Kaieteur News

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Each Guyanese owes NEWS ExxonMobil $9 million presently, here’s how and why

Sunday Edition

AIETEUR

June 05, 2022

Online: www.kaieteurnews.com

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

Price $150

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USA aiming to slap 50% tax on oil companies …had already increased its royalty from 18 ¾ % in December ...as politicians in Guyana call any increase ‘breach of contract’

UN doubles down on renewable energy on World Environment Day …as Paris Agreement to limit global

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temperature by 1.5 degrees will likely fail

We can never reduce oil spill risk to zero …UN urges Guyana to fully prepare

During the past week, several Guyanese, including this family, joined the protest for a better oil deal at the Square of the Revolution. The protest continues tomorrow. Change Must Come!

Guyanese unable to combat onslaught of rapid oil and gas projects tell- Environmentalists Exxon & partners

American company boasts of “highest - has been shipping out grade” bauxite find in Guyana resource since 2018 Listen to The Glenn Lall Show @11am, 4&7pm on Kaieteur Radio 99.1/99.5FM

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Kaieteur News

Sunday June 05, 2022

Kaieteur News

Sunday June 05, 2022

Each Guyanese owes ExxonMobil $9M presently, here’s how and why

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Guyanese unable to combat onslaught of rapid oil and gas projects - Environmentalists tell Exxon & partners

Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo

Kaieteur News Publisher, Mr. Glenn Lall

IEEFA Director of Financial Analysis, Tom Sanzillo

Former Deputy Comptroller for the State of New York, currently the Director of Financial Analysis at the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, Tom Sanzillo, two weeks ago concluded that each Guyanese presently owes Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL)—ExxonMobil Guyana – $9M each.

He said, the assessment was based on figures publicly available which points to the oil giant and their partners, Hess Corporation Guyana Inc. and China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOCC), which is in excess of US$30B. According to Sanzillo, since all of the investments funded by loans contracted

by EEPGL and its partners are to be repaid using cost oil, which essentially means that the approximately 750,000 persons living in Guyana owes some US$44,000 or G$9M each.

The conclusions did not go down well with Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, however, who last week Monday sought to castigate the analysis by Sanzillo as lunacy and insisted that the only debts the country was responsible for was those contracted or guaranteed by the State.

It would be poignant to note that, each of these referenced by Jagdeo is in fact represented in the Official Estimates each year as inflows while debt repayment from these types of loans are also reflected.

Sanzillo in response via a public missive contended that Vice President Jagdeo was misleading the nation or that the National Estimates are incorrect to which the politician has since doubled down repeating his position during outreaches held in Berbice.

Publisher of Kaieteur News, Glenn Lall, during his radio broadcast on Friday

last sought to bring clarity to the affair by seeking to point out that since the monies said to be expended by ExxonMobil Guyana was being had from cost oil, the debt belonged to the people since the oil belongs to the people.

He prefaced his arguments during his live

broadcast by reminding that at the time Sanzillo gave his initial pronouncement, many other oil experts were also telling Guyana to hold off on renewing the Liza I Permit until “we get it right and squeeze ExxonMobil to get more benefits for the poor people wah taking bare rice Continued on page 15

The cover page of the contract depicting its signatories.

In a sparsely populated country which remains mostly uneducated in matters pertaining to the oil and gas industry, the people of Guyana have become burdened and more so unable to combat the onslaught of the rapid oil and gas developments currently taking place.

This is the view of a group of environmentalists, who recently highlighted their concerns in a letter to the Board of Directors of the US oil major, ExxonMobil.

The letter was also sent to the o i l c o m p a n y ’s C h i e f Executive Officer, Darren Woods as well as Exxon’s local affiliates - Hess and China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC).

In the document, dated June 2, 2022, the activists, including Alissa Trotz, Isabelle DeCaries, Jocelyn Dow, Elizabeth DeaneHughes, Arthur Thijm, Michael Adams, Sharmaine Narine, Pamela Fraser and Hollis France all agreed that the oil operations have had serious consequences on the environment and its multiethnic people, as the activities continue to take place in disregard for the legal regulations of Guyana.

“ExxonMobil is currently concentrating most of its future development in the oil and gas sector in this

Elizabeth Deane-Hughes country located on (the) coast of South America.

From the inception, Liza-1 Oil Field Development, ExxonMobil has ignored concerns expressed locally and internationally,” the group explained.

They said that the Liza One development started up without parent company insurance, coupled with the lengthy startup time for flaring; illegal and continuous gas flaring; dumping of toxic waste water in the sea and the company’s refusal to sign or add names of directors as required by the Environmental Protection (EP) Act. While listing another area in which they believe international best practices were ignored, as well as the law governing the operations, the environmentalists shared

Alissa Trotz that there are controversial environmental impacts outlined for Liza One and Two, as well as Yellowtail projects.

Meanwhile, as it pertains t o t h e G a s - t o - E n e rg y pipeline, they complained that the proposal is fraught with environmental irregularities and noncompliance with legal requirements. This is particularly so as the developer failed to consult with those within the Area of Influence (AOI), and did not submit a Gas Leak Management Plan that would identify measures to be implemented in the event of a gas leak.

The activists alluded to the fact that Guyana was bestowed with the prestigious #1 “Best of Ecotourism” destination award in 2019, as they urged Continued on page 15

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

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

EDITORIAL

The vital importance of Guyana’s oil to Exxon

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Sunday June 05, 2022

Kaieteur News

f there were any doubts before about the signifi cance of Guyanas oil to Exxon, those can now be discarded. The CEO of the American oil giant said so himself (“Guyanas oil critical for Exxons increased global production -Darren Woods”) -KN May 31). Since that pivotal role of Guyanas oil is now a widely known fact, CEO Woods is on solid grounds in saying what he said.

But when he said so publicly, it reveals the feebleness of Guyanese leaders in their continuing failures to capitalise on this natural resource endowment.

To use Mr. Woods own words, Guyanas crucial contributions rings like the stuff of corporate dreams” “In Guyana, the company has two oil fields in production and two more in development, and made new discoveries that increased the estimated recoverable resource to nearly 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent.” In the language of the ordinary man, Guyana has an ocean of oil beneath its seabed.

The exploration has just begun, and the Stabroek Block alone involves approximately 10,350 sq miles. It is an incredible amount of space that Exxon has been given to explore for oil, and several times bigger than Trinidad and Jamaica combined, with not even Haiti as big. However viewed, it is reasonable, even safe, to think that the oil discoveries of Exxon in Guyanas offshore waters are only just beginning.

“Two oil fields in production” and “two more in development” as excitedly gushed by CEO Woods could represent the tip of our undersea oil iceberg. Whatever description we come up with, be it iceberg, mountain, ocean, for the underwater oil possibilities, they all fit. Thus, it makes complete sense for Mr. Woods to speak so glowingly of Exxons great Guyana oil boon before his companys investors.

Oil “reserves” have great significance in how the stock markets value oil companies. Guyanas 11 billion barrels have hit the sweet spot or Exxon, and given that more as yet undiscovered billions are probable, the company is sitting on a mountain of a gold mine in this country. All things considered, it may not be too much of a stretch to say a mountain range of oil possibilities exists in Guyana, which sets up Exxon nicely for years to come.

Even further, the quality of Guyanas oil is premium grade, as in light and sweet. To top it all off, it is cheap for Exxon, so unimaginably dirt cheap that it is almost free. There is a little fly in the oil ointment, though, and it is a pest, a real nuisance creature that buzzes and torments.

The problem is that Guyana is getting too little for its oil, and more and more Guyanese are coming to this understanding. The sentiment is that Exxon has robbed them, and Guyanese leaders are in cahoots with the company. Many have high hopes of this oil, and they are banking their future well-being on what Guyana gets from its wealth, and what that should mean for the ordinary citizen. It is a spreading belief among Guyanese that current leaders are failing to rachet up their energies, not applying sufficient pressure, on Exxon. Frustration and fury are intensifying, and this does not harbour well for the peace and stability of society. To compound matters, one half of Guyana sees Governments sharing of the national patrimony with the other half, while there is nothing equivalent coming their way.

A growing mindset among Guyanese is that since this quality oil means so much to Exxons profitability and its shareholders, then our political leaders must find ways to use it to extract more from the American oil monster. We have the commodity in huge quantities presently with more likely to be found, hence we are in the drivers seat and should call the shots.

Exxon needs it, craves Guyanas oil, therefore, we must wield it like a weapon and make the stubborn (and cheapskate) oil company come to a fairer place. It must pay more for our oil, it must be made to feel the heat, it must be seen as a greedy enemy, and not as a partner anymore. Exxons executives and shareholders are rejoicing, while Guyanese are grieving. This must not be allowed to continue.

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

Root cause solutions and national development plan needed, not random acts of cash handouts and random announcements of projects DEAR EDITOR, Is the Government simply “winging it” or does the Government have a plan? This week, the VP and team were deluged with complaints by disgruntled supporters in Region 6. The Government does not appear to have a 5-year or 10-year National Development Plan. A partys election manifesto is not a national development plan. What we have seen so far are random acts of cash grants being announced to various groups in a “Santa Claus,” “squeaky wheel gets the grease” approach. For instance, instead of root cause solutions for the Uitvlugt workers, a grant of $250,000 was announced for

the recipients to “do business.” Exactly what type of businesses did the Government have in mind? Plantain chips and tamarind balls? So, you actually can give a canecutter a quarter million dollars and tell them, “Go forth and start a business,” just like that? How does this solve the root cause of their current unemployment due to no work available during the “out-of-crop” season? It does not. How about introducing a national “unemployment benefits” programme as part of an income support system? When that $250,000 is finished, sugar workers will need another cash grant, and another, unless we are doing

“root cause” solutions.

When I think about sugar, the song “Killing Me Softly” comes to mind, as they are giving away sugar lands, giving away the packaging plant that was supposed to help save sugar, destroying the sugar research fields, etc. As the people would say in the village, “Sugar dead but he shame fuh shut he eye.” The Government has not kept promises about revitalising the sugar industry and is stringing the workers along because they dont want to give the death announcement.

Are we going to be a hamper and cash grant operation based on what side of the bed

our Guyana “god” woke up on? One morning, we heard Berbice will get stadium, hotel, and mall. Next morning, Uitvlugt cane cutters getting $250,000 to start business.

Then, we hear fishermen getting $150,000 since the oil operations chasing away the fishes and “ting bad” with fishermen. So whats next when the $150,000 runs out?

The oil companies would have more wells in operation, and this is likely to harm fishing operations in a worse way.

The “Our Wealth, Our Country” group reported that fishermen in Mahaicony asked for the bridge where the boats come in to be repaired (Continued on page 5)

Sunday June 05, 2022

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Expose those who boast of being engines of growth while sacrificing their $70,000 per month, P.A.Y.E, physical and mental stamina. immediately double the salafind any other employment. employees wellbeing I hope this is not typical ries and wages of all Private Today, I met a young man, 27,000 (this goes to governDEAR EDITOR, Last week, I referred to the plight of a number of young women employed as Security Guards in the Public and Private Sectors.

I made a case in point about Ms. Tracy Flue, who lost her three young children in a fire while she was at work, in what we call graveyard hours’, because she couldnt

39 years old, who earlier secured employment as a Driver, in a large private establishment. I secured a copy of his Letter of Appointment which states as follows:- Salary,

Root cause solutions and national...

From page 4 and nothing has been done despite promises by Government people.

Also, the President himself chimed in with a $100,000 grant for the disabled. Then the Government announced $2+ billion in relief for the rich gold miners. Do gold miners need emergency relief above others? How about all those self-employed people who dont have stable Government jobs with stable salaries and benefits taxi drivers, carpenters, unskilled workers, market vendors, labourers? How about housewives (who work but dont get pay), retail shop and restaurant workers, pensioners, security guards, the disabled, single parents, people on public assistance?

With the little oil money coming in, we must take a sustainable, structural approach to revamping the compensation and income support structures. This is an area for Reform and Reinventing Government. While we must spend on physical infrastructure since we had been way behind and most villages have many mud roads that need paving, there must be a concurrent plan to roll out a new structure for a “living wage,” Costof-Living Adjustments (COLAs) across the board including annual increases in Old Age Pensions and NIS pensions. We must also create new structures of income support to cater for the army of self-employed people who do not qualify for NIS benefits

and pensions. How about taxfree salaries similar to Exxon, HESS and CNOOC? I will support a Third Party who can promise a revamping of the salary and income support system!

The announcements of projects and grants are commendable, but they all seem random and scattershot.

There must be a “Plan” for cash grants, so everyone knows the timelines for which groups are getting grants, how much, and when. But cash grants are not a replacement for reinventing the compensation and income support structures which should be designed to trigger ongoing cost-of-living increases as part of a “living wage” approach. Unions must sue to enforce collective bargaining agreements and not allow themselves to be run over as happened under both the PNC and PPP. The minimum wage should be at least $100,000.

We can do better as a rich nation endowed with an abundance of natural resources,

but we must replace all those “sellout” leaders with nationalist leaders with working class philosophies. Our leaders are working for the oil companies, not the people of Guyana. The Guyanese worker is going nowhere unless we are united as “One Guyana” fighting for renegotiation of the worst oil contract in the world. The contract is being defended by the PPP, PNC, and the oil imperialists on one side versus the working people of Guyana.

Nation, wake up! Its our wealth and our country. Dont let the crooked politicians steal your birthright to a better life! The rich getting richer, and you the poor, getting poorer. And they call this, “One Guyana.”

Sincerely, Dr. Jerry Jailall

ment), N.I.S. 9,000, this leaves him with a grand sum of $51,000 per month.

Of course, if he opted or is required to work thru his lunch period, he was offered $1,000 and if he again is required or opted, to work additional hours, he can earn overtime money.

This means he runs the risk of developing an ulcerated stomach.

May I add this caveat, driving in any part of Guyana today is stressful and requires

of the fifty thousand (50,000) jobs, weve been told will be available as a result of policies and programmes by the present administration.

Mind you, the cost of food and just about everything else has gone up and from my own experience certain friends in the Private Sector are still marketing poor quality goods, which is putting an additional burden on the ordinary man and here I use this opportunity to again call upon the government to

Sector Employees and this will force some of their friends in the Private Sector to follow suit. In conclusion, may I make it clear that I am aware of some private sector businesses and entities that treat their employees well and pay decent salaries.

The time is near to expose those who boast that they are engines of growth while sacrificing the wellbeing of their employees.

Hamilton Green Elder

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Review of former Guyana Police Commissioner Seelall Persauds book DEAR EDITOR, Former Guyana Police Commissioner, Seelall Persaud, opened up about his remarkable journey in law enforcement in his autobiography or memoir Stepping Out of the Herd: My Life in the Guyana Police Force (2022). The book took us through the humble life of young Seelall as he was growing up, life in Essequibo, his family life, his ancestors, and his 33.5 years as a law enforcement officer, rise through the police force (GPF)

ranks to become the top cop, challenges and obstacles faced including political interference and racism, reforming the GPF, and his forced retirement.

He also gave a brief overview or history of the police force (GPF) from its founding in 1838 and how it was used and abused as a controlling force of the population rather than as an institution for law enforcement. He offers recommendations for reforming the force including on recruitment, training, promotion, and

professionalism.

It is one of the finest books I have read, finding it gripping and quite engaging.

I did not want to put it down after I started reading the first I did so for a book and I read hundreds if not thousands in my student years and teaching career that spanned over five decades. He is brilliant.

I think it is the first book from a former Guyana Police Commissioner or anyone from the GPF. I wrote dozens of book reviews; this one gives me joy in penning about it. I

do not hesitate in recommending it for readership and for research purposes especially for students and those in academia in the fields of political science and sociology. It should be compulsory reading for all college students to know about various aspects of Guyanas history, sociology, and politics.

I am most impressed with the use of language and the free flow of the prose. Seelall writes so well. He is easily readable. There are a few typos and some chapters could do well with editing for continuity with the content of the preceding chapter. But overall, it is well written. Politicians should grab a copy and pay heed to the last couple chapters on reforming the force.

He makes definitive statements.

The book reveals how Seelall had a dazzling rise through the GPF and ultimately had a dazzling career, becoming among the most famous police commissioners in Guyanas history. In this vital memoir, Seelall revealed the inside stories of his family, his grandparents, his training as a police officer, and his policing career. He shared his candid experiences as a lawman from recruitment, undergoing training, being forced to consume beef against his cultural and religious upbringing, and his many encounters with criminals, politicians, and ordinary folks.

His professionalism, integrity, and reputation as a nononsense officer catapulted him to the position of police commissioner.

The son and grandson of

farmers, Seelall grew up in rural Essequibo and also spent time during school breaks on the islands with cousins. He came from very humble beginnings, receiving his primary and secondary education on the Essequibo Coast. He loved cricket. He told how he lived a life marked by relative poverty and deprivation and experiencing racism and yet soared through the GPF ranks. He stated he lived by the cultural values of his ancestors and parents and carried those in his training as a law enforcement officer and through his career as well as in his life.

He moved to the capital city of Georgetown and later Timehri for training as a police officer. Initially, he toyed with the idea of joining the Defence Force but his older brother pointed the disadvantage that he would be stationed on the borders of Guyana and be away from family. The brother steered him towards the Police Force.

He entered the police academy, undergoing the training, graduating with distinction.

He was assigned duties far away from home in the deep interior of the country before settling down in Georgetown.

He served with honour, living and enforcing the values he learned growing up as a young man that would carry him through 33.5 years in the Force acting with integrity, courage, decisiveness, loyalty, and patriotism to the force and to the nation. He set out a programme to build trust between the Police Force and communities with high crime rate. He wanted the police to be a professional Force that must do what is right.

The book addressed controversial topics and offers insights into the challenges the GPF faces recruitment training cadets, anti-Indian racism, police morale, corruption inside the Force, political interference in law enforcement, and so much more.

He shed light on anti crime measures, youth programmes to get gangs off the streets, the prison outbreak and the so called Buxton Uprising, Fine man gang, Phantom gang and individuals tied to them, Lusignan and Bartica Massacres, capture of violent criminals, Roger Khan, drug trafficking, Colombian connection, his training in UK, USA, Brazil, shootouts with violent criminals, corruption among some elements of the Force, declining morale, political directives of the coalition that made that compromised his professionalism and that of the Force, and much more.

Seelall was dismayed by the corruption among some police officers especially among the old guard, and it is

fair to say that the corrupt was upset with him for cracking down on them. He made passing reference to Burnhamism and banning of foods. He gave chilling accounts of terrorist plots against political opponents during the dictatorship and harassments during the tenure of the coalition (20152018, the year he retired). He described his experiences with politicians including President Cheddi Jagan, Bharrat Jagdeo, Donald Ramotar, David Granger, Khemraj Ramjattan, Basil Williams, and Winston Felix. He also gave accounts of how some of his colleagues undermined him.

Seelall came to be known as a tough leader, a fixer of problems not afraid to address complex matters. His interest in fighting crime cannot be denied. Although the GPF was politically compromised during the dictatorship, and had a bias towards the PNC, he acted professionally and did not take political sides. He was quite upset when he was told that police officers were expected to vote PNC and when instructed how to vote, marking the X next to the PNC palm tree in the December 1985 fraudulent election witnessed by his commander. He accepted at the time that was the way things were done in the Force politically compromised. After working with various departments within the GPF, including overseeing intelligence, and when he became PC, Seelall tried to transform the force.

He tried to slash crime rates and professionalise the vocation of the cop by providing computerised training in filing reports. Zara Realty (Sobhraj family) of NY equipped the Force with a computer training lab. Seelall tried to use computers to revolutionise the Force especially in reporting and keeping tab of crimes and to combat crime with modern datadriven policing. Efforts at reform were stymied. He did not receive support from the then coalition administration to modernise and reform the Force.

Seelalls career has not been without controversy, certainly under the PNC led coalition administration.

There was the crisis of relations between himself and the coalition, a crisis inflamed by a virtual non-issue relating to then President, David Granger. Seelall was sent on leave while an inquiry was launched into why he did not investigate a benign (nonserious, jovial) threat against Granger that was reported some five months later (Continued on page 57)

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L B T LUNT.. UNT...B BL B Sunday June 05, 2022

Kaieteur News

The gangsters will not triumph!

The gangsters masquerading as leaders are daily trying to pull wool over our eyes.

We know it's just a survival tactic; they are ashamed that gradually people are gaining knowledge that they have made deals that will indebt this nation for generations to come.

They are travelling throughout the country to persuade citizens that they still have credibility, but don't be fooled, they have none.

These people have no heart for you and me; they are inherently selfish human beings who are obsessed with depriving the poor and needy. They dangle random cash grants to solicit the support of the poor and vulnerable while they hog the real wealth for themselves and cronies.

But be assured, their deceptive plans are unravelling to the point of full exposure.

They will not be allowed to sink this nation into permanent destitution.

We call on all right thinking Guyanese to come out and support the protest for what rightfully belongs to ALL of us at the Square of the Revolution – Monday through Friday from 10:00 – 12:00hrs.

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US$9B audit report should be subject to Parliamentary scrutiny - Economist Once completed, the report on the US$9 billion audit of ExxonMobil’s expenses should be made available for parliamentary scrutiny.

This is according to an economist, Elson Lowe, who said that this is particularly important as the four months timeframe to complete the audit remains questionable.

Lowe, who is attached to the Office of the Opposition Leader as an advisor on youth and economic issues, told Kaieteur News that having access to details of the audits should be where the public focuses its attention.

His comments come days after the Government of Guyana signed a contract for a four-month review or audit of ExxonMobil’s expenses between the years 2018 to 2020 that has already been billed to the country.

The consultancy was awarded to VHE Consulting which is a registered partnership between Ramdihal & Haynes Inc., Eclisar Financial, and Vitality Accounting & Consultancy Inc. The Local Consortium will be supported by International firms- SGS and Martindale Consultants for the ‘Cost Recovery Audit and Validation of the Government of Guyana’s Profit Oil Share’.

During the signing of the contract, Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat told reporters that once complete, the audit would be made public.

He could not state whether the report would be tabled in the National Assembly as he explained this was dependent on the contract signed with the oil operator.

However, Lowe said that not only should the audit be

made public but the parliamentary oversight committee such as the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) should be privy to the details of the expenses so that the National Assembly can publicly debate its findings.

He said that this is the level of transparency and accountability that will leave no question about Exxon’s oil spending unanswered.

“Exxon and its partners have presented to Guyana very hefty bills, it is only fair that the details of the expenditure be made available for public scrutiny and when I say this, I don’t mean that the raw information contained in possibly hundreds of bills which amounts to the billions that Exxon claims it spent on production should just be handed to the public…there are forums for this, the PAC and National Assembly provide a suitable avenue for the details of the audit to be examined and scrutinised publicly,” Lowe stated.

He emphasised, “While concerns have been raised over the timeframe that the audit is expected to be completed, I don’t believe that we should concern ourselves so much with the timeframe because if the company has the manpower or the assistance…I believe it could be done, the company would have international partner helping along so it is possible.”

Nevertheless, the economist asserted, “What should be more concerning to the public is that details and information provided to audit passes through some form of public scrutiny because hav-

ing a locally conducted audit that gives its blessing or approval to the poor spending or fraud of the oil company would be a complete travesty.”

According to Lowe, once the information is made available, there are ways of identifying red flags in Exxon’s spending.

He explained, “There are certain things that will come up in the expenditure that will definitely raise questions about what Guyana paid for. For example, luxury items like first class tickets included in our bills would definitely be something that we would want to question… that’s why I think it would be important for the details provided in the audit to be placed before the PAC and then to a public debate in the National Assembly.”

Lowe is not alone in his views of making the audit details of Exxon’s spending public.

Chartered Accountant and Attorney-at-Law, Christopher Ram has been requesting that the administration takes its efforts a step further and make the details and findings of the audit into the Liza 1 and Liza 2 oil projects public.

In a previous comment to this newspaper, Ram had noted that it would be in the best interest of Guyana to have the details of the expenditure in the open. He noted that US$9.5B is too huge a bill for the country to foot without even knowing what it is paying for.

Further, the Chartered Accountant said that when the details of the audit are exposed then Guyana will be

Dem boys seh...

Common sense, road sense and business sense better dan degree Yall listen to wah Glenn Lall telling yuh. De man might nat be an oil expert but he know wah he talking.

Yuh dont need all dem fancy degrees fuh understand wah tek place and wah still tekkin place in de oil and gas sector. All yuh need is lil common sense.

Some ah we does feel dat we gat to get university education fuh be sensible. But we only need common sense.

Most prablems can get solve with simple common sense.

One time wan uneducated father went camping with he son. Dem set up tent and went to sleep. A few hours later de

father wake up de son and tell he, “Look up to de sky and tell meh wah yuh see?”

De son answer, “I seen thousands of stars.”

De father ask he, “And wah dat tell yuh?”

De son reply, “It tells me that there are millions of galaxies and planets.”

De father turn to de son and tell he, “Well, it telling me dat somebody thief we tent.”

Glenn Lall gat common sense, road sense and business sense.

Dat is three senses more dan de odder man wah gat fancy initials in front of and behind he name but dont

know he head from he foot when it come to oil.

Some ah we leaders gat common sense like dial-up internet. Dem nah use it fuh years.

But when common sense abandon yuh, yuh does gat to use road sense. Like de boy wah go home after writing he CXC. He father ask he, “How was de exam?”

De boy had to use he road sense fuh answer he father, “Dem examiners ask questions I dont know, so I wrote answers dat dem will not know also.”

Talk half. Leff half.

better able to track the spending for future projects.

“It’s all in the interest of good governance... Hopefully, it gets done as soon as possible so if there are adjustments to the spending, for instance, if any incorrect costs are allocated, we can make the appropriate adjustments,” Ram had said.

While other local individuals and civil society groups have also implored government to share certain information regarding the oil and gas sector.

Economist, Elson Lowe.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 10

Sunday June 05, 2022

We can never reduce oil spill risk to zero…

UN warns Guyana to take note and prepare for consequences of oil spill UN Resident Coordinator in Guyana, Yesim Oruc

T

he United Nations ( U N ) , a n intergovernmenta l organisation, has urged Guyana to fully prepare for an oil spill disaster as the risk

of such an event can never be narrowed down to zero.

On Saturday, the agency's local arm - UN Guyana issued a statement on the o c c a s i o n o f Wo r l d

Environment Day, being observed today (Sunday).

Titled 'Guyana knows: environmental protection at home must be accompanied by international climate

justice' and sub-headed 'No one person, country or company can afford to see the inaction of others as an excuse to shirk responsibility for our shared environment,'

the UN Resident Coordinator in Guyana, Yesim Oruc reminded that the earth is being shared, and therefore each person has a responsibility to stand up for it, nourish, restore and protect its systems and natural resources.

It is in this light that, she referenced Guyana's offshore oil and gas operations.

According to the UN Coordinator, “With drilling operations expanding off Guyana's coast, it's going to be absolutely vital that oil companies and national authorities are fully prepared to respond quickly and effectively to any kind of spill.”

More importantly, the Resident Coordinator explained, “The recent spill in Peru demonstrates that we can never reduce risk to zero.” It was also noted that while the 2020 launch of Guyana's National Oil Spill Contingency Plan is a welcome development, it remains critical for continued and close collaboration between operators, insurers and national emergency responders to ensure readiness for a worst-case scenario off Guyana's coasts.

The major offshore oil operator, ExxonMobil is yet to give Guyana full insurance coverage in the event of an oil spill for its ongoing operations. In fact, the company has said on numerous occasions, when asked about insurance, that it takes the necessary precautions to ensure that such events do not take place.

For instance, ExxonMobil has explained that the company includes the use of “modern technology” to detect leaks and trigger shutdowns in the event of an incident. However, it has been argued that the mere use of technology cannot be relied on for the safety and security of not only Guyana's marine resources, but also that of the Caribbean's, given

that the developments offshore are likely to impact states nearby.

Recently, the Liza One Permit was renewed to include a parent company g u a r a n t e e . T h e Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in making the 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.”

A similar clause is included in the Liza Two Permit which states at Section 12.5 that the “Permit Holder must provide from the Parent Company or affiliate companies, one or more legally binding agreements to the EPA, undertakings to provide adequate financial resources to pay or satisfy their respective obligations if (Continued on page 12)

Sunday June 05, 2022

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Sunday June 05, 2022

UN warns Guyana to take...

From page 10 EEPGL fails to do so,” however this is yet to be honoured by the developer.

M e a n w h i l e , Vi c e President Bharrat Jagdeo has assured that his administration is now working with the parent company to secure such guarantee to cover the entire Stabroek Block.

“We are working with the companies to secure a parent guarantee that will cover the entire Stabroek Block. Not Liza 1, Liza 2, Payara or Yellowtail, but the entire Stabroek Block,” he said in an interview with a media operative, Eddie Layne back in March this year.

The VP did not disclose figures, or further details regarding the guarantee his government is now looking to secure from ExxonMobil, more than two years post first-oil.

The Peru Oil disaster Meanwhile, more than four months after the disastrous oil spill in Peru – the Peruvian authorities have sued Spanish oil giant, Repsol, for a total of US$4.5B for the environmental disaster.

On January 15, approximately 12,000 barrels of crude was spilled from one of the La Pampilla refineries, which is owned by Repsol, off the coast of

Ventanilla in the region of Lima, Peru.

The spill was reportedly caused by shock waves from an undersea volcanic eruption near Tonga in the South Pacific Ocean. At the time of the undersea eruption, Suezmax tanker, Mare Doricum, was offloading a shipment of Brazilian crude oil at a La Pampilla refinery offshore mooring buoys when a quantity of the cargo was released.

According to a statement

by Peru's National Institute for the Defense of Competition and Protection of Intellectual Property (INDECOPI), a lawsuit was filed before the 27th Civil Court of the Superior Court of Justice of Lima, on behalf of more than 700,000 affected citizens.

Repsol's Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Josu Jon Imaz had announced that the clean-up and remediation of the spilled crude is expected to cost some US$65 million.

However, Kaieteur News understands that the process in the lawsuit that was filed against the oil giant, allows an abstract valuation of US$3B for the damage caused by the spill and US$1.5B for the nonmaterial damage to consumers, users and third parties.

Kaieteur News

Sunday June 05, 2022

PAGE 13

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

SUNDAY Guyana deserves a better oil deal!

The Environmental Permit for the Liza Phase 1 project will expire on Tuesday, May 31, 2022, g i v i n g t h e E PA , t h e r e g u l a t o r y b o d y, a n opportunity to correct the wrongs in the oil deal signed in 2016.

This renewal is a glimmering chance to reel in the 'big fish' rather than sit all day, or in this case years, waiting for revenue that might never materialise as some experts have already warned.

T h e E PA a n d t h e Government of Guyana must work hand-in-hand to correct the lopsided Exxon deal.

But should they betray us, each citizen can join the fight for a better deal for Guyana.

You can do so by way of court action or by taking to the streets in protest.

Whatever you do, do not remain silent. Your action today will determine your future.

MONDAY Whither the CoI into the 2020 elections fiasco?

After five tortuous months of drama, deceit and devastation over the March 2020 elections, one would have thought by now a fullblown investigation would have been conducted.

After all, there have been claims and counter claims about electoral malpractices and though some folks have been hauled before the court, citizens are not convinced that we have gotten to the root of the problem that afflicts Guyana Elections Commission and what led to the fiasco back in 2020.

On assuming office, none other than the President, Irfaan Ali told Guyanese that his government would launch a Commission of Inquiry into the disputed polls. Two years l a t e r, b o t h t h e P P P / C Government and the Guyana Elections Commission seem unconcerned about such an inquiry. This is a travesty and tragedy for this nation.

Which serious, sensible and stable country would allow this? Guyanese deserve better!

TUESDAY We Must All Stand Up and Fight!

While the world seems to

be concerned about the future of Guyana and its people, the exact opposite could be said of the country's leaders.

It is evident that they are not mature enough to face the truth as they shield themselves from scolding by playing a game of reverse psychology. Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo for example has criticised 'celebrities' who are calling on ExxonMobil to stop robbing Guyana of its resources, while endangering the country and the world at large.

Instead of dealing with the issue at hand, the VP responds by saying that they do not have a voice to stop large-scale oil operations in their own country.

He should be ashamed to make reference to such a scenario, especially since he is daily failing to address the issue of large-scale thievery in this land.

Guyanese must therefore be bold enough to stand up for themselves and their children.

The abuse must stop and it is we, the people of this land, who must carry the fight.

WEDNESDAY Do Not Embrace the Decisions of Foolish Politicians!

When a government, elected by the people to govern the people, does not care for the people and so disregard their pleas for betterment, it clearly means that government is not fit to govern a democratic society.

Say what you want of the US, UK and Canada but it is clear that the governments there care about their citizens, for they listen and adhere to their pleas.

In the name of the Creator, who engineers our fight, the citizens of this land will not sit idly by and let Guyana be governed by foolish politicians.

We cancel all the plans and schemes channelled from the dark side TODAY. Guyana will rise again, its citizen will make sure of that.

THURSDAY Nothing to smile about 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 EPAthe 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 t o m o v e f r o m “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 FRIDAY Part-time jobs in an oil and gas economy In a country with a trillion dollar oil and gas industry, the erstwhile Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo has been running around the country offering citizens part-time jobs.

Could you imagine for a moment- part-time jobs at $40,000 (US$200) per month is a major policy initiative by our government so much so that no other than Jagdeo leading its rollout.

We have said here in this

column as well as in this newspaper before that our leaders are visionless.

They continue to give away billions in taxes to ExxonMobil annually; selling out our gold and timber industries; sticking with a lopsided oil contract that has made us poorer and undertaking mega projects at prices far above market rates.

But on the weightier matter of the welfare of citizens, they prefer to line them up across the country offering them part-time jobs- mostly drain-cleaning and weeding parapets.

Guyanese, we need leaders with vision and not those who are determined to confine us as beggars, holding on to part-time jobs.

SATURDAY Guyana does not lack intellectuals; it lacks individuals with character Former Uruguayan President Jose Mujica earned the title of “the poorest

president in the world” because of his humble life style. He lived on an old flower farm, drove a rundown 1987 Beetle and donated a significant portion of his 12,000 peso (US$300) salary to poor people and small entrepreneurs.

He didn't seem to care much about riches unless it could be used to help others.

What a character; what level of empathy, of humanity and care this man displayed despite being the most powerful person in his country.

Of course, no one is asking Guyanese leaders to descend from their luxury vehicles, give away their

hefty compensations or vacate their lavish mansions to appease a rumbling nation.

But they are being asked for compassion and care; to seek for Guyana, greater benefits from its oil wealth, balanced sharing of this wealth between its people and equal opportunity for citizen development across all races.

Guyana does not lack intellectuals to move us forward, what we lack are great characters in office. We are a small nation with unreliable leaders.

Will we never become mindful of the type of characters we choose to lead our nation?

Kaieteur News

PAGE 14

Sunday June 05, 2022

Abandoning subsea oil and gas platforms save oil companies big on clean-up cost - oil nations use clean up money to manage artificial reefing progs.

The idea recently touted

by ExxonMobil's Guyana subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), to abandon a significant portion of subsea oil and gas apparatus on Guyana's seafloor to protect marine life that might have assimilated the equipment into their environment is not new and is known to significantly reduce clean-up cost for oil companies.

At consultations for the company's fifth oil project,

Urau, at the Umana Yana two weeks ago, Country Projects Manager, Anthony Jackson highlighted the possibility of subsea material used in the production of oil and gas being abandoned at the offshore Stabroek Block. He was at the time answering q u e s t i o n s o n decommissioning when he explained that given the lengthy life span of an oil project, it is found that marine life incorporate subsea equipment into their environment, thus causing

Marine life adopts oil and gas production equipment and makes it their home (Hakai Magazine photos)

the removal of production

equipment to do more harm than good.

However, while Guyana has allowed the oil operator to commence incremental removal of clean-up funds 20 years ahead of the clean-up period, research has shown that oil companies obviously benefit from not having to expend large funds for the removal of subsea equipment. Additionally, customary practice shows that countries usually demand a significant portion of that decommissioning money to manage the artificial reef and to relocate it rather than its total removal. This practice to abandon subsea junk in favour of marine life is described as “rig-to-reef”.

The American Petroleum Institute (API), the largest United States trade association for the oil and natural gas industry explained that the first planned rigs-to-reefs conversion took place in the mid 1900s. By 1983, the US Minerals Management

Service - the agency that manages leasing, exploration, and development of Federal offshore lands - announced its support for the rigs-toreefs programmes.

It explained that the programmes are beneficial from many perspectives.

Within six months to a year after the rig is initially placed on the sea floor, it will be a thriving reef ecosystem completely covered with marine life. Marine life already established on the rig is preserved, as the rig is carefully cut and towed to the n e w l o c a t i o n .

“Decommissioned platforms make ideal artificial reefs.

Constructed of corrosionresistant steel that withstands breakup, rigs have a large, open structure that allows easy circulation for fish and provides havens for barnacles, corals, sponges, clams, bryozoans, and hydroids,” it was noted.

The "rigs-to-reefs" approach allows for massive offshore platforms to be

decommissioned by removing all useful equipment and materials, and then sinking them in a designated location. Once the structure settles to the bottom of the ocean, it provides several acres of living and feeding habitat for thousands of underwater species, the API reported.

“The rigs-to-reefs approach saves the industry millions of dollars a year. Part of this saving is shared with local communities that benefit from these reefs.

Generally 50 percent of the industry savings is donated to a host State's artificial reef programme.”

It was noted that in the past an obsolete platform in the Gulf of Mexico, for example, would have been "decommissioned" by dismantling, being towed to shore, cut up and sold for scrap. “But when the platforms are used to create artificial reefs needed, marine habitat is created while saving the industry millions of dollars, even after 50 percent of the cost savings are donated to the host State's artificial reef programme,” API added.

The artificial reef then improves commercial and recreational fishing from the enriched marine habitat resulting from the conversion. Because of the positive impact the proper abandonment of subsea junk has on not only the environment, but economy, some oil producing countries (Continued on page 56)

Kaieteur News

Sunday June 05, 2022

Each Guyanese owes ExxonMobil $9M...

From page 3 for lunch, doing construction in the hot sun.”

According to Lall, “the man based his findings on the figures ExxonMobil said they s p e n d s o f a r, t h e m a n

point out that “at the end of the day is all awe (of us) money that we supposed to get from the oil, going to pay for that investment.”

Breaking it down further, Lall quipped, “…you and a

“…if is not our debt and we ain't owe anything, why ExxonMobil taking out money every day from our oil. Is not we oil money ExxonMobil using to pay back for everything out there.”

- Glenn Lall highlighted that and said if Guyana continues at the pace it is going, we will never see profits.”

Recalling Vice President Jagdeo's utterances that the only debt Guyana got to pay, is debt contracted or guaranteed by the State, since there is no debt contracted by ExxonMobil or any of these companies, “so you don't have to pay, this is how he busing down the international analyst.”

With this in mind, Lall posed the rhetorical question. “…if is not our debt and we ain't owe anything, why ExxonMobil taking out money every day from our oil, is not we oil money ExxonMobil using to pay back for everything out there?”

Adamant “if is we oil paying back these loans, man is nah we debt?” Lall asked rhetorically, adding “that is what the expert is telling Guyana and Jagdeo putting he own slant and spin on this thing about state guarantee and state contracted debt.”

To this end, he sought to

man sign a contract fuh cut your rice, you agree that he will buy and bring a combine, and every day he cut 100 bag paddy, 75 bags paddy goes to pay back for the combine, is who debt that is really? The rice field farmer or the man wah buy and bring the combine?”

According to Lall, “Is the same thing with our oil out there; if they taking out 75 barrels out of every 100 dem bring up on a daily basis for the debts and expenses, then who paying those debts? Is your oil…Is not you paying man?

That's how simple this thing is.”

He concluded saying, “this situation will go on for a lifetime, that is the terms and conditions agreed to by the Coalition and Jagdeo now continuing with it, refusing to make any changes. All the international experts saying to correct…stop indebting the nation, stop indebting every citizen with more and more billion dollar projects, but this clown want to put a spin on it, telling we that is not we debt.”

Guyanese unable to combat...

From page 3 the company to stop the abuse of the country.

They said, “We, the undersigned, speak on behalf of present and future generations of Guyanese, seek your intervention to prevent our beautiful green lush country Guyana from heading into instability due to ExxonMobil's lack of adherence to environmental norms & legal requirements.”

R e g a r d i n g t h e development of the gas sector, the environmentalists reasoned, “On 18 June, 2022 the prescribed period for comments as per Environmental Protection Act

ends; once this period ends ExxonMobil moves unto the permission stage with the above mentioned nonadherence to rule of law of Guyana.

This would mean that the Gas sector would be ungovernable and unregulated. Guyana has no Gas Leak Management Plan or System and ExxonMobil has full knowledge of this…immediate attention from Engine 1's Board members is needed before 18 June to stop this devolvement i n t o a R u l e o f Law/Constitutional Crisis propelled by ExxonMobil actions and non responses.”

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Sunday June 05, 2022

American company boasts of “highest grade” bauxite find in Guyana - has been shipping out resource since 2018 “The extreme low impurities make this bauxite stand out in a class of its own,” is how an American Company, First Bauxite LLC (FBX), described its bauxite find in Guyana on its w e b s i t e (https://firstbauxite.com/ab out) . The company announced that the find represents the “highest quality mega bauxite find” at its Bonasika Mining project located on the right bank of the Essequibo River, Region

Three, just 10 miles above Parika, East Bank Essequibo (EBE).

FBX via its 100 percent owned subsidiary, Guyana Industrial Minerals INC. (GINMIN), has been in the country since 2008, exploring lands here for bauxite and hit the jackpot at its Bonasika concession which spans an area of approximately 18, 940 acres of land.

At the opening ceremony of the Bonisika Bauxite

mine in February 2020, the company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Bill Rice made some remarks. He said, “The government has been with us since day one which is many years ago starting with the ability to explore this area which started when our geologist were walking down along that creek over there (pointing to an area in Bonasika) and all of a sudden saw a lot of crop and said: ‘Oh what is this Overhead shots of the Bonasika Mine taken in 2019.

(Photo Credit: FBX LLC)

material?’ and they picked it up with their hands and it turned out to be the highest quality bauxite in the world.”

The company, in boasting of Guyana’s bauxite on its website, A table showing the chemical composition of the bauxite quality found in Guyana. (FBX)

said that it is in a class of its own. FBX stated that high grade bauxite has little impurities thus making it cheaper to mine and produce.

“The bauxite mined from the Bonasika mine contains

a high amount of alumina and low tramp elements making bauxite economical for the production,” stated the company.

The raw bauxite ore being taken out of Guyana’s Continued on page 62

Sunday June 05, 2022

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Kaieteur News

Applying creativity to save our planet

By Zena Henry

P

lanet Earth, our home, is under threat. For centuries we have been heating her up. At this point, the world seems to be gravitating toward the idea that something must be done about our excessive use of fossil fuels; a significant contributor to the carbon emissions serving our environment negatively.

By the year 2050, all countries must move away from crude and its harmful commodities to create much greener societies. That means that individual nations would have to adopt environmentally friendly approaches that can still serve their daily activities. It means, the energy that our countries generate and use, must be cleaner, the appliances that we use in our workplaces and homes must be upgraded to suit the new direction a n d m o s t i m p o r t a n t l y, t h e understanding and awareness about green lifestyles must be adopted by each citizen to ensure a healthy transition from our carbon emitting existence.

The Paris Agreement is a serious document that signifies the looming danger. Often referred to as the Paris Accords or the Paris Climate Accords, this is an international treaty on climate change, adopted in 2015. It covers climate change mitigation, adaptation, and finance. The United Nations explain that climate change is a global emergency that goes beyond national borders. It is an issue that requires international cooperation and coordinated solutions to substantially reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and limit global temperature increase. The fact that all 193 UN member states signed this important legal document in 2015, is an indication of the situation's seriousness and urgency.

And what are the dangers? A hotter planet means ice caps melt and raise sea levels that will eventually affect low lying regions.

Higher temperatures mean disasters that include storms, heat waves, drought, wildfires, among many others. Climate Change in fact speaks directly to changes in weather patterns.

Right here in Guyana, it has been reported that since last year the country has been experiencing increased levels of rainfall. This led to widespread flooding that affected some 60 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product.

Water levels rose in almost every region causing floods that are normally not experienced. Right now, thousands are feeling the squeeze with the ongoing May-

June period. Less than two weeks ago, more than 130 Region 9 Upper TakutuUpper Essequibo residents had to leave their homes and seek out flood shelters. This was among the many reports that were received across the nation. Farmers continue to lose, and food prices are affected further as is the current situation.

Recently, also, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization pinned Guyana's dwindling fish supply to climate change. The organization in its preliminary report, just days ago, is saying that the fact that Guyanese fishers are not catching fish numbers as they used to, it is an effect of the climate breakdown.

As mentioned, the fight against climate change has to be adopted by every nation, but most importantly, by every individual. By ourselves, we must seek to understand our roles and our contributions to the situation. At the individual level, everyone must decide to accept responsibility and consciously work toward change.

There are numerous ways to effect change. Innovators are

coming up with behavioural patterns, devices and machines that help to reduce our carbon footprint, and again, we as individuals can choose to adopt easy ways that change habits in the immediate to short future.

Some advice from our local Guyana Energy Agency is that citizens construct their homes with external material, for example clay bricks, which help to reduce heat penetration and retention in the home. The idea is to keep the home as cool as possible naturally. So, while the material is working to keep heat out of the house, the maintenance of trees for shade also helps to naturally cool the home, as well as keeping windows open for natural light and air. It is important to find ways to keep the home cool s o that pers ons reduce or completely remove carbon emitting appliances.

It is advised that electrical sockets with switches that turn off when appliances are not in use.

Even plugged-in appliances that are not being used emit emissions. But constantly plugging in and out affects that interface thus the item

Clay bricks help to reduce heat.

Guyana continues to experience immense flooding (Photo Credit: GSA NEWS)

One of the many reports on greener lifestyles from the GEA.

A photo of CFL (right) and LED bulbs.

does not work efficiently. The switch could be turned off on the socket instead of having to plug out.

The type of bulbs we use can improve our response to climate change. LED bulbs are much more energy efficient than CFL and incandescent bulbs. They are easily the best smart light bulb to use.

CFLs were heralded for their 25 percent to 35 percent energy savings over traditional bulbs, but LED has significantly upped the scale.

Motion sensors can also be used to reduce electricity consumption.

If a room is not being used, then the sensor would detect this and know to turn off the light. These electronic devices manage indoor or outdoor lighting and improve the security and safety of the home by automatically turning on lights when it gets dark, or they detect motion. They also save energy by turning themselves off when extra l i g h t i s u n n e c e s s a r y. A i r conditioners and fans also contribute to heat. Be mindful of (Continued on page 56)

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Kaieteur News

Sunday June 05, 2022

>>>Young Entrepreneur on the Move<<<

Aspiring Marine Biologist behind

‘CORIOLIS’ …aims to create jewellery that inspires keeping our beaches clean

Young entrepreneur, Zoya Samaroo wearing some her pieces.

By Allyiah Allicock

L

ooking to raise awareness about the importance of keeping our beaches clean and the impact of littering on marine life, are just two of the reasons that prompted 22-year-old Zoya Samaroo to open up her own business.

Her business, which is called ‘Coriolis’, offers a wide range of unique jewellery made from sea glasses that were extracted from our local beaches. It was launched back in 2020 just before the brunt of the pandemic was unleashed

here.

Samaroo, during an interview with Kaieteur News, recalled that as a young girl growing up, she was always interested in everything nature and the environment. “As a child, my parents guided my love for nature and the environment by always ensuring that I spent lots of time outdoors and watched as many National Geographic programmes as possible,” she related.

This, she mentioned, resulted in her fascination with the ocean and the treasures that would wash

ashore. “During my many trips to the beach, I began collecting pieces of sea glass and keeping them in a jar at home. After a lot of collecting, I decided to find something to do with these ‘jewels’, and that is where my journey in jewellery making began,” Samaroo said.

After making pieces as a hobby, she was encouraged by her family and friends to have her own business venture to expose her work to potential customers.

“While initially, I viewed it as a fun way to earn passive income, I now focus my efforts on raising awareness about the importance of beach cleanups and the impact of littering on marine life. I use little to no plastic in my products, packaging or purchases, in an effort to make my business as ecofriendly as possible and, with every piece that I make or sell, I try my best to remind customers that I’m not only up-cycling, but also

e a n “I think that young i n entrepreneurs are stepping out g with more creative ideas than u p ever before, and that they have t the drive to help in the h e development of our different b e local sectors. Additionally, they a serve as inspiration for even c h younger creatives and can help , to boost confidence.” ” s h e p o i n t e and the fact that small d out. actions can create large Samaroo, who now co- ripples in our environment. owns the business with her When she decided to go younger sister, Analise into business, Samaroo Samaroo, is on a mission to recalled that her loved ones make consumers be more had always been firm conscious of their actions, supporters of her

work. They, she mentioned, had guided her along the way, from the Continued on page 61

c l

Some of the creative pieces made

by Samaroo and her sister.

Kaieteur News

Sunday June 05, 2022

UN doubles down on renewable energy on World Environment Day …as Paris Agreement to limit global temperature by 1.5 degrees will likely fail Today, Guyana joins the world in observance of World Environment Day under the theme: “Only One Earth,” which is a simple statement of fact, according to United Nations’ Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

The observation this year is being held against the backdrop of a likely failure on the part of the Developed World to meet its global commitments with regards the reduction of carbon emissions.

According to Guterres, “there is a 50/50 chance that annual average global temperatures will breach the Paris Agreement limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius in the next five years.”

With this in mind, he laid out a five-point plan of action aimed at meeting the challenges head on with alacrity with specific focus on renewable energy.

According to Guterres, close to half of humanity is already in the climate danger zone and are “15 times more likely to die from climate

impacts such as extreme heat, floods and drought.”

To that end, the Secretary G e n e r a l i n h i s Wo r l d Environment Day address said, “I have proposed five concrete recommendations to dramatically speed up the deployment of renewable energy everywhere, including making renewable technologies and raw materials available to all, cutting red tape, shifting subsidies and tripling investment.”

He was adamant “businesses need to put sustainability at the heart of their decision-making for the sake of humanity and their own bottom line. A healthy planet is the backbone of nearly every industry on earth.”

He said too that as voters and consumers “we must make our actions count: from the policies we support, to the food we eat, to the transport we choose, to the companies we support. We c a n a l l m a k e environmentally friendly

choices that will add up to the change we need.”

The UN Secretary General was adamant, women and girls, in particular, can be forceful agents of change but

underscored, “they must be empowered and included in decision-making at all levels.”

Likewise, he said, “indigenous and traditional Continued on page 20

PAGE 19 UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres warns Paris Agreement to limit global temperature by 1.5 degrees will likely fail.

PAGE 20

Kaieteur News

Sunday June 05, 2022

OGGN continues call for renegotiation of the oil contract

Activists of the Oil & Gas Governance Network (OGGN) were out Saturday morning at the SYBIL’S RESTAUANT Sq., Richmond Hill, Queens, New York displaying their banners and posters – making the case for renegotiation of the oil contract Guyana signed with Exxon.

Pictured here is Guyana-born Annie James, who now lives in Georgia and was visiting New York, who cheerfully endorsed the banner that reads: All Guyanese Pay Taxes.

Exxon, Hess, CNOOC Must Pay Taxes Too! Other protestors stand outside Sybil’s flagship restaurant which is described as the gateway into the Guyanese Village in Queens, NY. For many Guyanese, feasting on Sybil’s authentic Guyanese cuisine is a special weekend celebration.

If you want to engage the Guyanese diaspora, on politics and culture - go to Sybil’s.

UN doubles down on...

From page 19 knowledge must also be respected and harnessed to help protect our fragile ecosystems.”

In his plea, the UN Secretary General espoused, “This planet is our only home.

It is vital we safeguard the health of its atmosphere, the richness and diversity of life on earth, its ecosystems and its finite resources. But we are failing to do so. We are asking too much of our planet to maintain ways of life that are unsustainable. Earth’s natural systems cannot keep up with our demands.”

Elaborating further on the dire situation that faces the global community, Guterres noted that already more than three billion people are affected by degraded ecosystems and that “pollution is responsible for some nine million premature deaths each year; more than one million plant and animal species risk extinction, many within decades.”

Compounding the situation, Guterres predicted that more than 200 million people each year could be displaced by climate disruption by 2050.

The recent Stockholm+50 environment meeting

reiterated that all 17 Sustainable Development Goals rely on a healthy planet, he reminded and called on global leaders and businesses to “all take responsibility to avert the catastrophe being wrought by the triple crises of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss.”

Governments, he said, need urgently to prioritise climate action and environmental protection through policy decisions that promote sustainable progress.

According to Guterres, “this year and the next will present more opportunities for the global community to demonstrate the power of multilateralism to tackle our intertwined environmental crises, from negotiations on a new global biodiversity framework to reverse nature loss by 2030 to the establishment of a treaty to tackle plastics pollution.”

The United Nations, he pledged, is committed to leading the cooperative global efforts, “because the only way forward is to work with nature, not against it.”

His conclusion, “together we can ensure that our planet not only survives, but thrives, because we have Only One Earth.”

Kaieteur News

Malissa Bukhan

Sunday June 05, 2022

This week’s featured belle, Malissa Bukhan, describes herself as a very passionate young woman who enjoys spending quality time with her loved ones. Malissa also loves make-up, writing and going on new adventures. Her favourite quote is by British Author Vivian Greene: “Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass but learning to dance in the rain.”

PAGE 21

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Kaieteur News

Sunday June 05, 2022

Kaieteur News

Sunday June 05, 2022

PAGE 23

Is Jagdeo out of his depth?

G

uyana’s Second Vice President was asked a simple question by a Kaieteur News reporter. But even to that simple question, he could not provide a coherent answer to a questioning about decommissioning costs.

During his last press conference, a Kaieteur News reporter asked whether there would be any changes in the contract to the clause dealing with decommissioning. Jagdeo could not provide a straight answer, preferring to dance around the issue, thereby raising concerns as to whether he is out of his depth in this sector or was simply being defensive.

As this newspaper has been pointing out since 2020, when oil fields near the end of their lifecycle, an exercise usually begins to decommission the wells.

This usually involves capping the oil wells and removing the pipelines attached to the ocean floor. It is akin to a clearing-up exercise which is usually done when a contractor finishes construction. The equipment and other apparatuses used are usually taken away.

Again as this newspaper recently pointed out this is an extremely costly exercise. In order to cater for these high costs, the standard industry practice is for monies to be set aside, and usually placed in a fund, to handle future decommissioning costs.

U n f o r t u n a t e l y, t h e APNU+AFC had not inserted, into the Production Sharing Agreement, any provision for the setting aside of advance funding.

Instead, it allowed for the oil companies to begin recovering decommissioning costs more than 20 years before the said exercise.

The oil companies are allowed to take oil to recover these future costs.

And they are allowed to treat these costs as operational expenses. This makes these expenses subject to cost recovery which has to be paid by Guyana.

Article 20 of the ExxonMobil contract states, “All funds required to carry out the approved abandonment programme shall be made available by Contractor when the cost for abandonment are incurred” and “All cost included in the approved abandonment programme and budget shall be recoverable as operating costs”.

The Center for I n t e r n a t i o n a l Environmental Law (CIEL) recently observed: “the Production Sharing Agreement for the Stabroek Block does not require the companies to set aside any money for decommissioning in a dedicated fund, or provide any form of financial security while the wells are producing. Instead, the Agreement permits the ExxonMobil-led consortium to deduct the estimated future costs of decommissioning as current operating expenses…”

University of Houston Instructor Tom Mito was left amazed at this development. He described it as pretty unique and is something which is not seen anywhere else in the world.

He noted that this arrangement is highly beneficial to oil companies.

He is not alone in this view. In an interview with this newspaper in 2018, the now Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Mr. Charles Ramson Jr., was reported as saying that the David Granger-led government should have been advised better about these costs and should have asked ExxonMobil to share these costs or to establish a fund, which takes out a nominal percentage in preparation of this large cost later in the future.

While the oil companies benefit from the present arrangements, Guyana loses. As CIEL points out, the recovered costs reduce the amount of profit oil which is shared with Guyana, and effectively hands Guyana the tab for decommissioning.

Obviously, Exxon is not storing in some depot the oil that is appropriating for decommissioning costs. So

where is that money going?

Exxon is holding that money and it will have to hold it for as much as 20 years. It can invest this money and profit off of it. Guyana gains nothing from Exxon holding these proceeds.

The oil companies can benefit twice. They benefit from not having to shoulder any of decommissioning costs while at the same time having free use of those decommissioned assets in other areas.

T h e P P P / C administration had promised to claw back greater benefits from Exxon and its partners. It is settling for scraps rather than addressing issues such as decommissioning costs.

It has failed to use the recent renewal of the Liza-1 environmental permit to claw back significant benefits. It could have done so.

Decommissioning costs

are not devoid of e n v i r o n m e n t a l considerations.

Decommissioning has environmental implications.

After all what would happen if Exxon and other oil companies simply walk away and leave all the pipes and other infrastructure in the seabed. They would already have taken out the decommissioning costs. And so if they walk away without removing their infrastructure, they are not only leaving their junk behind – and environmental concern – but also running away with monies which they had charged to Guyana for decommissioning costs.

Even when they do decommission, Exxon recovers its costs while Guyana is left with the junk to dispose of. And Guyana has to buy anything which is no longer needed but for which there has not been full cost recovery.

Second Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo does not seem unduly worried about this terrible state of affairs.

Indeed, his answer to the question, posed by the Kaieteur News reporter, was sort of offhand.

It raises serious concerns as to the quality of governance, which is being practised in our oil and gas sector. And it also raises concerns as to whether President Irfaan Ali should not have a different point person in the natural resource sector.

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

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Kaieteur News

Sunday June 05, 2022

Will Summit of the Americas fulfill CARICOM’s goals?

By Sir Ronald Sanders

N

ext week’s Summit of the Americas, being hosted by the government of the United States, has been plagued by controversy over which Heads of Government are invited to attend.

Not invited by the US Government are the Presidents of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, measured by their record on adherence to democratic practices, including free and fair elections; respect for the rule of

law and human rights; and upholding media and political freedom.

This has led to protests from some Latin American and Caribbean governments on the bas is th at the S u mmit s hould b e “inclusionary, not exclusionary”.

A few of the Heads of Government have announced publicly that they will personally not attend.

Yet, all these governments, except Antigua and Barbuda, attended the last Summit in Lima, Peru in 2018 despite the fact

that an invitation to Nicolas Maduro, the President of Venezuela, was revoked by the host government of Peru. In responding to Antigua and Barbuda’s protest over Maduro’s exclusion, the then Peruvian government said that, as the host, they had the right to exclude who they wished.

It should be noted that Cuba and Nicaragua attended that Summit.

“Inclusion”, therefore, appears to be less of a principle, demanding strict adherence, and more of a political convenience.

Next week’s Summit in Los Angeles is being held at a far more important time for the Western hemispheric nations than the 2018 Summit, which concentrated on ending corruption. The world is now gripped by the serious challenges of economic recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic; inflation that has escalated cost of living; and high prices for oil, food, shipping and other logistics. Additionally, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has undermined the legal international order that is underpinned by the Charter of the United Nations and international law.

In short, the world is in a crisis that is adversely impacting the hemisphere.

Collaborative action is urgently needed to address it.

It is unlikely that such action will emerge from next week’s Ninth Summit of the Americas for the following reasons.

First, the Summit is not set up for a freeflowing discussion by leaders on the critical issues. For the most part, the leaders will each read prepared statements, setting out their own perspectives. And while, there will be a series of less formal, small group discussions, these cannot produce a deliverable action plan agreed by all.

Second, the five declarations that the Summit will publish, namely: “Our Sustainable Green Future”, “Inter-American Action Plan on Democratic Governance”; “Clean Energy transition”; “Digital Transformation”; and “Health Action Plan” are negotiated by a preparatory committee of government officials.

Like all other documents, prepared by persons who are not political decisionmakers, these declarations will be cautious and limited on substance, especially regarding effective implementation and funding.

The concern of CARICOM countries will not receive the urgent attention that they require. They will compete with bigger countries such as the US itself, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and Peru.

This raises the question of the meaningfulness of the Summit of the Americas which was introduced by the US Government in 1994.

The first one was hosted by President Bill Clinton in Miami. Its purpose was purely to advance a US agenda of free trade and free markets. I had the privilege of attending that meeting as part of the Antigua and Barbuda delegation, led by then Prime Minister, Lester Bird. It was not a meeting that took account of the issues that confronted CARICOM even as it failed to achieve the US objective.

This is the second time that the US is hosting the Summit, although seven more were held since 1994. It is doing so, because President Biden, recognises that, over the Trump years and into the first year of his own administration, the US has lost influence in Latin America and the Caribbean. The void it left has been filled mostly by the People’s Republic of China, and the European Union.

Sir Ronald Sanders Thus, from a US perspective, this Ninth Summit - the second that the US will host - is to try to reignite US influence in the region.

The US ambition is fair enough. Other countries of the hemisphere also have an interest in achieving their own ambitions.

But is the Summit of the Americas – a gathering of countries of different size, competing needs, and divergent interests – the best vehicle to reinvigorate relations between the US and the disparate regional groups of the hemisphere?

Writing in the Los Angeles Times on June 2, Dan Restrepo, who was a special assistant to President Obama and coordinated his participation in two Summits of the Americas, said that, since their inception, the Summits have “failed to deliver”.

He argued that the pablum emerging from Summits “does not benefit the people of the Americas, nor does it advance US interests, particularly when countries are wrestling with profound challenges, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis and preserving democracy from threats posed by nativists and populists”.

I agree with him. The Summit’s greatest use for the CARICOM leaders attending will be the relationships they forge with other Latin American leaders; and the contact they make with President Biden and his key policy makers in the margins of the formal Summit.

As I argued in a recent paper, commissioned by the Caribbean Policy Consortium and published by Florida International University, on US-Caribbean Relations: “In year 1, the Biden administration did not establish a policy toward the Caribbean, except in relation to Cuba and China.

In year 2, the Biden administration should remedy this neglectful situation which has encouraged Caribbean governments to gravitate to other nations, especially China, that have extended much needed economic and financial cooperation. It has been 7 years since a US President held a meeting with CARICOM leaders.

The last meeting was between President Barack Obama and CARICOM leaders in Jamaica in April 2015. A good way to begin the formulation and implementation of a Caribbean policy would be an early meeting of Biden and Caribbean leaders, preceded by working groups of representatives that could shape a meaningful agenda for the discussion”.

What CARICOM needs is President Biden’s undivided attention. The Summit of the Americas is not the place for it.

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

He is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London and Massey College in the University of Toronto) Responses and previous commentaries: www.sirronaldsanders.com

Kaieteur News

Sunday June 05, 2022

PAGE 25

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

Shawn Hinds told me he couldn't participate in the plan to kill me

A

dam Harris and I had countless differences while working as two senior operatives at Kaieteur News (KN). But there is a but. But after each quarrel, Adam and I got along in the friendliest way.

After his departure from KN, I never penned an adverse line against Adam. I saw an interview he did with Mark Benschop in which Adam said he won't be surprised if he found out that the PPP is paying me. I replied to that. Since then, Adam and I have had a very heartening conversation.

Adam knows I am not receiving any money from anyone. I don't know if I have my price but so far no one has made an offer.

I will always remember what Adam did for me and I will never forget it. I was attacked on May 27, 2004 while reversing out of my garage at 5am. It seems that my attackers knew my routine because that was the

time I left each morning for the seawall and National Park. I was struck on my head with a gun. I received some stitches for that.

My car was stolen. It was neatly parked on the parapet in Charlestown with absolutely nothing stolen although I had a very expensive stereo system and thousands of dollars in the glove compartment.

Adam through his use of his contacts told me who ordered the attack to scare me.

It was a nongovernmental person that I had penned a few unfavourable columns on.

That person I forgave and he later made it up to me. Enter Shawn Hinds.

Mr. Hinds became one of the most feared men in Guyanese history. As an alleged well-established member of the phantom squad, the adventures of Mr. Hinds filled up the notebooks of journalists. I never saw him, never met him. He was

charged in 2016 along with Kwame McCoy and Jason Abdulla for throwing a miasma substance on me in 2010. It was not faeces but that was the joke on me that Adam put in print and it has stuck.

On Tuesday morning, I was alone at the Alfresco gym in the National Park when Shawn Hinds appeared.

He asked his girlfriend to sit in the car while he talked with me. Hinds said that there is only a tiny amount of information he can share with me on the 2010 attack.

He indicated that he stays out of the limelight, keeps to himself and doesn't want people to come after him thinking that he is about to reveal all kinds of information. He intoned that he will only tell me two things, will be brief and I can write about it.

First is that he wants it to be recorded so his children and Guyanese can know that he saved my life.

The plan was to kill me and he objected telling his co-conspirators that all Freddie Kissoon does is writes and after him, other will come and write, so what is the point in killing him. Mr. Hinds said he has done many things in life but killing a journalist for just writing is not something he could ever bring himself to do.

He explained it was his forceful rejection that led to the downgrading of the attack and it took the form of the thrown substance. He insisted that no one can contradict his version of what he is telling me. Mr. Hinds was persistent that I should be grateful he saved my life and I have his permission to state that publicly.

What do I make of the Shawn Hinds revelation? Did

he save my life? If it is true, then I thank him because at the time, I had a daughter to take Frederick Kissoon care of. But how do I know Mr. Hinds has been truthful with knew that. The moment he was killed, I began to dislike me?

K hemraj Ramjattan I don't so I will move on intensely.

Mr. Ramjattan was to the second revelation. my personal friend.

Mr. Hinds wanted me to He was the Home Affairs know he had nothing to do minister.

I expected him to with the killing of the man mount a special operation to who was the actual thrower of the substance. Mr. Hinds catch Griffith's killers. He, said that the moment Oswald neither the police did Griffith made his confession, anything. I guess I was not his fate was sealed and he had important enough.

I guess I never will be but nothing to do with what I don't care to be. happened to Griffith. Hinds (The views expressed in walked away towards his this article are those of the girlfriend and I walked away a u t h o r a nd do not towards my baby – my dog. necessarily reflect the I knew Griffith was opinions of this newspaper.) murdered. All of Guyana

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Kaieteur News

Sunday June 05, 2022

Kaieteur News

Sunday June 05, 2022

PAGE 27

COVID-19, the flu and common cold:

They are all here at the same time

By Dr. Zulfikar Bux Emergency Medicine Specialist

T

his is currently the season where respiratory illnesses peak in Guyana mainly due to the change in weather during the rainy season.

Last year, because of movement restrictions, we did not see the seasonal peak in flu and common cold as w o u l d o c c u r y e a r l y.

However, with the ease in restrictions, we are seeing the expected seasonal rise in flu and common cold presentations. However, this is colliding with the rise in Covid-19 cases that is currently occurring from the suspected presence of the Omicron Ba.2 subvariant here in Guyana. Since these are all respiratory illnesses, their initial presentation is mostly similar.

This complicates things since it is making it more difficult to determine at home whether you have Covid-19, the flu, or common cold. Today, I will offer some advice on how to manoeuvre this challenging period.

How can you differentiate among them?

I found this handy table from the University of Iowa

healthcare that decently categorises the symptoms that are likelier to occur from each illness: However, this is just a guide and while there is a

the flu and then Covid-19.

The best way to prepare your body is to take actions that will decrease your chances of getting infected with any of these illnesses.

What to do if you get symptoms?

If you do develop symptoms, what you do in the first 24-48 hours is vital in helping to determine your

stronger likelihood of your symptoms fitting the disease profile in the table, it should not be used as the hard and fast rule to accurately determine which of the three illnesses you may have.

How to prepare for this season?

Odds are, you are likely to be infected with one of these diseases before the season ends.

Hopefully, you are not unlucky and get all three before the season finishes as it may be difficult for your body to withstand such an onslaught.

The common cold is the least harmful followed by

These include mask wearing, avoiding crowded, poorly ventilated and closed spaces, and practising proper hygiene.

You should also prepare your immune system by ensuring you regularly use the following which has been proven to help your body combat respiratory illnesses: · Vitamin D (and daily sunlight exposure) · Vitamin C · Zinc In addition, ensure you exercise, eat healthy, and get good rest so that your immune system is at its peak performance.

outcome. Ensure you prime your immune system by taking the nutrients and measures described above.

Since the threat to life is highest from Covid-19, ensure you get tested earliest for Covid-19 so that your

treatment can be streamlined, and you can take measures to prevent others from getting infected by you.

By Dr. Zulfikar Bux You should Emergency see your doctor Medicine Specialist w h o m a y p r e s c r i b e treatment to help alleviate purposes, this should be the your symptoms and decrease month that we have to be your chance of getting vigilant and ride the “mixed complications from your storm”. As the rain eases and the sun starts to shine, the illness especially, “mixed storm” should pass, if it's Covid-19 or the flu. and we should be able to How long will have some breathing space. this season last?

From my estimates, we are more or less in the peak of the season for each illness.

Given the usual trends, the cold and flu should ease as the rainy season starts to taper by mid-July. I expect us to see the number of Covid19 cases begin to taper as we enter into July. For all

PAGE 28

WEEK IN REVIEW SUNDAY CANADA INCREASES ROYALTY RATES TO BETWEEN 5% & 40% ON OIL COMPANIES -US RAISED THEIRS TO HIGHER THAN THE 18.75% IT WAS RECEIVING -GUYANAMAINTAINS SANCTITY OF CONTRACT FOR MEAGRE 2% ROYALTY British Columbia (B.C.), Canada’s westernmost province, appears to be following in the footsteps of the United States of America (USA) as it has announced that it will be increasing royalty rates to raise additional money annually for its people. The revelation was made by Premier John Horgan. The official recently said that for too long, “a broken system of fossil-fuel subsidies” has failed to ensure citizens “fully benefit” from their resources.

The Premier said the new and improved measure will not only make his province more competitive but “will give British Columbians a fair return and allow us to invest in their priorities — like improving services, bringing down costs and tackling carbon pollution.”

Under the royalty system, Horgan explained that companies will have to pay top dollar to get access to British Columbia’s natural gas resource and share their revenue with the provincial owner. The amount that companies pay has been determined by a complex calculation that provides credits for infrastructure such as access roads and allows for some costs to be deducted. Horgan said the changes to a system in place for nearly three decades will be phased out in the next two years.

Kaieteur News understands that the changes came after it was found that the royalty system was failing the people of British Columbia. This newspaper learned from the Vancouver Sun—a daily newspaper which dates back to 1912— that royalties had topped a billion Canadian dollars a year for almost a decade starting in 2000, largely from natural gas. Gas royalties then peaked in 2005/ 06 at CAD$1.92 billion, but by 2010 royalties had plummeted to sometimes less than CAD$150M, even though gas production was rising.

In light of the deep losses, the government said a new minimum royalty rate of five percent will replace the old

Sunday June 05, 2022

Kaieteur News

rate of three percent.

The new rate will be in effect while companies pay off costs of newly drilled wells. Once that point has been reached, the royalty rates will slide between five to 40 percent, depending on the price of natural gas.

One of the authors of a royalty review commissioned last year by the B.C. government — which found the royalty system was “broken” — lauded the changes.

“The new system is a good start to simplify, modernise, and eliminate outdated programmes,” said Nancy Olewiler, Director and Professor at the School of Public Policy at (the) Simon Fraser University.

The move by British Columbia also follows those made by the Joe Biden Administration in December 2021. Kaieteur News had reported that a report by the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) on Federal oil and gas leasing and permitting practices, had found that the modernisation of the Federal oil and gas programme was delayed for decades to the detriment of the American public, their public lands and waters, the environment, wildlife, and more. In its current form, the report said the programme falls short of serving the public interest in a number of important respects.

It was found that royalty rates had not been increased in over 100 years. It was also found that the system provides insufficient opportunities for public input, shortchanges taxpayers and States, and tilts toward opening up low potential lands without adequately considering competing multiple-use opportunities. ( h t t p s : / / www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/ 2022/05/29/canadaincreases-royalty-rates-onoil-companies-to-between-540/) ‘HULK’JOINS GUYANA’S PROTEST AGAINST EXXON’S OIL DEAL As an online petition, to secure a better deal for Guyana continues to pick up global traction, a well-known actor from the United States has joined the protest.

Mark Alan Ruffalo, who starred in the popular 2012 film Avengers, played the ‘Hulk’ and in more recent times, he appeared in the Netflix movie ‘The Adam Project’ along with several others.

Ruffalo wrote on his Twitter account on Friday night that “Exxon is at it again!

This time, they’re robbing the people of Guyana with an oil

deal that could destroy their country and cook the planet.”

To this end, the star called on the Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Mr. Kemraj Parsram to stop this from happening. Guyana’s Office of the President was tagged in the Tweet.

Given that the operating permit for Exxon’s first oil field, Liza 1, expires next week, May 31, 2022, international advocates and environmental activists have increased momentum to support Guyana in its call for a better financial deal from its oil endowments, as well as adequate protection for the environment.

During an important Avaaz-hosted webinar on Tuesday last, representative, Martyna Dominiak said that the organisation had launched a campaign 48 hours earlier asking its members globally to send in messages directly addressed to the EPA Head, to ensure more benefits for Guyana through the bargaining of the Lisa 1 permit’s renewal.

Dominiak said on Tuesday that since the campaign was launched (the Sunday prior), Guyana had received support with some 4,600 signatures coming in from countries as far as Uganda, Qatar and Guyanese in the Diaspora. The signatures have since increased.

Avaaz is a U.S-based organisation launched in 2007 that promotes global activism on issues such as climate change, human rights, animal rights, corruption, poverty, and conflict. Avaaz has been referred to as “the globe’s largest and most powerful online activist-network with more than 70 million members.

The petition, which takes direct aim at the EPA head, says, “You can stop Exxon’s oil bomb. Mr. Parsram, thousands of people around the world ask you not to grant

Exxon a new environmental permit. Don’t sacrifice the future of the people of Guyana and all of us for the profits of a billion dollar company.”

The campaign also notes to its signatories that, “Kemraj Parsram, head of the Guyanese environmental body, will decide soon whether to grant Exxon a new permit to continue this devastating operation. With thousands of messages from all around the world, we can encourage him to stand up for our planet. Write your encouraging, personal message to Kemraj Parsram now and Avaaz will deliver it directly to his office and social media he’s using.”

Avaaz is also calling for a pause of oil operations until ExxonMobil guarantees that they will pay for all environmental, social and economic damage across Guyana and the Caribbean as a result of any well blow-out or oil spill from their operations. They are also advocating for a pause in local operation until the Government of Guyana provides independent evidence that the benefits to the Guyanese people outweigh the costs and until the Government invests in solar energy jobs in Guyana in light of its conditional undertaking under the Paris Agreement to go 100 percent renewable by 2025. ( h t t p s : / / www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/ 2022/05/29/hulk-joinsprotest-against-exxons-oildeal/) CURRENT CROP OF LEADERS CANNOT BE TRUSTED TO RENEGOTIATE OIL DEAL WITH EXXON …HAS ALREADY SHOWN INCAPABLE OF STANDING UP TO OIL GIANT—INT’L EXPERTS Esso Exploration and

Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL)—ExxonMobil Guyana—five years ago secured an environmental permit to develop and produce hydrocarbons, namely crude oil and Natural Gas from the Liza I field in the Stabroek Block, offshore Guyana.

That permit was said, at the time, to be valid for 25 years but this was challenged in the local courts by International Lawyer, Melinda Janki, who successfully argued that the law only permitted the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to issue a permit for five years.

As such, on Tuesday, that permit expired and would have to be renewed before any further production can be continued.

It is with this in mind that a global none profit organisation, Avaaz, put together a press engagement this past week to call on the EPA and other Guyanese leaders to put a halt on the project and not renew the project unless and until, the lopsided deal is remedied.

Janki was joined in her calls by the Director of Financial Analysis for the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), Tom Sanzillo.

When asked, however, about the renegotiation of the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) inked between ExxonMobil Guyana and their partners and government – since as a developing country Guyana needs the revenue stream – Janki said, despite this being “a really bad deal for Guyana and it puts Guyana at risk,” such a course of action with the current crop of leaders could prove to be riskier.

S h e q u a l i f i e d h er position saying the government has so far shown

that it is incapable of standing up to ExxonMobil.

According to Janki, “I think one would have to ask the question do you trust this government to negotiate with ExxonMobil?”

The international lawyer told media operatives “when you look at the government’s record,” such as “changing the environmental permit, granting the Payara permit against the wishes of people in the county, rushing through with Yellowtail, rushing to do a gas-to-shore project when the World Bank says here is little or no domestic market for gas in Guyana , when you look at all of these factors where the government does have a choice and they have been so pro oil do you really think that Guyana can renegotiate any sort of improvement to the situation at the moment.”

She posited, “We may have a situation where renegotiation is a risk to the Guyanese people not a benefit.”

The lawyer—who has already been successful against ExxonMobil in court and had caused the permit’s validity period to be reduced from 25 years to five years in keeping with the law—noted that renegotiation would only come about if the oil company was looking to extract more gains from the country through its PSA. She noted that the existing PSA dictates that renegotiation is only possible when all of the partners agree, namely EEPGL—ExxonMobil Guyana—Hess Guyana Corp, China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC).

With this in mind, she noted that the purpose of an oil company is to make money “it’s not to act in the best interest of the people of Guyana; it’s the (Continued on page 29)

Sunday June 05, 2022

From page 28 government’s job to act in the best interest of the people.” ( h t t p s : / / www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/ 2022/05/29/current-crop-ofleaders-cannot-be-trustedto-renegotiate-oil-dealwith-exxon/) MONDAY UK SLAPS OIL COMPANIES WITH 25 PERCENT WINDFALLTAX - TO RAISE $6.3B FOR CITIZENS GRIPPED BY COST OF LIVING CRISIS The UK government has announced that it will introduce a windfall tax on oil and gas operators which could raise US$6.3B in the first six months which will then be used to alleviate the cost-of-living crisis in the country.

A windfall tax is a one-off tax imposed by a government on a company, specifically targeting those that benefit from something they were not responsible for. In this instance, the huge profits gained by oil and gas companies in the UK is due to a sharp increase in oil and gas prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The UK government said the purpose of this tax is to distribute excess profits made by oil companies for the greater social good.

The windfall tax comes as oil and gas giants, like Shell and BP, booked record profits in the first quarter of this year, driven by a spike in oil and gas prices. BP had also revealed it would invest up to £18 billion in the UK’s energy system by the end of 2030 due to significant profits gained.

It was actually UK Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, who on Thursday last announced that the government is introducing a temporary, targeted Energy Profits Levy charged on profits of oil and gas companies at a rate of 25 percent. Kaieteur News understands that this is the highest rate seen in 40 years in the UK. Stating that the oil and gas sector is making extraordinary profits not as the result of recent changes to risk-taking, innovation or efficiency but as the result of surging global commodity prices driven in part by Russia’s war, the Chancellor said, “For that reason, I am sympathetic to the argument to tax those profits fairly.”

He further added, “But as ever, there is a sensible middle ground. We should not be ideological about this; we should be pragmatic. It is possible to both tax extraordinary profits fairly and incentivise investments.”

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Therefore, Sunak stated, “We will introduce a temporary targeted energy profits levy. But, we have built into the new levy a new investment allowance.” He explained that that means companies will have a new and significant incentive to reinvest their profits, underlining that this is a temporary measure and, when oil and gas prices return to historically more normal levels, the levy will be phased out with a sunset clause written into the legislation.

“Crucially, with our new investment allowance, we are nearly doubling the overall investment relief for oil and gas companies. For every pound a company invests, they will get back 90 percent in tax relief. So, the more a company invests, the less tax they will pay,” the Chancellor added.

Kaieteur News had reported on Sunday that two other global powerhouses, Canada and the USA, are also following the same trend of strengthening their fiscal regime for the oil sector.

British Columbia (BC), Canada’s westernmost province, had announced that it will be increasing royalty rates between five percent and 40 percent to raise an additional CAD$200M a year in revenues for its people. The revelation was made by Premier John Horgan. The official recently said that for too long, “a broken system of fossil-fuel subsidies” has failed to ensure citizens “fully benefit” from their resources. ( h t t p s : / / www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/ 2022/05/30/uk-slaps-25tax-on-oil-companies/) GUYANASETTING BAD PATTERN BY SPENDINGALL ITS INITIAL OIL PROFITS … ANALYST SAYS EXXON DRILLING FOR OIL, GUYANADIGGING “FISCAL HOLE” Guyana is bent on the development of much needed infrastructure and has dedicated the first haul of its oil profits to this year’s budget to assist with the financing of its many projects. Already issuing some precaution on “unsustainable” oil- reliant spending because of market volatility, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) is also pointing the country to keep gauge on its internal affairs as it begins to expend oil profits.

The Institute submitted in one of its recent assessment’s on Guyana’s oil sector that the country already seems to

be mismanaging its funds and setting a “bad precedence” on how future spending of oil money will be conducted. The concern is raised because spending of the oil money should improve the country’s financial position by, among other things, helping to lower its debt and budget deficit.

They are among the advice provided to Guyana by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) when such technical support was requested.

IEEFA’s principle, Tom Sanzillo reminded that the four key objectives was that the money in the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) would be used to help firstly close the deficits, increase funding for budget needs, reduce debt and save for future generations.

With the passage of this year ’s budget, what was observed, Sanzillo related, was that oil revenues were not enough to cover the nonoil budget deficit. The new revenue from oil production of G$127 billion (USD$ 606 million) fell short of the nonoil budget deficit which is calculated by subtracting the total amount of non-oil revenue (traditional sectors) from total government expenditures.

The 2022 budget does fund new needs Sanzillo pointed out, but does so in an unsustainable manner.

“The new revenues partially supported the government’s 37 percent increase in spending over last year’s budget. The higher spending level was made possible through a combination of new oil revenues and new borrowing.” So, while new spending should not have exceeded the amount contributed into the NRF, it did, Sanzillo noted. And this is despite the government agreeing that in any year, the amount of increased spending would not exceed the amount of the oil revenue received.

Also, the 2022 budget and the new oil revenues did not reduce debt, the analyst continued. “The government borrowed an additional G$87.7 billion (USD$420 million) in 2022. Guyana’s total indebtedness between December 2021 and December 2022 is expected to increase by 14 percent.”

IEEFA had pointed out in its earlier report that Guyana would have to go deeper into debt as a consequence of the oil and gas extraction. “So far, IEEFA’s estimate has proven to be accurate,” Sanzillo reported.

Additionally, there were no contributions made to Guyana’s SWF. “According to the IMF, Guyanese officials

agreed initially to constrain annual spending to avoid exceeding the amount transferred to the NRF.” It was also mentioned that spending should have been further constrained by a fiscal mechanism that would retain 50 percent of the proceeds from the NRF in the NRF, but, “in this year’s budget, no money was transferred to the NRF, and overall spending exceeded the amount transferred to the NRF. ( h t t p s : / / www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/ 2022/05/30/guyana-settingbad-pattern-by-spendingall-its-initial-oil-profits/) TUESDAY VP JAGDEO ADMITS THAT CITIZENS FORCED GOVTS. IN US, UK AND CANADA TO GET MORE BENEFITS FROM OIL COMPANIES -SAYS DOING SAME IN GUYANAWOULD BREACH CONTRACT WITH EXXON Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo on Monday conceded that it was the agitation of citizens of countries such as the United States and Canada that forced those governments to increase their royalties charged to oil operators and the one-off tax slapped on those companies in the UK. This publication has in recent days reported on the changes in the fiscal regime for oil operators in those countries. It was reported that Canada recently moved to increase its royalty charged to between five and 40 percent, the US in December last raised its royalty rate higher than the 18.75 it had

been receiving while the UK slapped a one-off 25 percent tax on the oil companies there.

Speaking at a press engagement at Office of the President on Monday, the Vice President told members of the local media corps that the windfall tax that some countries are exploring only came after intense pressure from their populations.

He quipped that in some cases this was not being done willingly but was the government bowing to the demands of its citizenry.

The Vice President went on to explain, however, why this could not be replicated in Guyana since, “we are bound by a PSA (Production Sharing Agreement) with very specific terms on the taxation side.”

To this end, he suggested “if you change the taxation here, it’s considered a breach of the contract.”

Seeking to draw a distinction between Guyana and the ABC countries, Jagdeo suggested that those companies would have been operating for decades in those jurisdictions and as such would have come under the standard tax regime for the respective countries within which they operate.

According to the Vice President, under such a situation the parliaments of those countries could by way of legislation easily make the changes to institute for example a windfall tax.

He was adamant, this is the key reason the same cannot be done in Guyana if the administration did in fact go ahead and make the legislative changes; it would be considered a breach of the contract, “we would run afoul of the agreement.”

Under the present PSA, with the only operator currently producing from Offshore Guyana, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL)— ExxonMobil, the country is paid a two percent royalty along with a 50/50 profit sharing split but not before 75 percent of earnings is deducted as cost oil.

This publication reported on Monday that the UK government announced that it will introduce a windfall tax on oil and gas operators which could raise US$6.3B in the first six months which will then be used to alleviate the cost-of-living crisis in the country.

A windfall tax is a one-off tax imposed by a government on a company, specifically targeting those that benefit from something they were not responsible for.

In this instance, the huge profits gained by oil and gas companies in the UK is due to a sharp increase in oil and gas prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The UK government said the purpose of this tax is to distribute excess profits made by oil companies for the greater social good. ( h t t p s : / / www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/ 2022/05/31/vp-jagdeoadmits-that-citizens-forcedgovts-in-us-uk-and-canadato-get-more-benefits-fromoil-companies/) GOVT. IGNORES EXPERTS, SET TO RENEW EXXON’S LIZA 1 PERMIT The Environmental Permit that was handed to Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL)— ExxonMobil Guyana—to develop and produce crude oil from the Liza 1 field in the Stabroek Block expires today but according to Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, notwithstanding pleas to the contrary, the instrument would be renewed.

Jagdeo gave the confirmation Monday during a press engagement venued at the Office of the President.

He told media operatives “there has been a lot of people internationally and locally who have been urging the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) not to renew the permit for the Stabroek Liza 1.”

To this end, the Vice President lamented that such a move would effectively shut down the production of oil and gas in the country, adding “that means we would lose all of this revenue and we would lose everything else.” Additionally, Jagdeo (Continued on page 30)

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From page 29 also took aim presumably at Hollywood actor, Mark Ruffalo—the Hulk—saying, “I see some celebrities and everybody who live in their countries that are expanding oil and gas production now they want us to stop it here in Guyana; they don’t even have a voice to stop it in their country in fact they are expanding.”

He posited, however, many of them wittingly or unwittingly work for the lobbyists.

Jagdeo was adamant, the world needs the fossil fuel now, “that’s why the price is US$120 a barrel that’s why it’s going up.”

According to the Vice President, there is a scarcity all over for crude oil and “therefore they (developed oil producers) would reap all the windfall, the rich countries.”

He said, “They want to shut it down in Guyana (because) we are causing climate change; we are destroying the planet,” adding, that with each passing day, the green house gases (GHG) “that gets churned out of the developed world is tens of thousands time more than our total GHG in Guyana.”

As such, the Vice President was of the view, “they pick on Guyana because we are a small country.”

Encouraging the citizenry to “don’t waste your time on these people,” Jagdeo suggested that those speaking out against the project, “would have us suffer forever, including some who are flying around in private jets but they want us to stop producing.”

Having confirmed that the Permit will be renewed, the Vice President noted that there would be some changes but only spoke of an increased fine for flaring which was last earmarked at US$45 per every ton of natural gas flared above permissible levels.

This past week international lawyer, Melinda Janki had again revisited the issuance of the Permit. Janki during a webinar had pronounced that the much vaunted oil bonanza in Guyana was only for the oil companies and not Guyana and that the country is presently on a path to disaster.

This, she said, was not just economically but environmentally and socially too. “The deal between government of Guyana and Exxon is one that is bad on every level,” she posited as she pointed out that under the present circumstances the oil operations represent,

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economically a disaster in the making.

Environmentally it’s already a disaster for Guyana, she posited and cited as example that already citizens are witnessing the disappearance of the fishing industry which has since also affected the livelihoods of the fisherfolk. ( h t t p s : / / www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/ 2022/05/31/govt-ignoresexperts-set-to-renew-exxonsliza-1-permit/) WEDNESDAY TRINI PM VOWS TO CONDUCT COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF OILAND GAS TAX REGIME -WANTS PETROLEUM PROFITS TAX, A SUPPLEMENTAL PETROLEUM TAX, BETTER ROYALTY FOR ALL ONSHORE, SHALLOW WATER AND DEEP-WATER PROJECTS As Guyana maintains its loyalty to the sanctity of the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement that secures a meagre two percent royalty from ExxonMobil Guyana and its partners, its CARICOM sister, Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) is moving in an entirely different direction. Like the USA, Canada and the United Kingdom, which all increased their royalty rates and slapped companies with a windfall tax, T&T has announced that it will be pursuing a comprehensive review of its oil and gas tax regime.

During his featured presentation at Tuesday’s opening of the Trinidad and Tobago Energy Conference being held at the Hyatt Hotel from May 31 to June 2, 2022, Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Rowley categorically stated that he will be going after better petroleum profits tax, supplemental petroleum tax and better royalty rates, which will be applied to all onshore, shallow water and deepwater projects.

Expounding on this latest development, he said, “Unrealised potential is of no value to anyone, not to the resource owners that are the people of Trinidad and Tobago or to interested investors if that resource remains out of reach, undeveloped or unexploited.

Accordingly, Government has been in dialogue with upstream companies to expedite Final Investment Decision for known reserves.”

Dr. Rowley continued, “As regards potential and undeveloped resources, the Government has been

soliciting proposals from upstream operators on the incentives required to stimulate activity for the exploitation of these resources.”

To that end, the politician said the Ministry of Finance in collaboration with the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries, is conducting a comprehensive review of the country’s oil and gas taxation regime to ensure Trinidad and Tobago “remains an internationally competitive hydrocarbon province.”

The politician said the review encompasses capital allowances, petroleum profits tax, supplemental petroleum tax and royalty, both onshore and offshore, in shallow water and deep-water.

In addition to this, he said, “As we move to identify new resources, we have to manage available resources.

Management of our hydrocarbon resources has not been without challenges.

A combination of COVID-19, low commodity prices and technical issues have setback levels of both oil and gas production. However, with the ease in the pandemic and new activity, both oil and gas production are set to rise.”

With new production coming on stream in 2022 and 2023, Dr. Rowley said gas production is projected to increase from present levels to 3.2 trillion cubic feet by 2024. Furthermore, the Prime Minister said gas supply between 2024 and 2027 will be tight before improving in 2028 with the coming on stream of mega projects, such as the Manatee and Calypso.

The PM was keen to note, however, that the key to a sustained gas industry will be the exploration and development of hydrocarbon resources as well as access to cross-border natural gas resources.

With the foregoing in mind, the Prime Minister told delegates in attendance that the outlook for oil production is promising. ( h t t p s : / / www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/ 2022/06/01/trini-pm-vowsto-conduct-comprehensivereview-of-oil-and-gas-taxregime/) EXXONMOBIL FAILS TO ADHERE TO ENVIRONMENTAL PERMIT BUT SEEKING MORE APPROVALS -ENVIRONMENTALIST LISTS 7 ACTIONS THAT MUST BE TAKEN FOR EPATO REGAIN CITIZENS’ TRUST US oil major, ExxonMobil has submitted an application

to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), seeking approval to startup its fifth project in the Stabroek Block – Uaru Plus – but to date, the oil company is yet to comply with the laws of Guyana and the provisions of the permits it received thus far from the regulator body.

This is according to environmentalist, Simone Mangal-Joly, who on May 27, 2022, told the EPA Head, Mr. Kemraj Parsram that, “It is unconscionable that the EPA would consider accepting and processing yet another application for a production FPSO (floating, production, storage and offloading) vessel from ExxonMobil when the company has failed to meet the requirements of environmental permits it already holds and has made no effort to demonstrate that it has fixed its faulty equipment as the Liza One environmental permit allowing routine gas flaring is about to expire.”

Mangal-Joly said she was curious as to why the EPA is indulging ExxonMobil in practices that evade international best practice standards and violate the legal requirements of the Environmental Protection Act and environmental permits it currently holds.

The EPA has opened a 28day period where members of the public can give their comments on an application Exxon made for the Uaru Project. In this regard, the Environmentalist questioned, “What comfort can Guyanese have that the EPA will act independently and conscientiously in processing the Uaru Application when it has shattered its own credibility with its handling of Exxon Mobil’s permits to date?”

To this end, she listed seven actions that must be taken for the public’s confidence in the EPA to be

regained.

Enforce parent company insurance Given that the Liza Two Permit outlines that the permit holder, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), must provide from the parent company, ExxonMobil, a legal binding document that ties it to any liabilities EEPGL may fail to satisfy, she noted that the EPA must, “Cease and desist from allowing ExxonMobil to violate the liability insurance coverage requirements in the Liza 2 Environmental Permit.”

Mangal-Joly went on to remind Mr. Parsram that Exxon illegally started up the Liza Two operations without satisfying the requirements in Section 12 of the Permit. As a consequence, “Liza Two operations must be suspended until the permit’s requirements are met,” the environmentalist posited.

Cancel Yellowtail Environmental Permit Exxon’s fourth project, Yellowtail, received a green light from the EPA, even though flaws in the EIA process were brought to its attention. For instance, the environmentalist had pointed out that the impacts of the project were deferred, while the EPA also breached the law when it failed to publish reasons for justifying issuance of the Yellowtail Permit. To this end, she said, “Cancel the Yellowtail Environmental Permit, which was issued in violation of the Environmental Protection Act, and restart the environmental impact assessment process in compliance with the legal requirements of the Environmental Protection Act’s provisions for the conduct of environmental impact assessments as well as procedures for the issuance of an environmental permit.” ( h t t p s : / / www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/

2022/06/01/exxonmobilfails-to-adhere-toenvironmental-permit-butseeking-more-approvals/) THURSDAY JAGDEO MISLEADING GUYANESE ON MONIES OWED TO EXXON SANZILLO …SAYS COUNTRY NOW HAS TO BORROW MORE AFTER BEING SHORTCHANGED ON COST OIL Guyana’s Vice 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 (Continued on page 31)

Sunday June 05, 2022

From page 30 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.”

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 health and education and to stimulate the economy; Having to borrow more money to meet those needs is wrong and unfair.” ( h t t p s : / / www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/ 2022/06/02/jagdeomisleading-guyanese-onmonies-owed-to-exxonsanzillo/) EPAPERMITAPPROVED WITH ASSURANCE, NOT INSURANCE …FINE ON FLARING UP BY G$1,000 The

Environmental

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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 a l l u d e d t o , i s t h e E PA acceptance of a Financial Assurance from Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL)— ExxonMobil Guyana— instead of Full Coverage i n s u r a n c e . T h e E PA i n making the 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 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.” ( h t t p s : / / www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/ 2022/06/02/epa-permitapproved-with-assurancenot-insurance-fine-onflaring-up-by-g1000/) FRIDAY PRODUCTION UNDER NEW LIZA 1 PERMIT ILLEGAL WITHOUT FULL COVERAGE INSURANCE FMR. EPAHEAD Former Head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Dr. Vincent Adams, is of the view that the current production from the Liza I and II Floating Production Storage and Offloading Vessels—Liza Destiny and Unity is illegal.

This is since the operator of the Stabroek Block , within which the two oil fields are located— Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), often times referred to as ExxonMobil Guyana, is yet to secure, unlimited insurance coverage from its parent c o m p a n y, a b o v e t h e US$2.5B that EEPGL had secured and committed.

The permit for the Liza 11 operations was signed a month after Dr. Adams was removed as head of that agency and replaced with the incumbent, Khemraj Parsram.

Dr. Adams made the point while appearing as a guest on the ‘Glenn Lall

Show’ last Wednesday and lamented the fact that despite the fact that written in the Environmental Permit was that EEPGL shall secure unlimited insurance coverage guaranteed by the parent company— ExxonMobil Corp—this was not done and government has still allowed the operations to proceed.

In fact, reported in another section of the media yesterday, government has already uplifted its first entitlement of one million barrels from the Liza II operations and is slated to collect a second within two weeks. According to Dr. Adams, “we have unlimited liability in the language but you guys not enforcing it,” referencing the clauses already in the permit.

He posited that with the recent resuscitation of talk about an assurance of up to US$2B in insurance, that the oil player was looking to have Guyanese cozy up to that idea after which that language that he had inserted into the permit during his stint there, would be removed.

D r.

Adams was adamant, “they should not have start up Liza II without them showing that they have it (unlimited insurance and parent company Guarantee, they should not have renewed Liza I until they have it.”

To this end, Dr. Adams suggested that the Liza II operations be challenged in the court since the company failed to meet the requirements in the permit, compounded by the fact that the EPA has failed to enforce the provisions, it would be a slam dunk case.

I n t e r n a t i o n a l L a w y e r,

Melinda Janki who has been at the forefront of s u c c e s s f u l c o u r t a c t i on against ExxonMobil and the EPA also suggested that in her view, the renewal of the Liza I permit which expired on May 31 (Tuesday) last, in her view is illegal.

She too was at the time a guest of the ‘Glenn Lall Show’ and was asked to weigh in on the renewal of the Liza I Permit despite the publicly voiced opposition to such a move by activities, celebrities and technical and financial experts, domestically, regionally and Internationally.

According to Janki, “the EPA has stuck us with an environmental permit that is harmful to Guyana; (and) in my view that renewal is illegal.”

Lamenting the state of affairs, she used the occasion to also recall that back in December 2018 w h e n Vi c e P r e s i d e n t Bharrat Jagdeo was then opposition leader, he had said ExxonMobil “is a very smart, big company and it looks out for its shareholders, he said that company walked in with maximum demands and our incompetent government trudged in there unprepared and stuck us with a contract that would harm us for decades into the future; Mr. Jagdeo said they sold our patrimony that is what he said in 2018.”

In 2022, however, Janki noted the stark departure from those utterances since government did not adhere to any of the advice proffered and still went ahead and renewed the permit despite the repeated failure on the part of EEPGL to meet the full requirements and that of the EPA in enforcing the (Continued on page 32)

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relevant provisions of the permit. ( h t t p s : / / www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/ 2022/06/03/production-undernew-liza-1-permit-illegal-withoutfull-coverage-insurance-fmr-epahead/) US$50 FINE PER TON OF POLLUTANT AN INSULT TO GUYANESE – FORMER EPA BOSS SAYS IT’S CHEAPER FOR EXXON TO FLARE GAS THAN TO RE-INJECT Kaieteur News – Despite Guyana increasing its charge for unauthorised flaring onboard the Liza 1 Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) unit to US$50 in the recently renewed environmental permit, it seems that the paltry penalty is serving as an incentive more than a deterrent to oil giant, ExxonMobil.

What should have been a positive move for the country to prevent unwanted flaring by Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Ltd (EEPGL), is earning the oil company more money as it is cheaper for them to flare than to re-inject the gas into the offshore field.

During the Kaieteur Radio Glen Lall Show Wednesday last, former head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Dr. Vincent Adams informed that Guyana is losing heavily on the financial and environmental sides, while EEPGL, ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, secures massive income from continued flaring. Dr. Adams revealed that while Guyana would be receiving a meagre US$12,000 from its US$50 flare charge, EEPGL would be making about US$500,000 per year from the sale of oil produced through illegal flaring.

Adams simplified that based on the information available, some four million cubic feet of gas is being flared per day onboard the Liza Destiny FPSO. For every barrel of oil that is brought to the surface, he said it brings up 1000 cubic feet of gas. So if the idea is to cut out the four million cubic feet of gas that is flared for that day, then all that is needed is to cut production by 4000 barrel per day. This he said would require the company to bring its production down from 120,000 barrels per day to 116,000B/D. As such, zero flaring could be achieved.

But this is not an avenue the oil company would want to take since it would decrease the income as a result of the cut back, the former EPA head opined.

ExxonMobil does not expect to completely address the issues it faces with its flaring equipment until mid-year 2022. Since last year, the company has been facing issues with its equipment. In January last, EEPGL’s Communications Manager, Janelle Persaud had disclosed that the installation of the new gas compressor for the Liza Destiny FPSO could not be implemented that month as the company sought the installation of upgraded equipment “by mid-year (2022).” She had stated that the third-stage flash gas compressor (FGC) currently on the Liza Destiny FPSO continued to

operate steadily in the interim. She had noted then that flare levels were being maintained below 15 million standard cubic feet of gas per day when the Flash Gas Compression system is offline and below 7 million standard cubic feet of gas when the FGC is online.

Adams noted however that flaring could be stopped completely if the company only decided to reduce the amounts of barrels of oil that contribute to the gas to be flared. But again, Adams explained, this would not be in the interest of the company since Exxon would be paying Guyana US$12,000 for the four million cubic feet of gas it flared for the 4000 barrels of oil produced, but at the current market value, profiting some half a million dollars for the sale of the said 4000 barrels of oil. In other words, “They (ExxonMobil) are paying US$12,000 to get half a million dollars”. ( h t t p s : / / www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/ 2022/06/03/us50-fine-per-ton-ofpollutant-an-insult-to-guyanese/) SATURDAY EPARELYING ON EXXON ESTIMATES TO DETERMINEAMOUNT OF GAS FLARED …AFTER DISBANDING WORLD BANK FUNDED TEAM TO MONITOR EMISSIONS The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Tuesday last, renewed the Environmental Permit for production of crude oil and associated gases from the Liza I oil field in the Stabroek Block by operator, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited.

In making the announcement, the EPA said it had increased the fine charged for flaring up to US$50— from US$45—for every tonne of carbon dioxide emitted through that process.

A perusal of the renewed permit illustrates however, that it is EEPGL, ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, that would be providing an ‘estimate’ of the amount of carbon dioxide flared for which a fine must be paid.

Under the provisions in the renewed permit that addresses flaring, it outlines that “the permit holder shall estimate GHG (Green House Gas) emissions include

Carbon Dioxide (Co2) and CO2e emissions…”

Additionally the permit holder shall “estimate and report all GHG emissions,” and shall also summarise and report to the agency, the considerations made to estimate the volume of GHG emissions.”

The recently approved Liza 1 permit including the flare charge was described by the former environmental agency head, Dr. Vincent Adams as, “an insult to the Guyanese intelligence,” especially since he claimed that measures he implemented to create a highly skilled team to provide 24/7 monitoring against flaring onboard the Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel was removed by the current administration.”

He disclosed that since the idea was to stop flaring all together as per the rules in the Liza 2 permit, his position during his time at the EPA was that the gas should be injected back into the reservoir.

Additionally, Adams noted, the four million cubic feet of gas being flared is being described as only two or three percent, “and they keep talking about the two percent because it is a small number. Two percent sounds small. But its four million cubic feet a day; that is the lowest they have gotten,” Adams reported. And this is onboard Liza one alone since the information for Liza 2 is not yet available.

In relation to monitoring, Adams recalled accessing sponsorship from the World Bank to the tune of a million dollars for the verification of flaring amounts.

He said the Bank brought in an expert with whom he sat along with a more than 30-man team of highly specialized petroleum and environmental persons, “to be on those ships 24/7”.

This move, according to Dr. Adams, was critical to ensure the monitoring of the unhealthy practice.

That is how it is done in the petroleum industry in the US, and Adams said that is how he wanted it done here in Guyana, to have that same type of monitoring. It is important to be on the ship, Adams continued because the oil companies will say one thing but do another to protect their interest.

But Adams said as soon as he left, the government abandoned the monitoring initiative, “even though

the World Bank spent a million dollars to help put together that team, they abandoned that program and said they don’t need that program.”

He said that the World Bank and the EPA both have documentation on the 36-man team, their qualifications, experiences, among other information. The team would have entailed high-powered petroleum and environmental engineers, some of whom would have come from aboard. All of this was budgeted for at the time, Adams said. ( h t t p s : / / www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/ 2022/06/04/epa-relying-on-exxonestimates-to-determine-amount-ofgas-flared/) GUYANAMOVINGTWO TO THREE TIMES FASTER THANANY OTHER OFFSHORE ENERGY PLAYER ...HESS TELLS INVESTORS DON’T HESITATE, GET ON THE TRAIN The bountiful oil scenario in Guyana has served as a major lifeline to foreign operators such as Hess Corporation which has a 30 percent stake in the over 6 million-acres Stabroek Block it shares with partners, US-based ExxonMobil and Chinese company, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC).

In fact, Hess is seeking to lure investors with the unprecedented level of positive fiscal returns coming from Guyana’s oil discoveries.

During the Bernstein’s 38th Annual Strategic Decisions Conference held in New York on Thursday (June 2, 2022), Hess Corporation’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) John Hess spoke extensively on the many positives coming out of the Stabroek Block.

Hess told attendees that Guyana is the fastest growing offshore development globally, with significant value coming out of that venture.

He said that in discussion with partner agency, ExxonMobil during the country’s initial oil find in 2015, former CEO Rex Tillerson had denoted the company’s intention to go as fast as it can, while preventing any leakages. What this means, Hess explained, is that Exxon, with operator rights and the largest

shareholder in the block with 45 percent, wants to maintain the growth of the offshore fields while maintaining capital and operating efficiency.

Despite the huge undertakings involving project management and other industry supporting tasks such as procuring large storage vessels, Hess lauded Exxon as being the best in the business to do the necessary work. As such, where Guyana is concerned, he described Exxon’s philosophy of design one (floating production storage and offloading unit (FPSO) build many as being industry leading.

“And we have a page in our investor pack that actually shows our development of oil production is two to three times faster than any other global offshore development.

So we are going fast and we are bringing value forward,” Hess related. He continued that Guyana’s offshore operators are going as fast as one can and still maintain capital and operating efficiency in such a deepwater operation. Guyana’s operation could also be two to three times better than any other industry player, the Hess boss boosted.

Additionally, Hess explained, that to be successful in the oil industry business companies must grow their resources; something the company was most recently criticized for. He continued that the discussion among investors at the time was for the company to stop investing and that they should return investor’s money. “We said look, we have higher returns specifically in Guyana. We are going to benefit from that investment as we grow the resources, we grow the cash flow.”

“Now that we have the second ship on, every ship at US$65 dollars Brent adds a billion a year of EBITA (Earnings before interest, taxes, and amortization). And as a consequence our cash flow, because we have these low cost developments coming on every year, our cash flow growth is 25 percent a year compounded each year for the next five years. And quite frankly with more ships, it can actually go out to 20, 30.”

Reiterating the company’s position of growing resource for success, Hess described Guyana’s oil as being low cost, high margin, low carbon footprint crude. He said this quality of crude would be needed in the next 20 years, and the quality product also gives the Stabroek Block operators an advantage compared to what operators are getting at other locations. Hess noted too, that while in some locations, and at this time it takes as much as five years to bring a field to production, it is about three years in Guyana. “Guyana is actually different. It is accelerating oil development and production which the world is going to need,” Hess said. Hess informed that in March the company increased dividend by 50 percent and is expected to grow again in the near future. ( h t t p s : / / www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/ 2022/06/04/guyana-moving-twoto-three-times-faster-than-anyother-offshore-energy-player/)

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Sunday June 05, 2022

>>> ENCOURAGING EVENTS, DISCOURAGING DEVELOPMENTS <<<

Amaila Falls, citizens’ pressure and judicial appointments

I

t is all about governance, the candid and clean kind. The three issues I chose this week encourage and disturb simultaneously, given how they confirm what we have for clean governance and ethical leadership in this country.

Much has been made about the return of the Amaila Falls Hydroelectric project. Like Jesse James and Wang Yu, it is doomed to die. One online newspaper called it a “snag” and another wrote of “difficulty” being experienced by China Railway, the company contracted to deliver a BOOT (Build, Own, Operate, and Transfer) setup.

Somebody has to be kidding me, because the Chinese don’t have difficulty finding money, arranging money, or even making money out of thin air, when such suit their purposes. Other companies have money problems, not

Chinese ones.

What I think happened is that the Chinese chiefs looked closer at this project and said, like the calypsonian, ‘I ain winin pon dah.’ If there is anybody who knows about “cow and runnins”, it is the Chinese, and they know when to cut and run. For here was a project that was talked up to heaven, only to prove that is a dud under PPP leaders’ terms.

The Chinese are the best loan sharks around, and if short where to get funds (Hu Jintao), so this farce about financing stresses tells me the disturbing.

It is that leaders in the PPP Government demands, through side deals, were too much for even the usual unfazed, cooperative Chinese. So, they gave Guyana the BOOT and jump ship in midstream.

Remember: this is less about Chinese money weakness and more about Guyanese

leadership crookedness. Try some opium and see the light, folks.

Then, the majestic Vice President is reported to have acknowledge that it was pressure from citizens that forced the ABC heads to knock money sense in the skulls of leaders of oil companies operating in their countries. It was pay more, or there is the door.

But then the VP mysteriously said that doing the same would violate Guyana’s oil contract with Exxon. I am still figuring out why Guyana’s political Superman is worried about Exxon and fighting its fight.

Let Exxon use that defense, not our leaders. What the magnificent VP should have been doing is what he is good at, namely, whip his people into a frenzy and get them to howl about that ugly PNC contract, and how much it needs addressing because they are hurting.

If the VP really wants to

get Woods’ and Routledge’s goat, then he ought to get with Opposition Leader Norton and workout how to get masses of Guyanese raging about the oil contract in the streets. Guyana’s leaders need to make things ‘hot, hot, hot’ for Exxon by having their combined constituencies raising the roof without letup and bringing down Exxon’s house.

I strongly recommend that to our leaders, if only to see how wimpy or warrish they are.

M y s e c o n d recommendation is for the VP and OL to have a sitdown (Mafia style) with Exxon’s top people, and say this is the showdown coming down, because “we can’t pacify de Guyanese peeple nuh moh. Dah is wah ah call peeple pressuh.” It is why Guyana needs togetherness.

Instead of the skirmishing and grandstanding, both VP and OL know what they have to

do with Exxon fuh mek it geh sum sense.

And the beauty is that Guyanese don’t have to be drunk and disorderly to get what they want.

Last, are c r u c i a l judicial appointments , I notice that PPP leaders publicly articulated their problems with some senior lady jurists. I recall that it was American President Eisenhower, who said that his worst mistake was naming Earl Warren to the Supreme Court. He never said it publicly, which maintains this charming sham about independence of the judiciary.

Some are won, some lost; and that must be lived with cheerfully.

It is

By GHK Lall enlightening that PPP leaders would prefer only those judges that favour them. Ha, ha, so much for all this balderdash and hogwash about judicial wisdom and neutrality. It boils down to this: ‘mek sure yuh fix de ting fuh we, yuh warship.’

Governance that disturbs endlessly.

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

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Lessons from a Lashpreneur !!!

What are wet mascara look extensions

all about?

By Latoya Zephyr Hey lash babes, by now, you have probably heard of the Kim K lash extensions style that took the lash industry by storm. But guess what?

There’s a new kid on the block - the wet mascara look lash extensions! If you have not already tried them, you truly are missing out! The wet mascara look is currently one of the most popular lash styles that clients are requesting across the globe. This stunning textured lash style seems like it will be here to stay!

FOMO already!? Then you

will want to stick around until the very end because we are spilling the tea on all that you need to know! By the end of the blog, you will learn what they are, how to create them, the secret ingredients you will need, and all the juicy tips!

What are wet mascara look lash extensions?

As the name suggests, wet mascara look lash extensions resemble a set of volume lash extensions that are wet.

Imagine what your set of extensions would look like after you step out of your

shower. Yep, this is when all the volume fans close up. Instead of appearing soft and fluffy, the wet mascara look lash extensions are spiky and

Enetworks to air NBA Finals, MotoGP on E2 channel Today, the team at Enetworks will be airing the NBA finals on E2. The series will feature the Eastern Conference champions, the Boston Celtics and the Western Conference champions, the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors have home-court advantage in the series based on having the better regular season record. The

Celtics and the Warriors (originally in Philadelphia) have been with the NBA since its inaugural season in 1946 when the league was known as the Basketball Association of America (BAA).

The Finals is a rematch of the 1964 NBA Finals in which the Celtics defeated the thenSan Francisco Warriors in five games.

MotoGP is also scheduled for today at 5:30 PM on on E2. The 2022 FIM MotoGP World Championship is the premier class of the 74th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season. Fabio Quartararo came into the season as the defending world champion. Be sure to enjoy with family and friends.

textured. If you have not noticed already, textured lash extensions are SO trendy these days.

Many clients find the spiky look appealing, and looking much more like strip lashes.

How to create the look?

Many clients actually confuse wet mascara look with classic extensions. Although they look like thick classic lashes, they are in reality created using thin volume lashes. Therefore, wet mascara look lash extensions are considered a volume service, and should be charged accordingly. You would be surprised to know that the time it takes to create this look is very similar to a full volume set.

Alright, so how do we create the drool-worthy wet mascara look lash extensions that so many clients want? Essentially, the entire lash set is crafted using volume spikes.

To create the the look, unfanned volume lashes are used.

When it comes to the spikes for the wet mascara look, creating tapered tip spikes is the secret sauce!

This means keeping the lashes completely closed, and preventing them from fanning open during application.

Some lash artists use a micro swab to apply a very small amount of primer or water to the tips of the lashes directly on the strip. This causes the lashes to adhere to

neighbouring lashes, keeping the tips temporarily tapered on the strip. Other lash artists prefer pinching the tips of the spikes with their fingers to taper them.

Another simple way to keep the lashes completely closed is to secure a good grip on the extensions for a couple more seconds after applying.

Ensure that you have steady hands too! Letting go of the extensions too soon could lead to the extensions shifting and fanning apart slightly. If this occurs, the extension will look more like a narrow fan rather than a spike.

Applying the spikes is similar to classic application. This means that direction is extremely important!

Clients that have natural lashes that grow in odd directions will require you to change the directions of the extensions more.

If the spike is applied slanted, it will look rather messy, and out of place in the lash set.

Creating a clean, and beautiful set actually requires a lot of skill and patience. Each ex-

tension should be spiky, AND applied straight so that the extensions do not look messy or wonky.

Who would suit wet mascara look?

Clients who would be best suited for the wet mascara look are those who absolutely love texture in their lashes. Clients who request the Kim K s t y l e , o r w i s p y, s p i k y lashes, are likely a fan of this styling.

Depending on how much texture your clients want, you can customize the amount of texture through varying lash extension lengths.

The wet mascara look is also suited for clients with a moderate to full lash line.

Keep in mind that this styling uses only closed lash fans, which is similar to classic extensions.

This look on clients with a sparse lash line will have more gaps, and look less full.

Clients with a sparse lash line benefit from bigger, wider volume fans rather than unfanned extensions.

For them, Kim K styling would be a better option if they like textured extensions.

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10 Health Benefits of Ginger The first record of ginger being used dates back to 500 BC. Ginger is a plant that originated in Southeast Asia, but the spices that are common in foods come from the root. While ginger adds a lot of flavor to food, it’s also been used as an alternative form of medicine throughout history.

If you’re rooting for a healthier you, consider adding ginger to your diet. Continue reading as we go through the top ten health benefits of ginger.

Let’s begin!

1. Better Digestion Ginger helps speed up the digestion process and empty your stomach more quickly.

Someone with digestive issues, such as indigestion, ulcers, constipation, and IBS, might find relief by adding it into their regular diet. Studies have shown that those who consume ginger digest twice as fast as those who don’t. It increases movement in the digestive tract and promotes healthy enzymes that help break down the foods we eat.

2. Improves Immunity Gingerol, the bioactive compound found in raw ginger, boosts immunity with its antimicrobial and antifungal properties. Ginger also contains antioxidants and anti-in-

flammatory properties.

The combination of these properties has many benefits.

These ginger health benefits and side effects improve coughs, lower fevers, fight off infections, relieve headaches, and ease other symptoms associated with common colds and the flu.

3. Alleviates PMS Symptoms Menstrual pain is a common symptom during a woman’s cycle, but incorporating ginger might make it more manageable. Using ginger during the first three days of your menstrual cycle helps with pain relief, and the antiinflammatory properties relieve the bloat that is common with PMS. 4. Relieves Nausea and Upset Stomach One of the most wellknown health side effects of ginger is its ability to relieve nausea. Whether it’s from motion sickness, migraines, morning sickness, or general stomach problems, ginger helps calm an upset stomach.

It does so with its anti-inflammatory properties, better digestive responsiveness, and hormones that regulate blood pressure to calm the body.

5. May Help With Cancer Studies on ginger have shown that some of the ben-

efits of gingerol may prevent some cancers. While it is not a cure-all, its antioxidant and antiinflammatory properties help protect your body. Ginger is also a safe option to reduce the symptoms of nausea and pain often associated with cancer treatment.

When you’re undergoing chemotherapy, adding ginger into your diet helps combat the treatment’s side effects of nausea or dizziness.

6. Reduces Pain Ginger is a natural pain reliever. This makes it an excellent substitute for over-thecounter pain medications.

Gingerols act as an anti-inflammatory and work to eliminate compounds in the body that result in pain. Anti-inflammatory properties in ginger reduce the pain associated with arthritis and increase joint mobility. Arthritis sufferers are often prescribed anti-inflammation medication to lessen their symptoms, but ginger works as a natural alternative.

7. Healthier Skin Ginger improves the health of your skin with antioxidants, increased blood circulation, and antiseptic properties. The antioxidants protect the skin from UV rays and slow the breakdown of collagen, making the skin look younger and tauter. Antiseptic properties improve acne

symptoms, and with raw ginger, you can help with scarring caused by acne. Ginger’s anti-inflammatory properties also aid in healing irritated skin.

Check out some of ginger’s other amazing beauty benefits.

8. Weight Loss Aid Some studies have shown that consuming ginger helps aid in weight loss. Ginger controls insulin levels, boosts metabolism, and aids in workout recovery. Ginger helps with weight loss by giving your metabolism a boost and creating a feeling of fullness to prevent overeating.

It isn’t a fix-all, but when incorporated with other weight loss efforts, it can supplement your results.

9. Prevents Cardiovascular Disease In addition to its other properties, ginger also works as a blood thinner, which is beneficial in preventing cardiovascular issues. Blood thinners reduce the risk of blood clots, which lowers your risk of heart attacks or strokes. Another way ginger prevents heart disease is by lowering blood pressure and cholesterol. The build-up of cholesterol can clog arteries and increase the risk of heart problems. Ginger also im-

proves circulation and lowers blood sugar, which helps the heart stay at peak performance.

10. Improves Brain Function Chronic inflammation affects your brain over time and may cause it to decline. This may result in cognitive conditions , m e n t a l h e a l t h struggles, or Alzheimer’s disease. Ginger reduces inflammation and protects the brain from free radicals due to powerful antioxidants. It also improves memory function by increasing the neurotransmitters in our brain responsible for memory, focus, and reaction time. Ginger even releases dopamine and serotonin to help fight mental illnesses like depression and anxiety.

How to Incorporate More Ginger in Your Diet If you’re wondering how to eat ginger for health benefits, there are many ways to start incorporating it into your diet. Find the method you enjoy and add it to your routine.

1. Ginger Tea One of the most common ways to consume ginger is in tea. To make ginger tea, you add pieces of chopped or sliced ginger to water and steep it. To add more flavor, include things like honey or lemon. Some brands of

premade tea bags offer ginger varieties, though they may not be as beneficial as raw ginger.

2. Spice Up Your Foods Add minced ginger to meals to reap the benefits and add extra flavor.

Ginger works well in stir-fries, soups, and curries. You can even add ginger to desserts or smoothies. Need some ideas?

Check out some of our recipes for cooking with ginger.

3. Ginger Juice A daily shot of ginger juice is one of the most convenient ways to consume ginger. You can make them at home using a juicer. Some people even consume ginger raw for more immediate health benefits, if they don’t need to make a full meal or enjoy drinking it.

Improve Your Health With Ginger Adding ginger to your diet is a simple way to improve your health.

There are plenty of ways to incorporate it into your diet with minimal effort. If you have a history of heart problems, poor digestion, weight issues, or simply want to stay healthy, ginger has you covered.

Shop our selection of ginger products including squeezable ginger or browse recipes for more ideas on how to add ginger to your weekly routine.

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Sunday June 05, 2022

==GNBS IN FOCUS== GNBS joins in celebrating World Environment Day 2022

T

oday, June 5, is W o r l d Environment Day (WED), a day which is celebrated globally to create awareness of environmental issues and encourage action from all levels of society.

This year's theme is “Only One Earth”.

First observed in 1973, World Environment Day is

described as “a global platform for inspiring positive change” by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Today, it is recognised as the largest global environmental event, with millions of people in more than 150 countries participating. The idea is to engage “governments, businesses, civil society,

schools, celebrities, cities, and communities in raising awareness and celebrating environmental action”.

“Only One Earth” advocates for transformative environmental change on a global scale. This year, the campaign shines a spotlight on climate action, nature action and pollution action while encouraging everyone,

everywhere to live sustainably.

Standards continue to be crucial in guiding human actions towards the preservation of our global environment. International Standard Bodies such as the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) continue to develop standards for use by a wide range of industries, regulators, and other environmentalists to maintain sustainable limits.

At the national level, the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) has over the years developed useful s t a n d a r d s f o r implementation, which directly or indirectly impact environment related activities. These standards relate to environmental sampling and testing, greenhouse gas emission, effluent and noise emissions and the labelling of refrigerants. Many of these

standards are particularly beneficial to companies and laboratories offering environmental testing and regulators.

The GNBS Technical Team also has the capacity to aid companies desirous of meeting the requirements of the ISO 14001 – Environmental Management System (EMS) standard. In addition to this step-by-step guidance, training on the standard can also be facilitated.

Implementation of ISO 14001 standard contributes significantly to reducing environmental impact even as it enlightens users on the effect the environment has on businesses.

Implementing the requirements of this international standard is an important step towards preservation since it covers all environmental challenges related to water, air, soil, w a s t e , b i o d i v e r s i t y,

ecosystem services and climate challenges. The standard helps organisations to manage all aspects of the environment in a holistic manner.

Today, as we celebrate WED, many societies continue to struggle with issues such as natural disasters, deforestation, wildlife extinction, climate mitigation and adaptation.

The GNBS supports all efforts taken by individuals, organisations, and Governments to address these challenges.

Meanwhile, the Bureau will continue to adopt and implement best practices in its operations to ensure it has minimal impact on the environment, even as it develops new and relevant standards to care the environment for current and future generations.

For further information, please contact the GNBS on telephone numbers: 2190069, 219-0065, 219-0062.

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for her daughter's return and as it got close to 15:00hrs, she stepped out of her home and sat on her bridge to wait for her. he West Bank Demerara However, her wait would be in vain and (WBD) community of the explanation of the scripture that Kayla Goed Fortuin was plunged wanted to share with the Goed Fortuin into grief on Wednesday after residents community never materialised. received the tragic news that the life of “I was sitting on the bridge, waiting on one of their own – a young girl who had her to come home from school…ow… and already envisioned herself becoming a a fella came riding on a bicycle and he seh doctor – was snuffed out hours before 'the chubby girl that does go West Dem is she was able to deliver a crucial you daughter?' and ah seh yeah! Wah message at the Faith Gospel Ministries happen?

Church.

He she, 'she get knock down' and I seh Little Kayla The life of 12-year-old Kayla ow, way,” said the grief-stricken woman as was always Barnabas of School Road, Goed an ardent tears trickled down her face.

Fortuin, tragically ended around Kayla's father, Delmon Barnabas, churchgoer.

15:45hrs when a “speeding” police remembered his wife screaming out for him vehicle slammed into her along the and relating the devastating news. “I got Goed Fortuin public road. confused, I did not know what to do,” he Kaieteur News attended her wake said. on Friday evening just to learn who The couple comforted Kayla was. she was crossing the road. themselves by believing She was described by her grieving A post she made on the first Eyewitnesses at the wake related that that it was only something family as “an angel that God gifted day of secondary school.

Kayla was dropped off by a bus and stood at minor. them for only a short while.” the pedestrian crossing where she was “We said man it might Her Pastor, Peter Lila had predicted waiting to cross the road. not be nothing serious, that she would become a Sunday Two vehicles had passed but then a car probably she break her school teacher and an active youth stopped with its hazard light on, allowing the hand or foot,” Delmon missionary in his church while child to cross. But as she hurried across, the told Kaieteur News.

Harrinarine, the headmaster of speeding police vehicle slammed into her.

But when they got to the school, which she attended, Police said that the corporal was trying to the hospital, their worst West Demerara Secondary overtake the vehicle after it had stopped. fears came true for lying School, called her a brilliant Maths Family members are calling for justice on a table and covered student. and have related that they are worried that from head to toe with a As Kaieteur News learnt more of the Police Force may not do a fair white cloth was the her character, one thing was clear – investigation since it is standing all expenses lifeless body of their Kayla had a message for her for the funeral arrangements. One of the daughter. community but sadly her life was taken child's uncles (who spoke on condition of before she was able to do so. anonymity) is of the view that cases The only person who had a slight ld. involving police officers should be clue about the message is her mother, ths o n o m investigated by independent persons.

Somattie Barnabas and perhaps a friend w e f st a Meanwhile, family members are also at school. at ju a l y calling on the police to correct an error on Ka Somattie recalled that Kayla woke up Kayla's death registration. According to “extremely early” on Wednesday them, investigators had given her time of morning to prepare for school. “ death as 14:45hrs but Kayla was still at “The first thing, she wake-up While me a school around that time. extremely early, 5:30 (am),” Somattie pack she bag, me read Even as the family continues to mourn said. the scripture wah she write.” her sudden demise, they have decided that The woman recalled that her daughter Written on a piece of paper were two they will remember Kayla as the bundle of freshened-up, picked up some clothes from bible verses – John 3:16 and John 3:17 – joy that entered the world in February 2010 the clothesline and then ate a plate of chicken “16.For God so loved the world that He gave and touched their lives. curry (even though she was not fond of that His one and only son, that whoever believes They have chosen to recall the moment, dish). in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. at age 4, when she told them that she will Somattie said that while her daughter did 17. grow up to be a doctor and take care of her her chores, she helped to pack her “book For God did not send His Son into the sick grandparents. bag” for school. world to condemn the world but to save the Relatives said that even though she was She recalled having a conversation with world through him”. not given the chance to achieve her goal, the her daughter during which she said, 'mammy Somattie was inspired and, like many memories of her pretending to scribble ah been write down a scripture on a paper to others, she was anxious to hear Kayla's prescriptions for her grandma and signing it show meh friend in school'. explanation later that evening. as Dr. Barnabas will forever be etched in Somattie explained that they were She combed Kayla's hair and sent her off their memories. planning to attend church that evening after Kayla Barnabas was killed to school with these words, “Baby ah love At the time of her death, Kayla was the school and Kayla had planned to share that tragically in a road accident. yuh! Watch the road; be careful on the road. one who slept with and looked after her scripture and give the congregation a Make sure yuh walk on the pedestrian ailing grandmother, not because she was detailed explanation of what it means. crossing.”

According to police, a corporal driving a forced to do it but because she was very The woman related that she was anxious Somattie then began to count the hours police vehicle had slammed into her while passionate about becoming a doctor. to know what the scripture was and revealed,

By Shervin Belgrave

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g ts in s... e e er tur t In rea C

T

Seriemas

he seriemas are the sole living members of the small bird family Cariamidae, which is also the only surviving lineage of the order Cariamiformes. Once believed to be related to cranes, they have been placed near the falcons, parrots and passerines, as well as the extinct Phorusrhacidae.

The seriemas are large, long-legged territorial birds that range from 70–90 cm (28–35 in) in length. They live in grasslands, savannah, dry woodland and open forests of Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. There are two species of seriemas, the red-

legged seriema (Cariama cristata) and the black-legged seriema (Chunga burmeisteri). Names for these birds in the Tupian languages are variously spelled as siriema, sariama, and çariama, and mean "crested".

Description Both species are around 90 cm (35 in) long (the redlegged seriema is slightly bigger than the black-legged, with 90 and 70–85 cm respectively).

They forage on foot and run from danger rather than fly (though they can fly for short distances, and they roost in trees). They have long legs, necks, and tails,

but only short wings, reflecting their way of life.

They are among the largest ground-dwelling birds endemic of the Neotropics (only behind rheas).

They are brownish birds with short bills and erectile crests, found on fairly dry open country, the red-legged seriema preferring grasslands and the blacklegged seriema preferring scrub and open woodland.

They give loud, yelping calls and are often heard before they are seen. They have sharp claws, with an extensible and very curved second toe claw.

Behaviour and ecology Ecologically, the seriema

is the South American counterpart of the African secretary bird.

They feed on insects, snakes, lizards, frogs, young birds, and rodents, with small amounts of plant food (including maize and beans).

They often associate with grazing livestock, probably to take insects the animals disturb.

When seriemas catch small reptiles, they beat the prey on the ground (Redford and Peters 1986) or throw it at a hard surface to break resistance and also the bones.

If the prey is too large to swallow whole, it will be ripped into smaller pieces with a sickle claw by holding the prey in the beak and tearing it apart with the claw.

Because of these feeding behaviours, seriemas are

Sunday June 05, 2022 (By Otávio Nogueira https://www.flickr.com/photos)

important by eating detritivores and helping the soil get more nutrients from dead plant matter.

In contact with humans, seriemas are suspicious and if they feel threatened, usually spread their wings and face them.

They walk in pairs or small groups. Although perfectly capable of flying, they prefer to spend most of their time on land.

They only take flight when necessary, for example t o e s c a p e a p r e d a t o r.

Overnight they take shelter in the treetops, where they also build their nests.

Breeding The breeding biology of the seriemas is poorly known, and much of what is known comes only from redlegged seriemas. Pairs

appear to be territorial and avoid others of their species while breeding, and fights between rivals have been observed.

These fights involving kicking rivals, can go on for long periods of time, and involve much calling by the involved birds.

Seriemas build a large bulky stick nest, lined with leaves and dung, which is placed in a tree 1–5 m (3.3–16.4 ft) off the ground.

The placement of the nest is so that the adults can reach the nest by foot rather than flying, through hops and the occasional flutter. Both sexes are involved in building the nest.

They lay two or three white or buff eggs sparsely spotted with brown and purple.

The female does most of the incubation, which lasts from 24 to 30 days.

Hatchlings are downy but stay in the nest for about two weeks; after which they leave the nest and follow both parents.

They reach full maturity at the age of four to five months. It is unknown when fledgling chicks reach sexual maturity.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Kaieteur News

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S== ==CONSUMER CONCERN

ADDRESSING THE NOISE NUISANCE; GPF AND EPA SIGN AGREEMENT

By Pat Dial

O

ver the years, the G u y a n a Consumers Association has been lobbying the Police Force to take action on noise nuisance.

For example, an area of continuous concern is the Stabroek Market Square and the plethora of minibuses nearby with their distressingly loud music.

Recently, however, when the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed an Agreement to collaborate in the field of training and the enforcement of noise management regulations, the consumer community and indeed, the public as a whole, felt that a new era of seriously tackling the noise nuisance had arrived.

In addition to the common law remedies, Guyana has an adequate corpus of Law providing protection against noise nuisance with the 1976 Environmental Protection Act and by its further Regulations of 2000.

The Police, however, never comprehensively enforced the Law and this gave the impression that the Law had fallen into desuetude and noise makers felt they could continue in their ways unhampered and this is the fundamental cause why the noise nuisance persists.

The Law defines noise as "unwanted sound which may cause or tend to cause an adverse psychological effect on human beings and

includes vibration".

The same legislation goes on to define Noise Nuisance/Noise Disturbance as "any unwanted sound including vibration that annoys, disturbs, perturbs normal persons with reasonable sensitivities, or any unwanted sound which reasonably may be perceived to injure or endanger the comfort, repose, health, peace or safety of any humans or animals or ignores movable or immovable property".

Noise is measured by decibels, usually abbreviated as "dB". A decibel is a unit of sound pressure level or intensity of sound. During the day, if decibels are over 75 dB, it is regarded as noise and at night over 70 dB is likewise so regarded.

These figures are arrived at on the basis that over 80 dB begins to impair the hearing and health of a human being.

Noise is classified into four types: Continuous noise, Intermittent noise, Impulsive noise, and Low Frequency noise.

Many members of the public are unaware that there has been scientific analysis of noise and feel that if they are warned or charged by the police for noise nuisance, it is a subjective decision of the police. It is this assumption by many offenders who cause them to resist the police warnings or orders and to repeat their offence.

A sustained effort has to be made by the police and other authorities to educate the public on the various facets of noise. Noise not merely causes discomfort to humans

and animals; it could seriously damage the health and wellbeing of both humans and animals.

It causes sleep disturbance, cardiovascular problems, damage to work and school performance, impairment of hearing and even loss of memory. The old, sick, working parents, those who work on shifts have all suffered from loud music from jukeboxes, parties, restaurants, night clubs, minibuses and even noise from building construction work.

Pets like dogs and cats have a much more delicate and sensitive hearing mechanism than humans and they can hear sounds which humans cannot hear.

This results in noise having a much more devastating impact on these animals. Some years ago, for instance, when squibs were being exploded at New Year and at Diwali, dogs belonging to hotel guests at the major hotel in Georgetown became maddened with the excruciating pain the noise caused them and jumped out of the windows, smashing the glass and injuring themselves.

On those same occasions, dogs and other animals belonging to private persons dashed out into the street and at least one was reported killed by oncoming traffic while others were lost and never found again by their owners.

As we have indicated above, the main complaint we have had for the cause of this epidemic of noise

nuisance is the dilatoriness of the police in warning or taking action against persons and institutions which infringe the Law. The Minister of Home Affairs and the

Commissioner of Police should therefore make noise control one of the priorities of police work.

Other measures could be taken against the noise nuisance.

Education: Some training at the Teachers Training Colleges should be offered on Noise and Noise Control and every week a few hours of noise and noise (Continued on page 62)

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THE

Court Journal

Sunday June 05, 2022

Going to court?

Here is what you need to know

By Renay Sambach

T

his article is aimed at being a guide to persons who may find themselves before a court of law for one reason or another. This week, I will share some tips for persons appearing at the Magistracy level.

The judiciary consists of several jurisdictional Magistrates' Courts. There is one High Court in each of the three counties and then there is the Court of Appeal, and the final court of resort, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).

The Magistrates' Courts – which represent the majority of courts in the country – deal with criminal matters such as assault, simple larceny, abusive language, robbery under arms, forgery, and landlord and tenant claims.

Before the matter reaches court, there's a process at the police station to prepare the matter and send it before a Magistrate.

At the police station, if you or someone you know has been charged by the police for a minor criminal offence, either the police will release you on a fixed amount of cash bail and you will be asked to sign a recognizance, or you will be released on self-bail and asked to sign a recognisance.

Bail is a cash bond for a person to be temporarily released from custody pending trial or it can be described as a form of surety for a person to either attend court or return to the police station. Bail can be granted at a police station or the court.

At the police station, bail is usually set in a substantial amount due to the nature of the offence.

As it relates to the recognisance, this will inform the person charged of the amount of bail that is required for him/her to be released from custody, the offence allegedly committed and it also indicates the date and which court you must attend.

Notably, if the person who was released on self-bail fails to appear in court on the date the matter is called, the Magistrate can issue an arrest warrant and he/she would be in debt to the state.

On the other hand, if the persons who paid cash bail fail to

Georgetown Magistrates' Courts appear in court, their money will be forfeited and the Magistrate can also issue an arrest warrant.

As it relates to persons being charged for serious offences like murder, the person would be kept in police custody until their court date – bail is not allowed for such offences.

It should be noted that not all criminal offences are bailable and not all persons who appear in court for bailable offences are placed on bail. In court, bail is often granted at the Magistrate's discretion and it is sometimes granted with conditions attached to it based on the request of the prosecutor.

Some offences are disposed of in the Magistrate's Court, whereas for the more serious offences like murder, rape, and treason, a preliminary inquiry (PI) or paper committal will be done in the Magistrate's Court to determine whether or not there is sufficient evidence against the defendant for him/her to be committed to stand trial in the High Court.

Some bailable offences are larceny charges such as 'simple larceny,' 'larceny from the person,' 'break and enter and larceny;' assault charges; threatening and abusive language.

In some instances, bail is granted for serious offences like sexual assault charges, rape, carnal knowledge, and even causing death by dangerous driving.

APPEARING IN COURT The first hearing of a matter is when most persons or their attorney tries to secure bail.

After the charge is read to the defendant, the defendant is then asked to enter a plea either of guilty or not guilty. With a not guilty plea, the matter will have to go to trial for the court to decide, based on the evidence that is presented to the court, whether or not the defendant is guilty of the offence charged.

This is the opportunity to make a bail application to the court. After making a bail application, if the court sees the defendant as a flight risk or the defendant is known to the police from previously committing other offences, bail may be refused, while others may be placed on a reasonable amount or substantial amount.

When bail is granted by a Magistrate, the bail is then paid by the person posting bail for that defendant at the Supreme Court Registry and a receipt will then be handed to the person posting the bail.

This receipt must be kept until the end of the matter.

In some instances, when bail is granted to a defendant conditions may be attached.

Some conditions attached to bail are a defendant may be required to lodge his/her passport, report at an identified police station on an instructed day, keep-thepeace-bond or stay 100 feet from the virtual complaint.

Other persons are released on self-bail upon their own recognisance. This means that the defendant will not be required to lodge any cash or property, but he/she must sign a recognisance by which he/she promises to come back to court for trial.

If for some reason or the other, your bail application was refused on your first court appearance, you can always renew it during the trial.

If a bail application is denied by a Magistrate, the defendant or his/her attorney could make a further bail application to a judge of the High Court. Judges in the High Court can grant the defendant bail and also reduce the amount of bail that was fixed by a Magistrate.

Additionally, at the end of the PI in the Magistrates' Court for serious matters, if the defendant is committed to stand trial in the High Court, the defendant or his/her attorney will be required to renew their bail application and the Magistrate will decide if the same amount of bail will be applied.

In some instances, defendants go to court and plead guilty. With a guilty plea, the defendant will be sentenced, fined, given community service, or a stern warning based on the nature of the offence.

In some instances, the Magistrate takes into account the defendant's early plea and a lesser sentence may be given.

While in some cases, both

parties tell the court that they have come to an understanding (in most instances compensation) and that they no longer wish to proceed with the matter. The matter will then be dismissed if the court is satisfied.

BAILOR A bailor is a person whose name is on the bail receipt for a defendant. Most persons wait until the end of the matter to reclaim bail money, but the bail money can be withdrawn at any time during the matter.

If a bailor wishes to withdraw his/her money before the matter is completed, the defendant can find an alternate bailor.

However, with no alternate bailor and the bailor informs the court that he/she wishes to withdraw their money, the defendant will automatically be arrested and placed in custody.

Most persons get carried away thinking that after securing bail, they can evade the court by not attending a trial or if the defendant does not fulfill the conditions attached to the bail. However, by doing so, there are consequences for the defendant and the bailor.

If the defendant fails to attend court, the bail will be forfeited and the bailor will lose his/her money, while an arrest warrant can be issued for the defendant and when apprehended, the defendant may not be eligible for bail anymore and will be remanded to prison pending the outcome of the matter.

BAIL AND FINE What most people don't know is that bail is different from a fine. The court fines you if you plead guilty to an offence or at the end of the trial if the court finds you guilty.

RECOVERING BAIL MONEY Bail money is recoverable but a fine also known as 'mulct' is an order by the Magistrate for the defendant to pay a given amount of cash as a punishment for a crime or other offences.

At the various courts, either at the end of the matter or during, bailors who wish to reclaim their bail money can visit the court office.

While many persons aren't aware that they can reclaim their bail money, others have difficulties reclaiming theirs for many reasons.

The most common issues are: most persons misplacing the bail receipt, which is very important in reclaiming bail money, or the bail receipt being soiled or torn beyond recognition. However, all hope is not lost if that happens. Persons can visit a Justice of Peace (JP).

A JP has the same power as a Magistrate to issue warrants for the apprehension and commitment for the safe custody of persons charged with indictable offences and can also help in the reclaiming of bail money if the receipt is damaged or lost.

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Sunday June 05, 2022

US aiming to slap 50% tax on oil companies …had already increased its royalty from 18 ¾ % in December …as politicians in Guyana call any increase 'breach of contract'

T

h e U n i t e d Kingdom recently slapped its oil companies with a one off windfall tax of 25 percent on all oil companies operating in that jurisdiction in order to also partake in the sweeping profits being had by the operators as a result of the

escalating oil price on the world market due in large part to the war being waged between Russia and Ukraine.

As such, the US is looking to follow suit, having already hiked its royalty payable by oil companies there to above the 18.75 percent in December last.

D e m o c r a t i c Congressman from the State of California, in the US, Adam Schiff, on Tuesday last announced the new legislation to lower gas prices and to bring immediate relief to Americans struggling to pay the out-of-control prices at

the pump by instituting a suspension of the federal gas tax.

Schiff, at a press conference to announce the move, said that “for months now, a combination of Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, ongoing supply chain issues, and price

Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

gouging by the oil companies have been steadily driving up the price of gasoline to more than US$4.50 a gallon nationwide and more than US$6 a gallon here in Los Angeles.”According to Schiff, “in spite of this volatility, one thing has remained the same: Big Oil's skyrocketing profits.”

He posited, “this is exploitation, plain and simple, and it's unacceptable to all of the people who are having to spend hundreds of dollars more every month just to go about their daily lives, at a time when so many are already struggling to make ends meet.”

The proposed legislation, namely the Federal Gas Tax Suspension and Windfall Profits Tax Act, would suspend the federal gas tax – which currently stands at 18.3 cents per gallon – through December 31, 2023.

It was noted that to ensure the Highway Trust Fund is still robustly funded, the suspension would be paid for through a new 50 percent tax on Big Oil's windfall profits.

According to Schiff, “we can help bring down the cost

of oil by suspending the gas tax and paying for it with a windfall profits tax on oil companies.”

This, he said, will provide immediate financial relief for consumers and do so in a revenue-neutral way that will ensure the transportation projects people also rely on continue to move forward.

At the end of the day, Congress needs to choose between the interests of commuters and those of Big Oil, “I know what side I'm on,” Schiff added.

It was noted that as a result of the war between Russia and Ukraine, the five biggest oil companies — Shell, Chevron, E x x o n M o b i l , ConocoPhillips and BP — have increased their profits by over 300 percent in the first quarter of the year compared to 2021, amassing $35 billion in just three months. Additionally, even at times when oil prices have fallen, gas prices have hit new highs, proof that Big Oil is profiteering off of the volatility while exploiting American workers and families.

Kaieteur News

Sunday June 05, 2022

A Guyanese entrepreneur shares her quest to help stray animals birth and a naturalised Barbadian had returned home from Barbados where she was resident for a number of years, on holiday but like most visitors, she got stuck here because all the flights in and out of the country were grounded.

As a result, she was forced to put a pause on production for her small manufacturing food enterprise which is based in Barbados.

She explained, “I am a trained and certified chef so I Continued on page 55 Guyanese Entrepreneur, Morissa Singh and one of her rescued dogs.

By Rehanna Ramsay People often go to great lengths to care for their pets; they invest time, money, and other resources to ensure that their precious ‘fur babies’ are cared for.

This week, Kaieteur News places the spotlight on the founder of the animal welfare non-profit Marie’s Pet Choice, Morissa Singh, whose single quest is to help stray animals.

Singh, an entrepreneur and animal lover, discovered just how much she cared about animals after the COVID-19 pandemic forced her to put a pause on her small-scale food manufacturing business.

Today, she spends an estimated G$1 million per month taking care of 137 abandoned, stray or mistreated cats and dogs.

Singh has literally opened her home to these abandoned creatures and pays out-of-pocket all the medical expenses to ensure hurt and discarded animals are fed and have adequate shelter.

She explained that when the COVID-19 pandemic came to Guyana some two years ago, like most entrepreneurs, she was forced to take stock of her life and weigh the prospect of continuing to operate her business.

Singh, a Guyanese by

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Sunday June 05, 2022

A flower garden located at a village on the East Bank of Demerara. (Photo Credit: Davina Bagot)

On standby for a beautiful sunset at Hurakabra Island.

(Photo Credit: Davina Bagot)

One of Guyana’s majestic waterfalls, located in Region Eight.

(Photo Credit: Davina Bagot)

A tourist goes bird watching on one of the islands nestled in the Essequibo River. (Photo Credit: Davina Bagot) A passenger returns from a boat ride at the Charity Stelling.

(Photo Credit: Davina Bagot)

T

oday, Guyana is observing World Environment Day under the theme ‘Only One

Earth’.

T h i s y e a r ’s t h e m e c a l l s for/collective, transformative action on a global scale to celebrate, protect and restore our planet. It underscores the need for all countries and even individuals to take the decisions in the best interest of the environment. More so, it sends the clear signal that the planet on which we dwell is undergoing massive changes, mostly due to human activities and that we all are susceptible to the wrath of these changes.

Kaieteur News has been pushing for the protection of the environment, through organised protests, seeking

full insurance coverage, for example, should an oil spill occur. As the fight continues, it must be noted that Guyana has been utilising its diverse forest cover, which helps to remove carbon-dioxide (CO2) from the air. In fact, the country has been raking in US millions every year to keep its forests intact. Currently, about 85 percent of Guyana remains covered by lush green trees, playing an essential part in the fight against climate change.

However, Guyana has already been warned that its rich resources will not shield the country from the impacts of climate change which continues to take place on a global scale.

Climate change, according to the United Nations (UN), refers to longterm shifts in temperatures and

weather patterns. These shifts may be natural, but since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas, which produces heat-trapping gases.

The Government of Guyana, however, argues that most of the country’s land is covered by forests, making the country a carbon sink, meaning our forests sequester more carbon than the country’s human activity generates.

Even though this may be the case, it does not slow the progression of climate change locally nor does this fact shield Guyana from likely dangers associated with the impacts of climate change.

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Sunday June 05, 2022

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A Guyanese entrepreneur shares her quest to help... and pet him. He would go and come until he decided to stay with me.”

Singh told Kaieteur News that after that, she began to notice a number of stray animals, “mostly cats and dogs,” on the streets.

Marie’s Pet Choice also sells environmentally friendly tote bags and other items to help raise funds.

From page 53 used my culinary skills to develop a line of healthy products called Marie’s Health Choice Hummus Dips… It’s made from Garbanzo beans, tahini and flavoured with a variety of spices that adds a Caribbean flare to it, it’s a popular food option in Barbados where I studied and lived for most of my life.”

According to Singh, the dietary supplement became a healthy food option and an instant hit among Bajans and tourist variety consumers.

“They loved it; it became so popular that it was on the shelves of almost every supermarket on the island.”

The 36-year-old Guyanese told aieteur News while her tiny food enterprise was booming, she was always on the lookout to “do something that would add more meaning to her life.”

During the pandemic when everything slowed, Singh was able to discover “what that something was.”

She found purpose in helping stray or unwanted cats and dogs from her home village at Leonora, West Coast Demerara, and other parts of the coastland.

Singh said her work with the animals started when she rescued a neighbour’s abandoned cat, which she has since named, “Sunshine.” She said that the cat, which came into her life during the pandemic, has helped brightened each day since.

The animal lover explained, “He was my first rescue, he came and I could tell he was looking for a home so I started to feed him

animals. My husband, Tony Da Costa is also an animal lover so I didn’t have a problem…I always cared for animals but I didn’t realise just how much I cared until I started to rescue them…It’s a feeling like no other… Of course, these animals can’t say thank you but the reaction you get when you help them shows just how much they appreciate you for helping them.”

To date, the couple has rescued 87 cats and almost 50 dogs—all strays which she took in over the past two years.

Due to the growing number of strays, she has taken in, Singh explained her home can no longer accommodate them. As a result, the entrepreneur moved the animals to her property located on the East Bank of Demerara.

She told Kaieteur News that her ultimate desire is to turn the place into a sanctuary for animals.

The Marie’s Pet Choice founder explained, “At present, the animals are housed and fed there. I do most of the work with the help of my husband, so we can’t expand care to include more or other types of animals. I have two persons who volunteer with me sometimes but they are not always available to assist because they have regular jobs.”

She continued, “A lot goes into caring for these animals, for instance, I try to make sure my animals receive the best treatment there is. I would spend close to $200,000 on fish and meat kind for the cats and dogs, I Morissa Singh and one her also pay pets on visit to the vet. f o r

“I would see them when I went for my usual walks to get some sea breeze at the Leonora seaside. Puppies were being dumped there and I would see cats almost everywhere and no one seemed to care about them…Actually, my second rescue was a pup, which I found abandoned at the Leonora seawalls,” she added.

According to Singh, the decision to take in the stray animals was not a difficult one, since she comes from a family of animal lovers.

She explained, “For as long as I can “For as long as I can remember, my father, brothers and I have always loved r e m e m b e r, m y animals.

My husband, Tony Da Costa is also an animal lover so I didn’t have a father, brothers and problem…I always cared for animals but I didn’t realise just how much I cared I have always loved

until I started to rescue them…It’s a feeling like no other… Of course, these animals can’t say thank you but the reaction you get when you help them shows just how much they appreciate you for helping them.”

Some of the cats that Singh and her husband rescued.

t heir vet visit and treatment; for them to be spayed or neutered.”

Singh emphasised that her work with getting the animals (cats and dogs) neutered so as to stop them from reproducing is essential to controlling the population of unwanted animals.

In fact, the animal lover is an advocate for the neutering of the animals.

“I try to spay all of my animals and the work is all out-of-pocket,” Singh said as she explained that her efforts are funded by her family’s construction business where I work alongside my husband.

“We don’t receive a lot of support as we would like but we still continue to do as much as we can to help rescue the animals,” said the entrepreneur who revealed too that she has no immediate plans to return to Barbados.

“As I explained before, I put my business on pause because I can always return to making my branded hummus dips which Barbados loves but for now, my focus is on building a sanctuary for these animals…” added Singh. As she continued, “I am always looking for charitable contributions or ways

to continue to work with the animals because this is a non-profit once I get the animals on their feet again, I put them up for adoption and even take people through a process where I conduct site visits to ensure that they will give these animals, the best life.”

While she is open for assistance or donations, the animal welfare advocate also sells pet products such as green (environmentally friendly) and hand-made tote bags, animal beds, and other types of items to help raise funds for her growing

initiative .

She said that at present, although she would have loved to extend the same care and support to other types of animals, her resources limit her from doing so.

In the meantime, the pet lover just hopes to encourage others to treat their animals a bit kinder.

She said, “I have lived abroad for most of my life in business, I was given an opportunity to grow and evolve as a person…People treat pets differently overseas and it shows…I just want to make my fellow Guyanese know that the way we treat our animals is a reflection of us, they can bring such joy and comfort to your lives. So start loving and treating them better.”

Those interested in helping Marie’s Pet Choice in the noteworthy venture to help strays can contact Singh on mobile number 6 5 9 - 8 2 2 2 o r e m a i l mariespetchoice@gmail.com.

Also, if any member of the public wants to provide food or other items for the animals in Singh’s care, they can drop off same at the Number #1 Plant Shop which is located on Sheriff Street in the capital city.

Sunday June 05, 2022

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Kaieteur News

Kaieteur M@ilbox

Kaieteur M@ilbox

Better governance, why then and not now?

Many absolutely patriotic Guyanese find it difficult to embrace the One Guyana outlook

DEAR EDITOR, The more I think of it, the more there is the conclusion that Guyana is an erratic, eccentric, country speaking politely or a heavily bigoted one, to be candid. It involves this elusive business called clean governance, as in better governance; governance that is dependable, leadership that is trustworthy, output credible.

We claim to want it urgently, and when it is not there we know, and make a big stink about it, with voices raised and feet pounding in public agitation. We did so before, movement came. We need to do so again, given all that is happening, but this time we are as unmoving as the Seawalls, and as unconcerned as swine rolling in sewage, its overwhelming stench.

In the era of Burnham, Guyanese were up in arms and out on the streets. Not here! Not like this! No more of this! Behind noise and energy were the powerful perceptions of chronic leadership and governance wrongdoings. This was well supported by broad general observations, individual and collective experiences, and disturbing domestic realities.

It was all made for sense that was strong and straight.

Movement occurred on the political front; the door opened on a new age of Guyanese governance.

Since then, now almost three decades later, this country has been visited with governments and leaders and governance circumstances that have covered the map.

They ranged from the different and helpful (at best), to barbaric and ugly (no overstatement) to an interlude that manifested eases (in some material respects) for approximately five years, and to a state of near absolute horror (to put understatedly) in the last two years.

To compress 30 years of leadership and governance in 30 words take some doing, but I try. We have had unbelievably costly corruptions, a rampant two-headed beast called drugs and money laundering, more claims of rigging, more states of agitating, and

incomparable leadership vileness. To those I would add inexplicable killings (some criminal, others extrajudicial), double standards of justice, and always deepening, and ever-rising strains of prejudices and related partisan passions.

While there was a crosssectional gathering of Guyanese challenging openly the heavy excesses of Burnham and the PNC (minus the drug dealings and money washings), there has been nothing of the kind when more of the same, and more of the worse (never experienced here), have become the embedded character and conduct of both leadership and what pretends to be governance for most of 23 years, and now all of the near last two years.

What happened, what is different about Guyana and Guyanese this time around?

The same governance corruptions, the same heavy-handed leadership states and fears, and the same overpowering abhorrence and the results of the 60s, 70s, and 80s of the 20th century are the very things that now infest the anxiety-filled lives and the simmering living conditions of Guyanese in this second millennia. And the key is that it is to a greater extent in every area, plus some newer and slicker ones now the norm of todays Guyana, where governance is concerned.

Nobody is saying much of anything now, even though quite many recognise and are feeling the effects of what is operating in both high leadership and government quarters. Other than for a few springing up here and there to register some fight, there is indifference, lots of lethargy, even much malaise and the apathy that comes from all those. The few voices raised in protest against the leadership and governance onslaughts of the present are listened to, then routinely dismissed. Some may say that it is a different time. I think the truth is that we have become a different people.

What united before (cor-

ruption, poor leadership, troubled states) take a backseat to hard, unyielding political partisanship. To say that there is edged racial underpinning hits the nerve, but thats all, for there is contentment with that ugly individual and communal brutishness, regardless how it undermines the future of the national state. What made leaders worry before is now largely condoned, so they feel free to make a mockery of accountability, while having a loud laugh over transparency. The leadership attitude is: who cares? It is one of we are in charge, there are no contenders.

The smugness and shallowness-crookedness and barbarousness also come from the belief that there are fearsome foreign friends that will not fail in the crux, should matters get warm. The repeated lesson of history is that complacency and misplaced insensitivity occur too frequently, including right here. Because when a sufficient cohort of citizens rise up in unmanageable indignation, then all bets are off. Foreigners weigh what is best for their interests, while watching for which natives offer the best allies forward.

As the daily reality of Guyana seethe with bigger wedges being driven more deeply by leaders in this PPP Government into wider segments of this society, Guyanese will come to a crossroad that forces them to decide what they stand for, what they are inside.

Only so many can be bought out; so many fooled; and so many lacking what it takes to be a contributory presence towards these ideals called democracy, inclusive governance, and trusted leadership.

We cannot go on as a society when we are one way at one time, and then another at a different time, when the compelling national issues are unchanged, and just as burning. We are either as one for what is nationally wholesome, or we are nothing. Nothing!

Sincerely, GHK Lall

Review of former Guyana Police...

From page 6 and that turned out to be bogus after investigation. It was a plot to get rid of Seelall hatched by a senior officer.

The case against Seelall fell apart. Yet, he was not kept in his substantive position and unjustifiably sent on leave till retirement age. This is one of

the finest autobiographies, which I have read. It is a frank, forthright, free-spoken, open, plain, straightforward, candid account of the culture of the Police Force and his training and enforcement experience as a police officer and how politicians compromised the Force using it for their politi-

cal agenda rather than for law enforcement. Seelalls noholds barred autobiography of his career as a tough, honest policeman, who rose from a young farm boy to a cadet to the top cop of the nation, is a must read.

Yours truly, Vishnu Bisram

DEAR EDITOR, The Vice-President recently commented that the Opposition is “very negative about everything”. He is sadly right, and this of itself is unsurprising since negativity is a worldwide Opposition approach save the fact that the Vice-Presidents verbatim last word was “everything”.

The use of that word might easily be dismissed by most as overkill. I do not hold that simple view.

Contrary to the belief held widely in Guyana that we are not a patriotic people, it is my conclusion from observing Guyanese whilst living in two Caribbean islands, the United Kingdom and of course my own country, and having travelled extensively in the Caribbean and Europe, that Guyanese are indeed fiercely patriotic. Decades before oil was discovered here, every Guyanese abroad has boasted about Guyanas size and wealth in bauxite, diamonds and gold, as this was taught in school since colonial times. We also boast about the strength of Guyanas High Wine!

The problem with our brand of patriotism is that whilst felt 100% by Guyanese, it is viewed and expressed at only 50% mirroring for the purposes of this commentary the close majori-

ties that usually run our Parliament. The matter in this regard that I find troubling is the way many absolutely patriotic Guyanese find it difficult to embrace the One Guyana outlook. An outsider would immediately raise at least one eyebrow at this statement. My computer has in fact flagged an issue with the words “absolutely patriotic” being put together but I shall ignore that. Many a Guyanese patriot will need to be persuaded to endorse One Guyana.

Our national motto is One People, One Nation, One Destiny. We are a country born comprising six races. All Guyanese learn early at school that we have an avaricious neighbour to our West.

It does not take a professors academic experience to appreciate that there is strength in unity and yet a host of unquestionably patriotic Guyanese do not welcome the Presidents energy behind One Guyana.

Every one of the naysayers would have actively promoted One Guyana if the expression was coined by someone else because they are in reality 100% patriots at heart but just 50% patriotic in expression.

During an informal conversation at State House with performers who took part in

this years Flag Raising Ceremony held at Anna Regina for the first time to mark our 56th Anniversary of Independence, President Ali, charged those gathered to see their important role in promoting social cohesion and accelerating the One Guyana agenda, further emphasising the importance of their sphere of endeavour by pointing out that they are working on a platform that will bring Guyana together. Artistes have an audience that comprises all Guyanese, plus fans beyond our shores as they become more versed and better marketed and can thus deliver on this projection with the right encouragement beginning with substantial funding.

“In charting One Guyana, we will seek out those who have the credentials and are willing and ready to serve our country”. Put thus it is straightforward. There is no indication that any credentials sought are political. The President even promoted One Guyana abroad, having the One Guyana song played ahead of his address at the opening ceremony of Barbados Agrofest 2022, thereby announcing this bold patriotic stance to Caricom.

Guyanese should not hold back.

Ronald Bostwick

Cash grants or vote procurement strategy?

DEAR EDITOR, I note with interest the disbursement of cash grants to select sections of society within recent times. I have two concerns.

Firstly, there is the question of inequality in this operation. Secondly, there is the question of sustainable communities and livelihood. Can these cash grants, disbursed as they are being disbursed engender sustainability in the lives of the recipients?

Sugar workers (past and present), whether severed and in receipt of severance benefits or currently employed, received two hundred and fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) each. Fisherfolk (coastal) got one hundred and fifty thousand dollars ($150,000) each. Cash crop farmers got one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) each regardless of the acreage they cultivate, while rice farmers got twenty thousand dollar ($20,000) for each acre they cultivate. Coastal farm-

ers were reportedly promised free fertilizers. Residents of riverine communities will get twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) each.

Hundreds of citizens, perceived to be supporters of the APNU+AFC Administration of 2015 to 2020 were fired from their jobs. Hundreds more were forced to resign through applied political pressure.

Some were made redundant.

Most will never be re-employed by the public sector organisation under this Administration. Many private entities refuse to employ these people for fear of losing their lucrative government contracts. These are mostly poor working class citizens with families to feed with meagre or no income at all.

Why is there no cash grant for these citizens?

Why? Is it a case of vote procurement and those whose votes cannot be bought must suffer?

Then there is the issue of

the residents of riverine communities. These communities are predominantly in Guyana s hinterland. The residents of these communities are predominantly Indigenous Guyanese.

Indigenous Guyanese in these communities are all farmers and fisher folk!

How can it be fair and reasonable for persons who are both farmers and fisherfolk to be promised twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) when other farmers and fisherfolk get between one hundred and two hundred and fifty thousand dollars each ($100,000 $250,000)?

Where is the equality? Where is the fairness and reasonableness?

It is clear that those perceived as non-supporters of the PPP and Guyanas Indigenous population are secondclass citizens in this One Guyana equation. We are worth less and placed in a category way below (Continued on page 61)

Kaieteur News

PAGE 58

Clarence the Cricket

By Pat St. Pierre Freddie sat outside on a sunny summer afternoon and watched butterflies dancing around his mother's flower garden. He had been sick with leukaemia for a long time, but now he was getting better. Today was the first time his mom had allowed him outside. He sat in a chair with a book on his lap. The sun felt warm on his face, yet Freddie felt sad.

Everyone had friends to play with except Freddie. He couldn't wait to get better. I guess my old friends think sick kids are no fun..

At that moment he felt a tickle near his ear. He thought it was a fly, so he brushed at his ear.

“Don't do that,” said a voice. “You might hurt me.”

Freddie quickly turned his head and looked around the lawn, “Who said that?”

“I did,” said the voice.

“But I don't see anyone,” said Freddie.

“That's because I'm small,” said the voice. “Look on your shoulder.”

Freddie turned and looked and on his shoulder there sat a cricket. He reached over and took the cricket off. his shoulder and held it in the palm of his hand The cricket was dressed in a brown hat, green shirt and black pants.

“I'm Clarence,” said the cricket. “ Wow! You can talk?” said Freddie as he held the cricket.

“Yes, I can,” said the cricket.

“My name's Freddie. He stared at Clarence. “Crickets aren't supposed to talk and they never wear clothes,” said Freddie.

“I'm special,” said Clarence puffing out his chest.

“How so?” asked Freddie.

“I'm here to be your friend until you get better,” said Clarence smiling.

“Wow,” said Freddie.

“You mean you'll play games and stuff with me.”

“Absolutely,” answered the cricket. “Now let's get started. What do you want to do first?”

“Play checkers,” said Freddie.

They played checkers and then they played over and over again. “Now let's play I Spy,” said Freddie.

Clarence Cricket was very good at guessing. He was much better at it than Freddie and proved to be a great player. In the coming days,

Sunday June 05, 2022

Junior page

Clarence played Star Wars, Connect 4, Boggle, and many other games with Freddie.

As the summer days continued, Freddie grew stronger and healthier.

He and Clarence went for longer and longer walks together. They practiced skimming stones on the surface of the pond. Freddie began to feel the energy flow through him. He was happy once again.

You sure are getting stronger,” said his mom.

“Yes, I am,” said Freddie, “that's because of Clarence.”

'Who's Clarence?” asked his mom looking puzzled.

“He's my friend the cricket,” said Freddie.

“A cricket!” said his mom.

“Yes. He's in my room and he stays in a jar,” answered Freddie. “He plays games with me every day.

We h a v e l o t s o f f u n together,” he said.

His mom and dad looked at each other and shook their heads. “That boy has SOME imagination,” said his dad.

“He's real,” said Freddie.

“We're always playing games, telling stories to each other, and laughing.”

Toward the end of the

summer, Freddie felt much better. His mother said, “ Freddy, your doctor said you are doing fantastic. It's time for you to see some children your own age.”

“I don't need to,” said Freddie, “because I have Clarence.”

The next morning Clarence said to Freddie “I have something to tell you and I don't want you to be sad. Freddie, it's time for me to go. You don't need me anymore.”

“Oh, no,” said Freddie.

“But you can't go. You're my friend.”

“Yes, I AM, your friend.

Yet, it's time for me to help other children. You'll be fine without me.” And with a wave, he flew away.

Freddie felt sad without Clarence and he didn't want to do much. In the afternoon he saw that a new family had moved into the empty house next door to him. A boy who was just about his age stood on the lawn.

Freddie ran over and introduced himself. “Hi, I'm Freddie.”

“I know,” said the boy.

“How do you know?” asked Freddie.

“The cricket told me!” he s a i d and then he winked.

ETRY

H PO T I W N U F

One thing at a time

by Uncle Roy Sometimes I find, when doing something, That I try to do another, Like when I am at homework, I want to play with my brother.

I even know when I am at school, Doing some work for my teacher, I stop to chat with some friend, And then cannot finish whatever.

So I now see that whatever I am doing, I must put my whole mind to it; This is the only way I can do my best, And so make the most of any effort.

This is also true of everything else, That I have to do each day, Whether eating, bathing, or any work at home, It is one thing at a time always.

Kaleidoscope Craft Materials: Paper towel tube 12 x 12 card stock or scrapbook paper Thin clear plastic (can be scrap from packaging) Colorful translucent beads Cardboard Aluminum foil Hot glue gun Scissors Marker Washi tape or other decorations (optional) How to Make a Homemade Kaleidoscope Instructions: Start by gathering up all of your supplies.

If you are using plain white paper, you can have the kids color and draw on it first.

Squeeze glue all over the scrapbook paper and roll the paper towel tube up in it.

Hold it together for a few seconds to give the glue time to stick.

Cut any excess paper from the ends.Trace the end of the paper towel tube on the scrap plastic three times and cut out all three circles.Hot glue one circle on the bottom end of the paper towel tube.

Drop your beads into the tube. Put enough to almost cover the plastic. Then place the second plastic circle inside the tube.You will need to use a pencil or marker to push it down to the bottom and loosely cover the beads.

Do not push it snug up against them! If it is too tight, then the beads won't move around between the plastic discs.

Cut three strips of cardboard that are 1 inch wide and almost as long as the tube you

are using.

Cover each strip with foil.

Glue them into a triangle shape and place inside the tube.

This will create the kaleidoscope effect when the kids look inside!

Note: The triangle pieces need to be almost as long as the tube. I'd say just a little shorter to make sure the end cover goes on right.

Then glue the three 1″ pieces together into a triangle and slide into the tube.

The triangle piece should be pretty snug between the plastic ends.

I would slide the triangle in then place the 3rd piece of plastic on the end (without gluing yet) to check the length.

If the triangle part is too long, cut more off the end.If it seems too loose inside, you could place glue on one end, sticking it to the plastic.Almost done! Now, glue the last plastic circle on the open end of the paper towel tube.

This will be the end they look through.

Let the kids decorate with Washi tape, stickers, or color on it if they didn't already.

Once they are done, hold your homemade kaleidoscope up to the light and turn to view!

Kaieteur News

TEEN TIME Do the Best in your Written Tests

W

hen taking a written test, you can improve your chances by following the first rule of going prepared to the examination room.

Firstly, ensure that your pen, pencil and other instruments are in good order. Having a good night's rest is also a necessary preparation. Be sure that you arrive at the test room in time so that you can get settled down and comfortable with the surroundings before the test begins.

When the test starts, follow these rules: 1. First read over each question twice so as to ensure you understand exactly what is required.

2. Quickly preview the entire test and determine which are the easy and difficult questions, with the intention of working on the easier ones first.

This will also work towards giving you the confidence needed in solving the harder problems.

3. Write down on a separate sheet any information you are likely to need later, so as to avoid the worry of trying to get these while you are actually working on any problem, e.g. equations, dates, rules, etc.

4. Read all the instructions carefully and try to follow them precisely.

5. Write legibly so that there would be no doubt as to what you have written.

6. Work at a steady but unhurried rate, and try to finish with enough time to review your answers at the end.

7. Lastly, the importance of checking and rechecking your answers cannot be over-stressed. Check all your answers in a critical manner so that you do not overlook any mistakes you might have made.

This means that in planning your time, you will need to leave some space at the end of your answers to review your effort, correct any mistakes and

include any omissions. If you have followed these tips, and if you have previously put your study time to good use, you should feel fairly confident about taking a test. However, you may still find that during the test you can get stuck or “draw a blank”. Such a situation can easily lead to panic, with thoughts like: “I can't do this”; “I don't know much of this stuff”; “I'm going to fail this test”.

Getting stuck on a problem does not mean that you cannot do well on the rest of the test. Instead of telling yourself negative things, say to yourself: “I've done harder than this before”; “I will remember how to do this if I relax and try to recall what I have learnt”; “This is only one problem, and I will do well in the others”.

Take a couple of deep breaths, build up your confidence and concentration with the problems that you know you can readily do, and then return to any you were stuck on.

Krypto Kakuro

Krypto Kakuro puzzles are a mash-up between a Crossword, a Sudoku and a Cryptogram.

Each digit has been substituted with a letter. To solve the puzzle, you must figure out what digit each letter stands for, and then solve it like a regular Kakuro puzzle.

Each "word" in the crossword contains only the digits 1 through 9, and the same digit will never repeat within a word. The sum of the the digits of each word are shown on the left and right sides of "across" words, and at the tops and bottoms of "down" words.

PAGE 59

You have what it takes You have what it takes to succeed, You have within you everything you need to become anything you want to be, and the spirit to approach your tasks enthusiastically.

You have power within you to apply yourself energetically; You have wisdom within you to wisely take the right steps to your goals; You have imagination within you to see in your mind what you want manifested; You have love within you to be loving in all your methods and ways; You have life within you to pursue the happiness that is your birthright; You have strength within you to hold and pursue true ideas; You have intelligence within you to renounce every bad thought and action; You have faith within you to fulfil your destiny and make the most of yourself.

This proves you have all within you to answer the call to be whatever you want to be; So don't be afraid to use what you have, And you will reap the reward of a life well lived.

Proper preparation for any examination will ensure that you make your best effort towards passing it. l Tel o it t Hello, readers, Uncle Roy is again asking all of you to try in some way to make a contribution to this page, and thus to the welfare of you and your fellow readers.

This contribution can take any form that you feel would be valuable – an account of what is going on in your community and country, any advice you would like to pass on to your fellow teen readers and, on a broader level, any comment or recommendation you would like to make to your fellow Guyanese.

Please remit same to my email – roypaul2002@yahoo.com, and be assured that your worthwhile contribution will have a prominent place on our page.

Solutions to last week’s Suguru

Connect the dots

Sunday June 05, 2022

PAGE 60

5 Tips for Taking Care of Your Lips

BY BECKY KAMOWITZ JANUARY 28, 2021 I'll admit it: I let myself go a little bit in the winter time.

Despite my earnest moisturizing efforts, my hands and face are dry. I can't remember the last time I had my nails done.

The thought of going out in the cold for after work salon appointments when I can instead hurry home to my sweatpants and Netflix account…pass.

But when it comes to my lips, I never slack off. I can't stand having dry, cracked lips. That's why I'm sharing our best tips for getting beautiful, healthy and kissable lips, just in time for Valentine's Day! Exfoliate. Remove dry, dead skin flakes by gently brushing your lips with a wet, soft toothbrush or washcloth. I do this about once a week, usually on a weekend morning when I'm not planning on going outside right away since it makes my lips a little sensitive.

Hydrate. Unlike the rest of your skin, lips tend to dry out and become chapped easily since they do not contain oil glands. Drink lots of water to keep lips from drying out, and avoid licking your lips (it took me years to break the habit!) which also saps moisture.

Protect and moisturize. Lips receive a lot of sun exposure – particularly the bottom lip. That means they are a common spot for skin cancers. So it's SUPER IMPORTANT that your daytime lip product includes an SPF 15 or higher sunscreen.

And yes, you still need to protect your lips, and the rest of your skin, even if you are wearing a mask! At night I switch to a moisturizing product to help combat nighttime dryness.

Reapply often. Remember to reapply sun protective lip product every two hours, especially after eating or drinking. I find it helpful to keep my SPF lip balm in several places. I usually have one at my desk, in my purse, in my nightstand and in my bathroom, so I remember to apply right after I brush my teeth. The bonus of this system: you now have an excuse to experiment with different brands and products.

Remember to reapply sun-protective lip products at least every two hours.

Speaking of products: make sure you're using the right ones. Look for lip products that have been awarded The Skin Cancer Foundation's Seal of Recommendation. The Seal is only awarded to sun-protective products that meet the standards of our Photobiology Committee (a group of top experts in how the sun interacts with skin), so you can be sure that if a product has our Seal, your lips will be soft and sunsafe.

Kaieteur News

Sunday June 05, 2022

Sunday June 05, 2022

PAGE 61

Kaieteur News

Woman, 50, is country’s Kaieteur M@ilbox latest COVID-1 9 fatality Losing sugar workers support -95 new cases recorded again could be permanent

A partially vaccinated woman from Region Four is now Guyanas latest COVID19 fatality. The Ministry of Health on Saturday reported that the 50-year-old woman died on Friday while receiving treatment at a medical facility. As a result, the countrys COVID-19 death toll has moved to 1,238.

The Ministry reported

that from 1,362 tests, health officials recorded a total of 95 cases within the last assessed 24-hour period. The new infections, which have brought the total number confirmed cases to 65,243, were detected in Region Four 55, Region Three 1, Region Two 11, Region Seven eight, Region One three, Region Six two and Region Five one.

Out of the 95 cases, 52 are men and 43 are women.

The Ministrys dashboard shows that one patient is in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU), 28 persons are in institutional isolation, 856 are in home isolation and 10 are in institutional quarantine.

Additionally, 70 persons have recovered from the virus within the last 24 hours.

DEAR EDITOR, I pen this letter and seek your cooperation to have it published.

I came from a meeting with Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo at Hampshire Village where he stopped to meet with residents. During the exchange, many sugar workers raised their concerns about the industry and their pay.

I was saddened to hear Mr. Jagdeo rather than answering the question telling

those present about GAWU not protesting and fighting during the time of the Coalition. As a now retired sugar worker and a former proud member of the GAWU, I am disappointed that Mr. Jagdeo will seek to tell such lies.

Editor, the news was filled with GAWU protests in different parts of the country in defending sugar workers and against closing estates. I do remember Mr. Jagdeo himself taking part in some of those

protests. Yet when faced with the heat, he wants to find a scapegoat. For a smart and intelligent man as the Vice President, it is appalling to see him stooping to such lows. But Editor, I remember my parents telling me, never curse the bridge you walk on.

Mr. Jagdeo won the support of the sugar workers; let him not lose it again. It may be permanent the next time.

Yours faithfully, Surendra Drepaul

The crumbs thrown from the table pale in comparison to what the business sector gets DEAR EDITOR, I was told a very long time ago that give a man a fish and he eats for a day but teach a man to fish and he eats for life.

It appears to me, editor, that our Government did not hear this. I say this when I look at the series of grants given to selected sections of Guyanese.

I should add that though I recognise those offered sup-

port are in dire need does the doling out of monies really alleviate their woes?

Certainly, it will help them in the short-term but the vicious cycle will confront them again.

Will the Government come again to the rescue? I know I may be demonised for my sentiments but I see Government engineering a situation whereby it is creating an army of mendicants in our country

that live for the charity of the leaders. I wonder whether our independence really means anything as this is what we fought against during the colonial times.

Of course while many celebrate the few dollars here and there, the crumbs thrown from the table are pale in comparison to what the business sector gets and will receive.

Yours sincerely, Liebert Alleyne

Making use of our displaced fisherfolk Aspiring Marine Biologist behind...

From page 18 very beginning. “I started out the business on my own, but eventually my younger sister stepped in to help me manage my finances and technical aspects. We now work hand in hand to ensure everything runs smoothly and everyone is kept happy,” she noted.

Besides the support from persons close to her, Samaroo stated that she was overwhelmed by the positive support she received from the artistic community in the country. Through them, she mentioned, she was able to learn “tons of tips and tricks” on how to go about with her operation.

At the initial stage of business though, Samaroo shared that there were quite a few things that affected her, but these she managed to overcome. One was the sourcing of materials in order to make her craft. At the time, she recounted, there were not many local stores that provided raw material for small scale jewellery-making and this made online shopping a ne-

cessity for her.

“Not being able to see the quality of material before purchasing is one of the issues that I face and often times I pay for one item and receive something substandard such as wire that tarnishes, or chains that are fragile. It is, however, a process of trial and error, and my business is constantly ‘updating’ in order to ensure that my customers can receive quality products,” she said. Another challenge was time management. Not only is she an entrepreneur, but Samaroo is also pursuing studies to become a marine biologist. To keep things balanced, the young woman highlighted that she has settled into a stable routine that allows her to do both without any interference.

In moving forward with her business, Samaroo indicated that she is looking to expand her operation, to have a physical location to reach the demands of her clients: “With the main goal being to design pieces that will promote a sustainable earth while

leaving customers with a feeling of satisfaction in contributing to a cleaner, greener environment.”

Further, when asked what responsibility young entrepreneurs have in our society, she said they have what it takes to take development to the next level in Guyana. “I think that young entrepreneurs are stepping out with more creative ideas than ever before, and that they have the drive to help in the development of our different local sectors. Additionally, they serve as inspiration for even younger creatives and can help to boost confidence,” she disclosed. Our featured entrepreneur suggested that to boost small businesses locally, relevant authorities should continue to host more exhibitions and forums that would expose businesses to larger markets. This, Samaroo noted, can lead to investment opportunities and ultimately, business growth. Persons can reach out to Samaroo on Facebook at coriolisdesigns or on Instagram @_coriolis_.

DEAR EDITOR, The extensive canal system in place in the country is very under-utilised. There is also a requirement to expand the system to ease the flooding. His Excellency has initiated the discussion on investing further in Hope Canal. Expansion of the projects scope

should be considered, as our waterways offer the opportunity to develop a non-automotive transportation network. Solar and renewable energy options are also now available and viable for such an undertaking. The recent shift occurring in the fishing sector of the economy has made our fishermen and fisherwomen available to participate in such a project. The

current Administration should consider conducting a feasibility study in support of a transportation, drainage and infrastructure strategy that incorporates the use and development of our waterways.

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

Cash grants or vote procurement...

From page 57 the highly valued sugar workers, rice farmers and fisherfolk of coastal Guyana. So much for the empty, useless, One

Guyana slogan. I am yet to hear how the PPP plans to bring about sustainable communities and livelihoods through unequal, discrimina-

tory cash grants, which closely resembles a vote procurement strategy rollout.

Sincerely, Mervyn Williams

PAGE 62

Sunday June 05, 2022

Kaieteur News

American company boasts of “highest...”

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From page 16 earth is 63 percent grade which is of higher quality than most found in countries across the world. When the bauxite is sintered (meaning purified by a factory), its quality jumps to the highest in the world standing at a grade of 93 percent, the FBX explained.

This extreme high quality could make Guyana’s bauxite the most expensive on the world market because, according to FBX, it is an “excellent material for hot strength, refractoriness and very resistant chemical attack and abrasion.”

This means that the products that it can make will be considered “high end” and so durable that it can last a lifetime.

FBX noted too that “The low silica and low impurities make First Bauxite’s Calcined product a superb choice for steelmaking slag conditioning.”

The Bonasika Bauxite from Guyana is also excellent for making strong lightweight ceramic proppants – a high quality material used in deep water well operations in the oil industry.

However, while many Guyanese might be happy that their country is blessed with such high quality resources, they have been left in the dark about the revenue they stand to gain from the export of their bauxite by the foreign company.

In fact, FBX has been shipping bauxite since 2018

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and citizens have no clue about the revenue that they have gained from this expensive resource being mined from their land.

The company was granted its mining licenses by a previous People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) administration but had started small scale production under the David Granger-led regime, A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC), in 2018 before officially opening the Bonasika Mine in February 2020, still under the APNU+AFC. According to an article published by Informed Industrial Mineral Forums and Research Ltd. (IIMFR) which was written by Mike O’Driscoll – an expert with over 30 years experience in the international mining industry – FBX in June 2018, shipped its first 1000 tons of bauxite from Guyana to a Chinese customer. It then followed up with a second shipment of 4100 tons of bauxite, later that same year in October but this time to a European customer.

However, after officially opening the mine, the American company made its first bulk export of 6,500 tons of bauxite in July 2020-one month before the current PPP/C took office-to the USA. FBX then followed with another bulk shipment of Bauxite to Western Europe, weighing approximately 9,500 tons and since then it has been shipping out Guyana’s Bauxite, to North and South

America, China, India, Europe, Ukraine, and Africa.

O’Driscoll in his article quoted the company’s VicePresident of Sales and Marketing, John Karson, saying that ‘as their customers increase their volumes’ FBX will make larger bulk shipments and noted that ‘exports to China and India were of good value’.

While the foreign company continues to boast about the success it has been having with “Guyana’s high grade bauxite,” citizens oblivious about the contractual arrangements between the country and the foreign company.

It should be noted, however, that research done by the trading websites such as, Trade-Metal.com, found “non-metallurgical grades (High Grade) of bauxite”- like the grade found at Bonasika are rare to find outside of China and prices per ton can reach as high as US$500.

Currently, according to FBX, its wash plant at Bonasika, can produce as much as 30,000 metric ton of bauxite per month.

“FBX’s wholly owned subsidiary, Guyana Industrial Minerals Inc. (GINMIN), is the mining arm producing washed bauxite at the rate of 30,000 MT per month,” stated the company.

FBX also added that, “it is marketing the high-grade bauxite globally as a raw material for refractories, for aluminum sulphate production, as a UHSP deep-well proppant in the oil industry, plus as an abrasive and steel making slag conditioner.”

That means the foreign company might just be shipping out a total of 360,000 metric ton of bauxite per year.

Trade-Metal.com, on its website stated that the average price for high quality bauxite from suppliers range from US$150-US$500 per ton.

If perhaps US$150 is being paid per ton of Guyana’s “High Grade” bauxite then 30,000 tons will be equivalent to US$4.5M. That means, if FBX is producing at full capacity and selling at the minimum value price then they are shipping out US$54M worth of bauxite from Guyana each year. If the company is being paid more (US$500) by its customers then FBX could be raking in as much as US$180M in annual sales or even more.

It should be noted too that FBX has found five bauxite deposits in Guyana, Bonasika 1, 2, 3, 6 and 7.

In 6 and 7 alone, there are estimated proven and probable bauxite reserves of over 13 million tons. The company is currently mining the Bonasika 7 deposit and estimates the mine life to be about 15 years.

As it continues to ship out Guyana’s bauxite, FBX is still exploring Guyana’s lands for more quality bauxite while the contractual arrangement remains a state secret. (Additional information sourced here: https://imformed.com/ guyana-bauxite-newcomerstarts-bulk-shipments/, https://trade-metal.com/bauxite-ore-c930.html)

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From page 47 control should be part of the teaching curriculum in the schools.

Or when licensing persons, businesses or institutions which may become possible generators of noise and be-

come nuisances, licensing authorities should distribute to them educational material on noise nuisance. The media could also be enlisted to assist in campaigns against noise nuisance. With sustained effort, noise could be

brought under control improving the quality of life of the community.

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

Kaieteur News

Sunday June 05, 2022

PAGE 63

Grounded ferry blamed for delayed supply of essential goods to Essequibo The M.V. Sabanto, the only working ferry traversing the Parika to Supenaam route.

The grounding of the M.V. Kanawan, a ferry that operates from Parika to Supenaam on the Essequibo Coast, has caused a delay in the supply of essential goods – a state of affairs that is affecting the Region Two business community.

Kaieteur News had reported on May 28, last that the ferry will be dry docked for rehabilitative works from June 1 and will not be in operation for five weeks. Four days have passed and businessmen and residents are feeling the heat of having to depend on the only working ferry, the M.V. Sabanto, for transport of goods to Supenaam.

The situation has forced them to wait for hours in massive traffic congestion at the Parika and Supenaam Stellings.

The Essequibo Chamber of

Commerce and Industry (ECCI) has weighed-in on the matter. It advised government in a release that there should be a back-up ferry for such situations because the M.V. Sabanto alone cannot take off the massive flow of traffic to the

Trucks parked in a line at Supenaam.

Essequibo Coast on a daily basis.

ECCI in its release stated, “Since there is one ferry working, we recognise the constraints and pressure this one ferry will have to undergo, while its sister vessel is on d r y d o c k … R e g i o n Tw o i s undergoing major transformation and such setbacks will hinder timely deliverance of goods and services to all sectors. By June 2, we would've already recognised the build-up of traffic at both ports Parika and Good Hope and we are hereby requesting the assistance of

another ferry to assist in the backlog.”

Apart from delays in the supply of essential goods to the Region, ECCI is also calling for proper scheduling, as it relates to departure times, to be put in place to assist in reducing the congestion at the respective ports.

In making its case, ECCI pointed out that the Parika to Supenaam route is of pivotal importance because it bridges trade between Regions Two, Three and Four.

PAGE 64

Kaieteur News

Sunday June 05, 2022

Sunday June 05, 2022

PAGE 65

Kaieteur News

France’s Benzema drops appeal over sex tape conviction PARIS (AP) — France and Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema has dropped his appeal against a conviction for complicity in blackmail in a sex-tape case that rocked French soccer, his lawyer said yesterday.

The Versailles court gave Benzema a one-year suspended jail sentence and a fine of 75,000 euros ($80,000) in last year’s trial, convicting him of involvement in an attempt to blackmail France teammate Mathieu Valbuena in 2015.

Benzema was also ordered to pay Valbuena 80,000 euros in damages.

The initial scandal put Benzema’s international career on hold for more than five years, though he has since returned to playing for France, and the conviction has not kept him off the field.

France’s Karim Benzema, right, reacts during the UEFA Nations League soccer match between France and Denmark at the Stade de France in Saint Denis near Paris, France, Friday, June 3, 2022. (AP Photo/ Jean-Francois Badias)

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He claimed the Champions League trophy with Real Madrid last week and scored France’s only goal in a 2-1 Nations League loss to Denmark on Friday night.

Benzema’s lawyer Hugues Vigier told The Associated Press that the player decided to abandon his appeal but continues to deny wrongdoing. The appeals trial had been scheduled to open June 30. The Versailles court said on Saturday that it was awaiting the formal notification from Benzema’s legal team.

Vigier decribed Benzema’s weariness after years of legal procedures and said the 34year-old player “doesn’t want to talk about it anymore. It’s enough.”

“Karim continues to contest the slightest blackmail,” Vigier said. “He is

guilty under the law, that’s true. But judicial truth is different from reality.”

After receiving preliminary charges in November 2015, Benzema was dropped from France’s national team by coach Didier Deschamps. Benzema was called back to play for the delayed Euro 2020 tournament and has played regularly since.

The 37-year-old Valbuena, who starred for Marseille early in his career, has not played for France since the scandal broke. He just completed his third season with Olympiacos in Greece.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 66

Sunday June 05, 2022

Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup qualifier:

Nepal bowled out for eight runs in emphatic UAE win

UAE’s left-arm seamer Mahika Gaur was player of the match as she took five wickets for two runs off four overs with two maidens. (ICC)

B

BC Sport - It took just seven balls for the United Arab Emirates to knock off their nine-run target and beat Nepal by 10 wickets in a very one-sided Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup qualifier in Malaysia.

Nepal won the toss and chose to bat but were dismissed for eight in 8.1 overs, with six players going for ducks and Sneha Mahara top scoring with three.

Mahika Gaur took 5-2,

while Indhuja Nandakumar finished with 3-6.

The UAE openers then chased down the total in 1.1 overs with two extras.

It has not been all bad for the Nepal team at the Asia qualifiers. They beat Qatar by 79 runs on Friday on the opening day of the tournament, scoring 117-3 before dismissing their opponents for 38.

Yesterday’s defeat by the UAE is by no means the heaviest or the lowest score of recent times.

The UAE team have won their opening two games of the qualifying tournament.

In 2017, a Indian cricket team was bowled out for only two runs in a women’s under-19 one-day super league match.

Then in 2019, Mali women recorded the three lowest T20 international totals, being dismissed for 6, 10 and 11 at the Kwibuka Women’s T20 tournament.

‘We kept it simple’ Six teams are competing in the Asia tournament with the winner qualifying for the World Cup in South Africa in January 2023.

“It’s a great feeling for everyone in the team and gives us great confidence for the next [three] matches, but our job is not done,” said

Gaur.

“We want to win all five [games] and qualify for the U19 T20 World Cup. Before the match we discussed, with coach Najeeb, where to bowl to apply pressure, it’s a new ground and wicket so we kept it simple - bowl on the stumps.

“Captain Theertha and

Coach Najeeb instilled a lot of confidence in my ability, which gave me the belief in myself that I could do the job and restrict them to a low score.” Nandakumar added: “We planned a lot for this game and it was a great team effort. Our fielding was good and we executed our plans 100%.”

Nadal’s bid for more Roland Garros history meets Ruud resistance

P

ARIS, (Reuters) - Rafa Nadal has never lost a French Open final. A win today against first-time Grand Slam finalist Casper Ruud would deliver a record-extending 14th crown to the Spaniard and widen his lead in the men’s race for the most major titles.

Nadal, who turned 36 on Friday, overcame physical ailments and a dismal period of preparation to win the Australian Open in January to take his record-breaking 21st Grand Slam title, breaking a threeway tie with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

If he lifts the Musketeers’ Cup again today, it will be the first time the left-hander has taken the hardcourt major in Melbourne and the Roland Garros title in the same year and would keep him in contention for a calendar Grand Slam.

Nadal enjoys near-mythical status at Roland Garros, where a statue has already been erected in his honour. But standing in his way will be the eighth-seeded Norwegian, 13 years younger and the most consistent player on claycourts in the last three years.

Spain’s Rafael Nadal salutes fans after Germany’s Alexander Zverev retires from the match after sustaining an injury. (REUTERS/Yves Herman) Ruud has led the men’s Tour since the start of the 2020 season in clay-court wins, finals and titles and is the first man from his country to make a Grand Slam singles final.

“I have a huge respect for him.

First of all in terms of a friend, he

has a great character,” Nadal said of Ruud, who has been training at his academy in Mallorca since 2018.

“He’s a great guy, and he has a great family.

“As a player, of course, I respect him a lot. He did a lot of great things

the last couple of years,” he said.

“It’s not a surprise.”

Nadal and Ruud have never played a competitive match before, but the duo have hit against each other plenty of times and the Norwegian says he has never won a practice set against his idol.

Ruud, who will rise to a careerhigh ranking of sixth on Monday, said he has already gone past his pre-season target of making a quarter-final at a major in 2022.

“It is amazing... He is the last player of the Big Three and the very top players in the world I have never played against,” Ruud said.

“So I guess this is perfect timing and worth the wait. To finally play him in a Grand Slam final will be a special moment for me. Hopefully a little bit for him as well.

“He has played so many finals, but at least he is playing a student from his academy this time. So it is going to be a fun one hopefully.”

Similar to his leadup to the Australian Open, Nadal arrived at Roland Garros with persisting fitness doubts after suffering a rib stress fracture and struggling with a chronic foot injury.

He won his first three rounds at the claycourt Grand Slam in straight sets but then had to survive intense four-hour battles to beat Canadian Felix AugerAliassime in five sets and archrival and 2021 champion Djokovic in four.

Nadal, who would pass fellow Spaniard Andres Gimeno as the oldest Roland Garros men’s singles champion if he wins, had to dig deep again in a three-hour slugfest in the semi-final against Alexander Zverev before the German was forced to retire mid-match after injuring his ankle.

Chris Evert, who won seven of her 18 majors at Roland Garros, was unsure of Nadal’s physical condition for the final.

“It’s going to be really interesting,” Eurosport expert Evert said after Nadal’s semi-final win on Friday.

“Rafa today against Zverev, even though he gave such a fight, I felt like he was a step slower than normal because he has had such big matches and drawn-out matches along the way, and I wonder which Rafa is going to show up on Sunday.”

Kaieteur News

Sunday June 05, 2022

PAGE 67

French Open 2022 final:

Iga Swiatek extends streak, cruises to win over Coco Gauff

Y

ahoo Sports The No. 1 women’s tennis player in the world wouldn’t be denied at the 2022 French Open. Iga Swiatek extended her incredible win streak to 35 matches Saturday, cruising to a win over Coco Gauff in the French Open final.

Swiatek was locked in from the start, taking the first set 6-1. Gauff appeared nervous early, making unforced errors to help Swiatek get ahead. Gauff finished the match with three double faults.

Gauff seemed to shake off the rust early in the second set, taking the first two games off Swiatek.

From there, Swiatek found her swing. She won the next five games. With one more win, Swiatek would claim the French Open title.

Swiatek went up early in the next game, but Gauff fought back to take it. That pushed the second set to 5-3.

Swiatek bounced back in the next game, winning it to take the set 6-3.

With the win, Swiatek has won the French Open two of the last three years.

The win also extends Swiatek’s streak to 35 matches. That ties Venus Williams for the longest win streak since 2000.

Iga Swiatek has now officially arrived

This win is the latest in a series of dominating victories that began in February. Over a month before Ash Barty retired, Swiatek began playing out of her mind, claiming title after title, winning set after set and game after game.

But it’s just the latest stop on a journey that started when she burst on the scene on the junior’s circuit as a teenager, winning her first and only junior Grand Slam at Wimbledon in 2018 before making her pro debut at the Australian Open in 2019.

Even then, despite her early success, she was considered an under-the-radar player.

Less than two years later, unseeded and ranked No. 54 in the world, Swiatek won the 2020 French Open, beating Sofia Kenin with her now-signature punishing dominance, becoming the lowest-ranked player to win the French Open in the Open Era. Even in her “early years” (which were not even five years ago), Swiatek was a steamroller. At 17, she was described as “powerful” and “remarkably dominant.” She brings a bullying aggression to each match, taking risks and challenging opponents with an incredible confidence that seems to belong to someone many years her senior.

Swiatek’s ‘mental

Iga Swiatek took home a win over Coco Gauff in the French Open final. (Photo by ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/AFP via Getty Images)

toughness’ is about gratitude For that confidence, Swiatek credits her mental health and psychology coach, Daria Abramowicz. A former competitive sailor, Abramowicz is part of Team Swiatek (which Iga has emblazoned on one of her shoes), and has been for years. She can always be seen in the coach’s box, serving as a reminder of everything they’ve worked on.

And it’s been a lot.

Swiatek takes mental preparation as seriously as any other part of her training.

But this training isn’t about traditional “mental toughness.” Abramowicz told the New York Times in 2021 that she prioritizes personal growth, gratitude, and human relationships as a way to win. To keep Swiatek anchored, Abramowicz works with her to develop her relationships with her family and friends, who provide important emotional support and stability.

It’s not about perfectionism, but about pursuing a positive passion and understanding that losing doesn’t make you less worthy as a human being.

And to Abramowicz, that’s easier for Swiatek and others to accomplish if tennis is just one part of a full and vibrant life, and not all of it.

Poland’s Iga Swiatek, right, holds the trophy after winning the final against Coco Gauff of the U.S., left, in two sets, 6-1, 6-3, at the French Open tennis tournament in Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, Saturday, June 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) “It is impossible to become a champion when you don’t have a fundamental joy and your needs fulfilled and satisfied as a human being,” Abramowicz said to the New York Times.

This is the key to Swiatek’s success, which isn’t so sudden but is still intense.

The expectations of her may be massive and growing larger by the day, but that weight doesn’t rest on her

shoulders.

The streak she’s on is incredible, but when it finally ends, she’ll just start another one. She’s got both the talent and the attitude of a champion, and at 21 years old, this is just the beginning.

Elaine Thompson-Herah chases maiden world gold Thompson-Herah defended her 100m-200m Olympic double in Tokyo last summer, but has never won world individual gold. (Getty Images)

BBC Sport - Five-time Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah says the prospect of winning her first individual world gold is a key motivation for her season.

The 29-year-old missed the podium over 100m at London 2017 and Doha 2019 after winning 200m silver at Beijing 2015.

“I don’t want to only be an Olympic baby,” said the Jamaican.

“I want a taste of that gold from the World Championships. It will be very important to me to add that gold to my tally.”

Thompson-Herah continues her preparations for the Jamaican trials later this month and July’s World Championships at Sunday’s Diamond League meeting in the Moroccan city of Rabat.

Ivory Coast’s Marie-Josee Ta Lou, who finished fourth in the Tokyo Olympics 100m final, is the most prominent threat in the field over the distance.

The prospect of Thompson-Herah beating not only her present-day rivals, but also breaking the 10.49 second world record set by American great Florence GriffithJoyner in 1998 is one of the running themes of the season.

Thompson-Herah clocked 10.54secs, as close as anyone has come to GriffithJoyner’s mark, in Eugene in August.

She ran 10.79secs at the same venue last weekend, but says she is willing to be patient if the world record eludes her when the World Championships are staged there this summer.

“I would love to break the world record, but I am in no rush,” she said. “If I don’t get it this year, I have next year and the year after.

“I know I can do it, I have that in me - just have to get my body, mind and everything ready on that day. I don’t think I am in that shape right now, but I am working on that.”

Kaieteur News

PAGE 68

Sunday June 05, 2022

Szoboszlai penalty earns Hungary first win over England in 60 years

Joe Root raises his bat after his half-century.

(Getty Images)

Dominik Szoboszlai (10) scored his sixth goal for Hungary. (Getty Images)

BUDAPEST, (Reuters) A second-half penalty from Dominik Szoboszlai earned Hungary a shock 1-0 win over England in the Nations League yesterday - their first victory against Gareth Southgate’s side in 60 years.

Looking to get their preparations for the Qatar World Cup, which begins later this year, up and running, England were surprisingly second best from the off in Budapest, and were fortunate to go into the break all square.

The hosts kept coming and made their pressure count as Szoboszlai converted from the penalty spot in the 66th minute after Zsolt Nagy was fouled by Chelsea defender Reece James - a decision which incensed the England players.

England pressed as they looked for a leveller, but they could not create that killer chance as their Nations League campaign got off to a disappointing start.

The tests keep coming

with Germany England’s next League A, Group Three opponents on Tuesday, while Hungary will look to make it five wins in six when they face European champions Italy.

“We’ve got a massive game coming up on Tuesday,” England defender Conor Coady told Channel 4.

“We need to look at this performance and learn from it very quickly.

“I thought we started off quite well. We need to tidy up and bounce back. We need to look at how we performed and how we move forward because these are big games for us.”

Hungary were forced to host England ‘behind closed doors’ after being disciplined by both FIFA and UEFA for repeated racist behaviour from their fans, but the Hungarian FA said last month that children could attend the match at the Puskas Arena.

Under Article 73 of U E FA’ s d i s c i p l i n a r y regulations, children up to

Hungary’s Dominik Szoboszlai celebrates scoring their first goal with Adam Szalai. (REUTERS/ Bernadett Szabo)

the age of 14 from schools and/or football academies can be invited to a ‘behind closed doors’ match free of charge, provided they are accompanied by an adult, meaning the stadium could be half full, mostly with children.

Some of those in attendance chose to boo the England players as they took the knee in protest against racial injustice before kick off.

The most unfancied team in Nations League League A, Group Three, Hungary almost gave their youthful support something to shout about early on as Coady was forced to clear off the line after Szoboszlai had bundled the ball towards goal.

England, who handed debuts to West Ham United’s Jarrod Bowen and Leicester City defender James Justin, failed to make any inroads in the first half, as Adam Szalai almost scored a sensational opener from the halfway line.

The visitors improved after the break, with substitute Bukayo Saka seeing an effort well saved, before Hungary did take a deserved lead, but the decision from the Portuguese referee was one that did not sit well with England.

James seemed to lead with his arm, which did catch Nagy, who went down very easily. Szoboszlai’s finish from the spot was emphatic.

England committed more forward after falling behind, with Coady glancing a header agonisingly wide from a free kick.

Otherwise, the hosts were comfortable, seeing out their victory, a first in 15 attempts since a win at the 1962 World Cup in Chile, with ease.

Ben Stokes and Joe Root put England in strong position against New Zealand PA Media - A huge slice of luck for birthday boy Ben Stokes and a classy innings from Joe Root moved England into a winning position on a gripping third d a y a t t h e f i r s t LV = Insurance Test at Lord’s.

Set 277 to win by New Zealand in Stokes’ first game as captain, England appeared to be heading towards another tame defeat when the new skipper fell to an ugly hack which briefly left the scoreboard reading 76 for five.

But his dismissal for just one run was scrubbed from the records when replays

showed Colin de Grandhomme overstepping, a no-ball that changed the shape of the game as England rallied to reach 216 for five. Stokes celebrated turning 31 by clubbing his way to 54, including three sixes and five fours, riding his good fortune to drag England back into contention before predecessor Rook took charge.

Root occupied the crease with calm authority as he finished with an unbeaten 77 and the hosts will be clear favourites to get the remaining 61 they need as

Kyle Jamieson picked up four of the first five wickets to fall, including that of a well-set Ben Stokes. (Getty Images)

long as he stays in.

Stuart Broad had earlier led the bowling attack in a vital fightback which saw the Kiwis lose their last six wickets for 34, including a maiden scalp for debutant leg-spinner Matt Parkinson.

At one stage the tourists coughed up three wickets in as many balls, with two for Broad and the forlorn De Grandhomme run out for a golden duck.

Scores: England 141 and 216 for 5 (Root 77*, Foakes 9*) need a further 61 runs to beat New Zealand 132 and 285 (Mitchell 108, Blundell 96).

Kaieteur News

Sunday June 05, 2022

PAGE 69

Mayers, Brooks centuries set up 3-0 whitewash for West Indies ESPNcricinfo - Maiden ODI hundreds from Kyle Mayers and Shamarh Brooks along with crucial strikes from Hayden Walsh and Akeal Hosein helped West Indies complete a 3-0 whitewash of Netherlands at Amstelveen in the final ODI. This was despite a strong reply from Netherlands, who were in the chase of 309 for about 40 overs, thanks to half-centuries from Vikramjit Singh and Max

O’Dowd.

Netherlands began slowly but Vikramjit took on Mayers in the seventh over and found boundaries more often subsequently. He was dropped on 33 by Brooks in the 10th over and helped himself to three more fours.

But Mayers had the last laugh, having Vikramjit play one onto the stumps right after the drinks break, for 54.

Musa Ahmed then took over the scoring to allow

O’Dowd, who looked to play through, to consolidate. The first ten overs of their partnership had only three fours but they rotated the strike well to keep the run rate over five.

Though Bas de Leede’s 24-ball 25 allowed O’Dowd to play himself in despite slowing down a touch, the asking rate for Netherlands had climbed over six. After Walsh got the better of Musa in the 30th over, de Leede

Sudin, Surujpaul lead Wakenaam Strikers U-21 to seven-wicket win over Rising Stars Kumeshwar Sudin

Devendra Hansraj

and O’Dowd ensured that the hosts kept the asking rate under eight till the 37th over.

Hosein then bowled a wicket-maiden, dismissing de Leede, which shot the required rate up from 7.92 to 8.58.

Despite the downturn at the other end, O’Dowd took the game deep. He was unfazed by a couple of economical overs and found a boundary an over from the 41st to the 43rd, when he chopped on off Hosein.

We s t I n d i e s t h e n managed to get three boundary-free overs while picking up Scott Edwards and Teja Nidamanuru. Pieter Seelaar scored back-to-back fours towards the end but with 60 needed off the last five, the demands were too high.

Shermon Lewis then knocked off Seelaar and the tailenders in his and the game’s last over to earn himself a 3 for 67, after being expensive.

Earlier in the day, Mayers laid the platform for West Indies with the bat, sharing a 58-run opening stand with Shai Hope, followed by a mammoth

Max O’Dowd anchored the innings but fell eleven short of a century. (Peter Della Penna) 184-run partnership with Brooks.

Brooks and Mayers struck 11 sixes between them. A fair chunk (61%) of Mayers’ 120 came in boundaries. He got a reprieve when Vikramjit dropped him before he got off the mark and matched-up well against Vivian Kingma, against whom he got four of his seven sixes.

Brooks balanced his innings with good strike rotation and dispatched the loose balls. Their platform,

however, was not capitalised on as West Indies made only 67 in their last ten.

That was thanks to Ryan Klein, who conceded 19 in the three overs he bowled in that period, picking up Mayers in the process.

However, that loss of momentum was not to affect the tourists, who eventually sealed a 20-run win.

Scores: West Indies 308 for 5 (Mayers 120, Brooks 101*) beat Netherlands 288 (O’Dowd 89, Vikramjit 54, Lewis 3-67) by 20 runs.

Argentina forward Tevez announces retirement Kumeshwar Sudin struck a fine half century while Mohandass Surujpaul picked up four wickets to lead Wakenaam Strikers U21 to a seven-wicket victory over Rising Stars of Essequibo Coast in a T20 fixture played recently at G

Square Cavaliers, Belle Plaine, Wakenaam.

Rising Stars batted first and made 101 all out in 20 overs. Narine (only name provided) is the only batter that reached double figures with 49 as Mohandass Surujpaul claimed 4-15 and

Devendra Hansraj 3-19.

Wa k e n a a m R o y a l Strikers responded with 1043 in 8.3 overs. Sudin top scored with 61 which included one four and four sixes while Mahesh Ramnarine made 43.

J. Williams took 2-19.

Mahase Ramnarine Mohandass Surujpaul

AFP - Former Argentina forward Carlos Tevez, who has been without a club for the past year, announced his retirement from the game yesterday. “ I ’ m r e t i r i n g , i t ’s confirmed,” the 38-year-old told America TV in Argentina.

“As a player I gave everything I had in my heart and that leaves me at peace with myself.”

Tevez played 76 times for Argentina, including at two World Cups, and was a part of the gold-medal winning team at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

At club level, he started and ended his career with Boca Juniors, winning the Copa Libertadores in 2003, but in between he enjoyed huge success and no little controversy in England and Italy.

In 2006 he joined West Ham but his subsequent transfer to Manchester United a year later became mired in the ‘third-party ownership’ dispute which

Carlos Tevez was to prompt changes to both Premier League and FIFA regulations with regard to player contracts.

At Manchester United he won two Premier League titles and the 2008 Champions League, scoring in the penalty shoot-out against Chelsea.

A year later he made the controversial decision to cross Manchester to join United’s biggest rivals, helping City to win the 201112 Premier League, their first English league title since 1968.

He later decamped to

Italy winning two Serie A titles with Juventus before returning to Boca Juniors in 2015.

Tevez was marked by the death of his adoptive father, Segundo Tevez, from Covid19 in February 2021 and stepped away from Boca in June that year for family reasons.

“I stopped playing because I lost my number one fan and I lost the desire. I was eight years old when he came to see me play,” he said on television.

He said he now plans to become a coach.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 70

Sunday June 05, 2022

CWI First-Class C/Ships

Guyana, TT rain hit game ends in draw Braithwaite leads Bajans to Headley/Weeks trophy

Enoch Lewis makes the presentation of the Headley Weekes Trophy to Kraigg Brathwaite, Captain of Barbados Pride on behalf of CWI at the Diego Martin Sporting Complex. (photo John Ramsingh)

By Sean Devers in Trinidad In association with WD Hotel & Mall Charity & Dave’s West Indies Imports

O

n a day which began in bright sunshine but unfortunately dark clouds gathered 15 minutes before the scheduled start resulting in play starting 30 minutes late, Guyana Harpy Eagles and Trinidad and Tobago Red Force’s final round CWI Regional First-Class Championships ended in a predictable draw yesterday at the Queen’s Park Oval.

Scores: Red Force 218 & 25-1, Harpy Eagles 331.

Red Force, batting a second time reached 25-1 with West Indies Keeper Joshua DaSilva (2) being LBW to Kemo Paul at 10-1 before Keegan Simmons and Isaiah Rajah were the not out batters when the match was called off at 5:10PM after the entire second day and most of the third day was lost to rain.

Paul, who ended with seven wickets in the match, finished as the leading pacer in the tournament with 19 wickets.

Veerasammy Permaul despite going wicketless, with him two away from 500 Regional FirstClass scalps, finished on 19 wickets only behind Rakeem Cornwall’s 23 for the Leewards.

The Harpy Eagles innings was led by a well complied 76 from Tevin Imlach, an entertaining 58

from Kevin Sinclair, an attacking 47 from Permaul and a shot-filled 37 from Gudakesh Motie.

Terrence Hinds (3-75), Brian Charles (3-8) and two wickets each from Uthman Muhammed and skipper Imran Khan, who ended the innings on a hat-trick, bowled well for the home team.

Earlier, Guyana resumed on 30 without loss with Chanderpaul on three and Imlach on 16 and the pair, with excellent rotation of the strike and positive stroke-play, saw the 50 posted.

But with Chanderpaul on 25 and with 439 runs for the season, he edged a ball that left him from pacer Muhammed to the Keeper DaSilva to leave the score 72-1.

Leon Johnson, playing in his 101st Regional First-Class game, got going with an imperious cover driven boundary before he dragged one onto his wicket in the same over at 174-2.

Vishaul Singh (19) and Askaya Persaud (3) were removed by Charles and by Lunch the score was 113-4 with Imlach on 49.

After the interval Charles trapped Kemo Paul (20) LBW as he played around his pads as the Harpy Eagles slipped to 145-5.

Imlach reached his third consecutive fifty but when three runs away from his highest score in only his fifth game at this level, the 25-year-old DCC right-hander was trapped in front by Hinds, playing around his pads to end a wellplayed innings at 205-6.

Sinclair played with authority and confidence and soon reached his maiden fifty before he was LBW to Hinds at 218-7 while Motie, who hammered a flurry of boundaries in a cameo 37, was removed by Hinds at 277-8.

Permaul fell three short of his fourth fifty when he was LBW to Khan who trapped last man Cameron LBW for a first ball duck.

In a tournament that saw 18 tons being scored, Barbados and West Indies Captain Kraigg Braithwaite

with three centuries led defending Barbados to their 22nd title with Back-to-back titles.

Chanderpaul scored two centuries while Vishaul Singh and Gudakesh Mote were the other Guyanese to score hundreds.

Serena, Venus Williams, Roger Federer not on Wimbledon entry lists

N

BC Sports - Serena W i l l i a m s , Ve n u s Williams and Roger Federer, who own a combined 20 Wimbledon singles titles, are, as expected, not on the entry list for next month’s tournament at the All England Club.

None of the Hall of Fame trio have played tournament tennis since last summer. All could still get into Wimbledon, which starts June 27, on wild cards.

Federer, a record eight-time men’s singles champion, has played every Wimbledon dating to 1999. Before that, he won the junior title in 1998.

Federer, 40, underwent a third knee surgery in an 18-month span after a quarterfinal exit at last year’s Wimbledon. He said last fall that he expected to be out through Wimbledon.

His agent reportedly said earlier this spring that Federer is targeting the Laver Cup, after the

U.S. Open in September, and the Swiss Indoors, his home tournament, in October. Federer has not said whether he will play Grand Slam tennis again, focusing on his quality of life and his family.

Serena Williams, also 40, hasn’t played competition tennis since retiring from her 2021 Wimbledon first-round match with a leg injury. In April, she teased in an Instagram story conversation with quarterback Aaron Rodgers that she was getting ready for Wimbledon and “a comeback.”

She has not said anything publicly since to indicate a return is imminent.

Venus Williams, a 41-year-old who played every Wimbledon since 1997 save 2013, had her last match last August, then withdrew before the U.S. Open with a leg injury.

Separately, Naomi Osaka, a four-time major champion, is on the entry list. She said during the French Open that she was

considering not playing Wimbledon after the ATP and WTA tours stripped the tournament of ranking points for excluding Russia and Belarus players.

Russian Daniil Medvedev, who will ascend to world No. 1 later this month, will miss the tournament. As will two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka and 2021 Wimbledon semifinalist Aryna Sabalenka, both of Belarus, and Russians Daria Kasatkina, who just made the French Open semifinals, and world No. 7 Andrey Rublev.

Leylah Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open runner-up from Canada, is also not on the Wimbledon entry list. She played with a foot injury at the French Open.

Alexander Zverev, the thirdranked male singles player, retired from his French Open semifinal with an ankle injury and has a little over three weeks to recover in time for Wimbledon.

Kaieteur News

Sunday June 05, 2022

Athletes and parents at the launching of the academy.

Ministry of Sports/ NSC swimming academy launched

T

he Ministry of Sports, National S p o r t s Commission in collaboration with the Guyana Amateur Swimming Association, launched the swimming academy yesterday at the National Aquatic Centre, Lilliendaal, East Coast Demerara.

The programme is designed to introduce youths into competitive swimming so that they can continue to develop their skills. Under the academy system, clubs will now be able to use the pool at various times to train their athletes.

The NSC has pledged $1M to the GASA to host swim meets on a yearly basis, while the Ministry of Sports has donated electronics pads to GASA

which will aid in the development of athletes.

The Academy will commence tomorrow at Colgrain and NAC and it is open to all age groups.

Minister of Sports Charles Ramson Jnr., said they are in negotiation to host the inter Guiana games (IGG) this year.

He stated that the ministry is committed to develop sports and will make the NAC available for use by GASA and its affiliated clubs.

The minister lauded the GASA for their commitment and encouraged the youths to take the sport seriously. He also encouraged the parents to get their children involved in clubs and to make full use of the sports academy. The Minister expressed gratitude

to organiser Paul Mahaica and Shefetah Tzedeq for the installation of the timing system.

President of GASA Dwayne Scott said he will work in collaboration with the ministry of sports to aid in the development of swimming.

PAGE 71

Kyle Mayers saw West Indies to a winning position. (Getty Images)

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Mayers, Brooks centuries set up 3-0 whitewash for Windies Shamarh Brooks led the West Indies with a century.

(AFP/Getty Images)

Barbados Pride are the winner of 2021/2022 West Indies Championship. (CWI)

CWI First-Class C/Ships

Guyana, TT rain hit game ends in draw Braithwaite leads Bajans to Headley/Weeks trophy 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.