Guyana Times -- Sunday, January 9, 2022

Celebrating 169 years of Chinese Arrival in Guyana

P14 Nationwide coverage coverage from from the the best best news news team team in in Guyana Guyana Nationwide Issue No. 4884 guyanatimesgy.com

THE BEACON BEACON OF OF TRUTH TRUTH THE

SUNDAY, JANUARY 9, 2022

Guyanese benefit from significant upgrades to infrastructure in 2021

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

P24 Works on upgrading Kingston waterfront 98% completed – waterfront developments to be expanded countrywide

Page 23

Georgetown P12 Mayor proposes new bylaws for litterbugs to pay fines without going to court Govt seeking consultant to review field P9 development plan for Yellowtail – firm to be selected, work to start by early February

PNCR cannot arbitrarily change Opposition Leader or APNU/AFC List Rep – Ramjattan

GHDS makes donation to P23 Bonasika families

Page 7

– says constitutional rules, procedures must be followed

Record-breaking 1016 COVID cases detected in 24 hours Page 25

– as another unvaccinated person dies

Nadir condemns PNCR’s attempt to bring disrepute to his speakership of National Assembly

Minibus driver arrested for allegedly drugging Essequibo school girls

Page 11

Page 10

After 4 years

Audit Office still cannot verify $70M spent by APNU/AFC on Durban Park P3 project – reiterates calls for Police investigation

Wife abuser P24 remains critical after beating – family says he was also abused by his wife, calls for justice

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 9, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

NEWS

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 9, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

After 4 years

BRIDGE OPENINGS

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

Sunday, Jan 9 – 10:00h – 11:30h and Monday, Jan 10 – 10:30h – 12:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Sunday, Jan 9 – 09:15h – 10:45h and Monday, Jan 10 – 10:15h – 11:45h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY There will be sunshine during the day. Expect partly cloudy skies at night. Temperatures should range between 20 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

Winds: North-Easterly to North North-Westerly between 1.78 metres and 5.36 metres.

High Tide: 09:33h and 21:59h reaching a maximum height of 2.29 metres and 2.26 metres.

Low Tide: 15:30h reaching a minimum height of 0.95 metre.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 2022

LOTTERY NUMBERS H

01 05 09 20 23 26

FREE TICKET

12 Bonus Ball

DAILY MILLIONS

02 09 15 19 24 LUCKY 3

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DRAW DE LINE

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PAY DAY

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

COMMODITIES Indicators

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Rough Rice

$265.41/ton

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London Sugar

$485.80/ton

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$1797.00

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Audit Office still cannot verify $70M spent

by APNU/AFC on Durban Park project – reiterates calls for Police investigation

T

he Audit Office of Guyana (AOG) has unsuccessfully tried to source important documents necessary to audit the controversial D’Urban Park project for years. And for the second year running, the Audit Office has recommended that Police be called in to investigate the matter.

Auditor General Deodat Sharma’s advice is contained in his 2020 report. A special audit was conducted into the D’Urban project since 2018, finding that $1.1 billion was spent on the project. Even then, payment vouchers to account for how millions were spent were not provided to the auditors.

“Payment vouchers to support expenditure incurred by the Ministry totalling $70.6 million were not produced for audit examination. As such, the completeness, accuracy and validity of this amount could not be determined,” the Auditor General had noted, reiterating his advice that outstanding payment vouchers be submitted for auditing.

There is also the matter of the $500 million paid by the former A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government to special purpose company Homestretch Development Incorporated (HDI). This money was supposed to allow the company to clear its debts. According to the Audit Office, however, there is a stark lack of transparency in how this money was used.

“There was no documentation attached to the payment vouchers to indicate

A section of the $1B+ Durban Park

the works done, supervisory checks carried out on the works, as well as certification that the works were satisfactorily completed,” the Audit Office said.

“Only the list of HDI creditors and Government’s proposed payment allocation to each creditor was attached to the payment vouchers. In the circumstances, the correctness, accuracy, and validity of the payments made could not be determined.”

It was explained that when the Audit Office wrote the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure back in 2018 requesting the relevant documents including supervisory checks of the works, the Ministry had claimed it was not involved in HDI’s operations. As such, no documents were forthcoming. A similar request in 2019 only yielded some documents. This position remains the same.

“The Audit Office once again recommends that the head of budget agency engage the Guyana Police

Force to conduct a comprehensive investigation into this issue and a report submitted for audit,” the Auditor General said in the report, repeating advice that was contained in his 2019 report.

It was then Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman and now President Dr Irfaan Ali, who had previously requested further probing be done by the Auditor General into D’Urban Park. This was after revelations that millions in Lotto Funds were sunk by the Government into the project.

But the audit into the D’Urban Park project has always been hindered by a lack of access to pertinent information, with the Audit Office being forced to write to the Public Infrastructure Ministry requesting documents.

Controversy surrounding the D’Urban Park project exploded when it was revealed to the public that former Public Service Minister under APNU/AFC,

Dr Rupert Roopnaraine sat as a Director of the special purpose company, established to collect funds from private companies to develop the Park.

But while the public is still in the dark about how much private donations HDI received for the project, there is no doubt that over a billion in public funds was used in the controversial project.

Public funds for the project were scraped from multiple avenues by the Government.

According to the audit report, the $500 million paid to HDI in 2017 came from the funds budgeted to the Ministry for Infrastructural Development. A further $28.2 million came from the money for the maintenance of other infrastructure.

In 2016, a further $60.3 million was pulled from the money allocated for infrastructural development. In addition, $118.1 million was pulled from the money allocated to the Ministry for the maintenance of roads.

The Government also withdrew two sets of monies totalling over $400 million from the Contingency Fund, which is supposed to only be used for emergency purposes. However, over $70 million in payment vouchers were not presented to the Audit Office.

And in 2015, $36.5 million was withdrawn from the Lotto Fund to fund D’Urban Park. According to the Auditor General, however, no payment vouchers were presented to his auditors for this transaction.

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guyanatimesgy.com

SUNDAY, JANUARY 9, 2022

Views Editor: Tusika Martin News Hotline: 231-8063 Editorial: 231-0544 223-7230,223-7231,231-0544, 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

PNC polarising Guyana

I

n his 2021 book “Sustaining Democracy”, which was published by Oxford University Press, political scientist Robert B. Talisse points out the dangers in the increased polarisation that is sweeping the world. In Guyana, we have been a polarised society since agitating for independence when the nationalist, unifying PPP was split by Forbes Burnham in 1955.

In an article discussing his research and book, Talisse says, “There are two types of polarization. One isn’t inherently dangerous; the other can be. And together, they can be extremely destructive of democratic societies. Political polarization is the ideological distance between opposed parties. If the differences are large, it can produce logjams, standoffs, and inflexibility in (governmental institutions at all levels). Though it can be frustrating, political polarization is not necessarily dysfunctional. It even can be beneficial, offering true choices for voters and policymakers alike. Deepseated disagreement can be healthy for democracy, after all.

The clash of opinions can help us find the truth. The clamour of ideological differences among political parties provides citizens with shortcuts for making political choices.”

But he then honed in on the polarisation that we have been afflicted within Guyana after the PNC’s 1955-57 split of the PPP - ethnic polarisation - as a subset of what he calls “belief polarization”, which also includes polarisation along religious and racial cleavages. “Belief polarization, also called group polarization, is different. Interaction with like-minded others transforms people into more extreme versions of themselves.

These more extreme selves are also overly confident and therefore more prepared to engage in risky behaviour.

“Belief polarization also leads people to embrace more intensely negative feelings toward people with different views. As they shift toward extremism, they come to define themselves and others primarily in terms of partisanship.

Eventually, politics expands beyond policy ideas and into entire lifestyles. But that’s not all. Society sorts into (what are essentially different and sharply demarcated) lifestyles, people grow more invested in policing the borders between “us” and “them.” And as people’s alliances focus on hostility toward those who disagree, they become more conformist and intolerant of differences among allies. People grow less able to navigate disagreement, eventually developing into citizens who believe that democracy is possible only when everyone agrees with them. That is a profoundly antidemocratic stance.”

And it is this anti-democratic stance the PNC adopted ever since David Granger was parachuted into its leadership and acceded to office in 2015. Ironically, this jaundiced view of “democracy “not only intensified our national polarization, but Granger’s style and substance revealed the contradictions with its coalition partner, the AFC, which had garnered support from the “them” of the PNC – Indian-Guyanese.

The PNC-as-APNU inevitably lost power, after which the PNC elected a new leader and executive. But in the campaign to oust Granger, rather than attempting to bridge the divisions, there was further entrenchment of our national polarisation to garner support in the PNC’s antiethnic base.

As Talisse had warned, “As politicians escalate their rifts, citizens are cued to entrench partisan segregation.

This produces additional belief polarization, which in turn rewards political intransigence. All the while, constructive political processes get submerged in the merely symbolic and tribal, while people’s capacities for responsible democratic citizenship erode.”

We thus saw under the new PNC leadership the refusal to adhere to democratic norms, and accept that as the constitutional, official opposition, their MPs were supposed to debate and offer their views on the NRF Bill. Instead, they invaded the Government benches, assaulted the Finance Minister in an attempt to prevent him from speaking, and most egregiously seized the Mace, the symbol of the Speaker’s authority.

What can be done? Talisse recommends: “The response to polarization cannot (just) involve calls for unanimity or abandoning partisan rivalries. A democracy without political divides is no democracy at all. The task is to render people’s political differences more civil, to reestablish the ability to respectfully disagree.”

Can the new PNC leader commit to this civility?

An artist’s impression of part of the tarmac of the Kingston Seawall waterfront project that is expected to be completed shortly. This beautification project is the brainchild of First Lady Arya Ali

Strengthening ‘RoPA’ is to strengthen our democracy!

Dear Editor, Please permit me to respond to some rather callous, shallow, and hasty generalisations recently reported in the public media at the hands of the Electoral Reform Group (ERG), whose representatives say that ‘splitting up Region 4 is unjustified, provocative.’

Nothing is further from the truth! The architect of this wicked piece must have missed the framework of abundant justifications, or rather selectively uses an opportunity to self-aggrandise their own hidden agenda.

The ERG’s assertion that the splitting of Region #4 is unjustified and provocative is pure rubbish! Allow me to enlighten our readers and the ERG that there is a long-established precedent normally utilised

by GECOM in the conduct of General and Regional Elections. The Secretariat, under the control of the Chief Elections Officer (CEO), who has responsibility for the Commission, has consistently employed four (4) coordinators with designated functions related to the coordination of activities within the East Bank, East Coast, North Georgetown, and South Georgetown areas, to facilitate the smooth running of elections.

Of note, the role of these officials is not specifically

mentioned in the RoPA, and their consistent use over the years is premised on the general tacit acceptance that a fair and unbiased CEO would use notified transparent measures to simplify and execute electoral processes.

These coordinators are normally liaison officers to the Deputy Register Officers and the RO of Region #4.

The GECOM Secretariat and the Commissioners saw the intervention as fit, proper, and necessary for the smooth and effective running of the electoral process in Region #4.

Further, it is public knowledge that GECOM usually utilised these Coordinators/ Liaison Officers to work alongside and facilitate clarifications from Counting Agents and the other appropriate officials of political parties in simplifying the process. One must therefore address the related reasons before spewing out criticisms without basis.

Importantly, Region #4 has the highest concentration of approximately 300,000 residents, and by extension, almost 50 percent of the Voters are on the Official List of Electors (OLE).

Consideration of the continued expanding population in this region alone lends to the contemplation of the necessary adjust-

ments of effective transparency and monitoring control.

Given the public evidence supporting charges against electoral officials in control of elections machinery for electoral fraud, the need to make strengthening amendments to the RoPA is necessary, as the roles of these officials, while essential, cannot be left to chance and discretion of corrupted officials.

It is very important to include the amendments outside of a comprehensive electoral process that can take years, given the displayed level of unreasonableness by officials representing the PNC and some of their Coalition partners.

It is factual that the previously appointed committee with responsibility for electoral reform made no significant progress for almost two decades.

Further, it is essential to note that with the proposed amendments, the Region #4 Returning Officer (RO) will still retain regional responsibility, but now have structured and legally supported officials while clearly binding responsibilities.

Critically, these amendments would remove the convenience of abuse of process, as is evidenced by the situation when Melanie Marshall and others refused to use a designed tally sheet for reporting East Bank

Votes under one RO, and had no objections to another. Her reason in the former case was that the sheet was not supported by law!

The ERG and other interested civil society groups who have not contested elections or faced the level of deliberate frustrations that are at times rolled out by biased elections personnel on the GECOM structure cannot appreciate this need for legal regularisation. They must, however, be fully cognisant of the fact that the strengthening of the RoPA will legitimise many of the subjectivity in the Electoral approaches and process in Region#4. Consequently, it must also be recognised that the People’s Progressive Party and the other consulted civic groups also provided suggestions in support of changes to improve the effective running of Region 4 by reducing the current approach that is highly susceptible to abuse.

Related also is the indiscreet gerrymandering of electoral boundaries secretly that took place during the 2018 Local Government Elections. When made public, it had party officials scrambling at the last moment to achieve the signatory support for contesting candidates that were affected by the sinister switches.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

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

Time to get desperate, get vaccinated now before calamity strikes Dear Editor, The news on Covid now is not good for Guyana’s belligerent unvaccinated and partially vaccinated. Minister Anthony said 20% of our adult population remains unvaccinated; 413,376 persons or 80.6% of the adult population have received the first dose, while only 298,954 or 58.3% of them are fully vaccinated with both doses. More people are getting the booster shots, which is a good thing.

With regards to the adolescent 12 to 17 age group, the Health Minister disclosed that some 30,829 or 42.3% have received the first dose and of that amount, 21,957 or 30.1% are fully immunized. So, parents, please hurry up and get the children vaccinated so schools can be safer. What is more alarming is one news report said, “Authorities report almost 1,000 new COVID-19 infections in one day?” Nation, this is a health crisis regardless of what anyone says. When Covid should be decreasing, instead, the number of daily infections has gone up almost 300%, and people are still dying every day.

More disappointing is that President Ali revealed that a total of 200 health care workers had tested positive for the virus - 75 nurses, 50 doctors, and 41 technicians across the health sector have contracted COVID-19. He added that 50 percent of the nurses and 70 percent of the doctors

are from Georgetown Public Hospital. How is it that the Ministry allowed so many workers to remain unvaccinated? Are they not implementing the vaccine mandate? What kind of doctors and nurses do we have that are showing such a bad example? So, you can go to the hospital and that’s where you can catch the virus from the unvaccinated staff? (Did they get the 2-weeks bonus?

Why?).

The Government has been getting the vaccines and if we refuse to take them, don’t blame the Government. When you go for testing and there are long testing lines, don’t blame the Government. You had the choice to get the vaccine long ago.

Also, Education Minister Manickchand disclosed that by December 2021, 79 per cent of the teachers at Nursery and Secondary levels for the coastal regions have been vaccinated with 71 per cent at the secondary level. This is an improvement but we need close to 100% to achieve “herd immunity.” Please disclose the vaccination numbers for all the regions. And why do we still have so many teachers unvaccinated? Are we not implementing the vaccine/ testing mandate? Certainly, Guyana is still having too many “super spreader” events.

In the U.S., there were reports of over 1 million new daily Covid cases as omicron surges – that’s more than the whole pop-

ulation of Guyana. The World Health Organization said the number of global cases has increased by 71% in the last week, and in the Americas by 100%.

It said that among severe cases worldwide, 90% were unvaccinated. The record number of people catching the virus has left health systems under severe pressure. Here are some recent headlines – “Thousands of flights cancelled;” “Covid cases, test shortages are closing schools;” “Covid cases rise by 948% in Florida as omicron drives huge wave across US;” “Some Michigan schools expecting omicron surge go online, cancel classes;” “Advocate Children’s Hospital sees three-fold increase in kids hospitalized for Covid-19, amidst latest surge;” “Thousands of teachers, students absent as omicron ravages Florida.”

The World Health Organization has warned against describing the omicron variant as mild, saying it is killing people across the world. Can the PNC under Norton show some nationalism and arrange a massive vaccination drive, instead of swiping at the Government?

How about the unions doing a drive? And all our churches? What’s keeping you back from stepping up at a time like this? We need everyone to get on board in the national interest. This is a matter of life and death, not a political matter.

Sincerely, Dr Jerry Jailall

Strengthening ‘RoPA’ is...

These were not publicised in the Official Gazette, and were never formally discussed at GECOM’s Commission Meetings.

There are no minutes to show any discussion or approval at the Commission level, in respect to changing the Constituency boundaries across the country.

As for the cost to which the ERG refers, readers and the general public must demand the reasons why the last seven years of GECOM expenditures were not audited. GECOM financial records must be audited, and the findings made public so that the ERG can be appraised of the findings.

It must be also noted that while Region #4 as a consequence of the amendments will have the four identified areas to legally improve monitoring con-

trol for electoral purposes, the Regional seat allocation will remain the same. The total votes for the General Elections will still be used en-bloc for the calculation of the forty top-up seats and the form of the usual calculation of seats will not vary.

It is critical that the GECOM Secretariat and the staff in particular, be appropriately tooled to enable the organisation to produce free and fair elections. The staffing selections and employment approach at GECOM must be imbued by purposeful criteria to select men and women with integrity. It is unacceptable for GECOM to short-list persons who were dismissed for various unacceptable behaviour to be interviewed for employment again.

FROM PAGE 4

Editor, as the nation anticipates the prudent introspection in realizing the necessary transparent changes at GECOM, the provocative approach of the ECG and other unresearched partners must be seen in the context of their parsimonious framework and intent.

Sincerely, Neil Kumar

Deteriorating condition of the Parika-to-Hubu Road; an appeal to President Ali to intervene

the hope that he would visit our area and get a better understanding of the problems we are facing, such as the road situation.

I am attaching a photograph captured a few days ago, so that the authorities and readers in general would have some clarity of the present condition of the road.

Dear Editor, Please allow me space in your letters’ column to highlight the plight of residents using the main road from Parika Junction leading all the way to St Lawrence, East Bank Essequibo. The road is in a deplorable condition for some time now, and the authorities seem unconcerned to address the problem, even though many of them use the road to access the resorts and other riverine areas.

Road users, especially motorists, are frustrated at the present condition.

In some areas, the vehicles look as if they are going down in a trench. Many persons have complained that their vehicles have been badly damaged while navigating the huge potholes. Pedestrians are also forced to walk in the mud and huge potholes to avoid being in the path of oncoming traffic.

To date, no one has visited the residents or provided any timeline of when the road would be fixed.

The visits only happen during elections’ time, and the promises are made by the politicians that they will return and look into the plight of residents, but once the political campaign is over, they hardly ever come back.

I should also mention that these are farming communities, and the farmers in this area contribute significantly to feeding the nation. There are also many loggers and sawmills in this area who contribute to the housing boom in the country.

We believe that the

President truly cares about the concerns of the Guyanese. We understand that he may not be fully aware of what is happening in every community. On behalf of all of the residents, I am therefore bringing this matter to his attention with

Yours sincerely, Robin Salim on behalf of hundreds of residents Editor’s Note: This letter was sent to the Public Works Ministry and we were advised that this road along with hundreds of others will be fixed in 2022

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Foundation

How to be less distracted BY: Nir Eyal

F

rom comic books and radio programmes to TV shows and Atari games, the world has always been full of things that distract us. Today, most of us blame our phones or, more specifically, social media, Words with Friends, or Netflix as the reason we can’t get anything done.

Yet these aren’t the real culprits. Instead, our distraction is usually driven by our desire to escape discomfort, including boredom, fear, and anxiety — or tasks in our work calendar that don’t sync with how we value our time.

When you binge on The Office rather than doing your taxes, watching Michael, Pam, and Dwight is your (understandable) way of avoiding an activity you deem to be a tedious

task. The secret to staying focused at times like these is not to abstain from The Office — you’ll just find another distraction — but

to change your perspective on the task itself.

Ian Bogost studies fun for a living. A professor of interactive computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Bogost has written 10 books, including quirky titles like How to Talk About Videogames, The Geek’s Chihuahua, and, most recently, Play Anything. In the latter

book, Bogost makes several bold claims that challenge how we think about fun and play. “Fun,” he writes, “turns out to be fun

even if it doesn’t involve much (or any) enjoyment.”

Huh? Doesn’t fun have to feel good? Not necessarily, Bogost says. By relinquishing our notions about what fun should feel like, we open ourselves up to seeing our daily activities in a new way. Play can be part of any difficult task, he believes, and though play doesn’t necessarily have to be pleasurable, it can free us from discomfort — which, let’s not forget, is the central ingredient driving distraction.

Given what we know about our propensity for distraction when we’re uncomfortable, reimagining difficult work as fun could prove incredibly empowering. Imagine how powerful you’d feel if you were able to transform the hard, focused work you have to do into something that felt like play.

Is that even possible?

Bogost thinks it is, but probably not in the way you think.

Don’t Sugarcoat It

is to focus on the task itself. Instead of running away from our pain or using rewards like prizes and treats to help motivate us, the idea is to pay such close attention that you find new challenges you didn’t see before. Those new challenges provide the novelty to engage our attention and maintain focus when tempted by distraction.

TV, social media, and other commercially produced distractions use slot machine-like variable rewards to keep us engaged

cal coffee-obsessed barista who spends a ridiculous amount of time refining the perfect brew, the car buff who toils for countless hours fine-tuning her ride, or the crafter who painstakingly produces intricate sweaters and quilts for everyone he knows. Of course, these people don’t find these activities to be tedious tasks at all; to them, they’re the most fascinating and enthralling things in the entire world.

But you can try bringing their mindset — their love of minutiae, their pride

can treat something with dignity.”

“Fun is the aftermath of deliberately manipulating a familiar situation in a new way,” Bogost says.

The answer, therefore,

with a constant stream of newness. Bogost points out that we can use the same techniques to make any task more pleasurable and compelling. He gives the example of mowing his lawn. “It may seem ridiculous to call an activity like this ‘fun,’” he writes, yet he learned to love it.

in mastery, their eternal yearning to do better — to some of your most dreaded tasks.

For me, I learned to stay focused on the sometimes tedious work of writing books by finding the mystery in it. I write to answer interesting questions and discover novel solutions to old problems. To use a popular aphorism, “The cure for boredom is curiosity.

There is no cure for curiosity.” Today, I write for the fun of it. Of course, it’s also my profession, but by finding the fun, I’m able to do my work without getting as distracted as I once did.

Remember: Finding novelty is only possible when we give ourselves the time to focus intently on a task and look hard for the variability. The great thinkers and tinkerers of history made their discoveries because they were obsessed with the intoxicating draw of discovery, the mystery that pulls us in because we want to know more. Whether it’s uncertainty about our ability to do a task better or faster than last time, or coming back to question the unknown day after day, the quest to solve these challenges is what can turn the discomfort we seek to escape into an activity we embrace. (Excerpt from Psychologytoday.com)

We’ve all heard Mary Poppins’s advice to add “a spoonful of sugar” and turn a job into a game.

Well, Bogost believes Poppins was wrong. He claims her approach “recommends covering over drudgery.” As he writes, “We fail to have fun because we don’t take things seriously enough, not because we take them so seriously that we’d have to cut their bitter taste with sugar. Fun is not a feeling so much as an exhaust produced when an operator

There is Novelty in Even the Most Tedious Tasks

“Pay close, foolish, even absurd attention to things,” he says. Bogost soaked up as much information as he could about the way grass grows and how to treat it. Then, he created an “imaginary playground” in which the limitations actually helped to produce meaningful experiences.

He learned about the constraints he had to operate under, including local weather conditions and what different kinds of equipment can and can’t do. Operating under constraints, Bogost says, is the key to creativity and fun. Finding the optimal path for the mower or beating a record time are other ways to create an imaginary playground.

While learning how to have fun cutting grass may seem like a stretch, people find fun in a wide range of activities that you might not find particularly interesting. Consider my lo-

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 9, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

PNCR cannot arbitrarily change Opposition Leader or APNU/AFC List Rep – Ramjattan – says constitutional rules, procedures must be followed

AFC Leader Khemraj Ramjattan

L

eader of the Alliance For Change, Khemraj Ramjattan has argued that the established procedures and rules of law must be followed before the Leader of the Opposition or Representative of the APNU/AFC List of Candidates can be changed.

The Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) – the leading party in the A Partnership for National Unity faction of coalition – wants the newly-elected Leader of the Party, Aubrey Norton, to sit in

the National Assembly and hold the post of the country’s Opposition Leader.

That post is currently occupied by APNU’s Joseph Harmon who was appointed by Representative of the List, David Granger - former PNC Leader and former President.

Ramjattan, who is the Deputy Representative of the List, told Guyana Times on Saturday that these positions cannot be changed willy-nilly and that certain established procedures must be followed In expanding on his point, the AFC Leader made it clear that he is “not taking a side for Norton or Harmon”.

“Leader of the Opposition is appointed at the first meeting of the Parliament by a process that the Constitution of Guyana provides for… not the constitution of the PNC or the AFC or any Cummingsburg Agreement that we might have,” he explained.

Ramjattan, who is also an attorney, indicated that the only way the Leader of the Opposition post can be

PNCR Leader Aubrey Norton

Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon

changed is if Harmon resigns or the parliamentarians successfully table a motion of no-confidence against him.

“Joe has not indicated that he is resigning,” Ramjattan highlighted.

According to the AFC Leader, “Certain procedures have to be followed before a new Leader of the PNC can become the Opposition Leader. The expression by its National Executive, I respect they would like to see Norton and fine, that is their expressed position on the

matter. But it does not follow that once that announcement is made that it necessarily has to be that he becomes Leader of the Opposition, there is a procedure.”

Similarly, he explained

that there are procedures as it relates to the Representative of the List.

“The Constitution provides and the Representative of the People Act, when we sent in the List of our Candidates… GECOM demands that you put who is the List Leader and the Deputy List Leader, and we at that point in the 2020 elections… prior to sending in our List of Candidates… we had to also state who is our Leader of the List.”

According to Ramjattan, as far as his knowledge is concerned, that person remains in that position “until the five years is up or if something happens to him and he cannot function”.

But even in that situation, Ramjattan outlined that the Deputy Leader of the

Former PNCR Leader and Head of the APNU/ AFC List, David Granger

List then functions as the head of the List.

“You can’t just, midway of the stream… take away that status and give it to someone else,” he contended.

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 9, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

PNC cannot arbitrarily change...

Ramjattan further clarified that “I am not taking a side for Granger,” but is merely stating the “legal position”.

Moreover, the AFC Leader noted that there are certain implications which can arise if a decision is taken to change these constitutional positions every time the Leader of the PNC, or any other coalition

party, changes.

“Assuming the PNC were to have another election in 2024 – every three years they have their National Congress – and there is a new leader and a new leadership in the Executive, does that mean then that Norton (if he succeeds in becoming Opposition Leader) would have to fall out?... No, the

Parliament prohibits that and that is what we have to understand… You have to look at all those future moves that you will have to make and that is what I’m warning, that in making these future moves, there can be tremendous differences in the PNC that could lead to its implosion,” Ramjattan cautioned.

Meanwhile, the AFC Leader contended that while his views on the situation come across as if he is endorsing a particular personality, he only wants the right procedures to be followed.

“It gives the impression that I am supporting Joe but I am not endorsing anybody here…I want to endorse the constitutionalism and rule of law which we must all adhere to, notwithstanding whosoever might be the personalities involved,” he expressed.

Following the announcement by Norton at a press-

FROM PAGE 7

er on Friday that the PNCR Central Executive has decided that he should hold the posts of Opposition Leader as well as Head of the APNU/AFC List, the APNU, which comprises of several parties, in a statement expressed confusion over this position that was taken by “one party through its internal meeting”.

It reminded that the APNU/AFC had collectively agreed in 2020 on who would be the Head and the Deputy Head of the List for the tenure of the 12th Parliament.

Moreover, the APNU said it has no reason to question the abilities of Harmon and Granger in their current posts, while also noting its willingness to work with Norton as the new PNCR Leader.

Harmon, who lost his bid for the PNCR leadership to Norton, has since insisted that he should remain Opposition Leader.

War break…

“A

…in PNC ll smart flies does get ketch in cow backside!” is a venerable old Guyanese bit of folk wisdom that has stood the test of time. The PNC’s always been one smart fly, so it ain’t no surprise it’s become ensnared once again in political do-do! The stink and dutty kind!!

Their latest SNAFU (“situation normal…all F’d up!) came out of their attempt to pull wool over the eyes of the Guyanese public by claiming they weren’t the same big, bad PNC no mo’.

They’d hitched up with 4 one-man and 1 one-woman “parties” to form APNU. Well, after they were ejected from office - in which their subterfuge played not an inconsiderable role! - they tried to regroup by voting for a new leader and leadership corps in Aubrey Norton and their 15-member CEC. A new makeover?

Trouble is, Norton isn’t even an MP - having been stiffed by Granger! And Harmon - who was handily defeated in his quest to lead the PNC - remains the General Secretary of APNU, and was appointed as Opposition Leader by members of the APNU+AFC Coalition!! And the Sanctimonious Gangster Granger remained the “Representative of the APNU+AFC list” (RAAL) - with the power to determine who was sent to Parliament as MPs!!

So when - in this new year of Our Lord - the brand-new PNC Exec announced they wanted Norton - as leader of the PNC - to be both the Opposition Leader and the RAAL, it didn’t take a PhD in political science to figure out what happened!! The sh*t hit the fan, that’s what!!

Harmon snarkily sniffed in a statement from the Office of The Leader of the Opposition: “The APNU Partnership has an established structure, and if the executive of a party in the partnership has a position and they wish to express that position; they should follow the established procedure”!!

The PNC - Harmon was reminding Norton - was just ONE member in a five-party APNU coalition, and as such would have to put its proposal to those coalition leaders for a vote!!

Norton’s ally, the WPA - one of the members of APNU - used to complain bitterly about Granger not consulting them, even though they were all equals in a democratic arrangement!! And just in case they forgot that (PNC’s) size didn’t matter, Harmon reminded them: “The Office of the Leader of the Opposition is a constitutional office, and is consequently governed by the constitution”!! Take THAT for boasting about the PNC’s superior democratic credentials!!

Norton also wrote to Granger, asking him to fall on his RAAL sword and hand it over to him!!

The lines are drawn, and your Eyewitness has stocked up on popcorn to enjoy the fun!! …and the AFC The PNC’s warbreak has thrown a life raft to the AFC and Ramjattan - which had allowed Granger to use them like a doormat, and consequently reduced them to the “dead meat” they’d feared back in 2015. In that time, the smell must have driven even supporters like Geeta Chandan away! But then, there’s the saw about rats and sinking ships!

Anyhow, Ramjattan - who’s the Deputy RAAL - immediately piped up, even though the PNC had studiously ignored him in their communications!

Said he portentously, “When you have legislative posts, you follow processes in accordance with the law. So not because the PNC Leader feels he should be Opposition Leader, Joe must leave. Joe has been appointed for five years, and until such time he resigns or there is a No-Confidence Motion against him by the APNU+AFC party block, he ought to serve”!!! Meaning the AFC has to also be consulted!!

For good measure, he added, “You can’t say, ‘this is what the party wants; haul yuh ass’ and that is it”!! …and PPP’s schadenfreude The word “schadenfreude”, dear reader, means, “pleasure derived by someone from another person's misfortune”. And your Eyewitness is just wondering whether all that chortling from the PPP benches isn’t a reaction to the PNC’s predicament!!

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

NEWS

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 9, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Govt seeking consultant to review Field Development Plan for Yellowtail – firm to be selected, work to start by early February

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he Government of Guyana has launched a tender seeking a consultant to review the Field Development Plan (FDP) for Yellowtail - oil giant ExxonMobil’s fourth development in Guyana’s waters.

According to the Requests for Proposals (RFP) issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources, a consultant is being sought to review and evaluate the FDP, which will outline how Exxon plans to develop the oil field while also mitigating against environmental phenomena.

The consultant will have to review not only the FDP, but also all supporting and reference documents, as well as the environmental and social impact assessments (ESIA) submitted by Exxon and its Joint Venture (JV)

partners in the block.

The consultant will also be tasked with preparing a report setting out their opinions and assessments formed while evaluating the FDP and ESIA. According to the Ministry, it is expected that the consultant’s assessment will address compliance or lack thereof, with the existing Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act 1986 and the Environmental Protection Act 1996, the Petroleum Agreement.

It is also expected that the assessment will evaluate the compliance of Yellowtail to international best practices and industry standards while pointing out unresolved issues and areas where additional assessments should be done

by Exxon before the FDP is approved. And with an exist-

ing no flaring policy in place by the Government, the consultant will also evaluate the FDP in that context.

The consultant will also be expected to provide support to the Natural Resources Ministry, specifically when it comes to drafting a Petroleum Production Licence for Yellowtail and supporting the Ministry’s engagements and information exchanges with Exxon and its partners.

The deadline for the submission of proposals is January 20, 2022. It is expected that contract negotiations with the selected firm would commence approximately February 1, 2022, and the assignment would commence around February 7, 2022. Firms will be scored based on their technical proposals. Their submissions

The Stabroek block, where the Yellowtail development will be implemented

will include a detailed cost breakdown and other clarifications to the proposals submitted by the bidder.

Back in November 2021,

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Executive Director Kemraj Parsaram had announced his agency’s plans to put the Yellowtail

FDP through a rigorous process before approval, including bringing on an independent expert to review the plan.

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Minibus driver arrested for allegedly drugging Essequibo schoolgirls

A

25-year-old minibus driver who is being accused of getting three teenage girls of Anna Regina Multilateral School, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), highly intoxicated, was arrested on Saturday.

The teenagers who were hospitalised were also discharged according to reports.

On Friday the girls had boarded a minibus at Charity, Essequibo Coast, and were later seen consuming alcohol at the Anna Regina bus park.

They were picked up by officials of the Welfare Department and taken to the hospital where two of them were in an unconscious state. As such the Police were hunting the minibus driver and another male, purportedly the conductor.

Divisional Commander

Demise Griffith had told Guyana Times that the men had given the girls pills after they had joined the bus, which it was mixed in their alcoholic drinks. After the teenagers were taken to the hospital, their parents were contacted by the Welfare Department. They were subsequently questioned by the Police.

At the time the Commander made this

comment, she had said she was hoping that after the girls regain consciousness, the Police could get more information.

However, Guyana Times was informed that the girls regained consciousness and were discharged from the Suddie Hospital, while the suspect remains in Police custody assisting with investigations.

NEWS

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 9, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Nadir condemns PNCR’s attempt to bring disrepute to his speakership of National Assembly

Chinese Arrival Day

W

ednesday being Jan 12, will mark the 169th anniversary of the arrival of Chinese to Guyana as indentured labourers: 262 all-male recruits from Amoy aboard the ship Glentanner after 52 had died on the 177-day journey. Amoy (modern Xiamen) was a Britishrun treaty port in Fujian province. Another all-male cargo of 85 passengers who had survived the journey, after 69 had perished, landed 5 days later. They were sent to West Demerara sugar plantations, mainly Windsor Forest and Blankenburg. By the time Immigration from China was discontinued, 39 ships had brought 1879, Ravi Dev a total of 13,541 Chinese landed in Guyana but with only 17% women and few from agricultural backgrounds.

The Chinese were very diligent workers but because of higher transportation costs, reluctance to reindenture, low birth rates and some returning to China, their numbers in the colony was never very high. Many of those who remained generally intermarried with the local Africans because of the paucity of Chinese women and the remainder gradually opened up groceries or rum-shops on the plantations or in Georgetown.

In one remarkable experiment, a Chinese missionary was facilitated by the government to start a settlement on the Kamuni Creek (near what is now CJIA) with time-expired Chinese immigrants. A number of Christian converts had been recruited in China. They used the timber in the area to produce coal for the fast-growing Georgetown urban dwellers and soon undersold the Portuguese merchants who had dominated the trade and moved into the Charlestown area.

The settlement, unfortunately, collapsed after the missionary absconded with the settlement funds and the settlers moved to Georgetown where went into commerce. They soon joined the Portuguese in the nascent middle class as they rose in business, entered the professions and the Civil Service. By intermarrying with the local African Guyanese populace, the Chinese never provoked any sustained hostilities against themselves.

In the modern era, several Chinese were prominent in the PPP and participated in the struggle for independence. The first President of Guyana, of course, was Arthur Chung, who fittingly hailed from Windsor Forest, where the first Chinese had been bound. It was an apt trope for the journey they had travelled in their new country.

So, it is important that we commemorate the arrival of the Chinese in Guyana as a national event, since they played a key role in all aspects of our development, starting with helping to stabilize the production of sugar. As New Zealand has noted, “Commemoration means marking an important historical event on or around a meaningful anniversary.

Commemoration brings people together in physical and virtual spaces to reflect on the past and its relevance to the present. There doesn’t have to be a formal remembrance ceremony or a physical monument – commemoration could involve sharing historical information etc.” And it is in this spirit that this column was crafted.

When a public holiday to commemorate the arrival of Indian indentured was lobbied for and finally granted in 2004, I maintained it was unfortunate that the arrival of the Portuguese, Chinese and other immigrants from Africa and the West Indies, was conflated into May 5th - the day the Indians first arrived. The public holiday was dubbed “Arrival Day”.

This had to somewhat infra dig for these other groups and it was therefore quite positive when President David Granger declared that Jan 12 and June 3rd, the days the Chinese and Portuguese respectively arrived were duly given public recognition. This tradition must continue and be expanded for the other immigrant groups. Our Indigenous Peoples have “Amerindian Heritage Month” and African Guyanese have Emancipation Day to acknowledge their role in constituting our national mosaic. All groups must be commemorated.

In the modern era, it is noteworthy that Guyana was a pioneer in the English-speaking Caribbean to give official recognition to the Chinese Communist Government in 1972 after US President Nixon had made his surprise visit early in the year. It is a little-known fact that Communist China’s first foreign aid program was to Guyana, when its engineers arrived in the same year to establish a clay-brick factory in Canal, WBD. They would later supply textile and other factories. It should be noted that a Chinese company CNOOC owns 25% of the Stabroek Block 10 billion a barrel of oil. There has since been a steady influx of new Chinese immigrants into Guyana and their impact will definitely be significant going forward.

S

peaker of the National Assembly Manzoor Nadir has called out the People’s National Congress Reform for attempting to bring his speakership into disrepute, saying that the party is attempting to justify the “unparliamentary behaviour” of the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Members of Parliament (MPs) last month.

At a press conference on Friday, the newly elected Leader of the PNCR, Aubrey Norton, accused the Speaker of being biased and of colluding with the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Government.

In response, however, Nadir condemned Norton’s attack while pointing out that such accusations were expected since Speakers, due to the nature of the work, that is, preserving order and decorum within the Assembly and disciplining members, among other things, have always been accused of being biased.

Nadir contended that he has always conducted the business of the House in keeping with the Standing Orders of Parliament and other parliamentary procedures and practices of the Commonwealth.

“Further, it is my duty as Speaker of the National Assembly to ensure that the business of the National Assembly is conducted in a fair, transparent, and orderly manner and this I will do until the end of my tenure,” he asserted.

Moreover, the Speaker went on to outline that the utterances by the Leader of

Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir

the PNCR, which the leading party in the APNU faction of the coalition Opposition, was a weak attempt to justify the actions of its Members of Parliament who created “grave disorder” during the December 29, 2021 sitting of the National Assembly in order to block the passage of the Natural Resource Fund Bill.

According to Nadir, the “gross disorderly conduct” of the Opposition members will not be condoned.

He had previously said at a press conference the day after the uproar in the National Assembly that the Opposition’s actions will not go unpunished.

However, when contacted on Thursday, the Speaker would not confirm whether a decision was made on what method would be used to sanction those Opposition MPs who not only created havoc in the House by protesting with placards and using whistles to disrupt the Government members’ presentations but also stole the symbolic Parliament Mace

from in front of the Speaker.

N e v e r t h e l e s s , Governance and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Gail Teixeira has called on the Speaker to “move swiftly” in punishing the Opposition parliamentarians.

“The Speaker has a tremendously responsibility because it is very clear that they have no respect for him as Speaker; no respect for the authority of him as Speaker nor of the Parliament at all. If this is not addressed in some serious manner where the persons involved recognise how serious their transgressions were… and if they don’t [get punished] and if the punishment is not serious enough, then Parliament will become just chaotic over and over again,” she posited. <<<Guyana Times>>> understands that the Speaker is looking at precedents from other Parliaments, where similar incidents have occurred, in coming up with a decision.

But during a telephone interview with this publication, Minister Teixeira, who is also Government’s Chief Whip in the National Assembly, indicated that the Speaker also has options from Guyana’s Parliament that he can consider including the 2003 incident involving then People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) Opposition Members, who were sent to the Privileges Committee for protesting with placards in the Parliament Chamber, and even those involving People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) members.

In fact, she pointed to

PNCR Leader Aubrey Norton

the 2017 incident when the then PPP/C Opposition was questioning Budget allocations under the APNU/AFC regime during which Bishop Juan Edghill was suspended for four sittings after he refused an order by then Speaker Dr Barton Scotland to leave the Chambers on December 11 of that year.

“So, [Edghill] was suspended and could not come into the precincts of the Parliament for any committee meetings or sittings, and could not receive any salary, benefits etc for that period,” she recalled.

According to the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, in addition to that option, Nadir can also look at the January 1991 incident whereby a PPP/C Opposition Parliamentarian, Isahak Basir, was expelled from Parliament after he picked up the Mace and then threw a glass of water at the Speaker at the time, Sase Narain.

“So, the Speaker has a number of options open to him,” the Government Chief Whip argued.

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 9, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Georgetown Mayor proposes new bylaws for litterbugs to pay fines without going to court

G

eorgetown Mayor Ubraj Narine, during a recent news conference, revealed that he has proposed new bylaws which he believes will significantly address the issue of solid waste management in the city, including to have litterbugs immediately pay a fine without having to go

through the long route of being processed through the court. He is also proposing heftier penalties for littering.

Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Nigel Dharamlall had previously explained that there would be no increase in littering fines until there are higher

prosecution rates.

The Georgetown Mayor and City Council, under the Municipal and District Act, Chapter 28:01, is allowed to fine persons $10,000 for littering while the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can penalise an individual for up to $50,000 while a corporate body can be issued a fine of

$100,000.

The Georgetown Mayor believes that if these new bylaws are approved by the Local Government Ministry, there will be significant improvement in City Hall’s ability to clamp down on littering.

Under the new bylaw, a first offence would carry a fine of $10,000, a second offence $20,000 and a third offence no less than $35,000 but no more than $500,000.

“At this point of time, anybody can dump anything around the city of Georgetown. There is no kind of fine you can impose immediately, and this fine that is stipulated in the bylaws you don’t have to go to court…it’s like a ticket, you’ll get to pay and you have to pay, and if you don’t pay it…every person who remains in default of payment for more than 72

Georgetown Mayor Ubraj Narine

hours committing an offence and upon summary of conviction is liable for imprisonment for six months,” the Mayor argued.

Speaking on the Act set out by the EPA, the Georgetown Mayor explained that the City

Council would have to heavily invest their resources to enforce this legislation and in return they receive nothing.

“I heard many times the Honourable Minister made mention of the EPA Act. But let us put it in this context, the EPA Act is there yes, we have to enforce such an Act which is a national agency and we do not get anything from it. But the Mayor and City Council resources has to be spent to prepare the cases and so on and go to court, we have to do the patrol, we have to the policing and everything.”

“That’s why in any city across the world, let us take it to our neighbouring countries Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, let’s look at those countries. The city has a littering bylaw and we need to enforce such a bylaw independently at the level of the city so that is what we are calling on the Honourable Minister to approve,” he stated.

Mayor Narine further related that they require more support from the Government to better tackle this issue.

“I believe that we have the resources at the national level or at the Central Government level which the city of Georgetown and Central Government can work together to prevent this kind of illegal activity in our city,” he explained.

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T

he first set of Chinese indentured immigrants arrived in Guyana on January 12, 1853. They came as a form of cheap labour to replace the freed slaves.

According to the records, plantation owners in Guyana began expressing interest in having Chinese labourers from the onset of emancipation but recruitment formally began in 1851. Because of the long travel distance from China, at first Chinese were not recruited since it was cheaper to transport Indians.

While it cost a planter 13 British pounds to transport an Indian labourer from Calcutta or Madras, the cost was

15 pounds to transport a Chinese immigrant from any of the Chinese ports. But because of the growing need for labourers for the sugar estates, some planters decided to recruit Chinese especially during the period between 1848 and 1851 when Indian immigration was suspended.

In August 1851, the British Guiana Government agreed

His Excellency President Arthur Chung

to pay the planters a bounty of $100 for each Chinese landed in the Colony. The following month George Booker, one of the sugar estate owners, arranged for the first shipment of Chinese to work as indentured labourers.

The 115 men and 39 boys who were recruited were transported from the port of Amoy on the Lord Elgin. The ship departed on July 23, 1852 and after a journey of 177 days arrived in Georgetown on January 17, 1853. On this difficult voyage 69 of the passengers died.

Another ship, the Glentanner, chartered by Hyde, Hodge & Co, left Amoy with 305 men and boys and arrived in Georgetown on January 12, 1853. A total of 51 passengers died on the journey. The same Company recruited another 352 men and boys later in the year and they were shipped from Amoy on the Samuel Boddington on November 25, 1852 and arrived in Georgetown on March 4, 1853, after a voyage which lasted only 98 days during which 52 passengers died. (On this journey, the Chinese mutinied and almost managed to take control of the ship).

Most of the Chinese who arrived during this period were assigned to estates in West Demerara.

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FEATURE

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We would not have the every famous chicken fried rice that almost every Guyanese crave nor would we have been exposed to the dragon dance among other things.

There is no denying that the Chinese people have aided in the transformation of the Guyanese economy as well. In 2018, President David Granger alluded to the contribution of the Chinese to the Guyanese economy noting that their contribution could not be downplayed.

During the entire period 1853 to 1879, a total of 13,541 diverse Chinese landed in Guyana, bringing with them various religions, different languages and varying beliefs.

The Chinese came as the smallest group of indentured labourers and were distributed to the sugar plantations in the three counties of Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo.

G

uyana is a melting pot of cultures and one of the most unique nations in the in the Caribbean region. It is unique in the sense that nowhere else can you find the level of cultural integration we have here.

It is perhaps one of the goods that came out of the colonial period since it sets us apart from others.

One of the identifiable cultures in the melting pot is that of the Chinese people. The Chinese came to Guyana after the colonial masters lost their slaves and was looking for cheap labour to further enrich themselves. So as a replacement for the lost slaves, they created the inden-

ture system under which the Chinese came.

Ever since they landed on January 12, 1853, the Chinese have been adding their culture to the fabric of what would ultimately become the Guyanese society.

Now, some 167 years later, one cannot imagine what Guyana would be without the Chinese people.

“Engrained neatly in the fabric of the Guyanese society are contributions by Chinese that include the tasty cuisine that continues to be popular in Guyana and which is talked about in many other countries; folklore and the language which continues to be spoken by natives and is even taught here at the Confucius Institute,” Social Cohesion Minister Dr George Norton had stated while speaking about the contribution of the Chinese.

The Chinese were astute businessmen who operated grocery stores and were druggists, butchers, hucksters, cart and boat cab owners, barbers and laundrymen, among other things. Their contribution to commerce can still be seen today with various businesses across the country.

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FROM PAGE 14

The British Guiana Government expressed concerns about the physical quality of the Chinese who were recruited and also about the large number of boys who were apparently passed off as adults. Subsequently, the Government withdrew the bounty payment to the recruiting planters on August 1, 1853.

Earlier that year, James White, who had been the recruiting agent for the British Guiana Government in India, was appointed as Emigration Agent for the British West Indies in China. However, he was dismissed in June of the following year mainly because he failed to recruit any Chinese labourer.

In 1853 also, the British Government had decided to support a government-sponsored recruitment programme, but by May 1854 the British Guiana Government decided to halt immigration from China due to the transportation costs which had increased by over 66 per cent and also because of the failure to recruit women.

Chinese women began arriving in 1860, but in small numbers. The period from 1860 to 1866 saw a relatively large influx of immigrants, bringing the local Chinese population to a peak of 10,022 in 1866. Subsequently only two boats arrived with Chinese immigrants, one in 1874 and the other in 1879. After this Chinese immigrants came of their own free will and at their own expense.

The Chinese proved to be good workers on the estates to which they were indentured for a five-year period. The distribution of Chinese labourers to the sugar plantations in the three counties of Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo was made by the Immigration Agent-General, who based his decisions on the quotas submitted by the plantation owners several months previously. Families were kept together in the distribution.

Guyana’s first President was a Chinese man named Arthur Chung.

For the entire period of 1853 to 1879, a total of 13,541 Chinese landed in Guyana.

(Excerpts from guyana.org)

FEATURE

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FROM PAGE 15

In almost every village along Guyana’s coast one can find Chinese restaurants and grocery stores. In the city, the Chinese owned stores creates employment for a number of Guyanese as well as goods and services to the public.

The Chinese’s contributions are not only limited to business but also in the sport arena. They first started the Chinese Sports Club which is now the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club. Among the sporting disciplines of the club were cricket, tennis, basketball and hockey. The club shone in hockey back in 1961 when eight of its members were selected to tour with the national hockey team which won the first and only Quadrangular Hockey Tournament among British Guiana, Trinidad, Jamaica and Barbados. The club went on to have the leading hockey team in Guyana, winning all the hockey tournaments in 1974.

The Chinese have been fully integrated into the Guyanese society and have been able to excel in virtually every area, including in academia, the legal and medical fields. Some notable Guyanese Chinese includes the first President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, the late Arthur Chung; former Chief Justice the late Ian Chang; entrepreneur Stanley Ming; General Surgeon, Dr Wallace Lee, and Mathematician Claude Lee. Over the years, the strong, comprehensive programme of bilateral cooperation between Guyana and China has resulted in Guyana benefiting from the services of the Chinese medical doctors and technicians, the donation of equipment to the health sector, the educational work of the Confucius Institute, the support given to the Bertram Collins College of the Public Service, infrastructural support for the expansion and renovation of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), the widening of the East Coast Demerara Public Road, and the donation of vehicles and other equipment to the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force.

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I

t does not matter which part of the world a Guyanese is, from the moment they find out that a fellow Guyanese is going to visit their area, their first request is “bring a fry rice fuh me nah”. Without even thinking twice, one knows exactly what type of fried rice they are craving, since it is something distinctly associated with us Guyanese.

Nowhere in the world, not even in China, can you find the perfect chicken fried rice as you would in Guyana. It is something we are eternally grateful for - something we get to call our own.

When the Chinese arrived here in then British Guiana on January 12, 1853 on board the “Glentanner”, they brought with them, like those before them, their culture and cuisine signalling the extension of Guyana as a diverse nation with a melting pot of different cultures. They brought their unique customs and food, but had to adapt to the harsh realities of then British Guiana.

The late Anthony Bourdain once said: “Food is everything we are. It’s an extension of nationalist feeling, ethnic feeling, your personal history, your province, your region, your tribe, your grandma. It’s inseparable from those from the get-go,” and that is something that is very applicable in Guyanese society and particularly with the Chinese culinary influence.

It does not matter where you are in Guyana, one thing is certain: most of us Guyanese crave a chicken fried rice from our favourite Chinese restaurant. It is one of the most requested items from Guyana by Guyanese living overseas. A friend who works at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport once told me that on an average day they would see over one hundred parcels of Chinese fried rice frozen, wrapped in various types of packaging, stuffed away in suitcases with destinations all across the world.

But what is it that makes the Guyanese Chinese fried rice different from the rest of the world’s? Is it the fresh ingredients or is it just the way it is prepared? We will never know since the recipe is a safely guarded secret by the Chinese community.

I have had the opportunity to have Chinese food from several places within the Caribbean region and it is true that none tasted like the one I get from Bright Star Restaurant at Vreed-en-Hoop on the West Coast of Demerara.

Over the years, the influence of Chinese cuisine continues to bridge the cultural divide in society between the Chinese and other ethnic groups. The way

our Chinese prepare their fried rice is a secret one would never know and while many have come close to figuring out the recipe and methods, it is something they are yet to achieve.

For me, I am always excited to walk into the restaurant and watch in amazement as they prepare my order. From the time they splash the wok with water to clean it, followed by the oil and veggies, I am intrigued. It always baffles me, since I am not sure whether they steam the rice before they fry it with the veggies, but that is a secret I and most Guyanese as a matter of fact would never know. But my bet is, it is steamed.

Chinese fried rice is a part of our Guyanese culture. It is part of our diverse identity as a people. So grab a ‘cokes’ and some fried rice and have a hearty meal.

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Windsor Forest is a small village on the West Coast of Demerara and it is also the first village the Chinese indentured immigrants settled it. Today, the village is predominantly occupied by Indo-Guyanese with very little trace of its Chinese heritage. However there is a monument in the compound of the Windsor Forest Primary School that is dedicated to the Chinese immigrants.

Windsor Forest is also the home of Guyana’s First President, Arthur Chung.

Photographer Dexter Ceres visited the village and took these photos.

One of the many kokers in the village

The Windsor Forest Primary School

The Chinese Commemoration Monument

FEATURE

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HEALTH TIPS

LIVING HEALTHY IN 2022

Dr. Tariq Jagnarine Family Medicine, Endocrinology/Diabetes

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new year often signifies a fresh start for many people. For some, this means setting health goals, such as losing weight, following a healthier diet, and starting an exercise routine. However, more often than not, the health and wellness resolutions chosen are highly restrictive and unsustainable, leading most people to break their resolutions within a few weeks. That is why many people make the same resolutions year after year.

To break that cycle, it’s important to make resolutions that can not only improve health, but also be followed for life.

Health Tips for 2022:

1. Eat more whole foods

One of the easiest and most sustainable ways to improve overall health is to eat more whole foods.

Whole foods, including vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and fish, contain a plethora of nutrients that our body needs to function at an optimal level.

Research shows that following a whole-foodsbased diet may significantly reduce heart disease risk factors, body weight, and blood sugar levels, as well as decrease your risk of certain diseases, such as type 2 diabetes.

2. Sit less, and move more

Whether it’s due to having a sedentary job or simply being inactive, many people sit more than they should. Sitting too much can have negative effects on health. In fact, it may be linked to an increased risk of overall mortality.

For example, if you have a desk job that requires long periods of sitting, make a resolution to go for a 15-minute walk at lunch, or to get up and walk for 5 minutes every hour.

3. Cut back on sweetened beverages.

Cutting back on sweetened beverages is a smart idea, considering that sugary drinks are linked to an increased risk of obesity, fatty liver, heart disease, insulin resistance, and cavities in both children and adults.

4. Get more quality sleep

Sleep is an essential part of overall health, and sleep deprivation can lead to serious consequences.

For instance, lack of sleep may increase your risk of weight gain, heart disease, and depression.

There are many reasons why people don’t get enough sleep, so it’s important to focus on our schedule and lifestyle to determine the best ways to improve sleep quantity and quality.

Decreasing screen time before bed, reducing light pollution in your bedroom, cutting back on caffeine, and getting to bed at a reasonable hour are some simple ways to improve sleep hygiene.

5. Find a physical activity that is enjoyable

Every New Year, people purchase expensive memberships to gyms, workout studios, and online fitness programmes in hopes of shedding excess body fat in the year to come. Though most people start strong, the majority don’t make their new routine into a lasting habit.

To get started, choose an activity based on enjoyment, and whether it fits into the daily schedule. For example, taking a half-hour walk, jog, or bike ride before work, or swimming at a gym that’s on the way home are simple and sustainable exercise resolutions.

Then set an attainable goal, such as planning to walk a few specific days per week, instead of aiming for every day. Making a more realistic goal can enhance the chances of making the new routine last, especially if new to working out.

6. Take more ‘me time’, and practise self-care.

Taking time for yourself is not selfish. In fact, it’s imperative for optimal health and wellbeing. This is especially true for those in caretaker roles, such as parents and healthcare workers.

For people with busy schedules and limited time, making a resolution to engage in self-care may take some planning. However,

it’s well worth the time investment. Self-care doesn’t have to be elaborate or time-consuming. It can simply mean taking a bath every week, attending a favourite weekly yoga class, preparing a healthy meal for yourself, going for a nature walk, or getting an extra hour of sleep.

7. Cook more meals at home

Research shows that people who cook more meals at home have better diet quality and less body fat than people who eat more meals on the go.

In fact, a study of 11,396 adults found that those who ate five or more homecooked meals per week were 28% less likely to be overweight, compared with those who ate fewer than 3 home-cooked meals per week.

Start by making one meal a day, then increase the frequency over time until the majority of your meals and snacks are made at home.

8. Spend more time outside

Spending more time outdoors can improve health by relieving stress, elevating mood, and even lowering blood pressure.

Making a New Year’s resolution to spend more time outside every day is a sustainable and healthy goal that can benefit almost everyone, no matter where we live.

Taking a walk outside during our lunch break, hiking on weekends, going camping with friends, or simply soaking in the beauty of our backyard or local park are all ways to incorporate nature into our daily routine.

9. Limit screen time

Many people depend on their phones and computers for work and entertainment. However, spending too much time on electronic devices — particularly on social media — has been linked to depression, anxiety, and loneliness in some studies. Setting a resolution to cut back on the time spent scrolling through social media, watching TV, or playing computer games may help boost our mood and enhance productivity.

10. Try meditation.

Meditation is an evidence-based way to promote mental well-being. It

may be particularly helpful for people who have anxiety or depression.

Trying out this practice is a perfect New Year’s resolution, because there are many ways to meditate, and it’s easy to find books, podcasts, and apps that teach you how to start a meditation practice.

Though most New Year’s resolutions are only kept for a short period, the healthy resolutions listed above are sustainable ways to improve your physical and emotional health, and they can be followed for life.

This New Year, try out a few of the resolutions in this article to help make this year — and the years that follow — the healthiest and happiest possible.

Happy New Year!

22 FEATURE

SUNDAY, JANUARY 9, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

F

irstly, allow me to wish you and your pet-owning, animal-loving families all the very best for 2022 and beyond.

Because of the relevance of this topic at this time, I have decided to revisit pet adoption, so that readers, old and new, who are seriously considering adding a pet to the household, will be even more convinced that they are making the right decision.

I urge you, dear readers, to consider adopting a dog or cat in the New Year.

Permit me to share with you some thoughts on human - animal relationships, which in turn might move you in the direction of adopting a pet from the many Shelters (e.g., GSPCA, PAWS FOR A CAUSE, Rosewood, ARAP/Tails of Hope, among others.

I have often argued that the education a child can receive from observing the pregnancy, birth process, the mother dog’s care for its young and the actual rearing of a puppy or kitten to adulthood is something that money cannot buy, and textbooks cannot capture fully. But it goes even further than that.

That friendship between

THE VALUE OF ADOPTING A PET IN THE NEW YEAR a pet and a human, is a special and unique bond. Many authors/researchers, recognise that, in addition to being fun and fulfilling, owning a dog may actually benefit a person’s health.

When an affectionate greeting from your dog, at the end of a stressful and especially difficult day, seems to lift your spirits and ease tensions, it is not just your imagination. Your pet can in fact be good for you, both mentally and physically.

Scientists have shown in several studies that people in the presence of pets sim-

ply behave in a more relaxed and open manner. They are happier, smile more readily, communicate better and may be more likely to get regular exercise – all of which lead to improved general health.

In one very interesting study of heart attack patients at the University of Maryland, it was revealed that those who owned pets were more likely be living one year after the heart attack than those who did not.

The researchers also found that the simple act of petting a cat or dog consistently lowered a heart patient’s blood pressure.

This affinity that humans have for dogs did not

just arrive. It has evolved from that very time, tens of thousands of years ago, when humans decided to cultivate, befriend, breed and love wild forebears of the present-day dog. I know someone who believes that the whole human-dog association started with the canines (felines also?) conning us. They observed our behaviour, and they decided that humankind looked like it was going somewhere upwards in the evolutionary tree. They latched on to us and mimicked our behavioural pat-

terns, so that we would believe that they were easy to have a good relationship with. In return, we would feed them and keep them warm. Consequently, we receive immeasurable loyalty and protection. Indeed, it seems that compelling evidence is emerging that dogs and cats having figured out how to join the community of an entirely alien species, which is in itself evidence of their sophisticated social competence.

I know that, as a scientist, I should not be even thinking of attributing human characteristics to dogs and cats— you know, like feelings. Well, the scientists’ code is beginning to change.

Researchers are now seeing what every dog (and cat) owner knew all along and which we veterinarians are fully cognizant of. Dogs especially do exhibit human characteristics: grief, envy, jealousy, anger, rage, bellicosity, love, hate, guilt, remorse, happiness, resentfulness, anxiety, fear, contentment, deceit, pride, arrogance, shyness, bravery, kindness and willingness to help, desire to make the human happy, recklessness, sadness, depression, vexation, (e.g. at being blamed wrongfully), gluttony, malice (aforethought?), low self-esteem, laziness, greed, stubbornness, playfulness (including engaging in pranks), selective forgetfulness, vengefulness, boredom, communica-

tiveness using only the eyes, flirtatiousness, coyness, loyalty, protectiveness, etc. I am sure that I have left out some important characteristics that you have detected in your pets. Let me know, so that I can include in the list.

A professor, an Animal Psychology, Alexandra Horowitz, wrote a seminal tome called “Inside of a Dog”. It became a bestseller when published in 2010.

Here is what she wrote: “In learning how to study the behaviour of animals, I was taught and adhered to the scientist’s mantra for describing actions: be objective; do not explain a behaviour by appeal to a mental process when explanation by simpler processes will do; a phenomenon that is not publicly observable and confirmable is not the stuff of science. These days, as a professor of animal behaviour, comparative cognition, and psychology. I teach from masterful texts that deal in quantifiable fact. They describe everything from hormonal and genetic explanations for the social behaviour of animals, to conditioned responses, fixed action patterns, and optimal foraging rates in the same steady, objective tone” Then she added: “And yet”. What came after those two words was the confession that, traditionally, science — as practised and deified in texts — rarely addresses pet owner experiences of living with and attempting to understand the minds of our companion animals.

Since then, a lot more objective studies have been and are being carried out and shared with the public in easy-to-read articles. The Scientific American (May/ June 2015 issue) carried an in-depth cover story on “Why we love pets and why they love us — the science behind the bond.” Quite a revealing treatise!

What does all of this mean? I am a strong advocate for pet adoption. I trust that this article would serve to lessen your trepidation and worry when you visit an Animal Shelter to choose a companion animal as a complement to our family. In future columns, I shall be giving advice on the important elements which must be taken into consideration before adopting an animal and giving it a forever home.

Please continue to support the genuine and well-established humane societies in Guyana, the main objective of which is to minimize the suffering of animals.

Again, please accept our kindest wishes for 2022.

O

MANAGING COMPLAINTS AT THE EPA

perations, whether authorized or unauthorized will at some time release unwanted materials into the environment. It is the duty of the EPA to take a number of steps to control pollution, including conducting investigations and inspections to ensure compliance with the Environmental Protection Act and regulations, and providing information and education to the public regarding the needs for and methods of protection of the environment. The Complaints Unit and to a lesser extent the Communications Department at the EPA oversees the process of complaints management by ensuring that the functions listed above are executed.

Nature of complaints

The nature of complaints received by the EPA encompasses every sector and scale from manufacturing to mining. The majority of complaints received are related to noise, air (fumes, odour) and solid waste management, and occur mostly on Guyana’s coast in Regions 2, 3, 4, and 6. These instances of pollution usually stem from small operations such as furniture manufacturing, mechanic and auto-body shops, animal rearing, and dumping of household waste within residential areas.

In addition to investigating complaints the more than 2000 inherited complaints, the EPA has commenced a series of capacity building workshops for Neighbourhood Democratic Councils, which also have a mandate to manage complaints under their regulations. The intention of these capacity building sessions is to equip the NDCs with the requisite knowledge and guiding best practices to respond to environmental complaints efficiently. The Agency has also taken steps to forge new and existing relationships with the Ministry of Home Affairs and Mayor and City Council to tackle issues such as noise nuisances, and waste management and littering in the capital city.

144 - Total received since September 2021 53 - Investigated 45 - Referred 6 - Closed 3 - Transferred 37 - Not investigated Standard Operating Procedure for complaints management The flowchart depicts the process of the Agency receiving a complaint which is screened and investigated followed by enforcement actions.

Enforcement actions

The EPA makes every effort to work with operators to ensure that their business causes little to no environmental damage; there are some instances however where hard enforcement becomes a necessity. The various types of enforcement actions which the EP Act suggests may include: ● Warning Letter ● Compliance Schedules ● Enforcement Notice ● Prohibition Notice ● Cease Order ● Prosecution Remember your first line of action should be to make contact with your local government authority (Regional Democratic Council/Neighbourhood Democratic Council) on the matter. Please be assured the Agency will treat all information received from the public with strictest confidence.

Complainants, however, should be willing to attend court and testify should the matter require legal action.

How to make a complaint to the EPA?

Members of the public can report environmental complaints utilizing any of the following methods: ● Complaints 24-hour hotline number: 592-225-5469; or ● E-mail: complaint@epaguyana.org.

Please note, complaint reports MUST include: i.

Nature of the complaint; ii. Name and address of business/entity/person causing the pollution; iii. Name of the complainant (person making the complaint); and iv. Contact information and address of complainant.

You can also message us on Facebook or Instagram.

Complaints can also be made to our regional offices in Whim, Berbice - 337-2201, and McKenzie, Linden - 444-2313.

You can share your ideas and questions by sending letters to: “Our Earth, Our Environment”, C/O Communications, Environmental Protection Agency, Ganges Street, Sophia, GEORGETOWN, or email us at: eit.epaguyana@gmail.com.

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

23 Guyanese benefit from significant upgrades to infrastructure in 2021 C NEWS

SUNDAY, JANUARY 9, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

itizens throughout Guyana have benefited tremendously from improved infrastructure in 2021 that enhanced accessibility and created safer environments.

The construction of the $5 billion Eccles to Diamond interlink road on the East Bank of Demerara (EBD) is one of many examples. The project which has already begun easing traffic congestion also opened new lands for housing and commercial development.

It is also a commitment fulfilled by President Dr Irfaan Ali that will benefit thousands of Guyanese.

“We will have more than three, 400 acres of land developed specifically for industrial development… you will have hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands of jobs created along the corridor of this road,” the President had stated.

The road forms part of a larger project that will create links to several parts of the coast and will offer significant relief to thousands of commuters. This includes the road that will be constructed from Ogle on the East Coast to Eccles, and from Diamond to Timehri.

The Government also managed to substantially complete the Sheriff-

One of the miscellaneous roads that would be commissioned

The Cheddi Jagan International Airport upgrade is near completion and will be commissioned soon

Mandela road project. The road is slated to be completed by February 14, 2022. The thoroughfare has already been outfitted with lights but the installation of traffic signals and guardrails remains to be undertaken.

The Government has also made significant strides in the construction of the $38 billion road link from Linden to Mabura. The project is still in the procurement stage but it is anticipated that soon a contractor will be selected

to build the 121-kilometre stretch. The road will revolutionise travel between Region 10 and the hinterland since the existing thoroughfare is difficult to traverse during the rainy seasons.

The Dr Ali-led Administration also spent billions of dollars on rehabilitating miscellaneous and hinterland roads.

Modernised airports

The upgrade of the Cheddi Jagan International

The Sheriff-Mandela road project has been substantially completed

landing its inaugural flight in Guyana at the CJIA. “We want to see dozens of airlines operating out of Guyana. I did say to Inter-Caribbean at their launch, competition is good and we encourage competition, but we must also be partners,” Minister Edghill said.

While works were being

that does not have anything to do with the flow of water.

It is actually an improvement”.

Despite plans to construct a new bridge, the Government has invested millions to maintain the existing structure.

The construction of the Corentyne River Bridge link-

The $5 billion Eccles to Diamond interlink road on the East Bank of Demerara that was commissioned last month

The family of eight collecting the donation on Friday

ilies expressed gratitude to the team for such a timely intervention.

"I would like to extend a big thank you to this team for your support. After fire blaze up in our home, we lost everything... My children will be very happy to wear the brand-new clothes given to them and my wife will be grateful to cook us a better meal with the foodstuff donated," Joshua Gill, the father of six stated.

Also present during the distribution was the Child Care Officer from the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, Bibi Romeena Zaman.

the importance of the new bridge said, “you have [the current] Demerara Harbour Bridge now, which is a floating bridge that affects the flow and the sea bed; that is a big part of siltation…and you have a new high span

Airport (CJIA) is another front burner project, the Government will deliver to the people soon. Some of the works that remain to be done are the installation of curtain walls, the superstructure, and the installation of two air bridges. All other works have been completed including the extension of the runway and installation of the Instrument Landing System.

However, despite the project not being fully com-

GHDS makes donation to Bonasika families G

uyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha Essequibo Praant on Saturday donated much-needed items to two families at Bonasika Island, in the Essequibo River.

The organisation, in collaboration with the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security and the business community has assisted the families.

A team visited Bonasika Island where they handed over a quantity of food items, clothing, and other items to the two families. One of the families lost their home to fire while the other lost two members of their family after a house collapsed.

Representative of the Hindu organisation, Indrawattie Natram related that after reading about the tragic incidents, the Sabha immediately started to mobilise assistance from the business community.

"The incidents were quite unfortunate... Especially to the two families in Bonasika Island. The family of eight that lost their house after a fire destroyed their home is melancholy to know they are without a home. The other incident that happened where a house that collapse and killed two, the mother and her 6-year-old daughter is very painful...persons are still alive and with the help, their lives can be changed," Natram added.

Meanwhile, the two fam-

pleted, Minister Edghill said incoming passengers are expressing their satisfaction with the efforts being made by the Government.

Already, the country’s upward trajectory has led to Inter-Caribbean Airways

undertaken on the coastland, the hinterland regions were not left out. The Lethem Airport in Region Nine has been upgraded through a $185 million investment.

The new and extended runway would transform the aerodrome into a regional hub.

Establishing connections

Donation made to the mother of the deceased, Seematie Chandra, by an executive member of the Essequibo Praant, Indrawattie Natram

The new Demerara River bridge is another transformational project that the Government is working to have delivered to Guyanese.

In November 2021, Cabinet granted its “no objection” for China State Construction Engineering Corporation Ltd to build the bridge.

President Ali, stressing

ing Guyana and Suriname will also soon be realised.

The bridge is expected to be 1.17 kilometres from Guyana to the abutment on Long Island, 2.15 kilometres of road through Long Island, and a 2.5-kilometre bridge from Long Island to South Drain in Suriname.

The bridge will be constructed using a “Design, Build, Finance, Operate, and Maintain” model.

Every region of Guyana has seen massive development since August 2020. The PPP/C Government will continue to work to ensure that citizens’ lives are enhanced and enriched with transformational development and a modern landscape. (DPI)

24 NEWS

SUNDAY, JANUARY 9, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Wife abuser remains critical after beating – family says he was also abused by his wife, calls for justice “We are asking the Police to look into this because we know he is the person who assaulted her, but what about the persons who assaulted him. The Police are not looking into that.

We spoke to an officer yes-

terday and he is saying they will look into it but when exactly.

“They are waiting for when he is going to be responding and that is not going to happen for now. Just like how they want justice

for whatever he did, we want the justice for whatever they did to him also,” she said.

She said the family last visited the Police station on Friday, and they are hoping to get justice soon.

Works on upgrading Kingston waterfront 98% completed

– waterfront developments to be expanded countrywide

T

The accused abuser Anthony Luke is critical after being beaten

he family of a man who is being accused of beating his partner, causing her skull to fracture and her arm to break, is now claiming that he was also a victim of abuse.

28-year-old Anthony Luke, a labourer of Wismar, Linden, was allegedly beaten by the woman’s family and is now in a critical state at Linden Hospital Complex.

It was reported that Simone Edwards, 31, a security guard of Wismar, Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), was severely beaten by the man and remains hospitalised.

The couple reportedly returned home from work together and were at the side of the house where they were talking.

Shortly after, Police said Luke went inside the house but went back outside where the woman started to speak

loudly. The couple’s teenage son soon heard his mother screaming and upon enquiring, he saw his father beating her with a piece of wood.

Upon seeing this, the child ran inside the house, grabbed a cutlass and returned to confront his father. However, the man reportedly pelted his son with a piece of wood after which he escaped.

The victim’s uncle and nephew were alerted and went in pursuit of the suspect. Public-spirited persons also joined the chase, resulting in the capturing of the suspect who was given a sound thrashing before he was handed over to the Police.

However, the cousin of the alleged abuser, Shawnna Frank confirmed that the man was also abused by the woman. She said though the couple lived together, only two of the four children are his.

Frank said the abuse has been happening for a number of years and her cousin was provoked to commit the act.

“Based on the knowledge I have, most of the times a fight would break out, it will stem from them having a talk, and then she hits him and it becomes a fight.”

The woman said that after the incident, Luke was beaten to the state of unconsciousness and had to undergo immediate surgery.

She said since the incident, her cousin remains critical and unconscious.

“He had to get a craniotomy; he is bleeding in his brain…so as of right now he is still in intensive care. She is stable but he is not responding since Tuesday.”

Frank is calling for justice, claiming that the woman’s family had no right to beat him to an extent that would leave him in a critical state.

Govt seeking consultant to...

“Yellowtail EIA process is ongoing… there’s a 60 days period after they’ve submitted their EIA and that 60 days is statutory for the public to provide any comments and reviews. So that 60 days come to an end around December 15th.”

“So, after the public inputs, there’s an independent body called the Environmental Assessment Board. They have to review the EIA and recommend to the EPA whether the EIA is acceptable or not and recommendations,” Parsaram further explained.

Exxon already has approval from EPA for three other projects; the Liza 1, which is producing oil and the Liza 2 and Payara developments. Yellowtail has an anticipated start date of late 2025 pending govern-

mental approvals and project sanctioning.

ExxonMobil has said it anticipates at least six projects offshore Guyana will be online by 2027, with developmental drilling recently starting on the second one, the Liza Phase 2 project.

Back in May 2019, EEPGL was granted approval by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to go ahead with its Liza Phase 2 Development offshore Guyana.

The oil company had said that the project will have the capacity to produce 220,000 barrels of oil per day. Exxon had also revealed that the Liza Phase 2 development was funded at the cost of some US$6 billion, including a lease capitalisation cost of approximately $1.6 billion,

FROM PAGE 9

for the Liza Utility FPSO vessel. For the Phase 2 Development, six drill centres were planned, along with approximately 30 wells – 15 productions, nine water injection and six gas injection wells.

The US$9 billion Payara development, the third development, will meanwhile target an estimated resource base of about 600 million oil-equivalent barrels and was at one point considered to be the largest single planned investment in the history of Guyana.

The Yellowtail development, which will be oil giant ExxonMobil’s fourth development in Guyana’s waters, will turn out to be the single largest development so far in terms of barrels per day (bpd) of oil, with a mammoth 250,000 bpd targeted.

Public Works Minister Juan Edghill inspecting work on the Kingston waterfront development

W

orks to upgrade the Kingston seawall, in a beautification project launched

by First Lady Arya Ali, are substantially complete. This is according to Public Works Minister Juan Edghill, following a visit to the site.

On Friday, Minister Edghill inspected works at the Kingston seawall, where he received an update from Project Manager Jermaine Braithwaite. In fact, he was told that works would be completed at the site within a week.

“Right now, what should be happening is a wrapup. We’ve had some slight delays. This should have been finished by December 31. And I just told Mr Braithwaite, all the contractors should start cleaning up.”

“This space is too important to be left with construction waste. New projects will be awarded to continue to enhance what is happening out there. But the works for 2021 are largely, 98 per cent completed,” Edghill said.

Meanwhile, Braithwaite provided details on the final works that have to be done on the seawall. This work includes backfilling and the installation of reinforced concrete necessary for the construction of vending spaces.

“The contractor is doing the final backfilling for the construction of an extensive apron that will be built here,

using a reinforced concrete slab that will then facilitate the construction of the vending units. Essentially when this area is completed, we’re going to have a fairly contemporary space.”

“So this part of the work will pave the way for that phase of the waterfront development to commence. The drain here has been completed, which will serve as a retainer part of the drain for the apron,” Braithwaite said.

He also spoke of a waterfront promenade that will be built on the elevated part of the development. The tarmac itself will be upgraded and the works extended towards the Marriott Hotel.

Meanwhile, Edghill made it clear that similar waterfront developments will be built throughout the country.

“Linden must experience the same thing. We’ve been spending some money there and we will be going to phase 2 in Linden.

Waterfront development, both on the Linden and Wismar shore. Charity as well as Supenaam, must experience the same thing.”

“There are plans to do things all the way to Skeldon, where we’ve just finished the sea defence up there. There are plans for the development of UG road to Ogle. So, waterfront development, recreational spaces, must be advanced while we keep our river and sea defence intact,” Minister

Edghill said.

Last year, Edghill had announced that the Government would be releasing $30 million to begin the first phase of the waterfront enhancement project at Wismar and Mackenzie in Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).

This was announced by Edghill during an engagement with several stakeholders at the Watooka Guest House to identify works that could be undertaken to modernise the waterfront area.

“Whatever we do must be able to impact the people of Region 10. It must bring immediate benefits to the people of Region 10. We cannot do development in a way that doesn’t bring impact, and the policy direction that we are governed by … whatever we do must answer the felt needs and the desires of the people, no matter how small it is,” the Minister had said.

The consultation saw contributions from Regional Chairman Deron Adams, Linden Mayor Waneka Arrindell, Chief Sea and River Defence Officer Kevin Samuel; Engineer, Brigadier (ret’d) Gary Beaton; Project Manager Jermaine Braithwaite, among others.

The projects will include proper sanitary blocks, adequate lighting and recreational facilities. The Minister said all construction will cater for senior citizens and persons living with disabilities.

guyanatimesgy.com

SUNDAY, JANUARY 9, 2022

25

News

Record-breaking 1016 COVID cases detected in 24 hours – as another unvaccinated person dies

T

he rapid surge in COVID-19 cases continues in Guyana, with another record-breaking number of infections detected within a 24-hour period, taking active cases in the country to over 5000.

The Health Ministry reported on Saturday that a whopping 1016 new cases were recorded which now takes the total number of confirmed cases in Guyana to 44,245 of which a staggering 5252 are currently active.

These include four patients in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and the remaining 5248 persons are in isolation, that is, 96 in institutional isolation and the remaining 5152 in home isolation.

Another 16 persons are also in institutional quarantine, according to the dashboard.

Meanwhile, only one person who tested positive for the novel coronavirus has died within that 24hour period. This latest fatality is a 46-year-old male from Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), who was unvaccinated and died on Friday.

Consequently, the total number of deaths from the pandemic in Guyana has gone up to 1067, while the COVID-19 death toll for the year thus far is 12.

On the other hand, some 37,930 persons have recovered from the life-threatening disease to date – 35 more recoveries than the

figure reported the previous day.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country, approximately 445,651 persons have been tested so far and of this, some 20,688 males and 23,557 females were found to be positive.

Of the 1016 new cases reported on Saturday, three were from Region One (Barima-Waini); 43 cases from Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam); 205 from Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara); a whopping 566 cases from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica); another 43 from Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice); 45 cases from Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne); 47 more from Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni); one case from Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni); 32 from Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo); and the remaining 31 cases from the Upper DemeraraBerbice region.

Health authorities have attributed the rapid rise in COVID-19 cases over the past two weeks to the Omicron variant, which is highly transmissible.

In fact, Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony on Friday disclosed that the younger age groups account for a majority of the new COVID-19 infections that are being detected.

This includes the 25 to 44 age cohort.

Nevertheless, Dr Frank

Anthony has urged persons who have been infected to stay isolated in order to curb the spread of the virus.

“Most of these persons who have tested positive, they are mildly symptomatic because you see from hospitalisation numbers, not a lot of these persons are in hospitals but rather, they should be in isolation… [Infected] people must stay home and don’t be in contact with others because if they are and they are not wearing masks and taking precautions then they would be able to spread the virus to other people,” the Minister cautioned.

Meanwhile, persons are also encouraged to get vaccinated, and for those who are qualified to get their booster shots, in order to add a layer of protection against the virus.

Recent figures show that over 413,300 adults have received a first dose, while more than 298,900 of them are fully vaccinated with both doses.

With regards to the adolescent age group, that is, 12 to 17, over 30,800 have received a first dose and of that amount, in excess of 21,900 are fully immunised.

To date, more than 15,300 booster doses have been administered.

But as more people continue to get vaccinated, authorities are urging the public to continue observ-

GUYANA COVID-19 DASHBOARD JANUARY 8, 2022 UPDATE

NUMBER OF NEW CASES

1016

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL ISOLATION

96

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN HOME ISOLATION

5152

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN COVID-19 ICU

4

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL QUARANTINE

16

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (FEMALES)

23,557

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (MALES)

20,688

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES IN GUYANA SINCE 2020

44,245

NUMBER OF RECOVERED CASES

37,895

TOTAL 1st DOSE VACCINATED FULLY IMMUNISED

REGION 1

1731

REGION 2

1701

REGION 3

5751

REGION 4

21,412

REGION 5

1620

REGION 6

4209

REGION 7

1963

REGION 8

625

REGION 9

2726

REGION 10

2507

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

412,288 297,286

TOTAL NUMBER OF DEATHS

DISTRIBUTION OF TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES SINCE MARCH 2020

1067

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.

ing all COVID-19 preventative measures, particularly masking in public, social distancing and frequent hand washing and

sanitising.

The measures also include vaccination requirements to access any public building such as restau-

rants, places of worship, schools as well as Government buildings.

There is also a midnight to 04:00h curfew in place.

Food security a priority in Guyana’s climate adaptation plans – Min Todd – during CELAC Foreign Ministers summit in Argentina

T

he regional food security and production in Guyana is a priority in its climate change plans.

This is according to Foreign Affairs Minister Hugh Todd, during the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) XXII Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs summit.

Minister Todd recently attended the CELAC XXII Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs summit which was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. During his address to the summit, Todd spoke of Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). Minister Todd further noted that Guyana's national climate adaptation plans give priority to regional food security and production.

According to the Foreign Affairs Ministry in a statement, the Minister also called for CELAC to use its

voice in advocating for global temperatures to be maintained, as set out in the Paris Agreement.

“The Foreign Minister said that CELAC must be persistent in advocacy for the stabilisation of global temperatures at 1.5 degrees Celsius as called for in the Paris Agreement,” Minister Todd explained.

“In this regard, Minister Todd spoke of the LCDS which objectives are to focus on forest climate services and other ecosystem services, stimulate future growth through clean energy and sustainable economic activities and protect against climate change thereby aligning Guyana's economic and social policies with global climate goals.”

The Foreign Minister also spoke of the socio-economic impact of the pandemic, which he said is being prolonged with the emergence

The CELAC Foreign Affairs Ministers who attended the summit in Argentina. Guyana’s Foreign Affairs Minister Hugh Todd is standing 2nd right in the front row

of new strains of the virus which has further delayed efforts to embark on economic recovery programmes.

Minister Todd also called on member states of CELAC

to use one voice in advancing positions for sustainable financing mechanisms to accelerate inclusive and equitable recovery, a call that has also been made by President

Dr Irfaan Ali to Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh.

The Minister also welcomed the Government of Argentina on its assumption to the Presidency of the

Pro Tempore Secretariat for the new period and pledged Guyana’s continued support towards the CELAC agenda.

He also lauded Argentina’s proposed Work Plan and noted that it provides continuity towards addressing the developmental challenges of the region and the strengthening of the integration process.

The Community of Latin American and the Caribbean States (CELAC) was launched in 2011 and it functions as a regional mechanism for political dialogue and cooperation. It is comprised of thirty-three (33) countries of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).

CELAC continues to deepen the dialogue among countries in the region in various priority areas including social development, education, nuclear disarmament, family farming, culture, finance, energy and the environment.

26

guyanatimesgy.com

SUNDAY, JANUARY 9, 2022

Regional

First Colombian with Cradle of Venezuelan ruling party non-terminal illness dies prepares for election re-run legally by euthanasia

V

C

olombian Victor Escobar became the first person in the Andean country with a non-terminal illness to die by legally regulated euthanasia late on Friday, his lawyer Luis Giraldo confirmed.

Escobar, 60, suffered from end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which causes greatly diminished quality of life, as well as a number of other conditions, Giraldo told Reuters.

Colombia's Constitutional Court removed penalties for euthanasia under certain circumstances in 1997 and ordered the procedure to be regulated in 2014. The first person in Colombia with a terminal illness to die under those rules was in 2015.

"We reached the goal for patients like me, who aren't terminal but degenerative, to win this battle, a battle that opens the doors for the other patients who come after me and who right now want a dignified death," Escobar said in a video message sent to media by Giraldo.

Victor Escobar, 60, who suffered from an end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and became the first person in Colombia to undergo euthanasia for a non-terminal disease, sits on the sofa in his home in Cali, Colombia October 19, 2021.

Picture taken October 19, 2021

The procedure took place in a clinic in Cali, the capital city of Colombia's Valle del Cauca province.

"I'm not saying goodbye, just 'see you later,'" Escobar said.

He fought two-years for his right to euthanasia in the face of opposition from doctors, clinics and courts, even though the Constitutional

Court last year recognised the procedure should not be available just for the terminally ill.

As of Oct 15 last year, 178 people with terminal illnesses had been legally euthanised in Colombia since 2015, according to Colombian legal rights advocacy group DescLAB. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Five dead, 20 missing after rock face collapse at Brazilian waterfall

A

t least five people died and nine were seriously injured when a wall of rock collapsed on top of motor boats below a waterfall in southeastern Brazil on Saturday, the local fire department said.

A tower of rocks suddenly broke away from the canyon wall and came crashing down on several

leisure boats, sending out a huge wave over the lake at Capitolio, in Minas Gerais state.

Videos posted on social media showed tourists shouting as the column of rock smashed into the water. At least one wrecked boat sank, others sped away.

Firemen, including divers, said they were search-

ing for 20 people believed to be missing.

The people hurt in the accident had broken bones and one was in serious condition in hospital with head and facial injuries. Some 23 others were treated for light injuries, fire department spokesman Pedro Aihara told reporters. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Record number of Nicaraguans sought asylum in Costa Rica in 2021

A

record number of Nicaraguans sought refuge in neighboring Costa Rica in 2021, Costa Rican immigration authorities said on Friday, amid a widespread political crackdown against opponents of longtime Nicaraguan leader President Daniel Ortega.

Costa Rica received 53,000 refugee applications from Nicaraguans in 2021, particularly in the months ahead of the elections in November, when Ortega clinched a fourth consecutive term after jailing political rivals.

"It is the largest number of refugee applications (of Nicaraguans) that we have received in history," Daguer Hernandez, the Deputy Director of Costa Rica's migration agency, told Reuters.

"It's certainly close to the numbers received during the 1980s war, but we don't have records of that," he said.

In 2019, a year after an-

oters in Barinas, a sparsely populated province in eastern Venezuela that the ruling Socialist Party has controlled for more than two decades, will return to polling places today to cast ballots in a do-over gubernatorial election.

The result of the re-run ordered by the supreme court will not upset ruling party control over a majority of governorships, but could be a symbolic victory for the fractured opposition in the home state of the late socialist President Hugo Chavez, analysts said.

The ruling party won 19 of 23 governorships in

November, and has emphasized that its candidate Jorge Arreaza, a former Foreign Minister, is father of one of Chavez's grandchildren.

A victory for the opposition, which seemed within reach before original candidate Freddy Superlano was declared ineligible, would send a message that "Chavismo can be defeated under its own rules," said Ricardo Sucre, politics professor at the Central University of Venezuela.

The capital city, also called Barinas, has 600,000 eligible voters and Reuters witnesses said it appeared half-empty on Friday, with

many businesses closed and few people on the streets.

Superlano claimed victory but was ruled unfit for public office because of pending administrative investigations.

The supreme court, seen by the opposition as biased toward the ruling party, then ordered a new vote, though it acknowledged the electoral commission projected a 0.39 per cent margin of victory for Superlano against Argenis Chavez, the dead president's brother.

Chavez bowed out of the re-run and recognized the initial results. (Excerpt from Reuters)

ACM calls for end to violence in Haiti

T

he Association of Caribbean Media Workers (ACM) has expressed shock and horror at news of the savage, deadly attack on two journalists in Haiti on January 6.

In a statement on Saturday, the regional media body said that it is deeply concerned about the continuing violence in the country and “the climate of fear and intimidation within which media practitioners have had to execute their duties.”

“Our sympathy goes out to the families of our media colleagues, John Wesley Amady,

reporter for Écoute FM radio headquartered in Canada and Wilguens Louissaint, local journalist, who lost their lives as they conducted interviews in the Laboule community,” the media body stated.

“Like the Haiti based Working Group on Security, and other agencies, we call on the Haitian authorities to strengthen the protection of journalists throughout the country even as they enhance general security.”

The ACM has also called on Caricom, the Organisation of American States (OAS) and other international and in-

ter-governmental agencies to press for action to address the concerns. “At a time like this, freedom of the press, including the safety of journalists and other media workers is essential in pursuit of strategies to bring peace and stability to Haiti.”

“Our thoughts are with every journalist and media worker in Haiti. We join them in their longing for an end to ongoing violence that continues to claim lives and hinder the progress of the people of Haiti,” the ACM stated. (Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

Dr Ernest Hilare appointed Deputy Prime Minister of St Lucia

S

t Lucia's acting Governor General Cyril Charles has appointed Dr Ernest Hilare to the post of Deputy Prime Minister.

Hilare is currently the Minister with responsibility for Tourism, Investment, Creative Industries, Culture and Information and is also St Lucia's former High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and

Northern Ireland as well as the island's Ambassador to France.

Following the appointment, Hilaire welcomed his elevation to the position and pledged to discharge his duties to the best of his ability.

Hilare was appointed on the advice of Prime Minister Phillip J Pierre.

The Tourism Minister, who was also accredited

to numerous international organisations headquartered in Europe from 20112016, contested the general elections of June 6, 2016, in which the St Lucia Labour Party formed the Opposition and was elected as the Member of Parliament for Castries South.

He was subsequently re-elected on July 26, 2021.

(Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

T&T: Country crosses 3000 COVID deaths Nicaraguan migrants fill documents to request refuge in Costa Rica due to the unrest occurring in their country at the migration office in San Jose, Costa Rica July 24, 2018

ti-Government protests and ensuing Government repression rocked Nicaragua, 31,600 requested refuge in Costa Rica. The applications subsided during the pandemic, but escalated sharply in the second half of 2021 in the lead-up to the presidential election, which was criticised by the European Union and the United States as undemocratic.

Among those who fled Nicaragua was Gema Martinez, 31, who said she was arrested for participating in an opposition group called Alianza Civica.

Reuters could not independently verify her arrest.

"It is very hard to flee and very expensive to live in Costa Rica, but it is necessary," said Martinez.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

T

rinidad and Tobago has crossed 3000 COVID-19 fatalities since the start of the pandemic with over 1000 deaths reported in the last 45 days.

In the last 24 hours, the nation recorded 18 COVID-19 deaths pushing the pandemic death toll to 3010. To date, COVID-19 has taken the life of one in every 470 people in Trinidad and Tobago, with one in every 32 cases succumbing to the disease.

As the nation clears its testing backlog from New Year’s Day to present, the Ministry of Health has been

confirming record high caseloads. In the last seven days, the country has confirmed 4171 new COVID-19 infections with 984 reported on Friday, the second-highest daily case count to date.

The country is nearing 100,000 total COVID-19 cases and to date, one in every 15 people in the country has had a confirmed positive COVID-19 PCR test result with over 96,000 total cases.

As of Friday, one in 87 people was considered an active COVID-19 case with total active cases standing at 16,119.

Infections are still being

driven by those under the age of 59—the young and middle-aged. However, the elderly, the unvaccinated, and those with comorbidities are those that are disproportionately affected.

Based on data from Dr Avery Hinds, Technical Director of the Ministry of Health’s Epidemiology Division, adults aged below 59 make up 82.5 per cent of COVID-19 infections as of January 4, 2022. However, this expansive age group accounts for 34.8 per cent of total COVID-19 deaths in the country. (Excerpt from Trinidad Guardian)

guyanatimesgy.com

SUNDAY, JANUARY 9, 2022

27

Around the World

At least 16 stranded snow-tourists die at Pakistan hill station

A

t least 16 tourists died in freezing temperatures after being stranded in their vehicles in northern Pakistan, where thousands had flocked to enjoy the snow, officials said on Saturday.

With some 1000 vehicles still stranded, the Government has declared Murree, 64 km (40 miles) northeast of the capital Islamabad, a calamity hit area.

“For the first time in 15 to 20 years such large number of tourists flocked to Murree, which created a big crisis,” Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, Pakistan’s Interior Minister said a video message.

The Minister said that around 1000 cars were stuck in the hill station, a town elevated from the nearby area,

People stand next to cars stuck under fallen trees on a snowy road in Murree, northeast of Islamabad, Pakistan in this still image taken from a video January 8, 2022

confirming that “16 to 19 deaths have occurred in their cars.”

Army platoons and paramilitary forces have been deployed to help the civil administration in rescue operations, he said.

Late on Friday the Government announced the closure of all roads leading to the station to stop any further influx of the tourists.

Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed shock over the “tragic deaths” of the tour-

ists. “Have ordered inquiry and putting in place strong regulations to ensure prevention of such tragedies,” Khan said in a tweet.

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry appealed to people to not visit the hill station.

Snowfall, which began on Tuesday night, continued at regular intervals, attracting thousands of tourists. Due to huge numbers of visitors, many families ended up getting stranded on roads.

Local media reported that over 100,000 vehicles entered the hill station.

Videos shared on social media showed entire families, including children, lying dead in their snow-covered vehicles.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

James Webb telescope completes epic deployment sequence

I

t’s done. The biggest astronomical mirror ever sent into space is assembled and ready for focusing.

The golden reflector, the centrepiece of the new James Webb telescope, was straightened out on Saturday into its full, 6.5m-wide, concave shape.

The mirror had been folded like a drop-leaf table for the mission’s Christmas Day launch.

James Webb is set now to become a transformative tool in the study of all

parts of the cosmos.

Scientists intend to use the $10 billion observatory and its remarkable mirror to capture events that occurred just a couple of hundred million years after the Big Bang. They want to see the very first stars to light up the Universe.

They’ll also train the telescope’s big “eye” on the atmospheres of distant planets to see if those worlds might be habitable.

The telescope is a joint project of the American, European and Canadian

space agencies. It has taken 30 years to design and build, and will continue the revelatory science of Hubble, which is now nearing the end of its operational life.

Webb carries next-generation technologies. It’s also much bigger. It’s so big, it had to be flat-packed to fit inside the nosecone of the rocket that took it to orbit on 25 December.

The subsequent unwrapping over the past fortnight has had everyone holding their breath. But the complex series of deployments, which included the unfurling of a tennis-court-sized sun shield, passed off with no drama.

It will go down in space exploration history as an astonishing accomplishment. (Excerpt from BBC News)

OILNEWS OIL NEWS US rig count rises alongside oil prices

T

he number of active drilling rigs in the United States rose by 2 this week, keeping the total rig count at 588, as oil prices remain strong despite the fresh wave of COVID-19 cases brought by the new variant of the coronavirus amid several oil disruptions around the globe, including in Libya, Ecuador, and Kazahkstan.

Last week’s count compared with an unchanged rig count of 586 during the previous week.

Baker Hughes reported the total active rig figure was 228 rigs higher than the rig count this time in 2021.

Oil-directed rigs were up by 1 to 481, while gasdirected rigs were up by 1 to 107.

Oil production in the US last week—the last week of 2021—stood at 11.8 million bpd for the second week in a row, according to the Energy Information Administration.

This is up from 11 million bpd at the beginning of 2021.

While US production remains on an upward trend, oil drillers remain cautious in their production growth plans and more focused on returning cash to investors.

The rig count in the Permian Basin decreased by 1 again this week. The number of rigs in the nation’s second most prolific basin, the Eagle Ford, saw no change to the number of active rigs for the second week in a row. The Permian’s total rig count is now 292, with 44 total in the Eagle Ford.

Primary Vision’s Frac Spread Count, which tracks the number of completion crews finishing off previously drilled wells, shows that completion crews fell by 10 this week to 234 for week ending December 31, for the fifth dip in a row. The frac spread is now down 40 over the last five weeks.

At 9:55 am EDT, oil prices were trending down on the day. WTI was trading at US$79.28—down 0.23 per cent on the day but up nearly US$4 on the week. The Brent benchmark traded at US$81.98, down 0.01 per cent on the day but up nearly US$4 on the week. (Excerpt from Oilprice.com)

Duterte wants unvaccinated Canada party plane influencer “idiots” fly Dozens killed in Ethiopian air jailed as COVID rate home to face music strike on IDP camp in Tigray hits record high

A

n air raid in Ethiopia’s Tigray region has killed 56 people and injured 30, including children, in a camp for displaced people, two aid workers told Reuters news agency, citing local authorities and witness accounts.

The spokesman for the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) that has been fighting the central government, Getachew Reda, said in a tweet on Saturday, “Another callous drone attack by [Prime Minister] Abiy Ahmed in an IDP [internally displaced people] camp in Dedebit has claimed the lives of 56 innocent civilians so far.”

The attack in the town of Dedebit, in the northwest of the region near the border with Eritrea, occurred late on Friday night, said the aid workers, who asked not to be named as they were not authorised to speak to the media.

The Government has previously denied targeting civilians in the 14-month

conflict with rebellious Tigrayan forces.

Earlier on Friday, the Government had freed several opposition leaders from prison and said it would begin dialogue with political opponents in order to foster reconciliation.

Both aid workers said the number of dead in Friday’s air raid was confirmed by the local authorities. The aid workers sent Reuters pictures they said they had taken of the wounded in hospital, who included many children.

One of the aid workers, who visited Shire Suhul General Hospital where the injured were brought for treatment, said the camp hosts many old women and children.

Before the latest attack, at least 146 people have been killed and 213 injured in air raids in Tigray since October 18, according to a document prepared by aid agencies and shared with Reuters this week. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

T

he Philippines has reported at least 21,819 new COVID-19 infections, raising the country’s positivity rate to another all-time high of 40 per cent out of 70,049 tests conducted, as President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the arrest of unvaccinated people who will violate stayat-home orders aimed at curbing “galloping” cases driven by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

With the latest number of infections on Friday, the country hits a record-high positivity rate for the third straight day, while the total caseload since the pandemic approaches three million.

On Saturday, the health department also reported another 26,458 new cases, with a positivity rate of 43.7 per cent – the fourth consecutive day that a new record high was set.

The more than 43 per cent positivity rate in the country is well above the World Health Organisation’s five per

cent positivity threshold.

There are now 102,017 active cases officially recorded in the country as of Saturday. Meanwhile, 265 new fatalities were reported bringing the official death toll to 52,135, although the actual number of deaths could be higher.

The majority of the cases reported were from the capital, Manila, and its surrounding cities and suburbs, and 99 per cent of the new cases were recorded between December 26 to January 8.

Health officials and independent experts have already warned that the infections were projected to increase further in the coming days and would peak by the end of the month.

The sudden rise in cases had prompted Duterte to order on Thursday the arrest of unvaccinated people who violate stay-athome orders, raising questions about the legality of the order. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

C

anadian officials say a group of influencers whose rowdy behaviour on a flight led to their stranding in Mexico have flown home to face an inquiry.

In a briefing, a top health official said that 27 had returned and were screened at the airport.

Some of the group could face stiff punishments.

Video shows a party on their charter plane without masks. Some were passing around bottles and vaping.

Their behaviour caused the airline to refuse to fly them home.

Sunwing Airlines cancelled a January 5 return trip for group of about 130 from Cancun and carriers Air Transat and Air Canada also said they would refuse to fly them.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the group’s behaviour a “slap in the face” to citizens who have been following proper social distancing measures, as well as airline workers.

In French, Trudeau referred to them as “idiots” and “barbarians”.

Canadian Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos said in a briefing on Friday: “We know that this issue of Sunwing travellers having behaved irresponsibly, inexcusably, and unacceptably on a flight to Mexico [has] raised a lot of anger and frustration.”

The 27 who have returned were tested for the virus, and “were checked with regards to whether they had obeyed and followed all of the health regulations they were supposed to follow throughout their trip”.

They had to provide proof of vaccination against COVID-19, a negative PCR test, and a quarantine plan.

Duclos said the Quebec police department was investigating the travellers.

Transport Canada is also investigating the group - they could issue fines of up to C$5000 (£2900) per offence.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

28

guyanatimesgy.com

SUNDAY, JANUARY 9, 2022

ARIES (March 21April 19)

Don’t let work-related matters drag you down. Shake off any negativity, look for positive alternatives and find the best way to reach your goal.

Channel your energy into something you love doing.

TAURUS Don’t let a change someone makes bother you. Make (April 20May 20) adjustments and move on

swiftly. Focus on inner growth, self-improvement and a healthier lifestyle. Do what makes you happy.

Listen to what others say GEMINI but, in the end, do what’s best for (MAY 28you.

Trust your intelligence and June 20) ability to ferret out the truth before you follow someone’s lead. A lifestyle tweak will pay off.

CANCER Take a moment to evalu(June 21- ate what’s going on in your July 22) life. Put your emotions aside and look at the facts. Consider what makes you happy and how you can incorporate it into your life. Live life your way.

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

VIRGO

Dilbert

(Aug. 23Sept. 22)

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)

Peanuts

Getting along with others will be half the battle today. Put your differences aside and compromise or do your own thing.

Keep the peace and give others the freedom to do as they please.

Pay attention to how you live. Feeling comfortable in your surroundings will ease stress, but before you make any changes, make sure those affected by them are on board.

Avoid hasty decisions or plans that don’t fit your budget.

Take care of your health and emotional well-being, and it will bring you peace of mind. Share your feelings with a loved one.

Broaden your horizons, try something different, explore what’s available and arrange to join forces with a loved one.

Let the past go and embrace what matters to you most.

Concentrate on home, famSAGITTARIUS ily and the things that bring (Nov. 23you joy. Avoid excessive situaDec. 21)

tions. Consider what you can do to build strength and stamina. A healthy lifestyle and fitness routine are encouraged.

Keep the peace when dealCAPRICORN ing with friends, relatives (Dec. 22and your loved ones. Making Jan. 19)

a big deal out of nothing won’t help you get your way.

Look inward. Choose peace and love over discord.

Calvin and Hobbes

Eliminate what no longer AQUARIUS works for you and replace it (Jan. 20with something that excites Feb. 19) you. Trust in your ability to find what works best for you.

Take charge instead of letting someone dictate your next move.

PISCES Dismiss an emotional hold (Feb. 20- someone has on you. Put your Mar. 20) energy where it will do some good and give you peace of mind. Do the legwork, go over details and put together documentation that will eliminate any setbacks.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 9, 2022

29

Usman Khawaja's twin tons keep Australia in control U

sman Khawaja became the new king of the SCG, achieving the stunning feat of twin centuries in an Ashes Test to put Australia in a position to keep the whitewash alive if they can take 10 England wickets on the final day.

Khawaja reached rare air in his comeback Test after being left out of the side for two-and-a-half years.

His second-innings 101 not out saw him become the third man behind Doug Walters and Ricky Ponting to score twin hundreds at the SCG, the ninth to do it in an Ashes Test and just the 10th player in Test history to score twin centuries in a Test batting at No.5 or lower.

Incredibly Khawaja's match tally of 238 runs moved him past every single England player's series tally bar Joe Root.

Cameron Green made his second-highest Test score of 74 and put on the highest partnership of the series with Khawaja, 179, to take Australia from a wobbly position at 4 for 86, to a declaration where they could set England 388 to win with a day and an hour to play.

England's maligned opening pair of Zak Crawley and Haseeb Hameed weathered another probing examination from Australia's quicks to steer the visitors safely to stumps as storm clouds engulfed the SCG. They put on their highest partnership of the series, 30, and survived 11 overs under floodlights to leave England an improbable 358 to win on the final day or 98 overs to survive, weather permitting.

Khawaja looked a class above on a surface where most players in the game have struggled. He was patient early as the pitch's uneven bounce made scoring difficult. He helped guide Green through a nervous period prior to tea as Jack Leach caused some problems with inconsistent spin and bounce.

He began after tea on 35 and then unleashed an assault on Leach and Root.

Yet again it was a combination of reverse sweeps and slog sweeps that did the damage. Two slog sweeps went 20 rows back while he cut, pulled and drove the quicks with typical elegance.

He scored 66 runs off 64 balls after tea, and soaked in a standing ovation upon reaching his century.

Green was equally destructive in the latter stag-

threw away a start, edging a half-volley from Leach on 27 to be well caught by Pope up to the stumps. Harris has four scores of 20-plus in a row, and just one half-century to show for it.

Marnus Labuschagne fell caught behind to Wood for the third time in three innings. Again, he was flashing off the back foot and again he was beaten by Wood's pace. Wood

has bowled 25 balls at Labuschagne in three innings and taken 3 for 12.

Steve Smith looked comfortable until Leach skidded one through him as he tried to play too square off the back foot and lost his middle stump. But that was the last wicket England would take for 40 overs as Khawaja and Green put them to the sword.

(ESPNcricinfo)

SCOREBOARD es of the partnership after fighting through yet another nervous start. His technique has been scrutinised throughout the series having scored 52 runs in four innings. But it was as much his mind as his technique that was tying him in knots.

He fought through a stern test of his defence from Leach and the quicks.

Consecutive boundaries off James Anderson broke the shackles. Anderson overpitched and he drove him straight, before Anderson overcorrected short and Green unfurled a brutal pull shot.

He produced two more cracking pulls off the extra pace of Mark Wood, one to bring up his half-century in fine style. He also thumped a cut forward of square off Wood and launched Leach over long-on into the crowd.

He fell unselfishly pushing for more runs prior to the declaration that oddly came three overs after Khawaja reached his century and two overs after the final drinks break.

Alex Carey was incredibly sent out to bat after Green fell skying Leach straight up. Carey was out first ball also attempting a sweep. It came off pad onto the back of the bat in his follow-through and was expertly caught by stand-in wicketkeeper Ollie Pope.

He was keeping because both Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler were off the field during Australia's entire innings, having had scans on their respective finger injuries.

Ben Stokes also didn't bowl in the innings, but fielded for all 68.5 overs.

Pope snared four catches, equalling the most by a substitute fielder in a Test, and matching Wriddhiman Saha's efforts for India as a substitute keeper at the SCG last year. Leach finished with four wickets but was denied a chance at a hat-trick when Cummins fi-

nally declared.

England's openers played well under the floodlights as the pitch appeared to play fewer tricks in the last hour after the heavy roller had been on it in the innings break.

Scott Boland did get one to leap from a length at Crawley and catch the shoulder of the bat, but it ballooned safely over the cordon.

It was a far better display of batting in the last hour of the day than what was seen in the first hour of the fourth day when Boland continued his staggering start to his Test career by claiming 4 for 36 as England were bowled out for 294 in their first innings.

Boland knocked over Jonny Bairstow for 113 with some extra bounce, feathering a nick through to Carey. That came after Jack Leach holed out with a wild slog sweep to midon off Nathan Lyon, while Stuart Broad swung lustily for 15 before skying Boland straight up to be caught by Carey. England made their second-highest total of the series, but they still have not breached 300 for the entire tour.

Australia reached 1 for 52 in their second innings after the early loss of David Warner, who edged Wood behind. But they lost 3 for 34 in a nervous 10-over period.

Marcus Harris again

AUSTRALIA 2ND INNINGS Marcus Harris c sub (OJ Pope) b Leach 27 David Warner c sub (OJ Pope) b Wood 3 Marnus Labuschagne c sub (OJ Pope) b Wood 29 Steven Smith b Leach 23 Usman Khawaja not out 101 Cameron Green c Root b Leach 74 Alex Carey †c sub (OJ Pope) b Leach 0 Extras (lb 3, w 5) 8 TOTAL (68.5 Ov, RR: 3.84) 265/6d Did not bat: Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland Fall of wickets: 1-12 (David Warner, 5.6 ov), 2-52 (Marcus Harris, 18.1 ov), 3-68 (Marnus Labuschagne, 21.4 ov), 4-86 (Steven Smith, 28.6 ov), 5-265 (Cameron Green, 68.4 ov), 6-265 (Alex Carey, 68.5 ov)

W

est Indies rookie wicketkeeper/ batsman Joshua Da Silva is eyeing a fruitful regional first-class season in the coming months to secure his place in the West Indies Test side.

The Trinidadian has described his first year as a West Indies cricketer as “up and down”, after so far scoring 445 runs in 11 Tests at an average of 24.72, with three fifties to his name.

The West Indian first-class season is expected to get underway in February, and Da Silva, speaking to the Trinidad and

Tobago Express newspaper on Thursday, expressed his desire for a big season in 2022.

“The first-class season is coming up, and I’m going to work very hard and try to score as many runs as I can, so it is not a question

of whether or not I will be in the starting eleven,” DaSilva said.

Da Silva has so far made 1317 runs in 28 first-class games, with eight fifties and one hundred, and wants to build on these numbers this season.

“I will just bat and

BOWLING James Anderson Stuart Broad Mark Wood Jack Leach Joe Root Dawid Malan

O-M-R-W 12-1-34-0 11-3-31-0 15-0-65-2 21.5-1-84-4 7-0-35-0 2-0-13-0

ENGLAND 2ND INNINGS (TARGET: 388 RUNS) Zak Crawley not out 22 Haseeb Hameed not out 8 Extras 0 TOTAL (11 Ov, RR: 2.72) 30 Yet to bat: Dawid Malan, Joe Root (c), Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler †, Mark Wood, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad, James Anderson BOWLING O-M-R-W Mitchell Starc 4-0-10-0 Pat Cummins 4-0-15-0 Scott Boland 3-1-5-0

make runs and let the selectors do their job, and given the opportunity, I will just put my best foot forward for the region,” said Da Silva.

He'll be looking to follow up on a fantastic 2019/20 West Indies Championship campaign, which saw him vault into the Test setup after scoring 507 runs from eight matches, at an average of 50.70, with one hundred and three fifties.

Those 507 runs placed Da Silva fifth on the most runs list for that season.

(Sportsmax)

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 9, 2022

Brooks stars on debut as West Indies defeat Ireland in 1st ODI

S

hamarh Brooks hit 93 on debut to lead West Indies to a 24-run victory against Ireland in the 1st ODI at Sabina Park,

Jamaica.

T h e Barbadian batsman, who made his West Indies bow along with countr yman

Justin Greaves and Jamaican Odean Smith, hit nine boundaries and three sixes in his maiden ODI innings. Brooks also featured in an explosive 155-run partnership off 136 balls with Kieron Pollard (69).

After Ireland won the toss and chose to field, vice-captain Shai Hope and debutant Justin Greaves were tasked to open the innings for the home side. The pair battled to 18-0 from 5.4 overs before Greaves was removed caught off the bowling of pacer Mark Adair for 7. Nicholas Pooran joined Hope and the pair brought the score to 36-1 after 10 overs with Hope on 17 and Pooran on five.

They reached 59-1 in the 17th over before Pooran was dismissed, caught on the boundary off the bowling of offspinner Andrew McBrine for 13.

Shai Hope was the next batsman to go, caught by wicketkeeper Lorcan Tucker off the bowling of medium-pacer Curtis Campher for 29 to leave the West Indies 59-3 early in the 18th over.

Roston Chase replaced Hope at the crease and didn’t last long, becoming McBrine’s second victim, for one, leaving the West

Indies 62-4 after 19 overs with captain Pollard joining Brooks at the crease. After 20 overs, the Caribbean side were 66-4 with Brooks on five and Pollard on one.

The same pair were at the crease when the West Indies brought up their 100 in the 27th over with Pollard on 20 and Brooks on 17.

After 30 overs, West Indies were 121-4 with Pollard on 26 and Brooks on 27.

Brooks brought up a debut ODI 50 off 61 balls in the 36th over to move the score along to 159-4. Pollard followed suit in the 37th over, hitting consecutive sixes off McBrine to bring up his 13th ODI 50 off 51 balls. With 10 overs remaining, the West Indies were 204-4 with Brooks and Pollard looking comfortable on 70 and 66, respectively. Pollard finally went for 69 off 66 balls in the 42nd over to leave the Windies 217-5.

Brooks was dismissed narrowly short of a debut hundred in the 45th over, going off the bowling of Mark Adair for 93 from 89 balls to leave the West Indies 238-6 with five overs remaining. Romario Shepherd was the seventh wicket to fall,

Campbell aiming to raise the bar on and off the stage

By Timothy Jaikarran

E

mmerson Campbell has continued to etch his name in the books, as, in December 2021, he added the title of 5x Mr Physique champion to his name at the National Seniors Bodybuilding Championship.

Campbell has said his goal is to continue raising the bar not only in bodybuilding, but he also mentioned that he is impressed with the current crop of young and upcoming bodybuilding talent.

According to Campbell his main goal for 2022 after a successful 2021 is the same goal each and every year, and that is to win and be the best version of himself. He noted that his aim is to continue raising the bar and improving in all aspects of life, not just bodybuilding.

When asked his view on being crowned 5x Men’s Physique Champion, Campbell said, “Becoming a five-time Mr. Guyana Men’s Physique Champion is a testament to the hard work and dedication that I’ve put into the sport over the last 6-7 years of my competitive life. Winning two silver medals and a bronze medal at CAC, the highest regional event, as well as winning Three Stage of Champions’ titles and a silver medal at Darcy Beckles, further underlines the fact that I am a true champion and great ambassador for our nation.

“Locally, I feel I have nothing more to prove. So, I just want to make Guyana proud on the international stage.”

Campbell explained that bodybuilding in Guyana is garnering more and more attention as more and more persons are getting involved in the sport, since there are the categories of Men’s Physique and Bikini. He mentioned that these

caught off the bowling of Craig Young in the 47th over for two to leave the score at 246-7.

More misery followed as Jason Holder went off the very next ball for 13 to leave the Windies 246-8 off 46.5 overs.

Alzarri Joseph was next to go in the 48th over for a duck to leave the score 253-9. Mark Adair was the pick of the Irish bowlers with 3-38 from his 8.5 overs and he was supported by Craig Young who recovered from an expensive start to his spell to finish with 3-56 from nine overs.

Ireland lost former captain William Porterfield for a nine-ball duck before Andy McBrine and Andy Balbirnie contributed a second-wicket stand of 61 runs.

McBrine (34) departed with an injury leaving Balbirnie to collect another 103 runs with Harry Tector. After Romario Shepherd (3 for 50) dismissed Balbirnie for 71, Ireland would their next five wickets for 29 runs.

Among the wickets to fall in a clutch was that of Tector (53), who became Smith’s first ODI wicket. Alzarri Joseph took three wickets to rip through the middle order. Smith dismissed the last batsman Josh Little for 10 to clinch a 24-run win, ending with 2 for 26 on debut in 5.1 overs. The 2nd ODI is on Tuesday at Sabina Park.

After the match Kieron Pollard | West Indies captain: It was challenging, most important thing is getting the victory. When you look at it, toss is going to play a big factor in the entire series. There’s a lot of moisture, Ireland used the conditions pretty well. We need to be aware of that and we need to be tighter and find ways to rotate the strike. That partnership with Brooks was needed. We left about 20-25 runs out there.

We lost six wickets for 64 runs.

That’s something we need to look at. The bowlers did pretty well. The pitch dried out and it was a better batting track in the second innings. The guys stuck in the there, all the bowlers were fantastic today. I had to go to my best bowlers (at 165/1) to try and get the wicket or dry up the runs and put them on the back foot.

That’s exactly what happened and they lost a couple of wickets.

It was the same trend in both the innings. We started off badly, ended up in a good position and then faltered. It was a similar trend in the way the Irish batted.

Andy Balbirnie | Ireland captain: I thought the fielding effort was pretty good. I think we could have been better with the ball and could have made them come forward more. It was a topsy turvy innings and we could not finish the game. Myself and Harry got out and that changed the game, one of us should have batted through. Not to get over the line is d i ff i c u l t to take but we have

two more games to play. There was a bit of pressure building but we were playing so nicely and I was done in by a good slower ball and it is never easy for a new batter to start. There has been a lot of distraction off the field and Andy (McBrine) took a blow, he didn’t pass his concussion test and hence we had to put in Neil Rock.

Shamarh Brooks | Player of the Match: Bit of both (happy and sad). Happy with the start we got, then lost a few wickets and I had to stitch a partnership with the skipper. For me it is about getting an opportunity, I enjoy playing the longer format but I had a good tour of Pakistan, so happy to come back here and contribute. They bowled well at the start but as things went on it got better.

SCOREBOARD WEST INDIES INNINGS (50 OVERS MAXIMUM) Shai Hope c †Tucker b Campher 29 Justin Greaves c Delany b Adair 7 Nicholas Pooran †c Porterfield b McBrine 13 Shamarh Brooks lbw b Adair 93 Roston Chase c Tector b McBrine 1 Kieron Pollard (c) c Tector b Young 69 Jason Holder c McBrine b Young 13 Romario Shepherd c Adair b Young 2 Odean Smith c Delany b Adair 18 Alzarri Joseph c McBrine b Little 0 Akeal Hosein not out 5 Extras (lb 7, w 12) 19 TOTAL (48.5 Ov, RR: 5.50, 241 Mts) 269 Fall of wickets: 1-18 (Justin Greaves, 5.5 ov), 2-59 (Nicholas Pooran, 16.5 ov), 3-59 (Shai Hope, 17.1 ov), 4-62 (Roston Chase, 18.6 ov), 5-217 (Kieron Pollard, 41.4 ov), 6-238 (Shamarh Brooks, 44.5 ov), 7-246 (Romario Shepherd, 46.4 ov), 8-246 (Jason Holder, 46.5 ov), 9-253 (Alzarri Joseph, 47.5 ov), 10269 (Odean Smith, 48.5 ov) BOWLING O-M-R-W Josh Little 10-1-46-1 Mark Adair 8.5-1-38-3 Craig Young 9-0-56-3 Curtis Campher 10-0-47-1 Andy McBrine 8-0-52-2

George Dockrell

3-0-23-0

IRELAND INNINGS (TARGET: 270 RUNS FROM 50 OVERS) William Porterfield lbw b Hosein 0 Andy Balbirnie (c) c Hope b Shepherd 71 Andy McBrine retired hurt 34 Harry Tector c Chase b Smith 53 Curtis Campher c Hope b Shepherd 6 Lorcan Tucker † b Joseph 9 George Dockrell c Holder b Joseph 30 Gareth Delany b Joseph 6 Neil Rock c Chase b Holder 5 Mark Adair not out 21 Craig Young c Pollard b Shepherd 0 Josh Little c †Pooran b Smith 0 Extras (lb 1, nb 1, w 8) 10 TOTAL (49.1 Ov, RR: 4.98) 245 Fall of wickets: 1-1 (William Porterfield, 1.5 ov), 1-62* (Andy McBrine, retired hurt), 2-165 (Andy Balbirnie, 36.1 ov), 3-173 (Harry Tector, 37.3 ov), 4-173 (Curtis Campher, 38.2 ov), 5-186 (Lorcan Tucker, 41.4 ov), 6-194 (Gareth Delany, 43.5 ov), 7-222 (Neil Rock, 46.4 ov), 8-237 (George Dockrell, 47.4 ov), 9-239 (Craig Young, 48.2 ov) BOWLING O-M-R-W Jason Holder 10-1-48-1 Akeal Hosein 10-0-35-1 Alzarri Joseph 10-0-55-3 Romario Shepherd 9-0-50-3 Odean Smith 5.1-0-26-2 Roston Chase 5-0-30-0

NSC hails Sarwan’s appointment as CWI Selector Emmerson Campbell

categories are more mainstream, and appeal to a wider audience than just hardcore bodybuilding.

Hence, he has envisioned the sport doing really well in the future, since there are a lot of young-up-and-coming talent with a lot of potential, especially in the two categories.

Campbell further enlighten this publication on the importance of sponsorship in the sport of bodybuilding. He said, “Ask any athlete, be it amateur or professional, they will tell you that sponsorship is the key that enables success. I can’t thank Bounty Farm and Jamie McDonald of Fitness Express enough for being a benefactor to me along the way. I am forever indebted with the support I have received, especially from those two entities. I would like to also thank the Ministry of Sport and the GOA, which has also lent support to me and the

bodybuilding fraternity.

“I would encourage entities to support young and talented athletes. Their sponsorship can be the vehicle to transport them to becoming successful athletes for the nation.”

In conclusion, Campbell thanked his friends, family and support system, and promised them that he would continue to raise the bar and make them proud on and off the stage.

Campbell is a two-time CAC silver and bronze medalist (El Salvador, Dominican Republic and Mexico); five-time Mr Guyana Men’s Physique Champion; three-time Stage of Champions Men’s Physique Champion; and Darcy Beckles silver medalist (Barbados). He is also a Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) and National Sports Commission (NSC) Sports Journalist of the Year, and a certified personal trainer and nutritionist.

T

he National Sports Commission (NSC) is throwing its support behind former Guyanese and West Indies Captain Ramnaresh Sarwan, who was appointed as a Selector to the West Indies Men’s Senior and Youth Selection Panels.

The panel will be led by the Most Hon. Dr. Desmond Haynes and Robert Haynes respectively.

Director of Sport, Steve Ninvalle, and Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Kashif Muhammad, apart from congratulating Sarwan, highlighted the NSC’s support for the former Windies batsman, who previously served as a Commissioner with the NSC. According to Ninvalle, the NSC is happy to see a servant of “the gentleman’s game” being elevated to such an important committee at Cricket West Indies. He added that the righthanded batsman will have the full support of the NSC, and by extension the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport.

Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Kashif Muhammad

Director of Sport, Steve Ninvalle

Sarwan’s appointment was confirmed during a meeting of the CWI Board of Directors on Thursday January 6. Muhammad reiterated that Sarwan’s appointment reaffirms the respect and esteem that the region has for the beloved Guyanese.

The former dapper player will be a member of the Men’s Senior and Youth Selection Panels until 30 June 2024, a period that includes four ICC Global Events, two T20 World

Cups (2022 & 2024), the Cricket World Cup (2023) and the World Test Championship Final (2023).

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Lady Jags Striker Annalisa Vincent wins scholarship to Graceland University G

T Panthers forward Annalisa Vincent will make history as the first Indigenous Guyanese female player to study at a US college on a four-year scholarship, which has been facilitated by the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) International Supporters Group and the GFF administration.

Vincent, a full international and most valuable player at the recently concluded GFF-Guyana National Women’s Football Association Women’s Super-16 Festival 2021, will follow in the footsteps of Lady Jags goalkeeper Natalie Nedd, who was the first player to benefit from the GFF ISG-enabled programme.

Vincent, who hails from Moruca in Region 1, will study for an undergraduate degree in accounting at Graceland University in Iowa, United States, while also representing the Graceland Yellowjackets female soccer team in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics’ Heart of America Athletic Conference.

“I am grateful for the opportunity. It’s exciting for me, as a lot of work has been put into this, and it’s finally here,” Vincent said. “For me, it’s a new journey. I would like to extend my gratitude

and thanks to the ISG, the GFF, and everyone who played a part in making this possible for me.”

GFF ISG President Rebecca Vaughan said one of the primary goals of the ISG was to provide “higher education opportunities for women footballers in Guyana.

“The hard work by the ISG team has been recognised and validated by securing a fouryear scholarship opportunity for Annalisa to attend Graceland University in Iowa,” Vaughan said.

“Annalisa, an outstanding member of the Guyana Senior Women’s National Team, will be furthering her education in accounting while playing football for the college.

The ISG has established relationships with colleges in the United States, and is currently coordinating with deserving young women from Guyana who are interested in furthering their education through sport,” she continued.

“The ISG would like to engage members of the business community within the diaspora, in partnerships along with the GFF, to support these deserving young women.”

Rising star Vincent scored her first international goal for the

Annalisa Vincent

senior Lady Jags team in a friendly against Puerto Rico in 2021. GFF President Wayne Forde said he had been extremely impressed with her consistently outstanding form, professional mindset, and commitment at both club and national level in recent years.

“I would like to congratulate Annalisa for preparing for this moment. When opportunity meets a person who is prepared, the result is success,” said GFF President Wayne Forde. “I am so

proud of Annalisa’s performances on the field of play, and I have no doubt she will excel in her studies at Graceland University. The GFF, under my administration, has always emphasised the importance of education, and we hope to see the numbers grow in this programme. This is a historic moment for the GFF, women’s football, and our hinterland communities in which Annalisa will become the first female Indigenous player to

attend college in the US under a scholarship.”

GFF Director of Women’s Programmes, Paul Beresford, said Vincent had “demonstrated an unwavering commitment to becoming a better footballer, and a fierce determination to further her education. With this next important step in her life, Annalisa has proven that hard work and perseverance will be rewarded,” Beresford said.

“She is a history-maker, and I am confident that she will represent her family, the Indigenous community, and the Guyana Senior Women’s National Team well as she begins her college career.

Her example will serve as an inspiration to all young women footballers across Guyana.”

Vincent would be a “pioneer for future Indigenous student athletes to realise their full potential”, according to Graceland University Women’s Soccer Programme Head Coach Ozzie White. “Graceland University Women’s Soccer Programme is delighted

and excited to continue the relationship with the Guyana Football Federation, and announce the signing of Annalisa Vincent to the team,” White said. “Annalisa is the first female Indigenous footballer to ever receive a four-year scholarship to a college in the United States.

She has natural ability, and so much undiscovered potential that I can’t wait to start working with Annalisa. She will succeed in the classroom and on the pitch.”

GNWFA President Andrea Johnson also congratulated Vincent on her achievements.

“This is truly an auspicious moment, not only for Annalisa, but for her parents and community,” Johnson said.

“With Annalisa being the first Amerindian female player to receive a sports scholarship in the US, I would say this is undoubtedly amazing. I know that she will do her best at Graceland University.

On behalf of the executive of the Guyana National Women’s Football Association, I extend congratulations to Annalisa.”

Guyana Harpy Eagles trials

Savory, Chanderpaul record halfGCB congratulates centuries on hard fought day

Haynes and Sarwan on CWI Selection Panel appointment

Dr Desmond Haynes

Ramnaresh Sarwan

he President, Executive and Members of the Guyana Cricket Board hereby congratulate Dr. Desmond Haynes and Mr Ramnaresh Sarwan on their respective appointments of Chairman and Selectors of CWI Senior Selection Panel. These prominent positions are befitting the two distinguished gentlemen who have served West Indies cricket with distinction.

The 65-year-old new Lead Selector Desmond Haynes played 116 Test matches, aggregated 7487 runs at an average of 42.29 with a highest score of 184. In OneDay Internationals (ODI), Haynes totalled 8648 runs at an average of 41.37, with a highest score of 152.

Ramnaresh Sarwan, now 41, has also been appointed a selector to the CWI Junior Selection Panel. He has

amassed 5842 runs from 87 Test matches at an average of 40.01 and a highest score of 291. In ODIs, Sarwan has also surpassed the 5000 runs mark, scoring 5804 at an average of 42.67, and a highest score of 120 not out. His first-class record of 13,405 runs at an average of 38.52 is clearly exceptional, and projects Sarwan as a suitable candidate for the role of Selector.

The GCB believes that both Sarwan and Haynes would rise to the occasion and select the best teams capable of competing at the international level, thereby returning West Indies Cricket to its renowned dominance of the 1980s and early 1990s.

The GCB wishes Desmond Haynes and Ramnaresh Sarwan every success in the undertaking of this important service to West Indies Cricket.

T

Singh and Johnson were the unbeaten batsmen

Kemol Savory cutting one during his fifty

Story and photos by Brandon Corlette at Albion

at the crease. Ashmead Nedd claimed 1-33 in 20 overs, while Permaul had 1-51 in 20 overs.

Earlier in the match, Johnson's XI scored 254 all out, while Paul's XI made 357 all out.

In the second innings, Johnson's XI made 170-4 as Paul's XI did not bat in the second innings.

Albert Smith, the former coach who coached Guyana to Stanford triumph in 2006, is currently playing the role of selector for Guyana senior men's team. He watched the match

K

emol Savory and Tagenarine Chanderpaul scored cautious halfcenturies on the final day of the first Guyana Harpy Eagles 4-Day trial match at Albion. Under sweltering sunshine, and in the presence of a small number of vocal spectators, the match petered out to a draw, with Leon Johnson XI ending on 170-3.

Savory struck 54 runs from 189 balls after battling for 238 minutes in an innings that included three fours and one six, while Chanderpaul constructed a 154-ball 52 with two fours and one six.

Resuming the final day on 8 without loss, trailing by 95 runs, Raymond Perez and Tagenarine Chanderpaul of Johnson's XI added nine more runs before Perez was cleaned up by Veerasammy Permaul for 10, at 17-1.

Kemol Savory and young Chanderpaul then joined forces, and the duo battled the sweltering heat at Albion in taking the score to 77-1 at lunch.

Chanderpaul was unbeaten on 33 while Savory was on 31.

The duo continued their

cautious approach, but before the tea interval, Chanderpaul and Savory had an error in judgement and both batsmen were running at the same end.

As a result, Chanderpaul was run out for a 154-ball 52, which included two fours and one six, in a 193-minute innings. The lefthanded duo had featured in a 96run partnership.

At 113-2, captain Johnson took centre stage and partnered Savory. At tea, both Savory and Johnson were unbeaten. The wicketkeeper-batsman from Essequibo was unbeaten on 51, while Johnson was on two. In the afternoon session, Savory had an adrenalin rush and was caught at long-on for a 189-ball 54 off the bowling of Ashmead Nedd. He departed with the score on 1413.

Vishal Singh joined his skipper, and the man called 'Cheezey' played some attacking shots early in his innings. The match eventually came to an end with Johnson on 32 from 94 balls, made in 112 minutes and including four boundaries, one being a sweetly timed reversesweep.

Singh was unbeaten on 11 from 36 balls in his 48 minutes

under a proverbial microscope.

This match will serve as reference to select the first Guyana Harpy Eagles team to play in the upcoming Regional 4-Day tournament in February.

The Guyana selectors will be fine tuning their selection, while the players will return to Albion on January 12 for the second of three trial matches. The final practice match is tentatively set for January 18-21 the National Stadium at Providence.

SCOREBOARD Johnson's XI 2nd Innings 170 for 3 (83.0 overs) Tagnarine Chanderpaul run out (Quintin Sampson) 52 Raymond Perez b Veerasammy Permaul 10 Kemol Savory+c Mavin Dindyal b Ashmead Nedd 54 Leon Johnson* not out 32 Vishaul Singh not out 11 Extras 9b 0lb 1w 1nb 0pen 11 Total 170for3 Bowling O-M-R-W Kemo Paul 9.0-3-20-0 Veerasammy Permaul 20.0-6-51-1 Richie Looknauth 17.0-9-26-0 Junior Sinclair 4.0-1-6-0

Qumar Torrington 6.0-2-13 Ashmead Nedd 20.0-7-33-1 Sylus Tyndall 2.0-0-6-0 Quintin Sampson 3.0-1-3-0 Kevlon Anderson 2.0-0-3-0 Batsman Fall of Wicket Partnership Batsmen Over Raymond Perez 1-17 17 Raymond Perez (10) Tagnarine Chanderpaul (5) 7.6 Tagnarine Chanderpaul 2-113 96 Tagnarine Chanderpaul (47) Kemol Savory (47) 53.1 Kemol Savory 3-141 28 Kemol Savory (7) Leon Johnson (21) 71.2

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

SUNDAY, JANUARY 9, 2022

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Campbell aiming Lady Jags Striker Annalisa to raise the bar on Vincent wins scholarship and off the stage

to Graceland University

Brooks stars on debut as West Indies defeat Ireland in 1st ODI

Guyana Harpy Eagles trials

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