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VP Bharrat Jagdeo Sunday Edition NEWS tells diaspora no high-paying jobs in govt.

AIETEUR

August 22, 2021

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…says come and explore opportunities in the private sector

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Guard drops dead after chasing pork-knockers

off Australian controlled gold lands Guyana records 177 new COVID-19 cases Guyana can use strategies from four successful oil states to beat resource curse - Dr. Terrence Blackman

Two held trying to bribe cop after caught selling stolen car

Guyana’s gas-to-energy project linked to support from French Guiana Suriname & Brazil - Pres. Ali …2017 IDB study will form basis of proposed joint summit to craft master plan Manganese and gold being fetched away [11am].

Your oil profits from Liza 1 is being reduced to pay Liza 2 project cost and more exploration [4pm]. @ 7pm on Kaieteur We have to live within our means for quite a while into the future - Jagdeo Radio 99.1/99.5FM

Kaieteur News

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Sunday August 22, 2021

VP Jagdeo tells Diaspora no high paying jobs in Govt. …says come and explore T opportunities in the Private Sector he Guyanese leadership has in recent months been making repeated attempts at luring members

of its Diaspora to return and invest in their homeland.

Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo, is cautioning however that while his

administration is keen on capitalising on the potential of the country's Diaspora, “we don't have many high paying opportunities in

Government.”

He was at the time the featured speaker during a panel discussion on Guyana and its future in light of its

emerging oil and gas economy while in Houston, Texas, for the 2021 Offshore Technology Conference.

To this end, the Vice President is of the view that those in the Diaspora looking to return and contribute to the development of the country would have to instead seek opportunities in the private sector, particularly as it relates to the country's emerging oil and gas sector.

“You have to come and explore opportunities in the Private Sector,” according to Jagdeo who pointed to areas of supply and logistics among other sectors.

“We have a massive Diaspora and they have made a lot of progress globally,” Jagdeo said, as he reiterated, “we are hoping that they will come back now and they will see this (emerging oil and gas sector) as part of their heritage too.”

To this end, he drew reference to the Diaspora

Unit that is being manned by Guyana's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, headed by Minister, Hugh Todd.

It was at this forum that Jagdeo in lamenting the absence of high paying jobs in government, also pointed to the fact that Guyanese will have to live within their means for quite a while into the future, since major inflows of revenue from the rapidly developing oil and gas sector will not be had by the country for the next few years.

Jagdeo during that forum told those in attendance, “we don't see ourselves wealthy as yet, oil revenue, the magnitude that would see major flows to Guyana is not coming for the next few years.”

According to Jagdeo, “US$300M/US$400M a year now is not a lot of money and many people (continued on page 14)

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 22, 2021

PAGE 03

Guyana's gas-to-energy project linked to …2017 IDB study will support from French Guiana, form basis of proposed joint summit to craft Suriname & Brazil master plan - Ali T

he success of G u y a n a ' s p r o p o s e d US$900M Gas-to-Shore energy project is dependent on the off take of electricity being generated as part of an interconnected grid including French Guiana, Brazil and neighbouring Suriname, a conclusion determined by the InterAmerican Development Bank back in 2017.

This, since according to Guyana's President, Irfaan Ali, there still remains significant uncertainty on the project and that the Arco Norte master plan, developed in 2017 by the IDB, is indeed the backbone behind a proposed joint summit between the countries.

President Ali made the disclosure on Thursday last during press engagement at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre (ACCC) following two days of talks with neighbouring Head of State, Surinamese c o u n t e r p a r t , Chandrikapersad Santokhi.

The two led delegations that met and agreed on the joint development of a Natural gas master strategy, taking into account the potential resource available to the two countries in their offshore basin. More importantly, the Arco Norte Electrical Interconnection Study.

President Ali was at the time responding to members of the media, when asked about the direct input to be had from the IDB study.

According to Ali, “indeed a master plan was developed some time ago and it is in this context that

this joint approach is being developed, so yes the joint energy plan is definitely linked and that is why we working towards a bigger summit with Brazil, French Guiana and Guyana.”

The President was however quick to hold back on providing “details,” signaling instead, the option to wait for the technical teams to meet and flesh out the details of the joint strategy—taking into account the Arco Norte study.

As such, he suggested, “very soon we will have the technical teams meeting and we have agreed that there will be briefings for the private sector and the media when we come up with that overarching strategy from the joint team.”

Surinamese President Santokhi in his remarks on the joint initiative told media operatives that “within a short period of time a design proposal will be presented for a clear strategy for how to extract the gas of the two nations for the industrial development in the west side of Suriname and the east side of Guyana and also to develop the bauxite industry and also to export that gas to Brazil.”

He did note however, “that those who are familiar with the plan would know of the potential there in creating a new hub of manufacturing, industrial activity but more importantly on the energy side.”

The President did use the occasion to concede still unknown variables that would guide the size and scope of any project and cited as example, “a lot of

this has to do with quantum of gas and that is why we said that this strategic analysis and joint approach is critical to this to determine these technical attributes.”

According to the Guyanese President, when the technical teams have determined the quantum of available Natural gas, “that will determine the size of the initiative.”

The envisioned electricity transmission lines in the Arco Norte proposal for the interconnection would span over 1,900 kilometers across the countries.

It was noted in that InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) study, that the Arco Norte interconnection will require major investments in transmission infrastructure to link the electricity systems in Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Roraima, and Amapá M a k i n g t h e announcement, President Ali noted that the decision to forge ahead with the joint approach was taken, “recognising that both countries will be key players in the oil and gas sector.”

The Arco Norte Electrical Interconnection Study was commissioned by the IDB with the objective to assess the potential for an electrical interconnection of power systems in the Arco Norte Region of South America.

The Arco Norte Region consists of the countries of Guyana, Suriname, Brazil (with its northern states of Amapá and Roraima), and French Guiana (an overseas department of France);

Guyana's President, Dr. Irfaan Ali (left) and his Surinamese counterpart, President, Chandrikapersad Santokhi

The Arco Norte Region and proposed interconnection together these are known as the Arco Norte countries.

The Study was conducted in collaboration

with the Guyana Energy A g e n c y ( G E A ) , Energiebedrijven Suriname (EBS), Électricité de France

(EDF), Centrais Elétricas Brasileiras (Eletrobras), and Agence Française de Développement (AFD).

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Kaieteur News

Sunday August 22, 2021

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

Exxon is playing with fire to Guyana’s peril Alarmed Guyanese have often spoken of the potential for a massive Guyanese oil environmental disaster, thanks to Exxon’s recklessness, and the indifference of Guyana’s Government. Today, we let readers learn from someone else, recognised and non-Guyanese, on what Exxon plays with, and the grave dangers to Guyana.

The caption frightens, “Exxon’s oil drilling gamble off Guyana coast ‘poses major environmental risk’” (The Guardian, August 17). ‘Gamble’ and ‘major’ and ‘environmental risk’ should make all Guyanese lose sleep. An expert claims, “The Company has failed to adequately prepare for possible disaster.” Guyana’s Government, especially its oil Vice President likes to attack messengers as ignorant, partisan, and having ulterior motives. Today, we present Robert Bea. The Guardian says Robert Bea is “among the world’s foremost forensic engineers and a leading expert on the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico” who “worked for Shell Oil before becoming one of the world’s premier safety and disaster investigators.” In addition, “he served as a principal investigator on the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, the Piper Alpha offshore oil disaster that killed 167 men in the North Sea, the Exxon Valdez grounding and the crash of the Nasa Columbia space shuttle.” This is someone that could be easily categorised as a foremost global expert, and he said this about what Exxon is doing in Guyana.

He fears “an event like the Macondo” (the 2010 BP well that blew out in the Gulf of Mexico). He reviewed more than 1,000 pages of Exxon submissions and government permits for Liza 1, (including the 500-page environmental impact statement on Liza 1 to Guyana’s EPA) as part of an exclusive analysis for the Guardian article. We quote extensively.

“We could have a problem similar to what we had with BP before and after the Macondo disaster.” We mean Guyana. His review noted no evidence of the necessary planning and operations needed to “assess and manage the risks associated with high-risk offshore exploration, production, and transportation operations.” There are “loose ends, assumptions, and premises that are not substantiated” in Exxon’s plans, Bea said. “And the more of these threads that you tug at, the more concerned you become that what’s being done here is superficial.”

This is damning and could devastate Guyana’s oil future, its safety and that of neighbours. Yet President Ali and Vice President Jagdeo could not be more unconcerned in the face of reviews and reports like these, since they undermine the rosy oil pictures they paint. Regardless of their secrecies and surrender to Exxon’s will and rush, we could be sitting on an environmental and economic time bomb. Robert Bea found numerous problems with Exxon’s written submissions. He fears about a loss of well control, or blowout – which could cause a catastrophic oil spill, because Exxon has not kept the risks of such events as low as “reasonably practicable.” Also, Exxon’s estimate of blowout containment is too “optimistic, unsubstantiated, and improbable.” Exxon doesn’t have the necessary tools, namely, “a capping stack and relief well.”

Further, Exxon’s plans and response methods were heavily criticised when deployed elsewhere. AND Exxon’s planned use of Corexit 9500, is a chemical dispersant banned in the UK and faulted for severe human and environmental harms (Exxon Valdez and BP spills). AND Exxon also intends to burn oil on the ocean surface even though it is drilling in the AmazonOrinoco Influence Zone, an area rich in marine biodiversity, on which local Indigenous and other fishers depend.

When concerns like these were raised by Bea with the Australian Government it tightened requirements, which led to BP withdrawing from the Australian Bight. Surely, Guyana’s President Ali and Vice President Jagdeo would do well to listen to this, if they really have Guyanese interests at heart. But this exposes their oil programme, and undermines their cozy, conspiratorial relationship with Exxon, which matters most. Last, the investor advocacy group, As You Sow, criticised Exxon’s Guyana plans: “Exxon’s activities in Guyana pose grave material risks to the company from an economic, legal, and human rights standpoint.” Vice President Jagdeo has concealed significant details and condemned those objecting to how he goes about handling our oil. We encourage him to take note. This he can’t suppress. It could break Guyana.

I recommend that the President does not assent to the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill 2021 Dear Editor, The recent passage of the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill 2021, Bill No. 10 of 2021 presents a clear and present danger to the efforts of the International community to combat the scourge of international terrorism and transnational crimes, and indeed the national security and sovereignty of Guyana.

Additionally, this Bill creates the conditions for the eternal feuding of political parties with respect to a credible national register of registrants and electoral lists.

It is preposterous to empower a community leader or Toshao to create a “brand new second hand Guyanese” by simply making a declaration on a form containing particulars touching the births of a complete stranger who goes to them claiming he or she has no original document containing particulars of their birth or no record of their

birth. Similarly, by making a statutory declaration purporting to state the birth of such stranger (Venezuelan/ Brazilian/Cubans/Haitian) which is signed by a Justice of the Peace or Commissioner of Oaths to Affidavits. In addition, any other documents with such information including baptismal certificate and marriage registers.

Do I need to remind that our borders are porous and may be teeming with traffickers in persons (girls/ women), drugs, weapons, gold and diamonds, etc.

Guyana can replace Trinidad and Tobago as a breeding ground for terrorist fighters.

Already we were labelled with

having the No. 3 man in Al Qaeda.

Once you possess such a birth certificate, it can be used to acquire a passport, a most valuable tool of an international terrorist who thrives on having multiple nationalities. This state of affairs can easily lend itself to the sale of Guyanese citizenship to dubious characters seeking refuge in Guyana.

The abovementioned situation is facilitated by the introduction of a brand-new provision, Section 44 A which side-note says, “Where an adult has no original document,” the first of its kind in the over 150 years history of the Registration of Births

and Deaths Act Chapter 44.01 Laws of Guyana.

Another amendment in the said Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Act that can prove to be disastrous is the substitution of the new Section 35 for the old one.

The new Section 35 removes judicial oversight over the process of inserting a name in the registration form, if a year or more has elapsed since the birth of a child where no name was given on registration.

Likewise for a name change for a child which it should have been given at the time of registering its birth. A parent or guardian had had (Continued on page 6)

Sunday August 22, 2021

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Kaieteur News

Guyanese must reject Brooklyn race baiting and race hatred Dear Editor, Guyanese must reject the race baiting and race hatred emanating out of Brooklyn by an element of the diaspora.

The race baiting and hatred does not serve the interests of the nation. Worse, it furthers racial division at home and in the Americanbased diaspora. In addition, I note that a litany of falsehoods has been peddled from Brooklyn. And some appalling remarks were made; these must be condemned in the strongest words.

One person referred to Hon. Prime Minister, Mark Phillips, as “a lightweight buffoon and a despicable, token, house slave.” Such language must be condemned. Phillips is a man of integrity and decency and a champion of equal rights of all Guyanese regardless of ethnicity. That person also made outlandish comments not supported by facts. His detractors say he has been waging a battle against a nonexistent threat or issue. Some of his Guyanese critics claim he has been waging a battle

to support his own economic survival.

And some Guyanese say he has been instigating violence and spewing race hatred between Indians and Africans.

Some also say that the person has been able to influence a US Congressman to make statements not supported by facts.

Regrettably, the Congressman identified with individuals who supported election rigging in Guyana and who attacked US Ambassador, Sarah-Ann Lynch, for taking a position to protect democracy. The Congressman and others have advocated for the recall of Ambassador Lynch, an iron lady who has stood for democracy in Guyana.

The person claims that the PPP government discriminates against Africans. This is not supported by data. The PPP government has been the most inclusive on race, gender, and geography throughout the history of the nation. As an illustration, of some 6,000 scholarships over

Whatever became of those no confidence motions?

Dear Editor, It is now several weeks since the filing on both sides of the divide of no confidence motions. These motions were

referred for advice and a decision was expected.

Whatever became of that?

Sincerely, Shamshun Mohamed

the last year, 39 percent were awarded to Afro-Guyanese, 40 percent to Indians, and 21 percent to Mixed and Amerindians, albeit the latter two groups are underrepresented when measured against their composition in the population. Mixed are 20 percent and Amerindians 10 percent of the population while Africans are 29 percent and Indians 40 percent. State appointees on boards are composed of one-third Africans, including as CEOs and Chairs. Africans continue to dominate all layers of government — public service (85 percent), the army (90 percent), the police (80 percent), nursing (75 percent), teaching (60 percent), and the top echelons (Permanent Secretary) of the public service (50 percent), although their group constitutes only 29 percent of the population.

Board appointees include those of Amerindian, Chinese, and Portuguese extraction. In the government,

there is an African PM and seven Ministers of African ancestry, one of Amerindian and one of Portuguese background and two of Mixed ancestry. What could be fairer than this?

In terms of governance, groups of independent Guyanese, representing the legal profession, the private sector, political parties, the press, and civil society have been loud in their praise of the performance of the government for the remarkable job they have done on the first-year anniversary, despite major COVID-19 constraints and the devastating floods. Also, opinion polls I conducted in August and November 2020, January, March, July and August 2021 found I approved of the performance of the government, including a majority of Africans and Mixed. The government has touched the life of every Guyanese of all strata and ethnicity through various

programmes.

The lies being peddled by Brooklyn operatives must end. It will not lead to achievement of political goals.

Respecting democratic principles would lead to more productive results. I support peaceful protests and exposure of bad governance. And I condemn racial discrimination. People must be employed based on their skills and talent and not on race. Guyana depends on the contributions of members of all ethnicities.

Africans and members of other groups are not facing discrimination under the President Ali administration.

If there is discrimination, it must be exposed and corrected. Unsubstantiated claims must not be made. No one should promote or

support efforts at creating race hatred and conflict that would further deepen the divide among ethnic groups.

Using divisive tactics like stirring race hatred and making reckless claims of race discrimination will not help anyone or any political party.

We need to build Guyana and not to destroy it. We must neutralise race tension and set the country on the right growth trajectory. People should fight for real causes and not combat non-existent issues.

Yours truly, Dr. Vishnu Bisram

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Sunday August 22, 2021

Kaieteur News

All churches need to do more to encourage A way to end the wrangling over the the unvaccinated to get vaccinated firing of political appointees

Dear Editor, I just received a prayer request from someone who said, “My brother-in-law did not take the COVID-19 vaccine and is now in the hospital on a ventilator. Two things: we would appreciate prayers for him and if you haven’t been vaccinated, please reconsider.” In the USA, we have had the biggest idiot ever to be elected President of the USA - who was one of the first to be vaccinated. He has spawned a worldwide movement mocking the vaccine and wearing of masks and making it a political issue, placing the lives of many in danger. Many are pawns of such thinking, including Guyanese.

I remember the story of a man who was going down under the water about to drown. A ship passed by and stopped and asked the man if he needed help, the man said, “No, I don’t need help, God would save me.” A second ship came offering help and the man said, “I don’t need help, God would save me.” A third ship came, and the man said the same thing.

Eventually the man drowned and went to heaven. He asked God, why didn’t you save me when I was drowning? God replied, “I sent you three ships, you dummy.” This illustration can apply to our “unvaccinated” problem in Guyana. The Government has

more than 3 ships – Sputnik, Sinopharm, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Vaccine Maitri/Bharat biotech. Nation! don’t refuse help. Don’t wait until it’s too late. The ship is passing your way. “Too late, too late shall be the cry.”

Preachers usually preach and warn the “unsaved” to be “saved.” Similarly, preachers must warn the “unvaccinated” to be “vaccinated” because it’s the wise and right thing to do.

That’s a way of “saving” people too. I remember Bro. Errol from my Assembly of God Church in the Corentyne in the late 1970s. He had flulike symptoms but chose not to go to the hospital. He decided he was going to pray and fast about it. He was in his late 20s. Sadly, he died of pneumonia and left a young wife and children behind. The church was not able to provide ongoing support for his family. Preachers who themselves are fully vaccinated, like to say, “God is your healer, don’t put your faith in vaccines,” and everybody yells “amen.”

There is one Pastor Vlad on YouTube misleading people about the vaccine and when you look at his website there is a running counter announcing people who made donations to his ministry.

Don’t listen to these fully vaccinated “money” preachers (especially those who call themselves apostles,

bishops and prophets).

Follow those with more “balanced” thinking. Be wise and think about your children and family and get the vaccine. It’s hypocrisy for preachers to be fully vaccinated and they are telling you to “have faith,” you don’t need the vaccine.

When you and loved ones are going through your trials and tribulations if a family member is infected with the virus, your church will say they will “pray” for you, and the pastor will preach “free” at your funeral. Don’t expect tons of money support for funerals, medical expenses, and ongoing needs, especially if the breadwinner dies.

I call on our preachers to step up and be a part of the solution to the high numbers of unvaccinated among us.

“To them that knoweth to do good, and doeth not, shall be beaten with many stripes (Luke 12:47).” Preachers usually preach to people to take a specific course of action to live right, and that if you don’t, you will go to hell.

They tell you don’t smoke, don’t drink, don’t do drugs, don’t fornicate. They don’t tell you, “your body, your choice.” They will cast demons out of you. Churches are clear that you must pay 10 percent of your income as tithes, plus you must give offerings, special offerings, building fund offerings, pastoral anniversary

offerings, and contribute to causes. They are clear about that. They don’t tell you “your money, your choice.”

They take a clear position on holiness, honesty, prostitution, abortion, sexual deviance, goodness, sin, etc.

They don’t preach it’s “your body, your choice.” They tell you what the “right” choice is. Similarly, when it comes to vaccination, there is no neutrality. The Church must come down on the side of vaccination. As the song says, “If you see your brother going the wrong way, just stop and say, ‘You’re going the wrong way’.”

I empathise with the Government whose pure intention is to help the country and balance all interests. They can probably say like Jesus who upbraided cities saying, “We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented (Matt 11: 17).

Hopefully, our people would understand that the unvaccinated is driving the new wave of the deadly Delta variant, and would take advantage of the vaccine. We are eager to open up Guyana!

Much praise to those churches, mosques, and temples, which hosted vaccination, drives. Please continue the good work.

Sincerely, Dr. Jerry Jailall

...I recommend that the President does not assent to the From page 4 up to a year to do such insertion or change of a child’s name after the registration of its birth.

However, the old Section 35 provided that where a year or more had elapsed then any such application by a parent or guardian had to be made to a Magistrate, who must be satisfied with the particulars in support of such application before he or she gives his or her approval for the Registrar General to proceed to make any insertion or change of name.

The new Section 35, also

removes the one year limitation and makes provision for a parent or guardian at any time after the child’s birth has been registered or that child, on attaining eighteen years or more can apply directly to the Registrar General (the Magistrate having been removed) with inter alia a supporting statutory declaration signed by a Notary Public stating the relationship, the Applicant has with the child.

The Magistrate in effect had been substituted for a Notary Public. There is no duty on the Notary Public as

was in the case of the Magistrate, to be satisfied by the parent of guardian’s case before signing the statutory declaration.

Moreover, the 18-year-old or older adult can get a name for the first time in his life on his birth registration form and change of name without the supervision of the Court/ Judiciary, or his parents or guardian, and no statutory declaration signed by a Notary Public.

Suffice it to say that there is a serious lack of transparency attending this new process since with the removal of the Court it is totally in the hands of the Executive /Government. It is the Executive that appoints both the Registrar General and the Notary Public as in the case of the Commissioner of Oaths to Affidavits (COA) and Justice of the Peace (JP) to support the creation of ‘the

brand new second hand Guyanese’ abovementioned.

My experience as Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs on taking office is that I met hundreds of Applications for Commissioners of Oaths to Affidavits and Justices of the Peace and many for Notaries Public, languishing.

Again, foreigners can be given brand-new Guyanese birth certificates, which can beget Guyanese passports and pose serious problems with bloated national registers of registrants and electoral lists.

My recommendation is for the President not to assent to this Bill and cause same to be either withdrawn or sent to a Special Select Committee.

Yours truly, Basil Williams, SC Former Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs

Dear Editor, I agree with Friday’s SN editorial that concrete proposals will not emerge from the recent GOAR (Guyanese Organisations Against Racism) events in New York to push for specific solutions on the ventilated complaints. Protest politics is more self-gratifying but ultimately less productive than solutions politics. The latter requires persistent interparty engagement and consensus seeking. Given where Guyana is politically, GOAR’s efforts will therefore change nothing.

The country can, however, readily fix one of its more contentious discrimination issues—the charges of racism and political victimisation in the hiring and firing of government appointees. The fix lies, as has been suggested in these columns before, in agreeing upfront on how to define a political appointee and what persons/positions so qualify. By this agreement, all concerned (including the appointees themselves) are forewarned that the government has the right to remove them by direct executive action as it deems fit.

That political appointees can be so treated is not, one assumes, in dispute—as their job security is nonexistent given that they are directly handpicked by the President or his ministers to implement party policies or as a means of rewarding supporters. The only contention therefore should be which positions or appointments so qualify.

This solution to the problem would effectively eliminate the eternal political wrangling. As we speak, the Biden administration, for example, by executive directive is replacing thousands of Trump appointees from hundreds of federal agencies with only isolated opposition.

The US, since 1952, has published these appointed positions in its so-called Plum Book (officially, the United States Government Policy and Supporting

Positions), a new edition of which is released after each US presidential election.

This forewarning system is encoded in legislation and removes any surprises. Thus, charges of discrimination and victimisation are rendered baseless.

How do we get a “Plum Book” for Guyana? One clear possibility is for our opposition to table a motion in the National Assembly requesting that the government set up an independent committee to make recommendations on the definition, identification, conduct in office, and removal of political appointees. These recommendations should then be translated into legislation and a code of practices, all of which must be unanimously blessed by the parliamentary parties.

The country could then know in advance, for instance, whether or not the services of the EPA Director or the GLSC Commissioner could be terminated by executive fiat. Someone of the calibre of E.B. John should head such a committee.

Timeframe for enactment (inclusive of time for public review and comment): 2-3 months. The other option is for the Minister responsible for governance to give substance to her portfolio by at least spearheading this initiative.

One more thing. Charges of racial discrimination also surface when government programmes are scrapped or reorganised by a new party in government.

The coalition, let us not forget, also faced its share of criticisms and protests in its handling of employees in the PPP’s one-laptop and the Hinterland-based Community Support Officer programmes. We should therefore task the proposed committee to explore whether pre-agreed rules can also immunise these situations from Guyana’s political and ethnic wrangling.

Yours faithfully, Sherwood Lowe

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BL TLUNT.. UNT...B BL Sunday August 22, 2021

Kaieteur News

Suriname's President Santokhi keeps doing justice for his country with its oil.

He is the man for Dr. Jagdeo to speak with during his official visit to Guyana, and not jetting off to some oil junket to Texas to be steamrolled by Exxon and those that have links with the company, depend upon it.

However, Vice President Jagdeo prefers playing these games with our oil when he avoids the people who could give Guyana pointers on how to work around Exxon and its local and foreign co-conspirators, and get more out of it.

Guyana may not be able to overpower Exxon, but it could wage a war of attrition, and eke out continuing oil gains.

But even that Jagdeo doesn't want to do, since such would alarm and anger Exxon's powers. He is more comfortable bowing to, and beating around the bush here. That is why he went to Texas.

Just one more artful dodge by a leader who is expert at that practice.

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Kaieteur News

Sunday August 22, 2021

Sunday August 22, 2021

Kaieteur News

Guyana records 177 new COVID-19 cases Ministry of Health in a statement yesterday reported that 177 new infections were recorded from 1,271 tests, which were carried out within a 24-hour period, taking the overall number of confirmed cases since March 2020, to 24,224.

The new infections were recorded in: Region One (3 cases), Region Two (2 cases), Region Three (23 cases), Region Four (91 cases), Region Five (4 cases), Region Six (one case), Region Seven (11 cases) Region Nine (84 cases) and Region 10 (9 cases).

There was no new case in Region 8.

No deaths were recorded in the statement, ensuring that the overall death toll remain at 591.

Sixteen patients are presently housed in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit at the Infectious Diseases Hospital, 103 persons are in institutional isolation, 1,197 persons are isolated at home and five patients are in institutional quarantine. To date, 22,318 persons have recovered from the virus.

Dem

boys seh...

Riggers gat a card in dem back pocket

Dem boys had a dream de other night.

Dem dream two Coal-shun supporters pass to de Great Beyond. Before dem bin dead, dem bin fall hook, line and sinker fuh de story wah dem Riggers bin trying fuh sell dem; how de 2020 elections bin rigg by de Pee Pee Pee See. But dem nah understand how it happen in front all dem Coal-shun party agents.

So dem decide now dat dem deh up in heaven, dem gan ask God. So dem see God and dem ask he, “How de Pee Pee Pee See rig de elections in 2020?”

God look at dem and answer, “The Pee Pee Pee See did NOT rig the elections.”

Dem Coal-shun supporters stare at one another a lang time, den one turn to de other and say, “The conspiracy goes higher than we think!”

De shame now wearing off from dem riggers. After dem bin get expose in front of de whole world, dem bin duck in dem shell fuh hide dem shame.

Now dem come out of dem shell, dem nah gat no cards in dem hands. Dem nah know how fuh redeem dem self in de eyes of de public and de world. But while dem nah gat no card in dem hands, cheaters does always gat card in dem back pocket. So is dah card dem riggers playing now. Is de card wah dem does resort to when dem desperate and bankrupt fuh ideas.

De riggers suh desperate dat dem pullin' out de card and playing it. It call de RACE card.

Talk half and laugh at tell dem riggers dah card is fuh a different game!

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Kaieteur News

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Sunday August 22, 2021

Guyana helped develop 2016 Guidelines for Good Governance in Emerging Oil and Gas Producers, still mulling implementation

T

he Guidelines for Good Governance in Emerging Oil and Gas Producers 2016, compiled under the auspices of the New Petroleum Producers Discussion Group, review common challenges facing emerging producing countries in the phases of exploration, recent discoveries and early production.

The purpose of the Guidelines, according to Chatham House is to help emerging producers and the groups that advise them to think critically about the policy options that are available, and that would be most effective during the first stages of exploration and development, or during a restructuring of the country's oil and gas sector. The goal is

not to produce a complete guide to governance of the petroleum sector, but rather to offer guidance on making effective decisions about the structure and rules of the sector in an imperfect context. The Guidelines represent the consensus views developed among the officials from emerging producing countries who have participated in the New

Petroleum Producers Discussion Group Workshops held at Chatham House in November 2012 and May 2014, Tanzania in July 2015, and Kenya in March 2016.

The Guidelines focus on eight key objectives for the petroleum sector in emerging producing countries.

Specific, policy-oriented recommendations are

included under each objective. Recommendations emerged from consensus views among the officials from emerging producing nations who participated in the discussion group meetings.

Objective 1: Elaborate a strategic vision for the sector.

Objective 2: Attract the most qualified investor for the long run.

Objective 3: Maximise economic returns to the state through licensing.

Objective 4: Earn and retain public trust and manage public expectations.

Objective 5: Increase local content and benefits to the broader economy.

Objective 6: Build capable national organisations to participate in and oversee the development of the resources.

International best practice may not be appropriate in the case of emerging producers in the oil and gas sector. Instead, the aim should be for more appropriate practice, taking account of the national context; more effective practice, in the interests of achieving rapid results; and better practice, allowing incremental improvements to governance.

Government policy should be guided by a clear vision for the development of the country and a strategic view of how the petroleum sector will deliver that vision.

In order to attract the most qualified oil company to a country with an unproven resource base, the host government can invest in geological data, strengthen its prequalification criteria and ensure transparency. It

The cover for the Guidelines for Good Governance in Emerging Oil and Gas Producers 2016

Objective 7: Increase accountability.

Objective 8: Safeguard the environment.

For each of the aforementioned objectives, the Guidelines discuss specific challenges related to the national contexts that face many emerging producers. Furthermore, the guidelines have also highlighted several broad recommendations for addressing these challenges, both generally and within the context of each specific challenge. The general recommendations are as follows.

should also plan for success and anticipate the implications of hydrocarbon discoveries in its tax code, and be robust through declining oil and gas prices.

Licensing is a key mechanism whereby government can reap early revenues and maximise longterm national benefits.

Government must ensure that it simplifies both negotiations and tax structures to mitigate knowledge asymmetries with oil companies.

Government and industry must engage and (Continued on page 62)

Sunday August 22, 2021

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Sunday August 22, 2021

Guyana can use strategies from four successful oil states to beat resource curse - Dr. Terrence Blackman N

oted Guyanese academic, Dr. Te r r e n c e Blackman, has recently posited that Guyana can still beat the resource curse that often befalls countries possessing significant reserves of resources of crude oil, rubber, Natural gas, or rare-earth commodities. Guyana can do this by learning from and implementing similar strategies from the four nations that survived the resource curse.

ExxonMobil initiated oil and gas exploration activities in Guyana in 2008.

Since then, the discovery rate of significant-highquality oil wells on the Stabroek Block has been nothing short of amazing.

The gross recoverable resource for the Stabroek Block is now estimated to be more than nine billion oil-

equivalent barrels, with its first exploration well, Liza 1, being drilled in 2015.

The Payara, Snoek, Liza Deep, and Turbot discoveries followed in 2017. In 2018, ExxonMobil announced the Ranger, Pacora, Longtail, Hammerhead, and Pluma discoveries.

In 2019, the Tilapia, Haimara, Yellowtail and Mako discoveries emerged and in 2020 the Uaru, Yellowtail-2, and Redtail discoveries were announced.

Dr. Blackman notes that the sheer volume of these discoveries confirms that the Guyanese people are blessed with an opportunity for a fundamental societal transformation.

He however, notes that to

make it happen, Guyana must overcome the resource curse.

Dr. Blackman notes that “Guyana's newfound oil wealth invokes optimism and worry and demands a strategy to prevent the resource curse.

He highlights four countries that beat the resource curse – Canada, N o r w a y, C h i l e a n d Botswana, and identifies critical components of a plan to ensure that Guyana beats the resource curse. As new oil and gas resources continue to be discovered in Guyana, it is clear that Providence has bequeathed to Guyana a once in a country's lifetime opportunity for t r a n s f o r m a t i v e

development.

Whether Guyana realises this opportunity is, the evidence indicates, essentially an issue of governance.

These examples from four countries from different world areas, each with a different culture and history, offer concrete insights into how Guyana can avoid the resource curse and its concomitants.

The first country on Dr. Blackman's list is Canada, which holds the world's third-largest oil reserves.

He notes that Canada is also a significant mining power, the third-largest producer of primary aluminum and diamonds, and the top five for cadmium, molybdenum, nickel, platinum group metals, salt, titanium concentrates, elemental sulfur, and uranium.

Canada success in beating the resource curse, according to Dr. Blackman, is attributed to how regulations and oversight are implemented and applied.

He notes that royalties, taxes, incentives, permits, and licensing for oil and Natural gas are done through provincial bodies. At the same time, a federal National Energy Board, which reports to Parliament, oversees the regulation and is partnered with respective provinces in offshore drilling.

Dr. Blackman notes that from Canada, Guyana can learn of the necessity for intelligent regulations and oversight, i.e., a regulatory system that's apolitical and professional and a system that minimises political patronage.

The second country on the list is Chile. In 2020, Chile's copper mine production was estimated at 5.7 million metric tons of metal content, representing 28.5 percent of the global copper production that year.

While the importance of copper to the economy certainly leaves room for susceptibility to commodity booms and busts, Chile has beaten the resource curse in l a rg e p a r t d u e t o a n extremely high degree of transparency. Information on both operations and revenues is regularly published by the Finance M i n i s t r y, a l o n g w i t h comprehensive looks at royalties, taxes, mining

Professor Terrence Blackman

export values, production volumes, environmental assessments, and licensing petitions.

From Chile, it is evident that comprehensive transparency, i.e., regularly publishing information on both operations and revenues, along with complete dissemination of royalties, taxes, mining export values, production volumes, environmental assessments, and licensing petitions, can move Guyana closer to beating the resource curse.

Third on the list is Norway. Dr. Blackman notes that Norway's approach to its vast oil and gas reserves has been to set aside the majority of its oil earnings from taxes on the petroleum industry and lease sales to private companies.

Officially known as the Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), the fund has the mandate of preserving and increasing Norway's profits from oil for future generations.

As a result, the government does not spend oil revenues – instead, the entire income from petroleum activities is invested in the fund.

C o n s e q u e n t l y, t h e government will only dispose of the expected yearly return on the fund, which was limited to 4 percent by its 2001 fiscal policy and reduced to 3 percent in 2017.

Mindful of the challenges associated with an abundance of nonrenewable resources, the Norwegian government chose this approach to prevent the country from falling victim to the resource curse while extending the benefits these resources confer beyond short-term gains.

This mindset — along with concerns about currency appreciation and cash inflows becoming too tightly intertwined with the

government — has prevented public officials' wealth concentration, currency appreciation, and mismanagement and corruption.

F r o m N o r w a y, D r.

Blackman notes that Guyana can learn that setting aside a significant percentage of the oil earnings every year and taking out a portion of the interest earned on the fund to be used for public services prevents wealth concentration, currency a p p r e c i a t i o n , mismanagement, and corruption.

It is important to note is that the set-aside amount appropriate for an economy will vary with the country's l e v e l o f development—Norway was already an industrialised country when it discovered oil - it will be economically prudent for Guyana to spend a bit more upfront on things like infrastructure where it lags and has trouble diversifying as a result.

Finally, we note that thus far that Guyana's currency has been relatively stable, but the current inflationary trends need to be monitored carefully.

The final country for discussion is Botswana.

Botswana, Africa's top diamond producer, sits second in the global list of producers of diamonds. Yet, in stark contrast to many other resource-rich African countries prone to conflict and corruption, Botswana has beaten the resource curse. The export contribution of mining is highest in Botswana, Sierra Leone, DR Congo, and Mongolia at 80–90% of total exports; however, Botswana has dramatically diversified its economy.

In addition, it is one of the least corrupt countries on the continent. Botswana has also remained conflict-free, encouraging business growth, regional investment, (Continued on page 14)

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 22, 2021

PAGE 13

BLUNTNESS ON INDECENCY! I

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

SUNDAY The GECOM trio that tried to steal an election is now history.

We have worse than their equivalents in the government and opposition, and it is time that the same aim be taken to expose them.

Just like the GECOM trio, Guyana's senior political trio in government and opposition must be held accountable for their farces worked on this society (no different from the GECOM three), and be sent packing.

GUYANESE: THIS IS HOW DEMOCRACY WORKS - ALL ARE ACCOUNTABLE!!!

MONDAY Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo, is galloping ahead with plans for an approximately US$1B gasto-energy project at Wales.

And only now, his colleague, the Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, is talking about a master plan aimed at determining what will be done with the surplus gas.

This is akin to creating a product and during that process, only then deciding what to do with excess production.

Guyanese, we cannot stand for this sort of haphazard approach to leadership.

We must not allow the future of our children and great grandchildren to be tainted by the poor decisions of today!

We must contest this fool's mission now!

If we don't, economic slavery awaits us all!

TUESDAY The coalition opposition has lost its head, can't find its feet. Of all the issues it could pick on to take a stand, the coalition decides it will be against mandatory vaccines.

This is backwards and feeble, because many coalition members and supporters have already taken the vaccine.

When the coalition takes a stand like this with vaccines, then it is sure to find that a lot of its own support base would not stand with it.

The coalition should pick something that has national support and traction: we

highly recommend OIL. WEDNESDAY The United States' EPA is sounding the warning on climate change. Where is Guyana's EPA? The United States' EPA made its position clear to a US Federal Regulator body – consideration of climate change for gas projects is a must.

What is a “must” for Guyana's EPA, other than giving Exxon every greenlight possible for oil projects?

Whose interests is Guyana's EPA representing?

PPP leaders? Exxon's? Or the Guyanese people?

THURSDAY The Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says the evidence is present of the link between human activity (fossil fuel companies) and severe climate disruptions/changes.

Lawyers are now armed with better scientific information to challenge oil companies with lawsuits.

Where are our lawyers on filing and fighting for Guyanese?

Where are our lawyers, other than hoping for a sweet contractual relationship with Exxon or one of its relationships?

Where are all the Guyanese legal eagles and legal scholars, who can quibble over constitution and crime, when the biggest national crime is in the works, compliments of a savage government and a predatory oil company?

FRIDAY The UN says shift from fossil fuel to renewables.

The PPP government says: what the UN says doesn't matter.

The UN Secretary General's position is that grave danger exists should fossil fuel dependence and activity continue.

Our Vice President's position is: he could talk, Guyana will drill. So it is.

SATURDAY Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo is constantly improving at being a spin doctor.

The PPP Government, with the VP as its oil spearhead, condemns the

world (and Guyanese) for its call to abandon fossil fuel projects. The Vice President must be delusional.

What thoughtful and patriotic Guyanese are saying is balance Guyana's interests against the lopsided interests that favour only

Exxon.

Continue with fossil fuel BUT WITH PROPER I N S U R A N C E COVERAGE. Keep going with fossil fuel BUT WITH A BETTER DEAL. Stay with drilling and

producing, BUT WITH P R O T E C T I V E E N V I R O N M E N TA L PLANS THAT HAVE S U B S TA N C E A N D MEANING. NOT WHAT EXXON STUFFS DOWN Dr. Jagdeo's throat, which he then rams down the EPA's

throat.

And Dr. Jagdeo, start p r a c t i c i n g O I L TRANSPARENCY, and insist that EXXON IS ALSO TRANSPARENT WITH GUYANA (reports, and so forth) and stop being an oil spin doctor.

PAGE 14

Sunday August 22, 2021

Kaieteur News

Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo

VP Jagdeo tells Diaspora no high paying jobs in...

From page 2 think, oh the wealth will come tomorrow or, it's here today and suddenly start splurging.”

The Vice President as such was adamant, “we have to live within our means for quite a while into the future.”

Doubling down on his position, the Vice President noted, “A lot of people believe we have a lot of money to give,” and drew reference to a publicly voiced opinion, initially by Professor, Clive Thomas, who intimated a US$5,000 cash transfer to Guyanese families annually.

Rubbishing the argument, the Vice President noted however, that if such a policy were to be adopted, it would cost some US$1B yearly, “and we only collecting US$300M.” To this end, the Vice President said that persons had unrealistically raised the expectations for Guyanese with regards their oil wealth for political purposes.

Asked to project his vision for Guyana in the long to medium term, the Vice President pointed to increased contributions to the non-oil economy, generating as much as oil.

To this end, he spoke to the diversification on the economy with a particular focus on the nation's agricultural potential.

Guyana's delayed revenue earnings were recently highlighted in a July 2021 Report done by the

Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).

In that report, IEEFA Director, Tom Sanzillo, had documented that by the end of 2024, ExxonMobil Guyana is slated to receive some US$42.7B representing 85 percent of the take from some 555 million barrels of oil scheduled to be produced from the Stabroek Block d u r i n g t h a t period—representing recoverable costs such as expenses and profits.

Guyana's take during the same period in contrast, sees the country earning some US$3.7B total, US$653M of which would represent taxes being paid by Guyana on behalf of the US oil major operating in the Stabroek Block.

Total royalty for its oil for Guyana at the end of 2024, is pegged to be US$523M or $100M less than what the country will take from its share, to fork over to the treasury as taxes—foregone revenue from ExxonMobil Guyana.

The taxes projected for Guyana to pay by the end of 2024 amounts to some $653M. According to Sanzillo's finding, development costs alone to be recovered by Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) during the period would amount to some US$24.7B of its total recoverable costs pegged at US$39.4B.

Guyana can use strategies...

From page 12 foreign direct investment, and stable governance.

According to Dr. Blackman, from Botswana, we learn that Guyana must pursue

economic diversification; it must move revenues to other sectors to make the economy less susceptible to global markets and minimise internal conflict.

Sunday August 22, 2021

Kaieteur News

Junior Sammy holds vaccine drive On Friday August 20, Junior Sammy Guyana held a vaccination drive at their office for their 80 plus employees. The employees ranged from carpenters, labourers, dump truck drivers, operators and office staff.

Prior to the vaccination drive, several discussions were held with the employees on the benefits of the vaccine and why they should be vaccinated.

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Sunday August 22, 2021

Kaieteur News

Guard drops dead chasing pork-knockers off Australian controlled gold lands A processing Plant at the Karouni Gold Mines.

A security guard employed with Australian mining company, Troy Resources Inc., dropped dead on Friday while he and his colleagues were reportedly chasing off local pork-knockers from gold lands his company rents for only G$1,000 per acre.

The gold lands that the guard was protecting at the time he collapsed are part of the company's Karouni Gold Project located in the Region Seven district of Guyana.

The dead security guard has since been identified as Xenier Fraser, 36.

According to a press release sent out last evening by the Ministry of Labour, it noted that an investigation has been launched to determine how Fraser died.

Kaieteur News was told that Fraser collapsed around 10:00hrs. that day, while on patrol duties with other security guards. Based on

information received by this newspaper, he was still alive after he collapsed and his colleagues had rushed him back to the base.

From there he was placed in vehicle, which reportedly sped off to transport him to the Mahdia District Hospital but he died on the way. Kaieteur News learnt from persons who had reportedly seen when Fraser had collapsed that he and his colleagues were alerted that a group of pork-knockers described as 'punters' were illegally raiding the company's lands.

They claimed that the security guards had spotted the men and headed in the direction they saw them.

One of the eyewitness said that “while the security guards were running behind the punters, Fraser fell while crossing over a stream.”

The eyewitnesses said that 'they thought he had fell

and hit himself hard” but according to the Public Relations Officer of Troy Resources, Ajay Baksh, Fraser had collapsed while on patrol duties.

“He was on patrol duties and as we would say in local terms, 'he tek in and collapse,” Baksh told Kaieteur News.

As it regards to whether or not Fraser was at the time chasing local pork-knockers from the company's land, Baksh said that such information had not reached him. What he sure of, at the time he spoke to the press, was that Fraser was on patrol duties with other security guards.

However, he said that in any mining area there will always punters around illegally invading lands to work. These individuals make a living by hustling daily on gold lands, some (Continued on page 62)

Sunday August 22, 2021

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

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Sunday August 22, 2021

Our Frontline Worker of the Week is…

Nurse

Abigail Gilkes tasked with surveying for reported signs and symptoms of suspected cases for Vaccines Preventable Diseases (VPDs) within the Region, and for following reported vaccine reaction or Events Supposedly Attributed to Vaccination or Immunisation (ESAVI) which includes any suspected reactions to COVID-19 vaccines once it is reported.

“I'm also a part of the COVID19 vaccination team at the LHC (Linden Hospital Complex) where I assist with screening patients, attending to their concerns and giving clarity on eligibility for a COVID-19 vaccine,” she shared.

there's also a lot of misinformation and nursing has taught us that people are less fearful and more cooperative when they know what to expect.

The one-on-one with a client really goes a long way, I always feel pleased knowing I helped relieve some worries and doubts while gaining trust in return; that is priceless,” Nurse Gilkes posited.

Performing her COVID-19 related tasks, Nurse Gilkes said, came easily because of her natural love for her profession.

This, she said, was the inspiration behind her even becoming a healthcare worker,

Reassurance to patients is extremely “important, we don't just vaccinate, we listen

Nurse Abigail Gilkes

By Vanessa Braithwaite

W

ith the current uproar over the C O V I D - 1 9 vaccination programme, Linden nurse, Abigail Gilkes, is tasked with a crucial role - adequately informing citizens willing to be vaccinated about the process and

the facts about the vaccines.

As a member of Region 10's COVID-19 task force, Nurse Gilkes has been working tirelessly to help combat the spread of COVID-19, including through an awareness campaign.

Functioning out of the One Mile Health Centre, which is one of the main Health Centres in Linden, she is an EPI Surveillance Nurse

first, we advise and we guide because we get those vaccines are new, that there's also a lot of misinformation and nursing has taught us that people are less fearful and more cooperative when they know what to expect. The one-on-one with a client really goes a long way, I always feel pleased knowing I helped relieve some worries and doubts while gaining trust in return; that is priceless.

According to Nurse Gilkes, “reassurance to patients is extremely important, we don't just vaccinate, we listen first, we advise and we guide because we get those vaccines are new, that

”

who now has years of experience and no regrets that she followed her heart. Her innate desire to help others, especially making a difference in the lives of the vulnerable, has contributed to her

not only going through the motion during her shift, but enjoying every moment of it.

“It's always a pleasure when I hear patients telling another how I cared for them in time of need, or them referring others to me, is enough recognition of a job well done.

I've learned that the smallest thing that you do for a patient can mean the world to them. Nursing has taught me appreciation and humility. I've learned to treat every patient as though they are a member of my family.

To be kind, respectful, and to pay attention, especially when caring for them because they are trusting you to give assistance,” she explained.

During the pandemic, Gilkes had to learn to multi-task since it was now time to be more than a nurse. With patients being isolated from their families, Gilkes had to quickly become sister, counsellor and friend.

“I have learned how important it is for patients to have someone that actually listens to them and responds in a way that is both therapeutic and supportive.”

Like many other healthcare workers in Guyana, her career journey, has not been without challenges, especially during the pandemic which brought with it a lack of resources as cases skyrocketed.

This forced Linden nurses at the time to hit the streets to protest over the lack of resources, such as masks and personal protective gears. “Having to improvise at such a critical moment, as the personal protective equipment (PPE) was an issue as we were facing shortages with high influx of patients at the centre, was a challenge because myself and colleagues risked being exposed and could possibly become ill and put others at risk,” she related.

In this regard, Gilkes strongly believes that healthcare workers should be adequately compensated for their duties, since they are risking their lives on a daily basis.

Despite these challenges, our featured frontline worker is encouraging youths who aspire to delve into the medical field, to not be disheartened but pursue same if indeed it is their dream.

“Be the change you want to see, try to see the positive in every negative situation, and go after what you want, there's always going to be challenges no matter the profession, even obstacles sometimes but keep your eyes on the prize; keep pressing....never give up,” said Nurse Gilkes.

Sunday August 22, 2021

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

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Sunday August 22, 2021

Defying the odds to keep ploughing his rice fields…

Farmer

n a m o n a H o o d Ya is a 'Special Person'

By Malisa Playter-Harry

D

Farmer Rocky driving one of his tractors

espite being a rice farmer all his life, Yadoo Hanoman called Rocky, found that years of expertise was no match for the recent flood which devasted him mentally, physically and financially. Indeed, this was the plight of many other local farmers who were dependent on farming for their survival. When the flood came, they were hard hit and suffered millions of dollars in losses.

Rocky of No.64 Village, Upper Corentyne, Berbice, is still reeling from the impact of the flood situation.

His losses, he estimates to be a few millions. But he is well aware that farmers, who are regarded as the backbone of the nation, must continue to farm in order to feed the nation.

The father of two – a seven-year-old and a fouryear-old – and the husband of a schoolteacher, has been engaged in rice farming for over 18 years. Farming, including rice cultivation and cattle rearing, he related, is a tradition of the family he was born into.

Reflecting on his upbringing, he recalled a t t e n d i n g t h e Ta g o r e Memorial Secondary School and there he wrote seven subjects at the CXC level.

However, after school he found that he was passionate about getting into agriculture and so followed in the path of his father.

“My father was a farmer and most of my cousins involved in it too. I always dreamed of being a rich farmer, but you know, the flood season didn't do me so well.” Rocky shared.

When the floods hit in June, he was on a one-week

really do much,” he recounted.

According to Rocky, although the one-week visit to the foreign land was for a wedding, he simply could not enjoy himself as he had hoped. During his stay, he revealed that he was being kept abreast by his workers about the flood situation. He

“

Let us not forget that the cultivation of the earth is the most important labour of man. When tillage begins, other arts follow. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of human civilisation. – Daniel Webster

”

trip to the United States and so, at first, had to depend exclusively on his trusted and hardworking labourers to overlook his 300 acres of rice lands located at No. 64, 63 and 62 Villages. Despite their valiant efforts, the waters ravaged his crops, causing him to lose in excess of 140 acres of rice.

“I finished harvesting in April and I was planting back, when I left…I couldn't keep my mind on where I was, I was worried about what was going on with my rice. While I was over there, I tell the boys to pump out some of the water but it na

understood even then that it would be a difficult situation to face when he returned since this was not only his livelihood but his workers' “bread and butter” too.

The recent flood has since been considered the worst in recent times, which devastated thousands of cash crops, rice and cattle farmers as well as many residents.

A team of officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, led by Minister Zulfikar Mustapha, had set out to visit every flood-affected area and implemented relief efforts based on guidance received, especially from

those affected, and technical personnel.

When Rocky was eventually able to return home, he said that he contacted officials at the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) and they sent two engineers to assess the situation where his rice lands are located.

“When we go down at the back there, we see how the water was coming heavy from the backlands and so they decided to clean the creeks so that the water na gonna go through the rice fields,” he recalled.

But according to Rocky, “somewhere around the 20th June we started to get some relief when the hymac was sent to do the embankment.”

To d a y, d e s p i t e t h e devastating effects of the

flood, things are getting back to some sort of normalcy.

According to Rocky, before the flood, he would normally take a loan from Nand Persaud and Company, one of the country's largest milling companies, which is paid back gradually after h a r v e s t i n g . H o w e v e r, because of the flood, Hanoman said that he was forced to take additional loans with the fear that he may have to put his house and land transport on the line as collateral.

He is however persevering through the difficulties and is taking solace in the fact that his family has been his strongest support system. According to him, family members who live abroad, have chipped in to provide support in

whatever way they can and his wife has been using her salary too to help during these trying times.

Although not very religious, Rocky, who considers himself a familyoriented man, believes in k i n d n e s s a n d humanitarianism. In fact, he revealed that the flood situation he experienced recently has caused him to see the world differently. He appreciates, now more than ever, the little things and sacrifices made by those that surround him. “I don't go to church, but I believe in kindness,” he quipped, as he acknowledged that many other farmers suffered just as badly as he or even worse.

But he intends to continue to farm and even (continued on page 54)

The state of his rice lands after the floodwaters receded

Kaieteur News

PAGE 21

Miss Maya Persaud

Sunday August 22, 2021

This week’s beauty is the stunning Ms. Maya Persaud. This 26-year-old belle enjoys singing, modeling, meditating and spending quality time with her family.

Her favourite quote says, “The world does not need to believe in you; it is you who needs to believe in yourself.”

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Kaieteur News

Sunday August 22, 2021

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 22, 2021

PAGE 23

History has returned T

he PNC/R is the luckiest political party in the world. No other party could have committed the sort of grievous sins which the PNC/R did and gotten away with it. But all things finally come to an end and the PNC/R faces its ultimate Waterloo.

As the PNC/R looks back on its tainted history and its now almost guaranteed permanent lockout from political office, it will rue three of its unholy sins: the attempt to benefit from the rigging of the 2020 elections, the perverse oil contract and its selfish and selfdestructive desecration of Coalition politics.

The PNC/R will never recover from the attempt to rig the 2020 general and regional elections. Not only did that attempt expose the façade which had been cultivated about a more democratic PNC/R, but it has also raised questions as to whether the party should ever again be allowed to participate in the democratic process.

The PNC/R lacks the moral authority to preach to anyone, much less to Guyanese, about dictatorship, racism, corruption, abuse of power and democracy. Ironically, it was democracy which allowed the PNC/R to overcome the disadvantages which it faced as a result of Guyana's ethnic arithmetic.

Without free and fair elections, the APNU+AFC would not have been able to win the 2015 elections. For the PNC/R to repay that favour by assaulting free and fair elections is an act of selfannihilation.

Without the AFC, or democracy, the PNC/R stood little chances of gaining the Presidency. Yet, in the most ungrateful of manner, the PNC/R began effectively dismantling Coalition politics after it got power.

The PNC/R totally overwhelmed and dominated its other political p a r t i e s . T h e W PA

complained early of being side-lined from decision making and about the failure of APNU to meet regularly.

The AFC became the lackeys of the APNU. It showed no grit or fight against PNC/R domination of the government.

The ingratitude of the PNC/R was put on public display by the manner in which the PNC/R treated Dr. Rupert Roopnarine. He was removed as Minister of Education and given a token office within the Public Service Ministry. Yet this was the very man who was the architect of 'Big Tent' politics, the very model which helped the PNC/R assume office in 2015.

The AFC was never going to obtain the Prime Ministerial seat if the Coalition had won the 2020 elections. Khemraj Ramjattan was going to be soundly disappointed because his expectation of becoming Prime Minister would have shattered. It is believed that the PNC/R had long decided that it should hold both the Prime Ministerial and Presidential slots.

The new Cummingsburg Accord has never been made public. But it is believed that the AFC was forced to accept a lower share of parliamentary seats and to agree to bypass the right to assume the Presidency should anything happen to the incumbent PNC/R President.

Even though, the PNC/R has been booted from government, it has never shelved its domineering manner. So contemptuous was the PNC/R of smaller parties that there were reportedly discussions in its Central Committee for the PNC/R to scuttle the acceptance of cardboard parties into the APNU. But perhaps the greatest sin which the PNC/R committed was the controversial signing of the Production Sharing Agreement. The APNU+AFC was in the strongest position it could have been to demand a fair

deal. The oil companies had to negotiate a new agreement because the oil companies needed a production licence.

Just what happened and behind whose backs the oil agreement was signed is not yet clear. But in due course the chickens will come home to roost. The truth will be exposed. Those who were involved in the grand betrayal of Guyana will be made known.

History repeated itself between 2015 and 2020. In

1968, Burnham ditched the very man who had brought him to power: Peter D ' A g u i a r.

In 1966, Burnham signed away Guyana's future with the Geneva Agreement.

Guyana's future was again signed away in 2016 with the Production Sharing Agreement. In 1968, Burnham rigged the elections and the PNC continued the practice right through to 1985. Rigging came back in 2020 after 35

years.

The PNC/R cannot be redeemed. It is now discredited in the eyes of the international community and in the faces of the majority of Guyanese.

The PNC/R cannot be reformed. Those who are challenging for leadership in the hope of changing the course of the party are wasting their time. They should read CLR James's “Beyond a Boundary” to understand the nature of

middle class political parties and how difficult it will be for them to topple the existing leadership.

But it matters not who leads the PNC/R. Its past will haunt it for all eternity.

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

Kaieteur News

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Sunday August 22, 2021

At the OAS, CARICOM outlines help to Haiti, calls on international institutions to turn words to action Antigua and Barbuda's Ambassador, Sir Ronald Sanders.

(CARICOM)

T

he Caribbean C o m m u n i t y (CARICOM) says “there is an urgent need for the entire global community to respond swiftly and meaningfully to the dire situation of the Haitian people within a framework of transparency and accountability.”

This observation was made Friday at the Organization of

American States (OAS) in Washington, DC, at a meeting of the Permanent Council of the organisation.

Speaking on behalf of the CARICOM Group at the OAS, Antigua and Barbuda's Ambassador, Sir Ronald Sanders, said: “We in CARICOM, urge international development and finance institutions and governments to help to the fullest

extent of their capabilities, making sure that assistance is provided to the needy and vulnerable in a fair and equitable manner.”

Sir Ronald, who is also the Chair of the CARICOM group at the OAS, spoke after the members of the Council had heard from the Prime Minister of Haiti, Ariel Henry, an account of conditions following an earthquake on August 14 that killed almost 2,000 people, injured 10,000 and left about 40,000 homeless.

Speaking for the CARICOM countries, Ambassador Sanders said: “We are greatly troubled that the misery caused by this disaster was intensified by tropical storm, Grace, which generated widespread flooding and landslides.

When this double calamity occurred over the last few days in Haiti, the country was already confronting a humanitarian crisis, including a grave strain on its medical facilities that were overwhelmed by several essential

demands, including coping with the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The Antigua and Barbuda diplomat outlined steps that CARICOM has already taken to aid Haiti.

He disclosed that the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) agreed to pay out $40 million to Haiti with the first installment of $15 million being paid to the government early next week, and the remaining $25 million being delivered within the next 14-days.

He also stated that “it is significant that this current payment to Haiti represents the largest one-time payment from CCRIF to date.

It should also be noted that, since its inception in 2007, CCRIF has made five payments to Haiti, in the sum of $78.3 million or 32 percent – the largest single portion of the benefits paid out to its 22 subscribing states.”

Ambassador Sanders revealed that the Caribbean Development Bank has given support to Haiti by

paying, in whole or in part, Haiti's insurance premiums for earthquakes, tropical cyclones, and excessive precipitation.

The OAS Permanent Council was also informed that the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) is deploying a team to provide operational support to the National Emergency Operations Centre in Port-Au-Prince, and that several organs of CDEMA are alert and activated, awaiting indications from Haitian authorities that they are ready to receive teams of specialist relief groups.

Concluding that “CARICOM is doing all in its power with its limited resources to respond to the crucial emergency needs of the Haitian people,” Ambassador Sanders called on the international development and financial banks and wealthy governments “to turn words to action.” “The Haitian people,” he said “have suffered enough.”

(Embassy of Antigua and Barbuda, Washington, DC)

Sunday August 22, 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 EXXON CONTRACT… LOOPHOLE ALLOWS BILLIONS TO BE WITHHELD FROM GUYANATO PAY OIL COSTSSANZILLO The Guyana Government failed to protect itself from front-loaded costs in its oil and gas contract signed with ExxonMobil and its partners and as such, receipt of hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars due to Guyana will be held back well into the 2030s.

The position has since been espoused in a recent report on Guyanas oil and gas sectors economics, done by the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).

The IEEFA in his report noted that given the provisions in the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) signed with ExxonMobil, “over the next five years, revenues from Guyanas newly discovered oil reserves being developed by an ExxonMobil-led development team will not be enough to cover Guyanas budget deficit, support new spending and build its wealth.

Over the longer term, a declining oil and gas sector is highly unlikely to provide Guyana with the robust revenues promised.”

In fact, the IEEFA director in his analysis drew reference to the fact that the International Monetary Fund has issued a warning and IHS Markit, a global oil and gas services company, has concluded that Guyana is receiving a below-average take from the contract.

According to Sanzillo, “the government of Guyana gave away important protections when it agreed in the contract to postpone payments of its profits to encourage more exploration of oil.”

He pointed specifically to the fact “it failed to include a ring-fencing provision” and explained that “in effect, the lack of such a provision means the contractor is able to charge Guyana for the cost of new wells before they start producing oil.”

To this end, Sanzillo concludes, “it is unlikely that Guyana would receive annual payments in the $6 billion range until well into the 2030s,

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Kaieteur News

if at all.”

He asserts the “the contract is front-loaded, which means the contractors receive more than Guyana in the early years of the contract.”

According to Sanzillo, “the absence of ring-fencing provisions acts as a subsidy.

The cost of exploration for new sites is paid by reducing the annual profit to Guyana.”

As such, he was adamant the costs of new discoveries and dry holes should be made public.

The IEEFA director noted in his report that the absence of ring-fencing could be a legitimate incentive to encourage more exploration for the contractor and that “the ring fence provision is just another benefit for the contractor without a clear, transparent benefit for Guyana.”

According to the analyst, “taken alone, the absence of a ring fence front loads the contract with expenses that must be paid before Guyana enjoys an abundant revenue flow.”

It was noted too that declining oil and gas markets significantly increase the risk that in the long run, Guyanas oil fields will not produce the revenues promised.

Recoverable costs, as defined by Sanzillo in his report, include 100 percent of all exploration and development costs, precontract costs, operating expenses, estimated cost of future abandonment, interest and parent company expenses.

He notes that since recoverable costs include 100 percent of all development costs (initially $33 billion over the first five years), the project carries a substantial balance that accrues to the contractor through at least 2028.

According to Sanzillo, the substantial balance of outstanding development costs could take even longer to satisfy since new investments, precontract costs, operational delays and volatile oil prices can disrupt financial plans.

He has since concluded that repayment of the development and other recoverable costs diminishes the size of Guyanas annual cash receipts from profit oil. As a result, lower cash payments “delay the countrys ability to benefit from the expected full annual revenue.”

GUYANA LOSES US$1M DAILY IN RENTAL FOR 24 SUPPLY BOATS FOR EXXON …PAYS US$43,000 MORE PER BOAT, PER DAY THAN SURINAME, T&T Guyana in 2016 inked a

Production Sharing Agreement with Esso Exploration Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) and their partners Hess Guyana Corporation and China National Offshore Oil Company.

Under that agreement, the operator EEPGLcommonly referred to as ExxonMobil Guyanais allowed to recover up 100 percent of its exploration and other costs by deducting proceeds up to 75 percent of the production from the Stabroek Block.

This publication recently reported that among the support services being utilised

by ExxonMobil Guyana relate to the rental of up to 24 supply boats.

Research by Kaieteur News has since unearthed that when it comes to the prices being charged and recovered by ExxonMobil, the country is in fact losing out on in excess of US$1M daily on the supply of this single service for the operations in the Stabroek Block.

Guyana currently pays in the vicinity of US$55,000 per day for the rental of these vessels.

As such, it would mean that the cost of renting each of these vessels amounts to just under US$20M. Multiplied by 24, it would mean Guyana pays almost US$480M annually for the rental of these boats.

Neighbouring Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago are also engaged in offshore oil and gas activities that require such supply vessels.

Their costs on the other hand are markedly lower than that being paid by Guyana.

Those countries pay in the vicinity of US$12,000 per day for use of those vessels.

As such, it would mean that the cost for renting each vessel annually amounts to some US$4.3M annually, a whopping US$15.6M less than what Guyana pays for each vessel.

In contrast, Guyana in first full year of production

saw the country earning some US$267M which means Guyana has lost more money on a single support service than it has earned in revenue.

The matter of bills being paid in relation to exploration and other expenses out of cost oil was recently flagged by the International watchdog bodythe Natural Resources Governance Institute (NRGI)as an area for which Guyana must pay keen attention given the prevalence of corruption found in contracts between suppliers and International Oil Companies.

In fact, according to NRGI research and analysis conducted on this matter, “found that 64 percent of petroleum projects reviewed in over 40 countries was over budget due to incidents of corruption.”

One area that saw such high cost overruns was exploration costs, said NRGI. To this end, the international body has since pointed out that exploration costs for Guyana pre-2020 are estimated to be US$4.58B based on estimates provided by Rystad Energy, a Norwegian Consultancy.

Given what it has observed from its research, NRGI, which is headquartered in the USA, advised that Guyana should check these costs, which were racked up with suppliers to ensure they are correct.

MONDAY OVER 25 AFRICAN STATES FAILTO REAP FULL BENEFITS FROM OILAND OTHER NATURALRESOURCES GUYANA, OTHER EMERGING PRODUCERS SHOULD TAKE NOTE NRGI Guyana and other emerging oil producers are being urged to pay rapt attention to a recent analysis that was

conducted by the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI).

That analysis revealed that 26 of 28 sub-Saharan African countries failed to reap the benefits from their natural resources. The NRGI report attributes this failure to an “implementation gap” between the laws that govern the extractive industries and the practices in reality.

Specifically, Silas Olan’g, Africa’s Co-Director for the Natural Resource Governance Institute, said that if countries in sub-Saharan Africa closed the ‘implementation gap’ and fully implemented their own laws, they could generate greater income from natural resources. ”They could also better combat the negative human and environmental impacts of extraction,” said Olan’g.

The NRGI Co-Director said that Africa is abundant in natural resources and is home to 30 percent of the world’s oil, gas and mineral reserves. He said that more than half of the exports of many countries in sub-Saharan Africa come from natural resources and as much as 90 percent in the most oil-dependent countries.

He also noted that mineral reserves represent a large share of Government revenues across the region and have the potential to become even more important in countries with recent discoveries, such as oil and gas in Tanzania and Uganda, and large reserves of strategic minerals such as cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The official stated, however, that the biggest implementation challenges faced by resource-rich societies in sub-Saharan Africa are fulfilling the legal requirements to transfer revenues collected from oil, gas and mining to local authorities, and publicly disclosing information on social and environmental impacts. Olan’g said that half of

the 28 countries studied do not disclose environmental and social impact assessments, even though this is a legal requirement in many countries. ”Trust in Government and companies erode when legal reform is not followed and citizens are left in the dark. Closing the ‘implementation gap’ is in everyone’s interests because ultimately, it enables countries to reap the benefits that their mineral wealth should offer,” said Olan’g.

The official continued, “…Sub-Saharan Africa lags behind other parts of the world in governing stateowned mining and oil companies and natural resource funds, which manage billions of dollars of resource revenues in countries like Angola, Gabon and Nigeria. ”Governments tend not to respect rules for managing assets held in natural resource funds and for disclosing conflicts of interest, particularly where corruption is poorly controlled—a reality in most of the countries surveyed.”

Olan’g added, “Building capacity and allowing space for independent oversight is critical for holding government institutions accountable in resource-rich countries.

Official audit bodies and nonstate actors like the media play an important role here.”

The NRGI official said that the foregoing situation serves to illustrate that legal reforms can make headlines but it is the implementation that will ultimately deliver benefits to citizens.

TUESDAY EXXON DECIDES WHEN AND HOW MUCH OIL MONEYGUYANAGETS ...COUNTRY IN NEED OF CORRECTIVEACTION PLAN - SANZILLO The Production Sharing (Continued on page 26)

PAGE 26

From page 25 Agreement (PSA) that was signed in 2016 between the Guyana Government and Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL)ExxonMobil Guyanahas seen the country ceding control over how much revenue it will receive, and over the scope and pace of future development.

These are among the findings of the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysiss (IEEFA) Director, Tom Sanzillo, who in a recent report noted that the lack of a ring-fencing provision substantially slows the pace of revenue that will flow to Guyana and that there is need for “a corrective action plan that is more equitable that would serve the interests of both parties in the long run.”

He noted in his report that the lack of a ring-fencing provision could be considered a legitimate incentive to encourage the contractor to continue exploration efforts even while it drills and produces oil at existing fields.

Currently, the Liza Phase of the plan is producing oil, and various other exploratory efforts are under way.

According to Sanzillo “the lack of the ring-fencing provision provides certainty for the contractor as it continues to explore for new discoveries.”

Governments, he noted, typically utilise ring-fencing provisions to prevent oil companies from using losses incurred on one site from sheltering the profits from other, more lucrative investments.

He cited as example, “by setting up one company for one field as the taxable entity, the revenue and expenses from the one site creates a clearly defined universe of profits and loss.”

As such, losses experienced at other locations would not be used to decrease profits from a productive oil field.

Sanzillo in his report documents however that “unfortunately, Guyana has granted the contractor a blank check with regard to future development. The result is that the contractor has a powerful incentive to continue to add costs to the project. The net effect is to push back the point at which Guyana maximises its cash benefit.”

To this end, Sanzillo noted that the Guyana Government failed to protect itself from front-loaded costs in its oil and gas contract signed with ExxonMobil and its partners and as such, receipt of hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars due to Guyana will be held back well into the 2030s.

Sanzillo in his report

Sunday August 22, 2021

Kaieteur News

noted that given the provisions in the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) signed with ExxonMobil, “over the next five years, revenues from Guyanas newly discovered oil reserves being developed by an ExxonMobil-led development team will not be enough to cover Guyanas budget deficit, support new spending and build its wealth. Over the longer term, a declining oil and gas sector is highly unlikely to provide Guyana with the robust revenues promised.”

In fact, the IEEFA director in his analysis drew reference to the fact that the International Monetary Fund has issued a warning and IHS Markit, a global oil and gas services company, has concluded that Guyana is receiving a belowaverage take from the cont r a c t .

According to Sanzillo, “the Government of Guyana gave away important protections when it agreed in the contract to postpone payments of its profits to encourage more exploration of oil.”

He pointed specifically to the fact “it failed to include a ringfencing provision” and explained that “in effect, the lack of such a provision means the contractor is able to charge Guyana for the cost of new wells before they start producing oil.”

To this end, Sanzillo concludes, “it is unlikely that Guyana would receive annual payments in the $6 billion range until well into the 2030s, if at all.”

He asserts the “the contract is front-loaded, which means the contractors receive more than Guyana in the early years of the contract.”

GUYANAFINALLY PUTS LOCALS TO MONITOR OIL PRODUCTION Guyana as a nation is finally putting locals in place to monitor oil production from the Liza Destiny, Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel in the Stabroek Block.

At least this is according to the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS), the National Metrology Institution with legislative responsibilities for ensuring the accuracy of weighing and measuring devices in all sectors of the economy.

According to the GNBS, there are currently nine inspectors in its Oil and Gas Department and this number will increase as the FPSO vessels offshore are added to meet the demand for oil production.

The GNBS Oil and Gas Department was established earlier this year. According to the GNBS, “inspectors in this department are respon-

sible for monitoring the custody transfer of Guyanas crude from the FPSO vessel offshore.”

According to the GNBS, inspectors “are tasked with ensuring the measuring instruments used in the transfer and testing of the crude are calibrated and accurate, since inaccurate measurements can affect payments for the commodity.”

GNBS noted that in order to adequately perform their duties offshore, inspectors were required to undergo stringent training locally and overseas.

It was noted too that through support of the Guyana Petroleum Resources Governance and Management Project, GNBS “has benefited from the training of several inspectors to enable them to competently witness the proving/verification of the custody transfer meters used on FPSO vessel.”

Two of those trainings are the Tropical Helicopter Under water escape Training (THUET) and Compressed Air Emergency Breathing System (CA-EBS).

According to the GNBS, “these trainings are important since majority of their journey to the FPSO vessel is over the Atlantic Ocean. The T-HUET programme focuses on escaping from a helicopter following ditching and sea survival techniques while CA-EBS is a training on how to use the Compressed Air Emergency Breathing System.”

Additionally, Oil and Gas Inspectors last month completed an advanced Petroleum Measurement Course offered by the University of Texas at Austin, Petroleum Extension (PETEX) that was customised specifically for the GNBS. With accumulated trainings and experience in the verification of measuring instruments, inspectors are required to spend 28-32 days offshore on a rotation basis demonstrating their competency.

According to the GNBS, while offshore, inspectors verify the custody transfer meters and pressure gauges during the transfer of crude from the FPSO to the various oil tankers; they inspect storage tanks before and after every transfer, and witness the composite sampling and testing of crude oil to determine the API gravity, density, salt content, H2S (Hydrogen Sulphide) and the amount of sediment and water in the crude. This by extension determines the net volume transferred to the cargo tanker.

Moving forward, the GNBS Oil and Gas Department is expected to increase its human resources and other capacity to serve on the other FPSO vessels. “It will also be developing its capacity in gas measurement in the near future, as the Government pursues the gas to shore project.”

Further, GNBS said it is looking to formalise collaboration with the American Petroleum Institute (API), which would facilitate access to training and standards to be adopted for use in verification and metering.

WEDNESDAY INTL EXPERT FINDS NO EVIDENCE THAT EXXON CAN PREVENTANOTHER MACONDO DISASTER AT LIZA 1 PROJECT - SAYS COMPANY OFFERINGGUYANA SUPERFICIAL SAFETY PLANS Contrary to what ExxonMobil, as well as the PPP/C Government, have been saying about the safety of operations 120 miles offshore, an international disaster expert says there is no evidence to suggest that Guyana has enough protective measures in place to contain a well blow out or a catastrophic oil spill at the Liza Phase One Project.

What is equally frightening to contemplate is the fact

that the expert has found no evidence to suggest that ExxonMobil is doing enough to avoid a disaster that would replicate the dreaded Macondo tragedy, which saw a well blow out in 2010 that took the lives of 11 men aboard the Deepwater Horizon Rig in the Gulf of Mexico.

Making these revelations was Petroleum engineer, Robert Bea, one of the industrys masters in studying safety and disasters. In a special report that was released by The Guardian Tuesday, Bea said his conclusions were made after examining ExxonMobils 500-page Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Liza Project. Bea noted in his interview with The Guardian that the ExxonMobil document states: “Unplanned events, such as a large oil spill, are considered unlikely to occur because of the extensive preventative measures employed.”

Bea noted however that he is all too familiar with this type of jargon as he noted that it is similar to what British Petroleum said before there was the Macondo disaster.

He said BPs original plans for the Macondo well stated, it is “unlikely that an accidental surface or subsurface oil spill would occur from the proposed activities.” Asked if such contentions are “typical” in offshore drilling, the Petroleum engineer told The Guardian, “absolutely not!”

Rather, he says, they reveal “ignorance of risk management fundamentals.”

Beas conclusion was treated with the highest regard since he worked for Shell Oil before becoming one of the worlds premier safety and disaster investigators and served as a principal investigator on the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, the Piper Alpha offshore oil disaster that killed 167 men in the North Sea, the Exxon Valdez grounding and the crash of the Nasa Columbia space shuttle.

Given his extensive

knowledge and his analysis of more than 1,000 pages of submissions by Exxon, as well as government permits for the Liza One Project, Bea concluded: “We could have a problem similar to what we had with BP before and after the Macondo disaster.”

Significantly, he said he found no evidence of the necessary planning and operations needed to “assess and manage the risks associated with high risk offshore exploration, production, and transportation operations.” The industry expert said Exxon is instead offering superficial safety plans based on unsubstantiated claims of its capabilities in Guyana that fail to take account of the highly hazardous risks associated with its operations, he said.

The international expert said, “There are loose ends, assumptions, and premises that are not substantiated in Exxons plans. And the more of these threads that you tug at, the more concerned you become that whats being done here is superficial.”

In particular, Bea told the Guardian that he is worried about a loss of well control, or blowout which could cause a catastrophic oil spill.

In this regard, he finds that Exxon has not kept the risks of such events as low as “reasonably practicable,” based on the documents he reviewed.

Furthermore, Bea cited numerous problems with Exxons plans. One key aspect he pointed out is that ExxonMobil claims if a blowout occurs in Guyana, it would be contained within 21 to 30 days. However, Bea unequivocally stated that this estimate is “far too optimistic, unsubstantiated and improbable.”

The Guardian was keen to note that Exxon did not respond to the specific claims made by Bea, and other persons it referenced in the article. Exxon did note however that it has adhered to (Continued on page 27)

Sunday August 22, 2021

From page 26 Guyanese laws and instituted “robust compliance assurance systems that enable identification and timely reporting of operational issues with the Environmental Protection Agency and Ministry of Natural Resources’ of Guyana. It said too that the Guyana government did not respond to requests for comment.

COALITION WAS MISLED BY EXXON NEGOTIATOR WITH US$18M GIFT IN 2016 FORMER FINANCE MINISTER … OIL CO. DEMANDED MONEY PLACED IN SPECIAL ACCOUNT TO TRACK SPENDING Former Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, has doubled down on his previously expressed public position, that the US$18M had from ExxonMobil Guyana in 2016, when his administration inked a Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) was a gift and not a signing bonus, and that the administration was in fact misled by the negotiator.

While refusing to divulge the name of the individual that would appear to have been the interlocutor between ExxonMobil and the Guyana Government, Jordanduring a Plain Talk discussion with moderator Christopher Ramwas quick to point out that the monies were being represented by the negotiator as being given by Exxon for a specific purpose.

According to the then Finance Minister, US$15M of that money was earmarked for the border case between Guyana and Venezuela, and the remaining US$3M was to be set aside for petroleum-related raining.

Recalling his already public position, Minister Jordan was adamant, “I said though the signing bonus was a gift, if it were a signing bonus, there is no way Exxon can tell me how to spend my money.”

According to Jordan, “when the individual who apparently negotiated this, look am not going to call it bonus yet, this number, he represented it as monies being given by Exxon for the specific purposes of the border and training in petroleum activities.”

To this end, the former Finance Minister doubled down on his position “I thought ExxonMobil was giving money in the same way that CGX gave money in relation to the Suriname issue.”

Jordan was at the time referencing the costly international arbitration over the maritime border with Guyanas eastern neighbour, Surinamea legal venture that was paid for

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by the Canadian based oil exploration company, CGX. Pressed on why he as Finance Minister was out of the loop and as such, did not know the details of the financial negotiations, Jordan told the moderator “because it was being represented by the individual, and he was adamant that this money was specifically for border and training.”

Jordan told the moderation that the un-named negotiator was adamant that this money was specifically for border and training, and that the money be placed in a special account since ExxonMobil wanted to be able to see the movement of the money, and how it was being spent. “Now that this is in the open we can suggest that we never got a signing bonus,” said an adamant, Jordan, but was quick to point out “I am not saying the individual lied or anything, but if he fairly represented what Exxon wanted, then we did not get a signing bonus.”

Under article 33 of the PSA inked, it is agreed that the Contractor in this case ExxonMobil, “shall pay the government a signature bonus of US$18M.” Additionally, the article stipulates such payment would be made to the Bank of Guyana, and that ExxonMobil would verify the accounts with the Minister providing any documentation and assis-

tance required in verifying same.

The receipt of the monies from ExxonMobil had attracted a heated public debate forcing Jordan at the close of the 2018 budget debate, to deny lying about the signing bonus from ExxonMobil, while saying, that he hadnt been asked precise questions. Jordan had initially denied that the country had received a US$20M signing bonus, and when the money was confirmed had defended his denial saying, that he was not asked about the specific figure of US$18M. Meanwhile as it relates to the contract generally, the former Minister used the occasion to point out that at the same time, pressure was being mounted on Guyana by the US Government, and pointed to Guyanas voting record, as example when it came to international votes on Venezuela.

This he said, was not looked at too keenly, “so there were issues there among many others, because even on the oil part we had some issues which I dont want to discuss, but there were some issues we were putting to Exxon.”

Ensuring to stay clear of not saying things “that maybe he (President David Granger) just wanted kept under wraps, and so because while we could not renegoti-

ate the contract in the context of sanctity of contract and all these things.”

He was adamant however, despite the inability to renegotiate the contract with ExxonMobil efforts were being made “to bring greater benefits and I know that for sure, efforts were being made to bring greater benefits to Guyana.”

Pressed on the matter, since the Coalition, according to Jordan, had qualms with the PSA, the former Finance Minister told Ram that the incoming Irfaan Ali led administration did not express any interest in continuity during the transition of power following the swearing-in on August 2 last.

“I dont even know if any information was shared,” he said, and recalled an approach was made on the part of the coalition, “to establish this transition team but it wasnt taken up.”

Speaking bluntly, the former Finance Minister said, “the way how it happen August the 2nd came, it was a Sunday, you hear the swearing in and everybody had to rush and clean out their office; it happen in such a way that the people (incoming administration) didnt express any interest in having to deal with the Coalition afterwards.”

GUYANA OWES EXXONMOBIL ANNUALLY MORE THAN WHAT IT EARNS …AS ONGOING EXPLORATION DRIVES UP RECOVERABLE COSTS SANZILLO ExxonMobil Guyana is currently producing oil from the Stabroek Block but with exploration costs being 100 percent recoverable in addition to other categories of spending, it means that the oil companys annual take currently far exceeds the total revenues to be had annually.

The remaining unrecovered balance is carried over each year. It is generally assumed that as each year passes. This according to Director of the Institute for Energy Economic and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), Tom Sanzillo, who in a recent report reviewing Guyanas future earnings from its offshore oil production laments that the total recoverable costs are currently far in excess of annual gross revenue from production.

A portion of gross revenue goes to retire development costs in addition to paying for operations and profit.

Compounding the situation, it was noted by Sanzillo that while the current development costs can be recovered by 2028, the contractor has

announced on a fairly regular basis that it has made new discoveries.

As such, “how the cost of these discoveries is factored into the overall project accounting is not publicly available, but Guyana will need to approve these costs for reimbursement.”

At the point when all of these costs are satisfied, Guyanas gross profit oil is equal to 50 percent of gross revenue after expenses.

Based on currently available public information, the IEEFA Director noted that if oil is $50/barrel on average, Guyanas take could rise to US$6.1 billion annually by 2028. “This is an increase of significant proportions when compared to the first 15 months of production, which have generated $344.1 million for the country. It is at this pointwhen all development costs are satisfiedthat the project could produce sufficient revenue so Guyana could begin to close its deficit, reduce debt, increase spending and invest in a sovereign wealth fund.”

It was noted however that the actual development plan for the Stabroek Block is to make more investments, “in fact, additional costs are already being incurred for more exploration.”

To this end, Sanzillo observed, “these additional development costs will be added to the total development costs and push back the date when the country will receive payments in the $6 billion per year range.”

According to Sanzillo, robust annual revenue payments to Guyana will be delayed as additional development costs are added to the cumulative unrecovered balance and that “the actual number of years until Guyana receives more robust profit oil payments is uncertain. For Guyana, actual total development costs are unknown.”

According to Sanzillo, 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 agreed-upon, publicly available oil price projectionsa key factor in estimating the rate and level of cost recovery.

THURSDAY JAGDEO-LED OIL TEAM DITCHES PETROLEUM TALKS WITH SURINAMESE PRESIDENT …OPTS TO INSTEAD ATTEND EXXONMOBIL FUNDED CONFERENCE IN TEXAS Surinamese President, Chandrikapersad Santokhi, is

currently in Guyana for a four-day State visit, leading a high level delegation which has high on the agenda lending support to the development of this nations nascent oil industry.

Their Guyanese counterparts however, are not in Guyana but are in fact in Texas, USA, attending an Offshore Technology Conference.

That conference is sponsored in part by ExxonMobil which is headquartered in Texas, USA. Accompanying the Surinamese President is that countrys Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Business and International Cooperation, Ambassador Albert Ramdin.

For Guyanas part, its Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Relations, Hugh Todd, is in Texas.

President Santokhi has walked with his Minister of Natural Resources, David Abiamofo, for the high level talks in Guyana but the Guyanese counterpart, Minister Vickram Bharrat, is also in Texas, USA. Minister of Public Works, Riad Nurmohamed, is also in Guyana while one of his counterparts remains in Texas a situation that has since attracted the attention of onlookers both in Guyana and Suriname.

One official told this publications that meetings of these nature do not just happen overnight and that they are planned ahead of time. As such, it can only be seen as a snub on the part of the Guyanese, in their dealings with the Surinamese delegation since while high on the agenda, the key local figures are in Texas for the Exxon sponsored conference while their Surinamese counterparts are in Guyana to speak on the subject.

The Guyana delegation in Texas is being led by Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo the man ultimately in charge of the domestic oil industryand is joined by other key domestic players including Winston Brassington, the head of the Gas-to-Shore Working Committee; key petroleum advisor, Bobby Gossai Jnr and Guyana Office for Investments (GO-Invest) Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Peter Ramsaroop, among others.

The Guyana delegation also include key private sector umbrella body representatives and business groups while representatives of Surinames national oil company, Staatsolie, and members from the Surinamese private sector are in Guyana for the high level talks.

Others from the Guyana (Continued on page 28)

PAGE 28

From page 27 delegation in Texas include representatives from AmCham, GCCI, PSC, GM&SA and private businesses GUYSONS-GKB, GAICO, Mid Atlantic Oil and Gas, GOGEC, GYSBI, GTT, ExxonMobil Guyana and Halliburton.

A Guyana Evening of Information Sharing and Networking event was held last evening at the Asia Society Texas Centre that featured presentations by Vice President Jagdeo, Minister of Natural Resources, Exxon Rep., US Ambassador to Guyana and the CEO of GO-Invest to headline the event.

The Guyana Evening was an unpaid invitation-only event.

Approximately 400 representatives from various international and local companies were expected to attend to meet with the Guyanese Delegation.

Meanwhile in Guyana, the visiting Surinamese delegation, which includes that countrys Minister of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries, Parmanand Sewdien, and Minister of Transport, Communication and Tourism, Albert Jubithana, are scheduled to hold a number of meetings with among others, Head of State, President Irfaan Ali. EXXONS CONTRACT WILL NOT CHANGE …AS JAGDEO REPEATS ANY NEW TERMS, CONDITIONS ONLY FOR OTHER OIL BLOCKS Consecutive administrations, since the release of the now heavily criticised Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) inked with ExxonMobil and other operators in Guyana, have been publicly committing to having the documents template revised in order to secure better deals for the country in the future.

To this end, Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo, has now committed to having the revised PSA template be made available in as little as six months, one that will be tougher than the one negotiated with the Exxon consortium.

Jagdeo gave his views on the sidelines of the ongoing Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) 2021, which is underway in Houston, Texas, USA, where he is leading a Guyanese delegation.

According to the Vice President, Guyanas aim is to increase its oil royalties and revamp other contract terms as part of a PSA regime for future crude and gas projects now in its draft stage.

“We have made it clear that in any new PSA we negotiate for those blocks, the

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Kaieteur News

conditions will be very, very different than the ones from the Stabroek Block,” Jagdeo said, including higher royalties and mechanisms for deducting costs from investment.

The Vice President during a special presentation on Tuesday last had said “all the deficiencies of this contract will be addressed.”

In his conference presentation, Jagdeo pushed back against critics as being, “totally unfair … because the world is going to continue to use fossil fuels in the future,” and Guyana should be allowed to benefit from this demand.

ExxonMobil for its part is on record publicly stating that “The terms of the contracts are competitive with other agreements signed in countries at a similar resource development phase. Our work and the support of the Government of Guyana are the basis of a long-term mutuallybeneficial relationship that has already created significant value for the people of Guyana.

“These resources are being brought on line at a record-pace for the industry, resulting in significant cost savings for the government and its industry partners as multiple developments are being processed,” according to Exxon.

According to the Vice President however, the rising oil industry in Guyana will see the implementation of financial and capital discipline; so that the proceeds from the oil producing projects are invested in non-oil economy.

“That will give us sustainability in the long run.

We will see growth in agriculture, the tourism sector, and overall Guyanas economy expansion.”

The lopsided arrangement with regards Guyanas PSA with ExxonMobil and its partners that govern the dealings with spending and recovery and profit sharing from the Stabroek Block, has been heavily criticised by numerous international experts and watchdog bodies.

Only recently the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) released a report where it lamented the fact that ExxonMobil and partners initially reap 85 percent of the total take and pointed to the absence of ring fencing provisions and its impact on the countrys future earnings.

In fact, the IEEFAs Director of Financial Analysis, Tom Sanzillo, in the report notes that with exploration costs being 100 percent recoverable in addition to other categories of spending, it means that the oil companys annual take cur-

rently far exceeds the total revenues to be had annually.

The remaining unrecovered balance is carried over each year. It is generally assumed that as each year passes, the unrecovered amount is reduced.

Sanzillo, in his recent report reviewing Guyanas future earnings from its offshore oil production, laments however that the total recoverable costs are currently far in excess of annual gross revenue from production.

A portion of gross revenue goes to retire development costs in addition to paying for operations and profit. Compounding the situation, it was noted by Sanzillo that while the current development costs can be recovered by 2028, the contractor has announced on a fairly regular basis that it has made new d i s c o v e r i e s .

As such, “how the cost of these discoveries is factored into the overall project accounting is not publicly available, but Guyana will need to approve these costs for reimb u r s e m e n t . ” It was noted however, that the actual development plan for the Stabroek Block is to make more investments, “in fact, additional costs are already being incurred for more explor a t i o n . ” To this end, Sanzillo observed, “these additional development costs will be added to the total development costs and push back the date when the country will receive payments in the $6 billion per year range.”

According to Sanzillo, robust annual revenue payments to Guyana will be delayed as additional development costs are added to the cumulative unrecovered balance and that

“the actual number of years until Guyana receives more robust profit oil payments is uncertain. For Guyana, actual total development costs are unknown.”

FRIDAY PRES. ALI DEFENDS OIL RUSH DESPITE INTL CALL TO END FOSSIL FUELEXPLOITATION If nations fail to take immediate action to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the International Energy Agency and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have warned that there would be a catastrophic rise in annual floods, droughts, wildfires, tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes and other natural disasters.

It is for this reason that both global bodies increased their calls in recent times for there to be no new fossil fuel exploitation and development activities. While some countries have pledged to do this to some degree, it appears that Guyana would not be doing it at all.

According to President, Irfaan Ali, Guyana is not only unmatched when it comes to its environmental record, but is not a contributor to the climate crisis that faces the world today. In Alis eyes, his government has given a commitment to ensure the prosperity of all Guyanese through the sustainable development of the nations God-given resources, and this is what he intends to do.

The President made this position known during a joint press conference that was held Thursday at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre

(ACCC) alongside the Head of State of Suriname, Chandrikapersad Santokhi.

There, Kaieteur News reminded Ali and Santokhi that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently released the first part of its report that stems from an ongoing assessment on the effects of human activity on climate change.

Following the release of the document, United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, said there must be a swift shift to renewable energy. Guterres said his word of caution against further oil and gas development must be heeded since the internationally agreed threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius is “perilously close.” He had said, “We are at imminent risk of hitting 1.5 degrees in the near term. The only way to prevent exceeding this threshold is by urgently stepping up our efforts, and pursuing the most ambitious path…We are already at 1.2 degrees and rising.”

United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres had said too that the report sounds a death kneel for the fossil fuel industry and a code red for humanity. It was in this vein that Kaieteur News asked both presidents if they are framing their fossil fuel industries with the findings of this report in mind.

In response, President Ali said, “You and I know there is a gap as to when the (climate change) targets can be realised. We also know that there were many targets, which were set for Climate Change, and…there was also money that the developed world had set aside for climate change and we are still waiting for it. There is now a

new pledge for new money.”

“So there are issues with climate change which are global but our credentials on the environment outmatch anyone. We can say that in a net way, we are a positive story on the environment side.”

With the foregoing perspective in mind, Ali said Guyana has made several discoveries offshore, which if monetised, can be critical in realising the economic transformation of the country. He said the oil money can be used to create the fiscal space that is needed to ensure the countrys food programme can develop in a competitive way to meet regional and international demands. He also noted that the revenues can be used to enhance the countrys tourism image as well as improve services across sectors.

On this premise, Ali said his government has a clearcut development agenda while adding that it has respect for international targets and best practices on the environment. He stressed however that Guyana is not a contributor to the climate disaster the country and its regional counterparts are made to face. He pointed out as well that there are no mechanisms for countries such as Guyana and those in the Caribbean to tap into so as to mitigate the effects of climate change.

ABOUT IPCC & ITS REPORT The IPCC was created in 1988 by the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) to provide policymakers with regular scientific assessments on climate change, its implications (Continued on page 29)

Sunday August 22, 2021

From page 28 and potential future risks, as well as to put forward adaptation and mitigation options.

Through its assessments, the IPCC determines the state of knowledge on climate change. It identifies where there is agreement in the scientific community on topics related to climate change, and where further research is needed. The reports are drafted and reviewed in several stages, thus guaranteeing objectivity and transparency.

The IPCC is now in its sixth assessment cycle. The first report from this process is called Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis.

It was released this week. The report addresses the most upto-date physical understanding of the climate system and climate change, bringing together the latest advances in climate science, and combining multiple lines of evidence from paleoclimate, observations, process understanding, and global and regional climate simulations. A total of 234 scientists from 66 countries are behind the first chapter of the IPCCs sixth assessment report. In addition, over 14,000 scientific papers are referenced in the report.

Some of the key findings of the report are as follows: ” Keeping to 1.5 Degrees Celsius will require “immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions” in emissions while slower action leads to a temperature of 2 Degrees Celsius and more suffering for all life on Earth. ” Drought is increasing in more than 90 percent of regions across the world. ” The past five years have been the hottest on record since 1850. ” The recent rate of sealevel rise has nearly tripled compared with 1901-1971. ” Extreme sea-level events that occurred once a century are projected to occur at least annually. ” Under all the emissions scenarios considered, all targets for reductions will be broken this century unless huge cuts in carbon emissions take place. ” 2,400 billion tonnes of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) have been emitted by humanity since 1850. The world can afford to only leak another 400 billion tonnes to have a 66 percent chance of keeping to 1.5 Degrees Celsius. ” Many changes due to past and future greenhouse gas emissions are irreversible for centuries to millennia, especially changes in the ocean, ice sheets and global sea level. ” Under scenarios with increasing CO2 emissions,

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the ocean and land carbon sinks are projected to be less effective at slowing the accumulation of CO2 in the atmosphere.

SATURDAY IN RUSH TO DISCOVER MORE OIL, GUYANA EXPOSED TO GREAT RISKS INTL EXPERT SAYS COUNTRY MUSTASK ITSELF THESE KEY QUESTIONS: · DO YOU HAVE THE REGULATORYMUSCLE TO MANAGE SCALE OF RESOURCES? · DO YOU HAVE THE LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK TO PROTECT YOUR INTERESTS? · DO YOU HAVE THE CAPACITY TO GET MAXIMUMVALUE FROM THE WHOLE VALUE CHAIN? To date, Guyana has discovered over nine billion barrels of oil equivalent resources in the Stabroek Block.

More significant resources are poised to be unlocked as ExxonMobil continues to drill more holes in the offshore concession.

Complementing its rush to find more crude is its desire to monetise its discoveries just as quickly as possible. In this decade alone, the American oil giant intends to bring into operation, 10 oil ships otherwise called floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSOs) vessels.

But while the rush to find more oil and having several

projects pumping oil as quickly as possible is beneficial for its investors and shareholders, one international expert is cautioning Guyana to consider the risks that lie in going at such a fast pace.

During a recent interview on Kaieteur Radios programme, Guyanas Oil and You, Chatham House Associate Fellow and respected industry expert, Dr. Valerie Marcel, said Guyana ought to consider how capable it is in meeting all the needs that come with developing such massive resources.

In this regard, Dr. Marcel said the new oil producer ought to consider whether it has the regulatory and legislative capacity as well as the skill sets required to really get maximum value from its resources while ensuring it is prudently exploited.

Dr. Marcel said, “I think having a fast pace makes Guyana a very attractive place to invest in, especially for companies like Exxon because they can quickly monetise their assets.

It reduces risks for them.

For countries, it does position them well so that they have high production capacity at a time where there’s still a market for their oil, but it comes with a lot of risks. In terms of, do you have a real capacity to supply and to develop the whole supply chain and give you significant local content in these projects?”

She added, “Also, do you have the institutions with the regulatory muscle to be able to challenge companies and

say, Well, we don’t want flaring and you have to slow it down or we’re going to slow down the review of the field development plans to give us time to really rethink what we’re going to do with the associated gas…And the FDP is a huge document to consider because it has significant implications for the country.”

The experts alluded that a number of questions can be asked in the process that would help Guyana truly understand just how capable it is of dealing with the colossal resources it has found.

She insisted that governments do need to take time to consider all the variables and how they have to be handled so as to maximise benefits to

the country. She stressed that it is very difficult to achieve that when exploration and development are happening at a fast pace.

The Chatham House Associate Fellow said, “It makes sense for Guyana to slow down. This timeline (for development and exploration is) no one elses timeline, not the company’s timeline, it is Guyanas.”

Even though Guyana has been cautioned by several other international experts to slow down its pace of development so that it can have enough time to build its capabilities to manage the sector, the PPP/C Government has proffered a different agenda and mindset. Specifically, Vice President, Dr.

Bharrat Jagdeo, has said that the administration is capable of doing b o t h s i m u l t a neously. He is of the firm conviction that the administration is more than capable of building the competencies on the legislative and regulatory front to manage the sector while ExxonMobil continues its search for oil, especially in the Stabroek Block.

Since assuming office, the administration has been persistent in its efforts to pursue a robust local content policy which it pledged will be backed by a no-nonsense piece of legislation. It has also taken steps to hire the relevant experts for gas commercialisation and contract management.

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Sunday August 22, 2021

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THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

Charrandass Persaud: A Freudian analysis A

gentleman walked across to me as I came out of my car to enter the supermarket.

I understood his frustration but you are what you are.

Although a columnist must write in simple terms, the academic background is always there in what you compose.

This simple fellow, mispronouncing Sigmund Freud's name, much to my invisible amusement, wanted to know what the adjective from Freud's name (Freudian) denotes because as he rightfully claimed, I have used the adjective many times. So what is meant by a Freudian analysis?

I will be brief because I want to devote much space to the things in Charran's mind.

Here is the roughest of definition of what is a Freudian analysis of a human without resorting to Wikipedia or a Google search. In a person's mental structure, there are things that are not on the top of the mind but at the bottom because the person unconsciously puts them there.

Since they exist, a situation arises where circumstances allow the things at the bottom of the mind to come to the surface,

that is, they eventually find expression.

There comes a time when the unconscious section of the mind that Freud referred to as the “ID,” gives off the things that were deeply buried but waiting to be released. I will end with perhaps the simplest of explanations.

It is called the Freudian Slip. John's secretary, Mary, had left the work years ago.

But over those years, John has referred to her replacement, Jane, many times as Mary. It means deep down in John's mind, Mary has a meaning for him.

Charrandass is a typical Berbician and a practicing Hindu. At both of those levels, Charran has inculcated a suspicion of the PNC. At his age of 63 in 2015 when the AFC merged with the PNC, he would have seen what the PNC did to Berbice, Indians and Guyana in general.

The dislike for the PNC he buried in his mind and he let his feelings for the AFC predominate.

He was one of the most prominent names in Berbice and he became a Member of Parliament. Charran settled down to helping the AFC run the country.

Enter Freud. The nature of the APNU+AFC rule

began to unlock the ghosts residing in the subterranean corners of Charran's mind.

First, Charran advised the AFC that there needs to be a deputy Minister of Agriculture.

The AFC informed him that it was the PNC that rejected the idea. This particular incident began to bring alive the Freudian contents.

Secondly, Charran was annoyed that 7,050 sugar workers were retrenched and three horrifying details accompanied that cruelty. As the parliamentary representative for Berbice, he was never told of the sugar estate closures.

Secondly there was nothing put in place to cushion the financial devastation that would visit almost 42,000 persons that those 7,050 sugar workers supported. Thirdly, there was no compensation.

Thirdly, Charran felt that the PNC had imprisoned the AFC, a fate the AFC willingly accepted. Fourthly, Charran on countless occasions told me that the PNC was discriminating against East Indians.

He gave me several examples.

I felt that all that existed at the Freudian level inside the mental structure of

Charran was about to reach the surface when at a birthday party at David Street, in Kitty, he told me of the planning of a no-confidence motion (NCM).

He expressed fear for his life if he voted for the motion.

I remember his words well that night.

He said the PNC would maul him in the compound of Parliament Building.

Charran told me that night that the APNU+AFC regime was politically more backward than the PPP government it succeeded.

When the NCM was passed, in my column I wrote that I told only two persons that it will happen. One was David Hinds and I mentioned Charran's name.

I want to say here and now, that Frederick Kissoon I told David that in confidence and much to r his credit he never divulged equest of secrecy. the information. I still respect He kept his word. I him for that. believe Carrington has The other person I integrity and I strongly mentioned in my column was advise PPP leaders to work nameless plus I identified the out a relationship with him place – DEMICO Roof where he can put his grassGarden. I will now name that root talent to work. person.

(The views expressed in I t w a s M i c h a e l this article are those of the Carrington's birthday and my a u t h o r a n d d o n o t wife baked a chocolate cake necessarily reflect the for him. I gave it to him over opinions of this newspaper.) dinner at that restaurant the night before the NCM and I told him what will happen with the NCM without naming Charran.

I admire Carrington intensely for adhering to my

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Sunday August 22, 2021

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Coronavirus: Vaccinated or not, this isn't the time for us to drop our guard

By Dr. Zulfikar Bux Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, Vanderbilt Medical Center

I

t seems that we are slowly losing the battle to wipe this virus out of existence and it's starting to figure out ways to become a permanent fixture in our lives.

I believe that the next three months will be critical and we should get clarity on the path this pandemic will take by then. Vaccine hesitancy is holding the world at ransom as there isn't sufficient herd protection for those that are vaccinated to return to the life that we were accustomed to before the pandemic. Being vaccinated at this stage means that one's chance of dying or being hospitalised from COVID19 is extremely low; it

doesn't mean that they are fully immune to the virus.

Today, I will share my thoughts on what we need to do until there is clarity on the path of this virus.

Why we shouldn't drop our guard Now is not the time for us to be fully relaxed with preventative measures.

Being vaccinated doesn't mean that you are immune to being infected with COVID19.

While a vaccinated person has extremely good protection if they are infected, they can still spread this virus and are prime targets for the virus to mutate and form vaccine resistant strains. The Delta variant is an “efficient beast” that is “gobbling up” the unvaccinated at unprecedented rates. If we drop our guard now and

allow the Delta variant to have its way, it will destroy all the progress that would have been made and this has the potential to sink our healthcare system and country in a matter of weeks.

What about masks?

I see the trend, which the vaccinated are taking their masks off especially, if other contacts are also vaccinated.

We are not there yet. Many vaccinated individuals are still prime targets for infection and can also spread the virus albeit, at lower levels than an infected, unvaccinated person. The Delta variant is more effective at breaching masks than any other variant. You can therefore imagine the virus load that one will expose themselves to if they do not have a mask on and get exposed directly to the Delta variant. Instead of

taking off masks, we should be wearing tighter fitting masks and avoid using the average cloth type masks which the Delta variant passes through with relative ease.

Interact outdoors as much as possible We need to interact for daily sustenance and to maintain some semblance of mental stability.

Being outdoors where there is free flow of air and space for the virus to dissipate, is the best way to interact. Studies have proven this fact and we should take advantage of it and schedule daily interactions in the outdoor setting as much as possible.

Pandemic to endemic?

A pandemic becomes endemic when the infective source (SARS-CoV-2 virus in this case) becomes a

constant presence because it could not be eradicated.

Experts all over the world are worried about this with COVID-19. We are in a race to prevent this virus from mutating so fast that we cannot keep up with it and it will become a permanent fixture with us like the Flu virus. Vaccines are our biggest weapon to win this race.

However, slow distribution of vaccines and vaccine hesitancy means that we are currently behind the virus in the race to victory.

Unless there is a drastic change, it seems that the virus will win this race and it will become an endemic.

Should this happen, we will have to deal with it possibly in the form of seasonal flare ups and hope that vaccines are developed and taken so that it can be weakened to

less dangerous forms with time.

I believe we may have an idea within the next three months or so if COVID-19 will become an endemic. In the meantime, let's avoid it by keeping our guards up and continue with preventative measures, which will help, prevent it from mutating into vaccine resistant forms.

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Sunday August 22, 2021

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>>> ENCOURAGING EVENTS, DISTURBING DEVELOPMENTS <<<

Old Age Pension cash, Robert Bea and U.S. dollar

By GHK Lall

I

have mixed feelings about that needed Old Age Pension 'one-off' $25,000, as announced by President Ali. It will do some good for 60,000 plus pensioners, who are on fixed incomes, and struggle to cope.

When looked at positively, it encourages, and I say: timely and well-received, Mr. President! But my thinking side wonders whether this is not another distraction that the president and Vice President have employed to take the minds of Guyanese off bigger issues.

There was the discrimination issue raised in Brooklyn, which I have done publicly here, relative to

Black public servants victimised.

There are unanswered questions about oil in general, and the accelerated gas-to-shore project, specifically, and which a few billion is a cheap price to engage the attention of citizens, while monstrous skullduggeries occur under the table.

To use those now famous Guyanese words, it is a 'no brainer' to pay out a $4-5 billion when the continuing rip-off of $25 billion and counting happens behind the scenes with friends and family.

The president and Vice President have learned from the Roman emperors, who used to coverup grave circumstances with circuses.

And bread, which equivalent is cash payout.

Remember I said this in August: another one is waiting for the right crisis.

I have similar unsettled feelings with this man from nowhere, Robert Bea. He is an extraordinary

fellow, just from his record.

And what he had to say should bring the shakes to all sensible Guyanese. I don't count partisans, the bigoted, and lost among sensible Guyanese, who would be quick to condemn and dismiss him.

The bottom line is that Robert Bea is in a class by himself, and what he represented about Exxon and its activities in Guyana (Liza-1, EPA, Guyana Government) is enough to drive every Guyanese crazy, with total hair loss, shattered nerves and hopes, and much handwringing and wailing.

I have said before: this oil is already a curse, with accursed political leaders making themselves dirtier by the moment, citizens in dazed dreams, and Exxon galloping dangerously ahead.

For Robert Bea found everything wrong with what Exxon is doing 125 miles out there. What Exxon is doing can kill us with the deadweight of the severest economic blight, the spectre of paradise lost, the reality of glittering oil promise shattered, and the possibility of generations left

holding Exxon's dirty and sharp end of the stick.

In a nutshell, Bea noted that Exxon's plans for a potential spill were shallow, limp, and fell way short of anything that should comfort Guyana and neighbours.

High-risk and extremely disturbing! Exxon's preparations look just like what BP did at Macondo (Gulf of Mexico) which blew out and created a major disaster. Exxon's containment time is generous (to itself) and unrealistic.

Exxon's remedial measures (chemicals) are hazardous.

Exxon is producing on the quick and cheap. And though Bea didn't say it, I do: Exxon has Guyana's EPA and the leaders of the PPP government eating out of its hands, doing cartwheels and headstands, and jumping all over, like human kangaroos, to please Exxon at every turn and step.

Look and listen to Guyana's senior leaders, and there is the proof, one long evidentiary trail that began a year ago, if not before.

Of conspiracies and collusions that

hold the worst for all Guyanese, except the cabal of the inner circle and specially favoured.

Exxon may succeed, against the odds, in holding the oil. But this PPP government will not fare the same way, with the seething resentments that build daily, and which no cash doles are going to make a lasting difference.

Last, I learned that the Guyana dollar has 'appreciated' moving from GY$215: US$1 to a whopping GY$200: US$1 in the street. Without going into the heavy supply of American c u r r e n c y, i n c l u d i n g l i k e l y disguised dirty drug dollars (where is the vaunted American Ambassador now?), that 200 to 1 usually means that the Guyana dollar should buy more, as in GY$200 buying what GY$215 used to deliver. I am yet to see that, and it disturbs. COVID-19 and floods, comrades! Private sector, too.

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

Kaieteur News

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g ts in s... re ture e t In rea C

P

oison dart frog (also known as dart-poison f ro g , p o i s o n f ro g o r formerly known as poison arrow frog) is the common name of a group of frogs in the family Dendrobatidae, which are native to tropical Central and South America.

These species are diurnal and often have brightly coloured bodies. This bright colouration is correlated with the toxicity of the species, making them

Poison dart aposematic. Some species of the family Dendrobatidae exhibit extremely bright colouration along with high toxicity, while others have cryptic colouration with minimal to no amount of observed toxicity.

The species that have great toxicity derive this from their diet of ants, mites and termites. Other species however, that exhibit cryptic colouration and low to no amounts of toxicity, eat a much larger variety of prey.

Many species of this family

Sunday August 22, 2021

frog

are threatened due to human infrastructure encroaching on their habitats.

These amphibians are often called "dart frogs" due to the Native Americans' use of their toxic secretions to poison the tips of blow darts.

However, of over 170 species, only four have been documented as being used for this purpose (curare plants are more commonly used), all of which come from the genus Phyllobates, which is characterised by the relatively large size and high

levels of toxicity of its members.

Characteristics Most species of Poison dart frogs are small, sometimes less than 1.5 cm (0.59 in.) in adult length, although a few grow up to 6 cm (2.4 in.) in length. They weigh 1 oz. on average.

Most Poison dart frogs are brightly coloured, displaying aposematic patterns to warn potential predators. Their bright

c olouration is associated with their toxicity and levels of alkaloids. For example, frogs of the genus Dendrobates have high levels of alkaloids, whereas Colostethus species are cryptically coloured and are not toxic.

Poison dart frogs are an example of an aposematic organism. Their bright colouration advertises unpalatability to potential predators. Aposematism is currently thought to have originated at least four times within the Poison dart family according to phylogenetic trees, and dendrobatid frogs hav e s ince u n derg o n e dramatic divergences – both interspecific and intraspecific – in their aposematic colouration.

This is surprising given the frequency-dependent nature of this type of defence mechanism.

Adult frogs lay their eggs in moist places, including on leaves, in plants, among exposed roots, and elsewhere. Once the eggs hatch, the adult piggybacks the tadpoles, one at a time, to suitable water, either a pool, or the water gathered in the

throat of bromeliads or other plants. The tadpoles remain there until they metamorphose, in some species fed by unfertilised eggs laid at regular intervals by the mother.

Habitat Poison dart frogs are endemic to humid, tropical environments of Central and South America. These frogs are generally found in tropical rainforests, including in Bolivia, Costa Rica, Brazil, Colombia, E c u a d o r , Ve n e z u e l a , Suriname, French Guiana, Peru, Panama, Guyana, Nicaragua, and Hawaii (introduced).

Natural habitats include subtropical and tropical, moist, lowland forests, subtropical or tropical highaltitude shrubland, subtropical or tropical, moist, montanes and rivers, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, lakes and swamps.

Other species can be found in seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, arable land, pastureland, rural gardens, plantations, moist savannah and heavily

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 22, 2021 From page 38 degraded former forest.

Premontane forests and rocky areas have also been known to hold frogs.

Dendrobatids tend to live on or close to the ground, but also in trees as much as 10 m (33 ft.) from the ground.

Reproduction Many species of Poison dart frogs are dedicated parents. Many Poison dart frogs in the genera Oophaga and Ranitomeya carry their

newly hatched tadpoles into the canopy; the tadpoles stick to the mucus on the backs of their parents.

Once in the upper reaches of the rainforest trees, the parents deposit their young in the pools of water that accumulate in epiphytic plants, such as bromeliads.

The tadpoles feed on invertebrates in their nursery, and their mother will even supplement their diet by depositing eggs into the water. Other poison frogs

Poison dart

frog

lay their eggs on the forest floor, hidden beneath the leaf litter.

Poison frogs fertilise their eggs externally; the

female lays a cluster of eggs and a male fertilises them afterward, in the same manner as most fish. Poison frogs can often be observed

PAGE 39 clutching each other, similar to the manner most frogs copulate.

However, these demonstrations are actually territorial wrestling matches.

Both males and females frequently engage in disputes over territory.

A male will fight for the most prominent roosts from which to broadcast his mating call; females fight over desirable nests, and even invade the nests of other females to devour competitor's eggs.

The operational sex ratio in the Poison dart frog family is mostly female biased.

This leads to a few characteristic behaviours and traits found in organisms with an uneven sex ratio. In general, females have a choice of mate.

In turn, males show brighter colouration, are territorial, and are aggressive toward other males. Females select mates based on colouration (mainly dorsal), calling perch location, and territory.

PAGE 40

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 22, 2021

Sunday August 22, 2021

Kaieteur News

E-Networks secures exclusive TV broadcast rights for 2021 CPL T20 in Guyana Thanks to a deal with International Media Content Ltd (IMC), the owner and broadcaster of SportsMax, ENetworks Inc. Guyanas leading TV service provider was pleased to announce yesterday that it has secured the exclusive rights for live TV coverage in Guyana of the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) T20 2021 tournament from August 26 to September 15, 2021.

For the third consecutive year, E-Networks said it is proud to keep Guyanese cricket fans in “The Biggest Party in Sport” by delivering the matches on its E2 channel, available countrywide on all its TV platforms: DreamTV

Satellite, DreamTV Wireless, and DreamTV Fiber.

The company said persons can also use the DreamTV Mobile app on their mobile phones to watch the matches on-the-go from anywhere. It said too that E-Networks customers can catch the action live in crystal-clear, high-definition quality, for as low as $3,600 monthly. Persons can visit www.enetworks.gy or any of the companys social media pages for more information.

In the agreement with SportsMax parent IMC, which is the regional broadcast rights owner for the CPL T20, E-Networks will broadcast all 33 matches from this

years tournament. Each match day in the preliminary round will have doubleheaders first match at 10 AM and second match at 7 PM, except for triple headers for the last two match days at 10 AM, 2:30 PM and 7 PM respectively.

First started in 2013, the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) saw an increase of 67 per cent in television, streaming and digital viewership in 2020, reaching 523.5 million viewers and passing half a billion for the first time in the tournament’s history.

The 2021 tournament is the leagues ninth season, with all the matches taking place in St. Kitts and Nevis.

BAREFOOT PINK MOSCATO: A SWEET EXPLOSION OF CHERRY, RASPBERRY, & POMEGRANATE NOTES Ansa Mcal Trading believes that when we are all together, life is more enjoyable. That is why it is its goal is to expose new friends to wines that are enjoyable, flavorful, and easy to drink.

The company believes in bringing something better to the table, which includes exquisiteness that appeals to a wide range of palates. It is for this reason, among others that this week’s selection is the Barefoot Pink Moscato.

This delectably sweet wine goes well with a variety of foods, including spicy ap-

petizers, Chinese takeout, and fresh strawberries with whipped cream.

Its bright finish is complemented by subtle notes of cherry, raspberry, and pomegranate.

Barefoot, the most acclaimed wine for its unique approach to winemaking and broad assortment of delectable, is so refreshing that you will consistently find new friends everywhere you go.

Be sure to try this week’s selection which is distributed

by ANSA McAL Trading Limited and available in leading supermarkets countrywide.

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Kaieteur News

Sunday August 22, 2021

Sunday August 22, 2021

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Sunday August 22, 2021

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 22, 2021

PAGE 45

Surinamese fisher folk frown over licence pact with Guyana

A decision by Heads of State, Irfaan Ali of Guyana, and Chandrikapersad Santokhi of neighbouring Suriname, is being met with disbelief and lash back from the Surinamese fisher folks, especially in Nikerie, which straddles the Corentyne River that serves as the border between the two countries.

According to reports emanating from the Dutch s p e a k i n g c o u n t r y, t h e Chairman of the Surinamese Fishermen's Collective, Willem Mohamed Hoesein, says that the board has reacted with disbelief to the news that the fishermen from Guyana will soon be allowed to fish in that country's waters with licence in hand.

Chairman of the Fishing Cooperative in Nikerie, Rajendra Churamon, in lamenting the decision noted that at present there are currently about 50 applications for fishing licences pending for Nikerie residents while the move will place licences into the hands of about 150 Guyanese fishermen operating there.

He contends that the move to licence that many Guyanese fishermen to operate in that country's waters will result in over fishing.

Meanwhile, Hoesein said, according to reports, a meeting was scheduled to be held yesterday by the Collective over the issue with that country's Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Prahlad Sewdien.

Additionally, it was noted t h a t R a b i n P a r m e s s a r, Surinamese's Leader of the Opposition (National Democratic Party), has also

publicly objected to the plan to licence Guyanese fisher folk because it is not in the interest of Suriname.

“It is sad and a stab at our fishermen and fishing grounds. I call on our fishermen and all Surinamese to protest strongly against this,” Parmessar is reported in the Surinamese press saying.

During his visit to Guyana, the Surinamese subject Minister had joined with his President for talks in Guyana over the licencing of Guyanese fishermen to operate legally in their waters.

According to reports out of the Dutch-speaking nation, President Santokhi had reported to his domestic press that last year it was brought to his attention by his Guyanese colleague, President Irfaan Ali that fishermen from his country have to pay exorbitant amounts for licences to fish in Suriname.

Surinamese reports have indicated that permits issued to Surinamese, sublet them through front men to f i s h e r m e n f r o m neighbouring countries.

“Per licence amounts ranging from 2,500 to 4,000 US dollars would be involved.

Surinamese who legally obtain a fishing licence pay between 100 and 150 US dollars per year,” that country's subject Minister Sewdien is quoted as saying.

Another issue is that little of the fish caught by Guyanese is delivered to Suriname, the reports highlight.

A Joint Communiqué following the end of two days

Guyana's Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, with his Surinamese counterpart, Parmanand Sewdien, on Thursday last at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.

of talks between high level delegations between the two countries—led by their r e s p e c t i v e presidents—revealed that they “discussed the issuance of SK fishing licences to Guyanese fisher folk and agreed that both ministers responsible would work towards the issuance of fishing licences in that category by January 1, 2022.”

It was noted in their Communiqué that the licences would take into account “the established quota on the Surinamese side.”

Sunday August 22, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 46

The Potato, The Egg, And The Coffee Beans

Junior page What you need:

A boy named John was upset. His father found him crying.

When his father asked John why he was crying, he said that he had a lot of problems in his life.

His father simply smiled and asked him to get a potato, an egg, and some coffee beans. He placed them in three bowls.

He then asked John to feel their texture and then fill each bowl with water.

John did as he had been told. His father then boiled all three bowls.

Once the bowls had cooled down, John's

father asked him to feel the texture of the different food items again.

John noticed that the potato had become soft and its skin was peeling off easily; the egg had become harder and tougher; the coffee beans had completely changed and filled the bowl of water with aroma and flavour.

Moral of the story Life will always have problems and pressures, like the boiling water in the story.

It's how you respond and react to these problems that counts the most!

* pinecones * playdough (brown, beige, orange and yellow all work well, you'll need some black for the nose) * alternatively you can also use air dry clay (you can get it in many different colors or you can let the kids color it by themselves). * googly eyes (as they always make things more fun!)

These are insanely easy to make all you need is one ball of playdough for the head and 4 rolls for the legs. Push them on the pinecone and voila! If you're working with air dry clay you'll have a keepsake that will last for a long time!

Add a small black playdough ball for the nose and a pair of googly eyes.

Slitherlink

In a Slitherlink Puzzle, you connect horizontally or vertically adjacent dots to form a meandering path that forms a single loop, without crossing itself, or branching.

The numbers indicate how many lines surround each cell. Empty cells may be

Food

by Uncle Roy

Sometimes my Mommy cooks some food, That I don't like to eat; But then she tells me that they're good For my brains and bones and teeth.

Pumpkin, squash and boulanger Are all filled with vitamins, And so are bora and kalaloo, We would be so weak without them.

So now I try to eat it all, Though some are hard to swallow, Because my mother knows what's good, And all that I need to grow.

surrounded by any number of lines (from 0 to 3).

There is one unique solution, and you should be able to find it without guessing. You may find it helpful to make small x's between dots that cannot be connected.

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 22, 2021

TEEN TIME Supporting others in their efforts at developing their Sense of Belonging will help you to foster your own While competition is useful in getting the best out of us, if we cannot maintain being among the top people in our group, we can be easily discouraged. What caters for everyone is cooperative behaviour which makes us willingly contribute to the common goals of our group and make ourselves available to be of service to others.

This helps to develop our character by instilling a sense of social responsibility in contrast to only looking out for oneself.

By taking the steps to help others to belong, we get the satisfaction which comes from being unselfish, and this serves to maintain this sense of belonging which is necessary for our personal development into a mature and responsible adult. . Take the time to develop the relationships with those who mean much to you. Spending time alone

PAGE 47

Be Yourself Why would you want to be someone else, When you could be better by being yourself?

Why pretend to be someone you are not, When you have something they haven't got?

Cheating yourself of the life you have to live Deprives others of that only which you can give; You have much more to offer by being just you Than walking around in someone else's shoes.

Trying to live the life of another is a mistake, It is a masquerade; nothing more than a fake; Be yourself and let your qualities show through, Others will love you more for being just you.

with a brother or sister, a father or mother, and really exploring your thought and feelings with them can lead to great benefit to both of you, and give you a clear insight in how to live a better life.

Take the time to celebrate with them anything they have been successful in, and they will surely do the same for you.

One of the main reasons why some people fail in their relationships with others, whether it is with

parents, teachers, bosses or others with whom they associate, is because they do not pay enough attention to being polite to these persons.

The result is that they fail to impress them, even though they may be otherwise good enough in other areas of their behaviour or have the abilities to succeed.

This is always surprising to me, when we know that courtesy costs

nothing, and does not take much energy and time to maintain in any situation.

On the other hand, people who are mannerly will more often be successful in their interpersonal actions, although they may not measure up in other aspects.

Be kind-hearted and attentive enough to others and make a point of being extraordinarily polite, and you will find that doors will open to you that were closed before.

Killer Sudoku

Killer Sudoku (also called Sum Sudoku) are a kind of hybrid puzzle that combine the best features of Sudoku and Kakuro (cross-sum) puzzles. Like a regular Sudoku, the rows, columns and 3x3 blocks

Remember that God loves you just as you are, To Him you are already a bright shining star; Family and friends will love you more, too, If you spent more time practising just being you.

As in every phase of life, helping others in developing their Self-esteem will benefit you as well.

Solutions to last week’s Kakuro puzzles

contain the digits 1 thru 9. In addition, the dotted lines indicate areas, called cages, which also contain a set of non-repeating digits. If you add up the digits in a cage, you get the sum shown in its clue.

Futoshiki

PAGE 48

Positive Body Affirmations Affirmations are statements that you repeat over and over in attempt to change your unconscious beliefs. Pick a few that you like and look in the mirror and repeat several times each day! If you can find some of these positive body affirmations that resonate for you and really allow yourself to see them, hear them and feel them, you might find some shifts in the way you think about yourself and your body.

Love your body with these body positive affirmations: 1. My body deserves love.

2. I am perfect, whole, and complete just the way I am.

3. I feed my body healthy nourishing food and give it healthy nourishing exercise because it deserves to be taken care of.

4. I love and respect myself.

5. It's okay to love myself now as I continue to evolve.

6. My body is a temple. I want to treat it with love and respect.

7. My body is a gift.

8. Food doesn't have to be the enemy, it can be nurturing and healing.

9. Life is too short and too precious to waste time obsessing about my body. I am going to take care of it to the best of my ability and get out of my head and into the world.

10. I will not give in to the voices of my eating disorder that tell me I'm not okay. I will listen to the healthy voices that I do have, even if they are very quiet so that I can understand that I am fine. I am fine.

11. Food doesn't make me feel better, it just temporarily stops me from feeling what I'm feeling.

12. I have everything inside of me that I need to take care of myself without using food.

13. A goal weight is an arbitrary number, how I feel is what's important.

14. I am worthy of love 15. As long as I am good, kind, and hold myself with integrity, it doesn't matter what other people think of me.

16. Other people are too busy thinking about themselves to care what my weight is 17. When I compare myself to others, I destroy myself, I don't want to destroy myself so I'll just continue on my journey, not worrying about other people's journeys.

18. I am blessed to be aging. The only alternative to aging is death.

19. It's okay for me to like myself. It's okay for me to love myself.

20. I have to be an advocate for me. I can't rely on anyone else to do that for me.

21. A “perfect” body is one that works, no matter what that means for you personally.

22. It's okay for me to trust the wisdom of my body.

23. Just because someone looks perfect on the outside, doesn't mean they have a perfect life. No one has a perfect life, we all struggle. That's just what being human is.

24. If I spend too much time trying to be and look like someone else, I cease to pay attention to myself, my virtues, my path, and my journey.

25. When I look to others to dictate who I should be or how I should look, I reject who I am.

26. The last thing I should be doing is rejecting myself.

Accepting myself as I am right now is the first step in changing, growing and evolving. When I reject myself, I cannot grow.

27. Self respect is underrated.

28. I can only go forward, so although I can learn from it, I refuse to dwell on the past.

29. ALL images in magazines are airbrushed, photoshopped, and distorted.

30. If people actively judge or insult me, it's because they feel badly about themselves. No one who feels good about themselves has the need to put someone down to elevate themselves- they have better things to do with their time.

31. I have no need to put someone down to elevate myself.

32. I can be a good person if I choose to be.

33. It's my life, I can choose the way I want to live it.

34. When I smile, I actually make other people happy.

35. Balance is the most important.

36. If I binge today, I can still love and accept myself, I don't have to beat, berate and starve myself right afterwards, and I still have the very next moment to jump right back into recovery.

37. Recovery is an ongoing process that is not linear in fashion. If I slip up, I'll take the opportunity as a learning experience and get right back to my recovery goals/program.

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 22, 2021

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 22, 2021

PAGE 49

The Court A look at some matters in Journal which Voir dires were conducted

By Renay Sambach

A

Voir dire is conducted to ascertain if the evidence that was given by an accused was given voluntarily or if violence was use to obtain the evidence.

Voir dires are often conducted in murder trials in the High Court. It is believed that Magistrates should c o n d u c t Vo i r d i r e t o determine the admissibility of certain confessions during a high profile Preliminary Inquiry (PI) into a charge of murder or other indictable cases.

Essentially, a Voir dire is a trial within a trial.

In order for a Magistrate to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to commit a defendant to stand trial before a judge and jury, a PI or the paper committal process is used.

However, if the evidence in the matter is based on a confession statement, a Voir dire should be conducted to ascertain if it was given on a voluntary basis.

As such, in this edition of The Court Journal, I will highlight court matters in which Voir dires were conducted.

In 2019, a Voir dire was conducted into the Samantha Point handyman's murder.

In that matter, Khemraj Persaud and Heeman Gocool were on remand for allegedly murdering their drinking buddy, Rohan Persaud.

This was done after Gocool had alleged that the police used violence on him to gather evidence and force him to admit to the offence.

As such, a Voir dire was conducted to gather the relevant evidence of Gocool's allegation.

This matter was heard in the Georgetown Magistrates' Courts before Principal Magistrate, Faith McGusty.

The charge stated that on February 13, 2019, at Samantha Point, Grove, East Bank Demerara, the duo murdered 53-year-old Persaud, a handyman.

On November 21, 2019, the duo was committed to stand trial in the High Court for the murder.

On that date, Principal Magistrate McGusty ruled that having considered the prosecution's evidence, the court is of the opinion that a sufficient case had been made out against the defendants.

Hence, they were committed to stand trial at the next practicable sitting of the Demerara Assizes.

It was reported that, Persaud also known as 'Ravi' and 'Kanhai,' of Samantha Point, Grove, East Bank Demerara, confronted the two accused, who are said to be his friends, after learning that a woman they drank with was also having sexual relationships with them.

As a result of the

confrontation, the men reportedly got into a fight.

The police had reported that Persaud was slain between 01:00 and 06:30hrs. on February 13, 2019, at Back Street, Grove Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara. His body was found bearing a stab wound to the lower abdomen.

According to reports, neighbours of Back Street, Grove Housing Scheme, told investigators that Persaud was seen around 18:00hrs. on February 12, 2019, drinking with two men at a nearby culvert.

In another matter, a Voir dire was conducted in the Lusignan massacre trial during 2013. The murder trial for Mark Royden Williams called 'Smallie,' and James Anthony Hyles known as 'Sally,' commenced in July 2013.

The duo was accused of being part of a gun-toting crew that slaughtered 11 persons in the early morning hours of January 26, 2008.

Mark Royden Williams called 'Smallie'

Khemraj Persaud

Heeman Gocool A Vo i r d i r e w a s conducted after the defence for the two men brought to the court's attention several issues that could negatively affect their case. In that matter the defence had spoken about witnesses and their credibility and

James Anthony Hyles known as 'Sally'

circumstances under which they had given evidence.

However, in the High Court, during the Voir dire aspect, the 12-member jury must be excluded.

In 2018, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) restored the 2013 acquittals of Hyles and Williams for their alleged involvement in what has been dubbed the 'Lusignan Massacre,' despite substantial procedural errors at trial.

Hyles was released, but Williams, however, was not due to the fact that he was sentenced to death after being convicted four years ago for his role in the 2008 Bartica massacre in which 12 men — including three police officers were killed.

In 2015, Justice, Brassington Reynolds, found that the caution statement by accused Shakir Mohamed, in the Shewraney Doobay murder trial was freely and voluntarily given to the police.

According to the caution statement, the accused had told the police that the killer was Mark Singh, who because of some financial

problem with his aunt who had him paying rates and taxes, he had murdered her.

It was reported that the caution statement that landed Mohamed in trouble came after a copy of a caution statement that Singh had made to the police, was handed to him.

After reading Singh's caution statement, Mohamed wrote his own statement and dictated same to the police under caution and in the presence of a witness.

The charge had stated that on May 24, 2011, the duo murdered Doobay, 58, called “Monica” in the course or furtherance of a robbery.

The woman was discovered lying in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor of her Lot 19 Echilibar Villas, Campbellville, Georgetown home.

Mohamed had been jointly charged with Doobay's nephew, Singh, who subsequently died. Early in 2016, Mohamed was freed of the charge but the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack, S.C., filed legal proceedings appealing the decision.

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Kaieteur News

Sunday August 22, 2021

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 22, 2021

PAGE 51

Guyanese cops cover of digital coaching and leadership magazine

By Rehanna Ramsay

W

hen people w a n t t o improve their appearance, they look to, among other things, change their wardrobe, diet and exercise regularly, and some even hire a trainer to get them to achieve their desired goals. Similarly, when someone wants to improve their thinking, they can hire a mindset coach. That's where the expertise of trainers like Kamladevi Sharma comes in.

The mindset coach who is based here in Guyana has worked with hundreds of professionals both locally and overseas to help them refocus their mind and get the clarity they need to achieve their personal and career goals.

The career mentor, wife, and mother of three boys, has a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with Bachelor degrees in Business, Social Psychology and Social Research Methods. To date, her work has benefitted thousands of leaders globally, in personal growth and assisted over 250 businesses to jump-start their momentum for success through her signature momentum training.

Her expertise in mindset and personal development strategy enables youths,

Guyanese mindset coach, Kamladevi Sharma leaders, and entrepreneurs globally to get clear on their career aims, eliminate burnout, and achieve balance, fulfillment and success with ease in both their personal and professional lives.

The award-winning international speaker and

coach on work-life balance is also the co-founder of Revive and an Associate Coach at Randstad Risesmart, a US-based coaching company.

Given her commitment, Sharma has been featured in magazines locally and internationally as well as on

several podcasts on Spotify, Apple, and Google.

Her most recent feature was the July cover of Brainz Digital Magazine, a leading online business, mindset, innovation, leadership and lifestyle publication that highlights the achievements of personal trainers and

coaches around the globe.

Sharma explains that since the magazine is popular among those in the coaching and business fields around the globe, “having them feature me, a Guyanese, on the cover is quite a big deal.”

She noted that “the truth is, being from Guyana in this field, a developing country, can be a significant deterrent to a client's perception of the quality of service that can possibly be offered to them, especially if they are from a first world country…”

“My biggest challenge being in Guyana though, was overcoming the mindset of 'what will people say,' especially at the thought that I was a stay-at-home MBA mom.

This kicked in more after having my last son where I felt conflicted that my responsibilities were a lot more at home but I needed that mental escape to do something for myself. I wasn't sure if I should have continued coaching or let it go and focus on the kids only,” Sharma related.

However, within the past five years, the mindset coach has grown and developed in

the coaching space to a point where her peers internationally can recognise and celebrate her achievements.

Sharma explained that the recent recognition by Brainz is proof of this.

But it was no overnight success. She explained that when she decided to leave her private-sector job where she was employed in a leadership position, it was not an easy decision.

“But I had to figure myself out; I was also three months pregnant with my first son. I just wanted something for myself to achieve,” Sharma said, noting that when she came across the idea of mindset coaching, it was while scouring the internet for new career opportunities.

Sharma noted that back then, she was not completely aware of all of the work it entailed but she decided to do her research, undergo studies and training which allowed her to become a qualified mindset coach.

Since then, she has successfully completed a series of training with USbased Transformation (continued on page 53)

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Kaieteur News

Sunday August 22, 2021

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 22, 2021

PAGE 53

<<

< e ov M e th on ur ne re ep tr En g un Yo > > >

“B's Shipping and Couriers”

for convenient online shopping services

By Allyiah Allicock

A

s some of us may know, online shopping and delivery services have been around for years but in recent times they have become especially popular mainly due to the COVID19 pandemic. Today we can buy nearly anything online without the need to leave our home.

One individual whose mission is to provide these services to Guyanese at affordable rates is Michael Bailey, the owner of B's Shipping and Couriers. Bailey who hails from Lamaha Springs, Georgetown, is currently a thirdyear student at the University of Guyana pursing his Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering.

The 19-year-old in an interview with Kaieteur News revealed that it was his family who inspired him to go into business in the first place since they too own businesses of their own.

But what prompted him to choose this field in business? He related “I chose to take the route of online shopping and delivery because day by day more persons

“

I think young entrepreneurs are playing a large role in society, as of recent more people are coming up with ideas due to the pandemic, great ideas at that too. And with social media becoming more influential than ever, it's giving young entrepreneurs a platform to voice their initiative.”

are using different stores online to get their goods, and as someone that also shops online, I know that a lot of these companies in Guyana have prices that are far higher than optimal when it comes to Guyana's economy.

I looked at different companies, compared rates and knew I could provide these services for less of a price.”

Bailey who launched his business venture last year November said that his only goal in mind moving forward is to provide online shopping and delivery services to locals at feasible rates.

His intention to provide feasible

”

The owner of B's Shipping and Couriers, Michael Bailey services for Guyanese, is already heading down a good path due to the fact that his support base has been growing, thanks to the testimonials of persons who have

been utilising his business since it was launched. “In my mind, once persons can stick with my services like that, it makes me believe I'm taking a step in the right direction,” the young man added.

But this has not been challenge free. He spoke of being faced with the challenge of balancing the management of his business while pursuing his studies.

He made mention too that at the start of it all, it was rough since not many people were placing orders as compared to these days. But he was not fazed. Instead, he reminded himself that nothing starts at a 100 percent. “You need to push as hard as you can to reach that mark.”

Bailey is of the firm belief that young entrepreneurs have a substantial role in today's society.

“I think young entrepreneurs are playing a large role in society…as of recent more people are coming up with ideas due to the pandemic, great ideas at that too.

And with social media becoming more influential than ever, it's giving young entrepreneurs a platform to voice their initiative,” he added.

In this regard, he calls for partnerships among business owners, whether small or large, in order to help boost each other's businesses.

Those desirous of utilising Bailey's service can take advantage of his affordable rates by contacting him via WhatsApp on (592) 6456216, Facebook @ B's Shipping and Couriers or email bshipping.c@gmail.com.

Guyanese cops cover of digital coaching and leadership magazine From page 51 Academy and Randstad Risesmart, the US-based company at which she is now employed.

Sharma now spends her days engaged in virtual engagements with clients in the US, Australia and other countries.

She told Kaieteur News that she has worked with several individuals and companies locally providing coaching skills at various forums.

“I have worked with Republic Bank, Conservation International, BAC Holdings Inc. and a number of other companies,” revealed the

mindset coach.

She noted that she has also worked in schools providing career building and leadership training and coaching services.

The career mentor believes that there are many ways to achieving goals and getting people to operate at optimum levels.

According to Sharma, leaders, coaches, youths, and entrepreneurs choose to work with her because they need clarity and growth in their careers.

“They need a practical approach to moving forward in

their careers with the resources they have at their disposal so that they can achieve the career of their dreams and feel fulfilled in their lives,” said Sharma.

To cater to this need, she said with pride, “whether it's aligning with a career suitable to their personal life, switching careers to experience a new path, trying to move up the career ladder at their current place of work, or exiting c o r p o r a t e t o s t a r t entrepreneurship, I help them to align and plan their transition strategy for execution in their desired direction.”

PAGE 54

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 22, 2021

The commissioning of the Richmond Road

$146 Million in asphalted roads commissioned in Region Two

T

he Minister of P u b l i c Wo r k s , Juan Edghill, handed over a total of six asphalted streets to several communities in Region Two on Wednesday. Asphalted roads were commissioned in Better Success, Lima, Richmond, Riverstown, Pomona and Good Hope.

The roads were commissioned on last Sunday, and were done to a total tune of $146 million.

While some of the road projects had a duration of eight months, some were completed within three.

This publication understands that the Better Success, Richmond and Good Hope roads were constructed by S. Jagmohan H a r d w a r e S u p pl i e s & Construction.

Kaieteur News was told that the completed roads would tremendously improve accessibility in various communities on the Essequibo Coast. In Good Hope for instance, the $13.9 Million road will ensure that residents have convenient access to the Good Hope Market and surrounding businesses in that c o m m u n i t y. I n t h e community of Lima, the $7.6 Million road will improve accessibility to the Lima Nursery School.

Speaking at the commissioning of the Richmond Road, contractor Sohesh Jagmohan said that his company's reputation is canopied by a very high standard of production, which is delivered in a timely manner.

“We wanna thank the

Farmer

residents of this community for the support they give us.

The project had some saving and we were able to do a little more on another road in the area… With the support of the engineers, we were able to complete this project on time.

We are 80% complete with our other works. The weather is giving us some setbacks but I am confident that we will be able to provide and produce on time.”

The Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, told residents during his visit, that the government of Guyana aims at looking after all Guyanese in every community, in an impartial way. Edghill also pointed out that hundreds of millions are also being allocated and expended towards infrastructural development in Anna Regina.

“We are committed to taking care of every Guyanese in every community in a nondiscriminating way… the commissioning of these roads come under our urban roads programme. Every township or city will be developed from our national budget, which advances and supports infrastructural development in all our townships.”

He went on to say, “We cannot develop Guyana by developing just one place.

We have hinterland, urban and miscellaneous work programmes. In Anna Regina, we have allocated and expending $253 million for infrastructural work, and for the first time, the construction of a pedestrian walk way.”

Yadoo Hanoman

From page 20 plans to expand in the future since he sees farming as a necessary means of feeding the nation and keeping the economy stable.

It was Daniel Webster, a former Secretary of State of the United States, who said, “Let us not forget that the cultivation of the earth is the most important labour of man.

When tillage begins, other arts f o l l o w. T h e f a r m e r s , therefore, are the founders of human civilisation.”

Our 'Special Person' certainly has an appreciation for this notion. He currently

has within his employ more than seven men who work daily on his rice lands. He is dependent on these men when it comes to preparing, sowing and harvesting his lands, and so despite his financial challenges, he has vowed to keep them employed since he is well aware that they too have families to provide for.

As he does his part to help sustain the nation's agriculture production, farmer Rocky is hopeful that relief efforts announced by President, Irfaan Ali, will help to cushion the impact the flood situation has had.

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 22, 2021

PAGE 55

GECOM arson accused released without charge, after being lied on

D

river of the Region 10 Regional Chairman, Roy Marshall, who was accused of being the mastermind behind the GECOM Linden Branch 2020 fire, was released from police custody without any charge and claims it was after former Community Development Officer, Byron Kendell, confessed to police that he initially lied on him, during his interrogation. Kendell who was charged and remanded for unlawfully and maliciously setting fire to GECOM's Wismar Office in 2020, was recently released on bail from the High Court, police sources confirmed.

Speaking on the matter in an exclusive interview with Kaieteur News, Marshall denied all charges

that he was accused of, which is providing the funds, a total of $150,000 to pay the persons who would actually carry out the act.

Those persons allegedly turned out to be Marlon Hunter and Teon February, who police said allegedly confessed to setting the building on fire. They remain on remand.

Marshall said during the interrogation, he was shown a video interview by police where Kendell claimed it was Marshall who approached him about setting the building on fire and then handed him a package that contained $150,000.

“In the interview and this is the most integral part of everything, Byron Kendell said and I quote, 'My name is Byron Kendell, I am the CDO; after the election, I

realised nothing not gon go on for me, a gon lose mah job and a day I just sit down jussa and Roy Marshall, the Regional Chairman's driver come to me and say aye Moogie, this thing can't go down suh, place gotta blaze and I turn and point to the GECOM building and said, that gotta bun and I get a package hay for you.

In the package get $150,000 to pay the men them $75,000, $75,000',” Marshall quoted as what he saw Kendell saying on the video interview.

Marshall said he was shocked at what he was being accused of and questioned whether Kendell was pressured or coerced into making such a confession, which implicated him into something he knows nothing about.

Mr. Byron Kendell

Mr. Roy Marshall

When asked what he believed would have prompted Kendell to make such a claim, Marshall said he believes Kendell envies him.

Marshall disclosed that on the

fourth day of being in custody, investigators informed him that Kendell allegedly confessed to lying on Marshall in the previous interview, but stated he has a witness that saw Marshall deliver the package to him.

“My response was, I am happy that God would have placed in his heart for him to speak the truth…….then I politely asked the officer, if a person can go to that limit to lie on an individual, what (continued on page 56)

PAGE 56

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 22, 2021

GECOM arson accused released without charge...

From page 55 other credibility can you have in such a person and I think for a moment I may have paralyzed the panel with that response,” Marshall said.

He said he was immediately released from custody. Marshall is now calling for a public apology from the Guyana Police Force for what he described as the most terrifying night of his life. He said the principles and practices governing an arrest were not followed and he was kept in custody beyond 72 hours.

It was more than 12 hours after the arrest that the allegation was formally put to him. “My rights were not read, the refusal to say what I was being arrested for, for taking me out of the jurisdiction and so I am calling for an apology for the vicious arrest, insult to my name, almost

defamation of my character, along with other things.

It still hurts; my wife and children are affected greatly in the night. My son is still jumping out of his sleep,” he related. A fire on July 14, 2020, destroyed the office of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Building at First Alley. The incident occurred just before 2 a.m.

The female security guard said she was in the security hut at the front of the building when she heard an explosion at the back of the building; upon checking, she saw two males running up the road west into First Alley and by that time, the upper flat of the building was already on fire. The upper flat was burnt with the roof completely gutted. The building was being rented by GECOM.

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 22, 2021

CONSUMER CONCERNS

By Pat Dial In Guyana, until about the 1950's, it was very common for tortoises to be kept as pets, mostly by children and young persons.

They were kept in the gardens or any fenced part of the yard. Most of these pets were small but kept growing over the years, being fed with grass and other vegetation.

Everyone knew of the Aesop Fable of the Hare and the Tortoise and many children felt a sense of importance that they possessed a tortoise.

In Georgetown and most of the coastal villages to Berbice very few knew the difference between a tortoise and a turtle and felt they were the same with alternate spellings. In the Interior Regions and on the Essequibo Coast, however, most people knew the difference between a tortoise and a turtle.

Actually, the differences between a tortoise and a turtle are quite marked. Tortoises live almost wholly on land, rarely go to the rivers or the sea while turtles are marine animals, and live in the sea except when they come on land to nest and lay their eggs.

From being marine animals, turtles have flipper-like legs, which help them to swim in contrast to tortoises, which have club-like forelegs, which help them to walk firmly on land without any chance of slipping. Tortoises have thicker rounded and domed shells while turtles have thinner shells with legs, which are streamlined.

To r t o i s e s a r e s t r i c t l y vegetarian while turtles are omnivorous.

The turtle is the more important of the species but it is also the most endangered.

Guyana has the distinction of having four of the main species of marine turtles nesting on its shores.

These are the Leatherback, the Hawksbill, the Green and the Olive Ridley.

Their main nesting place is at Shell Beach in Region One and this is an area protected by Law with the G u y a n a M a r i n e Conservation Society assisted by the World Wildlife Fund Guyana and others having general surveillance over the area in their work of conservation.

In addition to these sea turtles, there is a species of River turtles known as Yellow Spotted River Turtle, which nests on eight beaches along the Rupununi River.

Unfortunately, these Yellow Spotted turtles are over harvested by the villagers, their eggs are a delicacy, and

PAGE 57

TORTOISES AND TURTLES

this trend has resulted in their being endangered.

The Protected Areas Commission and the River Monitoring Project have been working to protect and conserve the Yellow Spotted and it is hoped that in time their efforts would be successful in stabilising their numbers.

Sea turtles play an important role in maintaining the health of the oceans and in the planet's food chain since they regulate a number of organisms, which could negatively affect the food chain.

For example, the Green Turtle feeds on the sea grass and this prevents the grass from growing too long and suffocating itself.

The healthy sea grass beds, which result, are a nursery ground for many marine species and are a carbon sink and oxygen provider for the oceans. The Hawksbill turtle feeds on sponges, which if allowed to grow unchecked, would smother the slower-growing corals.

Coral reefs are known to provide shelter for thousands of marine organisms and many fish spawn in these reefs and shelter the juvenile fish until they are mature enough to enter the wider ocean. In addition, coral reefs protect coastlines from wave action and storms.

The Leatherbacks feed on jellyfish, which prey on fish eggs.

By controlling the numbers of jellyfish, they are therefore able to maintain or increase the fish stocks of the oceans.

The Loggerhead turtles feed on hard-shelled prey, such as crustaceans, for example crabs and by breaking up the shells, they quicken the rate at which the shells disintegrate and integrate into the chain of nutrient recycling.

Both tortoises and marine turtles are endangered species and their loss or continued diminution would destroy the balance of Nature, especially in respect of marine life, and be against the interest of human beings.

Ironically, it is not the birds, crabs or sharks, which prey upon their eggs and hatchlings, but humans, which pose by far the greater danger. Climate Change, for instance, militates against the health and population growth of turtles but humans are largely responsible for Climate Change. Humans are largely responsible for habitat destruction and are the greatest predators since they overharvest the turtles and their eggs. The other

great threat to the turtles is the indiscriminate disposal of plastic waste in the waterways which eventually reach the oceans and which are often mistaken by turtles

and other marine life for food.

When such waste is consumed, it destroys the digestive system of the turtles and they die.

Tortoises and turtles are among the most gentle and harmless creatures in Nature and they play an important role in human wellbeing and individuals could play their

part in protecting them.

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

Kaieteur News

PAGE 58

Sunday August 22, 2021

Small businesses can better realise their potential with the GMP Standard ==GNBS IN FOCUS==

Anti-vaccine demonstrators shout slogans during a protest against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccinations in Athens, Greece.

Standards provide as many benefits for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) as they do for large global enterprises in ensuring consistency and increased profits.

The strategic use of standards can make a significant difference to the annual turnover of SMEs, sometimes the difference between success and failure.

The Guyana Standard requirements for good management practices for micro, small and medium enterprises (GYS 231:2010) could be a crucial standard to ensure the success of local small businesses.

For smaller firms, some of the benefits of using standards include the

accessibility of their products and services to the export markets, heightened operational efficiency and increased customer confidence.

The GYS 231:2010 standard, which is also a CARICOM Standard, defines the fundamental requirements to enhance small business performance through the process of continual improvement and assurance of quality. It also covers environment and occupational safety and health requirements.

The standard outlines that for SMEs to be effective, an atmosphere shall be created that provides focus and positive behaviour. As such, it recommends that defined

improvement goals and objectives be established.

To meet the requirements of this standard, small businesses must also have a defined policy, establish good planning and control, and have a favourable working environment which conforms to Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) and other stipulated environmental requirements.

The roles, responsibilities and authorities for the implementation of the management system within the SME must be clearly defined and records and documents must be controlled. Further, requirements for competence, awareness and training of employees must

be addressed.

Meanwhile, the standard also provides requirements for measurement, analysis and improvement, which help to demonstrate conformity and ensure effectiveness of the management system implemented within the business along with ensuring that customers are continually satisfied.

Finally, the standard requires that enterprise implementing its requirements to continually improve the effectiveness of the management system using the policy, objectives, audit results, analysis of data, corrective and preventative actions and management review.

Local SMEs are encouraged to consult with the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) to be sensitised on how this national standard can be implemented to guarantee improved business performance.

The GNBS, through its technical assistance and training programmes, can step by step help businesses to implement the requirements of this standard and other international standards.

No enterprise is too small to implement standards. The Bureau believes that the time has come for businesses begin to appreciate the usefulness of standards, which help to streamline their

operations, realise profits, maintain sustainability, and most importantly facilitate access to more markets.

Wo r l d w i d e , m a n y enterprises implement standards and use them as negotiating tools, in addition t o e n s u r i n g q u a l i t y, improving customer service and reliability and reducing costs.

Local businesses should no longer hesitate to capitalise on the opportunities standards implementation creates to realise growth and enhance competitiveness.

F o r f u r t h e r information, please contact the GNBS on telephone numbers: 219-0064/65/66 or visit the GNBS website: www.gnbsgy.org

Sunday August 22, 2021

Kaieteur News

Digicel concluded its second Summer Rush promotion with three cash prizewinners and one grand prizewinner of a new Toyota Rush.

PAGE 59

PAGE 60

EU says no recognition of Taliban, no political talks 5– BRUSSELS - (Reuters) - The European Union has not recognised the Taliban, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said yesterday, nor is it holding political talks with the militants, a week after they seized control of Afghanistan.

The Taliban completed a lightning takeover of Afghanistan last Sunday, walking into the capital Kabul without firing a shot.

The head of the EU executive spoke after visiting a reception centre in Madrid for Afghan employees of EU institutions

Sunday August 22, 2021

Kaieteur News

evacuated from Kabul.

Von der Leyen said she would propose an increase in the 57 million euros ($67 million) in humanitarian aid which the Commission had allocated this year for Afghanistan.

She said EU development aid is tied to respect of human rights, good treatment of minorities and respect for the rights of women and girls.

“We may well hear the Taliban’s words but we will measure them above all by their deeds and actions,” von der Leyen told a news conference.

India gives emergency approval for world’s first COVID-19 DNA vaccine BENGALURU (Reuters) - India’s drug regulator has granted emergency use approval for Zydus Cadila’s COVID-19 vaccine, the world’s first DNA shot against the coronavirus, in adults and children aged 12 years and above.

The approval gives a boost to India’s vaccination programme, which aims to inoculate all eligible a d u l t s b y D e c e m b e r, and will provide the first shot for those under 18, as the country still struggles to contain the virus spread in some states.

The vaccine, ZyCoV-D, uses a section of genetic material from the virus that gives instructions as either DNA or RNA to make the specific protein that the immune system recognises

and responds to.

Unlike most COVID-19 vaccines, which need two doses or even a single dose, ZyCoV-D is administered in three doses.

The generic drug-maker, listed as Cadila Healthcare Ltd, aims to make 100 million to 120 million doses of ZyCoV-D annually and has already begun stockpiling the vaccine.

Zydus Cadila’s vaccine, developed in partnership with the Department of B i o t e c h n o l o g y, i s t h e second home-grown shot to get emergency authorizati on in India after Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin.

The drug-maker said in July its COVID-19 vaccine was effective against the new coronavirus mutants, especially the Delta variant,

and that the sh ot is administered using a needlefree applicator as opposed to traditional syringes.

The regulatory nod makes ZyCoV-D the sixth vaccine authorized for use in the country where only about 9.18% of the entire population has been fully vaccinated so far, according to Johns Hopkins data https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/r egion/india.

Zydus Cadila had also submitted data evaluating a two-dose regimen for the shot in July and plans to seek regulatory approval for the same.

The firm had applied for the authorization of ZyCoVD on July 1, based on an efficacy rate of 66.6% in a late-stage trial of over 28,000 volunteers nationwide.

Sunday August 22, 2021

L

ast night, the relatives and friends of the late Ricardo Fagundes aka 'Paper Shorts' gathered outside of the Palm Court Restaurant & Bar on Main Street, Georgetown, to protest for justice in the case of Ricardo Fagundes who was gunned down execution style in front of Palm Court in March 2021.

Speaking with Kaieteur News, his family members said that police had disclosed to them that they have identified someone who might be the prime suspect in the heinous killing of Fagundes.

According to relatives, August marks five months since he died and they have not received any justice; some of the protestors vowed to continue and to escalate the protest until they do.

Kaieteur News

The family on scene at Palm Court last night.

PAGE 61

PAGE 62

Sunday August 22, 2021

Kaieteur News

Guard drops dead chasing pork-knockers off Australian...

From page 16 with battels and others with metal detectors.

SERVICES

LAND FOR SALE

Visa Application: U.S.A, Canada & UK; Graphics design, advertisements, Wedding arch rentals. Tel: 626-7040

Farm(East Bank) $6.5M & $7M.Tel:617-9930.

Zeelugt (100ftx50ft) $4.5M Farm (East Bank).110ftx53ft $10.5M.Tel:656-0701.

C a r m i c h a e l St,Queenstown,Middle Rd,Bartica,Friendship,Garden of Eden,Yarakabra Soesdyke Highway.Ray's Realty 6279685.

WANTED Boy and girl to work in factory. Applyin person. R.P E n t e r p r i s e a r e a 'k'LeRessouvenir E.C.D. Call: 220-2818/3710.

FOR SALE H.H.I on sale:Fridge, Stove,Microwave,Bed,Sofa Set,Recycliner,Table,A/ C,Swing& more.Call:6560701.

VACANCY

Puri Roti Cooks.Apply @Shanta's,225 Camp & New Market Streets.

1 6x6 Truck,1 Freightliner,1 Sylphy,1 Hilux LN 172,1 JCB loader.Tel:673-4002/ 665-3676.

Experience welders between ages30-45.MechanicDoosan & Excavator operator.Tel:223-5273/74.

WANTED

Taxi driver & dispatcher at Princess taxi.Located at RamadaPrincess Hotel.Tel:616-5419,2657075,265-7076.

Unfurnish 3 bedroom upstairs & 3 bedroom downstairs house.New Road Vreed-en-hoop.Call:6433170 or 688-4604.

Furnish & unfurnish apt 1 bedroom,2 bedroom,3 bedroom. Diamond,Providence & H e r s t e l l i n g E.B.D.Call:682-6238.

Large Property with Huge Concrete Bond, Prime Location Cumberland, Canje.

Idealfor Business.Price reduced/negotiable.Call:6792497.

Business:Hadfield St,Garden of Eden & Paradise.Residence: Meadowbank,Ogle & Paradise. Contact Ray's Realty 627-9685.

realising an average of 2,200 ounces of gold from its operations this year.

It had noted too that it was successful in securing another lucrative concession 20 kilometers south of its present operations - in the gold rich Potaro locale because it had mined out its Hicks 4 and Spearpoint mining pits.

The Australian company had boasted that the new claim secured will increase its land holding to an area of approximately 3,000 hectares.

Troy Resources had even related to its shareholders that the recently secured claim adjacent to the Karouni Gold Project is “considered to be highly prospective for largescale discovery.”

Despite securing new lands to mine, the company is still not closing off operations in its Hicks 4 and

Spearpoint mining pits.

Kaieteur News reported in July that Troy Resources is firing local workers in order for the expatriates to focus on underground mining there.

This move was made known to this newspaper by a circular to employees signed by the mines' General Manager, Colin Connors.

Meanwhile, it should be noted that during the past five years of Troy's operation in Guyana, the country has only received US$85,000 in royalty while the company was granted US$35M in waivers on fuel imports and tax breaks.

Troy also benefits from similar concessions afforded to the principals for the Aurora Gold Mines—now Zijin Mining Group.

The company also pays G$1,000 per acre of gold land just like Zijin Mining Group.

Guyana helped develop 2016 Guidelines...

For Sale – 4.018 acres of prime land in New Amsterdam,Berbice.Price reduced/negotiable.Call 592 679-2497.

FOR RENT

On concessions controlled by small-scale miners, the pork-knockers would be allowed to “hustle” and should they find large amounts of gold, the small-scale miner would ask them to pay him/ her a percentage.

On the other hand, hustling on concessions operated by large-scale mining companies is taking a big risk because it is considered to be illegal and the lands are heavily guarded. If they are caught they could be detained and charged.

The Karouni Gold Project lands from which the punters were reportedly being chased off is 100% controlled by Troy Resources and has been a profitable venture for the company since it commenced operations there in 2013.

Recently in May, the company had announced to its shareholders that it is

Wanted Masons, Carpenters, Labourers & Welders.

Contact: 602-9469, 657-5800, 666-2887.

S e a m s t r e s s , Ta i l o r w a n t e d . Te l l : 6 9 1 - 1 9 1 8 whatsapp.

Counter attendants.Apply @Shanta’s,225 Camp & New Market St. One mature general domestic.Must be able to cook.Must be COVID vaccinated.Tel:628-6724;MF,5-7pm.

Experienced cook,bartender and waitress for newly openedLounge Bar. Attractive salary.Call:610-3974.

Gardener for Subryanville.

Must be able to work with dogs. Contact:225-5818.

PROPERTY FOR SALE

Taxi and Minibus drivers to work and keep. Call: 2253234/628-1183.

Sale of property at Lot 87D Albert St Alberttown.3 b u i l d i n g f r o m Lamaha.24M,Price negotiable.Tel:675-9217.

One general domestic for Tuesdays & Saturdays preferably between Unity & Norterzul.Call:259-0953,6233231,613-0836.

Robb,Charlotte,Norton,Mc Doom,Betterhope, Enterprise,East Coast,Zeelugt, Uitvlugt & Adventure Essequibo.

Ray's Realty,627-9685.

Chowmein machine operator/steamer.Apply in person R.P Enterprise area 'k' L e R e s s o u v e n i r E.C.D.Call:220-2818/3710.

C l e a n e r, m a i n t e n a n c e worker,labours to work with P.S.G.C.S.Call:621-6969 or 615-7784,7-4pm.

Vacancy for a domestic maid.Call:637-6700.

Porter and Welder/Serviceman. Applicants must be experienced. Call: 231-2250.

One female cashier & one malewelder/fabricator@Del ice Co.Call:642-9191/2311408,8am-1pm.

Auto Electrical apprentice age 19-25 yrs.Apply in person, Lot 120 Forth Street Albertown G/Town or call 610-0340.

Person to assemble bicycles. Apply in person at Alabama Trading.65 Robb Street Bourda.

Cook/Baker,Kitchen assistant & Pitmen for interior location.Applicants must be experienced.Call:231-2250.

One clerk for TSI Eccles office.English& Mathematics,grade 1 or 2.

Email application:techserigy @yahoo.com or call 6429823.

Driver must be able to assist in workshop at Eccles,age 25-50,Car/Van licence.Call:642-9823.

Maid to cook and clean for East Bank.Call:615-9132.

Security officers male & female 18+. Lamaha St between Waterloo & Parade.

Call:223-4172/632-0510.

S&S security service having vacancy for security officers. Contact urgently:6916081/226-8645.

From page 10 share information with affected communities to manage local expectations regarding the petroleum sector and build trust.

In emerging producers, budgets for local content may be small and timelines for building capacity short.

In this context, the focus should be on the potential for repeat use of any local capacity developed.

Meaningful participation of national organisations in resource development is a central objective of many emerging produc-

ers. Capacity is needed to enable this.

Incremental improvements to the governance of the national petroleum sector will allow emerging producers to increase accountability. The focus in this regard should be on building up capacity in checks and balances as resources become proven.

Despite these guidelines being finalised five years ago, Guyana has yet to implement a vast majority of the said guidelines. This publication will examine each objective and the associated challenges and recommendations in detail in subsequent articles.

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 22, 2021

Two held trying to bribe cop after caught selling stolen car Two men were arrested on Friday after they attempted to bribe a police inspector to drop an ongoing investigation into the sale of a tampered vehicle.

Raphael Bagot, a 35-year-old bus driver, who resides at Kuru Kururu, Soesdyke-Linden Highway, and George Staglon, a 35-year-old mechanic, a resident of Sparendaam, East Coast Demerara (ECD), were on Friday arrested on a Fraudulent Imitation of an Identification Mark Charge by Police ranks at the Golden

Grove Police Station, East Bank Demerara (EBD).

According to the Police, the bribery incident occurred at around 16:15hrs. at the Golden Grove Police Station. The bus driver was in custody at the station at the said time facing other charges, when he made contact with an Inspector and offered him $200,000 to forego prosecution of the allegation of Fraudulent Imitation, among other offences.

The bus driver then handed over $100,000 to the inspector and called

the mechanic who came later with an additional $100,000 and gave it to the inspector as full payment. As a result, the Guyana Police Force has since launched an investigation, which revealed that the bus driver had allegedly sold a Toyota Fielder Wagon, PYY 9484, with a fraudulent identification mark, and tampered chassis number for $1.7M. Both men were subsequently arrested for the offence committed. The $200,000 has since been lodged as investigations are ongoing.

PAGE 63 The $200,000 that was offered to the inspector as payment to discard the allegations.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 64

Sunday August 22, 2021

Sonia Noel celebrates her th 50 birthday by helping emerging businesses For the most part, many people on their birthday expect to receive gifts and other tokens of appreciation, but not Sonia Noel. The entrepreneur, speaker, author, philanthropist and CEO of Sonia Noel Inc. decided to celebrate her 50th birthday by helping to provide a showcase for 50 emerging small businesses.

Ms. Noel in partnership with Giftland Mall and Urban Life held an exhibition to benefit small and start-up businesses. Yesterday was the first day of the exhibition where 50 persons ranging between the ages of 15 to 46 benefitted from the free display of their goods and services.

The products varied from cakes, to cosmetics, to pepper sauce, to clothing, to stationery equipment while the services offered included henna drawing, self-care treatment and much more.

Noel stated that as an entrepreneur herself she understood how difficult it could be in starting a business. The exhibition continues today the Giftland Mall.

Ms. Sonia Noel (center) and participants of the exhibition at Giftland Mall.

Participations exhibiting their products and services.

S

cenes from an accident last night at the corner of Howse and Saffon Streets.

Injured is taxi driver, Joseph Brotherson. Brotherson and

his wife Kenese was taking his pregnant daughter, Aaliyah Brotherson home from a wedding when his car collided with a pickup truck at around 2200 hours last night.

Brotherson's car was severely damaged and his legs

pinned by the driver side door until EMT ambulance services arrived on scene at around half hour later.

The driver of the pick up truck was interviewed on the scene by police officers and left with them shortly after.

Sunday August 22, 2021

PAGE 65

Kaieteur News

NBA releases full schedule, plans to mark 75th anniversary Reuters - The NBA released the full schedule for the 2021-22 season on Friday, outlining just how it will celebrate its 75th season.

The league will do so by highlighting the teams and events that have shaped the league’s history, including a showcase of the three franchises — the Knicks,

...GCB ecstatic with Manniram An empty court and bench is shown following the scheduled start time in Game Five of the Eastern Conference First Round between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Orlando Magic during the 2020 NBA Playoffs at AdventHealth Arena at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on August 26, 2020. (Kevin C. Cox/Pool Photo-USA TODAY Sports)

Sunday August 22, 2021 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) You feel indecisive when it comes to a romantic situation, Aries. You might ask yourself questions about how to proceed. Don't get overwhelmed by all the possibilities.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) Things should go quite well in the department of love today. Pursue creative projects in social environments. The more time you spend with others, the more fulfilled you'll be by sundown.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Stay busy today. Keep your mind occupied with basic tasks that need doing. You can accomplish a lot by multitasking, writing down a plan, and sticking to it.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Listen to the birds today, Libra. They have a song for you, telling you to be happy.

Take time to do things that make you feel good.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) There is power behind your heart, and you might come across more forcefully than usual in the love and romance department. This is a good day to make a bold move toward someone.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) You might feel like your heart requires a bit more attention than usual. There could be a close loved one who is even needier than you. Either way, this situation is going to cause tension in an important relationship.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) You're at an emotional climax now. Things are coming to a critical point. Little issues in your relationships that you've ignored are coming back to haunt you.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Things go well in your love life today, but only if you let them happen. You must first open your arms to give and receive. If your arms are full of laundry, it will be harder for people to hug you.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) You may feel confused, Leo. If so, take a breath and slow down. Being frantic will only run you in circles.

Your heart and mind are buzzing in all directions, so try to settle down.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Spend time with someone you love today, but keep things light and easy. Don't go too deep, and don't expect others to necessarily feel the things you feel.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Embrace your loved ones, Virgo. Let your heart lead the way. Things will flow your way if you let them.

Don't try to fight the good fortune that comes. If you try to force the door open, it won't budge.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Love is in the air for you.

You will be rewarded handsomely because you have so many things to offer.

Spread your love everywhere. Skip from place to place and person to person, receiving smiles of pleasure.

From page 66 that Manniram, with his wealth of knowledge and experience in business, politics, administration and social responsibilities, will be valueadded to CWI. The GCB President expects that Manniram will bring to CWI the same levels of commitment and success for which he is known in Guyana and further afield. President Singh added that he is looking forward to work with Manniram on the plans and programmes of CWI towards the continued progress and development of cricket in the Caribbean.

Mr. Manniram Prashad’s position as an Independent Director of CWI commenced July 30th, 2021.

Celtics and Warriors — that have been a part of each season.

Earlier this week, the NBA released its opening day schedule — play will begin Oct. 19 — and the five marquee matchups set for Christmas Day. The 2021-22 schedule is a return to the typical 82 games per team after a reduced number of games over the past two seasons due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The league is holding what it calls “NBA 75 Classic Matchups” to mark its diamond jubilee year. They include: —A Nov. 1 matchup between the New York Knicks and Toronto Raptors (7:30 p.m. ET, NBA TV) — 75 years after the league’s first regular-

season game played between the Knicks and Toronto Huskies.

—The Knicks, Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors will face each over a three-game round-robin Dec. 14, 17 and 18.

—On Jan. 7, the Los Angeles Lakers will host the Atlanta Hawks (10 p.m. ET, ESPN) to mark the 50th anniversary of the Lakers’ 33rd straight victory, a win over the Hawks. The 33-game streak is still the longest winning streak in league history. The Oct. 19 seasonopening games feature contests between the NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks and the Brooklyn Nets, as well as the Warriors and the Lakers.

(Field Level Media)

Kaieteur News

PAGE 66

GCB ecstatic with Manniram Prashad’s appointment to CWI Directorship President Bissoondyal Singh and members of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) have expressed congratulations to Mr. Manniram Prashad on his appointment as a NonMember Director of Cricket West Indies (CWI), joining three other such Directors – Dr. Akshai Mansingh, Mr. Daren Sammy and Mrs. Debra Coryat-Patton.

A release from the GCB noted, “Mr. Prashad, or Mannie as he is popularly known, is a former Minister in the Government of Guyana and also a former Presidential Advisor on Trade and Investment within the Office of the President.

He also served as Honorary Consul of Trinidad and Tobago for a number of years.

An outstanding and highly successful Insurance Broker in the Caribbean, Mr. Prashad is also the proprietor of the popular Palm Court nightclub, a past President and present Executive Member of the Private

Bissoondyal Singh Sector Commission, Consul General for the Philippines and the Founding President of the Guyana Oil and Gas Energy Chamber.

Mannie has been a keen follower of cricket for over forty years and in fact served in many cricket administrative capacities in Guyana and the United States. He served for a decade as an Executive Member of the prestigious Georgetown Cricket Club, the oldest cricket club in the Caribbean, and also as President of the Gandhi Youth Cricket Club. As an

Manniram Prashad enthusiastic supporter of West Indies Cricket, Mannie keenly follows the fortunes of the various West Indies teams, especially at the test cricket level.”

GCB President Bissoondyal Singh was particularly pleased that a Guyanese has secured the fourth and final position of the “Independent Directors”.

President Singh posited that Mannie’s very impressive curriculum vitae had clearly bowled over CWI and won him the position unopposed.

He expressed confidence (Continued on page 65)

Dutch star Hassan cruises to win in 5,000m at Prefontaine Classic

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FP - Double gold medallist Sifan Hassan came up short in a bid to set a world record in the 5,000 metres at the Prefontaine Classic on Friday, but she still managed to win comfortably in a time of 14 minutes 27.89 seconds.

The Dutch star Hassan, who won gold in the 5,000m and 10,000m at the Tokyo Games earlier this month, finished well ahead of runner-up Senbere Teferi of Ethiopia who clocked 14:42.25 on the opening night of the two-day track meet at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

Teferi’s Ethiopian teammate Fantu Worku was third in 14:42.85 and Loice Chemnung of Kenya finished fourth in 14:43.65.

Organizers hyped Hassan’s attempted assault on the world record and she did run all alone for the last half of the race, beating Teferi by 14 seconds and bettering her

Sunday August 22, 2021

Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan

Olympic winning time of 14:36.79.

But it was more than five seconds off her personal best time and she was nowhere near the world mark of 14:06.62 set by Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey in October in Valencia, Spain. She ran six races in Tokyo, also capturing a bronze in the 1,500m.

Gidey is in Eugene but decided not to run in the 5,000 metres, choosing to compete in what turned out to be a blistering two mile race instead, where she finished second.

Burundi’s Francine Niyonsaba stormed to victory in 9:00.75, becoming the second fastest woman ever in the seldom-run two event. Gidey finished second in 9:06.74, six seconds behind Niyonsaba.

The meet continued yesterday, when the women’s and men’s 100m races should provide the most compelling storylines of the weekend.

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 22, 2021

PAGE 67

18th IPF/NAPF/Pan American Regional Powerlifting C/ships - Equipped

Petterson-Griffith ends with Gold and new 93kg Open Pan American Deadlift Record; Guyana close out with 6 gold & 2 silver medals

Setting a new Pan American 93kg Open Equipped record of 350kg (771.62lb) is Carlos ‘The Showstopper’ Petterson-Griffith.

(Franklin Wilson photo)

Franklyn Brisport-Luke powering to a PB in the deadlift of 155kg (341.72lb) which also brought him a new Total PB of 355kg (782.641lb). (Franklin Wilson photo)

Guyana’s oldest powerlifter, Naranjan Singh Squats his best, 248.02lbs (112.5kg in the Masters 1V Class. (Franklin Wilson photo)

By Franklin Wilson in Orlando, Florida compliments of Pele Alumni, Fitness Express and the Trophy Stall

G

uyana closed off its participation at the 18th Annual NAPF/FESUPO Pan-American Regional P o w e r l i f t i n g Championships last evening at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Orlando International Airport, Florida in style with t h e n a t i o n ’s l e a d i n g strongman setting a new Pan American Deadlift record.

Twenty-seven year-old Carlos ‘The Showstopper’ Petterson-Griffith competing in the Men’s Open 93kg Class, set a new record of 350kg (771.62lb) on his second lift which

turned out to be his final of the day as he passed up on the third lift.

This performance also propelled the Mon Repos Fitness Gym member to the Gold medal, his second of the championships having won the Classic Gold on Friday. He relegated Andres Soto (665kg) of Costa Rica to the Silver medal with Mexico’s Marco Reyes taking the Bronze with a total of (605kg).

It was not a done deal after Petterson-Griffith’s record lift completed as two of the three Referees had failed the lift but swift thinking by Manager/Coach Kerma Singh saw him requesting of the Jury Table, a review of the decision and it was overturned, paving the way for the lift and record to

stand.

Petterson-Griffith’s best Bench Press was 160kg (352.74lbs), his best Squat was a Personal Best (PB) 335kg (738.58lb), 5kg up from his previous; his Total was 845kg (1862.906lb).

His {Carlos} performance capped a fabulous day and competition for the Guyanese contingent, with Franklyn Brisport-Luke also adding to his Classic Silver, an Equipped Silver in the Masters 11 66kg category.

There were Gold medals for Guyana Amateur Powerlifting Federation (GAPLF) President Gordon Spencer in the Masters 111 93kg Division and Guyana’s oldest competing strongman, Naranjan Singh

who would be celebrating his 77th birthday, next month. The USA based Singh contested the Masters

1V 83kg Class.

Final Medal Count Gold 6 Silver 2

Bronze 0 Total 8 More details in tomorrow’s edition.

GAPLF President Gordon Spencer is goodfor a 170kg (374.79lb) Squat. (Franklin Wilson photo)

Franklyn Brisport-Luke’s best Squat of 130kg (286.60lb). (Franklin Wilson photo)

Kaieteur News

PAGE 68

Sunday August 22, 2021

DVA A Division tourney

Young Achievers defeat Castrol Strikers on night two

Young Achievers Volleyball Club made light work of Castrol Strikers.

The Demerara Volleyball Association’s Georgetown ‘A’ Division tournament continued on Friday night at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) with Young Achievers Volleyball Club picking up three points against Castrol Strikers during the second night of play.

Young Achievers won the first two games 25-16 and 25-20 before Castrol Strikers pulled back the third game with a commanding 25-15 before Achievers closed out the match with a 25-19 win during game four.

Juan Valasquez top scored for the winners with 15 points with support from Klondyke Rodney with 10 points and Geno Carrol with 10 points as well.

Achievers are now level on points with Eagles Vo l l e y b a l l C l u b t h a t registered the first win of the

Action between the National Seniors and National Under-23 (right).

tourney on Wednesday against the winless Castrol.

The next game in the DVA A league is scheduled for Tuesday with Young Achievers facing off against Eagles Volleyball Club in a

top of the table match that is scheduled to spike down at 19:30hrs.

In addition, the Guyana Volleyball Federation (GVF) is hosting the third leg of the National Teams Exhibition

Series today in the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

The National U23 squad holds a commanding 2 game lead over the Senior National Team after defeating them in the first two games by three

sets to one. The Senior National Team will be hoping to bounce back and keep the series alive by winning today’s game, while the National U23 Squad will hope to close out the series

and claim victory over the Senior squad.

The game begins at 13:30hrs and will be live streamed on the Guyana Volleyball Federation’s Facebook page.

Match Officials Greene and Johnson to represent Guyana at CFU youth tournaments Shavin Greene and Gladwyn Johnson will represent Guyana as match officials for the upcoming CFU Boys’ and Girls’ U14 Challenge Series in the Dominican Republic.

T h e t w o n o n - F I FA tournaments provide much needed game time for match officials following the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic. The competitions also offer a chance to assess regional referee development programmes ahead of future international tournaments.

“We are extremely elated to have our two match officials appointed for this CFU series,” said GFF Head of Refereeing and Executive

Gladwyn Johnson Committee member Dion Inniss. “Opportunities for our referees in recent times have been very few and far

Shavin Greene between because of the pandemic. We hope that this opportunity to advance their careers and ensure they do all

that is required to be seen and to elevate their performance.”

“It’s a tournament for n o n - F I FA r e f e r e e , s o obviously if you have a successful tournament, it enhances your opportunities and your chances of being elevated to a higher level,” Inniss said.

The rescheduled 2020 CFU Boys’ U14 Challenge Series and the 2021 Girls’ U14 Challenge Series take place in the Dominican Republic this month.

“I would like to thank the Refereeing Department of the Guyana Football Federation for giving me the opportunity to participate in my first overseas

tournament,” said Shavin Greene.

“I am really excited and happy to be a part of this tournament to gain a lot more experience and also to put my best foot forward out there, so that I can show the world and, more so, the Caribbean the talent that Guyana has. On my journey of wanting to become a FIFA referee, this is one of the opportunities where I will be able to showcase such talent to the eyes that are out there,” he said.

As football’s governing bodies continue to adapt to the restrictions imposed by the continuing pandemic, Guyanese referee instructors Sherwin Moore and Ingram

Johnson participated in an official FIFA online course for the Concacaf region this week.

The virtual course, which ran from August 16th to August 19th, the FIFA Futuro III course focused on the education of referee technical instructors to enhance the development of refereeing in FIFA member associations.

The GFF will also host its annual Referees Assessment Programme (RAP) this week at the GFF National Training Centre in Providence, as the Federation steps up its “return to play” plans ahead of the safe resumption of competitions.

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 22, 2021

PAGE 69

Rain washes out second day at Sabina Park

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SPNcricinfo The second day of the second Test between West Indies and Pakistan was washed out completely, with no action possible due to intermittent rain and a wet outfield.

The start of play was delayed for a persistent drizzle, forcing the umpires into taking an early lunch.

Moments after that announcement, however, the clouds scattered and the rain

stopped, only to resume just before a second inspection.

It would be that sort of day, with the weather teasing at the prospect of some cricket, before eventually match officials conceded victory and called it a day at 4.05pm local time.

It leaves the match situation where it was at stumps on day one, with Pakistan having lost four wickets for 212. Faheem Ashraf and Mohammad

Rizwan are unbeaten, with Fawad Alam having retired hurt on the stroke of tea on the first day.

Play will start half an hour early, at 9.30am local time, today with 98 overs scheduled to be bowled.

West Indies lead the series 1-0, having triumphed in the first game by one wicket.

Scores: Pakistan 212 for 4 (Azam 75, Alam 76*, Roach 3-49) v West Indies.

The ground staff at Sabina Park mop up water from the covers. (AFP/Getty Images)

Elaine Thompson-Herah narrowly misses out on breaking - Richardson finishes 33-year-old 100m record dead last

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A Media - Elaine ThompsonHerah came within 0.05 seconds of Florence Griffith Joyner’s 33-year-old 100 metres world record as she clocked the second fastest time ever at the Diamond League meeting in Eugene.

The Jamaican blazed to victory at the Prefontaine Classic in 10.54secs, eclipsing the 10.61s she ran to defend her Olympic title in Tokyo last month.

She finished well clear of compatriot Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who clocked 10.73.

Griffith Joyner’s mark of 10.49 from 1988 has long appeared untouchable, but Thompson-Herah’s exploits

this summer have brought it within reach for the first time in a generation.

“To come back with a personal best after the championships, that is amazing,” said the 29-yearold, who also won 200m and 4x100m gold in Tokyo.

“I have more races, so I don’t get too excited, too carried away. I have to continue doing the job.”

Sha’Carri Richardson, the American who missed the Olympics after testing positive for cannabis, finished last in 11.14 in her first race back following a one-month ban.

The 21-year-old, whose 10.72 from April makes her the sixth fastest woman in history, was typically

defiant afterwards, saying: “I wanted to be able to come and perform after having a month off and dealing with all I was dealing with. I’m not upset with myself at all.

“This is one race. I’m not done. You know what I am capable of. Count me out if you want to. Talk all the s*** you want, because I’m here to stay.”

D i n a A s h e r- S m i t h , whose 100m and 200m medal hopes in Tokyo were dashed by a hamstring injury, clocked 22.19 to finish third in the 200m, while Olympic silver medallists Laura Muir and Keely Hodgkinson were 12th and fifth in the 1500m and 800m respectively.

Rain delayed the start of second day’s play Aug 20, 2021 © AFP/Getty Images

Kaieteur News

PAGE 70

Sunday August 22, 2021

AIBA plans global celebration for International Boxing Day August 27

Steve Ninvalle GBA President

I

nitiated in 2017 by now President of the International Boxing Association (AIBA), Umar Kremlev, in his role as Secretary General of the Russian Boxing Federation, August 27 will be celebrated as World Boxing Day. For the first time, the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) will join AIBA in celebrating the day, which is set to showcase all facets of the sport in innovative ways.

Local officials, celebrities and champions will conduct a variety of training sessions and

Umar Kremlev AIBA President

exhibition bouts.

In the spirit of unity in boxing, community betterment efforts are also being put in place as part of the events on August 27.

S ome F ederations are looking to work with the local youth and charity organizations.

The main programme will take place in Belgrade, Serbia, the soon-to-be host to AIBA Men’s World Boxing Championships.

The schedule on August 27 includes outdoor training at the main city square with Roy Jones Jr, boxing masterclasses, show bouts and much more.

“We see it as an event that shows that boxing is unified throughout the world. We have organized several activities.

Our organizing committee is spearheaded by two of our AIBA Three Star coaches – Terrence Poole MS and Sebert Blake. And on Friday August 27, Guyana will join hands with most of the 203 countries affiliated to AIBA, to showcase what we have and to be part of the International Boxing Day,” said president of the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA), Steve Ninvalle.

The GBA’s activities,

AIBA has planned a worldwide celebration to mark International Boxing Day next Friday. though curtailed by COVID19 restrictions, will be held at the Andrew ‘Six Heads’ Lewis gym in Albouystown.

AIBA President Umar Kremlev will also host several media events, to continue the conversation about the organization’s progress and its plans for further social development of boxing.

Kremlev, the AIBA president since December 2020, said “International Boxing Day is an opportunity for us to be together as we celebrate this

mesmerizing sport. Boxing is beautiful, diverse, and unifying.

It is discipline, purpose, grit, spectacle, community, and a family. Each year, on this day, I hope we come together to share our love and passion for this universal sport!”

Ninvalle lauded the Russian boxing a d m i n i s t r a t o r, f o r h i s rejuvenation of boxing globally, adding that, “Since his election to the Presidency of AIBA, Mr. Kremlev has made several inroads that

supports the development of Boxing across the world, so we have to applaud him from the executives of the GBA and the Americas Boxing Confederation (AMBC).”

AIBA plans to continue celebrating International Boxing Day annually and hopes that the events on the August 27 will convince more boxing fans, new and old, athletes, officials, and everyone else in the community to recognize this day as a fun, inspiring and necessary milestone in the sports calendar.

Kaieteur News

Sunday August 22, 2021

The West Indies Over-50 squad.

Amin (5-22), Dhaniram (46*) lead West Indies to C/Ship A five-wicket haul from left-arm orthodox spinner Zamin Amin and an entertaining, unbeaten 46 from Sudesh Dhaniram were enough to spur West Indies to a commanding eightwicket win over Canada in the final of the Tri-lateral over-50 series on Friday.

At a sunlit Danville ground in Mississauga, To r o n t o , We s t I n d i e s gleefully reached 148-2 in the 31st over replying to the hosts’ moderate 146 all out in 44.3 off the allotted 45-over affair.

After Canada were invited to bat first on a placid pitch, they succumbed easily to Amin who grabbed 5-22 from 8.3 probing overs.

Mohan Harihar, a seamer, once again responsible for an early breakthrough leaving Canada at 29-2 before the exGuyana Youth player Amin

started to wreak havoc.

Vishaul De Mel, however, showed some composure in the middle to hit a top-score of 48.

Rohan Jayasekera offered resistance too by making 34. Harihar supported the destructive Amin with 2-20 from his maximum nine overs.

West Indies began their chase in a clinical fashion.

Rajendra Sadeo and Krishna Harricharran posted a rapid 54-run stand. Both displayed confidence during their stay with scores of 33 and 29 respectively. They departed in quick succession to give the Canadians a slim hope of bouncing back, but the experience of Dhaniram and Shiv Seeram prevailed.

Dhaniram, a former national Guyana opening batsman, mixed aggression with defence. The elegant right-

hander came in at number four and put together a solid, unbroken 62-run thirdwicket stand with Seeram, who made an impressive 29.

Dhaniram, who scored 60 in the final preliminary round match against the other participating team USA on We d n e s d a y, p l a y e d positively, striking nine fours inclusive of four consecutive boundaries.

Amin was named player-ofthe-match for outstanding bowling performance.

Meanwhile, the three countries along with a Canada Select X1 featured on round-robin basis. They (West Indies, USA and Canada) were using the fourday organized tournament as part of their preparations for next year’s International Cricket Council over-50 World Cup billed for South Africa in November.

PAGE 71

Williamsburg residents seeks President’s intervention to set up football ground Residents of the Block-6Williamsburg, Corentyne, Berbice area is calling on His Excellency President Dr. Irfaan Ali to intervene to set up a football and recreational ground in the area.

In a letter to the media asking the President to come to their assistance, the members of the football club in the area on behalf of the residents stated: “Our Football Club is seeking President, His Excellency Dr. Irfaan Ali’s intervention in the issue of having a suitable ground to play on. Our club has a plot of land situated at Block-6Williamsburg, Corentyne Berbice, near the new housing scheme that is being developed by the government for the purpose of football playing.

We have noticed that there is the digging of a drain through our field. We are asking His Excellency Dr. Ali to look into the matter so

The land at Block-6-Williamsburg, Corentyne Berbice, set aside for the football ground and recreation area. that our youths can have a football facility in the community. Our community is becoming more populated, especially with the developing of the new scheme.”

“Mr Vibert Garrett, the club’s president, said the youths have nowhere to play football. They play football in any open lot or sometimes in the street. Mr President

this is the only suitable location for playing football in the area named above. The field which is located between the Rose Hall Town Outpost and Rose Hall Fire Station is also a very suitable recreation facility of the respective entities.

Please recognize this is important to the residents of the said area and our club,” the letter concluded.