Kaieteur News

Guyana's electoral system under “stranglehold” of a few

Monday Edition July 25, 2022 - Vol. 15 No. 29

...Structural makeup of GECOM must change - Economist

Online readership yesterday, 66,014

PPP Govt. playing Russian roulette with our country by not ensuring full liability coverage for oil spills - Patterson World Bank Project to enhance EPA capacity to monitor oil - Minister sector not scrapped Bharrat assures

Pillion rider General Manager, killed in miner killed hit and run after mining accident pit caves in

Dead, Seon Martin

TIGI adds support for CoI into VICE News bribery allegations against VP Bharrat Jagdeo

…says issue challenging Govt.'s anti-corruption stance Exxon 35-well exploration campaign…

EPA decision on 'low impacts to fisheries sector' technically unsound- Environmentalist The Glenn Lall Show resumes tonight @7:20PM on 99.1/99.5FM

Kaieteur News

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Monday July 25, 2022

PPP Govt. playing Russian roulette with our country by not ensuring full liability coverage for oil spills - Patterson

By Davina Bagot

S

hadow Oil and Gas Minister, David Patterson believes the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) government is playing Russian roulette with Guyana, by not securing full liability coverage in the event of an oil spill.

Patterson highlighted the correlation between the lack of full liability coverage and the game during his presentation on Thursday evening in the National Assembly, just before his Motion—seeking to not only include full unlimited liability coverage for oil spills and other disasters related to petroleum production, but also direct the Government of Guyana to conduct an independent analysis on the possible ill effects of an oil spill, and present this report to the Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources to be used as a reference for all other

future oil development submissions—was thrown out of the House by a majority vote.

Patterson in arguing the need for full liability coverage was keen to note that his intent was not to imply that oil giant ExxonMobil and its partners Hess, and CNOOC would not take preventative action to ensure there are no spills; however he does believe that “The PPP government is playing Russian Roulette with our country, by not ensuring that we have full liability coverage” in the event that such a disaster occurs.

To s u p p o r t t h i s judgment, the MP listed five points to elaborate on the ill effects that can be caused by an oil spill.

Oil spills he explained, would adversely affect deep ocean and coastal fishing and fisheries, while coastal areas that are known to promote recreational activities such as swimming,

boating and other tourist activities could also be impacted.

The Member of Parliament (MP) was keen to point out to the House as well that the ramping up of oil production could further exacerbate the situation, as the likelihood of such an event will also exponentially increase. To this end, he warned that the Indigenous communities and those closest to the coasts will be devastated and their livelihoods destroyed.

At the same time, the former Minister of Public Infrastructure noted that with the absence of baseline studies, these damages are likely to be ignored by the oil company as the data to prove what was there prior to such an event would simply be nonexistent. In addition, Patterson warned that ExxonMobil has publicly said on several occasions that it would only cover “reasonable” and “legitimate” costs should an

oil spill occur, therefore signaling its intent to challenge any damage caused in Court.

To this end, Patterson told the House “Be it resolved that the Government of Guyana, conducts an independent Baseline Risk Assessment to allow for the objective determination of environmental damages and liabilities, should they occur, especially in light of Exxon’s showing of bad intentions to raise questions as to what are legitimate and reasonable costs; and to be used by the Parliamentary Committee of Natural Resources as a reference for all other future oil development submissions.”

He said, “I am willing to wager, that every one of the members on the other side of this house has insurance protection of sorts for their homes, automobiles, health and so on; yet, it is mindboggling, even though not surprising, that our

Shadow Oil and Gas Minister, David Patterson argues for full liability coverage in the National Assembly friends on that side of the House are not the wee bit interested in protecting not only the people we serve, but an entire nation and the r e g i o n ’s p e o p l e a n d livelihoods.”

Meanwhile, in an Alliance For Change (AFC) press conference on Friday, Patterson pointed to the importance of the baseline study being conducted. He explained, “We thought it was important to lay a marker down, get it on record. We thought it was important that we requested

they do a baseline study and a baseline study is simply a report of exactly what is existing in our communities today so in the event of a peril which is an oil spill, poor communities don’t have to go up against that vehement of Exxon and their lawyers and an uncaring government to prove to them what they had before the spill.”

Patterson said he even told the administration that such a study should be funded by the government as (Continued on page 6)

Kaieteur News

Monday July 25, 2022

PAGE 03

ExxonMobil 35- well exploration campaign…

EPA decision on ‘low impacts to fisheries sector’ technically unsound - Environmentalist A

lthough May of this year commemorated seven years since United States oil major, ExxonMobil discovered significant hydrocarbons off the country’s coasts, Guyana is yet to conduct a comprehensive study of the critical environmental receptors that could be impacted by the company’s operations.

Yet, the regulatory body that approves Exxon oil development and exploration projects, has determined in its most recent Screening Decision, for a new 35well exploration campaign in the rich Stabroek Block, that impacts from the project to the fisheries sector would be low, given the distance of the project site to the coastline and fishing grounds.

This point was raised by Environmentalist, Simone MangalJoly during a recent interview with this newspaper. Mangal-Joly who is also a Geologist noted that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) reasoning is “very narrow”.

“The likelihood of impacts to coastal demographics and fisheries are low given the distance of the project site to the coastline and fishing grounds,” the EPA stated in its Screening Report for the project, adding in a Public Notice that “the impacts from the proposed project/activity will be temporary; and the impacts from the proposed project/activity will be localised.”

H o w e v e r, M a n g a l - J o l y explained that in the absence of critical offshore data, the EPA’s decision is “technically unsound”.

According to her, “The question that we must ask here is whether Guyana has valuable offshore reefs, nurseries, and fish and mammal populations that may not be used by people but are valuable.

These form part of an increasingly endangered marine biodiversity and food chain.”

She noted that the Environmental Protection Act requires the identification of sensitive environmental receptors and analysis of potential impacts on such receptors.

However, seven years after oil was found and after four Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) have been approved for ExxonMobil to produce oil and gas, in addition to the numerous waivers of EIAs for exploratory drilling and use of seismic guns for Exxon and other oil companies, “no one can tell you where the sensitive environmental receptors are located relative to the various production areas and exploratory drilling activities.”

Mangal-Joly argued that

Environmentalist, Simone Mangal-Joly distance alone does not show the full picture of the likely dangers encompassed in a project. “What matters is the location of activities relative to sensitive receptors, nurseries, migratory routes for fish and mammals, different seasons of year when mammals and fish might be more vulnerable mating, spawning, respectively etcetera, direction of currents and the ocean topography, the movement of the many vessels servicing offshore activities etcetera,” she argued.

The environmentalist contended that these basic scientific facts have been missing throughout the permitting process.

In fact, she said that nowhere in any EIA or EPA Screening Report for waived EIAs is there any acknowledgement or assessment of the cumulative effect of the exclusion of fishermen over time and space from fishing grounds to accommodate offshore oil and gas service vessels. This includes the many vessels bringing waste to shore, Mangal-Joly noted, explaining that “those exclusions do very much affect offshore as well as near shore fishers.”

She told this newspaper, “The truth is that all the conclusions made in the EIAs and by the EPA that impacts would be low have never been scientifically supported.

Everything is just being assumed to have a low impact.”

Moreover, the environmentalist argued that oil companies such as ExxonMobil and Hess would not dare submit an EIA in their home countries without basic scientific information inclusive of a geospatial map, showing the location of their activities relative to sensitive environmental receptors and current directions.

To this end, Mangal-Joly said, “They are running a multi-billiondollar profit outfit offshore Guyana and have millions to give to hospitals and things that gets their logos plastered everywhere and

ingratiates themselves into our society, so why can’t they pay a relative pittance for appropriate studies to meet rock bottom standards when it comes to the EIAs that are getting them their permits?”

35- well Stabroek Block drilling campaign Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) commonly referred to as ExxonMobil Guyana, intends to commence the 35 well campaign in the third quarter of 2023, signaling that if discoveries are made, well tests may be performed.

Conclusion of the proposed drilling campaign is expected by the fourth quarter of 2028.

The Project Summary explains, “The exact locations of the 35 exploration/appraisal wells comprising the Project have not yet been finalised. While some of the 35 wells will be drilled for exploration purposes, it is also possible that some of the wells may be drilled as appraisal wells within the proximity of previously drilled exploration areas. Therefore, four areas of interest have been identified within the Stabroek Block as the possible locations for t h e p r o p o s e d 3 5

exploration/appraisal wells to occur.”

The document notes that EEPGL- the Stabroek Block operator- is acting on behalf of itself and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) Petroleum Guyana Limited, and Hess Guyana Exploration Limited in seeking an Environmental Authorization to carry out the activities.

The Stabroek Block is located approximately 200 kilometers offshore in Guyana waters, where EEPGL has conducted substantial exploration and development activities to date.

EEPGL currently has six drill ships operating offshore Guyana: the Stena Carron, the Stena DrillMAX, the Noble Bob Douglas, the Noble Tom Madden, the Noble Don Taylor, and the Noble Sam Croft. The wells could be drilled by any one of these six drill ships.

The drilling of the exploration/appraisal well(s) in the Stabroek Block is expected to potentially occur simultaneously with other drilling activities, including: The Liza Phase 1 Project well drilling and production operations; The Liza Phase 2

Development Project well drilling programme and production operations; The Payara Development Project well drilling programme, installation, and start of production; Ongoing exploration/appraisal well drilling operations in the Stabroek Block covered under a 25-well campaign approved on 1 October 2019; The Yellowtail Development Project well drilling programme and installation operations; and two 12 well campaigns in the Kaieteur and Canje oil blocks for which environmental authorization is currently being sought.

As such, the EPA has ordered that a Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA) be conducted.

In the regulator’s screening report, it was explained “It can be concluded based on the existing data, technical review and exercise of discretion that the environmental and human impacts from the proposed 35 multi-well exploratory and appraisal drilling are known.”

EPA said that while the likelihood of some of the impacts from the project were noted to be high, the severity of these impacts’ ranges from low to medium, once mitigation measures outlined, are implemented.

Pillion rider killed in hit and run accident The recovered car involved in the fatal hit and run.

Killed in a hit and run at Linden, Dale Nelson

The motorcycle that Nelson and his friend, Graham were traveling on at the time of the accident.

Friends of a 21-year-old man of Linden, Region 10 were on Sunday thrown into a state of mourning after he was killed in a hit and run accident along the Ameila’s Ward Public Road.

The dead man, Dale Nelson of Lot 16-11 Central Ameila’s Ward, Linden was the pillion rider on Trip motorcycle bearing licence plate, CK 7806. It was involved in a collision with a car around

02:05hrs. According to police, the bike was being ridden by Nelson’s 18-year-old friend, Julian Graham when the car struck them from behind. Both the car and the friends were reportedly traveling in an eastern direction along the road.

The car reportedly continued on its journey after hitting the duo.

Police reported that Nelson was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident and was found

unconscious at the scene while the rider was severely injured.

Eyewitnesses reportedly lent a helping hand and rushed the injured friends to the Linden Hospital where Nelson died while receiving treatment and the rider was admitted.

Upon receiving the news that Nelson had succumbed, his friends expressed their shock and grief publicly via Facebook posts.

One of them, Isaiah Sears, said, “I’d give anything to have one last conversation with you, one more football game or one more laugh.

Never in a billion years will I forget you Dale.”

Traffic ranks have since been able to locate the car involved in the accident. It was abandoned (Continued on page 9)

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Monday July 25, 2022

Kaieteur News

KAIETEUR NEWS Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana.

Publisher: GLENN LALL-TEL: 624-6456 Editor: SHARMAIN GRAINGER Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210

EDITORIAL

Full coverage liability – It’s clear where PPP/C

Government stands

I

n case any Guyanese was worrying or wondering where the Government of Guyana stood on full coverage liability in the event of an oil spill, the wondering can stop now. In the simplest but most complete manner, the PPP/C Government is not onboard or in support of such full coverage liability. This was what surfaced when the matter came up for debate in the nation’s parliament.

Twist it or turn it, this is the long and short of the issue: the PPP/C Government and its leaders are not for full coverage liability (“Govt. kills Motion for full coverage liability for oil spills” - KN July 23). Now that the wondering about where the Government stood is over, Guyanese can begin their worrying, with much to worry about.

The game was up before it started, with the cards marked a certain way, and only one outcome possible. The Speaker of the House had most grudgingly allowed the Motion presented to be visited with parliamentary ventilation and light. It took all of 154 days, almost a half of a year before the Motion was given the green light to proceed in parliament. Before that, he did some more preparatory work.

What he didn’t scratch out, he scrapped it altogether, in clause after clause denied and discarded into the rubbish heap. A total of 13 out of 20 clauses were gone by the time he was done, while using his red pen like a scalpel.

Then to add insult on prior injury, the parliamentary officer who should be the best exemplary of independence and unbiased neutrality permitted a mere four hours under the cover of deepening darkness for an issue of such supreme importance to be debated. It is as if this was a minimal issue, or that the Speaker was fearful of prioritising it earlier in the day.

Four hours for an issue that has the potential to devastate not just this country, but a whole host of countries in the region. Clearly, the fix was in, and this Motion, however well intended, was dead on arrival, which the PPP/C Government had already worked its usual magic behind closed doors to guarantee that it would be given the quickest kick out the door.

This is the sum of what a Guyanese-born Speaker, we remind all citizens of this country, presided over, who did his very best, and then some more, to gut the motion every step of the way. Like a vindictive teacher having heavy responsibility for the destiny of a student (not liked), there was the harshest, most unforgiving, scrutiny, with the intention that future prospects must die the most unnatural of deaths.

After that, it was all but over, with the Coalition Opposition recognising that the fight was lost, but still plugging along, if only for the record. For their part, PPPC Government MPs emphasised the cost of such insurance and that there has to be a cap somewhere, since unlimited could be unending in terms of dollar amount. One PPP/C MP was clever enough to articulate that the Opposition Motion was a waste of time. Another went to the extent of labeling unlimited coverage as going to the extremes and that there it is an impossibility to be too preoccupied with the unidentifiable.

What we have to say is that these PPP/C Government MPs have secretly surrendered the pride of country citizenship for the products of corporate citizenship, American style. When Guyanese can go to bat for foreigners like this, then what we have is neither government nor leadership nor patriotism, but cowardice and conspiracy.

There was never any interest in approaching this in a clean manner, or in a way that made people appreciate that justice was being done with something (full coverage liability) that could turn out to be the most costly and destructive force ever to visit this country. A severe oil spill has all the elements to inflict more damage on this country than natural forces, such as flood or hurricane or earthquake. The odds for those may be long here, while the odds for an oil spill, especially with a company like ExxonMobil at the helm of offshore operations, could be shorter than we think.

The law and the victim of Domestic Abuse DEAR EDITOR, Nothing justifies abuse, except the victim who has become so comfortable within the environment, the victim who believes that without the abuser, there will be no way to have basic necessities for survival, the victim who thinks about the family unit and the destruction abandonment will cause to that unit or the psychological effects it will have on the child/ children. These factors among others are often the reasons why the victims renege on the decision to leave.

This indecisiveness sometimes reaches to the law, and when it does there is frustration, especially when the authority realises that the victim is unsure of whether or not she/he wants to pursue the matter in court.

But how can we change this? The path to escape from domestic violence starts with the police arm of the law and not necessarily the victim, since the victim cannot at times make clear decisions for themselves and wellbeing due

to their empathic nature and level of co-dependency with their abuser. The police like every other individual are human, their feelings of the frustration and exasperation of having to deal with the same situation/complaint over and over is understood but should not justified.

If we are to be able to understand the plight of victims of abuse especially when the abuser is a narcissist, we will know that the victim accepts the dysfunction as a norm and as such, it is easier for that victim to accept the abuse than to start over.

So how can the law help, in Guyana? I know that officers are trained to deal with issues surrounding domestic violence, but how intense is the training? Does this training instill teachings on recognising the signs, patterns, types of domestic abuse? Does training help officers to understand that victims can sometimes seems responsible for the treatment they receive thus it’s okay for them not to say “she looking

for the nonsense” or “if you know he/ she doing you this, why you don’t leave? Why you keep dropping the charges or not showing up to court?”

More needs to be done: a victim is sometimes that headless chicken who has no sense of direction and doesn’t understand what is happening around them; they are sometimes the last to see that they are victims of abuse.

What we need to know is if there are trained officers who are specifically placed at police stations to deal with cases of domestic abuse, offer counselling and provide the best advice to victims, are there people within the law patient enough to hear the same story over and over and not become frustrated to the extent that they don’t care?

Are there officers who we can hold responsible when a victim becomes so battered or sometimes die because of suicide or at the hands of their abusers?

Collaborative efforts are needed, the family, the law, institutions for suicide prevention and domestic violence. These bodies need to unite now.

Victims are vulnerable, their thought processes are skewed: they do not operate from a place of healing or wanting better, their vulnerability makes them return to the abuse or out of empathy refuse to pursue matters within the court, put simply victims of abuse need help, they need confidential and patient human resources, they need to know that their government has systems in place to help them rehabilitate Before everything else they need to be told that it’s okay to let go of what is causing their hurt without judgement . But this starts with the law.

How law enforcement chooses to deal with these sensitive issues sets the precedence for every other stage of healing, justice and recovery for the abused victim.

Atika Stephens

Spectacular Emancipation Day celebrations planned for the Corentyne by The Macedonia/Joppa Volunteer Committee DEAR EDITOR, After two years of being indoors or rather housed-up in Guyana, due to the COVID19 pandemic, children were barred from attending schools, libraries and recreation facilities and adults could not have even entered their place of worship.

Every holiday, including two of the most prominent in the country, Easter and Christmas were spent indoors during this period, with a small family circle.

This has taken a mental and physical toll on our society with the restrictions imposed by the government to prevent the spread of the COVID19 virus.

But it is finally over now, as the MacedoniaJoppa Volunteer Committee (MJVC) is sponsoring the largest Emancipation celebrations ever on the Corentyne.

Members of the MJVC have invited all the residents of the villages in Ma cedonia/Joppa district to gra b a t t h i s g l o r i o u s opportunity and celebrate Emancipation in the most extravagant way possible.

They have chosen the theme “UPLIFTMENT” for this year ’s celebrations to commemorate the abolition of slavery in

Guyana in 1834 and to mark 188 years of Emancipation.

In Guyana, August 1, 1994, Emancipation Day was declared a national holiday for the first time and has since grown into a major national festival, where thousands of people participate in various a c t i v i t i e s .

Emancipation Day celebrations in the Macedonia-Joppa district will be an all-day long event at the Eversham Community Pavilion.

The all-day long activities will kick off at 6:30 AM with a mile long road race comprised of tw o c a t e g o r i e s — m a l e and female. The male category race will start from Macedonia (No. 3 5 Vi l l a g e ) a n d e n d a t the Eversham Community Pavilion and the female category will begin from the No. 43 Village and end at the pavilion as well.

Monetary prizes will be awarded to the participants in the following order for both categories.

The winners of each race will receive $20,000 GYD, the 2nd place runners will each receive $15,000 GYD, and the third and fourth place runners will each receive $10,000 GYD and $5,000 GYD respectively.

There are approximately two dozen individuals who have already registered for both categories of the race.

It is expected to be a very competitive event.

At 10:00 AM, there will be a road march with African drums and traditional calypso music for the villagers including children to revel in.

The road march will commence from the No. 35 Village and wind its way to No. 43 Village and then to the Eversham Community Pavilion.

After which there will be a flag raising ceremony, followed by the singing of the National Anthem” and “Arise Guyana.”

(See ballad below).

At 12:30 PM, lunch will be served to the attendees.

This will be followed by a cultural programme which will inform the people, especially youths about the birth of Emancipation Day, a brief account of slavery and its abolishment and the history of the various villages in the community and their progress thus far.

After, there will be a cultural dis p l a y o f A f r i can attires by children, men, and women of the c o m m u n i t y.

There will also be a d i s p l a y o f d e l i c ious African dishes (metemgee, foo-foo) and drinks (mauby).

The all-day long activities will see the villagers decked out in African attire, traditional folk and African songs played, vari ous exhibits of African cultural customs, folk games to take part in, African crafts and artwork on display, singing, dancing (masquerade), and drumming (African Drums), to enjoy the activities.

All members of the community will participate, regardless o f a g e , r a c e , creed, gender, or political affiliation. It is expected to b e t h e l a r g e s t event on the Corentyne, So, being in the MacedoniaJoppa district for Emancipation Day will e x p o s e o n e t o a div e r s e culture that is not quite like any other found in the country.

It will be a major turning point in the district’s history as the Macedonia/Joppa Volunteer Committee plan to make Emancipation Day celebrations an annually event.

Nickel Ross-Albert MJVC-Public Relation Director

Monday July 25, 2022

Questions for the Government

on Public Matters DEAR EDITOR, The Government of Dr. Irfaan Ali must be commended and applauded for the many development projects, and social services interventions across all the all the portfolios However, when the Government of Dr. Irfaan Ali will address the following matters for improve and effective governance of important institutions in our Country?

1. The undue and prolonged delay in the appointment of the University of Guyana Council?

2. The non-appointment of the Public Service Commission.

3. Professionalising of the Public Service having regard to the 2016 Commission of Inquiry into the Public Service headed by Professional Harold Lutchman, with its many recommendations including:

enacting a Public Service Law with related regulations to create and govern a professional Public Service free from political party and other external influences. This law governing the Public Service is obtained in the Caribbean and other Commonwealth countries.

Appointment of the Public Service Commission with suitable qualified persons of high personal and professional integrity, responsible for all appointments based on merit, including for Permanent Secretaries, and Regional Executive Officers.

Higher retirement age – 60 – 65 for public servants which can provide a higher NIS Pensions.

Ending contract employment for regular civil service positions and utilise Contract employment for projects and non-civil service

positions. the remunerations for all high-level Public Service Offices including the President, Vice Presidents, Prime minister, Ministers, Leader of the Opposition, Members of the National Assembly, Permanent Secretaries, Regional Executive Officers, and Regional Chairpersons, as in the case of Trinidad and Tobago where a Salary Review Commission periodically makes appropriate recommendations to the Parliament for consideration and approval.

The Government is called to review the Commission of Inquiry into the Public Service of Guyana Report 2016, and give it serious consideration for implementation as professionally appropriate following public consultation. Let the public know this Government’s disposition on the various recommendations of the COI in the Public Service With thanks, Joshua Singh

Insurance coverage and project viability DEAR EDITOR, The debate over unlimited insurance coverage in the event of an oi l s p i l l i g nores the middle ground where cooperation between the two main parties is achievable. The discussion needs to consider what is possible, and be based on estimates of the cost of such coverage with their impact on the financial models of the projects being undertaken.

Only an informed discussion will allow the National Assembly to make progress in improving the coverage needed for financial gains of the oil sector to be protected.

Companies such as

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Kaieteur News

Exxon know what is needed and required to continue to do business in an environmentally responsible manner.

The case studies of the worst oil sp i l l s i n o u r planet’s history will help inform the National Assembly of the protective measures that have been put in place to allow for environmentally responsible and profitable extraction of oil.

As a Nation that is a part of the Amazon and the Guiana Shield, we

m u s t e n sure that those operating in the oil sector are utilizing best in class safe guards to protect our environment.

A substantial financial penalty and excellent insurance coverage will help ensure that our su ppliers are significantly reducing the risk of their oil extraction operations.

Best regards, Mr. Jamil Changlee Chairman The Cooperative Republicans of Guyana

Govt. ensuring that all our students can access education

DEAR EDITOR, I could vividly recall the severe hardships which parents had to undergo to send their children to school. As a former teacher, it was so embarrassing when at the beginning of the school year, I had to do some harsh cuttings so that I could afford to send my children to school.

Sometimes, they had to start in the second or third week into the school year.

I had realised as a teacher that this scenario is not peculiar to my circumstances but to the majority of parents since many students will not turn out to school until later. There is an old exc use that students would normally offer to whoever asked why they were not at school and that is, ‘we have to do cleaning at school and I don’t want to dirty my new clothes’.

Sounds plausible, but is that the fact? In fact, in some cases, the cloth was not even purchased as yet!

In some cases, it was purchased la t e a n d s t i l l a t the seamstress or tailor.

This government has realised the constraints which parents go through and had introduced the ‘Because We Care’ grant so that pare nts can have money on hand to purchase the necessary items to ensure that their children are prepared for school on the very first day.

When the Coalition removed this, coupled with

the closure of the sugar estates, many parents could not afford to send their children to school. Of what use was the ‘Granger buses’ when only a few accessed it and parents could not afford to buy the necessaries.

This is certainly putting the ‘bus’ before the ‘horse’.

Today, Honourable Minister Manickchand has proudly announced that the Government will distribute this year, 193,679 ‘Because We Care’ cash grants and school uniform allowances with an estimated cost of $5.8 billion. This will be for both private and public schools. Each child will receive $30,000 - $25,000 as the grant and $5,000 as an allowance for uniform. The distribution will commence on August 2, thus ensuring that all purchases are made in preparation for the new school year.

Unlike the Coalition, this government did not do away with the buses but actually improved the service.

The Coalition had aborted the ‘Because We Care ‘under the pretext that the buses will save the parents more monies than to $10,000 they were receiving.

What an asinine statement! Why not maintain the grant and provide the additional free services? This Government had made a promise to increase this to $50,000 by 2025.

And there is no doubt that this will happen.

This year, the Government has allocated $74.4 billion to the Education Sector and the Honourable Minister Priya Manickchand is ensuring that Guyanese receive value for money.

Our education standard is improving by leaps and bounds as more teachers are being trained, there is massive improvement in the curriculum and classroom delivery, the building of new schools, massive repairs to the current buildings and infrastructures and general improvement in the educ a t i o n s y stem ensuring that the President’s vision of achieving a world class education for all.

This grant will greatly motivate par e n t s t o e n sure that their children take full advantage of the system.

The Honourable Fin a n c e M i n i s t e r , D r.

Ashni Singh had said in his Budget presentation that ‘improved access, q u a l i t y, a n d r e l e v a n c e are essential to raising Guyana’s human capital to the levels needed to advance and sustain the imminent transformative econo m i c a n d s o c i a l d e velopment.’

And this Government is doing everything possible to ensure that ALL our stud e n t s take full advantage of this.

Yours sincerely, Haseef Yusuf

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Monday July 25, 2022

Kaieteur News

Nowrang was a gentleman, rare gem India’s new president and Guyana

DEAR EDITOR, I had the pleasure of meeting Nowrang Persaud when I visited Guyana a few years ago with Kumar Mahabir. He was introduced to us by Swami Aksharnanda at SVN College in West Coast. At that time, he was in his 80s and I noticed his brisk manner of walking.

During that trip Swamiji drove us to his home in Skeldon where we spent a few nights. It was then I learned about his work abroad as a Human Resource expert and his many years of working with the UN that took him to parts of Africa and Asia including India. He also had souvenirs from those countries which he displayed proudly on the walls of his living room.

Nowrang was engaged in developing a cremation site on lands donated by one of the sugar cane estates in Berbice. I was marveled by the commitment of this elderly man taking up such a huge responsibility in what many would call ‘his late stage in life.’

During our conversation,

I learned that his first employment was as a teacher at Bharat Sevashram Sangh College at Cove and John. He recounted that Swami Purnananda came himself and invited him to join to staff for the opening of the school.

I have researched and written a thesis on to role the Bharath Sevashram Sangh had in shaping the early life of Bramachari Hari Ram (Swami Satchitananda) of Trinidad and the work that the Swamis from India later started at Cove and John in Guyana.

The challenges that the school was facing then had deeply hurt him and he felt that he should intervene and have them resolved/ Nowrang also told me that when he was in his late teens, he swam across the Berbice River during Karticwith other boys, thus explaining his fitness in the later years of his life.

Most impressive about Nowrang was his commitment to dharma and improving the welfare of the Hindu community from a young man and throughout his life. It was

very rare, at least in Trinidad and Tobago, to have Hindus of the calibre of Nowrang identifying with the trials and tribulations and actively engaged in having them resolved. Nowrang had authored his autobiography and had sent the manuscript for me to review. It was a story of a young man born in poverty who did not let his social environment hinder his social mobility. His outstanding contribution in the sugar industry was documented at length.

Nowrang was a gentleman, a rare gem that the diaspora would surely miss.

What is more painful for me is that we may not be able to replace him, far more surpass him.

Nowrang’s refined manners and speech would remain indelible in mind and a goal not only for me but for all Hindus to aspire towards.

I know that the spirit of Nowrang is not going to leave us but remains a beacon to guide and inspire us to greater heights.

Yours truly, Dool Hanomansingh

PPP Govt. playing Russian roulette with our country by not ensuring full...

From page 2 it would be to the benefit of all Guyanese. However, he told the media that the PPP’s attitude, once again, was to oppose anything brought by the other side of the House, ignoring the call by the general public as well for

ExxonMobil to give Guyana full liability coverage.

Environmentalists have been repeatedly hammering the need for the government to conduct baseline studies offshore to understand the resources currently existing.

This data, according to one

Environmentalist, Simone Mangal-Joly, should be used to inform where the oil company conducts its operations.

These calls nonetheless continue to fall on deaf ears, despite the administration’s claim of wanting to produce oil in a sustainable manner.

DEAR EDITOR, Today, Droupadi Murmu was installed as President of India. While in their parliamentary democracy, the presidency is seen as “symbolic”, that symbolism projects the identity of who ‘represents’ the nation. And it is here that Murmu’s election is historic because her identity is “tribal”.

In India, there are 705 groups with distinct cultures, recognised as “Scheduled Tribes” (ST) or “Adivasis”, literally meaning “Indigenous Peoples”. At approximately 104 million, they comprise 8.6% of India’s population but are quite fragmented. In the Ramcharitmanas, composed around 1574 by Tulsidas from the much earlier Ramayan of Valmiki, which was brought to Guyana by the Indentured Labourers (Girmitiyas), there is an interesting anecdote that comments on the status of Tribals at that time. An elderly female Tribal devotee of Sri Ram, Sabari, tells him, “In every society, women are the lowest strata; and as a tribal woman, I am the lowest of the low.”

Unfortunately, not much has changed since then for the Tribals.

Murmu is a member of the Murmu clan of the Santhal tribe – the largest in India with at least 10 million members and concentrated in Jharkhand (formerly part of Bihar), Odisha and West Bengal.

The Santhals have a direct connection with the Indians who were shipped out as Indentured Labourers during the colonial era, starting with Mauritius in 1834 and then British Guiana in 1938.

In both cases, they were among the first batches and dubbed as “Dhangars”, or “Hill Coolies”. In fact, they could have been drawn from any one or combination of the three major tribes who lived

in the forested Chhota Nagpur plateau – Santhal, Munda or Oaroan. But who distinguishes among the “lowest of the low”?

In the case of Guyana, in the 1st shipment on the Whitby and Hesperus, there were 150 Tribals among the 414 shipped out. Eventually, only 90 overall chose to remain after their indentureship ended in 1843.

But up to the 1860s, after shipments resumed sputteringly between 1845 and 1851, many others would have been brought to Guyana.

From the 1860’s recruitment sh i p m e n t shifted westwards into Bihar and UP. The Santhals, as Indigenous Peoples, try to live in harmony with their forests and express reverence for nature by paying obeisance at Jaher (sacred groves). They practised intensive wet cultivation of rice and some historians have stated it was “Hill Coolies” who cultivated the first large acreage of rice (16 acres) in Guyana by Girmitiyas at Edinburg, WCD. The Leonora Secondary School is presently located on this land, next to the National Track and Field Stadium.

We are told that up to the 1860s, many recruits were picked up in the “bazaars and markets” of Calcutta. These would mostly have been the tribals of Chota Nagpur, who continued to be driven out from their forest habitation since the British draconian “Permanent Settlement” imposition of 1793.

Two years before the 1857 “Indian Rebellion” against the East India Company, there was the “Santal Rebellion”, with just as ferocious a reaction accelerating their expulsion,

which continues to the present; now pushed by mining interests.

After the 1860s, the Tribals preferred indentureship to the Assam Tea Plantations, from where they could more easily return to their homes.

Among the Tribals, Santhals have since become most educated and President Murmu comes from that strata. She graduated from college (1979); worked in the Government of Odissa service; then taught in the education system; elected to District Council (1997), Minister of State (2002); Member of Local Assembly (MLA) (2004) and in 2015, Governor. Tomorrow in 2022, she becomes President of India.

But Murmu’s ascension to this high office, in which she succeeded Ram Nath Kovind (the second Dalit or “outcaste” President) raises the issue of whether entrenched inequalities in Indian society are moving beyond symbolism.

This entrenchment was codified and made procrustean by the British by enforcing their painstaking group classifications (like caste and tribals and coolies) in India and their colonies through their full panoply of force.

The “Hill Coolies, as Gillanders & Arbuthnot informed John Gladstone on his 1836 enquiry about shipping some of them to British Guiana, “…have no religion, no education, and, in their present state, no wants beyond eating, drinking and sleeping.”

Will they continue to be just fungible “Dhangars” notwithstanding Murmu?

Will Indians continue to be called “Coolies” in Guyana?

Sincerely, Ravi Dev

T N U L B . . .

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T U T L N N T U A Govt. that only U L N L B U .

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N T U cares with its mouth!

L N LU B U . .

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T B U Guyana has once again . .

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T B U . .

L N been let down by its leaders. .

NT LUNT...B NT...BLU N U L B . .

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LU ...BLUNT LUNT...B NT...BL T B U . .

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T B BLU T...BLUN BLUNT... UNT...B . .

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T B U In the meantime, we can only hope . .

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T B U . that the worst does not befall our land. .

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T B BBLU T...BLUN BLUNT... ...BLU .

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N T T U L U L N L B U T...BLU U B .

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L B T LUNT.. UNT...B BL B Monday July 25, 2022

Kaieteur News

The Opposition’s recent Parliamentary Motion seeking full liability coverage was consciously thrown out by an administration that only seems to care with its well rehearsed speeches to the masses.

When it comes to taking action for its people, the government neatly pulls its tail between its legs, and allows ExxonMobil to carry on as they please.

A new crop of leaders is what is required. We believe that true patriots are taking note of the unfolding disappointment being repeated.

They will no doubt do what it takes to restore Guyana with a greater sense of governance, transparency and accountability.

PAGE 07

Kaieteur News

PAGE 08

Monday July 25, 2022

World Bank Project to enhance EPA capacity - Minister to monitor oil sector not scrapped Bharrat assures In arguments by Shadow Natural Resources Minister, David Patterson for his full liability oil spill coverage motion in Parliament last Thursday, he accused the government of tearing down two World Bank capacity building initiatives that contribute to the improved management and oversight of the budding oil and gas sector.

He highlighted that the government had failed to either utilize or fully implement measures under the World Bank’s US$20M Guyana Petroleum Resources Governance and Management Project, and measures in a separate US$1M grant, for updating the Environmental and Protection Agency’s (EPA) oil and gas capacity, under the same project.

Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat had told Kaieteur News two weeks ago that his ministry and the relevant teams are still working to “refine” the use of the World Bank US$20M line of credit.

During Thursday’s sitting, contrary to Patterson’s claims, Minister Bharrat was happy to report that, “the programme at the EPA was never cancelled.”

He told the National Assembly that as a matter

fact, the department grew from three members of staff to 13 presently, which are dedicated full time towards monitoring oil and gas activities. He said the EPA has strengthened its capacity through international consultants and satellite monitoring too.

A d d i t i o n a l l y, t h e programme recommended strengthening of the Guyana National Bureau Standards (GNBS) for real time monitoring and being present on the FPSOs which the minister said has been done in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism Industry and Commence. As such, he clarified that, “We do have persons physically present on both FPSOs doing real time monitoring for us.”

It should be noted that neither the Natural Resources Minister nor his shadow, specified the name of the document, but it is understood that the particular EPA programme resulted from a US$1M grant from the World Bank.

When Kaieteur News asked EPA Head, Khemraj Parsram about the said document and its implementation just over a week ago, he told the newspaper that he was unsure and could not say whether the document regarding the EPA was

indeed with the agency. He told the newspaper that it was “not during my time” and that he was currently out of the country. Parsram had promised to make checks and provide the necessary update.

Former EPA head Dr. Vincent Adams had brought the existence of the document to the newspaper’s attention since he claimed to have noticed “a worrying trend” where government seemed to be deliberately not utilizing available resources to firmly activate protective mechanisms to secure the country’s oil and gas sector.

Dr. Adams said he personally sought the EPA grant which was facilitated through the Department of Energy, and a Brazilian expert won the job. He too claimed the programme was scrapped and that persons who were allowed and were in the process of attaining oil and gas education through the University of Guyana and abroad, were reportedly told by a top executive that, “the EPA is not a university.”

Dr. Adams enlightened that at the time of his tenure, he was the only petroleum engineer in the country and that he understood the magnitude of work and capacity building that was

required and thus sought to provide the same level of management skills available in the United States. He said he wanted to make the EPA into a model agency and “set the tone” for the other oil related state agencies. The particular training, he said would have seen the EPA having skills in oil resource estimates and other such areas.

The former EPA Head shared too that he would have assisted government in determining their own oil resource rather than waiting on the data provided by the oil companies. The argument too was that as Guyana auctions oil blocks, it could use its own skills to determine its assets and make decisions on its own information.

In his speech, Patterson had reminded that the country was downgraded by the World Bank for not using the US$20M loan. He claimed that the PPP dumped the plan conceived by the coalition and funded by the World Bank for the EPA to add a new petroleum unit with 34 specialists which included for 24/7 vessel monitoring.

He said, “The World Bank provided the US $1 million grant for this initiative, it went out to

A screen shot of the proposed US$1M grant document

tender, hired an expert who came in and worked with the EPA and DOE to prepare and presented a fully

comprehensive plan including the organization chart, position, descriptions, (Continued on page 16)

Monday July 25, 2022

PAGE 9

Kaieteur News

The US and Vice News Vice News did not come to Guyana by accident. It most likely would have been egged on to come to Guyana by the American government.

Vice News had acquired a reputation of being tied to US imperial interests.

The Biden administration has not deviated much from Trump’s hostility towards the Chinese government. The Chinese are still seen as a threat to US global economic hegemony. Biden himself has made it clear that he intends to stem the spread of Chinese economic influence. In his first address to the US Congress Biden said, “We are in competition with China for the 21st century.”

America is fearful and envious of the Chinese global economic expansionism. The Americans are determined to crush China’s growing influence in developing countries which are increasing their trade and borrowing from China.

Guyana is emerging as an important market for the USA. The Americans have a huge stake in the oil and gas sector. About 13% of Guyana’s imports in 2021 came from the United State. China accounted for about 6.5%.

But those numbers are skewed because of the oil and gas industry and the importation of a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel made in Singapore and consigned to the Liza 2 operations.

In 2020, the United States accounted for one-third of Guyana imports. China was

trailing behind with about 10%. But the Guyana economy is expanding and the US sees China’s growing presence in Venezuela and Guyana as threats to its traditional economic dominance in the western hemisphere.

As such, it is keen to arrest the spread of Chinese economic influence.

America’s assistance to Guyana could never match the assistance which is being provided by China. But America has a more potent weapon: control over the western media which can be enlisted to do it dirty biddings.

This is where Vice News comes in. I believe that Vice News came to Guyana on America’s bidding. They came here to do a hatchet job on the Chinese. The Vice News feature on China was imbalanced. It focused exclusively on sullying the Chinese image. Vice News did not highlight the many projects which the Chinese were involved in and completed. It did not address issues such as Chinese support in Guyana. Vice News came with a mission to project the Chinese in a negative light and this is what it did.

Vice News was not interested in giving the Chinese a fair hearing. It came to entrap the person who it believed was the power broker in Guyana and one who it believed was responsible for the Chinese presence in Guyana.

It went after Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo.

It is most likely that it

would have been briefed by the US government. The US government most likely was instrumental in the Vice News mission to entrap Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo.

It failed. There was no incriminating evidence which could be used to even establish a prima facie case against the Vice President. But Vice News did help to shape the public impression about Jagdeo when it had him stuttering, “Su! Su!...”

The Vice President was skillful in pre-empting the release of the Vice News feature.

Obviously, he knew that the feature would have been damaging. So he took the opportunity to make public the interview which he did with Vice News.

As it turned out, Vice News did not have a successful mission. It failed in its objectives to entrap the Vice President.

After the government was able to successfully point out that even the “star witness” had said that Jagdeo’s hands were clean, the United States showed its hand. On the Facebook Page of at least two local journalists, it was reported that the US issued a terse statement which read: The US has long been an advocate for anti-corruption and rule of law in Guyana, as well as a free press consistent with Guyana’s laws, accountability is the soundest approach to maintain confidence in government and a level playing field for all investors.”

The US was clearly signalling its position. It is con-

Pillion rider killed in hit and run accident...

From page 3 along the Toucan Drive Access Road, Amelia’s Ward, Linden but the driver is yet to

be found. The car was towed away and placed in police custody as the investigations continue.

Nelson was described as a young man with a wonderful personality who always wore a smile on his face.

Dem boys seh...

How much children Christina really gat?

Dem boys solve de riddle about Christina. She really nah gat two children.

Is three children she gat.

Suh fuh each child, she gat to spend $200 a day fuh public transport. $100 fuh guh and $100 fuh come back home in de afternoon.

Dat is $1,000 a week a child.

Suh fuh three children is $3,000 a week.

But wat happening is dat each child going to a different school. One in de South, one in de North and de other in de West.

Dem pickney small.

Dem need company fuh guh school. But each

school deh in a different direction. Suh Christina gat to drap dem off and den pick dem up one by one.

Christina gat to carry each one ah dem to school separately. She gat to drop de fuss one off and den come back home. Carry de second one and den come back home. Den drop off de third one and den come back home.

Suh fuh she alone is 600 just to take de children to school and come back home.

But den when school ova, she gat to guh and pick dem up, one by one. She gat to go and pick up de fuss one and

drop de child home. Den leave fuh de second and bring de child home. Den leave fuh de third and bring de child home. So is another $600 Christina paying fuh pick up dem children in de afternoon.

Suh when de day done, Christina paying $1200 fuh she self fuh go back and forth. When yuh add dat to de $600 daily transpee bill fuh dem children is a total of $1800 per day, she spending. Fuh five days is $9,000.

Wah Christina need is wan electric bike! She should ask Mr. Mohammed!

Talk half. Leff half.

cerned no doubt about China increasing its presence in Guyana, including being awarded the contracts to build the Amalia Hydroelectric Project and other major infrastructural projects.

It is not surprising that the Stabroek News, long a side-kick of imperialist inter-

ests, has joined the fray and is demanding an inquiry into the “allegations” made in the Vice News interview. It is simply doing the bidding of the United States.

The US wants Jagdeo out.

The US usually gets its way.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the

author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

Kaieteur News

PAGE 10

Monday July 25, 2022

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

President Ali’s version of cash grant I met President Ali for brief moments on two occasions. Both times I remember making two points to him. Remove yourself from the office and lose yourself among the people. Go to them, listen to them, within your capacity to deliver, give them things that will make their lives better.

The second piece of advice was that the opportunity is there to join the names that will never go away.

Opinions are divided about Forbes Burnham and Desmond Hoyte but for untold numbers, they have a legacy. I had one disagreement with my hero Yesu Persaud. It was over Desmond Hoyte.

He called me one day to his office to say he disagreed with a column in which I situated Desmond Hoyte within a positive historical context. I told Yesu my analysis of history and politics as a trained academic allows me to contextualise the role of Hoyte.

Hoyte allowed for three things – deburnamisation, free and fair elections and the return to a market economy.

Leading the school of great

Guyanese with an indelible legacy would be Cheddi Jagan of course.

Walter Rodney has carved out a great niche for himself.

I told the president he has 10 years to join that famous school of four. He has started out in the right direction. There are times when the runner stumbles. President Ali must make sure he never does.

His first historical record is that no president from Independence right up to David Granger has spent his first year visiting and meeting diverse communities across Guyana as he has done. He has continued in that vein the second year. It is a pattern that should not end if he wins re-election in 2025.

My prediction is that he will.

The announcement of resource assistance to folks building houses that cost about six million dollars is the area where cash grants should go. That is in fact the form that cash grant should take. I did not and will not accept the economic jumbie theory of Dr. Clive Thomas that hundreds of thousands of citizens should be given a giveaway of 5000 American dollars annually.

Take that money and do what Dr. Ali has done. Take the money and transform it into resources and put those resources onto the lap of the poorer folks who want social and economic elevation. There will be no percentage requirement for bank loans up to $6 million. Interest rates will be reduced to 3.8 percent for home-building loans in the range of $9 million. This is how the state should help. Cash grants have its own context as I will describe below.

These deliveries should be expanded immensely to cover the totality of working-class people. I would suggest to the president that there should be cash grants to students at Critchlow Labour College to assist with transportation. The same should be extended to students at the two industrial art schools on Woolford Avenue. These are the children of poor parents who did not excel at high school.

The stipend for trainee nurses should be doubled. There should be extensive renovation to Cyril Potter College of Education to offer better

accommodation with two free meals per day for trainee teachers who are in-residence.

Those who do not live at the college should be given cash grants for transportation.

A visit should be made to all squatting settlements and the State should rebuild those derelict shacks so those folks can live in comfort. An oil economy can at least do that for them. The area that cries out for presidential intervention are first rate schools like the status of Queen’s College to be built in the other regions in Guyana.

The era of the domination and elitism of the four top Georgetown state-owned schools must be dissolved. It is a class thing favouring Region Four and Georgetown students. It leaves the children of the other region with the psychological fatalism that they are inferior to Region Four kids. The Georgetown school elitism is something the president must bring to an end.

I will never be a fan of Forbes Burnham but I will always give him

Frederick Kissoon credit for the establishment of the multilateral schools. They were a challenge to the Georgetown elite schools and they were deliberately sabotaged by the Creole middleclass that Burnham tried to defeat but failed because he thought he was omnipotent.

Money is circulating in Guyana; ‘nuff’ money too. The working people must have some of it; the working people of every ethnicity. If President Ali takes his time and reflects on how leaders become great, he has a chance of standing side by side with the phenomenal founder of his own party – the evergreen Cheddi Jagan.

Go for it Irfaan!

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

Seventeen secondary schools enroll in VYC’s summer robotics training competition

S

eventeen secondary schools will be participating in the Volunteer Youth Corps Inc. (VYC) annual robotics training and competition which commenced on July 11, 2022.

Participating schools in Region Four include St. Rose’s High School, St. John’s College, North Ruimveldt Multilateral, New Central High School, Dolphin Secondary, East Ruimveldt Secondary School, Brickdam Secondary, Tucville Secondary, New Campbellville Secondary, Christ Church Secondary and VYC Academy. Participating schools in Region Four also include Friendship Secondary and Diamond Secondary.

Participating schools in Region Three include Westminster Secondary School, Le0nora S e c o n d a r y, We s t D e m e r a r a Secondary and Vergenoegen Secondary School.

Camille’s Academy Inc., a private school—is also a participant of this year’s VYC robotics workshop and competition.

The summer programme, which concludes on August 26, 2022, will be facilitated through a

Some of the participants of the VYC robotics training programme. series of weekly workshops for students participating in the STEM afterschool programme.

Since 2012, VYC has been implementing the STEM Afterschool programme under the

support and funding of ExxonMobil. STEM students from each of the 17 participating high schools in Regions Three and Four, to be trained for one (1) week in Introduction to EV3 Lego

Mindstorm Robotics Hardware and Programming.

This will be followed by an additional week of individual schools designing and programming unique robotics

models to compete amongst each other.

Top performing schools will be awarded trophies and prizes for their creative design, programming and innovation.

Monday July 25, 2022

Kaieteur News

PAGE 11

Kaieteur News

PAGE 12

Monday July 25, 2022

CH&PA Republic Bank sign MOU to finance construction of 500 homes in Region Three

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he Central Housing and P l a n n i n g Authority (CH&PA) on Saturday, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Republic Bank Limited (RBL) for the financing of 500 low-income homes at Leonora, Region Three (Essequibo Island- West Demerara).

According to the Department of Public Information (DPI), the 20 x 30 (625 square feet) twobedroom flat units will be built at a cost of $5.5 million each.

Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal and Minister within the Ministry, Susan Rodrigues witnessed the signing between CH&PA’s Chief Executive Officer Sherwyn Greaves a n d R e p u b l i c B a n k ’s General Manager, Credit, Ve n u s F r i t h a t t h e International Building Expo being held at the National Stadium at Providence, East Bank Demerara.

During brief remarks at the signing ceremony, Minister Croal said that the project will commence immediately with the construction of the first 100 homes under the project.

“One can see the commencement of work in the new week, where the steel for the foundation will be placed,” he explained.

Minister Croal acknowledged the partnership between the government and financial institutions to ensure Guyanese can have easy access to financing to construct their homes.

The signing, he said, is part of that collaboration, where low-income homes will be built for families, who were qualified under the g o v e r n m e n t ’s H o m e Construction Assistance programme, which was launched by His Excellency, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali in May. “This is part of what it means about partnership, what it means about development, and what it also means to the lives of our citizens by making it much more affordable for them so that we can all achieve, and achieve this ‘One Guyana’ dream, which includes owning your own home,” he said.

Meanwhile, Republic Bank’s Manager, Ms. Frith said that the signing of the MOU signals the continued indication of the bank’s

Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal and Minister within the Ministry, Susan Rodrigues witnessing the signing between CH&PA’s Chief Executive Officer Sherwyn Greaves and Republic Bank’s General Manager, Credit, Venus Frith. commitment, and passion to contribute to the development of the country, and its people.

The home construction assistance programme seeks to accelerate the government’s housing drive, while also addressing challenges faced by families who have acquired government or private lands, but are unable to build their

homes, due to inaccessibility to financing, and issues with contractors. The initiative is part of the PPP/C Government’s strategy to provide affordable housing solutions to Guyanese.

On Friday evening, President Ali announced support for homebuilders which includes the provision of steel and one sling of cement for persons building

homes valued $6 million and below. For every other category of home builders, including young professionals and those in the middle-income bracket constructing homes costing over $6 million up to $25 million, government will provide two slings of cement.

To date, close to 12,000 house lots have been

distributed, with 5,000 slated to be allocated during the Building Expo. Some 1,200 units were also built in Regions, Three, Four, Six and Ten, 300 of which have been handed over to the beneficiaries. This brings the government closer to achieving its goal of distributing 50,000 house lots by the end of the year 2025.

Queen’s College two weeks Math camp is back After a two year hiatus as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Queen’s College of Guyana Alumni Association (NY), Inc. (“QCAANY”) will be hosting its fifth Queen’s College Summer Math Institute (“QCSMI”) for two weeks.

The camp which already began on July 18 at Queen’s College in Georgetown is expected to conclude on July 29, 2022. QCSMI usually runs Monday through Friday

from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, with daily lunch and snacks, T-Shirts and other giveaways provided at no cost to the participating students.

The targeted group of this enrichment programme is that of grades nine and ten students from Queen’s College, Bishops’ High School, St. Rose’s High School, Richard Ishmael Secondary School, Tutorial High School and Saint Stanislaus College.

This year, the

programme is led by m a t h e m a t i c i a n , D r.

Cleveland Waddell, Queen’s College alumnus and Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from North Carolina State University. Dr. Waddell will be supported by Mr. John Campbell, President of QCAANY; Shifiera Surujballi, a member of QCAANY; Ms. Ede Tyrell, Queen’s College alumna and University of Guyana lecturer who specializes in Microbiology in the

Department of Medical Technology of the Faculty of Health Sciences; Ms. Dianne Henry, Queen’s College teacher; and other Queen’s College friends and supporters.

QCAANY in a release stated that the aim of this programme is to sustainably i m p l e m e n t a developmentally appropriate and culturally resonant middle school learning environment that engages (Continued on page 15)

Kaieteur News

Monday July 25, 2022

PAGE 13

Construction, engineering company makes debut at Building Expo 2022 Emerging from the formation of a joint venture, TEKTON Inc. was able to make its debut in Guyana on Friday, July 22, at the International Building Expo 2022. The company is expected to accelerate growth for companies in the years to come.

According to the company, TEKTON is a professionally licensed construction and engineering company which has over 60 years of experience between its founders. It offers a myriad of products, services, and solutions for both the private and public sector.

Kaieteur News understands that the company has developed an extensive portfolio of projects which extends to all aspects of commercial, residential, and institutional construction design and development. Some services TEKTON offers include: architecture, engineering, interior design, furniture, fixtures, and equipment (FF&E) manufacturing,

procurement, and construction management.

Speaking about the company, TEKTON Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Evan Ramlochan stated, “We possess the unique ability to understand the dynamic sequences of any and all construction projects.

For example, our experience with the complex tasks of performing major renovations in existing or new medical facilities allows us to fully understand the requirements for patient safety, systems integrity, facilities management, and protection of ongoing medical operations. We believe that today’s times are tomorrow’s future” adding that, “With thoughtfulness and perseverance, we can design and create an amazing legacy.”

A c c o r d i n g t o information received, this newspaper understands that TEKTON has formed a longterm strategic partnership with the United States-based company JCER Design Consultants, LLC which has

(From Left) Michael Mowlah, Chief Development Officer, Evan Ramlochan (CoCEO), and Mahaish Ramoutar (Co-CEO) done many hospitality projects throughout the US and are brand-approved with all the major brands such as Marriott, Hilton, Wyndham and Best Western.

The company has also

General Manager, miner killed after mining pit caves in

Their colleagues using a jet hose to assist in digging out their bodies.

Two men were buried alive on Friday after the walls of 25 feet mining pit at Kumung Kumung Backdam, Puruni River, Region Seven, caved in.

The dead men were identified as the General Manager of the six-inch land dredge gold operation that was working in the pit, Seon Martin, 32, of Lethem, Region Nine, and Troy Scott, 44, a miner of Linden.

Region Seven police reported that the tragedy occurred around, 15:30hrs

while Martin and his crew were in the pit. He was at the time working as a jet man while Scott was operating the gravel pump.

Reportedly without warning, the walls of the pit began to crumble and cave in. The crew began running for safety but Scott and Martin were trapped and ended-up being buried alive by tons of solid earth.

Their colleagues had to excavate their bodies with the use of a jet hose.

Police have since visited

Dead, Seon Martin the area and the dead men were transported to Bartica.

They were both employed by Rhyburn Elcock, a 42-year-old businessman of Rahaman’s Park, EBD.

partnered with Dhospitality, LLC which has completed hundreds of FF&E projects around the world and are fully integrated as they own their own manufacturing plant in Guangzhou, China.

Serving clients from across the globe, JCER Design Consultants, LLC and Dhospitality, LLC have m a d e n o t a b l e accomplishments in many aspects of residential and

commercial construction design and FF&E manufacturing.

For his part, the Chief Development Officer (CDO), Michael Mowlah, shared, “Our labour force comprises of highly skilled and knowledgeable individuals who possess years of experience within the industry. We believe this is the time to create a “One Guyana” and with that mentality in mind, we foresee that our joint venture is expected to accelerate the growth for companies in this quickly emerging economy.”

Mowlah added that TEKTON’s new innovative partnerships leverage the respective strengths of their companies to create compelling value for the people of Guyana.

To learn more about TEKTON, visit their website www.tektongy.com. The company can be reached via telephone on 592-503-2910 and 347-239-5323. Their office is located at Lot 19 S ½ Peter’s Hall, East Bank Demerara.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 14

Monday July 25, 2022

Scenes from the launch of the girls-only self-defense programme [Office of the President photos]

Pres. Ali opens State House to host girls-only self-defense class O

n Saturday, July 23, President Irfaan Ali and First Lady, Arya Ali opened State House doors to host the g o v e r n m e n t ’s n e w l y launched initiative, a Girlsonly Self-defense Programme.

In attendance were: Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr; Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues; senior members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF)

and hundreds of young female participants along with their parents.

The girls’ only selfdefense programme caters for females ages 11 to 18.

With more than 300 girls registered for the classes, the participants will attend classes three times per week for a one hour session daily.

The classes are expected to last for one month.

Due to the overwhelming response that the government has received for the programme, President

Ali on Saturday mentioned that the government is considering expanding the programme into other regions.

I m p o r t a n t l y, t h e government will be providing refreshments for the participants as well as the proper attire to learn the art of self-defense.

In his address to the participants, President Ali stated that the initiative was planned with the goal to impart lifelong skills and discipline to improve the

young participants’ selfconfidence.

He reminded them that the programme is not designed for them to learn how to fight, but for them to learn to defend and protect themselves and even their friends.

In order to maximize the benefits that will emerge from the self-defense classes, the government have four instructors who will be teaching the participants. Each instructor will be given a

manageable group of participants, “I want you to know that in building this strong and united one Guyana, this is perhaps one of the most important initiatives, bringing young girls together and giving you this opportunity,” President Ali said.

In addition, President Ali disclosed that after each session, the participants will be given the opportunity to interact with members of parliament, diplomats, and

even members of the GPF, Guyana Fire Service (GFS) as well as other dignitary persons.

For his part, the President of the Guyana Mixed Martial Arts Federation (GYMMA), Gavin Singh addressed the participants and reminded them that the president’s initiative is to ensure they are in a power position to protect themselves.

Singh then engaged the participants in a brief warmup session to learn the art of self-defense.

Guyana’s electoral system under “stranglehold” of a few ...Structural makeup of GECOM must change - Economist

L

ocal economist and electoral reform advocate, Dr. Desmond Thomas, believes that Guyana can achieve its true potential on the basis of institutional changes led by electoral reform.

Speaking at lecture on electoral reform organized by civil society group Article 13, Dr. Thomas noted that even as society evolves and changes are implemented, the systems must equally undergo reforms.

“I believe there are institutional changes that this country needs and I believe that electoral reform is the place to start. The political literatures tell us if you have an unstable environment the place to start is usually electoral reform,” he said.

However, Dr. Thomas pointed out that in Guyana, the electoral system is under the “stranglehold,” of a few people.

The electoral reform advocate made specific reference to

structural composition of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM). Dr. Thomas stressed that the structural makeup at GECOM makes it difficult for the electoral reform to be achieved.

“I was trying to think about the last time that GECOM did something positive, constructive and noteworthy for this country and I thought for a long time but couldn’t come up with anything.

The fact of the matter is that GECOM is just there with two sides fighting each other,” explained Dr. Thomas.

According to Dr. Thomas, for the Elections Commission to overcome its issue, it must start operating on an independent and non-partisan basis.

D r. T h o m a s a s s e r t e d , “GECOM’s problems are rooted in the fact that it comprises of partisan political persons. There are some basic elements of any solid elections commission, it must be non-partisan. We can’t have an elections commission being run by people who are themselves involved in the elections. At GECOM, we have persons from the main political parties and then we have the chairman. That can never work.”

As part of his presentation, the economist referenced composition of elections commissions in India and Jamaica.

Dr. Thomas noted that “In places like India and Jamaica, there

are efforts to make the commission independent and autonomous. Part of it is making sure that the elections commissioners are appointed in some kind of nonpartisan way and also protecting them when they become members from political influence and one way to ensure this is by giving the persons fixed terms.”

He continued, “In Jamaica, there are nine people on the commission, four nominated by the parties, four nonpartisan and the CEO. And who elects the Chairman? The nine members; so we don’t have the problems we have here where we take a long drawn out process to elect the chairman.”

He stressed therefore, if Guyana is to achieve its true worth, a change in the electoral system is inevitable.

The electoral reform advocate noted that reform is something that is continuous because of the changing face of society and how things are done.

He said, “While the country is no doubt endowed with vast natural resources, if we don’t get our act together, we will not be able to benefit from our vast wealth and the ambitious goal to raise the living standard of the average person will not be achieved.”

“Development doesn’t depend on gold and silver and oil. It depends on people of vision and if we don’t get those things right, we

Local economist and electoral reform advocate, Dr. Desmond Thomas. are not going anywhere.”

Dr. Thomas’s view on changing the structural composition of GECOM is not isolated. Following the March, 2o20 election, the Organisation of American States (OAS) Electoral Observation Mission, in its menu of recommendations, called for the restructuring of GECOM. The Constitution (Amendment) Act No. 2 of 2000 paves the way for the appointment of six members of the commission – three appointed by the President and another three appointed by the opposition based on the advice of the Leader of the Opposition. The Chairman of the Elections is appointed by the President from a list of six nominees proposed by the Leader of the Opposition. However, former Prime Minister of Jamaica and Head of the Mission Bruce Golding told journalists that the existing formula is a recipe for division.

“The mission observed the polarisation among the members of

the Guyana Elections Commission and the challenges this created in arriving at consensus on most issues.

The divisions appear to exert undue pressure on the chairperson and the use of his or her casting vote to resolve decisions before the commission,” Golding explained.

This was the case in February 2019 when the then Chairman of the Elections Commission, Justice (Ret’d) James Patterson, had used his casting vote to support a motion for the conduct of house-to-house registration.

Justice Patterson had come in for major criticism from the opposing side.

Cognizant of the prevailing challenges, the OAS Electoral Observation Mission had recommended that Guyana engages in a multi-stakeholder discussion on the structure of GECOM in an effort to enhance the “deliberative nature and decisionmaking process of the Commission.”

Kaieteur News

Monday July 25, 2022

PAGE 15

Gas-to-Energy Project…

EPA vetting Govt.’s application for Natural Gas Liquids Plant, Wales Power Station - Jagdeo An application by the Government of Guyana (GoG) to develop a Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) Plant and a Power Plant at Wales, We s t B a n k D e m e r a r a (WBD), to complement the US$1.3 billion pipeline component- being pursued

by US oil major, ExxonMobil- is currently being vetted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

This is according to Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo who during an interview with Kaieteur News, on the sidelines of the recently concluded National Toshaos Council (NTC) Conference, explained that the regulator will decide whether an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) will be required for the government’s aspect of the Gas-to- Energy (GTE) project.

He said, “That is for the power plant and the NGL facility, it has been submitted so they are in the process of reviewing it. I don’t know precisely where they are at this point in time, but I know it has been submitted and I can get you the details later as to where it is now.”

The Environmental Protection (EP) Act is clear at Section 21(1) that “No person shall- (a) construct, alter, extend or replace any plant, structure, equipment, apparatus, mechanism, or thing that may discharge or from which may be discharged a contaminant into any part of the natural environment except under and in accordance with a construction permit issued by the Agency…”

This therefore means that even the GoG is required to seek a construction permit from the EPA before it rolls out any developmental project that can affect the

Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo

environment. After vetting the government’s application and project summary, the regulator will then determine whether an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) would be necessary to flesh out the various impacts that can be caused from the facilities. It must be noted that in addition to highlighting the likely associated impacts, an EIA also outlines measures that will be taken by a developer to avoid or respond to any emergency as a result of the venture.

T h e G a s - t o - E n e rg y project entails two components- that is the pipeline to transport the gas from the Liza One and Two Fields in the Stabroek Block to the Wales site- and a second aspect which will entail the gas being separated and treated via the NGL facility, then utilized by the power plant to generate some 300 megawatts of electricity.

Already, an EIA has been submitted to the EPA by ExxonMobil for the pipeline component of the US-billion

dollar venture. Upon the submission of that d o c u m e n t , environmentalists have argued against the “chopping” of the project into several aspects. In fact it was a Geologist, Simone Mangal-Joly that explained the Environmental Protection Act clearly states that an EIA must be done for a whole project and does not permit splitting into parts based on who is financing or running a specific part.

She reasoned, “I did not engage the gas-to-shore EIA process beyond the 28-day period comment period in July 2021 on the terms of reference for the study because the process is a farce. This was obvious to me when the EPA ignored submissions in that comment period and proceeded with allowing ExxonMobil to do an EIA without including the power plant.”

The environmentalist pointed out that raw gas would be continuously pumped up from underground offshore, piped to the shore via a pipeline

Queen’s College two weeks Math...

From page 12 Guyanese students in a cognitively rich mathematics learning experience that affirms and aligns with their cultural and social identities and places them securely on pathways to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) excellence.

Also part of the camp is a number of field trips planned as complementary activities that are integral to the QCSMI’s experience.

Among these are trips to the Schlumberger Company, an Oil & Gas company, The

National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute and Demerara Distilleries Limited, the release stated.

This year’s programme, the institute said, is made possible through generous sponsorships from alumnus Dr. Edris Kamal Dookie and family, Metallica Commodities Corporation, Rambaire LLC., and friends of Queen’s College.

For more information about the Queen’s College Summer Math Institute, persons can c o n t a c t Q C A A N Y a t nychapter@qcguyanaalumnny.org.

where it would be processed into natural gas to fire a power plant and natural gas liquids, which would be cooled and packaged at high pressure for shipping to markets.

On this note, she said, “We must all understand that those are extremely dangerous activities prone to explosions and that all those activities must take place under a ‘steady state system’. For the project to work, all the parts must all operate simultaneously otherwise. If one part goes down, then the tap on the offshore pipeline must be turned off or the gas must be flared right here onshore or else you will end up with an explosion. Basically, one part cannot operate without the other. The complete project involves all these parts.”

On July 2, the Ministry of Natural Resources moved to invite proposals for consultancy services for the supervision of the integrated NGL Plant and the 300 megawatt (MW) combinedcycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant.

It explained that the main objective of this Consultancy is for the Consultant to assist the Government of Guyana through the Gas to Energy Task Force in the design r e v i e w, c o n s t r u c t i o n , supervision and general project management of the development of the integrated plants, and contract administration throughout the project implementation process and thereafter during the defects liability period.

The estimated duration of the project is 42 months from the date of Contract signing and at least 12 months thereafter for defects liability from a date to be determined.

However, former Head of the EPA, Dr. Vincent Adams said this move was another case of the government putting the cart before the horse. He said that the government should not be inviting consultants to supervise the construction of the facilities without conducting an EIA. He said, “…What an EIA does, before you even start

construction, it drives the design of the facility because the EIA has got to identify hazards for example so when it does that then the developer would design it to mitigate against these hazards. So what they are doing is putting the cart before the horse. You cannot design and construct a facility if you don’t know what the hazards are.”

Similarly, Mangal-Joly also told this publication that the government’s approach is “unethical and amounts to willful duping of the public by shading and distancing the true scope of risks and potential impacts of the project. It’s saddening to see the Ministry of Natural Resources advertising for personnel for parts of this project not yet applied for or approved amid a contested pipeline EIA process.”

She added, “It shows contempt for the people of Guyana, rule of law, and democratic norms. Folks seem to want to talk about these things when it comes to national elections but not when it comes to environmental governance.”

PAGE 16

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Monday July 25, 2022

Kaieteur News

LAND FOR SALE Friendship, East Coast 85x213 Garden of Eden, Coldingen Moblissa (Highway) 10 Acres Contact:Ray's Realty 627-9385

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Guyana’s laws and legal system must be on par or ahead of other developments – Attorney General During his speech at the graduation ceremony for police prosecutors earlier this month, Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC, stated that the laws of Guyana and legal system must be on par or ahead of other developments taking place in the country.

“You all are aware of the transformational economic, social, commercial and other changes taking place in our country but none of it is possible and will be possible unless we have law and order prevailing in this society, unless the rule of law is respected, unless there is public order or unless we have a legal system that delivers justice to our people in accordance with law,” Nandlall said.

To this end, he stated that no matter what advancements are made in society, there must be corresponding and commensurate development in the justice and legal sector. Nandlall added, “We in Guyana have been fortunate or unfortunate to see the damage and destruction, social degradation and disorder which take place in our country whenever there is interference with the rule of law and whenever the legal system is not permitted to play its conceptual and constitutional role.”

The Attorney General noted that it is the law, and the rule of law, that creates a regulatory environment

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Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC

through which all other developmental endeavour takes place in the country.

As such he said, “That is why we have to ensure that our law and our legal system continues to be developed, continues to be advanced at the same rate or even greater than the other areas of human endeavours our society.”

He explained that if soci-

ety advances in the different areas and the law and legal system is not travelling at the same pace, or is not ahead then that society will move ahead of the legal system and it would result in an unregulated society.

“An unregulated society leads to anarchy, public disorder and lawlessness,” he added.

World Bank Project to enhance EPA capacity...

From page 8 qualifications for each position including highly specialized and experienced petroleum, geological and environmental engineers.” Patterson said the plan was completed in 2019 and recruitment was in progress until the Covid19 pandemic came and put things on hold. “The PPPC has however, scrapped the programme all together and is yet to propose an alternative,” the former minister alleged.

“The bottom-line is that unlike the Coalition which had institutions in place, the PPPC doesn’t care one iota about preparing and developing our oversight staff to help mitigate incidents such as a spill;

but at the same time, it is also neglectful and doesn’t care about ensuring the provision of liability coverage to clean up after a spill.

The coalition had both safeguards in place, only to be callously torn down by the PPPC.” Kaieteur News was nonetheless informed that the World Bank US$1M grant programme under the Guyana Petroleum Resources Governance and Management Project was conducted by Mr. Carlos de Regules and is entitled Institutional Assessment and Action Plan for the Oil and Gas Sector for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of Guyana.

It is dated October 25, 2019.

Monday July 25, 2022

PAGE 17

Kaieteur News

Enhancement works on Carmichael, Waterloo avenues estimated to cost $122M

The Ministry of Public Works is expected to execute a project that would result in enhancement works being done on both Carmichael and Waterloo Streets avenues.

The project which re-

cently opened at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) office is estimated to cost $122,488,725.

For this project, seven contractors have applied to

execute the works.

During the presentation of this year’s budget, it was noted that some $3.3 billion was put aside to finance improvement and enhancement of the aesthetics of

the environment across major urban areas in the country, with a particular focus on the capital city.

Already, the ministry has rolled out a number of enhancement projects in and

Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) Rehabilitation of Albion roads and bridges.

Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport Construction of asphalt walkway, Diamond/ Grove Playfield, East Bank Demerara.

around the city.

Also opened at NPTAB, GuySuCo is looking to rehabilitate roads and bridges in Albion.

These projects, according to its engineer are estimated

to cost $426 million.

Below are the companies and their bids: Ministry of Public Works Enhancement of avenues in Georgetown, Carmichael and Waterloo.

Repairs to Accounts Department office space, internal ceiling & flooring.

Repairs to Main Building Roof.

Extension of Sugar Storage bond at Blairmont Estate (Phase 2).

Supply and delivery of agricultural machinery, Lots 1 to 5.

Extension of Internal Office Space - SBB.

Construction of asphalt walkway, Ogle Community Centre.

Office of the Prime Minister Changing of windows to main building.

Guyana Defence Force Repairs to inboard engine workshop- Coast Guard headquarters, Ruimveldt.

National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) Installation of 160m rubble mound groyne along the foreshore of Perth.

PAGE 18

Monday July 25, 2022

Kaieteur News

TIGI adds support for CoI into VICE News bribery allegations against VP Jagdeo Opposition party leaders delivering the Vice News related motion

…says issue challenging government’s anti-corruption claims Anti-corruption advocate group, Transparency Institute Guyana Inc (TIGI), is adding its voice to increasing calls for the government and relevant agencies to launch an investigation into the allegations that were made by Chinese nationals to undercover VICE News reporters that they had paid Guyanese government officials, particularly Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, bribes to facilitate access to lucrative State contracts.

In a press statement Sunday, TIGI said that it is adding its voice to calls “for a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) as regards the disclosures from Vice News regarding suggestions that there is an organized system of bribery of officials of government at very high levels and systems to provide money-laundering services to boot.”

The agency insisted that it does not know how such spectacular allegations could be allowed to fester for so long without action on the part of the government especially after both President Ali and Vice President Jadgeo were recorded as having agreed that an investigation was necessary.

President Irfaan Ali had told the Stabroek News that the allegations “definitely” needed investigating since it was clear that persons were implicating themselves in the illegal activity. Jagdeo, who is at the centre of the allegations also supported the president in saying that security agencies should immediately launch an investigation since he believed that if people are breaking laws and are admitting to it, they should face the consequences.

However, more than a month after the first VICE News report, and a second publication following just weeks later, TIGI believes the quickness with which the VP had responded to the initial VICE report has died down.

“If alacrity was the hallmark of the VP’s response to the first allegations, we would have to say that foot-dragging and temporizing appear to have set in to dissipate whatever sense of urgency developed after the latest revelations.”

The anti-corruption group said too that given that it took months for another set of disclosures to be made by Vice News, “the public will be

wondering whether Vice News is waiting for a strategic moment in order to make yet another set of revelations.”

The agency related however that the government must take into account its transparency credentials since it is currently promoting its “shiny new anti-corruption framework.” On Saturday June 25, last, the Government of Guyana launched the Guyana Anti-Corruption Framework (at the Grande Costal Hotel ECD) to which TIGI said it was invited and participated.

“We were very impressed with the new thrust although we were concerned that there were no questions entertained. We were impressed because much was made of the role of some 14 laws enacted or updated since 2003 to combat corruption including: the Audit Act No. 5 of 2004, the Procurement Act, Cap 73:05, (2003), the Access to Information Act, AntiMoney Laundering and countering the Financing of Terrorism (Amendment) Act No. 1 of 2015.”

TIGI said that the attendees were presented with a

President Ali leads Govt. team to Washington President, Dr. Irfaan Ali and a delegation including the Vice President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo; Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hugh Todd and Foreign Secretary, Robert Persaud, departed for Washington on Sunday for a series of high-level engagements. At the invitation of the US Government, the delegation will meet with high-ranking US Government officials, including the Secretary of State and leade r s o f Congress and the Senate, to discuss a range of issues to further deepen bilateral relations between Guyana and the United States.

President Ali will also be a guest speaker at several e v e n t s h o s t ed by the Atlantic Council and will meet with US business leaders. He has also been invited to speak at the Woodrow Wilson Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Council of the Americas roundtable, among other

President, Irfaan Ali events.The President and his delegation are also expected

to meet with Guyanese living in Washington.

well-done booklet titled “Anti-Corruption Framework – Fact Sheet & Detailed Framework 2022” and on page 20 under the caption “The initiatives and Innovative Work of Government” were four bullet points including “The establishment of the National Coordinating Committee on June 8, 2021 which includes 16 agencies, all involved in implementing oversight and anti-corruption regulatory responsibilities.”

TIGI said it was very encouraged that Government had at last seen the need to signal a new emphasis to the nation. It noted however that, “every day that passes with these Vice News reports dan-

gling in the wind is a day in tension with Government’s stated anti-corruption aims.”

Apart from TIGI, civil society group Article 13 has also called on the government and state agencies to investigate the allegations made. Former Auditor General Anand Goolsarran has also called on the President to take action.

Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn had indicated the possibility of an investigation once it was requested.

Other stakeholders had called on the government to act on the VICE news report including the Parliamentary Opposition. In fact, last Thursday Leader of the Opposition Aubrey Norton brought a

motion seeking to have the House debate the VICE News allegations with a view of having an in t e r n a t i o n a l p r o b e i n t o t h e m a t t e r.

House Speaker Manzoor Nadir said in considering the motion, he sought to determine its urgency and basis. He stated the basis was on media reports, as such, the House could not entertain a debate since such allegations are quite prevalent in the press against many politicians.

He said too that while corruption allegations are important, he did not find this particular matter to be urgent and denied the motion the chance to be heard.

First shipment of black belly sheep expected in Guyana next week - Mustapha The first flock of the black belly sheep from Barbados is expected in Guyana by next week, Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha has disclosed.

Mustapha made this known during a visit to residents of No.28 Village and surrounding communities in Region Five.

The Minister revealed too that 1000 sheep will be transported in smaller flocks over the coming weeks. “ We w i l l b e h a v i n g 1000 black belly sheep coming from Barbados, the ship will be leaving Tuesday to bring the first set of sheep,” the Minister stated.

The sheep are expected to arrive in Guyana within 48 hours after departure from Barbados.

Before the sheep were shipped, they were examined for signs of illness.

President Irfaan Ali launched the black belly

sheep project in MahaicaBerbice back last March where he declared that the region could be the livestock capital of the Caribbean. It is said that the investment is about US$3 million for 2000 black belly sheep. The second batch of sheep will arrive in the near future.

Almost 100 farmers have signaled their intention to be a part of the project which will make close to 1400 acres of the land available.

“The president has instructed that 30 percent of women and 20 percent of youth must be involved in the project, n o t o n l y men,” the Minister noted.

President Ali at the launch of the project pointed out that the world import value on mutton and mutton produ c t s i s U S $ 8 billion.

CARICOM alone imports 7,900 tonnes of mutton at US$48 million annually. Ba-

hamas, Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago are the four major markets that Guyana can target the President had pointed out.

“We have right within our arms’ reach a market that can generate a value of US$48 million.

And who supplies CARICOM right now? Australia and New Zealand…

With the cost of freight and logistics cost increases, it is becoming more and more expensive, that is why this is a low hanging fruit, and CARICOM is right within our arm reach.”

“I am presenting you this to show you the opportunities so that you will know in this project, there are great opportunities.

This is not a project by guess, this is a project that is supported by scientific research, market research and strong negotiations on the trade side,” President Ali stated. (DPI)

Kaieteur News

Monday July 25, 2022

PAGE 19

Govt. to convene forum to address challenges facing dwindling fishing industry Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha recently assured fisherfolk that a forum will soon be convened to better understand the challenges they face and outline possible solutions.

The official provided this update to industry stakeholders on Saturday at the Albion Sports Complex in Region Six where an event was held to observe National Fisherfolk Day. “We will be holding a forum shortly, to work with fisherfolk, to listen to their contributions, to listen to their proposals, and all of us can put our heads together… to bring ease to this important industry, shortly,” the minister stated.

It was highlighted by the minister that large sums of money have been invested to develop the aquaculture and marine fishing industry in the country.

Added to that, Minister Mustapha noted that government has been making other interventions to assist fisherfolk, and added that it will continue to

Some of the fisherfolk gathered at the event

work with the authorities in Suriname so as to allow Guyanese fisherfolk to operate in the Corentyne River.

According to the

Department of Public Information, Minister Mustapha said government has an agreement with the Surinamese authorities for 150 fishing licences for

Guyanese. However, he said there continues to be issues regarding the award of these documents which government is committed to resolving.

With respect to government’s $150, 000 cash grant each for fisherfolk, Minister Mustapha said the list which will signal the

commencement of the distribution exercise will be finalised shortly.

“Let us ensure that we have a transparent list. Let us ensure that we capture all those persons who are entitled, and as soon as we complete that list, within one week, I’m hoping that we will give out the cash to everyone of you…,” he said.

Additionally, it was pointed out that government has placed heavy emphasis on the brackish water shrimp production with the hope of producing 1.2 million kilograms annually.

The pilot which began in July 2021 started out producing 10,000 kilograms, monthly. However, in June 2022, this jumped to 70,000 kilograms.

Minister Mustapha reiterated that government will continue to work to develop the fishing industry in recognition of the challenging, yet important role fisherfolk play in helping Guyanese families with maintaining a healthy and nutritious diet.

PAGE 20

Kaieteur News

Monday July 25, 2022

Volodímir Zelenski

Monday July 25, 2022

PAGE 21

Kaieteur News

Rupununi Queen’s in the Street 5-a-side football to kick off on August 25 The Rupununi Queen’s in the Street 5-a-side football competition is set to kick off on August 25 at Lethem Market Tarmac from 17:30 hrs.

The competition is being organized by Beek and DJ promotions and is being held in association with the Min-

istry of Culture, Youth and Sport.

Entrance fee is $5,000 and the winning team will take home a trophy and $200,000, runner up a trophy and $100,000 and third place and trophy and $50,000.

The competition is being

sponsored by Roberto, M and D Transportation Service, Cindy’s Bus Service and Brazilian Scentsatique, Rolex and Gena Air and Transportation Service, J. Chill Spot, Darwin Cool Drive Auto Shop, William and Lilianne En-

terprise, Ryan Restaurant and Gas 58 miles Maubara.

Admission to the venue is $200 and there will be giveaways during the final. The competition will continue on August 26 and conclude the following day.

4x100 favourites Jamaica take silver behind United States – men’s team miss out on podium SportsMax - Pre-race favourties Jamaica finished in second position behind the United States on the back of a few untidy baton exchanges in the Women’s 4x100m relays

at the IAAF World Championships on Saturday.

The US quartet of Melissa Jefferson, Abby Steiner, Jenna Prandini, and Twanisha Terry blasted to the line in 41.14.

With Terry just managing to hold off rapidly closing 200m champion Shericka Jackson.

The Jamaicans had gotten off to a poor start with

Monday July 25, 2022 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Sometimes, it's amazing to see how your relationships can spin so easily out of control, Aries. Today you may have to deal with a lot of tension within your group.

You'll almost feel as if no one understands the situation.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) As the dawn of another quiet and peaceful day appears, Libra, you will be in the best disposition to observe and appreciate the lightness of things. Life can seem so beautiful on some days.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) You sometimes have difficulty making up your mind. You don't always know exactly what you want.

Today, Taurus, you'll be at peace with yourself.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) You will find a clean page on the agenda today, Scorpio.

You should try to think only about yourself. This will allow you to meditate about your life and be at peace with yourself. .

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) You will wake up today on cloud nine, Sagittarius. Your morale is at a peak. You will feel totally free and be able to clearly perceive the essentials of life.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Sometimes we all feel a little lost, Gemini. We often want to move mountains and use all our energy and enthusiasm to try to do so.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) You have a natural ability to accomplish a great deal rather easily, Cancer. But today you may feel snowed under with projects. Things around you might be moving quickly.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Your day has finally come, Leo. You have your own vision of life and you like sharing it with others. You're far from thinking that you're any sort of new messiah.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Se pt. 22) Today you'll have the strange feeling that something is floating in the air.

The time is right to try to understand the different needs of your family circle.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) The The astral energy will have you reminiscing all day long over childhood memories, Capricorn. These memories will take you to the houses and places where you were raised.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) You love interacting with people others might consider eccentric. You can't help it. You're simply attracted to them. You will probably encounter one of these people today, Aquarius.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) You have always tried to build up your health using traditional methods, and you take great care of yourself.

a botched exchange between first leg runner Kemba Nelson and second leg runner Elaine Thompson-Herah putting the team immediately on the back foot. 100 World champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce reduced the deficit on the third leg but could not pull things back.

The team finished with a time of 41.18.

The German quartet of Tatjana Pinto, Alexandra Burghardt, Gina Lückenk e m p e r, and Rebekka Haase claimed third place in a time of 42.03.

In the men’s equivalent, the Jamaicans finished just outside the medal places.

The top spot went to the Canadian team who upset pre-race favourites the United States. Great Britain finished with the bronze medal.

The Jamaica team consisted of Ackeem Blake, Yohan Blake, Oblique Seville, and Jelani Walker.

PAGE 22

Monday July 25, 2022

Kaieteur News

Verstappen wins in France after Leclerc crashes out (Reuters) - Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the French Grand Prix yesterday and took a huge stride towards a second Formula One title after Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc made a costly mistake and crashed out while leading.

Seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton finished second for Mercedes in his 300th grand prix, with team mate George Russell third to secure their first podium double of the campaign.

The victory on a hot afternoon at Le Castellet was Verstappen’s seventh in 12 races this season and 27th of his career.

It also left him a hefty 63 points — more than two race wins — clear of closest rival Leclerc at the top with 10 rounds remaining.

“I think we had really good pace from the start, I was putting pressure on Charles,” said the Dutch 24year-old, who also won at the

southern Circuit Paul Ricard last year. “Following around here, with this heat, the tyres are overheating a lot so I could never really go for a move only once.”

Leclerc had led away from pole position, with Verstappen needing six laps before he could get close enough to attempt a move.

While he pulled closer on the straights, Leclerc had an advantage through the corners and managed to remain

just out of reach with the race shaping up as another private battle between the two.

The Ferrari then appeared to be pulling away and out of range, but with some concern about tyre wear, as Verstappen made his first pitstop on lap 16 and Leclerc stayed out. And then it all changed on lap 18.

The Ferrari driver screamed in rage and frustration over the radio after his car spun mid-corner and plunged into the tyre barrier at Le Beausset.

The Monegasque, unhurt, blamed himself for the unforced error.

Leclerc had led Verstappen by 46 points early in the season but this time his own hand helped push the pendulum further against him.

“I’ve been saying I think I’m performing at my highest level in my career but if I keep doing those mistakes then it’s pointless to perform at a very high level,” he told Sky Sports television. “I’m losing too many points.”

CAUGHT OUT The safety car was deployed briefly but from then on Verstappen was able to do his race and look after the tyres without much trouble.

Red Bull’s Sergio Perez lost out to both Mercedes

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen celebrates after winning the race.

(REUTERS/Eric Gaillard/Pool)

drivers, Hamilton roaring past at the start and Russell catching him out three laps from the end as a virtual safety car period ended. The Mexican complained over the radio that Russell had exceeded track limits, while the Mercedes driver felt Perez owed him the place. Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff made a radio intervention, urging Russell to stay calm and assuring the driver he could “hunt him down”. Carlos Sainz was fifth for Ferrari after starting at the back due to engine penalties and storming through the field to secure a bonus point for fastest lap. He was also voted Driver of the Day. Sainz would have finished higher, having got himself up

to third, but the Spaniard pitted a second time with 10 laps remaining in a strategy decision questioned by some.

He also served a five-second penalty for an unsafe release from an earlier stop.

Fernando Alonso was sixth for Renault-owned Alpine, who moved ahead of McLaren and into fourth place in the constructors’ standings. McLaren’s Lando Norris was seventh and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon eighth after overtaking McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo, who finished ninth. Canadian Lance Stroll took the final point in 10th for Aston Martin after fighting team mate Sebastian Vettel to the last corner.

Entries close today for Port Mourant Turf Club Pre Emancipation Horserace meet compliments of Banks DIH Limited Horse racing fans in Guyana will have an opportunity to be a part of horse racing a c t i o n o n S u n d a y 3 1 s t J u l y. T h e occasion will be the Port Mourant Turf Club Pre Emancipation Horse race meet at the Club’s track, Port Mourant, Corentyne, Berbice. Over 60 horses have already e n t e r e d f o r t h e d a y ’s event.

The event is being run under the rules of the Guyana Horse Racing Authority (GHRA) using updated classification.

Some eight races are listed for the day with over $6M in cash trophies and other incentives up for the taking.

The feature event will be an open race for all horses with a winning purse of $1M and the

Banks DIH Trophy over 8 furlongs.

The other events will see horses competing in the race for three years’ old Guyana and West Indies bred horses also over 8 furlongs for a winning take of $500,000 and trophy.

There is also an event for F an d l o w e r h o r s e s over 6.5 furlongs also with winning purse of $500,000.

The two years old Guyana and West Indies bred horses will see the winner taking home $400,000 and trophy over 5 furlongs.

The H class horses will also be battling for $400,000 and trophy over a 6 furlongs’ distance.

Horses classified I and lower will race over 8 furlongs for a winner ’s haul of $200,000 and trophy.

Another $200,000 and trophy is available for the winner of the J3 maiden (first time starters) event over 6 furlongs.

The final event will have the L class maiden animals battling it out 6 furlongs for a winning purse of 160,000 and trophy.

A c c o r d i n g t o the organisers a number of newly imported horses from USA the Caribbean and Suriname among other countries are slated to participate.

Entries are expected to close today 25th July.

There will be other attractions for the entire family and children and action starts at 12:00 hrs. Musical entrainment will be provided by Crown Vibes. Coordinator is Turbo Gingo Jagdeo.

Monday July 25, 2022

PAGE 23

Kaieteur News

Hope’s 115 in vain as West F and H are NSC dominoes champs Indies lose second ODI by two wickets to India Shai Hope plays a shot through the off side. (Associated Press)

The victorious F and H team.

SportsMax - Shai Hope scored a magnificent century but it was not enough to prevent the West Indies from going 2-0 down after a thrilling two-wicket victory with two balls to spare at the Queens Park Oval in Trinidad yesterday.

The win means the home side’s seven-match losing streak continues as they ceded the three-match series to India with one match remaining.

India started slowly but eventually got the measure of the West Indies attack with half-centuries from Shreyas Ayer (63) and Sanju Samson (54) but it was Axar Patel whose quick-fire 64 from 35 balls that powered India over the line with a straight six from the fourth ball of the final over bowled by Kyle Mayers.

Mayers finished with 2-48 from 7.4 overs. Alzarri Joseph bowled well for his 2-46 from

10. Jayden Seales proved economical taking 1-40 from his allotment.

Earlier, after the West Indies had won the toss and chose to bat first, Hope scored 115 as the West Indies posted 311-6 from their 50 overs.

After sharing in an opening stand of 65 with Kyle Mayers who made 39, Hope also featured in a secondwicket partnership of 62 with Shamarh Brooks who contributed 32 before he too was dismissed after getting a start.

Brandon King made nought from five balls before Hope and Captain Nicolas Pooran shared in a 127-run partnership for the fourth wicket that got the West Indies back on track for another score over 300. Pooran was eventually dismissed for 74 with the West Indies positioned at 280-5 in the 44th over. Hope finally fell in the

49th over, caught in the deep trying to hit over the long-off boundary as the West Indies’ rate of scoring dipped. The home side managed 31 off the next six overs while also losing the wickets of Rovman Powell for 13 and Romario Shepherd for 14, something that West Indies would come to regret. Shardul Thakur was the pick of the Indian bowlers with 3-54 from his seven overs but India’s ability to restrict the West Indies’ scoring in the death overs was largely due to the excellent bowling of Mohammad Siraj, who ended wicket-less but who the West Indies batters found difficult to get away in the final three overs.

Scores: India 312 for 8 (Axar 64*, Iyer 63, Samson 54, Joseph 2-46, Mayers 2-48) beat West Indies 311 for 6 (Hope 115, Pooran 74, Thakur 3-54) by two wickets.

F and H turned in a sterling performance to win the National Sports Commission dominoes competition which concluded on Thursday night at Strikers Sports bar.

F and H took a slim lead following the opening round with 12 games ahead of Providence SC with 11 and Gold is Money nine.

F and H marked 16 games in the second sitting, while Providence SC made 13 and Gold is Money 13.

F and H continued to lead

after the third round as they chalked 11 games while Providence SC managed 12 and Gold is Money six.

F and H extended their advantage in the fourth sitting as they scored 16 games to take their tally to 55.

Providence SC continued to occupy the second position as they marked 13 games to take their total to 48 and Gold is Money made 13 taking their overall games to 41.

F and H maintained their lead with 15 games in the fifth round while Providence made 11 and Gold is Money 10.

F and H made the maximum 18 in the sixth and final sitting as they took their overall games to 88.

Providence SC managed 10 to take their tally to 70 and Gold is Money scored 14, taking their total to 65.

The competition was cosponsored by Big Boss Transportation Service and Strikers Sports bar.

Axar Patel belted a 27-ball fifty.

(AFP/Getty Images) Runner up Providence SC.

Grenada’s Peters dominates field to take Javelin gold SportsMax - Grenadian thrower Anderson Peters put together a series of sensational p e r f o r m a n c e s t o dominate the Javelin Throw at the IAAF World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, on Saturday.

Straight out the gates, the Caribbean athlete served notice of his intention to defend the crown he won in Doha, at

the 2019 edition. Peters went straight to the head of the pack with a massive throw of 90.21. The athlete went on to register another three 90m throws, including his winning distance of 90.54 in the final round.

The Grenadian was the only athlete on the day attaining the 90m s tandard. Second spot went to India’s Olympic

champion Neeraj Chopra who registered a mark of 88.13 in the fourth round.

The Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch claimed the bronze meda l w i t h h i s best of 88.09, which he achieved in the third round. Peters, heading into the event as the athlete in form, having registered a world-leading m a r k o f 9 3.07 in Doha, Qatar in May.

PAGE 24

Monday July 25, 2022

Kaieteur News

Ramnauth unbeaten century East Ruimveldt residents get upgraded recreational facility compliments of GPF leads Guyana to and acting Commissioner of Police comprehensive win over T and T Cutting the ribbon to officially open for the completed facility.

With the instrumentality of acting Commissioner of Police Clifton Hicken, residents of Back Circle, East Ruimveldt, once again after a long time have somewhere to relax with the successful resuscitation of the Recreational Square in the area.

The project came on the heels of an invitation by Adrian Aaron for Hicken to visit his community and do something for the residents especially, an invitation which Hicken accepted.

The enhancement work was spearheaded by the Guyana Police Force with support from the Ministry of Public Works and the business community.

It was noted that it is very important for the recreational facilities in the various communities to be restored so that the youths can enhancing their skills in various sports and other ventures. The tarmac can be used for Basketball, volleyball, football, cricket, athletics among other recreational and fun activities.

In speaking at the ceremony, Hicken urged residents to create a friendly and conducive atmosphere where members of the private sector would feel safe to come into the communities, identify talented youths and sponsor them. He also stated that the Guyana Police Force has

many similar initiatives planned for the community including revitalizing youth groups, training for youths in the community and the development of a Play School, among other projects.

At the end of the official ceremony a football game was organized between a team representing Back Circle Football Club and the Guyana Police Force Football Club.

Among those present at the ceremony were Minister of Home Affairs Robson Benn, Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill and a number of Senior and Junior Police Officers from the Guyana Police Force.

(Samuel Whyte)

The Commissioner briefing the two teams before the start of the game.

Rampertab Ramnauth An unbeaten century from opener Rampertab Ramnauth handed Guyana a nine-wicket victory over host Trinidad and Tobago when the CWI Regional U17 50over tournament continued yesterday.

Batting first at Gilbert Park, Trinidad and Tobago made 202-8. Veeran Batchu top scored with 59 which included three fours and one six, while Justin Jagessar made 31 with four fours, Luke Ali scored 27 and Fareez Ali 25.

Promising left arm spinner Golcharran Chulai, who hails from Wakenaam, picked up 329, while Alvin Mohabir took

2-26.

Berbican Ramnauth led Guyana’s reply as he stroked eight fours and two sixes in an unbeaten 104 which came off 127 balls. Mavindra Dindyal struck five fours before he retired on 50 off 67 balls, while Zachary Jodah made 36 not out with two fours.

Earlier, Guyana beat Barbados by eight wickets at the said venue. Barbados took first strike and managed 1225 from their reduced quota of 20 overs. Joshua Dorne made 38 as Bruce Vincent picked up 2-15 and Golcharan Chulai 128.

Guyana responded with 123- 2 in 19.3 overs. Ramnauth struck an unbeaten 56, while Dindyal scored 46 not out.

Jatario Prescod took 1-18.

Jamaica beat Windward Islands by 186 runs. Jamaica batted first and scored 270 all out in 48.1 overs. Windward Islands replied with 84 all out in 22.2 overs.

Barbados defeated Leeward Islands by 115 runs.

Barbados made 278 for 8, while Leeward Islands were bowled out for 163 in 44.1 overs.

Guyana are leading the points table with two wins from two matches.

Senior National Squash Play-offs

Alphonso takes Men’s title by ‘Walk over’

By Sean Devers After four days of good Squash, the Senior National Squash Play-offs ended in an anti-climax yesterday as both the Men’s and Women’s finals were cancelled in a tournament which is being used to select team Guyana for the upcoming Senior CASA Squash from August in Jamaica.

On a wet and gloomy morning, the atmosphere inside the virtually empty Squash facility was as gloomy as only a reporter and Tournament Coordinator were presented at the scheduled 9:30 AM start for the Women’s final.

Larissa from the Wiltshire clan, had beaten her elder sibling Akeila on Saturday, while Ashely DeGroot eased past Taylor Fernandes to set what was

anticipated to be a riveting final. However, both ladies reported injuries on Saturday night and the contest was over before it started like damp squib.

It was another cancelled final in the Men’s category but the difference was that Michael Alphonso, who beat Nicholas Verwey 3-1 on Saturday, was the only player to turn-up yesterday, although it was two minutes before the 10AM start time.

However, with his opponent and a small support group which included his mom waiting, Joseph sent a message just after 10AM to say he had not recovered from his leg injury.

Joseph’s place in the final was controversially earned when Kristian Jeffery, who lost the second game after winning the first, retired.

As the match progressed, tensions rose and emotions flared with the referee having an active time calling ‘Lets’ before Jeffery conceded the match.

It was ironic that Verwey, the grandson of National Squash Coach Carl Ince, was present with his full Squash gear for a practice session after the final would have been completed.

The Guyana Squash Association (GSA) confirmed that the team to travel to Jamaica has not been selected as yet.

After the team has been picked they will be involved in a training programme at Coach Carl Ince’s Farm on the Linden Highway were he constructed a swimming Pool and in the process of building a fourth Squash Court.

Kaieteur News

Monday July 25, 2022

PAGE 25

Guyana Cup on regulated course “This is what democracy is all about in this country, and moreso in t h e h o r s e r a c i n g i n d u s t r y, ” Nasrudeen Mohamed declared when asked to comment on a story carried in yesterday’s Kaieteur News on the Guyana Cup. Young Mohammed, Promoter of the now famed Guyana Cup, which will be held at Rising Sun racetrack, Berbice on 14th August, 2022 revealed, “There is a quotation that no news is good news, and I have to thank Mr Elcock for keeping the Guyana Cup in the news.”

Mohammed advised, “The Promoter of next month’s Guyana Cup do not have anything to defend. Mr Colin Elcock, whom we have the greatest respect for, probably is out of the country, or was out of the country when the Guyana Cup eight-race Provisional Programme (card) was made available since April 2022. I am willing to send him a copy, as nominations for the Guyana Cup, and the Derby is on 7th August, 2022.

While payment of final entry fees for the eight-race card will be

Nasrudeen ‘Junior’ Mohamed accepted on or before the 14th August, 2022.”

Mohammed responding to Elcock’s statement that the race day

being staged is unregulated explained, “There is no functional Guyana Horse Racing Authority (GHRA) for more than five years now, because of that we installed an interim committee to avoid such spurious claims, as last GHRA President, Cecil Kennard died recently.”

He continued, “However, an interim committee comprising, Stuart Gonzalves, Dennis Deroop, Fazal Habibula, Therbhuwan Jagdeo, Nasrudeen Mohamed, and Dr Stephen Chee Foon is in place.

We as promoters decided to form this committee on a temporary basis, because there is no operational GHRA. We went further, through Dr Dwight Waldrond, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA).

We ensured that locally bred horses are micro chipped, registered for proper record keeping in the establishment of a Stud Book registry and the welfare of horses are upheld prior and on the day of racing.”

“Mr Elcock’s uneducated claim that horses have to be classified by

...as foreigners flown in to assist

competent stewards is wrong. He is sensationalising his utterances to his embarrassment. He is well aware stewards have a different role. They officiate on the race day, and when entries are accepted,” Mohamed stated.

He also added that, “All horses, who are eligible to race were properly classified by competent persons, and that ‘Classification list’ was advertised, and sent out. It is updated regularly, because new horses are imported in the country almost every other week.

This is trending because new owners are buying horses, because they have confidence that the playing field is level for all, and want to be part of this historic day’s racing.”

Mohamed further communicated, “The promoters are willingly accepting any new ideas or vision to improve the sport. His piece endorses freedom of speech.

Unfortunately he is mistaking emotions with reality.

We have no one to fool, and the effort to put together such a historic card with such lucrative purses is enviable. However, a chain is as

strong as its weakest link, and Mr Elcock, who promoted racing, and won several Guyana Cup, apparently do not have the horses to compete at that level anymore, and is now critical, however, we are willing to help him if need be.”

In closing, Mohamed, who has imported the most horses into the country this season, and made some available to those who wanted to own a horse concluded by saying, “We have very experienced and knowledgeable people working with us on the day. It will be first time an electronic betting system will be introduced to accept bets.

We are aware of the challenges ahead from the weather to our horsemen, but the majority believes we will succeed, and we will not disappoint Mr Elcock.”

It must be noted that several overseas knowledgeables will be here for the event to lend their knowledge, expertise and insight to ensure the event is properly run and all, both horse owners and fans, will come away from the Rising Sun Turf Club very pleased with the entire conduct of the day’s activities.

s t r o Sp

Hope’s 115 in vain as West Indies lose second ODI by two wickets to India

Nicholas Pooran and Shai Hope put on a solid partnership.

(Randy Brooks/AFP via Getty Images)

Grenada’s Peters dominates field to take Javelin gold

Michael Alphonso is the Men’s Champion after gaining a walk-over from Nyron Joseph yesterday at the Georgetown Club.

Grenadian thrower Anderson Peters was sensational in winning gold.

Senior National Squash Play-offs

Alphonso takes Men’s title by ‘Walk-over’

East Ruimveldt residents get upgraded recreational facility compliments of GPF and acting Commissioner of Police

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