizens outlined that ExxonMobil in its application, dated June 24, 2021 includes details of the project site, the proposed route of the pipeline and the areas to be used and affected by the project, which includes residential properties, commercial properties and state-owned properties. Be that as it may, the application did not include or provide any proof of ownership, a lease or other agreement with the land owners of the said area.

Notwithstanding, the EPA granted EEPGL a Permit to undertake the project on November 25, 2022. Subsequently, the Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill in January 2023 passed various orders to acquire lands for the purpose of the project, pursuant to the Acquisition of Lands for Public Purposes Act, Chapter 62:05.

MONDAY Guyana contract helps rake in US$1.59 Billion within 6 months for Japanese ship builder MODEC ExxonMobil Guyana contract with Japanese ship builder, Mitsui Ocean Development & Engineering Company (MODEC), has contributed to the company’s US$1.59 Billion earned within the first six months of 2023.

MODEC is considered the world’s second largest production company of

floating, production, storage and offloading systems (FPSOs). MODEC recently published its half-year earnings, which showed improved net profit and revenue in the first half of 2023 which was 15.5% higher than the same period in 2022.

The company expects steady demand for its main business of FPSOs for oil and gas productions, especially in the ultra-deep water large-scale projects in which MODEC has a competitive advantage.

MODEC said, “Coexisting with the decarbonization trend and maintaining stable energy supply remains an important issue. In that context, the oil companies are continuing the deep-sea oilfield development projects.”

U n d e r t h e s e circumstances, for the six months ended as of June 30, 2023, the total orders on a consolidated basis resulted in US$7,853,105, due to the new orders of construction projects obtained for ExxonMobil Guyana’s Uaru project for which the FPSO will be deployed in the Stabroek block field off the coast of Guyana and Equinor Brazil Energia for which the FPSO will be deployed in the BM-C-33 block field off the coast of Brazil. The consolidated revenue was US$1,588,647 due to the progress in the construction of FPSOs. In November 2022, it was announced that ExxonMobil Guyana hired MODEC to construct its fifth oil ship.

Exxon and MODEC signed a contract to perform Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) for a Floating Production, Storage and Offloading vessel (FPSO) for the Uaru

development project in the Stabroek Block.

MODEC said it will design and construct the FPSO based on its M350 new-build design. The FPSO will be designed to produce 250,000 barrels of oil per day, and will have associated gas treatment capacity of 540 million cubic feet per day, and water injection capacity of 350,000 barrels per day.

The FPSO will also be installed in a water depth of about 2000 meters, using a SOFEC Spread Mooring System and will be able to store around 2 million barrels of crude oil. “We are extremely honored and proud to be selected to provide the FEED services for an FPSO for the UARU project,” commented Ta k e s h i K a n a m o r i , President and CEO of MODEC. “We are equally proud of our robust track record of successful project deliveries in the South America region, and we look forward to cooperating closely with the client and its partners to make this project a success.” The FPSO will be MODEC’s first for use in Guyana, however it will be the 18th FPSO/FSO vessel delivered by MODEC for use in South America.

Oil Blocks auction...

Gov’t. putting more wood into fire as US$9B audits of Exxon still pending - Patterson With a current manpower shortage at the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) hampering the audit of expenses by oil companies, the Shadow Minister of Natural Resources, David Patterson believes the Government of Guyana (GoG) is only adding more wood to the fire by failing to

first plug the gap before increasing the burdens of the agency.

Presently, Guyana is yet to complete the audit of oil m a j o r E x x o n M o b i l ’s expenses that were incurred during the period 1999 and 2017. Those bills amount to US$1.6 billion, which Guyana is expected to pay.

Meanwhile, another review of the company’s expenses amounting to US$7.3 billion is yet to be completed. Those costs, according to Exxon, were incurred during the period 2018 and 2020.

Notably, the two audits mean that Guyana is yet to verify US$8.9 billion being claimed by the company.

In an exclusive interview with Patterson yesterday, the former Minister of Public Infrastructure noted that the revelation by the GRA boss, Godfrey Statia is very “stressing”. He explained that since the establishment of the Natural Resources Fund (NRF) the administration indicated that the GRA along with the Audit Office of Guyana would be scrutinizing the expenses of the oil companies, however both institutions lack the required staff to complete this fundamental task.

Noting the complaint that trained specialists are being snatched by the petroleum companies, Patterson underscored that the country remains grossly underprepared for the management and oversight of the new US-billion dollar sector. In addition to the revenue agency being unprepared, the Opposition member flagged that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also lacks the technical staff it requires to regulate the industry, even as the country presses ahead with the auction of 14 new

PAGE 15

oil blocks.

Patterson explained, “The Natural Resources Minister reported to the Natural Resource Committee about two weeks ago, that the first audit is back with GRA for them to go through it. Now they are understaffed, they can’t even get to that and every single day, every single second Exxon is racking up more expenses which they will claim is cost recoverable.”

In sharing what he believes is a short term solution to the issue, the former Minister said Guyana should now move to import the skills needed. He urged, “We can’t wait any longer for the agency to get up to speed. Things are moving too quickly, the country is losing too much money and Exxon is milking our unpreparedness.”

Further to that, he urged that government must continuously train Guyanese so that the country would be able to effectively audit the oil companies operating offshore.

He reasoned, “I think we have at least 3,000 graduates out of University every year in all disciplines. We should be selecting at least 10 of them and send them to do a Masters or some form of specialized training. You could have done accountancy at U.G, you could have done any related subject and then you do the specialized training so this question of us not being prepared is a no longer a major issue.”

Patterson pointed out that he moved an amendment to the Petroleum Act in the National Assembly to increase the funding for capacity building since he believes Guyana has the requisite raw materials to get

the job done. This was ultimately defeated in Parliament, along with several other proposed changes to the legislation.

“There is no way you can say we cannot afford to send them to wherever they need to go to get specialization so just like anywhere else in the world, you put them on a contract for three years and if they want to move on after, we can do that,” he said. The Shadow Minister of Natural Resources believes this process would ensure that the country is outfitted with the required number of trained specialists.

More wood into fire Patterson told Kaieteur News that the country should not move to entertain more oil companies through the auction of 14 new oil blocks offshore until the human resource gap is plugged.

According to him, “We should not even be heading to an auction in the absence of the required manpower we need to conduct these critical audits. We are so far behind in every area, we can’t get Exxon audited after they have been here since 1999 when they got their first license, and they can’t be audited now in 2023. For five years now we are producing oil and can’t get the company audited.”

Patterson argued that ExxonMobil is currently producing oil from two of the projects in the Stabroek Block, with a third likely to commence production before the end of the year.

Moreover, an application for the fifth offshore development is pending approval at the EPA. To this end, the former Minister argued, “Just with what we have, we are so far behind.

Why are we pushing to get more when we can’t even fix what we have at the moment? I think that we are unprepared and I think that we should sort out these issues before.”

He stressed, “we have to sort out things, if not we will just end up like one of those failed states with all the resources and nobody to extract it...while the country is saddled with debt and crime...we haven’t sorted out those simple problems but we are still trying to put more wood into the fire.”

Human resource shortage at GRA During a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meeting on July 31, 2023, (Continued on page 16)

Kaieteur News

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From page 15 Commissioner General of the GRA, Godfrey Statia explained that a key unit established to review the expenses of oil companies operating in the country is presently grossly understaffed, with the agency anticipating that the gap will be plugged in a few years’ time.

The tax chief noted that while 31 employees are on roll, 65 persons are required for the job. As such, he underscored that the Cost Recovery Unit lacks most of the manpower needed to conduct reviews of the petroleum companies.

He was keen to point out the GRA has seen an increased presence of petroleum operators and contractors, with the agency still trying to catch up.

In 2019, Statia said the agency had 15 trained personnel in this department; however, it has now grown to 31, with at least 34 more employees needed.

Back then, 121 petroleum

TUESDAY Oil sector drowning in secrecy, blatant mismanagement …as PPP walks back on Manifesto promises - Opposition The political Opposition in Guyana believes the oil and gas sector is being blatantly managed by the government, with the industry drowning in secrecy as the administration now walks back on its promises made during the 2020 Elections campaign.

In an interview with Kaieteur News on Monday, Economic Advisor to the Leader of the Opposition and Spokesperson on Oil and Gas matters, Elson Low outlined that despite making a plethora of promises to the Guyanese population for better management of the petroleum industry, government has failed to act in the interest of its people.

Low noted that the government

companies. To this end, he said, “The government must support the GRA if Guyana is to fully benefit from its oil resources.”

No transparency The Opposition believes that the oil sector is drowning in secrecy under the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) –led government, as it has been managing the affairs of this sector behind closed doors. Of critical importance are the expenses being racked up by the oil companies on a daily basis. These bills , though s ubmitted to government monthly are kept away from the public.

In its Manifesto, the PPP said it would “ensure that expenditures are transparently determined and go through the Parliamentary process.” It is not clear whether this was specific to the expenses of oil companies or expenditure relating to the use of funds in the Natural Resource Fund (NRF). However, the Opposition believes this is a major letdown, as there is no transparency when it comes to any

Sunday August 20, 2023

newly approved Petroleum Activities Bill reserves the right for government to engage in direct negotiations for the nation’s oil blocks despite the PPP promising to “ensure that blocks are competitively tendered/ auctioned.”

Low explained, “Our position is that no direct negotiations should be done without first approaching Parliament for approval of the terms of the negotiation.”

He went on to point out that the new legislation vests the Minister with excessive powers, even though its manifesto says the regulatory framework must be “independent of politicians.”

So far, the administration has updated the decades-old Petroleum legislation to provide a modern framework for the management of the sector. It has also drafted two new Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs) that will not however govern the resource-rich Stabroek Block. Additionally, government passed a new Natural

A section of the PPP’s 2020 Elections Manifesto companies were operating in the country, however it has now increased to more than 350, with this number also still climbing.

In the meantime, the Commissioner General said GRA has been conducting “selective audits” with the tax body concentrating its efforts on clawing back the largest return. In addition to that, he said, “We have to use external accountants to do the cost recovery audit and we work along with them and we utilize their analysis and their findings to guide us in our examination and review of the accounts that would have been submitted by the oil and gas players.”

See link for more details. https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.c om/2023/08/02/oil-companiesstealing-gra-trained-auditors-withbig-statia-tells-parliamentarycommittee/

has failed the country by not raking in more revenue out of the Stabroek Block Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with the ExxonMobil led consortium. He reminded that the Party promised to “immediately engage the oil and gas companies in better contract administration/ renegotiation.” Be that as it may, Low pointed out, “The manifesto promises renegotiation but the government has not raised a single additional dollar of revenue because it refuses to even engage the holders of Stabroek Block interests.”

F u r t h e r, t h e E c o n o m i s t explained that the PPP in its 2020 Manifesto also committed to “training thousands of Guyanese” to manage the sector, however government has failed to deliver on this too as the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) for instance is still finding it difficult to train locals to conducts audits of the oil

oil related expenses.

According to Low, “The government’s refusal to release cost oil audits or to commit to a timeline for their completion and release also violates their manifesto promises since they said they would hold oil companies accountable and verify expenditures.”

Additionally, he noted, “There is a lack of specificity as to what exactly oil revenues are being spent on, which also violates their commitment to transparency.”

He was referring to the circumstances under which revenue from the oil and gas sector is being transferred to the public purse without a clear outline of what “national development priorities” are being funded through that source.

While still arguing the lack of transparency in the management of the sector, Low highlighted that the

Resources Fund (NRF) Act in 2021 to manage the revenues garnered from oil and gas.

Low was asked whether he believes the government should be commended for these strides. In response, he noted, “A bad law is worse than no law. That’s our core concern in several areas; so no, we don’t give them any credit for that.”

He pointed out, “One of the reasons Guyanese are not benefiting from oil resources is because the PPP has consistently broken its promises. As an example, they promised to lower the cost of living. By recovering money from even the first audit of Exxon, each Guyanese household could have benefited from hundreds of thousands of dollars in cost-of-living relief. On the other hand, by demonstrating little regard for such accountability, going forward Guyanese are left with little hope of progress in their daily

Opposition Economist & Oil and Gas spokesperson, Elson Low lives.”

Couple found shot dead in suspected murder/suicide A couple was early Monday morning found shot dead in a vehicle along a trail at Long Creek, Linden-Soesdyke Highway in a suspected murder/suicide.

Dead are Ajay Budhan, a 26year-old farmer of Long Creek and Ashley Singh, 18, of Soesdyke.

Reports are the incident occurred sometime between 00:30 hrs and 06:30 hrs yesterday.

Police in Divisional ‘4’ B are investigating the couple’s death.

According to the investigators, Budhan was a licensed firearm holder of a semi-automatic 12gauge shotgun and the owner of a w h i t e To y o t a Tu n d r a w i t h registration number GAD 8403.

In a statement, police said that at around 00:30hrs, the couple reportedly left a resort located at Hillfoot, Linden/Soesdyke Highway, and at around 06:30hrs a 23-year-old man of Long Creek claimed he was riding a motorcycle along the trail when he saw the white Tundra parked on the northern side of a trail with its lights on and what appeared to be a bullet hole in the right-side front door glass.

Upon seeing this, the man made a report to the police station.

According to the police, upon arrival at the scene, they found the lifeless body of Singh slumped in the right-side front seat with what appeared to be a gunshot entry wound on the right-side neck and an exit wound to the left side neck and shoulder. They further reported that the body of Budhan was seen on the ground; face up on the left side of the vehicle, with a gunshot wound to the right side of his head.

To the right of his body was his shotgun.

Police revealed that the shotgun was examined, and a round was found in the breach. There were 18 empty 12-gauge casings and nine live 12-gauge cartridges recovered (Continued on page 57)

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 20, 2023

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BLUNTNESS ON INDECENCY! In case you haven’t heard, please be informed that as part of our continued effort to channel positive changes in our country, our publisher, Mr. Glenn Lall, has dedicated our Page Seven to be “BLUNT” about on-going indecency in our land that should matter, not only to us at this publication, but the entire nation.

SUNDAY – August 13, 2023 Gas-to-energy Anybody with a question must join a line.

Those waiting for an answer must go home and come back.

The PPP isn't answering tough gas-to-energy questions.

On the most touted Wales project, Jagdeo and Ashni Singh lose their mouth.

Both dig a hole and bury themselves, to hide from gasto-energy questions.

Guyanese had better watch out that they are not buried next.

MONDAY – August 14, 2023 Is GUYSUCO a secret society?

Guysuco's name only comes up when billions are needed.

Or when production targets prove elusive.

Or when management disappears under a carpet or in the toilet.

Or when it is time for more billions.

Is Guysuco a PPP slush fund?

Or is it a secret society run by the PPP Govt.

TUESDAY – August 15, 2023 Money like rice

Money like rice in Guyana…

By the millions and billions of grains.

One ministry after the other is fattened.

Billions for this one, billions for the other!

It is one big bacchanal in PPP ranks!

Fun and games, singing and dancing…

The people watch, will only take so much!

WEDNESDAY – August 16, 2023 Road accidents We are in a race against time…

Guyanese are killing each other on the roads!

The roads have become a busy graveyard.

If not a graveyard, then a moving hospital, Traffic training, traffic cops.

Yet the speeding, the madness never stops!

THURSDAY – August 17, 2023 $33 billion more for Public Works The self-enrichers must be celebrating at Public Works.

They cronies in the cabal are having Xmas in August.

Like GuySuCo, Public Works is now a sinkhole.

Both devour billions, like

rodents.

Both gnaw and eat away at the treasury.

Both could be places of great skullduggeries.

FRIDAY – August 18, 2023 Debt service going up The World Bank declared Guyana a high-income country.

Thanks for nothing, now that we have to come up with more something.

Much higher interest rates will bend our backs.

Don't worry says PPP big shots, we have the money.

Guyanese are the ones to bear the burden, the PPP tasting the honey.

It is borrow, spend, and steal.

Guyanese taxpayers have to deal with how that feels.

SATURDAY – August 19, 2023 More for sugar Sugar is sweet, but only for big people at GUYSUCO. Four plus billion before, now another one and a half.

Sugar is sick, but this is how Guyana still get the shaft.

Sugar is sweet, but only PPP cronies have teeth.

And to the bank is the direction of their feet.

Kaieteur News

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Sunday August 20, 2023

Govt. expends close to $500M to procure Cutter Head Dredge ...hundreds of farmers, residents across the country to benefit from improved drainage Agriculture Minister Hon. Zulfikar Mustapha on Saturday commissioned a cutter head dredge at Little Diamond on the East Bank of Demerara.

According to a release from the Ministry of Agriculture, the dredge, a first of its kind for the ministry, and was procured by the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) at a cost of $497,464,600. The dredge will be used to desilt outfall channels and improve drainage systems across the country.

Minister Mustapha in his address said that the newly commissioned piece of equipment was a testament to the government's commitment to delivering quality services through state-of-the-art equipment to residents and farmers across

the country.

“This cutter head dredge will not only improve the drainage in the residential area, it will also contribute tremendously to production in the farming communities.

We have hundreds of outfalls around the country and this piece of equipment will help us to clear those outfalls e a s i l y. B a s e d o n t h e specifications, we will now take about two weeks to clear an outfall where as it would usually take four weeks or more. Not only will the residential areas benefit, but the farming communities will also benefit. Agriculture is now the bedrock of our country. As a government, our vision is to develop this sector,” Minister Mustapha explained.

Chairman of the NDIA, Lionel Wordsworth noted

A section of the cutter head dredge that although the idea of acquiring a cutter head dredge was conceptualized some time back, it was only in 2021 that the government approved funds for it to be procured.

“This project was conceptualized a while ago but in 2021 we got our approved budget to move forward. It later went out for public tendering and through a competitive bidding process, a contract was later awarded. I'm happy to say that the entire design, supervision, fabrication, and

putting together of equipment was done by Guyanese engineers and staff. This piece of equipment is the first of its kind for NDIA wherebyit's a selfpropelled vessel equipped with the component to do the dredging. This will allow us to be more responsive to address the concerns of dredging outfall channels,” he explained.

The dredge is outfitted with a global positioning system (GPS), life-saving and fire-protection equipment, propulsion and

Minister Mustapha powering up the machinery

steering systems, and operating equipment which includes two excavators, a cutter head and engine, a generator, living quarters for nine operators, etc.

The cutter head was designed to be fitted on a short-reach excavator, which increases the mobility of the equipment, allowing it to have a wider range of operations as well as increased efficiency of the cutter head while excavating material. The cutter head has a suction bore of 250mm and

a discharge pipe of 250mm.

Driven by another 400HP Cummins engine, the pump speed can reach up to 900rpm allowing for a mixture of speed and cutter discharge of 1250m3/h at water head of 20m.

Back in May 2021, the NDIA signed a contract with S. Jagmohan Hardware Supplies for the supply of the cutter head dredge. At the time, Minister Mustapha said the products that were to be provided were seen as critical.

Sunday August 20, 2023

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

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Sunday August 20, 2023

Govt. would not hand over oil sector management to Parliament ...Opposition would try to cripple the industry or delay operations – VP Jagdeo

By Kiana Wilburg T h e G u y a n a Government has rejected a number of legislative amendments by the political opposition which sought to bring the oil sector under

parliamentary scrutiny. It believes such a move would expose the multi-billion dollar sector to unnecessary delay tactics, and in more extreme scenarios, attempts to halt industry operations.

This was the rationale

offered by Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo at a recent press conference.

Kaieteur News had asked the chief policymaker to explain whether he saw any merit in some of the o p p o s i t i o n ’s p r o p o s e d

amendments to the Petroleum Activities Bill which is awaiting presidential assent to become the nation’s new oil law. Chief among the o p p o s i t i o n ’ s recommendations was to

Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo have the Natural Resources Minister seek parliamentary approval for any oil block to be awarded through direct negotiations with international oil companies or countries.

But the Vice President said bluntly that the government saw no merit in that amendment or any of the 32 others brought by the political opposition. “They were all half-baked, all n o n s e n s e , ” t h e Vi c e President told reporters last week Thursday.

The chief policy maker for the oil sector said, “They want to manage the oil and gas sector from the parliament; that is what they want to do… and you know what will come out of it…now for the public show, they want to grandstand like they are the conscience of the sector, when they are the same people ExxonMobil walked all over; Exxon and the other oil companies walked all over them,” the Vice President said.

He said the political Opposition has no moral right to speak on such matters since it was responsible for condemning Guyana to honouring one of the worst oil contracts in the country’s history. That contract pertains to the Production Sharing Agreement signed in 2016 for the Stabroek Block with Exxon and two other oil companies. It is criticized r e g i o n a l l y a n d internationally for having some of the most lopsided provisions which allow Exxon and its partners to walk away with the lion’s share of Guyana’s oil resources.

With such a track record, Jagdeo alluded it would be

foolish to have critical sections of the management of the oil sector make its way to parliament for the opposition to have any say.

“You think we are going to hand over the management of the oil and gas sector to the parliament where the grandstanding takes place?

They would shut it down for vindictive purposes. You think we are going to hand it over and give them veto power almost? It’s all a show,” The Vice President said as he questioned the opposition’s sincerity for good governance.

Apart from having the award of oil blocks subjected to parliamentary scrutiny, the political Opposition had expressed fears about the extensive powers awarded to the Minister of Natural Resources, in that he has too much discretion and may abuse same. Notably, the Bill allows the minister to be in charge of the licensing of petroleum exploration, development, production, transportation, and storage operations, including the geological storage of carbon dioxide.

The new legislation also states that the minister can delegate some of his powers/duties to an agency but revoke those delegations at any time. He is also allowed to review and apply any variations he deems necessary to decisions made by his appointees.

Jagdeo assured however that the law is clear about how the minister is to exercise his powers, while noting that in instances where it matters, Cabinet will provide guidance.

“In most cases where it matters, he has to (act) with Continued on page 61

Sunday August 20, 2023

Kaieteur News

s l l a f r e t Wa The

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Finding fulfillment in helping people in relationships thrive Guyanese-born coach,

Michelle Cumberbatch Coach Michelle during one of training sessions.

is a ‘Special Person’

Young entrepreneur, Mia Roopnarine

25 graduate from AWE Entrepreneurial Training for Women in Region 10 AWE Region 10 Graduating Class with Speakers.

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Kaieteur News

Sunday August 20, 2023

This week's beauty is athletic enthusiast and the reigning Miss Bartica Emancipation 2023, Tytheon Jones.

In addition to loving sports, Tytheon is currently focused on obtaining a degree in Psychology and Sociology. Her interests include playing football, athletics and dancing.

Today, Tytheon shares her favourite quote by famed African President, Nelson Mandela "Honesty, sincerity, simplicity, humility, pure generosity, absence of vanity, readiness to serve others - qualities which are within easy reach of every soul are the foundation of one's spiritual life."

Tytheon Jones Miss Bartica Emancipation 2023

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 20, 2023

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Billboard Music Guide: new Music from Quavo, Hozier, Doechii, Addison Rae and More Check out the must-hear releases of the week (Billboard) Billboard’s Music Guide serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond.

This week, Quavo pays homage while moving forward, Hozier takes us to church (and the Inferno), and Doechii wants you to dance at all costs. Check out all of this week’s picks below: Quavo, Rocket Power Quavo’s nephew and Migos co-leader, Takeoff, was nicknamed “The Rocket” — and less than a year after the rapper was killed at the age of 28, his family member and group mate is drawing upon his thoughts and i n s t i n c t s a s inspiration for his new solo album. Parts of Rocket Power are racked with grief, including the soulful highlight “Hold Me” and the memoryflooded title track, although Quavo also makes ample room in the sprawling fulllength to celebrate life, as on the Future-assisted hit “Turn Yo Clic Up” and the crackling “Stain” with BabyDrill; ultimately, the album depicts a longrunning rap star in a more

complex light, and immediately makes the case a s Q u a v o ’s b e s t s o l o project.

Hozier, Unreal Unearth When Hozier revealed that his third studio album — w h i c h f o l l o w s 2 0 1 9 ’s Wasteland, Baby!, the first No. 1 album of his career — would be inspired by Dante’s Inferno and include passages sung in Irish Gaelic, fears that the “Take Me To Church” singer-

Young” to the gargantuan Brandi Carlile duet “Damage Gets Done” to the restrained grace of closer “First Light.”

Addison Rae

Doechii, “Booty Drop” “Shawty, what it is? / Bring that ass to the Doechii club,” Doechii commands on “Booty Drop,” a late bid for the summer’s most kinetic dance song. The Tampa native has shown promise as songwriter was turning a recording artist and inscrutable were only performer over the past year natural. Yet Unreal Unearth — signing with TDE, not only showcases the scoring an opening spot on strength of Hozier’s voice Doja Cat and Ice Spice’s and songwriting, but also u p c o m i n g t o u r , a n d r e m a i n s a c c e s s i b l e t o mesmerizing audiences hardcore fans and casual alt- whenever she hits the stage rock listeners, from the — but her latest single, a snappy single “Eat Your gleefully explicit take on the

Jersey club style that never stops moving, might be the moment where her appeal spills over into the mainstream once and for all.

Addison Rae, AR EP Although Addison Rae’s newly released EP rescues a handful of tracks intended for the influencer ’s n e v e r- r e l e a s e d debut album, AR does not sound like a collection of odds and ends: instead, the five songs engross the listener with fresh melodies and bursts of personality, showcasing the 22year-old as a quick study within this brand of pop. “2 Die 4” with Charli XCX is the highlight — marvel at the mini-hooks jam-packed into that chorus! — but the whole project is worth bookmarking as the potential start of something big.

Anitta, Funk Generaton: A Favela Love Story When Anitta released her single “Funk Rave” in June, the Latin music star hinted that a deeper dive into Brazilian funk music would be both a way to honor her roots and a

Quavo rewarding sonic exploration; with Funk Generation: A Favela Love Story, a three-song project that follows up “Funk Rave” with two new heaters, Anitta has more or less confirmed her suggestions.

“Casi Casi” and “Used to Be” adopt different approaches — the former a chattering sashay, the latter a slow-building reflection — but Anitta excels at both tempos, and has us hoping for even more to come.

Editor’s Pick: FIFTY FIFTY feat.

Sabrina Carpenter, “Cupid Twin Ver.” Think of FIFTY FIFTY’s new version “Cupid,”

featuring Sabrina Carpenter on the remix, as a wellearned victory lap for both artists: the K-pop group crashed the upper reaches of the Hot 100 chart with the undeniable sing-along, while Carpenter is a little over a year removed from Emails I Can’t Send, one of the strongest pop albums of 2022, and its viral hit “Nonsense.”

Together, FIFTY FIFTY and Carpenter reinvent a rock-solid hit ever so slightly, as Carpenter slides into the second verse and handles that sugary “I gave a second chance to Cupiiiiiid!” hook with aplomb.

Anitta

Hozier

FIFTY FIFTY

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Kaieteur News

Sunday August 20, 2023

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 20, 2023

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Haiti: a peaceful multinational approach, not a warlike force

By Sir Ronald Sanders

(The writer is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States and the Organization of American States. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London and Massey College in the University of Toronto. The views expressed are entirely his own.)

Haiti needs “to get its political and governance act together”. That is among the important messages that UN Secretary General, António Guterres, delivered to the UN Security Council in a letter on August 14, 2023.

Guterres’ letter was a response to the Security C o u n c i l ’s r e q u e s t f o r proposals to tackle the security and humanitarian crises in Haiti. While the Secretary General repeats his call made to the Security Council in July 2023 “to authorise the immediate deployment of a robust international security force” to help Haiti’s police fight criminal gangs, the significance of this latest letter is the importance of settling the vexed issue of the country’s governance.

Guterres emphasized that “Without a meaningful reform of the political system, Haiti will continue to face these cycles of crises and instability emanating from weak political representation and disenfranchisement, a political climate, and fragile and politicized state institutions”.

Failed and corrupt governance has been at the root of Haiti’s poverty, economic backwardness, and inadequate physical and social infrastructure. From these circumstances gangs were formed, first as tools of rival politicians and business oligarchs, and then as a force to take advantage of a situation of totally collapsed governance structures and systems.

Haiti has no legislature; its Court system is utterly dysfunctional; and many of Haiti’s political parties and civil society organizations have declared no confidence in the self-appointed government of Haiti which has shown no inclination to establish a transitional government that genuinely shares power and represents a broad cross-section of the society. The situation in Haiti is dire, and the people of Haiti deserve to be

liberated from the persistent deprivation and suffering that they are forced to endure. But theproposed “deployment of a specialized multinational force enabled by military assets, coordinated with the national police”, should be at the request of an agreed transitional government if it is to enjoy popular backing.

As the organization, Human Rights Watch, observed: “The Haitian government has failed to protect people from the violence of these criminal groups, many of which have alleged ties with senior political officials, economic actors, and police officers.

International security support may be required, but it will most likely only be e ff e c t i v e w i t h a n e w transitional government and as part of a multi-faceted response with strong human rights safeguards”.

Such a transitional government is necessary, bearing in mind that many Haitian organizations believe that any successful external force would end up, intentionally or otherwise, maintaining the present unelected government of Dr. Ariel Henry.

If success means getting rid of gangs by “active use of force in targeted police operations against heavily armed gangs”, as Secretary General Guterres described it, then what is really meant is a war against the gangs that are now entrenched throughout Haiti. Such a war would not result in casualties only among gang leaders and members.

It would also include fatalities among communities, which are used as protective shields in any resistance to “active use of force”. The deaths of combatants from any multinational forcecould also be considerable.

The governments of the Bahamas and Jamaica have understandably offered to join an external force. Both

countries face challenges from Haitians seeking refuge, leading to substantial expenditures on border protection, repatriation efforts, and containment.

This direct impact underscores their vested i n t e r e s t i n H a i t i ’s stabilization.

The governments of Canada and the United States, arguably having a similar vested interest, have yet to express intentions to contribute police or soldiers.

Instead, they encourage countries in Africa and Latin America, and the Caribbean to do so, providing logistical support and finance for operations.

Apart from The Bahamas and Jamaica, no government has made a formal decision to commit troops.

Even Kenya is awaiting a study before declaring its position.

To s o m e e x t e n t , reluctance stems from the fact that this would not be a “peacekeeping force”, operating with a mandate from the UN Security Council. Instead, it would be a force made up of willing countries, undertaking the “recapture of areas under gang control”. Such a mission is easier said than done.

The gangs were already well-armed, violent, and accustomed to confrontation and killing before the muchpublicized discussions, concerning the deployment of a multinational force.

Some of the gangs are linked to organized criminal enterprises and they would have been fortified with more powerful weaponry than they already possessed.

Guterres pointed out to the Security Council that the “gangs have become more structured, federated and autonomous [-] consolidating control over the population”. Thegangs also have a vested interest in preserving themselves and the criminal activity from which they derive money and power; they will not

slink away with their tails between their legs. They will fight, viciously.

The argument has been advanced that, integral to stability in Haiti, are general elections at which voters will elect the president of the country and representatives to the legislature and municipalities.

The argument continues that to mount such elections requires Haiti to be secure.

Therefore, getting rid of gangs and establishing a functional police force are compulsory. But even if a multinational force is constructed and it entered Haiti at the request of the unelected Prime Minister, Dr. Ariel Henry, eliminating gangs after a bloody confrontation, the fundamental issue of Haiti’s

governance would r e m ain . E l e c t i o n s , organised on y by Dr. Henry’s government, would not satisfy any - other than his own political party - that such elections would be organized, administered, and conducted to produce free and fair results, particularly if they come after a period of violent conflict.

The existing disaffection and hostility would explode into protests and demonstrations.

Given all this, Haiti might now best be served by a multinational team of negotiators and facilitators made up of persons from countries with leverage and others that enjoy the goodwill of Haitian players.

Such a team could work with

Sir. Ronald Sanders

the various parties in Haiti to establish a transitional government that would have the authority to interface with and make credible requests of, the international community, includingforclearly definedpoliceassistance.

The team might also begin to explore with the main gang leaders the terms of dismantling their organisations and laying down their weapons with the aim of preventing widespread violence and bloodshed.

Responses and previous c o m m e n t a r i e s : www.sirronaldsanders.com

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Kaieteur News

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Sunday August 20, 2023

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The EG.5 COVID variant is spiking in the U.S. Is it time to mask up?

This latest strain of SARS-CoV-2 is on the rise across the globe and sending more people to the hospital. “We should take all of these subvariants very seriously.”

(National Geographic) A highly infectious, new COVID variant is spreading fast, barely three months after the World Health Organization declared that COVID-19 was no longer a global health emergency.

EG.5, a descendant of a previous XBB strain of Omicron, was first spotted in Indonesia on February 17 and has been spreading steadily since. Infections began surging in midJune—when a recordbreaking number of summer travelers took to the skies and unprecedented high temperatures around the Northern Hemisphere forced people to gather indoors, enabling the virus to spread easily.

That alarmed the WHO and led them to elevate EG.5 to a “variant of interest” on August 9, alongside other highly contagious Omicron variants such as XBB.1.5 and XBB.1.16.

“Based on the experience that we have from the previous waves, we can project EG.5 is definitely a big deal,” says Rajendram Rajnarayanan, a computational biologist at the New York Institute of Technology campus in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

In the United States, EG.5 is now the most prevalent strain of SARSCoV-2 and has replaced other XBB variants (XBB.1.5, XBB.1.16, XBB.1.9), according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This variant is now causing more than 17 percent of all reported COVID-19 cases in the country. The number of hospitalizations has risen by 12.5 percent in the past week to roughly 9,000 cases.

EG.5 is also causing upticks in COVID-19 cases worldwide. The number of new COVID cases between July 10 to August 6—nearly 1.5 million—is 80 percent higher compared to the previous 28 days. EG.5 has also been spotted in at least 51 other countries including in those with high vaccination rates: Canada, Japan, South Korea, and China.

“We should take all of these subvariants very seriously,” says Angela

The N-95 mask, pictured here, is the most basic requirement for health -care workers to protect themselves from being infected by a COVID-19 positive patient. The biggest difference between the N-95 and other face masks is the material is able to filter out the droplets and aerosols carrying the virus. (PHOTOGRAPH BY ROGER LEMOYNE/REDUX) Rasmussen, a virologist at Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization in Saskatoon, Canada.

Using testing kits, when symptoms suggest it could be COVID-19, and masking up and staying home if COVID positive, can slow the spread of the new variant, says Rajnarayanan. “We need to minimize the spread of the virus as much as we can.”

A more contagious variant EG.5 is an offshoot of the XBB branch of the Omicron variant, which first arrived in the Fall of 2022. XBB viruses are the fastestspreading SARS-CoV-2 variants with the power to overcome immunity gained from vaccination or breakthrough infections of prior Omicron subvariants.

EG.5 differs from its XBB parent by a single change within its spike protein, which protrudes from the surface of the virus. When the spike binds to the ACE2 protein receptors on human cells the virus is able to enter the human nasal passage and lungs.

The majority of EG.5 variants sequenced so far also carry a second mutation in their spike protein; these have been named EG.5.1.

A preliminary study from Japan shows that EG.5 is

about 20 percent more contagious than even XBB.1.5. This research, led

by Kei Sato, a virologist at the University of Tokyo, has not yet been peer reviewed.

Tracking the variant While EG.5 is still designated a step below variants of concern such as Delta and the Omicron parent, not many positive samples containing EG.5 are currently being sequenced as most people are using athome tests; further, many states are no longer required to report non-hospitalized cases. This deficiency of genomic surveillance means the scientists and the WHO now have insufficient data to fully assess the impact of prevailing variants.

In the United States, wastewater monitoring and hospitalization data, along with genomic sequences from states such as New Yo r k , C a l i f o r n i a , a n d Florida, provide an indication of the state of pandemic in the U.S. “Like election projections and exit polls, we can pick some bellwether situations that are still sequencing well,” says Rajnarayanan who aggregates the data from all available sources to visualize the daily prevalence of circulating variants. The virus

concentration present in samples of wastewater across the United States have tripled since the end of June.

Can EG.5 escape the immune system?

It’s too early to know if any of the changes in the spike protein can help EG.5 evade prior immunity.

Scientists are racing to figure that out.

The study from Japan shows that although EG.5 is more contagious than XBB.1.5. It also shows that synthetic versions created in the lab were less successful in infecting cells in petri dish.

While contagiousness of a virus depends on its spread from one infected person to others; the infectivity of virus measures how many cells the virus can infect in a petri dish.

If the Japanese study is correct, the faster spread of the new EG.5 variant is probably not because these viruses are more infectious.

The study also shows that EG.5 can still be suppressed by the immunity gained from a previous infection by XBB subvariant.

However, Sato’s results conflict with another preliminary analysis of a synthetic EG.5 virus created in the lab of Yunlong Cao of Peking University in China, which suggests the new

variant might be able to evade prior immunity from the original Omicron BA.5 or XBB. A second preliminary study by Cao, also not yet peer reviewed, shows that EG.5-like spikes created in the labsynthesized viruses help them dodge or weaken XBB.1.5 antibodies.

Only more data and peer scrutiny will determine which conclusion is correct.

Are the current boosters effective?

Experts agree that current vaccines and the proposed fall booster will prevent serious complications from COVID19, even if the new variants might weaken them a little.

“Many people assume that vaccines prevent infection,” says Sato. They don’t. “The main purpose of vaccination is to reduce the severity” of disease.

The new COVID-19 booster vaccine is designed to target XBB.1.5, which was the prevailing variant until recently. The boosters are expected in early October, according to the CDC director.

“EG.5 is not that different from the immune system’s point of view from XBB.1.5,” says Rasmussen.

Despite some differences in the spike protein, EG.5 and other Omicron variants are more or less similar to each other. “XBB.1.5 monovalent booster is going to have broad protection against EG.5 or whatever XBB derived subvariant would be circulating in fall.”

So, that means the booster dose will probably still work well in preventing severe disease. “The most

important part is that a booster can keep us healthy, till winter is gone,” says Cao. Is this more dangerous?

WHO says there is no indication yet that EG.5 causes more severe disease.

Based on the available evidence, WHO thinks that public health risk posed by EG.5 is currently similar to that of other recent COVID variants of interest.

However, because EG.5 is undoubtedly spreading fast and may even potentially dodge previous immunity, it can still upend the trajectory of the pandemic through a fall surge in cases leading to higher risks for vulnerable populations. For example, the number of COVID cases among the nursing home residents has continued to climb since the end of May, and are now nearing the levels seen at peak of summer 2021—when Delta was the dominant variant.

People who are generally at higher risk—the immunocompromised, those with some pre-existing comorbidity, or people who are either unvaccinated or are not up to date on their vaccines—are still vulnerable to a highly contagious variant, such as EG.5, says Rasmussen.

For example, the rise in hospitalizations in New York City, are mostly in the unvaccinated, according to t h e N e w Yo r k C i t y Department of Health and Mental Hygiene data.

“The most vulnerable need to be lining up to get the vaccines” [if they haven’t gotten one], and the new booster when it is available,” says Rajnarayanan.

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Tips for Better Sleep, Straight from the Experts Make sleepless nights a thing of the past with these sleep hygiene tips (Shape) When it comes to sleep, there are seemingly two types of people in this world: people who find that sleep comes easily and have no difficulties sticking to a consistent sleep schedule.

Others, well, just don’t.

More specifically, about 70 million Americans suffer from chronic sleep problems, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The onset of a pandemic hasn’t helped matters.

Researchers have noticed an uptick in sleep disorders during the pandemic, according to the American Psychological Association.

“The pandemic and political unrest of the past few years have wreaked havoc on our already fragile human psyche,” says Marcie Claybon, M.D., a boardcertified internal medicine physician and medical director at BIÂN. Resulting changes in your sleep could be causing a variety of issues. Not getting enough quality sleep can hinder cognition, concentration, productivity, emotional and physical wellbeing, says Allison Siebern, Ph.D., L.Ac., C.B.S.M, the head sleep science advisor at Proper.

Of course, even the best of sleepers have their restless nights, but if you find that no matter how hard you try, you’re unable to get a good night’s sleep, then rest (pun intended) assured that there are some things you can do to help regulate your schedule.

“Restful, high-quality sleep is dependent upon the ability to achieve a state of calmness and emotional release of chronic tension,” says Dr. Claybon. Ahead, learn how to strike that balance and get better sleep with expertapproved tips.

How to Get a Good Night’s Sleep What constitutes a “good night’s sleep” differs for everyone. However, typically a successful night of shut-eye is determined by how restful and rejuvenated an individual feels the next day, says Dr. Claybon.

From a science perspective, a good night’s sleep can be measured by total sleep duration, the extent of interruptions, and the proportion of deeper sleep stages to lighter sleep stages (think: REM sleep versus when you initially fall a s l e e p ) , e x p l a i n s D r.

Claybon. However, there is so much that can influence sleep such as genetics,

Sleep Photo credit: (Getty Images)

demographics, and lifestyle, that it’s very difficult to define what is considered optimal sleep. “Ultimately, even with the most advanced analytical data now at our fingertips, it is how we experience our response to sleep that remains the reliable gold standard here,” says Dr. Claybon.

Stick to a Schedule A lot of people are guilty of revenge bedtime procrastination (i.e. staying up late to do things you didn’t have time for during the day), and unfortunately, delaying your sleep can ruin your chances of quality sleep. It can help to stay consistent with when you wake up as well. “Sleepenhancing lifestyle habits begin the moment we wake up in the morning,” says Dr. Claybon. “Maintenance of relatively consistent wakeup times (even on weekends) and simple exposure to natural sunlight early in the morning can help to stabilize the body’s circadian rhythm patterns.” The recommended amount of sleep for a healthy adult is at least seven hours, reports the Mayo Clinic.

Try going to bed and waking up at the time every day and allotting yourself seven hours to help reinforce your body’s sleep-wake cycle.

Don’t Look at the Clock You know those nights when you can’t fall asleep, when you start counting the number of hours you’ll get if you fall asleep at that hour?

Doing this can create anxiety and stress before going to bed, which is why Siebern advises against looking at your clock at night. “Turn the clock around before going to sleep and avoid the temptation to look at the time throughout the night,” says Siebern.

That said, if you don’t

fall asleep within about 20 minutes, leave your bedroom and do something relaxing, suggests the Mayo Clinic.

Try reading or listening to soothing music and go back to bed when you’re tired.

Create a Restful Environment “Dim bright light exposure one to two hours before bedtime, especially blue light,” says Siebern.

“This way, the bright light won’t confuse the brain signal that regulates our circadian rhythms.”

Te c h n o l o g i c a l d e v i c e s (phones, computers, TVs, and even some lightbulbs) emit blue light, which tend to keep you wired at night. The light from these devices also suppresses the natural production of melatonin, a sleep-inducing hormone, according to the Sleep Foundation.

If you can, try switching to an old-school alarm clock, which eliminates the need to have a phone in the bedroom at all, says Dr. Claybon. “If the light is creeping into the bedroom while the body and mind are seeking to detach from external stimulation, something as simple as an eye mask can promote a better sleep environment,” she adds.

Avoid Certain Foods and Drinks Before Bed Consuming caffeine or alcoholic beverages before bed can prevent you from getting a good night’s sleep.

Caffeine can stay in your body for five to six hours after consumption, sometimes longer for people taking different types of medication, explains Siebern. Because it stays in your system for so long and is a stimulant, it can cause difficulties in the onset of sleep if it’s still in your body come bedtime. “That’s why I

recommend limiting caffeine intake to before 2 p.m,” explains Siebern.

Similarly, if consumed too close to bedtime (think: three to four hours before), alcohol can create fragmented sleep, increased snoring, and delayed onset of REM (deep) sleep, according to Siebern. She also recommends avoiding large meals, especially highcarb, fried, sugary, or spicy ones, because it activates the digestive system, which might disrupt sleep.

Try Supplements “ M e l a t o n i n supplementation can promote circadian balance as well,” says Dr. Claybon.

While your body produces melatonin naturally, taking a supplement can help signal your brain when it’s time for

bed, especially when dealing with certain conditions, such as jet lag, delayed sleepwake phase disorder, or anxiety, reports the National Center of Complementary and Integrative Health. Dr. Claybon recommends taking the supplements an hour or two before bedtime as it doesn’t typically work as quickly in the same way as a sedative. (Here’s what you should know about the safety of taking melatonin nightly over an extended period.)

One option to try is the Hello Bello Sleep Well Melatonin (Buy it, $10, walmart.com), which is tasty and formulated with other sleeppromoting ingredients like chamomile.

Try a Breathing Technique “One of the absolute best means of self-soothing and entrance into a relaxed state is simple, conscious breathwork,” says Dr. Claybon. She recommends one to two seconds of mindful inhalation, followed by five to six seconds of exhalation. “Repeat a few minutes until awareness shifts to only the breaths themselves. This is free,

simple, and often as effective as sedative meds and supplements when done consistently.”

Speak with a Professional If you find that you are consistently having difficulty with getting quality sleep and it’s impacting your daily life, consider speaking with an expert. “Finding the right combination of behavioral changes to optimize one’s sleep may be a challenge w i t h s o m a n y recommendations that float around,” says Siebern, who recommends finding a sleep coach. “Sleep coaching can assist with sorting through one’s sleep issues and developing a plan of action to start moving in a better direction.” You can also meet with your primary care physician to help you identify and treat any underlying causes that are hindering sleep, according to the Mayo Clinic. “[Getting good sleep] is more about quality of life and engaging in the things that we value and gives us purpose,” says Siebern.

“Getting proper sleep helps bring us in that direction.”

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The real story of Queen Charlotte

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This Day in 0 2 . g u A y r Histo Russian revolutionary Leon Compiled by Richard Francois.

(From history.com)

First enslaved Africans arrive in Jamestown, setting the stage for slavery in North America

First set of slaves arriving at Virginia August 20, 1619 On August 20, 1619, ”20 and odd” Angolans, kidnapped by the Portuguese, arrive in the British colony of Virginia and are then bought by English colonists. The arrival of the enslaved Africans in the New World marks a beginning of two and a half centuries of slavery in North America.

Founded at Jamestown in 1607, the Virginia Colony was home to about 700 people by 1619. The first enslaved Africans to arrive in Virginia disembarked at Point Comfort, in what is today known as Fort Monroe. Most of their names, as well as the exact number who remained at Point Comfort, have been lost to history, but much is known about their journey.

They were originally kidnapped by

Portuguese colonial forces, who sent captured members of the native Kongo and Ndongo kingdoms on a forced march to the port of Luanda, the capital of modern-day Angola. From there, they were ordered on the ship San Juan Bautista, which set sail for Veracruz in the colony of New Spain. As was quite common, about 150 of the 350 captives aboard the ship died during the crossing. Then, as it approached its destination, the ship was attacked by two privateer ships, the White Lion and the Treasurer. Crews from the two ships kidnapped up to 60 of the Bautista’s enslaved people. It was the White Lion which docked at Virginia Colony’s Point Comfort and traded some of the prisoners for food on August 20, 1619.

Trotsky assassinated in Mexico August 20, 1940 Exiled Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky is fatally wounded by an ice-axwielding assassin at his compound outside M e x i c o C i t y. T h e k i l l e r — R a m ó n Mercader—was a Spanish communist and probable agent of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.

Trotsky died from his wounds the next day.

Born in the Ukraine of Russian-Jewish parents in 1879, Trotsky embraced Marxism as a teenager and later dropped out of the University of Odessa to help organize the underground South Russian Workers’ Union.

In 1898, he was arrested for his revolutionary activities and sent to prison. In 1900, he was exiled to Siberia.

In 1924, Lenin died, and Joseph Stalin emerged as leader of the USSR. Against Stalin’s stated policies, Trotsky called for a continuing world revolution that would inevitably result in the dismantling of the increasingly bureaucratic Soviet state. He also criticized the new regime for suppressing democracy in the Communist Party and for failing to develop adequate economic planning. In response, Stalin and his supporters launched a propaganda counterattack against Trotsky. In 1925, he was removed from his post in the war commissariat.

One year later, he was expelled from the Politburo and in 1927 from the Communist Party. In January 1928, Trotsky was deported

by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin to Alma-Ata in remote Soviet Central Asia. He lived there in internal exile for a year before being banished

Leon Trotsky from the USSR forever by Stalin.

He was received by the government of Turkey and settled on the island of Prinkipo, where he worked on finishing his autobiography and history of the Russian Revolution. After four years in Turkey, Trotsky lived in France and then Norway and in 1936 was granted asylum in Mexico.

Settling with his family in a suburb of Mexico City, he was found guilty of treason in absentia during Stalin’s purges of his political foes.

He survived a machine gun attack carried out by Stalinist agents, but on August 20, 1940, fell prey to Ramón Mercader, a Spanish communist who had won the confidence of the Trotsky household. The Soviet government denied responsibility, and Mercader was sentenced to 20 years in prison

by Mexican authorities.

Professional football is born Viking 1 launched to Mars

August 20, 1920 On August 20, 1920, seven men, including legendary all-around athlete and football star Jim Thorpe, meet to organize a professional football league at the Jordan and Hupmobile Auto Showroom in Canton, Ohio. The meeting led to the creation of the American Professional Football Conference (APFC), the forerunner to the hugely successful National Football League.

On August 20, 1920, the owners of four Ohio League teams—the Akron Pros, Canton Bulldogs, Cleveland Indians and Dayton Triangles—met to form a new professional league.

Jim Thorpe was nominated as president of the new league, as it was hoped Thorpe’s fame would help the league to be taken seriously.

On September 17, the league met again, changing its short-lived name to the

August 20, 1975 Viking 1, an unmanned U.S. planetary probe, is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a mission to Mars.

On June 19, 1976, the spacecraft entered into orbit around Mars and devoted the next month to imaging the Martian surface with

First set of professional footballers American Professional Football Association (APFA) and officially electing Jim Thorpe as the league’s first president.

The APFA began play on September 26, with the Rock Island Independents of

Illinois defeating a team from outside the league, the St. Paul Ideals, 48-0. A week later, Dayton beat Columbus 14-0 in the first game between two teams from the APFA, the forerunner of the modern NFL.

the purpose of finding an appropriate landing site for its lander. On July 20–the seventh anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing–the Viking 1 lander separated from the orbiter and touched down on the Chryse Planitia region, becoming the first spacecraft to successfully land on the surface of Mars. The same day, the craft sent back the first close-up photographs of the rust-colored Martian surface.

In September 1976, Viking 2–launched only three weeks after Viking 1–entered into orbit around Mars, where it assisted Viking 1 in imaging the surface and also sent down a lander.

During the dual Viking missions, the two orbiters imaged the entire surface of Mars at a resolution of 150 to 300 meters, and the two landers sent back more than 1,400 images of the planet’s surface.

The Menendez brothers murder their parents August 20, 1989 Lyle and Erik Menendez shoot their parents, Jose and Kitty, to death in the den of the family’s Beverly Hills, California, home. They then drove up to Mulholland Drive, where (Continued on page 39)

The Menendez Brothers

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GMSA President wants removal of VAT on locally produced goods, data services

R

amsay Ali, the President of the G u y a n a Manufacturers Services

Association (GMSA), is advocating for the elimination of value-added t a x ( VAT ) o n l o c a l l y

manufactured and agroprocessed products, as well as data services throughout the nation.

In a recent interview, Ali emphasized that numerous locally agro-processed items are still subject to VAT,

despite their local origin. He cited examples such as guava cheese that continues to attract VAT and stressed the

President of the Guyana Manufacturers Services Association (GMSA), Mr. Ramsay Ali

importance of zero-rating all locally agro-processed products, asserting that while there are currently zero-rated products, this practice should extend to all agro-processed goods.

He said, "There are still a lot of locally agro-processed products that are attracting VAT. If you go to the Guyana shop you would see things like guava-cheese (attracting vat)."

Ali contextualized his stance, highlighting that a broader range of locally produced goods exempt from VAT would yield benefits for both the business community and the general public.

Lower VAT would translate to more affordable products, prompting businesses to adjust their prices accordingly. Ali noted that businesses often resort to price hikes when essential items they require start incurring VAT, resulting in greater financial burden for consumers.

The call for VAT removal on locally produced goods was initially raised by Ali at the GMSA's mid-year dinner.

During the event, he spotlighted instances of locally produced items like guava jam and chowmein from Beharry Limited being subjected to considerable VAT. Ali pressed for the exclusion of VAT on data services as well.

He concurred with the idea of using data for calls, reflecting the modernization of communication methods.

"We have to zero-rated data and we're gonna keep pushing until we get it.

There is one company in Guyana that is saying we should not be making calls using minutes anymore we should be using data,” he noted, referring to ENetworks which recently rolled out its mobile services t h a t a t t r a c t e d a l a rg e customer base across the (Continued on page 62)

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This Day in History - Aug. 20 The Menendez brothers murder...

From page 34 they dumped their shotguns before continuing to a local movie theater to buy tickets as an alibi. When the pair returned home, Lyle called 911 and cried, “Somebody killed my parents!” The Menendez murders became a national sensation when the new television network, Court TV, broadcast the trial in 1993.

Although the Menendez brothers were not immediately suspected, Erik couldn’t take the guilt and confessed his involvement to his psychotherapist, Dr. L. Jerome Oziel. Ignoring his own ethical responsibilities, Dr. Oziel taped the sessions with his new patient in an

apparent attempt to impress his mistress.

But the woman ended up going to the police with her information and, in March 1990, Lyle, 22, and Erik, 19, were arrested.

For the next three years, a legal battle was fought over the admissibility of Dr. Oziel’s tapes. Finally, the California Supreme Court ruled that the tapes could be played.

When the trial began in the summer of 1993, the Menendez brothers put on a spirited defense. In compelling testimony lasting over a month, they emotionally described years of sexual abuse by Jose and Kitty Menendez. They

insisted that they had shot their parents in self-defense because they believed that Jose would kill them rather than have the abuse be exposed.

The first two juries (one for each brother) deadlocked, and a mistrial had to be called. For the most part, the lack of a conviction was considered a travesty.

At the retrial, which began in October 1995, the judge was much more restrictive in allowing the defense attorneys to focus on the alleged sexual abuse. In March 1996, both Lyle and Erik were convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

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Sunday August 20, 2023

Lessons from a Lashpreneur !!!

Why you should never do a diy lash lift kit at home

By Latoya Zephyr Hey lash babes, this week we’ll be looking at why u should never do a diy lash lift at home.

In short,always leave it to the professionals. there are dangers to using DIY lash lift kits at home.

This is largely due to the chemical nature of the products; there’s also indepth training for professional lash artists regarding how long each step should be left on for and the correct amounts of product to apply.

We cannot stress this enough: lash lift kits are extremely dangerous and should NOT be used at home.

The chemicals in these kits (when used incorrectly) can potentially cause significant damage and permanent lash loss, as well as threaten your eyesight.

Is it safe to do your own lash lift?

The main ingredient in a lash lift is called Ammonium Thioglycolate. This chemical is used in hair perming, hair straightening

and hair removal because it can change hair structure via the Disulphide bonds (found in the cortex of the hair).

The alkaline pH can also cause the hair cuticle to swell and change the inner structure of the hair bonds.

When applying this solution to lashes it’s imperative that extreme precision and care is taken.

Hence, only qualified lash artists who understand the potential hazards should be carrying out this service.

If necessary precautions are not taken, this can cause

Enjoy the Enetworks list of must-watch shows this week If you’re unsure about what to watch this week then look no further, Enetworks has you covered with some of the must watch shows this week. Enjoy.

contact dermatitis which can then lead to an ongoing eye sensitivity and allergic reactions to other products s u c h a s e y e s h a d o w, mascara, eyeliner, and even skincare creams. Not to mention the safety of your eyesight.

People should absolutely not be doing at-home lash lift kits. They can cause severe danger to the eye if used without the correct training, such as chemical burns from the ammonia that they often contain.

In short? It’s simply not

By Latoya Zephyr worth taking the

By Latoya Zephyr risk.

Lash artists are trained in how kits) any damage that has to use the correct formulations safely, using b e e n c a u s e d i s n ’ t specific timings, application immediately apparent, it can techniques and equipment. take a week before the lashes W h e n a l a s h l i f t i s might start to dry out or performed, professionals are become brittle and snap, so using chemicals that if used it’s not easy to tell whether i n c o r r e c t l y c a n c a u s e you have performed the lift significant damage, If steps properly at the time.

We are all about aren’t left on for the correct timings, not applied in the ensuring the safety of you correct way or not removed a n d y o u r e y e s a n d properly, this can lead to lash lashes....so don’t be afraid to loss, Plus (with DIY lash lift ask any questions.

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ELEVATE PRECISION – GNBS OFFERING EXPERT GNBS IN FOCUS CALIBRATION SERVICES FOR THE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR

M

easurement and accuracy are the key foundations of any construction project, from ensuring the right number of materials are ordered to having accurate measurements at the design stages and throughout the project. The Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) as the National Metrology (Measurement) Institute (NMI) offers a wide range of calibration services to meet the needs of industry, regulators, and laboratories that are offering measurement services using precision instruments.

For over 15 years, the GNBS has been calibrating instruments used to measure temperature, pres s ure, dimensions, mass, volume, electricity and torque.

Standards used in calibration by our Industrial Metrology a n d Te s t i n g ( I M T ) Department are traceable to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), PTB Germany and other highly recognized NMIs in the Caribbean.

Calibration is a comparison between a known measurement (the standard) and your instrument. It eliminates inaccurate results and is essential for the quality and safety of both products and services. Uncalibrated instruments may deliver inconsistent data, as such, calibration helps to reduce errors and delivers data on the performance of your instrument.

In the rapidly expanding construction sector, accurate measurements are crucial in ensuring the reliability and accuracy of instruments which include compression machines, calipers, digital multimeters, measuring rules and tapes. Measuring instruments may require regular calibration based on the required accuracy of measurement, frequency of use and condition under which it is used and stored.

However, since measuring tapes or rules tend not to change or deform quickly, unless handled improperly, an initial calibration is recommended to determine accuracy.

The construction industry requires calibrated, precise and reliable instruments for projects. Not only does calibration ensure quality and accuracy, but it can also improve a building’s stability, reduces accidents and promotes a healthier environment.

The GNBS encourages every company and every laboratory to take advantage of its traceable, reliable and a ff o r d a b l e c a l i b r a t i o n services. Stakeholders are urged to submit their measuring instruments for calibration. Service requests can be made by visiting https://gnbsgy.org/metrology /industrial-metrology/. Upon completion of the calibration process, a certificate or report is issued by the GNBS to show that the instrument was calibrated. To learn more about these and other related services provided by the GNBS, be sure to visit our booth at the upcoming International Building Expo on August 24-27 at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, East Bank Demerara. Our team of experts is prepared to have

meaningful engagements with you throughout the four-day event as we strive to create a culture of quality in

Guyana. For further information contact the GNBS on telephone numbers: 219-0064-66 or

WhatsApp 692-4627. You can also visit our website:www.gnbsgy.organ d ourFacebook page:gnbsgy.

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Sunday August 20, 2023

Look What Your Belly Button Says About Your Health (DEMIC)-The belly button is an area in the body that often receives less attention, unless you are the type to constantly check and ensure it gets cleaned. Some people might even find belly

buttons or the navel burdensome.

However, new research about belly buttons and what they say about your health might just change the way you think.

Although everyone is born with a belly button, each one is surprisingly unique.

Not only can they tell something about your health but also your personality or

level of perceived attractiveness.

Here are different types of belly buttons, and let’s check out which type you may have: Bulged Belly Button –

Like A Button A somewhat bulged navel is acceptable, but if you see that the bulge is more pronounced than usual, it could mean that you have lifted something heavy. It could also put you at risk of a hernia.

Little Bulge People that have belly buttons that slightly bulge are said to be more prone to the flu virus.

Tucked Navel People who have tucked navels are said to have weight problems. Also, these people are said to commonly

experience problems with digestion like constipation.

Almond-shaped This belly button shape means that people are more likely to experience muscle pains and migraines.

Also, bone weakness has been observed.

Bulged with a U-form This is one of the most beautiful forms of navels, but it indicates a person’s risk of having skin and kidney diseases.

Also, children are less likely to be born with genetic abnormalities.

Sunday August 20, 2023

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iPhone 15 production begins in India as Apple aims to diversify from China: Report (CNBC) Apple supplier Foxconn is beginning production of the iPhone 15 in India as the company moves forward with its effort to diversify its manufacturing from China, Bloomberg reported last Wednesday.

Foxconn’s Sriperumbudur plant is getting ready to deliver the new phones weeks after they begin shipping from China-based factories, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources. Apple has been aiming to diversify its supply chain as the dynamic between the U.S. and China continues to grow tense. After a meeting with India Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House this year, Apple CEO, Tim Cook told CNBC that India represents a “huge opportunity.”

Amid bipartisan U.S. skepticism of C h i n a ’s g o v e r n m e n t , t h e B i d e n administration has taken multiple actions to restrict the flow of key technologies and U.S. investment into China. China has also placed restrictions on the sale of some U.S.

semiconductors.

Apple has more recently ramped up iPhone production in India, assembling more than $7 billion worth there in the last fiscal year, Bloomberg earlier reported. The outlet said in April that Apple produces nearly 7% of its iPhones in India, citing sources. Prior to that, iPhone assembly in India lagged China by six to nine months, Bloomberg reported, but that gap has significantly closed. Apple typically announces its new lineup of iPhones at its annual event in September. This year’s update is expected to include major camera updates and an improved processor in the Pro models, according to Bloomberg. Pegatron and a Wistron factory being acquired by the Tata Group will also soon begin assembling the iPhone 15 in India, according to the report.

Pegatron declined to comment. The other companies named in this article did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Google CEO, Sundar Pichai and Apple CEO, Tim Cook listen as India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, speak during a meeting with senior officials and CEOs of American and Indian companies, in the White House in Washington, D.C., on June 23, 2023. Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images

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Sunday August 20, 2023

CONSUMER CONCERNS RENEWED ALBOUYSTOWN OFFERS REAL ESTATE BARGAINS PAT DIAL In the last two months there have been several media reports of the renewal which has been taking place in Albouystown. Until the 1950’s, Albouystown had the reputation of being a culturally ebullient suburban village, with the largest settlements of Portuguese, Chinese and East Indians in the City. The owners of properties lived on them, in most cases with a tenant

living in the flat below or in a small house elsewhere in the yard. Since the owners of the properties lived on them, houses were kept in good repair and in many cases there were small gardens in front of the yards. In most yards there were fruit trees of one kind or another and these included mangoes, jamoons, genips, sapodillas, at least one coconut tree, breadfruit, star apples and every yard, de rigueur, had a clump of

sugar cane. All the neighbours of various ethnic groups lived in the greatest amity and would assist each other in a variety of ways.

A large proportion of the City’s tradesmen lived in Albouystown. Here were the tailors, the goldsmiths, carpenters, vat makers, shoe repairers, tin smiths; plumbers, many of whom worked at the shelter belt which supplied the city with piped water. Transportation

of goods of various kinds for the business community was done by horse or donkey carts, most of which were in Albouystown.

There were a large number of grocery shops which were usually at the juncture of two streets and there were three bakeries and three large rum shops which produced their own individual blend of rum.

There were also four drug stores including one owned by the father of Mr. Hamilton Greene who became one of the country’s most important political leaders. The one medical doctor was Dr J.P. Lachmansingh, whose surgery was at James Street near the La Penitence Market. Dr Lacmansingh, though not a wealthy man, collected fees only from the wealthy and served most of his clients free.

Most of the stevedores that is the workers who loaded and unloaded ships lived in Albouystown and H.N. Critchlow became their leader and organized the first Trade Union in Guyana.

There were several Christian churches and one large Hindu Temple to which was affiliated the Dharamshala, which provided a home for the poor of all races and

religions. The head of the Dharamshala was Pandit Ramsaroop Maraj who stands out as one of Guyana’s greatest philanthropists. There was also a strong Cumfa organization which had regular ceremonies with drumming and dancing.

The various racial groups lived in fraternity and celebrated with each other and were with each other in sickness or death.

Then came the 1960’s and the country was overtaken with racial political strife of a kind which had never before occurred in Guyanese History. People moved into communities where their ethnic group was in majority and people from the countrys ide moved to Georgetown. Many of these people, the Africans in particular, found their way to Albouystown.

All the Portuguese and Chinese and many East Indians left the ward and almost all the Portuguese and Chinese emigrated to North America. The owners who had left the ward neglected their properties which, in many cases deteriorated and the City Council seemed to have

turned its eyes away from the ward. Now there seems to be a new attitude.

T h e C e n t r a l Government, all the political parties and the City Council itself are all committed to the renewal of Albouystown.

The first major effort in this development has been Independence Boulevard which promises to be another Regent Street; many houses are being renovated; the drains are all being concreted and are functional and this makes Albouystown one of the best drained parts of the City. Several persons have begun to build blocks of flats and new people have begun to occupy the ward.

Albouystown has now become the most attractive part of the City for investment and properties could still be obtained at bargain prices.

As important, all the political parties and Government are now committed to its renewal so a brighter future awaits Albouystown.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of this newspaper and its affiliates.)

Sunday August 20, 2023

The Interesting and Delicious History of Ramen Ever wondered where your Cup Noodles came from?

(Reader’s Digest) You may think of ramen as collegekid cuisine, but dressier versions of this noodles-and-broth dish, with toppings such as roast pork, fish cakes, bamboo shoots and poached eggs, blow the instant kind out of its bowl. Over the last few years in the United States, gourmet ramen restaurant options have jumped more than 30%, so you can likely enjoy this Asian sensation close to home.

Chinese immigrants first brought the wheat noodle recipe to Japan, according to historian and ramen expert George Solt. In his book, The Untold History of Ramen, he tells of a scholar from China during the 17th century who instructed the Japanese feudal lord he worked for to add pork and vegetables to his noodle soup.

By 1910, the first ramen restaurant in Japan, Rai Rai Ken, was serving the dish to Tokyo diners. It was called shina soba in Japanese (shina is an archaic Japanese word for “China,” while soba are thin buckwheat noodles). But the Japanese pronunciation of lamian, the Chinese word for the soft wheat noodles, evolved into today’s “ramen.”

World War II interrupted the dish’s popularity, as food shortages led the Japanese government to ban “luxury foods,” including ramen. In 1945, as the seven-year Allied occupation of Japan began, the worst rice harvest in decades caused widespread hunger. Fearing that food shortages might alienate the population and lead them to gravitate toward communism, the U.S. occupiers began to import American wheat into Japan. The renewed availability of

wheat noodles refueled the demand for ramen, which became a street food as stalls popped up to sell the tasty and affordable dish to the hungry population.

In 1958, a Taiwanese businessman named Momofuku Ando created a dehydrated version of ramen that only required the addition of boiling water. In the 1970s, it came to the U.S. in Styrofoam cups under the name Cup O’Noodles. (In 1993, the company dropped the O’, so now the official name is Cup Noodles.) The Americanized version had shorter noodles that could be eaten more easily with a spoon, as opposed to the traditional chopsticks.

Today there are two museums in Japan dedicated to Ando’s creation, and his name inspired Korean American celebrity Chef David Chang’s Momofuku Noodle Bar in Manhattan. Chang’s restaurant, an early seller of gourmet ramen, helped change the perception of the dish from a cheap, prepackaged pantry staple to a complex and indulgent treat.

Hungry visitors to ramen shops can typically choose from four broths: shoyu (which is soy sauce based), miso (made with fermented soybean paste), shio (or “salt,” often with a chicken or fish base) or tonkotsu (rich and fatty, made from pork). The salty broth is what gives ramen its mouthwatering umami, a pleasant savory taste.

Tokyo remains the ramen capital of the world, with well over 10,000 ramen shops. Among them: Ichiran, with locations not only in Japan but also in Hong Kong, Taiwan and New York City.

Whether you choose shio or shoyu, instant or gourmet, itadakimasu—bon appetit!

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RAYMOND MAYWEATHER AND THE COLD PLANET

Sunday August 20, 2023

Junior page

by Daniel Errico Raymond Mayweather tuned up his ship. checked every latch, and he fixed every drip.

It was time for his voyage to deep outer space. As always, he hoped to find some unknown place.

Raymond's ship hurtled into outer space. He flew past all of the other planets he had visited. He took the Galactic highway to the very end. He flew further into space than he ever had before!

Eventually, he came upon a small blue planet. As he got closer, he realized that the entire planet was covered in ice. He set his ship down on a landing pad and was greeted by a small blue creature covered in fur.

Raymond put his arctic snow suit on and hopped out of his ship.

“Hello there!” said the furry creature, “Thank Goodness you're here. Do you have the tilber we need?”

Raymond was a bit confused.

“I'm sorry, but I don't know what tilber is. I am Raymond Mayweather, space traveler and arctic-adventurer extraordinaire.”

“Oh that is disappointing.,” said the creature as they both walked into a large igloo-shaped building.

Raymond was not used to such a cold welcome, and he needed to warm up. When they got inside he found that it was not any warmer than outside!

The fuzzy creature was sitting around a table surrounded by more furry creatures. Raymond decided to call them 'fruzzies', in his

space log.

“Excuse me,” said Raymond, “But what is tilber? Each planet has a different name for things.

Maybe I do know where some tilber is.”

“Tilber, is the what we use to heat our planet. We burn the tilber and it keeps us warm. We ran out of all our tilber days ago. I sent for more, but no other planets have any for us. As Supreme Chancellor of this planet, it's

up to me to find more tilber.”

The other fruzzies around the table started to throw out ideas to help.

“Mr. Chancellor, sir,” said a stern-faced fruzzy, “As head of your military, I suggest we attack another planet and take their tilber!”

“It is not their fault that we ran out of tilber,” said the Chancellor, “No.”

“Mr. Chancellor, sir,” said a female fruzzy with long frizzy hair, “As head of your Chief Scientist, I say we build rockets and use them to push our planet closer to the sun. It might be a good idea to build some brakes too…”

“Our planet is fine where it is,” said the Chancellor,” and rockets need tilber to run.”“Dad!” said a young fruzzy, “I think the best idea is to give e v e r y o n e thermometers that say it is warmer than it really is. That way they'll think that they are warmer.”

It was then that Raymond spoke up.

“Mr. Chancellor, sir. These are all interesting ideas.

But, if you have any tilber at all, I can study it back on my ship. If there is none left anywhere, then maybe I can find something just as good.” The Chancellor agreed took Raymond behind the building to where the tilber used to be stored.

The other fruzzies argued over which idea was best and the Chancellor's son was winning.Behind the (Continued on Next Sunday edition)

FUN WITH POETRY

Good morning, God Good morning, God, and thank you For the glory of the sun, And thank you for the health I have, To get my duties done.

I shall devote the hours Of this golden day to You, By honouring Your holy name In everything I do.

I shall pursue my daily tasks Without complaint or fear, And spend my every effort To be friendly and sincere.

Once more, good morning, God, And please depend on me, Because I want to honour you For all eternity.

Count down calendar for back to school

by Rachel M · on August 16, 2017 Doodlebug DesignsPetite Prints * Cricut Machine * Cricut Design Space * Adhesive *Ribbon First, search for images that are school related that are easy to cut out. I found a cute bus, apple, books, glue, school house and art supplies to use in my calendar.

After you have decided on your images, cut and assemble all pieces together

using adhesive. Punch two holes to the tops of each piece and thread ribbon through them.

Here comes the fun part for your child! Have them write on the back of each banner piece what makes them excited for school like making new friends and attending art class. Find out what you are eager about and have write it down. Writing it out will help ease some of the fears and get you excited for school!

Each day during the

week before school, go through and talk about what you wrote down with them.

Discuss what it will be like meeting that new teacher or what fun things will be learning in class. Help ease the worrisome thoughts by talking through all the fun activites you have to look forward to. This banner will also make an adorable keepsake for the years to come. How fun to look back on what your childhood was like in school and seeing your adorable handwriting!

Word Search

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Kaieteur News

Sunday August 20, 2023

TEEN TIME

Invictus

Develop practical steps to develop your Sense of Personal Competence deal with the problem or to achieve the goal.

In many cases, a young person would not know what resources that can help in this process are available .

When this is so, then one must not be too proud or too reserved to ask someone to assist in this respect.

2.DEVELOP PROBLEM-SOLVING AND COPING SKILLS In every instance of someone working towards achieving a goal, problems would arise. These would involve those that have to do

with the way the goal has to be reached, as well as those which relate to the abilities of the person who is working towards the goal.

Identify the skills you would need in your work, and then submit yourself to the training to gain them and apply them to the problems at hand.

Also, you would need to form positive attitudes while tackling problems, so that you are not easily discouraged when things seem to be going wrong.

Many people react to the pressures which they experience while attempting to gain success at any undertaking by taking to drugs, withdrawing or denying, or avoiding the problem by giving up.

If at school, they would cut classes or drop out entirely. Others may get disturbed emotionally, or even move to reacting with violence.

Here again, a young person should seek the support of competent persons to help to build selfconfidence.

Encouragement during a period of frustration will

BRIDGES Connect these islands with bridges until each island can be reached from any other island, and each island has as many outgoing bridges as its number. You may only connect islands vertically or horizontally and bridges may not cross. There may be one or two bridges connecting pairs of islands, but no more than two.

Each puzzle has a unique solution that can be found without making guesses.

keep them focused on their goals and acting positively towards their achievement.

3. EVALUATE YOUR PROGRESS PERIODICALLY Self-evaluation and assessment of your progress is continually necessary to keep you on the right track.

When this is done efficiently, then an effort can be made to adjust or correct any deviation from the right direction.

4.SATISFACTION WILL COME FROM DOING YOUR BEST Many times we will fall short of achieving exactly what we planned to do.

This should not discourage us and prevent us from setting other goals to be accomplished.

The fact that we have done our best at any undertaking is enough for us to accept the satisfaction which we deserve, and will go a long way towards our achieving success in future endeavours.

We hope you work diligently to follow these guides, and so develop your unique purpose of your life.

by William Ernest Henley Out of the night that covers me, Black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.

When you live with full confidence that you are living your special purpose in life, you will have more chance of success while working towards your goals.

Solutions to last week’s Periodic table word search

X Sudoku

These are the stages by which you can develop this important sense of being able to achieve the things which you plan to do so that you can be assured of success:1. FIND OUT THE OPTIONS AND ALTERNATIVES AT YOUR DISPOSAL When someone is faced with a problem to be solved, or a goal to be achieved, the first thing that needs to be done is to identify what are the options or alternatives available to

PAGE 50

Steps to Achieving Total Self-Love 1. Stop comparing yourself to others We're socialised to be competitive, so comparing ourselves to others is natural. But it can be dangerous. There's just no point in comparing yourself to anyone else on the planet because there's only one you. Rather, focus on yourself and your journey. The shift of energy, alone, will help you feel free.

2. Don't worry about others' opinions In that same vein, don't worry about what society thinks or expects of you. You can't make everyone happy, so this is a waste of time and will only slow you down on your journey to being the best you.

3. Allow yourself to make mistakes We're told again and again from a young age “nobody's perfect, everyone makes mistakes.” But the older you get, the more pressure you feel never to fail. Cut yourself some slack!

Make mistakes so you can learn and grow from them. Embrace your past. You're constantly changing and growing from who you once were into who you are today and who you will be one day.

So, forget about that voice in your head that says you need to be perfect. Make mistakes — lots of them! The lessons you'll gain are priceless.

4. Remember your value doesn't lie in how your body looks This is fundamental! So many things in the world want to distract you from this powerful truth. Sometimes even your own internalized sexism affirms your thoughts of inadequacy.

You are valuable because you are you, not because of your body.

So, wear what makes you feel good. If it's a lot or if it's a little, wear what makes you feel confident, comfortable, and happy.

5. Don't be afraid to let go of toxic people Not everybody takes responsibility for the energy they put out into the world. If there's someone who is bringing toxicity into your life and they won't take responsibility for it, that might mean you need to step away from them. Don't be afraid to do this. It's liberating and important, even though it may be painful.

Remember: Protect your energy. It's not rude or wrong to remove yourself from situations or the company of people who are draining you.

6. Process your fears Like erring, feeling afraid is natural and human. Don't reject your fears — understand them. This healthy exercise can really help with your mental health. Interrogating and evaluating your fears helps you to gain clarity and unmask issues in your life that were causing you anxiety. That, in turn, can help alleviate some — if not all — of your anxiety.

7. Trust yourself to make good decisions for yourself We so often doubt ourselves and our ability to do what's right, when most of the time we do know in our hearts what's best. Remember that your feelings are valid. You're not losing touch with reality. You know yourself better than anyone else, so be your best advocate.

8. Take every opportunity life presents or create your own The timing is never going to be perfect for that next big step in your life. The set up may not be ideal, but that shouldn't hold you back from reaching to meet your goals and dreams.

Instead, seize the moment because it may never come back.

9. Put yourself first Don't feel bad about doing this. Women, especially, can grow accustomed to putting others first. Although there's a time and a place for this, it shouldn't' be a habit that costs you your mental or emotional well-being.

Find the time to decompress. Without decompressing and recharging you can put serious strain on yourself. Whether it's spending the day in bed or outdoors in nature, find what helps you decompress and dedicate time to this.

10. Feel pain and joy as fully as you can Allow yourself to feel things fully. Lean into pain, revel in your joy, and don't put limitations on your feelings. Like fear, pain and joy are emotions that will help you understand yourself and ultimately realize that you are not your feelings.

11. Exercise boldness in public Get into the habit of speaking your mind. Boldness is like a muscle — it grows the more you exercise it. Don't wait for https://www.healthline.com/health/13-self-love-habits-everywoman-needs-to-have#Takeaway (Continued on Next Sunday edition)

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 20, 2023

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 20, 2023

PAGE 51

25 graduate from AWE Entrepreneurial Training for Women in Region 10 AWE Region 10 Graduating Class with Speakers.

T

Abbigale Loncke-Watson

wenty-five graduates were recognized as the curtains came down on WeLead Caribbean's R e g i o n 1 0 A c a d e m y o f Wo m e n Entrepreneurs training program in partnership with the United States (U.S.) Embassy.

The graduating class included women from Linden, Ituni, and Kwakwani, with businesses and business ideas ranging from cosmetology, farming, healthcare, timber and technology. The AWE program has successfully nurtured the development of invaluable business skills among the

participants, as well as forged a network of over 50 women entrepreneurs that empowers personal and professional growth for the participants with funding provided by the U.S. Embassy Guyana and the U.S. Department of State.

In a press release, WeLead Caribbean's founder Abbigale Loncke-Watson, herself a product of similar training under the Young Leaders of the Americas program offered through the U.S. Embassy, urged the graduates to stay awakened to the opportunities available to them, especially Cherrise Duke, best graduating participant (Continued on page 62) with Abbigale Loncke and Mayor Solomon

PAGE 52

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 20, 2023

Sunday August 20, 2023

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Misdiagnosed: Medical doctors treated child for asthma for 12 years causing heart condition to worsen receiving any attention from anyone,” the doctor recalled.

He said the sight of the little girl struggling to squeeze air into her lungs did not attract anyone to attend to her, so he immediately sourced a face mask and connected her to an oxygen port until she was fed enough, and her symptoms were relieved.

“Vinita’s mom also

By Davina Bagot Six months after being born to her mother in Non Pariel, East Coast Demerara, Vinita Dowlatram, began experiencing shortness of breath and had to be rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

Doctors at the public health institution diagnosed and treated the child for asthma after her visitations became more frequent.

The child’s grandmother, Lookrajie Polo in a recent interview told the Waterfalls that Vinita attended Primary School but was unable to attend Secondary School due to her progressing medical condition.

It was not until she was 12 years old that she was diagnosed with a clinical condition called Eisenmenger syndrome.

This is the development of pulmonary hypertension (high blood pressure in the lungs) due to an untreated congenital heart defect at an early stage.

Dr. Yusuf Abdullah, a General Physician attached to the Georgetown Hospital said, “The attending doctors at GPHC did not pick up the problem with Vinita until she was 12 years of age when a team of doctors from the United States and Canada visited Guyana. At this age, her heart condition was no longer amenable by surgery.”

At 20-years-old today, Vinita is hoping one day to live a normal life.

He explained that in 2015, while doing clinical rotations as a medical student he caught sight of a young girl sitting on a chair, looking starved of air. “I was filled with empathy and compassion as I walked towards her to enquire what the matter was. Soon I was intercepted by a woman who happened to be her mom.

She related that she routinely brings Vinita to the hospital from time to time to tap from the hospital’s Oxygen pipe, however, she was not

At 12-years-old, the young lady’s life took a U-turn after her Before Vinita was family learnt that she correctly diagnosed by an was being incorrectly overseas team of doctors, treated for her heart she attended school condition which could regularly and hoped to no longer be one day become a Nurse. corrected via surgery.

expressed deep concern for her daughter’s health and her inability to attend school.

She also asked me for help to purchase a portable oxygen tank at home so she doesn’t have to be on the road with Vinita to and from the hospital. I promised I would help even though I knew I didn’t have the means as a medical student at the time,” Dr. Abdullah explained.

Since then, he said the young lady became his Continued on page 64

The ailing young woman receiving oxygen at home, during an attack last year

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Sunday August 20, 2023

ips thrive...

Finding fulfillment in helping people in relationsh Guyanese-born coach,

h c t a b r e b m Michelle Cu IS A S P E C IA L P E R S O N

By Rehanna Ramsay

The road to finding fulfillment in a job or career i s n o t a l w a y s e a s y, s o m e t i m e s a p e r s o n ’s professional journey will take them along a path with several twists and turns, before they find exactly what they are supposed to be

doing.

This is precisely the case of Guyana-born American Relationship Coach, Michelle Cumberbatch.

“Coach Michelle,” as many in her circle call her, indulged in other types of vocations before she embarked on what she now refers to as her true calling.

She told the Waterfalls that she went from being a professional chef to working as the Human Resource (HR) Director for the American Fast Food Franchise Chick-Fil-A for several years, before she realized that she had what it took to successfully help people achieve their

relationship goals.

Today, Coach Michelle is a published author and relationship expert who offers advice and training to numerous men and women struggling in relationships.

She comes highly recommended by her clients.

She told this publication that from a young age, she

was fascinated by adult relationships and intimacy. However, she couldn’t explain w h y. S h e a l w a y s wondered why adults were inclined to share Guyanese American their most intimate Relationship Coach, and vulnerable Michelle Cumberbatch information with her.

“Back then, I doing with her life. didn’t know what it “I was married quite was. I didn’t have a name for it I just knew that I felt at young and that marriage home helping people to fizzled pretty quickly. Then I come together, communicate met my current husband and better, and have loving our relationship problems relationships… It took me started. I did some real soulyears before I could put a searching…I had hit rock name or label to it” Coach bottom that is what led me to understand relationships, the Michelle said.

After migrating to the US way I do today,” she said.

She stressed that what at the age of 12, she said everything remained the should have been a bad same regarding her desire to experience turned out to be a s e r v e o t h e r s i n t h e i r blessing not just for her own relationships. This desire she life but for many other said, basically followed her people whom she now coaches. “Divorce and throughout her life.

Coach Michelle said that relationship issues are it was after completing her horrible; nobody wants education in the US that her them, but mine turned out to own relationship problems be a huge blessing,” she said.

GUYANESE VALUES caused her to develop a Though she migrated deeper understanding about Continued on page 55 what she was supposed to be

Coach Michelle shares a moment with popular radio personality, Sophia Dolphin during a recent business conference in Guyana.

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 20, 2023

PAGE 55

Guyanese-born coach, Coach Michelle during one of training sessions.

Michelle Cumberbatch...

From page 54 quite young, Coach Michelle held on to many of her Guyanese traditions and values. She shared “I come from a big family many of them still live in Guyana. My parents, Lynette and Elton Fraser lived on Regent Street in the heart of the city but on weekends we went to Victoria on the East Coast of Demerara to spend time with my extended family.”

The Relationship Coach said of all her memories of living in Guyana, how the people related to each on a day-to-day basis stayed with her.

“My parents were always big on having manners and respect.

Coming from Guyana to the States was a bit of a culture shock for me because I was so accustomed to greeting random people on the street with a bright Good Morning!!! Or salutation for whatever time of the day it was, but over here it is quite different everybody just goes about their day not caring about those they pass by,” she said.

However, rather than being conformed to the American norms, Coach Michelle held unto the tenets of her Guyanese upbringing.

“It was not until I became the HR Director for the Chick-Fil-A branch in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania that it really bothered me. I would go into the office and say Good morning and no one would answer me. That really bugged me until I resolved to myself, I will not conform to their standards I will keep doing it,” She said adding that gradually, the employees around her began to greet each with the warmth that she is used to.

“I can safely say that I was able to change the culture of that place for the better,” she added.

She said that it was evident because even after she resigned from HR, the fast food company kept her on their payroll as a consultant.

BECOMING COACH MICHELLE Coach Michelle said before she became a professional relationship coach, she experienced heartbreak and separation. She had married her Guyanese childhood sweetheart.

“I was young and he was running with the wrong crowd. He promised to change but he didn’t and so we separated shortly after the wedding,” she revealed of her previous marriage.

The Relationship Coach eventually found her true love in Nigel, her current husband.

However, she said that it was through this relationship, she discovered her insecurities, strengths, resilience, and the importance of maintaining herself.

“It was on the heels of our relational challenges she found her

miracle.

It was my defining moment I was at a crusade and I just knew I had to dedicate my life to God. Within six weeks, I was baptized. That crusade changed the trajectory of my life,” she said.

Shortly after, Coach Michelle stumbled upon a book written by Christian authors Steven and Alex Kendrick titled “The Love Dare.”

“That book changed my life and saved my marriage. To this day, I hold it 2nd to the bible,” she declared The relationship coach said that the authors of the book invited her to take a challenge.

“There is a 40 days relationship challenge in the book which I took part in that became a catalyst that made me push into the business of relationship coaching,” she revealed.

Coach Michelle noted after finding her authentic self and realizing that loving her encompasses love and all the flaws, and the weaknesses as much as the strength, she started to share that with everyone that came into her path.

She started coaching in 2009 but it took about five years before she did it professionally. The chef pursued her Bachelor of Science in Leadership and found herself after that going after her certification for coaching.

better relational skills through courses like, First Love Yourself; Date With A Purpose; Becoming His Wife, Premarital; and Relationship Rehab.

Her new book “Who I Am? Whose I Am? I Am... is all about self-discovery and a journal on the importance of loving one’s self unconditionally.

SERVING GUYANA Coach Michelle has many clients in the US and the UK but it wasn’t until a year ago, when she came home to visit her mom that everything seemed to shift.

She said she was having a conversation with a young lady who follows her on social media. “ We d e c i d e d t o continue the conversation later that day. To my surprise, that afternoon, she got the neighborhood church as the space to continue the discussion, only this time; she brought her close friends and family with her.

That afternoon she turned into a three and half hours session. I went home exhausted but excited. The next day she received a phone call asking if she would return because everyone didn’t get to ask their questions. I returned eager to help but soon

authentic self then others.”

“The seminar was a success. I was able to bless women with a care package and lift their spirits.

However, my spirit was heavy because she wanted to do more. It was within these weeks that I got my first four Guyanese clients.”

Over the next few months, after countless conversations between herself and her husband, she decided to move her business from

Coach Michelle shares a light moment with the love her life and husband, Nigel Cumberbatch.

“In 2017, I registered the business for professional coaching.

All I wanted to do was seminars with couples and help them,” Coach Michelle said.

Since then, she has worked with countless people and a number of couples to help to them achieve their goals.

She said her running joke is that God used life as the classroom for the people she now serves.

Through her professional experience, she has developed strategies to help people foster

realized they needed help and that it could not be done in two afternoons,” she explained.

This session alerted Coach Michelle to the need.

As a result, she said, “Something was birthed in me.”

She noted, “I couldn’t go back to life as usual, so I decided to take all of my birthday money and then some and return home to hold a seminar where I shared the importance of applying—the relationship Trinity, of aligning with God and finding your

the US to Guyana, where she shares her message of self-love and the power of healthy marriage empowerment.

Coach Michelle is now fully transitioned to Guyana and the Caribbean. She said over the past ten months, she has witnessed hundreds of families impacted by her coaching.

Coach Michelle is hosting at the Pegasus Hotel on August 27 a conference called: ‘Manifesting the Relationship You Want’.

Ms. Sophia Dolphin, a popular

radio personality and CEO of Glosee Media, is so passionate about the conference, that she is adamant that every woman should enter the room.

She says this conference will help participants foster self-worth and develop their passion, while cultivating healthy relationships, choose partners intentionally, and learn healthy communication skills.

“It is the perfect opportunity for businesses in the professional arena to buy. This event was organized to empower individuals with actionable insights on building successful professional and personal relationships by tapping into their potential. It’s time for your team members to elevate their creative confidence and unlock new avenues of growth,” Dolphin said that her recent Brunch with the Bosses event.

Coach Michelle will lead interactive sessions combining personal growth with professional strategies. These carefully crafted sessions will provide employers/employees with the tools needed to attract and maintain healthy relationships, boosting their creativity and performance within the workplace.

The conference is designed to focus on issues: Changing Personal Perspectives On Relationships; Cultivating Authenticity And Vulnerability; Embracing Self-Love And SelfWorth; And Aligning Desires With Relationship Goals.

Through the event, Coach Michelle hopes to transform the lives of women and their families, reminding them that they are worthy of love and capable of achieving their dreams. The conference also includes panel discussions, workshops, and a Master Class.

PAGE 56

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 20, 2023

a s i r e m s e M eur

pren Young Entre

, s t f i G r u o y l l a for y t i s s e c e n g n hi t o l C d n a s e i r Accesso “Young entrepreneurs create value in the economy and are able to overcome new challenges.”

One of the many people who was able to take advantage of the opportunities the COVID-19 pandemic created, was 20-year-old Mia Roopnarine, who took the bold step of launching her own business called ‘Mesmerisa’.

‘Mesmerisa’, a gift, accessories and clothing business, was launched back in March 2021.

In a recent interview with The Waterfalls magazine, Roopnarine said the inspiration to open her own business came from her loved ones, who motivated her to go after the opportunity and pursue her desires. “My family and husband inspired me a whole lot to start my business; I had no knowledge about business or how to even operate one. They helped me with my price range and what to buy just to name a few,” she said.

It was their tremendous impact and support that she has been able to take her business to where it is today, Roopnarine stated. Her business which can cater for any of your upcoming occasions, sells clothing and accessories for men, women and children, which you can also preorder. Also, if you are looking for gift ideas, Mesmerisa also does customize wooden key rings, letters and so much more.

Being in the business arena for over two years, the young woman related that the feedback and support for her work has been tremendous. Roopnarine shared that despite this, her business also faced its fair share of challenges like any other emerging business.

For her, one of the challenges she had to deal with was sales. She explained that some months, sales are great while in other months it would be less. How she managed to overcome this, Roopnarine related, was that she has been putting her business on a larger platform where she can meet more customers and potential customers.

When asked, how the effects of the pandemic affected her operations, she explained that “I started my business during the pandemic and I started working around the same time, so while I wasn’t getting many customers via Facebook and Instagram, my workmates and family members supported me back then.”

Not letting the challenges get in the way of her vision for her business, she has plans to expand ‘Mesmerisa’, where one day she can open her own space for all to see what she has to offer. “At times it can be a little difficult but I try to do as much as I can for my business and see how I can grow it because I want my business to be out there to be seen,” she expressed.

Roopnarine, who has been making a meaningful impact in our society through her business, is of the view that “Young Entrepreneurs create value in the economy and are able to overcome new challenges.”

She suggested that to boost small businesses in our society, there should be more small business seminars being held. “Classes on how to better your business, pop up shops (on a large scale), and grants to assist small businesses,” she pointed out.

For persons interested in ordering from ‘Mesmerisa’ you can do so via WhatsApp on telephone number (592) 648-0223. Check out their social pages on Instagram at mesmeris.gy or on Facebook at Mesmerisa.gy.

By Allyiah Allicock

Young entrepreneur, Mia Roopnarine

Just some of the gifts, clothing and accessories ‘Mesmerisa’ has to offer.

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 20, 2023

From page 16 at the scene. Also recovered were two Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max cell phones.

After being identified by their respective relatives, the bodies of Singh and Budhan were taken to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre, where they were officially pronounced dead.

The bodies are currently at the Memorial Gardens Funeral Home, awaiting a post-mortem examination.

An investigation is ongoing.

WEDNESDAY Guyana should be wary of decommissioning clause in new oil law – MP Patterson …cites what Exxon, Shell did in U.S. Shadow Oil and Gas Minister and Opposition Member of Parliament (MP), David Patterson last week stated that the decommissioning clause in the Petroleum Activities Bill of 2023 spells danger for Guyana.

Decommissioning is the process of ending offshore oil and gas operations at an offshore platform and returning the ocean and seafloor to its pre-lease condition.

The Bill was passed in the National Assembly last Thursday.

It was tabled by Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat and once enacted will replace the 1986 Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act Cap. 65:04 and the Petroleum (Production) Act Cap 65:05. Minister Bharrat during his presentation on the Bill highlighted that Government made provisions in the Bill for decommissioning. He said, “To ensure that the operators bear the responsibility of the decommissioning process, this Bill will set up a decommissioning fund.”

The law states, “The holder of a petroleum production licence shall establish an abandonment fund for the purpose of ensuring adequate funding to implement decommissioning and abandonment operations upon cessation of production and the subsequent expiry of the production licence... The annual contribution to the abandonment fund must ensure that the full estimated cost of abandonment is paid to the fund two years prior to the anticipated commencement of decommissioning and abandonment operations in the production licence area.”

During his objection to some clauses of the Bill, Patterson said that allowing the oil companies to only submit money two years prior to the decommissioning process can leave a burden on taxpayers.

Patterson said that Guyana should be wary of what occurred in other countries, dealing with oil and gas companies when it comes

to decommissioning. As such, he noted that while the Opposition supports the decommissioning fund, they asked for it to be placed in escrow.

He cited what occurred in California, United States with American oil giant; ExxonMobil and British oil giant Shell.

“In California and other places in America, they are having issues with a decommissioning plan because what normally happens, what can happen in the industry is that an operator towards the end of a field they normally farm-out the well. So what they normally do they farm it out to smaller operator,” Patterson said.

He explained that towards the end of the project life, when the oil has been depleted - the wells are no longer beneficial to big operators like Exxon. As such he said, in some cases, they can sell their shares in the oil block to small operators - in the process, transferring the responsibility for decommissioning to small operators. Due to the high price tag associated with decommissioning, if a small operator is unable to foot the decommissioning cost, taxpayers can be left with that cost.

“So, there are issues on the decommissioning fund, so we saying that it should be put in escrow. So therefore, even if they farm it out, that money is there all the time,” MP Patterson added.

Kaieteur News had reported that last September when Exxon and Shell announced they will be selling their California wells; U.S. officials raised concerns that the reason behind the oil companies’ departures is the looming liability for environmental clean-up – which can be left on U.S. taxpayers to foot the bill.

ProPublica, a non-profit newsroom that investigates abuses of power particularly in the oil and gas industry – reported that despite the price of oil produced in California, this year it has reached its highest level in a decade – Exxon and Shell who have done business in the State for more than a century, are selling assets and beginning to pull out of California.

ProPublica also reported that the oil giants agreed to sell more than 23,000 wells in California, which they owned through a joint venture called Aera Energy, to German asset management group, IKAV, for an estimated US$4 billion.

While Exxon and Shell say the deal will strengthen their businesses – Greg Rogers, an Attorney and Accountant who researches the oil and gas industry, said the deal allows the sellers to shed decommissioning costs. “You got bad assets with big liabilities, and you can get rid of both at the same time. That’s a win for Exxon and Shell,” he said.

Other industry experts,

PAGE 57

Shadow Oil and Gas Minister and Opposition Member of Parliament, David Patterson lawmakers and environmentalists are concerned about the deals, noting that the sales shift environmental liability from corporate powerhouses to lesscapitalized firms, increasing the risk that aging wells will be left orphaned, unplugged and leaking oil, brine and climate-warming methane. They see a threat that the State’s oil industry could repeat a pattern seen in other extractive industries like coal mining and lead to taxpayers bearing clean-up costs.

California Assembly Member, Steve Bennett, a Democrat who has long worked on oil policy, has seen oil companies in his Ventura district walk away from environmental liability. “It gets passed on to a smaller company and to a smaller company until someone declares bankruptcy and the public is stuck with the clean-up bill,” he said.

According to ProPublica, if it’s not profitable to return wells to production, they need to be plugged. But if a company does not plug its wells before walking away, wells are orphaned and the clean-up costs ultimately fall to taxpayers and current operators through fees.

It was stated that in order to minimize the Government’s exposure if wells are orphaned, producers must put up a bond, typically held as cash or a surety policy. The bonds act like a security deposit in which the company gets its bond back if it cleans up its mess, but the Government keeps the money if the company orphans its wells.

While California has the authority to ask for an additional US$30 million in financial security from a single operator – Shell and Exxon’s joint venture holds a US$3 million bond. As a result, Aera’s bonds cover way less than what would be required to plug the wells.

According to ProPublica, California is unique because State law allows regulators to call on former operators such as Shell and ExxonMobil to help pay for plugging onshore oil wells if they are later orphaned, even by a different owner. But companies have escaped responsibility under this stronger legal standard, by exploiting loopholes such as a porous bankruptcy code.

Some experts question whether Shell and ExxonMobil would be required to pay if the wells they are selling to IKAV are ultimately orphaned, saying their ownership of the wells through a separate company, Aera, might shield them from liability.

Additionally, Exxon’s affiliate, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) has been taking out money from Guyana’s oil production for decommissioning – this money is being controlled by the company.

During an engagement with media operatives in June 2022, ExxonMobil Guyana acknowledged that decommissioning funds are not needed until 20 to 30 years down the line. Be that as it may, the company noted that the provisions of the 2016 Stabroek Block deal allow for early recovery.

The oil giant assured nonetheless that when Guyana needs that money for clean-up, the money will be handed over.

Guyana seeks US$30M loan to strengthen public assistance programmes for elderly, domestic violence victims The Government of Guyana through the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security (MHSS) has applied to the Inter-

American Development Bank (IDB) for a US$30M loan to enhance public assistance programmes in place for the protection of vulnerable populations including persons living with disabilities as well as victims of human trafficking and Gender Based Violence (GBV).

According to the project profile prepared by the IDB, this would be done by enhancing the MHSSS’s capacity to efficiently implement several mechanisms for fiscal support. The specific objectives include: improving the efficiency and transparency of the ministry’s programmes through digital transformation; expanding the coverage and improving the delivery of the public assistance programmes for vulnerable groups; and supporting strategies and services that address human trafficking and GBV. With respect to the need for digital tools and management information systems at the ministry, the IDB said this is critical since it relies on multiple systems and databases, resulting in scattered and unconsolidated data that hampers effective decisionmaking.

The bank said the ministry has started working on a Beneficiary Registry and Document Management System (MIS), and on the conceptualization of a new information technology unit, but these initiatives have not been implemented yet.

To support the wellbeing of the elderly population, it was noted that the ministry implements a universal Senior Citizens Pension (SCP) programme, which targets individuals 65 years and older. The programme has approximately 68,147 beneficiaries and delivers a monthly transfer of US$158 (GY $33,000). Based on a comparison of Latin American and Caribbean country, the IDB said this pension scheme has very high coverage (92% of the target population) but low value (with the pension representing 30% of preretirement average earnings).

Additionally, the IDB said the majority of pensioners still receive their benefits through vouchers obtained from post offices. The IDB said this is a challenge for residents of remote areas, as travel costs incurred to cash the transfers can amount to 20% or more of their value. The IDB said efforts have been made to introduce alternative payment methods, including direct cash payments, payments through alternate venues (other than the traditional post offices), bank transfers and the Mobile Money Guyana mobile wallet application.

However, the IDB said migration to alternate cash payments has been low (less than 1.5%).

Regarding the public assistance programme for persons living with (Continued on page 58)

Kaieteur News

PAGE 58

From page 57 disabilities (PwD), the financial institution said this programme delivers a monthly transfer of US$77, and targets three groups: (i) persons living with permanent disabilities; (ii) individuals facing economic hardship; (iii) individuals who have temporary medical conditions which restricts them from earning.

Approximately 16,000 PwD are currently enrolled in the programme, representing 64% of its beneficiaries. The IDB said the programme is underdimensioned, in terms of both benefits which represent half of the transfers paid to older persons) and coverage, as the number of beneficiaries represents only about one third of the target population.

Notably, the IDB said human trafficking is on the rise, affecting mostly women and girls and among them, migrants and young people from rural and indigenous communities in particular.

The bank said trafficking occurs in remote interior communities with limited government presence. For 2022, the government and non-governmental organizations identified 231 victims which represented an additional 27 victims relative to 2020. Of these, 218 were women, 20 of them underage, exploited in sex or labor trafficking.

In May 2023, Guyana approved the new Trafficking in Persons Bill, which expands the definition of exploitation and aims to strengthen the government’s ability to respond to the issue. As part of the implementation of the Bill, the ministry is tasked with supporting victims. Its Counter-Trafficking in Persons (C-TIP) Unit supports the identification of the victims and provides them with social welfare and assistance.

Importantly, the Ministry of Human Services is the principal government partner for the Spotlight Initiative Programme, which aims to create an environment for women and girls to live a life free of violence, harmful practices and intersecting forms of discrimination. To this end, the Ministry implements community-based awareness and advocacy initiatives, and provides victims of gender-based violence (GBV) with

Sunday August 20, 2023

A section of the port facility being done by CGX psychosocial services, counselling and forensic interviews, and referrals to other supportive services.

This initiative addresses the fact that Guyana has one of the highest rates of GBV in the region.

The IDB noted that women in Guyana report experiencing higher rates of physical violence (35%) than in other Caribbean countries, such as Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname (both at 27%). Although the Ministry has several programmes which address these issues, the IDB said there is need for a comprehensive strategy which incorporates all of these programmes to address GBV, which should include an increase in the coverage and quality of the existing services. For example, only 10% of the reported cases of domestic violence were prosecuted in 2022.

With respect to financing, the IDB said the proposed programmatic policy-based loan is structured in two technically linked but financially independent operations. The first, described in this article, leverages parallel cofinancing resources from Global Affairs Canada for an amount of US$90 million. It promotes the preparation and/or approval of strategic and regulatory policies in three areas: (i) digital transformation of the ministry, aimed at increasing t h e e ff i c i e n c y o f t h e country’s safety net; (ii) improved coverage and implementation of the safety net; and (iii) addressing human trafficking and gender-based violence.

Meanwhile, the second operation of this programme will focus on the

implementation of the policy actions promoted by the first operation.

THURSDAY CGX extends deadline for Berbice deepwater port facility for third time; now scheduled for 2024 The Berbice deep-water port facility being undertaken by Canadian oil explorer, CGX Energy Inc. through its subsidiary, Grand Canal Industrial Estates Inc. (GCIE) would not be ready for use until next year. This is according to the latest financial statements for CGX dated August 10, 2023.

The financial documents note that the port, located adjacent to Crab Island on the Eastern Bank of the Berbice River, is being designed to service the oil and gas industry as well as general cargo and the agricultural industries in Guyana. Notably, the port is expected to benefit from its proximity to the oil and gas industry in Suriname.

CGX said the project now targets operation of the cargo terminal aspects during first quarter of 2024 while the operation of oil and gas support base is slated for operation in mid-2024, subject to construction schedules, financing, and supply chains. It should be noted that this is not the first time the project has faced setbacks in its timeline. It was initially scheduled to be completed since the fourth quarter of 2022 (See link for further details: https://www.kaieteurnewso nline.com/2022/08/11/berbi ce-deepwater-port-will-notmeet-2022-deadlinecgx/#:~:text=Kaieteur%20

News%20%E2%80%93%2 0CGX%20Energy%20Inc,b ank%20of%20the%20Berbi ce%20River.).

That timeline was then pushed back to late 2023 w h ich th is n ew s p ap er reported on. (See link : https://www.kaieteurnewso nline.com/2022/11/30/berbi ce-to-get-oil-and-gassupport-base-in-late-2023/) Even before the close of the year, the company has already put its shareholders on notice that critical aspects would not be ready until 2024 but even that is hinged on certain conditions as outlined earlier.

In its financial statements, CGX said significant infrastructure projects in Region Six which have been announced by the Government of Guyana are what motivate the completion of the cargo aspects of the port, especially with respect to the handling of aggregates and other construction materials which must be imported into

the region from elsewhere in the country and offshore.

Some of these projects include the construction of the Guyana Technical Training College which will place special emphasis on skill sets for the oil sector.

That project is set to be located in Port Mourant. It is a c o l l a b o r a t i v e e ff o r t between the Guyana Government and an ExxonMobil-led consortium which operates the oil-rich Stabroek Block.

During the six-month period which ended on June 30, 2023, GCIE said it incurred additional costs totalling US$551,549 for the port. For the year ended December 31, 2022 this total was US$3,245,855. It therefore means that approximately US$3.8M was already expended on that aspect of the facility for that period, adding to the over US$20M already spent since the project got started.

The total cost for the facility is pegged at US$80M. GCIE said it expects that the port will significantly boost local content engagement in the oil and gas sector and add enhanced logistics capacity for import and export, including expandable capacity to accommodate the possibility of increased product flow to and from the northern states of Brazil. Due to its location close to Suriname, the port’s oil and gas support functions will also help to serve the rapidly growing offshore exploration and development activities in that country’s oil and gas sector.

Furthermore, GCIE said the port is expected to add significant capacity to the

agricultural sector, supporting rice, sugar, agroprocessing and agricultural materials. GCIE said too that it has performed various developmental works on the site, including the installation of vertical drains and geotechnical treatment of the quayside land.

The subsidiary noted that riverside construction is completed on approximately 500m of rip rap flood p r o tectio n , a 1 0 acr e quayside laydown yard built to a five tons per square metre load bearing capacity, an access bridge to the main Corentyne highway and 2.6 km access road, both built to American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (ASSHTO) standards, concrete drains and driveways for residents along the roadway and extension of municipal water and power to the port site.

It said requests for proposals were advertised for the wharf platform and access trestle, capital dredging programme, design and construction of all gates, buildings, firefighting and first aid structures and covered storage areas.

Kaieteur News understands that evaluations of submitted proposals for the capital dredging and construction of the wharf platform and access trestle were completed and a local contractor, Gaico Construction and General Services, awarded. The successful bid incorporates an update to the design of the wharf and trestle to realize cost efficiencies. GCIE said work on in-river construction of the 50 x 12 m (Continued on page 59)

The trail where Ramcharran's body was found.

Dead: Ganesh Ramcharran

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 20, 2023

From page 58 access trestle being built from the quayside yard westward into the Berbice River is progressing on budget and no health and safety related incidents, with completion of the trestle expected in August 2023.

PAGE 59

was expected to occur this year, in keeping with the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA); however, it was extended due to the COVID pandemic. To this end, he said, “That’s the force majeure; we looked at the force majeure already.

That’s a different matter. We explained it in the period and why and all of that.”

In a follow up question Kaieteur News asked the VP about the due diligence by government to prove the oil company’s operation was indeed affected when he responded, “Don’t worry with that.

It’s just another waste of time. I’m not wasting my time anymore with Norton.”

Map showing the size of the Stabroek Block compared to the Kaieteur and Canje oil blocks offshore Guyana

Pomona farmer dies at ‘Grave Hill’ on return home from farm An Essequibo farmer was on Tuesday reportedly killed after allegedly losing control of his motorcycle while returning home from his farm located east of Mashabo Mission, Essequibo Coast, Region Two. Dead is 40-year-old Ganesh Ramcharran of Pomona Housing Scheme, Essequibo Coast.

Ramcharran was found dead while lying faced down a short distance away from his motorcycle along a trail at ‘Grave Hill’ Mashabo Mission, just after 16:00hrs.

Investigators learnt that Ramcharran had left his home around 06:00hrs on Tuesday for his farm.

Ramcharran lost control of the motorcycle while on his way home and fell onto the trail. It is believed that the impact of the fall was so severe that it killed Ramcharran on the spot.

Another farmer passing by a s h o r t w h i l e l a t e r, f o u n d Ramcharran lying motionless. That farmer alerted other farmers and villagers living close by and police were called in.

Detectives said that when they arrived at the scene, they saw blood on Ramcharran’s face and some oozing from his nostrils. No marks of violence were seen on his body and the front wheel of his motorcycle was bent.

His body was taken to the Suddie Public Hospital, where it was further examined by a doctor before being sent to a morgue.

FRIDAY Opposition demands justification from Govt. for extending a portion of ExxonM’s Stabroek Block “Billions of US-dollars are at stake.” This was the Opposition’s contention yesterday as the political group questioned the Government’s move to allow U n i t e d S t a t e s o i l m a j o r, ExxonMobil, an additional year to explore the resource-rich Stabroek Block.

The company was expected to give back (relinquish) a portion of the block, equivalent to 20 percent in October this year, however it was granted an extension by the government which gave into claims of the company’s work programme being hampered by the COVID-19 Pandemic.

This is according to Vice

Govt. only addressing pollution and harassment, not impact to livelihoods of Amerindians at Chinese Landing - Jagdeo

Economic Advisor to the Leader of the Opposition, Elson Low President Bharrat Jagdeo during a press conference at Freedom House back in June. The VP told reporters, “The force majeure that was given to them in the COVID period extends the relinquishment provision.”

Notably, the 20 percent portion of the Stabroek Block is equivalent to 120 oil blocks or one fifth of the entire 26,800 square kilometers or 6.6 million acres.

With no documented proof that the company’s operations were indeed impacted by the Corona Virus Pandemic, the Opposition is demanding an evaluation by the administration to confirm Exxon’s claims.

Economic Advisor to the Leader of the Opposition and Spokesperson on Oil and Gas, Elson Low while speaking at a press conference on Friday explained that while the pandemic is a reasonable explanation,

government should provide the evaluation it conducted for the public to analyze.

Low stressed the importance of the document citing that the administration has a history of not conducting requisite studies and should justify its decision for the extension and clarify that it was not pulled “out of the clear blue sky”.

According to him, “While I can understand COVID-19 being a reasonable reason, what I would always ask is can the government provide to the public, a document which is evaluating the situation; which they were able to receive expert advice as to whether or not they should relinquish.”

Low pointed out that the over the past few years, ExxonMobil through the Stabroek Block operator, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) has substantially ramped up oil production, pushing Guyana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) above its forecasted growth.

He therefore reasoned, “This indicates that the company’s operations are functioning and have been functioning well. What we need to see is what evaluation has the government done to determine that the company’s operations were inhibited and what evaluation was done to give us an understanding that the company should not be relinquishing the blocks.”

To this end, the Economist flagged that the 20 percent that should be relinquished by Exxon could be valued tens of US-billions.

Given its potential, Low argued he does not believe a determination should be made by a single individual who does not feel like

forcing the company to not give back a portion of the Block.

He asserted, “That can’t be the way that the country is run. We need to see an evaluation that needs to be released to the public so that we can see the government did its due diligence in making this decision.

This can be a multibillion-dollar decision; of course blocks that are relinquished can then be auctioned.”

The Opposition Economist said he suspects that the government does not have such a document but nonetheless issued a challenge for it to be released.

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton commented that there is need for transparency and accountability in the sector, especially as it relates to the extension granted for the relinquishment of the Block.

He argued, “Jagdeo cannot tell this nation that it was done as a result of COVID without providing clear documentation so that we can know the rationale...the only way we could verify it, is by having the documentation to be able to discern whether what he’s saying is true, or he is just being Jagdeo and formulating his realities as he moves along and send them out as if they are truths.”

Jagdeo responds Notably, Vice President Jagdeo was asked during his press engagement about the Opposition’s call for government to release the document that shows why government is extending the oil company’s hold on the Stabroek Block when he provided an unrelated response.

Kaieteur News pressed the VP, explaining that the relinquishment

The impact of mining on the livelihoods of the Amerindian people at Chinese Landing, Barama River, Region One will not be addressed now, only the allegations of pollution by miners and the harassment they face, Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo said on Thursday.

Jagdeo was at the time responding to questions posed by Kaieteur News at a Press Conference held at the Arthur Chung Conference Center (ACCC), Liliendaal, Georgetown.

Kaieteur News while seeking an update on the “fact-finding” team’s report following a visit to Community on Sunday, August 6, 2023, noted that the residents had also raised concerns that the takeover of their titled lands has left them without a main source of income to provide for their families.

Jagdeo in his response said, “That is not what went before the human rights body. You know what went there, we have to respond to that, the pollution in the area and its overrun by mining I don’t know what we gonna (do)”.

The human rights body, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) had called on the Guyanese authorities to implement a series of measures to protect the Indigenous Carib Community of Chinese Landing.

According to the Commission, the Carib community which has approximately 210 residents, currently is at serious risk of suffering irreparable harm to their human rights by miners and even some members of the Guyana Police Force.

Details of those risks were outlined in a petition to the international body which was filed by the Chinese Landing Village Council, the Amerindian Peoples Association of Guyana (APA), and the Forest Peoples Programme.

Some of the allegations made are (Continued on page 60)

Kaieteur News

PAGE 60

mining permits registered to Mr. Wayne Vieira must be revoked and the miners, along with all equipment and weapons, be removed from the village’s lands.

We call on the Government to immediately implement this”, the MDC stated. The MDC also stressed that the lands are used by the residents of Chinese Landing people to maintain their families.

The Council said it will be raising the issue at the upcoming National Toshao’s Council.

The MDC is made up of 12 indigenous villages, Santa Rosa, Kariako, Kokerite, Waikrebi, Santa Cruz/LiLle Kanuballi, Chinese Landing, Assakata, Warapoka, Santa Rosa, Kwebanna, Waramuri, Father’s Beach, and Manawarin.

From page 59 pollution to the environment, destruction of their homes, and threats against their lives for protesting against the takeover of their lands.

A fact-finding team was sent to investigate the allegations and the residents had broke down into tears as they demanded the return of their lands.

According to residents, the lands are used to provide for their families. As many cried, the residents accused the Government of taking away their “daily bread” and giving them to miners thereby forcing them to suffer.

Jagdeo at his press conference on Thursday said that his government is aware of those concerns too, but in the same vein claimed that while a majority of the residents at Chinese Landing want the miners off their lands, specifically Mr. M.V, the legal holder of a gold concession on their titled lands, there are others who want him to continue working. “…Some people want the mining and some don’t want the mining, a few believe that Vieira (M.V) should continue and the majority believe that he shouldn’t continue and it’s a complex situation,” the Vice President told reporters.

The Vice President continued: “One thing is sure, that we are on the side of the village and we have always been from the time we went to court and we want to protect the villagers and their interests.”

One of the interests that the

Canadian oil explorer, CGX Energy Inc. has made it clear that it intends to recover US$155M in costs brought forward from its original Corentyne Block license, if it develops the resources found there. This would make the second time a company moves to recover ‘pre-contract costs’, after ExxonMobil and the Stabroek Block.

CGX has not decided yet whether the resources it discovered at the Wei-1 and Kawa-1 wells are commercial. Once potential commercial production

IACHR asked the government to protect is the villagers’ “rights to life and personal integrity”. The government was reportedly given 20 days to respond to the IACHR’s resolution and that deadline was set for August 10.

The government has failed to meet the deadline but Jagdeo said the report will be “released shortly”.

“I guess that the response should be made shortly that is my latest update,” Jagdeo said.

While the residents await the government’s findings, the Moruca District Council (MDC), Region One in statement on Wednesday called for Mr. M.V. mining permits to be revoked.

“The residents of Chinese Landing have been clear that for their rights to be protected, the

commences, CGX is permitted to recover its costs.

Should CGX decide to develop the resources, they will also attempt to recoup the current contract costs connected with the drilling of the K a w a - 1 a n d We i - 1 w e l l s .

Moreover, there’s potential for more wells to be drilled by June 2024, which will add further to the costs to be recovered. CGX is also racking up expenses with the construction of a deepwater port at Berbice. The port, aiming to serve the oil and gas industry and provide a multipurpose terminal, is expected to be operational mid 2024. Together, CGX’s precontract costs, the costs associated with its wells, and the cost of the deepwater port, will add up to hundreds of millions of US dollars.

ExxonMobil had racked up

Sunday August 20, 2023

A map showing the location of the Corentyne Block

SATURDAY CGX racks up US$155M in expenses to recover against Corentyne Block

US$460 million in pre-contract costs for the Stabroek Block, and is now adding tens of billions more with wells and projects. If CGX goes forward with their Corentyne Block development, it would mark the second time a company is inserting pre-contract costs into the cost bank. The government has been handling the audit of Exxon’s pre-contract and current contract costs with a worrying lack of transparency. It would be more worrying for another block to move to development, with the government continuing to treat the transparency of audits in this way.

CGX’s projects The Wei-1 well, as of June 11, 2023, reached a depth of 20,450 feet. By July 5, the operations were completed. The Wei-1 well encountered 210 feet of hydrocarbon bearing sands in the Santonian horizon.

The Joint Venture acquired wireline logs and extensive core samples from the Santonian, however, due to a tool failure downhole and a back-up tool not being available, oil samples were not obtained. The rock and fluid properties of the Santonian are being analyzed ed by an independent third-party laboratory over the next two months to define net pay and a basis for the evaluation of this interval. The J o i n t Ve n t u r e u p d a t e d i t s previously announced discovery in the Maastrichtian and the Campanian intervals to 77 feet of net pay.

Last year, CGX announced the discovery of 228 feet of net pay across the Maastrichtian, Campanian, Santonian and Coniacian horizons at the Kawa-1 exploration well. Third-party analyses indicated the presence of light oil in the Santonian and Coniacian, and gas condensate in the Maastrichtian and Campanian.

CGX is also building a Berbice Deepwater Port facility to serve as

an offshore supply base for the oil and gas industry and as a multipurpose terminal to service agricultural import and export, containerized and specialized cargo including aggregates for construction purposes. The port aims to enable provisioning of operators and vendors in territorial waters of both Guyana and Suriname.

World Bank agrees to restructure US$20M loan for oil sector The Guyana Government, via its Ministry of Natural Resources, has convinced the World Bank to restructure a US$20M loan, initially approved in March 2019.

This loan aims to fortify in-country expertise for the burgeoning oil sector.

The crux of this restructuring request involves an extension to the project’s closing date, pushing it from its original date of March 30, 2024, by a substantial 21 months.

Consequently, the revised deadline will be December 31, 2025.

According to documents seen

by Kaieteur News, this marks the inaugural restructuring of the project. It is worth noting that all audit reports concerning this endeavour are current and have been given the nod of approval by the World Bank. The records also indicate that there aren’t any outstanding audit matters.

Financial data reveals that, up to this point, 45 percent (or US$8.59M) of the loan has been disbursed. Out of this, the actual documented spending stands at US$6.52 million. This equates to 33 percent of the total loan amount.

These figures have raised eyebrows at the World Bank, with the institution highlighting a significant delay in the financial implementation.

A statement from the World Bank expressed concerns that,

given the current pace, the loan’s full disbursement before the original closing date is an unrealistic expectation. As a result, the Guyana Government sought the aforementioned extension.

February 2023 saw the World Bank deployed a Technical Mission, which paved the way for the recent Midterm Review (MTR) held in June 2023. This mission scrutinized and endorsed a series of measures designed to counteract the perceived underperformance and to align the project more closely with the Guyanese Government’s reshuffled priorities.

A significant outcome of these discussions was the consensus on the new project’s deadline and a revised allocation of resources.

Sources familiar with the matter informed this publication that part of the funds will be redirected to other areas related to addressing the capacity constraints for management of the oil sector.

This pivot is a direct response to the unexpected needs stemming from the swift acceleration of Guyana’s oil production and export activities since March 2019.

The World Bank, reflecting on the project’s journey, commented on the evident momentum gained recently. It pointed to the successful awarding of consulting contracts, which bolster two primary facets of the project. The financial institution also noted that Component A focuses on refining the legal framework and enhancing stakeholder relations, while Component B zeroes in on the capacity building of pivotal institutions. These strides, the Bank opined, are indicative of an upswing in both procurement and implementation.

Given the recent surge in activities and the mutual understanding regarding future milestones, the World Bank concludes that the revised deadline is both appropriate and justified.

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 20, 2023

PAGE 61

Govt. using bogus excuses to deny livable income for ordinary Guyanese Despite massive and growing oil revenues, life remains a daily struggle to make ends meet for many citizens and households. The living standards of many Guyanese families continue to decline as their incomes have reduced or stagnated, and the cost of living continues to increase and is increasingly burdensome. This was highlighted

by Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton during his press conference on Friday.

Norton lamented that despite our oil wealth, the government continues to deny livable incomes to workers and other struggling Guyanese by hiding behind claims that higher wages and more generous social programs will spur higher inflation or the Dutch disease.

Norton noted that the while the government is claiming inflation as an excuse for not increasing wages, Guyanese must be reminded of two occasions where substantial salary increases did not lead to higher inflation.

“The first occasion is the Aubrey Armstrong Arbitration Panel Award for public servants and the Malcolm Rodrigues Arbitration Panel Award for teachers, both of 1999. The Armstrong panel

awarded public workers salary increases of 31.06% for 1999 and 26.66% for 2000.The Rodrigues Panel awarded teachers an increase of 10% at the bottom scales and 12% at the top for 1999 only,” he said adding that in the aftermath of the payouts to the roughly 30,000 public employees over a few months, inflation actually dropped from 8.6% in 1999 to 2.6% at the end 2001.

“We believe the government today can substantially increase the disposable income of Guyanese households without any great risk of higher inflation,” the Opposition Leader said.

According to Norton, the Government's 2nd excuse that an increase in disposable income will result in the 'Dutch Disease' is even a bigger lie He explained that the 'Dutch Disease' mostly refers to the appreciation of a local currency and the resulting effect on the export sector and the non-tradable sector.

An appreciation of the Guyana dollar, for example, could make our rice and other exports more expensive and less competitive, resulting in the overall decline of the non-oil sector. Paying livable

Govt. would not hand over...

From page 20 the approval of Cabinet so he cannot, unlike the old legislation, do it on his own. It now requires collective scrutiny of the documents and the exercise of his power. We can't vest that in (Shadow Minister for the Oil Sector, David) Patterson or (Opposition Leader, Aubrey) Norton.

We vested it in a larger group that has a collective responsibility to the people,” the Vice President said.

The official also noted that at the appropriate time, the powers of the minister will transition to a Petroleum Commission.

The passage of the Petroleum Activities Bill is one of the key elements Guyanese authorities promised to have in place before the September 12 deadline for the submission of bids in its maiden auction. That licensing round which features 14 oil blocks will see awards being completed on November 1, 2023.

The indicative terms for that auction include a 10 percent royalty, a US$1M annual training fee, a US$1M annual rental fee, 65 percent of gross production going to expenses after the royalty is allocated, and the remaining profit oil being split 50/50. The law also provides for the finance minister to exempt future blocks from the payment of Property and Capital Gains Tax. Notably, this law will only apply to ExxonMobil from a management and administrative perspective. The Vice President previously explained that Exxon which operates the country's only commercial block will not be subjected to the new fiscal terms which also include the payment of a 10 percent Income Tax.

Opposition Leader: Aubrey Norton

wages or guaranteeing livable incomes has nothing to do with it.

He said it is therefore paradoxical is that the government's refusal to substantially increase the real incomes of most Guyanese in this time of plenty has created a dangerous gap between the economic fortunes of oil sector relative to other sectors.

He stressed that if workers can readily earn wages several times higher in the oil sector than any other, then our traditional industries will lose their existing employees and fail to attract new ones.

Norton noted that “The IMF describes this as being the “resource

movement effect” of Dutch disease, in which labor and capital are drawn to a dominant industry, causing others to underperform. If we continue to keep wages low in the public and non-oil sectors, we may soon find that Guyana produces little else beyond oil. The government must therefore pay Guyanese workers a livable income.”

According to the opposition leader, the recent complaints about labor shortages in the rice industry are an early warning sign of this.

“A recent editorial in the Stabroek News highlighted the fact that the rice sector in Berbice is

currently faced with an acute labour shortage, including a shortage of tractor operators, likely caused by the migration of workers to the oil and construction sectors. Similarly, the GGDMA just last week sounded alarm bells over the migration of labourers away from the gold industry towards the coast.,” he said adding that increasing salaries, raising the tax-free threshold, spurring the growth of small businesses, among other measures highlighted, will ensure that the labor market does not skew toward oil and gas activities.

He said, “The contradiction in the PPP's position, therefore, is that suppressing wages and salaries could induce the very 'Dutch Disease' conditions …Increasing wages and salaries across the board prevents the emergence of such activities. But just as critical, higher wages ensure that the country can retain its teachers, medical workers, and university graduates.”

At the end of the day, the Opposition Leader noted that the Government's excuse to deny Guyanese a livable income merely exposes what is fundamentally flawed and heartless with its current approach.

PAGE 62

Sunday August 20, 2023

Kaieteur News

GMSA President wants removal of VAT...

WANTED

VACANCY

VACANCY

Wanted: Experienced Puri Maker, Cashier, Counter Person, Labourer and Cleaner. Apply at Shanta's, 225 Camp and New Market Sts.

One office Assistant needed.

Experience will be an asset.

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Accounts Clerk needed.

Must have a sound secondary education and 1-2 years Accounting experience. For more information Call: 2262621.

Looking for a reliable live-in aide for an elderly woman.

Call: 686-8051.

Security/ Handyman needed.

Contact: 223-5273/223-5274.

General live-in Domestic needed. Call: 660-9093.

Experienced Land dredge Workers and male Cook needed to work in the Interior. Call: 684-1030.

Experienced Nanny preferably from the East Bank.

Contact : 693-5014.

Wanted! Male & Female workers for packaging pasta and chowmein on the Back Road (Mandela Ave). Call: 611-7839.

One male and female ablebodied Staff needed to work in a store. Call: 225-2313, 2261497, 658-8559.

Looking for a land to buy in Kuru Kuru, offering price- 58 mil. Call: 261-5926.

Handyman needed to work shift, Security Guard and Housekeeper at Signature Inn Hotel. Contact Rosa: 644-2020.

East Bank Electrical is now hiring Electrical Engineer, Outside Sales Staff & Counter Sales Staff. Call: 604-6394, sales@eastbankelectrical.com Male Engineer needed, Must have atleast 10 years experience in road & building construction. Email CV: rbinvestmentinc@gmail.com, Call: 613-0855.

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Bobcat & Roller Operators needed. Ages 30 years & older. Must have atleast 5 years experience. Email CV: rbinvestmentinc@gmail.com, Call: 613-0855.

Truck & Canter Drivers needed. Ages 30 years & older. Must have atleast 5 years experience. Email CV: rbinvestmentinc@gmail.com, Call: 613-0855.

Diesel Mechanic and Skilled Labourers needed for road construction. Ages 20 years & older. Must have atleast 5 years experience. Email CV: rbinvestmentinc@gmail.com, Call: 613-0855.

General Domestic needed to work 4 days per week, must know to cook. Apply at Keyfood Mc Doom village next to the post office.

FOR RENT One apartment for rent @ First St Mon Repos E.C.D, Market street. Call: 614-0005/ 602-4105.

Bottom flat, 2 bedrooms and top flat 3 bedrooms at Durban Street. Call Leon or June: 612-5296 or 623-1562.

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Pump Attendants urgently needed at Two Brothers Gas Stations, WCD/ EBE. Call/ WhatsApp: 592-708-3256.

Demerara Transportation & logistics Inc is looking for suitable and qualified individuals for Site Manager & Supervisor positions. Call: 671-5433.

Vacancies exists for Glass & Window Installers. Must have at least 3 yrs experience & a valid drivers license.

Send applications: 654-3905.

We are now hiring Bartender, Waitress and experienced Cook. Preferably from WCD, attractive salary offered. Call: 689-7481.

Driver needed. All Applicants must have Motor Car, Van & Lorry Licence. Apply to: Human Resource Manager Global Healthcare Supplies Inc Or Via Email: globalhealthsuppliesinc@ gmail.com Vacancy for a Domestic/ Maid full time or part time and a night cleaner man.

Call: 637-6700.

VEHICLES FOR SALE One CRV Honda, $3.3M negotiable and 1 Toyota Allion, $3.350 M, fully loaded immaculate condition, low mileage . Contact: 649-0956.

Maid needed to cook and clean at East Bank area. Call: 615-9132.

One male Cleaner needed for Eccles area. Call: 615-9132.

Factory Worker needed. For more infoCall: 226-2621.

From page 51 those doors opened by this program and the networks it facilitated.

“We are looking forward to see what other opportunities you take hold of to build on this beginning and further grow your business,” she told the graduates.

The Cherie Blair Foundation will also provide one-year mentorship opportunities for the top five graduates, which Mrs. Loncke-Watson in expressing her gratitude for this extensive input also remarked that “If this girl from Essequibo could use these opportunities to succeed, I am sure that you could too.” In relating a very moving account of her own journey, she said, “the support that I received was instrumental and we try to provide the same tools you need to succeed, and as long as you have these tools, I want to assure you that we are excited to see what comes after this.”

Linden’s Mayor Sharma Solomon spoke of his personal experience having a mother, who was a seamstress, putting two children through college and university serving to convince him of the importance of women being involved in business.

He also stressed on the im-

FOR SALE Modern home under construction at Annadale, ECD. Land size 54X100, building 30X45. Call: 675-1510/ 6137964.

PEN PAL Male seeking single female penpal. WhatsApp: 698-6391.

One Clerk for TSI Eccles office.Must have grade 1or 2 Maths and English. Email: techserigy@yahoo.com or Call: 615-9132.

SERVICES

FOR SALE Canje transported farm land 207 acres, recently used for rice cultivation, fresh water own koker. Email: gelgin15@gmail.com

ducers for procurement of goods made within Guyana’s borders.

Ali also illuminated GMSA’s aspiration to attain international recognition for local agro-processors. Acknowledging the costliness of participating in expos abroad he noted that more assistance is needed from the government. He even suggested an allocation from the government to agro-processors in the annual national budget as it would bolster its

efforts to improve and expand the local agro-processor community.

The GMSA President also previously underscored plans to expand the UncappeD Marketplace, an exposition organized by the association, on an international scale. Ali revealed intentions to host UncappeD in countries with a significant Guyanese diaspora, aiming to spotlight the products and services of the nation’s small agro-processors.

25 graduate from AWE Entrepreneurial...

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Cashiers needed at Two Brothers Gas Stations, WCD. 1+ experience. Call/ WhatsApp: 592-708-3256.

Driver must be able to assist in workshop at Eccles, age 23-50, Car/ Van licence.

Call: 615-9132 or 645-8443.

From page 36 country. Furthermore, Ali underscored the significance of data services for business operations and the switch from minutes to data for calls. This transition, he explained, would enhance convenience and cost-effectiveness for enterprises utilizing data services.

Ali reiterated GMSA’s unwavering support for the “support local” initiative. At the dinner, he urged the government to prioritize local pro-

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portance of women being given the opportunity to earn and learn, remarking that “programs like this are in agreement with our Council’s vision for the development of women and I want us to congratulate the organisers on providing this initiative at Linden so that they will bring more sessions like these.”

Offering congratulations to the successful participants, Kelly McCray, Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Guyana, encouraged the participants to take full advantage of the training provided. She challenged the graduates in her remarks to grow and share, since “you are now positioned to help others as well, so I charge you to share your knowledge that you have earned with others and to help other Guyanese women realise economic prosperity.” The program, which has now been offered in Essequibo and Berbice, received welcoming remarks from the Regional Vice Chairman Mark Goring who commended the organisers for investing in the development of the women entrepreneurs in Region 10, especially by extending the program to include women from sub-region 2, Ituni and Kwakwani. In remarks echoing the sentiments of previous speakers on the importance of improving on the training provided, he said, “As you graduate this program today, I challenge you all to find more ways to grow, as I am sure it will result in your personal development, but also in development for so many others within your sphere of influence.” Founder and CEO of The NICO Consulting Michelle A. Nicholas weighed in via a recorded message to share in the excitement of the graduation, “You did it!” she exulted. Expressing that the entrepreneurial journey is a marathon, not a sprint, and this program is one of the rest stops, Ms. Nicholas reminded the graduates to “take it all in…take your 5-mins of selfcare everyday… and remember that you matter.” She also took time to thank all of those who contributed to the success of the activity. “Collaboration matters, we can’t do it alone,” she shared in recognizing the importance of these inputs. Encouraging the en-

trepreneurial spirit of the participants with a commitment made at the launch of the program to waive membership fees in the Chamber for this year for the participants, the President of the Linden Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Development Lyndon Younge again praised the timeliness of the initiative. He shared on the importance of being goal focused and utilizing the resources that are readily available.

IICA’s representative at the graduation Dr. Maxine Parris congratulated the graduates, stating that even by way of signing up for the opportunity they demonstrated the desire to learn and improve.

“Many times, we are our own worst enemy,” Dr. King remarked, “many times, we say that we have a little business, please don’t’say that. You don’t have a little business, you have a big dream and you have a whole future ahead of you.

But having been exposed to the training, I am sure that has now broadened your mind to the possibilities, so I want you to step into these possibilities.”

The training program was a hybrid of online and in-person sessions hosted in Linden, with the participants required to maintain attendance and participation rates that would ensure a thorough delivery of the curriculum.

Speaking on behalf of the participants, the best graduating participant Cherrise Duke, praised the organisers for the comprehensive training offered to herself and 24 other entrepreneurs. She assured the program partners that the experience provided has indeed significantly impacted the participants’ businesses and lives. Tandika H arry, entrepreneur and founder of AgriChef served as emcee of the graduation.

WeLead Caribbean intends to continue replicating this training in other communities across Guyana with the continued support of the program partners, and urged interested businesswomen to keep abreast of these plans via their social media page and in the mass media as well.

To learn more, please contact Abbigale Loncke-Watson, weleadcaribbean@gmail.com or +592.648.4302.

Sunday August 20, 2023

NDIA to build all-weather road at Buxton at an estimated $79M

D

uring the recent opening of ten ders, it was re-

vealed that the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) is looking to

Below are the companies and their bids National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) Construction of all weather road at Buxton.

A total of five contractors build a new all-weather road at Buxton for an estimated have bid to undertake the works. figure of $79,332,000.

Guyana Water Inc. Supply and Installation of Transmission Main for Onderneeming Water Treatment Plant (Riverstown to Suddie).

Supply and delivery of paper towels and dispensers.

National Agriculture Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) Procurement of 100 Green houses.

Thousands evacuated as fires rage in Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands The fire was at a scale that has never been seen before in the Canary Islands, officials say.

At their nearest point, the islands are 100km (60 miles) from Morocco.

Fierce flames lit up the night sky overnight and on Saturday helicopters were seen dropping water on areas close to homes where smoke billowed into the air.

Some 5,000 hectares (12,000 acres) have been burned so far with a perimeter of 50km (30 miles).

The fire was at a scale never been seen before in the Canary Islands, Tenerife Council President Rosa Davila told reporters. She said the priority was to “protect people’s lives”.

The blaze has not destroyed any homes so far, she added, citing the fire brigade.

The island’s popular tour-

Seven killed, scores wounded in Russian missile strike on Ukraine’s Chernihiv

A view shows a site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Chernihiv, Ukraine August 19, 2023.

REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation Supply and delivery of garbage and lining bins.

(Al Jazeera) - Thousands of residents from Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands have been evacuated as a wildfire authorities deemed “out of control” rages on for a fourth day.

The Canary Islands emergency services said more than 26,000 people had been evacuated by Saturday afternoon, according to provisional estimates, a sharp rise from 4,500 on Friday. Some 11 towns have now been affected.

The Atlantic island is home to about one million people and is also a popular tourist destination.

The seven-island archipelago is located off the northwest coast of Africa and southwest of mainland Spain.

PAGE 63

Kaieteur News

ist areas have so far been unaffected and its two airports have been operating normally.

The blaze broke out on Wednesday in a mountainous national park around the Mount Teide volcano – Spain’s highest peak – amid hot and dry weather.

The fire is located in a steep and craggy mountain area with pine trees, with several municipalities on its flanks. Access for firefighters is extremely difficult.

The Canary Islands have been in drought for most of the past few years, just like most of mainland Spain.

The islands have recorded below-average rainfall in recent years because of changing weather patterns

impacted by climate change.

Scorching heat and dry weather this year have contributed to unusually severe wildfires in Europe, including in Spain’s La Palma Island in July, and Canada.

Blazes on Hawaii’s Maui Island earlier this month killed more than 110 people and wrecked the historic resort city of Lahaina.

Scientists have said climate change has led to more frequent and more powerful extreme weather events.

European Union officials also blamed global warming for increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires in Europe, noting 2022 was the second-worst year for wildfire damage on record after 2017.

(Reuters) - Seven people including a 6-year-old child were killed, at least 129 wounded, and 41 were in hospital after a Russian missile struck a central square in the historic northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv on Saturday, Ukrainian officials said.

“A Russian missile hit right in the centre of the city, in our Chernihiv. A square, the polytechnic university, a theatre,” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who was on a visit to Sweden, posted on Telegram messaging app.

“An ordinary Saturday, which Russia turned into a day of pain and loss,” he added of the strike on Chernihiv, a city of leafy boulevards and centuries-old churches about 145 km (90 miles) north of the capital Kyiv.

Of the 129 counted as wounded in the search and rescue operation, 15 were children and 15 were police officers, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on Telegram.

Regional governor Viacheslav Chaus said later on Telegram that 140 people had sought medical help and 41 were in hospital.

Debris was scattered across a square in front of the damaged theatre and surrounding buildings, where parked vehicles were heavily damaged. A 63-year-old who only gave her first name, Valentyna, showed the damaged balcony in her apartment opposite the theatre.

“It is horrific. Horrific.

There were wounded, ambulances and broken glass in here. Nightmare. Just nightmare,” she said.

The roof of the neoclassical theatre was torn off by the strike.

Russia has attacked Ukrainian cities far from the frontline with missiles and drones as part of the full-scale inva-

sion that began in February 2022.

People leaving church after marking a religious holiday and others passing by were among those hurt when the missile hit the theatre, where a meeting was taking place, Chaus said.

Law enforcement agencies were looking into how Russians became aware of the event, which he said included business and community representatives but Ukrainian media reported involved drone manufacturers. Both sides have widely used drones on the battlefield.

An event organizer said all the participants, including engineers, members of the military and volunteers, were asked to go to an air raid shelter in the theatre when the alarm sounded, but some people went outside.

“All those who took shelter remained safe,” Maria Berlinska, a co-founder of the Dignitas Fund, whose fundraising includes money for drones for the frontline, said in a Facebook post.

A wounded woman said her friend pulled her out of one of the damaged buildings after a part of the ceiling fell on her head.

The streets were stained with blood trails and strewn with scraps from first-aid supplies that had been used to treat the wounded.

Kyiv’s air force said early on Saturday the Ukrainian military had shot down 15 out of 17 Iranian-made Shahed drones launched by Moscow in an overnight strike.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Saturday it had destroyed a Ukrainian drone in the Belgorod region and jammed another near Moscow. A third struck a military airfield in the Novgorod region, damaging a warplane, it also said.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 64

Sunday August 20, 2023

Misdiagnosed: Medical doctors treated child for asthma...

From page 53 friend and patient. “My disconcertment for her drove me to discuss her case with a good friend of mine who was touched by her story and promised to buy the oxygen tank. We bought the oxygen tank and presented it to her family. It brought joy and tears to her parents. For me, that was very rewarding seeing Vinita and her mom eased from their struggles, at least temporarily,” the doctor intimated.

Vinita lost her father two years ago, while the mother who could no longer carry the burden of her two daughters, left Vinita and her sister.

Today the young lady is still alive and lays hopeless on her bed with an almost permanent facial adjunct (a face Mask) where she receives oxygen at her Non Pariel home, under the care of her grandmother.

Dr. Abdullah said he has been seeing Vinita who is now 20-years old and have been providing private medical care in addition to extensive research to find a solution to her condition. The doctor explained that his love for helping children led him to join a non-governmental organization, ‘Three Rivers Foundation’ in Georgetown.

This group is geared towards

assisting children with s u rg i c a l l y m a n a g e a b l e cardiovascular conditions abroad, especially those that cannot be treated in Guyana.

“I discussed Vinita’s case with them, and the foundation had promised to fly her abroad for operations in India, but unfortunately, the hospital says organs are prioritized for Indian citizens. So, Vinita lost that opportunity. Vinita still has hope to live like many other children and go to school.

She needs a lung-heart transplant, an operation that can be done in Germany, the U.S., and Australia. She can be flown with an Air

Ambulance to any of these countries for the operation,” the medical professional explained.

Vinita is hopeful to one day become an accountant.

Growing up she was an aspiring nurse, but changed course after realizing she could not tolerate seeing sick people unable to help themselves. She enjoys cooking, baking, watching television, and spending time with her peers.

Her grandmother told the Waterfalls that she does most things for herself but becomes exhausted faster than a normal individual.

“She helps to wash but sometimes when she throws stuff on the line she would have to come and take a five because she can’t fatigue herself too much. Sometimes when she get ready she would pick up her oxygen tank and take a walk by her friend not too far from us in the street too,” Vinita’s grandmother said. She even noted that the young lady enjoys a good day at the mall, but she needs to be supervised.

Vinita’s dream is to be able

to go to school. “She wanted to go back to school so bad. She always talks about how she misses school, up to yesterday she was saying she would have been the first one to graduate because she is my eldest grandchild. Sometimes she would sit down and I think it would get to her more as she gets older. She can’t watch horror movies; the sounds would make her jump so sometimes I would trouble her and say lewwe watch a horror movie to cheer her up.”

About two years ago, Vinita started presenting a new symptom which made her relatives fearful. “We find that she would sit down and she wasn’t responding. The way she was sitting, she was so stiff that they pulled out the chair from under her and she was still stiff and in the sitting position. They had to give her the oxygen and the next day the same thing kind of happened when she was so stiff that they had to take her to the Hospital. They gave up on her, but my daughter told them she just need the oxygen and then she got

better,” the woman explained.

Doctors have told the family that these symptoms confirm that her condition was deteriorating and in the days ahead, Vinita’s other organs may shut down. “Sometimes we need tablets and we would get donations from overseas otherwise, we would have to buy it and it’s like $5000 a month if we get the grams we are looking for,” the woman said. The grandmother and doctor are appealing to the public to assist in whatever way possible to give the young lady an extended life.

Dr. Abdullah has said financial aid from the public can facilitate the transplant needed to save Vinita’s life.

The operation is expected to cost US$2.6 million. They are hopeful that she can one day live a normal life and possibly attend school.

Persons who are willing to assist in funding Vinita’s transplant or assisting through any other avenue can contact her grandmother on 592-671-6659 or 592677-0673.

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 20, 2023

Man stabbed to death at Reg. 7 backdam, three persons arrested Police in Region Seven are investigating the murder of a miner identified as 'Sunny' who was reportedly stabbed to death at Kumung Kumung Backdam, Puruni River, following an altercation at a shop in the area.

According to reports, the fatal stabbing occurred sometime between August 17 and 18.

Police said investigations into the incident revealed so far that around 23:00hrs on August 17, Sunny was in the company of two female Venezuelan nationals and others drinking alcohol at a shop, when he approached one of the ladies and requested to dance with her.

Reports are the Venezuelan woman declined Sunny's request, which caused him to become annoyed, and he then held on to her. The woman, police reported, pushed Sunny away which then led to an argument between them.

Eyewitnesses reported that during the argument the woman broke two bottles and threatened 'Sunny'.

Persons at the shop attempted to calm the situation, but 'Sunny' then

began to behave disorderly and assaulted two of the men that were trying to subdue him. According to the police, the two men, in turn, dealt Sunny several cuffs and lashes about his body. He was later taken to his camp in an intoxicated state and sometime after, retired to bed.

On August 18, at about 06:00hrs, it was reported that the Venezuelan woman who Sunny had the argument with was seen running away from his camp. He was later discovered covered in blood, lying motionless in his hammock.

Police said, upon arrival at the camp, his (Sunny's) body was examined and one stab wound was seen to his upper left side chest, two stab wounds were below his left armpit, and one to his upper left side back.

The police related that a 23-year-old female from Puerto Ordas, Venezuela who is the woman Sunny had the argument with, was arrested and taken into custody. Also, the two men who allegedly assaulted Sunny at the shop on August 17 were also arrested and are in police custody. An investigation is ongoing.

PAGE 65

The cannabis CANU discovered at Sandaka Creek on Saturday

CANU discover $11.2M in ganja at Sandaka Creek

C

ustoms Anti Narcotic Unit (CANU) during an operation on Saturday at Sandaka Creek, Corentyne, Region Six, discovered some $11.2 million in cannabis.

According to a release from CANU, officers conducted an

operation at Sandaka Creek, East Berbice-Corentyne, where they discovered several bags, containing several parcels of suspected cannabis in clumps of bushes along the creek.

The suspected c annabis was retrieved and taken to CANU's

Skeldon Office, where it was tested positive for cannabis.

It was reported that when weighed it amounted to approximately 37.4 kg (about 82.4 lbs.), with a street value of approximately GUY $11.2 million.

No one was arrested and an investigation is ongoing.

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Kaieteur News

Sunday August 20, 2023

Sunday August 20, 2023

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Kaieteur News

Sweden beat Australia to end third at Republic Bank GCB U23 Super50…

Skeldon, Port Mourant rack World Cup up wins in Berbice round (BBC Sport) - Kosovare Asllani’s stunning secondhalf strike sealed victory for Sweden as they beat Australia to finish third at the Women’s World Cup. She rifled in a shot from the edge of the area to add to Fridolina Rolfo’s first-half penalty as Sweden won the bronze medal match for the second World Cup in succession. Despite the defeat, this represents co-hosts Australia’s best ever World Cup finish but the Matildas were unable to end on a high.

Rolfo’s penalty gave Peter Gerhardsson’s side the lead after a video assistant

Sweden players celebrate another third-place finish at the Women’s World Cup. (Getty Images) referee (VAR) check confirmed that Claire Hunt had clipped Stina Blackstenius in the box after 26 minutes.

And on the hour mark, Blackstenius played a superb square ball to Asllani, who stroked in a first-time shot to double their lead.

“It was an incredibly im-

portant match and the final 10 minutes were really tough,” said Sweden coach Peter Gerhardsson.

“So when that final whistle went and we had won, there was a great sense of relief and it was a wonderful feeling. “It’s great to win a match of this magnitude -

Sunday August 20, 2023 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) People are apt to try to hit you square on the head with their ideas and thoughts today, Aries, so be ready for the onslaught of information that may come your way.

There's a distinct advantage.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) People would be foolish to challenge your thinking now, Libra. The power behind your words is volatile, and you may find yourself going to extremes in order to get your point across.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) Anchor yourself in practical matters before you try to prove your point to others.

There's a great deal of primal energy rising within you today and searching for some sort of outlet.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Your old ways of thinking have carried you quite far, Scorpio, but you may now find that it's time to seek a new platform for your ideas.

Look for more adventurous ways to express yourself. .

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) One quick phone call to a friend may turn into a long discussion about the meaning of life, Sagittarius.

Be conscious of the fact that there's a great deal of momentum building in your mind now.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Don't take no for an answer today, Gemini. Know what you believe in and stick with it. There's a distinct advantage to holding true to your inner nature.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) Be a pioneer thinker today, Cancer. There's a noble courage in your thoughts, so don't let this quality go to waste. You will be surprised at how cutting edge you can be when you put your mind to it.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) It could be that you feel a bit of pressure today to start or create something that you aren't quite ready for, Capricorn. There is hesitation on your part that indicates you should take it slowly .

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Be aggressive and forceful when it comes to exerting your will, Leo. Let others know that you won't be a pushover. Your opinions are extremely important,

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Move forward with your plan of attack today, Aquarius. There's an anxious rumble within you that's urging you to get going with a current plan. You have all the facts you need,

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Se pt. 22) Today may be one of those days in which you come to a four-way stop and no one knows whose turn it is.

Don't sit and wait for everyone else to go first, Virgo.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Add spark to your life today, Pisces. It could be that things are getting stale and boring. If so, consider the possibility that you simply aren't challenging yourself.

there’s been a lot of attention paid to this tournament back in Sweden.” Sweden win bronze again Sweden have plenty of experience of playing in the third-fourth place match, having reached the semi-finals on five occasions but only making the final once - in 2003, when they were beaten by Germany.

And they dominated the game to win bronze for a fourth time.

They were already on on top before Rolfo beat the dive of Australia keeper Mackenzie Arnold with a well-placed penalty into the bottom left corner to give them the lead. And Asllani’s super strike secured victory in a game of a few clear cut chances. It has been another fine tournament for the Scandinavians who topped their group with maximum points before knocking out defending champions the United States in the last 16.

An impressive victory over Japan followed, but their failure to successfully negotiate a semi-final once again after their dramatic exit at the hands of Spain, will be their lasting memory of this tournament. Australia capture the nation’s imagination The Matildas’ achievement in finishing fourth cannot be understated in a country where football is not the number one sport. Their 3-1 semi-final defeat

by England was the most watched TV event in Australian history with 11.15 million viewers tuning in. But they seemed deflated on Saturday and put in a tired performance, with even their talisman Sam Kerr struggling to make an impact on the game - in fact, she had the fewest touches of any player on the pitch in the first half.

Their best chances fell to Hayley Raso and Clare Polkinghorne, but they were both denied by Sweden goalkeeper Zecira Musovic.

“We wanted to have some hardware to take home, it wasn’t to be,” said captain Kerr. “We’ve proved to the world - and also within Australia - that we are a footballing nation.”

Australia, who had only ever reached the quarter-finals once previously, in 2015, were the first hosts to reach the semi-finals since United States in 2003.

Port Mourant and Skeldon Community Centre registers huge wins on Saturday when the Republic Bank GCB U23 Inter-Club Super50 tournament continued in Berbice.

Port Mourant beat Rose Hall by 5 wickets Batting first, Rose Hall finished on 133 all out with Romesh Bharat (46) and Jonathan Rampersaud (20) leading the way.

The Boodwah trio of Navin 3- 20, Ravin 2-25 and Romel 3- 21 sliced through the opposition bowling for Port Mourant who in reply ended on 134 for 5 in 34.1 overs.

Rampersaud Ramnauth (41) ,Dave Ramgolam (31) and Navin Boodwah (29) led their team’s batting. Rose Hall

bowling was led by Jonathan Rampersaud (2-25).

Skeldon Estate Community Center beat 69. Vikings by 132 runs Skeldon Estate Community Center scored 188 all out in 23 overs. Sarwan Chitnarine (79), Abseer Hussian (24) and Farhan Elmodeen (21). Bowling for 69 Vikings saw T.Lemraj leading with 5-47 off 5 overs while A. Yacoob 2-37 and G.Doodauth 2- 36 lent support. In reply 69 Vikings were skittled out for 56 with the pair of Yacoob (15) and Doonauth (14) returning to attempt saving their team. M.Chaitnarine 4-18 and A. Hussian 4-28 were the stars with ball for Skeldon.

Action continues today.

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Kaieteur News

Sunday August 20, 2023

World Athletic Championship 2023…

Another historic run

by Archibald to reach semis at Worlds …Allyah Abrams to compete in today’s women’s 400m

By Rawle Toney Emanuel Archibald continues to script his own narrative in the realm of track and field, with his historic performance at the World Athletics Championship in Budapest, Hungary, marking his latest chapter.

Archibald, who this year became Guyana’s first CAC Games 100m champion, once again achieved a significant milestone as the first male Guyanese sprinter to advance to the semifinals of the men’s 100m at the pinnacle event of World Athletics.

He clinched the third spot in heat seven at H u n g a r y ’s N a t i o n a l Athletics Centre during last evening’s competition.

The men’s 100m stands as the premier event of the Championships, and Archibald ensured that the Golden Arrowhead proudly adorned the ranks of top-tier nations competing for sprint supremacy.

To secure his place, Archibald navigated the preliminary rounds with aplomb, clocking 10.27 seconds, thereby securing the top position.

Subsequently, he faced formidable competition in his heat, contending with 2019 champion Christian Coleman and 2018 Commonwealth Champion Akani Simbine.

Noteworthy is the fact that while Archibald’s personal best is 10.14s, only a hair’s breadth away from Adam Harris’ National record of 10.12s, both Coleman and Simbine boast sub-10 timings.

Given this challenge, it necessitated an extraordinary effort from Archibald to progress to the next round.Nonetheless, Archibald delivered a commendable performance, clocking a time of 10.20s to secure the third position. His performance trailed behind the winner Simbine, who clocked 9.97s, and Coleman, who completed the race in 9.98s. In the upcoming semifinal, Archibald will once again share the track

Aliyah Abrams will run in the women’s 400m

with Coleman and Simbine; two sprinters who are driven by the desire to reaffirm their prowess after missing the podium in the previous year’s championship in Eugene, Oregon, USA. Simultaneously, Allyah Abrams is set to compete in the women’s 400m event.

Abrams is in the midst of a fruitful season, marked by her establishment of a new National Record for Guyana in this event.

Abrams’ outstanding achievement came at the NACAC New Life Invitational Women’s 400m event in The Emanuel Archibald

Bahamas, where she clinched first place with a time of 50.20s, shattering Aliann Pompey’s 14-year-old national record of 50.71s, which had been set at the World Championships in Berlin, Germany, in 2009.

As a result, Abrams now holds the distinction of being the fastest Guyanese athlete in the 400m event and her recorded time ranks as the 17th fastest globally this year.

Following a semifinal exit in the previous year’s championship, Abrams is resolute in her quest to reach the medal round in this iteration of the event.

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 20, 2023

PAGE 71

RL Construction BCB U-15 Tournament…

RHT Farfan and Mendes to clash in today’s finale Sohail Mohamed

T

he Area ‘H’ Ground will come alive today when the Berbice Cricket Board hosts the finals of its 2023 RL Construction Under 15 To u r n a m e n t .

The Tournament started early in the year with eighteen (18) teams competing. Rose Hall Town Farfan and Mendes had advanced to the finals after defeating Bath while Rose Hall Canje crushed Cotton Tree by a massive 184 runs in the other semifinals.

Rose Hall Town Farfan and Mendes Ltd will be led by national player Sohail Mohamed while the visiting team would be spearheaded b y A d r i a n H e t m y e r.

Mohamed is expected to be supported by Tameshwar Deonandan, Raffel McKenzie, Moonish Rampersaud, Aakash Sooklall, Dev Seepersaud, Leon Reddi and Kumalchan Ramnarace.

Rose Hall Canje effort will be led by Richard Ramdeholl, Luke

Amsterdam, Adil Hemraj and Brandon Grimmond.

The winning team, runner up and Man of the Finals will be awarded trophies and cash prizes.

Meanwhile, playing at the Jai Hind Ground in Canje, the RHCCC amassed 203 all out in 47.5 overs with national Under 13 vicecaptain Richard Ramdehol top scoring with a delightful 95 not out and Luke Amsterdam, 26. Ramdehol was left unbeaten after he ran out of partners.

Bowling for Cotton Tree, David Alfred took 3 for 45, Fayad Gafoor 2 for 31 and Arif Bacchus 2 for 24. In response, the first-time semifinalists Cotton Tree CC was shot out for a meager 19 from 8.1 overs as medium pacer Adrian Hetymer and Adhil Hemraj created havoc.

Heytmer claimed 4 for 6 from 4.1 overs while Hemraj had figures of 4 for 12 from 4 impressive overs.

The tournament is sponsored by Rondall Lewis of RL Construction Ltd. Adrian Heytmer

PAGE 72

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 20, 2023

Cricket Gear for young and promising cricketers in Guyana continues

F

ormer National Junior cricketer Chetram Balgobin benefits from this noble initiative.

Balgobin represented Demerara and Guyana at the under-17 and under-19 levels. The twenty-year-old hard-hitting left-hander who bowls off-spin as well, was the recipient of one cricket bat. He is a member of Enmore Cricket Club.

At a simple ceremony held recently, he was thankful for the token and promised to continue to work hard on his game.

This project is pleased to be part of Balgobin’s development.

Total cricket-related items received/purchased so far is $370,000 in cash, which include: thirteen colored cricket uniforms, two trophies, seventeen pairs of cricket boots, thirty-one pairs of batting pads, thirtytwo cricket bats, twenty-nine pairs of batting gloves, twenty-two thigh pads, three pairs of wicket keeping pads, five arm guards, two boxes, ten cricket bags, six bat rubbers, six helmets and one fiberglass bat.

In addition to the above, $600,000 worth of gear was donated by Sheik Mohamed, former National wicketkeeper/batsman.

To date, sixty-six young players, male and female, from all three counties of Guyana have benefited from three junior gear bags, two trophies, four arm guards, twenty-seven bats, two boxes, five helmets, twentytwo pairs of cricket shoes, fifteen pairs of batting pads, two thigh pads, one bat grip,

twenty-four pairs of batting gloves and two p a i r s o f wicketkeeping gloves.

In addition, two clubs in the Pomeroon area benefited from two used bats. Pomeroon, Leguan and Wa k e n a m C r i c k e t Committees and Cotton Tree Die Hard also received one box of red cricket balls each, Cold Fusion Cricket Club thirteen color uniforms while RHCCCC received three boxes of balls, fifteen white cricket shirts, one pair of junior batting pads, one pair of wicket keeping gloves, a set of stumps and bails.

Other beneficiaries are The Essequibo Cricket Board, the Town of Lethem, youth coach Travis Persaud (one box of red cricket balls) and female softball teams in the Upper Corentyne area.

Cricket-related items, used or new, are distributed free of cost to young and promising cricketers in Guyana.

Skills, discipline and education are important characteristics of the recipients.

Talent spotting is being done across the country and club leaders also assist to identify talent. Progressive and well-managed cricket clubs with a youth program, will also benefit.

We take this opportunity to thank Javed and Imran of We s t I n d i a n S p o r t s Complex, Option Group of USA, Hilbert Foster, Bish Panday of P and P Insurance Brokers, Sean Devers,

Chetram Balgobin Trevis Simon, Årïêl J. Tïlkú, Aaron Beharry, Leanna Bachan and Imran Saccoor, Devon Ramnauth, Teddy Singh, Romash Munna, Ravi Etwaroo, Kelvin Brijlall, Ravin Harkishun, Surendra Harkishun, Allan Mangru and Dennis Mangru, Vishal Mahabir, Sherman Austin, Huburn Evans, Rajendra Sadeo and Ramesh Sunich of Trophy Stall, Sheik Mohamed of Star Sports Awards and Trophies, Ajay Gainda of Cricket Equipment Guyana, Gajanand Singh, Peter Ramkissoon, Rabindranath Saywack, Roshan Gaffoor, Ameer Rahaman, Chin Singh, Denesh Chandrapaul, Davo Naraine of UK, Dr Cecil Beharry, Raj Mathura, Raj Bharrat, Latch Mohabir and family, Suresh Dhanai, Vishal Nagamootoo, Moses Nagamootoo Jnr, Regal Sports Store, Omkar Singh, Parmanand Dhaniram, Reshma Mathura, Booman Singh and Krishna Rengensamy. We thank the media for the role they are playing in promoting this venture.

Distribution will continue. Anyone interested to contribute can contact Anil Beharry on 623-6875 or Kishan Das on +1-718 6640896.

GFA SML: Triple-header billed for GFC today The closing rounds of the Georgetown FA’s Senior Men’s League (SML) will continue today with a triple-header at the GFC ground, Bourda.

The one-round League competition has now been reduced to eight teams after internal problems within Camptown FC created 3 forfeited games,forcing the GFA to take the necessary action of removing them from the SML. Today’s fixtures will begin at 3 pm when bottom team Order and Discipline on 3 points from 5 games face 4th placed Vengy FC on 10 points from 5 outings. The 2nd encounter slated for 5pm will feature leaders Beacons on 15 points in search of their 6th consecutive win against 6th placed GFC who are on 7 points after 6 matches.

The final match at 7pm will bring together 3rd placed Pele FC on 10 points after 5 games and 5th placed East Veldt on same points from 6 matches,but with an inferior goal difference.

Beacons FC seemingly on course to capture the title have Vengy and 2nd placed Riddim Squad to play and should they continue in the same vein will reach the unassailable maximum 24 points. Wins in the remaining 2 games for the Mocha-based unit who also have Black Pearl to confront can take them to 18 points.

Pele or Vengy, on 10 points each, can steal the title if Beacons win today and thereafter lose both of their remaining matches and either side win their remaining 3 games, including today’s games.

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 20, 2023

PAGE 73

Winfield Braithwaite Int’l School Boys and Girls Boxing C/ship…

Tiquan Sampson shines as Guyana impresses on opening night The curtains rose on the 6th edition of the Winfield Braithwaite International Schoolboys and Schoolgirls Boxing Championship, inaugurating its pugilistic festivities at the National Gymnasium located along Mandela Avenue.

The opening day of this championship delivered an electrifying array of nine schoolboys’ clashes, culminating in an enthralling finale between Tiquan Sampson and Denzel Stephen.

The host nation, Guyana, demonstrated its pugilistic prowess by seizing victory in five encounters on the championship’s opening night.

Trinidad and Tobago secured three triumphs, while St. Lucia clinched a lone victory, setting the stage for the forthcoming second day.

The initial bell chimed just little past 7:00 pm on Friday which set Nicholai Hinds against Isiah Jones in the ring. Isiah’s diminutive stature belied the thunderous power he wielded, as he unleashed a series of penetrating jabs upon his towering adversary, Hinds.

The initial rounds were dominated by Jones, who skillfully asserted his dominance. The ensuing round witnessed both combatants fiercely engaging, exchanging a substantial barrage of blows.

The climactic third round saw Jones once again emerging victorious, securing an impressive win on the t o u r n a m e n t ’ s commencement.

In the subsequent bout, the prodigious Roopesh Balgobin hailing from Guyana squared off against Trinidad’s own Johnathan Khan. Balgobin, a master of his craft, displayed calculated aggression, landing a powerful right hook early in the first round that sent Khan reeling.

Succumbing to the onslaught, Khan yielded the contest merely one minute and 25 seconds into the second round, thus affording Balgobin a comfortable triumph in his maiden international endeavor.

The Guyanese boxer, Dontavian Denny, found

Guyanese Roopesh Balgobin punishes TT’s Johnathan Khan on opening night

himself outmatched by Trinidad and Tobago’s Malcieve Bellille in the 57kg schoolboys’ bout. Bellille emerged victorious via the judges’ scorecards.

Meanwhile, the formidable Shakquain James of Guyana showcased remarkable skills on the opening night, triumphing over Barbados’ Nathan Walcott in the inaugural Youth Welterweight (67kg) bout. Trinidad and Tobago initiated their 2023 championship campaign with a resounding victory, as Anferney Baptise bested Guyana’s Clipton Jackson.

The climactic moment approached with the first finals of the evening, pitting Curtis McDonald (Guyana) against Jaheim Alexander (Trinidad) in the Schoolboys’ 32kg encounter. McDonald’s astute boxing tactics propelled him to outmaneuver Alexander, ultimately claiming victory

by way of the judges’ unanimous decision.

The seventh battle of the night bore witness to St. Lucia’s hard-hitting John Dedier, whose formidable fists sent Jonathan Clyne of Grenada to the canvas. The referee intervened, halting the contest at one minute and 11 seconds into the second round. Later, Guyana’s fortunes took a downturn as Kaide Wetthers succumbed to the skillful footwork of Trinidad’s Joshua Lewis, whose impeccable movement proved insurmountable for the burly Wetthers. The night’s concluding showdown unveiled a boxing prodigy in the form of Tiquan Sampson (Guyana), who swiftly vanquished Denzel Stephen of St. Lucia in a mere one minute and 22 seconds of the first round. Stephen proved no match for the flamboyant Sampson, suffering defeat by way of Referee Stopped Contest (RSC).

Kaide Wetthers of Guyana in battle with Joshua Lewis (backing)

Kaieteur News

PAGE 74

Sunday August 20, 2023

Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League 2023…

Bad Weather spoils double-header featuring Amazon Warriors -Teams share points following ruined games

T

he Guyana Amazon Warriors had their opening match versus the St. Lucia

Kings scrapped due to weather as Saturday’s double header was ruined at the Darren Sammy Cricket

Ground.

Saturday was ravaged by intermittent showers forcing what was a highly-

anticipated battle for the Guyana Amazon Warriors and the home team, St. Lucia Kings, to a 5 overs aside battle, to which both teams shared points.

The Warriors sped to 562 from their quota, led by opener Saim Ayub who hit 3 fours and a six in 21 off 16 and a firery innings of 21 from 11 not out by Azam Khan which featured 2 huge sixes and a four.

Chris Sole (1-22) and Jair McAllister (1-7) did what they could for the Kings, who were unable to take the field for the chase, as officials called curtains on the match, bringing a sad end to what was dubbed to be an exciting match.

Also, the opening match earlier in the day, was also stopped due to rain as the Trinbago Knight Riders managed to reach 19-1 after

3 overs versus the St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots, before the weather had its final say.

The tournament is scheduled to continue today at the same venue with another double-header that will see the Barbados Royals face the Jamaica Tallawahs in the opening match at 10:00 hrs while the St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots oppose the home team, the St. Lucia Kings, at 19:00 hrs.

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 20, 2023

Triple Crown bonus on the table ... JJTRC continues to boost horse racing

O

ne of the highestprofile events in G u y a n a ’s sporting calendar, The Guyana Cup, has added a new dimension to the future of the sport.

Promoter of the event, Jumbo Jet Thoroughbred Racing Committee (JJTRC), announced that E a s y Ti m e , r u n a w a y winner of Sunday’s 1,600metre Guyana Cup and runner-up, El Tarzan, have both gained automatic eligibility for next for the 2024 renewal of the marquee Guyana Cup line-up.

This means that Easy Time and El Tarzan cannot be eliminated from next year’s event when entries are accepted for the event.

Before the running of Sunday’s Guyana Cup, Nasrudeen Mohamed, JJTRC’s Chief Executive Officer made a public announcement of ‘win and you are in.’

Mohamed disclosed he has sought a meeting with other promoters of the sport to discuss some proposals.

Mohamed said he wants everyone’s views on what system should be instituted for the eligibility for the remaining slots in the Guyana Cup and the proposed Triple Crown races.

He also suggested that JJTRC is giving serious consideration regarding

staging a Triple Crown series for the top-class horses (locally bred) and possibly West Indian-bred three-year-olds.

The JJTRC President is also looking at ‘sweetening the pot’ by announcing a bonus to the owners of any horse that wins all three races in the top category.

He added, “We are open to options, and suggestions to level the playing field for all to participate.”

He also announced, “We are looking at improving the local breeding industry.

A lot of local breeders are calling for a Derby for Guyana-bred horses only.

We will go a step f u r t h e r, a n d l o o k a t staging a Triple Crown series for them, but we need a good field, otherwise, we will have to make it open to West Indian-bred also.”

“We are looking at bringing innovations to the sport. We expect that these initiatives will encourage more owners to invest in the sports’ development.

I was made aware other racing jurisdictions in the Caribbean are looking at our purses and are interested in competing, but we need to have our regulations in place for them to participate.

Next year we are looking at increasing purses in all the major races again.”

PAGE 75

World Athletic Championship 2023… rts

Spo

Guyana’s Emanuel Archibald (centre) runs ahead of Macau’s Chan Kin Wa and Tuvalu’s Karalo Hepoiteloto Maibuca (not in picture) in the men’s 100m preliminary round at the World Athletics Championships (Getty Images)

Another historic run by Archibald to reach semis at Worlds …Allyah Abrams to compete in today’s women’s 400m

Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League 2023…

Bad Weather spoils double-header featuring Amazon Warriors Azam Khan of Guyana Amazon Warriors hits a 6 during his innings against St. Lucia Kings.

(Photo by Randy Brooks/CPL T20 via Getty Images)

- Teams share points following ruined games

Guyana Amazon Warriors’s Saim Ayub was crafty with his shot at the top of the order. (Photo by Randy Brooks/ CPL T20 via Getty Images)

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