Kaieteur News

Guyanalistedassignificant deepwateroilproducer

…as global production to increase by 60% in next decade - Wood Mackenzie

Brazilintheleadasglobal deepwater production to increase 60% Wood Mackenzie

Deep water oil and gas productionissettoincreaseto 60 percent by 2030 with Brazil as the leading deepwater producer, Wood McKenziereported.

U l t r a d e e p w a t e r production – from depths of 1,500 metres and above is growing fastest – by 2024, it will account for more than half of all deepwater production (our definition is 400 metres of water depth or above)–Woodmacreported.

Brazilremainstheleading deepwater producer, as it accounts for around 30 percent of current global capacity and will continue to grow It was stated that Guyana, the most significant new entrant, will be producing one million boe/d within the next five years. Notably, in total 14 other countries will contribute to the deepwater supply mix in

thecomingyears.

According to the report, despite the diversification of sources, and of corporate participants, control over major deepwater projects sits in the hands of relatively few companies. It was stated that

TotalEnergies show the highest rates of growth this decade.

Kaieteur News had reported in August that deepwater projects in Guyana, Brazil, and Mexico

just eight companies account for 65 percent of deepwater production.

Brazil's Petrobras and the seven Majors dominate deepwater production, operating 22 of the top 25 deepwaterassets.

Petrobras' deepwater portfolio is around twice as big as its nearest competitor, Shell, which stands out among the majors for leading production and cash flow

are expected to buoy the market for drill ships; floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels, and subsea equipment. This is according to the Norwegian group, R y s t a d E n e r g y, a n independent energy research and business intelligence company that provides data, tools, analytics, and consultancy services to the globalenergyindustry

E x x o n M o b i l a n d

EPA gives approval for Gas-to-Energy project without insurance guarantee

...grants ExxonMobil “reasonable time” to provide “financial assurance”

The Environmental P r o t e c t i o n Agency (EPA) on November 25 gave US oil giant, ExxonMobil its blessings to commence the US$1 3 billion Gas to Energyprojectthatwillallow for the construction of a natural gas pipeline, as well as a Natural Gas Liquids ( N G L ) f a c i l i t y a n d supportinginfrastructure.

While many stakeholders had raised concerns regarding the safety of the project, the EPA in its decision to grant the Permit s a i d t h e p r o j e c t ' s

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) have been declared acceptable, by the Environmental Assessment Board (EAB) in accordance with section 11(13) of the Environmental Protection Act,Cap.20:05.

“The EPAis satisfied that the project can be conducted in accordance with good environmental practices, and in a manner that avoids, prevents and minimizes any adverse effects which could result from the activity,” it said.

Thirdly, the agency said technical reviews and recommendations from a team of independent International Experts, the public inputs at the scoping stage, views expressed by membersofthepublicduring c o n s u l t a t i o n s , t h e submissions made after the EIAwas submitted for public review, and all other relevant considerations, indicate that t h e p r o j e c t i s environmentally sound and inthepublic'sinterest.

However, when the fiveyear Environmental Permit was examined by this newspaper, it was discovered thatExxonhasbeengiventhe opportunity to decide when it willprovideinsuranceforthe project, as there is no definitive timeframe set out bytheregulator Accordingto Section 108 of the 50-page document issued by the EPA, “The Permit Holder is liable for all costs associated with clean up, restoration and compensation for any damages caused by any d i s c h a r g e o f a n y contaminant, including the cost of all investigations into pollution incidents or discharge of contaminants, conducted at the instance of

Agency.”

Meanwhile, Section 109 goes on to explain, “The Permit Holder shall provide and/or declare within reasonabletimeuponsigning of this permit a combination of the following forms of FinancialAssurance to cover all its legitimate liabilities underthisPermit.

These shall include: a) Insuranceinaccordancewith Condition 114 and shall covercleanupandthirdparty liability on terms that are market standard for the type of coverage: and b) A Parent Company/Affiliate (of Operator and Co-Venturers (CoVs)) undertaking that provides indemnification for liabilitiesunderthisPermit.”

The amount of Insurance will be guided by an estimate ofthesumofthe“reasonably credible costs, expenses, and liabilitiesthatmayarisefrom anybreachesofthisPermit.”

Meanwhile, Liabilities are considered to include costs associated with responding to an incident, clean up and remediation andmonitoring.

The estimation is not expected to address unidentifiable or inestimable costs which may be a s s o c i a t e d w i t h compensation for loss and ongoing damage to other parties, and which are able to be pursued through civil action,thePermitsaid.

Section 118 of the Permit states that the Permit Holder shallsubmittotheAgency,as soon as reasonably practicable upon its request: a c o p i e s o f t h e

Environmental Liability Insurance policies; a s u m m a r y o f t h e

Environmental Liability Insurance policies detailing the insurer, the type of insurance, the amount of coverage provided by each policy, key terms of the insurances policies, what types of environmental damage the policies cover, what types of environmental damage the policies do not cover, and the duration of eachpolicy

It also wants evidence that the insurer is authorised to provide the insurance in Guyana; evidence of authorisation of the institution or parent (insurers) to provide insurance; evidence of the insurer's financial strength; and evidence of the insurer's

BBBgrade.

“ThePermitHoldermust, as soon as reasonably practicable, provide from the Parent Company or Affiliate Companies of Permit Holder and its Co Venturers ("Affiliates") one or more legally binding agreements to the Agency, in which the Parent Company or Affiliate Companies of Permit Holder and its Co Venturers undertake to provide adequate financial resources for Permit Holder and its CoVenturers to pay or satisfy t h e i r r e s p e e n v i r o n m e n o b l i g a t i o regarding th Stabroek Block,” Section 119 of t h e P e r m i t states. It goes on to explain that if the Permit Holder and/ or its CoVenturers fail to do so, it mu provide evidenc the following: (i) That the Affiliate(s) are authorised to provide that guarantee or agreement in this jurisdiction; (ii) That the Affiliate(s) have sufficient financial strength for the amount of the potential liability; (iii) That the Affiliate(s) have the corporate legal capacity to enterintotheagreement.

Additionally, it must also

agree to provide notification of cancellation, expiration, renewal or non-renewal and expiry dates of the Agreementaswellasprovide audited annual financial statements and notification if the Affiliate(s) are no longer likely to be able to meet s p e c i f i e d f i n a n c i a l obligations.

ThePermitwillremain in effect until November 24,2027.

It will be renewed only after the Permit Holder submits an application form six months before its environmental authorization expires.

It must be noted that Guyana is still currently struggling to secure full liability coverage from ExxonMobil for its oil production activities offshore Guyana in the StabroekBlock.

Exxon has told the nation that each of its Stabroek Block projects is covered by

aUS$600Mpolicy,whileitis still in discussion with the government for a combined US$2B package of affiliate company guarantees; bringing the total coverage costtoUS$2.6B.

This means that Guyana mayverywelllefttofootany additional costs related to the clean up, restoration or compensation following a large scale oil spill For instance, emergency response and cleanup of the British Petroleum (BP) Macondo oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has so far cost more than US$70 billion accordingtoreports.

Executive Director of the EPA,

Kemraj Parsram

Kaieteur News

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

Publisher: GLENN LALL-TEL: 624-6456

Editor: NIGELWILLIAMS

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

EDITORIAL

Now it’s the Canadians, what about Guyanese?

TheCanadiansaremakingtheirpresencefeltinGuyana. They have been almost invisible on the Guyana investment radar, but not anymore.Asizable Trade Mission is looking to do business here and, as the world knows, there is no better place than Guyana for foreigners to invest their millions,andallbutguaranteedthesweetestreturnfortheir efforts.

Everybody is talking about Guyana, and everybody is comingtoGuyana. ABritishdelegationcameandleftwith a rich cooperation pact that covers such high-profile segments of Guyana’s economy as oil and gas, renewable energy, technology, and infrastructure needs, among other areas (KN November 27). Similarly, a big business delegation from Louisiana and other areas in the United Statesturnedupheretocheckoutthemanysectorsandtheir related opportunities in Guyana where there is money to be made. There is sure to be more visits, and many positives for theAmericans looking to get a piece of the rich Guyana action. For many of the American, British, and Canadian delegations testing the waters here (with more to follow in theirfootsteps),theywillreaphandsomeprofitsfromdoing business in Guyana. Nobody coming here is going to walk away a loser It is a given that they will win big for their shareholders. Our concern at this publication is about Guyanaitself.WhataboutusGuyanese,thepeoplewhoare the forgotten owners of this wealth that this country possesses? Many are making plans to come here, and join thegrowingarmyofforeigners,togettheirpintofmilk,and poundofflesh,fromtheGuyanacow Butagain,weaskthe same question: what about us the Guyanese people? What is in all this coming and going, all this talking and signing, fortheordinaryGuyaneseman,woman,andchild?

For sure, as foreign companies arrive and establish themselves, there will be some jobs for Guyanese. Low level,lowpayingjobstomakeupsomenumbers.Smallsets of Guyanese lucky enough to be hired will earn a few dollars, and this will keep them contented, and distracted from the bigger picture of where they ought to be, and what is rightfully due to them. Meanwhile, the foreigners will continue to make a killing from our wealth, and fetch away untold riches, as regular citizens are only too glad to be carryinghomeapaycheque. Thegovernmentwillbehappy tospeakofadozenorahundredjobsgenerated,andofsome taxes collected. The foreign companies get to make commercials about sponsoring some softball event, buying afewbooksforaschoollibrary,orpayingforthecleanupof some community recreational centre. All in all, it is a nice movie.

But is it really, when the core is drilled down into, so as to obtain a full understanding of what is going on with this wealth that is our national patrimony? Surely, this can’t be all that there is to the great wealth that Guyana has, and for which the rest of the world is flocking to our shores. The truth of the matter is that for every GY$100,000 paycheque that a Guyanese worker employed by a foreign entity receives, it is highly likely that that same company is making a million dollars, and in American dollars. The realityisthatforeverydollarthatisinvestedherebyforeign companies, be they American, British, Canadian, or Chinese, they walk away with double-digit multiples for their confidence in Guyana. We would argue that no companyiscomingtoGuyanatomakeareturnoncapitalof 5%or10%.Theycangetwhattheywouldconsiderpittance profits almost anywhere else. For proof look at how John Hess of Hess Corporation has boasted about Guyana. Also recall the billions from Guyana that Hess and ExxonMobil have in their hands to payout as dividends and announce share buybacks. What do we have in our hands for the buying of basics? This is our wealth and our country, and yet we are like spectators, if not beggars. Something is terribly wrong with this kind of environment, with this realityfortherichestpeopleonearth.

An appeal to the President from a Discipline Services member

DEAR PRESIDENT DR.

IRFAANALI, I noted in a section of the print media on Thursday, November 24, 2022 that you announced sweeping changes to the salaries of several categories of workers in the Disciplined Services namely the Guyana Police Force (GPF), Guyana Defence Force (GDF), and the Guyana Fire Service (GFS). The increases, which willtakeeffectfromJanuary 1 , 2 0 2 3 T h i s i s

commendable. On behalf of my fellow colleagues in the Disciplined Services, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you personallyfortheincreasein theirsalaries.

While I am pleased with that I have one concern, I have noted with great concern that you made no mention salaries increase for the Guyana Prison Service (GPS) that provide safe custody of offenders who have violated the law of the

l a n d n o r t h e C i t y Constabulary which is responsible for policing the 15-square mile capital city with its approximately 180,000citizens.

This is in addition to the 200,000 persons who visit the city on a daily basis for business, entertainment or otherwise.

Mr President, members from the Guyana Prison Service and the City Constabulary work hard to ensure that law and order is

maintained in our country just as well, like the other DisciplinaryServices.

I will be very grateful if you can kindly grant us an increase in our salaries, too, like you did for the Guyana Police Force (GPF), Guyana Defence Force (GDF), and the Guyana Fire Service (GFS).

T h a n k y o u , M r . President.

Yours faithfully, Concerned member of the Joint Services

Violence against women - all must be concerned, all involved in its elimination

DearEditor, The theme for this year’s observance of 16 Days of Activism against Gender BasedViolencethatbeginon 25 November, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until 10 December, Human Rights Day, is “UNITE! Activism to end violence against women and girls”. It comes on the heels of Guyana experiencing the highest number of reported femicides in a calendar year – 31 - according to our records This raises very serious questions: are we actually working to prevent violenceanddeathsorarewe just comfortable with r e p o r t i n g o n t h e i r occurrence?

Have we become desensitized to the crisis?

T h e o f f i c i a l U N commemoration of the 16 daysstatesthatgender-based violence against women and

girls is not only preventable but must urgently be prevented.Italsoencourages the mobilization of more people to support efforts in ending violence against women and girls. Noting this, we are reminded that engagingmenandboys–the main perpetrators of violence against women and girls - is a key factor in prevention Our public education outreaches with essential services workers have revealed that many people - both males and females-taskedwithhelping others are suffering in silence.

One police officer said, “We got to help the public, but we have domestic problems too and nothing is inplacetohelpus.”

Among teenagers, we observe a growing reliance ondrugsandalcoholuseasa coping mechanism, and the choice of suicide as the only

option for some of those affectedbyviolence.

We cannot ignore the tragedies that are happening among us Prevention requires that no one is left out, ignored or made to feel e x c l u d e d f r o m t h e conversation.

Our hope, as we observe the 16 Days of Activism is that all Guyanese think seriously about the p e r p e t r a t i o n a n d perpetuation of violence against women and girls and be determined to make sustained efforts to not use violence and abuse themselves and be involved in the efforts to prevent this scourge in our society. To persons suffering in silence: confidential psychosocial help is available at Help & Shelter Do reach out to us throughourHotlinenumbers 613 1811/ 633 3788 Our office numbers 227-3454 / 2254731/ 2278353. You can

also reach us via our Facebook page @ handsgy In closing, we acknowledge the contributions of the Government of Guyana, funding agencies, public and private sector organizations, civil society organizations, other NGOs and brother and sister Guyanese in 2022, and look forward to continued support as we do our part in working to eliminate all forms of violence against womenandgirls.

Yours faithfully, Kevin Massiah NivetaShivjatan

Josephine Whitehead

Selina Lepps

Denise Dias

Shondelle Branche Pamela Nauth Carole Inis-Baptiste Linda Hustler Gray Karen Shaw

Colin Marks

Petal Baboolall Help & Shelter Board and Staff

Beware those who say they alone know, who exclude

DEAREDITOR,

I have seen pride, arrogance and meanness in religious people, and kindness and humility in non-religious people. That’s whyIlookbeyondthegarb.I want to know what’s in the humanheart.

There’s always the temptation for religious people to think that they are aboveothersbecauseoftheir religiosity

And there’s always the temptation for non religious people to mock a n d d e m e a n a n y expression of religious

sentiment and make jokes and poke fun at matters that are sacred

It does not mean that people on both sides of the spectrum necessarily succumb to the temptation. Nevertheless, it’s an innate human weakness that we all havetoovercome.Butweall expect religious individuals, particularly religious leaders, to demonstrate g r e a t e r e m p a t h y , u n d e r s t a n d i n g , consideration, humility, kindness, and humanity in their interactions with others. Perhaps you have

also witnessed certain unsavory occurrences that have disappointed you Think of that pandit who embarrassedayoungmother because her child cried duringhisKathaorthatother big pandit who severely reprimanded a man who committed the offence of takingabottleofwatertohis wife and thereby impeded the smooth flow of the Katha.

Think of that “Maha Guru” who rides on fancy bikes, and who is adored by the gullible millions in India and

elsewhere

When a brave young college girl questioned him on an important issue relating to environmentally protected corridors for tribal peoples and elephants in India,hebecamefuriousand threatened that he could sue her a hundred times and makeherlifeaveritablehell. It’stheclassicalcaseofusing FEAR and INTIMIDATION tosuppressfreethinking.

Should not religious life and spiritual pursuits make us more human and humane, morecaring,more

Titanic or Cinderella, which will Guyana be?

DEAREDITOR

,

On the current state of management of the oil and resources sectors in Guyana, particularly the oil, there seem to be two stories being played out, one factual and one fiction both being relative to Guyana’s situation.

Looking first at the factual story, a few hours before the Titanic hit the iceberg, a ship called the California radioed the Titanic warning them of icebergs in the route Titanic was about to sail through as the California had just sailed through there, the radio operator of Titanic who believed the slogan, the Titanic was unsinkable flagged the message as nonurgent and filed the message with the non urgent messages, he also scolded the radio operator of the California for sending

unimportant messages through his line The Californiabecauseofthebad attitude shown went into radio silence with the Titanic, which subsequently hit the iceberg. Because of the radio silence of the California, they did not hear the call for help despite being the closest ship to the Titanicasitwassinkingafter hittingtheiceberg.

In this story, the parliamentarians with the oil companies are like the iceberg, those fighting to saveGuyanaareliketheship California and Guyana is the Titanic.

In the other story, the fiction one, a poor servant girl called Cinderella was transformed into a beautiful princessbyherprotectorand fairygodmother,marriedthe princeandlivedhappilyever after, despite the efforts of her evil stepsisters who tried

to destroy her In this story, the fairy godmother represents those who are fightingandtryingtoprotect Guyana, the evil stepsisters aretheparliamentarianswith the oil companies and GuyanaisCinderella.

Yet the spokespeople of the oil companies and government continue their propaganda of how they will be the fairy godmother and transform Guyana into Dubai, yet they would never answer any of the questions askedbyindependentmedia, would never provide data like the poverty index value of Guyana, or the disposable income level of low paid workers who are even lucky tofindemployment.

So, Guyanese with all said, which story you want to be part of, the Titanic or Cinderella?

Yours faithfully, R. David

Noise in Guyana at madness levels

DEAREDITOR,

I’ve been in Guyana for severalweeks,andit’sbeena joy to indulge in ole-time get-togethers with Guyanese of all stripes and colours. I am impressed with the progress made in several departments but not its tolerance of mind-boggling madness, such as the noise factor

I n d o w n t o w n Georgetown, the pushcart music operators blast your earsfromseveralcornersina square; waiting for a few minutes for a bus sends you into a tizzy - a harrowing experience because of the maddening cacophony I take the minibus from GT to the ECD almost daily for a 45-minuteride.

(I do so to save money but also to have a taste of Guyanese culture). It is an assault on the tympanic membranes of hapless

passengers, as bus drivers dole out their piercing, lewd music. You look forward to stepping off the bus and heading to your home –hoping for some rest and quietness to recuperate from the incomprehensible constant clamour You arrive home, and within a few minutes, you are blessed with one of the three boomboom businesses blaring, as they test their customers’ boom boxes These businesses operate with impunity in the residential neighbourhood, as they ply their trade as late as 9:30 p.m.

One of the things that is unfathomable is what these happy customers do with theirnewtoys.

They turn on their blasters to the loudest and open their vehicle windows forotherstoenjoy,ortohave someattention-orboth!And

they do so at all hours of the day(andnight!).

When they do, one’s house vibrates! The other day one of these guys pulled thisstuntat2:30a.m.Andfor good measure, they return about 30 minutes later to ensure you enjoy the experience well. Why don’t the authorities do something about this health hazard? I believe one of the reasons theyneverexperiencedany (Continued on page 6)

By his own words, Ogunseye’s position on violence is unchanged

DEAREDITOR,

Kindly allow me to r e s p o n d t o Ta c u m a Ogunseye’s letter of 11-262022titled

“Partisan distribution of Guyana’s wealth ought not beglorifiedbyDev as progressive politics”. Iwishtodealwithoneaspect ofOgunseye’sletter

I had cause to point out in a letter in KN see “Why hasn’t Ogunseye spoken up to clear this issue?” https://www kaieteurnewso nline.com › 2022/11/14 › w Ogunseye was the third member of a three manWPA committee consisting of Dr Walter Rodney and Dr Rupert Roopnarine charged with amassing arms for the violent overthrow of the Burnham PNC government. I challenged Ogunseye to clear up the issue of violence t o o v e r t h r o w t h e government. He failed to respond Editor, lo and behold Ogunseye writes in response to Ravi Dev on 1126-2022 that “I have in the past said, and I repeat, I will support resistance be it unarmedorarmedonceitisa response by the poor and powerless of any racial group/ community against state-sponsored killings and political oppression, irrespective of the governmentinpower

This is the bottom line of my politics on this matter and has remained unchanged May I also remind Dev thatIdevelopedthisposition

long before the PPPreturned topowerin1992.”

The truth of the matter is Ogunseye has not renounced the use of violence in Guyana’spolitics.

He admits his position remains“unchanged”.

This is revealing for the WPA’s Eusi Kwayana’s position that violence was not to be used to topple Burnham Kwayana was mindful that in using vio l e n c e t o t o p p l e Burnham’s PNC Guyana’s armed forces, which is overwhelmingly African would come under attack b y A f r i c a n r e b e l s Kwayana would not support Africans shooting Africans This issue would explain why Kwayana was not trusted by Rodney as Rodney was in favour of using violence against Burnham; Rodney had penetrated the armed forces and was a growing threattothePNC.

W h a t i s m o s t dangerous is Ogunseye’s declaration that he would use violence against any government i e the present PPP/C whom he feels may be oppressing Black people

Should violence be used in such a scenario Indians wouldbeslaughteredasthey

do not possess equal counter measuresinweaponry

As a matter of fact, there exists no absolute militant Indianadvocatingleadership speaking for Indians similar to that of Dr David Hinds, Tacuma Ogunseye, Eusi Kwayana, Hamilton Green, Lincoln Lewis, the GDF’s Leon Saul and Mark Benschop! The WPA’s Roopnarine is just a figurehead as he has absolutely no grounding in theIndianconstituency

What is now clear is that with the African masses at the bottom of the economic ladder,itwillalwaysprovide fodder for agitators to seek cause for dissension Hopefully, it would be by democracy

One Guyana is anideal goal but is threatened by those who believe in violenceasasolution.

Sincerely, Sultan Mohamed

PNC is now churning out makeshift organisations

DEAREDITOR,

The orchestrated racism machinery of the PNC is now churning out makeshift o r g a n i s a t i o n s a n d associations to propagate their divisive lies about the social realities across Guyanese communities and amongourcitizens.

T h e i r n e w e s t propaganda puppet is the socalled ‘Institute for Action Against Discrimination’, headed by the disgruntled former army Colonel Lelon Saul, who has purportedly written to the Democratic Black Caucus in the United States Congress with a hystericclaimthatGuyanais on the brink of civil unrest, because of fictitious issues of discrimination swirling aroundinSaul’shead.

Almost a decade ago, Lelon Saul was sent into early retirement from the Guyana Defence Force, a situation which he never fully recovered from. His radical views about the

PPP/C have never been a secret in and out of active duty and have in fact been intensifying since losing the CEO title his squaddies in t h e D a v i d G r a n g e r administration bestowed on him at the Central Housing and Planning Authority, following the 2015 elections.

Saul’s mindset was on full display most recently duringPresidentAli’svisitto Belladrum.

Ahead of the 2015 elections in Guyana, retired GDF Brigadier David Granger was selected as the army boys’ Manchurian Candidate who would become President. The deal saw retired Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Harmon become Minister of State in the new Ministry of the Presidency, with portfolio powers never before seen in g o v e r n m e n t s i n c e independence. So much so were Harmon’s powers, that the coalition partner AFC

demanded reductions to achieve better balance of powerinthepartnership.

Dozens of other retired Brigadiers, Colonels and Captainswerehandedsenior appointments across the government spectrum, at the G e o rg e t o w n P u b l i c Hospital, at the National ParksCommissionandother strategic agencies and departments of the state, effectively ring-fencing the governance apparatus with military management tactics, and preparing the machinery for the many strong arm policies and programmes that would set thestageforadictatorship.

These ranged from forcing citizens to pay more thanone hundred new taxed, taking away cash grants from Guyanese children, renderingthousandsofsugar workers and Amerindian residents jobless, and repossessing farmlands in the MMAADA and other partsofthecountry

Lelon Saul landed at the CHPA as part of the militarizationstrategy Since the failed attempts to steal the elections in 2020 by the Granger soldiers, Saul and several of his military squaddies have been frequentingtalkshows.

Now Saul is boldly writing to the US Congress. Saul and his fear-mongering squaddies would be well advised to take careful lessons from the resolve demonstrated by the PPP/C and other national and international stakeholders, i n t h e f a c e o f t h e undemocratic disposition of parties to the attempted election heist of 2020, and the citizens continued overwhelming rejection of their racist, divisive politics o f y e s t e r y e a r. T h e orchestrated racism bogeyman tactics being waged at home and abroad by Saul Et Al to fracture the Guyanese society, will not work. Its intellectual authors will continue to be isolated and fiercely rebuffed by every truly patriotic citizen of our country, even among their political strongholds; and their plans and schemes will eventually fall into the longarmsofthelaw

Respectfully Kwame McCoy Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister

DEAREDITOR

T h e e m e r g i n g phenomenon of citizens, particularly drivers, resorting to physical violence against members of the GPF, in the execution of their duties, as being seen almostdailyonsocialmedia, is indeed worrying as it is pure damn nonsense (that phrase).

The most recent display of a minibus driver getting physical with an officer, wrestling him to the ground, while onlookers call for the return of his licence, which

fuelled the driver’s fisticuffs and wrong and strong attitude, must be condemned and is a reflection of the decadence in society Such persons are the first to call out the police for not doing their job. No one is above thelaw

In this period of sixteen days of activism against violence, the violence being m e t e d o u t t o l a w enforcement officers must also be part of the activism andtheviolencemuststop.

Sincerely Shamshun Mohamed

From page 4

compassionate, more giving ofourselvestoothers?

How many of those who lecture from that elevated seat ever do enquire about the worries and concerns of thecongregation?

How many pandits, pastors and televangelists do really care about the trials and tribulations of the members ofthecongregation?

How many of our religious and intellectual leaders have ever consoled a homeless person, or a heartbrokenmother?

What is our religious life if we cannot greet with a big smile a fellow human whomwehavenevermet?

One of the most awkward situations is when I am in a discussion with a religious person, and when that person says again and again that this is what the ‘Book’ says

T h i s b r i n g s t h e discussion to a finality, and there’s no longer any room for questioning and I N D E P E N D E N T

THINKING

All of the great religious texts are written inrichpoeticlanguage

T h e y c a n n o t b e interpretedliterally

No religious text or spiritual master would ask that we set aside our ability to question, to reason and to thinkindependently.

Of course, there are realms where even the sharpest of intellect and reasoning cannot just penetrate

But we have to use our reason and ability to think as far as possible along this beautiful j o u r n e y o f s e l f actualization, self-discovery orself-realization.

Our world may be very small, and we may have so little to give Yet, there should b e a p l a c e f o r

EVERYONE

The basic premise of f u n d a m e n t a l i s t philosophies is the EXCLUSIONofothers.

And when we exclude others, we exclude a part of the Universetoo.

And I am very wary of those who say that they alone know the way, and that they alone know the process.

The truth is that we all know so, so, so very little

Yours faithfully, H a i m n a u t h C e c i l Ramkirath

From page 5 such instance; they live in sophisticated, gated communities and have no idea how ordinary Guyanese suffer. (On this topic of noise, there was a loud(!) party in my neighbourhood at around 3 a.m. a few weeks ago. I called the Vigilance Police Station, which

responded courteously and efficiently; within 15 minutes, the party noise abated Thank you, Vigilancepoliceofficers!).

Something should be done immediately to help stem the assault on ordinary Guyanesepeople.

Yours truly, Devanand Bhagwan

Minibusdriver’sresortto physicalviolence,areflection ofdecadenceinsociety

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Audit of Exxon's expenses

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From the start, there were suspicions about the Exxon audit. Those suspicions have now turned out to be right.

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From the get-go, there were fears of what Guyana would get from the Exxon audit.

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Those fears are now confirmed.

The audit of billions in Exxon's expenses is a sham, a hoax, a Xmas masquerade parade.

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We could have saved the US$700,000 plus audit fee. Jagdeo could have hired CXC students, give them addition machines and calculators.

BLUNT...BLUNT...BLUNT...BLUNT...BLUNT

BLUNT...BLUNT...BLUNT...BLUNT...BLUNT

BLUNT...BLUNT...BLUNT...BLUNT...BLUNT

The same result would have been had - all is in order with Exxon's billions which they claimed they spent. What a fraud! What a mockery of the Guyanese people!

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BLUNT BLUNT BLUNT BLUNT

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AFC supports jail time to punish public officials for mismanagement of State funds

The Alliance For Change (AFC) believes that officials who are found guilty of mismanaging state funds shouldbesenttojail.

Khemraj Ramjattan, the party's leader, gave this position on Friday during a media engagement While respondingtoaquestionfrom this newspaper he explained that amendments were made to the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act to clearly outline penalties, including hefty fines and imprisonment for persons found guilty of mishandling statefunds.

As such, he noted, “Once there is egregious corruption by public officials or state officials or even Ministers, why not? We have indicated that there should be fines and imprisonment terms and they arealreadyinthelaw.”

The former Minister of PublicSecuritywhoisalsoan Attorney at-Law was then

asked to say why these measures are not being instituted to ensure such persons are punished According to him, witnesses in such matters hardly present themselves and sometimes when they do, theychangetheirstatements.

“I was recently doing a fraud matter for a private company and what happens is the witnesses don't turn up and you get, sometimes the witnesses change their story when you compel them to come to Court...and then the case gets fouled up as a result,”heexplained.

Ramjattan said that the Criminal Laws in Guyana set very high standards, leaving the burden on the prosecutor to prove these wrongdoings.

“ I t i s s o m e t i m e s extraordinarily difficult and fraud is of course very very complex and complicated and especially if you don't have the foundation, witness

testimony, and so on - you really can't prove it,” Ramjattannoted.

The Auditor General (AG) reports over the years have revealed rather troubling findings regarding theuseofpublicfundswhich go unpunished In many instances, there are over payments to contractors and failure to deliver goods on time, while no action is institutedtoensurethereisno reoccurrenceofsame.

This concern was raised by a civil society group, Our Wealth Our Country (OWOC) which argued the need for laws to be implemented to ensure such acts are not swept under the proverbialrug.

In a statement to the press, OWOC said that the AG report and the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) have often uncovered “widespread irregularities, possible fraud, likely

deliberate malfeasance, lack of accountability and apparent attempts to fleece the Guyanese taxpayers ” However, the group believes thisisnottheworstpart.“The worst part is despite all the revelationsoffundsnotbeing accounted for, nobody is goingtojailandpunishedfor failing to do their jobs,” they said.

The body reasoned that Guyana is a country where most of the population is poor. While persons struggle daily to make ends meet, successive governments continue to fail to ensure that goods and services costing billions are delivered Concluding that such practices are simply unacceptable OWOC noted, “We call on both the PPPand PNC to pass new legislation or enforce current provisions that allow for utmost punishment on those responsible for this state of

affairs. No excuse can justify what'shappening.”

From the AG's most recent report, published basedonanassessmentofthe g o v e r n m e n t ' s 2 0 2 1

expenditure, Kaieteur News highlighted that: 'Hundreds of millions unaccounted for u n d e r f l o o d r e l i e f programme' and 'New GPC gets over $7B in contracts from PPP Government but failed to deliver drugs worth over $478M'. It was also reported that 'Public Works Ministry yet to receive $12.4M telephone network system six years after supplier paid in full'. In the case of the drugs still to be delivered,thewatchdogbody argued proper explanations must be provided since the monies have already been paidover

Meanwhile, as it regards the telephone network system still to be received as well, that was paid for since

Leader, Khemraj Ramjattan

the Coalition's tenure, OWOC complained that the same story of lack of accountability is repeating itself under a different government. As such, the civilsocietygroupexplained, “Our nation cannot afford to be buffeted by the PPP and PNC who seem to take turns at messing with public funds. OWOC calls on both the PPP and PNC to takeallmeasures to put an end to this broken r e c o r d o f l a c k o f accountability for billions of dollars.”

Three Lindeners emerged winners of INFO 10 Business Pitch Competition

Th r e e y o u n g

entrepreneurs from Region 10 are now financially equipped to start or expandtheirbusinesses.

This was made possible through the INFO 10 Small Business Development Exposition and Pitch Competition that was heldonFridayNovember25,2022, at the Egbert Benjamin Conference Centre.

Out of a field of 40 applicants, 15 were shortlisted as finalists, to persuasively pitch their business proposals to the four judges, in an effort to convince them that their businessideawasthebestandmost deservingoffinancialinvestment.

The emerging winners were Zoe Sills, a representative of 'Issa Snack Shop' which is a snackette managed by four young women in South Mackenzie, Jalicia Thompson, of Legacy Beauty

Studio, which is a natural hair care service provider, while Crystal Nicholos of Vision Landscaping, emerged winner of the start-up category

In 2021, the inaugural Business Development Exposition and Pitch competition was held by INFO 10, in an effort to empower young business owners and potential entrepreneurs in Region 10, and provide them with the necessary technical support and funding to either expand or establish their businesses.

Scores of young and potential entrepreneurs have since benefittedfromawidearrayof knowledge sharing and networkingopportunities.

Theinitiativebringsallthe a s p e c t s o f b u s i n e s s development such as funding, technical support, networking, oil and gas, taxes, accounting,

marketing and much more, under oneroof,fortheparticipantstogain the requisite knowledge and understanding of the principles of business. In addition, a mentoring session was also held to provide f u r t h e r g u i d a n c e o n entrepreneurship and the ability to function profitably in a tough marketplace.

The Expo also saw scores of businesses participating, especially local manufacturers and producers who had their products on exhibition Pam's Coconut Oil Products won the prize for the best

boothpresented.

With continuous efforts being made by government and other stakeholders to diversify the economy of Region 10, which can no longer exclusively rely on bauxite mining, entrepreneurship remains a vital formula to enable economic

diversification.

INFO 10 will continue to work along with the necessary stakeholders such as the Small Business Bureau and the Linden Chamber of Industry, Commerce and Development, to ensure that the positive transformation of the business sector in Region 10 is

realised.

Theinitiativewassponsoredby the Inter-American Development Bank, the People's Republic of China, the Small Business Bureau, the Home Safe Security Services, Bosai Minerals Group Guyana and Jagmohan'sConstructionServices.

AFC

Pam's Coconut products, won the Best booth presentation

Crystal Nicholos, Vision Landscaping

Jalicia Thompson of legacy Beauty Studio

AG report 2021 highlights disastrous spending on Durban Park stadium

The Audit General’s report of 2021 has highlighted the disastrous spendingontheDurbanPark Stadium.

Thereportoutlinedthata specialauditwasundertaken in accordance with Section 26 of theAuditAct 2004, on the construction of the Durban Park Jubilee Stadium.

C o n s t r u c t i o n commenced in 2015 in preparation for the Co operative Republic of G u y a n a ’ s 5 0 t h Independence Anniversary tobecelebratedin2016.

A private company named Homestretch Development Inc (HDI) was created to implement thisProject.

Asat31December2017, amounts totaling $1 150 billionwereexpended.

Payment vouchers to supportexpenditureincurred by the Ministry totaling $70 610M were not produced for audit examination.

A s s u c h , t h e completeness, accuracy, and validityofthisamountcould notbedetermined.

An interim report was issued on 7th December 2018.

The Ministry of Public Works indicated that the observationsarecorrect.

The responsibility for expenditure under the

purview of HDI, as well as funds paid through the Lotto Fund was not that of the Ministry The expenditure of $70.610M was identified as thatofHDI.

The Ministry had no r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r expenditure relating to Durban Park Project prior to 9April2016.

The Ministry of Public Infrastructure was given the directive to complete the project after the works werebehindschedule.

The Ministry was not responsible for any expenditure prior to that date, which originated from the Lotto Fund and HDI; and as such cannot p r o d u c e a n y d o c u m e n t a t i o n t o s u b s t a n t i a t e t h o s e expenditures

I n a d d i t i o n , a n amount of $500M was paid to HDI in 2017 by the Ministry to enable H D I t o m e e t i t s o b l i g a t i o n t o i t s creditors

However, there was n o d o c u m e n t a t i o n attached to the payment vouchers to indicate the works done, supervisory checks carried out on the works, as well as certification that the works were satisfactorily completed

Only the list of HDI c r e d i t o r s a n d

Government’s proposed payment allocation to each creditor was attached to the payment vouchers In the c i r c u m s t a n c e s , t h e correctness, accuracy and validity of the payments made could not be determined

The Audit Office had written the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Public Infrastructure on 19 July 2018, requesting documentation detailing t h e w o r k s d o n e , supervisory checks of the said works, as well as certification that works w e r e s a t i s f a c t o r i l y completed

The Head of Budget Agency explained that the Ministrywasnotinvolvedin theoperationsofHDI.

Hence, it did not have any information detailing supervisory checks or their methodology of determining t h a t w o r k s w e r e satisfactorilycompleted.

On 11 March 2019, the Audit Office also made a request to the Ministry for additional documentation for the Project Some documents have since been submitted.

The Head of Budget indicated that the position remains the same; that the Ministry has provided all relevant documentation it has on the project to the AuditOfficeforscrutiny

There are nine new COVID-19 cases, according to the Ministry of Health, and these have brought the total number of confirmed casesto71,582.

T h e M i n i s t r y r e p o r t e d t h a t f o u r persons are currently in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), four persons in institutional isolation and 110 persons are in home isolation.

To date, a total of 70,179 people have recovered, while the death toll stands at 1,285

The Durban Park Stadium

The extreme lawlessness of the Guyana Police Force

When the APNU+AFC came to power, I told Khemraj Ramjattan who was made Minister of Home Affairs that the police force will undo his government if the government does not confront the lawlessness of theGuyanaPoliceForce.

President Ali is a new president and if he does not rein in the lawlessness of the police force, he is going to lose public support No government in this country is going to consolidate their credibilityiftheydonotbring sanitytothepoliceforce.

A magistrate gave permission for an “all black party” to be held in the car park of MovieTowne last Saturday The police force has to sign on to the magistrate's approval by giving permission for the use of a loud speaker I could not believe such a party would have been approved after what MovieTowne did on

CARICOMDayinJuly2019 when a Caribbean concert took place in the car park creating noise insanity in the nearby districts of Pattensen, Turkeyen, and Cummings Lodge.

See my columns of Wednesday, July 3, 2019, “GTT, MovieTowne, the police and shit hole Guyana,” Friday, July 5, 2019,“Nastinessspreadslike wild fire in this country” and Thursday,December5,2019, “MovieTowne, Guyana Carnival, a magistrate and a failedstate.”

A magistrate did an asinine thing obviously calling into question that magistrate's moral judgment about life. But it was the police force that is tasked with upholding the law in Guyana How can a magistrate be so idiotic to give permission to hold a party where the decibels are equivalent to any concert

worldwide in an open-air car park in the midst of places where more than a thousand peoplelive?

At1AM, residentswhere I live called the police. I called the police six times between2AMand3AM.The policenevercame.TheEPA's hotline was not working.The partystoppedjustafter6AM. Can anyone in any civilized society imagine an open-air party in the midst of thousands of residents going from 9PM to 6AM with unlimiteddecibels?

Evenifthemagistrateisa complete moron, even if MovieTowne does not care a b o u t c o r p o r a t e responsibility, it is the police thatareauthorisedtostopthe uncivilised, lawless, illegal behaviour once the permitted hoursareexceeded.

This country is not going to stop noise nuisance if the enforcing mechanism is the policeforce.Thepoliceforce

isnotinterested.Aloudopenair party went on at MovieTowne from night until daybreak and the police didnotstopit.

Recently, I wrote that the Ministry of Home Affairs needs to set up a separate noise nuisance unit with a hotline. That is the only way this country may get some relief.

Ihonestlydon'tthinkyou can set up such a squad on a full time basis which may result in the personnel unoccupied for weeks and monthsifnocallsaremade.

What is the answer, I don't know But this I know –the police force is not going to act. This is the third time MovieTowne had shown this sadistic trait from 2019. It is time people take legal action against MovieTowne But equally important where are those hypocrites in the Bar Association?

In response to a lawyer

Fire Service tests readiness of ranks for Christmas season

Ranks of the Guyana Fire Service and its Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) participated in a muster parade early Sunday, which saw Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn and Chief Fire Officer (Ag) Gregory Wickham inspecting ranks' uniforms and Personal Protective Equipment(PPE).

One hundred and fifty (150) firefighters attached to the Central, Alberttown, West Ruimveldt, Campbellville, Melanie, Mahaica, Timehri, Leonora and La Grange fire stations, along with 60 EMTs participatedintheevent.

Minister Benn while delivering remarks said when duty calls, ranks must be prepared physically, mentally and be fully protected against the potential dangers of the job. Meanwhile, Chief Fire Officer (ag) Wickham in an interviewwiththeDepartment of Public Information (DPI) explained that the exercise aims to identify gaps in the service.

Also, the exercise will ensure ranks of the fire service are ready and properly equipped to respond to fires during the busiest time of the year – Christmas. “A number of things the muster would be able to identify our preparedness,ourreadiness,to check on the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), fire fighting gear, so that we'll be able to understand clearly, our shortcomings and then be able to put systems in place “Particularly, this muster was held so thatwecanbebetterpreparedaswe're

being detained fortenminutesby ranks of SOCU, they staged a picket/demonstrat ion.They will show not an ounce of interest if an asinine magistrate giving a sponsor permission to hold a midnight party in a parking lot next to thousands ofresidents.

Who is this magistrate? What went through this magistrate's mind when he/she signed that permit?

Commonsense has to guide that magistrate that you are going to disturb the sleep of thousands of persons. Where do we go from here with regard to magistrates, the rapacious MovieTowne management and the lawless policeforce?

I would think three avenuesareavailable.

One is the Chancellor of theJudiciary Sheneedstoset

g uidelines for magistrates giving permission to hold loud parties. The second one is the Minister of Home Affairs. He can set policies for the police force. It is the policethathavetoapproveof theuseofaloudinstrument.

Finally, there is the President of Guyana. He is the last resort in extremity I will certainly have a word with him and the Minister if I shouldeverseethem.

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

$59M water supply system Commissioned

at Isseneru, Region 7

Residents in the village of Isseneru, Region Seven are now enjoying first-time accesstopotablewater,with the commissioning of a $59 million water supply system,theCentralHousing and Planning Authority has said.

T h e s y s t e m w a s commissioned last Tuesday by Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal. Also present were Director of Hinterland Services, Mr. Ramchand Jailal; Toshao, Mr. Dhaness Larson, residentsandotherofficials.

address also lauded the work of the contractor, Adamantium Holdings for the delivery of the project despite a number of challenges with the location andterrain.

Meanwhile, Mr Jailal urged the community to ensure that the system is utilised correctly He also noted that two Community Service Officers (CSOs) were trained in water operation and maintenance t o a s s i s t w i t h t h e managementofthesystem.

At the exercise, ranks who were not properly kitted, were issued with kits that they need so they can be better prepared to respond to any event of fire. Wickham thanked the minister for attending the exercise and the support of the government indevelopingtheservice.

“I want to say kudos to the firefighters, the officers, the EMTs and the government for lending support in all of these eventualitiesandwearegetting better, we're having more equipment, firefighters are beingprotectedtoexecutetheir duties when they go on the outside,”hestated.

Minister Croal in his address stated that the development of water and other services in hinterland communities is paramount to the Government. "We intend to provide you with t h e s a m e t y p e o f development available on the coastland [...] not until we are able to bridge the gap, will our work feel satisfied,"theMinistersaid.

heading into the festive season, you want to ensure that all firefighters are fully kitted and they are ready for any eventuality,”Wickhamunderscored.

Separate parades were conducted in Anna Regina, Onverwagt, New Amsterdam, Corriverton, Rose Hall, Bartica and Lethem.(DPI)

Previously, there was no functioning water supply system in Isseneru, which has a population of 500 persons. Residents would thereforeusewaterfromthe MazaruniRiverandpractice rainwater harvesting. The new system provides water to all residents in the central area and public buildings such as schools and the healthcentre.

The Minister in his

The scope of works for the water supply system included: the drilling of a new potable water well to a depth of 390 feet; the installation of 3000 meters of 50mm (2”) PVC pipes & 1000metersof19mm(3/4”) pipes with 90 service connections; construction of a 20 feet elevated metal trestle with storage and 6 No 600 gallon storage tanks; installation of photovoltaic pumping s y s t e m i n c l u d i n g s u b mer s ib le p u mp , controller, solar panels and a c c e s s o r i e s ; a n d construction of galvanized chain link fence around well and photovoltaic system. The water has also been tested to ensure its quality conforms to the standards of the World HealthOrganization

Frederick Kissoon

Minister Benn inspects Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs

Chief Fire Officer (ag) Gregory Wickham along with Home Affairs Minister, Robeson Benn

Joint Services destroy large fields of ganja in Berbice River

Members of the Joint Sservices on Saturday destroyedthreelargefieldsof marijuana cultivation during an extensive exercise in the BerbiceRiver

In a press release, the Guyana Police Force said a party of policemen from Regional Division # 6 along with the Police Narcotic Branch (Georgetown), Coast Guard and the Guyana Defence Force conducted operations in the Berbice River on 2022 11 26 following reports of cattle rustling by a farmer of Kimbia Village, Upper BerbiceRiver

ganja fields that were destroyed during a Joint Services exercise in the Berbice River on Saturday.

Woman kills grandmother at Charity

A 21-year-old teacher was on Sunday arrested for the brutal killing of her grandmother at Charity Housing Scheme, on the Essequibo Coast, RegionTwo.

The dead woman identifiedas75-year-old AngelicaAgathaGamell, of Lot 168 Charity Housing Scheme w reportedly killed arou 04:00hrs.

Reports are that the elderly woman usually resides alone in her flat concrete house.Aneighbour recalled hearing loud screams and sounds of a crying baby coming from herhomethatmorning.

The noise reportedly lasted about 15 minutes before it suddenly went silent. Sometime later, the teacher reportedly turned up at the neighbour's home and knocked on her door. The woman recalled that the teacher's hands were bloody and she was holding a naked baby in her arms. She allegedly told the neighbour that her baby had just died andattemptedtogiveherthe

child,butthewomanrefused and the teacher walked out of the yard and disappeared intothestreets.

Realizingthatsomething was amiss the neighbour notified the police of her encounter with the teacher and the screams she heard earlier coming from Gamell'shome.

Investigators were sent tocheckoutthelocationand when they entered Gamell's residence, they found her dead.

According to police, Gamell's bloodied remains were found lying face down on her kitchen floor There werelargegapingwoundsto

the back of her neck and another to the right side of herhead.

Some of her hair appeared to be cut off and was found next to her body Detectives also found a blood stained scissors on top a gas stove and suspected that could be the weapon used to kill Gamell.

After conducting the necessary investigations at the crime scene, detectives began the search for the granddaughter, the teacher was reportedly found still wandering the streets with her baby She was arrested and the baby was placed in thecareofherrelatives.

K a i e t e u r N e w s understands that the suspect had some injuries to her hand but appears to have little recollection of what t r a n s p i r e d i n h e r grandmother's home that morning.

It is believed that the woman may be suffering from mental health issues. Police have indicated that a psychiatric evaluation will bedone.

As the team went in pursuit of the perpetrators, they came across three s u s p e c t e d c a n n a b i s farms measuring about eight acres along the E b i n i Tr a i l , U p p e r Berbice River, with a b o u t t h i r t y s e v e n

thousand suspected plants ranging from three to seven feet in height weighing approximately 4000 pounds. Three makeshift camps with four hundred pounds of dry cannabis, along with one tiller and several farming equipmentwereseen.

The estimated cost of the suspected cannabis is G$585,134,100.Atoneofthe camps, components of a suspected firearm were also found and have been lodged. All the cannabis plants and camps were destroyed by fire.

Bus driver arrested for beating cop over licence

Aminibusdriver was detained on Saturday after he assaulted a traffic rank over a driver's licence along the Montrose East Coast Demerara (ECD) PublicRoad.

The assaulted cop was identified as Lance CorporalSingh.

According to police, the rank was beaten around 17:00hrs while he and his colleague, Constable Doris were performing their dutiesalongtheroad.

Their speed gun had captured a speeding minibus approaching them and they decided to stop it. Corporal Singh reportedly asked the driver to hand over his driver's licence andhecomplied.

However, while he (the cop) was writing up a speeding ticket, the driver allegedly tried take back his driver's licence but Corporal Singh refused giveitback.

The bus driver then decided to take it by force and ended up beating the cop Passengers of the minibushadrecorded the assault with their cellphones.

In one of the cellphone recorded videos, the bus driver could be seen punching,

Screen grab from the cellphone recorded video of the bus driver beating the traffic rank.

The arrested bus driver

slapping and wrestling the coptotheground.

His female colleague tried to part them but was unsuccessful.

Back up had to be called to restrain the bus driver

He was eventually arrested and placed in the lock-ups at the Sparendaam Police Station pending charges.

Crime scene

Dead: Agatha Gamell

The

Guyanese Girls Code programme concluded

The Office of the Prime Minister, through the IndustryandInnovationUnit on Saturday concluded the Guyanese Girls Code 2022 Programme.

The annual programme aimed at empowering young girls between the ages of twelve to sixteen by

providing opportunities to learn coding/programming a n d i n c r e a s e t h e i r competency in Information Technology,theOfficeofthe Prime Minister said in a pressrelease.

For two months, ninetyeight femalesacrossRegions Two, Three, Four, Five, Six

Pres. Ali promises jobs, training for Leopold Street youths

Over 50 'young men' residing at Leopold Street, G e o r g e t o w n a n d surrounding communities will soon be employed through government's o n g o i n g h o u s i n g constructionproject.

President, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali made the announcement during a consultation with several community members, Sunday morning The Guyanese leader said with the massive expansion in the housing sector, there is a highdemandforworkers.“If you have 50 plus young men that have a skill in

from any level of education of their interest. The prudent move by government to employ the Leopold Street residents will see more than 50 households receiving a regular income. The support for the community forms part of the Dr Ali led administration's outstanding manifesto promise to provide employment opportunities to Guyanese, despite their religion, political affiliation or geographic location. It also ties into the president's 'One Guyana'vision.

Meanwhile,theHead-ofState addressed several

and Ten participated in virtualtraining.

Courses included BlockBased programming, Flowcharts, Problem Solving and Design Thinking. The programme

alsoallowedthemtocreatea sisterhoodandencouragethe exploration of ICT among themselves and, by extension,theirpeers.

Addressingthegraduates i n t h e B o a r d r o o m ,

physically and virtually via Zoom, at the Office of the Prime Minister, the Director of the Industry and Innovation Unit, Mr Shahrukh Hussain, under scored the Government's

commitment towards empowering women in the ICT Sector The Director said as efforts continue towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable (Continued on page 16)

construction,onTuesday,we are going to meet…We are going to take them in the housing programme and we are going to work with them on the houses we have to build,”thepresidentstated.

Dr AlitaskedMinisterof Home Affairs, Robeson Benn and Commissioner of Police (ag), Clifton Hicken to immediately organise a two-week training for the interested workers. The 14day course will ensure the menworkeffectivelyandare brought up to speed with the standards of the PPP/C Government's massively expanding home building exercisecountrywide.

The president believes education is paramount for the development of any community To this end, he reiterated government's willingness to provide the necessary resources to ensure residents benefit

issues highlighted by residents during the walkabout Issues raised included the need for house lots and better drainage and irrigation system. “We are also going to take that 50 something young men and work with them in the community and drain project,” the president added. He made it clear that supporting communities is high on the PPP/C Administration's agenda, noting that persons who are bent in their mischievous w a y s t o c o r r u p t communities will not succeed. “I will come to communities and tell the truth; the wickedness where they use the television to spread the narrative of hate, we are going to destroy it in the communities. We are goingtocomeandtalktothe people directly,” Dr Ali asserted.(DPI)

Participants of the Guyanese Girls Code programme

$13.6M contract signed for new community centre in North Sophia

In keeping with the government's commitment to providing employment opportunities for all, the M i n i s t r y o f L o c a l Government and Regional Development signed a $13.6 million contract with the North Sophia Community Development Council (CDC) to develop a c o m m u n i t y c e n t r e

The execution of the project will be undertaken solely by members of the community with supervision from the ministry

Labour and materials will also be sourced from withinthecommunity

Local Government Minister, Nigel Dharamlall while delivering remarks, said part of President Dr Mohamed IrfaanAli's vision of 'One Guyana' is to ensure everyone benefits from the support of government including employment o p p o r t u n i t i e s

Apart from the construction of the centre, persons will be employed as community enhancement workers shortly

“People must also benefit in terms of the employment landscape. In North Sophia and many other communities, we have quite a lot of unemployed people or underemployed persons.

So, we would like Mr Chairman that quite a lot of these youngsters within the community,whethermaleor female that you are contracted, you're given a job on this project, you're going to be paid,” Minister Dharamlallstated.

He noted that this is the biggest government

investment that will be executed at the community level and the CDC must providethegovernmentwith names of persons who are employedontheproject.

“It can't be people from outside the constituency, it got to be people from this area and I am sure they have alotofskilledpeopleaswell as people who deserve to work,” the minister pointed out.

Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Public Affairs, Kwame McCoy in his remarks described the signing of the contract as 'significant' and demonstrative of another commitment fulfilled by the PPP/CGovernment.

During past outreaches to the community, residents raised the need for a community centre to be established for the younger generation to benefit educationally and socially.

Minister McCoy iterated the

government's commitment to the development of every Guyanese.

“We are committed to your development, we are committed to working with you, it doesn't stop here, it will continue but as I said, we need everyone of you in this communityonboard and weneedyoutobeonboardas a community in a united fashion,” the minister expressed.

Tourism Minister, Oneidge Walrond also shared similar sentiments and said the centre will provide a safe space for children.

M e a n w h i l e , t h e chairman of the CDC commended the government for delivering on its promise and assured that everyone will be involved in the execution of the project. Franceurgedmembersofhis community to come and work together and do what's best for the development of theircommunity.(DPI)

$59M water supply system Commissioned...

From page 10 (WHO) Residents of the community also welcomed theproject.

Community HealthWorker, Mr Ronald Gayral stated "it would be very beneficial to the village, our main water supply would be from the creek, but when it's dry season it would be very hard onthevillagers."

He also added that the new well would provide safer drinking water, which is expected to reduce the number of illnesses caused by the contaminated water fromtheriver

Mr Cedric Wilkie, who is a teacher at the primary school remarked that the wellwillimprovethequality o f t h e s c h o o l a n d

community by extension "We should benefit within the community and school and other areas as well, so I think it's a good initiative," Mr Wilkiesaid.

Overall, when the Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali Government took Office in 2020accesstopotablewater supply in Region Seven was approximately 34%

However, after the completion of three water supply systems in 2021 at Kurutuku, Kamarang and Jawalla, access was increasedto47%.Moreover, t h e G o v e r n m e n t i s undertaking six water supply projects in 2022 –including the Isseneru system–whichareexpected to further push access of

water in Region Seven to 65% by the end of the year Through GWI's 2020-2025 strategic plan, the Government is looking to increase water coverage to 95%-100%by2025.

During the meeting, t h e M i n i s t e r a l s o highlighted several interventions to benefit t h e r e s i d e n t s i n e d u c a t i o n , h e a l t h , a g r i c u l t u r a l a n d infrastructure development andhandedoveranumberof sports gears to the community

Residents were also given the opportunity to raise a number of issues affecting the community, which will be addressed at theCabinetlevel.

Permanent Secretary of the Local Government Ministry Prema Ramahah-Roopnarine and Chairman of the North Sophia Community Development Council (CDC), Uriah France signing the contract.

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General cleaner, office assistant, maintenance workers and Labourers needed. Call: 621-6969, 615-7784/ 505-9107.

Driver must be able to assist in workshop @ Eccles, age 23-50, Car/ Van licence. Call 645-8443 or 642-9823.

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Te l egram group c h a t , th e messages roll in like waves.

“I need liquid ibuprofen and acetaminophen, please,” wrote one user. “It’s urgent, it’s for my 10-month-old baby.”

Others offer medicine brought from outside of Cuba, adding, “Write to me in a direct message.” Emojispeckled lists offer antibiotics, pregnancy tests, vitamins, rash creams and more.

The group message, which includes 170,000 people, is just one of many that have flourished in recent years in Cuba alongside an exponential increase in internet usage on the communist-governed island.

The informal sale of everything from eggs to car parts – the country’s so-called black market – is a timehonored practice in crisisstricken Cuba, where access to the most basic items such as milk, chicken, medicine and cleaning products has always been limited. The market is technically illegal, but the extent of illegality, in official eyes, can vary by the sort of items sold and how they were obtained.

every thi ng f rom e l ec t r i c bicycles brought in from other countries to “capitalist apartments” in Havana’s wealthy districts.

Many products are sold in pesos, but higher-priced items are often listed in dollars, with payments either handled in cash or through bank transfers outside the country.

While wealthier Cubans — or those with families sending money from abroad — can afford more lavish items, many basic items remain unaffordable for people like Leonardo, a stateemployed engineer who asked that his real name not be used because he fears retribution from the government.

th e peop l e w

people who have respiratory issues,” he said. “Those who use them are people who really need them. ... More than anything else, we sell antibiotics.” With the money he’s earned from his sales, Leonardo has been able to buy soap and food, as well as antibiotics and vitamins for his elderly parents.

The rise of the new digital marketplaces speaks to a specific brand of creative resilience that Cubans have developed during decades of economic turmoil.

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Before the internet, such exchanges took place “through your contacts, your neighbors, your local community,” said Ricardo Torres, a Cuban and economics fellow at American University in Washington. “But now, through the internet, you get to reach out to an entire province.”

Three months ago, Leonardo began buying items such as inhalers, antibiotics and rash creams from friends arriving from other countries, then reselling them for a small profit online. Government authorities are harshly critical of such “revendedores,” or resellers, especially those who buy products in Cuban stores then sell them at a higher price.

Much of the crisis is a result of the U.S. government’s six-decade trade embargo on the island, but critics say it’s also due to government mismanagement of the economy and reluctance to embrace the private sector.

So people on the island tend to be highly resourceful, working with whatever they have available to them — think old cars from the 1950s that still roll through the streets, thanks to mechanics using ingenuity and spare parts to address a shortage of new vehicles.

In late October, President Miguel DíazCanel called for a crackdown on the practice, referring to the revendedores as “criminals, swindlers, riffraff, the lazy and the corrupt.”

Entrepreneurs have used the same creativity to deal with what was initially very limited internet access. Carlos Javier Peña and Hiram Centelles, Cuban expatriates who live in Spain, created Revolico in 2007 to help “alleviate the hardships of life in Cuba.”

“Here, often than n things you said Heribe asked that o be used b feared repe governm e develop t looking f i Then when it, you look Sales Facebook really took Cubans gai internet o somethin g Universit y described changer.” B 2021 the n using the i less tha n populatio Inter Telecomm data shows a lifeline f many other COVID-19 said.

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With shortages and economic turmoil at the worst they’ve been in years, the online marketplace “has exploded,” Torres said. Bustling WhatsApp groups discuss the informal exchange rate, which provides more pesos per dollar or euro than the official bank rate.

Meanwhile, Cuba’s versions of Craigslist — sites such as Revolico, the island’s first digital buying-and-

“What we can’t allow is that those who don’t work, don’t contribute and break the law earn more and have more opportunities to live well than those who actually contribute,” he said during a meeting with government officials. “If we did that … we’d be breaking the concepts of socialism.” But Leonardo said he and others like him are just trying to get by.

They kept the site design simple, similar to Craigslist, to match the island’s sluggish internet. But in 2008 — the same year the government lifted a ban on sales of personal computers — it blocked access to Revolico. The ban remained in place until 2016. In the meantime, Peña and Centelles used digital tools and different host sites to jump the firewall.

Using the site was still a challenge for many, however, given the lack of cellphone

Now, w main ec o tourism, s many ha v enterprises of goods necessities as well as m specialty i recently us a mountain dollars. Revol i Centelles s similar too adapt to changing C as the island blackouts , generators batteries h he said.

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From page 13 Development Goals, including promoting Gender Equality, his Unit is stringent towards working to close the digital divide in the tech industry. “Empowering women is crucial to accelerate

within Guyana to build a robust ICT Sector and recommitted his Unit’s commitment to strengthening the digital divide through ICT Literacy.

Meanwhile, Lecturer Penelope DeFreitas, one of the cam p ’s trainers ,

participan discuss top with soluti task.

“We ar that will s the path to minds w Gu y ana

Three Contractors submit bids to rehabilitate Mazaruni Prison’s admin. building

Three Contractors have submitted bids for the rehabilitation of the M a z a r u n i P r i s o n ’s administrativebuilding.

( $ 6 3 , 8 3 4 , 1 8 0 ) a n d E m e r a l d ’s G

Contracting & Distributors ($69,876,400). The Ministry of Home

A

building would cost some $70,597,380 In October, during an inspection of capital projects at the Mazaruni Prison, the Ministry of Home Affairs said that the Prison’s administrative building was

Rehabilitation to Training School at Eve Leary – Guyana Police Force.

indireneedofrepairs.

The Ministry in a release said that the building was established in 1 8 8 7 a n d t h a t rehabilitation works on this building will be done in accordance with Chapter

20:03 of the National Trust Act 7 of 1972, which is to restore and preserve national heritage. This year the Ministry had received some $27B from the National Budget to execute its capital

projects fortheyear During the recent opening of tenders, some of theprojectswhichthemoney was budgeted for were opened.

Below are the projects andtheirbids:

Reconstruction of Special Constabulary Headquarters- Guyana Police Force.

The Administrative Building which will be rehabilitated at the Mazaruni Prison.

Reconstruction of Tactical Service Unit headquarters- Guyana Police Force.

Shaquawn Gill new UGSS President

Tw e n t y y e a r o l d Shaquawn Gill, who is currently pursuing his Bachelor's Degree in Communication Studies at the University of Guyana (UG) has been elected as the President of the UG Student'sSociety(UGSS).

Gill was among three candidates vying for the top post of the decades old student body The elections wereheldlastThursday

Speaking with Kaieteur News, Gill stated that the work has now begun. “I am happy that the student body has placed their confidence in me. It shows that they understand and appreciate the vision that I have for the student society, and what I am hoping to do at the helm of that society,” the new President said. He added that he is excited to start implementing the things he

wants to see change to bring betterment to the students.

Kaieteur News had reported that Gill vowed to put together a team to analyse and make a proposal for the reduction of facilities fees.

He explained that the fees have been of grave concern and that an SG-led UGSS will identify mechanisms to reduce the monies paid through the reduction of ancillary fees, library fees, and badge fees, while also ensuringtheoptimumoutput

is given for all services offered.

Gill had shared that he would also establish a S t u d e n t C o m p l a i n t O p e r a t i n g S y s t e m (S.C.O.S).“Thissystemwill serve as a fully operational and sustainable mechanism for students to lodge their issues and concerns s u r r o u n d i n g t h e performance of the University, and be given close to real-time updates on the resolution of the issues/problems they have,” hesaid.

Some other plans Gill vowstoexecutearetoensure the full resumption of s p o r t i n g a n d o t h e r extracurricular activities, foster bilateral relations a m o n g s t C a r i b b e a n universities and place an enhanced focus on mental healthandservices.

Notorious death row inmate‘Picture Boy’ dies in jail

Notorious death row inmate, Cyon ‘Picture Boy’ Collier died in jail on Saturday, his relatives have confirmed.

He was ailing at the time of his death. Collier was sentenced to death for killing two brothers back in September 23, 2006 in Victoria, East Coast Demerara and also a businessman of Non Pareil also on the East Coast. He was acquitted of theNonPareilmurder

He was sentenced to death by hanging for the crime in 2016 after being convicted for the murder of brothers: Ray Walcott called ‘Suga’, and Carl Andrews, called ‘Alo’. The incident took place at Victoria, East Coast Demerara. According to reports, Collier rode up on a motorcycle and began chatting with a group of domino players in Victoria before pulling outagunandshootingatthem.

Walcott andAndrews sustained gunshotwounds,andsuccumbedas aresultoftheinjuries.

During the first trial in the matter,ajuryhadfailedtoreachthe verdict of a unanimous decision in relation to the crime. However, after two hours and fifteen minutes in the second trial, a mixed jury panel returned to the courtroom of Justice Priya Sewnarine-Beharry and announced that they had found Collier guilty on both counts of murder Collier had pleaded his innocencefromtheinceptionofthe trial. However, after he was found guilty, the former accused sought forgiveness from relatives of the deceased, some of whom were present at the hearing. Still, the convict noted his disbelief at the outcome. During the trial, Collier was represented by Attorney-at-

lawLyndonAmsterdam.

Amsterdam had protested that the statements presented by State witnesses were flawed and filled with inconsistencies But State Prosecutor Tuanna Hardy insisted that the State had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. Hardy pointed out that the evidence was clear–inthecaseofWalcott,hehad a gaping wound to his forehead matching the spent shells found nearby, which belonged to an AK47. The Prosecutor also noted that Andrews was shot at least three times.

Back in 2014, after lengthy deliberation, the jury in the murder trial of Collier announced that they hadreachedaunanimousverdictof not guilty in relation to him killing Non Pareil businessman Chandrapaul Persaud called ‘Kero Man’. Justice Dawn Gregory was presiding in the case. He was at the time facing his second trial in the matter before the judge and jury at

the High Court after the last trial ended in a deadlock when the jury failedtoreachaunanimousverdict. Collier was accused of being involved in a robbery during which the businessman who operated a wholesale/retail outlet from his home at Non Pareil selling household, haberdashery and other items including gas and kerosene, wasmurdered.

The man was reportedly shot outside his residence by one of three masked bandits during a robbery, which occurred on September 12, 2006. The gunmen, who entered the businessman’s premises, are said to have robbed his family of cash and jewellery before driving off with his car Collier was later identified as one of the three gunmen and was subsequently charged for the murder

The Judge recounted the evidence of witnesses who were called upon to testify Several witnesseshadgivenevidenceinthe trial including the slain businessman’s wife Bibi Nazeema Issack,andLilowattieDhanrajwho lived next door to the couple. The witnesses were called to the stand by State Prosecutors, Natasha BackerandMercedesThompson.

Issack recalled the trauma which her family endured during the night of the incident. The womanwassaidtobeathomewith her two daughters when armed bandits struck The witness recalled that she heard the sound of gunshots and bottles breaking before the men entered her home. She said that she begged the thieves, who demanded cash and jewellery,nottoharmanyone.

Dhanraj recalled that she witnessedthecrimefromawindow of her house, which is situated next door to the late businessman. She said that she heard someone yell, “thief thief!” before she saw one of the men pointing a gun at her neighbour Thewomansaidthatshe wasstandingintheupperflatofher house, peering through a window

Shesaidthatshethenheard“bang”, threetimes.

The witness stated that there were two other men. She said that the men subsequently left in the car which was owned by her neighbour She further said that she ran out on the road where she saw the injured man lying on the ground.

Elections COI to resume today

The Commission of Inquiry into the 2020 elections will resume sitting today with Commissioners scheduled to visit the controversial Ashmin’s building- the seat of all the confusions during the tabulation exercise. In a brief statement the Secretary oftheinquiry,JavedShadick arrangements have been made to facilitate the visit to Ahmin’s building at 1:00 pm.

Several witnesses have already testified in the ongoing inquiry According totheTermsofReferencefor the presidential CoI, the Commission will, among other things, examine, “the conduct of the Chief Elections Officer, other

Elections Officers, and others in respect of the discharge and execution of the statutory duties of the Chief Elections Officer prescribed by section 96 and 97 of the Representation of thePeopleAct(RoPA)Chap. 1:03.”

The Commissioners will look into the conduct of the Returning Officer of electoral District No. 4 and other elections officers in execution of their tabulation anddeclarationofvotesduty under the relative sections of the RoPA, and whether any attempts were made to prevent “the declaration of the true results” of votes polled for electoral District No. 4. The Commission will also examine whether any

attempts were made to “obstruct, frustrate, subvert and prevent a decision of the G u y a n a E l e c t i o n s Commission made on the 14th day of March, 2020, to conductanationalrecountof the votes polled at the General and Regional elections”,ofMarch2,andif so,bywhom.

Both main political parties, theAPartnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) and the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) have accused each other of electionfraud.

For the most part, the PPP/C is saying that “flagrant attempts” were made to alter the results of theelections.

Returning Officer for Region Four, Clairmont Mingo and former CEO Keith Lowenfield are accused of tampering with elections data that gave untrue results of the 2020

elections in favour of the former APNU+AFC government, while the APNU+AFC is accusing the P P P / C o f v o t e r impersonation where they claim that that party used the

identification cards of deceased and overseas based Guyanese to increase the number of votes cast in t h e i r f a v o u r B o t h Lowenfield and Mingo are beforethecourt.

Notorious killer, Cyon ‘Picture Boy’ Collier

Cyon Collier in the Camp Street jail compound

Chief Elections Officer, Vishnu Persaud was the first to take the stand at the COI

Volodími

off yet C up shock

B elgium’s eneration’’ me. left Kevin the 2018 peril of a at what is rld Cup for d Belgian t managed omise into be too late. dn’t drive d against a in Eden off after an per Thibaut ably at fault oal.

‘’We haven’t seen the best Belgium yet,’’ said Roberto Martinez, a Spaniard who has coached the country’s national team for six years. ‘’We haven’t been ourselves.’’

Belgium could have become the second team behind defending champion France to advance to the last 16 if it the beat Morocco. It now has a final group game against 2018 World Cup finalist Croatia to avoid its earliest World Cup elimination since 1998.

Morocco substitute Abdelhamid Sabiri gave his team the lead by whipping in the free kick from a tight angle on the left in the 73rd minute that got under the body of

Courtois - for many, the best goalkeeper in the world.

Zakaria Aboukhlal guided a shot into the roof of the net off a pass from Hakim Ziyech in stoppage time to make it 20 as Belgium’s defense, boasting more than 300 international appearances but anchored by two players in their mid-30s, was beaten by a speedy 22-year-old forward playing at his first World Cup.

Morocco’s players kneeled and pressed their heads to the ground in prayer, then leapt up in celebration. Pulling himself up from the ground, Courtois just shook his head.

The second big upset at the first World Cup in the Middle East involved another

Arabic nation. Saudi Arabia defeated Argentina in the opening set of group games.

Morocco, which was roared on by thunderous noise from its fans at Al Thumama Stadium, had started in Qatar with a promising 0-0 draw with Croatia.

‘’We are delighted with that after Croatia and Belgium,’’ Morocco coach Walid Regragui said. ‘’That’s absolutely outstanding for Morocco.’’

Belgium, ranked No. 2 in the world behind Brazil, had won its last seven group games at the World Cup before the upset, but that included a labored 1-0 win over Canada for the aging team to open the tournament.

Even De Bruyne said in a media interview before the World Cup that Belgium’s squad was likely too old to win now.

Monday November 28, 2022

ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19)

Your immediate goals and wishes might suddenly appear to come together today, seemingly of their own accord. This might be strange, A ries, and perhaps a bit frightening.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20)

I f you've been working t oward manifesting extra money in your life, Taurus, y ou will probably see it h appen today. Copious p hysical and emotional energy.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20)

Obstacles that you encountered in attaining your cherished goals could suddenly seem to melt away, clearing the way to make your dreams come true, Gemini.

CANCER (June 21–July 22)

A lot of activity could occur a t home today, Cancer. P erhaps you will have visitors or do some work on the house.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22)

Whatever goals you've been trying to reach may finally become reality today, Leo. Finalizing everything could i nvolve a lot of running around in the car and meet-

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22)

Your energy is probably high today, almost to the point where you feel you might be able to run a marathon! Seriously, Libra, you're probably thinking in terms of getting out of town for a while.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21)

Your inner power is probably at an all-time high, Scorpio. You should be feeling especially confident. You're likely to have a stronger influence on others than usual.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21)

Some fascinating conversations with friends, relatives, and others close to you could take place today, bringing new ideas your way, Sagittarius.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) The

Your career and financial goals should be within your grasp, Capricorn.

Both your physical energy and inner power are operating at their peak, making this an ideal day to make clear plans.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18)

Today you're likely to feel like the powerful creature you are, Aquarius. Your physical energy is high, and you look and feel great. Your

‘’I don’t think any comments will affect a result or a performance,’’ Martinez said, dismissing the suggestion that De Bruyne’s interview might have unsettled Belgium.

Morocco clinched its first win at a World Cup since 1998 and only its third ever and moved to four points in Group F.

Morocco has only ever been past the group stage once at a World Cup, in 1986. And things were in turmoil

North New Amsterdam...

From page 22 after each other and the win, and when the game seemed to be heading into extra time it was a Joshua Wilson strike in the 93rd minute that seal the win for North New Amsterdam much to the jubilation of the home fans.

In the third place play off, South New Amsterdam was all over their Lower Corentyne opponents with a 6-0 win.

Leonardo Adams hammered home 4 with one each from Nigel King and Kwesi Mickle.

At the end of the competition the winning team was presented with the Region 6 One Guyana Trophy by Regional Executive Officer Narendra Persaud.

ahead of the tournament after former coach Vahid Halilhodzic was fired and Regragui was brought in at the end of August, less than three months before the World Cup. Regragui had only three friendlies to make his mark on the team before

facing Cro Cup. WHAT’

The fina on Thursda will come ba Stadium t Belgium wil same time.

Morocco’s Romain Saiss, right, fi the ball with Belgium’s Eden Haza the World Cup (AP Photo/Alessandra

North New Amsterdam edge past Siparuta to win Region 6 One Guyana Football competition

of Region 6, East Berbice, Corentyne

It was a gripping encounterfitforafinalandis being termed as one of the better football matches played in Berbice in a long while The final of the Region 6, East Berbice Corentyne, One Guyana Football competition between North New Amsterdam and Siparuta of the Upper Corentyne River w a s a n e n t h r a l l i n g encounter

At the end of the game home team North New Amsterdamheldtheirnerves to keep off a game Siparuta

3-2 to come out victorious in apulsatingmatch.

Played at the All Saints Scots Church Ground, Princess Elizabeth Road, New Amsterdam, the game was watched by a large crowd that included Regional Executive Officer Narendra Persaud and other regionalandBFAofficials.

North New Amsterdam scored first, off the booth of Kevon Williams in the 14th m i n u t e S i p a r u t a determinedtomakesurethat their over 240 miles travel (both ways) to participate in

the competition was not in vain as they give it their all and equalized in the 27th minute with Jeffery Joseph finding the back of the net. They took the lead as marksman Joseph was again ontargetinthe35thminute.

Siparuta continued to hold the lead but North NA urged on by the large home crowd worked hard and was able to level the score in the 71st minute off the booth of DelroyFerdinand.

It was excitement and nailbitingafterasbothwent (Continued on page 21)

Germany keep World Cup hopes alive after 1-1 draw with Spain

AL KHOR, Qatar, (Reuters) - Germany gave themselves hope of avoiding anotherearlyWorldCupexit when they snatched a 1-1 drawwithSpainassubstitute Niclas Fuellkrug fired home an83rdminuteequaliserthat cancelled out Alvaro Morata’sopener

The result leaves

Germany facing a must-win match against Costa Rica in four days’ time and also means Spain have yet to book their spot in the knockout phase of the tournament. Germany were looking in danger of suffering another early exit from the World Cup, after being eliminated following the group stage in 2018, before Fuellkrug took advantage of Jamal Musiala’s battling in the box to fire high into the net past UnaiSimoninSpain’sgoal.

Morata, himself a

substitute, had increased the jeopardy for the Germans when he neatly flicked in a cross by Jordi Alba in the 62ndminute.

The Spaniards looked more relaxed from the start, cutting through Germany with their angled passing, and Dani Olmo almost c r e a t e d a n e a r l y breakthrough in the seventh minute but his shot was palmed onto the bar by Manuel Neuer Germany went into their encounter against Spain at the Al Bayt Stadium under immense pressure after suffering a shockdefeattoJapanintheir opening match Hanse Flick’smenthoughttheyhad taken an unlikely lead in the 39th minute when defender Antonio Rudiger powered in a header from a Joshua Kimmich free kick, but the German celebrations were cut short as VAR quickly

ruledthathewasoffside. Spain goalkeeper Simon was forced into his first save in the 56th minute when the 2010 champions got into trouble trying to play out of defence, allowing Kimmich to shoot from just inside the penaltyareabutSimonsaved impressively

Spain top the standings with four points and now need only a draw in their final Group E game against Japan to progress. A win would send them through to the knockout round in first place.

Germany,wholost2-1in their opener against Japan, are bottom of the table on one point. They need to win against Costa Rica on Thursday and their hopes then depend on Japan losing. If Japan draw it would come down to goal difference or goals scored by Germany andJapan.

REO

Narendra Persaud presents the winning One Guyana trophy to the winning North New Amsterdam team.

GCA successfully complete Primary coaching programme

TheskillsdayEventheld at the Queen’s College (QC) earlier this month with 14 students (7 boys and 7 girls) being selected from each of the eight Primary Schools that participated in eightweeks of cricket coaching programme organised by the Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) saw a total of 25 boys and 25 girls from each school (400 boys andgirlsfromgradesthreeto six) being exposed for the firsttimetocricket.

The Skills day event commenced with a welcome address to QC by the HM Candace Cave Stephens, followed by a tour of the

schoolswhichwasguidedby QCprefects.

The excited Students thenparticipatedintheSkills day where they were assessed by GCA technical personnel Mark Harper, Roderick Lovell and Neil Barry to see how much they learnt during the coaching sessions. Lunch was taken by the Participants which was prepared by the Home EconomicsStudentsofQC.

The coaches who conductedthesessionswere: Rawle Merell, Kervin Ross, Ranole Bourne, Akaze Thompson, Abena Parker, Pernell Christie, Kenroy Joseph and Dorian Best.The

programme was fully sponsored by Guyana Beverage Inc, under the ‘ K o o l k i d s ’ B r a n d According the President of the GCA, former Guyana First-ClassbatterNeilBarry, the eight-week programme was successfully run by his hard working Association, adding that the young boys and girls learnt about the basics of cricket and had fun doingso.“TheCoachesdida great job with the Kids and hopefully the Schools in GCA area would produce players for Guyana U-13 teams,” said Barry whose 71 is his highest score in nine First-Classmatches.

The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) is set to launch the first-ever under 13 inter-county tournament tomorrow, Tuesday, November 29, 2022, at the Albion Sports Complex, Berbice.

The tournament is a three team, 40 overs round robincompetition.

The opening match is Berbice v Essequibo on Tuesday, November 29, followed by Essequibo v Demerara on Thursday, December 1 and Berbice v Demerara on Saturday, December3.

All matches will be p l a y e d a t A l b i o n , starting at10:00hours.

T h e t e a m s participating in this tournament are: Berbice Team: Richard Ramdehol (Captain), Tameshwar Deonandan (Vice-captain),

Mohamed Balle, Lemuel De Jonge, Balraj Narine, A r i f M a d r a m u t o o , Nathaniel Ramsammy, Arif Bacchus, Shahid Gajnabi, Denish Singh, Luke A m s t e r d a m , D a v e Sewpersaud, Leon Reddy, Raffel Mc Kenzie, Arush Hemraj, and Donovan Newland Reserves:

William Castello, Fayad Gaffur, Jade Campbell and KuamassyMentore.

Coach: Tremayne

Smartt

Manager:EgbertLyken D e m e r ara Team:

Brandon Henry (Captain), Makai Dowlin, Lomar Seecharran (Vice-captain), Ganesh Appanah, Shaker

Ramesh, Joshua Bollers, Rayaz Latiff, Nathan Bishop, Patrice Frazer, Thierry Davis, Henekiah Hohenkirk, Jasami Craig, Devendra Ramkarran,

Jermaine Grovesner and J o s h u a W i l l i a m s

Reserves: Mario Singh, Kadeem Campbell, Nicholas Rukhdoe, R a k e e m L a t i f a n d NathanielSukhnandan.

C o a c h : Latchman Yadram

Manager/Assistant Coach: DanielBarker Essequibo Team: R a v i d F r e d e r i c k s (Captain), Ethan Silas (vice captain), Capildev Kisson, Otis Roberts, Timothy Ramdat [wk ], Aarav Sukhram, Tyrese Stephney, Darrius Pearson, Vidal Narnie, Zahir Ramkissoon, Justin Henry, ArifSingh,ArronDescosta, Joseph Bholo, Jamol Sahoy andManavSamlall.

Coach: Nandkishore Andrews

Manager/Assistant Coach:RayonDaCosta.

The outstanding students from the programme.

Odida Parkinson, Judy Lanis take‘Nationals’

10K race title

- Schools Championship

Odida Parkinson (District 3) and Judy Lanis

the Rupununi wonthe

categories of the National Schools Championship 10K Road Race yesterday to mark the start of the 60th edition of the prestigious event.

TheracestartedatvillageMary and Harlem on the West Demerara roadways and concluded inside the National Track and Field Centre at Edinburg.

Parkinson stopped the clock at 36 minutes, 48 23 seconds (36:48.23) to finish ahead of Kiene WadkarfromDistrict5-WestCoast Berbice (37:21.88) and District 10’sLedjuanHensford(37:49.03).

In the Girl’s category, Lanis, from District 9, continued a rich tradition of hinterland athletes that claimedthetitlesincetheinception of the championships when she

declared

crossedthefinishlinein44:21.90.

District 6 Odiessa George (46:28.43) and Rosmond Harvey (49:24.21)ofDistrict3,wasthird.

The National Schools Track and Field, Cycling and Swimming Championships was declared open by Prime Minister Mark Phillips, whospokeontheimportanceofthe championships and its long-lasting legacyonsportsinGuyana.

Prime Minister Phillips, who hails from Linden, said the Government of Guyana will continue to play its part in the holistic development of sports w h i l e a d d i n g t h a t t h e Championship’s longevity will be preserved under the PPP/C Government.

Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, offering remarks, stated that Sport is important to the education sector and that she’s

happy to play a part in seeing a return of the championship which waslastheldin2019.

GuyanaTeachers Union (GTU) president Mark Lyte also delivered remarks at the opening ceremony whichwasheldlastevening.

The five-day championships (November 28 – December 2) will seeover1500students,athletesand officials converging to represent theirrespectivedistrictsineventsat the National Track and Field Centre, the National Aquatic

Centre (swimming) and cycling at theNationalPark.

November 17 – 22, 2019, was the last time the championships wereheld.

Organisers had to pull the plug on the event the following year after the world was battling the adverseeffectofCOVID-19.

The 59th edition of the Championship saw District 10, Upper Demerara/Kwakwani, winning their fifth consecutive overall title to take their total wins

toanimpressive18overall.

District 10 finished with 68 points, while their nemesis, North Georgetown (District 11), was secondoverallwith59points.

In addition, the champions also clinched the much subscribed Track&FieldChampionships.

District three (West Demerara) maintained their fine showing in the teachers’ championship with a marginal victory over District 13 (South Georgetown) (Rawle Toney)

of

maleandfemale

open by Prime Minister Mark Phillips

Defending National Schools’ Track and Field, Cycling and Swimming Championships title holder, District 10, during the opening ceremony of the 2022 edition.

Suriname edge Guyana to win IGG overall title

Team Suriname will head back to Paramaribo today with the Inter GuianaGames(IGG)trophyintow after clinching the overall title when the curtains came down on the historic games last evening at theCliffAndersonSports.

The November 25 27 IGG featuredstudent-athletesattheU20 level and made a return for the first time sinceitwaslasthostedin2017 inParamaribo.

Suriname, Guyana and French Guiana competed in the disciplines of Track and Field, Badminton, Cycling (male only), Volleyball, Lawn Tennis, Football (female only), Table Tennis, Swimming, and Basketball.

When the dust settled, Suriname edged Guyana by two points, amassing a total of 110 points as compared to Guyana’s 108 and French Guiana’s 26points.

F r e n c h G u i a n a o n l y participated in basketball (male and female) and Track and Field (male and female)

The Surinamese won the disciplines of basketball, volleyball, tennis and badminton, winning both the male and female componentsoftheevents.

They finished second to Guyana in table tennis, swimming, trackandfieldandcycling.

French Guyana was second in basketball, and the women’s team tooksecondintrackandfieldwhile themen’ssidewasthird.

Director of Sport Steve Ninvalle, while delivering closing remarks said Guyana was a proud host of the IGG and was happy to play its part in keeping the spirit of thegamesalive.

The Government of Guyana, Ninvalle said to the gathering of athletes and officials of the three Guianas, is more than happy to do everything in its power to see the return of the IGG

The return of the IGG is a manifestation of a promise made by President Irfaan Ali and Suriname’s Head of State, Chandrikapersad Santokhi, following discussions last August during a State visit to Guyana President Ali said the IGG is part of the Guyana and Suriname ‘People to People’ partnership, which he said is “bringing our people together, in a safe space that they can share and appreciate each other ” (Rawle Toney)

Part of the action between Guyana and French Guiana in men’s basketball at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall. (Rawle Toney photo)

Judy Lanis, from the Rupununi, District 9, crosses the finish line ahead of her competition to win the National Schools’ Championship 10K.