Guyana Times -- Thursday, 21, 2022

Over 5000 house lots to be allocated during Building P Expo – Croal 12

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

Issue No. 5076

THE BEACON OF TRUTH THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2022

“Your conduct in and out of uniform will impact the respect others will have for you” – Pres Ali to GDF ranks Page 3

PRICE

$100 VAT INCLUDED

WHAT'S INSIDE: Free fertiliser for farmers

Tender out for $1B+ contract to supply Govt …Caricom Rice Mill, Cyril Singh Agricultural Ent among bidders P11

Region 2 man latest COVID-19 death; 114 new cases recorded

P24

…assures of Govt’s support in better salaries, housing, academic pursuits

Page 7

5 multinational firms negotiating to bring corporate HQs to Guyana …as US$100M Pegasus Suites & Conference Centre officially opened

Teachers, students narrowly escape as fire guts St George's High School

President did “most reasonable thing” in P9 appointing acting Top Cop – AG to High Court …as APNU/AFC MP moves to nullify senior Police promotions

Page 21

Snatching of Speaker’s Mace

Court has no say in Privileges Committee decision to suspend APNU/AFC MPs – AG

…as Opposition MPs move to block suspension

Former AFC Councillor, father, neighbour on trial for fisherman’s P11 murder

See stories on Pages 8 & 23

Canter driver who injured cop with brick on $400,000 bail

P10

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THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

NEWS

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THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS OPENINGS BRIDGE

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

Thursday, July 21 – 10:00h-11:00h and 23:30h-01:00h and Friday, July 22 – No further closure.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Thursday, July 21 – 10:30h-12:00h and Friday, July 22 – 11:45h-13:15h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY

There will be light rain showers during the day and into the night. Temperatures should range between 22 degrees Celsius and 29 degrees Celsius.

Winds: Northerly to West North-Westerly between 2.23 metres and 4.47 metres.

High Tide: 10:32h and 22:55h reaching maximum heights of 2.24 metres and 2.26 metres.

Low Tide: 16:25h reaching a minimum height of 1.00 metre.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2022

LOTTERY NUMBERS L

06 16 17

18 20 28

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FREE TICKET

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DAILY MILLIONS

01 04 13 23 25 LUCKY 3

3

8

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Afternoon Draw

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Evening Draw

DRAW DE LINE

01 03 10 13 17 19 21 SUPER

PAY DAY

PAY DAY

FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2022

01 06 12 14 16 13

01 05 07 15 20

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7 Afternoon Draw

3X Afternoon Draw

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

COMMODITIES Indicators

US$

Change %

Crude Oil

$106.10/barrel

-0.74

Rough Rice

$304.38 /ton $535.90/ton

-0.12 +0.04

London Sugar

Live Spot Gold

USD Per Ounce

Bid/Ask

$1692.20

$1693.30

Low/High Change

$1689.80 -4.20

$1715.90 -0.25

“Your conduct in and out of uniform will impact the respect others will have for you” – Pres Ali to GDF ranks …assures of Govt’s support in better salaries, housing, academic pursuits

C

ommander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Dr Irfaan Ali on Wednesday reminded over 60 officers during their commissioning parade that their conduct in and out of uniform would determine the respect they were given.

Some 27 ranks successfully completed the Standard Officer Course (SOC) No 53, while another 40 completed the Reserve Officer Course (ROC) No 17. They were decorated with their new badges of rank by President Ali on Wednesday afternoon during the commissioning parade at the Drill Square, Base Camp Ayanganna in Georgetown.

During his feature address, the Commanderin-Chief pointed out that since taking office, he has

read about “disturbing and unacceptable” incidents involving serving members of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).

As such, he underscored the importance of displaying qualities that could be attributed to leaders, which they would have learnt during the training courses.

“Are you ready to lead?... To lead, it is to lead by example and not only by fiat. I urge you to be mindful of the examples you set as officers. Your conduct in and out of uniform will impact on the respect and regard which others will have for you, your families and institutions which you represent. It will have bearing on your success,” the President posited.

The Head of State went on to note that discipline was the key to success in military affairs – and this could not be overemphasised. He added that personal discipline was even more vitally important, telling the ranks that if they brought disrepute to themselves, ultimately the image of the organisation they serve would be impacted.

“I urge you to be the best of examples. I urge you to be the best of leaders and to exhibit the leadership qualities that have been instilled in you; to be steadfast and strong in standing up for the principles that you would have learnt; to withstand any

President Irfaan Ali decorating ranks at the commissioning parade on Wednesday at Base Camp Ayanganna

storm that may come your way in defence of what is right, in defence of honour, in defence of dignity, and in defence of this beautiful

land we call home here – Guyana,” he implored.

According to President Ali, many before have

served not only the Force but the country outstandingly and left their mark and their print. He told the ranks that they were joining an organisation with a vision that was strategically aligned to national development priorities and whose vision was integrated into national planning.

This, he noted, is to ensure sustainable development, ensure a society in which all must prosper, ensure all live in an environment and country that is secure, and to ensure that the country which they have sworn to serve and its people would be proud and grateful to them; and would, in turn, respect them and have great pride in the work they were doing.

The Commander-inChief further indicated to

the officers in Wednesday’s commissioning parade, and all those in uniform, that they must be part of national development.

To this end, he outlined that the country, through his Government and the Armed Forces, will ensure the welfare of ranks was similarly looked after and enhanced. In fact, he noted that this was already happening with more ranks being sent regionally and internationally on a record number of training programmes over the last two years.

More benefits

President Ali assured the officers that this would continue while telling them to look forward to more benefits from his Administration.

TURN TO PAGE 7

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guyanatimesgy.com

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2022

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

Littering culture

L

ocal Government and Regional Development Minister Nigel Dharamlall had called for there to be higher prosecution rates for persons caught littering, and this is needed to curb the callous and wanton disposal of garbage that is happening in Guyana.

Littering has always been a major issue in Guyana, and, as the Minister had said, it has been a predominant source of pollution, a dereliction embedded in the culture of Guyanese; and so the call for the City Constabulary to enforce the law against litterbugs is well received and supported.

This brings us to recycling, an avenue that can help with the littering and improper disposal of garbage which Guyana has been battling for years.

Scientific research has suggested that, due to lifestyle patterns of citizens, the earth is being depleted of its resources too quickly to sustain a healthy balance. The earth’s natural resources are being consumed at a rate that reinforces the idea that we are living for today, and future generations will be paying for the consequences as a result of our lifestyle choices.

For years now, calls for citizens here to dispose of their waste in a responsible manner have fallen on deaf ears, and the issue of garbage build-up in and around the city continues to be repeated.

Governments and businesses all over are realising how serious the problem is, and are taking steps towards putting policy mechanisms in place to ensure that the environment is protected from various forms of pollution etc. Recycling, along with reducing consumption, has proven to be an effective way to counter the damage we have been doing to the earth for centuries.

A major part of recycling relates to how best we can recycle much of what we use, instead of turning it into unusable waste. For the sake of emphasis, recycling is important as a means of reducing the release of poisonous emissions into the atmosphere, and also to spare our natural resources.

Guyana has indeed taken some time to get “on board”, while many companies and individuals in other parts of the world are improving their recycling habits by coming up with more ways to reduce and recycle what they use. In essence, while there has been much talk about the need to recycle certain products, to save our environment from further damage, in a practical sense, the concept has not yet taken much root here. Only a handful of companies have shown that they are really serious about moving in this direction.

The then PPP Government had made an offer of tax-free concessions to individuals and businesses willing to invest and set up recycling plants for plastics and Styrofoam. This was viewed as a good start, and, from all indications, a few companies had expressed an interest in taking up the offer.

However, we are not certain how far those companies have actually gone ahead with actual implementation of the project’s ideas.

That being said, if we are serious about maintaining a healthy and clean environment, consumers must demand that businesses engage in practices that are more eco-friendly. For example, consumers must be encouraged to purchase from companies that manufacture more eco-friendly products.

As this newspaper had said before, as part of efforts to spread the message of recycling, a comprehensive education and public awareness campaign would have to be carried out, using every available means. Following this, the authorities should explore setting up recycling centres across the country, since it makes no sense preaching about recycling if the necessary infrastructural support system is not present.

In addition to the positive impacts on the environment, recycling brings in a lot of money for many countries.

Companies make huge sums from basically utilising the materials that would otherwise have been thrown away.

We believe there is need for lifestyle changes among our citizens, and it would be very helpful if the schools, religious organisations, and local Neighbourhood Democratic Councils and Municipalities in every region start the conversation with citizens about recycling. This should be done with the direct involvement of the decision- makers. Certainly, everyone prefers products that are manufactured in an ecofriendly manner, and wants a better, cleaner, and healthier environment.

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo on Wednesday engaged several business executives from different United States companies, who were accompanied by US Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch (Office of the Vice President photo)

Today, we need hope. But where to find it? …amid all the madness, ugliness and rage engulfing the world, humanity and hope exist

By Andrew Mitrovica

I

get mail.

A lot of that mail comes from people like you – readers.

Some readers are kind and generous. Others are not.

Readers have to make a little effort to find where to reach me since I don’t – as I have written – do Twitter or any other social media.

I’m convinced this frustrates readers who are anxious, even eager, to harangue me or worse. They get angry or offended by what I have written. Reminder to those agitated readers: columnists aren’t paid to be nice.

About a month ago I got an email from a regular reader who is, as a rule, kind and generous. That reader wrote something thoughtful that prompted me to write this column.

The reader asked me to consider penning a more “uplifting” column rather than the usual fare of madness, ugliness and rage engulfing the world.

The reader’s request made me think. That’s what some readers make you do: think.

I’m grateful to the reader.

I thought about what that reader was asking me to do and why. Hence, as I said, this column – which could turn out to be uplifting, or not.

I believe that reader, like many readers, wants to be reminded that, amid all the madness, ugliness and rage engulfing the world, humanity and hope exist.

I also believe that reader, like many readers, needs to be reminded that humanity and hope exist because, from time to time, we crave a rejuvenating respite from the madness, ugliness and rage.

Otherwise, we would sink further into resignation and despair.

And, of course, since columnists like me have all the answers and solutions for everything and everyone that causes the madness, ugliness and rage that engulf the world, who better to advise you where

and how you can find hope, in particular.

But here’s the problem: columnists like me who write column after column to fix problem after problem – big and small – appear to have all the answers and solutions. We don’t. Some columnists may be “experts” in a subject or two.

Apart from that, we’re in the same listing boat.

This fact may surprise some editors and expose the insufferable hubris and vanity of more than a few know-it-allall-the-time columnists.

Truth is, being anointed a “columnist” does not confer any columnist – however popular they are on Twitter or Substack – with a host of mythical powers to remedy the madness, ugliness and rage that engulf the world.

With that caveat, I will try to describe to that charitable reader and you – if you’re so disposed – where I find hope without succumbing to sentimentality. As for prescriptions for how to rediscover “humanity”, I best leave that ancient conundrum to artists and philosophers.

There are two ways, I think, that most people live life.

My mother lived what I would call an unaware life.

Widowed young and too busy raising seven children, my mother didn’t possess the inclination or energy to read columnists let alone pause to ponder the world’s madness, ugliness and rage despite having endured her share of it as a woman and immigrant.

She was preoccupied with her own, more pressing and taxing, troubles.

Every day, she got up and went to work to make a bit of money in a strange land to provide a life and some measure of reassuring stability for her children. Celebrations of any sort were rare. There were no holiday trips. No car. No appliances. No newspaper. No radio. No TV. No time for anything other than work, care, sleep and repeat.

It was a hard, grinding life.

The aim was to keep her listing boat – with her children in it – afloat as best she could.

Her life was an example of persistence and sacrifice.

Then, there are people like me, who have – courtesy of my mother’s accord – the time and a good dose of privilege to pay attention. Writers and columnists have to pay attention. It’s a job prerequisite.

It can be hard and grinding, too. Mind you, it’s nowhere near as hard and grinding as the work and hardship my mom braved for much of her long life.

Still, writing about the madness, ugliness and rage that engulf the world week after week can dent the mind and heart.

The humane thread that binds people who are required or compelled to pay attention to people who are obliged by circumstance or prefer by disposition to let the always-cacophonous parade go by, is hope.

I find hope, in large part, where my mother found hope.

She found hope in her children.

In family. I find hope in mine.

If you have children, you likely understand.

I know that some readers will dismiss this as Pollyanna and cliché. They are wrong.

How do I know?

This month, my two fine, accomplished daughters experienced one of the many commemorative passages of life that make joy and hope possible. They graduated. One from high school, the other from university.

Both want to help other people who need help.

The fetes marking their achievements were modest and much too brief. The unspoken dividend was a moment of bliss enjoyed – together at a table – by loved ones, including precious friends. A reminder of the “little things” that writer Kurt Vonnegut knew, with time and memory, become the “big things” that keep our listing boats afloat.

Soon, there will be oth-

er passages. Rewarding work, marriages and births. More reminders that hope and happiness are twins and often a dam against the unrelenting tide.

My brothers and sisters were my mother’s dam. Now, my daughters are mine.

Beyond family, there are human beings like Dr Izzeldin Abuelaish – a PalestinianCanadian doctor, teacher and beloved father who, like my late mother, lost his partner to cancer.

I have written several columns about Dr Abuelaish because he is the personification of hope. I am not alone in thinking this.

Anyone who has read his book, <<<I Shall Not Hate>>> – an act of remembrance that pays poignant homage to three daughters and a niece erased by Israeli tank shells on January 16, 2009 – is familiar with the humbling arc of Dr Abuelaish’s story. From a father paralysed by grief to an apostle of uncommon grace and hope.

I have had the privilege of listening to and learning from Dr Abuelaish. I have learned that madness, ugliness and rage can be overcome by understanding, compassion, and love. I have learned that anger is unsustainable and, ultimately, corrodes the soul. I have learned that charity is hope in tangible action.

It is no wonder that Dr Abuelaish has received 18 honorary doctorates from universities across the globe where he is asked, in return, to speak to young people – like my daughters – who will inherit the madness, ugliness and rage that is their elders’ sad legacy.

Dr Abuelaish doesn’t lecture. He encourages. He encourages others to do what he has done: heal people who need to be healed; forgive people who need to be forgiven; and defend hope when it seems naïve or ridiculous to defend hope.

So, dear reader – friend or foe – for what it’s worth, that is where I find hope. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

guyanatimesgy.com

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2022

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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

CEO has confronted the challenges head-on

Dear Editor, A handful of letter writers, who can be aptly described as malcontents, have written about the self-perceived ‘incompetence’ of the GuySuCo CEO, but NOT one of those writers provided an iota of evidence to support their frivolous claims; which, to say the least, are quite subjective and self-serving.

These letters are supposedly written by ‘professionals’ who are ‘experts’ at turning around an ailing entity, but all they can contribute is a plethora of ad hominem attacks on the person of the CEO, oblivious of all the new challenges which have emerged over the past year.

GuySuCo’s downward slide has been in progression for decades, and yet no one wrote about the previous CEOs - both expatriates and locals -who have presided over this progressive retrogression.

The CoI sponsored by the Coalition Government listed 41 factors which have caused the fall of sugar, and it would be edifying for these ‘sugar professionals’ to have a read. Were these ‘professionals’ blinded by the gravy they enjoyed? Why were these ‘professionals’ unable to stem the decline of the

entity?

Mr Sasenarine Singh has been at the helm for only the past year, and during that period, the challenges became more severe and debilitating due to the global pandemic and a devastating flood. At this time, the globe is reeling from the effects of the pandemic, so why should GuySuCo be an exception?

Should the CEOs of all these corporations be replaced?

Let us examine what the CEO inherited at GuySuCo. The Coalition did everything possible, during its tenure in office, to destroy sugar. The factories and fields were allowed to rot and decay, especially the closed estates, and these present another great challenge to the CEO. The great flood has destroyed 32% of the cane cultivation and severely affected the TC/TS of the industry. There is a poor turnout of labour, and rainfall has depleted the opportunity days available to plant and harvest. These are just a few of the problems.

Can the CEO be blamed for any of these uncontrollable factors?

Which of the past CEOs was involved in rehabilitation and resuscitation of a

closed estate? Which one was faced with all these challenges? This current CEO’s performance should be analysed and assessed in the light of these paralysing circumstances. All the previous CEOs had everything in their favour, and they failed miserably.

Mr Sasenarine Singh never flinched for a moment in confronting these challenges head-on. He knew the state of GuySuCo, and could have refused; but he did not. Being a professional analyst, he did forensic analysis, which provided an X-ray into the many ‘ailments’ from which GuySuCo suffered. Some of these were the corrupt procurement tactics and the poor allocation and usage of scarce resources. He immediately introduced innovative strategies which have not only cut costs, removed procurement malpractices and bottle-necks, and relocated staff to where they could perform optimally, but he introduced marketing strategies which have increased sales and revenue. It must also be mentioned that wages and salaries have been paid on a timely basis, and workers’ contentment is at an all-time high. He also specifically restructured the en-

tire management, to ensure optimum labour efficiency.

The CEO is aware that if the old status quo is allowed to thrive, the downward spiral of the Corporation would continue.

You cannot do the same thing repeatedly and hope that the results would be different. Yet there are those who feel threatened, and are opposed to the new vision for a new GuySuCo. The CEO must be given credit for sitting with these people and explaining the need for a new attitude of mind, but he was seen as the new kid on the block who knows nothing about sugar.

Unfortunately, some of these ‘professionals’ have opted to continue to do things their own way, and when confronted, they have decided to resign. This is good for both the Corporation and themselves. The new team would be given opportunity to work without egoistic and self-contrived interruptions.

The fact that these people have left instead of working with the CEO has laid bare their corrupt intentions and their lack of loyalty and commitment to the Corporation.

Had the current CEO allowed those ‘sugar professionals’ to continue in

Ramjattan continues to regurgitate shameful narratives Dear Editor, On July 19, 2022, the local media reported that AFC Leader Mr Khemraj Ramjattan, in speaking on the sugar industry, among other things, once again sought to justify, shamelessly, the former Coalition Government’s downsizing of the sugar industry. This narrative from Mr Ramjattan is not new, and is largely a regurgitation of what he and others of his ilk have said in the past.

Though it was drawn to his attention on several occasions, the erstwhile gentleman continues to see sugar from a narrow perspective.

As we and others have pointed out on several occasions, sugar has opportunities far beyond the bulk market. We note GuySuCo’s efforts on this front, which it says is bearing fruit, though we may not see eye-to-eye with the Corporation on other issues.

In advancing his rhetoric, Mr Ramjattan seems to advance a very dim view of sugar workers and their families. He charges that continuation of sugar seems to condemn the workers and their families to a poor life. This is unfortunate, given the immense contribution of sugar workers and their families.

Of course, while the AFC leader may be correct to say that sugar workers and their families have dreams of bet-

terment and improvement, didn’t he and his colleagues of the Coalition, when in office, rob them of those aspirations?

Mr Ramjattan charged that workers were being conditioned to use cutlasses as it appeared he took a derisive tone. But then it was the same person who, in collaboration with others, robbed thousands of workers of even being able to use a cutlass.

The AFC leader spoke about giving young men and women in the sugar belt opportunities to stem intergenerational poverty. This, on the surface, sounds pleasing to the ears. But alas, Mr Ramjattan should advise what actions were taken in that regard. The ILOsponsored socio-economic study that examined the lives of workers and their families after the callous closure of estates demonstrated the hardship and destitution that faced thousands of Guyanese.

We sincerely hope that Mr Ramjattan, in his quiet moments, would reflect on what closure really brought, and what it did to many persons. At this time, we are aware that some among us still advance that the industry should be forgotten. Such intentions are not altruistic, but are grounded in their innate desire to engage in all manner of speculation with

the industry’s prized land holdings. It is saddening that, in these times, there are men and women among us who are prepared to trample on thousands to satisfy

their lustful greed.

Yours faithfully, Seepaul Narine President GAWU

their old, corrupt ways, they would have sung his praise, but he instead worked feverishly to mend the broken systems and create a new attitude of mind, and for that he is being crucified by them. But crucifixion sometimes exposes the wrongs and evil intentions of those involved in the act, and not necessarily the victim.

The CEO is an ACCA graduate with years of experience in finance and management, and is suitably qualified to be the CEO of any corporation. Singh’s qualifications and experience are not about accounting and financial analysis, as some would like to believe. A man of his calibre can sit and get to the bottom of the working of any entity, ascertain the reasons for its poor performance, and implement solutions. And that he did.

The old management has failed miserably, and the first thing they must do is to come to terms with this fact, see the need for change, and then work with the CEO to

resolve these issues. Many feel that GuySuCo is their favourite stomping ground, and any newcomer who is not in line with their thinking must be forced out of the territory.

Those who are opposing the CEO must write in the press what they think the CEO is wrong about, and alternatively, how it must be done. They must also provide concrete evidence that the CEO is a corrupt individual. I am yet to see one of the persons who resigned venting their opinion in this regard. If they cannot, then they should sit and await their imagined outcomes of prognostication of doomsday for GuySuCo to materialise.

GuySuCo is on the right course, and with the backing of this Government, the entity would progress rapidly under CEO Mr Sasenarine Singh. Let us give the CEO the chance he deserves.

Yours sincerely, Name given, but withheld by request

Prudent observations Dear Editor, The apex Court drew attention to a flaw in our court system in criticising the slow handling of electoral cases, during oral arguments in the dismissed petition case.

This criticism is very pointed, and has bearing in a now-dead 2015 elections petition which never had its day in court. As alluded to by the eminent Judge, the delay in these matters constitutes a grave injustice.

In the same court hearing of the same matter, another Judge (Justice Jamadar) made the point that the constitution on election petitions should be written in language the ordinary person can understand, instead of it being couched in language which requires technical assistance. This is another prudent observation, and it should be considered.

Sincerely, Shamshun Mohamed

Thursday, July 21, 2022

06:00 06:30 07:00 08:00 08:30 09:00 10:00 11:00 11:30 12:00 14:00 14:30 15:00 16:00 16:30 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 20:30 21:00 22:00 23:00 23:30 00:00

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THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2022

Page

Foundation ◄

Subtracting fractions with like denominators To subtract fractions with like denominators, look at the numerators. Place the difference over the like denominator.

Set in box Example: Subtract Step 1: Subtract 3 - 2 = 1 Step 2: Place the difference over the like denominator.

Remember: When adding or subtracting fractions with like denominators, just work with the numerators.

You can ignore the like denominators while adding or subtracting. However, do not forget to put your total or difference over the like denominator when you have finished your calculations.

By

Exercises: Subtract fractions

And as they came to the wood where the fox first met them, it was so cool and pleasant that the two brothers said, “Let us sit down by the side of the river, and rest a while, to eat and drink.” So he said, “Yes,” and forgot the fox’s counsel, and sat down on the side of the river; and while he suspected nothing, they came behind, and threw him down the bank, and took the princess, the horse, and the bird, and went home to the king their master, and said. “All this have we won by our labour.”

Then there was great rejoicing made; but the horse would not eat, the bird would not sing, and the princess wept.

The youngest son fell to the bottom of the river’s bed: luckily it was nearly dry, but his bones were almost broken, and the bank was so steep that he could

the

Brothers Grimm

find no way to get out. Then the old fox came once more, and scolded him for not following his advice; otherwise no evil would have befallen him: “Yet,” said he, “I cannot leave you here, so lay hold of my tail and hold fast.” Then he pulled him out of the river, and said to him, as he got upon the bank, “Your brothers have set watch to kill you, if they find you in

CONTINUED FROM WEDNESDAY

the kingdom.” So he dressed himself as a poor man, and came secretly to the king’s court, and was scarcely within the doors when the horse began to eat, and the bird to sing, and princess left off weeping. Then he went to the king, and told him all his brothers” roguery; and they were seized and punished, and he had the princess given to him again; and after the king’s death he was heir to his kingdom.

A long while after, he went to walk one day in the wood, and the old fox met him, and besought him with tears in his eyes to kill him, and cut off his head and feet. And at last he did so, and in a moment the fox was changed into a man, and turned out to be the brother of the princess, who had been lost a great many, many years.

The End

WORD SEARCH

obert

NEWS

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THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

5 multinational firms negotiating to bring corporate HQs to Guyana …as US$100M Pegasus Suites & Conference Centre is officially opened

P

resident Dr Irfaan Ali, who attended the ceremony for the official opening of the US$100 million Pegasus Suites and Conference Center, has revealed that the Government is currently in talks with at least five multinational corporations who are interested in bringing their corporate headquarters to Guyana.

In his address to those gathered at the opening on Wednesday, President Ali noted that investors are looking in from the outside and seeing Guyana in all its investment potential, such as the five companies who want to bring their headquarters here.

“People are looking and listening. They read our newspapers, they listen to conversation, and they make business decisions. As I speak to you, we have at least five huge multi-nationals operating in the region that are actively considering bringing their headquarters to Guyana.

“These are no longer dreams; these are things that

Chairman of the Pegasus Hotel, Robert Badal

are actively in the pipeline.

Once those type of decisions are made, these types of investments become more and more justified,” President Ali explained.

Ali issued a call for the people to be unified. He noted that Guyana is on an upward trajectory, and persons must be more patriotic in how they speak about the country. He affirmed that, in his own way, he would continue to reach out and build bridges for a One Guyana.

“This investment should

be an inspiration to the naysayers. Perseverance; commitment to a cause and a vision; generation of ideas; embracing those ideas; and believing that it can happen and will happen are traits that are not easily earned.

Unfortunately, you cannot be a naysayer and have these traits,” President Ali said.

According to Ali, the Government is focused on pushing eco-tourism. He noted that while Guyana does not have white sand and blue waters, the country is close

“Your conduct in and out of...

FROM PAGE 3

“I urge you never to stop, never to give up – make use of the opportunities that are before you, continue on your academic pathway.

Build a strong and academic future – not only for this institution but for yourselves and your families. I want to assure you that as your Commander-in-Chief, I would lead the charge in the coming years, the dignity, the honour and pride that comes with this uniform will be upheld in a way in which your welfare, your salaries would reflect the honour which you truly deserve.

“The leadership of the Guyana Defence Force, the Guyana Police Force, the Guyana Fire Service and even the Guyana Prison Service and I, we’ve been working on a strategic plan that must see all of you comfortable. We will support you in your aspirations of owning your own homes, we will support in your aspirations of achieving academic excellence, we will support you in advancing your lives. All we ask of you is to be the best you can be and to be true patriots and to be true representation of the dignity that comes with

the uniform that you carry,” the Head of State posited.

The commissioning activities for SOC 53 and ROC 17 commenced on Tuesday with a church service at Base Camp Ayanganna and ended with the commissioning parade during which the participants were presented with their new badges of rank – the Officers’ Star.

In addition to decorating the ranks with their new badges, the Commanderin-Chief also presented awards to the officers who were outstanding during the two courses.

President Dr Irfaan Ali addressing the gathering at the opening of the Pegasus Suites and Conference Centre

to a country that does have these attributes. He noted that Guyana needs a product mix that can appeal to those who want to go to the beach.

President Ali noted that the Administration is working on launching a night safari which would utilise Guyana’s natural rainforest.

He said that activity would be the first of its kind in the region. “It is these types of transformational projects that will make the difference,” he said, as he urged members of the Private Sector to put their heads together and come up with a solution for sustainable air travel options that are not at the mercy of price fluctuations during on-peak and offpeak seasons.

Difficult project

Chairman of the Pegasus

Hotel, Robert Badal, the man behind the Pegasus Suites and Conference Center, in his address, described the project as one of the most difficult projects he has ever undertaken.

The difficulty in bringing it to fruition ranged from the complexity of the engineering and implementing systems, which meet American and European building codes, to the issues he faced with procurement, due to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Badal has been full of praise for the President’s vision of where he wants Guyana to go. According to Badal, this project was conceptualised based on the direction Guyana is going, and the President’s vision.

“It’s a direct reaction to the vision of our President,

Dr. Ali, in his quest to bring about transformational change, not only in the oil sector, but also in the housing (and) agricultural sectors. And that vision he has taken very actively on both the national and international stages,” Badal said.

“And we must be thankful for that, because what it has created is a new wave of optimism in Guyana, where every week we see a new hotel being launched, every month somebody coming in to prospect and see what they can do in Guyana. So, we applaud the leadership of the President.”

The 12-storey building contains 100 executive suites. The development brings Pegasus Hotel’s total room inventory to 230, containing room ranging from standard to deluxe. (G3)

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Snatching of Speaker’s Mace

Court has no say in Privileges Committee decision to suspend APNU/AFC MPs – AG …Parliament has exclusive jurisdiction to discipline members

T

he recent recommendation by the parliamentary Privileges Committee for eight A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) parliamentarians to be suspended has been met with reports that a legal challenge would be mounted.

However, Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall, SC, has said that in such a case there would be no right of appeal for the appellants to approach the courts over a decision that was made in the confines of the National Assembly. According to him, in such a case the courts have no jurisdiction.

The decision of the Privileges Committee was one of the examples that Nandlall used, during his oral submissions in the consolidated case of AG v Monica Thomas, Brennan Nurse and 12 others, and Bharrat Jagdeo v Thomas, Nurse and 12 others that is before the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). “(Article) 133 of our Constitution, the drafters recognise the very principle I’m referring to. By exempting from the operation of that article, matters that fall under Article 163 where an appeal to the Court of Appeal shall lie as a right from de-

File photo: A scene during the infamous Mace grab of December 29, 2021

cisions of the High Court in the following cases. And they list the cases,” Nandlall said.

“Final decision in criminal proceedings and questions as to the interpretation of the Constitution, one can very well argue that this case involves an interpretation of an article of the Constitution. Article 133 (2) says very clearly that nothing in paragraph 1 shall apply to matters in which provision is made by Article 163. And that is in keeping with the policy of the statutory code.”

According to Nandlall, the Court of Appeal Act cannot be invoked in a case whereby the Constitution only grants jurisdiction to the court to hear cases that were decided on their merits, in the same way the Constitution does not grant the court jurisdiction to hear

a case where Parliament has the exclusive jurisdiction to act.

“Our National Assembly, quite recently, heard a privileges motion and made a determination thereof. Now that is not a jurisdiction that Parliament handed to the court. Parliament kept that jurisdiction.”

“And Parliament, in the exercise of that jurisdiction, made a pronouncement via that Privileges Committee. It is unthinkable for one to suggest that the Court of Appeal Act can be invoked to file an appeal against a decision of that Privileges Committee,” Nandlall also said.

Suspension

Last week, the parliamentary Committee of Privileges has recommended the suspension of eight APNU/AFC Members of

Parliament (MPs) who participated in the infamous Mace grab and disruptions of the National Assembly sitting on December 29, 2021.

The Committee was tasked with considering a privileges motion which stated that the eight Opposition MPs attempted to prevent the second and third readings of the Natural Resource Fund Bill No 20 of 2021, conducted themselves in a gross, disorderly, contumacious, and disrespectful manner, and repeatedly ignored the authority of the Assembly and that of the Speaker, thereby committing contempt and breaches of privileges.

The eight MPs in question are: Opposition Chief Whip Christopher Jones, Ganesh Mahipaul, Sherod Duncan, Natasha SinghLewis, Annette Ferguson, Vinceroy Jordan, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley, and Maureen Philadelphia.

After seeking an extension to its one-month timeline to consider the violations committed by the members, the Committee finally completed the report and submitted it to be laid in the National Assembly for debate. The next sitting is slated for Thursday, July 21.

According to the report, the Committee’s findings were based on video recordings, statements by staff of the Parliament Office and the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, eyewitness accounts by other Members of the House, media reporters, and the public, both locally and internationally.

Additionally, each Opposition Member was written to and asked to “show cause” why sanctions should not be meted out to them. Their responses were received and considered by the Committee.

To this end, the Committee determined the appropriate sanction available for the National Assembly to impose is suspension from service in the House. As a result, the Privileges Committee recommended that MPs Jones, Mahipaul, Duncan and Singh-Lewis be suspended for four consecutive sittings each.

Recommendation was also made for MPs Ferguson and Jordan to be suspended for six consecutive sittings each. Meanwhile, a similar recommendation of suspension for six consecutive sittings was made against MP Sarabo-Halley.

In addition, MP Philadelphia is also facing a suspension recommendation for six consecutive sittings over her severe and egregious violations, whereby she “verbally assaulted a staff of the Parliament Office within the precincts of the National Assembly”. (G3)

Planning...

O

…for a roiled climate

ver in Europe, they’re having a “long, hot summer” in more ways than one. The phrase was used in 1960s America, when the ghettoes exploded into violence, looting and mayhem at the drop of a match.

Today, the US is still a seething cauldron of violence, but has now added weekly mass shootings on top of the old ghetto riots. But it’s Europe that’s taken centre stage, as temperatures shot past 104*F and brushfires swept Italy and Spain. We’d gotten used to that being another US phenomenon out of California. And, of course, the Ukraine War proceeds apace, with Russia continuing its shelling of Odessa and the West increasing arms’ shipments to Ukraine!! Oooooh! Your Eyewitness can just see the arms’ merchants rubbing their hands with glee!!

So exactly what’s going on?? It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Climate Change is kicking in – and kicking a55es in the process!! In case you missed it because you were under attack at some Skeng “concert”, our unending rainfall - reminiscent of the deluge that caused Noah to build that ark – is OUR sign that Climate Change is here, and REAL! Our war is signalled by the protests over in Suriname that some in the Opposition have been desperately hitting their flints together to get that spark over here.

Your Eyewitness really worries that we aren’t taking these two sources of heat – one from the natural world and the other from the social world – seriously enough.

Look at all the hotels going up…are their owners being warned that, in a couple of decades, they could all literally become not just Atlantic “beachfront properties” – but BEACHES!??! Maybe a “climate change” tax ought to be imposed to help defray the cost of keeping out the Atlantic?? Those sea walls, rip-rap structures and boulders don’t come cheap!!

But, most of all, we better get going with that new Silica City which the President announced a year ago would be established. Your Eyewitness has said this before, and he’ll keep on saying it till someone listens – LET’S GET IT ON!!! Cause the old people say, “Who na lissen guh feel!!” and he has no intention of feeling the Atlantic battering his deteriorating body!! We should start by moving all the Government Ministries and a new Parliament Building to Silica City – like Brazil did with Brasilia back in the sixties.

Leaders are supposed to be leading by example, and what better way than by our leaders in Government showing the way to our future capital? Yes…we should go the whole hog and make Silica City our administrative capital. It’ll be like the US, where New York’s the economic capital and Washington’s the political capital.

Gotta hedge our bets!! …a roiled politics Protests in Suriname have encouraged some in the Opposition, in their year-old efforts to overthrow the PPP Government - which they insist is an “illegal, imposed cabal”!! That the Surinamese are concerned about the rising cost of living (inflation) makes them assume Guyanese would follow suit. Two reasons show they’re having a pipe dream - as in smoking some ganja pipe!!

Firstly, the entire world’s facing this threat – proving it can’t be laid at the feet of any one national Government!!

Secondly, and more to the point, the economic and political situations confronting the Santokhi Government are completely different from ours. Our macro-economic fundamentals are absolutely different from Suriname’s.

For instance, their growth rate’s a mere 1.5%, while ours is 47% - with over 5% from the non-oil economy. Meaning that more money’s being generated from local job-creating companies. More to the point, Bouterse left a Government that provides 53% employment in the country!! They’ve also defaulted on their Debt, and in an IMF programme!!

Guyana’s the opposite!! …in Sri Lanka The Sri Lanka Parliament just elected a new President – a fells who was the PM, and has been one five times before. So, the bridesmaid’s finally become the bride?

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

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

NEWS

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President did “most reasonable thing” in appointing acting Top Cop – AG to High Court …as APNU/AFC MP moves to nullify senior Police promotions

“W

hat should President [Dr Irfaan Ali] do when the office he is to consult is vacant?”

This was among the many questions asked by Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC, on Wednesday as he defended the President’s appointment of Clifton Hicken to act in the office of Commissioner of Police.

The Government’s main legal advisor was at the time presenting arguments in the challenge to the President’s decision brought by Opposition Chief Whip Christopher Jones. Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George, SC, will render her ruling on the legality of the President’s decision on August 11 at 13:30h.

In the absence of an Opposition Leader with whom the Head of State is constitutionally required to consult on the appointment, Nandlall contended that President Ali made a “judgement call” and did the “most reasonable thing” when he went ahead with appointing Hicken to act in the highest office in the Guyana Police Force (GPF) – the country’s premier law enforcement agency.

Jones of the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) wants Justice George to declare Hicken’s appointment unlawful as well as the recent

Roysdale Forde, SC

promotion of several senior Police Officers, on the ground that the Head of State violated Articles 211 (1) and 211 (2) of the Constitution when he failed to “meaningfully consult” with the Opposition Leader.

Article 211 (1) mandates that “the Commissioner of Police and every Deputy Commissioner of Police shall be appointed by the President acting after meaningful consultation with the Leader of the Opposition and the Chairperson of the Police Service Commission [PSC] after the Chairperson has consulted with the other members of the Commission”.

At the time of Hicken’s appointment on March 30, the office of the Leader of the Opposition remained va-

cant following the resignation of Joseph Harmon on January 26. Aubrey Norton was appointed Leader of the Opposition on April 13. Then on May 31, the President appointed a four-member PSC, inclusive of a Chairman.

They are Attorney-at-Law Mark Conway, businessmen Ernesto Choo-a-Fat and Hakeem Mohammed (members) and Patrick Findlay (Chairman).

Nandlall reasoned that the vacancy which existed in the office of the Leader of the Opposition was in no way occasioned by the President nor the public, but rather through acts or omissions of the APNU/ AFC coalition.

To leave the office of the Police Commissioner vacant any longer in light of the uncertainty of when a new Opposition Leader would have been appointed would have been a gross dereliction of constitutional duties on the part of the President which would have undermined and jeopardised the public’s interest, national security, public order, the rule of law, and the territorial integrity of Guyana, the Attorney General argued.

Assuming but not admitting that a breach of the Constitution occurred, Nandlall submitted that he was pleading the defence of the doctrine of necessity, which according to him, would justi-

Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George, SC

Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC

Commissioner of Police (ag), Clifton Hicken

fy a departure from what is required by the Constitution.

of Police, Nigel Hoppie only “performed the functions of Commissioner of Police”.

This evidence, he argued, also establishes that Hoppie could have been asked to defer proceeding on retirement leave or an officer appointed to perform the functions of the office of Commissioner of Police until the office of the Leader of the Opposition was filled and the PSC was reconstituted.

Forde said that the security minister’s pleadings failed to provide any evidence of a state of affairs in the country that could have constituted an emergency or crisis and failed to provide any rational basis for the decision by the President to appoint Hicken in the view of the unchallenged evidence that after James proceeded on pre-re-

tirement leave, Hoppie performed the duties of the office of Commissioner of Police for over one year until he proceeded on pre-retirement leave.

As such, he took issue with the President appointing Hicken “to act”, submitting that the Constitution makes provisions for the President to appoint someone to “perform the functions” of the office of the Commissioner of Police in the absence of an Opposition Leader and PSC as was done previously.

Given that Hicken is the most senior functionary in the Police Force and having regard to his experience and the ranks he has held over the years, Nandlall questioned how can the President’s decision be faulted, adding that “he certainly did not act ultra TURN TO PAGE 24 vires”.

Failed to establish

Jones’s lawyer, Roysdale Forde, SC, however, advanced that Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn’s Affidavit in Defence failed to establish the invocation of the doctrine of necessity.

For context, Benn had contended that “not once in that 183-year history [of the Guyana Police Force] has there been a vacuum in the office of Commissioner of Police”.

But, according to Forde, this overlooks the fact that for the period after the retirement of Commissioner of Police, Leslie James, there was no person appointed to the office of Commissioner of Police as Deputy Commissioner

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Canter driver who injured cop with brick on $400,000 bail

T

he canter truck driver who pelted a Policeman with a brick while resisting arrest was on Wednesday slapped with a felonious wounding charge.

Daniel Singh, called “Anand”, a 22-year-old labourer appeared before Magistrate Zamina Ali Seepersaud at the Leonora Magistrate's Court.

It is alleged that he injured 33-year-old Lance Corporal Rickland Edmundson on July 16 at Anna Catherina, West Coast Demerara (WCD).

He was released on $400,000 bail and the case was adjourned to August 17, 2022.

Reports are that the Policeman was hospitalised after he was hit with the brick to the eye by the driver, who drove away after he was stopped by the rank.

Charged: Daniel Singh, called “Anand”

It is alleged that Edmundson, who is stationed at the Dem Amstel Police Station, WCD, was performing traffic duties when the incident occurred on Saturday about 18:15h at Anna Catherina.

Reports are that the cop was on traffic patrol

duty in the vicinity of Anna Catherina when he observed the driver of a white motor canter, GDD 5340, acting in a suspicious manner.

As a result, the cop stopped the canter and asked the driver, whose name was given as Daniel Singh, to produce his licence and other relevant documents.

The driver allegedly drove away and Edmondson gave chase on his motorcycle. The canter truck driver stopped at his residence in Anna Catherina and as the cop attempted to arrest him, the driver’s father and sister held onto the Policeman.

It is alleged that Singh picked up a piece of brick and threw it toward the officer, hitting him in his right eye and causing him injury.

Soon after, the family reportedly went into their house and locked the door.

Edmondson was then taken by ranks of the Police Anti-Crime Patrol to the Leonora Cottage Hospital, where he was seen and examined by a doctor on duty.

He was then transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital. He has since been taken to the St Joseph Mercy Hospital where a CT scan was done, and he was admitted as a patient in the male surgical ward. The suspect was arrested and remains in custody pending charges.

NEWS

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Free fertiliser for farmers

Tender out for $1B+ contract to supply Govt …Caricom Rice Mill, Cyril Singh Agricultural Ent among bidders

T

wo months after President Dr Irfaan Ali had announced that his Government would purchase $1 billion worth of fertiliser to distribute to farmers across various regions, the tender for that project is out, and has already attracted a number of bids.

The bids for this tender, which is seeking a company to supply 5000 metric tons of granular urea fertiliser, were opened at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) this week.

According to the tender,

the fertiliser would be distributed in Regions One (BarimaWaini), Two (PomeroonSupenaam), Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), Four (Demerara-Mahaica), Five (Mahaica/Berbice) and Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

Among the bidders, Caricom Rice Mill Limited entered a bid of $1.1 billion and Dax Contracting Services entered a bid of $1.2 billion.

Cyril Singh Agricultural Enterprise Incorporated had a bid price of $495 million.

Meanwhile Rayaadul Hakh Rice Industries bid in Regions One, Two, Three, Four, Five

Former AFC Councillor, father, neighbour on trial for fisherman’s murder

Murder accused: Rean Ghani, Mandy Sukhdeo, and Surendra Sukhdeo

T

he trial of Surendra Sukhdeo, his daughter Mandy Sukhdeo and their neighbour Rean Ghani, who are accused of the Valentine’s Day 2017 murder of 22-year-old fisherman Shereffudeen Nazamudeen of Ruby, East Bank Essequibo (EBE), will commence next Monday before Justice Jo-Ann Barlow in the Demerara High Court.

The three accused were on Wednesday indicted for Nazamudeen’s murder by State Prosecutors, but they have pleaded not guilty. They are being represented by a legal team led by Attorney-at-Law Nigel Hughes, while the State is being represented

by Legal Counsels Latifah Elliot, Marisa Edwards and Simran Gajraj.

At the time of this alleged killing, Mandy Sukhdeo had been an Alliance For Change (AFC) Councillor who had reportedly claimed that she had been confronted by Nazamudeen, who had snatched her bag and attempted to escape. She had raised an alarm, and residents in the neighbourhood had pursued Nazamudeen.

Reports are that he was caught in the ruins of a house. According to reports,

Dead: Shereffudeen Nazamudeen

he was tied up and beaten by the woman, her father, and their neighbour. Following the beating, the man had suffered severe injuries to his body, and had been taken to the Leonora Cottage Hospital, where he subsequently succumbed. Three pieces of wood, suspected to be the murder weapons, were recovered from the scene by detectives.

The woman and her father were immediately arrested, while Ghani was apprehended the following day, after he was allegedly implicated by neighbours. (G1)

and Six. In May, President Dr Irfaan Ali had announced several measures aimed at cushioning the effects of the rising cost of living, among which are the purchase of the fertiliser as well as $25,000 cash grants for households in riverine and hinterland communities.

Support is being provided to these two groups, since they have been severely affected by the cost-of-living increases which resulted from the global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine-Russia war.

According to President Ali, the fertiliser would aid farmers in their planting and replanting activities.

“The second measure I wish to look at is fertiliser support to farmers. In or-

der to cushion the impact of the rising cost of fertiliser on farmers, and to limit the pass-through to food prices, my Government will be purchasing one billion dollars’ worth of fertiliser for free distribution to farmers, for use in planting and replanting activities,” he had said.

According to the President, this initiative is being done “considering that fertiliser accounts for between 15 to 30 per cent of the total operating cost for farmers. This initiative will significantly reduce input cost, and help ensure scaled- up production and adequate supply of output, which is critical to maintaining price stability.”

During a visit with farmers in Region Six, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo

had revealed that a 20-member committee has already been formed to determine how the fertiliser would be procured and distributed among the farmers.

The Vice President has said that establishment of the committee would ensure the equitable distribution of the fertiliser, and prevent attempts by persons who do not qualify for the support from depriving those in need.

Explaining that Government had set aside the $1 billion in fertiliser support for the country following consultations with farmers, the Vice President had told the farmers that even though the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Government had removed the 14 per cent tax that was placed on fertiliser by the former

A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government, the prices continue to climb due to the rise in oil prices.

“So, every time crude oil goes up, the price of fertiliser and everything else goes up; and oil prices have moved from $28 in 2015 per barrel of crude oil to $120 per barrel, so it’s a steep climb… It’s largely been because of the war in Ukraine,” the VP had explained.

A prevalent issue for many Guyanese in recent times has been increases in the prices of food items. The high cost of fertiliser has been cited as a contributing factor to the major increases in local food prices. Guyana imports most, if not all, of its fertilisers for the agriculture sector. (G3)

Building

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THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Over 5000 house lots to be allocated during Building Expo – Croal

…says preparations on track for Friday’s opening

T

he Housing and Water Ministry will be allocating over 5000 house lots under the “Dream Realised” initiative during this weekend’s highly-anticipated International Building Expo 2022.

This is according to Housing Minister Collin Croal during an interview with Guyana Times on Wednesday at the National Stadium tarmac in Providence, East Bank Demerara (EBD), which is buzzing with preparatory works ahead of the three-day event.

According to Croal, the Ministry’s Brickdam office has been packed over the past few days since these beneficiaries were called in to uplift their approval letters so that when they turn up at the Stadium, the land allocation process could be seamless.

“Throughout Saturday and Sunday, we have the “Dream Realised” land allocation exercise and in that exercise, we have over 5000 lots that would be allocated.”

“Such persons have been called in and they have uplifted their letters. They would be bringing that letter here, so we will have a smooth flow of the process,” the Housing Minister explained.

This allocation exercise, mostly for lots along the EBD

Work ongoing at the National Stadium tarmac for this weekend’s International Building Expo 2022

corridor, would be done at the north-eastern end of the Stadium’s tarmac.

Minister Croal noted that these 5000 house lots fall under the Ministry’s quota of distributing 14,000 lots this year. He added that similar distribution exercises would be carried out in other regions across the country soon.

Preparations on track

The Housing Minister made these remarks while giving an update on the final works ongoing at the National Stadium tarmac ahead of Friday’s opening ceremony of the International Building Expo 2022, which will be held under the theme: “A New Frontier for Building a One Guyana.”

With more than 350 participants, both local and for-

eign, preparations are moving apace for the return of International Building Expo.

The three-day event will see a wide variety of products and services on display catering mostly for construction and home-building.

“We’re very much on track with preparations for this Friday. We’re extremely pleased with where we’re at now… Most of the exhibitors are currently doing their labelling and preparing their respective spaces.

“All the booths have gone.

So, we’re glad about that and that will tell you about the response and interest. We have over 350 booths that have been booked and paid for. By and large, we’re ready. We’re putting in the final touches in terms of preparation,” he noted.

Croal disclosed that of the 350 participants, at least 25 are foreign companies including some from the Caribbean – Suriname, St Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados along with others from the United States, Canada, and Ghana.

There will also be several new technologies and innovations on display at the Building Expo including the 3-D printing of a house that will be done over the course of the exhibition.

Additionally, several model houses – from both the State and Private Sector – have been constructed at the site.

“There are a number of model houses on display – mostly local – and those include three models from us at the Ministry and Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA). We have the model house that being done for Barbados [by a private Guyanese company] and we have another local company that has another design house on display. So, we have options, but in all of this is innovation and new technology, and this is what this Building Expo will bring to you,” Croal noted.

Meanwhile, during the course of the Expo, there will be several events ongoing

Housing Minister Collin Croal

such as seminars on a variety of topics and the land allocation exercise.

Minister Croal further pointed out that the threeday event would be family-oriented with various activities and attractions for everyone.

“One can come to experience the One Guyana area.

You can have your picture taken and enjoy the nice ambiance… We have the ‘Guyana Avenue’ where one can relax when they finish walking… To the further southern end would be the food court as well the play park area, because we’re encouraging families so you can bring the kids too because there’s a little thing for everyone aside from the serious business,” he said.

In addition, one of the new features that will be on display during the ex-

hibition is a theatre that will be showing an artistic impression of the future of Guyana, showcasing the many infrastructural projects in the pipeline to be executed.

“So one can have a seat in the theatre area, where there will be a surprise video playing and so you can experience this Guyana – that will take you onto 2030. So,… there is a soft side too of the exhibition and not just the exhibitors,” Minister Croal stressed.

Friday’s opening ceremony will be open to all members of the public from 17:00h to 20:00h after which an entry fee of $300 per person will be charged until 23:00h. This will also be the entrance fee for Saturday and Sunday for which the gates will be opened from 10:00h to 23:00h. (G8)

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21 Teachers, students narrowly escape as fire guts St George's High School NEWS

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2022| GUYANATIMESGY.COM

“Any school that is destroyed by anything is an extremely big blow…this is a secondary school in the middle of Georgetown, it’s going to affect a large number of persons; it is extremely saddening to watch. We are seeing a better retention rate from the students coming in because of the various pathways…” – Education Minister

S

ers got here, we did what we call a 360 and surrounded the fire scene, and thus we were able to bring it under control,” he continued.

The fire that destroyed the St George’s High School

cores of teachers and students on Wednesday afternoon escaped injury after a fire engulfed and gutted the St George's High School on North Road in Georgetown.

The wooden-and-concrete structure was destroyed by an out-of-control fire that was

Ministry is currently looking for accommodation for the students and teachers.

“Any school that is destroyed by anything is an extremely big blow…this is a secondary school in the middle of Georgetown, it’s going to affect a large number of persons; it is extremely sad-

Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn, along with Education Minister Priya Manickchand and Chief Education Officer Marcel Hutson, at the scene of the fire

later brought under control by the Guyana Fire Service after some time had been spent in battling the fire.

According to the emergency services, when they arrived on the scene, they found the historic building fully ablaze.

A teacher of the school told <<Guyana Times>> that she was about to start a class with first formers when they were alerted by the cleaner that smoke was emanating from the Social Studies room.

After the class had exited the building, the fire began spreading quickly, and soon engulfed the upper floor of the two-storey wooden building. As a result of the blaze, 421 students and their teachers are now displaced.

Education Minister Priya Manickchand has said the

dening to watch. We are seeing a better retention rate from the students coming in

because of the various pathways…space is an issue in

and around Georgetown, and this is quite heartbreaking,” she said.

One of the oldest schools Meanwhile, Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn, who was also on the scene, said the school that was destroyed was built in 1800, and is one of the oldest schools in the country, if it is not the oldest school in the country.

“It would be one of the oldest schools in the country in terms of the building.

It would have been related to the St George’s Cathedral itself”, he said.

Meanwhile, Fire Chief Gregory Wickham has said an earlier call to the Fire Service could have saved the building. He said it was not until the building was fully enveloped by the inferno that the Fire Service was called to the scene.

“We got this call at 13:25h.

Immediately after getting this call, five tenders were dispatched to the scene: two

from the Central Fire Station, one from West Ruimveldt, one from Alberttown and one from Camp. As fire fighting continued, we added yet another truck, that is Water Carrier One that came all the way from Golden Grove to lend assistance to firefighting,” he explained.

“Immediately after getting the call, officers would have looked through the eastern windows of our building and lots of smoke and fire was seen in the air; so, we can tell that the fire started long before we received the call.

However, when the firefight-

“We wouldn’t say they had any much difficulty, except that we got the call late. If we would have gotten the call earlier, we would have been

able to save this building, because the Fire Station is just a minute or 2 minutes away,” he explained.

TURN TO PAGE 22

22 NEWS

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Teachers, students narrowly escape...

FROM PAGE 21

Emotional

An onlooker who was at the scene, Judy Daff, told Guyana Times that she was brought beyond tears as she watched her childhood school go up in flames. “I am very sad about this, because this is the primary school I attended for years. This is a very good school, with good history. We had very good headmistresses, headmasters, and teachers… any competition we always got first… all of that was burned up in there. All of our certificates, trophies, and everything we did as children were burned up in there…I am hurt,” she confessed.

Meanwhile, another past student has said: “I am 64 years old, and I went to this school. You cannot imagine how painful it is to watch all my childhood memories go up in flames. I am on the Alumni Committee, and anything this school have I try to be a part of. Only Thursday, we were in there having a meeting, and now everything is gone”.

This is the third school to have been devoured by fire in the last year. In June last year, the teaching block which housed all the classrooms at the North Ruimveldt Multilateral Secondary School, located on Mandela Avenue, Georgetown, was completely destroyed by a massive fire.

The school was burned shortly after a smart classroom which cost millions was commissioned there. This was

the first smart classroom to have been commissioned in the country.

Past student Judy Daff

That fire had also left 512 students and 39 teachers displaced, while 65 students of that 512 were scheduled to write the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination.

Even as that devastating fire struck the school just nine days before the 2021 examinations, the Ministry of Education put in place systems to ensure that the students had the opportuni-

ty to write the exams in the school’s auditorium.

This decision by the Ministry came after consultation with parents and students of the school, who requested that the examination be done in the auditorium.

Systems were also put in place to house the students of Grades Seven to 11 in several other sections of the school which were retrofitted by the Ministry.

One year later, the Education Ministry sent out bids for the reconstruction of several sections of the North Ruimveldt Multilateral School that was gutted by that massive fire.

The reconstruction of the school is expected to provide a more stable arrangement for the students of Grades Seven to 11, as well as boost the resources at the school, as the three laboratories that were destroyed in the fire are slated to be rebuilt.

(LaWanda McAllister)

NEWS

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THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2022| GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Snatching of Speaker’s Mace…

8 APNU/AFC MPs move to court over recommended suspension

Opposition Chief Whip Christopher Jones

Annette Ferguson

Ganesh Mahipaul

Vinceroy Jordan

Tabitha Sarabo-Halley

Maureen Philadelphia

Natasha Singh-Lewis

Sherod Duncan

The Parliamentary Committee of Privileges has recommended the suspension of eight Opposition MPs for violating Standing Orders and established customs and practices regarding acceptable behaviour of Parliamentarians

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ight APNU/AFC Members of Parliament (MPs) have moved to the High Court over a recommendation by the Parliamentary Committee of Privileges for them to be suspended for participating in the infamous grabbing of the Speaker’s Mace and disruptions of the National Assembly sitting on December 29, 2021.

Those Opposition MPs are: Chief Whip Christopher Jones, Ganesh Mahipaul, Sherod Duncan, Natasha SinghLewis, Annette Ferguson, Vinceroy Jordan, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley and Maureen Philadelphia.

The applicants, led by Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton, filed the action on Wednesday at the Demerara High Court. Against Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC; House Speaker Manzoor Nadir; and Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs, they are seeking a declaration that the report of the Parliamentary Committee of Privileges is unconstitutional, null, void, and of no legal effect; and is a breach of the principles of natural justice, as their rights, as guaranteed under Article 144 (8) of the Constitution, have been infringed.

Further, they are seeking an order suspending any decision, resolution, or other determination made by the House to suspend them; and a further order that they be allowed to perform their duties until they have been afforded the right to be heard before the Parliamentary Sessional Select Committee of Privileges, pending the hearing and determination of their Fixed Date Application (FDA).

According to the Committee’s report, its recommendations were based on video recordings, statements by staff of the Parliament Office and the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), eyewitness accounts by other Members of the House, media reporters, and the public, both

locally and internationally.

Additionally, each Opposition Member was written to and asked to “show cause” why sanctions should not be meted out to them. Their responses were received and considered by the Committee.

With these on hand, the Committee “found that the named MPs were in violation of the Standing Orders, established Customs and Practices regarding acceptable behaviour of Members in the Assembly.”

It therefore determined that the appropriate sanction available for the National Assembly to impose is suspension from service in the House.

Notwithstanding, the applicants, in legal documents seen by this publication, contend that they are “unaware of any act of ours on the day in question falling in the category of gross disorderly conduct, contempt, and breaches of privileges, and that to the best of [their] recollection, on the day in question, our posture was no different from all other Members of Parliament who were present…”

According to them, they had specifically requested that the Committee of Privileges identify to them the Standing Orders or privileges they supposedly violated, as this was essential if they were to effectively exercise the opportunity to show cause.

They complained that at no time were they invited to appear before the Committee of Privileges to be allowed a hearing, nor were they told of what action of theirs violated established customs and practices regarding acceptable behaviour of MPs. The parliamentarians argue that the report of the Committee of Privileges would be a published record that would forever inevitably affect their character and reputation. They argued that any suspension would further hinder them from representing the people who elected them to sit in the National

Assembly, and would also prevent Mahipaul from functioning as a member of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

The applicants, inter alia, contend that “any suspension will deprive [them] of their full salaries and of the opportunity to be representatives of the National Assembly and people of Guyana at national, regional, and international forums.”

Further, they submitted that their likely suspension is part and parcel of an unconstitutional scheme and/or device by the Government to utilise its majority in the National Assembly to silence and to reduce the numbers of sitting Parliamentary Opposition Members of Parliament.

This action was filed on their behalf by Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde and Attorney Khemraj Ramjattan, who are both Opposition MPs, and

by Attorney-at-Law Selwyn Pieters.

Privilege Motion

The Committee of Privileges was tasked with considering a Privilege Motion which stated that the eight Opposition Members, in attempting to prevent the second and third readings of the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) Bill No 20 of 2021, conducted themselves in a gross, disorderly, contumacious and disrespectful manner, and repeatedly ignored the authority of the National Assembly and that of the Speaker, thereby committing contempt and breaches of privileges.

After seeking an extension to its one-month timeline to consider the violations committed by the members, the Committee finally completed the report and submitted it to be laid in the National Assembly for debate today.

Recommendations

The Privileges Committee recommended that Jones, Mahipaul, Duncan and SinghLewis be each suspended for four consecutive sittings for attempting to prevent the sec-

ond and third readings of the NRF Bill, and for conducting themselves in a gross, disorderly, contumacious and disrespectful manner, and repeatedly ignoring the authority of the Assembly and that of the Speaker, and thereby committing contempt and breaches of privileges.

A recommendation has also been made for MPs Ferguson and Jordan to each be suspended for six consecutive sittings for a similar offence. However,

A tug-of-war between APNU/AFC MPs and Parliament Staff after the Opposition Parliamentarians stole the Mace from Speaker Manzoor Nadir in December 2021

their suspension was higher, since the Committee concurred that they had committed “serious violations which were severe and egregious by unauthorisedly removing the Parliamentary Mace from its rightful position in a disorderly fashion, causing damage to the Mace, injuring and assaulting a staff of the Parliament Office, while attempting to remove the Mace from the Chamber”.

Meanwhile, a similar recommendation of suspension for six consecutive sittings has been made against SaraboHalley, whose violations were found to be “severe and egregious with regard to unauthorisedly entering the communication control room of the ACCC and destroying several pieces of audio-visual equipment, being public property”.

MP Philadelphia is also facing a suspension recommendation for six consecutive sittings over her severe and egregious violations, whereby she “verbally assaulted a staff of the Parliament Office with-

in the precincts of the National Assembly”.

The Privileges Committee is chaired by the House Speaker, and its members comprise both Government and Opposition MPs. Representing Government are: Prime Minister Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips; Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC; Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Minister Gail Teixeira; Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Charles Ramson; and Attorney-at-Law Sanjeev Datadin.

On the side of the APNU/ AFC Opposition are: Khemraj Ramjattan; Roysdale Forde, SC; Geeta Chandan-Edmond, and David A Patterson.

It is understood that the Opposition Members did not participate in the last three of the five Committee meetings. Hence, the other members, including the Chairman, went ahead and concluded the report with the recommendations for the suspension of the eight Opposition MPs in question. (G1)

24 NEWS Region 2 man latest COVID-19 death; 114 new cases recorded THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

…persons with flu-like symptoms urged to take COVID tests – Dr Anthony

A

nother person who tested positive for the novel coronavirus has died, according to the Health Ministry on Wednesday.

The latest fatality is a 68-year-old male from Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), who died on July 18.

Consequently, the total number of deaths from the pandemic in Guyana has increased to 1268.

Meanwhile, another 114 persons have tested positive for COVID-19 within a 24hour period, bringing confirmed cases in the country up to 69,172.

However, only 908 of these are currently active cases, comprising three patients in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and the remaining persons in isolation – 874 in home isolation and the other 31 in institutional isolation. There is also one person in institutional quarantine.

So far, some 66,996 persons have recovered from the life-threatening virus – 121 more recoveries than the figure reported the previous day.

Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Guyana over two years ago, a total of 671,885 tests have been conducted countrywide, returning positive results for 31,721 males and 37, 451 females.

New cases

Of the 114 new cases recorded on Wednesday, six were from Region One (Barima-Waini), two from Pomeroon-Supenaam; nine from Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara); a whopping 70 from Region Four (DemeraraMahaica); five from Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice); eight from Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), five from Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni) and the remaining nine cases from Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).

There were no new cases recorded in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) and Region 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice) within the 24-hour reporting period.

After a prolonged period of declining cases, the Guyana Government, back in March, removed most restrictions as the country moves to recover from the pandemic and return to normalcy.

But in recent weeks, there has been another spike in COVID cases here, which health authorities have attributed to the presence of the BA.5 – a contagious subvariant of the rapidly-spreading Omicron strain.

As a result, persons are being urged to get vaccinat-

ed, and those who qualify to get their booster shots as an added layer of protection against COVID-19.

The latest figures show that some 444, 604, or 86.7 per cent, of the adult population have received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine while 344,337, or 67.1 per cent, have received two doses.

For adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17, approximately 35, 262, or 48.3 per cent, have received a first dose vaccine while 25, 805, or 35.4 per cent, have received a second dose. In the five to 11 age group, some 5324 have had their first doses – 5.2 per cent, with 0.9 per cent (876) returning for their second shots.

So far, nearly 70, 349 booster shots have been administered.

Get tested

With cases on a rising trajectory, Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony is encouraging persons who are experiencing flu-like symptoms to get tested for COVID-19.

During Wednesday’s COVID-19 update, the Minister explained that the disease has recently started to present with more flu-like symptoms than previously, leaving many persons thinking they have the common flu, rather than COVID-19.

GUYANA COVID-19 DASHBOARD JULY 20, 2022 UPDATE

NUMBER OF NEW CASES

114

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL ISOLATION NUMBER OF PERSONS IN HOME ISOLATION

31 874

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN COVID-19 ICU

3

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL QUARANTINE

1

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (FEMALES)

37,451

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (MALES)

31,721

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES IN GUYANA SINCE 2020

69,172

NUMBER OF RECOVERED CASES

66,996

TOTAL 1st DOSE VACCINATED FULLY IMMUNISED

REGION 1

2663

REGION 2

3042

REGION 3

8550

REGION 4

34,416

REGION 5

2524

REGION 6

6640

REGION 7

2560

REGION 8

886

REGION 9

4241

REGION 10

3650

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

442,087 341,687

TOTAL NUMBER OF DEATHS

DISTRIBUTION OF TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES SINCE MARCH 2020

1268

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.

“There’s lots of people who might be infected, to them it looks like a flu but if they go and do the test, it probably is COVID, because the presentation, now you see a lot of flu-like symptoms, so unless you test you wouldn’t know if you have COVID,” he explained.

The Minister continued to lament that a lot of persons have not only been hesitant to take the vaccines but are complacent as well.

“But I think a lot of people are very complacent, a lot of people feel that they don’t need to get vaccinated and therefore, it’s not so much hesitancy now as complacency, so I think that is a major challenge,” he noted.

Minister Anthony also urged persons to not take vaccination lightly as cases have recently risen globally.

The World Health Organisation (WHO), as recent as Tuesday, reported that the number of COVID-19 cases has tripled and hospitalisation rates doubled globally with the emergence of the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants.

“So, they have a tripling of cases globally and you have a doubling of hospitalisation, so it is not something that we should treat lightly… One way of avoiding severe infection is through vaccination, and I think we have to reinforce that message so that our population can understand that. So, now is not the time to be complacent if more than six months have gone by since last COVID shot, then you’re eligible for a

booster,” Dr Anthony stated.

According to WHO’s recent figures, some 562,672,324 confirmed cases were reported globally along with 6,367,793 deaths.

In the Region of the Americas, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases

has increased to 167,538,303 while the death toll has gone up to 2,776,862.

As it relates to vaccination against COVID-19, WHO also reported that a total of 12,166,921,655 doses have been administered worldwide.

President did “most...

FROM PAGE 9

If Hicken’s appointment is found to be unlawful, the Attorney General told the Chief Justice (ag) that she would be required to make an order in accordance with the de facto officer doctrine to bring legality to everything done by the acting Commissioner of Police, including the promotion of several senior Police ranks.

Forde rejected Nandlall’s position, arguing, “It is further submitted that the de facto officer doctrine cannot be applied where its application would result in the overriding of constitutional values, policies, rights, and principles.

It cannot be seriously contended that an appointment in breach of Articles 211 (1) and (2) for want of meaningful consultation can result in [Hicken’s] actions being given constitutional validity, for the exercise of the powers and duties attendant to the office of Commissioner of Police to which he was purportedly appointed, all flow from the Constitution.”

He further submitted that President Ali was required to act only in accordance with Articles 8 and 211 (1) and (2) of the Constitution to appoint

an acting Commissioner of Police and that the President’s decision to appoint Hicken without any meaningful consultation whatsoever as required rendered his decision unconstitutional, null, and void. The Attorney General, however, maintained that the President’s decision was constitutional and a matter of executive policy.

Consultations halted

Following the appointment of Opposition Leader Norton and the PSC, President Ali commenced a process of meaningful consultation with the Opposition Leader to appoint Hicken to act in the post. Those consultations were halted last week after Nandlall gave an undertaking to the acting Chief Justice before whom Norton’s application for an order staying any process of meaningful consultation, came up.

Norton had sought the order pending a ruling on an application in which he asked the court for an interpretation of the term “meaningful consultation” as well as his challenge to the President’s appointment of the PSC and Integrity Commission. (G1)

NEWS

25

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Outdated public health laws to be reformed C onsultations to develop more updated and futuristic health laws got underway at Duke Lodge on Wednesday as Guyana prepares to reform its public health laws to bring them in line with international standards.

The country’s current Public Health Law has been in existence since 1934, and is considered outdated.

Speaking at the consultations, Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony noted the importance of having this piece of legislation modernised.

“The world has evolved and we have better understanding of many of these diseases, we have better ways of treating them and, therefore, we must apply these modern techniques for us to make sure that we’re all in sync with the science that we have before us. And that’s very important, so we have legislation that is real-

ly outdated and we need this legislation to function in a modern world, so we have to update it,” he said.

However, this will not be the only act to be updated in the coming years according to Dr Anthony, who related that they have now embarked on a process to update all outdated or inefficient health-affiliated legislation.

These laws, the Minister said, will not only be updated to include the knowledge and technologies in today’s world but will also be more focused on human rights.

“It’s not only the gap with dealing with disease but also with rights, because people’s context of patient rights back then was totally different from patient rights today,” he explained. “…look at mental health, for example; the legislation contemplated that mental health patients were a danger to the society and, there-

Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony with participants at the consultations

fore, you needed to put laws in place that protect the society and basically you disenfranchise the patients…. and a lot of people ended up in institutional isolation where they should [not] have necessarily been in the first place, because they needed treatment and care and they could have gotten

that from the community or closer to home.”

“But when you review the legislations, a lot of the legislations are like this and that is what we are attempting to fix today,” he explained.

To update these laws, Minister Anthony stated that they have been looking at international best practices and better legislation from around the world.

“We are not coming with any preconceived notion

that this is how it must be, we are borrowing from best practices from around the world and in areas where there are better legislation, more updated legislation in the Caribbean and in the Commonwealth, we’re looking at those, but we have to devise legislation that are going to suit our unique situations,” Dr Anthony stressed.

“So, while we might be able to look at practices that other countries have and

how they would have addressed particular challenges, we also have to tailor that or customise it to suit our unique needs.”

Meanwhile, the Minister stated that updating the health legislation would have some effect on other sectors in Guyana that also have outdated legislation.

“In this part, particular piece of legislation, it is really a cross-cutting piece of legislation that would have impact on almost every sector in our country and, therefore, what we are trying to do is to have different chapters that address some of these things and modernise our legislation to meet the needs. I suspect the outdated legislations that we have in health, we also have some of that type of legislation in the other sectors, so as we do this one for health…it would also be very keen to have your participation and make sure that we’re able to get the nuances from your sector adequately address [ed] … with this piece of legislation,” he added.

Excel Guyana is 1st Guyanese company to achieve IMS certification More improvements for Guyana Prison Service – Benn

H

Director of Prisons Nicklon Elliot, along with the team of researchers on the project

Some of the staff of Excel Guyana at the celebratory reception

E

xcel Guyana has become the first local business to earned its Integrated Management Systems (IMS) Certification from SGS, the world’s leading International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) certification company.

This was after the implementation of three ISO systems including the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System, the ISO 45001:2018 Occupational Health and Safety Management System, and the ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management Systems.

During the presentation, Excel’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Kris Sammy revealed that the firm has signed multiple agreements with foreign companies that have made the Local Content strategy an important foundation of its operations in Guyana. He praised President Dr Irfaan Ali and the Government for enacting the Local Content law and for creating an investment-friendly climate for local and international investors.

“We are working closely with local entrepreneurs and micro businesses as sub-contractors to Excel that may not have the access to provide services directly to international companies.

As we align services for our clients, we proactively look to our Guyanese partners in support of One Guyana.”

Sammy said.

Meanwhile, Excel’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), Michael Smith shared, “Over the past year, Excel’s Procurement Division has signed more than 20 distribution and supply chain agreements direct with manufacturers for more than 3000 industrial items needed in the daily operations of the oil & gas, mining and agriculture sectors. Our Integrated Management System and ISO standards will ensure we continue to provide world-class service to all our stakeholders.”

On Saturday, Excel’s Recruiting Division will host a career fair at the Georgetown Club for more than 200 new jobs that are coming online in the mining sector. Excel’s VP of Client

Services and Recruitment, Ewan Shanks commented, “Our team is forecasting an additional 1500 new jobs will be created in the mining sector within the next two years in addition to the new job creation in the oil & gas sector.”

During a celebratory reception, more than 200 persons including Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir, along with Deputy Speaker Lenox Shuman; Guyana Office for Investments (GOInvest) CEO, Dr Peter Ramsaroop,; European Ambassador, Dr Fernando Ponz Cantó; National Security Adviser, Captain Gerry Gouveia; Private Sector Commission (PSC) Chairman Paul Cheong; Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) President Timothy Tucker and Retired Major General Norman McLean joined with the company to celebrate its success.

The IMS Certification is valid for three years and surveillance audits will be conducted within that period.

ome Affairs Minister Robeson Benn said works were ongoing to remove the undesirous norms that have been brought forward from colonial times and this generation should remain steadfast.

He was at the time speaking during an academic presentation on the presence of mental, neurological, and substance abuse disorders in Guyana’s jails among prison officers and inmates.

The event, which was held at the Herdmanston Lodge, Georgetown, was hosted by the University of Leicester (UOL), England, and the University of Guyana (UG).

Benn noted that the historical realities that linger in the current-day Guyana Prison Service (GPS) should not be surprising. He also noted that although many improvements have been made in the prisons, much more were underway for the GPS. Meanwhile, the collaboration between UG, UOL, and the GPS was a fouryear project that was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council’s Global

Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) that sought to research and write what the team called a “useable history” on the presence of mental, neurological, and substance abuse disorders in Guyana’s jails among prison officers and inmates.

The team of interdisciplinary researchers was directed by Principal Investigator Professor Clare Anderson from the UOL and local direction was given by Dr Melissa Ifill from UG. The project, “Mental, Neurological, and Substance Abuse Disorders in Guyana’s Jails, 1825 to the Present Day”, researched the definition, extent, experience, and treatment of mental, neurological, and substance abuse (MNS) disorders in Guyana’s jails – both among inmates and the prison officers who work with them.

The project had two main aims: to model a new interdisciplinary way of working and to produce academic and practical materials on mental health, cognitive impairment, and addiction among prisoners and prison officers. And that it did.

The presenters reflected on the historical, social, and

cultural elements of prisons and proved true the hypothesis that the existence of MNS disorders could be traced back to the British colonial period, and they could not be disconnected from the country’s history as a sugar colony that employed and controlled Indigenous people, enslaved Africans and indentured Indian labourers.

During their conclusion, the presenters summarised four focused recommendations to support the revolutionisation of the GPS into a corrective and positively reformative environment for both officers and inmates.

Only last year, Prisons Director Nickolas Elliot announced that some rogue prison officers were contributing to a worrying trend of contraband smuggling into Guyana’s penal institutions. Scores of prison officers were also sacked for smuggling drugs along with contraband into the prisons.

As such, the Director said the officers, along with visitors and prisoners, would be closely monitored to eradicate this issue. (G9)

26

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2022

guyanatimesgy.com

Regional

Ciro Gomes kicks off South American Mercosur Brazil’s presidential race bloc, Singapore conclude with 1st official candidacy trade pact talks

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iro Gomes, a leftof-centre former Governor, kicked off Brazil’s presidential election season on Wednesday, becoming the first candidate to officially announce his candidacy for the October 2 vote.

Gomes, 64, presented himself as an alternative to the polarised choice of farright incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro or Workers Party leader and former two-term President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is leading in opinion polls.

Gomes, who is running third in most surveys with single-digit support, called Bolsonaro “incompetent” and said he was elected in 2018 by an electorate tired of 14 years of leftist govern-

Former State Governor Ciro Gomes attends the launching ceremony of his candidacy for Brazil’s presidential election for the Democratic Labour Party, in Brasilia, Brazil, July 20, 2022 (Reuters/Adriano Machado)

ment by Lula’s party.

“Lula and Bolsonaro

want to turn this into an election devoid of debate and ideas,” he said in a speech at the headquarters of the Democratic Labour Party (PDT).

The two could only offer the country a left-right polarisation fed by personal accusation, but had no proposals to pull Brazil from economic and political crisis, the former Governor of Ceara state said.

A Gomes Government would “save” Statecontrolled oil company Petrobras (PETR4.SA) from being privatised, abolish presidential re-election, and do away with a constitutionally-mandated fiscal spending cap which, he said, favoured Brazil’s financial elite. (Excerpt from Reuters)

S

outh American trade bloc Mercosur on Wednesday concluded talks on a trade pact with Singapore, Brazil’s Economy and Foreign Affairs Ministries said.

The agreement – finalised during a meeting attended by the Mercosur bloc of countries, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay, in Paraguay but not yet signed – addresses a variety of tariff and regulatory issues.

It also establishes commitments on financial ser-

vices and on the transit of people between the countries.

The pact, which follows one struck earlier this year between Singapore and the Pacific Alliance of Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Chile, could increase Brazil’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 28.1 billion reais (US$5.14 billion) between 2022 and 2041, said the Economy Ministry.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said in 2019 that he hoped Mercosur would

strike deals with Singapore, as well as Canada and South Korea.

Investments by Singapore in the country could be boosted by 11.1 billion reais by 2041, while Brazil’s exports to the Asian country could grow by 21.2 billion reais, the Ministry said.

The agreement will be submitted to legal evaluation and will be signed at a later date.

(US$1 = 5.4714 reais) (Excerpt from Reuters)

Pesticide made us sterile, banana workers say

El Salvador gangs: State of T Emergency extended again

E

l Salvador’s Government has extended a controversial State of Emergency by another month for a fourth time.

The special measures were declared in March to combat rampant gang violence.

Since then, 46,000 people have been arrested on suspicion of belonging to gangs in the country of 6.5 million people.

Human rights groups say the measures, which allow Police to arrest suspects without warrants, have led

to arbitrary detentions. But the Government argues they have made the country safer.

One local rights group says dozens of people have died while in detention.

The extension passed by 67 votes in favour and 15 against in the legislative assembly, where allies of President Nayib Bukele are in the majority.

The State of Emergency was first declared on March 27 after a particularly violent weekend during which 87 people were killed.

It was originally meant to last for 30 days, but has since

been extended four times and will now be in force for an extra month until late August.

Under the emergency measures, certain constitutional rights such as the right to assembly have been curtailed and the security forces have been given more leeway to carry out arrests.

The sentences for gang membership have also been increased.

Human rights groups say among those arrested during the State of Emergency are children who do not have any links to gangs.(Excerpt from BBC News)

Protests and street blockades against soaring prices persist in Panama

Demonstrators taking part in a protest to demand the Government steps in to curb inflation, lower fuel and food prices, in Panama City [File: Erick Marciscano/Reuters]

H

undreds of people took to the streets of Panama on Wednesday to protest the Government’s failed efforts to stem the rising cost of living, among other demands.

Across the Central American nation, protesters blocked roads and stopped trucks from delivering food, a pressure tactic that has

been increasingly used since protests broke out two weeks ago as inflation accelerated to 5.2 per cent in the year through June.

“The situation is critical,” said Humberto Montero, a member of the Veraguenses Educators Association, which has sought, along with other organisations, to reach an agreement with the

Government.

Protesters are also demanding the Government curb public spending, apart from new investments in health and education, and bring a halt to corruption.

The blockades are now leading to shortages, particularly of agricultural products, in the capital Panama City.

Since the beginning of the protests, President Laurentino Cortizo’s Government, which implemented austerity measures and froze gasoline and diesel prices, has unsuccessfully tried to reach an agreement with protesters.

On Tuesday, Panamanian Police fired tear gas on protesters blocking road access in the country’s west on Tuesday.

“If the Police continue with repression, the dialogue will be affected,” Montero said. (Excerpt from Reuters)

ens of thousands of former banana workers say they were made sterile by a pesticide used by US companies on plantations in Latin America in the 1970s.

The United States restricted and then banned its use on the US mainland because of the health risks, but workers in Central America and South America continued to be exposed to it.

Isabel Coba Mojica was 16 years old when he got a job on a banana plantation in Panama’s Chiriquí province.

When he started working at the plantation in 1967, it was run by a subsidiary of the US fruit giant United Fruit Company, which has since changed its name to Chiquita Brands International.

Coba was hoping to start a family with his girlfriend, but she did not fall pregnant. Eventually the couple split up and he met another woman, but his new partner also failed to conceive.

Three years into his 25 years at the plantation,

Isabel Coba and his wife Delvia have not been able to have children

Coba sought medical advice.

The doctor tested his sperm and told him that he could not have children.

“I couldn’t believe it. I went crazy, I didn’t think it was worth going on living. I felt sadness and loss,” he recalls.

Coba was not the only banana worker to experience medical problems.

Rafael Martínez González worked on two different banana plantations run by United Fruit in Panama.

Three years after starting work, Martínez’s wife had a miscarriage when she was six months pregnant.

The couple never conceived another baby.

Across Panama, there are more than 1100 former banana workers who say that a pesticide used by United Fruit on the plantations made them sterile.

The pesticide, called Di-bromochloropropane or DBCP, targets microscopic worms that damaged banana plants. But it can also affect men’s fertility.

Martínez thinks not enough precautions were taken when the pesticide – which had several brand names including Fumazone – was sprayed. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Trinidad: 8 Police officers charged with murder

E

ight Police Officers were remanded into custody on Tuesday after they appeared before a Port of Spain Magistrate charged with the 2020 murders of three men in Second Caledonia, Morvant on the outskirts of the capital.

The matter was adjourned to August 16, 2022.

The officers – Sergeant Joseph Solomon, 44, with 22 years’ service; Corporal Charles Budri, 55, with 34 years’ service; and Constables Sherwin Baptiste, Mark Lewis, Vaughn St Cyr, Jameel Mohammed, Colin Furlonge and Shawn Lord appeared virtually before Magistrate Brian Dabideen ages rang-

ing from 39 to 41 years with nine to 19 years’ service.

They were charged on Monday night with the murders of Joel Jacob, 38; Noel Diamond, 46; and Israel Moses Clinton, 27, on June 27, 2020.

The seven accused stood side by side dressed casually and answered when the Magistrate called their names and raised their hands. The officers, who were last assigned to the Inter-Agency Task Force, were part of a team of 18 officers who intercepted a vehicle and allegedly murdered the three men who were reportedly unarmed and had surrendered.

The incident was cap-

tured on CCTV footage and shared on social media shortly after the incident.

It also sparked widespread protests for three days as people demanded justice and a thorough investigation.

The Police Complaints Authority had completed its investigation in the matter and referred its findings to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Prominent Attorney Israel Khan, SC, is leading a battery of lawyers representing five of the Police Officers, while the others are being represented by Attorneys Sheldon Maicoo, John Heath, and Wade Ceballo. (CMC)

guyanatimesgy.com

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2022

27

Around the World

OILNEWS OIL NEWS Oil falls on lacklustre US summer gasoline demand

O

il prices slipped on Wednesday, after US Government data showed lower gasoline demand during the peak summer driving season and as interest rate hikes by central banks to fight inflation fed fears the economy could slow, cutting energy demand.

Prices pared losses during the session after TC Energy said the Keystone pipeline, one of Canada's major oil export arteries, was operating at reduced rates for a third day. Repairs continued on a third-party power facility in South Dakota, prompting concerns about tighter supplies.

Brent crude prices for September fell 43 US cents to settle at US$106.92 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for August fell US$1.96 to settle at US$102.26 a barrel. The WTI contract expires on Wednesday.

The more active September WTI contract settled at US$99.88 a barrel, down 86 US cents.

US gasoline inventories rose 3.5 million barrels last week, Government data showed, far exceeding analysts' forecasts in a Reuters poll for a 71,000-barrel rise.

Product supplied of gasoline – a proxy for demand – was about 8.5 million barrels per day, or about 7.6 per cent lower than the same time a year ago, the data showed.

Americans were shocked in June as pump prices climbed to a record of over US$5 per gallon. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Russia declares expanded war goals beyond Ukraine's Donbas

R

ussian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that Moscow's military "tasks" in Ukraine now went beyond the eastern Donbas region, in the clearest acknowledgment yet that it has expanded its war goals.

In an interview with State media nearly five months after Russia's invasion, the Foreign Minister also said peace talks made no sense at the moment, because Western Governments were leaning on Ukraine to fight rather than negotiate.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister retorted that Russia wanted "blood, not talks".

When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, President Vladimir Putin explicitly denied any inten-

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after a bilateral meeting at the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, July 8, 2022 (Reuters/Willy Kurniawan)

tion of occupying his neighbour. He said then that his aim was to demilitarise and "denazify" Ukraine – a state-

C

dition of anonymity. They said China began circulating it among diplomatic missions in Geneva from late June and asked countries to sign it to show their support.

"The assessment (on Xinjiang), if published, will intensify politicisation and bloc confrontation in the area of human rights, undermine the credibility of the OHCHR (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights), and harm the cooperation between OHCHR and member states," the letter said, referring to Bachelet's office.

"We strongly urge Madame High Commissioner not to publish such an assessment."

Liu Yuyin, a spokesperson for China's diplomatic mission in Geneva, did not say whether the letter had been sent or respond to questions about its contents.

Liu said that nearly 100 countries had recently expressed their support to China on Xinjiang-related issues "and their objection to interference in China's internal affairs under the pretext of human rights". (Excerpt from Reuters)

well beyond the Donbas that Russia has wholly or partly seized.

"This process is continuing logically and persistently."

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba responded: "By confessing dreams to grab more Ukrainian land, (the) Russian Foreign Minister proves that Russia rejects diplomacy and focuses on war and terror. Russians want blood, not talks."

Lavrov said Russia might need to push even deeper if the West, out of "impotent rage" or desire to aggravate the situation further, kept pumping Ukraine with long-range weapons such as the US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS). (Excerpt from Reuters)

Wildfires rage in Greece, Spain, and Italy as heatwave moves across Europe

W

ildfires are raging across Europe, where a heatwave

has intensified drought conditions.

Though temperatures

China seeks to stop Protesters reject new UN Rights Chief from Sri Lankan leader releasing Xinjiang report – document hina is asking the United Nations human rights chief to bury a highly-anticipated report on human rights violations in Xinjiang, according to a Chinese letter seen

by Reuters and confirmed by diplomats from three countries who received it.

United Nations High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet has faced severe criticism from civil society for being too soft on China during a May visit and has since said she will refrain from seeking a second term for personal reasons.

But before she leaves at the end of August, she has pledged to publish a report into the western Chinese region of Xinjiang. Rights groups accuse Beijing of abuses against Xinjiang's Uyghur inhabitants, including the mass use of forced labour in internment camps.

China has vigorously denied the allegations.

The letter authored by China expressed "grave concern" about the Xinjiang report and aims to halt its release, said four sources – the three diplomats and a rights expert who all spoke on con-

ment dismissed by Kyiv and the West as a pretext for an imperial-style war of expansion.

But Lavrov said geographical realities had changed since Russian and Ukrainian negotiators held peace talks in Turkey in late March that failed to produce any breakthrough.

At that time, he said, the focus was on the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), self-styled breakaway entities in eastern Ukraine from which Russia has said it aims to drive out Ukrainian Government forces.

"Now the geography is different, it's far from being just the DPR and LPR, it's also Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions and a number of other territories," he said, referring to areas

A protester waves a Sri Lankan flag during a protest against newly elected President Ranil Wickremesinghe, amid the country's economic crisis in Colombo, Sri Lanka [Adnan Abidi/Reuters]

A

nti-Government protesters have returned to the streets of Sri Lanka’s capital and say they will continue their weeks-long uprising after Parliament voted in acting leader Ranil Wickremesinghe as the country’s new President.

Hundreds of protesters gathered at the GotaGoGama site in Colombo on Wednesday, where only last week they had celebrated Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s resignation as President.

Addressing the crowds, protest leaders refused to accept six-time Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, 73, as the new Head of State, holding him partly responsible for the country’s unprecedented economic and political crisis.

“As you know, the Parliament elected a new President today, but that

President is not new to us, it is not the people’s mandate,” Wasantha Mudalige, the leader of Inter University Student Federation, told the crowds.

“We managed to kick out Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who secured 6.9 million votes, but Ranil Wickremesinghe has now secured that seat from the back seat,” he added. “Ranil isn’t our president … the people’s mandate is on the streets.”

Protesters have also accused Wickremesinghe of making deals with the powerful Rajapaksa family to outmanoeuvre political rivals. Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s appointments of Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister in May and then acting President after he fled the country in July further angered protesters, who want the country’s ruling elite to go. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

have cooled in France and the United Kingdom, firefighters are still tackling blazes in Greece, Spain, and Italy.

The fires in France's badly hit south-west have started to be brought under control.

And as the heatwave moves north-east, low water levels are hampering transport on rivers in Germany.

Heatwaves have become more frequent, more intense, and last longer because of human-induced climate change. The world has already warmed by about 1.1 degrees Celsius since the industrial era began and temperatures will keep

rising unless Governments around the world make steep cuts to emissions.

More than 1000 deaths have been linked to the extremely high temperatures in Portugal while in Spain it is at least 500.

In Greece, firefighters were tackling a blaze on Mount Penteli, to the northeast of the capital Athens.

Hundreds of people have been evacuated from surrounding areas, including eastern Gerakas, which is home to nearly 30,000 people. A paediatric hospital and the National Observatory of Athens have also been vacated. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Biden unveils US$2.3B plan to fight climate change

U

S President Joe Biden has announced a US$2.3 billion investment to help build infrastructure that can withstand extreme weather and natural disasters.

But the announcement stopped short of formally declaring a climate emergency, which would grant him further powers.

Biden spoke in Massachusetts as a heatwave brings extreme weather to Europe and North America.

Tens of millions of people in the US, across more than two dozen states, are living under heat warnings this week.

"Climate change is literally an existential threat to our nation and to the world," the President said in Wednesday's speech, which

was delivered outside a former coal-fired power plant in the town of Somerset.

"The health of our citizens and our communities is... at stake. So we have to act."

He said the new funding would go to expanding flood control, shoring up utilities, retrofitting buildings, and helping low-income families pay for heating and cooling costs.

It includes US$385 million to help states fund air conditioning units in homes and community cooling centres.

The administration also plans to provide additional support for offshore wind and energy development in the Gulf of Mexico, and enforce new workplace standards to help protect workers from extreme weather.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

28

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2022

guyanatimesgy.com

DAILY HOROSCOPES

ARCHIE

Expand your interests to include opportunities to get fit and live a healthy lifestyle. Eliminate waste and all the trappings you don’t need. Pare down and discover what’s essential.

(March 21-April 19) Keep everything in place and judge yourself before judging others. Don’t let temptation lead you to waste time or money or damage your reputation. Put your energy to good use.

DILBERT

(April 20-May 20) Hone your skills. An open mind will help shine a light on the possibilities, and putting your skills to the test will be crucial if you wish to succeed. Think, strategize and finish what you start.

(May 21-June 20)

PEANUTS (June 21-July 22)

Find a unique way to use a tried-andtrue method to get ahead; it will open doors. Show off what you have to offer, and the suggestions you receive will up your game and push you to get others on board.

One step forward and three steps back. Slow down and rethink your journey, and you’ll find a way to outdo yourself. A smile, kind word and show of affection will help you gain support and hands-on help.

(July 23-Aug. 22)

CALVIN AND HOBBES

(Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

Open your mind and heart to the universe and you’ll learn something valuable. Put your emotions aside when helping others. Stick to the truth if you want to earn respect. Anger won’t solve problems.

Uncertainty is the first signal telling you to put away your wallet. Don’t spend what you don’t have or buy something you don’t need. Someone you work alongside will judge you by your actions.

(Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Problems with someone leaning on you will pop up if you aren’t open about what you are willing to do and how you feel. Don’t hesitate to take matters into your hands.

SUDOKU (Oct. 24-Nov. 22)

Put your money to good use. “Waste not, want not” is the mantra that keeps you out of financial trouble. Too much of anything will set you back and lead to partnership problems. Show restraint.

(Nov. 23-Dec. 21)

SOLUTION FOR LAST PUBLISHED PUZZLE

Stick close to home and family. Move things around and declutter your living space. Having a place to pursue something new will make your life easier and prompt you to use your skills in new ways.

(Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Choose your actions and words with caution. Don’t give the wrong impression or make promises you cannot keep. Look for an opportunity to explore what’s possible, then initiate your plans.

(Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Participate in events that expand your mind and encourage you to pitch in and make a difference in your community or to a cause that concerns you.

Personal growth is encouraged.

(Feb. 20-March 20)

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2022

29

Internationally-acclaimed horse racing commentator arrives for Guyana Cup

T

he Jumbo Jet Thoroughbred Racing Committee (JJTRC) has contracted the services of the internationally-acclaimed horseracing commentator Nic Chadee, a Trinidadian whose broad career spans more than 23 years of commentating and administration in horseracing.

Chadee, who received his formal training from the legendary track announcer Tom Durkin at Belmont Park in New York, has been a guest announcer at the Ellis Park in Kentucky, the Caymanas Park in Jamaica, and at the Royal St. Lucia Turf Club.

A track announcer is an integral part of both horseracing and the overall race experience. The track announcer is the equivalent of a sportscaster that can be heard or seen on TV, radio, or live at the track. His function is to describe the progress of a race either for on-track or radio and TV fans.

Each commentator is giv-

Nic Chadee

en a list of each day's entrants for each race; for example, the horses’ names and numbers; the jockeys' names and colours; owners' names and trainers names, etc. Then it's a matter of practice and experience to keep all that

information available while the race is being run. Mostly, the commentators use the horses’ names only during a race; that is pretty much all that the bettors are interested in. Each racehorse has a fairly large number attached

Archery Guyana sets up base in Region 9

to either the side of the saddle or a bit further up, closer to the reins. These numbers are given to the visitors at horse races on a script, most likely giving the horse’s name and how adept he is at racing, or which position he won on his last race.

The entire structure and execution of The Guyana Cup races is paramount to the JJTRC for 2022. Countless man hours are being put in to ensure there are no hiccups that would in turn set the wrong precedent for future racing events.

When contacted, Mr. Chadee outlined, “I have been an announcer in horseracing in Guyana for over 10 racing events. No stranger to The Guyana Cup, my experience has been nothing short of exciting. This year, the

buzz around Guyana Cup has been tremendous, and I am honoured to host such a prestigious event for the JJTRC, and by extension Guyana.

The thousands of screaming voices is what actually fuels my drive and enthusiasm on race day.

“Because of the two-year gap in racing, patrons have been starving, and now the wait is over. I intend to offer my administrative assistance to ensure horse owners, groomers, jockeys and the fans receive the best Guyana Cup ever.”

The journey continues to the biggest Horse Racing Event in the Caribbean, carded for Sunday, 14th August, at the Rising Sun Turf Club in Region 5. Over Gy$30M in cash and prizes are to be won, so this year’s

competition is expected to be stiff.

The organisers are saying, “Get there before noon to avoid the rush, and remember indoor parking is available for over 1,000 cars.

Let’s all join together for this spectacular presentation, Guyana Cup 2022!”

This event has been made possible through our title sponsor Banks DIH, and supporting sponsors Guinness, XM Rum, Smirnoff Vodka, Hop House 13, Johnny Walker; S. Jagmohan; A&R Security; Vals Construction; Forrester’s Lumber Yard; Air Services Ltd; King’s Jewellery World; K&P Project Management; JS Guyana; Aronco; Auto Toy Store; BM Soat; Club Neutraal; Japarts; AJM Enterprise; & Jumbo Jet.

National Under-14 Rapid Chess tournament…

Kyle Couchman, Ciel Clement win male and female categories

K

U14 Chess Tournament prize-winners

I

n a recently concluded successful event, Archery Guyana met with the Toshao and Village Councillors of St. Ignatius village to continue to develop archery training for residents of St. Ignatius and Lethem.

Key representative and trainer for Archery Guyana, Robert Singh, met with Toshao Wilson Laurentino and Deputy Toshao Allan Ambrose; and Councillors Sherry Fredrick, Roldon Welcome, Jonathan Joseph and Moris Campion, to discuss the new initiative.

Archery Guyana provided the village with targets, stands and equipment for training sessions, and Coach Robert Singh, assisted by Coach Shunette Thompson, demonstrated the shooting

techniques using soft rubbers. Participants from St Ignatius and Lethem were trained on the different types of archery equipment, safety rules in archery, shooting stance positioning and much more at the Wilson Laurentino Sports Ground in St. Ignatius Village, Region 9, on Sunday July 1st, 2022 from 14:00 to 17:30hrs.

The persons who participated in the two-hour training exercise are as follows: 1. Ted Juan - 18 years 2. Jad Juan - 16 years 3. Ezekiel Hernandez - 17 years 4. Bert Paul - 17 years 5. Waidan Hernandez 18 years 6. Rea Juan - 15 years 7. Ethan Lennan - 16 years 8. Renaldo Kishun - 17

years 9. Junior Martin - 17 years 10. Alicock Juan - 39 years 11. Ryan Gittens - 17 years With this new venture, Archery Guyana will be providing trainings on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays from 15:00 to 17:00hrs at the Wilson Laurentino Sport Ground.

The Council was very happy and supportive, as this initiative continues to develop in Region 9, and will see the involvement of youths to learn and participate in archery in a more formalised manner. This will also provide opportunity to compete in local and international competitions in the future.

yle Couchman and Ciel Clement were the respective top male and female finishers in the National U14 Rapid Open and Girls Chess Tournament which concluded on Saturday, July 16, at Queen’s College in Georgetown.

Twelve-year-old Kyle Couchman emerged victorious ahead of 31 other boys playing in the tournament. He continues to display his excellence over the board, having finished in fourth place earlier this year at the National Junior Championships, wherein he was also the youngest player to qualify for the event.

Up-and-coming 12-yearold Micaiah Enoe was in second place, while in third place was eight-year-old Aquilani Swaminadha, who played splendidly, and also took home the prize for Best Under-12 Chess Player in the Open tournament.

Siblings Julian and Landon Mohabir won the respective Best Under-10 and Best Under-8 Player awards.

The Mohabir boys continue to dominate in these categories, as they had both won previously in the National Junior Qualifiers tournament earlier this year.

In the Girls’ category, Ciel Clement from Region 6, who had also played earlier this year in the Junior Qualifiers, showed her improved skills by winning the Girls category of the U14 nationals. In second place was Maliha Rajkumar, who has been competing consistently throughout the year.

Third place went to Anaya Lall, who in a few days’ time is set to depart with the National Chess Team that would be representing Guyana at the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad in India. Chelsea Harrison was the Best Under-10 girl, while Arianna Binda was Best Under-8 girl.

Forty young players competed in seven rounds of rapid matches, with 15 mins plus 5 mins increments. Trophies were presented by Queen’s College teacher Ms. Henry, who also serves as chess co-

ordinator at the school, and

by Chief Education Officer at the Ministry of Education, Dr. Marcel Hutson.

The Guyana Chess Federation continues to offer weekly online classes to students, who are taught the basics of chess, various chess tactics, and how to solve chess puzzles. The GCF also offers free membership on Chesskid.com to registered students of the federation.

The tournament was conducted by FIDE Arbiters John Lee and Anand Raghunauth.

The GCF wishes to thank the Board of Directors of Queen’s College for providing the venue to host the tournament.

The GCF will also be hosting the National Under-16 Rapid Chess Tournament on Sunday, July 31st 2022 at the Marian Academy.

Registration will be done online at guyanachess.org and the tournament will consist of the same format: 7 rounds, 15 mins+5 sec increments.

Children who are not yet 16 years old as at January 1 2022 can participate.

30

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2022

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Nedd among 15 CWI Emerging Players to receive Level 1 coaching certification

S

T JOHN’S, Antigua – All 15 members of the Cricket West Indies’ (CWI) Emerging Players Academy are now accredited cricket coaches, after successfully completing both the Foundation Coaching and CWI Competition Coaching (Level 1) accreditation courses.

CWI Coach Development

Manager Chris Brabazon and CWI High Performance Manager Graeme West recently guided the players through the assessments which formed a crucial component of the initial academy camp that is currently taking place in Antigua.

The key aims of incorporating these development opportunities into the camp

schedule were: to provide players with a greater understanding and appreciation of the role of a coach, while also providing the players with the practical skills required to deliver quality coaching sessions.

As part of their involvement in the CWI Emerging Players Academy, the players will soon be assisting

in the delivery of grassroots cricket programmes in their respective communities. These community projects would provide them with opportunities to utilise their new-found coaching skills while inspiring the next generation of young cricketers to follow in their footsteps.

Left-handed batter Keegan Simmons spoke on behalf of the group, and said he was delighted to be part of the education – which included practical elements on the field, as well as interactive classroom sessions.

Simmons said: “Now we have a better understanding of more aspects of the game, and what exactly goes into coaching. Also, we have a greater understanding of what the coaches are hoping to implement. We can now share the knowledge in our communities, and we have developed better ways of working on our game.”

He added: “For us, as players, we are looking forward to sharing the knowl-

edge and newly-acquired skills in our territories and communities. This is something we discussed, and will look to implement. Overall, our time here so far has been amazing, as we have focused on a lot of off-thefield stuff as well. The attention to details has been great, and we really appreciate. Every day has been a learning experience.”

Brabazon had the following to say on the initiative: “We have some fantastic young role models amongst this group; and, going forward, we hope that they feel well prepared to deliver some quality sessions for the next crop of youngsters coming through. The longterm goal is to have these players developing their coaching skills throughout their playing careers, in preparation for a smooth transition into full-time coaching or talent development roles once they finish playing.”

The plan for a CWI Emerging Players Academy was first announced in March. It is a nexus be-

tween regional junior and senior teams, while supporting the development of talented players between the ages of 19 and 25. The Academy has five primary objectives: * Building capacity of players, support staff and high-performance resources. * Management of Talent. * Personal Development – develop person first, and then the player. * Demonstrate Best Practice, including recruitment, selection and preparation. * Accelerating Player Development, and increasing readiness of players for international cricket.

FULL SQUAD: Kevlon Anderson, Keagan Simmons, Kirk McKenzie, Kevin Wickham, Teddy Bishop, Ackeem Auguste, Ramon Simmonds, McKenny Clarke, Johann Layne, Kelvin Pitman, Ashmead Nedd, Joshua Bishop, Nyeem Young, Joshua James, Leonardo Julien. (CWI)

GBA shortlists 30 for action in Winfield Braithwaite Caribbean Schoolboys and Juniors Championships

T

he Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) has shortlisted a total of 30 youth pugilists who potentially would represent Guyana at the upcom-

ing Winfield Braithwaite Caribbean Schoolboys and Juniors Championships scheduled for August 19th21st, 2022 at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall

(CASH).

Alongside the list of boxers from gyms across the country, a list of coaches who will take charge of the Guyanese team has been re-

A scene from the last Winfield Braithwaite Caribbean School Boys and Juniors Championships hosted at CASH

leased.

The shortlisted youth boxers and the gyms they represent are as follows: Vergenoegen Boxing

CLASSIFIED ADS NOTICE Maylene Duncan and Jessie Cozier of Charity, Essequibo, the witnesses to the execution of the last will and testament dated the 11th day of November, 2010 of MOHAN a.k.a MALA, deceased who died on the 10th August, 2021, are hereby requested to contact Mr. Khawn Rodney, Attorney-at-Law at Lot 216 South Road, Lacytown, Georgetown, within 14 (fourteen) days from the date of publication of this Notice for the purpose of swearing the Affidavit of Attesting Witnesses.Dated at Georgetown, Demerara. This 12th day of July, 2022.

Gym: Glaston Winter, Jemuel Jones, Keyon Britton, Markel Blue, Garvel Hyman, Jevon Anthony.

Pace and Power Boxing Gym: Stephon Clarence, Tofina Barker (female) Young Achievers Boxing Gym: Ceaafa Chris, Ezekiel Bancroft, Shamaria Isaacs, Kendel DeMonic, Eon Bancroft Jnr. Forgotten Youth Foundation: Tequan Sampson, Chance Niles, Shaquian James, Josiah McPherson, Seon Graham, Dwane Baptise, Yusdiel Gala.

Rose Hall Jammers Boxing Gym: Roopesh Balgobin, Jadon Lewis, Isaiah Nurse, Shawn Sabola, Travis Sancho, Matthew Thomas, Joshua Thambarain, Artlington

Johnson, Jahuan Haniff, Akhan English.

Coaches are: Lennox Daniels, Francisco Roldon, Sebert Blake, Gregory Cort, Clifton Moore.

The GBA has said training will commence from Monday, July 25th, from 05:30hrs at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH); and from 16:00 hours at the Andrew ‘Six Head’ Lewis Boxing Gym. Registration for the anticipated Winfield Braithwaite tournament closed on July 19. It had been revealed that the Cayman Islands were the first country registered to participate, with the likes of Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Bahamas, St Lucia, Barbados, Jamaica and Grenada also expressing their interest in competing.

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2022

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

India vs West Indies: 2022 ODI Series beginning on 22/7…

Jason Holder has returned to boost West Indies’ chances

By Brandon Corlette

T

here has been no rain; there have been two days of full practice, and better surfaces are involved.

That is the situation for the West Indies as they prepare to play India in the first of three One Day International matches (ODIs) from Friday, July 22, at the Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad and Tobago.

West Indies are fresh from a disaster, having suffered a 3-0 whitewash against Bangladesh in the ODI Series played at the National

Stadium at Providence, EBD in Guyana. With "good surfaces" at Queen's Park, Head Coach Phil Simmons has said the West Indies would perform better in the batting department against a much stronger Indian team.

While Shimron Hetmyer was seen arriving with the ODI team in Trinidad and Tobago, he has not been selected in the ODI team. Simmons has taken the reserved approach and has not disclosed information about Hetmyer. However, he spoke about Keemo Paul and his niggle.

"Hetmyer is here with us. Since that we are dealing with the ODIs, I am going to stay away from Hetmyer, because he is not a part of the ODI squad. So…we deal with the ODIs, and when the T20s come, then we can have a discussion about Hetmyer. So, he is not a part of the ODI squad," Simmons has said.

Asked about Keemo Paul, Simmons responded: "He has been doing really well. He has been going through some paces with the physio over the past few days, and he looked really well; so, we will make a decision on him (on Thursday), but he has progressed really well.”

While the surface in Guyana has been the proverbial talk of the town during that ODI whitewash that the West Indies suffered at the hands of Bangladesh, Simmons has said the surfaces in T&T are different.

"The first difference is that the surface looks as though some work has been put into

it. It has been prepared; it looks good. The two wickets that we are going to play these three games on looked really good in the last couple days we are here, so we wait and see how they will play on Friday," the West Indies Head Coach has posited.

The West Indies are aware that, as a team, they must improve in the batting department. Simmons has said: "Expect a better batting performance. We do not want to make any excuses, and in the last game we showed what we should have shown in the (first) two games. I am not hiding the fact they (in Guyana) were bad cricket wickets on the whole, you expect different. The wickets look good (in Trinidad). Yes, it is a better bowling opponent, but we expect a better batting performance from the squad."

The Head Coach also noted that the travelling reserves would play only if a player from the original squad has been injured.

31

WEST INDIES FULL SQUAD: Nicholas Pooran (Captain), Shai Hope (Vice Captain), Shamarh Brooks, Keacy Carty, Jason Holder, Akeal H o s e i n , Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Keemo Paul, Rovman Powell, Jayden Seales.

Reserves: Romario Shepherd and Hayden Walsh Jr. India ODI Squad: Shikhar Dhawan (capt), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Ravindra Jadeja (vice-capt), Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh.

West Indies Head Coach Phil Simmons

Kool Kidz Futsal Festival to introduce sport to children

GBI’s Samuel Arjoon and GFF’s Wayne Forde exchanging contracts in the presence of Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr and the children who would benefit from the Futsal Festival

F

or the next 6 Saturdays, the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) will be lit up by the eager faces of 6-to-10-year-old children as they learn about the sport of football.

These budding football enthusiasts will have the opportunity to learn about the sport through the futsal method -- one result of a collaboration between the Guyana Beverages Inc, under their Kool Kidz brand, and the Guyana Football Federation (GFF).

The children will not be taught the futsal rules per se, but the use of the term is applicable to the programme being hosted indoors, on the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall court.

GFF President Wayne Forde has highlighted why the futsal introduction is important.

“We recognise the opportunity that will be presented by our young kids being home during the school break, and how interesting it would be to introduce them to the game using the futsal model,” Forde has informed.

“Those of us who are familiar with football development in our neighbouring partner Brazil, children are introduced to football at the earliest stage, in the futsal

format. In many professional clubs, they play that format up until they are 11 or 12 years old,” he explained.

While the Guyana Beverage Inc had initially agreed to this year’s Kool Kidz initiative, it was an-

to the sport, Subject Minister Charles Ramson Jr. emphasised the importance of sustainable partnerships.

Ramson Jr. explained, “Now, why this is important to starting at this tender age with kids, it’s because we’ve

Snippets of the drills and exercises the children would be involved in, along with gameplay, during the Kool Kidz programme

nounced by General Manager Samuel Arjoon that the programme would be extended.

“When this discussion started, Wayne said to me, ‘It’s a summer programme and we’ll run it for one year’, which is this summer. But the surprise is, we’re going to enter into a contract with the Guyana Football Federation to have this programme run for three years,” Arjoon announced with a smile.

Hailing the efforts to introduce the 6-to-10-year-olds

got to bring that renewal of talent into your structure at all times. What has been kind of one of the bugbears and has not helped in progressing our talent in football, and all the other sports too, is there’s always been a bottleneck.

There’s always been a breakage of the partnership in the structure, so that the pathway leads them progressively all the way to the top.”

The Kool Kidz Festival will be hosted every Saturday, for the next 6 weeks, from

10am to 1pm at the Sports Hall. The children would also have game time in random 8-member teams.

GFF Technical Director Bryan Joseph revealed that parental involvement is something the Federation is looking forward to having.

“Of significance, though, is that we want to ensure that this programme reiterates the importance of parental support. So, we’re encouraging the parents to accompany their children to

the sessions every Saturday, so that we could also develop a relationship with the parents, so they could have an understanding of what is required to aid in the development of their kids,” Joseph has said.

With the hope of reaching more than 100 children, it has also been revealed

by Joseph that the potential players would feed into a National Under-11 tournament to be launched in August. (Jemima Holmes)

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