Kaieteur News
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Sunday August 01, 2021
Stabroek Block deal offers worrying financial risks…
Actual costs of ExxonMobil projects, new – INT’L discoveries, dry holes remain unknown REPORT Since production started in 2019, the unusually lopsided provisions of the
Stabroek Block Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) allow the lion’s share of the
profits made on Guyana’s oil resources to flow into the pockets of ExxonMobil,
Hess Corporation and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited. This state of affairs
is one that has left many industry stakeholders in a perpetual state of sadness and worry for the people of Guyana. But what has troubled industry stakeholders even more is the absence of key information to the citizenry about their resources. Just recently for example, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) pointed out that the country remains in the dark about the actual total development costs
IEEFA Director of Financial Analysis, Tom Sanzillo
President, Irfaan Ali needed to reach the maximum amount of extractable oil for ExxonMobil’s Liza Phase One, Liza Phase Two and Continued on page 64
Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo
Kaieteur News
Sunday August 01, 2021
PAGE 03
Guyana’s oil can achieve dual purpose of ‘solving energy demand, reducing carbon emissions’ – Hess H e s s C o r p o r a t i o n ’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), John Hess is claiming that even as world leaders make big commitments to transition to renewable energy so as to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, oil will still be needed along the way to meet global energy needs. This was made during his c o m p a n y ’s 2 0 2 1 Q 2 Earnings call.
According to John Hess, the importance of oil to meet the energy demand of the future has been acknowledged by the International Energy A g e n c y ’s r i g o r o u s Sustainable Development Scenario which states that, assuming that all pledges of the 2015 Paris Agreement are met, oil and gas will be 46% of the global energy mix in 2040 compared with
approximately 53% currently. Even in the IEA’s newest Net Zero Scenario, oil and gas will still be 29% of the energy mix in 2040. With the aforementioned in consideration, Hess said it is clear oil and gas will be needed for decades to come and will require significantly more global investment over the next 10 years on an annual basis than the
IEA says 2020 saw the largest decline in energy demand, carbon emissions since WW2
Carbon emission trends, 1965 – 2020. According to data released by the International Energy Agency (IEA) on March 2, global energy demand fell by an estimated 4.5% in 2020. This is the largest annual decline since the end of World War II. The plunge in energy demand was the largest factor behind the estimated 6% declines in global carbon dioxide emissions in 2020, which was also the largest such decline since World War II. When energy giant BP began reporting on carbon dioxide emissions in 1965, it recorded a total of 11.2 billion metric tons of CO2. After rising steadily for decades, global carbon dioxide emissions fell by 6.4%, or 2.3 billion tonnes, in 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic squelched economic and social activities worldwide. In 55 years, the world has almost tripled its carbon emissions. The significance of this revelation can be grasped from the fact that there have only been a handful of times
since 1965 that carbon emissions declined yearover-year, and at every such occurrence they quickly bounced back and once again began to climb. Richard Rapier commenting on the trend for online media page, oilprice.com, has posited that “because global energy demand seems to have largely recovered this year, it’s likely that 2021 will mark the largest annual increase in carbon emissions since 1965.” He highlights that regionally, Asia Pacific is responsible for the largest share of carbon dioxide emissions, with more than double the combined emissions of the U.S. and the EU. The Asia Pacific Region is home to both China and India, the world’s two most populous countries and two of the largest carbon dioxide emitters. Although all three Regions saw a decline in carbon dioxide emissions in 2020, China – the world’s largest carbon emitter — was one of a handful of countries
to see a year-over-year increase in carbon emissions. The world’s 10 largest emitters of carbon dioxide in 2020 were the same countries as in 2019. However, Iran jumped ahead of Germany and Saudi Arabia jumped ahead of Indonesia. Of the Top 10 emitters, only three have experienced a decline in emissions over the past decade. China is now responsible for nearly 30 percent of global carbon emissions. However, since 1965 no country has put more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than the United States. The 278 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide the U.S. has emitted to the atmosphere in the past 55 years represented 21.7% of global emissions during that time. China wasn’t too far behind with 218 billion metric tons emitted. At current emission rates, China will surpass the U.S. as the country with the most historical emissions in 11 years.
US$300 billion spent last year. This is where its interest in Guyana’s sweet, light crude plays a crucial role as the CEO said its investment in Guyana will help it to meet the dual challenge facing the world, that is to say, filling the oil supply gap and reducing emissions. To justify his position, Hess cited recent data from a Wood Mackenzie report which show that developments offshore Guyana, “are the highest margin, lowest carbon intensity oil and gas assets globally.” He further underscored his company’s confidence in Guyana saying, “Our strategy is to grow our resource base, have a low cost of supply and sustained cash flow growth. Executing this strategy has positioned our company to deliver industry leading cash flow growth over the next decade and has made our portfolio increasingly resilient in a low oil price environment.” He added, “Our strategy aligns with the world’s growing need for affordable, reliable and cleaner energy that is necessary for human prosperity and global economic development. We recognise that climate
CEO
The CEO of Hess Corporation, John Hess
change is the greatest scientific challenge of the 21st century and support the aim of the Paris Agreement and a global ambition to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.” He said the key for his company in this regard is to have low-cost supply. By investing only in high return, low-cost opportunities, the best rocks for the best returns, he said Hess has built a differentiated and focused portfolio that is balanced between short cycle and long cycle assets. The Hess CEO has also commented on the massive importance of Guyana to the
future operations for the company and has indicated that in time, it is almost inevitable that Guyana will become the most important operation for the company, “Guyana is our ‘growth engine, and the Bakken, Gulf of Mexico and Southeast Asia are our cash engines. Guyana is positioned to become a significant cash engine in the coming years as multiple phases of low cost oil developments come online, which we expect will drive our portfolio breakeven Brent oil price below US$40 per barrel by the middle of the decade…,” Hess said.
Quarantined prisoner escapes from Lusignan Prison
Prisoner, Quincy Clarke
Quincy Clarke, 38-year-old of West La Penitence, Georgetown, escaped from the Lusignan Prison, East Coast Demerara (ECD) during the wee hours on Saturday. According to police reports, between 02:00hrs and 02:10hrs, two ranks who were working at the holding bay noticed a man running and pushing a black and red Honda XR motorcycle. The officers shouted at the man to stop, but he refused to halt. He was chased before dropping the motorcycle and jumped into a nearby trench. He then ran west into some bushes making good his escape. The ranks, who gave chase, later learned that the individual was a prisoner and the motorcycle belonged to a prison officer. Clarke was sentenced to t w o f o u r- w e e k t e r m s concurrently for two counts of threatening language on the 29 July, 2021.
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Sunday August 01, 2021
Kaieteur News
Kaieteur News Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL - Tel: 624-6456 Editor: Sharmain Grainger Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210
EDITORIAL
Emancipation Emancipation is here, but is it? It should mean not only freedom from physical restraint, but also psychological ones. Guyanese have been free from the yoke for over a half century now, yet they race in haste to get away from this place with so many riches. Though a people have been set free from the enslavement of the human body and mind, those most bestial of crimes that can be committed by man against man, there are those tribal and communal and national slaveries that not just remain deeply ingrained here, but in the totality of the crippling shackling that they instil actually flourishes. We don’t have to go far into the past, only a mere year ago, to the 19 months before that is focused upon and there is the picture and proof of the slaveries that exist in full flow here. Then, there is leadership slavery, which takes two forms. The first is where parts of a population are committed and helplessly tied to political leaders, on the one hand; and, on the other, of the leaders, who prey upon the fears and vulnerabilities of those same willing segments of a largely unthinking population to dance to their driving whips, to submit to their chains. Those would be the chains that racial and political leaders wrap around the minds of trapped Guyanese, so that they can no longer think straight for themselves and, not satisfied with that inhuman cruelty, leaders then proceed to apply chains in a vice-like grip around the necks of weakened Guyanese, so that they can’t breathe. This is the kind of emancipat i o n t h a t t h e overwhelming percentage of Guyanese live with, even welcome. They prefer the oppressions of the masters in their ‘big houses’ which they have made for themselves, off the sweat and backs of toiling Guyanese, always mostly falling short citizens. But in addition to the racial and leadership slaveries that have an irreversible stranglehold on this nation, and with all of their associated social, environmental, and financial ills, there is still another slavery with which the peoples of this country must now contend. It is a new one, which they have failed to grasp, because of the unemancipated state in which they languish, and which make them into objects of utter contempt, ripe for absolute exploitation. That of which we speak is oil slavery. One massive oil discovery after another has provoked the worst states of mind conceivable in us: who should and should not get the nation’s oil bounties? Who has already tried to rob, or is now planning to rob, of this incredible oil patrimony? And who must be prevented, at all costs and by any means, from getting to the upper level and, hence, the upper hand in the Guyana’s crab-like oil barrel? Alongside the fresh slavery of oil and it’s still unimaginable riches, there follows in lockstep, those raw and rank enslaving racial prejudices that keep us circling each other fearfully and suspiciously, and reaching to do one of two things. That is, grab by the throat and tear out windpipe; or stab in the back, by entertaining the most deepseated and widespread uncertainties about motives, agendas, and where developments could lead. So, there was an Abolition Act in Great Britain in 1833 (Earl Grey), an Emancipation Proclamation in America in 1863 (Abraham Lincoln), and the equivalent of emancipation from colonial servitude from the mother country in Guyana in 1966 (Harold Wilson). We should have been better and freer in the years since, but we have not been. Now new enslavers are here, and all because of the newer slavery of oil, and its countless oppressions.
Happy Emancipation Day 2021 Dear Editor, Emancipation Day 2021 marks 187 years since the abolition of slavery, which became effective August 1, 1834. It provides an opportunity for Guyanese of African descent to remember their forefathers who endured the cruel indignities of the Middle Passage and slavery of plantation life at the hands of several European nations. It also provides an opportunity for us to recapture our identity, to take stock of themselves socially, economically, politically, to engage in discussions on the many problems which have engaged us through the decades. Slavery remains a sensitive topic for many African Guyanese because quite a few of us have not reconciled ourselves with its historical facts. If anything, seeking reparations is best option for seeking accountability and justice. Reconciliation however remains a matter for the individual, but I urge all those still troubled by the events of slavery to put it to rest, to think of the here and now, of yourselves, how you plan to become financially secure, independent and ensure that your children’s future is taken care of. The three measures
identified, social, economic and political, are closely intertwined. The foundation of social progress is the family, the woman/mother, and supporting culture. The ideal family unit characterised by both parents in a stable, productive relationship with the common objective of economic security for the family. It is one where children learn the social skills necessary for success in life, where they come to understand the importance of a stable family as integral for their immediate success as well as that of their future generations. One of our sad realities is that our society seems to have departed from the idea and virtues of marriage, family, and what little remains of religious guidance on family is ploughed into the ground on a daily basis by some music which is supposed to offer an opportunity for productive social relations, but instead preaches violence and general anti-social behaviours, chief among these being the degradation and debasement of women. Even sadder is that our women who have been socialising with this kind of music over the last few decades, because it is an occasion for relaxing and
having fun, have gotten caught up in this ‘fun’ and have paid a tremendous price for it, enduring much of the physical and sexual abuse espoused by this music. This ‘culture’ has also unfortunately resulted in many children being fathered by men who have no long term interest in the mother or parental responsibility, the consequence being children having to survive broken homes in an environment dominated by the anti-social music referred to above. This obviously places them at a disadvantage compared with children in normal families at school, in search of jobs, further educational opportunities and general success in life. Obvious solutions to these are regulation of these anti-social music out of our society through taxation or other punitive measures. Especially also, our women and young girls need to learn to respect themselves and more importantly, demand respect from men with whom they engage. Casual sexual relations is one of the most dangerous, costly activities in which women can engage, having the potential to get them sick or burdened with unwanted children with men who more often than not have no
interest in them beyond liaison. Men on the other hand can do much by being more respectful to girls, women, and disregard all the anti-social urgings of music against women. They need to see their womenfolk as ‘sisters from another mother,’ descendants of enslaved Africans like themselves, who need to be given their rightful place in society, as partners in the security of a stable home. The active involvement of men in treating women with the respect they deserve will significantly improve the condition of women, their children, and the family structure in general. Lastly, both men and women should seriously consider a return to the idea of identifying and assessing suitors as longterm partners for marriage. Thinking twice on this can save a lifetime of short- and long-term distress. From an economic perspective, progress for Guyanese of African descent has exhibited a marked degree of unevenness exacerbated in no small measure by government policy through the decades. While many have been able to acquire tertiary education and jobs which (Continued on page 6)
Sunday August 01, 2021
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Kaieteur News
Emancipation - the grandeur of its resonances Dear Editor, Emancipation! The word certainly has a glorious sound and echo to it, like continuously rolling thunder, like the gentle moan of a snowflake in free airy trajectory. There are so many meanings associated with this simplest, yet thorniest, of human conditions, and when they come to signify the reality of true liberty, then man lives like a man among his fellow men. It is the way that we were made to be. I put myself in the place of the newly freed slaves on that first day of the rest of their bitter, shackled lives, and no matter how much I try, I fail miserably at capturing the essences of the joys of such a day in 1833 and 1863. Imagination freezes. The senses depart. The touch and feel that come fall woefully short. But, simply a mere reflection on the moment brings a long hushed peace
to the spirit. Free! Free, at last. Free, forever and beyond. Oh Lord, oh God, never, ever let this be again. Never! For any man. Any woman toiling in fearful domestic anonymity. Any child rushed to and around with intentions less pure, less securing. For man was born free, possesses the deepest instincts to be free, and nothing else will do. Therefore, let us be free, and free ourselves from the chains that contain. Let us be free from any kind or degree of human slavery. Serfdom. Indentureship. Restraint. Especially to think, to be conscientious. Free as the wind to inhabit the peaks, and to be at home in the valleys and plains and lowlands, too. The indomitable, unconquerable spirit of man must be so authentically emancipated, as to be able to think freely and vastly, with the only limitations being
Call for an explanation from Minister of Home Affairs Dear Editor, I have great faith and confidence in the fourth estate. As such, I read a letter in sections of the media alleging that the Hon. Minister of Home Affairs requested of certain senior officers in one of our security branches that they should seek ethnic balance. Those of us who are aware of Guyana’s history, particularly as we celebrate the anniversary of African Emancipation from slavery would appreciate the deep implications of this statement.
This request for an explanation from the minister/ government is necessary so that we can understand the thinking of our government. Good journalism would allow you to seek an explanation from the minister/ government. I need not state the importance to obtain an explanation from the minister or government in a society that has seemed polarised for many generations. The minister owes every Guyanese irrespective of race, colour or creed an explanation or justification. Yours truly, Eric Moseley
conscience, truth, and an ethos that is almost inhuman. Can be done. Must be done. That is genuine emancipation to speak, to write, to be of the light of truth that can be confined, but never controlled, can be raged against, but never be risen above. Editor, this is part of the sum of what I share with my fellow citizens – sisters, brothers, leaders, critics, skeptics, even addicts - who are all cherished, whether they like or not, agree with or don’t. It took a lifetime to get to this sublime summit, but I draw closer, with the challenge being not to slip and lose
ground. Not the tiniest iota of a millimetre. I appeal to our leaders to emancipate themselves. Don’t see Guyanese as enemies. I get no value of any kind from seeing leaders as foes working doggedly to limit with the strictures of mental enslavement. Mistake prone and misguided they are, yes; but as compulsive incorrigible evildoers, though, I must pause and start over again. That is emancipation. Of self. I urge our political leaders to so free themselves from the slaveries of the bounties and riches of providence, that there is the justness of willingness to share, and
spread the sharing all over. What could be more of an emancipation grace, vision, and practice than that? More than words, the infallible proofs of actual meaningful deeds. I exhort fellow citizens to emancipate themselves from slavish homage to human idols, and in the blind sacrifices made to them; those went out with the fall of the Aztecs and Incas, and we are better for it. Similarly, I encourage our spiritual shepherds to remember the teachings of the good books about the allures of the beautiful, enriching things of the world, and know that there are bigger prizes that are
beyond compare. To our media engagers, let truth be a treasured guide, for there is no greater freedom. May all Guyanese be more and more emancipated with each passing hour, and understand fully the obligations – some burdensome, some troublesome, some even quarrelsome – that come with each breath of liberty lived with, for they still have to be done. Somehow. By someone. And if there is no one, then it might as well be me. Guyanese, emancipate yourself! Now! Sincerely, GHK Lall
A better alternative to Amaila Falls Dear Editor, The discussion on the Amaila Falls project is quite interesting. There is an opportunity for a broader discussion as to the best use of the investment amount that has been put aside for improving our energy supply. Assuming the amount is just under $1 billion USD, when compared to one alternative such as an investment in a solar panel production facility, the Amaila Falls project has more limitations and a lower return on investment. A solar panel production facility focused on Cadmium
Telluride technology will require approximately $680 million USD to produce six Giga Watts (GW) worth of panels. Amaila Falls will cost more and produce a lower amount of energy. The numbers disclosed are less than one GW. In addition, the six GWs can power one million US households. A US household uses at least two times the energy of a Guyanese household. This means that a Cadmium Telluride solar panel plant of this scale and level of investment can produce enough panels to power every household in Guyana
and have additional panels for export to the USA. Currently, the USA is making an investment to increase its production of this solar panel technology to reduce its supply chain risk and dependence on the East. If Guyana was to make such an investment, it will completely provide the power needed for every household in the country and eliminate the cost of electricity while also gaining income by exporting solar panels to the USA. This is a renewable and sustainable energy solution that is more environmentally
friendly than the proposed Amaila Falls project. The government should consider pivoting from its current investment posture and embrace such a holistic financially robust solution. The additional funds saved and generated will go a long way in helping to finance the urgent improvements needed in the irrigation and sea defences of the country. Imagine it fellow Comrades, a $0 light bill going forward. Best regards, Mr. Jamil Changlee Chairman The Cooperative Republicans of Guyana
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Sunday August 01, 2021
Kaieteur News
...Happy Emancipation Day From page 4 yield some measure of financial respectability, this appears to be in the minority. Very few African Guyanese can claim to be financially independent, which in this context means owning a business that you do not have to spend much time looking after. Stepping out of Georgetown into villages and communities in rural areas brings tears to the eyes of someone who is familiar with the lot of Africans before and after slavery, and what occurs in these areas. While there is no question that African Guyanese in
these outlying areas are free individuals, even owning their own homes, land, etc., one cannot escape the destitute nature of the general surroundings of many of these villages and communities which results from economic deprivation. Lack of jobs and those, which provide adequate compensation are undoubtedly the chief causes of this economically depressed state of affairs. Inadequate pensions also contribute to economic insufficiency as many elderly folks have to spend their retirement years trying to stay alive by finding a means to supplement their pensions. What is unsurprising is that many predominantly Indian rural communities have in common many of the problems identified above. The economic viability of rural communities has been a source of consternation for successive governments since Emancipation and more relevant to us, Independence. The solution is simple. Government needs to create a task force aimed at profiling communities across the country with objective being to identify r e s o u r c e a v a i l a b i l i t y, capital strength, and engage with each village/ community to source ideas for becoming economically viable. Here ideas for agriculture, agro-processing, manufacturing and industry are cataloged and compiled at the district and regional level, ultimately facilitating the development of a national plan for the entire country. More immediately however, social support mechanisms including pensions could be strengthened to provide much-needed relief to distressed communities. Politics is a sensitive topic for Guyanese of African descent because there is little question that many African Guyanese feel that they have been betrayed by their political representatives over the decades, even government. This is serious, significant, since it has had an extremely deleterious effect on their welfare, particularly since Independence in 1966. One of the great realities African Guyanese have to come to terms with is the fact that Guyana is a democratic country where political parties are rewarded for their performance in government. Political parties by necessity must have within their leadership the calibre of
persons to perform effectively in their respective portfolios in government. This generally obtains from internal elections within political parties. When these internal elections fail to return capable and competent persons to leadership, it is almost a foregone conclusion that such a political party will almost never secure the necessary votes at national elections, or even if they do, will realise more of the same poor policy and bad government. This said, it is important to observe that political parties in a multi-ethnic society like Guyana must be organised, managed and developed based on professionalism and democratically held internal elections. That is, political parties cannot be underpinned by ethnic prejudices, because this will yield sub-optimal persons to ministerial positions, ultimately creating circumstances for corruption, mismanagement and ultimate failure at national elections if serving in government. Lastly, Guyanese have for the most part come around to the idea that we cannot survive the ethnic animosity promoted by some political parties. This is heartening, and can be seen in quite a few businesses. Indeed, Guyanese of Indian descent have been made a target in the past, just because they are Indians. This cannot be. African Guyanese need to look no further than their own history to appreciate the wisdom of the vicious, cruel and inhuman nature of ethnic discrimination in any shape or form. Instead of being provoked into acts of discrimination, Guyanese of African descent should be first defenders against discrimination, whether against themselves or our Indian brothers and sisters who not nearly as much suffered the abuse of slavery endured by our African ancestors on the plantations, or as a matter of fact, against any other ethnic group. This Emancipation 2021, may we spare a moment for our ancestors who endured the indignities of slavery, contemplate our social, economic and political progress through the years, consider some solutions to address our recurring problems, and vow to shun discrimination in whatever shape or form it appears to us, whether as a group or as individuals. Happy Emancipation Day 2021 to All Guyanese. Yours faithfully, Craig Sylvester
T N U L B . . . T B N U T L N B T . U . L . L T B . . N . U N U T L N B . U T . . L N N U T B . U . N L U BL BLUNT. B . . T . T T N N U . U L . . L B . T B . . . . N . T U T N N T U N U L L U B . L B . . . . B . T . . T . N N T U N L LU U B . N L . . U B T . L . . N B T . U . . N L T U B . N L . . U B T . L . . N B T . . U . N L T U B . N L . . U B . T L . . N B T . . U . N L T U B . N L . . U B T . L . . N B . T . U . N L T U B . N L . . U B T . L . . N B T . U . . N L T U B . N L . . U B T . L . B . UN .BLUNT. L . . B T . . . N T U N L . . U B T . L . B . UN .BLUNT. L . . B T . . . N T U N L . . U B T . L . . N B T . U . . N L B T . U . . N L T U B . N L . . U B T . L . . N B T . . . LU ...BLUN B T . . . N T U N L U B T . L . . N B T . U . . N L T . U B . . N L T U B . N L . . U B T . L . . N B T . U . . N L T BB T...BLU U N L U B . L . . B . T . . N N T T L U U N L L U B U T...BLU B L . . N . B . T . . N T U N N N U L U U B L . BL TLUNT.. UNT...B BL Sunday August 01, 2021
Kaieteur News
The Cossacks are coming. All Guyana should be frightened, with the PPP Cossacks and this Natural Resource Fund that they are bringing from Kazakhstan. The next thing Guyanese would know is that PPP leaders went to Transylvania, had a talk with Count Dracula, and come back here to suck more blood from Guyanese. Out of nowhere, PPP leaders went and found a NRF in Kazakhstan and want to use that as the model for Guyana. Kazakhstan is a place where political leaders have enriched themselves by using provisions in their NRF to rob the population. This is what PPP leaders want to do here. Rob Guyanese blind. Enrich themselves. They taste blood from this oil. Now, like Dracula, they want more.
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Sunday August 01, 2021
Kaieteur News
Bandits caught on camera choking and robbing foreigners
T
Screen grab from the CCTV footage that recorded the attack on the foreigners.
wo foreign men are the most recent victims of bandits that prowl the Stabroek Market area. In fact, the attack on the foreigners was captured on CCTV camera. Based on information reaching this media house, the robbery took place sometime after 16:00hrs yesterday. The CCTV footage, which was uploaded on Facebook, showed that the men were robbed on Croal Street in the vicinity of the Route 47 bus park. They were heading in a southern direction when four bandits pounced on them. Two of the bandits choked the men from behind, wrestling them to ground while the others searched
through their pockets. It seemed as though the bandits were only successful in robbing one of the foreigners before making good their escape. Over the last few months, persons are scared to traverse the Stabroek Market area because of the frequent robberies that occur there. Bandits had choked and robbed a Kaieteur News employee last month. A Kaieteur News reporter had witnessed another man being robbed by three men. Eyewitnesses have also disclosed that the attacks are brazen and vendors are afraid to intervene. One eyewitness had told this newspaper that one of the bandits had slapped a female vendor for warning a victim.
GDF searching for possible crashed aircraft Kaieteur News has been reliably informed that ranks of the Guyana Defence Force are currently combing the jungle of Region Nine for a possible crashed plane. According to the Commander of Region Nine Division, Rafael Rose, reports received are still unconfirmed but the ranks are still checking to see if it might be true. Residents of Nappi Village had heard a plane flying over a few days ago. They had reportedly heard the engine making “stuttering” sounds before it cut off suddenly. They believe that it could have fallen into the forested area of the Kanuku Mountain. They reportedly informed the law enforcement authorities and GDF ranks commenced a search with the new Bell Helicopter, but so far, they have not spotted any crashed plane in the Region Nine jungle.
Kaieteur News
Sunday August 01, 2021
Six new COVID-19 deaths, 65 additional
cases -
MoH records
S
ix persons who tested positive for COVID-19, have died, the Ministry of Health (MoH) reported in a statement on Saturday. This takes the country's death toll from the virus to 541. The latest fatalities include a 95-yearold woman from Region Four (DemeraraMahaica) who died on July 29; a 56-year-old man from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) who died on July 29; a 56-year-old woman also from Region Four (DemeraraMahaica) who died on July 29 as well; a 33year-old woman from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) who died on July 29; a 61-year-old man from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) who died on July 30;
Dem
boys seh...
and a 48-year-old woman of Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) who died on July 10. Meanwhile, 65 new infections were recorded: Region One has three cases, Region Two has one case, Region Three has 11 cases, Region Four has 34 cases, Region Five has two cases, Region Six has three cases, Region Nine has seven cases and Region 10 has four cases. Additionally, the Ministry noted that there are also 14 patients in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU); 86 people are in institutional isolation; 699 are in home isolation and three patients are housed in institutional quarantine.
Riggers 'rap' with card in dem hand!
When dem playing dominoes dem does gat certain rules. One of dem is dat yuh can't 'rap' with card in yuh hand. If yuh do dat, whether accidentally or intentionally, yuh gat to get shack out de game. And if yuh do it steady, yuh does get ban. Well we had wan election in Guyana hay last year and some persons try fuh rap with cards in dem hand. And nuff others try fuh ignore wah happen and stay quiet even though dem know dat cheating tekkin place. Dat cheating is call rigging and de rigging lead to a lot ah suffering. Country lockdown while court case going on about wah tekkin place. As far as dem boys concern, de rigging is
cheating and if yuh cheating yuh gat to get shack out. Nuff of dem wah bin hoping to benefit from de rigging, nah concern about dem people wah suffering. Dem nah giving out hamper and cash grant and school grant. So why anyone must tek dem serious? Dem boys nah gat no time and space fuh dem cheaters. Dem gat to stay in dem corna because dem can't knack bone no more on de same table with dem boys. Dem boys nah play dominoes with cheats. It mek dem boys remember de time dem wife ketch dem cheating after she find all de letters dem boys was hiding. She get mad and say she is never playing scrabble with dem boys again! Talk half and keep far from cheaters!
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Sunday August 01, 2021
Gas stove caused fire that killed Venezuelan women Thursday's fire which gutted an apartment building on Fifth Street, Alberttown, and claimed the lives of two Venezuelan women, Maria Lina Texidor Alonso, 25, and Maria Alejandra Patino Benjamin, 44, was reportedly caused by an unattended gas stove. This is according to Fire Chief, Kalamadeen Edoo, in an invited comment to Kaieteur News yesterday. Based on the findings from an investigation conducted by the Guyana Fire Service (GFS), the women had started cooking but had somehow fell asleep and left the pot unattended. Edoo detailed that parts of the pot began to melt and the flames ignited other combustible materials nearby causing the fire. He further pointed out that the
Anti-vaccine demonstrators shout slogans during a protest against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Athens, Greece. emergency,” stove was situated close to vaccinations a fire or any other
wooden wall and the flames might have ignited it first before spreading and gutting the apartment with Alonso and Benjamin trapped inside. With regard to how they became trapped in the burning building, GFS in a press release, which it had sent out, blamed poor construction. GFS stated, “It is important to highlight the poor construction of the building which did not possess the necessary fire safety mechanisms.” In the release, GFS noted that the apartments in the building were not equipped with smoke alarms or fire extinguishers. Additionally, continued GFS in the release, “there were no alternative methods of escape in the occurrence of a
since there was only one way in and one out of the apartment. To make matters worse, GFS stated that when fire fighters arrived, it took a while for them to enter and save the women because their apartment was heavily grilled. An eyewitness to the blaze had related to this publication that while the firefighters were struggling to gain entry into the building, screams for help could be heard. The Fire Chief had informed reporters that when the firefighters finally gained entry, the women's charred remains were discovered. One of the women was found lying on the bed and the other was found at the back of the apartment in the bathroom.
Maria Benjamin and Maria Alonso, the two women who were killed tragically in last Thursday's fire. Kaieteur News was told that Alonso and Benjamin shared an apartment
together. Benjamin is a businesswoman and a mother of two. According to
her relatives, the woman usually sends items from Guyana to sell in Venezuela.
Sunday August 01, 2021
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Kaieteur News
Sunday August 01, 2021
Interim Acting Town Clerk responds to Georgetown Mayor Following an article that was published yesterday by this paper titled 'Local Government Commission demotes City's Acting Town Clerk', newly appointed interim Acting Town Clerk of
Georgetown, Candace Nelson, responded with a press release after the Mayor of Georgetown questioned her position. Nelson had told Kaieteur News initially that she would
refrain from commenting on the matter until she has read the article and has now decided to give her take on the matter. This comes after Mayor Ubraj Narine had a press conference on Friday
Demoted Acting Town Clerk, Sherry Jerrick concerning the demotion of Acting Town Clerk, Sherry Jerrick by the Local Government Commission. T h e p re s s re l e a s e addressed the press conference which was held in which the Mayor stated that he publicly questioned Nelson's competence, and said that the Council does not recognise her, in her recently appointed position, as Interim Town Clerk, by the Local Government Commission, and referred to her as the “PPP installed Town Clerk”. Nelson stated that that led her to view the press conference on the social media platform. As a result, she stated that when she received her letter of appointment, she visited Narine's office to meet with him on July 27. She stated that on that date, his Confidential Secretary, Ms. Jenny Gordon informed her that he could not meet with her. The release went on to state that on July 28, Nelson again tried to meet with the Mayor via a telephone call to his office and was told that he was not available. On the July 30, Nelson stated that she visited Narine's office and was once again told by his Confidential Secretary that he was not available to meet with her and that he could not say what time he would be able to meet with her. “ Yo u r C o n f i d e n t i a l Secretary and other members of staff can attest to my visits and the amount of times I waited to see you, in your office located at the upper level of the Mayoral Complex”, stated Nelson. She went on to state that on July 30, she wrote to the Mayor to address the very issue she was having and requested that there be a meeting between the two of them.
Georgetown Mayor,’ Pandit Ubraj Narine
Chairman of Local Government Commission, Julius Faerber. However, she stated that minutes after his office accepted that letter, it was returned to the office of the Town Clerk and the staff of the Mayor and City Council refused to accept it. With this, she noted that it is not accurate for the Mayor to say that she did not meet with him. “I reached out to you but those efforts were immediately rebuffed by you,” Nelson further stated. She mentioned that her knowledge of the vast amount of work necessary to return the city to a healthy condition compelled her not to lull in complacency but to move forward with heads of departments to plan and work for the restoration of the city and stated that she is always available to meet with the Mayor and that it could not be otherwise, seeing that she is a servant of the Council. The press release went on to state that on the question of Nelson's competence, she would only note that from July 2019, it was the Council who approved a recommendation for her to act as Deputy Town Clerk which was further accepted
Interim Acting Town Clerk, Candace Nelson by the Local Government Commission. Nelson relayed that in 2020, it was also the Council who approved a recommendation from a Special Human Resource Management Committee Meeting held on November 11, 2020, for her to act as Town Clerk on November 13, 2020. This was to allow Sherry Jerrick to proceed on her vacation leave. Nelson stated that it is now public knowledge that there were issues with the chain of authority and the lines of communication, including my reporting responsibilities to the Council as well as to the Local Government Commission. “I believed then, as I do now, that I acted with propriety, professionally and in the best interest of the Council,” stated Nelson. She went on to note that notwithstanding those issues and the confusion that surrounded them, led to her return to her substantive post of Assistant Human Resource Manager. Nelson pointed out that if in 2019, the Council approved a recommendation for her to perform the duties of Town Clerk, then it must have been the case that the entire Council had confidence in her qualifications and competency to perform those duties; otherwise, why would they have approved her. According to Nelson, the fundamental question that must be asked now is why the questions now about her appointment, to Interim Town Clerk, by the Local Government Commission in 2021. She stated that while she fully understands the politics being played at the Council and the cast of actors involved, she does not take lightly the remarks attributed by the Mayor in the media (Continued on page 64)
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Sunday August 01, 2021
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Lawyers in the appeal case over the first dismissed Election Petition argue over having case reinstated
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awyers in the appeal case to have the first dismissed Election Petition case reinstated, have raised contentions over the Appeal Court's jurisdiction to hear the matter. The first election petition #99 challenging the outcome of the March 2, 2020 elections was dismissed by Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire, SC on January 18, last while the remanding election petition #88 was thrown out on April 26 2021 by the same judge. Both matters have since been appealed. In his arguments before Justice of Appeal and Chancellor of the Judiciary
Yonette Cummings-Edwards and Justices of Appeal Dawn Gregory and Rishi Persaud on Thursday, Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall SC sought to shut any notion that the appeal should be heard. His arguments were supported by lead counsel a n d Tr i n i d a d a t t o r n e y Douglas Mendes who is representing the interest of President Irfaan Ali and Vice President Jagdeo who are among the named respondents in the matter. Together, the lawyers faced off with attorneys John Jeremie and Roysdale Forde SC, both of whom are representing the interest of
the petitioners, Monica Thomas and Brenan Nurse who on behalf of the A Partnership for Nation Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Coalition are seeking to challenge the validity of the March 02, 2020, national elections. The petitioners are arguing that those elections were conducted unlawfully and that based on the polls, it is Granger who should be declared the duly-elected President of Guyana. However, their case titled Election Petition #99 was dismissed on January 18 by the Chief Justice due to their non-compliance with (Continued on page 57)
From left: Trinidadian Attorney, Douglas Mendes and Attorney General, Anil Nandlall SC.
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==Emancipation Day Messages== People's National Congress The People's Progressive Party Emancipation celebrates the greatest enterprise in our nation's history – the abolition of human enslavement and the transformation of plantations into a nation. Emancipation marked the termination of two hundred years of the greatest crime against humanity – the Trans-Atlantic Trade in Captive Africans – and their enslavement in the Guiana colonies of Demerara, Essequibo and Berbice. Emancipation was driven by the human desire for freedom and economic independence. Emancipation in the Guiana colonies initiated the greatest movement of freed peoples in the western hemisphere. The Village Movement began on 7th November 1839 when 83 free men and women from five plantations – Ann's Grove, Dochfour, Enmore,
Hope and Paradise – agreed to pay 30,000 guilders (f 30.000) for Plantation Northbrook, which they renamed Victoria Village. Africans, once free, were able to buy 6,000 hectares (about 15,000 acres) of land in cash, attesting to their visionary thinking and thrift in the decade after Emancipation. Historians wrote: “This was an economic miracle… In the whole western hemisphere, there was no movement like the Village Movement of British Guiana at the time in which thousands of people were able to move off of the plantations.” Emancipation, this year, reminds us of the resolutions of the General Assembly of the United Nations designating the decade – 1st January 2015 to 31st December 2024 – as the International Decade for the
People of African Descent. The 'International Decade' acknowledges that Africans were the victims of the greatest crime against humanity and continue to suffer from dispossession and discrimination. The Decade recognises that persons of African descent have not yet fully overcome the legacy of colonial underdevelopment, which continues to contribute to their present condition. Guyanese today are the beneficiaries of the economic enterprise and efforts of the pioneers of the Village Movement. Our foreparents bequeath the legacy of land to build a robust agrarian economy and an independent peasantry. Our generation must aim at establishing enduring economic emancipation on the solid foundation they laid.
Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union The spirit of yearning for freedom – that liberty of mind, body, and soul from ownership by others never deserted the African slaves and the indentured contracted workers who followed them after full Emancipation in 1838. Numerous were the uprisings, rebellions, protests, riots and strikes. Emancipation never came willingly or cheaply from the colonialists. Against those sentiments, the GAWU salutes the memory of those who struggled and sacrificed for freedom and the descendants of our African forefathers who today have hopefully inherited their spirit of justice and true freedom from those who dared to stand up against the brutal, enslaving colonial system. As we look back across the centuries at the atrocities and wrenching pain, which slaves suffered, during what should be assessed as the darkest period in human history, it seems mandatory that we celebrate the measures of freedom that we now enjoy. Slavery was established for economic r e a s o n s , w i t h accompanying assumptions about race, colour and perceived inferiority, which for centuries was rationalised from biology to theology, but such theories
have long been proven unscientific and selfserving. Slavery was an organised, profitable enterprise. Former Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Eric Williams, in his book,“Capitalism and Slavery” demonstrated that it was the profits from the slave trade and slavery, which consequently made England the great workshop of the world. The late Professor, Walter Rodney, also explained that Western Europe's vital sectors in finance, shipping, mining, insurance, agriculture, manufacturing and technology were developed from these two enterprises, and in that process, millions were reduced to beasts of burden, and stripped of their overall identity.Western Europe went to Africa with their superior ships and cannons. Slaves were traded and packaged in barracoons as cargo, then taken across the horrendous ordeal of the Middle Passage. Men, women, children were brutally abused on journeys that lasted between six weeks to three months, depending on the weather. Diseases were rampant, mental stress and suicides were high, with many slaves throwing themselves overboard.In the new lands, millions of African slaves lived their entire life, working from dusk to dawn,
in pain. Over succeeding generations, the minds of their children were scrubbed, being replaced with European narratives, which ensured, among other things, that they forget their past. Such unspeakable hurt, torment and cruelty cannot be equated to or compared with any other form of human interaction or relationship. GAWU feels that this Emancipation 2021 period should reinforce in us all the lessons of the post-1838 history. In unity, strength is most sustained. The descendants of Emancipation must all share in equal opportunity as our natural and human resources become available to development for all. No group should be favoured or discriminated against because of political expediency. It is such approaches that will help preserve and give enduring meaning to achievements like emancipation and independence. GAWU urges reflection at this time. Emancipation, Arrival and today's challenges are issues that hold lessons for us and guide us in our pursuit and future endeavours. Let us heed them on Emancipation Day and onwards.A pleasant Emancipation Observance 2021 from GAWU.
The People's Progressive Party (PPP) wishes to extend greetings to our AfroGuyanese brothers and sisters across the country and in those in the Diaspora on the occasion of Emancipation 2021, which marks the 187th anniversary of the formal abolition of slavery in British colonies. This anniversary provides yet another opportune moment to reflect on the sacrifices made by our African ancestors who were brought to these shores in chains in order to provide free labour to the sugar planters. Stripped of their humanity and dignity and forced to toil long hours, to say that our African ancestors suffered at the hands of the sugar planters would be a gross understatement.
During that genocidal process, many were tortured and brutally killed for standing up for their rights. In the long march to freedom, many battles were fought, including the Berbice Slave rebellion led by our National Hero, Cuffy. In the end, the resilient spirit of resistance prevailed and freedom was attained. The fortitude and the resoluteness for success of our African ancestors and the foundations, which they laid f o r o u r s o c i e t y, m u s t therefore serve to imbue us all with a profound sense of pride and purpose as we endeavour together to build our country for the betterment of all and to confront adversities. The values that they have instilled and the contributions they and their
descendants had and continue to make in advancing our country will remain invaluable. Traditionally, during this period, there would have been a plethora of activities across the country to mark this very significant national event, which attracted thousands of Guyanese. However, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has led to an unavoidable scaling down of public events again with direct impact on this year's celebrations. Despite those challenges, the true spirit of what Emancipation symbolises will never be diminished. Our Party once again extends Emancipation greetings to all Guyanese, in particular our AfroGuyanese brothers and sisters.
Ethnic Relations Commission The Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) extends Emancipation greetings to all Guyanese at home and within the Diaspora in observing another anniversary commemorating the end of slavery. The ERC, with its task to promote national harmony, contemplates that in 2021, one hundred and eighty-three years after Emancipation, Guyanese of African descent can reflect on the sanctity and right to freedom; an entitlement of all humankind. From the ships at sea transporting their chained human cargo to a life of privation and hardship on the plantations, the ancestral
experience remained imbued with the courage to change and shape the future for a better existence. The rebellions and the consequences are graphic memorials of that yearning. Stripped o f t h e i r identities and cultural baggage, they endured the challenges to re-discover self and value as freed men. It is that perennial resolve and desire that must remain throughout from every commemoration to the next. The initial foundations of the colonial state were laid by the sacrifices of the bondsmen, not omitting contributions made later by
other compatriots to the diverse society. The ERC encourages all during this commemoration, and in the midst of the pandemic, to extend their hand of friendship and brotherhood to neighbours virtually, as a show of appreciation for that inevitable, memorable event - the abolition of slavery. It paved the way for the future assembly of more peoples with a repository of unique cultures to share and thrive in one multi-ethnic Guyana. Happy Emancipation Anniversary to all from the management and staff of the Ethnic Relations Commission!
Woman breaks car window to escape kidnappers A Tuschen woman escaped a possible abduction attempt, after accepting a free ride on Friday. According to a police report, the 21-yearold resident of Tuschen New Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara (EBD) was waiting on transportation after her day to day job to head home around 16:30 hours. As the woman stood on the main road awaiting transportation, a black Nissan Juke motor vehicle pulled up in front of her, driven by a male who offered her a drop to her location; a female was seated in the front passenger seat. Both persons were unknown to the
woman who nonetheless agreed and entered the vehicle. Upon reaching to her destination, the woman requested the driver to stop the vehicle, but he ignored the woman, and proceeded to turn on to the Tuschen Public Road. According to the report, the victim became scared for her life, and broke the back left side window of the vehicle, which caused the driver to stop immediately. The victim then rushed out of the vehicle with all her belongings and the vehicle drove off in the western direction. The incident was reported subsequently to the police at the Leonora Police Station.
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Sunday August 01, 2021
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ExxonMobil parent company demands millions in fees from Guyana's oil …money is deducted annually from oil as recoverable expenditure
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uyana has a s i g n e d Petroleum Sharing Agreement (PSA) with Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) which holds a 45 percent stake in Guyana's Stabroek Block, together with its partners Hess Corporation Guyana and China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC). EEPGL, is incorporated in a known tax haven — the Bahamas — with a registered office in Guyana and is the company commonly referred to as ExxonMobil Guyana — the operator for the Stabroek
Block. To date, the expenditure for which the company deducts through the sale, of as much as 75 percent of the crude produced in the Stabroek block, has in large part remained in the domain of the partners and has never been shared publicly. A recent study on Guyana's Oil and Gas industry and the economics involved by Tom Sanzillo, Director of financial analysis for the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), has uncovered that EEPGL in fact pays its parent company
ExxonMobil Corp.— based on Texas USA — a hefty Parent Company Overhead (PCO) fee. A PCO fee is described in business circles as a fee charged by an operator to its co-venture partners in respect of costs of support services from its parent organisation such as Human Resources security and procurement services, and is most commonly charged on the basis of a percentage of all other sums charged to the joint account. According to Sanzillo in his analysis, EEPGL prior to 2020 paid over US$73M in
PCO fees to its parent company. Sanzillo in his July 2021 report said, that EEPGL paid ExxonMobil Corp. US$35M last year and will this year fork over US$4M more, or US$39M in PCO fees. Next year, Sanzillo predicts the fee being paid to the US based parent company to increase to US$53M and then US$64M the following year. Slated to collect US$93M in 2024, it would mean that by the end of the next three years EEPGL would have paid over to the Texas based ExxonMobil
Corp. almost half a billion US$ in fees, or US$360M total. Sanzillo's analysis reviewed the pre 2020 period up to 2024. This publication had yesterday reported that Sanzillo in his findings had found too that another of the expenditures for which Guyana is being charged a hefty amount relates to the interest being charged on the loans contracted by EEPGL. He had found that on the interest alone that is being paid by the company through recoverable cost oil, the (Continued on page 64)
Director of Financial Analysis: IEEFA, Tom Sanzillo
Sunday August 01, 2021
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President announces $7.8B farmers' flood relief measure Yesterday, President, Irfaan Ali, announced a $7.8 billion flood relief package intended for farmers. Here is the full text of his address. “Fellow Guyanese, as you are aware, Guyana, Suriname, and Brazil experienced severe flooding. The floods were as a result of unprecedented rainfall during the period of April to June this year. In May alone, Guyana experienced its second highest rainfall in 40 years. The resulting impact saw massive flooding across all 10 Administrative Regions with over 300 communities directly affected for a protracted period of time. Approximately 52,000 households were directly affected. The Agriculture Sector suffered the greatest loss with 92,000 acres of
farm and farmlands completed affected. The sugar industry was also significantly affected with estimated losses in the fields of over $1.5B. Over 50 percent of mining operations were affected, as mining communities were cut-off as a result of infrastructural damage. Our initial assessment estimates rehabilitation work in excess of $1B for the mining community. Initial estimate points to approximately $23B or more in loss of production. Damage to the Forestry Sector, loss of production and damage to equipment is estimate at an excess of $8B. The total, socio-economic impact assessment is currently being examined by UN ECLAC. This would give us an overall
President Ali speaks to flood-affected farmers in Mahaicony in early June.
understanding as to the cost of this flood to the economy, Regions and communities. Our Government's initial response was to save lives, protect livelihood, secure health services, and ensure
enough food and shelter to satisfy the needs of the people. These efforts saw the distribution of more than 80,000 food hampers, 45,000 cleaning hampers, and more than 5,000 medical kits across all 10 Administrative Regions. More than 10 shelters were established, and extensive support was given to farming communities. More than 100 pumps and hundreds of excavators were deployed all across the country to support communities and farmers. In addition to this, the Government deployed an extensive fleet of machinery to support regions and communities in their efforts. The structure to manage the flood included a Cabinet task force, a multi-stakeholder national emergency operation centre and 10 regional emergency operation centres. Having regards for the massive disruption in the economy and household level, particularly the Agriculture Sector, the Government committed to direct transfers to households and farmers to allow them in
the first instance, to return to some level of normalcy in their homes whilst supporting the Agriculture Sector to return to productive capacity so as to mitigate against potential food shortages whilst at the same time supporting the farming community. The assistance I am about to announce covers various categories of households and farmers. Whilst some large farmers where severely affected, especially in rice and poultry, the ceiling of assistance will not exceed $10M for individual farmers. As you are aware, $10B was approved in supplementary provisions to address these needs. From the data collected, approximately 52,000 households were affected in the following categories: homestead farmers, kitchen garden, and household exclusive of farms/gardens. In these categories, farmers within the context of a homestead would receive $100,000 each, those with kitchen gardens will receive $50,000 each and household's excluding homestead and kitchen
garden will receive $50,000 each. The combined assistance to homestead farmers, kitchen gardens and households for these categories will be in excess of $3.5B. The rice sector also suffered heavily, with approximately 50,000 acres and 2,000 farmers directly affected. In this category the following assistance will be given: For rice that was ready to harvest but lost in the floods, $80,000 per acre would be given to those farmers. For rice sowed and lost in the autumn crop, these farmers will receive $65,000 per acre. For land that was completely prepared but was not sowed, $45,000 per acre would be given to these farmers. In addition, to this support, 60,000 bags of seed paddy would be made available. The combined assistance in these four categories would be in excess of $3.2B. In the livestock industry assistance will be broken down into four (Continued on page 58)
Armed bandits rob New Amsterdam businessman - steal car, jewellery and cash Armed gunmen on Friday pounced on New Amsterdam businessman, Danny Sankar, of Lot 588 Fort Ordinance Housing Scheme, East Canje, Berbice. Kaieteur News understands that Sankar and his wife had left their business establishment at Strand Road, New Amsterdam, and arrived home sometime around 19:35 hrs. Sankar's wife exited their car and was opening the gate when two masked men armed with guns confronted Sankar in
the car. They demanded cash and jewellery and grabbed the handbag belonging to the wife which was left in the car. Cellular phones, an undisclosed amount of cash, phone cards, jewellery and a reading glass were stolen. The men then escaped in Sankar's Burgundy Toyota Spacio, abandoning it at a cross street in Fort Ordinance. The car was found by police shortly after the robbery. The items stolen were one Samsung Galaxy A51 cell phone; a Samsung Galaxy 7 cell phone, value at $70,000;
a Samsung Note 8 cell phone, valued at $90,000; a J7 cell phone, value at $59,000; a J5 cell phone, valued at $55,000; a quantity of Digicel and GT&T phone cards; one gold chain said to be valued at $120,000; two gold rings with a cost price of $110,000 and a reading glass valued at $160,000. Sankar has been a victim of armed robbery in the past but it is unclear if persons were prosecuted in those incidents. Police are currently working on a lead in an effort to find the perpetrators.
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==GNBS IN FOCUS== TEXTILE STANDARD - OUTLING KEY LABELLING INFORMATION Textile comes from the Latin word textilis which stands for “woven fabric” and that's exactly what it is. If you have never thought of textile as important, think of the inability to access clothing. Further, imagine not being able to acquire various designs and colours of clothing that you may be wearing this weekend to celebrate Emancipation Day. But aside from just being able to access cloth/textile, it is also important to ensure that quality materials are bought or sold for the desired purpose. The Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) has developed a standard for the labelling, sampling and testing of garments, textiles, consumer textile products and
thread sold for machine and hand sewing, whether locally made or imported. The National Standard GYS 515:2016 'Specification for textiles and related products,' defines textile as a product made from fibre by braiding, bonding, crocheting, felting, knitting, knotting, laminating or weaving. It was developed in response to consumer complaints related to quality deficiencies of garments, textiles and related products and is a revision of two standards developed in 2003 – Labelling of textiles and Labelling of garments. The Standard applies to labels, which are to accompany textiles, garments or thread sold at retail or
wholesale outlets. It covers all household textile articles such as draperies, floor coverings, furnishings, bedding accessories to the foregoing and other textile goods customarily used in institutions and households. However, it does not apply to labelling of hairpieces, costumes, accessories and tents. First among the labelling requirements for the sale of textile is the need for the manufacturer's or supplier's trade mark or brand name and the name and address of the manufacturer or supplier. An identification number (for garments) can be used in lieu of the name and address of the manufacturer or supplier. This requirement is important for
traceability purposes as it offers a way of providing feedback from consumers. Composition of the garment or textile must also be stated. According to the Standard, fibre content of less than 5% shall be classified as “other fibres.” Other labelling requirements are the country of origin, quality designation, the thread count, and type and care information to reduce the possibility of damage. Some materials are manufactured to be fire resistant or water resistant but these characteristics can be easily damaged if textiles are not cared for properly. As such, it is important for manufacturers/dealers/import ers to “clearly and
prominently” label such textiles with precautionary care and treatment instructions to protect them from any harmful agent that may cause deterioration. In cases where the material is imported and there is no information of composition, the importer or distributor shall seek the GNBS' assistance for the pronouncement on sale. As it relates to cloth sold by length from a roll, it may seem impossible to meet these requirements but the Standard did not ignore this fact. The document stipulates that such labels must be attached to the end of the bolt or spool on which the textile is displayed for sale. The label shall include a statement of
the width of the material in metric measures. All revised labels shall be submitted to the GNBS for approval. Manufacturers, importers and dealers of textile and textile-products are encouraged to acquire a copy of the Standard from the GNBS to ensure that they are meeting the requisite requirements. Fulfilling these requirements will provide guidance to your customers and ensure their satisfaction. For further information, contact the GNBS on telephone numbers: 2190064-66. Please visit our website: www.gnbsgy.org and like our Facebook page: gnbsgy.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday August 01, 2021
Emergency Medical Services expand to East Coast and East Bank corridors T
he Guyana Fire and Emergency Medical Services created history on Friday when it extended its service to cater for those along the East Coast and East Bank of Demerara. This is the first time, those areas will benefit from the life-saving operations since its launch in 2014. The service was in the past, centralised in Georgetown but last Friday, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) sites opened at Melanie East Coast Demerara and Diamond, East Bank Demerara. Those in attendance of Friday's opening ceremony included Minster of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn; Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony; Advisor to Minister o f H e a l t h , D r. L e s l i e Ramsammy; Advisor to
Minister of Home Affairs, Mr. Harry Gill; Permanent Secretary of Home Affairs, Daniel Seeram; Chairman of Region Four, Mae Thomas; Fire Chief, Mr. Kamaladeen Edoo; and EMS Medical Director, Dr. Zulfikar Bux. Speaking at the launch, Dr. Bux, the pioneer of the service, pointed to the years of hard work and challenges that he and his team had to endure to ensure his vision for all Guyanese to have access to the vital emergency service realised. He expressed his optimism of being able to do another launch in Regions Three and Five before the end of the year. Dr. Bux noted that with the expanded service, Guyanese in the city and along the East Coast, up to Nabacalis and those along the East Bank, up to Garden
Dr. Zulfikar Bux (At centre) is flanked by the EMTs, including two team members at the Guyana EMS office; QI officer, Ms. Bhumika Sookdeo and Chief EMT; Mr. Nandram Dat along with other EMTs, at the Melanie site opened on Friday. of Eden will now have access t o e m e rg e n c y m e d i c a l transport with trained Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs). “It is not an ambulance with attendants, EMS services is a modernised approach to emergency patient care and transport in the public domain and involves an integrated system of planning, communication, quality assurance, training and development, and logistics and fleet monitoring to ensure patients in emergencies are treated and transported in the most efficient and effective manner,” Dr. Bux stated. He said that this approach will modernise frontline emergency care in Guyana especially with the fact that international EMS best practices are being maintained with the service. “We h a v e l o c a l experts and more importantly, an international expert from the Vanderbilt Medical Center, who are working behind the scenes to ensure that standards are
met and as this system grows, the quality of healthcare is maintained,” he said. The EMS system was initiated in 2011 when Dr. Bux saw the need for frontline emergency response especially for accident victims. While he initially started by training police officers, he quickly realised that more lives can be saved in the public domain if a more structured system was available. With guidance from mentors at the Vanderbilt Medical Center, a National Plan was drafted and a pilot EMS system was launched at GPHC in 2014 with one ambulance. The pilot was a success but the growth was stagnated until Dr. Bux teamed up with the Guyana Fire Service and found an ally in the t h e n F i r e C h i e f , M r. Marlon Gentle. Collaboration between the Guyana EMS of the MOH and the Guyana Fire Service was formed in 2016. Since then, over 1000 first responders have been t r a i n e d , 1 8 3 1 0
emergencies attended to, 27 babies delivered before reaching the hospital and four patients whose heart stopped beating in the public domain, were resuscitated and made it out alive. Dr. Bux stated that this system has proven its worth and may be the biggest life saving venture embarked on in the years to come in Guyana. Fire Chief, Edoo spoke of the support and dedication from the GFS for the system and committed to the expansion of the service throughout Guyana. Minister Benn noted his interest of the work of the EMS under the GFS. He stated the need for continued relationship building and collaboration between the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Home Affairs as the system expands. Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony stated that the Ministry of Health will be getting twenty ambulances and will be building an EMS headquarters. He expressed his support for a proper EMS system in Guyana.
Sunday August 01, 2021
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Sunday August 01, 2021
State-of-the-art Amazonia Mall opens its doors at Providence The spanking new Amazonia Mall which opened at Providence.
A
mazonia Mall, a state-of-the-art facility, which boasts modern architecture, restaurants, a cinema, clothing stores and other amenities, officially opened its doors on Friday. The mall located at Providence, East Bank Demerara, also has a food court which has several fast food outlets - Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Burger King, Pizza Hut, among others - as well as a sports bar and lounge, offers extensive parking. In addition, the mall is expected to employ almost 300 persons, offering a recreational hub for Guyanese living in the vicinity and further afield. During the grand o p e n i n g c e r e m o n y, proprietor of the mall, former Guyanese and West Indian cricketer, Ramnaresh Sarwan, noted that idea behind the new facility is part of efforts to modernise
the country. The aim, the former captain of the Guyana and West Indies teams pointed out, is to provide a modern-day experience to Guyanese and tourists alike. “So, when people come to Guyana they would have good places to go and speak really good things about our country,” Sarwan stated. The spanking new building is located a stone’s throw away from the Guyana National Stadium. Its grand opening attracted a host of visitors and dignitaries including, President, Dr. Irfaan Ali. In his remarks at the opening, President Ali said that the new Guyana his Government is creating requires business owners and operators to step outside of their comfort zones and to be innovative with their investments. He implored the business community to take advantage of the
The ribbon cutting ceremony.
opportunities available and again called for them to form themselves into consortiums to benefit from large-scale investments. According to President
Ali, Sarwan’s achievement embodies the visionary action that Guyana needs. He said that the Mall will not only enhance the community but the entire East Bank of Demerara. “The new Guyana we want to create and is working to create, requires
bold thinking, visionary action, fearless decision making.” President Ali said that the grand objective of the Government’s development trajectory is to ensure that every Guyanese has “an equal opportunity in the future.”
“Guyana is on the rise, we are rising rapidly. There is no second-guessing. What we have to do is to ensure that every Guyanese is a part of the development process to rise, to build, and to be part of this future. That is what we have to ensure,” the President said.
Kaieteur News
Ms. Medassa Andrea Roberts
Sunday August 01, 2021
This week's enchanting feature is Ms. Medassa Andrea Roberts. In her spare time, she enjoys site seeing, camping, and watching criminal documentaries. One piece of advice she lives by states, "Always look ahead, better days are coming."
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Sunday August 01, 2021
LEADING THE CHARGE FOR YOUTH IMPACT AND DEVELOPMENT... VOLUNTEER YOUTH CORPS’ CEO,
Goldie Scott is a ‘Special Person’
Ms. Scott during a ceremony with former US Ambassador to Guyana, D. Brent Hart.
By Rehanna Ramsay
W
hen Goldie Scott was 15 years old, an encounter with a Minister of Government sparked her interest in volunteerism. That encounter changed the trajectory of Scott’s life and catapulted her into a role, which she now believes is her life’s calling. As the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Volunteer Youth Corps (VYC) Inc., Ms. Scott has spearheaded many projects that aimed specifically at the development of children and youths across the country. Given her commitment to the work, this week’s ‘Special Person’, has risen through the ranks of the VYC – from a simple volunteer to the helm of the organisation in the space of just a few years. Her work has earned her several humanitarian awards and recognition from organisations and individuals serving their communities in similar capacities. To date, Scott has successfully spearheaded close to 50 youth and community impact projects. Now, at the age of 41, she is an accomplished volunteer group director in that she has been instrumental in drafting winning project proposals for international and local donors such as the Japanese government, Global Fund Mini Grant/CVC Coin, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), United States Agency for I n t e r n a t i o n a l Development (USAID), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), United Nations Children’s
Fund (UNICEF), the Japanese Government, the US Government, the Government of Guyana, Dutch Government, ExxonMobil, and other private sector entities. In her capacity as a leader of VYC, Scott, along with her strong multidisciplinary team of professionals which includes a Board of Directors, Chief Executive officer (CEO) Staff and volunteers, has rolled out a number of projects for youth management /leadership, as well as helped coordinate board membership and committees Te rms of Reference (TORs) for the volunteer group. Her work at VYC encompasses reporting and general governance; implementation of constitution/by-laws and human resource management; monitoring and evaluation (quality assurance and quality improvement); budget development, financial management and providing oversight for funded
projects. Over the years, Scott has also been instrumental in report writing and impact analysis for submission to the VYC board and donors; planning and executing local as well as international fundraisers in Guyana, the United States and Canada. Prior to this, she earned herself a Masters of Arts Degree in Applied
and Nepal, and was partly sponsored by Guyanese businessman, Stanley Ming. Before venturing into her Masters of Art Programme, Scott earned herself a Bachelor of Science Degree in Environmental Studies at the University Of Guyana, high school diplomas, from Alleyne’s High School and Charlestown Secondary School. Before that she
Ms. Goldie Scott receives one of many humanitarian awards for her efforts.
Community Change and Conservation via a partial scholarship Programme from Future Generations University in West Virginia. She was among six locals who were selected for the humanitarian type programme which led to residential attachment in India, United States, Peru
attended St. Thomas More Primary School and West Ruimveldt Primary. In her private capacity, Scott is a devoted single mother to her brilliant 11year-old son and a firm believer in the principles of her Christian faith. She is a budding musician and a singer/worshipper.
CEO of Volunteer Youth Corps Inc., Goldie Scott
FAMILY VALUES She explained that while growing up, her parents O’Neil and Florence Scott made the necessary sacrifices to ensure that she and her three siblings had all that is required to lead a successful life. Education and faith were held in high regard in the Scott household as the parents strived to make ends meet. Scott recalled that due to her father’s job as a prison officer, the family moved around a lot. “ We w e n t f r o m Georgetown to Mazaruni, in Region Seven, we moved to the places as well wherever daddy’s job took him we went,” Scott said as she reminisced on some of her early childhood memories. “As far back as I could remember, my dad was very attentive and devoted to us, I have two other sisters and a brother and my father would try to comb our hair and ensure that all needs were taken care of when my mother who was a secretary
at the Ministry of Agriculture would travel to fulfill her work duties,” Scott stated. Given that the family was on the move constantly, Scott said that she attended at least four nursery schools and three primary schools before she wrote Common Entrance and secured a place at Alleyne’s High School in the city. By the time she reached the age of entering high school, her parents had already moved back to Georgetown. The family settled in West Ruimveldt where she finished her primary school education at the West Ruimveldt Primary. Scott subsequently entered the secondary school system where she quickly gravitated to the science stream. “I always felt drawn to science and anything to do with my environment even when I was younger I enjoyed things like chemicals…so naturally, I Continued on page 56
Ms. Scott is flanked by officials from donor organisations and State representatives including Minister of Culture Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr., during the commissioning of the newly renovated VYC centre.
Kaieteur News
Sunday August 01, 2021
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Scholarships are not repayable T
he first tranche of the government’s 20,000 on-line scholarships is about to be awarded. It is being reported that as many as 6,000 persons will be given their awards soon. Most of those who applied will be fortunate to receive their on-line scholarships. But others will not be that successful and will either have to wait or try again later. The word ‘scholarship’ to describe the offerings of the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) is a m i s n o m e r. T h e w o r d “scholarship” has been misused and abused for a long time in Guyana. A scholarship is a grantin-aid of a student’s studies. A grant-in-aid is not repayable. But in Guyana, the awardees of the GOAL programme, as are other government scholarship awardees, will have to repay through the provision of community service. And if you are repaying then this cannot be deemed a scholarship but rather an
advance or loan which is being repaid, partly or wholly in kind. The purpose of the GOAL programme is to provide the awardees with exposure to university studies, using an on-line mode which is cheaper and which is the sole reason that the government can afford to offer 20,000 scholarships. The programmes offered under the GOAL initiative range presently from the Masters Level to Certificate Level. For example, one of the programmes offered is an MBA in health management. A n o t h e r o n e o ff e r s a certificate in Jewellery making from the University of the West Indies Open Campus. A number of the programmes require no entry requirements. The degree programmes however require five subjects at CSEC. This latter requirement will limit the pool of qualifying applicants because it is believed that more than half of the students in the public school system do not obtain five
subjects or more, including Mathematics and English. Seeing that the programmes are being offered by international universities, it would be impossible for the admission requirements to the respective programmes to be watered-down. Moons ago, the University of Guyana had allowed alternative admission requirements and had even at one stage introduced an entry examination for those without passes in English and Mathematics. The public service too many years ago used to insist that entrants must have five subjects CXC or GCE. But because of the high failure rate, they began lowering the academic requirements for entry-level workers. This lowered standards in the public service by allowing unqualified and underqualified persons to gain employment. This partly explains the mess which the University of Guyana and the Public Service finds itself in. The
lowering of admission requirements for jobs and university education has led to a decline in standards. The quality of some university graduates leave much to be desired. Having said all of that, it is unconscionable for the government to be financing on-line courses and then, in return, demand that students repay through community service. If you are awarding scholarships to students, award them and not ask for repayment in return because when you do, it is no longer a scholarship. You do not repay a grantaid. And since a scholarship is a grant-aid it does not become a scholarship if the beneficiary has to provide services (payment in kind) upon the completion of the programme. One of the reasons for granting scholarships and
bursaries is to award excellence. Students who have done well academically in their studies are usually rewarded with scholarships. To ask these same students to repay through community or other service, is effectively telling them that what has been offered to them is not a grant but a loan which they have to repay. There is nothing wrong with asking students to repay the sums which were expended on their education. But please, do not call it a scholarship if the awardees have to repay in cash or kind. So how much exactly are these scholarships costing the government? They government has not given a cost for the courses which form part of the scholarship but it cannot be that expensive considering that some 4,000 scholarships on average will be awarded each year over the next five
years. The recipients of these scholarships will have to repay through community service. But what is the value of this service in relation to the cost of the scholarship. If the potential awardees of the GOAL programme check they realise that they can register free for online courses and pay only a small fee for the certificate. It is truly amazing that in Guyana, scholarship awardees have to provide national service. This makes a mockery of the awards. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)
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Sunday August 01, 2021
Using the OAS to promote discord over Cuba By Sir Ronald Sanders
M
uch has been written about a meeting, convoked by the present Chair of the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS), to discuss “the situation in Cuba” which he was obliged to defer after objections by several member states. The present Chair is the Ambassador of Uruguay, Mr. Abdala Washington. He convoked the meeting on Monday July 26 to be held at 10 am on Wednesday 28 July. While the Chair has the authority to convene a meeting of the Permanent Council, it is unusual that he did so without consulting member states. After all, he expected member states to participate in a meeting on a subject matter on which he decided; the least he might have done was to consult with the coordinators of the regional members of the OAS to determine their views. This is normal practice on any matters that would obviously be controversial. In any event, no consultation was held, and OAS member states were surprised to be given less than 48 hours to discuss Cuba which had not
participated in the OAS since 1962 when it was suspended by a general assembly of the OAS. It should be noted that, apart from Haiti, no CARICOM member state was a member of the OAS when that suspension occurred. Heading countries that voted for the 1962 suspension were such notorious figures as Alfredo Stroessner of P a r a g u a y, N i c a r a g u a ’s Anastasio Somoza and Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier in Haiti. Since the 1962 suspension, Cuba had been discussed by the OAS only once. That was in June 2009 when the general assembly decided to lift the suspension at its own volition; Cuba had not requested its lifting. The 2009 resolution itself stated that “the participation of the Republic of Cuba in the OAS will be the result of a process of dialogue initiated at the request of the Government of Cuba”. Cuba’s response was that it had no interest in participation in the OAS. The de facto position, therefore, is that Cuba has not been a participating member of the OAS for 60 years and has no wish to be a m e m b e r. A sudden, unexplained decision to
discuss Cuba in the Permanent Council troubled member states who could see no productive outcome from it. Indeed, if anything, such a discussion was considered to be harmful to diplomatic efforts to try to improve relations between the US and Cuba which was one of President Biden’s undertakings during his campaign to be elected President. Further, on the same day that the Chair of the OAS Permanent Council issued his unexpected convocation of the meeting to discuss Cuba, CARICOM Heads of Government had written to President Biden saying that they were “troubled by the circumstances in Cuba,” referring to protests that had taken place on July 11. They attributed the protests to the 61-year-old US trade embargo, punitive measures imposed by the Trump administration, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. They said, “All of this, together with threats to its national security, have contributed to placing Cuba in conditions of abnormality in which normal criteria and expectation cannot be applied.” They called on President Biden to lift the embargo “so that all the
rights to which the Cuban state and its people are entitled can be respected and upheld,” and they recalled that “under a previous US administration of which you were a part, significant strides were made in this direction, and could be advanced to beneficial effect.” Passing strange was an email sent to many OAS delegations by an organisation called “Youth and Democracy in the Americas,” formed by Venezuelan nationals with help from the OAS Secretary General, Luis Almagro. Curiously, this organisation, told OAS Ambassadors on 27 July that it had “presented a petition to the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Dr. Luis Almagro, and subsequently our President, Cecilia Navas, met with the President of the Permanent Council of the OAS and also Uruguayan Ambassador, Washington Abdala, to request an extraordinary session to discuss the serious humanitarian situation suffered by our Cuban brothers and sisters and the dangers facing democracy in the Republic of Cuba.” They went on to say, “in view of the fact that the Permanent Council of the OAS has accepted our request and has convened a special session for tomorrow, July 28, with the situation in Cuba as its central theme, we therefore r e q u e s t y o u r
participation…” It was evident from this email message that the Chair of the Permanent Council and the Secretary General had accepted a consulted with an external group that has a specific political agenda, and not with member states of the OAS on the holding of a meeting to discuss Cuba. A very odd way to behave, causing more questions to be raised, concerning the motives for the meeting. Thirteen CARICOM countries formally urged the Chair to reconsider holding the meeting. I was authorised by those delegations to send the letter in my capacity as Coordinator of the CARICOM group. Several other countries sent similar letters, and for fear of calling a meeting for which there would be no quorum, the Chair decided to defer the meeting, pending an Opinion from the Legal Department of the OAS Secretariat which is answerable to the SecretaryGeneral and routinely produces opinions consistent with his views. The legal opinion has now been produced and, predictably, it concludes that the Permanent Council has “the competence to consider the situation in Cuba” because since Cuba never formally withdrew from the Organisation, it remains a member notwithstanding its
Sir Ronald Sanders publicly stated position that it has no interest in participating in it. It seems membership can be conveniently forced on the unwilling. No possible useful purpose will be served by any meeting to discuss Cuba. The OAS can enforce nothing on it. Any discussion could only satisfy political hawks with an eye on US mid-term elections where winning South Florida with the backing of Cuban exiles would be a prize. The task of the OAS should be to promote peaceful and cooperative relations in the hemisphere, not to feed division and conflict. (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.) Responses and previous c o m m e n t a r i e s : www.sirronaldsanders.com
Sunday August 01, 2021
Dear Reader, in light of the economic impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, our publisher, with you in mind, has taken the decision to extend our weekly review of some of our major stories in their entirety. SUNDAY GOVT. LOOKING FOR INVESTOR TO HELP REVIVE CONTENTIOUS AMAILA PROJECT The Office of the Prime Minister has published a request for proposals for the Amaila Falls hydro project on Friday, as the government looks to revive the project which has not gotten off the ground for more than a decade since it was first proposed, due to issues of feasibility and a lack of transparency. The People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) had intended years ago, to have the China Railways First Group (CRFG) develop the project, with money coming from Norway, China and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). But a Norwegian ethics council had raised questions about the involvement of the Chinese company in a significant corruption case. Now, the Government wants a private partner to fund and develop the project. According to the notice, the development arrangement for the project will take one of two systems. With the first option, BuildOwn-Operate-Transfer (BOOT), the developer would operate the project for a 20-year BOOT period, before handing it over to the government at no cost. With the second option, DesignBuild-Finance, the government would take over the project at the commissioning date and initiate repayment of the financing in accordance with contract terms. It said that those
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interested will have to submit proposals under both options, and the government will choose one. The notice said that the Government will choose a capable partner based on how their plans align with the timeframes stipulated, and the lowest economic costs including lifecycle costs. The submissions would have to include estimated project costs, detailing all capital costs, financing costs, supervision costs, development costs, and all other costs to date of commissioning/commercial operations. The Office of the Prime Minister said that interested parties should review and comment on all project documents and technical studies generally available at the end of 2015. With many questions about whether this project would work, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) andAlliance for Change (AFC) had combined forces in Parliament to oppose it, following the 2011 general election. After the two parties formed a coalition and won the 2015 general election, the project did not stand a chance. The PPP/C campaigned with the revival of the Amaila Falls project as a manifesto promise, and is now looking to fast-track it. “The GoG desires start of construction by second half of 2022, with project completion and commissioning by end of 2025,” the notice states. This is similar to the Government’s plan for the gas-to-shore project, which is intended for construction from 2022, with completion and commissioning in 2024. The PPP/C Government has not sufficiently responded to concerns raised by civil society and the media about the gas-to-shore project, much less the Amaila Falls project. The public notice about Amaila states “GPL’s current Development and Expansion (D&E) Plan for 2021 to 2025,
projects total capacity required in 2025 as 465 MW and energy of 2,900 GWH. The GOG proposes an energy mix that will utilize both natural gas, Heavy Fuel Oil, and renewables (hydro, wind, solar).” With the gas-to-shore and Amaila projects being the main sources of power, the government said that other renewable sources and heavy fuel oil will make up the balance or serve as backup. GOVT. GAZETTES ORDER REQUIRING FULL VACCINATION FOR PERSONS COMING FROM TRINIDAD - CHILDREN, GUYANESE NATIONALS EXEMPTED The government on Friday gazetted an order requiring persons flying from Trinidad and Tobago to Guyana must be fully vaccinated in order to enter the country. The order, made under The Civil Aviation Act (Act. No 21 of 2018) has recently been published by The Official Gazzette on July 23rd, 2021 and it stated “passengers, except children, travelling to Guyana from Trinidad and Tobago, who are not nationals of Guyana are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to be allowed entry into Guyana” – it was signed by Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill. COVID-19 infections are increasing in Trinidad and Tobago, with 198 new cases reported on average day. There have been 36,626 infections and 1,003 coronavirus related deaths since the pandemic began. MONDAY PRIVATE SECTOR MUST INDEPENDENTLYASSESS NEEDS OF OIL INDUSTRY - MINISTER INDAR The private sector must do its own assessments of the needs of the oil industry, if it
intends to grasp as much opportunity as possible for locals, advised Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar on Thursday last. The Minister, who has responsibility for oil and gas, made the remarks at the launch of a training centre by the Guyana Oil and Gas Energy Chamber (GOGEC). The Minister commended the oil chamber for launching a training centre so locals can be sensitised to take up roles in the industry. “A lot of people did their own assessment about what we need as a country,” the Minister said. He related that many roles are still being taken up by foreign companies and workers. The Government is conducting a needs assessment in order to inform its regulatory work. It is preparing to mandate that quotas must be carved out for locals in all the aspects of the oil industry, where locals have the capacity to provide the goods and/or services. The quotas will be enshrined in Guyana’s local content policy, and are expected to evolve based on the development of local capacity to serve the industry. The Minister said, however, that the private sector must conduct its own assessment because it knows all the “nuts and bolts” of the sector. “What do you need on the rigs? What do you need on the floatels that you have out there? What do you need on the FPSO? What do you need on the supply vessel? What do you need on the tug boats? What do you need in the shorebases? What do you need in the chemical plants? What do you need in the factory?” He said it is fine if organisations such as the oil chamber conduct basic sensitisation training, but that that is just scratching the surface. “ Yo u n e e d t o g o further,” the Minister said. He explained that specialised training activities will be warranted, based on the needs of the industry. “All those organisations that support the oil & gas sector have special needs. And those needs need to be filled with certified people.” “What are the certifications they need? How do we get them trained? How do we put them in quickly?” Indar said all of this needs to be dealt with systematically, and placed into a holistic document, if locals really want to enjoy the
benefits of the exploitation of Guyana’s oil. UK SANCTIONS EQUATORIALGUINEA LEADER’S SON OVER ‘LAVISH LIFESTYLE’ SPENDING (CNN) - Britain on Thursday last sanctioned the son of Equatorial Guinea’s president for misappropriating millions of dollars which London said was spent on luxury mansions, private jets and a US$275,000 glove worn by the late Michael Jackson. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Teodoro Obiang Mangue, who is also vice president of Equatorial Guinea, had participated in “corrupt contracting arrangements and soliciting bribes, to fund a lavish lifestyle inconsistent with his official salary as a government minister.” The Equatorial Guinea government did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters. Britain said Obiang had bought a US$100 million mansion in Paris, a US$38 million private jet, a luxury yacht, and dozens of luxury vehicles including Ferraris, Bentleys and Aston Martins. The foreign ministry said he also bought “a collection of Michael Jackson memorabilia including a $275,000 crystal-covered glove that Jackson wore on his “Bad” tour. CRACKDOWN ON OBIANG’S WEALTH Sanctions announced by London include asset freezes and a travel ban. Obiang is, however, not new to a global
crackdown on his humongous wealth. In 2016, a collection of luxury cars belonging to the 53-year-old politician were confiscated by Swiss authorities following a corruption probe. The supercars were auctioned off in 2019 — racking up millions of dollars in sales. In 2017, Obiang was convicted for corruption by a French court and handed a three-year suspended jail term after prosecutors accused him of embezzlement of public funds and money laundering. Obiang’s lavish spending was again spotlighted in 2018 after Brazilian police seized millions of dollars in cash, including a set of luxury watches from a delegation traveling with the wealthy Central African ruler following a search on their private aircraft in Sao Paulo. Obiang’s father President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has ruled Equatorial Guinea since taking power in a coup in 1979, eleven years after independence from Spain. The country grew rich in the past few decades due to the exploitation of its oil reserves, but more than 76% of the population lives in poverty, according to the World Bank. TUESDAY SHORTAUDITING TIMELINE LEAVES GUYANAACCEPTING LIZA 1 & 2 COSTS AS IS Due to the accounting provisions in the 2016 Stabroek Block agreement, (Continued on page 26)
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From page 25 Guyana only has a two-year window to audit all costs expended by ExxonMobil and its partners, Hess Corporation and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana, in a fiscal year. If that timeframe runs out, the country has to accept as correct, all costs incurred for the said year. Since Guyana failed to audit in a timely manner, the costs ExxonMobil and its partners incurred for the Liza Phase One and Two projects, the oil companies can fully recover over US$3.5B and US$6B respectively. It will also be able to recover without any challenges, US$460M, which it claimed, were expended prior to the signing of the 2016 PSA. The only costs Guyana stands a chance of auditing and refuting if unreasonable charges are found are those occurring from 2019 onwards. It therefore means that the PPP/C Administration still has ample opportunity to review costs expended for ExxonMobil’s Payara Development Project in the Stabroek Block. This project is expected to cost US$9B. Given the nation’s capacity deficiencies, international transparency bodies have strongly contended that the two-year deadline the government has accepted, along with the fact that it can only do one audit per year, is not sufficient. They have stressed that the timeline should be extended. Specifically making this point is Oxfam America. It has made this perspective known since 2015 alongside the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Oxfam America, a confederation of 20 charitable organisations which seek to fight poor governance of extractive wealth, has said that the expiration periods for audit rights are set out in petroleum contracts and tax laws. It stressed, however, that these deadlines differ from one country to the next. It noted that in Ghana and Kenya for example, the authorities there retain the right to complete audit companies within seven years. In Peru, the time limit for audits is a minimum of four years. Even in the USA, the transparency body highlighted that audits are allowed to be completed within a minimum of three years. Oxfam warned however that even a three-year deadline is not advisable for developing countries such as Guyana given the limited financial and human resources that are likely to delay the audit process. Further to this, the
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Kaieteur News
organisation said that it is equally important to keep an eye on record-keeping provisions in the petroleum contracts and tax laws. It said, “Oil companies should be required to keep all their records in-country for easy access by the auditors during the audit period. But once that period expires, it becomes very costly to access records and therefore practically impossible to audit them…” Oxfam warned that Guyana needs to take the auditing timeline for these costs as a matter of grave concern as it could cost the nation billions more. PAC UNEARTHS UNUSUAL SPENDING ATAGRI. MINISTRY …ALSO HEARS GUYSUCO NEVER RECEIVED APPROVED $400M The former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, George Jarvis, on Monday told the Public Accounts Committee that it was he who approved the spending of some $6M that was allocated to the Ministry in a manner for which it was not prescribed. The committee heard that the Ministry in fact, used money allocated to it for current expenditure and used it for capital works in violation of the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act. According to Jarvis, the Ministry had initially handed out the contract for the repairs to the surface of the Ministry’s compound. According to Jarvis, the activity started off as recapping of the compound of the ministry itself, essentially to repair the cracks in the concrete. It was disclosed however, that given the quantity of work that was required, the project was reclassified as a capital project. Jarvis told the Committee members it is regrettable the way in which the funds were utilised, and that a separate contract had to be given to the Ministry of Public Works, which subsequently resurfaced the same compound, this time using a bitumen surface. Government Committee member, Bishop Juan Edghill, Monday called the manner in which the expenditure was had, namely the spending of current money on a capital project, highly unusual and against financial laws. Adamant that this was an isolated incident, the former PS did indicate to the Committee that this was a decision taken without the input of the then subject minister. He was adamant, “as
far as I am aware there has never been another instance” and further, there was “never an intention to deliberately change the classification of job.” It was explained that this was done because of the scope of works that the project had to be upgraded to. The Committee was told that the procedure was followed with regard to the bringing on board of the Ministry of Public Works’ Work Services Group. Additionally, the Committee, which was at the time scrutinising the findings in the Auditor General’s Report for 2016, found that even though some $400M had been approved in the national budget for the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), the money never made its way to the corporation. In fact, the PS told the Committee that he could not recall a request ever being made for the money’s to be released to GuySuCo. This publication understands that the decision to not request the monies that had already been approved for GuySuCo under the Ministry was due to the fact, there was an intention to shutter some of the estates. As such, the monies were never released from the Ministry of Finance to the Agriculture Ministry for disbursement to the GuySuCo. The money was earmarked for the Sugar Industry Mechanisation Project. WEDNESDAY EXXONMOBIL’S LOCAL CONTENT REPORTS REMAIN SHROUDED IN SECRECY -DESPITE PRES. ALI, JAGDEO’S PLEDGE ON TRANSPARENCY President, Mohammed Irfaan Ali, and Vice President,
Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, have said on several occasions that the PPP/C Administration will ensure the oil and gas industry is enveloped by transparency and accountability. Both have also stressed their intention to see ExxonMobil make maximum use of local goods and services while ensuring the transfer of knowledge. But since assuming office, neither has ensured the release of ExxonMobil’s local content reports which are submitted to the State on an annual and half-yearly basis. In fact, August 2 will make one year since the Ali government has been in office and the public is none the wiser about the oil giant’s true performance on hiring and training locals and using indigenous products and services for the period 2016 to 2021. According to the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) that was signed for the Stabroek Block, Article 18 speaks to the use of Guyanese Resources. It specifically states, “Within 60 days prior to the beginning of each year or part thereof as applicable, the Contractor and the Minister shall provide a yearly plan for the utilisation of qualified Guyanese resources for the upcoming year. Following the submission of the plan, the Contractor and the Minister shall meet to discuss and consider the effectiveness of the plan.” Since being in office, the PPP/C Administration has said nothing about its engagements with ExxonMobil on this front, especially as it relates to the local content utilisation plan for 2021. Article 18 goes on to state, “The Contractor shall provide half-yearly reports submitted within 30 days after the end of each halfyear to the Minister outlining
its achievements in utilising qualified Guyanese resources during the previous half-year and make appropriate adjustments to the yearly plan to better accomplish the goal of increasing the qualified resources available for use by the Contractor in its Petroleum Operations and other entities performing petroleum operations in Guyana.” To date, neither the Head of State nor the Vice President has disclosed these reports for the public to peruse and hold the oil companies accountable. Neither has also informed the nation about whether they reviewed previous local content reports submitted by Exxon and partners and whether those were satisfactory and in keeping with the PSA’s call for increased use of Guyanese services and skills. LOCAL CONTENT REGULATOR While the government has said it is putting in place, the relevant laws and policies to ensure maximum local content is achieved, Chatham House Advisor, Anthony Paul, has warned that without proper implementation and regulation, it would all be for nothing. During a previous interview, Paul told Kaieteur News that a regulatory body must be in place to ensure there is substantial use of local goods and services. He further noted that there are different models which can be used to achieve this. The Chatham House Advisor said that in Ghana, by regulations, the Petroleum Commission is the responsible regulator. He said that the Petroleum Commission has instituted guidelines and procedures for reporting. He noted that the regulations include targets which are to be achieved. He also revealed that the
Commission has a dedicated local content team and work systems that cross different departments. In the case of Nigeria, Paul noted that a specific agency, The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), was established by legislation for managing Nigerian Content. Paul said that the NCDMB has dedicated teams and has been very effective in transforming the local content landscape in Nigeria. Closer to home, Paul said that the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries (MEEI) in Trinidad and Tobago is responsible for all aspects of regulating the industry, other than fiscal and environmental. Paul said that Trinidad and Tobago has some strong regulations requiring local capacity development and local content and for reporting and monitoring performance, but these have not always been robustly applied. He said that the MEEI does not have dedicated Local Content Personnel, but it has established a multistakeholder Permanent Local Content Committee, to oversee implementation of its 2004 Local Content Policy which is aligned with the provisions of the Petroleum Regulations. The Oil and Gas expert said, “There is an old saying, ‘what gets measured, gets done.’ So it makes sense that Guyanese are made aware of the progress of the policy by having a responsible agency report on measurable outcomes.” The Advisor said that unless that agency is somehow empowered to effectively undertake its responsibilities and held accountable to stakeholders, there is no guarantee that (Continued on page 27)
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From page 26 monitoring and reporting will be adequately conducted or that the potential benefits will be achieved. EXXON TO RENT MORE SUPPLY BOATS Stabroek Block Operator, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL)—ExxonMobil Guyana—is currently seeking three classes of specialised supply vessels to support its offshore operations. According to ExxonMobil Guyana, it is requesting information for the provision of multi-purpose support vessels, platform support vessels, and fast support vessels. The company, in making its request, indicated that Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL)—ExxonMobil Guyana subsidiary—plans to put in place an enabling agreement(s) for the provision and operation of multi-purpose support vessels(MPSVs), platform support vessels (PSVs), and fast support vessels (FSVs) for offshore activity in Guyana. The company in its invite noted that the delivery dates for the supply vessels would be October 1, or January 1, 2021, depending on the type of vessel being provided. This publication had recently reported that ExxonMobil Guyana is currently utilising 24 supply vessels to support its drilling operations at the Urau-1 well in the Stabroek Block at a cost of some US$1.3M daily. This, for each of the vessels being rented at a cost of some US$55,000, as neighbouring oil producers, Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname spend some US$12,000 for the rentals of their supply vessels. According to a recent notice by ExxonMobil, the 24 vessels it recently rented were to support its drilling operations in the Stabroek Block, this time using the MODU Stena Carron to spud its Urau-1 well, some 101 miles offshore Guyana. That drilling area encompasses an area of 0.29 square miles and mariners are being warned to stay clear of the vessels and navigate with extreme caution when in the vicinity. The supply vessels being employed to support the drilling activity include Gary Rook, Russell Bouziga, Robert Adams, Seacor Nile, Sanibel Island, Jack Edwards, Holiday, C-Installer, Kirk Chouest, Roger White, Charlie Commeaux and the
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Ted Smith. Others being employed are Paradise Island, Seacor Demerara, Clarence Triche, Seacor Congo, Horn Island, Russell Adams, Seacor Murray, Seacor Amazon, Seacor Mixteca, Emily Day McCall, Michael Crombie and Guyana Hero. Kaieteur News has since been reliably informed that according to the company’s contracts, they are to be paid whether the vessel is used in a day or not. THURSDAY GOVT. PREDICTS NEED FOR MORE FPSOS WITH NEW OIL FINDS IN STABROEK BLOCK The Stabroek Block continues to prove to be a prolific oil and gas basin with Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL)—ExxonMobil Guyana— Wednesday announcing two new finds for a total of 22 discoveries by the US oil major in Guyana’s waters. According to the oil company, the drilling activities at its Whiptail-1 well encountered 246 feet (75 meters) of net pay “from high quality oil bearing sandstone reservoirs.” It noted too that, “drilling is also ongoing at the Whiptail-2 well, which has encountered 167 feet (51 meters) of net pay in high quality oil bearing sandstone reservoirs.” As such, the company in making its announcement iterated that drilling continues at both wells to test deeper targets, and results will be evaluated for future development. The new discoveries add to the previous recoverable resource estimate of approximately nine billion oil equivalent barrels. The news was met with elation by Subject Minister, Vickram Bharrat, who in a subsequent public missive said, “It gives me great pride as the Minister of Natural Resources with responsibility for the Petroleum Sector and on behalf of the Government of Guyana, to announce Guyana’s 21st and 22nd Offshore Oil Discovery at the Whiptail-1 and Whiptail-2 Wells within the Stabroek Block offshore.” According to Minister Bharrat, as with discoveries prior, the Government of Guyana foresees this new development increasing the potential for additional floating production storage and offloading vessels (FPSO). “This is further set to
increase the estimated recoverable resource given by the operator, EEPGL…In this regard, the Ministry and the Petroleum Sector regulatory agencies remain committed to working with all operators, in efforts to expedite their respective drill programmes as we seek the sector’s expansion.” He was adamant that government welcomes these new discoveries Offshore Guyana and reinforces its commitment to the sustainable exploration and development of Guyana’s Oil and Gas Resources. “This we commit to do with the highest level of compliance and transparency to ensure that the benefits from this sector improve the lives of all Guyanese.” The Whiptail discovery is located approximately four miles southeast of the Uaru-1 Well. That successful discovery was announced in January 2020 and approximately three miles west of the Yellowtail field. Whiptail-1, according to the company, “is being drilled in 5,889 feet (1,795 meters) of water by the Stena DrillMAX. Whiptail-2, which is located three miles northeast of Whiptail-1, is currently being drilled in 6,217 feet (1,895 meters) of water by the Noble Don Taylor.” According to ExxonMobil, there are more than 2,600 Guyanese supporting oil and gas activities in the country. In January last, ExxonMobil had announced its Longtail-3 well discovery, which encountered 230 feet (70 meters) of net pay, including newly, identified, high quality hydrocarbon bearing reservoirs below the original Longtail-1 discovery. ExxonMobil said at the time, that the well is located approximately two miles (3.5 kilometers) south of the Longtail-1 well and was drilled in more than 6,100 feet (1,860
meters) of water by the Stena DrillMAX. It should be noted that the Longtail-1 well was drilled in 2018, encountering approximately 256 feet (78 meters) of high-quality, oilbearing sandstone reservoir. At the time, Senior Vice President of Exploration and New Ventures at ExxonMobil, Mike Cousins, intimated that combined with its previous recent discovery at the Uaru2 well, the resource estimate at the Stabroek Block is well beyond nine billion barrels of oil equivalent resources. The company announced its first discovery in 2015 when it hit pay dirt in the Stabroek Block at its Liza I wells and has since made a record 21 more commercial discoveries. Production from the Stabroek Block began in December 2019 and continues to date with a second Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading Vessel—the Liza Unity—set to arrive in Guyana later this year to commence production from its Liza II discovery. LOCALS TO SET UP US$600M SHORE BASE FACILITYAT VREED-EN-HOOP Three local businessmen have teamed up to meet the growing demand for oil and gas support services with the proposal of a mega shore base project at Foreshore, Plantation Best on the West Bank of Demerara. Those businessmen are former Georgetown Chamber of Commerce (GGCI) President, Nicolas Deygoo Boyer, who controls National Hardware Guyana Limited; miner, Andron Alphonso of ZRN Investments Inc. and the popular Nazar ‘Shell’ Mohammed of Hadi’s World Inc. Together, the trio has formed the consortium, NRG Holdings Inc. According to the project summary published on the
Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) website, the proposed ‘Port of Vreed-enHoop’ project will see approximately between US$200-600 million being invested in Guyana, thereby helping the country expand key shipping, port, and shore base facilities to meet rapidly increasing industry requirements. NRG Holdings Inc. said, “…this space will be developed into sustainable and industry-leading facilities showcasing what can be done through local content, investment, and international partnership.” The proposed facility would sit on approximately 400 hectares of coastal and near shore lands and water located seaward of existing Mangroves on the Atlantic Coast at Plantation Best, West Bank Demerara, within the Best/Klein/Pouderoyen Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC). The Port of Vreed-enHoop is conceptualised to be a base port facility that will have the potential to service the offshore oil and gas and other shipping needs. NRG Holdings plans to have an offshore terminal, fabrication, umbilical and spooling yards at the port with administrative buildings that will house offices and modernised logistics centres. It said that the facility will house areas for warehousing, container management systems and that it will have the potential for storage of sub-sea equipment, pipe inspection and repairs, areas for individual and separate operators to provide relevant services to the offshore oil and gas operators including but not limited to waste management/effluent treatment plant(s) and other environmental services, lodgings, mud plant, logistics, etc. Added to that, NRG Holdings plans to equip the facility with an area for a potential helipad along with
wharf, berths, and a dry dock. F u r t h e r m o r e , construction is expected to be completed in two phases. Phase One will include the deepening, widening, and dredging of the access channel approximately 100125 metres wide and 7- 10 metres deep and the dredging of the port basin and berth pockets. Phase Two will include the deepening dredging of the access channel to 10-12 metres deep along with the deepening dredging of the port basin and berth pocket. It will also include offshore dredging and reclamation of the lay down area behind quay wall with total capacity of approximately 400 hectares. With the phased construction, jobs will be provided for 150-200 persons during construction and 50100 persons for the basic operation and maintenance of the base port facilities indicated in Phase 1. NRG Holdings said that it expects when the Phase One components are fully operational, inclusive of service providers, approximately 1,000 persons will be employed and that will double with Phase Two components completed and operationalised. The project summary detailed that the main activities associated with the project: land clearing, earthworks, stockpiling, machine operation and concrete works will have the potential to affect the environment directly or indirectly. Those potential impacts are loss of land and habitats, pollution of air and sedimentation of surface water, generation of solid waste, and health and safetyrelated. However, the EPA had announced in a public notice on Sunday last that the project would not require an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). Instead, it will require an Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) to address issues that arose during the screening process. FRIDAY IN ABSENCE OF RINGFENCING PROVISIONS, NEW DISCOVERIES MEAN LITTLE FOR GUYANA– INT’LEXPERT In light of ExxonMobil’s recent announcement that more oil was found at the Whiptail-1 and Whiptail-2 wells in Stabroek Block, an international financial group has come forward to expose (Continued on page 28)
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From page 27 what this truly means for the people of Guyana. According to the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), more discoveries in the Stabroek Block only mean little for the citizenry given the absence of ring-fencing provisions in the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) governing the block. Kaieteur News along with several regional and international stakeholders have stressed since 2015, the importance of having this provision in the PSA as it would prevent ExxonMobil from deducting expenses associated with other projects against a producing field. This is currently taking place with the Liza Phase One Project. In the absence of a ring-fencing provision, ExxonMobil and its partners are deducting costs associated with the Liza Phase Two and Payara Projects against the Liza Phase One Project. In doing so, the already small profit to be split with the Guyana gets even smaller. In a report titled: “Lack of Ring-Fencing Provision Means Guyana Won’t Realise Oil Gains Before 2030s, if at All” by IEEFA’s Director of Financial Analysis, Tom Sanzillo, the devastating effects of failing to have this provision are highlighted. In the 14-page document, Sanzillo notes that ExxonMobil has already received approval of the Payara field and even made discoveries at Yellowtail, Longtail, Uaru, Redtail, Mako, Tripletail and Whiptail in the Stabroek Block. Sanzillo noted however that all of the associated costs are being charged against the Liza Phase One Project thus
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reducing Guyana’s share of the profits. By IEEFA’s estimates, Guyana should receive upward of US$6 billion annually by 2028 or sooner but, because of all of these new costs, which neither ExxonMobil nor the government is disclosing, IEEFA’S Director of Financial Analysis posits, “Guyana will be shortchanged until the 2030s, if not longer.” Sanzillo also stressed that the recent announcement of a discovery at the Whiptail site may help ExxonMobil’s stock price but said one ought to be aware of the reality that it ultimately reduces Guyana’s profits. He said, “The lack of contract protections means that every time Guyana announces it has received more revenue, it is actually being shortchanged.” From a global perspective, Sanzillo said Guyana ought to pay attention to the fact that the oil and gas industry is facing stiff competition and lower growth expectations. On this note, he said Guyana selling more oil in an overcrowded market would be “risky business” as it may never see the promised annual revenues in the billions of dollars. When the foregoing issues are placed alongside the fact that the true costs of ExxonMobil’s projects, its new discoveries, and its dry holes remain unknown, Sanzillo alluded that the Stabroek Block deal essentially leaves the people of Guyana in a dark abyss of worrisome financial risks. GAS-TO-ENERGY PROJECT EPAACTED OUTSIDE ITS POWERS, CURRENT EIA PROCESS IS IMPROPER – …ENVIRONMENTALIST
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) undertaking of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited has been, at times, irrational and improper and does not comply fully with the requirements of the Environmental Protection Act 1996. This is according to the written submissions that were sent to the EPA as part of the public consultation process for the proposed gas-toenergy project by Ms. Simone Mangal-Joly, a distinguished Guyanese environmentalist. In her written submissions, Ms. Mangal highlighted a number of concerns relating to various aspects of the gas-to-energy project. The most crucial of these concerns relate to a
misuse of the power conferred upon the Environmental Protection Agency by the Environmental Protection Act 1996 and include: the approval of the site for the NGL plant which appears inconsistent with the relevant law; the fragmentation of the gas-toenergy project into multiple projects by the EPA that each individually requires an EIA; the refusal of the EPA to grant the general public access to the Project application; and the attempt of the EPA to filter or limit public input and query during the consultation process. The latter two concerns highlighted will be discussed in detail in a subsequent article as the focus of this article is on the first two concerns.
NGL plant site approval inconsistent with the law Ms. Mangal’s first point of contention in her written submission states that, “According to the Government of Guyana’s public releases and EEPGL’s Project Description, the project site will be the Wales Estate, which will also host associated downstream industries. The establishment of an industrial estate requires an Environmental Permit and will certainly require an EIA given the planned cluster of heavy polluting industries.” She further opines that since no application for an Environmental Permit is in sight for the proposed project location, it is improper for the EPA to embark on an EIA for the NGL subcomponent of the gas-to-energy project and asserts that by undertaking an EIA, the EPA “is demonstrating preliminary support for EEPGL’s application, which is procedurally unfair as an EIA has not been submitted to support development consent for [Wales Development Zone] and no public hearing has been held as required by the Act.” In defense of her position, the environmentalist cites Section 14 of the Environmental Protection Act, which specifies: “a public authority shall not give development consent in any matter where an environmental authorisation is required unless such authorisation has been issued and any development consent given by any public authority shall be subject to
the terms of the environmental authorisation issued by the Agency.” In concluding that it is improper for the EPA to entertain EEPGL’s application in this circumstance, she concluded that the Central Government had declared that it had approved the Wales Development without first obtaining an environmental permit for same. The fragmentation of the gas-to-energy project Ms. Mangal’s second point of contention relates to the fragmented approach taken by the EPA to the conduct of an EIA. She opines that the Act does not permit an Applicant, Applicants, or the EPA to dismember a project into subcomponents and embark on EIAs for those subcomponents as though they were stand-alone projects. She further highlights that this is mandated in Section 11(5)(a)(1) which indicates that an EIA must address the “whole project”, that is, its full impact footprint: “Every environmental impact assessment shall contain the following information (a) a description of the project, including in particular (i) the geographical area involved and the physical characteristics of the whole project and the land use requirements...” EEPGL’s project summary states inter alia that, “the power plant and further distribution is not included in the scope of this application, except for its consideration when addressing cumulative (Continued on page 29)
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From page 28 impacts for the Project.” Ms. Mangal notes that the Act does not permit the EPA or any other party to use the developer as a criterion for defining the scope of a project and that the litmus test for determining a project scope is whether the component can exist on its own, which the NGL plant obviously cannot. It is further highlighted that the plant would accept and process gas and must be able to operate in a steady state between supply intake and demand & waste outflow as the EEPGL is not stock piling dry gas or natural gas liquids. Therefore, without a clearly defined offtake, she asserts that the EEPGL must stop the flow and flare offshore as the NGL plant cannot function without the outflow to the demand component. Consequently, she again asserts that the Project Scope must encompass how the NGLs will be moved offsite to their market destinations as the port and transport network would have to be considered part of the project, because the NGL plant cannot operate without them. The demand segment is part of the “whole project.” This aids Ms. Mangal in concluding that, “In exercising discretion outside of its power for defining a project scope, the EPA has acted contrary to the Act’s requirement for the “whole project” to form the subject
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of an EIA. The EPA cannot jettison the power plant and the NGL’s demand side infrastructure into a separate EIA process and treat with them as “cumulative” impacts of distinctly different projects.” She notes that, “this defeats the purpose of an EIA as set out in the Act. Consequently, both the project description and scope are woefully deficient. The current EIA process is futile.” SATURDAY GUYANAPAYS MORE INTEREST ON LOANS THAN IT EARNS IN PROFITS & ROYALTY …ANALYST PROJECTS PAYING US$336M THIS YEAR, AS GOVT. GETS US$226M TOTAL A recently published financial analysis has since revealed that the interest rate on the loans that Guyana is ultimately responsible for repaying through cost oil, that were taken by Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) amounts to more money that the country will receive this year for its royalty and profit share combined. At least, this is according to the projections, provided by Tom Sanzillo, Director of financial analysis for the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA)— specialising in the oil, gas, petrochemical and coal
sectors. The nation has been in the dark for several years with regards the interest rate that is being paid on the loans contracted by the Stabroek Block operator but the rate has remained elusive with government and other officials remaining tightlipped. The requestshave been repeatedly made publicly by this publication and several local and international experts and watchdog bodies. Sanzillo, in a recent analysis of the economics behind the Stabroek Block developments noted that on the interest alone that is being paid by the company through recoverable cost oil, the country prior to 2020 paid US$143M. For 2020, according to Sanzillo, interest on loans accounts for US$229 and this year, he projects the amount to be some US$336. Guyana’s total share from production in the Stabroek Block is projected at US$226M, a difference of US$110M. Based in his projections, by 2024, Guyana would have had to repay some US$2.8B on loans for projects that had been approved up to July this year—the month the analyst report was published. According to Sanzillo, next year, he is projecting that the payments for interests would amount to some US$488M, while the country’s total take for that year would be US$434M or US$54M less. For 2023, Sanzillo projects government’s total share to increase to US$905M while the US oil major will utilise some US$661M from cost oil to use for interest on loans. In 2024, the financial
analyst predicts total earnings for Guyana to be US$1.3B while the interest payments alone for that year would amount to US$946M. The total recoverable costs, according to Sanzillo, are currently far in excess of annual gross revenue from production. He observes in his analysis that a portion of gross revenue goes to retire development costs in addition to paying for operations and profit and the remaining unrecovered balance is carried over each year. “It is generally assumed that as each year passes, new wells (Liza Phase 2 and Payara) could be added and revenues grown commensurately.” It was noted too that robust annual revenue payments to Guyana will be delayed as additional development costs are added to the cumulative unrecovered balance. “The actual number of years until Guyana receives more robust profit oil payments is uncertain, “he said and pointed out that “for Guyana, actual total development costs are unknown.” It was noted too that the contractor has not disclosed the total development costs for Payara or the total development costs needed to reach the maximum amount of extractable oil. “In addition, there have been no mutually agreedupon, publicly available oil price projections, a key factor in estimating the rate and level of cost recovery,” the analyst said. The Guyanese government has decided to accumulate the oil payments,
according to Sanzillo, who observed that as of April 13, the country had collected US$344M, “how the government plans to use the proceeds remains to be seen.” GOVT. GAZETTES PARTIALVACCINE MANDATE - ONLY VACCINATED PERSONS TO ENTER CINEMAS, GOVT. AGENCIES; PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION OPERATORS MUST BE VACCINATED Even though the Government made it clear that COVID-19 vaccines are not mandatory, its latest gazetted COVID-19 emergency measures – requiring that persons who wish to visit public agencies, take part in certain public activities, who operate public transport must now be vaccinated – result in an effective partial vaccine mandate. The emergency measures, which were released Friday, goes in effect from August 1 and last up to August 31, 2021, sees the 10:30pm to 04:00am curfew being maintained. The gazette, which stipulates more vaccination requirements state that any member of the public who is desirous of entering a Ministry or any Government agency must be vaccinated, while unvaccinated persons must make an appointment before they visit. As cinemas, casinos and betting shops are being reopened at 40% capacity, the gazette states that only vaccinated patrons are allowed access to these businesses and that they wear a facemask while
doing so. The requirement to be vaccinated does not apply to children under the age of 18 years. Patrons should have in their possession their ID card and their Vaccination Cards when requested by the operators or other persons authorised by the Ministry of Health. According to the guidelines, indoor and outdoor dining at a restaurant and bar are only allowed at 60% capacity. Persons who wish to attend except for children must be vaccinated. They too have to provide their ID cards and show proof that they are vaccinated. Staff are asked to wear a facemask and sanitise tables and seats at all times. Buffet dining, gambling, pool and snooker games at bars are still prohibited, while gyms and fitness centres are allowed to reopen at a 50% capacity. While only vaccinated persons are allowed entry to these places, the Health Ministry is now requiring members of the public who operate any public transportation, whether by land, water or air are to be vaccinated. When operating they should always have their ID card and their Vaccination Cards and must produce these documents when requested by the police or any person authorised by the Ministry. Operators should ensure all passengers wears a facemask. The Ministry highlighted that failure to comply with any of these measures will be treated as an offence and those breaching the regulations can face charges. Business operators who fail to comply will be issued with a written warning by the Ministry and if found non-compliant after being warned, their operation will be suspended for no more than 30 days.
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THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN
Today, African Guyanese must do profound reflections I have never been ethnically inclined. It is one of the instincts embedded in Homo sapiens that I missed out on. I don't know if it has made me a better person but this I know – those who see themselves as an ethnic person first then a human after, are philosophically flawed in their thinking. Though I have never been racially driven, I understood how a racial group feels at being targeted by others. I have been witness to every rigged election since 1968, except 1980, when I was in Canada studying. I saw Indian people cry when the 1985 elections were stolen. They felt that Dr. Jagan and Indian people were being denied what history had given them. In this context, I understood how African people felt when their leaders lost the 2020 election. The fundamental difference between 1985 and 2020 is that the PPP did not lose and their leaders did not
lie to them. In 2020, the PNC lost and their leaders lied to them. Leaders will always lie to their followers. It is a negative value that will be with civilisation forever. But at some point in their lives, supporters have to reflect and accept reality. Trump lost the 2020 election because he promised to clear the swamp. Countless numbers saw that he was putting more mud in the swamp. He lost the votes of poor people in 2020, then in 2016, he promised to save them and he did not. The parallel with the PNC in Guyana in 2020 is phenomenally identical. Trump said he was not a Washington insider and he will bring in new modes of politics that will bear no resemblance to the Washington outfits that ran the US for centuries. When he came to power, he acted no different. The people of Guyana
had 23 years of PPP rule. They saw the APNU+AFC merger as a new kid in town that they wanted to give a chance and the opportunity to govern. There was no Burnham, Hamilton Green, Robert Corbin. There was a new PNC guy and there were Trotman, Ramjattan and the romantic AFC. Power came in 2015 and Black people were betrayed by every conceivable leader in the PNC. Every conceivable PNC leader showed they were no different from the PPP boys and girls whose relentless criticism during the 2011 and 2015 election campaigns swept the PNC to power. Black people today will be celebrating the successful revolt against slavery but how emancipated are they today, in the words of Bob Marley? From Burnham to Granger, PNC leaders have been treating African Guyanese as if they are mentally lazy. Was there a Freudian slip when Amanza
Walton-Desir identified the wrong object in her racial speech? Burnham did not empower Black people. He empowered the state. When he died and Hoyte took over the vast resources the state possessed at the time, Hoyte sold them to wealthy Indians, rich Portuguese and foreign investors. Hoyte sold nothing to Black people. Hoyte offered nothing to Black people. Hoyte's Economic Recovery Programme (ERP) negatively impacted public servants than any other s e c t o r. H o y t e ' s E R P impoverished African Guyanese. Every PNC leader in the post 2015 dispensation, including PNC sidekicks like Clive Thomas, deceived Black people. For five years street vendors were tossed around. Clive Thomas paid one of the richest Indian families in Guyana millions monthly in rent for a building to house
his so-called anticorruption outfit named SARA. Homestretch Frederick Kissoon Avenue was turned into a billion-dollar election result. The structure while schools S tab r o ek N ew s ' B lack where Black children c o l u mnists composed attended had no toilet asininity when they wrote facilities. Black policemen, t h a t t h e international Black soldiers and Black o b s e r v e r s decided the public servants jumped so election. ACDA showed high for joy that they couldn't i g n o r a n c e w h en it come down back to the proclaimed that the 2020 ground. The occasion was a election was the occasion for commission into the public t h e r e - c o l o n i s a t i o n o f service where the retirement Guyana. Since March last age was to be elevated to 60; year, the PNC and WPA have it never happened. Black been fooling Black people. It is the right of African youths under the PNC still Guyanese to reject the rule of went to jail for possession of the PPP if they choose to. But four grams of weed. their leaders did not perform The PNC government and the PPP won a fair lost the 2020 election election. It is time African because they spat on the generosity of the voters that Guyanese open their eyes to gave them victory in 2015. save their future. (The views expressed in The Deputy Vice Chancellor this article are those of the of UG, Dr. Ifill, wrote a u t hor and do not nonsense when she penned that the American PR firm, necessarily reflect the M e r c u r y, d e c i d e d t h e opinions of this newspaper.)
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Coronavirus: These factors are now confirmed to increase your risk of dying from COVID-19 By Dr. Zulfikar Bux Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, Vanderbilt Medical Center The COVID-19 pandemic has now been around long enough and actual data on its target population is becoming much clearer than the initial stages. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has released data from a year of analysing hospitalised patients and have identified the persons who are at higher risk of dying from COVID-19. Data from a total of 540,667 US patients hospitalised with COVID-19 from March 2020 to March 2021 were analysed and the factors mentioned today, were associated with higher death rates from the disease. OBESITY One is considered obese if they are above 20 percent of their ideal weight for their height. This amounts to a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or above. The data released by the CDC showed that obese patients hospitalised with COVID-19 had a more than 30fold higher risk of dying from COVID-19. This meant that a higher proportion of obese persons
were dying from COVID-19 than any other population of patients. ANXIETYAND FEARRELATED DISORDERS This came as a surprise to many since anxiety and fearrelated disorders were not initially thought to increase one’s risk of dying from COVID-19. The data showed that patients hospitalised with COVID-19 had a 28-fold increase in risk of dying from the disease. A subset of the study population had developed anxiety during COVID-19 and researchers are theorising that anxiety may be one of the resulting sequalae of COVID19 itself. More study is needed on this category to determine if patients with pre-existing anxiety and fear related disorders, are more prone to developing COVID-19 anxiety and therefore having an increased risk of dying from the disease. DIABETES WITH COMPLICATIONS It was previously thought that being diabetic increased one’s risk of dying from COVID-19. The data from CDC debunked this theory as diabetics without complications did not have an increased risk of dying from COVID-19.
However, diabetics with complications from diabetes (Kidney failure, cardiovascular disease, nerve damage, skin conditions, etc.) had a 26-fold increased risk of dying from COVID-19. CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE Patients that have chronic kidney disease are those whose kidneys are irreversibly failing and they cannot filter waste from blood as they usually do. Patients with chronic kidney disease had a 21-fold increase risk of dying from COVID-19. CORONARY ATHEROSCLEROSIS AND OTHER HEART DISEASE Coronary atherosclerosis accounts for a few conditions which includes high blood p r e s s u r e , hypercholesterolemia, coronary artery disease, etc. Patients with these and other heart conditions had a 14-fold increase risk of dying from COVID-19. OLDER AGEAND MALES The data also revealed that one’s risk of dying from COVID-19 doubles with every five-year (4.82 years) increase in age. It also revealed that a higher proportion of males (59 percent) died from the disease than females (41 percent). Researchers are now looking
into data to see how persons with higher proportion of male hormones are dying from COVID-19. While we were aware of some of these risk factors, others are surprising and I thought it was worth sharing with you so that you can be
more vigilant with those around you that may have these underlying conditions. The data on COVID-19 is getting clearer as time progresses. Let’s use this to our advantage and base our choices from credible information from credible
Dr. Zulfikar Bux sources; social media is often not the best option.
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>>> ENCOURAGING EVENTS, DISTURBING DEVELOPMENTS <<<
FIRST YEAR REPORT CARD OF SELECTED GOVT. MINISTERS
By GHK Lall
B
o t h t h e encouraging and disturbing came in the one-year report card of selected government ministers. I take good and bad and, unlike Guyanese, I throwaway ‘bad bush.’ Such is a true emancipated spirit, which can be the most energising, most inspirational tonic for the soul. Social Protection Minister, Vindya Persaud, stands head and shoulders above the class: a real striver, a proven overachiever. From elderly to abused to trafficked, she and team have led the way. Though a political player of pedigree, Minister Persaud has shown herself to be at home ministering, in the fullest spiritual sense of the word, to those in need. Reassurance comes: topnotch class valedictorian. Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, made the best with what he had, what was before him. Despite missteps (children, post-quarantine testing, curfew, and straight shooting with reality and not at skeptics), he did commendably. His team has been tireless in pulling weight, making a difference. Good going, Mr. Minister; the silver medal is his. The Minister of Education means well, but must understand she is not a cheerleader, but chief s t e w a r d o f G u y a n a ’s children. Sometimes, she gets carried away with politics, and loses sight of the mysteries and potencies of the pandemic. I sense a showdown with the union brewing: tongue nah gah teeth but he bite fuh true. People are uncertain; worse yet, they are scared. The trouble with Guyana is that everybody is a political creature, which makes most people lose any
h u m a n feature. When I think of September, I assess the Education Minister guilty of truancy. I d e t e c t potential wasted. A middling grade, it is. H i s Lordship, the Bishop cum Minister of Public Works, and his logistically powered junior sidekick, flattered to deceive. Many strident speeches were made about throwing the book at backsliding contractors (airport, roads, and elsewhere) and then fading came, people fell apart. I hope that the book, which the Minister promised to throw at the stubborn (Chinese, et al) was not scripture. I judge him as overpromising and underdelivering. Unless those people responsible for the airport expansion have delivered, then my prayers and literary supplications for the good Bishop/Minister will not be enough. He mesmerised first, profaned later. The man should be a missionary, not about political sorcery. His Lordship knows better, leave that to unrepentant sinners, like me. Since the Bishop/Minister (which is more important, pray tell?) drew so much attention to himself, expectations ran high. Now, they have been flooded out, not by Noachian downpours, but by political spittle. I regret a-belowaverage performance. Three recommendations: cut the preaching, start practicing. Become a terminator. The Attorney General pretends to love the law. His inconsistency with its majesty, precedent-as once advocated, bewilders. He could have been better, but content to be lesser, and comes across as cheaper, and cheating on himself. A loud backbencher, a frontline disappointment. A work in progress, placed on probation. The best for Minister of Home Affairs one year later, is that he has jumped ship:
absentee caretaker, unsteady corrections chief, struggling disciplinarian. Cobwebs imprison. Sure, he communicates better, thanks to not one but two police voices that could make sandpaper feel like syrup. Cotton Tree, crime, and police corruption, and the word is: no problem. Spin, baby, spin. I
t is blood, sweat and tears out there, but there is this spinning wheel PR business. The man asks us poor Guyanese to trust him still. I cannot for a proxy minister. His card: incomplete and absent. Last, there is the Minister of Oil, Finance, Foreign Affairs, Mining, Projects, Public Disclosures, and
assorted other portfolios. His one-way mirror tells him he is the fairest of all on oil. As one steeped in economics, physics and the properties of light elude him. Light shines on those fearless with facing facts, as they are, truths that stand. Outstanding economists know that when supply of truth is scarce, intensifying
demand follows for the light of oil truths. Hoarding the supply of truth pressures demand for it. A failure, self-incriminator for leader. School closes. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)
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Sunday August 01, 2021
Our Frontline Worker of this Week is… HOSPITAL ATTENDANT,
Adonijah Naraine By Malisa Playter-Harry
I
n countries, which were subjected to lockdowns, many employed persons were forced to remain home and eventually turn their homes into their new work spaces. Individuals had to adapt to the new way of working from home and communicating with their respective institutions using technology. But not all employees got that opportunity. Health care workers like a few other professionals were classified as essential workers; they had to render their services as per norm and even overtime as the need arose. As hospitals and quarantine sites became overwhelmed with COVID19 cases in Guyana, those in
Frontline Worker, Adonijah Naraine the medical system were those who wore their PPE like a cape, as they helped to save lives. Today, they are held in the highest regard because of the tireless and selfless work, which they put in to saving Continued on page 40
“You think a lot of things, but I never one day feel as though I will get sick, I does just pray. Every life that come there and you assist with it, at least God giving you an opportunity to assist and I am not sitting back and doing nothing. That is what I like about the work, because you feel like you are somebody, valuable and important.”
Garbed in PPE.
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Hospital Attendant... From page 36 lives while sacrificing so much. We see frontline workers every day, but we don't always recognise their importance and one category of such essential workers is the attendant. Today, we will shine some light on just such an essential worker. Attached to the New Amsterdam Hospital in Berbice is Adonijah Naraine of St. John Street, New Amsterdam. He has been working on the Region's COVID-19 Taskforce as an attendant and has been employed at the institution for two years. While still fairly new to the health system, Naraine has taken on his role and responsibility with passion since he considers the job he does as extremely critical during these times. Naraine explained that prior to the pandemic, he was unemployed but heard about existing vacancies at the health institution. He said he applied and the position for an attendant was the only job available at the time. “They called me and told me it was the only work it had and they asked me if I want it and if I frighten and so on and I tell them no problem. I wasn't scared or worried, I just use to keep good prayers and just stay focused, protecting myself and so,” Naraine said. He added that while his job is sometimes challenging, he has developed a love for it. Naraine is responsible for aiding patients who would have tested positive for COVID and he also ensures that there is enough oxygen available to those patients who are kept for two weeks in the Transition Unit building located in the compound of the New Amsterdam Hospital. He noted, “it's challenging knowing you have to get up for a job that you know you are exposed to the virus and the possibility exists to contract the virus. But other than that, it is good because I enjoy every bit of work I do. I get to learn to care for elderly people and do stuff for
them so when I am at work, I am very much happy, God knows it,” Naraine said. He said there is a sense of fulfilment and satisfaction knowing that he assists in some way, while stressing that he never pictured himself being a part of the health system but “I got the job and I fell in love with it.” A typical day for Naraine begins with him turning up for work on his shift and upon arrival, he is required to equip himself with protective gears to face incoming patients who tested positive for the virus. He wears two masks, a face shield, long boots, gown and doubled gloves when handling the patients who cannot walk on their own. “You think a lot of things, but I never one day feel as though I will get sick, I does just pray. Every life that come there and you assist with it, at least God giving you an opportunity to assist and I am not sitting back and doing nothing. That is what I like about the work, because you feel like you are somebody, valuable and important,” said Naraine with pride. Our featured frontline worker, who is a father to a three-year-old, said that while he has never contracted the virus, he still takes all the necessary precautions before he returns home to his son and his mother (who suffers from asthma). “I does gear up when I am out of my house, I am very protective,” he said. He said that while there are two other attendants on the taskforce, everyone works as a team and family as they look out for each other. “My job is very important, I can wake up and go to work fine and next thing you hear, I have the virus, we are exposed just the same as doctors and nurses. We are all taking chances,” he said. Naraine, who has also taken his first jab of the Sputnik Vaccine, is urging persons to make the informed decision to get vaccinated. He is also calling on persons to continue following the COVID-19 guidelines.
Sunday August 01, 2021
Kaieteur News
Lessons from a Lashpreneur!!!
Lashing mature clients By Latoya Zephyr Wondering if you might be too old to get extensions?? Yes, you absolutely can still have lashes at a more mature age.a lot of our existing regular clients are 55+ and love maintaining their lashes. So let’s talk about lashing mature clients. · Down with the hood… Mature clients can have hooded eyelids which make application of the lashes more difficult. However correct placement of your lash tape to the upper lids to help ‘lift’ the lid to give better access to the lashes will help with application. Use two thin strips of tape applied vertically from above lash line to brow area, sitting approximately 0.5cm from the inner and outer corners of the eyes to get this lift and improve ease of lash application. · Sparse or thinning lashes… Mature clients may have naturally more sparse or even thinning lashes due to many reasons including hormonal changes brought about by menopause. Stick with 3D lashes, no greater or the effect will not be optimally flattering and will look unnatural. If using pre-made, stick with short root styles or keep the base shorter if creating your own. · Keeping your curl… Avoid use of D curl lashes which give a very dramatic look, stick with C or CC curls for a flattering look which most mature clients will prefer. · Less is more…. Don’t be tempted to go overboard and apply too many lashes. Select shorter lash lengths to compliment the natural lashes, longer does not mean thicker and using shorter lengths will detract from spareness and avoid over-defining the lash
line. Avoid long lash lengths to outer corners too which will make the eyes appear to droop, a few shorter lengths to outer corners will lift the eyes and give a more openeyed, youthful look. The same goes for lash thickness, using thicker lashes will not create fullness but over-emphasise any gaps. · Good care is key… Ensure your mature clients, in particular, are rigorous with the lash care. Suggest a lash safe serum to help improve natural lash growth and strength and ensure they return every 2-3 weeks for infills to ensure lashes remain looking their best. Lost lash extensions will only exaggerate any sparsity to lashes so it is key they upkeep their infills. · When we apply the eyelash extensions, we are putting a single extension on a single natural lash (classic
lashes) or, if you opt for the more dramatic hybrid or volume lashes, we apply a small handmade fan of lashes to an individual natural lash. The extension attaches to your natural lash permanently with a microscopic dot of glue, and as your natural lash grows and eventually sheds, the eyelash extension will fall out with the natural lash, still attached. This is very normal – as with any hair on your body, the eyelashes grow and shed and new ones grow underneath. When your lashes shed, it’s time to have an infill. Some benefits of eyelash extensions on mature women: · Eyelash extensions are great if you’re having trouble seeing or applying make up · Lashes can appear to ‘open up’ the eye, especially if you’ve got slightly saggy eyelids · Less time getting ready in the morning!
Enetworks to air Olympic Games today If you are an aficionado of the Olympic Games then the E2 channel is what you needed to be glued to today. The Olympic Games are the world’s only truly global, multi-sport, celebratory athletics competition. With more than 200 countries participating in over 400 events across the Summer and Winter Games, the Olympics are where the world comes to compete, feel inspired, and be together. The 2020 Games are the fourth Olympic Games to be held in Japan, following the Tokyo 1964 (Summer), Sapporo 1972 (Winter), and Nagano 1998 (Winter) games. Tokyo is the first city in Asia to hold the Summer Games twice. The 2020 Games are the second of three consecutive Olympics to be held in East Asia, following the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and preceding the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China.
The 2020 Games sees the introduction of new competitions as well as competitions that once were held but were subsequently removed. New ones include 3x3 basketball, freestyle BMX and mixed gender team events in a number of existing sports, as well as the return of madison cycling for men and an introduction of the same event for women. New IOC policies also allow the host organizing committee to add new sports to the Olympic program for just one Games. The disciplines added by the Japanese Olympic Committee are baseball and softball, karate, sport climbing, surfing, and skateboarding, the last four of which make their Olympic debuts. Bermuda and the Philippines won their first-ever Olympic gold medals, while San Marino and Turkmenistan won their first-ever medals.
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What Are The Physical And Mental Tolls Of Sleep Deprivation? To compete with the pace of life getting faster every year, it seems like we have forgotten to give adequate rest to our mind and body. With work and other responsibilities demanding a lot of our attention and energy, regular and healthy sleep is almost seen as an inconvenience rather than a necessity. A recent study showed that about 53% of Indians sleep late, preferring to scroll through social media instead of getting an early night and a few others had disturbed sleep through the night. Sleep is involved in physical and mental health and sleep loss can lead to severe negative impacts on both of them. What are the common causes of Lack of Sleep? The causes of lack of sleep are varied across individuals but a few common themes can be seen. Social media and the internet itself has become a battleground for grabbing and keeping the attention of user’s, whether it’s through algorithms or addictive apps and games. People fall into a routine of winding their day down with social media or YouTube, assuming this helps them relax before bed. The fact is, these apps and the internet as a whole, stimulates the brain keeping it engaged and not allowing for any mental relaxation to take place. This leads to a delay of sleep, sometimes for hours on end, which of course leads to several physiological issues. Of course, there are many other causes of lack of sleep
and social media/apps/the internet when used appropriately can have many benefits. It isn’t just something negative that you have to avoid all the time. Having a newborn may also be a sweet cause of sleep loss, while other causes of lack of sleep include insomnia and anxiety, stress, depression or a change of schedule. Some diseases, medicines, sleep disorders and illnesses may also lead to improper sleep such as sleep apnea, narcolepsy and restless legs syndrome. Ageing may also lead to chronic sleep loss. How does Sleep Loss impact your health? Sleep Loss on a few occasions typically does not lead to any drastic effects on your mind or body, except that you might feel tired. However, the effects of sleep deprivation, especially chronically lacking sleep, can be grave and may require
treatment. · Memory loss and trouble focusing – Continued sleep deprivation over a few days may lead to memory loss and an inability to maintain focus. This is due to the brain being active and functioning all the time and not being able to rest and recover. · Stress and mood changes – While stress itself can become a cause of sleep loss, the reverse is also true. Sleep deprivation can increase your stress levels, resulting in a feedback loop. Additionally, you may notice several mood changes in yourself when you go through chronic lack of sleep, from being easily irritated to depression. · Increased risk of high BP, diabetes, heart disease – Less than 5 hours of sleep each night significantly increases your risk of developing high blood pressure. Lack of sleep can also cause higher levels of chemicals linked to
inflammation. Together with increased blood pressure, this can increase your risk of heart disease. Since sleep loss interferes with the release of Insulin, it may also lead to a high risk of developing diabetes. · Weight gain or weight loss – Sleep and weight loss or gain are closely intertwined. In some cases, lack of sleep may lead to a loss of appetite or on the opposite end, overeating. · Weakened immunity – Chronic lack of sleep results in your immune system becoming weaker against common infections (colds, coughs). Without time to rest, the body is unable to recharge and repair, which affects its immune response. · Poor balance – The physiological process of maintaining balance and coordination, requires concentration and mental
effort which usually isn’t something we need to consciously think about. But sleep deprivation can affect our coordination and balance, making it hard to perform basic executive functions. This increases your risk of accidents and falls and may lead to severe injury. · Although it is dependent on the causes of lack of sleep, some other effects include low sex drive and inability to perform social tasks (such as missing out on social gatherings). How can Sleep Loss be fixed Despite the issues associated with it, sleep loss can be fixed. Fixing your sleep cycle depends upon the causes of disruption of sleep. The hopeful fact is that, once your body is trained, a lot of your symptoms and issues will disappear or reduce in intensity. Getting to the point where your body is following a natural rhythm of sleep and being awake requires effort and planning. Some home remedies include a warm bath before bed to relax you physically and loosen your muscles and joints. Additionally, you should keep your phone away whenever you get into bed, creating a separation between being on your phone and being in bed. This can train your body to accept that when you’re in bed, sleep is the goal. You can use your phone to play soft, calming music in case it helps, but set the music and leave the phone! Avoid watching any video or movie that has violent or disturbing
content especially before your sleep-time. Keep your bedroom clean, ventilated and organised, for a peaceful and relaxing environment that promotes quality sleep. Relaxation t e c h n i q u e s and meditation can be of great help too. The temperature in your room also plays an important role in allowing you to fall asleep quickly, when your body is uncomfortable it will be really hard to fall asleep. Figure out what the best temperature for you is and do your best to keep your room within that range. Lastly, you may want to visit a psychologist or psychiatrist, since you may have issues that require expert treatment. You may be prescribed sleeping medication, apart from any treatment for the underlying causes of your sleep loss. Conclusion From the effects sleep loss has on our body and mind, it’s clear to see that sleep is an essential and vital body function. When you lay in bed social media may be engaging or your brain may be busy reliving the busy day you’ve just been throughremember that you won’t be able to function fully the next day without a good n i g h t ’s r e s t . I f y o u r problems persist for over a week, you should definitely seek professional help, whether a counsellor, a psychiatrist or a sleep specialist. (https://pharmeasy.in/ blog/what-are-the-physicaland-mental-tolls-of-sleepdeprivation/)
What is Third-hand Smoking and What Does it Mean for People Around You? The term passive smoking has become common parlance now, for being in the vicinity of someone who is smoking. However, there is yet another form of passive smoking known as Thirdhand smoke, which involves inhaling residual nicotine left on indoor surfaces. This can be particularly harmful since it can cause damage to the DNA. Moreover, third-hand smoking is dangerous because it often mixes with pollutants and develops into cancer-causing compounds. Third-hand smoke initially develops from the nicotine that settles and spreads onto several indoor surfaces. Over time, certain harmful chemicals are released from these indoor surfaces and breathing them in can be as
harmful as passive secondhand smoking. Who are the most at risk from third-hand smoke? Since passive secondhand smoke is something that people have become conscious about to some extent, family members are often kept at bay when a person is smoking. However, the concept of third-hand smoke is fairly unknown to most smokers. Therefore, children and other nonsmoking adults within the same closed or partially open indoor space may be at the highest risk of being exposed to such cancer-causing compounds. · Effect on Infants If there are infants inside the house, third-hand smoke can be even more dangerous. This is because infants who haven’t learnt to walk yet, are
usually in high contact with the floor and have their hands touching it most of the time. Nicotine from tobacco smoke settles and clings to such floor surfaces. Since infants have the habit of putting their hands inside the mouth quite often, this nicotine along with other harmful chemicals can easily enter their bodies. · Effect on Nonsmoking Adults For non-smoking adults, the effect of such cancercausing compounds can be severe on their bodies. The detrimental impacts of passive smoking in nonsmoking adults can include cancer of the nasal sinuses, throat and breast cancer, along with short and longterm respiratory symptoms and even the permanent loss of certain lung functions. What are the negative effects of third-hand smoke? Since nicotine is one of the
several deadly cancercausing compounds, it has been identified as the leading cause of several forms of sinus, throat, breast and lung cancer. One study has particularly found that undetected damage to DNA could be one serious consequence of third-hand smoke in both children and non-smoking adults. This genetic damage along with the entry of cancerous compounds into the human body can often result in compound health ailments for people of all ages. Moreover, in several cases, such third-hand smoke tends to remain and even accumulate on the smoker’s skin. It is also assumed that when a smoker comes in
contact with a group of people, the entire group can fall prey to the damaging effects of third-hand smoke. The Cleveland Clinic has identified several harmful effects of being exposed to third-hand smoke. Apart from the dangerous effects of cancerous substances like nicotine and damage to DNA, this type of passive smoking can also cause further damage to the respiratory system of non-smokers. When nicotine from tobacco clings to surfaces like clothes, walls, curtains, furniture, etc, it reacts with the Nitrous acids found in the atmosphere and forms different types of cancercausing compounds. Moreover, eliminating
this nicotine residue is quite impossible since it is not directly visible. This residue can cling to indoor surfaces for several months and even years at a stretch. Ensuring proper ventilation in the room has little effect on this residue and it also evades the action of vacuum cleaners. The only plausible solution to eliminate this residue from third-hand smoke may be to repaint the walls, replace all curtains and carpets and perform extensive cleaning of the ventilation systems inside the house. The entire process is quite expensive, to say the least and hence it is best to quit smoking in order to prevent the risk of third-hand smoke in the first place.
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==CONSUMER CONCERNS==
EMANCIPATION DAY REFLECTIONS
By Pat Dial oday, August 1, Emancipation Day, is celebrated throughout the Caribbean including Guyana. In 1833, the Emancipation Act was passed by the British Parliament freeing all slaves in the British Empire. But real freedom did not come until August 1, 1838, since the Emancipation Act specified a number of hours per day over several years which each slave had to serve before full freedom were finally accorded. This period between 1833 and 1838 is known as the Apprenticeship (System) and accordingly, full freedom came only on August 1, 1838, at the end of Apprenticeship. On August 1, 1838, a wave of joyous celebrations swept over the country. African drums were played all night and there was much dancing and feasting on the many African foods, recipes of which had been brought from Africa. As time marched on, new customs came to be added to the celebrations, such as for example, young people would go from house to
T
house at daybreak singing Emancipation songs and awakening sleepers to join the celebrations or, in addition to rum, new drinks such as jamoon wine, rice wine, ginger beer and sorrel came to be added to the Emancipation menus. As the years passed on, the descendants of the freedmen came to be the most educated people in the colony and supplied the schools with their teachers and, as academics, began to research and even write on slavery and its various aspects. They exploded the myth, for instance, that Emancipation was solely due to the benevolence of the colonial authorities and uncovered the truth that there was always a struggle, both covert and overt, against slavery and that it was these struggles such as the Berbice Slave Rebellion, the Demerara Slave Rebellion and Damon's Rebellion in Essequibo which helped to precipitate Emancipation. Such writings became a necessary part of the Emancipation celebrations and this article itself is an example of such. In the writings on
Emancipation and its aftermath, not enough emphasis has been accorded the creative contributions made by the freedmen and their immediate descendants to the building of Guyanese society and there are three such areas we would like to mention in this offering: the Village Movement; the supply of personnel to man the lower levels of the colonial administration and of the Police Force; and the pioneering of the gold and diamond industries. After Emancipation, many of the freedmen decided to remain on the plantations but when they realised that the wages offered were below a living wage and that there were many vestiges of slavery which still remained on the plantations, they decided to leave the plantations and set themselves up as free village communities. They were able to purchase a number of abandoned sugar estates which they converted into villages. The money they used for such purchases came from savings they had made from the small stipends they received as Apprentices and
from their Sunday Markets. In constructing these new village communities, they had to overcome challenges of various kinds such as legal, financial, engineering, leadership and dealing with an unsympathetic colonial administration. Such legal problems were of the nature of land transfers and division of land or engineering as the creation of an infrastructure and building hundreds of houses. They were able to overcome these and successfully confronted the challenges of creating an economy in which the villages could survive. This economy consisted in farming and the supply of tradesmen such as carpenters, plumbers, furniture makers and so on both to their village and the surrounding areas and for the towns, Georgetown and New Amsterdam. This achievement of having the discipline of saving and the creation of successful new communities is of the highest order and one of which all Guyanese are proud of and especially our African Guyanese population. Since the freedmen and
their offspring took to education with dedication, a very large proportion became literate in a short time and was able to supply personnel for the lower ranks of the government Administration and the Police. The colonial government would not have been possible except for the service of this group. It should be mentioned that service in the Police was somewhat of a sacrifice, since Police work, all over the world and in Guyana was among the lowest paid; this engagement in the Police Force by the offspring of the freedmen allowed the youths of other communities to work in the better remunerated Private Sector. The gold and diamond industries were pioneered by "pork-knockers" from this segment of the community. This meant venturing into deep forests with dangerous falls and rivers infested with wild animals and without the help and guidance of equipment, such as compasses or maps, in the quests and exploration for the gold and diamond deposits. The main gold and diamond fields were discovered by
these pioneers and many were able to become fairly successful miners. It is these same gold and diamond fields which the recently established foreign companies with their modern equipment had been able to very profitably exploit. From about the 1950's, the great creativity and enterprise shown by the freedmen and their offspring began to decline to the great loss of Guyanese Society and all Guyanese have been seeking ways of resuscitating this spirit of creativity. In this quest, we may mention a little booklet by Dr. Accabre Nkofi titled, 'Rebirth of the Blackman,' which may be obtained at the National Library or the Library of the University of Guyana. There are also other useful writings on the subject and Guyanese as a whole are confident that this dull phase would pass away. We therefore celebrate this Emancipation Day with the usual joyousness and optimism. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)
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BLUNTNESS ON INDECENCY! I
n case you haven’t heard, please be informed that as part Page Seven to be “BLUNT” about on-going indecency in our of our continued effort to channel positive changes in our land that should matter, not only to us at this publication, but the country, our publisher, Mr. Glenn Lall, has dedicated our entire nation.
SUNDAY It is said that a fool and his money will soon part company. From every indication, Guyana is in the company of the worst fools ever, since we are giving away our money (that we haven't even seen as yet) hand over fist to oil companies, primarily Exxon. We say this, because we are paying more than four and a half times what Suriname and Trinidad are paying for supply boats for our oil sector. They pay US$12,000 a day, but here we pay US$55,000 a day. Surely, we aren't that rich that we can give away money blindly like that? And surely, we can't be so stupid to think that this kind of skullduggery mean nothing to us, Guyanese? MONDAY President Ali had promised during his inauguration that he would listen to all Guyanese, and work with all of them, for the benefit of them all. But why does he continue to ignore the calls of Guyanese to renegotiate the unfair Stabroek Block Production Sharing Agreement (PSA). We feature on a daily basis, the pictures of more and more Guyanese calling for the renegotiation of a deal that his Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, recently admitted is 'lopsided'. We therefore ask: When will the President of Guyana listen to the people and demand that they get what they deserve? TUESDAY Do the PPP leaders really expect us to follow them blindly? They went across the
world, to corrupt Kazakhstan of all places, to find a Natural Resources Fund (NRF) that they like. Suddenly, the Norway model, which is globally recognised, is not good enough. It is too advanced. But the corrupt Kazakhstan model is selected. Why? The Kazakhstan model is liked by PPP leaders, because it allows politicians to be in charge of the NRF, in the middle of it, and all over it. For their own purposes! Mark our words: no good is going to come from this Kazakhstan model, or from the trickeries of PPP leaders. Guyanese: just look at the lengths to which PPP leaders will go to get a model that, in our opinion, supports thievery. WEDNESDAY Whoever hears of signing off on charges without examining bills closely for overcharges or things that don't add up? We don't know of anyone who does so, not even Bill Gates or his accounting people. Which Guyanese know of any person, company, even a religious group, who is that unconcerned that he or she signs blank cheques and gives them to those they do business with? Billions of dollars in business and expenses? We don't know of any such fool, or anyone so irresponsible, or reckless, that they sign blank cheques for billions in charges with their eyes closed. Fellow Guyanese: that is what Guyanese leaders are doing. They don't pay. GUYANESE PAY! THURSDAY Norway strengthened its rules and Exxon shuts down its refinery there.
Guyana needs to modernise its laws and we will see how quickly Exxon will fall in line here or pack up and leave. Though we prefer a cooperative and honestly partnering Exxon, it might be better if it shuts down and leaves. We are tired of Exxon's trickeries. Disgusted at Exxon's collusions with the PPP government. And outraged at Exxon's disrespect for Guyanese. WE DARE Guyana's leaders to fix our laws, and let loose the EPA on Exxon to do right by us. To P P P l e a d e r s i n government - DO LIKE NORWAY. STRENGTHEN
O U R L A W S . S T R E N G T H E N ENFORCEMENT. STRENGTHEN AUDIT REVIEWS. FRIDAY All over the world, countries are taking firmer and stronger action with their precious resources. The South African gas-to-shore project is challenged in court over EIA deficiencies. The Norwegians toughened their oil industry rules. Even in America, the Biden White House has signalled a more demanding climate change posture, with fossil fuel companies having to step up their game.
What has happened to Guyana? Did we get snake bite? Why is Guyana's president, Vice President, and Natural Resources Minister all silent and content with how things are with our oil? With how Exxon rapes this country? Surely, goat can't bite leaders this bad? SATURDAY It is the same story all the time. The Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee discovers “unusual spending” at the Ministry of Agriculture. We have news for the PAC: it is the same story all over. Unusual spending. No
action. Repeat the lament next year. This is how Guyana works. Exxon comes here and looks at how backward we are, and dumps billions in bills, which we don't audit, can't audit, in the timeframe available, BUT KNOWING FULL WELL THAT THE DRUNKEN SAILORS WE HAVE FOR LEADERS WILL PAY THE BILLIONS ANYWAY. After all, it is not they who are paying. It is the G u y a n e s e t a x p a y e r. Meaning: ME and YOU. When will Guyanese get angry and vent their fury at our leaders and government and parliament?
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g ts in s... re ure e t t In rea C
C
Crotalus
rotalus is a genus of venomous pit vipers in the family Viperidae, known as rattlesnakes or rattlers. The genus is found only in the Americas from southern Canada to northern Argentina, and member species are colloquially known as rattlesnakes. The generic name Crotalus is derived from the Greek word êñüôáëïí krótalïn, which means “rattle” or “castanet,” and refers to the rattle on the end of the tail which makes this group (genera Crotalus and Sistrurus) so distinctive. Currently, 32 to 45 species are recognised as being valid. BEHAVIOUR No species of Crotalus is considered aggressive; when threatened, most retreat quickly. However, most species defend themselves readily when cornered. How far these snakes can strike has been controversial. Obviously, this depends on the size of the animal, but other factors may also play a role, such as the species, the position of the body, and the degree of excitement. Additionally, the question of definition exists: from which point on the snake should a strike be measured: from the front, the middle, or the back of the anchor coil on the ground? Even if the length of the specimen is known, once it strikes, it is almost impossible to determine the limiting point reached by its head and the position of its body when the movement started. Therefore, it is not surprising that many conflicting statements can be found in the available literature about how far these snakes can strike. Estimates have been given that range from one-third of the body length, to half, three-quarters or even the full length of the animal. They rarely strike further than half of their body length, and almost never more than threefourths, but it is still not wise to trust such values if only because it is not possible to accurately judge the length of a coiled snake. FEEDING The diets of species of Crotalus generally consist of vertebrates, although many invertebrate species have also been consumed. Smaller species feed mainly on lizards, while larger species start by feeding on lizards as juveniles and then
switch to preying mainly on mammals as adults. Prey items more frequently taken include rabbits, ground squirrels, tree squirrels, chipmunks, prairie dogs, gophers, rats and mice, while those less frequently taken include birds, snakes, and amphibians. Cannibalism has been reported in a number of different species. Individuals that feed on rodents usually release their prey after a strike, and these snakes evidently can discriminate between trails left by prey that has or has not been envenomated.
PREDATORS For all species of Crotalus, the most significant threats come from people, but they also face many natural enemies. These include other snakes, such as kingsnakes (Lampropeltis), coachwhips (Masticophis), indigo snakes (Drymarchon) and racers (Coluber), birds, such as hawks, eagles, owls, roadrunners, and ravens, and mammals, such as coyotes, foxes, wildcats, badgers, skunks and pigs. Certain species of birds frequently prey on these snakes, but this is not without risk. Two cases were reported in which dead hawks found near venomous snakes had suffered hemorrhage and gangrenous necrosis due to snakebite. REPRODUCTION The genus Crotalus is ovoviviparous, giving birth to live young. The basic lifecycle of many Nearctic species has been known for quite some time. Females at an age of 26 months undergo vitellogenesis as they enter their third hibernation, mate the following spring, and give birth later in September or October. A number of variations to this basic cycle occur. In North America, the females of some species store sperm in their oviducts for at least eight months, and the males (all species of which undergo spermatogenesis during the summer) store sperm in the vas deferens for at least a year. Thus, species that store sperm for a shorter duration mate in the spring and store sperm in the vas deferens, while those that do so for a longer duration mate in the fall and store sperm in the oviduct over the winter, after which fertilisation occurs the following spring. In addition, species that occur further north, where it
is colder during much of the year and the feeding and growing season is short, may reproduce only every other year or less. Those found in central and southern Mexico or the tropics have reproductive cycles that correspond mostly with the rainy season.
VENOM Two main hemotoxic effects are caused by rattlesnake venom. First, zinc-containing metalloproteases act upon capillary endothelial cells to cause platelet aggregation and hemorrhage. Second, the platelet antagonist crotalin creates a severe bleeding effect as it binds to the
surface proteins, blocking aggregation. These two starkly different effects may seem counterproductive, but the effect should be p r o f o u n d . F i r s t l y, endothelial-cell disruption causes lysis and internal bleeding. Then, as these hemorrhages increase, the natural thrombin response is
hindered by the effect of crotalin increasing the toxic effect. Their observed hunting technique is a biteand-release method, so a fast-acting toxin would be ideal. Assuming the natural median prey would be a small rodent such as a mouse, the bite would elicit a fear response, quickening
heart rate and increasing blood pressure. This would speed the toxic effect, as well as spread the hemolytic and hemorrhagic effects. Neurotoxic effects may also be caused by rattlesnake venom. These effects vary by species, and within species by population. (Source: Wikipedia)
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New firm launched to offer world class real estate services in Guyana A new real estate firm has been launched to offer a onestop shop to those seeking “world class real estate services,” on the local market. Guyana Properties (GP) Inc. will offer a host of services including owner representation, transport/title/deeds services, property appraisal and valuation and large-scale real estate development marketing services. The company is being backed by a team of local and international professionals including Myrna Nieves, President of GP Inc., who is a successful US-based business leader with decades of experience in the financial services and real estate industry; Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Surendra Thakoorpersad; Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Paul Ramkissoon; Attorneyat-law and legal representative of the company, Sase Gunraj; and international Guyanese c r i c k e t e r, S h i v n a r i n e Chanderpaul, who is the Chief Marketing Officer(CMO). During a press briefing following the launch of the company on Friday, Gunraj, who is also a Managing Partner at the company, explained that the company is designed to address the deficiencies in the “unruly” real estate market in Guyana. “The idea was birthed out of a distinct need for proper real estate services in Guyana but it is more than just real estate; this company intends to offer a full gamut of services relating to the land industry, including but not limited to property management, title services, appraisals and general marketing that will be unprecedented in the current way real estate business is carried out in Guyana,” the lawyer said. Gunraj noted too that while Guyana lacks the legal framework to govern the real estate industry, efforts have been made by Attorney
General, Anil Nandlall, to introduce legislation to regulate the industry. Gunraj said, “That is something Guyana Properties Inc. welcomes, in addition to that, it is hoped that there are stakeholders consultation and so on in developing that legislation, so that before it reaches Parliament, we would have an opportunity to have an input there.” The lawyer noted when the services are rolled out; over 100 persons are expected to be hired as the company aims to work with the regulatory agencies and local players towards the development of the industry. Meanwhile, GP Inc.’s President, Myrna Nieves, said all persons hired by the company will be fully-trained to ensure all aspects of the company’s operation are a success. “We are looking to train persons from the principles of real estate to the closing of the process. They will be prepared to facilitate the process and partner with everyone involved as a team. We want to offer the people of Guyana a real estate service that is effective and efficient for all throughout Guyana,” she said. The company, she said will also be targeting real estate investors, Guyanese ex-pats, and retirees over the world. In his remarks, GP Inc.’s CTO, Ramkissoon, noted that the company boasts world class technology which includes specially designed apps, and an unmatched database with 12 services, nine of which do not exist in Guyana. Additionally, as the company’s CMO, Shivnarine Chanderpaul said people on the property market can rely on GP Inc. for all their real estate needs. He added, “Everyday things that are taken for granted in first world countries are missing in Guyana. I want my business, GP Inc., to be all about providing that world class level of real estate service to each and every Guyanese.”
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From left: Attorney-at-law, Sase Gunraj; International Guyanese Cricketer and CMO of GP Inc., Shivnarine Chanderpaul; Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Paul Ramkissoon; Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Surendra Thakoorpersad; and President of GP Inc., Myrna Nieves.
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Norway’s 44 gas pipeline cost US$3.8M per mile, in Guyana’s 12 gas pipeline to cost US$4.7M per mile in
T
he world’s l o n g e s t underwater Natural gas pipeline is some 725 miles long and was constructed at a cost of some US$2.8B or just about US$3.8M per mile for a pipeline that is about a meter in diameter. The Langeled Pipeline delivers 26 billion cubic meters (900 billion cubic feet) of Natural gas to UK’s National Transmission System each year; the price tag came in at 1.7 billion pounds (US$2.8 billion). At the time of completion, it was longest sub-sea pipeline ever built with a diameter of 44 inches. Guyanese were given an estimated cost for the pipeline during a media briefing held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, where the local head of the gas-to-energy taskforce, Wi n s t o n B r a s s i n g t o n , disclosed that the offshore pipeline and riser are projected to cost some US$630M while the onshore pipeline will run from Crane, West Bank Demerara, to the Wales termination point would amount to some US$100M. Guyana is paying just about US$4.7M per mile for its 153 miles of pipelines, according to official figures touted by the gas-to-shore taskforce. As such it would mean that Guyana is earmarked to pay about 25 percent more per mile than the amount it cost Norway to build Langeled, and for a pipeline that is, at 12 inches in diameter, significantly smaller. The Langeled Pipeline project included the construction of a new gas terminal at Nyhamna to process the gas coming from Ormen Lange. A consortium now exports Natural gas from Nyhamna to Easington on the east coast of England through this state-of-the-art marine pipeline.
Building the pipeline was said to come with immense technological challenges since the North Sea bed is not a flat bottom but is a treacherous series of channels, trenches, and ridges and it has cyclical plate tectonic events, not to mention a number of existing pipelines. It plunges to depths of 5 km (3.2 miles) making water pressure a significant factor in design and construction. As such, an autonomous underwater vehicle, Hugin, a product of Kongsberg Maritime, was employed to survey the sea bed, using advanced radar to determine the most cost effective route. With an understanding of the features and hazards, design engineers went to work on plans to allow a 44inch pipe, with 25mm (1 inch) thick walls, to negotiate the terrain while minimising impact on fisheries and ecosystems. In order to lay the pipeline, a remote-controlled underwater excavating vehicle called the Nexan Spider, capable of moving underwater mountains, prepared the seabed floor. Three million tonnes of rock was brought to areas of the sea floor to level the terrain where needed. The pipeline was built using 100,000 pipe sections, each coated in asphalt to reduce corrosion and a stability coating of concrete. Two pipe laying ships, including Solitaire, the largest pipe laying ship in the world, laid 8 km (2.5 miles) of pipe a day. Once the pipe was laid, deep water hyperbaric welding teams welded the pipes together from inside a watertight enclosure called Pipeline Repair Habitat. The project was completed in 2006 after three years of work and both Norway and the UK have benefitted enormously from the project; the UK receives Continued on page 55
12 inch pipeline
44 inch pipeline
Aspects of the Langeled, Norway project.
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Norway’s 44 gas pipeline... in
Alistair Routledge, President and General Manager for ExxonMobil Qatar Ltd.
From page 54 about 20% of its Natural gas directly from the pipeline. Meanwhile, despite public consternation over the feasibility and environmental impacts related to the Guyana Project, the Stabroek Block Operator has begun geotechnical and geophysical pipeline route s u r v e y s w i t h i n G u y a n a ’s Exclusive Economic Zone, along the Demerara River and off the Demerara Coast. The survey area is approximately 12 nautical miles (22.2 kilometres) from the Coast of Guyana and covers an area of 457.4 square nautical miles (1568.9 square kilometres). This exercise is scheduled to conclude on October 15, 2021, and will incorporate the use of the OSV Cape Davis which will display the international signal for vessels engaged in such activities. MARAD had said this operation will incorporate the use of the vessels MV Wise Fox, MV Risen Star and MV Sealand Chirp, which will all be displaying the international signal for vessels engaged in such activities. The purpose of the surveys is to inform the most ideal route for the proposed Natural gas pipeline. The massive project includes the construction and operation of
A map outlining the route of the Norwegian gas pipeline that supplies the UK.
a pipeline that will transport up to 50 million standard cubic feet per day (MSCFD) of dry gas from the Liza Phase One and Liza Phase Tw o F l o a t i n g P r o d u c t i o n , Storage, and Offloading (FPSO) vessels to an onshore Natural gas processing plant which will drop the pressure of the gas, dehydrate it, separate out propane, butane and pentanes +, and treat the gas to the specification to be received by a planned 200 Megawatt power plant. The project site lies approximately 23 km upriver on the West Bank of the Demerara River on abandoned sugarcane fields. The project is expected to pave the way for a massive industrial park to be established at Wales which is expected to stretch across over 10,000 acres of land while the pipeline will terminate at Crane. Exxon is currently conducting a number of public scoping meetings across Guyana ahead of the Environmental Impact Assessment study for the proposed gas-to-energy project. The EPA had previously anticipated that the project is expected to affect a vast portion of the surrounding environment in o n e b u t o r a n o t h e r, a n d consequently requires an Environmental Impact Assessment to be done.
Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo
Stabroek block
Liza-1 well Norway
Georgetown
s
ile
3M
15
Wales
UK (725-Mile long)
(153-Mile long)
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...Goldie Scott From page 22 thought I would have a career in the science field, possibly in medicine …” Scott stated. She explained that she had finished school early and was looking to write some additional Caribbean Secondary Examinations Certificate (CSEC) subjects when she was given her first work/study experience. It was then that Scott said her idea for a career in medicine shifted a bit. Her first job attachment was to the administrative department at the Ministry of Health. The teenage Scott however found her administrative duties mundane. “I actually hated the routine type of work…I didn’t feel satisfied. I wanted to get up and do something tangible and something that challenged me, but I didn’t know what that was at the time, “she explained. This, she said, served as a turning point in her life. She recalled that she was among nine other work/study studies who were invited to an engagement by the then Minister of Culture Youth and Sport, Gail Teixeira. “We were all invited to the room, and I’ll never forget she gave such an inspiring speech about volunteering and giving back. She told us about her Canadian background and how much help the hospital needed. She spoke of the impact the work of the ‘Candy Stripers’, the hospital volunteer group that helped to provide support to the hospital staffers, had and she told us we can be doing the same thing …and so we formed ourselves in a group and started to volunteer and provide non-medical support to the Georgetown Public Hospital,” she said. Scott explained that since she had planned to return to school to do some additional CSEC subjects, all of her volunteer work at the hospital was done on Saturdays. It was around this time, Scott said that the group of work/study students that started the volunteer initiative at the hospital officially registered itself as a not-for-profit under the name Volunteer Youth Corps (VYC). The organisation bore the slogan “Caring for Humanity” and attracted a significant number of youth across schools to volunteer. “So, we began to grow in numbers and as we developed, we became so much that we had to go in rotation teams to visit the hospital,” she said. “Under the leadership of Mr. Kenroy Roach, myself and the others would show up every Saturday at the hospital to volunteer and provide non-medical support to the nurses and doctors. The kind of support we provided included making the bed, helping out in the children’s ward, and taking blood pressure testing and every Saturday I would show up and do this religiously,” recalled Scott. A year later, Scott completed writing the additional CSEC subjects and secured a job
The VYC CEO leads STEM Camps for youths annually; she is pictured here with a group of STEM Campers. attachment with the Georgetown Hospital. “I was attached to work in the hospital lab which made it easier for me to continue volunteering at the hospital on Saturdays,” she shared. Around this time, Scott, not quite settled on what studies she wished to pursue, applied to pursue four programmes at the University of Guyana (UG). She eventually settled for a degree in environmental studies. The VYC head recalled that the beginning of her studies were rough as her duties at the organisation were starting to increase. “I started out as the assistant secretary, and then I became the secretary and then the vice-chairman and later the acting chairman of VYC. I moved up the organisation’s ladder quite quickly because of the dedication I showed to the work we do here,” she noted,
funding support from USAID and PAHO,” she recalled. Scott used these activities to foster her growth in the organisation. MENTORSHIP AND COMMITTEES The VYC head noted that while many individuals who have significantly impacted her life as mentors. She has highlighted Mr. Kinray Roach - Present UNDP Regional advisor, founding member and former Chairman of Volunteer Youth Corps Inc., Ms. Hilda CoxBullen, former US Ambassador’s wife, and Janelle Christian - former Head of the Office of Climate Change, who were instrumental in guiding her style of leadership In addition to the sound advice from her Board of Directors, Scott maintains that she would not be where she is if not for her dynamic and hardworking staff and
Some of the children who benefitted from the VYC’s STEM and robotics camp.
adding that by then the Volunteer Youth Corps Inc. had expanded from its initial nine members to at least 150 youth volunteers. “The organisation had started to do more work outside the hospitals, under the excellent leadership of the Chairman and other executive members we initially did a lot of work that heavily focused on: assisting young people gain employment and get educational training, youth entrepreneurship. With the provision of training and access to financing, drug rehabilitation campaign, environmental and sustainable development initiatives, safe driving campaign, we did work spreading awareness about HIV/AIDS with
volunteers with whom she’s worked with for the past 25 years as well as her partners. Scott has also served on several committees for several. SUCCESSFUL PROJECTS Among the successful projects initiated by VYC is the USAID Community, Family and Youth Resilience (CFYR) from December 2018-2019; the workforce development programme, which facilitated the graduation of 79 youths following a nine-month technical and vocational skills training project and prepared them for the world of work. The training was done in partnership with the Government Technical Institute (GTI).
In 2014, the VYC head helped coordinate a month-long training in Washington DC on leadership and management for professional women and entrepreneurs across the world, which was sponsored by ExxonMobil. In 2013, she participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) exchange, where she visited 60 development and US Government agencies within five states in a one-month training period to gain perspectives on methodologies used by communitybased organisations and faith-based groups to intervene early before problem behaviours turn into delinquency and gang involvement. According to Scott, one of the proudest career moments came when she was able to secure a $100M grant from the US Government for the Guyana Civil Society Leadership Project – a three years cooperative agreement with the US Government and VYC between the years 2015-2018. That project allowed Scott to prepare a winning application, provide oversight and supervision to staff. The project sought to strengthen the network of 38 civil society organisations for greater impact and sustainability of the national HIV response through the development of resource mobilisation/business development plans, advocacy plan, and the legal formulation of the National Coordinating Coalition (NCC), which continues to function to this date. Prior to this, Scott served as the project coordinator for VYC/EDC/USAID/SKYE project from 2012 to 2016. She helped to develop and review work breakdown schedules; recruitment and retention of project staff; coordinate the work readiness training of 520 individuals. She also coordinated for VYC/UNDP/EPTSI project from 2010-2011 under the EPTSI project t i t l e d , ‘ Yo u t h a n d Wo m e n Empowerment for Peaceful change.’ Scott was responsible for managing staff and volunteers under the project and ensuring that the organisation was able to meet its deliverables as set out in the project proposal, which included training 250 high school and unemployed youths and single mothers in peace
education, vocational skills (sewing, music, hydroponics and computer) and job placement. As the supervisor for the VYC/Japanese Government project, she also coordinated the Infectious Disease Control project in Regions Five and Seven; worked with 174 volunteers to increase the awareness and knowledge in communities in the Regions’ populations about prevalent infectious diseases and treatment options. Just recently, she secured grant assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects, coordinated and headed the renovation and expansion of the Volunteer Youth Corps Inc.’s D’Urban Backlands, Georgetown location under the grant assistance for Grassroots Human Security Project from the Government of Japan. The building was renovated and expanded from two to three stories up with an addition of nine classrooms, a lab, l i b r a r y, c o n f e r e n c e r o o m , canteen/kitchen and washrooms. Of note, the newly renovated facility helps facilitate classes for primary school students affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. VYC provides free tutoring for the children ages 12 and under at the centre. Under the auspices of Scott and her dedicated group of donors, board members and staffers, VYC also leads an annual Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics programme (STEM) where over 5,000 students from various secondary schools across the coastland has been able to participate and benefit from lessons, robotics camps and conferences which helped them to understand the ever-expanding career opportunities and possibilities for those involved in the field. Scott believes that this project especially provides an opportunity for the development of Guyana’s upcoming youth innovators and creators. “The conference which is hosted every year at the Princess Hotel gives the young people involved in STEM an insight of the types of career choices that they have once they leave school and venture into the world of employment. It’s our way of helping them build capacity and achieve their life-long dreams,” she said.
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Public Works Ministry denies owing M&CC $300M
I
n a response to a Kaieteur News article published during last week titled, 'City Mayor says Public Works Ministry should settle its $300M tax debt,' Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar, in a press release, has stated that the ministry does not owe M&CC that “exorbitant sum.” The release further stated that the Mayor, Ubraj Narine, should review his records.
the Ministry would have spent funds on Mc Dougal Street, Owen Street, the Hogg and Sussex Streets Bridge and many others in the City and strongly believes that the monies would be better utilised by the Ministry of Public Works to deliver the Nation's infrastructural needs. He stated that these are prime responsibilities that the City Council and Mayor have reneged on for a long time now. The press release went on to ask a question to the Mayor and his entire the High Court to hear an Council, inquiring if the election petition, Full Court Act would have no application in this case. The Attorney General added too, “That is why every case dealing with an election petition in the introductory [stage], you will see a whole recitation of the historical orientation because it was a power only exercised by Parliament. It was a Parliamentary power, not a judicial power, so you cannot disconnect the historical evolution of the jurisdiction from its current state.” “Article 163 limits appeals to be filed from decisions coming from the High Court that are commenced by an election petition only to the determination of the questions identified in the Article. The learned Chief Justice in her ruling struck out the petition on the ground that there was non-service. In her written decision, her honour stated that service within the time prescribed is a condition precedent to the hearing and determination of an election petition,” he submitted. The Chief Justice in dismissing that election petition held that that service was not effected in accordance with Section 8 of the National Assembly (Validity of Elections) Act and Rule 9 of the National A s s e m b l y ( Va l i d i t y o f Elections) Rules.
According to Indar, since the Ministry took office in August 2020 to date, it has expended approximately G$793 Million on roads, sea defense, bridges, culverts, weeding and cleaning of trenches and waterways to aid in the runoff of wastewater, floodwaters and the general maintenance of the City's infrastructure, which is the Mayor's responsibility. He added that recently,
Lawyers in the appeal... From page 13 effecting service on former President Granger, himself. Yesterday, Forde and Jeremie presented arguments towards having the case reinstated. The lawyers essentially argued that the Appeal Court has a right to hear and determine an appeal of an elections petition matter. The two Senior Counsel said that the right of appeal to a dismissed election not only lies under Article 123 of the Constitution, but also the Court of Appeal Act. According to them, the ruling handed down by the Chief Justice is a temporary but final order, and therefore, it can be appealed to the appellate court. The lawyers on the other side, held a different view. Nandlall argued vehemently that the appeal should even be entertained much less heard by the Appeal Court. He submitted that the decision of the Chief Justice that is being appealed arises out of an election petition, which has been given an “extraordinary, special, limited and peculiar” jurisdiction under Article 163 of the Constitution of Guyana.” The AG explained that the constitutional provision specifies the types of questions, which can be raised in an election petition but also limits the grounds upon which appeals flow. Nandlall noted that in striking out petition #99, Chief Justice never determined these questions since the matter never even made it to trial. “Those questions having not been determined, there is simply no right to an appeal,” he argued. Further, in response to a question by Justice Persaud as to whether the appeal could have been entertained at the level of the Full Court, given the peculiar tier system of Guyana's judicial structure, Nandlall said because of the special and unique jurisdiction conferred upon
Section 8 of the National A s s e m b l y ( Va l i d i t y o f Elections) Act states therein that within the prescribed time, not exceeding five days after the presentation of an election petition, the petitioner (s) shall in the prescribed manner serve on the respondent a notice of the presentation of the petition, and the nature of the security or proposed security, and a copy of the petition unless the court otherwise directs on the application of the petitioner. The appeal matter over the dismissed election petition is set to continue on October 26, 2021.
Ministry of Public Works should pay taxes to them to continue p a r t y i n g a n d squandering taxpayers' monies, whilst they are failing to deliver services to the citizens of Guyana or continue to spend taxpayers' monies to foster Guyana's infrastructural development for the benefit of all. “We suggest that the Mayor should concentrate on fulfilling his mandate rather than playing politics on a daily basis,” stated Indar in his release. According to the Minister, the Ministry of
Georgetown Mayor, Ubraj Narine. P u b l i c Wo r k s r e m a i n s committed to ensuring that the Guyanese taxpayers'
Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat monies are spent on the improvement of City and the country at large.
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Sunday August 01, 2021
Police issue wanted bulletin for suspect in Linden drive-by shooting The Guyana Police Force (GPF) yesterday issued a wanted bulletin for a suspect who they believe was one responsible for shooting two men in Linden- killing one and wounding the other-on Saturday, July 17. Wanted for the murder of Delroy Mackenzie and attempted murder of Calvin Daly is Samorea Mitchell, 26. His last known address is Lot 716 Phase 1 “B” Wisroc, Linden. Mackenzie and Daly were attacked by men in a
silver car on Sunflower Street. They had travelled there to meet a female friend of Mackenzie and had arrived in Linden around 21:05hrs that day. After having a meal at Church's chicken fast-food r e s t a u r a n t t h a t d a y, Mackenzie received a call from the female friend who instructed him to take a boat from Mackenzie, Linden and cross over to Wismar. When he and Daly arrived, Mackenzie contacted the woman again
Wanted : Samorea Mitchell. who gave them directions to walk up Sunflower Street. They obeyed and walked down the street to a bridge. While there, Mackenzie received another call from his female friend. She reportedly told him to turn around because she will send a silver wagon to pick them. The men did as they were told and walked out of the Street
The burnt out wagon found at Kara Kara, Linden. where they saw the silver car. As Mackenzie approached the car to open the back door, a man of African descent emerged and started shooting at him. Another man reportedly came out of the front passenger seat and opened fire too. Daly had related to investigators that he had run for cover but Mackenzie was
left behind. After the shooting, the men drove off towards Silver City. Daly was struck twice in his arms while Mackenzie was riddled with nine bullets.Police had told this newspaper that investigators were clueless about the woman who had been in contact with Mackenzie before he was killed. The following day,
Murdered: Delroy Mackenzie. however, ranks had stumbled upon a fully burnt silver-grey fielder wagon at the Kara Kara Blue Lake. Anyone with information that can lead to his arrest can contact police on telephone numbers, 620-6836, 226-6978, 2258196, 268-2328, 2682298/2222, 226-7065, 2264701, 661-5870, 911 or the nearest police station.
Body of unidentified man found in Mahaicony
T
he Guyana Police Force (GPF) is seeking the public's assistance in identifying the body of a deceased male.Police ranks at the Mahaicony Police Station, Region Five, are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of an unidentifiable man whose body was found in a clump of bushes at Ta y m o u t h M a n o r, Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara (ECD), on Saturday 24 July, 2021. According to reports, a labourer who went to the Taymouth Manor Public Road to weed around 10:15 hours discovered a body lying motionless, clothed in a
blue shirt and checkered trousers; a report was subsequently made to the Mahaicony Police Station. T h e b o d y, w h i c h appeared to be partially decomposed, was taken to the Mahaicony Public Hospital (MPH), where it was seen, examined by a d o c t o r o n d u t y, a n d pronounced dead. No marks of violence were found on the man's corpse which is presently lying at Bailey's Funeral Parlour awaiting identification and a post mortem examination (PME). The deceased is of East Indian descent and appears to be in his late forties. The investigations into the discovery are ongoing.
The identity of a man whose body was found in Mahaicony remains yet unidentified.
President announces $7.8B farmers... From page 16 categories: Subsistence farmers, Small farmers, Medium farmers, and Largescale farmers. In these four categories more than 2,000 farmers were affected. In total, these four categories will benefit in excess of $7.8B direct transfers.In addition to these direct transfers, the Ministry of Agriculture and GLDA will be assisting through genetic improvements,
drainage and irrigation works, technical support, and extension services to the approximate value of $500M. In addition to this support, ongoing infrastructural works will continue to rebuild damns, farm-to-market acces s roads, Hinterland roads, mining roads, community roads, drainage systems, and other infrastructure that were destroyed or deteriorated during the
floods. I am aware that this assistance will go a long way in bringing relief. However, it can never compensate for the emotional and social loss, which I saw and experienced firsthand. I assure you this Government will continue to work on an aggressive national drainage plan in the context of climate change so as to mitigate further climate events and disasters. I take this
opportunity to thank the thousands of Guyanese here and in the Diaspora, international agencies, and friends in the CARICOM community and elsewhere for their kind support during this period. I especially would like to thank the Ministry of Agriculture, the CDC, and all the other sectors that worked long beyond the call of duty to bring relief. I thank you all and God bless you.”
Kaieteur News
Sunday August 01, 2021
PAGE 59
The Court One year later… Journal
GECOM officials remain before the court over elections tampering By Renay Sambach In this week's edition of 'The Court Journal' I will focus on the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) officials who are before the court for their alleged involvement in the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections saga. Those GECOM officials are: the Chief Elections Officer (CEO) of GECOM - Keith Lowenfield, the Deputy Chief Elections Officer (DCEO) of GECOM Roxanne Myers, Region Four Returning Officer (RO) Clairmont Mingo, GECOM Information Technology Officer - Enrique Livan and GECOM Clerks: Michelle Miller, Sheffern February and Denise Bob-Cummings. The charges stemmed from a series of alleged grave violations by the GECOM workers and their alleged defiance of the instructions by the GECOM Chair, Justice (Ret'd) Claudette Singh, who instructed that the recount figures be used for the final results of the elections. HOW IT BEGAN Following the five months elections saga, the GECOM officials were arrested and subsequently slapped with private criminal charges in relation to their misconduct.The private criminal charges w ere brought against them by PPP/C member, Desmond Morian, a former executive of The New Movement Party (TNM), Dr. Daniel Josh Kanhai, and PPP/C attorney, Charles Ramson Jnr, now Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport.Additionally, three private criminal charges were filed against the Chairperson of GECOM alleging misconduct in public office. However, five days after those charges were brought against the GECOM Chair, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack, S.C, dismissed those charges. This then triggered Lowenfield's lawyer, Nigel Hughes, to write a letter to the DPP asking her to review the private criminal charges against his client, take over the prosecution and possibly dismiss the cases.Following the withdrawal of those charges against Lowenfield,
the private criminal charges against Mingo and Lawrence were also withdrawn. This was done after the DPP sent a letter to the Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan, stating, “In exercise of the powers conferred on me by Article 187 (1) (c) of the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, I hereby discontinue the charge in the above matter [for Lowenfield, Mingo and Lawrence].” With the private criminal charges being withdrawn against the GECOM officials, during August 2020, the DPP had announced that she had decided to take over the matter and those criminal charges that were instituted against Lowenfield, Mingo and others in relation to the March 2, 2020, General and Regional Elections and the events that followed. New charges were later instituted against the GECOM workers by the Guyana Police Force (GPF). CHARGES The GECOM employees are before different Magistrates in the Georgetown Magistrates' Courts. Lowenfield, Myers and Mingo were slapped with more charges in June 2021. The new charges allege that they conspired with others to declare false account of votes.Their alleged attempt to rig last year's elections has left Lowenfield facing three counts of misconduct in public office, three counts of forgery, and two new conspiracy charges. Myers is facing two counts of misconduct in public office and a new conspiracy charge. In addition to new conspiracy charges, Mingo is facing four charges alleging that he misconducted himself in public office by failing to disclose the number of votes that were counted during the elections. Apart from those charges, Mingo is also facing two separate joint forgery charges. Also placed before the court was Information Technology Officer, Livan, who was named in a USB flash drive scandal surrounding the tabulations of votes that happened on March 5, 2020.
Clairmont Mingo
Sheffern February He was slapped with one fraud charge. Livan is being accused of being in cahoots with the RO after he allegedly removed two integral pieces of technology needed for tabulations – a USB flash drive and a laptop. Moreover, February, another GECOM employee, was slapped with two counts of conspiracy to commit fraud. It is alleged that February worked along with Mingo to allegedly inflate figures from the March 2, 2020 polls to give the APNU+AFC coalition a victory.Miller and BobCummings are GECOM clerks. Miller was slapped with two charges which allege that with intent to defraud she did not use the
Keith Lowenfield
Enrique Livan
figur es from the Statements of Poll (SoPs) for the purpose of ascertaining the figures to make the declaration of the results for the said elections as is required by law, thereby resulting in a false declaration being made for the said District Four. Bob-Cummings was slapped with two similar offences. The DPP and the Commissioner of Police (Ag), Nigel Hoppie, had filed an application in the High Court for the SoPs and the Statements of Recount (SoRs) to be released to investigators. They had requested the documents of the election in order to facilitate a fair hearing for the charges against the key
Michelle Miller
GECOM officials. The controversial Region Four SoPs for the March 2 elections were later handed over to investigators at CID. The handing over of the documents followed an order by the Chief Justice (Ag), Roxane George-Wiltshire, for them to be turned over to the police by the Supreme Court's Registrar, Sueanna Lovell. DISMISSAL PENDING In June, GECOM had decided to send Lowenfield, his deputy, Myers, and Region Four RO, Mingo, on annual leave pending the outcome of discussions on a motion seeking their dismissal.According to reports, the decision to
instruct the officers to proceed on annual leave followed a statutory meeting of GECOM Commissioners. The trio proceeded on leave with effect from Monday June 28, 2021.The motions to dismiss Lowenfield, Myers and Mingo were tabled by People's Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C)appointed GECOM Commissioners Bibi Shadick, Sase Gunraj and Manoj Narine at a statutory m e e t i n g o f t h e Commissioners, earlier this month.Lowenfield has since filed a motion in the High Court seeking several things including blocking the Government nominated Commissioners from participating in his dismissal.
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Sunday August 01, 2021
Cancer misdiagnosis caused double the suffering for Hemophiliac A
s a child, Sarju Persaud spent many of his days laid up in bed with various injuries which bled sometimes for weeks at a time. This saw him missing school for months at a time and even after it was established that he had a “bleeding problem” no diagnosis was made during those horrible childhood days. It was only after several bouts of hospitalisation and undergoing 30 days of radiation for what later turned out to be a benign tumour caused by the extensive bleeding he suffered following a surgery that Persaud was diagnosed with the rare hereditary disease Hemophilia. “When a been small, if a like pull out a teeth it would tek like months to stop bleed. And when a been small a did get hit in me head; I did four surgeries,” was how Persaud described his childhood, pointing to his head as he spoke. Today he spends most of his days laid up because the surgery he had some years ago caused so much damage from the extensive internal bleeding that he now has a surgical bag attached to collect fluid that leaks through an opening in his stomach. But it is not all bad news.
Persaud now has access to Factor VIII (eight) injection that controls the bleeding and he is scheduled to return to the surgical table where it is hoped that damage done can be corrected. The injection is provided by the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) through the Guyana Hemophilia Society (GHS). Hemophilia is an inherited bleeding disorder in which the blood does not clot p r o p e r l y. T h i s c a u s e s spontaneous bleeding, and/or prolonged bleeding after an injury or surgery. People with Hemophilia have low levels of specific clotting factors, which are proteins in the blood that help it to clot. Persons with low levels of Factor VIII have Hemophilia A, and those with low levels of Factor 1X have Hemophilia B. The WFH says that people with Hemophilia do not bleed any faster than normal, but they can bleed for a longer time. Their blood does not have enough clotting factor, a protein in blood that controls bleeding. It further states that people with severe Hemophilia usually bleed frequently into their muscles or joints and may do so one to two times per week. The bleeding is often spontaneous, which means it happens for no obvious
reason. On the other hand, people with moderate Hemophilia bleed less frequently, about once a month. They may bleed for a long time after surgery, a bad injury, or dental work. They will rarely experience spontaneous bleeding. People with mild Hemophilia usually bleed as a result of surgery or major injury. They do not bleed often and, in fact, some may never have a bleeding problem. Hemophilia is quite rare;
Hit with a ball Persaud shared that 11 years ago a ball hit him in the stomach and while he did not know it at the time he began bleeding internally and it developed into a hard lump that was painful. Doctors at Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) ordered a CT scan and later told him that he had to undergo surgery. “When they done do the surgery and suh around the area get back hard so they
“I teking the Factor eight medication like four years now and I does got to take it every other day because I does bleed a lot…” about one in 10,000 people are born with it. The WFH's Annual Global Survey surmised that with Guyana's population of approximately 755,000 persons, an average of 52 persons could be living with and suffering from Hemophilia. The GHS is extremely concerned that to date there are only 15 confirmed cases in Guyana.
want know why it get hard,” he related. “They call me back and did several CT scans and they send me to do a biopsy and they said I have cancer… I went and do radiation for like 30 days and when I done do the radiation the doctor them say is not cancerous because if it was cancerous it woulda shrink a bit.” It was at this point, following several other tests that Persaud was diagnosed with Hemophilia and it was suggested that he seek medical assistance overseas. Eventually he was hospitalised in Trinidad and it was there that he first had the Factor VIII injection. But after about two months he was discharged and informed that there was not much else that could be done. Back in Guyana he continued to be treated mostly by being given blood as his blood count was always low. It was through the GPHC that he got in contact with GHS and he began to access the Factor VIII injection. “...I teking the Factor Eight medication like four years now and I does got to take it every other day because I does bleed a lot…,” he said. As he is now accessing
the injection, Persaud said, he does not bleed as before and he has not had cause to be hospitalised. However, he has to deal with the surgical bag that collects blood and faeces. He noted that it is not a colostomy bag as he defecates on his own, but because of the internal bleeding an abscess was formed, burst and has been leaking since. He has had the bag for about four years. He hopes that after the second surgery he will be able to have a relatively normal life. “Due to my situation I really can't work and provide and so, me partner leave; she find someone else and she getting on with she life,” he sadly said. However, he sees his sixyear-old son almost every day as they both live in Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara, and he visits regularly. Persaud is one of three brothers and while the other two also have symptoms of the condition theirs are not as severe as his. They have sisters who have not exhibited any symptoms and it is believed that their mother is a carrier of the illness even though she has had no known symptoms.
His aunts informed him that his grandmother died due to a bleeding problem but they never knew about Hemophilia. He believes that like his brothers, he does not have the severe form of Hemophilia but because of the surgery he had 11 years ago resulting in the internal bleeding, he now has to deal with being at home and not being able to work and support himself. His left foot has also shrunk since the surgery and he now walks with a limp. “I can't even walk far because the blood is always low and I does get shortness of breath...” he said. According to Persaud, if he had not found the GHS he might have died by now because his blood count would become so low and even though he was given blood he continued to bleed internally. The injection, which he is accessing at GPHC, is stored in the refrigerator, which he administers at home with the assistance of a relative. (This is the fourth and final in a series of articles produced by the Guyana Hemophilia Society (GHS) to bring awareness of the existence of the condition in Guyana.)
Kaieteur News
Sunday August 01, 2021
PAGE 61
Junior page
Masks The miser and his gold The Moral A possession is as important as what it's used for. There once was an old miser who lived in a house with a garden. The old miser used to hide all his gold coins under stones in his garden. Every night, before he went to bed, the miser went out into his garden to count his coins. He continued the same routine every day, but he never spent a single, golden coin. One day, a thief saw the old miser hiding his coins. Once the old miser went back into his house, the thief went to the hiding place and took all the gold. The following day, as the old man came
out to count his coins, he found it was gone and started wailing loudly. His neighbor heard the cries and came running, asking what had happened. Upon learning what had occurred, the neighbor asked, “Why didn't you just save the money inside your house where it would've been safe?” The neighbor continued, “Having it inside the house would make it easier to access when you need to buy something.” “Buy something?” answered the miser, “I was never going to spend my gold.” When hearing this, the neighbor picked up a stone and threw it. Then, he said, “If that's the case, then save the stone. It's as worthless as the gold you've lost.”
Kraze Maze
Find your way through this tough maze.’ Start with the arrow at the topGood luck!
You'll need: ·fall leaves of various sizes (we picked these off of our maple tree) · thin cardboard (I used a paper plate but a cereal box would work great) · string · scissors ·hot glue
Step one Preserve your leaves. We skipped this step and I wish we wouldn't have because after a few days the mask got all curly and crunchy. Step two Draw a mask shape on your cardboard. Step three Cut out the mask, check the eye holes on your little one and adjust accordingly. Punch holes on the sides and add strings to each side with a simple knot. Step four Using hot glue, apply the leaves. Start with the largest leaves on the outside and move towards the center with the smaller leaves. Step five Tie on and enjoy!
H
IT NW
TRY E O P
FU
Art is so much fun by Uncle Roy I used to admire other people's art, And think it was something I couldn't do; It seemed impossible for me to make The beautiful pictures that they drew. Then one day I made up my mind To try to make my own; At first it seemed so very hard, But as I drew it became so much fun. Now there is nothing I enjoy more Than spending time drawing and painting; So now it is others who admire my art, And even beg me to draw them something. So if, like me, you feel it is so hard, Remember you only need to make a start; You will soon find you have what it takes, And have fun while you produce works of art.
Kaieteur News
PAGE 62
A Sense of Belonging is important for our Growth TEEN TIME
I
n that phase of life moving towards adulthood, when a young person is experiencing strange changes in all aspects of his/her life, he /she feels the importance of satisfying the need to be accepted for what he/she is, and to have that acceptance in the various communities in which he/she operates, namely, the home, school, work-place, community, and the various organisations in which he/she may be functioning. Without this sense of belonging, which will allow that person to develop and grow as a responsible and reasonable individual, he/she will tend to search for this acceptance wherever it can be found. This can many times lead in the wrong direction, and can easily force them to fall into error as a result. One example is when young people succumb to the appeal of joining with individuals or groups, even though these may not conform to the standards
which they have learnt from their previous experiences at home, church, etc. This is what has led to many joining juvenile gangs when they could not find this acceptance in the situations in which they exist, as these gangs tend to satisfy the need for belonging, social
have to abide with patterns of behaviour which they have been taught as going against the rules of conduct that is best for them. As young people strive for independence from their parents and the values which they have more or less been forced to
relate to others within their own society, and live according to the moral and social standards which they now know are right. They will find these when they make a special effort to do so in the various environments in which they operate, be it their own
Sunday August 01, 2021
POETS’ CORNER
We make our own world
by Carmen Mashier We make our own world, whoever we are, Our happiness is of our own making; We make our own world, wherever we are, Our happiness is there for the taking. Our world goes with us as we walk and talk each day, Our world can be a heaven or hell, our attitude will say, We make our own world, whatever we are, Let's make our own world, wherever we are. Keep thinking happy, and we'll make a new world, Happiness in a choice that we can at any time make; When we feel grateful for all we have and can do, Then we will always be happy, whether asleep or awake.
acceptance and identification. These gangs allow them to retain individuality, and be accepted as a member of a group, even though they
Fill in the blank squares so that each row, each column and each 3-by-3 block contain all of the digits 1 thru 9. The dotted lines indicate areas which also contain a non-
accept, they need to think more deeply about these standards and keep them as the criteria on which to base their lives. This will allow them to
world of music, friendships, school, church, entertainment, and other straightforward organisations that can be found in any society.
repeating set of digits. These squares can be added together to produce the sums shown in the clues.
It should now be clear to you why some young people choose to associate with others who may obviously not be living according to the moral standards that they know as right, and make the right choices in your own search for acceptance.
Solutions to last week’s Ripple Effect
Jigsaw Sudoku
Kaieteur News
Sunday August 01, 2021
PAGE 63
>>>Young Entrepreneur on the Move<<<
‘Nereskin’
FOR ALL YOUR LUXURIOUS NATURAL SKINCARE REMEDIES
Young Entrepreneur, Naheeryah Newland By Allyiah Allicock
S
uffering from a skin condition, regardless of the type, is not the easiest experience to endure. Many young persons, during their adolescent years, fall victim to skin conditions such as acne. Though this condition is deemed a normal part of their development, the condition sometimes takes a toll on them even resulting in them losing confidence since they become “uncomfortable in their own skin,” no pun intended. Seventeen-year-old Naheeryah Newland’s mission to create her very own natural skincare business was ignited when she too lost that confidence in herself. The young pioneer behind the ld recognise that ou sh le op skincare brand ‘Nereskin’ pe k in th “I told Kaieteur News that order or purchase after losing confidence the same stuff they t in because of acne, she territories are righ er h ot om fr decided that enough was by supporting d n a y tr n u enough. “I started doing co n ow their various research to find pporting yourself su e ’r u yo n ow effective natural ingredients r u yo
which equals a
Some Naheeryah Newland’s skincare products.
to make her legitimate business idea a reality, has brought with it a type of satisfaction that keeps her motivated. What makes this brand stands out from others, is the unique passion, creativeness and hard work, Newland said she puts into all the products she offers. This brand was not only founded to bring about an income but also, as the young woman shared, it is to make her customers feel valued, beautiful and to help improve their skins. When asked what are the future plans for her brand, the University of Guyana student explained that she wants to expand and explore in more areas. Our featured entrepreneur is of the opinion that young men and women in business are becoming more independent and that they are going against the odds which is a great initiative in itself. She is convinced too that more can be done locally to help boost small businesses. “I think people should recognise that the same stuff they order or purchase from other territories are right in their own country and by supporting your own, you’re supporting yourself which equals a better economy,” she added. If you are desirous of trying Newland’s skincare products, feel free to contact her on telephone number (592) 625-1281 or check out her Facebook page @Nereskin.
also caters to you, she explained recently. Although it was only recently launched, Newland’s business has already become the talk of the town. The root of it all, she said, is the ” y. om better econ overwhelming support she has been receiving from family, friends and t members of her community of Den Amstel o help me; after I located on the West Coast of Demerara in started using them, I Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West received numerous Demerara). comments on how Though commenting my skin has on how great the support i m p r o v e d has been thus far, the i m m e n s e l y, ” s h e young woman did not fail shared. to highlight that faith is It was while what has gotten her thinking about others w h e r e s h e i s n o w. who are suffering “Starting a business is not with the same easy, there are some days problem, that she got where you feel like the idea to turn her giving up,” she added. invention into a But going the extra mile business. Nereskin which was launched in March of this year, is a natural skincare brand that caters for individuals with various skin conditions such as acne, hyper pigmentation, among others. Even if you are not affected with these conditions and are looking for that natural skincare product to add to your The results of having used one of her skincare products. routine, this brand
PAGE 64
Sunday August 01, 2021
Kaieteur News
Actual costs of ExxonMobil projects, new...
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From page 2 Payara projects. To date, only estimates remain in the public domain. Kaieteur News had previously reported that the Liza Phase One Project stands at US$3.5B, Liza Phase Two at US$6.6B, and Payara at US$9B. In a special report on the financial risks facing Guyana with the Stabroek Block deal, it was also pointed out that the contractor has not disclosed the costs of dry holes and new discoveries such as ones recently made at the Stabroek Block’s Whiptail-1 and Whiptail-2 wells. IEEFA stressed that this information should be made public. What are also kept away from public eyes, the Institute said, are oil price projections, a key factor in estimating the rate and level of cost recovery by the contractor. Further to this, the report’s author, IEEFA’s Director of Financial Analysis, Tom Sanzillo was keen to note that he finds it astounding that the discoveries offshore in the Stabroek Block have been
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celebrated on very occasion as though they are tantamount to being evidence that future revenues will be robust. He said this is far from the case, especially when one places it against the backdrop that none of the announcements have been met with an accounting of the exploration costs much less a discussion of how they will be paid. What also makes matters worse are the numerous provisions of the contract which place the lion’s share of the profits into the pockets of the oil companies and their shareholders. Kaieteur News recently exposed as well that there is an absence of key information when it comes to the local content reports of ExxonMobil and its partners. Since assuming office, neither President Irfaan Ali nor Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has ensured the release of ExxonMobil’s local content reports, which are submitted to the State on an annual and biannual basis. In fact, tomorrow will make one year since the Ali government has
been in office and the public is none the wiser about the oil giant’s true performance on hiring and training locals and using Indigenous products and services for the period 2016 to 2021. According to the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) that was signed for the Stabroek Block, Article 18 speaks to the use of Guyanese Resources. It specifically states, “Within 60 days prior to the beginning of each year or part thereof as applicable, the Contractor and the Minister shall provide a yearly plan for the utilisation of qualified Guyanese resources for the upcoming year. Following the submission of the plan, the Contractor and the Minister shall meet to discuss and consider the effectiveness of the plan.” Since being in office, the PPP/C Administration has said nothing about its engagements with ExxonMobil on this front, especially as it relates to the local content utilisation plan for 2021.
Article 18 goes on to state, “The Contractor shall provide half-yearly reports submitted within 30 days after the end of each half-year to the Minister outlining its achievements in utilising qualified Guyanese resources during the previous half-year and make appropriate adjustments to the yearly plan to better accomplish the goal of increasing the qualified resources available for use by the Contractor in its Petroleum Operations and other entities performing petroleum operations in Guyana.” To date, neither the Head of State nor the Vice President has disclosed these reports for the public to peruse and hold the oil companies accountable. Neither has also informed the nation about whether they reviewed previous local content reports submitted by Exxon and partners and whether those were satisfactory and in keeping with the PSA’s call for increased use of Guyanese services and skills.
ExxonMobil parent company demand... From page 15 country prior to 2020 had paid US$143M. For 2020, according to Sanzillo, interest on loans accounts for US$229 and this year, he projects the amount to be some US$336. Guyana’s total share from production in the Stabroek Block is projected at US$226M, a difference of US$110M. Based in his projections, by 2024, Guyana would have had to repay some US$2.8B on loans for projects that had been approved up to July this year — the month the analyst report was published. According to Sanzillo, next year, he is projecting that the payment for interests would amount to some US$488M, while the country’s total take for that year would be US$434M or US$54M less. For 2023, Sanzillo projects government’s total share to increase to US$905M while the US oil major will utilise some US$661M from
cost oil to use for interest on loans. In 2024, the financial analyst predicts total earnings for Guyana to be US$1.3B while the interest payments alone for that year would amount to US$946M. The total recoverable costs, according to Sanzillo, are currently far in excess of annual gross revenue from production. He observes in his analysis that a portion of gross revenue goes to retire development costs in addition to paying for operations and profit and the remaining unrecovered balance is carried over each year. “It is generally assumed that as each year passes, new wells (Liza Phase 2 and Payara) could be added and revenues grown commensurately.” It was noted too that robust annual revenue payments to Guyana will be delayed as additional development costs are added to the cumulative unrecovered balance.
Interim Acting Town Clerk responds... From page 12 about her character; that they appear to be personal attacks against her aimed at exposing her to public odium and ridicule. “More worryingly, comments by you, Mr. Mayor could undermine the authority and work of the Council. This in turn can cause further deterioration of an already unhealthy and untidy city,” the release stated. She stated that the elective Council and administration have to work together, as a cohesive team, to arrest the noticeable slide of the health and wellbeing of the nation’s capital. Additionally, Nelson divulged that she finds it unusually unacceptable that the Mayor has used her accepting an appointment from the Local Government Commission to serve the city, as an occasion to malign her name and character, in the public, stating that it is “so wrong”. Nelson stated that she respectfully says that the Mayor’s action could serve to discourage young professionals from accepting leadership roles in the city and the country as a whole. She continued, relaying that as a young Guyanese, she is always available to serve her country, in whatever capacity she is asked to by the authorities.
She pointed her attention to the records of the Council, which she noted would show that in 2018, she worked with a team of officials, at the City Council, to clean up Georgetown. As a result of those efforts, the capital had started to ooze with health and goodness and there was great excitement by citizens and stakeholders, to work towards a clean, healthy and safe city. She added that she was not in leadership then but willingly served as part of a strategic team and played her part. She stated that now that she has been asked to lead the administration of the Council, albeit for an interim period, she will endeavour to do her best and to strive for excellence in all things and mentioned that she is ready and willing to work with the Mayor, Councillors and all stakeholders to restore Georgetown to its former healthy state. “Nevertheless, the nature and huge potentials of your public statements to expose me to harm, make it necessary for me to copy this letter to: Hon. Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, the Chairman of the Local Government Commission, the Chairman of Human Resource Management Committee, my Attorney-at-Law and the media,” Nelson stated in the conclusion of her release.
Sunday August 01, 2021
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Kaieteur News
...Lewis Hamilton booed after taking pole position for Hungarian From page 66 Dutch fans in the grandstands as he did his television interview after the session. “I have never felt so great with the booing,” Hamilton said. “If anything, it just fuels me. So I don’t really mind it. “It was an amazing qualifying lap that last one. Amazing team work from everyone this weekend, trying to push the car forward developing constantly. It has been amazing to see everyone rallying together. “Great having a front row lockout for our team, first time for a long time.” Verstappen, who starts the race eight points ahead of Hamilton in the championship, said: “The
whole weekend we have been a bit behind and it showed again in qualifying. Not what we wanted but we are still there in third and will see what we can do.” Bottas attacks booing fans Bottas, whose second place on the grid gives Mercedes a major tactical advantage over Red Bull for the race, condemned the fans who booed Hamilton. “I don’t think it’s fair,” the Finn said. “We are here as athletes to do the best we can in the sport we love. Lewis did an amazing lap at the end and people should question themselves about this behaviour. It’s not right and we don’t want to hear those things.”
Hamilton said: “People have a right. It’s sport. People act wild when it’s sport and competition. I don’t take it to heart. I must be doing something right to be up front.” Verstappen added: “It’s not correct, of course, but as drivers we shouldn’t be disturbed by these sorts of things. It is not nice but it shouldn’t influence any of us.” Hamilton dismisses gamesmanship accusations Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez was fourth after failing to get around in time to start a final lap. That happened after the Mercedes drivers in front of the Red Bulls, led by Bottas, did a very slow out lap before
Sunday August 01, 2021 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) This is no time to be a stick in the mud. Don't be the weak link in the chain. The energy of the day is "get up and go." So either lead, follow, or get out of the way. TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) Set aside some time today explicitly for you, Taurus. Unexpected events are likely to pop up and cause a stir in your emotions. GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Try not to be so serious and intense today, Gemini. Walk with a lighter step and don't feel like you always need to be in control of every single thing you contact. CANCER (June 21–July 22) Don't miss any opportunities today. No matter how tired you may be, this isn't the time to rest. This is one of those days in which it's simply easier to be you. There's no need to shy away or hide your true desires. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Your plans may be upended today, Leo, but this doesn't mean that you should give up hope in any way. Sometimes it's necessary to let go of control and simply let things happen as they will. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Today is one of those days in which you have a terrific opportunity to break free of normal, everyday life, Virgo. Don't feel badly if you don't know exactly which way to go. Follow your gut feeling. Whichever way you decide to go will probably be right.
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Sometimes your daydreaming leads you way out of your body and into a place well beyond time and space. Your romantic nature wants to escape and never touch back down to the real world. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Generally speaking, today should be a good day for you, Scorpio. You should have no problem setting a fast-paced tone for the day and sticking to it. SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Things may be moving a bit too quickly for your liking today. Make sure you continue at your own pace so you don't get pushed into something you don't want to do. CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) There are several opportunities open now that weren't there before. The key is to take advantage of them. Find freedom in the strange and new. Be a pioneer today and venture into the unknown. AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Be brazen and bold in your actions today, Aquarius. This may be a hard direction for you at first, but it's the most effective way to get where you need to go. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) The name of the game for you today is emotional freedom, Pisces. Your senses are heightened and the smallest things capture your eye. Don't delay your response to these events, whether they're big or small.
Lewis Hamilton beat Valtteri Bottas to a Mercedes one-two in qualifying. their final runs. Verstappen only just managed to get around in time to complete his final lap but Perez behind him did not. “What happened there?” he asked the team. “A bit of gamesmanship,” his engineer said. But Hamilton dismissed the claims that Mercedes were doing it on purpose. “It’s so silly,” he said. “Everyone was going slow. Do you not watch everyone else? Everyone was on a slow lap. Do you think I could have been quicker and closer to Valtteri? It was no different to any other lap. “I wasn’t playing any tactics. I don’t need to play tactics. I know what I’m doing in the car. I’m fast enough.” Tyre choice raises eyebrows Red Bull’s tyre choice was a surprise for Verstappen, as the medium has better pace and durability for a race stint. The soft gives better grip off the line - it can gain a driver as much as five metres, Hamilton said - but starting third behind both Mercedes lessens Verstappen’s chances of attacking Hamilton on the first lap. But Verstappen said the team decided they wanted to run the soft tyre for his final run in second qualifying and he had no choice but to complete his lap on the soft
tyres because the time he set on medium tyres earlier was too marginal and he risked getting knocked out by midfield cars on the soft. “My lap time on the medium would have been really on the edge for a top 10 so that’s why we decided to finish the lap,” he said. “We talked about it and
they decided they wanted to go on the soft. In the end, it would have been safe to go through. But only by 0.03secs. It is what it is. We will find out tomorrow.” Behind the top four, Pierre Gasly impressed with fifth place for Alpha Tauri, ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. The Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel completed the top 10. Leclerc’s team-mate Carlos Sainz will start 15th after crashing at the final corner in the second part of qualifying. And George Russell failed to get his Williams into the second part of qualifying for the first time this season, ending up a disappointed 17th.
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Sunday August 01, 2021
National under-23 continue to better seniors
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he Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) came alive Friday night as the G u y a n a Vo l l e y b a l l Federation (GVF) concluded its second leg of the best of five exhibition games between the Senior National team and the National U23 team. Once again the National Senior team was annihilated by the National U23 squad by three sets to one. The first set of the game was a thrilling one which saw the national U23 team defeating the Seniors 25-20. The seniors exhibited dominance to defeat the U23 team in the second set 25-16. The U23 then claimed the third set 2522. The fourth and final set of the game was the most thrilling one, in this set the Senior team blew a 8 point lead they had over the U23 team.
With clutch plays and brilliant coaching the U23 team fought hard to come back and win the set and the game. The top scorers of the game for the National U23 team were Tyrone Farley with 12 points, Kristoff Shepperd with 10 points and Ronaldo Bobb with 8 points. Meanwhile, the top scorers on the Senior National team were Quacy Matheson with 20 points, Trevon McRae with 16 points and Juan Valasques with 14 points. Meanwhile, the female exhibition game comprised of a mixture of females from different clubs and affiliations placed into Team black (uniform colors) and Team white. Team Black came out victorious defeating their counterparts 2-0. This was the first official indoor volleyball game held for females since the pandemic began. The top
scorers for team Black were Kim Bagot-Chan with 10 points, Cassie Junor with 7 points and Alianna Charles with 6 points. On the other side the top scorers for team white were Leanna Davis with 11 points, Mercedes Matheson with 5 points and Thea Myers with 4 points. The third leg of the best in five exhibition games will be played on the 20th of August 2021 as the National U23 team tries to close out the series and as the National Senior Team tries to keep their hopes of claiming the series alive. The GVF thanked the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sport and the National Sports Commission for their continued support as they look forward to fostering relations for Volleyball development in all parts of Guyana.
National under 23 men.
Female Black
Female White
Lewis Hamilton booed after taking pole position for Hungarian Grand Prix BBC Sport - Lewis Hamilton beat Valtteri Bottas to a Mercedes onetwo ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying. The seven-time champion then brushed off boos from thousands of
Dutch fans and dismissed accusations from Red Bull of gamesmanship as “silly”. The session sets up an intriguing race, with the Mercedes drivers starting on a different tyre from Verstappen. And Hamilton described
his first pole lap since early May as “amazing”. He beat Bottas by 0.315 seconds with a time set on their first runs as neither Mercedes driver improved on their final laps. Verstappen did improve on his final run but ended up
0.106secs behind Bottas. The Dutchman will start the race on the soft tyre, whereas Mercedes have gone for the favoured medium compound. Hamilton was booed by the large contingent of (Continued on page 65)
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Sunday August 01, 2021
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Major Partnerships help GGA Donate Million$ for School Golf Programme Not very often does a relatively unknown game dominate a country’s sport landscape, capturing the imagination and support of both players and supporters, yet Golf has done that in an incredibly short time. On Friday morning, the GGA handed over equipment and balls to R e g i o n 3 ’s R e g i o n a l Education Officer Mr. Devendra Persaud, Regional Executive Officer Mr. Jainarine Somwar and Regional Vice Chairman Mr. Omesh Satayannand and various teachers at the Vr e e d - e n - H o o p headquarters. REO Persaud said, “This is the beginning of major development in education especially since the focus is on physical Education and Golf is amongst the few fully covid compliant sports. We will put every effort behind this programme and intend to make Region 3 a dominant leader!” Later that afternoon, the handover continued at the Woolford Avenue ground with Director of Sports at the National Sports Commission, Steve Nimvalle in attendance, as several million dollars of equipment was designated for the youth and school programs in Guyana. Mr. Nimvalle expressed his delight at the rapid growth stating, “It is the mission of the sports commission to provide all athletes and citizens with access to every sport and Golf has shown itself to be of great interest to many. We are delighted to see the progress and will monitor its growth with enthusiasm.” In January 2021, the Ministry of Education Allied Arts Unit and Department of Secondary Schools, guided by PS Alfred King, Ms. B a r k e r- K i n g a n d M s . Gonsalves, partnered with the Guyana Golf Association and Nexgen Golf Academy to develop a syllabus for teaching golf to students as a PE sports elective in CXC/CAPE. The success of the pilot programme led an effort to locate sufficient equipment to grow the game and President of the GGA Aleem Hussain reached out to a variety of companies and o r g a n i z a t i o n s , Vi c e President of GOA Godfrey Munroe and William and Aleena Knight (the Shafura Hussain Foundation in New York), which started a chain
of events that produced incredible results. Quick response was received from Danny Ramnarain of Danco Electrical, Anwar Buddy Shaffie, Sally Jack and several overseas based Guyanese golfers. The GGA, in addition to purchasing equipment and thousands of balls, received equipment donations from Anthony Gudiece, Captain Pete and Staff (Baiting Hollow Country Club), Steve Lieberman, Glenn Sable, Ken Lysek, and Mike DeLuca (Colonial Springs Country Club), Augie Abbatiello (Indian Hills Country Club), Jabbar Mowaigsh (Vineyard Valley Golf Course), Bob Maibusch (Pine Grove Springs), Guy Allen and Louie Chirco for the budding golf initiative. Transportation was provided by Zubie Hussein of Z & B Trucking. Ricky Ramchand (Ramchand Auto) helped to secure donation of shipping services from not one but two major companies, PasCargo and CS Worldwide Shipping & Logistics. These shipping giants combined to donate over $1,000,000 to the golf programme and have pledged their on-going support. CS Worldwide Shipping & Logistics recently donated tens of thousands of face shields to Guyana and is also partnering with the Guyana Golf Association to distribute hand sanitizers and clothing (provided by Danny Ramnarain and Al Badrudeen) as the company gets ready to open local operation in Guyana. Mr. Chandi Singh said, “Our organization has been active in charitable activities around the world, but were looking for a reliable partner in Guyana. Mr. Hussain has shown great results and we are happy to support him and the GGA.” Hussain praised the efforts of Pascargo, one of the largest logistics companies in the country saying, “The company lived up to its motto ‘We Save You all the Trouble’ and went above and beyond providing great service, they ensured delivery and were responsive throughout the process, and we wish to thank the Ramdeo family, especially Syd, Ian, Chandra, and Stacia for their contributions and commitment to growing the sport in Guyana!”
With equipment in hand, the stage is set for the GGA and Allied Arts Unit, led by Lindley Langhorne, to start the training of PE Teachers in August for 50 more schools in Regions 2, 4 and 5 to provide over 10,000 students access to the sport by end of 2021, making good on the promise to have Golf become one of the most played sports in the country, all in less than one year. With support now being shown by dozens of major companies such as Assuria General Insurance; Copa Airlines; Blue Life Waters; Trophy Stall; Ansa Mcal; Toolsie Persaud; Kanuku Suite & Apartments; Service Guyana HVAC; Kanuku Tours; Angel Seafood Restaurant & Bar; Sunshine Snacks; Ram & Mcrae; Puran Brothers; Ramchand Auto; Panko Steel Construction; H. Nauth & Sons; AR Printery; Bissessar Shipping Company; CS World Cargo & Logistics; Sterling Products; Caliper Drones; PasCargo; Shafura Hussain Foundation; Gtt; New Trend Auto; Maraiko Bay Resorts; Nexgen Global Group and many others, it is evident that the sport is catching on, and with the added fact that it is one of the most fully covid-19 compliant activities, it is expected to grow even faster than ever in the months ahead. Hussain said, “Just to see the sheer joy on the faces of new players, from ages 3 to 80, when they realize how easy to learn and how much fun this game can be, is the best reward. Our next Golf Camp (August 2-14) offers players from all walks of life access to learning and we will continue to use the sport as a platform for raising Awareness for various charities. Partnerships with various sporting disciplines such as Table Tennis, Badminton, Archery, and Football have fueled interest in golf and there are plans for a variety of competitions such as Putting, Chipping, Long Drive and Helicopter Ball Drop along with Foot Golf that is under way.” The Guyana Golf Association and Nexgen Golf Academy provides equipment and lessons for anyone interested in learning the game and the facility is open daily from 9 am to 8 pm. See nexgengolfacademy on Facebook and Instagram for details or call 668-7419 for more information.
Prime Minister Mark Phillips (c), President of the GGA Aleem Hussain, coach/ players Joaan Deo, DOS Steve Ninvalle and Nikita from the Golf Academy with the equipment.
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Sunday August 01, 2021
Hafeez’s 1-6 & Azam’s 51 lead Pakistan to 7-run win - Despite Pooran’s unbeaten 62 and Holder’s 4-26 By Sean Devers On a day blessed with mostly glorious sunshine, Pakistan romped to a convincing seven-run victory yesterday at Providence as the visitors went one-up in the fourmatch series after the first in Barbados ended in a noresult. A 67-run stand between the inform pair of skipper Babar Azam, who made 51 from 40 balls decorated with four fours and two sixes and the Mohammad Rizwan who was run out for 46 from 36 balls with four boundaries which included a couple of sixes set a solid foundation for a 190 total. However, Jason Holder (4-26) and the experienced Dwayne Bravo (2-24) orchestrated a dramatic collapse as Pakistan lost 6 wickets for 23 runs to finish on 157-8 when their 20 overs expired. Needing to score at just under 8 runs per over to take a 1-nil lead in the series which concludes on Tuesday, West Indies, despite a late flurry from 25year-old Nicholas Pooran who hit an unbeaten 62 from 33 balls with four fours and six mighty sixes in his fourth T20I fifty, West indies laboured to score freely and were restricted to 150-4 off 20 overs as 47 dot balls did
not help their cause on a slow track which helped the spinners. The consistent Evin Lewis who scored 35 from 33 balls with two fours and two sixes was only other batsman to reach 20 but once he was forced to retire hurt, it was left on Pooran, who with 20 needed in the final over and Pollard going off the first ball for a painstaking 13, hit a four and a six off the last two balls. But it was too little too late and the hosts who again failed to rotate the strike and pick up singles will have to regroup before tomorrow’s game with the ‘dot ball’ percentage being their main worry. Man-of-the-Match Mohammad Hafeez produced a miserly fourover in which took 1-6. He was supported by a frugal spell from spinner Shadab Khan (0-22 from 4), while Pakistan’s leading pacer Hassan Ali, Shaheen Afridi and rookie Mohammad Wasim had one wicket each. Watched by a fair size crowd of fully vaccinated fans in humid conditions, West Indies asked Pakistan to bat in the first ever T20I between the two sides in Guyana. Sharjeel Khan got going when he whipped Jason Holder behind square for
Babar Azam hammers one onto the on-side, West Indies vs Pakistan, 2nd T20I, Guyana, July 31, 2021© Randy Brooks/AFP via Getty Images
four before ending the second over with boundary over mid-on. Rizwan deposited leftarm spinner Akeil Hosien for the first six of the contest and followed it up with an effortless straight six next ball. With pulsating music emanating from the sound system in the Mound, Khan was dropped by Skipper Pollard off Gayle, who operated inside the powerplay. Khan dumped Holder for his first six before being taken at mid-on, next ball at 46-1 in 4.5 overs. Khan’20 lasted 16 balls and included a couple of fours and a six as the power-play over produced 55-1. Rizwan greeted Dwayne Bravo with an imperious boundary past point and the fans in the stands, many of whom were supporting the visitors, were in a joyous mood. While just 40 percent of the venue’s capacity, this was the largest crowd of the home series involving South Africa, Australia and now Pakistan. The 26-year-old Azam, arguable the best all-formats batsman globally, joined Rizwan and the pair who posted 150 stand against England in their last T20I series when Pakistan scored 232-6, again batted brilliantly. Azam disdainfully pulled Hayden Walsh for six and at the halfway stage Pakistan were 85-1. Rizwan stroked Walsh gloriously for four to post the
100 in the 13th over as the pair batted magnificently before Rizwan was dismissed by a brilliant direct hit from Lewis at 1022. The 26-year-old Azam lofted the expensive Romario Shepherd (0-38 from 3 overs) who replaced Andre Russell in the side, for six to post his 20th fifty from 38 balls with six boundaries which included two sixes. Azam celebrated the landmark with another boundary off Shepherd, with a proper cricket shot before rain halted play with the score on 134-2 in 16 overs. After a 17-minute delay play resumed, but once Azam nicked a catch to the Keeper off Holder at 134-3, his demise triggered a dramatic collapse as six wickets tumbled for 23 runs when at one stage it seemed as if Pakistan would get close to 190. When West Indies began their reply, Andre Fletcher, who replaced the injured Lendl Simmons, was bowled by off-spinner Hafeez for a second ball duck before Lewis was joined by Gayle. With sun back in all its glory, Lewis stroked Afridi majestically for a boundary while the 41-year-old Gayle smashed him for a humongous six. But when on 16 from 20 balls, his inconsistent run continued when his wicket was disturbed by Ali off the last ball of the power-play at 312. Guyanese Shimron Hetymer joined Lewis, who, with a full swing of the bat,
Jason Holder celebrates a wicket, West Indies vs Pakistan, 2nd T20I, Guyana, July 31, 2021 © Randy Brooks/AFP via Getty Images clobbered Usman Qadir, the son of Pakistan’s greatest leg-spinner Abdur Qadir, for six before stroking a slower ball from Wasim back over his head for six. Hetymer, in front of his home crowd, got going with a flick to fine leg for four and after 10 overs the hosts were 59-2. H o w e v e r, H e t y m e r, frustrated by not getting the ball away, missed a big swing across the line and was bowled by Wasim for 17 from 18 balls as West Indies slipped to 70-3 after to a promising 39-run stand. Things got worse for the West Indies when Lewis, was forced to retire hurt to bring Pollard to the crease to join fellow Trinidadian Pooran. With the required runrate steadily increasing, Pooran hit Wasim for consecutive sixes before cutting him for four behind point and the raucous crowd of less than 6,000 sounded like the capacity of 15,000.
Pooran jumped on Ali like a cat upon a mouse and clobbered him for four and a fan in the stand was gleefully waving a T&T flag. Pooran continued his boundary hitting with backto-back fours off Afridi before consecutive sixes which brought up his fifty, the first six posting the fifty stand of which the usually big hitting Pollard only contributing 10. Meanwhile, President Irfaan Ali yesterday took to the stands to watch part of the cricket match between West Indies and Pakistan. His Excellency was joined by Minister of Culture youth and Sport Charles Ramson Jr, Director of Sport Steve Ninvalle and Chairman of the National Sports Commission Kashif Muhammad. Scores: Pakistan 157 for 8 (Azam 51, Rizwan 46, Holder 4-26) beat West Indies 150 for 4 (Pooran 62*, Hafeez 1-6) by seven runs.
President Irfaan Ali along with several sports officials including Minister Charles Ramson, DOS Steve Ninvalle, NSC Chairman Kashif Muhammad among others seated in the Red Stand taking in the action yesterday.
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Sunday August 01, 2021
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Elaine Thompson-Herah sets Olympic record as Jamaica sweeps women’s 100
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ahoo Sports TOKYO — The w o m e n ’ s Olympic 100meter gold medal is staying in Jamaica — all of the medals are, in fact. Elaine ThompsonHerah, Shelly-Ann FraserPryce and Shericka Jackson finished 1-2-3 in a clean sweep for the island nation in a race that turned out to be as fast as anticipated watching Thompson-Herah and Fraser-Pryce advance through the first two rounds. The gold medalist in Rio in 2016 as well, ThompsonHerah took control quickly and she and Fraser-Pryce began to pull away from the pack at about 40 meters. But Thompson-Herah had clear separation with about 15 meters to go, crossing the finish line and pointing at the clock in disbelief. Her time of 10.61 seconds is a new Olympic record, surpassing Florence Griffith-Joyner ’s 10.62 seconds, which had stood
since the 1988 Seoul Games. It’s also the second-fastest time in history. “This is really special. Super special. I knew I could have run this from like 2016, but I think I celebrated early too much and I knew one day it would come, hopefully,” Thompson-Herah said. Fraser-Pryce’s time was 10.74 seconds, and Jackson’s 10.76. This is the second time in the last four Olympics Jamaica swept the women’s 100 — the first was in 2008, when Fraser-Pryce won her first gold (she’d win it again in 2012). The win for ThompsonHerah was no sure thing: She’s been dealing with an Achilles injury and she finished third at the Jamaican Trials in both the 100 and 200. “ Tw o m o n t h s a g o , probably a month-and-ahalf, I didn’t think I would be here today,” ThompsonHerah said. “And I held my composure, I believe in
myself, I believe in God, and the team around me is very strong, I get that support. I didn’t expect to run this fast, even though I felt great during the rounds. “Behind this 10.61 there was a lot of nerves. I said, ‘You can do this, you’ve been here before, just execute.’” This is the third gold medal for the 29-year-old, as she also won the 200 meters in Rio. She was part of the silver medal-winning 4x100 relay as well. Fraser-Pryce said she stumbled a bit on her third step and never fully recovered. Her silver was her seventh Olympic medal. “I’m happy to be able to come out here and to represent and to compete for the championship; that’s always a plus, when you come and you give it everything you have and then whatever happens you walk away and you are grateful for the opportunity and you move to the next
100m favourite Bromell sneaks through as fast loser Trayvon Bromell
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OKYO (Reuters) - Trayvon Bromell, the fastest in the world this year and favourite to win the Olympic men’s 100 metres gold, sneaked through the first-round heats as a fastest loser yesterday, pouring even more intrigue into today’s final. The American posted 9.77 seconds last month and, in the absence of banned world champion Christian Coleman, arrived as the man most likely to regain the blue riband title for the United States for the first time since 2004. But he got a terrible start in the second heat and was labouring to make ground behind winner Enoch Adegoke of Nigeria (9.98 seconds). Bromell finished a ragged fourth in 10.05 seconds - with only the first three progressing
automatically. He faced an anxious wait through the remaining five heats but went through safely as the quickest of the three fastest losers. With the retirement of triple champion Usain Bolt, the U.S. are desperate to regain the most prestigious title of the Olympics, having last triumphed via Justin Gatlin in Athens. Ronnie Baker, who posted 10.03 in the opening heat, and Fred Kerley, 9.97, both looked good, while Canada’s Andre de Grasse, bronze medallist in 2016, was the fastest qualifier with 9.91 seconds. Jamaica’s slim-looking hopes of continuing their streak are now resting on former world champion Yohan Blake (10.06) and Oblique Seville, who ran an equal personal best of 10.04, after trials winner Tyquendo
Tracey did not make the start line. Lamont Marcel Jacobs had an explosive start en route to an Italian record of 9.94 while Australian Rohan Browning ran a personal best to win the final heat in 10.01. Kenya’s Mark Otieno was pulled from the heats hours before the start after a positive doping test. That left Ferdinand Omanyala as the lone contender for Kenya - he also served a 14 month doping ban from 2017 - and he advanced by tying his own national record of 10.01. Nigerian Divine Oduduru, who has a personal best of 9.86, was disqualified after a false start. The semi-finals and finals both take place on Sunday evening, local time, in Tokyo.
Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson-Herah cemented her legacy as one of the greatest sprinters of all-time. one,” she said. The only American in the final was Teahna Daniels. She finished seventh in the final in 11.02 seconds after running a personal-best 10.98 seconds in the semifinal. Smiling throughout her interview, Daniels was happy to be part of history. “She just ran 10.61,” she exclaimed. “I felt good. I did. I felt good. I was honestly just really blessed to be in that moment; I’ve had a very long season of ups and downs, so to finish it as an individual finalist, that’s special,” Daniels said. She said her indoor season “went OK,” but at the start of the outdoor season she wasn’t performing as she expected. After the Mt. SAC meet in early May, she took a six-week break from competing and focused on training. “Probably six of the
hardest weeks I’ve ever had,” she said. “We worked really, really hard to get me in the shape I’m in now, so I can’t be upset about it.” Since the 100 is a marquee event and there being no real fans in the stands beyond coaches and other athletes, the lights inside Tokyo Olympic Stadium were brought down and the straightaway became a screen, showing each woman’s name and flag as she was introduced. All of it was something Daniels had dreamed of. “I have watched when Shelly-Ann won the 100 in 2012 so many times, and I dream of having that exact moment, and I know it’s going to come,” she said. It has now been since 1996 when Gail Devers won her second of back-to-back golds that an American woman officially won the Olympic 100. Marion Jones won in 2000 but was
subsequently stripped of her gold after she was found to be part of the BALCO steroid scandal. Thompson-Herah and Fraser-Pryce were stellar in the early rounds, with such great starts and ahead by so much in their first two races that they were both able to throttle down and breeze over the finish line. Not going full-out meant they reserved at least some energy heading into the final, key since the scheduling of the races didn’t afford much time to recover. The most surprising result from the semis was British racer Dina AsherSmith. The silver medalist at the 2019 World Championships was third in her heat but her time of 11.05 seconds was not fast enough to advance. Asher-Smith is the reigning 200 world champion, so she will get a chance to redeem herself starting tomorrow.
Elaine Thompson-Herah of Jamaica celebrates victory in the women’s 100m final at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Game on July 31. (Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
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GKC potential kata team for the IKD World Cup 2022 in Guyana. Left to right: Latisha, Pauline, and Rose Moses show perfect form.
Archibald dazzles but out of Olympics
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uyana’s National men’s 100m champion, Emanuel Archibald bowed out of the Tokyo Olympic Games yesterday morning in Round One of the men’s 100m at the Olympic Stadium, Japan. Archibald, who qualified with a run of 10.30s in the Preliminary Round where he finished second, clocked 10.41s in Heat Two of Round One. The race was won by Enoch Adegoke of Nigeria in a time of 9.98s, while the other two qualifiers were Femi Ogunode of Qatar and Zharnel Hughes of Great Britain in
10.02s and 10.04s respectively. Archibald was tied with Refugee athlete Dorian Keletela for seventh in the race that had eight starters. Reacting to his performance, Archibald expressed great satisfaction in making it to the first round but was a bit disappointed to not improve on his preliminary time of 10.30s which was under one hundredth of a second slower that his personal best of 10.22s. He vowed to continue working hard but for now he is looking to finish the season strongly.
Familiar faces win through to semi-finals
Sunday August 01, 2021
The Moses family of Wowetta scores another first in Karate by achieving their Black Belt
Ivory Coast’s goalkeeper Eliezer Ira Tape conceded five times against Spain.
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heir were no big surprises in the quarter-finals at Tokyo 2020 on Saturday as the hosts and three former tournament winners all booked their places in the last four. Holders Brazil eased past Egypt and Japan were taken to penalties by New Zealand, while goals flowed in the other two games as 2012 champions Mexico downed Korea Republic and Spain saw off Côte d’Ivoire in their bid to reclaim the gold medal they won on home soil in 1992. Results: Spain 5-2 Côte d’Ivoire (AET) - Spain became the first team through to the semi-finals but only after extra time and some nervy moments against
a Côte d’Ivoire side left nursing regrets. Les Éléphants began by opening the scoring and later went 21 ahead in added time via Max Gradel, only to be swept aside during extra time – leaving them unable to improve on their quarterfinal exit in 2008. Japan 0-0 (4-2 pens) New-Zealand - Dominant throughout, Japan could not find a way past goalkeeper Michael Woud, whose superb performance helped the Kiwis take the tie to penalties. However, it was Woud’s counterpart Kosei Tani who emerged as the hero with a decisive save during the shoot-out. Brazil 1-0 Egypt - A single goal was all it took for Brazil to dispatch Egypt and
take another step closer to retaining their title. Richarlison was the provider this time, the tournament’s top scorer on five goals setting up Matheus Cunha for a magnificent finish from just inside the edge of the area. As for Egypt, who narrowly scraped through their group, they could only try in vain to trouble Brazil keeper Santos. Korea Republic 3-6 Mexico - Mexico made their superior technique count against Korea Republic and controlled this tie from start to finish, quickly opening the scoring before surging clear after the interval. El Tri can now look forward to a meeting with Brazil in the last four – a rematch of the 2012 final.
resh from their April 30, 2021, grading from white to brown belt, the Moses sisters from Wowetta have done it again! On Friday, July 23, the GKC sisters, Rose and Pauline Moses, and 13-year-old Anusha Jodhan from 3 Ryu Karate Club were promoted from the third kyu to the first dan black belt. Another fantastic and remarkable achievement! Precedence was set in 1971 when 21-year-old Frank Woon-A-Tai was graded on a Friday from white belt to the third kyu by Master Hirokazu Kanazawa in Tokyo, Japan. Three days later, on Monday, he was promoted to First Dan Black Belt by a panel of masters headed by the late Master Takahashi. In 1974, Maureen Woon-A-Tai was promoted from the second kyu to First Dan by Master Okazaki in Guyana. Maureen became the first Guyanese woman to attain the Japan Karate Association of Guyana International black belt. Following Maureen’s footsteps, 47 years later, the two sisters, Rose, 27 and Pauline, 22, created karate history by moving from white to brown belt at their first grading three months ago. They were training privately for two years under their instructor, Shihan John Fernandes, 7th dan. And now, another Moses joins the duo, making it possible to field an
The Moses sisters perform a demonstration during the grading exercise. Indigenous women’s kata team for next year’s World Cup scheduled for Guyana. Their niece, 14-year-old Latisha Moses, who her three uncles have trained in Wowetta - black belts: Silas, 37, Ernie, 29, and Courtney, 24, arrived in Georgetown a few weeks ago to receive final pre-exam instructions by Shihan John Fernandes. Latisha moved from white to blue belt at her first grading conducted by Shuseki Shihan Frank Woon-A-Tai, M.S., 9th Dan. To receive such honours from the master himself is a privilege. Frank, a 1978 Pan American Kata Gold Medallist, is Guyana’s Karate Ambassador who has a membership in a record ten years of 80 regions in 57 countries across the globe. H e i s G u y a n a ’s m o s t decorated, highly qualified, and certified internationally
by his legendary Japanese Teachers. Frank, with the assistance of Dr. Guy Low, 7th Dan, OB/GYN Surgeon and Assistant Professor at the University of Guyana, John Fernandes, 7th Dan, advertising CEO, Aubrey Bettencourt, 7th Dan, B u s i n e s s m a n , Te j r a m Harichand, 7th Dan, Psychologist and Roland Fanfair, 3rd Dan. They all teach separate classes at the Guyana Karate College Transport dojo, Thomas Lands. GKC is now accepting children, adults and families to join the dojo. Classes are Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm. Try a no-obligation free trial class before signing up to what will change lives positively. GKC invites you to visit us at Transport Sports Club, Thomas Lands, Georgetown or call/text Sensei at 602-1301.
Kaieteur News
Sunday August 01, 2021
Campbell is GBTI ladies Erskine upsets #2 seed champion Osbourne for first Men’s Semifinal Andre Erskine
Cristy Campbell
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op- seeded Cristy C a m p b e l l captured the 2021 GBTI Ladies Title with a dominant 6/0 - 6/1 win over the power hitting Renola Jordan. Campbell outmatched her opponent with variety, consistency and speed to throw Jordan off of her game plan. Campbell did not drop a set en route to her championship, and will quest for the Mixed Doubles Title this weekend with partner, Gavin Lewis. Men’s Open Singles The quarterfinals clash between #2 seed Benjettan Osbourne and Andre Erskine proved to be the most grueling and entertaining match of the tournament thus far. They battled for two days due to lighting, but it was Erskine who held on physically and mentally to topple #2 Osbourne to advance to his first men’s Semifinal. Erskine, coach and founder of Rebel Tennis Club, credited his students for his victory. “This match was the most mentally exhausting match I’ve played. This is my first semifinal at GBTI, so I’m super excited to reach this stage. My students are my biggest supporters. This win is a result of their confidence in me,” Erskine said. On day one, the fierce competitors traded breaks in the first two games, then both held as it seemed they were settling into the match. Osbourne, who was no s tr an g e r t o th e G B T I quarterfinals round, secured another break in the seventh game, and served out the set to take it 6-3. Erskine stayed
determined and returned as the more aggressive and consistent of the two. Erskine raced to a 5-0 lead in the second set. Osbourne held serve in the sixth game and had two break points in the seventh game. A refocused Erskine quickly shut down Osbourne’s hopes and closed out the set 6-1. The momentum shifted once again as Osbourne raced to a 3-1 lead in the deciding set. With the support of his students, Erskine saved his sixth breakpoint in the third set, but it was Osbourne with the slight advantage. Due to poor lighting, play was suspended with Osbourne leading 3-2 (15-15). The players returned refreshed the next day and Erskine won three consecutive games to take a 5-3 lead. Erskine served for the match, but unfortunately, Osbourne retired on match point down. The final score was 3-6 - 6-1 - 5-3 (40-0) ret. to Erskine. In other results, junior Shaqiel Murray closed out the final round of 16 matches with a 6-3 - 2-2 ret. win over veteran Harry Panday. However, Murray was outmatched in the quarterfinals by Philippe Jackson who secured the win at 6-3, 6-2. Jackson awaits the winner of the defending champion and #1 seed, Gavin Lewis against Donnie Anderson. Men’s Doubles The fresh dynamic duo of Heimraj Resaul/Philippe Jackson made light work of juniors, Gerald Scotland/Donnie Anderson in the quarterfinals to secure the win 6-0 - 6-2 and advance to their first semifinal as a pair.
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