Kaieteur News

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AIETEUR

Trinidad Int'l Energy Conference… Thursday Edition

T&T going after relinquishment of blocks to expedite oil search

NEWS

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

June 02, 2022 - Vol. 15 No. 22 Online: www.kaieteurnews.com Online Price $100 readership yesterday, 75,010

Jagdeo misleading Guyanese on monies owed to Exxon Sanzillo …says country now has to borrow more because it was short-changed on cost oil p.

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School girl, 12, killed by police vehicle Man jailed for “knocking out” policeman Several Guyanese came out again yesterday to join publisher of Kaieteur News, Glenn Lall, to protest for a better oil deal. The protest continues today at 10:00hrs at the Square of the Revolution. Change must come!

Victoria man allegedly drowns in Ekereku River

Baby among three COVID-19 deaths ...206 new infections, three persons in ICU

EPA permit approved with assurance, not insurance …increases fine on flaring by G$1,000, says Exxon complied with first permit Jagdeo negotiate and receive $1,000 more on Flaring, settles for ASSURANCE in the event of an Oil Spill instead of Insurance, approve Liza 1 Permit without getting a better deal for all Guyana. Way to go guys! Listen to The Glenn Lall Show @11:00hrs on Kaieteur Radio 99.1/99.5FM

Thursday June 02, 2022

Kaieteur News

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EPA permit approved with assurance, not insurance …fine on flaring up by G$1,000 T

he Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has renewed the Environmental Permit allowing Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited to continue to produce oil and gas from the Liza I field in the Stabroek Block, saying that the company was in compliance with the first iteration of the Environmental Permit for the Liza Phase 1 Project.

This is according to the EPA in its public missive announcing the renewal and lauded some changes made.

The changes however, appear to fall short of the demands of many in the international community and also regional and local experts who have been calling for the renewal of the permit to be put on hold since it could be used as a bargaining chip in order to press for a better deal for Guyana where the country could see a bigger revenue take.

One such change alluded to, is the EPA acceptance of a

Alistair Routeldge

Financial Assurance from Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited ( E EP G L ) — E x x o n M o b il Guyana—instead of Full Coverage insurance. The E PA i n m a k i n g t h e announcement said, “…among the notable conditions, the Permit ensures that EEPGL is held liable for all costs associated with clean up, restoration and compensation for any

pollution damage which may occur as a consequence of the project.” As such, under the new permit, EEPGL is also required to “have Financial Assurance which includes a combination of Insurance which must “cover well control, and/or clean up and third-party liability on terms that are market standard for the type of coverage.

This in addition to “a Parent Company/Affiliate

Guarantee Agreement which indemnifies and keeps indemnified the EPA and the Government of Guyana in the event EEPGL and its CoVenturers fail to meet their environmental obligations under the Permit.”

It was noted by the EPA that “the financial assurance provided must be guided by an estimate of the sum of the reasonably credible costs, expenses, and liabilities that may arise from any breaches of this permit; Liabilities are considered to include costs associated with responding to an incident, clean-up and remediation and monitoring.”

As it relates to the sore issue of flaring, it was noted that the fine was increased. A perusal of the specifics as presented by the EPA outlines that this fine has since been raised by US$5.

As such, the company would now pay a paltry US$50 per every ton of carbon dioxide emitted through flaring, up from the US$45 that was being

EPA Head, Khemraj Parsram charged.

Meanwhile as it relates to the other pollutants such as the sewage and produced water dumped overboard into the Atlantic Ocean, the EPA said this will now be monitored.

According to the EPA, the Permit requires the submission of the effects of these discharges every six months and that further, “EEPGL is required to

submit safety case information, including a Risk Assessment prior to the drilling and development of wells.”

It should be noted that EEPGL President Alistair Routledge in March last had insisted, “we have the financial capacity to meet our responsibilities for an adverse event and we are committed to paying all legitimate costs in the unlikely event of an oil spill.”

He had made the commitment in a public statement in reaction to the increasing outcry domestically and internationally for Guyana to be safeguarded through a binding full coverage insurance from the parent Company ExxonMobil Corp.

According to Routledge at the time, the company's assets up to the end of 2020, was almost US$5B, which is a primary form of financial assurance.

He had said citizens should note that this is separate from the assets of (Continued on page 3)

Kaieteur News

Thursday June 02, 2022

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Jagdeo misleading Guyanese on monies owed to Exxon- Sanzillo

…says country now has to borrow more after being short-changed on cost oil

By Gary Eleazar

G

u y a n a ' s Vi c e President Bharrat Jagdeo earlier this week lambasted the analysis of Director for Financial Analysis for the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) Tom Sanzillo, over his assertion that each Guyanese is currently on the hook for $9M—monies purportedly owed to ExxonMobil Guyana.

Sanzillo had made the pronouncement during an online forum last week had contended that based on the amount spent by the operator and partners to date in the Stabroek Block.

Vice President Jagdeo on Monday however, sought to discredit the analysis by saying Guyana has no such “public debt” telling reporters, “I don't owe Exxon $9M, do you.”

According to Sanzillo however “the contract clearly states Guyana must pay 100 percent of all costs out of its oil revenues before it is able to receive an actual share of that revenue. “ Jagdeo position, Sanzillo said, is that Guyana is not obligated to pay Exxon for the dollars it lays out, “Guyana is contractually obligated to make the payment.”

The financial analyst in responding to Vice President Jagdeo who had described his analysis as “lunacy” recalled that he said that Guyana's share is US$2B annually. He was adamant, “Guyana did not receive that amount in 2019, 2020 or 2021.” He qualified his assertion further by pointing out that the recent budget from the Finance Ministry anticipates that Guyana's take will not exceed US$ 2B annually through 2025 and as such “either the Vice President is wrong or the budget figures are wrong.”

Tom Sanzillo, Director of Financial Analysis for the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis Sanzillo noted too that Jagdeo is of the view that the revenue from oil production is abundant, twice the size of the country's debt and questioned rhetorically, “why did Guyana have to borrow in 2019, 2020, 2021 and will likely continue to borrow through 2022?”

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), according to Sanzillo made it clear that Guyana needs to reduce its debt but “It appears that Vice President Jagdeo is choosing not to follow the IMF's advice. The problem is the assumption that Guyana's rising debt levels will be reduced by future oil and gas revenues.”

Guyana, he said, is spending money it does not have and may never receive.

The assumption is very risky.

Sanzillo drew reference to Jagdeo's assertion that Guyana will receive 14.5 percent of the revenue and that is fair, “It is not.”

According to Sanzillo, “what would be fair is if Guyana did not have to pay 100 percent of all costs and that a 50:50 split would come to Guyana sooner.” He reminded that even top

international oil consultants from IHS Markit and the IMF have expressed concerns about Guyana's relatively low take of oil profits.

Sanzillo used the occasion to caution that “counting on the positive economic impact from oil and gas revenues without also accounting for the contractual obligations Guyana has taken on to obtain those revenues is a fiscal gimmick that will cause the country significant pain.”

To this end, he said, “IEEFA has a profound awareness of the need to spend more to meet the actual needs of Guyana's citizens, in

Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo health and education and to stimulate the economy; Having to borrow more money to meet those needs is wrong and unfair.”

With this in mind he was adamant, “Guyana has to borrow more because it has been shortchanged on cost recovery and the delayed subsequent revenue split. “In the past, Vice President Jagdeo has acknowledged major weaknesses in the contract. Unfortunately, he also has to manage this unbalanced deal,”

EPA permit approved with...

From page 2 the other Stabroek Block co-venturers who also have substantial assets and share any liability for response activities.

In addition, Routledge said EEPGL is working with the EPA and its co-venturers, Hess Corporation and CNOOC Group, to put in place a combined US$2B of affiliate company guarantees. “As stated by ExxonMobil Chairman and CEO Darren

Woods at the recent International Energy Conference, ExxonMobil is committed to Guyana for the long term.

ExxonMobil Guyana has invested billions of dollars in multiple oil and gas projects here. We are dedicated to avoiding any spill, but should one occur, we are prepared to mitigate and resolve it as quickly and comprehensively as possible,” said Routledge.

According to Sanzillo, “the fact remains that the oil consortium is taking advantage of Guyana. My

organization will continue to monitor the situation based on reliable data and evidence.

Like the Vice President, we

are seeking to identify sound policy that will benefit both the people and the economy (Continued on page 16)

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Thursday June 02, 2022

Kaieteur News

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

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

EDITORIAL

Liza 1 Permit renewal a failure on many fronts

S

o, the Liza-1 Permit has been renewed. It is clear that the renewal was never in question- there was no danger from Guyanas leaders, who come across as more and more compromised with every such development, more and more useless to the people of this country.

From all appearances, after all the strong leadership talk about doing better for Guyana, they failed. The Liza 1 Permit renewal was a foregone conclusion, a done deal, despite what voices from all over, local and foreign, were saying. Our leaders in the PPP/C Government failed us, when they allowed the renewal of the permit to pass by without so much as something of substance to show Guyanese for their efforts, the pressures they brought to bear on Exxons stubborn leaders. In fact, the senior people at Exxon did not even have to be stubborn, given how much they have Guyanas leaders tied hand and feet and subject to their commands.

There is the Government operating through the Environmental Protection Agency- the rubberstamp state agency, settling for something called “assurance” on full cover insurance in the event of a disastrous oil spill in our offshore oilfields.

We must say that the PPP/C Government, through its vocal President and tragic figure of a Vice President, by their standards made progress. They did so when they were able to get Exxon to move from “acknowledgement” to this new creature called “assurance” about insurance.

Whatever that is, it is not worth the breath in which it was uttered, or the paper (if such exists) on which it was written.

But this Liza 1 Permit renewal was the anvil on which Guyanese leaders, like blacksmiths, ought to have pounded Exxon into shape, to get at least the peace of mind for Guyanese that came from the protection enshrined in guaranteed full coverage insurance.

If they cant get that when they had the space to maneouvre, then it is becoming crystal clear that there is nothing of substance, little of meaning that leaders in this PPP/C Government can extract from Exxon for the benefit of Guyana. Our leaders are not only shameless to bring something like this so-called “assurance” to us, but they are also totally worthless to the present and future prospects of the citizens of this country.

The President and Vice President may be proud to shout about getting about a thousand Guyana dollars more as compensation from Exxon for its flaring of gas into the atmosphere from our oilfields. That US$5 is not a fraction of the tip that Exxons CEO Darren Woods or Country Head Alistair Routledge would leave for the bartender after a single round of drinks at their exclusive country clubs. It is not money that their golf caddies would accept but throw right back at them. Exxons bigwigs have every reason to celebrate the stooges they have working for them in Guyana, which would be national political leaders across the board, no party excepted.

It is on matters like these that we believe that the Leader of the Opposition should be hopping mad, up in arms, and rallying his people for the benefits that he keeps talking about that should come to them and other Guyanese.

Rather sadly when there are these issues of the highest national importance, the Opposition is nowhere to be found, other than chasing after lost causes, and allowing its supporters to be distracted from what is material to their interests. It is at times like these, and on issues of this nature, that the local Opposition should be leading the way in applying pressure to the PPP/C Government to do right by Guyana. Except that it is silent and distant, or altogether missing in action.

Today, it is the Liza 1 Permit renewal and what could and should have been done, but was not; probably never contemplated in terms of what is better for Guyanese.

On every conceivable front, this represents leadership failure of the worst kind involving every party and every leader. They have failed us before and then again on May 31st, and they will fail us again tomorrow whenever the next opportunity and the next challenge arise. Failures they are, and failures they will stay. Meanwhile, Exxon rejoices.

Either the Vice President is wrong or the budget figures are wrong DEAR EDITOR, Vice President Jagdeo has responded to a recent series of reports my organisation (the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis/IEEFA) published regarding the contract between ExxonMobil and its partners and the government of Guyana.

The Vice President states that Guyanas share is USD$2 billion annually. Guyana did not receive that amount in 2019, 2020 or 2021. The recent budget from the Finance Ministry anticipates that Guyanas take will not exceed USD$2 billion annually through 2025.

Either the Vice President is wrong or the budget figures are wrong.

The Vice President says that the revenue from oil production is abundant, twice the size of the countrys debt.

Then why did Guyana have to borrow in 2019, 2020, 2021 and will likely continue to borrow through 2022? The IMF made it clear that Guyana needs to reduce its debt. It appears that Vice President Jagdeo is choosing not to follow the IMFs advice. The problem is the assumption that Guyanas rising debt lev-

els will be reduced by future oil and gas revenues. Guyana is spending money it does not have and may never receive.

The assumption is very risky.

The Vice President says that Guyana will receive 14.5% of the revenue. IEEFAs research confirms this. He says this is fair. It is not. What would be fair is if Guyana did not have to pay 100% of all costs and that a 50:50 split would come to Guyana sooner. Even top international oil consultants from IHS Markit and the IMF have expressed concerns about Guyanas relatively low take of oil profits. Vice President Jagdeo says that Guyana is not obligated to pay Exxon for the dollars it lays out.

However, the contract clearly states Guyana must pay 100% of all costs out of its oil revenues before it is able to receive an actual share of that revenue. The Vice President acknowledges as much when he tries to tell the public that the current 6 to 1 split of revenue is fair. Guyana is contractually obligated to make the payment. Counting on the positive economic impact from oil and gas revenues without also accounting for

the contractual obligations Guyana has taken on to obtain those revenues is a fiscal gimmick that will cause the country significant pain.

IEEFA has a profound awareness of the need to spend more to meet the actual needs of Guyanas citizens, in health and education and to stimulate the economy. Having to borrow more money to meet those needs is wrong and unfair. Guyana has to borrow more because it has been shortchanged on cost recovery and the delayed subsequent revenue split.

And IEEFA also appreciates the willingness of the government to disclose to the public the revenue it is receiving.

Continued open disclosure is imperative to ensure transparency and oversight.

The problem Guyana faces is that the world is moving away from fossil fuels. Oil and gas production face unprecedented price competition in the electricity sector from solar and wind energy.

Competitive pressures in the transport and petrochemical sectors also are undermining the future outlook for oil and gas sales. Guyana has entered the market at a time of

very high risk and volatility.

The risk is compounded by having to pay 100% of all development costs. This also includes, presumably, the development costs of the 15 new additional discoveries that may never come to final investment decision and a proposed gas project. The Vice President did not challenge this part of IEEFAs analysis. The International Energy Agency tells us that it is contrary to sound policy to start new oil exploration given growing obligations to decrease carbon emissions.

In the past, Vice President Jagdeo has acknowledged major weaknesses in the contract. Unfortunately, he also has to manage this unbalanced deal.

The fact remains that the oil consortium is taking advantage of Guyana. My organisation will continue to monitor the situation based on reliable data and evidence.

Like the Vice President, we are seeking to identify sound policy that will benefit both the people and the economy of Guyana.

Tom Sanzillo Director of Financial Analysis, IEEFA

Guyanese must support the protest initiated by Glenn Lall DEAR EDITOR, Kudos to Mr. Glenn Lall, Owner and Publisher of Kaieteur Newspaper for his call to the government to have the oil contract with EXXON renegotiated to the benefit of the Guyanese People and his purposeful fight to enlighten the general public on the dire need to have these contracts revisited. Mr. Lall in one of his radio programmes mentioned that the Liza 1 permit would end on May 31, 2022. He has devoted time on his radio programme, space in the Kaieteur News paper and organised many campaign actions and demonstrations to engage the public and get their active participation, most recently at the Square of the Revolution. This just cause is about all of us, and therefore I urge that we join voices, loud enough so that the decisionmakers hear our calls to keep the promise made of having those ill-conceived contracts modified to the benefit of the Guyanese Peoples. The oil is our sovereign wealth and belongs to the people of this country.

The next action organised should be a day of national protest, where all must down

tools to make our voices heard loud and clear. We all need to come out in all the regions of Guyana and support this struggle initiated by Mr. Lall.

Imagine if we had a better deal how much development this country could have, and not for the one percent elites but for all of us.

Think of better wages, infrastructural development, advanced public healthcare facilities, functioning utilities (water, light, telephone, etc.), healthy and picturesque environment, improved educational facilities and better crime fighting capabilities, among others.

To do all these things need monies, yes, monies that are actually given on a platter to EXXON freely. Our people are living in abject poverty and neglect and are in dire need for help, to alleviate hunger, impoverish living standards and to provide for their children.

Maybe the three children that perished in a fire recently, their deaths could have been avoided if social welfare systems were benefiting those in need.

EXXONs successful operations in Guyana amassed

income of billions of United States dollars and even the miniscule revenue paid to Guyana seems like a lot but we are being short changed, deprived and drained of our inheritance. The people that we put in charge must act now and stop this wealth haemorrhage.

There are many advocates that are lending their knowledge and experience to bring enlightenment. We have to listen and thank them as they struggle with us.

The oil contract must be renegotiated as promised by the administration in charge now, and stop the blanket approach being used for future oil funds.

New conditions must be included to achieve just and fair dealings. EXXON must pay its share of taxes, if they are not doing so now. There must be other provisions also, God forbid we have an oil spill. Environmental protection must be another feature to ensure sustainability. EPA should do an assessment to determine the effects of drilling on the eco system. Recently, the UK announced a windfall tax of 25% on oil and gas companies to cushion

cost of living effects.

As to the wealth actually trickling down to the people, Mr. Jagdeo was quick to defend that actual grants to households could not work.

Well, could tax breaks for workers be approved then?

Well, I hope he notes that while Guyana receives US$81M in royalty for two years it gave away US$657M in taxes in one year (Kaieteur News May 18th, 2022). Ms Motley could probably give some ideas as to how she is helping her people, and that could generate fresh thinking to work here.

President Ali, the Exxon contract must be renegotiated. This is time to show the people of this country that you mean business.

We the people of Guyana must stop the wealth drainage from our country and strongly demand that our government start the process to renegotiate the contract with ExxonMobil to secure a better deal that would make the lives of our people better.

What government dont want that for their people?

Yours sincerely, Aubrey Persaud Concerned Citizen

Thursday June 02, 2022

Guyanese hoping in oil DEAR EDITOR, Endless volumes that could fill up libraries have been said or written about Guyanas oil deal with Exxon.

More has been said locally and internationally about the impressive future that this oil holds for Guyanese. Academics, intellectuals, intelligentsia - real ones and pretenders have had their say and will, no doubt, have much more to say in days ahead.

But sometimes, the simplest things, the most ordinary developments, from the most unexpected kinds of people are what strike a chord deep inside and register.

These are the things that resonate and mean more than what everybody else combined have put together and share publicly.

There was this picture on the front page of KN June 1st edition, which brought a world of wisdom and laid its timeless transcendence before the eyes and the feet of the reading, viewing world, be it the expanse of Guyana, or all those beyond our boundaries, who now look at everything that goes on in this country with a microscope, and the most rapt attention.

It was of another day of protest by a group of protestors braving sun and rain to have their say, through the simply worded placards they hold abreast or aloft. Their hearts are in those words, and so too are their hopes, dreams, and aspirations.

Though a small bunch of Guyanese, they speak on behalf of every citizen of this richly blessed country. This is regardless of whether they have already been gifted more than an exorbitant share (private sector and cronies and elite insiders); or if they number among the many citizens who are still to experience what it is to be the owners of

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Kaieteur News

11 billion barrels of oil and counting. These would be the poor and vulnerable, the feeble and the great mass of uncounted and forgotten Guyanese.

A handful of them are in the protest pictures. But the one from Wednesday, June 1st was piercing and numbing and thought provoking all at the same time. It was so for me; maybe not for others, but definitely for me.

The picture was of a little group of Guyanese facing the elements of nature in determined fashion to make their presence felt and their voices heard, their positions known.

The publisher of KN was at the extreme left of the picture, and I will say not a word about him today, other than he was there, and that is enough. It was the others who caught my attention, and froze me in my tracks; for the longest moment, I was stilled into the immovability of a statue, breath held indrawn, and not really knowing, so enrapturing was this June 1st picture, this tableau of ordinary Guyanese with expectancy in their eyes, hope in their hearts (pain, too), and the energy to come out and take a stand.

They put all the rest of us to shame, given the abominations of local political leaders and foreign corporate predators with which we live, but of which we say nothing, would have nothing to do.

There was one Guyanese woman with a placard. What arrested my attention was that she was in a wheelchair. This is real, and it made the hairs on my hand rise to life and whisper a chilled message to me.

This woman is hurting.

Right behind her, and over her right shoulder there was a man of mature age, and I am sure that there was what I interpreted to be a walking stick in

his hand. This brother and this sister are hurting. Is any leader seeing what I am seeing - wheelchair and walking stick? Another figure to the far right of them was of likely indigenous extraction, and he, too, had his placard and wore his hopes on his sleeve.

They are all hoping, urging, coming out, speaking out, and then hoping a little more that their little expressions will multiply into a groundswell of interest, concern, energy, and outrage at the plights of the poor people of this punishing place.

I am absolutely positive that there are many other Guyanese, who privately share their public postures, their representations of what can only be beneficial for us all.

The physical symbols and evidence of the 2-3 protesting Guyanese identified are of Guyana in its national canvas.

It is of how we are confined to wheelchairs because our spirit has fled; how we are accompanied by invisible walking sticks because we prop ourselves up in shameful secrecy, because we do not wish to be seen so publicly.

Our leaders are delighted by this private pondering, this individual and national contradiction, of so many Guyanese who know what is wrong, but refuse to what is right.

Take a step into the open.

Have a fearless say. Say that I am Guyanese, and I must count. Oh, and one more thing: that I hurt, but I still hope. May the hurting ease, may the hope be realised. To our leaders I say: dont let these 1000-word pictures pale into the horror and tragedy of 1000-yard stares. Please, oh Lord: NO! Sincerely, GHK Lall

President Praised for Fish Grant DEAR EDITOR, I applaud President Ali for his announcement Tuesday at Windsor Forest committing a grant of $150,000 to “fisherfolk”. It is a welcome relief to help struggling fisherfolk and their families who could barely make ends meet. I consistently called for such assistance in my missives to the press after learning about their pains in the fishing industry. The President listens to the public and act when required.

Over the last few years, I spent considerable amount of time interacting with fisherfolk (fishermen, workers on the boats, vendors in vans and at stalls, cleaners, helpers, clerks, etc.) at the wharf at Meadow Bank, West Coast, Berbice, and Top Side on the Corentyne and at markets in Georgetown, Parika, Port Mourant, Skeldon, and other locations. The boatmen, vendors, and cleaners at Meadow Bank and West Coast know me well. I treated them kindly with various ‘gifts’. They willingly revealed their challenges to me.

I never encountered politicians interacting with fisherfolk although fisherfolk at West Coast, East Coast, West Berbice, and Top Side said Minister Zulfikar Mustapha engaged them and committed to looking into their complaints of low catch.

I salute President Ali for interacting with them at Windsor Forest to hear their stories. The victims of the fishing industry manifestly deserve assistance every bit as much as those suffering in the sugar industry and in other sectors of the economy.

For the last couple years, fisherfolks complained about low catch. The complaints increased at each subsequent visit suggesting conditions worsened. The loss of income as a result of low catch has been traumatic and affect everyone tied to the fishing industry.

I am not a government officer and I have no influence to redress complaints. Everywhere I went, especially Meadow Bank on the East Bank, vendors and cleaners cried, “Things bad, leff something nah doc, buy something form me, nah brother”, was heard repeatedly. Indeed, in all of my visits, I observed ever declining fish availability on the boats, vans, and at the stalls. Some of the captains of the boats said they returned virtually empty with the sales of their catch below costs of diesel for their trip, not to mention paying for labor and time. Correspondingly, with the scarcity of fish, price of fish increased.

In my interactions with them, fishermen complained that catch was low and the vendors fretted that their limited sales were getting smaller and smaller with time. “Fish scarce! Fish nah dey”, they

repeatedly said. Prices were shooting through the roof, going up steadily after every visit. Last week, prices for varied fish at Meadow Bank and elsewhere was double that from six months ago.

Banga, for example, was $120 a pound late last year and $250 now. Butter was $200 a pound last year and is in excess of $400 now.

Cleaners cried the most saying they can’t make ends meet from their morning work.

Last year and earlier, they could earn over $20,000 for a few hours of work on a typical morning cleaning fish that was plentiful in supply. Now, they can’t get $10,000. Some are lucky to make $5,000 and some don’t even get that amount. “Doc, Wuk, nah dey”, they said everywhere.

Several cleaning tables or stalls have folded up. The number of vendors at Meadow Bank and other wharves and at markets have declined. The number of boats going out for fishing have also declined. Hundreds if not thousands of boats were parked up at Parika and other points on the West Coast, Essequibo Coast, Berbice, and on (Continued on page 6)

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Customers shoot at farmer after he refused to sell them eggs Police are currently investigating an alleged shootout on Tuesday between a famer and his customers after he refused to sell them some eggs. The shooting incident reportedly took place around 21:05hrs at the 64-year-old farmer’s home at Swan Village located along the Linden/ Soesdyke Highway. Investigators reported that the farmer told the men that he sells eggs and chicken at his shop which is located at his residence. He locked-up the business around 19:30hrs and went inside to cook some food. Later that evening two men showed up at his premises and called out for him.

He claimed that he ventured out of his house to meet them and they asked him to sell them eggs but he reportedly

Thursday June 02, 2022

Kaieteur News

said that the shop was closed.

They reportedly pleaded with him to sell them the eggs but he maintained that he was not opening back the shop.

At this point, according to the investigators, the farmer stated that one of the men became annoyed and pulled out a gun from his waist and shot at him.

The 64-year-old man continued his claims that the bullet did not hit him and instead of sticking around he ran into his house and returned with 12 gauge shotgun to confront them. He reportedly shot back at them and they scampered away into the darkness.

Ranks who visited the scene, recovered a spent shell from the shotgun and currently on the lookout for the perpetrators.

A National Necessity DEAR EDITOR, I am encouraged by, and applaud, the efforts of Dr. Yog Mahadeo and others in reminding all of us of a very disturbing chapter in our immediate past with a view to correcting it, ensure accountability and, if possible, finding solutions to problems that gave rise to it. The March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections were certainly the most contentious and fiercely contested this century.

They were characterised by allegations of misconduct and illegalities at several levels which led to demonstrations and violence (even against police officers and children), foreign involvement and threat of sanctions, efforts at mediation, division and friction within GECOM, legal manipulations, overturning of results and the introduction of new electoral counting and reporting systems, and interminable delays, all of which led to an official declaration viewed with suspicion and disbelief by many and is under judicial challenge. Dr. Mahadeo seems to think that a Commission of Inquiry appointed by the gov-

ernment, and supported by the international community, offers the best opportunity to address the issues raised regarding causation and accountability. My own understanding, and preference, is for the constitutionally-appointed system of judicial review to be undertaken without further delay. When a mob, largely comprised of persons not authorised to be there and others acting outside of their authority and the law, storms GECOM, forcing staffers to seek sanctuary and the Chairperson to barricade herself in her office, and disrupts the tabulation of results by the Returning Officer (RO) of Region 4 is encour-

aged and supported and the High Court chooses to reward their lawlessness by satisfying their demands to halt, and then overturn, a declaration, not on the merits of their challenge which was demonstrably frivolous (that the RO used a spreadsheet and that the votes were not fully verified) but on the grounds that the declaration was not publicly made as required by Section 84 of the Representation of the People Act raises serious questions of judicial integrity which were only aggravated by the Chief Justices subsequent actions to deny two election petitions filed by APNU+AFC challenging the conduct and outcome of these elections. These ques-

tions are multiplied by the Chairpersons decisions to set aside valid election results, introduce new systems for counting, reconciliation and reporting of votes (which she administers selectively), and rejecting, then demanding, specific advice to be tendered by the Chief Elections Officer (CEO). And the decision to place the CEO, DCEO and RO of Region 4 before the courts, and to terminate their employment with GECOM without evidence of wrongdoing, only suggests an interest in victimisation and not accountability. I agree with Dr. Mahadeo completely that an independent and thorough investigation is a national

EPA and government have missed a golden opportunity DEAR EDITOR, The EPA must be commended on taking a step in the correct direction towards improving the terms of the agreement with Exxon. However, under the current administration’s leadership the EPA and government have missed a golden opportunity to strengthen the future of the citizens of our

great nation. Although there was no guarantee of significant gains in the level of Royalty received, an attempt should have had been made by the current administration, on behalf of the people of Guyana, to negotiate an improvement in the level of royalty received. To not even try is extremely disappointing and a missed opportunity that

President Praised for...

From page 5 the Corentyne. Fishermen said the proceeds of the low amount of catch can’t cover their costs for the fishing trip.

They seek financial help. The announcement by the President of a financial grant is most welcomed. This relief is long overdue and would help fisherfolk. The cost may be high but it is for a deserving cause and worth every dollar.

The President deserves praise for this initiative.

The media has not stated who qualifies for the grant.

Everyone connected to the finishing industry (fishermen, sellers or vendors, wholesalers, retailers, cleaners, stores, etc.) has been hurting over the last couple years (as a result of the Covid lockdown, flooding, high fuel costs, and other factors). Consideration

should be given to giving grants to all bona fide fisherfolk (perhaps not the same amount to all – for example, cleaners shouldn’t get the same amount as vendors who shouldn’t get the same amount as fishermen who should not get the same amount as the boat owners, etc.). Those out of work should definitely get the grant. The boat owners and fishing companies should get a much larger grant. They have been suffering badly with decreased revenues over the last few years.

Separately, government should upgrade the wharf and facilities on the coast for boating – improved lighting and availability of cold storage for the catch.

Yours truly, Vishnu Bisram

could have easily altered the course of our Nation’s future.

The APNU + AFC were caught taking a signing bonus that incentivised them to move forward with an agreement that shortchanged our Nation. Now the PPP/C is also making questionable decisions concerning this lopsided agreement. Our country and our citizens deserve better leadership and representation. We all hoped that the parliament of our Nation would have come together to fight for a better deal for all of Guyana. Instead, they have shown a lack of cooperation and are arguing over the crumbs while our suppliers enjoy dividing the spoils of our Nation’s wealth.

It is never difficult for an honest leader to do what is in the best interest of those being led. The heart of our leaders must be with our Nation, and their actions in its best interest. Remember the pledge that we have all made since we were children and where our hand is placed. I pledge myself to honour always the flag of Guyana and to be loyal to my country, to be obedient to the laws of Guyana, to love my fellow citizens and to dedicate my energies towards the happiness and prosperity of Guyana.

This is our guiding star and this is what we expect of our leaders. An opportunity missed may still be regained.

Our leaders’ hearts must have love for our Nation and our leaders’ minds must be focused on what is best for the current and future generations of The Republic of Guyana. It is time to turn this situation around!

With concern, Mr. Jamil Changlee

T N U L B . . .

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BL TLUNT.. UNT...B BL Thursday June 02, 2022

Kaieteur News

The Jamaican group Morgan Heritage must have been thinking about this country and its leaders when they declared in that song: Look pon di gully side, do you see anything fi smile bout. Look at that hungry child, do you see anything fi smile bout. Look at the school weh deh youth dem go fi get dem education, do you see anything fi smile bout. Look at the conditions of our police stations, do you see anything fi smile bout.

Tragically though, the folks at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) were able to smile at the paltry GYD$1000 hike in fine for flaring.

Our leaders in the PPP/C Government have failed us, when they allowed the renewal of the Liza 1 permit to pass by without so much as something of substance to show Guyanese for their efforts, the pressures they brought to bear on Exxon's stubborn leaders.

In fact, the senior people at Exxon didn't even have to be stubborn, given how much they have Guyana's leaders tied hand and foot and subject to their commands.

There is the Government operating through the EPA-the rubberstamp state agency, settling for something called “assurance” on full cover insurance in the event of a disastrous oil spill in our offshore oilfields. We must say that the PPP/C Government, through its vocal President and tragic figure of a Vice President, by their standards made progress.

They did so when they were able to get Exxon to move from “acknowledgement” to this new creature called “assurance” about insurance.

So after so much protest and advocacy, the permit has been renewed, but when you look pon it…there is nothing to smile about .

PAGE 07

Kaieteur News

PAGE 8

Thursday June 02, 2022

Trinidad moving faster towards renewables

Trinidad Int'l Energy Conference…

...sets new target of 30% by 2030

By Davina Bagot & Kiana Wilburg in Port of Spain Over the next eight years, one of the Caribbean's leaders in oil and gas production, Trinidad and Tobago, will be moving to increase its use of renewable energy, by as much as 30 percent.

This is according to the Twin Island Republic's Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Rowley. He made the disclosure on Tuesday as a three day Energy Conference opened at the Hyatt Hotel in Port of Spain, under the theme 'Leveraging the industry's strengths for the energy transition'.

To this end, the Head of State told conference delegates that, "Government has increased its target for renewables in power generation from 10 percent to 30 percent of the country's power generation capacity."

He was keen to note that by incorporating renewables in power generation, Trinidad and Tobago is following the global trend.

"The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects that renewables will collectively increase from 28 percent in 2020 to 49 percent of global electricity generation by 2050. The growth in electricity generation of renewables has been due to

rapid technology improvements and decreasing costs of renewable energy resources, along with the increased competitiveness of battery storage," the Prime Minister explained. In Trinidad, he said that to ensure a successful long-term energy transition it was particularly important to pursue policies that engender affordable and sustainable energy and serve as a foundation for operationalisation and prosperity.

Meanwhile, to achieve the country's climate change commitments a range of policies were adopted which include electrification of the transportation system, the

Prime Dr. Keith Rowley, Prime Minister adaptation of renewable energy projects, carbon capture, utilization and storage and carbon offsets.

The country is also actively exploring the promotion of a hydrogen economy, the Prime Minister said.

Dr. Rowley explained, "As part of our Nationally Determined Contribution we have pledged to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 30 percent by December 31, 2030 in the public transportation sector. A key measure in achieving this objective is the promotion of electric vehicles as the preferred mode of transportation. To facilitate

the transformation we have removed all customs duties, motor vehicle tax and valueadded tax on the importation of battery powered electric vehicles with an age limit."

The Prime Minister said that the change would not only help T&T to recognize its goals but also present an opportunity for the government to reduce or eliminate the fuel subsidy.

Expounding further, the PM said, "...Over the last 10 years, the subsidy paid amounted to TT$23 billion and with the current high oil prices, the subsidy for fiscal 2022 to date has averaged TT$142 million per month."

The Prime Minister said too that Trinidad took the decision to increase fuel prices to mitigate the financial impact of the subsidy on the Treasury and to better utilize the improved revenue in financing social and capital expenditure as well as the reduction of debt.

At the same time, the subsidy on premium gasoline was reduced by 52 percent, super gasoline was reduced by 38 percent, kerosene was reduced by 31 percent and diesel was reduced by 11 percent. There was no increase in the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).

Adolescents eligible for booster shots from today

By Allyiah Allicock

F

rom today, children 12 to 17 years are eligible for their first COVID-19 booster vaccine while persons 18 years and older can now be administered a second booster dose.

This was disclosed by Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, who reminded in his daily COVID-19 update on Monday that it is important for persons to be vaccinated. The minister explained that after six months of being vaccinated the immunity that persons would have developed from the vaccine would start waning, therefore, persons can be at risk of contracting the virus. With low uptake in vaccination across the country and the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, persons are urged to get vaccinated.

The current COVID-19 vaccines available for

Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony persons 18 years and older are Sinopharm, Pfizer and J&J while for adolescents, the Pfizer vaccine is available.

“As of the 1st of June, one of the things that the ministry would be doing is to offer a second booster dose so for persons who would like to get their second booster dose, they would be

able to get that at any one of our vaccination sites and this is for persons 18 years and older. We are going to offer for the first time booster doses for persons 12 to 17 years of age, so again from the first of June, persons within this age category 12 to 17 would be able to access a booster dose,” Minister Anthony said.

Guyana first started administering vaccines to the adult population in February last year having received the first set of vaccines from the COVID19 Vaccine Global Access ( C O VA X ) f a c i l i t y .

Following this, adolescents, 12 to 17 years started receiving the vaccines in August just before schools were opened. After that, the first set of booster doses were administered in November to the adult population.

Anthony also announced (Continued on page 9)

Thursday June 02, 2022

PAGE 9

Kaieteur News

The government is playing LUDO with the economy Guyana is heading for serious problems. It is now obvious that the same old discredited style of governance which characterised the Jagdeo administration is being replicated and repeated.

The present PPP/C administration is visionless and clueless about development planning. It appears to be only able to think short-term.

There is no long-term development plan. But even in its short-term thinking, the PPP/ C is displaying a lack of strategic insight and planning.

The government is now reduced to making ad hoc interventions. It set aside some $5 billion in the Budget for cost-of-living relief. But it does not have any idea as to how to go about utilising this amount so that as many people as possible can benefit.

And so it is reverting to a game of LUDO. It is throwing the dice and wherever it falls that is where the government is going.

The government decided, for example, to offer hinterland and riverine households a one-off cash grant. But 80% of the population do not live in these areas and so are automatically excluded from the latest cash grant. So are the coastland residents not also feeling the effects of the high cost-of-living.

On top of this it is distrib-

uting $1 billion of fertilisers to farmers but no criteria have been announced. All that has been said is that the fertilisers will be distributed equitably.

If the government feels that this free distribution of fertilisers will lead to a decrease in the cost of agricultural produce, they are woefully misguided. The farmers will not pass on the benefit insignificant as it is to the consumers.

If the government really wanted to help farmers and the country, it could have used that money to subsidise feed for small-scale poultry farmers who are hurting from the increase in the price of poultry feed.

Now the latest gimmick is to offer fishermen a one-off payment of G$150,000 each.

And the government says that this is cost-of-living relief. How can this be cost- ofliving relief? This is a grant to offset the hardships which the fisher-folk have been experiencing.

And it is ironic that it is only now being offered. The government says that the fishing industry is improving and that fishers are reporting better catches. So if the fishermen are doing better, why give them relief? This shows the wide disconnect between the stated objectives of the government and interventions it is making. The cash

grant to fisherfolk can never be deemed a cost-of-living relief.

The government is also planning to help persons who have land to obtain financing for housing. This is another suspect venture by the government. To which institution or institutions is the government going to direct potential homeowners? And why is the government doing this when it should be using its resources to help poor people who are feeling the pressure.

The Vice President met with miners and announced a series of concessions including on lubricating fuel and the reduction and removal of some taxes. The biggest challenge in the mining industry right now is the cost of fuel.

Admittedly, there is nothing the government can do about this short of applying a subsidy to petrol. So why does the government not grant to medium and small-scale miners, the same concessions which are granted to largescale miners?

What was most interesting about the Vice Presidents announcement was that he did not indicate that the measures which were announced were as a result of any negotiations with the Miners Association. It is reasonable to assume that some representation was made but instead of coming to a common agree-

Dem boys seh...

De train leff de station De President get stoodup. He seh was de fuss time it happen to he.

But he should be more understanding and patient.

He dont know if de person wah stood he up jump in de wrong taxi and get carry to de wrang location. Suh he shoulda wait and find out before he give vent to he hurt.

After all, de last time de man had a meeting with Prezzie he jump in de wrong vehicle. He lucky de owner didnt ask he fuh pay fuh come in de car. Dem gat some

drivers does charge yuh even if yuh change yuh mind fuh travel with dem. Anyway, de Prezzie talk how de train leff de station already. And who want to join it can join it at any of de stops along de way.

He nah holding back at de train fuh anybody. Suh if dem boys feel dat dem gan gat Prezzie waiting pon dem, dem gat another thing coming.

It mek dem boys remember de story of de girl who wait more dan a hour and a half fuh she date. She decide dat she get stood-up and dat she

date not coming anymore.

Suh angry, she change from she dinner dress into she pajamas and slippers. She went into de pantry and tek out a box ah popcorn, put in into de oven and resign sheself to wan evening watching NETFLIX. But by de time she sit down pon she couch in front de TV, she doorbell ring. There in de doorway stood she date. He took one look at she and say, ”I’m two hours late, and you’re still not ready?”

Talk half. Leff half.

Adolescents eligible for...

From page 8 on Monday that the Health Ministry is expecting the paediatric Pfizer vaccine which will be given to children in the age cohort of five to 11 years. Kaieteur News understands that children in

this age group would receive one third of the adult dose of the Pfizer vaccine, and that they will need a second dose of the vaccine three weeks after their first shot.

“By the second week of

June, we will start making these vaccines available. So it would allow us to adequately train our staff in the use of the vaccine and once we do that we will start rolling out that vaccine,” he related.

ment which would have been signed by both parties, Jagdeo chooses to announce concessions while sitting at a head table while the miners sat in the audience.

This is symbolic of the way the PPP/C governed during the Jagdeo regime and which is being repeated today. The government hears complaints and decides what it wants to do and announces it rather than seeking to have

a negotiated position.

The miners are going to be happy with what they got.

Who will not be? But it is the process which is bad.

But what impact are those measures going to have on the cost of production? It will not have any serious effect on the cost of production but will put more monies in the hands of miners.

In the meantime, other sectors of the economy are

waiting to see how much remains of the monies set aside for cost-of-living relief. And how far the government can stretch it for them to at least enjoy an extra slice of bread for breakfast.

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

Kaieteur News

PAGE 10

Thursday June 02, 2022

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

My non-Indianness and my fictional self-hate One of the most graphic expressions in class and race driven society anywhere in the world relates to how Guyanese Indians have treated two high-profile Indian activists – me and Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine.

If you want to see how colonial society has messed up not only the mind but the soul and psyche of the colonial subject you don't have to read Edward Said; just examine the juxtaposition of me and Dr. Roopnaraine, a juxtaposition invented by Indians in Guyana.

Let's start with four Indians who have referred to me as a self-hater – a person who doesn't like being Indian. I will go to my grave and not understand what I did with my life to earn that derogation. There were many Indians that have insultingly thrown that tag on me but these four persons are the more prominent among Guyanese – Ravi Dev, Vishnu Bisram, Ryhaan Shah and Dr. Baytoram

Ramharack.

I chose not to sue them for libel. Mr. Bisram has penned more than a hundred letters on me saying the most scurrilous fictions about me in the Chronicle and Guyana Times between 2002 and 2014. I never sued Bisram and the two newspapers. I just don't have it in my DNA to sue anyone. The exception was Dr. Walter Ramsahoye.

He abused me on CNS channel 6 then had the temerity to sue me for something I wrote in one of my columns.

I counter-sued him. The two trials were heard the same time. Justice Dawn Gregory Barnes ruled in favour of Ramsahoye and awarded $2 million. Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards chose not to give a decision in my case. It has been six years since she has done so.

See my column of Sunday, May 8, 2022, “Chancellor of th e J u d iciar y an d th e syndrome: Maybe, maybe not.”

Yesterday, Bisram and

Shah replied to my confession that I don't know what or where is my Indianness. But they chose not to explain why they described me as a self-hater.

The explanation is simple and Dr. Ramharack's selfhate portrait of me remains the most graphic to date.

Here it is. I could not have confronted and campaigned against an Indian government over a long period of time if I wasn't someone who did not like Indian Guyanese and who did not feel comfortable being Indian. But the juxtaposition between me and Dr. Roopnaraine shows how sad is the mentality of Indians in Guyana.

I have been closer to Indian people, Indian Muslims and Hindus and Indian parties and Indian politicians all my life, a record Dr. Roopnaraine cannot match. I grew up with a devoted Hindu mother. I worked with the Indian PPP government as a media consultant in 1999 to

More delays in reconstituting of procurement commission ...Figueira accuses govt of dodging scrutiny of multi-billion dollar contracts

T

h e P u b l i c Procurement Commission (PPC) adds another layer of transparency and accountability to Government's expenditure of taxpayer's monies given its oversight role in procurement and the award of government contracts.

The PPC monitors public procurement to ensure the principles of fairness, equity, value for money, and competition are upheld and to ensure that the procedures of public procurement are executed in accordance with the laws of Guyana. But from all indications, it appears as though the Government has no interest in having that commission in place. This is the deduction of A Partnership for National Unity +Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) Member of Parliament (MP) and Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Jermaine Figueira.

Figueira who was a part of the selection of the names to sit on PPC told Kaieteur News that there is no reason why the commission has not been constituted except for

APNU+AFC MP and PAC Chairman, Jermaine Figueira. the government's noninterest in having the multimillion dollar contracts scrutinised.

He noted: “There are literally multimillion and billion dollars contracts being handed out without any oversight. The Public Procurement Commission is mandated to investigate the complaints of aggrieved contractors and bidders and stop any unfair or biased practice in the procurement process of public projects…The Public Procurement Commission

adds a layer of transparency and accountability to government spending. That is not something I believe that they want because as you can see while the President has appointed members for the Integrity Commission and the Police Service Commission, there is no word on this very vital commission.”

Figueira noted that the work to have the commission in place has been done. I was part of the selection the National Assembly has given its no objection, it's now up to the President to do the constitutionally right thing and have those persons take the oath of office.

He explained too while three of the persons selected to sit on the PPC are government aligned-two were selected by the Opposition. He said “The persons chosen to sit on the commission were chosen because the selection panel believed that they were apolitical and professional enough to carry out the functions of an independent commission.”

The APNU+AFC (Continued on page 16)

Minister of Information, Moses Nagamootoo. In contrast, Dr. Roopnaraine hardly had any contacts with the PPP throughout his political career.

I risked my life exposing anti-Indian mayhem in Buxton. The WPA's line on the Buxton mayhem was the opposite to mine. Dr. Roopnaraine merged his party with the PNC and became a minister under the PNC-led government after 2015. I never had an informal or formal relation with the PNC up to this day.

No Indian has ever attacked Dr. Roopnaraine in this country while I was called a self-hater over a long period of time. What is the analysis? The reverence for Dr. Roopnaraine among Indians I will never receive.

Why? Class analysis explains it. Class analysis explains why Dr. Roopnaraine and I confronted the Indian PPP government over a long period of time but an ocean of self-hate appellations have

been pinned on me but not on Roopnaraine.

I guess most Guyanese would s know why this is so even though they may not be able to do an astute class analysis of Frederick Kissoon the juxtaposition. I am dark-skinned, born in dirt poverty in the Black ay about you.

I don't give a rabbit's ass Georgetown ward of Wortmanville and never what others in this world went to Queen's College and think of me. For the past 44 Cambridge University. I years, I have been coming never wrote books about home to Janet Kissoon and We s t e r n l i t e r a t u r e a s once she is there, my world is Roopnaraine did. I do not complete and I shut out the socialise with the middle world of philosophically class and the petty f l a w e d p e o p l e . D r.

Roopnaraine studied bourgeoisie. literature at Cambridge In the eyes of Guyanese, U n i v e r s i t y.

I studied Kissoon and Roopnaraine are philosophy at the University from different worlds, one of which admiration and respect of Toronto. Who wants to are due, the other is just make the comparison that is another world where people none of my business. I am a like Kissoon come and go. I happy man!

(The views expressed in want to close this article by advising every human this article are those of the wherever he/she is, do not a u t h o r a n d d o n o t bother even for a fleeting necessarily reflect the moment about what people opinions of this newspaper.)

Baby among three COVID-19 deaths ...206 new infections, three persons in ICU A

three-monthold baby girl from Region Four is among three individuals who died of COVID-19, over a two-day period (May 30 to 31). This is according to information released yesterday by the Ministry of Health. The latest deaths have moved the country's COVID-19 death toll to 1,237.

In addition to the baby, according to the Ministry, the fatalities are that of a 71y e a r- o l d u n v a c c i n a t e d woman from Region Six and a 41-year-old unvaccinated man from region Four.

Meanwhile, in its latest COVID-19 dashboard, the Health Ministry recorded 206 new infections within the last 24-hour period, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 64,969.

A breakdown of new cases per region shows that Region Four leads with 146 new cases, Region Two with 19 cases, Region Six with 13 cases, Region Five with 12 cases, Region Three with eight cases, Region Nine with six cases, and Regions One and 10 with one each.

The dashboard also

shows that three patients are in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit, 26 people are in institutional isolation, 748 are in home isolation and six

are in institutional quarantine.

To date, a total of 62,955 people have recovered from the virus.

Thursday June 02, 2022

Kaieteur News

PAGE 11

Thursday June 02, 2022

Kaieteur News

PAGE 12

Trinidad Int'l Energy Conference… T&T

Energy Chamber pushing Govt. to unlock massive gas resources in shared acreage with Venezuela

By Kiana Wilburg & Davina Bagot in TT

W

hile it remains focused on seizing the sweet opportunities for prosperity in Guyana's oil sector, Trinidad and Tobago's Energy Chamber has urged its government to expand its reach to other territories.

Specifically, Chairman of the Energy Chamber, Dwight Mahabir was keen to note during the opening of his country's energy conference being held at the Hyatt Hotel, that TT should pursue significant gas resources in neighbouring territories, especially Venezuela but also potentially in Barbados and Grenada.

In addition to significant untapped offshore gas fields off both Venezuela's north coast and the Plataforma Deltana area, Mahabir said there are significant volumes of associated gas produced onshore Venezuela that is

currently flared. The Chairman said on the North Monagas oilfields in eastern Venezuela alone there is more natural gas that is flared than the current demand shortfall in Trinidad & Tobago. He believes this is a significant climate issue that the world should have on its agenda.

As a solution, he proffered that Trinidad should secure these resources for export. While it might pose some political challenges, he said it has significant potential economic and social benefits.

“This issue is too important to be ignored, despite the overarching difficult geopolitical situation. We know that this issue is very high on the Government's agenda and that there is intense diplomatic activity taking place at the highest levels,” the Chairman said.

While the foregoing is important to secure additional natural gas supplies and extend the life of

the CARICOM nation's petro-chemicals industry, they are not, of course, the only things the country needs to be doing. In this regard, the Chairman said there are significant opportunities in the energy sector within the wider Caribbean. He said, “The unprecedented growth of Guyana's oil and gas sector has presented many opportunities to regional energy services providers and a wide array of other services, including construction, professional services and entertainment.

Suriname also holds significant potential and like everyone else in the industry we are actively observing developments there with a lot of interest.”

The Chairman added, “But it is not just in Guyana and Suriname oilfields where the opportunities exist. There are also significant opportunities in the wider energy sector in the rest of the region. The opportunity to (Continued on page 17)

Man jailed for “knocking out” policeman Knocking out a police officer on Tuesday with punches to the face has landed a Plaisance East Coast Demerara man, Seon Prince in jail for ten months.

Prince was charged on We d n e s d a y a t t h e Sparendaam Magistrate's Court located on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD), with assault of a peace officer who was executing his duties. The charge was read to him by Magistrate, Rushelle Liverpool, and Prince, instead of wasting the court's time pleaded guilty to the offence and was sent to jail for ten months.

According to the particulars of the offence presented in court, on Tuesday the policeman, Sergeant Maxwell, was on patrol duties within the Sparendaam, ECD police district, with another rank in the force's pick-up. The ranks reportedly received a report that the defendant had allegedly damaged someone's property and Jailed for knocking out a Maxwell and his colleague police sergeant, Seon Prince. located him in Plaisance,

The officer staggering after being knocked out

by Prince's punches.

ECD. Maxwell approached Prince, reportedly cautioned him about the damage to property an offence he was accused of committing and proceeded to arrest him, but the defendant retaliated by punching him (Maxwell) several times to the face. The punches injured Maxwell's face and floored him.

Public-spirited citizens and (Continued on page 17 )

Map showing the shared territorial waters between Venezuela and TT.

Victoria man allegedly drowns in Ekereku River Police in Region Seven are currently investigating the death of Simon Jones who allegedly drowned while attempting to swim across the Ekereku River located in the Upper Mazaruni area.

Reports reaching this publication had suggested that Jones was murdered but the police in a statement yesterday said that the 19-

year-old of Victoria, East Coast Demerara was last seen alive on Friday around 23:30hrs attempting to swim across the river from the right bank to the left.

On Tuesday about 10:00 hrs, three miners from the area who were traversing the river, observed the body of the deceased floating close to the left bank of the (Continued on page 16)

Dead, Simon Jones

School girl,12, killed by police vehicle Traffic ranks on the West Bank of Demerara (WBD) are currently investigating the death of a 12-year-old schoolgirl who was on Wednesday struck down by a police vehicle.

Police identified the girl as Kayla Barnabas, a student of the West Demerara Secondary School. The accident occurred around 15:45hrs along the Goed Fortuin Public Road, WBD. The force's vehicle was at the time being driven by a police corporal.

It is alleged that the corporal was driving the vehicle along the eastern side of the road when Barnabas ran across the road into his path. He claimed that he swerved but could not avoid hitting her down. The severely injured girl was picked up from the road and placed in a vehicle and rushed to the West Demerara Regional Hospital where the doctors on duty pronounced her dead on arrival.

Investigations are ongoing.

Dead, Kayla Barnabas

Kaieteur News

Thursday June 02, 2022

PAGE 13

Exxon takes Guyana's clean up money …Jagdeo calls move to put in project as loans productive use of funds

By Gary Eleazar

G

uyana began oil production in December 2019

by Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) and under the deal signed—the Production Sharing Agreement—the company has been taking out money from day one of production to set aside as a decommissioning fee.

This in order to remove its equipment and ancillary equipment at the end of the life of the project and to return the environment to the state it was in before exploration and production began.

This publication has since l e a r n t t h a t EEPGL—ExxonMobil Guyana—has in fact been utilizing that money which is being deducted from cost oil.

When confronted with the r e p o r t , Vi c e P r e s i d e n t Bharrat Jagdeo told reporters however, “It's not like Exxon would put the money in there and leave it; the funds are fungible so to the extent that it is utilised and it reduced the cost of say borrowing which is ultimately a cost to be borne by the company then ultimately that would be seen as productive use.”

He said, “…if they use it for private purposes alone then that would not be seen as a productive use.” It has since been noted that such a situation meant that ExxonMobil is currently deducting money from cost oil for decommissioning at the end of the lift of the project—in another 15 years—and would have been using the money on the project, which is then deducted with interest again, as a loan that has to be repaid by the company.

A c c o r d i n g t o Vi c e President Jagdeo, “you always have to provide for decommissioning, you can do a number of things as I said before we would have to look at the net take.”

He noted however, “I don't want to get into every component and how it would evolve but the net take has to approximate a global situation where for a country of similar circumstances, clearly you have to have this set aside, it is, do you set aside all of it at the end, all of it at the beginning, or do you every year make allowance to do that.”

It has been estimated by international experts that

International Lawyer, Melinda Janki

Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo

throughout the life of the project in excess of US$3B would be deducted from cost oil to go towards the decommissioning of the project.

Poignantly, ExxonMobil is yet to develop a decommissioning plan for any of its project and has in fact signalled its intention to abandon all of its subsea equipment on the sea floor and that it is expected that the production ship—the Floating Production Storage and Offloading Vessel—the Liza Destiny and others, would be towed away.

This much can be gleaned from the Project Summaries for the projects already producing, Liza I&II in addition to the Payara, Ye l l o w t a i l a n d U r a u developments.

The abandonment of the

equipment was also confirmed by In Country Projects Manager Anthony Jackson during a public scoping exercise held at the U m a n a Ya n a r e c e n t l y.

Jackson in response to enquiries on the decommissioning aspect of the project sought to justify this position by pointing to the fact that in some countries, it has been found that marine life by the end of these projects would assimilate into the environment, and such removing the equipment could do more harm than good.

He told those in attendance that what has been observed over the years is that by the time a project comes to the end of its life, marine life such as barnacles and corals would have

already attached themselves to the equipment, and as such ripping them off the seafloor could cause more damage to the environment.

Decommissioning is a normal and planned petroleum activity and generally involves the plugging and permanently closing off wells, the safe removal of equipment, infrastructure and property and importantly restoration of the environment at the end of the life of a project, in this case (Urau) 25 years.

The expectation is that the subsea umbilicals, risers, and flowlines are commonly referred to as SURF components “will be detached from the FPSO and abandoned-in-place on the s e a f l o o r . ” According to ExxonMobil, this will be done in

UTA

SDU

SDU

Tree

consistence with “industry best practices at the time of decommissioning.”

The FPSO, EEPGL said, “is expected to be towed away, and the FPSO mooring system will be disconnected and abandoned on the sea floor—consistent with standard industry practice.”

Pressed on the vague language being used in the documents that leaves a vacuum of information for public consumption, Jackson noted that this was done in a deliberate fashion.

According to Jackson, this is the case since, at present there are numerous uncertainties and unknown factors in order to present details with more specificity.

He reminded too that the decommissioning plans are yet to be developed.

When asked to provide

what informs what amount is being deducted from Cost Oil for Decommissioning, Jackson was unable to provide a definitive answer.

He further contended that he was unable to, at the time, provide an equation that determines the amount of money to be deducted for the p u r p o s e o f decommissioning.

Under the Production Sharing Agreement that has been guiding the operations of ExxonMobil since 2016, the company would have already begun deducting money from its operations for the decommissioning activities from the oil being produced.

Environmentalist and International Attorney at Law, Melinda Janki in December last, had lamented the arrangement.

She had noted in a public missive that at the end of production, the oil wells must be decommissioned i.e. permanently shut down and securely capped so they do not leak and pollute the Atlantic Ocean.

She had noted that a financial report by the global think tank IEEFA shows that by 2024, Esso will have deducted US$227M for decommissioning in Liza 1 alone.

“Obviously, Esso will keep on taking out decommissioning money for as long as it can.”

She had also noted that there is no guarantee that Esso will p r o d u c e t h i s decommissioning money when the wells have to be shut down.

“There isn't even any guarantee that Esso will exist at decommissioning. The oil industry is known for leaving host countries to clean up its mess.

ExxonMobil could wind up Esso and walk away, leaving Guy a n a t o p a y for decommissioning.”

The wells are ultrad e e p a n d v e r y d a n g e r o u s a n d decommissioning is e x p e n s i v e , s h e r e m i n d e d .

Those concerns had been raised at a time w h en Exxon was producing from the Liza I project.

ExxonMobil Guyana recently commenced public consultations having submitted an application for environmental authorisation for its fifth development in the Stabroek Block its Urau-1 field development.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 14

Thursday June 02, 2022

Trinidad Int'l Energy Conference…

T&T going after relinquishment of blocks to expedite oil search By: Kiana Wilburg & Davina Bagot in Port of Spain

T

he Government of Trinidad and Tobago intends to aggressively expedite exploration activities in the current blocks, suspected to contain significant amounts of hydrocarbons. To ensure this is done, especially as the century-old sector continues to see a decline in production rates, the relinquishment of oil blocks will be pursued to allow interested partners with deep pockets to tap into the benefits.

This was signaled by the T&T Minister of Energy and Energy Industries, Stuart Young at the second day of the country's Energy Conference, being held under the theme 'Leveraging the Industry's Strength for the Energy Transition'.

According to Young, "It makes no sense for Heritage (Trinidad & Tobago's newest state-owned oil and gas company focused on exploration, development, production and marketing of crude oil, through its operations based on land and offshore ) to sit on acreage when there are companies who are willing to spend money on exploration and production. If block holders, including Heritage, are not working their acreage we will

explore and pursue relinquishing the acreage so those who want to produce oil are allowed to do so."

The minister's statement comes on the heels of recent oil discoveries in the country, which currently produces about 60,000 barrels of oil per day. The new discoveries, the Minister said, will push production rates to about 85,000 barrels per day by 2024 and 104,000 barrels a day by 2026.

As the twin island seeks to make the most of its available resources, the Minister explained, "We intend to work with Heritage to identify more farm outs and w o r k o v e r s opportunities...given the global transition to a low carbon economy it is important that we expedite the monetization of our hydrocarbon resources less we remain with stranded assets."

He was keen to point out in his presentation that the most recent hydrocarbon reserve audits have established that Trinidad and Tobago has substantial untapped resources. In fact, the Oil Audit Report by Netherland, Sewell & Associates put the contingent resources at 68 million barrels, with the major contribution being the onshore operators and unrisked prospective resources

of 3.2 billion barrels, of which 90 percent were identified in deep-water.

Ry d e r S c o t t , a n o t h e r consultancy group, has estimated the natural gas prospective resources at 55 trillion cubic feet, of which 64 percent are located in blocks held by upstream companies and 36 percent in open areas.

Meanwhile, as it pertains

to open acreage, Minister Young informed conference delegates that the country currently has an open bid round, which commenced with the deep-water bidround in December of last year. The closing ceremony for this bid round will be held today (Thursday). Presently on the table is a large Continued on page 16)

Trinidad and Tobago Minister of Energy and Energy Industries, Stuart Young

Kaieteur News

Thursday June 02, 2022

PAGE 15

Electoral system most viable option in …civil society groups insist earnest leashing politicians action needed to improve process A

s civil society bodies and other concerned citizens up the pressure on government for not seeking better oil deal for the nation, international analyst Arthur Deakin has reminded that the most viable option to keep politicians in line is the power possessed in the country's electoral system.

Deakin was at the time answering questions concerning the inability of citizens to force the government into demanding more benefits from offshore o p e r a t o r, E x x o n M o b i l Guyana, when he pointed out that they must utilise their voting rights to cause their leaders to listen.

Deakin, Co-Director of Energy at Americas Market Intelligence (AMI) is among numerous international oil industry personnel offering advice and input to Guyana.

He said “What it really comes down to, is going out to vote and holding politicians accountable…”Not only at the presidential elections, but the utilization of municipal and regional elections also contribute to the power citizens have over their leaders. “That's the best way to hold your politicians accountable and responsible for their actions and words,” Deakin submitted.

Guyanese have literally begged the current government to adjust the oppressive provisions in the “lopsided” 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) signed by the former A

A strong electoral system ensures citizens' power over their leaders.

Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) government.

The PSA entails provisions where Guyana is either losing out big from financial loopholes or placing the country at significant environmental risk. These would include non-binding commitments between Guyana and Exxon Mobil toward the country's e n v i r o n m e n t a l perseveration; meager amounts for unauthorized flaring, significant tax exemptions that costs Guyana millions of US dollars, no ring fencing provisions and the withdrawal of revenue from profit oil for work to be done years into the future among

other issues.

During his interview with this newspaper, Deakin had shown how Guyana was not following international standards regarding transparency of its NRF. He told the Kaieteur News that there still seems to be no program or structure in place looking at the amount to be spent by the Natural Resources Fund (NRF) detailed line by line. “We don't know exactly where those funds are going and who are getting it.” Deakin believes that in the name of transparency, a third party independent task force is urgently needed. He said that while there seems to be an accountability team in place, those persons are selected

either directly or indirectly by the government, thus defeating the transparency purpose.

Outside of this, the government is yet to activate the Petroleum Commission Bill which would allow for the appointment of an independent regulator that would be responsible for monitoring and enforcing Guyana's modernized petroleum laws. In fact, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo had stated at an earlier press conference that the Petroleum Commission was not a safeguard against corruption although it was relevant to government's regulatory architecture.

Deakin noted nonetheless that until Guyana puts certain

measures in place, “… [It] will still lack the transparency that is needed.”

Given the advice that Guyana can basically leash their politicians via the electoral process, it would make more focus should be placed in that area by the Guyana Elections Commission especially since there is an ongoing process to strengthen the system. Given an extremely contentious 2020 elections where strong accusations of rigging were made by both the main political parties and the eventual charging of persons before the courts, it was believed that GECOM and/or the government would honour utterances to investigate the systematic

failures that led to the break down in the process.

Currently, consultation for the draft amendment of the Representation of the People's Act (RoPA) is ongoing and that too seems to have some contention where the agency responsible for elections has not sat to offer a collective report on recommendations from its relevant members.

Additionally, some civil society organisations like the Electoral Reform Group (ERG) have also called for more public consultation regarding strengthening the election laws. And while the body made representation for certain changes during their consultation with the country's Attorney General, they were informed that reform of the RoPA was only being conducted at the statutory level at this time.

ERG's Coordinator, Dr. Desmond Thomas had insisted that a comprehensive review of the electoral system was needed and that proposals offered by government were “too narrow” to foster real change within the process.

On the GECOM side, opposition Commissioners have called for an assessment of the Commission's performance during the 2020 elections as this would lean toward better reform measures. Vice President Jagdeo said that persons are before the court for the illegal roles they played in the 2020 elections and that it was (Continued on page 16)

As COVID-19 cases rise: PAHO warns of threat of seasonal flu, hurricanes

A

s countries of the Americas experience an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases for the sixth week running, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director, Carissa F. Etienne, has called for additional vigilance as influenza and hurricane seasons begin.

Over the past week, countries in the region have reported a 10.4% jump in cases of COVID-19, and a 14% increase in deaths, boding a “double threat of a potential influenza surge alongside a rise in COVID-19 cases, the director said during a news conference on Wednesday.

Influenza cases have been exceptionally low since COVID19 began over two years ago, but things have started to change, the Director said during a media briefing today. “The flu virus is circulating again and not just

during traditional flu season,” she added.

Mexico and Peru have seen higher numbers of influenza cases than expected and Argentina, Chile and Uruguay have reported more hospitalizations than usual due to influenza. Cases of respiratory virus in Chile, Paraguay, Brazil, Ecuador, and the Dominican Republic have also spiked among young children.

While most countries have integrated COVID-19 surveillance with efforts to track the influenza virus, Dr. Etienne highlighted that they must build on that capacity “to quickly identify the different respiratory viruses circulating in the Americas.”

The PAHO Director also urged people to ensure they are up to date with the flu vaccine as this reflects the strains circulating now and can provide better protection to all at risk. Influenza vaccination

campaigns are important every year but even more so this year “as we are facing multiple risks at the same time,” she said.

Dr. Etienne also highlighted that while the upcoming influenza season will primarily impact those countries in the southern hemisphere, countries in Central America and the Caribbean must prepare for hurricane season.

“It only takes one massive storm to destroy people's livelihoods, cripple our health systems and lead to countless lives lost,” the PAHO Director said.

And with climate change leading to a rise in the frequency and impact of extreme weather events, such as hurricanes and floods, “we must prepare early so we are not caught off guard.”

While many countries already have national plans for extreme weather events, Dr. Etienne urged leaders to ensure these are up to

date.

“Countries should have a detailed understanding of their risk areas, and the likely populations and health facilities which could be affected,” she said. PAHO will continue to support countries to assess risks and address vulnerabilities ahead of time.

PA H O ' s S M A RT h o s p i t a l s program, which focuses on the renovation of health centers in areas vulnerable to natural disasters has also been applied across the region, helping countries withstand volcanic eruptions, hurricanes and the pandemic.

“Our wellbeing and that of our societies depend on the resilience of our health systems,” the PAHO Director said. “This is an important lesson from COVID-19 that we cannot ignore,” and one which will be addressed by Heads of State during the upcoming Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles on June 6.

The region's health systems, which are still recovering from the disruptions brought by the pandemic, are not only facing a surge in COVID-19 cases, but are being further tested by the spike in current public health events, including Monkeypox, viral hepatitis and other respiratory infections, said Dr. Etienne. Urgent investment in health is therefore “essential to secure everything that we hope for the future of our region: resilience and security, economic prosperity, and the wellbeing of our people,” she added.

Turning to the COVID-19 situation in the region, the Director reported that all subregions except the Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean Islands have seen increases in both cases and deaths – with COVID-19 cases in South America rising by 43.1% and deaths by 21.3% in Central America.

PAGE 16

Thursday June 02, 2022

Kaieteur News

Jagdeo misleading Guyanese on monies owed...

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From page 3 of Guyana.”Jagdeo during his press conference at Office of the President on Monday last had repudiated Sanzillo's analysis saying, “I wonder if he has been thinking before saying these things.”

Elaborating further, Jagdeo pointed to the IMF recommendations for use of the Natural Resources Fund, namely to reduce the fiscal deficit, reduce national debt and save for future generations and in dismissing the objective, pointed to Norway which he said is used as the diamond standard for management of oil and gas money and pointed out that its Wealth Fund was only established in 1996 having been in the industry since the 1960s.

“Thirty years after Norway start to produce oil and gas, Norway then established a Sovereign Wealth Fund,” which by then had seen the Norwegian's per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) already reaching some

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To this end, Jagdeo stressed that Guyana needed to utilise its oil earnings to build the country before addressing the other objectives such as saving for future generations. He was adamant, 30 years after started producing then it started to save because it was recognised “that you had to build national capability first.” Guyana, he said, did not wait 30 years and further noted that there was a sliding scale dictating the amounts to be withdrawn from that account.

The IMF he said, called on Guyana to pay down the deficit but “if you reduce the deficit now in this stage, that means we can't build our highways; we can't build the power plant, we can't build the ports necessary to catapult our economy.”

According to Jagdeo the IMF's core job is to balance budgets and to ensure that

there is balance of payment sustainability, “they are not a development institution.”

He was adamant that paying off the deficit was absolutely not needed at this time.

As it relates to paying off debts, Jagdeo said the stock of US debt is more than 100 percent of that country's GDP and that this was not the case with Guyana.

“Our total debt is less than 30 percent” Jagdeo said, and disaggregated further saying, external debt for the country was just 16 percent of the country's GDP and as such its borrowing is sustainable.

“Our capacity to borrow is significantly greater than most of these countries,” Jagdeo said.

As such, the Vice President is of the view “we don't have to reduce our debt, we have to borrow for our highways now; our hospitals, etcetera; our capacity to repay is greatly enhanced.” On the point raised that each Guyanese owes ExxonMobil

G$9M or US$44,000, Jagdeo quipped “I don't know I owe Exxon no $9M, do you owe Exxon $9M.” To this end, he said, 'the only debts that this country has to repay, is debt contracted or guaranteed by the State.” Sanzillo had contended that given the developments already undertaken and underway, each citizen of this country owes the oil company some US$44,000.

Additionally, at the rate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL)—ExxonMobil Guyana—has envisaged the developments, the ones already identified would see the country repaying ExxonMobil at least US$75B to develop which would mean that the country would be repaying debts on that amount until 2070.

This situation, he said, is likely to change, since the rapid pace of discoveries would also lead to the rapid increase in debt.

More delays in reconstituting of procurement...

From page 10 lamented the fact that the five member PPC was poised to be sworn in since April of this year.

The National Assembly approved the bipartisan Public Accounts Committee as “”suitable candidates” to sit on the PPC are Attorney-at-Law Pauline Chase, Economist Joel Bhagwandin, Rajnarain Singh, Berkeley Wickham

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and Diana Rajcumar. The nominees secured at least two-thirds support from members of the National Assembly in keeping with Guyana's Constitution. Mr. Wickham and Ms Rajcumar have been nominated by the opposition APNU+AFC. The PPC has not been in place since October 2019. During the sitting of the Assembly where the names were approved, Figueira thanked the former PPC- Carol Corbin, Dr. Nankishore Gopaul,

Sukrishnalall Pasha, Ivor English and Emily Dodsonand hoped that they would be “given their rightly deserved dues” for their work in setting up the PPC. Back then, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira noted that the People's Progressive Party Civic-led administration had always proposed that three of the five PPC members represent government and two from the opposition but until now it had been supported.

“I believe that in the process that we went through, I think we have found some very good Guyanese to be able to take on this responsibility and continue the work of the former PPC,” she said.

She highlighted that the PPC largely represented a “younger generation” after having undergone police background checks. Sixty members of the National Assembly from both sides of the political divide voted in favour of the names that were selected.

Electoral system most viable option...

From page 15 satisfied at this point. Opposition commissioners say that despite GECOM committing “in principle” to have the assessment done, they along with the government no longer seem interested.

Recognising the importance of the electoral process and its impact on citizens' rights to transparently elect the leader of their choice, Article 13 member, Dr. Yog

Mahadeo is in the process of writing to the international community, who sends missions to observe Guyana's elections, to raise their voice in support of a Commission of Inquiry into the 2020 events.

These missions played a key role in “safeguarding democracy” during the last polls. The Article 13 letters should be ready in the next two weeks.

Vice President Jagdeo admitted that pressure from citizens forced some first world countries to bow to their demands for greater royalties and windfall tax in their oil sectors.

In Guyana's case, the VP said the same could not happen here as Guyana is bound by a PSA with specific terms that would be considered a breach if changes were made to the current taxation regime.

T&T going after relinquishment of blocks...

From page 11 selection of deep water acreage comprising 17 blocks.

The deep-water bid-round is being followed by an onshore bid round which is expected to open in a few weeks.

In Guyana, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said that by the third quarter of 2022, the government will be looking to auction new blocks which will now require that it aggressively enforces the relinquish-

ment provisions in the contracts it has with companies such as ExxonMobil, Tullow, and Repsol. The historic bid round is expected to be held in the third quarter of this year.

Victoria man allegedly drowns in Ekereku River...

From page 12 river. Upon seeing this, the police were summoned who subsequently retrieved the teen's body.

According to police reports no marks of violence was

seen on the body. The body however, will be transported to Georgetown for a post mortem examination. Jones was a member of the Victoria Kings Football Club. The club in a statement

said that Jones was an integral part of their under 15 team back in 2017.

Having played six pre-season games for the club, Jones was poised to make this debut for the senior team this year.

Thursday June 02, 2022

PAGE 17

Kaieteur News

Purported hiccups in hydro project might be a blessing in disguise Dr. Jailall - says with better oil deal, govt would have been able to finance project themselves

The alleged setback Chinese Contractor China Railway First Group (CRFG) is having in securing finance for the controversial Amaila Falls Hydroelectric Project (AFHP) project might be a blessing in disguise for Guyana. This is according to Dr. Jerry Jailall.

Dr. Jailall comment came following the announcement

by Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo on Monday at a press conference. Jagdeo disclosed that CRFG was unable to secure financing for the project which was earmarked to cost US$700 million, a decrease from its 2012 price tag which was in excess of US$1billion.

In light of the new setback surrounding the multi-million project, Dr. Jailall stated that since the government seems to be delighted to do highcost projects if it use all available leverage points to review and renegotiate the oil contracts, they would have been able to obtain enough money to finance all their energy projects instead of begging companies to do the Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) arrangement.

The Amaila Falls project was first promulgated as a

solution to Guyanas energy demands but had to be shelved on many occasions despite this after assuming office the PPP administration resuscitated the 165 Mega Watt (MW) project.

Back in January, during the presentation of Budget 2022, Senior Minister in the Office of the President, with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh had told the National Assembly that the Chinese contractor, who was granted approval to construct the Amaila Falls Project, will commence operations on the mega venture this year and be completed by 2027. Dr. Singh is reported in the media as saying that the project will be developed under a BOOT arrangement within which the Guyana Power and Light Incorporated (GPL) will purchase power from the operator under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).

However, according to the recent announcement by the Vice President, the contractor had as late as April 22, written to the government “saying that they are having a hard

T&T Energy Chamberpushing...

From page 12 link the massive available geothermal energy resources of the Eastern Caribbean with the petrochemical industry of Trinidad & Tobago through green hydrogen is an especially intriguing opportunity.”

The Energy Chamber, he said will continue to lobby the government for action in this regard while adding that it will continue to promote greater regional integration and the removal of barriers to investment in the CARICOM Single Market and Economy.

Importantly, Trinidad and Tobago's (T&T) Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Rowley has already confirmed that 'unitisation agreements' have been executed with the

Governments of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Barbados and Grenada, to allow for the exploration of hydrocarbon resources in the maritime boundaries shared with these countries.

The politician said during the opening of the conference on Tuesday that it is imperative his government moves beyond the intent to co-operate and aggressively pursue opportunities that utilise its extensive expertise and experience in the energy sector. He is hopeful that the said agreements will help T&T revitalise its oil and gas production stock while ultimately strengthening its economy.

Man jailed for “knocking...”

From page 12 his colleague rushed to his assistance and helped him up.

In a video of the ordeal posted by an eyewitness on Tik Tok, Maxwell could be seen struggling to make it back to his feet.

His feet were wobbling as he staggered towards the vehicle.

When he eventually made

it back to his feet, one person could be heard commenting, 'watch how he buss up the man face'.

The officer was taken to a hospital for concussion observation and treatment for the minor cuts to his face, while Prince was thrown in the lock-ups.

He was later charged with assaulting Maxwell.

time doing the BOOT (Build, Own, Operate Transfer) contract and they want to shift to an EPC (Engineer, Procure, Construct) plus finance” option instead.

Jagdeo explained that under an EPC contract, it would mean that the government would have to secure the finances for the project and that they would be used as the EPC contractor. As such, he disclosed that in light of the developments, government may very well have to retender the project.

“We have been in discussion with the company since November last year, the discussions, the negotiations are very difficult,” according to Jagdeo who indicated that “in the negotiations, we are still trying to get them to meet the commitment that they bid,” Jagdeo added.

The Chinese bid, he said, had committed to 7.7 Kwh but are now saying “they cant go ahead with the BOOT they want to change the basis to an EPC.” He was adamant; however, that if the project cannot be done under the BOOT

arrangement the project would have to be retendered due to the fact thats what the tender was about, a BOOT model not an EPC+ finance model. As such, in a letter sent to this publication, Dr. Jailall questioned the reason for the company backing down.

“My Church folks would say that is God sending us a message, or the devil is trying to defeat us. But in Guyana one man alone decides what is good for the whole country in all things.

He is some peoples little “god,” Dr. Jailall stated.

Dr. Jailall highlighted that the project had a false start and was scandal ridden he questioned how did the procurement process produced a result where a man who never built anything got the contract for building an access road for Amaila back in the initial stage.

With the new snafu, Dr. Jailall stated that Guyana now have the opportunity to rethink the energy mix. To support his recommendation, he stated that Mr. Bhulai, a Guyanese nationalist, has made a good case for solar

Dr. Jerry Jailall. energy as the countrys best, cheaper alternative.

To further prove his point, he highlighted that the Government never responded to the question of how Barbados would be able to produce 178 MW of power that will cost US$100 million, and Guyana is spending almost a billion for the same amount of power. He referenced the article that was carried in this publication on February 23, 2022, under the title, “US$100M to produce

178MW from solar, hydrogen in Barbados.”

In contrast to what Barbados is doing, he stated that the Irfaan Ali Government is pursuing a hydro electrical project at Amaila Falls for a revised cost of US$700M. In closing, he stated, “Pray for smarter leaders to emerge in Guyana,” then adding, “Its our wealth and our country, and we need leaders who care and will fight for the national interest, not the rights of oil imperialists.”

$37M Eccles fire station commissioned The Guyana Fire Service (GFS) will now have a faster response time to fire emergencies along the East Bank of Demerara corridor as a newfire station was commissioned in Eccles on Wednesday.

The new facility which will accommodate two fire tenders and one Emergency Medical Services (EMS) ambulance was a project executed by Kawal Ramdeen General Construction Company to the tune of $37,868,396. Commissioning the fire station yesterday was Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn who noted in his remarks that he is very pleased having this facility opened.

The minister in a Home Affairs Ministry release said: “this speaks to our intentions of establishing throughout the country, the ability to respond to the challenge of fire, to the challenge of search and rescue, and the challenge of security and safety of our people.”

Also speaking at the ceremony was Fire Chief (ag), Mr. Gregory Wickham who explained that a number of

The newly constructed Eccles Fire Station.

(Photo Credit: Ministry of Home Affairs) factors were taken into consideration when choosing the ideal location for the Fire Service and indicated this is due to the number of homes and businesses in Eccles and surrounding communities.

Wickham expressed his gratitude to the Government particularly in the establishing of Fire Stations and for supplying the relevant firefighting appliances, which he said will aid in the execution of their duties with efficiency and a high level of professionalism.

The Eccles Fire Station is just one of the many that will be opened across the country. During the reading of the

2022 national budget by Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, it was revealed that government has budgeted some $508M to continue works at the GFS headquar-

ters at Homestretch Avenue and at Ogle. Part of the money will also be spent on a new fire station at Wales on the West Bank of Demerara and the construction of facilities at New Amsterdam, Berbice, Region Six.

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Thursday June 02, 2022

Thursday June 02, 2022

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Thursday June 02, 2022

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Govt. to make public results of 1999-2017 oil audits…Jagdeo says ExxonMobil agrees to honour audit findings T

he Guyana government is gearing to make public in a matter of weeks, the initial Cost Recovery Audit of the Stabroek Block for the period 1999-2017.

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo in a press conference at the Office of the President Monday last, said that the findings would be made public once the report is concluded. He highlighted that the report is currently being wrapped and this is expected to be completed in a matter of weeks. The audit will be the first released since Guyana started pumping oil.

As for the post-2017 audit, the Vice President reminded that the contract for the 2018 to 2020 audits have been approved and signed and those involved would begin work in June. “By the end of third quarter we should have the first report.”

The VP said that the audit should be completed by then, and this would be done with a

Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, M.P handing over the contract to the contractors for the post-2017 expenses

consortium of local Guyanese as the country moves to build local capacity with the consulting firms from the United States and the United Kingdom; Martindale Consultants and SGS respectively.

Some of the audits currently being looked at would have passed the stipulated two-year auditing

timeframe as stipulated in the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) between Guyana and its offshore operator. And while there has been much concern surrounding the possibilities of losing millions, if not billions in US dollars from bloated expenses, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo is convinced that the company

Man charged for killing Health Ministry driver A security guard accused of fatally shooting a Ministry of Health's driver, Collin McPherson on Friday last has been remanded to prison.

The defendant has been identified as Gregory France, 22, of Chesterfield B-Field Sophia and was charged with the capital offence of murder on Wednesday. He made his court appearance at the Sparendaam Magistrate's Court and the murder charge was read to him by Magistrate, Rushelle Liverpool.

He was not required to plead to the indictable charge and will return to court on July, 12, 2022.

France and his brother were arrested on Friday last at their workplace after an eyewitness had come forward to police with information about the gunning down of McPherson on Thursday evening.

It was alleged that the man had shot the wrong person and had really intended to kill one of McPherson's friend who was present when McPherson was shot dead.

The information police received suggested that the

Dead Ministry of Health Driver, Collin McPherson.

shooter had tried to kill his intended target earlier that day but the individual had escaped. However, later that evening the target showed up at McPherson's home. The killer had allegedly pulled up there and the target ran away but heard gunshots as he was doing so. He returned the

following day to find that McPherson was killed in his place.

The target had reportedly identified the suspect and according to reports reaching this media house, the security guard had admitted to shooting the wrong person.

would allow Guyana to audit its books and even adjust sums to the country if certain costs are not deemed recoverable. The Vice President did not state categorically whether this commitment be ExxonMobil is in writing or whether a verbal declaration, when asked by this newspaper.

“I have made it clear that the timelines in the contract that we have, Exxon has agreed that none of those timelines will affect our

ability to audit.” “That means if you don't do an audit within the first two years, then you lose the right to audit, so we have not lost the right to audit.”

Secondly, the VP related, the purpose of the audit was to ensure what goes into the cost bank and what doesn't.

“So, if we find in the audits expenditure being made that do not form part of the cost bank, then the adjustments would have to be made in the accounts, and so it's either the

accounts would be adjusted in a manner that could see an increase in our profit oil.”

Natural Resource Minister Vickram Bharrat had also stated Monday, following the signing of the post 2017 audit contract that claims to Guyana being out of the timeframe to audit the oil company's expenses is not the case. He said that speculation alleging that Guyana cannot audit because of the elapsed time, “… is not true.”

“We've been in constant engagement with the operator.

And they are willing to support and be a part of the audit,” the Minister informed.

He said additionally, that Guyana is also moving toward having half year audits to ensure the country is up –to-date with current audits. It is for this reason, local companies are involved in the audit, the minister continued; “so that we can move to a stage where we can do year-by-year auditing.

And we don't have to wait until 2022 to do 2018.”

Carpenter who allegedly killed engineer gets $500,000 bail Stherlinga Gilkes called “coconut man” or “Hurby” was on Wednesday placed on $500,000 bail for allegedly killing engineer, Neil Rampersaud.

Gilkes of Plaisance East Coast Demerara, made his first court appearance in the Sparendaam Magistrate's Court before Magistrate Rushelle Liverpool when a charge of manslaughter was read to him.

The charge states that on Sunday May 29, 2022, in the vicinity of Zahora Street, Better Hope East Coast Demerara, he unlawfully killed, Rampersaud, 31, of Better Hope, East Coast Demerara.

The court heard that Gilkes was arrested after he allegedly killed the engineer moments after seriously wounding Mohan Panchu, 42, of Better Hope. It was stated that on the day in question, around 07:30hrs the accused and Panchu got into an altercation first and it led to him arming himself with a steel rod and stabbing Panchu several times about the body. The man was then rushed to the hospital. However, shortly after that incident, Rampersaud reportedly approached Gilkes who was in the vicinity of Zahora Street and demanded that he go to the station for wounding Panchu.

The court heard that the confrontation lead to Rampersaud and Gilkes getting into a heated argument, which then escalated and the decease reportedly lashed Gilkes about his body.

In return, Gilkes allegedly armed himself with a coconut blade and dealt the deceased a stab to his upper left side ribs.

Dead, Neil Rampersaud.

Rampersaud was picked up by public spirited persons and taken to the Woodland Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries while receiving treatment.

The matter was reported, and Gilkes was apprehended. He also handed over the allege weapon that was used to kill Rampersaud to the police.

The police had reported that Gilkes was told of the allegation, cautioned and he admitted to stabbing the deceased, in a caution statement then in an audio and video interview.

Thursday June 02, 2022

Kaieteur News

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Haniff slams unbeaten 73 as Predators beat Jaguars in CPSCL T10

Shafeek, Sookdeo spur West Coast Warriors to victory

Fazeem Haniff hit a belligerent, unbeaten 73 as Apex Predators beat Cambridge Jaguars by ten wickets in the opening round of the 2022 Canadian Premier Softball Cricket League (CPSCL) 10-10 knockout competition last Saturday.

Playing at the William G. Davis Public School Ground in Cambridge, Ontario, the right-handed Haniff struck 10 sixes and a four as Apex Predators safely reached 1123 with 18 balls to spare after the hosts made 110-3 from their 10-overs. Haniff got excellent contribution from vicecaptain, Trevor Singh, who scored a cameo 34 laced with three sixes and a boundary.

Fazeem Haniff Earlier, Apex Predators won the toss and decided to bowl.

Mahendra Jaipersaud hit a top-score of 26 for the Jaguars combination. Meanwhile, the same day at the same venue in the Rapid 100 knockout tournament, Apex Predators also defeated the Cambridge Jaguars by nine wickets. Again, Apex Preda-

tors called correctly at the toss and invited Cambridge Jaguars to bat first. They reached 101-3 from 7.1 overs while Apex Predators responded thrillingly with 103-1 with one ball remaining. Singh once again displayed flamboyance by scoring 57 not out which counted five sixes and three fours. Haniff supported by contributing an entertaining 27. In Cambridge Jaguars’ innings, Jaipersaud hit 38 while Sunil Sankar weighed in with 21. The 10-10 competition is slated to resume on June 12th while the Rapid 100 will continue the same day with the next rounds. Notably, several other Canada-based Guyanese were on show.

Javed Shafeek and Sewsaran Sookdeo shared nine wickets between them to hand West Coast Warriors a 17-run victory over Yakasari when the New National Cricket League continued at Brentwood, Long Island, New York recently. West Coast Warriors won toss and elected to bat, but suffered the early lost of Ameer Singh (01), Rajendra Khan (03) and Surendra Ramcharitar. However, Chandrapaul Persaud and Azad Azeez halted the steady flow of wickets before Azeez was dismissed for 17 while Persaud made 47 off 30 balls with eight fours and one six.

Youghistir Bachan struck one four and two sixes in scoring 30 off 43 balls as West Coast Warriors managed 144-9.

Javed Shafeek

Sewsaran Sookdeo

Somesh Mangar claimed 3-13 and Viveak Chatram took 227. Yakasari lost openers Mahendra Parshram (00) and Nirshaw Khan (10) early in the chase before Tamesh Persaud and Brandon Pydana kept them in the hunt, before Sookdeo removed them both.

Persaud made 38 off 58 balls with three fours while

Pydana scored 20 with one four and one six off 22 balls.

Shameer Mohamed made 12 not out while Gajendra Nauth scored 11 and Andre Bissoondyal contributed 10 as there were bowled out for 127 in 29.4 overs. Shafeek bagged 5-25 and Sookdeo claimed 4-21 for the opposition.

Record Denied! JADCO admits...

Thursday June 02, 2022 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) You might be planning to host a social event in your home tonight or perhaps in a few days. It could have you doing a lot of cleaning, rearranging, and beautifying around the house.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) An exciting new project or opportunity could be presented to you today, Libra.

It could involve a new love or at least a new friend.

Something you've been working on for a long time.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) Today you might want to spend time visiting friends in your neighborhood, Taurus.

Small purchases might be necessary, perhaps new clothes.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) A chance to earn a small amount of money, perhaps by doing a little extra work at home, could come your way today, Gemini. You could hear about it through a friend or colleague.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Contact with friends who live or work far away could bring a string of new opportunities your way. You might also be thinking of taking a trip, perhaps to another country or by boat. .

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) New investment possibilities could present themselves to you today, Sagittarius. This could involve an investment of time, money, or other resources.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) Expect a lot of intellectual stimulation to come your way today, Cancer. Important news could come on the phone, necessitating action on your part in order to bring about a desired end.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) An opportunity to travel with a partner or colleague could come your way, perhaps for business. Any travel planned or begun today is likely to go well and bring you whatever results you hope for.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Your creative talents should be operating at an all-time high today, Leo. You might be offered an opportunity to earn some money putting them to use.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) News of a possible raise could come your way today, Aquarius, possibly through some enterprise that you've been working on.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Se pt. 22) Getting out and working with groups could seem especially appealing today, particularly groups involving athletics or other physical activities.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) A group might invite you to participate in a creative project of some kind today, Pisces. Whatever you do is likely to be stimulating and exciting.

From page 22 record was broken, JADCO tested nine athletes – six Jamaican female athletes, one Jamaican male athlete, one female athlete from the US Virgin Islands and one male athlete from the Bahamas.

Six more athletes were tested on April 18, 2022 – three Jamaican male athletes, one Jamaican female athlete, one male athlete from Curacao and one female athlete from the Bahamas. Going forward, JADCO said they will ensure

Paul’s 5-41 triggers...

From page 24 partnership with Mohammed, who has been short of runs this season, playing positive cricket.

The left-handed Solozano reached his 10th fifty while Mohammed registered his 16th fifty at this level.

By Tea, the Red Force had progressed to 149-2 with Solozano on 56 and Mohammed unbeaten on 55.

After the break, the pair progressed to 178-2 but with the stand reaching 100, Demitri Cameron, in his best performance so far, produced a beauty that left Mohammed for the edge to be taken by Vishaul Singh at slip which opened the flood gates.

After Solozano was caught and bowled by Motie five runs later, none of the other batters reached double figures.

Paul captured four quick wickets including West Indies player Joshua DaSilva (3) and Skipper Imran Khan (2) before removing Brian Charles with a brilliant legside catch - diving full length to his left and Uthman Muhammed, both for ducks.

Today is the second and play is scheduled to commence at 10:00hrs.

that all athletes breaking records would be tested.

“The Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission has recognized that World Athletics has declined to accept the result of the record-breaking performance of Jamaica’s Women’s U20 4x100m relay team on April 17, 2022, since one of the athletes previously tested

by JADCO on April 16, 2022, was not tested on the day the record was broken,” the JADCO statement said. “Whilst our testing conforms with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) protocols, going forward JADCO will ensure the testing of record-breaking athletes despite the frequency of testing.”

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Thursday June 02, 2022

Kaieteur News

Record Denied! JADCO admits testing only 3 members as JAAA plans appeal (SportsMax) - The Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) has admitted that it had only tested three of the four members of Jamaica’s Women U20 4x100m relay team on April 17, 2022, after they had established the now rejected world record set at the 2022 Carifta Games held at the National Stadium in Kingston Meantime, Garth Gayle, President of the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA), in describing the development as saddening, has indicated that his administration is planning to appeal the World Athletics decision

to not ratify the record.

“We are saddened by the situation that four young ladies would be denied the record. The matter is still at a sensitive stage and we would have done the necessary appeals. We are still hopeful that the record will be ratified at a later stage,” he said.

World Athletics has rejected the ratification of the world record because not all members of the team were subjected to doping control.

In a lengthy statement Wednesday, (JADCO) sought to explain the circumstances under which they failed to test all four members of the

relay team.

“The event was won by the Jamaican team which was comprised of four female athletes. They completed the race with a world record of 42.58.

Doping Control was conducted immediately on three of the female athletes,” the JADCO statement said.

“Since one of the athletes was already tested on the 16th of April 2022, a urine sample was not collected from this athlete on the 17th of April 2022. It is customary and in JADCO’s Best Practice incompetition, that if an athlete is tested today in-competition, the said athlete would not be tested the following day in-competition.”

JADCO claims it was in-

The Jamaican team clocked 42.58s in the Women 4x100m.

structed to carry out a specific number of tests for each day of the three-day championships that were being held in Jamaica for the first time since 2011.

“The Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) was contracted by the Ja-

maica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) to 18 urine amples throughout the period of the 49th staging of the CARIFTA Games. The Commission was advised to carry 6 urine tests per day with testing being done on

any athlete who achieved a national/world record. On April 16, 2022, six athletes were tested – three Jamaican female athletes, two male Jamaican athletes and one male athlete from the Bahamas. On April 17, the day the world (Continued on page 21)

Thursday June 02, 2022

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Kaieteur News

CWI confirms “summer of cricket” with visits by Bangladesh, India and New Zealand - Four matches to be played in Guyana (CWI) – Cricket West Indies (CWI) on Wednesday confirmed the full match schedule for the West Indies Senior Men’s team from June 16 to August 21. This will see visits to the region by Bangladesh, India and New Zealand featuring all three formats of cricket.

The list of fixtures features 30 days of men’s international cricket comprising two Tests, nine CG United One-Day Internationals and 11 T20 Internationals at 10 world-class venues. This promises to be a bumper “summer of cricket” for fans across the Caribbean as well as for the West Indies diaspora in the United States of America, when West Indies and India make a return to the Broward County Cricket Stadium in Lauderhill, Florida for two T20Is against India.

Bangladesh will tour the Caribbean from June 16 to July 16 and will face West Indies in two Test matches in Antigua and St Lucia as part of the ICC World Test Championship. The two Tests will be followed by three T20Is and three CG United ODIs in Dominica and Guyana. The first two T20Is will see a return to international cricket at the fully refurbished Windsor Park, where international cricket is being hosted for the first time since the hurricane damage of 2017. The Bangladesh home series will conclude with the third T20I and then three CG United ODIs at the Guyana National Stadium.

India’s white-ball tour will

commence on July 22 in Trinidad and Tobago with three CG United ODIs from July 22 to 27 at Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain, followed by five T20Is in three separate venues. The first T20I on Friday, July 29 will be historic as the first ever Men’s T20I to be played at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in the south of Trinidad. The venue for the back-to-back second and third T20I matches is Warner Park, St Kitts, coinciding with Emancipation Day and Culturama holiday celebrations there. The eight-match India white ball tour concludes with an exciting weekend of back-to-back T20I fixtures at the Broward County Cricket Stadium in Lauderhill, Florida from August 6 and 7.

West Indies’ summer of cricket climaxes with New Zealand’s white-ball tour of the Caribbean, which has been rescheduled from 2020 following the COVID-19 pandemic. The BLACKCAPS will arrive in Jamaica to play three T20Is from Wednesday, August 10 to Sunday, August 14 before moving to Barbados for three day/night CG United ODIs. All nine CG United ODIs are part of the ICC ODI Super League with the West Indies aiming to qualify directly for the ICC World Cup in 2023. Tickets will go on sale available from Thursday June 3 via the new WINDIES TICKETS service, presented by Mastercard at https:// www.windiescricket.com/tickets/. The Test matches against Bangladesh will be on sale initially with the white

Bangladesh tour of West Indies June 16-20: 1st Test – Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua. Local start time 10am June 24-28: 2nd Test – Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, St Lucia. Local start time 10am July 2: 1st T20I – Windsor Park, Dominica. Local start time 1:30pm July 3: 2nd T20I – Windsor Park, Dominica Local start time 1:30pm July 7: 3rd T20I – Guyana National Stadium, Guyana, Local start time 1:30pm July 10: 1st CG United ODI – Guyana National Stadium, Guyana. Local start time 9:30am July 13: 2nd CG United ODI – Guyana National Stadium, Guyana. Local start time 9:30am July 16: 3rd CG United ODI – Guyana National Stadium, Guyana. Local start time 9:30am

ball matches against Bangladesh, India and New Zealand being added in coming weeks. Tickets are available from just US$6.00 for the Test matches against Bangladesh and from US$10 for matches against New Zealand with a range of options from grounds admission to premium seats. For the games against India in the Caribbean, tickets will start from US$20 for grounds admission. Ticket categories and prices for the games in Florida will be announced later in June. In addition to being able to choose and pay for your seats in advance, the service allows fans to save their purchased tickets to

A total 30 days of West Indies Men’s international cricket are scheduled from June 16 to August 21.

their device for ticket scanning at the venue, avoiding the need for queues and

travel to the box offices. Fans registered for the WI Insider fanmail and on the WINDIES

TICKETS service will receive promotional discounts across the games in the Caribbean.

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Thursday June 02, 2022

Kaieteur News

CWI Regional First-Class C/Ships

Paul’s 5-41 triggers dramatic Red Force collapse despite fifties from Solozano & Mohammed

By Sean Devers in Trinidad in association with WD Hotel & Mall Charity & Dave’s West Indies Imports An inspired spell of fast bowling from Keemo Paul triggered a dramatic batting collapse as he ripped out four quick Trinidad & Tobago Red Force wickets, despite 72 from Jeremy Solozano and 68 from Jason Mohammed.

The home team lost seven wickets for 21 runs to end the opening day of their final round First-Class encounter at the Queen’s Park Oval, yesterday.

The 24-year-old Paul had 5-41 to move to 18 wickets in the seaon while left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie supported with 2-38 as the Red Force slumped from 1782 to 203-9 at stumps.

This was after the 26-year-

old Solozano had stroked six fours from 252 balls in 295 minutes during his 10th firstclass half century.

The left-handed Solozano added 118 for the third wicket with the 35-year-old Jason Mohammed, whose 68 lasted 140 balls in 175 minutes and was decorated with 10 boundaries.

Solozano had also put together 54 for the second wicket with Isaiah Rajah who made 26.

Earlier in the day, the Red Force won the toss and opted to bat on a good track and lush green outfield but quickly lost Keggan Simmons (3) who played around a full ball that moved in towards him and was bowled by Paul at 6-1.

Solozano, who was looking solid, was joined by Isaiah Rajah, who replaced

Darren Bravo in the side and stroked Nail Smith for four before stroking a couple of boundaries when Paul pitched up.

Kevin Sinclair, who bowling impressively and slower than he did in the last game, soon trapped Rajah LBW when he missed a sweep shot; just when he was looking set for a big score. The 54-run stand was broken to leave the score on 60-2.

By Lunch the score was 72-2 with Solozano on 26 and Mohammed, who sweep Permaul for four in the last over before the interval, on 10.

After the interval the pair consolidated the position with solid batting. Solozano produced the glue that held the Red Force innings together and he soon shared his in second half-century (Continued on page 21)

GFF distributes M-FAP equipment for Women’s League

The GFF launched the Always Women’s League in 2018.

The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) has distributed football equipment, apparel and footballs to participating clubs ahead of the postCOVID re-launch of the GFF Women’s Development League. The equipment, funded through the GFF’s Members Financial Assistant Programme (M-FAP), was shared with clubs at the GFF National Training Centre in

Providence, East Demerara, on Tuesday, May 31. “We are excited to see the return of women’s football and eager to ensure that our clubs, coaches and players have the tools they need to prepare and then perform at their best,” said GFF President Wayne Forde.

“This development league is designed to nurture talent and capacity across the country as we transition towards the cre-

ation of a full national league.”

The kick-off date for the league and final details of participating teams will be announced shortly. The national development competition is supported by UEFA Assist and, through a comprehensive 2019 memorandum of understanding aimed at supporting football development including women’s football, by the Danish Football Association.

West Indies Tour of Netherlands…

Visitors look to seal series, host in must-win situation The Netherlands and the West Indies will square off in the second ODI of a threematch series at the VRA Cricket Ground in Amstelveen on Thursday.

Netherlands lost the first game by seven wickets. In a rain-affected contest, they got to 240/7. Teja Nidamanuru top scored with 58 while Vikramjit Singh (47) and Max O’Dowd (39) made some important contributions.

However, the West Indies got to the total with comfort, wrapping up the game in 43.1 overs.

Shai Hope scored a magnificent unbeaten century (119*) while Shamarh Brooks (60) and Brandon King (58*) scored fifties in what was an all-round batting effort. Earlier, Kyle Mayers and Akeal Hosein picked up a two wickets each while a wicket each went to Alzarri Joseph, Anderson Phillip and Hayden Walsh Jr. Having taken the lead in the series, West Indies will now look to seal the deal with another win. For the Netherlands, this is now a must-win game to keep the series alive.

The pitch at the VRA Cricket Ground is a balanced

Anderson Phillip picked up his first ODI wicket against Netherlands

one, assisting both batters and bowlers. The average first-innings total on this wicket is 216. Winning the toss and bowling first is an ideal choice.

Fortunately, the weather is expected to be clear. There is no chance of rain and the temperature is expected to hover between 8 and 19 degrees Celsius.

The match bowls off at 5:00am (GMT -4)Netherlands Probable XI: Vikramjit Singh,

Max O’Dowd, Musa Ahmed, Bas de Leede, Scott Edwards (wk), Teja Nidamanuru, Pieter Seelar (c), Logan van Beek, Ryan Klein, Aryann Dutt, Vivian Kingma.

West Indies Probable XI: Shai Hope (wk), Shamarh Brooks, Nkrumah Bonner, Nicholas Pooran (c), Brandon King, Keacy Carty, Kyle Mayers, Alzarri Joseph, Anderson Phillip, Hayden Walsh, Akeal Hosein.

(Sportskeeda)

Kaieteur News

Thursday June 02, 2022

PAGE 25

Golden Jaguars name final 24 for Concacf Nations League campaign Golden Jaguars name final 24 for Concacf Nations League campaign As time boils down for Guyana Golden Jaguars to begin their campaign in the 2022/23 Concacaf Nations League (CNL) group stage matches, the 31 shortlisted players has been trimmed to 24, which was confirmed by the Guyana Football Federation (GFF).

The squad reads Alex Murray, Quillan Roberts, Ale; Clarke, Leo Lovell, Sam Cox, Qunicy Adams, Jalen Jones, Jeremy Garrett, Marcus Wilson, Matthew Briggs, Ryan Hackett, Daniel Wilson, Nathan Moriah Welch, Cilve Nobrega, Anthony Jeffret, Trayon Bobb, Omari Glasgow, Kelsey Benjamin, Job

Caesar, Torrel Ondaan, Pernel Schultz, Stephen Duke McKenna, Tre Medford and Neil Danns.

According to the head coach of the Guyanese unit, the team's training sessions have been of high intensity and very competitive which made it difficult to select the final squad. He also added that there is still some few fine tuning to do with the inclusion of the foreignbased players but working on the team's cohesion has been among his top tasks.

Golden Jaguars' first match will be an away fixture against Montserrat on Saturday, June 4 then they will play at home against Bermuda on Tuesday, June 7.

On Saturday, June 11, Guyana will host the

The Golden Jaguars final training stint before the CNL is in T&T

dangerous Haitian side then the away fixture against the same side happens on

Trophy Stall supports Wakenaam day of Sports Trophy Stall has supported the Wakenaam day of sports which will be held on Saturday at G-Square Cavaliers Ground, Belle Plaine.The entity has sponsored the trophies for the dominoes competition which will commence at 09:30hrs. Among the teams set to participate are Police, Underdog, Allstar, Pensioners, V Net and Good Success. The winning and runner up teams as well as the MVP will receive trophies.

The event is being organised by a number of Wakenaam residents. There will also be a 25-over masters' game on display.

The day's activities are being held to promote unity among citizens and to aid in the development of sports on the island.

Amrita Rambarran (right) and Keesha Seuchand display the trophies

Tuesday, June 14 which is the final playing date of the June 2022 window.

Guyana resumes their campaign when March 2023 window opens. The first playing date of March 2023 is Thursday the 23rd but Guyana play their first match on March 25 in an away fixture against Bermuda.

After that, Guyana will then play host to Montserrat on Tuesday, March 28, in the final Group B fixture.

The Golden Jaguars were drawn in Group B with Haiti, Bermuda and Montserrat.

Guyana is a League B participant along with 15 teams which include Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas

(promoted), Barbados (promoted), Belize, Bermuda (relegated), Cuba (relegated), Dominican Republic, French Guiana, Guadeloupe (promoted), Guatemala (promoted), Haiti (relegated), Montserrat, Nicaragua, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago (relegated).

Golden Jaguars name final 24 for Concacf Nations League campaign

CWI Regional First-Class C/Ships

Keemo Paul

The Golden Jaguars final training stint before the CNL is in T&T

Paul's 5-41 triggers dramatic Red Force collapse despite fifties from Solozano & Mohammed

West Indies Tour of Netherlands…

Netherlands captain, Peter Seelar, will have his hands full as he tries to save the series (CricketNetherlands)

Visitors look to seal series, rt host in must-win situation o p S

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The GFF Women's League is a nationwide competition.

GFF distributes M-FAP equipment for Women's League Printed and published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd., 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown. Tel: 225-8458, 225-8465, 225-8491 or Fax: 225-8473/226-8210.