Guyana Times -- Wednesday 11, January, 2023

More Judges needed to expedite cases – DPP at opening of January Assizes

This would allow more cases to be completed”, she posited.

There were also calls for a Bench Book to be used by judges at the trials in sittings.

“A Bench Book would provide standard directions which judges would use in the summing up, and would reduce this issue. When defenses are not adequately put in by the judges at the trial, this can be a ground for the Court of Appeal to allow an appeal and order a retrial,” she said.

At the opening of the January Criminal Assizes in Demerara, on Tuesday at the High Court in Georgetown, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack, SC, noted that the number of criminal cases has increased significantly over the years, and there is need for more judges.

She said that, as of now, it will be humanly impossible to hear all of the cases in the short period in which the assizes would be held.

“We need more judges in the judiciary, so there can be more judges sitting in the criminal sittings, so that this number of increased cases can be disposed of timelier,” Ali-Hack said.

She said that as the January 2023 assizes opens, there are 308 cases listed to be heard by three judges: 134 sexual offences cases are listed to be heard by one judge, while the remaining 174 cases are listed to be heard by two judges.

“These 174 cases include 61 cases for the offence of murder. There are 24 cases for the offence of manslaughter and 79 for the offence of attempted murder. All the persons who are indicted for murder are in custody, and their cases are given priority because they are in custody”.

She said a short list of the oldest cases is currently being prepared by the State Counsel, so that the cases are presented based on the date the accused person was remanded to prison.

It was announced that the cases for Demerara increased by 33%. It was increased from 230 in January 2018 to 307 for this January 2023 Assizes.

“The increase commenced

in 2019 when the October list had 322 cases listed, compared to the January October list for the said year, which had 260. This was further increased in 2020 when the January list increased to 346 and reached 369 by October 2020”, she said. As such, she called for help so that the number of increased cases can be disposed of in a timely manner.

Finally, she advocated for

the amendment of Section 27 of the High Court Act, which provides for the sittings of the Court in the counties of Demerara, Berbice, and Essequibo.

“There are four sittings for Demerara, and time is lost with the winding down of sittings by judges as the sitting comes to an end; whereas, if there was one sitting for the year, then there will be no need for winding down.

“Retrials are costly to the State, and puts a strain on an already overburdened system. The case has to be added to the already long list.”

In conclusion, the DPP said she looks forward to having teamwork to ensure a just disposal of the cases.

After the first case of the coronavirus was detected in March 2020, the Supreme Court of Judicature suspended jury trials and in-person hearings. Jury trials resumed in October 2021 with access to remote hearings.

(G9)

The opening of the January Criminal Assizes

Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack, SC

Acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards and acting Chief Justice Roxane George, along with other High Court Judges, during the parade on Tuesday

FERRY SCHEDULE

President Ali conferred with prestigious Pravasi Bharatiya Award …holds

bilateral talks with Indian President Droupadi Murmu

President Dr Irfaan Ali has been conferred in India with the prestigious Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award, which recognises the stellar contributions of the Indian Diaspora around the world.

The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award was conferred on President Ali by Indian President Droupadi Murmu during a ceremony on Tuesday. The Head of State received the award for his outstanding contribution to politics and community welfare.

In her remarks, President Murmu spoke about the achievements of the Indian Diaspora, including in politics. She also welcomed the special guests, including Ali and Surinamese President Chan Santokhi, who also received the Pravasi Award.

“I am pleased to welcome His Excellency, Dr Mohammed Irfaan Ali, President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana as the Chief Guest in this year’s convention. His presence has made this event even more special,” Murmu said.

Meanwhile, President Ali also held wide-ranging discussions with his Indian counterpart on areas of enhanced cooperation, including oil and gas, health care and training. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the ongoing 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.

Ali is presently leading a delegation of Guyanese, including Government officials and Private Sector representatives to India, where he has participated in various ceremonies. Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Hugh Todd; Minister within the Ministry of Local Government, Anand Persaud, and the Director of Projects, Marcia NadirSharma are also part of Guyana’s delegation.

On Monday, President Ali had referred to the Pravasi Bharatiya Convention as an essential platform for not only exchanging ideas but also for fostering deeper and stronger ties among States which have significant Diasporas, such as India and Guyana. He had also wished the convention every success.

In his address to the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention, Ali had said that Guyana was keen to transform “brain drain into brain gain” using technology to tap into “our highly-skilled Diaspora”. Notwithstanding, he had stressed that Diaspora policies should not be cast in stone but remain flexible and adaptable to changing realities.

The President had lauded India’s management of its Diaspora relations, while the commonalities between the two countries, including through culture and religion, were highlighted. He

also bemoaned cases where misinformation is fed to the Diaspora, who are led astray by destructive elements. But Ali noted that the Diaspora is also strategically placed to be a positive force for the country.

“Many of the members of

President Ali pointed to ways in which the Diaspora can be integrated into national development, including through the provision of accurate and updated information. The Diaspora integration model, President Ali added, also embraces a role

On Monday, the President had also struck an emotional chord with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he referred to the latter’s obvious devotion to his mother who recently passed away at the age of one hundred. The Guyanese President made it clear that such filial devotion is shared in the Indian Diaspora.

He made the connection between PM Modi and Guyana even more explicit when he reminded that the Indian Prime Minister had visited in 2000 when he was not even a Minister of Government.

our Diaspora are strategically placed in positions of influence to help protect and promote Guyana’s national interests overseas. We look to our Diaspora to project our external interests, including to protect our democracy and to defend our territorial integrity and sovereignty, particularly from external threats.”

“We look to our Diaspora to champion the international causes which are germane to our national interests, including arresting climate change. Indeed, we also look to our Diaspora to wield its influence in attracting and in unlocking markets for our products,” the President said.

According to the President, his Government’s intention is to position Guyana to be among the leaders in the world in energy, climate and food security, and other areas. He also spoke about the model the Government is pursuing, to best integrate the Diaspora into the development of the country.

In his response, in addition to promising to work closely with Guyana, PM Modi had said, “I am very grateful to the President of Guyana that he shared great memories today. Because when I went to Guyana, I was nothing, not even the Chief Minister, and he recalled the relationship then. I am very grateful to him. Once again, I have come to this function for Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, I have got a chance to meet you after a gap." (G3)

for Guyana’s Diaspora as an instrument of soft power.

President Ali and his delegation during his meeting with Indian President Droupadi Murmu

President Dr Irfaan Ali as he received his Pravasi Bharatiya Award from Indian President Droupadi Murmu

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Ongoing struggle

In the ongoing struggle to get a handle on the burgeoning problem of domestic and intimate partner abuse, one of the areas that have not received much attention in Guyana has been the dynamics operating between couples. Nowadays, arranged marriages are way passé, and couples date or otherwise have a relationship for extended periods before actually get married. An ever-growing phenomenon, of course, are the couples who ‘live home’ even after children are produced out of the relationship. The phenomenon of “child mother and child father” is increasing in Guyana.

Are there signs of an abuser that can be discerned early on in a budding relationship, which can then be nipped before matters proceed too far? While Guyana has not ‘progressed’ to the stage of having dating services, some interesting warning signals have come out from those studies in the countries that we imitate in our social relations. The concept is the same as where the individual in Guyana reveals his/her personality after a few dates.

A paper published in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin examined the influence of prior experiences on partner preferences. The researchers themselves constructed a believable-looking “online dating service,” and thus were able to track the study participants’ preferences and selection of various partners. Although the study participants didn’t know it, the researchers had carefully chosen the profiles so that they differed in systematic ways.

For their first study, the researchers focused on heterosexual women’s preferences, and the men’s profiles that they looked at differed in how much they signalled potential for psychological abuse in intimate relationships. The profiles themselves were actually real, with the profiles of potentially abusive men written by men who scored high on characteristics associated with abusive personality: impulsivity, anger, jealousy, low self-esteem. A separate sample of participants independently confirmed that the profiles gave off warning signals of potential abuse.

The researchers’ results are sobering: Women who had a history of being psychologically maltreated in a prior relationship were three times more likely to choose potentially abusive dating partners than women without this history. In other words, women who are at risk of being abused in their relationships are more likely to be attracted to the very features that others see as clear precursors of abuse. Often, these choices are rationalised: intense jealousy is misinterpreted as caring, and anger is romanticised as “dangerous.”

In a second study, the researchers turned the tables around, and focused on heterosexual men’s preferences. Their question was this: Who do potentially abusive men prefer? The results showed that men who scored high on a measure of inflicting psychological abuse were 1.5 times more likely to choose a partner who is high on attachment anxiety. Attachment anxiety is a disposition associated with victims of abuse, and is characterised by an intense anxiety over rejection.

As such, people high in attachment anxiety are particularly vulnerable to being “treated like a God” during the courtship phase of a relationship: being flooded with flowers, adulated, constantly called. Fears of rejection overwhelm the ability to detect an unhealthy balance between independence and interdependence in their relationships. What does one do in the face of such data, with people high in attachment anxiety and their potentially abusive partners essentially judging each other as highly compatible?

Simple as it may sound, one powerful answer is to rely on your social networks. Listen to what your friends are saying. In fact, people in new relationships should actually ask friends their opinions about prospective partners, and these friends should be honest in their evaluation. This is critical advice both if you are attracted to a potentially abusive mate, or if someone you care about begins describing abusive relationship patterns. Sometimes we need to rely on other people to help us see what we cannot.

Let us become educated about the signals sent out by abusers.

The pro-Bolsonaro ‘insurrection’ was pathetic

By RichaRd LappeR

Clad in canary yellow football shirts or draped in the colours of the Brazilian flag, pro-Bolsonaro activists applauded a line of heavily armed police as it marched into their midst in Brasília on Sunday.

Hundreds of extreme rightwing followers had been gathering in Brazil’s modernist capital since late on Friday. On Sunday afternoon they breezed past security cordons and trashed the elegant buildings that host the country’s most important democratic institutions – the presidential palace, the supreme court and the two houses of congress. Now, surely, they seem to have thought, these police were moving in to help them secure control, overturn the alleged fraud that had deprived Jair Bolsonaro of a second term in office, and oust what they described as a leftwing dictatorship now in office.

Just a few minutes later though, the same officers, units of the federal government’s national force, were bundling them on to buses and whisking them off to police cells. With more than 1,000 people detained, the first phase of a promised pro-Bolsonaro insurrection had ended not in the crash of a military coup, but a whimper.

For the radical fringes of the movement, the outcome marked a disappointing end to what has been a sad time. Their leader, Bolsonaro himself, is hardly a source of in-

spiration. Moody and largely silent since his narrow second-round election defeat at the end of October, the former army captain has quit the country. Deprived of the political immunity he once enjoyed, the former president reportedly fears being a target of legal action and has gone to ground in Florida, a US state much favoured by other anti-communist conservatives from Cuba and elsewhere in Latin America.

Nor have the much-lauded soldiers been much use. For more than two months thousands of activists have been squatting in informal camps set up outside barracks from where they have fruitlessly urged intervention. Many of the campers have drifted away. Many of those who remain are conspiracist fantasists. Some harbour the illusion, for instance, that Gen Augusto Heleno, perhaps the most hardline of Bolsonaro’s military allies, is already exercising power from behind the scenes and that Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the winner in October, has already been deposed.

In the real world, meanwhile, Lula has steadily begun to organise a new government. At a cost, he has struck an alliance with the self-seeking centre and centre-right politicians of the Centrão, or big centre, in a bid to ensure congressional support. Workers’ party loyalists occupy key cabinet posts, but jobs have been found for leaders from a range of more conservative allied parties, including some with very dubious cre-

dentials. Lula has taken action to reverse some of the most damaging measures of the Bolsonaro era by, for instance, tightening controls on the use of weapons.

On Sunday, at the end of his first week in office, the president acted quickly to secure the Brazilian capital, seizing control of policing from the state government of Brasília (which, like Washington DC, is a federal district and enjoys the status of a state). Police initially assigned by the local authority to protect government installations had done little to deter the attackers; within hours both the governor and his security secretary, a politician who had served as a minister under Bolsonaro, had been suspended.

Much remains to play out. It’s possible that the radical rightwing campaign could enjoy a second wind this week, if notoriously pro-Bolsonaro lorry drivers carry out their threats to block roads and surround oil refineries, potentially cutting off fuel supplies to Brazilian cities. Following the election, lines of stationary trucks choked traffic for several weeks, although with the backing of court orders these barricades were eventually cleared. On Sunday night, there were reports that motorways were blocked in several states.

Pro-Bolsonaro websites warn of a third phase too, with a military intervention required simply to restore order.

This though, judging by what on Sunday was intended to be a fully fledged occu-

pation of government buildings, may well turn out to be bluster. For all the damage caused – smashed glass windows, slashed modernist art works and broken up furniture and electronic equipment – these attacks hardly amounted to the first stage of an insurrection.

What are the consequences? In the short term, Lula has probably been strengthened. Moderate conservative allies were quick to condemn the violence on Sunday. But so too were opposition leaders.

In fact, the more far-sighted leaders of Brazil’s farright such as Hamilton Mourão, the former deputy president, and Tarcisio de Freitas, Bolsonaro’s former infrastructure minister and recently elected governor of São Paulo, are pursuing a much longer game.

They are determined to build on the increased popularity of social conservatism within Brazilian society in recent years, which is reflected in the growth, for instance, of the evangelical Protestant church. In last October’s election, the right made gains in congress, increasing its representation compared to 2018, a year that had been thought to be a high-water mark of conservative advance. It will now seek to build on this political capital and won’t think twice, if necessary, about dispensing with the man nursing his wounds in Florida. (The Guardian)

(Richard Lapper is author of Beef, Bible and Bullets: Brazil in the Age of Bolsonaro)

The Guyana Police Force's musical band parading along Croal Street, Georgetown during the opening ceremony of the January Assizes and the Law Year 2023 (DPI photo)

Presidents Ali & Santokhi get positive ratings at PBD

Dear Editor, The Presidents of Guyana and Suriname, Shri Irfaan Ali and Chandrikapersad Santokhi respectively, won the hearts of attendees of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2023 with their eloquent soaring speeches at the convention on Monday, January 9. Both leaders are in India to be honoured by the Government of India for their political achievements with Pravasi Samman Award, the highest honour given to an Indian in the diaspora.

In their remarks, the Presidents gave excellent counsel to the Government of India on its future interaction with the diaspora. Their speeches were well received by the audience, with interruptions

of applause. The speeches of the two Presidents and Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi dominated the talk among attendees at the convention and at public places visited by this writer outside the convention. The speeches were carried live on TV and social media. The public also praised the speeches of the three political leaders as obtained from impromptu random interviews.

Several thousand delegates, including some thirty from Guyana, graced the event. Sections of the city of Indore, where some Guyanese and Surinamese trace their roots, came to a standstill on Monday to welcome the two distinguished sons of the diaspora, and the PM and the thousands of guests.

Crowds lined the route to catch a glimpse of the PM as he travelled from the airport to the Convention Center. Traffic was totally shut down for the PM.

The delegates and local support staff of the event praised the two foreign distinguished guests for their presentations to the august body. This writer went around interviewing delegates and members of the public about the remarks of the three main speakers. At dinners and lunches, people also said the two Presidents gave remarkable speeches. It is not likely people will forget their names and faces.

Among the words people used to describe their speeches were: impressive, presidential, emotional, excellent, confident, good,

The evil that Governments do

Dear Editor, I had predicted the disintegration of the Coalition, and I predicted the demise of both the APNU and the AFC, and it is coming to pass. In the case of the AFC, it already came to pass, and with the PNC, it is happening with great speed.

It is not a difficult task to make these predictions, since these parties engineered their own destruction through the evil acts which they perpetrated on the Guyanese people whilst sanctimoniously preaching about delivering the ‘good life’. Over time, the PNC underestimated the intelligence of its own members and supporters, and felt it could continue to do the wrongdoings which characterised its past and expect to be voted into office. The PNC, under the guise of the Coalition, was given a fortuitous opportunity in 2015 to make amends for its destructive and evil past, but deliberately squandered it because of greed. The Party believed that it could blame the leadership for its electoral loss, and change that leadership and this would result in its members and supporters accepting that as a progressive act. Even changing the party’s name has been tried. However, the party has to make amends for its wrongdoings by re-engineering its entire modus operandi, including its choice of leadership.

Cassius made a profound statement to Brutus (in Julius Caesar), ‘The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves….’

The PNC cannot expect to commit gross ethnic atrocities, corruption, bankrupting and impoverishing an entire nation, and expect to retain power. But its modus operandi was that it would rig the elections and retain power as it had done in the past. The times have changed, but the PNC did not, and

its gullible partner, the AFC, whose leader had fought against PNC riggings in the past, hypocritically saw the 2020 rigging attempts as ‘justifiable’(a true Machiavellian), and will not change. The AFC, having tasted the intoxication of power, was willing to hold on for dear life. Its leaders had become addicted to the good life. Now that the Valentine lovers have separated with a promise of a future reunion, the damage has been done, and Guyanese have witnessed for the second time that Coalition politics is destructive, since power grabbing is the paramount motive, the people never count.

The demise of the AFC began with resignations and withdrawal of support from its financial donors, and identical action now faces the PNC. I read in the press that the Florida Chapter of the PNC has filed a no-confidence motion against the PNC/R Leader Aubrey Norton. The motion stated that ‘The Party’s image has been severely tarnished and a large number of our members, supporters, and sympathizers have lost interest in this party. The business community from whom we got significant support has been withholding that support.’

In addition, Norton has failed to unify the Party. What is surprising though is that Norton is more concerned about his own survival, since he claimed that he is not worried, since he cannot be removed constitutionally. How can a leader not be concerned about the fragmentation of his party?

The members and supporters have realised that the only approach Norton has taken since assuming office as the PNC Leader is to revive the old destructive PNC strategies, which cannot transform the party and change its

tarnished image. He has proven that he is incapable of reforming himself and the PNC/R. The same is true of the AFC, whose leaders have failed to deliver on the founding principles of the party. It may be true to assume that one of the founding leaders has jumped ship, so Ramjattan is all alone.

In conclusion, the massive socio-economic transformation which is once again taking place under the PPP/C Government will afford Guyanese to once and for all come to realisation that neither the PNC/R nor the AFC is good for Guyana, and this will put the final nails in the coffins of these parties, as their members and supporters continue to embrace the Irfaan Ali Administration.

The evil that Governments do surely lives after them, but this lesson is difficult for the PNC/R and the AFC leaders.

Yours sincerely, Haseef Yusuf

positive, eloquent, self-assured, graceful, gentlemanly, warm, benevolent, focused, clear, charming, nice, wonderful, inspiring,

among others.

Additional words used for President Irfaan included youthful and considerate. The President’s tra-

ditional Indian outfit also impressed the guests.

Yours truly, Vishnu Bisram

Ancestral Land and squatters

Dear Editor, There is confusion about the term “Ancestral Land” which is now ignorantly brandished by politicians misleading Afro and IndoGuyanese folk, especially Afro-Guyanese.

The term “Ancestral Land” is only applicable to land occupied by Indigenous peoples, such as the Amerindians of Canada and the USA, and Africans of countries like Ghana and Nigeria. In Guyana, the only Indigenous people are the Amerindians, and they are the only ones who could own Ancestral Land.

The other groupsEuropeans, Africans, and Asians are immigrants. The Europeans were the first, and it was they who brought the Africans and Asians here. Africans, until 1833 when slavery was abolished, were regarded as property, and property can’t own property. It was only after Emancipation that Africans could own property. From 1848 to the 1850s, African groups began to purchase abandoned sugar estates and set up villages such as Buxton and Victoria. The first such village was Queenstown in Essequibo.

In all these sugar estates, the Crown, or State, always reserved ownership of part of the land for drainage, railways, or roads, and for soldiers and Police to move rapidly from estate to estate without hindrance. In the Demerara Slave Rebellion, the colonial soldiers used these reserves to move to the villages.

It should be mentioned that the Portuguese started to buy land just about the time of the Village Movement and Indians from the late

1860s, but none of these groups could claim that the land they bought was any kind of “ancestral property”. In Guyana, when you buy land, you are given transport by the Deeds Registry, which attests to one’s ownership. Such property is said to be in freehold, and Freedmen bought the such property in freehold.

In Mocha, being a former estate, the State has the same reserve as it has everywhere else. Though squatters may have gone on the Reserve, the State still owns it, and could order the squatters to remove themselves and their structures at any time. The time has come for the squatters to remove, since the State is building a road on EBD that would traverse the reserve.

The State is under no obligation to compensate squatters, but probably because of humanitarian considerations, the squatters were able to negotiate a victorious, once-in-a-lifetime agreement, whereby each would be given a new house, a free house lot, 5 acres of agricultural land, and millions of dollars of hard cash. Over 80% of the squatters took the opportunity and are now settled in surrounding areas.

Five squatters, however, were misled by politicians to

hold out and demand $100 to $150 million. This ridiculous demand made them the laughing stock; for, with less than $100 million, one could buy the best properties in Queenstown and Bel Air Gardens.

The work on the Road became very urgent, and the five squatters could no longer be allowed to hold up the economic and social development of the East Bank, and this forced the State to eject them and their structures, and the politicians are rejoicing, since they could now attack the Government.

But the poor five squatters have been ejected, and the politicians have left them high and dry, and will finally abandon them in a few months, when there is no more political juice to squeeze.

They have no claim for anything, but we understand the Ministry of Housing will still offer them the same compensation. It may be wise to take it like the vast majority of the others, or the offer may fade away.

The part of this letter dealing with Ancestral Land was from a discussion with a UG Professor of Law.

Yours sincerely, Paul Validum Ramlochan

Page Foundation

Question 1:

Mapping the Little Peasant

For this activity, create an original full-colour map based on the extract below of the Little Peasant.

Supplies

• Pencils and art supplies: coloured pencils, markers, crayons, paint. Coloured construction paper (optional)

• Drawing paper or construction paper: 8-1/2 x 11 or larger. Or a roll of white paper or kraft paper

• Scotch tape, scissors

• School glue; masking tape or painters tape (optional)

Think about the settings in the fairy tales you have read. Imagine what the world of The Little Peasant looks like.

Let’s get started

Tape together two or more 8-1/2 x 11 sheets of paper to create a large space for the map. If you have a roll of white paper

or kraft paper, cut two feet or more for the map.

Although this fairy tale map is imaginary, you can include these elements if you like:

• Title tells the viewer what this a map of.

• Compass Rose indicates North, South, East and West.

• Legend or key explains what the symbols on that map represent. For example, on the adventure map on the next page, you can see symbols for town, village, and dungeon.

• Scale: shows the relationship between a certain distance on the map and the actual distance. For example, one inch might represent one mile.

Sketch out your map in pencil first, and then finish it in coloured pencil, crayon, marker, or paint. You can also use cut paper to create some of the elements on the map. Remember to think about descriptive words as you create the elements in the map.

(Adapted from startwithabook.org)

CONTINUED FROM TUESDAY

Then the peasants were angry that the little peasant had deceived them. Wanting to take revenge against him, they accused him of fraud before the mayor. The innocent little peasant was unanimously sentenced to death, and he was to be rolled into the water in a barrel pierced with holes. He was led out, and a priest was brought who was to say a mass for his soul. The others had to step back, and when the little peasant looked at the priest he recognized the man who had been with the miller’s wife.

He said to him, “I freed you from the chest. Free me from the barrel.”

Just then a shepherd

By The BroThers Grimm

came by with a flock of sheep. It was the very shepherd who, as the little peasant knew, had long wanted to be mayor. Then the little peasant cried out with all his might, “No, I will not do it! Even if the whole world insists on it, I will not do it!”

Hearing this, the shepherd came up to him, and asked, “What are you up to? What is it that you will not do?”

The little peasant said, “They want to make me mayor, if I will get into the barrel, but I will not do it.”

The shepherd said, “If that is all that is needed to be mayor, I would get into the barrel at once.”

The little peasant said,

“If you will get in, then you will be mayor.”

The shepherd agreed and got in, and the little peasant nailed the top down. Then he took the shepherd’s flock for himself, and drove it away. The priest went to the people and told them that the mass had been read. Then they came and rolled the barrel towards the water. As the barrel began to roll, the shepherd cried out, “I will gladly be mayor.”

They believed that it was the little peasant who was saying this and answered, “That is what we intend, but first take a look around down there,” and they rolled the barrel into the water.

Election CoI

Commissioners aiming to wrap up hearings by Feb 10

…AG, other witnesses to be called; Roxanne Myers to get opportunity to cross-examine

The Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the March 2020 General and Regional Elections is drawing nearer to a close, and CoI Chairman Justice (retired) Stanley John has revealed that February 10 is targeted as the date to wrap things up.

At the conclusion of Tuesday’s hearing, John announced that hearings would resume on February 6. He also noted that the CoI, which has been ongoing since November of last year, will hopefully be wrapped up by February 10.

According to the Chairman, witnesses, including Attorney General Anil Nandlall, are expected to make an appearance. John went on to inform that counsel for former Deputy Chief Elections Officer (DCEO) Roxanne Myers will get a chance to cross-examine witnesses after the CoI resumes.

“As I understand it, that week we should have the Honourable Attorney General, maybe some other Ministers of Government. And if counsel for Ms. Myers wish to cross examine, that too should take place that week, and no later than 10th of February,” John said.

Meanwhile, Tuesday’s session saw the continued trend of witnesses being called but invoking their right to remain silent. Attorney-at-Law Nigel Hughes, who is representing A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) party agent Nicola Trotman, informed the CoI that his client does not want to testify due to the fact that she is named in affidavits related to the

election petitions.

While the CoI acknowledged that Trotman, a Local Government Commissioner, had the constitutional right to remain silent, it was noted that a witness who has been summoned ought to still answer questions that do not have the potential of incriminating that witness.

True to her lawyer’s word, Trotman refused to answer any of the questions posed by Trinidadian Senior Counsel Sophia Chote during the hearing.

Trotman, who was present at the command center in Ashmins building when embattled Returning Officer for Region Four, Clairmont Mingo, attempted to make his infamous declaration, was asked about these events.

On Monday, former Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Data clerk Enrique Livan had also refused to give testimony in a similar manner. Others who have refused to testify include former Region Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo, former GECOM CEO Keith Lowenfield, and former Minister of Health Volda Lawrence.

Both Lowenfield and Mingo were summoned by the Commission. Their lawyer, Attorney-at-law Nigel Hughes, indicated to the Commission that both of his clients are defendants in criminal proceedings relating to the 2020 elections, hence they would not testify.

Lowenfield and Mingo then took the stand, during which the Chairman of the Commission informed them that they are not bound to answer any question that would incriminate them.

The two former GECOM officials both reaffirmed their decisions to remain silent.

Both men, along with other GECOM employees, as well as party members from the PNC-led APNU, have been charged with a slew of electoral fraud charges.

It was revealed during the CoI that Mingo attempted to use a spreadsheet with concocted figures to tabulate the votes for Region Four – Guyana’s largest voting district. A subsequent national recount had revealed that the then RO had heavily inflated the figures from the region in favour of the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC).

Meanwhile, the GECOM Chair, (retired) Justice Claudette Singh, had testified in December 2022 that both Mingo and Lowenfield had repeatedly refused to abide by specific instructions by the Elections Commission as well as the Courts regarding the electoral process to be used to tabulate the votes and eventually declare the results of

the elections.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Karen Cummings, along with the party’s Chief Scrutineer Carol SmithJoseph, who are also facing electoral fraud charges, all opted not to give evidence after being summoned by the Commission.

The same position was adopted by several other GECOM employees who were called to testify before the CoI last December due to pending investigations and criminal charges against them. They cited Article 144 (7) of the Constitution of Guyana, which states:

“No person who is tried for a criminal offence shall be compelled to give evidence at the trial.”

In total, some 32 electoral fraud cases have been filed in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts against several political activists and GECOM officials, including Deputy Chief Elections Officer Roxanne Myers, stemming from the events that unfolded following the March 2, 2020, General and Regional Elections, which resulted in a five-month political and electoral impasse. (G3)

Guyanese on vacation killed in New Jersey accident

Thirty-four-year-old Guyanese swimmer Robert Taylor, who was on vacation in New Jersey, United States of America, died on Monday morning after he was struck down by a car while using a pedestrian crossing.

A statement from Freehold Township Police in New Jersey stated that they responded to a report of the crash at around 07:00h in Freehold town in New Jersey.

According to the report, a 63-year-old woman, who was in the right lane when the crash happened, was not injured. The driver of the vehicle was also uninjured, Police have said.

The incident is now under investigation by authorities within the Freehold Township Police Department and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.

Taylor, a father of two, had been a member of the Guyana Amateur Swimming Association and had been attached to the Silver Shark Aquatic Swim Club. (G9)

Election CoI Chairman, Justice (retired) Stanley John

Lawrence and former

Dead: Robert Taylor

APNU Party Agent Nicola Trotman chose to remain silent during Tuesday’s hearing

$3M gun, ammunition theft Security officer, 2 others remanded to prison

and a quantity of ammunition valued at $3,763,000, the property of the owner of Radar Security and Supplies Company, Adepemo Peters.

On Sunday, January 8, one of these suspects took detectives to an Albouystown location, where four of the stolen guns were discovered: three .32 calibre and one 9mm calibre. This comes days after five persons were taken into custody for questioning in relation to the disappearance of the weapons. Among those was the mastermind of this alleged heist, a security official.

All together...

…One Guyana abroad

Asecurity officer and two other persons have been remanded to prison for allegedly stealing over $3 million worth of firearms and ammunition from the Radar Security and Supplies Company of Carmichael Street, Georgetown.

Carlton Dameon Singh,

also called ‘Fat boy’, 34, of Independence Boulevard Albouystown, Georgetown; Sheldon King, also called ‘Noel’, 47, a security officer of Cooper Street Albouystown Georgetown; and Linton ‘Dundie’ Trotman, 29, of North East La Penitence, Georgetown, were arraigned for this alleged offence be-

They were not required to plead to the indictment, which stated that between December 25 and 26, 2022 at Carmichael Street, Georgetown, they stole a number of firearms

It has been reported that detectives from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters made this breakthrough in the case after one of the suspects led investigators to a location in South Ruimveldt, Georgetown, where two of the 11 stolen weapons were recovered.

President Ali is in India - being felicitated by their Government for his achievements as a Person of Indian Origin (PIO). They’ve declared a PIO Day (PBD) since 2003, and have been handing out all sorts of awards to distinguished PIOs. Former Presidents Bharrat Jagdeo and Donald Ramotar bagged theirs during their incumbencies. Like countries around the world that have large diasporas – China being the top gun - India have recognised the diaspora can contribute immeasurably to their development. Here, again, China set the pace with overseas Chinese from the US, Singapore and elsewhere playing a major role through not only sending remittances, but in high-tech start-ups.

Well, it seems that the PPP’s been paying attention, for, at the PBD, the President actually announced the kernel of his “One Guyana” diaspora policy!! He told the gathering from dozens of countries - that on a per-capita basis, Guyana’s got one of the largest diasporas in the world –some 40% of its citizens living abroad!! We, of course, know this, since it’s the basis for the ongoing skirmishes about a “bloated” voters’ list!! While, numerically, our diaspora pales in comparison with India’s emigres, who clock in at over 25 million, the fact that there are more Guyanese abroad than at home gotta mean something for our development aspirations!!

The President declared, “Our diaspora is integral to the “One Guyana” agenda…. The forging of a strong sense of national identity within the diaspora is therefore central to the model of diaspora relations that we are pursuing… As such, it is necessary, when crafting policies, that we seek to integrate our diaspora into the process of national development. Policies, therefore, should be tailored to make our diasporas integral, rather than incidental to nationhood”!!

Now, the President knows, as well as most of us do, that our diaspora ain’t gonna be returning in droves – save to maybe visit!! Most of them are now geriatrics who’d fled the country Burnham destroyed. And their kids are doing quite fine in their new metropolitan homes, thank you!! His Government had established a Diaspora Unit under the Foreign Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Apart from some webinars and meetings in NYC and Toronto, not much has come out of these forays.

So, it appears that the President realises he’ll have to deal with the diaspora from a distance.

“The diaspora possesses the skills and expertise that are needed for the modernisation of our economy. We hope to be able to use ICTs to be able to make greater use of the wealth of skills available within the diaspora, including in providing educational and health services.”

So, guess we’ll just have to import some warm bodies to fill our human resources gaps!!

…for democratic norms

It was very heartening that Caricom quickly took Guyana’s lead to condemn the invasion of Brazil’s institutions of state power by Bolsonaro’s fanatical followers after they’d lost the elections. The vast majority of the rest of Latin America followed suit, and this has been positive for the preservation of democracy right here in dear ole mudda land. They’d done the same for us back in 2020 when the PNC attempted their own more blatant power grab!

The attempted overthrow of the legally-elected Lula Government- following the failed attack on Congress by Trump’s followers - the two largest democracies in this hemisphere - is a signal that we’ve entered a new era. The polarisation among the “factions” in democracies is now so deep that electoral losers read their loss of power not as a temporary setback that can be rectified at the next elections, but as an affront to their very sense of self!!

From this position, they’ll do whatever it takes to regain power. They’re preventing “evil”!!

…for progress

Some believe “we are what we eat”. Maybe that’s true for the physical body, but for success in the world, your Eyewitness believes “we are what we think”.

So, could Opposition leaders please dump their continuous negativity?

fore Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan on Tuesday at the Georgetown Magistrates Courts.

Damion Singh Sheldon King

Linton Trotman

Guyana only country in region to see significant growth rates in 2023, 2024 – World Bank

AJanuary 2023 report by the World Bank, titled Global Economic Prospects, has indicated that Guyana would again experience significant growth rates for this year and the following year – being the only country in the Latin American and Caribbean region to achieve this.

The new report indicates that growth in the Caribbean is expected to slow to 5.6 percent in 2023 and 5.7 percent in 2024, from 7.7 per cent last year. In the country forecast, Guyana is projected to see a growth rate of some 25.2 per cent for 2023. It is also projected that this expansion would continue in 2024 at 21.2 per cent.

While Guyana will be on the cusp of greater development, other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean would face ‘renewed headwinds’.

“Though 2022 saw resurgent tourism, a sharp downturn in advanced economy growth is likely to slow the recovery. Tighter financing conditions will squeeze investment and make it harder for many islands to roll over debt and finance large fiscal and current account deficits,” the report has stated.

Among the Caribbean’s larger economies, growth in the Dominican Republic is expected to average a solid 4.9 percent in 2023 and 2024. In contrast,

Haiti’s economy is expected to contract for the fifth consecutive year in 2023. It remains beset by violence and instability, with nearly one-in-five children chronically malnourished.

Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is estimated to have grown 3.6 percent in 2022. Robust expansion in the first half of the year was driven mostly by consumption, supported by recovering labour markets. However, activity weakened late last year, as slowing global growth and tighter financial conditions started to take effect.

“Inflation surged in 2022, reaching multi-decade highs in many countries, with price pressures broadening to a wide array of goods and services. Food prices rose particularly rapidly. Headline inflation appeared to peak in the middle of the year in most countries, but it remains well above central bank targets.

Accordingly, central banks continued raising policy rates last year into double digits in the region’s largest economies.”

The World Bank has projected that growth in the region is expected to decelerate sharply to 1.3 percent in 2023, before recovering somewhat to 2.4 percent in 2024. The slowdown reflects efforts by monetary authorities to tame inflation, and spillovers from a weak global outlook.

“Slow global growth is expect -

ed to weigh on commodity prices, weakening South America’s terms of trade. Regional investment is expected to decline this year, dampened by higher financing costs, soft business con -

fidence, and elevated policy uncertainty,” the report mentioned.

Brazil is projected to grow 0.8 percent in 2023, as high interest rates curb investment and export growth slows. Mexico’s

economy is expected to expand 0.9 percent this year, as restrictive monetary conditions, stubbornly high inflation, and softer exports curtail activity. GDP in Argentina is forecast to grow two percent in 2023, as very high inflation stymies economic activity.

After surging last year, growth in Colombia is also set to slow markedly to 1.3 percent this year. Chile’s economy is likely to contract over the year, as lower real incomes erode consumption. In Peru, elevated policy uncertainty and declining metal prices are expected to dampen growth, forecasted at 2.6 percent in 2023.

Growth in Central America is forecasted to soften to 3.2 percent in 2023, as deceleration in the United States economy hampers exports and inward remittances. The Caribbean is expected to see firmer expansion, at 5.6 percent, but this partly reflects a long-delayed recovery from the pandemic-induced recession.

In identifying the risks, the World Bank noted that weaker-than-anticipated global growth could weigh heavily on commodity prices, undermining economic activity in the region’s commodity exporters. Further tightening of global financial conditions could also lead to financial stress in the region’s more vulnerable economies. (G12)

US$100M funding approved for Diamond/Grove-to-Timehri Road Project

– alternate routes to mitigate traffic congestion being worked out

Public Works Minister

Bishop Juan Edghill on Tuesday announced that the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) has approved some US$100 million to commence the Diamond/ Grove-to-Timehri Road Project.

The Minister made this announcement during a recent interview with the Department of Public

Information (DPI).

“The Diamond/Groveto-Timehri Road, which is what people are very concerned about, will see that upgrade. We have the approval of the money from the IDB, and we are at finalising the procurement for the contractor to engage in the interim,” he said.

The loan was requested through the IDB’s Programme

to Support Climate

Resilient Infrastructure Development. Under this programme, the Government will be looking to improve road safety, pedestrian infrastructure, and utility networks. The aim is to mitigate congestion and delays faced by commuters traversing the corridor.

Currently, Government is utilising local funds to desilt all the drains and wid-

en roads along the Diamond/ Grove corridor. The drainage works are expected to be completed by month end, as works on the 16 lots are moving apace.

“I am sure commuters are satisfied inasmuch as we haven’t solved the problem totally. The ride through Grove has been significantly improved, and it is moving much faster because of the interventions that we have made, and we continue to do some maintenance work almost on a nightly basis,” Minister Edghill noted.

Meanwhile, Government is working on creating an alternate route to mitigate traffic congestion along the East Bank Demerara corridor.

Thus far, an alternate route has been rehabilitated for persons residing in the Diamond Housing Scheme to enter and exit through Avenues A and B, instead of the usual route at the Diamond Junction.

Further road rehabilitation is underway with two bridges expected to be constructed from Avenue A

to link Diamond to Grove. Another bridge will be constructed from Grove to allow persons to exit at Busbee Dam, Craig.

“Which means you will bypass the entire Diamond/ Grove and come out just after the temple which is to the waterside at Busbee Dam. So that will be an alternative route, and these are projects that are ongoing,” the Minister said.

Once completed, the alternate route will enable persons to travel all the way to Timehri from Diamond.

The drainage work being done on the EBD road

Guyana has reported its fourth COVID-19 death for the year, after another infected person succumbed to the novel coronavirus.

The Health Ministry on Tuesday announced that

a 65-year-old male from Region Four (DemeraraMahaica) died on January 8. He had been unvaccinated. This is the 1,291st death to be reported in the country since the virus was detected in March 2020.

164 deaths were recorded in 2020, and 891 in 2021, because of a spike that was linked to the Delta wave. 232 fatalities were documented in 2022, and, to date, four deaths have been recorded in 2023. Meanwhile,

a whopping 58 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the updated Tuesday dashboard.

There are now 72,538 confirmed cases in Guyana – 33,227 males and 39,311 females. Across the country, over 300 active cases are being monitored. Data shows that two persons are seeking treatment in the intensive care unit, 19 in institutional isolation and 323 in home isolation.

Meanwhile, 70,903 recoveries have been counted from the start of the pandemic to this week, and 712,962 tests have been processed.

In the Region of the Americas; that is, Latin America and the Caribbean,

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11, 2023 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has increased to 184 million, while the death toll has gone up to 2.8 million. Globally, there are 649 million confirmed positives, with 6.6 million deaths.

Symptoms of the coronavirus include fever, cough, tiredness, diarrhoea, pains, sore throat, and loss of taste or smell. The more serious symptoms are difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, chest pain, and loss of speech or movement.

If anyone is displaying any of the symptoms associated with COVID-19, or need any additional information, they are asked to contact the COVID-19 Hotline: 2311166, 226-7480, or 624-6674

immediately, or visit www. health.gov.gy.

All Guyanese are being encouraged to continue observing the public health measures set out by the Health Ministry. This encourages the need for everyone five years and older to get vaccinated against COVID-19; the need for everyone to get a COVID-19 booster dose after completing the primary vaccination series; the need for correct and consistent use of a face mask when leaving your home; the importance of maintaining a safe distance of six feet from others; and the practice of good hand hygiene to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. (G12)

President Dr Irfaan Ali met with India’s President, Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday at the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.

Discussions focused on several areas, including enhancing cooperation in oil and gas, healthcare, training and capacity building. After the meeting, President Ali, the Chief Guest at the convention, was conferred with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award, the highest civilian honour by the Indian Government granted to people of Indian origin in the Diaspora. (Office of the President photos)

President Dr Irfaan Ali and members of his delegation were given a tour of Jash Engineering Limited in the city of Indore in Madhya Pradesh and the Shankar Soya Concepts, located in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in India on Tuesday. Jash Engineering Limited, which manufactures a wide range of equipment, including those for water and sea water intake systems, operates on four continents. President Ali is expected to visit several factories in the Industrial Area during his visit to the SEZ. Industries of various sectors such as plastic, engineering, pharmaceutical, metal, textile and food processing, etc, are located in the zone. (Office of the President photos)

WIIN 2023 registration opens with new courses

Through the Guyana Women’s Leadership Institute, the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security has opened registration for the 2023 batch of Women’s Investment and Innovation Network (WIIN) training.

This year, interested persons will be trained in new areas, such as food tourism; social media marketing; design, décor and events management; entrepreneurship; project management, and leadership advocacy.

Persons would also be

trained in recurring courses, such as child care; care for the elderly; graphics design; home management; television and video production, and garment construction.

Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr Vindhya Persaud, has said, “WIIN continues to transform the lives of thousands of women across all the regions of Guyana through its flexible, inclusive, and impactful hybrid training format. This free training initiative continues to yield entrepreneurs and

women-owned businesses, and empower women who are knowledgeable in various technical vocational areas. This is a dynamic programme that adapts to fit our country’s needs, and is continually reviewed to ensure that there is a high probability for employment.”

She added that the WIIN training programme is one component of a holistic vision that seeks to equip women with all the tools and knowledge to become financially independent, and with the confidence to seek op-

Several arrested for fatal chopping of DJ – Crime Chief

As investigations intensify into the chopping death of 18-yearold Brian Pitam, also known as “DJ Viper”, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum on Tuesday confirmed that several persons have been taken into custody. Among those persons, he noted, is one suspect who had been arrested on Sunday evening after the incident.

Blanhum has noted that, up to Tuesday evening, there has been no confession. However, he said, once the file is completed, it would be sent for legal advice.

Pitam, a disc jockey (DJ) of Good Hope, East Coast Demerara, was on Sunday evening chopped to death while trying to protect his father-in-law from three men who were attacking him at Laluni on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway.

It has been reported that the late Pitam’s father-in-law, Kumar Bacchus, was imbibing at a shop when three men confronted him and dealt him a lash to his face.

Pitam intervened, and was dealt several chops about his body before the trio rode off on their motorcycles.

Public-spirited citi-

zens rushed Pitam to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The Police have said that Pitam’s left thumb, index and middle fingers were severed, while the left wrist was partially severed, and he also sustained a deep chop wound to the back of the neck.

portunities for self-development and upward mobility. The intention is to encourage more women to enter the labour market, and to further reduce the existing gender divide. Guyana has made significant strides and programmes in this regard, and WIIN is a tangible investment in this regard.

“I encourage women to sign on this year and commit to finishing their chosen area, and to utilise the complementary programmes: WIIN in Business clinics, the WIIN App, the WIIN business incubator, and funding opportunities when they arise. These are also free and open to all. We are here to serve, and I wish all the new applicants every success as we introduce new courses now and all year round, and widen the scope of opportunities. We

are looking forward to doubling the number of women trained and supported this year,” the Minister has explained.

Coordinator of the programme, Sanjay Pooran, noted, “The WIIN programme has been nothing short of a phenomenal success. It has improved the lives of 6,000 women in all 10 Regions of Guyana in just two years. WIIN provides a combination of technical and vocational training, opportunities for entrepreneurial development, and access to financing opportunities. This programme emanates from a sincere desire on the part of the Honourable Minister Dr. Vindhya Persaud and the Government of Guyana’s vision to see women empowered and excelling in all facets of national life.”

Persons desirous of sign-

ing up for any of the listed courses can do so by filling out a digital application using the link http://www.facebook.com/humanservicesgy.

No academic qualification is needed, but persons must provide a valid telephone number and a form of identification (passport or National Identification Card). For those doing classes online, a computer is required with a camera and a stable internet connection.

Registration closes on February 28, 2023. For more information, persons are invited to call 229-2751 or 2292842.

From inception of this programme in 2021, the number of courses offered has increased every year.

In the initial year, 2170 persons were trained, with Regions Four (588), Two (409), Five (345), Three (320) and Six (307) seeing the highest turnouts. In 2022, the programme saw a 62 per cent increase in participants, with over 10,000 persons applying. Region Four had the highest number of persons trained at 937, while Regions Three and Five each had over 500 persons trained. In the hinterland, over 350 persons were trained.

Region Nine saw an increase by 532 per cent, while Region Seven (396%) and Region Ten (335%) also had hefty increases in percentages of persons trained from 2021 and 2022.

Last year, 758 persons were trained in child care, while 563 persons were trained in graphic design, and 523 in care for the elderly.

Dead: Brian Pitam, also known as DJ Viper

Human Services and Social Security Minister, Dr Vindhya Persaud

Ramsammy’s Ruminations

Democracy under siege globally – national development is collateral damage

For several years now, we have been experiencing a global assault on democracy and freedom. The latest assault is stirring fear in the biggest country in South America, Brazil. Whether it is in Brazil, Guyana, the USA, or other countries around the world, disinformation, fake news and outright lies have been weaponised by charlatans and persons with dictatorial intentions, provoking citizens to take the law into their own hands.

In the USA, former President Donald Trump and the far-right activists in the Republican Party have insisted that US President Biden is an illegitimate President. In Guyana, the Opposition has done the same, insisting that President Irfaan Ali is an “installed” President with an “installed” Government, implying the ABCE countries “installed” them in Government.

In Brazil, former President Jair Bolsonaro has refused to accept the results of the elections, and now his supporters are creating mayhem in Brazil. But there are other countries where democracy is under siege.

The CoI hearings on the events after the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections in Guyana are ongoing. Every person who has testified so far has elicited more shock than existed in real-time among people, even those who are supporters of the present Opposition.

Almost simultaneously, similar hearings have occurred relating to the attempt to derail the results of the November 2020 Presidential Elections in America, and the report from those hearings has now been published. The January 6 Hearings in America and the Report have been shocking to many people in America and around the world.

Both these hearings have so far revealed a deep, widespread conspiracy to steal an election; in one case, in a country trying to put behind it a horrendous history of rigged elections, and in the other case, a country that has presented itself as the very beacon of democracy around the world.

In both cases, an incumbent Government lost an election - in Guyana on March 2, 2020, and in America in November 2020.

In both cases, no one challenged anything leading up to, and during, the actual voting. Challenges and allegations followed only when the incumbent Governments realised they had lost the elections. They both tried to tamper with the actual results so that they could steal the Government from the people.

These were direct, reckless, and dangerous assaults on democracy. In Guyana’s case, the attacks were led by the PNC, a political party with a DNA for rigging elections by any means to stay in power. In America, the assault came from the former President and the Republican Party, both proponents of voting rights’ restrictions for minority populations.

The 21st century was augured in with an unprecedented number of countries establishing or re-establishing democratic regimes. The 21st century was going to be the century when, finally, democracy, freedom, and the voice of citizens in choosing their Governments were universally accepted, and enshrined unconditionally as a fundamental human right. In the last several years, however, there has been a consistent growth in resistance and assault on democracy around the world.

Brazil is only the latest. While army-led coup d’états have been the main 20th-century mode of derailing democracies, the 21st-century weapon has been the weaponising of outright lies, fake news, and disinformation. Guyana, America and Brazil are prime examples of how fake news, lies and disinformation are being used to provoke citizens into unnecessary protests and disruptions.

In Guyana, more than thirty months after the new Government has been sworn in, the Opposition continues to insist that the President is an “installed” President. These charlatans use this posture to create polarisation and mayhem. Take, for example, the MochaArcadia event, wherein some 35 squatters were requested to remove so that a major new highway could be constructed to facilitate smooth traffic around Georgetown and through the East Bank Demerara corridor.

There should be no national dispute – squatters illegally occupying land can be removed. The present Opposition, when in Government, made that clear in 2016 and 2017 when dozens of squatters in South Sophia had their structures dismantled without much notice and no compensation, for “aesthetic” reasons. These same persons who led the removal of squatters then are today encouraging the squatters to stay where they are in Mocha, even though the squatters are preventing a national development project from being implemented, and have been offered generous compensation and assistance. This is what an assault against democracy can lead to – sheer anarchy.

By 2000, the Cold War had ended, and totalitarianism appeared vanquished, but today, democracy is on its back foot again. Since 2006, 113 countries have seen decline in rights associated with free and fair elections, democracy, and freedom. America, the country that took responsibility for being the defender of global democracy around the world, has retreated from that role.

Outside of free and fair elections, countries are restricting the freedom of the judiciary and impeding the work of NGOs; as in Ethiopia, where NGOs are prohibited from receiving more than 10% of their funding from international sources.

In Russia, internationally-funded NGOs are considered “foreign agents.” In Egypt, NGO representatives have received prison sentences for receiving international funding. In 2022, countries like Angola, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, China, and India enacted measures restricting international funding. Guyana, America, Brazil and other countries have seen the weaponisation of disinformation to lead the assault on democracy and freedom. More than ever before, we must stop the deterioration of democracy around the world.

Suspect in State House shooting stable – Crime Chief

– says investigations ongoing

Twenty-five-yearold Bethel Ikena Chinezie, the Nigerian national who invaded State House almost one month ago, is in stable condition, according to Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum on Tuesday.

And although this suspect has been questioned by detectives, Blanhum has said, he cannot reveal any further information; however, he has posited that “investigations are ongoing.”

Guyana Times understands that Chinezie has been removed from the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Georgetown Public Hospital, and is recuperating under guard. Presently, he is not allowed any visitors.

On the morning of Thursday, December 15, 2022, Chinezie presented himself at a southern guard hut at State House, located near Carmichael Street, with a demand to see the President. Cautioned about having to be processed before entering the compound, Chinezie resisted being so processed before whipping out a knife from a pouch he was carrying and using same to stab one of the guards, Teon Perreira, five times about his body and to his neck. After injuring Perreira, Chienzie relieved a female guard of her firearm and retreated from the guard hut.

It was then that shots rang out in the usually quiet neighbourhood, much to the alarm of those residing in the environs. Civilian videos of this Thursday morning ordeal captured Chinezie walking backwards from the guard hut while continuing to exchange gunfire with the Presidential Guards and other ranks.

The severely injured Nigerian national was lat-

er surrounded, intercepted, and disarmed by ranks; and both he and the injured guard were rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) for immediate medical attention. Chinezie was placed on life support while Perreira was treated and admitted as a patient. He was later discharged.

At the scene of the shooting, Police ranks retrieved a 9mm pistol and seven 9mm spent shells. While there were no other injuries reported, there was visible damage to nearby business entities.

It was reported that Chinezie was at the time employed with a cleaning service company. He arrived in Guyana on March 13, 2020, and previously worked at a security company.

Dr Leslie Ramsammy

Bethel Ikena Chinezie on the day of the attack

“Exact date” for LGE to be announced after GECOM concludes internal work – Dharamlall

ing what it has to do to make sure that the elections are held at a proper time. I believe that the Opposition has been…doing a lot of underhand work to stall the efforts to have the Local Government Elections on March 13. So, with some of the changes that have to happen, in terms of orders that have to be issued, I think that as soon as GECOM is finished with its internal work, we would be in a better position to announce an exact date,” the Minister related.

ter the Opposition went to court to challenge the voters list and process used.

LGE, which are usu -

ally due every two years, was last held in 2018. At the last LGE in November 2018, the then PPP/C

Opposition had secured 52 of the 80 Local Authority Areas (LAAs). This followed the holding of the

LGE in 2016, during which the PPP/C also claimed most of the LAAs.

Spring Gardens residents accessing potable water after decades

Local Government Minister Nigel Dharamlall

While not definitively confirming the postponement of Local Government Elections (LGE), which are scheduled for March 13 this year, Local Government and Regional Development Minister Nigel Dharamlall has said the exact date for the polls would be revealed once the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) wraps up its internal work.

Speaking with this publication during an interview on Tuesday, Dharamlall noted that there are many issues unfolding at GECOM which need to be addressed prior to the hosting of the elections.

“GECOM has been do -

Attorney General Anil Nandlall had previously expressed that GECOM may not be able to hold the polls on the date announced by the Minister.

“Unfortunately, based upon the way events are unfolding at that agency, we have had constant delays. Though the Minister has appointed a day for the elections to be held, from all indications, it appears that GECOM will not be in a position to hold those elections,” Nandlall had contended.

GECOM has already completed the statutory steps, such as claims and objections, to extract an Official List of Electors for LGE. However, the agency has been forced to postpone Nomination Day af -

Some 60 persons from Spring Gardens, a satellite community of River’s View in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), are now accessing potable water in their homes for the first time in decades, after extension works were carried out in the community.

Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal visited the community on Monday, met with village Toshao Melena Pollard, and inspected the recently completed works. The Minister was accompanied by the Hinterland Service Director of the Guyana Water Incorporated, Ramchand Jailall.

The Toshao has lauded the Ministry for the recently completed works, noting how essential potable water is. Prior to the extension work, Pollard explained, residents relied heavily on rainwater harvesting.

The works carried out on the system saw the installation of 2.5km of PVC pipe and 15 new service connections, all to the tune of $2

Prison officer charged for sneaking ganja into NA Prison

million.

The Minister and team also visited Dagg Point and Westerbeck, where he engaged residents and village leaders on how to improve access to potable water.

Previously, residents from Kangaruma in the Middle Mazaruni also met and engage the Ministry in the company of other officials. GWI, using in-house engineers, and with the help

of residents, carried out recent works to rehabilitate the village water supply system.

During his engagement with residents, Minister Croal spoke of the importance of having access to potable water. He noted that the Government aims to increase the coverage of access to potable water in Region Seven from 34 percent to 65 percent within the next year.

Other villages that have benefitted from newly installed water supply systems in the region include Kako, Waramadong, Tasserene, Isseneru, and Kaikan. These projects were executed in 2022.

The population with access to water in Region Seven in 2020 was 3,818 persons, or approximately 34 percent of the population. With the interventions undertaken in 2021, the population with access to water increased to 5,384 persons, which was 47 percent at the end of 2021.

Following the completion of the new projects awarded in 2022, the population with access to water will increase to 6,886, which is 61 percent of the population.

As part of the Government’s commitment to fulfilling Sustainable Development Goal Six, improvement projects will also be undertaken in other communities in Region Seven to ensure 100 percent access to potable water is provided by 2025, the Ministry has promised. (G12)

Security officer, 2 others...

FROM

Aprison officer was on Tuesday granted bail after pleading not guilty to a charge of trafficking narcotics into the prison.

Sarafane Pitt, 29, of Stanleytown, New Amsterdam, Berbice, Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne) appeared at the New Amsterdam Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate Renita Singh and pleaded not guilty to the charge.

It is alleged that on December 30, 2022 at the New Amsterdam Prisons,

she had 604 grams of cannabis in her possession for the purpose of trafficking.

She was charged under Section 5 (1) (a) (i) of the Narcotic Drug and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act, Chapter 10:10.

Bail was granted in the sum of $100,000. Pitt will have to return to court on February 21.

Police had reported that about 05:30h on December 30, they responded to a report at the New Amsterdam Prisons of the discovery of suspect -

ed narcotics in the guard hut area.

A search was conducted on a prison officer by the Prison Authorities and they found a black plastic bag wrapped with transparent plastic containing a quantity of leaves, seeds, and stems suspected to be cannabis in the officer’s handbag.

The prison officer, along with the suspected cannabis, was handed over to the Police. The suspected cannabis was weighed in her presence; it amounted to 604 grams. (G4)

The guns that were recovered on Sunday

Two employees of the Radar Security and Supplies Company had been taken into Police custody in December after six firearms and a quantity of ammunition were allegedly stolen from the entity between Christmas Day and Boxing Day (two single-barrel shotguns, four 9mm Taurus pistols, and five Taurus .32 pistols).

Also missing were twenty-five 12-gauge cartridges; 538 rounds of .32 ammunition, and 18 rounds of 9mm ammunition. It was further reported that the firm’s Chief Security Officer, a 72-year-old resident of Guyhoc Park, Georgetown, claimed that he had checked the firearms on Christmas Day and everything was intact. However, at 18:30h on Boxing Day, a 65-year-old ‘Weapons Training Officer’ from Enterprise, East Coast Demerara visited the lo-

cation and met a 57-yearold security guard from Tucville, Georgetown, who was on duty.

This Weapons Training Officer observed that the door to the office was not secured, but was rather left ajar. He then entered the office, where he observed that the padlocks on the strongbox were cut off, the chain that secured the firearms was also cut, and the firearms mentioned were missing. However, two other shotguns were left in the strong box.

The Training Officer claimed that he then informed the owner of the security service of his findings. Detectives were summoned to the office, and they observed that the padlocks and chain had indeed been cut. The two shotguns were removed from the strong box and lodged. The office was checked, but there was no

sign of breakage.

The 57-year-old security guard was questioned, and he claimed that at 17:00h on Boxing Day, he took over duty from a 36-year-old security guard from Paradise Housing Scheme, ECD, who had handed over the key for the said office that housed the strongbox. He claimed that he did not check the office door, nor did he go into the office.

He was arrested, and a search was carried out at his home, but nothing was found.

Checks were made for the 36-year-old security guard at his stated address at Paradise, ECD, but no one was seen at the house, which seems to have been abandoned.

The training officer was also arrested and questioned, and his home was searched, but nothing was found.

A resident of Spring Gardens utilising potable water in the village

Charged: Sarafane Pitt

The cannabis allegedly found in her possession

Former PNCR Treasurer backpedals on resignation

…says will resolve ‘racial hostility’ issues internally

Less than a month after resigning as Treasurer of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) due to repeated instances of racial hostility, Faaiz Mursaline has rescinded that resignation and has agreed to resolve his issues with the party, following a meeting with PNCR Leader Aubrey Norton.

During an interview with <<<Guyana Times>>> on Tuesday, Mursaline confirmed that he was back with the PNCR as its Treasurer. Mursaline said he met with the PNCR Leader on Monday. It was during this meeting that he agreed to stay with the party and resolve his issues internally.

“I didn’t receive any confirmation letter from the leader, so he never really accepted (my resignation) in writing. So, I withdraw my resignation. I will continue, in the best interest of the party, as Treasurer.

“The party has some grievances and we will settle

those grievances internally. And we will work with one unison… I had a meeting with the leader yesterday and we both assured each other that those grievances will be resolved internally,” Mursaline added.

Pressed for more information on the meeting, Mursaline only offered that he and Norton had a “very

interesting and cordial” conversation. He also denied that he was pressured to rescind his resignation.

Norton had previously told the media that he was not aware of the issues of racial hostility Mursaline had regarding his time in the party. The PNCR Leader also claimed that the PNCR has mechanisms to deal with members who become involved in racism.

Mursaline, who has been affiliated with the PNCR for close to a decade, was elected Treasurer of the party in December of 2021. But in December of last year, he resigned. His reasons for resigning only recently came to light in a letter he addressed to the PNCR Central Executive Committee (CEC).

Mursaline had accused the party of not doing anything when he brought complaints of being racially attacked by a well-known party member to the attention of leaders. The PNCR

BV man on bail for causing death by dangerous driving

Treasurer also said that he was forced to sign multiple blank cheques with no supporting documents. The party subsequently denied that there were no supporting documents, although it admitted that Mursalin did sign a number of blank cheques.

“Firstly, from the time I took office as the elected Treasurer of this great party, I was signing blank cheques with no supporting documents. I am always called to sign cheques and whenever I share an opinion of dislike towards this, I am met with hostility. In the month of November, it got worse.

“I was told by the confidential secretary to the General Secretary that all I am needed for is to sign the cheques and in that month, I signed about 20 blank cheques. I do not know what

are the amounts of money written on any of those cheques and I don’t know for what reasons the money, if any were spent on,” Mursaline said in his letter.

Mursaline also detailed other transgressions, such as when he submitted a workplan for the party to

attract more finances and made suggestions that a financial audit of Congress Place be done. According to him, PNCR Leader Norton did not take any action on either of these matters.

Mursaline was not the only official to have resigned. The party was also recently rocked by the resignation of former General Secretary Geeta ChandanEdmond, who was only appointed in January of 2022. Prior to her resignation, she was on a leave of absence from the party.

Meanwhile, the PNCR’s Florida chapter has brought a No-Confidence Motion (NCM) against their leader, although Norton has said that he is not too worried since the party does not provide for an NCM outside of the party's Congress and, therefore, the motion was essentially “dead on arrival”. (G3)

5 eco-lodges receive int’l “Green Tourism” certification

Wavell Lamatt of Beterverwagting, East Coast Demerara (ECD) was charged on Monday with the offence of causing death by dangerous driving, contrary to Section 35 (1) of the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic Act Chapter 51:02.

The accident occurred on August 15, 2022, on the Lusignan Public Road, ECD, and resulted in the death of 54-year-old Prahalad Sawh of Lusignan.

The 44-year-old man appeared at Vigilance Magistrate’s Court on Monday before Magistrate Fabayo Azore, and the charge was read to him.

He pleaded not guilty and was placed on $100,000 bail.

Sawh was struck down by a motorcycle and then run over by a motor car, which was allegedly driven by Lamatt along the Lusignan Public Road.

According to Police reports, both the motorcycle, CL 4502, and motor car, PVV 854, were proceeding easterly on the ECD Public Road. The motorcyclist had told investigators that he was behind a minibus when he suddenly saw a shadow moving across the roadway.

According to reports at the time, he had noted that as the minibus passed; he saw the pedestrian in front of him, but he was too close (to swerve away) so he collided with Sawh. Both the motorcyclist and the pedestrian sustained injuries.

However, the 31-yearold motorcyclist, instead of assisting the pedestrian, picked up his bike and rode away. He later turned up at a city hospital to seek medical attention.

Meanwhile, the driver of the motor car allegedly told the Police that while pro-

ceeding along the said road at a normal rate of speed behind the motorcyclist, he saw someone lying on the roadway and he pulled in a northerly direction to avoid a collision, but despite his efforts, he ran over the person.

The driver added that he then pulled his vehicle over to the northern side of the roadway and it was then he saw Sawh lying on the road in a motionless state.

Shortly after the accident, Leon Lewis, a 31-year-old clerk at the Health Ministry and a resident of Nkrumah Street in Annandale, ECD, the motorcyclist who was involved in the accident was charged with causing death by dangerous driving, among other charges.

He was placed on $500,000 bail after pleading not guilty to the causing death charge. (G9)

Five Eco Lodges have received Green Destinations-Good Travel Seal and Business certification from the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA).

Representatives of Atta Rainforest Lodge, Caiman House Eco Lodge, Iwokrama River Lodge, Karanambu Lodge, and Rewa Eco Lodge were presented with certificates by Tourism Minister Oneidge Walrond during a ceremony held on Tuesday at the Marriott Hotel.

This certification falls under the internationally acclaimed Green Destination Accreditation and Certification Programme for Guyana, which seeks to certify tourism businesses and the entire destination.

While congratulating the recipients, Minister Walrond noted that sustainable tourism management is imperative, since many visitors want to be associated with destinations that practice sustainable management.

She added that this approach is critical because it

preserves the sector for future generations.

“I thank you for taking the charge and GTA for pursuing this. We want to see the airlines taking up our interior transportation services. Every single service provider that deals with our visitors and pretty much the entire country,” she said.

The Minister said Guyana needs to make tourism work. She said this can be done by preserving all of the country’s resources.

“When we all and businesses join in this programme, the certification effort, and others will be as equally challenging as we are doing it for the livelihood, and not only for ourselves, but for generations of Guyanese to come”, she explained.

The Tourism Minister added that she is proud of the achievement, while stating that very soon they will be pursuing businesses in other Regions.

She assured the audience that very soon things will become easier for them. She further stated that the

programme will not only be annual, but will become a lifestyle. She urged other businesses to get certified.

“Our very existence as a tourism destination will depend on our certification and certifications like these,” Walrond said.

The Good Travel Seal certification is part of the Good Travel Guide sustainable travel platform, which promotes destinations and businesses to responsible travellers looking for a green holiday. The certification is awarded to tourism businesses for their commitment to the fields of environmentally-friendly management, social responsibility, and health & safety.

The certification is available to all types of businesses in the tourism supply chain, including hotels, B&Bs, campsites, bars, restaurants, takeaways, activity providers, dive centres, small country-based cruise operators, car rentals, local destination marketing organisations, and others.(G9)

Tourism Minister Oneidge Walrond sharing a photo with representatives of Atta Rainforest Lodge, Caiman House Eco Lodge, Iwokrama River Lodge, Karanambu Lodge, and Rewa Eco Lodge (Tourism Ministry photo)

Dead: Prahalad Sawh

Charged: Wavell Lamatt

Charged: Leon Lewis

PNCR Treasurer Faaiz Mursaline

PNCR Leader Aubrey Norton

RegionalBrazil riots: Arrests ordered for top officials after capital stormed

Brazil's judicial authorities have ordered the arrest of top public officials after rioters stormed key Government buildings in Brasília.

One official, the former commander of the military police, has been arrested, local media reported.

The officials also include Brasília's former public security chief Anderson Torres and others "responsible for acts and omissions" leading to the riots, the Attorney General's office said.

Torres denies any role in the riots.

Colonel Fábio Augusto, the Police Commander, was dismissed from his role after supporters of ex-President Jair Bolsonaro stormed Congress, the presidential palace and the Supreme Court.

The rioting came a week after President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, widely known

as Lula, was sworn in.

The dramatic scenes saw thousands of protesters, some clad in yellow Brazil football shirts and waving flags, overrun Police and ransack the heart of the Brazilian State.

Of the approximately 1500 people arrested and brought to the Police academy after the riot, officials say that nearly 600 have been taken to other facilities, where Police officials

have five days to formally charge them.

Earlier on Tuesday, the federal intervenor in public security accused Torres of "a structured sabotage operation".

Ricardo Cappelli, who has been appointed to run security in Brasília, said there was a "lack of command" from Torres before Government buildings were stormed. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Gonsalves calls on US to curb export of guns to the Caribbean

The St Vincent and the Grenadines Government on Monday called on the United States to do more to curb the easy access of illegal weapons and their easy exportation to Latin America and the Caribbean.

Gonsalves, speaking on a radio programme, decried the proliferation of guns manufactured in the United States and violence associated with the illegal drugs trade as the main cause for the high rate of murders in some Latin American and Caribbean countries.

“The United States of America had to do something about not having the easy access to guns and the easy exportation of guns. They have the resources to help us with that,” he said noting that Mexico has circulated a draft resolution to be discussed at the January 24 meeting in Argentina of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) “on this

Haiti’s political crisis worsens as Senate terms expire

The deepening political crisis in Haiti has come into renewed focus as the country’s only remaining Senators saw their terms expire overnight, an alarming development in a country beset by surging gang violence and instability.

The Senate was Haiti’s last democratically-elected institution, though its ranks had been reduced to just 10 after the country failed to hold legislative elections in 2019 to fill vacant seats. Those 10 Senators represented a country of nearly 12 million people.

But as their terms expired overnight on Tuesday, the Caribbean country has been left without a single legislator in its House or Senate.

“It’s a very grim situation,” Alex Dupuy, a Haitianborn sociologist at Wesleyan University in the United States, told The Associated Press news agency. “One of the worst crises that Haiti has had since the Duvalier dictatorship.”

The bloody regime of Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, who fled the coun-

try in 1986 after succeeding his father, Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier, marked the last time Haiti lacked elected officials.

Gang violence has been on the rise in Haiti in recent months, particularly after the power vacuum created by the July 2021 assassi-

nation of President Jovenel Moise, who had been ruling by decree.

The country’s de facto leader, interim Prime Minister Ariel Henry, whom Moise chose for the post just days before he was killed, has faced a crisis of legitimacy, with some Haitian civ-

il society leaders urging him to hand power over to an inclusive, transitional government.

Henry has rejected that demand, saying Haiti needs new elections to chart a path out of the overlapping crises it faces. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Ex-Honduras President says current Government impeding US defence case

Alawyer for Juan Orlando Hernandez, the former Honduran President who is facing US drugs and weapons charges, on Tuesday accused the Central American country's current Government of setting up obstacles to his defence.

In a hearing on Hernandez's case in Manhattan federal court,

defence lawyer Raymond Colon said individuals in Honduras he was hoping to speak with were "being intimidated," without providing evidence.

Colon said he had identified a Honduran military officer who was willing to testify at trial on a "very important" issue that would cast doubt on the prosecution's version of

events.

But he said that individual, whom he did not identify, later told a family member he needed approval from a Judge in Honduras before continuing to speak with Colon.

"That certainly creates a problem for us in terms of putting on an effective defence," Colon said. (Excerpt from Reuters)

very matter”. The draft notes that the CELAC members meeting in Bueno Aires for their seventh summit “acknowledges that while the region represents eight per cent of the world population, it experiences 37 per cent of the world’s homicide mostly caused by firearms that have been manufactured or distributed in the United States and the trafficked in the region”.

Gonsalves said the draft also states as a result, CELAC is urging the strengthening of national efforts to reinforce mechanisms to control the legal trade and transfer of firearms in order to “combat illegal flows which generate situation of violence and put at risk the security and integrity of the civilian population, especially women, youth and adolescents”.

(Excerpt from CMC)

Fresh Peru clashes leave many dead

At least 17 people have died in clashes between supporters of the former President and security forces in south-eastern Peru, officials say.

Dozens more were injured on Monday in the city of Juliaca in some of the worst violence since ex-President Pedro Castillo was arrested last month for trying to dissolve Congress.

His supporters have been protesting and blockading roads for weeks.

They say new President Dina Boluarte must go, and want snap elections.

Prime Minister Alberto Otárola denounced the clashes in Juliaca, describing them as an organised attack on Police.

He said that thousands of people had tried to overrun the city's airport and a local Police Station.

Meanwhile, one protester told the AFP news

agency: "The Police are shooting at us."

"We ask Dina to resign. Accept the fact that people do not want you," the protester added.

Juliaca is located in the Puno region, which has been a hotbed of anti-Government demonstrations.

The South American nation has been through years of political turmoil, with the latest crisis coming to a head when Castillo announced he was dissolving Congress and introducing a state of emergency in December.

But Congress proceeded to vote overwhelmingly to impeach him.

Castillo, who is currently in detention, is being investigated on charges of rebellion and conspiracy.

He denies all the accusations, insisting that he is still the country's legitimate President.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

Colombia, ELN rebels likely to hold emergency meeting in Caracas –– negotiator

Colombia and the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebel group could hold an emergency meeting in Caracas as early as this week, the head of the Government negotiating team said on Tuesday.

Colombia declared and then called off a bilateral ceasefire with the group last week after the ELN said it had not agreed to the move. The Government blamed a misunderstanding of the ELN's position for the about-face.

The two sides held a first cycle of negotiations to end the guerrillas' part in nearly six decades of war last year in Caracas and was set to begin another round of talks in Mexico.

But Mexico was not yet ready to host, Otty

Patino, the head of the Government's negotiating team told Blu Radio that the two sides could hold a prior meeting back in Caracas this week or next.

"We are trying for there to be a prior conversation to complete what was left from

the first cycle," said Patino, who like President Gustavo Petro is a former member of the M-19 urban guerrilla group.

A meeting in Caracas "is not a cycle but an emergency meeting" he added.

Patino denied talks

with the rebel group, which counts some 2400 combatants, are in crisis.

"There isn't a crisis, there is a pause," he said. "To talk about a crisis at a negotiating table that is paused seems inadequate to me."

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Former Justice Minister Anderson Torres

St Vincent & the Grenadines Prime Minister, Dr Ralph Gonsalves

Crude oil edges higher; Chinese demand, Powell speech in focus

Oil prices edged higher Tuesday, consolidating after a strong start to the week, helped by a potential boost to Chinese demand ahead of a key speech by Fed chief Jerome Powell.

By 08:50 ET (13:50 GMT), US crude futures traded 0.6 per cent higher at US$75.08 a barrel, while the Brent contract rose 0.4 per cent to US$79.99 a barrel.

These gains follow on from both benchmarks climbing around one per cent on Monday, after China, the world's biggest oil importer and second-largest consumer, opened its borders over the weekend for the first time in three years.

Additionally, there were reports of aggressive buying as Beijing issued a second batch of crude oil import quotas for independent refiners, at a much higher level than last year.

“Higher quotas support the view of recovering Chinese demand this year and the quicker-than-expected change in COVID policy means that the demand recovery could be more robust than initially expected,” said analysts at ING, in a note.

“For 2023 global oil demand is expected to grow in the region of 1.7MMbbls/d, of which 50 per cent will be driven by China. There could be some upside risk to this.”

Gains have been more limited Tuesday ahead of a speech from Federal Reserve Chair Powell, with traders looking for clues for his plans for rate hikes to gauge the impact on the economy and fuel demand.

There is a great deal of uncertainty in the US market at the moment over how quickly and at what price the Strategic Petroleum Reserve can be refilled. So far, sellers are refusing to come down to the Government's perceived bid level of around US$70.

On the supply side, the Group of Seven industrialised nations announced they will seek to set two price caps on Russian refined products in February, one for products trading at a premium to crude oil and the other for those trading at a discount.

There are already signs that Russia is struggling to find buyers for its oil since the European Union (EU) ban on Russian seaborne crude oil came into effect back in early December. Argus has quoted Urals in the Baltic trading at a little under US$38 a barrel, which is around a US$40 a barrel discount to Brent.

“If Russia struggles to find buyers for its oil, it will have to start reducing output. And demand for Russian oil will fall even further from February as the EU ban on Russian refined products comes into effect,” added ING. (Excerpt from Investing.com)

Trump executive Weisselberg sentenced to 5 months for tax fraud

Longtime Trump Organisation executive Allen

Weisselberg has been sentenced to five months in prison for tax fraud and taken into custody in New York City.

The former Trump Organisation Chief Financial Officer had delivered testimony that helped convict the company in 2022 of tax fraud in a Manhattan court. But Weisselberg maintained that neither the company’s namesake, former President Donald Trump, nor his family knew about the scheme as it was happening.

On Tuesday, Weisselberg was handcuffed and taken into custody moments after the sentence was announced. He was expected to be taken to New York City’s notorious Rikers

Island jail complex.

Weisselberg’s five-month sentence had previously been negotiated in August when he agreed to plead guilty to 15 tax crimes and testify against the company. He faced up to 15 years in prison without the agreement.

As part of the plea agreement, Judge Juan Manuel Merchan also ordered Weisselberg to pay nearly US$2 million in taxes, penalties and interest. Weisselberg will also have to complete five years of probation after his jail term is finished.

Weisselberg’s three days of testimony at the trial against the Trump Organisation offered a glimpse into the inner workings of Trump’s real estate empire. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Around the World

"Land covered in corpses" as Russia strives for 1st big Ukraine gains in months

Ukraine said on Tuesday its forces were still holding onto positions in the eastern mining town of Soledar, withstanding assaults by wave after wave of Russian soldiers and mercenaries seeking Moscow's first battlefield victory for months.

Earlier, the British Defence Ministry said Russian troops and fighters of Wagner, a mercenary company run by an ally of President Vladimir Putin, had probably taken control of most of the settlement of Soledar after four days of advances.

But Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said in a statement on Tuesday evening that fighting for the town was still raging.

"The enemy disregards

the heavy losses of its personnel and continues to storm actively," she said. "The approaches to our positions are simply strewn with the bodies of dead en-

emy fighters. Our fighters are bravely holding the defence."

There was no immediate word from Moscow on the situation in the town and

Reuters was not able to verify it.

Seizing Soledar would be Russia's most substantial gain since last August, after a series of humiliating retreats throughout much of the second half of 2022.

Russian forces have been fighting for months to capture the nearby larger city of Bakhmut, a few kilometres (miles) to the southwest.

But any victory would come at a massive cost, with troops from both sides having taken heavy losses in some of the most intense combat since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly 11 months ago. Kyiv has released pictures in recent days showing what it says are scores of Russian soldiers strewn dead in muddy fields.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Former King of Greece Constantine II dies at 82

Greece's former King Constantine II, whose nine-year reign coincided with one of the most turbulent periods in the country's political history, died on Tuesday aged 82, state website ERT news reported.

Constantine II, the only son of King Paul and Queen Frederica of Greece, ascended to the throne in 1964 after his father died, but his reign was marred by political instability which culminated in a military coup on April 21, 1967.

A few months later, he was forced to flee the country after leading an unsuccessful countercoup against the then military junta.

He remained in Rome until the junta abolished the monarchy in 1973.

In a referendum called by a national unity government led by Konstantinos Karamanlis after the fall of the junta in 1974, Greeks rejected monarchy for a second time, making Constantine the last king of Greece. Athens later stripped him of

his citizenship.

In 2002, he and other family members were compensated with 13.7 million euros for their former property in Greece which includes the Tatoi palace estate north of Athens that

is currently being restored and a villa in Corfu, where Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was born, now turned into a museum.

With his wife Queen Anne-Marie of Greece, the former king, a sailor whose

team won a gold medal at the 1960 Olympics, had five children. Constantine, Prince William's godfather, and his family had lived in London for years, before returning to Greece. (Excerpt from Reuters)

WHO urges travellers to wear masks as new COVID variant spreads

Countries should consider recommending that passengers wear masks on long-haul flights, given the rapid spread of the latest Omicron subvariant of COVID-19 in the United States, World Health Organisation (WHO) officials said on Tuesday.

In Europe, the XBB.1.5 subvariant was detected in small but growing numbers, WHO and Europe officials said at a press briefing.

Passengers should be advised to wear masks in highrisk settings such as long-haul flights, said the WHO's senior emergency officer for Europe, Catherine Smallwood, add-

ing: "this should be a recommendation issued to passengers arriving from anywhere where there is widespread COVID-19 transmission".

XBB.1.5 -- the most transmissible Omicron subvariant detected so far -- accounted for 27.6 per cent of COVID-19 cases in the United States for the week ended January 7, health officials have said.

It was unclear if XBB.1.5 would cause its own wave of global infections. Current vaccines continue to protect against severe symptoms, hospitalisation and death, experts say.

"Countries need to look at the evidence base for pre-de-

parture testing" and if action is considered, "travel measures should be implemented in a non-discriminatory manner", Smallwood said.

That did not mean the agency recommended testing for passengers from the United States at this stage, she added.

Measures that could be taken include genomic surveillance, and targeting passengers from other countries as long as it does not divert resources from domestic surveillance systems. Others include monitoring wastewater around points of entry such as airports.

(Excerpt

from Reuters)

Global economy "perilously close" to a recession – World Bank

The global economy will come “perilously close” to a recession this year, led by weaker growth in all the world’s top economies – the United States, Europe and China –the World Bank warned on Tuesday.

In an annual report, the World Bank, which lends money to poorer countries for development projects, said it had slashed its forecast for global growth this year by nearly half, to just 1.7 per cent, from its previous projection of three per cent. If that forecast proved accurate, it would be the third-weakest annual expan-

sion in 30 years, behind only the deep recessions that resulted from the 2008 global

financial crisis and the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

Though the United

States might avoid a recession this year – the World Bank has predicted the US economy will eke out growth of 0.5 per cent – global weakness will likely pose another headwind for US businesses and consumers, on top of high prices and more expensive borrowing rates. The US would also remain vulnerable to further supply chain disruptions if COVID-19 keeps surging or Russia’s war in Ukraine worsens.

And Europe, long a major exporter to China, will likely suffer from a weaker Chinese economy. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Smoke rises from strikes on the frontline city of Soledar, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, as seen from Bakhmut, Ukraine, January 5, 2023 (Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne)

A global economic downturn will hit poorest countries hardest [File: Eric Gaillard/Reuters]

DAILY HOROSCOPES

A change of heart will take you in a new direction. Update your resume to reflect what you enjoy doing most. Happiness is the result of doing what’s best for you. Be bold and share your intentions.

(March 21-April 19)

(April 20-May 20)

Conflicting information will leave you at a loss. Ask direct questions and make needed updates. Don’t let a change someone makes cost you. Distance yourself from unsafe situations.

Spring past the competition; you’ll gain respect and the assistance you require to bring about positive change. Don’t say yes to someone without doing your research.

(May 21-June 20)

(June 21-July 22)

Take care of details and avoid falling behind. Problems concerning authority, government agencies and institutions will surface if you neglect to do your part. Don’t fear change.

A change in routine will affect your physical well-being. Don’t overdo it or make promises you won’t want to keep. Adopt a playful attitude and don’t be afraid to lend a helping hand.

(July 23-Aug. 22)

(Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

Emotional resentment will hold you back. Replace criticism and negativity with a positive spin that promises change. Work alongside those who like to experiment. Don’t rely on others.

Live up to your promises. Check the cost before signing up for something time-consuming. Rethink your strategy and you’ll devise a plan that makes you happy.

SUDOKU

(Sept. 23-Oct. 23)

(Oct. 24-Nov. 22) (Nov. 23-Dec. 21)

When visiting someone, don’t arrive empty-handed. Look at every angle when making decisions that could affect your reputation or position. Choose a healthy lifestyle and avoid overindulgence.

Take the path that makes you proud and encourages you to persuade others to contribute to your success. A kind word or compliment will lift someone’s spirits and raise your profile.

Use your imagination and save time and money. An unexpected gift or gain will also cause concern. Don’t lose sight of your long-term goal or what you need to do to reach it. Finish what you start.

(Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

(Jan. 20-Feb. 19)

Channel your energy into home improvement, which will replenish your imagination and enrich your skills and life. Love and romance are favored. Share your feelings with a loved one.

Step outside your comfort zone and address issues that concern you. The difference you make by speaking out will impress onlookers and put you in a position to advance.

(Feb. 20-March 20)

ARCHIE PEANUTS

CALVIN AND HOBBES

DILBERT

Kohli's 45th ODI hundred powers India to victory

There were contributions from Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul as well, who did not allow the run-rate to flag in the middle overs.

Sri Lanka replied gamely, Pathum Nissanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, and Dasun Shanaka producing half-decent innings. But India had set a monster target of 374, and when Sri Lanka slipped to 23 for 2, then 64 for 3, against some excellent India seam bowling, the chase took on a permanently-doomed quality.

Still, Sri Lanka didn't fold cheaply - they pushed to 306 for 8 - Shanaka completing a second ODI hundred in the final over.

Between them, India's seamers took seven wickets; Umran Malik claiming the most, with 3 for 57. It was the hosts' top three that defined the contours of this game, however. Gill smote

There were times when India seemed like they could push for 400, but Sri Lanka's bowlers didn't fall apart completely - Kasun Rajitha (who took three wickets), and Chamika Karunaratne bowling decently at the death. Everyone's figures were still a mess, of course: Rajitha going for 88 from his 10; his opening partner Dilshan Madushanka going at over seven an over. It was not a particularly kind pitch for spinners, on top of which the outfield was rapid.

Of all India's outstanding innings, Gill's was the purest, reliant as it was on his glorious timing, particularly through the off side. And it was the knock that first signalled a monster total was in the making. He creamed not-particularly-wide, not-particularly-short deliv-

raced to 25 off 17, but then Rohit took over. In one particularly disheartening sequence for Sri Lanka, he walloped Rajitha for two sixes and a four - all using his famed pull shot, one of those sixes coming after he had charged the bowler. His was an increasingly dismissive innings.

They raced to their fifties, the spreading of the field and the arrival of serious spin barely tempering the pair's scoring rate. The partnership was not without a little luck - both batters could have been out in their 40s, had the standing umpire given them out lbw (the reviews were denied because of umpire's call).

Kohli had some luck too, dropped once on 52, and another time on 81, Rajitha the bowler on both occasions. Otherwise, he blazed his way through the middle overs. He charged Shanaka to pound him through mid-on to fetch his first boundary, was bru-

quicks.

He got to his half-century with a six over wide mid-on off Dhananjaya de Silva, having come down the track. By this stage, with roughly 35 overs bowled, he and Rahul were deep into a partnership that reaped 90 off 70 balls. Kohli scored especially heavily in the arc between midon and midwicket, but had shots everywhere, of course. When he got to his hundred off his 80th ball, India were already pushing 350.

Thanks partly to Kohli not quite exploding in the death as he would have wished, however, India made only 70 runs in their last nine overs. At 303 for 3 after 41 overs, a total of 400 was conceivable.

Siraj removed Avishka Fernando for 5, before bowling Kusal Mendis off the inside edge in his next over. India had been 75 for nil at the end of the first powerplay. Sri Lanka were 38 for 2, their required rate already more than eight an over.

When Charith Asalanka failed to review a wrong caught behind decision against Malik in the 14th over, Sri Lanka's chances of winning seemed infinitesimal.

ping stone on the journey of his growth.

But then Sri Lanka lost four wickets for 45, leaving Shanaka only in the company of the tail, and the whole enterprise became about getting Shanaka as big a score as possible, the victory having long since slipped. He took his sweet time getting in, making only 31 off his first 41 balls, striking just the single four and six in that period.

eries square through the offside in the early overs. By the end of the fifth, Gill had

tal on errors of length from the spinners, and was strong down the ground against the

Despite Nissanka's fetching offside boundaries in the Powerplay, Sri Lanka's start was dismal. They never had the measure of this ultra-steep chase. Mohammed

FIA President warns drivers not to use F1 for ‘private personal agenda’

Formula One drivers must not use the platform provided by the sport to make statements for their own “personal agenda”, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem said on Tuesday.

F1 drivers will need prior written permission from the sport’s governing body to make “political, religious and personal statements” from next season, following an update of the International Sporting Code in December.

Unless the FIA grants approval in writing, drivers who make such statements would now be in breach of the rules. “We are concerned with building bridges. You can use sport for peace reasons…but one thing we don’t want is to have the FIA as a platform for private personal agenda,” Ben

Sulayem said. “We will divert from the sport. What does the driver do best?

Driving. They are so good at it, and they make the business, they make the show, they are the stars. Nobody is stopping them. There are other platforms to express what they want. Everybody has this, and they are most welcome to go through the process of the FIA, to go through that.”

Former champions Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel were among the high-profile drivers who made such statements in recent seasons. Hamilton has stood up for human rights and racial equality, while also addressing LGBTQ+ rights in conservative countries such as Saudi Arabia, which has held two races since 2021.

Vettel, who retired last

year, has highlighted issues from LGBTQ rights to climate change.

Ben Sulayem rejected the notion that the FIA was shutting down drivers, saying he wanted to “improve and clean up” the sport.

“I have my own personal things, OK, but it doesn’t mean I will use the FIA to

do it,” said Ben Sulayem. “The FIA should be neutral, I believe. We need the superstars in to make the sport.

“If there is anything, you take the permission. If not, if they make any other mistake, it’s like speeding in the pit lane. If you do it, it’s very clear what you get.” (Guardian Sport)

There were those who tried to revive the chase though. De Silva and Nissanka put on 72 off 65 for the fourth wicket, de Silva hitting a pleasing 47 off 40. Nissanka's 72 off 80 was probably a little slow, given the circumstances, but will perhaps be a further step-

Soon though, he started smashing it. He got to his 50 off 50 balls, then turning down many singles in order to give No. 10 Rajitha only the last two balls of most overs, he strode to a century off 87 deliveries, moving to triple-figures off the penultimate ball of the innings.

(ESPNCricinfo)

(Kusal Mendis, 5.3 ov), 3-64

(Charith Asalanka, 13.6 ov), 4-136

(Dhananjaya de Silva, 24.5 ov), 5-161

(Pathum Nissanka, 30.4 ov), 6-178

(Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva, 31.6 ov), 7-179

(Dunith Wellalage, 32.2 ov), 8-206

(Chamika Karunaratne, 37.5 ov)

BOWLING O-M-R-W

Mohammed Shami 9-0-67-1

Mohammed Siraj 7-1-30-2

Hardik Pandya 6-0-33-1

Umran Malik 8-0-57-3

Yuzvendra Chahal 10-0-58-1

Axar Patel 10-0-58-0

Ascintillating 143-run opening stand between Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma put India into overdrive. Then Virat Kohli smoked a 45th ODI century to take the total into high altitude.

70 off 60, Rohit 83 off 67, and Kohli's 113 off 87 was imperious for the most part.

F1 drivers were in December banned from making ‘political statements’ without permission

India opened the ODI Series against Sri Lanka with a commanding victory

Dasun Shanaka smashed his second ODI century Virat Kohli smashed his 45th ODI century

Sri Lanka Tour of India

Guyanese Cherry-Ann Fraser out of West Indies Women's squad due to injury

The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Selection Panel has announced that seam bowler Shanika Bruce will join the team in South

Africa for the upcoming T20 International (T20I) TriNation Series against hosts South Africa and India.

Bruce comes in as a re-

placement for Cherry-Ann Fraser, who has been ruled out due to injury. Bruce represented the West Indies Women’s ‘A’ Team in 2021

when Pakistan toured the Caribbean. She has played three T20Is for Barbados at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England last year. The Tri-Series will be played from 19 to 30 January, and forms part of the preparations for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, which will also be played in South Africa.

Lead Selector Ann Browne-John has said, “It’s unfortunate that CherryAnn Fraser has been ruled out of the Tri-Series and ICC Women’s T20 World Cup due to injury. Fraser has shown improvement during the recent series against England, and would have provided another fast-bowling option for the skipper. Shanika Bruce will replace Fraser in the Tri-Series squad. Bruce had a successful regional tournament last year, and was one of the top bowlers; so, as a result, we believe she is right fit for the team at this time.”

South Africa must be submitted by 3 February. The eighth edition of the marquee ICC Women’s event will begin on 10 February with hosts South Africa taking

Jamaican referee selected as official for 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup

The West Indies Women will play at least four matches, playing two matches each against hosts South Africa and India. The two leading teams will then play each other in the Tri-Series Final on 2 February. West Indies will also play a warm-up match against South Africa ahead of the Tri-Series at Beacon Bay on 16 January.

on Sri Lanka. West Indies have been drawn in Group 2 alongside England, India, Pakistan and Ireland.

FULL SQUAD: Hayley Matthews (Captain), Aaliyah Alleyne, Shanika Bruce, Shemaine Campbelle, Shamilia Connell, Britney Cooper, Chedean Nation, Afy Fletcher, Shabika Gajnabi, Sheneta Grimmond, Chinelle Henry, Karishma Ramharack, Kaysia Schultz, Shakera Selman, Stafanie Taylor and Rashada Williams

FULL MATCH SCHEDULE

T20I Tri-Series Match Schedule

(All matches to be played at Buffalo Park, East London)

21 January: vs South Africa, 3pm local time (9am Eastern Caribbean/8am Jamaica)

23 January: vs India, 7pm local time (1pm Eastern Caribbean/12 noon Jamaica)

25 January: vs South Africa, 3pm local time (9am Eastern Caribbean/8am Jamaica)

30 January: vs India, 3pm local time (9am Eastern Caribbean/8am Jamaica)

“The Jamaica Football Federation is extremely proud as we congratulate

Stefanie, who has been active in most domestic, regional, continental and glob-

“They have been chosen in close cooperation with the six confederations, based on the officials’ quality and the performances delivered at FIFA tournaments, as well as at other international and domestic competitions in recent years,” according to the FIFA media release.

“I am overjoyed,” said Yee-Sing. “We work hard every day with the hope of representing our country at these major tournaments. Rubbing shoulders with the best and running with elite players has always been my dream since I began.”

President of the JFF, Michael Ricketts, has said Yee-Sing’s journey is inspiring. “Stefanie should serve as inspiration to all the officials in Jamaica,” Ricketts said. “She, along with some of the other female officials, (has) been training and operating at world class levels for a while. It’s great to see Stefanie getting the rewards she so richly deserves. We hope that she will serve as a catalyst and inspiration to other ladies and gentlemen officials to work hard, as the sky is the limit.”

Seminars for the officials will be held in Montevideo and Doha. (Sportsmax)

Final squads for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in

16 January: warm-up match vs South Africa XI at Beacon Bay (start time TBC)

JaBA set to sign agreement with Stella Azzurra Basketball Academy

2 February: Tri-Series Final, 3pm local time (9am Eastern Caribbean/8am Jamaica). al tournaments, is the only Jamaican selected among the fifty-five assistant referees worldwide. Thirty-three referees and support referees were also selected, as well as nineteen ladies who will work as Video Match Officials for the first time.

and exchanges in areas of Technology, Sports information and doping control, and equipment support.

“JABA is appreciative (of) the support of our current partners, including MCGES, SDF, JOA, KFC and PHASE 1 academy, as we strive to expand opportunities for youth basketball development,” the release concluded. (Sportsmax)

The Jamaica Basketball Association (JaBA) will sign an agreement with Stella Azzurra Basketball Academy to develop and strengthen all aspects of youth basketball in Jamaica. This announcement was made in a press release on Friday, January 6.

This agreement will facilitate exchange programmes and activities for youth players, sports support personnel and administrators.

Subsequent to the break in COVID-19 restrictions, JaBA and their development partner, P.H.A.S.E 1 academy, have strategically placed emphasis on youth development, target-

ing teaching of fundamentals and making an effort to broaden the pool of youth basketball participants.

The recently certified FIBA level 1 coaches are tasked with the duty of developing 30 clusters of players from primary schools across the island. These players and current early teens will transition into mini academies coordinated by PHASE 1 at specific regional locations. The synergies with Stella Azzurra will enhance the programmes and increase training and development activities in areas such as camps, clinics and competitions, exchange programmes for teams and officials, infrastructure development, training,

Astrology and Spiritual Healer Pt. Mohan: +592-692-1009 If there is any problem in your life, he will get the solution. Please contact spiritual healer, regarding health, love, business, husband and wife problems, etc. Address: Georgetown, Guyana.

Contact PANDITH JAYA for all kinds of problems. You will get solutions 100% guarantee. Call or WhatsApp +592 688-1569. Address Georgetown.

Cherry-Ann Fraser

Jamaica’s Stephanie

Dale Yee-Sing has been selected as an official for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand this summer.

Assistant Referee Stefanie

Dale Yee-Sing, who has been selected by the FIFA Referees Committee to officiate at the FIFA 2023 WWC in Australia and New Zealand in the summer,” said the JFF in a statement on Monday.

Jamaica’s Stephanie Dale Yee-Sing

Petra Organization relishes successful return

The Petra Organization is one of the more popular independent bodies in Guyana that take on competition organization for the sport of football.

The entity, which focuses primarily on the development of school football, understandably saw its work halted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the absence of in-person classes for students.

As Guyana’s students returned to school, the Organization jumped at the opportunity to get going again in June 2022, and according to Co-Director Troy Mendonca, it was the best time to do so.

“First of all, we were anxiously waiting. As you know, the whole COVID situation started easing up the year before; so, since then, we were

looking at when we could come back, because longer break makes it more difficult. So, I think that was the opportune time to get back, and we were in conversation with our sponsors and the other organisations, so we were just waiting for the right time to get started,” Mendonca told Guyana Times Sport in an exclusive interview.

When quizzed about how the Organization was able to run 7 consecutive tournaments in the space of 6 months, sometimes overlapping, Mendonca shared that it was all a part of their routine and ability to stick to what works.

“That speaks volumes for the members of the organization. We have a structure in place where we have persons responsible for different ar-

eas of our operation, and basically, we allow that to work, we allow each individual to perform their task; and because of our experience with these tournaments, we understand fully what are the requirements. So, it becomes easy,” he explained.

RHTY&SC announces cricket captains for busy BCB 2023 season

With the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) planning for a busy 2023 on the cricket field, the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC) has started early preparation by naming the captains of the different teams for the year.

The Cricket Development Committee of the club, under the chairmanship of Robby Kissoonlall, made the selection after a comprehensive review of the club’s performance in 2022 and the players personal discipline, attitude and leadership abilities.

CWI Emerging Player and former West Indies under-19 player Kevlon Anderson has been selected to lead the Namilco Thunderbolt Flour first division team, which would include players Clinton Pestano, Junior Sinclair, Keith Simpson, Kevin Sinclair, Sylus Tyndall, Eon Hooper and Jonathan Rampersaud, among others.

Anderson would also lead the club’s under-23 team for the year.

West Indies player Shemaine Campbelle would be in charge of the Metro Female Team, while Ryan Kissoonlall would lead the Bakewell second division team. Ten-year-old Dharvish Narine is captain of the under-11 team, while the following appointments were also announced:

Leon Reddy(Poonai Pharmacy under-13) Sohail Mohamed( Farfan and Mendes under-15), Romesh Bharrat(Bakewell under-17), Matthew Pottaya( Pepsi under-19) and Jonathan Rampersaud(Namilco under-21)

Reddy, Mohamed, Pottaya and Rampersaud are all national junior players, while Bharrat is a Berbice inter-county player.

In 2022, the RHTY&SC

produced a record 22 national players at all levels, and also 40 for Berbice. Club

Secretary/ CEO Hilbert Foster has said the objective in 2023 is to increase the tally of both the inter-county and national pool, while expanding the number of players at the under-13 level.

The club has launched an aggressive recruitment drive by visiting primary schools in the Lower Corentyne area, and the response has been positive. The players are currently undergoing special coaching under the RHTY&SC Kiddies Academy programme, and would be available for selection to the club’s under-11 and under-13 teams.

Organising Secretary Robby Kissoonlall, who also serves as the club’s cricket manager, has said massive investment would be made to obtain the necessary equip-

ment and gear to cater for the new members. He also said the club would place special interest in ensuring that players perform well in their pursuit of an education.

They would benefit from assistance in the form of school bags, educational materials, bicycles, and educational grants under the club’s Say No/Say Yes campaign. Additionally, each cricket team of the club would be required to successfully complete a minimum of 20 personal development projects in the year as part of the club’s effort to make a positive difference in the county of Berbice. The projects would be held under a wide range of sub-headings, including charity, educational, social, anti-drugs, medical outreaches, youth information, community development, religious, and awards.

Mendonca added, “It’s like a clockwork, it appears not that difficult. But the beauty about it is everyone has a responsibility, and they all pull their weight.”

Touching on the positive takeaways from Petra’s 2022 resurgence, Mendonca sin-

gled out the young players’ enthusiasm at being able to compete in the sport.

“Point to note, that was one of the most refreshing things for us. Having an absence of the sport for two years and more, especially at the under-11s, to see the en-

thusiasm among these kids and the efforts from the other age groups, it was really refreshing,” the Petra CoDirector related.

“You know, it tells us a lot in terms of what they want to achieve, what they want to do, and how we all miss what was happening. So, that in itself is another motivation for the organization.”

Mendonca went on to share with this publication, “Again, I just want to reiterate, it’s not just Petra Organization, its football in the whole. If you can get that kind of environment, the entire sport can benefit. So, that was a refreshing sight.”

The Petra Organization is likely to start its 2023 year with the Girls’ U11 tournament, followed by the Milo U18 Tournament.

Top teams to meet at East Coast Mash Cup tournament

-action kicks off on January 20

Some of Guyana’s top teams will collide at the East Coast Mash Cup tournament, set to kick off on Friday, January 20, at the Golden Grove Ground, ECD.

The 16-team tournament, hosted by Golden Grove Dynamic FC, will carry a winner’s purse of $500,000.

Rosignol United is the lone Berbice side in the tournament, while the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Guyana Police Force (GPF) FC, Fruta Conquerors and Santos are the teams from Georgetown.

Reigning ‘West Side’ Champions Slingerz FC will lead the West Demerara pack, which includes Den Amstel FC and Pouderoyen FC.

Golden Grove Dynamic FC, Victoria Kings, Paradise FC, Melanie FC, Buxton United, Buxton Stars, Ann’s Grove United, and Mahaica Determinators are the teams hailing from East Coast Demerara.

The tournament, being played using the ‘win or go home’ format, on the opening night (January 20), will see Victoria Kings taking

on Mahaica Determinators from 6:00pm, followed by a clash between home side Dynamic FC and Buxton United.

With all matches happening at the Golden Grove Ground, following first night action, the tournament continues on January 22, 27, 29, February 3, 5, and 10, and the finals would be played on February 18.

According to the organisers, the concept behind the

tournament is to see the rebirth of football on the East Coast of Demerara.

The organisers are grateful for support shown from teams outside of the East Coast area, adding that it demonstrates the collective effort needed for the sustenance and development of football in Guyana.

Second place team will pocket $250,000, third place $150,000 and fourth place $100,000.

- Anderson to captain Namilco Thunderbolt first division team

Dharvish Narine Leon Reddy

Matthew Pottaya Romesh Bharrat

Slingerz FC will be one of the teams vying for top honours in the East Coast Mash Cup tournament

The Petra Organization concluded 2022 with the International KFC Goodwill tournament