Kaieteur News

K

AIETEUR ‘Su’ gained NEWS thousands of acres of mineral-rich land under PPP/C Govt.

See story on page 3

Guyana’s largest selling daily & New York’s most popular weekly

Sunday Edition July 31, 2022 Online: www.kaieteurnews.com

Price $150

Online readership yesterday, 62,860

As recession fears increase in US…

Oil company tells investors - says cash flow to to bank on Guyana to increase weather any storm 25% yearly p. 43

“We have a country with so many resources and can’t see we way” - protestors lament p. 60

US$8 million waterp. treatment plant for14 Bachelor’s Adventure - as Minister Croal heads to Parliament for US$19M to build even more

Production of rice and sugar slashed by half in first p. quarter - BoG 19

‘THE GREAT BETRAYAL’

…Govt. siding with Exxon by denying Guyana full liability coverage …country doomed with current crop of leaders – Glenn Lall p. 20

Guyanese drowning in cost of living as ExxonMobil swims in billion $$$ profits - Dr. Yog Mahadeo p. 2

Kaieteur News

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Sunday July 31, 2022

Guyanese drowning in cost of living as ExxonMobil swims in billion $$$ profits – Dr. Yog Mahadeo Guyanese across the miles have been complaining about the rising cost of living, struggling to make ends meet, while oil companies operating in Guyana boast to the world of their multibillion profits raked in over a three-month period.

One of the founding members of the civil society group, Article 13, Dr. Yog Mahadeo in an exclusive interview with Kaieteur News on Saturday lamented the fact that both the government and Opposition have publicly said they will not renegotiate the oil contract, however, in the absence of key provisions

“

Our enslaved and indentured forefathers would be turning in their graves at what ‘our own’ is doing to ‘our own’. Not only have we taken from the plate of every Guyanese living presently, not only have we robbed the graves of our forefathers but we have also robbed the cradle, removing financial security from our children’s future so that the current lot can have a good life. - Dr. Yog Mahadeo s uch as ring-fencing, he believes that the suffering of Guyanese will only continue.

He explained, “The oil companies continue to record significant profits, and we continue to record

“

By Davina Bagot

huge debts while worshipping the same contract. We cannot advance as a country without a renegotiated contract.

Without ring fencing, what profit oil?”

The ring-fencing

provision is a key clause that is used in oil contracts especially to avoid the operators from spending on projects and billing it to a specific development. For instance, it would mean that ExxonMobil will not be

Article 13 member, Dr. Yog Mahadeo allowed to expend resources on its third project- Payara and withdraw its investment from the current producing Liza One field.

This clause would not only ensure Guyana gets a bigger share of profit, but could also safeguard the country from possible exploitation.

Only on Friday ExxonMobil Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Darren Woods, during the company’s

earnings call, said it unlocked some US$17.9 billion in profits during the second quarter of the year alone. It was revealed that Guyana’s vast oil resources played a major role in the company realising such revenue.

S i m i l a r l y, H e s s Corporation, a 30 percent partner in the Stabroek Block, reported some US$667 million in profits for the second quarter alone.

Continued on page 15

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‘Su’ gained thousands of acres of mineral-rich land under PPP/C Govt.

The controversial Chinese national at the centre of the explosive Vice News documentary series along with Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, Zhi Rong Su, has amassed a significant portion of mineral-rich land u n d e r t h e P e o p l e ’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration.

Su, who unknowingly told undercover Vice News reporters posing as investors that bribing government officials was the way to secure business in Guyana, holds some 12,000 acres of precious stones and goldrich lands under his name.

This information is provided in the Guyana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (GYEITI) documents.

The Guyana Geology and Mines Commission records specify that the naturalised Chinese national has 10 active mining permits in his name and it covers some 12,000 acres of land that were issued on June 3, 2014, within the Northwest, Region One and Cuyuni Region Seven.

It is understood that the Chinese businessman who has gone missing since the Vice News report, has thousands of acres more of mineral-rich lands under

other names. The businessman also operates business within the fuel, construction and logging industries.

Su has nonetheless been topical for months as he and other Chinese nationals were caught on camera having claimed to have paid government officials in return for business opportunities, while others have admitted to operating a well-orchestrated money laundering ring here.

The PPP/C government and later, some players within the former A Partnership for National Unity +Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) government had come in for much criticism over their cozy relationship with the Chinese national and his associates. A photograph of then Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, in the company of Su Zhi Rong and Chu Hong Bo with others onboard a private jet during a trip to China in 2016, had raised many questions.

That same year saw

former Prime Minister, Samuel Hinds, insisting that no corruption was involved in the issuance of a fuel export licence to China Zhonghao Inc, a sister company of Rong-An Inc. A notice of the licence issuance was published in February 2016 in the Official Gazette, causing raised eyebrows; and was said to be the first of its kind in Guyana.

China Zhonghao Inc. is owned by Chinese nationals, Su Zhi Rong and his wife. In

a letter published in the Kaieteur News, Hinds said that the issuance of the fuel export licence was taken under the PPP/C administration. Also holding the energy portfolio at the time, he defended that “There is no corruption” and claimed that the move was to facilitate a proposal by China Zhonghao Inc. to attempt to establish refuelling and other bunkering services in port or at sea, to Chinese or other Continued on page 13

Chinese businessman, Su Zhi Rong was awarded 12,000 acres of precious stones and gold-rich lands by the PPP/C government

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

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

EDITORIAL

Oil could be Guyana’s Emancipation This country’s fabulous oil discoveries could be the long-awaited, much hoped-for source of Emancipation for Guyanese by freeing them from the bondage and drudgery of poverty. We thought that the serenity of Sunday, though one day prior to the official observation of Emancipation Day is the best day of the week, to present our simple, little messages on what was and is nothing but a glorious day in the history of man. Blessed Emancipation Day to all our Afro Guyanese brothers and sisters, the children of those once subject to an eternity of the batteries of slavery. With this oil now gushing from beneath our feet, the rich promise of Emancipation from historic poverty is right here and right now, and it is one that is the birthright of each and every citizen of this country, regardless of their colour, politics, religion, or station.

We can move out of countrywide, lifelong poverty, those endless generations of getting by on the paltry, towards what is nothing but our God-given right to prosperity. This is the right of every Guyanese. But the prosperity that has always eluded us, despite our stream of riches all over, will not come about because we wish for it, or think about it.

The prosperity that represents our freedom from impoverishment will not occur if we continue to trust and depend on leaders who have lost any claim to trust, whose record for principled reliability leaves them in shreds, and citizens in despair. Our Emancipation is invitingly close, right outside our doorstep, and it is ours for the taking, except that it wouldn’t be easy.

Emancipation from the devastation of our hopes and dreams will only come if we summon the strength to fight for what is rightly due to us, as a nation, as a citizen. The oil companies will not give us a single penny because they like us or respect us. They don’t have either appreciation or regard for us, and it is time that we, the Guyanese people, get that into our heads. The history of foreign predators in sailboats, then ships, then planes in Africa and Asia and the Americas is there. The coloured people of the world have been robbed and raped and rendered into property and beasts of burden everywhere that men came with their gifts and goodwill. They also went to those poor, backward societies with their swords and cannons to take for themselves what belonged to those living there.

Guyana is the new Africa, Guyanese are the new Incas, and our leaders in the PPP/C Government and the APNU+AFC Opposition are those tribal chiefs, subcontinent Indian Chiefs, and Indigenous American Chiefs who sold their people down the drain for a smile, a pat on the back, and the joy of being in the company of their betters. It was ‘Good boy’ and ‘good job’.We can get the dreamed-of Emancipation promise held by this oil wealth from divine providence (or nature) but only if we find the courage and the conscience to climb out of our comfort zones and confront our leaders.

Only if we discard loyalty to cult leaders (who may be common thieves) and only if we force them to face up to their duty to get more from our rapacious exploiters for us, only then the freedom to soar to the peaks of prosperity will come to us. As Guyanese, we all need Emancipation, but we don’t have a William Wilberforce or Thomas Clarkson, like the British did. Nor do we have the likes of Americans Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass. If only we have a Toussaint L’Ouverture, if only we had a Sojourner Truth among the women, except those we have had and still do are nothing but on the side of the oil enslavers. If only our political betrayers didn’t deny and delay the National Emancipation from poverty that the independence of oil makes possible, then we must confront them and cast them out. And if the only opening left for struggling, hurting Guyanese is to use the resources of their voices and their feet, then so let it be. But this Emancipation from individual and societal poverty must come, change must come.

Send your letters to Kaieteur News, 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown or email us kaieteurnews@yahoo.com

Any reform of marijuana law to allow easy use without strong penalties would be disastrous for Guyana DEAR EDITOR, For decades in America, schoolchildren were taught early throughout their school life that drugs are bad for you and you should “Just Say No” to drugs.

The Ministry of Education here announced they will introduce the “DARE” (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) programme that was well

used in the USA. That will be a very costly exercise and will add to expenses in the education budget. But that’s a good thing in light of increasing drug use across Guyana, that is destroying students/schools, individuals, families, villages, and community life when the locals use drugs by the street corners, terrorise the people, and commit break-ins, petty

crimes, and gun robberies to sustain the drug habit. “If we sow to the wind, we will reap the whirlwind” (Hosea 8:7), if we give a seal of approval to the possession and use of mind-altering drugs, no matter how small the amount.

A recent headline said, “Rastafarian community concerned over delay of ganja reform law -AG hoping to wrap up

selected committee work before parliamentary recess”(SN, July 24, 2022).

Apparently, an outfit called the Guyana Rastafarian Council wants speedy approval of the proposed amendment to the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act for the removal of custodial sentences for the (Continued on page 5)

Sunday July 31, 2022

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Any reform of marijuana law to allow easy...

From page 4 possession of less than 30 grammes of cannabis. The PNC wanted no-jail time for amounts of 500 grammes but the PPP defeated that, and rightly so. The Bill proposes that the possession of a quantity of cannabis or any substance held out to be cannabis which does not exceed 15 grammes would be punishable by mandatory counselling for a period to be determined by the counsellor.

Guyana does not have enough counsellors for that.

What happens if many students show up at school with drugs? The Bill also proposes that the possession of any quantity of cannabis or any substance held out to be cannabis which exceeds 15 grammes but does not exceed 30 grammes would be punishable by community service for a period not exceeding six months; that would require extra and ongoing funding to set up a national programme.

That should clean up all the blocked drains all over the country! The AG said, “The Bill we’re doing really it’s not to decriminalise but the removal of the custodial sentence from small amounts of marijuana and the Committee [is] to decide what that small amount is [and] we are trying to be consistent with the rest of the Caribbean.” Really, this is a strategy of gradualism and a precursor to full “recreational” use of marijuana, similar to strategies used by the Sexual Deviance Movement to change the majority system, starting with decriminalisation of crossdressing and sodomy.

It seems to me that any attempt to send a message that it is OK to use small quantities and you will not be

punished, is aiding, abetting and encouraging the use of drugs in Guyana. That is the wrong direction to take no matter what the Rastas think.

What do the moms, dads think? What do grandmas and grandpas think about this? What do teachers think?

And medical folks? And Mental Health folks? I am not going to ask what churches think because they have been in a deep slumber on everything. Those church folks who were supposed to be the guardians of morality, and a “watchman” and prophetic voice to the nation, are letting us down.

They have nothing to say about the rigging of elections, about protestors beating and robbing In d i a n s , g i v i n g away of oil resources, corruption, attempts to legalise Sexual Deviant Behaviours, and have not taken a public position on decriminalising use of small amounts of marijuana. They must be singing, “I shall not, I shall not be moved…”

Nation, why should a minority group of Rastas determine the national policy on drugs for the majority?

While they may be silent, I know church folks would not endorse the notion that possession of small quantities of drugs should get a “wink” from law enforcement.

Does anyone think that community service and fines would reduce drug use and addiction? If we change the law, will drug abuse go down or go up? Why do we test people for the presence of drugs and alcohol when there is a road accident, or occupational accident? Is it because these mind-altering drugs cause impairment?

If you look at recent headlines, it is clear that there

is an increase in drug trafficking all over the country. That’s a big problem.

Women and young people are involved now. When you have such a big problem that destroys lives and fuel robberies, violent crimes and brutalisation of people, the government is on the wrong track to appease Rastas using religion as a cover for drug use. I am glad this religion does not require cocaine and opioids. Is the use of illegal drugs a “human right” or a “human wrong?”

This so-called law reform sounds like “sinning without guilt.”

We cannot do like America where they let people do wrong things under the guise of “freedom” which is really “license,” and then turn around and spend billions to fix those people who become addicted, school dropouts, job dropouts, criminals, homeless, imprisoned, etc.

Look what the USA did – they started with “medical marijuana,” and it graduated to universal “recreational marijuana” allowable in some states.

Now, they also face a huge problem of “opioid addiction,” consuming billions of dollars to deal with all the related problems. Same problem with tobacco that is legal but smoking is now outlawed in all public buildings and spaces.

Same for the Sexual Deviance Movement.

They started with repealing cross-dressing, now they want decriminalisation of sodomy/ buggery, and the dominoes of morality will keep falling until deviant practices replace majoritarian rights. Guyana and CARICOM should not

copy these stupid practices.

Here are some recent headlines that should cause us to worry very much: “Cops destroy $115.8M in cannabis in Berbice River” - Maria Henrietta Village, Upper Berbice River, Reg. 10 500,000 plants, 2000 pounds of dried cannabis, 100 pounds of cannabis seeds, and four nurseries…” (SN, Feb. 13, 2022). “CANU discovers $17M in cocaine at city wharf” - 54 pounds at Lombard Street (NR, May 28, 2022). “Girl, 19, nabbed with marijuana at Bartica” (Inews, May 19, 2022).

“Man, woman busted with ganja, large quantity of ammo” - Guinep Lane, East Ruimveldt - marijuana and several types of ammunition (NR, June 2, 2022). “Drug addict’ slaughters wife, baby … hacks off mother’s arm” Best Squatting Area, WCD (KN, July 2, 2016). “CANU, Police unearth over $12.5M in cocaine, ganja during raids” - Haslington, ECD (Inews, March 31, 2022).

“Girl, 19, busted with 38 pounds of ganja” -Perry Street, Tucville, 38 pounds marijuana (NR, Mar 26, 2022).

“Bus driver, passengers arrested as CANU seize $12.5M worth in cocaine, firearm” – gun, bullets and drugs, Tuschen (NR, March 31, 2022).

Sincerely, Dr. Jerry Jailall

Corruption benefits the rich and powerful at the expense of the poor.

Say no to it.

Fisherfolk in a net DEAR EDITOR, Buzzwords, corporate speak, and leadership smoothies are the norm of communications today, and the higher up the ladder the deliver is perched, the better such PR ploys are. In the schemes of company jargons practised today, there are few as good as ExxonMobil. The American oil giant is readying to do a study (“ExxonM conducting assessment of Guyana’s ailing fisheries sector -refuses to disclose consultant, scope of study” KN July 30). Without even going into the content of the article, it should be clear this so-called study has a number of weaknesses, if not trickeries, and which must be immediately called out.

For sure, the company has engaged a consultant to do the study of what is really wrong with our fisheries sector, but that is as good as if ExxonMobil itself is doing the study. This immediately takes on the appearance of a smokescreen, and nothing but a gimmick. It is to buy time and give the company some breathing space by taking away the glare of attention from what is happening to our fisherfolk, and what looks like the most responsible source of their woes. ExxonMobil coming up with its own consultant to conduct such an analysis is

the equivalent of the Guyana Police Force investigating itself. Rarely, does anything positive, definitive, and conclusive comes out of such probing.

Also, a big red flag, two of them more accurately, are obvious from the strapline of KN’s caption. The first is that the identity of the consultant is withheld by ExxonMobil, meaning that it is yet another matter that is found necessary to keep as a secret from the citizens of this country. And the second flashing warning sign is that ExxonMobil is not prepared to disclose the scope of the study. That is another giveaway that this could be a sham study, another exercise in fakery put on Guyanese; if we don’t know the scope, then we are again being strung up on a rope. Right away, and this is from examining one or both of the mysteries in ExxonMobil’s attempt to pacify (possible pull one over) fisherfolk specifically, and Guyanese in general, it is clear that our fisheries sector is trapped in a net and with no real way out. Our citizens who work the fishing fields are being roasted on an open fire, with everybody having fun at their expense, including their own government and leaders, and under the promptings of (Continued on page 6)

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The reported actions of the movers of the Chronicle petition are of grave concern to all media houses DEAR EDITOR, I read a “Big Smith news” item (an expose) July 28 of an attempt last May to undermine the Editor in Chief of Guyana Chronicle. The public, the government, private media houses should be concerned at such behaviour.

This unprofessional act can happen at any media house, undermining staff work ethic.

Action must be taken to stop such behaviour. The petition comes across as an attempt to ruin the career of a professional. This is most unfortunate as it impacts on work performance and the professionalism of staff not only at that media but others as well.

Apparently, as per the report, two of the paper’s reporters/cum news editor and another from an online media house sought to undermine the editor in chief (EIC). Last May, a petition was prepared with falsities and reporters were asked to sign. Did reporters sign under pressure? At least one signature, it is reported, was forged.

A senior government’s name was used without his authorisation; and he is quite upset about the entire episode (one wonders what else his name was used for without his permission). The petition was sent to the government and made available to the public.

Then came the investigation

by ‘Big Smith News’ that debunked the claims in the petition and skullduggery used in its preparation and dissemination. All and all, it was an attempt to undermine the editor in chief with the hope of forcing him out. The claims were far-fetched, according to officials and reporters I engaged on the matter. One should be truthful and not be coy or engage in dishonest concealment devices in the preparation of the statement on the petition.

Clearly, it was mischief at work. The move or petition is of grave concern to any media house. It means one can prepare a petition ‘willy nilly’ against anyone manager or editor? In so doing, it

endangers the viability of the media house. Fortunately, it has not happened in other media and I applaud professionalism elsewhere.

The motive behind the petition is not clear from the report. Was jealousy at work?

Did someone want the position and organise the petition with the hope of replacing the editor in chief? The petitioners should focus on their work rather than on the EIC. An editor in chief, any editor’s task, is not an easy one. I served as editor in chief of several community publications and managing editor of my job’s publication in New York. It was (Continued on page 68)

Fisherfolk in a net...

From page 5 cunning outsiders from Texas and other parts of the United States.

To pour some more salt into the painful wounds of Guyana’s fisherfolk, ExxonMobil’s local big chief, Country President (that says all, doesn’t it?), Alistair Routledge, came up with another beauty laced with the buzzwords favored by corporate headmen. Mr. Routledge said that the company is in the process of conducting “an updated targeted marine environmental baseline studies programme to develop a robust understanding of the marine environment within the Area of I n f l u e n c e (AOI) of the Yellowtail Project.” We congratulate ExxonMobil Guyana President, Mr. Alistair Routledge, for a masterpiece of the mishmash cherished by company captains like himself. We appreciate that he may have forgotten for a moment that he is not Alistair Cooke of the American TV spectacular, ‘Masterpiece Theatre’, since that is what is clearly at work with this fraud of a fishing study.

What gives the ghost (and there are plenty) are those cleverly chosen hedge words in Mr. Routledge’s sweet speech. Words such as

“targeted” and “baseline studies” and “robust understanding” and “Area of Influence.” To the eye and ear, those are lovely; they make for good reading and listening respectively; but they mean nothing but what the company wants them to mean, limits them to the extent of what is acceptable and corporately tolerable, which would (may) be presented to the Guyanese public.

First, “targeted” narrows the range of coverage, then “baseline” is just that as in barebones or the negligible, and “robust” (understanding) is now so overused as to represent nothing, but what is in the head of those playing games with words. Last, and to top it all off, there was the dizzying “Area of Influence” which tells me that the fix is in via those innocent sounding words, because that will be defined by ExxonMobil’s carefully and craftily selected consultant, who would be very good at these charades, so that enrichment comes later.

All I say is that the fish of our fisherfolk is being deep fried. But I did enjoy the handiwork of ExxonMobil and its Guyana hand in charge of the local circus and talk show circuit.

Sincerely, GHK Lall

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How many times have you heard the statement: Guyana is the fastest growing country in the region?

But where is the evidence of this growth, it is certainly not felt by the average citizens of this country.

And why is this? The answer is simple. Although Guyana continues to produce more oil, the citizens are not the ones benefitting from their God-given wealth because it is being shipped out by the millions of barrels by the oil companies owing to the oppressive lopsided contract that our government seems bent on defending to the detriment of the nation.

But we, as Guyanese, must know our rights; we have the power to demand the change we wish to see.

It is high time that more Guyanese stand up and hold these unconscionable politicians accountable!

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Public servants prefer back pay Public servants desire an increase in wages. Who does not? But I am sure if a survey was conducted today and if persons spoke the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, it will be revealed that in as much as public servants desire an increase in their salaries, they prefer it in the form of the usual “back pay” which they receive in December. Public servants looking forward to the retroactive payment of wages which is usually paid in December in time for the Christmas holidays. The back pay tidies public servants over the holidays.

But it leaves their unions fuming, the reason being that these increases are imposed by the government and are not subject to collective bargaining. The government, it is believed, is of the view that the GPSU has a political agenda and therefore cannot be trusted to be reasonable in negotiations.

The annual wage increases offered by government to public servants usually compensates for inflation. But those inflation numbers are themselves subject to controversy since there is a view that they do not match the realities in the market place.

At present, there is an increase in prices of consumer items, including and especially food. These increases are hurting public servants. But this is a

worldwide phenomenon which is taking place and Guyana actually has done much better in cushioning prices than in other parts of the world.

The situation could have been worse. The government is allowing importers to declare pre-pandemic freight rates for the calculation of taxes in the hope that this would reduce the cost of imported goods to consumers. But it has not put in place any mechanism to ensure that this tax concession is being passed on to consumers. The government has also given a cost of living grant to residents living in riverine and hinterland communities.

The price of gasoline has risen to its highest level ever and would be much higher had the government not removed the excise taxes. One former Minister has already complained about the effects of government policies on tax collection. The removal of the excise taxes on petrol will put a serious dent in tax collection and it is questionable whether the government will be able to generate tax revenues to pay a substantial increase in wages to public servants.

In any event, it makes no sense the government pumping excess monies into the economy as disposable income. Instead of helping public servants deal with the rising cost of living, it will have the opposite effect. It will

cause prices to rise even more because the increase in money will be greater than the increase in production of goods and this will fuel an increase in prices.

All workers need relief.

But this relief has to be in a manner which is affordable and which will not increase inflation. This column proposed a solution months ago. But the government is not the type of administration which likes to take advice unless it comes from the international financial institutions or from their friends in the private sector.

Essentially, the government is a bourgeois government masquerading as one which has emerged from a working class party. The solution proposed would be to pay a cost of living allowance of $5,000 per month to every public servant. This would amount to a seven percent increase for minimum wage earners and it would suffice to cover the extra expenses for food at least. Prices have increased but not to the extent which some persons are claiming and if people spend prudently they will be able to manage better.

A cost of living allowance would be a temporary measure. It should be paid until at least the end of the year. And the private sector should be required to do the same. A $5,000 cost of living allowances is not unaffordable.

The world is going

Dem boys seh...

De Vee Pee get a false positive Dem boys hear dat when de Vee Pee was in Washington, he left eye bin start blinking. No sooner dat happen, de man get a false positive reading fuh COVID. Is lucky thing he test again and it show negative.

COVID numbers rising in Guyana. Don’t worry with dem numbers wah de Health Ministry producing every day. Dat is only de tip of de iceberg. Because less people getting severely sick, nuff people nah bothering fuh get tested. Some ah dem also fooling demselves into believing dat dem get flu. De Ministry warn dem fuh go and get tested if dem gat flu-like symptoms. Dem boys does

advise people who get COVID fuh stay positive. Dem politicians does gat positive attitude. One time, one ah dem went into a rural village fuh woo votes fuh elections.

He call all de people together and say how he come fuh solve dem prablems. He den ask dem about dem prablems.

One man get up and say, “Sir we gat two main prablems. De first one is dat we don’t have doctors and a hospital. De second one is…”

Before de man could continue, de politician cut he off saying: “Stop right dere, I’ll make some calls.”

De politician tek out he cell phone dial a number and start fuh talk. He end de

conversation by saying: “Yes! Yes! Dat would be great, tomorrow den.” He loudly reply before punching another number fuh another call, “Yes a hospital, I will pay for it personally.”

He den turn off de cell phone and tell de people dat he just arrange fuh a group ah doctors to come to de village after de elections and dat he also arrange fuh immediate work on de construction of ah hospital.

He den ask de man, “Wat was de second prablem?”

De man answer, “”Yes, our second prablem is dat we don’t have cellphone coverage hay.”

Talk half. Leff half.

through a crisis. There is a war taking place in Eastern Europe. The Americans and Europeans have imposed sanctions on Russia but it is their own people and we who are feeling the pain of the rise in the price of grain, fertilisers and petrol. Biden has blamed the oligopoly which controls the world’s shipping for jacking up freight costs, resulting in higher prices for

importing goods.

However, Guyanese are resourceful people. The older generation knows how to cut ends to deal with rising prices and shortages. The older folks know how to conserve and be frugal during difficult times. Nevertheless, I am not so sure about the younger generation, at least judging from the long lines at the fast food restaurants.

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

Kaieteur News

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Monday July Sunday May 31, 02,2022 2022

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

Some foreign policy advice for President Ali

T

hucydides' “The Peloponnesian Wars” is regarded as the first book on international relations in the western world.

Tw o l a w s o f international relations were explicitly touched upon in that world famous text.

One is large states will always have security obsessions. Secondly, the establishment of spheres of influence among small states by big powers to cushion those security fears. The Peloponnesian Wars were all about those two permanent factors in global politics.

Sphere of influence became the most conspicuous characteristic in international politics after the emergence of the bi-polar world after World War 2.

The Americans and the Soviets carved out spheres of influence around the world and bankrolled their small strategic friends.

Perhaps the most staggering evidence of how the generosity of the two superpowers was used in preserving spheres of influence during the Cold

War was Cuba and Israel.

But there were two other interesting unknown cases.

Poland was literally funded by the Soviet Union and in the 1970s, Guyana was the second highest, recipient of American aid, per capita after Israel.

Some powerful leaders in the post-colonial world were unhappy being part of the spheres of influence and founded the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in the 1960s. The main motivation behind the formation of NAM was just as economic as it was political.

These post-colonial nations figured that their developmental needs were so enormous that it was strategic to move easily among great powers for developmental assistance rather than being completely tied to one of them.

Zaire and Guyana took the lead in using the Cold War fears of the Americans and Soviets to diversify their trading relations.

Spheres of influence collapsed when the World Trade Organization and the advent of globalisation took

hold of the world. Cuba's economy was devastated when the Soviet Union evaporated. Third World states were facing economic extinction because of the We s t ' s d i s i n t e r e s t .

Guaranteed price for Third World products like sugar and bananas were removed and this had terrible economic consequences.

The Americans disengaged financially from the Third World.

The international system is witnessing the return of spheres of influence.

All the American military institutions and the American foreign policy establishments have advised successive American governments that China will be the US' greatest competitor and it will be a rivalry that makes the first Cold War look like child's play. The USSR never had the financial, military, populational and global capacity that China possesses. China is a superpower the status of which the USSR never had.

The American government requested a

high-level dialogue with President Ali for two reasons only.

One was urgent, the other was important. The important one was for the assurance from President Ali of guaranteed oil deliveries without interruptions or controversy because the war in Ukraine will be a forever battle in which oil will be in sharp shortage.

The exigent factor is to wave Guyana away from increasing involvement in its relations with China. Under Presidents Jagdeo and R a m o t a r, t h e G u y a n a government sought to diversify its trading relations.

Guyana opened up to countries that were willing to offer bilateral assistance.

The US is now carving up spheres of influence and Guyana is being asked to resuscitate the role Guyana once played in the 1960s and 1970s in the old Cold War. Guyana is a country that is extremely close to the US. That is the way Guyana evolved.

There is nothing negative about an enduring closeness

between Guyana and the US. But pitfalls in international relations must be a s t u t e l y internalised by President Ali. Frederick Kissoon Three factors have to be concentrated on

by Dr. Ali. One is that if s hould not be ideological Guyana is going to accept and political but based on being part of the spheres of Guyana's developmental influence in the American needs. The US has to orbit, then big brother has to understand this reality plight cater in consistent ways for of Third World countries and Guyana's developmental must accept it or be forced by CARICOM to accept it. needs.

Finally, the resuscitation This is a non-negotiable of spheres of influence is a position.

Biden invention and not an The US has the financial American songbook.

If resources; Guyana has an Trump wins the presidency, insatiable need for he will dismantle Biden's developmental assistance. new creation.

Two – despite a new Cold Trump will not finance War intimacy between Biden's spheres of influence Guyana and the US, Guyana and Guyana will suffer the has to trade with other w a y a l l T h i r d Wo r l d countries and accept countries did when the US developmental assistance and the EU abandoned them from them even if those relationships make the US in favour of globalisation.

(The views expressed in uneasy. this article are those of the Guyana has to pursue a a u t hor and do not correct relation with these necessarily reflect the countries, including China, opinions of this newspaper.) meaning that the relationship

Sunday July 31, 2022

Kaieteur News

PAGE 11

Kaieteur News

PAGE 12

Sunday July 31, 2022

'Su' gained thousands of acres of mineral-rich land under PPP/C Govt.

From page 3 fishing fleets, and any other vessels traversing the Caribbean Sea. GEA officials had confirmed that instructions for the fuel export licence to be issued had come from the Office of the Prime Minister.

It was highlighted that while

the amended Petroleum and Petroleum Products Regulations of 2014 allow for applications to be made for an export licence for fuel, China Zhonghao was noted to be the first.

Vice President Jagdeo has nonetheless filed a $50 million

lawsuit against Su Zhi Rong over the statements that he made in the Vice News report.

The VP's attorneys described the statements as “defamatory and slanderous.”

The lawsuit outlined that the said words were calculated to

disparage Mr. Jagdeo personally and in the office, which he now holds.

Owing to what was said in the documentary series, Jagdeo has suffered public condemnation, humiliation, ridicule, and embarrassment, the legal document

claimed.

Jagdeo and President Irfaan Ali have agreed that there should be an investigation into the Su allegations, supporting similar calls from several prominent individuals and civil society groups.

Kaieteur News

Sunday July 31, 2022

PAGE 13

BLUNTNESS ON INDECENCY! In case you haven’t heard, please be informed that as part of our continued effort to channel positive changes in our country, our publisher, Mr. Glenn Lall, has dedicated our Page Seven to be “BLUNT” about on-going indecency in our land that should matter, not only to us at this publication, but the entire nation.

SUNDAY Santa Claus Government President Irfaan Ali has embarked on a Santa Claus mission to share out goodies and cash grants, but only to some in our society; maybe the ones that are considered 'nice'.

With all jokes aside, it is troubling when one considers how the government would account for these building materials it plans to distribute to home builders.

We at this newspaper are not against development, but as gatekeepers, we believe that development must take place in a transparent manner and the leaders must be able to account for the billions that will be doled out for this initiative.

While the President has promised to hand out these construction materials, there are several stones which he left unturned.

Can the President say who will be supplying these materials to the state for distribution, and at what cost?

Will this be going through the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB)?

How will the distribution be managed, and by which agency?

The Alliance For Change has already flagged the infrequent meetings of the National Assembly. To this we ask, where is the promised transparency and accountability?

MONDAY A Govt. that only cares with its mouth!

Guyana has once again been let down by its leaders.

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

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

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

They will no doubt do

what it takes to restore Guyana with a greater sense of governance, transparency and accountability.

In the meantime, we can only hope that the worst does not befall our land.

TUESDAY Georgetown goes to Washington Yesterday our top leaders were summoned to meet the third most powerful person in the US GovernmentSecretary of State Antony Blinken.

Accompanying President Irfaan Ali on the visit was: Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, Foreign Affairs Minister Hugh Todd and some other underlings.

At the time of the writing of this Blunt, there was no official statement on the outcome of the high-level meeting, so we cannot comment on the substance.

We however, would be surprised if our leaders raised the issue of the abuse Guyana suffers at the hands of one of America's top corporationsExxonMobil.

We would not be surprised however, if they used the meeting to mollycoddle with Blinken, while ignoring concerns about Exxon's continuous flaring of gas here, the meagre royalty we receive for our oil; lack of full coverage insurance and a host of other issues.

As a child growing up, you anticipate with great pride your parents' return home from a trip. Guyanese don't even know when our leaders leave these shores, much less expecting anything good from their jaunts.

WEDNESDAY This world is not my home!

This world is increasingly becoming a worrisome place to exist in.

Some days, the things we see and hear defy logic, leaving us to think: Who really can we rely on in this world?

It is as if the good is daily being outstripped by evil; evil is being given the right of way and good is struggling to remain relevant.

It is no wonder that some of the affluent are aspiring to jet off to Mars to hopefully take up residence; leaving all the malevolent behind.

But even such a perceived tactical move will not earn them immortality.

But it seems that some right among us, based on their actions, are daring to believe that if they earn enough – by hook or crook – they will somehow defy the odds. Maybe they should be reminded of the words of the popular hymn: This world is not my home, I'm just apassing through…

There's no doubt, many of us subscribe to the notion: How we live in this life will determine how we fare in the next.

THURSDAY Parliament has reached its nadir 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.

I t i s t r u l y 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!

FRIDAY Ignorance and propaganda PPP/C trolls on social media and some sections of the media could not help

themselves on Wednesday at the announcement that the Government of Guyana and the US EXIM Bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding for Georgetown to potentially tap US$2B in loans.

The agreement was hailed as historic, by no other than President Irfaan Ali and his sycophantic followers followed suit as if the money was free and was already in our Consolidated Account.

First of all, a MoU is an agreement between two or more parties outlined in a formal document.

It is not legally binding but signals the willingness of the parties to move forward with a contract.

The MoU can be seen as the starting point for negotiations as it defines the scope and purpose of the talks.

The second issue here is that because of this country's abundant oil resources any and everybody would dangle large loans at us and our clueless leaders will oblige.

It would be foolish for this country to further indebt itself with a US$2B loan,

when it is barely drawing down anything from the oil, which clearly is what it is borrowing against. With its status as 'fastest growing economy in the world' no bank is going to lend Guyana money at concessional rates and by the time the oil runs out, this resource-rich country with the current leaders we have would still be paying back the several loans we have racked up and Guyana would be poorer.

If there is anything we should go by is the telling analysis by Chartered Accountant Christopher Ram, who pointed out that the smallest partner in the Stabroek Block- CNOOC recorded a net profit in 2021, inclusive of the non-cash tax benefit of some $105.6B before writing off any prior year losses, while Guyana, which owns the oil earned from its share of profit oil $74.5B gross.

Maybe what President Ali meant, is that this country is setting itself up for a historic failure under his leadership with that US$2B loan.

Kaieteur News

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Sunday July 31, 2022

US$8M water treatment plant for Bachelor's Croal heads to Parliament Adventure - asforMinister US$19M to build even more

D

u r i n g a n outreach held on Saturday at the Melanie Community Centre Ground on the East Coast Demerara (ECD), Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal announced that plans are apace to spend taxpayers'

dollars' amountin g to US$8M to construct a water treatment plant at Bachelor's Adventure.

The Minister at the time of the announcement was part of a team of Cabinet officials, led by Prime

Minister, Retired Brigadier Mark Phillips, which was conducting an outreach in the ECD community.

The water treatment plant, Croal told residents, is estimated to cost some

GYD$1.6B, which is equivalent to US$8M. He said that government will open tender for the project on August 9, 2022.

Croal said that the plant will serve communities on the East Coast corridor between Coldingen and Haslington.

According to the Minister, the decision to build the plant was triggered (Continued on page 16)

Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal

Kaieteur News

Sunday July 31, 2022

PAGE 15

Guyanese drowning in cost of living as ExxonMobil swims in billion...

From page 2 Although the revenue raked in by the two international oil and gas companies were not bound to Guyana shores, they both hinged their success on Guyana's golden basin.

But while those companies boast on their increased earnings from extracting Guyana's oil, the people of Guyana continue “to live on crumbs,” Dr. Mahadeo added.

He said, “The oil companies hoodwinked the David Granger-led Government and then placed golden handcuffs on the current administration. We would recall that while in opposition, (Vice President Bharrat) Jagdeo and (President Irfaan) Ali promised to revisit and renegotiate the contract, they lied! Guyana is now their oil

company's flagship! Their cash cow! We have friends like never before, all providing armour to protect the contract.”

To this end, the activist noted that while Exxon and Hess can report their significant windfall to their shareholders, our politicians “who live the good life, fly off to visit countries and governments, paying huge lobbying contracts to open the doors to congressional and other offices and live off the fat of a paper royalty and profit oil.”

At the same time, the member of the civil society body reasoned that local “cheerleading economists” and “financial wizards” continue to uphold the contract as if it were a holy book.

“Our enslaved and indentured forefathers would be turning in

their graves at what 'our own' is doing to 'our own'. Not only have we taken from the plate of every Guyanese living presently, not only have we robbed the graves of our forefathers but we have also robbed the cradle, removing financial security from our children's future so that the current lot can have a good life,” he posited.

Dr. Mahadeo noted too that no one begrudges a fair return on investment, while adding that the investment would not be there without the natural resource. As such, he reminded that even the “cheerleading experts” have accepted that the contract is lopsided, yet they insist on convincing Guyanese that, “we are getting a good deal.”

“Most of them decried this

same contract when APNU was in power. Now they embrace it. They enjoy the good life, flying on our roads and airspaces, flying here and there, while the true Guyanese must continue to grovel in muck that is left behind - a handout here, a hamper there,” he related.

Today, Dr. Mahadeo noted, Guyanese are left with a contract fiercely guarded by the President and VP, which stipulates that Guyana must “pay” the oil companies' taxes, in addition to “experts” who argue Guyana is getting and will get over 50 percent profit oil. To this end, he pointed out that more wells are equivalent to more costs, more offset taxes, more uninsured risks and more environmental damage.

According to him, “The stark

reality is that the defenders of the contract protect their self-interest.

They sleep well at night because the oil contract is their pillow. Whereas APNU's members defend the contract to save their shameful faces, but the current Government is protecting its good life.”

Even as he observed that “Yes, Guyana got crumbs from oil from which the politicians will take the first bite off those crumbs for the good life,” Dr. Mahadeo noted that “ the middle-men and the numerous 'Sues' get the next bite.

From the dust that remains, the rest of us will line up for handouts in exchange for votes and souls. We cannot advance as a country without a renegotiated contract. Put the contract on the table for Guyana's sake.”

PAGE 16

Kaieteur News

Sunday July 31, 2022

US$8M water treatment plant for Bachelor's...

From page 14 by residents' complaints about the high iron content in their water. Moreover, Croal r e v e a l e d t h a t h i s government will be approaching parliament at its next sitting for another $3.8B, which is equivalent to US$19M, to build more water treatment plants along the coast of Guyana.

The sum of $4.7B was allocated to the Ministry of Housing and Water in the 2022 budget for improvement of water supply and expansion of portable

water nationwide. Some wells have been drilled in Lusignan, others in some interior locations and a few other sites along the coast.

It seems now that the government might have already expended that $4.7B since, according to Minister Croal, he will now be asking parliament for more billions to continue government's nationwide water supply agenda.

It should be noted that the government has plans to spend even

more billions for the improvement of water supply across the country. As recent as May, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI), Shaik Baksh stated that government will be spending some $25B in the next three years to upgrade and construct new water treatment plants across the country. Baksh had made this disclosure while he and othe r government officials, including President Mohammed Irfaan Ali, were commissioning a new well at Lusignan.

Sunday July 31, 2022

Kaieteur News

Hand signal initiative launched to alert public to human trafficking

Minister Persaud during the launch of the hand signal that will be used to alert the public to human trafficking The Ministry of Human Services and Social Security has launched a hand signal that will be used to alert the public when someone is a victim of human trafficking.

The hand signal project was launch ahead of World Day Against Trafficking of Persons which was celebrated on Saturday.

According to the Human Services Minister, Dr. Vindhya Persaud, the sign is clasping fingers into the palm and releasing them in a repeated motion three times.

“I thought that sometimes people are not able to transmit the message that they are being trafficked. People are not able to say to somebody: ‘I need help’, but if we develop a hand symbol that is simple, it could help,” Dr. Persaud said at the Counter– Trafficking in Persons (C-TIP) walk and rally held on Friday.

She explained that sometimes human trafficking is happening “right in front of us” but is it not recognised because of language barriers or the victims are simply unable to say they are in danger.

“In many cases, people are trafficked for years and in many places, they remain in the clutches of a perpetrator who shows no remorse and only callousness to continue to do this.”

“What we are doing here today sets the tone for the rest of the year and for Guyana as a whole where we stand firmly against all forms of trafficking in person,” Dr. Persaud said.

The minister related that when persons are trafficked, they are robbed of human rights, their freedom and every opportunity that they have for self-development.

The Minister also called for a more coordinated approach against TIP. This, she said, “means every agency, every department, every ministry,

every private sector entity [and] every mission, we need to stand and not only raise our voices against TIP, but we need to encourage persons to report it, that is the only way we can help someone who is being trafficked.”

“This is not a one man, a one woman or one agency battle, it is a battle that should involve everyone,” Dr. Persaud added.

Reporting TIP in Guyana has been made more accessible with the hotline – 592 STOP and also includes Spanish and Portuguese responders.

Minister Persaud noted that Guyana has retained its Tier 1 status due to its fulfillment of the minimum standards to curb TIP as announced by the US State Department and lauded the efforts of her C-TIP department. She encouraged survivors to report and work with law enforcement agencies to have more convictions of traffickers.

“Guyana has managed to retain its Tier 1 ranking in TIP over the past three years… but we are aiming to have more convictions. I want to appeal to all of you, let us try to see if we can have more convictions, this is the one thing we need to work the hardest in,” Dr. Persaud said, while explaining that when persons are trafficked and rescued, there is a level of fear, insecurity and uncertainty.

She added, “We need to bolster their confidence; we need to provide support so that they can confront those perpetrators.”

The Minister mentioned that so far, training has been done by the C-Tip Unit with the Joint Forces, Regions, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), along with public awareness through engagement in public spaces in various Regions.

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Sunday July 31, 2022

Kaieteur News

==CONSUMER CONCERNS== Let Emancipation Day 2022 be catalyst of an Afro-Guyanese Renaissance

By Pat Dial

On 1st August, Emancipation Day is celebrated by all Guyanese,

both at home and abroad because it is considered one of the country’s most important anniversaries since

it commemorates the legal ending of plantation slavery.

The story of plantation slavery is well-known but it

needs to be retold so that coming generations could have a deeper understanding of the dangers of Racism and of Man’s inhumanity to Man. With the discovery of the Americas by Europeans in the 15th century, colonisers began settling in the New World intent upon exploiting its wealth. One form of exploitation was the occupation of the lands of the native Amerindian peoples and establishing plantations to grow produce, which Europe needed and which could be sold at enormous profits.

In Guyana, the first colonisers were Dutch planters who laid out plantations along the riverbanks and then later along the coast.

These plantations were mostly for producing sugar which sold at very high prices in Europe. Sugar plantations required a great deal of labour and since the local Amerindian population would prefer to die than work as plantation slaves or labourers, the planters were desperate to find labour from any source. Slave traders then entered the picture and began buying or capturing slaves mostly from West Africa to supply the plantation labour market.

From the 15th to the 19th centuries, tens of millions of Africans were forcibly and against their will brought to Guyana and the Caribbean.

The sea voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, “the Middle Passage” was one of unspeakable horror and a high proportion of the slaves died at sea. On land, they were sold to planters who put them to work on the plantations in a labour regime that was cruel, inhumane and humiliating and even today, reading of the horrifying cruelties of slavery is disturbing both mentally and emotionally.

Eventually, slavery was abolished in the British Empire, including Guyana and the Caribbean on 1st August, 1833. But in most territories full freedom was delayed by

the Apprenticeship System where the former slaves had to work for their masters for a number of years at a very minimal wage. By 1838, all Guyanese slaves were freed with the ending of the Apprenticeship System.

The freed slaves or freedmen showed an extraordinary resilience, maturity and creativity. In the 1840’s, they bought a number of abandoned sugar estates and transformed them into villages with thousands of houses and farms and a village government. These villages had certain characteristics, which Guyanese of today could well emulate.

They saved whatever small income they had from working as Apprentices and from Sunday markets and were able to buy the abandoned sugar estates. Saving was an important part of the ethic of these villagers. Other important characteristics were their commitment to education and their strong belief in God and their desire to farm and be self-sufficient in food.

They also had the entrepreneurial spirit of risk and a remarkable work ethic.

During slavery, they were the tradesmen and from the 1840’s, they provided the carpenters, plumbers, tin smiths and the other trades required in the colony.

It was this spirit of risk and adventure which made them and their children go out into the Interior and found the gold industry. It was these same gold fields which the pork knockers had worked from which the foreign mining companies with their modern equipment are now extracting hundreds of tons of gold.

Then the community fell into social and economic doldrums from the end of the 1920’s. This was caused by the Great Depression which brought with it, widespread unemployment and poverty and before any recovery could come, World War II brought more hardship, scarcity and unemployment.

The optimism caused by the

end of the war did not last for very long and before any recovery could occur, Britain decided to withdraw from the colony and hand over its government to local politicians. These politicians caused racial discord and poor economic and social management of the country and life, as Guyanese and in particular, Afro-Guyanese knew it, collapsed and over half the population emigrated. Dr. Accabre Nkofi, in his booklet “Renaissance of the Blackman” captures the scenario.

In 2022, with the discovery of Oil, the dawn of a new era has come and all Guyanese and AfroGuyanese in particular are on the threshold of a prosperous and creative life.

The ethos of the 1840’s needs to be recaptured and internalised. Oil revenues are now being gradually channelled into the various capital-starved industries so that Guyana’s agricultural and industrial sectors would become employment providing and wealth generating way into the future after the Oil reserves would have been exhausted.

Oil revenues are also being channelled into social sectors such as Health, Education, Old age pensions and Cash Grants. Afro-Guyanese and all other groups should take advantage of these offerings. For example, the valuable scholarship offerings in various skills and professions or the grants and guidance given to young people venturing into startups.

All Guyanese social and political leaders, and in particular Afro-Guyanese, should pledge themselves to make Emancipation Day 2022 into the beginnings of an Afro-Guyanese Renaissance since the prosperity and wellbeing of any one segment of society redounds to the benefit of all.

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

47 new COVID-19 cases, 1 still in ICU

O

n Saturday, the Ministry of Health reported that from approximately 365 COVID-19 tests that were conducted during the last

assessed 24-hour period, a total of 47 new cases were recorded. The new infections have now brought the total number of confirmed cases to 69,792. The new cases were

detected in Region Four - 21, Region Three - 10, Region 10 - seven, Region Nine - five, and Regions One and Two two each. The Ministry via its daily dashboard reported that one person is still in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit, 23 are in institutional isolation, 623 are in home isolation and three are in institutional quarantined. To date, a total of 67,874 persons have recovered from the virus.

Kaieteur News

Sunday July 31, 2022

PAGE 19

Production of rice and sugar slashed by half in first quarter

D

espite claims that there is no sugar shortage, the Bank of Guyana (BoG) quarterly report has documented quite the opposite; a fall in production but not only for sugar but rice as well – two of the country’s largest export commodities.

According to the report, “there were decreases in the production of rice and sugar by 53.1 and 47.7 percent respectively.” The country’s central bank noted that the substantial decline in rice production was attributed to the adverse effects of flooding in the previous year, which meant farmers were prevented from sowing all available lands for the first crop of 2022.

When it comes to sugar, it was explained that the 47.7 percent drop in production was as a result of the halt on grinding at the Uitvlugt sugar estate, caused by mechanical issues. These challenges, the BoG revealed had a major impact on the country’s total production as the estate was

responsible for 25 percent of the output.

OTHER SECTORS The bank explained that the Guyanese economy recorded a mixed output performance from its major sectors during the first three months of 2022.

According to the report, “As oil and gas activities continued, the non-oil economy experienced moderate growth on account of economic activities regaining momentum from

- Bank of Guyana

th e fu l l reopening of the economy coupled with fiscal measures to alleviate the rising costs of production and services.”

Forestry for instance grew significantly by 79.3 percent during the period, on account of increased output of total logs by 90.1 percent.

Central Bank revealed too that the favourable increase is partly due to small-scale

loggers returning to their operations along with removal of all COVID-19 restrictions.

Meanwhile, the mining and quarrying sector is said to have experienced growth in most industries, except for a marginal decline in oil.

“Total bauxite production increased by 6.4 percent, while gold declarations was higher by

3 .

0 p ercent. The latter resulted from a 30.5 percent increase in declarations by the large scale miner, Guyana Gold Fields,” the report outlined.

Output of sand and crushed stoned also recorded an increase due to enhanced construction activities across the country.

The Bank did not disclose the growth

percentage for these resources, but indicated that crude oil production r e g i s t e r e d a m a rg i n a l decrease of one percent, despite the start-up of production from the Liza Unity Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel in February.

In fact, it was noted that the Liza Destiny FPSO had paused production due to planned maintenance during March. Crude oil production Continued on page 70

Kaieteur News

PAGE 20

Sunday July 31, 2022

‘THE GREAT BETRAYAL’ …Govt. siding with Exxon by denying Guyana full liability coverage …country doomed with current crop of leaders – Glenn Lall

I

nsurance coverage is fundamental in the oil and gas industry as it promotes effective risk transfer solutions, leverage mechanisms for financing structure and guarantees financial protection of the assets of companies in the sector, its shareholders and the environment that the company operates. But in Guyana, South America’s most recent oil producer, authorities have taken a more casual or even an indifferent approach to the issue.

At the heart of this matter, is US oil majorExxonMobil’s reluctance to give this country full coverage insurance for its Stabroek Block projects and the Government of Guyana refusal to demand same. In fact, since 2015, ExxonMobil Corporation, the parent company of Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), has steered clear of being tied to full coverage insurance for its projects which are certain to deliver multi-billion dollar profits on an annual basis. Instead, it has placed only its subsidiary (EEPGL) on the hook if a spill occurs offshore.

This is the state of affairs with its Liza Phase One, Liza Phase Two, Payara and Yellowtail projects. And while there is some glimmer of hope for Guyana with the former director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Dr. Vincent Adams saying that talks were well advanced to secure full liability coverage from ExxonMobil before he was fired by the Irfaan Ali

Kaieteur News Publisher, Glenn Lall Government, the administration has been casting doubts on this claim, even denying the existence of documentary proof of such discussions, although persons who were part of the negotiations have confirmed otherwise.

GUYANA IS DOOMED Leading the fight for full liability coverage is Kaieteur News Publisher and businessman, Glenn Lall, who is adamant that Guyana is doomed with its current crop of leaders. He deemed their present stance on the matter “a great betrayal” of the people drawing specific reference to the People’s Progressive

Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government recently voting down a Motion in the National Assembly, which sought not only to include full unlimited liability coverage for oil spills and other disasters related to petroleum production, but also direct the Government of Guyana to conduct an independent analysis on the possible ill effects of an oil spill, and present this report to the Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources to be used as a reference for all other future oil development submissions.

“The PPP people sell out our birth right to this country and our lives to Exxon and

others. When a government can deny the citizens the right to something as important as full protection coverage for a disaster in the making, not if but when, then God help us,” Lall told his radio and online audience on Monday during The Glenn Lall Show on Kaieteur Radio – 99.1, 99.5 FM. Lall noted that dating back to 2016, citizens have been calling on the government to have the contract with ExxonMobil renegotiated, so that they can really benefit from their rightful share. He said apart from the contract, this nation sits without the most important aspect – full coverage insurance. “I remember clearly when my reporter asked Jagdeo about this insurance coverage, he first said ‘they are working on it’, then when asked the second time, he said, ‘that has been an old, longstanding issue and you know what the answer is’.”

“You are not going to get a new answer from me now.

Right now, the incorporated company…but we believe the liability passes to the parent company’,” he stated, continuing “’we internally, we believe that’.”

Lall noted that when asked whether government is comfortable with that arrangement, the VP outlined that the issue will be addressed in the new licensing agreement with the Stabroek Block partners. “’These things have to be clarified crystal clear; they have to be crystal clear’,” he quoted the VP as saying.

However, since then, there has been no change in the licensing agreement with the Stabroek Block partners, and the government has failed to use the approval of the third and fourth projects to ring out insurance coverage from ExxonMobil.

Further, Lall said when Jagdeo again was asked the third time by reporters, he said he is trying to get E x x o n M o b i l t o acknowledge up to US$2B coverage.

“Has he gotten them to acknowledge that up to US$2B that he talked about?

No, you guys reading through the lines, when he was asked the fourth time, he shifted the responsibility to

Junior Works Minister, Deodat Indar

Home Affairs Minister, Robeson Benn

APNU+AFC’s David Patterson who brought the Motion to Parliament get protection for the country onto EPA. When he did that, I told my staff, this man Jagdeo does not mean good for Guyana and its people, this man is a danger to this country. When a leader like Jagdeo can shift, can pass on such a crucial responsibility like full liability coverage to EPA …it speaks a lot of the man he is and the danger he poses to the entire region.” In this vein, Lall called on a brave

“patriotic lawyer” to take on this issue in the courts, promising to offer himself as the applicant. Lall said he has spoken ad nauseam on the issue of full coverage insurance, insisting that this is not anything big or hard to obtain. “Let me explain, every licence Jagdeo issued, he had the opportunity to demand full liability coverage from ExxonMobil, but he didn’t do it when he Continued on page 61

Sunday July 31, 2022

Kaieteur News

s l l a f r e t Wa The

Soirée tradition now a staple in Linden

E H T F O E S A GLIMP TREET MAIN S

o p x E n o i t a Emancip

Four traditional Afro-Guyanese dishes

PAGE 21

Kaieteur News

Kayshell Jennings

PAGE 22

Sunday July 31, 2022

Meet 26-yearold Kayshell Jennings, delegate #6 in the Miss Emancipation Queen 2022 pageant.

Ms Jennings is a proud Lindener and a medical student. She describes herself as an adventurous young woman and embraces the philosophy that there is no limit to what people can do on this earth, especially when they believe in themselves and all the talents that God has blessed them with. The Miss Emancipation Queen hopeful encourages everyone to come out and support her and the other beautiful delegates as they hit the stage on the August 14 at the National Cultural Centre.

Sunday July 31, 2022

PAGE 23

Kaieteur News

VILLAGE

ULVERSTON

…a tranquil East Berbice community

By Malisa Player-Harry

“I love my community and that is why I am here still; I could have chosen to migrate or chosen somewhere else to live, however when I looked at Ulverston, I wanted to make a difference, I wanted people to see that it is a small village but we can turn out to be great individuals in this village…”

in is proud

lg Ms. Urma E

ouse -year-old h

of her 92

Proud businesswoman Isla Corlette who owns the thriving Sparkle Supermarket.

The only Supermarket in Ulverston that caters to its residents and others in nearby areas too.

Allan Smith, Ulverston vendor who sells bread and pastries

A church in the community

Ms. Urma Elgin and her daughter Veronica Chisolm

PAGE 24

Kaieteur News

Sunday July 31, 2022

Swiss responding to diesel engines and equipment problems Seal Saver covers hydraulic cylinder to prevent scoring and scratching and protect seals

By Harold Beharry

D

Separ, the World’s only known five-stage filtration system protects fuel pumps and injectors by removing water and sediments from diesel fuel

iesel engines and equipment are critical to economic growth in the world because almost every industry depends on diesel, but these engines and equipment are facing serious challenges with the critical shortage of parts.

This problem started in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic started disrupting our lives and then the Russian Ukraine war completely destroyed the small gains and no one knows when this situation will return to normal. We are all aware that Guyana’s population of diesel equipment, including trucks, has increased tremendously during the past three years and this has forced us at Swiss Machinery to immediately change our focus from replacing parts to a preventative maintenance programme to maintain productivity for diesel engine and equipment and to this end, we were forced to partner with some of the world’s most brilliant engineers to bring their proven technology to provide solution to the present crisis and want to report that we have made great progress in this respect.

We were present at the Building Expo and all the diesel and equipment owners were looking for solutions for the fuel, filtration, lubrication, hydraulic, cooling and other systems that work together to provide consistent diesel engine protection and we were able to present solutions to minimise

engine w e a r , maximise protection and extend engine life.

We use a very poor quality diesel in Guyana and since diesel is food for engine, it is reasonable to conclude that the diesel continues to cause serious fuel pump and injectors’ failure, resulting in down time and costly repairs. But the problem is compounded with the challenging parts supply chain. Therefore, we have to treat the diesel to remove the water and sediments to feed clean diesel to the engines and again we have partnered with the best international companies and have been successful in correcting this problem.

Of course, there are many other problems facing the maintenance of diesel engines and equipment which will be impossible to explain in the media but I want to say that “we are better together” as we glean technology from international resources available to us and pass it on to our customers. We continue to engage in research and development and pass the information to diesel engine owners to minimise downtime and maximise production at the lowest possible cost.

Polyurethane replaces rubber bushings and provides better protection and last longer

The diesel tank snake that is guaranteed to remove water from diesel equipment tank The Reverso that removes water and sediments from bulk diesel storage tank The Clean Air Fleet that cleans engine oil

Kaieteur News

Sunday July 31, 2022

PAGE 25

==The Social Edge==

20 lessons that can improve your life when turning 30

By Kiana Wilburg

I

n my teens, I was always excited about the next birthday. I was enamoured by the perceived sense of autonomy that came with reaching a higher number. But mere days before I celebrated my 30th birthday on July 30, 2022, I felt wound up. I was continually enveloped by feelings of stress and anxiety.

It hit me that a new chapter was upon me. Of course, with aging, there are well-known perceptions about all the things you should accomplish by the time you’re 30.

Some societal ideals say you should already have the dream house, the car, the kid/s, the husband, and the career by that age.

There is nothing wrong with that. However, being in the media for a decade now has afforded me the unique opportunity to see and analyse life microscopically and more meaningfully. The solemn truth is that one can have all those things and still be completely unfulfilled or unhappy with life.

An aficionado of introspection, I therefore asked myself upon reaching this milestone, “Are you happy with how the 20s turned out?” To be quite honest—I am. Sure, there are things I

could have done better.

B u t overall, I have emerged a woman of unbridled strength and resolve; equipped with the mental tools to achieve anything I desire while armed with the protection and favour of the Divine One. As a lover of challenges, I have also asked myself, “How can we make this next decade, one that allows for the best

version of you to shine through?”

In this regard, I’ve made a list of things that I plan to work on, and in a subsequent feature; I shall reveal what those are and my progress. In the meantime, I will say this, my 20s, those young, sweet, giddy days of adventure; the period where day and night were virtually the same for me when working or playing, are behind me. Happiness and a sense of purpose all had different meanings to the fledgling back then. The lessons of what appeared to be unfortunate incidents or regrettable actions at the time have been well documented and now inform the new compass that would be used for the journey ahead.

Though it is a bit nerveracking to have crossed over to the big 3-0, I welcome it with open arms and truly look forward to living this next chapter gracefully and youthfully. It is a God-given privilege for anyone to be alive today in a world that faces a confluence of crises. With each passing day, I believe it is imperative that we at least try to live it better than the day before.

And there areg u i d i n g principles that can help us alon g the way .

well as you pursue to improve the quality of your life whether you’re 30 or older.

1) Have at least one loyal friend: A friend is not a necessity.

However, a genuine and loyal friend surely helps to make life enjoyable. With time, I have learned that a big circle of friends does not always equate to quality friendships. Some friends are only as good/loyal for as long as they can use you. Just be mindful and have a barometer/criteria for what you accept as a sense of loyalty and stick to it.

2) A good sleeping routine: For years, I have had to use melatonin and other forms of overthe-counter sleeping aids to assist me with turning into bed early or just falling into a deep sleep. Poor sleeping habits can have a devastating effect on your overall h e a l t h , e n e rg y l e v e l , a n d performance. The sooner you can prioritise this, the better for you.

3) A well-established vision for your life: Do you know where you want to be in the next five years? It’s a question we have asked others at least once in our life but what of ourselves? Having a clear-cut vision with practical steps to get there are sure ways to embark on a selfimprovement journey that has a high chance of success.

I have listed a few of them below.

Below are some key things you should bear in mind as

4) An understanding of finances/saving: This is perhaps one of the most underrated lessons of all time for young men and women. When it comes to your finances, there are three key things you must know: how to save, how to invest, and how to do your own taxes. Financial edification is critical for any forward-thinking person. Start setting up your retirement fund early!

8. A working

knowledge of current events: No matter how far in another part of the world you think it is happening, you should always strive for a basic understanding of world events.

They can have, to say the very least, far-reaching implications on your country’s economic wellbeing and therefore on your pocket. So, read up!

9. A résumé: Every working person should have a résumé that is continuously being updated.

You never know when it would be needed to secure the right job opportunity so be prepared, always.

10. A love of self: This is one I cannot stress enough. How often have we gone out of our way to help or make others happy? This should never be done at the expense of sacrificing our peace of mind and sense of worth. It is really ok to put yourself first; to choose yourself. You owe no one an explanation for how you choose to manifest your sense of selflove.

14. A skin and hair care regimen: With youth on your side, it is so easy to fall into the “regular-degular” skin and hair practice. But it truly pays to fall into the habit of finding a weekly deep cleansing skin and hair care routine that works for you. It helps to slow the aging process plus you leave everyone wondering how you’re looking so good for your age.

16. Knowing when to stay quiet: Not everything in life needs a response. Trust me; some things are better left unsaid. There are some situations in life where no matter what you say or do, even if it is the truth, people believe what they want to. Know where and when your energies would be best expended. This is a superpower when learned.

17. Protect your privacy: In this social media era, it is so

Kiana Wilburg

difficult to explain how important it is to have boundaries on what you share on these platforms.

Especially from a perspective of safety, not everything has to be told or shared with the world. And even if you want to, choose wisely what to post.

18. Travel more: Never allow yourself to be consumed by work.

Finding a balance between home and work life or even finding time to just socialise with family and friends is also key to moulding a fulfilling life. Your job will also benefit from a rejuvenated you!

1 9 . Ta k e y o u r h e a l t h seriously: Poor lifestyle choices really hit home when you’re in your 50s or even younger. Indulge in the delicacies of life but still do so in moderation.

20. Learn time management and respect people’s time: I remember doing an interview with two brilliant young men in the past. They work for a medical firm in Guyana.

Their interview was at 7:20pm. I told them it was ok to come by the office at 7:10pm. But they refused. They instead arrived at 6:45pm. Their explanation: ”To be on time is to be late.” Indeed, we are all tardy for important events or even for tasks we set for ourselves. Sometimes, our excuses are plausible.

But it is never a healthy practice to not be in control of our time or to lack respect for others in that regard. Being early is an unequivocally good quality for anyone in any age group to inculcate. Equally important is knowing how to prioritise/manage your time. With the foregoing pieces of advice, it is my hope that you are able to continue living your life with a greater sense of ease, direction, and purpose.

To share your thoughts on this week’s perspective of The Social Edge, kindly email me at kianawilburg@gmail.com.

PAGE 26

Kaieteur News

Sunday July 31, 2022

Kaieteur News

Sunday July 31, 2022

PAGE 27

Soirée tradition now a staple in Linden

By Vanessa Braithwaite

S

oirée is a cultural festival that marks a solemn and reflective occasion of the liberation of decades of slavery that was forced upon our African ancestors. On the eve of emancipation annually, this celebration, which entails live African Congo drumming infused with traditional African folk dances and songs, is carried out in mostly African villages. Two villages known for this are Hopetown, West Coast of Berbice (WCB) and Bagotville, West Bank Demerara (WBD). Soirées normally follow libation ceremonies.

Linden is one of the most diverse towns in Guyana, as its population is made up of natives of these very villages, who had journeyed to the town, seeking employment in the bauxite industry in the early 1900s. The migration was so massive that, to date, there is a sub-community in Amelia's Ward, Linden, which is called Hopetown Square. In this 'Square' residents, who had migrated from Hopetown, WCB, are all from the same lineage. Everyone is referred

to as 'cousin' or 'aunty' and their village called 'Twenty Two' and the close-knit circle makes it more large crowd would disperse into evident that their ancestry line is groups, keeping their separate libation ceremonies. With the well connected.

Over the years, old time COVID-19 pandemic, however, Lindeners, such as the residents of there was no celebration for past Hopetown, Amelia's Ward, have two years.

This year, however, there isn't been honouring their roots by returning yearly to their home really any reason to journey to villages to participate in the Berbice as there are several soirées traditional celebrations. The to enjoy right in Linden. Lindeners Hopetown soirée is a mixture of have come to realise that for this libation ceremonies to evoke the tradition to continue and be passed spirits of the African ancestors, on to the future generations, there is n e e d t o African drumming, chanting and transitio shanto dancing. n The village of fr Hopetown, WCB was bought by freed slaves in the 1840's and the soirée tradition dates back since then.

Drumming, marching and d a n c i n g would start a r o u n d Octogenarian, Martha James is happy for 18:00hrs on the the Linden-based Emancipation soirée e v e o f Emancipation Day o in an area of the

A soiree celebration in Hopetown, WCB.

A flyer promoting a planned soirée in Linden. m journeying back to their former villages to keeping the celebration at home, right in Linden.

For this year's emancipation celebration, several communities across Linden have planned soirées and some even held their celebration during the past week, such as West Watooka, Half Mile, Raville, while others are gearing for theirs. Silvertown, for instance, will be hosting a grand emancipation pageant, which is seen as another way to get the youths involved.

One organiser, Karen Leacock said she is happy that these celebrations are happening right in Linden, and even happier that she could play a meaningful role to ensure that it is done successfully. “We need to embrace that Linden is now our home and our traditions have to come with us, we cannot keep going back to Berbice every time, we have to teach our youths right here. So we are encouraging everyone to come out and have

fun,” she said. The soirée will entail drumming, African dancing, African cuisines will be on sale and folklores and much more will be among the attractions. “Well we know the young people will want to have their 'now-a-days' music playing and so, but we have to ensure the traditional things go first,” she said.

Martha James, an octogenarian, who hails from Hopetown, WCB and now resides in Hopetown, Amelia's Ward, said she is happy that the traditions are now happening in Linden. For years, she journeyed back to Berbice but with the aging process taking its toll on her, the woman said that she is no longer able to make the trip. Her children too are no longer interested in making the annual journey for the soirée as well.

As such, they are all elated that moves have been made to keep the celebration in Linden so that future generations can enjoy it and keep the tradition going.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 28

Sunday July 31, 2022

GPHC Physiotherapist, Simone Seckle

Tips to avoid exercise injuries

By Davina Bagot

W

e all have, at some point in time, experienced an injury as a result of our workout routine. This is especially so if you have been at it for several months or even if you are new to exercise and have been doing a few things wrong.

The Waterfalls recently caught up with a specialist in the field who shared a few tips.

Simone Seckle, a Physiotherapist attached to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) with several years of experience in the field was kind enough to dive into some specifics with me. She holds a Bachelor Degree in Physiotherapy from the University of Guyana.

Fundamentally, she explained that to avoid injuries, one must be sure to follow the three phases of exercise-warm up, training and cooling down.

As discussed in previous Fit-Nest articles, warm up activities help you prepare for your actual workout session. In providing the medical response, she pointed out, “During the warm up, you gradually prepare the muscles for the bulk of the exercise programme; whereas the cool down phase gradually returns the muscles to the resting state.”

Cooling down is actually just as important as your warm-up activity, and the specialist advises that even though you may be tired during your session, it is important that if you are running for example, you don’t just hit the brakes, but you slow down gradually to ease your muscles into this new state. If this is not done, you may end up straining your muscles.

Get clearance from a doctor I was shocked when she explained that exercise may not be right for persons living with existing medical conditions. As a fitness enthusiast, I always thought that exercise was the solution to a healthier life, but we learn every day. I was humbled when

the Physiotherapist shared that some people may start exercising and experience pains in the chest or severe breathing problems.

This can be the case if a person jumped into an exercise routine without first consulting their d o c t o r. “ M a n y times someone may start an e x e r c i s e programme only to discover they have high blood pressure or a heart problem,” she said.

A balanced exercise programme “Having a balance exercise programme with various kinds of exercises are important. For example, including aerobic exercises are great for your lungs and heart, while strength training/resistance training, flexibility/stretch, balance training are all important to incorporate within an exercise programme,” Seckle recommends.

Hydration As with every other activity, it is important to stay hydrated during your exercise routine. The specialist explained, “Hydration before, during and after exercising is important to maintain fluid equilibrium in the body. Hydrating will replace and maintain the fluid loss during sweating. It’s advisable to take sips of water during exercising instead of large gulps.”

In addition, she noted that the body loses salt when it perspires. That salt, she said, is necessary for the transfer of fluid in and out of cells.

A balanced diet If you are like me, you are probably wondering how exactly your diet could be linked to an injury at the gym! The Physiotherapist explains that not having the right nutrients in your body can impact injuries to the tissues in your body. As such, she noted that high fibre and protein-rich

foods are recommended over simple carbohydrates and fatty foods.

Protein is especially important as it helps muscles to repair.

She notes, “Exercise is very good, but if we continue to put foods into our bodies that are not balanced then we would be going around in a circle.” In addition to adding lots of protein into your diet, she also recommends the use of more fruits. This tip is especially important to persons who may be looking to lose weight rather than keep fit.

Pay attention to your techniques Using the incorrect form during your exercise routine can cause significant injuries. This is especially so for persons engaged in weight lifting. The Physiotherapist urged, “Pay attention to your techniques- maintaining the neutral spine position and lifting within your weight category is essential to prevent injuries.”

A very common mistake that is made is starting off with heavy weights. It is very important that you ease your body into weight lifting to avoid strains and use support if required. “Be comfortable and ensure you are coached,” Seckle said.

The right gear Getting dressed for my afternoon run or walk usually excites me and it should make you feel the same – comfortable and confident. If you don’t feel that way about how you are dressed, you simply won’t enjoy your routine.

More importantly however, the right gear can help you avoid an injury. For

example, choosing the correct footwear is critical, especially for those who may be more comfortable running or walking in the park. Suitable boots will absorb the shock from the ground and avoid soreness.

Balanced exercises to target all muscle groups “Imbalance of muscle strength can cause a group of muscles to overwork and another group to under work, making them prone to injuries,” Seckle explained.

She recommends that various types of exercises are required to ensure that injuries are avoided.

Another important point that was highlighted by the Physiotherapist is that fact that an individual only needs about 20 minutes of exercise daily. She told The Waterfalls that the American Heart Association recommends pushing 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes per week of vigorous aerobic activity, or a combination of both, preferably spread throughout the week.

Seckle, in winding down the interview was keen to note that a physiotherapist is the best medical professional to guide you in an exercise programme, during the recovery of an injury before you return to sporting activities or the gym.

No mask at the gym We all would appreciate that maintaining your safety is critical during a global pandemic. However, wearing a mask during physical activity may not be the best course of action, as it can cause strain on the lungs.

Seckle recommends that outdoor exercises be practised more often to avoid mask wearing. However, for those who prefer the gym, she said you should try to visit when it is less crowded.

Kaieteur News

Sunday July 31, 2022

PAGE 29

>>> ENCOURAGING EVENTS, DISTURBING DEVELOPMENTS <<<

Americans on the move all over

By GHK Lall

I

am encouraged by developments circling around Guyana.

What encourages to me would definitely disturb many of my fellow Guyanese, especially those in high government offices.

The warnings from me were that the Americans are serious, and stop messing with them, as it could backfire. This is what is happening, with one Guyanese leader after the other hopping around from frying pan into the fire. The heat from both, as generated by my American friends, is relentless. Playing with fire usually ends up with people getting burnt, and in this instance Guyanese leaders are being scorched.

President Ali was ordered to turn up in Washington pronto, and the other order was for the Hon. Vice President to be very visible in his entourage.

When both showed their faces in Washington, the Americans let them have it

with broadsides. To cut to the chase, it was transparency and inclusion in governance. If there is one thing to be said, it is that the Yanks never give up.

They have been pounding away at those two themes (transparency and inclusion) at every opportunity that presents itself.

This tells me that something is wrong on both counts here, and the Americans will have none of it. They keep on chewing on the ear of the President, and likely gave him a good chewing out behind the scenes, which doesn't make it into the official releases.

Regarding the Vice President, the biggest, 'baddest', pit bull on this side of town, I can only imagine how they dealt with him behind closed doors. His presence in Washington was not to make up numbers, a joyride, or by accident. The gloves had to have come off to make it clear to him and the President that he is in deep stink.

I think it was to share with him (and the President)

a little bit of the goods that the Americans have on the Vice President. If I know the Americans well, they would have presented the Guyanese with a peek only, and left them to worry about what else they know and have.

My motto is simple: live by the sword, then the sword usually takes down.

Regardless how this is said, he is in trouble, and we are in trouble.

This is because when they put the squeeze on him, there is sure to be some trickledown into wider Guyana, so embroiled is the Vice President in everything that goes on here, and that involves investing and spending.

For his part, the President has worked overtime to pull the wool over the eyes of Guyanese on the issues of transparency and inclusivity, by saying that both are present, when he knows that it is not so.

He may fool some of us, but the Yanks are having none of his futile pawing in the air. What I think I gathered from all of this: is

shape up or we are going to ship the whole clique and crew of you out into the wilderness.

This was exactly what was done to Cheddi Jagan, and clearly, his political descendants didn't learn anything, and insist on pulling fast ones.

But that was not all, for while the President and Vice President were being kicked silly in Washington, another set of Americans were in Guyana and facing off across from the Hon. Attorney General.

The interests of the FBI, much to the concealed discomfiture of the Guyanese, focused on money laundering and narcotics.

My, my, there is now even bigger trouble in Georgetown.

I say this because the astute Attorney General must know that the unhappy people at CFATF are sharing information with the FBI, and they name names, and some of those names are known to his PPP Government. I go so far as to say that they are friends of

the AG's government.

Now this is getting out of hand, but n o b o d y should say that I didn't do my duty and beg PPP Government leaders to get serious, get real, and get rid of the baggage dragging them down.

They all laughed, and now I want to cry. Because the squeeze is on, and Guyanese are in for it.

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

Kaieteur News

PAGE 30

Health Facts Use of synthetic drugs on the rise among locals

…molly, ecstasy tops list of abused substances

By Rehanna Ramsay

Authorities concerned over rise in synthetic drug use.

Sunday July 31, 2022

Kaieteur News

PAGE 32

Sunday July 31, 2022

Has CARICOM reached its limits of regional integration? Part 1

By Sir Ronald Sanders

I

am indebted for the title of this commentary to the Honourable Bruce Golding, a former Prime Minister of Jamaica, who has been and remains one of the foremost political minds in the Caribbean and wider afield.

Mr. Golding hosts a weekly serious discussion radio programme in Jamaica called, “Jamaica Live”. On July 25, he invited me to be one of the discussants of the topic, “Has CARICOM reached its limits of regional integration”?

There was good reason for the former Jamaica Prime Minister to posit the question.

July 4 next year will be 50 years since the Heads of Government of the four biggest (and independent) Caribbean countries signed the Treaty of Chaguaramas (the CARICOM Treaty) that brought the Caribbean Community and Common

Market into effect on August 1, 1973 – at least, on paper.

Eight other Caribbean countries, which had been members of a more limited grouping, CARIFTA, that had been in existence since 1968, joined CARICOM a few months later.

It was not an unreasonable expectation that the Treaty, which held out the anticipation of the integration of 12 Caribbean countries, would have produced a far better and deeper integrated region than currently exists, almost 50 years later.

H o w e v e r, w h i l e CARICOM experienced an initial impetus, creating beneficial institutions, such as the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), and making some progress in free trade in goods and services, the characteristic of its history is short periods of activity followed by long periods of inaction.

The result is a suspension

of confidence and faith in the CARICOM project by many sectors of the Caribbean society and the people in general.

Despite no real progress in establishing a Common Market – not even becoming a Custom Union – in July 2001, CARICOM leaders revised the CARICOM Treaty.

A Customs Union would have been an arrangement by the member states to remove trade barriers, reduce or abolish customs duty, and eliminate quotas.

In a Common Market, the states would have adopted a common external tariff on goods entering their region from outside; allowed free trade of goods and services and permitted free movement of labour and capital among themselves.

The 2001 revised treaty provided the ways (not the means) to establish a Single Market and Economy (CSME).

This revision of the treaty was hailed by the private sector as presenting the opportunity for genuine free trade in goods and services; for cross border

establishment of companies; and for free movement of labour.

In short, for the creation of a single economic space.

The prospect of free movement of people and a single currency, also titillated the appetite of the people of CARICOM to travel freely throughout the region.

By 2011, the CSME was e ff e c t i v e l y p a u s e d b y CARICOM Heads of Government. At the time, a few leaders resisted that characterisation.

However, little progress has been made between 2011 and now in advancing the CSME. So much so that in May 2022, a representative group of CARICOM leaders, meeting in Guyana for an Agriculture Investment Forum, declared that “trade barriers, particularly nontariff barriers, are one of the biggest inhibitors to the development of the regional market for agricultural produce, and that removing these barriers requires political consensus and determination”.

The point is that not even trade barriers, particularly non-tariff barriers, have yet been overcome.

By comparison, other regions that initiated integration efforts, at the same time or after CARICOM, have advanced much further. The European

Union (EU) is the most telling example.

It started in earnest eight months before CARICOM in 1973 and rapidly expanded, under strict criteria, to 28 member states, until Britain exited in January 2020.

But not only did the EU expand its membership, with new applicants still pending, it established a single currency; tore down border barriers, allowing for a common passport and free movement of people; established a single trading machinery; and a Commission empowered to initiate and make decisions for all the countries collectively in a broad range of areas.

As my friend and fellow commentator on Caribbean affairs, David Jessop, put it recently in assessing CARICOM and regional economic cooperation, “Elsewhere in the world, integration mechanisms have updated their governance, foregone aspects of national sovereignty, established procedures that ensure delivery, created measures that guarantee accountability, transparency, and core financing, and have delegated executive powers to enable outcomes”.

CARICOM, on the other hand, has limped along, sometimes halting altogether, burdened by inadequate or no implementation of decisions, mistrust amongst leaders, frustration in the private sector, failure to establish binding rules, and institutional decline, including a weak and underfunded Secretariat.

It is not as if the failures of CARICOM to achieve its many important goals and to satisfy many popular and practical expectations, have not been carefully and scrupulously examined by some of the best political, economic, financial, and social development thinkers in the region and beyond.

In 1992, at the behest of a l l C A R I C O M Governments, the West Indian Commission produced a seminal work, “Time for Action”.

Its recommendations to governments included the establishment of a Caribbean Commission (like the European Commission),

Sir Ronald Sanders answerable to Heads of Government but empowered to initiate ideas and implement decisions assigned to it.

While many of the recommendations were accepted, the principal ones on governance structures, including the Caribbean Commission, went nowhere.

In 2016, the Jamaica Government commissioned Bruce Golding to head a commission to “review Jamaica's relations with CARICOM”.

The Commission recommended, among many other things, that explicit provision should be made in the CARICOM Treaty, requiring governments to give effect to their rights and obligations under the treaty, and to implement decisions taken by Heads of Government within no less than six months.

Again, scant regard was paid to the comprehensive report of the Commission which merited serious consideration.

In March 2021, a CARICOM Commission on the Economy, reignited many ideas, including the suggestion that those member states, interested in advancing the integration project, should proceed, leaving the door open for others to join at their own speed.

This report, too, has not generated the action for which its authors might have hoped.

Many of the great ideals of CARICOM remain u n f u lf illed as its 5 0 t h anniversary approaches.

But has it reached its limits of regional integration?

This question will be further pursued next week.

(The writer is Antigua and Barbuda's Ambassador to the United States of America and the Organization of American States.

He is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London, and Massey College in the University of Toronto) Responses and previous c o m m e n t a r i e s : www.sirronaldsanders.com

Kaieteur News

Sunday July 31, 2022

PAGE 33

Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA): The warning ‘signs of a stroke that shouldn't be ignored

By Dr. Zulfikar Bux Emergency Medicine Specialist

troke is a major contributor of disabilities and deaths worldwide.

It is the second leading cause of deaths globally, and accounts for approximately 15 percent of deaths in Guyana.

About 15 percent of strokes are preceded by a transient ischemic attack (TIA) which is usually called a pre-stroke.

Because a TIA is often a short and mild episode, generally it is not taken seriously and progresses to a full-blown stroke later.

Today, I will highlight warning signs for a stroke that you should keep an eye out for and hopefully, prevent yourself or someone you know, from being another stroke statistics.

What is a TIA? A TIA is a mild form of a stroke that is usually termed a pre-stroke. It is considered a “warning” stroke. During this type of stroke, blood flow to your brain is blocked for a

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few minutes to a few hours.

The average amount of time is one minute. Most symptoms go away within 24 hours. That is far less than a major stroke. There is usually no long-term damage following a TIA but it increases significantly your risk of a major stroke.

What are symptoms of TIA? The symptoms of a TIA are short and present in the following ways: · We a k n e s s / l o s s o f feeling in your face, arm, or leg · Symptoms appear on one side of your body · Difficulty smiling or speaking · Confusion · Sudden, severe headache · Difficulty walking or balancing What causes TIA? A TIA like a stroke is caused by reduction or loss of blood flow to the brain. The most common cause is a blood clot. Blood clots are caused by cholesterol buildup. As cholesterol blocks your arteries, it forms

a blood clot. Eventually, the clot breaks free and travels to your brain causing a TIA. Managing your cholesterol levels through diet, exercise, and medicine lowers your risk. Medical conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity can increase your chances of having a TIA. Lifestyle changes can reduce the risk of TIA. This includes healthy eating, exercise, not smoking and limiting alcohol.

How is TIA diagnosed?

It's difficult to identify a TIA from a major stroke as it is happening. Getting to a hospital or your doctor as soon as the symptoms manifest is of paramount importance. This will help to get you on early treatment and prevent the TIA from progressing to a major stroke.

Doctors will examine you and look for subtle signs and symptoms suggestive of a TIA. Once any is present, they will institute treatment and order scans of your blood vessels and brain to diagnose accurately the area of your

brain being affected.

How is TIA treated?

Most of the time, your body treats a TIA on its own.

The blood clot quickly dissolves. A TIA still requires immediate attention; the sooner you are treated, the better your recovery and outcome.

Most of the times, you will be placed on the following categories of medicine to treat the TIA: · Anti-clotting medicines to dissolve the blood clot · Blood pressure lowering medicines to slowly control your blood pressure · Cholesterol lowering medications that will help breakdown the plaques that lead to clot formation. · Sometimes, surgery may be indicated to remove the clot Can TIA be prevented or avoided?

After a TIA, your doctor may want you to take aspirin.

Aspirin can help keep your blood from forming clots that block your arteries.

If taking low-dose aspirin is right for you, it is Dr. Zulfikar Bux important to Emergency follow your Medicine Specialist d o c t o r ' s instructions.

Without lifestyle changes Your doctor may also and medicine, a second TIA prescribe a statin. Statins slow down your body's or major stroke can happen production of cholesterol. within one year of your first These drugs also remove TIA. Even with healthy cholesterol buildup from changes, there's no guarantee your arteries.

You also can reduce risk you won't have a stroke. through healthy living and Detecting a TIA may be the managing diseases that cause difference between life and strokes. Maintain a healthy death; be vigilant and visit diet, exercise, don't smoke, your doctor or the hospital limit alcohol, and take your right away if you feel you are experiencing or may have medicines. experienced symptoms of a A TIA is a warning for a TIA. future, major stroke.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 34

ings... t s re ure e t In reat C The turquoise-fronted amazon (Amazona aestiva), also called the turquoisefronted parrot, the bluefronted amazon and the bluefronted parrot, is a South American species of amazon parrot and one of the most common amazon parrots kept in captivity as a pet or companion parrot. Its common name is derived from the distinctive turquoise marking on its head just above its beak.

The turquoise-fronted

Sunday July 31, 2022

Turquoise-fronted Amazon (Amazona aestiva) amazon is a mainly green parrot about 38 cm (15 in) long. They have blue feathers on the forehead above the beak and yellow on the face and crown. Distribution of blue and yellow varies greatly among individuals.

Unlike most other Amazona parrots, its beak is mostly black. There is no overt sexual dimorphism to the human eye, but analysis of the feathers using spectrometry, a method which allows the plumage to

be seen as it would be by a parrot's tetrachromatic vision, shows clear differences between the plumage of the sexes.

Juveniles of parrots are duller and have dark irises.

The turquoise-fronted amazon was one of the many species originally described

by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. Its specific epithet is the feminine form of the Latin adjective aestivus, "of the

summer". Two subspecies are recognized: A. a. aestiva (nominate) is found in eastern Brazil. The leading edge of the wing ("shoulder") is red. A. a. xanthopteryx occurs from northern and eastern Bolivia through adjacent parts of Brazil, to Paraguay and northern Argentina. The "shoulder" is partly or wholly yellow. Generally with more yellow to the head than nominate.

The taxon xanthopteryx has been treated as a separate species, but the two subspecies interbreed freely where they come into contact.

Additionally, there are significant individual variations in both facial pattern and amount of yellow/red to the "shoulder".

In one extreme, individuals with essentially no yellow on the head and entirely green "shoulders" are known from north-western Argentina.

The range of the turquoise-fronted amazon extends over eastern and northern Bolivia, eastern Brazil, Paraguay and northern Argentina. It is found in forests (though it generally avoids extensive humid forests such as the Amazon), woodland, savannah and palm groves.

A small feral breeding population is also present in the greener regions of S t u t t g a r t i n G e r m a n y.

Although they have been observed in the wild in Puerto Rico, they are probably the result of escaped pets, and no reproduction has been recorded.

The turquoise-fronted amazon nests in tree cavities.

The oval eggs are white and measure around 38 × 30 mm.

There are usually three to five in a clutch. The female incubates the eggs for about 27 days and the chicks leave the nest about 60 days after hatching.

The status of this species is evaluated as being of least concern by BirdLife International. However, while it remains common throughout a significant part of its range, there is evidence of a population decline, and this species has been heavily traded: Since 1981 when it was listed on CITES Appendix II, 413,505 wildcaught individuals have been recorded in international trade (UNEP-WCMC CITES Trade Database, January 2005). It is regarded as a crop pest in parts of its native range.

Paradoxically, illegal trade may have contributed to expansions of the range of this parrot: It is becoming common in Rio de Janeiro, which is not a part of its historical range, something attributed to escaped caged birds.

The turquoise-fronted amazon is commonly seen as

a pet, both in South America and other parts of the world.

Their talking ability varies greatly from individual to individual, but some speak nearly as well as the yellowheaded amazon group (yellow-naped, Panama, yellow-crowned, double yellow-headed. They seem to have a proclivity for singing.

They require interaction but also can play with toys contently for several hours at a time. Pets require plenty of toys, perches, and climbing room. As with some other birds, under no circumstances are turquoisefronted amazons to eat avocado. Some individuals, particularly males, can be aggressive in spring, the mating season.

An extremely rare red (or chocolate raspberry) mutation of the species appeared in captivity in 2004, bred by the psittaculturist Howard Voren. The mutation results in yellow plumage being replaced by that of a red/pink hue and greens with a chocolate-brown, with the depth and intensity of colour varying by location upon the body.

(Source: Wikipedia)>>

Kaieteur News

Sunday July 31, 2022

Acquittal after multiple years on remand

THE

Court Journal

(PI) at the Magistracy level. In 2015, when the Director of Public Prosecutions, Shalimar Ali-Hack, SC, received the depositions in the case, she remitted the matter back to the magistrate to correct 'irregularities'.

The DPP Chambers in its statement noted that additional evidence was requested in 2015, October 2020 and in January 2021

By Renay Sambach As the title suggests, today I will highlight matters in which persons were acquitted. They were behind bars for many years, some might have thought that they would have remained there for the rest of their lives but they were set free in the end.

While the judge distinguishes the law, the jurors are the judge of the facts of the offence. When an accused pleads not guilty to a charge, it is then up to the prosecution to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty of the crime.

Based on the evidence that the prosecution presents to the court, the jurors will then deliberate.

In some cases, the jury returns with a guilty or not guilty verdict, there are also cases where the jury is unable to agree on a verdict by the required voting margin, this is called a 'hung jury'.

Highlighted today are matters in which the jury found the accused not guilty and when the judge up-held a no-case submission and ordered the jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty.

Neville Forte Recently, Neville Forte was the second person who was acquitted of the May 5, 2017 murder of Sophia bread vendor, Andre Alexander.

Forte was freed after the jury returned with a not guilty verdict.

He was on trial before Justice Jo Ann Barlow in the Demerara High Court. Following a two-hour long deliberation, the jury returned with a unanimous not guilty verdict, and Forte was a free man.

He had denied that on May 5, 2017, in the County of Demerara, that he murdered 42-year-old Alexander in the course or furtherance of a robbery.

According to reports, Alexander was shot and killed by two men on a motorcycle.

Alexander of Lot 394 'C' Field Sophia, died during surgery. He was attacked by two men at his bread stand which is situated about four doors from his home.

The police had reported that two men rode up on a motorcycle and the pillion rider requested three loaves of bread. He then paid with a $5000 note. However, while Alexander was in the process of making change, the 'customer' then whipped out a gun and demanded cash.

When Alexander put up a fight, the robber discharged two rounds, one of which struck him in the abdomen. The two men then relieved him of his cash and escaped with three loaves of bread.

In June 2019, a 12-member jury was ordered by Justice Navindra Singh, to return a formal

PAGE 35

Neville Forte

Lennox Wayne called 'Two Colours'

Jones Raymond [Newsroom photo]

Stafrei Alexander

Rudolph Singh

Shaquille Grant

Desmond James

verdict of not guilty for Shaquille Grant – Forte's alleged coaccused.

Justice Singh had ordered the not guilty verdict after he up-held a no-case submission that was made on behalf of Grant by his lawyer.

Raymond Jones Earlier this month, 58-year-old Raymond Jones of Micobie Village, Potaro, Region Eight was freed after spending nine years on remand for allegedly killing a man.

In relation to Jones' case, the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had

issued a statement saying that Jones was never indicted.

On Friday, July 15, Jones was freed by Justice Sandil Kissoon in the Demerara High Court. Jones was a free man after Justice Kissoon found that his constitutional right to a free trial within a reasonable time was breached by the State.

Jones was accused of shooting Gary Joseph fatally with an 'arrow and bow' on December 26, 2012, at Micobie Village.

He was charged and committed to stand trial in 2014 following a preliminary inquiry

Levoy La Cruz but that evidence was not provided, and resulted in the DPP not being able to prefer an indictment. An indictment is a formal, written accusation of a crime that is presented to a court for the prosecution of an accused.

Lennox Wayne aka 'Two Colours' In another case, after spending eight years behind bars and going through three trials for the murder of Lusignan cosmetologist, Ashmini Harriram, Lennox Wayne called 'Two Colours' was in June 2022 freed of the offence.

The trial was conducted in the

Renay Sambach Demerara High Court before Justice Barlow. At Wayne's third retrial, he once again denied that he murdered Harriram on July 10, 2014.

The matter then went to trial and at the end, the jury returned with a unanimously not guilty verdict. As such, Justice Barlow freed Wayne of the 2014 crime.

Notably, Wayne's previous trials for the murder both ended in hung juries.

According to reports, the 19y e a r- o l d c o s m e t o l o g i s t o f Lusignan, East Coast Demerara (ECD), was shot and killed on July 10, 2014. Harriram was shot in the neck moments after she disembarked a minibus along the Lusignan Railway Embankment, ECD. The shooter reportedly emerged from a burgundy motorcar, PRR 8370, which was parked along the said road. It was reported that one Melroy Doris, who pleaded guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter, was in fact the shooter.

Levoy La Cruz Also, in February last, Pomeroon resident Levoy La Cruz, who was accused of the stabbing death of Rafael Danns, was acquitted of the murder charge.

La Cruz was accused of unlawfully killing Danns called 'Singh,' 21, a miner of Grant Anna Regina, Lower Pomeroon River, on September 8, 2014.

Following hours of deliberations, the jury in the case returned with a unanimous verdict finding La Cruz not guilty of manslaughter.

This matter was heard in the Suddie High Court before Justice Barlow.

According to reports, Danns and La Cruz were drinking when an argument erupted and escalated into a fight during which Danns was stabbed in the chest.

Stafrei Alexander In February 2021, Stafrei Alexander, who was on trial for murdering his accomplice, Terrence Thomas, in 2015, following their escape from police custody, was acquitted from the crime by the jury.

Alexander, a former resident of Laing Avenue, West Ruimveldt, was arraigned before Justice Brassington Reynolds for the capital offence.

He had denied that between December 8 and 11, 2015, at (Continued on page 53)

Kaieteur News

PAGE 36

Sunday July 31, 2022

What does Emancipation of the broken mind mean to you?

By Zena Henry ince I started this column a few weeks ago, I have concentrated mainly on the ongoing problems being faced globally, with a direct focus on the challenges in-country, and ways to accommodate our unfavourable high cost of living situation. In one of the columns, I underscored the importance of being determined to survive the hardships and the fact that it takes the willingness and determination of the individual to tackle and overcome whatever issues they come up against.

That submission remains but this week I divert a bit to highlight a different topic, the upcoming Emancipation Day observance against bondage, control and all forms of degradation meted out to Africans and their descendants within the harrowing period of European-led bondage.

When I highlighted an individual's willingness to do more and to be more for the betterment of themselves and family, I was referring at the time to an innate desire to thrive in a financially challenging period.

As I address the issues of slavery and reflect on a period that will forever be etched in the history of the world, I allude also to the very innate desire to thrive in life, regardless of the threats it poses.

Many argue today that slavery is over, that it happened a long time ago and that the African People should move on.

I may confuse some people when I say I agree and disagree with these statements; simply put, I believe that what we think and how we think it significantly influences how we experience reality and so for me, that means how we as Africans choose to remember slavery or not, has an impact on how we view and understand the societies we live in, in any part of the world.

But most times these statements are made, it is usually within the context of 'Black people should stop complaining and work harder for an equal space'. I do not wish to go into the actions of the Oppressors who aggressively stymied a genuine African renaissance.

I, however, wish to speak to the mental damage that enslavement has caused, and its residual effects aided by subtler forms of dominatio n up to t

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Zena Henry

his day.

It has bored through the generations that have directly and indirectly felt the lashes of this unjust and dehumanising period hence the fitting question of what the emancipation of the broken mind means.

Let's just understand right off the bat that an action or an experience faced especially over a period of time has the potential to greatly impress on one's belief about themselves and reality.

In fact, the 28day rule states that it generally takes a n y w h e r e between 21 and 28 days to create a new habit.

Meaning that the first three to four w e e k s o f performing a new task is often the hardest.

With this in mind, imagine being enslaved and dehumanised.

As a race, it happened for centuries, and with every generation, parents transmitted t h e i r f e a r s , t h e i r misunderstandings, miseducation, misconceptions, pain, poverty, sorrow, distress and so much more to their offspring.

They even became the ones to groom them for the tasks that were dictated for the dominated.

Fast-forward today, long after emancipation, a significant portion of the Black World remains impoverished, and without a meaningful say in world affairs regardless of how much they are affected by global policies.

Just refer to the continent o f

Africa, regardless of its overwhelming wealth of natural resources and other valuable assets, Africa is widely seen as poor with dishonest politicians who get wealthier from big foreign, particularly European companies and their governments that reap the wealth of these countries. Here in the West, former colonies/ Third World countries are offered assistance that never really seem to

bring countries closer to the financial independence and stability that entities such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have been offering for decades.

I nonetheless believe that the world will do what it must; humans will do as they please and life will occur regardless.

I have accepted that life is too vast to be burdened by any one issue regardless of how grave it is, but rather, to find the strength to observe every situation in the right context and to respond accordingly for my best outcome.

Believe me, it is not as easy as I just explained it, but because I recognise and believe I have some idea of how the mind works and

accept that the mind could be made, or it could be broken.

The conditions of slavery, and its post activities, have broken the Black mind, and the damage is still evident today.

But we are now seeing a wider effort to impinge and entrap not just Africans, as modernity challenges archaic discriminatory and destructive beliefs and policies that were later used against other races.

And I ask again, what does the emancipation of the broken mind mean to you?

D r .

Frances C r e s s Welsing (March 18, 1 9 3 5 – January 2, 2016) was the first Afroc e n t r i c psychiatrist I came across in my African studies “to find my African self”, who spoke of slavery and its development as a tool of mental enslavement and destruction.

I had heard of the Willie Lynch syndrome and read about its dealings as a divide and rule mechanism where slaves were set against each other.

Of course, to turn people against each other means to mentally change the way they see each other, but what Dr. Welsing came with I was not prepared for.

She spoke to actions of the “Oppressors” in the mighty United States for instance; to create policies that negatively impacted Black individuals and their families.

S h e

pointed to Planned Parenthood schemes in the US that encouraged single mother homes where the government provided financial support to women, but she must have no man in the home.

They were encouraged to be “strong independent” women fighting for women's rights but did not receive the same benefits as white women.

The system, she highlighted, encouraged the emasculation of Black males by encouraging homosexuality and providing laws to protect the now effeminate, “harmless males”.

These are just a few off-the-top areas worth their salt, but deeper research has shown worst interventions that prove even more detrimental and guess what, they all play on the mental; reconstructing the way people think and see themselves, or they are guided toward certain acceptances.

In other words, I guess I am trying to explain something I call “the great manipulation”.

I have recognised that having a better mental idea about the system and I dare say “The New World” made me internalise that slavery and everything it encompassed, the broader manipulation is mainly driven by economics, all of it was and is being done for money and power; hate, discrimination and everything else came after.

The power, the dominance, the control; some men crave it, demand it while some of us are simply taken along for the ride as ignorant and unwilling participants.

Happy Emancipation!

Kaieteur News

Sunday July 31, 2022

PAGE 37

For his unwavering efforts to raise the cultural consciousness of Afro-Guyanese…

Guyanese industrialist,

William Thomas Dalgety is a ‘Special Person’

By Rehanna Ramsay “History teaches us that unity is strength and cautions us to submerge and overcome our differences in the quest for common goals, to strive, with all our combined strength, for the path to true African brotherhood and unity.” These are words ascribed to Haile Selassie, the last Emperor of Ethiopia. Though today Haile Selassie is regarded by some religious factions as a deity, during his reign as Emperor, Selassie was among a group of outspoken proponents of PanAfricanism – the idea that peoples of African descent have common interests and should be unified.

This ideal for the unification of Africans has been perpetuated by several African leaders across the globe and passed down from generation to generation. This week’s ‘Special Person’ considers himself a Pan-Africanist in true form.

In fact, Mr. William Thomas Dalgety was born at a time when the liberation and unification of African Peoples dominated the lips of African diaspora groups across the world.

Growing up in the socially-conscious era and having parents who were very much engrossed in African cultural activities and groups led him to develop a strong sense of belonging to his ancestral roots.

“I grew up in a time when the cries for the liberation of all peoples across the continent of Africa resonated with those in the diaspora thereby creating the global Pan-African movement…Many renowned AfroCaribbean and AfroGuyanese

and resistance were a part of my everyday learning. I remember walking the corridors of Queen’s College as a student and having to recite his work,” he continued.

His connection to the history and current affairs of Africa led Mr. Dalgety to visit the motherland on many occasions.

“I have sailed the Nile River in Egypt, been to Sudan more than once, visited Kenya, Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa, Nigeria, Togo, Benin, and Ghana and each time my appreciation for the people and continent of Africa becomes stronger,” he intimated. These visits also led to his conclusion that while the struggle for the freedom of Africa in the physical sense may not be as potent as before, the ideal of Pan–Africanism is still relevant today. “…there still exists a need for the people and descendants of Africa to be unified towards achieving their common goal of attaining socioeconomic and other forms of liberation and empowerment,” he said, as he agreed that Africa and the African peoples of this world still face a vast amount of discriminatory systems which to help prevent the realisation of their true potential as a people.

He agreed too that until there is a revolution against the system that oppresses the Black people in this Mr. Dalgety and an associate, Edwin Wilson, in Benin, Africa at the statue of Toussaint L’Ouverture world, the Pan-African ideal of true liberation will remain relevant. In the meantime, Mr. fi Dalgety’s dedication to the culture has led gures were a part of him to take on roles that will help raise the the struggle for a free Africa,” explained social and cultural consciousness of the Dalgety.

Afro-Guyanese society.

He added too that his parents in part He is credited for founding at least two influenced his interest in the movement well-known cultural programmes which because of their involvement in cultural were broadcasted on radio and television: societies like Negro Peoples Association in “Music of Africa,” which Guyana. “…Then, there were people like w Guyanese poet Martin Carter, whose poems and literature about struggle

Mr. Dalgety displays some relics from his ancestors dating back to the 1800s

William Thomas Dalgety

a s broadcast on radio in the 1970s and “Dalgety’s Africa,” which featured a collection of African films on television. In fact, it is believed that Mr. Dalgety should also be credited for introducing African movies or what most Guyanese refer to as “African Moods,” to local television in 1999.

In his personal capacity as husband and father to five children, who are all now adults, Mr. Dalgety is credited for helping to raise his children to be independent, strong, and culturally aware of their roots. These ideals are also being passed on to his grandchildren. In this regard, he is in total conformity with the belief that “charity begins at home.”

For his professional life, Dalgety chose to work in the field of science and technology and has served the industrial sector of Guyana in various capacities for many years.

‘LESSONS OF MY CHILDHOOD’ As a child, Mr. Dalgety recalled that he grew up in what he refers to as “PanGuyana” – having regard to many places he lived in the country.

He explained that “As a boy, his family moved a lot, we lived in Nurney Village, Corentyne, Berbice, Suddie, Essequibo and Leguan – an island in the Essequibo River, Stewartville, Vreed-en-Hoop, Nismes Villages in the West Demerara, Golden Grove on the East Coast, Providence on the East Bank, Bartica in Region Seven, and Lodge, Georgetown.”

He noted that childhood had a lot to do with travel and experiences in all those Continued on page 38

Mr. Dalgety in his youthful years is seen seated on the far right with other members of his athletic team

Kaieteur News

PAGE 38

Sunday July 31, 2022

Guyanese industrialist,

William Thomas Dalgety... the people and “…there still exists a need for ified towards descendants of Africa to be un of attaining socioachieving their common goal liberation and economic and other forms of mas Dalgety empowerment.” – William Tho

From page 37 locations. He said, “It had to do with cattle, watching military drills, attending League of Coloured People Fairs with my parents, and practising Christianity at home and in a church.”

According to Dalgety too, “I had a background with looking after cows owned by my father, and reading, writing and arithmetic because my mother was an itinerant teacher.

My Father was a policeman and my mother also grew a kitchen garden, sewed, pressed hair, played the organ, and was a fairly good public speaker.”

Hence, his entrance to Queen’s College (one of Guyana’s top secondary schools) was inevitable. He said, “I was fairly comfortable in a science laboratory doing experiments, and outdoors at athletics and football.”

After completing his secondary level education, Dalgety continued his academic pursuits at a tertiary level. He attended the University of Guyana and then the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. He recalled, “I travelled to the UK in 1962, and worked at a laundry and as a lab technician before entry into the university where I earned a BSc in Natural Science.”

He recalled too that, “I did a lot of hitchhiking with a German girl and dancing in Europe during my student years.

At university, I was the librarian of my hall and a member of both the West Indian Student’s Society and the African Students Society.

University years were ‘wild’ – full of protests and learning science. I returned to Guyana in 1971.”

SERVICE TO GUYANA On his return to Guyana, Dalgety taught at the Guyana Technical Institute (GTI) and studied at the University of Guyana before heading to Linden to work in the bauxite industry in 1975.

There, he was employed as a chemist where he assisted with the control of bauxite, and alumina production before he was transferred to the research and development section of the bauxite company.

He said, “Guymine, [Guyana Mining Enterprise Limited] was my fourth Alma Mata. Self-reliance was a leading philosophy during those years. And, I matched philosophies with the technologies that were before my very eyes.”

Mr. Dalgety said too that since “Technology has to do with the application of science and the equipment and plants, I saw that bauxite had to do with the science I did at Queen’s College, so, my work experience at Guymine was both exciting and full of pain.”

Without elaborating on the challenges he faced, Mr. Dalgety said that he resigned from Guymine at the end of 1980. But according to him, “my industry career climbed to unknown heights after my resignation from Guymine.”

He continued, “I opened a business, Dalgety Processing Enterprises Limited (DPE). The processing we did had to do with liberation, separation, and disposal of waste, hence the name. I drilled a philosophy into my workers that our company will manufacture “only with locally available raw materials.”

According to Dalgety, everything the company produced was from materials manufactured and sold in Guyana.

“We produced pulverised clay, Putty for wood, sodium silicate, fire gum, aqua tight.

Our favourite raw materials were clay, kaolin and rice husk ash. The rewards from DPE were bountiful beyond finance – a Commonwealth Award to India where I also partook in Management of Technology; I also received many invitations to countries in Africa to conference with my colleagues on appropriate technology. I became a member of INAT which is the

International Network on Appropriate Technology and hosted Professor John Trimble and Kinyua Ngegi in Guyana on the topic of How Appropriate Technology matters,” he recounted with pride.

CULTURAL AWARENESS Since Mr. Dalgety regards himself as being very culturally aware, he Mrs. Joyce Ohikhuare, another African prides himself in having associate, and Mr. Dalgety at her artisan descended from a long line gold mining operations in Zimbabwe of culturally aware AfroGuyanese.

Underscoring his who is my grandfather. After his parents involvement with the material aspects of were freed, they trekked from the Canje and culture, he said, “I inherited farming from b o u g h t t h i s f a r m l a n d j u s t a f t e r my mother and livestock development from emancipation,” he revealed. my father. I had a grandfather who was a On the spiritual aspects of his culture, balata bleeder and sold balata at Rose Hall, Dalgety revealed that while many people Berbice, and one grandmother who planted wear gold jewellery to display wealth and coconuts and rice and sold produce at Port power, he wears it for health and protection.

Mourant Market, Berbice.

He said, “As a boy of about eight years, I My other grandfather owned Plantation was given the book Agrey of Africa to read…

Maida, Berbice, he was into cattle and was I have since passed over some gold jewellery buried on his land,” Mr. Dalgety shared. heritage to my son, Mark Dalgety.”

As part of an appreciation for their Further on the spiritual side Mr. Dalgety heritage as cultivators, Mr. Dalgety said his also holds several Rastafarian ideals. “I son is continuing the tradition. He produces speak of bauxite, sand, kaolin as Rastafari herbs and processes them into tea bags. minerals because it was through Rastafari According to Mr. Dalgety too, he is in that I developed wealth in Guyana with these possession of his ancestral relics which date minerals.” back to the 1800s.

DALGETY’S AFRICA “I have in my possession the baptism Even while his intentions in promoting certificates of my two grandmothers – Eva and preserving the cultural heritage of was baptised in 1887, Emily Fields was African people were good, Mr. Dalgety baptised in 1888. In my position also is the recalled having to face a certain level of Deed of a farm that belonged to my ancestors resistance.

Thomas Lyte, Caroline Lyte, and Henry Lyte He recalled that, “When I decided to do a inherited a property E1/2 Lot 2 Plantation radio programme called ‘Music from Africa’ Phillipi, Corentyne, Berbice. This belonged i n 1 9 7 3 several radio stations to Henry (Brother Willie) refused to play the music but I persevered and purchased airtime and eventually that show became a staple on Radio Demerara in the mid-1970s.” Later in 1999 when he wanted to introduce African films to local television, Dalgety faced similar issues.

He noted that at Continued on page 53

Mr. Dalgety, seated third from left, is pictured while on a trip to India for the Management of Technology Systems programme.

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Sunday July 31, 2022

A GLIMPSE OF THE MAIN STREET

Emancipation Expo

By Davina Bagot

E

ach year, Main Street Georgetown comes to life with a plethora of colourful prints, all in preparation for the much anticipated Emancipation Day celebrations on August 1.

Emancipation Day in Guyana commemorates the day slavery was abolished, ending decades of A ha nd-p inhumane treatment to our ainte d dre African brothers and ss b y Fio sisters. It is, however, a na A lert day that is celebrated by people of r all six ethnicities in Guyana. chases Usually, Main Street around were made early this this time of the year becomes the year, as confirmed by a number spot that locals rush to find their of vendors who spoke to me. perfect attire for the day. The Notably, the buzz continued even Waterfalls visited the location though droplets from heaven several times over the past week decided to participate in the fun as and it must be noted that the well. excitement among customers could On Saturday, women were still not be hidden. Shoppers were flocking the booths in search ensuring their of the most attractive prints. pu Brightly coloured dresses and skirts dangled from hangers and were easily spotted from a distant. The men too were not left out of the excitement with beautifully designed modern pieces on sale for them as well.

This year, persons also had the opportunity to visit the booths early and select their choice of fabric and design their outfit to their liking, as seamstresses and tailors were on site to help ready them for all the excitement in store. Also on display were hand crafted jewellery such as earrings, necklaces and bracelets made from African beads.

N e o n coloured outfits This beauty got her head wrap fitted by a designer

jewellery ake her m utfit to e r lanned o as su p w r r e e h m h to This cus ery early to matc v e s a h c r pu

at tracted customers to the booths, even though some only window shopped. Some ladies were even trying to get their head wraps designed in advance.

Carla Bishop, one of t he Co A fascinating headband made by Carla Bishop, one of the Main Street exhibitors

These jewellers were working hard to create masterpieces for their customers to purchase

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As recession fears increase in the US…

Oil company tells investors to bank on Guyana to weather any storm - says cash flow to increase 25% yearly

By Kiana Wilburg

E

ven as fears increase about a recession on the horizon for the American economy, Hess Corporation has assured potential investors and shareholders that it continues to be a safe bet since its 30 percent interest in Guyanas oil-richStabroek Block can weather any storm.

Specifically making this known during his companys second-quarter earnings call was Chief Executive Officer (CEO), John Hess.

Hess was keen to note that by investing only in high return, low-cost opportunities, the oil conglomerate has built a balanced portfolio; one that is focused on Guyana, the Bakken in the USA, the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, and Southeast Asia. With multiple phases of low-cost oil developments coming online in Guyana and given its robust inventory of highreturn drilling locations in the Bakken, the CEO told shareholders that his company is set to deliver highly profitable production growth of more than 10 percent annually over the next five years.

Hess said, “Through the continued development of our high-quality resource base, we are steadily moving down the cost curve. Our four sanctioned oil developments in Guyana have a breakeven Brent oil price of between US$25 and US$35 per barrel.” In terms of cash flow growth, the CEO further noted that his company has an industry-leading rate of change and durability story.

“Based upon a flat Brent oil price of US$65 per barrel, our cash flow is forecast to increase by approximately 25 percent annually between 2021 and 2026 more than twice as fast as our top-line growth. Our balance sheet will also continue to strengthen in the coming years...”

“As our portfolio becomes increasingly free cash flow positive in the coming years, we are committed to returning up to 75 percent of our annual free cash flow to shareholders, with the remainder going to strengthen the balance sheet by increasing our cash

position or further reducing our debt,” the Hess boss said.

Given the companys strong cash flow growth, he shared that Hess commenced a share repurchase programme during the second quarter, repurchasing approximately 1.8 million shares of common stock for US$190 million.

Looking ahead, Hess said his company plans to continue increasing its regular dividend to a level that is attractive to incomeoriented investors, but sustainable in a low oil price environment.

He was keen to reiterate that the key to his companys strategy is Guyana the industrys largest oil province discovered in the last decade.

On the Stabroek Block in Guyana, where Hess has a 30 percent interest and ExxonMobil is the operator, the CEO said his company continues to see the potential for at least six floating production storage and offloading vessels (FPSOs) in 2027 with a gross production capacity of more than one million barrels of oil per day and up to 10 FPSOs to develop the discovered resources on the block.

In terms of our sanctioned oil developments, Kaieteur News understands that production at the Liza Phase One development reached its new production capacity of more than 140, 000 gross barrels of oil per day in the second quarter following production optimisation work on the Liza Destiny FPSO. As for the Liza Phase Two development, which achieved first oil in February, it reached its gross production capacity of approximately 220, 000 barrels of oil per day earlier this month.

The third development on the Stabroek Block at the Payara Field, with a gross production capacity of approximately 220, 000 barrels of oil per day, is on track for start-up in late 2023.

In early April, Hess and its partners announced the sanction of the US$10B Yellowtail Project which will be the largest development to date on the Stabroek Block.

The project will develop an estimated recoverable resource base of approximately 925 million

barrels of oil and have a gross production capacity of approximately 250, 000 barrels of oil per day, with first oil expected in 2025.

In terms of exploration and appraisal in Guyana, Hess said the partners continue to invest in an active programme, with

approximately 12 wells planned for the Stabroek Block in 2022.

Last week, the partners announced two new discoveries on the block at the Seabob-1 and Kiru-Kiru-1 wells, bringing its total this year to seven. These discoveries will add to the

CEO of Hess Corporation, John Hess previously announced gross discovered recoverable resource estimate for the Stabroek Block of approximately 11 billion

barrels of oil equivalent.

Hess and its partners continue to see multibillion barrels of future exploration potential remaining.

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== Cuisine Culture ==

l a n o i t i d a r t r Fou s e h s i d e s e n a Afro-Guy

By Renay Sambach

E

very year on August 1, the abolition of slavery is commemorated in Guyana. As we prepare to observe another Emancipation Day in Guyana this year, I am happy to share with my loyal foodies some delightful African recipes which were first published in the Guyana Inc. Magazine.

Guyana is a melting pot of cultures. The cultures come from the six ethnic groups that make up its peoples – Africans, Amerindians, Chinese, East Indians, Europeans and Portuguese.

Each of these groups has left their stamp in the Guyanese cuisine.

As we commemorate Emancipation Day, it is the African dishes that are taking centrestage and are likely to tantilise your taste buds. Enjoy!

CONKIE Ingredients: 1 coconut 1 lb pumpkin 1 lb cornmeal 1 oz lard 1 oz margarine 1 tsp salt Sugar to taste 4 oz dried fruit 1 tsp black pepper Banana leaves for wrapping Preparation: Grate coconut and pumpkin Add all other ingredients Stir in enough water to make a mixture of dropping consistency Wipe banana leaves and heat to make pliable Cut into pieces about 8 inches square.

Wrap around filling and tie with twine Place in boiling water and boil for 20-30 minutes METEMGEE (METAGEE) Ingredients: 1 dry coconut ¾ lb mixed meat 1 lb (approx.) fried fish or salt fish 1lb cassava 1lb plantain (your choice of ripeness) 1lb eddoes, yam or dasheen 1 large onion — cut in rings ½ lb ochroes (okra) Dumplings (optional) Preparation: Cover the mixed meat with water and boil for ½ hour.

P u t sal

t-fish to soak in water; if using fresh fish this may be fried or placed on top of vegetables about 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time Grate the coconut, pour one pint of water over, squeeze well and strain to extract the coconut milk.

Pour over the meat Peel the vegetables, then put the meat and vegetables to cook in the coconut milk. Cook until almost tender Put the salt fish with the skin and bones removed, or fresh fish or fried fish on top of vegetables.

Add the onion and ochroes Cook until the coconut milk is almost absorbed If dumplings are used, they should be added about 8 minutes before the vegetables are ready COOKUP RICE Ingredients: ½ lb cooked meat ¼ lb salt meat, if desired 1 lb (2 cups) rice 4½ cups water 1 onion 1 – 2 tomatoes 2 – 3 blades chives Thyme and parsley ½ tsp salt–more if no salt meat is used ½ tsp pepper 2 tbsp oil or drippings 1 heaped tsp brown sugar Preparation: Wash and soak the salt meat and prepare the seasonings Heat the oil, add the sugar, and fry until it bubbles.

Add the seasonings, fry until golden brown Cut the salt meat into neat pieces, and add to seasonings with water, rice, and salt. Put to boil Remove the skin and bones from the cooked meat, cut into neat pieces, and add to the rice when it is nearly cooked. If desired, add a dollop or two of butter before dishing up FOO-FOO Ingredients: 2 lb hard yams 1 lb cassava Preparation: Wash, peel and cook vegetables in boiling water When cooked, do not remove from boiling water, as vegetables will become cold and unmanageable Remove string from cassava; take cassava from water and pound first before adding yam to mortar Pound to a fine texture until

thoroughly mixed Conkie [Visit Guyana photo] Use some of the same warm water for dipping the mortar stick and for adding to the foo-foo to bring to the right consistency Dip a metal spoon in some clean warm water and remove foo-foo in balls from the mortar.

Cover and keep warm. Serve in soup or with pepperpot

Cookup Rice Metemgee

Foo Foo

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Lessons from a Lashpreneur !!!

Bring Ya Own Bottle Party goes Let’s talk about this heat down today at Tower Suites This Sunday at 1pm, the most epic pre-Emancipation party will be held at the Tower

Suites Poolside. The event will feature Jamaica’s hottest R&B Artiste, Stalk Ashley.

Get your bottles and your crew and prepare for an awesome party. See you there.

E-Networks to air Hungarian Grand Prix today E-Networks is expected to air the Hungarian Grand Prix today at 9 am.

The Hungarian Grand

Prix is a motor racing event held annually in Mogyoród.

Since 1986, the race

has been a round of the F IA Formula One World Championship.

Be sure not to miss it.

& how to care for your eyelashes in the sun

By Latoya Zephyr Eyelash extensions are fun and fabulous, giving you yet one more way to enhance your look. You can ditch the mascara in favor of a flake-free option that lets you maintain those long lashes everyone loves. Getting those muchcoveted extensions will give you long, lifted lashes that make your eyes look more open. As a result, you’ll appear more awake and ready to go in the morning. This enables you to get away with wearing minimal makeup, which will cut down on the time it takes to get ready when going out.

If, however, you choose to get eyelash extensions during the sweltering months of summer, there are a few things you should know about how to properly care for them in the sun.

Avoid Exposing Your Eyelash Extensions to the Heat Too much heat isn’t good for your eyelash extensions.

It can cause the lash bond that is keeping them in place to weaken and they will fall off as a result. Avoid direct sunlight when possible, especially in areas where it will be shining directly on your face.

Wear Sunglasses Wearing shades when you go out will also protect your eyelash extensions from the sun, and the bonding that holds them on will be less likely to weaken. This re-

sults in longer-lasting extensions and an overall fresher look.

Use Oil-Free Makeup Remover When removing makeup, be sure to use oil-free remover. Oil will cause the bonding that holds the eyelash extensions in place to dissolve, so this is very important to keep in mind if you want those extensions to last as long as possible.

Avoid Touching Your Eyelash Extensions Though it is tempting to reach up and touch those brand-new lush eyelash extensions, you should avoid doing this at all costs.

Picking or pulling at them can cause them to fall off and can even damage your own natural lashes.

Wear Goggles When in the

Water Want to take a dip in the ocean or pool? Wearing goggles will help keep your eyelash extensions, and your eyes in general, safe from chlorine and seawater.

It’s easy to rub sensitive or burning eyes when they become irritated, which can result in damaging those eyelash extensions.

The goggles will protect your eyes from becoming irritated while also keeping those extensions safe from unwanted contact.

There’s no reason why you can’t wear eyelash extensions during the heat of summer. Just remember to follow the tips above and you should have no problem maintaining that amazing look.

E-Networks to air House of Dragon from Game of Thrones From August 15 to 19, 2022, E-Networks will air Dracarys, the spinoff special from Game of Thrones on Cin e m a x s t a r t i n g at 10PM. The se r i e s w i l l t e l l t h e s t o r y o f t h e Ta r g a r y e n c i v i l w a r t h a t t o o k p l a c e a b o u t 3 0 0 y e a r s before events portrayed in ‘Game of Thrones.’

You don’t want to miss this.

Jaxx International Grill invites you to Brunch Let this and every Saturday and Sunday be a weekend of a difference. Break out of the monotony and introduce your tastebuds to some of the most delectable cuisines of the world at Jaxx International

Grill’s brunch event. Enjoy the island vibes, unforgettable Guyanese hospitality and create new memories with family and friends today. Jaxx International Is the place to be today. See you there!

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Sunday July 31, 2022

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Monkeypox: The Latest Disease Gripping The World Monkeypox, what is it?

Why is this trending in the news across the world? Is this another cause for concern?

And, exactly what do we know about this disease?

Everything we know now, you will know too.

Monkeypox is a viral infection caused by the Monkeypox virus that can be transmitted from animals to humans and also from infected humans to humans. It has symptoms quite similar to smallpox, albeit less severe. Primarily occurring in West and Central Africa, monkeypox was known to inflict on those who live close to tropical rainforests and has now been spreading to urban areas. The animals that are carriers are mostly non-human primates(monkeys)and rodents. As of now, there are 4 cases diagnosed in India.

More than 16000 cases have been reported to WHO by around 75 countries across the world. The increase in cases reported across different countries looks alarming and WHO has declared this a Global Health Emergency.

History First discovered in 1958,

monkeypox occurred in monkeys that were kept in the laboratory for research. In 1970, the first human contracted the virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Since then, the virus has been recorded in Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Gabon, Liberia, the Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic. The disease has now been spreading globally due to international travel or imported animals.

What are the symptoms of monkeypox?

The incubation period (time period from getting infected and showing symptoms) is generally from 7 to 14 days; however, the range is from 5 to 21 days. Symptoms of Monkeypox can be divided into two periods· Prodromal period: This period lasts between 0-5 days and causes1. Fever with or without chills 2. Headache 3. Swelling of the lymph nodes 4. Muscle ache 5. Sore throat 6. Extreme weakness

Swollen lymph nodes are the significant characteristic of monkeypox, as the initial symptoms are quite similar to chickenpox, smallpox and measles. · The second period starts between 1-3 days of fever and skin eruptions start to appear.

The rashes first occur on the face and then progress downwards. Rashes are more common on the face and hands/ feet. Sometimes, genitalia, the cornea of the eyes and oral mucous membranes are also involved. Initially appearing rashes are flat red

lesions(macules), then the bumps evolve into raised lesions (papules), lesions filled with clear fluid (vesicles) lesions filled with yellow fluid (pustules). But eventually, the lesions dry up and fall off without any scarring.

Are there any tests to detect monkeypox?

Blood tests are not very helpful in diagnosing monkeypox. The virus stays in the bloodstream for a short period; hence blood tests are not considered a very confirmatory tool. Lab tests, in which fluids from the skin lesions are tested, are more effective for diagnosis. POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION(PCR) & NUCLEIC ACID AMPLIFICATION TEST(NAAT) is helpful to confirm the diagnosis.

Also, biopsies may be performed. Clinical signs and symptoms are usually helpful for your doctor to diagnose the condition.

How does monkeypox spread and can we prevent it?

A zoonotic virus, monkeypox, is spread from animals to humans and then humans to other humans.

The disease is transmitted through direct contact with

either animal or infected humans with the following: · Bodily fluids · Blood · Skin lesions · Mucous · Respiratory droplets While the person-to-person spread is also common, the virus enters the body through breathing, broken skin (visibly intact skin on naked eyes, too !) or mucous membranes. Monkeypox spreads in humans only via prolonged and direct face-toface contact and large respiratory droplets.

Monkeypox can also be transmitted through: · Any product of infected animals. · Bites or scratches from an infected animal. · Contact with bedding or some other contaminated item.

Prevention of monkeypox greatly depends on reducing your risk of exposure to the infection by the above-mentioned modes.

A known case of monkeypox must isolate himself/herself; the bedding, clothes and utensils of the patient should be handled separately. Consult a doctor without delay and follow the

treatment advised.

Do we have a treatment for monkey pox?

Currently, monkeypox has no known treatment. The disease is self-limiting, though and it gets better without treatment. Your doctor may advise medications for managing the symptoms and if required, some antiviral medicines may be given. Good nutrition and hydration are always helpful in recovery.

According to WHO, the smallpox vaccine is 85% effective in preventing the spread of monkeypox. If you contract monkeypox after receiving the smallpox vaccine as a child, the symptoms are expected to be mild.

JYNNEOS is a vaccine that has clinically proven its efficacy in animal studies and is licensed in the US. Key takeaways With monkeypox cases being reported in India, we must be alert and aware of the symptoms it shows because monkeypox is a contagious disease that spreads from an infected person or animal to others. It is a self-limiting condition, but one must consult a doctor for proper management, especially the skin eruptions, which can help doctors to diagnose the disease; it is better to refrain from home-based advice and adhere to doctors/professionals’ instructions as skin lesions may resemble like chickenpox, measles, scabies. Post the Covid19 pandemic, we have become more aware and alert of globally rising pandemics and are prepared to deal with any new disease thrown our way. With surveillance, education and prevention, we can weather any storm, monkeys or small!(https://pharmeasy.in/blog/ monkeypox-the-latest-disease-gripping-the-world-2/)

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This Day in 1 3 y l u J y r Histo Michael Phelps breaks Columbus becomes record for most Olympics first European to medals discover Trinidad Compiled by Zena Henry

The legendary A m e r i c a n s w i m m e r, Michael Phelps won 28 Olympics, making him

medals across five the most decorated

On his third voyage to the Western Hemisphere, Christopher Columbus became the first European to discover the island of Trinidad. The Italian explorer and navigator’s bad luck on the third voyage began almost immediately. After making slow progress from Spain, his fleet hit the doldrums, which is a calm, hot stretch of ocean with little or no wind.

This History Crunch photo shows Columbus’ stops on his third voyage to the New World

Columbus and his men spent several days battling heat and thirst with no wind to propel their ships. After a while, the wind returned, and they were able to continue. Columbus veered to the north, because the ships were low on water, and he wanted to resupply in the familiar Caribbean. On July 31, they sighted an island, which Columbus named Trinidad.

They were able to resupply there and continue exploring and later arrived on the South American mainland.

Fidel Castro hands Cuban power over to little brother Raúl Castro

C

Olympic champion Michael Phelps and his Olympic medals athlete in the history of the Summer Games. Michael Phelps, arguably the best swimmer in history, is regarded as one of the greatest athletes of all time, not just due to his record-breaking feats, but also due to the longevity of his career.

Born on June 30, 1985, in Baltimore, Maryland, Phelps took to swimming at the age of seven. He trained with Coach Bob Bowman at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club and quickly broke multiple age-group records.

His large frame, broad shoulders and big feet, which act like fins in the water, made his body the perfect fit for swimming. So much that Phelps won the highest number of medals in the entire Olympics - 28 medals across five Summer Games.

Michael Phelps’ Olympics medals tally consists of 23 gold medals – the most Olympic gold medals ever won - three silver and two bronze medals. (Olympics)

uban President Fidel Castro was undergoing intestinal surgery and provisionally handed over power in the Communist island nation to his younger brother Raúl, a statement read on Cuban television aid in 2006.

Fidel Castro, 79, led Cuba since a 1959 revolution. His brother, Raúl Castro, 75, was the first vice president of the country, and as such, the designated successor to his brother.

The 2006–2008 Cuban transfer of presidential duties was the handover of the title of president and presidential duties from Castro to his brother Raúl Castro, the next-in-line-ofsuccession person in Cuba, following Fidel’s operation and recovery from an undisclosed digestive illness believed to be diverticulitis. Although Raúl Castro exercised the duties of president, Fidel Castro retained the title of President of Cuba, formally the President of the Council of State of Cuba, during this period.

Fidel had been in power since 1959 and held the title of President of Cuba since 1976. At the time of his operation in July 2006, Castro was the last governing communist leader from the Cold War era. Fidel felt proud to have not only

Adolf Hitler instructs Caribana weekend Nazi official to submit now attracts over a million spectators plan to kill Jews

Auschwitz, 1945: A group of Jewish children in adult prison clothes are shown at the infamous concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland; then The belief newly liberated by the Soviets. i s t h a t (SZ photo/Bridgeman images) disgraced Nazi leader Adolf Hitler hated Jews because he saw them as less of a human because they did not stand up to the considerations of the Aryan race claimed to be a full European breed. As such on July 31, Hitler ordered his Nazi official to produce a plan to annihilate the Jewish people. Described as the Holocaust, Hitler ordered his Nazi general, Reinhard Heydrich, SS and Heinrich Himmler’s number-two man, “to submit to me as soon as possible a general plan of the administrative material and financial measures necessary for carrying out the desired final solution of the Jewish question.”

Goering recounted briefly the outline for that “final solution” that had been drawn up on January 24, 1939: “emigration and evacuation in the best possible way.” This (Continued on page 52)

Since its beginnings as a small parade in 1967, Toronto’s Caribbean Carnival has become one of the world’s largest celebrations of Caribbean culture. Titled Caribana until 2010, it annually attracts more than a million spectators with islandstyle parades, parties, food and music. Beyond the annual long weekend, there is now a month full of activities.

Carnivals are celebrated throughout the Caribbean on Emancipation Day Weekend (typically the first weekend in August) to commemorate the abolition of slavery in the West Indies. In Toronto, it provides both a cultural and artistic connection between Canadians and Caribbean culture.

Ontario is home to more than half of Canada’s Black African and Caribbean population, and 37 percent live in the province’s capital of Toronto. Although some immigration took place in the late 1700s, most of the people who left the Caribbean for Canada arrived in the latter half of the 20th century.

Trinidadian limbo dancer King Ricardo demonstrates his skill at Caribana in 1968. (Boris Spremo/ Toronto Star/Getty Images)

Fidel Castro (left) and brother, Raúl Castro (right) thwarted the Bay of Pigs Invasion, failed CIA attempts to kill him, and acts of Cuban exile violence, but also outlived the Cold War and the USSR, and exhorting the Cuban people brave the crippling effects of the US embargo against Cuba (largely to whip up patriotic fury against the US) and the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union.

While the radical left (especially Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales) praised Castro as a tireless defender of the poor and oppressed in Latin America and Africa while standing up to US hegemony in the Americas, Fidel Castro’s sworn enemies, namely the US and Cuban-Americans, saw him as a ruthless tyrant who broke his promise to restore democracy to Cuba by imposing a repressive communist government on the island that muzzled all opposition and wrecked the Cuban economy.

On February 19, 2008 Fidel announced that he would not stand for re-election as President at the next meeting of the National Assembly of People’s Power. Raúl was elected President by the National Assembly on February 24, 2008.

Fidel Castro died eight years later on November 25, 2016.

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Sunday July 31, 2022

12 Must See Movies on Love, Equality, and Emancipation featuring leading Black Actors

By Kiana Wilburg

O

n August 1, Guyanese will officially commemorate one of the most important days in our nation’s history—Emancipation Day. It is of particular importance as it allows for reflection on the triumph of the African spirit over decades of atrocities, dehumanisation, and cultural erosion.

In observance of the significance of this day, The Waterfalls thought it prudent to share a list of movies that incorporate the rich talents of black actors and actresses to explore themes of love, equality, liberation, brilliance, and resilience.

Do enjoy this list of timeless black features.

1. Cry Freedom: This is a 1987 epic apartheid drama film directed and produced by Richard Attenborough. It is set in late-1970s apartheid-era South Africa. The film centres on the real-life events involving South African activist Steve Biko and his friend Donald Woods, who initially finds him destructive, and attempts to understand his way of life. Denzel Washington stars as Biko, while Kevin Kline portrays Woods. Cry Freedom delves into the ideas of discrimination, political corruption, and the repercussions of violence. It is without question, a phenomenal documentary and a must-watch for all to understand the plight of Africans in modern South African history and the oppressive nature of the apartheid system.

2. Black Panther: This is a 2018 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. It stars Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa/Black Panther alongside Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, and Andy Serkis. In Black Panther, T’Challa is crowned king of Wakanda following his father’s death, but he is challenged by Killmonger (Jordan), who plans to abandon the country’s isolationist policies and begin a global revolution. In the end, only one can win.

3. Sarafina: This movie is all about strength, about people lacking it and people overflowing with it. Sarafina herself is a Soweto girl with great hopes for the future, despite her family’s poverty and her mother’s (Miriam Makeba) work away from home, forcing Sarafina to take care of her younger siblings.

The movie is set in Johannesburg, during the Apartheid regime, and black children are forbidden to

speak their own language. In spite of this, Sarafina dreams big and her world brightens up when her class gets a new teacher (played by Whoopi Goldberg), who teaches them about their worth and to be proud of their heritage.

4. The Colour Purple: This is a 1985 American film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Menno Meyjes, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1982 novel of the same name by Alice Walker.

The cast stars Whoopi

and who finds out he is unable to receive a transplant because HMO insurance will not cover it. He then decides to hold hostages at the hospital and force them to do it. It is a story that shows a father’s resolve to save his son no matter the cost or consequence.

7 . H i d d e n F i g u re s : I n heartwarming, crowd-pleasing fashion, this movie celebrates the contributions of women to history.

Specifically, it tells the inspiring t r u e story of three African

Gold berg in her breakthrough role, with Danny Glover, Oprah Winfrey, Margaret Avery, Rae Dawn Chong, Willard Pugh, and Adolph Caesar.

Filmed in Anson and Union counties in North Carolina, the film tells the story of a young AfricanAmerican girl named Celie Harris and shows the problems AfricanAmerican women experienced during the early 20th century, including domestic violence, incest, pedophilia, poverty, racism, and sexism. Celie is transformed as she finds her self-worth through the help of two strong female companions.

5. The Hate U Give: This is a 2018 American drama film that follows the fallout after a high school student witnesses a police shooting.

6. John Q: This is a 2002 American thriller drama film starring Denzel Washington and directed by Nick Cassavetes. The film tells the story of John Quincy Archibald (Denzel Washington), a father and husband whose son is diagnosed with an enlarged heart

American female mathematicians who worked at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) during the Space Race. The film stars Taraji P. Henson as Katherine Johnson, Octavia Spencer as Dorothy Vaughan, and Janelle Monáe as Mary Jackson. Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons, Mahershala Ali, Aldis Hodge, and Glen Powell are featured in supporting roles.

8. The Great Debaters: This is a 2007 American biographical drama film directed by and starring Denzel Washington. It is based on an article written about the Wiley College debate team by Tony Scherman for the spring 1997 issue of American Legacy. The film costars Forest Whitaker, Denzel Whitaker, Kimberly Elise, Nate Parker, Gina Ravera, Jermaine Williams and Jurnee Smollett. The screenplay is written by Robert Eisele, with story by Robert Eisele and Jeffrey Porro.

Based on a true story, the plot revolves around the efforts of debate coach Melvin B. Tolson

(Denzel Washingt on) at W i l e y College, a historicall y black college related to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South (now The United Methodist Church), to place his team on equal footing with whites in the American South during the 1930s, when Jim Crow laws were common and lynch mobs were a fear for blacks. The Wiley team eventually succeeds to the point where they are able to debat e Harvard University and win.

9. Django Unchained: Tw o y e a r s before the Civil Wa r, D j a n g o (Jamie Foxx), a slave, finds h i m s e l f accompanying an unorthodox German bounty hunter named Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Wa l t z ) o n a mission to capture the vicious Brittle brothers. Their travels take

them to the infamous plantation of shady Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio), where Django’s longlost wife (Kerry Washington) is still a slave. They worked together to free her but it was not without its

fair share of riveting challenges.

10. Queen of Katwe: Starring David Oyelowo, Lupita Nyong’o, and Madina Nalwanga, this film depicts the inspiring true story of a girl from the slums of Uganda who becomes an international chess champion. It has strong themes of empathy, humility, integrity, perseverance, and teamwork.

11. Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom: Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom is a 2013 British-South African biographical film directed

by Justin Chadwick from a script written by William Nicholson and starring Idris Elba and Naomie Harris. The film is based on the 1995 autobiographical book Long Walk to Freedom by anti-apartheid revolutionary and former South African President Nelson Mandela.

12. The Boy who harnessed the wind: This film is based on the true story of a Malawian boy named William Kamkwamba from the Kasungu region who witnesses a terrible drought in 2001. Driven by desperation William starts searching in books for a solution until he comes across the picture of a windmill. Since he lacks resources, he goes to the nearby garbage dump and uses what he could find to build s windmill. In successfully doing so, he is able to pump water from the ground for his family’s cornfields which leads to a successful crop being sown. Word of William’s windmill spreads and he is awarded a scholarship to attend school, ultimately receiving a degree from Dartmouth College.

Adolf Hitler instructs Nazi...

From page 50 programme of what would become mass, systematic extermination was to encompass “all the territories of Europe under German occupation.”

Heydrich already had some experience with organising such a plan, having reintroduced the cruel medieval concept of the ghetto in Warsaw after the German occupation of Poland. Jews were crammed into cramped walled areas of major cities and held as prisoners, as their property was confiscated and given to either local Germans or non-Jewish Polish peasants.

Behind this horrendous scheme, carried out month by month, country by country, was Hitler, whose “greatest weakness was found in the vast numbers of oppressed peoples who hated [him] and the immoral ways of his government.” This assessment was Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin’s, given at a Kremlin meeting that same day, July 31, with American advisor to the president Harry Hopkins. (History.com)

Kaieteur News

Sunday July 31, 2022

Guyanese industrialist, William Thomas...

From page 38 that time, Guyana's television was dominated by American movies and Indian movies.

He added, “I was aware of African films that were just as entertaining. I started to look for ways to get them on television but I faced many roadblocks.”

Dalgety noted too that even African organisations in Guyana sought to shut down the idea when he approached them for support. As a result, Mr. Dalgety took it upon himself to purchase airtime and introduce Dalgety's Africa films to TV in 1999.

“Now, all races in Guyana look at African movies and some are aware that I introduced it to Guyana,” he said.

For his efforts to promote

the culture, Dalgety revealed that he has several cherished awards including awards from the Pan African Movement (Guyana Branch) and the African Guyanese Achievement Award.

“I have a prayer mat given to me by an African refugee in Guyana which I treasure and being nominated to the Board of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission [GGMC] by the People's National Congress party, are among my special memories – I was on the GGMC Board for 16 years…”

Mr. Dalgety was also a member of the African Cultural Development Association (ACDA) in Guyana and helped with the success of the Folk Festival usually held on August 1,

Emancipation Day. He noted that as part of the transatlantic slave trade commemoration committee, “We became Friends of the Museum of African Heritage…and raised funds and renovated that building.

I had my role in many developments with the [local] Pan African Movement and made many presentations in Africa and once even at Howard University in the US.” While his contribution to the culture is noteworthy, nothing brings this week's 'Special Person' more happiness and satisfaction than knowing that he was able to influence and pass on his strong African ideals to his five children: Mark, Eva, Ay o d e l e , O d e t t a , a n d Sonetta.

Acquittal after Court multiple years Journal on remand THE

From page 35 Linden, he murdered Thomas.

According to reports, Alexander and Thomas were jointly charged for the murder of Linden businesswoman, Shevon Gordon, who was gunned down outside of her house on April 4, 2015 at One Mile Block 22, Wismar, Linden.

On December 8, 2015, Alexander and Thomas escaped from the Mackenzie Police Station, where they were in holding to attend court. However, three days later Thomas' decomposing body was found in the Demerara River in the vicinity of West Watooka, Linden.

Desmond James It was in October 2020 when Desmond James was freed of a murder charge after Justice Singh in the

Demerara High Court, upheld a no-case submission and ordered the Jury to return a formal not guilty verdict.

James was charged for the murder of Glendon Cox, a father of two, at Four Miles Arakaka, North West District (NWD). He was accused of stabbing the 46-year-old Cox to death on September 1, 2014.

Rudolph Singh The final matter I will highlight is that of Rudolph Singh who in November 2017 was acquitted of the July 12, 2013 murder of Kevin Harrison. Harrison was stabbed to death at Ideal Road, Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara.

Singh was on trial before Justice Simone MorrisRamlall in the Demerara High Court. Following hours of deliberation, the jury arrived at a unanimous

verdict for the capital offence of murder and also for the lesser count of manslaughter.

It was reported that Harrison was outside the Ideal Road, Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara home of his girlfriend, Omefa Atkinson, who is also the mother of Singh's children.

It was stated that the woman had gone to live with Harrison after he had returned from the interior a few days prior.According to reports, the woman, who was accompanied by Harrison, returned to her home to pick up her two children – ages seven and four – when an argument had reportedly started between the two men which later escalated into a fight, during which Harrison was wounded.The injured man was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

ULVERSTON …a tranquil East Berbice community From page 23 observed tomorrow, Ms. Elgin said the residents are expected to come together to enjoy the day by dancing, cooking, and sharing. As per norm, the villagers would head to the Liverpool Community Centre Ground where a cultural programme is held much to their enjoyment. Ms. Elgin's 63year-old daughter, Veronica Chisolm, who is a livestock f a r m e r, s a i d t h a t t h e observance of Emancipation Day is seen an opportunity for them to dress in their best African outfits, and what is even more significant is the fact that people from all races join with them to celebrate

too.

As I continued my journey through the community, another resident, Allan Smith, was seen selling freshly made bread and pastries along the public road. He noted that he has been selling for just over a year but has also been working at the estate for over 20 years. He too noted that the Emancipation weekend will be packed with activities which the villagers always enjoy. These activities, he said, were halted during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic but since the restrictions have been lifted, he anticipates that residents will have an especially great

time.

Smith, who hopes to soon expand his small business, said that he has seen a lot of development not only in his community but in other communities, “since this new government come in.”

However, there is still need for better streets in their community and a better drainage system, some residents have noted. They stated that the NDC is not as active as it should be.

Despite the few challenges, Ulverston, according to residents, will forever remain a community where people live comfortably in peace and harmony.

PAGE 53

Kaieteur News

PAGE 54

Freedom Song: The Story of Henry "Box" Brown Book by Sally M. Walker Henry Brown wasn't sure how old he was. Henry was a slave. And slaves weren't allowed to know their birthdays. Henry and his brothers and sisters worked in the big house where the master lived. Henry's master had been good to henry and his family.

But Henry's mother knew things could change. “Do you see those leaves blowing in the wind? They are torn from the trees like slave children are torn from their families.”

One morning the master called for Henry and his mother. They climbed the wide staircase. The master lay in the bed with only his head above the quilt. He was very ill, so beckoned them to come closer.

Some slaves were freed by their owners. Henry's heart beat fast.

Maybe the master would set him free.

But the master said, “You are a good worker, Henry. I am giving you to my son. You must obey him and never tell a lie.” Henry nodded, but he didn't say thank you. That would have been a lie.

Later that day henry watched a bird soar high above the trees. Free bird!

Free bird! Henry thought.

Henry said good-bye to his family. He looked across the field where the leaves swirled in the wind. Henry worked in his new master's factory. He was good at his job. “Do not tear that tobacco leaf!” the boss yelled at the new boy. He poked the boy with a stick. If you made a mistake, the boss would beat you.

Henry was lonely. One day he met Nancy, who was shopping for her mistress.

They walked and talked and agreed to meet again. Henry felt like singing. But slaves didn't dare sing in the streets.

Instead, he hummed all the way home.

Months later, Henry asked Nancy to be his wife.

When both their masters agreed, Henry and Nancy were married. Soon there was a little baby. Then another.

And another. Henry knew they were very lucky that they lived together even though they had different masters. But Nancy was worried because her master had lost a great deal of money. “I'm afraid he will sell our children,” she said.

Henry sat very still.

Henry worked hard all

morning to try to forget what Nancy had said. His friend James came into the factor and whispered to Henry, “You wife and children were just sold at the slave market.”

“NO!!!” cried Henry. Henry couldn't move. He couldn't think. He couldn't work.

“Twist that tobacco!” The boss poked Henry. Henry twisted tobacco leaves. His heart twisted in his chest.

At lunchtime, henry rushed to the center of town.

A large group of slaves was tied together and the owner shouted at them. Henry looked everywhere for his family. “Father ! Father!”

Henry watched his children disappear down the road.

Where was Nancy? He saw her the same moment she saw him. When he wiped away his tears, Nancy, too, was gone.

Henry no longer sang. He couldn't hum. He went to work, and at night he ate supper and went to bed.

Henry tried to think of happy times, but all he could see were the carts carrying away everyone he loved. Henry knew he would never see his family again.

Many weeks passed. One morning, Henry heard singing. A little bird flew out of a tree into the open sky and Henry thought about being free. But how? As he lifted a crate, he knew the answer. He asked James and Dr. Smith to help him. Dr. Smith was a white man who thought slavery was wrong. They met early the next day at an empty warehouse. Henry arrived with a box.

“I will mail myself to a place where there are no slaves!” he said. James stared at the box, then Henry. “What if you cough and someone hears you?” “I will cover my mouth and hope,” Henry replied. Dr. Smith wrote on the box: To: William H. Johnson Arch Street P h i l a d e l p h i a , Pennsylvania Henry would be delivered to friends in Philadelphia.

Then he printed on the crate

in big letters: THIS SIDE UP WITH CARE! Henry needed an excuse to stay home, or the work boss would think he had ran off. James pointed to Henry's sore finger, but Henry knew it wasn't bad enough. He opened a bottle of oil of vitriol. “NOOO!!” cried James. Henry poured it on his hand until it burned his skin to the bone. Now, the boss would have to let him stay home! Dr. Smith bandaged Henry's hand and they arranged to meet the next morning at four o'clock.

The sun was not yet up when Henry climbed into the box. “Ready!” he said.

James nailed down the lid.

Dr. Smith and James drove to the station. The railway clerk tipped the box over and nailed a paper to the bottom. Dr. Smith begged the clerks to be careful, but they didn't listen. They threw the box into the baggage car.

Hours passed. Henry was lifted up and thrown again. Upside down! He heard waves splashing.

This must be the steamboat headed for Washington, D.C. The ship rode smoothly, but Henry was still upside down. Blood rushed his head. His face got hot. His eyes ached and he thought his head would burst.

But he was afraid to move, for someone might hear him.

“I'm tired of standing,” someone said. “Why don't we move that box and sit on it?” said another. Henry held his breath. Could they be talking about his box? Henry was pushed as the box scrapped the deck. Now he was on his right side! Now on his left!

And suddenly, right side up!

“What do you think is in here?” said the first man.

'Mail, I guess,” said the other.

I am mail, thought Henry. But not the kind they imagine!

Henry was carried off the steamboat and placed in a railroad car, this time head up. He fell asleep to the rattling song of the train wheels.

He awoke to loud knocking. “Henry, are you all right in there?”

“All right!” he answered.

The cover was pried open and Henry stretched to stand up.

Four men smiled at him. “ W E L C O M E T O PHILADELPHIA!” At last Henry had a birthday- March 30, 1849, his first day of freedom! And from that day on, he also had a middle name.

Everyone called him Henry “BOX” Brown.

Sunday July 31, 2022

Junior page

DIY AFRICAN PRINT BRACELETS This week's craft will require some adult supervision and help, so get your parents or guardians and make these cool bracelets.

Supplies fabric leather cording scissors / rotary cutter ruler bobby pin fabric glue (optional) Instructions Step 1: Cut fabric strips 2" wide. I highly recommend cutting on the bias (diagonally) to give the fabric more stretch to hug the curves of the cording. It's a bit more fussy but the fabric will lay better.

Step 2: Hide raw threads by folding them inward toward each other. Iron in place.

Step 3: Measure around wrist just about thumb joint.

Double that amount and cut cording. Fashion cord into a circle looped twice.

Step 4: While holding loops together, roll fabric around the entire bracelet with a slight overlap of each roll. I didn't use glue but if you want a little extra stability, you can dab a bit of glue every few rolls.

Step 5: Once you've rolled over where you began, fold fabric to a point and cut tail end off.

You should end up with about an 1" of fabric sticking out.

Step 6: Tuck that piece inside of one of the rolls using the bobby pin. I bought a bag of metal assortments that turned out to be just the right tool to use.

A bobby p in should work fine. A sewing needle would be risky causing damage to fingers and fabric so it is not reccommended. Done!

Y

H POETR

FUN WIT

Play Fair

The games we play are so much fun, When my friends and I all meet, Cricket, football, hopscotch and skipping, They make our lives so sweet.

But there are times when I find Some children don't play so fair, They push and hit you when they lose, And sometimes even pull your hair.

Games are one way we get to learn To be friendly, honest and kind; Play hard to win, but always play fair, And you will enjoy them all the time.

by Uncle Roy

Kaieteur News

Sunday July 31, 2022

PAGE 55

TEEN TIME All young adults at some time or another in their lives, especially in the fast-paced world we live in, will be faced with the need to assert themselves with those with whom they associate, and make their own choices in relation to the things that affect their lives.

Specifically, the time will come when someone you trust will approach you with an offer of sharing something about which, because of the possible negative results it can have on your life, you will have to make a hard decision. That offer may range from stealing, becoming violent, taking alcohol or other drugs, to having sex before you are qualified to do so.

Before this occasion arises, when you will be subjected to all kinds of pressure to go against what you know is right, you have to set aside some time to think about how you stand on these things.

You have come to the stage in life when you are

Bridges

supposed to be mainly responsible for your behaviour and the consequences of this, and you should be making sure that you do nothing at this delicate period in our life to jeopardise your chances of gaining the success and happiness that is your right.

You have seen and heard enough by now to realise that tobacco, alcohol and illegal drugs mostly cause a waste of physical, mental and psychological resources, and are not to be

indulged in. You should also be aware that sex, although a blessed thing to share with someone special and permanent at the right time and in the right situation, is a curse outside of such a relationship.

But appreciation of these facts is most times not enough.

The fact is that the persons who tempt you to partake in substance abuse and illicit sex most times make it difficult for you to refuse.

Connect these islands with bridges until each island can be reached from any other island, and each island has as many outgoing bridges as its number.

You may only connect islands vertically or

They relate your acceptance or refusal to something which you value, like their friendship, and you tend to entertain doubts about your own choice, and feel that you need to reconsider any refusal you make.

Know who you are, what you stand for, and what you want to be and not be, and how you want to act now and in the future.

When you have established these rules up front, then you will be better able to deal with any negative suggestions and offers which may threaten to derail the life you hope and work for.

That s is why you need to take time beforehand to identify the principles which you feel should govern your life, and make up your mind to live by these, no matter who tries to lead you away from these.

Check out those mentioned in last week's issue to identify the ones you most value.

horizontally and bridges may not cross. There may be one or two bridges connecting pairs of islands, but no more than two. Each puzzle has a unique solution that can be found without making guesses.

T

his day won't come again

I'll never see this day again, the seconds or the hours, Now's the time to take the time to stop and smell the flowers; Today's the day to give smiles and some happiness away, And the sunshine you were saving for some dark and rainy day.

This day is truly priceless, God made this day so new, The good deed you do for another may just come back to you; I have so many thanks to give, I scarce can even start, For when I try to add them up, more pour forth from my heart.

I'll take what the Lord has given, drawn from His grace so true, In gratitude for all I take, I'll give myself to You; So touch a heart, hold another's hand, call that lonely friend, Share the love that you must have, for this day won't come again.

It would be to the good of you and your friends if you join together to discuss the principles that you will find it necessary to adopt.

t Tell i

to

Hello, readers, Uncle Roy is again asking all of you to try in some way to make a contribution to this page, and thus to the welfare of you and your fellow readers. This contribution can take any form that you feel would be valuable – an account of what is going on in your community and country, any advice you would like to pass on to your fellow teen readers and, on a broader level, any comment or recommendation you would like to make to your fellow Guyanese.

Please remit same to my email – roypaul2002@yahoo.com, and be assured that your worthwhile contribution will have a prominent place on our page.

Solutions to last week’s Common Phobias

Futoshiki

Identify the Principles that you feel that you most need, and make the special effort to live by them

PAGE 56

Tips for Healthy Teeth & Gums 1. BRUSH YOUR TEETH TWICE A DAY FOR TWO MINUTES EACH TIME. Keeping your teeth clean and healthy begins with regular maintenance. Brushing for two minutes at a time twice a day, known as the 2x2 rule, will help to keep plaque at bay. Patients with children should introduce this concept early, and find ways to make it fun. You can play a song while they're brushing, or use a timer to know when two full minutes have passed. To make it easier to clean every tooth, try to spend 30 seconds on each quadrant of your mouth (upper right side, upper left side, lower right side, lower left side). Using the right techniques are important to ensure the teeth are being cleaned properly and you aren't damaging the soft tissue around them. Using small circular motions, angle the head of the brush towards the gums. Be sure to clean all surfaces, as well as along the gum line, both on the fronts and backs of your teeth. Some patients find using an electric toothbrush helps as well.

2. FLOSS DAILY. It's recommended to floss every night before brushing to remove anything your toothbrush is unable to dislodge. Many patients admit to skipping this step, but it is an important part of a healthy routine. If you only brush and decide you don't need to floss, small particles of food and other deposits that are missed by your toothbrush can eventually develop into decay.

To avoid this, make sure you take two minutes a day to add flossing to your routine. When you first start flossing, it may cause sensitive gums to hurt. This is natural and will stop once you've been flossing for a couple days. When flossing, make sure you slide it up and down along the whole tooth. Don't ignore tight spaces, this is one of the most important places to floss as your toothbrush can't reach these areas.

3. REPLACE YOUR TOOTHBRUSH AT THE SIGNS OF WEAR. As a general rule, changing it about every 3 to 6 months should keep it in shape to clean your teeth properly. Damaged or frayed toothbrushes can't clean the surface of your teeth correctly and can cause damage to your gums. Replacing your toothbrush often also allows you to help keep it clean. Always rinse your toothbrush well and store it so it can dry. Remember to replace your toothbrush if you've been sick to prevent bacteria from being re-introduced into your mouth.

4. VISIT YOUR DENTIST EVERY SIX MONTHS. Your dentist will be able to prevent issues before they start, or at least to catch them early, if you have regular dental appointments. Regular visits also allow your teeth to get a thorough professional cleaning twice a year, removing any buildup of plaque and tartar, which helps to keep your teeth and gums healthy.

5. MAINTAIN A HEALTHY DIET. Avoiding sweetened foods (such as pop, sports drinks, and candy) as well as including foods high in calcium will help to support strong and healthy teeth. As a side benefit, your body will thank you too! Some foods that will help to strengthen your teeth include leafy greens, almonds, yogurt, and cheese.

Speak to your dentist for recommendations of foods that will help keep your teeth strong for years to come.

6. USE DENTAL HYGIENE PRODUCTS. Brushing and flossing are key to preventive dental health, but you can help keep your teeth in top condition by incorporating supplemental aids into your routine as well.

Examples of these products include mouthwash, oral irrigators, interdental cleaners, and tongue cleaners. These aids can help support good oral health and should be used in conjunction with (not instead of) regular brushing and flossing.

7. KEEP HYDRATED THROUGHOUT THE DAY. Sufficient hydration is not only good for your overall health, but being hydrated also helps maintain a healthy saliva flow. Saliva aids in dental health by moving food particles through your mouth, preventing most of them from lodging in your teeth where bacteria can grow. It also helps to keep your mouth comfortable and moist.

8. DON'T SMOKE. Smoking causes superficial concerns, such as tooth staining, as well as severe health issues like gum (periodontal) disease which can lead to tooth loss, and oral cancer, among other issues. One of the best things you could do for your oral and overall health is to quit smoking immediately. https://www.countryhillsdentistry.ca/site/kitchener-dentistblog/2019/11/12/10-dental-hygiene-tips-for-healthy-teethgums

Kaieteur News

Sunday July 31, 2022

Sunday July 31, 2022

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Kaieteur News

PAGE 58

Sunday July 31, 2022

A GLIMPSE OF THE MAIN STREET

Emancipation Expo

Main Street buzzing with customers in search of the perfect piece for Emancipation Day celebrations

A section of the male attire that was on display. The vendor said his cultural pieces were imported from Nigeria

From page 42 vendors that spoke to The Waterfalls, said her items were handmade. Her booth was located at the end of Main and Church Streets. Her captivating pieces included crown headbands, fascinator headbands, hats for males and females, corsage, purses, necklaces for men and women, armbands and waist beads.

A young woman who graduated from the E.R Burrowes School of Arts, Fiona Alert, was also at the Main Street exhibition, showcasing hand painted dresses and other cultural items.

A more seasoned designer, Darla Adams was also present at the expo to show off her talent. She said, “I am out here designing the different African clothing such as body wraps and head wraps to make the sisters look very nice in our culture. I have been out here for the last six years on Main Street doing head wraps and selling these clothes. We were off for two years and this is the return year.”

Adams explained that she was glad to see the response of the Guyanese public, observing that they started shopping very early for the right pieces of clothing. In addition to catering for single persons, the designer noted that she also prepared matching couple’s outfits.

This year, after a two-year hiatus, the cultural extravaganza is set to return to the National Park, giving Guyanese an opportunity to celebrate freedom in unity. The event usually sees cultural presentations and the feature attraction is usually the African cuisine. Families usually spend the day picnicking in the National Park where the fun is usually held on Emancipation Day.

A few of the jewellery sets that were available for sale at Main Street.

These brightly coloured pieces would pair beautifully with any outfit

In addition to the fashionable pieces on sale, one vendor also imported African print hand towels to be used in the kitchen

A beautifully designed fascinator head wrap

A vendor searches for the perfect dress to advertise to his customers

Kaieteur News

Sunday July 31, 2022

Young entrepreneur, Vibert Dummett wearing one of his customised art pieces

PAGE 59

Young entrepreneur, Angelie Persaud

Young entrepreneur, Jonathan Williams

Achieve personal expression with “A wise person once said, ‘In one drop of water are found all the secrets of all the oceans’ and just like that drop of water here at God Drip, we believe that everything we as humans do represent who we are.”

By Allyiah Allicock

B

usinesses that cater to the customised needs of their customers are fast becoming popular in our society. This not only goes to show how business in general is evolving but it shows that many people are desirous of having a unique touch to the products they want to buy.

It was with this very focus in mind that 19-year-old Jonathan Williams decided to open his own customising business; he saw the need for a wider expression of personal identity.

His business, which is called ‘God Drip’, is one he co-owns with his friends, Angelie Persaud and Vibert Dummett. It was launched back in February 2020.

In a recent interview, Williams explained that his business was not only created to have an impact on people but to allow persons to express who they truly are.

“A wise person once said, ‘In one drop of water is found all the secrets of all the oceans’ and just like that drop of water here at God Drip, we believe that everything we as humans do represent who we are,” he said.

He added that “from the choices we make to the way we dress, down to something as small as the case that we have on our phone, it is all considered drip that can be taken as part of who

we are as a person.”

The word ‘drip’, for those who may not know, is a term the younger generation uses to describe someone’s sense of style, similar to that of the word ‘swag’.

According to Williams, “…one day I asked myself if these things outwardly express who we Continued on page 69

Some of the work done by ‘God Drip’

Kaieteur News

PAGE 60

Sunday July 31, 2022

“We have a country with so many resources and can’t see we way”

By Davina Bagot

G

uyana is being sold to investors as a rich land with vast resources – resources that are a birth right to the people of the country – yet the citizens are suffering to make ends meet. This was the picture drawn by a protestor during the past week as the call for a renegotiation of the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with oil major, ExxonMobil continued into its ninth week.

The male protestor who did not state his name noted, “I work in non-productive, non-resource country already and work for US$5,000 in 17 days and we got a country with so many vast resources and yuh can’t even see yuh way, what you working for when the week or the month up?”

He explained that he has joined the protest action to not only demand better value for the oil and gas resources, but also for a change of government, as he believes that the leaders of the country are not

making decisions in the best interest of the people.

On Monday during his keynote address as part of the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center’s Leaders of the Americas series, President Irfaan Ali boasted about Guyana’s “prolific mineral resources” and encouraged the United States of America (USA) private sector to take advantage of opportunities to invest.

In President Ali’s opening remarks, he noted that Guyana’s biodiversity and environmental wealth is well documented. He said, “Our forest stores 19.5 gigaton of carbons, the standing value of our forest is over US$500 billion, our forest has the potential of earning in excess of US$100M in carbon credit in an annualise way, this alone can drive tremendous development.”

To this end, he highlighted that the opportunities Guyana’s natural resources sector holds are incomparable, “where 36 percent of Guyana comprises of highly mineralised area.” The Head of State then noted that what that means is that, “We are very rich

Scenes from past week’s protest exercise

in minerals such as gold, bauxite, commercial deposits of copper.

These are all areas that we can now support to be competitive with the investment necessary, whether it’s the roadways, the opening up of these areas in a way that is sustainable.”

While responding to questions from Senior Director of the Adrian Arch Latin America Centre, Jason Marczak, Ali noted that the Government of Guyana views the US as an important partner.

To this end, protestors said, “Why should we carry Exxon on our backs” and “dishonest politicians are a national problem”.

They were at the time holding their placards on the Houston, East Bank Demerara public road.

Meanwhile, another protester last week said, “Guyana, I telling you please wake up fast. Don’t sit down anymore. Is over 50 years we going through punishment through both governments…”

Another protestor said he does not believe Guyana is an independent nation as the country is “in the stranglehold of the United States of America.” He made reference to the fact that President Irfaan Ali and Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo were summoned to the US for meetings with the government to discuss areas of partnership. However, he is convinced that the conversations have not been of benefit to the Guyanese people, as it is the already developed nation that would reap the fruits of any agreement.

The protest exercise is held on weekdays between 10am to 12noon. The activists are determined that changes must be made to the Exxon oil contract.

Among the miniscule terms accepted by the government are a mere two percent royalty on its sweet light crude and a 50 percent profit share, after ExxonMobil deducts 75 percent of the total lifts for its expenses. Key provisions are also lacking in the agreement such as full coverage insurance for any mishaps offshore to cover all damages and ring fencing, to avoid the oil company from using the petroleum revenue in one field to cover for expenses in another. The lack of the ring fencing provision can result in Guyana never seeing the returns it was promised, according to one international analyst, Tom Sanzillo.

It is because of these reasons that the citizens have joined forces to demand change from their leaders. In fact, the call for such changes is gaining momentum as a civil society body, Article 13, has commenced its own protest exercise, hinting to take its activity countrywide in a bid to alert more Guyanese of the unfair provisions in the oil contract.

- protestors

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Toy gun, scissors, lighter seized at Emancipation J’ouvert

T

he Police Force on Friday stepped up its presence at the National Park located at Thomas Lands, Georgetown, to make sure that there was no chaos at the Emancipation J’ouvert held there.

As a result of their efforts, they were able to seize a “taped-up” toy gun, a number of improvised weapons, scissors and lighters from patrons who attended the J’ouvert celebration. The items were found on the patrons while they were entering the venue.

The J’ouvert celebration was one of the planned party events leading up to August 1 Emancipation Day observance.

Guyanese turned up in their numbers to celebrate at the National Park on Friday to participate in the fete of paint and water. The security presence there made sure that the party was incident free.

According to the Guyana Police Force (GPF), there were no reports of robberies or other violent behaviour at the J’ouvert.

Recently, during Guyana’s Independence celebrations in May, the Force came in for criticism after guns were fired at a show held at the same venue called

Lighters that were seized by police ranks

A toy gun that was seized from a patron entering the Emancipation J’ouvert

Seized scissors and other improvised weapons that were seized from patrons entering the National Park “Baderation”.

The show had featured Jamaican dancehall artiste,

“Skeng”. While he was performing his fourth song, a hit, called “Protocol”, gunshots rang-

out from the crowd and it rained bottles from the skies causing panic and chaos at the venue.

The following day videos surfaced of patrons being robbed amidst the chaos. Many questions were asked as to how patrons were permitted to enter the venue with illegal weapons despite heavy police and security presence.

To date, there has been no arrests made in relation to the gunshots and robberies that marred the “Baderation” show.

‘THE GREAT BETRAYAL’ From page 20 handed the third and the fourth project licenses to them…”

DEFEATED MOTION Meanwhile, commenting on the Motion that the government used its majority in Parliament to defeat, Lall said when the Motion was presented for a debate, he was shocked to see three of the PPP/C MPs standing up against full coverage liability. “Is this really happening, am I dreaming, could somebody tell me what is going on here? The Opposition brought this Motion to have ExxonMobil pay for all damages from an oil spill and here you have three PPP MPs shooting it down, kill it dead, with some of the most unbelievable and ridiculous arguments.”

Making reference to Natural Resources Minister, Vickram Bharrat, Lall noted even though he acknowledged that the administration is aware of how devastating an oil spill can be, falsely claimed that 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 have on standby, in the event of such an occurrence.” A capping stack is a piece of equipment that is placed over a blown-out well to stop or redirect the flow of hydrocarbons and to buy time for engineers to permanently seal the well. “That is the full protection; ExxonMobil is

required to import - a capping stack a s s t a n d b y. T h a t ’s t h e protection...that is what this PPP Minister is comfortable with for Guyana and the region. By the time the capping stack caps the well, the region will be swimming in oil.

This is the length to which this minister went to defend ExxonMobil from not taking full responsibility to ensure that we are well protected and covered from a disastrous oil spill,” Lall lamented.

He said Minister Bharrat, a former headmaster is so bent on defending Jagdeo’s position that he “will sell his soul in order to preserve the chair he sits in…”

Lall also zeroed in on comments by H o m e A ff a i r s M i n i s t e r, Robeson Benn who also opposed the Motion.

Benn told the House that the Motion was a waste of time. “The minister who is responsible for the day to day protection of the citizens of this country now telling the Parliament that the full liability coverage (David) Patterson brought to Parliament is a waste of time. Is who this other PPP stooge defending and protecting – the VP or ExxonMobil?”

Benn also said that no insurance company anywhere in the world would give unlimited liability

insurance coverage as is suggested i n P a t t e r s o n ’s d o c u m e n t .

“Listening to these folks, you want to ask yourself, if they really working to secure you and your country. With what he said there, clearly shows, he is toeing the line Jagdeo wants him to toe, to hell with insurance, it is too expensive for ExxonMobil, destroy G u

y ana and the region, that’s what he is basically saying – they don’t care because they have their own interests set out,” Lall pointed out.

DISAPPOINTING The newspaper publisher said the junior Works Minister, Deodat Indar, was equally disappointing. “…he used to be a very impressive

young man before he became part of the government. As soon as he became a minister, he has become a circus clown. He took away the whole cake in Parliament on Thursday. He said the Motion Patterson brought is meant to show you the extreme of what can happen from an oil spill and that is meant to drive away investors. He said, “’what the document intends to do is show you the extremes of what can happen. This, what they have drawn, is the example of the extremes…I suspect and I believe that this Motion is designed to

c h a s e people out of this country.

Literally, chase people out of this country’.”

“Imagine the Opposition telling the Parliament in a document about the grave danger hanging over the head of every citizen of this country and the region, and this PPP clown saying that Patterson gone to the extreme and that ‘gon’ chase away investors. Can you believe this?

Can you believe your brother, your minister who supposed to be taking what Patterson presented and press

for a Motion to be passed in which we can be safe and secure from an oil spill, this man telling the nation that if we do that, we ‘gon’ drive away investors?” Lall said Indar could not be speaking for Guyanese, but rather for foreign investors? As such, he said that he is surprised at the length the ministers will go “to deny the people of this country the peace of mind that belongs to them.”

Lall has not been alone in the calls for full coverage insurance for this country. Back in February this year, Timothy Tucker, President of the Georgetown Chambers of Commerce in responding to a question from this newspaper had said, “Of course, I think they should have insurance and we need that urgently. Like everything else we do in life, insurance is great to have, whether it is life, health, etc.,” He added, that insurance is vital to protect and safeguard from danger and accidents.

“As Guyana increases its development having more FPSOs and new discovery, it is vitally important for Guyana to have full coverage insurance. I would definitely like to see full coverage insurance,” Tucker said, in the event of an oil spill.

For his part, Paul Cheong, President of Private Sector Commission (PSC) had said, “It is always good to have insurance.

In the event of something happening insurance would be a great asset.”

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Sunday July 31, 2022

Sunday July 31, 2022

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14 contractors vying to build training facility for Timehri Prison

A

total of 14 contractors have entered the national competitive bidding process for the Ministry of Home Affairs contract which is to construct a training facility at the Timehri Prison.

The facility, which will

benefit the inmates there, is estim a t e d t o c o s t $ 1 0 2 million, according to the Ministry’s engineer. Out of the 14 contractors, it was DS Investment that indicated that it can build the facility just under a $100 million – $95 million.

Ministry of Home Affairs Construction of training facility for inmates at Timehri Prison

The bids from the other contractors were over $100 million.

As reported, the Ministry over the months has facilitated a number of training programmes for inmates of the Timehri, Lusignan and Mazaruni

prisons which are aimed at preparing them for reintegration into society.

Already over 800 inmates from all three prisons have been trained in a number of areas, such as anger m a n a g e m e n t , entrepreneurship, carpentry,

Reconstruction of Imbaimadai Police Station- Phase 2

tailoring, culinary arts, joinery, barbering, and veterinary sciences.

This project will form part of the $47.9 billion that was allocated in this year’s budget to boost public security.

Apart from building that facility, the Ministry is also

looking to complete phase two of the reconstruction of the Imbaimadai Police Station in Region Seven.

To complete this phase, it is estimated to cost some $26 million.

Below are the companies and their bids:

Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation Repairs to Ambulatory Care and Diagnostic Centre building roof

Procurement of minor works.

Repairs to roofing Human Resource Department

Guyana Defence Force Construction of wooden bridge and revetment at Sisters Village

National Parks Commission Provision of baton security services for the Zoological Park

Rehabilitation and construction works to the GEA’s offices in two lots: Lot 1- GEA head office and Lot2: GEA office at Linden

Bureau of Statistics Supply and delivery of black poly-canvas computer bags/ briefcases for census 2022 filed enumeration workers

Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) Consultancy services - strengthen the capacity of major stakeholders and equipping them with tools and techniques for aviation fuel handling and quality assurance/quality control standards

PAGE 64

WEEK IN REVIEW SUNDAY GOVT. SHOOTS DOWN FULL COVERAGE LIABILITY MOTION ON OIL SPILL… GUYANA, REGION REMAIN IN GRAVE DANGER The governing People’s Progressive Party (PPP) late Thursday evening used its one seat majority in the National Assembly to destroy an Opposition Motion, filed

by Member of Parliament (MP) David Patterson, seeking full liability coverage in the event of an oil spill.

This move, however, has left not only Guyana and its people in grave danger, but also the rest of the Caribbean Region.

This is according to Patterson, who on Friday, during an Alliance For Change (AFC) press conference shared his reaction to the government’s reason for shooting down the Motion.

Patterson’s submission to the House was seeking to not only include full unlimited liability coverage for oil spills and other disasters related to petroleum production, but also direct the Government of Guyana to conduct an independent analysis on the possible ill effects of an oil spill, and present this report to the Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources to be used as a reference for all other future oil development submissions. Patterson said, “What was troublesome to me was the comments coming out of the government. One Minister called the Motion trash, and I’m quoting here palpable, non-issue and another person called the Motion calling for coverage to protect our people antidevelopmental, and its fearmongering and that the Opposition was trying to create mischief by the sense of highlighting these issues.”

Given the government’s decision to not require full liability coverage, Patterson who functions as the Shadow Oil and Gas Minister in the House said that the country and the region at large is now left at the mercy of the oil giant, ExxonMobil.

During the debate in Parliament, the MP pointed to the need for Guyana to secure full liability coverage, especially since Exxon has clearly indicated it will only cover “legitimate” and “reasonable” costs when such an event takes place.

To this end, Patterson argued, “besides the callousness of this statement, it is a clear demonstration of

Sunday July 31, 2022

Kaieteur News

the company’s intention to battle in court as to what is a “legitimate” and “reasonable” cost. Sadly Mr. Speaker, we have no grounds to stand on in such an instant of a spill, since there is no baseline study of the existing environmental condition to evaluate damages above that baseline.”

He pointed out that Indigenous and other coastal communities would be exposed to grave danger by simply allowing ExxonMobil to insert the words “legitimate” and “reasonable” in the Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), which have clearly indicated in the Yellowtail document for example, that in the event of a medium scale oil discharge there is a 40 percent chance that the entire coastline of Regions One and Two will be impacted. ”Mr. Speaker, if such an oil spill occurs, months, years even decades after such an oil spill, Indigenous riverain villages closest to the Atlantic,” could be impacted, the former Minister underscored, as he warned the government that these families would be forced to go to Court to prove that the damages are reasonable and legitimate. As such, he closed off his presentation by indicating, “you can’t wait fuh tek candle light fuh see things at night when you can see them in the broad daylight.”

The Opposition MP was sure to note as well that the ramping up of production activities will exponentially increase the probability of an oil spill. Such an emergency, Patterson warned, to address clean-up and restoration of ocean and beaches throughout the Caribbean and South American coastlands, could lead to economic bankruptcy. But the troubles for Guyana would not end there. The country’s fishing industry, he said, could be obliterated while aquatic vegetation could also be destroyed all while Guyana could be forced to battle lawsuits from neighbouring countries, due to potential damages.

GUYANAON DANGEROUS FOOTING… EXXON KEEPS RACKING UP MULTI-BILLION $$$ BILLS BUT COUNTRY CONTINUES TO HAVE NO SAY – FMR. FINANCE MINISTER ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) is moving at “lightning speed” with its exploration and development programme in the Stabroek

Block. In fact, plans are already at an advanced stage for its Yellowtail Project, the fourth to be developed offshore to produce 925 million barrels of oil in a 20year timeframe.

Just recently, one of its prime contractors, SBM Offshore, disclosed that it secured financing to the tune of US$1.75B from a consortium of 15 banks to build Guyana’s largest oil ship called One Guyana which will operate in the Yellowtail Project. But the most critical question that all citizens should ask is, “What say did we have in all of this since it is the country that will ultimately be handed this bill?” This very question is what former Finance Minister Winston Jordan says needs to be addressed with a sense of urgency. During an exclusive interview with Kaieteur News, Jordan said it is imperative that Guyana has a say to ensure it is not being cheated on these costs and that the most economical approach is being taken.

The former Finance Minister said, “These people, SBM went out and got a consortium of banks to put together a loan of US$1.7B for the One Guyana vessel that will service the US$10B Yellowtail Project. Now that bill is going to be put to us, that is a bill Guyana has to pay. Yet, Guyana has no one tracking the expenditure, no one that was involved at this preliminary stage in the putting together of the financing but that bill will come to the government as part of the expenditure to be recovered from Yellowtail.”

He added, “Nowhere along the chain do we have a Government of Guyana representative to intervene.

So we are just being presented with massive bills, just bills upon bills and we don’t know how Exxon is accounting for these expenses through these one million barrel takes (from the Liza Phase One and Liza Phase Two Projects). We don’t know what costs would end up being carried over to other projects. We are barely being told by Exxon certain things but otherwise we are in the dark.”

The economist is of the view that a continuation of such practice, especially since Exxon has indicated that 10 more oil ships are expected, only puts Guyana on dangerous footing.

It was only three days ago that SBM, the Dutch shipbuilder for Guyana’s floating, Production, storage and offloading vessels (FPSOs) said it expects to draw the US$1.75B loan in full, phased over the construction period of the One Guyana

FPSO. The Dutch firm said the financing will become nonrecourse once the FPSO is completed and the precompletion guarantee has been released. Non-recourse financing, for those who may not be aware, is a type of commercial loan requiring only repayment based upon proceeds generated from the project.

Kaieteur News understands that the FPSO will be designed to produce approximately 250,000 barrels of oil per day, will have associated gas treatment capacity of 450 million cubic feet per day and water injection capacity of 300,000 barrels per day.

Additionally, the FPSO will be spread moored in water depth of about 1,800 metres and will be able to store around two million barrels of crude oil. In the Stabroek Block, EEPGL is the operator and holds a 45 percent interest in the Stabroek Block.

Meanwhile, Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds a 30 percent interest and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited, holds a 25 percent interest.

To date, the partners have discovered 11 billion oilequivalent barrels. The company anticipates up to 10 projects on the Stabroek Block to develop this resource.

MONDAY PPP GOVT. PLAYING RUSSIAN ROULETTE WITH OUR COUNTRY BY NOT ENSURING FULL LIABILITY COVERAGE FOR OIL SPILLSPATTERSON Shadow Oil and Gas Minister, David Patterson believes the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) government is playing Russian roulette with Guyana, by not securing full liability coverage in the event of an oil spill.

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

Shadow Oil and Gas Minister, David Patterson argues for full liability coverage in the National Assembly submissions—was thrown out of the House by a majority vote.

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

To support this judgment, the MP listed five points to elaborate on the ill effects that can be caused by an oil spill. Oil spills he explained, would adversely affect deep ocean and coastal fishing and fisheries, while coastal areas that are known to promote recreational activities such as swimming, boating and other tourist activities could also be impacted. The Member of Parliament (MP) was keen to point out to the House as well that the ramping up of oil production could further exacerbate the situation, as the likelihood of such an event will also exponentially increase. To this end, he warned that the Indigenous communities and those closest to the coasts will be devastated and their livelihoods destroyed.

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

To this end, Patterson told the House, “Be it resolved that the Government of Guyana, conducts an independent Baseline Risk Assessment to allow for the objective determination of

environmental damages and liabilities, should they occur, especially in light of Exxon’s showing of bad intentions to raise questions as to what are legitimate and reasonable costs; and to be used by the Parliamentary Committee of Natural Resources as a reference for all other future oil development submissions.”

He said, “I am willing to wager, that every one of the members on the other side of this house has insurance protection of sorts for their homes, automobiles, health and so on; yet, it is mindboggling, even though not surprising, that our friends on that side of the House are not the wee bit interested in protecting not only the people we serve, but an entire nation and the region’s people and livelihoods.”

Meanwhile, in an Alliance For Change (AFC) press conference on Friday, Patterson pointed to the importance of the baseline study being conducted. He explained, “We thought it was important to lay a marker down, get it on record. We thought it was important that we requested they do a baseline study and a baseline study is simply a report of exactly what is existing in our communities today so in the event of a peril which is an oil spill, poor communities don’t have to go up against that vehement of Exxon and their lawyers and an uncaring government to prove to them what they had before the spill.”

EXXONMOBIL 35- WELL EXPLORATION CAMPAIGN… EPA DECISION ON ‘LOW IMPACTS TO FISHERIES SECTOR’TECHNICALLY UNSOUNDENVIRONMENTALIST Although May of this year commemorated seven years since United States oil major, ExxonMobil discovered significant hydrocarbons off the country’s coasts, Guyana is yet to conduct a comprehensive study of the critical (Continued on page 65)

Sunday July 31, 2022

From page 64 environmental receptors that could be impacted by the company’s operations. Yet, the regulatory body that approves Exxon oil development and exploration projects, has determined in its most recent Screening Decision, for a new 35-well exploration campaign in the rich Stabroek Block, that impacts from the project to the fisheries sector would be low, given the distance of the project site to the coastline and fishing grounds.

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

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

However, Mangal-Joly explained that in the absence of critical offshore data, the EPA’s decision is “technically unsound”.

According to her, “The question that we must ask here is whether Guyana has valuable offshore reefs, nurseries, and fish and mammal populations that may not be used by people but are valuable. These form part of an increasingly endangered marine biodiversity and food chain.”

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

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

Mangal-Joly argued that distance alone does not show the full picture of the likely dangers encompassed in a project. “What matters is the location of activities relative to sensitive receptors, nurseries, migratory routes for

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NATURAL RESOURCES MINISTER, VICKRAM BHARRAT fish and mammals, different seasons of year when mammals and fish might be more vulnerable mating, spawning, respectively etcetera, direction of currents and the ocean topography, the movement of the many vessels servicing offshore activities etcetera,” she argued.

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

She told this newspaper, “The truth is that all the conclusions made in the EIAs and by the EPA that impacts would be low have never been scientifically supported. Everything is just being assumed to have a low impact.”

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

To this end, Mangal-Joly said, “They are running a multi-billion-dollar profit outfit offshore Guyana and have millions to give to hospitals and things that gets their logos plastered everywhere and ingratiates themselves into our society, so why can’t they pay a relative pittance for appropriate studies to meet rock bottom standards when it comes to the EIAs that are getting them their permits?”

TUESDAY AFTER 2 ½ YRS OF PUMPING OIL… EXXON NOW REQUIRED TO IMPORT EQUIPMENT TO CAP BLOWN-OUT OIL WELL – MIN. BHARRAT In an effort to improve industry performance and the safety of operations in the oil sector, the Guyana Government has ordered ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) to keep a capping stack in the country. This critical piece of equipment is placed over a blown-out well to stop or redirect the flow of hydrocarbons and to buy time for engineers to permanently seal the well.

Highlighting this key development which is now included as a requirement in Exxon’s Yellowtail Environmental Permit was Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat.

He was at the time, making his contributions to the parliamentary debate held last Thursday on the opposition’s motion for full liability coverage for oil spills.

The official assured that while government is supportive of an accelerated rate of exploration and development, it is not oblivious to the risks involved.

It is with this understanding in mind that measures have been taken to ensure Guyana is equipped with the tools needed to respond to any disaster almost immediately, contended the minister.

With specific reference to Exxon’s US$10B Yellowtail Project, he said the government was able to arm the country with key safeguards.

Minister Bharrat said, “Guyana is one of the few oil producing countries that will have a capping stack in country and that is included in the Yellowtail Permit. Brazil and Trinidad don’t have one in-country. They pay subscription and it is in some other part of the world. We

are also paying the subscription too. Even though it will cost us a little more we believe we should go the extra mile and bring it in country.”

Minister Bharrat added that previously, the capping stack was held in Houston, however, “We are establishing Guyana as a hub.” On this note he said the capping stack would be made available for Suriname or Trinidad and Tobago to use if a major oil spill occurs as such a disaster could have far reaching implications for Guyana too.

“If we did not have that in country and it happens it would take over 10 to 15 days depending on the availability to get the capping stack here.

Having it here means we can deploy almost immediately,” the Minister stated. It should be noted that in 2019, former Head of the Energy Department, Dr. Mark Bynoe had announced that a capping stack was one of the requirements attached to the Liza Phase Two Environment Permit. It had said that there should be the establishment of a Regional Capping Stack or other solution to ensure that a Capping Stack can be deployed within five days of a well control event with loss of containment. This requirement has since been utilized and refined in the Yellowtail permits.

EPA JOINS EXXON CONTRACTOR IN DEFENDING HAZARDOUS FACILITYAT HOUSTON The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has joined Exxon Mobil contractor, Schlumberger in defending the placement of a hazardous radioactive waste facility at Houston East Bank Demerara.

Both the EPA and Schlumberger filed separate affidavits defending the decision to place the facility at Houston after residents moved to the court seeking an injunction against the operations.

The parties have held that the construction of the radioactive facility is in keeping with the legal and regulatory requirements of the EPA. The case is based on Fixed Date Application (FDA) by residents of Houston, Vanda Radzik, Danuta Radzik and Raphael Singh who are requesting a court order to quash the EPA’s decision to grant the US-owned onshore oil and gas company, permission to build the radioactive storage facility at Houston, East Bank Demerara (EBD).

Citing a host of grave health and environmental

dangers, the residents claimed the authorisation granted by the EPA was done in absence of evidence, on whimsical and capricious grounds which are against the agencies own policies and without any legal foundation or authority.

During a presentation of oral arguments into the matter before High Court Justice Nareshwar Harnanan on Monday, the specific issue related to the EPA’s policy was raised. The judge has set September 23 at 3:00pm to hand down his decision. It was pointed out by attorneys for the applicant, Siand Dhurjon, Ronald Burch-Smith and Marlene Alleyne that while EPA failed to publish its decision to waiver Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Houston Facility, the agency, in the case of another radioactive facility at Coverden, EBD made sure the waiver was made public.

Just last week, the Environmental Assessment Board (EAB) overruled the EPA decision to set aside the decision of the EPA that no EIA is required for the project.

Among other things, the attorneys held that decision of the EPA to grant the company permission to build facility in the absence of critical evidential information and by overlooking the need for such.

In a nutshell, the EPA said that it is within its right to grant Schlumberger permission to build the facility at Houston for the storage/calibration of radioactive materials.

The agency said the right to grant waivers falls within the ambit of Sec. 17 11 of the EPA Act, which essentially provides the agency leverage to waiver the EIA in cases “‘Where any activity by itself does not have a significant effect on the environment …”

In the meantime, Schlumberger which is represented by attorney Nigel Hughes noted that under section 11 (2) of the EPA Act: “Where it is not clear whether a project will significantly affect the environment, the developer, in this case Schlumberger, shall submit to the agency a summary of the project which shall contain the information as required and the Agency shall within a reasonable period publish in at least one daily newspaper a decision with reasons as to whether the project will not significantly affect the environment, and therefore exempt from the requirement for an environmental impact assessment; or may significantly affect the environment and will require an environmental impact assessment.

In the circumstances, the Exxon Mobil contractor through its lawyer contended that the obligation to publish a decision with respect to an EIA therefore only arises where it is not clear whether a project will significantly affect the environment.

“We respectfully contend that the grant of the construction permit and operational permit by the EPA to Schlumberger to operate its source calibration and storage facility is consistent with the Environmental Protection Act, and accordingly is not amenable to the orders being sought by the applicants in the Fixed Date Application,” oil contractor submitted in the document.

Vanda Radzik, Danuta Radzik and Raphael Singh who are said to be environmentalist have asked for an order of injunction to prevent Schlumberger from continuing any construction of the facility.

They are seeking a court order to forbid the EPA, its agents and servants from permitting or otherwise issuing an environmental authorization to operate a radioactive substance and material storage and calibration facility at Lot 1 area x Houston Georgetown.

WEDNESDAY CONTRARY TO VP JAGDEO’S CLAIMS… SMALLEST CONTRACTOR IN STABROEK BLOCK MADE $28B MORE THAN GUYANA LASTYEAR -TRIES TO MISLEAD SHAREHOLDERS ON $21B IN TAXES COUNTRY PAID ON ITS BEHALF – CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT, CHRISTOPHER RAM Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has said more than once, that Guyana actually gets a greater take from the Stabroek Block deal than the entire ExxonMobil-led consortium leading the offshore operations.

However, Chartered Accountant and Attorney-atLaw, Christopher Ram’s most recent examination and analysis of the financial records for Exxon and its partners have evinced an entirely different story.

In his column titled, “Every Man, Woman and Child in Guyana Must Become Oil-Minded,” which is published by the Stabroek News, Ram showed for example that CNOOC, the smallest of the three contractors in the Stabroek Block, got more money (Continued on page 66)

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From page 65 than Guyana did from its own resources.

Ram said CNOOC recorded a net profit in 2021, inclusive of the non-cash tax benefit of some $105.6B before writing off any prior year losses. By contrast, Ram showed that the revenue earned by the Guyana Government from its share of profit oil is $74.5B gross.

What also seemed disconcerting for the newspaper columnist and anti-corruption advocate is the fact that much could not be understood regarding the comprehensiveness of operating and exploration expenses for CNOOC. In providing readers with some of the figures available, Ram noted that CNOOC, which is incorporated outside of Guyana and traces its parent to the People’s Republic of China, reported a net income before income taxes of $84.5B. This, he said, is an increase of 808.5 percent over 2020 on Net Sales of $127,494 million, which grew by a more modest 207.8 percent.

Furthermore, Ram said the branch reports expenditure on exploration activities totalling $3.6 billion. He observed that operating costs of $18.6 billion were 14.5 percent of revenue down from 40.7 percent. He said this shows the impact of oil price on the performance of oil companies and more so the bonanza which oil companies are reaping.

The Chartered Accountant said the Financial Statement gets more interesting too. He observed, “From the net income, the Statement shows a deduction of $21.1B as deferred income tax which it does not and will never pay, despite the rather misleading statement in the notes that it is ‘subject to the Guyana income tax act.’ That nonsensical position is further maintained with the statement that at the end of 2021, the company had a deferred tax liability of $16.4B ‘as it is probable that future taxable amounts will be paid.”

“The giveaway however is in the Cash Flow Statement in which the identical amount deducted in the income statement – $21.1B – is added back as a non-cash tax benefit. In other words, instead of deducting the $21.1B, that amount, which represents the tax which the Government will have to pay to the GRA on behalf of CNOOC, that sum should be added to the amount reported by the company, giving a true net profit of $105.6B.”

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Kaieteur News

As it was in 2020, Ram said the financial statements reveal very little by way of disclosure. The Chartered Accountant concluded that readers are no better informed of what makes up exploration, operating costs, and the less significant general and administrative. He said, “Even the most ordinary company in Guyana produces financial statements that are more informative and readerfriendly than CNOOC’s.”

EXXON DODGES QUESTIONS ON TOTAL GAS FLARED AT LIZA DESTINY OVER 2-YEAR PERIOD - SAYS GAS COMPRESSOR WOES FINALLYFIXED Production Manager at ExxonMobil Guyana, Mike Ryan told members of the media fraternity on Tuesday that the company was finally able to bring an end to the gas compressor woes that plagued the Liza Destiny floating, production, storage and operating (FPSO) vessel.

The malfunctioning equipment had led to two years of flaring which released over 200 toxic chemicals into the atmosphere.

Ryan said the Exxon team was able to successfully install a new compressor from Germany and was even open to sharing that over US$10M in flaring fees had been paid over to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

But what the Production Manager carefully dodged was questions posed by Kaieteur News on the amount of gas flared to date via the Liza Destiny FPSO for the two-year period. Ryan would only repeat that the company maintained full compliance with the EPA’s permitted parameters for flaring which was between15-7 million cubic feet of gas per day.

The Production Manager said, “We have met our expectation of delivering it (the new compressor), installing it, and safely starting it up in July. We have achieved background flare of less than one million standard cubic feet of gas. It is a remarkable accomplishment by many people who have been relentlessly pursuing this. We have also gone 1000 days without any injury which is really world class performance...”

Ryan was keen to note that optimisation works were completed on the Liza Destiny FPSO taking production up from nameplate capacity of 120,000 barrels of oil per day to 140,000 barrels.

Meanwhile, on Liza Unity FPSO, he said it has achieved background flare within a record 60 days. “We have also hit our capacity range of about 220,000 barrels of oil per day,” expressed the official.

With respect to room for further optimisation works to increase production at the Liza Destiny, Ryan said, “We are always looking for ways to maximise the value of the investment for the benefit of the partners. At the moment, we are at 140,000 barrels per day and we are always looking for ways to test that and get more value.”

While he did not share the costs incurred for addressing the gas compressor issues, Ryan did note that the old equipment would be sent to Germany to be upgraded by MAN Energy and SBM offshore, after which it will be kept in country as a spare.

In the meantime, the newly installed one will go through an endurance test to ensure it is “performing better than what was planned.” It is expected that the new compressor will last for a period of 20 years.

THURSDAY GUYANA’S OIL LIFTS HESS SECOND QUARTER EARNINGS TO US$667M Hess 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.

Wi t h r e s p e c t t o n e t production guidance for Guyana for the full year 2022, Hess said this is expected to be approximately 75,000 bopd, which includes 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.

The fourth development, Yellowtail, will be the largest 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

Production Manager, Mike Ryan Ltd. holds 30 percent interest and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited holds 25 percent interest.

BANK OF GUYANA, INSURANCE ASSOCIATION MUST COME CLEAN ON OIL SPILL COVERAGE TALKS - FORMER EPA HEAD ACCUSES GOVT OF DELIBERATELYKEEPING DOCUMENTS FROM CITIZENS 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 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 of Energy located at 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 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 several months of negotiations between the EPA lawyers and the oil companies for full (Continued on page 67)

Sunday July 31, 2022

From page 66 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.

FRIDAY EXXON AWARDS CONTRACT TO LAY GASTO-SHORE PIPELINE WITHOUT EPAPERMIT The subsidiary of American oil giant, ExxonMobil, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) has moved ahead with awarding the contract to lay the pipeline for the USmultibillion Gas-to-Energy (GTE) project despite no environmental permit being granted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

This week, EEPGL awarded the contract to lay the US$1.3 billion pipeline component to Subsea 7 and Van Oord, two international companies.

The scope covers the project management, engineering, and installation of approximately 190 kilometres of pipeline, with an associated shallow water portion and onshore approach making landfall to the west of the Demerara River, along the coast of Guyana.

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

This therefore means that EEPGL is required to seek an environmental permit from the EPA before it rolls out any developmental project that can affect the environment.

EEPGL’s gas-to-power project seeks to link the Liza Phases 1 and 2 floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessels, the Liza Destiny and Unity, in the Stabroek block onshore Guyana, to supply gas to the country.

EEPGL has been reported to say a minimum of 50 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (mmscfd) will be transported through the pipeline by 2024 and that the

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pipeline would have a maximum capacity of 130 mmscfd. According to Offshore Energy, Craig Broussard, Vice President for Subsea 7 US, said, “We are honoured to have been selected for Guyana Gas to Energy. This is an important project to support the Guyanese people and we look forward to continuing our relationship with EEPGL in one of the most prolific and exciting development basins in the world.”

Hans van Gaalen, Commercial Director for Van Oord, adds, “Van Oord is honoured to have been selected for the Guyana Gas to Energy project in cooperation with Subsea 7.

Developing the coastal infrastructure for the project will allow our Subsea 7 and Van Oord consortium to positively contribute to the development of Guyana’s electricity supply which in turn will reduce Guyana’s dependence on imported fuels.”

This publication had reported that, already, an Environm e n t a l I m p a c t Assessment (EIA) has been submitted to the EPA

by ExxonMobil for the pipeline component of the US-billion dollar venture.

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

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

Moreover, the residents of Crane and the Canal Polders on the West Bank of Demerara opposed the EIA and called for the study to be redone as they were not consulted.

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

GUYANALEFT OPEN TO ABUSE BY NOT UTILISING US$20M WORLD BANK LOAN TO STRENGTHEN MANAGEMENT OF OIL SECTOR – FORMER FINANCE MINISTER Former Finance Minister, Winston Jordan believes Guyana is taking several steps backward by failing to make prompt use of a US$20M World Bank loan that was taken in 2019 to strengthen the country’s capacity to govern the oil sector.

In an interview with this newspaper recently, the economist expressed disappointment that the government appears to have two faces when it comes to the sector. He said the administration is very vocal about wanting the industry to be enveloped by transparency, however, its dealings with the loan, tell a different story. Jordan acknowledged that the coalition regime made several wrong turns during its time in managing the sector. Be that as it may, Jordan said it is now more critical than ever that the government demonstrate that it is learning from the mistakes of its predecessor.

Expounding further, Jordan said the country’s failure to utilize a loan that would equip it with the regulatory and institutional might to protect the sector from wanton abuse is a frightening prospective for any citizen to contemplate.

The former Finance Minister said, “I agree with sentiments that Guyana is taking several steps backward with its failure to utilize this loan which the APNU+AFC coalition signed onto. And clearly, there are two faces when it comes to the management of the sector; that is clear to all.

Guyana is being used and abused both by foreigners and by locals and in many ways, this government does not have the fortitude.”

He continued, “Yes we made our own mistakes when it comes to the sector and the learning curve has been very steep when you attempt things you have no prior experience with. But we came up against Exxon which has decades of years of experience versus Guyana which you can count in single digits. One of the things about governance is that when you fall down, you have to make sure that you don’t make the same mistakes again.

It does not appear that the government has learned from us.”

The former minister said it is imperative that the government demonstrates

Kaieteur News, presents the implementation status of GPRGMP as of March 2022.

SATURDAY AS AMERICANS, GUYANESE STRUGGLE WITH INFLATION… STABROEK BLOCK REMAINS KEY TO SUCCESS AS EXXONM BOASTS OF US$17.8B PROFITS IN SECOND QUARTERALONE Former Finance Minister and Economist, Winston Jordan that it is learning; that the country has a strong foothold while alluding that the failure to do so puts the country in an even more weakened state before the behemoth that is Exxon.

“When we were in office, we were fair game for others and so you heard a lot of statements about ‘We will renegotiate the 2016 Exxon contract when we get in there’ and ‘we will take a tougher line when we get in there’ and so you heard all of those things. But now that the tables of turn, we are left to worry even more…We appear to be worse off than we were before,” expressed the economist.

Jordan in closing recalled that the loan was intended to ensure Guyana is armed with the mechanisms necessary to claw back value that could be lost in the sector and to ensure she is endowed with the expertise necessary to protect herself from various forms of abuse. He is of the view that Guyana will continue to be in a most vulnerable position if this state of affairs is not addressed with some degree of alacrity.

Kaieteur News previously reported that since the PPP/C Government took office in 2020, it has not requested any disbursements from the World Bank for US$20M loan.

The latest implementation status and results (ISR) report recalls that the money was approved on March 29, 2019 for the Guyana Petroleum Resources Governance and Management Project (GPRGMP). The programme’s objective is to ensure the enhancement of legal and institutional frameworks and the strengthening of the capacity of key institutions to manage the oil and gas sector.

A Financing Agreement in the amount of US$20 million was signed and declared effective on April 11, 2019 under the David Granger administration. The ISR, which was reviewed by

Even as Americans and Guyanese continue to struggle with the effects of inflationary pressures on their pockets, giants like Exxon Mobil Corporation have emerge unscathed as the multinational announced on Friday that it was swimming in estimated second-quarter 2022 earnings totalling US$17.9 billion, or US$4.21 per share.

The company said second-quarter results included a favourable identified item of nearly US$300 million associated with the sale of its Barnett Shale Upstream assets. It noted that capital and exploration expenditures were US$4.6 billion in the second quarter and US$9.5 billion for the first half of 2022.

“Earnings and cash flow benefited from increased production, higher realizations, and tight cost control,” said Darren Woods, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

He added, “Strong second-quarter results reflect our focus on the fundamentals and the investments we put in motion several years ago and sustained through the depths of the pandemic.”

Woods further noted that key to its success is continued investment in its advantaged portfolio, including Guyana, the Permian, global Liquefied Natural Gas (NGL), and in its high-value performance products, along with efforts to reduce structural costs and improve efficiency.

The CEO said, “We’re also helping meet increased demand by expanding our refining capacity by about 250,000 barrels per day in the first quarter of 2023 representing the industry’s largest single capacity addition in the U.S. since 2012. At the same time, we’re supporting the transition to a lower-emission future, growing our portfolio of opportunities in carbon capture and storage, biofuels, and hydrogen.”

Turning to details of its financial performance, Exxon said its second-quarter earnings of US$17.9 billion is

significant when compared with US$5.5 billion that was made in the first quarter of 2022. Excluding identified items, it said earnings of US$17.6 billion increased US$8.7 billion from the prior quarter, driven by a tight supply/demand balance for oil, natural gas, and refined products, which have increased both natural gas realizations and refining margins well above the 10year range.

It was further noted that its cash increased by US$7.8 billion in the second quarter, as strong cash flow from operating activities more than covered capital investments and shareholder distributions. Also, free cash flow in the quarter totaled US$16.9 billion while shareholder distributions were US$7.6 billion for the quarter, including US$3.7 billion of dividends.

In Guyana where ExxonMobil’s subsidiary operates the Stabroek Block, there are four sanctioned projects. 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.

The fourth development, Yellowtail, will be the largest 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.

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Kaieteur M@ilbox Security and their guns DEAR EDITOR, It wasn’t surprising to look at the way the security guard’s gun was taken away during a robbery at Beterverwagting but I surely hoped that the perpetrators are quickly apprehended and the gun recovered before it gets used wrongfully.

Over the years, I did pen my concerns regarding the various security services appearing and just giving these young men highpowered guns. To obtain one as a security guard, you just have to apply to the security service and go to Eve Leary for two days of training to handle a firearm and you’re given a paper allowing you to hold a firearm. If you’re an expolice or military person, you’re automatically e l i gible. Many of these young men are not trained in self-defense or in any way to defend themselves in handto-hand combat or to protect the gun they’re carrying. The security services themselves are not encouraging or providing any training facilities for them. Added to that, especially at the Chinese Supermarket, security has to work from the time the store opens until it closes, which is between 12 to15 hours without relief or lunch hour and that could be mentally unstable.

It is time that security service provides a gym/train area and on one of their working days per week, they should be mandated to exercise and train.

Editor, a few months ago,

I communicate with a friend associated with the management of one security firm and expressed my concerns and observations.

Thursday night, hanging out with a close friend in front of a supermarket at Goed Fortuin, I again raised the issue and my friend thinks that thieves would be scared to attack any security company. The very next day, we saw the video.

Government and officials need to look into the affairs of security officers and what transpires throughout the day. Are they being paid enough? Are they being overworked? In most places you go, especially Chinese Supermarkets, security could be seen doing the work of labourers, fetching heavy objects/loads in/out of the supermarket, to and from vehicles, and during the process, the guns are slung on their backs or sides, which leaves them vulnerable.

Some could be seen measuring, weighing and so on for customers. I guess their scope of duties varies, depending on where they work.

Finally Editor, as I’ve told my friend, if you go and purchase a drink for a security guard (sometimes they ask), and form a conversation with them, there’s many things you could learn that could seriously be dangerous should the info fall into the wrong ears or could witness certain things that could be dangerous to the security firm and people.

Sahadeo Bates

Kaieteur M@ilbox

Guyana’s neutrality DEAR EDITOR, Our position in the Guiana Shield and the planetary services we currently provide free of charge to help maintain a healthy planet, makes it necessary for Guyana to maintain a neutral position in the geopolitics of our planet.

This becomes more important as we seek funding or payment to maintain this service for the benefit of all nations on our planet.

His Excellency was recently asked about our relationship with China and Venezuela during his visit to the USA. Those that provide funding do expect that as we take financial support from them that our position will become unquestionable when it comes to conflicts within our region. Our funding comes and will continue to come from all corners of the planet, especially when the maintaining of the lungs of the planet is involved. However, it is important to note that as a Nation that embraces the beauty of freedom for its people, we stand on the side of democracy and the principles upon which the free world is founded. We are also a country that works with others who may have different ways of developing their society. This is not only by choice but also by necessity, as we are a Nation made up of a very diverse population. As a previous colony of Spain, and as a country that has a significant Chinese population, one of whom was our first President, our ties run deep and are historical.

We have enjoyed a peaceful and friendly diplomatic

relationship for many years, during both times of peace and conflict. This has provided us with a unique opportunity to work between countries that have historical differed in their development approach to nation building.

The current geopolitical atmosphere is becoming more complex and the potential for conflict is increasing.

However, Guyana continues to and must maintain our neutral geopolitical position in order to help preserve peace in the region. As a country whose history is socialist and currently undergoing a transition, our relationships with Russia and Cuba are also healthy and mutually beneficial. One of our previous Presidents has trained in Russia and our health infrastructure was supported by our friends in Cuba when our country underwent economic embargoes similar to what Venezuela is currently undergoing. Our relationship with the USA is also very strong, and the USA took in a large percent of our intellectuals during the economic embargoes. This has led to a substantial population of Guyanese in the USA and as His Excellency mentioned during his visit, we now have a place in New York called Little Guyana. Some have argued that in return for our intellectuals, we have received criminal deportees.

The USA can continue to strengthen our countries alliance by helping us put in place a stronger system to manage the criminals that

The reported actions of...

From page 6 extremely hard work with no thanks for doing the job. The roles of editor or EIC or managing editor or editor in chief vary but it is usually multi-dimensional and multitasking including proofreading and oversight to guard against libel or soul language in addition to content and style and meaning. The issue of effectiveness of an editor or managing editor can’t only be determined by the quality (personality) of the person in the role. It’s also the structure and support given by the entire organisation around the person performing the role. The editor in turn must provide support and guidance to the reporters.

That type of management style provides good media reporting and work camaraderie in the news organisation.

The action of the petitioners is not good for outstanding journalism or managing a media house. The complainants could easily have gone to the EIC and or manager to discuss their grievances. If that move failed, then the next move would have been the line minister or government. Why go to the government if you have a grievance bypassing management or seeking intermediary intervention?

That is not how professionals behave and how an organisation works. The petitioners failed to take intermediary steps and as such undermined any grievance they may have had. It comes across more as sour grapes rather or personality conflict rather than a legitimate grievance.

And a forged signature as well as using the name of a government official without consulting him undermined their complaint. They undermine their own credibility. It was more an unsubstantiated gossip than a legitimate petition worthy of consideration. This says a lot

of the people behind it and the level of regard they have for the person they send it to. They should be held fully accountable for their action. In trying to undermine the editor-in-chief, they undermine the name of the place they work and sully the name of a senior most government official. One must not unjustifiably undermine a colleague.

I browsed through the state newspaper almost on a daily basis and read every line in some articles for decades.

The state newspaper has come a long way from two years ago when it was used primarily for propaganda purposes libeling people in the process to defend the then undemocratic government. It used to publish a lot of untruths and attacks against people and organisations. Such types of reporting, commentaries, and editing have been absent over the last two years since it got a new editor in chief in August 2020. I commend the management of the paper and its editing. The EIC and GM get the job done.

Many of the paper ’s editorials are outstanding.

The editor in chief is deserving of praise for the professionalism and balance on display in his role. He is a fine editor with many years of experience and comes across as a professional.

Management, the public, other media colleagues, and the government must support him and reprimand those who bring the organisation into disrepute. It is hard work to edit a state media house. I don’t envy him or any other EIC. I won’t like to be in his shoes having to work with others who seek to oust you rather than improve your ability.

I salute the hard work of management, editor in chief, reporters and those who seek to boost the standing of all newspapers.

Yours truly, Vishnu Bisram

Sunday July 31, 2022

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Kaieteur M@ilbox

Kaieteur M@ilbox

Wake up and beware Guyanese – great dangers lurk ahead DEAR EDITOR, We were calling for the opposition to challenge the oil contract and finally they did, motioning for full liability coverage for oil spills, the PPP shut it down, their reasons to do this sound so stupid I wonder if they think before speaking, however defending stupidity will sound stupid no matter how you say it. The

recent summoning of the President and VP to the US most likely is for the protection rather than the renegotiation of the oil contract, the VP will probably be reminded of sanctions against him, his close allies and their families can recommence as they did during his presidency, if he only opens his mouth about

Achieve personal expression...

From page 59 are why not have the ability to truly customise them to accurately portray us other than settling for generic stuff that could make us look like anyone else.”

Aiming for the unique, Williams decided to become the solution to his question and this is what really ignited the desire to set up the business.

“I later shared my vision with a team of young talented locals who specialise in different aspects and the business started from there,” Williams disclosed.

With Persaud being in charge of the customised phone cases aspect of the business and Dummett being in charge of the art work aspect, Williams said that they have been able to put in the work and meet customers’ needs as it comes.

According to the young man, having been in business for over two years now, the support they have been receiving is nothing less than great. He noted that their target market is usually young adults, event planners and businesses that are interested in displaying their identity with customised designs. He noted too that of recent, they have been noticing a number of requests from overseas based customers which is really a big step for them.

“Putting these things into consideration, I still think there is a great room for expansion,” he pointed out.

The young man went on to note that among the challenges he and his team have faced is the lack of reliable and affordable suppliers for the quality of materials needed for the business. To overcome this challenge, Williams said, they had to reassess the business approach which resulted in them moving from sourcing their materials internationally to sourcing them locally.

“Then I made the business online based for a larger market, then I decided to only create things by demand to lower upfront cost and to maximise profit,” he added.

Even as the business was becoming popular, last year they were forced to halt their

operation for a prolonged period because of the pandemic. But since reopening back in March this year, it has been smooth sailing ever since, Williams confided.

According to our featured entrepreneur, as the business continues to blossom, the long-term goal is to become a large-scale supplier of custom and regular apparel, phone cases and unique artwork products.

“I intend on expanding the business to utilise a lot of things and talents that we have locally that are undervalued,” he added.

Williams, who would like to see local products and talent be featured prominently in society, is of the view that young entrepreneurs today play a pivotal role in the development of society.

“We are the ones who have to face the consequences of the people before us, find solutions for present issues, while paving the future of the country which will affect generations to come in this technological era,” the young man said.

In assisting with the country’s development, he thinks more can be done locally to boost small businesses in order to contribute to advancing the nation.

He suggested, among other things, that more financial aid be given to assist small business owners, and that the authorities should make business seminars more accessible to persons of all ages so that they can understand how to contribute more meaningfully.

“The only way we can truly develop as a nation is if we learn to support our own,” he asserted.

If you are interested in having your products customised, don’t hesitate to reach out to God Drip on Facebook or on Instagram at officialgoddrip.

(If you are a young entrepreneur who has been making a noticeable impact in society and would like to be featured in our magazine, email me at allyiahallicock@gmail.com)

renegotiation of the oil contract.

The PPP gave away the oil blocks, the Coalition gave away the oil, both parties gave away in secret and sinful dealings, however credit must be given to Former Pres.

Granger who ordered the release of the oil contract against the wishes of the evildoers who wanted secrecy including the great son of the land Sir Sridath Ramphal. The PPP continues the oil business in secret plus refusing to provide to the public contracts for the mining and forestry sectors.

The PPP is representing the oil companies against Guyana in lawsuits, the PNC did not do such. The PNC had a strong man head of the EPA who was looking out for Guyana; the PPP removed him and placed a rubber stamp. The PNC called for insurance, the PPP shut it down.

Guyanese it is now crystal clear, the oil companies is running the oil sector, not Guyana’s Leadership, the foreign companies are running the mining and forestry sectors, not Guyana’s Leadership, there will be no money coming to you from your oil and other resources, only debt and destruction of the environment and no liability insurance for environmental disasters for none of these sectors.

The Government rather than taking care of the daily issues of citizens, want investments for deep water harbour, hydro falls electricity, roads, airports, gas to shore and other large projects, these are projects designed more for the exploiters to cart off Guyana’s resources faster, rather than benefitting Guyanese, leaving Guyana with the debts incurred for these projects.

In finance, there is a measurement called debts to assets ratio, if wealth is going away and a nation takes on debt, when this ratio hits critical level, a country’s economy and currency collapses. Those who claim Guyana’s economy is growing, let them explain why the Guyana dollar is not appreciating or strengthening relative to the US dollar, as a stronger currency is the key indicator in growing economies.

The Government is committing large areas of arable land to the oil sector and other developments, this creates a danger to Guyana’s future food security.

In many resource-rich third world countries, particularly in Africa and the Middle East that collapsed

through foreign exploitation, there were many citizens who saw through the illusion googly, spun by the exploiters of “development and great prosperity”. For the exploiters to keep the exploitation system going, they found a puppet government protected by an army, trained, and financed by foreign mercenaries, they ended up killing thousands of people, even millions across Africa and the Middle East, men, women, children, activists, opposition politicians, NGO’s, journalists, professionals and people of all walks of life.

Thankfully, it looks like this mass killing method will not be used in Guyana, it likely will be ethnic racial violence and divisiveness, every time the PPP base rebelled against them, during the Jagan, Jagdeo, Ramotar and now Ali’s administration, there was always a breakout of racial violence, whether accidental or intentional. I don’t know, the fact it

happened must be mentioned, now the farmers and fishermen are now rebelling against PPP, the President and VP ran around the sugar estates preaching their nonsense, the workers didn’t buy it, resulting in strikes at Uitvlugt and Albion Estates, the PPP is losing their base.

I URGE MEDIA AND OTHER PEOPLE OF INFLUENCE TO BE AWARE AND SPEAK OUT NOW ABOUT THE POTENTIAL FOR RACIALLY MOTIVATED VIOLENCE. So Guyanese, you face danger from having a secretive and corrupt government and an inept opposition working for the foreign companies and not for you. You face the danger of an economy and currency collapse, you face danger from an uninsured environmental disaster; you face danger from a future breakout of racial violence, food shortages plus government failures in all

other aspects of your daily living. The poor are already being affected by the dangers.

Guyanese who think they have it comfortable, should note that in collapsed countries, these dangers hit all at once or very close together with little or no warning, like a category five hurricane and people’s way of life change dramatically, suddenly, and abruptly for the worse, realising then when it’s too late, that they should have fought earlier to protect themselves, fellow citizens and their country from these dangers. SO YOU SHOULD JOIN THE FIGHT NOW! Guyanese are starting to wake up to reality, but too slow to affect the massive theft of our oil, minerals, and timber, maybe Glenn Lall should contact cricketers and entertainers to join the fight, as the great cricketers and entertainers are more popular and influential than other Guyanese citizens.

R. David

PAGE 70

Death toll from Kentucky flooding rises to 25

VEHICLE FOR SALE

WANTED

One Honda CRV,fully loaded immaculate condition, low mileage 3.3M negotiable & 1 new super custom Hiace Bus 2.5M .Contact:649-0956.

Tacoma 2014 7400 km Auto 4x4 FORD F150 2007 6" Lift auto 4x4 610-5370

Experienced taxi drivers (Hire car License) at Princess Hotel. Call: 616-5419/265-7075/ 265-7076.

Handyman for odd jobs and watchman. Housing provided for family in Ulverston Berbice. Contact 650-5626.

One Maid/Helper, Must be able to wash, cook & clean.

Ability to work flexible hours if required. 7 am to 4: 30 pm.

Call645-5008.

One male able bodied clerk.Tel:231-2029,616-5954.

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Specialized Repairs/Service Refrigerator, Washing Machine, Pressure Pump, Stove, Treadmill, Dryer, Filtration System, Deepfryer Ect.6949733.

Brian Moe- 642-3343 Computer Technician FacebookBrian.Moe.165 Home and office visits at your own comfort!!

1 domestic age 28-40 to work 2 times per week. Address: 192 Duncan St. Newtown, Kitty.

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General domestic covid vaccinated for Tuesday's & Saturday's between Cove & John & Machaica, E.C.D 2590953/623-3231.

Looking for a 3-bedroom house with yardspace between Herstelling - Grove Whatsapp653-7776 Looking for a 2/3-Bedroom house with yard space in Berbice (Skeldon)Whatsapp 653-7776 Experienced Receptionist bubbly & great personality, Computer literate and willing to work flexible hours Call:649-5005.

LAND FOR SALE Uitulugt $4.2 Mil, Enmore $6 Mil Call: 697-6311 / 673-7057

Land with building theron situated Now or Never Mahaicony, suitable for business or farming-608-8209/ 6117004

FOR SALE 1 Foreign used TM-500 Engine-Fuel Pump.Tel:663-0239.

Honda Accord in very good condition for sale. contact 650-5626 Acetylene bottles and Qxygen bottles. Call: 627-5043 TO LET / 228-5655 Commercial Spaces Enmore Used doors, grill works, Glass Mall, ECD.Top floor 275 x 25 doors mattress televisions. ft., Parking available for 25 ECT Call 675-7667 in Wismar cars Call Richard 609-7675/ Linden 674-1705.

Used Cars Good condition.

3 Bedroom House & Rooms Call: 225-3234 / 698-7807 in Albertown.Call: 225-3234 / 698-7807

CAR RENTAL Aidan's Car Rental. Call: 2253234 / 698-7807

Sunday July 31, 2022

Kaieteur News

FOR RENT One three-bedroom house in Ulverston Berbice. Contact 650-5626.

VACANCY Driver must be able to assist in workshop at Eccles, age 2350. Car & Van License.

Call:642-9823.

Experienced cashier, cleaner and counter person.Apply @ Shanta’s 225 Camp & New MarketSt. Vacancy- Lorry Drivers & Porters Contact: 650-0979.

"Sales Person. Commission Only. 4 CXC 1or 2 in Math and English Required. Contact 650-5626" Cook / Baker, Pitmen, Servicemen & Technical Assistant for interior location Applicants must be experienced. Call 231-2250.

Heavy Equipment Servicemen for interior location. Applicants must be experienced with proof of qualifications.

Beginners need no apply. 2312250.

Chrome Construction Hiring Grader, Excavator, roller Operators & Truck driver for interior / Urban Road works Call: 679-5617 Chrome Construction Hiring One experienced Office assistance (Preferably female) Call: 679-5617 Sales Clerk(Must have experience and work on Sunday only) Inventory Clerk Contact: 2258721 Accounts Clerks Must have QuickBooks knowledge & At least 3 years Accounting experience Tel: 609-2995 Email: survival.humanresources@gmail.com

“We continue to pray for the familie s t h a t h a v e suffered an unfathomable loss,” Governor Andy Beshear said. “Some having lost almost everyone in their household.”

Beshear said the number would likely rise significantly and it could take weeks to find all the victims of the record flash flooding.

Rescue crews continue the struggle to get into hard-hit areas, some of them among the poorest places in America.

“I’m worried that we’re going to be finding bodies for weeks to come,” Beshear said during a midday briefing.

H e s a i d i t ’s s t i l l a n active search and rescue operation with a goal of getting as many people to safety as possible. Crews have made more than 1,200 rescues from helicopters

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Mini Bus & Taxi Drivers, work and keep. Call: 225-3234 / 6987807 Manager to work at a Hotel & Bar in Charity. Accommodation & Attractive salary626-6909/632-2234 Part-time Domestic worker for residence in Georgetown.

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and boats, the governor said.

Beshear, who flew over parts of the flood-stricken region on Friday, described it as “just total devastation, the likes of which we have never seen.”

“We are committed to a full rebuilding effort to get these folks back on their feet,” Beshear said. “But for now, we’re just praying that we don’t lose anybody else.”

The rain let up early Friday after parts of eastern Kentucky received between 8 and 10 1/2 inches (20-27 centimeters) over 48 hours.

But some waterways were not expected to crest until Saturday.

As rainfall hammered Appalachia this week, water tumbled down hillsides and into valleys and hollows where it swelled creeks and streams coursing through small towns. The torrent engulfed homes and businesses and trashed vehicles.

Mudslides marooned some people on steep slopes.

President Joe Biden declared a federal disaster to

direct relief money to more than a dozen Kentucky counties.

The floodwaters raging through Appalachia were so swift that some people trapped in their homes couldn’t be immediately reached, said Floyd County Judge-Executive Robbie Williams.

Portions of some state roads in Kentucky were blocked due to flooding or mudslides. Rescue crews in Virginia and West Virginia worked to reach people where roads weren’t passable.

About 18,000 utility customers in Kentucky remained without power early Saturday, poweroutage.us reported.

Production of...

From page 19 totalled 10.9 million barrels at end-March 2022 compared to 11 million barrels for the corresponding period one year earlier.

In the manufacturing sector, there was a 75.1 percent increase in the production of tablets.

Similarly, detergent production grew by 65.8 percent; aerated drinks by 13.7 percent and rum by a marginal one percent.

In contrast, there were declines in production of oxygen by 32.3 percent, total liquids by 17.1 percent, putty by 13.0 percent, paint by 7.5 percent and alcoholic beverages by 1.3 percent.

Bank of Guyana also highlighted in its report that performance in the services sector improved in the areas of wholesale and retail trade and repairs; financial and insurance activities; accommodation and food services as well as entertainment and recreation.

Construction activities increased in both the public and private sectors with the building of infrastructure by Central Government as well as home building by citizens.

Sunday July 31, 2022

Kaieteur News

PAGE 71

PAGE 72

Sunday July 31, 2022

Kaieteur News

==GNBS IN FOCUS==

GNBS implores consumers to take up their roles during measurement purchases

A

s the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) continues to execute its mandate to ensure that all weighing and measuring instruments used in trade are verified (stamped), it is also crucial for consumers to do

their part in trade transactions involving measurements to guarantee their monies worth.

Daily, consumers visit th e co mmu n ity s h o p s , markets, supermarkets, and other retail outlets to purchase a variety of goods,

such as rice, flour, sugar, meats, ground provisions, preserved fruits, and cooking oil by weights and measures.

The prices of these goods are on the rise and for those buying them your vigilance, your diligence, and your understanding of the

measuring process will ensure that you get the quantities requested and value for money.

To ensure that you are getting the “bang for your buck”, the GNBS implores consumers to take up the following rules of thumb

when purchasing goods by weights and measures: 1. Buy goods from vendors who are using verified scales and other verified measuring instruments. If used properly, approved devices give correct weights or measures.

2. Look for GNBS verification seals on verified measuring instruments. The affixed GNBS seals are one way of determining whether measuring instruments (including scales) were verified for accuracy.

3. Make sure the instrument used to weigh or measure your goods is clean and tidy. Dirty scales often give inaccurate weights and measures and can cause contamination of goods.

4. Make sure that you can see the measuring indicator of scales. Ensure that the scale is positioned in a manner that will allow you to see the weighing process.

5. Do not buy from vendors or shopkeepers using the domestic (kitchen) scales. These scales are not approved for commercial trade because their internal mechanisms are quickly worn, hence they give inaccurate weights.

6. D o n o t a c c e p t purchase if you have doubts about your weight or

measure. You are free to make your purchases elsewhere if you are in doubt or not satisfied.

7. Buy in metric quantities. Devices used in the marketplace are in metric units and by requesting goods in metric quantities, you are assured of the amount of goods issued to you.

8. Buy all solids by weight instead of measure.

Rice, peas, and channa are solid goods and should be weighed, not measured.

Request these goods in grams and kilograms instead of pints and gallons.

9. Buy prepackaged goods that are labelled with the quantity (net contents).

For example, 450g, 1 kg, 3 litres, etc.

10. Call the GNBS hotline or visit the GNBS or Weights and Measures office in your Region if you want to learn more about the sale of goods by weights and measures. You can also make your complaint if the need arises, and it will be investigated.

For further information, please contact the GNBS on telephone numbers: 2190069, 219-0065, 2190062, or WhatsApp: (+592) 692-4627 or visit the GNBS website: www.gnbsgy.org

Sunday July 31, 2022

PAGE 73

Kaieteur News

Nunez scores as Liverpool... Leeward Islands, Windward...

From page 74 with the goal awarded after a lengthy VAR check.

Mohamed Salah edged Liverpool back in front by scoring from the penalty spot with eight minutes remaining after referee Craig Pawson adjudged - from looking at the pitchside monitor - that Ruben Dias had handled inside the area.

And Nunez had the final say, stooping to head in from close range before wheeling off to celebrate in front of his new supporters.

Women Table Tennis team...

From page 75 that with the lack of resources, the females are still delivering.

On the sidelines, following his defeat to Singapore, Lewis said if the team can be properly prepared, they will be able to give themselves a chance at major tournaments like the Commonwealth Games.

From page 77 Mohabir made 24 and Jadon Campbell 22. Nicah Mc Kenzie captured 3-11, Wilden Cornwall 3-15 and Nathan Edward 2-26.

At National Cricket Centre, Windward Islands defeated Trinidad and Tobago by 28 runs. Windward Island made 191-4from 20 overs.

Stephan Pascal scored 78 from 48 balls with six fours and four sixes while Tarrique Edward stroked 72 off 37 balls from two fours and seven sixes. Rikki Ragoonanan took 2-31.

Trinidad and Tobago re-

Guyana’s podium...

Sunday July 31, 2022 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) You're an individual, but sometimes it's hard for you to suppress your uniqueness in order to get the job done.

It may not be you. The problem may be your job.

TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) Your ego may be bruised by events from a few days back.

Has it occurred to you that it's within your power to right the wrong you feel was done to you?

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Today's planetary configurations are pushing you to get some perspective on your life and the lives of people closest to you, Gemini. You must admit that you've been rather selfish lately.

CANCER(June21–July22) This is a day to be up front with your partner, Cancer. It's possible that your relationship has reached some sort of stalemate. It's up to you to get that fire burning brightly once again.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) This is a day of untold opportunity, Leo. If you've been concerned that you haven't been using your full creative potential, you can put that concern to rest today. Your creativity is boundless and you'll finally realize it.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) There's tension in the air today. Even though it isn't your doing, you may want to keep a low profile, especially if you need to work. Try to avoid any discussions. Just because someone is confrontational doesn't mean you have to rise to the bait.

sponded with 163-8. Kyle Ramdoo made 56 from 45 balls including four fours and one six while Andrew Rambaran made 56 off 32 balls with six fours and three sixes. Pascal took 2-9 and Solomon Bascombe 2-33.

At Inshan Ali Park, Barbados overcame Jamaica by 13 runs. Barbados took first strike and managed 127-9 off 20 overs. Nathan Sealy made 45 from 29 balls with two fours and three sixes as Deshawn James picked up 2-19, Reon Edwards 2-21 and Nashanie Meade 2-29.

Jamaica were bowled out for 114 in 19.4 overs. Brian James scored 39 and Adrian Weir 35. Jatario Prescod snared 3-15, Jaden Lorde 224 and Rashad Worrell 2-27.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) You're a dreamer at heart, Libra. You prefer not to think about material things. That explains why you tend to forget groceries or dry cleaning. You're happiest if things get done for you.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) If you follow your instincts and dare to take some risks, you'll be handsomely rewarded. You have the capability to make a good project great. Do your best not to get distracted today.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Finally, Sagittarius, you'll be able to breathe a long overdue sigh of relief. It's likely that you've been worried about your finances for some time. Well, you need worry no longer.

CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) Separate the wheat from the chaff today. Look at your relationships and decide who your true friends are.

You're loyal, which is to your credit, but why be loyal to people who don't return it?

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Whether you acknowledge it or not, creation is the central theme of your life. If you aren't an artist or writer, you should be.

There are plenty of creative ideas in your head clamoring to be expressed.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) You seem to be filled with questions, Pisces. Some of them are big, some trivial. All you know is that they preoccupy you, and the answers aren't readily apparent. Don't fret. All that will change by day's end.

From page 78 is Chan-a-Sue’s second Coaching stint at the Commonwealth Games having Coached Guyana in the last Games in 2018 in Australia.

Chan-a-Sue has over 25 years of experience as a Coach and feels Guyana’s showing in the Doubles and Mixed Double should be better that it was in the Singles.

“I think we should give a good account of ourselves, as we did a lot of doubles prep in the US before coming here so we hope to be competitive,” informed Chan-a-Sue.

‘Impressive’ Allicock...

From page 78 “I’m trusting God all the time because he’s the one doing this for me. I can’t win these bouts for me. I can’t win these bouts on my own. So I’m just staying focused, executing all plans and we’ll take it from there.”

Meanwhile, Light welterweight, Colin Lewis, is down to compete today against Colin Louis Richamo from Mauritius.

Also stepping into the ring today, Desmond Amsterdam will be making his Commonwealth Games debut against New Zealand’s Richardson Emile.

Both Lewis and Amsterdam received a bye to the Round-of-16 of their respective categories.

Archway Snackette and Restaurant cycle road race on tomorrow in Berbice The Archway Snackette and Restaurant cycle road race will be held tomorrow in Berbice.

This event will commence at 08:00hrs in the vicinity of the Rose Hall Arch and proceeds to New Amsterdam. On entering New Amsterdam, the event will carry along Garrison road, right onto Strand Street, left over the Canje Bridge to Number 51 Police Station, then returns to Rose Hall Arch for the finish.

The event will be contested in the senior, veterans, junior and female categories.

The top three finishers in the senior category will take home $100,000, $30,000,

$25,000, in that order, and a trophy while the fourth, fifth and sixth place will receive $18,000, $15,000 and $12,000, respectively.

The winner in the open veteran, over 50, juniors and female will pocket a trophy and $20,000, runner up $15,000 and third place $10,000. There will also be 10 primes. This race is expected to feature some of the country’s top cyclists including Briton John, Romello Crawford and Andre Green.

Meanwhile, the second annual Endurance race is set for August 28 in Georgetown. It will be held on the outer circuits of the National Park.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 74

Hungarian Grand Prix:

Sunday July 31, 2022

George Russell takes shock first career pole

(BBC Sport) - Mercedes driver George Russell stunned himself and Formula 1 with a sensational maiden pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The Briton pipped the Ferrari drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, while championship leader Max Verstappen was 10th with engine problems.

McLaren’s Lando Norris was fourth, ahead of the Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso Russell’s team-mate Lewis Hamilton was seventh, 0.765 seconds slower.

H a m i l t o n ’s D R S overtaking aid failed on his final run. Before that, he had been less than 0.2secs off Russell on their first runs in the final session.

How did Russell do that?

Russell’s first career pole came in the most spectacular style, as the 24-year-old beat Sainz by 0.044secs. Leclerc was 0.146secs slower than his team-mate in third.

And it was all the more impressive for coming out of

The Hungarian Grand Prix is live on 5 Live and BBC Sport website.

(Getty Images) the blue.

Mercedes had been way off the pace on Friday, and were also struggling in Saturday’s wet final practice session.

But Russell gave a glimpse of what might be possible with second fastest time in the first qualifying session, and he was also second fastest after the first runs in the final session, albeit 0.463secs down on

Sainz.

His final lap, though, was another dimension, improving his own time by 0.463secs.

Russell said: “Over the moon. Absolutely buzzing.

Yesterday was probably our worst Friday of the entire season. We didn’t really know what direction to go in and then that last lap, I went round Turn One, mega; Turn Two, mega and the lap time

Nunez scores as Liverpool win Community Shield

just kept on coming.

“We need to look into it and understand where that came from.

“No points today but we are going to be absolutely going for it.”

An outstanding personal achievement, it was also a

landmark for a team that has struggled with an uncompetitive car this season.

Mercedes have made strides in taming it as the season has progressed, but they came to Hungary with no concept that they might be in a battle for pole.

Sainz said he felt some small errors on his final lap had cost him pole position.

He congratulated Russell but admitted he was a bit disappointed.

Leclerc said: “Today has not been a great day, I have been struggling massively with the tyres, just struggling to get the tyres in the right window. The pace is there, we just have to understand what went on with the tyres and we can come back tomorrow.”But whatever disappointment Ferrari may feel at not being on the front row, may be tempered by the knowledge that Verstappen

has a battle on his hands to make up ground on a track where overtaking is notoriously difficult.

Leclerc is 63 points behind Verstappen in the championship after crashing out of the lead at the French Grand Prix last weekend, and the Italian team now have a golden opportunity to eat into the Dutchman’s advantage. Verstappen said: “We made some changes that were very positive and the car was a lot nicer today but we couldn’t show it today because of the power issue. I still don’t really know what it is but I hope everything is fixable.”

Hamilton said: “Its the first time we’ve had a shot at the front row. I am happy for George, it’s his first pole and he truly deserves it. He did an amazing job. It’s a shame we couldn’t lock out the front row, that would have been amazing.’

Tour de France Femmes: van Vleuten wins stage seven to take lead on penultimate day

Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson lifts the trophy as he celebrates with teammates after winning the Community Shield (Reuters)

Annemiek van Vleuten started the day in eighth (Getty Images)

(BBC Sport) - Summer signing Darwin Nunez sealed victory as Liverpool landed the first blow of the season on champions Manchester City by winning a thrilling Community Shield encounter.

The FA Cup winners were pipped to the Premier League title by a single point last term after a season-long fight with City, but came out on top in a tremendous game in Leicester.

Playing at the King Power Stadium rather than

Wembley - which will host Sunday’s Women’s Euros final - the two sides did not hold back in a match that tends to be badged as a ‘glorified friendly’.

Reds full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold scored the opening goal with a curling effort from the edge of the box which took a slight deflection off Nathan Ake and nestled in the far corner.

He celebrated by raising his finger to his lips in front of the City supporters, who had helped generate a

thunderous atmosphere by trading jibes with their Liverpool counterparts.

City’s star summer signing Erling Haaland showed glimpses of what he will bring by drawing a good save from Adrian, while Nunez had a one-onone effort kept out by Ederson.

But it was another newcomer - Julian Alvarez who scored next, staying alert after Phil Foden’s shot was saved to poke home the equaliser from close range, (Continued on page 73)

(BBC Sport) - Annemiek van Vleuten took the lead in the inaugural Tour de France Femmes with a dominant ride on stage seven.

Movistar rider Van Vleuten, who was eighth heading into the penultimate stage, went clear to beat Demi Vollering by three minutes 26 seconds, with Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig third.

That means the Dutch rider will take a lead of three minutes 14 seconds over Vollering into Sunday’s final stage.

Previous leader Marianne Vos finished more than 24 minutes after Van Vleuten.

Lorena Wiebes, who won stages one and five, abandoned early on.

The Dutch rider had been cleared to start the stage despite injuries sustained in a crash during stage six but left the race along with Italian Letizia Borghesi.

Van Vleuten and Vollering made a break with about 85km to go in the mountainous stage to Le Markstein Fellering, and the former made her decisive move with 62km left.

Van Vleuten had been unable to eat for two days earlier this week because of illness and said that had made the victory even sweeter.

“It has been such a rollercoaster after being sick,” the 39-year-old told Eurosport.

“So to win like this is unbelievable.

“I had to try because I had lost some time.

My style is always attacking, not to wait. I wanted to make the big time gaps which meant going on the first climb.”

The race concludes with Sunday’s 123.5km route from Lure to La Super Planche des Belles Filles.

Kaieteur News

Sunday July 31, 2022

PAGE 75

Chairman of the GFF CRC puts the Constitutional Reform process into context C

hairman of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Constitutional Review Committee, who is also the President of the Guyana National Women’s Football Association (GNWFA), Mrs. Andrea Johnson, seeks to clarify misconceptions that the constitutional reform process that is currently underway has been initiated by the GFF among other related issues.

Question: Can you provide a background to the Statutes Alignment process being undertaken by the GFFat the direction of FIFA? AJ: On May 3rd, 2022, F I FA’s C h i e f M e m b e r Association Officer, Kenny Jean-Mariewrote the GFF directing that GFF as a member of FIFA must ensure that its statutes fully comply with the mandatory requirements contained in the Statutes and Regulations of FIFA and Concacaf.

Furthermore, FIFA and Concacaf encouraged the GFF to adopt additional principles of good governance and best practices in their statutes and

regulations. In addition, FIFA expects that GFF adopts new statutes and electoral codes which are in line with the requirements of FIFA and Concacaf within the third quarter of 2022.

The GFF subsequently wrote the members of the Federation informing them of FIFA’s directive, in addition to sending out a press release.

In that notice to the members, the GFF informed us that they will be appointing an Ad-Hoc Committee to work along with FIFA, Concacaf and the GFF Administration. I was appointed Chairperson of that Committee which comprises representatives of every category of the GFF membership body.

FIFA and Concacaf visited Guyana in mid-June and conducted working meetings with my Committee during which they outlined the Statutes Revision process, the timelines, and an early draft/template of the changes FIFA was proposing.

Question: What is the role of the Committee?

AJ: The Committee is

Andrea Johnson Chairman of the GFF Constitutional Review Committee

tasked with examining the draft Statutes submitted by FIFA, consulting with the GFF Legal representative, working along with the FIFA Legal team, organising working meetings with the members of the GFF, and reviewing any proposal submitted by the members.

The Committee shares all proposals submitted by the members of the GFF with FIFA and Concacaf for their

Women Table Tennis team exits at quarter-finals - Coach Lewis praises team’s effort

By Rawle Toney in Birmingham (Team Guyana Press Attache‘) Just like 2018, Guyana’s female team’s run at the Commonwealth Games came to an end in the Quarter-finals.

The team of Chelsea Edghill, Natalie Cummings and Priscila Greaves went down 0-3 to Singapore yesterday at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, England.

Thuraia Thomas did not feature against Singapore.

Guyana had finished second in their Group behind India, following victories over commanding victories over Fiji and South Africa.

Against Singapore, the pair of Chelsea Edghill and Natalie Cummings faced

Zhou JingYi and Zeng Jian, where they were defeated 11-5, 11-8, 11-6.

Olympic Bronze Medallist Feng Tianwei then brushed aside Prescilla Greaves 11-3, 11-1, 11-4.

Already up 2-0, Singapore’s Zeng Jian battled Edghill. The World #60-ranked player easily defeated the Guyanese 11-5, 11-4, 11-2.

Since Table Tennis was introduced at the Commonwealth Games in 2002, Singapore’s only defeat in the Teams event was in 2018 when they lost to India in the finals.

Coach Idi Lewis lauded the Guyanese women’s performance, but added that with more support in Guyana, the results could be better.

“I thought the girls played amazing. There was nobody looking like us in the quarter-finals. We were seeded fourth in the group; we were supposed to finish last in the group. So to come with such a low seeding and to finish second in the group,” Lewis said.

He further noted, “coming from under the current financial structure that we’re under, the financial constraints as far as budget goes, preparation for these games, I think these girls have delivered way beyond what we’re experiencing and going through in Guyana.”

The focus now shifts to the singles competition, as coach Lewis once again doubles-down on the fact (Continued on page 73)

review.

Every member of the GFF General Council was invited to participate in the consultation process and provide proposals for amendments. I would like to point out that the Committee has also proposed a series of amendments to the early

draft submitted by FIFA.In particular, the Committee has rejected FIFA’s proposal to penalize members that are late for Congress, this is not suitable for the Guyanese time management culture, unfortunately.

Question: How will the revised GFF Statutes benefit Guyana’s Football?

AJ: The changes p r o p o s e d b y F I FA , Concacaf, the GFF Legal team, and the Statutes Review Committee, placea greater emphasis on Governance, compliance, and female participation and representation in Football leadership among others.

The GFF Statutes were adopted in 2015 and remained practically unchanged, while both FIFA and Concacaf have made significant changes to their statutes over the years. In the letter from FIFA Chief Member Officer, it was made clear that the GFF must harmonise the statutes of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) with the requirements

and standards of FIFA and Concacaf.

I believe that FIFA and Concacaf want to ensure that their members benefit from the difficult experiences that would have influenced the overhauling of their statutes.

The visiting FIFA and Concacaf team did inform my Committee that this is a global exercise, with many Caribbean Countries already completing the revision of their Statutes.

Question: It is being claimed that the proposed amendments to the constitution would not benefit the game on and off the field, what’s your reaction to this?

AJ: It is sad to see a member of the GFF politicising this process and attacking the work of my Committee and the process so prematurely. We are committed to doing a professional job that will help to develop Guyana’s football further and will not be distracted by any political agenda.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 76

Sunday July 31, 2022

JADCO issues verdict on Barbados defeat Pakistan as personnel involved in CARIFTA cricket makes return to Games U-20 4x100 testing debacle 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games...

L

ed by fifties from We s t I n d i e s Captain Hayley Matthews and fellow West Indian player Kycia Knight, Barbados beat Pakistan by 15 runs in their opening Group A match of the Commonwealth Games on Friday night at Edgbaston.

Playing their first Women’s T20I, Barbados reached 144-4 off their 20 overs with Knight scoring an unbeaten 62 off 56 balls while the elegant Matthews supported with 51 off 50 balls.

In reply, despite an

unbeaten 50 off 31 balls from Nida Dar, Pakistan were restricted to 129-6.

Barbados, with seven West Indies players in their side, lost Deandra Dottin for eight in the first over but Knight and Matthews steadied the ship with a magnificent 107-run second wicket stand.

Knight, with 64 T20 Internationals behind her name, hit nine fours while Matthews counted four fours and a six.

Barbados Women, who are representing the West Indies in this tournament,

will play their next match against Australia on Wednesday (6am Guyana time).

This is only the second time since the Games was first staged in Canada in 1930, that cricket has been included.

Back in 1998, the inaugural Cricket To u r n a m e n t f e a t u r e d Barbados Men representing the West Indies. This is second Commonwealth Games for Barbados Assistant Coach Ryan Hinds who was a player in the 1998 edition. (Sean Devers)

Mr. Chin Construction Softball competition set for Woodley Park Sports Ground Organisers display the hardware to be won

Jamaica’s team of Briana Lyston, Tina Clayton, Tia Clayton and Serena Cole broke the Women’s under-20 4x100m world record at the CARIFTA Games in April, 2022.

(SportsMax) - The Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) Board of Directors has accepted the recommendations of their disciplinary committee to issue sanctions to the persons involved in the matter of failing to test all four members of Jamaica’s Women’s U-20 4x100 World Record team at the CARIFTA Games in Kingston in April.

Jamaica’s team of Briana Lyston, Tina Clayton, Tia Clayton and Serena Cole sped to a time of 42.58 to break the under-20 world record, however, the time wasn’t ratified due to JADCO personnel failing to test all four members of the team.

In a press release on Friday, the commission announced the sanctions facing the personnel involved.

“All JADCO personnel who had responsibility and oversight for the testing

and acted in accordance with internal practice rather than explicit instructions are to participate in a continuous education programme on in-competition testing through a WADA-approved facility as recommended by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sports,” JADCO said in the statement. The statement continued: “Failure to comply with this directive will result in further disciplinary action in accord with the Labour Relations Code. The current discontinuance of the internal practice which barred repeat testing of an athlete within 24 hours during competition, be made permanent. Each JADCO personnel is to be issued a written warning.”

The Board also explained that they took into account the fact that this was a first infraction for the persons involved.

Leicester reject Newcastle’s £40m bid for playmaker

The Woodley Park Sports Club Ground will come alive this Sunday when several softball teams across West Berbice take to the field and battle for the inaugural Mr. Chin Construction Softball title.

According to the organizers, teams will be vying for cash incentives and trophies.

Trophies will be awarded to the winner, runner-up, best bowler, best batsman and man of the final.

The competition is being organized by the Woodley Park Softball team and with the aim of bringing back sports into the village after a hiatus for a few years.

Mr. Eton Ross (Mr. Chin), an overseas based Guyanese businessman, said he is very pleased to sponsor the event and stated that it

is his responsibility as the CEO of the company to ensure that the construction company plays its role in its social responsibility by giving back to the community of West Berbice.

Mr. Ross further went on to say that sports is the hallmark in getting young people positively involved in having a healthy lifestyle and also it helps to create a disciplined society.

The organizers thank Mr. Ross for his input in ensuring that sports, especially, cricket is being revived in the community.

The one day knock out competition will start at 09:00hrs and interested teams can contact 617-8383 for registration and further information.

(BBC Sport) - Leicester City have rejected a £40m bid from Newcastle for playmaker James Maddison.

Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers is yet to make a significant signing during the current transfer window and needs to raise funds to allow Leicester to comply with Financial Fair Play.

Maddison has two years remaining on his Leicester contract, having signed an extension in 2020.

The midfielder scored 12 goals in 35 Premier League appearances last season.

It is unknown whether the former Coventry midfielder, who joined Leicester from Norwich City for £20m in 2018, would be in favour of a move to St James’ Park.

The Magpies have made three signings defenders Sven Botman and Matt Targett and goalkeeper Nick Pope - in the club’s first summer window since last October’s Saudi Arabian-backed takeover.

Regal Masters to face Rafman Ally XI for Emancipation T20 Cup

R

egal Masters will face Rafman Ally XI in a T20 softball fixture on Monday for the Emancipation

Cup. The matchup is billed for LBI ground and is set to bowl of at 10:00hrs.

Regal Masters will be led by Eric

Thomas and include Mahendra Hardyal, Unnis Yusuf, Mohendra Arjune, Eion Abel, David Harper, Rudolph Baker and Fazleem Mohamed.

Ally XI consist of Randy Katwaroo, Mustapha Azeemullah, Vijay Baljit, Reyaz Khan and Seekumar Budhram.

Kaieteur News

Sunday July 31, 2022

PAGE 77

Prince aims for regal showing in CWI under-15 Tournament D

By Sean Devers

C C , Georgetown and Demerara U-15 fast bowler, Shane Prince, was recently selected for the Guyana Team which will participate in the Regional U-15 cricket tournament in Grenada from August 18-28.

Shane is one five players selected from Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) team, which won the Demerara Cricket Board’s U-15 Inter-Association, while six players are from Berbice as the two most progressive areas have dominated selection on the National team with two coming from Essequibo and one from East Coast.

Born on July 20, 2008 in Guyana’s Capital City to Maxine Edwards and Terrence Prince, Shane Price a t t e n d e d t h e Wi n f r e d Gardens Primary and is now going to the St. John’s College.

“Since Shane was about 3-4 years he always with a wood batting anything he puts his hands on. As he got older he said he wanted to be a cricketer, sometimes I would be taking him home from school and if there is

National U-15 pacer Shane Prince and his mom Maxine Edwards. cricket going on like CPL I have to stop where there is a television, sometimes at a shop for him to watch, so his father decided to join him in a club and that was his big dream,” explained his mother Maxine.

Shane plays for DCC and might not know that the Queenstown Club produced Te s t p l a y e r s M a u r i c e

Fernandes, Lance Gibbs, Clive Lloyd, Roger Harper and most recently, Travis Dowlin while Roy Fredericks also played for DCC. “Yes. We encourage him but his Dad is on top with h i m v e r y s e r i o u s l y.

Sometimes they would stay away from school unknown to me just to play cricket. I

would usually get upset because I told him you got to have education too, so the board wrote a letter to the headmistress when there is cricket there wouldn’t be any issues,” disclosed Maxine who lives at Parafaite H a r m o n y We s t B a n k Demerara.

Maxine explained that she and Shane’s father are not together and informed he lives with Shane at Durban Backlands.

“That’s because of the traffic flow with crossing the bridge, we decided for him to be in Georgetown in order to get to school early.”

The main persons that mainly helped are his elder brother, Devon, who resides in Maryland and his father who takes all his time and effort with him.

“Shane went to Essequibo and Berbice to play and his father went that far with him. But due to my work most time I can’t be with them but my prayers are always there. I always tell him to acknowledge God in everything you do,” stated Shane’s mother.

“Although we’re not together we try to play a vital role as parents because of Shane. He has his elder

Shane Prince was the quickest bowler on show for GT (Sean Devers-photo) brother in Maryland and his second brother Shawn Mars.

Shane has no sisters,” his Mom said.

Shane took 2-8 on his U15 Inter-County debut against Essequibo at Imam Bacchus on the Essequibo Coast after being the leading pacer for Georgetown in DCB Inter-Association tournament.

He will be keen to continue his good work with the ball next month in the Spice-Isle.

Guyana Team: Dave

Mohabir (Capt), Romario Ramdeholl, Shane Prince, Zandon Rose, Durwin La Rose, Dhanesh Persaud, Arun Gainda, Adrian Hetmyer, Navin Boodwah, Arif Khan, Razam Koobir, Nicholas Lovell, Sohail Mohamed and Jonathan Mentore.

The standbys are Omrion Smith, Mikle Sharma, Nicholas Hall, Thierry Henry, Elis Ramdat, Enrique Mickle. The manager is Elroy Stephany and Coach Latchman Yadram.

Leeward Islands, Windward Islands and Barbados triumph

The champions, Windward Islands

Windward Islands won the Cricket West Indies (CWI) Under-17 tournament after finishing the tournament on 17.8 points followed by Barbados on 14.8, Jamaica 14.2, Trinidad and Tobago 12, Guyana 11.6 and Leeward Islands on 8.8.

Leeward Islands, Windward Islands and Barbados recorded victories when the latest round of matches in the CWI Regional U17 tournament concluded recently in Trinidad and Tobago.

At Gilbert Park, Leeward Islands beat Guyana by 69 runs. Batting first, Leeward Islands made 158-9 from their allotted 20 overs.

Maichael Palmer struck 88 from 66 balls with three fours and eight sixes and Brent Joseph 16. Bruce Vincent claimed 3-41 and Mavendra Dindyal 2-28.

Guyana replied with 89-9. Alvin (Continued on page 73)

Kaieteur News

PAGE 78

Sunday July 31, 2022

Guyanese-born Mohamed Adrian Hetmyer wants hits 105 in Canada for to play Test cricket Leguan Warriors

By Sean Devers

G

uyanese-born I m t i a z Mohamed hit a splendid 105 to inspire Leguan Warriors to a resounding eight-wicket win over Pegasus Storm last Sunday at Ashtonbee Park, Scarborough, Toronto.

It was another preliminary-round match in the 2022 Ontario Masters Softball Cricket Clubs over40, 20-overs competition.

The right-handed Mohamed pummeled 13 sixes and four fours during his 50-ball exhibition.

Leguan Warriors reached 162-2 in the 14th over replying to Pegasus’ challenging 158-6 from the

allotment of 20-overs.

Mohamed and the consistent Vishal Balram also posted up a rapid 132run first-wicket stand. The right-handed Balram scored 33 as khem Singh snatched 2-13 from two overs.

When Pegasus batted, veteran batsman Jai Singh hit a top-score of 35 while Khem Singh (unrelated) also batted well to make 29.

Abdool Azeez was the champion bowler for Leguan Warriors by claiming four wickets for 14 runs in his two-over stint. Faoud Mohamed assisted with 2-21 off three overs.

Leguan Warriors are now second on the points chart

Imtiaz Mohamed with 30 points from eight games. They chalked up five wins while Pegasus Storm is languing at number 5 with 24 points. Carr Tech Masters are sitting at the top on 36 points having picked up six victories, with one defeat and a no-result fixture.

44 FIDE Chess Olympiad… th

Drayton secures Guyana’s first win FIDE master Anthony Drayton created one of the biggest upsets of the first round open division in the 44 FIDE Chess Olympiad in Chennai, India.

He recorded his win against Andorra’s Jordi Fluvia. Drayton, rated at 1928, was elated over the victory noting that it was the highest rated opponent he ever won against.

Fluvia, with a rating of 2451, is an International Master which is just below the title of grandmaster. Guyana ranked 152 out of 188 teams while Andorra is ranked 58th in the Open tournament.

This victory for Drayton will improve his ELO ratings. The win for Drayton resulted in Guyana moving to 98th in the standings after the first round. The Guyana Open team was unsuccessful during their face off with their highly rated Andorra counterparts losing the match (1-3). th

The Guyana Women’s team also lost against Mexico (0 - 4) who is ranked 54th in the world out of 150 participating countries.

Guyana’s players had more chances to rack up points on Saturday when Round 2 commenced. The Open team players consisting of Taffin Khan, Anthony Drayton, Roberto Neto and Ethan Lee will face off Nicaragua and the Women’s team players: Pooja Lam, Sasha Shariff, Nellisha Johnson and Jessica Callender will face off Hong Kong.

The time control is 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move 1. The games are played using the Swiss system and consist of 11 rounds. The games are played using the electronic clocks and boards approved by FIDE.

2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games...

Guyana’s podium hopes in Squash singles end

By Sean Devers After Shomari Wiltshire and Ashley Khalil were beaten by their Sri Lankan opponents on the opening day of 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, on Friday Guyana’s changes of getting a medal in Singles Squash rested on Jason-Roy Khalil and Mary Fung-a- Fat. However, in yesterday’s Squash action, the 27-yearold, Jason-Roy Khalil, who made his Commonwealth Games debut with 3-2 win

against Paul Kadoma of Uganda on Friday, lost to Eain Yow of Malaysia 11-4, 11-2, 11-4 after Fung-a-Fat was beaten 3-0 in her first game in the Women’s Singles.

According to Coach Ramon Chan-a-Sue, Mary played well in spurts before losing her match to Kaitlyn Watts of New Zealand 11-2, 11-6, 11-4.

Three of the players should be playing in the plate draw today.

“We just don’t have this

level of play in the Caribbean, our athletes need to play more on the world stage more than once every four years,” said Chan-aSue, who played for Guyana from 1990 to 2015.

“I think we should see all their games jump a notch because of the quality of play they are seeing here. But their biggest challenge is mostly technique and court craft which comes with playing quality players,” continued Chan-a-Sue. This (Continued on page 73)

The immensely talented National U-15 Selectee, Adrian Hetmyer, was born on March 10, 2009 in the Village of Canefield, Canje, East Berbice and says his ultimate goal is play Test cricket.

Hetmyer is one of six Berbicians in this year’s Guyana squad for the Regional U-15 cricket tournament which is scheduled for Grenada from August 18, 2022 to August 28, 2022.

The Guyana team is captained by Dave Mohabir from City side, Transport Sports Club (TSC) while his brother, Alvin is the Captain of the National U-17 & U-19 teams.

This is the first time in the history of Regional Youth cricket that siblings have captained their Country in all three tournaments in the same year.

The inaugural tournament was held in 1996 in Jamaica when Trinidad & Tobago won the first Title.

H e t m y e r ’s p a r e n t s , former National youth batter Seon Hetmyer and Lisa Allen, sent their son to the Berbice Education Institute (BEI) but he did not play cricket at school.

Life was good growing up for the 13-year-old who

spent a lot of time w i t h h i s grandparents.

Hetymer, who now has two sisters and a brother since his mom give birth to girl recently, also enjoys playing Football.

His father who played five years at the Regional youth (1 U-15, 1 U-17 & 3 U- Adrian Hetymer 19) said cricket runs in the family. “ We w o u l d Berbice and Guyana at the normally play in our yard or Regional U-15 level. he would hit ‘ball in socks’ “Coach Ameer, myself, when there was nobody there his Grandparents and his to bowl to him,” explained club members have been the Seon, who scored one of the people to have helped in most elegant U-19 centuries A d r i a n ’ s c r i c k e t against Trinidad & Tobago development,” disclosed the in the 2008 tournament in 31-year-old Seon, who is a Barbados. bit unfortunate not have Young Hetymer, the played First-class cricket n e p h e w o f S h i m r o n despite scoring heavily in the H e t y m e r , c a m e t o GCB/Jaguars 3-Day League. prominence on January 9 of Seon scored a century this year when he scored his against Georgetown and 215 first century as a 12 year-old; against West Berbice and 121 off 138 balls with three many felt he was a better and fours and two sixes for Rose more elegant batter than his H a l l C a n j e a g a i n s t more illustrious younger Edinburgh Warriors in the brother as teenagers.

BCB’s Tenelec U-15, 50“We are very proud of over competition.

Adrian and hope he can stay Young Hetmyer, who focused as he represents his also bowls medium pace, has Country for the first time,” added two more centuries to added Seon who thanked his name and now joins his those who have presented his Dad and uncle as those in the son with cricket gear.

Hetmyer clan to represent

2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games…

‘Impressive’ Allicock advances to Round-of-16

- Amsterdam makes debut today; Lewis to also feature

By Rawle Toney in Birmingham (Team Guyana Press Attache‘) Thirty-two years and seven Commonwealth Games. That’s how long it has been since Guyana won its last medal in the sport of boxing at the former British Empire Games.

However, at the 22nd hosting of the games in Birmingham, England, Keevin Allicock handed the country a perfect start in its quest to replicate or better Wesley Christmas 1990 bronze medal performance in Auckland, New Zealand.

Allicock, the first boxer since John Douglas (1996) to feature at the Olympics, had an impressive performance in his bantamweight clash with Kenya’s Okoth Okongo in Round-of-32 action at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC).

The Forgotten Youth Foundation boxer punched his way to a perfect score on all five

judges’ scorecards.

With his Unanimous Decision victory, Allicock will move on to the Round-of-16 to face Sri Lankan Nisshanka Bamunu on August 1.

At the 2018 Gold Coast Games, Allicock suffered a 1-4 defeat to Reece McFadden of Scotland, after a bye to the Round-of-16.

Many felt that the result was not favourable to the Guyanese, since some pundits thought the fight was much closer.

The 2017 Youth Commonwealth Games silver medallist said in preparation for the Commonwealth Games, he kept the series of unfortunate results in mind.

“The Youth Commonwealth Games is where it all started. I did it then and I serve a god and I know he will do it all back again (for me). I’m here keeping focus and heading towards the gold,” Allicock said. He added, (Continued on page 73)

Kaieteur News

Sunday July 31, 2022

PAGE 79

Berbice Businessman & Contractor continues to rally for the success of Guyana Cup Associated Construction Services owned by Peter Lewis has undoubtedly pledged his support for the 14th Running of The Guyana Cup. The commitment to assisting various charitable organizations around Guyana has earned ACS the rights of a household name.

As a visionary and advocate for the improvement of Guyana, Lewis has diversified his business to invest millions for the development of Bartica and by extension region 7. His “love for country” has transcended through Guyana.

ACS was established in 1997 and has solidified their place in the construction arena through completion of numerous successful government projects.

Specializing in road building ACS has also commissioned an Asphalt Plant to increase efficiency on projects. As such, the Asphalt Plant has been servicing other

contractors to ensure their timelines are met. The multimillion-dollar computerised facility has the potential to produce 60 tonnes of asphalt per hour.

As the days count down, support continues for the biggest Horse Racing Event in the Caribbean, the Jumbo Jet Thoroughbred Committee officially thanks Associate Construction Services for their support in sponsoring the entire purse & trophies for the 3-YearOld Derby. The support received over the past years was instrumental in the sustainability of horse racing in Guyana.

All stable and horse owners are working feverishly to get their thoroughbreds ready for race day on Sunday 14th August.

The competition is expected to extremely stiff because of bragging rights and the staggering $30,000,000 GYD in cash up for grabs. As the preparation work continues, to ensure the track

is in perfect shape all patrons are asked to get there early to avoid the rush and to take full advantage of the indoor parking available for over 1,000 cars When contacted Mr. Lewis indicated, “We have been part of the Guyana Cup for years and we’re happy to see where the sport came from and where it is now.

The JJTRC and through the support of the fraternity has done a really good job creating employment and sustaining businesses along the corridor through horse racing. My company will continue to support positive ventures and as we all work towards building “One Guyana”. All is invited to the Rising Sun Turf Club on Sunday 14th August 2022 to witness horse racing at its best.”

This event was made possible through our title sponsor Banks DIH and supporting sponsors Guinness, XM Rum, Smirnoff Vodka, Hop House

Peter Lewis has committed to supporting the upcoming Guyana Cup 13, Johnny Walker, Forrester Lumber yard, S. Jagmohan, A&R Security, Progressive Travel Agency, Ronaldo Alponso, Cummings Electrical, Kris Jagdeo General Contracting, Anwar Trucking Service,

Impressive Signs & Graphics, Level Up Bar & Gaming, Auto Toy Store, Vals Construction, Dr. Poonai’s Pharmacy, Air services, Fix-It Tire Shop, Associated Construction Services, Anand Ramchan’s

Auto Body, Kings Jewelry Wo r l d , K & P P r o j e c t Management, Asif Auto Spares, Yellow Mines, Avinash Contracting, JS Guyana, Aronco, BM Soat, Club Neutraal, Japarts, AJM Enterprise & Jumbo Jet.

Rosanna Fung is Guyana’s newest professional fitness athlete

Guyana’s CAC Body Building team won 12 medals at the event.

Fung, led a Guyana 12-medal haul at this year’s CAC Bodybuilding Championships in Barbados yesterday en route to winning the overall Wellness Class and earning the coveted Pro Card.

The 22 year- old has now joined the ranks of IFBB Elite Pros.

After winning the Junior Wellness class ahead of fellow countrywoman, Asanti Conway, Fung returned to the dimly lit Lloyd Erskine Sandiford stage in the senior class and won that also.

She then used her sharp and statuesque physique to slice through the competition in the overall and another gold in her glistening red bikini suit.

Fung added two gold medals and the pro Card in just her second outing at the flagship Regional bodybuilding event.

Meanwhile, Men’s Physique standout, Emmerson Campbell was once again edged out and finished with another silver medal at the annual fixture which heads to Aruba next year and Guyana in 2024.

Campbell once again fell short of achieving his goal of earning the elusive Pro Card.

Meanwhile, Team Guyana finished with five gold medals, six silver medals and a bronze medal.

The medalists were Julio Sinclair (gold in the heavyweight), Rawle Green (Masters Under 50 gold and bronze) Nicholas Albert (silver x2/junior and 75kg), Roger Callender (silver bantamweight), Christina Ramsammy (silver bikini) and Conway (silver Junior wellness).

rts o p S Keevin Allicock following his win against Kenya’s Okoth Okongo at the Commonwealth Games.

Rosanna Fung

2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games…

‘Impressive’ Allicock advances to Round-of-16 - Amsterdam makes debut today; Lewis to also feature Anthony Drayton

Rosanna Fung is Guyana’s newest professional fitness athlete Prince aims for regal showing in CWI under-15 Tournament

44 FIDE Chess Olympiad… th

Drayton secures Guyana’s first win

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