K
AIETEUR NEWS
Guyana’s largest selling daily & New York’s most popular weekly
'Rough waters for Guyanese fishers'
Thursday Edition May 05, 2022 - Vol. 15 No.18 Online: www.kaieteurnews.com Online Price $80 readership yesterday, 64,757 p. 19
…as Suriname orders downsizing of vessels, refuse to renew their licences
Govt. urged to do more to educate citizens on resource governance p. 3
...EITI Secretariat told to demand higher standards of transparency and accountability from Govt.
641 days: No cabinet media ..but President Ali says briefings Govt. accessible at all times GPL blames Contract signed for feasibility COVID-19 for study, design of blackout woes the Corentyne p. 13
p. 15
...but PUC record shows company performance woeful before pandemic
River bridge
p. 29
Jagdeo flip-flops on his own warning against oil and gas ...selects Exxon's clients consultancy firms to review US$10B project p. 14
VP Jagdeo when in Opposition accused the Coalition of being Happy Listen to Kaieteur Radio secretive in the oil sector. What is he doing NOW ?@11:00hrs on 99.1/99.5FM Arrival Day
Thursday May 05, 2022
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EPA orders Environmental Impact Assessment th for Exxon's 5 project -Stakeholders have 28 days to submit queries
F
ollowing its submission of an application to the Environmental Protection A g e n c y ( E PA ) f o r permission to undertake a fifth deepwater project at the Uaru oil field in the Stabroek Block, ExxonMobil Guyana has been ordered to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
In a missive seen by Kaieteur News, the EPA said the proposed project will be implemented in multiple stages which include the following activities: well drillings and completions, mobilization and installation of subsea equipment, umbilicals, risers and flowlines (SURF), installation of a floating
production, storage and offloading (FPSO) facility, production operations, and decommissioning. The agency said the proposed project will be undertaken in the marine offshore environment and would require land-based activities for support activities at marine shore bases.
EEPGL Blocks Kanuku Blocks Offshore Layouts
Offshore International Boundary Bathymetry Contours (m)
Location of the Uaru FPSO within Stabroek Block As a result of the intended developmental
activities, it said possible effects to the environment may include impacts on marine water quality, air quality, marine fauna, socioeconomic resources, among others. In keeping with the Environmental Protection Act and the foregoing impacts, the EPA has determined that this project may significantly affect the environment and will require an Environmental Impact Assessment before any decision can be made as to its approval or rejection. The EPA said citizens now have approximately 27 days to make written submissions to the agency, setting out those questions and matters which they require to be answered or considered in the EIA. In its project summary Exxon's subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EPPGL) which operates the Stabroek concession said the Uaru Project will be located in the eastern portion of the block, approximately 200 km from
Georgetown and amid previous Stabroek Projects. Current plans include drilling via drillships to produce oil from approximately 40-76 wells. Production is expected to begin between the fourth quarter of 2026 and the second quarter of 2027 with an expected field life of at least 20 years. EEPGL said the production facilities to be installed include subsea equipment attached to the seafloor as well as processing equipment on the ocean's surface known as a Floating, Production, Storage, and Offloading (FPSO) vessel. EEPGL said this subsea equipment is installed at approximately 1,450 – 1,950 m of water depth while noting that the main components of the subsea kit include the following: production tree, production manifold, flowlines, risers, and umbilicals. The subsea umbilicals, risers, and flowlines are commonly (Continued on page 13)
Kaieteur News
Thursday May 05, 2022
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Govt. urged to do more to educate citizens on resource governance ...EITI Secretariat told to demand higher standards of transparency and accountability from Govt. By Kiana Wilburg If Guyana is to steer clear of a temporary suspension from the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) Board when it comes up for a second review on April 1, 2024, it must implement a suite of corrective actions, one of which includes doing more to educate citizens about resource governance. The Board said too, that Guyana's EITI Secretariat must also do its part to demand high standards of transparency and accountability in government operations and in business. T h e B o a r d ' s recommendation follows its recent announcement that Guyana achieved a “fairly low” overall score in implementing its 2019 EITI Standard. The EITI's 2019 Standard requires that open data on natural resource income and contracts be a routine part of government and corporate reporting, while providing information to stakeholders in a timeframe and format that support widespread use in analysis and decision making. The Board which manages 55 member countries said, the overall
score of 52 points for Guyana reflects an average of the three component scores. These scores were given in the areas of: Outcomes and Impact, Transparency and Stakeholder engagement. To ensure that progress is made before the country comes up for review again in two years, the Board said Guyana is encouraged to explore innovative approaches to using the EITI platform and reports to inform public debate about natural resource governance and encourage high standards of transparency and accountability in public life, government operations and in business. Significantly, the Board said Guyana should ensure that EITI information is widely accessible, distributed and comprehensible, including by ensuring that it is written in a clear, accessible style and in appropriate languages and consider access challenges and information needs of different genders and subgroups of citizens. Expounding on this front, it urged Guyana to ensure that outreach events, whether organised by government, civil society or companies, are undertaken to spread
awareness of and facilitate dialogue about governance of extractive resources, building on EITI disclosures across the country in a socially inclusive manner. The Board categorically s t a t e d t h a t t h e communications strategy should include activities to encourage the analysis and use of EITI data disclosures. Furthermore, the Board said Guyana should agree on a clear open data policy on the access, release, and reuse of EITI data. The Board said Guyana's EITI Chapter should make EITI data available in an open data format online and publicise its availability. It said too that government agencies and companies are expected to publish EITI data under an open licence, and to make users aware that information can be reused without prior consent. To strengthen implementation, the Board said Guyana's EITI is encouraged to make systematically disclosed data machine readable and inter-operable, and to code or tag EITI disclosures and other data files so that the information can be compared with other publicly available data. Guyana was accepted as an EITI implementing
country on October 24, 2017. The first Validation of Guyana was scheduled to commence on April 25, 2020. Due to the transition to the revised Validation model, the Board rescheduled the Validation to commence on July 1, 2021. On July 9, 2021, the EITI Board approved Guyana's request for an extension to its Validation deadline to October 1, 2021. Guyana EITI collated documentation for Validation using the Boardagreed data collection templates on Stakeholder engagement, Transparency and Outcomes and impact. The files are available on the Guyana EITI website. The International Secretariat's Validation team prepared an initial assessment following the Validation procedure and Va l i d a t i o n G u i d e . I n
accordance with the Validation procedure, a public call for stakeholder v i e w s o n E I T I implementation was open from September 1 to October 1, 2021. Virtual stakeholder consultations were undertaken. ABOUT EITI The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) is a global standard for the good governance of oil, gas and mineral resources. It seeks to address key governance issues in the extractive sectors. The EITI Standard requires information along the extractive industry value chain from the point of extraction, to how the revenue makes its way through the government and its contribution to the e c o n o m y . This includes how licences
and contracts are allocated and registered, who the beneficial owners of those operations are, what the fiscal and legal arrangements are, how much is produced, how much is paid, where the revenue is allocated, and its contributions to the e c o n o m y, i n c l u d i n g e m p l o y m e n t . The EITI 2019 Standard represents an evolution of the foregoing transparency requirements demanded by the body. It is an improvement of the EITI 2016 Standard. The 2019 EITI Standard requires contract transparency for new contracts from 2021 as well as adherence to stricter requirements on environmental reporting and g e n d e r . (https://eiti.org/articles/eitilaunches-2019-eitistandard).
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Thursday May 05, 2022
Kaieteur News Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL-TEL: 624-6456 Editor: SHARMAIN GRAINGER Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210
EDITORIAL
Indian Arrival Day We arrive, but it is only at a spot on the map, a space in a physical place somewhere in this sprawling, scorching Tropics. For arrival means that there is readiness to move, to launch, oneself beyond the original place touched after that long oceanic emancipation. Similarly, Emancipation is not merely a release from physical restraint, it is the mentality that liberty is so free flowing as not to have any limits. Yet here we are still stuck in this irony of having arrived, of being emancipated, but still helpless trapped in self-made dungeons now almost escapeproof. Definitely, there is a history to what is encircled by this remembrance of a day overflowing with meaning from long years ago. It is a story worthy of telling and retelling of the great journey made, and of the thrilling picking up of selves by the bootstraps to lift up from the bottom, to rise to heights unexpected, but always to those areas which bring greater responsibilities. Like Emancipation, Arrival has to serve as the launching pad for venturing into the unknown, but possibly possessing some different promise. It is of what makes for a truly successful presence, a healthy environment, in a new place troubled by countless anxieties, the listlessness of a society that has so much, offers so much more to all. We (the arrived and emancipated, as joined at the hip) are too much in love with ourselves to appreciate that are still more sacrifices to be made, more journeys to be undertaken. These do not involve vessels and physical travels, but of a spiritual state that leads to unselfishness and wisdoms long so elusive. So much gained, yet so much more still to be gained. In a plural society, this is beyond the ugliness that has tainted us, taunts us, and reminds us that as much as we may believe we have arrived and moved on and up, we have not progressed by too many centimetres. Emancipation has done the same to us: set us free from harsh bonds and narrow boundaries, still there is so much liberty to be tasted. This is not even touched because we condemn ourselves into the limits of corners out of which we can't seem to find our way. In fact, with reflection and evaluation on the real state of Guyana, in the sum of its many different peoples and the selfsustaining injuries they continuously nurse, we know what is best, but are contented with where we are. For these reasons, and others left alone on this day filled with so much grace, it is how we refuse in our stubbornness, despite our dreadful unhealing sores, to try the bona fide medicines, those with some hope of a lasting cure. In terms that all can understand today, regardless of whether they came in open boats, or those with chains and whips as inseparable parts of their journey of misery, an old world with a lot of the familiar was left behind. It was to see and experience all that a hoped-for new world would bring, could offer. Much was given up, ties were ruptured, so that more can be had, and as impossible as such a dream may have seen or been to others, it was embarked upon, braved. Yet what must be dared today with measured temperament and courageous vision, if not spirit, we shrink from, because we have arrived, and that is all there is to it. We have been emancipated from the horrible past, and it is all the freedom that we wish to know, that we can conjure. This is the contradiction of Guyana, be it today in May, or another early day in August. The full sum of our national success will only be harvested when we embrace the totality of the odds overcome before, the duty that the places we occupy today place before us. We know of caste, and we have been hurt by tribe, but neither was allowed to get the better of us. True Arrival, real Emancipation, will only come and flourish, when we revisit the strengths of our history, so that we can take the first baby steps to remake our future.
Editor’s Note; If your sent letter was not published and you felt its contents were valid and devoid of libel or personal attacks, please contact us by phone or email.
Feasibility study needed for Govt-planned airport at Rose Hall DEAR EDITOR, T h e G u y a n a Government recently announced some major development plans for Region 6. These include the building of: hotels, a stadium, a private hospital, a deep-water harbour and a Eugene F. Correia-sized International Airport. These are all very interesting plans and I wish them every success. Of note, is that except for the building of the airport at the Rose Hall Sugar Estate, these ventures will all be undertaken by private investors. This airport will have to be built by the Government, using the t a x p a y e r s m o n e y. I n November 2001, Trans Guyana Airways launched scheduled, Tuesday and Thursday flights between Ogle and Rose Hall. The morning flights left Ogle at 06:45 hrs and Rose Hall at 07:15 hrs. The return flights left Ogle at 15:45hrs, arriving at Rose Hall at 16:15hrs, with the aircraft returning to Ogle at 16:45 hrs. (https://www.landofsixp eoples.com/news/nc111213. htm). These Ogle/Rose Hall flights did not continue for a long period as there was a lack of customers using the service, making it unprofitable, even though the costs were $4,500 for a one-way ticket and $8,000 for a return ticket. Building a Eugene F. Correia-sized and type of
airport is a major investment, which needs careful consideration. This needs to start with a feasibility study, especially as a major, local, private airline has already tried and discontinued this route. Further, the Government needs to have pivotal discussions with the aircraft operators at the Eugene F. Correia airport. This will give the Government insight as to what makes this airport a success and if this success can be replicated at Rose Hall. The president of the Berbice Chamber of C o m m e r c e , M r. Ry a n Alexander, is quoted as s a y i n g , https://www.stabroeknews.c om/2022/04/18/news/guyan a/berbice-chamber-buoyedby-airport-announcement/: “If you do a survey of Guyanese travelling back and forth from North America, you would see that a large percentage is from Berbice. They have long complained about the distance and the traffic buildup in and out. (So for) East and West Berbice residents, we see that as one of the options of reducing (travel) time into Guyana and our ease of travelling. We are happy for this type of infrastructure, which would see a free flow not only for us but investors and (other) business persons. They can fly in, be at the area and make
decisions and be back out without this long travel to get back to their destination. This would open up gates, doors, and avenues for the world to zoom in on Region 6 (in Guyana),” This comment clearly indicates that no survey or feasibility study has been done. Therefore, no one knows how many international travellers will be expected to use this airport. Additionally, no one knows how many airlines will be willing to use this facility. However, we do know
that this type/size of airport cannot facilitate the larger aircraft, which will be used on the longer routes, eg. New York, London, Canada. For international travel, the time taken to switch to/from smaller planes at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) and fly to/from the Rose Hall Airport must be compared to the length of the drive from the CJIA to/from Berbice. Local travel between the Rose Hall Airport and the Eugene F. Correia Airport (Continued on page 5)
Arrival in Solidarity Dear Editor, With the guidance of our ancestors, we arrived In solidarity we stood upon these shores As one people with a common root As one people united in our shared heritage Nothing divided us, no partition of our home With the guidance of our ancestors, we overcame Together we united and succeeded In solidarity we rise once again As one people whose homeland is shared Mother India, your children are here In solidarity we excel as a people Holding fast to your teachings Holding fast to our culture Holding fast to our new shores With the guidance of our ancestors We the descendants of your soil Mother India we will forever rise to your call Guyana is where we have rested It is where we have grown From your womb to our new home Dedicated to my Indian Guyanese Brothers and Sisters. Happy Arrival Day! Best wishes, Mr. Jamil Changlee Chairman The Cooperative Republicans of Guyana
Thursday May 05, 2022
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Confront your fears alone and walk confidently DEAR EDITOR, Many years ago I shared an article in our newspapers in Guyana about a near brush with death I encountered as a young child. We had a fish pond in our backyard that was quite deep. I am from Half Mile/Canvas City. In the 70s it was a forested area with swamps. Looking back I can now appreciate its beauty; it was nature in its purest form. Earth worms were in the ground, the beautiful woodpecker penetrated the trunk of the tree and butterflies and palm flies were everywhere. I was very afraid of snakes but there were so many different species. Turtles with old shells and African bees; it was nature as if the very Amazon blanketed that area. I was about 6 or 7 years old and remembered laying on my belly at the edge of the pond with what we called a busy busy in my hand trying to poke the fishes. I fell in. I went down twice, struggling, choking and horrified. I was drowning. My mothers strong hands grabbed me as I was about to go down the third time, perhaps, never to resurface alive. She pulled me to safety. That experience and the trauma that came with it made me afraid of creeks.
There were things that were inevitable in my boyhood years and swimming in creeks was one of them. I recalled going to Dread Creek located off the train line between Silvertown and West Watooka. It was deep; one level deep. It was a dug out square of clay with crystal clear water. I would go there to watch others swim but never ventured in because the watery deep unlocked the ID in my psyche where the trauma of near drowning was lodged. Adults sensed fear in children and in a society where boys had to be men armoured with courage and bravery, someone lifted me and threw me into the deep. That is how I learned to swim. I got out spluttering only to be lifted and be thrown in a second time. That did not assuage my fear or removed the deep seated trauma. I continued to go to creeks only to swim in the shallow amongst many; fear did not permit me to swim alone. I had to find me and kill that fear that crippled and restrained me. One day after school, I was in my second year at secondary school, I went to Paddy Creek located in West Watooka. It was a beautiful
Feasibility study needed... From page 4 (including the time for pre-and post-flight procedures) must be compared to the driving time between Berbice and Georgetown (approximately 90 minutes). Should the airport prove not to be feasible, perhaps
the money should be spent building a four-lane highway with a speed limit of 100km/hr from Georgetown to the Berbice River Bridge. That will certainly reduce the present driving time for the trip. Respectfully, Jonathan Yearwood
creek with a shallow part where the fishes were bountiful dancing beneath clear the water. The creek had a curve that disappeared into the deep end and not visible to the point of entry. As you swam around the corner there was a strong current that had to be surpassed to arrive at a fallen tree where people rested; it was a sort of private place where only brave and confident swimmers ventured. I got there alone on that day. It was a day where I had to confront the trauma and
that crippling fear; that kind of fear that caused you to dream of drowning over and over again in your sleep. I swam to the point where the creek turned the corner and the current was strong. Fear gripped me but I continued. Nothing is more frightening than when you get to the deep end in a place you have never ventured before. I was alone. I wanted to give in. I wanted to turn back but I saw the tree and went for it. I was shaking as I struggled to sit on it. I was alone and had to
swim back. That was when survival kicked in. When life over death took precedence. When fear had to be casted aside to usher in the feeling of triumph. I had to get back to the front. I had to go home to eat. I had to go to Sports Club Fair and other parties. I had to see a girl I liked and friends that made my youth meaningful. I plunged in and swam effortlessly back. The fear was left on the log I swam towards. I walk this life having to be fearless and confident when I feel the odds are
against me. When I felt I was inadequate. When I was scared to write or speak because I believed I was not good enough. I write and speak nevertheless. As long as I live I will be me and I will not be afraid. I will not be afraid of myself or what others think of me. At the end of it all you have you. Make the best of you. Walk tall and confident even if you are rising from a fall. Norman Browne Social and Political Activist
Societal Decline DEAR EDITOR, Too often while doing my routine browsing of the online press, I am shaken by the reportage of gruesome diverse murders stretching from interior towns, mining areas and the coastland. Simple coping mechanisms to resolve issues seem to be dwindling. Some murders such in a simple robbery baffle the mind. Why? I dont have all the answers. But what is happening in Guyana appears to be mirror image of what is taking place in the US especially in New York City. Such pattern of depraved behaviour is one of the markers of the true health of a nation. In 1967 a regular columnist Lucian made an “unbearable disgust” reference which alluded to deep structural malady; also documented in the Integrity Commission Report, which concluded: “Guyana needs a new moral vitality. A fresh flow of values must now be infused into
the life-stream of society, revitalising its sinews. Indiscipline, inattention, discourtesy, all symptoms of malaise, of inertia, fraud and other corrupt, immoral and dishonest acts the cumulative effect of all these social ills, which are manifest in the public sector bodies seriously hinders progress.” (quoted from Cheddi Jagan: Forbidden Freedom) Now I see a darker side emerging somewhat similar to the Report a streak of misanthropic individualism which mocks the efforts of
others who strive to engender a more amiable and sustainable life for all. I venture to say that if we examine our deepest beliefs, you will find that we are basically governed by a spirit of mutual respect and good will towards one another. And we share many precepts of universal good behaviour. One observes this every day when people of diverse backgrounds tell of their aspirations, their concern for their family, their love and pain which are common to all humanity. Our code of
behaviour call it ethics that we share globally is due in the main to a sense of decency reason, common law, honour, respect. We are more similar than dissimilar. Every person strives for the same imperatives of security, freedom, dignity, apart from the basic fundamentals of life roti, capra aur makan. Let us strive for and share a collective dream of a lost agreeable nirvana. “All are involved”; otherwise “all are consumed”. Yours truly, Gary Girdhari
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Holding the government accountable DEAR EDITOR, Holding the government accountable is not the same as working to bring down the Government. Holding the government accountable means that they will be working in the best interest of Guyanese. Is the PPP/C Government of Guyana working in the best interest of Guyanese with regards to the ExxonMobil/Guyana oil contract? Is the Government working in the best interest of Guyanese with regards to gas-to-shore pipeline
project and Amaila Falls Hydroelectric Scheme when it chooses to ignore Civil Society and push ahead with these projects without up-todate FEASIBILITY Studies? There are other areas in which the PPP/C Government of President Irfaan Ali needs to improve. Like consultations with the Leader of the Opposition and negotiation with the Unions in awarding pay increases. Improvements can be made. For starters, the State Media in the form of NCN and Guyana Chronicle can be
privatised. Why does the Government need these propaganda behemoths to tell themselves they are looking good? Also, FEASIBILITY STUDIES on mega projects needs to be done - this is a no brainer. Then, there is the renegotiation of the ExxonMobil/ Guyana oil contract. Guyanese deserves a better deal. Civil Society needs to be more active in pushing for these issues to be addressed by the Government. Yours Faithfully, Sean Ori
Indian community must be congratulated for its massive strides DEAR EDITOR, As we celebrate Indian Arrival Day (IAD), it is appropriate that all of us, irrespective of race, colour or creed congratulate the Indian Community for the massive strides they have made since arriving here in 1838 to supplement the labour force as a result of Emancipation. Indo Guyanese, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhist and Christians have by diligence and hard work climbed with distinction to the highest rung of the ladder in the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. From the time of their arrival they were faced with the harsh conditions practiced by the plantocracy whose only concern was making fabulous fortunes from the labour of those who worked on the sugar estates. I grew up in the southern part of Georgetown and
alongside my parents, mingled lovingly and respectfully with Indo Guyanese, whether they be Hindus, Muslims Buddhist or Christians. In a plural society they have set good examples in the Arts, Sport, Culture Industry, their professions, academia, media operatives and politics. Their virtues are good examples for all to emulate. A virtue that needs to be noted is how the earlier Indian Immigrants practiced deferred gratification and how later they willingly and quickly embraced education, and the trades learnt from the Manumitted Africans. This mingling I can attest has produced in every region, what I term those delightful douglas. On this day, as we congratulate all Guyanese but in particular Indo Guyanese on Indian Arrival
Day, let us not ignore vital lessons, history offers. From earliest inhuman history, without exception, every group produced the quintessence of goodness and the nadir of evil. This remains the challenge of our species. As I prepared this note, I remembered the story of Ali Baba and the thieves; a story of greed, and goodness, a story of loyalty and disloyalty, a story of honour and dishonour. These qualities emerged when sudden massive wealth was discovered in a cave. As we celebrate today, let us not ignore the small numbers, who may tarnish the good name of the majority of their kith and kin. On behalf of my family and myself, Happy and peaceful Indian Arrival Day! Hamilton Green Elder
AFC mindful of veiled and open attempts to silence criticism of present Administration DEAR EDITOR, On Tuesday, Guyana joined the rest of the world in observing World Press Freedom Day under the theme, “Journalism Under Digital Siege”. This is especially relevant in todays context where anyone with access to the internet and a keypad is free to publish for public consumption, their opinion on any matter with little attention to basic principles of journalism. The digital age has allowed the real time flow of information. Technology has allowed journalists to reach their audiences as a story happens and has expanded the world of information to the fingertips of every citizen.
As a nation, we have come a far way in promoting and ensuring freedom of expression and the right of journalists to seek and publish information in the publics interest. This freedom must not be taken for granted. Never again must we degenerate to the stage where journalists are suspended for questioning public officials or be banned from press conferences hosted by government officials because they have published the truth or asked searching questions. Never again must advertising be withheld by a government because a media house publishes information critical to a government. Under the APNU+AFC
coalition government, there was resurgence in press freedom and freedom of expression. This period saw possibly the greatest level of unhindered criticism of a government by both the established media and individuals. This is as it should be! The Alliance For Change is especially mindful of veiled and open attempts to silence criticism of the present Administration and will repel such attempts with all its energies. The AFC fully subscribes to the principles of journalism, strongly supports the right of individuals to question their elected officials and for their voices to be heard. Regards, Alliance For Change
Thursdayday May 05,2022
The NIS and its future viability DEAR EDITOR, As if in anticipation of the recognition of Labour Day in Guyana, observed in Europe, North America and elsewhere as International Workers Day, our Vice-President announced that there could be no help given to the National Insurance Scheme, established in 1969. One wonders how many today recall the preceding Workmens Compensation Act which provided for compensation for injuries at work. It is hardly appropriate to use the expression beneficiary, but the records would show that during 1950s-60s up to 28,000 thousand sugar workers (permanent and part-time) were at least partially compensated for the numerous injuries reported across estates. As young Personnel Officers in Bookers Sugar Estates we were preoccupied with processing claims for payments for injuries on behalf of the abundance of field workers in particular, including for injuries during transportation into the backdam. As it was a time when there was not yet guaranteed employment out-of-crop there was the prevalence of selfinjury applied by local doctors in order to earn some compensation. Too often claims of back injury were difficult to dispute medically. So that we Personnel Officers had to persuade our colleague Field Managers to find light work, often an imaginative exercise. Then there was further dispute even when the Estate Medical Officer declared the worker fit for work. So it can be appreciated how intense was the recordkeeping of injuries by the Personnel Department which would have one or more Workmens Compensation Clerks. Of course the situation improved substantially first with the introduction of a guaranteed three day work week during the out-of-crop period. Then there was the introduction of medical certification of fitness as a condition of employment, later bolstered by annual
medical examination for all categories of employees including executive Directors, a development which set a very positive example. As if the foregoing was not enough Bookers Sugar Estates introduced in 1964 the first Contributory Hospitalisation and Maternity Scheme in the country insured initially by the internationally known American Life Insurance Company based in Wilmington, USA. Initially all monthly paid, then followed weekly wage earners were registered in the scheme which had become self-financed. So from the time the NIS was introduced in 1969, sugar workers became its biggest customers. However, as a result of the volume of claims from a workplace of some 23,000; management introduced Industrial Welfare Officers in the late 1960s to monitor safety in the field and factory. The NIS however insisted on their own Field Officers checking estates medical records, as part of the process of verifying accident claims/statistics. Indeed it is not unlikely that sugar workers would have been the largest group of participants of the NIS up until the recent closure of estates. So that the history shows that perhaps the sugar workers could well be one of the largest collectives of beneficiaries from an upgraded and more financially viable NIS operation. In 2022 however, the Public Service outnumbers any other employer, with its total of more than 25,000 employees. But the one area in which cannot match the sugar industry is in respect of retirement long established in the latter at the age 60 years. Notably it is in regard to this particular condition of employment that the protesters in France observed International Workers Day (Sunday 1st May, 2022) objecting to the re-elected Presidents proposal to raise workers retirement age from 62 to 65 years. Once again to note that in
Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago and the British Virgin Islands the retirement age for civil servants is 60 years. It is 65 years in Bermuda and 66.5 in Barbados. Organisations within the United Nations retire staff at 62 years. In South Africa the current retirement age is 65 years. Our NIS recognises and remunerates pension at age 60 only. Meanwhile, our Public Servants are officially required to retire at the age set for expatriates in the colonial era 55 years. Every political administration since independence (and moreso since 1969) has ignored the substantive contribution gap related to public servants who must retire at 55 years, not necessarily being able to continue payment of both employer and employee contributions until age 60. It is arguable that any subsequent improvement in the financial viability of the NIS through retirement at 60 years could benefit pensioners generally, including of course employees of the sugar industry. Reference is made to the Pensions Act Chapter 27:02. Meanwhile, it has to be borne in mind that the Scheme supports medically certified disabilities, as well as provide maternity benefits for an increasingly female workforce. So that in the final analysis it is the organisations customers about whom consideration should be urgently given, dependent as they are on the Schemes contribution to their health. With regard to the above, it would not be totally irrelevant for the VicePresident to insist on the NIS submitting for examination, records of related oil and gas agencies, as well as other (non-diplomatic) foreign organisations that are registered with the Scheme. For submission to the Board, NIS. E.B. John Human Resources Director (Retd) Bookers Sugar Estates Ltd Guyana Sugar Corporation
T N U L B . . . T B N U T L N B T . U . L . L T B . . N . U N U T L N B . U T . . L N N U T B . U . N . L U BL BLUNT B . . T . T T N N U . U L MEDIA CONFERENCE JOKE!! . . L B . T B . . . . N . T U T N N T U N U L L U B . L B . . . . B . T . . T . N N T U N L LU U B . N L . . U B T . L . . N B T . U . . N L T U B . N L U T.. UNT...B L N B . . U . L T B . N L . . U B . T L . . N U NT LUNT...B L U B . L . . B T . . . N B . T . U . N L T U B . N L . . U B T . L . . N B T . U . . N L T U B . N L . . U B T . L . . N B T . U L . . N B T . U . . N L T U B . N L . . U B T . UN .BLUNT.. UNT...BL T...BL N L . . U B T . L . . N B T . U . . N L B T . U . . N L T U B . N L . . U B T . L . . N B T . U . . N L B T . U . . N L T U B . N L . . U B T . L . . N B T . U . . N L T . U B . . N L T U B . N L . . U B T . L . . N B T . U . . N better next T BBL T...BLWeUawait U N L year. U B . L . . B . T . . N N T T L U U N L L U B U T...BLU B L . . N . B . T . . N T U N N N U L U U B L . BL TLUNT.. UNT...B BL Thursday May 05, 2022
Kaieteur News
So the farce, dubbed media conference has concluded. We call it a farce, because that is exactly what it was. Two days of splurging of taxpayers' money. What did it accomplish other than giving the minister in charge Kwame MCoy and his sycophants a stage to palaver? We noticed that the organisers went to the highways and the byways and simply say…”whosoever will may come.”
So we saw in the audience receptionists from the state media entities; drivers; accounts clerks, school children, cooks and all and sundry- some with no interest in media work, but they were all there.
What shocked us most was a panel on the final day with the Guyanese Critic, who can hardly string together a sentence and a woman who goes around saying she promoting Guyana, lecturing people about media. What a big joke. Our credible media colleagues who managed to stay through that farce, we tip our hats to you.
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Kaieteur News
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Thursday May 05, 2022
Enabling our forests to help us overcome multiple crises OP:ED
By QU Dongyu (Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations)
Thursday May 05, 2022
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Kaieteur News
Beware of the Trojan civil society organisations! Guyana needs stronger and more vibrant civil society organisations. Had our civil society been stronger, there was no way that the countrys main political parties, the PNC/R, the PPP/C and the AFC, could have escaped public sanction for their indifference towards renegotiation of the oil contracts. Ironically, it is a handful of civil society organisations and personalities, including this newspapers publisher, Glenn Lall, that have been spearheading efforts to call the government to account in relation to the management of the oil and gas sector. But these civil society organisations lack the moral authority to criticise anyone much less the government. For five months when the country is at standstill due to the blatant attempt at rigging the elections, these so-called civil society organisations refused to come out and condemn the attempt to distort the result of the elections. Most of them turned the proverbial blind eye to the blatant plot to return Guyana to political dictatorship a development which more than anything else threatens the freedom of civil society. Guyana was on the brink of becoming a pariah state. It would have been an international outcast and internally the rigging would have granted a licence to the government to run roughshod over peoples freedom and rights. Yet, not a squeak was
heard from some of these organisations. But now that the PPPC has returned, they are very vocal a development which will lend to the perception that these so-called civil society organisations are more anti-PPP than proGuyana. Some of them have now come together to constitute what is now called the Policy Forum. It recently came out against the appointments of two members of the Board of the Natural Resource Fund. Policy Forum criticised the appointment of UK-based David Lammy and New Yorkbased Carolyn Rodrigues. Its criticism was based because they were non-residents but because of their current occupations. Lammy is a member of the British parliament and Rodrigues is Guyanas Permanent Representative to the United Nations. Policy Forum questioned how Lammy, having sworn loyalty to the Queen, can avoid being in a conflict of interest. In relation to Rodrigues, it disingenuously said that Guyanas foreign policy is skewed in favour of the extractive industry. Interestingly, it did not criticise the private sectors representative on the Board. Surely, the private sector is even more skewed towards the extractive sector than governments foreign policy. But this shows the glaring contradictions of Policy Forum and its desperate attempt to manufacture criticisms for the sake of publicity.
What was most revealing was that Policy Forum did not criticise the appointment of the Chairman of the Board, even though he is employed with the same government that employs Carolyn Rodrigues. So why did the Policy Forum avoid criticising the appointment of the Chairman? This column had pointed out that the Natural Resources Fund Act (NRFA) governs the management of the Fund and appoints to the Board. The NRFA requires that the Fund be managed in accordance with the Santiago Principles. One of those principles is that the governing body (the Board) should be so structured to allow it to exercise effective, independent and objective judgment. The Santiago #16 is explicit that the governance framework should be independent of the owners of the Fund. In our case, the owners of the Fund are the government. This column had pointed out that two of the recent appointees were employed by the government. One, the Chairman, was at one time listed as the Special Assistant to the President of Guyana and, up to the time of his appointment to the Board, was employed in the Office of the President. The other, Rodrigues, as mentioned above, holds one of the top diplomatic appointments in the country. Policy Forum opted to criticise the latter and not the
Dem boys seh...
De people get leff high and dry De Opposition leader worried bout de ordinary citizens not benefiting from de oil revenues. But wat oil revenues he talking bout de 2 percent royalties and 12.5 percent profit sharing? Dat nah much fuh guh round. Sharing dat is like sharing rations. Yuh never get wah yuh want. Unless dat agreement change, de people nah gat nuttin fuh look forward to. Is no use asking fuh de people fuh share in de oil wealth. Fuss thing dat gat to happen is dat de country gat
to get a better deal. A better deal means dem gan gat more money fuh share out. Right now, dem money wah we gat cant stretch far. Right now is everybody looking fuh a small change. Dem like dem guvament dem looking fuh small change rather dan get de deal wah dem deserve. But de people getting de leaders dem deserve. Fuh more dan 50 years dem put dem faith in political leaders who never look after dem interest. De contract wah sign was
a sell-out. And now both of de guvament and de opposition nah interested in renegotiating. But de people never learn. Every election, dem does go back and vote back in dem two parties wah leffin dem high and dry. We leaders never cater fuh de people when dem bin sign de oil agreement. If dem bin cater fuh de people, dat agreement would have never bin sign. De people get leff in de hole. And dem cant see de top fuh climb out. Talk half. Leff half.
former. And do you know why? They refused to criticise the appointment of the Chairman of the Board because he is their friend and colleague. He has been around the civil society circuit for some time and would have been known and respected by many of those who are now pontificating on principles. It shows the hypocrisy of Policy Forum. To paraphrase what Michael Corleone said
to the senator in the 1974 Godfather 2 movie, “We’re both part of the same hypocrisy, senator, but never think it applies to my family.” The principles which they tout do not apply to their circles. Guyanese have to beware of those who come pretending to act on their behalf. Many of these organisations have their own biases, class and otherwise and just like the government they scrutinize,
they too are not above reproach. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)
Kaieteur News
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Thursday May 05, 2022
THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN
Theorising about the left-over Freudian Guyanese Indian mind Today is Indian Arrival Day. Let's discuss Indians. My name is Frederick. My two brothers' names are Harold and Joseph. I have a cousin whose name is William Cox. My experience with his name is that many persons think he was an African man. My Hindu mother would have turned in her grave had I given my only child a Christian name. Her name is Kavita, in Hindi, it means poetry. The assignment of Christian/English names to Indians by our grandparents and parents is just one of the many acts of cultural degradations that characterise the sociological evolution of Guyanese Indians. Those degradations have not ceased since the stoppage of Indian indentureship but what is tragic is that although through modernisation, Indians have claimed their
rightful cultural and sociological space in this land, the mind of Indians carry deep, Freudian underpinning that are derived from their fascination with the aesthetics of Creole culture from the early 20th century. This article here is about three dimensions of the evolution of Indians in this land. With such a ponderous subject matter, a newspaper column becomes an indecent irritation to articulate on these three strands. What follows then are extremely brief notes. The three dimensions are: (1) - The abominable denial of the right of Indians to vote as pronounced by the 1941 Franchise Commission. (2) - The break-up of the racially united PPP of Jagan and Burnham by the Creole middle class (CMC) to keep Indian organisations from having state power. (3) - The
continuing obsession of Indians with light skin that they admired the CMC for. The final humiliation of Indians by Guyanese society was the declaration by the Franchise Commission that Indians were too illiterate to have the right to vote. The Franchise Commission was one of the most abominable morally depraved moments in the history of this country. It was set up by the colonial government to examine the extension of the franchise. The first insult is that it was peopled by the CMC and Portuguese businessmen. The second insult was that of the two dozen groups and 50 individuals that testified, a vast majority spoke condescendingly of the cultural and anthropological inferiority of Indians. The third insult was it lowered property rights to vote thus giving Africans the franchise while imposing
language requirement for Indians that essentially denied them the franchise. Important to note - Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow agreed to deny Indians the f r a n c h i s e . S e c o n d l y, members of the CMC that opposed the vote for Indians became part of the PPP led by Cheddi Jagan. The biggest example of this was the mullato civil servant, Jocelyn Hubbard. How do you account for humungous ethnic contradiction? My theory is that the formation of the PPP was a marriage of convenience that could have collapsed any minute and it did when Jagan became premier in 1950. What happened is that the CMC knew that the extension of the franchise was coming. So to prevent an Indian majority government, they joined the PPP only to sabotage it so the PPP could have Creole leadership. They chose Burnham. When he didn't succeed, they formed their own entity, the National Democratic Party. F i n a l l y, t h e I n d i a n Freudian mind. The irony of the March 2020 election fiasco was that it was an
attempt by the CMC to finally banish the permanency of Indian state power. But despite Frederick Kissoon t h e c u l t u r a l brutalisation of Indians i s t h e throughout modern explanation for the African G u y a n e s e h i s t o r y, and Indian choice? One is propertied, moneyed and that there has always been a educated Hindu and Muslim Freudian uneasiness Indians in Guyana have a between dark-skinned Freudian fascination with Africans and the CMC. It the aesthetics of the CMC. goes back to the field The natural Indian ally of slave/house slave binary.In the Portuguese ethnic group the case of Indians, they have and CMC from the 1940s this left-over Freudian onwards was the Christian yearning to belong. They Indian. This explains the never belonged and they saw colour obsession of how valuable and privileged Christian Indians. The irony light-complexion was. So as is that Hindu and Muslim they acquired property, Indians have a similar money and education, the fascination with clear skin. Freudian mind leads them to One of the enduring seek belonging by acquiring mysteries of Guyana is that the characteristics of 1950 dark-skinned Africans British Guiana of which hardly use the colour whiteness stood out. It is criterion to marry, while funny that the Hindu and Indians who should emulate Muslim rich Indians have a this pattern because of their close friendship with the historical, cultural CMC who tried to overthrow mistreatment, do not. them on March 3, 2020. Light complexioned (The views expressed in moneyed Indians do not this article are those of the marry dark-skinned women author and do not and men. A simple cursory necessarily reflect the examination of the society opinions of this newspaper.) would show you this. What
Thursday May 05, 2022
Kaieteur News
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Thursday May 05, 2022
Kaieteur News
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PNCR backs calls for th May 5 to be designated Indian Arrival Day T
he People's N a t i o n a l Congress Reform (PNCR) in hailing the contributions of East Indians to Guyana's development has joined calls for May 5th to be officially designated Indian Arrival Day rather than Arrival Day. In recent weeks there have been renewed calls for the government to take steps to have May 5th be properly designated. “The PNCR hereby joins the call for the May 5th
observances to be officially recognized henceforth as INDIAN ARRIVAL DAY,” the party said in its Arrival Day message. It added: “Designating May 5th as INDIAN ARRIVAL DAY also respects the historic fact that the date specifically marks the arrival of the first Indian Indentured labourers to these shores. May 5th therefore should be wholly devoted to celebrating the valuable contribution that our East Indian brothers and sisters
have made to the development of our country and the shaping of its rich cultural tapestry. Separate Arrival Days for Guyanese of Indian, Portuguese, and Chinese descent; a Heritage Month for Guyanese of Amerindian descent; and Emancipation Day for Guyanese of African descent should all be seen as occasions to celebrate our distinct ethnic identities and cultural expressions, while at the same time embracing our unity in diversity, our
mutual respect, our common understandings, and our shared destiny,” the party noted. In its message the PNCR used the theme, “SAFEGUARDING AND BUILDING ON OUR RICH HERITAGE.” It said May 5th has been designated as the special occasion when “we pay homage to the arrival of Indentured workers to these shores regardless of their origin. It also marks the anniversary of the arrival of our East Indian ancestors on this day in 1838. The arrival of these various Guyanese ancestors has added to the multiethnic, multi-religious, and multi-cultural magnificence of Guyana. This rich diversity today is rooted and given unity in our shared experiences, shared goals,
and shared destiny as One Nation.” According to the PNCR the untiring efforts and enormous sacrifices of these ancestors have helped to build a nation that today we are proud to call home, that we are ready to represent and defend, and that we are willing to keep building. “True, much more work remains to be done as we today undertake, in the words of the preamble of Guyana's constitution, our collective quest for a perfect nation.” Arrival Day therefore should cause us to recommit to the charge in the very preamble to “safeguard and build on the rich heritage, won through tireless struggle, bequeathed us by our forebears.” The party said to strengthen national integration and social cohesion by according due
respect and recognition to the various ethnic groups in our multicultural society, the former Leader of the PNCR and President of Guyana, David Granger, issued two public notices: (i) on February 27, 2017, he designated May 3rd each year as PORTUGUESE ARRIVAL DAY; and (ii) on January 6, 2017, he designated January 12th each year as CHINESE ARRIVAL DAY. Given these changed circumstances surrounding the original purpose of Arrival Day - coupled with the fact that Guyanese of African and Amerindian origin have designated days or months to celebrate their distinct heritages, the party said it was time the East Indians be accorded with the month of May to celebrate their heritage.
Kaieteur News
Thursday May 05, 2022
PAGE 13
641 days: No post-cabinet ...but President Ali says briefingsGovt. accessible at all times T
oday marks 641 days since President Irfaan Ali took office and despite boasts of freedom of the press and information access, his administration has not held a single post-cabinet media conference to date. Post-cabinet briefings are geared towards informing the nation about critical decisions of the government and also their no-objection to contracts. However, since taking office- this well accepted practice has been discarded although previously promises were made to correct the issue. “Yes it must be done. Yes commitments to have it done were made, but I would equally say, I would reposition this message that this government that I lead, and this President that sits here, has been the most accessible government and President to the media any time of the day, and that will continue that way.” These were the words of President Ali on Tuesday, as he responded to the President of the Guyana Press Association (GPA), Nazima Raghubir on the return of post Cabinet media briefings. Cabinet meetings are where
critical decisions are made regarding future and present projects, as well as, the management of the various sectors or Ministries. Prior to the global COVID-19 Pandemic, and before the People's Progressive Party (PPP) government was elected, regular post Cabinet press briefings were held to update the media and nation at large on the progress of the country. At the opening ceremony for a two day conference to commemorate World Press Freedom Day, observed on May 3, the media association said, that the working professionals must be given the necessary tools to do their jobs. The GPA President was keen to note in her preamble that these tools come not only from the owners of media houses but the atmosphere created in a country as well. To this end, she said, “With the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the media experienced different types of challenges. These include, and are not limited, to the access to government and other key officials necessary for gathering as well as, communicating key information on the very
developmental process. To this end, we hope that after two years there will be more than just a commitment to the return of post cabinet press briefings, but these could actually become a reality in the near future.” Meanwhile, President Ali gave no commitment to the speedy return of post Cabinet briefings, even though the COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted, but instead spoke of the need to balance messages sent by the media. He said: “so I am speaking about the balancing of the message and this is a President that is very frank, I am open to criticism but I will tell you as it is. There has never been any time I'm called upon, anywhere, not only to the media but to the people of this country because that is where I belong. On the ground, that is where I feel at home, that is where I feel comfortable. I would not run away from that.” Back in February last year, Raghubir had urged government to resume postCabinet press briefings and to have more frequent engagements with the press, during her address at the President's Annual Media Brunch. Ali at the time
EPA orders Environmental... From page 2 r e f e r r e d t o a s S U R F. Additionally, EEPGL's document explained that the oil, gas, and water flow from the well into the production tree. The fluids are then gathered into the manifold which then connects to the flow lines before the risers take the fluids up to the FPSO for processing. Kaieteur News understands that the umbilical lines support production by providing real time control of the subsea installation from the surface by
delivering fluids to facilitate the flow of hydrocarbons. As for the FPSO, it is an industrial floating complex that continuously separates oil from produced water and associated gas for onboard storage, and later transfer to third party tankers. The anticipated production rate for the FPSO ranges between approximately 220,000 barrels and 275,000 barrels of oil per day. The vessel will be capable of storing approximately two million barrels of oil. Furthermore, third party oil tankers will be scheduled to
offload the oil from the FPSO, making the oil available for export to the international market. The FPSO will also process, dehydrate, compress, and reinject associated gas produced from the reservoir. As the Uaru and Mako reservoir pressures deplete over time, this gas reinjection will help maintain reservoir pressure and allow for optimum production of hydrocarbons to continue over time. In addition, some of the gas will be used as fuel on the FPSO.
acknowledged the call by the GPA President for postCabinet briefings. He explained that the government has been very busy, and that Cabinet has been meeting frequently, multiple times per week. He, however, committed to resuming the post-Cabinet briefings and to have more engagements with the press.
President Irfaan Ali addressing media workers during the opening ceremony of the World Press Freedom Day Conference on Tuesday (Photo credit: NCN)
Kaieteur News
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Thursday May 05, 2022
Jagdeo flip-flops on his own warning against oil and gas consultancy firms ...selects Exxon's clients to review US$10B project
W
hile he was Opposition L e a d e r, Guyana's Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo had warned that it is wise to beware of foreign oil and gas consultancy firms and their motives especially in Guyana.
His exact words during a 2018 press conference was “Not because a foreign company puts out a favorable report, a consultancy company, that we must all latch onto it, we have to question the motivation of these companies particularly
consultancies for the oil and gas sector.” He had advised that most of these consultancy firms are clients of oil companies and would always put out reports that are favourable to them and not the country. However, two years later it appears as though Jagdeo
had ignored his own warning and back peddled on his 2018 statement because when his party, the Peoples Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) took office in August 2020, it hired Allison Redford, a former Canadian politician with ties to ExxonMobil, to review
US$9B Payara project – the Field Development Plan (FDP) – which was completed in 42 days. Kaieteur News had reported that ExxonMobil via its subsidiary, Imperial Oil had donated thousands of dollars to Redford's political party. Redford's political career was also one plagued by a corruption scandal. As Premier of the Canadian province of Alberta, she drew widespread public controversy in Canada when it was discovered that during her attendance of the funeral of Nelson Mandela, the State footed the CAD$45,000 cost of her trip, including about CAD$10,000 for a privately chartered return flight from South Africa. Redford reportedly refused several calls to repay the money spent for the South Africa trip, but eventually bowed to pressure in 2014 and delivered the funds back to the public purse, with an apology. She later resigned in March 2014 as Alberta Premier, and as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in August of that year, a day before an Attorney General (AG) report on her spending practices was scheduled for release. Despite local media reports had shed some light on her shady career, Alison Redford ended up being hired a second time by the government to be part of the team that reviewed the Yellowtail US$10B project or FDP in 52 days. However, it should be noted that the nation only learned that she was hired again after the review process was completed. It is believed that the government waited until the process was over to reveal that she is a part of it because there were questions raised after the media reported about her controversial past.
Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo. The government had initially announced on January 21, 2022, that Bayphase, a consultancy firm that is also a client of ExxonMobil was selected to review the Yellowtail FDP for a total of US$423,360. However, when the review was finished and the government decided to announce on April 1, that it approved the Yellowtail project, Guyana's Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, stated that Redford was part of the team. Industry experts have since related that they are confused that the government chose to allow not only a client of Exxon, Bayphase but another company, Allison Redford Group headed by a controversial politician with ties to Exxon to review ExxonMobil's US$10B Yellowtail project. Questions have also been raised by industry experts that the Redford's reviewal rate for both Payara and Yellowtail projects is 'unreal'. She had reviewed the two projects in 42 and 52 (Continued on page 29)
Enabling our forests... From page 8 towards building a green, healthy and resilient future with forests, and achieving the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. Scaling up solutions based on forests and trees can unlock their potential to
help mitigate the economic disruptions and food insecurity affecting the most vulnerable. And it will contribute to realizing our core objectives of better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life for all, leaving no one behind.
Kaieteur News
Thursday May 05, 2022
PAGE 15
GPL blames COVID-19 for blackout woes ...but PUC record shows company performance woeful before pandemic
W
hile the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) has laid blame on the COVID-19 pandemic for its failure to stay below the targeted number of power o u t a g e s f o r l a s t y e a r, information recorded in the annual reports of the public utility commission (PUC) tells a different story. In fact, the PUC record of the company annual performance shows that GPL has consistently been missing its 'black out' target for years. A review of the PUC 's information over a five year period revealed that GPL has performed poorly when it came to ensuring that consumers did not experience black outs. According to the report, in 2016 while the target was 75 interruptions on average per customer, which meant that GPL's customers were not supposed to expect more than 75 outages per consumer that year, the number of outages per customer stood at 119. In
2017, there was a similar occurrence with the target at 75 and GPL power interruptions climbing to 129 outages. In 2018, GPL placed the bar a little lower setting the target at 80 interruptions for that period; it exceeded it with 86.9 per customer. In 2019, the 80 interruptions target figure climbed to 113 outages per customer. And in 2020, GPL's target for power outage was 80 interruptions on average per customer that year, but the record indicated the company again had more black out that it projected. For that period again, the electricity company pointed to difficulty in maintaining its systems due to the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. GPL recorded 103 power outages last year and blamed the pandemic for slowdown in maintenance. The figure exceeded its 90 targeted outages. This was contained in an order released by the PUC on Tuesday. The
GPL 's Main Street Georgetown office. document explained “In 2021, the company had exceeded the target of 90 power outages when compared to the 99 outages for the year 2020. The company proffered that the COVID-19 pandemic hampered its usual schedule of maintenance in 2020 and the increase in planned maintenance activities was the direct result of that increase to 103 outages for the year, 2021.” In light of the circumstances, PUC, inter alia promised it will continue
GAWU: Spare a moment to reflect on how far as a people we have come Our rich cultural tapestry is one of the several features that set Guyana apart from many of its contemporaries. As a people we take great pride in our diversity and the coexistence of our several cultural groupings. It is against this background that the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) extends best wishes to all Guyanese both at home and further afield on the occasion of Arrival Day. This important observance is yet another reminder of what makes Guyana special and what plays a role in our renowned hospitality and welcoming spirit. While Arrival Day – May 05 – though largely associated with the arrival of East Indians, the day reminds us of all indentured immigrants brought to our land. Our research advises us that outside of the East Indians, the Madeiran Portuguese came in May 1835, the Chinese in 1853, as well as a few other ethnicities during that phase of colonialism. We are aware that the colonialists brought also labourers from Malta, Ireland, Germany and England. Arrival Day also reminds us of the reasons for the
indentureship system. The then immigrants who replaced the emancipated slaves were made to toil in the fields of the sugar plantations to enrich the foreign owners of the plantations. Indentured labourers and their families were forced to exist in inhumane and atrocious conditions. And, like their compatriots, they were forced to engage in several struggles, which gave us several martyrs, in order to bring about small improvements and meagre benefits in their lives and work conditions. As we observe Arrival D a y, t h e G AW U i s constrained to remind that our unique culture has a common thread in the sugar industry. It is that historical industry which bounds a great lot of our peoples. We remind as well that it is the very industry too on which modern Guyana is built through the labours of many of our peoples. As Arrival Day is once again commemorated, we remain saddened over the affairs of this important industry. At this time, a legacy of mismanagement has invoked severe setback and undue pains.
Though we recognise and appreciate efforts to breathe new life into the industry we remain concerned regarding over the seeming inability of the current managerial cadre to grasp the situation inherited. We harbour apprehension as we consider data which demonstrates not a welcome direction. Critically, given the linkages between Arrival Day and sugar, we urge the need to strengthen the current management with skilled and capable personnel. We believe this would be an appropriate tribute to those who toiled in the fields and factories and on whose contributions today we proudly stand. As we celebrate Arrival Day, the GAWU urges all Guyanese to spare a moment to reflect on how far as a people we have come, the challenges we overcame, and the successes we have recorded. At this time, when we ought to be looking to reach new and higher plateaus, we see concerted efforts that will very likely reverse much of the progress we have made, and rightly can take pride in. Let us resist such efforts and get back on the development track.
to monitor GPL's performance to ensure the proper rollout and implementation of its projected measures which should benefit consumers and improve the overall electricity supply. The document was released some hours after to former Minister of Public Infrastructure and current Shadow Minister of Public Works, David Patterson spoke to Kaieteur News exclusively about some of the difficulties in incurred managing the company. His comments followed a recent spate of 'blackouts' across
various parts of the coastland. The former minister pointed to several issues which he said was affecting the adequate delivery of the services of GPL to consumers. Patterson also recommended a systems overhaul as part of the solution to ending the consistent black outs. He explained that while he was in government, GPL's systems were subject to a complete analysis by the new management team that was in place to deal with the daily operations. According to the former M i n i s t e r, i t w a s t h e n discovered that there were at least 17 ways in which there could be a major power outage—- the most common issue was, more safeguard was needed. “This is exactly what is happening now – whereby something as simple as a falling tree branch or pole can bring down the entire [system]… We immediately started a programme to eliminate as many of these
issues as possible – that way, the entire system stop failing on a single event – they add much more redundancy and protection to the main lines,” Patterson said. He noted further that, “There was a major issue with things like the submarine cable linking Vr e e d - e n - H o o p a n d Kingston, when that was damaged, the entire system collapsed…” As such, Patterson said that the management of GPL added another submarine cable linking Vreed-en-Hoop via Princes Street, thus the protection network was upgraded. Additionally, new generating sets and substations were introduced into the system to reduce the shortage of power. He said, “It was found by 2015 that despite Wartsila producing excellent engines, their maintenance programme was lacking and substandard, this was changed which resulted in the new sets performing at 98 percent efficiency – this was (Continued on page 28)
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Angry workers wanted to hear nothing about oil and gas as they demanded more pay.
Thursday May 05, 2022
Kaieteur News
Govt. under pressure to release key documents on oil sector ...Minister Vickram Bharrat says “there's nothing to hide”
D
espite the failure of government officials to make good on promises to release certain information to the media relating to the oil and gas sector, Minister of Natural Resources Vickram
Bharrat has said that government has nothing to hide and believes that the administration is making the right moves to inform the country about the emerging multi-trillion dollar industry. The Minister made those comments when asked by this newspaper whether the government will be making any move soon to not only release more information to the nation, but to also conduct effective oil and gas education drives. “I think that is what we have been doing all the time, whenever we speak we disclose a lot of information,” the Minister responded. He said that on the Natural Resources Ministry' website, there is lots of information that the public can access. These include information about production and permits among other items. The Minister identified the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) as another area where information could be found. He said that pertaining to the oil revenue; the NRF has a rigorous structure and allows for scrutiny by the Auditor General and the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). “So there is nothing to hide and yes, we need to educate Guyanese a lot more. I would not say that is 100 percent.” The Minister highlighted that, “All of us need to (be educated on oil and gas).” Especially, the media since news outlets “can do it better than some us because you have a wider reach, and it's good you educate the people about oil and gas.” Minister Bharrat's comment comes just before Guyana scored “fairly low” on the Norway-based Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in implementing its 2019 EITI Standard. The standard says that open data on natural resource income and contracts should be routine in government and corporate reporting. Providing timely information to stakeholders in a format that supports widespread use in analysis and decision making is also part of the process. It was
noted that the score reflects an ad hoc approach to outreach and dissemination, weaknesses in follow-up on EITI recommendations to deliver reforms and insufficient attention to the annual review of outcomes and impact, with a view to informing the annual EITI work plan. Guyana was also flagged for failure to make contracts, industry receipts a c c e s s i b l e a n d understandable. Members of the Guyana Press Association (GPA) have also registered their dismay over government's approach to oil and gas education and the dissemination of information. On a recent Kaieteur News Radio program Guyana's Oil and You, GPA president Nazima Raghubir along with other reporters expressed disappointment that post 2020 elections, the level of information dissemination has not significantly increased. “The most you can do is provide the public with the information let them see what is going on and let them make their own informed decisions,” Raghubir had mentioned. It was noted that instead, information that should be easily accessed by the public must be requested where the identity of the individual and the use of the information must be stated. Another reporter opined that there is a lack of respect for the questions that reporters ask, and the job they must perform in informing the nation and keeping the politicians accountable. Veteran Journalist Adam Harris had noted during an online show that Guyanese had become so accustom to limited information and being left out of the decisionmaking process that they had little interest in the oil and gas topic. A recent International Republican Institute report (IRI) also said that a large portion of persons within the population is in the dark about oil and gas as they did not know where to locate information on the sector. And despite the great potential of oil revenue on the development of the (Continued on page 26)
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'Rough waters for Guyanese fishers' …as Suriname orders downsizing of vessels, refuse to renew their licences
By Zena Henry
F
ishermen within the Berbice region continue to face hardship as Suriname has upped the pressure on local operators. Guyanese fishermen are not getting their fishing licences renewed from Surinamese authorities, while others have parked their boats; refusing to shrink their vessels, as demanded by the Dutch nation. In an update on the current situation, Upper Corentyne Fisherman Co-op Society Chairman, Parmeshwar Jainarine told the Kaieteur News that so far he is aware of 12 Guyanese whose SK licences have not been renewed. Additionally, some 25 fishermen in the Crabwood Creek, Number No.79 Village have also parked their boats in protest of the stipulated 10 feet downsizing of their fishing vessels. Some have also downed tools as they refuse to leave their boats unattended in the Suriname state. Local fishermen are refusing to cut the size of their usually 37 to 40 feet fishing boat, pointing out the unsafe nature of such a request. Jainarine explained that local operators are uncomfortable about the changes because they put their lives at risk. He said that the boats already accommodate three to four workers onboard. The current size allows fishermen to store their ice, catch and add to sleeping space. Cutting the boat, he highlighted, would not only cut space onboard, but could cause a boat to sink during rough waters. “It will not float properly and could drive the bow of the boat to, as we say, push down into the water.”Additionally, to cut the size of the boat will also increase fuel usage, Jainarine
Upper Corentyne Fisherman Co-op Society Chairman, Parmeshwar Jainarine said. He informed that some local fishermen have cut their boats because they have no other way to feed their families. Others, he said are refusing because of the safety issues and the fact that no reason or explanation has been given by the Surinamese as to why they should decrease the size of their vessels. These rules are in relation to the BV licences which are used for inland fishing for example, in the Corentyne River. Jainarine reminded that to allow Guyanese to legitimately fish in its territory, local fishermen were also told that they would have to leave their boats in Suriname to prove to authorities there which boats Dutch middlemen have rented licences to. As such Guyanese operators, fearful of damage and theft to their unattended vessels have stopped working. They are refusing to leave their work boats in Suriname and have to take smaller boats back and forth between Guyana and Suriname to access the vessel Happy Arrival Day all our Indo-Guyanese brothers and sisters!!!Arrival Day commemorates the coming of the first indentured labourers from India on May 5th 1838…The 1838…The East Indians who arrived here came largely from the Uttar Pradesh and Southern Indian regions. They brought with them a rich culture of spices, cuisines, traditions, customs and beliefs which indelibly continue to enrich Guyana today and in time to come.
when needed. For the role he played in highlighting the plight of the local fishermen, Jainarine said he had two of his fishing licences not renewed. “They told me I am talking a little too much so they took it away.”Jainarine said that previously a list of Guyanese fishermen who would have (Continued on page 28)
Some of the parked boats at Number 79 Village.
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Soldier accused of armed robbery walks free ...after victim declines not to give evidence A rank attached to the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) walked free on Thursday after the victim he had allegedly robbed with a 'toy gun' refused to give evidence against him in the matter. The soldier identified as Cidel Frank, 22, was arrested after being named as one of the suspects on Friday last attacked and robbed a 17-year-old shop girl, Alisha Jaikaran at Mahaica, on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD). Frank appeared at the Sparendaam Magistrate's Court and reportedly pleaded not guilty to a robbery under arms charge but the Magistrate, Sherdel Isaacs Marcus was forced to dismiss the matter against him after Jaikaran decided not to offer any evidence in the case. Jaikaran had reported to police that she was attacked between 19:50hrs and 20:00hrs by three males fixing their bicycle along a road. The girl claimed that she was at the time being towed home by a male friend. They reportedly grabbed their bicycle, assaulted the male friend with a toy gun, and robbed
Thursday May 05, 2022
Kaieteur News
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Driver charged for causing death of Ian Mekdeci Roberto Narine making his court appearance on Wednesday.
The robbery accused that walked free on Thursday, GDF rank, Cidel Frank her of several valuable items which included two cell phones valued at a $170,000.
Dead Squash Player, Ian Mekdeci. Roberto Narine, 37, the driver accused of causing the death of Ian Mekdeci, 27, a local squash player, was on Wednesday released on $220,000 bail when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates' Court. Mekdeci was killed on Sunday, in car accident, after
a drunken Narine had allegedly jumped a red light with his jeep at the intersection of Sandy Babb Street and Vlissengen Road Kitty, Georgetown. The defendant has been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and causing death by dangerous
driving. He made his court appearance before Magistrate Leron Daly and pleaded not guilty to the two charges. He was granted $20,000 and $200,000 bail respectively for the two charges and is required to (Continued on page 27)
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Case dismissed against man charged in expired HIV testing kits saga More than one year after being charged for providing the Ministry of Health (MOH) with expired HIV testing kits, Davendra Rampersaud, was on Wednesday freed of the charge after the magistrate upheld a no- case submission. Rampersaud, a Technical Consultant to Caribbean Medical Supplies Inc. on his first court appearance had denied the charge which alleges that on January 16, 2020, Caribbean Medical Supplies Inc., sold and supplied 400 units (20 packs) of Uni-Gold HIV test kits, batch #HIV7120026, with misleading representation, a violation of the Food and Drugs Act of 1971. He was charged for selling and supplying the
devices with misleading representation, which is a violation of the Food and Drugs Act, Cap. 34:03, Part V, Section 18 (1) of 1971, to the Materials Management Unit (MMU) located at 55-56 First Avenue, Diamond, East Bank Demerara. The matter was being heard in the Leonora Magistrate's Court before Magistrate Zameena AliSeepaul. Rampersaud was represented by attorney-atlaw Latchmie Rahamat, who made a no case submission to the court on his behalf. As such, on Wednesday the Magistrate ruled that there is no admissible evidence before the court to show why the prosecution brought the charge before the Leonora
27 new COVID-19 cases After reporting only seven new cases on Tuesday, the Ministry of Health on Wednesday revealed that within the last 24 hours health authorities have recorded a total of 27 new infections in the country. The new infections which bring the total number of confirmed cases to 63,518. In Region Four 15 cases were recorded, Region Three recorded four, Region Six recorded five, Region Five recorded two and Region Two recorded one. According to the
ministry's data, out of the 27 persons who tested positive for the virus, 14 are men and 13 are women. The ministry's latest dashboard shows that one patient is still admitted into the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit, one person is now in institutional isolation, 88 are in home isolation and three are quarantined institutionally. Additionally, within the last 24hours, 51 persons have recovered from the virus, taking the total number of recovery cases to 62,200.
Magistrate's Court. The magistrate added that the evidence does not show that the offence occurred in the court's jurisdiction, nor did the evidence show that the defendant resides in the district. It was further highlighted that earlier in the matter, the issue of jurisdiction was raised, but the prosecution had stated that the jurisdiction would be shown in the trial. However, she noted that the trial had come to an end and there evidence has not established that the court has jurisdiction over the matter. In giving her second
finding, Magistrate AliSeepaul noted that evidence failed to link Rampersaud to the offence, nor linked to the company or business. In her final finding, the magistrate noted that the prosecution failed to prove that the test kits in question were expired or carrying misleading information. As such, the Magistrate upheld the defence no-case submission and dismissed the matter. According to reports, a quantity of the testing kits was seized by the GA-FDD from the MMU of the MoH at Diamond, East Bank Demerara, and from local
Davendra Rampersaud. hospitals and laboratories. This publication had reported that the probe was launched into the fake HIV
testing kits after an Irish manufacturer wrote to the then Minister of Public (Continued on page 28)
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GPA calls for strengthening of UG communications programme ...tells Govt. 'Media Academy' should not be a standalone organisation O n Tu e s d a y, t h e government unveiled what it d u b b e d a s i t s “groundbreaking” online Guyana Media and Communication Academy where free education will be offered to media practitioners locally and in the diaspora. However, President of the Guyana Press Association (GPA), Nazima Raghubir said that the body does not support the idea of the entity being a “standalone” organisation, but suggested instead, that the government channel its efforts to boost the existing Centre for Communication Studies at the University of Guyana (UG), where recognised credits can be issued. She explained, “The University
of Guyana for its part we feel should make adequate provision for the training of technical and engineering personnel in all areas of broadcasting…for too long this category of media workers have been left on the sidelines where training opportunities are concerned. As much as GPA welcomes training, we do not support the idea of the Guyana Media and Communication Academy as a standalone entity.” As such, Raghubir said that the GPA would like to see that the resources for this academy be directed into strengthening the UG Centre for Communication Studies, where tertiary recognized credits can be awarded. “We
support the intent of continuous training and the GPA stands ready and willing to endorse and provide such training through the established and accredited University of Guyana,” the GPA President posited. In September 2020, the Ministry of Education signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Public Service and the Private Sector Commission to recognize the certificates earned by students who completed online courses via the Commonwealth of Learning and Coursera. It is unclear at the moment whether the certificates of completion are recognized in other parts of the region or world.
Nevertheless, Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister, Kwame McCoy shared that the facility has been in the making for several months. He noted that the online academy will bridge the learning gaps that must be addressed to help the country flourish. The Guyana Media and Communication Academy will be available to all media practitioners, at the various levels of the media spectrum. McCoy explained that the
government will be funding the courses which will be facilitated through Coursera. To access the training platform, the Minister said annual licences will be provided to interested persons which will be funded by the government. “Those licences will allow you to pursue selections from among more than 2000 world class courses at various levels of certification from leading partner universities in the world, including Ivy
President of the Guyana Press Association, Nazima Raghubir
League Institutions,” he pointed out. According to him, “What started out as an active consideration for the establishment of a broadcasting academy as was intimated in my 2021 Budget speech in the National Assembly, has evolved wholesomely into what will be the ground breaking Guyana Media and Communication Academy, a virtual academy that works in the interest of our media practitioners.”
Pact signed for Guyanese women, youths to get training in agriculture The Ministry of Agriculture through the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) on We d n e s d a y s i g n e d a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with t h e Wo r l d U n i v e r s i t y Service of Canada (WUSC) for a five-year partnership agreement aimed at training youths, women and men who are desirous of practicing sustainable climate resilient agricultural skills. The simple ceremony which took place at the ministry's Regent Street office saw the attendance of Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, Chief Executive Officer of NAREI, Jaganarine Singh, High Commissioner of Canada to Guyana, Mark Berman, and Deputy Director of Sustainable Agriculture in the Caribbean (SAC) project, Munish Persaud among other invitees. The five-year initiative, dubbed the Sustainable Agriculture in the Caribbean (SAC) project, aims at promoting climate resilient agriculture for equitable economic growth to increase the economic prosperity of women and youths in more sustainable agricultural
Chief Executive Officer of NAREI, Jaganarine Singh and Deputy Director of Sustainable Agriculture in the Caribbean (SAC) project, Munish Persaud signing the new Memorandum of Understanding yesterday. (Ministry of Agriculture photo)
markets in the Caribbean. SAC is a multi-country economic growth project, implemented by the WUSC with CD$20 million funding from the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada (GAC). In his feature remarks, Minister Mustapha expressed his gratitude for an important initiative like this for not only being implemented in Guyana but other parts of the Caribbean. He said “I'm very glad that we have this project being implemented not only in Guyana but other parts of the Caribbean and I think this will help the Caribbean
agriculture sector to move rapidly and not to move in a sustain manner, but to move in a way that would develop and be resilient to climate smart agriculture, and you know for a fact, that now it is important for us to move in that direction because climate change is real for us in this part of the world.” The Minister also said that as a government they recognize the importance of climate smart agriculture and the importance to develop the young people, especially the youth, women in agriculture. “What need to happen in this part of the world is for young people to
get themselves directly involved in agriculture, programs like these will help us to get the interest of young people into the agriculture sector, so this will help us tremendously,” he said. An initiative like this, the Minister also explained, it will help the country in achieving food security giving the country's leading role in agriculture in CARICOM. High Commissioner, Berman told the gathering yesterday that Canada through the SAC project is very pleased to support the Government of Guyana agriculture strategy in 2021
to 2025 and the achievement of the country's target for food system transformation and resilience. “This transformation process requires farmers and other markets system managers to have the knowledge and skills needed for the introduction of best practices and innovations,” he noted. According to him, the SAC project focuses on all forms of training and support and skills development for women entrepreneurialship, including mentoring and coaching as an integral part of a lifelong entrepreneurial learning approach.
Govt. under pressure to release key documents... From page 16 country, only two percent of those involved in the IRI study believed that the oil and gas sector is an important matter. It was observed that, at a number of government outreaches that recently occurred, there had been very little interest in the oil and gas sector given that little to no conversations came from residents regarding this area. At the most recently concluded outreach by Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo in Dundee, Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara, it was noted that the VP spoke just over half an hour about the oil sector. Again no questions were asked by residents in relation to the commodity and how they would be affected by it.Noticed at the May Day rally of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of
Guyana (FITUG), workers were disinterested in talks of oil and gas. FITUG's President Carvil Duncan sought to speak on the matter during his address, but that was met with a loud resistance from workers who shouted, “We nah want hear bout dah, we want money.” Workers shouted, “What oil? Whe it deh? We want money.” The FITUG president had to abort the topic during his contribution.On one of the documents promised by the government, VP Bharrat Jagdeo said that the Minister of Natural Resources and President Irfaan Ali should honour their promise and make controversial Canadian lawyer, Alison Redford's work on ExxonMobil's projects public. The VP said he had not made the promise to release the document, but those who did, should honour their promise.
Thursday May 05, 2022
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Kaieteur News
GUYSUCO to rehabilitate Blairmont Estate Sugar wharf for $70M D
uring the opening of tenders on Tuesday at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board
(NPTAB) office, it was revealed that the Blairmont Estate Sugar wharf will be rehabilitated for an estimated cost of $70miilion.
Guyana Sugar Corporation (GUYSUCO) Supply and delivery of Lot 1: three new mill rollers for Blairmont, Lot 2: three mill rollers for Rose Hall, one and two re-shell.
This project is one being undertaken by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GUYSUCO). On Tu e s d a y, 18
projects were opened for this entity. Some of these projects are for the rehabilitation of boiler house roof at Rose Hall Factory,
Supply and delivery of materials to re-tube #1 boiler, Lot 1: boiler tubes- Lot 2: refactory materials.
Supply and delivery of two horizontal remote radiators for 1125kw caterpillar diesel generator.
Supply and delivery of Lot 1: 274,32m long x 0.813m wide x 1.1974mm thick-steel band conveyor for Demerara Sugar Terminal.
ery of eight 20 ft. flat bottom aluminum boat with engine. Below are the companies and their bids:
Relocation of vacuum pan and crystallizer from Enmore to Blairmont Factory.
Rehabilitation of pre-milling and milling roofs and structures at Rose Hall Factory.
Supply and delivery of one new replacement of the #2 boiler at Uitvlugt.
Supply and delivery of 1000 cubic feet automated vacuum pan with stirrer and multi-jet condenser.
Supply and Delivery of motor vehicles- Lot 1: extra-cab, four wheel drive pickup, Lot 2: fully equipped, high roof ambulance, Lot 3: 14-seater mini-bus, Lot 4: 2WD single cab pickup.
relocation of sugar dryer, associated equipment and overhead cranes from Enmore to Albion Estate and the supply and deliv-
Rehabilitation of Blairmont Estate Sugar Wharf.
Supply and delivery of two re-tubing evaporators.
Supply and delivery of mobile drainage pumps Lot 1: three 80 Cusec mobile drainage pump trailer typeLot 2: one 40 Cusec mobile drainage pump trailer type.
Fabrication and erection of new molasses s tank at Rose Hall Factory.
Driver charged for causing... Supply and delivery of eight 20 ft flat bottom aluminum boat with engine.
Supply and delivery of complete punt-dumper crab lift.
Rehabilitation of boiler house roof at Rose Hall Factory.
Relocation of sugar dryer, associated equipment and overhead cranes from Enmore to Albion Estate. Supply and delivery of one refurbish high grade and low-grade crystallizers.
From page 24 make his next court appearance on June 15, 2022. The magistrate has since ordered him to lodge his passport and report to the Alberttown Police Station every Friday. According to reports Narine's Jeep had crashed into a car that Mekdeci was travelling in, around 02:10hrs on Sunday. The car was at the time being driven by Mekdeci's 31year old friend of Dowding Street Kitty, Sheik Baksh, and they were reportedly heading west along Sandy Babb Street. When they arrived at the intersection at Vlissengen Road the traffic light at their end was green and Baksh proceeded to drive across but as he was doing so, a jeep, allegedly driven by Narine and heading south along Vlissengen road jumped the red light and crashed into them.
As a result of the accident both Baksh and Mekdeci were severely injured. An ambulanc e w a s called and they were both rushed to GPHC where Mekdeci died while receiving treatment. Police had arrested Narine and when they conducted a breathalyzer test on him, the results showed that his Breath Alcohol Content (BAC) was 161 and 151 percent, way above the legal limit. Mekdeci's friend, Baksh remains in a critical condition at GPHC.
Corruption benefits the rich and powerful at the expense of the poor. Say no to it.
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Thursdayday May 05,2022
GPL blames COVID-19 for blackout woes...
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nies,” he added. Kaieteur News Publisher Glenn Lall also slammed the government of its haphazard management of the power generation systems. Speaking on his Friday night radio programme, 'The Glenn Lall Show', Lall noted that Guyanese are living in blackouts on a daily basis. He stressed that one of the most
important things on earth today, other than food and clean drinking water, is electricity. “Without electricity, this world will go way, way back in time, moving at a snail's pace. Electricity is what got this world spinning, electricity makes, gives and does everything. One billion people on earth do not have
access to it and two billion is living with limited access to it. Electricity is almost like breathing, when it stops, then everything stops, is like you living in a coma, a constant state of midnight, without even a candle, yet 75 percent of Guyanese, three out of four, are living with blackouts daily…” he said.
Case dismissed against man charged... From page 25 Health, Volda Lawrence, during January 2020, warning that it is aware of counterfeit Uni-Gold HIV test kits in Guyana. The Irish company supplied photographic evidence, which clearly indicated that the kits expired since July 2019. In its complaint, the
company, Trinity Biotech, named Caribbean Medical Supplies Inc. as the company that was allegedly supplying the expired testing kits. According to the company, the fake boxes were created with expiry dates extended by 17 months, and the kits repacked in them. Trinity Biotech said that the products
were already six months out of date when they were brought to Guyana. The company further claimed that its Trinidadbased authorized distributor, Transcontinental Medical Products Limited, is the only authorized distributor f or the Uni-Gold kits to Guyana.
'Rough waters for Guyanese fishers'... From page 19 received licences from the Dutch authorities was requested; but fearful of being targeted, the list was not provided. He added that since these licences were received from the authority, they should have their own list. With the way things are going, Jainarine said that by next year when it comes to renewing fishing licences, Guyanese may very well have to pay the US$3000 and $4000
cost being demanded by the middlemen since there has not been any clear end coming to the matter soon. He said, “Who can't afford it, might just have to close up and go find another job.” “The overall feeling is just frustration,” Jainarine lamented. He said many of the fishermen are now regretting having sought government's intervention into the Suriname fish matter. “If we had known
that this would have been the result we would have just left everything.” Jainarine had told the newspaper that some 1000 families stood to be affected by the fish licence situation. The entire regional sector could be in jeopardy; he pointed out since the industry contributes immensely to regional commerce and had rescued many sugar workers after the closure of the factory.
Thursday May 05, 2022
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Kaieteur News
Top Cop warns security firms about guards posing on social media with big guns A section of the gathering at the meeting
Seated in front row, from left, are: Traffic Chief Superintendent Mr. Ramesh Ashram, former Commissioner of Police Mr. Leroy Brummel, Acting Commissioner of Police Mr. Clifton Hicken, and Deputy Commissioner ‘Operations’ (ag.) Mr. Ravindradat Budhram. Standing are proprietors and representatives of the private security services. (Troy Vanrossum photo)
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cting Commis sioner of Police, Clifton Hicken is now warning private security guards to desist from posing on social media with highpowered rifles especially on “tick tock”. Also Traffic Chief; Ramesh Ashram made it clear that sirens on their vehicles are not allowed. Their comments were made during a recent meeting they had with Private Security firms at the forces training centre in Kingston. Minister of Home Affairs Robeson Benn also attended the meeting and agreed with Ashrams and Hickens respective statements and warned too that he will revoke their licences should they fail to adhere to the rules. The meeting with the private firms comes one month after President, Mohamed Irfaan Ali stated that he is moving towards partnering with private security firms to help fight crime, by integrating them in the countrys national security plan. Ali had said: “In order to support the work of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) I also ask the minister (Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn) to examine how our response system
can be linked to private security agencies, because private security agencies are increasing in our country and they have a lot of assets”. The initiative was not welcomed by the public because many had raised concerns over the unprofessional operation of some security firms here. Questions were raised over the misuse of sirens and weapons. Guyanese are also concerned about the lack of training of employees with these firms and in some cases those with criminal backgrounds. While the top cop acknowledged that the force is looking forward to working along with private security firms, there are some rules that must be followed and one of them is professionalism when it comes to “big weapons”. According to a statement sent out by the force, Hicken highlighted that there are instances where security personnel are seen on social media platforms especially “tick tock” posing with “big guns” in their uniform. “This is unacceptable and unprofessional and this trend needs to stop immediately,” the Top Cop reportedly said. He explained that officers exposing large weapons on duty have
Jagdeo flip-flops on his own... From page 14 days respectively. More than a dozen industry experts with experience reviewing FDP's had said emphatically, “No proper review is done with such break-neck speed.” Specifically, one industry expert had said, “…Other teams having performed reviews of field development plan (oil projects) in other major offshore producing areas, find it difficult to envision that a rigorous analysis
of the Yellowtail FDP and the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was possible within 52 days. Even with two mega groups of specialists and engineers assigned, it is not possible. The question therefore arises as to whether the Bayphase/Redford partnership skimmed the documents Exxon submitted to the government rather than probing it and requesting additional data for a proactive assessment.”
the potential to create a hostile situation with civil society, greatly impact the general safety of citizens and also have negative implications for Guyanas tourism sector. Recently photos had surfaced on Facebook with security personnel sporting
heavy artillery while escorting a Jamaican artiste. The photos were not well received and some social media users commented that it looked as though the artist had touched down in a “war zone” or Afghanistan. The top cop warned at the meeting with the security firms that if they continue to behave in this manner, they will face consequences. Another concern that citizens have is the misuse of sirens by these entities. In this regard, Ashram,
Guyanas traffic chief said, “that security vehicles are not categorized as emergency vehicles such as those used by the Police Force, Fire Service and Ambulance. Hence, the private security services need to comply with road rules and regulations and not have sirens or flashing lights on their vehicles. If caught, Ashram said, it will result in the revocation of their Motor Vehicle Certificate of Fitness”. It should be noted how-
ever, that sirens are not only being abused by security firms, but even a few journalists, prominent business men and politicians. Additionally the private entities were advised to do background checks on their employees and ensure that they trained properly. The Home Affairs Minister also chipped in with his contribution at the meeting by letting the firms know that he is ready to revoke their licences if they are found breaking the law.
Contract signed for feasibility study, design of Corentyne River bridge Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill on Wednesday attended the contract signing ceremony for the Feasibility Study and Design of the Corentyne River Bridge in Suriname.
The ceremony was held in neighbouring Suriname and was signed with WSP Caribbean Limited, the lowest bidder for the contract. According to reports, the company had placed a bid of $ 1,865,050
(without indirect tax) $540,864 (indirect tax only) During the contract signing an Expression of Interest for construction of the bridge was also launched. Speaking in Paramaribo,
Suriname, in the presence of Minister of Public Works of Suriname, Dr. Riad Nurmohamed and other officials, Minister Edghill noted that this bridge is more (Continued on page 30)
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Kaieteur News
Contract signed for feasibility...
Minister Juan Edghill participating in the signing of the contract for the Corentyne River Bridge in Suriname. From page 29 than just an infrastructure Project. “It is a vision for the further development of two nations being realized. Development practitioners have agreed that bridges are key drivers of economic activity, ensuring the increased efficiency of trade, rapid ex-
change of ideas and quick access to services for those who need them most,” Minister Edghill said. Adding that cooperation at this level means less delays and more progress for both countries populations. “As you all may know by now, our two Presidents have treated the construction of the
Bridge over the Corentyne River as one of the highest priority infrastructure agenda projects to be accomplished during their first terms in office.” Minister Edghill was joined by Mr. Vladim Persaud, Permanent Secretary, MoPW and Mr. Patrick Thompson, Chief Transport Planning Officer, MOPW.
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Thursday May 05, 2022
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'Guyana needs honest leadership' ....Norton says in criticising PPP's handling of oil resources
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pposition Leader Aubrey Norton is once again accusing the ruling People's Progressive Party Civic of not acting in the best interest of Guyanese when it comes to the management of the vast oil resources. During a People's National Congress Reform (PNCR) press conference held on Tuesday, Norton underscored the need for a leadership that is reflective of the massive transformation that huge oil finds is expected to have on the country. He noted that Exxon's own projections show Guyana moving from 120,000 barrels of oil per day in 2020 to a minimum of 800,000 barrels of oil per day in 2025. “This represents an increase of over 550% in only a few years! Within a few short years of oil production Guyana's growth will have doubled. The problem, however, is that the PPP is preventing these resources from meeting our people,” Norton asserted. As such, Norton said “the time has come, Guyana needs honest, bold, optimistic, and transformational leadership…The PPP is hell bent on using Guyana's oil resources to benefit a few. The PNCR commits itself to serving the interests of the people of Guyana.” “In contrast to the despair and defeatism from Jadgeo and the PPP,” Norton said
that “the PNCR IS convinced that Guyana's current and projected oil wealth - once well-managed can be used to fund a holistic peoplecentered development strategy.” According to Norton, the PNCR is focused on the adoption of a development strategy that is peoplecentered—one that emphasizes the equal treatment of all Guyanese, equity, jobs that pay living wages; opportunities for selfempowerment and wealth creation; comprehensive social protection; and the enrichment of our human resources through education, health, and the creation of a peace of mind and sense of well-being in people. He stressed that the three most recent oil finds by Exxon have taken reserves to 11 billion barrels in the Stabroek Block alone. The PNCR leader explained that “A Google search will show that Guyana currently has more barrels of oil per person than Saudi Arabia. And we know that living standards in Saudi Arabia have been high for the longest while. Any political party that attempts to paint a gloomy picture, as is being done by the PPP, of our exceptional good fortune is, at best, not acquainted with reality or, at worst, is uncaring about improving the quality of life of its
citizens. The latter is more likely the explanation.” He opined that the business of any proper government is to ensure people can live decently and happily. The Opposition Leader went on to state that apart from being a moral obligation, this goal is enshrined in national constitutions (such as in Guyana's) and in international conventions on social and economic rights of people, such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (to which Guyana is a signatory). “A proper government would ensure that it can achieve this goal as quickly, as effectively, and as sustainably as possible. Were the PPP a people's government this would have been seen as the opportunity to put the Guyanese people first and guarantee them a high quality of life or, in more concrete terms, to end poverty and to expand and lift the middle class, Norton added. He pointed out that little more needs to be added to our intention to manage the
economy to diminish the diversion of the people's patrimony through corruption, cronyism, and waste. “ Wi t h r o b u s t a n d independent oversight, accountability and transparency systems, significant sums of money can be saved - money that can be spent to benefit the masses… We in the PNCR will not enter into secret deals at the expense of the property rights and earning opportunities of citizens. We will not treat our national patrimony as party or
Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton.
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Kaieteur News
Thursday May 05, 2022
Volodímir Zelenski
Thursday May 05, 2022
Smalta aids GCA Girls’ Programme Smalta will aid in the development of female cricket by sponsoring the Georgetown Cricket Association girl’s programme that bowled off with its orientation yesterday afternoon at Malteenoes Sports Club. At the simple handing over ceremony on Tuesday, Marketing Manager of Guyana Brewery Inc. (GBI) Melinda Telesford shared that, “Smalta is big on supporting sport and this is the perfect event to be part of as it promotes the development of not only cricket but women’s cricket as well.” President of the Malteenoes Cricket Club and manager of the girl’s programme, Deborah McNichols highlighted that, “This is perfect for female cricket and I can see this grow-
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Marketing Manager of GBI Melinda Telesford hands over cheque to Programme manager Deborah McNichols in the presence of GCA President Neil Barry Sr on Tuesday. ing into something special where future national cricketers are produced.” Meanwhile, President of the Georgetown Cricket Association, Neil Barry Sr shared that, “The development of the female game is something we have been lacking with and
hopefully this kick-starts a nucleus of players that we can develop for the game.” The programme will cater to young girls from the age of 12 with various venues around Georgetown being utilised for the running of the camp.
First Harpy Eagles practice... From page 39 expecting to travel on Sunday, May 15, 2022 for Port-ofSpain. Guyana began this season by beating the Windwards Volcanoes by one wicket before in the next game which ended on February 17 they were defeated by an innings and 57 runs by the Leeward Islands Hurricanes. The batting continues to be a major issue and from the limited action seen in the first practice game, the most likely batting replacements; Trevon Griffith (0), Mathew Nandu (0) and Kevlon Anderson, who was looking good on 19 before edged a catch to the Keeper, all failed the make the most of their opportunities. Guyana's winning streak of five consecutive titles was broken in the 2020 season by
Empowering Guyana’s... Thursday May 05, 2022 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) While you may not have been feeling quite your usual self over the past day or two, Aries, today you're likely to be feeling mentally and physically stronger and more focused.
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Although your mind may have been a bit clouded over the past few days, today the fog should clear and you'll feel more focused. Money matters might need some attention, Libra.
TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) A date with a significant other could bring up discussions about plans for the future, Taurus. Talk could run the gamut of all your concerns.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Stimulation that you could receive today from group activities might open doors to a wealth of rich experiences, Scorpio. Your innate organizing talents may be called upon.
GEMINI (May 21–June 20) A number of visitors could come to your home today, Gemini, and a number of fascinating subjects could come up in the course of your conversation.
SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Uncertainty about professional matters can lead to an increased determination to get ahead, Sagittarius, despite confusion as to how to do it exactly.
CANCER (June 21–July 22) Some short trips in your neighborhood and contact with neighbors or visitors to your community could bring some interesting information your way, Cancer. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) A talent for interior decoration that you may or may not have been aware of could inspire you to do some work on your home. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Se pt. 22) Spiritual and intellectual matters may be very much on your mind, Virgo. A lot of ideas could have come your way, although until now they may not have been very focused.
CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) The opportunity to travel, perhaps with friends or a group you belong to, could come your way today, Capricorn. AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) An increased focus, clarity of mind, and sense of concentration could lead to success in career matters and increased income, Aquarius. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Invitations to attend social events, perhaps business related, could bring surprising results, Pisces. You might meet more than one person who shares some of your interests,
From page 38 task of mobilizing resources in support of the enabling provisioning and living conditions of Miss Harvey, befitting her journey enroute the highest tier of the Olympic podium. In this quest, the Coordinator of the Youth Arm of the Stewartville WatchDog Group, in the person of Mrs. Atala Sampson-Clay, enlists the support of patriotic policy makers, socially responsible corporate citizens and private donors to join in the facilitation of Miss Harvey’s journey to make Guyana proud by calling her at telephone number +592 682 2959 to suggest how they can be a part of history in the making. We look forward to your empathetic and deserving support. Yours in Community Development, B. Joseph Ex-Officio Member Stewartville WatchDog Group
Emma Raducanu... From page 35 took advantage to level proceedings with the momentum seemingly on her side. Kalinina found her range again but this time Raducanu refused to buckle and they traded ferocious blows, with the world number 11 battling back from 3-1 to reel off three games in a row. But as both players seemed to fatigue, Kalinina produced a sublime acute backhand that proved just out of reach to get the decisive break before sealing victory in the next game when Raducanu volleyed wide.
Barbados who held an unassailable lead when the truncated season was halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic with two rounds remaining in March 2020. Head Coach Esuan Crandon told Kaieteur Sports that this washed out game has prevented the Coaches from having a good look at the players in various competitive match situations. “We were anticipating a better batting display on the second and third day from the batters but they never got that opportunity. We're looking forward to the next game starting on Monday at the stadium and we're also expecting the batters to put up a better fight with the intention of batting for long periods and score big,” added the former Guyana fast bowler.
“At this point in time, with the tournament just around the corner they're so much we can do in relation to technical skill work before the next practice game and the tournament. However, the focus has and will continue to be on the mental aspect of the game with special emphasis on tactical game plan and the mental capacity to maintain sharp focus for a sustainable period of time. We want all the batters to be more responsible and don't take these practice games for granted…we asked them to treat these games as a first class match. We will be engaging all players prior to and during the next game and reinforce our main objectives and what we expect from them,” concluded Coach Crandon.
Ten-year-old E'bo opener... From page 37 Hilbert Foster, Bish Panday of P and P Insurance Brokers, Sean Devers, Trevis Simon, Årïêl J. Tïlkú, Aaron Beharry, Leanna Bachan and Imran Saccoor, Devon Ramnauth, Teddy Singh, Romesh Munna, Ravi Etwaroo, Ravin Harkishun, Surendra Harkishun, Allan Mangru, Vishal Mahabir, Sherman Austin, Huburn Evans, Rajendra Sadeo and Ramesh Sunich of Trophy Stall, Sheik Mohamed of Star Sports
Awards and Trophies and Ajay Gainda of Cricket Equipment Guyana, Peter Ramkissoon, Rabindranath Saywack, Roshan Gaffoor, Ameer Rahaman, Denesh Chandrapaul and Dr Cecil Beharry. Thanks to the media for the role they are playing in promoting this venture. Distribution will continue. Anyone interested in contributing can contact Beharry on 623-6875 or Das on 1-718-6640896. (Sean Devers)
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Battling Andy Murray downs Denis Shapovalov to set up first clash with Novak Djokovic since 2017 The Telegraph - Where the British youngsters fell short on Tuesday in Madrid, the seasoned veteran stepped up as Andy Murray scored his best win of the year - and set up a first meeting in five years with world No 1 Novak Djokovic. In what was at times a laser-focused performance, Murray downed 17th-ranked
Denis Shapovalov at the Mutua Madrid Open in three sets to reach the last-16, which will be his long-awaited 37th match against Djokovic. The last time he and the Serb met, in Doha in January 2017, Murray was the world No 1 but just months away from being incapacitated by the hip injury that would set his career off course for the
next three years. Now, ranked 78th and still on the comeback trail, Murray will finally be able to test himself against the greatest rival of his career. And the 34-year-old admitted the possibility had played on his mind during Tuesday’s match. “I thought about it a little bit at the beginning of the third set,” Murray said after-
wards. “I didn’t know if I was going to get the opportunity to play matches like that again. In theory, I shouldn’t have a chance, I’ll try my hardest. “But I’ve put myself in a great position, I’ve worked extremely hard the last five to six weeks to put myself here. And it’s a fantastic opportunity to play him again on a huge court so I look forward to it.” The opportunity is all thanks to his hard-fought, late-night 6-1 3-6 6-2 win, which was Murray’s first top20 scalp of the year and best since he beat Jannik Sinner (10) in Stockholm last November. It is also only the second time he has recorded consecutive wins at a tournament this season. And all the more impressive because he and Shapovalov’s only previous meeting was at Wimbledon last year, where Murray was easily dispatched by the Canadian in a straight-sets third round defeat. Since then, Shapovalov
has linked up with Murray’s coach of five years Jamie Delgado - who he split from last year - but the insider intel was not enough to help the Canadian. Murray, as he did in the first round against Dominic Thiem, looked as good as he has since returning to the tour with a metal hip, especially in the first set. Where Murray was consistent and defensively sharp, Shapovalov was erratic and error-strewn at first, overhitting his way into trouble and screaming in frustration throughout. But he tightened up the sloppy shots in the second set, as Murray began to look leggy, and pushed things to a third set. Murray was the better player from thereafter, but it was still tight. He had two break points at 2-1 up in the decider, including after a fine drop shot chase down and cross court winner, which had the crowd on their feet, but it turned out to be a wasted chance. He kept his focus though,
in particular with absurd return statistics, and went for the kill at the next break-point opportunity to nudge himself in front again. Then, after more than two hours on court, he served his way into the last 16. It is an intriguing moment for Murray to play Djokovic, with the Serb still finding his way back to top form after missing a huge chunk of the tour so far this year due to coronavirus restrictions limiting his ability to travel unvaccinated. But on Tuesday he made an impressive start to his campaign in Madrid, beating Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-2 in the second round - his 18th straight win over Monfils, which is a record in head-toheads on the ATP tour. Meanwhile, two-time grand slam finalist Kevin Anderson announced his retirement from tennis. The 35year-old South African hit a peak of world No 5 in 2018 after reaching the final at the US Open the previous year and then at Wimbledon.
Magnum Independence Cup…
Round-of-16 kicks off tonight
Following a grueling and competitive group stage campaign, eight exciting fixtures in the Round-of-16 section in the Magnum Independence Cup will kick-off this evening at the National Park Tarmac, Thomas Lands. In the opening match at 19:00hrs, East Front Road will oppose Melanie, while North East La Penitence tackle Beterverwagting (BV) at 19:30hrs, and Showstoppers engage Agricola at 20:00hrs. In the fourth encounter, Future Stars take aim at Stabroek Ballers at 20:30hrs, while defending champion Bent Street lock horns with Belfield from 21:00hrs. In the final three matches, Back Circle battle
Albouystown at 21:30hrs, Gold is Money take aim at Tiger Bay from 22:00hrs, and Sparta Boss face-off with Mocha at 22:30hrs. Meanwhile, on Tuesday in the final group stage matches at the same venue, Bent Street, Sparta Boss, Back Circle, BV, East Front Road, and Melanie secured comfortable victories. Bent Street defeated Future Stars 4-2, Sparta Boss dismissed Avocado Ballers 31, and Back Circle made light work of Sophia 3-0. Similarly, East Front Road downed Alexander Village 5-3, BV bested Albouystown 5-3, and Melanie defeated Mocha 5-3. On the other hand, Gold is Money defeated Road War-
riors via walkover, while Agricola bested Vene Stars in identical fashion. The quarterfinal section will be staged on Saturday at the same location. The winner of the tournament will collect the package of $700,000, and the championship trophy, while the runnerup will receive $400,000 and the corresponding accolade. The third and fourth place finishers will walk away with $200,000 and $100,000 respectively. The other sponsors of the event are MVP Sport, Nigel Hind Financial Services, Andrews Supermarket, Bold Expressions Barbershop, Fireside Grill ‘N’ Chill, Star Party Rentals, and Lucozade.
Thursday May 05, 2022
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Emma Raducanu suffers three-set loss Red Stripe Linden Town Week Masters Football final on tonight to Anhelina Kalinina at Madrid Open - GT’s Club 45 battle Linden over-45 Masters at MSC ground
GT Masters Dwayne Halley
Linden Masters Charles Pollard
The final of the Linden Town Week Red Stripe Masters football tournament will see home team Linden Masters Over45 face the younger veterans Club45 in the second game of a double header tonight from 9.00pm to decide the champions at the Mackenzie Sports Club ground. In the supporting game the Linden Under45 Masters will collide with the Club 45 Seniors from 7.00pm. The Club45 Seniors overcame the Linden Under45 behind a brace by Dwayne Halley and with Mark Glasgow with Halley the defence of the GT side should be solid. The main man up front striking is Kwesi Pryce.
Coach of the Club45 side, Kurt Davis, said that their intention is to run the Linden side off the field with steady raids since they are the younger team. He said there will be no letting up so a victory will almost be certain. But the Linden Senior Masters team which beat the junior Club45 team are confident of coming out on top. Garfield ‘Snooks’ Shepherd and Lennox ‘Grandpa Harvey will be the men to watch for the Linden Masters Over45 side with adequate support from players of the caliber of former national skipper Charles ‘Lily’ Pollard and Wainwright Bethune, Eyon ‘Axeman’ Wills, Compton Duncan, Leon Clement who will take
Mark Glasgow Ht masters
Lennox Harvey up duties between the uprights and Abdulla ‘Zico’ Hamid. Several trophies are on offer to go with the bragging rights and a great night of competitive football is anticipated.
Ravens, Sunrisers Masters pick up wins in ESCL Over-40 competition Ravens Sports Club and Sunrisers Masters chalked up victories last Sunday in the continuation of the 2022 Essequibo Softball Cricket League (ESCL) Over-40, 20-overs competition. At Richmond ground in Region Two, Pomeroon-Supenaam, Ravens beat Queenstown Tigers by three wickets, while at the same venue, Sunrisers Masters defeated Devonshire Castle Sports Club by 113 runs. Queenstown Tigers only made an inadequate 184 all out in the 20th over while Ravens responded with 190-7 in the penultimate over. Veteran batsman Ramesh Narine led the way for Ravens with 42, while Vishnu Harpaul contributed 33. Dexter Grant grabbed 3-26 off his four overs and Motielall Deepnarine collected 2-39 in his four-overs outing. When Queenstown Tigers batted, Deepnarine hit 82 as Glendon Smith bagged 3-24 off four overs and Punraj Singh with 2-13 (04). In the other fixture, Sunrisers Masters racked up a formidable 243-7 at the expiration of the 20-overs while Devonshire Castle only replied with 130-9 when the overs ran out. Gopaul Deen scored 69 for Sunrisers Masters and a good contribution of 66 came from Eon Grovsner. Darshand Persaud snatched 3-39 off four overs. In Devonshire Castle’s innings, Dickie Reid made 21 as Seepersaud Sankar took 3-25 from four overs and Husbard
Gopaul Deen Thomas supported with 2-29 in his four overs. The action will continue this Sunday with two more matches at venues to be named. Queenstown Tigers will clash with Devonshire Castle, while Caribbean Cricket Club and Hibernia Strikers collide. The semi-finals are set for May 15th while the championship game is billed for May 22nd.
PA Sport - Emma Raducanu put up a valiant effort but ultimately bowed out of the Madrid Open after a see-saw three-set defeat against unseeded Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina. Raducanu was out-ofsorts and outmuscled in an opening set that lasted just 35 minutes, after which she briefly left the court for a medical timeout having clutched her back on a couple of occasions. Amazingly, she seemed rejuvenated and took advantage of an error count creeping up from her opponent to take the third-round match to a decider, only for Kalinina to hold her nerve and prevail 62 2-6 6-4. While Kalinina can look forward to a quarter-final showdown against Switzerland’s Jil Teichmann, Raducanu, seeded ninth in the Spanish capital, can take some solace for her dogged determination. “I want to give credit to Emma because I think we both played very good quality, the match was great in my opinion,” Kalinina said afterwards
Anhelina Kalinina, of Ukraine, celebrates a point. (Manu Fernandez/AP)
on Amazon Prime. “I appreciate in this moment I was maybe luckier and I did better in the decisive points. I am happy I won this match.” An epic spanning two hours and 19 minutes – including a gruelling 63-minute final set – did not seem to be on the cards when a listless Raducanu was broken to love in her opening service game. Kalinina, who lost just three games in beating former French Open and Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza earlier this week, simply overpowered Raducanu in a one-
sided first set where the Briton, wearing strapping on her upper left leg, appeared to be troubled by a back problem. While the reigning US Open champion had no answers to her rival’s groundstrokes on both wings, but particularly her impressive backhand, Raducanu was much improved in the second set following some treatment off court. There was little doubting Kalinina’s levels had dropped and Raducanu ruthlessly (Continued on page 33)
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FIFA signs MoU with GFF, Ministries to launch Football for Schools Project Wednesday, May 4, 2022 became a day of great significance for Guyana when Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Sport and Guyana Football Federation (GFF) to launch the Football for Schools (F4S) Programme. This prestigious
programme will fully incorporate football into the School Programme as the Education system seeks to create wellrounded individuals and the Sport’s Governing body now has a solid programme aligned to nurture talent from a tender age. What is most satisfying about this programme is that fact that it covers Guyana’s entire demographic so youths
will have a great opportunity to be recognised and no child will be left out. Guyana was chosen by FIFA as the first Country from the CONCACAF region to initiate the project. Making brief but impactful remarks at the launching ceremony were Football for Schools Project Leader, Alexandre Gros, Caribbean Football Union (CFU) The signing began immediately after the launching ceremony. Licensed coaches and team members from the F4S project engaged with a number of students at the GFF Training Centre.
General Secretary, Camara David, Caricom Secretariat Assistant Secretary General - Human & Social, Dr. Douglas Slater, Honourable Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, Honourable Minister of Sport, Charles Ramson Jr. and GFF President – Wayne Forde. The bold GFF President was first to make remarks on behalf of the Federation: “We are humbled by this opportunity and are determined to deliver success. H o w e v e r, w h i l e Guyana has been selected for this prestigious honor, we must also acknowledge that any of the CARICOM sister nations were just as well pleased and capable of moving forward with this transformational programme.” “I would therefore like to assure my c o l l e a g u e s across the region that we stand ready to share our experiences and provide any support they may need, as they set about implementing the F4S programme in their respective jurisdiction.” He continued: “For the GFF, we see this milestone as a sign of the progress. The GFF is committed to changing the lives of our young people. Since 2015, we have rolled out the first nationwide youth football academy training center programme. We’ve launched long term
partnerships with Namilco, KFC and Blue Water Shipping to name a few and with the support of the Government of Guyana and FIFA, we’re building Guyana’s first home of football, right here at Providence.” Follo w i n g t h o s e r e marks, the Project Leader, Gros, had an opportunity to make his informative speech. Gros’ most influential words were: “For FIFA, President Gianni Infantino in the FIFA Foundation, and its CEO Hugh Rodriguez, and we here today from FIFA firmly believe that by embracing football in schools, you will see the exceptional power that football has to bring together a multicultural, multi-ethnic, multi- phased nation such as Guyana.” He added: “The long term benefits of such a programme if applied at full capacity will be felt for years in terms of public health, both physical and mental. Because when children pick up good sporty football habits at a young age, then they are likely to keep them for life.” The representatives of CFU and Caricom both commended Guyana’s leaders to accept the programme which they think will yield satisfying results for decades to come. They encouraged the governing body to effectively
apply the aspects of the programme in the safest and most impactful way possible while congratulating them on the achievement. The Honorable Minister of Sport spoke along the same lines of properly implementing the project to achieve the desired effect. He thought from the initial stage that the project was a good one when it was brought to his attention by the GFF President over a year ago. He believes Guyana is ready to undertake a task as such and it is also a signal that Country is ready to achieve greater heights. The Education Minister, another who immediately cosigned on the project, feels it a great honour to incorporate this project in the already flourishing education system that has seen the best results in the Caribbean for decades. “You have our full support and you will see that. We have been assured all of the required curricular and extracurricular resources for effective implementation have been secured and the government is going to invest in this programme,” Minister Manickchand said. After the documents were signed, a friendly demonstration with boys and girls of various ages was conducted at the GFF Training Centre.
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Kaieteur News
Initial Records for Arrowhead League finalised - Running Brave, GDF set the standards The inaugural Arrowhead Track and Field League which has had two of its five phases completed at the Leonora Track and Field Facility, has finalised the meet records for all the events contested. Organiser of the event, Treiston Joseph, told Kaieteur Sport that hosting the event is an amazing experience. The meet sanctioned by the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) unfolded on April 30 and May, 1 and has three more days of action to behold. Joseph was very appreciative of the assistance he received from Corporate Guyana, who all realised the importance of a meet as such. The fastest Man and Woman at the meet were Guyana Defence Force (GDF) members, Akeem Stewart and Dr. Ruth Sanmoogan, who clocked 10.40s and 11.99s, respectively, in the 100m run. CARIFTA athlete Shamar Horatio, competing out of Ramos James’ club clocked 21.50s in the Men’s 200m, while another CARIFTA team member, Keliza Smith, sketched her name into the record books with 23.99s in
Akeem Stewart the Women’s 200m. Smith competed out of the Running Brave Track and Field Club. Running Brave’s Simeon Adams set 48.28s as the meet record in the Men’s 400m while CARIFTA 400m U-17 Female silver medalist, Narissa McPherson (Running Brave), put 57.09s on the clock for the Women’s 400m meet record. The Men’s 800m meet record was set in fine fashion by GDF’s Devaun Barrington
Anisha Gibbons who ran 1:55.84s, while CARIFTA Gold Medalist Attoya Harvey, went about her record setting performance with a classy run off 2:16.12s for her club, Running Brave. GDF’s Mark Nicholson won the Men’s 1500m to set a meet record of 4:11.89s. Field Events Record Holders GDF’s Leslain Baird, Joshua Jones and Mark Jhalu became the record holders for
the Men’s Javelin, Discus and High Jump, respectively. Baird returned from injury to set a best throw of 70.06m in the Javelin, Jones threw a best of 38.05m in the Discus and Jhalu leaped a best of 2.10m in the High Jump. Guyana Police Force’s (GPF) Carl Williams also leaped his way into the record books with a jump of 7.29m in the Men’s Long Jump. For the Women, there was no surprise when double CARIFTA Javelin Gold Med-
Keliza Smith alist, Anisha Gibbons, won her pet event at the League, but what was immediately noticeable for the Ruralites athlete was her improved distance. She set a record at the League of 42.69m to improve on her CARIFTA best throw of 42.54m which won her the Girls U-20 Gold just under a month ago. In the other Women’s field events, GDF stomped their authority all over the record books. Ameka Eastman won
Devaun Barrington the Discus with a best throw of 35.03m, Dr. Sanmoogan won the Long Jump with a leap of 6.10m and Natrena Hooper was victorious in the Triple Jump with 12.80m. Meanwhile, the Men’s 5000m and Triple Jump along with the Women’s 1500m, 3000m and High Jump will be contested at the third Meet. According to the organizer, the next Meet is scheduled for June and the date will be announced shortly.
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Thursday May 05, 2022
Kaieteur News
NSC pledges support for GAPLF Director of Sport Steve Ninvalle (3rd from left) with executive of the GAPLF.
Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Linden…
Swag Ent, DC Ballers, Amazing and Silver Bullets are final four Guinness Swag ent in yellow vs dark side in red – A battle in the Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Linden edition between defending champion Swag Entertainment (yellow) and Darkside at the SilverCity Hard-court.
The executive of the Guyana Amateur Powerlifting Federation (GAPLF) met with the Director of Sport Steve Ninvalle on Wednesday last to discuss issues affecting the association and events for the rest of year. Issues arising were the ban and serving of the suspension of Carlos Peterson Griffith by the International Powerlifting Federation. This was served from December 2021 and ended in the latter part of February 2022. Next on the agenda was the events planned locally and overseas. Upcoming is the masters/ intermediate championship to be held on the 15th of May at the Saints Stanislaus College, the NAPF championships slated for Panama City from the 15th-21st of August, the raw or classic championships on 15th of October and senior nationals on 4th of December. Support was pledged for the overseas engagement
which had a substantial budget to field a large contingent of athletes that were shortlisted to compete at the NAPF. The Sports Commission offered support in finding a home for the Federation’s equipment and gears. Further, discussions were held about Guyana having been seen as a role model to other regional powerlifting bodies such as Trinidad, Suriname, Jamaica and others from within the region. Guyana boasts four category 2 IPF referees and will be sending two other individuals to Panama to write their IPF examination; these are Mark Seymour and Juanita White. The Guyana Amateur Powerlifting Federation indicated its intention to invite overseas competitors for its senior nationals, in order to improve the level of competition. Future developmental interest for the Federation is getting a programme incorpo-
rated into the school system, and the GAPLF will be reaching out to the Ministry of Education. The GAPLF is adamant that they play a vital role in getting the youths to stay in good health, shape and frame of mind so as to contribute meaningfully with national development. The Federation is working to decentralise power lifting to all regions, reforming the constitution to have regional bodies and representatives. Also in the pipeline is the outreach to regions like Lethem, North West, Essequibo and Bartica. Soon competitions will be held in those regionscompetitions were held in Berbice and Linden. The GAPLF is looking forward for support from cooperate Guyana to fulfill their mandate. The championships on the 15th of May will be live streamed on YouTube and Facebook.
Defending champion Swag Entertainment will oppose Silver Bullets, while DC Ballers will tackle Amazings in the semifinal round on Saturday, following quarterfinal wins on Tuesday in the Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Linden edition. Staged at the Silver City Hard-court, Swag Entertainment downed Darkside, 2 – 0. Colwyn Drakes and Kendolph Lewis scored in the 17th and 21st minutes, respectively. On the other hand, Silver Bullets edged Germans 2-1. Donovan
Francis and Darrel George scored in the fourth and 11th minutes, respectively. For the loser, Tyriq McAllister netted in the 10th minute. Meanwhile, DC Ballers needled Whap-Whap 1 – 0 compliments of a 24th minute conversion from Allan Halley. Also, Amazings bested High Rollers 3-1. Errol Davies, George Stephen and Tyrese Lewis found the back of the net in the 15th, 17th, and 21st minutes, respectively. For the loser, Qualon Andries found the back of the net in the 24th
minute. The respective semi-final winners will advance to the finale, with the losers contesting the third place playoff. Winner of the tournament will pocket $300,000 and the championship trophy. They will also earn an automatic berth to the national championship. The runner up will receive $200,000, and the corresponding accolade. The third and the fourth place finisher will walk away with $100,000, and $70,000, respectively.
Bullets in (red) vs Germans in (white) – Bullets (white) and Germans compete in Guinness football action in Linden.
Letter to the Sports Editor
Empowering Guyana’s Triple Medalist at the 2022 CARITA Games Dear Sports Editor, addition to her athletic
The CARIFTA Games was launched in 1972 to mark the transition from the Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA) to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Since 1990, Guyana has been ranked at number 10 and as the only More Developed Country (MDC) in CARICOM, not in the first 5. At the just concluded 49th Games in 2022, Miss Attoya Harvey added a gold, a silver and a bronze totaling three medals to Guyana’s compilation. Attoya Harvey who hails from Stewartville, delivered gold in the 1500 meters Under-17 Girls, silver at the Girls Under-20 in the 3000 meters, and bronze in the Girls Under-17 in the 800 meters. She is 16 years old and a Form 5 student at the Uitvlugt Secondary School. In
prowess she shows great academic potential, despite her underprivileged socioeconomic circumstances. Stewartville village, situated on the West Coast of Demerara is located at midpoint between Vreed-enHoop on the West Bank of Demerara, and Parika on the East Coast of Essequibo. The village has cradled many nation-building personalities who have gone on to make sterling contribution to Guyana’s development. Likewise, Miss Harvey, if given the enabling provisioning and living conditions could no doubt go on to become the iconic golden Olympian Guyana has never seen. Guyana’s lone Olympic medalist is Michael Anthony who donned bronze in boxing at the 1980 Summer Olympics
after the formation of the Guyana Olympic Association in 1935 and its recognition by the International Olympic Committee in 1948. Miss Harvey’s raw athletic talent displayed by her spectacular gold-winning performance showcased at News Room - CARIFTA GAMES: ATTOYA HARVEY WINS GOLD FOR GUYANA | Facebook - bears testimony to the diamond in the rough in need of commensurable sustenance to optimally peak as Guyana’s pioneering gold Olympian, thereby pivoting Guyana into the ecosystem of global sports. Firm in the belief that it takes a village to raise a child, the budding Youth Arm Chapter shepherded by the senior members of the Stewartville WatchDog Group, have undertaken the (Continued on page 33)
Indian Arrival Day one day dominoes tourney set for Senior Supervisors Club today The Indian Arrival Day One Day dominoes tournament organized by Swag Boss has attracted teams from Linden and Georgetown in what is expected to be one of the biggest dominoes showdowns set for the Senior Supervisors Club
in Mackenzie Linden starting at 12.00hrs. The top teams from Linden have been invited, while others from Georgetown have indicated their interest in contesting for the championship which has at stake a guaranteed $100,000 for
the winners along with other cash incentive prizes and trophies. The entrance per team is $15,000 and among the Linden teams expected to challenge are Bidders, CATS, Big Landing, Swag Boss, Pensioners, GJETSCO and WHO.
Kaieteur News
Thursday May 05, 2022
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“Cricket Gear for young and promising cricketers in Guyana”
Ten-year-old E'bo opener Fredericks benefits from Project Ravid Fredericks, a 10 years old opening batter from Essequibo is the latest cricketer to benefit from the project, an initiative of Kishan Das of the USA and Anil Beharry of Guyana. Fredericks, the baby of the team, is the youngest batsman to participate in the GCB/Dave West Indies Imports and Exports Inter County Tournament which was halted due to the inclement weather. Players are vying for a place in the national team to participate in the upcoming CWI Regional Tournament. Essequibo has another 10-year-old in their team in American based Ethon Sylus, the Nephew US based Guyanese Boxing Champions Elton Dharry. However, Since Sylus, the son of Dharry's sister, can afford to buy cricket gear and Fredricks comes from a single parent home. The adjudicators decided on Fredericks. Fredericks, the son of former National player Norman Fredericks and Nephew of former Essequibo batter and Coach of the Essequibo U-15 team Norwayne Fredricks, represents Jaguar Cricket Club and resides with his mother in the village of Pomona. He was the recipient of a junior gear bag along with one pair of batting pads, one bat, one box, one helmet, one pair of batting gloves and one bat rubber which was up for grabs for the youngest batsman in the tournament. The elegant right hander is one for the future and was
highly recommended by officials, media representatives and former players. At a simple informal presentation held recently, Beharry, a current GCB executive, said that he is happy to assist young players and he considers this special because of the player's tender age. He said that the project has reached out to many young and promising cricketers and clubs across the length and breadth of Guyana and is the hope of the initiative to assist in producing more cricketers for Guyana and West Indies. In response, the grade 5 student of Huis't Dieren Primary School was very thankful for the gear and promised to work hard on his game so as to realize his dreams of donning West Indies colours one day. Total cricket related items collected so far: $130,000 cash, two trophies, eleven cricket boots, sixteen pairs of batting pads, seventeen bats, eleven pairs of batting gloves, nineteen thigh pads, one wicket keeping pad, one arm guard, five cricket bags and one helmet. In addition to the above, $600,000 worth in gear was donated by Sheik Mohamed, former National wicket keeper/batsman. To date, thirty-five young players from all three counties of Guyana have benefited from two junior gear bags, two trophies, one arm guard, eleven bats, one box, one helmet, nine pairs of cricket shoes, eight pairs of batting pads, one bat rubber
Maradona's 'hand of... From page 40 during the goals. "And so, prior to putting this shirt for sale, we d i d extensive diligence and scientific research on the item to make sure it was the shirt worn by Maradona in the second half for the two goals." The photomatchin g process had involved matching the shirt "to both goals examining unique details on various elements of the item, including the patch, stripes, and numbering." It added that Maradona himself had acknowledged
the provenance of the shirt himself, in his book "Touched by God," and he recalls giving it to Hodge at the end of the match. The previous record for a game-worn shirt from any sport was $5.6 million, set in 2019 for a jersey Babe Ruth wore while on the New York Yankees. Until now the auction record for any sports memorabilia was the original autograph manuscript of the Olympic Manifesto from 1892, which sold at Sotheby's for $8.8 million in December 2019.
Ravid Fredericks, left, shake hands with Anil Beharry with the cricket gear on display.
and nine pairs of batting gloves. In addition, the Rose Hall Estate Cricket Club benefited from a pair of stumpsand bails and two clubs in the Pomeroon area benefited from two used bats. Pomeroon, Leguan and
Wa k e n a a m C r i c k e t Committees, Cotton Tree Die Hard and Rose Hall CCCC also received one box of red cricket balls each. Cricket related items, u s e d o r n e w, w i l l b e distributed free of cost to
young and promising cricketers in Guyana. Skills, discipline and education are important characteristics of the recipients. Talent spotting is being done across the country and club leaders will also assist to identify talent.
Progressive and well managed clubs will also benefit. Beharry and Das thanked Javed and Imran of West Indian Sports Complex, Option Group of USA, (Continued on page 33)
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Kaieteur News
Thursday May 05, 2022
Maradona's 'hand of God' World Cup jersey auctioned for $9.3M: So the by's
A football shirt worn by Argentina's Diego Maradona during the 1986 World Cup quarter-final match against England is seen at Sotheby's auction house in London in April ahead of its sale for $9.3M May 4, 2022. (AFP/ADRIAN DENNIS) AFP - The jersey that Argentina football legend Diego Maradona wore while scoring twice against England in the 1986 World Cup, including the infamous "hand of God" goal, was auctioned for $9.3 million, a record for any item of sports memorabilia, Sotheby's said yesterday. Seven bidders vied for the garment in an auction that began April 20 and ended yesterday morning, Sotheby's said. "This historic shirt is a tangible reminder of an important moment not only in the history of sports, but in the history of the 20th century," Sotheby's head of streetwear and modern collectibles Brahm Wachter said in a statement after the sale. "This is arguably the most coveted football shirt to ever come to auction, and so it is fitting that it now holds the auction record for any object of its kind," he said. The jersey had been owned by opposing midfielder Steve Hodge, who swapped his jersey with Maradona after England lost 2-1. Hodge, whose autobiography is titled "The man with Maradona's shirt," has for the past 20 years loaned the jersey to be on public display at the National Football Museum in Manchester. The quarter-final showdown became etched in football lore for Maradona's two goals -- one notorious and one sublime -- in Mexico City's seething Aztec
Stadium. The first came shortly after half-time when Hodge, on the edge of the England penalty area, intercepted a pass and flicked the ball back towards goal. Maradona, running into the box, rose with England's goalkeeper Peter Shilton and punched the ball into the net. He later said the goal had been scored "a little with the head of Maradona, a little with the hand of God." Soon after, Maradona left five English defenders in his wake before gliding past Shilton and slotting home for a strike that was voted "Goal of the Century" in a 2002 FIFA poll. Argentina went on to win the final and Maradona, who died from a heart attack in 2020, became worshipped in his home country. - Jersey mix up? Maradona's daughter cast doubt on the sale earlier this month when she claimed that the shirt put up for auction had been the one her father wore in the goal-less first half, not the second when he scored his two goals. "This former player thinks he has my dad's second-half jersey, but it's a mix-up. He has the one from the first half," his daughter Dalma said. Sotheby's insisted they had the right shirt, though. A S o t h e b y ' s spokeswoman told AFP: "There was indeed a different shirt worn by Maradona in the first half, but there are clear differences between that and what was worn (Continued on page 39)
Thursday May 05, 2022
Kaieteur News
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First Harpy Eagles practice match called off due to rain Coach Crandon wants batters to more responsible
Harpy Eagles Head Coach Esuan Crandon By Sean Devers
A
fter just one day of play, the first threeday practice match for the Guyana Harpy Eagles, the third day was officially called off yesterday due to the soggy condition of the Everest ground which has taken a pounding from two consecutive days of heavy rain. The sun appeared after lunch in all its brilliance but by then the damage had already been done. At the end of day one, Leon Johnson's XI were on the ropes on 18-3 replying to the 177 made by Keemo Paul's XI as the batters failed to convert small starts in something substantial. The second and final practice game is scheduled for May 9 at the Providence Stadium where the adverse weather should not make as big an impact as in this game due to its faster drying surface. Guyana start the last three matches of the 2022 CWI Regional Four-Day First Class cricket tournament when they face-off with defending Champions Barbados on May 18 in Trinidad where they will also play Jamaica on May 25 before competing with host Trinidad and Tobago from June 1 at the Queen's Park Oval. The Harpy Eagles are (Continued on page 33)
Kevlon Anderson was looking good on 19 before he nicked a catch to the Keeper on Monday at Everest. (Sean Devers photo)
rt o p S
SIGNED!!! From left: Football for Schools Project Leader, Alexandre Gros,) Honourable Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, GFF President – Wayne Forde and Honourable Minister of Sport, Charles Ramson Jr. display the signed MoU at the GFF Training Centre, Providence.
FIFA signs MoU with GFF, Ministries to launch Football for Schools Project
Guinness 'Greatest of the Streets' Linden…
Action in the Guinness 'Greatest of the Streets' Linden edition between Whap Whap (white) and DC Ballers (green) at the Silver City Hard-court.
Swag Ent, DC Ballers, Amazing and Silver Bullets are final four
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