Guyana Times -- Saturday, February 19, 2022

Region 6 celebrates top CSEC, CAPE performers P16

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

Issue No. 4925

THE BEACON OF TRUTH SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2022

Introduction of natural gas offers largest emissions' reduction for Guyana – Energy expert Page 3

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WHAT'S INSIDE: New oil field service centre

All Enmore P14 Packaging Facility workers to be retained …to be given 2-months’ pay to assist with transition

…says opportunity is now for affordability, sustainability ANUG executive charged with assaulting P8 ex-girlfriend

Fresh and affordable local products were at the Farmers' Market at Wismar Market Square, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) on Friday (Agriculture and Rural Development 10 photos)

company IDCE graduates Local Green Gibraltar gets commended telecommunications for “breaking licence barriers” …as 197 graduate from 2021 programmes

See story on page 7

CCJ reduces jail sentence of convicted P13 rapist

…PM hopeful new competition would result in better quality telecoms services

Page 2

MoU signed with US companies to train, certify Guyanese in welding, fabrication

Page 9

5 elderly persons new COVID deaths …11 in ICU, active cases down to 1159

See story on page 11

P12 "Mash" organisers must seek guidance from COVID-19 Task Force – Health Minister

Chinese man arrested after cocaine found in packages destined for China P8

2 NEWS

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

IDCE graduates commended for “breaking barriers” …as 197 graduate from 2021 programmes

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he University of Guyana’s Institute of Distance and Continuing Education (IDCE) on Friday evening awarded 197 students across its five centres for successfully completing their 2021 programmes.

The graduating students from Anna Regina, Bartica, Berbice, Georgetown and Linden were presented with their certification in a virtual ceremony.

Vice Chancellor of UG, Professor Paloma Mohamed-Martin, in her address to the graduates, underscored that by overcoming challenges to continue their education, they have broken the barriers of helplessness by which many are limited.

“People and conditions of our lives can teach us to be helpless… Many of you in IDCE have broken that barrier. It doesn’t matter how many times you tried and failed. No matter how many times you think that principle should hold, I want those of you listening - who could not continue this year; who are thinking (that) because you have children, because of your age, because of your circumstances in life, that the boat has gone for you and

IDCE Valedictorian Samuel Elton Headley

you can’t catch it - (to know) there is no such thing in this life as not being able to change your circumstances,” the Vice Chancellor iterated.

To reach every corner of Guyana, she revealed, the University is moving to introduce mobile classrooms next year, aligned with its five-year agenda.

Dr Mohamed-Martin shared, “Next year, we’re moving into a blended mode, and, of course, we are going to be working on our experiments of mobile classrooms with IDCE, as we begin to roll out the five-

year plan of reaching everyone that we can reach; fulfilling the University of Guyana’s first aspirational goal in our blueprint for 2040: one graduate per household.”

Additionally, Director of the IDCE, Dr Jacqueline Murray, highlighted that learning is not only classroom-based, and persons should scan for opportunities which can enhance their educational portfolios.

The IDCE Valedictorian was Samuel Elton Headley, who pursued Industrial Relations and Management.

The Best Graduating Students were Bibi Nazima Harrynarine for the Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety; Yolanda Alyssa Harris-Chapman for Supervisory Management; Phillip Gordon for Introduction to Social Work I; Candasie Alicia SimonWalters for Introduction to Social Work II; Gladwin Telston Hanover for Introduction to Human Resource Management; Lindon Romaine Barkoye for Occupational Health and Safety; Donetta Loreanna Doris for Office Administration; Jasmine Kelly Abrams for Mathematics; and Zynia Abrams for Social Studies.

The valedictorian, in

his speech, expressed, “I did not allow the late start to stop me from achieving my goals; and, at the moment, I trusted God. I know that the Industrial Relations and Management programme was the right choice for me.”

The keynote address was delivered by Technical Solutions Consultant at Halliburton Landmark, Celia Garcia-James, who lauded the resilience of the graduates to continue their studies during the pandem-

ic.

“Over time, we have witnessed the importance of distance learning growing exponentially; and with the pandemic, we saw how it was embraced by everyone due to convenience. But it is not always easy; as human beings, we need face-to-face interactions.

Therefore, the fact that you overcame all these challenges in the middle of a global pandemic makes this day even more remarkable,” said GarciaJames.

Since its establishment in 1976, the programmes offered by the IDCE have grown to include a Diploma in Youth in Development; Industrial Relations and Management; Early Childhood Education; Introduction to Developmental Psychology; Language and Communication; Occupational Health and Safety certificate; and Diploma in Administrative Professional Secretaries, among others. (G12)

Gavin Todd appointed new Director at Banks DIH

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anks DIH Limited has appointed Gavin Todd as Operations and Engineering Director, the company revealed on Friday.

Todd, a Peter D’Aguiar Scholarship awardee, graduated from the University of Guyana with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering, and would occupy the position of Operations and Engineering Director of the company.

Todd, who also holds several post-graduate and technical qualifications, among which are qualifications obtained at the University of

New Banks DIH Director Gavin Todd

Western Ontario, has completed 28 years of service with Banks DIH Limited.

He has also served on the boards of various organisations, both charitable and professional, including Rotary International, the Board of Directors of Guyana Water Inc, and the National Council of Guyana.

The announcement of Todd’s appointment has been made by the Chairman and Board of Directors of Banks DIH Limited, who have extended a warm and cordial welcome to Todd in his new post, and wish him a long and successful tenure.

NEWS

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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

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Saturday, Feb 19 – 04:00h – 05:30h and Sunday, Feb 20 – 04:00h – 05:30h.

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Introduction of natural gas offers largest emissions' reduction for Guyana – energy expert …says opportunity is now for affordability, sustainability

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Regional Product Director of General Electric, John Ingham

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ith Guyana moving ahead with its gas-to-shore project, this transition to natural gas will see the country recording its highest level of emission reduction in any of the renewable energy sources.

This is according to Regional Product Director of General Electric (GE), John Ingham. GE is a world energy leader providing equipment, solutions and services across the energy value chain from generation to consumption.

With over 30 years in the energy sector, Ingham has worked on projects that have seen about 10 million tonnes per year of CO2 reduction. He has been conducting work in Guyana over the past five years looking for possible solutions for the country’s transition to renewable energy.

During a presentation at the recently concluded International Energy Conference hosted at the Guyana Marriott Hotel in Guyana this week, Ingham said there is a lot of possibilities for Guyana’s energy transition.

However, he posited that natural gas power is seen today as a key factor in the transition process.

“I always say that gas is the only source of power which you can have where you want and when you want. And this is a difficulty of integrating renewables into the systems because you don't always have sun, you don't always have wind, you don't always have hydro… Gas is a fundamental enabler of renewables,” the energy expert pointed out.

According to Ingham, gas power is a counterintuitive movement, which has seen the power sector in the United States reducing its emissions by 33 per cent – the largest CO2 reducer in the last 10 years – and 40 per cent of that reduction was from moving to gas. He posited that Guyana could record similar reductions.

“The largest step for Guyana in emission reduction will be the introduc-

tion of natural gas. You will never have such a big reduction in a single movement after that. Hopefully, you will get to zero but the biggest reduction will be the introduction of natural gas… Just moving to natural gas will take you at least to 50 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and I think it’s a huge opportunity for Guyana to lead in that regard,” he stated.

However, Ingham outlined that the natural gas plant that Guyana is pursuing cannot only be built for natural gas use but must allow for the penetration of renewables such as wind and solar.

“The plant has to be designed with that in mind. It can’t be designed as a stationary plant that will re-

main operating with gas all its life,” he asserted.

The energy expert went on to talk about the key attributes that should be considered for the natural plant which the Guyana Government is planning to construct on the West Coast of Demerara, including reliability and availability.

Moreover, he underscored the importance of having the necessary infrastructure to support the increased capacity that will be added to the national grid with not just the gas plant but also other renewable energy projects that the Government is currently undertaking and future ones.

“This is key for the country to have this reliable grid… You can’t op-

erate a grid that’s not stable,” the expert posited, while adding that having fuel flexibility at the gas plant is also critical for the country’s energy security.

Ingham further outlined that bringing the gas from offshore will not only lower electricity cost in the country but will also provide higher efficiency in power generation as well as the cost of production and maintenance.

“That stable grid is important not only for the renewables that come in but also for the maintenance of the cost. So, it’s your lightbulbs not flickering, your fridge is not burning out, your air conditioning is not burning out because of that stable grid.”

TURN TO PAGE 5

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guyanatimesgy.com

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 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

Celebrating our students

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hroughout civilisation, mankind has been making sacrifices for personal and societal advancement.

Here, in Guyana, our history is inundated with stories about selfless sacrifices made by Guyanese foreparents as they laboured in search of betterment for the generation following them. That cycle continues, and today none can dispute that parents want the best for their children; a desire they would pursue with unwavering commitment.

These are not mere words, but are values inherent in parenthood, as exemplified by the untold and sometimes unrecognised sacrifices they make as that sense of responsibility through hard work remains. It is not without its difficulties, more so for some than for others. However, on the average, many, locally and across the globe, have unfortunate commonalities which are driven by financial challenges. Despite this, parents and guardians remain steadfast to that responsibility of steering their children towards opportunities for societal upliftment.

This is more profound in the provision of education, and will continue to be something on which they would not compromise, while often masking their sacrifices and formidable challenges with a protective smile. That smile, which has hidden the pain over the years, becomes one of unbridled joy when success is finally achieved, as evident following the announcement of National Grade Six (NGSA), and, in a matter of weeks, the results of CSEC and CAPE. Many of those students are still being celebrated, with Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) celebrating their successful students on Friday.

For those whose achievements propelled them into the national spotlight, their academic brilliance would become added inspiration for those who would subsequently strive to emulate them. Importantly, for those whose parents or guardians battled against the odds for their realisation, the achievements embody the many elements of their sacrifices as they become overtaken by pride and tears of joy.

That feeling of success unfolding buries the uncertainty of the outcome which might have prevailed during the process. Not only parents make sacrifices, but the students too. While it may pale in comparison, when the students speak of their own sacrifices, consciously made in a world that is not short of lure and distraction, some are quite aware of what their parents faced in the process, and often that in itself had galvanised and intensified their efforts for a successful outcome, bringing added value to it.

All must therefore be commended: students, parents, guardians, teachers, and all those who contributed. In addition to the sacrifices and the hard work, the success took commitment, diligence, and the ability to remain focused. The pride transcends that circle, and is felt by all, as those once unknown to the masses are catapulted into the national glare.

However, there is still much distance to travel for the final dreams to be realised. Much may not change in terms of what it would take. If anything, something may be added – the weight of the expectation of a nation.

As these young and brilliant minds step into the next phase of their academic life, those who had not made it into the spotlight must not be forgotten. Many, and those around them, would have made similar sacrifices with similar dreams. It’s a natural part of life, and they will also be entering another phase. They must be encouraged, and not belittled. They must be inspired, and not disappointed in the success of their peers; for new opportunities would beckon.

As the world continues in its technological evolution, and as competitiveness heightens, all will need to be adequately prepared as they inevitably enter the work sphere. This in itself dictates holistic preparation with an aim at increasing that success base to meet growing demands of this competitive environment.

A cultural presentation at a networking event organised by the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) Petroleum Guyana Ltd at the Pegasus Hotel on Thursday evening for participants of the now concluded International Energy Conference and Expo (Office of the President photo)

There is need for a reset of the EU-Africa partnership

By Harlem Désir

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he sixth European Union (EU) – African Union (AU) Summit taking place in Brussels this week could not have come at a more critical moment. Of the 20 countries the International Rescue Committee (IRC) has identified as at greatest risk of a new, or significantly worsened, humanitarian crisis in the year ahead, more than half are in Africa. The African continent is also home to almost one-third of the world’s refugees. Meanwhile, just 11 percent of Africa’s population is fully vaccinated from COVID-19, in stark contrast with 70 percent in the EU. Given that the pandemic has undermined years of hard-won progress by African communities, civil society and governments towards the Sustainable Development Goals, both the EU and AU must urgently get this important work back on track – jointly driving progress towards a more resilient and sustainable future for the African continent.

In this context, a fundamental reset of the EU-Africa partnership is badly needed. This Summit is a chance to discuss this and make it a reality. However, in order to start afresh, we must consider where efforts to date have so far fallen short – and what can be done differently.

One example is its approach to the complex and protracted crises in the central Sahel. The causes are many and they illustrate a broader “system failure” that is driving new and worsening crises around the world. The EU’s response in the region cannot be focused on short-sighted security approaches and migration deterrence. The picture on the ground makes it crystal clear that the protection situation in the central Sahel is moving in the wrong direction. It is becoming more dangerous, not less.

Since 2017, the number of violent attacks on unarmed civilians – including shootings, abductions and reports of sexual violence – in the central Sahel has soared by 620 percent, while the number of fatalities increased by 476 percent to more than 1,800. Women and girls experience additional brutality, and reports of gender-based violence in Mali soared by 40 percent in 2021 alone.

This uptick in violence, combined with a deadly brew of climate change and COVID-19, has tipped more than eight million people into severe food insecurity. Access to basic social services, including food, is getting more difficult every day, and contributing to record levels of displacement. Internal displace-

ment has increased tenfold since 2013 to more than 2.2 million, with many people forced onwards into ever more perilous journeys.

African partners have long demanded better protection and the expansion of safe, legal pathways for people on the move in Africa. Enhanced opportunities for legal and circular migration and mobility can bring mutual benefits, providing employment opportunities that meet labour market needs and driving development gains. Yet, recently leaked EU proposals continue in the same direction of prioritising security and border management.

This week’s Summit needs to be a watershed moment, not only for the EU and AU to reset their partnership, but to reorient their priorities and ensure they are working in lockstep towards the same humanitarian, development and diplomatic goals. A transformation is needed in three key areas.

First, both blocs must show bold leadership and take concrete action to address humanitarian needs in Africa. In the Sahel, this will involve further ramping up humanitarian funding to match the escalating needs. In 2021, only 41 percent of the funds required by the humanitarian community to respond to urgent needs in the Central Sahel were met – the lowest percentage since 2015.

These emergencies do not only require more humanitarian aid, but better aid.

The EU and other donors need to scale up multiyear funding that is accessible to front-line actors including local and women-led organisations.

The EU and AU must also prioritise efforts to address the many and severe access barriers which prevent humanitarian actors like the IRC from providing aid to the people who need it most, and ensuring that all partnerships – including security partnerships – are contingent on respect for international humanitarian law (IHL). Structural reforms, tackling corruption and impunity, and upholding rights must be at the centre of the EU’s peace-building efforts, not a box to be ticked.

Second, the EU, in particular, must grasp this opportunity to reset the approach to migration – shifting away from the current heavy focus on deterring and preventing people from reaching Europe, and forging a new approach centred on protection, rights and opportunities.

This Summit should be a chance to expand safe and legal routes to protection, significantly ramp up EU resettlement, and harness the positive potential of mi-

gration.

Lastly, both blocs must forge an inclusive response and recovery to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ending vaccine inequity and promoting the economic inclusion of displaced populations, in particular, will be critical to driving meaningful progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. This can only be achieved through distributing life-saving vaccines through COVAX, waiving IP rights to the vaccine, scaling up training and support to health workers in Africa, and empowering front-line organisations to deliver vaccines in the hardest to reach environments.

Meanwhile, with support from the EU, African leaders should address the regulatory barriers that are preventing refugees and other migrants, especially women, from accessing job and business opportunities and include them in national recovery plans. Facilitating greater economic inclusion will enable refugees to provide for their own socioeconomic needs, as well as stimulate post-COVID-19 recovery. Leaving displaced populations behind will only exacerbate and prolong the effects of the pandemic. Jutta Urpilainen, the EU’s international partnerships commissioner, said she wants the EU-AU Summit to be “game-changing”. If that is to happen, it cannot simply be a talking shop. We need to see concrete outcomes towards promoting human development, resilience, equalities and an inclusive path out of the pandemic. The failure to do so would be a dereliction of duty that will be felt first – but certainly not last – by vulnerable people in the Sahel and the rest of the African continent. (Al Jazeera) (Harlem Désir is the Senior Vice President of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Europe. From Brussels, he oversees the IRC’s work in offices in the UK, Germany, Sweden, Belgium and Switzerland where he engages in high-level advocacy in Europe on behalf of the world’s most vulnerable. Prior to joining the IRC, Désir worked with the Forum on Information and Democracy in France, where he was Executive Director and was the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media from 2017 to 2020.

In 1984, Désir co-founded the French notfor-profit association SOS Racisme with the mission to fight against racism, anti-Semitism, and all other forms of discrimination. Désir was French Minister of State for European Affairs from 2014 to 2017 and a Member of the European Parliament for three terms from 1999 to 2014.)

guyanatimesgy.com

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2022

5

You can send your letters with pictures to: Guyana Times, Queens Atlantic Investment Estate Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown, Guyana or letters@guyanatimesgy.com

Guyana’s inaugural Energy Conference and Expo a major success Dear Editor, Guyana’s inaugural Energy Conference and Exhibition – a four-day event held at the Marriott, was a grand success, and the organisers and all the stakeholders must be commended for this successful event.

For the first time in history, Guyana hosted a number of high-profile dignitaries in one event aimed at achieving a common goal and a winwin situation for all stakeholders involved: namely, the President of Ghana, the President of Suriname, the Prime Minister of Barbados, and the Chairman & CEO of ExxonMobil.

GOGEC is of the view that the event was a grand success, and the real work has now begun, for more reasons than one. To this end, the mere fact that the event attracted the attendance of so many high-profile dignitaries, as previously stated, is a demonstration of the regional and global importance of Guyana on several fronts, especially in the areas of international trade and investment opportunities for both local, regional, and foreign

investors from across the globe.

The event was well attended by local businesses and regional and international firms, and the event became a platform for the formation of new partnerships among local and foreign companies to form synergies, share resources and capabilities, improve competitiveness, and build capacity to meet the growing demand for goods and services in the sector.

More partnerships with local companies ultimately mean more jobs would be created for the local workforce. This also means that there would be greater competition for a skilled labour force, which is likely to incentivise persons to get themselves suitably qualified to enhance their own competitiveness in the job market.

GOGEC wishes to congratulate ExxonMobil’s Chairman & CEO, Mr Darren Woods, who attended Guyana’s inaugural energy conference earlier this week, for his company’s sterling contributions to Guyana’s

Introduction of natural gas...

FROM PAGE 3

“If you go to very sustainable projects that are not affordable, they will fail. They have to be affordable, that's the key message. And I think the opportunity now for Guyana is really to go towards that and to go towards both affordability and sustainability,” he stated.

To this end, Ingham touted the use of his company’s aeroderivative gas turbine for sustained reliability of power. He cited other countries in the Region including Bahamas that are using this type of turbine to support its energy operations.

In fact, to bring it closer to Guyana, he disclosed that even ExxonMobil’s latest Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel to start operations offshore Guyana – Liza Unity – is using these turbines to power its operations in the Stabroek Block.

The PPP/C Government is pursuing the US$900 million game-changing initiative that will see gas from the Liza Field in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana being piped onshore to generate power.

The main objective of the project is to transport sufficient gas from the offshore oil operations to supply some 200-250 megawatts of energy to the national grid by 2024, leading to a significant reduction in electricity costs. It entails the construction of a 225 km pipeline to transport the guaranteed minimum of 50 mmscfd of natural gas from offshore Guyana to the Wales Development Authority, West Demerara.

Only this week, Head of the Gas-to-Shore Taskforce, Winston Brassington updated stakeholders at the Energy Conference on the project, stating that some 21 companies have submitted Expressions of Interest (EoIs) to be pre-qualified for the construction of the project which is being executed jointly with a natural gas-fired power plant and a natural gas liquids (NGL) plant. (G8)

development, and the company’s role in Guyana’s economic transformation and development trajectory.

More importantly, GOGEC supports the accelerated production in Guyana, where the Chairman stated that, by 2027, the company anticipates producing from six projects and another four by the end of the decade, thereby increasing daily production to in excess of one million barrels per day. To date, ExxonMobil has about 20 profitable oil discoveries offshore Guyana, with much greater success expected in the future.

GOGEC is also happy to hear of ExxonMobil’s renewed commitment to further advancing local content in Guyana.

In view of these revelations by the oil major’s Chairman and CEO, GOGEC wishes to highlight the importance of Guyanese businesses and individuals needing to take action now to quickly ready themselves to exploit the opportunities that would be driven by the oil and gas sector.

Guyana is on a path of

rapid expansion and development, wherein there would be a plethora of opportunities for all stakeholders, ultimately improving

the quality of life and standard of living of our people.

Guyana is well positioned to move from a lower-middle income country to a high-in-

come country.

Sincerely, Guyana Oil and Gas Energy Chamber

Is Lincoln anti-union?

Dear Editor, The GAWU believes it must offer a response to some elements of Mr Lincoln Lewis’s letter appearing in a section of the media.

At the outset, we must point out that we cannot speak for the Trade Union Recognition and Certification Board (TURCB), and will not address issues in that regard.

However, having digested Mr Lewis’s narrative, which is filled with his usual derisive and abrasive scorn, it is hard not to conclude, from all appearances, that the longstanding unionist has taken on an anti-union stance.

We ask how else can one rationalise the denunciation of a genuine workers’ organisation that is drawing to attention the hardships faced by, and disrespect meted out to, workers of our country?

The GAWU is simply disheartened to see the low lev-

el to which Mr Lewis has descended as he seeks to advance his divisive narrative that does not, in any way, help the workers of our country. It is, for us, a reckless attempt by someone who has announced himself to be steeped in the principles of trade unionism and the struggles of the working-class.

The GAWU, nonetheless, is unbothered by the squeaks emanating from the erstwhile gentleman. Foremost, our Union’s allegiance has always remained with the workers of Guyana; this is a historical fact. We solemnly believe that workers’ rights must be respected and upheld. We do so without any fear, and no amount of crassness would deter us from our noble objective.

Our Union, though disheartened, would urge Lincoln to join us and, in his

own way, contribute, rather than obstruct, the advancement of workers’ rights. We believe our working-class deserves no less, and we are confident that our efforts would bring dignity and decency to the workers of our country.

Unlike Lincoln, we do not categorise unions and workers in binary terms. There is no time to place issues in silos when we should rather be seeking the general advancement of the working-class.

The GAWU will continue to play an active role in this regard. At this time, we are focused on our tasks of representing workers and advancing their lot, and can least be deterred by hollow accusations.

Yours faithfully, Seepaul Narine President GAWU

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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2022

Page

Foundation ◄

Venn Diagrams A Venn Diagram is used to show groups of data and can show if and when some of the data can be placed in more than one group.

Example:

The left circle shows distinctive characteristics of whales. The right circle shows distinctive characteristics of fishes. The overlap shows characteristics both whales and fishes have. Using the data shown in this diagram, identify the skin-related difference. In this case, the skin-related difference is whales have hair and fishes have scales.

Some animals that live in the ocean

Exercises: Interpret

W

hat do you think will happen if you turn a cup full of water upside down? You may think all the water will come spilling out! In this fun and easy science experiment, we’re going to show you how to turn a cup full of water upside down and magically keep the water inside. Being able to do this seemingly impossible task may appear magical, but we will show you it’s just science.

Materials:

A small plastic cup (8oz works well) Sink or outside area that can get wet Playing card or index card Optional – little foam balls or something that will float.

This adds to the magical illusion of the experiment.

Instructions:

Fill the cup about three quarters of the way full with water.

Optional – add your floating items.

Place the playing card over the top of the cup making sure the card covers the entire top of the cup.

Press gently against the card as you rotate the cup upside down. Be sure to do so over a sink in case of any accidental spills.

After a few moments, remove your hand. The water will appear to magically stay in the cup!

How it works:

When you place the card on the cup of water, the air pressure inside and outside the cup is the same. As you turn the cup over, a tiny amount of water will escape. This seemingly insignificant amount of water causes the volume of air in the cup to increase. While the volume of air in the cup stays the same, this causes the air pressure inside the cup to decrease. The card will now stay in place even though the cup is upside down, because the air pressure outside the cup is now higher than the air pressure inside the cup.

2) What are the characteristics of ducks according to the diagram above?

Friday’s answers 1) 9 2) 8

Make this a science project:

2) Which birds are extinct?

Try scaling this magic science experiment up. Use larger cups and larger amounts of water. Does the magic water cup experiment continue working as the size of the experiment increases? (sciencefun.org)

by

William Shakespeare

All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages. At first, the infant, Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.

Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel And shining morning face, creeping like snail Unwillingly to school. And then the lover, Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad Made to his mistress' eyebrow.

Then a soldier, Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard, Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel, Seeking the bubble reputation Even in the cannon's mouth.

And then the justice, In fair round belly with good capon lined, With eyes severe and beard of formal cut, Full of wise saws and modern instances; And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts Into the lean and slippered pantaloon, With spectacles on nose and pouch on side; His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice, Turning again toward childish treble, pipes And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all, That ends this strange eventful history, Is second childishness and mere oblivion, Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

“No profit grows where is no pleasure ta’en. In brief, sir, study what you most affect” – William Shakespeare

WORD SEARCH

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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Local company Green Gibraltar gets telecommunications licence …PM hopeful new competition would result in better quality telecoms services

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ocally-owned Green Gibraltar is the new provider in Guyana’s liberalised telecommunications sector after being presented with its telecommunication licence by Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, on Friday afternoon.

During a simple ceremony in the boardroom of the Prime Minister’s Office, the senior Government official said that he was happy to welcome the local company. The Prime Minister has responsibility for the telecommunication sector in Guyana.

PM Phillips added that it is his hope that the increased competition in the local telecommunications sector will result in better quality service to Guyanese. To this end, he disclosed that efforts would be undertaken to ensure this happens.

“The PUC (Public Utility Commission) will play its role to ensure that all the concerns within the sector by Guyanese are addressed and they will work with operators to ensure that better quality is arrived at within the shortest time,” the Prime Minister stated.

The licence was presented to directors of the company, Jai Narine Singh and David Mahmalji.

The directors explained that the company will now work on its rollout plan and will make a public

Prime Minister Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips handing over the licence to the Director of Guyana’s new telecoms provider Green Gibraltar, David Mahmalji. Also in photo are Director of the company, Jai Narine Singh; Chairperson of PUC, Dela Britton; and Director of the Telecommunications Agency of Guyana, Andre Griffith

statement soon.

Chairperson of the Public Utilities Commission, Dela Britton, and Director of the Telecommunications Agency of Guyana, Andre Griffith, were both present to witness the company receiving its licence to operate in the local telecommunication sector.

However, Friday’s handing over of the telecommunication licence to Green Gibraltar comes on the heels of a public tiff with the Prime Minister’s Office after the company went ahead and prema-

turely announced in October last year that it was granted the licence to operate in the sector.

Just over two months of entering office, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government in October 2020 issued commencement orders for the liberalisation of the telecommunications sector in Guyana thus opening up massive business opportunities for new entrants in the ICT and ICTenabled businesses to operate locally.

Green Gibraltar Incorporated,

which is a 100 per cent Guyanese owned company established in 2019, subsequently submitted an application for the provision of cellular services in Guyana.

In a notice published in the local media last October, it was indicated that the company had applied for the granting of an individual licence to operate a public telecommunications network and offer a public mobile telecommunications service in seven of Guyana’s 10 administrative regions, that is, Regions Two, Three, Four, Five,

Six, Seven and 10.

Additionally, it was stated too that the company also applied for frequency authorisation to use spectrum and to install and operate radio communication equipment in the operating of the network and service.

Moreover, Prime Minister Phillips on the one-year anniversary of liberalisation last year had disclosed, “Government is currently in the advanced stages of awarding another telecommunications licence for a 5G carrier.”

The new telecoms provider had previously stated that two companies, MHM Holdings GY Inc, and Green Gibraltar Inc, led by Guyanese entrepreneurs, in 2019 resolved to improve the limited and poor-quality cellular service in the country.

A formal application was submitted in January of 2021 in response to the Telecom Liberalisation act.

“After two years of hard work and sound investments, the companies have now assembled an industry leading team of financial and technical partners…

Green Gibraltar Inc, MHM Holdings GY Inc, and their partners understand the desire of Guyana’s citizens and businesses to have an option to connect with the world in a professional and cost-effective manner.” (G8)

8 NEWS

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Chinese man arrested after ANUG executive charged with assaulting ex-girlfriend cocaine found in packages

A

n executive member of the A New and United Guyana (ANUG) – one of the small political parties which contested the March 2020 National and Regional Elections, was on Friday charged with assaulting one of his ex-girlfriends and released on $20,000 bail.

Kian Jabour was arraigned before Senior Magistrate Leron Daly at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

He pleaded not guilty to the charge which stated that he unlawfully assaulted the woman so as to cause her actual bodily harm.

Guyana Times was unable to confirm when and where the offence occurred

destined for China

A

Charged: Kian Jabour

or any other facts surrounding the matter. Jabour returns to court next month.

(G1)

Chinese national was arrested on Thursday by agents of the Customs AntiNarcotics Unit (CANU) after he was reportedly identified as the person who paid a local shipper to post packages to China containing cocaine.

The Chinese national was expected to make his appearance at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts but due to the unavailability of an interpreter, the charge was not read. Based on reports received, CANU intercepted a Guyanese attempting to post several packages to China.

The packages contained biscuits and boxed fruit juices.

However, when

checked, a total of eight kilograms of cocaine was discovered. As such, the Guyanese man was arrested and after interrogation, he told ranks that he was paid by the Chinese national to post the packages via the post office.

A source told Guyana Times that after receiving the information about the Chinese national, CANU ranks visited his home in Bel Air and initiated the arrest. He was subsequently questioned and charges were instituted.

The source related that one kilogram of cocaine in China is about US$120,000 and anyone found trafficking cocaine can face up to life imprisonment.

Moving on...

Y

…with sugar workers our Eyewitness was quite chuffed to hear - well, actually “READ”, if you want to be a pedant! - that those 500 workers from Enmore will be employed in the shuttered Sugar Packaging Plant that’ll be converted into a machining facility for the O&G industry!! This is great news from any number of fronts. First and foremost, most of the workers would probably be coming from the shuttered sugar factories of Enmore and LBI. They would’ve at least been exposed to a factory environment - dealing with heavy-duty machinery and also lathes and other fabrication machines that are standard in any sugar factory.

Already, the great Booker Apprenticeship School at Port Mourant, which sent out thousands of technically proficient mechanics, machinists, electricians etc since 1955, has been converted (partially?) to an O&G Technical School. We must recognise that we gotta use our (limited) presence in the manufacturing sector - along with the newer burgeoning one in the O&G local content-driven arena - to catapult us out of the primary production of commodities, like sugar.

The higher value imparted would lead to higher salaries and improved living conditions for our workers.

Now, this doesn’t mean that we MUST give up on our sugar industry. It’s all about opportunity costs, baby!!

And no one has ever seen going into the cane fields as an “opportunity” for a veeery long time!! Let’s not even begin to talk about the social conditions that are imposed in those fields. While there aren’t any longer drivers with whips, the miserable wages to cut and load cane are much more effective, since the poor workers are pushing themselves - leading to endemic rum drinking to dull the pain, since nobody writes their stories. Just read about coal miners from DH Lawrence and you’ll get an idea of what brutal labour can do to human beings.

But let’s face it, labour’s still the most expensive input into that industry, since the days of slavery and Indentureship. And no matter how much mechanisation we introduce, we’ll always be driven by the logic of marginal unit production costs, where we will never be winners. This is especially true for Enmore/LBI, where there are so many other opportunities for labourers and skilled workmen. The construction boom on the East Coast Demerara will haul off most of the field workers who were laid off by the PNC back in 2017. And once they’ve seen the bright lights of working in construction, there’s no way we’re gonna get them back in the cane fields!!

Let’s see what happens over in Berbice, as CGX crank up their drilling in the Corentyne Oil Block and construction of their Deep-water Harbour near the Berbice Bridge! …with governing Over in Barbados, Mia Mottley won all 30 seats in their Parliament. And nobody’s complaining about “lack of an Opposition”!! The point is: in a democracy, the people are aware of the rules of the political game, and political parties go into elections fully aware of the implications of those rules. Back in 2011, the PNC/APNU and the AFC collectively garnered one seat more that the PPP - but they didn’t get the Presidency, which controls the Executive, because of our rules.

Nobody, including the PNC and AFC, complained!! They followed the rules, coalesced BEFORE the elections, got the same number of seats in 2015, and then formed the Government!! The PPP didn’t complain, but went into the Opposition and planned their strategy for the next elections.

But after they won the 2020 elections, the PNC’s been stamping its feet and complaining that “they’re not being involved in Government”!

Well, were any rules changed since 2015? If the Opposition powers were good for the PPP then, why aren’t they good for the PNC now?? …after the O&G Conference Your Eyewitness didn’t attend the O&G Conference, even though it was a bargain! But yesterday, which was free, couldn’t they have retained the duty-free rules? He so wanted that Grey Goose!!

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

NEWS

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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

MoU signed with US companies to train, certify Guyanese in welding, fabrication G

uyanese will soon benefit from certified training in the field of welding and fabrication in the United States following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) Friday morning between local company GAICO Construction Inc and the Board of Industrial Training (BIT), and US companies, Myer and Hargrove.

The MoU was signed by representatives of the four entities on Friday morning at GAICO’s booth at the International Energy Conference and Expo hosted at the Guyana Marriott Hotel in Georgetown.

It secures the commitment of the foreign companies to form an International Apprentice Programme that will see skilled Guyanese being trained and certified at the highest levels in the US in order to prepare them to fully capitalise on the opportunities in the local oil and gas sector.

Vice President – Business Development at Myer Companies, Bradley Myer explained that this partnership alliance is geared towards bringing Guyana’s welding and fabrication skillset up to international standards.

“We found that there is great local content here in Guyana and we can play our part in helping to bring out that local talent and truly help local content come along to compete worldwide,” he told reporters.

Myer noted that the signing sets the framework for these training activities, and in the next 60 days the partners will be working together to iron out the details of the programme.

“For us and our part, it means bringing Guyanese talent to Alabama and training them at our facility for a time period of roughly four months, but even those details need to be

Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton (centre) with representatives from the four entities that signed the MoU on Friday

completely ironed out, and then come back here to the shores of Guyana fully certified amongst the best, really, in the world as far as American Building Society Certifications [go],” he explained.

Meanwhile, Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton noted that Government welcomes such partnerships with foreign investors that caters for the development of local capacity.

He said that Government was approached by the Myer Company representative during the Energy Conference, which ended on Friday, with the proposal for certified training for Guyanese and following discussions, a decision was taken to collaborate.

“At the level of policy, I know what the Government is seeking to do and therefore every opportunity that we have that we can expose our people to the highest type of training to participate in the industry, I, as Minister of Labour and the Board of Industrial Training, we will take those opportunities to ensure that

we can together develop this country of ours.”

“We expect investors to make profits from their investments, and Guyana is open for business, but at the same time, we would want to twin the facilities that we have here so that they can help us develop human resources,” Hamilton posited.

According to the Labour Minister, more such collaborations will be coming on stream in the near future.

In fact, he noted that BIT has had similar discussions with other companies over the past week on the sidelines of conference including leading oil and gas operators in Africa that are willing to help the country build its local capacity to take full advantage of opportunities from the oil and gas sector.

Moreover, US Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch pointed out that the MoU signed on Friday supports Guyana’s Local Content Policy by providing tremendous opportunities for Guyanese to get world class training in the United States.

I think highly trained Guyanese will be better prepared to get jobs at higher levels so I think it’s directly related to local content.

These companies are doing their best to make sure that they take already talented Guyanese but giving them the opportunity to have specific training for their specific needs during this day and age in Guyana… [They] will come back fully certified and can participate at a higher level in the com-

panies that need welders, which there are a lot of right now in Guyana,” the US diplomat stated.

This is the second MoU that GAICO Construction

has signed during the fourday International Energy Conference and Expo.

The local construction company on Thursday inked another agreement with US-based end-to-end commissioning services company, Rev1 Energy, to boosted GAICO’s capacity in bidding for major projects in the oil and gas industry and other sectors.

Additionally, Friday’s MoU with Myer and Hargrove is the second one signed by GAICO. Last August on sidelines of the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, Texas, GAICO entered into a partnership the two US companies to work together towards the development of projects in Guyana while also enabling the transfer of skills and technology for the development of the Guyanese workforce in the growing oil and gas sector.

(G8)

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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

NEWS

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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

5 elderly persons new COVID deaths …11 in ICU, active cases down to 1159

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ive elderly persons have died from the novel coronavirus in Guyana, the Health Ministry reported on Friday.

The country’s death toll has moved to a whopping 1208.

Those who succumbed included four females: an 87-year-old from Region Six; an 82-year-old from Region Four; a 72-year-old

60,425 persons have since recovered.

From the 1159 active infections in the country, 81 persons are hospitalised. This includes 61 cases at the Infectious Diseases Hospital, East Coast Demerara (ECD). Eleven persons are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

A breakdown of new in-

In taking measures to educate all cross sections of people on their risks against COVID-19, persons living with Down’s Syndrome are asked to take precautions by getting immunised.

Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony outlined these persons are typically battling several comorbidities and as a result, their

GUYANA COVID-19 DASHBOARD FEBRUARY 18, 2022 UPDATE

NUMBER OF NEW CASES

48

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL ISOLATION

77

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

from Region Three; and an 81-year-old from Region Four. The fifth fatality is an 87-year-old male from Region Four.

Three of these persons were unvaccinated while the status of the other two is unknown. These deaths were reported between February 15 and February 18, 2022.

An updated dashboard showed 48 new cases, propelling confirmed cases to 62,585 – 20,808 males and 33,777 females. With 864 patients in home isolation, 77 are still in institutional isolation and 13 in institutional quarantine. Some

fections resulted in eight for Region One (BarimaWaini), three in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), seven in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), three in Region Four (DemeraraMahaica), six in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), seven in Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne), three in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), three in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) and six in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).

There was no increase for Region Eight (PotaroSiparuni).

risk of developing a severe form of COVID increases.

Recognising that persons under the age of 12 cannot be vaccinated owing to unavailability of the required vaccines, he urged the eligible persons to get immunised and if they are vaccinated, to take the booster shot.

All Guyanese are reminded to observe the protocols of the COVID-19 Emergency Measures, which are in effect until February 28, 2022.

This order emphasises the need for everyone, 12 years and older to get vaccinated against COVID-19; the

864 11

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL QUARANTINE

13

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (FEMALES)

33,777

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (MALES)

28,808

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES IN GUYANA SINCE 2020

62,585

NUMBER OF RECOVERED CASES

60,425

TOTAL 1st DOSE VACCINATED FULLY IMMUNISED

REGION 1

2487

REGION 2

2443

REGION 3

8001

REGION 4

30,960

REGION 5

2335

REGION 6

5668

REGION 7

2407

REGION 8

887

REGION 9

3935

REGION 10

3462

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

429,287 323,031

TOTAL NUMBER OF DEATHS

DISTRIBUTION OF TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES SINCE MARCH 2020

1208

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.

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 to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.

If anyone is displaying any of the symptoms associated with COVID-19 or needs

any additional information, they are asked to contact the COVID-19 Hotline 231-1166, 226-7480 or 624-6674 immediately or visit www.health. gov.gy (G12)

12 NEWS

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19,, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Man granted $20,000 “Mash” organisers must seek guidance from COVID-19 Task Force – Health Minister bail on assault charge

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vent organisers for Mashramani events are to consult and seek guidance from the National COVID-19 Task Force before planning any activity, to ensure safety amid the extant pandemic conditions.

Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony shared this position on Friday in his COVID-19 briefing, given the announcement of such activities for the holiday.

Mashramani is celebrated on February 23, but events are organised preceding and after the day.

The countrywide curfew was lifted this month but Dr Anthony reminded that other guidelines are still in effect.

“I’m not sure what Mashramani activities will be hosted. While we have lifted the curfew, the other measures are still in place. I do hope that any person that is promoting any activities or involved in these types of entertainment arrangements, that they would first seek guidance from the task force before proceeding to organise any such gathering. COVID-19 is not over,” he underlined.

Infections are declining following the massive Omicron wave that swept Guyana, but the Health

Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony

Minister also cautioned that other sub-strains of the variant are starting to make dents in health systems globally.

“We have seen an Omicron wave and those numbers have been dropping but we still have cases and if we’re not careful, those cases can still spike. With Omicron, there are different sub-types of Omicron…and in some countries, the BA.2 is the one that is circulating and now creating a resurgence in some countries.”

Moreover, an early opening could give rise to more spikes, especially in wake of the current vaccination numbers. In conjunction, immunisation is expected to wean a few months after vaccination but booster dose

uptake is not moving apace locally.

The Minister explained, “Once we start opening up like this and if we open up too soon, we are going to see spikes in cases. Therefore, we have to be mindful and we’re still in a COVID-19 pandemic and we have to make sure that we take the necessary precautions, especially those that are going to protect us. We have to also bear in mind that some of the societies that are opening up, they have higher vaccination rates than we have, not just with primary doses but booster as well.

Our booster doses are relatively low.”

Vaccine uptake

Over the course of one

day, 1500 COVID vaccines were distributed.

Consequently, 429,982 adults or 83.8 per cent have taken a first dose, while 324,175 or 63.2 percent returned for their second jab.

In the 12 to 17 cohort, 33,294 first doses and 23,914 second doses were administered. This equates to 45.6 per cent and 32.8 per cent respectively. Booster shots have moved up to 47,974 but a significant percentage of eligible Guyanese are yet to return.

“Now we have to increase this because there are lots of people who are eligible for booster doses but have not come forward so far. We have a couple of regions that are still below 1000 persons who have received booster doses… As we keep saying, it’s very important that people who would have received their primary shot, that’s the first and second dose, that they come back for their second dose once they’re eligible. Our eligibility is you must get the two shots before and after five months, you’re eligible.”

Data shows that 970 persons took the booster shot in Region One, 481 in Region Seven, 454 in Region 10 and 389 in Region Eight – an indication that the Health Ministry will have to enhance its efforts. (G12)

A

Raheem Ramsey

fight over rental chairs has landed a man in court on an assault charge.

Raheem Ramsey of East Ruimveldt, Georgetown, appeared on Friday before Senior Magistrate Leron Daly at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

He denied the charge which stated that on December 11, 2021, at East Ruimveldt, Georgetown, he unlawfully assaulted Akeni Alexander, so as to cause him actual bodily harm. He was granted bail in the sum of $20,000.

The prosecutor told the court that the virtual complainant operates a chair rental service and is known

to the defendant. On the day in question, Alexander went to uplift some chairs he had rented to Ramsey’s relative, Malissa Ramsey.

During that time, Alexander and Malissa had a misunderstanding over the number of chairs that were being returned. As such, Raheem Ramsey intervened and began pulling the chairs from Alexander.

Shortly after, the two men ended up in a fight during which Raheem Ramsey dealt the complainant several cuffs to his head and about his body, causing him to receive injuries.

Raheem Ramsey’s next court date is February 24.

(G1)

NEWS

13

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2022| GUYANATIMESGY.COM

CCJ reduces jail sentence of convicted rapist T

he Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has reduced from 23 years to 12 years the jail sentence imposed on a man convicted of rape, on finding that the initial sentence was manifestly excessive.

Following a trial before Justice Jo-Ann Barlow and a jury in 2015, Calvin Ramcharran, 30, was found guilty of two offences; namely: rape, and assault causing actual bodily harm, committed on a 20-year-old woman in June 2012.

Justice Barlow had sentenced Ramcharran to 23 years on the rape charge, and three years on the assault charge, and had ordered that the sentences be served concurrently.

Ramcharran’s three-year sentence for assault causing actual bodily harm has, however, been affirmed by the CCJ in its majority ruling, rendered on Friday. In the end, the regional court has ordered that the 12-year sentence and the three-year sentence be served concurrently.

The rape convict, through his lawyer Nigel Hughes, had appealed his convictions and sentences at the Guyana Court of Appeal (CoA), but those sentences were affirmed in January 2021.

The CoA had only granted Ramcharran leave to appeal his sentences at the CCJ.

Precedent not followed

The CCJ has said that the sentence imposed by the lower court for rape, and upheld by the Court of Appeal, was not only manifestly excessive, but that the Court of Appeal had failed to follow the comprehensive guidelines for trial judges in relation to rape cases.

The apex court noted that the procedure is found in its earlier decision in the case of Linton Pompey vs the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) of Guyana.

On September 21, 2015, Pompey was convicted on two counts of rape and one count of sexual activity with a child under the age of 16.

He was respectively sentenced to 15 and 17 years in prison on the first and second counts of rape, and to five years in prison on the sexual activity charge.

Trial Judge Barlow had ordered that the sentences were to be served consecutively — bringing the convict’s total sentence to 37

Convicted rapist Calvin Ramcharran

years’ imprisonment. The sentences were later affirmed by the Guyana Court of Appeal.

But in a majority ruling in May 2020, the CCJ found that the 37-year sentence was manifestly excessive. While the CCJ affirmed the sentences imposed by the Appeal Court, it ordered that they be served concurrently, reducing Pompey’s sentence to 17 years.

Moreover, in deliberating on Ramcharran’s case, the failings of the trial court highlighted by the CCJ were as follows: that the trial judge failed to give reasons for, and indicate, the process used to arrive at the sentence; failed to hold a separate sentencing hearing to take a victim impact statement; failed to obtain mental health/psychological assessments; and failed to obtain a social/probation report.

While the trial judge did hear a plea in mitigation, and did not impose the maximum sentence for rape, which is life in prison, because she gave no reasons to indicate how she arrived at the 23-year jail term, the CCJ noted, it could only “infer” what the trial judge considered in arriving at the sentence imposed.

Moreover, the CCJ found that the Court of Appeal, in reviewing the trial judge’s sentence, erred in failing to follow the precedent in Linton Pompey vs the DPP. Because the Court of Appeal failed to be guided by this precedent, “which it was bound to do”, the CCJ said, it failed to apply the proper sentencing principles and objectives to the determination of the issue raised by

the appeal; that is, whether the sentences were manifestly excessive or wrong in principle.

As a result of this, the final court of resort held that the Court of Appeal failed to consider if a different sentence should have been imposed.

Noting that it has jurisdiction under the CCJ Act to review the sentences, the CCJ, in considering the starting sentence for rape, as well as the aggravating and mitigating factors, reduced the 23-year jail sentence to 12 years.

In respect to the threeyear sentence for assault causing actual bodily harm, this was affirmed by the CCJ, which ordered that it be served concurrently with the rape sentence.

“Because the sentence for three years is to be served concurrently, there is no double punishment for this offence, and it will be left to stand for its demonstrative and deterrent effect”, the CCJ said.

The majority judgement was delivered by CCJ Judges Denys Barrow, Winston Anderson and Andrew Burgess.

Disagreed

Meanwhile, in a separate judgement, CCJ Judges Maureen Rajnauth-Lee and Peter Jamadar agreed that the sentence imposed for rape was excessive, and needed to be reviewed. The two judges held that the sentence was “suspect” because, although rational or evidence-based approach was taken, the Court of Appeal did not follow the methodology recommended in the majority judgement in the Pompey case.

These judges have said that the trial court’s failure to adhere to these guidelines has rendered the sentence “presumptively excessive and disproportionate”. The judges reasoned that the evidential deficit and procedural shortcomings, taken together with the failure to follow the sentencing approach explained in Pompey, resulted in a sentencing hearing that was flawed, and one that did not meet the threshold standard to constitute a fair hearing that could produce a fit, proportionate and just sentence.

Justices Jamadar and Rajnauth-Lee, however, disagreed with the 12-year sen-

tence imposed by the majority of the court. Providing reasons, they noted they both would have imposed a sentence of 16 years’ imprisonment for the offence of rape.

Arguments

Ramcharran had argued before the CCJ that, when compared to precedents set by the very CCJ, the Court of Appeal did not adhere to established sentencing guidelines. In advocating his case, the convict had relied heavily on the Pompey case.

While he acknowledged the serious nature of sexual offences, Hughes had said that given the directives outlined in the Pompey case, in which the complainant was a child, in Ramcharran’s case, where the complainant was an adult, he thought the Court of Appeal would have lowered his client’s sentence.

On behalf of the State, Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions, Diana

Kaulesar-O’Brien, had told the CCJ that when considering the majority of comparable cases in Guyana, the sentences imposed on Ramcharran did not fall outside of the ranges in those cases.

As it relates to whether a sentence starting-point or range in relation to an adult victim of a sexual offence should be necessarily lower, Kaulesar-O’Brien had reasoned that this would depend primarily on the circumstances of the particular case.

Relying on case law authorities, the prosecutor had submitted that the Court of Appeal was right in not interfering with the sentences, since it did not find them to be wrong in principle, nor did it consider them to be manifestly excessive or unjust.

Factual background

In Ramcharran’s case, the evidence disclosed that, on the night in question – July

23, 2012 – the woman had gone to a party at Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara (EBD) with some friends, and was making her way to the washroom when Ramcharran followed her and asked her if she was “doing business.”

When she replied, “No”, he grabbed her hands. A fight ensued between them, during which Ramcharran hit her several times with a bottle to her head, and then dragged her to the back of the building. While there, he choked and punched the woman, after which he had sex with her against her will.

After committing the heinous act, he offered the woman $65,000 and instructed her to meet him at a car on the road. However, the victim, whom the convict had stripped of her clothes, alerted her friends, who immediately carried her to the hospital.

The matter was reported, and Ramcharran was arrested and prosecuted. (G1)

14 NEWS

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

New oilfield service centre

All Enmore Packaging Facility workers to be retained …to be given 2 months’ pay to assist with transition

A

griculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha on Friday met with workers from the Enmore Packaging Facility to update them on the future of the facility.

At the meeting the workers were told that Guysons K+B Industries (GKB) had entered into an agreement with the Government to lease the facility which will then be transformed into a modern oilfield service centre and manufacturing facility.

Mustapha told the workers that as part of the agreement, the company was required to retain every worker employed at the facility and provide the necessary skills training so that workers were not left on the breadline.

“We are here today because many workers ex-

pressed concerns after they learned that this packaging plant will be relocated to Albion. We are exploring that option because, as a Government, we want to consolidate, recapitalise and we want to ensure GuySuCo is an entity that eventually becomes profitable. Over the last 18 months, since assuming office, we’ve allocated almost $14 billion to this Corporation. We’ve also injected funds into the shuttered estates like, here, at Enmore…,” the Minister was quoted as saying in a release on Friday.

“As faith would have it, we are now looking to divest and we’ve met with an interested investor and signed an agreement that will see GKB leasing this packaging plant and transforming it into a modern machine shop. I want to make it clear

The Minister also told the workers that, unlike the previous Administration, this Government will not abandon the people of this country.

He further stated that, as work progresses at the service station, an additional 460 new jobs will be created for the people of Enmore and other neighbouring communities.

Developing

Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha engaging some of the workers at the Enmore Packaging Facility

that the workers who are employed will be absorbed by the company. So, you can

rest assured that your jobs will be secured. From the Government level, we’ll also

make two months’ pay available to you to assist with the transition,” Mustapha said.

Additionally, Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony who was also present at the meeting said with Guyana now benefiting from large oil finds, companies, directly and indirectly, involved in oil and gas will be looking to employ persons from Enmore and other surrounding communities who have the necessary skillset.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 15

NEWS

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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Region 2 to see massive development with $6.1B budgetary allocation

Regional Chairperson Vilma De Silva speaking to Councillors at the meeting. Also in the picture are Regional Vice Chairman Humace Oodit and Regional Executive Officer Susana Saywack

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egion Two (PomeroonSupenaam) will continue its transformational projects in order to benefit residents in 2022 with the approval of the $6.1 billion regional budget. This is according to the Regional Chairperson, Vilma De Silva during a recent statutory meeting held at the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) boardroom.

De Silva, while addressing councillors at Anna

Regina, said, “Budget 2022 is fourteen per cent larger than Budget 2021 that will be used wisely for transformational projects.”

She added that in 2021, the region received a total of $5,356,075,00 whereas for Budget 2022, $6,101,643,000 was approved.

According to the regional Chairperson, the approval will pave the way for massive development in

health, education, tourism, and other sectors in the region.

“I am grateful that fourteen per cent more fund that was approved for the region compared to last year...with the approval transformational projects will be done. We as the regional officials will ensure that every Essequibians are comfortable where they are especially when it comes to infrastructure works,

All Enmore Packaging...

“You will see us developing, as a Government, a number of facilities in the East Coast. We want to create jobs for these people in these industries. We have large finds of oil offshore and, therefore, they would need certain machinery and parts for that industry. We have in this community, and in the surrounding communities, a lot of persons who have the skillset and I’m sure they will be looking for persons with those kinds of skills as they get this particular production up and running. In addition to that, they’re other interests, so its Government’s intention to ensure that we develop this area and other surrounding villages so that more people can be employed,” the Health Minister was quoted as saying.

He also told the workers that the Government will be transforming the Enmore Poly Clinic into a modern regional hospital. This new health facility, he explained, will be outfitted with an accident/emergency section, a theatre for surgeries, and an outpatient section among others. This project, he added, is expected to commence within the next three months.

Transition

Chief Executive Officer of Guysons Group of Companies, Faizal Khan said that workers can rest assured that they will receive the necessary skills training to ensure

their transition is as smooth as possible.

“This is a joint venture from Louisiana called Guysons K and B Industries.

We’ve already been traded.

We’ve already got contracts with ExxonMobil and others.

What we intend to do here is pipe and oilfield service work.

I’ve spoken at length with the Minister and the President mentioned on no less than four occasions “make sure you look after the people at the Enmore Packaging Facility and the people of Enmore”.

I heard you are very hardworking people and I want to assure you that we will give you the necessary training so that your transition can be as smooth as possible,” Khan said.

Workers who attended the meeting said that they were relieved that the Government made it a priority to ensure their livelihoods were secured even as new job opportunities were being created for the community.

On Wednesday, it was announced that over 500 job opportunities would be created over the next five years with the coming on stream of a US$35 million investment in an oilfield service centre and manufacturing facility at Enmore, East Coast Demerara.

The services to be offered would include tubular goods, premium threading and accessory services, as well as turnkey manufacturing solu-

FROM PAGE 14

tions.

The announcement of this joint venture was made on Wednesday morning on the sidelines of the ongoing International Energy Conference being held at the Marriott Hotel in Guyana.

While the complete investment is US$35 million and the intention is to employ 500 Guyanese, an initial sum of US$7 million would be injected into this initiative in 2022, and 150 recruitments would take place in this year alone.

President Dr Irfaan Ali has said Government welcomes such investments in a bid to make Guyana a fabrication hub for the region.

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health, and education,” De Silva said.

She added that the capital work for the region that will be realised from the approval are rehabilitation of State House Annex, motor grader, a front end loader; construction of a reinforced concrete bridge at Onderneeming; upgrading of David James Street, Charity; upgrading of Damon Street, Dartmouth; upgrading of Second Cross Street, Anna Regina Housing Scheme; upgrading of Playground Street, Suddie Housing Scheme; extension of Johanna Cecilia Secondary; the procurement of an ambulance, portable ultrasound machine and the provision of an electrical upgrade at Suddie Public Hospital.

Meanwhile, the Regional Executive Officer, Susana Saywack said that 17 projects that have to be completed in Pomeroon to Supenaam fall under the Regional Tender Board.

These projects include construction of the Tail Wall at Little Alliance, construction of regulators at Annandale, Hampton Court, con-

Regional Chairperson Vilma De Silva

struction of revetment at Taymonth Manor, La Union, and Fairfield, and also construction of drainage structure at Dry Shore.

She also noted that several access dams will be upgraded at Devonshire Castle and Queenstown.

However, there will also be an extension at Charity Nursery, Huis’t Dieren, the construction of a walkway at Charity Dormitory, construction of a boathouse at

Supenaam for the region’s water ambulance and the construction of a septic tank will be done at Aurora Secondary. There will also be maintenance works at various health centres, hostels, and hospitals.

Saywack said that the region is upgrading at a fast pace and with the 2022 budget, Essequibians will experience positive changes within their communities. (G14)

16 NEWS

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Region 6 celebrates top CSEC, CAPE performers

Visually impaired Afeefa Ally collecting her prize. She attained a place at Queen’s College

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ifty-seven persons were on Friday recognised for their academic achievements in both learning and education de-

livery.

The ceremony, which was held at St Francis Community Developers, acknowledged the ac-

complishments of the top National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA), Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) performers.

University of Guyana Berbice Campus top performers were also awarded.

The award ceremony was for 2020 and 2021.

Deputy Chief Education Officer – Development Volika Jaikishun presented the charge to the group on behalf of Education Minister Priya Manickchand.

She noted that there is a need to take time out to recognise exceptional performances in education.

“In society, we sometimes valorise things that are far less important to the future wellbeing of this nation. Education needs to be placed at the forefront of our priorities because it is the medium through which we will all be able to attain our objectives.”

She explained that such accomplishments do not occur by happenstance but are the result of an unrelenting commitment to educational excellence.

“I would like to urge you

Nitya Narine, who has a severe hearing impediment, attained a place at The Bishops’ High School

to communicate your sincere gratitude to them for all they have done to get you to the place where you are and seek their continued support as you move to even great-

ment in the number and quality of textbooks and related resources available to all students in the system while at the same time they have expanded the scope

rounded education which includes opportunities in music, sports and the arts. We have increased the allocations in our Because We Care grants simply because

A section of the audience at the event

er accomplishments. This awards ceremony should serve as the impetus for the attainment of excellence in all of your endeavours as it should communicate to you that what you have accomplished has importance well beyond you as individuals but to your families, your communities, your region and this nation,” Jaikishun read.

Touching on the Government’s commitment to improving education in the country, several interventions by Government were pointed out.

These include improve-

of the curricular options through the consolidated curriculum and enhanced pedagogical approaches to better consider the individual needs of our students.

“We continue to provide scholarships and other continuous professional development opportunities to our teachers to improve their existing skill sets and we are on track to ensuring all of our teachers within the education system are trained within the next four years.

We will expand the scope of student welfare within the system and ensure that they are exposed to a more

as is reflected in all of that we do, we genuinely care about the welfare and developmental prospects of our nation’s children.”

She said she was extremely proud of the achievements of the awardees.

Among the awardees were two children who are physically challenged; Nitya Narine who attained a place at The Bishops’ High School and Afeefa Ally who attained a place at Queen’s College.

Meanwhile, fourteen teachers who retired over the past two years were also honoured.

NEWS

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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Boy, 15, shot dead while looking Abandoned cargo ship carrying for Wi-Fi during T&T blackout more than 1000 luxury cars

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15-year-old boy with a slight mental disability from Tunapuna was gunned down during the blackout on Wednesday night.

The teenager was identified as Antonio Badenoch.

Badenoch’s mother, Marcia Ramsawak believes that her son was mistaken for someone else. Police said they were told that Badenoch was standing along a track near his home on St Vincent Street, Tunapuna when a white car drove alongside him and an occupant of the vehicle shot him.

Relatives heard the gunshots and on checking saw Badenoch on the ground.

He was shot several times about the body and died on the scene.

Investigating officers recovered and seized 23 spent shells on the scene.

Since the incident, Ramsewak said her children are very traumatized and do not want to stay in the area anymore.

She said her eight-year-old son left that same night to go by relatives and her 20-yearold daughter was being treated at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex for panic attacks as she was having problems in breathing and talking.

Speaking with the members of the media at her home on Thursday, Ramsewak said her son went to the track earlier in search of wifi and believed he had gone back to the area when he was killed.

“What happen he does go and take he little wifi in the

track, now remember yesterday (Wednesday) had a little power outage so what happen now the neighbour across the road put on a generator so when he saw the lights he say mammy I going and take the little wifi I say alright but he did come back inside and he come and lie down on the bed with me,” Ramsawak said.

“For some reason he was restless. I don’t know why he was back and forth, back and forth. He was on his phone I don’t know what was going on in his phone but he make a remark saying that he was stressed out right now. He was real irritable. I knock out because he was on the bed and he get up and went back outside but I didn’t know he went back on the track so I just get up and I hear bap bap bap bap and I jump up and everybody ran inside and they gone down on the ground. Next thing I bawl where Antonio, where Antonio? Nobody know where Antonio is. When the shots done the step father here walk outside, the brother walk outside. He come back and he tell me Marcia don’t go outside ah say where Antonio he say don’t go outside he ain’t want me to see my son lie down in the track dead. They empty a machine gun on my child last night,” she added as she became overwhelmed with tears.

Ramsawak said her teen boy suffered from ADHD. ADHD is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders of childhood and is usually first diagnosed in child-

hood and often lasts into adulthood. Children with ADHD may have trouble paying attention, controlling impulsive behaviours (may act without thinking about what the result will be), or be overly active.

She added that in addition to that her son had a slight mental disability, “My child don’t be on no crime. He don’t hold guns. He not in no gang.

He don’t spoke weed. Nothing.

He miserable and everyone around here can tell you he miserable but he very loving and he didn’t deserve that he get last night.”

“Around here is a little crime area and apparently they take him for somebody else. The gunman past down and they reverse must be tell themselves one of them fellas in the track dey and they run up on him because he tried to run back inside but they run up on him and they finish him,” Ramsawak added.

She admitted that for some time her seven children never wanted to stay in the area because of its crime, “For the longest while they don’t want to stay here but what could I do? Rent now is $3,000, $4,000 change last night when that happen they were traumatized. Not one of my children wanted to stay home here.”

Ramsawak said her son wanted to go back to school or learn a trade and recalled that all during the pandemic he often shared things with her suggesting that he longed to go back to school. (T&T Guardian)

burning in the Atlantic

The Felicity Ace cargo ship carrying cars to the United States is pictured in an image released by the Portuguese Navy on their website

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n abandoned cargo ship carrying more than 1,000 Porsches and other luxury vehicles is burning in the Atlantic Ocean.

The fire on the Felicity Ace broke out on Wednesday. The ship was sailing about 90 kilometers southwest of the island of Faial in Portugal when the flames erupted, according to the country’s military.

All 22 crew members on board were rescued by members of the Portuguese Air Force and are in “good health,” according to Snowcape Car Carriers, the ship’s owner. The

Felicity Ace is still adrift in the Atlantic Ocean but Snowcape Car Carriers said an initial salvage team is estimated to arrive Friday.

“Further salvage assets are being readied to attend the vessel,” the company said.

It’s unclear what caused the fire.

A ship tracking website shows that the Felicity Ace was en route to Rhode Island. The fire comes as car manufacturers grapple with inventory issues brought on by the chip shortage.

“Our immediate thoughts are of relief that the 22 crew of the mer-

chant ship ‘Felicity Ace’ are safe and well,” Porsche said in a statement. “We are in contact with the shipping company and the details of the cars on board are now known. While it remains too early to confirm what occurred and next steps, we are – along with our colleagues at Porsche AG – supporting our customers and our dealers as best we can to find solutions.” Volkswagen confirmed to ABC News that it too had cars on the vessel.

“We are in contact with the shipping company to get more information about the incident,” the German automaker said. (ABC News)

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guyanatimesgy.com

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2022

Regional

Brazil: Climate change, neglect US will immediately resume Mexican contribute to deadly mudslides avocado imports, USDA says

Dozens of hillside houses were destroyed by the landslides in the heaviest rainfall registered in the region since 1932

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he landslides that devastated the Brazilian mountain city of Petropolis this week demolished houses and ripped families apart, scarred hillsides and hearts, and left at least 120 dead and nearly as many missing.

And it was all largely predictable – and to some degree, preventable.

Rapid urbanisation, poor planning, lack of financing for subsidised housing – all of these things have afflict-

ed the city in Rio de Janeiro state – and little has been done in response to repeated warnings about the risks of mountainside construction, researchers, as well as current and former public servants, have said.

Antonio Guerra, a geography professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, has studied weather-related catastrophes in Petropolis for almost 30 years. He has visited dozens of sites where houses and lives were swal-

lowed by torrents of mud, and investigated the root causes.

“Rain is the great villain, but the main cause is poor land use. There’s a total lack of planning,” Guerra told The Associated Press.

More than 1500 people have died in similar landslides in recent decades in that portion of the Serra do Mar range. There have been more than 400 deaths from heavy storms in Petropolis alone since 1981.

The city’s haphazard sprawl is recent. Nestled in the mountains some 64km (40 miles) from Rio de Janeiro and named for a former Brazilian emperor, Petropolis was among the nation’s first planned cities.

Mountainsides are now covered with small homes packed tightly together, constructed by people who are not fully aware of the dangers. Many have built without proper permissions because they cannot afford to do so elsewhere. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

‘May be soon’: Argentina’s $40 bln IMF deal trundles closer, despite push-back

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rgentina’s deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to refinance over US$40 billion in debts is trudging closer to the finish line, despite protests in the South American country that has a long and uneasy history with the global lender.

The two sides have been in winding talks for over a year to revamp a failed US$57 billion facility agreed in 2018 under former conservative president Mauricio Macri, which was unable to keep Argentina from sliding into debt, currency and economic crises.

A final agreement that could be worth US$4045 billion appears likely in coming weeks after an “understanding” with the IMF in late January. The accord would still need IMF Board approval and support in Argentina’s Congress, where some lawmakers have openly opposed it.

“We understand that it may be soon,” presidential spokeswoman Gabriela Cerruti told reporters when asked about sending the agreement to Congress.

“We are going to reach the best possible agreement that will help us

start finding a solution to the largest debt Argentina ever took on, and also the largest that the IMF ever gave out.”

The difficult talks have buffeted stocks and sovereign bonds, which are in distressed territory even after a major US$110 billion debt restructuring with private creditors in 2020.

Some local media reported a deal could come as early as this weekend, though officials privately talked down this possibility, signalling it would likely be later this month.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

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he United States on Friday ended a ban on imports of avocados from Mexico’s Michoacan state and restarted an agricultural inspection programme it had halted out of concern for the safety of US workers.

In its announcement, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said imports could resume immediately.

The United States had paused its inspection programme on Feb 11 after US

inspectors were verbally threatened.

The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) said in a statement it worked with Mexico’s Government and the Association of Avocado Exporting Producers and Packers of Mexico to enact “additional measures” to safeguard the safety of its inspectors.

APHIS, in a Tweet, called the agreement “Good news!”

Mexican President Andres Manual Lopez Obrador said

Belize looks to lift curfew as nearly half of population vaccinated against COVID

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ealth and Wellness Minister of Belize, Kevin Bernard, said he intends to take to Cabinet next week a proposal calling for the removal of the curfew that has been in place for more than two years as part of Belize’s efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).

“For me and for most Belizeans, and I put myself in the Belizean shoe today, not as the Minster of Health and Wellness, but I think that what has happened over the past few years is we have learned,” Bernard said, adding that he believes persons who are vaccinated as the ones “who really wanted to get vaccinated”.

A statement issued following Thursday’s Cabinet meet-

ing noted that as of February 14, a total of 213,679 persons or 49.76 per cent of the total population had received at least one dose of the vaccine and 205,678 or 47.81 per cent of the total population has been fully vaccinated.

The Government also said that 30,671 Belizeans aged 12 to 17 years old have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 25,351 two doses. Additionally, over 35,449 booster shots have been issued to date.

Bernard, speaking with the News 5 Television station said that even as the Ministry of Health is now starting on a more aggressive campaign, ground to ground, house to house to try and target those persons who have not been vaccinated, “there are genu-

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The paramedics were notified and they were all taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope for treatment.

However, Amanda was pronounced dead at 12:58 am and her sister subsequently died several minutes later.

During a visit in the area, Guardian Media was told by neighbours that they were outside liming when they heard an explosion and saw a car speeding off.

“We noticed smoke coming from the ground floor of the apartment so we run over to try and help. The fire spread fast and like the people were trapped. We

got a sledgehammer and we start pounding away at the door. Then when we couldn’t get through, we tried the window and got through the two burglar-proofing and that’s how we got all three of them outside but they were unconscious already,” one neighbour said.

“They seemed like quiet people. Would only see them going to work and back home. We didn’t know them personally other than that but is neighbours so we tried to save them.

Sorry the women died, we only heard they died when we woke up,” another neighbour said. (Excerpt from Trinidad Guardian)

inely those persons who feel that we need to start to live in some form of normalcy again.

“That is not to say that everything that is there will be lifted. We need to look at it responsibly in a phased manner and the issue of the curfew is one of the most prevailing points across the country.

People feel that it has been going on for too long,” he told television viewers.

Bernard is urging Belizeans to continue to adhere to the health protocols, including wearing masks and social distancing, adding also that a relaxation of the curfew would not necessarily mean a return to the night life the population had been experiencing before the pandemic. (Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

Jamaica launches Global Tourism Resilience Day at EXPO2020 Dubai

T&T: 2 sisters killed as home firebombed

wo sisters were killed in a fire on Thursday morning believed to be from a firebombing at their home in Curepe.

They were identified as Amanda Charles, 30, and her sister Alicia Charles, 31.

Alicia’s husband, Fidel Guerra was also injured and is currently warded in hospital.

According to a Police report, at about 12:10 am Police received a report that a house was on fire along Watts Street, Curepe.

When officers arrived, they found the sisters and Guerra on the ground outside of the home unconscious.

at a regular news conference earlier on Friday that a resolution could come by the end of the day.

The United States imported US$3.0 billion in avocados globally in 2021, the bulk of that worth US$2.8 billion coming from Mexico, according to the USDA. Michoacan, Mexico’s top avocado producing state and the only one currently approved to export to the United States, has long had security issues linked to drug gangs.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Tourism Minister, Hon Edmund Bartlett, speaking during the launch of Global Tourism Resilience Day at EXPO2020 Dubai on Thursday, February 17

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ourism Minister Edmund Bartlett on Thursday launched Global Tourism Resilience Day during EXPO2020 Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The Day, which is the brainchild of Bartlett, will be observed annually on February 17.

The observance forms part of the thrust to heighten global tourism stakeholder awareness and actions towards strengthening the industry’s capacity to address and recover quickly from crises and shocks,

such as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and fortifying its resilience and sustainability.

The launch, which was addressed virtually by Prime Minister Andrew Holness, took place at the DP World Pavilion and formed part of the itinerary for Jamaica’s delegation, headed by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Kamina Johnson Smith, which is participating in the global expo from February 16 to 20.

Holness said that the global tourism industry’s

emergence from the fallout caused by COVID-19 is a “critical determinant” of the overall pace of economic recovery worldwide, particularly among the most tourism-dependent regions, including the Caribbean.

He noted that while the magnitude of COVID-19 is unprecedented, “there will, no doubt, be other significant challenges that the industry will face, including those posed by climate change”.

“This necessitates a posture that understands the various threats to the industry and the need for a proactive approach to enhancing readiness and capacity to meet the challenges of the present and the future,” the Prime Minister said.

Holness cited several important lessons emerging from the pandemic, among them the need for greater and more active commitment to behavioural changes among all stakeholders to reduce environmental, social, and human health risks. (Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

guyanatimesgy.com

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2022

19

Around the World

OILNEWS OIL NEWS Oil ends week mixed on geopolitical uncertainty, supply hopes

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il prices ended the week mixed on Friday, with US crude snapping eight weeks of gains, as the prospect of increased Iranian oil exports eclipsed fears of potential supply disruption resulting from the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

Brent crude futures settled 57 cents, or 0.6 per cent, higher at US$93.54 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude ended down 69 cents, or 0.5 per cent, to US$91.07 a barrel.

Both benchmarks hit their highest levels since September 2014 on Monday, but the prospect of easing oil sanctions against Iran has weighed on the market. Brent posted a small 0.9 per cent rise in its ninth straight week of gains while WTI fell 1.7 per cent this week.

Fears over possible supply disruptions resulting from the Russian military presence at Ukraine's borders have limited losses this week.

The West has threatened Russia, a top oil and gas supplier, with new sanctions if it attacks Ukraine; Russia denies planning any attacks.

Any sanctions that may be imposed on Russia by the European Union should not include energy imports, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said.

A senior European Union official said on Friday that a US-Iranian deal to revive Iran's 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers was close but success depended on the political will of those involved.

However, the deal taking shape lays out phases of mutual steps to bring both sides back into full compliance, and the first does not include waivers on oil sanctions, diplomats said.

Consequently, there is little chance of Iranian crude returning to the market in the immediate future to ease current supply tightness, analysts said.

Reflecting the tightness in global oil supplies, the six-month backwardation for Brent crude hit its widest on record on Wednesday.

Backwardation is a market structure when contracts for near-term delivery are priced higher than those for later months.

OPEC+, which comprises the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia, will work to integrate Iran into its oil output pact should Tehran and world powers reach agreement on reviving their nuclear deal, sources close to the group said.

Adding pressure onto WTI, US energy firms this week added four oil rigs this week, with the rig count, an indication of future production, rising to 520, its highest since April 2020, energy services firm Baker Hughes Co said. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Ahmedabad 2008 blasts: India court sentences 38 to death

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court in India has sentenced 38 people to death for their role in a series of bomb blasts in 2008 in the western state of Gujarat.

Fifty-seven people were killed and hundreds injured in the bombings, which took place in Ahmedabad, the commercial capital of Gujarat.

The court in Ahmedabad also sentenced 11 other convicts to life in prison until death.

The accused can challenge their sentences in a higher court.

On 26 July 2008, around 20 bombs exploded in the space of an hour across residential areas, market places, public transport and hospitals in Ahmedabad.

Several unexploded bombs were also found.

The Indian Mujahideen - then an unknown Islamic militant group - had claimed responsibility for the attacks in an email sent to some me-

dia outlets.

The Indian Government declared the group a terrorist organisation and banned it in 2010 after it was accused of an attack on a German bakery in Pune in which 17 people were killed and scores injured.

In the Ahmedabad blasts, 78 people had faced trial - one of the accused, Ayaz Saiyed, later helped investigating agencies.

The remaining 28 have been acquitted.

The prosecution examined 1163 witnesses over the course of the trial, according to The Indian Express.

Special Judge AR Patel also ordered to give compensation of 100,000 rupees (£982; US$1337) each to families of the victims.

In 2013, authorities had said they foiled an attempt by some of the accused to tunnel their way out of jail. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Ferry fire: 11 missing as hundreds rescued off Corfu E leven people are missing after a ferry burst into flames near the Greek island of Corfu on Friday, authorities say.

Rescue boats rushed to evacuate the 290 people on board the Euroferry Olympia, including two lorry drivers trapped inside the hold.

The ferry had left Igoumenitsa in Greece for the Italian port of Brindisi when a fire broke out on a car deck.

The captain told everyone to leave as the ferry was engulfed in flames and began billowing thick plumes of smoke.

The Greek coastguard said 239 passengers and 51 crew had been on the fer-

Greek and Italian boats rushed to put out the fire on the 183m (600ft) ferry

ry, owned by Italian firm Grimaldi Lines. Most of the passengers were Italian nationals, according to Ionian islands governor Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou, while the crew were both Greek

and Italian.

Italian officials said 277 of those on board were brought to safety and 10 of them were being treated in hospital for breathing problems and minor injuries. Hours later, res-

cuers managed to reach two men who were stranded in the hold and airlift them off the ship.

There was no word on the missing 11, but throughout the day officials have been trying to confirm how many people were able to leave the ferry when the order was given to abandon ship.

Both passengers and crew boarded lifeboats near the island of Ereikousa before being picked up by ships in the area. A passing Italian customs ship was first on the scene.

Customs Police said their patrol vessel Monte Sperone had rescued 243 of those on board. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Hong Kong considers mass testing as COVID fight intensifies

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ong Kong's coronavirus battle intensified on Thursday as authorities reported that new cases had multiplied by 60 times so far this month, and

the city's leader said city-wide testing was being considered in the global financial hub.

Hospitals have been overwhelmed with some patients, including the elderly, left ly-

Storm Eunice batters Europe, killing at least 8 people

ing on beds outside in chilly, sometimes rainy weather, in shocking scenes that prompted an apology from authorities in the Chinese-controlled city.

Schools, gyms, cinemas and most public venues are shut and many office employees are working from home. But many residents are fatigued by the harsh restrictions imposed to protect against the pandemic, even as most other major cities in the world adjust to living with the virus.

Health authorities reported a record 6116 confirmed cases on Thursday, up from 4285 the previous day, with a further 6300 preliminary positive cases. That takes the total since January to more

than 16,600. There were 24 new deaths.

The jump in cases is the biggest test yet of the city's "dynamic zero COVID" policy, but leader Carrie Lam said this week that the city "cannot surrender to the virus."

Some media reports, citing unidentified sources, said the Government planned to test up to 1 million people each day from March. Those who fail to comply would be fined HK$10,000 (US$1282).

Lam told reporters later, while greeting the arrival of several mainland Chinese health experts to help with the outbreak, that "city-wide virus testing is a plan we are considering now." (Excerpt from Reuters)

Rebels announce evacuation from eastern Ukraine Waves hit the dike in Wimereux after northern France was hit by strong winds

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n Atlantic storm has battered Northwestern Europe with record winds of up to 196km (122 miles) per hour, killing at least eight people, knocking out power for tens of thousands, and shredding the roof of London’s O2 Arena.

Storm Eunice hit western England and made landfall in Cornwall on Friday where waves lashed the coast, sending plumes of spray dozens of metres into the air.

A woman was killed in London when a car she was travelling in was crushed by a tree and a man in a vehicle in Liverpool died due to flying debris. Another man died after a vehicle collided with a fallen tree in the southern English county of Hampshire.

In the Netherlands, three people were killed by toppled trees. In Belgium, strong winds brought a crane down onto the roof of a hospital, and a British man died after being blown from his boat

into the water.

Another man died in Ireland after being struck by a falling tree while clearing storm debris, RTE reported.

In Wales, waves crashed over Aberystwyth promenade, some as high as houses. More than 100,000 people were hit by power cuts as lines were torn down and ancient trees keeled over.

The Met Office said a gust of 196kmph (122mph) was recorded at The Needles on the Isle of Wight, provisionally a record for the most powerful gust ever recorded in England.

Later on Friday, the Met Office said the fiercest winds from the storm were heading towards Scandinavia and northern mainland Europe where warnings were issued.

Planes were buffeted so strongly by gusts at some British airports that pilots were forced to abandon landings. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

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ussian-backed separatists packed civilians onto buses out of breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine on Friday, a shock turn in a conflict the West fears is part of a plan by Moscow to create a pretext for an attack on its neighbour.

Warning sirens blared in Donetsk after it and the other self-proclaimed "People's Republic", Luhansk, announced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people to Russia, with women, children and the elderly going first.

Without providing evidence, Denis Pushilin, the separatist leader in Donetsk, accused Ukraine of preparing to attack the two regions soon - an accusation Kyiv said was false.

Hours after the evacuation announcement, a jeep exploded outside a rebel Government building in the city of Donetsk, capital of the region of the same name.

Reuters journalists saw the vehicle surrounded by shrap-

nel; a wheel thrown away by the blast.

Russian media said it belonged to a separatist official.

Most of the several million civilians in the two rebel-held areas are Russian speakers, many already granted citizenship by Moscow.

Within hours of the announcement, families assembled to board buses at an evacuation point in Donetsk, where authorities said 700,000 people would leave.

The evacuation started after the simmering eastern Ukraine conflict zone saw what sources described as the most intense artillery bombardment for years on Friday.

Ukraine's government and the separatists traded blame.

Western countries have said they think the shelling, which began on Thursday and intensified in its second day, could be part of an attempt by Russian President Vladimir Putin's government to create a pretext to justify an attack on Ukraine.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

20

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2022

guyanatimesgy.com

DAILY HOROSCOPES

ARCHIE

A heartfelt discussion will bring you closer to someone who can help you bring about positive change. Put a plan in place and forge into the future with optimism, hope and discipline.

(March 21-April 19)

DILBERT

(April 20-May 20)

Explain your intentions to people in positions of authority. Taking care of fundamentals first will ease stress and make it easier to reach your goal.

Organization and planning are essential.

Stick to your original plan. Don't let anyone sway you in a different direction. Trust in your intellect, common sense and know-how to stay on course.

Be wary of meddlesome people.

(May 21-June 20)

PEANUTS (June 21-July 22)

Emotions will get the best of you if you give in to someone who wants to control you. Make your needs and wants clear. Be responsible for your happiness instead of letting someone else set the rules.

Stand by close friends, relatives and loved ones. Refuse to let anyone interfere in your personal life. A professional change that can affect your domestic life should be carefully scrutinized.

(July 23-Aug. 22) Don't wait for something to go wrong.

A positive move can change the dynamics of meaningful relationships and the path you choose to follow. Don't make others responsible for your happiness.

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

(Sept. 23-Oct. 23)

Walk the walk until you reach your destination. Refuse to give in to unrealistic demands just to keep the peace.

Sometimes you must step out on a limb and speak your mind to get what you want.

Keep your plans secret until you have everything in place. The element of surprise will work in your favor and make others take note. It's time to hustle, lead the pack and set the rules.

SUDOKU (Oct. 24-Nov. 22)

Do what needs to be done and move along. Don't look back or give someone the chance to derail your objective. Do your own thing, and stop worrying about what others think or do.

(Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Learn from experience and your mistakes. Listen carefully and react accordingly. Put a plan in place that helps you use your money wisely and live your life efficiently. Make needed adjustments.

SOLUTION FOR LAST PUBLISHED PUZZLE

(Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Put the word out there for all to hear.

Say what's on your mind and share your plan to make things better, more efficient or fun. Be a participant, make a difference and get more in return.

(Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Take a moment to reflect and digest recent events before commenting. A kind and thoughtful response will make a difference when dealing with people who don't always share your point of view.

(Feb. 20-March 20)

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2022

21

Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare gets careerending 10-year ban for anti-doping violations N

igerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare has been banned for 10 years by the Disciplinary Tribunal of the Athletics Integrity Unit.

The 33-year-old sprinter was banned for five years for the presence and use of multiple prohibited substances, and five years for her refusal to co-operate with the AIU’s investigation into her case, the AIU said in a release on Friday.

According to the AIU, the sole arbitrator adjudicating the case concluded that the athlete’s use of multiple prohibited substances as part of an organised doping regimen in the lead up to the Tokyo Olympic Games was egregious conduct that amounted to aggravating circumstances under the Rules, thereby warranting an additional period of ineligibility on top of the standard fouryear sanction.

The sole arbitrator also recognised the AIU’s right to carry out investigations, including the imaging of electron-

ic devices, and to impose sanctions when an athlete refuses to co-operate with an investigation, thereby frustrating the AIU’s ability to fulfill its mandate to protect the integrity of the sport of athletics.

In this instance, the sole arbitrator concluded that the athlete’s refusal to cooperate had denied the AIU the opportunity to discover evidence of possible further rule violations by her, as well as possible violation of the rules by others, for which he imposed an additional sanction of five years, the release said.

“We welcome the decision of the Disciplinary Tribunal; a ban of 10 years is a strong message against intentional and coordinated attempts to cheat at the very highest level of our sport.

This is an outcome that was driven by our intelligence-led target testing, as well as our commitment to investigate the circum-

stances behind a positive test,” said B r e t t Clothier, Head of the AIU. On October 7, 2021, the AIU had pressed charges against Okagbare in relation to separate disciplinary matters. First, for the presence and use of multiple (two) prohibited

Harry Maguire and Cristiano Ronaldo captaincy rift at Man Utd ‘nonsense’, says Ralf Rangnick

M

anchester United interim boss Ralf Rangnick has said that reports of a rift between captain Harry Maguire and Cristiano Ronaldo are “absolutely nonsense”.

A story in the Mirror said the pair were “embroiled in a power struggle” over the club’s captaincy.

Rangnick says he has been told what was written, and is not frustrated by

it, “because I know it is not true”.

“This is absolutely nonsense. I’ve never spoken with players about captaincy,” said the German. “It’s never been an issue with me. Harry is our captain, and will stay our captain.”

Maguire was handed the captaincy by former boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer two years ago, but the report suggests his authority has been un-

dermined by 37-year-old Ronaldo’s return.

The England defender has responded on social media to say the report is not true, and he and his teammates are “united and focused” on Sunday’s game at Leeds United.

“I’m not frustrated at all, because I know it is not true,” added Rangnick. “I don’t listen to that noise, because I focus on prepar-

ing the team. I have heard about what was written.

Yes, there were players that were unhappy at the end of the [transfer] window. This has improved, and the atmosphere in the locker room is better than it was a few weeks ago.

“It’s about performing well and showing togetherness on the pitch. That’s what we can influence.”

Rangnick said he was only recently made aware of the rivalry between Manchester United and Leeds, and is looking forward to playing at a full Elland Road.

“We had quite a few local derbies in Germany,” he said. “Our side, though, has so much experience playing against sides in this environment. As far as I know, it’s the first game [for Manchester United] in a full stadium at Elland Road since they were last in the Premier League. We are looking forward to it.” (BBC. COM)

substances (human Growth Hormone (HGH) and recombinant erythropoietin (EPO), for which Okagbare had been provisionally suspended on July 31, 2021, the day on which she had been scheduled to participate in the semi-finals of the Tokyo 2020 women’s 100m.

Subsequently, in accordance with Rule 12 of the World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules, she was charged with a refusal to co-operate with the AIU’s investigation into her case.

The athlete has the right to appeal the Disciplinary Tribunal’s decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within 30 days. (Sportsmax)

Embiid prevails in showdown with Giannis

J

oel Embiid had 42 points as he inspired the Philadelphia 76ers to a 123-120 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.

With James Harden having arrived to bolster the 76ers’ championship bid, but still missing due to a hamstring injury, Embiid served up a reminder of just how crucial he is with another supreme display on Thursday.

This time, it was reigning NBA champions the Bucks who were on the receiving end of a masterful showing from the 27-year-old, who also tallied up 14 rebounds and five assists.

The Bucks came close, though, and had their own MVP to thank for that – Giannis Antetokounmpo helping himself to a double-double of 32 points and 11 rebounds, while also contributing nine assists.

Embiid, fittingly, put Philadelphia ahead for good with a 10-foot shot in the final quarter. It marked a valuable return to form for the 76ers, who can enter the All-Star break on a high despite Tuesday’s dismal 135-87 defeat to the Boston Celtics.

They are third in the Eastern Conference with a 35-23 record, while the Bucks sit fifth with a 36-24 record.

Doncic downs Pelicans

Anything Embiid or Antetokounmpo can do, Luka Doncic is out to do better.

The Dallas Mavericks star had 49 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists in a 125-118 defeat of the New Orleans Pelicans.

Doncic has now had 45 points or more in three of his last four games for Dallas, who enter the break in fifth place in the West.

Nets back to losing ways

After snapping an 11-game losing streak with victories over the Sacramento Kings and New York Knicks, the Brooklyn Nets have fallen to a 117-103 reverse in Washington.

Rui Hachimura led the way for the Wizards with 20 points, as they moved to 2-2 for their series against the Nets this season.

The Los Angeles Clippers beat the Houston Rockets to win for a third time in their last four g a m e s , while the Miami Heat were overtime winners over the Charlotte Hornets. (Sportsmax)

22

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2022

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

WI vs India: ODI series, 2nd match…

Rishabh Pant, Virat Kohli, bowlers wrap up series for India gled against the moving ball from Sheldon Cottrell, scoring just two off 10; Rohit not finding his usual timing, got 19 off 18; but Kohli raced away, taking 29 off the first 18 balls he played. India were 49 for 1 after the powerplay.

Chase pulls India back

H

Rishabh Pant scored 52

arshal Patel and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have defended 36 off the last three overs on a dewy ground with small boundaries to seal India's series’ win with one match to

go.

Thanks to a slow start chasing 187, West Indies were to maintain a run rate of two a ball for the last nine overs. Nicholas Pooran and Rovman Powell pulled it off for six overs, but Harshal and Bhuvneshwar denied them in the last three overs.

Harshal began the turnaround with just eight off the 18th over, Bhuvneshwar followed it up with a fourrun 19th over that also got Pooran out, and Harshal closed it out calmly.

That India had those extra 10 or so runs to play with was down to the finish provided by Rishabh Pant and Venkatesh Iyer, who took 88 off the last seven overs after a middle-overs slowdown in which Roston Chase took three wickets for 25.

If India's problem was the middle overs, West Indies' openers played just over a fourth of the innings between them for only 34 runs.

West Indies managed only 96 runs in boundaries to India's 108.

Intent (but also struggle) at the top

India have long been criticised for conNicholas Pooran servative batting at the top of the order, scored 62 but of late they have all been more assertive. The trio of Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli looked for boundaries every half chance they got. Kishan strug-

The Pooran-Powell show

Like Pant and Iyer, Powell and Pooran put on a hitting exhibition. Memories of the 2016 World Cup semifinal must have haunted India, as even good overs began to go for around 12 if they made even half a mistake.

Pooran was more versatile, using the area behind square too, and Powell was pure power. In the 17th over, they hit Chahar for a six each to undo any gains made by Bishnoi and Bhuvneshwar in their previous overs.

Roston Chase played the last match only because Jason Holder was not available, but his figures of 4-0-14-2 kept him in even when Holder came back. He got into his work immediately. The pitch gripped a little, and he used his changes of pace and trajectory well.

It was going to be interesting if Kohli would continue with the same intent - he hardly attempts boundaries off spin in the middle overs - but that is probably a question for another day, as wickets fell around him and he probaThe finish bly had to delay the second assault. Rohit looked to slog a Harshal had the big challenge of bowling slot ball, but this scrambled-seam ball didn't turn, and it two overs in the last three, but he began with took a thick outside edge. Suryakumar Yadav provided a plan: no pace, and wide of the batters' reach. a return catch as the ball stopped and turned.

Despite a last-ball four, he had bowled the best Rovman Kohli scored 23 off the last 23 balls he faced, getover of the second half of the innings.

Powell ting to his fifty courtesy of a drop the first time he Bhuvneshwar was about to go one better, scored an attempted a boundary off spin post-powfollowing the same formula but also mixing unbeaten 68 erplay. In the same over, though, Chase in two yorkers, one wide and one straight. No spun one through the gate to make it 106 for 4 in the boundary in that over meant Harshal had 24 to de14th over. fend.

Memories of another match at the same venue - from the 2016 World Cup - came back when, needing four sixes off the Pant, Iyer provide big finish Both these left-hand batters began with a boundary last four balls, Powell hit the first two out of the ground. On both occasions, Harshal went against the plan that had worked: first ball. The dew was setting in, the spin overs were done. They had to propel India now. bowled pace and on the stumps. The fifth ball was wide and offKieron Pollard tried to slip in one over of the pace, sealing a satisfactory win. (ESPNcricinfo) fifth bowler, but Pant didn't let him, taking 14 off that 15th over.

Holder and Cottrell returned to concede 15 and 13 respectively. All of a sudden, not just the fifth bowler, but INDIA INNINGS (20 WEST INDIES INNINGS (TARGET: OVERS MAXIMUM) 187 RUNS FROM 20 OVERS) the two main bowlers looked under Rohit Sharma (c) c King b Chase 19 Brandon King c Yadav threat.

SCOREBOARD

Shepherd does damage control

Enter Romario Shepherd, whose first over went for 15 inside the powerplay. He used the wide yorkers and changes of pace well to frustrate the two left-hand batters. The 18th over went for 12 but also just one boundary, which encouraged Pollard to give him the 20th, ahead of Cottrell. No boundary came off the last over.

The slow start

Roston Chase bagged 3-25

Kyle Mayers nine off 10. The legspinners perhaps did West Indies a favour, getting them out.

With the ball still dry, India were spoton with the ball. Bhuvneshwar and Deepak Chahar moved the ball, Yuzvendra Chahal bowled two overs in the powerplay, and Ravi Bishnoi took on the challenge of bowling with the wetter ball.

West Indies' problem was the amount of time their openers spent in the midVirat Kholi dle. Brandon King faced 30 balls for 22, scored 52

Ishan Kishan c Mayers b Cottrell 2 Virat Kohli b Chase 52 Suryakumar Yadav c & b Chase 8 Rishabh Pant †not out 52 Venkatesh Iyer b Shepherd 33 Harshal Patel not out 1 Extras (b 5, lb 3, nb 2, w 9) 19 TOTAL (20 Ov, RR: 9.30) 186/5 Did not bat: Deepak Chahar, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal Fall of wickets: 1-10 (Ishan Kishan, 1.5 ov), 2-59 (Rohit Sharma, 7.5 ov), 3-72 (Suryakumar Yadav, 9.5 ov), 4-106 (Virat Kohli, 13.4 ov), 5-182 (Venkatesh Iyer, 19.3 ov) BOWLING O-M-R-W Akeal Hosein 4-0-30-0 Sheldon Cottrell 3-1-20-1 Jason Holder 4-0-45-0 Romario Shepherd 3-0-34-1 Roston Chase 4-0-25-3 Odean Smith 1-0-10-0 Kieron Pollard 1-0-14-0

West Indies’ first ever ODI tour to the Netherlands confirmed for May-June 2022

C

ricket West Indies (CWI) and the Koninklijke Nederlandse Cricket Board (KNCB) have announced the match schedule for the West Indies Men’s Team’s first ever

One-Day International (ODI) tour to the Netherlands in 2022.

This tour, part of the ICC Super League, would be the first-ever ODI Series between the two teams, and would

feature three matches, to be played from May 31 to June 4 at the VRA Cricket Ground in, Amstelveen, the Netherlands.

The three matches form part of the ICC ODI Super League, wherein West Indies

and the Netherlands would have the opportunity to secure points to try and secure one of the top seven places, excluding hosts India, to gain automatic qualification for the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup. Johnny Grave, CEO of CWI, has said, “We have been working closely with our colleagues at KNCB to put together this series immediately after the IPL, and we are happy to now be able to announce the match schedule.

It’s going to be exciting to tour the Netherlands for the first time. It is a short tour, but we expect great entertainment during what promises to be a wonderful week of quality cricket for the fans in the Netherlands.”

High Performance Manager of KNCB, Roland Lefebvre, has said: “The KNCB is very excited to welcome the West Indies cricket team back to the Netherlands. The last time the team visited our country was in 1991, for two 55over friendly matches, with the likes of Richards, Haynes, Ambrose, and Marshall present. These matches will be the second Cricket World Cup Super League home series for the Dutch team, and we look forward to a great Caribbeanstyle contest.”

Match schedule (at VRA Ground)

* Tuesday, May 31: 1st ODI * Thursday, June 2: 2nd ODI * Saturday, June 4: 3rd ODI

b Ravi Bishnoi 22 Kyle Mayers c & b Chahal 9 Nicholas Pooran † c Ravi Bishnoi b Kumar 62 Rovman Powell not out 68 Kieron Pollard (c) not out 3 Extras (lb 2, w 12) 14 TOTAL (19.6 Ov, RR: 8.90) 178/3 Yet to bat: Roston Chase, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Odean Smith, Romario Shepherd, Sheldon Cottrell Fall of wickets: 1-34 (Kyle Mayers, 5.1 ov), 2-59 (Brandon King, 8.3 ov), 3-159 (Nicholas Pooran, 18.3 ov) BOWLING O-M-R-W Bhuvneshwar Kumar 4-0-29-1 Deepak Chahar 4-0-40-0 Yuzvendra Chahal 4-0-31-1 Harshal Patel 3.6-0-46-0 Ravi Bishnoi 4-0-30-1

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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2022

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

23

Captains confident ahead of finale of EBDCA 40-Over Knockout Competition A

Herstelling ‘A’ captain Anand Bhajan

ction in the 2022 edition of the East Bank Demerara C r i c k e t Association’s 4 0 - O v e r Knockout competition would conclude with the grand finale, set for tomorrow at Farm Ground, East Bank Demerara.

Herstelling ‘A’ will duke it out with Herstelling ‘B’ to see who would be crowned the 2022 champions. Captain of the Herstelling ‘A’ team, Anand Bhajan, and his counterpart for Herstelling ‘B’, Buddhan Baksh, have each expressed confidence of emerging victorious.

Herstelling ‘A’ captain, Anand Bhajan, responded to being questioned as follows: Q: How do you feel being in the grand finale?

A: “Number one! We feel good! As a team, we worked hard, and it paid off. Now

that we are in the finals, we just want to finish all the good work that has been done so far. We've been playing together as a team for some time now, and we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses; so, it helps us to help each other.”

Q: What do you believe is the key factor that got you to this stage in the tournament?

A: “Team work and believing in each other! It (winning) would mean a lot to us, as it means we are moving forward as a team and we are reaching the goals we work towards. I expect a lot of turn for our spinners. Our batters will do well; having played the last 2 matches there, we are

Herstelling ‘B’ captain Buddhan Baksh

very much at home there.

So, we should be firm favourites.”

Q: What would winning the finals mean to you and your teammates?

A: “Well, it’s been a wonderful competition so far. I

-action to begin this evening and conclude tomorrow

E

T

he Annual Burnham Memorial Road Race, sponsored by the Burnham Foundation and organised through the Flying Stars Cycle Club, has been approved for this Sunday, February 20, 2022.

The race will pedal off at 14:00h (2pm) from Carifesta Avenue (start), and travel to Belfield, ECD before returning to Carifesta Avenue for the finish. This exciting event would feature the Open category, and the top six finishers would each be awarded. The top three juniors, top four veterans under-50 and top three veterans over-50 would likewise be awarded.

A total of five sprint prizes would be up for grabs in this fastpaced, nerve-tingling race. Cyclists who desire to participate in this weekend's event can register at Sean Chin Chan's Cycling Shop. For further information, kindly contact Mr. Howard on 6491162.

In the 2021 race, Marcus Keiler stormed to victory in one hour, 12 minutes. Keiler finished ahead of Shotgun Britton John, who placed second, Alex Mendes(third); Christopher Griffith (fourth); Marlon Williams (fifth) and Jaikarran Sookhai (sixth). In the veterans’ category, Mendes rode in first while Sookhai claimed second. Lyn Murray and Warren McKay came in third and fourth respectively. Alex Leung was the top junior cyclist, while Aaron Newton came in second.

The Burnham Memorial race will mark the second race of the 2022 season. In the first race of the season, Kemuel Moses had a grand return to cycling when he reigned supreme in the Kaieteur Attack Racing Cycling Club-organised race. Alexander Leung, Clavicia Spencer, Paul Chooweenam, and Raymond Newton also emerged as winners of the various categories on Sunday last.

playing in my home town, and I know how the wicket plays; it suits both batters and bowlers. Come Saturday, you would have to look out for players like myself, Parnell London, Clement Arche and R. Sarabjeet.”

Q: What would winning the finals mean to you and your teammates?

A: “Well, my team played hard cricket to reach to this stage. Winning the final will be great for my team, because everyone had put in the extra effort to reach to this stage.”

Spectators would be allowed on the ground to watch this match, but strict COVID-19 restrictions apply.

E-Networks to reward second-placed team at Rawle Toney 3X3 Classic

Annual Burnham Memorial Cycle Race pedals off on Sunday

Top riders will battle for supremacy on Sunday

must say, ‘Well done!’ to the East Bank (Cricket) Board.

Also, you should watch out for Safraz Esau and Ricky Sargeant with the bat, and Reaz Esau and Sargent with the ball.”

Herstelling ‘B’ captain Buddhan Baksh had this to say: Q: How do you feel being in the grand finale?

A: “I am very happy that my team is in the final.

Well, I back my team 100%, because right now everyone on my team is playing good cricket in the batting and bowling departments.”

Q: What do you believe is the key factor that got you to this stage in the tournament?

A: “Well, the final is

-Networks Inc Guyana’s leading provider of digital cable television, internet, information technology and media services - has pledged its support for this year’s Rawle Toney 3X3 Classic, which will bounce off from 6:00pm this evening at the Burnham Basketball Court in the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall on Homestretch Avenue in Georgetown.

At a simple presentation on Friday at the E-Networks’ Camp Street Headquarters, Marketing Coordinator Ashley John handed over the tournament’s second-place cash prize of $100,000 to organiser Rawle Toney.

While thanking the company for the support it has given to his tournament, Toney pointed out that E-Networks has been one of local basketball’s biggest supporters.

“Basketball can always count on E-Networks for support. Every national team heading out to represent Guyana, their uniforms are branded with the company’s logo for a reason. It doesn’t take much to convince the company’s principal to support sports in general,” Toney explained.

Meanwhile, John highlighted E-Networks’ love for

sports, and its commitment to seeing basketball, at all formats, developed in Guyana.

will be on show. With the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) emphasising the 3X3 format, Toney has said, he is impressed with the composition of teams.

Pit Bulls 2.0, the tournament’s defending champions, will return this year, but Travis Burnett would be replacing Travis Belgrave on this team, which had won it all in 2019.

Burnett, who now resides in New York, had represented Guyana at the FIBA 3X3 AmeriCup tournament recently in Miami, and will have 2019 Rawle Toney

E-Networks’ Marketing Coordinator Ashley John handing over $100,000 towards the secondplace prize for the Rawle Toney Classic

On behalf of the company, John wished Toney success in hosting the second edition of his 3x3 basketball spectacle, and pledged E-Networks’ continued support for the competition in the future.

The 16-team tournament will see players from around the region, and from North America, converging at the recently refurbished basketball court to see who would cash in on the lucrative prizes on offer.

A most interesting tournament is anticipated this weekend, as the “who’s who” of Guyana’s basketball

Classic MVP Ryan Stephney on his roster, along with Ryan Gullen and Jermaine

Slatter.

National Captain Stanton Rose Jr, CBC MVP, will partner with Shelroy Thomas, Harold Adams and Shane Webster on the Linden team.

Former national player Dwayne ‘Brown Sugar’ Roberts would also make a return to the basketball court in Guyana, after an absence of several years, and would join Laurel Bobb and Kestar Blair on his ‘Q’ Ballers team.

“There are so many great players! I’m more excited to see how it all unfolds on Burnham Court over the weekend. I think this is a great way to usher the return of competitive basketball back to Guyana. It will be the country’s first major basketball tournament since the advent of the COVID-19 Pandemic, and I hope everyone can come out and support,” Toney said.

The tournament is sponsored by Team Mohamed, Modern Building Solutions, Medicine Chest, Mackeson, Guyana Lottery Company, Hennessy, FireSide Grill, Bush Cook, Stuff, MVP Sports, FK Sports, Shi Oil, Brother’s Security, The Muse Bar, Pressy’s Gift Shop, Cigar and Cognac, and 94.1 Boom FM.

Part of the action in the 2019 edition

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2022

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

WI vs India: ODI series, 2nd match…

Page 22

V

bowlers wrap up series for India Page 23

See story on page 23

Herstelling ‘A’ captain Anand Bhajan

Marcus Keiler

Annual Burnham Captains confident ahead of finale of EBDCA 40-Over Memorial Cycle Race pedals off on Sunday Knockout Competition GUYANA TIMES - www.guyanatimesgy.com, email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, NEWS HOTLINE: 231-8063 EDITORIAL: 223-7230, 223-7231, 231-0544, 225-7761 SPORT: sport@guyanatimesgy.com SALES AND MARKETING: 231-8064 - marketing@guyanatimesgy.com - PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY GUYANA TIMES INC.