Kaieteur News

Scene from the Children's Mashramani Competition

International Lawyer Melinda Janki cops prestigious Commonwealth Lawyers Association Rule of Law Award

The Commonwealth LawyersAssociation, in conjunction with LexisNexis, have announced that International lawyer, Ms. Melinda Janki is the recipient of the 6th Commonwealth Law Conference RuleofLawAward,2023.

Jankiisarightsactivisthereand alsooneoftheadvocatesofabetter oil deal between Guyana and ExxonMobil. In a press release the association said the prestigious award recognises the outstanding contribution of an individual or organisation to furthering the rule of law, and the CLA and LexisNexis honour Ms. Melinda Janki for her sustained and resolute efforts to promote the rule of law within her home jurisdiction of Guyana and on the international stage.

The release stated that Janki is an international lawyer of over 30 years standing. She holds an LLB from University College, London and two master's degrees in law –theBCLfrom Hertford College, Oxford University and an LLM in public international law from University College, London Janki's human rights work includes advising the West Papuan peoples on their right to self-determination under international law, defending

the rights of the LGBTIQ communityandopposingthedeath penalty

She was nominated for her outstanding work in Guyana to confront the greatest threat to the rule of law internationally, i.e. human-made climate breakdown that is already causing s devastation in Commonwealth countries.

Janki was one of more than 250 legal professionals to sign an open letter in September which warned that, “We, the undersignedmembersofthe legal profession, support the contents of this letter in the light of substantial evidence that breaching the 1 5˚C temperature goal established by the Paris Agreement on Climate Change risks mass loss of life and threatens the conditions for astablecivilisation,including ruleoflaw”.

Additionally, Ms Janki's legal work, challenging ExxonMobil's proposals to exploit vast reserves ofoiloffthecoastofGuyanawhich are inconsistent with that limit, put thisstatementintopractice.

ExxonMobil's intention to produce over 11 billion barrels of oil would pollute the atmosphere and ocean with more than 4 billion

tons of greenhouse gas. She has filed six cases on behalf of public interest litigants, representing a cross section of Guyana's society including activists, retired professionals, a dean of the University of Guyana, a lecturer, a

violation of their constitutional righttoahealthyenvironment.

She drafted the Environmental Protection Act and was instrumental in getting the Constitution amended to include the right to a healthy environment, the very provisions that Guyana's citizens are now using to defend themselves against a sector that threatens the rule of law Janki and her small team operate in challenging circumstances, holding powerful actors to account who are vastly betterresourced.

“We believe that Ms. Janki's commitment and courage to make a difference makes her a worthy recipient of this prestigious award,” the associationstated.

awardin2008.

The Rule of Law is not just a 'nice to have', it is an absolute necessityforsuccess.

Accordingtovarioussources,it is estimated that 5 billion people in the world today live outside the protection of the Rule of Law We must all join together to help bring thatnumberdown.

This is the only way we can improve the lives of individuals and make a real difference to people in parts of the world where fairness is not a given. Melinda Janki is an inspiration to all lawyers.

I congratulate her on this great achievement, and thank her for her commitment, passion, and courage to make a difference, advance the Rule of Law, and change the world forthebetter,”Robertsstated.

student, and indigenous Wapichan youth.Janki, the releaser added has already successfully reduced Esso's environmental permits from morethan20yearsto5yearsinline with national law She also represents citizens challenging the entire oil and gas development as a

Meanwhile, Nigel Roberts, Vice President and Secretary, LexisNexis Rule of Law Foundation stated: “First and foremost, let me offer my sincere congratulations on behalf of LexisNexis to the 2023 CLA LexisNexis Rule of Law Award honouree, Melinda Janki.” He said advancing the Rule of Law is at the core of what “we do at LexisNexis, and it was a privilege to partner with the CLA to establish this

The award ceremony will take placeattheclosingceremonyofthe Commonwealth Law Conference 2023 in Goa on 9th March, and the trophy will be presented by the CLAPresident,PeterMaynard,KC and Nigel Roberts, VP Global AssociationsatLexisNexis.

The association said too that Ms.

Janki will be added to the August roll call of previous winners who have worked courageously to champion and defend the rule of law

Govt. seeks external help to crack high-profile money laundering cases

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs

Anil Nandlall, SC has requested help with the cracking of several high profile money laundering cases from the Regional Security System (RSS)Asset Recovery Unit (ARU) during a meeting on Thursday at his C a r m i c h a e l S t r e e t , Georgetownoffice.

Specifically, Nandlall asked the RSS ARU to assist the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) in certain highp r o f i l e o n g o i n g investigations of money laundering.

The visiting delegation which comprises Ms. Kisha Sutherland, Director (ag), Mr RandyAlexander, Senior Financial Investigator and Ms Chanika Carrington, Senior Legal advisor met with the FIU, SOCU and CANU and will today meet with the Director of Public Prosecutions(DPP).

Meanwhile, during Thursday's meeting, the RSS ARU offered its expertise to G u y

/

structure with specific emphasis on training, capacity building and practical and technical guidance in investigating, detecting and prosecuting Anti-money laundering / countering financial terrorism (AML/CFT) type offences including asset recovery, possessing, seizing and forfeiting proceeds from crime.

The team informed the Attorney General that they have crafted a model legislation which has widely influenced AML/CFT legislation and approaches in the Caribbean region. In this regard, the team indicated that they have done a comparative analysis between Guyana's existing legislative framework and the model legislation, and have flagged gaps in Guyaneselegislation.

They have also pointed out that the model legislation has a comprehensive regime dealing with both civil and criminal forfeiture which Guyanashouldadopt.

Nandlall thanked the team for their timely visit in particular since Guyana is

scheduled for mutual evaluationlaterthisyear

“Currently we are drafting legislation which we are to enact speedily before the commencement of our mutual evaluation later this year

Your intervention, therefore, is not only most welcomed but it could not have been better timed Certainly, we will accept y o u r g u i d a n c e a n d incorporate it in our legislative and other endeavours.

We will also take advantage of your offer for capacity building at every level including at the investigative, prosecuting and adjudicative levels. We are prepared to partner with you in organising workshops to build capacity in the important agencies which form part of our AML/CFT infrastructure,”hesaid.

Guyana signed on with the RSS in March 2022 at the 33rd Inter-sessional meeting of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads in Belize. The Instrument of Accession for the Treaty

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC met with representatives of the Regional Security System (RSS) Asset Recovery Unit (ARU) on Thursday.

Establishing the Regional Security System, making Guyana a member of the regional body was later signed in September 2022 Guyana is also part o f t h e R S S A s s e t Recovery Inter-Agency Network of the Caribbean (ARIN-CARIB) eightmember steering group that administers that operational arm.

The RSS ARU is a regional unit established to combat serious organised crime in the Caribbean common law jurisdictions, through partnership and the robust application of proceedsofcrimeandmoney

laundering legislation

Currently, this Unit is seen as thecenterofexcellenceinthe Eastern Caribbean in c o m b a t t i n g s e r i o u s organized crime, money laundering, and the recovery ofcriminalassets.

It commenced in November 2015, taking over from the highly successful Eastern Caribbean Financial Investigations Advisory Team (ECFIAT) and Caribbean Criminal Assets Recovery Programme (CCARP).

Based in Barbados, it covers the eight RSS Member States, namely Antigua & Barbuda,

Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia and St Vincent & the Grenadines. Theteamalsoprovideswider regional support to include key transit countries such as Trinidad and Tobago and the overseas territories of the UnitedKingdom.

The Attorney General was accompanied by Ms. Joann Bond, Deputy Chief Parliamentary Counsel, and Mr Romel St. Hill, AntiM o n e y Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT)Officerattached to the Attorney General Chambers.

International lawyer, Melinda Janki

Jagdeo heads out to India this weekend to seal

oil deals

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeosaidhewillbeleaving for India this weekend where he is expected to tie up agreements with the Government of India for c o o p e r a t i o n i n t h e blossoming local oil and gas industry

President IrfaanAli along with a high-level team were in India for a seven-day trip recently and entered into several new agreements with the Indian state for collaborationinothersectors, inclusive of manufacturing and power generation among others. It is the VP however, who manages the petroleum sector that will visit India to tieuprelatedarrangements.

Speaking to Indigenous leaders on Wednesday, Jagdeoconfirmedthathewill be traveling to India at the end of this week. It is unclear which day the vice president will be leaving. Jagdeo in announcing the auction of 14 ofGuyana'soilblocksbackin November last year had said the process, “is consistent with the promise we made while in Opposition that future blocks will be given out only through auction. We are not going to do this directly, except if it's a stateto-state engagement with the governmentparticipating.”

President Ali had met with India's Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Housing and Urban Affairs, Shri Hardeep S Puri in Delhi, India, where the leaders discussed “direct Government-to-Government cooperationacrosstheoiland gas spectrum, including increased long-term offtake, participation in exploration and production activities in G u y a n a , t e c h n i c a l cooperation in the midstream and downstream sectors and capacity building, as well as the synergies which exist betweenthetwocountries,”a release from the Head of Statedetailed.

It was also noted that the two countries have agreed to set up technical teams to advance these discussions. Reuters reported that Ali when asked if Guyana would offer blocks to Indian companies through direct negotiations said, “Apart from the auction, we are discussing Government-toGovernment partnership in a number of areas including exploration.”

India's Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas

Out of US$750M carbon credit payout

Govt. gives US$23M to Amerindians

...Opposition calls it an insult and breach of consultative process

People's National Congress Reform (PNCR) and A Partnership for National Unity +Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC)

Member, Mervin Williams has joined the calls for a revision of the process by which carbon credit schemes are made available to the indigenous peoples of Guyana.

APNU+AFC Executive Member, Mervin Williams

of the move by the government to summon Toshaos to Georgetown and informing the village leaders to walk with documents to create bank accounts to facilitate the transfer of monies from the carboncreditsagreement.

and Housing and Urban Affairs reported that the discussions between Guyana's President and the subject Minister there, were fruitful. According to the Indian Government, “The c o n t o u r s o f f u t u r e cooperation would be finalized during the visit of Vice President of Guyana, Mr BharratJagdeotoIndiain February2023.”

For several years, this newspaper has been at the forefront of calls for there to be a thorough, independent investigation into the award of two blocks – Kaieteur and Canje–sinceseveralindustry stakeholders who examined the matter, concluded that they were awarded under suspicious circumstances

The Canje Block for instance was awarded by the Donald Ramotar administration on March 4, 2015, days before that year's General and Regional Elections, to a local company, Mid-Atlantic Oil and Gas Similarly, the Kaieteur Block was awarded on April 28, 2015, just two weeks before the elections, and like the Canje Block, it was done based on the advice of former Minister of Natural Resources,RobertPersaud.

Successive Governments of Guyana have come under heavy criticisms for their management of the country's nascent oil and gas sector From the giving away of oil blocks to the signing of a lopsided contract with ExxonMobil, citizens do not feel they will ever benefit fully from the resources. One significantareathathascome under scrutiny is the awarding of oil blocks –something which industry expertssaidshouldhavebeen put on a public auction in the firstplace.Ittookthecountry more than seven years after it discovered oil, to move towardsitsfirstauction.

Williams' comments come one day after Vice President (VP) Bharrat Jagdeo met with over 240 r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f Amerindian Communities and announced the various sums that would be disbursed to them as a result of an agreement that indigenous communities would get 15 percent pay from the US$750M carbon creditearningsitreceivedas result as a result of the historic Hess Corporation deal, Guyana got for its forests.

J a g d e o t o l d t h e gathering of Amerindian leaders onWednesday that a total of $4.6B (US$23M), which represents 15 percent of Hess' payment for Guyana's carbon credits, will be disbursed in the various communities He said the 240 Amerindian communities are set to receivebetween$10million and$35millionfromcarbon credit sales commencing nextweek.

However, Williams is among those who believe that the communities are being short-changed by the Governmentgiventhevalue of their forests. The opposition member holds t h e v i e w t h a t t h e consultativeprocesswasnot done in good faith and keeping with the UN declarations on the rights of Indigenous Peoples for free, priorandinformedconsent.

He told Kaieteur News: “what they have gotten is a pittance…Its really taking what is rightfully theirs as they have been keeping the forests and giving them a something that is minuscule in comparison to what they should have gotten to drive development in those communities The UN declarations on the rights of Indigenous Peoples dictate free, prior and informed consent. The consultation which occurred was nowhere close to those standards, ” Williams contended.

T h e A P N U + A F C member noted too that even for small communities $10 million cannot drive any real development. As a resulthebelieves:“it'sjusta charade an attempt to put on a show for the Amerindian people and the government is using the Toshoa from these villages to make it look like the Amerindian people are satisfied with what has happened but if you meet the actual r e s i d e n t s o f t h o s e communities you will hear the real stories of the people,” Williams a former Member of Parliament related.

In addition to Williams, the Amerindian People's

Association (APA) had issued a statement reiterating its call for the government “to uphold the tenets of free, prior and informed consent [FPIC] when engaging indigenous communities ” “We have notednumerousinstancesof the violation of FPIC s t a n d a r d s b y t h e government with the latest being the consultation process for the sale of carbon credits the Amerindian Act of 2006 identifies the Village General Meeting as the decision-making body for indigenous communities and as such, villages should be afforded the opportunity to properly scrutinise policies, agreements and other decisions before signing on to them,” the APAsaid.

TheAPAsaid it is aware

“The Toshaos were not informed of the amount of money they will be receiving and how that will be governed Again, the actions of the government indicate that there is very little regard for the FPIC processwhichisaslapinthe face of indigenous peoples in Guyana,” the APA said, while noting that it welcomes assistance to the indigenous communities as they are in need of better infrastructure for health, education and other services.

“However, we are callingonthegovernmentto engage indigenous peoples inamorestructuredwayand not foist its decisions on them. We reiterate that the APAisnotblockingvillages f r o m a c c e s s i n g governmental support but is c a l l i n g f o r t h e administrationtorespectthe FPIC principles,” the APA said reiterating its call for the Minister of Local Government to desist from “ c a m p a i g n o f misinformation on the organisation”.

Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo

Publisher:GLENNLALL-TEL:624-6456

Editor-In-Chief:NIGELWILLIAMS

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

WALES GAS-TO-ENERGY CONTRACTS

ThoughGuyana’sPresidentAlihasmadepromises

beforeandthenburnedthroughthetrustplacedin himwhenhefailedtodeliver,wewillcontinueto trust him to make good on his latest promise. During his keynote address at Guyana’s second International Energy Conference and Expo 2023, President Ali seized the moment to emphasise that there will be total transparency withtheWalesGas-to-Energy(GTE)project.

Thatis,allthecontractspertainingtotheUS$2Bproject will be made public. Though the President did add the qualifierofatthe“appropriatetime”,itisourhopethattime willbesoonerthanlater

TheexactwordsofGuyana’sPresidenttotheassembled delegatesreadwell,“havenomistake,everysinglecontract underthisprojectwillbemadepubliclyavailable,[and]we havebeenspeakingaboutitattheappropriatetime.”Thisis favorablyreceived,andwelookforwardtothattimewhen thefullcontractdetails,allofthemforeverycontract,willbe inthepublicdomain. Itismusicthatwehavebeenwaiting for a long time to hear, and on this newest presidential commitment,wehopethattherewillbenoneedtodifferand part company with the nation’s leader, and the PPPC Government.

Projectsofthisnaturesimplycannotbeleftunaddressed, and in the hands of politiciansalone. Not with the kind of costs attached to them, the history of our huge capital projects, and the great expectations stirring in the hearts of Guyaneseforwhatitcouldmeantotheirstandardofliving. Plans, projects, and programmes that involve huge expendituresinthenameofGuyanesetaxpayersshouldnot beStatesecrets.

The people must operate on, have a right to, a need-toknowbasiswithprojectslikethese.

Also,weareheartenedbysomeotherwordsutteredby PresidentAliattheEnergyConference. Hesaidthat,“You are not living in an environment and operating in an environmentofamateurs.” Itisgoodtohearthatfromour President,andasmuchasitpainsus,wehavetoremindhim thatforthelongestwhile,whatGuyanesehavelivedwithis an environment that is worse than that of “amateurs.” We arewillingtoletthatbeathingofthepast,whichdoeslittle in continual dredging up, leads nowhere. We will take PresidentAliathisword,inthebeliefthatheisseriousand sincereonthisonealso.

It would be to Guyana’s everlasting benefit if the practices and paltriness of amateurs are behind us, and we can as a government and people break new ground that is professional, on the table, and open for scrutiny and fair comment by all Guyanese. We must do our best, work tirelessly against any human or other forces that think otherwise, to ensure that the chronic secrecies that plague thiscountryareathingofthepast.

As the President should know, we have been asking, pressing, waiting, and then begging some more for the contracts and other details of the GTE project to be made public. There is appreciation that this project has many branchesandsources,andthatsomeofthemarestillinthe formative stage, meaning that many key details have not beenfinalised.

These include terms and conditions, with a view to project finances, which it is our position belongs in the publicdomain.Fromhisclearandunambiguouswords,itis clearthatGuyana’sleadersharesthesamepositionsasours, andwearedelightedthattherecanbeagreementwiththis.

To make matters on this Wales GTE still more illuminating, PresidentAli then went on to strike this high note: “Let me make this very clear that [the project will] meet every aspect of international scrutiny and transparency.”

Weatthispublicationaregoingtogooutonalimb,and invest our confidence in the President that he means every wordthathehassaidontheGTEproject,andthattheproof willbeforthcomingatthe“appropriatetime.”

IfPresidentAlionlydeliversinpart,thenastarttowards adifferentplacewouldhavebeenmade.

Oil shares: 52% and 48% — misleading

DEAREDITOR, I refer to your article dated 2-12-2023 and captioned, ‘Exxon official tries to disguise “sh*tty” 2016StabroekBlockdealas sweetforGuyanese’.

In that article it is reported that Mr Routledge said, “Guyanese are benefitting more than the investors… that 50 percent of the profit goes to the countryand50percenttothe investors…(And)…that…a two percent royalty which comes out of the investors’ shareoftheprofits(isadded to the Guyana share, confirming thereby that)…52percentgoestothe country.”

Editor, this profit distribution between Guyana and EEPGL is a strange calculation; and I cannotbelievethatthisisa clauseinthePSA.Toget52 percent for Guyana, I will present the calculations below First, after EEPGL extract 75 percent of total revenue(TR)ascost(cost= 0.75TR),afakeprofit(FP) calculation (to be defined later) is obtained; that is: Fake Profit = TR – Cost = TR- 0.75 TR = 0.25 TR, which is shared 50 percent forGuyanaand50percent for EEPGL. This yields 12.5% for Guyana and 12.5% for EEPGL. Second, the calculation of the2%royalty,asstatedby Mr. Routledge, is taken from the profit share of EEPGL and given to Guyana. Therefore, the 2%ofEEPGLprofitshare (12.5%) is 0.25 and this is addedtothe12.5%toyield forGuyana12.75%,while EEPGL receives 12.25%, thesumofwhichaddsto25 %(Table1). Now12.75of 25is51%and12.25of25is

49percent.

In order to obtain the 52% that Mr Routledge identified as Guyana’s share while EEPGL share was 48%, EEPGL did the rounding magic trick of converting 12.75 % to 13% for Guyana and adjusting downwards EEPPGL share from 12.25 % to 12 %. Consequently,13of25is52 % and 12 of 25 is 48 %. Obviously, this calculation inflatesGuyanashare,while itpresentsthefalsenarrative that EEPGL is being penalized and therefore getting less than Guyana. But this is misleading, for Guyana’ssharewillbemuch smallerthanwhatisreported because Guyana has to provide fake tax receipts to theEEPGL;andmostlikely, money from the depleted Natural Resource Fund (NRF) will have to be paid over to the Consolidated Fund, reducing further Guyana’sshare.

It is therefore incumbent upon the Government of Guyana to publish the value ofthefaketaxreceiptsthatit g i v e s t o E E P G L Incidentally, it should be

noted that it has been reported in the press that Guyana’s share is 14.5% which is different than the share reported by Mr Routledge.

Meanwhile, the idea that the royalty is being calculated out of the fake profit share is troubling. I contend that this is wrong, forroyaltyisnotataxasina profit tax; but it is the patrimony of the country; and it must be based on the totalrevenueofthecompany that is linked to the distribution of the barrels of oil between EEPGL and Guyana.

For example, if Guyana shareis25%oftotalrevenue andEEPGL’sshareis75%of total revenue, this implies that for every one barrel of oilGuyanareceives,EEPGL receives 3 barrels of oil.

Undoubtedly, this approach of accounting for every barrelofoilinrealtimewill enhance full transparency and accountability, as it is best accounting metric for dealing with quantifiable natural resources, including gold, bauxite, magnesium, diamond and other minerals

thatareincludedinGuyana’s patrimony

In contrast, the current method employed in the oil sector is devoid of this transparent and accountable metric; in fact, the current accounting methodology emphasizes cost as the observable metric that is 100%controlledbyEEPGL; andpoorGuyanaisbypassed and has to wait until the accounting data are p r e s e n t e d t o t h e Government. The last three years of accounting information are still to be made public; but Mr Rutledge, I am sure, can release the financial reports so that the Guyanese people can applaud the 52 percent paidtoGuyana.

Another troubling feature of the PSA is that a fake profit is always guaranteed, given that total costisequalto75%oftotal revenue; and the remaining 25%oftotalrevenue(TR)is automatically set as fake profit.

In the real world, however, profit can also be zero(totalrevenueequalto (Continuedonpage6)

Loss of vision and negotiating strength

DEAREDITOR,

The recent statement by PresidentAliisworrisomeat best He stated that the agreement with Exxon will remain as is and he also impliedthatfurtherattempts tonegotiateamoreequitable agreement with Exxon wouldleadtolossofinvestor confidence. He was echoing thesentimentsofExxon,and for a moment it felt like Exxon had gained a new spokesperson for their negotiatingposition.

IfwhatExxonsaysabout loss of investor confidence was true, which it isn’t, loss of investor confidence would also prevent the restructuring of the current structureofthePSAfornew

investors However, the government is currently in theprocessofrevampingthe terms of the PSAto be used fornewinvestors.

The proposed royalty rate is being increased and thecostrecoverypercentage is also being lowered Several announcements have been made which indicate that a number of new investors have shown interest in bidding for the available oil blocks

Obviously, this is an indication that there is interesttodobusinessunder thenewtermsthathavebeen proposed by President Jagdeo.

Exxon should be willing to also entertain those new

terms in their current agreement The need to proceedwithanegotiationis clearlybeneficialtoensuring the new investors are also comfortable that they are competing on a leveled playing field. After several years, the public cry continues for a better agreementwithExxon.

Ourleadersshouldnotbe deaftothepublic’sdemands and our leaders must maintain a strong negotiating position to ensurethatthevisionforthe country can be easily implemented.

To do otherwise will resultinincreasedrisktothe country’s earnings and also put at risk the government’s

proposed vision for the development of the country

Maybe it was fitting that the PresidentofTrinidadwasthe one who cut the ribbon to opentocurrenteventforthe oil sector Our leaders must cease to delegate the leadership of our country to those who are guests amongstus.

Thegovernmentdoesnot work for Exxon. Exxon is here as a guest and we must not forget the importance of rememberingwhosecountry itisandwhoseresourcesare beingexploited.

Withconcern, Mr.JamilChanglee Chairman

Minister Walrond knows not and she knows not that she knows not

DEAREDITOR,

Response is made to the letter ‘Lincoln Lewis continues to misrepresent the facts’ by Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Ms Oneidge Walrond (KN, February 16, 2023). The headline of the letter is as misleading as the content of the minister’s letter

The statements made by me about Bharrat Jagdeo discriminatory record as president are statements of facts.Amere denial of them does not change the facts. Launchingintoanattackand accusationsdoesnotdebunk this statement and even Walrondhasjoinedtheband as a useful utensil, a mere tool, to front the PPP on matters she knows nothing about. It reinforces public concernsthatAfricanleaders intheJagdeo/Aliregimeare meretoolstocamouflagethe PPPindecency

Let me so advise the minister, whether she considers my thoughts aligned or associated with the APNU-AFC, the Constitution of Guyana guarantees the right to free speech(Article146),rightto freedom of association (Article 147) and protection from discrimination regardlessofwhichpolitical partyapersonsupports,race, etc(Article149).

Mere alignment in thought with any political party does not simply or necessarily equal right or wrong. The minister should revisit her purpose in the PPPCcampandherabilityto accurately represent undisputable truths in our society To her statement I should “explain this cryptic assertion” that Jagdeo is “squatting on the people’s

interest”letmerepeatforher what was said in my letter and for the benefit of those seeking

Mark Phillips is Prime Ministerandbyvirtueofhis p o s i t i o n h e i s constitutionally the First Vice President and Head of Government Business in the NationalAssembly,yetheis not allowed to so function. Those who are unaware of these obligations would thinkJagdeoistheFirstVice President and allowed to Head of Government Business in the National Assembly but he is nothing more than usurper of constitutionaloffice.

Thereisnoneedtoprove Phillipsdoesnotfunctionas the Leader of Government Business in the National Assembly when it is well known.

I stand by the statement Phillips “appears content to support the constitutional violation. It is not the first timethe nationhas seen this pattern of behaviour and only under the PPP The disrespect for Phillips is because he has the physical characteristics of a Black man, and the PPP continues to perpetuate the relegation to the African community, reinforcing that even when the constitution so ascribes andAfricansstandtobenefit, Jagdeo/Ali will take it upon themselvestodeny Thishas been their politics and practiceovertheyears.

Jagdeo had two constitutional terms as president,presidingoverthe most brutal, bloody and corrupt government in postindependent Guyana As countlesshaveasserted,both government and nongovernment supporters, President Irfaan Ali is the

pawn of Jagdeo. Walrond shouldrethinkhernewstatus asapawnalsoofhim. There is no honour fetching the chalicefortheevilone,other than a place in hell, and the disrespectaccompanyingit.

On racialization, the minister should stand with Jagdeoinfrontofthemirror, and should she look into it she will see who epitomises this.

Let the minister tell this nation where the PPP has treated bauxite workers and sugarworkersequallyinthe P P P p o s t - H o y t e administration.

Further, let the minister show the world where the Jagdeo government, which had sent home 4000 plus bauxite workers, thought about the village and town economies of Linden, K w a k w a n i , N e w Amsterdam and East Bank Berbicewheretheseworkers resided.

On the other hand, the world knows the PPP continuestoinjectbillionsof dollars in the ailing Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo)onthepretextof saving the village economy ofsugarworkers.Thiscanbe validated from the Budgets and Hansards. I trust this minister should at least be able to do that research and returninthelettercolumnto facethenation.

The minister is being a stranger to the truth or fetching chalice for the evil one,again,bycomingbefore this nation and saying the workers’proposaltobuyout BERMINE was rejected The workers were never so informed and let she who knowsnotthatsheknowsnot proveotherwise.

On the matter of yours truly stating the David

G r a n g e r / M o s e s Nagamootoo administration was prepared to go to arbitration with the Bauxite Company Guyana Inc (BCGI) I stand by my statement.

Had the minister turned the pages of Stabroek News from February 8, 2020 to at least February 12, 2020 she would have read Senior Minister Amna Ally speaking to the issue saying “There are rules and laws that govern how we treat foreign companies and we aregoingtousethoselawsto addressthis.”

TheGuyanaBauxiteand General Workers Union (GB&GWU) was also engaging with the government consistent with the labour laws and industrialpractices.

Whattheministershould tell the nation is why the government, which she has become the spokesperson for, in representing the former disgraced president, has not moved to arbitration and has refused to move to resolve the anomaly in workers’ severance pay in spiteofrepeatedletterstothe Labour Minister and Chief Labour Officer. This shows theministerisnotgenuinely interested in the truth but furthering the divisive agenda of he who seeks to clean his record by using Africanfabric.

Let the minister provide to this nation where I have conflatedtheissuesofunion dues and collective bargaining and allege that support for the sugar industry allows GAWU to collect union dues and stay alive while the government doesnotengageincollective bargaining.

Whatshehastoresearch

andlearniswhatIhavebeen practicingforyears.

The challenges some trade unions face with the Jagdeo and Ali regimes are not a matter of competence but the discriminatory treatment of the PPP where theyarepreparedtousestate resourcesandtrampleonthe law, agreements and universally acceptable principles in order to discriminate against some sectionsofthesociety

I stand by my statement that Jagdeo has no moral authority to speak about g o o d g o v e r n a n c e ,

discrimination, and the upholding of law in this country, and must therefore beremindedagainthatheisa political squatter in the National Assembly And I thank the minister for presentingtheopportunityto loudly and clearly state this againasIwilldowithevery opportunity presented Comeagain.

Jagdeo is a political squatter and should be treatedthesamewaythePPP regime treated persons in Caneview/Mocha.

Regards, LincolnLewis

NIS has denied my right to funeral expenses

DEAREDITOR,

M y b r o t h e r , Gabindranauth Latchmin passed away in August of 2021. I took care of the funeral expenses; of which I have the necessary receipts. He worked for almost 20 years and made his contribution to NIS As required, I took those receipts in a timely manner to the NIS office in Anna Regina on the Essequibo Coast. In fact, I visited the office on several occasions to enquire about my payments.

On each occasion, I was told that the process is not completed and that I will havetokeepchecking.Ithas been nearly two years now and to no avail. However, quite surprisingly when I visited the office recently, I was shocked to be told that thetimehasexpiredandthat myclaimhasbeencancelled.

I incurred in excess of one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars and as a lone bread-winner, I felt aggrieved that I was denied mybasicrightasacitizenof thiscountry Theofficeatno time informed me that this was happening even though theyhaveallmyinformation and contact number This is an injustice and I am appealing to the Honorable MinisterofFinancewhohas responsibility for this entity to intervene and give me some hope that justice is alive. It is very difficult for me to survive in such challenging circumstances; muchlesstoberobbedbyan entitythatissupposetoserve andprotectourinterest.This matter must be investigated so that my claim can be honored and what is rightfullyduetome.

Yoursfaithfully,

OomawattiePersaud

Speak up about the dictatorship during the 1970s and 80s

DEAREDITOR, Two letters in KN, from the same author, recently caught my attention and promptedmetorespond.

The first one was w a r n i n g t h a t decentralization could lead to PresidentAli becoming a Dictator while his letter in today’s missive titled “We need a System where truth ” , again makes reference to a “very worrisome and serious aspect to this adventure of taking the capital government to the people ...”

Editor, if this gentleman is into speaking truths and talking about a descent into

dictatorship, why then does hechoosetoremainsilenton the Dictatorship some of us lived under right here in Guyana during the 1970’s and80’s?

Why do we need to be remindedofaCorporalwho became a Chancellor (in Germany) four generations ago when just a single generation ago (in Guyana) this Dictator of ours, eliminated Independent media, suppressed Free Speech,violentlyrepressed Political dissent, rigged and manipulated elections t o r e t a i n p o w e r,

marginalized and oppressed the largest ethnic group, created a

monoracialPublicService, Police Force Military and Paramilitary Forces that did not reflect the demographicsofGuyanese society, destroyed the Private Sector, restricted imports and access to foreign currency, enjoyed theunwaveringsupportof certain trade unions (who atthetimewereblindtoall his evil) and dictated to us what we could eat, drink, wear,etc

And how could we forget, “Paramountcy of theParty”!

Theresultofallofwhich brought Guyana to its knees withastandardoflivingthat wassecondonlytoHaitiand

Oilshares:52%and...

aneconomythatwas“inthe toilet”!

Educated and skilled Guyanese left these shores by the hundreds of thousands.

Itisironicthattheauthor is now fearful of an impending dictatorship but neversawtheeviloftheone in which he played a significantroleinenabling.

Are any of you gullible enough to believe what you are now being told by those seekingto“enlighten”us?

Yes,wedoneedasystem to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Regards, DennisBalgobin.

What’s missing in the Carbon Credits Debate: Titling of Indigenous Lands

DEAREDITOR,

The South Rupununi District Council (SRDC), calls on the Government of Guyana to demonstrate its climate leadership through expedited action to title thosepartsofourtraditional lands that currently remain untitled, and to collaborate withustoprotectourforests. As the legal representative institution of the 21 Indigenous communities of the South Rupununi, we further call on the Government to demonstrate its commitment to respect for the right to FPIC by engaging with our proper legal representative institutions in decisionmaking.

We have carefully read andfollowedthedebateover the issuance of carbon

credits to Guyana by a body called ART-TREES and the sale of those credits to Hess Oil. We are also aware that Guyanajustreceiveditsfirst payments from Hess Oil for thosecredits.

In October, three of our community members r e p r e s e n t e d o u r communities at the UN Framework Convention on ClimateChangeConference of Parties in Egypt. There, they presented our plan to protect our territory to the world We previously presented this plan to the government as well

Notably, we presented this plan to the President in August and asked that the government work with us to keepourforestsstandingand healthy Our villages have beencollectivelydeveloping

and refining a territorial management plan to ensure that our forests and important water sources are protectedforourcurrentand future generations. Having legal recognition over our territory would enable us to effectively implement this plan, without the threat of commercial agri-business, mining, or logging destroyingourlands.

We are concerned that the Government has not respondedtoourplaninany way, while at the same time moving forward with other claimedclimateactionssuch as carbon crediting deals. We are not opposed to the ideathatIndigenouspeoples should benefit through monetary payments for our hard work protecting our forests and providing climate services. But our work should be recognized first and foremost through titling and legal recognition of our lands. We remain concerned that, despite the Amerindian Land Titling Project, little progress has been made on advancing titling of our territory since we first received title to a portion of our lands in 1976 – no extension applications have been approved since then, and only Parikwarinau and Rupunau have received newtitleseightyearsago.

It would only be proper that once our titles are legally secured, that our peoplecanthendecideifand howtheywanttoparticipate in carbon markets and sell carboncredits.

For us, this would mean making a decision as the

Frompage4 total cost), or it can be negative (total revenue is less than total cost), officially called losses

Consequently, this arrangement in the PSAthat cost is based on a hypothetical number (75 percent)thatislinkedtototal revenue(TR)isanabsurdity; for in the real world, the profit calculation must be based on actual cost data. In fact, in reporting annual f i n a n c i a l d a t a t o shareholders, bankers, and the government for tax purposes, the income and expense statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statementarebasedonactual financialdata.

millionbarrelsofoil(300-50 millionbarrels)whichcanbe split into equal shares (125 million barrels each) for EEPGL and Guyana. Not surprisingly,thecurrentPSA profit specification does not address this important breakeven benchmark; and therefore, the current PSA would only generate fake profits.

Hence, the government must use the breakeven analysistoobtainthecorrect profit level that is due to Guyana.

SRDC collectively about whether we want to sell carbon credits generated from our territory, and if so, how–throughwhatmarket, towhom,atwhatprice–and howwewillusethatincome to implement our selfdetermined vision for our development While we appreciate the government’s decision to allocate 15% of carbon credit revenue receivedtoourvillages,this decision was not made by our villages, and while the NTC’s advice is critical g u i d a n c e t o o u r communities, it does not representourconsent.

We are proud to be Guyanese and to be citizens of a country that is trying to take climate action However, what has been missing from this debate is the fact that the climate actionthatwouldbethemost effective is legally recognizing our rights as Indigenous peoples to our lands and supporting us to protectourlandsinourown ways.

Wehopethattheserecent carbon crediting and sale deals will not become the gold standard for climate action We call on the Government to live up to its climateambitionsbylegally recognizing our traditional lands.

Wecallontheworldthat is watching to hold all Governmentstoaccountand to respect Indigenous peoples’ rights in their climateactions.

Regards,

But by using the fake PSA profit method, the real cost of a barrel of Guyana’s high-quality oil is unknown to Guyanese, but certainly known to EEPGL. I would therefore contend that the current methodology in which any cost above 75 % oftotalrevenueistransferred to the next year, and that the current metric employed to calculateprofitinthePSAis not only misleading; but it could only be described as fakeprofits.

It is generally accepted that oil exploration, d e v e l o p m e n t , extraction/production and marketing is a capitalintensive operation in which fixed cost accounts for a significantshareoftotalcost. For example, a floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel is an example of a fixed cost item that accounts for billions of investment dollars.

However, in the current PSA, no fixed costs are identified; but total cost is tied to total revenue, and is specified as: Total cost = 75%oftotalrevenue.

This cost structure, however, is misleading, because it does not identify the average cost for a barrel ofoilorthetotalfixedcostin theproject.Incontrast,using theproposedalternativecost specification in which the average cost for a barrel of oil, the fixed project costs, and the royalty rate are recognized, the benefit of this approach is that the breakeven output level can be identified, where profit is equaltozero;andthereafter, thecorrectprofitlevelwould berevealed.

In particular, if the Liza welloranyoftheotherwells has300millionbarrelsofoil, andthebreakevenlevelis50 million barrels of oil, this implies that profit oil is 250

Editor, obtaining a realisticandattractivereturn on an investment in the businessworldistheprimary signal that incentivizes the investor to continue investing in a business venture.

RecognizingthatEEPGL has invested US$ 30 billion in the oil project in Guyana, one can conclude that the shareholdersinEEPGLmust be more than pleased with the returns they are making on their investment However,with75percentof total revenue being captured as cost, and only 12 percent beingnettedasprofitshareto distribute between the three owners of EEPGL (Exxon Mobil 45%; Hess 30%; and CNOOC25%),thisisnotan attractive investment, since of the 12 % profit share, ExxonMobilwillreceive5.4 %; Hess 3.6%; and CNOOC 3%.Inotherwords,thisisa serious mismatching of investment funds and returns; and Guyana cannot be held accountable for this poor investment outcome, since it receives much less than 12.75 percent, given that it has to pay from its oil share,thelossoftheincome to fishermen; the transfer of income from the Natural Resource Fund to the Consolidated Fund for fake tax payments that should have been paid by EEPGL; pay for oil spill insurance, environmental damage, and decommissioning cost; and theaddedcostduetonoring fencing.

In conclusion, it is clear that Guyana must employ counter-measures to protect Guyana’s patrimony; otherwise, the EEPGL oil extraction machinery will continue to accelerate its profitgame,andGuyanawill continuetobeexcludedfrom obtaining its correct oil share.

WakeupGuyana,anddo notbecomeinyourownback yard,aPackoo!

Sincerely,

Dr C.KenrickHunte Professor and Former Ambassador

BLUNT...BLUNT...BLUNT...BLUNT

BLUNT...BLUNT...BLUNT...BLUNT

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IF THAT CAN HAPPEN TO KEITH ROWLEY AND RALPH GONSALVES...

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BLUNT...BLUNT...BLUNT...BLUNT...BLUNT

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Talk out of turn, and be forced to wait your turn (no exceptions).

Note closely at how PM Rowley and Gonsalves were mistreated at CJIA.

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This was how Prime Ministers were insulted on our soil.

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Imagine how much more Guyanese would be disgraced for speaking out.

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Think of how Guyanese protesting against Exxon, would be kicked about.

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Challenge Exxon’s dealings, and even the Guyana Govt. can’t do anything.

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Colombia's fishing industry remains sustainable, having expanded its protected areas

ByAllyiahAllicock

Colombia's fishing industry remains sustainable and viable despite the country's increase in oil production, former President Ivan Duque said at the opening of the second annual International EnergyConferenceandExpo. being held at the Marriott Hotel.

The former Colombian leader said this was achieved by extending the country's protected areas from 14 percentto34percent.

“We use regular energy so that we make the transitions, but we still have to protect nature, we have to protect the landscapes,wehavetoprotect those areas that are crucial ecosystems for the present and future humanity,” he told thegathering.

- Former President

coral reefs which guaranteed the sustainability of the fishing industries in different partofthecountry

He said too that this also guaranteed that Colombia is protecting the home of more than 45 percent of the maritimespecies.

“So it's all complimentary and it makes sense and we try t o l o o k t h e r i g h t compensation,”Duquesaid.

GECOM reopens application process for approval of symbol for LGE

Th e G u y a n a

E l e c t i o n s

C o m m i s s i o n

(GECOM) has reopened the process to provide an additional opportunity for t h e s u b m i s s i o n o f applications for approval of s y m b o l s f o r L o c a l Government El ti (LGE).

Section 48(1)

t h e L o c

Duque shared that Guyana, which has more than 90% of its territory in tropical jungle, is still one of the countries that has one of the lowest levels of deforestation aroundtheworld.

He noted that as countries advance in energy and as they advance in the transitions and

wanting to build a low carbon development economy, they also have to ensure that the protected areas are increased for the good and sake of humanity

AccordingtoDuquewhile Colombia has been able to increase its oil production, andreserves,grantnewfields, develop offshore oil and gas, the country that has almost 2 million sq. km combining on land and maritime territory, took the decision to increase itsprotectedareas.

Notwithstanding, the former president said this does not only help to protect the tropical jungle, the rainforest and the high attitude ecosystem but also helps to protect the country's

Meanwhile, Kaieteur News had reported that to save Guyana's dying fishing industry the Government had undertaken a number of initiatives geared at improving fish production including the fish cage initiative and the brackish watershrimpponds.

Additionally, this publication reported on numerous occasions the c r i e s o f G u y a n e s e f i s h e r m e n w h o complained of a steep decline in their catches and predicted that they may very well be out of jobs in the next five years. They attributed the decline in catch to the country's burgeoning oil and gas offshoreoperations.

A u t h o r i t i e (Elections) Act, Chapter 28:03, provides that all Political P a r t i e s , Vo l u n t a r y Groups, and Individuals who are desirous of contesting LGE are required submit a symbol approval by the Guyana Elections no later than the 21stDaybeforeNomination Day

“In this regard, 1st March, 2023 has been set as the date by which a printed and electronic version of the symbol must be submitted to the Commission Submissions can be made directly to the Office of the Chairman at 41High

and Cowan Streets, Kingston, Georgetown in sealed envelopes clearly marked, “Application for S y m b o l – L o c a l Government Elections –2023”, GECOM said in a statementonThursday

A l t e r n a t i v e l y , applications can be submitted via email at

chairman@gecom org gy or, in the case of outlying Local Authority Areas (LAAs), to the GECOM RegistrationOffices.

Political Parties, Voluntary Groups, and Individuals who have already

applied for symbols for the u p c o m i n g L o c a l Government Elections, and who would have received notification that their symbols were approved are NOTrequiredtoreapply.

Political Parties, Voluntary Groups, and Individual Candidates are required to submit, on Nomination Day, their respectivelistsofcandidates accompaniedbytherelevant pre-approvedsymbol.

In this regard, Political Parties, Voluntary Groups and, Individual Candidates are advised that their lists would NOT be accepted without a pre-approved symbol,GECOMreminded.

Former President of Colombia, Ivan Duque speaking at the opening ceremony of Guyana's second International Energy Conference and Expo on Tuesday

NO GLORY DAYS!

The public service

c a n n o t b e restoredtowhatit neverwas:asourceofpride. The local public service has never been a professional or even non-partisan public outfit and the quality of the services which it has provided, historically, have leftmuchtobedesired.

Thecolonialcivilservice was neither neutral nor professional. It was created foranddesignedtoservethe interests of the colonial authorities.

It reflected the unequal state of our society and was characterized by rampant discrimination in which upward social mobility was all but reserved for foreigners and, later, for the more fair-complexioned bureaucrats.

The ‘Guyanization’ of thelocalpublicserviceupon the attainment of political Independence, however, turnedintoafarceandfraud. Not only was the public serviceexpandedtothepoint of being an albatross on the public purse but it was perverted and distorted, includingbybecomingmore ethnically imbalanced and alignedtotherulingparty

If there is any factor which is mainly responsible for the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of the public service between 1966 and 1985, it is the then government stacking the public service with its acolytes, and then using the principle of paramountcy of the party to turn the public serviceintoapartisanarmof theparty

Professionalism was destroyed Senior public servants and high-ranking officers of the Disciplined Services were mandated to attend Congresses of the ruling party Public servants were “pressured” into

participating in events such as People’s Parade and May Daymarches.

Manyofthemfearedthat iftheydidnot,theywouldbe dismissed or not looked favorablyupon.Meritocracy in recruitment became a casualty of politics The possessionofapartycardor connections with senior party officials opened doors for employment This allowed for the public servicetobestaffedbymany personslackinginability

The story is told of one girl who because of party connectionswasabletogain employment in a public corporation She was employed as a typist but when placed in front of a typewriter was using only two finger, one from each hand,totype.

Her word count was about 15 words per minute while there were many applicants who were denied employmentwhocouldtype between 90-120 words per minute.Servicetothepublic became of victim of placing squarepegsinroundholes.

Senior public officials behaved as if they were overlords.

They would have members of the public waiting for hours outside of their office. A certain PNC strongmanwouldmakecalls to heads of government agencies instructing them whattodoeventhoughthose ministries did not fall under him, He even secured employment for some of his concubines.. and there were quiteafew

Andgenerallythequality of service deteriorated. You had to know someone who knew someone in the inside before you could enjoy any expeditiousservice.

The efficiency bred corruption. If you wanted a passport in those days, you

Dem Boys Seh...

had to join a long line and wait for months. But there was a fellow who you could speaktoandwhocouldwalk in to the passport office and you could get your passport the same day, for a fee for himofcourse.

The politicization of the public service intensified to the point where the public bureaucracy became so bloated that it was unsustainable.

This led to mass retrenchment in the 1980’s when the effects of years of incompetence began to affect public finances. Poor wages contributed to a decline in morale within the public service. Real wages declinedinthepublicservice by some 20% between 1986 and1991.

The APNU+AFC coalition was elected into office in 2015, with the PNCR in the driver’s seat. The same policy of overstaffing the public bureaucracy was employed. ProfessorTarronKhemrajin an analysis found that when the PPPC left office there were 14,905 workers in central government But within a mere three years of the APNU+AFC taking office, this had ballooned to 26,354oranincreaseof76.8 percent, while non-central government employment suchasatGuySuCodeclined bymorethan40percent.

Thisover-bloatingofthe central government had an effect on government’s overdraft The professor found that the PPPC government inherited in August 2020 an overdraft at the Bank of Guyana of G$92 8B as opposed to G$9.3Bin2014justpriorto d e m i t t i n g o f f i c e R e g r e t t a b l y, t h e Commission of Inquiry launched into the public service, three months after

De past is not fuh de present

Ole people does seh dat dem gat four things wah yuh can’t take back: the spoken word, the speed arrow, the past life and de missedopportunities.Whatisgoneisgone. Tomorrowwaitsfuhnoone.

When yuh live in de past, yuh does get leff in de past. Some political parties are so stuckinthepastdatdemgangetleffdeh.All desupportindeworldnahgangetdeminto depresent.

Guyana entering a new era.And people nah gat time fuh go and drag no political party into de future De future is a democraticfutureandifyuhnahdemocratic, yuhbelongindepastanddeworldnahgan

gatnorelevancefuhyuh.

Yuh could have all de support and more datyuhneed,onceyuhstuckindepast,yuh ganstaydeh.Youngpeoplemovingforward, dem nah gat time fuh go and help pull you out of no quagmire. So dem nah looking backatyou.Sotrydehanddecidewhereyuh stand; either yuh is fuh de future or fuh de past. But yuh can’t be stuck in the past and stillclaimingyuhisfuhdefuture. Depeople of Guyana wake up and dem see right through all of dem wah did pretending dat demisfuhdefuture.Demseewhotryingfuh pulldembacktodepast Talkhalf.Leffhalf!

assuming office, did not consider the effects of these perversions on efficiency and the quality of service provided by the public service.

The public service today is indeed in need of reform.

But to call for such reforms to have as its objective a returntothedaysofpride,is tofailtoappreciatethatthere wereneversuchdays.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not

necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of this n e w s p a p e r a n d i t s affiliates.)

President Ali, UAE Minister of State discuss COP 28 partnership on sidelines of CARICOM Heads summit

President Irfaan Ali on Thursday held discussions with Her Excellency Reem Al Hashimy, the Minister of State for International Cooperation in the United Arab Emirates and her delegationonplansforCOP 28 that is to be held in the UAE.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 44th Regular Meeting of the HeadsofGovernmentofthe Caribbean Community (CARICOM) currently underway in Nassau, Bahamas.

TheHeadofStateandthe UAE delegation also discussed Guyana’s partnershipwiththeUAEfor COP28andmattersrelating to included carbon credits, innovation, science and technology in the context of climate security, energy securityandfoodsecurity

TheUAErepresentatives included several senior directors,amongthembeing theDirectoroftheAmerican

Affairs Department, Dr Al SaghiraAlAhbabi.

President Ali was accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs and

International Cooperation, Hugh Todd and the Director of Presidential Affairs, Mrs. Marcia Nadir-Sharma (OfficeofthePresident)

President Irfaan Ali with Her Excellency Reem Al Hashimy, the Minister of State for International Cooperation in the United Arab Emirates (Photo courtesy of Office of the President)

Gas Plant substation to consume hundreds of thousands of liters of oil

The Wales Development Zone (WDZ) which is expected to house the proposed Natural Gas fired electricity plant includes at least onecomponentthatwillrequirethe use of traditional oils as part of the overallsystem.

This much can be gleaned from a perusal of the Project Summary presented to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as it seeks environmental authorization fortheproject.

According to the information provided by the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL), in addition to the electricity plant with an installed capacity of some 300 megawatts (MW), there is the need for the construction of a substation

utilising step up and step down transformers in order to transport the electricity generated to the nationalgrid.

The estimated total amount of oil associated with transformers on site would be 556,434 liters, accordingtotheProjectSummary

In that document, it was explained that with the power plant exporting electricity at 13 8 Kilovolts (kV), the Gas to Power Project (GTPP) will be equipped with a 230/69/13.8 kV sub-station onsite.

“The concept layout of the substation indicates that it will be comprise: 4 – 230/13.8 kV voltage step-up transformer 3 – 230/69 kV voltagestep-downtransformersAir insulatedbusesoperatingat230kV

…only four planned maintenance for power plant in 20 years

and 69 kV SF6 circuit breakers ratedat230kVand69kV.”

Additionally, other relevant equipment that includes, but not limited to gantry/take-off structures, circuit breakers, disconnect switches, electrical bus, equipment support structures, surge arresters, current and potential transformers, metering, protective relaying, control building, ground grid, security and surveillance,lighting,andfence.

GPL said, all indoor electrical equipment will be accommodated withinenclosedbuildingsonsite.

Importantly,thetransformersto be used on the site will be oil immersed type The oil is specifically used to transfer heat from the transformer windings and

core to the radiators through convectioncurrent.

It is estimated that each 230/13 8 kV transformer will containatotalof86,943litersofoil and 69/13.8 kV, 69,554 liters. As such, the estimated total amount of oil associated with transformers on sitewouldbe556,434liters.

Additionally, as it relates to the natural gas fired electricity plant, and the use of oils and lubricants to be used there, it was noted in the Project Summary that since the Combined Cycle Turbines will utilise Natural Gas, the majority of oily residue will come from used Lube Oils and grease during maintenance.

Major maintenance, GPL said “is expected to take place at

intervals of 48,000 to 50,000 Operating Hours (OH) that is approximately every 5 years. The OEM would determine additional plannedmaintenanceactivitiesthat are specific to auxiliary equipment.”

The project is expected to have a lifespan of some 20 years meaning there would only be four p l a n n e d m a i n t e n a n c e Additionally, it was noted that subject to decommissioning plans for the pipeline under the purview ofEssoExplorationandProduction Guyana Limited (EEPGL), “at this time there are no plans for decommissioning of the power plant. Any future or preparatory plans shall be in accordance with theEPAAct.”

By GHK Lall

So m e t h i n g i s missing the mark

i n t h i s embarrassing development involving two regional Prime Ministers departing at t h e C h e d d i J a g a n International Airport. What American Airlines did to Prime Ministers Dr Keith Rowley of Trinidad and Tobago, and Dr Ralph Gonsalves of Saint Vincent andtheGrenadineshasmore thanawhiffoftheuntoward. It reeks of the heavy-handed and what is intended to convey a sharp, hard message.

Mindownbusiness,keep to own side of the street. This is how I see that humiliation at the CJIA,

which does not come across as a slip of procedure, a failure of standard. I sense a purposefulfailureofrespect; respect that is due, and for which there should be hell to pay

For the embarrassment experienced by them is an embarrassment extended to us; their humiliation is ours also.Iwouldthinkthatinthe normal course of business, how these things work, that both Prime Minister Rowley and Prime Minister

Gonsalves would possess diplomatic, or some special, passports.

Such a document alone should immediately alert airport staff that the two men are not ordinary passengers, and that the red-carpet treatment should be rolled

out. Also, I believe that two Prime Ministers would not be alone at the check-in counter, but would be accompanied by an entourage, however tiny in number

That ought to have been warning bell number two. Then considering that the Government of Guyana actually intervened with AmericanAirlinespersonnel should have sufficed as a thirdloudstrike.

ItrustthatIhavethepart of the official local intervention accurately, and with the proper timing, sequence.

When I take all of this into consideration, a rather peculiar sound rings in the ear It provokes more than discomfort; there is

agitation.

For the obvious standing

of these two Prime Ministers, not some light concealed under a calabash, to be ignored, and for the p r i o r w r i t t e n communication, and later o v e r t u r e s , o f t h e GovernmentofGuyanatobe rebuffed on its own soil, registers most unacceptably withme.

Menandwomenwithall kinds of tawdry records pass through airports, and under the gaze of airlines, without interdiction, (and American Airlines cannot be exempted here) but this is the saga of two Prime Ministers from theregion,despiteescalation andintervention.

What is going on here?

What was in the head of the

American Airlines

manning that counter, in those fateful encounters

involving two Heads-of-State?

Perhaps, the more pertinent question was what was planted in the h e a d s o f t h e American Airlines people that they were so adamant, so resistant in every way to appeal, to reason, to pausing and e x a m i n i n g t h e circumstances (and men) beforethem?

These are not ordinary men, run of the mill passengers, but both highly educated men, who stand the highest in their respective countries.

T h e y h a v e h i g h reputations in Guyana. Yet this is their treatment by American Airlines, and it is theshabbiestimaginable.

Now, I am going to take this to where others may shrink from going. I ask myself whether American Airlines acted as a proxy for the two American oil companies operating in Guyana.

Or took it upon itself to rub the faces of these two Prime Ministers to teach them a lesson, so that they will mind their manners in the future, and not stick their noses where such do not belong.

This is such a departure fromestablishednormsthatI inquire what else could have been at play, but which will forever be denied. I will now stakeoutaposition.

Both Dr Rowley and Dr Gonsalves, in characteristic fashion, spoke with energy andpassion,withnopunches pulled.

Inateaspoon,theycalled upon, pressed on, warned, and insisted that, Guyana be cognizant of its power, its rights, and its duty to its peoples, given its oil

Lall

endowment.

They further cautioned about speed and awareness, and doing what protects and enhancesthisnation.Itismy position that both said too much, both went too far, and both rankled sensitive American oil presences in Guyana.

Therefore, they both had to be shown the error of their ways in a very public dressingdown.

Thus, we have the development at CJIA, regardless of the efforts of the Guyana Government. I take offense to this: hard, severe,angryoffense.

IreadthattheMinistryof Foreign Affairs has issued regrets. I think that it would be a step better, definitely classy and in order, if President Ali would reach out to his counterparts from T&T and St. Vincent and offer his own personal displeasure over their experience.

Taking this into account, if this can be the lot of two Prime Ministers, I cringe from thinking what could be dished out by either American Airlines, or other American entities, to locals oflesserstanding.

Does speaking out against American oil atrocities in Guyana condemnustopariahstatus?

Even that of deviants, possiblysubversives?

(The views expressed in this article are those of the a u t h o r a n d d o n o t necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of this n e w s p a p e r a n d i t s affiliates.)

GHK

Ex-husband gets 22 ½ years, hit-man 18 ½ years for Babita Sarjou's murder

…State to appeal sentences

Justice Simone MorrisRamlallonThursdayhanded down a 22 ½ years jail sentence to 45-year-old Shradhanand Narine, called 'Anand' for the 2010 murder of his reputed wife, Babita Sarjou and a 18 ½ years sentence to the hit-man, 41year-old Daral Ponto, called 'Yankee.'

Narine formerly of Lot 51 Seaforth Street, Campbellville, Georgetown, had pleaded guilty to the capital offence and had even admitted that he paid Ponto formerly of Lot 54 Broad Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, $100,000 to murderSarjou,themotherof hisson.

According to reports, in October 2010, Narine and Ponto met at D'Urban and H a r d i n a S t r e e t s , Georgetown, where they plotted to kill Sarjou. On November 4, 2010, Narine and Ponto executed their plan. They first lured Sarjou to the National Cultural C e n t r e , l o c a t e d o n Homestretch Avenue, Georgetown.

When she arrived, Narine, his then 4-year-old son along with Ponto were sitting in Narine's car. According to the Narine's confession statement, Narine tricked Sarjou into getting into the vehicle before he grabbed his son and left her in his vehicle alongwithPonto.

It was disclosed that Narine told Ponto to honk the car horn when he was finished killing his wife. Ponto reportedly strangled the woman before using a blanket to cover her body in the backseat They then drove to Narine's Seaforth Street, Campbellville home where they later placed her body in a hole that was dug near Narine's backyard Narine and relatives of Sarjou had reported to the police that the woman had disappeared on November 4, 2010. Sarjou was reported missing until May 22, 2016, when Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum and a team of detectiveswere ableto crack the case. After digging near Narine's backyard for hours, detectivesrecoveredskeletal remains which were later determined to be Sarjou's following DNA testing. When the matter was called before Justice MorrisRamlall at the Demerara High Court – Narine and

Ponto – had denied the offence and a jury was empanelled However, before the trial commenced both men indicated that they would like to change their pleas and admitted to the crime.

At the sentencing hearing on Thursday, Sarjou's mother Chompa Seonarine in her address to the court stated that she is heartbroken by the loss of her daughter “I am heartbroken and in pain…I miss my daughter a lot, she did not deserve to die like that The only thing remaining is memory of my daughter… I am very much hurt and I will miss my daughter forever,” the w o m a n c o n t i n u e d

Seonarineaddedthatshehas had many sleepless nights and she hope justice is servedforherdaughter

The court heard that Narine and Sarjou were together since the deceased was the age of 16. The two got married a few years and later welcomed their son. It was disclosed too that the couple had marital issues which had led to them separating. Narine's lawyer, Siand Dhurjon in a plea of mitigation told the court that the couple's relationship was a toxic one but posited that his client never physically assaulted Sarjou He continued that his client's biggest triggers were when Sarjou started to constantly pressure him and threatened to kill him for insurance money.“Mr Narine always e m o t i o n a l l y a n d psychologically struggled with sensitivity towards neglect, disloyalty, abandonment and these frailties were triggered by the deceased unfaithfulness and disinterest towards him,”Dhurjonsaid.

It should be noted that the lawyer also mentioned that Narine and Sarjou had separated for 15 months prior to the woman's murder He pointed out that while his c l i e n t w a s n o t t h e executioner of the murder, he was the encourager and facilitator Dhurjon added that his client is remorseful forhisactions.

The lawyer pleaded with the court that imposing a lengthy prison sentence would affect his client's relationship with his 16year-old son he had with Sarjou and his 9-year-old

daughter whom he fathered withhiscurrentwife.

Inhisaddresstothecourt Narine said, “There is no amount of words that could express how sorry I am. I was wrong, I was wrong I made a mistake, the mistake that caused a life ” He

that he is remorseful for the crimehecommittedwhenhe was 28-years-old In Ponto's address to the court he said, “I am asking this court to forgive me, I am a different person Ms Seonarine (Sarjou's mother) please find it in your heart to forgiveme,please.”

continued, “My foolish actions didn't only cause my only son to grow up without a mother but also cause numerous suffering….Your honor I'm begging please have some mercy on me, if I hadachancetorelivemylife 'toreversethehandsintimeI would have showed this honorable court that if I had taken control over my anger and jealousy none of us

would have been here today.” Narine begged the court to have leniency on him and pleaded with Sarjou's relatives who were present in court to find it in theirheartstoforgivehim.

AsitrelatestoPonto,one of his lawyers, Shawn Shewram, in a plea of mitigation for his client told thecourtthatthatPontohave no previous antecedents and

In handing down the sentences, Justice MorrisRamlall highlighted that Narineorchestratedaplanto killhisreputedwifeandthen concealherbody

The judge stated that there was nothing impulsive about Narine's actions and noted that he not only breached the trust of his reputedwifebutheexecuted his plan to kill his wife in the presence of his 4-year-old son.“Thedeceased'slifewas not only snuffed out through the commission of this

Five men wanted for Mon Repos 'terror' surrender

murder but her body was unceremoniously conveyed into a concrete grave for several years,” the judge said Justice MorrisRamlall added that she have consideredthevictimimpact statement, the probation report, the nature and prevalence of violence against women, adding that there is absolutely no mitigating circumstance that willbeconsidered.“Women are not chattel, men do not own them,” Justice Morris-Ramlall said. As it relates to Ponto, she stated that she considered the nature of the offence and addedthatwhilehesharesno personal relationship with the deceased his motive is nothing but financial. The judge started Narine's sentenceat25years,then

(Continued on page 20)

Five of the 12 men wanted for alleged acts of terrorism at the Mon Repos Market last year, reportedly surrenderedtopoliceonThursday

Those who surrendered have been identified as:Tony MacKinnon, Carlos Kingston,TerrenceAdolphusNeddand Anthony English. The five men turned themselvesintoCriminalInvestigation Department temporary headquarters at Vlissengen Road, Georgetown in the company of Attorney-at-Law Dexter Todd They are being accused of

committing terrorist acts by looting stalls and burning vehicles at the Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara (ECD) during protest actions in June, 2022 over the killing of Quindon Bacchus, 25, by a special branch rank, Kristoff DeNobrega.A misleading report that the suspect was freed had reportedly sparkedprotestsatGoldenGrove,ECD and later spread to other nearby villages. Kaieteur News had reported that protestors began their march from Golden Grove, passed through the

villages of Haslington, Enmore, Paradise, Enterprise, Melanie, Coldingen, Bladen Hall, Strathspey, Vigilance, Friendship, Buxton, Annandale, Lusignan, Good Hope and stopped at Mon Repos where stalls werelootedandpersonsbeaten.During the protest, roads were blocked with debrisandburningtireswhilescoresof people were allegedly beaten and robbed As police continue investigations, they are hunting seven moremenstillatlarge.

Shradhanand Narine, called 'Anand' (left) and Daral Ponto called 'Yankee'

Murdered, Babita Sarjou

Nedd

Carlos

Walkie Glasgow

Three of the men who turned themselves in

GTT lights up East Coast communities during Fibre Roll Out

GT T ' s H o m e Solutions and Fixed Networks, last weekend donated 30 street lights to be strategically placed throughout the Dazzle Housing Scheme and Barerootcommunity

The community project islinkedtoGTT'sFibrerollout and its promise to strengthen communities and reliably connects its customers In a press release, GTT said the lights which are expected to improve security in the area, w e r e p r e s e n t e d t o representatives of the Community and the Guyana Police Force by Product Manager of Fibre, Jihan Bobb-Semple and will be installedbyGTTatnocostto thecommunity.

GTT's Communications

Executive, Shaquelle Williams, said that the

company continues to build p a r t n e r s h i p s w i t h communities as important development stakeholders

“The residents asked that we erect lights at strategic locations throughout the community and we have

complied with that request becausewehavepromisedto strengthen communities and wearealwayshappytodoso in consultation with communitymembers”.

C o m m u n i t y

Businessman, Mervin Madramootoo, commended the initiative. He received the lights on behalf of the residents of the Dazzel

Housing Scheme. “I think it's a good initiative because wehadlightsbeforebutalot of them are damaged and at night the place is a bit too dark for persons traversing the road, so I want to say a big thank you to GTT for

this”. PoliceSergeant,Mark Robin also commended the initiative “Dark and isolated areas are unsafe and weappreciatetheimpactthat this project will have on security and the comfort of the villagers”. It is expected

thatmorethan25,000homes will access GTT's Fibre before the end of the first quarter of the year as the company continues to accelerate the roll-out of the service to achieve 75% homes passed before the end

of 2024. 1100 homes across Bachelor's Adventure, Paradise, Dazzle Housing Scheme and Bare Root on the East Coast of Demerara are the most recent to have access to GTT's Fibre service.

CARICOM leaders open annual summit overshadowed by the continuing unfolding events in Haiti

Heads of Government of CARICOM

NASSAU, Bahamas, CMC –C a r i b b e a n C o m m u n i t y (CARICOM) leaders began their 44th regular summit in Nassau on Wednesdaynightovershadowedby the continued deterioration of the situation in the French-speaking member country of Haiti, pledging also to find a solution to the political and socio-economic problemthere.

“The situation in Haiti requires our urgent attention. The turmoil and suffering there continue to worsen. As a near neighbour, the Bahamas is under great strain and many other countries in our region are already heavily impacted,”

Bahamas Prime Minister Phillip Davistoldtheopeningceremonyof thesummit.

Davis, who is the chairman of the15-memberregionalintegration grouping, said the region would benefit “if Haiti is again fully functioningasastate”.

“We should learn from the

failuresofpasteffortstohelprather than use these disappointments as an excuse for inaction. I pray that wecanagreeonaseriesofconcrete steps to help move towards a solution for the Haitian people and the region as a whole,” Davis told the audience that included Haitian PrimeMinister,Dr ArielHenryand Canada's Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, who has pledged his country's support in finding a solutiontothesituation.

“We have learnt that inaction h a s i t s o w n c o s t s a n d consequences,”Davisadded.

Earlier, outgoing CARICOM chairman and Suriname's President, Chandrikapersad Santokhi, said Haiti “is in need of our concrete and feasible assistance.

“We must support the Haitian people.Buildingonourdiscussions in the past year, I look forward to howandinwhatwaythisassistance can be provided. Democracy, free

and fair elections, rule of law and certainly the protection of fundamental human rights are indeed at the core of the Caribbean civilisation,” Santokhi said, adding “we must foster and protect these alsointhesisternationinneed”.

CARICOM Secretary General, Dr Carla Barnett told the ceremony that even as progress is being made onsomefronts,CARICOMandthe wider international community continue to struggle to help Haiti resolveitsmultifacetedcrises.

“We will continue our efforts to assist all stakeholders in Haiti to ensure a Haitian-owned resolution to the crises,” she said, adding “we willhavetoshowtheresilienceand fortitude of the Haitian people, as we strive to overcome challenges and advance the initiatives to improve the lives of all citizens of ourCaribbeanCommunity

“That goal – to create a safe, sustainable, prosperous and viable Community for all – has been the

guidingprincipleofoureffortsover the last 50 years, and will continue to guide us over the next 50 and beyond,”sheadded.

Haiti'sprimeministerhascalled on the international community, “especially those countries that can help”tosupporteffortstodealwith the ongoing socio-economic and politicalsituationinhiscountry

Prime Minister Henry, who succeeded the assassinated PresidentJovenelMoise,asheadof the government in July 2020, has said to deal with this situation, his administration is urging the international community to participate in a specialised multinational force to help the Haitian security forces to fight against the proliferation of organised crime, the illicit trafficking of arms and ammunition, and eradicate the gangs that have held the country hostage.

United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres

reiterated his urgent appeal to member states to understand the urgency of acting quickly to support the solutions chosen by Haitianactors.

So far, Jamaica is the only CARICOM country that has publicly said it is “willing to participate in a multi-national security assistance deployment to Haiti” which is going through a period of political turbulence and economic and social difficulty, aggravated by a climate of insecurity fuelled by armed criminalgroups.

The Caribbean leaders will discuss a wide range of issues, ranging from climate change to food security and the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic at thesummitwhichconcludestoday

Prime Minister Davis said that the pandemic had taught the region a valuable lesson “about what's important and about what we need todotosavelivesandlivelihood”.

th

The

during the opening ceremony of the 44 regular summit in Nassau. (Photo courtesy of Office of the President)

Representative of the Dazzel Housing Scheme, Mervin Madramootoo, and the Guyana Police Force receive lights on behalf of the community from Product Manager of GTT Fibre, Jihan Bobb-Semple

British Chamber of Commerce Guyana launched to boost bilateral trade

world's fastest growing economies BritCham

Guyana (BritCham Guyana) has been established to promote and facilitate commercial business opportunities and mutually beneficial relationships betweentheUKandGuyana, its largest trading partner in the Caribbean. The formal creationofBritChamGuyana was announced on Thursday as a feature of the Guyana EnergyConferenceandExpo 2023attheMarriottHotel.

Alongside the promotion and facilitation of bilateral trade and commerce, BritCham Guyana is expected to foster an open networking environment where companies can engage and discuss issues impacting their businesses and UKGuyana trade, including events such as member m e e t i n g s , b u s i n e s s breakfastsandseminars.

The independent, nonprofitchamberwillalsoserve as a leading promoter and enabler of trade and investment between the UK and Guyana, one of the

Guyana said too that it will also work closely with the British High Commission in Georgetown and UK government departments to support their advocacy work in Guyana The new organisation will be chaired by Guysons Group CEO and UK/Guyanese citizen Faizal Khan, supported by a board of leading business executives with close ties to both countries, with an office at Pegasus Suites and Corporate Centre in Georgetown. Full details of the board will be announced induecourse.

Khan said BritCham Guyana aims to become the trusted partner and platform for fostering business betweentheUKandGuyana, driving foreign direct investment into the Guyanese market, expanding horizons for Guyanese firms, and improving the ease of doing business for its members in both markets.

“Guyana and the UK have enjoyed a cordial, strong relationship for more than

five decades, and the business community between the two nations is growing quickly as Guyana's economybooms,”Khansaid.

He added, “There are a l r e a d y s i g n i f i c a n t opportunities for companies in both markets, which we only expect to increase in the years to come.We encourage enterprises based in the UK to join BritCham Guyana so that we can help them understand, navigate and tap into Guyana's rapidly expanding economy We also call on Guyanese businesses to sign up to explore opportunities in the large, diverse UK market and partnerships with UK companiesandinvestors.”

Khan highlighted that the BritCham Guyana will offer its members increased access to and knowledge of each m a r k e t , i n v e s t m e n t opportunities, expert and technical skills, advisory services, a wide range of industry, policy and regulatory insights across sectors, and competitive pricing. “We would like to congratulate BritCham

Guyana and we look forward to working with the team,” said Anne-Marie Martin, Director of Membership UK & International at the British ChambersofCommerce.

“BritCham Guyana offersanopportunitytobring together a rich and diverse network of UK investors, exports, and services with strong governance, worldclass standards and experience that complement the ambitions of Guyana's business community through

long term and sustainable partnerships,” said Jane Miller, British High Commissioner to Guyana. Guyana is the UK's largest trade partner in the Caribbean In 2021, the country accounted for 21.6% of all the UK's trade with the Caribbean and, to date, there has been a 45.9% increase in trade among the two nations for 2022 The move to establish the new business chamber comes on the heels of the announcement of visa

free travel to the UK, a direct British Airways flight from endofMarch,andthesigning of a partnership arrangement by Guyana's Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, HughToddandHisMajesty's Trade Commissioner for Latin America and the Caribbean, Jonathan Knott, CMG in November 2022. The chamber is expected to build on the opportunities that will flow from visa-free travel.

Guyana gets more Local Content capacity building boost

…as West Africa South America Alliance Inc enters local shores

WeSolveCX Inc on Thursday launched its service in Guyana to help companies upgrade their customerexperience.

T h e l a u n c h w a s facilitatedonthesidelinesof the International Energy Conference being hosted at the Marriott Hotel in Kingston, Georgetown. The full-service outsourcing companysaiditsobjectiveis to transform the customer

experience industry through marketing, consultancy and customer experience journeys.

General Manager of the company, Shem Erskine, said that WeSolveCX is an outsourcing business that works with other businesses to deliver on their customer experience initiatives. “We focus on how you get the customeronboard;howdo

(Continued on page 22)

The West Africa South America Alliance Incorporated (WASA) on Thursday announced its launch at the International Energy Conference and Expo.

The alliance is comprised of a number of companies that target skills development, regulatory compliance and institutional strengthening among other technical services for the oil and gassector

Dr Richard Van-West Charles, Chairman of the local entity said 51 percent of the entity is owned by Guyanese, while there are other directorsthathailfromAfrica.

He pointed out the critical need for

Guyanese to begin developing their skills, as oil production in the country continues to increase. “When you look at the total number of barrels that Guyana(isproducing),intermsofLatin America it is the top and in terms of globally we are number 17 at this moment then you see what is in front of us and therefore we have to ensure that as many Guyanese are equipped to functionintheindustry.”

WASA will function in Guyana by training the trainers to help impart the necessary knowledge to boost local capacity in skills required in the oil and gas sector It was noted that the Georgetown Technical Institute will be

offering courses for oil and gas skills development through WASA An agreementtofacilitatetheexchangehas already been signed. In the meantime, the Alliance is working on partnering with other learning institutions, especiallytheUniversityofGuyana.

AccordingtoDr Van-WestCharles, WASA will be aiding these institutions tohelptrainindividualsinareasthatare already offered and even introducing new courses to cater to the oil and gas sector This will help locals to become certified to work offshore and onshore. Some of the companies that form the Alliance are based in Nigeria, Congo, GhanaandGuyana.

CEO of GuySons and Chair of BritCham Guyana, Faizal Khan

Officials at the launch of West Africa South America Alliance Incorporated (WASA)

WeSolveCX launches in Guyana

Ex-husband gets 22 ½ years, hit-man...

From page 16 added 5 years in relation to the prevalence of violence against women. No deduction from the sentence was made for mitigation circumstances,but7½yearswasdeductedfor Narine's early guilty plea leaving him with a 22½yearsjailsentence.

Justice Morris-Ramlall started Ponto's sentence at 20 years but added 5 years for the

nature of the offence. Like Narine's sentence she made no deduction for mitigating factors butdeducted6½yearsforhisearlyguiltyplea – leaving Ponto with an 18 ½ years jail sentence. Importantly, the prosecution had askedforthejudgetosendastrongmessageto likemindedmeninsociety.Assuch,following the judge's ruling a prosecutor informed the courtoftheState'sintentiontoappeal.

‘Guyana in better position to take more loans’ -FinanceMinister

By Davina Bagot

Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh on Wednesday told investors at the International Energy Conference that Guyana's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has tripled in the last three years, placing the country in a greater position totakemoreloans.

Dr Singh said Guyana has been able to prudently manage and reduce the debt toGDPratiooverthepast30 years. He explained, “Those of you who have been following Guyana for long enough, would know that there was a period just about maybe 30 years ago when Guyana'spublicdebttoGDP exceeded six times the size of the economy In 1991/ 1992 the public debt to GDP ratio exceeded 600%...we havebeenableovertheyears to bring public debt down and today Guyana's public debt to GDP ratio stands at 24.6percent.”

The Finance Minister pausedhispresentationashe received a resounding applause for the progress the country made in lowering its debt to GDP rate down. He however went straight into his point that this means Guyana is now in a better position to take more loans.

“I didn't put a chart up with international comparators but if you, I mean many of you are familiar with these numbers around the World. You will no doubt recognise that the debt to GDP ratio of 24.6% in fact places Guyana ahead of almost every economy, certainly in this hemisphere and puts us in a

position where we actually have fairly significant head roomtoborrow,”heshared.

The minister was keen to point out however, that the government recognises the importance of carefully managing the debt and are therefore selective and careful of new loans contracted. These loans he saidmustreachthecriteriaof investment into strategic options with competitive paybackterms.

He said, “We are extremely mindful of the complicated and difficult times that Guyana was once in and how important it is now to avoid a return to that p e r i o d a n d s o notwithstanding the emphasis on investment and infrastructure, etecera…we are doing all of this in a context where we maintain a truly disciplined fiscal stance.”

Earlier on in his presentation, the Finance Ministerofferedanoverview of the Guyana economy, boasting that the country's GDP has tripled in size over thepastthreeyears.

He explained, “We have been able to achieve worldbeating real economic growth and expansion and notonlyinasingleyear-you have heard that last year we were the fastest growing economy in the world with over62%ingrowth-notonly last year but in fact starting from2020.”

He pointed out that this growth was as a result of the nation commencing oil production in December 2019.This upward trend, Dr Singh projects, will remain favourable in 2023 and

extend to the next three to four years.This year, GDPis expected to grow by 25.1%, this sustained growth is expected to overlap throughout 2024 to 2027 with over 25% increase expected.

Dr. Singh said that while oil and gas will be the main driver of this growth, the non-oil sector too is expected to record growth. While presenting the 2023 Budget,theFinanceMinister pointed out that at the end of 2022, the country's public debt increased by 16%, now standing at US$3,654.9M. This year, the country's public debt is expected to further increase as several

loans are already lined up to finance large infrastructure projects.

For instance, the new Demerara Harbour Bridge is being funded through a loan from China to the tune of US$172million.

Government has also signaled its intent to approach the United States ExportImport(EXIM)Bank to finance a Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) facility and the 300 megawatt power plant that forms part of the Gas-to-Energy (GTE) project. They are looking to borrow another US$646 millioninthisregard.

This year, Guyana will also be tasked with an

additional US$1 billion debt to ExxonMobil for its investment in the natural gas pipeline- the third aspect of the GTE project. These are just a few of the projects

being financed through loans. It must be noted that there are other road projects, health and education initiatives being funded throughloansthisyear

Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh

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Guyanese youth are being en couraged to make lifestyle changes in order to benefit from the burgeoning oil and gas sector.

Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton while speaking at a seminar on labour laws and services hosted in collaboration with the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA), revealed that there have been instances where Guyanese men forfeit job opportunities because of bad social choices.

“A couple of young men who could have gotten employment in the oil and gas area in companies but they do their medical yards [report]… and when the medicals were done, it suggested that they have marijuana in their system.

So young people listening to me, your social life will determine whether you pass or fail going forward because I suspect coming out of oil and gas, other companies will go into that area because they want to know they are employing a person who is free of drugs,” Hamilton disclosed.

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portant.

We should want to treat our labour laws and compliance as something very, very important regardless of which sector may be leading the charge,” said the GMSA head.

evant.

However, the Board of Industrial Training, which falls under the purview of the ministry, remains committed to providing various technical and vocational training programmes to persons and placements of apprentices in various companies.”

The minister said too that the GMSA will be instrumental in the employment process for those interested in the oil and gas sector while noting that the sector has many opportunities for apprentices and trainees.

Meanwhile, the President of GMSA, Rafeek Khan stressed on the fact that health and safety remains critical in today’s workplace.

He said emphasis needs to be placed on wearing applicable safety gear at companies and in various sectors.

“It should be natural.

We should want to treat health and safety as something very, very im-

Additionally, Chief Labour Officer, Dhaneshwar Deonarine said the seminar forms part of the ministry’s continuous efforts to build fruitful partnerships with the business community and the GMSA.

This aligns with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 17 which speaks to ‘partnerships for the goals.’

Some of the participants at the seminar on occupational safety and health included representatives/companies from the oil and gas industry, forestry, agriculture, agro-processing, poultry, pharmaceutical, arts and craft, education, machinery, and construction sectors.

Deonarine said that the ministry sees this partnership as a way to encourage, promote, and ensure compliance with labour laws related not only to the conditions of work, but also to occupational, safety and health across the country.

Similar seminars were held in 2021 and 2022, where over 8,500 employees were reached.

New company launched to help Guyanese...

We believe that with our business model that we will help

those businesses to deliver the best possible experience to their customers by anticipating their needs, looking at the right analytics to know what they would want and when is the best time to deliver to them,” he explained.

It was noted that one of its local clients, GTT was able to upgrade its customer experience through WeSolveCX by digitizing its bills.

This allowed for users of the service to receive timely bills through emails.

Executive Chairman of the company, Christopher Daly, said that WeSolveCX already serves both local and international.

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The General Manager said that the initiative is aimed at transforming the traditional customer service industry that is less friendly to the needs of various customers to understanding and responding to various customer touch points.

“You walk into a store and the level of service you get is sometimes based on if you know the owner or someone in the store and that determines if you go back and make another purchase, but it really is not inviting.

It really doesn't guide the customer through what you call the customer journey and we are going to change that.

“We serve businesses that are based in the US, the Caribbean, US Virgin Islands. We provide them with Telemarketing services, inbound care services, IVR management and we are currently working on a project to deploy a new CRM tool that will help businesses to transform customer experience journeys.”

The Executive Chairman added that the company is fully committed to the government's development agenda as the country experiences massive transformation and growth with oil and gas revenues.

“The oil and gas industry is still a business that has basic needs and we wouldn't be servicing the oil companies directly but there are a number of entities that serve them who need our services.”

He pointed out that 70% of the staff work remotely through GTT's Fibre deployment that provides the additional speeds required.

hotel located at WBD (Versailles, Vreed-enHoop)- A/C, all amenities and breakfast included, from $63USD. Call: 264-2946-9.

ACCOMMODATIONS

Guyanese youth must make necessary lifestyle changes to benefit from opportunities in oil sector

Labour Minister, Joseph Hamilton

“Gas-driven Guyana,” other CARICOM nations urged to increase use of renewable energy - CDB Vice President

Th e R u s s i aUkraine war has etched into the minds of all CARICOM leadersthattheymusthasten stepstoreducetheirreliance on outside fuel sources; the time is now to fully hone theirGod-givenresourcesin theformsofsolar,hydro,and wind. The urgency as well as the saliency of this message was restated by Vice President of the Caribbean Development Bank(CDB),IsaacSolomon during his presentation at Guyana’s International Energy Conference yesterday at the Marriott Hotel. Solomon said it is imperative that Guyana, whose energy mix will soon be dominated by gas produced from the Stabroek Block, as well as all other Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs) of the bank,doallthatisnecessary to rapidly increase the contribution of renewable energytotheirsupplymix.

Pursuing a shift to renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and hydro,heposited,wouldgoa farwayinimprovingenergy efficiency and allow countries to meet their emission reduction pledges. Unfortunately,theCDBVice President said this shift to renewables has been slow

He said, “The regional renewable energy electricity generation capacity currently represents approximately 12% of the total installed capacity However, to be on track to achieve the targets outlined i n t h e C A R I C O M Sustainable Energy Road MapandStrategy,thisfigure shouldbecloserto28%.”

He added, “It goes without saying, we are lagging way behind. This is why the main focus of CDB’sEnergySectorPolicy andStrategyistosupportthe increased scale and pace of

the transition across all BMCs.”

To do this, he said the Bank has operationalised a framework called the Accelerated Sustainable Energy and Resilience Transition 2030 or the ASERT-2030 framework Through ASERT-2030, the Vice President said CDB will help BMCs catalyse sustainable energy investments, through –among other thingsenhancedsectordiagnostics, identification and d e v e l o p m e n t o f transformative sustainable energy initiatives which addresskeybarriers,andderisking of transformative thematicareasorsub-sectors to create investment opportunities. In addition, the CDB official said strong strategicpartnershipswillbe a central feature of the framework to facilitate scaled-up resource mobilisation and increased coordination among local, regional, and global actors supporting the sector He alsonotedanotherimportant factorforexpeditingtheshift torenewableenergy Hesaidthisspeaksto the currentandemergingthreats t o t h e r e g i o n ’ s c o m p e t i t i v e n e s s Expounding further, Solomon said global trade rules,particularlyinrelation to European trade, increasingly require ‘green’ products.

He cited for example, that the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism ( C B A M ) , w i l l b e implemented by the European Union (EU), beginning in October 2023 with a transitional phase, withthesystemtocomeinto full effect in January 2026. Under the CBAM, he said selected carbon intensive products imported into the EU will effectively be taxed based on their embedded

greenhousegascontent.The CDBofficialsaidasaresult, there is an opportunity to improvethecompetitiveness of regional exports, by reducing carbon intensity Hewaskeentonotethatthis will require action to accelerate the energy transition. The CDB Vice President said, “Even as we align ourselves to accelerate the pace and increase the scale of the transition – as I have already indicated – it cannot and will not happen overnight and also, there is potential for significant disruption.

One aspect which needs tobeconsideredisthat,even aswetransitiontoincreased renewable energy over the short to medium term, our vulnerability to global oil market disruption, as acknowledged earlier, remainsamajorconcern.”

In light of this, he said it is critical that the energy transition be managed in a manner which allows for hydrocarbonsupplysecurity basedontheregion’snatural endowment in Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Suriname. He said nations can therefore improve regional energy security by reducing the dependency on external resources The CDB Vice President said, “This is a critical lesson emerging from Europe’s experiencewiththeRussianUkrainewar

In recognition of this need, and in support of a managed approach to the energy transition, the

CARICOM Heads of Government at their July 2022 meeting in Suriname, among other things, agreed onseveralmatters.”

He said there was an agreement for increased focus and investment in energy security by utilising and harnessing hydrocarbon resources in the region t o w a r d s r e d u c i n g

CJIA loans Ogle airport baggage scanner

The Cheddi Jagan InternationalAirport(CJIA) has responded positively to the requestfrom officialsof the Eugene F Correia International Airport at Ogle, East Coast Demerara (ECD), for a baggage scanner

In a press release, the Eugene F Correia Airport said that the airport’s passenger suitcase baggage scanning equipment is now fully operational and in use

by passengers travelling throughtheairport.

The airport apologised for the inconvenience caused to passengers whose baggagehadtobemanually inspected from the scanner notbeinginoperation.

“It will be recalled that this equipment was out of operationasaresultofbeing damaged from power fluctuation at the airport, which have now been rectified,” it was further

stated The airport also expressed its appreciation and thanks to CJIA’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ramesh Ghir for positively respondingtoarequestfora loanofasparescannerfrom CJIA.

Further,itwasstatedthat theairportwasabletoobtain spare parts for the repair of its scanner manufactured in China,withtheassistanceof the Embassy of China in Guyana.

dependency on external resources and supplying the growingglobalneedsarising out of the Russia-Ukraine conflict Solomon said leaders also agreed, among other things, to ensure the pursuit of energy diversification and security through making use of significant assets in the region with immediate existingcapacityinliquefied natural gas and fertilizer for agriculture. There was also consensus for development ofarenewableenergysector t h r o u g h b u i l d i n g

infrastructure to meet regional power generation needs. Solomon said a carefully managed process will help to ensure that solutionstodifficultregional challenges such as food security and intra-regional transport, that is regional air and marine transport, could benefit from appropriate investments which enable predictable, affordable energy prices over a predefined period In p a r a l l e l t o t h e aforementioned, he said CDB and key partners, including the Inter-

American Development

Bank, IDB, and the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, (CCREEE), have initiated thepreparationofaRegional Energy Security Strategy linked to the optimal development of renewable energy resources, including the wide range of options, such as green hydrogen,

green ammonia, long-term s t o r a g e a n d t h e interconnectionofelectricity grids. TheCDBofficialsaid the bank agrees that the region would be best served by an integrated approach, which will support managing the transition process in a manner which takes into account the r e g i o n ’ s s p e c i a l development challenges, with a focus on long-term energy security and resilience building In conclusion, the Vice President said the CDB is embracing the challenge to play an increased leadership and coordination role in the sector, leveraging its unique position as the only multilateral development bank focused on the Caribbean.

He said, “We remain committed to working with thecountriesandallpartners on a more optimal approach and more efficient deploymentofresources…”

TheGuyanaTrades Union Congress on Thursday accused the Government of Guyana of deliberately distorting the reasons why it has refused to release subvention to some trade unionsin2022.

TheGTUCinastatement said that only the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) received government subvention.

Subject Minister, Joseph Hamilton in response to a question posed by Member of Parliament (MP) Tabitha Sarabo-Halley, on why only one trade union received the subvention in 2022 though money was budgeted for all was told that efforts were made to receive financial statements from the other unionstonoavail.

“All the unions were written to several times, simple question, simple request: give us a financial statement of how you are spendingthemoneyandthey haverefusedandtherefore,I amdutyboundthatuntiland unless they do like GAWU [Guyana Agricultural and GeneralWorkersUnion]that the monies will not be releasetotheunionswewant

todoittomorrow,”Hamilton wasquotedassaying.

However, the GTUC explained that the process regarding making a grant availabletoeachtradeunion for educational purposes began under the A Partnership for National Unity+AllianceForChange (APNU/AFC) government in 2015 with a clear agreement that each union will submit to the Labour Department its plans for training and monies would be disbursed to assist in the identified training and on completionofthisexercisea report supported by a financial statement f o r w a r d e d t o t h e Department.

“ T h e P P P C o n assumption to office has discarded the practice withoutengagementwiththe unions.

The PPPC regime laid new requirements which stated that monies will be disbursed for the execution of plans after the unions submit to the Labour Department an audited statement of their entire financial activities for the preceding year,” the GTUC said.

Further, the GTUC

reminded that trade unions are guided by the ILO Convention No. 87:3 which expresslystates,“Thepublic authoritiesshallrefrainfrom any interference which would restrict this right or impede the lawful exercise thereof.”

“In keeping the universally acceptable principles of noninterference in the trade union’s business the other unions have not acquiesced to the government’s dictate.

GTUC therefore considers the Minister’s statement a deliberate distortion designed to mislead, to undermine the trade unions and the ILO Convention which the Government of Guyana is a signatory to since 1966,” the Union said inastatement.

Further, the GTUC believesthatthegovernment has“createdanexcusenotto release the subvention to someunionsinordertodeny some workers’ trade union education”.

The GTUC said it is aware that some unions that neverconformedtotherules the government established for the GTUC and others were the recipients of the grant.

GTUC accuses Govt. of distorting reasons for not releasing subvention to some unions

CDB Vice President, Isaac Solomon

IBA hits out at ‘political games’ by boycotting nations

(Reuters) - Amateur boxing’s Russian-led governing body denounced a U.S.driven boycott of its world championships as ‘political games’ on Thursday and said plenty of boxers from the countries involved were keen to take part.

The United States announced the boycott last week, with Ireland, Britain, Czech Republic, Sweden and Canada following, over the inclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes and perceived governance issues at the world body.

Russian Umar Kremlev is president of IBA while Russian state-controlled energy company Gazprom is the body’s biggest sponsor.

International Boxing Association (IBA) secretary

general and CEO George Yerolimpos, who is Greek, said in a letter to national federations that the boycott decisions were “made in a vacuum”.

He wrote of “a steady stream of complaints from athletes, coaches, technical officials, and administrators that do not support this decision and need immediate support in making sure they can attend these events.”

The IBA last week promised to provide financial assistance to anyone from boycotting nations wanting to compete in the championships.

Yerolimpos said boxers could register directly with the governing body.

The IBA said athletes from 77 nations had confirmed

their participation at the women’s tournament in New Delhi from March 15-26.

It highlighted previous medallists from Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Italy, Kazakhstan, Mozambique and Morocco among those set to attend.

The men’s championships are in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in May.

The Indian Express newspaper quoted the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) as saying it hoped for an amicable solution.

“We are confident that the championship will see the highest ever participation from member nations,” it added.

The IBA allows boxers from Russia and Belarus to compete with their national

Friday February 17, 2023

ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19)

You've been working hard to improve your financial situation, Aries. You might be on the verge of attaining what you want, but temporary obstacles could get in your way.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20)

A partner might be feeling rather down and need you to cheer him or her up, Taurus. Too many social invitations could come your way today.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20)

Today you might enjoy planning to have some visitors stay with you for a while, Gemini. Worry about developments on the job or unfinished chores of your own might have you feeling a bit stressed.

CANCER (June 21–July 22)

A friend could be depressed and need your advice, Cancer. Some long-held, cherished goals that you've been working toward could be temporarily blocked.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22)

Some professional colleagues might be coming to visit, Leo, and you may not be looking forward to it. You could be worried. How will it go? Will you make a good impression.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Se pt. 22) Today you might need to run some errands, Virgo, but they might prove difficult for a number of reasons. The errands could be personal or business related.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22)

You might reflect on recent successes in business and money and suddenly feel a strong sense of gloom, wondering if it's going to continue. Don't panic, Libra.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21)

Work that could advance you professionally could take you away from loved ones, Scorpio, and cause some emotional tension. You might feel down because you'd rather be with your loved ones.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21)

A task, perhaps job related or perhaps one of your own, might prove weightier than you expected. You're working too hard and you could be feeling tired and dejected, Sagittarius.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19)

Someone, perhaps a person involved with a group you're in, may ask you to help in some way today. You probably don't want to do it, Capricorn, possibly because you have plans.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18)

Career developments could look promising now, Aquarius, and you might be in a hurry to finish whatever needs to be done.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20)

Some rather depressing information could come to you today from far away, Pisces. This is less likely to be about your immediate situation or circle of friends than it is about something social

flags and anthems, counter to International Olympic Committee (IOC) guidance following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, which Russia calls a “special operation”.

The IBA has been at odds with Olympic organisers for some time and was stripped of involvement in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Qualifying for Paris 2024 is being organised by the IOC.

Boxing is not on the initial programme for the 2028 Los Angeles Games, pending reforms demanded by the IOC following complaints about governance issues.

International Boxing Association (AIBA) President Umar Kremlev attends a news conference ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Lausanne, Switzerland June 28, 2021. (REUTERS/Denis Balibouse)

MVP Sports sponsors Womens Development Football League playoff

Th e m u c h a n t i c i p a t e d Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Womens Development Football

League Playoff will kick off this month with a new sponsor - MVP Sports and UrbanLife.

M V P s M a n a g i n g

Director Ian Ramdeo made the official announcement at thecompanysmainbranchat Giftland Mall, Plantation Pattensen, Turkeyen,

Georgetown, in the presence of President of the Womens Football Association (WFA) Andrea Johnson and a small groupofleagueplayers.

Ramdeo noted that his company is focused on the development of women in sports in 2023 and that the leagues partnership agreement was signed following months of discussionswiththeGFF

“ThisyearMVPSportsis looking to focus our attention more on assisting where we can with the development of womens sports We have been a supporter of the GFF for footballandsportsingeneral over the years and hopefully this year we can continue to dosoinabiggerwayandina different way We are very happy to be a part of this tournament and looking forward to many more in the future,”Ramdeoshared.

The league was launched in June 2022 with 37 teams from across Guyana with the objective of promoting and empowering women in football The competition continues with 12 teams in the playoff round to crown theleaguechampions.

WFA President Johnson thanked Ramdeo and stressed that the sustainable

development of womens football cannot happen without the support of the governmentandcorporate Guyana.

“I would like to express my sincere gratitude to MVP sports for this timely and generous contribution towards womens football development We believe thisplayoffformatwillbring an exciting conclusion to whathasbeenaveryexciting tournament.

The GFF womens football development programme is making tremendous strides both locally and internationally,” Johnsonnoted.

She added: “We are now in a place where we have activecompetitionforyoung girls and senior female players The GFFs 2023 national football calendar reflects the significant i n c r e a s e o f f e m a l e competitions as compared withanypreviousyearinour footballhistory

Forustofullyimplement the 2023 season we need the government of Guyana and corporate Guyana to follow the example of MVP Sports, who is in fact a small company, but yet making a huge investment in sports and by extension on the lives

of our young men and women.”

The partnership between MVP Sports and Urban Life builds on a highly successful delivery of league-based competitions for women and underlines the companys strong record in corporate socialresponsibility League player Shamya Daniels, a defender attached to the Fruta Conquerors Football Club, said her team has been training in anticipation of the playoff round.

“We are training very hard and preparing for this tournament. I am looking forward to great competition and also winning this tournament.”

T h e W o m e n s Development Football League is a pathway to the nationalprogrammes. Players who impress coaches will be invited to trainwiththenationalteams.

Pic - MVPs Managing Director Ian Ramdeo President (left) presents the sponsorship to Andrea Johnson of the Womens Football Association (WFA) in the presence of several players at their at Giftland Mall, Plantation Pattensen, Turkeyen, Georgetown, location.

Exciting start on opening day of Bounty Farm Mash Handicap squash tournament

Opening day of the Bounty Farms 2023

Mashramani Handicap Squash tournament started apaceseeingfiveCategoryA matches along with sixteen open-category matches on Wednesday evening at the Georgetown Clubs Courts (GTC).

The open category saw Chad De Abreu coming out on top of Lloyd Fung-A-Fat in a 2-1 encounter (15-13, 12-15, 15-12), as Avinash OditteasedpastJoshVerwey in a hard-fought battle; Oditt winning 15-13, 11-15 and 15-12, while Daniel Ince gave Reagan Rodrigues no chance in their encounter,

Ince winning two games to love (15-10, 15-9), also

Steven Xavier defeated Javid Rahaman in what seemed to be a very close contest(15-6,8-15,15-12).

Taylor Fernandes on the other hand, defeated

Johnathan Antczak two gamestolove(15-12,15-11) and Louis Da Silva commanded both games in her match against Lydia Fraser (15-12, 15-10).While David Fernandes, Deje Dias, Ashley De Groot, Ashley Khalil, Nicholas Narain, Jason-Ray Khalil, Alex Arjoon, Brian Rdwards and Jason van Dijk also registered wins in the open

category

Likewise in the five CategoryAmatches; Jeremy Ten Pow defeated Noah Rahaman two games to love (15-12, 15-11), while Ryan Rahaman defeated Dennis Dias by the same margin.

Jacob McDonald crushed Ethan Bulkan 2-1 (15-14, 10-15, 15-12), as Demetri Lowe quieted Zoey McDonald 2-0(15-12, 1513), as Rylee Rodrigues, who had an excellent finish against Lalia Maikoo, won 15-9, 5-15 and 15-12 to claim early CategoryAwins inthecompetition.

The tournament is sponsored by the Bounty

General Equipment Limited is newest sponsor of the Petra Milo U18 Schools football

General Equipment Limited became the newest addition to the list of sponsors of the Petra Milo U18 Secondary School football tournament yesterday following a brief presentation ceremony held at the Boardroom of the Genequip building located atPlotS15PlantationHouston,Georgetown.

Present at the ceremonial panel were Representative of the Petra Organisation Sean Embrack, Co-Director of Petra Organisation Troy Mendonca, Secretary of the Petra organization Jacklyn Boodie and Service Manager of Genequip Limited Suraj Charran.

The organisers co-Director of the Petra Organisation Troy Mendonca, in his brief remarks extended thanks to their newest sponsortheGeneralEquipmentLimitedbetter known as Genequip for coming on board to sponsor this vastly growing secondary school football championship, as they prepare for its 9th annual Milo under-eighteen Secondary School s football c mpetition Under the new sponsorship of Genequip Limited, the Petra organization can now outfit eight teams from across the country with newly designed Petra

kitsastheyawaitthestartofthecompetition

According to co-director Troy Mendonca, “HeisextremelygratefulforhavingGenequipas part of our team” Mendonca explained that this hasalwaysbeenadream;datingbacktowhenhe (Mendonca) played as a youth; to expand the reachofthesporttoallpartsofthecountryandas anexecutiveofthePetraorganization,itisindeed a privilege to now see the Milo U18 Secondary Schoolfootballhasexpandedtoeight out of ten regionhereinGuyana

The 2023 edition of the Milo U18 Secondary Schools Football tournament will nowhavesomeforty-eightteamsparticipating in the competition; twenty-seven teams from region four; twenty-one of those teams are from Georgetown as well as four teams from the East Coast of Demerara and two from the East Bank of Demerara district, also seven teams from West Coast of Demerara - region three,fiveteamsfromEastBerbice regionsix and two teams from the West Coast Berbice There is also two teams each coming from regions two, five and six and another two teams; one hailing out of region one and the otheroutofregionseven.

FarmLimited. Day Two action of

the

2023 Mashramani Handicap Squash competition is slated for today 17th February at thesamevenue.

Nicholas Narain (front) reaches for a good length ball from Anna Perreira (back).

Deje Dias (left) plays a good lined ball in his encounter with Demetrius De Abreu (right

Williams and the Blakes set for two 200-metre races next month as preparations ramp up for season ahead

SportsMax - Briana

Williamsissettorunanother 60m this month and two 200m races in March as she continues preparations for the championship year ahead.

The World Athletics

C h a m p i o n s h i p s a r e scheduled to be held in Budapest in August and the soon-to-be 21-year-old Williams is keen to earn an individual spot on Jamaicas team.

Williams narrowly missed out on a spot in the 100m for the World Championships in Oregon in 2022. In the 100m finals at the Jamaican National Championships last June, Williamsledthestar-studded

field before her race fell apart in the final 15m which saw slip to fourth; the preciousthirdplacesnatched atthedeathbyNCAAsilvermedallist Kemba Nelson, who ran a personal best 10.88.

H a v i n g s w i t c h e d camps in the offseason, Williams and her new coaches Gregory Little and Michael Frater, are keen on making sure that her race does not fall apart like that anymore.

After her 7 22 60m dash at the Camperdown Classic on Saturday, Coach Little said she could have been better but their focus has been on what happens after 60. ”She looked pretty

good and she is doing what we are teaching her in training,”saidLittle,

“I would probably give (her) a 75, a B I think shecoulddomuchbetter

“We are more focusing on the end part of her race (but) so far when she comes out of her drive phase she looked good and we are looking forward to a good season for her once everything goes smoothly withherhealth.”

I n t h a t a r e a o f concern, Little said Wi l l iams is making strides

“She is making good progress regarding her strength endurance and we are working more on her

Keely Hodgkinson sets world-leading time in 800m win

BBC Sport - Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson set a world leading time as she stormed to a dominant 800m victory at the World Indoor ToureventinLievin,France.

The 20-year-old clocked one minute 57.71 seconds as she finished almost three secondsclearofthefield.

Kenya’s Commonwealth Games champion Mary Moraa came second in 2:00.61.

It meant the in-form Hodgkinson improved on her previous world-leading time of 1:57.87 from her win at the Copernicus Cup in Torunlastweek.

Despite the progress, the Olympic and world silver m e d a l l i s t a p p e a r e d disappointed to have not got closer to her own British indoor record of 1:57.20, whichsheset12monthsago.

In a promising start to a World Championship year, Hodgkinson broke the women’s600mworldindoor record in Manchester last month.

She will attempt to defend her European indoor title, which she won in 2021, at March’s Championships inIstanbul.

Also in Lievin on Wednesday, Ethiopian 22-

year-old Lamecha Girma set aworldindoor3000mrecord of 7:23 81, as Spanish runner-up Mohamed Katir also beat the previous men’s record of 7:24.90 set by Kenya’s Daniel Komen 25 yearsago.

Ferdinand Omanyala edged Olympic men’s 100m champion Marcell Jacobs in the 60m event, clocking

6.54secs as his Italian rival crossedthelinein6.57secs.

Olympic and world c h a m p i o n J a k o b

Ingebrigtsen set a world lead over 1500m, winning in 3:32 38, while Sweden’s men’s pole vault world record holder Armand Duplantis claimed his latest win - the 22-year-old the onlyathleteabletoclear6.01 metres.

speed endurance, she is adapting to the programme verywell,”hesaid Both Williams and the Blakes (Ackeem and Yohan) 6 63 and 6 64, respectively, were equally graded because, “We have been doing nothing really tolooksharp,”hesaid

“We just came out to see

where we are at because basically we just had three block sessions so far so we said let us test where are at now because we are more focused on strength endurance and speed enduranceatthemoment.”

So, for the time being its another 60 and a couple of half-lappers before the real

seasonbegins.

“We have a 60m at Gibson Relays and then we move forward to two 200m next month and then thats it forMarch.

We will decide what were going to do in April,” saidLittlefullyawarethatall eyes are on his two young chargesthisseason.

Spain blank Reggae

Girlz 3-0 in Cup of Nations opener Down Under

SportsMax - Jamaicas

Reggae Girlz suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Spain in their opening match of the Cup of Nations at Central Coast Stadium in Australia yesterday

Goals from Matie Oroz, Esther Gonzales and

Fiamma Benitez settled the issue for the Spaniards, who dominated play with 74 per cent possession during which they took 18 shots at goal,fiveofthemontarget.

After controlling the state of play, early Spain took a 1-0 lead through Oroz whenadeflectionrebounded from the crossbar and into

herpath.

Meanwhile, Jamaica seemed incapable of maintaining possession with Spain capitalizing on turnovers to start raids on RebeccaSpencersgoal.

Asthematchapproached half-time Gonzales thought she had scored Spains secondwhensheappearedto leap above defenderVictoria Williams to head past Spencer after the ball had reboundedbythecrossbar

However, the referee deemed she had fouled the defender and hence the goal was waved off. Gonzales would find redemption

minuteslaterasrunningonto a left-side defense-splitting pass, she slotted into the righthadcorner

Spanish coach Jorge Vilda subbed off most of his starters after but Benitez still managed to put the finishing touches on the dominant performance with a longrange strike in the 78th minute.

The loss means Jamaica are currently third in the four-team competition just above Czech Republic who were blanked 4-0 by hosts, Australia.

Spain are second on goal difference.

Briana Williams and Ackeem and Yohan Blake are set to run two 200-metre races next month.

Reggae Girlz suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Spain.

Keely Hodgkinson is the reigning European indoor and outdoor 800m champion. (Getty Images)

Charles scores unbeaten 79 to lead Comilla Victorians to fourth BPL title

Spinners, Healy, Mooney take Australia closer to semi-final

SportsMax - Johnson

Charles made a spectacular 79* to lead the Comilla Victorians to a seven-wicket victory over the Sylhet Strikers in the final of the Bangladesh Premier League at the Shere Bangla National S t a d i u m i n M i r p u r yesterday

The Strikers made 175-7 from their 20 overs after the Victorians won the toss and elected to field first Mushfiqur Rahim led the way with an unbeaten 74 off 48 balls including five fours and three sixes Earlier, opener Najmul Hossain

Shanto made a 45-ball 64 including nine fours and a six. Pacer Mustafizur Rahman took 2-21 off his fouroversfortheVictorians.

The Victorians then needed 19.2 overs to reach their target, with the chase being led by half centuries from Charles and opener LittonDas.

Das made a 39-ball 55 including seven fours and one six to lay the foundation for Charles. The St. Lucians innings lasted 52 balls and included seven fours and five sixes as he, along with captain Moeen Ali who

finished 25*, steered the Victorians to their second BPLtitle in a row and fourth overall. Charles ended the 2023BPLasthe11thhighest run-scorer with 308 runs in nine matches including one fifty and one hundred. He also hit the most sixes in the tournamentwith26.

Scores: Sylhet Strikers

175-7 off 20 overs (Mushfiqur Rahim 74*, Najmul Hossain Shanto 64, Mustafizur Rahman 2-21) ComillaVictorians176-3off 19.2 overs (Johnson Charles 79*, Litton Das 55, Rubel Hossain2-39).

Trinidad & Tobago advance to Round of 16 at CONCACAF U-17 Championship

SportsMax - The Estadio Pensativo in Guatemala served as the location for the Wednesdays matches in Group F and it was a happy one for Trinidad and Tobago, whose 1-1 draw with Barbados was enough to secure a thirdplace finish and a place in the next round.

The Bajan Tridents had dreams of a knockout stage appearance taking the lead through a well-placed left-footed strike from outside the 18-yard box from Shamari Yearwood in the 38th

minute

That goal held up deep into the second half, but a late charge from the Soca Warriors proved decisive, as Lindell Sween struck in the 82nd minute to earn his side a 1-1 draw and a place in the Round of 16 thanks to a better goal difference than Barbados

The days other Group F game saw the USA beat Canada 1-0 through a Keyrol Figueroa goal in the 64th minute to advance to the Round of 16 as Group winners

ESPNcricinfo - Only in the very early stages of this match could Sri Lanka have held serious hopes. Once Chamari Athapaththu - the only Sri Lanka batter with a history of scoring heavily against Australia - was dismissedfor16,SriLanka’s c h a n c e s n o s e d i v e d substantially Their innings never got going. Australia’s spinners delivered plenty of dot balls on a slow Gqeberha surface, a s H a r s h i t h a Samarawickrama and Vishmi Gunaratne struggled tomakestrongcontact.Butit was the seam bowling of Megan Schutt that was most successful. She took 4 for 24 from her four overs, getting three of those dismissals in thefinaloveroftheinnings.

Sri Lanka floundered to 112 for 8, and Australia’s outstanding openers made short work of the small target Alyssa Healy continued her excellent form, hitting 54 not out off 43 balls. And Beth Mooney, who had had a quiet start to the World Cup, made 56 not out off 53.They sauntered to the target with 25 balls to spare.

Australia strike a definitivefirstblow

A big Athapaththu innings was always going to beSriLanka’sbestchanceof

sneaking a win against the defending champions, and very briefly, it seemed as if Athapaththuwaswarmingto her work. In Darcie Brown’s first over, Athapaththu smoked her through the covers, then slashed her in front of point two balls later Later, she got on one knee to launch Ashleigh Gardner overcowcornerforsix.

But then in the fifth over, Ellyse Perry had a fullish delivery stick in the pitch for a m o m e n t , a n d Athapaththu’s attempted lofted shot down the ground went high in the air behind the bowler It would have landed safely in most instances, but Grace Harris tore after the ball from midon, and went airborne to close her fingers around the catchwhilestillmid-air.

Spinners tie up Sri Lanka’stoporder

Sri Lanka’s secondwicketpartnership-between Samarawickrama and Gunaratne - was their biggest, bringing 39 runs. But it also sapped the momentumfromtheinnings, as Australia’s slow bowlers used a sluggish surface to good effect. Both batters attempted to use the pace of the ball, playing paddles and reverse sweeps. But often they failed to make contact, and even when they did, the

ball did not carry to the boundary, because the surfacewasslow Harris was the standout among the spinners - her offbreaks fetching 2 for 7 fromthreeovers.Legspinner Georgia Wareham took 1 for 20fromherfourovers.

Healy and Mooney race tothetarget Australia’s openers chased down this total as if it wasabirthright.Bothbatters hit Sugandika Kumari throughsquarelegforfourin the first over In the fourth over, bowled by offspinner OshadiRanasinghe,Mooney hitanotherfoursquareonthe leg side, before Healy ran down the track twice to w a l l o p s u c c e s s i v e boundaries.

They were even more effective after the powerplay ended, bringing the required rate down to 3.7 an over by the halfway stage. It was a cakewalk from there. Healy reached her half-centuryhersecondofthetournament - with a reverse slap square on the off side, off the 38th ballshefaced.Mooneygotto her fifty at a run-a-ball, with victoryintouchingdistance.

Scores: Australia 113 for 0 (Mooney 56*, Healy 54*) beat Sri Lanka 112 for 8 (Samarawickrama34,Schutt 4-24, Harris 2-7) by ten wickets.

Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney made short work of the chase. (ICC via Getty Images)

Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney made short work of the chase. (ICC via Getty Images)

Johnson Charles (left) scored 79* and Litton Das (right) scored 55 to lead the Comilla Victorians to their fourth Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) title.

Rock Futsal Semifinal stage set to unfold tomorrow

Sparta Boss will oppose Back Circle whilst Bent Street will engage Tiger Bay in the semi-final round of inaugural Rocks Auto Trans and Spares Parts Legendary Cup Futsal Championship tomorrow, Saturday, following quarterfinal wins on Tuesday evening at the National Gymnasium, MandelaAvenue.

Sparta Boss overcame Beterverwagting by a 3-1 score. The North East La

Penitence outfit fell behind in the eighth minute to a Neron Barrow strike

However, the contest was levelled as BV conceded an unfortunate own goal two minutes later A quick-fire brace from recent recruit Pernell Schultz in the 24th and 25th minute sealed the result.

TheywillnowmeetBack Circle, who overcame emerging powerhouse

Stabroek Ballers 4-3

Jermaine Beckles bagged a doubleintheeighthand23rd minute, whilst Simeon Moore and Stephon McLean added goals in the 20th and 22nd minute respectively

For the loser, Bevny McGarrell, Mark Jhalu and Dorwin George scored in the 11th, 21st, and 28th minute respectively

Meanwhile, Bent Street bested the ever-improving Vengy 4-0. Daniel Wilson led the way with a double in

the 28th and 30th minute, whilst Trayon Bobb and Tyrese Dennis scored in the fourth and sixth minute respectively

They will now meet TigerBay,whoupsetGoldis Money3-0.DeonAlfredwas the architect of the rout with a hat-trick in the 17th, 18th, and27thminute.

The teamswill now faceoff on Saturday at the same venue with a place in the finaleupforgrabs.

The championship night will be staged on Saturday February 25th at the same venue.

The winner of the tournament will pocket

$ 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 a n d t h e championshiptrophy Onthe otherhand,thesecond,third, and fourth-place finishers will receive $250,000, $150,000, and $100,000 respectively

On the individual side, the Most Valuable Player (MVP) will receive one motorcycle.

Similarly, a patron will receive one motorcycle on the night of the final. Below features the complete list of resultsandfixtures:

Complete Results Quarterfinal Game-1 Gold is Money-0 vs Tiger Bay-3 Deon Alfred-17th, 18th and 27th Game-2 Stabroek

Ballers-3 vs Back Circle-4 BackCirclescorersJermaine Beckles-8th and 23rd Simeon Moore-20th Stephon McLean-22nd Stabroek Ballers scorers BevnyMcGarrell-11thMark Jhalu-21st Dorwin George28th Game-3 Bent Street-4 vs Vengy-0 Daniel Wilson28th and 30th Trayon Bobb4th Tyrese Dennis-6th

Game-4 Sparta Boss-3 vs BV-1 Sparta scorer Pernell Schultz-24th and 25th Own

Goal-10th BV scorer Neron Barrow-8th Semi-finalSaturday February 18th

Sparta vs Back Circle Tiger Bay vs Bent Street FinalFebruary25th

Haynes taking shot at collective approach for development in CONCENCABA

The newly-elected president of the CentralAmerican and Caribbean Basketball C o n f e d e r a t i o n (CONCENCABA), Patrick Haynes, is banking on a collective approach from the a ff i l i a t e d N a t i o n a l Federations to advance the sport within the FIBA SubZoneregion.

Haynes, on February 14, was elected to the position f o l l o w i n g t h e CONCENCABA Assembly and Elections in Miami, USA.

The Guyana Basketball Federation (GBF) General Secretary also became the first Guyanese to sit at the helmofCONCENCABA.

In a note to the 31 National Federations under theCONCENCABAbanner, Haynes pointed out that “there are several key ingredients to a successful institution, but it always starts with great people, strong brands and a winning culture.

And, Central America and the Caribbean has an abundance of all of them

talented, passionate and dedicated people; great basketball; and a heritage of winning.”

”But there s more we can accomplish by working together and setting the highest standards for our plans and our execution,” Haynessaid.

Haynes further added he is a student of the game ( b a s k e t b a l l ) w h i l e admitting that he has a lot to learn about the C O N C E N C A B Aaffiliated members

”But I am a fast learner and will get up to speed quickly

One thing I do know is that I am “ALL IN” The e f f o r t s c u r r e n t l y underway are sound, and I a m c o m m i t t e d t o continuing the momentum that FIBA is building I look forward to working closely with each of you, the Americas RO and FIBA HQ,” the Guyanese basketball administrator said.

Haynes described himself as passionate about people and basketball, “I tell

it like it isgood or bad and I am always willing to listen and learn to help unlock our fullpotential.”

Founded in 1926, CONCENCABA is a body of FIBA Americas with mirrored powers and responsibilities for its geographicregion.

Currently, the National Member Federations assignedtoCONCENCABA by the FIBA Central Board are Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, J a m a i c a , M e x i c o , Montserrat, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the V i r g i n I s l a n d s

CONCENCABA recognizes the superior authority of FIBAandFIBAAmericas.

Subject to the overriding

authority of FIBA and FIBA Americas, CONCENCABA is the only competent authority to promote the practice of basketball and to organize competitions within the Sub-Zone of Central America and the Caribbean.

Meanwhile, Modesto R

C

n

Baloncesto (COCABA) will serve as Haynes first Vice President, while Interim president of the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC), Leslie Collymore (St Lucia) istheSecondVicePresident. Sabrina Mitchell (St

CONCENCABASecretary

The CBC At Large

Mitchell (Trinidad and Tobago) and Kenneth

Patrick Haynes, CONCENCABA President

Action from the recent matches. 2 - Action between BV (white) and Sparta Boss at the National Gymnasium.

Action from the recent matches. 1 - Part of the action between Sparta Boss (blue) and BV (white) in the Rocks Auto Trans and Spares Parts Legendary Cup Futsal Championship.

Professional Meet Management for Jefford Classic Mile -PrizeStructurerevisedto rewardathletesfinishingfirsttofifth

President of the A t h l e t i c s Association of Guyana (AAG), Aubrey Hutson and Founder of the Jefford Track and Field Classic organisation, Edison JeffordmetTuesdayevening to formalise several important features of the upcoming Jefford Classic Mile scheduled for Sunday March 12 at the National Park.

The key among the items on the agenda was the use of the professional Meet Management System to electrically produce the times and results for each race In a press release, Hutson said that this technology will raise the profileoftheeventandbring it in line with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF)standards.

Hutson said that the IAAF has been pushing affiliates to support more meet organisers in an effort

to promote athletics and g e n e r a t e i n c r e a s e d competition He said the initiative from Jefford was well received and it is something that the athletes have been yearning for some time based on feedback he hasreceived.

“We are proud to be associated with the Jefford Classic Mile because we are v e r y s e r i o u s a b o u t supportingourlocalathletes. Weseethiseventasaserious one on our calendar for athletes because they have complainedthattherearenot enough road races like this forthem,”Hutsonsaid.

“We need the Golden MileandIamhappythatitis on and I applaud what Jefford is doing. This is a good competition and it will help Athletics in Guyana to rise,” the AAG President continued Jefford had previouslystatedthathisaim was the resuscitation and rebranding of the prestigious Golden Mile under his

brand. He had indicated that the competition is to give middle distance athletes a signature event to call their own.

In addition to the Meet Management System, it was also disclosed via the press release that the races will be streamed live. According to Jefford, the vision is to have a big screen stream the races for patrons present and those tuned in via social media all overtheworld.Thiswillbea mammoth undertaking because the team is trying to figure out our source of power as well as the strongestinternetconnection possibleanditsrangetohave this done around the circuit of the National Park. “We have a very active social media presence and we will leverage that to showcase our athletes to the world while also giving our corporate sponsors the mileage they deserve for supporting our athletes. The aim is to make the event as

Minister of Culture,Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr. congratulates Motie

The Honourable Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr has congratulated Gudakesh Motie on his impressive record bowling feat to lead the WestIndiestovictoryinZimbabwe.

Here is the full text of the Ministers missive:

“Congratulations to Gudakesh Motie for his record-breaking bowling figures of 13-99, which is the best ever by a West Indian spinner in a Test match, surpassing the previous record of 11-152 held by Trinidadian- the legendary Sonny Ramadhin.

This record stood for over seven (7) decades, but records are meant to be broken Moties achievement belies his struggle to even be selected to the West Indies team a perennial problem which Guyanese have faced over the decades yet underscores the fountain of talent which exists on Guyanasfertileshores.”

“His accomplishment, along with that of “Tage”Chanderpaul,justifiestheinvestment which the H.E. President Irfaan Ali led Government of Guyana is making in sport and community grounds consistently the largesteverinourcountryshistory

The road to success is not smooth or straight and Moties record-breaking

Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr.

achievement should also be an inspiration to allyoungGuyanese.

The Ministry of CultureYouth and Sport and the National Sports Commission continue to wish him and his family all the best.”

big as possible, we are therefore trying to make our dream of what the event should look like possible,” Jeffordsaid.

He added that because of those features, much work hastobedonetoimprovethe opticsoftheevent,including branding. The organiser said that the entire aura of the Jefford Classic Mile must be in line with what is seen internationally to ensure that Guyana looks good to the world. Importantly, Jefford also disclosed that the prize monies for the Open Categories will now be stretched to fifth place to reward more athletes while first to third will get medals. He said the same will apply for the training and educational grants for the athletes under20 years old.

President of the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG), Aubrey Hutson (right), and Edison Jefford exchange the regulations governing the upcoming Jefford Classic Mile.

barrier,andallthetopresults from this year will become MeetRecords.

General Equipment Limited is newest sponsor of Limited the Petra Milo U18 Schools football

Sports

sponsors WomensDevelopmentFootballLeagueplayoff

MVPSports

MVPs Managing Director Ian Ramdeo President (left), Andrea Johnson of the Womens Football Association (2nd left) along with several players at the launch.

From left Troy Mendonca Co-Director of Petra org, Secretary of Petra Jacklyn Boodie, Service Manager of Genequip Suraj Charran and Petra representative Sean Embrack.