Guyana Times - Friday, December 2, 2022

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2022 |

BRIDGE OPENINGS

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

Friday, Dec 2 – 12:00h-13:30h and 00:30h-02:00h and Saturday, Dec 3 – 01:30h-03:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Friday, Dec 2 – 12:15h-13:45h and Saturday, Dec 3 – 13:05h-14:35h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY

Light rain showers are expected in the day and evening hours. Temperatures should range between 22 degrees Celsius and 28 degrees Celsius.

Winds: South South-Easterly and North NorthWesterly between 1.34 metres and 4.47 metres.

High Tide: 12:17h reaching a maximum height of 2.28 metres.

Low Tide: 18:16h reaching a minimum height of 0.94 metre.

Election CoI

Lowenfield continuously refused to declare results using recount figures – Gunraj testifies

tory was even greater than that which was fraudu lently declared by [Region Four Returning Officer] Clairmont Mingo.”

People’s Progressive Party-nominated Commissioner on the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Sase Gunraj, on Thursday testified that former Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield had on several occasions refused to follow instructions to pre pare a report using the re sults from the National Recount exercise.

During his testimony at the ongoing Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the events that followed the March 2, 2020 Elections, Gunraj spoke about the series of events that ensued after the March 2, 2020 polls. He told the CoI that at the conclu sion of the 33-day National Recount, which ran from May 6 to June 9, 2020, the then CEO was directed by the Elections Commission to submit a report on the out come of that exercise. The CEO is required to present to the Commission a report detailing the results of the elections, and make a decla ration of the winner.

However, Gunraj indi cated that despite numerous directions from the GECOM Commission, Lowenfield re fused to provide an accurate report reflecting the results of the recount.

Gunraj related that the CEO’s non-compliance with this instruction was first ob served when he presented his report to the Commission on June 13, 2020.

“In that report, the CEO stated that he was un able to ascertain that the 2020 General and Regional Elections, which he over saw, were impartial and credible,” Gunraj stated, adding that at no point pri or did Lowenfield inform the Commission that he could not ascertain the credibility of those elections.

“In that report, he gave a victory to the APNU+AFC Coalition, and quite inter estingly, the margin of vic

Earlier in this testimony, Gunraj had told the CoI that he had objected to Mingo’s declaration on March 5, 2020, which was done with out the verification/tabula tion of the votes for Region Four, Guyana’s largest vot ing district, being complet ed. He disclosed that there was a unanimous position at the level of the seven-mem ber Election Commission that the process should be completed before any decla ration was made, but he said that process was abandoned after GECOM took a deci sion to undertake a National Recount of all the votes cast at the March 2020 polls.

Nevertheless, in Lowenfield’s June 13 report to GECOM, scores of valid votes cast were invalidated by him to give a victory to the then incumbent APNU/ AFC Coalition.

“The CEO disregard ed almost 300,000 votes. There were about 416,000odd votes cast in the elec tions, and the CEO’s report only considered 185,000odd votes to be valid… He would’ve disregarded just under 300,000 votes… In his explanation, he disregard ed those as being not valid,” Gunraj told the CoI.

According to the GECOM Commissioner, there is no statutory authority accord ed to the CEO to determine the validity of any vote cast, or to reject any vote cast.

It was further explained that of the 185,000 votes that Lowenfield consid ered to be valid, he appor tioned 67 per cent to the APNU/AFC, while giving the PPP/C 30.5 per cent. The CEO also claimed in his report that the APNU/AFC

won District Six – the East Berbice-Corentyne region, which is primarily a PPP/C stronghold.

However, the results from the National Recount showed that the PPP/C in fact won the March 2020 Elections, having secured a total of 233,336 votes against the 217,920 votes obtained by the APNU/AFC, while another 5,214 votes went to the joinder alliance comprising several new and small parties that contested the elections.

That recount exercise also highlighted the fact that Mingo heavily inflated the figures in favour of the then incumbent coalition.

According to Gunraj, that report by the CEO was rejected by a major ity of the seven-member Election Commission; that is, the three PPP-nominated Commissioners along with the GECOM Chairperson, retired Justice Claudette Singh.

Lowenfield, he added, was then directed to resub mit his report based on the actual results of the recount.

He was given until June 18 by the GECOM Chair to

make that submission; but, Gunraj disclosed, while a meeting of the Commission was scheduled to receive that report, two of the three APNU/AFC-nominated Commissioners at GECOM were absent, hence there was no quorum – which re quires five members includ ing the Chairperson and two commissioners from each side - to be present.

Additionally, he informed the CoI that the CEO did not show up, nor did he send the report to the Commission that day. Gunraj said no reason was proffered to the Commission for his action.

During this time, howev er, there was a series of court proceedings ongoing regard ing the elections, and follow ing a June 22 ruling of the Guyana Court of Appeal, the Commission received anoth er report from the CEO.

But, once again, in yet another report, Lowenfield went on to invalidate some 115,000-plus votes cast. That report was, howev er, deemed invalid by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in a July 8, 2020 rul ing.

Former Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield

...says gave victory to APNU/AFC by greater margin than was declared by Mingo

GECOM Commissioner Sase Gunraj during his testimony on Thursday

Editor: Tusika Martin

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World Disability Day

Guyana will tomorrow join the rest of the world in observing World Disability Day, themed “Transformative solutions for inclusive development: the role of innovation in fuelling an accessible and equitable world.”

This year’s observance of the day would examine the overarching theme of innovation and transformative solutions for inclusive development. According to the idpwd.org this examination will be done covering three different interactive dialogues in the following thematic topics:

* Innovation for disability inclusive development in employment (SDG8): this dialogue will discuss the linkages between employment, knowledge and skills required to access employment in an innovative, rapidly changing technological landscape to all, and how assistive technologies can increase accessibility to employment and be mainstreamed in the workplace.

* Innovation for disability inclusive development in reducing inequality (SDG10): this dialogue will discuss innovations, practical tools and good practices to reduce inequalities in both public and private sectors, which are disability inclusive and interested in promoting diversity in the workplace.

* Innovation for disability inclusive development: sport as an exemplar case: a sector where all of these aspects coalesce; sport as a good practice example and a site of innovation, employment and equity.

The UN Flagship Report on Disability and Development – Realizing the SDGs by, for, and with persons with disabilities shows that people with disabilities are at a disadvantage regarding most Sustainable Development Goals, but also highlights the growing number of good practices that can create a more inclusive society in which they can live independently.

The UN has issued an urgent call for global efforts to ensure that the more than one billion people worldwide who live with some form of disability can reap the benefits of development, and fully participate in society. For this to happen, the UN has said it is necessary that we remove all barriers that affect the inclusion and participation of persons with disabilities in society, including through changing attitudes that fuel stigma and discrimination.

Here, in Guyana, in August there was the turning of the sod for the construction of a $130M Business Center for persons living with disabilities.

More importantly, that was the first of more such regional centres to be established.

Persons living with disabilities often still face several challenges in Guyana and around the world. Many of these challenges remain unattended for quite some time, with no proper mechanism to curb them. However, the concept of the state-of-the-art business center signals good intention to assist those living with disabilities.

When persons with disabilities are given a chance to acquire a good education, or are taught a skill, or are able financially to support themselves, they are in a better position to break the cycle of poverty that normally defines such situations.

In a more general sense, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is necessary for countries not only to adopt, but to implement fully, because it is a tool for ensuring that people with disabilities have access to the same rights and opportunities as everybody else. As explained by the World Health Organization (WHO), rather than considering disability as an issue of medicine, charity or dependency, the Convention challenges people worldwide to understand disability as a human rights’ issue.

The Convention covers many areas where obstacles can arise, such as physical access to buildings, roads and transportation, and access to information through written and electronic communications. The Convention also aims to reduce stigma and discrimination, which are often reasons why people with disabilities are excluded from education, employment, and health and other services.

People with disabilities have generally poorer health, lower educational achievements, fewer economic opportunities, and higher rates of poverty than people without disabilities. This is largely due to the lack of services available to them, and the many obstacles they face in their everyday lives.

If one can recall, when this Dr Irfaan Ali-led administration came into Government in 2020, the Head of State, shortly after taking office, met with the umbrella body representing persons with disabilities in Guyana –the Guyana Council of Organisations for Persons with Disabilities (GCOPD) – where a call was made for the new administration to take steps to ensure that the national developmental plans are inclusionary, and create equal opportunities for persons with disabilities.

At that meeting, the organisation had listed a number of concerns which it would like to see the Government address to make life more comfortable and meaningful for persons living with disabilities. Those requests included: the establishment of a monthly Disability Grant in place of the Public Assistance; opportunities for employment of qualified and skilled PWDs in the Public Sector; improvements in the delivery of education to children with disabilities; provision of low-income housing for PWDs; and provision of assistive and mobility aids.

Today it is refreshing and noteworthy to see the reality of that list of requests being achieved.

This Business Center and its replicas countrywide would indeed ensure that persons who are living with disabilities earn a decent living, express their independence, and have the economic freedom to not only have a comfortable social life, but a transformative life.

World AIDS Day: We must not lose sight of HIV pandemic

By Dr Jeffrey T Kirchner

December 1 marked World AIDS Day. Ideally, this should be a day to unite with others around the world to prevent HIV, support peo ple with HIV and remember those who have lost their lives to an HIV-related illness.

Despite the perceptions of many people in our country, HIV/AIDS con tinues to be both a national and glob al health issue. The most recent data from the World Health Organisation (WHO) notes that 38 million people are living with HIV, including about 1.2 million in the United States. Since 1981, more than 40 million people have died of AIDS, although the death rate has declined substantially in recent years.

I believe that many have lost sight of the HIV pandemic while dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic over the past nearly three years. And in deed, the morbidity and mortality from COVID-19 have been substantial.

The true number of new cases is likely higher, however, with the num ber of reported cases being lessened by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on HIV prevention, testing and care-re lated services. This remains a statistic

that is both sobering and worth stating when someone asks me, “Is AIDS still a problem?”

We have been successfully treating people with HIV since the mid-1990s with effective antiviral therapies, but a preventive vaccine and a cure remain elusive. There is hope that the success of the mRNA vaccines against the vari ous strains of the coronavirus may also lead to an effective treatment against HIV. Clinical trials using this technol ogy are now in the early stages.

For those with access to treatment, HIV is a chronic medical condition, but for those without treatment, it re mains fatal. Much credit for the prog ress we have made against HIV/AIDS is due to the years of remarkable work of our science and medical communi ties, including the National Institutes of Health and the leadership of Dr Anthony Fauci.

My dream is that in my lifetime we will see a preventive vaccine for HIV — as a cure is less likely due to many complex virologic and immunologic components of the virus.

We must not lose sight of the HIV pandemic, including its impact on per sons living with this disease — espe cially those who are most impacted, including communities of colour and

those in the south-eastern United States.

Fear, stigma and lack of education continue to drive new HIV cases. I re main optimistic that, by implement ing the interventions we have to pre vent HIV, we can reach the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control’s goal to decrease the number of new in fections. And that, ultimately, we can make any new HIV infections exceed ingly rare.

Has HIV “gone away”? No.

Can we make it much less of a prob lem in the years of ahead? Yes — but only if the medical, political and soci etal will are there. (Excerpt from lan casteronline.com)

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…A diver wearing a Santa Claus costume swims with fishes in a large tank during an underwater performance for the upcoming Christmas celebration at Hakkeijima Sea Paradise in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japan (Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon)

For those with access to treatment, HIV is a chronic medical condition, but for those without treatment, it remains fatal. Much credit for the progress we have made against HIV/ AIDS is due to the years of remarkable work of our science and medical communities

What is different? The eyes of Guyanese are opening

Dear Editor,

“You know, a heart can be broken, but it keeps on beating just the same.” That is a famous line from the 1991 movie “Fried Green Tomatoes”, a movie which certainly scored high on the Rotten Tomatoes List.

That is what is hap pening to the PPP/C Government. The President certainly has a big and lov ing heart, and he is culpable of overlooking so many triv ialities expressed and ex ercised by the Opposition, and even the neutralities, in leaps and bounds and/or bits and pieces perpetually, habitually, or seldomly. But the “man for all seasons” rises above the water, and, like the purine flower in the pond, blossoms to provide the fragrance and beauty of an admirable and impres sive sight.

Mudslinging is a famous pastime for the Coalition, but they continue to miss their target, and every time they pivot, their pendulum only ricochets with a boo merang effect! Their can nons are landing as soft slingshot pellets, only to crumble in a tiny heap of dust, useless and harmless.

Even the birds on the electric wires are chirping happily, knowing that their aim is way off target. What’s next, and who’s next are the fearless questions the guys in the barn are braying over.

This one-ton-man im poster show is acting a sol itary and lonely role in the circus. The audience is bored and too tired to boo, and, slowly but surely, the departure line grows fast er and longer. Reality kicks in, and the supporting cast refuses to play along, even to a funeral tune. A cyclone storm is funnelling its way and gathering the guilty and innocent in its path. The gravy train made its last stopover two years ago, and has diverted on a differ ent track. Those consumers have run out of goods, gas and grenade, and are now desperately searching in the dark and clawing at any thing which faintly passes by.

Whether it makes sense or bears any significance, its application becomes para mount for dressing purpos es, and must be utilised in order to survive and to re flect a fight is still being car ried on to show worthy of their salt.

Regardless of their re dundancy or retardness, a state of intellectual bank ruptcy is fertilised, posing no risk of exposure to adver tise a stage of potential lu nacy. An acceptable norm, it has become an anticipat

ed expectation to hear the toothless lion roar in all shapes and forms. A net is cast, and small fries are caught, baited with intan gibles and indigestion. It’s only a matter of time before they will release themselves from this illusion, regain consciousness, and allow re ality to kick in. Refusing to endure a nightmare any lon ger, they will arise to a rude awakening, to see that Mr. Hyde is really Dr. Jekyll.

During the twenty-eight years of false hope, the small man never became the real man. He lived from hand to mouth, day to day, suffering in agony and pov erty, but too ashamed to de clare the treatment received was harsh and cruel, be cause of false pride of hav ing a Kabaka at the helm. Most of them did not want to admit the pain and suf fering they endured while they watched the devilish, devious and damaging mon strosities that were taking place. They alluded quiet ly and behind closed doors, complaining only to them selves. While the line of lux ury and a higher standard of living increased for those in high society, the man in the street became marginalized, and the poverty line gap skyrocketed. This absurdity shook many of them to de clare war, and they rightful ly sought greener pastures.

This retaliation account ed for a mass exodus of flight by night, whether legally or illegally. Desperation drove even the diehards to expe rience a change of heart, and march they did with out looking back or having a second thought.

Inequality is not a twoyear-old story, but one which unfavourably com menced from the daunting days and nights of frauds and deceits created by the rigours of elections from that era. Racism took birth when greed fermented the minds of the selfish, and it was planted to handcuff those who blindly joined the line to follow an ambitious leader, one who was power drunk and consumed with the attire of affluence of a General who imagined he would live and rule forever. He did not cater for Plan B.

Even though his suc cessor tried a thing or two, “moe fya, slo fya” took an in dent to liquidate any credi bility he may have gained. At the end of the day, the spirit from the past contam inated the meaning of any good intent, and the dawn of the day signalled refined danger.

With the advent of a fairy godmother waving a magic wand, or perhaps the

big heart of the wise man from the North, a coun try with destiny was saved from ruination. Juggling with politics and economics, a saviour brought the na tion from the jaws of death to breathe new life with progress and development for twenty-three shortlived years. It was a cleanup campaign from the mess amassed by ruthless admin istrators.

So, desperate for a change, a further five years of unfaithful promises saw the good life was meant for the chosen few only, at the expense of the mass. Entangled in a maze, this game of tomfoolery became a pronounced joke. All in herited gains were quickly converted to losses. It was a time to borrow from the fu ture in order to live in the present and forget the bitter lessons from the past.

Filling the pockets was the name of the game, and at stake was the sweet jack pot to provide the cover for the dirty hands. Democracy took a dive once again, only to emerge with the help of the ABCE, CARICOM and the patriots of the deter mined.

Now that the country is once again showing mas sive progress, do you real ly want to believe in those who provided false hope and nightmares all over again? Guyanese are no longer stu pid!

Yours respectfully, Jai Lall

Dear Editor,

The constant disrespect of the rule of law, pedestri ans and fellow motorists, and some seeking to fulfill their selfish financial obli gations are no different.

Without a doubt, the route 45 bus park is situat ed at a critical point, and all the drivers operating there know that quite a few bla tantly throw all caution aside and would stop the flow of traffic, disregarding the horns and people's cries, and full their buses in the middle of the road, stopping the flow of traffic, and in some cases preventing pe destrians from traversing.

Passing there yesterday, I witnessed this atrocious behaviour, and even though I and others write repeated ly about this lawlessness, I would again elaborate on this ongoing failure that af fects countless persons dai ly.

Stabroek is an area known for criminal ele ments who carry out their fearful acts daily, and there are many factors contribut ing. Many, including myself, have offered suggestions, some were temporarily used and some weren’t. Editor, the Christmas season is here, and, as usual, the Guyana Police Force have quickly rushed to the po dium and announced their glorious plans to combat criminal activities and traf fic congestion.

While that sounded won derful, I've started to find this very comical because, for the whole year, the same lawless acts keep occurring daily, but with the season, there's always the expec tation that a huge increase would occur, and despite

what is said by the GPF, the lawlessness prevails.

Because the route 45 bus park is located at a critical point, it’s considered some what of a bottleneck, and any little mistake caus es confusion to reign there. So, when there are huge traffic buildups, commut ers are prevented from tra versing, and the pickpock et, chain/bag snatchers and choke-robbers get a payday.

I find it very embarrass ing that the GPF know of this constant nonsense and don't have the vision to re locate that particular park, or mandate that more than one rank be stationed along that street. If the GPF were conscientiously executing their duties, this ridiculous nonsense would not have been occurring daily.

Finally, Editor, a while back, cameras were in stalled around the Stabroek Market area with the inten tion of being viewed daily, thus easing society of the various shenanigans occur ring daily. I waited in vain to hear that those camer as were helping to ease the situation, but I have be come frustrated after ask ing around and hearing the same negative response.

I have now abandoned all hope of praising the Police for addressing the situation. As usual, whenev er a contract is awarded in Guyana, there's always the accusation of corruption, fa vouritism etc. No one had questioned the installation of those cameras around the Stabroek Market area, because while the public was not paying attention, the cameras were installed.

Upon inspection, one has to question why those camer as were placed at their vari ous locations; what feasibil ity studies were done in this regard.

Regarding the type of cameras installed, one has to question whether they are the standard type for this type of high-surveil lance work, or whether they are more suitable for instal lation around a home. The tax money of hardworking Guyanese people is con stantly being wasted, and we have to sit back and ac cept this nonsense and live in the same situation. Will we see any end to this em barrassment?

Sahadeo Bates

Lowenfield continuously refused to declare...

Again, the Commission ordered the CEO to prepare another report reflecting the valid votes counted in the national recount. He was or dered to do this by July 10.

“He did not [produce that report]. Instead, he came to the Commission on that said 10th of July, 2020 and sought further guidance.”

On July 11, the Commission received a re port from the CEO and that report was now using the in flated numbers declared by Mingo in March 2020.

Gunraj further told the CoI that the Elections Commission formally set aside all previous declara tions on July 13 and decided that only the recount figures should be used. Once more, the Commission instructed the CEO to present another report based on the nation al recount figures by 14:30h the following day.

However, the CEO did not submit a report at the

FROM PAGE 3

Commission meeting. “He was asked [about the report] and he refused to answer any questions. At that said meeting, the Commissioners on the other side, walked out of the meeting, thereby making it lose a quorum.”

That meeting was re scheduled the following day but because of anoth er court case, the Elections Commission could not meet.

Then following a July 30, 2020 decision of the Court of Appeal, which threw out an appeal against a High Court ruling that the recount votes be used to declare the re sults of the March 2, 2020 elections, the Elections Commission again request ed a report from the CEO.

“We reconvened a meet ing of the Commission on August 2, 2020 and the CEO finally submitted a re port using the actual figures from the national recount,” Gunraj told the CoI.

Sincerely,

In this fun and easy cool scien ce experiment for kids, we’re going to learn how to make mist and demonstrate Bernoulli’s Principle.

Materials: Straw Scissors Glass of water

Instructions: Cut a horizontal slit in a st raw about of third of the way from the bottom of the straw. Leave enough of the straw con nected so you can bend the st raw at the slit without the bot

tom section breaking off. Put the short end of the st raw in the water, keeping the slit about one quarter of an inch above the water level. Blow hard through the long section of the straw. A spray of mist should come out the other end of the straw.

How it works: Mist is nothing more than tiny little droplets of water sus pended and moving in the air. Mist can cool through evapora tion in a way similar to human sweat. Blowing air through the straw creates a low-pressu

re zone that pulls up the wa ter from the glass. When this liquid meets the blast of air, it breaks up into a fine spray. This is a great activity to demon strate Bernoulli’s Principle.

Make this a science project: Try different sized straws. Try cutting the slit at different lengths from the bottom of the straw. Spray same amounts of mist on different colours of construction paper. Place the papers in the sun and deter mine if one evaporates quicker than the others. (sciencefun.org)

The Robber Bridegrooom

By The BroThers Grimm

CONTINUED FROM THURSDAY

Guyana to sign 1st sale agreement on carbon credits today

During the Energy Conference and Expo early in the year, Climate Change Advisor Kevin Hogan had announced that the Government planned to put at least eight million carbon credits on the market for sale by July of this year.

Guyana will sign its first sale agreement on carbon credits today with President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali wit nessing the historic initia tive at State House, Main Street, Georgetown.

Speaking at the Guyana Oil and Gas Energy Chamber’s Annual Awards and Induction Ceremonial Dinner on Wednesday, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said Guyana would be the only country in the world that would boast the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) credit.

“We quickly work on an expanded Low Carbon Development Strategy and in 2020, the US and others through the LEAF Coalition and then the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions was established and we made an application for them to certify our credit.

“We had gone to the mar ket already; we had a re quest for proposals, we have received those and the first sale will take place. So, that will be credit all the way from 2016, because those were the legacy credit that we applied for and hopefully it will bring in billions of US dollars,” he explained.

The Vice President not ed, too, the need for the oil and gas resources to help on the adaptation side, for Guyana to be more cli mate resilient. The Vice President reminded of the Government’s support for net zero and the removal of subsidies from fossil fuel production and air decar bonisation.

Back in September, President Ali related that the Government has been carefully weighing global events and developments, and how they may influence the sale of Guyana’s carbon credits, when it decides to go out on the market.

He nevertheless assured that there was still great interest in Guyana’s car bon credits, which are a tradable permit that coun tries can purchase. The

Government’s approach to the issue, he said, would be multi-dimensional.

“There’s great interest. I can tell you there’s great interest in Guyana’s car bon. They went out for an Expression of Interest. So, there’s that analysis that is going on right now, to de velop the best. It must be a multi-dimensional ap proach, from all that I’ve an alysed from what we have,” the President said.

“So, it has to be a multi-dimensional ap proach. And that is where a lot of critical thinking would occur. Because whether you have the direct approach to the market in some instanc es, or only an integrated ap proach through the facili tation process, so these are some of the things that we have to address.”

A carbon credit is a trad able permit or certificate that allows the holder of the credit the right to emit a stated tonnage of carbon dioxide or an equivalent of another greenhouse gas. Countries and companies that exceed their permitted limits can purchase carbon credits from nations that have low emissions such as Guyana. Guyana’s 18.4 million hectares of large ly pristine forest stores ap proximately 5.31 gigatons of carbon.

Back in April 2021, President Ali had an nounced that Guyana had signed a letter of intent with US-based Non-Profit Organisation, Emergent Finance Accelerated Inc, to market the country’s car bon credits through a credit contract – a deal that could earn the country millions of US dollars.

Last year, Vice President t Jagdeo had said that Emergent would soon be commencing work towards marketing Guyana’s carbon credits on the world stage. And indeed, the process of seeking proposals has at tracted interest on the world

market.

Jagdeo has been vocal about the need for the de veloped world to create the incentives for carbon credit products from the develop ing world, as the fate of the world and carbon emission targets hang in the balance.

Jagdeo had noted that deforestation and land use change contribute 16 per cent of total greenhouse gas es. As such, he further noted that the world would never achieve net zero if these pri mary sources of emissions were not addressed.

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo

President Dr Irfaan Ali

Man sues state for being kept on remand for almost 10 years on murder charge

…says prison conditions were deplorable, was kept in pasture

Alawsuit seeking more than $3 million in re dress by way of com pensation has been filed against the Attorney General by Jones Raymond, who is claiming that his imprison ment for almost 10 years on a murder charge has consti tuted a breach of his funda mental rights, and that he had experienced inhumane treatment while behind bars.

The father of four, who had been on remand since December 28, 2012, was re leased from prison by Justice Sandil Kissoon as he pre sided in the Demerara High Court on July 25 of this year, because of the lengthy time Raymond had spent in pre-trial detention. In or dering the release of Jones Raymond, Justice Kissoon had, among other things, declared that the State had violated Raymond’s consti tutional right to a fair tri al within a reasonable time, as guaranteed under Article 144 of the Constitution, due to the inordinate delay in trying him. Justice Kissoon had thus stayed all criminal proceedings against Jones Raymond.

Raymond had been re manded for the murder of 33-year-old Gary Joseph, which had occurred at some time between December 26 and December 27, 2012. The prosecution’s case was that Joseph and sever al friends had been imbib ing at a shop on Boxing Day of December 2012 when Raymond inquired from him what Joseph had done to his son. Raymond had armed himself with an arrow and bow, which he had used to shoot Joseph. The arrow had struck Joseph in his abdo men. The injured Joseph had been rushed to the Mahdia Hospital before being trans ferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he died.

Specifically, the 68-yearold Raymond, of Micobie Village, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni), is seeking

more than $1 million in com pensation for the violation of his fundamental right to pro tection of the law, guaran teed under Article 144 (1) of the Constitution, as a result of him being imprisoned on remand for in excess of nine years without a trial, after being charged with the cap ital offence of murder.

According to Raymond’s legal team, which is led by Timothy Jonas, SC, this is in contravention of their cli ent’s right to receive a trial before a court within a rea sonable time, as guaranteed by the above-mentioned con stitutional provision.

The lawyers are also seeking damages in excess of $1 million for the inhumane and degrading treatment their client had endured while being incarcerated in both the Camp Street and Lusignan Prisons for more than nine years without a trial. And they are seeking compensation for Raymond of more than $1 million for having been kept and housed in prison in awful and de plorable conditions.

Following a Preliminary Inquiry (PI), Raymond’s law yers deposed, their client had been committed to stand trial for Joseph’s murder on October 15, 2014. The Office of the Director of Public

Prosecutions (DPP) had re ceived the depositions from that PI on March 23, 2015, but had remitted the case to the Magistrate’s Court for the presiding Magistrate, Alan Wilson, to correct “sev eral material irregularities and/or omissions”, and for him to take additional evi dence. That Magistrate had, however, never complied with the DPP’s directive, and as such, Raymond’s PI had been invalidated, and he was therefore not indicted by the DPP. However, with no indictment preferred against him, Raymond had been left languishing in jail. Senior Counsel Timothy Jonas sub mitted that his client had re mained in prison until his matter was brought before Justice Kissoon as a result of jail delivery.

While an inmate at the Camp Street Prison for over eight years, Jones Raymond complained, he had been housed in a crowded cell, measuring approximately 15 feet by 20 feet, and contain ing at least 17 other inmates.

“The said cell contained two toilets, of which often only one was functional; and one bathroom, to be shared by the said inmates there in. The said toilet was often clogged, and reeked of an un bearable stench,” his lawyer

disclosed.

According to counsel, Jones Raymond had told him that the cell was hot, filthy, and smelled deplorable. “As a result of overcrowding, there were insufficient cots, and the claimant [Raymond] had often slept on the floor of the cell,” Jonas added.

He also deposed that, al most every other day, there was no running water in the cell, and his client and the other inmates had often been unable to bathe.

During a night in January 2013, counsel has said, Jonas Raymond’s foot and chest were set on fire on five different occasions by unknown inmates, and he was not protected from these atrocities by prison guards.

Senior Counsel Jonas has submitted that, after the Camp Street Prison had been gutted by fire in July 2017, Raymond had been relocated to the Lusignan Prison, where he and other inmates had been “kept in an open pasture with no shelter, running water, or other facil ities for the first seven days of his stay there.”

Raymond’s counsel fur ther submitted thus: “He lived and slept on the ground in an open field exposed to the elements, and had no place to shelter from the sun or rain. During that peri od, it rained on about three separate occasions. The field was muddy, swampy, flooded when it rained, and inundat ed with snakes and frogs.”

A riot caused by inmates had ensued at the Lusignan Prison in 2017, the Senior Counsel said, and although his client had not been a par ticipant, Jonas Raymond had been shot with pellets by Police officers who had been brought in to quell the un rest. Those pellets have not been removed from his body, the Senior Counsel disclosed, as he highlighted that the pensioner Jones Raymond has been traumatised by the conditions in which he had been kept in prison.

Ruimveldt man who beat ex-father-inlaw to death goes on trial on Monday

Aman who allegedly murdered his former father-in-law during a scuffle on June 21, 2020 will go on trial for the capital offence next Monday, December 5, before Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall and a 12-mem ber jury in the Demerara High Court.

Upon his arraignment on Thursday, Zaheer Hussein, formerly of Riverview, Ruimveldt, Georgetown, pleaded not guilty to the charge, which alleges that he murdered 54-year-old Alexi Gomes, called “Dino”, on Father’s Day in 2020. A 12-member mixed jury was thereaf ter empanelled to hear the case.

Hussein is being represented by Attorneys-at-Law Dexter Smartt, Dexter Todd and Jevon Cox, while Attorneys-at-Law Muntaz Ali, Taneisha Saygon and Simran Gajraj are prosecuting the case.

It has been reported that, on the day in question, Gomes had left his res

Money...

…circulating faster

When you think about it, what all these fancy (and ponderous) theories and explanations about “capitalism” boil down to is simply finding new and more elaborate ways to make money circulate faster. Let’s take this cryptocurrency scandal that’s roiling the financial markets. As your Eyewitness has explained, Governments create money out of thin air by simply turning on their printing presses!! They call it “fiat” money.

All it means is, because a Government says it’s money, it’s money!! Even though it’s not “backed” by anything you can touch or hold!! But when folks demand billions of whatever they call it – dollars, pesos etc – for, say, a loaf of bread, and the Government keeps on printing those pieces of paper - it gotta be discarded, since it’s not seen as having “value”. The Government then gotta print a DIFFERENT money to keep on circulating!! Like Argentina did a while ago, and Venezuela might have to do.

Anyhow, the cryptocurrency mavens were ordinary folks – not Governments! - who created “money” out of thin air – and gave it all kinds of names, like “bitcoin”. The trick was to get other folks to accept it as money – which some did - and proved Barnum’s dictum that fools are born every minute. But that form of money flowed even faster than the fiat stuff since this college kid Braverman-Fried got his stake of the crypto he created from zero – thin air, remember?up to $26 billion in a matter of just five years!! That’s fast circulation, baby!!

We had a flutter in crypto last year when a smart-alec couple swindled some locals out of hundreds of millions of our fiat dollars (otherwise known as monopoly money after Burnham cranked up the printing presses back then!). But that was just the grifters claiming they’d pay back the fleeced sheep in crypto! No so incidentally, whatever happened to that promise? Did the money ever get back into circulation??

So what are we doing to develop our capitalist street cred?? Well, we just passed our FIRST “hire-purchase “ Bill –or installment payment plan – as the Yanks call it. Yep…just shows you how far back we are. This was in use in Britain since the 19th century, and was regulated by law in 1938 during the Depression - to make the little bit of money in folks’ pockets circulate. Courts made the concept big two decades ago - along with their outlandishly-coloured buildings!!

Folks could now buy their big-item purchases to keep up with the Persauds down the block – until they couldn’t make their payments and had the items hauled away!! And that’s the downside of hire-purchase, ain’t it??

With the compounded interest, you end up paying double!! But the money circulates faster, right?!!

…and Hakeem

Hakeem Jeffries – who just succeeded Nancy Pelosi as the Congressional Democratic Leader - became quite embroiled in our local politics after the 2020 elections. In support of the PNC faction. So, apart from that, who’s Hakeem Jeffries? Let’s quote some reputable American analysts. "Jeffries was the leading congressional recipient of hedge fund money in 2020," The American Prospect reported last year:

in the company of his former son-inlaw, and he stretched out his arms to hug the child, but Hussein reported ly got angry and punched him. In the ensuing scuffle between the two men, Hussein picked up a piece of wood and dealt Gomes several lashes to the head.

Gomes fell down unconscious, but was picked up by a relative and tak en to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC), where he was treated before being transferred to a private hospi tal, where he died. A post-mortem ex amination performed on the body of Gomes revealed that he died as a re sult of blunt trauma to the head.

“He banked $1.1 million from the financial sector, real estate interests, and insurance industry in the 2019–2020 cycle. Everyone from JPMorgan Chase to Goldman Sachs to Blackstone contributed. Zimmer Partners, a hedge fund, is one of Jeffries's top donors in 2021. From the outset, he has governed with those interests at heart. While Democrats were reconsidering their coziness with Wall Street, he broke ranks to vote with the financial services world, including on a high-profile measure literally written by Citigroup lobbyists in 2013 that killed the Dodd-Frank "swaps pushout" rule, allowing banks to engage in risky trades backed by a potential taxpayer-funded bailout.”

Money gotta circulate!!

…and catfishing

While the US has banned our catfish, locals have taken to “catfishing” American citizens. That is, using photos of others over social media to lure lonely hearts from “outside” into parting with their hard-earned cash by promising them “favours”!!

idence at Lot 6 Riverview, Ruimveldt to go buy beer at one of the communi ty’s shops when he saw his grandson

At the time of his demise, Gomes had been visiting from New York, United States of America (USA), and had been prevented from returning there because international airports had been closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jones Raymond

Dead: Alexi Gomes

Investigation into fatal freak accident Gafoors ordered to establish joint workplace safety and health committee among other recommendations

cluded that the capacity of the storage rack be noted in a conspicuous location; the capacity should not be ex ceeded and all racks must have front-to-rear support.

The Ministry mandated that the strength of these racks be tested to determine if they were suitable to hold the weight of the materials stored.

The Labour Ministry has recommend ed a series of inter ventions for the Gafoors Manufacturing Complex at Land of Canaan, East Bank Demerara (EBD) to act on following the completion of an investigation into the fa tal freak accident back in August.

Delivery Clerk Cindy Jattan was employed at the facility when she was fatal ly injured after a storage rack collapsed on August 26. Two other employees also suffered injuries.

After the Ministry was called in to investigate, an examination was done of the accident site and em ployees were interviewed.

During the investi gation, Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton divulged that it was found that the design and capacity of the storage rack were unknown without any visible evi dence of its capacity.

He added, “There was also no evidence to show that the strength and qual ity of the rack had been tested and if it was suit able enough to hold or car ry the weight of the materi als. Further, there was no record to show that inspec tions or maintenance of the rack was done at any time.”

Moreover, the workplace did not have a joint work place safety and health com mittee functioning or any re cord to verify the existence of such. No safety or health talks were held with employ ees before or during work hours, Hamilton added.

In keeping with the find ings of the investigation, a number of recommenda tions were made. These in

“Records are to be made available to show inspec tions or maintenance of the racks by a qualified and competent engineer, who must verify the struc tural integrity…A rack inspection maintenance programme must be im plemented throughout the facilities,” the Minister shared.

Along with the imple mentation of correct stor age guidelines, the compa ny was asked to establish a functioning joint workplace safety and health commit tee with records to verify its existence.

“A copy of the report has been sent to Gafsons Industries Limited and a timeframe was given for the company to comply with the recommendations that were made. In this regard, the OSH [Occupational Safety and Health] Department will be following up with the company to ensure that there is compliance with the recommendations which were made,” it was revealed.

Guyana Times under stands that since the inci dent, the two injured em ployees have returned to work. Two separate in vestigations were carried out – one spearheaded by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the other by the Labour Ministry’s OSH Department.

Earlier this year, the complement of labour of ficers was increased to 28 for enhanced monitoring for compliance. The labour laws were also being re vised by a joint legal com mittee.

After the revision of leg islation for the labour sec tor, Minister Hamilton had contended that employers found in breach of the laws would be slapped with hefty fines for failure to meet the country’s regulations for their employees.

Israeli firm to invest US$15.7M in hydroponic project in Guyana

The Government of Guyana has, through the Ministry of Agriculture, on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Israeli company KARLICO INC., making way for the development of a massive project in regard to hydroponic production in Guyana.

Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha had last October disclosed that Government was in talks with investors from Israel, who have expressed an interest in developing a large-scale hydroponic project in Guyana. With cli mate change having a great impact on traditional agri cultural practices, hydro ponics and other forms of smart agriculture are gain ing popularity within farm ing communities across the country.

While speaking with re porters at the time, Minister

Mustapha had said the Israelis were among sev eral investors who had ex pressed interest in setting up hydroponic systems in Guyana. He had also indi cated that the hydroponic

project would be integrat ed into the current shade house project that is cur rently ongoing on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD).

KARLIGO INC’s team of local and international

experts are said to special ise in the development, fi nancing, construction and management of agricultur al and agri-tech projects. With an estimated invest ment of US$15,750,000,

the project would involve a three-phase hydropon ic production system based on nutrient film techniques and soilless production sys tems designed for the pro duction of fresh herbs, lettuce and other leafy veg etables, as well as other high-value crops.

The first phase of the project, expected to be com pleted three months af ter the necessary ground work has been completed, would see the company set ting up a 2,000-square-me tre, state-of-the-art hydro ponic system which would include a cold room, pack aging facilities, harvesting equipment, irrigation con trollers, fertilizer mixers, water recycling system, and emergency water stor age, among other things.

Phase two would see the construction and installa tion of an advanced green house system, while phase three would involve con

struction of a regional dis tribution centre where a variety of agricultural and food products would be col lected, processed, packaged, and delivered to both local and international markets, meeting all of the neces sary U.S.D.A and European Food Safety Authority stan dards and regulations.

Since taking office, the Government has signalled its intention to work with other CARICOM Member States to lower the region al food import bill. In a bid to reduce the $2.6 bil lion import bill for cauli flower, carrots and brocco li, His Excellency President Dr. Irfaan Ali had last March launched the Youth Agriculture and Innovation Entrepreneurship pro gramme.

To date, approximately 54 shade houses have been constructed for the culti vation of those high-value crops.

Systems in place to minimise flooding in Reg 6 amid rainy season – Chairman

and we have all of the sys tems in place,” Armogan has assured.

He added that whenever

the kokers are not operation al, the pumps are put into operation. “There might be a few problems as the pumps

start to work, but we don’t anticipate any major prob lem,” Region Six Chairman Armogan has pointed out.

All systems are in place to minimise flood ing in both the resi dential and farming areas of East Berbice-Corentyne (Region Six) during the cur rent rainy season.

This is according to Region Six Chairman David Armogan, whose comments have come amid flooding that occurred in some sec tions of New Amsterdam on Thursday.

“We are in a state of readiness to ensure that we minimise flooding as much as possible,” the Chairman has said. “We may not be able to stop it completely, because of the high intensity of rainfall that we have been experiencing,” Armogan said during an interview on Thursday.

Heavy rainfall, which commenced on Wednesday night and continued into Thursday morning, has left sections of New Amsterdam inundated. Along communi ties in the lower Corentyne

area, several yards have been flooded as drains overflowed. According to Armogan, there might be incidents of wa ter-logging, but the admin istration has been making all the necessary prepara tions by ensuring that all the drainage systems are cleaned. He said sluices are also being desilted.

“In the dry season, what you find is that heavy silt ation takes place at the kokers. Right now, machines are being deployed. We couldn’t do it in the dry sea son, because if we had done it in the dry season, the silt ation would have come back again,” he explained.

Armogan has said ar rangements are being put in place to have SIIP work ers clean residential drains to allow for faster drain age. Several streets in the main shopping area of New Amsterdam, as well as ar eas within Vryman’s Ervin, another section of the town, were inundated on Thursday

after overnight rainfall. Flooding has been an ageold problem in Vryman’s Ervin.

Armogan has related that the administration is not only focusing on residential communities. “Hopefully, with our level of preparation at the moment, we should be able to avert any major is sues with regard to flooding within the Region,” he said.

He disclosed that the administration is receiv ing much assistance from the Agriculture Ministry, through the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA).

“We are working very closely with them to ensure that the farming commu nity as well as the residen tial areas and the cash crop farmers are as safe as possi ble from water-logging; be cause, as you have heavy rainfall and there is wa ter-logging in the farms, you find that the crops begin to die. We are trying our best,

Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha (second left) and a representative from KARLICO INC (left) are seen with officials from the Ministry of Agriculture

A motorcyclist maneuvering through the water in Vryman’s Ervin

Inundated sections of New Amsterdam

Saddam Hussain replaces Dr Hutson as Chief Education Officer

The Education Ministry has an nounced that Saddam Hussain will be taking up the role of Chief Education Officer (CEO).

He replaces Dr Marcel Hutson, who served in the position of CEO for six years, including for two years post-retirement when he was re-engaged and contracted by the current Education Minister, Priya Manickchand.

The Ministry said he has made exceptional contribu tions to the development

and forward movement of the education sector.

Meanwhile, Hussain has been a classroom teacher for more than 20 years. Over the past two years, he served within the Central Ministry as the Chief Schools’ Inspector and has been man aging the efforts to restruc ture the Inspectorate Unit of the Education Ministry.

The new CEO was a Cadet Officer and was appoint ed as a Senior Education Officer in 2011; a position which he later declined. In a statement, the Ministry

said he brought to the posi tion of CEO, a wide range of experience having worked at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD), the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) and the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC).

On Wednesday, the for mer CEO officially handed over the office to Hussain at the Ministry’s Brickdam of fice. It was also announced that Dr Hutson would not be leaving the Ministry, but was taking up the posi

tion of Executive Director of the National Accreditation Council (NAC).

The NAC is the principal body in Guyana responsible for conducting and advising on the accreditation and rec ognition of educational and training institutions, pro viders, programmes, and awards, whether foreign or national. Hutson holds a Bachelor of Social Science in Sociology, a Bachelor of Arts in Theology, a PostGraduate Diploma in Education Administration, and a Master’s in Education

dous

“The

Chief Education Officer, espe cially during one of the na tion’s toughest periods – the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ministry looks forward to another stellar stint in his new role,” the Ministry said in a statement.

It added that Hussain, in his previous roles, has demonstrated a deep love and passion for developing the sector and transform ing education and systems to meet the needs of pres ent-day Guyana.

“All of Guyana can be as sured of the Ministry’s un swerving attention to build ing out the best education system in the land and are encouraged to be excited about this time in education in the country,” it said.

Management, Planning, and Supervision.

Ministry of Education extends tremen

gratitude to Dr Hutson for his service as

Dr Marcel Hutson handing over the instruments of office to new CEO, Saddam Hussain

Pres Ali leads “Men on a Mission” to rebuild home for elderly EBD resident

Following a recent community outreach during which he no ticed the unfortunate liv ing conditions of an elder ly Herstelling, East Bank Demerara (EBD) resident, President Dr Irfaan Ali has committed to rebuilding the woman’s home at no cost to her.

On Thursday, the Head of State led a team of men un der the “Men on a Mission” initiative to begin the recon struction works at the home where the woman and her grandson reside.

The intention is to have the house rebuilt by next Friday. President Ali not only led the team on the as signment but also partici pated in the demolition of the building.

Head of GAICO Constructions, Komal Singh, who is part of the undertak ing, revealed the scope of works for the project.

“Today, we will start sand filling the environment

and from tomorrow we will pretty much be casting the base, and start preparing the wall, prefab the wall, so we can have this building completed by next Friday,” he said.

Accompanying the

Head of State was Police Commissioner (ag) Clifton Hicken, who revealed that the “Men on a Mission” movement would be visiting other communities to pro vide similar interventions.

“We are going to contin

ue to build capacity by en hancing these buildings and ensuring that we have ade quate security mechanisms in place,” Hicken stated.

Additionally, parlia mentarian Sanjeev Datadin highlighted that the Men on a Mission initiative was a movement with purpose.

“This is what Men on a Mission means, it doesn’t

mean that we just say things and make grand promis es and grand gestures, this is what it actually means,” Datadin stressed.

The Men on a Mission ini tiative, which was launched on October 28, 2022, was implemented with the in tent to reposition the role of the male population in soci ety by tackling major issues

such as violence against women and children, and being more responsible.

It is also expected to fo cus on reversing the socie tal failure to confront criti cal issues affecting the male population and finding per manent solutions that will pave the way for better men throughout our communi ties.

President Ali helping to dismantle the house

President Dr Irfaan Ali interacting with the elderly woman

The house in which the elderly woman once lived

24% reduction in workplace fatalities for 2022 – Min Hamilton

A24 per cent reduction in fatal workplace ac cidents has been re corded for 2022, with 19 per sons losing their lives while on the job.

Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton on Thursday pro vided an annual report on the work of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Department , and shared that a planned work pro gramme was implemented in keeping with the objective of improving working condi tions.

In 2020, 32 persons died in workplace accidents, with that number falling to 27 in 2021. In total, 184 work place accidents were investi gated this year, inclusive of

the 19 fatal events.

“To date, there has been a 24 per cent decline in the number of fatal accidents when compared to the cor responding period last year. The fatalities occurred in the mining, construction, agriculture, manufacturing and forestry sectors.”

He added, “It is our po sition that when workers leave their homes to go to work, there is the expecta tion of their families that they will return home safe ly at the end of the work day or work period. This is not always the situation, as can be verified by the number of workplace accidents.”

While efforts have been made to address work

place accidents, the Labour Minister pointed out that more needed to be done.

Some 1298 inspections were carried out across the 10 administrative re gions throughout the year in both the private and pub lic sectors – an 85 per cent achievement of the inspec tion target. Meanwhile, 21 complaints in relation to workplace incidents were re ceived and investigated.

Hamilton opined, “While there are breaches in the Occupational Safety and Health Act, in most instanc es, employers responded positively to the recommen dations which were made.”

A total of 508 industrial establishments were regis

tered for 2022, of which 135 were renewed applicants.

In terms of achieve ments, a system for the re cording and notification of occupational accidents and diseases was developed, and funded by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to the tune of US$50,000. It is in the process of being im plemented.

“This system will provide for an accurate statistical analysis of workplace acci dents. It will also guide the development and implemen tation of reduction strate gies in relation to workplace accidents.”

Additionally, the OSH Department and the National Council on

Occupational Safety and Health have developed a communication strategy along with an advertising

mechanism. This will trans late to the launch of a PR campaign to sensitise and create awareness on the im portance of health and safe ty in the workplace.

The National Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health is a stat utory body established to advise, consult with, and make recommendations to the Minister of Labour on matters relating to the ad ministration of the OSH Act Chapter 99:06.

Throughout the year, the Ministry has facilitated seminars and training ses sions on various areas re lated to OSH in its attempt to foster safer working envi ronments in the country.

GNBS opens new sub-office in Mabaruma

– engages regional officials and stakeholders

drive led by His Excellency, Irfaan Ali,” the Mayor add ed.

Region One Chairman Brentnol Ashley, in his re marks, said “…Region One is on the verge of better heights. Once the right ser vices are in place, the devel opment will happen at a fast er rate.”

The Regional Chairman believes that the new GNBS office demonstrated a com mitment to the “One Guyana” initiative, and he was de lighted that the Tourism, Industry and Commerce Ministry was setting the

The Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) on Wednesday, November 30, 2022, opened the doors of its brand-new sub-office in the town of Mabaruma, Region One (Barima-Waini).

The modernised and ex panded facility which was built in the compound of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC), will better enable the GNBS to provide its core ser vices to the residents of the remote region.

Delivering remarks at the opening ceremony, acting GNBS Executive Director Ramrattie Karan highlight ed the services to be offered to the residents through the Mabaruma sub-office in cluded verification of mea suring instruments, product inspections, training, and technical assistance for busi nesses. According to Karan, these services will enable all businesses in the region to be competitive. She also thanked the regional admin istration and the business community for their past and future support.

Public Relations Officer of the Mabaruma Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), Trevor Rupan, who

also addressed the ceremo ny, stated that the establish ment of the office in Region One was welcomed; and would positively impact the products produced by busi nesses.

Meanwhile, Mabaruma Mayor Chris Phang wel comed the GNBS to the town. He advised that the services to be provided by the office were directly re lated to the Government’s vision. “With the rapid de velopment experienced, we must safeguard the inter est of consumers which the GNBS can provide, and I am happy that Mabaruma is not left out of the developmental

pace, through standards, of providing Government ser vices to the region.

Attending the opening ceremony was the Director of Business, John Edghill, who proudly stated, “the work of the GNBS holds well for the Government.”

He acknowledged the ex treme growth of Guyana’s economy and advised that it must transcend across the regions of the country. Meanwhile speaking to the business community, he ad vised that it was better to build capacity through ser vices like those provided by the GNBS rather than to

try to get small financing through grants, etc.

“Services provided to these businesses will make them competitive and sus tainable in the long run,” he explained. Finally, the Director of Business encour aged the local authorities to support the work of the

gion.

The opening cere mony was also attend ed by Regional Education Officer Elly Peterkin; Postmaster Rainsford Smith; Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) repre sentative Samuel Drepaul; Regional Commander Senior

from the Government, the GNBS has successfully es tablished offices in Anna Regina (Region Two); Vreeden-Hoop (Region Three); Fort Wellington (Region Five); New Amsterdam and Corriverton (Region Six); Bartica (Region Seven); Mahdia (Region Eight); Lethem (Region Nine) and now Mabaruma, (Region One).

While in Mabaruma, the visiting GNBS team a held several meetings with stakeholders, includ ing the Mabaruma Town Council, the Police, the re gional administration, and the Mabaruma Chamber of Commerce and Industry to discuss mutual concerns and areas for collaboration.

GNBS.

Regional Executive Officer Tikaram Bissessar committed to offering sup port to the officer stationed at the GNBS office to provide transportation and other re sources required to visit the other sub-districts in the re

Superintendent Himnauth Sawh and Guyana Defence Force (GDF) representatives among others.

The Mabaruma of fice is the 10th sub-office opened by the GNBS in ad ministrative regions across the country. With support

Further, a school lecture was conducted by students at the North West Secondary School and an interview was conducted with Radio Mabaruma 95.1FM to create awareness of GNBS and its services in the region.

Stakeholders need ing to contact the GNBS’s Mabaruma office can call: +592-690-8032 to speak with Inspector Johnathan Peters, who is stationed in town.

Director of Business at the Tourism, Industry and Commerce Ministry, John Edghill

Officials at the opening of the office

GNBS Executive Director (ag) Ramrattie Karan

Regional Chairman Brentnol Ashley

Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton

SBM Offshore conducts career outreach engagement at Corentyne Comprehensive High School

SBM Offshore has re cently engaged fourth and fifth-form stu dents of the Corentyne

Comprehensive High School, to apprise them of the com pany’s role in Guyana and the career choices that are

available in the oil and gas industry. This is the first ca reer outreach engagement of many the company plans

Policeman charged for raping boy

Twenty-four-yearold Police Constable Neal Dookram, who has been charged with en gaging in sexual penetra tion and sexual activity with a boy, has been placed on $200,000 bail after his arraignment on Thursday before Senior Magistrate Alex Moore at the New Amsterdam Magistrates’ Courts.

A resident of an East Bank Demerara communi ty, Constable Dookram, of the Tactical Services Unit (TSU), has not been re quired to plead to the in dictable charges he fac es. His next court date is February 16, 2023.

This publication un derstands that Constable Dookram was placed under

the boy.

Last month, interdicted Policeman Wayde Padmore was jailed for 10 years by Justice Sandil Kissoon for engaging in sexual activi ty with a 13-year-old girl in October 2020. In sentencing the 25-year-old Padmore, whom a jury had unani mously found guilty of the crime, Justice Kissoon had told him that the maximum jail sentence of 10 years was “wholly insufficient”, given the fact that he was, among other things, known to the girl’s family.

to conduct in schools in Guyana.

In an interactive session with the students, Human Resources Business Partner Shaun Prince highlighted the role the company plays as an energy transition com pany in the oil and gas in dustry, and introduced students to the concepts of floating, pro duction, storage and off loading (FPSO) vessels; the various functions of those vessels; and the company’s vision and transformational strategy.

In addition, he encour

aged female students in par ticular to get engaged in the field of oil and gas as he ex pounded on the various roles available for female engi neers and technicians, and in administrative and lead ership capacities.

In his presentation, Talent Acquisition Specialist Danny Seegobin, who is re sponsible for recruiting Guyanese nationals, used the opportunity to apprise students of the various ca reer opportunities available within the industry, which include those positions available both onshore and

offshore. He also spoke of key competencies the com pany considers during the recruitment process, and gave a synopsis of the com pany’s Graduate Engineers’ and Trainee Technician pro grammes, which are geared towards enhancing the skills of young Guyanese to play key roles in the country’s oil and gas sector.

During the outreach, SBM Offshore honoured the top performers of Grades 7, 8, 9 and 10 for the 2021 aca demic school year with a tro phy to congratulate them on their excellent performances.

Young women with disabilities sensitised on GBV

Several young wom en with disabilities have benefitted from a gender-based violence (GBV) workshop organised by the Guyana Council of Organisations for Persons with Disabilities (GCOPD) in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

pending inves tigations into a video of him allegedly having sex with

close

According to the Judge, Padmore was “no ordinary” sex offender, as he was a member of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) who had sworn to serve and protect his country.

Digicel rolls out eSIM for Christmas

In another major stride towards delivering pow erful digital experienc es to its customers, Digicel is pleased to announce the launch of its eSIMs to sup port electronic SIM-enabled devices for Christmas. The announcement comes as Digicel contin ues on its journey as a dig ital operator since October 20, 2020, and is a first for Guyana. The announce ment gives customers -- in cluding those intending to get the e-SIM-only iPhone 14 as released in the US -the ability to enjoy a fullfledged digital experience on their device, only with Digicel.

Customers can also pur chase dual SIM (eSIM and physical SIM) versions of the iPhone 14, and connect to the Digicel network us ing their existing physical SIM. An eSIM is a digital version of the physical SIM card that customers now

use to connect to the Digicel network via smartphones, tablets, or other IoT devices in order to enjoy the fastest data speeds and superior LTE coverage. It is embed ded into the device for easy setup and out-of-the-box use, which ensures seam less connectivity to the net work in seconds.

New subscribers pur chasing an eSIM from Thursday until December 31 would also be eligible for Digicel’s bonus 10GB pro motion for the holiday sea son.

Customers will receive a 10GB bonus of any-use data monthly for the next three months (January to March 2023) once a 7-day or high er Prime Bundle Plan is ac tivated monthly.

Corporate customers are encouraged to contact their Sales Representatives on 669-2677, or by email at guy_b2bqueries@digicel group.com to make the switch today.

In addition, the eSIM would be available across all Digicel retail stores from December 9, 2022.

The workshop was launched on Thursday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown, and the fea ture address was given by Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud.

GCOPD Programme Manager Ganesh Singh and GCOPD Women with Disabilities Network Coordinator Rosemarie Ramitt delivered brief re marks. Yesim Oruc, the United Nations Resident Coordinator, was also in at tendance.

The GBV workshop for young women with disabili ties was held in observance of International Day for Persons with Disabilities (IDPD), which would be held on December 3, and in observance of the “16 Days of Activism” to end GBV (November 25-December 10).

According to Singh, over the years, not many pro grammes have been imple mented to expose women and girls with disabilities to GBV.

Additionally, he noted that very few women and girls with disabilities are aware of their rights, and

lack knowledge of the avail able GBV services. With this workshop and continuous online and in-person train ing, GCOPD hopes to sen sitise and empower women and girls with disabilities.

The GCOPD is the um

brella body that represents most of the disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) across Guyana, and it works in the areas of advocacy and ca pacity building. The DPOs represent all types of dis abilities.

arrest

Police Constable Neal Dookram

SBM Offshore Talent Acquisition Specialist Danny Seegobin engaging students of the Corentyne

Comprehensive High School

The SBM Offshore team with the recipients of the best performer awards – Antonio Cruickshank, Yogita Mangru, Sanya Somwaru, and Salima Subratee

Hire Purchase Bill to stimulate farmers’ investments, safeguard livelihoods

Agriculturists nation wide are now able to make better invest ments to expand their pro duction and productivity, following the passage of the Hire Purchase Bill 2020 in the National Assembly on Wednesday evening.

Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Mohabir Anil Nandlall, SC, while addressing the National Assembly, stated that the important piece of legislation would reform the hire purchase sector, provid ing the necessary protection for consumers.

Speaking in the National Assembly Wednesday eve ning, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha explained that farmers have been com

plaining about businesses selling farming inputs and implements at a high cost.

This, he noted, has forced a number of fieldmen and women to pursue hire pur chase and credit sales.

He explained that farm ers would use many differ ent types of equipment to improve production, which proves expensive, but these are critical investments that allow them to remain pro ductive.

“This legislation will pro vide protection of consum ers against the immediate repossession in the event of default by hirers… imme diate seizure of items will now be abolished,” Minister Mustapha noted.

He said the enactment

of the legislation would al low farmers to confidently invest in high-value assets to improve their production. The Minister stated that hire

purchase would now be seen by many farmers as a finan cial solution, safe and suit able for expanding agricul tural businesses.

Furthermore, he ex plained that farmers buy ing vehicles on hire purchase would also be protected by a note on the registration by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).

“This means that we will all know when a vehicle is on hire purchase, so there is no double sale of the same ve hicle, which is an everyday occurrence affecting the or dinary man in the street,” Minister Mustapha dis closed.

He said the bill formed part of the Government’s swift approach to modernis ing the country.

“Today, Guyana’s econ omy continues to show pos itive growth and is among one of the fastest-growing

economies in the world,” the Agriculture Minister re marked.

Owing to Guyana’s fast-growing economy, the country is seeing many in vestors who are interested in setting up businesses here.

Minister Mustapha said the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Administration has acknowledged the sig nals and has been exploring an array of investment op portunities aimed at mod ernising every sector in the economy.

And with the Government continuing its aggressive campaign to stimulate the nation’s economy, it is only fitting for the law to be up dated and modernised, the Agriculture Minister added.

GEA prioritising transition to renewable energy

show

dence on fossil fuels, and it fits very nicely in our low-carbon developmental strategy and the trajecto ry that we are going for –low-carbon transportation – within that strategy.”

EVs use electricity to charge their batteries as opposed to petrol or diesel, making them more efficient as well as better for the environment, since these models do not emit green house gases.

Recently, the GEA awarded a contract to Flash Motors Company Limited of Jamaica for the supply of six charging stations for electric vehicles as part of a pilot project. Sharma dis closed that these charging stations were expected to

The Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) on Thursday hosted an automotive show to display the range of electric vehi cles (EVs) available in the country, as well as promote awareness of the environ mental impact and cost ef ficiency of EVs in a coun try that is seeing a gradual transition to low-emission electricity.

GEA Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr Mahender Sharma noted that the ex hibition was demonstra tive of the Agency’s contin uous endeavours to spread awareness of the availabil ity of these models, and ed ucate persons on the care and maintenance of EVs.

To this end, he dis closed that by the end of the week about 25 electri cians and mechanics would be trained in the care and maintenance of EVs.

“We have also been do ing a number of webinars and sensitisation pro grammes talking about

EVs. As I speak, we are training the second batch of mechanics and electricians on the repair and mainte nance of EVs,” he said.

Sharma emphasised that the use of EVs would go hand in hand with the Government’s commitment to foster a significant re duction in the use of fossil fuels.

He explained, “What this means for us is that we have the potential, the technology and the oppor tunity to reduce our depen

arrive in early 2023, and would be placed in select areas across the coast, namely in Regions Three, Four and Six.

GO-Invest CEO, Dr Peter Ramsaroop, and Director of the Industry and Innovations Unit under the Office of the Prime Minister, Sharukh Hussain, as well as repre sentatives of the various Ministries and the Office of the Prime Minister were also in attendance.

Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha

GEA CEO, Dr Mahender Sharma

Some electric vehicles on display at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre

Former Reg 6 REO slapped with cybercrime charge

Former Regional Executive Officer

(REO) of Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne), 75-year-old Dr Veerasammy Ramayya, has been charged under the Cybercrime Act, and has been arraigned be fore Senior Magistrate Alex Moore at the Springlands Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.

It is alleged that Whim Village resident Dr Ramayya had used a computer sys tem to harass and humiliate Surujdyal Sahadeo, called ‘Pandit Dave’, a 43-yearold resident of Crabwood Creek, and Hindu Priest and Councillor of the Region Six Regional Democratic Council (RDC), in contra vention of Section 19 (3) of the Cybercrime Act 2018 of the Laws of Guyana.

Dr Ramayya has plead ed not guilty as charged, and through representation from his Attorney, Mirza Sahadat, has been released on his own recognizance. He will have to return to court on February 20, 2023, when the matter will be called again.

Speaking with the me dia after the matter was ad

journed, Sahadat said any body can be offended or embarrassed, and he added that the offended person has the right to report the mat ter to the Police.

“These same laws have been quashed in other ju risdictions, such as Kenya, Zimbabwe, India and the United States of America. It is too wide a dragnet; any thing that offends somebody, or they feel embarrassed, a person can be charged for a cybercrime?” the Attorney questioned. “I think the

threshold should be much higher. Under this Act, this threshold is too low, and we intend to challenge it consti tutionally.”

Sahadat has opined that charges of this nature con stitute an interference with the freedom of expression and speech, which is a fun damental right, as stated in the law.

Dr Ramayya has been a controversial figure in Region Six since being ap pointed REO after the A Partnership for National

CANU finds 1000 12-gauge live cartridges in boat at Moleson Creek

Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Coalition had taken office in 2015.

He had allegedly undertak en projects without the ap proval of the RDC, and had eventually resigned un der pressure. He later re

signed from the Alliance for Change and joined the Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) leading up to the 2020 National and Regional Elections.

Following the PPP/C’s return to office, Dr Ramayya

had been asked to head the Rapid Response Task Force, but had tendered his resig nation after his demands had not been met. And in re cent times, Dr Ramayya has been very critical of the PPP.

FAO, IFAD to lead US$230M agrifood systems transformation

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has tasked the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to lead its new US$230 million agrifood systems trans formation programme.

This decision was made at the 63rd Council Meeting of the GEF, which is be ing held in Washington, DC, United States, from November 28 to December 2, 2022.

The GEF’s Food Systems Integrated Programme will direct an estimated $230 mil lion, which will be complemented by addition al co-financing, in project grants to support countries to transform their agrifood systems to be more sustainable and delivering global environmental benefits in conserving biodi versity, combating land degradation, mitigat ing and adapting to climate change and con tributing to national food security.

Agrifood systems encompass farming, har vesting, fishing, livestock-rearing, storing,

for Sustainable Development, the Nature Conservancy, and the Regional Development Banks to deliver greater results.

IFAD President Alvaro Lario said, “Transforming the way we produce, distribute and consume food so that our actions are truly inclusive and sustainable requires a paradigm shift. We need to work in partnership, assem ble and leverage finance and investments, and strengthen policies, knowledge, and capacities.”

“The GEF Integrated Programme on Food Systems will support countries to define their national pathways and prioritise interven tions that have proven to deliver measurable benefits for the climate, the environment, and the people,” Lario added.

FAO and IFAD are implementing agencies of the GEF, a partnership of 18 agencies and 183 countries, which addresses the world’s most challenging environmental issues relat ed to biodiversity, climate change, land deg radation, chemicals, and international wa ters. GEF provides grants to countries to meet these challenges whilst contributing to key de velopment goals, such as food security.

processing, transporting, selling, buying, eat ing, and disposing of our food. Agrifood sys tems also include non-food resources that come from agriculture, like cotton and for est products. While agrifood systems are the source of nutrition and livelihoods, they are also one of the major causes of environmental degradation.

Guyana has been benefitting from GEF programmes over almost a decade now.

In fact, only last December, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched the Seventh Operational Phase of the GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP) in Guyana.

the side of the road.

Ranks of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) discovered a large quantity of ammuni tion in a vessel at Moleson Creek, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) on Wednesday.

According to reports from the agency, its officers were patrolling along Crabwood Creek and Moleson Creek on Wednesday evening when they intercepted a boat, which had just docked with a number of occupants.

“Upon recognising the CANU team, some of the oc cupants fled into the near by bushes. The officers gave chase and managed to ap prehend one male along with the boat,” a statement from the Unit detailed.

A subsequent search was conducted on the vessel and unearthed a large quantity

of shotgun ammunition.

The suspect, 18-yearold Jerimiah Smith of Pike Street, North Sophia, Georgetown was arrest ed and handed over to the Police at the Springlands Station along with 1000 pieces of 12-gauge live car tridges.

Meanwhile, it was fur ther disclosed that only last month, Smith was arrested by Police following the dis covery of some 40 kilograms (88.18 pounds) of cannabis valued at approximately $5 million in a motor car along the Springlands Public Road, Berbice.

CANU had reported pre viously that on November 17, while carrying out an op eration on the Springlands Public Road, its ranks be came suspicious of a sil ver-grey vehicle parked on

Several individuals with in the vicinity were ques tioned, but no one claimed ownership or identified the driver of the said vehicle. A subsequent search of the vehicle revealed several parcels of suspected canna bis in two salt bags.

The vehicle, along with the narcotics, was escort ed to the CANU office in Skeldon, Berbice. The fol lowing day, a 64-year-old taxi driver of Number 77 Village Housing Scheme, Corentyne went to Springlands Police Station and claimed ownership of the vehicle.

He told investigators that he was hired by two men to transport the nar cotics to Corentyne. As a result, Police ranks arrest ed 18-year-old Smith along with 42-year-old Damion Hinds.

CANU said investigations into Wednesday’s discovery of the large quantity of ammu nition were ongoing.

Agricultural sectors, including forestry and other land use sectors, are the biggest drivers of global biodiversity loss. Unsustainable agri food systems globally degrade one-third of ag ricultural land, contribute an estimated 30 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions, and con sume 70 per cent of groundwater withdraw als.

“As populations grow and diets improve, we must transform our agrifood systems to supply more people with healthier and nutri tious food while conserving and restoring our ecosystems and natural resources,” says FAO Director General, QU Dongyu.

He added, “As we co-lead GEF’s Food Systems Integrated Programme, we will con tinue to work closely with members to ensure an impactful catalysing transformation of na tional and global agrifood systems. The re cently-held COP27, and preparations for CBD COP15, clearly indicate there is no time to waste – we must put agrifood systems’ trans formation at the centre of solutions for biodi versity loss, food insecurity and climate cri ses.”

The Food Systems Integrated Programme is the second largest programme approved in the GEF’s programming directions for 20222026, known as GEF-8. The programme aims to catalyse national and global shifts towards sustainable nature-positive production sys tems by supporting efficient, sustainable and resilient value chains for crops, forest prod ucts, commodities, livestock, and aquaculture.

FAO and IFAD aim to align the programme with the outcomes of the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit and collaborate with part ners, such as the United Nations Development Programme, the World Business Council

The Seventh Operational Phase (OP7) of the SGP aims to “promote and support inno vative, inclusive and scalable initiatives, and foster multi-stakeholder partnerships at the

local level to tackle global environmental is sues in priority landscapes and seascapes”.

The GEF SGP complements the work of the Guyana Government by creating a fund ing platform that contributes positively to key developmental goals. This is accomplished through the direct engagement of grassroots organisations and local communities in deci sion-making for the creation of sustainable environmental solutions that enhance their well-being and livelihoods.

The GEF SGP has been active in Guyana since 2013 and invested more than US$941,000 in 24 projects with more than US$925,000 in cash and in-kind co-financ ing. The projects’ geographic coverage in cludes seven of the 10 administrative regions – particularly Regions One to Six and Nine. Under OP7, a total of US$500,000 has been earmarked for SGP Guyana to implement en vironmental-based projects.

Former Regional Executive Officer (REO) of Region Six, Dr Veerasammy Ramayya

The shotgun and ammunition found in the vessel

Pic saved as: Jerimiah Smith

Jerimiah Smith

Regional Deadly landslide engulfs motorway in Brazil

Alandslide on a mo torway in southern Brazil has killed at least two people and left dozens missing.

A torrent of mud fell on to the BR-376 highway in the state of Paraná, hitting more than 21 vehicles, au thorities said.

Rescue workers at the scene said bad weather and the remote location were com plicating the search effort.

Firefighters are using a thermal camera to locate possible survivors. Up to 30 people are thought to still be missing.

Aerial footage shows one lorry precariously hanging over the side of a bridge. Rescue workers found the body of its driver, who was identified as 62-year-old João Pires.

A relative said he had worked as a lorry driver for most of his life and was well acquainted with the road

where the accident hap pened.

The name of the second victim has not yet been re

leased.

Another lorry driver whose cab was buried in the mud was rescued with only minor injuries. José Altair Biscaia, 43, recorded a video of himself on his phone as he was trapped.

"I'm alive, thank God. I'm in the middle of the mud, just in a little corner which is left of the lorry. I'm full of cuts. but I'm alive," he can be heard saying in the footage.

The inside of his cab looks mangled and there are blood stains. Outside the window there appears to be a wall of solid mud.

So far, six survivors have been located. Among them is the Mayor of the coastal town of Guaratuba, Roberto Justus. (Excerpt from BBC News)

UN seeks US$1.72B next year to aid Venezuelan migrants, refugees

The United Nations will seek US$1.72 billion for 2023 to aid Venezuelan ref ugees and migrants in Latin America and the Caribbean, member agen cies said on Thursday.

Some seven million people have fled econom ic and political crises in Venezuela in recent years, and most are now scattered around the region, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International

Organisation for Migration (IOM) said in a joint state ment.

Around 2.5 million are in neighboring Colombia, with more than one million in Peru, and large numbers also in Ecuador and Chile.

The 2023 funding ap peal is in line with the US$1.79 billion request ed for 2022, of which only a quarter has yet been re ceived, the agencies said, with economic worries and events elsewhere diverting

global attention.

The United Nations hu manitarian system overall faces the biggest funding gap ever, with its unmet funding at 53 per cent in 2022.

The agencies also expect to request US$1.57 billion in aid for Venezuelans for 2024, but will review the figure at the end of 2023, a representative said.

Many Venezuelans are struggling to rebuild their lives outside their home

country, said Eduardo Stein, a joint representa tive of UNHCR and IOM for Venezuelan refugees and migrants.

"Many have seen their lives come to a standstill," he said in a statement.

The 2023 plan is to part ner with more than 200 or ganisations to offer humani tarian services to more than three million Venezuelans and support local govern ments that are stretched thin. (Excerpt from Reuters)

US Ambassador arrives in T&T

Ambassador-desig nate to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Candace A Bond and her family arrived in Port of Spain on December 1. Ambassador-designate Bond will officially assume duties after the presentation of her Letters of Credence to President Paula-Mae Weekes.

Ambassador-designate Bond said, “It is a great hon or to be in beautiful Trinidad and Tobago with my family.

I look forward to presenting my credentials to President Weekes and meeting and working with the wonderful people of this country.”

President Joe Biden nominated Candace Bond as US Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago on March 18, 2022.

The US Senate con firmed her appointment on September 29 and Vice President Kamala Harris administered the oath of of fice on November 14 at the

Vice President’s residence in Washington, DC.

Ambassador-designate Bond leads US foreign policy goals in Trinidad and Tobago that strengthen citizen secu rity; advance sustainable and equitable economic growth with an investor-friendly business climate; promote laws, regulations, and best practices focused on good governance and anti-cor ruption, and build capacity to enhance climate resilien cy and a transition towards

clean and renewable energy production.

Prior to her posting in Trinidad and Tobago, Ambassador-designate Bond was a business own er, consultant, and social entrepreneur who special ised in helping public and Private Sector entities to de velop innovative, effective, and scalable solutions to ad dress the socioeconomic and environmental needs of local communities. (Excerpt from Trinidad Guardian)

Sandals looking for 300 new managers over next 3 years

Sandals Resorts

International Executive Chairman Adam Stewart says the com pany will hire hundreds of managers over the next three years.

He was addressing par ticipants, mainly high school students, at the Jamaica Youth Tourism Summit now underway in Montego Bay,

St James..

"In my company alone, in the next three years, I'm looking for 300 new manag ers," Stewart told the gath ering.

"They will be in a posi tion to buy their own homes; they will be full-time em ployees with full benefits including medical, pension. They will get to start fam

ilies, and make an indeli ble mark on society over all and they’ll be backed by the company-paid Sandals Corporate University to achieve all their goals and ambitions,” he added.

His announcement was met with widespread ap plause.

Stewart was speaking within the context of oppor

tunities within the tourism sector because of Jamaica’s strong economic recovery af ter the COVID-19 pandemic crippled much of global com merce, especially tourism.

"We recovered strongly from COVID and are con tinuing to recover/ and it means there are going to be opportunities," he promised. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Cuba slams US rejection of undersea telecoms connection to island

Cuba´s Vice Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio on Thursday accused longtime rival the United States of doublespeak after the Biden Administration pro posed to scrap a plan to in stall a new undersea tele communications cable via Cuba.

The Administration of US President Joe Biden said after widespread pro tests on the island in July of 2021 that it was working to make the Internet more accessible to the people of Cuba.

But on Wednesday a Justice Departmentled panel said a propos al before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for a new undersea cable landing station to handle Internet, voice and data traffic posed "unacceptable risks" to na tional security concerns and should not go forward.

"This is the way in which the Government of the United States pretends to comply with its declared commitment to promote Internet use in Cuba, and its concerns for the well-be ing of the Cuban peo ple," Cuba´s Vice Foreign Minister De Cossio said in a tweet reacting to the deci sion on Thursday.

Cuba has long accused the US of doublespeak, say ing a Cold War-era embar go imposed by the United States on Cuba has failed to upend Cuba´s govern ment, and instead, has only caused suffering among the Cuban people.

The US Government in recent years has been scrutinizing undersea ca ble connections especial ly involving China. Around 300 subsea cables form the backbone of the Internet, carrying 99 per cent of the world’s data traffic. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Barbados to be world class by 2030

Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley will be meeting with the Social Partnership and civ il societies shortly to set into motion the five main goals which should unite Barbadians in becoming a world-class nation by 2030.

She made the an nouncement during her public address at the 56th Independence Day parade to the hundreds of people gathered at Kensington Oval, and others listen ing via the livestream on Wednesday morning to cel ebrate the first anniversa ry as a parliamentary re public.

Mottley said that while the goal of making Barbados world class by 2027 was delayed to 2030,

it cannot be denied.

“Like with life there are obstacles, and when we have obstacles, we refocus and reset the mission. Now that we are out, it is time to ensure that the COVID co matose mindset is put be hind us and that we refo cus and reset the mission. We do not believe that the Government has the only perspective on what these goals should be, but I share today the five that we will put before the Social Partnership and civil so ciety that within the next two months that we can settle such that we can ap ply our efforts in the public and private sector towards achieving these goals,” she said.

(Excerpt from Nation News)

An aerial view of a landslide on the BR-376 federal road after heavy rains in Guaratuba, in Paraná state in Brazil

Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley (Picture by Reco Moore)

Oil settles little changed after China eases COVID curbs, dollar dips

Oil prices settled largely narrowly mixed on Thursday, retreating from an early rally built on dollar weakness and hopes for improved fuel demand in China after COVID-19 curbs were eased in two major Chinese cities.

Brent Crude futures settled nine cents lower at US$86.88 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled at US$81.22 a barrel, up 67 cents or 0.8 per cent.

Both benchmarks remain on target for their first weekly gains after three consecutive weeks of decline. On Monday, Brent touched US$80.61, lowest since January 4.

"We came into the session bullish, but we're not going to get to US$100 no matter what city reopens," said Eli Tesfaye, senior market strategist at RJO Futures.

Tesfaye said he expects oil to trade in the US$70-US$90 a barrel range and gradually stabilise after higher volatility in recent weeks.

The shift in China's zero-COVID strategy raised optimism about a recovery in oil demand there. The cities of Guangzhou and Chongqing announced an easing of COVID curbs on Wednesday.

"Oil markets are going to continue to be buffeted by ongoing news out of China, given how much of an impact ongoing lockdowns are having on oil demand in the world's second-largest consumer," said Matt Smith, lead oil analyst at Kpler.

Oil was supported through most of Thursday's session by a slump in the dollar index to its lowest since August after the US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said rate hikes could slow this month. A weaker dollar makes oil cheaper for other currency holders.

The prospect of a lower price cap on Russian oil is also lending support, analysts said. European Union governments tentatively agreed on Thursday on a $60 cap on Russian seaborne oil, an EU diplomat said.

"After dipping into the mid-$70s at the start of the week, oil is now shifting focus to the OPEC meeting on Sunday, Russian sanctions, and the absence of large SPR barrels hitting commercial inventories – all three of these are price supportive," Smith said.

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, a group known as OPEC+, will meet virtually on December 4, although a policy change is seen unlikely. (Reuters)

Damning report raises tough questions for South Africa's leader

Adamning report from a panel of legal ex perts into accusa tions that President Cyril Ramaphosa covered up the theft of US$4 million in cash from his farm in 2020 has raised uncomfortable ques tions for South Africa's lead er.

The panel – headed by a former Chief Justice – de scribed some of his explana tions as "improbable".

Ramaphosa has a case to answer, not just to Parliament but to all South Africans, critics say.

Judging by the fervent reaction from Opposition parties, some of whom are calling for him to step down immediately, this scandal has the potential to cost him his job.

In a 138-page submission made to the panel, President Ramaphosa denied that there was anything untow ard about the money stolen

on his private farm, saying it was from the proceeds of buffalo sold for US$580,000 in cash to a Sudanese na tional, Mustafa Mohamed Ibrahim Hazim, in late 2019.

However, Hazim has not appeared in public and little is known about him.

The panel questioned why the invoice presented to them didn't contain any de tails that would make him identifiable. There was only his name, no business ad dress, or ID number.

"I respectfully submit that all of the 'charges' I have been called to answer are without any merit," Mr Ramaphosa wrote, adding that many of the allegations were based on "hearsay". He requested that the matter not be taken any further.

But it has not gone away and there is pressure on the President to resign or face impeachment proceedings.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

Around the World

US, France pledge Ukraine support amid Russia’s “brutal” war

The United States and France have promised to maintain support for Ukraine against Russia’s ongoing invasion, stressing that those responsible for attacks on civilians and ci vilian infrastructure in the war-torn country must be held accountable.

In a statement outlin ing discussions between US President Joe Biden and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron at the White House on Thursday, the two countries slammed “Russia’s illegal war of ag gression” against its neigh bour.

Biden and Macron “also reiterate their steadfast re solve to hold Russia to ac count for widely-document ed atrocities and war crimes, committed both by its regu lar armed forces and by its proxies”, the statement said.

“We reaffirm that France

and the United States to gether, with all our NATO allies and the European Union and the G7, stand as strong as ever against Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine,” Biden said during a news conference alongside Macron after lengthy talks in the Oval Office.

The US President told reporters that “France and the United States are facing down [Russian President] Vladimir Putin’s grasping ambition for conquest” and “defending democratic val ues and universal human rights”.

Biden also said he was

prepared to speak with Putin “if, in fact, there is an interest in him deciding he’s looking for a way to end the war”. But Biden added that Putin “hasn’t done that yet”. Western powers are try ing to rally support for Ukraine as the country reels from massive, near-week ly missile and drone attacks targeting power, water and heat supplies in its cities, just as winter is setting in, nine months into Russia’s invasion.

Thursday’s talks be tween Biden and Macron came as the mayor of Kyiv, Vitaliy Klitschko, urged res idents of the Ukrainian capi tal to stock up on water, food and warm clothing in the event of a total blackout.

Klitschko also advised people to consider stay ing with friends on the out skirts of the city if possible. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

US children's hospitals stretched by respiratory viruses

say this is likely an under estimate.

Hospitals are "bursting at the seams", Daniel Rauch, the chief of Paediatric Hospital Medicine at Tufts Medicine in Massachusetts, told the BBC.

"It's more than we've seen in certainly the last couple of years," he said. "The total volume is more than I've seen in my ca reer – almost three-decades worth." (Excerpt from BBC News)

Hospitals in the US are taking emergen cy measures to re spond to a spike in respira tory viruses among young children.

Some are building over flow tents to house more beds, while others have can celled planned surgeries.

The US is facing a surge in viruses such as the poten tially dangerous respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Children under five, es pecially newborn babies, are most at risk of developing

severe symptoms from RSV. And young children un der six months are being taken to hospital with RSV at seven times the rate seen several years ago, accord ing to Government data re leased earlier this month.

Other viruses such as flu, Rhinovirus and coronavirus are also adding to the spike in hospital admissions.

The US Department of Health has said more than three quarters of children's hospital beds were full in November, although experts

US appeal court rules against Trump in documents fight, ends arbiter

AUS appeals court on Thursday dealt a blow to Donald Trump, re versing a Judge's appoint ment of an independent ar biter to vet documents seized by the FBI from his Florida home and allowing all of the records to be used in a crim inal investigation of the for mer President.

A three-judge panel of the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit US Court of Appeals ruled in favour of the Justice Department in its challenge to a September ruling by US District Judge Aileen Cannon to appoint a "special master" to review the records to decide if some should be kept from investigators. The 11th Circuit also overturned

Cannon's decision to bar in vestigators from accessing most of the records pending the review.

Trump faces a feder al criminal investigation into his retention of sensi tive Government records af ter leaving office in January 2021, including whether he violated a 1917 law called the Espionage Act that makes it a crime to release information harmful to na tional security. Investigators also are looking into poten tial unlawful obstruction of the probe.

The 11th Circuit said Cannon lacked the authori ty to grant Trump's request for a special master. (Excerpt from Reuters)

China set to loosen COVID curbs after week of protests

China is set to an nounce an easing of its COVID-19 quaran tine protocols in the coming days and a reduction in mass testing, sources told Reuters, a marked shift in policy after anger over the world's tough est curbs fuelled widespread protests.

Cases nationwide remain near record highs, but the changes come as some cities have been lifting their lock downs in recent days, and a top official said the ability of the virus to cause disease was weakening.

Health authorities an nouncing the easing in their areas have not mentioned the protests – the biggest show of civil disobedience in China for years – which ranged from candle-lit vig ils in Beijing to street clash es with Police in Guangzhou.

The measures due to be unveiled include a reduction in the use of mass testing and regular nucleic acid tests as well as moves to allow pos itive cases and close contacts to isolate at home under cer tain conditions, the sourc es familiar with the matter said.

That is a far cry from ear lier protocols that led to pub lic frustrations as entire com munities were locked down, sometimes for weeks, after even just one positive case.

The frustration boiled over last week in demon strations of public defiance unprecedented in main land China since President Xi Jinping took power in 2012. The unrest comes as the economy is set to enter a new era of much slower growth than seen in decades. (Excerpt from Reuters)

US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron hold a joint press conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on December 1, 2022 [Ludovic Marin/AFP]

An elderly person scans a QR code at a nucleic acid testing site for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Beijing, China, November 11, 2022 (Reuters/Tingshu Wang)

DAILY HOROSCOPES

Check your investments and es sential documents, and make updates. Learn from the experience you gain, and don’t make physical changes that aren’t necessary or carefully considered.

(March 21-April 19)

(April 20-May 20)

Put more thought into your plans. Don’t be too eager to spend money on something you don’t need or to make an impression on someone you want to get to know better or work alongside.

You may want to help others, but don’t let anyone take advantage of your generosity. Make plans with someone you enjoy spending time with, and to gether you will devise a solid plan.

(May 21-June 20)

(June 21-July 22) (July 23-Aug. 22)

Check your emotions before you share your opinions. The less you say, the easier it will be to get things done. Focus on what brings you the most joy. Make creative endeavors a priority.

Your generous nature will attract attention and the help you need to get things done. Mix business with pleasure, and you’ll seal a deal that will benefit you financially and professionally.

Step outside your comfort zone to get things done right and without interfer ence. Verify what others say before you use the information or pass it along. Be cautious of lavish offers.

(Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

(Sept. 23-Oct. 23)

You’ll be anxious to get moving. Whether you travel, learn something new or spend time with people who have something interesting to offer, you will find it easier to get ahead and get your way.

Keep an eye on shared expenses or investments. Don’t spend what you don’t have or pay for other people’s mistakes. Refuse to let anyone tempt you with fan cy claims or outlandish promises.

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

Do your best to get along. Listen at tentively to others, but share only infor mation that isn’t controversial or polit ical. Take care of your responsibilities.

Slow down; don’t act in haste. Time is on your side, and with a bit of thought, you’ll come up with a unique and boun tiful proposition. Be secretive regarding your plans.

(Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

(Jan. 20-Feb. 19)

Times are changing, and so are you. Pick up the slack, take care of business and make room for something meaning ful. A positive attitude will help you turn a profit doing something you love.

You are better off observing than participating. Put your energy where it counts. Make changes at home that will give you a reason to entertain or use your space productively.

(Feb. 20-March 20)

ARCHIE PEANUTS

CALVIN AND HOBBES

DILBERT

FIFA WORLD CUP: QATAR 2022…

Germany beat Costa Rica, but crash out of World Cup 2022

Germany have crashed out of the World Cup on a remarkable night of drama, despite vic tory over Costa Rica at Al Bayt Stadium.

Japan's 2-1 win against Spain would have eliminat ed Germany anyway, but Hansi Flick's side needed three points to give them selves any chance of reach ing the last 16. They com pleted their part of the bargain, but it was to no avail, as the four-time champions finished third in the group and have been eliminated on goal differ ence.

Germany were in com plete control, and in

the remarkable possibility of Spain also going out.

Yeltsin Tejeda equal ised after Germany keeper Manuel Neuer pushed out Kendall Waston's header in the 58th minute, before Neuer was deemed to have the final touch for the second goal 12 minutes later, when Juan Pablo Vargas bundled in from close range. At that stage, Costa Rica were go ing through with Japan, and Spain were heading for the exit.

It would have capped one of the most astonishing nights in World Cup histo ry, but Germany substitute Kai Havertz restored a mea sure of normality to proceed

Belgium out of World Cup 2022 after drawing with Croatia

but failed to convert any of them. Still searching for sharpness following inju ry, Lukaku poked an effort wide, and then reacted too late when the ball hit him in front of goal in stoppage time.

Croatia, finalists in 2018, got the point they needed to progress from Group F as runners-up, with Morocco taking top spot, thanks to a 2-1 win against Canada.

came into the game with intent, and immediately brought additional ener gy to the Belgium side. But his missed opportunities in the second half proved costly, with each one bring ing an audible collective groan from the stands, and the Inter Milan strik er punched the dugout in frustration after the final whistle.

ings with two clinical finish es to extinguish Costa Rica's hopes of springing a major shock.

Substitute Niclas Fullkrug added a last-min ute fourth to confirm victo ry, but it will be of no conso lation, as Germany failed to reach the knockout stage of the tournament for the sec ond time in succession.

This was also a match that made history as an all-female officiating team took charge of a men's World Cup game for the first time, with France's Stephanie Frappart ref ereeing, joined by assis tant referees Neuza Back from Brazil and Karen Diaz Medina from Mexico. (BBC Sport)

Japan beat Spain

Belgium have been knocked out of the World Cup at the group stage, as Croatia have progressed at their expense with a goalless draw in Qatar.

Roberto Martinez’s side, who finished third in Russia four years ago and are ranked second in the

world, have had a disap pointing tournament, with just one win in three match es. They produced another lacklustre display against Croatia despite knowing a win was necessary to prog ress to the last 16.

Substitute Romelu Lukaku had numerous chances in the second half,

Zlatko Dalic’s side will face the winners of Group E - currently Spain - in the last 16.

Belgium players fell to the floor at full-time, as their supporters behind the far goal politely applauded them off the pitch.

Lukaku, who replaced Dries Mertens at half-time,

Croatia were uncon vincing. They had a pen alty ruled out by VAR due to an offside in the buildup in the first half, but did enough to secure progres sion. However, they looked a level below what they showed to reach the final in Russia four years ago, and their celebrations were fairly subdued after scrap ing through. (BBC Sport)

Morocco reach WC knockout stage for 1st time in 36 years

Morocco have edged past Canada to top Group F and reach the World Cup knockout stage for the first time in 36 years.

The Atlas Lions, whose previous trip to the last 16 came in 1986, finished above 2018 finalists Croatia; while Belgium, ranked second in the world, are out after fin ishing third in the group.

A tough test awaits the Atlas Lions in the next round against the team that finishes second in Group E, which could potentially be Spain or Germany.

Morocco went ahead af ter just four minutes, cour

tesy of a goalkeeping howl er from Milan Borjan. The Canada keeper sprinted out of his goal, but passed the ball straight to Ziyech, who lofted a cool finish into an open net from 30 yards. The north African side doubled their advantage through Youssef En-Nesyri's well-taken goal, as he con trolled Achraf Hakimi's su perb pass before firing in.

But sloppy defending gave Canada a route back into the game, when West Ham's Nayef Aguerd stuck a boot out to divert the ball into his own net - the 100th goal scored at this World Cup.

Knowing that if they avoided defeat they would go through, Morocco were hap py to sit back and soak up pressure in the second peri od. Atiba Hutchinson, how

ever, came close with a head er that rattled the crossbar and dropped down onto the line, as Canada's campaign ended without a point. (BBC Sport)

Japan have staged an other extraordinary World Cup comeback to top Group E and reach the last 16, having overcome a stunned Spain side who were fortunate to join them in the knockout stage.

In a tournament that has been full of shocks, this was perhaps the most dramat ic night so far, with Spain left relying on the result of Germany's game with Costa Rica for them to progress.

All four teams had start ed the evening with a chance of progressing, but with Spain needing only a draw to qualify, they were not ex pected to need any favours from elsewhere. La Roja were cruising at the break, after Alvaro Morata head ed home Cesar Azpilicueta's cross from close range; but Japan quickly turned the game - and the whole of Group E - on its head.

The Samurai Blue sent on substitutes Ritsu Doan and Kaoru Mitoma at halftime, and within six min utes of the restart, they had both made a huge im pact. Doan equalised with a fierce shot from the edge of the area, and only 142 sec

onds later, Mitomo retrieved Doan's low cross and found Ao Tanaka to bundle home from close range in dramatic circumstances.

The goal was initial ly ruled out by the assis tant referee, who signalled Doan's cross had gone out of play, but the Video Assistant Referee ruled Mitomo had reached it in time. To the naked eye it appeared over the line, but the decision was made that the curva ture of the ball was hanging over the chalk, to the delight of Japan's players.

Things got even worse for Spain when Costa Rica took a surprise lead over Germany moments later, be cause at that stage they were heading out. The big screens at Khalifa International Stadium showed the up dated group table, to the disbelief of the Spain sup porters and pretty much ev eryone else here too. Luis Enrique's side were in big trouble, and were showing few signs of knowing how to rescue themselves, with only Germany's late ral ly sending La Roja through as group runners-up on goal difference. (BBC Sport)

front through Serge Gnabry's 10th-minute header, only for Costa Rica to turn the match on its head to raise

This is the second consecutive World Cup in which Germany have exited at the group stage, after they finished bottom of their group in Russia in 2018

Japan erupted in celebration after the final whistle

Romelu Lukaku had several chances to score in the second half

Youssef En-Nesyri smashed in his 16th goal for Morocco

-but both advance on dramatic night in Qatar 2022

-beat Canada to advance as group leaders

60th National Schools’ Championships…

100M records fall as athletes impress

Up-and-coming youth athletes Keliza Smith, Angus Lynch and Ezekiel Newton have each achieved feats that many school-age ath letes have only been able to dream of constantly.

During the staging of the 60th National Schools’ Cycling, Swimming, and Track and Field Championships at the track and field facility at Leonora, West Coast Demerara, the trio shattered the previous records set in their respec tive 100M sprint categories, the finals of which were con tested on Wednesday night. Coincidentally, the records rewritten by these three super-athletes were all set back in 2017.

The first extraordinary event occurred in the Boys’ Under-18 100M final, when budding sprint sensation Ezekiel Newton (District 4: East Coast Demerara), who has been showcasing his prowess this year at the club level, cruised home in 10.62s to shatter the record set by Daniel Williams. In 2017, Williams, of District 10 (Upper Demerara/ Kwakwani), had clocked 10.65s in this event.

“Words can’t explain how I feel right now. I’ve been training long for it. After being beaten for all those years, I come back and re deem myself,” Newton shared following his explo sive race.

About his preparation,

BCB secures sponsorship from Moore & Son Business Est for historic U-11 cricket tournament

the youth said, “A lot of preparation! Early morning waking up, training late in the night. A lot of prepara tion! Feels nice to know that you’ve been working for it and you actually got it,” the District 4 athlete added.

The second extraordinary event occurred in the Boys’ Under-20 100M event, when

District 5 (West Berbice) athlete Angus Lynch ran the race of his life to cross the line in 10.89s and de molish Titus Webster’s re cord. In 2017, Webster, also of District 5, had set the re cord at 10.94s.

Lynch, who could bare ly comprehend his achieve ment, related, “It feels great,

honestly! Real, real, nice!”

He added, “To be honest, yes, but I know the competi tion stiff, so anything could have happened. Gladly, I crossed the line first, and bring home the gold.”

And the third extraordi nary event occurred in the Girls’ Under-20 100M event, when Keliza Smith crossed

BCB congratulates three Berbicians in West Indies Women's team

Berbicians, the other two Guyanese in the squad are Kaysia Schultz and CherryAnn Fraser.

West Indies and England will contest three day/night CG United ODIs, starting at 2pm local time/1pm Jamaica time.

The Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) continues to break new ground as it forges ahead with its youth development programme across the county, and has now obtained sponsorship for a historic under-11 crick et tournament from Moore & Son Business Establishment.

The BCB usually hosts tournaments at the U13, U15, U17, U19 and U21 levels, but this new tournament would widen the age bracket for the county’s comprehensive devel opmental programme. BCB President Hilbert Foster has said this U11 tournament would serve as a feeder for the U13 tournament, and would assist the coaching staff to identify players at a younger age for further coaching to cor rect technical problems.

Noting that a tree can be straightened only at a young age, he has expressed confi dence that the U11 tourna ment would improve the com petence level of the youths in Berbice. The BCB President is urging clubs across the coun ty to go into primary schools and urge students to join their membership.

The BCB is targeting a minimum of twelve teams for this tournament, which would be played using the taped flan nel ball. The cutoff date for the tournament is January 1, 2012 and players would be ex pected to have an eighty per cent attendance rate in prima ry school.

One of the plans of the

BCB is to use coaches as um pires in some matches, to al low them to watch the youths close up. The BCB currently has nineteen coaches/trainers attached to its outreach pro gramme, with the assistance of Local Government Minister Nigel Dharamlall.

Clubs are also encouraged to play at least one female in an effort to unearth new fe male talents.

Mr Rickey Moore of Moore & Son, who plays for D’ Edward Cricket Club at the second division level, has said he is delighted to be part of history, and is very hap py with the massive develop ment taking place in cricket in the ancient county. He has pledged his continued support for the BCB, and has com mitted himself and business to not only renewing his U11 sponsorship, but also to spon sor a second division tourna ment for teams in the West Berbice sub-association.

Chairman of the BCB Competition Committee, Leslie Soloman, has said his committee would strive to organise the tournament in a professional manner, and he is urging clubs to regis ter by December 15. He also said that 2023 would see a lot of cricket being played, with special emphasis being at the inter-club, inter-secondary and inter-primary schools’ levels. This would be in ad dition to a massive coaching programme at both schools’ levels.

Berbice is the domi nant force for female cricket in Guyana, and the ancient county con tinues to produce. Three of the finest from Berbice: Shemaine Campbelle, Sheneta Grimmond and Shabika Gajnabi, have been selected to the 14-member West Indies Women's squad that would contest the first and second CG United One Day International matches against England. The match es would commence from December 4 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.

In a social media post, the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) extended congratulations to the three Berbicians who have been selected to face England. "The BCB would like to congratulate Shemaine Campbelle, Shabika Gajnabi and Sheneta Grimmond on their selection to the West Indies Senior Female team for the upcoming ODI series in the Caribbean.

“We are very proud of you, and wish you the best in the tournament. We are confi dent that you would make us proud and keep the rich lega cy of Berbice Cricket alive. It must also be noted that two of our under-19 players are in India, with one of them been the captain of the West Indies U-19 female team".

In addition to the three

All three CG United ODIs in the series will be played at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium (SVRS) in Antigua, and playing days are 4, 6 and 9 December, as part of the ICC Women’s Championship.

All matches will be avail able for live viewing on the West Indies live YouTube channel, as well as on the ESPN Play app. Fans in the UK would be able to view on BT Sport, and fans based in the USA would be able to watch live on ESPN+.

FULL SQUAD (1st and 2nd CG United ODIs): Hayley Matthews (Captain), Shakera Selman (Vice Captain), Aaliyah Alleyne, Shemaine Campbelle, Afy Fletcher, Cherry Ann Fraser, Shabika Gajnabi, Sheneta Grimmond, Chinelle Henry, Kycia Knight, Chedean Nation, Karishma Ramharack, Kaysia Schultz, Rashada Williams.

FULL MATCH SCHEDULE CG United ODI Series

Sunday, 4 December: 1st CG United ODI at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua – 2pm Eastern Caribbean/1pm Jamaica

Tuesday, 6 December: 2nd CG United ODI at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua – 2pm Eastern Caribbean/1pm Jamaica Friday, 9 December: 3rd CG United ODI at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium,

the finish line in Guyanese parlance “miles ahead of the other competitors”. Smith, who narrowly missed out on a CARIFTA medal earlier this year, was unfazed, and confident she would rewrite Toyan Raymond’s record.

Raymond had clocked 12.21s in her record-break ing achievement in 2017, but Smith has significantly lowered the U20 Girls’ re cord to 12.03s.

“Well, I’m happy! I know I would’ve done that!” a very confident Keliza Smith stated afterwards. She add ed, “I know I didn’t have any competition, but I just came out and maintain, and keep going.”

The 60th National Schools’ Championships will today see the final day of track and field activities being held at the Leonora facility.

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Antigua – 2pm Eastern Caribbean/1pm Jamaica

T20I Series

Sunday, 11 December: 1st T20I, Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua, 6pm Eastern Caribbean/5pm Jamaica

Wednesday, 14 December: 2nd T20I, Kensington Oval, Barbados, 6pm Eastern Caribbean/5pm Jamaica

Saturday, 17 December: 3rd T20I, Kensington Oval, Barbados, 6pm Eastern Caribbean/5pm Jamaica

Sunday, 18 December: 4th T20I, Kensington Oval, Barbados, 6pm Eastern Caribbean/5pm Jamaica

Thursday, 22 December: 5th T20I, Kensington Oval, Barbados, 6pm Eastern Caribbean/5pm Jamaica.

Mr Rickey Moore handing over sponsorship to BCB Secretary Angela Haniff in the presence of executives Egbert Edwards and Leslie Soloman

Keliza Smith was proverbially miles ahead of the competition when she shattered the Girls’ U20 100M record

Shabika Gajnabi

Sheneta Grimmond

Shemaine Campbelle

Chanderpaul's debut knock lifts West Indies

-after Labuschagne, Smith flay double hundreds

West Indies debu tant Tagenarine Chanderpaul has weathered a short-ball as sault on a grassy Optus Stadium pitch late on day two, after double centuries from Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith had pow ered Australia into a com manding position in the first Test.

After spending 152.4 overs in the field, Chanderpaul impressively defied Australia's star-stud ded attack alongside skipper Kraigg Brathwaite as the West Indies showed belat ed fight in a bid to claw back into the match.

Tagenarine, son of leg endary batter Shivnarine Chanderpaul, copped an ini tiation into Test cricket as he edged a sharp delivery from quick Mitchell Starc through the slips. He then

was hit on the pads by Starc, only for the not-out decision to be upheld in an umpire's

bowled for 99 just one deliv ery after Smith had brought up his fourth Test double

ly waving his bat. Two balls later, out of nowhere, he was dismissed just short of his highest Test score of 215, when he edged the spin of Brathwaite to wicketkeeper Josh Da Silva.

tration. He also re inforced his pen chant for his new refined technique, where he has eradicated shuffling across the crease.

call.

Chanderpaul was all at sea against quick Josh Hazlewood's accuracy, before a fluent drive through long on gave him a much-need ed confidence boost. He was back in the wars after be ing hit in a delicate spot, which required medical at tention, before copping blows to the body from fierce short balls from Cummins and Hazlewood.

Displaying doggedness and technical charac teristics similar to his father’s, Chanderpaul sol diered on gamely, and start ed to look increasingly com fortable on a pitch playing few tricks. He unleashed sev eral cavalier shots to count er the short ball, but made it through his first Test in this

The gritty opening part nership has provided a much-needed spark for West Indies, after a forgettable performance in the field.

Australia declared 15 minutes into the final ses sion, when Travis Head was

century. Head's dismissal brought a close to Australia's massive first innings, where in they had three straight century-plus partnerships to vindicate Cummins's deci sion to bat first on a greentinged Optus Stadium sur

Riding a dose of luck, Labuschagne continued his strong form at Optus Stadium, where, three years ago, he had scored 143 and 50 against New Zealand in the last Test played at the ground. Just before lunch, Smith equalled Sir Donald Bradman’s record with his 29th Test century. He reached the milestone with a single to long on, which strangely was not brought in to restrict the run.

In the process, Smith also passed 4000 Test runs at home. Only Bradman (98.22) and Sir Garfield Sobers

Eyeing a declaration, Australia accelerated in the second session, with Head scoring at better than a-run- a-ball in a 166-run partnership with Smith to flatten a lifeless West Indies attack.

After aggressive cap taincy early on day one, Brathwaite's 30th birthday was soured by his seeking a defensive approach, and he might face further criticism for his use of the bowlers.

Quicks Alzarri Joseph and Jayden Seales were surprisingly not used in the first hour, despite West Indies needing early wick ets to claw back into the contest. Brathwaite finally had some cheer later in the day in a rearguard along with his new opening part

Tagenarine Chanderpaul hooking for a six

ner Chanderpaul, in be lated signs of life from the tourists. (ESPN Cricinfo)

Alzarri Joseph 24-4-83-0

Kyle Mayers 15-2-39-1

Jason Holder 23-6-70-0

Roston Chase 31-2-140-0

Kraigg Brathwaite 12.4-0-65-2

face that hasn't produced fireworks so far.

Australia's massive in nings was dominated by Smith and Labuschagne, who combined for a 251-run partnership, and batted al most through the entire first session.

Labuschagne reached his second Test double cen tury just before lunch, and celebrated by taking off his helmet and enthusiastical

(66.8) have better home av erages than Smith's 64.53.

He also continued his dominance over West Indies, against whom he current ly averages 232.33 from six Tests.

Even though the match meandered amid a smatter ing of fans, who started to create their own excitement by mocking West Indies' sloppy fielding, Smith was unwavering in his concen

Labuschagne, 118.1 ov), 4-598 (Travis Head, 152.4 ov)

BOWLING O-M-R-W

Kemar Roach 26-3-91-0

Jayden Seales 21-3-95-1

West Indies 1st Innings

Kraigg Brathwaite (c) not out 18

Tagenarine Chanderpaul not out 47

Extras (lb 7, nb 2) 9 TOTAL 25 Ov (RR: 2.96) 74

BOWLING O-M-R-W Mitchell Starc 7-2-15-0

Josh Hazlewood 8-1-31-0

Pat Cummins 6-1-15-0 Nathan Lyon 4-1-6-0

Several thrills were witnessed in the min ing town of Linden on Tuesday evening when the Region 10 leg of the One Guyana President’s Cup Inter-Ward Football tour nament continued with the quarterfinal stage being played at two locations. Earlier in the afternoon, Kwakwani found them selves beaten at home at the hands of the Aroaima outfit. Dave Torrington was the first to find the

back of the net in the in tense matchup, shocking both Kwakwani fans and players in the 6th minute.

And his teammate Sherlock Phillips added to the visitors’ tally in the 32nd.

However, following re sumption of the second half, Kwakwani’s Cassius Campbell lowered the defi cit with a goal in the 48th minute. At that stage, Kwakwani looked good for a comeback, but Aroaima’s

Devon Torrington ensured it was not to be when he netted a brace in the 72nd and 87th minutes to push Aroiama’s tally to 4 and seal the 4-1 victory.

Meanwhile, the One Guyana Inter-Ward action was just heating up at the Wisburg Ground, where two enticing contests: West City vs Christianburg and Central Mackenzie vs Silvertown, were being eagerly anticipated by a growing crowd.

When the whistle sounded, Christianburg found themselves in con trol as they opposed West City. West City, however, held a strong defense, re sulting in a nil-all score at the half.

Nicholas Gentle turned out to be instrumental in the game’s result, as he struck back-to-back goals for Christianburg in the 60th and 72nd minutes. No reply was forthcoming from West City, who were

taught a 2-0 lesson.

The other fixture in the Region 10 leg of the One Guyana Inter–Ward tour nament saw Silvertown and Central Mackenzie fighting tooth and nail, and eventually the winner had to be decided from the penalty mark.

The first half was un eventful, with the excep tion of a few near misses on account of both teams. In the second, however, Silvertown managed to break the ice, compliments of a Shane Hanes goal in the 55th minute. The score remained stuck at 1-0 for much of the game, but just when Silvertown thought they had se cured a semifinal berth, Central Mackenzie found their much-needed equal izer through the efforts of marksman Rayon Noel.

With the scores remain ing locked at 1-1, the game boiled down to penalties, wherein Central Mackenzie

prevailed 4-1 on kicks from the penalty mark.

The inaugural One Guyana President’s Cup Inter-Ward tournament is affording community teams the opportunity to display their talents in or der to emerge as the best

in the region. Following the regional stage, the best players from each re gion would form a team to represent their region at the National playoffs for a chance to clinch a $2M grand prize on January 1, 2023.

Aroaima’s goal-scorers after their 4-1 victory

Marnus made a majestic 204

Pat Cummins’s appeal was unsuccessful

Steve Smith