Kaieteur News

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AIETEUR NEWS

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

EPA processing

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Thursday Edition October 14, 2021 - Vol. 14 No. 38

over 2,500 residential complaints about pollution

Online: www.kaieteurnews.com Online Price $80 readership yesterday, 99,449

VP Jagdeo promises to look at insurance for oil spill p. 3

Drunk cop crashes

vehicle- station intoruns parked out of

truck breathalyser tests

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Missing pensioner found dead in Parika backdam

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E H T E G CHAN ! ! !

W O TN C A R T CON

Ex-Police Sergeant Bailey freed of Diamond businesswoman's murder p.

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Home Affairs Ministry spent - Mid-year US$80M to boost security Report p. 23

Instead of Guyana getting back 75% of our oil blocks in 7 years, our leaders have settled for 20% using a loophole in the law to benefit ExxonMobil and others. @11:00hrs on Kaieteur Radio 99.1/99.5FM

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Thursday October 14, 2021

Kaieteur News

Ex-police Sergeant, Bailey freed of Diamond businesswoman's murder

Freed, Ex Police Sergeant Collin Bailey

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ess than 48 hours after Collin Grant, the man accused of being the hitman in the murder of Diamond, East B a n k D e m e r a r a businesswoman, Sirmattie Ramnaress pleaded guilty to the crime, his co-accused former Police Sergeant, Collin Bailey, was acquitted of the murder charge.

B a i l e y, w h o w a s Ramnaress' reputed husband, was charged alongside Grant for murder. Previous reports had alleged that Bailey paid Grant to execute his former spouse.

H o w e v e r, y e s t e r d a y lawyer Nigel Hughes contended that the evidence provided to the court by the

Murdered, Sirmattie Ramnaress prosecution witnesses did not “in any way, shape, or form” tie Bailey to the crime.

Prosecutor Sarah Martin was left to call three more witnesses to the stand but she agreed that none of the other witnesses would present evidence linking Bailey to the crime.

As a result, Justice Barlow agreed, that with Mr. Hughes contention there was no-case for his client to answer. She instructed the jury to return a not guilty verdict for Bailey and acquitted him of the charge.

Meanwhile, Grant, who had initially pleaded not guilty to the indictment but opted to change his plea to (continued on page 22)

Thursday October 14, 2021

Kaieteur News

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VP Jagdeo promises to look at insurance for oil spill A

s the government continues its review of key documentation related to ExxonMobil's fourth Stabroek Block Project called Yellowtail, Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, has assured that securing insurance in the event of an oil spill remains a high priority for the government.

The local oil czar made this disclosure during his presentation this week at the national stakeholder consultation aimed at updating Guyana's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) ahead of the convening of the United Nations (UN) COP26 summit.

While Jagdeo noted that insurance coverage remains

an issue of concern, he did not clarify if Guyana would ensure this is obtained from the parent companies and not the subsidiaries which hardly keep any assets.

This was one of the major blunders of the former regime with previous projects for ExxonMobil being: Liza Phase One, Liza Phase Two and Payara.

H e a d o f t h e Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Kemraj Parsram, had previously told Kaieteur News that the issues surrounding full coverage insurance from the parent companies of the Stabroek Block are still being examined but no word has been disclosed on the progress of these discussions thus far.

In the meantime, Jagdeo has said that the government is determined to ensure the evolution of obligations regarding the protection of the environment when permits are granted to ExxonMobil going forward.

ABOUT THE YELLOWTAIL PROJECT According to Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL—ExxonMobil's subsidiary) project summary, the Yellowtail development is located in the eastern portion of the Stabroek Block, approximately 200 km from Georgetown and southeast of the Stabroek Projects.

EEPGL said it is expected to produce 220,000 barrels of oil per day by 2025. Production from this project is expected to last at least 20 years.

The production facilities to be installed include subsea equipment attached to the seafloor as well as processing equipment on the ocean's surface known as a Floating, Production, Storage, and Offloading (FPSO) vessel.

The subsurface equipment is expected to be installed at approximately 1,700 – 1,950 m of water depth. The main pieces of kit in the subsurface include the following: production tree, production manifold, flowlines, risers, and umbilicals.

The subsurface

umbilicals, risers, and flowlines are commonly referred to as SURF. Building on the previous Stabroek Projects, EEPGL said Yellowtail would be designed to demonstrate continuous improvement in environmental performance.

EEPGL in this regard said it routinely strives to make improvements in environmental performance through emissions controls, technology enhancements and process improvements.

Expounding further, the subsidiary said in 2020, the FPSO Liza Destiny experienced unanticipated technical challenges and unplanned gas flaring during its start-up and commissioning process.

As a result of the

Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo foregoing, EEPGL said it conducted comprehensive root-cause analyses of these issues and evaluated potential improvements to gas handling systems, sparing philosophy and execution procedures.

The company assured the EPA that it plans to take significant steps to incorporate the lessons learned from the commissioning of the Liza Destiny into future projects, including Yellowtail.

EPA processing over 2,500 residential complaints about pollution T

he Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has received over 2,500 complaints from residents as it relates to pollution and noise nuisance in various neighbourhoods across Guyana.

Head of the EPA's Complaints Unit and Senior Environmental Officer, Surjpaul Singh, made the disclosure during the October edition of “The

Environment Matters” on Monday. The programme is broadcast on Facebook and YouTube once monthly.

During the programme, Singh revealed that the majority of the complaints surround the issue of odour nuisances from poultry and livestock businesses, along with dust and fumes from furniture and spray-painting workshops.

“Some major types of complaints that we receive at

the agency are basically odour nuisances from poultry-rearing operations or livestock operations. We also receive a lot regarding dust and fumes from furniture workshops, spraypainting workshops, auto body/mechanic shops, and noise also from bars and religious places,” he said.

The EPA officer listed Region Four at the top of the list of hot spot areas for pollution. “We receive a lot

of complaints about drainage and dumping of garbage and so on from Region Four,” Singh said.

He noted that the other hotspots are Regions Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), Region Three Essequibo Islands-West Demerara, Region Four (DemeraraMahaica), and Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

Given that the complaints coming to the agency are scattered across

the country, Singh said that the EPA has to craft a strategic plan in order to tackle these complaints. He noted that, in this regard, partnerships with other stakeholder agencies are essential.

He explained, “We need partnerships with other agencies to resolve these complaints and we have recognised over the past year that there are some agencies out there that have a mandate or jurisdiction to respond to these complaints. However, most of these complaints still come to the agency, so after that whole realisation about partnership with particularly

the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, we have reached out to them and we are doing a series of engagements.

We are reaching out to the Regional Democratic Council [RDC] and Neighbourhood Democratic Council [NDC] to let them know their role in sorting out these issues.”

Singh explained that the Local Government Act as well as the Public Ordinance empowers the Region as well as the NDCs to deal with environmental matters within their locale but they (continued on page 19)

Kaieteur News

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Thursday October 14, 2021

Kaieteur News

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

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

EDITORIAL

What is going on with the GPF? If the Guyana Police Force (GPF) is unable to speak openly, early, and truthfully about what is going on inside its sphere and, more importantly, on matters regarding the public welfare, then soon enough it may not be able to speak to anything of substance at all. That is, without political clearance, or without political massaging to come out differently in sound, look, and feel. As Guyanese should know, that would not be in their best interests on things that they value. For example, what is the real story with crime, should they be alarmed or comfortable, and how much should they trust what is being dished out to them by public relations professionals, who are gaining a deserving reputation for slickness and sharpness? As Guyanese know well, sharpness is good for young children relative to education, but it is not good when attached to messages from skilled practitioners of the art of camouflage.

As said in our introduction, Guyanese should know more than they want to know about the GPF, meaning of the wrong and weakened within it. Those old enough to know, have terrible memories of how members of the GPF were misused, by a leader named Burnham, in our streets and communities to attack and abuse law abiding citizens expressing their constitutional rights. It was then, and remains now, a savage irony that a constitutionally mandated body like the GPF, was then remade by oppressive political men to batter and beat down citizens exercising what is allowed to them under that same constitution. The making of the GPF into what some may term an occasionally monstrous body, when it suits the visions and objectives of powerful leaders, has never really stopped, in some form or other, under one government after another, and under the guiding hands of leaders whose minions are always ready to jump to deliver, regardless of how citizens are hurt in the process. It has been only a matter of scale and degree, as government come, and governments go.

Today, a government has come into power, and its leaders will tolerate little by way of messages that speak to the kind of developments, the types of stories, that they don’t want to hear. And when leaders don’t want to hear those hard, piercing developments and stories, they do their best (or worst) to make sure that the public neither hears nor learns nor knows about them. In a word, there is ever effort made, and no expense spared, to suppress crime facts, and police truths.

The strategies and techniques gaining firm and firmer footing inside the GPF are becoming more and more obvious. They are what were feared, and for which there were early objections. Of course, this being the government and leaders that Guyanese have, none of this is really unexpected. Crime stories that make leaders uncomfortable are being delayed, by which time some of the initial significance would fade. In this skillful way, the GPF propaganda professionals, acting at the behest of the political men that put them there for such purposes, fulfill their marching orders.

It is to desensitise the public to the true and brutal assaults of the day that are every day, and around the hour, if not by the moment. After all, a desensitised public is unconscious of what is happening in its environment.

When timeliness is removed from the GPF’s reporting equation, there is little left to report. And that is precisely what has happened: more and more.

The GPF has little to report, when its new PR professionals smartly work to sanitise stories and to repackage them into the ordinary, without meaning. If there is one thing that should have meaning in the GPF, it should be those Cotton Tree murders. Even the Acting Commissioner cannot speak on reported ‘disappeared money’. If that is unanswerable, then there are no answers to anything. It is the season of suppression in the GPF, a different kind of oppression.

Editor’s Note; If your sent letter was not published and you felt its contents were valid and devoid of libel or personal attacks, please contact us by phone or email.

The Govt. needs to be more transparent with oil production data DEAR EDITOR, Guyana now has an oil purse of US$436 million dollars in a foreign bank that mysteriously sits untapped in a period of our greatest need.

We are in the midst of a deadly pandemic; one the world hasn’t experienced since the Spanish Flu of 1918 that took an estimated 20 to 50 million lives. We have had floods, which have continued to ravage the country.

Yet, we seek favours and loans from rich nations to aid our ills in a period where many of these countries are desperately trying to fund their healthcare systems and send cheques to their unemployed citizens. But do we need handouts? The oil money is rapidly accumulating, it jumped by US$92 million from April 13, 2021 to July 3, 2021. However, the public does not know how this money is accumulating and what are the future growth expectations of this oil purse.

But should one have to sleuth to decipher if the money is accumulating as per the terms of the Stabroek Block contract?

In October 2017, Guyana signed up to the Extractive Industries Transparency

Initiative (EITI), the global standard for good governance of oil, gas and mineral resources. The EITI Standard requires disclosure of revenues generated by the State from the extractives industry. In practice, this would entail the Government of Guyana releasing data on the amount of oil extracted and the government’s share of production; and the revenues collected by the government from the sale of its share of oil, for example: profit oil, profit taxes, license fees, etc. The purpose of this information is to p r o m o t e b e t t e r understanding of natural resource management among citizens, thus informing debate that will lead to enhanced transparency and accountability.

As an EITI implementing country, the Government of Guyana is required to disclose the volumes received and sold by the State (or third parties appointed by the State to sell on its behalf), the revenues received from these sales, and the revenues transferred to the State from the proceeds of oil, gas and minerals sold. The

disclosures could include ownership of the product sold and the nature of the contract e.g. spot or term.

Examples of how other EITI implementing countries disclose their oil and gas sales include Columbia’s 2020 report, which details total crude produced for 2020 and the tables depict oil-related taxes. In Nigeria, a crude oil lift table contains 258 numbers detailing barrels and sales value.

But can Guyana do better? Yes, if we analyse the five-page report that was released by the previous government for January 2020; it detailed some of the answers to the oil production questions raised above. In fact, the January 2020 report, noted that the requirements of the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) Act of 2019 should be supplemented with additional data. The January 2020 report states, “…these reports may not contain sufficient information to allow one to determine how government revenues that are deposited into the NRF are calculated. As such, the Report on Petroleum Production and Revenues (RPPR) serves to bridge this gap by providing regular

updates on petroleum production and revenues.

The regular publication of the RPPR will allow for greater transparency in this new sector of the economy, ensuring that the public is fully aware of the amount of petroleum being produced and revenues being generated. Such transparency is important, given the magnitude of revenues that will be generated from this resource.”The current government should be able, at a minimum, to produce monthly oil production reports that match or exceed what the previous government released. After all, the previous government was just a few months into oil production, but we have been producing oil for more than a year now. Guyana has been undergoing an EITI review.

With its lack of disclosure of oil production data, is the government wasting the taxpayers’ money on a review that it already knows it will fail because it is releasing two oil-related numbers every three months?

Darshanand Khusial On behalf of OGGN, www.oggn.org

Impressed during an accidental ‘bottom house’ meeting in Golden Grove DEAR EDITOR, Almost three weeks ago, I went to Golden Grove, where some extended family members reside, just to collect a commercial order of 10 dhal puri. Yes indeed, puri done commercially in Golden Grove, and there is also a hugely popular dhal puri street outlet – maybe even more popular today than the famed Shanta’s – right at the entrance to Roxanne Burnham Gardens.

On that occasion, I happened upon an event that caused me to tarry for some 50 minutes or so, quite longer than I had intended. I carefully put my warm purchase wrapped in greaseproof paper and secured in one of those ubiquitous plastic carrier bags, into my vehicle and returned to hear Minister Nigel Dharamlall speaking at a ‘bottom house” meeting in progress attended by some

50 villagers and a sprinkling of local authority invitees.

I had never listened to the Minister before. I knew absolutely nothing about him. Having spent most of my adult life abroad, apart from the last three years, I do not know the political players. I only knew one Minister in the previous government, but do not recall even a single personal oneon-one conversation with that individual during their term in office. I was curious to hear what Nigel Dharamlall had to say that late Thursday afternoon in Golden Grove.

I only left the area when specific relevance of the meeting became too obvious to remain interesting to me – not with two hot puri beckoning as soon as I arrived back in GT! Mr. Dharamlall came across as open, charming and sincere.

The assembled villagers

were clearly warmed by his acknowledgment of a personal connection with and love for their village, having lived there for five years, whilst he was a student at President’s College. His delivery throughout was calm, he was approachable and politely patient even with repeat questions. He gave assurances and made some specific short-term and medium-term promises. I left Golden Grove very impressed with what I’d seen and heard in real time as

somewhat representative of the Government’s broader outreach efforts. I wrote this following feedback I received from a reliable source only yesterday, that a team was sent to Golden Grove the very next day after the meeting, and that works addressing the many complaints are already under way. I will surely keep a watchful eye on how the story unfolds over the coming months.

Yours truly, Ronald Bostwick

Projects missing deadlines Dear Editor, Mega projects reinherited by the administration are missing completion dates or are having dates rescheduled. In one case the completion date is unknown, with a sizeable sum already expended (News Room Oct 12). In another

case the injection of additional sums is being considered (KN Oct 12), in a decade long project.

World shipping issues of parts and materials have been cited as the reason. This brings little comfort to taxpayers.

Shamshun Mohamed

Thursday October 14, 2021

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Kaieteur News

Sugar will again be the bedrock of the economy DEAR EDITOR, The Alliance For Change Leader is again in Berbice delivering the Coalition’s old message that ‘sugar is dead’ and monies are once again being thrown down a ‘dark hole’. Perhaps he failed to come to the realisation that it was the Coalition’s closure of the sugar industry, which threw them down the ‘dark hole’ and reinforced the ‘dead meat’ status of the AFC. Ramjattan and his cronies must understand that the mechanisation of the industry will make it viable once again and the Government is making the necessary investments. He has made a few ridiculous assumptions that the ‘soil and weather patterns’ will not allow for mechanisation, but he failed

to realise that GuySuCo is already partly mechanised in terms of planting, harvesting and loading of canes. The labour shortage gap is already being addressed. This has proven to be cost effective; hence, the move to full mechanisation which will be done within the next six years.

Sugar will once again be the bedrock of the economy and this Government will prove Ramjattan and his ilk wrong.

Mr. Ramjattan must accept the fact that the panoramic destruction unleashed by the Coalition on the closed estate has necessitated that this Government spend huge sums of monies to correct the disaster, which the Coalition willfully created, and ironically spent more than $17 billion to destroy. He should ask

what happened to the $30 billion bond.

I was also shocked that Ramjattan and David Patterson vehemently attacked the reopening of Rose Hall Estate, which has so far provided employment for nearly 700 persons and which has been employing persons, both severed and new employees, on a daily basis.

These persons are incessantly expressing gratitude to the PPP/C Government for giving them an opportunity to live with dignity, once again.

David Patterson emphasised the conditions of the factory as being ‘derelict and unsafe’ and the ‘boilers and equipment are dangerous’. I am glad that the Coalition can accept responsibility for the state in which they have rendered a

grinding sugar estate, which was the only estate to be awarded a medal of service for its high production and productivity. This estate has been transformed into a literal junk yard after what could be stolen were. The Former Finance Minister had spent over $17 billion to keep the factories in ‘mothball condition’ so that it can be sold.

Do you remember this statement, Patterson?

Mr. Patterson made a damning allegation on the basis of one person reporting to him that the ‘workers are being forced to work under unsafe conditions’. He went on to say that the Government does not care about the lives of the workers and are just pushing ahead with its (Continued on page 6)

GRANGER NOT CONCERNED ABOUT HAITIAN IMMIGRATION, BUT HE IS OF VENEZUELANS DEAR EDITOR, The PNC leader, David Granger, is getting the Venezuelan itch about Region One now that Venezuelan refugees have a number of about 36,000 (his figure) that will surpass the mostly local Guyanese population which number 26,000 (his figure).

The Honourable PNCR leader explained that “the migration problem has become a headache for officials”, noting that Guyana shares a thinly-populated, 800 km, border with Venezuela, which has been a zone of banditry, crime, incursions, occupation, overflights and harassment”, a release from the PNC/R said.

(SN, 10/8/21. Is this a matter of concern for Guyanese, or does it pose an African electoral threat, which concerns Mr. Granger’s PNC/R party’s electoral prospects? The honourable gentleman has expressed no such fear about the influx of Haitians to

Guyana. What’s the difference is only too obvious.

I had written earlier that Brazilians/Cubans and Venezuelans and other immigrants will be an electoral threat to the two basic ethnic groups in Guyana and even to Trinidad in the next two decades.

The Chinese influx to Guyana is a different kettle of fish, as they are a progressive group that has done well economically. They all will be able to hold parliamentary positions and hold the balance of power to dictate the leaders and the course of Guyanese events.

This sudden itch former President Granger has concerning Venezuelan is an itch that Africans have had for many years against IndoGuyanese electoral competitiveness that causes Blacks to chase Indians out of Guyana by the thousands.

President Granger is not so

worried at all about Haitian/ African Immigrants in Guyana.

Of course, this is a booster vote for the PNC/R. But, the Venezuelan itch is not that easy as the Indian passive itch. Venezuelans are accustomed to fighting governments violently and the PNC leader knows too well Venezuelans are not to be bullied with impunity.

The only guarantee Africans and Indians have to not losing Guyana to the new arrivals is Mr. Eusi Kwayana’s partition advocacy for Guyana to secure their parcel of land called ‘Blackstan’ and ‘Indiandesh.’ Warning to the race conscious in Guyana/ Trinidad: The Hispanic is not only taking over the USA, but

changing the culture of the country as well. The US has responded by instituting the North American Free Trade Association (NAFTA) to situate jobs in Latin America to keep Hispanics from immigrating to the USA. According to the SN of 10/8/21, “Mr. Granger said that the PPP administration should explain publicly, how it intends to manage the mounting agricultural, educational, occupational, cultural, health, housing and legal problems which such Venezuelan migration spawned.” Mr. Granger has not done the same for Cubans, Chinese or Brazilians immigrants to Guyana.

Yours sincerely, Vassan Ramracha

Questions for NAREI and the Ministry of Agriculture DEAR EDITOR, My attention was drawn to a notice on page 23 of the October 11, 2021, edition of the Kaieteur News, placed by NAREI of the Ministry of Agriculture, notifying the public that the Triple Super Phosphate (TSP) fertiliser distributed by Cyril Singh Agricultural Enterprise Inc. was found to be below the manufactured declared concentration.

It is commendable that the Ministry of Agriculture has developed the capacity to

conduct such analysis and, as the notice stated, has taken measures to ensure future imports are in conformity with international standards.

However, given that the variance from the manufacturer declared concentration is over 50 percent for the three-analysis provided, the

following questions remain: 1. Is the importer being allowed to sell TSP labelled at 47 percent but actually proven to contain only 20 percent, 19 percent, and 16 percent to farmers?

2. Can the public be made aware of the quantities involved, and the distributors who currently have this stock?

3. Have the prices been reduced accordingly or do farmers have to pay for an inferior product while the importer counts his profits?

Editor, it will be good if the relevant agency or the Minister can shed some light on this issue, as they are more than aware of how this situation can impact agricultural productivity, as well as the numerous challenges farmers endure.

Best regards, Suryaveer

The importance of Fire Sprinkler Protection System DEAR EDITOR, Please consider my simple and most effective method of fire protection.

The importance of Fire Sprinklers protection system is necessary to all our citizens safety. Our country has lost a very important building, the Brickdam Police Station was destroyed by fire. We have to consider fire protection as a safety priority, the Fire Department has to implement Fire Sprinklers Protection as mandatory standard procedure to our country’s buildings, this implementation has a 99 percent effectiveness in the extinguishing of the igni-

tion of a fire. Fire Sprinkler Systems are the most effective method used worldwide as the foremost fire protection laws and practices. Fire Sprinklers Protection can be implemented also in the prison buildings. Fire Sprinklers will aid in the event of a fire or a prison riot, by turning on the water, the Fire Sprinklers would work as a suppression of a prison riot. Fire Sprinklers Protection System can also be installed in chemical bonds/ warehouse in the event of a spillage, the sprinklers can be used as a solution.

The use of fire hydrants (Continued on page 6)

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Kaieteur News

Peeping Tom should be moreconcerned about images from election threats and those of bandits DEAR EDITOR, In a recent Peeping Tom column, it was stated, “What image is Guyana presenting to the world by having the President and Second VicePresident attending a conference of CARICOM...”

I’ve got news for you Peeping Tom, I live in the outside world, and it presents to us an image of your President and Second Vice-President hard at work and doing a great job.However, the images being presented to the outside world, for example during the 2020 elections, where an APNU+AFC minister threat-

ened the observers and diplomats present at the Ashmin’s Building to take

away their credentials, and everyday images where people are being robbed

by gun-toting bandits in their homes, businesses, on the street, and even in funeral parlours, are what

you should be concerned about.

Those are the images that bring shame to Guyana, but then there are those that have no shame and you know who I am referring to.

Sincerely, Dennis Balgobin.

Post Office not cashing NIS cheques due to an unsettled million-dollar balance Dear Editor, Yesterday, October 11, 2021, I went to the General Post Office to cash my National Insurance Scheme cheque for October 2021. I received a mental shock.

Praise God I am not mentally lazy. A supervisor at the GPO informed me that her office stopped cashing vouchers for the NIS as that entity has million dollars owing to the Post Office Corporation. As a result, a decision was taken to stop processing vouchers from the NIS. Not satisfied with what I was told at the GPO, I con-

tacted the NIS Head Office at Brickdam and discovered to my chagrin that the information that I received at the GPO was true and correct. I am now at my wits end to know what to do because my previous attempts to cash cheques at NIS offices have been unpleasant experiences. In the meanwhile, there has been no public announcement in the print and or electronic media by the Post Office Corporation or the NIS of this unpalatable act that the post offices are not processing valid and well-deserved vouchers from the NIS for pensioners. There is a thick wall of silence.

Is this the way to treat pensioners? Certainly not.

Please, God, help us pensioners.

Yours respectfully, Clinton Conway Assistant Commissioner of Police (Retired)

Thursday October 14, 2021

Elections SOPs are safe and secure; rigging, a thing of the past DEAR EDITOR, In my last discourse to you, I highlighted my belief that there is a nexus between the burning of the Brickdam Police Station and the political undercurrents attached to it. My reason follows the logical sequence of events, that is, the inordinate enquiry by opposition elements, as to what type of documents were destroyed in the fire. They kept plugging away at the point whether it was the SOPs for Region Four that were destroyed in that fire, the expressed intention being mission accomplished, if it were those SOPs. They would have gloated in the fact that, the destruction meant that there would be no evidence to present in a court of law; hence, no case of wrongdoing against the infamous seven persons charged.

It would have been a time of rejoicing for them. Well, I am happy to announce that their happiness is short-lived,

because the SOPs are safe and secure and will be in evidence when the time of trial comes.

Like the IT Technician, who conveniently felt unwell and Mr. Mingo who had that brief but suspicious ‘heart attack,’ soon and very soon, there will be instant bouts of diarrhea when this trial begins.

The point I am making is that the mistaken belief of not having to face a trial is finally put to rest, this matter will be tried and dire consequences would follow.

The infamous seven and their associates must come to the realisation that rigging would not be tolerated anymore in this country. Guyana will remain a democratic state run by democratically elected officials in a free and fair system as well as a system free from fear. No longer would rigging be an item on our political landscape.

Respectfully submitted, Neil Adams

Sugar will again be the...

From page 5 campaign promises. I could recall that the AFC’s 2015 campaign promise was to give the sugar workers 20 percent increase in wages and not to close any of the estate, which they reneged on, but is now barefacedly attacking the PPP/C for keeping its promise. Let me assure Mr. Patterson that Occupational Health and Safety is a priority not only at Rose Hall, but throughout the industry.

Lastly, the AFC leaders decry the payment of the $250,000 cash grant announced by the Vice President. At this point, I could recall the agony of the sugar workers when they closed the estates, and when the workers literally begged for the estates to continue operation. I will ask the AFC and the Opposition as a whole to consider the emotional trauma, which these workers suffered for more than three years.

Some have died and a few committed suicide. I will quote from a Rose Hall worker, Glen McLeod in 2017, ‘For us of Rose Hall, closure can be seen as a death knell for so many hardworking people and their families. For us of

Rose Hall, closure means that our plans for life, our dreams for a better tomorrow, and our aspirations for our children and grandchildren have all but been dashed. For us of Rose Hall, closure will bring about uncertain times and many difficult, misery-filled days ahead.

For us of Rose Hall, closure brings about real questions like where would our next meal come from, how would our children and grandchildren go to school, and how would we earn and meet our obligations. For us of Rose Hall, closure means difficult choices have to be made: - would we eat, or would we pay the electricity bills; would we send the children to school, or would we buy clothes; would we starve or do we have to do something not necessarily right to put food on the table?’

Money cannot buy what these people lost and we must show some compassion for these workers. They deserve their fair share.

Let the Coalition know that GuySuCo is not dead and will never be!

Yours sincerely, Haseef Yusuf

The importance of Fire...

From page 5 is a main source of water to aid the fire trucks. To install fire hydrants would now cause a lot of water (GWI) disruption of the flow of water to our citizens and to the flow of traffic (because of the digging to install the hydrants), this can be done whenever new areas are being developed. When the water pipelines are being installed, fire

hydrants can be installed.

This is the reason for the installation of Fire Sprinklers Protection System that can be implemented to safeguard our buildings and their occupants. Please consider this simple and most effective method of fire protection.

Fire-Sprinkler—SafetyEquipment-Services 56 Area H Ogle ECD (592) 650-0159

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BL TLUNT.. UNT...B BL Thursday October 14, 2021

Kaieteur News

Government after government has been delivering damaged goods to trusting Guyanese.

The APNU+AFC Coalition Government is now found to have given out a half billion in damaged laptops. They must have been at a discount, and somebody pocketed the difference.

The current PPP/C Government gives citizens 'damaged goods' and this is costing countless citizens, countless billions.

Among the tainted goods are: lies, thieveries, cover-ups.

That, dear Guyanese, sounds just like what the Coalition did when it was at the helm too.

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Thursday October 14, 2021

Kaieteur News

“Love your eyes”

being promoted as World Sight Day is observed

T

oday is World Sight Day (WSD). A day that promotes advocacy to highlight the fact, that at least one billion people have a vision impairment that could have been prevented or has yet to be addressed.

According to a release issued by the Ministry of Health yesterday, WSD became an official event in 2000 of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) and is held annually on the second Thursday of October to provide a platform for organisations to encourage governments, corporations, institutions and individuals to actively support universal access to eye health.

To d a y, t h e 1 4 t h o f October 2021, Guyana is joining the rest of the world to observe WSD under the theme: “Love Your Eyes” with the call to action of “Everyone Counts”. #LoveYourEyes

Despite the knowledge that nearly everyone will experience an eye health issues in their lifetime, many people worldwide do not have access to eye care services.

Hence, there is need for all of us to become aware of our own eye health, so that we can get our eyes tested for hidden diseases such as glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy.

Our eyes tell us so much about our general health and hence, we need to develop the habit of having them checked by trained eye care professionals.

Everyone Counts is the call to action that we should take personal care and interest in ensuring our eyes are healthy.

Make that pledge to ensure that you get involved in your eye health by getting your eyes screened.

To ensure that Everyone Counts, we should reach out to all, especially those who are vulnerable to eye

diseases.

We also need to include everyone around us, including members of our families especially the e l d e r l y, p e r s o n s w i t h diabetes, underserved communities, women and children.

Local Activities: Over the past eight years the Department of Ophthalmology of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) has been spearheading annual activities in commemoration of WSD under the guidance of Dr. Shailendra Sugrim.

The department has been promoting eye health education and awareness promotion along with free screening activities in collaboration with various local and international stakeholders.

Due to the current pandemic, activities have been modified in keeping with the national guidelines for prevention of the spread

of COVID-19 infection.

1. WORLD SIGHT DAY PUBLIC AWARENESS SESSION Member of the D e p a r t m e n t o f Ophthalmology will be disseminating public awareness information about Eye Health and Eye Care at the PHGC Foyer, East Street, on WSD from 8:30 to 12:00 hrs tomorrow.

2. PUBLIC AWARENESS FACE MASKS Eye Care personnel across the country will be donning the WSD Face Mask in a pledge to spread awareness about Eye Health and Eye Care, whilst at the same time promoting the healthy practice of wearing face masks during the

pandemic.

3. INTRODUCTION OF DIABETIC EYE CENTRE AT NATIONAL OPHTHALMOLOGY HOSPITAL, PORT MOURTANT Over the past five years, the GPHC Department of Ophthalmology has been pioneering Diabetic Eye Screening to detect early disease so as to initiate treatment to prevent blindness from diabetes.

Four years ago, the first Diabetic Eye Centre was set up as a pilot project at GPHC, with support from t h e Wo r l d D i a b e t e s Federation (WDF).

In August 2020, with tireless support from Orbis International and Novartis, this programme expanded to establish the second

Diabetic Eye Centre at the Enmore Polyclinic.

“We are pleased to announce that in October 2021, the third Diabetic Eye Centre was recently functionalised at the National Ophthalmology Hospital in Port Mourant. At these centres, free Diabetic Eye Screening and, also General Eye Testing are now a v a i l a b l e , ” n o t e d D r.

Sugrim.

4. PUBLIC AWARENESS IN THE COMMUNITIES The Ministry of Health Optometrists will be conducting Eye Health talks at the Vision Centres across the country and also at Health Centres.

5. OTHER ACTIVITIES Local Optometrists and Optical Shops are also e x p e c t e d t o b e commemorating WSD from their various locations and the University of Guyana's School of Optometry will conduct various commemorative activities on campus.

Peter Headley's file now with DPP

T

he investigation into the death of 45-year-old Peter Headley, who was allegedly shot and killed by a cop some five months ago, is nearing completion as police are now awaiting legal advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions on the way forward.

Mid last month, Police C o m m i s s i o n e r, N i g e l Hoppie, had disclosed to the media that the Chairman of the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) had completed reviewing the file into Headley's death and that the file will be sent to the DPP for advice.

During a press conference last month addressing the killing of businessman, Orin Boston, who too was shot and killed by a cop, Hoppie had said, “With regards to Mr. Headley's matter, we made contact with the Chairman of the Police Complaint Authority who indicated that he has completed the file and it will be sent to DPP in a short while.”

Though Hoppie did not disclose further when the file will be sent for advice, yesterday when Kaieteur News contacted the DPP's office to inquire about the case, it was revealed that the

file was there.

According to previous reporting, Headley on May 15, 2021, was shot dead after he and another man, who was identified as 29-year-old Rondel Daly, were arrested by police at Nandy Park, East Bank Demerara for an alleged robbery.

The 45-year-old man was allegedly shot by one of two police officers who were transporting him in his own car to the Providence Police Station.

It was reported that ranks had intercepted both men for a suspected robbery that occurred in Herstelling on May 11, last and searched their vehicle. There, ranks found a television set, which they suspected was stolen during the Herstelling robbery.

Daly was arrested and placed into the police vehicle while Headley was placed into the passenger seat of his car.

While being transported, Headley was reportedly shot and killed by one of the officers after reaching for what reportedly appeared to be a firearm.

The injured man was taken to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre where he died while receiving treatment for his injuries.

Dead, Peter Headley A post mortem examination conducted on Headley's body had revealed that he died of a single gunshot wound that perforated his lungs.

The two police officers who were in Headley's vehicle at the time of the shooting were placed initially under close arrest but in July, the Commissioner related that they are on open arrest, pending the outcome of the investigation.

An investigation was launched subsequently by the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), which in July completed an investigation into the matter and submitted the file to the Chairman of the PCA for review.

Thursday October 14, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 09

Give me an unpopular democracy over dictatorship!

T

he COVID-19 Containment Measures state that workers in the private sector 'shall' work on rotation as determined by their employers. But most private sector workers are not on rotation; they are required to work as normal.

For months, the same Measures had said that persons employed within the Public Service, a semiautonomous agency or Stateowned enterprise 'shall' work on rotation unless otherwise directed by their respective heads of ministry, agency or department. After this column pointed out that the government was breaching its own regulations, the language was changed to 'may' be directed to work on rotation by their respective heads.

Guyanese are reading about a gas-to-shore project for which there is no feasibility study specific to that particular project.

However, the government is proceeding with haste to have it done, despite the criticisms.

The government is also resuscitating the Amaila Falls Hydroelectric Project even though an independent review by Norconsult, a Norwegian firm, had raised serious concerns over the credibility of the hydraulic data used in the feasibility

Dem

boys seh...

C

alifornia gat supply-chain problems. Dem gat plenty containers pun de wharves but dem nah gat enough truck driver fuh transport dem, and nah gat enough workers fuh empty dem containers and put de goods in de stores.

Guyana can solve dah problem. We gat plenty truck drivers – some ah dem who buy dem license- who can do dat wuk. All de embassy gat fuh do is give dem a temporary visa and dem gan go and drive dem trucks.

When dem American drivers gan tek two days fuh complete a journey, dem Guyanese drivers gan do it

study.

Norsonsult had said, “The hydrology for Amaila Falls Hydropower Project is not very well established since continuous series of direct flow measurements in Kuribrong River at the project site do not exist.” It recommended that before any new sponsor is appointed, that two to three years continuous data is obtained.

Yet, the Irfaan Ali regime is racing at breakneck speed to obtain expressions of interest despite the fact that the hydrology of this project has a huge question mark over it.

There has been strong criticism over the Production Sharing Agreement, which was inked between the APNU+AFC government and the oil companies. The deal short-changes the country. Yet, the government has refused to renegotiate the deal as provided for under the very contract.

Presently, the government is racing ahead with consultations on Guyana's Nationally Determined Contributions under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Yet, the major international conference, COP26 is only two weeks away and the

government appears to want to state its ambitions at that conference. But in utter contempt of the people, it is only this week engaging in consultations and with limited time for the selected participants to study the draft.

It is the same charade, which is taking place in respect to Local Content.

There was much hype when a consultation was launched on a draft Local Content Policy. No doubt from the consultations, there would have been some revisions but we are not reading about any other major stakeholder consultation in the Local Content law. But we are being told that the Local Content law will be tabled later this year. So will the stakeholders be afforded to comment on the revised draft?

These issues expose one of the flaws of representative democracy. Every five years Guyanese decide who should rule them. But having elected a government, the people – including the supporters of the government – have no say in how they are ruled.

Liberal manifestation is supposed to be the preferred system of government. After all, it has been characterised as government of the people, by the people and for the people. Government of the people and by the people

We gat de best truckers and loaders in de world in one day. Dem gan eat and sleep while driving and nah drive off de road. In fact, dem gan drive so fast dat whoever deh pun de road gan pull aside.

If dem Americans want, dem gan drive de truck not only to de door of de warehouse, but dem can drive it through de warehouse and if possible dem gan even drive it through some people house.

Dat is wah yuh call home delivery.

And when it comes fuh workers fuh unpack dem container, dem boys know some young men wah specialise in dat wuk. Dem men could empty a whole boat in five minutes much

less a container. Dem gan empty dem container suh quickly dat dem store owners nah gat to pay overtime.

Dem loaders and truckers does not allow nothing fuh stand in dem way. One time a truck bin driving down de road when it roof got stuck under a bridge. Traffic back up all de way fuh miles.

A policeman go up to de truck driver and seh, “So yuh get stuck under de bridge.”

De truck driver tun to he and answer. “Nah ah was transporting de bridge and ah run out of petrol.

Talk half and nah mek joke with Guyanese drivers.

does not always mean that government is for the people.

Chatam House however still contends that democracy is still desirable.

It is according to them, the means by which citizens are empowered to bring about change. In other word, if a government does not perform, the people can change that government. The mere possibility of being voted out is supposed to guard against excesses and force governments to act for the people… well at least in theory.

There was a time when this notion was questioned because it was felt that in

ethnic polarised societies, where racial voting dominates, elections become ethnic censuses and do not put government on notice that if they do not perform, they can be voted out.

But this condition no longer exists. The ethnic arithmetic has changed and does allow for changes to government as was evident in the 2015 and 2020 elections.

This is why the attempt at rigging the elections was an ominous development. It was not as if the door was closed to the APNU+AFC being elected. But the attempt to rig demonstrated

that there were forces bent on returning Guyana to a state in which there would never again be government of the people and by the people, and would remove the likelihood of the people keeping the government's feet to the proverbial fire.

This is why no matter how much a people may lack the means to determine how they should be ruled, such a situation will always be better than an unelected dictatorship.

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

Kaieteur News

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Thursday October 14, 2021

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

There are two worlds in Guyana that are killing this country I

n yesterday's column, I referred to a conversation I had in the supermarket with Dr. Nigel Gravesande, in which I told him I write about many ills in Guyana because just as I met him and we talked, it is the same with many other folks.

I am in receipt of hundreds of telephone calls and hundreds of emails and engage in hundreds of oral conversations, about things people say are wrong. They are disgusted with and they cannot understand why these things are allowed to happen.

Interesting to note is that the list includes very educated people, business folks and also those who live abroad and are way beyond reach of the tentacles of those in

Guyana who would want to be vindictive. In every instance, I would say, if you join me, if you join others that speak on these issues, then there is the possibility, that slowly but surely changes will come.

I have had lots of reaction from people on the crass display of hypocritical attitudes to election rigging in 2020 on the part of certain actors in society. Some of the words are pungently direct.

My traditional reaction is – write about it, let your feelings be known and after time when these feelings are made public, there could be changes.

Here are some of the subjects highlighted in my columns for which I have received queries from people

who are indignant in their complaints, but I cannot get them to participate in a public debate in the newspapers or elsewhere. They cannot see how crucial it is to let their feelings be known.

I start with the absolute silence of Transparency International Guyana Inc. (TIGI) and the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) on the March 2020 election rigging. I have received dozens of emails chastising these two bodies for their incredible silence when their very work compels them to denounce election rigging.

I would say to the senders, expose them, write about it and you will embarrass them and more people will learn about their hypocrisy. But it

has not happened as yet. I received several emails asking me to explain how the Stabroek News could champion Dr. Vincent Adams to remain as head of the Environmental Protection Agency when he is in the leadership of an opposition party.

One lawyer boldly told me that the Stabroek News is going out of its head to refer to a party leader holding a public service job as a “consummate professional.” I said to him, given your prominence in the legal community, if you and others who feel this way would write publicly, then you put pressure on the Stabroek News to explain and if the papers' reasoning is faulty then people will see the Stabroek News in a

different light.

Here is how this g e n t l e m a n responded, “me, not me Freddie, that is for Frederick Kissoon people like you to do.”

I received an email from one of Guyana's most has exposed herself. Or pen a prominent names in the few lines in the newspaper of diaspora. He was pleased at how disappointed he has my criticism of Dr. Alissa been. Here is his reaction, Trotz for her barefaced “Freddie, what's the point?” I omission the past 20 months wrote back to say that the of any discussion on the no- young generation needs to confidence motion and rigged know who is who and who election in her column, “In does what. I have not The Diaspora”, published received a reply as yet.

Finally, Clive Thomas. A weekly in the Stabroek News.

He went on to state that he few academics in the diaspora knows Dr. Trotz for a long have written to me about time and didn't think about Clive Thomas based on my her attitude until I wrote about critical outlook on Thomas in it several times on this page. I several commentaries on this suggested he have a word page. They expected him to with her and tell her that she explain his time in the APNU+AFC regime and give Guyanese an insight into what he did at the State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA), the sugar industry that he was in charge of and to pen some thoughts on the life of the APNU+AFC. My suggestion that they compel Thomas to explain through an open letter to him has not yet received a response. To conclude, we have two worlds in Guyana.

One is the community of educated people and civil society actors whom society has expectations of but who have failed us and those who are disgusted with them but wish to have their criticism remain secret.

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

Thursday October 14, 2021

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Thursday October 14, 2021

43 percent decrease in fire reports - Deputy Fire Chief, Wickham

T

he Guyana Fire and Rescue Service (GFRS) have recorded a major decrease in the number of reports of fires as at the end of September 2021, when compared to the same period in 2020.

Deputy Fire Chief (DFC), Gregory Wickham, on Thursday last, informed reporters that the fire service responded to a total of 832 fire calls to date. When compared to the same period in 2020, the GFRS record shows 1,639 fire calls were made, representing a 43 percent decrease.

“The Fire Service, over the years, has been working assiduously to ensure that this number remains or even be reduced further when it comes to the end of the year for the response of the Guyana Fire Service for fire c a l l s , ” Wi c k h a m t o l d members of the media.

Wickham raised concerns with the high number of prank calls received but noted that the fire service has no other option but to respond to each fire call it receives.

Alternatively, the DFC

The Brickdam Police Station before and after. further stated that another major aspect of the GFRS – the Emergency Medical Services System – recorded 4,728 calls representing a more than 50 percent increase when compared to the same period in 2020.

“It is obvious that we have more calls for medical assistance this year as against last year and even if you were to make a comparison with fire calls as against calls for medical assistance, we will see that the percentage would be far greater for the number of instances where EMS had to

respond,” Wi c k h a m explained.

Wickham assured that despite what occurred with the Brickdam Police Station fire, the Fire Service is always ready to respond to reports.

The Fire Service was heavily criticised by President Irfaan Ali, after fire destroyed 80 percent of the Brickdam Police Station a week ago. “I am publicly putting the fire service on warning…this cannot and will not be tolerated,” the President had said following (continued on page 19)

President Irfaan Ali with Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn, and other security officials making their way into the St. Stanislaus College compound where the Brickdam Police Station operation has relocated.

Thursday October 14, 2021

Kaieteur News

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Sound chemicals management remains a priority to the government - Minister Mustapha - As PTCCB donates 100 toxic chemicals storage containers to farmers across country

Y

esterday, the Ministry of Agriculture's P e s t i c i d e s a n d To x i c Chemicals Control Board (PTCCB) distributed 100 toxic chemicals storage cabinets to farmers across the country.

According to a Ministry release the exercise, which was held at the Board's office in Mon Repos, was aimed at promoting the sound use and storage of toxic chemicals within the agriculture sector.

W h i l e o ff e r i n g h i s remarks, Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, said that sound chemicals management remains a priority to the PPP government, and as such, the programme of distributing

chemicals storage cabinets to farmers was resuscitated in October 2020. Minister Mustapha also alluded to the fact that misuse or improper use of chemicals has contributed to issues faced in several agricultureproducing regions in the country.

“We know chemicals are being used across the world to enhance crops. In Guyana, our farmers have also been using chemicals to improve their cultivation. However, misuse or improper use of these chemicals has contributed to several issues and a number of factors that have led to deaths in several farming communities. The government, the ministry, and the Board have

Some of the cabinets that were donated to farmers

Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha along with other officials from the ministry and some of the farmers who received pesticide storage cabinets recognised that it is therefore important to work with the stakeholders and farmers to enhance their ability to properly store these chemicals in a safe place.

Proper storage of chemicals can help us to solve one of the most prevalent social issues facing some of these farming communities. One such issue being suicide by ingestion of a poisonous substance,” Minister Mustapha said.

EPA processing over 2,500...

From page 3 have not been doing so.

At present, the EPA officer said that the agency has been left to group its complaints according to district to minimise the amount of work left on the shoulders of the agency.

“So if we have complaints from East Coast of Demerara, we look from Georgetown to Mahaica/ Mahaicony, we look at all those complaints within that range, and we go out, do our

investigation. Then we come back, do our reporting, then recommendations are made to the polluters to minimise the harm,” he said.

As it relates to dealing with the polluters, Singh revealed that the EPA looks at ways in which it cooperates with the businesses and individuals before any serious action is taken.

He noted that most times, polluters are given time to comply with their order and

43 percent decrease...

From page 14 the fire service's response to the fire at the Brickdam Police Station.

According to the President, hundreds of millions of dollars was spent in the last year to boost the Fire Service's response and “to put it crudely, you cannot respond to a fire in your backyard.”

The President stated that

government cannot continue to make investments in the Public Service and not have returns, adding that inefficiency has to be weeded out. The Head-ofState posited that the response by the Fire Service to the Brickdam Station fire had nothing to do with assets and resources but the unpreparedness by the Service.

reduce the amount of harm done to the environment.

“Our first move is never t o s h u t d o w n businesses…our first approach is to work along with businesses to make sure they are in compliance with the recommended mitigation measures,” Singh posited.

The EPA official noted that follows-ups are conducted to inquire as to w h e t h e r t h e recommendations were being adhered to, or put into practice. Singh stated that when these measures are continually ignored, then action is taken by the agency to remedy such.

“We could have legal actions brought against you – our Act speaks about a prohibition notice, whereby if you are not in compliance with our regulations or measures that are prescribed to you, the agency can issue a prohibition notice to you or a cessation order, meaning they can cease your operation,” he asserted.

Minister Mustapha also disclosed that the activity will be held annually and, through the Board, over 100 pesticides storage cabinets will be made available to

farmers across the country.

The project which commenced in 2013 saw over 300 pesticide storage cabinets being distributed to farmers in Regions Two,

Three, Four, Five, Six, and 10 by the end of 2016 and was relaunched in 2020 when Minister Mustapha assumed the role of Minister (continued on page 24)

PAGE 20

Thursday October 14, 2021

Kaieteur News

Former GECOM DCEO's matter to continue indictably T

he matters involving former Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Deputy Chief Elections Officer (DCEO), Roxanne Myers, in relation to the March 2, 2020, General and Regional Elections will continue indictably.

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP),

Shalimar Ali-Hack, SC, had initiated legal proceedings in the High Court seeking orders to quash Senior Magistrate Leron Daly's decision to hold a Preliminary Inquiry (PI) into the electoral fraud case against Myers.

Ye s t e r d a y, J u s t i c e Franklyn Holder in the Demerara High Court ruled that he did not find that Senior

3 more persons succumb to COVID-19

W

ith the deaths of three more persons, Guyana's COVID-19 death toll has moved to 851. This is according to information released by the Ministry of Health yesterday.

The deaths, two of which occurred on October 12 and one on September 26, last, are that of an unvaccinated 68-year-old woman from Cuyuni-Mazaruni, a 63year-old unvaccinated man from Pomeroon-Supenaam

and a 70-year-old woman from Demerara-Mahaica whose vaccination status is unknown.

As at yesterday, there were 150 new cases. The Ministry reported too that there are 36 patients in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit, 23 in institutional quarantine, 3,535 in home i s o l a t i o n , a n d 11 6 i n institutional isolation.

To date a total of 29,435 people have recovered from the virus.

Magistrate Daly acted irrationally when she ruled on the mode of trial that will be used in the matters.

As such, Myers' matters will continue in the Georgetown Magistrates' Courts by the mode of a PI. The charges against Myers allege that between March 4 and 14, 2020, in Georgetown, while being a public officer, she willfully misconducted herself together with Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo, and others, to declare a fraudulent account of votes for the March 2020 General and Regional Elections which amounted to a breach of the public's trust in the office of the DCEO of GECOM. She is currently on $300,000 bail for the two cases.

On February 11, 2021, Magistrate Daly ruled that the two charges for misconduct in public office against Myers will remain indictable which would require her to conduct a PI to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to

warrant a trial in the High Court.

Magistrate Daly embarked on holding a PI to determine whether there is enough evidence against Myers for her to face trial in the High Court. The Magistrate had reasoned, inter alia, that the case should not be tried summarily “since the matter is a very serious matter.”

This publication had reported that following the Magistrate's ruling, the DPP filed legal proceedings. The case was filed on behalf of the DPP through attorneys, Darshan Ramdhani QC, Glenn Hanoman, Ganesh Hira, George Thomas and Mark Conway.

They had requested a declaration that the decision made by Magistrate Daly to hold a PI into the misconduct allegations, engages the provisions of Article 144 of the Constitution with the likely result that the case may not be tried within a reasonable time. It was noted in the case that was filed that Magistrate Daly offends

Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack, SC. Article 144 (1) of the Constitution of Guyana, which provides that all criminal cases should be afforded a fair hearing within a reasonable time.

Moreover, the DPP further sought to have a declaration in accordance with the Judicial Review Act that in the circumstances of the charges, and in compliance with the constitution, that the two charges against Myers proceed by way of summary trial.

The DPP also asked that Magistrate Daly reconsider her discretion afresh under Section 61 of the Summary

Former Deputy Chief Elections Officer (DCEO), Roxanne Myers Jurisdiction Procedure Act Cap. 10:02. To support her application, the DPP relied on Article 187 of the Constitution, which she noted gives her office supervision over all criminal matters within Guyana.

Further, the applicant explained that the charge against Myers is classified in criminal procedure as a 'hybrid offence,' which can be heard and determined indictable or summary, that is, heard and determined by the Magistrate's Court.

Missing pensioner found dead in Parika backdam

T

he body of a man was found lying motionless in a drain at Parika backdam, East Bank Essequibo (EBE) on Tuesday around 14:30hrs.

According to reports, after an unknown individual called and made a report about the body, police ranks were dispatched to the area.

There, with the assistance of residents, they removed the partly decomposed body of the elderly man from the drain.

The man's body was

examined for marks of violence but none were seen.

The body was later identified as 65-year-old Mahadeo, a pensioner of Parika , by his cousin, a 51year-old man who also resides in the same area.

The cousin informed police that Mahadeo was last seen on Thursday, October 7, 2021, in a drunken state walking along the Parika backdam access road. The body is currently at the Ezekiel Funeral Home where it awaits a post mortem examination.

Thursday October 14, 2021

Kaieteur News

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GNBS recognises standard compliant businesses - launches ‘Made in Guyana’ certification mark

Awardees receiving their trophies from Natural Resources Minister, Vickram Bharrat, First Lady Mrs. Arya Ali, Chairman of the National Standards Council (NSC), Mr. Vladim Persaud and Executive Director (Ag.) of the GNBS, Ms. Ramrattie Karan

T

he Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) on Tuesday, October 12, 2021 hosted its third National Quality Awards (NQA) Ceremony at Parc Rayne, Lot 1 Rahaman’s Park, to honour companies which have been implementing standards within their operations to produce quality goods and services.

Thirty-six (36) Guyanese companies participated in this year’s edition of the Awards under the overall categories of Manufacturing, Services, Small Business Manufacturing, Small Business Services and AgroProcessing (table below).

There were also specific awards for customer-focus, continuous improvement, and health and safety and environmental initiatives.

The Biennial NQA ceremony was the highlight

of National Quality Week 2021. This year’s event also featured the launch of a ‘Made in Guyana’ Certification Mark which was unveiled by First Lady, Mrs. Arya Ali. The Certification Mark will be used by the GNBS to certify authentic Guyanese products based on the quantity of local raw materials used in their production, and the number of Guyanese staff employed by their establishment, among others criteria.

During his address to those gathered at the ceremony, Minister of Natural Resources and Acting Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Vickram Bharrat, said the Awards bring the business sector into the spotlight for going the extra mile to meet the requirements of National and (continued on page 23)

Thursday October 14, 2021

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Kaieteur News

Home Affairs Ministry Drunk cop crashes spends US$80M to boost into parked truck security - Mid-year Report - station runs out of breathalyser tests The Ministry of Finance’s Mid-year Report has revealed that the sum of $16.1B (equivalent to US$80M) has been expended out of the $38.1B that was allocated for security in the 2021 budget.

According to the report, the money was intended to advance government’s efforts at ensuring that every citizen is living and working in a safe, orderly and peaceful environment.

Critical to the administration’s approach to crime, the reported noted, is the strengthening of the Guyana Police Force’s (GPF) crime fighting and investigative capabilities.

In this regard, as of June 2021, 21 motorcycles were

added to support the GPF’s anti-crime patrols, whereas in September of 2021, 50 new 4x4 vehicles were purchased for the GPF and were handed over by President Irfaan Ali. In September 7, 2020, according to a Department of Public Information report, President Irfaan Ali had noted that, “In order to support our security sector, to support the Guyana Police Force in understanding the new environment in which they operate – greater economic activities in hinterland communities, (etc.)

– they are required to move more swiftly, with a different type of vehicle, so we are going to acquire 50 new 4×4 vehicle for the GPF.” Home Affairs Minister, Robeson Benn, had stated too

that officers should now respond to reports in a timely and effective manner. As a result of the efforts to strengthen the Force’s response to crime, Commissioner of Police, Nigel Hoppie, had announced that there has been a 22.7 percent reduction in serious crimes across the country during the first half of this year when compared to the same period in 2020.

Moreover, it was stated in the report, that the sum of $22.6M was expended towards the training of 1,049 ranks in 47 courses during the first half and it is projected that an additional 1,654 ranks will be trained both locally and regionally during the second half of the year.

GNBS recognises standard compliant...

From page 13 International Standards. He added that as the government pushes for local content in the expanding oil and gas sector, companies must strive to produce quality products. “The opportune time is now when we can throw mediocrity out of the window and say we only accept standards and quality,” Minister Bharrat noted.

Also addressing the event was Chairman of the National Standards Council (NSC), Mr Vladim Persaud, who highlighted the importance of recognising businesses’ efforts in implementing the requirements of standards across sectors.

“I believe, like in anything else, we need to let those involved know how they are doing, especially when they are doing well...What this does is heighten confidence and encourage others to get on board and become more competitive,” Mr. Persaud

said.

Executive Director (Ag.) of the GNBS, Ms. Ramrattie Karan, congratulated the winners at the event and urged that others continue to strive for excellence in their operations towards providing better end products to consumers.Meanwhile, President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, Dr. Irfaan Ali, was represented by Minister within the Ministry of Works, Deodat Indar. Minister Indar applauded the GNBS for hosting such an event which recognises local businesses for their commitment to delivering quality products and services. He also congratulated the participants of the Awards for going the extra mile to ensure quality and customer satisfaction.

“You are the engine of growth in this country,” he told private sector participants, alluding to the Ministry of Finance’s Mid-year re-

port which shows that in the first half of 2021, Guyana recorded a 14.5 percent growth in real GDP. Minister Indar cautioned business owners to not lose sight of quality, especially in the agro-processing sector, as they work to meet increasing demands for products and services resulting from the overall expansion of the economy.

The GNBS will host the fourth NQA in 2023 when it is anticipated that many more companies will vie for the awards in more categories.

The winners of the NQA were chosen based on the results of Assessment Audits conducted at each entity to determine its level of conformance to the Seven Quality Principles established by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO); and Occupational Safety & Health and Environmental requirements. See list of winners below:

A drunk cop, who was on Tuesday reportedly speeding in his motorcar along the Goed Fortuin Public Road located on the West Bank of Demerara (WBD), ended up crashing into a parked canter truck.

The cop was at the time travelling along with two of his colleagues inside the car when the accident occurred.

Kaieteur News was told by eyewitnesses that the accident took place around 21:00hrs.

Not only did he crash but Kaieteur News was told that the La Grange Police Station had co-incidentally run out of breathalyser testing kits to test his Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) that evening.

This newspaper understands that the cop is attached to the La Grange Police Station too and that his colleagues were eventually forced to conduct a breathalyser test on him after the owner of the truck insisted that it must be done.

The results of the test reportedly showed that the cop’s BAC was 0.59.

Eyewitnesses said that the cop had reportedly swerved from another vehicle but it appeared as though he had lost control of his car and collided with the truck that was parked at the side of the road on the parapet.

The owner of the truck recalled that he was in his home when he heard a loud impact. He had rushed out to investigate and saw that a heavily tinted motorcar had crashed into his truck. After the crash, eyewitnesses recalled that two men emerged from the wrecked car dressed in police uniform.

Those two men reportedly left the scene but returned shortly after without their police shirts and stood nearby clad in their pants and t-shirts. They had identified themselves as passengers of the car and had pointed out the driver who was dressed in plain clothes. Realising that the men appeared to be under the influence of alcohol, traf-

The canter truck that was parked beside the road.

The car that was reportedly driven by the cop fic ranks were called in to investigate. They were all taken to the La Grange Police Station to give their respective statements. It was there that the traffic ranks were advised that they should conduct a breathalyser test on their colleague.

Their response, according to the man, was that they did not have any breathalyser testing kits to conduct the test.

Kaieteur News understands that the owner of the truck began arguing with

them and insisted that they find a kit “because there is always kits available to test commuters crossing over the Demerara Harbour Bridge after hours.”The ranks eventually managed to locate a testing kit and conducted a breathalyser test on their colleague.

However, the owner of the truck decided not to press charges against the cop since a legal agreement is now in place in which the cop will pay for the damage caused to the truck.

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Thursday October 14, 2021

Kaieteur News

Murder of British teen in Berbice…

Judge refuses guilty plea of murder accused The guilty plea of Aaron Hing, who is charged with the murder of British teen, Dominic Bernard, was yesterday refused by High Court Judge, Sandil Kissoon.

The matter was called in the Berbice High Court and after the charge was read to King he pleaded guilty. The charge stated that on October 14, 2015 at Kildonan Village, Corentyne, East Berbice, he murdered 18-year-old Bernard, his god-brother.

However, in his address to the court, King explained that he is also a victim of a crime and noted that the other murder accused, his friend, Stayman George, is the one who committed the murder.

Hing stated that at the time of the crime they were all under the influence of drugs and further noted that George hammered Bernard to death over a broken cell phone. The murder accused also told the court that George had threatened to kill his family if he went to the police.

As such, Justice Kissoon entered a not guilty plea on behalf of Hing and disputed the facts of the State’s case.

The State is being represented by Attorney-at-Law, Latchmie Rahamat, who was appointed as Special Prosecutor by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Shalimar Ali Hack, S.C. Hing is being represented by Attorney-at-Law Sanjeev Datadin.

Hing’s matter will go to trial as a result of the not guilty plea that was entered on his behalf by Justice Kissoon.

The jury that was empanelled for this matter will hear the case today.

Last week Tuesday, George pleaded guilty to the murder of Bernard before Justice Kissoon.

The sentencing for the 28-year-old murder accused

Accused, Aaron Hing (left) and Stayman George.

Essequibo man jailed 18 years for raping woman An Essequibo man, who was found guilty of rape by a 12-member jury at the Suddie High Court on Tuesday, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for the crime. The sentence was handed down yesterday by Justice Priya Sewnarine- Beharry.

Francis Gonsalves was found guilty of raping a 35year-old woman in 2018.

The jury delivered a 10-2 majority verdict at the Suddie High Court finding Gonsalves guilty of the crime of engaging in sexual penetration with the victim without her consent on March 27, 2018.

According to the particulars of the case, Gonsalves of the Charity Housing Scheme, Essequibo Coast, had attacked and raped his victim after she left a birthday party at 03:00hrs on the night of

March 27, 2018. Gonsalves refused to accept the verdict and told the court that he was innocent and had an unfair trial.

His attorney, Ravindra Mohabir, in a plea of mitigation, told the court that there is hope for his client to be rehabilitated. But State Prosecutor, Tiffani Lyken, pointed out that Gonsalves showed no remorse for his actions, although he was found guilty by a jury.

Lyken revealed that Gonsalves had previous brushes with the law and is currently serving a sentence.

She noted that in addition to the rape conviction, the man was charged previously for burglary, assault causing actual bodily harm, damage to property, and breach of a protection order.

Sound chemicals management... was deferred to October 19, 2021.

Kaieteur News had reported that George’s child mother, Krystol Thomas, her mother, Sinfine Henry called “Coreen”, and George’s friend, Jahmil Sinclair, are charged with accessory to murder.

It was reported that Bernard had arrived in Guyana on October 14, 2015, for a threeweek vacation with his godbrother Hing. He was scheduled to fly back to England on November 5, 2015 but failed to do so.

His father, Andrew Bernard, had contacted his godson (Hing) about his son’s whereabouts after he did not return home. However, Hing reportedly told his god-father that he was unaware that the teen was coming to Guyana.

This raised suspicions and the elder Bernard flew to Guyana to locate his eldest child.

His visit led to the intensification of the investigation

Dead, Dominic Bernard.

which later resulted in the discovery of the teenager’s body.

On January 8, 2016, a badly decomposed body, suspected to be that of Bernard, was found in a shallow grave at Nurney, Corentyne, Berbice, by CID ranks from Georgetown and Berbice.

They were acting on an anonymous phone call.

A post mortem examination revealed that he had sustained a fractured skull, as well as a broken neck. DNA test results showed that the samples taken from the badly decomposed body matched the DNA of Bernard’s father.

From page 19 of Agriculture.

Chairman of the PTCCB, Dr. Leslie Munroe, said that one of the Board's mandates was to ensure substances that are considered toxic are used and stored responsibly and the Board is currently working to introduce other pest management tools to farmers across the country. “Pesticides, as we all know, are poisonous.

Our mandate is to ensure that these substances are used responsibly, to minimise the use of those substances that are considered highly toxic, and to introduce the use of those that are considered less toxic.

One of the aims we have is to introduce or expand integrated pests management to farmers, which involves the use of other pest management tools. To achieve that, we've been working with agencies such as NAREI and GRDB. We also want to join with the importers of pesticides, to help us get enough financing to push the project forward so that more farmers across

the country can benefit from these cabinets to properly store these containers,” Dr. Munroe saidRegistrar of the PTCCB, Trecia Davis, said that since 2008 the Board has been implementing legislation that provides guidance on what needs to be done to ensure sound chemicals management is achieved.

“The Board is grateful to have a legislation that provides guidance as to what needs to be done to ensure sound chemicals management. We've been implementing this legislation at the Board since 2008 as we strive to achieve sound chemicals management across the country. Sound chemicals management is the management of these chemicals throughout the life cycle; that is from import to storage to use. During my years as an inspector, I had a lot of experience seeing how pesticides were stored when farmers purchase them for use and it gave me goosebumps. Yes, these chemicals are of significant importance to the agriculture sector in Guyana but they are also very dangerous. While there are significant benefits to these chemicals, we often forget the proposed risk that exists. Today, the aspect of storage is one that we are still very much passionate about and I want to commend Minister Mustapha for the support that he has given to the Board to promote this initiative,” Ms. David said Over the years, the Board has managed to ensure that 70 percent of the chemicals used in Guyana's agriculture sector are now considered moderately hazardous and unlikely to cause issues if used according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Thursday October 14, 2021

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Shardul Thakur replaces Axar Patel in India’s T20 World Cup...

From page 30 overall and in the UAE leg, being particularly impressive with his economy rate. He has likely been moved to the reserves since Ravindra Jadeja would be the first-choice pick for left-arm fingerspinning allrounder in the team, and Axar provides an almost likefor-like option. Should Jadeja be injured or unavailable, Axar will come into the main squad.

Apart from the reserves, the eight players who are going to be part of the Indian team’s

bubble and help with preparations are mostly pure bowlers. Venkatesh Iyer is the only one whose primary suit is not bowling, although he could well be an additional cover for the seam-bowling allrounder’s spot.

Among the rest, Avesh, Umran, Harshal and Shahbaz have all been involved in the IPL and have achieved varying degrees of success.

Avesh has had a sterling season with Capitals, being en-

trusted with the tough overs in the powerplay and at the death, and has picked up 23 wickets in 15 games.

The value of those wickets has been extremely high, as a Smart Wickets tally of 30.08 for the season shows.

Harshal has topped the wicket chart with a record-equalling 32 strikes, successfully donning the role of a death-overs bowler for Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Umran turned heads with his ability to generate searing

pace, and is currently at the top of the list for the fastest ball bowled in IPL 2021, clocking one at 153kph. Shahbaz was used as a utility player

by Royal Challengers, chipping in with his left-arm spin and handy batting.

The trio of Meriwala, Karn and Gowtham haven’t played a match in the UAE leg of IPL 2021. However, their teams Capitals for Meriwala and Super Kings for Karn and Gowtham - finished in the top two of the league stages.

Husband a ‘suspect’ as Kenyan athlete Tirop found dead From page 31 fastest-rising athletics giants on the international stage, thanks to her eye-catching performances on the track.”

At the 202 0 Olympic

Games in August, Tirop finished just outside the medal places for the women’s 5,000m, trailing Ethiopia’s bronze medallist Gudaf Tsegay by 0.75 seconds.

As well as her 10,000m bronze

medals at both the 2017 and 2019 World Athletics Championships, Tirop also impressed off the track.

In September, she set a time of 30 minutes and one second in Herzogenaurach, Germany, as she took 28 seconds off the old 10km road race record set in 2002.

Tirop began her career as a junior athlete in 2011, winning two bronze medals in the 5,000m at that year’s world

junior championships.

Four years later, during a rapid ascent, she won the senior World Cross Country championships in China - becoming the second youngest medallist at that level.

“It is unsettling, utterly unfortunate and very sad that we’ve lost a young and promising athlete who, at a young age of 25 years, had brought our country so much glory,” Kenya President Uhuru

Thursday October 14, 2021 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) You're apt to feel rather tense today and blame it on boredom and discontent with your current life. You could spend much of the morning daydreaming, formulating outrageous plans to

escape what you see as a rut.

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) Do you feel like you're about to explode? Tension may have built up through the week and now there may be no outlet for it.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Was there a task you wanted to have completed by now that was delayed for reasons beyond your control? Don't obsess over it.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) Over the past few years you've been aware that both you and your chosen life path are changing.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Are you planning to hear a sermon, lecture, or speech of some kind today? Don't be surprised if what the speaker says turns out to be more hot air

than useful information.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Dark dreams may haunt your sleep and cause you to awaken in the night. The dreams probably represent nothing more than your unconscious mind releasing the darkest of your worries, fears, and frustrations that you've been

going through over the past week.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Your partner may be worried because a family member is ill. This could cause your friend to be distracted. If this is a love partner, offer sympathy, but don't expect any gratitude now.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Have you resolved to give your house a thorough cleaning? You may have gone to the store and bought every conceivable type of cleaner.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) If you're in the mood for love, remember to be sensitive to your partner's needs and give lots of love in return.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) A woman, perhaps your mother, could visit you today. She may not be in a great mood, so perhaps you'd better take her out in public where she'll have to maintain some self-control.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Traffic in your neighborhood could be congested beyond anything you've seen before. Perhaps an accident or road construction is blocking the street.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) You're romantic by nature, but today you're probably more interested in sensuality than roses and champagne. Even the idea of inviting seduction

seems too insipid right now.

Kenyatta stated. ”It is even more painful that Agnes, a Kenyan hero by all measures, painfully lost her young life through a criminal act perpetuated by selfish and cowardly people.”

“I urge our law enforcement agencies to track down

and apprehend the criminals responsible for the killing of Agnes so that they can face the full force of the law,” the head of state added.

Rahul Tripathi’s dramatic...

From page 29 Venkatesh encapsulated the Knight Riders’ opening stand with one shot.

In the fifth over, he sauntered down the track and clubbed the ball effortlessly over longon, and he did it against Kagiso Rabada.

He had earlier deposited Axar Patel over deep midwicket too, and that nonchalant six off Rabada reinforced how dominantly Knight Riders had started.

The powerplay brought 51 runs with the openers still going strong, Shubman Gill playing the supporting role to Venkatesh’s swashbuckling strokeplay.

The end of the powerplay didn’t slow the scoring down.

Dew had set in with force just before Capitals’ innings ended, and they got the worse end of the conditions.

But even if the dew made the ball more difficult to grip and come on to the bat more easily, it still needed the batsmen

to execute their shots against bowlers of high pedigree, and they did that with panache.

Venkatesh reached his half-century in 38 balls, eventually falling to Rabada when he pulled straight to deep square leg.

That broke the opening stand, but by then Knight Riders already had 96 runs on the board and only 12.2 overs had been bowled.

The scramble at the death - There was no hint of the drama that would unfold when Nitish Rana pulled Anrich Nortje to deep square leg at the end of the 16th over.

But it began a procession that didn’t look like it would end.

Gill, who had essayed a breath-taking front-foot pull off Nortje over long-on, was caught behind off an uncharacteristic poke after a controlled innings and Knight Riders suddenly found there weren’t that many wickets to spare.

The final over began with seven runs needed, and Knight Riders scored just one run off the first four balls while also losing Shakib Al Hasan and Narine. It was left to Tripathi to provide the final punch.

Capitals, who had looked the best team on show in the league stage while deservedly topping it, ended their campaign with three straight losses.

Kolkata Knight Riders 136 for 7 (Venkatesh 55, Gill 46, Ashwin 2-27, Rabada 2-23.

Nortje 2-31) beat Delhi Capitals 135 for 5 (Dhawan 36, Shreyas 30*, Varun 2-26) by three wickets.

Softball Cricket League formed ...

From page 32 commented on the initiative, stating that this will certainly

be encouraging to keep the game alive especially in the midst of the global pa ndemic.

Both players are currently based in Canada, but always lend a helping hand when it comes to cricket in the Cinderella County.

At the formation of ESCL, apart from Layne and Bacchus, Rajesh Gopaul was elected Secretary while Leema Jaiwan is serving as the Assistant Secretary/Treasurer.

The championship game is billed for November 21 at Reliance ground with the winning team taking home a trophy and $60,000.

Layne informed too that there are monetary prizes are up for grabs along with trophies. Outstanding individual performances will also be rewarded.

Layne declared that VO Tajeshwar, Gary Mohamed and Wesley Blackman are the main sponsors.

Kaieteur News

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Thursday October 14, 2021

Guyana’s proposal selected by ITTF for the 2021 Edition of “My Gender. My Strength”

GOA supports Green Machine T T

he Guyana O l y m p i c Association (GOA) has filled the budget deficit for the national men’s Rugby Sevens team; the ‘Green Machine’, to ensure that they will be able to compete at this weekend’s Rugby Americas North (RAN) Championship in Turks and Caicos Islands with a contribution totally almost GY$1million.

GOA President, K.A. J u m a n - Ya s s i n w h o presented the cheque, wished the team well in their quest to recapture the title lost in 2017.

During the simple handing over at Yassin’s

Office on Carmichael Street, he appealed to the Government to ensure the GRFU is allocated a plot of land for Rugby.

He noted that the sport has been hampered by poor facilities for a number of years.

S i n c e 2 0 1 6 , developmental works started on the allocated pitch in the National Park for Rugby but those works were aborted and currently the rugby pitch is decorated with numerous holes, created by the ponies that are left to roam unrestricted, all of which the GRFU confirmed.

The Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) was

r e p r e s e n t e d b y Vi c e President Joshua Griffith who thanked the GOA for the timely donation. GRFU Secretary Terrence Grant who was also on hand, revealed that the GRFU was short USD$5,400 for airfare but with $1.2 million from the National Sports Commission and now the GOA, they have covered that and other expenses.

This weekend’s tournament also acts as a qualifier for next year’s World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series, with the winning side gaining the opportunity to compete for the 16th and final spot on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens series.

he Guyana Table T e n n i s A s s o c i a t i o n ’s (GTTA) project proposal for the 2021 Edition of “My Gender. My Strength” – Member Association Assistance Programme for Women’s Development in Table Tennis was selected by the by International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) among several globally submitted projects.

This annual ITTF Developmental Programme seeks to enhance and advance women’s participation in the sport by supporting ambitious and creative national projects designed for female players, coaches, match officials, administrators or managers.

Ensuring maximum w o m e n ’s p a r t i c i p a t i o n combined with high quality and benefits for women’s development in table tennis.

Guyana’s TT Pink Pongsters, My Gender, My Strength programme provides the unique opportunity for the

GTTA in partnership with key stakeholders to establish a programme that is specifically geared towards the establishment of a national talent Identification Programme to have girls actively participating in the sport.

Guyana has enjoyed a fair measure of success at the regional and international levels in the past but this is not as a result of any unique strategic established or targeted programme implemented by the association, but rather through an adhoc system.

The GTTA in a release outlined that, “It is therefore our belief that the institution and implementation of a national talent identification programme that offers training opportunities for young Girls will provide the catalyst for the participation of more females in the sport of table tennis.

Leading to the provision of competitive advantage to Guyana in regional

competitions in future years to come.”

Through a series of sessions, the girls will learn all the basics necessary to enjoy a great game of table tennis, keeping active, socialising, developing hand/eye coordination, education sessions, and motivational engagement by national players and key figures.Every session will consist of a warm-up, some off-the-table activities, onthe-table exercise and fun games.

The GTTA will utilise the services of their ITTF trained Coaches in regions 3,4,6,7 and10 to provide orientation sessions in the fundamental aspect of the games for a minimum of 9 hours weekly over the period of 3 months observing all covid-19 protocols.

The ‘Pink Pongster’ which each participant is being referred to as will also receive their very own bag, holding everything they need to get started.

Thursday October 14, 2021

Kaieteur News

PAGE 29

Rahul Tripathi’s dramatic six takes nervy Knight Riders into final ESPNcricinfo - They spent a large part of the chase in cruise control, and then Kolkata Knight Riders hit a wet patch that almost threatened to skid them right off the path and into an abyss. From 13 runs needed in 25 balls, Knight Riders lost six wickets in 3.5 overs with only seven runs added, and faced an equation where Rahul Tripathi was facing up to R Ashwin needing to score six in the last two balls.

Tripathi had scored six from ten balls till then, missing more than connecting, while Ashwin had given up one run in four balls while nabbing two wickets.

Tripathi had set himself up for a quickish length ball outside off, and threw a season’s worth of verve into a flat-batted hit that was carried as much by nervous energy as anything else over the long-off boundary.

Knight Riders’ resurgence in the UAE leg of IPL 2021 continued, with their seventh win in nine games. They are in the final, where Chennai Super Kings await.

Delhi Capitals had seemed down and all but out of the

contest for most of the second innings, but they came alive with a vengeance as Knight Riders panicked with the finish line in sight.

Before the nail-biting finish, Knight Riders set themselves up with a familiar template: the spinners choked the life out of the opposition, and the openers muscled a strong reply.

Varun Chakravarthy was the bowling hero, taking 2 for 26 in four hard-to-read overs, which could have easily been 3 for less than 26 if he hadn’t over-stepped by a millimeter. While batting, they had the fearless Venkatesh Iyer to thank, the opener’s insouciant 55 off 41 setting up a foundation strong enough to withstand the earthquake that came later.

Delhi Capitals’ brief flutter at the top - Sent in to bat, Capitals began sedately but overs three and four together brought 26 runs.

Prithvi Shaw had begun aggressively while Shikhar Dhawan hit a couple of sixes off Sunil Narine after having spent his first seven balls

score-less.

Both openers flowing and the score at a healthy 32 for no loss in four overs meant Capitals looked strong, but that was as good as it got for them while batting. Varun struck with his first ball, Shaw not reading the one coming into him to be trapped in front.

That began Knight Riders’ familiar spin strangulation.

Dhawan looked like he would aim to bat through the innings, but fell to Varun before the pacers would come on at the death. The returning Marcus Stoinis added balance to the Capitals side on paper, but batting him at three after so much time out in the cold didn’t come off.

When Rishabh Pant too fell cheaply, Capitals were 90 for 4 in 15.2 overs, struggling to get above a run a ball.

The no-ball and Shreyas Iyer’s grandstand finish - Shreyas had come in to bat in the 12th over, which is later than he generally comes out for Capitals. For most of his innings, he just rotated the strike. His fifth-

Trophy Stall annual Golf tourney tees off on Saturday Trophy Stall has continued with its support for sports and on Saturday the Lusignan Golf Club (LGC) is expected to be buzzing with excitement when the entity’s annual Golf tournament tees off from 12:30hrs.

The tournament which is expected to attract some 50 golfers was launched yesterday at Trophy Stall’s South Road location and will be played over 18 holes using the Medal Play Format. Prizes will be presented to the top three along with the best net score, best net front nine, best net back nine and nearest to the flag.

In an invited comment, Vice President of the Lusignan Golf Club Paton George expressed gratitude to Ramesh and Devi Sunich of Trophy Stall for their support. He noted that the entity has been supporting the sport for over 25 years. ”This is one of the longest relationships we have had with any of our sponsors and we are very happy and are

looking forward to their continued support,” he added.

George stated that this tournament is expected to be keenly contested since it will be held close to the Guyana Open. “These tournaments add to the points chase for the Guyana open so it will be huge,” he said.

Proprietor of Trophy Stall Ramesh Sunich said that he is pleased to be associated with the LGC and thanked their members for giving him an opportunity to showcase his products. “I have seen an improvement in golf in Guyana.

I have noticed things that I haven’t seen before and this tells me that the golf will continue to grow,” he posited.

Sunich urged other businesses to support the LGC noting that sport helps with marketing. “I call on other businesses to lend support to golf. Sport is also used as a tool to promote unity,” he said.

Sunich added that he is looking forward to an

exciting and successful tournament and hinted on getting involved in the sport.

Among the players set to participate are defending Guyana Open male champion Avinash Persaud, Maxim Mangra, Ravindra Kishore, Parick Prashad, Bryan Hackett, Max Persaud and Pur Persaud.

In the Medal Play Format, an individual golfer will record each of his shot in an attempt to finish the round using the lowest number of strokes.

Registration closes at 12:00hrs tomorrow and players can contact the club on 220 5660.

Players are asked to note that all covid-19 protocols will be observed and are advised to contact the club’s Manager on the day of the tournament to collect their score cards, pay the tournament fees and proceed to their allocated tee boxes to tee off.

Presentation of prizes will be held at the completion of the tournament.

(Zaheer Mohamed)

The Knight Riders mob Rahul Tripathi after he took them over the line. BCCI wicket partner Shimron Hetmyer was more adventurous, though he had a slice of luck when on 2 in the 17th over.

A shovel was brilliantly caught by Shubman Gill diving forward at long-on, but Varun had over-stepped by a thin margin. Hetmyer

whacked two sixes against Lockie Ferguson’s pace in the next over, though he gave it away when going for a non-existent run to be caught short of the crease by a long margin.

Shreyas then provided a rousing end to the innings, hitting a four and a final-ball

six off Shivam Mavi as he conceded 15 in the final over, and the Capitals’ total was in competitive territory given how the pitch was playing.

Mavi, who had 1 for 12 in three overs till then, had his figures spoilt somewhat.

Venkatesh Iyer takes off (Continued on page 27)

Kaieteur News

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Shardul Thakur replaces Axar Patel in India’s T20 World Cup squad ESPNcricinfo - Shardul Thakur has replaced Axar Patel in India’s squad for the T20 World Cup 2021. Axar, meanwhile, joins the list of stand-by players for the squad, along with Shreyas Iyer and Deepak Chahar.

The BCCI also said eight players would additionally be joining the team’s bubble in Dubai to “assist Team India in their preparations” for the tournament. These are: Avesh Khan, Umran Malik, Harshal Patel, Lukman Meriwala, Ve n k a t e s h I y e r, K a r n Sharma, Shahbaz Ahmed and K Gowtham.

The T20 World Cup will be played primarily in the UAE - where IPL 2021 is also currently in progress - with some games of the preliminary stage in Oman.

Thakur has had a good IPL season with Chennai Super Kings, who finished second in the league and the won the first qualifier against Delhi Capitals to reach the final.

He has picked up 13 wickets in the UAE leg of the tournament, joint third in the

Thakur Thakur was earlier in the list of India’s stand-by players.

period. His strikes have been at key moments which is reflected in a Smart Wickets tally of 17.5, narrowly behind Yuzvendra Chahal’s chart-topping 17.62.

He hasn’t had much opportunity to bat, but he was sent up the order at No. 4 in the qualifier against Capitals, with a view to utilising his ball-striking capacity. He, however, fell

for a first-ball duck.

Thakur could slot into the seam-bowling allrounder role for the Indian team, currently with Hardik Pandya. However, Hardik didn’t bowl during the IPL, and if he’s unable to do so in the T20 World Cup too, Thakur could be in line to fill t h a t v o i d .

Axar has also had a good IPL (Continued on page 27)

Thursday October 14, 2021

Danish football team given International Fair Martin Braithwaite walks Play Committee award for Eriksen response alongside Christian Eriksen as he is taken from the field.

Danish football team given International Fair Play Committee award for Eriksen response

Insidethegames - The Danish football team have been given the International Fair Play Committee (CIFP) award for their response to Christian Eriksen’s lifethreatening cardiac arrest in a Euro 2020 match.

Eriksen collapsed in a group game against Finland when a throw-in was taken towards him shortly before half-time. Team doctors confirmed afterwards he had suffered a cardiac arrest and they had to preform cardiac resuscitation to restart the midfielder’s heart.

The game was temporarily suspended, before Denmark completed the match once it was confirmed Eriksen was awake in hospital.

Danish players were praised for their reaction to the incident, particularly Simon Kjær, credited with a life-saving intervention by positioning Eriksen’s neck and head to clearing his airway.

Kjær then led other Danish players in a circle around Eriksen to shield him from television cameras and protect his privacy.

Eriksen is now in a stable and healthy

condition, though is yet to return to playing football and may be forced to retire on m e d i c a l g r o u n d s .

In awarding Denmark, the CIFP said: “The love of the sport and their team mate’s fight for his life led the Danish team to the decision to continue the match instead of postponing it for the next day, as proposed by their leaders. ”By doing so, they also give their body and soul to the healing of their broken partner.

“They lost the match in a huge fight unfortunately, but they proved that solidarity, compassion and fighting for each other is the essential part of the sport without which there is no real sport.”

CIFP President Jenõ Kamuti and ceremony ambassador Gábor Deregán presented the award to Kjær, who received it on behalf of the Danish team. Founded in 1963, the CIFP aims to ensure the “worldwide defence and promotion of fair play”.Awards are given to individuals, teams and foundations annually to recognise their commitment to fair play.

Kaieteur News

Thursday October 14, 2021

PAGE 31

EBFA commissions Village Football Academy at St. Cuthbert’s Mission The East Bank Football Association (EBFA) has taken up the challenge of its parent body, the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) to set up Academy Training Centre's (ATC) at strategic locations within the Association to augment the main Academy Training Centre.

So, on Sunday last, the EBFA through its Technical Development Officer (TDO) and his support team made the trek to St. Cuthbert's Mission off the Linden Soesdyke highway where t h e y o ff i c i a l l y commissioned a Village Football Academy, a historic occasion.

According to the Association: “The Academy will be a satellite of the main Academy Training Centre and will be closely monitored by Coaches from the ATC. Equipment were donated to the Village Academy by the EBFA and presented by TDO Winter to Mr. Venesh Poonsammy, C o u n c i l o r w i t h responsibility for Sports in the presence of Toshao, Mr. Timothy Andrews.”

The materials handed over forms part of the GFF's Member Financial Assistance Programme (MFAP) aimed at empowering its members in a holistic way, on and off the field of p l a y .

GFF President Wayne Forde lauded the EBFA for the initiative noting that the body is laying a solid foundation for the future of Guyana's football.

“I am very pleased with how positively the Leadership of the Regional Associations have responded to the transfer of ownership of the Academy Training Centre

EBFA’s TDO Devnon Winter (left) presenting a football to Venesh Poonsammy in the presence of Toshao Timothy Andrews (right) and players.

Some of the players who will form part of the St Cuthbert’s Mission Village Football Academy interact with EBFA Coaches and officials.

(ATC) programme. We are seeing the weekly attendance to the sessions throughout the country growing steadily and that is indeed a very encouraging

sign. We are encouraging each Association to establish what we call “satellite centers” at strategic locations across their respective jurisdiction,

which would allow more boys and girls to participate in the programme and be exposed to well structured weekly training sessions.I would therefore like to

commend President Kevin Anthony and the technical staff of the East Bank Football Association for taking the first step in the expansion.

Through the M-FAP programme, the GFF is providing the football equipment and other resources for the satellite centers as well.”

Husband a ‘suspect’ as Kenyan athlete Tirop found dead BBCsport - Kenyan world record holder Agnes Tirop has been found stabbed to death at her home in the western town of Iten, with police treating her husband as a suspect. The two-time World Athletics Championships bronze medallist, who finished fourth in the

Kenya’s Agnes Tirop

Olympic 5,000m final two months ago, was 25.Last month, Tirop set the world record for a women’s only 10km road race in Germany. A criminal investigation is now underway into her death, with police saying her husband has gone missing.On Wednesday (yesterday), crime scene investigators were at the house of Tirop, who police say was reported missing by her father on Tuesday night.

“When [police] got in the house, they found Tirop on the bed and there was a pool of blood on the floor,” Tom Makori, head of police for the area, said. ”They saw she had been stabbed in the neck, which led us to believe it was a knife wound, and we believe that is what caused her death.

“Her husband is still at large, and preliminary

investigations tell us her husband is a suspect because he cannot be found. Police are trying to find her husband so he can explain what happened to Tirop.”

Makori added that police believe that CCTV in the house may be able to help with their investigation. Tirop was also found dead with a stab wound to her stomach, sources have told the BBC. Athletic success - “Athletics Kenya are distraught to learn about the untimely death of World 10,000m bronze medallist Agnes Tirop,” the country’s athletics body said in a statement.”We are still working to unearth more details surrounding her demise. Kenya has lost a jewel who was one of the (Contiuned on page 27)

Kaieteur News

PAGE 32

Softball Cricket League formed in Essequibo An Essequibo Softball Cricket League (ESCL) was recently formed and Chairman Wakeel Layne has expressed excitement since its launching last August.

According to Layne, the League, which is led by President Tom Bacchus is already up and running with an ongoing Over-40, 20overs competition involving

six teams.

Layne also stated that they will be having an annual competition in the veteran’s category and next year he is expecting more teams. So far they have got: Caribbean Cricket Club, Invaders Masters, Sunrisers Masters, Queenstown Tigers, Ravens Sports Club and Reliance Hustlers.

”We want to see the continued growth of softball cricket in Essequibo and this initiative is very pleasing and welcoming,” Layne, a veteran softball player, related.

Meanwhile, two former Essequibo players, Rovendra Mandolall and Devon Ramnauth (Continued on page 27)

Thursday October 14, 2021

Fourth Urban Benjamin Memorial Road Race set for Cinderalla County on Sunday Urban Benjamin Wakeel Layne

The cream of the nation’s cyclists will on Sunday be invading the Cinderella county to sontest the 4th Urban Benjamin Memorial Road Race organised by Evolution Cycle Club and sponsored by Conrad Gomes.The late Benjamin was a cycling enthusiast who met his demise following an AT V a c c i d e n t w h i l s t working in the interior.

Sponsor Conrad Gomes and his company in an effort to keep the memory of a good worker alive, and who was a lover of cycling, decided to host this event for the lad who hailed from the Pomeroon.

President of the Team Evolution Cycle Club, Keith Fernandes also informed this publication that it has been the tradition of the club to present all entrance fees garnered, to Benjamin’s widow who attends all the races and would be present on Sunday for the contest that would pedal off from Charity.

The senior riders as well as the juniors and Under-45s will travel all the way to Supenaam before returning to the starting line for the finish, a distance of 74 miles.

The ladies and Over-50s who will pedal off about two minutes before the above named categories will turn back at Anna Regina, covering about 35 miles. The top six seniors along with the top three in the other categories will all be rewarded.

The last race was held in 2019 and was won by Jamual John who is expected to

Keith Fernandes - Team Evolution President defend his title on Sunday fresh from last Sunday’s Kadir Mohamed Memorial ‘Ounce of Gold’ race triumph. The inaugural race was won by Paul De Nobrega with his fellow Team Evolution teammate, Christopher ‘Chicken Legs’ Griffith winning the second year.

With the terrain being a flat one, this race is anticipated to be a very fast and tactical contest with the likes of Briton John, the Burrowes brothers, Horace and Yohan Alex Mendes, Paul Choo Wee Nam, Walter Grant-Stuart, Curtis Dey and Andrew Hicks all staking a claim for the top prize.

The junior class will see the likes of Sherwin Sampson, Alex Leung, Mario Washington and Aaron Newton battling while the ladies division is expected to be dominated yet again by National Champion, Susan Hamilton.

Kaieteur News

Thursday October 14, 2021

PAGE 33

Action in the quarter final on Monday at Dynasty

Sevens Collymore birth anniversary Dominoes

Providence, Gangster, Quiet Storm through to final

P

rovidence, Gangster and Quiet Storm have secured their places in the final of the Sevens Collymore birth anniversary Dominoes competition which continued recently at

Turning Point. Providence chalked up 79 games to win the semi final encounter ahead of Gangster on 73 and Gold is Money with 57.

Shawn Davis led the scoring for the winners with 17 games while Andrew

Mendonca scored 16.

Stephon Collymore and Sevens Collymore marked 15 and 14 games respectively for Gangster while Shawn Morgan and Ganesh Sankar made 16 each for Gold is Money.

Chris Gayle: ‘I have no respect for Curtly Ambrose whatsoever’ ESPNcricinfo - Chris Gayle had stern words for Curtly Ambrose after the former West Indies fast bowler said that the batter wouldn’t be his automatic pick in the West Indies XI for the upcoming T20 World Cup, which begins on Sunday in UAE. Gayle hit back at Ambrose saying he has “no respect” for the former player and that he is “finished” with him. “I am speaking about Curtly Ambrose. I am singling out Curtly Ambrose, one of your own. I highly respected him when I came into the West Indies team,” Gayle told The Island Tea Morning Show, a radio station in St Kitts, on Tuesday. ”When I just joined the team, I looked up to this man. But I am now speaking from my heart. I don’t know what, since he retired, what he had against Chris Gayle.

Those negative things he has been saying within the press, I don’t know if he is looking for attention, but he is getting the attention. So I am just giving back the attention which he requires and which he needs. ”I can tell you personally, and you can let him know that Chris Gayle, the Universe Boss, have no respect for Curtly Ambrose whatsoever.”

Gayle, who was part of the 2012 and 2016 World Cup-winning teams, added that if former West Indies players “continue to be negative” and not support the team, then the “Universe Boss is going to be

disrespectful, disrespectful verbally in their face”. ”I am finished with Curtly Ambrose,” Gayle, 42, said.

“I have no respect, any time I see him I will tell him as well — ‘Stop being negative, support the team ahead of the World Cup.’ This team has been selected and we need past players to support us. We need that, we don’t need negative energy. In other teams, their past players support their teams, why can’t our own support us in a big tournament like this? ” We h a v e w o n t h e tournament twice, and we will be going for the third title. The team has seen what is happening.

It is going to reflect on the team. I am not going to take anything from any s e n i o r p l a y e r. C u r t l y Ambrose pull your socks up, alright? Support for West Indies, ok? Support West Indies, that is the thing.”

Last week, Ambrose spoke about Gayle’s recent lack of form going into the World Cup. Since the start of 2021, Gayle has accumulated just

227 runs in 16 T20Is, averaging 17.46 with a lone fifty to his name.

The opener had left the IPL bubble to stay fresh for the global tournament after playing just two matches where he scored 1 and 14 for the Punjab Kings in the UAE leg of the tournament.

Before the IPL, Gayle had scored 165 runs at an average of 18.33 in nine matches for St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

Though Ambrose felt that if Gayle gets going, “he can still be destructive”, he said the batter “hasn’t done much in the last 18 months to convince me that he will set the World Cup alight.” ”For me, Gayle is definitely not an automatic choice for starting,” Ambrose said on a radio talk show in Barbados.

“When you look at his exploits over the last 18 months, he has struggled not only for the West Indies, but other T20 franchises.

The few home series we played, he hasn’t had any scores of significance.”

Chris Gayle was a part of the 2012 and 2016 World Cup-winning teams BCCI

Earlier, Providence won their quarter final match handsomely which was contested on Monday night at Dynasty.

Providence established an early lead chalking 16 games while C6 managed nine and Gangster six in the opening round.

Providence continued to dominate in the second sitting as they marked the maximum 18 games while Gangster scored 13 and C 6 eight.

Providence and Gangsters both managed 14 apiece in the third sitting to

take their tally to 48 and 34 respectively while C 7 made 10 to be on 27.

The fourth sitting saw a repetition of the third with Providence leaping to 62, Gangster 48 and C 6 on 37. The fifth round was closely contested between Providence and Gangster with the former making 15 and the latter 14, while C 6 mustered eight. The sixth round went to Providence with 13 games as they amassed 90 overall while Gangster made 11 amounting to 73 and C6 scored 10, totaling 55.

Shawn Davis made 16 and Junior Smith 15 for the winners. Shawn Collymore and Sevens Collymore scored 16 each for Gangster while Barbara Lee and Clearance Benjamin made 16 and 14 respectively for the C6. The final will be contested shortly with Providence, Gangster and Quiet Store who drew the bye, battling for supremacy.

The winning team will pocket a trophy and $160,000, the runner up $75,000 and third place $50,000.

(Zaheer Mohamed)

GOA supports Green Machine GRFU’s Senior VP Joshua Griffith collects the cheque from GOA’s President K.A Juman Yassin in the presence of Manager George David (left) and Secretary, Terrence Grant.

Guyana’s proposal selected by ITTF for the 2021 Edition of “My Gender.

My Strength”

t r o Sp Trophy Stall annual Golf tourney tees off on Saturday

Vice President of the Lusignan Golf Club Paton George accepts the cheque and trophies from Devi Sunich of Trophy Stall.

Coach Candacy McKenzie working with a young girl during a ‘Teach Them Young’ training session.

Rahul Tripathi’s dramatic six takes nervy Knight Riders into final

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