Guyana Times -- Wednesday, 20, 2022

Issues affecting youths to be targeted by new USAID/ESC Council

P13 Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

Issue No. 5075

THE BEACON OF TRUTH WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2022

PRICE

APNU/AFC’s dismissed election petition

"Where exactly are you referring us to?" – CCJ Judge to respondents on Article 163 of Guyana’s Constitution …respondents failed to establish statutory right of appeal – AG tells court See story on page 9

…regional court to set date for ruling

Mall, hotel, Housing & Education Ministries for Houston commercial zone

Page 3

$100 VAT INCLUDED

WHAT'S INSIDE: Sugar shortage

Security forces to be engaged on sugar-smuggling P7 reports

Man shot during gunplay at Kitty P13 bar GRA warns of fraudsters posing as officers P13

New modernistic laws will form P16 balance in justice system – Nandlall …as US assisting Guyana to strengthen justice sector

Mahdia woman died from P8 strangulation, blunt force trauma – PME …wanted bulletin issued for house guest

President Dr Irfaan Ali and the investor behind the project, Andres Botero-Toro (third from left) along with Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister Oneidge Walrond and GO-Invest CEO, Dr Peter Ramsaroop at the sod turning for the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel at Houston, East Bank Demerara on Tuesday (OP photo)

Mocha-to-Diamond bypass road

…as sod turned for US$35M Four Points by Sheraton Hotel

Republic Bank commits to financially support Guyana's food security efforts

Pg 14

Errant drivers continue to P17 damage barriers

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WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

NEWS

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WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS OPENINGS BRIDGE

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

Wednesday, July 20 – 23:00h – 00:30h and Thursday, July 21 – 23:30h – 01:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Mall, hotel, Housing & Education Ministries for Houston commercial zone …as sod turned for US$35M Four Points by Sheraton Hotel

Wednesday, July 20 – 09:30h – 11:00h and Thursday, July 21 – 10:30h – 12:00h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY

There will be light rain showers and thundery showers during the day. Expect partly cloudy skies at night. Temperatures should range between 22 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

Winds: South South-Easterly to North-Westerly between 1.78 metres and 4.02 metres.

High Tide: 09:36h and 22:01h reaching maximum heights of 2.34 metres and 2.32 metres.

Low Tide: 15:32h reaching a minimum height of 0.91 metre.

SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2022

LOTTERY NUMBERS A

01 02 04

06 07 21

28

FREE TICKET

Bonus Ball

TUESDAY, JULY 19, 2022

DAILY MILLIONS

04 13 22 23 26 LUCKY 3

2

9

6

7

Afternoon Draw

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9

Evening Draw

DRAW DE LINE

04 06 07 11 12 19 21 SUPER

PAY DAY

PAY DAY

FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2022

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

COMMODITIES Indicators

US$

Change %

Crude Oil

$107.35/barrel

+1.01

Rough Rice

$307.76/ton $539.80/ton

-0.32 0.00

London Sugar

Live Spot Gold

USD Per Ounce

Bid/Ask

$1710.70

$1711.70

Low/High Change

$1707.10 -2.10

$1719.80 -0.12

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President Dr Irfaan Ali explains his vision

he sod was on Tuesday turned for a US$35 million, 172-room Four Points by Sheraton Hotel to be constructed in Houston along the Mandela to Eccles road link, which President Dr Irfaan Ali has said will be the centrepiece of massive transformation in an economic zone.

In his address to those gathered to witness the ceremony, President Ali revealed that his Administration intends to do its part by expanding various Government Ministries to this zone, including the Housing and Water Minister. He said that work will commence in that and other initiatives by this year end.

“Alongside this hotel, we’ve already approved a modern hospital of international standards, that will focus on specialised care, but more importantly heavily focus on cosmetic and other surgeries. Because we want to create an education and health hub in Guyana,” President Ali said.

"We have also discussed a mall, a possible second hotel, the movement of a number of Government Ministries to this zone, including the Ministry of

Housing and Water, the Ministry of Education and the telecoms sector will be housed in this zone, along the highway.”

“Before the end of this year, we expect that physical work will commence in all of these areas. In addition to that, in front of me will be a huge private sector industrial commercial development to support the oil and gas sector.”

According to Ali, not only will the hotel itself drive up property values along the Eccles road link, but by turning the area into a commercial zone, thousands of jobs will be created. He explained that the area will then be connected through a highway and linked to Ogle, where there will be a new road link between La Bonne Intention (LBI) and Enmore, along the East Coast of Demerara (ECD).

“That entire corridor will then become a massive housing, commercial, industrial zone, all the way going up to Enmore. The road network will be enhanced into major highways coming out from the East Coast, connected to the East Bank and then moving all the way down to the LindenSoesdyke Highway, where

Caribbean Green Building Inc and Owen Steel Investor Andres Botero-Toro (left) and GO-Invest CEO, Dr Peter Ramsaroop listen intently to the President

the new Silica City will be connected. In a very narrow construct. That is how this development is linked,” President Ali said.

The hotel in question, which will feature 172 rooms, a commercial building and an events hall, is being developed by Caribbean Green Building Inc and is expected to create an additional 200 jobs.

Magnet for business

According to Andres Botero-Toro, the investor behind the project, the hotel will be a magnet for business and commercial activity in Houston. According to him, it will be the first hotel with Edge advance certification, which relates to clean energy and conservation.

Botero said the hotel will consume 40 per cent less resources, as compared to a similar hotel. He also noted that the hotel will use diverse cultural items. The prefabricated, steel structure for the building is already completed and enroute to Guyana.

Trade, Industry and Commerce Minister Oneidge Walrond meanwhile spoke of the importance of these hotel investments. She noted that

when the Government came to power in 2020, there was a deficit in available rooms.

“These investors, because of the nature of the brands. They are internationally renowned brands.

They don’t come with fly by night (projects). They conduct their feasibility studies. And Guyana has held its own, as a feasible investment destination,” she said.

Walrond described the hospitality sector as a strategic one, which will fuel economic development in other areas. According to her, the fact that these brand name hotels chose Guyana as their investment destination after conducting their feasibility studies, is something that Guyanese should be proud of.

Meanwhile, Guyana Office for Investment (GOInvest) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr Peter Ramsaroop praised the investors for their strategic vision in choosing Houston to be the location for the Sheraton Hotel. He noted that all of the hotels that have had construction started, were started by local investors and questioned the rate of return for the project. (G3)

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guyanatimesgy.com

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2022

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

Electricity theft and prosecution

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he high incidence of electricity theft has always taken a heavy toll on Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL), with the company losing about $5B annually.

At the conclusion of 2021, the company had said that, as an avenue to counter the company’s annual loss, in 2022, it would be refocusing on prosecution of persons who steal electricity. GPL’s Chief Executive Officer Bharrat Dindyal had also said that electricity theft accounted for about 60 per cent of the power company’s non-technical loss.

If the problem is to be abated, electricity theft needs more attention than it is getting.

The sooner this is realised, the sooner the company would be able to reduce the impact of electricity theft on paying consumers.

Contrary to widespread misconceptions, it is not only the power company that is affected when this problem occurs. Paying consumers face numerous problems as well, one of which is power imbalance.

GPL has a serious problem with power factor imbalance, and this is not all its fault. It is partly due to the large number of illegal, uncontrolled connections in its system. When generated electricity that should have been going towards paying customers is illegally taken by others, it creates a power imbalance problem. These many connections cause the unbalanced loading on the company’s phases.

Paying customers whose power is out of balance could be registering more power than they actually use.

Although they had no involvement with the problem, they would find themselves facing higher bills. To put it another way, they would be paying larger bills because of illegal users.

Unfortunately, no matter how much the company attempts to rebalance its power supply, it could still be out of balance because of the increasing number of illegal users.

To quote the CEO: “We have had thousands of people who have been caught, who are in the courts, but the matters are languishing because we can’t dispense with three or four thousand cases… But we have to reintroduce prosecution.”

This newspaper had reported that the CEO had said that, at the end of 2021, there were some 15,000 illegal street lights across the country. He noted, too, that the company was also battling the fact that persons and companies, including some large entities, were hiring private personnel, and even former GPL employees, to tamper with meters.

There is no doubt that the culture of electricity theft has to be stopped if GPL is to come good and offer a reliable supply of electricity.

Over 10 years ago, the legislature approved tougher penalties for electricity theft.

This brings us back to the courts. The pace of these cases has to be expedited; the situation will not see the kind of change if this is not done – even with tougher penalties in place. We suggest that authorities discuss the establishment of a special arm to deal strictly with matters relating to the different utilities’ cases. Unlike criminal and civil cases, disputes with utilities are different, and need to be resolved with great dispatch. Tougher penalties and fast-paced prosecution may purge electricity theft to a great extent. Nevertheless, we are of the view that the practice would continue, and would stop only when every household and business is able to access affordable electricity.

Unfortunately, this is what GPL cannot provide, because of its limited resources and generating capacity. It is other energy sources, such as the Amaila Hydropower and gasto-shore projects, that could alleviate this gap.

Over the past two weeks, children from schools in Regions Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) and Four (Demerara-Mahaica) were engaged in a series of mural paintings. This was done by the Risk Management and Migrant Support Unit, in collaboration with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) (Education Ministry photos)

An easy solution can be found Dear Editor, There is no shortage of land in a location where the disposal of radioactive waste can be managed without getting into our drinking water and away from where our citizens and animals are living.

The EPA must be mindful of the needs of the population, and safeguard the health of our people first and foremost, before even considering granting permission for such a dangerous operation. Houston is one of the better neighbourhoods in the city, and to think that someone would even consider placing it in harm's way is utter folly.

When did Guyana become scarce of uninhabited land, where our people would be out of danger from such a dangerous operation as in the case of radioactive waste management? Something else is wrong here. There are lots of land elsewhere, and an EIA is not optional for such a project, wherein dangerous materials are being placed into a neighbourhood. Why the rush to do

such a foolish thing?

A solution can easily be had for this problem, and I am surprised that a local law firm would even consider defending a company that is willing to risk our citizens' health/lives when better options for a location can be easily obtained with the Government's help.

Life is more important than the convenience being given to foreigners, who do not appreciate the hard work and time that went into developing the Houston area. We must not allow the destruction of our neighbourhoods, especially the good ones. The Government must intervene before this gets out of hand. We are not a nation of millions, each of our citizens is extremely valuable to us, and we are not one of those countries that would sacrifice the lives of our citizens for the earnings of foreigners. What those foreign companies are used to doing overseas will not be allowed here in our beautiful country. We will not allow them to come into our neighbourhood and make it toxic, ruining the lives of

our people.

Look at how much is being spent on education.

What purpose will it bring if the children we are educating end up in the hospitals with serious illnesses that would rob them of their future? The EPA is failing us too often, and must be revamped. It is not supposed to act as an agent of the oil companies, nor give such an impression by bypassing the EIA process, as we are seeing being done on so many occasions.

Citizens are already crying foul, and the Government must take swift action to correct its course. Otherwise, it risks being judged by the folly of the few at the expense of all the good work that has been accomplished.

Health is more important than wealth, and without health, wealth is useless.

Decision-makers must always keep this in mind.

The money already spent by the company is sunk cost, and instead of gaining the reputation of going into a good area and messing it up, they should be good corporate citizens:

the Houston area is filled with many intelligent and professional people, use the site to create an educational facility, and leverage the human resources available in the area.

We are not pigs in Guyana, and we value our environment and our loved ones more than money.

Remember all the hardships we have overcome together as a nation. We have survived and excelled when we were embargoed.

Our country was safer, and people lived healthier. If this is going to be the way foreign investors would make decisions in the future, where our citizens are expected to give up their good health just to spend their newfound earnings on healthcare, then we must say “No, thank you,” and bid them farewell from our shores.

The EPA must represent the best interest of our citizens and our environment. Failure to do so must result in comprehensive change at the agency.

With concern, Jamil Changlee

guyanatimesgy.com

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2022

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

Well-organised electoral system versus some politically power-hungry aspirants Pt 2 Dear Editor, In my discourse, I previously established the distinct difference between a Constituency Electoral Voting System and a Proportional Representation System.

I made the fundamental point that there is no “winner take all,” or absolutes, in a PR System. That erroneous view of a “winner take all” doctrine peddled by this writer is totally false and unfounded, and everyone should be aware of this.

However, on a Constituency System, the possibility of a “winner take all” exists. That system makes room for absolutes, wherein an Opposition could be wiped out by a single vote. So, I do hope that whatever myopia “Dougla” might be suffering from would have been cleared up.

Now, let us examine Guyana under a PR System when Burnham was in power. Here we see a leader who whittled away at the

very foundation of the electoral machinery to suit his own dictatorial ambitions.

In the first place, he ensured that no Opposition stood in his way to achieving this objective. This he did by intimidation and fear, when Dr Jagan as well as his wife, Janet Jagan, were imprisoned. It was an entrance-and-exit situation: as Dr Jagan exited prison, his pregnant wife then entered the halls of incarceration. The motive behind this move was to humiliate and stun them into silence.

With an emasculated Opposition, Burnham was signalling to the Jagans that he and the PNC were now in full control. He then went on to establish an elections commission, or should I say a charade of an elections commission, staffed and filled with his cronies.

In real terms, this was an elections factory, so crafted to churn out results in his favour. These were the be-

ginnings of Burnham’s rigging empire, all election results from henceforth saw a whopping two-thirds majority for the PNC. For 28 long years, we were subjected to this tyranny.

Is Dougla aware of the years when election results were determined in an office based at Congress Place? Is he aware of the fact that figures were fixed for a PNC win before a single ballot was counted? The vivid experience of The Ballot Box Martyrs tells the whole story of those dark days in Guyanese history.

So, to awaken Dougla from his amnesiac slumber, I would remind him of the 2011, 2015 and 2020 recent experiences of the same fraud factory coming into play where elections’ results are concerned. These were repeat performances of the PNC at falsifying figures.

There was some respite when the Carter Center came to the rescue in 1990

and order was again restored. I am talking about the selection of an Election Commission Chair from a list submitted by the Opposition, and the representation of an equal number of commissioners from Government as well as from the Opposition to form the Electoral Board, among other things. Other major changes came about, such as the counting of the ballots at the places of poll, as well as the posting of the statements of poll at the respective locations of balloting.

Minus the violent street protests at election time which are typical of the PNC - elections under a well-organised PR System went well. But somehow, somewhere behind the scenes fraud lurked, and that opportunity came in 2015 when APNU/AFC gained power. Around this time, the party began its nefarious plan to reconstitute and retrofit GECOM. It took

Presenters for Carifesta 72 were self-selected

Dear Editor, The organisers of the 3-day international symposium to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Carifesta 72 are saddened by the thrust of Mr. Lloyd Sharma’s letter of July 19, 2022, titled “Indo-Guyanese academics, performers have been excluded from Guyana Folk Festival’s celebration of 50th anniversary of Carifesta.”

The presenters in the symposium are self-selected. That is: they all responded to a public and multilingual call issued on May 3, 2022 for papers and participation.

That call was circulated internationally to many academic and

non-academic associations that Guyanese, Caribbean, and other international academics participate in professionally.

On May 8, 2022, the call was made in an article, “Virtual symposium examines Carifesta at 50 - call made for papers and participation.” The call for papers and participation closed on June 1, 2022.

The presenters in the three-day symposium, “Inaugural Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA) as Prism: 20th Century Festivals in the Multilingual Caribbean”, bring many perspectives to examination of one of the seminal mo-

Implementation of PR in Guyana

Dear Editor, I am writing in response to Neil Adams’s letter published in Guyana Times on July 19, 2022. Adams was replying to Dougla when he stated that England introduced the Proportional Representation electoral system in British Guiana because the “framers said (PR) would bring some semblance of calm.”

Editor, there is only one reason why the British implemented PR in Guyana: they wanted to defeat the PPP, because Dr. Jagan was viewed as a Soviet-style communist, and the Kennedy administration did not want a second Cuba in Guyana.

So, the US and England conspired to get rid of Dr. Jagan through the PR system. The plan worked; the PR system

is based on the percentage of votes, not on the percentage of seats, as in the First Past the Post system.

Under the old electoral system, Jagan would have won a majority of seats, but not a majority of votes.

In the 1964 elections, under PR, the PPP received 45.84% of votes, PNC 40.52 and the UF 12.41. The PNC and UF formed a coalition Government, and Jagan and the PPP were defeated.

For more information on the US involvement, visit https://nsarchive. gwu.edu/briefing-book/intelligence/2020-04-06/ cia-covert-operations-overthrow-cheddi-jagan-british-guiana-1964.

Sincerely, Ganesh Harilal

ments in the history of the post-colonial Caribbean.

The symposium would be the first space to bring together artists, scholars, and participants to remember and analyse Carifesta ‘72. It aims to be the beginning of ongoing conversations about the possibilities, achievements and mis-steps of Carifesta ’72, as well as articulating visions for the role of culture in the creation of just and caring societies.

The three-day international symposium commemorating the 50th anniversary of Carifesta ’72 is one of the signature events of the 2022 season of the Guyana Folk Festival.

The Guyana Folk Festival has been organised by the Guyana Cultural Association of New York for the past 22 years.

quick action by the then Opposition as well as the International Community to put pressure on the Granger Administration to bring back the electoral machinery into normalcy.

This ultimately brought back some semblance of decency at GECOM. The rest is history, because even that transparent system was prostituted right before our very eyes way up to the final

call for the elected party to form the new Government.

Dougla, or whatever the pseudonym, must realise that a well-organised PR System is sound, and would bring forth the result of the party of the people’s choice.

Nothing is wrong with the PR System, fraud and corruption are all the handiwork of the PNC. Respectfully, Neil Adams

Spare us the opinions of foreign ‘experts’ with agendas

Dear Editor, The latest Chatham House Fellow, Dr. Valerie Marcel, has said: “In an energy transition, it is important to think about how the mandate of the NOC (National Oil Company) can adapt to a world of the declining value of petroleum assets”, on July 19, 2022 in a section of the media.

I can only ask if this ‘in-

dustry expert’ has seen today’s price of oil, currently at US$101.20 per barrel (Brent Crude). Declining indeed!

I would ask that Chatham House spare us the opinions of foreign ‘experts’ with agendas, and allow Guyanese to utilise their innate common sense and logical abilities.

Sincerely, Robin Singh

Sincerely, Vibert Cambridge, AA, PhD

Wednesday, July 20, 2022

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WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2022

Page

Foundation

◄

Adding fractions with like denominators Adding fractions with like denominators Like denominators are exactly the same. For example, 1/5 and 3/5 have like denominators.

But 1/5 and 1/6 do not have like denominators.

To add fractions with like denominators, just add the numerators.

Place the total over the denominator.

Example: Add Step 1: Add Step 2: Place the total over the like denominator.

You may notice your total is an improper fraction. But you have learnt how to change that into a mixed number if you need to.

Remember: Like denominators are the same, and are sometimes called common denominators.

Exercises: Add fractions

By Then the king was obliged to keep his word, and away went the young man and the princess; and the fox came and said to him, “We will have all three, the princess, the horse, and the bird.” “Ah!” said the young man, “that would be a great thing, but how can you contrive it?”

“If you will only listen,: said the fox, “it can be done. When you come to the king, and he asks for the beautiful princess, you must say, “Here she is!” Then he will be very joyful; and you will mount the golden horse that they are to give you, and put out your hand to take leave of them; but shake hands with the princess last. Then lift her quickly on to the horse behind you; clap your spurs to his side, and gallop away as fast as you can.”

All went right: then the fox said, “When you come to the castle where the bird is, I will stay with the princess at the door, and you will ride in and speak to the

the

Brothers Grimm

king; and when he sees that it is the right horse, he will bring out the bird; but you must sit still, and say that you want to look at it, to see whether it is the true golden bird; and when you get it into your hand, ride away.”

This, too, happened as the fox said; they carried off the bird, the princess mounted again, and they rode on to a great wood. Then the fox came, and said, “Pray kill me, and cut off my head and my feet.” But the young man refused to do

CONTINUED FROM TUESDAY

it: so the fox said, “I will at any rate give you good counsel: beware of two things; ransom no one from the gallows, and sit down by the side of no river.” Then away he went. “Well,” thought the young man, “it is no hard matter to keep that advice.”

He rode on with the princess, till at last he came to the village where he had left his two brothers. And there he heard a great noise and uproar; and when he asked what was the matter, the people said, “Two men are going to be hanged.”

As he came nearer, he saw that the two men were his brothers, who had turned robbers; so he said, “Cannot they in any way be saved?” But the people said “No,” unless he would bestow all his money upon the rascals and buy their liberty.

Then he did not stay to think about the matter, but paid what was asked, and his brothers were given up, and went on with him towards their home.

WORD SEARCH

NEWS

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WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Sugar shortage

Security forces to be engaged on sugar-smuggling reports

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eports of sugar being smuggled outside of Guyana, which is inextricably linked to the current shortage experienced locally, is to be addressed as President Irfaan Ali intends to engage the security forces.

In recent weeks, shelves were scarce of sugar, leading to concerns from the population about the apparent shortage. Chief Executive Officer of GuySuCo, Sasenarine Singh alleged that the commodity was being smuggled outside of the country. This was specifically the case with packaged sugar produced in the country.

As he engaged media operatives on Tuesday, the Head of State said it can be a possibility and will be ventilated through engagement with the relevant security authorities.

“It can very well be. I don’t know where he got his information from but we will have to look at it.

I’ll have the security forces look at it but it is a high possibility. There are shortages all around us and people are hunting supplies.

Once people are hunting supplies, they find any way to get the supply out,” the President explained.

The Guyanese leader further pressed that the supply challenges is a limitation on the global stage, and has created a ripple effect on prices and materials to produce sugar. However, he contended that sugar prices have not increased substantially during this period of shortage.

“The world is facing supply challenges today, not only Guyana. This is a global problem. Price is a global problem. The price of fuel went up. The price of fertiliser went up. The cost of

shipping went up. So, everything that you have to import to produce sugar, the cost goes up. There were difficulties in the industry… The price has not moved substantially from what I was told,” Ali relayed.

Coupled with such challenges, Ali said the heavy rainfall period has impacted the cutting of cane for processing, especially at the Uitvlugt Estate. However, the said sugar factory has

Uitvlugt Estate factory said it ramped up its production to meet the demands of the local population. When the estate resumes sugar production at 1000 bags a day, the goal is to restart the sale of sugar to wholesalers. Moreover, it was noted that when drier weather prevails, the Uitvlugt factory can produce 2000 bags of sugar per day.

A senior GuySuCo official, when asked about the widespread reports of a

President Irfaan Ali

Demerara Gold sugar produced by GuySuCo

been able to produce 2000 bags of sugar that will be distributed locally. On his Facebook page, the President had also shared earlier on Tuesday that there is no shortage of sugar presently.

“What we will do is ensure that the Guyana Marketing Corporation secure a lot of that (sugar) so that they can help in the distribution so there is no price gouging.”

A few days ago, the

sugar shortage last week, revealed that the sugar company found that some wholesalers have been buying the commodity in bulk and sending it to Venezuela, where it is sold for higher prices. It was disclosed that on June 5, 2022, some 2000 bags weighing 50kg each were shipped to the North West District (NWD) – a region which reportedly does not consume that much sugar.

Agriculture Minister

Zulfikar Mustapha has also warned that any supplier hoarding sugar in a bid to increase the price for the commodity would be dealt with accordingly.

Generally, as it relates to the supply crises and value chain affecting many countries, the President has contended that Government has done well to manage this situation and more so, to avoid inflation.

“We’ve been doing well managing it. I must say that Government has done everything. We have removed

all the taxes from fuel, all the VAT. When people compare other countries that is adjusting it for a timeframe or just adjusting it, we have removed it completely.

There is nothing. We have given out grants to vulnerable groups and we continue to look at innovative ways in which we can help,” the President asserted.

It was observed that the construction sector is one area under Government’s radar to formulate innovative solutions and measures. (G12)

8 NEWS

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Mahdia woman died from strangulation, blunt force trauma – PME …wanted bulletin issued for house guest

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he body of a woman who was reported missing since July 5, in Mahdia, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) was found in close proximity of her home.

Dead is 55-yearold Nariman Latifan of Salbora Backdam, Mahdia and also of Lima Dam, Essequibo Coast.

According to reports, on July 5, at about 11:05h, the woman’s reputed husband went to the Police Station and reported that he had left his wife at their home at Salbora Backdam, and went to a work area, that was not too far away from their home.

Upon returning home in the afternoon, the man said he found his home ransacked, and calls made

to his wife went unanswered.

Shortly after, ranks visited the scene and a search

was carried out for the man’s wife. It was then Police reportedly found blood stains around the house, which sparked their suspicion that something was amiss.

Further searches around the area uncovered what appeared to be intestines that belonged to a human.

The next day Police said the woman’s body was found not too far from her home. An autopsy that was conducted on the body revealed that the woman died from ligature strangulation, compounded by blunt force trauma to the head. CONTINUED ON PAGE 11

Development...

F

…and hotels galore

or fifty years – since 1969 – the Pegasus was the only ‘name brand” hotel in our dear mudland. Imagine that!! Yet we’d been persuaded by the Brits that we were a “Caribbean” country – all of which were chock-full with five-star hotels that they could – and did! – flaunt in our faces!! The hotels, of course, represented the acme of “First World” fantasy living!! But juxtaposed with our shacks, maybe - as Marx suggested - if we had them, our revolution might’ve actually happened??

As it was, we had our solitary “Peg”, which gradually sank into genteel disrepair like the rest of our once-proud Georgetown Creole upper crust!! But thankfully, not into “disrepute”, like the nearby Tiger Bay quick-time spots!! It was joined by the Princess – now the Ramada Princess – next to the Providence Stadium, just in time for the 2007 Cricket World Cup. But it was a visionary President Jagdeo who set the Marriott brand in train in 2011, and completed same in 2015 - just in time for our oil boom!! The fella must’ve been psychic – since in 2011, the worry was how’d we ever fill the US$51M top-of-the-line 5-Star hotel!!

Now, even with the venerable Pegasus rising like a Phoenix (to mix two metaphors!) with its brand-new, futuristic, 12-floor, megalith-like extension, everyone’s sweating how soon the dozen or so other hotel projects are gonna be completed. To accommodate the deluge of business, overseas Guyanese and tourists who’ll be flocking to the shores of the FASTEST GROWING ECONOMY IN THE WORLD!! That’s right – that’s us!! And the erstwhile Caribbean destinations that used to snicker at us must be getting greener than sea moss!!

One report in this paper described hotels for which the sod HAD BEEN TURNED, where the sod IS TURNING, and where the SOD WILL BE TURNED!! That’s a whole lotta sod in play!!

But seriously, folks, while the average man and woman in the street are surely impressed that we’re finally getting to look a little less that your typical Third World picture-postcard dump, they gotta be asking when is all this development’s gonna be reaching them?? After all, the PNC Coalition left them in the trenches, being battered by COVID-19 as hundreds of businesses had to close or cut back. Then the PPP had to deal with the second whammy of the fall-out from the Ukraine war!! Supply-chain disruptions piled on supply-chain disruptions – all pushing prices to the sky and draining pocketbooks that were depleted, to begin with.

Well, all your Eyewitness can say is: the Government’s doing a dammed good job in this transition between the trail-wreck left by the PNC and pulling it out back onto the tracks of full employment!!

The folks staying in those hotels will be opening up businesses! …and Suriname protests What we can’t afford to do is to imitate what’s happening next door in Suriname. There, the good citizens had voted in a man names Bouterse, who’d staged a coup in 1980, and in 1982 had lined up 15 Opposition leaders who criticised him and shot them dead. He appointed “civilian governments”, but he really ruled behind the scenes, and indulged in drug smuggling and gun running on the side!!

By 1987, he formed a party, NDP, but lost ignominiously in the elections - only to depose the Government with a telephone call in 1990!! Eventually, he won in 2010, and again in 2015. Go figure!! The young’uns had forgotten about his origins?? By then he’d not only drained the treasury, but put the country in debt to the tune of one-and-a-half-times their entire GDP!! Their foreign reserves had been wiped out.

Now his supporters are picketing Santokie because he hasn’t solved Bouterse’s mess in two years!!

Well, here, the CoI will soon confirm the PNC’s perfidies!! …and growth No matter where you look, economies have to first be allowed to grow – during which time some areas would grow more than others. But eventually governmental policies would smooth that out to deliver equitable development.

Be woke!!

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

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

NEWS

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WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

APNU/AFC’s dismissed election petition

“Where exactly are you referring us to?” – CCJ Judge to respondents on Article 163 of Guyana’s Constitution …respondents failed to establish statutory right of appeal – AG tells court …regional court to set date for ruling

T

he Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on Tuesday heard oral submissions in the consolidated appeal of the Court of Appeal ruling that it has jurisdiction to hear arguments in the dismissal of Election Petition 99 of 2020 by the High Court for late, non-service, and improper service.

The proceedings started with Attorney-at-Law Kashir Khan, representing Shazam Ali of The Citizen Initiative, being denied the chance to enter oral submissions. This is because he did not send in written submissions within the stipulated time or an application for an extension of time.

According to Khan, however, he was quarantined at the time and thus, unable to follow the procedure. However, the court did not find favour with this explanation and as a consequence, Khan was barred from filing written submissions or making oral ones.

When proceedings got underway fully, Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Senior Counsel Anil Nandlall argued that the matter could not be appealed because the petition does not meet the procedural threshold for an appeal.

“Our statutory code is clear with the added question of a constitutional right to a fair hearing. Now that does not

arise here. So, Your Honours, do not necessarily have to burden yourselves with that matter, which is extraneous to this,” Nandlall said.

“Here is a pure question of whether the appeal lies or not.

And I dare say, your honour, there is nothing on the record that establishes a right to appeal, as is being argued by the respondents, to allow for consolidation,” Nandlall added.

He further noted that if what the respondents argued was true, then there would have to be changes to the National Assembly (Validity of Elections) Act every time the High Court rules applicable to the elections were amended.

“The respondents have abysmally failed to establish that statutory right of appeal.

They seek refuge in the ordinary Court of Appeal act. And that is not available to them.

In fact, the policy of the Court of Appeal act itself prohibits the hearing of appeals that are not of a final nature.”

Right to appeal

Meanwhile, Trinidadian Senior Counsel John Jeremie, who represents the petitioners Monica Thomas and Brennan Nurse, argued that there is a right of appeal in the circumstances. However, CCJ Justice Winston Anderson questioned

exactly where in Article 163 of the Constitution allows for the right to appeal the procedural dismissal of an election petition.

Article 163 constitutes the complete code of how election petitions are to be determined, lists the types of issues that are to be raised by an election petition, and also limits the grounds upon which appeals flow from the determination of those issues. According to Anderson, it is not clear where in the article is justification for the right of appeal located.

“Just for my edification, where is it in 163 that you are proposing to locate the right of appeal. As you said the Court of Appeal did not see it your way. But you’re advancing that ground before us. So, where exactly are you referring us to?”

Anderson questioned.

“Because when I look at the various items in 163 (1), it is not immediately obvious to me where it is you are proposing that the right to appeal resides… I can’t find the specific ground there. But as you say, you didn’t stress that too much,” Anderson said.

However, John noted that they argued that the language in Article 163 (3a), where Judges are empowered to grant or refuse leave to institute proceedings for determining ques-

Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC

tions related to the elections granted that leave. However, John admitted that they lost on this argument at the Court of Appeal.

“We lost on that. But the Court of Appeal found that notwithstanding that, there were a number of other routes available to them, which would allow them to have jurisdiction in this matter. And I recommend to your lordships the decisions of the Chancellor, in particular and Justice Gregory.”

“What they did was to look at the question by way of the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal. First of all, they said ,admitted as they had to, that the jurisdiction of the court in election matters was a special one,” John said.

Ultimately, it was decided that the CCJ would send notice to the parties involved on what date it would issue its ruling.

CCJ Judge Winston Anderson

Article 163

The petition pursuant to Article 163 of the Constitution, which was dismissed on January 18, 2021, was filed on behalf of the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) and challenged the results of the March 2, 2020 national elections with the intent of having David Granger declared the duly-elected President.

Acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards and Justice of Appeal Dawn Gregory had ruled that to oust the Appeal Court from hearing the appeal against the acting Chief Justice’s ruling would defeat the purpose of Article 163 of the Constitution.

The acting Chancellor had noted that although she had considered all the precedents relied on by Nandlall, they failed to invalidate the Court of Appeal’s

T&T Attorney-at-Law Jeremie, SC

John

jurisdiction to hear the appeal.

In a dissenting judgement, however, Justice of Appeal Rishi Persaud had said that considering the unambiguous language of that constitutional provision, as well as the fact that Justice George did not dismiss the petition on its merits, but rather because of procedural errors, a right of appeal did not lie to the Court of Appeal.

The manner of service is prescribed in Rule 9 (1) of the National Assembly (Validity of Elections) Rules, which imposes on the petitioners the statutory obligation to effect service within five days after the presentation of the petition.

Having been filed on September 15, 2020, the petition should have been served on Granger five days thereafter, which would have been September 21, 2020, since the fifth day – September 20, 2020 – was a Sunday. (G3)

10

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

NEWS

11

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

86 new COVID-19 cases recorded GUYANA COVID-19 DASHBOARD T

he Health Ministry has announced that another 86 persons have been infected with COVID-19 as of Tuesday.

An updated dashboard reflected 69,058 confirmed cases to date; accounting for 31,388 males and 37,388 females.

The death toll remained at 1267.

There are four persons in the Intensive Care Unit, 26 in institutional isolation, 886 in home isolation and one person in institutional quarantine.

Additionally, 66,875 persons have recovered completely.

The country has processed 671,014 tests to date.

New cases have been detected in eight administrative regions, with a breakdown of

16 for Region One (BarimaWaini), two for Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), nine for Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), 40 for Region Four (DemeraraMahaica), two for Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), one Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne), 21 for Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) and five for Region 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice).

Vaccination figures show that so far, 444,468 or 86.6 per cent of adults have taken a first dose, while some 344,228 or 67.1 per cent of persons 18 years and over are fully vaccinated.

For adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17, 35,227

first doses or 48.3 per cent and 25,799 or 35.3 per cent second doses have been administered.

Vaccination for children in the five to 11 category shows 5080 first doses or five per cent. Only 596 or 0.6 per cent have returned for their second shot. In addition, 70,125 persons have returned for their booster shots thus far.

According to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) recent figures, some 559,469,605 confirmed cases were reported globally along with 6,361,157 deaths.

In the Region of the Americas, that is, Latin America and the Caribbean, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has in-

Mahdia woman died from...

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Police issued a wanted bulletin for a man who might be responsible for the woman’s death.

Dexter James known as “Limuel Alphanso”, 48, of Campbelltown, Mahdia, is wanted for questioning in relation to the woman’s death.

A Police source told Guyana Times that James was allegedly living with the dead woman and her husband and was caught stealing from the couple.

It was reported that shortly after the woman went miss-

FROM PAGE 8

JULY 19, 2022 UPDATE

NUMBER OF NEW CASES

86

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL ISOLATION

26

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN HOME ISOLATION

886

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN COVID-19 ICU

4

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL QUARANTINE

1

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (FEMALES)

37,388

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (MALES)

31,670

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES IN GUYANA SINCE 2020

69,058

NUMBER OF RECOVERED CASES

66,875

REGION 1

2657

REGION 2

3040

REGION 3

8541

REGION 4

34,346

REGION 5

2519

REGION 6

6632

REGION 7

2555

REGION 8

886

REGION 9

4232

REGION 10

3650

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

TOTAL 1st DOSE VACCINATED

442,087

FULLY IMMUNISED

341,687

TOTAL NUMBER OF DEATHS

DISTRIBUTION OF TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES SINCE MARCH 2020

1267

Keep a physical distance of at least 6 feet.

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

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

ing, James allegedly disappeared from the area, which caused investigators to believe that he must have had a hand in the woman’s death.

The Police Force is asking anyone who might know the

whereabouts of James to contact the Force on 226-6979, 225-8196, 227-1611, 2252317, 225-8196, 638-8440, or the nearest Police station.

Investigations are ongoing. (G9)

creased to 166,308,661 while the death toll in the region has gone up to 2,773,046.

If anyone is displaying

any of the symptoms associated with COVID-19 or needs any additional information, they are asked to contact the

COVID-19 Hotline 231-1166, 226-7480 or 624-6674 immediately or visit www.health. gov.gy.(G12)

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WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

NEWS

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WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Issues affecting youths to be targeted by new USAID/ESC Council

T

he United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Eastern and Southern Caribbean (ESC) regional mission has announced the launch of its new Youth

Council, geared at advocacy and addressing issues affecting young people.

The Youth Council is a 15-member group of young people between 18 to 29 years of age, who will collaborate with USAID and

Man shot during gunplay at Kitty bar

A

28-year-old man is in Police custody after he allegedly shot a man during a ‘gun play’ at Lamaha Street, Kitty, between Gordon and Pike Streets, Georgetown.

Reports are that the shooting occurred at about 01:30h in the vicinity of the Montra Restaurant and Lounge.

Injured is Deon Jerrick, who was at the bar in the company of friends when they were involved in an argument with the suspect.

This resulted in a 'gun play', where both the victim and the suspect discharged firearms. In the process, Jerrick received a wound to his left side, just below his armpit.

Upon realising Jerrick was injured, the suspect made good his escape by running south along Lamaha Street but was later apprehended by the Police.

The injured Jerrick was then supported by one of his friends and taken to the St Joseph Mercy Hospital, where he is presently receiving treatment. His condition is regarded as serious but stable.

The suspect is presently in

custody assisting with the investigation.

Only last week a man was stabbed at the S&S Bar at Mon Repos on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD) and later died following an argument he had with another man.

A friend of twenty-year-old Krishna Maniram, an audit clerk at National Hardware, was involved in a heated argument with another man, and in a bid to defend his friend, Maniram intervened.

It was during the row; the man was stabbed three times about his body with a broken bottle. He was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital and was later transported to the infectious Diseases Hospital at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown.

The man’s family said he was transported to the hospital, because, according to doctors, he tested positive for COVID-19. They said while he was at the centre, they were told that he had to undergo surgery.

Three days later, the man succumbed to his injuries.

The suspect is still on the run.

(G9)

GRA warns of fraudsters posing as officers

T

he Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has warned the public about fraudsters posing as officers of the entity, extracting payments from taxpayers.

The modus operandi is to enlist taxpayers to the various officers to transact businesses on the agency’s behalf, for a fee. GRA has since provided some clarity, that all payments must be made to cashiers at their headquarters, regional offices or licence revenue office.

“Official receipts will accompany all payments.

Alternatively, taxpayers can utilise the GRA’s on-

line/digital payment options with banking institutions,” the revenue office noted.

If a person in the general public encounters or suspects a scammer, they should request the name and employee identification of the person posting as a GRA representative.

All legitimate GRA staffers are required to carry identification cards while executing their duties.

Suspected scammers can be reported to the Special Investigation Unit by calling the hotline on 225-5051 or sending an email to siu@gra.gov.gy.

(G12)

local partners by sharing their experiences on some of the most pressing issues that affect young people.

The Youth Council will also participate in USAIDwide events and will benefit from capacity building initiatives to strengthen their community leadership skills and advocacy on youth issues with governments and key stakeholders across the region.

USAID/ESC Regional Representative Clinton White commented on the launch of the Youth Council, “We are excited by the outstanding work that young people across the region are doing to change their communities and countries. Establishing this Youth Council is an important element of our work in the Caribbean Region. You can’t make decisions that involve young people in the absence of their voices and ideas.”

He further shared, “The Youth Council allows USAID/ESC to engage youth as well as an opportunity to assist them

The Youth Council members with US Ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Linda Taglialatela and the USAID/ESC Regional Representative Clinton White

with developing stronger leadership and advocacy skills. Moreover, the Youth Council Members will also participate in USAIDwide events. We believe this partnership will have a long and lasting impact on the Caribbean and help to build the bridge for the next generation to cross.”

Members of the Youth Council will serve for a period of one year. The group

is comprised of underrepresented individuals from local communities and civil societies, including women, non-majority and Indigenous communities, and other voices with less access to decision makers.

Youth Council representatives hail from Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and

the Grenadines, St Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.

There will also be representation from the Caribbean Youth Environment Network, the Caricom Youth Ambassador Corps, youth detention facilities, and other regional youth organisations.

Guyana is represented on the Council by David Henry. (G12)

14 NEWS

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20,, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Republic Bank commits to financially support Guyana’s food security efforts …as Pres Ali meets Board on strategies for further support to agriculture

F

President Dr Irfaan Ali

ollowing on the heels of a meeting President Dr Irfaan Ali had with the Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited Board of Directors, the President has said that the bank has given its assurance that it is committed to financially supporting Guyana’s food security efforts and the “Vision 25 by 2025” strategy.

President Ali made this pronouncement on Tuesday, while at the ceremony for the sod turning of the US$35 million Four Points by Sheraton Hotel to be constructed in Houston along the Mandela to Eccles road link.

“Today I had an exciting discussion, with the Board of Directors of Republic Bank as to how we can unlock capital

and engage the young people of Guyana and the Caribbean, in the food production process.

How we can unlock the capital backed by governments, to propel them to create opportunities for them, while at the same time solving an important issue,” President Ali said.

The President later further explained that they are discussing a strategy whereby Republic Bank can increase its support for the agriculture sector. Already, the bank has committed US$100 million in financing for the agriculture sector, through the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Sustainability Agriculture Credit Facility.

It had been explained at the time that the facility will

provide funding for up to five years for repaying up to GY$2 billion to Guyana and US$100 million to all Caricom member states, with interest rates as low as 2.5 per cent. According to Ali, the commitment he got from the Board of Directors can be considered to have encompassed this as well.

“What we are discussing is a strategy. And what I have commitment on is a strategy, to support our vision on food security. So, discussion and generation of idea is the first step. The vision, the idea and then crystalising the idea and the vision, into reality, is not guess work. It calls for very strategic thinking.”

“And that is what the discussion is about. Strategically positioning the idea and the policy, in the corporate sector, in this case Republic Bank, to support that vision. And what I can assure you is that they’ve given their full assurance that they are in line with the strategy and thinking. Let us see in a few weeks.”

Nor is Republic Bank the only bank that has been tailoring its financing options to the agriculture sector.

Less than two months after Demerara Bank partnered with the Guyana Government to launch its Farmers Credit Line programme, some 206

farmers are already benefiting from financial assistance provided by the bank.

In May, Demerara Bank launched the Farmers Credit Line that provides much-need-

Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Parvinchandra Dave, disclosed that since rolling out the initiative, 206 farmers have benefited from some $250 million in financing.

facility is available in your account so you can withdraw $200,000 or $300,000, deposit it back then withdraw and repeat again,” he explained.

According to Demerara

“The base feature of this advance is it’s an overdraft.

It’s a credit card loan. They can use their credit card at any time. Once you get a loan of $1.5 million, not necessarily you will withdraw [the entire] $1.5 million. But the

Bank’s General Manager, Dowlat Parbhu, the amount given to each farmer is specific to their needs but the facility is a maximum of $1.5 million. This credit line carries an interest rate of 6.5 per cent. (G3)

Republic Bank

ed financing to farmers, mostly those along the coast. The loan ranges from $1 million to $1.5 million with a low interest rate and does not require any collateral from applicants.

In a recent interview with Guyana Times, the Bank’s

15

Ramsammy’s Ruminations No ethnic group in Guyana is mentally lazy – the accusers are guilty of race-baiting

E

nough is enough. The Ethnic Relations Commission must act. Too many persons are getting away with race-baiting in our country. Being coy about such atrocious behaviour is enabling the race-baiting charlatans. The more we remain silent, the more we empower these charlatans and race-baiting hate-mongers.

The subject of race-baiting is not too sensitive to talk about.

After a group of Guyanese showed up and robbed, looted, injured people, and destroyed innocent poor people’s properties in Mon Repos, the President showed up to assure Dr Leslie Ramsammy people of the Government’s presence to help them recover.

A group of PNC-linked, social media hate-mongers took to the social media airwaves and accused the President of ethnic bias, because he showed up at a place where most of the victims were Indo-Guyanese. These race-mongers are being allowed to wage their race-baiting hatred without any pushback. Guyanese citizens, NGOs, political parties, faith-based organisations, all civil society groups need to abandon their policy of silence; it is far past time to act.

A PNC MP not so long ago accused supporters of the PPP of being mentally lazy. The allegations were widely publicised.

Just this past week, on a social media show with David Hinds, an attorney linked to the PNC repeated that PPP supporters are mentally lazy. There is a whole group - small but nevertheless active – that repeat this as mantra. There is a sub-narrative to what they say, because they do not disguise that they are referring to Indo-Guyanese. This is race-baiting. The PPP is not an Indo-Guyanese party. It is true that most Indo-Guyanese support the PPP. In fact, most Amerindians also support the PPP, and the PPP enjoys support from all other races. The PPP is the only truly national party in Guyana. However, there is a group of PNC acolytes who swarm social media with the fake characterisation that the PPP is an Indian political party. In describing PPP supporters as mentally lazy, these social media politicians really are deeming Indo-Guyanese mentally lazy.

I am an unapologetic supporter of the PPP and a proud Indo-Guyanese, and I am not mentally lazy. When I stand up to hate-mongers coming from the PNC and other parties, I do so because I support and I work assiduously for ONE GUYANA. I resist the hate-mongers not because I am lazy, but because I find their posturing reprehensible. When these hate-mongers castigate people from Buxton and other Afro-Guyanese villages for purchasing black-pudding from Indo-Guyanese at the Mon Repos Market, it nauseates me. Such overt calls to boycott Indo-Guyanese businesses horrify me, and it is among the many reasons I support the PPP. It is not because I am lazy that I support the PPP, but because I am offended by the overt racism of many who speak on behalf of political parties like the PNC. When these spokespersons from that party speak, I never hear any pushback from the leaders of that party, or any other political party other than the PPP. It is for these reasons I support the PPP; it is not because I am mentally lazy.

This past Saturday, I saw an editorial in one of the newspapers, criticising Government for the way it concluded a partnership with the world-renowned Mount Sinai. I accepted that criticism as the newspaper wanting the Government to optimise its transparency; I have no problem with its criticism. That same newspaper did not similarly find it important to condemn, through its editorial pages, the obnoxious attack on, and the terrorising of, Indo-Guyanese in Mon Repos. It is these things that drive me to support the PPP; it has nothing to do with me being mentally lazy. I absolutely abhor the behaviour of groups like Red Thread and the Guyana Human Rights Association, and many others, and commentators who find every and any kind of reason to condemn the Government and yet they pretend they did not see or know about the attack on poor Guyanese, just because of their ethnicity, or saw the obnoxious attempt to rig the 2020 elections. These things are wrong, and these are the reasons I support the PPP, not because I am mentally lazy.

I support the PPP because it did not close any sugar estate and put more than 7,000 persons out of employment, terminate the contract of more than 2,000 Amerindian young people, arbitrarily terminate Amerindian land titling, raise more than 200 taxes, end the $10,000 cash grant to school children and the One Laptop Per Family programme, end the farmers’ subsidies, raise rental lease rates, etc. APNU/AFC and the PNC did all these things. I cannot support a political party that received secretly a $US18M signing bonus and hid it. APNU/AFC did exactly that, and that is why I cannot support them, and why my support is with the PPP. When COVID-19 hit Guyana, APNU/AFC closed the country and provided no response by introducing a COVID-19 testing regime or providing cash relief for people. The PPP did, and that is why I find comfort in supporting the PPP. Those who try to intimidate and try to insult our intelligence because they cannot get us to follow them like blind mice are the ones who are exhibiting mental laziness. Far from it, I am not mentally lazy.

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

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

16 NEWS

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

New modernistic laws will form balance in justice system – Nandlall …as US assisting Guyana to strengthen justice sector

R

ecognising that Government has been ‘churning out’ legislation since it entered office, Attorney General Anil Nandlall has shared that such modern laws would create the necessary balance in the delivery of justice.

The Legal Affairs Ministry, in partnership with the United States’ Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) and the National Center for State Courts (NCSC), recently collaborated for the Guyana Asset Recovery Workshop.

It was designed to develop and implement multi-agency asset recovery best practices.

Senior Counsel Anil Nandlall, Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, in

his address, underscored that Government has been taking strides with the introduction of new bills to ensure the judicial system is equipped to meet new challenges.

“As independent as it is of the Executive, we have been partnering with the Judiciary to ensure that it is not only properly resourced, but also that the Judiciary is engaged in constant training, so that our Judges and Magistrates are equipped to meet the new and dynamic challenges,” he said.

“The Judiciary has been partnering with the National Center for State Courts in a multiplicity of engagements, all designed to bring greater efficiency, speed, and deliver a quality of justice and a quality of legal services that we can

Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC

US Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch

all be proud of. At the level of the Government, we continue to churn out legislation after legislation with commendable speed,” he added.

He pointed to the Bail Bill legislation in the pipeline, tout-

ing it as advanced, modern, and striking a balance between the presumption of innocence and the protection of the public against a miscreant.

“The law of bail requires a balance of those competing interests. I believe that the Bail Bill strikes a balance in the most modern expression,” said Nandlall.

With this piece of legislation, the confinement period which currently stands at 72 hours will be changed to 24 hours.

He also acknowledged the Restorative Justice Bill that will be tabled, regarding it as another modern concept that

is not institutionally known to Guyana’s system, but is advanced in other jurisdictions.

“Here, we’re advocating, by this law, a softer sociological and psychological approach to crime and criminality; where, while the criminal administration of justice is ongoing, social officers suitably trained will then go into the background of that defendant, to explore what might have contributed to the criminal conduct,” he explained.

“Justice is not a one-way street, but a two-way street.

The interest of the victim of the crime, the interest of the state, and the interest of the public are all important, as important as the interest of the defendant or the accused person,” the AG contended.

The AG added that the Guyana Police Force is undergoing a myriad of training to enhance investigative capabilities, particularly in emerging technological domains.

United States Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch, told stakeholders during the workshop that this is an ideal partnership to strengthen current resources while elevating response to crimes.

“We will forge and strengthen partnerships, share best practices, and strengthen our response to serious transnational as well as financial crimes…

The United States aims to help strengthen the capacity of the justice sector to respond effectively to criminal activity, and ensure citizen security,” the diplomat shared. (G12)

NEWS

17

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Mocha-to-Diamond bypass road

Errant drivers continue to damage barriers O

ne of the fixed steel barriers which was constructed along the new Mocha-to-Diamond bypass road to prevent heavy laden vehicles from traversing the road has been damaged again.

This is the second time in the year that the barriers were destroyed. In January, the one that is located at the Mocha entranceway and the one situated in the vicinity of the Farm Access Road were knocked out by passing vehicles.

It was reported that there was noticeable damage to the steel structures, and the barrier at the entranceway was leaning.

Heavy-duty vehicles continue to traverse the road, despite President Dr Irfaan

Ali having warned that they should not, and persons who destroy the barriers will face the consequences.

“This road is designed for a specific category of vehicles…the big trucks, you will see barriers and if you think it is your responsibility to take down the barriers because you want to break the law, there will be consequences and you will face the consequences,”

The barrier that was damaged (Marc McKenzie photo)

President Ali had warned during the official commissioning ceremony of the road in December 2021.

The new road serves as an auxiliary route for commuters and as a transit point for scores of workers, bringing much-needed relief to the already heavily congested EBD corridor – where people often spend hours of productive time sitting in traffic.

18 NEWS

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Quindon Bacchus’s death

PI date to be set in October, case adjourned

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date for the commencement of the preliminary inquiry into the death of Quindon Bacchus will be set in October.

This was revealed on Tuesday when the matter was called at the Cove and John Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate Faboyo Azore. At Tuesday’s heading, the Magistrate set October 5 for disclosure of statements and fixture of a date for commencement of the Preliminary Inquiry (PI).

Bacchus, 23, of Golden

They were all remanded to prison.

Bacchus, a father of one, was shot several times about his body following an encounter with Police ranks.

It was reported that on June 10, ranks were conducting an intelligence-led operation in the Haslington New Scheme area of the ECD after receiving some information earlier in the day.

The ranks went to Bacchus’s home, where he was seen with a firearm in his possession. He had reportedly intended to sell it.

The plainclothes rank, who was armed, made arrangements to purchase the fireGrove, East Coast Demerara (ECD), was fatally shot to the body several times during a Police sting operation.

Police Lance Corporal Kristoff De Nobrega has since been charged for his death.

De Nobrega, who allegedly shot and killed Bacchus, alongside Lance Corporal Thurston Simon and Sergeant Dameion McLennon were charged in relation to his death.

Twenty-two-year-old De Nobrega of Downer Canal, Liliendaal, was slapped with

a murder charge.

The policemen appeared virtually before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts to answer to their respectable charges.

The two others, 24-yearold Simon of Bareroot, East Coast Demerara, and 35-year-old McLennon of B Field Sophia were charged with attempting to obstruct the course of justice. Simon was slapped with a second charge for conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline.

Dead: Quindon Bacchus

arm from Bacchus.

In the process of handing over the firearm to the rank, an alarm was raised.

A chase ensued and shots were fired, hitting the now deceased man about his body.

Police said Bacchus was picked up in a conscious state and escorted to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he was seen and examined, but subsequently died.

The incident was investigated by the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) which had recommended that the three officers be charged. (G2)

Manganese company reminded of strictest safety, environmental standards’ compliance …as Finance Minister discusses investment, production plans

F

inance Minister Dr Ashni Singh on Monday visit-

ed the Guyana Manganese Inc (GMI), a subsidiary of Chinese-owned Bosai Minerals Group (BMG), in Matthew’s Ridge, Region One (Barima-Waini).

Singh was joined by Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat and Local

mental standards, as well as its corporate responsibility to the community in which it operates.

During the visit to the region as well, the Ministers attended a community meeting at Matthew’s Ridge where

Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh speaking with residents of Region One (Barima-Waini) on Monday

Government Minister Nigel Dharamlall and a number of technical officers. There, the Ministers met with senior management of the company and discussed the company’s investment and production plans, and noted the efforts that have been made by the company as Guyana resumes exports of manganese for the first time in nearly six decades.

The Finance Minister also discussed other issues of interest to the company and emphasised the importance of the company’s compliance with the strictest of safety and environ-

they interacted with the residents and listened to their various issues and concerns.

At that meeting, the Ministers revealed plans for infrastructural development, improvements to healthcare facilities and services, and more training opportunities for the young people in the region. The Minister also assured the residents that President Ali’s Government is at their service and is committed to working hard to resolve issues and improve the livelihood of everyone in the village.

guyanatimesgy.com

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2022

19

Around the World

OILNEWS OIL NEWS Oil settles up 1% at 2-week high on worries about tight supply

O

il prices rose about 1 per cent, with global benchmark Brent settling at a two-week high in volatile trade on Tuesday as traders worried about tight supplies and a weaker dollar.

Brent futures rose US$1.08, or 1.0 per cent, to settle at US$107.35 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose US$1.62, or 1.6 per cent, to settle at US$104.22.

Brent posted its highest close since July 4 and WTI its highest since July 8. At one point during the volatile session, both benchmarks were down around US$2 a barrel.

"Crude oil has staged an incredible turnaround today," said Robert Yawger, executive director of energy futures at Mizuho.

"There was no big red bullish headline to greenlight the rally, but the combination of beaten down open interest and low trade volume will often encourage wild price swings," Yawger said.

Oil prices have whipsawed, supported by supply fears due to Western sanctions on Russia, but pressured by global central bank efforts to tame inflation which stoked fears that a potential recession could cut energy demand.

On Friday, open interest in New York Mercantile Exchange futures fell to the lowest since September 2015 as investors cut risky assets like commodities, worried that the Federal Reserve will keep raising US interest rates.

The US-Canada Keystone pipeline was operating at reduced capacity on Monday after a pump station was shut.

Libya's new National Oil Corp (NOC) chief Farhat Bengdara rejected challenges to his appointment and work resumed at some shuttered fields and ports.

The US 3:2:1 and gasoline crack spreads - measures of refining profit margins - both fell to their lowest since April.

"Crack spreads continuing plunge of past four weeks to narrowest level since late April ... suggesting weakening product demand," said analysts at Ritterbusch and Associates, a consultancy.

Last week, US President Joe Biden visited top oil exporter Saudi Arabia, de facto leader of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), whose crude exports slipped in May to a four-month low.

Biden hoped to strike a deal on an oil production boost to tame fuel prices, but the kingdom's Foreign Minister said the market's problem was not a crude shortage but a lack of refining capacity.

In the United States, expectations for an increase in crude inventories weighed on prices. Analysts polled by Reuters forecast crude inventories rose by 1.4 million barrels last week.

On Tuesday, people familiar with Biden's plans told Reuters that the President plans to announce new federal measures aimed at the climate crisis today.

Early in the session, oil prices fell on weak economic data from around the world. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Russia says peace in Ukraine will be on its terms, cultivates Iranian support

R

ussian President Vladimir Putin met Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Tuesday, stressing closer ties in the face of Western pressure over the war in Ukraine, where Russian forces struck more targets across the country.

During his Iran visit Putin will also meet Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to discuss a deal that would resume Ukraine's Black Sea grain exports - now blockaded

by Russia - as well as peace in Syria. It was Putin's first face-to-face meeting with a NATO leader since Russian troops invaded Ukraine on Feb 24.

In Moscow, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said that any peace in

T

“Last Friday, July 15, 2022, while many Barbadians were preparing for Crop Over events at the weekend, or simply getting on with their lives, the Government of Barbados gave notice of a Bill in Parliament to amend the Electric Light and Power Act, which is to be moved in Parliament on July 19.

“The amendment will severely limit the right of all Barbadian voters, consumers and businesses from objecting to, or expressing their concerns about, any application for a licence to supply electricity in Barbados, whether it is Barbados Light & Power or any other company that

Ukraine would be the way Moscow wanted it.

"Russia will achieve all its goals. There will be peace - on our terms," said Medvedev, who is now deputy head of the

Kremlin's Security Council.

The Kremlin has said there is no time limit to a conflict it calls a "special military operation" to ensure its own security. Ukraine and the West

Britain swelters on its hottest day ever as temperatures hit 40C

B

ritain recorded its hottest day ever on Tuesday, with the temperature exceeding 40C (104F) as a heatwave gripping Europe intensified, forcing train tracks to buckle and fuelling a spate of fires across London.

The Met Office said a new provisional record temperature of 40.3C (104.5F) was recorded in Coningsby, in central England, with 34 sites across the country experiencing temperatures in excess of the previous high of 38.7C (101.7F) recorded in 2019.

Stephen Belcher at the Met Office said he had not expected to see such temperatures in Britain in his career.

"Research conducted here at the Met Office has demonstrated that it's virtually impossible for the UK to experience 40C in an undisrupted climate but climate change driven by greenhouse gases has made these extreme

DLP raises objection on power company amendments he Democratic Labour Party (DLP) of Barbados is accusing the Government of using a proposed amendment to the law to limit the right to object to the granting of licences to power companies.

In a press statement on Monday, President Dr Ronnie Yearwood warned that a pending change to the Electric Light and Power Act scheduled to be debated on Tuesday in the House of Assembly would remove some of the rights to object to awarding electricity licences for big power systems, and to making representation to the Minister about those terms and conditions.

Ukrainian service members fire a shell from a towed howitzer FH-70 at a front line, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Donbas Region, Ukraine, July 18, 2022

condemn it as an unprovoked aggressive war meant to grab territory and erase the identity of a nation that was under Moscow's thumb in the former Soviet Union until 1991.

More than two weeks have passed since Russia's last major territorial gain - capturing the eastern Ukrainian city of Lysychansk. Ukraine's General Army Staff said on Tuesday that Moscow's forces were busy shoring up their positions in recently seized territory and mounting limited but unsuccessful ground assaults in numerous different locations.

Britain's Ministry of Defence, which supports Kyiv, said on Thursday it believed Russian forces were unable to advance swiftly due to personnel shortages.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

wants to generate electricity in Barbados,” Yearwood stated.

He cited an extract of the current act that gives the opportunity for “all interested parties” to make representation to the Minister. He charged this was being removed and replaced with an instruction that any “interested party” would first have to justify why they were interested in objecting.

“Isn’t being a consumer good enough anymore to raise your concern over the suppliers of electricity that will ultimately affect the cost of your electricity?” Yearwood asked.

“This will adversely affect all of us. (Nation News)

temperatures possible," he said.

Train services on major routes from London up the east and west coast of the country were cancelled, electricity companies reported mass outages and normally busy city centres appeared quiet. Network Rail tweeted a number of pictures showing large bends and kinks in rail tracks.

London Fire Brigade declared a major incident and urged people to stop having barbecues, as hundreds of firefighters battled blazes across the capital.

To the east, a large fire engulfed homes in the village of Wennington, with flames tearing across about 40 hect-

Firefighters tackle a grass fire during the heatwave in Mow Cop, Staffordshire, Britain, July 19, 2022

ares (100 acres) of neighbouring tinder-dry fields.

Elsewhere large grassland areas around the capital caught fire, billowing smoke over major roads and near-

by areas.

London's Ambulance Service said it had been dealing with 400 calls an hour because of the extreme heat. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Deadly fighting erupts again at Ecuador prison

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fight between rival gangs in a prison in Ecuador has left at least 13 inmates dead and two injured, officials say.

The deadly fight broke out just two months after 44 inmates were killed in a confrontation at the same jail in the city of Santo Domingo.

The authorities said they had regained full control of Bellavista prison.

Prison violence has shot up since February 2021 with more than 400 inmates killed in gruesome gang wars battled out behind bars.

Interior Minister Patricio Carrillo said that 13 bodies had been recovered following this latest deadly incident at Bellavista jail.

"It is likely that in the cell-by-cell search, more bodies will appear, but we don't know for sure," Carrillo added.

The Minister said that members of the R7 gang had targeted inmates who were in the process of setting up a rival gang.

The fight erupted in Bellavista prison, where more than 40 inmates were killed in May

While the gang engages mainly in extortion and drug dealing, it is particularly influential in a number of prisons with R7 members reportedly behind an earlier deadly fight in Bellavista prison and another at Turi jail in April.

Interior Minister Carrillo said that the government was taking "the necessary measures" to strengthen the prison system by training up more than 1000 guards and tackling "structural problems".

Gang violence has surged

in Ecuador in recent years.

The country is located between Colombia and Peru, the two largest producers of cocaine, and has become a key transit country for drugs smuggled from Latin America to the US. Local gangs have increasingly become infiltrated by or aligned with powerful transnational crime syndicates and have adopted the gruesome tactics used by Mexican cartels such as decapitating and dismembering victims.

(BBC News)

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WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2022

guyanatimesgy.com

DAILY HOROSCOPES

ARCHIE

Refuse to let your emotions step in and ruin things for you. Put your ego aside and do what you do best. Let the results speak for you, and you’ll sidestep interference.

(March 21-April 19) Be observant, but don’t think everyone else has answers or insight into what you can or should do next. Only you can decide your strengths and weaknesses.

Share your skills, energy and time.

DILBERT

(April 20-May 20) Hunker down and don’t stop until you are satisfied with the results. Consider your dreams and push forward. It’s OK to be different and to trust and believe in yourself. Say what’s on your mind.

(May 21-June 20) Find a method that works for you.

Limit your intake and diminish your responsibilities. Know what you want and be intent on following through with your plans.

PEANUTS (June 21-July 22)

Stop worrying about what others do.

Put your heart into what you know and do best. Don’t let compliments go to your head, causing you to offer too much to something that doesn’t benefit you.

(July 23-Aug. 22) Seize the moment, do your thing and bask in the glory. Don’t hesitate or overreact. A strategic plan executed with precision will change the way others see you and how you see yourself.

CALVIN AND HOBBES

(Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Emotional challenges will surface if you let things get to you. Size up situations before you launch a counterattack.

Ask questions and take the initiative to bring about positive change.

(Sept. 23-Oct. 23) You know how to play, but losing doesn’t come easy. Don’t let anger seep in and turn into something you cannot control. Challenge yourself physically and keep your emotions under control.

SUDOKU (Oct. 24-Nov. 22)

Spend more time nurturing what you’ve worked so hard to acquire. Good relationships take work, and building a solid home base takes ingenuity and resources.

(Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Observe, calculate and adjust.

Having a flexible attitude will encourage positive change. Don’t put up with wasteful people, hangers-on and those taking advantage of your kind heart.

SOLUTION FOR LAST PUBLISHED PUZZLE

(Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Take the reins and charge forward independently. Waiting around for others or following someone else’s lead will not get you where you want to go. You’ll find your calling if you are honest.

(Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Take a unique approach to something you long to master. The skills you gain will inspire you and lead to valuable opportunities. Someone you least expect will offer sage advice.

(Feb. 20-March 20)

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2022

21

South Africa's new T20 league…

IPL franchise owners buy all six teams T

he global footprint of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is expanding swiftly, with its franchise owners set to buy all six teams in South Africa's new T20 league, the inaugural edition of which is scheduled for January 2023.

ESPNCricinfo has learned that Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Lucknow Super Giants, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan Royals and one of the owners of the Delhi Capitals have successfully bid for the franchises. The league will be run by Cricket South Africa in partnership with television broadcaster SuperSport.

It is understood that CSK, through parent company Chennai Super Kings Sports Limited, made the highest bid at an informal auction to buy the Johannesburg franchise.

Mumbai Indians, owned by Reliance Industries, bought the Cape Town franchise; while the Sun TV Group, which owns Sunrisers, bought the Port Elizabeth franchise.

The RP Sanjeev Goenka Group, which paid a record sum of INR 7090 crore to buy the Lucknow IPL franchise late last year, picked up the Durban team, while Rajasthan Royals bought the Paarl team. Pretoria has been taken by Jindal South West Sports, which is headed by Parth Jindal, co-owner

of the Delhi Capitals in IPL. While Cricket South Africa (CSA) is expected to make a formal announcement of the new owners, and the cities they will represent once the paperwork is complete, the board has announced former South Africa captain Graeme Smith as the overall head of the T20 league. One of Smith's early targets is to ensure that the deals with the franchise owners are watertight.

"I'm extremely honoured to be entrusted with leading this exciting new venture," Smith has said. "I'm deeply committed to South African cricket, and happy to serve the game as best I can. I'm excited by the opportunity to deliver the new league, which I believe will be an extremely competitive product, one that can bring the much-needed investment into the game and provide new opportunities for players around the world and, more importantly, to our SA

home-grown talent.

"The response from stakeholders has been very positive thus far, and we've made great progress in the initial stages. We're determined to deliver a valuable, sustainable, and appealing tournament for South African cricket."

the calendar for this tournament.

CSA has said it made the radical move for the "long-term sustainability of the game" in South Africa.

Going forward, the board will not organise any international cricket in South Africa after the New Year Test, to create a window for the T20 league; and this is evident in their schedule in the ICC's draft FTP for the period from 2023 to 2027.

"This new league promises to make a significant investment into both professional cricket and development in South Africa, along with a positive socio-economic and tourism injection into the country," CSA's Chief Executive Officer Pholetsi Moseki has said.

Third time lucky?

IPL franchise owners go global

This new tournament is CSA's third attempt to start a sustainable franchise-based T20 league, after the Global League T20 failed to take off in 2017 and the Mzansi Super League was scrapped because its broadcast rights could not be sold for three years.

The new T20 league was set up as "top priority" by the CSA, which shook the cricket world last week by deciding to forfeit a three-match ODI series in Australia and risk South Africa's direct qualification for the 2023 ODI World Cup to make space in

Berbice Shotokan Academy hosts karate examination

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he Berbice Shotokan Academy dojos (Albion and Canje) have held their second karate examination for 2022. This was done at the Albion Sports Complex on July 17th, 2022 from 11:00hrs to 12:30hrs.

The examiner, Shihan Amir Khouri, 7th Dan from Georgetown, assisted by Clinton Moriah and Hazrat Ali, both 6th Dan Senseis from the Ancient County, conducted the examinations.

With excited parents

watching their children go through their routine, the following were the results: Promoted • Jurisa Deochand: from 10 Kyu white to 8 Kyu yellow belt.

• Neil Madramootoo: from 10 Kyu white to 6B kyu green belt.

• Saafir Ali: from 7 Kyu orange to 6 Kyu green belt.

• Denesh Narine: from 6 Kyu green to 4B Kyu purple belt.

• N o o r i s h a

Harrinarine: from 4 Kyu purple to 3 Kyu brown belt.

• Ronald Arjune: from 4 Kyu purple to 3 Kyu brown belt.

• Sameer Mohamed: from 3 Kyu brown to 2 Kyu brown belt.

Classes continue under Sensei Hazrat Ali, 6th Dan, at Albion and Canje. Contact Sensei Hazrat Ali on telephone # 616–6470, or Sensei Clinton Moriah, 6th Dan, at New Amsterdam. Sensei Moriah’s Telephone # is 613 – 8045.

With the league still in its early planning stages, it could not be confirmed whether CSA would conduct a player auction or draft to

form the six teams. Another question is whether the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) would make an allowance for Indian players to participate in the league. So far, the BCCI has barred Indian players from featuring in the T20 leagues of other countries, to protect the IPL brand.

There is no such restriction on the IPL franchise owners, who have steadily made acquisitions in overseas T20 leagues. Red Chillies Entertainment, the owners of Kolkata Knight Riders, were the first to buy an overseas T20 franchise - the Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League. In 2020, KPH Dream Cricket Private Limited, the consortium that owns Punjab Kings, bought the St Lucia Kings, and last year the owners of Rajasthan Royals the Royals Sports Group bought the Barbados team in the CPL. Red Chillies

Entertainment, co-owned

by Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla and her husband Jay Mehta, have also bought a team in UAE's T20 League - the International League T20 (ILT20). Reliance Strategic Business Ventures Limited, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited, the owners of Mumbai Indians, and the GMR Group, a co-owner of Delhi Capitals, have also bought teams in the ILT20.

The UAE league is scheduled between January 6 and February 12 next year, and will clash with the South African league.

The Knight Riders brand also has a presence in the USA, where it is among the founding members of Major League Cricket, a franchise-based T20 League scheduled to be launched from 2023. There is at least one more IPL franchise that is keen on entering the Major League T20, but has not yet formally closed the agreement. (ESPNCricinfo)

22 Zimbabwe complete Windies qualifying group for World Cup W WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2022

est Indies will meet Zimbabwe in the opening round of the Men’s Twenty20 World Cup later this year, after the African side beat the Netherlands in the final of the ICC T20 Qualifiers on Sunday.

Playing at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, the hosts successfully defended 132 to come away with a 37-run victory over the Dutch side.

They will now join West Indies in Group B of the opening round, along with

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Ireland and Scotland, the four teams vying for the top two spots in order to reach the Super12 Group Stage.

Losers the Netherlands will do battle in Group A with Namibia, Sri Lanka and United Arab Emirates, in the T20 World Cup campaign which runs from October 16 to November 13 in Australia.

“Today is an exciting day for fans, with all 16 teams now confirmed for the first ever ICC Men’s T20 World Cup being held in Australia,” said Local Organising

West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran with his team mates

Committee CEO Michelle Enright.

“We congratulate the Netherlands and Zimbabwe on making it through a challenging qualifying event, and look forward to welcoming them to Hobart and Geelong respectively in the First Round.”

West Indies open their bid to reach the main draw with a clash against Scotland, while Zimbabwe and Ireland would lock horns. Both matches would form a doubleheader in Hobart on October 17.

And West Indies and Zimbabwe will meet each other two days later at the same venue, which will stage all Group B matches. Both teams will be hoping to advance to the main draw, which comprises the automatic qualifiers on the basis of ICC ranking.

Hosts Australia, New Zealand, England and Afghanistan make up Group 1, while India, Pakistan, South Africa and Bangladesh have been installed in Group 2. (CMC)

RBL Summer Camp & Bakewell/Busta 2022 Cricket Academy…

RHTY&SC activities off to resounding start

M

ore than 200 youths turned up on Monday when the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC) commenced its annual Republic Bank Summer Camp and the Bakewell/Busta Cricket Academy at the Rose Hall Town Primary School and the Area H Ground respectively.

These events are held annually by this vibrant club under its “Say Yes to Education and Sports” programme, and are organised by the cricket teams of the RHTY&SC, which are as follows: Poonai Pharmacy Under-13, Farfan and Mendes Under-15, Bakewell Under-17 and Second Division, Pepsi Under-19 and Intermediate, Metro Females, Vitality Under-23, Namilco Thunderbolt Under-21 and First Division.

Secretary/CEO of the RHTY&SC, Hilbert Foster,

Members of the Bakewell/Busta Cricket Academy posing with their coaches and senior RHTY&SC players

has expressed delight at the attendance at both events, which has surpassed expectations. One of the most exciting aspects of the opening day has been the presence of 30 under-19 females who have all expressed a desire to become members of the only full-time female club team in Guyana.

Foster, in brief remarks at the opening ceremony, urged the attentive youths to develop a culture of hard work, personal discipline, commitment,

and a desire to learn more about the game.

The longstanding club official, who is also President of the proactive Berbice Cricket Board (BCB), has said the RHTY&SC strongly believes that education and sports go hand in hand, and he has called on the youths to make sure they pay close attention to both. The RHTY&SC, he said, would provide all the necessary support they need in terms of guidance, gear and

educational materials.

Head Coach Winston Smith, who is working primarily with the young females, disclosed that special emphasis would be placed on getting them to understand the basics of batting and bowling. Smith, who is being assisted by a battery of assistants, has said that emphasis would also be placed on classroom work, wherein players would know the history of the game and topics of importance to their personal development. Among the topics to be covered are suicide, danger of drugs, domestic violence, peer pressure, and personal

hygiene.

The senior members of the club are also playing a major role in these activities, with West Indies players Kevin Sinclair, Sheneta Grimmond and Shabika Gajnabi turning up to pass on their knowledge to the players and providing them with inspirational talks.

Recent Amazon Warriors recruit Junior Sinclair also turned up at the camp and worked with more than 25 under-12 players as part of his personal developmental programme with the club.

Some other senior players of the Namilco Thunderbolt Flour First Division team

would also be present during the academy.

The 2022 Republic Bank Summer Camp also started off with a total of 94 students, way above the targeted 50.

The cricket teams were forced to make alternative arrangements to set up two classes.

The students would be taught four subjects - Math, English, Social Studies and Science.

Attractive prizes would also be won at the end of the two events, including bicycles, tablets, cricket gear, uniforms, food hampers, and household and kitchen utensils, among other things.

ExxonMobil National School Basketball Festival…

Bowman hails “All-Star” category as unveiling of new talent

YBG Co-Founder Chris Bowman

By Timothy Jaikarran

T

he ExxonMobil National School Basketball Festival (EMNSBF), which commenced on July 1, 2022 and concluded on July 10, 2022, saw 10 glorious days of action unveiling a plethora of talent from all across Guyana.

Moreover, the festival featured an “All-Star” category which Youth Basketball Guyana Co-Founder Chris Bowman now regards as vital, as it identified the 20 best players in each age group as prospective future national players.

In a recent chat with this publication, Bowman was asked his view on the importance of the “All-Star” category, and he said, “The EMNSBF All-Star games served as an important segway between the preliminary of the Festival and Championship Weekend (final four and final game). It

is always set on the Friday before the Finals. The purpose of the ‘All-Star’ is two-fold: first, it is our way of identifying and affirming the best 20 players in each age group (60 in total) as prospective future national players…”

Bowman explained that aside from identifying prospective talent, YBG tries to create a unique evening of basketball and entertainment, in which fans can come and enjoy the game without the edge of serious competition.

He said that, regardless of which team the fans may be backing to win the championships, with the “All-Star” format, you cheer and appreciate good basketball and talent across the board.

“Twenty of the best players in each age division are placed into teams representing GT/Demerara and Outof-Town. This year, the Outof-Town teams won all three of the All-Star games (U16, Girls D, and U18). This shows the depth of talent outside of Georgetown, which is why the EMNSBF is so important to basketball development, because it is the one champion-

ship that truly showcases talent from across the country,” Bowman has posited.

The first National School Basketball Festival, which was played from June 26-30, 2006, involved 18 schools in a single elimination tournament. From its inception, the NSBF has been a partnership between Youth Basketball Guyana and stakeholders, and the intention was to develop a structured National School Basketball Championship.

Over the last 12 years, the programme has grown significantly, he said, and now includes regional (ZONE) tournaments in order to qualify for the National Championship.

National titles are contested in the categories of under-14, -16, -18 (change from 19) and Girls Developmental.

Next on the calendar, he disclosed, would be a Tertiary Knockout Tournament sponsored by ExxonMobil, followed by a Student Pathway Conference and a rollout of a Youth Basketball Curriculum and the Youth Basketball Guyana Titan Bowl, which would close out 2022.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2022

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resident Dr Irfaan Ali has met with members of the victori-

ous Guyana Caribbean Area Squash Association (CASA) Junior Championship teams

23

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

on Monday, and has congratulated the athletes on winning the 2022 titles.

Express returns as the Official Courier of the Hero CPL

In his speech, the President noted that it is his intention to take squash all over the country, and arrangements in this regard are currently being finalised.

“It’s a project, it has to be run like a project. We are trying to push a lot of this in the ‘One Guyana’ umbrella.

If there are any squash players who would like to be part of the whole programme – because, to spot talent across the

country, they may have people who want to expand their credentials - we can always put them in the scholarship programme, and they can also advance in squash and at the same time they can also advance in their academic work,” the President has posited.

President Ali has also given his word that the junior squash athletes would be supported as they prepare for the WSF World Junior Championships, which are set for August 11-21, 2022.

Further, he explained that his vision is to take the sport to the rest of the country, and have all the athletes become ambassadors as the journey continues.

Ali also commented, “One of the things we don’t make full use of is the asset of our sportsmen. If we can get people like her (Nicolette Fernandes) involved in the special project…

“We want to launch an initiative led by sportsmen and women. We are trying to get our former national footballers to be part of our school

programmes. Many of them, their talent is not utilised. It’s the same thing with squash, if you have four or five good coaches that are out there, we can bring them into the system and see how we can support them,” the President has explained.

President Ali also encouraged the athletes to reach out to differently-abled children and bring them into the circle of squash, as this would make a positive contribution to the sport. He further detailed that it is not about winning, but how the sport is used to uplift all of Guyana.

“When you go out to play, you play for Guyana. You play for everything that is Guyanese, the people of this country. Now that you are champions, you have to use that victory for the wider society. So, I look forward to working with all of you, you can count on us for support,” the President has said.

The local contingent was able to win both the Boys’ and Girls’ categories of this year’s CASA event.

Fans grab opportunity...

FROM PAGE 24

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The CPL Trophy being displayed on a FedEx-branded pedestal

he Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) is excited to announce that FedEx Express has returned as the Official Courier and Express Delivery Service of the 2022 cricket tournament that will take place from 31 August to 30 September in St Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago, and Guyana.

With the world now opening up to international travel, and the Hero CPL once again moving between different countries during the 2022 event, shipping and logistics are more important than ever. Hero CPL will be working with FedEx to ensure the movement of the tournament equipment from each of the team’s homes to the event site.

FedEx also would sponsor the “Fastest Delivery” camera, where a speed gun is added to the coverage. TV viewers would be able to see which of the world-class quick-bowlers in the tournament is top of the table in terms of their deliveries. In addition, the Hero CPL Trophy, the prize for which six teams would be competing, will be displayed on a FedEx-branded pedestal.

Jamie Stewart, Hero CPL’s Commercial Director, has said: “We are excited to be moving around the Caribbean once again, and we are delighted to have FedEx with us to help solve the shipping and logistics challenges of a major sports event across the islands.

2022 is set to be a big year

for Hero CPL, as we celebrate the 10th anniversary, and we are delighted to have a truly world-class company reaffirming their support for the coolest sports league on the planet.”

Rakesh Shalia, Vice President of Marketing and Communications of FedEx Express, Latin America and the Caribbean, shared: “FedEx Express is delighted to join forces with the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) to bring this acclaimed cricket tournament to all the fans. At FedEx, we are committed to supporting relevant sporting leagues across the region, and at the same time, we want to continue inspiring more generations of fans who deserve a unique experience.” (CPL T20)

Also on sale at the office is Amazon Warriors’ merchandise from previous years, which would be added to the 2022 stock of merchandise when it arrives.

Samaroo explained, “New merchandise is expected soon, but as it is right now, everything is housed in the same building. So, right where the ticket sales (are) behind me, you just take the escalator up and you have merchandise from the previous years available.”

Meanwhile, eager Guyana Amazon Warriors’ fans did not demur when asked about their support for the local franchise in this year’s CPL. “Oh yes! Warriors all the way!” V Persaud, who travelled all the way from Mahaicony, said. Persaud, who is also looking forward to securing tickets for the eliminators and final, added: “I’m happy to get what I got, but I didn’t get all that I wanted.”

Another fan, Shazeela Kayum, has locked in her family’s tickets for the GAW home games, and is looking forward to the excitement the CPL brings.

“It’s me and my family coming to the games, because it will be a lot of fun

GAW fan Mr. Boyo (Jemima Holmes Photo)

all the time. Let me hope we bring the cup this time to Guyana,” Kayum shared with this publication.

Another fan, who identified himself as Mr Boyo, is not only excited for the games, but also the camaraderie that the event brings.

“Well, because we went through a long period of COVID, it’s very exciting to see now that we have this big game and get to see old friends. Besides the excitement of the game, it’s a way of meeting people from the different regions coming to town,” he told Guyana Times Sport.

“We were starving for this kind of thing,” Boyo added enthusiastically. “We

see this now as catching up, and seeing our young team maturing, and supporting them at the same time.”

About his support for the Amazon Warriors, Boyo said, “I’ve been following cricket all my life.

Sometimes you go there, and to meet the tape, (you get an attack of) the nerves.

It’s not only the skills, but the nerves; so, I hope that we pull it through this time.

I think we’re entitled to that.”

The Hero CPL will be hosted from August 31st to September 30th 2022.

Games will be played in Guyana on September 21st, 22nd, 24th, 25th, 27th, 28th and 30th.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2022

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

“Starving for this kind of thing”

Fans grab opportunity to get CPL tickets early

By Jemima Holmes

T

he Guyana Amazon Warriors’ new Box Office on Camp Street, Georgetown, a stone’s throw away from the old office at Camp and Quamina Streets, was met with a line of eager cricket fans on Tuesday morning as Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) tickets went on sale from yesterday (Tuesday).

According to the GAW Logistics and Public Relations Officer Romario Samaroo, fans showed up from as early as 7am to get the first chance to pick out their preferred seats at the National Stadium at Providence, EBD for the September games.

“Well, I’m sure most Guyanese, like yourself,

Cricket fans lining up to secure their CPL tickets (Jemima Holmes Photo)

A bird’s eye view of the line for CPL tickets at the GAW’s new box office (Jemima Holmes Photo)

(have) displayed a high anticipation for ticket sales, and we saw persons coming out here at our new location at 233-234 Camp Street, opposite GRA and

closer to Middle, since 7 o’ clock,” Samaroo shared with Guyana Times Sport on Tuesday.

He added with a smile, “Guyanese, they love their

GAW fan Shazeela Kayum (Jemima Holmes Photo)

cricket. I mean, it’s 2 years CPL has been missing from Guyana, now it’s returned and we’ve seen a good reception so far.”

TURN TO PAGE 23

ExxonMobil Guyana pumps $6M into U14 football tournament

ExxonMobil’s Ryan Hoppie presenting the cheque to Petra’s Troy Mendonca in the presence of Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr., NSC Chairman Kashif Muhammad, Assistant DoS Melissa Dow-Richardson, GFF’s Bryan Joseph, MoE’s Dr. Olato Sam and Petra’s Jackie Boodie

E

xxonMobil Guyana on Tuesday extended its interest in sports development with a mammoth $6M investment into the Petra Organized ExxonMobil Boys and Girls Under-14 Football tournament.

24 boys’ teams and 8 girls’ teams, all from the Under-14 division, will spring into action this Saturday, July 16th, 2022, as the ExxonMobil tournament kicks off at the Ministry of Education (MoE) Ground on Carifesta Avenue.

The tournament was officially launched on Tuesday afternoon at the Cara Lodge in Georgetown, in the presence of a string of high-ranking football and sport officials. Among the group was Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr; National Sports Commission (NSC) Chairman

Kashif Muhammad; Assistant Director of Sports, Melissa Dow- Richardson; ExxonMobil’s Ryan Hoppie, GFF’s Bryan Joseph, Ministry of Education’s Dr. Olato Sam, and officials of the Petra Organization.

Bringing the feature address was Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr, who recognised ExxonMobil’s commitment in the need to maintain long-term partnerships in the world of sport.

“For a long time, the horizon was very short-term, because there (weren’t) enough evidence and signals for us to have a belief in a longer-term vision of the future, and there was a lot of instability that occurred that either caused that or was a result of that. Now that long-term vision is changing, that’s help-

ing to change the culture of the country too,” the Sport Minister explained.

Ramson Jr continued, “That’s why I’m stressing the importance of long-term partnerships. These tournaments are not tournaments that must be here-and-now; it must be here and in the future for a very, very long time to come. Those young people who I speak on behalf of, they need it.”

On a similar note, ExxonMobil’s Community Relations Advisor Ryan Hoppie expressed the company’s commitment to ensuring the investment is impactful for youths. Hoppie related, “ExxonMobil and its partnership with the Petra Organization is in keeping with our community investment in the area of youth, as

well as community empowerment. When we partner with NGOs like Petra, we establish meaningful relationships, and we build on these as an integral part of ensuring communities benefit from social enhancement initiatives like this.

“That’s why ExxonMobil is committed, in this case through sport, more specifically boys and girls football tournaments, to continue directing our sponsorship in strategic areas that have positive impacts throughout Guyana,” he went on to highlight.

With a number of national youth championships coming up, the tournament is expected to provide the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) with a pool of talent.

Recognizing this, Assistant Technical Director Bryan Joseph touched on the benefit of the tournament.

“This tournament provides an opportunity for the young girls to express themselves on the football pitch, learn new skills, make new friends, and develop valuable life skills in a tremendously empowering environment; and (it) goes well beyond football development, and we’re delighted that Petra and ExxonMobil (have) answered this call,” Joseph explained.

He added, in praise of the

organising committee’s efforts, “The Petra Organization is a strategic partner that has been doing very well to support the growth and development of the game in Guyana.”

Expressing gratitude to the supporters of the tournament, especially title sponsors ExxonMobil, Petra’s Co-Director Troy Mendonca shared expectations of an exciting tournament. He said, “I think these programmes are a part of the whole football development of the country.

I think that this year we’re going to have a very exciting tournament. Already, we have our under-18 tournament running, and it seems as though persons really miss the competitions.”

The Boys’ tournament will be broken down into six groups, and then cut down to 16 teams after the round robin stage. From there, teams will vie for the top spot without fear of being knocked out of the tournament.

The format will be the same for the Girls’ competition, with no knockouts occurring.

The schools will not be handed cash, but would have to outline a school programme that they wish to execute with their winnings.

The first-place team would receive $300,000 for their project; second place, $150,000;

third place, $75,000; and fourth place, $40,000. The prize monies are the same for both boys and girls. (Jemima Holmes) Schools participating in this Under-14 tournament include: L’Aventure Secondary Boys Patentia Secondary Boys New Campbellville Secondary Cummings Lodge Secondary Dolphin Secondary East Ruimveldt Secondary Lodge Secondary School Leonora Secondary North Ruimveldt Secondary Boys St Cuthbert's Mission West Ruimveldt Secondary Freeburg Secondary Boys West Demerara Secondary Boys Golden Grove Secondary Boys Tutorial High School Boys Marian Academy Boys St John’s Bosco Boys, Plaisance New Central High School Houston Secondary School Boys Charlestown Secondary St Winefride's Secondary Boys Kingston Secondary Boys Tucville Secondary Ann's Grove Secondary.

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