Kaieteur News

Unlimited parent company guarantee, taxes on profit oil spark protest in New York -OGGN

In light of the recent ruling by Justice Rishi Persaud which granted ExxonMobil and its affiliates a stay to the Supreme Court judgment that required it to provide an unlimited Parent Company Guarantee Agreement or Affiliate Company Guarantee Agreement, the Oil and GasGovernanceNetwork(OGGN) is demanding that Exxon not only provides said guarantee but pays taxesonprofitoil.

In a protest action in the streets of New York City, OGGN is protesting the recent ruling that allowsExxontolodgeUS$2billion as a security deposit in event of an oilspilloffshoreGuyana.

The body views that figure as whollyinadequate,sinceitbelieves that in event of a major oil spill, it willrequiresubstantiallymorethan apaltryUS$2B.

Citing the cleanup of the major oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that has surpassed US$60B with a final estimated cost hovering around US$145B, Guyana should not be accepting anything less than an unlimited parent company guarantee as a means of ensuring that in the event of an oil spill Exxon will be responsible for the

cleanupcoststhatwillfollow According to OGGN, Exxon, a company worth over US$430B is pushing Guyana to accept a mere US$2B parent guarantee which is less than 2% of what is required to protect Guyana from a major oil spill.

Without a proper parent company guarantee in place, Guyana risks economic decimation asitwouldbelefttopickupthebill for an oil spill or any other catastrophic event that could occur from Exxon's operations offshore Guyana. Guyanese taxpayers will have to pay for any cleanup activitiesthatsurpasstheUS$2B.

History is replete with situations where countries are left to cleanup oil spills after oil companies maneuver their way out of what should ideally be their responsibility

OGGN is also demanding that Exxon pays taxes on profit oil. Underthe2016PSA,neitherExxon nor its affiliates pay taxes in Guyana.Infact,Guyanahasagreed to, under the taxation provisions, to pay ExxonMobil's share of Corporation and Income Tax. As such, it would mean that Guyana foregoes each year, billions of US

allowing it to not have to pay any taxes in its home country for its earnings

The protest action in New York is expected to continue throughout thesummer

Members of the OGGN protesting in the streets of New York demanding a renegotiation of the lopsided Stabroek Block deal.

Exxon dodging of unlimited parent company guarantee places all Guyanese in financial danger

Th e f a c t t h a t

E x x o n M o b i l

G u y a n a i s dodging its responsibility in providing adequate financial protection for Guyana in the event of a catastrophic oil spill places every Guyanese tax payer in financial danger

The fact that the company is also producing more oil at its Liza well beyond what is scientifically safe not only increases the chances of a m i s h a p , b u t m o r e importantly, increases the risk to Guyanese pockets as wellastheirenvironment.

This is according to US trained oil and gas expert Dr Vincent Adams who reiterated the need for Guyanese to understand both the environmental and financial risks associated with the oil giant's refusal to provide the nation with a written assurance that it will cover all spills above and beyond what its locally formed limited liability companyEssoExploration& Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL),couldmanage.

More recently, EEPGL P r e s i d e n t , A l i s t a i r Routledge, sought to

downplay the risk of Guyana having its oil contaminating at least 12 tourism based Caribbean countries despite its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) being pellucidontheat-risknations in the path of the moving spill. Exxon has pledged an unfinalised US$2B as the parent company guarantees completely dismissing costs that are associated with external liabilities since the US$2B is only catered for incountry damages. During a court ruling last week on the issue of unlimited parent company guarantee,

Appellate Judge, Rishi Persaudorderedthecompany providetheUS$2Bguarantee within10days.

The EEPGL President had somewhat played down Guyana'sfinancialobligation to its affected neighbours claiming that such a matter is a "worst case scenario" and that all precautions are being taken to ensure that Guyana does not have a disastrous outcome.

Adams, the country's former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) headinknockingRoutledge's

- Dr. Vincent Adams

a spill which makes it absolutely dangerous. You never go against an EIA safe operating limit," Adams insisted.

He said that Liza 1 safe operating limit is 120 barrels of oil per day while the company is producing 155 barrelsperday"whichmeans you are increasing the probability(ofaspill),andon the other end, you don't want tocoverit."

Guyanese must be fully awarealsothatwhatExxonis doinginthecountryisnotthe way they operate in the UnitedStates.

He said for instance, in theUSallExxon'soperations are handled by Exxon so there is no "child company" as they are utilising in Guyana "They formed a limited liability child company, placed it in the Bahamas- a tax haven, and have it operating here in Guyana,"Adamsexplained.

position reminded that EIAs serve a very real purpose in assessing oil spill impact and should not be downplayed, especially when the oil operators are not producing within the stipulated safe limit and are failing to offer adequate financial protection considering the potential dangers.

" T h e E I A , t h a t information is not what peoplearemakingupasfaras where the spill is gonna go," Adams urged. He said that Exxon paid international consultants to conduct the very EIA which highlights

the danger to Guyana and her neighbours but they are dismissing it, "... and are goingagainsttheruleoflaw," the oil and gas regulator posited. He charged that the EEPGLboss in his statement is saying basically that the company will continue to ignore the EIA as they are already doing by operating above the safe production level.

"They are already doing that by the way (ignoring the EIA) by going above the safe operating limit that is in the EIA That is, they are increasing the probability of

Elections is today Local Govt.

Local Government Elections

(LGE) is today. These elections are deemed a high priority for citizens of our country, as it stipulates governance and policies at the local democratic or “grass root” level. These elections will pave the way the appointment of newly elected councillors for the 65 Neighbourhood Democratic Councils and 6 Municipalitiescountrywide

Last Friday, officials of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) announced that the ballot boxes have been packed, and containers dispatched for the smooth conduct of the LGE. The polls across the country will open at 6:00am and closeat6:00pm.

As part of the preparatory process, GECOMaccredited10groupsaslocal observersoftheLGE.

G ECO M has expres s ed confidence that this year's Local Government Elections (LGE) will be held in accordance with the law, and a number of mechanisms are in place to ensurethatthishappens.

Chairperson of the commission, Justice (Ret'd) Claudette Singh, made the disclosure at a press conference held at GECOM's Command Centre, Fort and Barrack Streets, Kingston, Georgetown.

“Alotofpreparationwasdone,the

staff was well trained… and I am confident that everything will go very smoothly,”shesaid.

Chief Elections Officer, Vishnu Persaud, mirrored these sentiments, noting that GECOM has a cohesive team,whichisfocusedandcommitted toactingwithintheparametersoftheir responsibilities towards the efficient, effective, and satisfactory delivery of theirfunctions.

“We had a lengthy registration exercise, we had claims and objections exercises, the preparatory exercisesforLGE,andasCEO,Ihave no reason to fear or worry that we will have any type of undermining of the operationsofthesecretariatinsofaras

theproperconductoftheelectionsare concerned,”heexpressed.

Meanwhile, Deputy CEO, Aneal Giddings, who led the logistics operations during the 2020 General Elections, said previous elections exercises—most notably, the 2020 General Elections and 2018 LGE— have served as a compendium of lessons on what areas need improvementmovingforward.

“We would have made some operational adjustments to how we do things, to ensure that we avoid any untoward situation that may have occurred in the past, and to increase efficiency So… we are ahead of the game,”heassured.

Thewholepointoftheoil spill insurance, Adams continued, is to keep Guyana "indemnified" in that the oil companies that are making massive profits from the Stabroek Block must also pick up all tabs associated with a spill, big or small. Given the large amounts of oilbeingharvested,thespeed at which production is taking place and the lack of institutional power in managing the local wealth, Adams submitted that it is only fair that Guyana seeks protection of its people and environment with the oil company providing same Referring to the notable Gulf of Mexico, Macando oil spill in 2010, Adams said that disaster which became a worst-case scenario was unforeseen; costing BP a whopping sum of over US$140B.

"This is what Guyanese people need to understand that the Macando spill cost US$145B so when they use the US$600M and the proposed US$2B parent company sum, who is going to cover the more than US$140Bremaining?

Our national budget is between two and three billion, we will go bankrupt, andnotonlythatit'sthe12or 14 Caribbean countries that will be affected, washing away their fishing and tourism industry, and it will beallourfault."

Adams warned that inadequate financial oil spill coverage without a clearly written andsignedassurance from ExxonMobil accepting all oil spill liability is a sure way of bankrupting the countryandleavingitopento litigation from affected parties, further sinking it to financialdoom.

A p a r t f r o m o u r neighbours, Adams said the oil will also head up the Demerara and Berbice rivers with the tide, ruining internal waterways.

This company, he continued, has limited assets which in fact belong to Guyana since the Stabroek operation is already being financed with the money being made off the Guyanese owned oil. Adams said that whenExxonandotherbigoil operators come to US regulators, "they jump when wesayandaskhowhigh."To that, the regulator said it is unreal the way Guyana is allowing Exxon to do as they please.

Adams reminded that the parent company guarantee which Exxon must sign will cost "absolutely nothing" untilanoilspilloccurs.

He said it is disingenuous for the company's leaders to pretend that the parent company guarantee will financially set back the companyinanywayasitcost "notacent."

He said even if Exxon pledges one US dollar as insurance, it really does not matter since the company would have given its written assurance that in the conduct of its business whatever liability comes about, they willbetotallyresponsible.

As Exxon, its US and Chinese counterparts, Hess and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) respectively are benefiting the most from the lucrative Stabroek oil arrangement, Adams said it is only "fair and balanced" that the partners take responsibility fortheiroperation.

He said that prior to the Guyanaproject,ExxonMobil was on a downward trajectory

t

As is repeatedly stated by the HESS partner, Guyana has been the lifeline for the once struggling companies. The country has been more than promising, and so important to the oil companies that they have dropped several of their less productive projects around t h e w o r l d a n d h a s significantly zoomed in on theGuyanawealth.

...GECOM anticipates smooth voting process

The headquarters of GECOM in Kingston

Publisher:GLENNLALL-TEL:624-6456

Editor:NIGELWILLIAMS

Tel:225-8465,225-8491. Fax:225-8473,226-8210

Flooding: what will foreign investors think

The rains came down heavily and Georgetown went underwater in a hurry Communities on the East Coast of Demeraraandotherscatteredplacesalsogotagoodshare, more than they could have managed. While the deluge of last Thursday swamped many parts of the nation’s capital city,therewasamostcuriousreassurancefromtheweather people. It was that the forecast for July is a dry one. Regardlessofitsaccuracy,onThursdaylast,Julylookedas farawayasthenextgeneralelections,possiblybeyond

In these early days of June, a season of wetness and misery, being waterlogged is now the close company of citizens in many communities. It is a national shame and disgrace. Indeed,Georgetownisbelowsealevel,ismorea basin with small rivers appearing, small lakes rising, and water gathering everywhere and going nowhere. All of thosearenowlivedwithmoretodaythaneverbefore. The concern is that Georgetown is Guyana’s capital, the nerve centerofgovernment,commerce,andgreatcrowdsofpeople daily. Withtheadventofoil,flocksofforeignersflytoGuyana tosamplemorethanthesun,orthewaterunderfoot Theyrush heretosamplethemanyopportunitiesavailable,makemoney bytheboatload

The first order of business for those who come here is that they should get a boat, so they can navigate around town, and out of it, while keeping themselves dry and in good presentation, with their sanity intact. Now we must putthisquestionbeforeeveryone:whatdothepeoplefrom theoutside,theheavilyfavouredforeigninvestorsthinkof Guyana,whentheyhavethemisfortune,andthetrauma,to havetodobusinessinGeorgetownonadaywhendogsand cats(possiblysheepandsnakesandoilalso)raindownfrom above? Guyanahadbeencalculatedtobetherichestpeople on the planet, and is held in awe because of that statistical computation,butitssuperrichcitizenscarrytheproductsof the gutter in their shoes, the stains and rank smells of the dirtystreetsontheirclothesandpersons.

Ourbiggest,proudestshowroomtransformsintoastinking, stagnantDutchcanalwhenitrains,andthisistheplacetowhich foreign investors make their merry way Guyana’s Vice President,BharratJagdeo,isalwayslaserfocusedontherights offoreigninvestors,highlyconcernedaboutthestateofmindof foreigninvestors,andtoilsdiligentlyroundtheclock,including holidays,sothatforeigninvestorswillgetthemostthathecan makepossibleforthem NothingelsecomesclosetoJagdeo’s priorities, this apology for a patriot, this most contorted Guyanese citizen He is utterly unmoved, even when the interestsofhisfellowGuyanesemustbesacrificed Forforeign investorfriendlyJagdeo,itistheirintereststhatalwayscome first.

According to superpatriot Jagdeo and supersalesman Jagdeo,foreigninvestorsaredueafairreturn Didhepauseto considerthesesameprizedforeigninvestorsofhistakingone lookatthecesspitthatisGeorgetownandreturningprontoto TorontoorToledoorSoho? Jagdeowhohashisownstandards for what is unpatriotic also weighed-in on how foreign “investorsspookeasily” Hemustaskhimselfwhatthereaction wouldbewhenhistreasuredforeigninvestorscomeacrossthe ‘jumbie’andwaterygraveyardthatisGeorgetown Ithastobe thatthisplacecalledGuyanadoeshaveitsrichopportunities,but italsohasgreatprospectsofbeingcontaminatedbyitsputridity risingfromthedrainsandsewers

Being the resourceful arranger and conductor of things towardthedarksidethatheis,itcouldbethatJagdeosteersthem awayfromGuyana’scapitalthroughshuttleflightstoOgleand Pradoville,sothattheydon’thavetosullytheirfeetandsicken theirstomachsbyhavingtotouchdelugedGeorgetown Allthe cashgiventothedrainageandirrigationpeopleandthebestthey candoistalkaboutpumpstructures Allthemoneywithheld fromtheGeorgetownmunicipality,andJagdeostandsproudly over a flooded city, as his beloved foreign investors wade through (or flyover) knee-high waters. Governments and leadershavebeenoverturnedforless.

The NRF is underperforming

DEAREDITOR,

The fund managers that recentlyvisitedandmetwith thegovernmenthavebeenat the forefront of money managementforalongtime. Weshouldnotbehesitantto embrace the investment opportunities that are before us. The current rate being received for the oil sector’s

fundsintheUSisnotonpar with the fixed rate instruments now on the market. The 2022 Q4 report shows a return of less than 1%whilefixedincomeasset rateshavebeenatleasttwice asmuchforthesameperiod. When our country risk is considered along with the rates available locally, the

management of the NRF is also underperforming. This year’s targeted return at a minimum should be in the mid-single digits in order to keep pace with the inflation rate impacting the currency inwhichthefundsarebeing held. Having experienced money managers provide this needed service for the

fundsintheNRFisnotabad idea.Maybethenwewillbe able to get the 8% return on our decommissioning funds which are currently being usedbyExxonfreeofcost. Bestregards,

JamilChanglee Chairman

T h e C o o p e r a t i v e RepublicansofGuyana

Where I see a need to speak out on issues to preserve our Republic, I shall not hesitate to do so

DEAREDITOR

I have noted the comments by Dr David Hinds directed to me on the Gildharie and Freddie Show on June 9, 2023 which was conducted on a live Meta feedviatheGuyaneseCritic page. In that live video between9mins,21 seconds and 10 mins and 46 secs, therewasanotherattemptby

Dr David Hinds to label me withapejorativetagthathas no place in a modern multiethnicsociety

In order to erase any doubt, I hereby wish to reiterate the principles articulated in my statement issued on March 13. In that statement, I expressed concerns over statements issued by Mr Tacuma Ogunseye in which he made

inflammatory statements that can threaten the peace andsecurityofGuyana.

Although, I am in the Opposition realm, my commitment to country is paramountandwhereIseea needtospeakoutonissuesto preserve our Republic, I shallnothesitatetodoso.

Dr Hinds’ paternalistic andchauvinistcallsformeto ‘shut up’, will not affect the

sacred commitment to country Regardlessofone’s ethnicorigins,thepeaceand unity of Guyana is everyone’s business and no one should have their tongues tied in these affairs due to tribal and ethnic restrictions.

Regards

Ms Geeta ChandanEdmond Attorney-at-Law

Alotishappening,buttowhosebenefit

DEARE

DITOR

Alotishappeningbutto whosebenefit.

The crappy oil contract, condemned by almost all International Organisations, which both the Vice President and His Excellency the President saidtheyhavetorenegotiate buthavesincechangedtheir minds having attained power

The recent ruling by the courts re the need for the parent company Exxon to give a written guarantee to take care of possible spills etc.

was appealed by our government,whichseemsto be representing EXXON’s interests instead of Guyana’s.

I recall theVPsaying he believes, imagine, he believes EXXON would take on the responsibility Looking at EXXON’s international standing and entanglement with various courts we must be a country of mad people to believe that.

Then there is this ad hoc decision of giving of handoutsandassistancewith numerous complaints of corruption.

Some, who were not supposed to receive, received and those entitled notreceiving.

undeserving was paid but ensuringadrawback.

And all these overpriced infrastructure projects funnelingourmoneyintothe pocketsofcronies,allsortof friends crawling out and getting big contracts, which t h e y i m m e d i a t e l y subcontract ensuring a good small piece amounting to millions in their pockets. Some of these projects are necessary but others not so, notatthistime.Onedoesnot borrow to decorate, especially when one is alreadyhighlyindebted,one borrows to spend to get returnstopayback.

All of this is being done while the people who really needareignored.

We suddenly decided to give out $40,000 to each childinschool.

Well, it would cover minimum transportation needs for the year but nothing else In the meantime,therearechildren whose parents cannot afford to send their children to school.

The dropout rate especially in secondary schools is high but those children and their needs are notaddressed.

Pensioners were given a measly $5000 increase in circumstances where food prices have gone sky high. Persons with disabilities

received a measly increase.

It is my belief that with the level of poverty and economic marginalization priority should be given through a structured welfare system and not shared out both to the haves and the havenots.

Those who have can get their share later when more moneycomesin.

Then we have the nonc a r i n g a n d g r o s s incompetence; for example, the dorms that houses our children.

Lives snuffed out because of an uncaring and incompetent administration. In any other country, heads wouldhaverolled.

They just do not listen. They come to you election timeforyourvotesthenyour plightisignored.

Local government elections coming up and the very local government minister and all wants your votebutitwastheiruncaring and incompetence that resultedinthedeathofthose children.

Butwhatcanwedo?

The Opposition was responsible for the EXXON PSAin the first place. They collectedandhidthemeasly 18mdollarstheyreceived.

Other countries with far less oil, got far more, multiplesof18.

The Opposition is silent.

The Opposition never represents even its supporters for benefits Wheneverthereareprotests, itisforpoliticalpower

So, they are here again asking the seeming powerless electorate, the weak divided electorate to come out and vote for them.

But look historically, has it evermadeadifference.Isay no.

What can we do? I recall in 1980 when the Burnham’s constitution was being put into play a boycott of the referendum was called and on voting day, a Monday, the place was worse than good Friday Clear indication of howtheelectoratefelt

Well, we have another chance to demonstrate Come Monday, we should just stay at home in silent demonstration of our frustrationwiththepresent governance of our nation In areas where we have independents, we should gooutinlargenumbersand voteforthemaloneandnot these two parties which wanttocontroleverything

Let’s use this election to demonstrate in no uncertain terms our dissatisfaction of how our country is being run Stay home.

Sincerely

RajendraBisessar

HonouringDr.WalterA.Rodney

DEAREDITOR

Respect and trust are crucial for successful, productive relations with eachother.

They are important for ourpersonalwelfarethatwe can determine whether the peoplewhomwerelateto,be they siblings, spouses, employers, government, respect us, and that we can trustthem.Thisisbecauseif respect and trust is lacking, persons generally find themselves being misled, robbed, or subjected to variousformsofabuse.

Itisimportantalsoforus to understand if we have or are being trained or conditioned to feel inferior, to accept disrespect and abuse as normal, because some societies, cultures, incorporate this as part of theirsystemoforganization, management.

Persons who find this to be the case, need to do whatever is needed to end such relationships, especially since they may wellbeexposingthemselves to all kinds of disrespect or abuse being perpetrated against them under this type ofsystemorculture.

The basis of respect is honesty and regard for each other’swelfare.

If persons discover that they are being lied to, then the person or persons lying to them does not respect them, considers them mentallyinferior,tobemade afoolof,andifpossible,can be abused Respect especiallyalsodemandsthat your ideas and opinions are respected, decisions taken mustbefairandbeneficialto yourself,thewelfareofyour family

R e s p e c t , a n d competence also, are especially important in politics, and this is something Guyanese are urged to contemplate at our local government and upcoming national elections afewyearsfromnow Have our politicians been honest withus?Dotheylistentous, considerourwelfareandact inourbestinterests?Arewe happy with our standard of

living,ourincomes?Areour childrenbeingprovidedwith the kind of education that prepares them to succeed in ourincreasinglychallenging l o c a l a n d g l o b a l environment? Are we benefiting from our natural resources? Are our politicians developing and following guidelines, regulations,lawsdesignedto maximize the benefit of our natural resources to Guyanese? Here we consider the incomes of public and private sector workers, old pensions, alternative economic prospectsforsugarworkers, investments in our human capital,andcontractslikethe existing Government of Guyana/Exxoncontract. We also consider education and healthcareservices.

Have our politicians been delivering on these fundamentalissuesforus?

Do our politicians understand that they are publicservantswhoreceived ourvoteandtrusttomanage our social and economic welfare? Voting is a serious matter about which we should all be concerned, becausewearevotingalsoto pay the salaries of our politicians.

Not voting is also a very important choice, because if voters can’t find politicians they can trust to represent their interests, it makes no sensetohavetheminoffice. In the absence of credible, competent politicians to administerouraffairs,weas a society have the responsibility of producing politicians and political parties capable of administering our local and national governments

More and more Guyanese are raising their voices to address the banal injustices and gross disrespect meted out by our major political parties After years criticizing and highlighting our governments’ abysmal failures, these persons should recognize that they are the change that they, we are looking for Many Guyanese have recognized thefailureofethnicpolitics,

that this has been the source of much of our social and economicdemise,andasthe 2015 elections has shown, are willing to take a chance on something else, as much as this turned out to be an abysmalfailure.

As we move beyond Local Government Elections,theDNCproposes a public forum to discuss prospectsforourfuture.

America, Britain, many European countries and other strong democratic nations walked in the steps wearetaking,enduredmuch social struggle to realize the achievements they enjoy in their advances in social and economicwelfare.

Guyana is in a power struggle, a power shift, where our desire for higher incomes, better standards of living, improved social and economic progress through strengthened regulation, laws,systemsofgovernance and accountability is up against the forces which have in the past benefited from the existing weak systems and want to maintainthestatusquo. We can only achieve real advances by overcoming those who would retain the existing system, to keep things working for their benefit.

I take this opportunity alsotoobserveandhonorthe work and life of Dr Walter A Rodney, who the Commission of Inquiry into his death requested by former President Donald Ramotarhaddeterminedhad beenapoliticalassassination orchestrated by Burnham and the People’s National Congress on June 13, 1980. (https://wwwwalterrodneyf oundation org/coi/reportthe-commission-of-inquiryon-the-death-of-walterrodney-february-2016) I have been fortunate to meet one of his grandchildren. Our political historians and commentatorswilldoamore comprehensive job than I at memorializinghiswork,but

(Continuedonpage06)

DEAREDITOR

Guyanese woke to the tragicnewsofthedeathofa young GDF officer, Lieutenant Rondel Douglas, whose life was taken by ruthless men who have no regard for human life, given byAlmightyGod.

From the reports, Mr Douglas was a believer, intelligent and committed to hisfamilyandjob.Thatfatal evening ofWednesday, June 7, 2023, has left another family in our nation in deep pain.

Editor, our society appears to be is at its lowest ebb. The relative peace and social stability that citizens came to enjoy during May 2015toAugust2,2020have literally disappeared under the PPP/C’s lawless administration Practically every day, there is evidence ofthebreakdownoflawand order; incompetent management, unqualified and inexperienced officials, bungling the work of their departments The une n f o r c e m e n t o f protocols/regulations and theabsenceoftheruleoflaw continue to contribute to the misery of persons at all levelsofsociety

The loss of life, due to avoidable road accidents, fires, extra-judicial killings, robberies, and domestic violence, continues unabated. This is the Wild West!

Where is the strategy to guide the work of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Social Services, the Ministry of Education, and other related ministries? What is the plan to address these systemic shortcomings? The ineptitudeandincompetence of these Ministers and the Commissioner of Police continue to expose them daily

Frequent reports coming from the desks of Minister Benn and the Acting CommissionerofPolice,Mr

for the future

Hicken, say that “crime has decreased.” This is without the provision of a detailed report and statistics for the benefit of the public. The reality is that Crime has increased, and the reports of reduced crime are far removedfromthetruth.

I am aware that the Guyana Police Force has been recipients of motorcyclesandvehicles,to aid them in responding to reports in a timely manner andforfrequentpatrollingin communities.

However, there is need forcontinuoustrainingtobe doneforPoliceOfficers.

During the Coalition Government, Officers and Ranksweresentonoverseas training and the Force was provided with the necessary assistance to address crime. Train them and assign them appropriately please. We cannotcontinuetoloselives because of incompetence andlawlessness.

Editor,thePPP/Cregime has failed our youth. The education system has failed to adequately prepare primary school students for secondaryschool.

Many are barely literate and perform dismally at the NGSA.

Then the secondary school drop-out rate continues to be alarming. There is no serious plan to improve the employability skills of our youth Additionally, there is a shortage of educated and

qualifiedteachersinschools, but the cry for increased remuneration and better workingconditionscontinue to fall on deaf ears

Education is the bedrock of any society The installed government needs to stop buying votes and invest our wealth in the education system for the benefit of all Guyana.

E d i t o r , t h e approximately 30% who graduate from secondary schools with 5 or more subjects experience great difficulty obtaining jobs Where are the 50,000 jobs promised3yearsago?

The meagre salary, of $40,000.00beingofferedfor part-timejobs,isacomplete farce and another opportunity to reward friends, family and favourites. This is a failed system.

The time for talking is over.Letusact!Membersof Parliament on the other side of the House have constituencies and are willing to work with the governmentandcivilsociety tosaveouryoungpeople.

Iextendmycondolences tothefamilies,relatives,and friendsofLieutenantRondel Douglas and all those who have lost their loved ones recently under tragic circumstances.

May Almighty God strengthenthematthistime. IprayforJustice!

Yourstruly, AnnetteFerguson,MP

The education system has failed to prepare our youths

Poor management at GECOM

DEAREDITOR,

WhileLowenfieldhadhis ways and unfortunately his exitatGECOMismarredwith the2020electionscontroversy, his management abilities and competencewasfarsuperiorto whatcurrentlyobtains

Recently,theCommission said that it is all prepared for the local government elections, I don’t believe that There’s a lot of frustration to getthereduetopoorleadership attheSecretariat

It seems as if there is a movetodothingsdifferently from Lowenfield, but in the process, the good practices are removed Staff are inadequately trained and

thereisalackofresources.

Despite having a mega budget, the Secretariat is approachingeveryspendingin a very skimming way Had PPPCbeeninopposition,they would have made a big deal overanytransgression Today, because their supported ACEO, DCEO and CEO governtheSecretariat,intheir view nothing can go wrong My neighbor, who is employed for the elections, saysthattogettheletterfrom GECOMwasalotofbackand forth, while the training and meals were way below the usualstandards Nospinning can change the fact of what happened at the Disciplined

Services voting Some officers given their posting willnotbeabletovoteifthey arepostedafardistancefrom theirpollingcenter

Staff are afraid of victimizationsotheywouldn’t utter a word In silence, they arecomplainingbitterlyabout themanagementatGECOM This was evident at the packing of ballot boxes As a polling agent, I felt sorry for them, listening to their whispers They are underpaid andhavetoworklonghours

GECOM needs urgent reform; it’s the only way to helptheSecretariat.

Regards PartyAgent

Vote wisely today

DEAREDITOR, Citizensareurgedtovote in the Local Government Elections on Monday 12th June.Thiscallismadeagainst thebackdropthatvotingshould not be because the politician asksforthevotebutbecausethe righttovoteandelectpersonsof one’s choice is a fundamental right prescribed by the United Nations Human Rights Declaration and enshrined in theConstitutionofGuyana.

Theinitiatorsofourfight for one man one vote (universaladultsuffrage)are theworkersofGuyana When HubertNathanielCritchlow,the FatherofTradeUnionisminthe British Empire and National Hero, began the struggle in 1926 for universal adult suffrage it was aimed to bring aboutinternalself-government, whichbeganin1953andledto republicanstatusin1970

The right to vote was fought for Many died in pursuitofsame,andmanyare still struggling around the world to achieve same As Guyanese,wemustguardand defendthisrightzealously

Voting is one way of bringing about changes in our lives and determining our own destiny We have come a far way, but the

struggle is far from over in creating a society where all are treated with respect and dignity and their human rightsupheld.

Internal self-government is not only about voting and determining one’s representativesbuttheday-today management of the state thatwouldseetheparticipation and involvement of all, the distribution of the nation’s resources in an equitable and equal manner that would benefit all, and the upholding of a system where the rule of law subjects all to accountability These are the tenetsprogressivetradeunions hold sacred and will continue tofightfor

I ask you; do not vote because someone offers you money Thatisakintomaking deals with the devil Taking moneyforyourvoteislikened to selling your brothers and sisters to those who traded in slaves Inthisinstance,youare also selling yourself Taking moneytogiveyourvoteislike being fooled with beads and trinkets by those whose only aim is to conquer and subjugate your entire group, localauthorityortowntorule supremeoveryou.Whenyou sell your vote, they use you

inthesamewayasJudaswas used ...as a betrayer for 30 pieces of silver Votinggives you an opportunity to elect your leaders; empowers you throughyourelectedleadersto determine how the affairs of government- local, regional andcentral-willbemanaged Elect leaders who could advance and protect your interest within your communities Local government is the first tier in ourgovernmentsystemwhich canhelptodistributepowerto others and away from central government, thus placing a limit on central government’s influenceandcontrol

Given the pervasive discriminationagainstcitizens by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) regime we need a cadre of men and women at the local government level who will stand up and represent the people’s interest and push back against the regime’s excesses.

Your vote is the power exercised over all governments, at every level, andkeepspoliticiansincheck

Come Monday, June 12thvotewisely!

Sincerely LincolnLewis

HonouringDr.WalterA.Rodney...

Frompage5

Iofferthesefewwords.

Dr Walter Rodney had stalwart colleagues and friendsinEusiKwayana,Dr Rupert Roopnaraine, Dr Clive Thomas who together sought to counter Burnham andthePNC.

Assomeonewhohasshared the pain of having an enslaved African as an ancestor, it is with great sorrowthatIcontemplatehis death, that he could have come from no lower a background to achieve the

international respect and acclaim he did, only to have his life snuffed out for standing up and defending our democracy against the injusticesoftheincompetent andchallengedPNC.

They left a young wife and childrentomournthelossof ahusband,afather Thisisa crimethatwillforeverstand in our history as a stain against us, that we continue toallowtheorganizationand those who killed him to go unpunished Where our establishedlawsfail,weasa

people must use our innate sense of justice to condemn theperpetratorsofhisdeath, to end the criminal dictatorial politics which continues to prevail in our society, to protect us from ever having to live through what Guyanese endured underBurnham’srule. My regrets to the family of Dr Walter Rodney, that his children, grandchildren may risetostandonhisshoulders toservesocietyashedid.

Sincerely

CraigSylvester

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Outgoing city

Mayor Pandit

Ubraj Narine is coming to the defence of the Georgetown Mayor and City Council. Days ahead of the Local Government Elections (LGE), the Mayor released a statement in response to Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo's claim that the municipality has been avoiding being audited for fear of being exposed for financial irregularities.

Inthearticlepublishedby the state controlled newspaper, Jagdeo said that the current Mayor and City Council (M&CC) is afraid of financialaudits.

However, the Mayor said nothingcouldbefurtherfrom

thetruth.

Govt. owes City Hall more than $1 billion in rates and taxes, and the administration is not paying – Mayor Narine

According to the Mayor, in January of every single year, since he became Mayor of Georgetown in January 2019, he had written to the Auditor General requesting anauditoftheaccountsofthe Municipality

“The last such letter was sent by me in January of this year I have never received a response to my repeated requests. I have copies of the letters in case anyone wants toseethem,”theMayorsaid.

Contrary to Jagdeo's claim, Narine said that it is the People's Progressive Party (PPP) regime has been stranglingGeorgetown.

He explained that in 2020, the council got zero

subventions while budgetary allocation was $10M for that year

Narine said that in 2021, 2022 and 2023, the subvention would have been $30M(US$150,000).

“How can such a paltry, pitiful sum of money maintain this country's capital city – a city with a population of some 355,000 residents and visitors, in an areaof70squarekilometers?

Furthermore, the PPP c o n t r o l l e d c e n t r a l governmenthasnotdoneany property valuations since 1996 – the law requires that the Ministry of Finance do valuations every five years. That willful refusal of the PPP regime to do valuations

h

as resulted in City Hall being starvedofratesandtaxes.Let me tell you, there are malls –valued at billions of dollars –that pay absolutely no rates and taxes because they were built after 1996, and the PPP regime still refuses to do valuations,” Mayor Narine added

Added to this, the PPP government owes City Hall more than $1B in rates and taxes, and the administration isnotpaying.

He continued that “the Guyana Power and Light (GPL)oweabout$10billion, and the company is not paying Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) and other entities controlled by the PPP regime owe the city largesumsofmoney

The fact is, if the PPP government and the companies it controls simply

pay their debts, the M&CC would be able to do much more for the residents of Georgetown.

The Mayor emphasized

t h a t t h e p e o p l e o f Georgetown are not stupid. Georgetown's residents will absolutely not have their intelligenceinsultedbyavice

president.

“We all know what the PPP officials want – they want unlimited power; they want their corrupt hands in everypurseinGuyana.

But the people of Georgetown will not give it to them; Georgetown will never be controlled by the

Better retention rates expected with implementation of measures to address absenteeism in schools – Min. Manickchand

The Ministry of Education is predicting a better retention rate in schools with the slew of m e a s u r e s b e i n g implemented to address absenteeism.

Retention rate is a measure of the proportion of students who continue their studiesaftertheirfirstyear.

M i n i s t e r , P r i y a Manickchand made the disclosure during an interview on the Guyana Dialogue, Thursday evening.

She said when the 'BecauseWeCare'cashgrant programme was reinstated, the number of students attending classes improved and more students were registered in the public educationsystem.

“You (a student) have to be on the register and attending school, so, if you don't come to school, then you don't get the grant. That hasreallybroughtpeopleout and had people registering. Wehavealsoseenwithother efforts to try to look for children individually, who

are being absent from schools,”shepointedout.

A l s o , ' O p e r a t i o n Recovery' was piloted initially within the 11 Education districts to find primaryschoolstudentswho were absent since schools reopened fully and those who missed the National Grade Six Assessment ( N G S A ) m o c k examinations.

The programme was expanded to place a heavy focusonstudentsatalllevels who continue to be absent fromtheclassrooms.

Minister Manickchand explained that the COVID19 pandemic has impacted the education sector in two fundamental ways: loss of instructional time and learning loss due to schools being closed for over 18 months, as such, this measurewasundertaken.

“I think we've tried to hold our own and we have held on our own on the dropoutsissuebutthat'salot of work that went into that,” the minister expressed Currently, the education ministry has hired personnel

Minister of Education, Honourable Priya Manickchand

in 80 of the 116 high schools across Guyana who are responsible for informing the ministry when a child is absent from the classrooms. This, she said, is expected to improve the retention rate in Guyana.

“We're hiring where we don't have, staff dedicated to counselling, guidance in career counselling as well as psychological counselling As soon as the child leaves, we'resupposedtoknow,”the Education Minister explained.(DPI)

Mayor - Pandit Ubraj Narine

Radioactive waste processing should not be allowed onshore

Wehaveamajorthreatto the health of tens of thousands of our citizens. It is from the transportation, storage and passage of radioactive materials emanating from the oil and otherindustries.

Why any government would allow the movement of radioactive materials through Guyana’s waters and along the coastline is incomprehensible

Radioactivewastepresentsa threattothehealthandsafety of our people. If something goes wrong, thousands of our people can get sick and evendie.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has warned that radioactive contamination can enter the human body through ingestion, inhalation, absorption, or injection Long-term exposure and can lead to all manner of problems including cancer and birth defects.

Right now, there are plans afoot to have radioactivewastestoredand processed in Guyana and then returned to the manufacturers or suppliers outside of Guyana. We are also told that the wastes would not be passing along any of the public thoroughfares in Guyana

Presumably,itwillbeferried to the storage facility via riverbeforebeingexported.

The fact that the wastes arenotbeingferriedbyroad is of little comfort Radioactive waste should not be allowed to enter our internalwatersorland.Norit

is of any relief that we are told that what will be taking place locally is to “calibrate and store sealed radioactive sources enclosed within a tightly-sealed capsule, surroundedbylayersofnonradioactive material, and securely affixed to a nonradioactive source, effectively preventing any potential leakage or environmentalrelease.”

The fact that the waste hastobebroughttoshoreto store in a tightly-sealed capsulesuggeststhatwhenit is brought onshore, it is not sealed and therefore, there couldpotentiallybearisk.If there is an accident during transport or processing, thereisariskthatpeoplecan beaffected.

If, as we are being told, the radioactive materials would be sealed and that at no point would any radioactive materials be exposedoropened,thenwhy is it necessary to bring it onshore? If this is the case, thenexportitimmediately

It is incomprehensible that the Environmental Protection Agency would havewaivedtherequirement foranenvironmentalimpact assessment for a facility whichisbeingconstructedto carry out certain operations relating to the radioactive materials.

The government is fully aware of the dangers of radiation.Lastyear,ittabled a Radiation Safety and Security Bill The explanatory memorandum of the Bill states that it is important to establish measures to protect

Dem boys seh...

individuals, society and the environment from the potentially harmful effects of ionizing radiation, including those that can result from improper use, accidentsormaliciousacts.

TheBill’saimistoprotect persons and the environment from the harmful effects of radioactive wastes It therefore is difficult to understand why the government, including the EPA, would be even entertaining applications for any kind of operations involvingradioactivewastes before the establishment of the proposed Radiation SafetyandProtectionBoard. The Board is supposed to have the powers to approve licensesandinspectfacilities dealingwithradiation.

T h e C a r i b b e a n Community (CARICOM) has long made known its objectiontothemovementof radioactive wastes through the Caribbean In 2011, the Caribbean Community called for an immediate cessation to the transit of radioactivematerialthrough the Caribbean Sea This practice was described as unacceptable and injurious. The then Chairman of CARICOM condemned the plans to move such wastes through the Caribbean Sea. He indicated that it compromises the Region’s ecosystemsandplacesatrisk thelivesofpeople.

The proposed plans to conduct operations on radioactivewasteinGuyana should be of concern to the Member States of the Caribbean Community

Dem Oil Companies is we friend!

Is wah wrong with

Glenn Lall? He nah know that dem oil companies are ah we friends. Dem nice, prapa nicetoGuyana!

Nah bother with dem wah saying that dem oil companies are thirsty fuh we oil. De ones we gat in Guyana are knights in shiningarmour Demcome hay fuh help we and not to helpthemselves.Demiswe trusted friends. We nah gat to check no bills. Dem nah gan juk out we eye. Dem honestandtrustworthy

Deagreementdemsign withGuyanaisagooddeal. Dem was very generous to handwedat2%royaltyand if dem claim it back pon

taxes, it nah matter to we becausewenahcollectany taxes in any case. So why areweworried?

Is good that dem shortchangingwe.Afterall is not a good thing to get rich too fast. Yuh does run into all kinds of problems like dem people wah win lottery and nah know how fuhinvestdemoney Yuh nah see how much jobs creating in de country We gat so much jobs that people advertising fuh workers because dem nah getting people fuh wuk. And dem wah getting wuk learningfuhwukhard.

And let’s not fuhget about safety The notion of oil spills or environmental

After all, most of the countries of the Region, including Guyana, have ratified the Protocols of the CartegenaConvention.

The government of Guyana should not be entertaining any application for the movement, storage and processing of radioactive wastes within Guyana. There is no reason why radioactive wastes p

exploration and pumping should not be processed offshore and away from the civilianpopulation.

Those who are involved in fighting to prevent radioactive waste coming onshoreinGuyanashouldup the ante and should educate the public more about the dangerstowhichtheycanbe exposed. Glenn Lall should provide them with an audienceonhisshow

D i s c l a i m e r : T h e opinions expressed in this column are those of the author They do not purport to reflect the opinions or viewsofKaieteurNews.

catastrophes is simply absurd. Why bother with costly oil spill protection measures when dem oil companies are experts in preventing disasters? Dem discover foolproof ways to defy the laws of nature, ensuring that no oil spill willeverharmGuyana. And why we gat to burden dem with trivial matters like taxes or ringfencing? Let’s face it, they are creating jobs, boosting the economy, and bringing prosperity to the masses. Surely, they deserve an e x e m p t i o n f r o m contributing to the welfare of the nation they so selflesslyexploit. Talkhalf.Leffhalf.

GHK LALL

Judicial wisdom of a certain kind

Judge Rishi Persaud's ruling on that specific matter that came before him will be pushedandpulledsixwaysto Sunday and indefinitely by Guyanese.

It will be scrutinised, scoured, and scourged; as well as supported too, but very softly since it is the illustrious judiciary in motion. AsIdiscernedit,the learned judge had one issue before him: to stay or not to stay What is interesting, even intriguing, is where he took what was appealed to himforrelief.

Forsure,Ithoughtthat30 days for Exxon to pony up with the necessaries (complying with Judge Kissoon's order) was on the stiff and steep side, if not draconian Still, if this American supergiant is half as perspicacious, and half as ahead of the curve, as I usuallyascribeittobe,thenit would have laid some of the pipeline (groundwork) that preparedittobereadyforany development, positive or

negative, as such relates to this new and hated monster, full insurance coverage; full coverage, that is, as in unlimited. It seems that unlimited caused Judge Persaud some uneasiness, lots of anxieties. Indeed, it does have that open-ended character about it, and could lay low should a real hard blow be delivered by a catastrophic oil spill development.

In some respects, Judge Persaud arrived at the same place, for his own or similar reasons, as the Government side of the National Assembly In the people's house, there was tremendous trouble, and much tortured syntax, relative to what was called the “unknown.” How togetclosetothat,whatdoes itrepresent? Whocandefine that, this unknown creature? In the immaculate judicial house, it was not unknown, but unlimited that prompted muchmassagingofthemind, and led Judge Persaud where itdid.

It is my belief that Judge Persaud'sdecisiononthestay has its merits, but he should have stopped right there, while he was ahead. Rule as he had to, and close out the proceedings. It would have imprinted itself on objective observers, as neutral, possessing the sagacious, and a job well executed. But when the noble Judge Persaud went into activism mode, I sensed some elements of palpable overreach.

Iamthinkingofthatgreat American jurist, Justice Antonin Scalia, who could compel any provision of the law to merge with his premeditated objectives or use any interpretation of history to give energy to his visions or draw any conclusions about what is originalist and what is textualist, to deliver a decision to embrace his philosophy On occasion, it was ideological, other times personal, still others

political. There were always thosetraceelements. Ihadto sayit.

Hence, I find myself reflecting in the aftermath of Judge Persaud's decision not so much about the stay, but why he saw it fit to venture into the unsettled waters of that US$2 billion money that has had a lengthyshelf lifeas somesortofguarantee. Why evengothere? Perhapsinthe judge's rarified way of weighing what came before him, he concluded that it would be helpful to have that sum as collateral, in a place that gives Guyanese confidence,evenwhatmakes Exxon look good, like a cooperative partner that is dealingwiththiscountryona principledbasis.

AsIseeit,Guyanaislike the Death Row citizen being given a cushion, a space to breathe, and the reassurance of compassionate reception to his pleas for help Regarding the 10-day grace period tendered, so that Exxon could scrape around for some loose cash, I thought that that was

r e v e a l i n g , smacked of what was a little staged, if not a little on the uncalled-for side

Exxon had that sum drawn from its petty cash, and only too ready to make express delivery Insurance, what insurance?

There is a guarantee in good ole American greenbacks Sowhythecacophonyandall this hullabaloo? Let's do away with that, please, shall we?

With that stroke of judicial pen and what is now judicial scripture, the US$2 billion guarantee is no longer this Loch Ness creature meandering in the political (Vice Presidential) realm of concoction and imagination. It is not what brother Jagdeo said, or wished for, or waited on; it is now as tangible as a bank manager's check in hand.

I really do like this judicial sheen introduced to that most controversial of issues (particularly the puny sum), and the lengths to which Judge Persaud went to

squeeze it, almost sideways, into his ruling. My only hang-up is why he felt it necessary to go into that minefield.

Thehang-upiscausinga hangover I close with this titillating inquiry: is the full parent company guarantee now capped at US$2 billion? We are afraid of “unlimited” but most comfortable with the limit of US$2 billion. And one more for the road: so, has “unlimited” now found a judicial nursing home in the princely amount ofUS$2billion?

As Winston Churchill would have said the unknownabouttheunlimited has led to the unusual, if not theunholy D i s c l a i m e r : T h e opinions expressed in this column are those of the author Theydonotpurportto reflect the opinions or views ofKaieteurNews.

Jagdeo to improve lives of impoverished families by creating jobs, training them

With a large number of G u y a n e s e s t i l l impoverished in an oil rich country, shortchanged by a bad Exxon deal, the government is now working towards improving their lives through job creation andtraining.

Reluctant to renegotiate a better oil deal, Jagdeo explained his government's job creation plan for improving the livelihood of poor families at his party's press conference held at Freedom House on Thursday

With his party hoping for a landslide victory at today's local government elections, Kaieteur News askedhimtoexplainhowhe will uplift these families out ofpovertyapartfromgiving them cash grants, should they vote for the PPP/C (Jagdeo'sParty)?”.

In his response, Jagdeo said, “So the cash grant was notdesignedtoupliftpeople out of poverty as you think, it's the jobs and the training and the expanding of the economythatwilldothat”.

Jagdeo explained that his government is working to ensure that poor families

Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo

are first trained, retooled then granted jobs that are created.

H e n o t e d t h a t government has already begun the process of creating jobs to improve the lives of impoverished families.

“The 14,000 (part-time) jobs went to poor people, a lot of women who are not working, the same people you are talking about, many are single parents so now that they can take care of theirchildren”,Jagdeosaid.

Another job creating initiativebythegovernment

according to Jagdeo, is h a v i n g t h e s e p o o r individuals clean drains in t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e communities.

“And then job creation in these communities itselfuntil we can move people through more training- that is why a lot of work that we aregivingout,wearegiving it back to the community You do community type of i n f r a s t r u c t u r e a n d involvement, people are cleaning their own drains so they get some employment opportunities”, the VP added.

Jagdeo prefers selling Marriott to single buyer rather than selling it to Guyanese in shares

By Shervin Belgrave

Vice President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday made it clear that his government prefers selling out the profitable Marriott Hotel to a single buyer rather than allowing the Guyanese people to purchase it in shares.

TheVPmade his position known at his Party's press conference held at Freedom House after Kaieteur News asked him if the government had ever considered selling the hotel to Guyanese in shares.

After giving a brief explanationofwhyheprefers asinglebuyer,Jagdeomadeit clear that his government is not going to change its decisiontoselltheMarriottto oneperson.

“…So we are proceeding with individuals (selling to a singlebuyer)”,Jagdeosaid. One of reasons for opting not to sell the hotel in shares, according to Jagdeo, is to avoid persons accusing him

ofsellingtooneofhisparty's associates.

“ and next thing, if somebody close to the PPP (his party) bought some of the shares, next thing you gonna hear Jagdeo sell some of the shares to a PPP person”, the Vice President told Kaieteur News In justifying his government's decision that it willbemoreprofitabletosell to single buyer, the VP questioned what would have

been the price per share if it had decided to take that route.

“Soyousawfromasingle investor what price we got and Kaieteur News wantedus to sell it for 55 (US$55M), the highest bid came in (US$90M), if from a single investor, you are going to get that, where do you think you gonnagetthepricepershare? What would you set the price per share at? What do you think price in your valuation should be? Should we set it 90 dollars (US$90) for the Guyanese or 55 dollars (US$55)?”

TheUS$55MthatJagdeo was referring to was the second highest bid placed for the Marriott during a first round of bidding that took place in April. That bid was made by local businessman, Robert Badal, the owner of the Pegasus Hotel but he was outbidded by an American businessman, Ramy ElBatrawi who has a shady p a s t T h e A m e r i c a n entrepreneur in 2010 was

barred from running a public company for five-years by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for being part of a US$130 million stock loan andmanipulationscheme.

Despite his tattered business record, he was allowed to bid for the Marriott during the first round placing the highest offerofUS$65M.

The government had halted the sale of hotel after that the bids were too low compared to the value of the hotel.

A new round of bidding was opened in May with a starting price of US$85M. Badal did not participate in the second round of bids but El –Batwari entered again with a bid of US$90M. His only challenger was a

Guyanese consortium who came in second with a bid of US$86.1M.

In seeking an update of whotheGovernmentwillsell the Marriott to, Jagdeo at his pressconferencesaidthatthe bids are still being evaluated by the relevant authority, the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited(NICIL).The (Continuned on page 14)

“Traffic congestion woes costly to commuters/country …OilSectordevelopmentcausinglots ofnegativeimpacttolives”-GlennLall

Within the last five years, the traffic congestion on the city's main access roads has doubled, if not tripled in number This increase of vehicular traffic is no doubt linked to Guyana's fairly new and developing petroleum sector

A petroleum sector with much prospect as Guyana's can mean profitability for the citizens but in this case, it has led to traffic build ups,lossofpreciousmanhoursand destruction of the main access roads with little to nothing to show forit.

This issue was brought to the fore by Kaieteur News Publisher, Glenn Lall during last Friday's airingofhisself-titledtheradioand social media broadcast, The Glenn Lall Show

During the programme, the publisher spoke candidly of the increase of vehicles, to wit, heavydutymachinery(trucks)thatcanbe seen plying the various routes on a dailybasis.

He explained that “The city of Georgetown is where engine of growth begins and ends Georgetown is not only the capital but it is the host for the movers and shakersofthiscountrytooperate.”

The businessman noted that every minute of the day, heavyduty trucks with oil equipment and container trucks with construction material - sand, stone cement - for the oil boom development running on the road and creating havoc in thecity

“As such, these trucks are damagingtheroads,isthisprogress oristhisahellhole?”Lallasked.

The publisher lamented that the time taken to get from one point of thecitytoanotherhasnowtripled.

“I use to take five minutes from my home to work; now I take 20 minutes. What becomes of the thousands of workers that are stuck in traffic daily, heading to and from work? Workers are late everyday which means man hours are lost which means loss of money and productivity…The people on the East Bank, East Coast and theWest side [West Bank and West Coast of Demerara] are spending more time in their vehicle trying to get home means less time spent with their family…While these people are stuck in traffic, they could have been doing something better for themselves,” the businessman lamented.

He stressed too that there are many other negative impacts to the

trafficproblem.

“Every driver knows, every passenger feels it, more time spent in traffic congestion sends up your stress level, causes frustration, and it even causes accidents since drivers lose their concentration. The situation on the road adds to your mental problems, being in traffic can drain your energy Even the environment suffers as it is being polluted with the increase of emissions due to the congestion on theroads,”hesaid.

Lall said that while Guyanese s h o u l d b e h a n d s o m e l y compensated for their oil resources arelosingonallsides.

“Time spent in traffic means more fuel you are burning whether in a private or public vehicle. It costs more and citizens have nothing to show it in return,” the Publisher added alluding to the lopsided oil contract that was allowed to suffice by the respective governments under the People's Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) as well as the A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) where Guyana barely getting a two percent royalty and left with the burden of hosting the oil companies.

“These heavy-duty trucks and containers not only add to the congestion but they are causing a destruction of the roads to service ExxonMobilandtheoilcompanies These heavy-duty vehicle exert more pressure on the road ways than the regular passenger vehicle due to their weight and size…And then who has to pay for it, the government will then tell you they havetoborrowmoreloanstofixthe roads again putting the citizens of thislandunderpressuretorepayit,” Lallreasoned.

He continued, “You have any idea what these container trucks andheavy-dutyvehiclearedoingto our roads. Heavy duty vehicle destroying the parapets where

there use to be some pot holes now the holes are bigger and it costing you to lose three ways, because if your vehicle drops in one of those pot holes, you got run to the mechanicorsparepartshop.So,we have a three-part issue, you have to findmoneytofixyourvehicles,the government has to borrow more loans to fix the roads and find money to fix back the government vehicles and who paying for it… taxpayersandordinarycitizens.”

Added to this, the Publisher said that when the oil company's vehicle gets damaged, Guyana's oil money is deducted to fix it. Lall therefore warned that unless Guyanese speak up against the abuse,thecyclewillcontinue.

Kaieteur News Publisher, Glenn Lall

Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo

The Marriott Hotel

Man wanted for killing murder witness captured in New Amsterdam

ASophia man wanted for the alleged killing of a murder witness in 2021 was on Sunday captured with an illegal gun at New Amsterdam, Berbice, RegionSix.

Berbice police identified him as John Kennedy better knownbyhisalias'BigJohn' of Lot 751, B- Field Sophia, Georgetown. Big John was reportedly nabbed around 10:00hrs by police ranks on mobilepatrol.

According to police, the ranks arrested him in the vicinity of Main and Church Streets, New Amsterdam after finding a 9MM pistol on him loaded with 15 live bullets.

B e r b i c e p o l i c e commander, Shivpersaud Bacchus, confirmed his arrest but was not in a position to say when he will be handed over to detectives at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for questioning in relation to the 2021 murder of a 21-yearold mechanic at Dennis Street,Sophia.

The mechanic, Jaleel Leow was gunned down at a woman's business place on August 3, 2021. He was reportedly one of the murder witnesses in the 2020 killing of Kevin Campbell that one ofthemenaccusedofkilling him was allegedly involved in.

Kaieteur News had

reported on August 4, 2021 that Leow, Campbell's brother, Brandon Smith and the Sophia businesswoman were hanging out in front of her shop on the afternoon of August 3, 2021 when two suspects approached them onbicycles.

Thesuspectsdismounted their bikes and one of them armed with a cutlass asked the businesswoman, “Is problem you want?” She had reportedly responded in the negative together with Leow and Smith before walkingintoheryard.

Leow on the other hand was not afraid to stand up to the alleged attackers as he retorted, “Y'all could get problemsify'allwant.”

The other suspect, according tpo police, then whipped out a handgun while approaching Leow from behind and fired severalrounds,twoofwhich impactedhisback.However, not satisfied with the two discharged rounds, the gunman stood over him and shot him two more times to thechest.

Investigators were told that Leow somehow managed to get up and escape but had collapsed in t h e b a c k o f t h e businesswoman's yard and died.

The gunman then turned his attention to Smith and firedashotathimtoobutthe bulletonlymanagedtograze

his right arm before he had anopportunitytoescape.

Leow's killers then rode away on their bicycles, but not before turning to businesswoman and saying, “We gon kill all y'all one by one. You gon be de las' one we kill.” Following Leow's death, police had identified three possible suspects by their aliases, 'Big John,' 'Double Clip' and 'Brainer' and issued wanted bulletins forthem.

Almost two years after, Leow was killed and the suspects were named; gunmen in a tinted car attempted to assassinate the businesswoman and her husband.

The attempted killing of the woman took place in Marchthisyear

The gunmen, according to reports, had stopped in front of the woman's grocery shop at 'B' Field Sophia in a tinted car while she and her husband were sitting outside chattingwithafriend.

Her husband recalled that three masked men armed with handguns came

out of the car and walked up to his wife and began shooting before re-entering thecarandescaping.

A police report had detailed that the husband received two gunshot injuries to his upper back, while his wife received gunshot injuries to her rightside face, two to her right armandonetoherleftelbow

It is unclear if police will question “Big John” about thisexecutionattempttoo.

Captured, John Kennedy also known as 'Big John'

Murdered: Jaleel Leow

Mental health must be top of agenda post-COVID-19

The Director of the Pan American H e a l t h Organization (PAHO), Dr Jarbas Barbosa, today urged leaders and decision makers to ensure mental health is placed top of political agendas and integrated into all sectors and policies, in order to address worsening mental health in the AmericasduetotheCOVID19pandemic.

“Thementalhealthofthe population of the Americas has been severely impacted

b y t h e C O V I D - 1 9 pandemic,” Dr Barbosa said at a media briefing today to launch the report, "and its effects on our lives, economiesandsocieties.”

While mental health has historically represented a significant source of disability and mortality in theAmericas,accountingfor nearly one-third of all years lived with a disability, the COVID-19 pandemic further increased the riskfactors for mental health

i s s u e s , i n c l u d i n g

unemployment, financial insecurity,andgriefandloss.

Despite the high level of mental health issues in the Region, the vast majority of thosewithaconditiondonot receivethecaretheyneed.In 2020, more than 80% of people with a severe mental health condition, including psychosis, did not receive treatment.

The PAHO Director highlighted that this lack of access to care is due to a variety of factors that predate the pandemic,

A stronger private sector could drive long-term sustainable and inclusive growth in the Caribbean

- World Bank Group Report

Bridgetown, Barbados, June 9, 2023: Small Caribbean countries can accelerate private-sector development—acriticalstep to fostering sustainable and inclusive growth by addressing key sources of vulnerability and improving the investment climate, according to a new report published today by IFC and theWorldBank.

The Caribbean Regional Private Sector Diagnostic (RPSD) identifies ways to reduce cross-cutting constraints to private investment, such as gaps in connectivity and skills mismatches, and break the region's current low-growth, low-productivitytrend.

In addition, the study e x a m i n e s t w o k e y sectors digital economy and renewable energy—in which greater private investment could contribute to export diversification and job creation, enhance productivity, and strengthen resilience to climate change andnaturaldisasters.

“The RPSD provides a roadmap to advancing reforms that will unlock the full economic potential of the Caribbean and further enable the private sector to become an engine for inclusive growth and innovation, including strengthening the digital economy and transitioning to renewable energy,” said Susan Lund, IFC's Vice President for Economics and PrivateSectorDevelopment, during a hybrid event in B r i d g e t o w n j o i n t l y organized with the Caribbean Development Bank(CDB).

of its

kind—covers 12 small or micro-states (Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados,Belize,Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago) that, despite their marked differences, have a similar culture, language, and geography, and face comparable development challenges.

T h i s c r e a t e s o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r collaboration and mutual learning.

“To realize the economic potential of the Caribbean, there is a need to bolster regional linkages and economic diversification and a move to greener and moreinclusivegrowth”,said Lilia Burunciuc, the World Bank's Country Director for theCaribbeancountries.

CDB's Vice President, Operations, Mr Isaac Solomon said the Bank sees private enterprise as “an essential factor in the sustainable development equation” as a vibrant Private Sector can build new industries, increase competitiveness in global markets, as well as spur economic growth, and job creation.

“We are gearing up to play a stronger catalytic role in generating private investment.

including: low investment, only 3% of countries' health budgets are allocated to mental health; a reliance on long-stay hospitalization when the majority of mental health problems can be resolved in the community; a chronic shortage of trained mental health personnel; and reduced access to services forthoselivinginvulnerable situations.

- PAHO says

community-based mental healthservicesandcare.

* Strengthen suicide prevention.

* Adopt a gender transformative approach to mentalhealth.

* Address racism and racialdiscriminationasakey determinant of mental health.

Development Framework, which is well advanced, CDB is aiming to facilitate the development of dynamic and internationally competitive, high-growth firms, drive higher incomes and increased economic resilienceatboththenational andregionallevels.”

As per the RPSD, leveraging digital services could be transformational in the region, repositioning itself in newer and more complexservices,enhancing the productivity of traditional sectors, and the quality and inclusiveness of p u b l i c s e r v i c e s Concurrently, transitioning to renewable energy can generate green growth, jobs, and diversified income, while mitigating the region's dependence on imported heavy fuels and reducing energy costs for key sectors suchastourism.

The private sector in the 12 countries analyzed faces major, cross-cutting constraints notably, gaps in trade policy, trade f a c i l i t a t i o n , a n d connectivity; skills mismatches; limited access to finance, especially for SMEs, and vulnerability to climate change—addressing which would foster an e n v i r o n m e n t m o r e conducive to trade, investment, and growth

Examples of policy recommendations to

To address these issues,

in May 2022 PAHO established the High-Level Commission on Mental Health and COVID-19. The Commission, which is made up of 17 experts from government, civil society, academia and those with lived experience of mental health conditions, was tasked with providing guidance to PAHO and its Member States on how to advance mental health in the Region during and after the pandemic.

The Commission's report, A New Agenda for Mental Health in the Region of the Americas, provides P A H O w i t h t e n recommendations for countries on how to improve mentalhealthcare:

* Elevate mental health at the national and supranationallevels.

* Integrate mental health intoallpolicies.

* Increase the quantity and improve the quality of financingformentalhealth.

* Ensure the human rights of people living with mentalhealthconditions.

* Promote and protect mental health across the life course.

* Improve and expand

* Improve mental health dataandresearch.

“Investing in mental health is crucial to promote equitable and sustainable human development for all to live with well-being and dignity,” Dr Epsy Campbell B a r r, C h a i r o f t h e Commission and former Vice-President of Costa Rica, said “We must remember that the mental healthburdenisnotaprivate struggle but a public health crisis that warrants urgent andimmediateaction.

“Today, we don't just launch a report; we launch a beacon of hope, a roadmap for change in how we view, treat, and prioritize mental health in the Americas. It is nowinourhandstoshifthow we approach mental health, especially in a global crisis that has profoundly affected it,” added Dr Nestor Mendez, Co-Chair of the Commission and Assistant Director General of the Organization of American States(OAS).

Mental Health in the Americas

Nearly one-third of all years lived with disability (YLDs) and one-fifth of disability adjusted life years (DALYs) are due to mental, neurological and substance

Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director, Dr. Jarbas Barbosa

useconditionsandsuicide. Depressive and anxiety disorders are the third and fourth leading causes of disability

Alcohol is responsible for 5.5% of all deaths in the Americas.

The Americas has the second highest level of alcohol consumption in the world.

Suicide claims the lives of nearly 100,000 people eachyear

The regional ageadjusted suicide rate increased by 17% between 2000–2019.

8 our of 10 individuals with a severe mental health condition do not receive treatment.

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, major depressive disorders increased by 35% and anxietydisordersby32%.

65% of countries reported disruptions to essential mental health and substance use services in 2020 This number has decreased to 14% in early 2023.

Jagdeo prefers selling Marriott to single...

From page 12 Marriott Hotel has been at the centre of controversy since it started under the Jagdeo administration when he was president Reportedly using taxpayers' dollars and with asyndicatedloanthroughtheRepublicBank Limited of Trinidad, the Marriott was built andopeneditsdoorsonApril17,2015.

no supreme benefit to the Government owningitanymore.

Jagdeo had continued by saying that within a few years, several hotels are expected to come on stream and in order to avoid competition, this is the best time to maximisetheprofitandsellthehotel.

According to Jagdeo, the proceeds of the sale is to be used, “to clear off the remaining loan and some of it will come back to the Treasury to be used back for whatever p u r p o s e i s d e t e r m i n e d ”

Notably, a decision by the former administration has resulted in US$1 1 million ($226 million) of taxpayers' dollars coming out every six months (since 2017) to servicetheUS$27millionloanfromthebank –fora13-yearperiod.

rivate Sector

We continue to position ourselves to be at the forefront of transforming the financing landscape, attracting more resources that will help to address many of the challenges facing our populations,” he explained “Through our new

strengthen the role of the private sector include harmonizing investment regimes, reducing skills m i s m a t c h e s i n

partnership with the private sector, fostering credit products for SMEs, and developing newfinancialinstruments.

Underthesyndicatedloanagreement,the preferred rights go to those investors –meaning that in the event of the hotel being unable to service the loan – the unknown investors would have the first lien on the proceeds of any sale Jagdeo, however, maintainsthattherearenosecretinvestorsin the Marriott and claims that the hotel was builtthroughanopenandtransparentprocess without any form of skullduggery or corruption.

With the discovery of oil in Guyana, the Marriott turned out to be a profitable venture and when the government decided to sell it, more controversial questions were raised as towhythegovernmentismovingtogetridof anassetthatismakingprofits.

Inexplainingthereasonbehindthemove, the VP during a press conference had said that while the hotel is making a profit, it is of

This was after the hotel was unable to service the loan. In order to prevent the hotel from being acquired by the bank, the former GovernmentinApril2017madethedecision to transfer the hotel's financial obligations to the Central Government. However, VP Jagdeo stated that while in Opposition, the People's Progressive Party (PPP) administration was opposed to the hotel's financialobligationbeingtransferred.

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Wanted! Male & Female workers for packaging pasta and sweets, required to work shift hours. Call: 611-7839.

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Goshen man dies after mining pit caves in

A 26-year-old man died on Sunday after a mining pit caved in on him in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).

The deceased has been identified as O’Neil Richardson, a resident of Goshen, Essequibo River.

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Reports are that Richardson went into the Puruni area in Region Seven to undertake mining detection. T

he man reportedly left the camp with his mining detector equipment early on Sunday and after some time elapsed, his cousin and other workers went in search of him.

His mining instrument was found sticking out of the pit while the walls of the pit appeared disturbed. His colleagues immediately started digging under the slush. Richardson’s lifeless body was later pulled from the pit and his relatives as well as the police at Bartica were notified.

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An aunt of Richardson described him as “very humble and caring.” She recounted that at Christmas time, he would voluntarily clean his relatives’ home in preparation for the season. He had no children, she noted.

Over the years, many miners lost their lives in miningrelated accidents, mainly cave-ins, within the hinterland. Richardson’s death is the first to be recorded this year within the gold industry; a bauxite miner attached to BOSAI Minerals died in

March after the bulldozer he was operating toppled into a pit at Linden. Hercules’ body was pulled from the overburden of the pit several days later. The Ministry of Labour subsequently commenced an investigation into the incident.

Ex-Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon released after arrest by police in party finance probe

(AP) — Former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who dominated politics in Scotland for almost a decade, was arrested and questioned for several hours on Sunday by police investigating the finances of the governing, proindependence Scottish National Party.

deeply distressing.”

“Obviously, given the nature of this process, I cannot go into detail,” she said in a statement on social media.

“However, I do wish to say this, and to do so in the strongest possible terms. Innocence is not just a presumption I am entitled to in law.

in Glasgow after his arrest in April.

It is highly unusual for a leader or former leader of a UK political party to be arrested.

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Police Scotland said a 52year-old woman was detained Sunday morning “as a suspect in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party.” She was “released without charge pending further investigation” about six hours later, the force said. British police do not identify suspects until they are charged.

Sturgeon said after her release that her arrest had been “both a shock and

I know beyond doubt that I am in fact innocent of any wrongdoing.”

The SNP said the party had been “cooperating fully with this investigation and will continue to do so. However, it is not appropriate to publicly address any issues while that investigation is ongoing.”

Scottish police opened an investigation in 2021 into how more than 600,000 pounds ($754,000) designated for a Scottish independence campaign was spent.

The last such case also concerned the Scottish Nationalists: Sturgeon’s predecessor as first minister, Alex Salmond, was arrested in 2019 and charged with a series of sexual offenses, including attempted rape.

He was acquitted on all 13 charges after a trial in January 2020.

Before that, in 1979, the former Liberal party leader, Jeremy Thorpe, went on trial, accused of conspiracy and incitement to murder.

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Two former SNP officials, Colin Beattie, who was treasurer, and Peter Murrell, who was chief executive, were previously arrested and questioned as part of the investigation. Like Sturgeon, both were released pending further inquiries.

Murrell is Sturgeon’s husband, and police searched the couple’s home

The man he was charged with trying to kill claimed they had a sexual relationship at a time when homosexuality was illegal. Thorpe denied his claim and was acquitted.

Sturgeon unexpectedly resigned in February after eight years as Scottish National Party leader and first minister of Scotland’s semi-autonomous government. She said then that she knew “in my head and in my heart” that it was the right time for her, her party and her country to make way for someone else.

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O’Neil Richardson

Julien Alfred has perfect ending to collegiate career with triple gold and national team title; Ackera Nugent wins epic hurdles clash

SportsMax - Birthday girl

Julien Alfred celebrated with three gold medals and a national team title as the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships concluded in Austin, Texas on Saturday night.

Within a span of just over 90 minutes, the St Lucian track star, who turned 22, won gold in the 4x100m relay, 100m and 200m to close a stellar collegiate career and make the case of being the greatest female sprinter in NCAA Track and Field history, according to winning coach Eldrick F loreal.

“Without a doubt the greatest sprinter in NCAA history,” said Floreal, who

guided the Longhorns to their first title in 18 years.

It would be difficult to dispute Floreal’s declaration considering what Alfred, who has lost once this season, managed to accomplish on Saturday.

She began the evening by leading the Texas Longhorn 4x100m relay gold in 41.60, the second fastest in NCAA history. Only the 41.55 they ran in the semi-finals on Thursday night is faster.

The University of Kentucky was almost a second behind in 42.46 with LSU third in 42.52.

Approximately, 50 minutes later Alfred stormed to victory in the 100m in a fantastic time of 10.72s that was only ‘ru-

Monday June 12, 2023

ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19)

Sometimes, it's amazing to see how your relationships can spin so easily out of control, Aries. Today you may have to deal with a lot of tension within your group. You'll almost feel as if no one understands the situation.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20)

You sometimes have difficulty making up your mind. You don't always know exactly what you want. Today, Taurus, you'll be at peace with yourself.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20)

Sometimes we all feel a little lost, Gemini. We often want to move mountains and use all our energy and enthusiasm to try to do so.

CANCER (June 21–July 22)

You have a natural ability to accomplish a great deal rather easily, Cancer. But today you may feel snowed under with projects. Things around you might be moving quickly.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22)

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

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Se pt. 22)

Today you'll have the strange feeling that something is floating in the air. The time is right to try to understand the different needs of your family circle.

ined’ by a trailing wind that was at 2.3 m/s, slightly over the maximum allowable limit of 2.00 m/s.

Oklahoma’s Kennedy Blackmon ran 10.87 to take the silver medal while Tennessee’s Jacious Sears clocked 10.94 to win the bronze medal.

Alfred’s Texas teammate Kevona Davis was fifth in 10.98s.

Forty-five minutes later, Alfred was at it again pulling off a dominant performance to win the 200m in 21.73, which was again blighted by a trailing wind of 2.5m/s.

Finishing in her wake was Ole Miss’ McKenzie Long who stopped the clock at 21.88s and Davis, who was

third in 22.02.

Afterwards, Alfred showered praise Coach Floreal, who helped her achieve success in her time at Texas.

“My coach has been my biggest influence in my life, my five years here at Texas,” she said. “Prior to beginning the championships, I went to speak to him, and he said let’s not focus on myself, focus on the team. That changed the pressure. It made a huge difference.”

Alfred wasn’t the only standout during these championships for Texas.

While the St Lucian was busy tearing up the track, Ackelia Smith, who Floreal also singled out for praise, followed up her victory in the long jump on Thursday night with a personal best 14.54m in the triple to win silver behind Florida’s Jasmine Moore.

The Florida freshman produced an NCAA meet record of 14.78m, a new lifetime best as well as facility record.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22)

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

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21)

You will find a clean page on the agenda today, Scorpio. You should try to think only about yourself. This will allow you to meditate about your life and be at peace with yourself.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21)

You will wake up today on cloud nine, Sagittarius. Your morale is at a peak. You will feel totally free and be able to clearly perceive the essentials of life.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) The

The astral energy will have you reminiscing all day long over childhood memories, Capricorn. These memories will take you to the houses and places where you were raised.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18)

You love interacting with people others might consider eccentric. You can't help it. You're simply attracted to them. You will probably encounter one of these people today, Aquarius.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20)

You have always tried to build up your health using traditional methods, and you take great care of yourself.

two-day-old facility and meet record.

Wilson was second in 49.64. Her teammate Nickisha Price, who is from Jamaica, ran a personal best 50.23 for third place. Price later helped Arkansas win the 4x400m title in 3:24.05 in a dominant performance over Texas A&M (3:26.12) and Ohio State (3:26.72).

In 2022, Lamara Distin dominated the high jump in Division 1, winning both indoor and outdoor titles while soaring to new height of 1.97m outdoors, a national record.

However, after equaling that height indoors earlier this season, Distin was unable to replicate that performance on

Saturday and it proved costly.

The Texas A&M senior could only muster 1.87m, a height not good enough to successful defend her title that went to Charity Griffith of Ball State who sailed over a personal best 1.93m.

Elena Kulichenko of the University of Georgia took the bronze having also cleared 1.87m but Distin was better on the count back.

At the end of it all and thanks mainly to Alfred’s 30 points, Texas amassed 83 points, 32 more than Florida (51) with Arkanas third with 46 points.

Oregon (44) and Texas A&M (36) rounded out the top five schools.

Ruta Lasmane of Texas Tech was third with 14.21m.

Perhaps, the race of the night was the 100m hurdles that featured the three best collegiate hurdlers this season – Arkansas’ Ackera Nugent, LSU’s Alia Armstrong and Kentucky’s Masai Russell.

With a strong wind of 3.8m/s behind their backs, a condition that usually makes it difficult for sprint hurdl ers, the three women running next to each in other in the centre of the track unleashed an epic battle that saw the Jamaican Nugent emerging victorious in 12.26s even after clipping the final hurdle.

Russell hit a hurdle early but managed to compose herself and storm past Armstrong and into second in 12.31. Armstrong, the fastest of the three, hit a hurdle mid-race, lost her momentum but managed to right herself and take the bronze in 12.49.

All season long Arkansas’ Britton Wilson dominated the 400m and was favoured to win gold, especially after dropping a lifetime best of 49.13 to win the SEC title in May.

On Thursday, she ran a fast 49.36 to win her semi-final, solidifying her position of gold-medal favourite.

However, someone forgot to tell Texas’ Rhasidat Adeleke, who produced a powerful surge down the home stretch to take victory in 49.20, a massive personal best which broke Wilson’s

History-making Djokovic claims record 23rd Grand Slam triumph

AFP - Novak Djokovic created history yesterday when he captured a recordbreaking 23rd Grand Slam title with a third French Open triumph, reinforcing his case to be crowned the greatestplayerofalltime.

The 36-year-old Serb brushed off an early wobble to defeat Casper Ruud of Norway 7-6 (7/1), 6-3, 7-5 and snap the tie of 22 Slams he shared with career-long rivalRafaelNadal.

“It’sanincrediblefeeling to win 23 I’m beyond grateful and blessed to be standing here with so many incredible achievements,” said Djokovic as Nadal immediately described his rival’s victory as “an incredibleachievement”.

Victoryforthethirdtime inParis,after2016and2021, adds to his 10 Australian Open titles, seven at Wimbledon and three at the USOpen.

Djokovicisthefirstman towinallfourmajorsatleast threetimesandisonceagain halfway to the first calendar GrandSlamsinceRodLaver

in1969.

“Your skill and unwaveringmentalfortitude on all surfaces is astonishing,”tweetedLaver

OnlyMargaretCourtand SerenaWilliamsinwomen’s tennishavemanagedtorack up 23 Grand Slam titles.

Court’s all-time mark of 24 will now be in his sights at Wimbledonnextmonth.

There is little sign of Djokovic slowing down. He is now the oldest French Openchampionbut11ofhis Slam trophies have now beenwonafterheturned30.

Today, he will reclaim the world number ranking and start his 388th week in topspot.

“Many congrats on this amazing achievement. 23 is a number that just a few yearsbackwasimpossibleto thinkabout,andyoumadeit! Enjoy it with your family andteam!”tweetedNadal,a 14-time Roland Garros winner who missed this year’s tournament through injury

Ruud added sportingly: “Novak, another day,

another record for you.And another day you rewrite tennishistoryonceagain.”

The sense of Sunday’s occasion certainly attracted sportsA-listers.

NFL legend Tom Brady watched from the Djokovic box, football stars Kylian Mbappe and Zlatan Ibrahimovic sat side by side in the VIP area which also accommodated former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, a regularthisweekend.

-Placeinhistory-

Djokovic was playing in his seventh French Open finalandboasteda4-0career recordoverRuud,nothaving lostasingleset.

However, the fourthranked Norwegian was the morecomposedofthetwoat thestart,sprintingoutofthe blocks for a 2-0 lead when Djokovic shanked an overhead.

Ruud, the 2022 runneruptoNadal,stretchedto3-0 and 4-1 before Djokovic retrieved the break in the seventh game when his opponent buried an easy

wins third

Grand Slam,

smash into the net with an opencourtbegging.

It came at the end of a lung-busting28-shotrally

Djokovicmissedabreak point in the ninth game, tumblingtotheredclayashe chaseddownaRuuddrive.

His frustration boiled over when he angrily accused umpire Damien Dumusois of rushing the p l a y e r s b e t w e e n changeovers on a heavy, humid afternoon in the Frenchcapital.

Fired up, he then raced throughthetiebreak,sealing the opener with a running forehand.

Tellingly, that was Djokovic’s sixth tiebreak at thisFrenchOpenandinnone of them had he committed a single unforced error in the 55pointscontested.

D e s p i t e b e i n g

Djokovic’s junior by 12 years, Ruud, who also lost the 2022 US Open final to Carlos Alcaraz, suddenly lookedspent.

Djokovicbrokefor2-0in the second set and despite Ruud saving two set points in the eighth game, the Serb movedclosertohisdream. Ruudsavedabreakpoint inthethirdgameofthethird set before Djokovic was hit withawarningfortakingtoo longbetweenpoints.

Buthewasn’tthrownout ofhisstride.

Djokovic broke for love at6-5andsealedhisplacein history when Ruud went wide.

Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen shatters 25-year-old 2-mile record

Yahoo SportsNorwegian runner Jakob Ingebrigtsenwongoldatthe Tokyo Olympics at 20 years old Judging from his performance Friday, Paris could be even better next year

With a previously unthinkabletimeof7:54.10, Ingebrigtsen, now 22 years old, shattered the world record for the fastest two milesinhistoryFridayatthe DiamondLeagueParismeet. Basically, he ran two sub-4minute miles, blowing away thefieldintheprocess.

Yahoo Sports – OlympicTalk - Iga SwiatekwonherthirdFrenchOpentitleand her fourth Grand Slam overall, pushed to a thirdsetinamajorfinalforthefirsttime.

Swiatek, a 22-year-old Pole, outlasted unseededCzechKarolinaMuchova6-2,5-7, 6-4onSaturdayatRolandGarros.Muchova testedSwiatek,theonlysinglesplayerinthe OpenEratowintheirfirstsevenmajorfinal sets.

She became the first player to take a set offSwiatekinthetournament.

Swiateklookedenroutetoanothermajor finalsweep,up3-0inthesecondset.Shethen committed 11 unforced errors (versus four

winners)overtherestofthesetasMuchova rallied back (with 10 winners versus 11 unforcederrors).

Muchova then won the first eight points of the third set. Swiatek, under the most pressure of her career on the sport’s biggest stages, passed the test The players exchangedbreaksofserve,andMuchovahad anotherbreakpointforachancetoservefor the championship, but Swiatek fended her off.

No woman lower than the 14th seed has beaten both world Nos. 1 and 2 at a Grand SlamsincetheWTArankingsbeganin1975. Muchova,ranked43rd,nearlypulleditoff.

Ingebrigtsen’s time brokearecordthathadstood for more than 25 years. Kenya’s Daniel Komen previouslyheldthetitlewith a7:58.61timesetonJuly19, 1997, the only other sub-8minutetimeinhistory

Kenya’s Ishmael Kipkurui finished second at 8:09.23, while Kuma Girma of Ethiopia came in third at 8:10.34.

The record was apparently something of a surpriseforIngebrigtsen,per his comments after the race viaOlympics.com:

ran the fastest two miles in history in Paris on Friday. Will he do it again next year?

“Beingabletomakethis record feels amazing. It is myfirstworldbestoutdoors.

“The pace felt very smooth for me, coming out of the 1,500. I would say it was a good race. The public was amazing; without their help, it would have been more difficult. I was a bit surprised about the time in theend.”

Ingebrigtsen first found stardom in 2021 when he captured the 1,500-meter

title in Tokyo, defeating archrivalTimothyCheruiyot ofKenyaforthefirsttimein 13races.

With the 2024 Olympics now only a year away, Ingebrigtsenwillonceagain be a name to watch, potentiallyinboththe1,500meter and 5,000-meter. He was planning to attempt the ambitious program in 2021 before dropping out of the 5,000 the week before the races.

Record breaker: Novak Djokovic celebrates a point against Casper Ruud (Emmanuel DUNAND)

Jakob Ingebrigtsen

(AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Iga Swiatek celebrate with trophy.

Iga Swiatek

French Open title, fourth

but this final was not easy

Vingegaard warms up for Tour de France defence de with Dauphine victory

AFP - Denmark’s Jonas

Vingegaard won the Criterium du Dauphine cycling race yesterday to warm up for his Tour de France title defence in three weeks.

Vingegaard finished second behind Italy’s Giulio Ciccone in the eighth and final stage to seal his 11th winoftheseason.

“It’sagreatresultforme. The Dauphine is one of the most beautiful races in the world, I’m very happy to havebeenabletowinhere,” said the Jumbo-Visma rider, who finished second last year behind Slovenian PrimozRoglic.

“I’ve never been alone, myteamhasdoneagreatjob throughouttheweek.”

The 26-year-old Dane, already winner of the Gran Camino and the Tour of the Basque Country in 2023, flew over the Dauphine, a traditional dress rehearsal

beforetheTourdeFrance.

Winner of two stages, including on Saturday at the top of the Croix-de-Fer, he finished with a 2min 23sec leadonBritain’sAdamYates with Australian Ben O’Connor third nearly three minutesoffthepace.

“I’m a little surprised by the gaps, I can only be very satisfied,I’mingoodshape. NowI’mgoingtorelaxfora few days and refine the preparation for the Tour de France,”addedtheDane.

On Sunday, he was content to control the race behindthebreakawayofthe day led notably by Julian Alaphilippe, on his 31st birthday

TheFrenchmanwasonly caught at the end of the Col dePortes,thepenultimateof the six climbs of the day, where Trek-Segafredo’s Cicconebrokeclear

In the gruelling final climb over 1.8 km at 14.2

percent, Vingegaard shook off the group of favourites but did not manage to catch the Italian climber who kept

JhanieleFowlerShinesOnceMoreas WestCoastFeverDefeatGIANTS inSuncorpSuperLeague

Clash

SportsMax - In an impressive display of shooting prowess, Jhaniele Fowler led the defending Suncorp Super League champions, West Coast Fever,toa72-61victoryover the GIANTS at the RAC ArenaonSaturday Fowler’s scoring prowess was on full display as she matched the GIANTS’ final score of 61 points,missingonlyoneshot throughoutthematch.

Contributing to the Fever’s success, Sasha Glasgow maintained a perfect shooting record, going three for three and nailing four super shots. By halftime, the Fever held a narrow37-33lead.

Despite Jo Harten’s 19 goals and the combined efforts of Matisse Letherbarrow and Sophie Dwyer, who both scored 10 goals, the GIANTS found themselves trailing by 10 points at the end of the third quarter

The Fever outscored them 21-15 in a dominant display

Although the final quarter was a more evenly contestedaffair,theoutcome of the match had already beendecided.

With this victory, their ninthoftheseason,theFever climbed to second place in theleaguestandings.

The New South Wales Swifts remain at the top of the table after a convincing 78-65 win against the Queensland Firebirds at the Nissan Arena Romelda Aiken-Georgeledthecharge fortheSwifts,rackingupan impressive 43 goals

oftheseason.

Despite Donnell Wallam’s 34 goals for the Firebirds, it was another defeat for the team, marking theirninthlossoftheseason, and leaving them in seventh placeintheleague.

23 seconds ahead. “The last 500 metres were terrible but the public pushed me,” said Ciccone, a three-time stage

winnerontheTourofItaly

“It’s a gift for my future wife,”addedtheItalian,who is due to get married next

week before the Tour de France, after having had to giveupontheGirothisyear becauseofCovid-19.

Brittney Griner and Phoenix Mercury team allegedly harassed at Dallas airport

BBC Sport - The Women’s National Basketball Association has c o n d e m n e d t h e “inappropriate actions” of a “social media figure” after Brittney Griner and her Phoenix Mercury team were allegedly harassed at Dallas airport.

released after 10 months in Russiancustody

The American, 32, was arrestedatMoscowairportin February 2022 for possessing cannabis oil and released in a high-profile prisonerexchange.

safetyofBrittneyGrinerand allWNBAplayersisourtop priority

upported by H

len Housby’s 17 goals, the Swiftssecuredtheir10thwin

In the meantime, former league leaders Adelaide Thunderbirdsslippedtothird place after suffering a close 56-54 loss to the Sunshine Coast Lightning at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.

Team-mate Brianna Turner tweeted they were “nervously huddled in a corner” because of “excessiveharassment”.

Turnerdescribed“people following with cameras sayingwildremarks”.

InDecember,Grinerwas

Griner returned to competitive action in May and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) condemned the league for not doing more to protect players, saying: “We could have and should have been moreproactive.”

The WNBA said: “The

“Prior to the season, the WNBAworked together with thePhoenixMercuryandBG’s team to ensure her safety during her travel, which included charter flights for WNBA games and assigned security personnel with her at all times “We remain steadfastly committed to the highest standards of security forplayers”

The Phoenix Mercury were in Texas for a WNBA match, losing 90-77 to the DallasWings.

Jonas Vingegaard (C) warmed up for his Tour de France defence with victory in the Criterium du Dauphine (Anne-Christine POUJOULAT)

Brittney Griner made her competitive return to the WNBA in May. (Getty Images)

Fowler scored 61 goals as many as the GIANTS scored in their loss to the Fever on Saturday.

Former National Champion carts off spoils in spoils Friendly Scrabble championship

Inwhatwasundeniablya show of raw grit and impeccable word-forming skills, former National Scrabble Champion, Michael Carter,amassedanimpeccable 5pointsandapositivespread of538,spellinghiswaytothe top prize in a specially organized tournament among other top players at the ‘Flavors,’ Charlotte Street, Georgetown, last Saturday afternoon.

Devon Dublin chalked up 4 points and a positive spread of 237 to finish in secondplacewhileWinslow Jacobs completed the podium positions after amassing 3 points and a positivespreadof347.

Carter, who has since migratedtotheUnitedStates ofAmerica,iscurrentlyback home on holiday and a committee, headed by another national player, Carlton Murray, organized thetournamentinhishonour

The former national champion commenced his journey to the top with a close win over Kamta Ramnarine (20). He then followed up with a comprehensive victory over Roy Sharma (106) before sweepingasideJacobs(144) in the third sitting. Carlton Murray was Carter’s 4th victim and he was disposed of by a spread of 95.Wayne Cavefarednobetterthanhis predecessors and he went downtoCarterbyaspreadof 73.

Dublinhasalwaysproven tobea‘silentassassin’andhis performance, which earned himthesecondplaceslot,was confirmative of the sobriquet

He defeated Curtis Liverpool (76), Robert Williams (90), Jacobs (93), and Ovid Williams (59) while Jacobs’ podiumpositioncameatthe expense of Michael Benjamin (171), Wayne Cave (88), and Kamta

Ramnarine (255) He faltered at the hands of eventualchampion,Michael Carter (144) and Devon Dublin(93).

Meanwhile, shortly after receiving his treasured accolade, Carter delivered a pep talk to the participants. He congratulated the organizersandvoicedthehope that the tournament would serveasaneffectivebolsterto the resuscitation of the sport. The charismatic player observed the high quality of play at the tournament and urged the organizers to press on in their efforts to establish thegameasaforceamongthe otherdisciplines.

Meanwhile, the head of the organizing committee, C a r l t o n M u r r a y congratulatedMr Carterand the other podium finishers on their respective victory even as he noted the competitiveness of the participants Mr Murray

voiced an objective of resuscitating the game to its former standard even

attracting other participants. Hedisclosedthatplansarein train for another tournament

shortly and urged players to continue practicing their game.

Action in the R e g i o n a l Conference tournament of the

ExxonMobil sponsored Youth Basketball Guyana (YBG)organisedevent,with support from Edward B Beharry, G-Boats GY, and the National Sports Commission, got off to a goodstartovertheweekend.

On Friday, June 9th at Marian Academy Court

Marian Academy scored 2pts to beat Charlestown

Secondary who failed to reply (0pts) in a Female encounter Player of the Game was PrincessBondwhorecorded

2ptsand5rebounds.

In a Male match-up, Marian Academy defeated TutorialHigh39ptsto18pts.

For the winners, Marion Fiedtkou had 16pts, 3 rebounds, 4 steals, Jaden Simon 13pts, 10 rebounds and Kaden Khan 10pts, 4rebounds, while for Tutorial, Michael Phillips 8pts, 5 rebounds and Yeeknahyah Yisrael 6 pts, 6 rebounds.

OnSaturday,June10that Saints Stanislaus Court QueensCollegewerebullish in scoring 51pts to run past SBCombinedwith23pts. For QC, Ezekiel Griffith shot 14pts and pulled down

10 rebounds, Owen Hooper 14pts, 3 assists, 6 rebounds and Francois Mayers 14pts, 5rebounds, 3 steals, while for SBC, Kadeem Beckles 9pts, 11 rebounds and Freddy Riicos 6 pts, 6 rebounds.

In the fourth game, Chase Academy beat St John’s College 35pts to 13pts. Chase was led by Anthony Vasconcellous 13pts and Jonathan Samuel and Paul Emmanuel 8pts each The Regional Conference is powered by ExxonMobil, with support fromEdwardB.Beharry,GBoats GY and the National SportsCommission.

Frompage23 studentsandparents.Inthe first semifinals, Port Mourant defeated J C Chandisingh by 39 runs. Batting first, Port Mourant scored 87 for 6 from their allotted ten overs with Romesh Bharat hitting 36 and Ravin Boodwah 19. BowlingforJCCSS,Sohail Shirkisson took 2 wickets for 11, while Faraz Moses, James Latcha, Nicholas Saul and Kemo Samsarran grabbed 1 wicket each. In reply, JCCSS reached 48 for 5 with James Latcha hitting20.

I n t h e s e c o n d semifinals, Lower Corentyne got past Corentyne Comprehensive by eight wickets. CCHS scored 43 for 4 from 10 overs with Joel Trim scoring 12 Lower Corentyne then achieved victory at 45 for 2 in 7.4 overs.

Berbice junior players Damion Cecil 15 and Ari Afrizal Kadir 17 not out were the principal scorers despite Joel Cort taking 2

wickets.

In the final, Lower Corentynebattingfirstafter losing the toss amassed 72 runs for the loss of four wickets as skipper Nyron Hicks stroked 28 and Damion Cecil 27. Off Spinner Mario Butcher took2wicketsfor6runsoff 2 overs. Needing to score 73runsfromtenoverstolift the trophy, Port Mourant Secondary struggled to 30 runs from six overs before aggressive batting from Ravin Boodwah 24 and Mario Butcher 18 led them to needing two from one delivery in the 10th over to win.

They could only manage a single. Damion Cecil was LCSS best bowler with 2 for 12 and Afraz Kadir 1 for 3 from oneover

In the super over, Port Mourant managed to score 10 runs with National player Matthew Pottaya scoring 7. Much to the disappointment of their numerous fans, LCSS only scored six runs from the

super over to lose by four runs.

Hilbert Foster, who is also President of the BCB, hailedtheonedayeventasa resounding success and urgedtheplayerstodevelop a formula of hard work, dedication and discipline. He told the attentive students that drugs destroy the human mind and that educationisthebestasseta humancanhave.

Special thanks were e x t e n d e d t o t h e management and staff of the GBTI for their support ofthetournament.

Branch Manager of the GBTIPortMourantbranch Andre Yhap stated that he wasdelightedatthesuccess of the tournament and the promotion of the messages tothelargecrowd.

GBTI, he stated, fully understands its duties as a public institution and would continue to support suchevents.

The four teams and the Man of the Finals received over one hundred thousand dollarsinprizes.

Action in the YGB ExxonMobil Youth Basketball tournament over last weekend.

It’s all smiles as the three podium finishers show off their wares. (L-R) Devon Dublin, Michael Carter and Winslow Jacobs.

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic poses with the trophy after winning the French Open and his 23rd Grand Slam as seen on his jacket. (REUTERS/ Kai Pfaffenbach)

Australia’s players can’t resist a photo-op with the Test mace. (ICC/Getty Images)

RHTYSC/BCB/GBTIInterSecondarySchool SayYes/NoCrickettournament...

Pundits slam Indian batting after WTC loss loss Port Mourant defeat Lower

History-making Djokovic claims record 23rd Grand Slam triumph

The winning Port Mourant Secondary School.