Kaieteur News

As sugar shortage bites…

Thursday Edition

GuySuCo reduces quota of major distributors

July 28, 2022 - Vol. 15 No. 30

Online readership yesterday, 68,698

Guyana’s oil boosts Hess second quarter earnings to US$667M Bandit shot We will not give up the fight for full dead during liability coverage home invasion - Shadow Oil and Gas Minister, David Patterson

Exxon already onto two more deepwater oil wells Five contractors Chinese contractors vying to build dominate bids to sugar packaging upgrade Grove to plant at Albion Timehri highway

Bank of Guyana, Insurance Association must come clean on oil spill coverage talks - Former EPA Head accuses Govt. of deliberately keeping documents from citizens

Pres. Ali telling Guyanese we poor but telling investors to The Glenn Lall Show in the USA how rich we are, come and tek it! Listen @11:00hrs on 99.1/99.5FM

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President Irfaan Ali along with his Foreign Affairs Minister Hugh Todd and officials of the US EXIM Bank following the signing of the MOU

Kaieteur News

Thursday July 28, 2022

Pres. Ali seeks US$2B loan from EXIM Bank - signs MOU targeting infrastructure, renewable energy Amid growing concerns a b o u t t h i s c o u n t r y ’s ballooning external debts President Irfaan Ali on We d n e s d a y s i g n e d a Memorandum of Understanding with US EXIM Bank for US$2B, targeting potential funding for infrastructure, renewable energy and other areas.

And the country’s head of state who, is on a tour of

the United States hailed the potential loan as a signal of the US’s commitment not only to Guyana but to CARICOM. The Head of State made this assertion following the signing of the agreement, which he dubbed as “historic.” Kaieteur News reported late last month that a Bank of Guyana (BoG) report, documenting the country’s performance in the first three months of this year, has found that the state now owes an additional US$124.4 million in debt, bringing the total to US$3.248 billion. According to the document, “the total stock of public debt, which comprises both external and domestic debt, increased by 4.0 percent or US$124.4 million to US$3,248.6 million compared to the endDecember 2021 position.”

It was explained that the domestic debt stock increased to G$389.469 billion or US$1.868 million during the review period, on account of increased issuance of treasury bills for C e n t r a l G o v e r n m e n t ’s budgetary financing. At the end of December 2021, the total domestic debt stood at G $361.513 million or US$1.734 million. The Bank noted that domestic debt service payments decreased by 17.4 percent, as a result of lower principal repayments on treasury bills, particularly, the 182-day bill.

“Total domestic principal and interest payments were G$24,004 million and G$325.2 million, respectively. Domestic debt service payments accounted for 44.8 percent of government revenue.”

Notably, during the first three months of the year, the stock of external debt decreased to US$1,383 million on account of declines in both multilateral and bilateral debt stock during the review period.

This was attributed to higher debt service payments to both categories of creditors, BoG said.

Important milestone Meanwhile, according to an Office of the President press release, the MoU represents an important milestone in US-Guyana relations since it lays the foundation for Guyana to access EXIM financing and facilities for the first time and provides for interventions at a scale that is

likely to have a lasting developmental impact.

Under the agreement, the parties agreed to explore options for utilising EXIM’s standard instruments, which include direct loans and medium- and long-term guarantees, to finance US exports to Guyana for Government projects totalling US$2bn. “In this development phase of our country, we want to see greater US participation not only from the Government but from the private sector.

One of the inhibitive factors has always been the ease of access to financing and the barriers to financing. This, today, is the single most important signature not only for Guyana but for the region, the United States, through one of its agencies.

EXIM Bank is serious about its commitment to the CARICOM region.”

The MoU, he added, should also signal an open invitation to the private sector and the leadership of both countries to now move aggressively forward on a platform that is supported by the Government of Guyana and EXIM Bank. As such, he expressed optimism that full use will be made of this opportunity and that there is a deeper understanding, on both sides, of the level of seriousness that is attached to the relationship. This commitment, the President added, “has now been cemented in the MoU that not only outlines areas but sets an initial figure of $2bn to be allocated to the development projects and work in Guyana.

“I think we can applaud ourselves and EXIM Bank for this dynamic, futuristic, and bold move in advancing this relationship and this cause, and the areas we have identified shows the broad and multifaceted nature of the leadership of EXIM Bank.”

The MoU also identifies a number of indicative sectors in which projects may be identified. These include but are not limited to: infrastructure (including roads and bridges); energy (including renewable energy and emission reduction); telecommunications (including wireless technologies); water treatment and sanitation (including technologies and (Continued on page 9)

Kaieteur News

Thursday July 28, 2022

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Guyana’s oil boosts Hess second quarter earnings to US$667M

H

ess Corporation on Wednesday reported that it achieved a net income of US$667 million, or US$2.15 per common share, in the second quarter of 2022, compared with a net loss of US$73 million, or US$0.24 per common share, in the second quarter of 2021.

The corporation said the improvement in after-tax earnings compared with the prior-year quarter adjusted results was primarily due to higher realized selling prices in the second quarter of 2022. Increased production at its operations in Guyana also contributed to its sizeable net profits.

At the Stabroek Block where it has a 30 percent working interest, Hess said net production totaled 67,000 barrels of oil per day

(bopd) in the second quarter of 2022 compared with 26,000 bopd in the prior-year quarter.

In explaining the increase in barrels received, Hess said production from the Liza Destiny Floating Prouction Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel reached its new production capacity of more than 140,000 gross bopd in the second quarter of 2022 following the completion of production optimization work initiated in March.

As for net production from the Liza Unity FPSO, which commenced in February, Hess said this was 35,000 bopd in the second quarter of 2022, and reached its production capacity of 220,000 gross bopd in July.

In the second quarter, Hess said the company sold six one-million barrel cargos

of crude oil from Guyana compared with two one million barrel cargos in the prior year quarter.

With respect to net production guidance for Guyana for the full year 2022, Hess said this is e x p e c t e d t o b e approximately 75,000 bopd, w h i c h i n c l u d e s approximately 6,000 bopd of tax barrels.

Net production guidance for the third quarter of 2022 is expected to be in the range of 90,000 bopd to 95,000 bopd, which includes approximately 7,000 bopd of tax barrels.

There were no tax barrels in the first or second quarters, Hess said in its earnings report.

Hess and its co-venture partners currently have four sanctioned developments on the Stabroek Block. The Liza

Phase 1 development, which began production in December 2019, reached its new production capacity of more than 140,000 gross barrels of oil per day in the second quarter of 2022 following production optimization work.

The Liza Phase 2 development, which achieved first oil in February 2022 utilizing the Liza Unity FPSO, reached its production capacity of approximately 220,000 gross barrels of oil per day earlier this month.

The third development at Payara is on track to come online in late 2023 utilizing the Prosperity FPSO with a production capacity of approximately 220,000 gross barrels of oil per day.

T h e f o u r t h development, Yellowtail, will be the largest

Hess CEO, John Hess development to date and is expected to come online in 2025, utilizing the ONE GUYANA FPSO with a production capacity of approximately 250,000 gross barrels of oil per day.

At least six FPSOs with a production capacity of more than 1 million gross barrels of oil per day are expected to be online on the Stabroek Block in 2027, with the potential for up to 10 FPSOs

to develop gross discovered recoverable resources.

The Stabroek Block is 6.6 million acres.

ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited is operator of the oil rich concession and holds 45 percent interest.

Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds 30 percent interest and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited holds 25 percent interest.

Bank of Guyana, Insurance Charrandass wins $7 million in defamation Association must come clean lawsuit against Ramjattan on oil spill coverage talks - Former EPA Head accuses Govt. of deliberately keeping documents from citizens

By Zena Henry

Leader of the AFC, Khemraj Ramjattan.

Leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC) Party and Opposition Parliamentarian Khemraj Ramjattan has been ordered by the High Court to pay damages in the sum of $7 million to Charrandass Persaud for defamation.

Persaud a former MP of the A Partnership for National Unity +Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) had originally filed a $30 million lawsuit in 2019 against Ramjattan who was at the time the country’s Public Security Minister.

High Court Judge Jo-Ann Barlow in handing down the judgment also ordered Ramjattan to refrain from making statements that suggest that Persaud who is n o w G u y a n a ’s H i g h Commissioner to India was compensated financially for his role in the NoConfidence Motion brought

Guyana’s High Commissioner to India, Charrandass Persaud.

down by the APNU+AFC Government back in 2018.

In handing down her decision Justice Barlow noted: “This court in assessing this matter found that an award of $7 million is appropriate in the circumstances of this case…the defendant shall pay to the claimant costs in the sum of $150,000 (one hundred fifty thousand dollars) on or before 25th August 2022,” the ruling noted.

There were several newspaper articles presented in Court documents which included a statement attributed to Ramjattan in a December 2018 edition of the Guyana Chronicle, titled “Cops closing in on Charrandass” and a Stabroek News edition of January 2019, “Ramjattan: Charrandass Persaud is a

villain not a hero.”

It also drew attention to statements made by Ramjattan on Globe Span talk show, streamed on Facebook in February 2019.

One of the court’s assertions was that Ramjattan’s referral to Persaud and 30 pieces of silver, could only be taken to mean that Ramjattan was accusing the former AFC MP of taking a bribe, which was designed to slander him.

Persaud contended that these published statements were intended to and had the effect of lowering his r e p u t a t i o n , c h a r a c t e r, morality and honesty as an attorney- at- law in the eyes of right-thinking members of t h e p u b l i c . H o w e v e r, Ramjattan insisted that the claims were merely attributed to him and not said by him. He said he was not the author of the articles.

Former Head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Dr. Vincent Adams believes that the Government of Guyana is deliberately keeping documents supporting better insurance coverage from ExxonMobil out of the public’s domain and has thus called on involved parties to confirm their participation at meetings in this regard under the previous administration.

Adams is urging the Bank of Guyana and the Insurance Association of Guyana participants who engaged in discussions toward securing oil spill liability coverage for Guyana to come forward and speak up. The former EPA head was again responding to government’s claims that no information currently exists within its relevant agencies to show that efforts were in the making to have ExxonMobil and its partners provide a collective US$2.5B liability sum that ensured better protection against any possible oil spill at the Stabroek Block.

Natural Resources

Former EPA CEO Dr. Vincent Adams Minister Vickram Bharrat insisted last Thursday during the debate on the David Patterson-sponsored motion on full liability coverage, that to date the government has been “unsuccessful” in finding the document claiming to have secured the full coverage.

He told the National Assembly that “based on our checks there is no such document,” and that none could be found at the EPA, the Natural Resources Ministry or the Department o f E n e rg y l o c a t e d a t Brickdam. As such, Bharrat appealed to the opposition

member to share the documents with the government since they have expressed a willingness to work with the administration and develop the oil sector. He even suggested that the documents may have been removed from EPA and could be with the former CEO (Adams). “So if the document is with the former head of the agency well then we would love to see that document… we would love to see how far the negotiations went and we would love to see all that took place towards moving to $5B insurance for oil spills,” the minister submitted.

Dishonesty Adams insisted however, that it is dishonest of the government to continuous claim that no evidence of such work is available when key agencies such as the Bank of Guyana and the Insurance Association of Guyana were involved. He explained that these discussions took place when Exxon’s in country Manager, Rod Henson was still leading the company here. The (Continued on page 16)

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Thursday July 28, 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

The President must act

W

e are left with no choice but to go straight for the jugular. Guyana’s President Ali must act with speed and authority. Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo is a drag on his leadership efforts, his record as a president. The President has his own sources, and does not need any assistance from us in this regard, but we still give him the boost. The Vice President is undoing his works, threatening to unsettle his presence at the top of Guyana’s political ladder.

Talk to any Guyanese, including staunch supporters of this PPP/C Government, and there are deep suspicions, many admissions, surrounding the Vice President. More and more Guyanese are simply blown away by the endless list of ills placed on the head of the Vice President, and whatever goes on the head of the former President automatically ends up smearing the head of the current President.

When even committed loyalists of the party have reached this stage, and could admit to this publicly but carefully, then matters have gone very far, indeed.

This is not helpful to any government, it is not uplifting for any leader, and this is assuming the best of circumstances. If this is so where PPP/C Government supporters are concerned, it is left to the imagination of what could be the thinking, the conclusions, about the Vice President in the minds of those not part of the party, as well as foreigners present in this country.

It is never a good time for something so big to take place anywhere. At this time when Guyana is the centre of attention and interest of the whole world, this is the worst possible development that could visit here. We are not focusing on what the Chinese have alleged, for this was common knowledge across the length and breadth of this country.

It is so widespread that people who weren’t even in the know did know, but due to the powerful reach of the Vice President, himself a former President of many years, many took shelter under the protection of discretion. Now in what is possibly the best of times for Guyana, with an uninterrupted shower of energy and money being poured into this country, there is this dark shadow and huge monstrosity with the name of the Vice President written over it, as alleged.

This is the worst blot that could happen to the young President Ali. It is a big blot and at a most inconvenient time. Unsurprisingly, the President in his own display of undying loyalty has stepped up energetically to stand by the side of his embattled Vice President.

We at this paper caution that the odds are there for what is swirling over the Vice President to trap and tumble down the President. From our perspective, President Ali is left with two simple, but very difficult, choices.

The first is that he sticks blindly and rashly with his Vice President, which has all the elements of rebounding to his discredit. Or the President could be bold and principled enough to cut the cord that binds him to the Vice President, and leave him to sink or swim on his own merits.

Also, we note that the Guyana delegation invited by the US that is led by the President includes the Vice President.

On the one hand, this makes for a lot of sense, since the Vice President as a former national leader has a very good grasp of how Guyana operates. Moreover, he has also been put in charge of the nation’s massive new oil wealth, which comes with its own long history of temptations and leadership failures.

Oil must necessarily be part of the agenda, and this means that the Vice President features conspicuously. On the other hand, it could be that the Americans have in mind some straight talk about the Chinese and their allegations, with subtle messages and pressures indicated to the President.

That is, some house cleaning is mandatory, and that if the Vice President has to go, then he must go, and there must be no two ways about it.

The ball is now in President Ali’s court, and he must show that he has the stuff befitting a national leader.

The Ali/Jagdeo administration needs to pause and do some introspection DEAR EDITORS, I am grateful for some space to discuss a few issues and extend the spotlight that MP Amanza Walton-Desir put on the Christinas of Guyana onto the Mikes of Guyana – male single parent households that are also engaged in the daily mental acrobatics to make ends meet.

We hear a lot about single mothers because they are the majority, but unfortunately, not all mothers are Christinas, and we do have single fathers whose struggles are invisible to policy makers. When a minority group is invisible, it means that they are granted no rights and survive in a state of oppression.

In Guyana, in general, we have little empathy for the emotional well-being of men.

Social services are characterised by the stereotype of men as abusers of women and a woman can show up with any fictional story and be readily believed by the gullible. Men in Guyana are not supposed to ask for help. They are supposed to be tough, to go get a job, to slog it out, to find some way to bring home the dollars. The reality is that men are people too – they have emotions, they get

emotionally hijacked, they have mental health issues, they do suffer from depression, anxiety, low selfesteem and lack of confidence, immaturity, negativity, autism, dyslexia and the whole range of human emotional and psychological experiences.

Combined with poor education and poor coping strategies of smoking, drinking, ‘rowing’, cursing, suicide, crime, obsession, violence we end up with a bleak reality for the most vulnerable and stressed out in society. If the Agencies with responsibility for social services cannot articulate the social problems that the nation faces (and they cannot, because they don’t) then we will continue to stir pots in big offices, make a lot of splashes and go nowhere, while people who need help do not receive any. The areas where the most vulnerable people of Guyana need help receive little or no recognition from the Government.

MP Amanza Walton-Desir’s full ‘Christina’ presentation in Parliament can be found on her Facebook page and I agree with her that very little can be considered cute in the face of the dire economic

situation that most Guyanese find themselves in – even those of us with jobs are living from pay cheque to pay cheque. There is certainly irony in policy makers feasting while others can’t afford to buy simple basics like chunks in the supermarket. This was not cute in the Burnham era and neither is it cute today.

However, the mathematics error is not the first time that this MP has made errors in her public utterances. [1] A life in politics in a diverse nation will necessarily expose to us our biases, weaknesses and challenge our false assumptions. But regardless of the mistakes, what is consistent about MP Amanza Walton-Desir is her passion for dealing with the issue of the cost and standard of living, the bread-and-butter issues and economic injustice – and this is a unifier as social and economic injustice is a problem that cuts across all divides.

I do wonder why more politicians and leaders are not as enraged as Amanza Walton-Desir is that three children died in a fire while their mother was at work? [2] Why aren’t policy makers in a rush to put in place systems

to ensure these kinds of tragedies never reoccur?

Children died!!! Three of them!!! Because their mother was at work!!! Our policy makers aren’t enraged because they don’t care.

Women in Mahdia have to leave their children in the care of ‘family members’ because they need to work. The untold stories of early childhood suffering, rape, abuse, neglect find their echos in retarded intellectual and psychological development. These are the kinds of problems that we need to put an end to in Guyana but meeting the needs of ExxonMobil is more important and especially to the men in parliament – of both sides of the divide. We need balance and it seems to fall upon the women to bring that balance. The PPP/C always finds a woman to lead the Ministry of Social Services – for reasons that they only know. We need to start somewhere in this country with social policy.

Single parents, of both genders, need consistent support not random handouts. Never should we ever ask a single father or mother to go to work (Continued on page 5)

We must free ourselves from the shackles of adversarial politic DEAR EDITOR, Guyana is on the path of democratic renewal. Despite attempts by the political opposition to derail the democratic process, there can be no doubt that the country has made, over the decades, substantial progress in terms of representative governance and the rule of law.

The above, notwithstanding the search for ways to deepen our democracy to reflect our diversity must continue. In this regard, the measures taken by the current administration to reactivate the process of constitutional reforms must be applauded. It is now for the political opposition to come on board with a view to iron out a governance construct that will address the ethnic dilemma that has been a drag on our developmental aspirations ever since the split of the PPP in 1955. Sadly, the scars of that political schism still remain in the body-politic even though there are indications of higher levels of political inclusivity and multiculturalism. It is an

established historical fact that the split in the PPP was engineered by Forbes Burnham following his unsuccessful bid to take over the leadership of the PPP. As a gesture of good faith, the PNC which still remains the largest opposition party in the country, should recognise the legitimacy of the PPP/C administration and desist from labelling the government as an ‘installed’ regime when the entire world knows otherwise.

This is only doing further damage to the image and credibility of the PNC as a political party and would further alienate those who may be politically sympathetic to the party.

Secondly, the PNC need to publicly acknowledge some of the excesses of the past, including the rigging of national elections from 1968 all the way to 1985. This admittedly is a tough call, but it is a historical fact that the PNC perpetuated its life in office for 24 years through a combination of force and electoral fraud. It does not

require a truth and reconciliation commission as in the case of South Africa to establish the fact that a serious injustice was done to the PPP and its supporters who were kept out of political office for nearly three decades through fraudulent elections.

The Guyanese people as a whole were made to suffer from acts of political victimisation and incompetent rule. Indeed, the country during that period was reduced to one of the poorest country in the western hemisphere and Guyana was regarded as a ‘pariah’ state by the international community. The PNC cannot escape responsibility for that sad state of affairs in which the country found itself.

Be that as it may, the PNC still remains the largest political opposition in the country and therefore has a role to play both at the constitutional and political levels to lift this country to greater heights. The image of Guyana is already changing as an important player on the international stage as is

recently manifested in high level exchanges between President Irfaan Ali and high ranking officials of the United States government including Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. The country is doing well economically and is now ranked as among the fastest growing economy in the world, thanks to the impact of oil and gas. However, such developments must be buttressed by the fostering of a politically stable and harmonious society based on full adherence to democratic norms and the rule of law.

The PNC as a major political party has to come on board and join in the quest for the creation of a new Guyana based on the ‘One Guyana’ vision as articulated

by President Ali. In a few days time, Guyanese will celebrate Emancipation Day but unless we free ourselves from the shackles of adversarial politics, the dreams and aspirations of our ancestors and their offspring, a strong, united and prosperous Guyana would not be fully realised.

Hydar Ally

Thursday July 28, 2022

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Kaieteur News

The Ali/Jagdeo administration needs... Shameless society!

From page 4 when children are underage and will be left at home unsupervised or in the care of the unfit. I would never condone that, and neither should a government. At minimum, our society must support the development of children.

I am energised to see a woman packing a punch like Amanza Walton-Desir in parliament. Letter writers and opinion setters don’t create great change.

Parliamentarians do.

Unfortunately for the MP, her party has less than zero credibility and a dismal track record. The Ministry of Buses, Boats and Bicycles became a joke on the Granger Administration and another example of partisan politics, for where was the transparency and fairness and justice in its implementation? At the back of my home, buses were taking poor children of one ethnicity to school. At the front of the house, poor children of another ethnicity were walking to the public road to pay their $100. It is in this argument for the Buses, Boats and Bicycles of the Granger Administration vs the ‘Because We Care’ Cash Grant of this administration that the Hon. Amanza WaltonDesir fell flat on her face.

While I, and many others, have never received the Covid-19 cash grant and the numbers to call to get it never worked and the list of unanswered requests for help to Social Protection is endless, implementation of the ‘Because We Care’ cash grant is done in an equitable and consistent manner across gender, race, regions, religion, Public and Private Schools because the Ministry of Education has an existing infrastructure to support it.

The argument was hollow and maybe that is why a brilliant woman would stumble in trying to articulate it.

Another problem for the Hon. Amanza Walton-Desir is

that the economic policies of the previous administration strangled the economy. And there can be no social and economic justice with a poor economy.

The economy must be fixed first. The previous administration relied on taxation for Government revenue, and they increased cost of living to such an extent that most of the country, me included, was glad to see the back of them. What the Ali/Jagdeo administration is doing is something different – and for us to make progress in this nation, at least some members of the PNC/ APNU, as the major opposition, need to d e m o n s t r a t e understanding of the economic theory that is being pursued by Ali and Jagdeo and be able to argue sensibly against them, if needed. If we invest the time to listen and learn from the other side, then we may actually be able to stop with the ‘duplicity’ and the ‘mental laziness’ and all the other projections.

The MP essentially stated in her presentation to Parliament that she has no understanding why the PPP/ C was dealing with VAT Exemptions for cement board and lubricating oil, and airfares and bringing such things to Parliament and maybe some basic understanding of economics will help quench the righteous anger and improve the quality of the argument.

But what her arguments also show is her focus – she aimed directly at a blind spot of the PPP/C because she was asking for the House to get serious about the living conditions of the People of Guyana and for a Universal Basic Income (being experimented with in Barbados) for every Guyanese over the age of 18 to uphold the Fundamental Human Rights of our Citizens.

After decades of a PPP/C Government, we have no

proper social policies that are targeted at the Bread-andButter issues facing the population and it is time they get serious about the people of Guyana - those people who never saw the inside of an aircraft, who can’t fly out and run away and who do not know what their family will be eating for dinner.

The fact of the matter is that a good percentage of Guyanese are begging for food and shelter and clothing – our basic needs are unmet, a violation of our basic human rights.

And it is us, the ordinary Guyanese who are helping our brothers and sisters, neighbours and countrymen, with remittances, barrels, charity, ‘box hand’ and the informal granting of credit from the tiniest corner shop to small businesses – we are subsidising the Government and are providing social security net to each other and doing what our governments, across the political divide, have systematically failed to do.

Successive administrations cannot even fix the black hole of NIS disappearing our contributions. It is just not important enough.

Some of us are being murdered in the process of helping others, small business owners are stressed out trying to collect debts owed to them, minibus drivers are still racing each other down the road to earn a dollar.

Ours is a desperate reality that we sweeten with a lot of humour and kindness.

MP Amanza Walton-Desir has said that President Ali doesn’t know what One Guyana looks like [2] – maybe it looks like the best of all of us working together, bringing the competitive advantage of each of our diverse cultures into synergy for the development of the nation’s people.

Maybe it looks like the economic policies of the PPP/ C and the social policies of an Amanza Walton-Desir and the environmental policies of

Lenox Shuman? And the wisdom of the Chinese? For Rebellion is not the only answer as the wise say that the acme of skill is not to fight and win a hundred battles, but to subdue the enemy without fighting. Just maybe, One Guyana is the best of all of us working together? To get there, we all need to overcome our own resistance to working with and learning from the Other. As the saying goes, everybody wants change, but nobody wants to change.

I have been calling for better social policy in Guyana for years, but writing creates little change – it is action that is required. And I stand with the poor people’s champion in Parliament - Amanza Walton-Desir.

Passion doesn’t fizzle, so I look forward to more of the Hon Amanza Walton-Desir because, finally, we are seeing representation for the poor People of Guyana.

The Ali/Jagdeo administration needs to pause and do some introspection because its members are living in a Bubble and the PPP/C is no longer on the side of labour, they are no longer the workers’ party and the handouts it is throwing at us are like a raindrop in the ocean of need.

Sincerely, Sandra Khan

DEAR EDITOR, I wish to refer to the opinion shared by Freddie Kissoon in his column of July 26th. It is his opinion that two motions introduced in Parliament by the opposition should never have been pursued by the opposition. I refer to the motion for the government to pay public servants one month after they receive their letter of appointment and also the proffered amendment of the anti-marijuana law.

Now, Mr. Kissoon’s argument is that the opposition would likely take credit should these motions be passed. He asks why it was not done during the opposition’s period in government.

True! So what? Isn’t service to the nation a more compelling reason to accept the motions? Isn’t making life easier and, giving satisfaction to those in need not a better act?

Now, Freddie claims that he is a champion, has a heart for those who are downtrodden. Is he in agreement with a government who turned down the motion that sought to benefit those he, Freddie claims to be a champion? Is he saying that

there is no place for magnanimity in government?

Is it all about who did not do this or should have done that when they had the chance and who would be given the “glory”? Of course, Freddie, it’s all about the vote.

Hypocrisy in plain sight.

Government obviously holds the same view as Freddie.

When just men increase, the people shall rejoice: when the wicked shall bear rule, the people shall mourn.

Guyanese society go nowhere with the kinds of small, self serving minds. The poor is trodden underfoot so that the elites may look good.

Shameless society! I see, as no doubt others do, that there is no sense of humanity in our society, in our government.

The cry of the poor, the single mothers, the pensioners, the homeless is heard every day, but it falls on the deaf ears, numb hearts of greedy creatures dressed in attires that fail to cloak their avaricious mien.

I end by saying that there appears to be a global move to displace corrupt and evil self serving individuals from all spheres of society. Watch out Guyana!

Sincerely, J. Hinds

PAGE 6

Guyana at the beck and call of America DEAR EDITOR, If there were any doubts as to how much of a pawn this country is to the dictates of American masters, then all of this was thoroughly confirmed recently. It came compliments of the sudden announcement that the President and Vice President, and other political chiefs, were off to Washington.

They dropped all that they were doing and rushed off in unseemly haste in abject response to the call and command from Washington.

It was jarring as a Guyanese to behold what is nothing less than a spectacle of our leaders scurrying off to America, as if they were Eddie Murphy. Once again, I am reminded, not surprised at all, of the ways in which my worst fears are confirmed.

What the British gave to us by way of Independence, the Americans yanked back with imperious disdain for such niceties and conventions of sovereign nation and national pride. I would make the case that we were never a truly, fully, independent polity. We go through the motions, our leaders make a pretense of being in charge over the poor, dumb local slobs, but all the

while are subject to higher powers. This Guyana of ours is nothing but a satellite nation.

And I repeat something that I placed in the public domain before: this country is nothing more than, nothing but, the 51st State of the American Union. All those lovely locals who wanted to erect a statue to the United State Ambassador for doing her job very splendidly, should now think of naming an airport after her. I suggest replacing Cheddi Jagan with Sarah Ann Lynch International to see how well that would be received by the same people that were putting this grand lady of the diplomatic corps up on a pedestal.

It is so glaring regarding what is going on here, and who is in control here, that Guyanese, having long surrendered any instincts to patriotism, now are pleased to be subjects of a foreign dominion again. Look at our institutions, listen to our parliamentarians. At the grassroots, many have gotten their spoken and unspoken wish for the ‘white man to come back and take back his burden.’ That is, run things here. I have news for my fine fellows in this

Motherland of mine, the bargains made in the last elections have now come back to haunt us, and in a very public, embarrassing way. For a nationalist, this is most humiliating to observe my President hurrying across the Atlantic like if he is some water boy or the most ordinary of hired hands. If the American wanted to meet so badly, they should come here.

What is thunderously conspicuous is that not one Guyanese has seen it proper to comment publicly on this huge hole in our national leadership apparatus and, by extension, that which travels down to each one of us in the sickening pathos that is the settled tragedy of this forlorn land. I used to read with awe about the Chinese transformed into slaves before opium, the Iraqis goaded into civil war, and the Vietnamese manipulated six bloody ways to Sunday. I should remember Cheddi Jagan, then Forbes Burnham, and Desmond Hoyte, with the last emperor felled in 2015, then another in 2020. Clearly, we have been reduced to being dismal puppets on a string, and mongrels barking for their bones. The midnight knock came, and the midnight

call sounded, for the President with the command to be sure to bring his sidekick for the ride. It has been some ride and some show in DC. The local political circus masters commanded to perform in their best imitations of the Twist. I wait to see what they put out on what the top Americans insisted must happen: transparency, inclusion, and people being charged (laundering), just like I have been saying. The President can mislead us on those scores, but the senior American just said to him: cut the nonsense out. If that is not the riot act I hear being read to Guyana top leaders, then nothing else could be.

Editor, the irony of this all, is that it is happening on the eve of Emancipation from the odious institution of slavery, and nobody is making a secret of it. It was Africans in the New World that needed it back then. Today, some Guyanese reel and recoil from this modern slavery, which many more have fallen in love with, and from which there is no emancipation. Not until the oil is down to its very last drop.

Sincerely, GHK Lall

Indigenous WaiWai Village of Masekenari abandoned by PPP DEAR EDITOR, The disrespect and mistreatment of Guyana’s Indigenous peoples continues under the PPP. This time they cause unnecessary suffering to the WaiWai Nation.

Public schools closed for the holidays on 8th July.

Families in Masakenari, Deep South Rupununi have children attending the secondary school in Aishalton. Accustomed to their children returning home immediately after the last day of the school term via air transport provided by the APNU+AFC government, families waited.

The only means of communication with the Indigenous WaiWai nation of Masakenari is by Wi-Fi. The Village Wi-Fi stopped working in March 2022.

Countless reports have been made to the authorities but no action has been taken.

Thursday July 28, 2022

Kaieteur News

Toshao Chekema also reported this at the recently held NTC conference. To date, still no action has been taken to restore the Wi-Fi service to Masakenari.

Consequently, much hardship has been visited upon the Villagers, particularly those with children in schools away from the village and those with medical conditions requiring medical attention not available in the village.

Families were forced to leave Masakenari to go in search of their children who are attending Aishalton Secondary School after several days had gone by and they had not returned home.

They journeyed for six (6) days. They first had to cover a distance of 360 KM by river to Parabara using one drum of gasoline in the process.

Then there was the overland journey from Parabarato Aishalton – a distance of 86

KM. A part of that journey had to be undertaken using rented motor cycles to Karaudanawa. Upon arrival at Aishalton, they discovered that the children were transported to Masakenari on 20th July, almost two weeks after school closed. Parents now had to journey to Lethem, 125 KM away from Aishalton. They are now stuck in Lethem where they await the first truck to Parabara so that they can make their way home to Masakenari to reunite with their children. The school holidays may be over by the time they get back home.

All of this could have been avoided if the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs had provided air transport to take the children to their home village of Masakeari on Saturday 9th July, one day after the school term ended as the people of Masakenari expected. In the unlikely

event that, an aircraft was not available, the Wi-Fi should have been in working order.

Access to communication would have solved the problem and prevented the undue anxiety and suffering of parents and children alike.

Sadly, parents are now reconsidering sending their children to Aishalton Secondary School. For information, Conservation International (Guyana) had installed Wi-Fi in Masakenari sometime between 2008 -12.

Government of Guyana, in its programme to provide internet service to hinterland villages and communities installed and maintained WiFi in Masakenari in or around 2016. Over the past two years or so, the PPP administration has evidently abandoned the most remote Village in Guyana - Masakenari - home of our Indigenous WaiWai nation.

Yours faithfully, Mervyn Williams

President Ali’s Washington Trip Opens up Further Guyana’s Role in Climate Change & Food Security DEAR EDITOR, At the invitation of the US Government, President Irfaan Ali and a delegation have been in Washington DC since Monday morning to meet officials and private influential figures to discuss a range of issues to further deepen bilateral relations between Guyana and the United States. Guyana is of strategic importance to the US because of geo-political location and its status as a rising hydro carbon producing nation.

The Head of State and his delegation, including Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hugh Todd, and Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud, have been in Washington for a series of high-level engagements with US government officials and to engage the press and very powerful organisations that influence policymakers. At the engagements were the US Ambassador to Guyana Sarah Lynch and Guyana’s Ambassador to the US Sam Hinds.

Ali demonstrated very good communicative style. It was an impressive performance for the head of state. His engagements (the tone of delivery of remarks) were pleasant, calm, and persuasive. He came across as someone with good knowledge and grasp of issues. His diction, elocution, verbal and gestural styles were all good, demonstrating that he is someone in command.

He spoke with confidence. He used key concepts that would resonate with Washington: such as the US becoming a strong partner, leadership in food security and climate change, as well as energy security and defending territorial integrity.

In public glare, President Irfaan Ali and entourage were accorded a warm welcome at all of his engagements.

No sign (from body language and use of spoken language) of friction or tension appeared between US officials and the visiting delegation. Blinken was warm and praised Irfaan. He was

friendly and attentive as Irfaan spoke. And the President himself appeared to be at ease in engagements. He did not show signs of nervousness or tension. He spoke fluently. He didn’t read from prepared notes when addressing the Secretary of State or at other functions. He spoke extemporaneously in the exchange and elsewhere.

The public is not privy to what was discussed behind the scenes away from the camera.

President Ali was given very laudatory introduction at all of his meetings. He and Secretary Anthony Blinken expressed pleasantries and spoke of the importance of the relationship between the US and Guyana. The engagement in Washington, Blinken pointed out, is a continuation of the dialogue that began in Los Angeles at the Summit of the Americas with Caricom. Blinken praised Guyana for providing leadership in Caricom and protecting the environment while noting that Guyana is the seat of Caricom.

Ali expressed gratitude for the meeting with the Secretary of State, who is number three in line of succession to the Presidency.

Ali’s remarks were crisp, direct, powerful, and diplomatic. He spoke with confidence. He told the Secretary that he is pleased to engage with him and the US Administration in the US capital as it is an important time in the development of Guyana and the world. He noted the critical issues facing Caricom as a whole as well as developing nations — financing for climate change, food security, and energy security.

And he focused on development issues.

President Ali said he is willing to work closely and jointly on issues of financing development, and debt crisis facing Caricom. He said his government wishes to strengthen relations with US and wants Guyana to be a strategic partner with America.

The delegation and (Continued on page 17)

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L B T LUNT.. UNT...B BL B Thursday July 28, 2022

Kaieteur News

Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir has been accused on numerous occasions of being a biased representative of the people, supporting and defending only the government side of the House on several matters.

The thing is, one does not need to investigate whether or not this is true. Anyone tuning into a sitting of the day’s proceedings would confirm the claims being made by the Opposition.

It is truly a disappointment to see how the Opposition, which represents about 50 percent of the population, is being cast aside at the nation’s highest decision making forum. The Speaker could at least try to be impartial, but he continues to show allegiance to the PPP/C.

We implore Mr. Nadir to, upon the reopening of Parliament in October, turn over a new leaf- one that shows true patriotism. If this is too much to ask, he may do himself and this nation a favour by simply not returning!

PAGE 07

Kaieteur News

PAGE 08

Thursday July 28, 2022

Chinese contractors dominate bids to Govt. overlooks CDC deputy, upgrade Grove to Timehri highway appoints Nazrul Hussain as new head

P

rime Minister, Mark Phillips on Tuesday officially announced the appointment of Colonel (Ret’d) Nazrul Hussain as Director-General of the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), ignoring longstanding deputy, Major Loring Benons.

The announcement was made during an officiating ceremony at the CDC headquarters in Thomas Lands. Colonel Hussain, who retired in 2019, has 35 years of service in the Guyana Defence Force, the Department of Public Information said in a release.

He is trained and has both local and overseas experience in disaster management.

The experienced Hussain also functions as the Director of the Covid-19 Task Force Secretariat.

During the ceremony, Colonel Hussain pledged to “do my best as the Director General.”

Prime Minister Phillips, under whose purview the CDC falls, said that Guyana’s development drive would bring new challenges to the Commission and that the CDC would continue to play an important role in

A section of the Grove Public Road.

Prime Minister, Mark Phillips is greeted by the new CDC head, Colonel (Ret’d) Nazrul Hussain as Deputy Director-General, Major Loring Benons looks on navigating the country through those challenges.

He noted that Colonel Hussain brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to his new portfolio and is committed to strengthening disaster risk management and the functions of the commission.

The occasion was also used by the Prime Minister to underscore the importance of the commission, the scope of its work and the teamwork needed to execute its objectives.

The Prime Minister, who is currently fulfilling the role of President, also expressed the Government’s appreciation to the outgoing

Director-General, Lieutenant Colonel Kester Craig, who retired earlier this year. “As the Prime Minister with the responsibility for disaster risk management in Guyana, I would personally like to thank Colonel Craig for his service not only to the Guyana Defence Force, but also to the Civil Defence Commission.

We are thankful for his service, particularly as Director General before he chose to retire.” The Prime Minister also announced that Major Loring Benons would continue to serve as the C o m m i s s i o n ’s D e p u t y Director-General.

Bandit shot dead during home invasion

A

n alleged home invasion on Wednesday at La Grange, West Bank Demerara (WBD), ended deadly for a bandit after he was reportedly shot dead by the owner.

Police identified him as Learone Forde. He was killed around 01:30hrs.

According to police, Forde and an accomplice had reportedly invaded the apartment of a businessman, Anil Singh, 34, and his wife Christina Singh, 32 with a crowbar and a cutlass.

Christina alleged that the man had begged her husband to kill him during the invasion. The couple told police that they went to bed around 01:15hrs but were startled a few minutes later by the sound of their window being forcefully opened.

Singh reportedly armed himself with his licenced firearm- a .32 Taurus pistol and hid behind their bedroom door while his wife and young child remained quiet on the bed.

Three out of the five bidders that responded to the Ministry of Public Works i n v i t a t i o n f o r prequalification for the Grove to Timehri road upgrade project are Chineseowned companies.

The bids which opened at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) office on Wednesday, saw China Railway First Group Cooperation Limited in association with China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group Co. Limited; Mir Akhter Hossain Guyana Inc. (subsidiary of Mir Akhter Hossain Bangladesh); China Road & Bridge Cooperation; Alya Construction S.A (Brazil); and China Railway Construction Caribbean Co. Limited vying to provide the design and build services of the project.

In upgrading the East Bank highway the Government of Guyana had a p p r o a c h e d t h e I n t e rAmerican Development Bank (IDB) for a US$100 million loan to execute the works. In a notice which was published in the Kaieteur News last month, the

ministry had stated that the loan is being requested through the IDB’s Program to Support Climate Resilient Infrastructure Development.

Under this venture, the government said it will be looking to improve road safety and ride-ability, improve utility networks where necessary, improve pedestrian infrastructure, address climate adaptation and mitigation measures while reducing congestion and delays faced by commuters traversing along the corridor. The ministry which intends to prequalify contractors for the project had noted in its invitation document that the contractor will be required to utilise the Design – Build Methodology, as per the FIDIC Yellow Book 2017 for the rehabilitation of the current deteriorated road pavement and areas where road pavement is nonexistent.

The installation of road safety equipment throughout the roadway; construct safe non-motorized traffic facilities for vulnerable road users, and rehabilitation or construction of new bridges /

culverts across the various drainage and irrigation channels along the alignment; the coordination with utility companies and when agreed replace or relocate utility assets along the road. Also included are the construction and installation of weigh-inmotion (WIM) system and operation facility.

Further, the detailed designs proposed by the contractor must satisfy all legal, statutory, technical, economic, social, and environmental requirements as well as the terms and conditions of the loan program; the laws and regulations of Guyana; and the policies and procedures of the IDB, the Ministry stated.

P r i o r t o t h i s prequalification, the Ministry had issued an expression of interest (EOI) notice for consultants to provide engineering services for the East Bank road upgrade project. Already that aspect was opened last week at the NPTAB office. At that opening, nine local and international firms submitted bids to provide the services.

2 patients in COVID-19 ICU; 73 new cases detected Dead home invader, Learone Forde

Injured Businessman Anil Singh Investigators were told that as the suspects came charging into their bedroom with the crowbar and cutlass, her husband shot Forde to

the leg. Forde reportedly fell and his accomplice aborted the mission and ran away.

Christiana claimed that it was at this point that the injured bandit reportedly begged her husband to kill him. The woman further alleged that her husband refused to comply and he ended up in a scuffle with the suspect. She recalled hearing several gunshots being fired soon after. When it stopped she noticed that her husband was injured too by a gunshot wound while the suspect remained motionless on their floor.

Police were summoned (Continued on page 18)

The Ministry of Health yesterday reported that two persons are currently receiving treatment in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Infectious Diseases Hospital, Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown.

In its latest dashboard, the Ministry recorded 73 new infections within the last assessed 24-hour period, taking the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 69,620. Out of the number of confirmed cases, 37,718 persons are females and 31,902 are males.

The dashboard data also shows that 16 persons are in institutional isolation, two are in institutional quarantine and 700 are in home isolation. Additionally, in the last 24hour period, a total of 100 persons have recovered from the virus, bringing the number of recovered cases to 67,633.

Thursday July 28, 2022

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Kaieteur News

Old people running things Guyana has had a brain drain for decades. That process has led to thousands of skilled Guyanese emigrating.

As result, it has become challenging to obtain persons with skills. This problem afflicts both the public and private sector.

But there is an even greater problem which has arisen since the PPP/C has come into office and which was taken to the extreme under the APNU+AFC regime. Both governments have been guilty of two sins: the first is keeping persons on the State’s payroll beyond the statutory age of retirement, in some cases 55 years and in others 60 years.

The second sin has been the practice of bringing persons from outside of an organisation to head that organisation. In the process of doing so, persons who have worked diligently within that organisation for years are not afforded the chance to be promoted.

There was a time in this country when a new recruit joining the Guyana Police Force could aspire to one day become the Commissioner of Police.

Many past Commissioners joined the Force at the entry level and

worked their way up to the ranks to the very top. That is not likely to ever happen again since there is not an Officers’ cadet scheme which brings persons in as officers rather than as constables.

In the civil service and public corporations, it was always possible that persons starting out as the Office Assistant could work their way up the ladder and by qualifying themselves could reach the top. It is still theoretically possible but highly improbable.

These days, political appointees are catapulted to high office. Many, not all, of the Permanent Secretaries, in the public service are political appointees. Even if you are the deputy head of an organisation, there is no guarantee that you will succeed your boss when that person leaves the job.

This is one of the prime reasons why there is such poor morale within the public service and public sector. The workers know that even if they give of their best, they are likely to be superseded by someone who has no intuitional knowledge but has strong political connections.

But even more demoralising is the failure to promote persons within an

organisation. What has been happening, especially with the advent of the PPP/C government, has been the practice of either keeping persons on the job past the retirement age or rehiring retirees on the jobs. When this happens, promotions are stagnated. As a result, young employees get frustrated and leave because they are waiting in vain for some sexagenarian, septuagenarian or octogenarian to depart.

Ironically when the younger employee is forced to leave because their upward mobility is suppressed, the employer justifies retaining retirees on the grounds that there is no suitable replacement. But how can there be a suitable replacement when those at the bottom are not being given the chance to act in higher positions and thus acquire the necessary experience and exposure.

The APNU+AFC was the major culprit in hiring and rehiring persons who had long passed the statutory age of retirement. It is one thing to hire someone past the age of 65 years – that person may still have experience and skills which are needed and they can be used to help train their successors. But it is another

Dem boys seh...

De cost of dying higher dan de cost of living Dis cost of living thing going too far. Everybody cashing in and raising prices.

Dem boys use to pay $40 fuh put air in dem bicycle tyre.

Now dem man want $100.

Dem boys ask de tyre man why air price gone up. He seh is inflation.

A picture use to worth a thousand words. Now it worth two thousand words.

Everything gone up.

Dem had a singer name 50 cents. He change he name to dollar.

Dem boys hear how one

funeral parlour increase de cost of burials. Is now mo expensive fuh dead dan fuh live. Is a grave situation.

De City Council running out ah space fuh graves in de cemetery. Dem boys wan know when dem gan condemn dat place and start fuh insist on cremation rather dan burials.

De way hotels springing up in Guyana, dem might soon want build one in a cemetery. Is all dem good land dem looking fuh. De cost of land now following de cost of

living.

A grandmother did tell she granddaughter how when she was young, yuh could go into a shop with one dollar and come home with enough food fuh feed yuh whole family fuh a week. But today is different.

De granddaughter tell she how she learn about dat in school. Is something dem call inflation.

“Is not inflation is de problem,” de grandmother say. “It’s all dese darn security cameras dem got today!”

Talk half. Leff half.

Pres. Ali seeks US$2B loan from EXIM...

From page 2 infrastructure); and agriculture.

“This is what we’re talking about, not a simple MoU, but a MoU that has the potential of unlocking all of this.

The focus on energy, renewable energy, that allows us to advance on the path of goals and targets we set at COP26 and beyond. It shows our commitment on cleaner energy, advancing sustainable

and resilient development.”

President Ali committed to working “aggressively” and “proactively” in pursuit of the full realisation of the MoU while ensuring that all parties emerge as “winners”. “So Madam President and Chair of EXIM Bank, Vice Chair, leadership, I want to commit to you that we are now going to aggressively, proactively and in a dynamic way pursue this MoU to the full realisation

of the potential benefit it brings…for both the US and Guyana. We are not in this to win alone; we are in this to create an opportunity for each of us to be winners.” The President also invited the bank’s hierarchy, including its President and Chair Reta Jo Lewis to visit Guyana with the US private sector to meet with the Government and the local private sector in Guyana to solidify the projects.

thing to hire someone past the age of 70 years. There can be no justification for doing so in public offices other than advisory positions.

What message is being sent to the young people of this country when they are made to believe that a retiree is indispensable and cannot be replaced? That gives the young person only one option: get on the next plane out. The Commission of Inquiry into the Public Service had recommended that the age of retirement be extended from the present 55 years. This is a reasonable suggestion which should be

implemented. But the politicians do not wish to implement it because they wish to see the backs of some of those 55-year olds in the public service.

This is not to understate the shortage of skilled and experienced workers. It is not only young people who migrate. Many experienced and skilled persons also do so.

A compromise therefore has to be made to ensure sufficient skilled persons in the public sector. But at the same time, there is need to give younger persons the opportunity to be promoted.

One solution would be to increase the age of retirement to 65 years. This should be mandatory for both the public service and public corporations. But on no account should anyone be allowed to work beyond the age of 70 years.

(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

Thursday July 28, 2022

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

John McCain: Should humans keep secrets forever?

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ne of the most known US senators in the 21 century was John McCain. At the height of his global fame, the New York Times (NYT) ran a news item in 2008 about a deadly conflict of interest story involving McCain. He had an affair with a woman who was a lobbyist at the time. NYT named the lover.

McCain and his wife denied it. The man in charge of preparing McCain’s PR on the issue was his closest aide and advisor, Steve Schmidt. Fourteen years after protecting McCain’s reputation, Schmidt in May 2022, admitted that he lied to protect McCain, McCain and his wife lied to the world, and that McCain admitted the affair to him because Schmidt was his trusted lieutenant entrusted in sugar-coating McCain’s indiscretion. In his confession, Mr. Schmidt apologised to NTY for his st

denial of what the paper published. Mr. Schmidt also said that McCain’s daughter harassed him to suppress the story.

This is the second major, recent revelation about a famous global personality that has now entered the ledgers of history. After the death of Michael Jackson, a boy who gave testimony at his sex trial in which he denied having sex with Jackson as an underage boy, later told the world it was true that he did have illegal sexual activities with Jackson when he was a minor.

Long after his death, the biographer of J. Edgar Hoover informed the world that Hoover was a closet homosexual. Two things easily come to mind. In that bygone age, homosexuality was rejected by mainstream America so Hoover as the FBI chief was susceptible to being blackmailed.

Secondly, it is possible that

Hoover must have killed many of his lovers who tried to blackmail him.

These stories lead you to the question –should humans take secrets to their grave and leave intact the legacy of known personalities when in fact those legacies were not as rosy as it is painted? This is a sensitive issue that makes the work of the historian difficult. It is a judgment call as to when to record details of a sordid life by those who are dead and gone and society still thinks they were angels.

One of the ways of getting around this dilemma is the writing of biography.

The biography is meant to tell the unabridged life story of the person under review. If a biography is going to make any sense and have a market it has to be a complete portrait. If a biography is a saccharine canvas, then expect others to come forward and fill in the gaps of wrong-doing that were left

out.

Autobiographies are seldom reliable soil from which to record history. The person paints a glowing picture of him/herself and omits embarrassing details.

Barack Obama comes to mind. In his memories he does not tell the tale of what a handsome embracer he was of Wall Street companies and how identical his foreign policy was to all his predecessors.

I haven’t read Clement Rohee’s autobiography for the simple reason that I am not paying 63 American dollars for it. That is way too expensive.

Once I borrowed a copy and digest it, I will be compelled to reflect on the lacunae because I have followed Mr. Rohee’s entire career since we started out the same time in politics.

People who have dark secrets for those who have died should record history and the historian, not even

for a fraction of a moment, should be concerned with how Frederick Kissoon angry family members become. academics, public servants, The role of the historian is to among others. Not even one pass on knowledge to future percent of Burnham’s generations. atrocities have been put into Once you talk about the print. recording of history in The only book that Guyana, Forbes Burnham described Burnham’s reign comes to mind. Burnham’s of terror is that seminal hegemony from 1964 to publication, Justice: The 1985 reminds me of World Struggle for Democracy in War 2 (Ww2).

Guyana, 1952- 1992 by then The stories about WW2 editor of the Catholic will never end. The world Standard and Jesuit priest, will continue to see books Father Andrew Morrison. In and movies about WW2 long future articles I will tell into the future. The latest is readers of my experience t h e m o v i e O p e r a t i o n with Burnham, the Stabroek Mincemeat, a true story of News under DeCaires and how British intelligence Fitzpatrick, what I know deceived Hitler. about the Buxton massacre, The sordid but true tales t h e c o r r u p t i o n i n t h e of Burnham’s hegemony APNU+AFC government will never be completed and more. because there are too many.

(The views expressed in Burnham destroyed the lives this article are those of the of untold numbers – a u t h o r a n d d o n o t b u s i n e s s m e n , f a r m e r s , necessarily reflect the lawyers, professionals, opinions of this newspaper.)

COVID-19 stabilizes in the region, Exxon already onto two but countries must remain vigilant more deepwater oil wells - PAHO urges proper management of other health emergencies

Washington D.C., 27 July 2022 (PAHO) – While COVID-19 cases decreased in the Americas for the first time in five weeks, the Pan American Health O r g a n i z a t i o n ( PA H O ) Director, Carissa F Etienne, has urged countries to remain alert to COVID-19 and other health issues, such as monkeypox, which was declared a public health emergency of international concern last weekend.

“Being healthy and safe from disease is an action, not a guarantee,” the Director said at a media briefing on Wednesday, calling for countries to use the tools at their disposal - vaccines, medicines and surveillance.

Despite an overall drop in COVID-19 in the region, Dr. Etienne warned that cases remain high, with countries reporting 1.6 million new infections over the past week. In North America, Canada reported a 20% increase in new cases, and some countries in Central and South America also reported surges. In the Caribbean, hospitalizations continue to increase in Cuba,

Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director, Carissa F Etienne Guadeloupe, French Guiana, and Trinidad and Tobago.

The PAHO Director highlighted that, as is also the case in Europe, Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 sub-lineages are becoming the predominant strains in the Americas, but with one key difference – vaccination coverage. High vaccination coverage in Europe means that most COVID-19 patients have been able to safely manage their symptoms at home but in the Americas “a third of the population remains unvaccinated and ten countries and territories have yet to protect even 40% of

their populations,” she said.

Given the increased transmissibility of the new sub-lineages, Dr. Etienne urged countries to implement public health measures, such as social distancing and mask wearing, and advised that hospitals in areas with low vaccination coverage should “brace themselves” for an influx of COVID-19 patients.

The PAHO Director said that countries must also prepare for monkeypox, which was declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization (WHO) this weekend. In the Americas, numbers have reached almost 5300 across 18 countries and territories.

But while nearly all cases so far have been reported among men who have sex with men between the ages of 25 and 45, the Director warned against stigma and discrimination, underscoring that “anyone, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation, can get monkeypox.” PAHO (Continued on page 17)

A

fter announcing two more major discoveries in the Stabroek Block on Tuesday, ExxonMobil and its partners are onto another two exploration wells with high hopes for similar success.

Next up in the queue are Ya r r o w a n d B a n j o .

According to Hess Corporation during its earnings call for the 2022 second quarter, the Yarrow1 well will test stacked Upper Campanian targets, up-dip of discoveries at Whiptail and Tilapia. The well is located 19 miles south of the Yellowtail 1 discovery well.

Hess, which holds a 30 percent working interest in the block said the Banjo-1 well will also target stacked Upper Campanian targets west of Barreleye and up-dip of Mako. The well is located 8 miles northwest of the Barreleye-1 discovery well.

Kaieteur News understands that these wells will appraise the development potential of the inboard oil play in the southeast portion of the block.

This newspaper reported

that the two new discoveries on the Stabroek Block are the Seabob-1 and the KiruKiru-1. The discoveries are the sixth and seventh in Guyana this year, with the total number of commercial discoveries in Guyana now at 33.

The Seabob-1 well encountered 131 feet of high quality oil bearing Upper Campanian sandstone reservoirs. It is located in the southeastern part of the block, approximately 12 miles southeast of the Yellowtail Field.

The Kiru- Kiru-1 well has thus far encountered 98 feet of high quality hydrocarbon bearing Upper Campanian sandstone reservoirs. The well is currently drilling ahead to test deeper intervals and is located in the southeastern part of the block, approximately three miles southeast of the Cataback-1 discovery.

Both discoveries will add to the gross discovered recoverable resource estimate for the block of approximately 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

Thus far, two floating

production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels operating offshore Guyana — Liza Destiny and Liza Unity — have exceeded their initial combined production target of 340,000 barrels of oil per day.

A third project, Payara, is expected to produce 220,000 barrels per day.

Construction on its production vessel, the Prosperity FPSO, is approximately five months ahead of schedule with startup likely before year-end 2023.

The fourth project, Yellowtail, is expected to produce 250,000 barrels per day when the ONE GUYANA FPSO comes online in 2025. Guyana’s Stabroek block is 6.6 million acres (26,800 square kilometres).

ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited is the operator and holds 45 percent interest in the block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds 30 percent interest, and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited holds 25 percent interest.

Thursday July 28, 2022

Kaieteur News

PAGE 11

PAGE 12

Kaieteur News

Thursday July 28, 2022

Kaieteur News

Thursday July 28, 2022

PAGE 13

Ministry finds placement for 225 students of burnt-out St. George’s High School Scenes of the fire at the St. George’s High School

The Ministry of Education (MOE) has already found placement for 225 students from the St. George’s High School that was recently destroyed by fire.

In an update posted on Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand Facebook page, it was stated, “Was very happy today to meet with the HM [headmistress] and teachers of the St. George’s [High] School, which was destroyed by fire.”

A c c o r d i n g t o t h e m i n i s t e r, approximately 225 students and their parents already turned up at the Department of Education, upon the request of the ministry to facilitate the accommodation to a school of their choice for the new academic year.

In an update from Acting Fire Chief, Gregory Wickham, he stated that the fire is still being investigated and noted that

when the investigation is completed, a report will be prepared and published.

Last Wednesday, a fire of unknown origin ravaged the wooden top-half of the school. A teacher and six students were able to escape unharmed from the school before it was completely engulfed in flames, thanks to an alert cleaner who noticed smoke coming from a classroom and raised an alarm.

Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand

As sugar shortage bites…

GuySuCo reduces quota of major distributors A major local distributor is refuting the claims made by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuco) that there is no shortage of the commodity.

This comes amidst concerns raised by businesses and consumers alike, who have been

complaining bitterly about the shortage of the sweetener while GuySuco continues to maintain there is shortage in the bulk, only of packaged sugar.

However, the frustrated businessman (name given) told Kaieteur News that this is absolutely not the case. “I

The supermarkets shelves have been reflective of the shortage of sugar.

have been buying sugar directly from GuySuco for over 30 years but this is the first time I have been unable to meet my quota,” the businessman explained.

The distributor explained that he usually purchases a weekly order from the sugar factory but he has been put on a wait list for six weeks.

“They [GuySuco] is making me wait for six weeks and when they finish they are only giving me 25 percent of my order. So, I want the public to know that the factory is only trying to fool people. Everybody, seeing it as clear as day that sugar is not there on the shelves.”

The businessman noted too that the Sugar Corporation has been meeting with distributors and telling them that only certain categories of people will be given preferential treatment. The distributor revealed: “At the meeting they are telling us that we need to hold off on the orders because they are looking at three categories of customers that is; the manufacturers, the bakery and the supermarkets.

Everybody else has to wait.”

He continued: “I don’t think they understand the

impact this shortage has on businesses like mine or on the working class and poorer class consumers. They are saying that there is price gouging but they are causing it! And in the end, is the poor man who will suffer.”

The distributor opined too that GuySuco has other options but the company is refusing to take to ease the burden off the people. “It is no secret that GuySuco has been failing to produce sugar at a profitable rate. Every turn you make, the company is seeking a bail out which amounts to billions of dollars because sugar production is

no longer viable in Guyana.

It has become cheaper to import sugar than to produce it here so why the government does not want to import from places like Guatemala which is cheaper… They don’t want to face the reality of a dying industry where the production days are over and they want to use sugar as an excuse to take funds out the treasury, “the businessman pointed out.

He nonetheless called on GuySuco to take steps to contain the situation before it gets out-of-hand.

Earlier this month, Chief

Executive Officer (CEO) of GuySuCo, Sasenarine Singh had published a video on social media refuting a shortage of bulk sugar countrywide. He however confirmed that there is a shortage of the packaged sugar on the local market.

Singh had also guaranteed that the packaged sugar is going to be back on the market within two weeks.

The CEO in his brief explanation said “GuySuCo doesn’t have shortage of bagged sugar, what GuySuCo have is a shortage of its packaged sugar, but (Continued on page 16)

Kaieteur News

PAGE 14

Thursday July 28, 2022

Miss World Guyana 2022 competition kicks off After a two-year hiatus, the annual Miss World Guyana was relaunched with a sharper focus on bringing the international crown home.

According to Chairman of the Miss World Guyana Franchise, Dave Laltoo , the competition promises to be fierce, ably preparing one of 10 semi-finalists to represent Guyana internationally.

Laltoo explained that: “after a break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Miss World Guyana is back and is extremely delighted to partner with some of Guyana’s primer entities to bring what we describe as an evolution industry, Miss World Guyana 2022. Our national competition will see 10 empowered and diverse candidates inaugurated as regional ambassadors.”

The ten semi- finalists

vying for the title of Miss World Guyana are: Andrea King, Anjanie Lall, Arian Richmond, Emily Nurse, Esther Marslowe, Krystal Collymore, Raeshaunna Jones, Malinda Ho-a-Lim, Naina Pai and Trevlind Harry.

During the competition, the young women showcased their beauty, talent and passion for community development through their ‘beauty with a purpose’ projects. Laltoo said that the Miss World pageant is the oldest running international beauty pageant in the world.

He explained that in 2013, Miss World Guyana franchise was signed to Majesty International under the National Director, Ms. Natasha Martindale. To date, Guyana has seen continued success on the international

stage being showcased among over 120 countries. In 2014, Guyana’s Rafieya Husain placed in the top 10 and became Guyana’s first continental winner as Miss World Caribbean. Rafieya also won the MW most prestigious award -BWAP Award. In 2015 Lisa Punch won the talent Award, and in 2019 Joylyn Conway copped the head to head challenge winner.

“We feel strongly that we not only can win a Miss World competition but also host the next Miss World competition here in the very near future,” Laltoo told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday.

According to Laltoo, the world would be enticed by the beauty of Guyana, backed by the “royalty and strength that lives through every Guyanese woman.”

Retrial commences for trio charged with murder of Ruby fisherman

Candidates of the Miss World Guyana 2022 contest The winner of the Miss Wo r l d G u y a n a 2 0 2 2 Competition will pocket over $5.5 million in cash and prizes, including a car, designer wardrobe, a public relations, marketing and portfolio enhancer package, a scholarship opportunity, international pageant training and coaching, as well as the opportunity to represent Guyana on the

Miss World stage.

Throughout August, the candidates are expected to engage in a host of activities meant to introduce them to the public, build their profile and have them prove why they would be the best candidate to represent Guyana internationally.

Starting on August 1, there will be an appointment ceremony for the

contestants; in subsequent days, they will participate in various competitions meant to test different skills and talents. On August 18, Miss World Guyana will host a Charity gala that offers the young women the opportunity to spread awareness of their community projects and finally, on August 21, there will be the grand coronation.

We will not give up the fight for full liability coverage - Patterson

By Davina Bagot

Rean Ghani

Surendra Sukhdeo

T

he re-trial for the trio charged with the 2017 murder of 22-year-old fisherman Shereffudeen Nazamudeen of Ruby, East Bank Essequibo, commenced on Wednesday before a 12-member Jury in the Demerara High Court.

On trial for murder are: Surendra Sukhdeo, his daughter, Mandy Sukhdeo and their neighbour Rean Ghani.

Justice Jo-Ann Barlow is presiding in the matter. In February 2021, the trio faced their first trial for the murder of the fisherman. However, the jury could not arrive at a verdict and the matter was set for a retrial. Surendra, Mandy and Rean, all denied that on February 14, 2017 at Ruby, East Bank Essequibo, they murdered Nazamudeen called “Sheriff.”

T h e S t a t e ’s t e a m includes: Latifah Elliot, Marisa Edwards and Simran

Mandy Sukhdeo Dead: Shereffudeen Nazamudeen

Gajraj – while the accused are being represented by a team of lawyers led by attorney-at-law Nigel Hughes and Khemraj Ramjattan.

Nazamudeen had reportedly attempted to snatch the bag of Mandy, a former Region Three Alliance For Change (AFC) councilor. The woman called out for her father and informed him that the 22year-old-man attempted to steal her bag. According to

reports, Mandy, her father and their neighbour armed themselves with pieces of wood pursued Nazamudeen.

Nazamudeen had sought refuge in a burnt building after being chased around the village.

It is alleged that the trio tied up the young fisherman and dealt him several lashes.

Nazamudeen was pronounced dead at the Leonora Cottage Hospital where he was taken by the police.

The Opposition’s motion on full liability coverage for oil spills may have been defeated in the National Assembly, but the fight will not end there.

This is the pledge of Shadow Oil and Gas Minister, David Patterson, who had tabled the motion in Parliament since February 16 of this year seeking to not only include full liability coverage in the event of an oil spill, but also order a study on the possible ill effects that can be caused by such a disaster.

In an interview with this newspaper on Wednesday, the Member of Parliament (MP) said, “I intend to keep at it. I was asking my team what can be done because I intend to bring it up back again in a different form at some point in time,” Patterson related. He explained that the National Assembly is expected to head into recess on August 10 and reconvene in October.

As such, the former Minister of Public infrastructure noted that it is likely for a new motion on full liability coverage to be ready by then.

In addition to pushing for oil spill coverage from the Opposition end, Patterson pointed out that it was very important for civil society bodies to also play a role. To

Shadow Oil and Gas Minister, David Patterson this end, he encouraged greater activism on their part. Importantly, he noted that with two new oil finds in the Stabroek Block, offshore Guyana, he is confident that the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) government would continue to approve more projects, all without proper safeguards in place.

“I am going to keep pushing it in Parliament.

With two additional oil finds, this government mean that they are going to approve it without anything…so there are various angles I can take on this new Motion but I haven’t worked out exactly which I will take on it,” he reasoned. It was only on Tuesday that ExxonMobil announced two new

discoveries offshore at the Seabob and Kiru-Kiru sites, bringing the total oil discoveries to 33 so far.

In the meantime, the Opposition MP signaled that a new Motion on the dumping of waste water into the ocean will be submitted in the new week. On the other hand, he also pointed to the “almost vulgar” behaviour of the Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir, explaining that very few Opposition Motions are allowed and when they are, the documents are well trimmed.

Patterson argued, “He always cuts my Motion takes an extremely long time to approve it. This (liability) (Continued on page 16)

Kaieteur News

Thursday July 28, 2022

PAGE 15

‘Exxon operations should be forcing fish into our nets’ - Minister Vickram Bharrat tells Parliament As fishfolk across Guyana continue to struggle with low catch, anxiously awaiting the independent study conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on the prevailing situation, the minister responsible for the oil and gas sector, Vickram Bharrat has told the National A s s e m b l y t h a t ExxonMobil’s operations offshore should be forcing fish into their nets.

He made these remarks last Thursday evening, during the debate on a motion seeking full liability coverage for petroleum related disasters. Bharrat sought to put in perspective that while there are many articles and debates as to whether the oil and gas activities offshore were affecting the fish catches, a similar situation could be observed in the Caribbean and around other parts of the globe.

The Natural Resources Minister told the House that ExxonMobil is operating some 100 miles off Guyana’s coast, in a depth of over 5000

feet of water. To this end, he reasoned, “Mr. Speaker it’s hard to fathom that we have the kind of fish that we would catch in Guyana swimming and feeding in 5000 feet depth of water. I think it is almost impossible to do so.”

In this regard, Bharrat said it would not be justified to blame the oil production activities for the decline in fish catch. “I don’t think it’s quite justified, as a matter of fact and based on my own layman argument- and I often give this argument to people when I am speaking that- if the drilling and the exploration activities offshore 100 miles out, 5000 feet deep and you have exploration activities’ vibrations, what should happen based on our commonsense is that it should actually chase these fishes closer to shore, into the nets rather than away,” Bharrat pointed out.

The minister was keen to note that he has not seen this happening (fish swimming to the nets) hence, “the oil and gas activities should not

be blamed for the low catch.”

Instead, he told the House that there are a number of other reasons that may have contributed to the lower catches, citing the mixture of fresh water into the salt water as a key factor. Bharrat said this could have been as a result of the significant rainfall experienced.

Contrary to Minister Bharrat according to Oceana, a leading international organisation focused solely on oceans, dedicated to achieving measurable change by conducting specific, science-based campaigns with fixed deadlines and articulated goals, the seismic, sound-based technology used to locate oil and gas beneath the ocean floor can be highly disruptive to marine life.

With offices in North America, Central America, South America, Europe and Asia, Oceana has said that the loud blasts caused by these seismic airguns can be as loud and destructive as dynamite and are repeated every 10 seconds beneath the

waves, 24 hours a day, for weeks at a time. “Sea life isn’t just disturbed by the deafening noise, they can be severely injured by the explosions and habitat damage that it causes,” the organization said, adding that these sonic, seismic surveys can cause temporary or permanent hearing loss in some marine species, which is essentially a death sentence for the social marine mammals that live nearby.

Impacts include temporary and permanent hearing loss, abandonment of habitat, disruption of mating and feeding, and even beach strandings and death. For whales and dolphins, which rely on their hearing to find food, communicate, and reproduce, being able to hear is a life or death matter.

Airgun blasts kill fish eggs and larvae and scare away fish from important habitats.

Following seismic surveys catch rates of cod and haddock declined by 40 to 80 percent for thousands of miles. In addition to being

Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat devastating for marine life, seismic airguns are the first step toward dangerous and dirty offshore drilling with associated habitat destruction, oil spills and contribution to climate change and ocean acidification. Oceana is working to halt the use of seismic airguns, and stop the expansion of dangerous offshore drilling.

Meanwhile, complaints of declining fish catches had triggered the FAO study which is yet to be shared with the public. So far, the Minister of Agriculture,

Zulfikar Mustapha has noted that the reduced fish on the markets was not as a result of Exxon’s operations, but rather climate change. It was back in May that the Minister made this announcement and promised to release the document, but to date the study has not been shared. In the meantime, the FAO after being called upon by Environmentalist Simone Mangal-Joly to release the document, explained that the study was “rapid” and used information that is already available. FAO Assistant (Continued on page 16)

PAGE 16

GuySuCo reduces quota of...

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From page 13 you can only do packaged sugar when we are grinding.”

While the CEO insists that there is no shortage of sugar across the country, the Bank of Guyana in its quarterly report stated that this year there were decreases in the production of sugar by 47.7 percent.

The decrease recorded this year by the Bank was attributed to the halt in grinding at

the Uitvlugt Sugar Estate, caused by mechanical issues, which impacted production, as this estate was responsible for 25 percent of output.

As reported on, the Uitvlugt Estate was down since March due to mechanical issues of its #1Mill turbine gearbox.

The gearbox had to be replaced with a new one from overseas.

‘Exxon operations should...’

From page 15 Director-General and Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean, Mr. Julio Berdegue, in his response seen b y Kaieteur News told Mangal-Joly that “The technical analysis in question was requested by Guyana to contribute to its understanding of these complex catch issues and support decision-making.

It is a rapid assessment of reported issues related to fisheries catch between 2020 and 2021 and is based on available data.”

To qualify the conclusion, Berdegue added that “as a specialized agency of the United Nations, FAO adheres to strong scientific principles, and employs the highest professional standards in analyzing and disseminating available data.

We are globally respected for practicing impartiality, transparency and accountability in our work, and we promote neutral fora for national dialogue and evidence-based decision-making.”

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He therefore assured that when the report is ready and cleared in its final version, it will be made available through appropriate channels.

In response, the environmentalist reasoned that, “You have clarified here that your charge from the Government of Guyana was to conduct an assessment related to fish catch between 2020-2021.

This narrow focus and time period, and the fact that you refer to it as a “rapid assessment”, suggests to me that the study could not have been seeking to assess the impact of oil and gas activities on fish stocks and the fisheries sector in Guyana.”

We will not give up the...

From page 14 Motion went in before Yellowtail was even approved, so he is an enabler for the government and these guys (ExxonMobil) cause before he even approves it or anything happens they delay it.”

Additionally, he told Kaieteur News, “I have heard that how he would have to send my Motions to the PPP and then they would tell him what and what they want in, and out, and I am sure that happens so I am not pleased.

I know that how there was a no-confidence Motion on him in March under Joe Harmon and we have been pushing for that to be resubmitted because it is almost very vulgar how he behaves.”

The MP said he believes the Speaker takes his time so that the PPP are allowed enough time to doctor his submissions to the House, in order to only discuss what they prefer. “He gives them time so that the most like say impactful stuff, they would need time to fix it. They held it back so they didn’t had a debate before Liza One was renewed. They are touting that they improved it but they deliberately held it back so that they could approve all

the projects then allow this Motion,” he said.

It was on Thursday evening that Patterson’s Motion finally took the spotlight after 154 days since it was first laid in the National Assembly.

In voting against the motion, government MPs argued that the document was meant to drive investors away; that it could increase the cost of an oil development; that no investor in their right mind would agree to such a policy and that it is normal for there to be risks in any development. It was the Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat that led the arguments against the Motion. He said that the administration is aware of how devastating an oil spill can be; hence provisions have been made to ensure such an activity does not occur. Even if it does, he assured that the oil company has been required to import a capping stack to lay on standby, in the event of such an occurrence.

A capping stack is a piece of equipment that is used to place over a blown out well as a cap to prevent further damage that may have been caused.

Bank of Guyana, Insurance Association...

From page 3 former EPA boss reiterated that at the time, the Stabroek Block partners were working on a draft to show how it was going to cover the oil spill liability. They had to come up with the policy and bring it to the EPA to determine whether it was adequate. He said in providing the US$2.5B, the company was also asked to provide parent guarantee to ensure that the country was covered beyond any spill costing more than the mentioned sum.

Adams continued that Exxon did not want to accept the request for additional coverage; stating that it wasn’t necessary. He said that there was much back and forth over the coverage where at one point; the Exxon head and suggested having the company president speak with Guyana’s president since the EPA was holding firm for the complete coverage.

It was not until the EPA boss mentioned expensive oil spills in other countries that the company agreed to provide the details of how the coverage was going to be provided.

“But it was never finalised,” Adams said, as his services to the EPA were terminated. Adams said nonetheless that during the sev-

eral months of negotiations between the EPA lawyers and the oil companies for full liability coverage, he was regularly briefed by the EPA’s legal team and was fully aware of what was happening. Meetings regarding this liability coverage were held in the office of BoG Governor Gobin Ganga since the Bank plays a supervisory role for some categories of insurance. Adams said representatives of the insurance association such as Bish Panday came into play after questions arose about the insurance policy being outside the country.

Adams noted that the parties, which also included the then Director of Enetry Dr. Mark Bynoe and EPA’s Legal Officer at the time, Mr. Saeed Hamid, were discussing too, how to legally transfer the insurance policy to Guyana.

With this, Adams questioned, “How then can they (government) say that there is no evidence of this.” He insisted that there were other persons involved in his full coverage discussion and believes that the government is “deliberately keeping the information away from the public.”

Not how I operate Adams also took umbrage to the Natural Resources Minister’s assertion that he may have removed docu-

ments from the EPA. “That is not how I operate,” Adams asserted. “Had I known this is how they operate I should have kept a copy of some of the information so they would stop trying to fool the people.” Adams explained, that as a professional holding high-security jobs in the United States: “that is not how we operate.” He said state agents are not allowed to conduct their work on their personal computers. As such, the former EPA head said he did not keep his work in his personal possession and does not have the information relating to the particular issue.

The former CEO has charged nonetheless that the former Exxon country manager must state that the discussions were not had. “I want Rob Henson to deny that was happening.” Outside of the work of the legal team, Adams said he personally engaged Henson on the matter and he too could attest to the negotiations. Adams has urged the government to “get serious about protecting the country.”

He reiterated that while they continue to deny the move toward full liability coverage, the “language” involving parent company coverage for instance is currently in the Liza 2 permit and every one that came after. The problem, Adams claimed, is that the EPA continues to issue permits without the oil companies fulfilling their obligations under the approval.

Thursday July 28, 2022

PAGE 17

Kaieteur News

Millions of lives at risk as progress against AIDS falters - action to tackle the inequalities urgently required to end pandemic

N

ew data from UNAIDS on the global HIV response reveal that during the last two years of COVID19 and other global crises, progress against the HIV pandemic has faltered, resources have shrunk, and millions of lives are at risk.

The new report, In Danger, was launched on Wednesday ahead of the International AIDS Conference in Montreal, Canada, UNAIDS said in a press release. On average, the AIDS pandemic took a life every minute in 2021. There were 650 000 AIDS-related deaths last year despite the availability of effective HIV treatment and tools to prevent, detect, and treat opportunistic infections.

Eastern Europe and central Asia, Middle East and North Africa, and Latin America have all seen increases in annual HIV infections since 2010. In Asia and the Pacific UNAIDS data now show new HIV infections are rising. In eastern and southern Africa rapid progress from previous years significantly slowed in 2021. There have been robust declines in new infections in the Caribbean and western and central Africa over several years. However, these gains are threatened by a

Winnie Byanyima, UNAIDS Executive Director tightening resource crunch.

“These data show the global AIDS response in severe danger. If we are not making rapid progress then we are losing ground as the pandemic thrives amidst COVID-19, mass displacement, and other crises,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima.

The report also shows that efforts to ensure that all people living with HIV are accessing lifesaving antiretroviral treatment are faltering. The number of people on HIV treatment grew more slowly in 2021 than

it has in over a decade. And while three-quarters of all people living with HIV have access to antiretroviral treatment, approximately 10 million people do not.

Global shocks including the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war have further exacerbated risks for the AIDS response. Domestic HIV funding in low- and middleincome countries has fallen for two consecutive years. At a moment when international solidarity and a surge of funding are most needed, too many high-income countries are cutting back aid, and resources for global health are under serious threat. In 2021, international resources available for HIV were 6% lower than in 2010. Overseas development assistance for HIV from bilateral donors other than the United States of America plummeted by 57% over the last decade. The HIV response in low- and middle-income countries is US$8 billion short of the amount needed by 2025.

“When international support has been most needed, global solidarity has stalled. Leaders must not mistake the huge red warning light for a stop sign. This must become a moment for a surge of international support,” said Ms. Byanyima. It is still possible

President Ali’s Washington Trip...

From page 6 US Deputy Secretary of Commerce, Don Graves held fruitful discussions. Graves committed support to the Government of Guyana in the areas of banking, finance, and tourism as well as US private sector investment into Guyana. The President has committed to working closely with the Department of Commerce and other US agencies to facilitate US private sector investment in Guyana.

All of the engagements went exceedingly well. Ali performed brilliantly at the Atlantic Council and the Woodrow Wilson Center. At the Atlantic Council engagement, he was asked several questions and provided appropriate answers. Ali highlighted significant points on economic development that is people centered, and he stressed the importance of addressing climate change, food security, territorial integrity, and energy security.

These policies are converging towards a One Guyana concept of which he was asked to explain. He noted that it is a one value

system to unite a divided nation, bring people together, eradicate poverty, combat crime, etc. He told the Atlantic Council that Guyana wishes to have a balance in its hydro carbon development natural resource and the environment.

The government will pursue sustainable development to protect the environment. Ali told the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C that while Guyana is an emerging hydrocarbon market, our economy will not be hydrocarbon-based.

At the Atlantic Council and in exchanges with business leaders and at the Wilson Center, Ali said Guyana plans to use its newfound oil and gas wealth to fund investments in other sectors that will reduce its dependence on hydrocarbons.

The government plans to pump funds into mining, tourism, agriculture and other sectors.

The funds will be used to build roads and infrastructure to open up other areas of the economy, including its gold, diamond, bauxite and copper mines.

Ali was pressed on

accountability and transparency especially over the use of oil revenues. He noted that the oil revenues would provide funding to diversify the economy. He highlighted what the government has done with the NRF fund and oversight policy. He said there is an Advisory Board overseeing how the money is used. He also noted that there are sanctions for violations of laws. Oil funds can only be spent when approved by parliament. It was by far the best public display of diplomacy and deliverance of message by Ali since he assumed power on August 2, 2020. He has risen to the international stage at the right time when Guyana is trying to assert itself in a leadership role in food security and climate change in Latin America and Caribbean.

Because of his presentations in and reception accorded in the US capital, policy analysts and think tank groups will have a better appreciation of the work and policies of the PPP/C government of Guyana.

Yours Truly, Vishnu Bisram

for leaders to get the response back on track. This requires both national action and international solidarity.

Last year leaders agreed to a roadmap, set out in the Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS, which can end AIDS by 2030. It is both achievable and affordable.

The proven package for success includes offering community-led, peoplecentred services; upholding human rights for all; removing punitive and discriminatory laws; tackling stigma; empowering girls and women; providing equitable access to treatment including new health technologies; and ensuring everyone receives health services, education and social protection.

The Caribbean situation There were an estimated 330 000 people living with HIV in the Caribbean in 2021.

According to the report, from 2010 to 2021, AIDS-related deaths in the region declined by half (50%). There were 5 700 deaths last year. New HIV infections decreased by 28% since 2010. An estimated 14 000 people contracted HIV during 2021, translating into 270 new HIV infections every week in the Caribbean.

“While the Caribbean has not had the increase in new infections experienced in other regions, the rate of decline is far too slow,” explained Luisa Cabal, UNAIDS Director of the Latin America and Caribbean Regional Support Team.

“Thousands of avoidable HIV infections every year are making it even harder and more expensive to ensure people living with HIV have access to lifesaving treatment and that the targets to end the AIDS pandemic by 2030 are reached.”

The report recommends that countries in the region urgently prioritize combination HIV prevention.

This includes behavioural interventions like comprehensive sexuality education as well as moving to large-scale implementation of prevention projects reaching vulnerable populations at high risk of HIV so that innovations such as HIV self-testing and preexposure prophylaxis or PrEP become more widely available. (PrEP is daily medicine taken by an HIV negative person who is at substantial risk to prevent contracting the virus).

The data show that these prevention strategies are especially important for vulnerable groups like adolescent girls and young women as well as key populations such as gay men and other men who have sex with men, sex workers, transgender people and people who use drugs. Onethird (34%) of new HIV infections last year were among Caribbean young people aged 15 – 24. There were twice as many infections among young women (23%) as compared to their male peers (11%). During the disruptions of the last few years, key populations in the region have been particularly affected. As of the end of 2021, 84% of people living with HIV in the Caribbean were aware of their status.

Eighty-three percent (83%) of all diagnosed people were on treatment. Of these, 87% were virally suppressed last year.

(The target for 2025 is 95% for each of these result areas.) At present, the Caribbean is below the global averages for both HIV treatment coverage and viral suppression. “Even

where HIV services are available, intolerance and worry about experiencing injustice can make people fearful to learn their status, make it difficult for them to access treatment and undermine their ability to stay the course. The cost of inaction is too high a price to pay and so leaders in the Caribbean must act now to save lives,” said Richard Amenyah, UNAIDS Director for the Multi Country Office serving Belize, the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.

The report recommends that Caribbean countries implement policies that remove structural barriers to HIV services and repeal laws and policies that criminalize people living with, and at risk of, HIV. Finally, deliberate action is required to ensure sufficient and sustainable funding for the Caribbean HIV response. In 2021, domestic resources constituted just 31% of the total funds for the regional response. US Government bilateral funds accounted for 52%, and the Global Fund accounted for 15%.

Currently most of the funding for prevention activities with key populations comes from international sources. “It is critical that governments step up domestic resources to sustain HIV and health responses. At the same time, we should advocate for international donors to continue supporting the region so as not to lose ground, considering the economic damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Ms. Cabal stated.

COVID-19 stabilizes in the region...

From page 10 continues to work with Member States on COVID-19 response and has also issued guidance for health workers to manage monkeypox cases and prevent further infections. Turning to the recent case of vaccine-derived polio type 2 case re-

ported in the United States, Dr. Etienne warned that while the Americas has been polio-free since 1994 thanks to good vaccination coverage and surveillance, in recent years polio vaccination rates have dropped considerably.

The Director said that low

vaccination coverage is “extremely worrisome,” putting children at risk of “devastating diseases that have been eliminated in the region.”

“We cannot afford to be complacent,” she added, and must use the tools at our disposal to keep our populations healthy.”

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Thursday July 28, 2022

Kaieteur News

Five contractors vying to build sugar packaging plant at Albion During the opening of tenders on Tuesday, five bids were received for the construction of a packaging plant at the Albion Estate in Berbice. The project which is being undertaken by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) is estimated to cost $1,475,908,085.

The bids are as follow: Memorex Enterprise $1,485,793,190; APMCL Guyana Inc. in association with JRB General Construction & Supply Inc. $2,293,433,285; N&P Investment Inc. $1,501,121,103; Yunas Civil & Building Construction Services - $1,471,986,175; and Kee-Chanona Limited (Trinidad & Tobago) $2,109,116,744.

As reported on, the government’s plan is to relocate the packaging facility from Enmore on the East Coast of Demerara to Albion.

Chief Executive Officer

An overview of the Albion Estate in Berbice.

(CEO) of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), Sasenarine Singh had previously revealed that the government is planning to build a new packaging plant at Albion along with the

expansion of one at Blairmont for 2022. During an online interview earlier in the year, Singh had stated that this is all part of a design to be able to sell sugar at a higher value and to ensure the country has

enough capacity to produce packaged sugar products for the international market as it opens up.

Kaieteur News had reported that back in February the government

had included the Enmore packaging plant in a 55-acre land deal it made with a 52 percent owned Guyanese joint-venture, Guysons K+B Industries Inc. According to reports, the company

acquired the US$12.5M plant, owned by GuySuCo, on a long-term lease from the government and intends to transform the facility from its original use – to package sugar – into a manufacturing hub to support the oil sector.

This publication reported last week that the relocation of the Enmore Packaging Plant to the Albion Estate as well as a plan for its modernisation once it arrives there, is expected to cost taxpayers $1.9B. This was revealed by Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha during the 48th sitting of the House on July 21. Mustapha said the 2022 Budget has set aside G$400 million to commence the multi-year project to construct the Albion Packaging Plant. He said too that it will cost $1.9 billion to complete the entire modernisation process that was planned.

Jagdeo tests positive for Covid-19

T

he Government of Guyana has announced that Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo, who is a member of President Dr Irfaan Ali’s delegation on an official visit to Washington DC, tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. Prior to his departure from Guyana, Jagdeo showed no symptoms and had tested negative.

According to the statement, President Ali and all other members of his delegation were also tested and the results returned negative. President Ali and

other members of his delegation will continue with remainder of the agenda.

The delegation has already completed a number of successful engagements over the past two days, including meetings with US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken; Deputy Secretary of Commerce, Don Graves and US Business Leaders and Government Officials.

President Ali also participated in an engagement with the Atlantic Council; a reception at Woodrow Wilson Center and a discussion with Ambassador Mark Green.

Biden administration offers convicted Russian arms dealer in exchange for Griner, Whelan Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo

New minimum wage order published

WASHINGTON (CNN) After months of internal debate, the Biden administration has offered to exchange Viktor Bout, a convicted Russian arms trafficker serving a 25-year US prison sentence, as part of a potential deal to secure the release of two Americans held

by Russia, Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, according to people briefed on the matter.

These sources told CNN that the plan to trade Bout for Whelan and Griner received the backing of President Joe Biden after being under discussion since earlier this year. Biden’s support for the swap overrides opposition from the Department of Justice, which is generally against prisoner trades.

“We communicated a substantial offer that we believe could be successful based on a history of conversations with the Russians,” a senior administration official told

CNN Wednesday. “We communicated that a number of weeks ago, in June.”

The official declined to comment on the specifics of the “substantial offer.”

They said it was in Russia’s “court to be responsive to it, yet at the same time that does not leave us passive, as we continue to communicate the offer at very senior levels.” “It takes two to tango.

We start all negotiations to bring home Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained with a bad actor on the other side.

We start all of these with somebody who has taken a human being American and treated them as a bargaining chip,” the official said. “So in some ways, it’s not surprising, even if it’s disheartening, when those same actors don’t necessarily respond directly to our offers, don’t engage constructively in negotiations.”

Bandit shot dead during home...

T

he Ministry of Labour on We d n e s d a y published the new National Minimum Wage Order 2022, which outlines the minimum wage for workers across Guyana.

According to a post on the ministry’s Facebook page, the outlined minimum wage is effective from July 1,

2022, with the minimum rate of wages payable to an employed person not less than $347 per hour; $2,776 per day; $13,880 per week; or $60, 147 per month. Notably, it was stated that employees in receipt of a wage at a rate that is higher than that prescribed in the order, shall continue to receive same and employers are not to reduce the

employee wage on account of the order. Moreover, it was noted too that any employer who contravenes the provision of the minimum wage order shall be liable upon summary conviction to a fine of $50,000, for the first offence, and for any second or subsequent offence to a fine of $100,000 and imprisonment for one month.

From page 8 and when detectives arrived at the scene they saw Forde lying in a pool of blood with multiple gunshot wounds to his head and body. They observed too that Singh was shot to his body as well and rushed him to the West Demerara Regional Hospital for treatment while Forde’s remains were taken to the

Ezekiel Funeral Home. Police have also taken Christina into their custody to assist them with the necessary investigation. Investigators have reported that they were able to recover five spent shells along with four live rounds matching Singh’s gun. They have also canvassed the area to find CCTV cameras. Investigations are ongoing.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Wednesday that the US presented a “substantial proposal” to Moscow “weeks ago” for Whelan and Griner, who are classified as wrongfully detained. The top US diplomat said he intended to discuss the matter on an expected call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov this week.

The families of Whelan, who has been held by Russia for alleged espionage since 2018, and WNBA star Griner, jailed in Moscow for drug possession since February, have urged the White House to secure their release, including via a prisoner exchange if necessary.

Griner, who pleaded guilty in early July but said she unintentionally brought cannabis into Russia, testified in a Russian courtroom Wednesday as part of her ongoing trial on drug charges, for which she faces up to 10 years in prison.

It is understood that her trial will have to conclude prior to a deal being finalized, according to US officials familiar with the Russian judicial process and the inner workings of US-Russia negotiations.

During months of internal discussions between US agencies, the Justice Department opposed trading Bout, people briefed on the matter say.

Thursday July 28, 2022

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Thursday July 28, 2022

Thursday July 28, 2022

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Kaieteur News

Today’s meeting at Linden Town Council aimed at resuscitating basketball at the association level In order to resuscitate basketball at the association level, President of the Linden Amateur Basketball Association (LABA), Lawrence Simon, has called for a meeting for clubs this evening at the Linden Mayor and Town Council Boardroom starting at 6.30pm.

The agenda items include members of the executive discussing the way forward and getting clubs affiliated for the

first time since 2019.

In addition to that, discussions are likely for the planning for an inter-ward basketball competition and other plans for competitions as former players and coaches residing in the United States of America have an interest in supporting this inter ward championship.

It is hoped that this meeting will help towards get-

ting the association in Linden back on its feet looking into the future of the sport in Linden and Region 10 (Upper Demerara/ Upper Berbice) after basketball at the competitive level was last played in 2020.

However, the greatest set back would be the facilities available in Linden which is cause for concern.

Much is desired to make the main facility, the

Mackenzie Sports Club hard court of good standard, since apart from the surface there is much work needed including the lighting situation at that pivotal facility.

No doubt there must be a meeting between the MSC executive and the LABA if basketball is to be played there while the other available courts may not be able to facilitate basketball playing at nights.

Squash players...

Thursday July 28,2022 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Today you'll find that you're the missing puzzle piece that people need in every situation, Aries. Engage in light conversation in social arenas and feel free to turn your charm up full blast.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) You may find that people want to do a great deal of talking but not a great deal of feeling today, Taurus. Go ahead and put your emotions on the back burner and let your mind take over.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) You should be able to evaluate your emotions from a very neutral, detached perspective today, Gemini. Use this opportunity to take action based on what you feel.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) If you're talking about another person today, Cancer, make sure you aren't saying anything that would be upsetting if they were standing right there. Gossip may be running rampant.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) It's important for you to get outside and feel the wind blowing, Libra. Reconnect with nature and be aware of the four elements. Take deep breaths and fill your lungs with this energizing life force.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Make practical use of the thoughts you have synthesized over the last few days, Scorpio. Stretch your boundaries and extend your wisdom to the people around you. This is a day to take action. .

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) This is an important day for you to make valuable connections with others, Sagittarius. You'll find yourself engaged in fastpaced, witty conversations and debates from which you can learn.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) = It could be hard for you to get a handle on things today, Capricorn, as your focus seems to jump from one subject to the next without finding resolution for any.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) You might find yourself a bit unfocused and confused about which way to go, Virgo. The baffled look on your face isn't helping anyone else figure out how to help you.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) You might come across strong opposition today from someone who seems to want to cut straight through to your heart, Aquarius. In reality,

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Se pt. 22) You might find yourself a bit unfocused and confused about which way to go, Virgo. The baffled look on your face isn't helping anyone else figure out how to help you.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Act on your instincts today, Pisces, and you won't go wrong. You may need to give up a bit of control and put logical thinking aside for the day. Let the wind take you where it wants you to go.

From page 22 good squash and make Guyana proud,” Khalil said.

Looking a h e a d t o t h e competition, Khalil said the team is bracing themselves for a battle individually, but will be relying on their collective talent in the team competition. ”For us (Team Guyana), singles is going to be tough because most of the players here are ranked in the top 50, but I think our best cha n c e would probably be in the doubles or mixed doubles events, so that’s where we expect to do well,” Khalil noted.

Guyana has never won a medal in Squash at the C o m m o n w e a l t h G ames, but Khalil said the team intends to leave it all on the court.

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Kaieteur News

Squash players, Boxers banking on experience at Commonwealth Games

By Rawle Toney, in Birmingham (Team Guyana Press Attaché) With hopes of a spot on the podium, Guyana’s squash players and boxers will be heading into action at the 2022 Commonwealth Games tomorrow, Friday.

While the country has never won a squash medal at the Commonwealth Games, the last time Guyana won a boxing medal at the former British Empire Games, was at the 1990 event when Wesley Christmas claimed bronze in the bantamweight division.

In fact, of the 16 medals won by Guyana since the 1930 Commonwealth Games, 11 are split between Track and Field and Boxing.

The country’s other medals at the games came from Rowing (Bronze - 1930), Swimming (bronze - 1938) and Weightlifting (Bronze - 1954, 1962 and Silver - 1966).

BOXING Youth Commonwealth Games Silver Medalist and Olympian Keevin Allicock, along with Colin Lewis and Desmond Amsterdam, are Guyana’s representatives in the disciplines of Boxing.

While both Allicock and Lewis are making a return to the Games for the second time, Amsterdam will be making his debut.

Much is expected of Amsterdam at the Games, given the fact that only recently, he capped his participation at this year’s American Boxing Confederation (AMBC) Elite Championships with a bronze medal. Amsterdam’s achievement was the first time a Guyanese boxer had claimed a medal at an Elite AMBC Championships.

Coach Terrence Poole,

speaking on the sidelines of Guyana’s training session yesterday at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, said he’s expecting Amsterdam to replicate his AMBC Championships performance. ”I expect great things from him; I expect a podium finish, because he has shown a lot of improvement, he has shown hunger and fight, so I expect a podium finish from him,” Poole said.

At the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Allicock and Lewis were on the wrong side of some questionable decisions.

Nonetheless, Poole, who along with Sebert Blake will be overlooking the team, believes that the two boxers’ experience will help see them through the rounds in Birmingham. ”Keevin would’ve gone to the highest level, which is the Olympics, and I think he should’ve learnt a lot. So coming against these boxers now, with that kind of exposure, he should, or both of them should be doing well,” the Medal of Service awardee stated.

SQUASH With a blend of youth and experience, Guyana’s squash team at the Commonwealth Games, will be eying more than just an improved performance. Former National Champion, Ashley Khalil, and reigning Junior Caribbean Champion, Shomari Wiltshire, are optimistic of a successful campaign in Birmingham.

Joined by Jason-Ray Khalil and Mary Fung-A-Fat, the Guyanese team represents arguably the best squash players, not just from Guyana, but the Caribbean. Buoyed by his recent success at this year ’s Junior Caribbean Championship where he eased to another title,

Wiltshire aims to take it one game at a time in England.

Wiltshire said he intends to soak-up as much experience as possible from his first Commonwealth Games, which he hopes will translate to long-term success as he transitions to the senior competitions. ”I’m not really expected to do that much,” the usually humble Wiltshire said, adding “they’re some top players at this tournament, so I just want to see how I can do against them and give my best.” “I want to win my first round match and hopefully I can win one of my doubles matches because that would be good for morale,” Wiltshire said.

Understanding that all eyes from around the Region will be on him when he takes to the courts at the University of Birmingham Squash facility tomorrow, Wiltshire pointed out “I just want to improve my game. They’re a lot of things I can work on. So I want to do very well at these games and the Senior Caribbean Championship coming up.”

Meanwhile, the 22nd hosting of the event will be Ashley Khalil’s second time at the Commonwealth Games, dating back to her showing at the 2010 games in India. At the games in Delhi, Khalil was the country’s lone representative in Squash.

Though still a junior and just 17, she managed to reach the round-of-32 in the singles event. ”This is such a high-level Games. My main goal is to obviously better my last time in 2010. I was a junior in 2010 so it has been quite a few years, but for me, it’s just to come out and play some (Continued on page 21)

Thursday July 28, 2022

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West Demerara Secondary congratulates Nityanand Mathura for making Guyana U-17 team West Demerara Secondary School Congratulates Nityanand Mathura for making the Guyana U17 national cricket team.

The Head teacher of West Demerara Secondary school, Mr Harrinarine congratulated Naityanand Mathura on his selection to the Guyana U17 national cricket team in Trinidad and Tobago.

Mathura is a current student of the West Demerara Secondary school who wrote the CSEC examinations at the last May/June sitting. The school is delighted to produce a national cricketer. According to the head teacher, Mathura has always been an all-round student both in academics and extracurricular activities.

Like his older brother, he enjoyed playing cricket from a very young age. He repre-

Head teacher Mr Harrinarine presented a token to Nityanand Mathura before his departure. sented the school and his club in cricket competitions. He also played for the Demerara under15 team.

The school, over the years, has produced many

outstanding athletes and Mathura is the latest national pride of the West Demerara Secondary school. The school congratulates and wishes him every success.

GuyOil joins sponsors for GCF National Chess Olympiad Team - Guyana contingent arrives safely in Chennai The Guyana Oil Company Limited (GUYOIL) has made a contribution of $100,000 to aid Guyana’s FIDE Chess Olympiad team in competing at the 44TH FIDE Chess Olympiad from July 28th to August 10th in Chennai, India.

The team that will compete in India consists of; Sasha Shariff, Women’s Champion Pooja Lam, Anaya Lall, Jessica Callender and Nellisha Johnson in the Women’s event, and, CM Taffin Khan, FM Anthony Drayton, Ethan Lee, Loris Nathoo and Roberto Neto in

the Open event. Among 187 competing National teams in the Open section, Guyana’s team ranks at 152. The open team is led by Team Captain Davion Mars. On the Women’s side, Guyana’s team led by GM Georg Mohr ranks at 137 among 162 nations.

The Guyana Chess Federation extends their gratitude to GUYOIL for supporting the team as they endeavor to make their country proud in Chennai with aspirations of earning chess titles and increasing Guyana’s international ranking as well.

GUYOIL is Guyana’s largest petroleum distributor, recog-

nized as a market leader in high-quality petroleum products including Super 95 Motor Gasoline, Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel, and Castrol Lubricants. They also supply JET A-1 fuel to local and international airlines.

GUYOIL imports, stores and distributes petroleum products in wholesale and retail quantities throughout Guyana with a retail distribution network of 56 service stations and industrial storage facilities in all three counties. The Olympiad team arrived in Chennai on July 27th ahead of the games.

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Thursday July 28, 2022

Kaieteur News

Gill, Dhawan and Chahal power India to 3-0 sweep ESPNcricinfo - The first two matches of the series were tight contests where both teams remained in contention until the final ball was bowled. But India had it much easier during the third ODI in Port-of-Spain, as the visitors completed a 3-0 sweep of West Indies following contributions from Shubman Gill, who hit a career-best 98 not out, Shikhar Dhawan, who got 58, and Shreyas Iyer, who contributed a quickfire 44. All their bowlers chipped in too, as West Indies fell away quickly during the chase.

The hosts were asked to chase a DLS-revised target of 257 in 35 overs after India posted 225 in 36, their innings ending prematurely after a two-and-a-half-hour rain delay had already trimmed it down to 40 overs.

Mohammed Siraj put West Indies on the back foot in the second over of the chase, when he cleaned Kyle Mayers up with a good length delivery before trapping Shamarh Brooks in front with one that angled in. West Indies were 0 for 2 at that stage, with nine deliveries gone.

Brandon King and Shai Hope briefly brought them back on track with a 47-run stand before Yuzvendra Chahal had Hope stumped for 22. King was then joined by

Nicholas Pooran in another partnership that gave West Indies hope, before Axar Patel’s arm ball in the 14th over bowled King for 42.

But immediately after, Pooran fired a six and four off Deepak Hooda, keeping his side afloat as the required rate hovered around eight an over.

However, Keacy Carty’s struggle to get going at the other end seemed to put pressure back on Pooran; when Carty finally decided to try something different, he skipped down to Shardul Thakur in the 19th over only to bottom-edge on to his stumps for 5 off 17 balls.

By then, West Indies needed nearly 10 an over, and although Pooran hit two more fours off Axar, he fell for 42 in the 22nd over to all but end the game, which had been set up by India’s opening batters Gill and Dhawan.

In their third successful partnership in a row - following stands of 119 and 48 and now 113 - the right-left pair started sedately in what was an innings of two halves from India: the first 24 overs produced 115 runs; the next 12 fetched 110.

Gill missed out on what would have been his maiden ODI hundred, as a second rain interruption meant India’s in-

Shubman Gill came out all guns blazing post the rain break. (Associated Press) nings was announced closed with a scheduled four overs left at that stage. When play resumed after the first rain delay, India had 16 overs remaining, as Gill and Iyer switched gears to accelerate the innings.

Both batters threw everything at the bowling after having to adjust for the loss of overs: they came down the pitch to the spinners, tried the reverse sweep, played aerial shots while pulling and driving, and kept lofting over the in-field.

Gill and Iyer added 86 for

the second wicket in less than ten overs, making up for the sedate beginning after Dhawan opted to bat on winning the toss. Dhawan was quiet to start the innings, his 58 coming off 74 balls on a slow pitch where he did try attacking, but often failed to time and place the ball.

Dhawan hit seven fours, while Gill also hit as many along with two sixes.

The first two overs after the rain break saw 31 runs being plundered - including four fours and two sixes -

as Gill and Iyer pulled, cut and drove for fun. Their partnership had only just started before rain broke through.

But Hayden Walsh Jr’s second ball after the break was swung for six over deep square leg by Iyer, signalling India’s intent early, as quick runs were the need of the hour.

The next ball was bisected for four between point and short third, before Gill skipped down off the final delivery and swung over the bowler’s head for six.

West Indies brought some

pace from the other end, only for Iyer to hit one four off Jayden Seales, and Gill to slam consecutive fours the first of which was supreme timing to place the ball past mid-off - as India raced along.

Both batters continued finding the boundary when the hosts switched to Jason Holder and Akeal Hosein, before Iyer swatted the latter to long-on for 44 off 34 balls.

But Gill kept ticking the scoreboard at the other end, as Suryakumar Yadav joined him in pursuit of rapid runs.

Suryakumar fell for 8 after carving one four behind point just two overs before play came to a halt, with Gill having skipped from 51 off 65 balls at one stage, to an unbeaten, runa-ball 98.

He might rue missing out on a century, as he got only 13 off his last 14 balls perhaps just one more ball would have been enough to get to triple figures.

In the end, though, it didn’t make too much difference to India’s fortunes.

Scores: India 225 for 3 (Gill 98*, Dhawan 58, Iyer 44, Walsh 2-57) beat West Indies 137 (Pooran 42, King 42, Chahal 4-17) by 119 runs via DLS method.

Kaieteur News

Thursday July 28, 2022

PAGE 25

Bartica Summer Splash Regatta – Powerboat Racing…

Neil Gonsalves, Clint Gonsalves, Ramkissoon and Ramcharran are Group champions Following high octane excitement, the waves finally kept calm after a successful and eventful day of powerboat racing on Sunday afternoon last when the Bartica Business Development Committee (BBDC) organised Summer Splash Regatta was held at the famous Golden Beach Circuit.

Despite a few mishaps during the course of the event, none of which were serious, the competitors and fans were all thrilled to be part of the event that made a welcome return to the sporting calendar of the To w n a n d f r o m a l l indications, will be even bigger and better come 2023.

The most anticipated contest of the day, the 225Unlimited (F1) showdown, while not having all the races, was still a showdown of real grit, speed of course, and dexterity by the daredevils in the form of Neil Gonsalves piloting ‘Czyzie Boy’, Dave Scott aboard the

Clint Gonsalves was the joint 75-90Hp overall winner

225-Unlimited Overall Champion, Neil Gonsalves (left) is rewarded for the opening race win by BBDC Chairman, Chunilall Baboolall.

famous ‘Jaguar’, Randy Belle (Quantum), Angel La Court, and Sean Belle (Quicksilver).

Emerging as the Champion in this category was Pomeroon’s own Neil Gonsalves who managed

first and second places to Dave Scott’s first and third place, pipping Scott by a single point to the top accolade.

The opening race in this category, the first event of the day, was witnessed by

Ramdhani siblings attend first CWG without late father Priyanna and Narayan Ramdhani

It will be an emotional outing at the Commonwealth Games for Priyanna and Narayan Ramdhani, since it marks their first major tournament without their father and coach. The siblings lost their father, Gokarn Ramdhani, last October after the renowned badminton coach and executive suffered a heart attack in Canada, where he had taken up the Head Coach role at Olds College.

They’ve played every major tournament

with their father on the sidelines.

While Narayan competed at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, his sister, Priyanna, is making her debut.

At the games in Australia, Narayan was knocked out in the Round-of-32 of the Men’s Singles, losing to Canada’s Jason Ho-Shue.

Narayan and Priyanna will compete in the Women’s and Men’s Singles event in Birmingham, as well as the Mixed Doubles.

Hon. Prime Minister Brigadier Mark Phillips, his wife, and his daughters, set the tone for what turned out to be an exhilarating day of rivalry as the competitors finally got the chance to face off to prove who was the quickest and best in each category.

However, unfortunately for Sean Belle, it also saw the end of his campaign as his boat ended up in an accident which caused it to be damaged. It was also the end of Randy Belle’s quest for supremacy in this category as he developed mechanical challenges during the event which saw him ending second to Gonsalves, Scott having to settle for third.

There was a tie for the champion honours in the 7590Hp category which attracted thirteen competitors. Clint Gonsalves (Venom) and Sanjay Ramkissoon (Team Shivraj) shared the title and reward, while the champion in the 40Hp showdown was Steve Ramcharran who piloted another of the Team Shivraj’s boats.

In other races, Lamar Welcome won both 200Hp Bush Boat events; Clarence Belle was tops in the 150200Hp contest, while Amir Nazier (Rude Boy 11)

outpowered his peers in the 15Hp class.

History was created when for the first time ever, there was a Female Kayak race, the brainchild of BBDC Chairman, Chunilall Baboolall. Seven ladies contested the event and it was Charlene Wilson who took the checqured flag ahead of Jameila Pollard and Indera Godette.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Phillips who declared the event open in his remarks, stated, that the Government of Guyana was very pleased to be part of the event which further showcased the talent of the racers in the various events.

He also complimented the organisers for pulling off such an event which also displayed the sports tourism potential of the community and by extension, Guyana.

Sports would continue to be a priority of the Government of Guyana even as PM Phillips wished all well.

Regional Chairman, Kenneth Williams was also part of the day’s activities.

Following is the list of sponsors who partnered with the BBDC to make the event a resounding success. The Government of Guyana, The Ministry of Natural Resources, The Ministry of

Parliamentary Affairs, The M i n i s t r y o f To u r i s m , Industry and Commerce, Aruwai Resort White H2O, Zen’s Plaza, Regional Democratic Council, Region #7, Bartica Mayor & Town Council, Banks DIH Ltd., Paradise Hookah Lounge, Pandits Spare Parts Store, A n s a M c A l Tr a d i n g , P r a d e s h & S h e r r y ’s Hardware Store, M.F. Yassin’s General Store, Hart’s Mineral Trading &Suits, Ryan and Reuben’s Enterprise, W.K. Enterprise, Rats Mining Company, Sheik Halfrose Mining, J&M Hangout (Junie), Gary Young’s Mining, ODY Fuels, Boodhoo’s General Store, Mohamed’s Enterprise, River Quest Jet Boat Service, El Dorado Trading, Hopkinson Mining Logistics, Early Bird Speedboat Service, Sir’s Service Station & General Store, M.J’s Supermarket, R. Baksh & Son’s General Store, B & R Emporium Gold Mining Inc., Palm Springs Hotel, Restaurant & Bar, Crown Mining Supplies, The Guyana Gold Board, Guyana Geology & Mines Commission, Big Kiss Parking Lot (Parika), Pandit’s Service Station, SOL (Guyana) Inc., MACORP.

Prime Minister Mark Phillips (2nd left) was deep in conversation with officials at Golden Beach during Sunday’s Summer Splash Regatta.

Guyana’s boxing team during their training session at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, England.

(L-R) Shomari Wiltshire, Ashley Khalil, Jason-Ray Khalil and Coach Garfield Wiltshire.

Missing is Mary Fung-A-Fat who will join the team before the start of the tournament.

Squash players, Boxers banking on experience at Commonwealth Games

rts Spo

GuyOil joins sponsors for GCF National Chess Olympiad Team - Guyana contingent arrives safely in Chennai

Guyana’s Olympiad Chess Team takes a photo op following their arrival in Chennai.

Gill, Dhawan and Chahal power India to 3-0 sweep Printed and published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd., 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown. Tel: 225-8458, 225-8465, 225-8491 or Fax: 225-8473/226-8210.