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AIETEUR

February 16, 2024 - Vol. 26 No. 06

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GTU rolling out plans to pay striking teachers ...assures of local and overseas help ...strike to continue until demands are met Man on the run Those who are responsible after sexually assaulting must pay for this oil spill mess woman on boat Tobago Chief Secretary:

Convicted rapist flees Mazaruni Prison Pres. Ali tells diaspora:

‘Don't come home to be complainers, come to be part of the solution’

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Solidarity Forever! Essequibo teachers continued their strike action on Thursday

‘Priya says is OP: Jagdeo says is Priya’ ...as Govt. flip-flops on who is responsible for salary talks with teachers

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Friday February 16, 2024

Kaieteur News

GTU rolling out plans to pay striking teachers ...assures of local and overseas help ...strike to continue until demands are met Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) President, Mark Lyte, stood in solidarity with teachers in Essequibo Region Two on Thursday morning, addressing concerns and outlining plans for reimbursement for teachers who will have their salaries cut for participating in the ongoing industrial action.

The Union has initiated legal proceedings in the High Court to challenge the Government of Guyana (GoG) decision to deduct the salaries of the teachers participating in the strike, as well as to stop deducting teachers' fees on behalf of the Union. Lyte addressed the gathering in Essequibo, stating, "We have had over 6,000 teachers on strike." He explained that the Union will

have to do an analysis, instructing branch representatives to compile a list of affected teachers and the corresponding deduction in pay for strike days.

Additionally, he assured teachers that GTU would announce the percentage of lost wages to be reimbursed.

D i s p e l l i n g m i s c o n c e p t i o n s , Ly t e stressed GTU's commitment to supporting its members, stating. “Contrary to the narrative, GTU is not only saying we have your back; we are going to demonstrate it." He revealed that persons from the United States and the United Kingdom have also pledged to support the teachers. However, Lyte highlighted the need to establish a channel for these contributions, assuring that

Some protesting teachers on the Essequibo Coast efforts were underway to facilitate donations.

“We also have local persons who will donate. We have given them our bank account number…” the Union President added.

Moreover, Lyte disclosed the prospect of a third court action without divulging further details. He reiterated that the industrial action will continue until the government meets the demands of the teachers and meet with the Union to discuss better wages and salaries.

In the meantime he urged teachers to familiarise themselves with nonacademic standards and their rights and working hours.

“So there are several ways in which we can do that. I want you all to start getting familiar with the nonacademic standard. You

Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) President, Mark Lyte know what that is. I want you all to start getting familiar with the non-academic standard. I want you to start reading up on some of your

rights. What time you must go to work, and what time you must go home. Y'all hear me,” he said.Last week (Continued on page 9)

Friday February 16, 2024

Kaieteur News

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Those who are responsible must pay for this oil spill mess Tobago Chief Secretary:

(TT NEWSDAY) A man takes a picture of a mystery boat which was found overturned near Cove on February 7. The National Security Ministry says another vessel, a tug boat, was involved in the incident.

THE MYSTERY surrounding the oil spill in To b a g o d e e p e n e d o n February 14 when it was revealed that the Gulfstream, which was found overturned in the sea 200 metres off the coast of the Cove Industrial Park on February 7, was one of two vessels involved in the incident.

But the whereabouts of the other vessel – a tugboat identified as Solo Creed – remains unknown. In a release, the Ministry of National Security said video footage and other information obtained by the TT Coast Guard confirmed that the two vessels were a tugboat and a barge.

It added the Coast Guard is collaborating with other local and regional agencies, including Caricom Impacs, the Guyana Coast Guard, the Maritime Services Division and IR Consilium, through a consultant, to identify the vessels and their owners.

The ministry said investigations so far have revealed that the vessels appear to have been bound for Guyana. However, the Guyanese authorities have

confirmed that “neither vessel arrived as anticipated.”

The Coast Guard, the release said, also confirmed that the barge was being towed by the Solo Creed from Panama to Guyana.

Satellite imagery shows the Solo Creed towing an object on February 4, it added. The ministry said the National Coastal Surveillance Radar Centre (NCSRC) used this information to track the tug in TT waters, towing an object. But the NCSRC eventually lost radar contact with both vessels.

The Coast Guard said it is examining video footage supplied by its Guyana counterparts of the barge, as it appeared to be sinking. The Coast Guard also confirmed that neither the tug nor the barge had entered Guyana waters.

The ministry said as part of the investigation, Caricom IMPACS contacted the authorities in Panama and Aruba for photographs of the tugboat and the barge. It said the Dutch authorities in Aruba provided images of the tug towing the barge and these images were used to confirm the identity of both vessels.

The ministry quoted line minister Fitzgerald Hinds as saying he appreciated the support provided by both agencies. “We have been working very closely with

the Guyana Coast Guard on this critical matter and we appreciate their full-scale support.

S i m i l a r l y, I a m appreciative of Caricom Impacs and the work and support of our international partners in this matter. “As minister, I give the assurance that the Coast Guard will continue to work with other local and regional authorities in this investigation and we look forward to a swift and successful resolution to all our benefit.”

Chief Secretary: Pay for this mess But speaking at a news conference hours after the ministry's release, THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine said the statement raises more questions than answers. He also demanded that those responsible for the oil spill in Tobago “come clean”.

This situation should not result in a paradise lost, certainly not for Tobago. But we need those responsible to come clean and we need those responsible to know that they have to pay for this mess, that they are culpable as part of this mess,” he told reporters at the Scarborough lay-by.

Augustine said on February 13, someone sent him information about the vessel on WhatsApp. “We got that report last week

Wednesday at 7.20 am and more than likely, that vessel was lost before that time.

“You really took that long to come forward and take ownership of this?

This is your vessel and you have not come forward and arrived to Tobago as yet to sit with the people who have been part of this cleanup.”

Augustine said the press release also does not indicate what the vessels were carrying and the quantities.

“The WhatsApp message I got last night says that they were carrying 5,000 metric tonnes of fuel. Is that true?

“The WhatsApp I got also said the owner of this vessel is one of those trying to purchase the refinery down in Point Fortin. Is that true?”

“We have a lot of questions. So now is the best time to have those questions answered because, for starters, we need to know the quantity of material so we know what we have been dealing with, what we have been walking in, what we have been swimming in, what we have been trying to clean-up from our shores. I want to know how much they would pay for this.”

A ugus tine s aid the Gulfstream continues to leak some form of hydrocarbon off Canoe Bay. “So we really don't know what was the carrying capacity of this vessel. It may very well mean that this vessel carries different bunkering chambers that may not have been compromised as yet.

“What if there are other areas left to be compromised that can cause an even bigger leak? We need to know that information so that we can work on extracting as soon as possible.”

Meanwhile, in a media release on Wednesday, Fishermen and Friends of the Sea said it wanted to know who will bear the clean-up costs.

“We have nine laws and

four policies that are supposed to be functioning to ensure that our land and marine areas are protected against oil pollution! Our Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 1990) is clear when it dictates a strict liability standard for damage from oil spills and establishes criminal sanctions including mandatory incarceration for the irresponsible and negligent culprits (TT$10,000 and 12 months imprisonment).” Fishermen and Friends said it is wary of the government possibly downplaying the environmental impact of the oil spill and called for an independent assessment of the efficacy of the booms and other clean-up measures.

“We appeal for honesty,” it said.

Kaieteur News

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

EDITORIAL Being hungry, living in poverty can’t wait for the next decade The word ring-fencing is a profanity to Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo and Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton.

Whenever questions are asked on this vexed issue- the two leaders are rankled. They are often ready to hurl insults.

Jagdeo was confronted with a question on the subject yesterday at the press conference and as usual he was evasive, saying to one of our reporters- he had answered the question before. The question was simple it reads: What do you say to teachers who are being asked to by President Irfaan Ali to be patient, while you have admitted that the country is foregoing present benefits for future gain by not ring-fencing existing and upcoming oil projects? The government’s chief policymaker on the sector said bluntly he will not be answering the question.

We have said in this newspaper before the Vice President changes his mind and his tune when such suit his ambitions and his purposes. He was all for ring-fencing before and enraged at how much the Coalition APNU+AFC gave away with no ring-fencing of Guyana’s offshore oil projects. Loud was the cry of the Vice President when he was in Opposition, but today when he is in government, he reverse himself on ring-fencing, as he tries very smartly to sword fence his way with words out of the tight corner he created for himself.

“They [Coalition] came into office – three billion barrels of proven reserves and they gave up zero royalties, no taxes, no ring-fencing.” That was the old Jagdeo on fire over how the previous government sold out the Guyanese people, and he was right. But that was then, and this is now, where there is a new Jagdeo, who trots out his new position on ringfencing: “Thinking in policy making is much more complex, it’s never a linear way- oh ring-fencing can save all the money in the world; ring-fencing could lead now too to us having nothing in the future.” In Jagdeo’s new inspiration, ring-fencing of projects (the same thing over which he had taken the Coalition to task), would cost this country in the long run.

This flies in the face of what the PPPC Government, as pushed by him, is charging ahead with, through higher and higher levels of production, when oil prices are over US$80 a barrel. It was Jagdeo and the president who have repeatedly said words to the effect that Guyana has to produce more oil now, and take advantage of current circumstances still favouring fossil fuels. Given the situation, a strong argument could be made to ring-fence present oil projects, because the revenues are there to absorb legitimate expenses pertaining to those projects, as properly audited, with cleaner and better monetary benefits for Guyana. Due to prices being where they are, and ExxonMobil ramping up production with increasing regularity, ring-fencing helps to contain expenses where they belong, which is within the silo that is each project, with no expense spillover (carry forward) to future projects. No ring-fencing is an invitation for ExxonMobil to play games with billions in expenses, with much disputed, as different audits are now bringing to light.

Currently, Guyanese in the national economic basement are hurting and need relief now. The oil money is flowing in one direction only, i.e., to ExxonMobil and its people.

Ordinary Guyanese outside of the PPPC Government’s favoured circle haven’t had a real taste of what it is to be among the top oil producers in the world. Teachers are on the streets striking for ten days now and there has been relief to them. This is as Jagdeo is today talking up the future as his overnight justification for no ring-fencing. It is a lame one, and he knows it, but still persists with what has become his world-class cunningness. Jagdeo knows that though fossil fuels still have some life, it is under constant pressure as the energy source of choice. Jagdeo also knows that oil prices can be up and down, and that there are periods of prolonged slump, or reduced demand due to economic conditions.

Jagdeo knows that new oil discoveries around the world, or a revolutionary technology that powerfully competes with fossil fuels, could change the profit projection picture for Guyana because prices could come under sustained

Friday February 16, 2024

Jagan saved Guyana from civil war DEAR EDITOR, Clement Rohee’s letter debunking the distorted views of Vishnu Bisram ,and c o n s e q u e n t l y, C l e m Seecharran, whose book s l a n d e r i n g m y f a t h e r, President Cheddi is at the base of Bisram’s connivance to attack Jagan’s role in Guyana’s history.

Mr. Rohee ‘s letter is the truth ,especially in the historical context and I congratulate him for his loyalty to his teacher, mentor and true leader, Cheddi Jagan. However, there are other facts that Mr. Rohee should have brought to the public’s attention. First of all, since Bisram is concerned with Guyanese East Indians and Jagan.s policies (like if the AfroGuyanese were not affected) it should be noted that Jagan made sure that his party kept Guyana out of a civil war and violent terrorism ,even when

faced with election rigging and dictatorial governancethis very inference should be the most important aspect of East Indians’ view of President Cheddi because violence would have hurt Indian communities horribly and destroyed Guyanaespecially after the terrible violence of the 1960s.

Cheddi Jagan protected and kept safe, not just East Indians, but all of Guyana from any conflict which would have destroyed our country and would have left a very dark legacy until today-Mr. Vishnu Bisram, instead of whining about Jagan’s Marxism, should be castrate in thanking that great man for keeping him and his family safe.

Bisram is nothing but a false ‘pundit’, trying to influence East Indians to blame and hate Jagan , even when Jagan never lost his allegiance to all Guyanese,

to democratic norms in our country and especially to the safety of his East Indian supporters, even with his Marxist views. Bisram forgets that many leaders of that period of world history were Marxists (of varying stripes), especially the “third world” leaders like Lumumba, Nehru, Nkrumah, Sukarno, Allende and many others. Jagan would never have consented to a Castroite(Cuban) Guyana but would embrace a more Nyerere (Tanzania) type socialism with honesty, integrity and self- reliance with democracy as the main foci. Today, Tanzania is much better off and governed much better than Cuba all due to the wise leadership of its first leader, President Julius Nyerere.

Secondly, Editor, Bisram also claims to be a “pollster” and recently he said he did a poll of PNC supporters and

the poll showed that Mr. Norton would be deposed at the next PNC congress- a laughable claim from a laughable poll because Mr. Norton is going nowhere but up. Bisram, from my observation, would write lies and distortions and conduct fake polls just to get attention for his egocentric, offbalanced views. As a matter of fact, I believe that Bisram is one of those “intellectuals” who morphs information, facts and figures into fake analyses like the ones he does on Jagan and Norton; his nonsense is reflected in his past polling and writings-he should go on a sabbatical and hibernate his mindlessness for a couple of years instead of attacking President Cheddi, a true icon and patriot of Guyana. Clem Seecharran should join him.

Yours sincerely Cheddi (Joey) Jagan, Jr.),

We are about the midpoint of Black History Month during this 2024 leap year DEAR EDITOR, Some 62 years ago, on February 16, infamously labelled ‘black Friday’, a budget riot was unleashed in British Guiana. This repulsive event was triggered by a national budget crafted on the advice of Nicholas Kaldor, an accomplished and internationally respected economist and who was invited to do so by Dr.Cheddi Berret Jagan(CBJ), then Premier and leader of the Peoples Progressive Party (PPP), the governing party .

The Finance Minister at the time was Dr. Charles Ramkissoon Jacobs. CBJ felt that multinational corporations and the planter class were co-conspirators in anodious scheme that facilitated capital flight. The government also concluded that the tax structure was skewed in favourthe wealthy. Because of the

CBJ’s unwavering support to Communism (Dr. Vishnu Bisram recently spelt this out in a newspaper letter published on February 9), and President Kennedy’s hard line commitment that there must never be another ‘ C u b a ’ i n A m e r i c a ’s backyard, loans and other financial support to British Guiana were resolutely blocked.

CBJ therefore turned to Dr. Kaldor who had worked with the United Kingdom Tax Commission and also had advised governments in India and Ghana among others, to recommend measures to fund the country’s capital expenditure. The 1962 budget proposals included a fiscal regimen covering: Income tax assessment for commercial businesses, increase import duty on certain goods, a compulsory savings scheme linked to

pressure. For all the above reasons, it makes sense for Guyana to ring-fence its oil projects, and to grab its fair and rightful share of oil proceeds. Not to ring-fence, is to be an active party to ExxonMobil enriching itself at the expense of the Guyanese people. This feeds into the demand for all oil expenses to be disclosed, so that Guyanese have the clearest idea of what they are paying for, and that it is accurate and not padded, and that it is this country’s and not from somewhere else. Ring-fencing must be accompanied by the fullest disclosure of expenses, as audit results are now teaching this country. Ring-fencing serves as a needed discipline for ExxonMobil, gives Guyanese some confidence, and puts money in their pockets now, all being equal. Being hungry and living in poverty should not wait for relief until the next decade.a

redeemable government bonds, increase in taxes on certain foods which could be adequately substituted locally. Of note, there was no salary increase announced for civil service workers.

Opposition parties, the Peoples National Congress (PNC) and the United Force (UF) led respectively by Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham (LFSB), and Peter Stanislaus D’Aguiar (PSD), were engaged in an aggressive campaign against the Kaldor / Jacobs budget.

LFSB main focus was to ‘Axe the Tax’. They were openly and directly supported by some sections of organise labour and the private media; andwere also backed by anti-communist powerful states and their institutions, led by the United States. The 1962 budget was widely viewed as a measure to entrench communismand alsotouted as an attack on the downtrodden. It propelleda pledge by the business class and their political leader to oppose, expose and depose.

Ironically, that said budget was applauded by the New York Times and the London Times but by the time those publications had hit the stands, it was too late to abandon the chain of events which were designedto destabilise BG. The genie was already out the bottle.It is alleged that in response to

an appeal for consideration of a wage increase, CBJ said not a penny more or something to the effect. I have not found anything to substantiate this utterance and am therefore asking if anyone knows this for a fact to inform yours truly accordingly.

Ralph Seeram in his piece “From the diaspora…Kaldor Budget and Black Friday February 16, 1962, published in one of the dailies on March 30, 2014 quoted from the Wynn Parry commission report to portray LFSB as the leading (perhaps only) protagonist that whipped anti budget and anti Jagan supporters into a feeding frenzy to satisfy an induced thirst for demonstrations and disorder.

The mayhem of black Friday was followedby several months of riots and killings involving mainly Africans and Indians. I was told by an eyewitness that a major public event which help set the stagefor the first wave of riots on February 16, 1962 started immediately after a group comprising mainly non-Indians and nonAfricanswas emotionally addressed by PAD from the balcony of the Ice House opposite Stabroek Market,.

He then came out to Water Street and led a procession with vociferous chants of “Jack go back” (reference to (Continued on page 16)

Kaieteur News

Friday February 16, 2024

We must not descend into chaos DEAR EDITOR The National Security Advisor posted a video on social media showing someone dressed in APNU + AFC colours and APNU written on his / her clothing doing what many considered to be witchcraft. This was occurring in front of the teachers on strike. During the period of His Excellency L.F.S Burnham it was illegal to practice witchcraft / obeah. It is unfortunate to see that the party that His Excellency had founded breaking from the high standards that he had established.

The educators of our great Nation should continue to embrace the path that higher education offers.

There was a time in Europe when witches were burnt at the stake. As a people we should avoid descending into such chaos. No one should be making personal attacks against those working at the Ministry of Education.

The disagreement before us has to do with the right of

the teachers to participate, via collective bargaining, in the decision making pertaining to their salaries.

The Ministry of Education has implemented less than 75% of the initiatives requested. However, the Ministry was able to implement an initiative that ensured trained teachers were available in remote areas of the country such as Monkey Mountain. We must not throw out the good with the bad.

The Ministry is filled with hard working people and we should allow them to strive for an A by giving them an opportunity to complete above 85% of the initiatives before them.

Having a negotiated salary increase should be a compulsory requirement for such a high passing mark.

I encourage both our teachers and members of the ministry to maintain the proper decorum and mutual respect during this difficult period.

We must ensure that we continue to set a good

example for the children of our Nation. Even though there is a disagreement before us we must not allow it to descend into that which is unbecoming of those in the Education Sector. Good communication is always necessary to resolve a difference of opinion. It is in everyone’s best interest for the two sides to meet to find a mutually agreeable resolution to the dispute.

When the children of our great Nation are in school and there is a conflict, we expect them to resolve it peacefully via an intellectual discussion.

Similarly, the leaders in the Education Sector must follow suit and illustrate to both our Nation’s children and the World that Guyana is a place where we practice what we preach, and where people who are educated know how to conduct themselves appropriately.

With concern, Mr. Jamil Changlee Chairman The Cooperative Republicans of Guyana

Unbearable Shameful Corruption DEAR EDITOR, In the Queenstown Mosque on Church Street at the ‘jumaah’ (prayers) two Fridays ago, my friends spoke in what was supposed to be hushed tones about the extent of corruption in the land. Others could hear the conversation assailing the President for presiding over a government that an increasing number of people see as corrupt and not taking action against his cabinet colleagues.

Even my friends and family members who got large amounts of contracts in the tens and hundreds of millions and of billions of dollars complained about the huge amounts of kickbacks they paid as much as 40% at various levels. Nothing gets

approved without a heavy handshake.

Worshippers expressed their disappointment, shame, and embarrassment. They did not vote for corruption. It is against their belief. I could hear it in their voice about their disgust and shame that they voted for a government that has turned out to be the most corrupt in the history of G uyana, outdoing the coalition. My friends and several members of our community are becoming increasingly wealthy but we are losing our moral fabric as a people. Our scriptures speak against the corrupt.

Favored contractors is the talk among my jamaat and friends. My wife also tells me that her female friends and other people are talking

about corruption even on the phone and in the markets.

Just in my Mosque alone, every Minister, from top to bottom, and several government officials were ‘indicted’ as being on the take. My friends tell me that the conversation about corruption crops up at other mosques as well. People no longer talk about who is the most honest and competent Minister. The conversation recently has been who is not in the take and who is the most corrupt in the government. A Berbician won the top prize, tied with a Demerarian/East Coast Essequibian. Mention the word corruption and the names of those two individuals pop up. Others (Continued on page 06)

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Analysis of Jagan & Cold war Relevant today Dear Editor, An analysis of Jagan and the cold war is as relevant today as it was in that period (1946-91). It is not correct for anyone to pen “it belongs to a bygone era” and ignored his history while excoriating those of us who write on it or on other historical issues.

Historians and even social scientists don’t operate or analyse events that way.

They don’t ignore or forget history. History is dynamic; it does not stop and events tend to re-occur. That is why t h e l a t e P r o f G e o rg e Santayana warned that those who ignore or fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it (meaning events).

Jagan did not learn from 1953 and his fate was repeated in 1964. The PPP did not learn from that period and its fate was repeated in 2015. The PPP adapted nicely in 2020 as some of us advised and was rewarded.

History and the cold war is as apt today as between 1946 and 1991. There is a new kind of cold war between America and the West and two major eastern powers (with their allies) that have challenged the USA globally including in its critical backward. The consequences could be devastating if countries in the American backyard defy the Monroe Doctrine and again take an anti-American position. It is noted that President Irfaan Ali and Vice President Jagdeo have been appealing to USA for assistance against claims by Venezuela’s to two thirds of our territory.

It is the right approach.

Venezuela is supported by the eastern powers and Iran, another nemesis of America.

Mr. Clement Rohee and other communists have also

appealed for US intervention on Guyana side. So much for attacking the ‘parasitic imperialists’ during the cold war.

Contrary to what may be penned in rebuttal on comments and or the Seecharan book pertaining to Dr Jagan and the cold war, the fact remains he (his party as well as his Indian base) was kept out of power (from December 1964 to October 1992) because of his communist philosophy. The fact that Jagan remained a communist from his introduction to it in America in the late 1930s to 1991 and did not betray his belief of his communist comrades is not something to celebrate.

It was not a badge of honour to his supporters. The latter suffered 28 years (1964 to 1992) of misrule and persecution. There were unspeakable atrocities, bitterness, and material and human destruction as well as killing of opponents all attributed to Burnham’s misrule. That period was preceded by destabilization of the PPP government that Indians supported between 1957 and 1964. While true that Indians bore the suffering and remained loyal to communist Jagan, they did so not because of his communism but out of racial solidarity. They did not vote to build communism or a communist state. They did not understand the pitfalls of communism and the serious consequences they would face from the Americans and the western powers. The choice was an African PNC or an Indian PPP. It was inevitable people would line up behind the party (and de facto leader) of their race. It was a paradox (a contradiction) for capitalistic Indians to vote

for communistic Jagan and PPP as my Prof Gregory Massell noted in a course on Communism and Anarchism.

I too supported Jagan from a little boy growing up in Port Mourant a few streets from the home he was born. I went to every event pertaining to Jagan or the PPP. I ran behind Jagan’s car (believe it was a Soviet Lada) and assisted with running errands and packing benches and chairs. I helped sold Mirror newspapers. I got voters out in 1968 and 1973 elections which were of no avail as both were rigged; western powers close their eyes to rigging because of their opposition to the return of communist Jagan. As a Jaganite, I pioneered a struggle for free and fair elections while a student in America (197792). When I was championing FFE and lobbying the Americans, Rohee and other communists were in Czechoslovakia and the Soviet bloc. We bore the brunt of the suffering in Guyana and carrying out the struggle to liberate it from communism.

And in 2018 at Jagan’s birth centennial, I approached organizations in Delhi to hold a conference or seminar on Jagan.

I referred to Jagan as the Gandhi of the Caribbean in my requests for sponsorship of a conference. A letter to the Indian Council of History to sponsor a seminar on Jagan received no written response.

I a trip to Delhi, I personally met the Chairman and made the case for a seminar on Jagan. His response was: “Your hero was an honorable, honest but (Continued on page 06)

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Analysis of Jagan & Cold...

From page 06 naive gentleman. He caused the sufferings of his people. I am aware of your contributions to IndiaGuyana relations and your activities in the diaspora. I salute your work.

But sorry I can’t support your request for funding for a seminar or conference on Dr. Jagan”.

What struck me was how well the elderly gentleman knew of Jagan and his recognition of the mistake he made in embracing communism. In 1985 in Delhi as a visiting scholar, I met MPs and university intellectuals all who told me Jagan was a naive politician who challenged America in her backyard.

The result was inevitable — keeping him out of office.

I should note that while others got scholarships to study in the Soviet bloc because of loyalty to the party, people like me could not pay to attend

u n i v ersities in those countries.

The parents of people like me and we ourselves had to work very hard on the land and sell produce, save every penny in order to fund our studies in capitalistic countries and India.

And over a million Guyanese left the homeland for the western bourgeois countries, not to communist Cuba, China, or the Soviet bloc.

Analysts like me saw the need to reject communism in order to win over Americans for democracy to be restored to the homeland.

Jagan was not a pragmatist. Many world leaders talked socialism but recognized its limitations in getting into office.

And even those who talked socialism, like Lee Kwan Yew, once in office, they abandoned it.

Burnham stayed away from socialism and accused

Jagan of being a communist who posed a threat to Western interests.

The West embraced Burnham. Once in office and he consolidated his reins on power through the establishment of a dictatorship, he embraced socialism (communism, some argued it was fascism). He suffered the consequences with a bankrupt economy.

In commenting on the p i t f a l l s o f J a g a n ’s communism, neither me nor others disrespected the iconic Jagan.

He was a charismatic honest politician. He was and still remains our hero.

That does not mean we should not have a critical perspective on the old man.

He erred in embracing communism that led to the challenges Guyanese were forced to endure between 1953 and 1992.

Yours truly, Dr. Vishnu Bisram

Unbearable Shameful Corruption...

From page 05 take smaller amounts (20%) as they understand the contractors have to also eat and something must be left to do the work (albeit shoddy work) that was contracted. They leave something for the

calf.

It can’t be that the President and Vice President don’t know when the talk of corruption reverberates around the country.

Yours Truly, Zainool Ally

Friday February 16, 2024

Macedonia Joppa Voluntary Committee plans largest Mash celebrations in Region 6 Dear Editor, On Friday. February 23, 2024, the Macedonia Joppa Vo l u n t a r y C o m m i t t e e (MJVC), a registered nonprofitable organization on the Corentyne will mark 44 years since Guyana became a Cooperative Republic with the largest Mashramani celebrations ever in Region 6.

Weather permitting, this y e a r ’s M a s h r a m a n i celebrations will be an allday gala family celebration followed by a dance with a well-stocked bar and barbeque chicken and jerk pork, among other dishes.

The celebration is expected to attract hundreds, if not thousands, of people in and out of the region and from as far as West Coast Berbice to Crabwood Creek, East Corentyne.

It will be the only celebration of its kind in East Corentyne, and thousands of children and adults from the

Macedonia Joppa district and elsewhere are expected to join the road march under the theme “A Brighter Future for All.” It will be a day of fun for the residents, especially for the hundreds of children who will participate in several cultural, social, and educational activities such as the recital of poems, singing of folk songs, playing of games and dancing to a variety of songs, as well as an educational quiz competition on the history and geography of the country.

Participants in the road march commencing at 2:30 PM from Brighton Village to No. 41 Village will be decked out in a dazzling array of colourful costumes of red, black, yellow, white and green portraying the colours of the Golden Arrowhead, and depicting Guyanese

culture, lifestyle, and heritage. Residents of all ages and from all walks of life, regardless of race, religion, or social status from the Macedonia Joppa villages of No. 35 and 36, Brighton, Kiltairn, Eversham, Epsom, Dingwall, Bengal and No 43 will line both sides of the roadways to view the colourful display of costumes and the rich and gorgeous outfits as their fellow villagers danced to the rhythm of the lively and customary soca music supplied by the Yard Byzd Entertainment Sound.

The executives and members of the Macedonia Joppa Voluntary Committee (MJVC) invites everyone in the district and elsewhere to participate in the celebration on Friday February 23, 2024.

Sincerely, Dr. Asquith Rose MJVC Chair

We are about the midpoint of Black...

From page 04 CBJ advisor, Jack Kelshall).

The gathering stopped at several business places

including Bettencourt and Fogarty where managers and employees closed theirbusiness and joined the demonstration which followed a route to Parade Ground. They stoppedon Carmichael Street and called out to LFSB from his office to join the procession. He came outside, was photographed with PAD and got back inside.

Hesubsequently went to the ground and addressed the meeting.

Editor, in the aftermath of the 2024 national budget, there is currently a strike by teachers in all the administrative regions of Guyana for what they describe as aliving salary to adequately make ends meet

in this world’s fastest growing economy. There seems to be a hardening of positions on both sides.

Space will not permit me to analyse and compare the contextual underpinning of today’s post budget industrial relations reaction etc.to that of 62 years ago. However, permit to make one brief observation.

A neighbouring nationis making a serious play for a large chunk of Guyana and her natural resources. In the world of geopolitics, there are more questions than answers in real time.

Somehow, I am driven to recall and reflect on the contents of a book to which I was introduced in 1987. The author, Barbara W Tuchman,outlined indetail four decisive turning points in history which illustrate the very heights of recklessness: The Trojan war, the breakup of the Holy See provoked by the Renaissance popes, the loss of the American colonies by Britain’s King George 111, and the United States persistent mistakes in Vietnam. The publication is appropriately titled ‘The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam’ It wasGeorge Santayana who stated “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” Yours faithfully Derrick Cummings

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B T LUNT. UNT...B BL Friday February 16, 2024

Kaieteur News

“The people who are trying to embarrass the teachers are serial violators when it comes to accounting and accountability.

To the best of my knowledge, the PPP/C in its decades long history, has never presented a full account of its annual financial operations to its members.

More dangerously for the country's delicate democracy, both the PPP/C and the PNC/R have never, ever submitted the statement of election expenses required by the Representation of the People Act.

That sadly is their concept – or contempt – of accountability and the rule of law.

That disdain is not only bad per se, but opens for all forms of unlawful activities, including money laundering, tax evasion, smuggling etc.” (Christopher Ram)

PAGE 07

Kaieteur News

PAGE 8 10

Friday Monday February May 02,16, 2022 2024

‘Priya says is OP: Jagdeo says is Priya’ ...as Govt. flip-flops on who is responsible for salary talks with teachers

Vice President (VP) Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday said that despite the government engaging with the Guyana Teacher's Union continuously, they chose to walk away and instead called strike action.

He also contradicted Education Minister, Priya Manickchand who had said that salary negotiations for teachers are being led by the Office of the President and not her ministry. Jagdeo said that those talks are being done by the Education Ministry. At his weekly news conference he was asked by this publication “at what

stage of this industrial action will the government relent and meet with the union?”

Jagdeo said that, “They had meetings. I just demonstrated to you that they had meetings that were ongoing.

They met on the 31st of January they had a meeting scheduled for the 21st of February, based on an understanding that they and the Ministry of Education will meet continuously every third Wednesday of every month.”

The VP explained that there were engagements and the union chose to walk away from that, calling for a strike

even though the Ministry would have resolved around 30 of the 40 plus issues, they had highlighted in their letter.

Adding that, “salary talks are not done by the Office of the President,” Jagdeo noted that President Irfaan Ali when he had met with teachers did not have a salary and wages negotiations with the head teachers.

He said the meeting that the President had with them, was just for them to air their concerns. “That was not a negotiation with the headteachers or the teaching body on wages and salaries.

That was not a negotiation

the President was listening to them as citizens of this country.”

The VP told the media that the union's demands are unreasonable. “If we accede to their demands that will put a teacher at $500,000 per month. Where in this region or any country at our stage of development where would you get that pay?”

President Ali last Friday assured teachers protesting for better salaries that there is no need to down tools, urging them to be patient.

During his speech at the commissioning ceremony for a simulator facility at the

Berbice Oil and Gas college, the Head of State sought to address how his government is going to “fix the welfare” of not only teachers but also public servants including doctors and nurses.

“I said this to them then, that listen, we are going to commence the process of fixing your welfare but I wanted you to understand and Alistair (Alistair Routledge ExxonMobil Guyana Head) is here,-we suffer from our own good news sometimes- everybody believes that all the resources are available now (but) in 2027 then is when the real

Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo growth in revenue coming in would be seen in the country,” Ali pointed before adding , “and I said to our teachers, our nurses, our public servants and I say to them now again that we are committed to giving you the best life possible.”

Kaieteur News

Friday February 16, 2024

PAGE 09

The herring master In July 23, the Stabroek News carried a report captioned, ‘President’s office, not ministry, deals with GTU multi-year pact – Manickchand.’

In that article, the newspaper quoted the Education Minister as saying, “As you are aware that the Ministry has never negotiated, it’s always been from a level of Office of the President.”

The government has never denied or refuted this report or position that it is the Office of the President that is responsible for negotiations on a multi-year wages package. Even when in an editorial of 12th November 2023, the Stabroek News again said that, “It is not the Ministry of Education which deals with the matter of teachers’ wages and salaries, it is the Office of the President”, there was no denial by the government or the Vice President of this position.

But yesterday, the Vice President was cornered and rankled by Dennis Chabrol o f D e m e r a r a Wa v e s .

Chabrol asked him whether

instead of having to consider hybrid education as a response to a possible indefinite strike by the teachers, it would not be better to simply negotiate with the teacher’s union.

Jagdeo began his answer by claiming that the union’s d e m a n d s w e r e unreasonable. This is a position which was first mentioned in this column and which has considerable merit. However, the fact that the Guyana Teachers’ Union proposal is unrealistic does not form the basis for not negotiating. Nor can it be a justification for not negotiating with the union.

Jagdeo then went off on a long-winded diatribe about how much the government has done for teachers. He spoke about a 61% increases in the wage bill and asked whether there should be no consideration for sustainability. He did not mention that the Central Government wage bill is also being bloated by the thousands of part-time workers which the government has employed.

He even questioned what

was going to happen should oil prices fall in the future.

He asked how in such a situation government was going to fund its wages bill.

Jagdeo then segued into arguing that the education is not suffering from a lack of resources. He forgot that no one was saying this: the contention is that the teachers, the backbone of the sector, are asking for better salaries.

Jagdeo totally circumvented the issue in contention: why in terms of salaries has the government refused to engage in collective bargaining with the recognised union for teachers in Guyana?

Chabrol was not thrown off

by Jagdeo’s histrionics about the unreasonableness of the u n i o n ’s d e m a n d s . H e followed up by asking whether that was not what the negotiation process is about: to allow the government to outline its concerns and counter proposals. It was then Jagdeo got into a kerfuffle.

Becoming very agitated, he said that this was what was happening and that the

GTU rolling out plans to pay striking teachers...

From page 2 Monday the nationwide teachers’ strike commenced.

In response the government issued a notice to deduct pay from the salaries of the teachers involved in the strike as well as to stop deducting Union dues from the teachers’ salaries on behalf of the union. As such, on Tuesday afternoon, a lawsuit was filed challenging the government’s decision. The Union’s application includes a wide range of declarations and orders sought from the court.

GTU is asking the court for a conservatory order that the status quo

remains the same that is the government will not deduct monies from the wages and salaries of teachers engaged in any industrial action, and to continue deducting the Union fees and remitting same to the GTU, until the determination of the matter. The other orders and declarations, inter alia, include discrimination, breach of freedom of association, and breach of protection from deprivation of property. Furthermore, GTU requests declarations of bad faith by the government and breach of natural justice.

They also request costs, aggravated damages, exemplary damages, and any other orders the court deems appropriate.

DEM BOYS SEH

Careful wah question yuh ask dem children in class A man get charge fuh speeding. He go in front of de magistrate and he pleaded guilty with an explanation.

De magistrate ask he what was de explanation.

De man claim how since he small he does do everything fast: he does walk fast, run fast and drive fast.

De magistrate tell he, “ Leh we see how fast yuh gan do six months.”

But dem boys hear one better than dat. A man see a lady standing up with a cup

by de side of de road. He feel sorry fuh her. So he tek out a $1,000 bill and place in de cup.

De lady turn to he and seh, “ Sorry, sir, I am not homeless. I am actually a teacher.”

With dat, de man tek back de $100o and replace it with a $5000 bill.

It mek dem boys remember dem school days. One day de teacher bin teaching de class about present tense. So de teacher ask one of de girls in de

class to use a sentence with de word “ fascinate”.

De girl said, I went to the mall and was fascinated by all the stores.”

De teacher said that was de past tense. She wanted a sentence with de word “fascinate”.

So she asked Little Johnny to make a sentence with de word, “fascinate”.

Little Johnny stood up and said, “My father belly is so big he cannot fasten eight of his shirt buttons.”

Talk half. Leff half

Education Ministry was in discussions with the union.

Chabrol then cornered him by asking him as to whether it is not the Office of the President that was responsible for the wages negotiations and not the Ministry of Education.

After tying himself up in a knot, Jagdeo stated that the Ministry of Education was responsible for negotiations of all issues with the union.

But this is not what the Minister of Education was quoted as saying since last year. And this is not the understanding of the union.

Jagdeo cannot eat his cake and have it too. The fact of the matter is that the 6.5% wage increases were imposed by the government without any negotiations with the unions represented

teachers and public servants.

Jagdeo, however, is the master of ‘red herrings’. He wants the media to focus on the alleged lack of accountability by the union.

He even threw in another red herring: something about the union rules not allowing the General Secretary to be a politician and General Secretary at the time. But those ‘red herrings’ are merely intended to divert attention from the issue that is at stake: the failure of the government to negotiate a multi-year wages and salaries agreement with the union. The government has not been keen to engage with the union because it has been able, until now to get away from doing so. And now it is becoming clear that Jagdeo is a major part of the

problem. He seems to have forgotten that he was once a teacher. In 2018, he had supported the teachers’ strike during the rule of the APNU+AFC. How could that strike be right then and wrong now? But don’t dare ask the Vice President that.

He comes from a fishing village and might well throw a shoal of red herrings into the mix.

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

Kaieteur News

PAGE 10 S

UTH

D TR

HAR

HK

BY G

LALL

Friday Monday February May 02, 16, 2022 2024

H@RD TRUTHS

BY GHK LALL

Oil - what is meaningful to me Right off the bat I put before everyone what is most meaningful to me on this oil patrimony of Guyana. There are three strains to my thinking, and in order of priority here they are. The first is the prosperity that is due to all Guyanese. The second is the profitability of this country's oil partner, Exxon. The third is the cultivation of close

connectivity to the American government. All three have their challenges, all three have unlimited upside.

The first thing that readers should notice is that I have given no priority, no pride of place, for the fortunes of the PPP and its leaders, their cronies, families, and hangers-on.

The same applies in the fullest measure to the PNC

and that gang of good Guyanese. The interests of both parties and their movers and shakers are of no significance to me, pale into the inconsequential. Both political groups are wellequipped to take care of what is important to them. Now, I wish to get one thing straight: I have no constituency; I serve no majority; I identify with no minority, other than

the voiceless and powerless and friendless.

I bow completely before only one constitution -my conscience.

Whoever is there in Guyana that can deal with the above, is a friend; whoever can't still qualify as a friend.

Like it or lump it, but live with it. Now it is time to get down to the real business of this contribution.

This country has enough

proven reserves of oil for there to be fulfillment, early as in now, of the first priority identified above. The prosperity of every Guyanese, whether they number 780,000, or 900,000, or about a million, which is now being bandied about. The population is still small enough and the oil assets huge enough for all Guyanese to get their fair slice of the pie. At the rate that Exxon is pumping oil daily, and considering where the price of oil has been (the range), there is every reason why Guyanese should have, had to have, come into their own.

Oil owners.

Oil harvesters. Oil benefiters. It has not happened, even come close, and this is a burning concern for me. “We are not rich yet” they say. If not today, when Exxon is making hay, then when?

The so-called sanctity of contract has been massaged and manipulated capriciously and primarily to the benefit of Exxon. Yet there has been only the selfserving, self-promoting mulishness of Guyana's political leaders about coming clean and taking the clearest stand on bringing about material changes to the contract.

The trouble in the hall is that PPP Government leaders are about the drop-dead primacy of power at any cost.

Hold on to it.

Do not relinquish it, under any circumstances.

Do whatever it takes to get on and stay on the best side of Exxon. Guyana's opposition is made of like flesh, in that the first priority is to get in the good books of Exxon to give the party a fighting chance at getting into power. Power is the perversion that leads to all the word games and posturing from political leaders, all too consumed about doing what is looked upon favorably by Exxon.

So, there is this jockeying for power, which destroys the chances of Guyanese at the p r o s p e r i t y, w h i c h i s rightfully theirs, and rightly due right now.

Exxon and America are where the power originates, passes through to the chosen group. Who didn't know it before, should have the commonsense to know it now.

Just revisit the obfuscations, vacillations, and contortions of our leaders.

Secondly, Exxon must make a profit. Not one that is marginal, but profitability that is eye-popping and mouthwatering.

This is highly likely after a real leader and a real government take the fight to Exxon to renegotiate the 2016 instrument of enslavement, what distresses Guyanese. I scoff and laugh when I hear blabber about 'honorable' from locals, for it's a cover to do nothing, to secure the party's place of favor.

Guyana's oil is so cheap (contractually [new terms applying]), high-quality (proven), and production inspiring (breakeven) that Exxon's profitability is guaranteed. It is the mere matter of a touchup of the slightest haircut on the company's existing profits out of Guyana.

Because Exxon has so doggedly and unartfully resisted any move to renegotiate the 2016 contract, what Guyanese see (including PPP diehards and blowhards) is the company representing the worst manifestations and excesses of capitalism. It is perverted and it is racist. It will take some undoing by Exxon to remove those smears on its corporate identity. The key is that it still has some time to do right by Guyana, and still profit gorgeously.

Lastly, admitted or not, Guyana is now tied to the American Eagle. It has to make a pick: the rising Chinese Dragon, or the faltering American Eagle.

For its own security, its own stability and tranquility, Guyana must cultivate the closest connectivity with the Yankees.

They can be hypocritical, sanctimonious, and overbearing. But they are the best that we have, what this country needs.

Being where we are, commodity and geography, there is no avoiding the Yankee shadow. Any leader making these three priorities his or her highest, and in the same order, and there could be a radically new Guyana in the making. A satisfied one.

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

Kaieteur News

Friday February 16, 2024

PAGE 11

WPA condemns Govt. banning of schoolgirl's calypso The Working People's Alliance (WPA) has strongly condemned the recent decision by the Ministry of Education to disqualify a six-year-old student from a Mashramani Calypso competition on the grounds that the lyrics of her calypso do not fit the guidelines for songs in her age-group.

“This explanation by the government insults the intelligence of Guyanese.

Since when children are disqualified from engaging in social and political commentary? Which part of the constitution bars schoolchildren from singing songs that comment on topical issues? If children are permitted to sing songs which are considered “jam and wine”, why are they banned from singing songs with serious lyrics?” the WPA questioned in a press release on Thursday.

The party asked whether the government can say what moral or other forms of danger can singing such a calypso bring to the child in question and children in general? “Finally, if the calypso violated the “guidelines, why it was not disqualified during the preliminary stages of the competition—why now?”

According to the WPA it is clear to the party that the

Ezeka Minty singing her Calypso at the Region Six Mash Competition Held on February 2.

government takes exception to the lyrics which critique the country's high cost of living and the government's meagre 6.5 percent wage increase to public servants.

“Such lyrics are a staple of the calypso art-form and fall within the category of calypso which serves as forms of socio-political rebuke. This is nothing short of government censorship that is reminiscent of the colonial era when calypsos were deemed subversive and banned by the authorities.

Such action by a postindependence government is inconsistent with the values of independence and freedom. Censorship of art and culture is a tried and tested tactic of authoritarian government and governance. All

calypsonians and artists must take stock of this development and raise their voices in protest,” the WPA said.

“The government's action is an attack on creative expression, a sacred right of all Guyanese. It is also a frontal attack on an art-form that is central to African Guyanese, Guyanese and Caribbean cultural expression—calypso is the mother-music of the Anglophone Caribbean. This action reeks of cultural insensitivity from a party and government which have been found guilty of ethnocultural discrimination.

W PA s a y s t o t h e government-Get of the back of calypso. There was calypso before the PPP and the art-form will never

surrender to government domination. Finally, WPA sees the government's action

as an attack on children.

What message are we sending to children when they are told by the government that they are free to sing lewd songs but prohibited from singing songs with uplifting lyrics?

The government does not seem to care that it may have crushed the spirit of a child and in the process dragged her into unwanted controversy. This is nothing short of callousness on the government's part. We have again sunk to a new low in Guyana—this time a child is the sacrificial lamb,” the release concluded.

This newspaper reported on Thursday the six-year-old student from the Fort Ordinance Primary School in Berbice , Ezeka Minty was disqualified from National Children's Mash Competition, for a Calypso she sang criticising the Government's 6.5 percent pay increase. Minty's song was called “Tell me how a guh survive with six point five”. The opening verse goes like this: “Tell me how a guh survive with 6.5, please tell me how a guh survive with 6.5.

I have a burning issue on (Continued on page 14)

PAGE 12

Friday February 16, 2024

Kaieteur News

Pres. Ali tells diaspora: 'Don't come to be

complainers, come to be part of the solution' President Dr. Irfaan Ali was too cold, but because the ...promises to return with job fair to help fill domestic labour gap would pledged on Tuesday that he hotel I was at did not have host a massive job fair water. And then after many

Members of the Guyanese and Caribbean Diaspora at the event on Tuesday

in New York as the country needs all hands on deck from the Guyanese and Caribbean Diaspora to support the unprecedented pace of development that is unfolding.

He gave them fair warning however that they should not return to be mere complainers of the issues plaguing the country. The Head of State urged that they try to be part of the solution to the issues, many of which the government is already addressing. The Guyanese leader shared the foregoing at an engagement he held at the TWA Airport Hotel. There, he engaged members of the Diaspora on important

hours without, it came but it was jet black. It took hours to clear up and then this (Tuesday) morning, it was milky and cloudy,” Ali said.

He noted that he shared this experience with Foreign Affairs Minister, Hugh Todd, while adding that had this been Guyana, social media platforms would have been overflowing with complaints.

“I say this to say that the easiest thing in life is to complain, to criticize and that is ok. But what do we do after that…after you come back home and complain belly full, what do you do after that? The problem still has to be fixed…so don't come back and

President Dr. Irfaan Ali during his presentation, flanked by other senior government officials developments taking place in Guyana and the need for their services in this regard.

“To members of the Diaspora, we will be back here soon with a job fair. And why?

In our country today, we are short of nurses, we are short of skilled workers, we are short of carpenters, welders, machine operators, we are short of labour and we need you back,” said President Ali. He added, “It is not going to be immediately competitive for you but incrementally, it will be far better for you. I can work out the economics for you but of course you have to be willing to put a value on quality of life and if you do that, then your place is back home.”

The President shared that his main purpose for being in New York was to lead a debate at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to mark Guyana's one-month handling of the post of presidency.

He said that on Monday afternoon, one day before the debate was hosted on the impact of war and conflict on food security and the environment, he was prevented for hours from taking a bath. “...I did not shower, not because the place

tell me tomorrow you want treated water because it is being fixed,” said President Ali to the Diaspora stakeholders.

He said his government is making key investments in having treated water for 100 percent of Guyana's coast by 2025. He also appealed that if and when they return, to not complain about the cost of electricity and the spate of blackouts as this too is being addressed through the imminent gas-to-energy project. Ali assured that in two years' time, the cost of power will be halved and power supply will be reliable and on par with anywhere else in the world. “So come, buckle up, button up and sacrifice for two years.

Don't come to be another one of the complainers. I am very frank with the Diaspora… Don't come and add to the problem, come and help in solving the issue,” said Ali. He noted that the next seven years of Guyana will be marked by a period hard work.

He assured that by 2030, “the harvest will be sweet, the success will be outstanding and by the grace of God, the rewards are going to be merciful to our country…”

Kaieteur News

Friday February 16, 2024

PAGE 13

on the run after sexually Convicted rapist flee Man assaulting woman on boat Mazaruni Prison P Prison escapee: Akeem Wong

C

onvicted rapist, Akeem Wong, on T h u r s d a y morning escaped from the Mazaruni Prison compound, Region Seven.

Wong is a convict who was serving a 15-year sentence for rape. According to the Guyana Prison Service (GPS), the escape occurred around 07:20hrs. At the time, he along with inmate Gilbert Gill was labouring in the wood bush in the custody of Prison Officer Torres.

The Prison Service reported that while on duty, Wong had requested to use the washroom to which he was granted permission by the officer.

It was reported that about five minutes later Officer Torres decided to check on Wong but discovered him missing, and immediately

raised an alarm. “Law enforcement officials have widened the search perimeter around the general area,” GPS said while noting an investigation is ongoing.

Meanwhile Kaieteur News has learnt that Wong has been planning his escape a while now and had even attempted to get an accomplice to escape with him but the individual reportedly turned him down.

He was reportedly telling fellow inmates that he wanted to escape to take revenge for his mother's death.

Kaieteur News was told that he claimed that someone had assaulted his mother and caused her death.

Wong, Kaieteur News was told, is a trusted inmate because he was always on his best behaviour and a good worker.

olice are looking to re-arrest a man accused of sexually assaulting a 20-year-old woman on a speedboat en-route to the Stabroek Market Stelling, Georgetown from the Vreed-en-Hoop Stelling in the West Coast of Demerara (WCD).

The woman was assaulted on Friday last and police had arrested the man the same day but ranks at the Stabroek Market Outpost reportedly let him go reportedly on $40,000 station bail after keeping him in custody for only a couple of hours. Now police are looking to re-arrest the suspect but cannot find him even after the victim and her relatives have reportedly seen him walking the streets of Georgetown and frequenting the water taxis to cross o v e r f r o m Vr e e d - e n - H o o p t o Georgetown.

The young lady recalled that she was sexually assaulted around

16:10hrs while sitting beside a passenger in the boat. “He had on white shirt, black sunglasses and carried a green backpack on his lap,” she said while adding that she felt something rubbing against her thighs and vagina.

At first she reportedly thought that it might be an object inside his green pack up because waves had the boat rocking.

She claimed that she then adjusted her own bag to prevent his from rubbing against her only to discover that it was the man's hand rubbing against her thighs and vagina. “I reacted promptly and pushed him away”, she said as she recalled raising her voice to alert the other passengers of his actions.

After confronting the suspect, she reportedly asked the boat captain to summon the police to arrest him a soon

as they arrived at Stabroek Market Stelling. Police showed up in time and the suspect attempted to escape from the boat.

The woman said that she was barring him from leaving the boat and he pushed her to the ground but did not get far because another female rushed over and restrained with a vice grip.

She recounted that amidst the chaos to prevent the suspect from getting away an off-duty officer who was close by intervened and apprehended him.

The man was taken to the Stabroek Police outpost where he was held. The woman alleged that she went along to make an official report to police ranks about sexual assault. He was searched and interrogated. Sex toys were reportedly found in his bag and when questioned, he reportedly told officers that he is a 52-year-old vendor from (Continued on page 20)

PAGE 14

Kaieteur News

Friday February 16, 2024

WPA condemns Govt. banning...

From page 11 my chest, ah can't even rest, how cost of living and everything doubling, this thing troubling, how a must carry on with a seemingly one arm. Tell me how a guh survive with 6.5”.

Following her disqualification from the competition, the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) accused the government of being vindictive because the Minty's song criticized its 6.5 percent pay increase for public servants. “Imagine our caring Ministry of Education disenfranchised this Little Angel from competing at the National Competition because they deemed this song to be POLITICAL. Imagine all the work that had to be put in by the teachers, parents, and child to master this song”,

the GTU stated on its Facebook page. The Ministry of Education in response said that the song was not appropriate for the child's age and breached one of the rules of the competition. “The Allied Arts Unit emphasises that decisions made are based on established rules that have been in place for many years, specifically focusing on the appropriateness of items in relation to age groups”, the unit said. “ Tw o i t e m s w e r e rejected,” the unit added, stating that “the respective schools were duly advised with transparent communication on the reasons behind the decisions.” “The focus is on ensuring that the content presented aligns with the age appropriateness stipulated

by the rules set well in advance of the competition,” the unit continued.

“It is crucial to highlight that the intention is not to censor satirical content but to maintain age-appropriate standards and teaching commences with rules in line with the longstanding principles upheld by individuals associated with the competition,” the unit which under the control of the Ministry of Education said. The GTU General S e c r e t a r y, C o r e t t a McDonald during protest actions on Wednesday condemned the move by the government. “Where were the rules all the time?”

McDonald said while adding, “the government is proud about its 6.5 so why can't our children sing about the 6.5?”

Friday February 16, 2024

Kaieteur News

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Friday February 16, 2024

Kaieteur News

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Packed programme planned for Commonwealth Day 2024 Commonwealth Day will be celebrated this under the theme: “One Resilient Common Future," SecretaryGeneral, Patricia Scotland has announced.

Commonwealth Day will be celebrated on Monday, 11 March, and will start with a series of events and activities during March, including faith and civic gatherings, debates, school assemblies, flagraising ceremonies and cultural events.

Commonwealth Day is celebrated by people across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Americas, the Pacific and E u r o p e .

T h e Commonwealth SecretaryGeneral Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC said: "Each year, we observe Commonwealth Day to recognise, celebrate and invigorate our 56 member states, all of whom are committed to the Commonwealth Charter.

This year's theme underscores the collective strength that enables us to confront and overcome

Commonwealth Day is celebrated by people across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Americas, the Pacific and Europe present challenges, emerging with resilience. This paves the way for a future where wealth isn't just widespread but genuinely equitable."

"We have countries which are amongst both the smallest and largest in the world. What binds us together is our shared values, and those include a

commitment to ensuring stronger and stable governance, a more sustainable environment, robust economies, and societies that empower Commonwealth citizens."

Secretary-General Scotland also took the opportunity, on behalf of the Commonwealth, to wish His

Dr. Daniel Kanhai to serve as youth representative on Constitutional Reform Commission Dr. Daniel Josh Kanhai has been selected as the youth representative on the Constitutional Reform Commission, after months of consultation among youth representative bodies.

Coordinator of the President's Youth Advisory Council, Nalinie Singh described Dr Kanhai as a determined and dedicated individual and she believes he will perform well. “We had a fair bit of representation but a name that seems to be a consensus that we have been getting a lot throughout the country has been Dr Kanhai. So, representing the youths on the Constitutional Reform Committee will be Dr Daniel Josh Kanhai,” she stated.

The final consultation was held on Wednesday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), Liliendaal, with the final stakeholders, a number of youth groups were invited: the Progressive Youth Organisation, Muslim Youth Organisation, Youth Movement Guyana, Guyana National Youth Council, EQUAL, Youth Action Network, and Children of Hope.

According to Singh, Dr. Kanhai will carry the youth vote onto the committee. “So, changes that will be made to the constitution which will affect us all, he will be voting on and we would expect him to consult with all youth groups. He has a lot of passion and purpose, so we would expect nothing less from him,” Singh explained. The consultation started in late 2023 and included the Guyana Youth Development Association, National Youth Parliament of Guyana, Progressive Youth Organisation, Leopold Inc, Youth With A Purpose, Youths in Action Group, Dharmic Youth Arm, Children of Hope, and Young Peoples' Movement were among those invited to be part of the consultations.

Dr. Daniel Josh Kanhai The government in August of 2022 moved to the National Assembly with the Constitution Reform Commission Bill 2022, for the establishment of a Constitution Reform Commission to review the country's supreme laws. The explanatory memorandum states that the act seeks the establishment of the Constitution Reform Commission which will consist of 20 members.

Members of the Commission shall be appointed by the president and will include five members of the PPP/C, four members of the APNU+AFC, one member each from the ANUG, the Guyana Bar Association, the Labour Movement, the National Toshao's Council, the private sector, representatives of women organisations, youth organisations, Christian, Hindu and Muslim organisations, as well as nominee representing farmers.

(DPI)

Majesty King Charles III, the Head of the Commonwealth, a complete and fast recovery.

T h i s y e a r ' s Commonwealth Day theme reflects the focus of the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), which

will be held in Samoa, in October 2024. When announcing the CHOGM theme in 2023, Samoa's Prime Minister, Afioga Fiame Naomi Mataafa said: "We look forward to sharing our unique Samoan communal culture and traditions as we come together to transform our one resilient family into a common wealth."

During Commonwealth Week in March, world leaders, foreign ministers, young advocates and other delegates from across the Commonwealth will come together for wide-ranging conversations. Together, they will deliberate and decide on collective actions to solve shared challenges while also suggesting initiatives that empower people, encourage growth and bring transformative change. One of these initiatives is the declaration of the Commonwealth Year of Youth, which has put a focus

on increasing projects to support the 1.5 billion young p e o p l e o f t h e Commonwealth.

Commonwealth Day Activities Countries will observe the day through readings of the Commonwealth Proclamation, hosting celebratory events, or dedicating the week to enlightening citizens about the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth Secretariat's website will serve as a central hub, providing free and accessible resources to support these diverse activities.In London, where the Commonwealth Secretariat's headquarters are located, a reception will be held welcoming invited representatives from across the Commonwealth.

Additionally, a vibrant multicultural, multi-faith service at Westminster Abbey on March 11th will celebrate the rich tapestry of (Continued on page 22)

Govt. developing weight restriction programme for Linden-Mabura road project The government through the Ministry of Public Works is seeking consultancy services to develop and initiate an axle load control programme in relation the ongoing Linden to Mabura Hill road project.

The ministry in an advertisement stated that the Government has received financing from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the United Kingdom Caribbean Infrastructure Partnership Fund (UKCIF) in an amount e q u i v a l e n t t o US$178,709,000 towards the cost of Linden to Mabura Hill road upgrade project.

The agency noted that it intends to apply a portion of the proceeds of the financing to make eligible payments under a contract for consultancy services.

The ministry through its Works Services Group would be the executing agency for the project.

According to the document, the objective of the assignment is to develop and initiate the implementation of a realistic program of axle load control in Guyana. The duration of the assignment is expected to be for a period of 12 months.

The Government of Guyana is seeking consultancy services for the strengthening of axle load

Section of the Linden to Mabura road project.

control for the US$190M Linden to Mabura road.

Kaieteur News had reported that this project will consist of two main highways; the width of each lane is approximately 3.6 metres, some hard shoulders both sides measuring 2.4 metres, cyclist and pedestrian lane of two metres, a utility corridor, about 10 bus stops, and nine rest areas just to mention a few. The Linden to Mabura Hill road project is just the first phase that will ultimately lead to a completed Linden to Lethem road link that will then complete an overland link to Brazil.

Bids for the project are expected to be read on March 12, 2024 at the National

Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) office at the Ministry of Finance.

Meanwhile, as the government goes out to tender for this project, Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill had said during the recent concluded budget debate that the government has commenced a process which would address the issue of heavy loaded trucks damaging roadways across t h e c o u n t r y. W h e n questioned about the issue by the members of the Opposition, Minister had responded saying that a consultancy firm is in place and is currently reviewing weight restriction laws for vehicles.

Friday February 16, 2024

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Kaieteur News

Friday February 16, 2024

Man on the run after sexually...

From page 13 Anna Regina on the Essequibo Coast, Region Two. Police allegedly found a significant amount of cash on him too.

The victim alleged that after finding the cash she was taken aback when the officers on duty at the outpost asked her before taking a statement if she would really like to proceed with the matter against suspect or let him pay her off.

“That is when the officer (name mentioned) told me that this man has money and, if I wanted to take the money and let him go”, alleged the victim while claiming that she refused the offer and told the officers that she wanted him charged and placed before the courts because he can do it again.

The ranks then reportedly took a statement from the woman and assured her that the suspect will be kept in custody for 72 hours under investigation.

She left but later learnt that the man was released hours later.

Curious as to why he was let go the woman said that she called the officers to find out why and when the suspect will be charged.

Kaieteur News was preview to a conversation between the victim and the officers and one of them could be heard telling her that they were ordered by superiors to release him on $40,000 station bail.

She was reportedly not satisfied with the response and decided to take her case to higher authorities within the Guyana Police Force

(GPF).

The woman continued her claims that she was left even more surprised after learning that no one was made aware of her case including the female rank in charge of the Sexual Crimes Unit at the Brickdam Police Station.

She was summoned by police days later for the detectives at the Brickdam Police Station to retake her statement.

The woman said that the detectives told her that none of the ranks at Stabroek Outpost informed them of the sexual assault or f o r w a r d e d a n y statement/report to sexual crimes as is required.

It is unclear if police will investigate the ranks at the Stabroek Outpost.

Investigations are ongoing.

Kaieteur News

Friday February 16, 2024

PAGE 21

South Africa urges ICJ to consider action on Israel’s planned Rafah assault (ALJAZEERA) South Africa says it has asked the World Court to consider whether Israel’s plan to extend its offensive in the Gaza Strip into the densely populated southern city of Rafah requires additional emergency measures to protect Palestinians.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) last month ordered Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent its troops from committing genocide against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip in a case brought

by South Africa.

Israel has denied all allegations of genocide in connection with its assault on Gaza and asked the court to reject the case outright, saying it respects international law and has a right to defend itself against Hamas, the group that governs Gaza.

Israel said it is planning to expand its ground assault into Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians have sought refuge from the

People inspect damage caused by an Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip [Said Khatib/AFP] offensive that has laid waste to much of the enclave since Hamas fighters attacked Israel on October 7.

“In a request submitted to the court yesterday [Monday], the South African government said it was gravely concerned that the unprecedented military offensive against Rafah, as

announced by the State of Israel, has already led to and will result in further largescale killing, harm and destruction,” a statement issued by South Africa’s presidency said. “This would be in serious and irreparable breach both of the Genocide Convention and of the Court’s Order of

January 26.”

There was no immediate comment from The Haguebased ICJ. In past cases, the ICJ has sometimes granted additional emergency m e a s u r e s w h e n circumstances on the ground had changed.

‘Additional measures’

The court has not yet ruled on the core of the case brought by South Africa – whether genocide has occurred in Gaza. But it recognised the right of Palestinians in Gaza to be protected from acts of genocide.

The court also ordered Israel to allow in muchneeded humanitarian aid, including fuel. Al Jazeera’s Fahmida Miller, reporting from Johannesburg, said there has always been questions about whether the original order by the ICJ would be followed.

“While the order was given, there’s always been concern around monitoring and implementation and if Israel would pull back, which we haven’t seen yet,” Miller said.

“South Africa is saying Israel is already in breach of the order, which was given several weeks ago, and … wants the court to put in place additional measures,” she added. “South Africa is asking for a declaration that

would ultimately protect Palestinian lives.” The day South Africa filed its request, Israeli forces attacked 14 houses and three mosques in Rafah, killing dozens of people and prompting hundreds of displaced families to flee.

On Tuesday, Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Ismail A b u O m a r a n d photojournalist Ahmed Matar were wounded in an Israeli drone attack in the Miraj area, north of Rafah.

The area had been designated a “safe zone” by the Israeli military, causing Palestinians from across Gaza to flee there. Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 28,473 people, more than 70 percent of them women and children, according to Palestinian health officials.

About 80 percent of the population has been displaced, and a humanitarian catastrophe has pushed more than a quarter of the population towards starvation.

Nearly 75% of journalists killed in 2023 died in Israel’s war on Gaza: CPJ (ALJAZEERA) Seventy-two of the 99 journalists killed worldwide in 2023 were Palestinians reporting on Israel’s war on Gaza, making those 12 months the deadliest for the media in almost a decade, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Killings of reporters would have dropped globally year-on-year had it not been for the deaths in the ongoing war on Gaza, the CPJ said in its annual report released on Thursday. “In December 2023, CPJ reported that more journalists were killed in the first three months of the Israel-Gaza war than have ever been killed in a single country over an entire year,” the organisation said.

In total, it documented 77 journalists killed in the war on Gaza last year while doing their jobs: 72 Palestinians, three Lebanese and two Israelis. The Palestinian victims account for nearly 75 percent of all

journalists killed worldwide.

“This war is unprecedented in terms of the threat to journalists,” Jodie Ginsberg, president of the CPJ, told Al Jazeera from New York.

“What’s important to remember about this war is that Gazan journalists are the only journalists able to report on what’s happening inside Gaza.

International journalists have not been able to get in, have not been allowed in, e x c e p t o n v e r y, v e r y controlled trips that are overseen by the Israeli army.

“So we are entirely reliant on those [Palestinian] journalists, who are risking their lives to bring us this story,” she added. On February 7, the New Yorkbased press freedom organisation said the number of journalists killed in the war on Gaza had risen to 85.

The CPJ has previously attacked what it calls the “persecution” of journalists

by Israeli forces and is investigating whether a

Mourners attend the funeral of a Palestinian journalist who was killed in an Israeli attack in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip in November 2023 [File: Mohammed Salem/Reuters] Palestinians dozen journalists killed in the Gaza conflict were deliberately targeted by Israeli soldiers, which would constitute a war crime.

‘Journalists under threat everywhere’ Ginsberg said she was “disappointed … at the lack of public solidarity that we have seen” with Palestinian journalists during the

ongoing war.

S h e s a i d We s t e r n “hesitancy” to show solidarity with those targeted and killed in Gaza was “sadly unsurprising” given that Israel is “the country, the issue that has divided international media, international politicians more than anything”.

But she emphasised: “I

think it’s really important that we let our colleagues inside Gaza as well as in the region know that we stand with them, that we are there to support them, so that we can make sure that press freedom and journalists are protected not just at this crucial moment in Gaza but also globally at a time when journalists are under threat

everywhere.”

Worldwide, the CPJ report said the death toll of 99 reporters killed was the highest since 2015 and an increase of nearly 44 percent on 2022’s figures.

It said the greatest reductions in journalist fatalities in 2023 were registered in Ukraine and Mexico.

Both went from 13 killings to two. Fatalities remained stable in Somalia and the Philippines, the organisation said.

However, it warned that Mexico – along with the Philippines and Somalia – was “one of the world’s deadliest countries for the press”.

“Compounding the situation, government agencies spy on reporters and rights defenders, and a significant number of journalists have had to leave their homes, and abandon their professions, due to violence,” the CPJ report warned.

PAGE 22

Friday February 16, 2024

Kaieteur News

Nasser hospital: Israel special forces raid key Gaza medical facility WANTED

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(BBC NWS) Israel’s special forces have launched a raid on the besieged Nasser medical complex, the main hospital in southern Gaza.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Hamas fighters were hiding inside and that Israeli hostages’ bodies might also be there.

A spokesperson for Hamas denied that, calling it “lies”.

Video footage shows medical staff rushing patients on stretchers through a corridor filled with smoke or dust.

Footage verified by the BBC shows a patient - who is still in their bed - being moved through a corridor where the ceiling is damaged.

Other patients can also be seen, including one person being carried away in what looks like a blanket. In another clip, people can be seen placing furniture and other items against a door as a narrator states in English that Israeli forces are about to enter. A nurse inside the hospital told the BBC that a “large number of dogs” had been released inside the hospital during the operation.

Nasser hospital, in Khan Younis, is one of the few still functioning in Gaza. It has been the scene of intense fighting between the IDF and Hamas for days. IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said forces were aiming to reach Hamas fighters inside, “including those suspected of involvement in the 7 October massacre”.

Rear Adm Hagari said there was “credible intelligence from a number of sources, including from released hostages” suggesting

Hamas held hostages at the hospital, and that there may be bodies of some of them there.

He said a number of suspects had been detained at the hospital since the start of the operation.

Thursday’s operation came a day after the IDF ordered thousands of displaced people who had been sheltering at the site to leave.

Israel’s military said it had assured Nasser hospital staff that patients and staff were not obliged to leave, and that medics could continue treating Gazan patients. Dr Ashraf al-Quadra, a spokesperson for the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, denied that was the case, saying Israeli troops had forced the hospital management to “keep intensive care patients without medical equipment”.

A pharmacist who works in the hospital, Rawan AlMughrabi, was among those evacuated by Israeli forces on Wednesday. She told BBC Arabic there was “a state of panic that made people [being evacuated] stand on top of each other and scream.

Many people were harmed, and others returned to the hospital.

“As soon as we left the hospital gate and reached the checkpoints, the entire hospital and departments were stormed by police dogs, and while we were standing at the checkpoints, many people were arrested.

“Most of the medical cases were evacuated from the hospital, and only the very critical cases remained,” she said. On Wednesday, the UN’s humanitarian office said

there were allegations of sniper fire at the complex, putting the lives of doctors, patients and displaced people at risk.

The medical charity Medicins San Frontieres said those ordered to evacuate faced an impossible choice to stay “and become a potential target” or leave “into an apocalyptic landscape” of bombings. Israel launched its military offensive after waves of Hamas fighters burst through Israel’s border on 7 October, killing about 1,200 people - mainly civilians - and taking 253 others back to Gaza as hostages.

The Hamas-run health ministry says more than 28,600 people, mainly women and children - have been killed in Israel’s campaign.

Israel says its aim is to destroy Hamas and secure the return of the hostages.

Israel is facing increasing international pressure to show restraint.

On Wednesday France’s President Emmanuel Macron phoned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to say Israel’s operations in Gaza “must cease” and that the human cost of the Gaza operation was “intolerable”.

But Mr Netanyahu insisted his troops will advance on the Gazan city of Rafah, which has already come under bombardment. Some 1.4 million Palestinians are sheltering in the area.

The prime ministers of Australia, Canada and New Zealand issued a joint statement expressing their “grave concern” that a military operation in Rafah would be “catastrophic”.

Packed programme planned for Commonwealth...

From page 18 the Commonwealth’s people, history, and culture. The event promises reflections, performances, and readings by individuals spanning the diverse nations of the Commonwealth. Each year, one of the highlights of Commonwealth Day is the procession of Commonwealth flags at Westminster Abbey, with

young flag bearers representing each of the 56 member states. This year, Commonwealth Day events will also include a contingent of Speakers and Presiding Officers from the Commonwealth countries, UK Overseas Territories, Crown Dependencies and the UK nations, specially invited by the Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP, the Speaker of

the House of Commons in the UK. Each year, Commonwealth Day is commemorated to inspire and foster a dynamic and united community of our 56 member states. This year the Commonwealth will celebrate even more milestones. On 26 April 2024, the 75th Anniversary of the modern Commonwealth will be celebrated.

Friday February 16, 2024

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Friday February 16, 2024

Friday February 16, 2024

EIM donates to Mash Street Football Championships The Economic Independence Movement (EIM), a group aimed at creating social and economic change, made a significant financial contribution to Sports Management Inc. (SMI) yesterday ahead of the upcoming Mashramani Street Football Championship scheduled for Sunday at the National Park.

Chairman of EIM, Nigel Hinds said that at the core, the event on Sunday is aimed at addressing the needs of disadvantaged communities through sports. He said that goal aligns with one of EIM’s essential values. According to Hinds, sport is a perfect opportunity to provide em-

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Kaieteur News

powerment for the less fortunate, which can help to mitigate negative social impacts.

The EIM wants to ensure financial opportunities go directly to vulnerable groups, which will provide economic empowerment. The group believes that initiative such as these help families support themselves, which contribute to stronger and more vibrant communities.

Elite street football teams representing 16 communities across Georgetown will go on Show on Sunday for one million in total prize money. The winning team will pocket $500,000 while second, third and fourth places get

$250,000, $150,000 and $100,000 respectively. The Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament will also be rewarded.

In addition, the event promises thrilling entertainment that is expected to really jump start Guyana’s Republic Day celebrations. SMI Principal, Edison Jefford had stated that because the event, which had ran for six nights in the past, has been crunched into “one big night”, it’s important that the teams be disciplined and on time so that the running order of events can progress smoothly for patrons. He said they will enforce strict rules to eliminate indiscipline.

Friday February 16, 2024 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) 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, Aries.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) 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, Libra.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) An opportunity to travel could come your way today, Taurus, perhaps in the company of friends or colleagues. This might involve education in some way.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 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, Scorpio. You could find yourself .

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Changes in your working environment could result in a rise in your income, Sagittarius. You've been working very hard in order to advance yourself in this regard.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) A number of new people could come your way, Gemini, perhaps through projects of some kind with which you're involved.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) The opportunity to attend one or more huge social gatherings, such as balls or banquets, might come your way today, Cancer.

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

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Se pt. 22) Some unusual dreams could have unexpected side effects, Virgo. They could spark new ideas for creative projects or possible innovative concepts to advance your career or social life.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) The Today you're likely to complete a creative project of some kind that you’ve been working on for some time, Capricorn. You might want to consult with friends or colleagues.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Some revealing conversations with friends or relatives could bring up old traumatic memories from the past that you may have been repressing.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Today you can expect some noticeable changes in your neighborhood, Pisces. Some new neighbors who might become your friends could be moving in. This could alter your life ever so subtly.

Rotary Club of New Amsterdam...

From page 31 more than pleased to be a part of the success story of the talented and gifted Joseph.

Thus the RCNA is more than happy to welcome him on board.

He said at the ceremony, the RCNA is doing two things, recognizing Joseph and using the opportunity to broaden the campaign against Obesity. With that the club is appointing Joseph as the Obesity Ambassador of the RCNA. Kassim mentioned the works of the RCNA and some of its achievements. He said that sports and community development are integral parts of the RCNA programme.

The RCNA likes to be among the best and Joseph’s recent achievements have

placed him in that stead. He urged him to remember his roots. Kassim also was high in praise of founder of the TPCC, Carl Moore, whom he said must be applauded for the yeoman service he gave to cricket before migrating.

A number of other persons spoke at the ceremony, including New Amsterdam Mayor Wainwright McIntosh, Executive of the GCB Anil Beharry, representatives of the Ministry Of Education, the TPCC, and the BCB. They all were loud in praise of the achievements of Joseph and the initiative of The RCNA. They spoke of Joseph’s rise to stardom, his humble beginning, his achievements over a short period of time and his heroic performance in Australia.

He was encouraged to stay grounded, be humble and be a good role model for the youngsters.

Joseph, in giving thanks, was very appreciative of the RCNA and the other speakers for holding him in such high esteem.

He thanked everyone for all the words of encouragement and appreciation.

He was happy to be given the opportunity to make Guyana and the West Indies proud.

He promised to do his best and continue to make everyone happy.

He also thanked his family, his home community of Baracara, the TPCC, the entire Guyana and West Indies for the love and appreciation and promised to stay grounded and in touch.

Friday February 16, 2024

Kaieteur News

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Hundreds by Rohit and Jadeja help India weather early wobble v England R A J K O T, I n d i a , (Reuters) - Captain Rohit Sharma and middle-order batter Ravindra Jadeja smashed defiant hundreds to drag India out of the doldrums and into a comfortable 326 for five on the opening day of the third test against England yesterday.

India were reeling at 333 inside the opening hour after Mark Wood proved the value of extra pace on a docile track at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium.

Rohit and Jadeja rebuilt the innings with a 204-run stand to drag the hosts back into the contest.

Jadeja was batting on 110 at stumps, his fourth test

h u n d r e d , w i t h nightwatchman Kuldeep Yadav on one at the other end.

Rohit’s stellar 131 contained three sixes, 14 fours and plenty of drama.

The opener suffered a blow to his helmet, was dropped in the slip and succeeded in having an lbw decision against him reversed en route to his 11th test hundred innings.

With the five-match series poised at 1-1, Rohit’s decision to bat on a flat surface was hardly s u r p r i s i n g b u t Wo o d tormented the batters with his express speed.

The fast bowler had Yashasvi Jaiswal (10) caught in the slip in his second over

and Shubman Gill fell caught behind for a duck in Wood’s next.

England captain Ben Stokes, playing his 100th test, introduced spin in the ninth over and was rewarded immediately as Tom Hartley dismissed Rajat Patidar for five.

Wood continued to bowl with relentless hostility at the other end, hitting Rohit on his helmet grille on one occasion. The opener got a life on 27 when he edged Hartley and Joe Root spilled the catch at slip. Rohit was adjudged lbw to James Anderson but the decision was reversed after replays confirmed the ball had hit bat first.

Rohit and Jadeja denied

England a breakthrough in the second session dragging India back into the contest.

Rohit took 157 balls to bring up his hundred and the muted celebration indicated his resolve to carry on but Stokes and Wood combined to scupper that plan.

The short-ball tactics they pursued against Rohit paid off as the batter slapped the ball from Wood to Stokes at midwicket.

Debutant Sarfaraz Khan shrugged off early jitters and raced to a 48-ball fifty before his entertaining knock of 62 was cut short.

Jadeja was on 99 when his hesitation led to Sarfaraz being run out. A furious Rohit was seen hurling his cap on the floor in the pavilion after the dismissal.

Wicketkeeper Dhruv

Jurel also made his test debut for India in the match.

Scores: India 326 for 5

Mark Wood takes flight.

(Getty Images)

(Rohit 131, Jadeja 110*, Sarfaraz 62, Wood 3-69) vs England.

CWI Regional 4-Day Championships Round 2 Day 3 - GHE vs. LIH

Alimohamed 5-fer headlines grueling 2nd day for Harpy Eagles - Hurricanes lead by 216 runs heading into Day 3 Defending Champs Guyana Harpy Eagles endured a tough Day 2 as they seek to lessen the gap between the current 216-run lead held by the Leeward Islands Hurricanes, as the two sides head into a highlyimportant third day at Warner Park, St. Kitts.

Play resumed on day 2 with the Leewards looking to stretch their overnight total of 299, managing to post a daunting 1st innings 352 all out.

Rakeem Cornwall converted his 30-odd score from the first day, to 54 with 9 fours and a six ; finding help from spinner Hayden Walsh Jr. who finished on 20 not out.

An overall tough 1st innings bowling outing for Guyana, fast-bowler Ronaldo Alimohamed carried the Eagles on his back grabbing 5-69 his maiden 5-fer in 4-Day cricket.

The spin unit consisting of Kevin Sinclair, Veerasammy Permaul and Antony Adams each returned a wicket, as they endured harsh spells.

In support of Alimohamed, fellow seamers and newbies

Neiland Cadogan (1-24) and West Indies U19 player Isai Thorne (1-69), played their roles but will need to maximize during the 2nd bowling innings.

The Champs had a dismal 1st innings, being kept to a moderate 188 all out due to the pair of left-arm spinner Daniel Dooram (440) and pacer Jeremiah Louis (3-42) feasting on the Eagles’ batters.

Alimohamed followed his 5 wickets with a defiant 41 while Permaul (34) and Sinclair (29) finished as the other leading run-scorers in the 1st innings.

Batting a second time, the Hurricanes were 52-1 by stumps. First innings centurion Mikyle Louis looked even more settled than he did on Tuesday, stroking 5 fours with a solitary six on his way to 37* off 47 and could easily convert today given his form.

His opening partner Kofi James (14) succumbed to Permaul (1-6) before stumps, leaving Keacy Carty (1*) to resume his innings alongside Louis.

By lunch, Guyana stumbled to 45-2 after 15 overs, thanks mainly to

Louis who landed a double blow, as the pacer removed o p e n e r Ta g e n a r i n e Chanderpaul for a duck.

Louis added the wicket of debutante Raymon Perez, who crunched a quartet of fours in his 18 off 17 and looked dangerous before falling to a catch.

The afternoon session following the lunch interval, saw Guyana lose a cluster of wickets as a few of their batters looked decent before throwing it away.

Kevlon Anderson (10) and Matthew Nandu (19) scratched around before Archibald removed them both.

The wickets of gloveman Kemol Savory (0) and Sinclair, who attempted a brief counter-fight by hitting 3 fours and a pair of maximums, added further pressure on the Champs.

Alimohamed and Permaul steadied the ship, taking the score to 142-6 by tea. When play resumed Cornwall (1-28) removed Alimohamed, while Dooram churned out a magical spell to dismiss Permaul, Anthony Adams (13) and Thorne (14) to help seal the innings.

Day 3 action continues today from 10:00h.

Kaieteur News

Friday February 16, 2024

PAGE 27

Rose Hall Community Centre extends congratulations to Isai Thorne on making his first class cricketing debut for Guyana

T

he Rose Hall Community Centre of East Canje is extending best wishes to fast bowler Isai Thorne.

The young fast bowler made his first class debut on Wednesday, representing the Guyana Harpy Eagles against the Leeward Islands Hurricanes.

Thorne, who hails from the East Canje area, was recently drafted into the squad as a replacement. The speedster who represents the RHCC was given his Guyana Cap in the match which is being played at Warner Park, St Kitts.

The young speedster recently returned home after representing the West Indies in the U19 World Cup in South Africa.

Thorne ended with 8 wickets with an economy rate of 4.

Thorne made his first class debut last year when he represented the West Indies Academy against Ireland in two 4 days tests in the West Indies.

He was impressive during those matches,

Isai Thorne receiving his Guyana cap as he is about to make his debut for Guyana on Wednesday 14th February. (CWI)

ending as the leading wicket taker with 8 wickets.

Kaieteur News joins

with the rest of the country in extending to Thorne best wishes.

GCB Senior Women’s T20 Inter-county Round 1- Berbice vs. Essequibo

Grimmond, Munisar and company dismantle Essequibo by 7 wickets

Essequibo had a tough day in the field against a rampant Berbice.

Fresh off their 50-Over title win, Berbice continued their rampage across the Inter-county tournaments, opening the T20 leg by handing Essequibo a thumping yesterday at Malteenoes Sports Club Ground.

Taking first strike, Essequibo were bowled out for a paltry 44 in 14.5 overs after the Berbice ladies continued their pack-like assault on teams from the

recently concluded Super50.

It was compliments of the Berbice class lot of bowlers, led by Sheneta Grimmond who had 3-12 while the spin crew Plaffiana Millington (1-4), Ashmini Munisar (2-7), Tricia Hardat (1-9) and Shabika Gajnabi (2-2), choked out the Cinderella County women.

Berbice then strolled to 45-3 from just 6.4 overs after Grimmond returned to

spank 22 not out off 13 balls with four fours. Tia Issacs (7), Crystal Durant (6) chipped in, in pursuit of the low target, batting around Grimmond who saw the game home with Gajnabi by her side (3*). Essequibo had a much better time bowling than they did batting, with Yonette Welcome capturing 2 for 17 from 3 overs and Cyanna Retimiah (1-27).

Round 2 continues this weekend.

Ironically, Thorne like We s t I n d i e s p l a y e r s including recent superstar

Shamar Joseph and Romario Sheppard has roots in the now popular Riverain

community of Baracara, Canje River.

(Samuel Whyte)

Friday February 16, 2024

Kaieteur News

PAGE 28

Mocha-Arcadia defeat Police in Softball Cricket match Making plans before the start of the game.

A select team from the Mocha-Arcadia area defeated a police select team in a feature softball cricket match played recently at the Mocha- Arcadia Community Centre Ground, East Bank of Demerara.

The Mocha Arcadia team batted first and complied a formidable 2894 from 15 overs. Leading the way for the winners was Kelvin Gordon with a swashbuckling 109.

Police in reply fell short as they reached 237-4 at the end of their allotment of overs to lose by 52 runs, with Sergeant Griffith scoring 89.

The game was jointly organised by GPF and members of the Mocha Arcadia community. It was part of the Guyana Police

Force’s ongoing efforts to foster and enhance partnerships at the community level through sports.

The initiative was lauded by community members who thanked the Guyana Police Force for organising the cricket match.

The trophy was donated by acting deputy Commissioner Operations Ravindradat Budhram. He also assisted with the presentation and distribution of awards.

Also in attendance was former Guyanese cricketer Steven Jacobs who also assisted in the presentation of the trophies and other prizes to the winners and outstanding performers.

(Samuel Whyte)

BACIF successfully restores Elite League Championship trophy for season six T

he Guyana F o o t b a l l Federation (GFF) has successfully restored the prestigious Elite League Trophy just in time for the February 25 Season Six kick off.

The flawless restoration was done by Brass Aluminum and Cast Iron Foundry Limited (BACIF), the company that built the three-feet wood and brass trophy in 2023.

It was uplifted from Season Five champions Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and taken to BACIF earlier this month. The trophy will take centre stage during the opening ceremony set to take place at the federation’s National

Training Centre (NTC) in Providence, East Bank Demerara. GFF President Wayne Forde said “this trophy is a true representation of excellent craftmanship by the technical team at BACIF and looks as good as new,” adding that “fans can look forward to five months of competitive matches between the country’s top senior men’s clubs in a newly upgraded NTC facility.” Fans and players alike are in for an enhanced experience as matches will be played from February to July at the NTC on a renovated field, illuminated by recently installed FIFAapproved floodlights.

In their quest to

dethrone defending champions Guyana Defence Force, and secure the coveted championship t r o p h y, a l i n e u p o f formidable clubs is actively training - the Guyana Police Force, We s t e r n Ti g e r s , D e n Amstel, Fruta Conquerors, S a n t o s , A n n ’s G r o v e , Buxton United, as well as the recently promoted Monedderlust and Slingerz.

The Elite League s t a n d s a s G u y a n a ’s foremost senior men’s tournament, serving as a crucial pathway for players to progress into the national team programme and garner opportunities to play on an international stage.

BACIF and GFF officials with the restored Elite League Trophy.

Kaieteur News

Friday February 16, 2024

Carter’s century rescues CCC Marooners’ innings against Jamaica Scorpions SportsMax - Veteran batsman Jonathan Carter paraded his experience with much gusto and registered a sixth First Class century, as he took full control of a faltering innings to push Combined Campuses and Colleges Marooners to 2607 on day one of their West Indies Championship fixture against Jamaica Scorpions.

With his side stumbling at 50-3, Carter capitalised on the conditions at Sabina Park, as he demonstrated both patience and flair to end the day unbeaten on 180 off 186 balls.

T h e 3 6 - y e a r - o l d ’s knock, which so far has 12 boundaries, not only restored respectability to the Marooners innings, but also pushed the Scorpions on the back foot to an extent, especially if their batting performance in the first round is anything to go by.

He will resume batting on Thursday with Zishan Motara, who was unbeaten on 28. Scores: CCC

Jamaican Olympian Inez Turner named CIAA Indoor Track & Field Women’s Coach of the Year as FSU Women repeat as indoor champions

Jonathan Carter unbeaten on 108.

Marooners 260-7 (88 overs); Jamaica Scorpions (yet to bat) After being sent in, the Marooners lost both openers Kirstan Kallicharan and Shaqkere Parris for four, before Shatrughan Rambaran (16) became the Scorpions’ third victim.

However, Carter put on 38 for the fourth wicket partnership with Shamarh Brooks, who posted 36, before he was undone by spinner Peat Salmon.

Demario Richards (eight) stuck around for a 34run stand with Carter, but he was one of two wickets for

Abhijai Mansingh, with Romario Greaves (four) being the other.

But Carter again found a useful partner in Sion Hackett, and the two added a further 63 for the seventh wicket.

Hackett made a breezy 30 off 46 balls, before he holed out to Romaine Morris off Gordon Bryan.

Still, Carter remained unperturbed and ensured the Marooners ended the day strongly, when he anchored an unbroken 55-run, eighth wicket partnership with Motara.

Alfred says transition from college to professional ranks has been smooth; dreams of being St. Lucia’s first Olympic medallist SportsMax - Julien Alfred’s transition to the professional ranks of track & field has gotten off to about as good a start as anyone could’ve ever imagined.

The 22-year-old St. Lucian standout, fresh off a dominant 2023 collegiate season for the Texas Longhorns that saw her claim the Bowerman award, has started the 2024 indoor season brilliantly.

Alfred, a 100m silver medallist at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, opened her season with a pair of wins at the New Mexico Collegiate Classic in Albuquerque from February 2-3.

She first won the 200m on February 2 with a world leading 22.16, the fifth fastest indoor 200m time ever. Alfred also has the second fastest time ever with 22.01 done during her dominant 2023 season at Texas.

A day later, she won her heat of the 60m in 7.15 before returning to run 7.04 to win the final, a world-lead at the time. At the Millrose Games on February 11,

PAGE 29

Alfred became the first woman to dip below the 7second mark this season with a world-leading 6.99 for a dominant victory.

“I feel very pleased. I feel like I could’ve executed better but overall, I feel good. My body feels good and mentally I’m there,” Alfred said in a post-race interview.

She says that despite some difficulty having to adjust to a new routine, her transition from the collegiate ranks to the pro ranks has been smooth.

“Training has been really good. The fall was a bit difficult for me adjusting to having no school and no routine but I’m getting used to it now. I did take some time off and it was really needed so the transition has been really smooth,” she sid.

Alfred is also jointsecond on the all-time list in the 60m with 6.94, also done in 2023, and, after her performance on Sunday, feels like she is ready to challenge Irina Privalova’s world record 6.92 done all the way back in 1993.

“I feel really good about the performance to be

honest and I really felt like I was ready to go after the world record but I’m just going to go out there and keep training and see what I can do at World Indoors,” she said.

T h e Wo r l d I n d o o r Championships are set for March 1-3 in Glasgow and Alfred says that, despite some obvious goals for the upcoming outdoor season, this is all she is focused on right now.

“I’m just thinking about World Indoors and not down the line. When the time comes for that I’ll think about it but for now I’m taking it one race at a time,” she said.

When the time does come to move her focus to the Paris Olympics, Alfred says her goal is to be St. Lucia’s first ever Olympic medallist.

“I don’t have a time in mind at all but I definitely want to medal in Paris.

That’s my biggest goal as of now. I’d be happy just to get a medal for my country because my country has never gotten a medal at the Olympics so I would love to be the first,” she said.

Turner (second left) celebrates with her triumphant athletes.

SportsMax - In a triumphant display of excellence at the 2024 CIAA Indoor Track & Field Championships at the JDL Fast Track, Fayetteville State University’s Inez Turner and Claflin University’s Melvin Watts emerged as the CIAA Women’s Coach of the Year and Men’s Coach of the Year, respectively.

The coaches led their teams to repeat victories, with Fayetteville State’s women and Claflin’s men securing another championship title.

Tu r n e r, t h e i c o n i c Jamaican Olympian and head coach of Fayetteville State University’s Women’s Track and Field team, expressed her gratitude on Facebook for winning yet

another championship. She shared, “It is so very awesome to know that one’s labor is not in vain. I am happy that through it all, the victory is won. This marks our 14th championship since my assignment at Fayetteville State University back in the fall of 2017. I am indeed grateful and thankful to our Lord and Savior who has ordained His abundant blessings.”

The Fayetteville State University Women’s team, also known as the Lady Broncos, clinched their fourth championship in five seasons, tallying 138 points.

Their exceptional performances were highlighted by M’Smyra Seward, named Women’s Field Athlete of the Year, who triumphed in the long

jump event with a distance of 5.89 meters. Irene Jeptoo and Nia Gibson secured victories in the 1-mile and 3,000 meters, respectively, contributing significantly to the team’s success.

Winston-Salem State’s Hayleigh Bryant earned Women’s Track Athlete of the Year honors after winning the 400 meters and the 200 meters.

On the men’s side, Claflin University maintained their dominance, securing their second consecutive championship with 131 points. Key contributors included Jonathan Flemister, who won the 200-meter dash, and Chander Anderson, claiming victory in the 400 meters.

Zion Murry repeated as the 800-meter champion.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 30

Friday February 16, 2024

Ghana fans demand reform after Cup of Nations flop ACCRA, (Reuters) Hundreds of soccer fans took to the streets of Ghana’s capital Accra on Wednesday, demanding better governance for football after their team failed to get out of the group stage at this year’s Africa Cup of Nations.

Clad in black and red Tshirts saying “Save Ghana football” and holding placards, the protesters marched through the main streets to show their frustration over the Black Stars’ poor performances at recent major tournaments.

Ghana, four-times Nations Cup champions but not since 1982, have qualified for four World Cups and reached the quarter-finals in 2010.

The Ghana Football Association (GFA) sacked coach Chris Hughton last month after the team finished third in Group B at the Nations Cup with two points in three matches.

Hughton, whose father hailed from Ghana, took over as coach in March. He

Ghana fans in the stands before the Africa Cup of Nations match - Egypt v Ghana – at Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan, Ivory Coast - January 18, 2024. (REUTERS/Luc Gnago)

won only four of his 13 matches in charge and had been under pressure going into the Cup of Nations.

The GFA, led by Kurt Okraku, is now recruiting its fifth Blacks Stars coach in five years.

“Ghana football today is facing a dark spell in its history, an unprecedented moment that has brought

global embarrassment to the brand that used to make all of us, home and abroad mighty proud,” the protesters said in

a petition submitted to Parliament.

They demanded that President Nana Akufo-Addo launch an investigation into Ghana’s participation in the 2022 World Cup and the 2023 Cup of Nations, after alleging corruption and wasteful spending by the GFA during the tournaments.

They also called for a national football policy, increased investment in grassroots football, and improvements to the local league.

“The clarion call is that we have a unique opportunity as a nation to make changes to our current structure that runs our football in our quest to whip the game back to where it belongs,” the petition said.

“Football belongs to us, not the GFA,” Saddick Adams, one of the lead conveners, said.

Advertisement · Scroll to continue T h e G FA w a s n o t immediately available for comment.

Kansas City police link Super Bowl rally shooting to personal dispute, not terror (Reuters) - Kansas City, Missouri police yesterday said a personal dispute, not extremism, was behind the deadly mass shooting that erupted a day earlier, following a rally to celebrate the city’s Super Bowl win.

The number of gunshot victims rose to 23, and their ages ranged from 8 to 47, police said in a briefing the day after the shooting.

The death toll remained at one victim, identified as a beloved local radio personality.

Two juveniles and an adult were being held as suspects in the shooting, Police Chief Stacey Graves said at a press conference.

The violence erupted as “a dispute between several people” and that there was no connection to terrorism or extremism.

“We have all intentions of presenting charges,” Graves said of the three suspects in custody. Their identities were not

disclosed.

In addition to the woman who was killed, at least 22 others suffered gunshot wounds on Wednesday outside the city’s landmark Union Station, authorities said. At least nine children were among those hit by bullets.

C h i l d r e n ’s M e r c y Hospital said it had treated nine kids who had been shot, and on Thursday said “all of the victims we saw are expected to recover.”

The hospital also treated two other kids injured but not shot at the rally, along with an adult.

Thousands of fans had gathered there with members of the Kansas City Chiefs to celebrate the team’s NFL championship triumph over the San Francisco 49ers.

The bloodshed came at the end of the rally following a parade, and it turned the festive occasion into a scene of panic.

Throngs of attendees scrambled for cover at the sound of rapid -fire gunshots.

The Jackson County prosecutor Jean Peters Baker, who will decide on filing criminal charges, wrote on social media yesterday that “I will use every tool at my disposal under Missouri law that at allows me to address this tragedy.”

Baker’s office said by phone that charges could come as early as yesterday afternoon, but provided no more details.

The shooting marks the latest, high-profile outburst of gun violence, which has been erupting with increasing frequency in schools, supermarkets, nightclubs and other public settings.

“This is an all-too-real American problem,” Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said in an interview with KMBC TV on Thursday. “But so long as we have fools who will commit these types of acts, as long as we have their access to firearms at this level of capacity ... we may see incidents like this one.”

Fifteen victims suffered

life-threatening wounds, Fire Department Chief Ross Grundyson said at a late-afternoon news conference.

“Fortunately, there has been no reported change in status of our victims,” Lucas said yesterday.

None of the football team, their coaches or other staff attending the rally was wounded, the Chiefs said.

CIRCUMSTANCES REMAIN MURKY Graves appealed to anyone who had information about the shooting or video that might help shed light on what transpired to share it with police.

Graves said she was aware of video purporting to show fans subduing a suspect, and that investigators were reviewing the footage to determine if the individual was one of the people taken into police custody.

Parade attendee Paul Contreras, told Omaha, Nebraska television station KETV he was one of the fans who helped tackle the

man, and saw him drop a gun when he was knocked down.

“The whole time he’s fighting to get up and run away,” Contreras said, adding police arrived within moments.

“We’re fighting each other, you know.

We ’ r e f i g h t i n g t o keep him down and he’s fighting to get up.”

The barrage of gunshots happened near a garage west of the station, whose front entrance was the backdrop to the stage for t h e v i c t o r y r a l l y, according to police.

The Super Bowl celebration featured Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce on stage with quarterback Patrick Mahomes and other teammates, but Kelce’s pop superstar girlfriend, Taylor Swift, was back on tour in Australia at the time.

“I am heartbroken over the tragedy that took place today,” Kelce posted on X late on Wednesday night.

“My heart is with all who came out to celebrate with us and have been affected.

KC, you mean the world to me.”

The governors of Missouri and Kansas were among the dignit aries present at the event.

They were unhurt.

The shooting came three days after the Chiefs defeated the 49ers in overtime to win the Super Bowl, 25-22, marking their fourth National Football League championship.

Wednesday’s violence took place on the sixth anniversary of one of the most notorious mass shootings in recent U.S. history, when 17 people were killed and 17 more were injured at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

The shooter in that incident, a former student who was 19 at the time, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.social media video.

(Alyssa Contreras/via

Kaieteur News

Friday February 16, 2024

PAGE 31

Rotary Club of New Amsterdam unveils billboard in honour of Shamar Joseph at the BHS Ground Members of the RCNA and other stakeholders along with Shamar Joseph at centre, stands below the billboard that was unveiled in his name.

Shamar Joseph speaking at the ceremony to unveil a billboard in his honour.

By Samuel Whyte Guyana and West Indies recent superstar Shamar Joseph, who hails from the Riverain Community of Baracara up the Canje River, that took the cricketing world by storm with his recent record breaking performance on the cricket field in Australia, has been further recognised.

The 24 years old speedster will forever be in the hearts of cricket fans with his heartwarming performance.

Although injured with a badly bruised toe, Joseph blew away Australia with figures of 7-68 to deliver West Indies a famous Test win after 27 years.

The Rotary Club of New Amsterdam (RCNA) saw it fitting to honour the son of the soil for his heroic and historic performance.

It was decided that a billboard was a fitting tribute.

The unveiling was done on Wednesday at the Tucber Park Cricket Club, the home club of Shamar Joseph, situated at the Berbice High School Ground, New Amsterdam, Berbice.

The billboard is strategically located at the beginning of New Amsterdam for everyone to see.

Speaking at the ceremony, which was held at the Ground, president of the RCNA Raffick Kassim was high in praise for Joseph.

Calling Joseph a superstar he said, he doesn’t have words to describe him and his achievements.

Stating, that what Joseph has done is more that commendable.

The RCNA he said is (Continued on page 25)

rts Spo

Berbice’ MVP Sheneta Grimmond had a brilliant match with both bat and ball.

Fast-bowler Ronaldo Alimohamed picked up 5 wickets and scored a vital 41 as the Harpy Eagles look to regain control today.

CWI Regional 4-Day Championships Round 2 Day 3 - GHE vs. LIH

Alimohamed 5-fer headlines grueling 2nd day for Harpy Eagles - Hurricanes lead by 216 runs heading into Day 3 GCB Senior Women’s T20 Inter-county Round 1- Berbice vs. Essequibo

Grimmond, Munisar and company dismantle Essequibo by 7 wickets

Rakeem Cornwall’s Day 2 half-century helped the Hurricanes stretch their lead.

Hundreds by Rohit and Jadeja help India weather early wobble v England

One of the members of EIM, Andrew Hercules (second, right) hands over the donation to Mash Street Football Championship Ambassador, Terryann Caesar yesterday while Edison Jefford (left) and another share the moment.

India’s Ravindra Jadeja and Rohit Sharma walk back to the pavilion for the tea break. (REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas)

EIM donates to Mash Street Football Championships 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.