Kaieteur News

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AIETEUR NEWS

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Three dead,

Wednesday Edition

four missing after

February 09, 2022 - Vol. 17 No.06 Online: www.kaieteurnews.com Online Price $80 readership yesterday, 77,040

Nigerian FPSO explosion

ExxonMobil, partners to make no less than US$5.7B this year from Stabroek Block ...but deny Guyana fundamental right to full coverage insurance

Money in Budget to review Exxon’s 5th Project this year

est The prot es continu e to g for chanobil’s ExxonM act. contr

…audits outside of Stabroek Block to be undertaken

Govt. seeks PNCR calls new builder on police to for Demerara probe bribery River Bridge allegations …ends negotiations with Chinese firm due to high costs against Jagdeo

Govt. gives EPA thousands to monitor billion-dollar oil operation President Ali, when will you remove the two-year time limit set by Exxon to check their books/bills?

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Wednesday February 09, 2022

Wednesday February 09, 2022

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Govt. blanks Toshaos Conference

A previous Toshaos Conference.

- accuses leaders of breaking COVID-19 rules, shunning vaccines Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Pauline Sukhai announced that there will be n o N a t i o n a l To s h a o s Council (NTC) conference this year even as she accused some Amerindian leaders of flouting the gazetted COVID-19 guidelines and refusing to be vaccinated.

There is no budgetary allocation for the annual meeting, the Department of Public Information reported based on revelations during the examination of the estimates for the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, Monday evening.

“We’ve customarily (been) holding it every year. We were unable to hold it during the COVID19 period, so we have catered if the leaders become much more responsible and support the government’s COVID19 effort, we may get back to some form of normalcy and we’ll be happy to hold NTC,” Pauline Sukhai, Minister of Amerindian Affairs said.

Minister Sukhai had noted previously, that many leaders refused to be

vaccinated despite the growing number of positive cases and the guidance of health experts that vaccination is the best way to beat the pandemic. The NTC is a semi-autonomous body comprising all Toshaos.

The executive committee is formed with one Toshao from each of the 10 regions. The NTC promotes good governance in the villages, as well as prepares strategies and plans for the protection, conservation, and sustainable management of Amerindian lands and other resources.

It is also responsible for crafting plans to reduce poverty and improve access to health and education and other critical services. The NTC conference gives village leaders a forum to engage the president and government ministers and expand development acute to Amerindians.

According to the DPI, over $40 million has been budgeted to train Amerindian leaders in good governance among other areas, Minister Sukhai said.

“The allocation caters for the training of Community Development Officers and

village councils in terms of training and governance and record-keeping,”

Goed

Man dies after doing back flip into canal A 28-year-old carpenter lost his life on Monday after he back flipped into a canal during a swimming date with his girlfriend.

He has since been identified as Ramesh Ramphal of 142 Britainia Village, West Coast Berbice (WCB). He reportedly died around 17:00hrs at the Tempe Canal.

That afternoon, Kaieteur News was told, Ramphal and his girlfriend, Rushelle Craig, had gone to the canal for a swimming date. While having fun Ramphal decided to do a “back flip” plunge into the canal as his girlfriend sat on the bank of the canal watching him.

She told investigators that after he made the plunge he failed to resurface. His girlfriend reportedly waited for some ten minutes to see if he would have resurfaced but when he did not she panicked and ran to inform his family members who lived about a mile away.

.

Dead, Ramesh Ramphal They returned with her and began searching in the canal and reportedly in the same area where he had made the plunge. His lifeless body was removed and the police was alerted.

His remains were then taken to the Fort Wellington Hospital where it was further examined by doctors there before it was sent to the Bailey’s Funeral Home.

M in is ter S u k h ai s aid .

Additional training will also be given to Amerindian

Community Support Officers, (CSOs), to cater to their villages’ needs.

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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 Ukraine could be precursor to what’s in store with next door neighbour The eyes of the world are fixed on what is happening in the Ukraine, given the standoff and escalating tensions, and the risks of such superpower stare down spiraling into dangerous territory. The world is also talking about what is at stake in the tense standoff that deteriorated into what was called a “bitter diplomatic brawl” between Russian and U.S. representatives at the United Nations Security Council on Monday, January 31. What Guyanese should be concerned about is what is increasingly taking on the shape of a new Cold War, which could bring its own troubles right in our backyard.

We say this because the U.S. and Russian confrontation over the Ukraine could be indicative of the type of lowlevel proxy conflict that makes its way over here in the Venezuelan-Columbian conflict. Though it is not at our border with Venezuela, but away on the southwestern side of Venezuela, it should still be a cause of concern for Guyanese, for we don’t want to be nearby when those giants tangle, be it through proxies on the ground, or via other means. In October 1963, the Cuban missile crisis saw an earlier challenge and throw down over Cuba, which as tense as it was, did not alarm us too much, as that was a good distance away.But whatever runs through Venezuela and impacts it is sure to make us look on nervously, given that two global behemoths could be locked in lengthy struggle.

When superheavyweights tangle, little people are at risk of being in the crossfire; it is best that those things happen elsewhere, or to make oneself small to avoid being crushed.

It doesn’t take a genius to recognise the probability of intensification of such bitter and unyielding postures to spread. It does not have to be limited to the VenezuelaColumbia border and the conflict between the two neighbours but could extend to the tempting gems of Venezuela, which is its oil in the Orinoco Basin and the Maracaibo fields.

Let this truth be faced, if Venezuela was a barren wasteland, where proven oil reserves were concerned, then it would have barely gotten a passing nod of recognition from the big powers. Haiti, with its people mired in grinding poverty, stands as a case in point.

In contrast, the oil rich Caspian countries, and other independent republics of the USSR that came about in 1991 with the breakup of the Soviet Union have abundant oil in their fields. Western oil powers, with America lagging somewhat, want to get in there, and establish the biggest footprint possible. It has not been smooth sailing for American oil majors with sanctions hobbling them before, tilting the playing against them, and rendering them unable to compete on their terms. They constantly must play catch up with the French, Itali ans, and other oil companies of Europe. Though Ukraine cannot compare in oil reserves to the likes of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, its value is as a buffer between Russia and European states such as Poland and Romania. The United States has to take a stand, or risk looking unreliable and weak, if it doesn’t.

Similarly, though the Russians and Chinese have nurtured delicate and cozy relationship with Venezuela, notwithstanding U.S. sanctions, the Americans cannot allow encroachments from either of the two (or both) in this region. There is another point to consider, which increases the importance of Venezuela in the strategic considerations of the U.S. From all indications, America is losing ground in the oil rich Middle East, where it once held sway as the unchallenged king of the hill.

Even Saudi Arabia, a once treasured relationship, has engaged with China, and partnered with Russia, leading to waning American influence. America has no welcome in Iran while its sacrifices in Iraq have not been rewarded to any great degree by the Iraqis. The Russians have serious issues with Western, especially domineering American, presences in its vast oilfields. Because of the sum of this, Venezuela, its locations, and its oil is of paramount importance. It cannot and must not be lost.

The meaning of that is stark: what unfolds in Ukraine could be replicated there, to the worries of Guyana, because the effects could be felt here.

What is the use of the Guyana Police Force?

DEAR EDITOR, I am writing this letter to highlight the uselessness of the Guyana Police Force in handling the worsening traffic situation on the western side of the Demerara Harbour Bridge especially the areas between Canal Number One Polder and the bridge.

There is usually one line leading up to the bridge for those who are traversing to Georgetown and the East Bank Demerara. However, there are over two hundred “brilliant” drivers who decide they are above the law and they could do whatever they want. They create two, sometimes three additional lanes, two of which are on the wrong side of the road into oncoming traffic. Traffic is usually at a standstill until they force their way into the correct queue and not to mention they act like it is their entitlement when they do this.

But you would think surely the police officers see this sort of behaviour and ensure the drivers face the necessary consequences for

this behaviour? And you would be correct they actually do. However, the serious consequence they face from the police is rewarding the driver with the spot they wanted in the line.

The drivers then go into the line for that moment and then go back to the same nonsense again when they pass the officers. Do persons not get charged anymore?

There are also usually two to three officers on motorcycles. The most they usually do is park the cycle, sit on it and look on as the chaos ensues. There have the look of “there is too much vehicles and we can’t stop all so we might as well leave them”. This may well be true, to be fair to the officers, hence why there should be a number of officers along the route that CHARGES any individual who decides that he or she is above the law. Are you telling me that there are not five more officers at any of the police station on the West Side?

There are two specific officers who want to maintain

the law and order on the West Side; these are Mr. Watts (Commander) and Mr. Humphrey (Chief Inspector).

They have been on a mission to ensure the law is followed and I do respect their attempts. However, their priorities are woefully misplaced. About a year ago, Mr. Watts had decided to charge all motorcycles who rode on the wrong side of the road leading up to the bridge.

These cyclists affect no one by riding in the open spaces.

Since then, the motorcyclists have to manoeuvre between four lanes of traffic endangering their lives and causing issues for other vehicles. This has only caused more issues in the morning. These motorcyclists cause issues but you see no issue with the hundreds of motorcars and minibuses doing the same Mr. Watts?

Now onto Mr. Humphrey who just about a month ago was on a tint campaign on the heavily tinted cars especially their windshields. This needs to be applauded since he is enforcing the law as he has

been trained to do. Here is where the question of priorities comes in. Tint affects absolutely no one, it is more of a help than any hindrance. There is no proven fact that tinted cars are used to commit crimes and let’s be honest if persons wanted to commit a crime, tint or no tint, they will. Besides, most crimes are committed by motorcycles. Mr. Humphrey, the tint helps us especially since we have to spend at least two hours in morning traffic due to lack of action by your officers.

We accept the main issue has always been the idiotic drivers and indeed all of this could be avoided if they had been born with a brain but since they cannot grow a brain at this age, the next best option is to ensure that the police do their job that they are being paid to do.

If the traffic police’s job is not to maintain law and order on our roadways then I have to ask, WHAT IS THE USE OF THE GUYANA POLICE FORCE on the West Side?

Loknauth Seesankar

Public support needed to push renegotiation We must compliment the bravery of Mr. Glenn Lall on his campaign to highlight the injustices in the oil contract between the Government and ExxonMobil. Mr. Lall was missing from the airwaves and it appears that the fight is over.

We must understand that Mr. Lall is up against all odds.

In my opinion, the Vice President is one of the most cunning politicians in Guyana. He will not go to the negotiation table with ExxonMobil unless he is forced to do so.

The recent budget debate in my opinion made no impact on the government to rene-

gotiate the contract. The debate lack substance and it appears to be another grand standing.

The Vice President is fully aware that that there is no public pressure on him for a better contract until public pressure is placed on him, then he will remain steadfast.

The Vice President is very skillful, he is one of the best within the Caribbean. He has joined the elite ranks of Burnham, Jagan, Errol Barrow, Eric Williams, Manley as a leading politician in the Caribbean. At present, there is no one on both sides of the aisle who could match him with his cunning rhetoric.

In my humble opinion, to get the Vice President back to the negotiation table, we need the support of the Opposition to agitate its members. APNU should apologise to the Guyana public for their misgivings and asked their supporters to come out in mass protest. Furthermore, we need the support of Civic Society, Press, Trade Unions and other organisations. They must sustain pressure.

Failing to achieve this, the Vice President will not renegotiate, the only way he will go back to the table is if he sees that public support is mounting against the government.

Furthermore, Mr. Jagdeo is paying close attention to public opinion and with the small protest, which had occurred over the past weeks will have no impact on the government. Whether we like or dislike the Vice President, we must say that he has the charisma to convince the populace; he has the charm, oratory and eloquence.

Morris Springer Editor’s Note: Because of ill-health, Mr. Glenn Lall has reduced the number of days, which he appears on The Glenn Lall Show but be assured that the fight continues.

Govt. mysteries and a mystery government DEAR EDITOR, I watch happenings in Guyana, and I conclude that what we have are government mysteries and a mystery government. In an unreasonably short time, the seasonable nature of sordid PPP/C stewardship and leadership has returned in emphatic form. In a matter of months, in less than two years, there have been a slew of developments shrouded in mists, the obscurities that are now norms of PPP/C governance.

There was Cotton Tree, two murdered youngsters named Henry, and another one, Haresh Singh. The President made a big speech and loved himself; his cheerleading squad works to bury questions, concerns, the grief of the families. Regarding Haresh Singh, there are

movements, but they leave unconvinced. The rural mysteries deepen.

Then, there was an execution on Main Street of a fellow called Fagundes. He is gone in a hailstorm, and culture takes over. He was dead before he hit the ground, and the fixers took over. Surveillance cameras, curfew checkpoints along a lengthy stretch, and enforcement officials all took a vacation.

They are still out, not to lunch, but on a limb. The warheads flew near the official residence of Guyana’s headman, but that didn’t matter; his head is up his, (let’s settle for), down escalator.

Indeed, the fellows were having fun with lethal fireworks, nothing more; the collateral damage of a cold case. Except, there are reports of the

chilling: police officers menaced.

Next, there was Dartmouth and that businessman Boston. He is no longer here, but his mystery took over a hundred days to get somewhere. It really didn’t get anywhere. As I ponder this, I recall the Speaker of the House was under fire and a no confidence motion; he had earned both.

Considering these forgotten episodes, I wonder who is serving whom, and whose interests are paramount?

Burnham would have loved it, not me.

As if those mysteries were not enough for such a short period, there was this reincarnation of a highly favoured business practice that features prominently in PPP/C stewardship. It was of one

huge cocaine shipment, then another, then another caught in the net, with many others that slipped through the cordons, some cooperative, some covering up.

Those never made the news. Better for the atmospherics, law enforcement ambience. The turf killings may not be far behind.

Coupled to those, there is what I label a mystery government peopled with more mysterious leaders. One speaks with a forked tongue and the coiled tension of a camoodie snake with numerous deceptions, stonewalling, and cover-ups on oil and gas. He sits pretty uneasy while the next one tramples on the English tongue and call that transparency. Somebody is delusional and unhinged, (Continued on page 6)

Wednesday February 09, 2022

Our foreparents very bravely and with great dignity stood their ground DEAR EDITOR, There is a booklet circulating on the internet called “One Guyana: Excerpts from Glimpses of a Global Life” by Shridath Ramphal. The link: h t t p : / / sirshridathramphal.com/domain/index.htm The “One Guyana” ideology is being promoted by the PPP/C Government as the blueprint for our country’s future and takes the position that our diversity of race, religions and cultures are problematic when these differences lead us to abandon the oneness of being Guyanese.

It’s not a new ideology nor new to hear it from Sir Shridath who was one of the earliest collaborators of President Forbes Burnham as Burnham set about to establish the PNC dictatorship which promoted miscegenation as the solution to Guyana’s racial division.

Miscegenation – the ideology of creating a Mixed race – is a simple-minded approach to a serious issue and is not pursued anywhere in the world as a solution to ethnic or cultural divisions. The solution always lies, rather, in establishing policies that build coalitions based on trust and respect among peoples, and best practices that encourage working together to uplift every community equitably.

When people choose freely to marry someone of another race or religion that is a personal matter. However, it is a matter for serious national discourse when this becomes a state sponsored policy aimed at whole populations.

The loser in this Mixed race assimilation is always the minority group or groups. In Guyana, despite our numerical majority, Indians are viewed as a minority since it is African Guyanese, African Caribbean, and the JudaeoChristian ethos that are culturally dominant and fully accepted as the status quo.

Burnham’s attempt to mould the nation according to his ideology was not the first attempt to colonise the Indian mind. That was done by the British imperialists from the time we arrived here in 1838 through an aggressive campaign aimed at Christianising us. Our foreparents very bravely and with great dignity stood their ground because they believed that their religions, beliefs, traditions and culture were as good as anyone else’s.

We survived the coloniser’s efforts and Burnham’s attempt at moulding us and there is now another campaign launched by the PPP Government with the very same goal in mind. It is

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called “One Guyana” and I would agree that the oneness ideology is very seductive because of its very simplemindedness. Unfortunately, the world is raced, has a myriad of beliefs, and is full of stubborn people like our foreparents. Any quarrel with the fact that the world is raced and comprises groups of different faiths and belief systems is a quarrel with the Creator.

According to Stabroek News’ editorial of February 6, 2022, the writers of the Atlantic Readers series found Guyana’s diversity problematic, which would be an admission of their own limitations. It is more believable that the readers were always intended to promote the PPP Government’s wholesale adoption of the oneness ideology and the writers, as SN stated, opted for “a mixed family with an African father and an Indian mother, although neither of the children has been given an Indian name.

However, their demographic selection in this instance, one would have thought eminently defensible.”

It is not defensible and the reasons are too many to write in even several letters. These are, however, very apparent to every fair-minded, thinking person.

My intention here is to (Continued on page 6)

On Dr. Jadoopat, Govt. Says Zero carry out Ministerial direcgreater than Five tives he would be replaced.

DEAR EDITOR, In reference to the termination of Dr. Rudy Jadoopat and the hiring of Dr. Prem Misir (Feb 6), there is new math — five is less than zero.

I am very puzzled by remarks made by Minister Vickram Bharrat on Dr. Rudy Jadoopat’s contract non-renewal (re-hiring). Mr. Bharrat said that Misir is more qualified than Jadoopat for the position. Really? So someone who served five years in the position (Dr. Jadoopat) is less qualified than a newcomer (Dr. Misir) who knows nothing about extractive industries and who didn’t serve any time in the office? So we now learn that five is not greater than zero. This is akin to saying 33 is not greater than 32. Wow, both political sides are the same! What a hole we have sunken the nation into! I used to have a lot of admiration and respect for Vickram Bharrat, not any more! Trump was right – we are a s— hole country.

Guyanese deserve the leadership they get for voting in these characters.

How could a politically unaligned Jadoopat be less qualified than Misir?

Jadoopat studied Economics while Misir studied social behaviour. Isn’t Economics more related to the Extractive industries than social behaviour? Jadoopat is politi-

cally neutral and never served any political master while Misir was a media propagandist for the Jagdeo Presidency. Jadoopat carried out his work professionally and is not controversial. Can we say the same about Misir who was at a political platform a decade ago and may even be on a party list of candidates for parliament? Jadoopat was never on a party list. He never appeared on a political platform. He also says he is not now nor ever an executive of a party.

EITI is supposed to be a politically neutral, independent body. EITI head office in Norway is pleased with the work of Jadoopat. Jadoopat demonstrated independence.

Why remove him now?

Jadoopat released a communication he had with Minister Bharrat in which he defied carrying out a political directive saying it violates the rules of EITI charter. That is independence and the kind of leadership that protects our oil industry. Jadoopat was reportedly told that if he did not

Is that the reason why the position was advertised and Jadoopat replaced by someone who is expected to comply with directives that violates EITI charter and who would reduce transparency on oil production? It seems that Jadoopat’s replacement is victimisation. He has a strong court case for huge compensation. I call on lawyers to take up this case pro bono.

Jadoopat’s kind of leadership is needed at EITI now more than ever. I appeal on the EITI headquarter to protest vehemently the decision (Continued on page 6)

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BUDGET 2)“Regally DEBATE – WALTON-DESIR VS JOSEPH HAMILTON One wonders whether his of women, but action should attired and mentarian, Hamilton re- counterpart but her represen-

DEAR EDITOR, The following quotes from SN’s report of February 1 on the current Budget debate makes interesting, indeed instructive, reading as in the following extracts: 1) “APNU & AFC front-bencher Amanza Walton-Desir hammered the government for its perceived failure to address the effects of inflation…”

with a hairstyle to match, the first-time parliamentarian was heckled by those from the government side” 3) “Her presentation was later dismissed by Minister of Labour Joseph Hamilton as being just the fluttering of a ‘headless chicken’. Questioned by Speaker Manzoor Nadir whether he was inputting something to the parlia-

sponded: I am saying that the opposition represented is a barnyard of headless creole fowls…headless yard fowls.”

Some perceptive persons could not help but see a disjunction between the descriptor and the physical portrait of the female presenter, and wondered whether the assault was not too insensitive – not only on a single female

tation of women as a whole.

One is left to wonder what must be the Minister’s quiet assessment of his own female staff – more so at this time of debate on the status of women – seen as ‘headless creole fowls’.

own family agrees with this assault on a qualified national representative of female human beings in Guyana, and elsewhere?

Not only Mr. Hamilton must be required to account for this insulting evaluation

be taken to expunge these salacious remarks from the records.Incidentally, what thought is given to what students, including valedictorians, react to such expositions?

Elijah Bijay

Our foreparents very bravely and with...

From page 5 alert families, communities and schools of minority groups about these Atlantic Readers texts and to say to them that you have the responsibility of ensuring that our children are properly taught and grounded within our homes as to their heritage, culture, religion, and traditions.

This is nothing new to Guyana. My parents, like so many others, did the same for us in order to counter school texts that were based on Brit-

ish imperial superiority, and to fill in the gaps left by West Indian readers, which presented Africans as the only Caribbean people; Indians, Amerindians, and other Caribbean minorities being wholly absent.

Because of the supplemental and reparative lessons, we became educated despite the discrimination and have remained faithful to our cultural heritage.

To Ms. Narissa Deokarran who wrote at length in both SN and Kaieteur News (Feb-

ruary 8, 2022) in defence of the readers, she should be reminded that it was her aja and ajee and nana and nanni who stood courageously against attempts to colonise them away from their culture and beliefs.

She could start her own journey of discovery into her history and heritage which stand in jeopardy once again of being diminished and disappeared by interrogating her very own name.

Sincerely, Ryhaan Shah

Govt. mysteries and a mystery government From page 4 and it is not me. There is something about oil that gives men severe mental constipation, torments with ethical dissipation. Further, one protective State agency is reduced to a caricature, with the oafish and fishy leading the way. In any self-respecting society, sanctions would come for selling out the State to foreign scallywags and corporate scoundrels. Not to worry, for there are powerful

leadership origins and backings for these mysteries that camouflage skullduggeries, sleights of hand, and general sleaziness.

Further still, another protective body is remade in short order into the security arm and strike force of political masters. The dogs are set loose on deviants, deviationists, and those declared to be undesirables. But they are held in check and made to look away when friends and other

fiends are involved. Overall, the biggest mystery hands down is anything involving money, which automatically means impenetrable secrecy.

The irony is that leaders are adored for all this; and that, too, is an inseparable part of this mystery government, this land of much murk, and many mysteries. Except that there are no mysteries by any measure, so obvious they all are.

Sincerely, GHK Lall

On Dr. Jadoopat, Govt. Says Zero...

From page 5 by the Guyana government to replace Dr. Jadoopat with a political operative. I appeal to the stakeholders’ body that oversees EITI Guyana to reject the Minister’s decision to

replace Jadoopat. The Vice President should intervene and reverse Misir’s appointment keeping Jadoopat in place.

Yours truly, Balram Gangadeen

Wednesday February 09, 2022

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Wednesday February 09, 2022

Govt. gives EPA thousands to monitor billion-dollar oil operation

By Gary Eleazar Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL)—ExxonMobil Guyana—first announced the discovery of commercial quantities of hydrocarbons (sweet light crude) in the Stabroek Block in 2015.

Production or ‘First Oil’ was had in December 2019 but from then to now, Guyana’s monitoring of the crude being extracted from the Stabroek Block has been largely dependent on the information provided to the local authorities, primarily the Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA).

This is the government agency responsible for the monitoring of the operations and according to Minister with responsibility for Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira, this year the administration is investing a miserly few

Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira (front, right) and a team of technical officers during consideration of the Estimates on Monday. thousand US dollars to monitor the production of US billions in crude being extracted from Guyana Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

This much was made clear to the Members of the National Assembly on Monday when the Legislative Body met in its Committee of Supply to consider and approve the expenditure identified under Office of the President for which the EPA would be receiving in excess of $100M (US$500,000) to boost its capacity in this regard.

With in excess of 10 billion barrels already discovered in the Stabroek Block alone thus far, Guyana’s oil and gas section is essentially a US multitrillion dollar operation.

The House was at the time considering a US$1.5B allocation for the Environmental Management and Compliance department of the Office of the President when Members were told that the EPA would be receiving G$48M or US$240,000 for training at the EPA. Minister Teixeira, when queried on the allocation, informed the House that this money had to do with training the EPA staff for the remote real time monitoring of the operations in Guyana’s EEZ and other sectors falling under its remit.

When asked by opposition Member of Parliament Tabitha SaraboHaley, to be provided with a work programme for the year for the EPA, Minister Teixeira told the House, she could give no such commitment at the time since that would have to be a decision taken by the EPA Board.

Additionally, it was pointed out to the House that there was an allocation of some $100M set aside for the E PA , b u t t h e B u d g e t document did not provide much information and as such MP, Annette Ferguson asked that it be disaggregated since, “this is tax payers’ money and it must be accounted for.”

It was at this point Minister Teixeira informed the House that of the $100M, some $74.9 will be spent on digital monitoring, geographic information systems, remote monitoring systems and dashboard and other equipment. She was quick to point out however that the equipment will not be used exclusively for oil and gas in terms of dealing with surveillance and tracking the operations of the Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessels in the EEZ, such as its flaring—a bone of contention since operations began.

She said too, the EPA would be using some of the money to purchase some scientific and laboratory equipment that would be needed by the EPA. Guyana currently produces some 120,000 barrels of crude daily from the Liza Destiny FPSO. However, as a result of problems being experienced with its Flash Gas Compressor on the FPSO, it has been unable to re-inject the Natural Gas into the reservoir and has instead resorted to flaring. The second production ship, the Liza Unity, is also gearing up for production as it is in its final stages of hooking up for commissioning.

Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, D r. A s h n i S i n g h , i n presenting the Budget to the National Assembly on January 26 last, had indicated that ongoing exploration activities have continued to yield positive results, with 28 commercially viable oil discoveries to date in the Stabroek Block and an estimated recoverable resource of over 10 billion oil-equivalent barrels, “a mere 6 years after first discovery.”

The Stabroek Block currently has three identified production areas Liza I, Liza II, and Payara. Production capacity is currently at 120,000 bpd with the Liza Destiny FPSO in operation.

The coming into operation of the Liza Unity Continued on page 9

Kaieteur News

Wednesday February 09, 2022

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Govt. seeks new builder for Demerara River Bridge …ends negotiations with Chinese firm due to high costs

T

he contract with China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited (CSCEC) to build the $53.7B New Demerara River Bridge has been terminated. This is according to Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo who made the disclosure during an interview with foreign media house - Vice News Agency.

The government last year in an official statement confirmed it had secured a Chinese firm to build the new bridge under a Design-BuildFinance (DBF) model.

During the interview, the Vice President said, “we have just terminated the negotiations with them (CSCEC) because the cost of financing is too high.”

At an event held earlier in the year, Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill had mentioned that a specially appointed team was concluding the negotiations and all the administrative details to prepare for the signing of the contract for the new bridge.

T h e Vi c e P r e s i d e n t explained that the government will now move to the second ranked bidder

for the project “because we have to get the cost down.”

During day two of Consideration of Estimates and Expenditure being held at the National Assembly, Opposition Member of Parliament, David Patterson asked Minister Edghill to provide a status on the award of the contract. The Minister's response was similar to that of the Vice President. Edghill said on Tuesday that “As of today, the negotiating team which comprises of a lawyer, engineers, finance specialist and management consultants have been engaging with the number one ranked bidder and the negotiators have since informed the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board that they wish to terminate the negotiation process because the terms sheets and the cost of financing would not serve the best interest of the people of Guyana.”

He added, “currently, we are negotiating with the second ranked responsive bidder.”

When the final set of tenders was opened for this project in October last year, four Chinese constructing

firms were vying for the contract. The firms were China Gezhouba Group Company Limited, which submitted two financial p r o p o s a l s o f US$387,566,116 and US$491,810,000, China Road and Bridge Corporation in joint venture with Peutes and Calzadas Infrastructuras SLU (China and Spain) which submitted bids US$340,698,473 and US$ 364,160,202, China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited which submitted a bid of US$256,638,289, and China Railway Construction Corporation International Limited who is in joint venture with China Railway Caribbean Company Limited; and China Railway Engineering Bureau Group Company Limited submitted three financial proposals of US$260,852,464, US$260,852,464 and US$300,000,000.

Among this group, CSCEC submitted the lowest bid, followed by China Railway Construction Corporation International Limited and its joint ventures.

It should be noted that the

Three more COVID-19 deaths; 118 new infections

Three men from Region Three who contracted the novel Coronavirus (COVID19) disease, have died. This is according to the Ministry of Health, which reported that the latest fatalities are that of a 79-year-old, a 52year-old and a 44-year-old.

As a result of this, the country's COVID19 death toll has moved to 1,185.

The Health Ministry in its latest COVID-

19 dashboard recorded 118 new infections, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 61,734.The dashboard data shows that 16 patients are admitted into the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU), 102 persons in institutional isolation, 4,055 in home isolation and 18 in institutional quarantine. To date, a total of 56,376 persons have recovered from the virus.

Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo. new bridge aims to replace the aging Demerara Harbour Bridge with a modern fourlane structure that will

facilitate greater traffic capacity and dramatically improve commuter convenience. The bridge which is commonly referred to as a “flyover bridge” is set to be built with the lifespan of 50 years and will not require opening or retraction to allow for maritime.

The Ministry of Public Works had stated before that the new bridge comprises a critical component of the Government's drive to expand and modernize Guyana's transport infrastructure. During the reading of the Budget 2022, Senior Minister with responsibility with Finance, D r. A s h n i S i n g h h a d announced that this year, some $21.1B has been allocated for the project.

A perusal of the profile

page of the project that falls under the Ministry shows however that the financing is not external but rather is being funded by central g o v e r n m e n t .

When the government had given its no-objection for the Ministry to engage the Chinese firm, at that time, it was pointed out that the project would be done under the DBF model with financial terms and conditions, “which would be no less favourable than those submitted in the preferred bidder's price proposals.

With a contract still to be signed, the proposed location for the New Demerara River Bridge will see the structure being laid between Nandy Park on the East Bank Demerara and La Grange on the Western end of the

Govt. gives EPA thousands to monitor...

From page 8 FPSO, according to Dr. Singh, “early in 2022 will raise capacity to 340,000 bpd, and the deployment of the Liza Prosperity FPSO in 2024 will further raise capacity to 560,000 bpd.”

Additionally, he told MPs, “with the anticipated fourth production area, Yellowtail, estimates are poised to reach 810,000 bpd by 2026/27 and additional developments under consideration could see us reaching 6 FPSOs producing 1 million bpd by 2030.” According to Dr. Singh, “with two FPSO vessels expected to be in operation this year, it is

anticipated, that there will be 94 lifts from the Stabroek Block, 13 of which will be Government lifts.”

From this, he said, it is estimated that deposits into the Natural Resources Fund for 2022 will total some US$957.6M, comprising some US$857.1M earned from the Government lifts of profit oil, and an additional US$100.5M from royalties. Under the Production Sharing Agreement, Guyana is paid a two percent royalty and profits split 50/50 but not before ExxonMobil deducts 75 p e r c e n t o f t he total

production for each month to pay back costs, fund daily operations and other expenses, such as the repayment of loans.

At the end of the first day of the consideration of the estimates for this year's G$552.9B biggest budget ever, for allocated spending for the agencies and departments falling under Office of the President were all approved.

This year's Budget is being financed in part by the earnings had from Guyana's oil production since its commencement in December 2019, identified at $126B.

Kaieteur News

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Wednesday February 09, 2022

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

Lata’s death brings back memories of my mother When I read that Lata Mangeshkar died, immediately, I emphasize immediately, oceans of memories of my mother came tumbling down. Mangeshkar’s death comes at a time when I honestly believe in my academic mind that there is a creeping backlash against the continuation of the Indian government in this land.

The conspiracy against Indian control of government is unfolding and not slowly but rapidly. The signs are ominous and dangerous. This is not an article to expand on that, so I will leave the unfolding events for another adumbration, another time, but I should mention three new interventions that need reflection before I return to Lata.

One is the rejection of the Natural Resource Fund Act by the Stabroek News heiress, Isabelle DeCaires, who is the custodian of Moray House, a think-tank that is openly anti-government. The other is the sudden appearance on the political scene of the wife and son of Walter Rodney writing on

issues of race in relation to Africans, rejecting the visit of President Bolsonaro. The third is the latest edition of “In The Diaspora” in the Stabroek News which features a relentless government critic – Mike McCormack. Let’s return to Lata.

If I was to name the singers I grew up with, the list would be long. In the English language, the list will not fill one column but several. In the Hindi film industry, it was a short compilation – Manna Dey, Mohamed Rafi, Mukesh, Kishore Kumar, and Lata and her sister Asha Bhosle.

Those were the playback singers for the Hindi screen. Manna Dey was not ubiquitous as the other five and seldom featured in the Hindi film industry. What was fascinating about the male Hindi film singer was that each had a completely different style that made each unique.

Mohamed Rafi was more classical than Kishore. But Kishore had a nasal endowment that made his voice distinctly saccharine.

Mukesh was the incomparable crooner. I chose Kishore over Rafi because Kishore had a more pop flavour that attracted young people.

One of the songs that moved me emotionally when I was very young and still does, is the incomparable “O Mere Dil Ke Chain” sung by Kishore voicing for Rajesh Khanna in the 1972 movie, “Mere Jeevan Saathi.” The composer was R.D. Burman. I simply cannot believe up to this day, a composer can make such a phenomenal song.

Two songs do things to me whenever I play them. They just seem to remind me that music is one of the foundations of life and just like the soul is never complete unless you love an animal, the soul will wander and die if you do not immerse yourself in music. They are “O Mere Dil Ke Chain” and Barry White’s, “Love Theme.” I would say those are my two favourite tunes and none come close to them in my repertoire of choices.

When it came to Lata, her sister Asha was never close to catching up with her. Lata (together with Rafi) was the face of Indian Hindi music. I grew with Lata. My mother was a devoted Hindu with a tiny temple in her home. Through her we were saturated with Hindi film music. My mother chose Lata over Rafi and Lata’s music was all she listened to.

I was at the University of Toronto when Lata came to Guyana and I never knew if my mother went to see her perform, though I doubt it, because of financial constraint. I never thought of asking her when I returned in 1984. She died a year after so I guess I will never know.

Frederick Kissoon There are so much memories of my mom when it comes to the Hindi screen and their singers. When I was growing up, there was a cinema in Albouystown named Rio. Most Hindus went to Empire on Middle Street and Liberty on Vlissengen Road to see Indian films, but my mom journeyed to Rio also.

Rio hardly attracted Hindus living in central Georgetown. I went to Rio because of the influence of my mother. But I couldn’t get my friends I met from Guyana Oriental College to go to Rio. I don’t think any of my friends ever accompanied me to see a Hindi film at Rio. They only went to Empire and Liberty. I guess it had to do with the perception at the time of Albouystown.

Once I hear the name Lata Mangeshkar, I will always remember my mom. Once I hear the names of the great singers and fantastic actors of the Hindi screen, I will recall my memories of the woman who gave birth to me. She was a Hindu as any Hindu could be.

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

Wednesday February 09, 2022

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Wednesday February 09, 2022

PNCR calls on police to probe bribery allegations against Jagdeo With new allegations of corruption and bribery surfacing against Guyana’s Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo, the largest party in the political Opposition, the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) has called on the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to investigate the reports.

On February 1, 2022, the VP was interviewed by an American Media company, Vice News where he was questioned about alleged kickbacks received from a Chinese national for projects. During a news conference on Tuesday, the Leader of the PNCR, Aubrey Norton, when asked to weigh in on the matter told reporters that the allegations are not new as the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) government is known for its history of “extreme corruption” under Jagdeo’s stewardship and “now that

he is the de facto head one can understand the continuation”.

Norton said that while it is only obvious for the VP to deny the allegations, the GPF must be called in to perform its duties. Another option, according to the PNCR Leader for Jagdeo to put the allegations to sleep, is by making his bank accounts public. “He can take his assets, put it against his earnings, in the way normal citizens have to do to get loans from the banks etcetera and if he does that and can establish that the wealth he has is above board and not in contravention of law then that would help to put these allegations to sleep,” Norton reasoned.

He did not spare the opportunity to highlight that a closer look at the wealth of the PPP family and friends, is underpinned by corruption.

As a consequence, Norton

Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo said, “I also would like to call on the Guyana Police Force to investigate the allegation. It is law enforcement’s responsibility to, when allegations of this nature are made, investigate”.

The PNCR Chairman was keen to note that government should not interfere by preventing the

police from investigating the matter. According to him, “The question of whether the government would allow them to investigate should not arise because constitutionally, they are the Guyana Police Force. They are the law enforcement agency and it should follow ipso facto that they should be allowed to investigate and to say to the Guyanese public what the reality is”.

On this note he said that t h e i n c u m b e n t administration has never allowed responsible oversight and anticorruption agencies to carry out their functions. While he said he is not sure whether the GPF would be allowed to do its work, he is hopeful that if the investigation is done and reports of corruption and bribery are confirmed that the law would be able to take its course.

Only recently, Transparency International (TI) an independent agency that assesses the public sector in countries across the globe for corruption drew the conclusion that corruption under the PPP has

PNCR Leader, Aubrey Norton

returned.

Tr a n s p a r e n c y International, in its recently published Corruption Perception Index presented a chart which depicted that when the Coalition Party assumed office in 2015, Guyana’s score stood at 29.

The following year, it progressed to 34, and in 2017, it jumped to 38. In 2018, Guyana dropped a point but in 2019, it again increased to 40 and finally, 41 in 2020.

In 2021, after a full year of leadership under the PPP, t h e c o u n t r y ’s r a n k i n g dropped to 39 out of 180 countries. It must be noted that a country’s score is measured on a scale of 0100, where 0 means highly corrupt and 100 means very clean.

Back in 2009, the United Nations Refugee Agency in a report on Human Rights Practices in Guyana highlighted areas of corruption as a result of poor leadership.

That report states, “The law provides for criminal penalties for official corruption; however, the government did not implement the law effectively. The World Bank’s worldwide governance indicators reflected that government corruption was a serious problem. There was a widespread public perception of serious corruption in the government, including law enforcement and the judicial system. Low-wage public Continued on page 19

Wednesday February 09, 2022

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Wednesday February 09, 2022

Money in Budget to review Exxon’s 5th Project this year …AUDITS OUTSIDE OF STABROEK BLOCK TO BE UNDERTAKEN Government over the years has been criticised for the way in which it has been approving Field Development Plans (FDP) for the oil and gas sector as well as the manner in which it has allowed timelines with regard the audits of exploration costs by the oil companies operating here.

Only Tuesday this publication reported that as ExxonMobil forges ahead with its US$9B development of its fourth project the Yellowtail Development, the Guyana Government had selected one of the oil giant’s clients to undertake a review of that FDP. To this end, it was disclosed to the National Assembly during the scrutiny of allocations for the Ministry of Natural Resources on Tuesday that the administration has in fact allocated money this year to pay for the review of ExxonMobil fifth

development in the Stabroek Block—Urau-1 and 2 Discoveries.

Urau-1, the 16th discovery at the offshore deep-water Stabroek Block, was touted as likely to be developed to support a fifth drillship while the Turbot, ExxonMobil’s fifth oil discovery, is earmarked to support a sixth ship.

The development of Urau-1 was confirmed yesterday as Exxon’s fifth development proposed in the Stabroek Block. The information was supplied to the National Assembly’s Committee of Supply

by Substantive Minister, Vickram Bharrat.

He was at the time providing the Members of Parliament with a disaggregation of a $200M World Bank funded programme under his Ministry, namely the Petroleum Management division, formerly the Department of Energy.

According to Minister Bharrat, having taken a look at the work programmes submitted by the oil companies, there is expected to be a heightened level of activity this year and as such $88M has been allocated for the review of Field Development Plans and identified Exxon’s Urau location. Minister Bharrat told the House too that $22.4M is allocated this year for the hiring of a law firm for legislative and regulatory support.

He reminded that the government is on record as saying it intends to have a model internationally recognised Production Sharing Agreement (PSA), “that will bring far more fiscal benefits to the people of Guyana.” He noted that unfortunately, we have not had a discovery in other blocks of commercial quantities until

Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat

recently, referencing the discovery

by CGX at its Kawa-1 exploration well.

According to Bharrat, “work will have to continue to ensure we have a model PSA better than the current Stabroek Block PSA.” He used the opportunity to

indicate too that under the $200M World Bank Project there is money allocated to update the Petroleum Production and Exploration Act of 1986.

Additionally, he said money has been allocated for the completion Continued on page 19

Wednesday February 09, 2022

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Kaieteur News

Wednesday February 09, 2022

House approves $660M for legal fees in border controversy case The International Court of Justice has ruled that it has jurisdiction to hear the case regarding the border controversy between Guyana and Venezuela.

The Committee of Supply on Monday evening approved $660 million for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to pay for legal fees in the GuyanaVenezuela border case which is currently before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

During the debate of Budget 2022 last Friday, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hugh Todd assured the house that the government will not rest in its efforts to p r e s e r v e G u y a n a ’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Following the ICJ ruling on the jurisdiction in the case on the GuyanaVenezuela controversy, Minister Todd shared that the ministry has been making all efforts to submit Guyana’s Memorial on the merits of the country’s case

by March 8, 2022.

Guyana moved to the ICJ with its case in March 2018, challenging the nonparticipating Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, over its disagreement on the legal validity and binding effect of the October 3, 1899 Award.

Venezuela maintained that the ICJ was without jurisdiction to hear the case and had not participated in the matter. However, in the December 18 last 12-4 majority ruling, the ICJ upheld that it has jurisdiction to entertain Guyana’s contention concerning the validity of the 1899 Award about the frontier between British Guiana and Venezuela, and the related question of the definitive settlement of the land

boundary.

This, the court said was in keeping with a recommendation by United Nations Secretary-General Mr. António Guterres. In January 2018, Mr. Guterres, acting within the authority bestowed upon him by the Geneva Agreement, chose adjudication by the Court as the final means for resolving the controversy.

The ICJ pointed out too, that both Guyana and Venezuela had agreed to the 1966 Geneva Agreement which showed that both parties had accepted the possibility of the controversy being resolved by means of judicial settlement. Guyana maintains that a judicial settlement of this matter is the only recourse remaining as it has exhausted all other measures.

Meanwhile, the foreign affairs minister highlighted that his ministry will continue to be a responsible member of the international community, enhancing Guyana’s profile at the regional and international levels. He recalled that in 2021, Guyana was able to negotiate and conclude a number of bilateral cooperation agreements in areas including education, technical and scientific cooperation, security and defense, petroleum, investment, and air services.

The foreign affairs ministry, will in the months ahead, continue to propose, negotiate and conclude bilateral agreements that will produce benefits for the country. (DPI)

Wednesday February 09, 2022

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ExxonMobil, partners to make no less than US$5.7B this year from Stabroek Block ...but deny Guyana fundamental right to full coverage insurance T h e L i z a U n i t y, Guyana’s second floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, comes into operation no later than next month. Once this occurs, it will complement activities at the Liza Destiny FPSO, taking production to 340,000 barrels of oil.

Importantly, this new development in the Stabroek Block will also allow the Exxon Mobil-led consortium to collect eightyone (81) lifts at approximately 1 million barrels of oil per lift for this year. Calculated at an average price of US$70 Brent, the Stabroek Block partners inclusive of Exxon Mobil Corporation, Hess Corporation and CNOOC Petroleum, will walk away with no less than US$5.7B in profits.

Despite being able to make multibillion dollar profits for its shareholders via its prime Guyana asset, Exxon and its partners continue to deny the country full coverage insurance which is a fundamental right so that nations can cover any costs associated with an oil spill or other type of disaster.

Since 2015, Kaieteur News has been at the forefront of reporting that ExxonMobil Corporation, the parent company of Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited, has steered clear of being tied to full coverage insurance for its Stabroek Block projects.

Instead, it has placed only its subsidiary (EEPGL—a company that holds very little assets) on the hook if such an eventuality occurs offshore. This is the state of affairs with its Liza Phase One, Liza Phase Two and Payara Projects. It seems to be eager to continue this trend for the fourth project called Yellowtail.

WHAT OTHERS ACCEPT When one examines what other administrations across the world demand from ExxonMobil in the area of insurance, there is a noticeable difference when compared to Guyana.

In Liberia for example, ExxonMobil is not allowed to provide the authorities there with insurance coverage from its subsidiaries. To prevent Exxon from using this

loophole, the authorities there have demanded that the company provides insurance coverage without limitation.

Such insurance can therefore, only be provided by the parent company and not its subsidiary, which has little to no revenue.

The clause in one of the Production Sharing Agreements, which Exxon is tied to in Liberia says, “The Contractor shall take out and cause to be taken out by its contractors and subcontractors, in respect of the Petroleum Operations, all insurances of the type and for such amounts customarily carried in accordance with Good International Petroleum Industry Practice, including without limitation, third party liability insurance and insurances to cover damage to property, facilities, equipment and materials, without prejudice to such insurances, which would be required under Law.” Importantly, Liberia makes it categorically clear that evidence of full coverage insurance by Exxon, its partners and subcontractors, have to be provided “before Petroleum Operations begin and thereafter at least annually.”

Closer to home, Suriname has been very resolute in its position to not accept anything but full coverage insurance from the parent companies operating in their basin.

WORLD BANK URGES In previously published articles, Kaieteur News placed the spotlight on the devastating economic, social and environmental impacts oil spills have had on many parts of the world. In some cases, the effects are irreversible. Considering this, international bodies have stressed on the need for countries to ensure the parent companies for subsidiaries provide “comprehensive insurance” to at least cover the costs associated with dealing with such events.

One of the many advocates on this matter is the World Bank, one of Guyana’s development partners. According to the organisation, it is expected that oil companies take out insurance for their operations in any country.

However, the World Bank warned that operators have often sought insurance via their subsidiaries, which only covers certain

activities. These may include third party legal liability and control of wells, re-drill, and cleanup of sudden and accidental pollution from a

well out of control. It cautioned that industry regulators must ensure that an operator’s insurance covers every possible

eventuality since “for some operators, their insurance excludes blowout or subsurface pollution or Continued on page 21

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Three dead, four missing after Nigerian FPSO explosion As the search and rescue team intensifies their effort to locate the remaining crewmembers that were on board the Nigerian Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) which recently exploded, authorities have confirmed that three persons were found dead, three alive and four still missing.

It was reported that during the wee hours on Wednesday, February 2, 2022, the Nigerian oil production and storage ship with approximately 60,000 barrels of crude stored on board exploded.

An official of the Sheba Oil Exploration and Production Company Limited (SEPCOL), Ikemefuna Okafor confirmed the incident in a statement on Thursday last.

In fact, Okafor said a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel named ‘Trinity Spirit’ exploded in Ukpokiti, on the coast of Nigeria’s southern Delta state.

As a result of the explosion, one of the 10-

member crew that was onboard Trinity Spirit at the time of the explosion was feared dead.

H o w e v e r, S E P C O L CEO, Okafor said in a statement that an additional two dead bodies were found on the vessel’s deck on Sunday. “We can confirm today [Sunday] that two further dead bodies were discovered on the deck of the vessel in the afternoon of the same Sunday,” Okafor noted.

He added, “We have made incident reports to the police and relevant authorities to assist the ongoing investigation, and due process to establish the identities of the dead bodies is underway.”

According to Okafor, on Sunday morning last, Nigerian Maritime Administration & Safety Agency, (NIMASA) notified SEPCOL of a dead body found floating in the vicinity of the FPSO. SEPCOL had previously announced that three crew members were found alive, and one yet-tobe-identified dead body

recovered from the vicinity of the FPSO. “Thus far, the potential total number of the crew members accounted for is six, including the three persons who were found alive last week. Our priority remains focused towards establishing the whereabouts, safety, and security of the four crew members still missing,” he added.

Nigeria, Minister of State for Environment, Chief Sharon Ikeazor, last week announced that the fire on

Man who harboured gold heist suspect wanted for clothes vendor’s murder A newspaper vendor who is currently before the courts for harbouring a suspect in the Wallison Enterprise multi-million dollar gold heist is now wanted for murdering Carlos Waithe, a clothes vendor, on Monday at Leopold Street, Georgetown.

Police identified the wanted man as Akeem Rajkumar called ‘Barney’ of Leopold Street. Rajkumar is in his early 30s and is of mixed race. Investigators believe that he was the one who fatally shot Waithe and issued a wanted bulletin for him on Tuesday.

Kaieteur News understands that Rajkumar was implicated in the murder by two other persons who were detained for questioning early yesterday.

Waithe was reportedly killed while trying to save his friend from a hail of bullets.

According to police, Waithe was drinking with his friend at a popular bar located on Breda and Smyth

Clothes Vendor, Carlos Waithe

Wanted man, Akeem Rajkumar

Streets, not too far from his Norton Street Home when an argument erupted between a group of men and the friend.

T h e v e r b a l confrontation soon escalated and the men reportedly pulled handguns to shoot the friend. His friend, according to reports, began to run towards Leopold Street and the men gave chase firing several shots behind him. Police r e p o r t e d t h a t Wa i t h e decided to run behind the men saying, “y’all can’t

shoot da man.” It was at this point, while trying to save his friend, that the men turned their attention to Waithe, firing several rounds in his direction.

Meanwhile, it should be noted that Rajkumar is not a stranger to the law. In March, 2021 he was charged for committing three armed robberies in one day. In 2021 he was also charged for habouring a suspect who is still wanted for the Wa l l i s o n ’s E n t e r p r i s e multimillion dollar gold heist.

Wednesday February 09, 2022

The aftermath of the oil ship explosion. [Photo credit, Reuters]

the Trinity Spirit was extinguished and that approximately 60,000 barrels of crude were on the FPSO at the time of the explosion.

According to the Minister, the cause of the fire is still to be determined. A SEPCOL official said that initial responders to the incident included local fishermen and Clean Nigeria Associates, a team operating at a nearby facility. The official noted too that the extent of damage is still unknown but the ship was able to store up to two million barrels of oil and the explosion raises serious environmental concerns.

Kaieteur News reported that three months ago an oil spill in nearby Bayelsa state spewed for one month, causing severe damage to land and water bodies before it was contained.

Ibiosiya Sukubo, a leader of one of the communities in the Niger Delta that was recently affected said, “The ecological and aquatic devastation caused by oil and gas exploitation and exploration has been quite colossal and astronomical.

The movement of heavy marine vessels creating a host of turbidity without proper compensation, alleviation, remediation, is an appalling circumstance

A screengrab taken from a video of the explosion in Nigeria.

we find ourselves in, in the Niger Delta.”

Nigeria is trying to maximise its petroleum output, and authorities have intensified a crackdown on illegal tapping of pipelines.

Petroleum officials say the country loses some 150,000 barrels of oil a day to such theft.

The Nigeria incident comes at a time when Guyana is still to secure full coverage insurance from oil operators here despite numerous calls for such.

Currently, the Liza Destiny vessel is operating at the Liza Phase One Project in the absence of full coverage insurance. Next month, Guyana will be starting up its second oil ship called the Liza Unity. It will be producing 220,000 barrels of oil from the Liza Phase Two Project.

Despite numerous calls from local and regional actors, neither the PPP/C Government nor ExxonMobil have made any effort to give Guyana full coverage insurance to protect its environs and citizens from the irreversible and devastating effects of a potential oil spill.

On January 15, 2022, almost 12, 000 barrels of crude was spilled from one of the La Pampilla refineries off the coast of Ventanilla in

the region of Lima, Peru. It was reported that the spill was caused by shock waves from an undersea volcanic eruption near Tonga in the South Pacific Ocean. At the time of the undersea eruption, Suezmax tanker, Mare Doricum, was offloading a shipment of Brazilian crude oil at one of La Pampilla refinery’s offshore mooring buoys, and as such, a quantity of the cargo was released.

A Peruvian judge has since imposed an 18-month travel ban on four officials of the Spanish oil giant, Repsol, the owner of the refinery, in the event of criminal charges being brought against them and the Peru’s government had suspended the company’s operations.

However, they later ordered a temporary lift on the suspension due to a shortage of fuel in Peru. There was also a recent oil spill in Ecuador, which resulted in the Amazon being contaminated. A mudslide, which was caused by heavy rain fall, caused a pipeline to burst resulting in two hectares of the Ecuador Amazon and 130 miles of a river being contaminated with crude.

Even as the company that owns the pipeline promised to clean up the oil, the country vows to take legal actions against them.

Kaieteur News

Wednesday February 09, 2022

Money in Budget to review Exxon’s 5th Project...

From page 14 of Guyana’s third and fourth Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) reports.

Further, it was noted that in addition to $10.7M allocated for the audit of exploration expenses in the Stabroek block 2018 to 2020 and prior years, government would also this year be looking to finally audit expenses for seven other oil blocks that had been awarded.

These include the Kanuku, Orinduik, Canje and Kaietuer Blocks among others.

To this end, the minister was adamant: “I want to say clearly that the government of

Guyana is 100% committed to ensuring that we conduct this audit because it is our responsibility to ensure we audit the expenses.”

He conceded “…everyone knows there has been a slight delay in starting the process. We also know we want to build local capacity. You can’t bring local content legislation catering for food, welding and fabrication then outsource auditing.”

As such, he disclosed that government has since been working with four leading local firms that have since come together to form a consortium that will work with an identified international company in

order to build local capacity.

Minister Bharrat told the Committee that the local consortium teaming up with the international firm is training for building capacity of domestic auditors, “so in future we can have local firms conducting full audits of expenses in the oil and gas sector.”

According to Minister Bharrat, not only was the administration looking to not have to wait until years later to conduct audits but to in fact move to a stage where audits are done quarterly or half yearly “because we have the local capacity in Guyana.”

PAGE 19

PNCR CALLS ON POLICE TO PROBE...

From page 12 servants were easy targets for bribery”. https://www.refworld.org/docid/4b9e52ef6e.html The same report unfortunately cited that even though public officials were subject to laws which required them to submit information on personal assets to the Integrity Commission, numerous members failed to comply. In another instance, the 2009 report flagged that the law did not provide for public access to information and government officials were generally reluctant to share same without prior approval from senior officials.

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Kaieteur News

Wednesday February 09, 2022

Citizens complain about police excesses …Norton to meet Top Cop to seek redress During a series of party outreaches the Peoples National Congress Reform (PNCR), said that it has received numerous complaints by citizens against members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) abusing their power to wrongfully detain persons.

This is according to the Party’s General Secretary, Geeta Chandan-Edmond, who on Tuesday participated in a press conference hosted by the PNCR. She explained that during outreaches in Regions Four, Seven and 10, citizens complained bitterly of being wrongfully detained by the Police for 72 hours, without reasonable suspicion of them committing a crime.

“In Bartica, cases have been identified where the police are operating as a law unto themselves. They are violating the rights of the citizens of Bartica by locking them up for 72 hours in cases where the law does not a p p l y, ” t h e f o r m e r M a g i s t r a t e a rg u e d . I n another instance, she said it is alleged that two persons

PNCR General Secretary, Geeta Chandan-Edmond were taken to the Sparendaam police station for wounding each other and while one of the suspects was released, the other was held as the Police indicated it was their prerogative to do so.

According to her, “The family of one of the accused complained that the police set free one of the accused and kept the other in the lockups and proceeded to indicate that it was the police prerogative to do so. This is a clear case of police discrimination and abuse of

power”. The Shadow Home Affairs Minister went on to state that complaints have also been received that “poor people” were being harassed and incarcerated by the Police at the behest of the “rich and powerful”.

A similar situation she noted was observed in Linden where residents there also complained of discrimination and abuse by Police officers.

“Many Lindeners, the PNCR and the wider Guyanese population are concerned that the rule of law is not being upheld and as a nation we are returning to the lawless state of affairs that existed between 1992 and 2015,” Chandan-Edmond noted.

Even more alarming, the party’s General Secretary said that it has been observed that the regions in which the Police abuse is taking place are areas that were won by the A Partnership for National Unity/ Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) parties. In this regard, she Continued on page 21

Wednesday February 09, 2022

Citizens complain about police excesses From page 20 argued, “If one adds to that, that the installed PPP/C regime has been trumping-up charges and incarcerating their political opponents in total violation of the law, it can be easily concluded that it is the lawlessness that is practiced by the Ali/ Jagdeo regime that has created the conditions for the said discrimination and abuse of power”.

Signaling that the PNC/R will not sit by idly, she said that a letter has been dispatched to the Commissioner of Police for an urgent meeting to address these concerns.

Chandan-Edmond added that it is the administration to be blamed.

“We also lay the blame for these indiscretions squarely at the feet of the government which itself has violated the law and created the

conditions for the rogue elements in the police force to do the same,” the Shadow Minister of Home Affairs contended.

In this regard, she called on the PPP/C to restore the investigative capacity of the criminal investigation department, by returning those who were trained to investigate and solve crimes to the said department.

She was adamant that doing otherwise would suggest that the government has little or no interest in solving and reducing crime.

Legal action While the PNC/R is urging persons to seek legal redress for the abuse of power by members of the GPF, the Party said it has noted that many persons are reluctant to do so, due to fear of future or continuous victimization. Meanwhile, the Party

PAGE 21

Kaieteur News

Leader, Aubrey Norton pointed out that his political group has been adding more legal persons to its team, which would hopefully build the confidence in citizens to come forward and take legal action against the Police.On another note, Norton said that the United Nations (UN) guidelines are clear on police engagements and threatened to take the matter for further redress to the international agency if the reports persist. “We also intend to raise it with diplomats because we have seen a situation where the Police (Force) gets assistance for law enforcement and if these societies are committed to democracy then they should be committed to pressuring the government to do the things that are required in keeping with international law,” Norton added.

ExxonMobil, partners to make...

From page 17 below-wellhead risk.”

The World Bank highlighted that there is insurance that covers a blowout from an oil project. It is referred to as Operators’ Extra Expense (OEE) insurance.

The World Bank said that emerging oil producers such as Guyana would want to ensure that this is in place and had from parent companies especially when one considers how other nations suffered in the absence of this.

In this regard, the financial institution cited the case of the major oil spill, which occurred in 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico. The spill led to a loss of 53,000 barrels of oil a day for many weeks. It covered 6,500 square kilometers and involved five million barrels of oil. The source, the Deepwater

Horizon field, was operated by British Petroleum under a joint operating agreement with Anadarko Petroleum and Mitsui Oil Corporation.

The financial consequence of the spill was more than US$8 billion.

Unfortunately, the insurance of the oil companies did not cover pollution that occurs following a blowout. It eventually led to a whirlwind of court battles and legal maneuverings to get the oil companies to pay up. Payments were stretched out for years, and the environment continues to suffer from the effect of that spill to this day.

In spite of the foregoing warnings, among others, Guyana’s authorities continue to pussyfoot with demanding full coverage insurance to protect the environment and its people.

PAGE 22

Kaieteur News

Pensioner killed after falling from housetop

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VACANCY Vacancy exists for Water Delivery Driver and Porter for E.C.D.Tel:676-1363/692-6768.

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A pensioner on Friday last fell to his death while conducting some construction work on his cousin's rooftop at Yorkshire, Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara.

He was identified by the police as Omroma Shamlall, VACANCY Maid to cook and clean for East Bank areaa.Call:6159132.

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64, called “Bunta” of Non Pariel, ECD. Shamlall, according to police, died around 11:30hrs.That day, he had left home to go work at his cousin's shop.

As the day progressed, Shamlall reportedly climbed onto the rooftop to do some work. Shamlall's cousin recalled that not long after he heard one of his workers screamed.

That worker reportedly ran up to him and said that Shamlall had just fell off the beam of the housetop. He then ran towards where his cousin was lying and found him motionless.

With some help from his workers, he mounted Shamlall in his vehicle and drove him to the Mahaicony Public Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Wednesday February 09, 2022

Kaieteur News

Wednesday February 09, 2022

PAGE 23

500 re-hired to re-open Rose Hall Estate …as GuySuCo gets another US$4B

An external view of the Rose Hall Estate.

T

he Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) is “too big to fail” and government will continue to plug tax dollars into the cash-strapped institution.

This is according to Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha who justified the $B allocation to the corporation this year.

The subsidy to GuySuCo has over the years been a bone of contention for different administrations which has had to plug several billion dollars into the Industry—$30B from 2020 to last year and another US$4B for this year.

With reference to the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) elections promise to re-open closed sugar estates, Minister Mustapha informed the House that at the shuttered Rose Hall Estate, the administration has already rehired 500 persons that had been sacked at the previous administration.

With this in mind, he informed the House that the factory is some 41 percent rehabilitated but was unable to say when the Estate would be reopened since there is still a significant amount of work to be had.

He identified as example the recultivation, the rehabilitation of the mill dock, purchase of equipment and other ancillary activities required and adumbrated this is “work in progress that we are doing” and was adamant his administration PPP will reopen Rose Hall and will produce sugar.”

The information was disclosed when the 65 Members of Parliament (MP) met yesterday for a second day of the consideration of the Estimates for the Ministry of Agriculture.

PROFITABILITY Grilling the Minister on the monies identified for the ailing sugar industry, Shadow Minister with responsibility for that sector, Alliance For Change (AFC) MP, Khemraj Ramjattan, requested a performance report in light of the money that has been plugged into the industry in recent years.

Additionally, the Minister had told the Economic Services Committee of the Parliament that based on the industry’s strategic plan, it would by 2026 return to a stage of profitability and he was optimistic of a return to a state of profitability.

Asked to provide an update to the House in the $30B bond that had been secured under the coalition administration through the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), the Agriculture Minister reported that in 2020 when the PPP/C took office, there was only $3.8B of the $30B remaining.

To this end, additional money had to be injected into the industry—an industry, the House learnt is headed by a ‘turn around

Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha Chief Executive Officer’ who is paid some $1.4M monthly in addition to other benefits.

Coalition MP, Tabitha SaraboHaley had insisted that this was inaccurate, since at the time, the A Partnership for National Unity, AFC (APNU+AFC) left office, there was still $15B remaining.

He was adamant however that as Minister, he was only aware of $3.8B from the bond available for spending when the PPP/C took Office in August 2020.

SWEETEST DEBT Public Accounts Committee Chairman, Jermaine Figueira, in his line of questioning for the Minister while acknowledging the importance of GuySuCo with regard its contribution to the nation, insisted that the industry remains the “sweetest debt” that the country has consistently incurred with billions being poured into the industry annually.

To this end, the Agriculture Minister was adamant that GuySuCo was on a path to diversifying its portfolio moving towards a greater emphasis on value added products in addition to the production of ethanol and high quality molasses.

Figueira in posing his questions to the Minister had suggested that a s p a r t o f t h e i n d u s t r y ’s diversification, it considers moving into the production of soursops and peppers as is the case in Jamaica.

“The industry is changing; we cannot compete in the international market” the PAC Chairman intimated and suggested even if the industry were to break even in 2026, “why not reinvest in sugar workers” and hinted also at providing the workers with land so they can give it to their family, rather than an inheritance of a cutlass.

With the Minister unable to given a definitive timeline on when the industry would in fact return to profitability, Figueira suggested, “this is a

frightening situation” questioning further, “how will GuySuCo become profitable, with all this billions being invested?”

According to Figueira, taxpayers’ dollars ought to be spent prudently and the sugar industry cannot be allowed to plunder the Treasury.

He further questioned how many more billions will be needed to return the industry to profitably at which point in time, the Minister intimated that as much as is required, will be injected.

To this end, the Minister in response observed firstly that GuySuCo has to be seen beyond sugar and that MPs also have to take into account other social services that had been provided.

He cited as example, the fact that the National Draining and Irrigation Authority is now resorting to spending in excess of $1B to provide services previously provided by GuySuCo. DEFECTIVE PUMPS Insisting on the importance of sugar to Guyana and its people being the single largest employer with other indirect support, the village economies Minister Mustapha told the House, when it comes to the monies needed to fund the administration’s plan for the industry, “whatever it takes to bring back GuySuCo, the PPP/C government will make sure that we make the resources available.”

According to the Minister, GuySuCo is a very important

industry that not only encompasses sugar, “it is too big to fail and we will ensure GuySuCo breakeven and eventually make a profit; we have had a set back with the floods (last year) but like I said, we have a strategic plan that will move GuySuCo forward.”

Another bone of contention related to the provision of pumps for the NDIA. During the consideration of the capital expenditure, Ramjattan sought clarity on whether the Ministry had allocated money to pay for the same pumps for which he had rallied against as being defective.

To this end, the Minister confirmed that the money has indeed been set aside for payments to be made for the very same pumps that had been purchased under the Coalition Administration but were found to be defective.

He defended the allocation of the amount in this year’s budget, since it was a roll over project. The Minister was adamant however that the matter is currently engaging the office of the Attorney General’s Office with a view to either recouping the monies already spent or be compensated with functioning pumps.

ASK ASHNI He confirmed that pumps in question were supplied using an Indian Line of Credit and purchased from the company Apollo, “yes Apollo supplied these pumps; these are the defective pumps that are presently giving

serious problems around the country.”

According to Minister Mustapha, the ousted APNU+AFC administration had already paid over 73 percent of the total contract price and that there is a US$730,000 allocation in this year budget for that very roll over project.

Shadow Minister with responsibility for the sector Ramjattan, in scrutinizing the Estimates for capital projects sought to ascertain the source of funding for works identified to be funded by Central Government and asked if any of the projects were being funded using money from the Natural Resources Fund—oil earnings.

This, given the tradition of outlining the source of funding in the budget document over the years and cited as example the Indian line of credit that was definitely illustrated.

According to Minister Mustapha however, it is “unfair to ask me that question.” The Minister continued that the funds were allocated by Ministry of Finance and as such, Dr. Ashni Singh “will be able to ask that question.”

At the end of the considerations, the more than $14.4B in Capital Works in addition to another almost $14B for recurrent expenditure identified for spending this year by the Ministry of Agriculture for the year.

cost of the ad!

Kaieteur News

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Wednesday February 09, 2022

PNCR to meet with GECOM to discuss cleansing voters’ list As the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government gears up to hold Local Government Elections this year the major opposition force, the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) has made its position clear that a truly credible election cannot take place without the cleansing of the Official List of Electors (OLE).

It is on this premise that the party intends to meet with the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to discuss a plan to clean the list, which the PNCR

is confident will pave the way for free and fair elections.

C h a i r m a n o f t h e p a r t y, Shurwayne Holder, said on Tuesday that the PNCR has taken note of the fact that monies have been allocated for the holding of Local Government Elections (LGE) this year in Budget 2022.

However no specific funding has been set aside to cleanse the voters’ list.

In this regard, he noted, “The PNCR wishes to emphasise that free and fair elections pre-supposes a voters

PNCR Chairman, Shurwayne Holder

list that is clean and has the confidence of the Guyanese people”.

Holder reasoned that his party is yet to be convinced that the continuous registration process would clean the list and restore the confidence of the people of Guyana, following the 2020 Regional and General Elections.

The Party’s Chairman pointed out the PNCR’s intent to participate in both local government elections and general and regional elections Continued on page 25

MOH employee accused of stealing vaccination cards walks free A driver employed at the Ministry of Health (MOH), 30-year-old Mark Samuels, who was accused of stealing 66 COVID-19 vaccination cards back in August 2021, was on Monday freed of his charges for want of prosecution.

Samuels of 276 South Ruimveldt, Georgetown, appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court before Principal Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus.

Kaieteur News reported that Samuels previously denied the charge which alleged that between August 22, 2021 and August 23, 2021, at Brickdam, Georgetown, he broke and entered the vaccination centre of the MOH and stole 66 COVID-19 vaccination cards valued $1,014.

Wednesday February 09, 2022

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Kaieteur News

PNC/R to meet with GECOM...

From page 11 with a voters’ list that is “accurate” and acceptable by all stakeholders. “GECOM must therefore commit to producing a voters’ list that is clean, in time for the next Local Government Elections,” he stated.

To this end, the Party intends to engage its Coalition partners as well as the Guyana Elections Commission in the shortest possible time, Holder told a news conference.

“At that meeting, the Party will clearly articulate its position on the above demands and will work with all stakeholders to ensure that

all the contentions are addressed and resolved, paving the way for credible elections,” he posited.

Meanwhile, the Party’s Leader, Aubrey Norton listed ways in which he believes the OLE should be cleansed.

This process, he outlined, is critical for removing dead persons or persons who may have migrated. Although Norton said he preferred to first meet with GECOM before making his request known, the party Leader did not hesitate to state the necessity of House to House registration.

He said, “If you go back to the last time the list was cleaned, I don’t remember the

exact year and the time before, on both occasions the numbers came down considerably. If one accepts that Guyana has 750,000 people and a youth population that is above half of the population then you would recognize that logically you cannot have a voters list of 600 and something thousand”.

The PNC/R Leader said he believes this “bloated list” contributed to the situation that unfolded during the last elections in 2020.

Only last week, the Commissioners representing the Opposition at GECOM pointed to the importance of cleansing the voters list.

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Kaieteur News

Wednesday February 09, 2022

Wednesday February 09, 2022

James Anderson, Stuart Broad dropped from England’s...

From page 30 Malan, Sam Billings and Dom Bess all missed out.

In Buttler ’s absence, wicketkeeper Ben Foakes has been recalled, while Durham opener Alex Lees is set for a debut as one of only two openers in the party, alongside Zak Crawley.

Despite England opting to begin the process of moving on from Anderson and Broad, their problems against Australia largely centred around a brittle batting line-up, which failed to top 300 in the series and made scores of less than 200 on six occasions. Burns, Hameed and Malan - who was England’s second-leading run-scorer behind Root - have all paid the price, but there was a reprieve for Ollie Pope.

“With the start of a new cycle, it has allowed the se

lection panel to refresh the Test squad with a particular focus on competing away from home,” Strauss said.

“We felt that it was time to draw a line after the Ashes defeat, look forward and give some impetus with an influx of new players.

“In respect of James Anderson and Stuart Broad, I want to emphasise this does not mean the end for them as England players. We feel that it is important to look at some exciting new bowling potential and give some added responsibility to other players who have featured previously. No one doubts the quality and experience that James and Stuart bring to the England set-up. It will be up to the new managing director and permanent head coach to decide on whether they will

be involved this summer and beyond.

“This selection of this squad is the start of a process and a journey to get England Test cricket back to where it needs to be, and the hard work starts now.”

England Test squad: Joe Root (capt), Jonathan Bairstow, Zak Crawley, Matthew Fisher, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Alex Lees, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) Efforts to advance your career that have led to past successes might actually put you in the public eye today.

You could find yourself the center of attention, Taurus, perhaps sharing your methods with others or leading a discussion group.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20)

An opportunity to travel could come your way today, Gemini, perhaps in the company of friends or colleagues.

This might involve education in some way.

CANCER(June21–July22) A number of new people could come your way, Cancer, perhaps through projects of some kind with which you're involved. Some of them may appear to be trustworthy and some may not.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) The opportunity to attend one or more huge social gatherings, such as balls or banquets, might come your way today, Leo. You might want to attend in the company of a small group of friends.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Expect a strong boost to your ego and self-confidence today, Virgo. Your physical and mental energies are very high, and you're apt to feel that you're capable of moving mountains.

‘Top order let us down’ says Windies U-19 Skipper From page 32 rounds and finished with 243 runs from four matches with a century (104) and two fifties at an Average 81.

Bishop scored 206 from six games with a highest score an unbeaten 112, while Nandu, who began with 57 against South Africa in the warm-up game, was the only other West Indian to reach 150 runs with a highest score of 128.

But his five other innings produced just 23 runs as he averaged 25. 16.

Auguste scored 57 in his lone innings and was badly

Freestyle skiing Gu lands Big Air...

From page 29 China’s Twitter-like Weibo, will have more opportunities to increase her popularity as she participates in the slopestyle and halfpipe

Wednesday February 9, 2022 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Today you can expect some noticeable changes in your neighborhood, Aries. Some new neighbors who might become your friends could be moving in.

PAGE 27

Kaieteur News

events in Beijing.

Minutes after Gu won Big Air gold, eight of the top 10 searches on Weibo were related to her.

China have so far won three gold and two silver medals at the Winter Games, leading the medals tally, while Sweden is at second place with three golds.

missed in the top order as opener Shaqkere Parris made only 117 runs, while Jordon Johnson made 68 runs from four matches, despite one innings producing 47.

Nandu played for Guyana at U-17 level in 2019 but was robbed of the opportunity to represent Guyana at U-19 level due to outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

He disclosed that as an individual he has taken away many positives for this World Cup. “I learned to keep the momentum going and continuing to push through the difficult times. Also how to deal with failures and pressure that occurred throughout the tournament,” informed Nandu, who took over the Captaincy from the third round of the tournament.

Nandu, who is currently studying psychology at Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario, Canada, attended his classes on-line during the

World Cup tournament.

“My aspirations are to finish my university degree, and continue working hard towards my cricketing career, so that I can be selected in the Guyana team and West Indies senior teams. Playing cricket at the highest level will continue to be my main goal,” concluded Nandu who has scored a century and two fifties and has taken 12 wickets in his 15 games for West Indies U-19s since making his debut last year.

Favourite leads...

From page 30 Tarmac via Duckworth/Lewis method in another contest.

Tarmac scored 144-3, taking first strike.

Earl Gilkes struck 47, while Kenny Bristol made 39 and Christopher Barnwell 32. Heroes were 128-5 in 8.5 overs when play was halted due to bad light. Favourite blasted 71 and Nkosie White made 14.

Barnwell had 2-16 and Derwin Christian 2-23.

Fraser challenges...

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Today you should feel more energetic, enthusiastic, and motivated than you have in a long time, Libra.

You feel very optimistic about your future, thanks to recent successes and support from those closest to you.

From page 33 future in the combat sport arena.Meanwhile, the 2022 IMMAF - Pan American Open Championship scheduled for Mexico has not had a date finalized, but Fraser believes if it does not unfold in April, it will be billed for the period of May to June.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21)

Krishna Arjune bats...

An increased level of physical and mental energy could have you feeling especially determined and highly motivated to move ahead with whatever means the most to you at this time, Scorpio.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) New opportunities, perhaps involving modern technology in some way, might present themselves to you in such a way as to transform your working life, Sagittarius.

CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) Changes in your working environment could result in a rise in your income, Capricorn. You've been working very hard in order to advance yourself in this regard, and you’re likely to continue to do so indefinitely.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Today you're likely to complete a creative project of some kind that you’ve been working on for some time, Aquarius.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Some revealing conversations with friends or relatives could bring up old traumatic memories from the past that you may have been rep r e s s i n g .

From page 29 break. They will collide with Leeward Islands Hurricanes from February 15 at the same facility. The resumption is slated for May and Arjune would like to see his fellow Guyanese cricketers churning out some great performances.

“Any team would want to kick start things on a winning note undoubtedly and I have the optimism that Guyana a have a good chance to stamp their authority, is just about quality cricket in every aspect of their game,” Arjune whose younger sibling Vishaul also represented Guyana.

GCB saddened...

From page 31 excelling in many positions on the GCB’s sub-committees, especially those assigned for international tours. He was also a Vice-President and Senior Selector of the Demerara Cricket Board,” the release informed.It concluded, “Jerry Permaul was a highly committed individual who placed great emphasis on the time implementation and perfection of activities undertaken. He will be fondly remembered for his helpfulness and pleasant demeanor.The GCB hereby expresses sincere condolences to the family members of the late Jerry Permaul.May his soul rest in peace.”

Kaieteur News

PAGE 28

Wednesday February 09, 2022

“I’m focused on the task at hand”- Hosein only has eyes on winning India series, despite IPL auction fast approaching SportsMax - West Indies all-rounder Akeal Hosein has enjoyed a brilliant start to his international career.

The Trinidadian left-arm spinner has so far taken 21 wickets in 13 One-Day Internationals and 15 wickets in 18 T20 Internationals.

Hosein is currently representing the regional side in an ongoing white-ball tour of India in which the team finds itself 1-0 down in the three-match ODI series.

He took 1-46 from nine overs in the game the West Indies lost by six wickets.

Speaking in a press conference yesterday, ahead of the second ODI today,

Hosein, who is on his first tour of India, explained that figuring out the bowling in the conditions remains a work in progress.

“It’s just about reading what type of pitch it is, what type of soil it is, and see what w o r k s o n t h e d a y.

Sometimes, you get information and it doesn’t really help you in the match so it’s definitely something that you have to go out there and feel for yourself and you can probably just keep that information at the back of your mind as well,” he said.

In their turn at the crease, in the first ODI, the West Indies batsmen were put into a blender by India’s spin duo

of Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar, who took seven wickets between them.

So the question remains, how do the Windies batsmen plan to manage the spin onslaught in the second ODI? “I think more of that will be revealed tomorrow. We don’t know how the surface might play; it might play the same, it might play better, it might play worse.

One game plan that we do have no matter what is to just be positive and get ourselves into proper positions. To play strong scoring shots and I think that’s something we’re going

to stick with, no matter the surface and conditions. The more we’re able to do those things, we’ll be able to get through it,” Hosein added.

“The conversation after the game was generally about not getting our heads down.

Yes, we’ve lost the match and it’s a short series with only three matches but more around the positives we took from the game.

Although we lost, there were still positives and it’s just about how we plan to bounce back and come back stronger in the second game,” he added.

His performances this year have certainly caught

the eye of the now 10 lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises, with the auction for the 2022 season just a few days away but Hosein says his focus is on winning this series.

“These two games are very important for me because they will determine the series for us. I’m not really focused on the IPL.

I’m focused on the task at hand right now. Yes, we know the IPL is the best league around but, having said that, I think once I do the right things and perform well for my team, other doors will open for me. The focus now is to try to win this ODI series,” he said.

The second ODI takes place today.

National Volleyball Player Shepperd in critical condition after car accident Olympian Chelsea Edghill and National Volleyball player Kristoff Shepperd are among three persons injured in an accident between a car and a lorry on Mandela Avenue, Georgetown on Monday night.

According to the report from Police Headquarters, Shepperd, 22, was behind the wheel of PPP 6198 while Edghill, and Nickasie Lewis, were occupants.

The driver of the lorry (GWW 3741), 31-year-old Omkar Pertab told police he was heading north on the western side of Mandela Avenue while the car was heading east on the northern side of Homestretch Avenue.

It is alleged that as the two vehicles approached the intersection, Shepperd attempted to negotiate a right

turn onto Mandela Avenue and ended up in the path of the lorry.

“As a result, the front right-side portion of the motor lorry collided with the right-side portion of the m o t o r c a r. D u e t o t h e collision, both vehicles were damaged,” the Police Force noted.

The occupants of the car were taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital for medical attention; Edghill and Lewis were treated for minor abrasions and sent away while Shepperd was admitted in a serious condition.

Police said he suffered severe head injuries.

Meanwhile, the driver of the lorry passed a breathalyzer test; he was served with a notice of intended prosecution.

Wednesday February 09, 2022

Kaieteur News

Freestyle skiing, Gu lands Big Air gold, China moves to top of medals table BEIJING, (Reuters) China’s Eileen Gu got her maiden Olympics off to a dream start as the U.S. born teenager landed a tricky jump to become the first freeski Big Air champion at the Beijing Games, taking the host country to the top of the medals table yesterday.

With the Shougang steel mill in the backdrop, Gu landed in the final run a 1620, a trick only Tess Ledeux had achieved in competition before. The Frenchwoman settled for silver.

Ledeux was leading after two runs but pressure got to the Big Air World Cup leader and she struggled on her final jump, ending up in tears while the crowds erupted in cheers for Gu. Swiss Mathilde Gremaud took the bronze, unable to turn things around in the final run as she crashed.“I’ve never done the 16 before, I haven’t really prepared for it that much either,” the 18-year-old Gu said.

“I think I did two days on the airbag but I’ve spent a lot of hours visualizing it if that counts. Generally I’ve visualized for about an hour and a half before bed every day.

“Tess inspired me a lot with this jump. So even if she may be sad, this gold medal also belongs to her.”

Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai, wearing a black knit hat with the Olympic rings on them, watched and waved from the stands as Gu won the Big Air gold.

It first appeared that Gu, a fashion model and incoming Stanford University student, still had a lot to learn when ‘Air France’ Ledeux landed her double cork 1620 in the first run.The 20-year-old Frenchwoman, a three-time Winter X Games winner in Big Air, had a combined best of 187.50 after the first two runs. Gremaud was second on 182.50 and Gu was third on 182.25.

Already assured of a podium finish, Gu went for

Ledeux’s double cork 1620 and achieved it, holding her head in disbelief in the finish area under the eyes of her mother.

“So my mum called me before my last jump and she told me not to do the 16. She told me to do the right 14 again and to see if I could do it better. But I kind of was adamant that I wanted to do the left 16,” said Gu, whose phone screen saver has been a gold medal for months.

Despite an imperfect landing, she scored 94.50 Ledeux’s score in the first run, which took Gu’s tally up to 188.25 and earned her a 0.75 final advantage over the Frenchwoman.

“She has been skiing for a long time but she is new on the big stage.

What she’s been doing is incredible,” said Gremaud.Ledeux said Gu “killed the game today”. “It’s competitive sport. I’m stoked with my silver medal.”Gu, who has nearly two million followers on (Continued on page 27)

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Krishna Arjune bats for Guyana Harpy Eagles as 4-day tourney bowls off today Quality cricket is needed from the Guyana Harpy Eagles in this year’s regional four-day tournament which bowls off today, according to former Guyana opener Krishna Arjune.

The Harpy Eagles will begin their campaign against Windward Islands Volcanoes at the Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad and Tobago.

Arjune, who is currently residing in Canada, believes that the Harpy Eagles can make a big impression in their first outing versus lessfancied Volcanoes.

“Not underrating any opposition, but when you look at the composition of the team, they will definitely start as favourite,” the righthanded batsman opinionated.

Guyana, under the previous name Guyana Jaguars, dominated the revamped double-round competition which was introduced in 2014. Guyana

Krishna Arjune won the championship for five successive years before they were dethroned by Barbados Pride in 2019, the same year the tournament was abruptly halted due to the devastation of Covid-19.

No tournament was held in 2020 and the following year.

Arjune thought the guys are now more refreshed and eager to reclaim the coveted cup.

“Yes, obviously the pandemic put a hold on

things unfortunately, but the players should be anxious to go out there and make a good representation for us and I am very confident of that,” Arjune stated.

The side will once again be led by senior and regular player Leon Johnson who had the distinction of captaining the Jaguars during that five-year domination.

“That is why I think you can expect quality cricket from Guyana Harpy Eagles because someone like Johnson again at the helm, I think they are bound for more glory; with the likes of high-profile batsman Shimron Hetmyer also in the lineup, that will definitely bring a great amount of motivation to vie for the championship,” Arjune commented.

Guyana Harpy Eagles are set to play two away matches before the fiveround tournament comes to a (Continued on page 27)

Kaieteur News

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Wednesday February 09, 2022

Favourite leads Heroes James Anderson, Stuart Broad dropped to consecutive wins from England’s Test squad for West Indies

Yekini Favourite

Yekini Favourite was outstanding with the bat as he led Heroes to consecutive victories in T10 Tapeball fixtures played on Sunday last at the National Stadium.

Heroes defeated Melanie by six wickets in their opening encounter. Batting first, Melanie managed 121-4. Keon Roberts struck 59 while Quacy Douglas made 24 and Ryan Bissoon 19.

Heroes responded with 122-4 in 8.5 overs. Favourite made 30 not out, while Kevin James and Nkosie White scored 24 each. Avinash Outar took 2-15.

Heroes overcame (Continued on page 27)

Keon Roberts

ESPNcricinfo - The fallout from England’s disastrous Ashes tour has moved from management to the dressing room with James Anderson and Stuart Broad, the country’s two leading wicket-takers in Test cricket, left out of the squad for the forthcoming tour of the West Indies.

Neither Anderson nor Broad, together the mostsuccessful new-ball pair in Test history, will travel to the Caribbean for the three-Test series after an interim selection panel of Andrew Strauss, Paul Collingwood and James Taylor decided to

give opportunities to a younger set of pace bowlers, including uncapped pair Saqib Mahmood and Matthew Fisher.

Anderson, who is third on the all-time list of Test wicket-takers with 640, topped the averages for England in Australia, taking eight wickets at 23.37 from three matches. Broad, with 537 wickets in his Test career, claimed 13 at 26.30 to move past Bob Willis and Ian Botham as England’s mostprolific Ashes bowler.

S t r a u s s , E n g l a n d ’s interim managing director, said that the newly convened

selectors - who reportedly took input from the Test captain, Joe Root- wanted to “draw a line under” defeat in Australia, but stressed the decision to omit Anderson and Broad “does not mean the end for them as England players”.

England’s first Test squad selected since the sacking of Chris Silverwood, the head coach and chief selector, last week saw eight players dropped after being involved in Australia - as well as Anderson and Broad, Jos Buttler, Rory Burns, Haseeb Hameed, Dawid (Continued on page 27)

Wednesday February 09, 2022

Ramdhani siblings place in ACAC Interlock#2

Priyanna and Narayan Ramdhani in Canada.

T

he Alberta C o l l e g e s ’ A t h l e t i c s Conference Interlock #2 Tournament kicked off on Sunday, February 6, 2022 at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), Alberta Canada.

Representing Olds College, Priyanna Ramdhani gained a bye in the first round to the quarter finals. She advanced to the semi-finals after defeating Abbey 21-4, 21-9. She put up a fight in the semi-finals but ended up losing to Jasleen Kaur 14-21, 21-4 and 21-13.

Going against Cecilia Wolski, Priyanna gained third place with a 21-7, 21-9 win.

Meanwhile, Narayan Ramdhani representing Kings University, who was the number 1 seed, also gained a bye to the Quarter Finals.

H e d e f e a t e d Ty e Belanger 21-9, 21-10 in the quarter finals and Brandon

Gendre 21-5, 21-8 in the semi-finals. Narayan gained second place in the finals after losing to Smit Patel 1821, 20-22 in a very tough battle. Both players won at home Narayan winning at his university Kings and Smith winning at his university NAIT. The final show down will be at Provincials.

Priyanna teamed up with Abbey of Olds College and gained third place in the Women’s Doubles, while Narayan teamed up with Abigail Ledda of the Kings University to win Mixed Doubles.

The Interlock #3 ACAC Provincial Tournament will be held in Olds, Alberta on February 19-20, 2022.

This will tournament will determine the athletes who will represent the Alberta Colleges Athletics Conference (ACAC) at the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (Nationals) to be held in March.

Kaieteur News

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GCB saddened at passing of stalwart Cricket Administrator Jerry Permaul In a release from the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) it was stated that, “The President, Executive Committee and Members of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) are saddened at the passing of Mr. Jerry Permaul.”

“Jerry was a former club cricketer who participated in cricket tournaments on the East Coast Demerara as well as a former President of the Enmore Cricket Club and also of the East Coast Cricket Board. He was a member of the Special Committee which was responsible for constituting the East Coast Cricket Umpires

Association.

In association with other outstanding cricket personalities of East Coast Demerara including SK Singh and Moses Bhagwan, Jerry dedicated much of his time and energy to the development of cricket in that region. Because of his institutional memory of East Coast cricket Jerry continued his outstanding cricket administrative duties until his departure to take up residence in Canada. He coordinated tournaments for the Guyana Cricket Board, (Continued on page 27)

Jerry Permaul

Kaieteur News

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Wednesday February 09, 2022

‘Top order let us down’ says Windies U-19 Skipper Nandu’s ton as Captain was highlight of W/Cup

By Sean Devers It was a disappointing performance for the 2016 U19 World Cup champions who suffered losses to Australia and Sri Lanka, while beating Scotland in the main draw as they failed reach the super 8 segment of the 2022 U-19 World Cup hosted by West Indies.

West Indies, led by 128 from Matthew Nandu, beat PNG in the Plate Quarterfinals before Teddy Bishop (112 *) and Kevin Wickham (104) spearhead the home to an 8-wicket win over Zimbabwe in the 11th place play-off game.

The tournament was won

by India who captured their fifth title since the inaugural event was staged in Australia in 1988.

The South African pair

Dewald Brevis (506 runs with 2 tons and 3 fifties) and Dunith Nethumika (17 wkts) headed the list in both the batting and bowling.

Kevin Wickham (243 runs with a century and two fifties) was the leading runscorer for West Indies, while Teddy Bishop (206 runs) and Guyanese Matthew Nandu (150 runs) were the batsmen with centuries for the host.

However, all three tons were scored in the Plate division.

Shiva Sankar (9) was the leading wicket-taker for West Indies, while Nandu and McKenny Clarke captured six wickets each.

The other Guyanese in the side pacer Isaiah Throne had four wickets After the first rounds Skipper Akeem Auguste, who made 57 in his lone

innings, contracted the covid-19 Virus and Nandu took over the captaincy of the side.

“It was an amazing experience to lead the West Indies U19 team, and one that I will never forget. It was definitely one of the highlights of the tournament for me,” said the 18-year-old batting all-rounder who was born in Canada to Guyanese parents.

His dad, Arjune Nandu played three First-Class Matches between 1988 and 1992, two youth Test against Young Australia in 1990 after representing Guyana at Regional level from 19881991. “ T h e b i g g e s t disappointment for me was not being a part of the Super 8. Not being able to go

Nandu during his fifty against South Africa in the U-19 World Cup warm-up game.

Matthew’s dad former Guyana leggie Arjune Nandu at Providence to watch his son. further in the tournament at home was very unfortunate.

Personally, I was not consistent throughout the tournament, which was very hard to overcome. I would have liked to have some bigger scores, but it didn’t go as planned,” said Nandu, whose century was scored against PNG in the Plate Quarter-finals.

“It felt amazing to get a World Cup century… and to score a 100 while being captain means so much more to me. Teddy Bishop and Kevin Wickham also scored centuries in the U-19 World Cup against Zimbabwe,” informed the left handed batsman who bowls off-spin.

“Unfortunately, our top

order didn’t execute as we would have liked to. Things just didn’t go our way,” lamented Nandu who was picked in the Chris Gayle led Vancouver Knights in the second edition of the Global T20 in Canada.

Wi c k h a m r e p l a c e d Auguste after the first two (Continued on page 25)

Wednesday February 09, 2022

Kaieteur News

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In picture VC Zamal Hussain hands over the equipment to members of the various sports teams of the Chesney area.

GYMMAF President Gavin Singh (centre) shakes hands with TTMMAF President Jason Fraser following the press briefing at Palm Court yesterday. Also present were coach Troy Bobb (left) and Executive Members Dr Sawan Jagnarian (2nd left) and Sherwin Sandy (right).

Fraser challenges GYMMAF to further development Following Guyana’s participation at the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) World Championships in the United Arab Emirates, the local federation believes they have a long development road ahead.

Yesterday at Palm Court, the Guyana Mixed Martial Arts Federation (GYMMAF) held a simple briefing which was attended by the GYMMAF President Gavin Singh, Vice President of Marketing Sherwin Sandy, Trinidad & Tobago MMA President, Jason Fraser, local Executive Member Dr Sawan Jagnarian and national coach, Sensei Troy B o b b . W h i l e G u y a n a ’s involvement was not fruitful

enough to yield medals, Fraser told the association that more positive aspects did come out; such as being the only Caribbean country to attend the International event and being the youngest federation to acquire membership in the IMMAF. Fraser, who was instrumental in the birth of GYMMAF, has challenged the Federation on their Development programme to become even better since he sees great potential brewing in the nation. He opined that grassroots development and more planned competitions will be a great segue into garnering experience.

Added to that, his advice to get as much assistance as possible wherever needed, especially by the

government, was brought on by the fact that a sport as such needs structured funding to keep progressing.

He further urged the GYMMAF to construct their first Octogon and that will garner a lot of experience and satisfying results.

Thus far, the Guyana Police Force Martial Arts Academy (GPFMAA), with a potentially wealthy athlete pool has made a lot of progress locally and was commended by Fraser for their commitment.

The Trinidadian noted too, that he has seen many aspects that surround the progression of the GYMMAF which are quite commendable and will prospect well for Guyana’s (Continued on page 27)

From left, Colin Wong, Ramdeo Kumar and Jonathan Van Lange. (newsroom photo)

Wong and Van Lange receive 1-year sponsorship from Beacon Café Two promising national Ta b l e Te n n i s p l a y e r s , Jonathan Van Lange and Colin Wong, will for the next year receive significant financial support from Beacon Café.

Managing Director of the Waterloo Street business Ramdeo Kumar made an initial presentation to the duo on Sunday at Senior National Championship at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

Kumar explained that while Wong has been with the company for the past two years, Van Lange has now been brought under the Beacon Café banner.

The Beacon Café Director strongly contended that both players represent the future of the sport, noting that it is imperative corporate Guyana play its role in developing local talents.Apart from equipment and uniform

needs, Kumar stated Beacon Café will also be assisting in other areas of necessity.

Both players were elated and expressed gratitude for the support. They aim to represent the Beacon Café brand to the best of their abilities.

Van Lange currently holds the National Under19, Under-21 and ‘B’ Class titles, while Wong is the reigning Under-15 champion.

Sports Gear for Chesney Corentyne residents Through the instrumentality of Mr. Zulfikar Mustapha, who is one of the Parliamentary Representatives of the East Berbice/Corentyne Region (Region 6) and is also the Minister of Agriculture, a number of residents are benefitting from the largesse of the Government.

Recently residents of the Chesney area were the beneficiaries of a number of sports gear which were handed over to the residents at a simply presentation ceremony held at the Chesney Community Centre Ground.

The gear includes cricket and volleyball

apparel among others items such as bats, gloves, Volleyball nets and balls among others.

The Chesney community has vibrant cricket and Volleyball teams and the gear handed over will be used by the residents to help enhance their skills.

The equipment was presented by Vice Chairman of the Region, Zamal Hussain, on behalf of the Parliamentary Representative Mr. Mustapha and the Ministry of Youth Sports and Culture.

(Samuel Whyte)

National Volleyball Player Shepperd in critical condition after car accident

Truck that Shepperd collided with.

The vehicle the athletes were in.

t r o p S

Gu Ailing Eileen of China in action. (REUTERS/Phil Noble)

West Indies all-rounder Akeal Hosein in action.

“I’m focused on the task at hand” - Hosein only has eyes on winning India series, despite IPL auction fast approaching Stuart Broad and James Anderson in discussion.

(Getty Images)

Freestyle skiing, Gu lands Big Air gold, China moves to top of medals table Gu Ailing Eileen of China reacts after her run. (REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch)

James Anderson, Stuart Broad dropped from England’s Test squad for West Indies Printed and published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd., 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown. Tel: 225-8458, 225-8465, 225-8491 or Fax: 225-8473/226-8210.