Guyana Times -- Friday, March 4, 2022

ExxonMobil replants mangroves cleared at Ogle foreshore P5

Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

Issue No. 4938

THE BEACON OF TRUTH FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

Solution to food security, sustainability lies in Region – Ali tells Caricom-SICA Summit …lobbies Central America to support Caricom’s agricultural agenda Page 3

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

Wife killer handed life sentence P11

…“get out” of abusive relationships – victim’s daughter to women

Porter dies after trailer topples

…as Guyana to host agriculture investment conference in May

Govt examining 2 new nursery schools new proposals commissioned in Region 2 for diversification at Skeldon Estate – Jagdeo Page 7

Page 14

Mahaica double-fatality crash

Armed bandits rob East Canje supermarket P17

WCD man gets 14 years’ jail for brutally P8 chopping woman …previously jailed for killing wife

COVID-19 tablet approved for treatment in Guyana Pages 9 & 15

Cop charged, released …1 new COVID-19 death, on $1.5M bail 31 new infections recorded Guyanese Shyam Nokta receives prestigious Anthony N Sabga Award Page 16

P9

Dead: Christopher Bhagwandat and Sheereda Persaud

Page 12

20-year-old charged for making girl P16 watch ‘sex act’

Europe's largest nuclear power plant on fire P19 after Russian attack – Mayor

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FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

NEWS

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FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS OPENINGS BRIDGE

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Friday, March 4 – 02:30h-05:30h and Saturday, March 5 – 04:00h-05:30h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Friday, March 4 – 05:20h-06:50h and Saturday, March 5 – 05:50h-07:20h.

Solution to food security, sustainability lies in Region – Ali tells Caricom-SICA Summit

…lobbies Central America to support Caricom’s agricultural agenda …as Guyana to host agriculture investment conference in May Investment projects

FERRY SCHEDULE

Parika and Supenaam departure times – 05:00h, 10:00h-12:00h, 16:00h, 18:30h daily

WEATHER TODAY

Heavy rain showers are expected with instances of thunder during the morning hours with light showers in the afternoon and into the night followed by cloudy skies. Temperatures should range between 22 degrees Celsius and 28 degrees Celsius.

Winds: North North-Easterly to East NorthEasterly between 1.78 metres and 4.47 metres.

High Tide: 17:59h reaching a maximum height of 2.78 metres.

Low Tide: 11:32h and 23:51h reaching minimum heights of 0.44 metre and 0.48 metre.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022

LOTTERY NUMBERS J

01 13 19

20 24 28

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18 Bonus Ball

THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2022 DAILY MILLIONS

06 17 20 23 24 LUCKY 3

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9

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DISCLAIMER: WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ERRORS IN PUBLICATION. PLEASE CALL THE HOTLINE FOR CONFIRMATION - TEL: 225-8902

COMMODITIES Indicators

US$

Change %

Crude Oil

$112.60/barrel

+1.96

Rough Rice

$296.964/ton

+0.54

London Sugar

$522.20/ton

+0.04

Live Spot Gold

USD Per Ounce

Bid/Ask

$1940.50

$1941.50

Low/High Change

$1921.90 +4.00

$1953.20 +0.21%

President Dr Irfaan Ali addressing the IV Summit of Heads of State of Caricom-SICA held on Thursday in Belize

O

utlining the potential and capability within Central America, President Dr Irfaan Ali on Thursday called on countries from that region to support the Caribbean Community’s (Caricom’s) agricultural agenda in order to strengthen the agri-food systems and enhance food security in this hemisphere.

The Guyanese leader made this plea while addressing regional leaders during the Fourth CaricomSICA (Central American Integration System) Summit that was held in Belize. The one-day engagement followed the 33rd Inter-Sessional Meeting of Caricom Heads of Governments during which President Ali, as Lead Head on Agriculture, Agricultural Diversification and Food Security, presented an action-oriented and solutions-based proposal that aims at reducing the Caribbean’s US$5 billion food import bill by 25 per cent by 2025.

The Guyanese Head of State told the joint summit that Caricom’s ambitious agenda is targeting the transformation of the regional agriculture sector towards full commercialisation in order to enhance competitiveness and better meet the food and nutrition needs of the region. To achieve this, he explained, regional cooperation and collaboration is key.

“The solution to food security and sustainability lies right in this room. What is required is the commitment and joint approach in addressing food security in the region…work with us on how we can employ the technology, resources and mobilise the expertise in advancing this agenda of Caricom,” the Guyanese leader posited.

President Ali went on to the agricultural capability that current exists among SICA Member States alone, including Guatemala, where 25% of its GDP is from agriculture; Honduras, which employs 39% of its people in the agriculture sector; and Costa Rica, which is a global player with high competitive advantages in the sector.

“Central America, as a whole, contributes half of the total value of the region’s export in agriculture and food production,” he stated.

According to Ali, dis-

cussions have already commenced in this regard, and these Central Americans all expressed strong interest and commitment in supporting Caricom’s ‘25 by 2025’ agenda.

However, in further advancing this agenda, the Guyanese President on Thursday proposed a joint meeting between the Central American Agriculture Council and the Ministerial Taskforce establish by Caricom, so that the two regions can marry their priorities and establish a timebound framework that is in keeping with the Caribbean’s ambitions.

“We are extending and reach out to our friends in this room to support this agenda and support us.

You are our first call,” Ali stressed.

In addition, he also invited the Central American nations to participate in the regional agriculture investment conference slated for May 19 to 21 in Guyana.

“The areas you have competitive advantage in are almost identical areas we have identified in Caricom to boost production and im-

During the two-day Inter-Sessional Meeting, the Guyanese leader had come in for high praise from his Caricom colleagues for driving the region’s transformational agriculture agenda.

President Ali had outlined the significant contributions made over the oneyear lifespan of the Special Ministerial Taskforce (MTF), with specifically developed investment projects in poultry, corn and soya, and mut-

President Dr Irfaan Ali and his Guatemalan counterpart, President Alejandro Giammattei, meeting on Thursday

prove competitiveness. So, this is a low-hanging fruit… in which we can bring real benefits and real results, and show the population of a region that we are not only prolonged dialogue and conversation. But here is it that, as a joint region, we are prepared to put up an actionable timetable that we are going to open up ourselves to accountability to the people in achieving the integration and food security,” President Ali asserted.

ton (black belly sheep).

He also delivered a detailed presentation on each country’s report of current and targeted commodities to achieve 25% reduction by 2025, outlining both constraints and actions needed. At the same time, he highlighted that coffee, cocoa, coconut, spices, hemp (industrial) and palm oil are high-value imports into Caricom with potential for development in the region.

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guyanatimesgy.com

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

Views Editor: Tusika Martin News Hotline: 231-8063 Editorial: 231-0544, 223-7230, 223-7231, 225-7761 Marketing: 231-8064 Accounts: 225-6707 Mailing address: Queens Atlantic Investment Estate Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown Email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, marketing@guyanatimesgy.com

“To hear for life, listen with care!”

G

uyana joined the rest of the world on Thursday in observing World Hearing Day 2022, themed: “To hear for life, listen with care!”

A World Health Organisation (WHO) report in 2021 on hearing had highlighted the increasing number of people living with, and at risk of, hearing loss. It highlighted noise control as one of the seven keys of H.E.A.R.I.N.G. interventions and stressed the importance of mitigating exposure to loud sounds. WHO has projected that, by 2050, one in four persons would be living with some degree of hearing loss.

In Guyana, noise nuisance has been a sore issue, and has become unbearable, and on many occasions, citizens are crying out for stronger action to be taken against persons disrupting the peace and quietude in their communities.

Over the past few years, there were several letters to the editor wherein citizens expressed how disgusted and frustrated they are at the level of noise nuisance in their neighbourhood. It is even more shocking that even in the midst of a pandemic, persons still carry on with loud music as if they are unconcerned about the persons it might be affecting.

What is even more unfortunate is that no one dares object to this level of disrespect that is being foisted upon citizens. In some cases, when there is a complaint made against a particular liquor shop or individual blasting their music to the fullest, the person making the complaint is verbally or even physically abused.

Sometimes out of fear, citizens remain quiet, and are left with no other choice but to endure the level of discomfort.

There is also a general perception, whether justified or not, that the Police have not been very proactive in addressing these concerns. Several letter writers have expressed the view that even after several calls to the Police station for action to be taken against the perpetrators, the lawless behaviour still continues. In most cases, even after a warning has been issued by the Police, the perpetrators comply for a while, but, not long after, engage in the same behaviour.

We believe that higher fines and stricter penalties are needed to curb noise nuisance once and for all.

There are several issues which must be considered when updating the legislation, as they may not have been very clearly spelt out or catered for before. Among them are a limit to the number of permits and licences that should be granted within a zoning area; the overall operations of liquor shops, how they are constructed, etc; guidelines for hosting social events; criteria used to issue permits for those events, or businesses which are in close proximity of each other; and fines to be imposed when there is a breach of the law. Also, with recent technological developments, it is necessary to go back to the drawing board.

Curbing noise nuisance in the society is a constant struggle which must continue, and all stakeholders must play their part. Policy makers must look into the discomfort of the people, and amend the laws to alleviate this.

In the meantime, we urge citizens who are affected to continue lodging reports of noise nuisance at the nearest Police station or divisional headquarters, so that some form of action could be taken against those found culpable.

As a people, we must also make the conscious effort to abide by the laws and guidelines set out by the Government.

Noise nuisance and hearing loss go hand in hand, and our ability to hear is precious. The change has to start with us.

President Irfaan Ali chats with his Guatemalan counterpart, President Alejandro Giammattei on the sidelines of the 4th CARICOM-SICA Summit in Belize (Office of the President photo)

Putin’s war is a watershed moment for the EU – the days of ‘never again’ are back ...Suddenly, brutally, the invasion of Ukraine has taken member states back to the founding principle of the European project

By Caroline de Gruyter

I

nterpreters in the European Parliament usually sound so monotonous and mechanical that even well-rested listeners have trouble staying awake. But when the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, addressed a parliamentary session via video link on Tuesday, something extraordinary happened: the person relaying his words into English was so moved that he audibly fought to hold back his tears. “We’re fighting … just for our land … and for our freedom,” he said, then sniffed, his voice almost breaking as Zelenskiy, wearing a khaki T-shirt in what looked like a bunker, declared: “Despite the fact … that all our cities of our country are now blocked … nobody is going to enter and intervene with the freedom and our country.”

This is just one example among many, of how Vladimir Putin’s brutal war on Ukraine is shaking Europeans to the core. Having long believed that war was impossible on the continent, they are shocked – and embarrassed – that Ukrainians must not only defend their country against Russian aggression, but must also defend democracy, freedom and the right of sovereign states to determine their destiny – the very principles that underpin the European Union.

This war reinforces, with a jolt, the very raison d'être of the EU as a peace project. After February 24, no one will again be able to say that the EU’s founding credo, “Never again”, is outdated, and that the EU needs a new narrative to help younger generations – who have no memory of war – relate to European integration.

This is why the 27 member states, notoriously divided and slow when it comes to decision-making in Brussels, are showing such remarkable resolve today – especially over foreign policy and defence, which they traditionally prefer to keep national. In the past week, they have cut off Russian banks from the Swift payment system, financed the procurement of weapons to send to Ukraine (ironically from a fund called the European Peace Facility), blocked the Russian propaganda channels RT and

Sputnik, and closed European skies for aircraft to and from Russia. Parliament even applauded the idea of Ukrainian membership of the EU, although most member states remain sceptical, because this process takes years.

Fuelled by emotion, the European train is rolling so fast that some are cautioning restraint in the face of Putin’s threat of nuclear escalation – emphasising that the US and European countries will not directly fight in Ukraine.

Yet the need for a strong territorial defence now tops the agenda – not just in Germany, which just doubled its defence budget for 2022, but even in militarily neutral Finland and Sweden, which are sending weapons to Ukraine.

Neither of these Nordic EU members is in NATO, although both are closely collaborating with it. Public support for NATO membership is markedly growing. In Austria, where anti-Americanism is rife, similar discussions are taking place. A former ambassador to Moscow told public radio that Austrians are suddenly discovering that “NATO is our security”, adding, Das sind neue Zeiten (“This is a new era”).

Putin’s war is now dominating EU debates on a range of other policies.

After 15 years of talking, Brussels suddenly agreed to connect Ukraine and Moldova (feared to be next on Putin’s hitlist) to the European electricity grid.

EU agriculture ministers have discussed extra supplies of wheat, food and fertiliser to countries that depend on shipments from Ukraine. Even eurozone monetary policies will change.

No country will be punished for budget deficits and, with the increasing weaponisation of the world’s reserve currencies, eurozone membership will become more than a form of protection against exchange rate upheavals or a way to foster intra-EU trade – it will be a geopolitical insurance policy. Under these circumstances, Dutch-German resistance to common borrowing (Eurobonds) could melt away.

Poland and Hungary, until now unwilling to welcome refugees, have suddenly opened border crossings to – admittedly –white, Christian ones. Polish workers in Belgium jump in their cars

and drive east to help out as Ukrainians flee the fighting. A week of Russian bombardment has driven more than a million people from Ukraine into neighbouring countries of the EU. The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, expects another four to five million to come In 2015, the arrival of a million Syrian refugees led to political turmoil across Europe; now there is no panic at all. Rather, according to Hugo Brady of the International Centre for Migration Policy Development in Vienna: “Eastern European countries are having their Wir schaffen das [we can do it] moment”.

The German-French writer and political scientist Alfred Grosser wrote in Wie anders sind die Deutschen (How Different Are the Germans?) that Joseph Stalin deserved the first Charlemagne prize for services to European integration, for without the shared, transatlantic fear of communist totalitarianism, “there would never have been a [European] community”.

Fear of Putin now has a similar function. It brings the US and Europe closer together, mutes internal discord in the EU for now, and makes clear that NATO is not, as the French president, Emmanuel Macron, once suggested, “brain-dead” but Europe’s ultimate guarantor of peace.

Putin’s invasion “appears to be pushing the EU to centralise more rapidly than before in its history”, Kathleen McNamara and Daniel Kelemen, professors of Georgetown and Rutgers university respectively, argued in the Washington Post this week. For the moment, this is very much the dynamic. Undoubtedly, divisions between EU member states will reappear soon. They always do. And, as always, the EU will deal with them – this is why it was set up in the first place.

But one thing is sure: because of Putin’s war, Europeans have discovered that “Never again” is here again. (The Guardian) Caroline de Gruyter is a Europe correspondent and columnist for the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad, and Foreign Policy

guyanatimesgy.com

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

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News

ExxonMobil replants mangroves cleared at Ogle foreshore

The corridor that was cleared and subsequently replanted with seedlings

Seedlings being planted

E

xxonMobil Guyana on Thursday said that it has replanted the mangroves cleared at the Ogle foreshore, East Coast Demerara (ECD) or the landing of its fibre-optic cable which will service its offshore facilities.

According to the company, the exercise was overseen by officials from the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) as part of regulatory

approvals the company received to clear a 240 square-metre area. The replanting exercise is part of an environment mitigation plan developed for the project.

The exercise entailed the removal of mangrove plants and cordgrass. A section of rip-rap boulders within the approved zone also had to be removed to facilitate the cable connection. The boulders were also replaced.

“ExxonMobil Guyana is committed to conducting its business in a manner that is compatible with the balanced environmental and economic needs of communities where we operate. Working with the relevant regulators to mitigate environmental impacts is an integral part of that commitment,” said Projects Environmental and Regulatory Manager Erik DeMicco.

Taxes paid to M&CC are not intended for payout as political patronage Dear Editor, For years now, I always wondered why the Georgetown Municipality was always cash- strapped and broke, in spite of having massive budgets such as the last one, which was approved for over two billion dollars for 2022.

Equally puzzling is that the City Council has long stopped providing day care services; undertaking road building and maintenance in the city; hardly provides food hygiene, animal slaughter and meat inspection services; is no longer responsible for refuse disposal services; allowed the cemetery to become a jungle; does not weed parapets or clear drains; no longer takes care of stray animals; and never fogs for mosquitoes, yet devours those whopping sums of money each year.

But the recent announce-

ment in the press - that a motion was successfully piloted by no less a person than the Mayor and approved by the City Councillors of Georgetown, for payment of all outstanding benefits to be made to the deposed Town Clerk Royston King in like manner to a payout approved for former Town Clerk Carol Sooba - brings full clarity and understanding to me now as to why the Mayor and Councillors of the City of Georgetown have been, and continue to be, in such a financial mess.

The approval of this motion, which is clearly political tit-for-tat, can only be described as reckless, shameful, and unscrupulous. It is just shocking that our City Fathers and Mothers could descend to such depraved politicking at the expense of the citizenry.

I guess one would have

to say the Georgetown Municipality is the place to work; where maladministration inefficiency, misconduct and malfeasance, and finally termination of services are handsomely rewarded and celebrated; where persons who were dishonourably discharged could enjoy the same benefits and more as those who have worked hard, honestly and dutifully.

The property rates and municipal fees paid to the Georgetown Municipality are not intended for the

Mayor and his comrades to pay out as political patronage, but to restore the city to its former glory.

I call on the Minister of Local Government and the Local Government Commission to put a stop to this madness, and I call on GECOM to have the overdue Local Government Elections held quickly, so as to save the citizens of Georgetown from this pillage of the City’s treasury.

Sincerely, Jermain Johnson

According to the company, it also used the opportunity to remove some 1.4 tonnes of trash from a 100-metre stretch along the seawall. The trash was transported to the landfill facility at Haags Bosch, East Bank Demerara (EBD).

Meanwhile, the mangrove vegetation cleared was chipped and the possibility of recycling and using the material explored instead of disposing of it.

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FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

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Foundation ◄

Test Questions 1) There are 432 girls in a school, if 3/8 of the students are boys… (i) What fraction of the total number of pupils are girls? (ii) What is the total number of pupils.

2) In a pack of 12 pencils, eight are blue and the others are purple. (a) What is the ratio of purple to blue pencils? (b) Jonathan bought 3 boxes of pencils. Calculate the number of blue pencils he received. (c) If one blue pencil was replaced with one purple one, how many boxes of pencils should Soia buy if she wants to have 35 blue pencils?

3) Find the perimeter and area of the shape below

I

Magic ball

By WRA Pilgrim

n this fun and easy force and motion science experiment for kids, we’re going to explore centrifugal force by making a magic ball stay in an upside-down pail.

Pail Rope Ball

Materials:

Instructions:

Securely tie the rope around the handle of the pail.

Place the ball in the pail.

Make sure you will not hit anything and then swing the pail in a loop.

The centrifugal force will hold the ball in the pail.

How it works:

Thursday’s answers 1) 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, 53, 59, 61, 67, 71, 73, 79, 83, 89, 97

Centrifugal force really isn’t a force at all, but is the result of inertia. Inertia is the tendency of an object to resist a change in motion. Basically, an object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion unless acted upon by an outside force.

The ball wants to stay in motion and fly out of the pail, but the pail holds it in place.

Make this a science project:

Try putting water in the pail. Try longer and shorter lengths of rope. (sciencefun.org)

Let us co-operate for Guyana Let us co-operate for our land, Let us resolve to fight together See we do it right together Can we do it? Yes we can.

Each man must do his bit with his comrades, Each man must do his bit for his land, Each must resolve to help another, Learn to call his neighbour 'brother' Can we do it? Yes we can.

Each group must do its best for the region, Each group must do its best for the land, Each group must sacrifice a little Learn to do without a little Can we do it? Yes we can.

The regions must unite for the country, The regions must unite for the land, Each region has its chosen mission But they all have one ambition Can we do it? Yes we can.

Let us co-operate for Guyana Let us co-operate for our land Let us resolve to fight together See we do it right together Can we do it? Yes we can.

“Make the most of yourself for that is all there is of you” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

WORD SEARCH

NEWS

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FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Govt examining new proposals for diversification at Skeldon Estate – Jagdeo

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ith the Guyana Government looking to diversify the economy, active consideration is underway to introduce new activities at the Skeldon Estate in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

According to Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, Government has already received several proposals for new business ideas for the facility.

“At Skeldon, we’re looking at diversifying. So, we’ve had several proposals,” he said during a recent interview with a social media commentator.

The Skeldon Estate was one of the four estates across the country that were shut down by the then A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Administration, forcing thousands of sugar workers on the breadline.

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo

As such, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government after taking office in August 2020 has been looking, in a more studied way, at ways to diversify these estates with the introduction of new industries in order to create job opportunities for those

displaced sugar workers as well as other persons in surrounding communities. The same, Jagdeo said, is being done at Skeldon.

“We’re thinking about: using the Hemp legislation to convert some of the land into hemp [cultivation], aquaculture, and going back into sugar a bit, but in a smaller scale, so we can generate a series of employment opportunities at Skeldon for people who were displaced from the sugar industry,” the Vice President stated.

He went on to disclose that some of the proposals that Government has received for the Skeldon Estate is for the generation of power from the co-generation plant there.

The Skeldon CoGeneration Plant – which has the capacity to produce 30 megawatts of electricity using bagasse from the sugar process – was designed to

Solution to food security...

Regional production is expected to increase between 25% and 700% to be able to significantly reduce food imports by 2025.

To achieve this, national expenditure on agriculture must be increased, and President Ali stressed that a significant increase – at least 5% – of expenditure in agriculture by each Member State is required by 2025.

In the meantime, the Lead Head for Agriculture also reported to Region Heads that there has been concrete progress in access to financing for agriculture investment through a facility called the ‘Caricom Sustainability Agriculture Credit Facility’, using Republic Bank Limited as a lender.

This is a special facility designed for agriculture activities including, but not limited to, develop-

ment of priority crops, capital equipment for farming, feeder roads to provide access to arable lands, bulk storage for crops, processing plants, shade house farming.

Guyana, Guatemala

Meanwhile, on the sidelines of the Caricom-SICA Summit, President Ali and his Guatemalan counterpart President Alejandro Giammattei met on Thursday to discuss shared issues of trade, investment, and climate change.

According to a missive from Ali’s Press and Publicity Unit in Georgetown, the two Heads of State recognised the importance of working together, and committed to strengthening the bonds of cooperation and friendship existing between Guyana and Guatemala.

FROM PAGE 3

Moreover, they shared the aspirations of both countries to develop broad and effective cooperation for mutual benefit, including in the areas of security, climate change, agriculture, and food security.

President Ali and President Giammattei agreed on the importance of a strong partnership in agriculture, particularly in assisting Guyana to revitalise the sugar industry, considering and recognising the significant role of the agricultural sector in achieving food security and economic development.

Finally, the two Presidents expressed their mutual interest in concluding a Memorandum of Understanding in the near future between their countries to further advance cooperation in the above-mentioned areas. (G8)

Skeldon Estate

produce excess power that would be exported to the national grid. However, the plant is no longer working as a co-generation system given the closure of the sugar factory.

Back in October, Jagdeo had disclosed while addressing the retrenched sugar workers at Skeldon that discussions were ongoing with a number of potential investors who want to operate the co-gen plant to sell power to the Government.

“We are having discussions with a number of people who want to do a joint venture at Skeldon. The problem is that most of them don’t want to grow cane for sugar, they want to sell power to the Government and they want a price for the power which is extraordinarily high on a long-term contract,” he noted.

Jagdeo had explained that if Government purchased power at the rate being proposed, it would be twice as expensive as Guyana producing power from natural gas and Government would not be able to cut the electricity prices.

Nevertheless, the Vice President had pointed out that Berbicians, especially those displaced sugar workers, could tap into the vast opportunities directly from

the oil and gas industry.

“I met with all of the people and they are looking for hundreds of workers and cannot find enough workers.

These are good-paying jobs.

The problem is how we get people from Berbice to work in the oil and gas industry,” he had stated.

Government has since announced that the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) training facility at Port Mourant will be expanded to accommodate training for persons desirous of working in the oil and gas sector.

“We need about 600 to 700 welders for the oil and gas industry. Not everyone has to go back to the sugar industry, because the oil and gas industry – the pay will be significantly higher than in the sugar industry, even with all of our efforts to reopen,” Jagdeo had noted.

Meanwhile, running along this same line of creating employment opportunities for communities in the sugar belt that were devastated by the closure of the estates under the coalition regime, the PPP/C Government is undertaking a series of initiatives that will see the creation of more than 4000 job opportunities along the East Coast Demerara (ECD) corridor over the coming years.

In fact, at the Enmore Estate, which was also shut down in 2017, Jagdeo explained that Government has allocated a 10-acre plot of land for development that will generate between 500 and 700 jobs in Enmore and surrounding areas.

This, he noted, coupled with the recent agreement signed with Guysons K+B Industries Inc (GKB) – which will transform the Enmore Packaging Plant into a modern oilfield service centre and manufacturing facility – will see even more retrenched workers being hired.

“So, that can take care of a lot of the employment from displaced sugar workers, … others in the areas between just these two facilities in Enmore,” the Vice President said.

Additionally, Jagdeo pointed out that Government has also budgeted monies to build an industrial estate in the Enmore-Foulis area that will not only benefit the displaced sugar workers but also other citizens from along the East Coast corridor.

“So, these three initiatives alone will generate, we believe, close to 4000 jobs on the East Coast… So, that is what we intended to do at Enmore to generate employment,” VP Jagdeo said. (G8)

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FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

WCD man gets 14 years’ jail for brutally chopping woman …previously jailed for killing wife

A

man who had previously served 17 years in prison for killing his wife was on Thursday handed a 14-year jail sentence for brutally chopping a woman he met shortly after his release from the correctional facility.

Neil Archer, a 49-yearold former cane harvester of Uitvlugt, West Coast Demerara, was arraigned before Demerara High Court Judge Simone MorrisRamlall on February 14 on the indictment of attempting to commit murder, and he admitted that on October 19, 2016, in the county of Demerara, he unlawfully and maliciously wounded the woman with intent to murder her.

His sentencing hearing was deferred to Thursday, March 3, to allow time for the compilation of a probation report and victim impact statement.

Previous conviction

The court heard that Neil Archer was sentenced to 17 years’ imprisonment on July 25, 2005 for unlawfully killing Shevon Archer, his wife and the mother of his children, whom he stabbed several times to her neck on July 5, 2003.

Convict: Neil Archer

Reports state that on the day in question, the woman had gone to Archer’s home and accused him of scandalising her name. He had told the court that the woman pulled a knife on him, and he took it away from her and stabbed her to her neck.

He had been indicted for the capital offence of murder, but opted to plead to the lesser count of manslaughter.

Archer was released from prison on July 9, 2016.

And while armed with a cutlass on the night of October

19, 2016, Archer attacked this other woman while she was asleep, and chopped her to her neck, hand, back, and other parts of her body. She was saved from Archer’s wrath by her son.

During that altercation, several of the woman’s fingers were severed. Given the severity of her injuries, the victim has been unable to ply her profession as a cook, since she has been unable to fully use her hands.

In

Angel of death

her

victim

impact

statement, the woman described Archer as an “angel of death”, but stated that she has forgiven him, even though she is still traumatised by the incident, which almost resulted in her death.

She told the probation officer that Archer, who has been on remand since 2016, has made threats to her life from behind bars, and she therefore called on the court to deal with him condignly.

As for Archer, he expressed that he hoped the woman could find it in her heart to forgive him. The convicted killer apologised to his children for being away from them for so long, and pleaded with the court to give him a chance to return to society and redeem himself.

Deterrent

State Prosecutor Cecelia Corbin urged the court to consider the serious nature and prevalence of the offence, especially against women, when considering a sentence for Archer.

Among other things, the Prosecutor asked the Judge to impose a sentence that would serve as a deterrent, not only to Archer, who has no intention of being reformed, but also to like-minded individuals.

Justice Morris-Ramlall has sentenced the convict to 14 years in prison, less the time he spent in pre-trial detention. She has also ordered that he undergoes monthly counselling for anger management during his incarceration.

Archer was represented

by Attorney-at-Law Teriq Mohammed.

Meanwhile, in 1997, Archer was given two seven-year prison sentences for attempted murder and wounding with intent respectively; but since the sentences ran concurrently, he had spent only seven years in jail. He reportedly committed these offences against another woman. (G1)

The horror, the horror...

I

…of March 4, 2020 n his great novel “Heart of Darkness”, Joseph Conrad describes the reaction of the protagonist Kurtz when he comes out of the deep Congo jungle and remembers what he’s done: “He cried in a whisper at some image, at some vision — he cried out twice, a cry that was no more than a breath: “‘The horror! The horror!’” Kurtz was overcome with an existential crisis as the import of what he’d done to the Congolese people finally hit home. Well, today’s March 4, two years after the PNC-as-Kurtz – with its troglodytes embedded in various offices in GECOM – attempted to push Guyana back into the horror of electionsrigging that sustained the Burnhamite dictatorship for 28 years.

The March 2nd elections had gone extremely well.

This was AGREED by all and sundry -including by President Granger of the PNC-as-APNU and the dozens of observer groups. By nightfall of the 3rd, the votes from NINE OF THE TEN Regions had been counted and agreed on. The PPP was leading by over 50,000 votes. But very quickly, it became clear, as the SOPs for Reg 4 votes were being tabulated, that the PNC had lost!! And David Granger and his PNC henchmen decided they had to shift into the historical rigging mode that had kept the first PNC iteration in power all those years!! And the horror was unleashed!

Tabulation was stopped on the specious claim that key folks in the GECOM Reg 4 tabulation centre were “tired”. No one thought anything of it – especially after CEO Lowenfield showed up and insisted that tabulation would begin in the morning, and would be completed EXPEDITIOUSLY! (In) famous last words!! The horror unfolded on the morning of the fourth, when RO Mingo complained of severe chest pains, signalling a heart attack!!

He reminded your Eyewitness of Red Foxx’s classic running gag on his comedy show “Sanford and Son”.

As soon as his character, Fred, finds himself in a fix, he clutches his heart, rolls his eyes heavenwards, and yells to his long-departed wife, “This is the big one! I’m dying! You hear that, Elizabeth! I’m coming to join you, honey!” But Mingo’s stunt was anything but funny. It was downright evil. Especially when his assistant also suddenly developed “chest pains”. Mingo was to return to his RO’s office, but broke all the regulations to produce SPREADSHEETS rather than tally sheets of the SOPs to observers!!

And we quickly segued into “the case of missing laptops, appearing flash drives and a cocked-up tally” that showed the PNC/APNU snatching “victory” from their defeat through Mingo’s artifice.

No…we can’t ever forget March 4. The horror! The horror!! …of Ukraine Ukraine’s now Syria – brought into our living rooms and smart phones. It doesn’t matter who’s right or who’s wrong. War is hell, and to the extent that we get a chance to see it first hand – and that’s what smart phones deliver – hopefully, we might be provoked to take a stand against it in our own little Guyana! The Ruskies assured everyone they wouldn’t be bombing civilians but only the military, which they insist is occupying the Ukraine!!

But we see the millions of refugees – just like in Syria – fleeing the bombing. We saw homes and apartment buildings blown up. And we see the growing number of dead civilians! The International Criminal Court is deliberating whether Russia’s committing genocide – which would be a “crime against humanity”! But the Russians aren’t stopping. They’re counting on the West’s aversion to sending their soldiers into war zones.

They’ve deployed sanctions against the Ruskies – but those have NEVER stopped a war!!

Can’t make an omelette without breaking shells! …of PNC’s hypocrisy The Opposition now wants the US to execute their USAID recommendations. So, it’s not the US interference that’s objectionable, but on whose behalf it’s done!!

Once it helps the PNC – as they believe the USAID recommendations do – that’s kosher!

223-7230-1 (Ext 55)

The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Guyana Times’ editorial policy and stance

Readers are invited to send their comments by email to eye@guyanatimesgy.com

NEWS

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FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

COVID-19 tablet approved Porter dies after for treatment in Guyana trailer topples

A

ntiviral drug Molnupiravir has been approved for use in the treatment of COVID-19 cases in Guyana, targeting mainly patients with moderate symptoms to prevent the development of severe disease.

Produced by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, the oral medication has proven to significantly reduce both hospitalisations and deaths. On Wednesday, the World Health Organisation (WHO) updated its guidelines on COVID-19 therapeutics to include the conditional recommendation on Molnupiravir.

Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony announced in Thursday’s COVID-19 update a local agency was given the greenlight to import the drug and Government would activate efforts to in-

troduce it into the public health system.

He disclosed, “We have had an application in Guyana for the use of Molnupiravir and the Food and Drug Administration here would have granted to that local importing agency, the right to import and use Molnupiravir under this regimen of emergency use authorisation…It’s for patients who might have mild to moderate symptoms, but because of other factors like comorbidities and so forth, one might expect that they might proceed to the more severe form of COVID. In this case, it warrants using the medication.”

Women are required to undergo a pregnancy test before taking the medication.

Additionally, mothers are asked to stop breastfeeding for the duration that they

are using the medication and about five days after.

“There’s some caution when using this type of medication, especially for pregnant women or women of child-bearing age. Before a woman uses the medication, the persons prescribing would have to check to see whether or not this person is pregnant. A pregnancy test would be required,” the Minister informed.

If a persons is prescribed the medication, they must also indicate any existing allergy. The pills are to be taken for five days, 800 milligrams at 12-hour intervals.

“For a patient, when they come to the doctor and this is being prescribed, they should tell the doctor about their allergy profile. It is important to know that,” Dr Anthony said. “But the drug is available in Guyana and from the Ministry level, we will also make attempts to get some of the medicines into our system.”

This is the first oral antiviral drug to be included in the treatment guidelines for COVID-19. The WHO says that Molnupiravir should be provided only to non-severe COVID-19 patients with the highest risk of hospitalisation. These are typically people who have not received a COVID-19 vaccination, older people, people with immunodeficiencies and people living with chronic diseases.

(G12)

The toppled trailer packed with wallaba posts

L

yton Hendricks, a 58-year-old porter who was sitting atop a pile of wooden posts being transported by a tractor and trailer, is now dead after the trailer toppled along a trail located in the East Bank Essequibo (EBE) in Region Three. Hendricks hailed from a community within the Pomeroon River in Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam).

Reports are that the accident, which occurred at

about 07:30h on Thursday, involved an unregistered tractor and trailer being driven by a 24-year-old resident of Butcher Street, Parika, EBE. According to Police, the tractor was proceeding west on Hamper Bay Trail with the trailer attached, packed with wallaba posts. The porter was sitting atop the pile of posts when the trailer’s rightside wheel went into a hole, causing the trailer to topple and the porter to be pinned under the pile of posts.

With the help of public-spirited persons, he was taken out from under the pile and taken to the Hamper Bay boat landing, from whence he was transported to the West Demerara Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The tractor driver has been placed in custody, pending further investigations.

10

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

NEWS

11

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Wife killer handed life sentence … “get out” of abusive relationships – victim’s daughter to women “I

’m apologising sincerely to the family, relatives, and friends of the deceased; especially her three children.

It breaks my heart to know that the children have to grow up without parents.

Your Worship, I am sorry for everything that happened.

I’m very sorry for all the drama…”

Those were the words uttered by 50-year-old Alex Douglas, otherwise known as “Smiley”, as he begged Demerara High Court Judge Simone Morris-Ramlall to have mercy on him.

Douglas had stabbed his reputed wife Allison Bowen nine times, killing the 42-year-old mother of three on October 14, 2012 in the county of Demerara. He was last month arraigned on a murder charge, to which he admitted guilt.

Further, he pleaded guilty to wounding the woman’s sister who went to her rescue, stabbing that woman also.

Stabbed nine times

On the day in question, the couple had a misunderstanding at their Goedverwagting, East Coast Demerara (ECD) home, during which Douglas attempted to hit his spouse with a hammer. He, however, butted her, causing her forehead to swell.

He then left their home, but subsequently returned and attempted to force the woman to eat rat poison.

When she refused to do so, he went berserk and stabbed her nine times, including to her back, neck, and heart.

According to reports, the woman’s death marked the end of an eight-year abusive relationship she had shared with Douglas. On numerous occasions, she had reported his violent tendencies to the

been hard. The young woman expressed that when her mother died, a part of her also died with her. After her mother’s tragic passing, she said, she became angry and depressed, with suicidal thoughts, and would cry herself to sleep many times.

“If my mother was alive, my life would have been much easier,” she declared.

“Heart bleeds”

Wife killer Alex Douglas

Police, but he was reportedly never charged.

After stabbing his spouse, Douglas fled the scene, but Police arrested him the following day after he was spotted walking along Camp Street, Georgetown. As the Police ranks approached him, he was seen putting something, suspected to be a poisonous substance, into his mouth. He was nabbed and escorted to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) for treatment.

Get out

In a victim impact statement, the dead woman’s daughter Jamaicia Bowen said that on many occasions she and her brother had watched helplessly as Douglas abused their mother. She recalled waking up one time to find him choking her mother in their living room.

An emotional Jamaicia told the court that she desires to see her mother’s killer spend the rest of his life behind bars, and she urged other women to “get out” of abusive relationships.

According to her, growing up without a mother has

Douglas related to a probation officer that his nowdead wife had made him a better person, and he viewed her as “special”. He recalled having a loving relationship with her until she began accusing him of being unfaithful.

Besides his fervent plea to the Judge, Douglas told the probation officer that his “heart bleeds” because his wife did not deserve to die in that manner.

The probation officer reported that Douglas’s mother described him as being kind,

hardworking and generous.

His children expressed shock at his actions, since he seldom associated with others, and was rarely involved in conflicts, a probation report revealed.

Prison officials said Douglas was a well-behaved inmate, but persons in his neighbourhood related that his violent ways towards his wife created fear in the community.

Devastated

Allison Bowen’s sister, Nicola King, shared that she was attacked and brutally stabbed by her brother-inlaw when she tried to save her sister. Ever since her sister’s death, she said, her family has been devastated.

Meanwhile, Douglas’s lawyer Latchmie Rahamat implored the court to temper justice with mercy. Counsel asked the Judge to consider her client’s early guilty plea and his expression of remorse.

But given the prevalence of women being killed by their partners, State Prosecutor Caressa Henry pointed out that Douglas’s action needs to be condemned most strongly. To this end, she urged the court to impose a sentence that would deter others from committing a similar offence.

Premeditated

Justice Morris-Ramlall was, however, not moved by the killer’s plea for mercy.

Stating that his expression of remorse was “not genuine”, she described his actions as “premeditated”.

The judge, in recanting the facts, highlighted that Douglas was already armed with a knife when he attacked the woman. The Judge added that this was an offence with a “specific intention”, which resulted in the loss of a mother who was regularly physically and emotionally abused by her partner.

Murdered: Allison Bowen

On the murder charge, Justice Morris-Ramlall sentenced Douglas to life imprisonment, ordering that he becomes eligible for parole after 20 years. The convicted killer was also given an eight-year jail term on the wounding charge against his sister-in-law.

The sentences will run concurrently, and he will be credited for time spent in pre-trial custody. (G1)

12 NEWS Guyanese Shyam Nokta receives prestigious Anthony N Sabga Award G FRIDAY, MARCH 4,, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

uyanese businessman and environmentalist Shyam Nokta has been bestowed with the prestigious Anthony N Sabga Award, which is meant to recognise and reward excellence in the Caribbean region, and create an awareness of the significant work done in the region that benefits Caribbean people and all people worldwide.

Launched in 2005, prizes are awarded in the spheres of Arts & Letters, Entrepreneurship, Science & Technology, and Public & Civic Contributions. Nokta received the award for Entrepreneurship.

“Shyam Nokta is an environmental protection consultant who found-

Guyanese businessman and environmentalist Shyam Nokta

Professor Christine Carrington of Trinidad and Tobago

Surinamese Anuskha Varsha Sonai

Barbadian Dr Kim Jebodhsingh

ed a thriving business called Environmental Management Consultants.

He is a leading player in the environment and natural re-

sources sectors, his clients include companies in oil and gas, companies in mineral mining, at least one compa-

ny in the rum-distilling business, and also includes various international charitable organisations. So, he is very

much enterprising on how he approaches the business of environmental protection, but as he says himself, EMC, that is his compa-

Jamaican Marlon James

ny, is business, and like every business, “we look at the bottom line,” Professor Compton Bourne said as he announced the award.

TURN TO PAGE 16

NEWS

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FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022| GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Public perception a challenge in wildlife protection – GWCMC

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uyana is home to a plethora of rare wildlife species which require attention and intervention to sustain their presence and habitats. But in the management and protection efforts, the perception of the public towards these creatures is a challenge.

The Guyana Wildlife Conservation and Management Commission (GWCMC) on Thursday facilitated a panel discussion titled “Recovering Key Species for Ecosystem Restoration, in celebration of World Wildlife Day 2022.”

GWCMC Research

Officer Johann Waldron pointed out that most Guyanese do not immediately grasp the idea of protecting wildlife during such encounters, but are rather inclined to kill, capture, or eat the animal.

“Perception is one of the more daunting challenges that we face, and how we deal with that perception and impact… There are some cases where you can see that there is a little bit of impact, or the curiosity to deviate from the norm is there. In one instance, nets were set on purpose to cap-

ture a Hawksbill because it was seen in the vicinity of the Kingston foreshore, and the plan was to cook it.

Through partnership, we were able to have the turtle taken out to the mouth of the Demerara River into the Atlantic,” Waldron detailed.

When it comes to monitoring, navigating through the country’s terrain is also challenging, coupled with an inadequate human resource complement.

“Imagine having about 10 people to manage the entirety of Guyana and cover the wildlife activities, or to enforce the entire mandate of the commission.

That is an uphill task, one of which we do take on. The work has to be done, and so we intend to find intuitive and ingenious ways of doing it…

“Accessibility, in many cases, can also pose a challenge.

Some terrestrial and riverine terrain are almost impassable, depending on the season which you encounter it, not to mention that Guyana is not all flatland. In many cases, some of the animals you look for aren’t found on flatland either,” he detailed.

GWCMC is the national implementing and management body for the sustainability of wildlife in Guyana.

It has made some strides within the past years, one of which was the introduction of seasons to protect species, since some were heavily targeted.

“We would have implemented, in recent years, open and closed seasons for

Stakeholders from several organisations joined the discussion for World Wildlife Day

species that we have found to be targeted. Whereas, prior to that, there were no set seasons, so at any point in time, a mother with the young could have been targeted for whatever reasons those seeking them for. As a result of the implementation, that is no longer the case,” he outlined.

Human-wildlife conflict has also been addressed, and will continue to be addressed through awareness. This is geared at changing the perspective of humans on the presence and importance of the country’s wildlife.

“We have also been looking at introducing a domestic licensing system, to have a better idea of our stakeholders and how it is that they interact with wildlife. We have had more public engagement than before, addressing perspective towards wildlife and bringing more awareness to both stakeholders and the general public as it relates to the benefits of wild flora and fauna that we have, as well as how they can do their part to conserve and protect,” Research Officer Johann

Waldron noted.

Apart from the GWCMC, the Protected Areas Commission is responsible for direct management of three of five protected areas: Kaieteur National Park, Kanuku Mountains, and Shell Beach.

Attention has also extended to mangroves, in order to determine how healthy the ecosystem is. Protected Areas Officer Felicia Collins at the Protected Areas Commission said that, on their end, the challenge lies in the management of sea turtles, due to erosion of the beaches – a problem that has been exacerbated by climate change.

“Within that 120km, there are different beaches or different sites that the turtles would go to nest every season, and these beaches change constantly because of the natural erosion

process of the beach.

“We have also seen it intensify with climate change, and that recently has posed a threat to us and our sea turtle management programme,” Collins told the panel.

Meanwhile, the South Rupununi Conservation Society, which was formed in response to degradation of the environment and a decline in the species in native locations, has been collaborating with other stakeholders to improve the presence of such wildlife.

Programme Coordinator Neal Millar informed that, for 20 years, vast information has been collected on the Red Siskin, coupled with action to eliminate trapping and destruction of their habitats. Now it is no longer critically endangered, as they work to improve protection threads.

In Katoonarib, after villagers raised concerns about the decline in the number of Giant Anteaters, a conservation zone was created for the community.

“Our priority is to now work with Sand Creek village. We have trained rangers from that community, and they are now monitoring beaches along the Rupununi to protect the Yellow Spot River Turtle, not only from humans but also from flooding, which destroys their nests, which is happening more now due to climate change,” Millar explained.

Two critically endangered species – the Hoarythroated Spinetail and the Rio Branco Antbird – are endemic to one specific area.

Due to fires and small-scale agriculture, these species continue to decline, and the organisation is working on habitat restoration. (G12)

14 NEWS 2 new nursery schools commissioned in Region 2 T FRIDAY, MARCH 4,, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

he Education Ministry on Thursday commissioned two new nursery schools in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam). The two new schools are Abram Zuil Nursery School and the Queenstown Nursery School.

Speaking at the commissioning of the Queenstown Nursery School, Education Minister Priya Manickchand said that construction began in September 2021 and the school was completed in December 2021. This project was funded by the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) through the Government.

The nursery school was constructed by K&J Persaud

Contracting Service to the tune of $30 million and has the capacity to accommodate six teachers and some 120 students.

Queenstown Nursery School Headteacher Thelsa John said that Thursday’s commissioning would be recorded in the school’s history and continuously celebrated by everyone who has an interest in the school.

She said that the school was previously housed next to the Neighbourhood Democratic Council’s building in the said village, and was small to accommodate the number of children attending. She added that now, her teachers would be

The new Queenstown Nursery School

able to deliver the curriculum in an environment that

is convenient.

Manickchand during her

remarks also said that the Government was committed

to creating a world-class education system as was often spoken about by President Dr Irfaan Ali. She noted that constructing new schools was not the only aspect of this improved sector that was coming, pointing out that a large part of it was ensuring the system has 100 per cent trained teachers in the classrooms.

She said that this was being pursued at the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) by providing training online. She noted that this route has increased the College’s intake from 535 in previous years to almost 3000. TURN TO PAGE 17

NEWS

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FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

1 new COVID-19 death, 31 new infections recorded GUYANA COVID-19 DASHBOARD MARCH 3, 2022 UPDATE

NUMBER OF NEW CASES

31

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL ISOLATION

28

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN HOME ISOLATION NUMBER OF PERSONS IN COVID-19 ICU

229 7

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL QUARANTINE

13

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (FEMALES)

34,002

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (MALES)

29,000

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES IN GUYANA SINCE 2020

63,002

NUMBER OF RECOVERED CASES

61,445

TOTAL 1st DOSE VACCINATED FULLY IMMUNISED

REGION 1

2514

REGION 2

2471

REGION 3

8025

REGION 4

31,137

REGION 5

2365

REGION 6

5715

REGION 7

2419

REGION 8

887

REGION 9

4004

REGION 10

3465

HERE IS HOW YOU CAN BE SAFE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC Wear a face mask.

432,381 328,273

TOTAL NUMBER OF DEATHS

DISTRIBUTION OF TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES SINCE MARCH 2020

1223

Keep a physical distance of at least 6 feet.

Wash your hands or use handsanitizer If you have any symptoms, call the COVID-19 Hotline.

GET MEDICAL ADVICE ON COVID-19 FROM MOH 24/7 HOTLINE NUMBERS: 2311166; 226 7480; 624 6674; 624 2819; 624 3067 OR 180/181.

G

uyana’s reported fatality from the coronavirus disease has been increased by one, taking the total death toll to 1,223.

The Health Ministry on Thursday identified the latest fatality as a 64-year-old unvaccinated female from Region Four, who died on March 2.

31 new cases of this disease have surfaced in one day, moving confirmed cases on the dashboard to 63,002 – a breakdown of 29,000 males and 34,002 females. 299 patients are in home isolation, 28 are in institutional isolation, and 13 are in institutional quarantine. Some 61,445 persons have since recovered from this disease.

Of the 420 active infections in the country, 35 persons are in hospital. This includes 25 cases at the Infectious Diseases Hospital, and seven in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

A breakdown of new infections has shown one for Region One (BarimaWaini), two for Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), 16 for Region Four (DemeraraMahaica), three for Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne), three for Region

Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) and eight for Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).

No increases have been reported for Region Three (Essequibo IslandsWest Demerara), Region Five (Demerara-Mahaica), Region Eight (PotaroSiparuni) and Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).

Speaking on the decline in positives, Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony expressed on Thursday that new waves can emerge, but authorities remain hopeful.

He contended, “This pandemic, we have seen it being driven by waves of infections. It’s because the virus would have mutated…

“While we’re hopeful that Omicron might be the last set of mutations that we’ll see, scientifically, we know that there might be others.

Hopefully, they would not be at the level of a variant of concern, but maybe variants under investigation – which means that we’ll observe them, but they would not become so disruptive.”

Infections across hotspots have also declined significantly. Dr Anthony has pointed towards continued surveillance as new cases emerge every day, cou-

pled with vaccination and booster uptake.

Among the adult population, first-dose vaccination coverage has moved to 433,155 doses, or 84.4 percent of that demographic, while second doses are pegged at 329,487 doses, or 64.2 percent of that demographic.

For the adolescent group, 33,629 first doses have been administered, as against 24,325 second doses, equivalent to respectively 46.1 percent and 33.4 percent of that demographic. Booster doses stand at 51,547 doses.

All Guyanese are reminded to observe the protocols of the COVID-19 emergency measures, which emphasise the need for correct and consistent use of a face mask when leaving your home; the importance of maintaining the six feet physical distance from others; and the need for good hand-hygiene.

Persons with comorbidities have been continuously asked to continue taking their respective medications or treatments to control their condition. The preventative measures and guidelines to protect against the virus must be adhered to, since this category of person

is at a greater risk if they contract COVID-19.

If anyone is displaying any of the symptoms as-

sociated with COVID-19, or need any additional information, they are asked to contact the COVID-19

Hotline: 231-1166, 226-7480 or 624-6674 immediately, or visit us at www.health.gov. gy (G12)

16 NEWS

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Mahaica double-fatality crash

Cop charged, released on $1.5M bail

Dead: Sheereda Persaud

Dead: Christopher Bhagwandat

Police Corporal who reportedly crashed the Force’s vehicle into a car during a highspeed chase that led to the death of a young couple has been formally charged with two counts of causing death by dangerous driving.

He was not required to plead to the indictable charges, which stated that on February 2, he drove motor vehicle PAB 3143 in a manner dangerous to the public, thereby causing the death of Christopher Bhagwandat, 21, and his 16-year-old girl-

A

at-Law Dexter Todd, who told reporters that his client should not have been charged criminally.

Instead, Todd reasoned, a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) should have been held into the fatal accident.

The lawyer said a Policeman pursuing a suspect is permissible under the law, and given what transpired on the fatal day, lawmakers need to review the protocols governing the Police’s pursuit of a suspect.

Outside the courthouse, family members of the two deceased protested, calling for the Police rank to be charged with the capital offence of murder.

Police Corporal Lawrence Carmichael (third in line) appeared at the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court on Thursday

the role of Home Affairs Minister during the 2021 Youth Parliament.

Both families had blamed the Police for the tragedy, and had called for a thorough investigation.

Police Commissioner Nigel Hoppie, in a statement, had expressed his “personal disappointment” at the circumstances of the “unfortunate event”, and had assured the families that an impartial and thorough probe would be conducted into the events which led to the deadly accident.

Following investigations, Police had forwarded a file to the Office of

Horrific crash

The horrific accident, which involved a Police pickup, two motor cars, and a truck, occurred on February 2 at Mahaica Public Road,

The scene of the deadly accident

Family members of the young couple staged a protest outside of the courthouse

Corporal Lawrence Carmichael, 27, appeared before Vigilance Magistrate Fabayo Azore on Thursday and was granted $1.5M bail.

friend Sheereda Persaud, a grade 11 student at Bush Lot Secondary School.

Corporal Lawrence was represented by Attorney-

East Coast Demerara (ECD).

Bhagwandat was the driver of motor car PNN 8852 that the Police were

Guyanese Shyam Nokta receives...

FROM PAGE 12

Nokta has served as the President of the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) and Chairman of the Local Content Advisory Panel. He also served as an Adviser to the President, and as Head of the Office of Climate Change, where he coordinated Guyana’s response to climate change, the development and implementation of the LCDS, and REDD+ Partnership with the Kingdom of Norway.

He was also involved in key conservation initiatives such as the establishment of Guyana’s National Protected Areas System, and has chaired several national boards and committees in the areas of tourism, conservation, climate change, and green growth.

Meanwhile other recipients of the award are Professor Christine Carrington, Trinidad and Tobago, Science & Technology; Dr Kim Jebodhsingh, Barbados, Public & Civic Contributions; Marlon James, Jamaica,

Arts & Letters; and Anuskha Sonai, Suriname, Public & Civic Contributions.

Carrington is Professor of Molecular Genetics and Virology at the University of the West Indies (UWI) St Augustine Campus. She is perhaps the foremost regional authority on virus evolution and molecular epidemiology, and is respected in the scientific community regionally and globally, with an impressive record of publication and international collaboration.

Sonai is an ICT entrepreneur. She is at the centre of many Surinamese and regional initiatives for young people and women in Suriname to access training, hands-on experience, and opportunities in order to work and thrive in the burgeoning technology sector.

Dr Jebodhsingh is a Barbadian ophthalmologist and oculoplastic surgeon, who uses her skills to improve healthcare outcomes and bring about meaningful change in healthcare outcomes locally and regionally.

James is an internationally acclaimed Jamaican novelist. He is best known for his 2015 Man Booker Prize winning novel, A Brief History of Seven Killings (2014).

The laureates for the Anthony N Sabga Award are selected by Country Nominating Committees (CNC) and a regional Eminent Persons Panel (EPP).

Advertisements are placed in the media throughout the Englishspeaking Caribbean stating criteria and inviting nominations. Applications are passed to the nominating committees in five countries: Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados, Jamaica, and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

Each CNC then makes its selections, and the candidates are subjected to a rigorous research and vetting procedure. Once candidates are found to meet the criteria, the CNCs make selections and present them to the EPP, which makes the final adjudication.

chasing after he reportedly fled from traffic ranks who were stationed at Perseverance Public Road, Mahaicony, ECD. Regional Commander Khali Pareshram had told the media that the motorcar driven by Bhagwandat had stopped at a roadblock, and when ranks asked to see the driver’s identification card, he pulled the vehicle into the corner, but then drove away as the traffic officer approached.

As such, ranks from the Mahaicony Police Station were alerted, and officers joined the Force-issued van and gave chase. The accident occurred near the Mahaica Bridge.

Guyana Times had previously reported that the Police vehicle collided with the car that was being driven by the now-dead man.

As a result, the car crashed into a Canter truck, which then flipped and slammed into another car.

On the day in question, Bhagwandat, a mechanic who lived at Mon Repos, ECD, had travelled to West Coast Berbice (WCB) to pick up his girlfriend, to take her back to his house to celebrate his mother’s birthday.

His father died four months prior, and he would have celebrated his 22nd birthday on February 28.

His girlfriend, who lived at Bath, WCB, had assumed

the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for legal advice. And then on Monday, the DPP gave the following advice: “Based on the statements contained in the Police file, legal advice has been given for the Police to institute the indictable charge for the offence of causing death by dangerous driving. The DPP has ordered that a Preliminary Inquiry (PI) be conducted, since the charge is an indictable one.”

The DPP’s Office has further instructed the Police to conduct further investigations and return the file for additional legal advice by next week Monday. (G1)

20-year-old charged for making girl watch "sex act"

A

20-year-old man of Silvertown, Wismar Linden in Region Ten (Upper Demerara-Berbice) has found himself arraigned in court for the offence of “causing a child under 16 years old to watch a sexual act.”

Keyron Healis has, however, denied the charge when he appeared before Linden Magistrate Wanda Fortune via Zoom.

According to the Police, the incident occurred on December 4, 2020, but the

Charged: Keyron Healis

man was charged with the offence only on Wednesday, March 2, 2022. Reports are that the matter was with the Childcare and Protection Agency for most of 2021, and the file was finally forwarded to Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) late last year.

The charge was laid under Section 12 (2) of the Sexual Offences Act, Chapter 08:03, and the a ccused Healis was released on $75,000 bail. The case will continue on March 23.

NEWS

17

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Mental health issues greater among women, youths during COVID – WHO

Missing fishermen

Search continues despite no success so far P

T

Missing: Harold Damon, Ronald Burton and Winston Sam

he search for sunken vessel MV World Friend 307 and its missing crew members, unsuccessful so far, is nevertheless continuing.

This is according to Minister within the Public Works Ministry, Deodat Indar, when contacted on Thursday for an update on the search.

“The search is continuing. As of yesterday (Wednesday), they went out, they still were not successful in locating that sunken trawler,” he explained. “They actually yesterday (Wednesday) check on the northwest side four square miles,” he noted.

On Thursday, the team began analysing the data it has gathered so far, and will make a determination

on the way forward.

“So today (Thursday) they’re looking back at all the areas that they checked. Since last week Monday they have been checking,” the Minister explained. “So, they been constantly checking. In addition to two trawlers from Noble, MARAD also has an equipment that can scan the floor of the ocean there, they said about 50ft deep of the general area where they are checking, 15 metres to be exact,” he added.

This vessel, owned by Noble House Seafoods, capsised in the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday, February 19, some 18 miles off of Mahaicony.

This resulted in three of four crew members going missing while a lone mem-

ber survived.

Missing are 44-year-old Captain Harold Damon of Lot 4 Water Street, Agricola, Greater Georgetown, and two crew members: 46-yearold Winston Sam of Lot 32 Public Road, McDoom, Greater Georgetown and 78-year-old Ronald Burton of Lot 23 Water Street, Agricola, Greater Georgetown.

The fourth crew member, Vincent Dazzell, survived the tragedy and was rescued by another fishing boat and brought to shore on the afternoon of the capsizing. He said that before coming to shore, the boat that rescued him spent some three hours exploring the area in search of the three missing fishermen, but to no avail.

Armed bandits rob East Canje supermarket

T

wo men armed with handguns carried out a robbery at Good Life Supermarket in East Canje, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) on Wednesday evening.

The supermarket is operated by Chinese nationals. Reports are the robbery occurred around 17:30h as the supermarket closed.

At the time, several customers were inside the supermarket, with two at the cashier when the two armed men walked in and

one of them immediately pointed a gun at the cashier.

The gunman then demanded that the cashier move as he grabbed $100,000 while the other wrestled with a female customer and eventually took away her bag.

The bag contained $21,000 along with documents.

The men then quickly walked out of the building and disappeared on foot.

Guyana Times under-

stands that some customers who were in the building were unaware that a robbery was in progress at the time.

Police have since arrested one person after viewing Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) footage.

Regional Commander Boodnarine Persaud said the Police were not treating the person in custody as a suspect currently.

However, he expressed concern that the supermarket had no security. He noted that there were several private security firms in the New AmsterdamEast Canje area.

The supermarket is owned by 32-year-old Wang Wei Xiong, Back in July 2020, the supermarket was broken into and the perpetrators escaped with cash and a CCTV monitor.

A wireless camera was also taken along with more than $100,000 worth of phone cards and a quantity of cigarettes.

Additionally, $400,000 and small hand tools were stolen. (G4)

eripheral effects of the coronavirus pandemic have shown that mental health challenges were greater among the youth and women populations.

A brief, released by the World Health Organisation (WHO), highlighted this fact after a comprehensive review of evidence about the impact of COVID-19 on mental health and related services. It pointed out that persons living with underlying health conditions were more prone to develop mental health issues.

“The pandemic has affected the mental health of young people and … they are disproportionally at risk of suicidal and self-harming behaviours. It also indicates that women have been more severely impacted than men and that people with pre-existing physical health conditions, such as asthma, cancer and heart disease, were more likely to develop symptoms of mental disorders,” the brief detailed.

Data suggests that people with pre-existing mental disorders do not appear to be disproportionately vulnerable to COVID-19 infection. Yet, when these people do become infected, they are more likely to suffer hospitalisation, severe illness and death compared with people without mental disorders.

People with more severe mental disorders, such as psychoses, and young people with mental disorders are

particularly at risk.

In the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, global prevalence of anxiety and depression increased by a massive 25 per cent. Concerns about potential increases in mental health conditions had already prompted 90 per cent of countries surveyed to include mental health and psychosocial support in their COVID-19 response plans, but major gaps and concerns remain.

“The information we have now about the impact of COVID-19 on the world’s mental health is just the tip of the iceberg…

This is a wake-up call to all countries to pay more attention to mental health and do a better job of supporting their populations’ mental health,” said WHO Director General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

One major explanation for the increase is the unprecedented stress caused by the social isolation resulting from the pandemic. Linked to this were constraints on people’s ability to work, seek support from loved ones, and engage in their communities.

The agency outlined, “Loneliness, fear of infec-

tion, suffering and death for oneself and for loved ones, grief after bereavement, and financial worries have also all been cited as stressors leading to anxiety and depression. Among health workers, exhaustion has been a major trigger for suicidal thinking.”

Unable to access face-toface care, many people have sought support online, signalling an urgent need to make reliable and effective digital tools available and easily accessible. However, developing and deploying digital interventions remains a major challenge in resource-limited countries and settings. “ Data shows that 90 per cent of countries are working to provide mental health and psychosocial support to COVID-19 patients and responders alike.

Last month, Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony informed that the Mental Health Unit is open to anyone requiring counselling.

In addition, since last year, health workers have been trained at the primary level to detect instances of mental health complications among those who visit the facilities.

(G12)

2 new nursery schools...

FROM PAGE 14

Inside the new Abram Zuil Nursery School

According to Minister Manickchand, years from now when other countries will not have the needed number of trained teachers because of closures due to COVID-19, Guyana will not be affected. She also noted that persons who join the teaching profession will be required to be either trained or expected to begin training shortly after.

Moreover, the Education Minister said that the education system would be supported even further with the expansion of the School Feeding Programme in the region. This will also

be complemented by the Government’s “Because We Care” cash grant and school supply voucher which are collectively valued $30,000 this year. She said that the distribution of this grant was expected to begin in June for each schoolchild in the public and private school systems.

Meanwhile, at the commissioning of Abram Zuil Nursery School, Manickchand said that construction commenced in July 2019 and was completed in September 2019

by M Sukhai Contracting Services at a cost of $13 mil-

lion, which can accommodate some 60 pupils.

Meanwhile, Abram Zuil Nursery School Headteacher Jacqueline Cole thanked the Government and the regional administration for providing the new edifice for the teachers and pupils to ensure that quality education can be accessed.

Among those who attended the commissioning were Regional Chairperson Vilma De Silva, Regional Executive Officer Susan Saywack, Assistant Chief Education Officer (Nursery) Devendre Persaud and students.

18

guyanatimesgy.com

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

Regional

President Jovenel Moïse’s murder: Honduras repeals ‘secrets law’ in fight against corruption Suspect handed over to Haiti

Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was shot dead in his private residence in Port-au-Prince

A

former Police Officer who was part of the security team tasked with guarding murdered Haitian President Jovenel Moïse has been handed over to the authorities in Haiti.

Tanis Philomé was arrested in the Dominican Republic. He has denied any involvement in the assassination of President Moïse on July 7, 2021.

Moïse was shot dead by

gunmen who entered his home in Port-au-Prince.

Questions have been raised as to where his security team was at the time.

Haitian Police allege a hit squad of mainly foreign mercenaries – 26 Colombians and two Haitian Americans – carried out the killing.

Bullet casings were found strewn across the ground around the proper-

ty, but the only two people shot were President Moïse and his wife, raising suspicion that some members of the security team may have been in on the attack.

The President, who suffered 12 bullet wounds, died at the scene. His wife Martine was seriously injured, but survived.

Philomé is the latest in a long line of suspects to be arrested in connection with the case, but the investigation into who ordered the murder has made little progress in the eight months since the assassination.

Dominican officials told the Associated Press news agency that Philomé had been detained by Police acting on an international arrest warrant.

He was handed over to the Haitian authorities at a border crossing in Dajabón.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

Jamaican woman gets 14 years for role in international cocaine ring

A

Jamaican woman on Wednesday was sentenced to more than 14 years in prison after she laundered money for an international cocaine ring that distributed the illegal drug in several western Pennsylvania districts.

Marcia Cunningham, 54, a former resident of Plantation in Florida, United States, was ordered to serve 178 months in federal prison for violations of money laundering and narcotics laws.

She had pleaded guilty to

the charges during a previous hearing.

United States District Judge Marilyn J Horan also imposed five years of supervised release on her conviction.

Cunningham is not a United States citizen and is expected to be “deported once she completes her sentence”, a statement from the US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania said on Wednesday.

According to information presented to the court,

Cunningham was part of an international drug trafficking organisation that arranged for the importation of multiple kilograms of cocaine from Mexico that were then distributed, through mails, to various customers, several of whom resided in the western district of Pennsylvania.

The organisation was run by a man identified as Hector Forbes, a resident of California. He pleaded guilty in 2020 and awaits sentencing. (Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

Guatemala’s malnutrition crisis deepens

D

octor Ricardo Valdez hikes up a steep, worn path towards a series of makeshift wooden houses with rusted steel roofs in a small community on the outskirts of Coban, Alta Verapaz.

Located around 200 kilometres (124 miles) north of Guatemala City, Coban has been grappling with an epidemic of child malnutrition, worsened in the past two years by the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing humanitarian crisis – a problem critics say the Government has neglected.

Overall, Guatemala has one of the world’s highest rates of child malnutrition, with nearly half of children under five suffering from chronic malnutrition, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

In some rural communities, that number is reportedly as high as 80 per cent.

Valdez soon reaches the home of Margarita Xol, a 28-year-old single mother of two, who is unemployed.

Margarita Xol is an unemployed 28-year-old single mother of two, who is struggling to feed her youngest daughter, now almost two years old [Jeff Abbott/Al Jazeera]

Her children are malnourished, which has led to multiple bouts of pneumonia in her youngest daughter, now almost two years old.

“I thought my daughter was going to die,” Xol told Al Jazeera. “I felt sad. [I didn’t

know] what I was going to do.”

She says she received little assistance from the Guatemalan public healthcare system, so she sought help from a local NGO called Comunidad Esperanza, with which Valdez works. The group has provided her with food aid, including a steady supply of goat’s milk, which she continues to receive to this day.

“We stepped in because the Ministry of Health was not going to do anything,” Valdez told Al Jazeera, noting that the problem of malnutrition in the country “is much bigger than it seems, than what is shown in the statistics”.

Guatemala’s malnutrition crisis, which experts say stems from structural inequalities across the country, has been worsened by the pandemic and the aftermath of hurricanes Eta and Iota in 2020, which destroyed homes and ravaged crops. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

H

onduran lawmakers have repealed legislation that critics dubbed the “official secrets law” for classifying public documents on national security and defence, marking one of the first efforts under a new leftist Administration to curb corruption.

President Xiomara Castro, who took office in January, had made campaign vows to repeal the law along with others that she said prevent Government of-

ficials from being investigated and prosecuted for graft.

The so-called secrets law took effect in 2014 under former President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was arrested in February after a US extradition request on drug trafficking and weapons charges.

Honduras’ Congress voted Tuesday evening to repeal the law, which proponents during Hernandez’s Administration had said was needed to avoid jeop-

ardising Police operations against drug cartels and gangs by keeping certain documents and contracts from public view.

“We have repealed the law of secrets, an instrument that encouraged corruption for eight years in Honduras,” said Luis Redondo, the President of Congress.

The move will become official once published in the country’s official legal gazette. (Reuters)

T&T Opposition tells BP, Shell: Stay out of Paria inquiry

O

pposition Senator Wade Mark and Pointe-a-Pierre Member of Parliament (MP) David Lee are calling on energy companies BP and Shell to stay out of the probe into the incident in which four divers died, while doing maintenance work on an underwater pipeline at Paria Fuel Trading Co in Pointe-aPierre, on February 25.

Mark cited possible conflicts of interest in the relationship between Shell, BP and the Government, and an opportunity for cover-up.

“We know that both Shell and BP depend on the Government for approvals and licences. We also know that the Ministry of Energy is the regulator of Shell’s and BPTT’s operations (in TT). We also know that Shell and BPTT are intimately involved in the Atlantic LNG facility as well as the 102-megawatt solar farm which has cost them, and by extension the taxpayers, over US$300 million.

“So these are contradictions and they are serious conflicts. We need to take these things into account.

T&T Opposition Senator Wade Mark

We are appealing to Shell and BP, don’t be part of this charade.”

Levelling accusations of corporate manslaughter and industrial genocide, Mark said Government appeared to be attempting to hide the facts of the incident.

“From the outset, this has not been about finding the truth. This is about the Government trying to cover up a scandal of the highest order.

“A committee of handpicked individuals, all ultimately regulated by the Minister of Energy, and by extension the Prime

Minister, cannot do justice.”

Lee also suggested there be two committees – one dealing with the procedures in the underwater repair, and another dealing with the rescue efforts.

“I am hoping that the investigation is not restricted to the repair process,” Lee said.

“We feel that part of the investigation should include the entire rescue mission.”

Mark and Lee suggested that international bodies be brought in to provide fair oversight. (Excerpt from Trinidad Newsday)

CDB providing US$45M grant to Haiti

T

he Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) says it has set aside grant funding totalling US$45 million for Haiti over the period 2022 to 2026, a senior official of the Barbados-based financial institution told the United Nations Economic and Social Council’s Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti.

“The Bank will seek to strengthen its capacity for greater adaptability and effectiveness considering Haiti’s distinct challenges,” CDB Vice President of Operations, Isaac Solomon said, indicating that a new country strategy for Haiti was under development.

Solomon said the Region’s premier financial

institution would remain engaged with its Haiti Country Office to preserve hard-won development gains and continue to build resilience.

The office, which was established in 2018, is the only CDB operational post apart from its Barbados headquarters and Solomon said that the Bank was also seeking to scale up donor coordination.

“Each donor should concentrate on its areas of strength and where it can have maximum impact.

Responding quickly and in a coordinated manner, with harmonised processes will be very important for optimising our resources and realising greater benefits for all,” Solomon said.

In addition, the Bank will seek to increase collaboration with humanitarian organisations, non-governmental and civil society organisations and local actors, as well as to ramp up Private Sector support to foster resilience in ways not covered by traditional humanitarian and development response, particularly at the micro-level and in the informal sector.

Solomon told the Advisory Group that the CDB is exploring innovative instruments to extend financing facilities, grow multilateral finance and build a stronger financial ecosystem for the Region, bringing benefits to Haiti. (Excerpt from CMC)

guyanatimesgy.com

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

19

Around the World

OILNEWS OIL NEWS Oil slides from decade-highs as Iran talks kindle supply hopes

Ukraine and Russia agree on evacuation corridors as US punishes oligarchs

R

ussia and Ukraine agreed on Thursday to the need for humanitarian corridors to help civilians escape Moscow's eightday-old invasion, the first apparent progress in talks, as the United States added to Western sanctions on

cated, it will be possible to cease fire for the duration of the evacuation," he said.

They had also seen eye-toeye on the delivery of medicines and food to the places where the fiercest fighting was taking place. The negotiators will meet again next

O

il slid 2 per cent on Thursday, after hitting prices not seen in a decade, as sellers jumped on hopes the United States and Iran will agree soon on a nuclear deal that could add barrels to a tight global market.

Trade was volatile, with crude prices jumping early to multiyear highs on worries about disruption to Russia's exports, which at four to five million barrels per day (bpd) are more than any other nation other than Saudi Arabia. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, companies are shunning Russian supply and scrambling for barrels elsewhere.

Oil markets are in an "explosive mood” over increasing outrage against Russia, said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group.

“People in the world don't want to deal with a country that is committing these atrocities in Ukraine.”

Brent futures were down US$2.47, or 2.2 per cent, to US$110.46 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell US$2.93, or 2.6 per cent, to US$107.67.

Both benchmarks rose to multi-year highs during the session, with Brent soaring to US$119.84, its highest since May 2012 and WTI hitting its highest since September 2008 at US$116.57.

Washington and its Western allies have imposed sanctions on Russia, but the measures have so far stopped short of targeting Russian oil and gas exports. A new round of sanctions announced by the White House on Wednesday banned export of specific refining technologies, making it harder for Russia to modernise oil refineries.

Traders remain wary of Russian oil. At least 10 tankers failed to find buyers on Wednesday, market sources said.

Canada said it would remove Russia and Belarus's most favoured nation status as trading partners, and will provide additional military aid to Ukraine.

Global benchmark Brent has jumped nearly 25 per cent since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Brent's six-month spread hit a record high of over US$21 a barrel, indicating very tight supplies.

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and their allies, a group known as OPEC+, on Wednesday stuck to an existing plan for a gradual output rise of 400,000 bpd a month, snubbing consumer calls for more. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Europe’s largest nuclear power plant on fire after Russian attack - Mayor

E

urope’s largest nuclear power plant on fire after Russian attack, says local mayor The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, the largest of its kind in Europe, was on fire early this morning after an attack by Russian troops, the Mayor of the nearby town of Energodar said.

There has been fierce fighting between local forces and Russian troops, Mayor Dmytro Orlov said in an online post, adding that there had been casualties without giving details.

Earlier, Ukrainian authorities reported Russian troops were stepping up efforts to seize the plant and had entered the town with tanks.

“As a result of continuous enemy shelling of buildings and units of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, the

Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is on fire,” Orlov said on his Telegram channel, citing what he called a threat to world security. He did not give details.

Reuters could not immediately verify the information, including the potential seriousness of any fire.

The invasion of Ukraine is entering its ninth day.

Thousands are thought to have died or been wounded as the biggest attack on a European State since World War Two unfolds, creating one million refugees, hits to Russia’s economy, and fears of wider conflict in the West unthought-of for decades.

Russia has already captured the defunct Chernobyl plant, some 100 kilometres (62 miles) north of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv. (Excerpt from Reuters)

for the vessel to be delivered to its owner.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has also been hit with US sanctions. Visa restrictions will be imposed on 19 Russian oligarchs, their family members, and associates, the White House said.

Sanctions have "had a profound impact already", said President Joe Biden.

Land corridor

Women walk among remains of residential buildings destroyed by shelling, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in Zhytomyr, Ukraine, March 2, 2022 (Reuters)

more oligarchs.

Thousands are thought to have died or been wounded as the biggest attack on a European State since World War Two unfolds, creating one million refugees, hits to Russia's economy, and fears of wider conflict in the West unthought-of for decades.

Russian forces have continued to surround and attack Ukrainian cities, including Mariupol, the main port in the east which has been under heavy bombardment, with no water or power. Officials say they cannot evacuate the wounded.

After talks at an undisclosed location, Russia said "substantial progress" had been made while the Ukrainian side pointed to an understanding on helping ordinary people, but not the results Kyiv had hoped for.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said a temporary halt to fighting in select locations was also possible.

"That is, not everywhere, but only in those places where the humanitarian corridors themselves will be lo-

week, the Belarusian State news agency Belta quoted Podolyak as saying.

The West has responded to Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion with military support and by tightening the economic screws on the Kremlin and Russians.

The fallout so far has included queues outside banks, a plunge in the value of the rouble and an exodus of foreign companies.

In a sign of business unease, Russia's second-largest oil producer Lukoil called for the conflict to end as soon as possible, saying it was concerned by the "tragic events in Ukraine".

On Thursday, the United States and Britain announced sanctions on more oligarchs, following on from EU measures.

Included was Russian tycoon Alisher Usmanov, the founder of mining company Metalloinvest.

In Germany, his luxury yacht worth nearly US$600 million was moored at a Hamburg shipyard.

Hamburg's economic authority said there were no plans

Analysts have said Moscow’s efforts in the south are aimed at severing Ukraine’s connection to the Black and Azov seas, allowing Russia to build a land corridor to Crimea, seized by Moscow in 2014.

Pro-Russian separatists said on Thursday they had “tightened their circle” around the port city of Mariupol, which was being encircled and cut off from electricity as food and water reserves dwindled.

The Russian military said

shipbuilding centre to the west. The regional governor, Vitaliy Kim, said big convoys of Russian troops were advancing on the city.

A group of Russian amphibious landing vessels also headed towards the port of Odesa, farther west, the Ukrainian military said.

On the eighth day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Moscow’s ground advance on Ukraine’s capital in the north appeared to have stalled.

A Russian column of hundreds of tanks and other vehicles still appeared to be stalled roughly 25 kilometres (16 miles) from Kyiv, having made no real progress in days. Ukrainian officials said the convoy, which had seemed poised to launch an assault on the capital, has been plagued with fuel and food shortages.

A mass evacuation was ongoing in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, which has come under heavy shelling this week. Russian air-

An aerial view shows a residential building destroyed by shelling in the settlement of Borodyanka in the Kyiv region, Ukraine March 3, 2022 (Reuters)

it had seized Kherson, the first major city to fall since the invasion began a week ago. The shipbuilding city of 290,000 people allegedly fell after a three-day siege that left it short of food and medicine.

From Kherson, Russian troops appeared to be directed towards Mykolaiv, another key Black Sea port and

borne troops landed in the city on Wednesday, sparking street clashes.

More shelling was also reported in the northern city of Chernihiv, where emergency officials said at least 33 civilians had been killed and 18 wounded in a Russian bombardment of a residential area. (Excerpt from Reuters and Al Jazeera)

With war on its doorstep, Breonna Taylor: Ex-officer found not guilty in deadly raid Moldova applies for EU membership A

M

oldovan President Maia Sandu signed a formal application for her country to join the European Union on Thursday, charting a pro-Western course hastened by Russia's invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.

Sandu's move comes days after Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed a request for immediate EU membership as it battles invading Russian forces.

Moscow is fiercely opposed to the eastern expansion of both the EU and especially of NATO, which it sees as a direct threat to its own national

security.

Sandu, the Prime Minister and the parliamentary speaker all signed the document during a briefing in the capital Chisinau, where pro-Russian and pro-EU politicians have vied for control since Moldova won independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

"It took 30 years for Moldova to reach maturity, but today the country is ready to take responsibility for its own future," said Sandu, before holding up the signed document to the television cameras. (Excerpt from Reuters)

former Louisville police detective has been found not guilty of recklessly endangering neighbours during the chaotic night-time raid that led to the death of Breonna Taylor.

Brett Hankinson fired 10 shots during the incident, which took place during a "noknock" search of the woman's home in Kentucky in March 2020.

In court, Hankinson maintained he did nothing wrong during the melee.

Taylor's death sparked racial injustice rallies across America.

Hankinson, 45, was the only officer charged in the case.

The jury delivered the ver-

dict on Thursday about three hours after closing arguments wrapped in the weeklong trial, clearing him on all three wanton endangerment charges.

In dramatic court testimony on Wednesday, Hankinson said he believed he was coming under automatic weapons fire during the raid. He described seeing silhouettes and muzzle flashes after Police used a battering ram to knock down Taylor's door.

During the raid, Taylor's boyfriend shot and wounded one of the officers. Hankinson said he quickly turned a corner and opened fire to "stop the threat".(Excerpt from BBC News)

20

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

guyanatimesgy.com

DAILY HOROSCOPES

ARCHIE

Think and plan before you act. Keep the peace, control your emotions and do whatever it takes to proceed with a positive attitude. How you conduct yourself will impact what comes next.

(March 21-April 19) Don’t let uncertainty set in when action is required. Look at all your choices and the myriad possibilities, and picture the outcome. Don’t limit what you can do by disengaging from talks.

DILBERT

(April 20-May 20) Ask someone you trust to discuss confusing details. Getting a different perspective on what you can do will help you come to terms with what’s possible. Live within your means and follow through.

(May 21-June 20) Bypass an emotional confrontation.

Do something creative by expanding your interests and outlook. Share your dreams with someone you love or look up to. You will get helpful feedback.

PEANUTS (June 21-July 22)

(July 23-Aug. 22)

Touch base with someone who offers good advice. The information you receive will help you decide whether to change your direction, living arrangements or lifestyle. Forming a partnership will add stability to your life. Divvy up responsibilities.

Take the pressure off yourself and those around you. Take time to relax or have some fun. Showing your playful side will win points with a loved one.

Don’t be afraid to share your intentions.

CALVIN AND HOBBES (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

Keep a watchful eye over what’s going on around you. Reach out to someone who is experiencing a tough time. Being a good listener will help you realize how someone feels about you.

(Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Connect with friends and catch up.

The information you receive will help you figure out what to do next. A change of plans will convince you to follow a certain path. Explore the possibilities.

SUDOKU (Oct. 24-Nov. 22)

Spend more time at home. Fixing your surroundings to suit your needs will spark your imagination and push you in an informative and life-changing direction. Follow your heart.

(Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Initiate your plans and keep moving forward. Refuse to let an emotional incident fester or slow your progress.

Distance yourself from people who tend to overreact or bring you down.

SOLUTION FOR LAST PUBLISHED PUZZLE

(Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Rethink your long-term strategy; you’ll discover what you want to pursue.

Don’t follow anyone; it’s time to please yourself. Set guidelines to help you reach your goal, regardless of what others do.

(Jan. 20-Feb. 19)

(Feb. 20-March 20)

Know what you are up against before you engage in something that has emotional consequences. Explain your position, what you have to offer and what you want to happen. Honesty is the best policy.

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

21

Russia to appeal against football ban imposed by FIFA and UEFA T

he Russian Football Union (RFU) has said it would go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to appeal against its ban from international competitions after the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

On Monday, Russian football clubs and national teams were suspended from all competitions “until further notice” by FIFA and UEFA. The RFU has said it would file one lawsuit against football’s world and European governing bodies, demanding Russian men’s and women’s national teams be allowed to compete.

Russia wants its national teams reinstated to play their men’s World Cup playoff matches next month, and the women’s team to once again be included in this summer’s Euro 2022 competition in England.

The RFU has also said it could ask for the suspension of competitions it was originally scheduled to compete in if unsuccessful.

“If FIFA and UEFA refuse such a procedure, a requirement will be put forward for the introduction of interim

Russia’s National Football Team

measures in the form of suspension of FIFA and UEFA decisions, as well as competitions in which Russian teams were supposed to participate,” Russian football authorities have said.

Russian club Spartak Moscow was also kicked out of the Europa League, and its last-16 opponents, RB Leipzig, would advance to the quarter-finals.

A statement from Russian football authorities said it “believes that FIFA and

UEFA did not have a legal basis when deciding on the removal of Russian teams”.

“The Russian Football Union was also not given the right to present its position, which violated the fundamental right to defence,” the statement continued.

“In addition, when making decisions, FIFA and UEFA did not take into account other possible options for action, except for the complete exclusion of participants from the competition

from Russia.”

FIFA and UEFA intervened after Russia, support-

ed by Belarus, launched a military invasion of neighbouring Ukraine last Thursday. Russia says it “will insist on an expedited procedure for considering the case” in an effort to “ensure the possibility of the participation of Russian teams in the next scheduled matches”.

The Russian men’s team had been scheduled to face Poland in a World Cup playoff semi-final on 24 March.

The RFU, which says it would seek “compensation for damage”, said actions taken against it “violated the fundamental rights of the RFU as a member of FIFA and UEFA”.

“The decision to withdraw the national team from qualification for the 2022 World Cup was made under

Verstappen signs new contract with Red Bull

Djokovic’s appearance at French Open more likely after vaccine rule change

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Verstappen won last year's title in controversial circumstances

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Novak Djokovic played his first tournament of the year in Dubai in February

ovak Djokovic’s chances of playing in the French Open in May have improved after the Government of France eased vaccine passport rules.

Prime Minister Jean Castex announced vaccine passports would no longer be needed to access venues from 14 March.

In February, Djokovic defended his right to choose whether to get the corona-

virus vaccine after being deported from Australia in January.

Vaccination is still a requirement to play in the United States. For that reason, Djokovic, from whom Daniil Medvedev took the men’s world number one ranking on Monday, is expected to miss March’s Masters Series events in Indian Wells and Miami.

After France’s Castex said “the conditions are

met” to “suspend the vaccination pass wherever it applies”, Djokovic’s next tournament could be April’s Monte Carlo Masters.

The 34-year-old Serb lost in the quarter-finals as he played his first tournament of the year in Dubai at the end of February. Djokovic would be the defending champion if he plays at the French Open, which begins on 22 May. (BBC Sport)

pressure from direct rivals in the playoffs, which violated the principle of sports and the rules of fair play,” the RFU has said.

FIFA had previously ruled that Russia must complete its upcoming games in neutral territory under the title Football Union of Russia, and without its flag and anthem.

However, that announcement had drawn criticism, and several nations - including England, Northern Ireland Scotland and Wales, as well as Poland, the Czech Republic and Sweden - in refusing to play against Russia.

The 2022 Champions League final, originally due to be played in St Petersburg on 28 May, has also been moved to Paris. (BBC Sport)

orld champion Max Verstappen has signed with Red Bull a new contract that lasts until the end of 2028.

The Dutchman was already committed to Red Bull until the end of 2023, and the team said the new contract was “in addition to” his existing deal.

Verstappen said: “I love this team, and last year was simply incredible. Our goal since we came together in 2016 was to win the championship, and we have done that. Now it’s about keeping the number one on the car long-term.”

The new contract is said to be worth in the region of €40-50m (£33.3-41.7m) a year, which would make it among the most lucrative in F1 history.

Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton is said to earn a salary of about £40m from Mercedes, before his many endorsements are taken into account.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has said:

“To have Max signed with Red Bull Racing through to the end of 2028 is a real statement of intent. Our immediate focus is on retaining Max’s world championship title, but this deal also shows he is a part of the team’s long-term planning.”

Red Bull enter a new era in 2022 following the departure of engine partner Honda from F1. Red Bull have taken over the intellectual property for the engine, and set up their own engine division on their campus in Milton Keynes.

The original plan had been for Red Bull to take over the manufacture of the engines from 2023, but motorsport adviser Helmut Marko said in an interview earlier this year that the engines would continue to come from Honda’s R&D base in Japan until 2025, after which a new engine-design formula would come into force in F1.

In theory, Red Bull would have to build its own engines for the new era,

when the engines will feature a greater proportion of their power from hybrid energy, and use fully sustainable, probably synthetic, fuels.

However, Red Bull have been strongly linked with the Volkswagen Group, which is expected to enter F1 from 2026 with either its Porsche or Audi brands.

Horner said: “With the Red Bull Powertrains division working towards the new engine regulations in 2026, we wanted to make sure we had the best driver on the grid secured for that car.”

Verstappen’s deal is a continuation of a trend for leading drivers in F1 to commit their futures to single teams for a long period.

Hamilton has been at Mercedes since 2013. Two years ago, Charles Leclerc signed for Ferrari until the end of 2025. And Lando Norris last month committed to McLaren until the end of 2025.

The thinking is that creating a stable environment and optimising working practices around a known and respected driver quantity is the best way to achieve success - a model most obviously pioneered

by Michael Schumacher and Ferrari from 19962006.

During that period, the German became the most successful driver in F1 history, until Hamilton usurped him. (BBC Sport)

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FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

WMCF to host Easter chess camp T

he Wendell Meusa Chess Foundation (WMCF) is looking to get back into the business of teaching chess, starting this Easter holiday, with a chess camp. However, having recognised there is need for more advanced tutelage, WMCF founder Wendell Meusa is recruiting one of the best players in the Caribbean for this event.

Like many other contact and non-contact sports, chess had been greatly impacted by the surge of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The sport has since been able to thrive in online platforms, where teaching and competitions can be hosted.

The Wendell Meusa Chess Foundation has plans to pick up where it left off with its chess camps. This year’s Easter camp will be open to children aged from 6 to 16 in beginners, intermediate and advanced levels.

Sharing his plans with this newscast, Wendell Meusa reflected on what he was able to achieve through these camps, prior to the pandemic.

Wendell Meusa

“One of our greatest impacts was the Chess for Schools. Our Chess in Schools programme was very active before the pandemic.

We had clubs we contributed to and worked with; we had Nations, Marians, where we would have assisted Mr and Mrs Lee. I worked with New Guyana School, I did some other projects with Mae’s, Saints, and all these other schools,” Meusa reflected.

“But due to the shutting down of the schools, we weren’t able to conduct the chess club. However, as I said, I’ve been coaching on-

line. Most of our classes are being done online. We have smart apps that we’re using, we’re doing virtual teaching on zoom as well,” he said.

Having regard to all the time that has been missed, Meusa is recruiting the help of Barbadian International Master Orlando Husbands to assist in the transfer of knowledge.

“Last year we just decided to sit, wait, and see how the pandemic would’ve played out; and this year, we decided to put our foot back on the gas and get the ball rolling,” Meusa explained.

Further, he stated, “This year practically we venturing to something different. This year, Barbadian International Master Orlando Husbands, a former student of mine, will be coming to Guyana to participate in our 2022 Easter camp.

“Let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope all goes well with the pandemic. If things go smoothly according to plan, he’ll be here to coach our juniors in two of our courses that we offer,” Meusa has added.

The WMCF flyer for its upcoming camp

Aside from the camp, Meusa figures that Husbands can also share his knowledge with Guyana’s older

players, specifically in one area that he has described to be lacking. On that topic he shared, “Most chess play-

ers locally are not equipped with enough endgame knowledge and techniques. So, that will be a big plus to have such a chess player coming to Guyana. Maybe he can motivate to get more younger player on board with chess in Guyana.”

For the camp, Meusa is aiming to have 20-230 students per session, with two sessions per day. It is his hope to add to the number of outstanding players he has nurtured over the years.

“One of my students, Orlando, this is - I could say - the greatest contribution I made. It feels very good to see that he’s on his way to becoming a grandmaster, which is the highest level. It’s always a good feeling to see your seeds blooming,” he highlighted.

Meusa added, “My students are, I could say, some of the top students in Guyana.

They continue to show their best. We have, from 2009 to now, I’ve worked with Drayton, I’ve worked with Maria, so it’s always a good feeling to see my students becoming some of the best players they can be.”

TT players from SVG for goodwill competition with Guyana this weekend T

Damon Dublin

able tennis players from St Vincent & the Grenadines (SVG) would be coming to Guyana for goodwill competition with their Guyanese counterparts this weekend.

Rising SVG table tennis stars Damon Dublin and Mikael Hazelwood will visit Guyana to participate in a Goodwill Challenge Series on Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th March 2022. While in Guyana, these players would engage in practice sessions and play a series of matches against Guyana’s select

national team members in team matches and individual competition spanning the period of their visit.

This event is the brainchild and collaborative effort of former Caribbean champion and table tennis legend Orville Haslam, who

Mikael Hazelwood

East Coast spin it to win it

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a 30-over match played at the Enmore cricket ground, ECD.

Spin wizards Mickel Sharma and Arun Gainda

Sharma have spun their team to victory over an Upper Demerara team in

Having won the toss and elected to bat, East Coast posted 123 for 7 from their

and St Vincent and the Grenadines, which offers both countries the opportunity to provide much needed international exposure to key players.

The SVG duo is expected to arrive in Guyana on Friday night, March 4.

Pooran smashes 101 not out in Trinidad T10 Blast

DCB/Premier Insurance U15 Inter-Association 2022 tournament… ast Coast Demerara spin bowlers Aruna Gainda and Mickel

is President of the Table Tennis Association of St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Godfrey Munroe, President of the Guyana Table Tennis Association.

This initiative forms part of the developmental engagement between Guyana

overs, reduced to 30 due to overnight showers. Middle order batter Trilok Nanan top scored with an unbeaten 22, while Aaron Kissoon chipped in with 17. Keron Phillips grabbed 3 for 13, while Croy Charles supported with 2 for 23.

In reply, Upper Demerara struggled against the East Coast spinners, and were bundled out for 37 from 10.5 overs. No batter managed to reach double figures. Mickel Sharma and Aruna Gainda collected 3 wickets for zero runs and 3 wickets for four runs respectively, while medium fast bowler Gopaul Ramchand took 2 for 13.

East Coast won by a massive 86 runs.

In the match set for today: Friday, March 4, 2022, Georgetown will face West Demerara at the DCC Ground. Match starts at 9:30 hrs.

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n-form West Indies wicketkeeper/batsman Nicholas Pooran smashed a whirlwind century for the Leatherback Giants in the ongoing Trinidad T 1 0 Blast being staged at the B r i a n L a r a

Stadium in Trinidad on Monday.

P o o r a n

smashed

a

37-ball 101 not out in the 10-overs-aside match to take the Giants to a comfortable nine-wicket victory.

Chasing 129 to win in 10 overs against the Scarlet I b i s Scorchers, Pooran’s blast ensured that the Giants raced to a comfortable win with 9 balls to spare.

Kamil Pooran remained unbeaten at the other end, with Nicholas on 20 off 11 balls.

Nicholas Pooran’s century was studded with 10 massive s i x e s

and six fours, and came at a strike rate of 272.97.

Batting first, the Scorchers posted 128-3 in 10 overs.

Scorchers’ opener Tion Webster top-scored with 54 off 26 balls, with five sixes and four fours. Ewart Nicholson remained unbeaten on 42 off 16 balls, with four sixes and three fours, to be the next highest scorer.

Pooran’s effort ensured this was the Giants’ first win of the tournament after three matches. They are currently fourth on the points table, with 2 points from 3 matches.

The Scorchers are yet to win a single match, and are right at the bottom of the table after three matches. (Sportsmax)

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FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

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23

Assistant Coach Hercules not blaming bowlers for Harpy Eagles’ ordinary outing

By Brandon Corlette

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he Guyana Harpy Eagles recorded one win and suffered a heavy defeat in the first two rounds of the Regional Four-Day Championship tournament played in Trinidad and Tobago. With three other rounds remaining, which are set to bowl off in May, the Assistant Coach of the Guyana Harpy Eagles, Ryan Hercules, has said the team must execute plans on the next outing.

Prior to the Chandrapaul Hemraj start of the tourna-

ment, talking points were raised about the lack of variety in the Harpy Eagles bowling, which included three left-arm spinners and a pace attack that included all right-arm seamers.

However, these bowlers are all quality, and would have had success in the past.

“In terms of our bowling group, we had lots of meetings going into the two games. We just needed to work a bit more together as a bowling group. There were times guys were bowling very well, but did not get support from the other end; so, the guys will already know what they have to do for the next few games,” Hercules told this

CONCACAF Women’s U20 Championships…

Guyana battles Haiti in knockouts tomorrow

T

he nation’s under-20 women’s team the Lady Jags will be faced with yet another difficult task on Saturday night, when they take on Haiti in the Round of 16 of the CONCACAF Women’s Championships, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Having finished third in Group F with 3 points from one win and two losses, Guyana has been paired up with Haiti for the next round of play, which will take on a straight elimination format.

Haiti finished second in their Group ‘H’, with 5 points from a win and two draws.

Of course, the Guyanese and Haitian teams are no strangers to each other, having opposed each other in this very competition back in 2020. On that occasion, Guyana worked hard to make it to the quarterfinal round for the first time in the country’s football history.

However, Haiti rained on their parade with a 3-0 victory.

While the Guyanese are likely to be wary of this team, Haiti have not appeared as dominant as they were in the last Championships, where they topped their Group with 3 wins.

During a post-match interview after Guyana’s loss to Panama on Wednesday night, Captain Samantha Banfield readily admitted that Guyana had made mistakes, but professed her belief in the team’s

ability to rebound.

“It was definitely a tough loss. We got beat in the box with crosses in the air off corners. So, we need to work on that moving forward, and we just need to regroup as a team, learn from this, and grow,” Banfield

shared.

Switching her attention to the upcoming knockout Round of 16 action, Banfield said, “The Round of 16 is going to be tough. We have to come with our ‘A’ game, but I believe in this group and I think that we can come together for the Round of 16 for sure.”

Guyana is set to take on Haiti on Saturday, March 5, from 7pm local time. The Round of 16 action will commence today, however, with the USA taking on Suriname and Puerto Rico battling St. Kitts and Nevis, both at 4pm.

At 7pm, Canada and Cayman Islands will do battle while El Salvador and the Dominican Republic hash it out.

On Saturday, Mexico will lock horns with Curacao while Panama and Jamaica go-toeto toe, both at 4pm. Aside from Guyana and Haiti, the next 7 o clock game on Saturday will be Guatemala vs Bermuda.

The CONCACAF W o m e n ’ s Championships are the gateway to FIFA Women’s Under-20 World Cup in Costa Rica in August of this year. the top three finishers in the Championships would each book a spot in the FIFA event, scheduled for August 10-28, 2 0 2 2 .

(Jemima Holmes)

A snippet of Guyana’s encounter with Panama on Wednesday night

daily publication. games,” he explained.

“Back in Trinidad, we did mention the The players are currently engaged in aspects that we were lacking in terms of our training sessions. Most of the players asdifferent areas and working together and sembled at the National Aquatic Centre on working with plans, so it is just to execute Wednesday for a recovery session, after inin the next outing,” he said. tense fitness drills at Providence.

When asked directly if the Harpy Eagles “We had a good recovery session in the lacked variety, Hercules said: “When we pool. We had two hard days’ work at the looked at selection heading into the two National Stadium, and we focused this week rounds, we did back ourselves. We had two on endurance. We know the guys would be games in which we would have won convinc- feeling it a bit today, so we had a bit of reingly. The first one was 50/50, but at the covery session at the pool, which was very end of the day, it was a win. The sec- good,” Hercules noted.

In Harpy Eagles’ second ond game, when we looked at our variety, our batters could game, they lost by an inhave gone out there and nings and 57 runs. Batting the Harpy Eagles performed a bit more.

So, I am not pointing finout of gers in terms the contest, of our bowling the Leeward Islands and our variety. We Hurricanes declared on 438just have to execute plans,” he said.

7, made in 146 overs. In reply, “The game Harpy Eagles scored 265 all out in 50.1 overs, after scoring 116 was there for all out in the first innings. us to win from In the first match, the beginning, Volcanoes posted 339 but we did not go out all out and 190, while there and Harpy Eagles made be respons i 327 and 203-9. In terms of points’ ble enough.

I would standing, Guyana not go and talk about Harpy Eagles the variety of the bowlers, certain things should are in fourth have been executed, the baplace with 21.4 sics in cricket that we did points from one win and a not do, that we have to defeat. pay serious attention Veerasammy Permaul took to heading into the three eight wickets in the first match

Dharry, Marques for title fights in Guyana next month

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fter some hiccups, boxing-starved shortly, along with the full slate of the fivefans would finally be satiated with a fight professional card.

The 36-year-old orthodox fighter Dharry card comprising two title fights next knows that Father Time is contemplating month.

This is according to USA-based prize bringing the curtains down on his career, fighter Elton Dharry, who is scheduled and he thus plans to put on a show for the to headline the April 23 event dubbed the local boxing-starved fans.

“I am in contact with match makers in ‘Guyana Fight Night Road to Redemption’, which would be staged at the National New York, Nicaragua and Mexico to get quality opponents who will come to Guyana Stadium at Providence, EBD. Dharry was scheduled to be in the ring and fight. My main aim is to win big fights here on Boxing Day, then in February at and get another crack at the world title,” the same venue, but the card was postponed Dharry has said.

Dharry, who has been calldue to the prevailing pandemic situation ing out world champions in and international cricket. his division, fought for the The event has now gotten the green WBA Super Flyweight title light. in 2019, but lost to Andrew “We got the approval for the stadiMaloney in the latter’s um for April 23rd today,” Dharry has hometown of Melbourne, said.

Australia in a controversial Dharry, who has a large fan base in ninth-round stoppage after the 592, will star in the feature prethe ringside doctor stopped sentation for the spoils of the the fight, which Dharry said WBC International Super he was dominating due Flyweight title, while to an eye injuDexter ‘The Kid’ ry.

Marques would Dharry, feature in the cowho immain event. proved his Dharry disrecord to closed that 25-(15KOs)“Dexter will 6-1 with a be fighting a first-round Mexican for the stoppage of WBC Silver his last oppoInternational nent last July, title.” has said his ulTheir retimate dream is spective opto win a world tiponents will tle for Guyana. be named Dexter ‘The Kid’ Marques

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

Sport is no longer our game, it’s our business

Dharry, Marques for title fights in Guyana next month

Assistant Coach Hercules not blaming bowlers for Harpy Eagles’ ordinary outing Page 23

See story on page 23

Elton Dharry

Assistant Coach Ryan Hercules and Esuan Crandon at the pool

CONCACAF Women’s U20 Championships…

Page 23

Guyana’s U20 women’s team

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