Kaieteur News

Joe Biden recommends K NEWS overhaul of United States’ oil and gas leasing programme

Sunday Edition

AIETEUR

November 28, 2021

Online: www.kaieteurnews.com

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

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A lesson for Guyana?

China takes over Uganda's

only int'l airport for failing to repay US$207 million loan …Guyana already owes hundreds of millions, gearing to borrow US$1.5B more Exxon's Consultant apologises for unauthorised use of Shyam Nokta's signature on Yellowtail EIA car' CARICOM to boost capacity of 'Green bandit by over 150 extension officers captured cops after across member states robberies

The protest continues for change to ExxonMobil’s contract.

Over 24,000 Venezuelan refugees living in Guyana - Report …as child recently rescued at Port Kaituma dies

Despite no approval for Yellowtail…

Oil boss tells Guyana, expect one FPSO every year after 2025 Suriname just got US$50M environmental bonus in advance on one lil oil block, Trinidad got US$15 million signing bonus also in advance on a gas deal from a piece of a gas field.

What did our leaders get for us from all our massive wealth? NOTHING! @ 11am, 4&7pm on Kaieteur Local and Regional experts decry EM’s shambolic EIA during online

Radio 99.1/99.5FM

consultation and expose their inability to answer hundreds of questions and concerns posed to them on this forced project, Yellowtail, and all the leaders quiet.

Guyanese must stand up to oil giants; they must refuse to have their rights trampled upon.

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Kaieteur News

Sunday November 28, 2021

Despite no approval for Yellowtail…

Oil boss tells Guyana, expect one FPSO every year after 2025 Uaru Mako Area Whiptail Area Yellowtail Area Pinktail

Hammerhead Hammerhead Potential Future Developments

Stabroek Hess 30%

Turbot Area

Map showing the potential areas for development in the Stabroek Block

by ExxonMobil and its partners, Hess Corporation and CNOOC/NEXEN Should the Stabroek Block partners receive the requisite government approvals for its fourth project called Yellowtail in a timely fashion, start-up is poised to commence as early as 2025. But following this, Guyana should expect to see one floating, production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel being added to its offshore armada every year. This is according to Hess Corporation’s Chief

Executive Officer (CEO), John Hess.

During a recent interview, the Hess boss said the partners already have a line of sight for the first seven ships while adding that the Uaru-Mako discoveries could possibly support the fifth development on the block.

Readers would recall that the Mako-1 discovery was announced in December 2019.

Continued on page 56

Kaieteur News

Sunday November 28, 2021

PAGE 03

A Lesson for Guyana?

China takes over Uganda’s only int’l airport for failing to repay US$207M loan …Guyana already owes hundreds of millions, gearing to borrow US$1.5B more China ranks among the top three richest countries in the world, with available liquidity being doled out in the form of loans to the tune of trillions. The country has been on an aggressive campaign pursuing a global infrastructure agenda under the rubric of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Lauded when first announced just over a decade ago, several countries that latched onto millions in loans for large scale infrastructural projects, have since been finding themselves in a predicament where they would end up having to forfeit state assets and in some cases sovereign land.

EXIM BANK This is as a result of the terms and conditions attached to these loans, including the exclusion of specific international arbitration bodies such as the Paris Club.

The latest victim, Uganda, is at present unable to pay its debt to China for a US$207M loan from the Chinese Exim Bank it contracted back in November 2015.

The loan had a maturity period of 20 years including a seven-year grace period.

According to International reports now surfacing, the country has now signed an agreement to virtually surrender the new airport to the Chinese lenders.

That airport serves as the country’s only international airport for a nation with a population of some 46 million people and a U S $ 3 7 . 4 B e c o n o m y.

According to international reports, efforts on the part of

the Ugandan government have failed to convince the Chinese lenders to renegotiate “the toxic clauses of the 2015 loan,” leaving Ugandan President, Yo w e r i M u s e v e n i ’ s administration in limbo.

According to the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA), some provisions in the Financing Agreement with China expose Entebbe International Airport and other Ugandan assets to be attached and taken over by Chinese lenders upon arbitration in Beijing.

China, according to international reports, has

Chinese President, Xi JinPing rejected recent pleas by Uganda to renegotiate.

The Daily Monitor, this past week said, the Ugandan government waived international immunity in the agreement it signed to secure the loans, exposing Entebbe International Airport to take over without international protection.

Uganda in March sent a delegation to Beijing hoping

Sri Lanka’s China-owned Hambantota port. to renegotiate the toxic clauses of the deal but the officials came back emptyhanded as China would not allow the terms of the original deal to be varied.

MISHANDLED LOAN U g a n d a ’s F i n a n c e Minister, Matia Kasaija was also forced this past week to apologise for the “mishandling of the $207 million loan” from the China Exim Bank.

Notably, progress of works at the airport has only reached 75.2 percent completed, with two runways having reached overall completion of 100 percent. Entebbe International Airport is Uganda’s only international airport and handles over 1.9 million passengers per year.

In March of this year, Chinese and Guyanese Presidents, Xi Jinping and Dr. Irfaan Ali, held talks on the promotion of a series of Continued on page 57

The Entebbe International Airport the Ugandan Government handed over to China for failing to repay a US$207M debt.

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Kaieteur News

Sunday November 28, 2021

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

Declining fish catch Currently, fishermen and their families are those primarily concerned about the significantly lower fishing catch that they experience, when they ply Guyana’s fishing fields. The results are meagre, as we reported recently: “Declining fish catch triggers worry among local fishermen - many blame Exxon offshore operations; predict death of industry in five years” (KN November, 22). By any calculation, it is a grim present, and a grimmer looking future for fishermen and all the many others who depend upon their catch. The dependent includes their families foremost, then the many retailers who make a living from what they bring to shore and can be offered in marketplaces, fish shops, corner shops, and street side vendors. Regarding the small shops and smaller vendors struggling to make it, fish burgers, fishcake, fish and chips and fish and bread are profitable daily staples. Take that away, or it becomes scarce and prohibitively expensive, and there is only meat and veggies left. That is, for those Guyanese who even deal with veggies to any great degree. The bustling subculture of cleaners, porters, and much smaller selfhelpers gathered around the wharves to squeeze out ‘a little something’ from the daily fishing catch must also number among the dependents in our fishing sector. The fishermen can barely make it with their catch, now well below normal levels, with almost 50 percent decline felt.

They blame the rapidly expanding offshore operations of Exxon. One school of thought points to higher salinity in the water negative impacting marine life, with humans feeling the effects later, as Guyanese do today. Others blame changing meteorological conditions, with global warming all the rage. The temperature effects, which some unfamiliar minds may deem as negligible, have wreaked havoc in many places on a global scale, including possibly marine life, hence the cries of our fishermen.

It would appear that there is considerable basis for the misgivings and wraths of our local fishermen when they point to Exxon and its offshore operations as the main factors contributing to their plight. For, as our November 22nd article referenced earlier noted, “A key report from the American multinational…warned that there will be significant impact on the nation’s marine resources, due to the cumulative impact of those oil related activities.” To be clear and direct, “those oil related activities” are the intensifying priorities and rush of Exxon, while “significant impact on the nation’s marine resources” means Guyana’s fishing fields for one, with the many consequences that Guyanese of many walks of life must grapple with, and are left to resolve on their own.

The PPP Government and its leaders who like to shout that they are for the small man and the poor and working class have been mostly quiet, and content to hide behind meaningless pronouncements.

That is if and when they say anything at all. This is the state of impotency to which Exxon and its kind have reduced Guyanese political leaders. We make no exception for any political group, any political leader, any government minister, whether of today or of the recent past.Our powerful political presences and voices in Government and Opposition are without substance or sound. Incomes are depleted and could be lost and there is no one and nothing to comfort our people, who are told that the oil is our blessing; and it is the divine right of the President and Vice President and Leader of the Opposition to go along quietly with whatever sewage Exxon drops on the heads of weaker, vulnerable citizens of this nation.

Our nutrition intake is involved and impacted negatively, because with the declining fish catch, the focus then shifts to animal-based products, and all the known issues that follow.

Our families are faced with higher fish prices, lesser availability, and concerns about the quality on the table, since the catch is so tiny. Fresh, frozen imports are not the same thing as straight from the sea to our homes. This oil, supposedly a blessing, is killing us, limb by limb.Is anybody listening to our calls to explore and produce sensibly, with what protects? Where are Government leaders? What happened to their voices? Have their strength and willpower declined also, just like the fish catch?

GOVT. MUST LEARN AND CORRECT AREAS OF GLARING WEAKNESSES DEAR EDITOR, A number of recent concerns raised in the media do give the impression that the Government is losing control of some key strategic initiatives underway.

1. Labour negotiations Bank’s DIH has been able to successfully negotiate with the Union on pay for their workers. Our government should take note of the approach taken and the outcome achieved, so as to follow suit, and avoid the take it or leave it nonstarter approach of the past. We must as a country value those who help us attain success and meet with them annually in a collegial and non-combative atmosphere, to discuss their needs and how best to work together to be mutually suc-

cessful in the coming years.

2. Oil production rates The recent news of production being allowed to go beyond design specifications for the extraction of oil, does raise concerns that control over the sector is no longer in place. It is best to be conservative in what is allowed to take place on our seabed offshore.

We have all recently witnessed how Exxon struggled for months to repair equipment that failed, resulting in environmental damage and excess flaring. Although there is a factor of safety built into each design, we must safeguard the environment and heed the concerns being raised.

The rush to extract and sell oil and gas must not be at

the expense of the environment. Fishers are already seeing the negative impact the sector is having on our seafood industry. As a rule, we should target 80 percent of the designed maximum load and ensure that there is a predictive and preventative maintenance program in place that is effectively implemented; and key elements of extraction operations are reviewed on a daily basis during the life cycle of the project. The inspection program will generate a schedule of the daily activities required by the onsite inspectors. This requires that the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) budget includes the hiring of inspectors, their training and the cost of having them on site at the extraction opera-

tion.

3. Audit of the Oil & Gas Sector Much has already been said and the Nation’s disappointment is increasing. The Government needs to clearly articulate what they will do; how they will accomplish it; with whose support and involvement; and most importantly, when it will be done.

The time for action is now and the posturing and long discussion over what didn’t occur and why, will occur in due time in Parliament. There must be no further delay in correcting course in this matter.

Best regards, Mr. Jamil Changlee Chairman The Cooperative Republicans of Guyana

Sunday November 28, 2021

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Kaieteur News

A CALL TO GUYANESE WORKERS TO UNITE IN THE FACE OF PRESIDENTIAL AND GOVERNMENTAL WICKEDNESS DEAR EDITOR, Workers of Guyana unite!

President Irfaan Ali is determined to keep us divided as he lives the life akin to the Shah of Iran on our tax dollars.

His address to the nation last Friday was pure damn nonsense. In 2016, he stood in the National Assembly and vociferously supported the Guyana Public Service Union’s (GPSU) position for a 50 percent wage increase, and moreso, condemned the APNU+AFC Government for not respecting Collective Bargaining. Today he dances to a different tune.

In 2021 when entrusted the privilege to deliver on the issues he professed to stand for in 2016, he seeks to label the just demand by the trade union for better wages/salary and respect for collective bargaining as ‘political’. His double standards must not go unchallenged nor his wickedness unexposed.

Whenever some workers demand they be treated fairly, the PPP/C seeks to label their action as wanting to undermine their programmes and government.

The president must be told, the society is not fooled by his rhetoric nor his calculated act of deceit in the quest to deny economic justice to sections of the working class.

His comparison to countries around the world, in dealing with wages/salary and percentage increase has no bearing on Guyana. He is beyond shame to think this nation would ignore comparisons are made between liked things. What could be compared is the attitude of his regime to that of Equatorial Guinea, where the wealth goes into the

pocket of a few.

He should not burden workers with the stupidity between his regime and the Opposition, which passes for politics today.

His griping only demonstrates to the world his inability to govern in the interest of all. It is he who applied for the job, is now in the position, and must get the job done based on the Constitution and Laws of Guyana. It is unjust and unconscionable to expect workers to band their bellies and punish, as he opens his buckle to allow for the expansion of his. Himself and Jagdeo, when in Opposition, condemned the Coalition for paying themselves a 50 percent increase. They also said they will not accept pay increases as Members of Parliament, and should they enter office they would reverse the 50 percent.

They did neither. They have not only refused to reduce their salary, they will add the seven percent.

Every time President Ali travels abroad, he collects US$5000.00 as out of pocket allowance, in addition to the state standing all his expenses.

A million plus Guyana dollars, which is equivalent to US$5000.00 is more than the yearly salary of many of our nurses and other frontline workers.

These are men and women governing without conscience. They drive around in tinted and expensive cars, while the workers who drive and provide them security many days can’t provide a proper meal for their families and struggle to keep a roof over their heads. As they commit to pay each former sugar

worker a quarter milliondollars, former public servants they fired since entering office and former bauxite workers are left to grovel.

President Ali is governing in a manner that will sow seeds of discord among the working class as they live on the hog. They disrespect the right to collective bargaining where some trade unions exist, but at the presence of a slight cough made by the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers (GAWU), they move with alacrity to attend to every issue.

This call is being made to GAWU, not to continue to allow the government to divide workers. If the right to collective bargaining could be respected for the workers within their bargaining unit, it must be equal treatment for other unions and workers in society. No union must

condone inequity in treatment, violating of laws and transgressing of workers’ rights.

Whatever differences may exist between or amongst unions and leaders, these are infinitesimal to the clear and present threat all workers are facing.

The Ali/Jagdeo government must return to the bargaining table and treat with the Guyana Teachers Union, GPSU, Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union, and all unions as they treat with GAWU. Workers and trade unions must unite around Section 23 (1) of the Trade Union Recognition Act, which states an employer has a duty to treat with the recognised union and engage in collective bargaining. This law was made for all workers.

Divisions on universally acceptable principles, norms

and practices in the trade union movement undermine the workers’ gains and weaken their struggle for improved living and working conditions.Workers and their family must unite and stand up against this recent pay insult, violation of the law, and transgression of basic rights.

If we don’t take a stand for basic rights, then we are a society without rights because equity, peace and harmony could only be attained when all have the same guarantee and protection under the law.

To all members of society, irrespective of race, class, creed or political persuasion I urge a coming together for the upholding of laws and

respecting of rights in this nation. Let us be guided by the wisdom of Lutheran Pastor, Martin Niemöller: “First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Socialist.

(Continued on page 6)

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Kaieteur News

Who will bell the cat?

DEAR EDITOR, I must say, I’m somewhat surprised that Region Two Commander, Denise Griffith, is asking the public to expose corrupt officers.

The GPF needs to make it easier for John Public to do such.

For years there are laws against tinted vehicles and, periodically, they would make a huge fuss and then everything quells down. Most police officers, who own a car very many times have them heavily tinted, and they would drive to work and park it before the full eyesight/vi-

sion of police seniors.

None gets penalized, except when they are forced to remove their tint.

Why isn’t disciplinary action taken against them?

That’s the only way they would stop breaking the laws they are supposed to uphold.

Editor, many officers practice their corrupt acts with full knowledge of their colleagues.

They watch one a n o t h e r ’s b a c k s ! W h e n they are on the ‘hunt’ for money, they find the smallest issue to harass you and force you into offering

them a bribe.

Commanders and Senior Officers should randomly visit the lockups and speak with those who are detained.

Some are for simple reasons, but they are being forced into situations where they have to offer bribes for their release.

They should start disciplinary action against members for those kinds of situations.

So, if the force doesn’t start first, how will they get support from the public?

Sahadeo Bates

New Housing Scheme’s main road deteriorated within months of repairs DEAR EDITOR, Please allow me space to highlight the plight of residents of Tuschen, New Housing Scheme, East Bank Essequibo (EBE), regarding the deplorable condition of the main access road in the scheme.

Road users, especially motorists, are frustrated by the present condition and are appealing to the authorities to look into the situation.

I should mention that it was only recently that the main road in the scheme was repaired and in a matter of months, you would be shocked to see the condition.

Some parts of the road are

deteriorating, especially around the area where the police outpost is located.

There are huge potholes, pools of water and mud, and vehicles are forced to use other cutoff roads.

It is clearly a case of bad work done by the contractor coupled with negligence and poor oversight by the authorities. I believe that an investigation should be launched to determine what went wrong as taxpayers’ monies have been spent and they have not seen the benefits.

To date, no one has offered any explanation, or anything about what cause the road to deteriorate in what

manner, or of the contractor returning to fix it or continue working.

The President has spoken time and again of ensuring that there is transparency in government and the way public funds are spent and we are encouraged by the proactive attitude he has taken since assuming office.

We a r e , t h e r e f o r e , bringing this matter to his attention so that immediate action could be taken to correct the flaws in this particular project.

Yours sincerely, Concerned residents of Tuschen, EBE

Sunday November 28, 2021

Key performance metrics never seem to be addressed at GuySuCo DEAR EDITOR, Almost weekly, letters to the newspapers and one opinion column expressed disapproval of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) CEO’s performance. One had to wonder, would key stakeholders join the CEO on his journey to his stated goal of a profitable GuySuCo producing between 100,000 and 150,000 metric tonne (mt) per year.

The reduction of the company’s production would likely not be pleasing to those stakeholders who desired a larger sugar producing company; even if the government-controlled company lost lots of money.

So, it is not surprising to see the media criticisms, in what appears to be a coordinated effort to have the CEO removed. The CEO’s strategy is focused on selling predominately higher margin packaged sugar, rather than bulk sugar. Had Guyana’s sugar consumption been 100,000 and 150,000 mt per year, then the strategy’s success would be all but assured.

However, the strategy’s success is highly dependent on selling in foreign markets, between 65,500 and 115,500 mt of sugar, predominantly as packaged sugar.

Winning contracts to sell packaged sugar in small market Caribbean countries will not be sufficient to be successful; GuySuCo’s packaged sugar will have to displace competitors’ packaged sugar in larger markets, most likely in the Caribbean. The strategy’s likelihood of succeeding is lower than it appears, because of excessive sugar production cost at US$600 per mt. GuySuCo’s margin on packaged sugar is less than US$100 per metric ton, i.e. less than US 4.5 cents per pound of sugar. Competitors filling their packages with much cheaper manufactured or sourced bulk sugar can easily adjust prices to stop any sustained intrusion of GuySuCo’s packaged sugar filled with US$600 per mt of manufactured sugar.

In addition, opening shuttered estates negatively affects the strategy. Sugar manufacturing cost will rise above the US$600 US per mt, because results of the better performing Albion and Blairmont estates will be neutralized further by opening more estates with average to below average performance.

The US$600 mt sugar manufacturing cost has to be lowered for an improved likelihood of the strategy’s

success.At GuySuCo, not enough sugar is produced for the manufacturing cost incurred.

Poor sugar production results from poor sugarcane yields, exacerbated by constant industrial actions and absenteeism during harvesting.

Sugar production is also lower as poor sugarcane quality results in 10 to 50 percent more weight of sugarcane (depending on estate) to produce a ton of sugar.

In sugar manufacturing, a key performing metric is the cost expended for sugarcane farming, i.e., cost to plant, grow and harvest sugarcane; industry benchmarking indicates sugarcane farming costs represent between 70 and 80 percent of total sugar manufacturing cost.

GuySuCo’s sugarcane farming and administrative costs are excessive and provide opportunity for improvement. The good news is that factory cost is not excessive when compared with industry benchmarks and would decrease with increase suga production.

Ourworldindata.org trended the decline of sugarcane yields in Guyana from 1961 to 2018. Sugarcane yields have declined from being

A call to Guyanese workers to unite...

From page 5 Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the

Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me— and there was no one left to speak for me.”

The PPP/C is growing

insensitive more and more each day to the cries of the ordinary man and woman and this could have an adverse effect on all.

Lincoln Lewis

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BL TLUNT.. UNT...B BL Sunday November 28, 2021

Kaieteur News

There was the story of thieves taking up residence in the home of Guyanese on vacation.

It reminds us of those with similar traits taking up residence in high offices.

But they are not called by that name. They are called respectable names like leaders.

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Kaieteur News

Sunday November 28, 2021

Joe Biden recommends overhaul of United States’ oil and gas leasing programme The Joe Biden's administration has recommended an overhaul of the nation's oil and gas leasing programme to limit areas available for energy development and raise costs for oil and gas companies to drill on public land and water.

The long-awaited report by the Interior Department stops short of recommending an end to oil and gas leasing on public lands, as many environmental groups have urged.

But officials said the report would lead to a more responsible leasing process that provides a better return to US taxpayers.

Our nation faces a profound climate crisis that is impacting every American, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement Friday, adding that the new

report's recommendations will mitigate worsening climate change impacts while staying steadfast in the pursuit of environmental justice.

The report completes a review ordered in January by President Joe Biden, who directed a pause in federal oil and gas lease sales in his first days in office, citing worries about climate change.

The moratorium drew sharp criticism from congressional Republicans and the oil industry, even as many environmentalists and Democrats said Biden should make the leasing pause permanent.

The new report seeks a middle ground that would continue the multibilliondollar leasing programme while reforming it to end what many officials consider

US President Joe Biden

overly favourable terms for the industry.

The report recommends hiking federal royalty rates for oil and gas drilling, which have not been raised for 100 years. The federal rate of 12.5 percent that developers must

pay to drill on public lands is significantly lower than many states and private landowners charge for drilling leases on state or private lands.

The report also said the government should consider

raising bond payments that energy companies must set aside for future clean-up before they drill new wells.

Bond rates have not been increased in decades, the report said.

The Bureau of Land Management, an Interior Department agency, should focus leasing offers on areas that have moderate to high potential for oil and gas resources and are close to existing oil and gas infrastructure, the report said.

The White House declined to comment Friday, referring questions to Interior.

The federal leasing programme has drawn renewed focus in recent weeks as gasoline prices have skyrocketed and Republicans complained that Biden's policies, including the leasing moratorium, rejection of the Keystone XL oil pipeline and a ban on oil leasing in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, contributed to the price spike.

B i d e n o n Tu e s d a y ordered a record 50 million barrels of oil released from America's strategic reserve, aiming to bring down gas prices amid concerns about inflation. Gasoline prices are at about USD3.40 a gallon, more than 50 percent higher

than a year ago, according to the American Automobile Association.

The Biden administration conducted a lease sale on federal oil and gas reserves in the Gulf of Mexico last week, after attorneys general from Republican-led states successfully sued in federal court to lift the suspension on federal oil and gas sales that Biden imposed when he took office.

Energy companies including Shell, BP, Chevron and ExxonMobil offered a combined USD192 million for offshore drilling rights in the Gulf, highlighting the hurdles Biden faces to reach climate goals dependent on deep cuts in fossil fuel emissions.

The leases will take years to develop, meaning oil companies could keep producing crude long past 2030, when Biden has set a goal to lower greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 per cent, compared with 2005 levels. Scientists say the world needs to be well on the way to that goal over the next decade to avoid catastrophic climate change.

Yet even as Biden has tried to cajole other world leaders into strengthening e ff o r t s a g a i n s t g l o b a l warming, including at this (Continued on page 52)

'Green car' bandit captured by cops after robberies Cops in Region Three have managed to nab a man accused of perpetrating robberies along the West Coast Demerara (WCD) public road in a green car.

Police were able to capture him after he allegedly robbed two men on Friday.

The suspect reportedly robbed his first victim, a 21year-old bank employee around 06:45hrs that day at Cone Shop Street, De William Village, WCD. According to police, the victim was on his way to work when a heavily tinted green car drove up beside him. The driver reportedly stretched out his hands from the car window, snatched the man's handbag which contained his ID card, personal documents and $25,000 in cash before driving away.

Fifteen minutes later around 07:00hrs, he allegedly robbed an 18-year-

old man who stopped his car along the Ruimzeight, WCD public road.

Police reported that the second victim was standing at the side of the public road awaiting transportation to take him to work.

He reportedly stopped the suspect's car thinking that it was a taxi. The car stopped and he entered the front seat but the driver reportedly pulled out a knife and pointed it at him while demanding that he hand over all of his valuables.

The young man, according to police, was relieved of his haversack and wallet which contained $20,000 cash. The driver, it was revealed, then ordered him to exit the car before driving away in an eastern direction.

Investigators later found out that the car had a fake licence plate and were able to eventually arrest the driver.

Sunday November 28, 2021

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Kaieteur News

CARICOM to boost capacity of over 150 extension officers across member states Extension services play a crucial role in the growth and development of the agricultural sector and rural communities for CARICOM Member States. In fact, they are central to exploiting the real potential of agricultural research and development.

What is also crucial to note about extension services is that it has traditionally been delivered through centralised and decentralised publicfunded agencies.

Increasingly however, private agricultural extension has been partially replacing these public-funded initiatives.

While the rationale behind private funded extension in the Region has been driven

largely by efficiency concerns, undoubtedly, it has ushered a situation of a vastly underserved demand.

In an effort to ensure more public funded extension services reach all industry stakeholders, CARICOM has received support from the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) to assist in capacity building of a first cohort of 153 Extension Officers from 15 Caribbean countries. This exercise will support the new Agriculture Agenda being led by the Special Ministerial Task Force on Food Production and Food Security.

Kaieteur News

Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha understands that the Ministerial Task Force, which was formed at a CARICOM Heads of Governments meeting in February 2021, and

Dem boys seh ...

Prezzie grounding with suit and jacket De Kranicle seh how de President ground with dem farmer on de Essequibo Coast.

De man went deh fuh open a hotel.

Dem boys nah know whether Essequibo gan now get a bigger airstrip fuh all dem plane wah gan land.

Dem boys wan tell de Prezzie dat when yuh go meet farmers, yuh nat suppose to wear suit.

Yuh should go with yuh shirt jac or even casual wear.

Dem farmers is de salt of de earth. Dem is ordinary people and dem nah like see

yuh coming fuh talk to dem dress up in yuh official dan dan. Yuh don’t ground with farmers in suit jacket. De Prezzie dreaming when he talking.

He seh dem gat big plans fuh Essequibo and how it can be a special zone.

So wat bout Berbice, dem nah special zone tuh? Where de plans deh?

When de Vee Pee was Prezzie he did announce wan special incentive regime for Linden.

None other region did get dat package.

But de package nah de-

liver because dem investor nah interested in dem outlying region. Dat is why dem boys wan tell Prezzie dat de only special zone fuh dem farmers should be a tax free zone. Nah charge dem taxes but let dem pay fuh drainage and irrigation at market rates.

Dem farmers gan pay dem taxes with a smile.

One time dem boys try dat. And de GRA seh dem want cash.

A man from de tax department wife bin leff he. She seh de relationship too taxing fuh she.

Talk half. Leff half.

is chaired by Zulfikar Mustapha, Minister of Agriculture for Guyana, is tasked with expanding the agriculture sector to support

the increase in both intra and extra regional trade.

The virtual Regional Agriculture Extension Training programme will cover the following topics under the Sustainable Inclusive Extension Programme: ICT in extension; new extension delivery methodologies; tablets, drones, social media, traditional tools and platforms in extension and agricultural technology transfer; agribusiness and value chains; and new market intelligence approaches for food security, exports and rural livelihoods.

Under the Sustainable Agricultural Production Programme, the topics will

include: exploring renewable energy including solar and bio digesting, climatic and risk modelling, integrated water resource management; Sloping Agricultural Land Technology (SALT) for crops, livestock and integrated farming. This effort is expected to complement the work to be undertaken by the Ministry of Agriculture regarding the improvement of extension services countrywide. The Ministry recently disclosed that in 2022 it will introduce a curriculum that is designed to improve the effectiveness of its extension officers.

Through the Guyana School (Continued on page 56)

Kaieteur News

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Sunday November 28, 2021

BLUNTNESS ON INDECENCY!

I

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

SUNDAY We have to be the most shameless people on earth.

The Chinese contractor responsible for the CJIA expansion project fails repeatedly, made rings around the Coalition, and makes fools of today's PPP Government.

But we are so lacking in self-respect that a Government Minister publicly praises China.

MONDAY Everyone is ripping off Guyanese taxpayers. The latest is an alleged local supplier of a water treatment chemical. The local supplier pretends it is the required 61% strength, but several lab tests confirm that it is way below at 6%.

This is how our own endangers us, with something as sensitive as water.

This is how leaders damage our lives, empower their own to rape citizens.

PPP/C, PNC, AFC leaders (and comrades) first diminish our hopes, then they destroy our lives with endless

skullduggeries.Even the water is in danger.

TUESDAY That T&T natural gas fire in its industrial zone is a warning for Guyana.

We are playing with fire, and will get burned badly, unless we take precaution and get protection.

Leaders will not get burnt, since they make sure they are far from any danger zone. Those burnt to a crisp would be exposed Guyanese, and a vulnerable country.

Be warned: if Guyanese don't look out for themselves, speak out for what is their own, they will pay bitterly.

Leaders are only interested in financial criminality, not safety, not security.

WEDNESDAY Billions here and billions there for Hydro and gas-toshore and grid upgrade.

Yet, the light is not shining upon Essequibo County, Linden, Kwakwani and hinterland citizens.

They have to depend on the candlelight coming from

lesser sources, including renewables.

Only uncaring leaders spend so many billions, and so many citizens are left outside the vision.

Who are these leaders?

Just look inside the PPP. THURSDAY The new game played by foreigners in oil-rich Guyana is rent-a-citizen. It is getting somebody to stand in the line in place of self.

This is how the foreigner 'juk de system' to get business. This is how they pay their way to get what they want.

What are Guyanese getting, except being used?

Used by outsiders, used by local leaders, used by those on top.

FRIDAY Region 10 people are objecting. Disappointed contractors are complaining.

How does an 'overnight' contractor get a $364 million dollar contract?

Tender Boards don't m a t t e r. P r o c u r e m e n t Commissions mean nothing.

What matters and means something is AFFILIATION WITH THE PPP. A year and a half from now (20 months) we shall see the results.

SATURDAY

It is not even dog food money that $30,000 monthly stipend to Guyana's Toshaos.

No politician in Guyana would go near to that pittance. They would spit on it.Here is Guyana with huge

forests and many minerals, but native-born scramble and beg.

PPP leaders and ministers live like kings in Pradoville Meanwhile Toshaos live like paupers in the interior.

Sunday November 28, 2021

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Sunday November 28, 2021

Over 24,000 Venezuelan refugees living in Guyana - Report …as child recently rescued at Port Kaituma dies T

he escalating refugee crisis in G u y a n a involving people fleeing poverty-stricken conditions in neighbouring Venezuela, making their way into Guyana—sometime having to still live in poor conditions, has been flagged by the United Nations as concerning.

At least this is according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), which in highlighting the growing crisis in Guyana pointed to the recent revelation of scores of indigenous Warrau families from Venezuela, living in malnourished and unhygienic conditions at Anabisi in the Port Kaituma locale.

UNHCR's MultiC o u n t r y O ff i c e Representative in Panama, speaking to journalists in

Some of the Venezuelan refugees that were found at Anabisi, Port Kaituma, Region One.

Geneva on Friday last, called for more humanitarian presence and support from the international community.

According to the UN spokesperson, an estimated 24,500 refugees and migrants from Venezuela are

living in Guyana, including some 2,500 indigenous Warao. “One meal a day, no shelter, and no drinking water are only some of the difficult living conditions that indigenous Warao families from Venezuela are

facing in remote locations across Guyana,” UNHCR said.

According to the report, some of the refugees have settled in hard-to-reach areas near the Venezuelan border and others in or around the

towns of Mabaruma and Port Kaituma.

Since early 2020, the UN observed that some 250 Warraus have found refuge in Anabisi in northern Guyana with more than half of this group being children.

According to UNHCR, these communities have limited access to services and the delivery of aid is impeded by remoteness, lack of transport infrastructure and distance.

Assessments conducted in October and November show mounting needs, aggravated by the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last week, UNHCR said it received reports that at least one of the children found in the Anabisi community died and several others were hospitalised, reportedly due to malnutrition and diseases related to poor sanitation conditions. Some have been discharged since.

Last week Kaieteur News reported that over the previous weekend, local health authorities had to treat a b o u t 5 0 Ve n e z u e l a n children who were found suffering from diarrhoea, skin rashes and other infections at Anabisi, Port Kaituma, Region One. The intervention came following reports that a group of Amerindian migrants, including children, were found in poor health and some severely malnourished at Anabisi.

A team of Government o ff i c i a l s s u b s e q u e n t l y rushed to the location to provide needed medical care to the group.Kaieteur News has since learnt that the migrants were found along the riverbank of Port Kaituma, in makeshift camps some 10 minutes away from where local residents reside.

“The Government of Guyana is aware of the Amerindian migrants at Anabisi, Port Kaituma, North West District and has been attending to the situation.

It is suspected that dozens of Amerindians including children may have entered Guyanese territory from a neighbouring village in Venezuela in poor health and without food,” the Prime Minister's office said in a subsequent statement.

Providing immediate medical care and food relief also were Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony, Human Services and Social Security Minister, Dr. Vindhya Persaud, and Amerindian Affairs Minister, Pauline Sukhai.

They were also joined by several doctors from the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation and the Port Kaituma Hospital. Minister Anthony in a subsequent update said that while the children were treated for those illnesses, on the Sunday the medical team returned to the location, they were also able to detect cases of malaria among the adult population.

“On Sunday, the team saw 42 adults, and again we saw similar type of illnesses among the adults, in addition to which we were able to detect among the group, some cases of malaria and again, they were given treatment based on the medical condition they have,” he related.

The Minister however revealed that there were no emergency medical cases, but that some of the children attended to were chronically m a l n o u r i s h e d .

Another observation, he highlighted, was that the group was living in an (Continued on page 51)

Kaieteur News

Sunday November 28, 2021

PAGE 13

A Gift of Confidence …Local fashion designer embarks on another phenomenal mission

L

ocal fashion designer, Sonia Noel is on another phenomenal mission. Her newest undertaking is congruent with the Christmas season.

Under the concept “A Gift of Confidence,” Noel is inviting individuals and businesses to join the mission by sponsoring a confidence training programme for someone as a gift for the holidays.

According to her, it is a gift that can transform lives for a better future.

M s . N o e l h a s experienced personally, what positive impact confidence can make on one's life. She noted that because of her journey, she knows what it is like to have confidence and what it is like to lack confidence.

“I have found myself on both sides of the spectrum and she can attest to its enriched value,” she said.

Noel believes passionately in bestowing

meaningful gifts that can last a lifetime more so, now in these challenging times. “I am a very confident woman today, but it wasn't always like this. I was a shy and very introverted young lady who was extremely unsure of herself. I hardly interacted with people because of my low self-esteem which caused me to doubt myself, repeatedly. I felt invisible in a room and avoided corresponding with people because I was afraid of embarrassing myself,” she intimated.

Through her platform in fashion, Ms. Noel has conducted confidence classes for years and last year started the virtual edition.

Noel relates that she is very passionate about this programme because of the transformations it manifests.

According to Maryam Jameela Haniff, a teacher, poet, and life coach who benefited from the programme, it helped to build her confidence. “[The

course] helped me reignite flames that had been long extinguished by circumstance. In a nutshell, it aided me in rediscovering who we are truly meant to be,” the teacher said.

At the start of the programme, Haniff was shy to introduce herself. She said it was a challenge in addition to speaking on stages. She said “I have embarked on a journey that will definitely fuel my fire and zeal to become a better person in whatever I do. During my studies in this programme, I have grown to recognise that everything I choose to do or do not do reflects my inner confidence.”

“In addition, the programme made me more grateful, open my mind and reasoning to another level that makes me feel that anything is possible to achieve once it is realistic and you have a plan,” she added.

Given the testimonials, Noel reiterates the need for

CANU intercepts cocaine in Christmas cards bound for New York The Christmas cards in which the cocaine was found.

R

anks from the Customs AntiNarcotics Unit (CANU) on Friday found some 647.6 grams of cocaine concealed in Christmas cards at the Guyana Post Office Corporation.

The Christmas cards were found in five yellow envelopes destined for an address in Brooklyn, New York City (NYC), United States of America (USA).

According to CANU, the cocaine was placed in sealed

plastic packs and laced between the Christmas cards.

The street value of the drugs is estimated to be around US$17,000.

Investigations are ongoing.

proactively charting positive outcomes in individuals.

“So, over the years I have contributed significantly to many lives through paid and complimentary 'Confidence Becomes You' programmes, virtually and in person,” Noel said.

She added that, “she is on a mission to assist as many people as possible to navigate the road to a confident person, or in some cases, to regain the confidence which they formerly had.”

This virtual programme is designed to be flexible so as to adjust to the schedules of potential participants. For more information on Noel's

programme persons can Whatapp (592) 628- 9044 or e m a i l livingwithintention11@gma il.com The confident Noel has been involved in other endeavours.

In addition, to hosting a two-day forum for International Men's day, the well-known fashion designer recently hosted a complimentary mastermind to celebrate the 4th anniversary of her first book “Living With Intention,” a memoir which offers readers a glimpse into her world and shares the story of her journey to being a confident woman.

Local designer, Sonia Noel.

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Sunday November 28, 2021

Sunday November 28, 2021

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

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Sunday November 28, 2021

Digicel to reward lucky customers with over $20M in cash, prizes for Christmas

C

This is one of the several winners who have already received a cellular device from Digicel’s Christmas Promotion

A lucky winner of Digicel’s weekly giveaway prize shows off her laptop.

A winning customer shows off his reward.

ell-service provider, Digicel Guyana recently launched its Christmas promotion through which it will be rewarding several customers with cash and a whole lot of prizes.

Just over a week ago, the company launched its ‘More Ways to Win’ promotion, which offers both old and new customers the opportunity to win when they activate a prime bundle plan.

The prime bundle plan, as was explained by Digicel Guyana’s Communications Manager, Vidya Sanichara, is an upgraded bundle plan that comes with data allocated for the use of the c o m p a n y ’s a p p s . T h e different bundle plans will allot various amounts of data to be used on the apps.

Any of the bundle plans, from three days and more, once activated, will entitle a customer to a ‘Shake’ on the My Digicel App, where they can win a prize or cash.

The app can be downloaded to smart phones from Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.

Up for grabs this Christmas, each week until January 8, 2022, is $10,000 and $20,000 cash prizes, as well as laptops, credit, data and tablets.

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, Digicel decided to take their promotion virtual, to allow customers a safer experience, especially throughout the holiday season.

GRAND DRAWING In addition to the many prizes lined up to be given away weekly, Digicel will also have a grand drawing at the end of the promotion where three lucky customers will certainly walk away smiling.

For the first prize, one customer will be made $1 million richer, the second place winner will travel along with a friend, with two free Copa Airline tickets to any of its destinations while the third prize winner will be upgraded with a new Samsung S21 Ultra smart phone.

Prepaid and Postpaid

customers must be on an eligible Prime Bundle to participate, as was stated before. Prepaid customers who activate any of the Prime Bundle plans will earn an instant ‘SHAKE’ on the day of activation.

Each winning entrant is given a chance to enter into the grand prize drawing, as many times as they would like.

Using the My Digicel app, customers can then ‘SHAKE’ for a chance to win digital prizes such as credit, data or a discount on their next Prime Bundle purchase.

On Saturdays, both prepaid and postpaid customers on an eligible Prime Bundle can shake for a guaranteed win of either a digital or non-digital prize.

The range of non-digital prizes includes laptops, smartphones, tablets and cash prizes of $10,000 and $20,000. Customers can also increase their chances of winning throughout the promotion by earning additional SHAKEs if they complete daily challenges given in the suite of apps: PlayGo, Sportmax, DMusic, Loop, Bip, Billo, or GoLoud.Earne. Shakes are valid for 24 hours.

“This Christmas, we’re sharing over twenty million dollars in prizes with our loyal customers,” said Simone Pierre, Chief Commercial Officer, “while adding the fun element of shaking your smartphone to win one of the many prizes in the comfort of your home.

We’d also like to express our gratitude to our customers for their support throughout the year and wish their family and loved ones a happy holiday.”

Earlier this year, Digicel had its summer promotion where three customers each won a brand new Toyota Rush.

They did so by spelling the word ‘R-U-S-H’. Every $1,000 card top-up gave the customer a letter. At the end, over 10 persons were able to spell Rush. Each of these customers was rewarded with $100,000 and an entry for the grand prize.

Samantha Sheoprashad

Sunday November 28, 2021

Kaieteur News

Samantha Sheoprashad, Co-Founder of Trifinity Solutions Inc., Eco-naire and Innov8Her, is a beauty with brains.

She recently copped the Award of Excellence for her contribution to the development of ICT in Guyana. The award was presented by Prime Minister, Brigadier Mark Phillips.

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Sunday November 28, 2021

From teaching to entrepreneurship and now mental health advocacy…

FORMER SCHOOL DROPOUT,

Orlanzo Antonio Raghunandan is a ‘Special Person’

By Rehanna Ramsay Whenever a story is written or told of a person who withstood difficulties and personal challenges to fulfill their dreams, it has the ability to create a positive ripple effect that could motivate someone else facing similar hardship to keep going until they reach their goals.

Today Kaieteur News features a 29-year-old Canada-based Guyanese whose journey to entrepreneurship and mental health advocacy is nothing less than inspiring. Almost anyone looking at Orlanzo Antonio Raghunandan’s life today would never suspect the road he travelled to achieve his goals.

The former teacher, now an entrepreneur and mental health advocate, who lost his parents at a young age, battled depression, homelessness, and even dropped out of school on more than one occasion to become the owner of ISMOR, a business development company based in Toronto. This was no easy feat for the young Guyanese living overseas, but Raghunandan accomplished it.

And, now as if it is almost his second nature, he looks to use his brand, ISMOR, to give back in an

when she died, I was left alone…my siblings had their fathers,” he said.

Left to fend for himself, the teenage Raghunandan became like a ship without a sail, “being tossed to and fro by a violent wind.” He recalled at 13 years old he had no permanent home and was moved about from place to place looking for a safety net.

It was during this time, that he developed some real psychological issues. While Canada-based Guyanese, Orlanzo Antonio Raghunandan

The young entrepreneur and mental health advocate with his supportive little family. area he said he struggled the most—mental health.

By sharing his experience, Raghunandan hopes to raise awareness and support persons dealing with mental health challenges.

During a conversation with Kaieteur News, the budding entrepreneur shared how not having parents, severely impacted his life. He related that his mother told him that his father had died when he was a baby and so she raised him until he was 13-yearsold before she too passed

away.

As if the death of one parent was not bad enough for a child, Raghunandan recalls how losing a second parent impacted him more than the first. He explained that up until her death, he and his single-parent mother resided in the village of Mahaica, East Coast Demerara. Raghunandan told Kaieteur News that he has two other siblings but they resided with their paternal relatives.

“So,

“We all have a story to share and don’t ever feel like you’re the only one who is experiencing hardship. Whenever you feel like your back is against the wall, if you ever feel like giving up, know that you have a purpose, and know your life matters.

Believe in yourself, find people who you can trust and talk to...talking helps.”

it was natural for any child in his situation to experience feelings of desertion and loneliness, Raghunandan recalled those feelings led to depression and thoughts of suicide. He explained the reason for this.

Apart from his aunt, Raghunandan said that his mother was the only other person that he knew well.

“When she passed, I felt as though I was a child in the wilderness,” he related. As suicidal thoughts bombarded his mind, Raghunandan decided to drop out of school for the first time.

“Unstable’ was the word being used to describe my life…Apart from dropping out of school for the first time at age 13, I began battling depression. I contemplated taking my life because I felt that it would solve everything I was dealing with,” he said.

However, he noted that the only reason he did not commit suicide was because of his siblings and how his actions would negatively impact their lives.

Yet, while all these thoughts were going through the 13-year-old Raghunandan’s head, no one could tell he was plotting his own demise or had the slightest clue that he was struggling mentally since he ensured that no one found out. His reason? He did not want sympathy.

“I didn’t want people to pity me or to treat me like I

was less fortunate because I never saw myself as unfortunate,” he stated.

As a result, the teenager would later return to school but his depression led him to drop out of school for the second time at age 15. This time, he turned to drugs and alcohol for solace.

Raghunandan later developed anger issues which he said led him down a path of myriad dangers.

Given that he was uneducated on the issue, Raghunandan conveyed that he was unaware that he was dealing with a type of mental illness. The teenager was, however, aware that he needed help.

He nonetheless, recalled feeling as though the people around him were not capable of understanding his pain.

All of this changed, at age 15 when he met, Marva Lynch, who he calls his angel in disguise.

Lynch was a woman he met in church and it was as if their destinies were intertwined; she became his foster mother. “Meeting her was the beginning of my healing process, she taught me to love and forgive and she was determined to break through all the walls I had built” he added.

Reflecting on what he had to overcome, Raghunandan said that he believes that his road to becoming a better person started with Lynch.

Her guidance and support helped him to open up and talk about his traumas, instead of locking it in as he had become used to doing.

His pastor, Odit Persaud of the De Hoop New Continued on page 53

Sunday November 28, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 19

A conflict of interest exists There is a conflict of interest in the instance of the Head of the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) holding the same position as Head of the Project Cycle Management Division (PCMD). The Ministry of Finance is being barefaced in defending this obscenity.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the PCMD “is responsible for exercising monitoring oversight of implementation of the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) and to r e p o r t o n t h e P S I P ’s performance to the sectoral ministers, permanent secretaries and ultimately (through the Minister of Finance) to Cabinet.”

The NPTAB, on the other hand, “is responsible for awarding contracts, the value of which is above G$15 million. The process involves appointment of three-person independent evaluation committees, whose recommendations are considered by the NPTAB and upon the acceptance of those recommendations, submit the award for Cabinet’s No-Objection.”

It does not require a genius to see the potential for a conflict of interest. If the person heading the NPTAB approves a contract to a contractor and the works have to be evaluated by the PCMD, there is a potential conflict of interest.

A conflict of interest is where two interests are opposed to each other. Once there is an appearance or likelihood of bias or prejudicial interest as a result of the clash of interests, there is a conflict of interest. The actual bias or the tainting of a process by prejudice does

not have to actually happen.

The mere likelihood or appearance is sufficient.

The litmus test of a conflict of interest was outlined in the historic ‘Pinochet’ case before the House of Lords. Some background is important in understanding the principle.

In 1973, and with the support of the United States, Augusto Pinochet, a Chilean general, toppled the government of Salvador Allende.

This commenced one of the most brutal reigns.

Thousands of people were tortured and more than 3,000 disappeared during Pinochet’s bloody rule.

After he retired, some of his victims brought proceedings against him in a Spanish Court. Far away in Chile, the general and former President could not have been worried. No former Head of State had ever been convicted on the basis of the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allowed a person to be convicted in a foreign state for abuses in that person’s home state.

In 1998, Pinochet was on a private visit to England for medical treatment. Amnesty International, a global human rights body, got wind of the visit. Amnesty International had for decades been highlighting and condemning human rights violations in Chile during the rule of Pinochet.

Upon learning of Pinochet’s proposed visit, it immediately sent out a missive to all European governments reminding them of their obligation to arrest Pinochet for violations of the Convention on Torture. Eventually, a Spanish judge issued an arrest warrant for Pinochet.

Pinochet was arrested and held in a London hospital where he was seeking medical attention.

He challenged his arrest and was successful in having the initial warrant quashed.

A second warrant was also quashed, but this decision was stayed, allowing for the authorities to challenge the quashing before the House of Lords.

Amnesty International joined the case at that stage.

P i n o c h e t ’s b i d f o r freedom rested on his claim of immunity as a former Head of State. The House of Lords allowed the appeal against the quashing of the second warrant, which meant that Pinochet was still under arrest and awaiting an extradition hearing to stand trial in Spain.

It was later brought to the attention of Pinochet’s legal team that one of the judges was linked to a charity which had raised funds for Amnesty International, and that the said judge’s wife was also an administrative staff with Amnesty International.

Pinochet therefore appealed the decision of the House of Lords on the grounds that its decision was tainted with bias because of this conflict of interest.

Pinochet, through his legal team, argued that the relationship between the judge and Amnesty International “gave rise to a reasonable apprehension or suspicion of bias”.

The new panel of judges in their decision held that what was being argued was not actual bias, but the appearance of bias. This today has become the litmus test of conflict of interest – not only actual bias but the appearance or mere suspicion of bias. The Lords

held that the judge had an ‘interest’ which must lead to his disqualification.

The case in effect turned on the mere appearance of bias which was sufficient to taint the first hearing. There was no need to establish that there was any actual bias.

The mere appearance or likelihood of bias was sufficient to establish a

conflict of interest. This has become the litmus test for conflict of interest.

The international financial institutions, particularly the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank should withhold the disbursements of all loans and grants until such time as the existing conflict of interest is

remedied.

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

Kaieteur News

PAGE 20

Sunday November 28, 2021

Barbados' Republican status is not a yen for pieces of silver

By Sir Ronald Sanders Among the most nonsensical statements uttered by a British Parliamentarian and repeated in the British newspaper, The Sunday Times, is that Barbados will become a Republic at the dictation of the Government of the People's Republic of China.

The unvarnished truth is that within the next decade all of the independent English-speaking Caribbean countries will likely become Republics. On November 30, Barbados will become the fourth, following Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and Dominica.

The move to Republican status will probably also be taken by Australia and other Commonwealth countries where the Queen remains the symbolic Head of State. After Barbados becomes a Republic, the Queen's realms, other than Britain, will be reduced to 14, the majority of them (eight), being in the Caribbean.

It should be noted that when Elizabeth II was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in June 1953, she also became Head of State of 67 other countries, then either colonies or dominions of Britain. Over the last 68 years, 52 of those countries opted to become Republics.

Barbados will become the 53rd.

None of the countries that chose to become a Republic did so because of pressure from China or any other country. They became republics

because, even though the Queen's role was only symbolic, exercising no real executive authority, it was simply not acceptable that a foreign person, residing thousands of miles away with no daily experience of life in a country, could credibly be its Head of State.

Indeed, breaking the link with the Queen as Head of State, also completed the process of national sovereignty and independence from Britain as the former colonial power.

There are two reasons why the remaining eight independent English-speaking Caribbean countries have not already moved to Republican status. The first is that, for many of them, a Constitutional amendment will be required. Political parties in government know well that this would become a political football for their political opponents, with allegations that governing parties want a republic so that they can assume greater powers and control.

Notwithstanding, the examples of Dominica and Trinidad and Tobago where Presidents have little more than symbolic roles, this argument will have its supporters.

The second reason is a residual and deserving respect for Queen Elizabeth who, in the almost seven decades as Head of State, has been an example of rectitude, particularly on matters of race. Her stance against apartheid in South Africa and the end to white rule in Southern Rhodesia (now

Zimbabwe) are enduring qualities of her reign. But the high regard for the Queen will not transfer to her successor. Prince Charles has already been selected to succeed the Queen as the Head of the Commonwealth of Nations that includes the countries of the English-Speaking Caribbean. This transition will be regarded as important and satisfactory.

The notion that Barbados is becoming a Republic because the Queen's symbolic headship of the country stands in the way of Chinese ambition, is nothing but utter foolishness. It started in September this year when the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the British House of Commons, Tom Tugendhat, said that: “China has been using infrastructure investment and debt diplomacy as a means of control for a while and it's coming closer to home for us.

British partners have long faced challenges from rivals seeking to undermine our alliance. Today we're seeing it in the Caribbean.

Some islands seem to be close to swapping a symbolic Queen in Windsor for a real and demanding emperor in Beijing”.

We should note that Mr. Tugendhat has long adopted an anti-China position, having nothing to do with Barbados. His remark about Barbados “swapping” the Queen for “a demanding” Chinese Emperor is less about Barbados and more about his taking every opportunity

to criticise what he calls “the rise of China”. As I remarked, in a commentary, when Mr. Tugendhat first tried to align Barbados' decision to become a Republic with China's influence, given the fact that he is the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the British Parliament, he should have been better informed. But clearly, he was more interested in accusing China of seeking world control than he was with the truth of the Barbados decision.

On November 20, the Sunday Times carried a story, written by journalist, Matthew Campbell, which had the appearance of carrying the views of many persons in Barbados, but which was more selective in its reporting. The story was evidently meant to justify its headline: “Awash with cash from Beijing, the island is ditching the Queen. Some fear it is simply swapping one colonial master for another”. Again, the truth, that will not acknowledge its name, is that the persons, who peddle the fears of “the Chinese will end up in control”, are the same people who would have preferred that Barbados remain 'little England' which bestowed upon them perceived rights that they feel they have lost.

Mr. Tugendhat's assertion, supported by like-minded persons in Barbados and elsewhere, of the threat of Chinese dominance, fails to understand the mettle of Caribbean leadership, and

e sp Sir Ronald Sanders eci ally of the fierce nationalist and regionalist disposition of Mia Mottley. His judgment, and theirs, are rooted in the condescending colonial mindset that our people cannot think for themselves.

Caribbean countries need economic assistance because of their vulnerability and the legacies of colonialism that underlay their structures of economic weakness.

Their leaders and their people want to advance their countries' social and economic development. To achieve this, they engage in economic and financial cooperation with all in a fair and just way. But they will not surrender hard won sovereignty because of a yen for pieces of silver.

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

He is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London and Massey College in the University of Toronto. The views expressed are his own) Responses and previous c o m m e n t a r i e s :

Sunday November 28, 2021

Dear Reader, in light of the economic impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, our publisher, with you in mind, has taken the decision to extend our weekly review of some of our major stories in their entirety.

SUNDAY EXXON’S PARTNER BOASTS OF RECEIVING US$4B ANNUALLY STARTING FROM NEXT YEAR - CALLS STABROEK BLOCK “THE MOTHER-LOAD”

While it may have stakes in other blocks in the GuyanaSuriname basin, Hess Corporation says its top priority will remain the oil rich Stabroek Block since it is “the mother-load” of its portfolio.

Specifically making this comment was Hess’ Chief Operating Officer (COO), Greg Hill. He was at the time participating in Bank of America’s Global Energy Conference.

Participating in the virtual conference as well was Chief Executive Officer (CEO), John Hess, who boasted about the revenue making potential of the Stabroek Block projects.

He said, “The Bakken, Deepwater Gulf of Mexico and Malaysia serve as our cash engine, while Guyana serves as our growth engine. With the start-up of Liza Phase Two early next year, Guyana also becomes a cash engine and at that time, all of our major assets will be free cash flow positive.”

With a line of sight of up to 10 Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSOs) in Guyana to develop approximately 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent resources as well as its robust inventory of high return drilling locations in the Bakken, USA, the CEO said the company’s ability to deliver high return resource growth is, therefore “unparalleled.”

Expounding further he said, “When Liza Two comes on, we will steadily move down the cost curve. Our Guyana developments have a Brent breakeven price between US$25 and US$35 per barrel. And as our Bakken production in the USA goes up to 200,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the next several years we will be able to go down the cost curve.”

The Hess boss added, “By 2026, we predict that our cash unit cost will go down by 25 percent versus this year to approximately US$9 per barrel of oil equivalent resources and that our portfolio will achieve a Brent breakeven price of

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approximately US$45 per barrel.”

Further to this, Hess said his company is clearly positioned to deliver industry leading cash flow growth. In this regard, he said between 2021 and 2026, the company’s cash flow is forecast to increase by 25 percent annually. He said this is more than two times as fast as its production growth. At a price of US$65 per barrel Brent, Hess said this should result in annual free cash flow growth increasing to approximately US$3B per year by 2026. “And if you add a US$10 higher price it is actually US$4B per year,” the Hess boss stated.

GUYANESE WHO WAS AWARDED KAIETEUR BLOCK JUMPS INTO INSURANCE INDUSTRY WITH TT PARTNER Ryan Pereira, the lone Guyanese investor in charge of Ratio Petroleum, one of the two initial owners of the highly prospective Kaieteur Block, is now expanding his portfolio in the oil sector. Just recently, it was announced that the local businessman teamed up with Trinidad’s CIC Insurance Brokers Limited for the establishment of CIC Insurance Brokers (Guyana) Limited to provide the industry with leading risk advisory and risk transfer products.

For this partnership, Pereira utilised Zarc Group of Companies, another company he manages.

Kaieteur News understands that the latest alliance will allow for the provision of general insurance, employee benefits, and risk management.

Commercial insurance in the manufacturing, financial, hospitality and retail industries as well as insurance for casualties and risk management will also be provided too.

In an advertisement published in the daily newspapers it was noted that CIC Guyana is determined to be a superlative full-service insurance brokerage company given that it will be premised on the combined expertise of the two companies. Kaieteur News understands that Trinidad’s CIC brings 52 years of insurance brokerage experience to the table while Zarc brings its proven track record, knowledge, and understanding of the local business environment.

This newspaper understands that the new partners have already established a multi-million dollar headquarters at Lot A52 Barima Avenue, Bel Air Park.

northern boundaries of the Stabroek and Canje blocks.

Approval from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Guyana Geology and Mines Commission will also be obtained.

MONDAY DECLINING FISH CATCH TRIGGERS WORRYAMONG LOCAL FISHERMEN MANY BLAME EXXON OFFSHORE OPERATIONS; PREDICT DEATH OF INDUSTRY IN FIVE YEARS

The company also has a website: www.cic.co.gy where it notes that together with its global partners, CIC Guyana can design programmes that cater for protection in the oil and gas sector. In this regard, the company was keen to note that the complex nature of Upstream, Midstream, and Downstream operations as well as Power Generation and Distribution require experienced individuals versed in the wide range of products and solutions available to cover these facilities.

With this in mind, it noted that the firm’s energy specialists are at the forefront of advising energy companies worldwide on the wide range of risks they face.

“Whether your focus is exploration, construction, production, or refining and marketing – single-location operations, new projects, or a diverse portfolio of integrated assets – our energy experts offer bespoke risk management solutions,” the company stated while adding that some of these solutions include the following policies for the oil and power distribution sector: Material Damage All Risks/Property All Risks; Onshore Property - Offshore Property; Operators Extra Expense; Control Of Wells; General Liability/Excess Liability; Pollution Liability; Environmental Liability; Business Interruption; Boiler Explosion and Machinery Breakdown; and Political Violence, Sabotage and Terrorism.

It states too that the company can include services under other policies which include: Risk Engineering, Valuation Surveys, and Training.

With respect to the Trinidadian partner, the

company ’s website: https:// www.cic.cott/notes that over the years, CIC has developed long-standing relationships with many of the leading Global Insurance Brokers including Alesco, Aon, Lockton, Marsh, THB and Willis just to name a few. It states, “When our clients require insurance programmes or covers not available in the local market, we utilise our global relationships to deliver comprehensive and competitive solutions through reinsurance placements specially designed to cover the needs of their growing businesses.”

KAIETEUR BLOCK INTEREST The Kaieteur Block, which spans 13,500 km2, holds a gross, estimated prospective resource of over 2.1 billion barrels of crude. To grasp a better understanding of the size of the block, it is bigger than three of the founding members of CARICOM: Jamaica (10,991 km²), Trinidad and Tobago (5,131 km²), and Barbados (431 km²).

The massive offshore concession was awarded in April 2015 to Pereira’s Cataleya Energy Corporation (CEC) which was formerly Ratio Energy Limited and Ratio Guyana Limited, a subsidiary of Ratio Petroleum Energy Limited Partnership headquartered in Israel (Ratio Petroleum).

Over the years, the original block owners, Pereira in particular, have faced several criticisms for being awarded the offshore concession by the Donald Ramotar administration.

There were concerns that the block was awarded to Pereira and his partner who had no known track record in the industry as deepwater oil explorers and developers.

There were also calls for the award process to be investigated.

But since assuming office, Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo who is also considered the local oil czar has categorically stated that the process, in his view, was above board and that it was free of corruption. He had also said that the award of the Kaieteur Block was in keeping with the nation’s oil laws which state: “No licence shall be granted to an individual unless he is a citizen of Guyana or to a body of persons unless it is a company; or a corporation.”

The Vice President as well as President Irfaan Ali are also on record as lauding the inclusion of Guyanese investors in the upstream industry as they are of the firm belief that locals ought not to be excluded from any aspect of the multi-billion dollar sector.

Subsequent to the Upper Cretaceous play-opening at the Liza-One discovery in May 2015, a farm-in agreement executed with ExxonMobil, along with various other arrangements, saw the effective date of the Kaieteur Petroleum Agreement being amended from April 2015 to February 2017.

As a result of the farm-in, the Kaieteur Block is operated

by ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, Esso Production and Exploration Guyana Limited (EEPGL), in partnership with CEL, Ratio Guyana Limited and a subsidiary of Hess Corporation.

EEPGL has since applied to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to be authorised to drill 12 wells in the Kaieteur Block which is located in deep water over 200 kilometres northeast of the coastline of Georgetown, Guyana, and adjacent to the

Fishermen in Guyana are reporting a rapid decline in catch, and predicting that they may very well be out of jobs in the next five years even as they attributed this to ExxonMobil’s operations offshore.

A key report from the American multinational has warned that there will be significant impact on the nation’s marine resources, due to the cumulative impact of those oil related activities.

This disclosure was made in the project documents for the Yellowtail development in the Stabroek Block, operated by ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL).

The report, which formed the premise for the recently concluded countrywide consultations on the Yellowtail development, noted that there are several exploration and development activities planned or are already in operation by EEPGL. These include the US$3.5B Liza Phase I Development, the US$6B Liza Phase II Development, and the US$9B Payara Development projects.

EEPGL said, it is continuing with a rapid exploration and drilling programme in the Stabroek Block alongside works on its fiber optic cable installation project, an onshore Guyana Office Campus, and the US$900M Gas to Energy Project.

It is also poised to drill 24 wells across the Kaieteur and Canje blocks, which border the Stabroek concession. It said too that the oil related activities will result in changes in marine nutrient cycle, resulting in localized and temporary changes in phytoplankton (a type of microalgae) species distribution, and impacts on gene flow. In spite of the foregoing, EEPGL said citizens and local authorities ought to be assured that the project will adopt a number of embedded controls, (Continued on page 22)

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From page 21 mitigation measures, and management plans. The ExxonMobil subsidiary said, these are considered sufficient to address the contributions of the project to cumulative impacts.

Fishermen worried Local fishermen however are not comforted by the oil company’s assurances. “Ever since them man start drill we seabed out deh we catch gone very low. I in this business like since I was a child. In the earlies, from like 2007 when I start catch fish to like 2016.

We used to get an exciting catch. But you see from like 2016 to now; presently, we catch is like going and strain water cause when we go out there we would just catch back lil gas money and something to feed the family.

You can’t presently do nothing for yourself with this fish,” said Stayon Frank, a fisherman who retails fish in the Stabroek Market.

He opined that the only way to keep the sector alive may be to create nurseries at home, as he sees the business slowly becoming extinct. “Next five years we won’t get this type of fish here in Guyana anymore.

Right now, the fish getting smaller and smaller. Is bare small fish. We might have to start mining fish in we back yard to keep this hustle alive,” the frustrated vendor told this newspaper.

Another vendor, who gave his name as ‘Dexter’ explained that his catch has reduced drastically and the quality of fish is also daunting. He explained that his catch was somewhere between 1,100 pounds in the earlier years. However, it has now reduced to about 700 pounds per catch. “Within a day the fish spoiling too and if you watch you would see some of the fish done get (slender) and this catch this morning we got to try and sell it out cause what we seeing here is a different quality of fish. And it ain’t coming like nuff fish like before. It seems like they just going down and down and down,” he complained. “We don’t know

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Kaieteur News

within the next four to five years what will happen. We getting more pressure cause some people don’t even want buy the fish cause they seeing the quality but we got to try and sell what we can to get a money,” the man explained.

Leroy Williams, who retails fish in Georgetown, attributed the decline in catch to Exxon’s operations. The fisherman who said he has been in the business for over 22 years now also said he is fearful of what is to come.

“Right now in the fisheries industry what I can say is that since this oil company is out there, the amount of fish we used to get in this market, we are not getting it anymore.

Most of them fisherman when they go out, they are not getting no kind of catch because they throw the line and they go back next day to pull it up, but when they go back they can’t get nothing much. Since this oil thing come about the fisherman them suffering in this country here right now. By we aint getting fish in here, people hardly coming in to do any business. You see the size?

We used to get bigger Cuirass than this. I think like all the fish moving out by the noise that does be in the water cause especially like how they drilling and so, the fish them like they moving away,” he explained.

Williams told Kaieteur News that he learnt Guyana is now importing fish. This he said could put him out of business and take food from his children. “We daily catch just decreasing and right now saying they want to import fish, but if you want to import fish what is going to happen to us? It would have a lot of impact on my business cause right now they would put us out of business, cause I depend on this for my daily living,” the fish vendor noted.

According to him, Gail baker fish used to be wholesaled at $1,000 per pound but it has increased to $1,500. Trout he said was once at $800 per pound but has gone up to about $1,200 a pound. “Poor people feeling

the squeeze right now and you watch next four to five years the poor man will suffer in this country. The oil that they drawing out there, we ain’t getting a cent. All the money is going back to them…something supposed to go back to the poor people.

I doing this 22 years now and back then things used to be real good. Now, some day you come out, you barely working for a lil raise, but is just because you want to do something we does come out here but you not getting the courage like before. It just driving we crazy,” Williams detailed.

Another vendor, Jaden Dickinson told this newspaper that the fishes are migrating due to the ongoing drilling and exploration of Exxon Mobil. “We not getting enough fish. It used to be in a lump sum about three years back and now is not the same.

Like three years ago I used to get about 3000 to four thousand pounds per catch, now I only getting about six or seven hundred pounds,” he said. Due to this, he noted that his customers have been complaining of the prices.

Dickinson highlighted: “This thing affecting me and the customers cause when them man that catch it sell back to we, we got to try and make a lil thing. I in this business for over 10 years now and this is the first time I seeing something like this.”

Now collecting data Meanwhile, amid the gloom, Exxon has revealed that it is now collecting baseline information to get an understanding of how the fisheries sector here is being impacted by their operations.

During a recent virtual Consultation held by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Exxon Mobil’s Yellowtail Project, Environmentalist, Simone Mangal-Jolly said that even though Exxon compiled a fisheries study, the document failed to highlight the migratory patterns of fish, among others. She said: “It has no comprehensive mapping of the fish nurseries in Guyana or neighbouring

countries that might be feeding our fisheries sector.

There are no indications whatsoever in any baseline studies done, including the Marine Baseline Study of what the migratory patterns are of commercial or noncommercial fish compared to that whole zone”.

In response to her concerns, the Consultancy agency, Environmental Resources Management (ERM) representative Jason Wiley said that baseline data is being conducted and is expected to continue for about another year. MangalJolly however argued, “A baseline is something you collect before you attempt to do a project or an action that alters the conditions, such that if you were to come later, you would then be able to know how the conditions have changed… You can’t be continuously collecting a baseline when there are already activities going on offshore that are affecting those conditions.”

TUESDAY 7 YEARS LATER, GUYANA STRUGGLING WITH BASICS FOR OILAND GAS SECTOR …AS MIGRATION CRISIS LOOMS - RAMKARRAN Guyana discovered hydrocarbons—oil and gas in commercial quantities, back in 2015 at the time the Coalition Administration was being sworn into power, with production beginning in 2019, a national development that the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) administration was hardly prepared for.

Having lost office to the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) in 2020, the incumbent administration is now proving that it too is still struggling with basic issues, with another potential looming crisis on the horizon being the issue of migrants, expatriates, naturalised Guyanese and a policy dealing with the phenomenon.

The matter was raised

over the weekend by Senior Counsel, Ralph Ramkarran, in an article on his Conversationtree.gy online blog, where he addressed the issue in light of the fact that during a recent trip to Ghana, Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, said that Guyana, with its small population and limited labour force, would reach full employment soon, and that Guyana would have to consider an active immigration policy.

Lapses According to Ramkarran, a former Speaker of the National Assembly, “It is clear that since that time (discovery), the APNU+AFC Government hardly prepared for the tasks ahead and the PPP/C Government is still struggling with basic issues.”

He cited as example, the fact that the legislation for the Natural Resources Fund (NRF) is not yet complete and that the Petroleum Commission has not been appointed.

Additionally, Ramkarran highlighted that important tasks, such as the appointment of auditors to verify the expenses of Exxon have not been accomplished.

Conceding, “…capacity in Guyana is very limited, including at the highest level of Government,” Ramkarran is adamant nonetheless, “this needs to be quickly remedied.”

Elaborating on the impending migration and labour dilemma, Ramkarran said, “…if I could have predicted more than five years (ago) that an immigration policy would have to be determined, then others in government, or preparing to enter government, must have envisaged the same need.

As such, he was unwavering in his adumbration, if a governmental team has not yet been established to consider immigration policy, “then we are in bad shape; “but I would not be surprised

if no such team has been established, having regard to the fact that the more urgent issue of auditing Exxon’s expenses has been allowed to lapse.”

Refugees Ramkarran in his public missive recalled that in August 2016, several months after the discovery of oil in Guyana, he had penned an article captioned, ‘Guyana’s future as an oil producer’ where he contended, “if we are serious about progress, an immigration policy would have to be determined and systems put in place for its implementation.”

The senior counsel has since observed that in recent years, Guyana has welcomed Brazilians, Chinese and a smaller number of Indians.

Emigration from these countries, he said, would increase and Guyana would begin to welcome emigrants from CARICOM and other countries and that the Guyanese people need to be prepared for these developments.

More recently, Guyana has welcomed a sizeable number of economic refugees from Venezuela. As such, Ramkarran observed that Vice President Jagdeo’s utterances regarding the importation of labour, “did not say anything that would not have been known by anyone knowledgeable about recent developments.”

As such, he posits that such a position being espoused from a leading member of the Government has caused political figures to already speculate on where the immigrants are going to come from.

“This, of course, relates to the potential political implications of large-scale immigration having regard to Guyana’s ethno-political equation.”

The legal luminary was of the view, there are several issues regarding immigration, (Continued on page 23)

Sunday November 28, 2021

From page 22 including determining what categories of labour that Guyana would need, such as unskilled, skilled and professional.

“Although it would be difficult at this stage to assess numbers, the history of immigration in Middle East countries can be looked to for guidance.”

Plan & Prepare Additionally, Ramkarran suggested that the next issue would be the policies that would be applied to immigrants and pointed out that in many Middle East countries, citizenship is not granted to persons employed under contracts from other countries.

“The stated reason is to preserve the country’s integrity, political stability and wealth for its citizens. But many negative connotations have been attributed to these policies.”

Additionally, Ramkarran said too, there would be a need to examine the applicable laws to ascertain what amendments should be made.

He cited as example, there is no status of permanent residence.

With regards, foreigners not on vacation, residence is based on the grant of work permits; the right of residence expires on the expiration of work permits, which are granted at the discretion of the Ministry of Home Affairs and are not backed by any legislation.

In Guyana, work permits are usually issued for one year or less and, according to Ramkarran, the laws that would need to be updated and upgraded, including the Constitution, the Citizenship Act, the Immigration Act and the Aliens (Immigration and Registration Act).

Guyana’s Constitution, he opined, is liberal as it relates to citizenship, in that any person lawfully residing in Guyana for five years can apply for citizenship.

Any person married to a citizen is entitled to citizenship. Children born to parents, one of whom is a citizen, are eligible for citizenship, wherever they may reside. These laws exist in many countries.

He noted, however, in developed countries, which attract immigrants, there are rigid laws which restrict the admission of immigrants and that they generally admit only skilled persons and sponsored family members.

However, they are generally entitled to citizenship after a period, usually in the vicinity of five years.

Middle East countries, with oil and/or gas wealth, or are otherwise highly

developed, have immigrant populations that are many times the size of their Indigenous populations, according to Ramkarran. He pointed out that many of these do not offer citizenship to their immigrant populations.

“These populations cannot vote or access social benefits or bring their families.

Guyana will have to decide what approach to take in relation to immigrants, especially since the speculation is that Guyana will eventually require twice the size of its population, and this can only come from immigration.”

To this end, Ramkarran, former Speaker of the National Assembly and Founder Member of A New and United Guyana, is of the view that, “unless a regime of contract workers and professionals, without the right of citizenship, is established, difficult political questions will arise; the only way to resolve these difficult issues is to start the planning and preparation now.”

50 PERCENT OF REGION’S GAS RESERVES MAY BE LEFT STRANDED - IDB WARNS When one considers the global movement towards renewable energy sources, driven largely by the need to bring the earth’s temperature down to 1.5° Celsius, the future of natural gas appears bleak.

This is according to a recent report prepared by experts contracted by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

They believe that the energy transition movement and declining competitiveness leaves approximately 50 percent of the Latin American and Caribbean Region’s gas reserves, at risk of being left in the ground.

In their 2021 report titled, “High and dry: stranded natural gas reserves and fiscal revenues in Latin America and the Caribbean,” the industry experts acknowledged that natural gas plays an important role in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Key producers identified in the region are Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Bolivia, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela.

Expounding further, the analysts said Venezuela holds nearly 70 percent of proven gas reserves in the region, while Argentina holds huge unconventional resources, in particular the Vaca Muerta “shale play”.

The report also shared that natural gas in Bolivia and

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Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) is a meaningful contributor to those nations’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The experts cautioned however, that the impact of gas resources for those producers are likely to change, since the global energy transition makes future gas demand, and therefore prices, quite uncertain.

It was observed that years ago, natural gas was thought to be a potential bridge fuel to a net-zero energy system, since it emits less carbon dioxide during combustion than coal.

The IDB report has since concluded that this is no lo n g e r t h e c a s e , s i n c e renewable energy in the last few years has emerged globally as “the cheapest and fastest-growing source of energy in the world.”

With this in mind, the IDB consultants said, it calls into question, the notion that any bridge to renewable energy is needed.

The IDB analysts said fossil fuel reserves are now therefore being seen more as assets exposed to transition risk, meaning that they could become unburnable, or stranded during the energy transition.

In the case of Latin America and the Caribbean, they said an additional issue is that competition from abroad jeopardises domestic natural gas production.

In this regard, they highlighted that the region holds less than 5 percent of global reserves, and accounts for only 7 percent

of production.

The report cautioned that the region would be facing stiff competition from major gas producers like Qatar, USA, Nigeria and Australia in the new energy transition era.

Given the favourable economics of moving straight to renewable sources of energy and the small market share the region has for its gas, the experts have since warned that considerable gas assets could be left stranded.

The analysts in their report said, “…we find that 70 percent of proven, probable, and possible reserves in Latin America and the Caribbean remain unburnable due to reduced demand associated with high climate ambition.”

It was noted that removing Venezuela from the sample, unburnable natural gas reserves in the rest of the region range between 39 and 50 percent.”

The report concluded, “that significant volumes of unburnable gas reserves for key producers are as follows: Argentina (34 to 37 percent), Brazil (15 to 30 percent), Venezuela (89 percent), Mexico (69 to 72 percent) and Trinidad and Tobago (6 to 8 percent) unburnable.”

In light of the findings, the IDB consultants said countries in the Latin American and Caribbean region, “need to diversify their revenues and energy strategy away from dependency on gas.”

The experts urged that governments should focus investments on the development of zero-carbon power generation capacity, such as wind, solar and hydro, and the use of electricity to displace fossil

fuels in transportation, building and industry.

WEDNESDAY EXXON PARTNER SELLS INTEREST IN LIBYAN ASSET -TO FOCUS ON MEGA-PROFITS FROM STABROEK BLOCK International media reports have revealed that Hess Corporation intends to shed more global assets to focus on the “mega-profits” to be had from its 30 percent stake in the oil-rich Stabroek Block. Specifically, Argus Media noted that TotalEnergies and ConocoPhillips will purchase Hess’ 8.16% stake in Libya’s Waha Oil Concessions in the Sirte Basin and invest to improve production. This was confirmed with TotalEnergies’ Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Patrick Pouyanne.

The Waha acquisition by TotalEnergies and ConocoPhillips, which already hold stakes of 16.33% each, was approved by Libya’s interim government. It was further noted that TotalEnergies plans to spend US$2B on the Waha project to raise production currently at 300,000 barrels of oil per day by 100, 000 barrels of oil per day.

In March, Kaieteur News reported that Hess had sold a key asset in Denmark to focus on its lucrative Guyana projects, specifically the Liza Phase One, Liza Phase Two, Payara and Yellowtail developments in the Stabroek Block. The American company had told the market that it entered into an agreement with Ineos Exploration and Production

Company to sell its subsidiary, Hess Denmark ApS, which held a 61.5% interest in the South Arne Field. The asset was sold for a total consideration of US$150 million.

The following month, the company sold its Little Knife and Murphy Creek acreage interests in The Bakken, North Dakota to Enerplus Corporation, a Canadian energy giant, for US$312 million.

While it may have stakes in other blocks in the GuyanaSuriname basin, Hess Corporation has categorically stated that its top priority will remain the oil rich Stabroek Block since it is “the motherload” of its portfolio.

Specifically making this comment was Hess’ Chief Operating Officer (COO), Greg Hill. He was, at the time, participating in Bank of America’s Global Energy Conference.

Participating in the virtual conference as well was Chief Executive Officer (CEO), John Hess, who boasted about the revenue making potential of the Stabroek Block projects.

He said, “The Bakken, Deepwater Gulf of Mexico and Malaysia serve as our cash engine, while Guyana serves as our growth engine. With the start-up of Liza Phase Two early next year, Guyana also becomes a cash engine and at that time, all of our major assets will be free cash flow positive.”

With a lineup of up to 10 Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSOs) in Guyana to develop approximately 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent resources, as well as its robust inventory of high return (Continued on page 24)

PAGE 24

From page 23 drilling locations in the Bakken, USA, the CEO said the company’s ability to deliver high return resource growth is, therefore, “unparalleled.”

Expounding further he said, “When Liza Two comes on, we will steadily move down the cost curve. Our Guyana developments have a Brent breakeven price between US$25 and US$35 per barrel. And as our Bakken production in the USA goes up to 200,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the next several years, we will be able to go down the cost curve.”

The Hess boss added, “By 2026, we predict that our cash unit cost will go down by 25 percent versus this year to approximately US$9 per barrel of oil equivalent resources…”

Further to this, Hess said his company is clearly positioned to deliver industry leading cash flow growth. In this regard, he said between 2021 and 2026, the company’s cash flow is forecast to increase by 25 percent annually. He said this is more than two times as fast as its production growth. At a price of US$65 per barrel Brent, Hess said this should result in annual free cash flow growth increasing to approximately US$3B per year by 2026. “And if you add a US$10 higher price it is actually US$4B per year,” the Hess boss stated.

YELLOWTAILSUBSEA CONTRACT AMONG TOP 10 GLOBAL AWARDS FOR THE CENTURY RYSTAD ENERGY French-American multinational, TechnipFMC recently landed a multi-million dollar contract to supply the subsea equipment for ExxonMobil’s fourth project in the Stabroek Block at the Yellowtail Development area.

Based on its analysis of this contract alongside its record of others in the industry over the years, Rystad Energy recently noted that it ranks among the top 10 global awards for the century.

In one of its latest pieces, Rystad noted that the scope of works for the subsea contract includes as much as 51 enhanced vertical deepwater trees and 12 manifolds, together with associated controls and tiein equipment.

The international consultancy group reminded that TechnipFMC defines the Yellowtail contract as large, meaning that it is worth between US$500 million and US$1 billion. Rystad was keen to note that the latest subsea job is set to eclipse work on

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Kaieteur News

previous Stabroek phases, which include the Liza Phase One, Liza Phase Two, and the Payara projects.

Expounding on this matter, Rystad said, “TechnipFMC’s giant Payara win, last fall, landed the company a contract to supply 41 enhanced vertical deepwater trees to ExxonMobil’s third phase of the Stabroek development off Guyana. The 41-tree deal was – at that time – the largest subsea tree contract handed out since Aker Solutions landed Kaombo in 2014.”

The consultancy group said, too, that TechnipFMC’s contract partly saved the subsea market from awarding fewer than 100 trees in 2020 – something it said was seen only once this century in 2016.

Rystad, an independent energy research and business intelligence company headquartered in Oslo, Norway, further noted that TechnipFMC has a strong bond with ExxonMobil in Guyana, having secured all previous phases of the Stabroek development. It said the company’s subsea adventure started back in 2017 when the 17 subsea trees for Liza’s Phase One were handed out and followed up with an additional 30 subsea trees for Liza Phase Two in 2018.

“If Yellowtail formally moves ahead, TechnipFMC would have secured almost 140 subsea trees for the

Stabroek development alone.

This is significant for a subsea market that saw around 140 subsea trees awarded globally last year,” Rystad explained.

It reminded that the contract for ExxonMobil’s next phase of the Stabroek development offshore Guyana is subject to final project sanctioning and government approvals.

It was only last month that Kaieteur News reported that development costs for the Yellowtail project are poised to exceed US$9B or GY$1.8 trillion.

ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) which is the operator of the Stabroek Block, had said costs are expected to be higher, since there would be a greater number of development wells and associated drilling costs when compared to its Payara project which will also cost Guyana $1.8 trillion.

According to project documents, Yellowtail will consist of drilling approximately 41 to 67 development wells (including production, water injection, and gas re-injection wells); installation and operation of Subsea, Umbilicals, Risers, and Flowlines equipment; installation and the operation of a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel in the eastern half of the Stabroek Block; and— ultimately—project

decommissioning.

The FPSO will be designed to produce up to 250,000 barrels of oil per day.

The initial production is expected to begin by the end of 2025–early 2026, with operations continuing for at least 20 years.

The project is expected to employ up to 540 persons during development well drilling, approximately 600 persons at the peak of the installation stage, and 100 to 140 persons during production operations.

THURSDAY CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS COULD COST OILRICH GUYANA US$800M - GOVT. REPORT SAYS OVER 300,000 CITIZENS COULD BE HARMED Since the 1960s, increases in temperature, sea level and extreme rainfall have exposed just how vulnerable Guyana is to climate change. This frightening global phenomenon has resulted in more than US$600M in losses.

That figure could however see an alarming spike as two government reports predict that more climate woes of potentially catastrophic proportions lie ahead for the world’s latest oil exploration hotspot.

According to the 2015 Climate Resilience Strategy and Action Plan for Guyana, climate change will no doubt

alter the characteristics of hazards Guyana is exposed to (e.g. average annual rainfall) and the nature of variability (e.g. more intense storms, irregular seasonal rainfall), which will hamper the nation’s socio-economic development objectives. The report further notes, “It is estimated that by 2030 Guyana could be exposed to cumulative annual flood-related losses totalling US$150 million and that an extreme event similar to the serious flooding in 2005, which resulted in losses equivalent to 60% of GDP, could result in some US$0.8 billion in losses and harm more than 320,000 people.”

The report also states that Guyana’s vulnerability to weather and climate-related impacts is partly as a result of inherent characteristics of the country’s geography and socio-economic development profile. It says these factors interact with the climate hazards to which Guyana is exposed and result in a range of climate impacts. The document says they include ageing and inadequately maintained critical infrastructure, limited access to the latest knowledge and technology, and wider poverty and development challenges.

Unless addressed, the 2015 government report warned that these factors will increase Guyana’s sensitivity, and in turn vulnerability, to future climate impacts.

The recently launched draft of the PPP/C Government’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030 also acknowledges the foregoing findings while expounding on the extent of climate change impacts on the nation.

The draft LCDS states that the effects on Guyanese people, society, economy and the environment during flooding events in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2015 and the droughts of 1997-1998, 2009-2010 and 2015-2016 are poignant examples of the devastation climate change may cause.

It pointed out that flooding in 2005, for example, caused damage estimated at US$465 million (60% of GDP at that point). This event is reported to have affected close to 275,000 people (37% of the population). It was caused by a combination of a wetter than average December (2004), which left the ground saturated, followed in January 2005 by some of the heaviest rainfall the country has experienced since records began in 1888.

Kaieteur News understands that some areas reported as much as 120-150cm of standing water, which

remained for several days.

The heavy rainfall also caused an increase in the water levels of the East Demerara Water Conservancy Dam (EDWC), which came close to a critical breaching level (59ft) and could have resulted in the failure of the dam wall. A socio-economic assessment of the damage and loss caused by the 2005 flood revealed major impacts to the agriculture sector, particularly in the regions of West Demerara/Essequibo Islands, Demerara/Mahaica and Mahaica/West Berbice.

Region Four was most severely affected, experiencing close to 55% of the total damage, followed by Regions Two (23%) and Five (19%). Considerable losses were recorded in the sugar, rice, livestock and other crop (fruits, vegetables, roots and tubers, and herbs and spices) subsectors.

For the floods experienced earlier this year, President Irfaan Ali described it as unprecedented and one of the worst disasters in the country’s history. The draft LCDS states that the social and economic damage is likely comparable to the 2005 flood which affected close to 37% of the population and caused economic damage equivalent to 60% of GDP. In his address to the nation, the President said that in May alone, Guyana had experienced its second highest rainfall in 40 years.

He said the resulting impact saw massive flooding across all 10 Administrative Regions with over 300 communities directly affected for a protracted period of time.

Furthermore, the President said that the Agriculture Sector suffered the greatest loss with 92,000 acres of farm and farmlands completely affected. He disclosed that the sugar industry was also significantly affected with estimated losses in the fields of over $1.5B. Kaieteur News had reported that over 50 percent of mining operations were affected, as mining communities were cut-off as a result of infrastructural damage. Government’s initial assessment estimates rehabilitation work in excess of $1B for the mining community. Damage to the Forestry Sector; loss of production and damage to equipment is estimated in excess of $8B. In response to the massive disruption in the economy, the Government had committed to direct transfers to households and farmers to allow them in the first instance, to return to some level of normalcy in their (Continued on page 25)

Sunday November 28, 2021

From page 24 homes whilst supporting the agriculture sector.

Approximately $10B was subsequently approved by the National Assembly in supplementary provisions to address these needs.

DROUGHT While heavy rainfalls which lead to floods have affected the nation over the years, it is not the only climate emergency Guyana faces. Drought is also a concern for the oil producing state, particularly in the Hinterland Region.

Following an extended period of dry weather in late 2014 and early 2015, the draft LCDS report notes that the Hinterland was facing drought conditions by April 2015.

Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) and parts of Region One ( B a r i m a - Wa i n i ) were particularly affected, resulting in the reduction of agricultural output in the Regions, reduction in available water supply and increased dust pollution among other issues.

The lack of rainfall also caused decreased water levels in the wells, lakes, ponds, rivers, creeks and other water sources.

Frequent bush fires, destroyed several farms at Aranaputa and local communities experienced limited access to potable water for domestic and agriculture use. Residents were also forced to go to local rivers, including the R u p u n u n i R i v e r, f o r untreated water for domestic use.

With increases in the number of dry spells, drought conditions and changing rainfall patterns, the report states that stress on Guyana’s internal water resources, aquifers and rivers is increasing.

With resources from the Guyana-Norway Partnership, the PPP/C administration reminded that policy leaders under the guidance of industry experts developed the Climate Resilience and Adaptation Strategy which sets out a comprehensive and overarching framework for adapting and building resilience to climate change impacts.

In 2021, the government said work will re-start to implement the strategy.

Specifically, it said the most important elements of the CRSAP will be brought up to date.

Funding will be allocated to four priority climate resilience programmes, and a strategy to finance the remainder of the CRSAP from ecosystem services

PAGE 25

Kaieteur News

payments and other sources will be put in place.

FRIDAY LIZA 1 CAN SAFELY PUMP 144,000 BARRELS PER DAY – EPA HEAD CLARIFIES In light of concerns reported in the local media that ramped up production levels on the Liza Destiny Floating, Production, Storage, and Offloading (FPSO) vessel could leave Guyana exposed to grave dangers, Head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Kemraj Parsram, has come forward to categorically state that nothing could be further from the truth.

Parsram was keen to note that the Liza Destiny does have a design capacity of 100,000 barrels oil per day.

While this is confirmed in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Liza Phase One Project, Parsram noted that the very document states that production can “safely occur” beyond the design capacity.The EPA Head cited specifically Page 28 of the EIA which speaks to the production levels of the Liza Destiny. That section of the document states: “The FPSO vessel to be utilized for the Project will be a VLCC tanker, which utilizes a spread moored configuration to maintain station continuously for at least 20 years. The FPSO will be designed to receive the full production wellstream from the development wells and will process crude oil at a design rate of 100,000 barrels of oil per day (BOPD), with potential to safely operate at sustained peaks of up to approximately 120,000 BOPD. For the purposes of this EIA, potential impacts generated by the Project will be based on the highest potential oil production volume, which is conservatively based on 144,000 BOPD….”

With the foregoing in mind, the Lead Environmental Regulator said it is the understanding of the agency that 144,000 barrels is safe while adding that it is on this basis that approval was granted to the American subsidiary operating the Stabroek block, being Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL). “So it is not dangerous at all, we considered it based on the EIA and the safeguards are in the permit. All this talk of a fresh EIA being done since production has been ramped up beyond 120,000 barrels is not necessary,” expressed Parsram.

The EPA Chief also noted

that in the event that there is any variance that is needed for production or for any aspect of the project, environmental authorization must be had from the EPA. “…We also have the discretion to request any further scientific assessment based on the change being requested and that has been the practice over the years,” Parsram noted.

The foregoing comments from the EPA Head come on the heels of a publication in the Kaieteur News’ Wednesday edition which quoted the concerns of the former EPA Head, Dr. Vincent Adams. He is of the firm conviction that ExxonMobil’s ramped up production is not safe for the country and could very well increase the potential of an oil spill in the Stabroek Block. Dr. Adams said it is in the best interest of the country to have a fresh assessment of the impacts of the increased production. But the current EPA Head, as noted earlier, disagrees.

While the Liza Destiny is producing around 124,000 barrels of oil per day, John Hess, Head of Hess Corporation (which holds a 30 percent stake in the Stabroek Block), revealed a few months ago that ExxonMobil’s affiliate, EEPGL, plans to optimize the capacity of the Liza Destiny to produce as much as 140,000 barrels of oil to 150,000.

With respect to vessels for future projects, he said once they spend about a year in operation, each ship will undergo an optimization or

debottlenecking exercise which would see capacity increase between 10 to 15 percent.

AUDIT LIZA 1, 2 PAYARA PROJECT COSTS BEFORE APPROVING YELLOWTAIL– FORMER EPAHEAD Former Head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Dr. Vincent Adams is calling on the Government not to approve ExxonMobil’s fourth projectthe Yellowtail Development -, until the US-based oil giant agrees to a belated audit of its US$9.5 billion spending.

The Government said that the audit was not conducted as the country lacks the skills to get the job done. However, Adams believes the administration should use as leverage the Yellowtail project which is yet to be approved to force Exxon into extending the time for the completion of the audit. Adams said to not conduct the audit could result in the giveaway of billions to the oil giant.

It was Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo, who had said that the government is disappointed that it had not been able to push through with these critical audits. He said the absence of strong local groups to do the audits is what stymied the process.

The only costs Guyana stands a chance of auditing and refuting if unreasonable charges are found, are those occurring from 2019 onwards.

It therefore means that the PPP/C administration still has

ample opportunity to review costs expended for ExxonMobil’s Payara Development Project in the Stabroek Block. This project is expected to cost US$9B. I n t e r n a t i o n a l transparency bodies have strongly contended that the two-year deadline the government has accepted, along with the fact that it can only do one audit per year on Exxon, is not sufficient. They have stressed that the timeline should be extended.

Specifically making this point over the years is Oxfam America. It has made this perspective known since 2015 alongside the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Oxfam America, a confederation of 20 charitable organisations which seeks to fight poor governance of extractive wealth, has said that the expiration periods for audit rights are set out in petroleum contracts and tax laws. It stressed, however, that these deadlines differ from one country to the next. It noted that in Ghana and Kenya for example, the authorities there retain the right to complete auditing companies within seven years. In Peru, the time limit for audits is a minimum of four years. Even in the USA, the transparency body highlighted, audits are allowed to be completed within a minimum of three years.

Oxfam warned however that even a three-year deadline is not advisable for developing countries such as Guyana, given the limited financial and human resources that are likely to delay the audit process.

Further, the organisation noted that it is equally important to keep an eye on record-keeping provisions in the petroleum contracts and tax laws. It said, “Oil companies should be required to keep all their records in-country for easy access by the auditors during the audit period.

For his part, speaking at a news conference by the Alliance for Change, Dr Adams said, “The AFC joins the countless number of concerned Guyanese and the international community in calling out what could only be described as negligence by the PPPC Government against its people, in its nonchalant declaration not to audit Exxon’s $9.5 Billion bill, due to failure to meet the audit deadline; a non-action that could conceivably become a give-away of Billions of dollars to mega rich Exxon, with the robbery of every single Guyanese citizen of millions of dollars”.

According to Adams, the excuse of not having the

expertise to conduct such an audit is a “highly incredulous excuse” since the AFC is well aware of a highly qualified firm, owned by a Guyanese in the Diaspora, that submitted a bid to conduct the audit. He questioned, “Is the Government speaking with forked tongues when it extols itself as so badly wanting the help of the Guyanese Diaspora, but at the same time signaling that they are not being counted as Guyanese.”

The former EPA head said that the government’s attempt to escape this backlash, is to distract the public with an empty promise to build capacity to hopefully get Guyanese to perform such tasks, but this is nothing less than a promise that is contrary to its own philosophy and practices. Adams explained, “Firstly, we all know the trustworthiness index of the Government keeping promises, especially when it comes to Exxon which was described by the Opposition Leader as “international bullies” with the “Government being under Exxon’s hammer.”Secondly, there are too many unanswered questions about this promise, since the fact remains that there is no provision in the Agreement for reopening the audit after its two-year expiration period”.

He quoted sections of the agreement with ExxonMobil where it was settled that “the Govt shall not amend, modify, rescind, terminate, declare invalid, require renegotiation, compel replacement or substitution…without the prior written consent of the Contractor”.

In light of this, the former EPA head questioned how would the Government then keep its promise. He inquired, “Is the Government making this promise with Exxon’s consent per the Agreement; or without consent, in violation of the Agreement which the Government holds as sacred? And does the Government now find itself being “hoisted by its own petard” with being forced to re-negotiate this sacrosanct Agreement?”

As a consequence, Adams noted that as a proven failsafe way of saving face of its dilemma, the AFC is calling on the Government to not approve the Yellow-Tail project until Exxon agrees to the Audit. According to him, a similar demand of the EPA under the previous administration proved to be successful in obtaining unlimited liability assurance coverage from Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) as a (Continued on page 26)

PAGE 26

From page 25 condition for approving the Liza 2 project; but unfortunately, the PPPC Government promptly reversed that decision.

SATURDAY GUYANA LOSES $$$M ANNUALLY ON LOG EXPORTS WHILE CHINESE MANUFACTURERS GAIN...AS GFC MISREPRESENTS DATATO DISGUISE OVERHARVESTING - DR. BULKAN The Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) is allegedly deliberately misrepresenting its data in order to present a glossy

Kaieteur News

image of its management of Guyana’s forests and the export of logs. Additionally, the country is losing hundreds of millions through ‘transfer pricing’ involving Chinese operators locally.

This is according to British Colombia University’s Associate Professor, Dr. Janette Bulkan who, in response to GFC’s condemnation of civil society group, Article 13’s call for an immediate ban on the export of logs, adumbrated that not only is there unsustainable forestry practices taking place in Guyana, but that the regulatory body appears to be deliberately misrepresenting the figures.

Compounding the situation, the Guyanese born Professor of the University’s

Department of Forest Resources Management said that the cumulative misrepresentation of figures and disproportionate export of certain types of lumber have also led to local shortages.

Dr. Bulkan—in a recent public missive—explained the way Guyana loses millions annually in the manner logs are exported by Chinese companies, locally, through a practice commonly referred to loosely as ‘transfer pricing.’

She elucidated that during the period January to July 2020, the average declared FOB (Freight on Board) value of a cubic metre of log was US$172 or G$34,401 and that 31,435 m3 of ‘logs’ were exported with a declared value of US$5,407,066.

To this end, the Professor reconciled the export value placed on the item when it leaves Guyana with the cost on arrival in China.

According to Dr. Bulkan, the Cost Insurance Freight (CIF), “at a Chinese port is generally three or four times higher.” As such, “Chinese manufacturers gain, Guyana loses.”

The Professor has since also accused the GFC of using “the same grossed-up treatment of data in its statements about the forest management.”

Growing Worse Regarding the export of logs, Professor Bulkan noted that while the GFC criticizes the call for an immediate ban on log exports as ‘misinformed, emotional and nonfactual,’ “local sawmills and lumber yards have had increasing difficulties in procuring logs of their preferred timbers.”

She cited as examples, Greenheart, Purpleheart and Kabukalli and questioned rhetorically, “if the GFC is managing the State Forests as sustainably as it claims; why is the shortage of preferred timbers becoming more obvious locally?”

M o r e o v e r, she expounded that while the GFC claims that only 20 percent of logs are exported and 80 percent p r o c e s s e d l o c a l l y, t h e “overall quantities would not prevent a high proportion of the Purpleheart, Kabukalli, Tatabu, Shibadan, Darina and Locust from being exported, and only species like Keriti that are not desired by log traders being easily available locally.”

She accused the Forestry Commission of allowing Barama, in the past, to move from a focus on plywood production, to being the main exporter of raw logs to China, concentrating on just a few species, “and so, heavily exceeding the sustainable rates for Purpleheart.”

We know this, she said, not because GFC released the information, but because Barama’s parent company, SamLing Global Ltd., disclosed the information in its Initial Public Offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2007.

According to Professor Bulkan, “this selective over-harvesting was continued by Bai Shan Lin, the company partly owned by the Government of China, and contrary to the guidelines on forestry issued by the Chinese

Sunday November 28, 2021

Ministry of Commerce.”

She has since opined, that the consequence of this continued and unsustainable drain on the best timbers of Guyana is evident in the local shortages “which have been growing worse.”

Come Clean Dr. Bulkan has since publicly challenged the commission to defend against her allegations saying, “if the GFC disagrees with this evidence and reasoning, it should disclose the timberspecific volume and price data for each species and logging/exporting company in its return for the Third Annual Report to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), with independent audit verification.”

She further said to the GFC that it should return to publishing data each month, even while cautioning, “we should note the unreliability of export data, as shown in the first annual EITI report for Guyana for the year 2017, which included reports of timbers known to grow only in West Africa being exported as logs from Guyana.”

According to Professor Bulkan, “if the GFC will not publish accurate and verified supporting data, it cannot expect that the

people in Guyana will believe its claims.”

Relative to the GFC’s release of forestry, logging and export data, the Professor outlined that from 2005 up to 2018 the G F C ’s F o r e s t S e c t o r Information Report—halfyearly or annually, and the GFC’s own Annual Report up to 2017—were publicly available.

Between the periods 2007 up to April 2019, “for most months, we could also read a monthly report for forest products.”

She laments, however, that “…these sets of reports became briefer and less informative over time, with less and less information about individual timbers.”

Compounding the s i t u a t i o n , D r. B u l k a n pointed out that some data on production and export of the more popular timbers could only be had some two to three years later, when published by International Tropical Timber Organization.

Therefore, she posits, “ e v i d e n t l y, t h e G F C i s happy to see our prime timbers exported unprocessed to China and India, rather than implement the National Forest Strategy and Plan, which call for greater in-country processing.”

Kaieteur News

Sunday November 28, 2021

PAGE 27

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

Four Black men, African Guyanese and my story

T

his article is about four Black men.

Adam Harris and Norman Brown in one context; Mark Benschop and David Hinds in another context. All four are people whose opinions African Guyanese seek out. I would appeal to African Guyanese to pay close attention to the hard, concrete facts on this page.

Here are my interactions with each recently. First Adam. I made a call to a long-standing friend of mine, Dharamkumar Seeraj of the Guyana Rice Producers Association, someone I have known for more than 30 years.

Strangely, Adam answered the phone. It meant I confused two numbers.

It was a pleasant chat with Adam. He showed no hostility to me. Adam was understanding when I told him to be careful in what people say about me in interviews he gives. He agreed and asked me about this story circulating about a special arrangement I have with Bharrat Jagdeo because I asked Jagdeo to drop the libel case against me.

I told Adam that my lawyer, Nigel Hughes would know all the details. Here are the incontrovertible facts.

The case began in 2011, and in court in 2019, the plaintiff’s lawyers indicated to the judge that the era associated with the case had gone. My lawyer asked me if I am happy with that. My answer was yes. I asked what happens to me if he gets an international job or become a Cabinet minister or gets sick.

I remember telling him life is unpredictable and the

opportunity was there for me to move on.

My concern was if Nigel left, where would I get another lawyer given Mr. Glenn Lall’s position to me 26 years ago? Mr. Lall said the newspaper will not fund legal fees for me in the event of libel or court action so I had a choice.

I chose to stay and write, and hope I will not get sued. I got 11 libels and one contempt of court charge. I got my own school of lawyers who defended me and the Kaieteur News freely. I succeeded in all.

Next – David Hinds. On a Meta programme, Hinds told Benschop I am a coward who is afraid to go out late at night and Hinds burst out in high-pitch, staccato laughter. Here are the facts for African Guyanese to internalise. On the stroke of midnight in 2012, I was attacked outside parliament after a vigil we called the People’s Parliament and almost lost my life.

The police came and escorted me to the Brickdam Station. Michael Carrington came in my car. David and his daughter, TabithaSarabo-Halley, followed in his vehicle. David and daughter waited outside the station while Carrington came in. The plan was that David would escort me home with Carrington staying overnight.

The police agreed to provide escort to my home but since I didn’t trust the police, I declined the offer.

David and his daughter were not outside the station. I would never forget the calls we made. Carrington called David six times. I called him

10 times. There is a slang word called “mystic.”

David and Sarabo-Halley had mystic.

They were never outside the station. Does SaraboHalley care to comment? I will never forget that night. I will never forgive or forget David Hinds for what he did to me that night. Carrington and I travelled alone at 1.30AM from Brickdam to Turkeyen. Michael Carrington is one of Guyana’s finest.

Finally, Benschop has placed a photo of me on his Meta page with a caption stating that I receive $500,000 monthly from the PPP for writing in the Kaieteur News. Norman sent me an email saying that he read on social media that the PPP is paying me to write. I thank him for not being part of the anti-Kissoon school.

Now, here is my unambiguous position.

Anyone who wants to pay me half a million dollars for doing my columns I will take, once they do not tell me what to write. Once they do not tell me what to write, I become a big winner since I will compose the things I believe in anyway and still collect half a million dollars every month.

I am in two minds if I should tell Kaieteur News’ management since I am not using KN’s space to serve two masters. But I will declare the income to the Guyana Revenue Authority.

So here is an open message to anyone in this entire world – if you want to pay me half a million dollars for simply writing for Kaieteur News, yes, I will take the money. I conclude by calling on African Guyanese to tell Benschop he has an obligation to them to

disclose which person in the PPP or which ministry is doing the paying or provide all the details. African Guyanese must open their eyes.

Frederick Kissoon (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not

necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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Kaieteur News

Sunday November 28, 2021

Sunday November 28, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 29

COVID-19: Get your booster shots, there are new threats on the way

By Dr. Zulfikar Bux Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, Vanderbilt Medical Center Just when we thought that we were getting a hold of this virus, it's unnatural behaviour is threatening to throw a wrench in our plans and possibly, cause more devastation.

The delta variant was the most devastating thus far and has caused the most deaths of all the variants. Things could have been far worse with the delta variant had it not been for vaccines that prevent many more deaths from occurring. Unfortunately, this war is not over and the virus is showing resurgence, especially as the effects of vaccines begin to wear.

What about my last COVID-19 vaccine?

The evidence is clear; COVID-19 vaccines had a high rate of success in decreasing deaths and hospitalisations for those that were fully vaccinated.

However, nothing good lasts forever and the same can be said for the COVID-19 vaccines.

Data is showing that the efficacy of these vaccines decrease with time and the

level of protection they provide by the sixth month after full inoculation is insufficient to offer desired protection against COVID19. We have to be realistic and realise that the initial doses of COVID-19 vaccines did what they were intended to do. Protect us against death from COVID19 for that time. It's now time for us to update our defense and get our booster shot.

Why is a booster important?

Booster shots have been around since vaccines were made because after a while, our body sometimes needs a reminder on how it should fight the threat it was previously vaccinated against.

If we were fully vaccinated against COVID19 more than six months ago, odds are, our immune response has faded and we are not as prepared if we were to get infected with COVID-19.

However, the evidence is also clear that a one-shot booster at this time, will ramp up your body's defense sufficiently to make things safe for you against the current threats of COVID19.

What threats are we concerned about?

Most of the recent surge in infections worldwide are still from the delta variant and its newer form; the delta plus variant.

It is mostly affecting places where there are large numbers of unvaccinated, and the vaccinated population that have lost protection with time. The simple solution is for the unvaccinated to get vaccinated and those previously vaccinated to get a booster shot.

However, the World Health Organization has just announced a new variant of interest called the B.1.1.529 or Omicron variant. It was first discovered from a specimen collected on November 9th, 2021 in Botswana and reported by South African authorities to the WHO on November 24th, 2021. This variant has more than double the amount of mutations than the delta variant and is doubling its daily infection rate in South Africa.

It has already replaced the delta variant as the dominant variant in the Gauteng province in South Africa where it is estimated to account for about 90

percent of new cases.

If this pattern continues, this variant will spread worldwide and be more infectious than the delta variant with the potential to be resistant to the current vaccines.

What can we do given these new threats?

There is always that potential of newer variants becoming vaccine resistant.

However, existing vaccine companies can easily tweak their COVID-19 vaccines to accommodate the mutations that may lead to vaccine resistant strains.

While the Omicron variant may be more

infectious than the delta variant, that may turn out to be to our advantage if it's less deadly. Once the omicron variant is more infectious and less deadly, then it will infect the world more rapidly than any previous variant but not many lives will be lost.

However, such rapid rates of infections with minimal deaths, will lead to the herd immunity that we've been hoping to achieve since this pandemic started.

It may be a blessing in disguise but that's something we do not have control over at this stage.

But we do have control of our destiny in the interim by getting vaccinated, getting

our booster shots if we were previously vaccinated and of course, practicing preventative measures.

Kaieteur News

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Sunday November 28, 2021

>>> ENCOURAGING EVENTS, DISTURBING DEVELOPMENTS <<<

Take your waste back to Texas, bail for repeat offenders and Secretary Blinken’s sweet speech I am encouraged that one of our few tireless voices has told the powers at Exxon where to take off and jump off. Environmentalist Vanda Radzik did just that when, in no uncertain terms, she gave

them a mouthful and earful: “Take all your waste and all of your radioactivity and all of your toxicity back to Houston, Texas.”

That is really telling them where they get off in this here

little Guyana, that chewing off their ear that Ms. Radzik gave Exxon’s people.

I couldn’t have said it better myself, and I am encouraged that this courageous Guyanese did it for all of us.

Take it back to Sam Houston Parkway and Sam Houston Tollway in Houston, Texas and not this Houston in Guyana. It is time that Guyanese stand up and tell these renegades and cowboy

o u t l a w s where they stand. I do so.

Pay attention D a r r e n W o o d s : Houston, we h a v e a problem.

Guyana has a problem, more than one; in fact, many big ones, thanks to Exxon’s operations and the conspiracies they workout with Guyanese political leaders.

I am encouraged that the police force is concerned about bail being given to repeat offenders. The word on the street is that it is not the leniency that comes from timely judicial mercy, but the byproduct of money talking meaningfully and changing hands.

I can understand, even support and encourage, bail being granted for simple offences not involving weapons or violence and injury.

In contrast, this appalling and continuing nonsense about bail for repeat offenders, some of whom are before the courts for serious offences, can neither be supported nor allowed to pass without sharply critical comment.

Persons accused of allegedly committing serious crimes, such as rape or dangerous driving, or possession of illegal firearms used in the commission of a robbery should almost never (for emphasis, almost never) be granted bail. This makes no sense, and further endangers law-abiding citizens, since many granted bail, go out and commit more crimes of similarly serious nature.

Our judicial officers do not go through life in local lanes with a paper bag over their heads. They are sure to read newspapers and listen to the radio and watch television and, as such, ought to be familiar with the horrors inflicted upon the weak and unwary in our capital city and countryside.

Taking all of this into consideration, it is the height of unwisdom, a misuse of judicial discretion, to grant bail to repeat offenders hauled before the courts on serious charges.

As much as I am

By GHK Lall encouraged by Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken’s speech delivered in Ecuador, my hopes are at a low level, where America and its promises are concerned about corruption.

According to a KN caption dated November 22nd, Mr. Blinken stated something along the lines of the ‘US working with civil society, media to expose corruption in the Caribbean’. I know the United States and the speeches of its statesmen well, which is why I think that Secretary Blinken is doing a swell job of being Mr. Winking, Blinking, and nod.

The United States turned a blind eye in a different time to Forbes Burnham, and it is hardly going to expose this PPP Government today, when so much of Exxon’s interests, meaning, America’s interests are at stake. Let’s get real here, people. This is a nice speech from a nicer senior officer of the United States Government.

But that is all that there is to it; a real snow job I call it.

Just take a look at the parties being partnered with: government, civil society and the media; they are among the biggest corrupters and beneficiaries of corruption in Guyana.

For sure, they are not going to turn themselves in; or against each other.

I am encouraged that he took the time to warm his listeners; he, however, left me cold, because I recognise it for what it is: a speech and nothing else. Listen to our own exemplary figure of excellency in action, President Ali, and it is all meaningless foam and feather, meaning nothing.

Remember I said so and from this hour.

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

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Sunday November 28, 2021

RemoteMD: Putting Guyanese at the centre of austere medical services for its multi-billion-dollar oil industry

By Kiana Wilburg From 2015 to now, most Guyanese have heard about the millions of dollars in

revenue the nation’s 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent resources are poised to bring. But the conversation of the earnings

to come along with what has already been perceived oftentimes eclipses the need to discuss the clear and present danger associated

with oil and gas exploration and development. Indeed, the hunt for hydrocarbons is one of the riskiest ventures one can be involved in and it

is for this most poignant fact health and safety services must be unparalleled in their delivery.

Hoping to help Guyanese

Mr. Erico Raimundi, Director of Sales and Business Development at RemoteMD

RemoteMD’s Director of Int’l Medical Services, Mr. Mashaun Tyrell lead the way in providing the proficient medical services needed for this sector is RemoteMD, one of the world’s leading and most experienced health care providers which is headquartered in New Orleans. The company was founded more than 20 years ago as a revolutionary concept in healthcare by merging technology with medicine and training for the o i l i n d u s t r y. I n f a c t , RemoteMD has pioneered the delivery of industrial austere medical services from Guyana to China, onshore and offshore, and p r a c t i c a l l y, o n e v e r y continent.

T w o o f i t s r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s , M r.

Mashaun Tyrell, Director of International Medical Services, and Mr. Erico Raimundi, Director of Sales and Business Development, recently sat down for an arguably insightful discourse on Kaieteur R a d i o ’s P r o g r a m m e , Guyana’s Oil and You, on the importance of being prepared for emergency response offshore and having locals be an integral part of that process.

Speaking to the genesis of the company, Raimundi noted that the company was born out of a need that was seen in oil and gas around medical care, especially as it relates to ensuring crew Continued on page 36

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Sunday November 28, 2021

RemoteMD: Putting Guyanese at the centre of austere medical...

From page 34 members are able to receive the best services possible while working under the most complex environment. “ O u r f o u n d e r, D r.

Michael Kotler, took note of the need in the industry and started to address it, and the initial phases of his addressing it, there was keen focus on training. So it was about how do we get the medical personnel that provide care out there trained better, given higher awareness of industrial medicine, occupational health, and really starting to go down that road and bring them up to the next level,” expressed the Director of Sales and Business Development.

He explained that this was followed by the introduction of medical control systems and telemedicine system, “which really puts the provider that’s on the vessel in a better position to do his job; it gives them more support because now they have another physician in the room, really working with them and guiding them, just giving them more support.”

The Director further

noted that the company and its founder have been consistent in their efforts to ensure international oil and gas standards are always followed while noting that this knowledge has been instrumental to their stellar delivery of services in response to several disasters in different environments.

In this regard, the Director highlighted that RemoteMD’s founder was even directly involved in the emergency response that was needed for the tragic Deepwater Horizon incident. (An industrial disaster that began on 20 April, 2010, in the Gulf of Mexico. It was considered to be one of the largest marine oil spills in American history.)

He noted that the foregoing is testimony that the company has years of experience in dealing with some of the most dangerous situations that demand emergency health and safety services in the sector.

With Guyana’s aggressive development of its Stabroek Block resources, Director of International Medical Services, Mr. Mashaun

Tyrell, said RemoteMD’s focus has been to partner with Guyanese and share its expertise on how to meet the international standards required for the industry.

Ty r e l l s h a r e d t h a t RemoteMD has been in Guyana for just over a year and already provides a number of key services. He said these include physical examinations, alcohol testing, TB quantifier testing, and since the emergence of the pandemic, COVID-19 testing too.

“We’ve managed to push through over 4000 persons in our staging facilities with a zero contamination rate… and that’s at our Houston q u a r a n t i n e f a c i l i t y, ” expressed the Director.

Though RemoteMD may be within the local oil and gas fabric for one year, Tyrell disclosed that it is one of the few companies that have already achieved 100 percent local content.

In fact, RemoteMD has 22 Guyanese on its team. He alluded that this is a notable achievement even as the country continues its efforts towards the creation of a Local Content Policy buttressed by robust

legislation.

He also shared that the company is keen on staff development while citing himself as a case in point.

Tyrell shared, “When I first started at RemoteMD, I started out as a Medical Coordinator and I worked my way up the ladder and now I am in the management seat – the Director.

So it’s not only limited to hiring Guyanese but once the employee or the individual has the potential to grow in the company, RemoteMD supports that individual. If we have vacancies available in the country, we do not import personnel, we utilise what we have.”

The Director added, “And if that person does fall short, where they don’t have the qualifications, RemoteMD provides the overseas training for that person and upon completion, they return to perform the function that they initially applied for. So RemoteMD is fully in support of local content and having our citizens develop themselves and grow within an international company.”

Adding to his

colleague’s viewpoint, Raimundi intimated that the company is passionate about putting Guyanese first even though the n a t i o n ’s l e g i s l a t i v e framework to govern its industry is still in its infancy.

He said, “We always want to make sure that we as a company are investing where we’re operating because these effects are long-lasting, right… So, obviously oil and gas is very new in Guyana, it’s still somewhat in its infancy. So, as it grows, we want to expand the training, we want to make sure that the positive effects are felt.”

Expounding on the zeal of the company to train Guyanese, Tyrell noted that up skilling is also done for local transportation companies on COVID-19 protocols.

In this regard, the D i r e c t o r s a i d , “ … We identify local transportation companies and we personally train all of the drivers in COVID-19 protocols as it relates to simply putting on a mask…and other Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)…”

Tyrell added, “They might not only be requested for work in the oil and gas industry; it might be just a simple passenger entering the car, or someone calling them to say, ‘Hey, I need to get this person to the hospital, but they have been diagnosed with COVID19.’ With the training received, they would be equipped with the knowledge of how to professionally respond and just be safe.”

The Director noted that RemoteMD currently operates from its office at Lot 125, Barrack Street Kingston. Some of its ancillary services include Cholesterol Lab Testing, Diabetes Lab Testing, Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG), Flu Testing, Strep Testing, Urinalysis, TB Skin Testing and T-Spot Testing.

Given its outstanding performance thus far as a local content leader, both Tyrell and Raimundi are thrilled about the prospects of the company here, particularly as it relates to being a true partner with the government and its people in building a first-class petroleum industry.

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A Letter from Santa Claus

by Mark Twain Palace of Saint Nicholas in the Moon Christmas Morning My Dear Susy Clemens, I have received and read all the letters which you and your little sister have written me . . . . I can read your and your baby sister's jagged and fantastic marks without any trouble at all.

But I had trouble with those letters which you dictated through your mother and the nurses, for I am a foreigner and cannot read English writing well.

You will find that I made no mistakes about the things which you and the baby ordered in your own letters-I went down your chimney at midnight when you were asleep and delivered them all myself--and kissed both of you, too . . . . But . . . there were . . . one or two small orders which I could not fill because we ran out of stock . ...

There was a word or two in your mama's letter which . . . I took to be "a trunk full of doll's clothes." Is that it? I will call at your kitchen door about nine o'clock this morning to inquire.

But I must not see anybody and I must not speak to anybody but you.

When the kitchen doorbell rings, George must

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be blindfolded and sent to the door.

You must tell George he must walk on tiptoe and not speak-- otherwise he will die someday.

Then you must go up to the nursery and stand on a chair or the nurse's bed and put your ear to the speaking tube that leads down to the kitchen and when I whistle through it you must speak in the tube and say, "Welcome, Santa Claus!"

Then I will ask whether it was a trunk you ordered or not. If you say it was, I shall ask you what color you want the trunk to be . . . and then you must tell me every single thing in detail which you want the trunk to contain.

Then when I say "Goodby and a merry Christmas to

my little Susy Clemens," you must say "Good-by, good old Santa Claus, I thank you very much.”

Then you must go down into the library and make George close all the doors that open into the main hall, and everybody must keep still for a little while.

I will go to the moon and get those things and in a few minutes I will come down the chimney that belongs to the fireplace that is in the hall--if it is a trunk you want--because I couldn't get such a thing as a trunk down the nursery chimney, you know . . . .If I should leave any snow in the hall, you must tell George to sweep it into the fireplace, for I haven't time to do such things. George must not use a broom, but a rag--else he will die someday . . . . If my boot should leave a stain on the marble, George must not holystone it away.

Leave it there always in memory of my visit; and whenever you look at it or show it to anybody you must let it remind you to be a good little girl.

Whenever you are naughty and someone points to that mark which your good old Santa Claus's boot made on the marble, what w i l l y o u s a y, l i t t l e sweetheart?

Junior page

What You'll Need: Craft Felt ·, cut into 1″ wide strips (cut lengthwise) Low Temperature Glue Gun · Lollipop Sticks ·, cut in half Embroidery Floss ·& Needle

Layer three strips of felt on top of each other.

Carefully roll up the layered felt, stopping to add a drop of glue every 3-4″ to help keep it secure and in place.

Finish by trimming the ends and gluing down all three layers of felt.

To create a lollipop, glue a 3″ stick to the bottom of the

candy swirl, and add a cute bow to the stick to finish it up.

Use the embroidery thread and needle to create a hanger if desired.

For wrapped candies, take a 1.5″ long piece of felt, pinch it along one of the short sides, and attach to either side of the candy swirl with a dab of hot glue.

FUN WITH POETRY

Help the bully School for me is a great place, To learn and be with friends, But sometimes things do happen, That can bring this to an end.

Some children like to bully, And make fun of fellow students, And sometimes even cause them harm, That leaves so much discontent.

I wonder why they act so badly, They surely must have problems; The answer may be to help them, By showing them you can be their friend.

by Uncle Roy

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TEEN TIME Complete the steps necessary to build your Personal Sense of Competence

by Walter D. Wintle If you think you are beaten, you are; If you think that you dare not, you don't.

If you'd like to win, but you think you can't, It's almost certain that you won't.

If you think you'll lose, you've lost; For out in the world you'll find Success begins with a fellow's will— It's all in the state of mind.

If you think that you are out-classed, you are; You've got to think high to rise.

You've got to be sure of yourself before You can ever win a prize.

Life's battles don't always go To the stronger or faster man; But sooner or later, the man who wins Is the man who thinks he can!

SATISFACTION WILL COME FROM DOING YOUR BEST Many times we will fall short of achieving exactly what we planned to do. This should not discourage us and prevent us from setting other goals to be accomplished.

The fact that we have done our best at any undertaking is enough for us to accept the satisfaction which we

Fill in the squares so that each digit from 1 to 9 occurs exactly once in each row and column. Greater-than and less-than signs indicate the relationship of the two

deserve, and will go a long way towards our achieving success in future endeavours.

What this means is that we should use our conscience to ensure that we are really putting forward our best effort in any undertaking, and this will go a long way toward getting the best results from whatever we are working on.

adjacent squares.

There is only one solution, and you can find it without g u e s s i n g .

Being positive in your general outlook, plus ensuring that you develop competence, will always make you develop your best life.

TELL IT TO UNCLE ROY I am again appealing to all youths who have some personal problem to contact me so that we can work on a solution. Please know that I am an experienced e d u c a t o r, a q u a l i f i e d

counsellor, and a person whose main purpose in life is to ensure that others live their lives safely and effectively. Please get in touch through my email – uncleroy1992@yahoo.com

Solutions to last week’s Ripple effect

Hex sudoku

At this time, when we expect that you have followed the advice during the past few weeks on this very important aspect of your development, you must be feeling somewhat confident on moving forward towards your goals.

To ensure that you complete this process, try to work diligently at these last two: EVALUATE YOUR PROGRESS PERIODICALLY. Self-evaluation and assessment of your progress is continually necessary to keep you on the right track. When this is done efficiently, then an effort can be made to adjust or correct any deviation from the right direction. In this effort, do not be reluctant to take an unbiased approach to this assessment.

If we tend to feel that whatever we have done is good enough, then we will not be able to make any improvement on what we have done w hich has not obtained the best result.

Be practical in this effort and you will be able to move forward with the best results. Here again, asking someone else to help you to judge will help in this.

The Man Who Thinks He Can

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Benefits of Taking Collagen Supplements Collagen is the most abundant protein in your body.

1. Can improve skin health Collagen is a major component of your skin.

It plays a role in strengthening skin, plus may benefit elasticity and hydration. As you age, your body produces less collagen, leading to dry skin and the formation of wrinkles .

SUMMARY Taking supplements that contain collagen may help slow the aging of your skin. However, stronger evidence is needed from studies examining the effects of collagen on its own.

2. Helps relieve joint pain Collagen helps maintain the integrity of your cartilage, which is the rubber-like tissue that protects your joints.

As the amount of collagen in your body decreases as you get older, your risk of developing degenerative joint disorders such as osteoarthritis increases.

SUMMARY Taking collagen supplements has been shown to reduce inflammation and stimulate collagen synthesis in the body. This may help promote pain relief among people with joint disorders like osteoarthritis.

3. Could prevent bone loss Your bones are made mostly of collagen, which gives them structure and helps keep them strong.

SUMMARY Consuming collagen supplements may help reduce the risk of bone disorders like osteoporosis. They have the potential to help increase BMD and lower levels of proteins in the blood that stimulate bone breakdown.

4. Could boost muscle mass Between 1–10% of muscle tissue is composed of collagen.

This protein is necessary to keep your muscles strong and functioning properly .

SUMMARY Research has shown that consuming collagen supplements increased muscle growth and strength in people with agerelated muscle mass loss.

5. Promotes heart health Researchers have theorized that taking collagen supplements may help reduce the risk of heart-related conditions.

SUMMARY Taking collagen supplements may help reduce the risk factors associated with heart conditions such as atherosclerosis.

6. Other health benefits Collagen supplements may have other health benefits, but these have not been studied extensively.

Hair and nails. Taking collagen may increase the strength of your nails by preventing brittleness. Additionally, it may stimulate your hair and nails to grow longer .

SUMMARY Collagen supplements have been claimed to promote brain, heart, and gut health, as well as help control weight and keep hair and nails healthy. However, there's scant evidence to support these effects.

Foods that contain collagen Collagen is found in the connective tissues of animals.

Thus, foods like chicken skin, pork skin, beef, and fish are sources of collagen.

SUMMARY Several foods contain collagen, including animal foods and bone broth. However, its absorption is not as efficient as that of hydrolyzed collagen.

Collagen side effects Collagen supplements may lead to side effects, such as a bad taste in the mouth, heartburn, and fullness. If you have allergies, make sure to purchase supplements that aren't made from collagen sources you're allergic to.

To start, supplements may improve skin health by reducing wrinkles and dryness. They may also help increase muscle mass, prevent bone loss, and relieve joint pain.

People have reported many other benefits of collagen supplements, but these claims haven't been studied much.

Although several foods contain collagen, it's unknown whether the collagen in food offers the same benefits as supplements.Collagen supplements are generally safe, quite easy to use, and definitely worth trying for their potential benefits. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/collagen-benefits#The-bottom-line

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Quest Medical Centre

Sunday November 28, 2021 A Laboratory Technician conducting analyses at the Quest Medical Centre Laboratory.

- UPHOLDING STANDARD TO DELIVER QUALITY MEDICAL TESTING FOR OVER EIGHT YEARS

From left, Technical Officer at the GNBS Keon Rankin, Quality Manager Mrs. Kulwantie Deochand- Mohabir and General Manager of the Quest Medical Centre Ratna Budhu affix a Certification sticker at the entrance of the laboratory.

R

ecognising the need for an outpatient facility in the city, Dr. Chetram Budhu and his wife, Mrs. Ratna Budhu, in June 2012 established the Quest Medical Centre. Located at Laluni Street, Queenstown, Georgetown, this medical facility initially started by offering basic clinical tests to clients, including Ultrasounds, X-rays, Heart tests and other services.

Just one year later, in 2013, the proprietors decided to take a bold step to pursue Certification of their Laboratory to the National Standard in order to increase their efficiency and boost recognition.

“At the time, we reckoned that

there must be a Standard or something that could guide us along the way, in order to meet our goals and objectives,” stated Mrs. Budhu who is the General Manager.

Quest Medical Centre Laboratory then began the process towards getting certified by the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) to the requirements of the National Standard ‘General requirements for the operations of a laboratory’ (GYS 170:2009). To show that it was serious about this step, the Medical Centre also hired Mrs. Kulwantie DeochandMohabir, a qualified Technologist

who now functions as the Quality Manager.

The GNBS completed the first audit of the Laboratory in October of 2013 and the following month, Quest Medical Centre was certified.

According to Mrs. Budhu, this achievement led to a significant boost in customers since the staff of the facility became more confident in the way in which they conduct their tests, resulting in more accurate outcomes for patients.

“Even our staff trusted our results; they knew what they were doing.”

Mrs. Budhu further stated that “Meeting the Standard also promoted job satisfaction for the

staff given that they’re working for an entity that is certified; one that is following Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and have established goals and objectives.”

Meanwhile, the General Manager lauded the work put in by the Certification Services Department of the GNBS to ensure that her Laboratory continues to comply with the requirements of the Standard. According to her, “when patients see GNBS, when they see that an entity is qualified to do what they are doing, they rely more on the results of Laboratories certified by this National Standards Body.”

Laboratory certifications are valid for two years. On November 12, 2021, the Quest Medical Centre Laboratory was recertified for the fourth time. They also received a plaque from the GNBS for maintaining the requirements of the National Standard.

Notably, over the years, Quest Medical Centre has walked away with many awards from the Biannual National Quality Awards (NQA) hosted by the GNBS, to honour businesses and organisations which are implementing Standards in the delivery of their products and services. Just recently in October, the company was awarded at the 2021 NQA for Continuous Improvement.

The Quality Manager, Mrs. Deochand-Mohabir explained that

the laboratory has expanded its scope to conduct more testing since its establishment in 2013 and these are gradually being added to the scope of certification. Currently, the medical facility is certified to conduct testing in the areas of Biochemistry, Haematology, S e r o l o g y, U r i n a l y s i s , Microbiology, Hormones and Tumours Markers, and one new addition this year, which is testing for the COVID-19 Antigen.

Asked whether it was difficult to maintain the certification, Mrs. Deochand-Mohabir noted that support is important from management and staff in order to succeed.

“In order to maintain or get certified, you have to write exactly what you are doing and do what you have written there. It’s a standard and you must follow the standard and practice what you preach,” she said, adding that being the Manager of a certified laboratory means a lot.

Finally, Mrs. DeochandMohabir urged other laboratories to pursue certification to ensure there is quality, accuracy and consistency in their operations. This, she said, boosts customer confidence and guarantees sustainability.

To access the Certification services, persons can contact GNBS on 219-0064-66 or message us on Whatsapp at 692-4697.

(GNBS feature)

General Manager of the Quest Medical Centre Ratna Budhu and her all-female team pose with Technical Officer at the GNBS Keon Rankin.

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

T

he kodkod, also known as the guina, is a small wild cat that inhabits Chile and Argentina. It is the smallest cat in the Americas, and smaller than the average house cat. It also has the smallest range of any cat in the Americas.

Scientific name: Leioardus guigna Conservation status: Vulnerable – population decreasing Subspecies: Leopardus guigna guigna (Southern Chile and Argentina); Leopardus guigna tigrillo (Central Chile).

The kodkod is not the only miniature creature in its neck of the woods. The forests around it are occupied with tiny opossums, tiny birds, and tiny deer. This miniature world is under threat, of course, from human encroachment. Kodkods are among the more vulnerable species, because they each need their own territory, and because they are getting a reputation as chicken-stealers, which makes them a nuisance to humans who live nearby.

Physical Characteristics The kodkod has a small head, large feet,

and a thick tail. Typical adult length is 37 to 51 centimeters (15 to 20 in), with a short 20 to 25 centimeters (7.9 to 9.8 in) tail and a shoulder height of about 25 centimeters (9.8 in). Weight ranges between 2 to 2.5 kilograms (4.4 to 5.5 lbs.). The cat’s fur ranges from a yellow brown to grey brown with dark spots.

The kodkod’s underside is a light colour and its tail has dark rings.

Habitat (where the Kodkod lives) These cats are typically found in the temperate forests of the Andean and Coastal ranges, and live up to the tree line at 6,200 to 8,200 feet. Vegetation cover is an important survival requirement for the Kodkod.

Hunting and prey (diet) Kodkods are active during the day and at night. They are excellent climbers and agile hunters. They mainly hunt on the ground. The cats in southern Chile prey on small mammals like rodents, marsupials and rabbits, as well as birds, lizards and invertebrates.

Reproduction and life span The female kodkod’s gestation period

PAGE 49

The Kodkod lasts about 72–78 days. The average litter size is one to three kittens. It is believed that Kodkods live to be about 11 years old.

Conservation issues Kodkod populations are reducing,

(LEIOARDUS GUIGNA)

especially in central Chile. They are threatened by domestic dogs and are being hunted by humans. Other serious threats include the destruction of forests and the spread of agriculture. (bigcatswildcats.com)

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Sunday November 28, 2021

Our Frontline Worker of this Week is…

e l l i v n e r G Safiea

PATIENT CARE ASSISTANT,

By Vanessa Braithwaite

T

he innate desire of a mother to provide a better life for her children was the motivating factor behind Linden’s Patient Care Assistant (PCA), Safiea Grenville joining the medical profession. In 2019, she successfully completed the course which certified

her as a PCA and she was posted to the Upper-Demerara Hospital.

But little did she know that one year after training, Guyana would have been hit with a pandemic and the hospital she was assigned to would have been transformed into a COVID19 isolation facility. It was time for Grenville to adapt to

the changes and provide the needed support to the doctors and nurses catering to patients in the high-risk zone.

A PCA is someone who provides physical care and grooming for patients in an effort to make them feel more appreciated and comforted. They essentially

provide the needed physiological support to the patients. It forms part of the bed-side nursing mandate and is given mostly during post-surgery recovery.

Grenville was part of the 54 health professionals who graduated from the Charles Roza School of Nursing in 2019. “My motivation for doing the course was my love for the community and

wanting to serve them in a practical way. I always wanted to pursue a career, where I can help people; where I can transform their lives and make them feel better and when the opportunity was afforded, I took it and I have no regrets,” she told Kaieteur News.

While Grenville always enjoyed her job, navigating the system with the emergence of a new virus was challenging and mentally fatiguing but she persevered to give her colleagues the necessary support. “It was challenging at first since COVID-19 is a

Patient Care Assistant, Safiea Grenville inadequate wage provided by the Ministry of Health since the onset of the pandemic which trigger a spike in the cost of living.

The financial challenges have been overwhelming, Grenville, a single parent,

“It brings me great joy to give patients the care and attention they deserve in order for them to feel better, despite the risk attached to it and the fact that I cannot provide the real medical help. Just making them feel comfortable and talking to them and caring for their physical needs, I know it helps them greatly during this trying time.” new virus and we had little knowledge on how to deal with it and to provide care for persons who had it,” she said.

In this regard, Grenville believes that more should be done for health care workers, which means all categories of workers and not just nurses, since they all have been risking their lives since the onset of the pandemic.

Grenville revealed the countless times she placed her life and that of her family at risk to care for patients at the Upper-Demerara COVID-19 Isolation Centre.

In fact, she noted the

related.

In fact, she shared that the state of affairs took a toll on her mentally and emotionally but it was the encouragement from two doctors – Dr. Michael Marks and Dr. Gregory Harris, who encouraged her to persevere despite the hardship she has been forced to face. She also focused on the love for her job and the integral role she plays in comforting patients, many of whom had thought death was near.

“It brings me great joy to give patients the care and attention they deserve in Continued on page 53

Safiea Grenville with her daughter.

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MEDICAL TOURISM: ISO STANDARD FOR CHOOSING THE RIGHT HEALTHCARE PROVIDER ==GNBS IN FOCUS==

As we conclude Tourism Awareness Month 2021, the sector is rebounding from the effects of COVID-19 and many forms of tourism we knew before the pandemic are spurring back to life. For example, as borders open up again, persons are now resuming travel for healthcare reasons. Yet, any kind of intervention brings with it risks, so how can we trust the provider before agreeing to pack our bags? To help, the Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) has

recently published service requirements for the medical t o u r i s m i n d u s t r y. T h e following is a publication from the ISO: Whether for knee replacements or aesthetic surgery, thousands of patients seek treatment in another country each year, contributing to a market that was worth over USD 100 billion in 2019 alone. That figure is expected to rise to over USD270billion by 2027 as the access to quicker, lower-cost treatments, the reputation of medical

professionals and the availability of technologies and equipment continue to make it an attractive option for many.

Conscious of the dilemma many patients must face in choosing a reputable provider, and the need for consistency and trust in the industry, ISO has published global best practice on service requirements.

ISO 22525, Tourism and related services – Medical tourism – Service requirements, establishes

GWI to commence countrywide disconnection for Christmas

the requirements and recommendations to be provided by facilitators and healthcare providers in medical tourism. It is intended to ensure a quality service provision that meets the expectations of those travelling for medical reasons.

Mónica Figuerola Martín, Convenor of the group of experts that developed the standard, said the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in even longer waiting lists for non-urgent procedures such as elective surgery, which is boosting demand for medical tourism services now that borders are opening up.

“The pandemic is not over and some countries still don't have the full healthcare resources they had before, driving many more people to seek treatment elsewhere,” she said.

“This period has also highlighted to many of us, how important our health really is, resulting in a demand for even higher standards of safety and security than ever before.

This standard is intended to not only guide consumers but help service providers give the best possible experience and care.”

The standard covers the whole patient experience, from pre-travel processes

through to return home and follow-up, including the management of risk factors, s a f e t y a n d s e c u r i t y, information and communication, qualification requirements and more.

ISO 22525 was developed by ISO technical committee ISO/TC 228, Tourism and related services, whose secretariat is held by UNE, ISO's member for Spain. It can be purchased from your national ISO member or the ISO Store.

For further information and daily updates, please visit the GNBS website: www.gnbsgy.org or follow us on Facebook or Instagram.

Over 24,000 Venezuelan refugees...

From page 12 unhygienic environment.

“What we found generally in the camp is that it is very unhygienic because you have a lot of people living together.

The team estimated that there are 198 persons, living in very close proximity and they are from 25 different families. So because of the unhygienic conditions, they The Guyana Water Incorporated, by way of a release, announced on Friday that it will be recommencing its countrywide disconnection campaign in time for the holiday season.

The campaign, dubbed 'Let it Flow and Keep the Glow', is targeting customers with outstanding balances as well as current charges.

To avoid disconnection, customers are urged to settle all payments at any GWI Office or authorised payment agency countrywide (these include SurePay, MMG, Bill Express, Post Offices, Scotiabank, Republic Bank, GBTI and Citizens Bank). Once disconnected, GWI noted that it “cannot guarantee reconnection within seven working days.”

To accommodate customers, GWI noted that it has extended its opening hours

beyond weekdays and therefore will be opened to facilitate payments on December 4, 11 and 18 from 9:00hrs - 14:00hrs.

According to GWI, it has recorded a significant increase in its water production and usage since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This, it added, has resulted in a much higher production cost. Revenues however, have not been consistent with this increased consumption.

As a result, the utility noted that it is forced to roll out its disconnection campaign with the aim of recovering its operational cost.

The 'Let it Flow and Keep the Glow' disconnection campaign is expected to run from December 1 to 30.

Customers can query their account balances by contacting GWI's Customer Call Centre on 227-8701, WhatsApp 620-1667 or their local GWI office.

are using the same water from the river, and they are using the river to wash and do other things there, the water is of no quality,” he a d d e d .

In response to this, the migrants were provided with 'jerry cans', which would allow them to filter the water, making it safer for t h e m t o u s e .

According to Dr. Anthony,

discussions were also held on ways, which they can dispose of their garbage properly and areas where they can use to set up toilets.

In collaboration with the Region's authorities, the Minister stated that a system has been put in place, which would allow the migrants to access the needed medical care at the Port Kaituma Hospital.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 52

Sunday November 28, 2021

SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BETTER THE REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE ACT! ==CONSUMER CONCERNS==

S

ome of our members were demanding that we should comment on the proposals to amend the Representation of the People Act while others felt that, by its Constitution, the Guyana Consumers Association (GCA), cannot have any involvement with politics and indeed, practicing politicians are precluded from holding office in the Association though they may be ordinary members.

It was however felt that commenting on proposals to make the Act more in keeping with the needs of Guyanese society was a national duty and, in any case, this transcended

politics since all the political parties in the country for the last 20 years have had some complaint about the workings of the Act and wished parts of it amended.

Further, all political parties and all citizens are invited to make their inputs to it.

For over 20 years there have been complaints about the Act, especially after elections, but no Government or political party did anything to improve it.

Now, consumers and other ordinary citizens as well as political parties and NGOs should seize the opportunity and make their inputs.

The consultation would

last for six weeks and the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Hon. Gail Teixeira, has ensured that all the main stakeholders including the political parties have received hard copies of the Law and proposed amendments and has posted them on the Ministry's website.

Those making proposals and comments may do so via email, posts on the Ministry's social media page or even by letter. Citizens are reminded that this is not an exercise in Constitutional Reform but merely the reform of an important statute.

We give examples of amendments which have

been proposed: Region Four where the capital Georgetown is situated and which has a population almost equal to the population of the other Regions together, is big and unwieldy, has put undue pressures on election officials and has always generated more problems than other Regions at election times, will be divided into four manageable sub-regions East Bank Demerara, East Coast Demerara, North Georgetown and South Georgetown.

Another amendment is precise instructions of how tabulation is to be done and who would be present and

the part they would play.

Statements of Poll must be used for the tabulation and as soon as they are prepared, they must be placed on the GECOM website and pasted conspicuously outside the polling stations and sent to the Chief Elections Officer and the Chairman of GECOM with immediacy.

This will ensure transparency and the citizenry being aware of the results.

Another amendment addresses the locating of polling stations.

The polling stations would be located in accordance with a number of criteria so that they would not be too far away from where electors live, would not be in muddy or impassable surroundings and would be in localities which are safe for all electors. The object of this amendment is to ensure that electors cast their votes in comfort and safety.

The GECOM staff and other elections officers would be thoroughly trained and issued manuals with full conformity with the Laws.

This will allow them to function with accuracy, ease and without confused tension.

One of the most important proposed amendments is a review of the penalties to be imposed on election officers who have engaged themselves in infractions of the Law. Election officers receive salaries and allowances which are among the highest in the Public Service and this is so because of the fiduciary

responsibility and integrity they must bring to their jobs and the fact that they ultimately hold in their hands the safety and wellbeing of the state which they could easily impair by engaging in illegal behaviour. As an example, we will give the proposed penalties for an errant Chief Executive Officer.

If the CEO of GECOM places false Statements of Poll on the website, he/she would have committed an offence and could be fined $10 million and imprisoned for life.

He/she is responsible for submitting the final report of the nationwide vote to the Elections Commission so that they could declare the winner of the elections and if he/she does so outside the established timeframe or with falsified data, he/she could be fined $10 million and imprisoned for life.

M i n i s t e r Te i x e i r a pointed out that the amendments proposed would favour no political party but would make the electoral machinery stronger. She also enjoined citizens to make their proposals and comments: "We want people to look at those amendments and see what they feel and ask themselves 'are the recommendations sufficient and are the areas in the elections process from registration through to proclamation adequate?'"

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

Joe Biden recommends overhaul...

From page 8 month's UN climate talks in Scotland, he's had difficulty gaining ground on climate issues at home.

The administration has proposed another round of oil and gas sales early next year in Wyoming, Colorado, Montana and other states.

Interior Department officials proceeded despite concluding that burning the fuels could lead to billions of dollars in potential future climate damages.

Emissions from burning and extracting fossil fuels from public lands and waters account for about a quarter of US carbon dioxide emissions, according to the US Geological Survey.

Environmentalists hailed the report's recommendation to raise royalty rates, but some groups said the report

falls short of action needed to address the climate crisis.

"Today's report is a complete failure of the climate leadership that our world desperately needs,'' said Taylor McKinnon of the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group.

The report presumes more fossil fuel leasing that our climate can't afford and abandons Biden's campaign promise to stop new oil and gas leasing on public lands, McKinnon said.

The American Petroleum Institute, the top lobbying group for the oil industry, said Interior was proposing to "increase costs on American energy development with no clear roadmap for the future of federal leasing.

(Business Standard)

Sunday November 28, 2021

Kaieteur News

...Orlanzo Antonio Raghunandan From page 18 Testament Church, also played a pivotal role in ensuring that he received the support and guidance he needed to succeed in his endeavours. It was this unwavering support that pushed the young man to excel.

He returned to school where he was able to graduate with good grades, after which he started teaching at 16 years old.

Raghunandan later enrolled at the Cyril Potter’s College of Education (CPCE) to further qualify himself in the teaching profession, but this next step was also challenging for him.

Raghunandan divulged that there were moments when he felt as though he was going to fail his studies and he wanted to quit, however with the right support he was able to conquer this challenge and finish his studies.

He stated, “In my final year I was battling with depression more so because I had to figure out where I would live after the completion of college. But only a few people knew this like my personal tutor, Mr. Ryan Samaroo who pushed me to finish college. My teaching career is really a tribute to him.”

After his successful completion of CPCE, Raghunandan then taught at the Bygeval Multilateral School for a number of

years. He also taught at the Mahaicony and Cummings Lodge Secondary Schools during his teaching practice programme for CPCE before migrating to Canada.

When asked his reason for wanting to share his story after so many years, the young business owner said that he believes that he has finally come to realise who he is as a person.

He emphasised that people need more inspiration, especially those people who are struggling with mental health.

“I believe my story can encourage at least one person to keep pushing and never give up despite the odds,” he said.

Raghunandan recently launched his business, ISMOR; a company he envisions will help to positively impact lives, especially Guyanese, by continuously advocating for mental health and giving back to the community.

He explained, “I’ve always wanted to become an entrepreneur because I believe entrepreneurship will allow me to accomplish my ultimate goal which is to be financially secured, not only for myself but for generations to come.”

A c c o r d i n g t o Raghunandan, ISMOR is a young company and was founded during the global pandemic.

He said, “It was created to benefit small businesses

...Safiea Grenville From page 50 order for them to feel better, despite the risk attached to it and the fact that I cannot provide the real medical help. Just making them feel comfortable and talking to them and caring for their physical needs, I know it helps them greatly during this trying time,” she said.

It is for this reason, Grenville has plans to continue pursuing courses which will position her to become a registered nurse and perhaps a doctor subsequently. “This is not the end of the road for me,” she assured even as she encouraged others who may dream of entering the medical field to do so, since it is a very fulfilling one.

owners because when it’s all said and done it comes down to really building a business to last.”

He noted that “ISMOR is a business development company with a primary focus to build, promote and develop small businesses until they become viable.

ISMOR bridges the gap between suppliers and consumers and exposes them to a premium market.

We operate in Canada and we’re launching in phases in Guyana until we set up a fully operational office where Guyanese will

have direct access to the company.”

With regard to his mental h e a l t h a d v o c a c y, t h e business development professional is using the platform as an entrepreneur to partner with other firms and non-profit organisations to raise awareness and lend support. He has already started to work with Desert Flower; a local mental health organisation that focuses on helping young people deal with those challenges.

In the meantime, Raghunandan continues to spread his message about

PAGE 53 mental health. His overall advice to anyone struggling with their mental health is simple: “We all have a story to share and don’t ever feel like you’re the only one who is experiencing hardship.

Whenever you feel like your back is against the wall, if you ever feel like giving up, know that you have a purpose, and know your life matters. Believe in yourself, find people who you can trust and talk to...talking helps.”

He noted too that the most powerful thing a person can possess is hope.

“You got to believe that things will get better without a doubt, but in order for those things to get better, you must

work hard beginning with baby steps. Baby steps are better than no step at all,” he stated.

According to some scientific studies, mental health issues are one of the main causes of the overall disease burden worldwide.

Mental health and behavioural problems like depression and anxiety are reported to be the primary drivers of severe mental health disorders worldwide, causing over 40 million cases in 20 to 29-year-olds across the globe. Depression is thought to be the second leading contributor to the scourge of suicide and ischemic heart disease around the world.

PAGE 54

Kaieteur News

Sunday November 28, 2021

>>>Young Entrepreneur on the Move<<<

‘PROJECT

Bliss’

…catering to all your gifting needs

By Allyiah Allicock

W

ith the holiday season upon us many people may be wondering what they can get that loved one for Christmas Day. As we all know Christmas is a time of giving and sharing.

One way you can show your appreciation to that special someone, is by ordering a gift box or packages from ‘Project Bliss’, a small business that is fast catching the attention of many people.

Project Bliss is a gift shop that is solely owned by the talented, 19-year-old, Myiesha Greaves. In a recent interview with Kaieteur News, Greaves shared that it all started while she was in her final year of CAPE, pursing her Associates Degree in Entrepreneurship at the St. Roses High School. The business was launched on February 26th this year.

Ever since she was a little girl, Greaves shared, she was very much into creative things. “Honestly I was b o r n

wi th the gift of creativity and one day I was sleeping and the Holy Spirit spoke to me…I told my parents and my friends and they all

be able to provide items that meet the expectations of her customers and to have stores across the country.

This way, she believes, she can bring about a change by being able to create employment for others, since “unemployment is one of the biggest

Young entrepreneur and owner of ‘Project Bliss’, Myiesha Greaves

should be more collaboration between the private and public sectors.

Persons desirous of ordering a ve pa n ca s ur ne re gift box or customising their gift ep tr “Young en packages can contact Greaves on by s on rs the way for other pe telephone number (592) 648-5402 at no matter or check out her Instagram page giving them hope th eve any and @project..bliss. the age, we can achi According to Greaves, Project r minds to.” Bliss caters to every and any everything we put ou encouraged me to pursue it,” Greaves occasion including birthdays, mentioned. issue anniversaries and graduation in just the At first, when it all started, she was at a s we face today.” way you desire. phase where she “kind of second guessed” Her aim therefore is to, “generate herself, but with her supportive relatives by generational wealth, inspire others and assist her side, she was motivated to keep the faith my community in any way alive. That, coupled with the many customers possible.” she has since attracted have proven that the Greaves is of the decision to venture into this belief that young business was the right business owners can move. pave the way for A c c o r d i n g t o t h e greatness by using their young entrepreneur, thus t a l e n t t o m o t i v a t e far, she has not faced any persons around them. major challenges but just “Young entrepreneurs l i k e a n y o t h e r y o u n g can pave the way for other business person, it was tough persons by giving them at the beginning in terms of hope that no matter the age, getting sales. “I remember we can achieve any and vividly I wasn’t making any everything we put our minds sales and I was sad and to,” the 19-year-old said with c o m p l a i n i n g b u t t h e n I pride. remember I serve a living God Our featured entrepreneur and His time is always perfect,” is one of the many people who Greaves asserted. believe that a lot more can be Even though she launched into done in terms of boosting our the business arena amid the l o c a l t a l e n t a n d s m a l l pandemic, it somehow impacted businesses. According to her, her operation in a positive way. e v e n t h o u g h s e m i n a r s , T h r o u g h t h i s j o u r n e y, s h e exhibitions and advertisement highlighted that she was able to meet have been done to showcase small new people whose gifting needs she businesses, there are other has been able to cater to adequately. measures that can help bring even A mong the goals she hopes to achieve more awareness to their existence. going forward, is for her business to always Also, Greaves believes that there

Some of the gift packages that you can order.

Sunday November 28, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 55

The Court A look at the Journal death penalty

By Renay Sambach

I

t has been reported that over the years, several international organisations have been calling on Guyana to abolish the penalty of death by hanging.

Moreover, this edition of 'The Court Journal' will shed some light on Guyana's existing death penalty for persons convicted of murder.

Firstly, it should be noted that the death penalty is not mandatory for those convicted of murder.

DEATH PENALTY According to Section 100 of the Criminal Law (Offences) Act, “Everyone who commits murder shall be guilty of a felony and liable to death as a felon.” However, it should be noted that this does not mean that it is mandatory for such a sentence to be imposed.

CONSTITUTIONALITY It is well known that the constitutionality of Guyana's death penalty has been under the radar for some years now.

Earlier this year, Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC, submitted to Judges of the Appeal Court that the i s s u e o v e r t h e constitutionality of the death penalty can only be fully remedied by Parliament.

The AG was at the time addressing the Court in the case of three coastguards who are appealing the death penalty sentence they were given for the 2009 murder of gold miner, Dwieve Kant Ramdass.

Moreover, while Section 100 of the Criminal Law (Offences) Act outlines the death penalty for a convicted murderer, Articles: 138 – protection of right to life, 141 – protection from inhuman treatment and 152 – saving of existing laws and disciplinary laws –– all outline how the death penalty must be reasonably and rationally imposed.

ARTICLE 138 (1) According to Article 138(1), no person shall be deprived of his life intentionally, except in execution of the sentence of a court in respect of an offence under the laws of Guyana of which he has been convicted.

ARTCILE 141 According to Article 141(1), no person shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading punishment or other treatment. While Article

141(2), states that nothing contained in or done under the authority of any law shall be held to be inconsistent with or in contravention of this article to the extent that the law in question authorises the infliction of any punishment or the administration of any treatment that was lawful in Guyana immediately before the commencement of this Constitution.

ARTICLE 152 (1) (A) According to 152 (1) (A), except in proceedings commenced before the expiration of a period of six months from the commencement of this Constitution, with respect to a law made under the Guyana Independence Order 1966 and the Constitution annexed thereto, nothing contained in or done under the authority of any written law shall be held to be inconsistent with or in contravention of any provision of Articles 138 to 149 (inclusive) to the extent that the law in question—is a law (in this article referred to as “an existing law”) that had effect as part of the law of Guyana immediately before the commencement of this Constitution and has continued to have effect as part of the law of Guyana at all times since that day.

CASES Fifty-five-year-old Bibi Nazeela Habiboodean was handed a death sentence for paying to have her father killed. The hitman, Linden Lewis called 'Bullets' also received the same fate for the death of 76-year-old Habiboodean [only name] a businessman of Ruby, East Bank Essequibo.

The duo was sentenced

by Justice Sandil Kissoon in the Demerara High Court.

During August 2021, they had denied the charge which stated that on February 15, 2008, they murdered Habiboodean. They were represented by attorneys-atlaw Latchmie Rahamat and Roger Yearwood, while evidence was led by Senior State Counsel, Lisa Cave.

After deliberating, the jury returned with unanimous guilty verdicts against both Bibi and Lewis.

Even after the verdicts were delivered, the duo still maintained their innocence.

Justice Kissoon in handing down the sentence stated that it was made following due consideration of the circumstances of the crime along with the fact that Bibi

Aaron Hing

Dead, Dominic Bernard

Murdered, Habiboodean

was motivated by greed to get her father's assets and hired Lewis to inflict injuries on him.Habiboodean was the owner of a gas station at Ruby, East Bank Essequibo.

He died at the Woodlands Hospital on February 15, 2008, one day after he was badly beaten at his home.

According to reports, in 2016 Bibi had turned herself in at the Leonora Police S t a t i o n , We s t C o a s t Demerara, and had implicated other persons in the murder.

The woman had confessed that, along with Lewis, they sat down in her father's house with five individuals and plotted his death.Police had previously arrested and charged Bibi and 38-year-old Terry Lewton of Vergenoegen, East Bank Essequibo, but the case was discharged because of insufficient evidence.

However, the lawmen got a real break in the case after Lewis and four others were detained for the murders of Mohamed Munir, 75, and his wife Bibi Jamila Munir, 69, who were burnt to death in their Good Hope, East Bank Essequibo home.

It was while he was in custody that someone tipped off investigators that Lewis had vital information about

Bibi Nazeela Habiboodean and hitman, Linden Lewis.

Habiboodeen's death.

Police said that while being interrogated, Lewis admitted to killing Habiboodeen, while complaining that he had never received full payment for the job. According to what Lewis had told the police, it all began sometime in 2008 when Bibi complained that other relatives had received properties and other assets, while she had received nothing.The woman had also stated that she wanted the old man's fuel station, cash he had in a bank, and assets he had in Georgetown. She then contacted an uncle of Lewis and he hired Lewis to kill her father. He was promised $6M, a house and land.

In another matter, Aaron Hing of Kildonan Village, Corentyne, Berbice, Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne), was sentenced to death for the 2015 murder of his god-brother, British teen, Dominic Bernard.Hing was jointly charged with his friend, Stayman George, for

the murder of the 18-yearold.

George pleaded guilty to the charge which stated that on October 14, 2015 at Kildonan Village, Corentyne, East Berbice, they murdered Bernard, while Hing went to trial and he was found guilty.

George was sentenced to life imprisonment by Justice Kissoon, he becomes eligible for parole after 35 years.

It was reported that George's child mother, Krystol Thomas, her mother, Sinfine Henry called “Coreen”, and George's friend, Jahmil Sinclair, were charged with accessory to murder.It was reported too that Bernard had arrived in Guyana on October 14, 2015,

for a three-week vacation with his god-brother Hing.

He was scheduled to fly back to England on November 5, 2015 but failed to do so.

On January 8, 2016, a badly decomposed body, suspected to be that of Bernard, was found in a shallow grave at Nurney, Corentyne, Berbice by CID ranks from Georgetown and Berbice. They were acting on an anonymous phone call.

A post mortem examination revealed that he had sustained a fractured skull, as well as a broken neck. DNA test results showed that the samples taken from the badly decomposed body matched the DNA of Bernard's father.

PAGE 56 WANTED

Skilled carpenters, masons, welder and labourers to work long termin Georgetown & Linden. Call:602-9469,6157526.

FOR RENT

CAR RENTAL Aidan's Car Rental.Tel:2253234/628-1183.

VEHICLES FOR SALE Toyota Premio PAB series white, year 2008 registered August 2021. Tel:621-7993.

SERVICES Visa Application: U.S.A, Canada & UK; Graphics design, advertisements, Wedding arch rentals. Tel: 626-7040 House plan drawing & estimates. K.Lakeram Building C o n t r a c t o r. C a l l : 2 1 6 0671,692-8464 or whatsapp 622-0267.

Specialized repair/service: A/ C, refrigerator, washing machine,treadmill,stove, deepfryer, pressurepump & backwash,dryer,oven. 6949733.

Grade 3&5 teachers needed at Jos-el educational Institute. Tel:226-7868/678-0652, 120 Peterose & Laluni St Queenstown.

Business opportunity of a lifetime,earn extra cash,part time/fulltime.Tel:656-2682.

Business space,suitable for any business .Located at Zeelugt Public Road E.B.E, 2nd Floor -4000 SQ FT,3rd Floor - 4000 SQ FT 650-0402/ 652-0251.

FOR SALE PACIFIC -Houses For Sale Onderneeming,Tuschen, Haslington Call/WhatsApp 223-6035,673-6210, +1(917) 771-5202.

Pure Dobermann pups call:699-7077/619-6086.Pure German Shepherd pups call:674-7531/645-5767.

Stall with bonds in Stabroek Market. Call:227-3463 between 8am to 4pm for inquiries.

4 1/2 acres land & commercial mall on Enmore Public Road. Excellent investment opportunity. Call: 609-7675.

TO LET Enmore mall commercial space for medical facility, call centre and any other type of business 609-7675/674-1705.

Single apartment furnished (Wifi Optional) in Eccles.

Call:233-3974/600-3070.

2 bedrooms,444 Railyway Line Betterhope E.C.D.Call between 8am-4pm.Tel:6173001.

One four bedroom apartment at Eccles East Bank, price $80,000.Call:233-6930.

Fully furnished 2 & 3 bedroom luxury apartments with AC and hot & cold,long & short term.Tel:682-2585/6911432.

Rental of buildings,middle floor at 20 George St Werken-rust,Georgetown.

Tel:226-9560 (between 9:30am to 4:30pm).

2 bedroom apartment in Eccles Housing Scheme,3 bedroomhouse in Albertown.

Tel:225-3234/628-1183.

102 GoodHope Mahaica, 500ftx42ft Roadside. Call: 6918420.

Transported L.F.S located at Mabaruma Settlement, North West District Region#1, size 7.5 acres 10M Neg.Call:6968021.

Parfaite Harmony.Tel:6839146.

Urgently Needed! Dried carilla bush.Contact:6098281/693-3003.

Domestic- to work in Georgetown from 7:30am to 4:00pm(honest & mature).

Call:623-6383 between 7 am to 7pm.

Live meat birds & pluck chicken.To buy call:6955310/225-9304.

2 soup cooks,2 kitchen assistants.Must have experience. Good pay.Police clearance needed.Call:6971955.

Experienced land dredge workers.Serious enquiries only.Call:699-3857.

Manager.Call Indian Henna 671-5759/657-6979.

VACANCY Cook/Baker and Pitmen for interior location. Applicants must be experienced. Call: 618-2020/231-2250.

Maid to cook and clean for East Bank.Call: 615-9132.

Vacancy for Managers & Supervisor to manage a distribution business. Appy at Alabama Trading.

Vacancy for 1 person to assemble bicycle,also experience vegetarian cook. Apply at Alabama Trading.

Vacancy exist for Security Officers,male & female 18yrs & above. Contact:223-4172/ 632-0099.

One salesman,able bodied porters.Experience in writing bills,stocktaking & cashing.

Keyfood Trading,Mc Doom village.

Porters,TM Log Truck drivers, chainsaw & mill operator, diesel mechanic. Call: 6097675/674-1705.

WANTED One male able bodied clerk.

Call:616-5954,231-2029.

The Embassy Guesthouse at Skeldon, destroyed by fire yesterday.

Males to work at supermarket in interior 20 & over.

Tel:687-7638/691-3942.

Taxi & Minibus Drivers.

Tel:225-3234/628-1183.

PROPERT FOR

Skeldon guesthouse destroyed by fire

1 live in maid,salary $80,000 monthly.Call:665-0679.

1Accounts/Inventory Clerk.Must have CXC Maths & English,email: benjamin_nathalie@yahoo.com.

LAND FOR SALE

FOR RENT

Sunday November 28, 2021

Kaieteur News

The nine-bedroom Embassy Guesthouse located at Skeldon, Corentyne, Berbice, which comprises a restaurant and bar, was yesterday destroyed by fire. Kaieteur News understands that the fire which started around 02:30hrs completely gutted the wooden and concrete building in less than two hours.

Swarendra Sukhpaul, a businessman from Line Path, Upper Corentyne, who is the owner of the property, estimated his losses to be “in the millions of dollars.”

The businessman told Kaieteur News that he received a call from a neighbour early Saturday morning, informing him that smoke was coming from his property at Skeldon. He said he immediately contacted the Skeldon Fire Service before venturing

to the scene. He said when he arrived the fire was small.

However, by the time the fire tender came, the entire top of the building was consumed with flames.To make matters worse, the businessman reported that the fire tender ran out of water and was forced to make several trips to get water before they could control the blaze. ”When they came, they did a good job at trying to out it, but because of the (limited) water the fire truck only had like 400 gallons of water. They had to make like five trips to bring back water.

By that time the fire destroy the entire building,” he said.

The businessman, who usually rents the building to locals and other persons visiting the Upper Corentyne from Suriname and other countries, explained that the facility was

powered by the Guyana Power Light Inc. (GPL).

He noted that no technician has visited the location for over a month. As such, the proprietor believes that the cause of the fire may have been electrical in origin.He qualified this theory by relating that “a lot of people complaining about this on and off current [electricity].”

Sukhpaul told this newspaper too that this is the second time that fire erupted at the property.

According to the businessman, in the late 1990’s when the building was owned by someone else, a fire destroyed it but it was rebuilt and he subsequently bought the place in 2012.

Both police and fire service investigations have been launched into the incident.

We are looking for one experienced & certified...

From page 2 The well encountered approximately 164 feet (50 metres) of high-quality oilbearing sandstone reservoir and was drilled in 5,315 feet (1,620 metres) of water.

On April 27, the company announced that it had hit pay at Uaru-2 encountering approximately 120 feet (36.7 metres) of high-quality oilbearing reservoirs including newly identified intervals below the original Uaru-1 discovery. The well was drilled in 5,659 feet (1,725 metres) of water and is located approximately 6.8 miles (11 kilometres) south of the Uaru-1 well.

The CEO said, “A lot of our exploration and appraisal programme is going to give us further clarification on VPENPAL ACANCY An indian male seeking female 35-40 years old,loving & kind.Call:675-4577.

Male seeking non-racial single independant female.

Tel# whatsapp or call: 6986391.

what ship six is, what ship seven is, and probably what ship eight is …But the visibility to get to those 10 ships is not a matter of if but when.”

He added, “We continue to see the potential for at least six floating, production, storage and offloading vessels producing on a gross basis greater than one million barrels of oil per day by 2027.”

He said too, that as each ship comes online, the company stands to benefit at least, US$1B annually in profits from each ship. In the meantime, he said the partners are working towards approval for the Yellowtail project which is set to be Guyana’s largest oil-producing field.

It was only last month that Kaieteur News reported that development costs for the Yellowtail project are poised to exceed US$9B or GY$1.8 trillion.

ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) which is the operator of the Stabroek Block, had said costs are expected to be higher, since there would be a greater number of develop-

ment wells and associated drilling costs when compared to its Payara project which will also cost Guyana $1.8 trillion. According to project documents, Yellowtail will consist of drilling approximately 41 to 67 development wells (including production, water injection, and gas re-injection wells); installation and operation of Subsea, Umbilicals, Risers, and Flowlines equipment; installation and the operation of a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel in the eastern half of the Stabroek Block; and— ultimately—project decommissioning. The FPSO will be designed to produce up to 250,000 barrels of oil per day.

The initial production is expected to begin by the end of 2025 early 2026, with operations continuing for at least 20 years.The project is expected to employ up to 540 persons during development well drilling, approximately 600 persons at the peak of the installation stage, and 100 to 140 persons during production operations.

450.

Sunday November 28, 2021

PAGE 57

Kaieteur News

China takes over Uganda’s only int’l airport... CARICOM to boost capacity of over 150...

From page 3 initiatives, including the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China’s controversial debtladen plan to build a trade super highway across the globe.

That news was first reported by Xinhua News Agency, the official state-run press agency of the People’s Republic of China.

The Office of the President had also reported that the President led a high-level ministerial team in the discussions that included Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hugh Todd, and the Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill.

BRI was unveiled in 2013

by President Xi and since then has been relatively successful around the world with some of China’s partners. Its official outline states that BRI is meant to “promote the connectivity of Asian, European and African continents and their adjacent seas, establish and strengthen partnerships among the countries along the Belt and Road, set up alldimensional, multi-tiered and composite connectivity networks, and realise diversified, independent, balanced and sustainable development in these countries.”

Defaulters Guyana signed on to an instrument signalling its intent to participate, in July 2018. The then Granger administration’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge, who is now Government Advisor on Borders, had signed onto a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Chinese Ambassador to Guyana, Cui Jianchun, noting that Guyana would cooperate within the Framework of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Initiative.

Guyana currently has a debt of some $1,056,093,456 or about US$5.2M in loans to the Chinese Exim Bank.

This is in addition to a number of other Chinese related and other loans.

Under the initiative, scores of countries appear to benefit from multimillion-dollar soft loans from China for the construction of roads, bridges, airports, deep water ports and other infrastructure.

Kaieteur News has highlighted how China has been targeting weak and/or corrupt governments to sign onto its

initiative, signing away exorbitant loans for megainfrastructural projects.

In 2018 alone, China acquired over 20 deep water harbours and airports from several countries around the world.

The country was able to do so by lending those countries massive amounts of money they would be unable to repay within the stipulated period. The country is accused of leveraging these massive loans it holds over small states worldwide to snatch assets and increase its military footprint.

Developing countries from Pakistan to Djibouti, the Maldives to Fiji, all owe huge amounts to China. Already there are examples of defaulters being pressured into surrendering control of assets or allowing military bases on their land.

Vice President Jagdeo recently confirmed that his government is exploring accessing a US$1.5B access to credit from China.

Uganda is not the only country to have suffered the fate of having to turn over its assets to the Chinese for defaulting on loans.

Sri Lanka is one such country that had to formally hand over the strategic port of Hambantota to China on a 99-year lease, in 2019, in a deal that government critics have said threatens the country’s sovereignty.

The state-controlled China Merchants Port Holdings Company signed a deal with the Sri Lanka Ports Authority to control a 70 percent stake in the Hambantota port, which lies on the southern coast of the country.

Sri Lankan politicians said the Hambantota deal, valued at US$1.1 billion, was necessary to chip away at the debt, but analysts warned of the consequences of signing away too much control to China.

Repayments Guaranteed “The price being paid for reducing the China debt could prove more costly than the debt burden Sri Lanka seeks to reduce,” said N. Sathiya Moorthy, a senior fellow specialising in Sri Lanka at the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation.

Kaieteur News had previously published extensive reports which detailed how several countries became trapped by opting to utilise China’s BRI. In Cambodia, China “invested” some US$5.3B. While these and other initiatives were said to be geared to better the lives of Cambo-

dians, the reality could not have been further away from this dream.

Back in 2008, China’s Tianjin Union Development Group (UDG) was granted a 99-year lease to around 20 percent of the country’s total coastline at the modest price of US$30 per hectare.

Cambodia’s Constructors Association has estimated the so-called “Pilot Zone” project’s total cost at US$3.8 billion. The amount of land leased is more than three times the legal limit under Cambodian land law, which caps land concessions at 10,000 hectares.

In Zambia, an international airport, a state-owned electricity company, a National Broadcasting Network and a major roadway in Zambia, have all been taken over

by China.

In fact, the takeover of the South African country has become so pronounced that some observers are asking the question, “Is Zambia the first African country to become a full Chinese colony?”

Zambia’s reported ‘colonisation’ is due to its government’s failure to repay a US$8B debt to China for infrastructural projects undertaken by the Chinese under programmes like the BRI. A giant dam called Coca Coda Sinclair in the Ecuadorian jungle, financed and built

by China, was supposed to christen Ecuador’s vast ambitions, solve its energy needs and help lift the small South American country out of poverty.

Instead, it has become part of a national scandal, engulfing the country in corruption, perilous amounts of debt — and a future tethered to China as a result of an inability to make good on its US$19B debt payments.

The price tag involved Chinese loans, not only for the dam but bridges, highways, irrigation, schools, health clinics and a half dozen other dams the government is scrambling to pay for.

It doesn’t matter whether Ecuador can afford them.

China gets paid either way. To settle the bill, China gets to keep 80 percent of Ecuador’s most valuable export — oil — because many of the contracts are repaid in petroleum, not dollars.

China gets the oil at a discount, then sells it for an additional profit.

Pumping enough oil to repay China has become such an imperative for Ecuador that it is drilling deeper in the Amazon, threatening more deforestation.

From page 9 of Agriculture (GSA), extension officers attached to the ministry will receive training on how to properly carry out their functions to better cater to the needs of the nation’s farmers.

Minister Mustapha said the programme should be ready before mid-next year while adding that extension officers will be able to receive training through the GSA to improve the services offered to farmers and agroprocessors.

He said too that the courses are expected to include best practices for proper animal husbandry, artificial insemination

techniques, shade house development, a ‘six-point method for rice cultivation, post-harvest handling of perishable produce and smart agriculture practices.

“This is one of the steps we are taking to revamp the sector so that quality service can be delivered.

Agriculture is once again at the forefront of our economy and we have to ensure that our extension personnel are well equipped and informed on how to deliver the calibre of services that were promised to citizens during our 2020 elections campaign trail,” Minister Mustapha said.

Since taking office,

Minister Mustapha has been meeting with farmers across the country who aired concerns about the quality of services being offered by the extension arm of several agencies which form part of the ministry.

After receiving similar complaints at a number of outreaches, Minister Mustapha disclosed that the entire extension arm of the ministry would soon be revamped.

He also said that extension officers who were not willing to work to execute the mandate of the present government will be relieved of their services.

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Sunday November 28, 2021

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Sunday November 28, 2021

Exxon's Consultant apologises for unauthorised use of Shyam Nokta's signature on Yellowtail EIA

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xxon's Consultant apologises for unauthorised use of Shyam Nokta's signature on Yellowtail EIA The Consultancy firm, Environmental Resources Management (ERM), contracted by ExxonMobil to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) on the Yellowtail development, has recently apologised to Shyam Nokta for using his signature on the project's Non-Technical Summary (NTS) that was mistakenly published on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) website.

It was reported by Kaieteur News that PPP candidate in the 2020 elections, Shyam Nokta had signed off on the draft document, which ERM later explained was released by mistake.

Questions were raised by Environmentalist, Simone Mangal-Joly in regard to the credibility of the document, given that it is required for an independent company to conduct same.

In a letter to Kaieteur

Managing Director of Environmental Management Consultants, Shyam Nokta News, Nokta's lawyer, Devindra Kissoon said that “We on behalf of Mr. Nokta engaged ERM on this matter, resulting in ERM issuing an apology to Mr. Nokta by letter dated November 23, 2021.”

The lawyer contended that his client had no knowledge that his signature was affixed to the document, prior to the consultations held by the EPA on the

Ye l l o w t a i l p r o j e c t o n November 11, 2021.

In the letter seen by this publication, the ERM clarified, “In (the) conduct of the EIA, ERM did not engage with or involve Mr. Nokta or EMC (Environmental Management Consultants).

ERM has no current relationship or engagement with Mr. Nokta or EMC to provide support to any EIA concerning the Yellowtail Development Project or otherwise. It is with deep regret that Mr. Nokta's electronic signature was inadvertently included by ERM on the cover of the version of the EIA nontechnical summary for the Yellowtail Development Project that was posted on the EPA's website”.

For this, the ERM apologised for the error on its part.

As a consequence, Kaieteur News also apologies for any embarrassment caused to Mr. Nokta as a result of the publication of our article and subsequent editorial on the issue.

The apology issued by ERM to Mr. Shyam Nokta.

Fully vaccinated woman is latest COVID-19 fatality One new death has been recorded by the Ministry of Health (MOH) as a result of COVID-19. The latest fatality is that of a 69year-old fully vaccinated woman from Region Three.

This has brought the COVID-19 death toll to 986.

In addition to the death, the MOH

recorded 44 new cases. The Ministry noted too that the number of people in home isolation, as a result of exposure to the virus, is 13,999 and 65 of these are in institutional isolation, two persons are in institutional care and 16 are in the Intensive Care Unit. To date Guyana has had 37,707 cases of which 35,241 have recovered.

Sunday November 28, 2021

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Kaieteur News

ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifiers called off due to COVID-19 travel uncertainty West Indies therefore qualify for Women’s World Cup in New Zealand – March 4 to April 3 2022 HARARE, Zimbabwe – The International Cricket Council (ICC) yesterday announced that the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2021 in Zimbabwe has been called off. The tournament, scheduled to be played until December 5, would have decided the final three spots for the ICC Women’s World Cup in New Zealand next year as well as the remaining two berths in the next cycle of the ICC Women’s Championship.

West Indies won their first match against Ireland by six wickets and were slated to face Sri Lanka yesterday at Harare Sports Club, but that match was abandoned due to a member of the Sri Lanka support staff testing positive for COVID-19 on the morning of the match, following six players that had tested positive since the Tournament began.

The ICC indicated that with the emergence of the latest COVID-19 variant in

South Africa and the introduction of travel restrictions from a number of African countries, including the host country Zimbabwe, it has reluctantly decided to call off the event, with the qualification slots decided as per team rankings, in keeping with the tournament’s playing conditions. Therefore, West Indies, Bangladesh, Pakistan will now progress to the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in New Zealand to be played from March 4 to April 3.

West Indies Women’s Head Coach Courtney Walsh said: “Yes it’s disappointing that the tournament had to be cancelled. I’m sure all the teams here participating would be disappointed as it is a chance to put all your skills on show and especially the teams vying to get to the World Cup, there’s going to be disappointment. I think the right decision was taken by not putting the teams at risk, especially with the recent developments happening.

West Indies leave out Holder,...

Sunday November 28, 2021 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) It may be difficult to focus on household chores today.

Your mind is on more exalted matters, such as spiritual and intellectual interests and you feel lazy.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Today the paranormal could be on your mind. Books on related subjects may capture your interest, so you'll probably want to spend the day reading.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) Creative ideas may elude you today. You may have a hankering to do something artistic but with only a few vague notions, and you may not like those.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) A strong bond of loyalty that you feel for a friend might propel you into a touchy situation today.

Your friend may ask you to do a favor that's difficult if not impossible.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Something may be distracting a close friend or love partner so much that this person isn't very good company. Nor will your friend want to share the source of their preoccupation.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Confusion may reign today, particularly if you're intuitive. You may pick up strange vibes that could be unsettling. Don't try to make sense of them.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) Your thoughts and feelings may be vague today, and you could be preoccupied.

People might talk to you but you won't hear much of what they say, and you'll remember even less.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Some bizarre dreams or visions could come to you today. Don't put too much stock in them. You might find that the images are partly scenes from your past and partly information you've received lately.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Romantic matters should be going very well now, although today you might have some doubts. Your loved one may be quiet and preoccupied.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Today you may have so much to do around the house that you don't know where to start. Family members aren't much help. Don't throw up your hands and let it all go. Look around the room, find something that needs to be done.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Information you receive from friends could have you worrying a little about your financial security. You may be trying to reach a goal that seems to be in jeopardy.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Usually you have a strong intuitive bond with those close to you, but today you might feel like that part of your brain has shut down.

You could get confusing messages, or you could pick up nothing at all.

From page 60 Shepherd, Odean Smith, Hayden Walsh Jr T20I squad: Kieron Pollard (capt), Nicholas Pooran (vicecapt), Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Sheldon Cottrell, Dominic Drakes, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr Pak vs WI in Karachi Dec 13 - 1st T20I Dec 14 - 2nd T20I Dec 16 - 3rd T20I Dec 18 - 1st ODI Dec 20 - 2nd ODI Dec 22 - 3rd ODI

Wilshire win 1st round before...

From page 62 Azano Cornejo powered home as the Guyanese lost 20.

According to Coach Garfield Wilshire the boys played well but were up against more experienced players.

“Their performance was pleasing and there was no issue with the high altitude. The boys said that it did not affect them in any way.

The boys played their best but were beaten by better players. No shame at all in their performances,” informed Coach Wilshire, a top former Caribbean Squash player.

We are obviously delighted that we have qualified and that we will be there at the World Cup next year. The girls are very happy because that was one of the missions we wanted to fulfil when we left the Caribbean. We’re going to start planning and preparing for New Zealand 2022 but our main focus right now is to get the team back home quickly and safely.”

Chris Tetley, the ICC Head of Events explained: “We are incredibly disappointed to have to cancel the remainder of this event but with travel restrictions from a number of African countries being imposed at such short notice, there was a serious risk that teams would be unable to

return home.

We have explored a number of options to allow us to complete the event but it isn’t feasible and we will fly the teams out of Zimbabwe as soon as possible.

Bangladesh, Pakistan and the West Indies will now qualify for the ICC Women’s World Cup 2022 by virtue of their rankings, whilst Sri Lanka and Ireland will also join them in the next cycle of the ICC Women’s Championship.”

CWI is working closely with the ICC to ensure all members of the West Indies squad remain safe, as arrangements are made for their return to their home territories as soon as possible.

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Sunday November 28, 2021

MVP Sports endorses GFF-K&S Super 16 Cup

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VP Sports has pledged one million d o l l a r s i n sponsorship for the Guyana Football FederationKashif & Shanghai Super 16 Cup as part of growing corporate support for the year-end celebration of football.

Guyana Football Federation (GFF) President Wayne Forde on November 25 received the cheque from Managing Director of MVP Sports Ian Ramdeo at a handing over ceremony at MVP Sports’ outlet in Giftland Mall, Lilliendaal. Ramdeo commended the GFF and its partners for staging the Super 16 year-end tournament.

“After the tumultuous year and a half that we’ve all had in sports and all other aspects of our daily lives, we thought it was an excellent initiative to be part of this ... for footballers to get some playtime and exposure.

But also for the fans to enjoy the game again in a safe way. We want to be a big part of this, not only in this particular event but going forward in 2022 as well,” Ramdeo said.President Forde thanked Ramdeo for his continued

support of football development and emphasised the importance of corporate partnerships for the future growth of sport in Guyana.

“As leaders, we all have a responsibility to improve the quality of life for our young people and when corporate Guyana takes that faithful step to climb on board and support sports in general, then we are meeting that obligation,” Forde stressed.

The GFF has organised one month of elite football over the holiday season, involving Guyana’s top male and female players and clubs from all nine GFF regional associations.

The GFF-K&S Super 16 Cup to be held over the period December 12 – January 1, the GFF Women’s Super 16 Festival 2021 to be held over the period December 11 – January 2 and the G F F - K & S F u t s a l Championship to be held over the period December 14 – January 8 will be played in venues across the country, including in Georgetown, Buxton, St Cuthbert’s Mission, Providence, Leonora, Linden, New Amsterdam, Bartica, and Essequibo.

GFF President Wayne Forde (right) collects the sponsorship cheque from Managing Director of MVP Sports Ian Ramdeo.

All participants including players, coaches, staff, match

officials, and fans will be required to show proof of COVID-19

vaccination to access the competitions.

West Indies leave out Holder, Russell, Hetmyer among others, name new-look white-ball squads for Pakistan tour Greaves, Brooks, Motie, Smith and Drakes earn maiden call-ups as several senior players rested ESPNcricinfo - Jason Holder, Andre Russell, Evin Lewis and Shimron Hetmyer are among a number of regulars left out for one reason or another for West Indies’ upcoming white-ball tour of Pakistan, and both the ODI and T20I squads wear a very fresh look with a number of new faces. For the ODIs, four players - Justin Greaves, Shamarh Brooks, Gudakesh Motie and Odean Smith - have earned their maiden call-ups, while Dominic Drakes and Motie have been included for the T20Is. Both teams will be led

by Kieron Pollard.

A CWI statement confirmed that while Holder missed out because of “workload management”, Fabian Allen and Obed McCoy are out because of injuries, and Lewis, Hetmyer, Russell and Lendl Simmons were unavailable because of personal reasons.

Left-arm spinner Motie was a travelling reserve for the recent T20 World Cup in the UAE, while quick bowlers Drakes and Smith, who played two T20Is for West Indies in 2018, were net bowlers on that tour.

Lead selector Roger Harper said in the statement that the new players had been selected on the back of their performances in the Super50 Cup and the CPL T20 tournament.

“There are a number of talented newcomers in each format that will have the opportunity to show what they are capable of at the international level,” Harper said. “Justin Greaves is a very talented player, had a good CG Insurance Super50 tournament and performed well in the President’s XI match against Ireland in 2020.

“Odean Smith really grabbed our attention in the last CPL. His pace was never in question, however, he has added greater control and has displayed the ability to be a wicket-taker.

“Shamarh Brooks batted well in the CG Insurance Super50 Cup and followed that up with good performances in the CPL. He will lend greater depth to the batting line-up.

“Gudakesh Motie has been rewarded for his outstanding performance in the CG Insurance Super50,

The West Indies ODI squad. followed up by his showing in the CPL. “Dominic Drakes has the potential to be an outstanding all-rounder as he displayed during the last CPL.” The three ODIs are a part of the World Cup Super

League. For the 2023 men’s ODI World Cup, nine qualifiers, excluding hosts India, would be determined by the rankings based on the 13-team league, featuring 12 Full Members and Netherlands, with each team playing eight ODI series -

The West Indies T20I squad. four home and four away.

West Indies currently lie in the eighth position and have the opportunity to overtake Pakistan and get to No. 7.

Harper said “these ODIs are very important to us and are being treated as such”.

ODI squad: Kieron

Pollard (capt), Shai Hope (vice-capt), Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, Roston Chase, Justin Greaves, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Anderson Phillip, Nicholas Pooran, Raymon Reifer, Romario (Continued on page 59)

Kaieteur News

Sunday November 28, 2021

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GFF delivers goalkeeping coaching course to boost Academy Training Centres The goalkeepers go through their paces during the programme.

Officials and participants take a photo at the event.

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he Guyana F o o t b a l l Federation (GFF) delivered its end of year Goalkeeping Coaches Workshop on Thursday, November 25th to further build capacity among regional association coaches and enhance the impact of the GFF’s Academy Training Centre (ATC) programme.

The one-day training session, hosted at the GFF National Training Centre, Providence, focused on teaching methods for goalkeeping fundamentals and was led by GFF Goalkeeping Coach Eon Deviera and GFF Coaching Education Officer Lyndon France.

The theoretical and practical workshop was attended by 24 enthusiastic coaches from the GFF’s nine regional associations who expressed their continued commitment to improving their goalkeeping skills. The workshop included classroom modules on developing goalkeeping practice structures, training techniques and session plans, as well as fieldwork focusing on positioning,

types of catches and distribution.

“This is a very important course as part of the drive the GFF is currently undertaking with respect to getting football growing and coaches and players equipped to be able to move forward in the right direction come 2022 and beyond,” said DeViera.

Technical Director Ian Greenwood added that, “The main aim is for each of the regional Academy Training Centres to have a specialised goalkeeping coach. We have a couple of very strong goalkeeping coaches with the national teams and we want to ensure that the Academy Training Centres follow the same structure.”

West Demerara Football Association coach Yonette Hector said the course was a great opportunity for coaches to take their goalkeeping skills to the next level: “When I go back to my team, I will be able to show them the basics of coaching.”

East Bank Demerara Football Association coach Andre Gibbs added that he attended the session to

improve his goalkeeping knowledge “so in the future I could share my knowledge with the youngsters and we can all improve Guyana’s football”.

Rounding up the day, GFF Assistant Technical Director Bryan Joseph said, while participants will not become professional goalkeeping coaches in one session, the year-end course had taught them the fundamentals. “I hope they return to their respective environments and make an impact, host sessions and seize every opportunity to work on the things they would’ve learned and develop the players out there,” he said.

The GFF’s groundbreaking ATC programme was launched in 2017 and is the first of its kind in the Caribbean region. The programme is a selective national youth development initiative that gives girls and boys aged between 6-19 a weekly, structured training curriculum anchored in the GFF’s football philosophy and delivered consistently throughout its nine regional associations.

Aleka Persuad fails to advance at Jr PanAm Games

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ifteen year-old Olympian Aleka Persuad failed to advance to next round as she finished eighth in her heat in the Women’s 100m fly at the Junior Pan American Games in Colombia yesterday Swimming in lane eight in heat four, Persaud, who swims for Orca Swim Club in Guyana, finished her race in a time of 1:10.86 as she was +2.34 second above her entry time of 1:08.52. Persaud, Guyana’s youngest Olympian, completed the first 50meters in 32.48 before swimming next half of her race in 38.38 seconds.

This is her third consecutive International event that Persaud has failed to medal following the Olylimpics in Tokyo

and the Junior World Championship in Peru.

Her Coach Paul Mahaica said the National Women’s 50m freestyle record holder did a little better that she did in Peru which should boost her confidence for her next race. “Aleka has to work on the back end of her races but we have to take the altitude as a factor that affected performance,” disclosed Coach Mahaica who informed that the other Guyanese swimmers (Leon Seaton and Patrice and Paul Mahaica) will hit the water in the 100m free today. “I’m looking forward for a good performance tomorrow (Today) for our swimmers who are trying to adjust to the conditions here,” posited the Coach. (Sean Devers)

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Jnr PanAm games

Wilshire win 1st round before losing, Ince-Carvalhal lose

Sunday November 28, 2021

GFF and GNWFA launch Women’s Super-16 Festival 2021

‘Boys played their best, beaten by better players’ coach Wilshire Guyana squash players began their campaign in the Junior Pan American Games in Cali, Colombia on Friday with two losses and a win in the three rounds of action played by Guyanese in a tournament in which the age limit was moved from U-19 to U-23 due to the covid-19 pandemic.

Team leader 18-year-old Shomari Wilshire beat Ricardo Sebastian 3-0 and 17-year-old Samuel InceCarvalhal lost 3-0 to

Jeremias Gonzalo in their opening games on Friday before Wilshire lost 3-0 to Canadian Ryan Picken 8-11, 5-11, 2-11 his second match of the day. In yesterday’s doubles the Guyanese pair of Wilshire and Ince-Carvalhal lost their first game 4-11 and but demonstrated a bit more fight in their second game which they lost 9-11 before t h e Wo r l d R a n k e d Argentinean pair of 22-yearold Jeremias Gonzalo and (Continued on page 59)

Guyana squash team in Colombia Coach Garfield Wilshire is at right.

Volleyball action set for today at Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) The Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) at H o m e s t r e t c h Av e n u e , Georgetown is expected to come alive today, Sunday, when female Volleyball players around the country match skill as they vie for supremacy in the one-day team event. Six teams are expected to take to the

indoor court of the venue in the tournament organized by the Guyana Volleyball Federation (GVF). First serve is expected at 09:00h.

The six teams set to compete are Castrol Strikers, Eagles Volleyball Club, Berbice Females, Laluni Volleyball Club, Fluffy Girls of Linden and Pakuri

Warriors.

According to the GVF, apart from the teams vying for supremacy the competition will also be used to select a senior national squad to begin training for future events. The competition will also be used as stepping stone for the formation of an academy,

which will be organized by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport.

A number of officials are expected to be on hand to witness the day’s action including GVF President Levi Nedd. A competitive day of volleyball action is anticipated.

(Samuel Whyte)

The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) and Guyana National Women’s Football Association ( G N W FA ) y e s t e r d a y officially launched the GFFGNWFA Women’s Super 16 Festival 2021, alongside a public campaign against domestic abuse, as part of the GFF’s plans for the safe return of senior football over the year-end holiday season.

Sixteen teams from across Guyana will do battle for the nation’s first female year-end title, which will feature the cream of women’s football talent, including several domesticbased Lady Jags.

The tournament will promote the tagline “We rise against domestic violence” to raise awareness about male-on-female abuse and inspire change across society.

“The true power of football to change lives, bring people together and create hope is only possible when women and girls are given equitable access to the game and its developmental resources,” said GFF President Wayne Forde.

“The inaugural Women’s Super 16 Festival 2021 is only the first step in bringing about the much needed institutional changes that are necessary to lift the profile of the female football across Guyana,” Forde added.

“While we still have a far way to go, we are determined to change the landscape for women’s football in the

coming years.”

G N W FA P r e s i d e n t Andrea Johnson said the tournament will revive “ w o m e n ’s f o o t b a l l i n spectacular way” after the disruption caused the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This year-end tournament will see 16 teams from the coastland and hinterland regions battling for supremacy and vying for over one million dollars in cash and prizes,” Johnson said. “The teams and players are extremely elated to participate after being dormant for more than a year because of the pandemic.

This is the first time we will be having more than five hinterland teams participating.” “It promises to be electrifying and thrilling,” she elaborated.

“Throughout the four weeks that this tournament will be played, we will witness in action Annalisa Vincent, Lakeisha Pearson, Shamaya Daniels, Shanic Thornhill and others.

The tournament will be played under the tag line ‘ We R i s e A g a i n s t Domestic Violence’ because we want the public to know that it’s not okay to abuse a spouse.”

The tournament will kick off in St Cuthbert’s Mission on December 11, with the final slated for January 2 at the GFF National Training Centre. Other matches will be played across the country, including in Georgetown, Leonora and Bartica.

Sunday November 28, 2021

Director of Sport visits Region Eight to push sports programme there

Director of Sport Steve Ninvalle along with Toshao of Campbelltown Region Eight Jillian Williams during their interaction.

Director of Sport Steve Ninvalle visited Campbelltown Region Eight yesterday where he met with residents and officials, m a i n l y To s h a o o f Campbelltown Region Eight, Jillian Williams.

Ninvalle and Williams held discussions on a range of matters relating to sports in the community.

The Director of Sport informed the Toshao of the Ministry of Culture, Youth a n d S p o r t ’s G r o u n d Enhancement programme and the National Sports Academy which Minister Charles Ramson Jr. will shortly launch.

Ninvalle and Williams looked at a plot of land earmarked for a ground in the community and exchanged views on the enhancements that are to be done.

Minister Ramson Jr. has been pushing for improved

fortunes in the country’s sport and as such has been visiting many communities along with the Sports Director and Chairman of the National Sports Commission Kashif Muhammad to have a firsthand assessment of what was needed to enhance the communities where sports is concerned.

The minister has pledged support across the country and several projects are currently underway along with improved financial support for associations and athletes.

Ninvalle’s visit to Region Eight is just one step in the direction of his department and by extension the Ministry of Sports thrust of major improvement in facilities and better preparation for our athletes and the spotting and harnessing of talent in the out of town areas like Region Eight.

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