Kaieteur News

Guyana lacks clear development plan to reduce

poverty ...as huge chunk of Budget focuses on infrastructure projects

Although Guyana is positioned as t h e f a s t e s t growingeconomyonearthas a result of the oil production activities that commenced in

2019, almost 50 percent of the population still lives on less than $1,000 per day, according to recent World Bankstatistics.

As the revenues continue

to trickle in from the production of oil in the Stabroek Block, the Government of Guyana (GoG) is yet to implement a clearstructuretoimprovethe lives of its citizens in the c o u n t r y ' s p o o r e s t communities.

Guyana was recently f e a t u r e d b y T h e Newsmakers, where they flagship current affairs programme, featuring indepth reports and interviews, delved into the newfound wealth and whether it will bring prosperity or turmoil.

Hostess Andrea Sanke included Director of Energy at Americas Market Intelligence, Arthur Deakin, as well as Director of Financial Analysis at the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), Tom Sanzillo and International Lawyer, Melinda Janki in the paneldiscussion.

Deakin was asked to share his views on why Guyana still has high levels of poverty and why he was optimistic about the situation. In his response, the International EnergyAnalyst e x p l a i n e d t h a t t h e Government of Guyana has made “fruitful decisions” which led to investments from the ExxonMobil-led consortium in the Stabroek Block He noted that Guyana's oil sector has been moving at one of the fastest paces known in the industry; however when it comes to translating that wealth to the population, this has been taking some time. In fact, the specialist pointed out that for the wealth to benefit the population, it would require structural planning by the administration.

Deakin said, “The government lacks a clear vision, a clear plan on how it's gonna spend the money

Americas Market Intelligence

Co-Director of Energy Practice, Arthur Deakin

it's receiving from the oil revenue so I think there is a l o t o f r o o m f o r improvement.”

Following up on this view, Sanke pointed out that Guyana's Head of State, Dr. Irfaan Ali has indicated that the oil will not become a curse but will benefit the

population She therefore asked the Energy Analyst to explain his belief that there was no clear structure in placefortherevenuetoreach the poorest citizens in the country.

To this end, Deakin noted,“Ofcourse,the (Continued on page 8)

for this year but US$905M

US$657M received already racked up in debts

Guyana has so far received US$657 million in oil revenue for the first half of the year, but has already racked up US$905 million in debtalready

The Government of Guyana, in keeping with the provisions of the Natural Resource Fund Act of 2021 has revealed that the country has received an additional US$438 million in profit oil and royalties for the period April 1, 2023 to June 30, 2023.

According to the G o v e r n m e n t N o t i c e published in the Official Gazette on July 4, 2023, Guyana received five paymentsofprofitoilandone royalty payment during the period.

T h i s n e w s p a p e r understandsthatthecountry's profit oil amounted to US$385,693,016 22 from both the Liza One and Liza Two projects in the Stabroek Block, operated by Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), the subsidiary of U.S oil g i a n t , E x x o n M o b i l Meanwhile, Guyana earned a n a d d i t i o n a l US$53,256,878.46 in its lone royalty payment for the secondquarter

In total, the country receivedUS$438,949,894.68 from its resources in the second quarter of the year

The Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) Guyana inked with ExxonMobil and its partners, Hess and CNOOC stipulate that the country must be paid a royalty of two percent on the resourcessold.

The fiscal terms also allow the oil companies to recover a whopping 75 percentoftherevenueearned towards the cost to develop the resources. The remaining 25 percent profit is then shared equally between Guyana and the companies. This means Guyana receives 14.5 percent of the revenue

while the oil companies benefitfromthelion'sshare.

It was reported that in the first quarter of this year, the country received a total of US$219 million in profit oil a n d r o y a l t y https://www.kaieteurnewson line.com/2023/04/20/guyana -earns-us219m-in-royaltiesprofit-oil-in-first-threemonths-for-2023/

If this is added to the second quarter earnings, it would mean that so far approximately US$657 million has been deposited into the NRF for the first half of2023.

Research conducted by Kaieteur News revealed that Guyana has already signed closetoUS$1billioninloans alreadyfortheyear

This means that the country has by now borrowed twice as much as it has earned from oil production for the second quarteroftheyear

I n M a r c h , t h e government signed three loans with the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) totaling

US$205M to strengthen the country's healthcare system, build roads and enhance infrastructure.

I n M a y , t h e administration signed a US$200M Framework Agreement with the Islamic Development Bank for the reconstruction of the Soesdyke-Linden Highway Later that month, President Irfaan Ali announced that government had secured a US$350 million loan from Qatar to extend the Schoonord to Crane fourlane road all the way to Parika.

In June, the PPP administration inked another US$150 million loan agreementwiththeKingdom of Saudi Arabia to develop the local housing and infrastructuresectors.

The four loans combined amount to US$905 million. In the meantime, the government is awaiting another loan approval soon from the United States Export Import (EXIM) Bank for US$646 million in financing for its Gas-to-

Energy(GTE)project.

When approved, this wouldincreasethetotalloans for the year so far to a whopping US$1.55 billion.

At the end of 2022, the country'stotalstockofpublic debt stood at US$3 654 billion. Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh had also revealed during his Budget Speech that this was an increase of 16 9 percent comparedto2021.

As Guyana continues to earn more revenue from the production of its newfound oil wealth, the country has also scaled up its borrowing from multilateral and

bilateral partners to fund various development projectsandinitiatives.

This stance however lands the nation in a dangerous trap, quite similar to the one that ensnared oilproducing states like Nigeria and Ghana, as was highlighted by Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) and former Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence, during this year's BudgetDebates.

She told the House, “Sir, the government's eschewing the use of the burgeoning natural resource funds, in preference to borrowing

from any and all sources, on the assumption that oil prices will remain high, thus allowing easy repayment of loans taken today, is falling into the same trap as did Ghana and Nigeria, for example.”

Lawrence pointed out that external public has grown steadily since the People's Progressive Party (PPP) took office in August 2020.

This year, Guyana's nationaldebtissettoincrease by$79billion.

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo had expressed the view that while the revenue from the oil sector is “not much” presently, the government is still taking loans now for development and will pay back later when ithasthe“capacitytodoso”.

“…So it's a combination of spending what we have, and a judicious set of borrowing, where we know based on future capacity we canrepay”,Jagdeosaid.

TheAlliance For Change (AFC)onFridaysaidthatthe 'Bharrat Economics' will doom the country's development as the existential threat of the climatecrisiswillseeamajor shift away from the use of fossilfuelsby2030.

With an already volatile market where the oil prices have been fluctuating with influence from the European war, the political party worries that the country's prospectscouldbebleakwith thecurrentregimeinoffice.

Table showing the revenue received by Guyana for the second quarter of 2023.

Charlestown,Georgetown,Guyana.

Publisher:GLENNLALL-TEL:624-6456

Editor:NIGELWILLIAMS

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

EDITORIAL

Norton and Blinken

It is a certainty that Opposition Leader Norton had

plentytopackinhistimewithUSSecretaryofState Blinken. ItisapositivethattheOppositionLeader wasfittedintoMr Blinken’scrowdedcalendarinwhatwasa whistlestop. Encouraging is the fact that from reports coming out of the meeting between the Guyanese and the American, with Ambassador Lynch watching closely was thatitwas“cordial.” Cordialisalwaysthebestwayinthe flowofconversationswhich,ofnecessity,hastobecandid and tough. More is achieved by cordiality that leads to healthy conversations, and some meeting of the minds, howeverlimited.

It is also a certainty that Opposition Leader Norton had much to say, a huge mouthful, but which courtesy and etiquette restrained him from dumping the Guyana bathtub, dirtywaterandall,inthelapofMr Blinken Thereistheissue ofmediaaccessimbalance,andanotherofeconomicdisparity in the sharing of the national oil patrimony In terms of the latter,Mr Norton’spointshadtobehowonesegmentofthe population is isolated and blocked from participating in the distribution of the rich and growing economic pie It is a matter of urgent concern, one of intensifying tension, and whichwouldgainasympatheticnodfromMr Blinken,ifonly because he would have been privy to such realities, as containedindiplomaticdispatchesfromhere Itcouldexplain whySecretaryBlinkenhimselffounditnecessarytospeakto theneedforinclusionacrosstheboardinGuyanabefore

It would be surprising if the Opposition Leader did not tablehisalarmsoverwhatmanyinterpretedtobeextrajudicial killingsbytheGuyanaPoliceForce Plus,repeatedviolations of the law that benefit close friends and associates of the PPP/CGovernment But,incontrast,allthestopsarepulled outunfairlytotargetperceivedopponentsofthegovernment, orthosewhotakeittotaskoverblatantexcessesthattamper withtherightsofcitizens Further,itisfairtoexpectthatthe OppositionLeaderwouldhavebeenquicktoletMr Blinken know that his political group represents close to half of the electorate, and that his umbrella party would be a better, cleaner, and brighter alternative to a corrupt PPP/C Governmentcabal Withpartisanpoliticalpassionssosharp, nationalelectionssofiercelycontested,andtheresultssorazor thin,theprobabilityofunrestandinstabilityloomslarge Still further,whenclaimsandcounterclaimsofelectoralfraudare fused to unmoving perceptions of inequity in wealth distribution,thereisacombustiblemixrightbelowthesurface inthelocalenvironment Noneofthis,notoneoftheplanksof simmering Guyanese sentiments can be comforting to Mr Blinken, given the range of American business and other interestshere

Itisourbelief,thatalloftheseburningissuesplusafew more, would have made up Mr. Norton’briefcase of high priority concerns in his discussion with Secretary Blinken. SomemaythinkthatMr.Blinkenisthebestaudiencethathe couldhave,forthesimplereasonthatthepowertoinfluence materialoutcomesiswell-knownandundeniable. Forour part, we agree to a point that it helps more than it hurts to present to Mr Blinken the reality of Guyana behind the official gloss and the PPP Government’s public relations machinery Havingsaidthis,thebestpossibleapproach,for the best likely outcome for Guyanese, has to be when the President of Guyana and Guyana’s Opposition Leader sit downinthesameroom,huddlearoundthesametable,and have frank exchanges on the exact same issues that Mr NortonlikelyarticulatedtoMr Blinken.

What we have are Guyanese problems impacting the Guyanese people. We think that it is the height of commonsenseandnativewisdomforGuyanesemindsand heartstocomeupwithGuyanesesolutions. Whennational leaders on opposing sides cannot even converse then this countryanditspeoplesareinabadplace. Talkingpastone another, or through intermediaries, helps, but only to a limiteddegree. Itisimperative,therefore,thatthebridgeof conversationbebuiltandwalkedacross

Development with risks

DEAREDITOR

,

Regardless of whichever government is in power, development could be seen, and their supporters would welcome it and the opposition opposes it. It’s a known fact that many supporterswouldseektoget high-paying jobs/positions that would pave the way for them to become corrupted, or they would seek to get contracts.

One of the most ridiculousmovesIwitnessed was when the APNU+AFC got into power, they immediately embarked on various schemes, by acquiring vehicles, building white elephants, etc , to make most places green by repainting, but lo and behold, the paint didn’t dry properly

Theyhadtodemitoffice. During their brief stint, they focused more on enriching themselves instead of

gaining the public’s confidence.

Eventhoughtheirperiod was short, they could have done more, instead of floating around hopelessly a n d e m b a r r a s s i n g themselves, while their competitor continuously gainedground.

Editor, recently I was privileged to be given a sightseeingtourofaprimary school and with anger, I wonder what type of scavengers have the responsibility to make life andsecuritybetterforusand ourchildren?Fromtheroad, theplumbingisriddledwith faults, and the electrical work is such dismay, that expensive equipment keeps getting damaged, only to be replaced, instead of finding the faults and rectifying them to prevent future mishaps.

Therequirementtoearth off any building is an

PresidentAli, invest in community libraries

DEAREDITOR,

The benefits of community libraries are innumerable and I ask readers to go online and research them for themselves.

Guyana is in desperate needofcommunitylibraries. Community libraries are resource hubs that connect people to information and people.

M a n y o f f e r a multitude of services including volunteer opportunities, full and part-time work, afterschool homework help, photocopying, printing and scanning services, free Wi-Fi, book clubs, computer classes, skills trainingandsomuchmore.

I cannot understand that in 2023, we are boasting about oil, gas and “development”,yetthereare only twenty-eight public libraries in Guyan a according to the data s u b m i t t e d b y t h e

G u y a n a N a t i o n a l L i b r a r y t o t h e

I n t e r n a t i o n a l Federation of Library

A s s o c i a t i o n s a n d Institutions.

Three of these libraries are government funded research libraries, one is the National Library and anotheristheUniversityof Guyana library on the

approved earth rod, but the genius is so greedy to cheat on everything, he used a regular construction steel rod (pic available), which is almost rotted in two. Before the contractor is fully paid forhiswork,itissupposedto be inspected, so who inspects and approves?That person should be jailed for puttingchildrenandpeople’s life at risk. One school I inspected and everywhere I turned shoddy work was pointed out to me, so when will we get quality work for moneybeingspent?

Finally, Editor, the announcementofthe$9Bfor renovations of schools wouldbearelieftomany,but how many have actually inspected a school to see if the money is well spent? How many of those schools slated for renovations were recently completed? The lossoflivesarisingfromthe Mahdia fire causes me to

thinkthatitwouldhavebeen an eye-opener for everyone, even the administration that pretended to care, but sadly, that’snotthecase.Iexpected all schools to be carefully inspected and preventative measures put in place to prevent any disaster Whilst contractsarebeinggivenout to people who have no qualification for the work they are bidding for, no one is monitoring to see if the works are being carried out, when the shoddy work is completed, government jump to the front in order to steal the limelight Meanwhile,theincompetent contractor walks away smilingandgivingthosethat assist him 20% of his earning, to be disbursed. Meanwhile, the children are being schooled in uncomfortable conditions, andtheirlivesareatrisk.

Regards SahadeoBates

What transpired at BOSAI is gross disrespect

the other twenty-three a n d t h e s e r v i c e s offered excluding c i r c u l a t i o n a n d reference services

These libraries and some of their services can be supported by service groups such as Lions and Rotary, private, public sector organizations and philanthropists

Instead of investing in more community rum shops, bars, strip clubs and gambling shops, I urge those with the means and interest in the wellbeing and w e l f a r e o f t h e i r communities and their own wellbeing to invest incommunitylibraries

Thisissomethingthatthe Guyana Police Force, Men on a Mission and numerous other organizations can throwtheirsupportbehind.

To President Ali and First Lady Arya Ali, I encourage you to use the resources at your disposal to launch a national initiative to scale up and modernize community libraries in Guyana.

Considering all the great plans you have and are contemplating, this perhaps, will be y o u r g r e a t e s t contribution and the most memorable feature of your legacies

Regards,

DEAREDITOR

What transpired at the BOSAI/PPPregimeplanned ceremony to commission Kiln #15 at that bauxite company at Linden is nothing short of gross disrespecttoourleadersand electedofficialsatLinden.

Friday’s event saw President Ali giving the feature address to a packed hall consisting primarily of PPP officials and BOSAI’s representatives from the People’s Republic of China. The Prime Minister of Guyanawasalsopresent.

The Opposition elected officials of Linden and Region were treated with disrespect and disdain, prompting Mayor Elect, SharmaSolomontowalkout ofthatceremony RegionTen Chairman, Deron Adams who received an official invitation from BOSAI to attendandgivebriefremarks was at the last minute struck off from the programme. Though in attendance, he was not allowed to make an address.

A Linden journalist was refused entry into the venue

and was told that only state ownedNCNjournalistswere allowedentry Itisclearthat thePPPregimeisnowinfull gear

This government is now being put on notice that the Opposition will not sit idly byandallowitslocalleaders to be treated with gross disrespect by this government.Further,wecall on the Guyana Press Association to look into the issue of a Linden journalist being deliberately and maliciously prevented from doingherwork.

This assault on press freedommustbecondemned in the strongest possible terms.

The PPP government is still reeling from the crushing defeat it faced at Linden, at this year’s LGEs. The people of Linden and Region Ten, through the ballots, have reposed confidence in their local leaders to represent them. The dictatorship must know that our leader must be allowedtodojustthat.

Sincerelyyours

NormanBrowne

Fluff or bluff

DEAREDITOR

Aslim two seat majority inamunicipalityhasseenno place on an important committee for the opposition.

This is asserting and stampingyourauthority So

all the talk of working together and putting aside differences for the bettermentofthetownwasit just fluff and bluff or was thereagreaterhandatplay?

Regards ShamshunMohamed

Government’sBigStepForward Our laws need to be updated

DEAREDITOR

, OurHeadofStatehasyet againspokeneloquentlyona very pertinent issue, that of the mangrove situation in Guyana. The occasion was the signing of an agreement between the Government of Guyana and the European Union (EU), to establish a comprehensive programme to protect and manage the invaluable mangroves in Guyana.

ThewordfromPresident Irfaan Ali is that “We have committed to expanding the protected area system from 8.3 per cent to 17 per cent, then eventually to 30 per cent. And these are targets that we are aggressively working towards. These are targets that are integrated into our planning framework, and our policymakingframework.

This amounted to Guyana’spolicyframework, t h a t p r i o r i t i s e s environmental protection, embracing climate-smart approaches, and harnessing the country’s rich natural resources to improve livelihoods and foster economicopportunities,and where mangroves are concerned, we need to internalise that mangroves help to mitigate climate change and help people and n a t u r e a d a p t correspondingly

Let me remind all that although mangroves make uplessthanonepercentofall tropical forests around the world, they have a critical role in mitigating climate change Why? Well mangrove soils are highly effective carbon sinks, locking away large quantities of carbon and stoppingitfromenteringthe atmosphere In addition, they are vital in helping society adapt to climate change impacts, reducing theimpactofstormsandsealevel rise, hence, the resounding voice of the President.

Editor,Ithinkmanymay have forgotten about the genesis of all this, but it all started as part of the EU/Guyana partnership agreement, signed at the

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC)COP27 in Egypt last year, valuing approximately 4.6 million euros. This is big. It shows the seriousness that our Government is attaching to climate concerns. After all, “Guyana’sforestspanssome 18 million hectares, and the extensive mangrove ecosystems occupy over 200,000 hectares of the coastal region.According to President Ali, “One of the things that we want the project to focus on is those earthen embankment and those riverine areas, where the population might be small,butagriculturaloutput inthoseareasisverylarge.”

In this vein, he stressed that “… the project’s scope will also include the monitoring of mangrove seedling planting, the rehabilitation of existing f o r e s t s , a n d t h e establishment of robust nursery programmes for aggressive replanting efforts.”

I n h i s f o r c e f u l commentary, Dr Ali noted that “Our entire policy architecture, our policy framework is geared around ensuring that we are adopting the best environmental practices and doing everything in a climate-smart way, in protecting the environment, advancing our natural attributes of biodiversity But more importantly, leveraging these natural assets now for improving livelihoods, creating economicopportunity.”

For the EU’s part, the Commission’s Executive Vice President, Frans Timmermans,waselated,as he was witnessing “ Guyana’s making strides towardsmajordevelopment, noting that the time is only fitting for the EU and Guyana to strengthen their bilateral ties.” He explained that “One of the ways to cooperateistohelppreserve this country’s natural riches which are almost without limits. This is a partnership we’vejustsignedsothatwe can support the efforts of

Guyana to strengthen the position of mangroves Mangroves are such a huge contribution to our fights againsttheclimatecrisis.”

Atthisjuncture,Ineedto reinforce the reality that Guyanaisalsoonapathway tocapitaliseonitsfossilfuel industry In fact, many have been quite critical of this now burgeoning economic sector However, these very antagonists are willfully turning ‘blind eyes’ and ‘deaf ears’ to the world of reality,whereco-existenceis thenameofthegame.

Well, the EU Comicon highlightedthatindeed“The a m b i t i o n o f y o u r government, Mr President, to make sure that Guyana in its economic development, in the development of the fossil fuel industry still maintains its high ambition forclimateneutrality,andfor maintenance of your natural richesissomethingwewant tobeapartof,andIhopewe can elaborate very concrete measures.”

Let me expand by pointingoutthateventhough climatechangeisthebiggest threattheworldfaces,oneof thosetoolsistheconservation of mangroves As we know, there are more than 60 different species of mangroves,allspecializedto grow along waterlogged coastlinesintropicalandsubtropical regions Mangroves are an incredible group of plants, as not only do they haveauniqueabilitytothrive in saltwater environments, but their strong and complex root systems also protect coastal communities and landscapes from extreme weather events, like hurricanes

I close by reminding readers that one of mangroves’ biggest strengths lies in their ability to capture and store carbon. The muddy soil that mangroves live in is extremely carbon-rich and over time, the mangroves help to not only add to this store of soil by capturing sediment but hold it, as well asthecarboninplace.

Yourstruly, HBSingh.

DearEditor, Human beings are the most intelligent of all living creatures – yet are also capable of the most depravityasweinjureothers to satisfy our own whims and pleasures, especially when we wield any influenceoverthem,andkill for those same reasons as well as because of greed, without any necessity to eat food Because those are truths known to all, we tend to shrug off many serious incidents – rape and murder even – with a sigh of resignation accompanied by expressions like “silt happens”and“c’estlavie”.

It is only when something of grand proportionsoccurs–likethe bombingoftheWorldTrade CentreandtheMahdiaFire–

or when the alleged perpetrator is a famous person, like Donald Trump or Nigel Dharamlall that certain categories of criminalbehaviouraretaken seriously One category of behaviourthatoftentouches theedgeofcriminalconduct, and almost routinely

amounts to social harassment,istheconductof some male ‘bosses’ in Guyana. Female employees know who those men are, usuallyattheveryoutset,but the attitude is nothing new and is directly correlated to power dynamics – and significant because of high unemployment.

W i t h G u y a n a transitioning economically, the unemployment factor willdiminishinsignificance as women seize the opportunities rapidly becoming available to all. Still, embedded attitudes of dishonesty and shortsightedness of endeavour, like the attitude that produces the exploitation of young females, will need to be actively addressed by publicmessagingandbythe law where possible. Our economictransitionneedsto be accompanied by a legislative transition that does not omit addressing how accused persons, child witnesses and complainants of sexual violence are

processed by investigating authorities.

Some lessons to be extracted from the Dharamlallmatterare:

The law needs to be updated and the systems currentlyinplaceneedtobe co-ordinated.

What an accused tells or refuses to tell police soon after arrest should be important especially a child or young person, especially when a sexual complainant, needstofeelbelieved.

Noyoungpersonlikesto feel imprisoned by the system – especially having donenowrong.

The law as it stands in relationtoacasesuchasthis does not allow the DPP to proceed without the Complainant appearing as a witness for the State. The only other witness of the eventsallegedistheaccused himself, and the DPP has effectively determined that given this fact, the prospect of a successful prosecution before a jury properly directediszerotoremote.

Meanwhile, rightfully indignant commentators pointtotheSexualOffences

Act which says that corroborationisunnecessary inacasesuchasthis–whilst failing to appreciate that corroboration relates to the evidence given by a Complainant – and thus corroboration is indeed unnecessary here because there is no evidence to be corroborated where there is no Complainant to give any evidence. This could have beenverydifferent.

AnaccusedinGuyanais arrested as a suspect and, in relevant cases, interviewed by police on video which confirms his identity and records any confession he might make – sometimes following an unrecorded interrogation Where the suspect is a person of some standing who attends the

police station with his lawyer, there would be no confessiononthatvideothat might be admitted into evidence The accused would be invited to give a Statementundercautionthat would be taken in longhand by a police officer, who would ask a few standard questions and write down the account, if any is given, of the accused. This too couldhavebeendifferent.

The law ought to be updated and the agencies currently charged with or having an interest in Dharamlall-type matters need to co-ordinate and not duplicate or present clashes oftheirefforts.TheUKhasa system of guidance published in 2002 called Achieving Best Evidence (ABE) that sets out what is good practice for videorecorded interviews with child witnesses Such recordings,usuallymadeon just one occasion, are intended to be played in court as Prosecution evidence,andareconducted by police officers specially trained in dealing with traumatizedyoungpersons–the objective being to elicit from the interviewee a full and free account of their version of the experience complained of. During such an interview, the child or young person will be accompanied by an ‘appropriateadult’knownto them – e.g. a parent, older sibling or friend of good character,orasocialworker orprobationofficer–aswell as their own lawyer! No confusionwithamultiplicity of interested agencies making press noises and multiple sessions of questioning of the Complainant who can remaininprotectivecustody forseveraldays.

Another update to our lawthatcouldassistina

(Continuedonpage06)

Whose side is the President on?

DEAREDITOR, A nation looks to its leaders for guidance and support when it really matters. Albeit, in times of sorrow as we previously experienced with the tragic lossof20younglivestothe negligence of a fire at the dormitory in Mahdia

Secondaryschoolorintimes oftriumph,aleaderelevates himself as the chief influencer of a nation’s morale.Thesevirtuescannot be extolled to the President of Guyana, Dr Mohammed Irfaan Ali. On numerous occasions,hehasshownthat his priorities are everything exceptthesocial,economic, andpoliticaldevelopmentof

Guyana. Therecentnewsreported by‘Oilnow’ofthePresident givingassurancetotheCEO ofHessCorporationthatthe State’sattempttoappealthe ruling of Judge Sandil Kissoon on the unlimited parent/ affiliate guarantee is troubling. The ruling by the judge to protect the nation’s interestintheeventofmajor catastrophe by Esso Exploration (commonly referred to as Exxon Mobil) and its affiliates should unreservedly be the President’s interest and wellbeing of his country

Givingguaranteestoforeign multinationals displays a different view of where his

loyalties lie and that is not withtheconstituentstowhy he took the oath of office to defend.

On another occasion, while speaking to the diaspora, at a banquet in Canada last week, he is recorded saying as “leaders we have an obligation to present what the Guyana offers the world; not what Guyana offers to Guyanese but what Guyana offers to the World. This comment should cause any Guyanese and diaspora members to froth at the mouth of this misguided and senseless commentary by a head of state.IsthePresidentsaying that he is now the leader of

theworldandnotthepeople of Guyana? His vain utterances will have vast overreaching implications forhowheadministrateshis policies and political aspirationsin2025.

More notably, is the President’s apparent condoningofanallegedrape by his former Minister of Local Government and RegionalDevelopment.Asa father of two children, the honorable thing was to remove the Minister f o r t h r i g h t l y H i s complacency of allowing circumvention of the investigationbytheMinister andhisattorneysalongwith the Guyana Police Force, is setting a precedence that senior executive members are above the law with special powers granted to them by him to groom, coerce and rape underage girls Furthermore, the

President is setting a standardthatMinistershave a power to tamper with the investigation process and that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) should treat the case like a football tossed back and forth between the police and the DPPchambers.

There is sufficient evidence to charge this psychopathwithrapesimply by asking questions of why anunderageteenagegirland herbrotherareatthehomeof a senior member of cabinet w i t h o u t p a r e n t a l supervision?Moreover,why isanunderageteenagegirlin a strange senior executive member of the cabinet’s bedroom?Thesearefacetsto a clear case for why the alleged rapist should be charged.

Instead, the President takes a back seat in the process waiting for the

Ministertoresignonhisown volition and denying that he knew about the teenager’s complaint when it was sent tohimbyaseniormemberof thecabinet.

Itisunbelievablethatthe fatherofthenationcanstand and watch disgusting, perverted, psychopaths’ preyonourchildrenwhilehe takes the back seat of his responsibility to act decisively as stated in his roletoprotectandupholdthe constitution of the Republic ofGuyana.

Itisunbelievabletothink thatthiswilljustblowaway and everyone will return to their “normal” lives when the psychological damage hasimpactedboththefamily and the nation. Is he the Presidentoftheworldorthe PresidentofGuyana?

Yourstruly, Collin Haynes, MPH, MBA

Ourlawsneedtobeupdated...

Frompage5

r

Investigatingofficerswillbe obliged to investigate properly so that they have appropriate questions to ask –knowingthattheinterview would be edited by joint agreement of Prosecution andDefencetoproducewhat effectively would be the Defendant’s Statement Police could conduct multiple interviews as evidence emerges from investigations, with the accused on bail, before charging when the evidence issufficienttodoso.

It is small wonder that the 16 year-old in the Dharamlall complaint decided not to continue to pursue the matter – for

irrespective of any other factors that were likely relevant to her decision, she had undoubtedly become disillusioned with the process and could only see h e r t r a u m a b e i n g exacerbatedovertimebythe attention of the media – and especially the notoriously unfettered commentators on social media! Things could have been very different if our procedures governing criminal investigations generally,andinvestigations concerning complaints by children in particular, about sexual interference of any kind, were approached ratherdifferently

Yourstruly RonaldBostwick

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Thestrugglecontinues

Now that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has come and gone, we must continue to hold this government's feet to the fire.

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There is lot of unfinished business in this land - most of which require struggle.

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So the struggle continues today for a renegotiation of the lopsided Exxon contract. The struggle continues for justice for the teenager allegedly raped by a sitting government minister.

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The struggle continues for justice for the 20 children burnt to death due to governmental negligence at Mahdia.

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And for us media people, the struggle continues for transparency and a news conference by the President, Irfaan Ali.

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Egypt to host Sudan summit as UN warns of ‘full-scale civil war’

The summit in Cairo on July 13 comes after talks in Jeddah failed to secure a lasting ceasefire between Sudan's army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

(Al Jazeera) Egypt says it will host a summit of Sudan's neighbours on July 13 to discuss ways to end a 12-week conflict between rival Sudanese military factions, as the United Nations warns the country is on the brink of a “full-scale civilwar”.

The summit in Cairo on Thursday will aim to “ d e v e l o p e f f e c t i v e m e c h a n i s m s ” w i t h neighbouring states to settle the conflict peacefully, in coordination with other regional or international efforts, Egypt's presidency said in a statement on Sunday

Diplomaticeffortstohalt fighting between Sudan's army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary have so far proved ineffective, with competing initiatives creating confusion over how the warring parties might be broughttonegotiate.

Neither Egypt, which is seen as the Sudanese army's most important foreign ally, nor the United Arab Emirates, which has had closetiestotheRSF,haveso far played a prominent publicrole.

The two countries were

also not involved in talks in Jeddah led by the United States and Saudi Arabia that adjourned last month after failing to secure a lasting ceasefire.

Sudanese delegations, including from civilian parties that shared power with the army and RSF after the overthrow of former President Omar al-Bashir four years ago, are expected to meet on Monday in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababaforexploratorytalks.

The initiative came amid clashes on Sunday between the army and the RSF in El Obeid, southwest of Khartoum, as well as in the southofthecapital,residents said.Sudan's health ministry on Saturday said a strike by fighter jets in Omdurman, partofSudan'swidercapital, left22peopledead.

The RSF blamed the military for the attack. The army denied responsibility forthestrike,sayingtheRSF had bombarded residential areas from the ground at times when fighter jets were in the sky before falsely accusingthearmyofcausing civiliancasualties.

The army has depended largely on air strikes and heavy artillery to try to push

back RSF troops spread a c r o s s K h a r t o u m , Omdurman and Khartoum North, the three cities that make up the capital around theconfluenceoftheNile.

Violence has also flared in other parts of Sudan including the western region of Darfur, where residents say militias fromArab tribes along with the RSF have targeted civilians on an ethnic basis, raising fears of a repeat of the mass atrocities seen in the region after2003.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday condemned the air strike on Omdurman, which he said “reportedly killed at least 22 people” and wounded dozens, his deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said in a statement.Guterres said he remained “deeply concerned that the ongoing war between the armed forces has pushed Sudan to the brink of a full-scale civil war,potentiallydestabilising theentireregion.”

Millionsdisplaced

The fighting that erupted onApril15inSudan'scapital Khartoum has driven more than 2.9 million people from their homes, including almost 700,000 who have

The army has depended largely on air strikes and heavy artillery to try to push back RSF troops spread across Khartoum, Omdurman and Khartoum North [File: Mostafa Saied/Reuters]

fled to neighbouring countries,manyofwhichare struggling with poverty and the impact of their own internal conflicts Al Jazeera's Ahmed Idris, reporting from a refugee camp inAdre, on the SudanChad border, said many families were not eating

morethanonemealaday

“Cases of malnutrition are on the rise in camps in eastern Chad and other parts of Chad where Sudanese refugees have moved to,” Idrissaid.

BytheendofJune,atotal of 36,423 refugees had been relocated to seven existing

camps in Chad and to two newly established camps, s a i d t h e U N H i g h Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).UNHCR said it was preparing for the possible arrival of as many as 245,000 refugees by the end of the year due to the ongoingviolence.

Guyana lacks clear development plan....

From page 2 government is going to say that they are doing a really good job, they wouldn't admit thattheyarenotandthereisalotofcreditfor what they are doing in terms of bringing in new investment for the oil and gas field for the Stabroek Block and also surrounding blocks...but when you're thinking about structurally planning, sustainable long term wealth for the population, I think there's still alottobedone.Ihaven'tseenaplanoraclear structureofhowthemoneyisgonnabespent inawaythat'sgoodforthepopulation.”

Weighing in on his view, Financial Analyst, Tom Sanzillo said he believes the government's plan for the oil revenue is to utilizethefundstoremaininoffice.

Sanzillo reasoned, “The budget of Guyana is about US$3.6 billion about a billion of that came from oil this year The budget's doubled in the last two years from just under two billion and what you have is

large expenditures on capital and the idea that there is no plan, well there is a plan. It's very clear there is no plan to put the money away in a sovereign wealth fund like Norway, there is only an annual budget process and that annual budget process includes the oil revenues that come in and local leaders choose how that money gets spent every year and they have been spendingitsofaroncapitalexpendituresand that is not going to support the kind of economic development in poorer communitiesthatyouwant.”

According to the International Financial Expert, while the construction of new roads and a gas plant is high on government's agenda, this may very well be to Exxon's benefit rather than the poor citizens in the country To this end, he posited, “So what you have is a plan and the plan is to use the moneytokeeptheexistingpoliticalstructure inpowerandthat'swhatgonnabedone.”

Education is in a deep crisis

We hear a lot a b o u t ‘transformati on’ – almost every development these days in Guyanaissaidtobepartofa process of transformation. Evenintheeducationsector, wehearaboutthebuildingof schools contributing to the transformationoflearning.

Yet,therealitywithinthe education sector is that progress has been slothful andincrementalatbest,with gains often followed by remissions. This year has beennoexception.The2023 National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) results haveagainbeenpresentedas leading to some marginal improvements in some subjectareasbutadeclinein SocialStudies.

Each year, there is a ceremony hosted to announce the topperformers at the NGSA. But each year, the announcement of these results obscures the crisis which exists in public education, a crisis that goes beyond performance at the NGSA.Todate,weareyetto learnjustwhatpercentageof students failedto score 50% of more overall – in other words what percentage of students failed the examinations. What we do know for sure is that there still remains a considerable gapinperformancebetween students in the hinterland and those in the rest of the country

But this year, we have been regaled with a most interesting explanation for this development. We have been told that the hinterland has the lowest number of trained teachers. As such, it has been concluded that there is a correlation between the percentage of trained teachers and the underperformance of hinterlandstudents.

Correlation,however,is not causation. It is highly improbable that the low number of trained teachers alone has contributed to hinterland students underperforming at the NGSA.

If problems with trained teachersarecorrelatedtothe underperformance of hinterland students, then the governmentoughttobeless enthusiastic about the building of secondary schools in hinterland areas. Just recently, the government was hyping its plans for theconstructionof the first ever secondary school at Kwebanna in Region1.

Thegovernmentoughtto be ashamed that it has taken somanyyearsforthisareato haveasecondaryschool.But what is the use of having a secondary school in this area, equipped with l a b o r a t o r i e s a n d dormitories,ifthereisonlya limited number of trained teachers to educate the students.

Previous interventions

Dem boys seh...

made by the Ministry of Education to address the underperformance of hinterland education were more focused on other factors. There therefore seemstobedisjointbetween the emphasis in the government’s interventions and the need to ensure more trainedhinterlandteachers.

For example, the governmentincollaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank has developed a Support for Educational Recovery and Transformation Project That project has 3 components that are concernedfirstwithbuilding newschools(infrastructure); second, providing essential services to these schools such as electricity, connectivity and water; and thethirdcomponentisabout improving the Ministry of E d u c a t i o n ’s d a t a managementsystems.

This US$43M project has a greater focus on stemming overcrowding in hinterland schools, rather than increasing the number of trained hinterland teachers.

Oneoftheobjectivesof the Education Sector Plan 2021-2025 is to reduce inequitiesineducation.That plan had noted that more than 50% of students do not pass the NGSA. But that Plan had also confessed that Guyana has been unable to doanin-depthanalysisofthe factors which affect

Guyana’s educational system - Where Parades Trump Progress

IfyuhthoughtGuyana’s education system was a well-oiled machine, think again! We’ve got ourselves arealshowwithpomp.

Wedoescallitdegrand annual parade of the top students! Meanwhile, the rest of the poor souls are shuffled to the shadows, hidden away like secrets in apolitician’sbankaccount.

It’s like a twisted game where de brightest minds are paraded around town like prized cattle. Who needs genuine progress when yuh can have a fancy spectacleinstead?Afterall, if we can’t solve the education crisis, we might as well distract everyone w i t h p o m p a n d circumstance.

Last week, we had we fancyparade,allindename of celebrating the cream of

the crop. The media was there, cameras flashing, capturing every moment of the show Meanwhile, the struggling students are pushedaside,lefttowallow in the dark corners of the educationsystem,forgotten and ignored. They’re like the proverbial elephant in theroom.

We were treated to interviews with the crème of de crop and speeches from the educational authorities.

D e n e w s p a p e r s publishedtheimagesofthe highflyers.

One school was even euphoric with teachers celebrating the singular successofastudentwhogot into Queen’s College. But, whatoftheotherstudents?

It’s all a symphony of self-congratulation,agrand

students’ performance It appears however that such an analysis has now been done and that the principal factor is teacher training. HowelsewouldtheMinistry be claiming a correlation betweenteachertrainingand hinterlandperformance?

Toitscredit,theMinistry has however been emphasizing efforts at improving the training of hinterland teachers. And it has also announced plans to trytoattractgreaternumbers of trained teachers in the system. But this is a case of toolittleandmuchtoolate. The government needs toceaseanapproachthathas yielded at best intermittent incremental improvements in educational performance.

This approach is hampering education in the entire country, not only in the hinterland.

Itmayhaveescapedthe noticeoftheMinisterthatof thetop1%ofstudentsatthe 2023 NGSA, the number of places assigned to students who received education at privateschools.

This represents a vote of no-confidence in the public educationsystemandshould beasourceofconcernforthe Minister Thetimehascome foradeclarationofastateof emergency in public education Unless this happensallthatwilloccuris that each year, we will hear announcements of incremental improvements followed the next year by

slippages.

Nothing would change and what we would have developed is a system in which those who can afford private education would do wellwhilethosewhocannot would have to subsist on a substandardeducation.

D i s c l a i m e r : T h e opinions expressed in this column are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or viewsofKaieteurNews.

orchestra of delusion Meanwhile, the problems plaguing our education systemarelefttofesterlike arottentomato.

The top students becomesymbolsofsuccess, while the struggling ones become invisible casualties ofabrokensystem.Buthey, who needs equity and fairnesswhenyoucanhave aflashyparade,right?

If we truly want to address the crisis in our education system, we need more than parades and emptyaccolades.

We need real reform, genuine investment, and a commitment to nurturing everystudent,regardlessof theiracademicprowess.We need to shine a light on the challenges, not just sweep them under the proverbial academicrug.

GHK LALL

TheRaphaelTrotmanpapersrevelations

Raphael Trotman has written. He has spoken. It is both a mouthful and a full book. It is good that he has broken the deafening silence. Air passages need to be cleared; ear canals would benefit from some cleaning, too. First, the reactions, then my own take on this public ventilating into the jagged shoals of Guyana. If Guyana was on steroids before, oil converted all Guyanese (vaccinated) into first-rate downhill skiers. Guyanese race ahead on steroids, boosted by crack, reinforced by100-proofhighwine.

Some Guyanese think Mr Trotman is shameless. Others see only that he wiggles out of any role and responsibility Still more conclude that he sold himself and shafted us to the end of time. Hemustfacethenation some more, in person, and take his licks. To beat him into a pulp, then sawdust, smartly serves the PPP Government's interests: keep the lasers on him, incite the

scalpels to slash. These contribute powerfully to channel any energy or fury at the inaction of the judicious Dr Jagdeo and the absentee ProfessorAliforanyholdups with doing right by Guyana. Though Guyana is subject to continuous holdups by an unmasked Exxon, the idea is to pummel Mr Trotman, never let him off the hook, or to forget what he did. First, bludgeonhishead,scalphim, and then give him his head to remindhimofhisfailures. It has been that kind of feeding frenzy with the water stormy and bloody The sharks circle.

Quickly, when I say Professor Ali, I convey what is seen. His Excellency makes the rounds, has now all but relinquished the fake, meaningless presidency that he symbolizes. Like Dr. Henry Kissinger, he a Harvard man and all, Dr. Ali is on his own lecture tour. I wonder what kind of academic man our own mental and presidential maestro is introduced as.

Regardless of what anyone thinks of Professor Ali's new calling and adventures, he has seen the fate of Mr Trotman and, like the calypsonian, he ain't ridin on that; not on that collapsible Great Adventure spinning wheel.

For me, the pages of the Raphael Trotman Papers confirm many things. The existential Venezuelan threat; the American Big Stick; the 2% guarantee that is 100% strong; the royalty and tax dollars, plus much more, surrendered for the insurance guarantee that Exxon gave from the inception. It has something and nothing to do with the e n v i r o n m e n t T h e somethingisthis:don'tworry about Venezuela or the Dutch. Itisconspicuoushow the former whistles in the wind, and waves sabers, but prefers conducting a phony war against Guyana using more nuanced presences in the city, power at the border, plants in remote and city communities. In a sense,

Guyana had parent company guarantee before it knew that it did, but not of the kind clamoredfornow Itwasone thatfusedmorethanoilsuper majorstoGuyana;ittiedusto a superpower Go on, wanna fight now? I still say that we payasteepprice. Toosteep.

As I commend Mr Trotman for his courage in coming out of the cloisters, I note that he spoke of a senior oil official coming here and things coming to a head, which made it absolutely necessary that the deal be sealed immediately The foreign visitor laid card on the table: we pullout and not even God will help Guyana. Things can be arranged over there. Then, the oil was proven, known. Who was going to hold back whom? Or who instigates whom? I believe corporate blackmail wasinvolvedinincentivizing things rapidly along. Move they did, with Mr. Trotman signing on the line. Now his head is on the line, with remorseless,unrelentingfire. Moreover, when he signed, it

couldn't be the a c t i o n o f a maverick or rogue minister Though cabinet deliberations are stamped secret, its members were in the debate circle. It would help enormously for former President Granger to step forward and assert that he wasfullyinformedeachstep, andthatheparticipatedinthe decision-making process, was the final decision maker Similarly, a word from a cabinet colleague, or several, would either uphold or underminewhatMr Trotman putintothepublicdomain.

Considering what he has said, I support. It makes no sense for Mr Trotman to venture unilaterally, and tie this country totally to that 2016 contract. There is neither good reason nor any irrefutable logic for the former coalition to stand quietly and allow itself to be battered senseless for the one-sidedcontract,ifwasthe sole handwork of Mr

Raphael G.C. Trotman, and not one soul more. It would be the honourable thing for former President Granger and the cohort of former ministers to stand before Guyanese and confirm their involvement.

Though costly mistakes were made in the crucible of circumstances, many lessons werelearned. Theyaretothe benefit of all Guyana, most presently the PPP It is my beliefthatExxondidnotdeal honourably with Guyana Weknowwhatwehavetodo. The question is whether we have the fortitude and fearlessness and fullness of manhoodtodoso.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of Kaieteur News.

Two more policemen added to list as Force honour fallen heroes

The names of two policemen were engraved this year on the Monument for Fallen heroes, as the Guyana Police Force (GPF) honoured their fallen heroes with a wreath laying ceremony on Sunday in its Officers' Mess Hall compound at Eve Leary, Georgetown.

S p e a k i n g a t t h e ceremony, Home Affairs Minister, Robeson Benn said “I noted that for this year so far two police persons were added to the number and this ceremony, this remembrance is fresh again in our minds with respect to those fallen in thelineofduty”

One of those individuals who tragically lost their lives inthelineofdutythisyearisa 31-year-old detective, C o r p o r a l D w a y n e McPherson. McPherson was shot dead along with a civilian during the wee hours of New Year's Day, while responding to a report of an incident at Grove Huntley, Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara(ECD).

T h e s h o o t e r w a s reportedly McPherson's colleague, who is currently before the court facing two counts of a manslaughter charge.

Another cop identified as

Corporal Alden Reynolds, 40, was killed on “Mash Day” (February 23) after a drunkdrivercrashedintohim and a colleague while they were standing next to a parked car along the Heathburn Public Road, East BankBerbice(EBB),Region Six”.

Their tragic deaths have taken the number of policemenkilledinthelineof dutyoverthedecadesto67.

MinisterBennsaidthatas he counted the numbers his fingers shook as he came to theend.

“…Myfingersshookasit came towards the end and it

identified clearly for me the impact, the level of sacrifice which has been made and which continues to be made by the Guyana Police Force by its men and women over the years to preserve peace in our country”,Benn said.

M e a n w h i l e Commissioner of Police Clifton Hicken, in his speech told the audience that “the PoliceForceispayingtribute to the men and women in uniformwhohavegiventheir lives to this nation” and explained that becoming a policeofficerisnoeasytask.

He said that police ranks

are frequently exposed to life threatening situations and added, “Therefore, it should be recognized that being enlisted in the Guyana Police Force as an officer is not without its challenges” Hicken detailed that it takes commitment.

“We must be able to maintain mental and moral strength to resist opposition and fairness of mind to protect the nation in the line of duty and we must stand by our fellow police officers in the face of danger”, the Top Copcontinued.

It is on that account, related Hicken that the F o r c e c o n t i n u e s t o support fallen ranks through its Fallen Heroes Foundation Inc - a foundation that provides

welfare

assistance to the immediate relativesoffallenranks.

According to the Top Cop, from 2022 to date, the GPF has provided 1200 counselling sessions to families of police officers killedinthelineofdutyalong with financial assistance and educational assistance to their children under the age of18.

ThePoliceForcehaspaid f o r a n d a r r a n g e d approximately 28 funerals from2022todate.

However, noted the Top Cop, it is just a “needle in the haystack” when compared thesacrificefallenrankshave madefortheircountry

Chairman of the Fallen Heroes foundation, Bishop Raphael Massiah, also spoke

at ceremony and he told the ranks present that their monthly contribution of only $100 goes a long way in helping the families of fallen heroes.

“ T h r o u g h y o u r volunteerism, you make an insignificant contribution of $100permonthandwhenwe put that together, we are able to achieve resources so that wecanintegrallybeinvolved in the lives of those officers and their children”, Massiah said.

Honouring the fallen heroes is part of the activities planned to commemorate the h Police Force's 184 anniversary nd This the 22 annual wreath laying ceremony held by the Guyana Police Force (GPF).

Rupununicowboyshot deadatAishaltonranch

The lifeless body of a 27-year-old man was found with a gunshot wound to the head on Sunday morning at a ranch outside AishaltonintheDeepSouthRupununi

Dead is Lewis (only name given), a vaquero (or ranch hand) who lived at the South Central Rupununi village called Parikowaro. The shooting took place at a privateranchwhichissituatedsome10miles northwest of Aishalton. Reports are that the manwasshotexecutionstyletotheforehead.

A police source noted that the man's employer showed up at the Aishalton Police Station on Sunday morning to report that Lewis was shot dead. Residents suspect the man's employer had shot him since the two weretheonlyonesattheranch.

OthersourcesatAishaltonrelatedthatthe shooting may have stemmed from the young man making demands for his salary from his boss. The man had allegedly threatened to shoot another ranch hand who worked with him prior to Lewis. That man was threatened bytheaccusedwithagunduringanargument.

Dead: Lewis (only name given)

A resident of Aishalton said the assailant has a history of threatening to shoot villagers includinghispartners. Policeareinvestigatingtheincident.

Commissioner of Police, Clifton Hicken preparing to lay his wreath

Home Affairs Minister, Robeson Benn paying his tribut to the fallen heroes on Sunday

Chairman of the Fallen Heroes Foundation: Raphael Massiah

Canal Bank, Annibisi in Region One benefitting from R significant financial investments

The village of Canal Bank and its sub-village Annibisi in the Port Kaituma Neighbourhood Democratic Council(NDC),RegionOne, have benefitted from significant financial i n v e s t m e n t s b y t h e government.

Over $48 million has been pumped into Canal B a n k t o a d v a n c e developmental projects through various programmes rolled out by the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs from August2020todate.

These include the Presidential Grants, the Community Development Project (CDP) investment fund, and resources from the

sale of Guyana's carbon credits.

“It's up to Canal Bank to utilise the monies that our government is investing in your village or community to thebestofyourability,sothat everyone can see the successes of the project including benefit from the project.And you can only do so by cooperating with the leadership that you elected,”

Minister Pauline Sukhai explained Saturday, during a community meeting at the CanalBankPrimarySchool.

Some $24 million has been earmarked for Canal Bank from the money earned through the sale of Guyana's carboncredit.

“You can start drawing

Motorcyclist killed after riding into oncoming traffic

downthatmoneyforprojects toenhanceyourcommunity,” theministeradded.

Additionally, the subvillage, Annibisi benefitted from $21 million in financial investments and support from the government including $10 million from thecarboncreditfunds.

An outboard engine was also handed over to Chairman of the Canal Bank CDC, Stephan Henry and Vice Chairman, Victor D'Oliveira,whichwillensure the needs of Annibisi residentsaremet.

Additionally, a wooden boat was commissioned by the minister, through a community project funded by the government's

The boat procured utilising funds from the ministry's Presidential Grant programme

P r e s i d e n t i a l G r a n t Programme.

Also present at the engagement were Regional

Chairman, Brentnol Ashley, Regional Executive Officer, Tikaram Bisesar, Project Coordinator at the ministry,

Besham Ramsaywack and PortKaituma'snewlyelected Chairman, Keith Parker, amongothers.(DPI)

Govt. implements policy that

trained

In keeping with its objectivetohave100 percent teachers trained or in training before the end of their term, Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, last week d i s c l o s e d t h a t t h e G o v e r n m e n t h a s implemented a policy that mandates that all teachers be trained.

Last Friday, at the announcement of the 2023 National Grade Six Assessment(NGSA)results, Minister Manickchand, explained that the hinterland region has the lowest numberoftrainedteachers.

existing in the education system: those who are eligible for admission at CPCEandthosewhoarenot. The latter group, she said will be upgraded, so that they can enter the college programme.

It supports the aim of ensuring all educators are aptly trained in education delivery

According to police, the accident took place around 20:45hrs. The driver of the car said that McGarrell crashed into him and alleged thathewasdrivingeastalong the northern side of the public road while the victim was riding in the opposite direction with no headlights on.The man continued his allegations that as they

at McGarrell ended-up his the car pole the up and The driver toowasremovedfromhiscar inaconsciousstateandtaken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). McGarrell later diedwhilereceivingmedical attention while the driver remains hospitalized with a fractured right hand and injuriestohisbody Investigations are ongoing.

She highlighted that some teachers in the classroom are currently untrained, since they did not attend the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE).

Minister Manickchand noted that while the government has expanded the training college to accommodate more teachers in training, they have also putinplaceapolicy

“A policy that will get some push back and I'll tell you what that is, if you are teaching, you have to go and get trained, have to get trained.

And there are teachers, who are teaching but are not trained, and they may not like that but we have to do what's in the best interest of children,”theministersaid.

The minister had explained before that they are two categories of untrained teachers currently

“There are teachers who are in the system right now that are untrained and we have said to every teacher who is presently teaching in the classroom right now untrained, that each teacher needs to be trained…Our aim is that before the end of this first term is to have 100 percent trained teachers in the classroom, either trained orintraining.

Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand

Wedonotanymorewant to be at a place in Guyana where we're stagnated at 70

percent of our teachers trained,”saidtheMinister

Dead motorcyclist, Joe McGarrell

all teachers must be

The Rotary Club of New Amsterdam installs new Board of Directors for 2023 -2024

By: SamuelWhyte

The Rotary Club of New Amsterdam (RCNA) has installed its new board of directors for the year2023-2024.

The new president is Businessman and Civil Engineer Mr RaffickKassim.

The installation ceremony was held at Club Eclipse in New Amsterdam,Berbice.

KassimtakesoverfromTajpaul Adjodhea, Manager of the Hand In Hand Insurance Berbice Branch. Adjodhea will now serve as the ImmediatePastPresident.

Other members of the leadership team are President-elect Keine Read, Vice President Waynewright McIntosh, Secretary Charlyn Artiga, Treasurer Chris Hicks; Director of Club

Administration Jerry Outar, Director of Service Projects Keine Read, Director of Membership Navin Hansraj, Director of Foundation Services Tajpaul Adjodhea, Director of New Generation Service Keshia Da Costa.

The Public Image Chair is Roger Greenidge Empowering Girls Club Champion is Angilla Sattar while Diversity Equity Inclusion Champion is Charlyn Artiga.

The Sergeant at Arms is Nolan France.

Adjodhea who served for the

year 2022-2023, thanke everyone who supported him during his tenure reiterating that Rotary's mandate is to servehumanity

A n u m b e r o f achievements of the Club during the foregoing year were highlighted and includes: the beautification of the Good Samaritan Home in New Amsterdam; organizing funding raisi activities and a four-mile walk support of persons affected Polio; the continued restoration and beautification of the Esplanade Park; completing another Public School Clean Water Initiative with Tutorial Academy Secondary School being the beneficiary; organizing Childhood Obesity Prevention Programmes; presenting a number

of bicycles to outstanding children at a Children Christmas Party at Sand Hills, Berbice River; hosting of the World P e a c e a n d Understanding Dinner; and the commissioning of a Reading Canopy at the New Amsterdam Library Adjodhea lauded he contributions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-daySaintswhichassisted club in to finance a number of projects. During the year, four new Rotarians joined the club.

Kassim in his acceptance speech expressed gratitude to the members for electing him and pledged to do his best during his term in office. He led the club in

paying tribute to a number of long serving members and those before whohelpedtheclubtobewhereitis today He charged the new members to emulate those contributions.

He indicated that he would like to see Rotarians involved in more projects and stated that for the club tomakemoreheadwaythePartners in Service (PIS) must play an essential role. He intoned that the RCNA is now rated as one of the top clubs in Guyana in terms of fellowship.

The RCNA will be looking to collaborate with others stakeholders and partners as they seek to build on the Rotary International's theme for 20232024 which speaks to “Creating HopeintheWorld.”

360 Lindeners employed on Linden-Mabura Hill road project

DPI - More than 360 Lindeners are currently employed on the Linden to Mabura Hill Road Project, Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill disclosed on Fridayafternoon.

He said the number is expected to increase to about 600 in the coming months, as the contractors gear up to expedite work on the significantproject.

“This is in keeping with the promisewemadewhenwesigned and launched this project,” the minister underscored, when he inspected the project's ongoing works.

Minister Edghill met with the Brazilian contractor, Constructora Queiroz S A, and discussed measures to expedite the progress oftheroad.

Advancing the construction process

Thecontractorswereinstructed toadjusttheirworkplantoreflecta February 2025 completion date for substantial work, ahead of the contractedJune2025mark.

This is to allow for the successful completion of the grunt work, leaving ample time to completethefinaltouches.

“We have just finished one year into this project, and the Government of Guyana wants to be assured that we will have this project delivered within the timeline,” Minister Edghill

stressed.

He highlighted that one issue affectingtheprogressoftheproject isthemethodologyofpreparingthe subbase(acement-stabilisedbase), which requires agreeable weather forcompletion.

“There is a proposal, and a methodology that has been examined by the supervisory consultants, which may see some changes, by way of value engineering, where we could get the same structural number and the same strength of road, but using another methodology so that even if the rain falls, we will not lose the time that we are using, and that is the use of lime and limestone,” the minister

explained. He said this procedure is awaiting the no-objection from the Caribbean Development Bank.

“The issue of time management, and putting in more teams is one that we have discussed. We are looking for substantial completion by February 2025, and when we

talk about substantial completion and construction, we mean between 90 and 95 per centcompletion,mostofthebig, civil extensive work,” the Public WorksMinisterunderscored.

He added that the government anticipatesthecompletionof10km of road by September, and that his ministryintendstoholdcontractors accountable to the standard of completing a minimum of five km ofroadpermonth.

A contract was signed in December 2020 between the government, the Caribbean DevelopmentBank(CDB),andthe United Kingdom Government to fund the US$190 million project. Theroadwillbeapproximately121 kilometres long and 7.2 metres wide.

Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill, engaging contractors on the site of the Linden-Mabura Hill Road project

Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill, inspected ongoing works on the Linden to Mabura Hill Road project

Mr. Raffick Kassim center along with members of the Rotary Club of New Amsterdam

$50M budgeted to begin ‘breeder programme’ to produce hatching eggs

As government

advances its e f f o r t s t o establish a productive hatching egg industry to support the nation's already expanding poultry sector, some$50millionhasbeenset asidefortheprojectthisyear

This was disclosed by Minister of Agriculture, ZulfikarMustapha,duringthe G u y a n a L i v e s t o c k Development Authority's (GLDA) poultry symposium, at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Friday last.

“Wehave$50millionthat has been budgeted to start the breeder programme, so that we can produce our own hatching eggs, so that we can bring down the cost of hatching eggs, rather than importing it into the country, wecanproduceitrightherein Guyana,”theministerstated.

Guyana currently spends about $350 million importing 52millioneggsperyear

However, the Dr

Mohamed Irfaan Ali–led Administration has embarked on and executed various programmes to ramp up food production nationwide, specifically in the poultry sector, in keeping with the county's aggressive food securityagenda.

– Min. Mustapha

This year, the government will be investing in a broiler breeder facility which will reduce the dependency on the importationofhatchingeggs.

“The government has been providing incentives in priority areas of agroprocessing, coconut, corn and soya beans, beef, and more importantly, poultry production. We are looking forward to being a net e x p o r t e r i n p o u l t r y production, ” Minister

Mustaphaadded.

To produce corn and soya for the manufacturing of feed to support the sector, the government has begun

collaborating with several poultry producers in consortiums.

The agriculture minister pointed out that these visionaryinitiativeswhichare transformative will help to propeltheeconomy

In March 2022, President Ali made it clear that his government will work with communities like St Cuthbert's Mission to be part of the massive hatching eggs project.

This, he said, will ensure there is sustainable production locally and eventually for the export market.(DPI)

Hatching eggs facility

Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha

War in Ukraine: Biden flies to UK amid concern over cluster bombs

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(BBC) - US President Joe Biden is heading to Europe ahead of a Nato summit after several allies questioned his decision to send cluster bombs to Ukraine.

tion, while requesting a “signal” that his country will be able to join the alliance when the war is over. He is expected to attend this week’s summit.

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The UK and Canada are among those who voiced concern about supplying the bombs, which are widely banned because of the danger they pose to civilians.

The US says they are needed because Ukraine’s weapon stocks are dwindling.

Mr Biden will arrive first in the UK, on Sunday evening, before heading to Lithuania for this week’s Nato summit.

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On Monday, he will meet British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to discuss various issues, including the war in Ukraine. He will also meet King Charles for the first time since the King was crowned.

Members of Nato - a military alliance of 31 Western nations - will then meet in Vilnius on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Finland will attend its first summit since joining in April. Plans from Sweden to follow suit have been blocked by Turkey, which accuses it of harbouring terrorists.

President Biden may not have intended to cause offence by skipping King Charles’ coronation in May, but his absence was noted. Then there is the business over who should be the next secretary general of Nato. The UK and the Baltic states favoured the British Defence Secretary, Ben Wallace, who has been instrumental in galvanising Western support for Ukraine.

But without US backing, that’s a non-starterand Mr Biden instead appears to favour the former German defence minister and European Commission head, Ursula von der Leyen.

And there is also the row over cluster bombs.

The UK is among 123 nations to ban these weapons which can cause indiscriminate harm to civilians.

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Mr Biden is expected to seek further support from Mr Sunak to help broker a deal with Turkey. The matter is also expected to be on Nato’s agenda in Lithuania - along with boosting ammunition stockpiles and reviewing defence plans.

Ukraine harbours its own ambitions of joining Nato. But speaking to CNN before his trip, Mr Biden said this could not happen until the war was over - in line with the alliance’s long-standing policy.

Citing Nato’s mutual defence pact, Mr Biden pointed out that members undertake to protect “every inch” of each other’s territory - meaning that “if the war is going on, then we’re all in war”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has previously accepted this posi-

But the US is going ahead, in the heat of international criticism, in supplying them to Ukraine as its forces struggle to break through Russia’s defences in the south of Ukraine.

But Mr Biden’s stopover in Britain is so brief that any cracks in the transatlantic alliance are likely to be smoothed over by warm handshakes and ample protocol.

On Friday, the US confirmed it was complying with a Ukrainian request to send cluster bombs - and was doing so as part of a military aid package worth $800m (£626m).

Mr Biden told CNN it had been a “very difficult decision” but that he had eventually acted because “the Ukrainians are running out of ammunition”.

But a number of Nato allies quickly distanced themselves from the decision.

US President Joe Biden is escorted to Air Force One, before departing for Britain

Defending champs Kwakwani to play

President’s College A for EMNSBF Girls title

Defending champs Kwakwani to play President’s College A for EMNSBF Girls title

Defending champi

ons Kwakwani

Secondary will play President’s College A for the Exxon Mobil National Schools Basketball Festival (EMNSBF) Girls Championship. The Girls’ Finals will be contested on Sunday, July 16, along with the U18 Boys’ Finals.

Kwakwani Secondary held Marian Academy to a scoreless 56 points to 0 points win.

Leading Kwakwani were: Deandra Hodge

14 points, 7 rebounds, Lanesha Mohammed 12 points, 6 rebounds, Malia Samuels, Sherel Leacock, and Rihanna Archer each scored 8 points.

In the second game of the night President’s College A defeated President’s College B 14 points to 3.

For the PC A team, Akeela Campbell had 6 points, 4 rebounds, 5 steals and Chrisleyann Richards 6 points, 6 rebounds. A keen contest is anticipated.

Monday July 10, 2023

ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19)

Your immediate goals and wishes might suddenly appear to come together today, seemingly of their own accord. This might be strange, Aries, and perhaps a bit frightening.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20)

If you've been working toward manifesting extra money in your life, Taurus, you will probably see it happen today. Copious physical and emotional energy.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20)

Obstacles that you encountered in attaining your cherished goals could suddenly seem to melt away, clearing the way to make your dreams come true, Gemini.

CANCER (June 21–July 22)

A lot of activity could occur at home today, Cancer. Perhaps you will have visitors or do some work on the house.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22)

Whatever goals you've been trying to reach may finally become reality today, Leo. Finalizing everything could involve a lot of running around in the car and meeting with other people.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Se pt. 22)

Events over which you seem to have no control seem to be coming together to make things happen for you, Virgo. You might find this a bit frightening, but don't let it get to you.

Victoria Kings draw...

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22)

Your energy is probably high today, almost to the point where you feel you might be able to run a marathon! Seriously, Libra, you're probably thinking in terms of getting out of town for a while.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21)

Your inner power is probably at an all-time high, Scorpio. You should be feeling especially confident. You're likely to have a stronger influence on others than usual.

SAGIT (Nov.22–Dec.21)

Some fascinating conversations with friends, relatives, and others close to you could take place today, bringing new ideas your way, Sagittarius.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) The Your career and financial goals should be within your grasp, Capricorn. Both your physical energy and inner power are operating at their peak, making this an ideal day to make clear plans.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18)

Today you're likely to feel like the powerful creature you are, Aquarius. Your physical energy is high, and you look and feel great. Your intellect is sharp.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20)

Your intuition should be very high right now, Pisces, as is your power of manifestation. Today you need to try to curb your thoughts and only think beautiful things.

From page 21 Kings FC scored a remarkable equalizer in the 93rd minute (three minutes into stoppage time), leaving the outcome in suspense. Milerock FC made a few unsuccessful attempts at goal in the latter stages, but time ran out as the referee blew the final whistle, signaling the end of the match with the score tied at 1-1.

Action continues on Tuesday at the same venue.

GFF’s 2nd tier Leaguesas...

From page 21

Escobar brothers gave Vengy their 2nd win from as many games as they humbled Camptown FC 2-0 In a heated game. Elder brother Carlos netted the opener in the 80th minute and 6 minutes later David sealed the 3 points that pushed them to the top of the table with Beacons.

The GFA’s 9-team competition continued yesterday at GFC ground with a triple-header. Eastveldt met Order and Discipline, Pele FC faced Black Pearl and Beacons FC took on Riddim Squad.

Last Friday also saw action in the Bartica FA’s competition where only 1 game was possible after heavy rains brought a premature end to the night without Wolves United and Lazio taking the field.

CUP holders Rivers View made it 2 wins from 2 games as they o vercame Potato Strikers 2-1. A 2nd double in as many games by Andrew Simmons (17' and 87') clinched the win while Daniel Gardener converted for Strikers in the 37rh minute.

Defending champion Kwakwani Secondary.

RHTYSC Cricket teams hosts annual Basil Butcher Trust Fund programme

The cricket teams of the Rose Hall Town Youth and SportsClublastweekstarted to host activities under the annual Basil Butcher Memorial Trust Fund programme.

The teams under the Trust Fund would host several activities in memory of the late West Indies

batting legend, who, died in 2019attheageof86years.

The teams - Rose Hall Poonai Pharmacy Under13, Farfan and Mendes Under15,BakewellUnder17 and Second Division, Pepsi Under19 and Intermediate, Metro Females, Namilco Under21 and First Division, donated to several organisations during the

week. The Rose Hall Town Nursery School received trophies, certificates frames and medals for their annual graduationceremony

The teams also donated sixhonourboardstoschools in the area between Rose HallTownandPortMourant. The schools receiving the honour boards were Port Mourant Primary, Rose Hall Town Primary School, L o w e r C o r e n t y n e Secondary, Port Mourant Secondary, JC Chandisingh a n d C o r e n t y n e

ComprehensiveSecondary.

The aim objective of the BasilButcherHonourBoard wouldbetohighlightthetop student of the different school at the CSEC and National Grade Six Examinations.

R H T Y S C Secretary/CEO Hilbert Foster stated that it is important for role model students be promoted that others would be inspired to followintheirfootsteps.

The RHTYSC, he noted isdeterminedtopromotethe importance of education to all youths in the county of Berbice.

The Cricket Teams also donated five special gifts alongwithcertificatesframe

andmedalstotheMayorand Town Council of Rose Hall Town.

The council would use the donated items to host a special award ceremony to honour the outstanding workersinthecouncilunder the annual RHTYSC tribute to Municipality Workers Programme.

The club and council have enjoyed a very close and cordial relationship under the tenure of Mayor DaveBudhu.

Fosterstatedthattheclub has been sponsoring the programme for four years now and would continue to dosointhefuture.

Oneworkerfromeachof the council’s departments wouldbehonoured-finance, market, security, works and administration.

The club would also

shortly undertake repairs to theAreaHGroundunderthe Tr u s t F u n d Wi t h sponsorship of Pathera Solutions, the front internal fence would be repaired to prevent animals’ access to the ground, while West Indies white ball allronder Kevin Sinclair would assist the club to repair the main pavilionattheground.

Thevenuehassince1995 produced a total of one hundred and twenty players for Berbice, Guyana and the WestIndies.

The players include: Kevin Sinclair, Kelvon Anderson, Assad Fudadin, Clinton Pestano, Junior Sinclair, Shemaine Campbelle,ShakabiGajnabi and Sheneta Grimmond

Numerous youths over the next few weeks would also receive bicycles and

electronic tablets under the trust fund. The club would also honour outstanding performers at the National GradeSixexams.

The RHTYSC Secretary stated that the teams was happy to honour Basil Butcher because he was a true friend of Guyana’s leading youth and sports club and also a role model/mentortoalltheclub members.

Butcher played 44 test matches for theWest Indies, scoring 3109 runs at an impressive average of 43.11 with seven centuries and sixteen half centuries. He also served as a selector at the national and regional levelafterheretiredin1969. He was the fourth Berbician to play Test Cricket after John Trim, Rohan Kanhai andIvanMadray

Matthews Magic as West Indies sweep T20I series

GROS ISLET, St. Lucia- Hayley Matthews produced a spell of magic with bat and ball to lead the West IndiesWomen to an 8wicket win over Ireland Women in the third T20 international to clean sweep the series 3-0 at the Daren SammyCricketGround.

Batting first, Ireland looked intent on posting their highest total of the series, with beautiful stroke play from Amy Hunter and OrlaPrendergast.

The pair shared in a 66run partnership for the second wicket when Hunter was runout for 44 off a deflection of Ashmini Munisar’s fingers Prendergast was caught in thedeepbyShabikaGajnabi off the bowling of Afy Fletcherfor40.

Rain interrupted Ireland’s innings twice beforetheyfinishedon116/9 from their 20 overs. Hayley Matthews saved her best bowling performance of the

series for her final over, when her off-spin ripped through the wickets of Rebecca Stokell 0, Arlene Kelly 0 andAva Canning 0, becoming the third West Indies Women’s player to take a T20I hat-trick, she finished with figures of 4-014-4, Cherry-Ann Fraser chippedinwith3-0-19-2.

Djenaba Joseph was caught behind for 2 in the second over, then Matthews and Aaliyah Alleyne took over the runchase The pair smashed 12 boundaries between them as they raced to the 117-run target Matthews going for her second consecutive half-century was bowled by Georgina Dempsey for 48 off 34 deliveries

Chinelle Henry joined Alleyneinthemiddleandthe pair took the West Indies Women to victory in 18.1 overs.AllyeneandHenryon 49 and 13 not out respectively,astheyfinished

on 120/2 when victory was achieved.

S k i p p e r H a y l e y Matthews was Player of the Match and Player of the Series finishing with a tally of8wicketsand135runsfor theseries.

Speaking with CWI Media after, Matthews said “I am pretty pleased Coming into the series, anytime I put on my West Indies shirt I try to go out there and do really well, whether that be batting, bowling or fielding I’m just happy I was able to contributetotheteamwin It was great to see some of the younger players getting the opportunity thisseriesandcominginto their own We’ve had debutant players perform reallywell

We’ve had Chinelle Henry get her maiden ODI half-century then back it up with a second one (in the series), then two not outs in theT20series.”

Matthews added, “I just want to thank all the girls who have supported me

since I’ve become captain. Thankyouforbackingmeup out on the field, we have

I look forward

their support.”

Haley Matthews bats during the innings. (CWI)

Ryan Kissoonlall hands over donated items to Rose Hall Town Clerk Natasha Griffith.

RHTYSC Secretary Hilbert Foster hands over the Basil Butcher Honour Roll Board to CCHS Head Teacher Nirmala Hussain.

Arjoon and Fernandes walk away with top honours on final day of Seniorʼs Squash c/ship

The exhilarating conclusion of the 2023 Guinness Senior’s Squash Championshiptookplaceon Saturday at the Georgetown Club Courts (GTC). The Women’s draw saw the remarkable Nicolette Fernandes, a prominent female squash player; emerge as the champion after a thrilling three-game encounter with Caribbean squashqueenAshleyKhalil. The Men’s draw saw Alex Arjoon conquering Shomari WiltshiretosecuretheMen’s title As Joseph ‘Jojo’ Mekdeci dominated the Men’s Veteran Over-50 category, defeating Brian Yong in a commanding 3-0 victory, while, Regan P o l l a r d s m o o t h l y outperformed Jerazeno Bell in the Men’s Over-40 category and Lydia Fraser reigned supreme in the Women’sVeteransdivision.

Several highlights unfolded on the final day of the senior’s championship.

In the Men’s National draw, Deje Dias triumphed over Jonathan Antczak with a scoreof11-5,11-7,and11-4. Brian Edwards fell short against Dennis Dias, losing three games to nil. Mohryan

Bakshdeliveredanexcellent performance and emerged victorious against Louis Da Silva Reagan Rodrigues outmatched Just Ten Pow, while Nicholas Verwey secured a well-deserved victory over Steven Xavier, rallyingbackafterlosingthe first match 8-11. Nicholas claimedthelastthreegames with scores of 11-7, 11-7, and 11-9. The intense clash between Peter de Groot and

Jason van Djik concluded witha7-11,11-6,11-1,11-7 victory for de Groot, who displayed a spectacular performance and staged a sensational comeback after losingthefirstgame.

Moving on to the final two matches in the Men’s draw,JasonRayKhalilfaced Samuel Ince-Carvalhal, resulting in Khalil’s commanding 3-0 victory Meanwhile, Alex Arjoon

GFFʼs 2nd tier Leagues gather momentum

Regional Associations (RAs) of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) have begun their respective Leaguesacrossthenationin quest to determine their Champions and give them the opportunity to be elevatedtothetoptierofthe country’s football, the Elite League.

The East Bank FA openedwithanexplosionof 16 goals in the first two matches played at the Timehri Red ground Saturday This year a new Champion will be crowned as defending Champion Grove Hi-tech is not competing.

In a commanding 2nd half display, Diamond United routed St. Cuthbert FC 7-3 after trailing 3-0 by the opening 20 minutes.

ShafranGlenlian(12'),Tino Simon(16')andanowngoal in the 20th minute by

Diamond’s custodian gave St. Cuthbert hope of an opening3points.

Aspiritedturnaroundby Diamond quickly cancelled out the lead Shaquan Joseph (30'), Brad Phang (35') and Brian Dass on the strokeofhalftimemadeit3all. And on the resumption Brazilian- born Ixiox Da Silvernettedadoubleinthe space of 8 minutes (47' and 55') to take the fight out of the St Cuthbert boys Josephthenaddedtwointhe 89th and 90th minutes to complete his hat-trick and the demolition of their opponents.

The2ndgameendedina 3-3 stalemate, but also produced another come from behind effort as Samatta Point rebounded from a 3-goal deficit to share a point each with Swan FC who led through goals from Michael

Williams (8'), Bruno Hrnritol (14') and Ernest Adams(30').

In reply, Sherlon Hetymer (37'), Daquan Bovell (70') and Matthew Austin (83') were on target for Samatta. The 9-team East Bank Men’s Senior Leaguecontinuedyesterday with another double-header at the Timehri Red ground, featuringFriendshipagainst Timehri Panthers and Soesdyke Falcons versus HerstellingRaiders.

In the City, the GFA’s league continued on Friday as GFC secured their first 3 pointswithahardfought21 win over Order and Discipline thanks to strikes bySherwinEvans(47')and MeshackGrant (73'). Jamal Benjamin got the consolation goal for the losersinthe86thminute.

Inthenightcapthe (Continuedonpage19)

triumphed over Shomari Wiltshirewithascoreof1210,11-4,11-8.

IntheWomen’sNational draw,MaliaMaikoosuffered a defeat against Safirah Sumner with a score of 3-0. Larissa Wiltshire silenced KirstenGomeswithathreegame victory Victoria Arjoon later upset Avery three games to love (11-5, 11-7,and11-3).MaryFungA-Fat displayed an

impressive performance against Taylor Fernandes, winning 11-7, 11-6, and 119.

Finally, Nicolette Fernandes overcameAshley Khalilwithadominantscore of11-5,11-4,and11-3.

In the Men’s Veteran Over-50 category, Dennis Dias triumphed over Brian

E d w a r d s w i t h a commanding 3-0 victory Joseph Mekdeci also

showcasedhissuperiorityin thehighlyanticipatedmatch against Yong, with Mekdeci winning 11-9, 11-6, and 114.TheWomen’sVeterantitle was claimed by the skilled Lydia Fraser, who exhibited her prowess against Michelle Low, securing an emphatic3-0victory

The tournament was proudly sponsored by Guinness,withsupportfrom Inet.

Victoria Kings draw with Milerock FC – GFF/KFC Elite League

The Guyana Football Federation(GFF)KFC2023 Elite Football League Season Five continued on Saturday at the GFF National Training Centre in Providence The night featured a thrilling match between Milerock FC and Victoria Kings FC, which ended in a hard-fought 1-1 draw, leaving fans on the edgeoftheirseats.

Both teams showcased exceptional defensive skills in the forty-five minutes of play,withneithersideableto breach the opponent’s net in the first half. The match remained deadlocked at 0-0 at halftime, setting the stage for an intense battle in the secondhalf.

Milerock FC later returnedfromthebreakwith renewed energy, and their efforts were soon rewarded.

In the 48th minute, Rawle Gittensfoundthebackofthe

Saturday’s action between Milerock FC and Victoria Kings FC.

net, giving Milerock FC the lead.Thegoalinjectedanew sense of urgency into the match,asbothteamspushed forward in search of a decisivegoal.

The game turned into a captivating end-to-end battle, captivating the spectators who were treated

to a display of football mastery Milerock FC managedtomaintainaclean sheet throughout the second half, frustrating their opponents with their solid defense. Meanwhile, in the dyingmomentsofthematch, CalvinDeSouzaofVictoria

(Continuedonpage19)

Nicolette Fernandes (left) in battle with Ashley Khalil on final day of Guinness tourney. Guinness

Nicolette Fernandes (left) share photo with Alex Arjoon at the end of the Guinness sponsored National championship.

Digicel Schools Football Championships 2023…

Mackenzie High & St. Ignatius cop Regional crowns

Yesterday, two more Regional Champions were crowned when the eighth edition of the Digicel’s S c h o o l s F o o t b a l l Championships, organised by the Petra Organisation, continued in Regions Nine andTen.

At the Wisburg Ground in Region 10, Mackenzie High comfortably defeated

Kwakwani 4 – 0 to lift the Regionaltitle. DexterMilowithabrace along with a goal each from Jovon Dennis and Teon Giddings propelled Mackenzie High to a welldeservedwin.

At Aranaputa in Region Nine, it was a hard-fought battle in the finale. Up to press time, the official score

was unavailable but St IgnatiusledSandCreek,2–0, with mere minutes left to play More details will be available in tomorrow’s issue.

Meanwhile, the action continues today in Region Four (Georgetown) and Region Six, with two double-headersinthecard. Region Six’s Champion

will also be crowned at the end of the day’s play as Vryman’s Erven tackle Berbice Educational Institute at 16:00 hrs in the final The match that precedes features New Amsterdam and Tutorial Academy battling for third placeat14:30hrs;bothatthe ScottGround. In Georgetown, the

double-header is fixed for the Ministry of Education Ground with the first match between Marian Academy andSt.Winifred’sscheduled for 16:00 hrs while the feature match will see Carmel go head-to-head with Charlestown at 17:30 hrs.

Thus far, the Regional Champions of the 2023

edition are Santa Rosa (Region 1), Charity (Region 2),Leonora(Region3), Region4(EC)–Buxton, Region 4 (EB) – Soesdyke, Mahaicony TI (Region 5) andKato(Region8). The only remaining zones left to crown a Regional Champion are Region4(GT),Regions6,7, 9and10.

St. Ignatius will now move on to the National Championship following their Regional title triumph.

The Mackenzie High Football team secured the 2023 Regional title at the Wisburg Ground in Region Ten.

GBAnotesLennoxLewisʼvisitasan historicmomentforthesportlocally

Labeling the impending visit o f f o r m e r undisputed heavyweight world champion Lennox Lewis as a historic moment, the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) has welcomed the momentous announcement and applauds President Irfaan Ali for his visionary leadership in recognizing the celebrated importanceofthediscipline.

BorntoJamaicanparents in Great Britain, Lewis, 57, attherequestofPresidentAli during the latter’s visit to Canada, the adopted childhood home of the former undisputed heavyweight champion, will

visit local shores in a move thatisexpectedtoinspirethe current cadre of pugilists, and the next wave combatants.

Dates are yet to be confirmed for Lewis, who retired at the pinnacle of the disciplinewitharemarkable professional record of 41-21(32knockouts).

GBA President Steve Ninvalle said, “This is an invitation for evolution, an inviteforadvancement.

HisExcellencyDr Irfaan

Ali has once again demonstrated the foresight, andvisioninhisquesttonot only develop individual sports, in this instance the discipline of boxing, but the

entirety of the nation’s sporting landscape and culture.

TheGBAcommendsthis initiative, which advances and advocates the government’s position on sportsviatheconstructionof thesectorandecosystemvia the established approach of inspiration.”

According to Ninvalle, “Local boxing is on the ascendency, that is evidentiary, and the visit of former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis, arguably the greatest boxer of his generation, will certainly and further ignite theflamesofevolution.This visit can act as the catalyst

for further evolution and inspiration of the combatants.Moreover,itcan serve as the stimulant and facilitator for the evolution of Caribbean boxing, of which Guyana is at the forefront in the Englishspeakingfragment.”

He further said, “The visitofLewis,asascribedas President Ali, is part of the government’s strategic exertions, and initiatives to create a brand for Guyana that also encompasses sport and entertainment. Lewis’s v i s i t i s a l s o a n acknowledgment by His Excellency of the importance of boxing as an avenue for the development

of Guyana’s international profile,asitremainstheonly local discipline to have achievedanOlympicmedal, afeatwhichisalsoapparent and recognized in the English speaking Caribbean by its solitary status also in thisregard.”

Guyana is the only English-speaking full member of CARICOM to haveachievedamedalatthe prestigious games in the sport.

Cuba in particular, is secondall-timeonthemedal table at the Summer Olympiadwitharecordof37 gold,19silver,and17bronze medals.

“Surelyhisvisitcanonly

be viewed in a positive light and will add further flavour to the discipline, especially atthenurserylevel,whichis the backbone for the sustained future of the sport in Guyana, and which has undertakenametamorphosis and overall emphasis in its overarching development under this current GBA administration.

TheGBAcommendsthe Government of Guyana for this historic and impending veracity, which also highlights not only the societal value and appeal of the discipline but its overall importance in the sporting history of our nation”, Ninvalleadded.

Squires upsets No.7 seed Murray; sets quarterfinal showdown with Downes

The GTA One Guyana Open 2023Tournament is a pillar of the emerging National Sports Academy; aninitiativewhichisfunded by the National Sports Commission (NSC), the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, and by extension theGovernmentofGuyana.

Phillip Squires booked a spot in the Men’s Open Singles Quarterfinals with a 6/2–6/2upsetwinoverNo. 7seedRonaldMurray

“MurrayandIhavecome alongway Iknowhisgame and my plan was to be more consistent than him,” Squiressaid.

Squires, a former Men’s Champion, last competed eightyearsago.

“I think the [GTA One

GuyanaOpen]isaverygood initiative. I had planned not to come back to tennis, but with a tournament of this magnitude,IknowIcanstill make an impact to tennis in Guyana and compete with some of the best junior and seniorplayers.”

Squires is looking f o r w a r d t o m o r e tournamentsofthiscalibre.

Next up for Squires is Anthony Downes, an old rival and former Men’s Champion.

In the second longest match of the tournament, Martin Campbell prevailed over the experienced Steve David-Longe1/6–6/2–7/6

(2)intheMen’s35Singles. Campbell, who reached the Men’s 35 Singles Quarterfinals for the first

time,hasspentthemosttime on court than any other player – clocking in at 9 hoursand3minutes.

“The GTA One Guyana Open is very much welcomed,” Campbell said.

“Ithinkitneedstobethefirst of many because tennis is a really amazing sport, and it needstobenurturedmorein Guyana.”

OtherResults

Men’s Open Singles Round of 16: No.2 seed Gavin Lewis defeated NavindraArjune6/1–7/5.

Men’s Open Singles Round of 16: No. 4 seed Gerald Scotland defeated Surrendra Khayyam 6/0 –6/1.

Men’s Open Singles Round of 16: Sandeep Chand defeated No. 6 seed

HarveyStoll6/0–6/0.

Men’s Open Singles Round of 16: Anthony Downes defeated Aubrey Younge6/1–6/0.

Men’s Open Singles Round of 16: Leyland Leacock defeated Andre Erskine6/2–6/1.

Men’s Open Singles Round of 32: Martin Campbell defeated Jamal Goodluck6/3–6/1.

Men’s 35 Singles Round of 16: Harry Panday received a W/O from RondaeHawker M

Erskine (2) defeated Harry Panday6/1–6/0.

Men’s 45 Singles Round Robin: Sunil Bianchini defeatedSteveDavid-Longe 6/1–6/3.

Phillip Squires

President Irfaan Ali Steve Ninvalle Lennox Lewis