Guyana Times - Friday July 9, 2021

EPA, ExxonMobil begin consultation on gas-toenergy impact assessment

P17 Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

Issue No. 4703

THE BEACON OF TRUTH FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2021

South America must strive for closer ties, selfsustainability as economic bloc – Ali tells MERCOSUR …says infrastructural links with Brazil, Suriname crucial to regional integration See story on page 7

Torching of Linden GECOM office

Cousins confess to being paid $150,000 to set fire over non-swearing in of Granger Page 2

PRICE

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

Nephew beats P uncle to death 10 during argument over plantains US$1.8M Global Fund support to enhance Guyana’s ICU P14 capacity PM discusses security, P12 ICT, mining, hydropower with French Ambassador

…Linden PNC official named as intellectual author

US 245th Independence anniversary

Guyana looks forward to tackling COVID-19, climate change with US – President Page 3

Police destroy over $9M in P11 ganja at Golden Grove seawall

8 years later

US Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch along with embassy officials share a photo with President Dr Irfaan Ali; First Lady Arya Ali; Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo; Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips and Foreign Affairs Minister Hugh Todd during Wednesday’s intimate reception to commemorate the US' 245th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence

Haiti President’s assassination

Police kill 3; 26 Colombians, 2 Americans behind killing − Haiti Police

…PM asks Haitians for help, unity

Small amount of Moderna vaccine available, limited timeframe Page 9

Pages 16 &18

…as 2 more succumb to COVID-19, 112 new cases

Duo for trial P8 over boat crash that left 10 dead Decomposed body of tailor found in Berbice backlands P15

2 NEWS

FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Fire at GECOM Linden office

Cousins confess to being paid $150,000 to set fire over non-swearing in of Granger …Linden PNC official named as intellectual author

M

embers of the Major Crimes Unit have arrested two young men, who have since confessed that they were paid $150,000 to torch the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Linden office over the non-swearing of the then presidential candidate of the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change, David Granger as President of Guyana.

The two men – Teon February, called “Nut”, a 23-year-old of Canvas City, Wismar, Linden and 21-year-old Marlon Hunter, called “Bushy” of Silver Town, Wismar were arrested on Monday last for questioning in relation to setting fire to the building located at Burnham Drive, Wismar, which occurred on July 14, 2020.

Upon their arrest, “Nut” was interrogated on Wednesday and admitted being involved in the heinous crime.

In a statement to the Police, he claimed that he was contacted on the night of July 13, 2021 by Bryon Kendall, called “Murgie”, who told him that he wanted him to burn down the GECOM building. As such,

he contacted his cousin, “Bushy” and informed him of the job.

In his confessed, he told detectives that he and his cousin were picked up at about 22:00h in a silver Note motorcar, which took them to Burnham Drive where the

The mastermind reportedly gave them a yellow five-gallon bottle of gas which he had in the trunk of his car. He then left the scene. The young man further related they hid the gas in a clump of bushes a short distance from the GECOM

The GECOM building burning on July 14, 2020

mastermind showed them the building. At that time, “Murgie” informed them that he wanted the building burnt the same night and offered them $150,000 as reward.

building and went home.

However, at about midnight on July 14, 2020, the two cousins returned to the location, collected the bottle of gas, entered the compound from a side gate and gained

access to the building from the back door.

The suspect further confessed that they went into a store room in the upper flat of the building where he poured the gas and set the room on fire which led to an explosion resulting in them getting burns to their feet.

The burn marks are still visible when they were arrested on Monday, a Police source confirmed.

Nevertheless, the two men escaped, went home where they met three female cousins and related what had transpired. One of the young women reportedly attended to their burns. The suspect told Police that on the same evening, the mastermind went to their home and handed over 75,000 which he gave to his cousin and the following day, he was given the other $75,000.

He claimed that after the incident they saw “Murgie” several times, but they had no discussion on the incident. Later, the mastermind reportedly told him that he wanted the building burnt because GECOM was taking too long to swear in Granger as President.

Police have since confirmed that following the

The two suspects, Teon February, called “Nut”, and Marlon Hunter, called “Bushy”, who confessed to setting the GECOM building on fire

confession by “Nut”, they interrogated “Bushy” during which he supported the narrative told by his cousin.

Upon receipt of the information, the Police arrested the mastermind on Thursday. The Police are also pursuing a People’s National Congress (PNC) official in Linden, who is said to be the intellectual author behind the burning of the GECOM building.

It was reported that moments after the building was set on fire, one of the security guards, who was on duty at the time, said that she heard a loud bang at about 01:55h.

This, she noted, prompted her to check around the

building. She said that it was then that she again heard another loud explosion. The woman recalled that she then observed fire emanating from within the building along with the smell of gasoline.

The guard had told investigators that two males were observed running from the western side of the building. She added that the men ran through the nearby First Alley Street, Wismar, where they made good their escape.

The building, which was owned by Lindener Fitzgerald London, was being rented by GECOM for the past four years at the time of the inferno. (G10)

NEWS

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FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS OPENINGS BRIDGE

US 245th Independence anniversary

Friday, July 9 – 03:30h-05:00h and Saturday, July 10 – 04:00h-05:30h.

Guyana looks forward to tackling COVID-19, climate change with US – President Ali

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

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Friday, July 9 – 16:3h-18:05h and Saturday, July 10 – 17:10h-18:40h.

FERRY SCHEDULE Parika and Supenaam departure times - 05:00h, 11:00h and 16:00h daily

WEATHER TODAY There will be thundery showers during the day.

Expect partly cloudy skies at night. Temperatures should range between 21 degrees Celsius and 29 degrees Celsius.

Winds: South-Easterly to Northerly between 1.78 metres and 3.57 metres.

High Tide: 16:20h reaching a maximum height of 2.4 metres.

Low Tide: 09:52h and 22:04h reaching minimum heights of 0.69 metre and 0.82 metre.

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resident Dr Irfaan Ali has lauded the relationship between Guyana and the United States of America as strong and valuable, while pointing to the need for greater partnership between the two nations moving forward, especially to tackle shared issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change.

He made this remark during the celebration of the 245th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in the United States hosted at the residence of US Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch, on Wednesday evening.

“Guyana and the United States share a strong, healthy, respectful and valuable relationship… our two States have enjoyed excellent relations since the establishment of formal diplomatic ties 55 years ago. We have collaborated on issues of mutual interests. The recent hosting of Exercise Tradewinds 2021… was a further demonstration of shared commitment to partnership in the face of shared challenges and in pursuit of common goals,” President Ali said during brief remarks at the reception.

On this note, the Head of State posited that Guyana looks forward to further strengthen relations with the US in combatting shared challenges such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the existential crisis of climate change.

“The United States, like the rest of the world, is faced with the challenge of combatting global threats such as the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic and climate change. Guyana looks forward to working closely with the Government of the United States to build a more resilient and sustainable post-COVID-19 future, and to combatting and mitigating adverse effects of climate change,” the Guyanese Leader noted.

He went on to applaud President Joseph Biden’s bold climate change plans which saw the US re-joining the Paris Agreement on climate change as well as committing to reduce greenhouse emissions by 50 per cent by 2030, accelerate the transition of renewable energy sources to secure a carbon-free energy system by 2030, increase green infrastructure spending and develop energy efficient technologies.

Moreover, the Head of State went on to mention the contribution made by the Guyanese diaspora in developing cities in the US including New York, adding that the North American nation is home to the largest group of Guyanese living abroad.

“The recent co-naming of the corner of Liberty Avenue and Lefferts Boulevard in Queens, NY, to ‘Little Guyana’ is both recognition and the acknowledgement of the contribution which Guyanese have made to the development

of the state of New York.

Guyanese also distinguished themselves and contributed to the development of other parts of the United States,” the President said.

He also acknowledged the role that the US played in safeguarding Guyana’s democracy during the 2020 National Election, adding that he looks forward to the country’s continued support in this area as well as in safeguarding Guyana’s territorial integrity.

Similar sentiments were expressed by Ambassador Lynch, who noted that both Guyana and America democracies have struggled over the past year. But in the same breath, she posited that both countries also persevered.

“We relearned that democracy and freedom are fragile and that we cannot take them for granted,” the US envoy asserted.

Ambassador Lynch further outlined the progress Guyana and the US have made over the past 10 months as part of their joint goals of promoting transparent and accountable governance, increasing prosperity for all Guyanese, and improving national and regional security.

“Working together on these goals has strengthened our bilateral relations, positioning Guyana to be a hemispheric leader in a lot of different sectors,” she stated.

In the area of democracy, the US diplomat spoke of the 18-month project being done by the International

President Irfaan Ali and US Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch

Republican Institute (IRI) in collaboration with Guyana’s Attorney General Chamber, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and civil society to lay the foundation for much-need electoral reform.

On the commercial front, she recalled the virtual engagement held earlier this year that saw Guyanese leadership interacting with US companies to discuss the many opportunities for international investments.

Further, relations in the security sector were deepened between the two countries at the recently held Operation Tradewinds 2021 – a military exercise that saw over 1000 troops from around the world training and networking in Guyana.

“Looking forward, I must also mention our common goal to fight climate change – a serious threat to sustainable development and one of President Biden’s key priorities. The Guyanese leadership here has been clear that Guyana will not lose sight of the importance of climate change action. And the US stands ready to assist you as you finalise your Low Carbon Development Strategy,” Ambassador Lynch stated.

Meanwhile, also present at Wednesday’s reception were First Lady Arya Ali, Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Hugh Todd along with other officials.

4

guyanatimesgy.com

FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2021

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

Reforming characters, redeeming lives

I

n today’s society even children are committing some of the most heinous crimes imaginable, inclusive of physical attacks, oftentimes leading to murder.

There is absolutely no excuse for the commission of criminal activities; but there is great scope for redemption and rehabilitation of prisoners.

Most young people, who have been inculcated with a moral compass and consequently adhere to discipline will adjust accordingly, but there are some youths who have no guiding force or role model pointing them in the right direction. This group finds it preferable to pick up a weapon and try to extract quick riches from the unwary, even if they have to kill to obtain the spoils of their forays into criminality.

They subsequently, most often, become hardened criminals who have no compunction for their actions and often display no compassion for their victims, indiscriminately depriving them of their property, money, and lives without thinking of the devastation they wreak on the families, especially vulnerable dependents, such as elderly parents and children.

Having perfected the art of escape after the execution of their crimes, oftentimes when they are caught after a long career of theft and murder, they are treated as ‘first-time offenders’, figuratively rapped on the knuckles by the bleeding hearts of some judicial officials and with minimum punishment.

Incarceration, especially with hard labour, is meant to act as a deterrent to engagement in criminal activities in civil societies, and this should ideally work concurrently with rehabilitation to reintegrate prisoners into families, communities, and the society at large. It is the general consensus that prisoners should be treated humanely.

They were caught committing their crimes, while many criminals have been getting away without discovery.

During his tenure, retired Director of Prisons, Dale Erskine, created synergies to make the prison system more aligned to rehabilitation rather than punishment.

He incorporated new programmes in the prison system to create a dynamic whereby prison was no longer somewhere merely to lock away people found guilty of aberrant behaviour, but where the inmates could be guided, directed, and encouraged to change their thinking and attitude into more positive, achievementoriented directions. That change was a work in progress throughout Erskine’s tenure as initially Officer-in-Charge of the Georgetown Prison, and then Director of Prisons.

The changes wrought by the forward, humanistic thinking of Dale Erskine were multi-faceted and transformational.

One of the programmes he set in motion was the identification and employment of a skilled bank of prisoners who were at least risk of escaping or engaging in additional criminal activities.

The prisoners were thus enabled to earn an income, part of which provided for his/her own needs; the needs of relatives, including young children left defenceless as their mothers struggle to take care of their prerequisites for survival. Some saved for their own upkeep upon their release, because the world knows that for a person with a prison record finding employment is a difficult feat.

However, there are those who are considered beyond human redemption, because they have become so hardened in their hearts that opportunities for atonement and salvation are wasted on them. In these cases, protective services have to be vigilant that these persons are completely assured of their restored sense of right and wrong, and their intention to continue to adhere to the laws of the land.

Praying with the President Six-year-old Randy Shepherd praying with President Dr Irfaan Ali at State House on Friday where he was given a tour. When Shepherd was five years old he had lunch with Ali, who was then the presidential candidate of the PPP, and told him that he was sure he would have won the presidency (Office of the President photo)

Why declining birth rates are good news for life on Earth

By Laura Spinney

F

ertility rates are falling across the globe – even in places, such as sub-Saharan Africa, where they remain high. This is good for women, families, societies and the environment. So why do we keep hearing that the world needs babies, with angst in the media about maternity wards closing in Italy and ghost cities in China?

The short-range answer is that, even though this slowdown was predicted as part of the now 250-year-old demographic transition – whose signature is the tumbling of both fertility and mortality rates – occasional happenings, such as the publication of US census data or China’s decision to relax its one-child policy, force it back into our consciousness, arousing fears about family lines rubbed out and diminishing superpowers being uninvited from the top table.

The longer-range answer is that our notion of a healthy, vibrant society is still rooted in the past. The inevitable byproduct of the demographic transition is that populations age, in a chronological sense, but life expectancy, and particularly healthy life expectancy, have increased dramatically over the last half-century, and the societal definition of “old” has not kept up (though artistic experiments such as casting 82-year-old Sir Ian McKellen as Hamlet might help to challenge age-related stereotypes).

In the 19th century, a country needed youth to operate its factories, consume what they churned out and constitute a fighting force in

times of war. That became less true over the 20th century, and in the 21st it bears very little relation to reality. More and more of the jobs that require stamina and strength – including fighting – are done by machines, while a nation’s products are consumed globally.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) might influence a nation’s geopolitical standing and a large GDP fills Government coffers, but there’s no evidence that young workers are any more productive than older ones today. Twenty-somethings and 50-somethings have different kinds of intelligence, says gerontologist Sarah Harper of the University of Oxford, but both play a part in entrepreneurship. And if you care about human wellbeing you should pay more attention to GDP per person than per country.

Demographer Ron Lee of the University of California, Berkeley, and others have shown that GDP per person, and hence living standards, are highest when fertility falls just below replacement level (around 2.1 births per woman) – to 1.6 or even less.

When fertility is either much higher or much lower than that, quality of life falls off again. Lee would be worried if he was South Korea at 0.8 births per woman, or China at an estimated 1.3, he says, but England and Wales (1.6), the European Union (1.5) and the US (1.6) are all hovering around that sweet spot.

That doesn’t mean we don’t have to adapt to the new reality. We do, in part because the way many countries distribute resources is also rooted in the 19th centu-

ry and is unsustainable. More people need to work longer, for example. Although creativity doesn’t fall off with age, skills change, and we need to replenish those that are lost from the workforce.

And when elderly people do finally stop being productive, we need to find new ways and new workers to care for them.

Immigration – which tends to bring in young adults – is a critical component of that adaptation, smoothing the demographic transition for richer countries while redistributing capital to poorer ones where fertility rates remain relatively high. The evidence is overwhelming that, in general, immigration is good for societies – economically, but also socially.

Closing doors to it is, in this sense, self-destructive.

So there’s work to do, but in a world in the grip of a climate crisis, to which we’ve added seven of the nearly eight billion humans in just a couple of centuries – and to which we will almost certainly add another three billion before our numbers start falling again – it’s absurd to say that what’s lacking is babies.

In fact, trying to force people to have either more or fewer babies turns out to be rather pointless. Despite China’s decades-long onechild policy, its fertility decline hasn’t been dramatically steeper than elsewhere in East Asia. France’s valiant efforts to encourage large families with financial incentives haven’t made much difference either, compared with the rest of Europe. As child mortality drops, and women’s health and education improve, fertility falls. Parents choose to invest more time,

money and love in fewer children. You can sway their decisions slightly by making life harder or easier for families – through childcare provision, say, or parental leave allowances – but the demographic transition is unstoppable.

The climate crisis is an interesting case, because saving the planet is often the reason people give for deciding to have fewer or no children – rather than, say, improving living standards for their fellow humans more directly – but it’s not clear what impact such decisions will have on the climate. We know the climate crisis and human population growth are linked, but not exactly how. Six births per woman is demonstrably bad for the environment, but for anything up to two the evidence is far more ambiguous.

Rather than deny yourself children if you want them, Harper says, better to have one or two and raise them as environmentally conscious consumers. Policies limiting carbon emissions and plastic waste would be far more effective and timely tools for undoing or at least mitigating the damage we’ve done to the planet.

COVID-19 HAS temporarily exacerbated the longer-term decline in fertility rates. This, too, was predictable. Familiarity breeds contempt and children, quipped Mark Twain, but only the first part holds in a pandemic. As more data comes in on this, expect more headlines about once-great nations abstaining themselves into oblivion. Don’t believe them.

We do need solutions, but they don’t have to look like babies. (The Guardian)

NEWS

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FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

GAWU calls on Labour Ministry to address DTL workers’ concerns

W

orkers attached to the Demerara Timbers Limited (DTL) have raised concerns over the working conditions which they are currently subjected to, calling for intervention from the Labour Ministry.

In a statement, the issue was highlighted by the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), noting that the current situation has not been addressed by the company despite representation to bargain on behalf of workers.

“The workers continued to highlight that the situation has hardly improved. Over the last few years, the DTL has adopted an arm’s length approach to the GAWU and the efforts of both the Union and the Ministry to correct that situation have so far been unsuccessful. Our Union has called on the Ministry to take sterner actions in keeping with the Laws of Guyana. We have told the Ministry that it is obligated to ensuring that workers’ rights are

Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton during a recent inspection in Region Seven

protected more so considering that the foreign-owned DTL benefits from our nation’s patrimony,” the Union shared.

The Labour Ministry has been urged to visit the company’s Mabura Hill location and examine

some of the concerns facing workers. A correspondence has already been sent to the Ministry with this information.

“We applaud the efforts of the Ministry in protecting the rights of all workers. This is our objective

as well and we believe our collaborative efforts could meaningfully address the situation plaguing the DTL workers.”

Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton has reached out to several companies and sites within recent time, addressing workers’ plights. At a mining site at St Mary, Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni), some employees recently sought to voice their grievances and highlighted some of the inhumane working conditions they are being forced to work under.

Among the complaints made were that they work 12-hour shifts daily, seven days a week with no days off, and they are limited to four days “vacation leave”.

Workers also complained about the lack of proper safety equipment to carry out their necessary functions and it was also found that the Guyanese employees have different contractual arrangements than foreign workers.

It was shared that while Guyanese workers receive no days off, the

contract with foreign workers allows them to have days off and vacation leave.

As Minister Hamilton engaged the employees, he firmly stated that the working conditions are unacceptable for any worker, adding that the company seems to be exercising its own labour laws. He noted that there is a zero-tolerance policy for the rights of Guyanese workers being violated by local and foreign companies.

On Wednesday, Hamilton ventured out with senior Labour Officers for a routine inspection at the BK Quarry in Region Seven.

It was observed that the company had in place, sufficient occupational safety and health protocols.

However, following the meeting, the Minister indicated to the on-site management that he will be instructing the Acting Chief Labour Officer, Michelle Baburam, to write to the company’s management in Georgetown, inviting them for an urgent meeting as soon as next week.

6

FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2021

Page

Foundation ◄

Question 1

Thursday’s answers

Let the bird of loudest lay On the sole Arabian tree Herald sad and trumpet be, To whose sound chaste wings obey.

But thou shrieking harbinger, Foul precurrer of the fiend, Augur of the fever's end, To this troop come thou not near.

From this session interdict Every fowl of tyrant wing, Save the eagle, feather'd king; Keep the obsequy so strict.

Let the priest in surplice white, That defunctive music can, Be the death-divining swan, Lest the requiem lack his right.

And thou treble-dated crow, That thy sable gender mak'st With the breath thou giv'st and tak'st, 'Mongst our mourners shalt thou go.

By William Shakespeare Here the anthem doth commence: Love and constancy is dead; Phoenix and the Turtle fled In a mutual flame from hence.

So they lov'd, as love in twain Had the essence but in one; Two distincts, division none: Number there in love was slain.

Hearts remote, yet not asunder; Distance and no space was seen 'Twixt this Turtle and his queen: But in them it were a wonder.

So between them love did shine That the Turtle saw his right Flaming in the Phoenix' sight: Either was the other's mine.

Property was thus appalled That the self was not the same; Single nature's double name Neither two nor one was called.

Reason, in itself confounded, Saw division grow together, To themselves yet either neither, Simple were so well compounded;

That it cried, "How true a twain Seemeth this concordant one!

Love has reason, reason none, If what parts can so remain."

Whereupon it made this threne To the Phoenix and the Dove, Co-supremes and stars of love, As chorus to their tragic scene: threnos Beauty, truth, and rarity, Grace in all simplicity, Here enclos'd, in cinders lie.

Death is now the Phoenix' nest, And the Turtle's loyal breast To eternity doth rest, Leaving no posterity: 'Twas not their infirmity, It was married chastity.

Truth may seem but cannot be; Beauty brag but 'tis not she; Truth and beauty buried be.

To this urn let those repair That are either true or fair; For these dead birds sigh a prayer.

M

any birds, including chickadees, crows and jays, will hide food to retrieve and eat at a later time. This behavior is called caching and helps birds survive when the weather or food sources are l o w .

Some birds‘ brains — actually the hippocampus, the spatial memory part of the brain — grow larger in the fall to help them remember where they’ve stored food.

Birds who cache can store hundreds of seeds a day!

T h e y p l a c e seeds in different locations and can remember where each cache is, even a month later. Smart birds! Kids can try their hand at caching and test their own spatial memory.

Test your own spatial memory, by remembering where you have stored several seeds earlier. (Adapted from startwithabook.org)

WORD SEARCH

NEWS

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FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

South America must strive for closer ties, selfsustainability as economic bloc – Ali tells MERCOSUR …says infrastructural links with Brazil, Suriname crucial to regional integration

T

he South American trade bloc MERCOSUR was told on Thursday that it should strive to establish regional economic integration that will see Member States not only strengthening ties but becoming self-sustainable.

This charge was made

by President Dr Irfaan Ali during his address to the Summit of Heads of State of MERCOSUR (officially translated to mean Southern Common Market) via a virtual meeting that saw the participation of Heads of State and Representatives from founding members Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, and from associated states Guyana, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Suriname.

According to the Guyanese President, while the group has already displayed the effectiveness of regional integration, there is need now for the establishment of a self-sustainable economic bloc.

“MERCOSUR has demonstrated the efficacy of regional integration which has now become imperative as the rest of the world becomes more connected through technology and shared interests. We in South America must also strive for closer ties and to build an economic bloc that is dynamic and self-sustaining,” he stated.

On this note, President Ali pointed to the key role that infrastructure plays in

President Dr Irfaan Ali

this integration process. In fact, he referred to cooperation on infrastructural projects between Guyana and its immediate neighbours.

“Guyana is engaged with our closest neighbours, Brazil and Suriname, in infrastructural projects that will enhance physical connectivity and boost trade and investment opportunities between our countries,” the Head of State said.

These projects include the Guyana-to-Brazil road link on which construction is set to start early next year from Mabura Hill to Linden. According to the Guyanese President, this road link will be pivotal in unlocking the potential of the north-eastern arc of South America and connecting the continent with the Caribbean.

He also mentioned ongoing discussions for the installa-

tion of a fibreoptic link between Georgetown and Boa Vista that will seek to provide a more enhanced and reliable regional broadband and Internet connectivity.

Further, President Ali outlined that the agreement to connect Guyana and Suriname via the Corentyne River through a bridge will open up new opportunities for trade and investments, access to new markets and the facilitation of free movement of people, goods and services.

In addition to infrastructure and technology integration, he also spoke of the prospect of an energy corridor linking the three neighbouring countries.

Meanwhile, the Head of State told regional leaders that since Guyana became an associate member of MERCOSUR in 2013, the country has had the privi-

lege of strengthening its engagement with the group as well as its continental counterparts.

“We have benefited from the wealth of knowledge and experiences exchanged with our regional neighbours,” he stated.

To this end, President Ali reaffirmed the commitment of Guyana – the region’s only English-speaking nation – to MERCOSUR in pursuit of strengthening political, social and economic ties with its continental neighbours. He posited that the aim is to ensure that there is a more peaceful, prosperous and sustainable future for all citizens of South America.

According to the Guyanese Leader, Guyana strongly shares the values that define the MERCOSUR project, including democracy, the rule of law, and the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. He also pointed to respect for international law, for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of States and the peaceful settlement of disputes.

“These are all fundamental to ensuring that our region remains a zone of peace and development where the aspirations of our peoples can be realised in full freedom,” he told members of the South American trade bloc.

The Head of State, in addition, underscored the need for the fortification

of national health systems and the strengthening of international cooperation and multilateral action on health. He said that this deficit was revealed through the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that continues to have a devastating impact in the region.

“We are grateful for the support received from continental partners in this regard. We must all learn from our experiences and strengthen systems to prevent, contain and manage the spread of COVID-19 and any other infections that may arise in the future,” the President stressed.

Moreover, President Ali also highlighted that Guyana is prepared to explore regional cooperation initiatives that will ensure a more resilient and sustainable continent.

“We are, daily, experiencing… effects of climate change, which if not adequately addressed, have the potential to destabilise our recovering econo-

mies and hinder our development agendas. Therefore, Guyana is prepared to explore regional cooperation initiatives that will help mitigate effects of climate change and natural disasters, and build a safe, more resilient and sustainable South America,” he contended.

The Guyanese Head of State further used the opportunity to continue to seek the help of the international community and MERCOSUR in Guyana’s quest to safeguard its territorial integrity.

“We take this opportunity to reiterate our strong adherence to the principles of respect for treaties and international law, the peaceful settlement of disputes, rejecting entirely the threat or use of force, and mutual cooperation for peaceful coexistence among States,” President Ali maintained.

MERCOSUR was established by the Treaty of Asuncion in 1991. (G8)

8 NEWS

FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

8 years later

Duo for trial over boat crash that left 10 dead

Dead: Keanu Amsterdam

Dead: Deon Moses

Dead: Ricky Bobb

n January 22, 2013, a boat accident in the Mazaruni River, Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni) left 10 persons dead. Now, eight years later, the boat captains who were involved in the accident

are on trial for 10 counts of manslaughter before Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall and a jury at the Essequibo High Court.

Devon Thomas, called “Beast” and Cabesh Persaud, called “Dube”, are

accused of unlawfully killing Deon Moses; Ulrick Grimes; Christopher Ramnarine; Zahir Baksh; Brazilian national Francisco Olivera Alves; Kevon Ambrose; Keanu Amsterdam and his brother, Ricky Bobb;

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Jermanie Calisto, and Jewan Seeram. The defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

A jury was empanelled on Wednesday. Their trial will commence next Tuesday; the prosecution is expected to call 20 witnesses.

According to reports, on January 22, 2013, while being the captains of two travelling speedboats, Thomas and Persaud killed 10 passengers on board the vessels.

The accident occurred at Crab Falls in the Mazaruni River.

Based on reports, Thomas, the captain of the vessel called “Matheran”, which was carrying 13 persons, and Persaud, who captained the vessel called “Dube” that was carrying six passengers, were navigating Crab Falls in the Mazaruni River, when the boats crashed. (G1)

Do fuh do na obeah…

Y

…in Parliament our Eyewitness thought it was not only the height of foolishness for the PNC Opposition to bring in the National Assembly motions to censure (NOT “motions of no confidence!) against the Ministers of Home Affairs and Health. What’s their point? With the PNC a minority in Parliament can they get the Ministers voted out? It’s all a gimmick to criticise the two Ministers on their portfolios just to get sound bites for the evening news and social media.

The regular press should have more sense than waste time sending reporters to cover such frivolities!

But some may say there’s nothing wrong with the Opposition criticising the Government. In fact, it’s their duty! But that makes a mockery of the changes made to our Constitution – at the cost of a helluva lot of beatings, looting, burnings against the PPP and their (perceived) supporters. These constitutional changes were instituted to bring “inclusive governance” into our country so the PNC/Opposition wouldn’t just criticise but scrutinise policy in real time.

Remember those FOUR Parliamentary Sectoral Committees formed after 2000? They covered the ENTIRE gamut of governmental activities and were chaired on a rotating basis by the Opposition and the Government. So let’s say – as the PNC has SAID – that the Ministers of Health and Home Affairs have failed at their jobs. Rather than just posturing, skin teething and pampesetting, in the National Assembly – with nothing substantively achieved – the PNC committees could’ve held hearings on specific issues being claimed on such as COVID-19 or crime. They could summon Ministers and other officials and have information produced that could actually lead to policy changes!

But this…as should be obvious…takes work – which unfortunately, the PNC avoids with the same frenzied palpitations like vampires to light!! The PNC MPs would have to do their research and home work on the issues and show up for meetings that could run into weeks. And that’s why they’d rather lay pointless, otiose and fatuous motions in the National Assembly that only cost the taxpayers more than $8 million just for the food that’s served at every sitting!!

What can the PPP do about this waste of time and money by the PNC? Well, it seems they’ve decided to use the reductio ad absurdum (reduction to absurdity) ploy – to show the PNC how ridiculous such motions are. They’re laying a motion for removing the Leader of the Opposition (LOO)!! They know it’s the Opposition MPs who chose their leader – just as it’s the Govt that retains or dismisses its Ministers! So in the local parlance, their move seems to be “If you want to play “schupit” then yuh gon get schupit!!

Or “do fuh do na obeah”!! …in crime?

Well…in this interconnected world, change inside our dear Mudland is increasingly being engendered from outside. We saw the moves by the Govt to finally remove custodial sentencing for possession of small quantities of ganja. Then there’s the relaxation of societal and legal strictures against same-sex relationships and cross-dressing.

The provenance for both is external.

And this week we were introduced by one official from the UN system to a new approach to “law and order” and the criminal justice system. The “expert” advised, “A strictly security-focused approach to crime prevention is costly, ineffective and paves the way for human rights violations.”

Now this is just another formulation of the old argument about fighting the SOURCES of crime rather than the SYMPTOMS of crime.

Has the Human Rights focus worked anywhere? Well, Cuba moved in this direction and their murder rate is 1/4 of ours, 1/6 of TT and 1/9 of Jamaica!!

Can we get that Social Services Committee to examine the mechanics?

…but Haiti?

What exactly have the ordinary folks of Haiti –- who’re the overwhelming majority of its 11 million citizens – done to be subjected to such horrors for over 200 years?

When will the arc of justice bend towards them?

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

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FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Small amount of Moderna vaccine available, limited timeframe …as 2 more succumb to COVID-19, 112 new cases

GUYANA COVID-19 DASHBOARD JULY 8 UPDATE

NUMBER OF NEW CASES

112

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL ISOLATION

90

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN HOME ISOLATION

1373

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN COVID-19 ICU

13

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL QUARANTINE

0

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (FEMALES)

10,616

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (MALES)

10,141

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES IN GUYANA SINCE 2020

20,757

NUMBER OF RECOVERED CASES

18,795

TOTAL 1st DOSE VACCINATED

237,111

FULLY IMMUNISED

116,903

TOTAL NUMBER OF DEATHS

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486

DISTRIBUTION OF TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES SINCE MARCH 2020 REGION 1

1246

REGION 2

572

REGION 3

2359

REGION 4

9500

REGION 5

681

REGION 6

1633

REGION 7

1269

REGION 8

380

REGION 9

1659

REGION 10

1458

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

Keep a physical distance of at least 6 feet.

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

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

wo more persons have succumbed to the novel coronavirus in Guyana – moving the country’s death toll to 486. For July, 10 persons have died from COVID-19.

Among the latest fatalities are two females: a 47-year-old from Region Four and 68-year-old from Region Six. They both died while receiving care at a medical facility.

On Wednesday, a 59-year-old from Region

Three and a 65-year-old from Region Four – both males – were the last reported deaths.

The revised dashboard for Thursday showed a rise of 112 new cases, as total confirmed positives in the country move to 20,757.

There are 13 patients in the Intensive Care Unit, 90 in institutional isolation and 1373 in home isolation. No one is under institutional quarantine.

Some 18,795 individu-

als have since recovered.

The country has swabbed 197,502 persons thus far.

An analysis of new cases shows three in Region One (Barima-Waini), one in Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam), 10 in Region Three (Essequibo IslandsWest Demerara), 76 in Region Four (DemeraraMahaica), three in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), 13 in Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne), two in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni)

and four in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).

Positives in Regions Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) and Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) did not increase.

Moderna vaccine available

Advisor to the Health Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy on Thursday disclosed that a small amount of Moderna vaccine has been made available, and must be used up in a short period. Any person in need of a Moderna vaccine can visit the Health Ministry for their first dose, and return for the second jab in two weeks.

Vaccination numbers show 237,111 persons or 48.7 per cent of the adult population receiving their first doses; of which 116,

903 persons or 24 per cent have already returned for their last shot.

Speaking on the topic of variants on Thursday, Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony shared, “These viruses that we’re dealing with that cause COVID-19 go into the cells in the body and then they use the systems within these cells to replicate itself. But every time virus tries to replicate itself, there’s a potential for there to be an error in that replication process and every time there is an error, it means that you’re potentially getting a virus that are emerging with mutations.

Most of these mutations are insignificant, but some of the mutations can have clinical impact.”

Since the emergence of

the pandemic, there have been several variants of concern – the most recent of which has been the Delta variant.

If anyone is displaying any of the symptoms associated with COVID-19, or need any additional information, contact the COVID-19 Hotline 2311166, 226-7480 or 624-6674 immediately or visit www. health.gov.gy.

All Guyanese are reminded to observe the protocols of the COVID-19 emergency measures which emphasise: the need for correct and consistent use of a face mask when leaving your home; the importance of maintaining six feet of physical distance from others; and the need for good hand hygiene. (G12)

Trial into murder of mason to start Tuesday

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jury was empanelled on Thursday as High Court Judge Sandil Kissoon has fixed next Tuesday to commence a trial into the murder of Leopold Street, Werk-en-Rust mason Rawle Rodrigues.

Akeem Haymer, called “Curry”, and Affiba Yenkana, called “Dugla”, have pleaded not guilty to the charge which stated that they murdered Rodrigues on January 20, 2017 during a robbery.

The trial will be conducted at the High Court in Demerara. State Counsel Lisa Cave and State Counsel Muntaz Ali are appearing for the prosecution, while Attorneys-at-law Rachael Bakker, Lawrence Harris

Murder accused: Affiba Yenkana

and Hewley Griffith are representing the defence.

Reports are on January 20, 2017, Rodrigues, 43, was stabbed multiple times to his chest by three men at

Dead: Rawle Rodrigues

the Route 32 minibus park in Georgetown. It was previously reported that the men had trailed Rodrigues from a nearby bar where he was seen consuming alcohol. (G1)

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Unidentified man found Nephew beats uncle to death during argument over plantains murdered at Vreed-en-Hoop

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27-year-old man will soon face a murder charge after he beat his uncle to death during an argument over plantains at Leguan Island, Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) on Wednesday.

The dead man has been identified as 51-year-old Aubrey Jonas, also called “Badja”, a farmer of Phoenix, Leguan.

Based on reports received, about 14:55h on the day in question, a niece of the now dead man saw the suspect entering his yard and cutting some plantains without permission.

The niece reportedly informed the man of the incident after he returned from the backdam.

In anger, the man reportedly picked up a cutlass and confronted the suspect. He reportedly told his nephew: “You touch the plantains and you gone see wah gon happen to

The suspect lashing away at his uncle on Wednesday

you.”

This, however, led to a heated argument after which they went in separate directions. Based on Police reports,

The now dead man moments before he was killed

the suspect then armed himself with a knife and went to the Phoenix Koker where he took a seat.

As his uncle walked past him heading into the village, another argument broke out

between them. The now dead man then reportedly armed himself with a cutlass and broadsided his nephew. In retaliation, the suspect went into his mother’s yard, armed himself with a piece of wood, and dealt his uncle several blows to his head.

After committing the act, the suspect was seen walking away from the scene, leaving the injured man on the roadway. The injured man was subsequently picked up by his niece, who had recorded the incident, and taken to the Leguan Cottage Hospital, where he was admitted.

He succumbed to his injuries a few hours later.

Meanwhile, acting on information received, the Police went to an abandoned house in the same area where they found the suspect, who was told of the allegation and arrested.

Jonas’s body is at Leguan Cottage Hospital Mortuary awaiting a post-mortem.

The unidentified deceased man found at Vreed-en-Hoop

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he body of an unidentified man was on Wednesday evening found with lacerations to his head and body at New Road, Vreed-en-Hoop, West Coast Demerara (WCD).

At the time of the discovery, the body was naked. Police are working with the theory that the now deceased man might have been beaten to death.

Based on reports received, about 23:30h on the day in question, the man’s body was found lying on the northern carriageway of New Road.

The body was picked up and taken to the West Demerara Regional Hospital mortuary to await positive identification and a post-mortem. An investigation has been launched.

NEWS

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FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Duo maintains innocence Construction of agro-processing in 2013 Mash Day murder facility in Region 2 moving apace of ECD businessman T

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he two men who are on trial for the 2013 Mashramani Day murder of Enterprise, East Coast Demerara businessman Kumar Mohabir, through unsworn statements have denied any involvement in the crime. The duo, Devon Thomas and Randy Isaacs are on trial for the capital offence before Justice Sandil Kissoon and a 12-member jury at the Demerara High Court.

The duo pleaded not guilty to the charge which stated that on February 23, 2013, at Vlissengen Road, Georgetown, they murdered Mohabir. The two accused are represented

Murder accused: Randy Isaacs

by Attorneys-at-law Nigel Hughes, Ronald Daniels, and Narissa Leander. State Counsel Lisa Cave and State Counsel Muntaz Ali are appearing for the prosecution.

Following the close of the case for the prosecution on Thursday, Thomas and Isaacs were called on to lead a defence. They both elected to give unsworn statements. Thomas told the jury that Police went to his house at Better Hope South, ECD and informed him that he was wanted for questioning in relation to Mohabir’s murder.

“Police took me and my brother-in-law for questioning at the Ruimveldt Police Station. They asked me and

show me a paper with a lot of names, I tell them that I did not know the names of any persons. Five minutes after they put on shackle and handcuffs on me. Police kept me at the station overnight,” Thomas said in his statement to the court.

According to the murder accused, he was placed on an identification parade and “10 minutes after Police ranks came back and told him that he get point out for a murder that happened on Vlissengen Road.” He added, “I told them [Police ranks] I don’t know what you are talking about.”

Murder Thomas

accused:

Devon

Thomas said that he met his co-accused for the first time when they were arraigned at the Magistrate’s Court.

“I ask he [Isaacs] what is the reason why he here…

That was the first time in my life I ever see Randy Isaacs or ever speak to him.

I come in prison as a teenage boy. With all due respect members of the jury, I know to my heart, God knows my heart, that I am innocent, I am really innocent,” said Thomas in conclusion.

Meanwhile, Isaacs, 25, formerly of Montrose, ECD told the Court that Police ranks came to his home and arrested him. “They

Dead: Kumar Mohabir

told me that I was going to be placed on an ID parade,” he said, adding that Police never informed him of how an ID parade works.

He said, “When I go into the room, no one looked like me, no one had height like me. I was the only person with a funny eye and tattoo. They tell me I was picked out as a positive suspect. I told them that I don’t know anything about any murder.”

“Since I was in prison, I was age 17. My father died while I was in prison. I am innocent of this charge. I did not bore anybody; I did not kill anybody. I would like to get my freedom to go and take care of my mother,” Isaacs said in closing.

This trial will continue this morning.

According to reports, Mohabir, who was with his family partaking in Mashramani celebrations, was attacked and killed by a group of men who were armed with broken bottles.

The altercation reportedly stemmed from Mohabir stepping on one of his attackers’ feet.

Following investigations, Thomas and Isaacs were arrested and charged.

he construction of a state-of-the-art agro-processing facility in Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam) has commenced and is moving apace.

The project is being constructed to the tune of $60 million in the compound of the Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA) campus.

Funds for the construction of the facility were part of the Agriculture Ministry’s 2020 emergency budget.

Over the past five years, the agro-processing sector declined by a whopping 45 per cent, but with much effort by the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Government after taking office, the industry recorded a nine per cent increase in non-traditional exports.

Back in March, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha had stated that several agro-processing facilities would be constructed throughout Guyana with the aim of

The agro-processing facility at Anna Regina

assisting farmers to add value to their produce.

Minister Mustapha stated that the facility would facilitate farmers to properly package their products and label them so that they could be exported. He also stated that local consumers were also looking for better packaging so necessary investments would be made to ensure farmers could tap into these markets.

The agro-processing facilities will function both for commercial production and product development for small and medium-scale agro-processors.

Meanwhile, Region Two

Vice Chairman Humace Oodit noted that the agro-processing facility would assist in optimising resource use, enhancing farmers’ income, widening markets, and providing value addition to national income and employment.

“I see this as a major opportunity for young businessmen where they can be part of in order to assist in improving their business and produce more value-added produce ... this facility will somewhat help businesses to proper packaging and labelling of their produce. It will be an encouragement for farmers and businessmen,” Oodit noted.

Police destroy over $9M in ganja at Golden Grove seawall

The dried ganja that was found in the shack during the operation

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ne man is in Police custody following the discovery of a ganja farm with at least 150 plants ranging from two feet to 11 feet in height at Golden Grove, East Coast Demerara (ECD).

Based on reports received, Police carried out an intelligence-led operation at the Golden Grove Seawall

The Cannabis sativa plants being destroyed

on Wednesday, where the suspect was seen tending to the plants.

The plants, which had an estimated weight of 130 kilograms, were destroyed.

Upon the suspect’s arrest, the Police conducted a search of a shack during which 21 transparent plastic bags and two black plastic

The ganja farm at Golden Grove Seawall

bags containing a quantity of dried cannabis weighing 1873 grams were found, along with camouflage clothing.

The street value of the 130 kilograms of cannabis is estimated at $9 million. The suspect remains in custody pending charges.

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PM discusses security, ICT, mining, hydropower with French Ambassador

P

rime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips praised the relationship between Guyana and France, during a visit by Non-Resident Ambassador Antoine Joly.

The two officials met at a reception held at Cara Lodge in Georgetown in honour of the upcoming French National Day (Bastille Day), which is formally observed on July 14.

During his remarks, the Prime Minister said that it was imperative that both countries continued to embrace and develop their well-established relationship, through many shared areas of mutual interests.

“As we celebrate your country’s National Day, it is appropriate for Guyana and France to recommit to working together for the well-being and prosperity of our peoples”.

He indicated that the two

Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips greets NonResident Ambassador Antoine Joly

nations could collaborate in ICT, agriculture, mining, hydropower electricity, and on “objectives of sustainable development and clean renewable en-

ergy development”, the Prime Minister is quoted as saying in a statement from his office.

He added that he was also looking forward to increased co-

Head of State, Dr Irfaan Ali and Foreign Affairs Minister Hugh Todd share a photo moment with French Ambassador Antoine Joly at State House on Thursday

operation in the area of security.

“The recent signature of the letter of intent on cooperation in the field of defence will provide impetus for enhanced security cooperation.”

The French military only recently participated in Operations Tradewinds 2021; a multilateral military exercise hosted in Guyana last month.

Ambassador Joly also spoke of partnerships and pointed out that since France, through French Guiana, shares the Guiana Shield with Guyana, there are many areas of mutual interest.

“The wish of French Guiana to be more present and involved in the region will not be at the expense of your other strategic partners, but complementary based on our comparative advantages, we are neighbours confronted with the same challenges, we share the Guiana Shield and just like you, we value it and want to protect it.”

According to Ambassador Joly, he decided to cancel the French National Day celebrations in Guyana in 2019 after the previous Administration had procrastinated in acknowledging the no-confidence motion against them and sub-

sequently in 2020, due to the difficulty of obtaining the results of the national elections.

“This year, despite the COVID-19 situation, which explains the limited format, I’m happy to celebrate with you, the return of Guyana in the rule of law and democracy; principles that join those of our National Day of freedom, equality and brotherhood,” Ambassador Joly stated.

Also present at Thursday’s event were Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh and Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Minister Gail Teixeira.

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FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Traditional sectors keeping economy afloat – Min Bharrat

…as Govt yet to tap in on oil revenues

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overnment has not spent a single cent from the direct oil proceeds that Guyana has received through the sale of its crude, since the commencement of production in 2019.

This was announced by Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat during a recent engagement where he outlined that the traditional sectors have been keeping the country’s economy afloat, despite the windfall of revenues earned from its prolific oil boom.

“Mining has kept our economy going over the last five to six years, especially at a time when all the other sectors have been failing.

Mining has been keeping Guyana’s economy afloat, especially too since we haven’t used any of the almost $350 million [US] oil revenue that we would have collected so far from the sale of our crude. Not a single dollar has been used from that direct oil proceeds,” the Minister reassured.

Guyana, with US oil giant ExxonMobil as the operator, began producing oil back in December 2019, in the Stabroek Block.

Guyana’s oil revenue is kept in the New York Federal Reserve Bank, where it is earning interest.

In March 2021, the Natural Resources Ministry had disclosed that a total of 5,009,797 barrels of oil worth US$246.5 million have been shipped. This sum, added to the royalties the country receives, took the total in the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) account to US$267.6 million.

And considering earnings from the sixth lift in April

and royalty payments, this amount is expected to have climbed to over US$300 million.

Guyana received its first payment of US$54.9 million for an oil lift dated February 19, 2020. The second lift, on May 21, 2020, was valued at US$35 million; while the third lift, which occurred on August 9, 2020, was worth US$46 million.

The fourth lift of oil offshore Guyana occurred on December 9, 2020, and came in at US$49.4 million in value. And on February 5, 2021, some 997,420 barrels of oil were lifted from Liza Destiny. A sum of US$61 million was paid for that lift.

This month, international news agency Reuters had reported that Indian Oil Corp (IOC) has purchased one million barrels of crude oil from Guyana. The oil, which comes from the Liza1 field, left Guyana’s shores on July 4 on a Greek tanker for India’s Paradip port and will arrive around August 8.

Guyana is expected to rake in another US$75 million from that lift.

IOC is a State-owned oil and gas company headquartered in Mumbai, India, and administered under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. According to Reuters, this shipment of oil is a trial cargo.

While IOC is the first Indian State entity to buy oil from Guyana, it was preceded by HPCL-Mittal Energy Limited, a joint venture between State-run Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Indian steel tycoon LN Mittal.

Last year, Guyana had received 29 bids from companies interested in marketing the country’s crude.

Women injured in motorcycle accident at Moruca

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wo women are now injured after the motorcycle on which they were travelling landed in a pothole along the Huradiah Public Road, Moruca, North West District (NWD).

The injured women are the rider, 34-year-old Anasha Peter and pillion rider 28-year-old Adona Ganesh, both of Moruca.

Based on reports received, on the day in question, the motorcycle bearing registration number CK 4511 was proceeding along

the roadway when it hit a pothole causing the rider to lose control. The motorcycle reportedly fell onto the roadway and the two women sustained injuries about their bodies.

They were picked up and taken to the Kumaka District Hospital, where they were treated before later being flown to Georgetown for further medical attention.

An investigation has been launched into the accident.

Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo subsequently revealed that 28 of these companies were disqualified owing to “nonsensical” bid requirements, even though these companies have proven track records in marketing crude and are trading billions of barrels per day.

In June, ExxonMobil has made its 20th discovery of oil offshore Guyana, finding 70 metres (230 feet) of high-quality oil reservoirs while conducting drilling at its Longtail-3 well in the Stabroek Block.

ExxonMobil has said it anticipated that at least six

projects offshore Guyana would be online by 2027.

The oil major has established an ambitious oil exploration plan for 2021 offshore Guyana.

The Stabroek Block covers 6.6 million acres (26,800 square kilometres). EEPGL, Exxon’s local subsidiary, is the operator and holds a 45 per-cent stake in the Block.

Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd holds 30 per cent interest and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited, holds the remaining 25 per cent interest.

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US$1.8M Global Fund support to enhance Guyana’s intensive care capacity

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uyana has been granted US$1.8 million in support from the Global Fund, which will be used to bolster the intensive care capacity across regional hospitals to adequately manage patients.

Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony announced during Thursday’s coronavirus briefing that there was a window for countries to benefit from COVID-19 funding to reinforce their response to the pandemic. Guyana had applied to the Global Fund and was recently shortlisted to receive the grant.

“We started that application about a month ago and we’ve put it in. As of two days ago, Guyana has been successful. They have written to us, acknowledging that our proposal has been successful. They’ll be funding us for the things that we requested … We’re expecting about US$1.8 million over the next couple of months to do these activities.”

Through this mechanism, the funds will be directed towards boosting the Intensive Care Units (ICUs) in regional hospitals for management of severely-ill patients. Dr Anthony added that this sum should be released to the Health Ministry in the near future,

and would be expended following protocols established by the Global Fund.

“With this particular request, one of the things that we have asked the Global Fund for is resources to ensure that at all of our regional hospitals, we enhance our ICU capability.

This fund would assist us in adding ICU type of beds. It would also assist us in procuring monitors and ventilators and create a space in each one of the regional hospitals so that we can manage patients with severe COVID.” Over at the Infectious Diseases Hospital at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown, the ICU bed capacity was recently increased from 25 to 35 in order to cater for surges.

“We have seen at times when you can have surges of patients and perhaps, you need to make sure that you have extra capacity if you have those surges. We have added that capacity to our ICU at the COVID hospital and so we have expanded it to about 35 beds now. We have that extra capacity and I’m hopeful that we don’t have to use it, but if we need to put persons on ventilators and so forth, we now have that extra capacity,” the Minister outlined.

In the past, the Global Fund had provided resources for HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. Funding was also opened to cater for COVID-19 assistance – from which Guyana had already benefited from last year.

Just last week, the World Bank also approved US$6 million in additional financing for the Guyana COVID-19 Emergency Response Project to support affordable and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines and ensure effective vaccine deployment.

The original project was approved in November 2020 to support Guyana’s pandemic response and strengthen the country’s health system. Already, the country has received US$7.5 million from the World Bank to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

Of this additional financing approved by the World Bank, US$5 million comes from the International Development Association (IDA). Guyana receives interest-free financing from IDA, with a maturity of 40 years, including a grace period of 10 years. Meanwhile, the remaining US$1 million is a grant from the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Multi-Donor Trust Fund. (G12)

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Reopening of sugar estates will be done in phases – Agri Minister

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Rose Hall Sugar Estate

orks are underway to reopen the sugar estates, which were unilaterally closed by the APNU/AFC Government, in phases. This was releveled by Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha on the side lines of an event on Wednesday. He also stated that there have been budgetary allocations made to the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) to do works in preparation for the reopening of the estates.

Targets, he said, were set, which will allow for the reopening of the Rose Hall, Skeldon, Wales and Enmore Estates to be reopened. “We have set ourselves targets so that we will be opening the closed sugar estates by phase and we are working aggressively in pursuing of those goals we have set ourselves,” the Minister said, adding, “over the past few months, GuySuCo – of course with funds from Central Government – we have been making budgetary allocation to GuySuCo to do a number of rehabilitations in these operating estates and

also to do work and prepare for the reopening of the closed sugar estates.”

Presently, rehabilitation is being done in the current operating sugar estates Uitvlugt, Blairmont and Albion. Recapitalisation of these estates are expected to be done on these operating estates.

The Minister said that equipment will be procured for GuySuCo as part of the works to be done and prepare for the reopening of the closed estates.

Upon the instruction given to have the Rose Hall estate reopened back in September, 2020, inspection done on the equipment revealed that they were not in usable condition.

Machines have been vandalised, along with key components being misplaced. The repair costs were said to be uneconomical, hence the need to procure these new items.

Efforts are being made to put together usable components which were gathered from all the estates combined.

The former APNU/AFC

Government had closed the Wales Estate in 2016, and subsequently shut down the Enmore, Rose Hall and Skeldon Estates. This resulted in thousands of jobs being lost, with only Uitvlugt, Blairmont and Albion Estates being in operation.

The 2016 downsizing of the sugar industry by the former Administration saw the dismissal of over 5000 workers from the closed estates.

Upon taking up office last year, the PPP/C Government in September 2020 stated in their 2020 Emergency Budget presented, that some $5 billion would be dedicated to the sugar industry in preparation for the phased reopening of the estates that were closed.

The anticipation of GuySuCo for the reopening of Enmore and Rose Hall Estates by 2022 can be deemed the highlight of the sugar industry since the recreation of jobs is expected to follow the reopening. It is expected that the Rose Hall factory will be the first to become operational, while the Skeldon factory will be returned to operation by 2023.

With the efforts to revive GuySuCo, the Uitvlugt, Blairmont and Albion Estates recorded the highest daily production for 2021, as well as 2020 when it was announced that the sugar company had produced 710 metric tonnes of sugar on March 11, 2021.

Decomposed body of tailor found in Berbice backlands

Dead: Floyd Austin Floyd Austin’s body being transported out of the backdam on a tractor

T

he decomposed body of a Corentyne tailor who had been missing for five days was on Thursday discovered in the backlands of Dingwall, Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

Dead is 57-year-old Floyd Austin, a tailor of Epsom Village, Corentyne, Berbice.

His body was discovered in the backlands at Dingwall – the neighbouring village.

Following his disappearance, several search parties were formed but his body was not located until Thursday when a villager stumbled upon it.

Austin lived with his three children - aged 18, 17 and 12. He and his wife are

separated. He was a father of eight children.

His daughter, Petronella told this publication that last Saturday her father had gone into their farm situated a short distance behind their house. She said that he left chores for them to complete before his return.

She added that she took his lunch to him and he returned home later in the afternoon and after giving water to the chickens he said he forgot his bag at the farm and had gone to retrieve it.

She related that at 14:32h there was a call from Austin’s phone but they missed the call.

“So, we decide to ring the phone and there is no an-

swer. So, about 5 o’clock I decided to go to the back to see if he is there but he was not there.”

According to Petronella, she checked the farm where she had gone earlier to take lunch to her father but he was not there.

There are reports that Austin was seen on the dam on Saturday afternoon heading towards the backlands.

According to the teenager, the disappearance of her father was unusual since he frequently went to the backdam and always returned home.

Police are investigating.

Austin was a tailor for decades and sewed many school uniforms for youths in the community. He also sewed wedding and working garments. (G4)

16 NEWS CIOG distributes 350 food hampers to Black Bush Polder residents T FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

he Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana (CIOG), in collaboration with several local and overseas-based businesses and organisations distributed 350 food hampers and mattresses to the flood-affected resi-

dents of Black Bush Polder (Lesbeholden, Mibicuri, Johanna and Yukusari), along with the front-line staff of the Mibicuri Hospital, and Albion and Chesney Village.

In a release on Thursday, CIOG said that the families affected by the recent flood-

waters were able to access groceries that catered for their daily needs along with household detergents.

“CIOG will like to extend their most sincere gratitude to the Canadian Government, its people, the Guyanese Diaspora in the USA and

Food basket distribution at Lesbeholden, Black Bush Polder

Canada, Raf’s Variety Store, CICS, the CIOG’s Canadian Support Group and Islamic Elementary School in NY in responding with support to the recent heavy floods in Guyana,” the Organisation said in a press release.

It noted that the items were procured as a result of donations by the International Development and Relief Foundation based in Canada and the CIOG’s Canadian Support Group in Canada; Raf’s Variety Store;

Caribbean Islamic Cultural Society (CICS) from the UK; Islamic Elementary School in Queens, New York, USA, the Guyanese Diaspora in USA and Canada and Jamaat Al Ansar in Toronto, Canada.

Haiti President’s assassination

26 Colombians, 2 Americans behind killing — Haiti Police At least 28 people carried out the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, Haitian police said Thursday, adding that 26 of them were Colombian and two were Americans of Haitian origin.

"We have arrested 15 Colombians and the two Americans of Haitian origin. Three Colombians have been killed while eight others are on the loose," national police director general Leon Charles said at a news conference.

On Wednesday police said four of the suspects had

President Jovenel Moise

been killed. Charles did not explain the discrepancy.

He also said the "weapons and materials used by the assailants have been recovered".

Charles spoke a day after Moise and his wife Martine were attacked by gunmen at their private residence in the capital Port-au-Prince.

Moise was shot dead in the early morning attack, and his wife was wounded. She has been taken to Miami by air ambulance and authorities have said her condition is stable.

The poorest country in the Americas now has no president or working parliament and two men claiming to be in charge as prime minister. (AFP)

NEWS

17

FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

EPA, ExxonMobil begin consultation Guyana will take agriculture on gas-to-energy impact assessment to new heights – Mustapha

A

T

Gas-to-shore EIA scope (Photo: EEPGL)

he Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and ExxonMobil’s local subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) have begun a public scoping campaign ahead of the US oil company embarking on an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the gas-to-energy project.

The US$900 million project, which is a manifesto promise of the PPP/C Government, will cut power cost in half and lower emissions.

According to a DPI report, the EPA had decided that an EIA is necessary to determine the potential impacts of the project, before it considers EEPGL’s application for environmental authorisation. The agency has published a project summary which includes technical information to be used to evaluate the application.

EPA’s Head of Environmental Communication Education Awareness Programme (ECEAP), Candacie Thompson, during a virtual briefing Thursday, said the requirement for the EIA was placed on public notice on June 27, for 28 days. The public scoping meetings will continue until July 22, with in-person meetings along the coast, and a second virtual meeting on July 15.

Members of the public are allowed to make their contributions for considerations in the EIA. Thompson said public participation is integral to the process.

Project Environmental and Regulatory Manager, Erik DeMicco represented EEPGL during Thursday’s briefing. He presented the project’s summary and components. This included the preliminary list of resources and receptors which will be included in the assessment.

The project includes the construction and operation of a pipeline from the Liza Phases 1 and 2 floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels to an onshore natural gas liquids and natural gas processing plant. The pipeline will transport up to 50 million standard cubic feet of gas per day to the plant.

Preliminary artist’s impression of Natural Gas Plant (Photo: EEPGL)

According to the summary, the plant will, in turn, drop the pressure of the gas, dehydrate the gas, separate propane, butane and pentanes, and treat the gas to the specification needed for the power plant.

The plant is expected to add some 250 MW of power to the national grid, starting late 2024.

The Irfaan Ali-led Administration has touted the US$900 million gas-to-shore project as a game-changing initiative to boost Guyana’s generation of power, which has been highly unreliable and costly for decades.

One of the main objectives of the project is to significantly reduce the cost of electricity.

President Ali had previously said the gas-to-shore pipeline, which will land at Crane on the West Coast of Demerara (WCD), would lead to big industrial development taking place in Region Three that is linked to not only power generation and a planned power plant at Wales, West Bank Demerara.

Exxon has said that around 30 to 35 million cubic feet of natural gas would be required for the gas-toshore project.

In previously-released data, Norwegian research company, Rystad Energy, had indicated that less than 20 per cent of the 1.8 billion Barrels of Oil Equivalent (BOE) discovered last year was gas.

griculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha has said the sector will reach new heights under the PPP/C Administration and he is encouraging all stakeholders to play their part to ensure the positive transformation of the industry.

He made the remarks following the signing of over $340 million in contracts as the Ministry advances the execution if its 2021 work programme.

“So I think we in the Ministry of Agriculture, we in this Government, we will move agriculture to new heights but it depends on all to be onboard, so I want to implore on you…let us work together,” Minister Mustapha said.

In a special appeal to contractors who are executing projects that will impact the agricultural sector, the Minister urged them to do top quality work.

“Whilst you are interested in your business growth and development and profit, at the same time…you have the obligation also to deliver quality projects, deliver these projects on time and at the end of it, everyone must be beneficiary from these projects.”

The Agriculture Minister expressed that many persons are now understanding the importance of farming to the economy.

“Many persons would’ve expressed interest in the oil and gas sector, we are now seeing a number of persons coming forward trying to get back into agriculture, people who would’ve called it a day, now are coming back and saying they want to get back land, they want to back into agriculture activity,” Mustapha detailed.

“This came about because of the allocation, the budgetary allocation and the way we have been doing work in the agriculture sector. I think we were responsible as Government to get back or whip up back the interest of people in the agriculture sector.

Today our country is playing its leading role in the agriculture sector, our President is once again the chief spokesperson for agriculture in Caricom,” he noted.

Only Wednesday, President Dr Irfaan Ali reminded of how food security declined between 2015 and 2020 under the former A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government.

He made the remarks during a ceremony at the Hinterland Student Dormitory at Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara, to hand over 30 tractors and trailers totalling some $446 million to Toshaos of Amerindian villages across the country.

The President assured the village leaders that his Government will work closely with farmers to restore the viability of their farmlands. According to him, a plan is underway that will help farmers recover, while building a more resilient agriculture sector.

The sum of $22.6 billion has been earmarked in Budget 2021 to boost agriculture in Guyana. Government will be investing heavily to develop farm-to-market roads, improve drainage and irrigation and build human resource capacity to deliver the services required to drive growth in the sector, among other initiatives.

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guyanatimesgy.com

FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2021

Regional

3 dead, 4 arrested after Haiti Talks between Venezuelan Govt, President’s assassination; PM Opposition set for August – sources asks Haitians for help, unity R

H

aiti’s Prime Minister Claude Joseph has appealed to citizens on Thursday to hand over the suspected assassins of President Jovenel Moise to the Police and not to lynch them amid a nationwide state of siege.

Hundreds of residents clamoured outside a Police Station in the capital Portau-Prince where suspects were being held, shouting “burn them” and setting fire to a vehicle they presumed was that of the assassins.

Haiti’s Police arrested and shot four of the men suspected of assassinating President Moise and are hunting for the masterminds behind the operation, Haiti’s Police Chief said in a televised news briefing on Thursday.

At least two suspects were believed to be at large.

Police General Director Leon Charles described the killers as “mercenaries” and said that security forces had engaged in a fierce gun battle with the suspected assassins that lasted late into the night and six suspects were taken in custody, while three corps-

People react outside a Police Station where suspected members of a gang of assassins that killed President Jovenel Moise are being held, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, July 8, 2021

es were retrieved. Police were heavily patrolling the area from early on Thursday.

“We have the physical authors, now we are looking for the intellectual authors,” Charles said.

Identities and details about the gunmen were still emerging. Two of the men arrested are HaitianAmericans. The US State Department could not confirm if a US citizen was among those arrested.

President Moise, 53, was killed at his private home in the early morning hours of July 7 by what appears to be a group of highly-trained

killers, opening up a political vacuum just as Moise and other civil leaders were preparing for elections and discussing revisions to Haiti’s Constitution.

Moise, elected in 2016 with less than 600,000 votes out of a potential 6.1 million, was sworn in as president in 2017. Opposition parties had said Moise’s term should have ended in February, five years after his predecessor stepped down, and say he was trying to hold on to power by decree. Moise had contended his term extended until 2022. (Excerpt from Reuters)

UWI mourns loss of Haiti’s President Moise

T

he following is an excerpt from a statement from University of the West Indies ViceChancellor, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, on the assassination of Haiti’s President, Jovenel Moïse.

The UWI Regional Headquarters, Jamaica – The assassination of President Moïse of Haiti is the latest dramatic reflection of the culture of murderous political violence that has typified the colonisation of the Caribbean, and whose legacy continues to speak to the devalued worth of black

life, especially in our hemisphere.

For the people of Haiti and the wider Caribbean region who have politically united for mutual survival with dignity under the banner of Caricom, this blunt and brutal execution of the democratically-elected Head of State foregrounds the historic savagery long fought against in our Region’s struggle to forge a humane and sophisticated post-colonial Caribbean civilisation.

Political murder and social mayhem have long been the management tools

used to maintain the misery and marginalisation of the Caribbean as it marches inexorably to the rendezvous of democracy as a freedom victory.

No country in the modern world has paid as great a human and material price as Haiti in seeking to convert its rubble of bloody imperial domination into a viable democratic nation state.

In this regard, the murder of Moïse is the latest in a legacy that includes political leaders such as Walter Rodney and Maurice Bishop.

(Excerpt from Nation News)

epresentatives of Venezuela’s Government and Opposition are set to meet in Mexico beginning in August for a new round of negotiations aimed at ending the South American country’s deep political crisis, five people familiar with the matter said.

The dialogue would be mediated by international parties and is supported by Norway, which acted as a mediator in a previous negotiation attempt in 2019 and is currently in touch with both sides to set the agenda, the sources said.

A Norwegian delegation is visiting Caracas this week, one source said.

President Nicolás Maduro, who has overseen an economic collapse in the once-prosperous nation, has said he is willing to negotiate with Opposition Leader Juan Guaidó, but only over an agenda focused on the lifting of US sanctions.

Washington accuses Maduro of rights violations and rigging his 2018 re-election. Maduro denies those charges.

Guaidó, by contrast, has said his delegation is seeking conditions for free and fair presidential and parliamentary elections.

The planned negotiations come two weeks after the chief diplomats for the United States, Canada

and the European Union said they would be willing to revise their sanctions on Maduro’s Government if negotiations lead to “meaningful progress” toward transparent elections.

The return to the negotiating table represents a change in tack for the Opposition, which has in the past accused Maduro’s Government of using rounds of dialogue to buy time and defuse international pressure.

The Government withdrew from the 2019 round, held in Barbados, after former US President Donald Trump tightened sanctions aimed at ousting Maduro.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Brazil registers record deaths, lowest number of births for Jan-June period

B

razil registered the highest number of deaths and lowest number of births in the first six months of the year since comparable data was first compiled in 2003, the national association of notary offices said on Thursday.

Brazil has the second highest COVID-19 death toll in the world behind the United States, with 323,117 of the 528,540 total number of deaths from the disease being registered in the January-June period this year, according to the Health Ministry.

A survey by the National Association of Registrars (Arpen-Brasil) showed that registry offices in Brazil recorded 956,534 deaths from January to June, 67 per cent above the historical average and 37 per cent up on the first half of last year.

Notary offices also registered 1,325,394 live births in the first six months of

A pregnant Brazilian woman, Vanessa Garcia, observes a nurse before receiving a dose of Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine in São Paulo, Brazil, June 7, 2021

the year, the lowest for any January-June period since the data series began in 2003, Arpen-Brasil said.

That was 10 per cent lower than the historical average, only 0.09 per cent down from last year but 8.6 per cent lower than 2019, before the pandemic, it said.

“The difference be-

tween births and deaths, which has always averaged 901,594 more births, dropped to just 368,860 in 2021, marking a 59.1 per cent decline from the historical average,” ArpenBrasil said in a statement.

“Compared to 2020, the drop was 41.4 per cent, and compared to 2019 it was 55.2 per cent,” it added.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Colombia protests: Rights body Upcoming UN climate change conference criticises “disproportionate” response to deliver for Caribbean States A

T

he 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), which is slated for Glasgow later this year, will deliver for countries most vulnerable to climate change, like those in the Caribbean, Presidentdesignate of COP26, Alok Sharma assured on Thursday.

He was speaking during a joint press conference with Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley.

Sharma, who visited Jamaica and Antigua and Barbuda earlier this week, said: “In my travels, as COP President, I have seen firsthand the … terrible damage and the impact of the cli-

mate crisis on people around the world … during this visit … I have heard from people who are affected directly, about the increasing frequency of extreme weather events, and the fact that they are getting more ferocious in terms of their impact.”

“And that’s why I am absolutely determined that COP26 will deliver for the countries most vulnerable to climate change. I recognise the unique vulnerabilities and challenges that Small Island Developing States face, and I will continue to advocate for their priorities.

And we must seek urgent action to protect the lives and livelihoods of people.”

The president-designate said ahead of COP26, there was a need for G20 countries to follow the example shown by the Small Island Developing States and the G7 nations and make net-zero commitments and ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

Sharma commended Prime Minister Mottley and her Government for the ambitious target of becoming a fossil-fuel-free island by 2030.

“The reality is that such action is absolutely vital, not only in terms of reducing the emissions, but quite frankly, in terms of the leadership it displays. (Excerpt from CMC)

n international human rights body has condemned Colombia for “excessive and disproportionate” use of force in response to this year’s anti-Government protests, in which dozens died.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights also said the security forces used “lethal force” in many situations.

The Government said those cases were the exception, and that claims of abuse were already under investigation.

The protests were largely peaceful, but occasionally turned violent.

They started in April amid anger over a pro-

posed reform that would have lowered the threshold at which salaries are taxed. The plan was withdrawn, but the protests grew to cover other issues, including Police violence and poverty.

The country’s ombudsman has reported more than 50 deaths linked to clashes between the security forces and demonstrators, though human rights groups say the number is higher. About 2300 civilians and members of the security forces have been injured.

The long-awaited report by the Commission, an autonomous arm of the Organisation of American States, was published based on a visit in June,

when it interviewed more than 500 people.

The allegations of human rights violations include the indiscriminate use of firearms by Police against both protesters and bystanders, gender-based violence and claims of sexual abuse.

“The commission confirmed that, repeatedly and in various regions of the country, the response of the State was characterised by excessive and disproportionate use of force,” the Commission’s President, Antonia Urrejola, said at a news conference.

“In many cases those actions included lethal force,” she added. (Excerpt from BBC News)

guyanatimesgy.com

FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2021

19

Around the World

OILNEWS OIL NEWS Oil prices extend losses as OPEC+ uncertainty lingers

O

il prices fell for a third day on Thursday amid

uncertainty over supply after the collapse this week of talks among major producers which could potentially cause the current output agreement to be abandoned.

Brent crude oil futures slipped by 23 cents, or 0.3 per cent, to US$73.20 a barrel by 0644 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate futures were down 33 cents, or 0.5 per cent, at US$71.87 a barrel.

Brent prices have fallen about five per cent since Monday’s close after talks between the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, including Russia, known as OPEC+, fell apart when de facto leader Saudi Arabia refused demands from the United Arab Emirates to raise its output under the group’s supply cut agreement.

“The oil market is looking beyond the oil supply deficit in August and expecting the OPEC+ agreement to fall apart well before April 2022 when the agreement expires as other member countries will ask for further concessions to secure more market share,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA. OPEC+ has restrained supply for more than a year since demand crashed during the coronavirus pandemic.

The group is maintaining nearly six million barrels per day (bpd) of output cuts and was expected to add to supply, but three days of meetings failed to close divisions between the Saudis and the Emiratis. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Climate change: North America heatwave “virtually impossible” without warming

Scientists worry that global heating, largely as a result of burning fossil fuels, is now driving up temperatures faster than models predict

T

he searing heat that scorched western Canada and the United States at the end of June was "virtually impossible" without climate change, say scientists.

In their study, the team of researchers says that the deadly heatwave was a onein-a-1000-year event.

But we can expect extreme events such as this to become more common as the world heats up due to climate change.

If humans hadn't influenced the climate to the extent that they have, the event would have been 150 times less likely.

Scientists worry that global heating, largely as a result of

burning fossil fuels, is now driving up temperatures faster than models predict.

Climate researchers have grown used to heatwaves breaking records all over the world in recent years.

However, beating the previous national high temperature mark by more than 4 Celsius in one go, as happened in Canada last week, is virtually unprecedented.

Canada's previous national record for high temperature was 45C –- but the recent heat in the village of Lytton in British Columbia saw a figure of 49.6C recorded at the height of the event. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Biden defends decision to end Afghan military operation U S President Joe Biden has defended his decision to withdraw military forces from Afghanistan, saying that US operations will end on August 31.

The fourth US President to oversee the war also defended the speed of the US withdrawal, saying it saved lives.

Biden's speech comes as the Taliban militant group continues to seize territory around the country.

US forces have fought in Afghanistan for nearly 20 years, following the terror attacks of September 11, 2001.

Earlier this year, Biden set a September 11, 2021 goal of withdrawing all US troops.

President Donald Trump had agreed with the Taliban

The fourth US President to oversee the war also defended the speed of the US withdrawal, saying it saved lives

to pull out US troops by May 2021, but that deadline was pushed back by Biden after he took office in January.

"Just one more year of fighting in Afghanistan is not a solution," Biden said in a

White House speech, "but a recipe for fighting there indefinitely."

He also denied that a Taliban takeover was "inevitable," saying that the Taliban force of approximate-

ly 75,000 fighters was no match for the 300,000 Afghan security forces.

Even after the total pullout is complete, the US is expected to keep 650 to 1000 troops in Afghanistan to guard the US Embassy, Kabul airport, and other key Government installations.

Recent polls have shown broad US support for leaving Afghanistan, with Republican voters more sceptical of the decision to withdraw.

Biden also said that efforts were being made to get translators, interpreters, and other Afghans who worked with the US Government out of the country. (Excerpt from BBC News)

UN Security Council discusses Ethiopia dam amid strained ties with Egypt, Sudan

T

he United Nations Security Council tackled a bitter regional dispute on Thursday over a massive dam built by Ethiopia on the main tribu-

tary of the Nile River.

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is the source of an almost decade-long diplomatic standoff between Ethiopia and

Woman killed by bear that dragged her from tent in Montana

U

S authorities are searching for a grizzly bear that killed a woman in Montana after dragging her from her tent in the middle of the night.

Leah Lokan, a 65-year-old nurse from California, had stopped over in the town of Ovando during a cycling trip.

During the attack on Tuesday, her fellow campers used bear spray to force the animal out of their camping site.

Wildlife and law enforcement officials are sweeping the area and say they plan to kill the bear if they find it.

A private air rescue service, Two Bear Air Rescue, is using infrared technology to locate the animal, according to Montana's Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) agency.

Traps have also been laid in the area near a chicken coop where the bear killed and ate several chickens the same night.

Investigators believe the animal weighs roughly 181kgs (400lb). Its DNA has been recovered at the scene of the attack, and it will be compared with that of any bear that authorities trap.

A friend of Lokan, Mary Flowers, told AP news agency that Lokan had taken long-distance bike trips in the past.

On this latest journey she had been accompanied by her sister and a friend.

"She loved these kind of adventures," said Flowers. "She had a passion for life that was out of the ordinary." (Excerpt from BBC News)

Windstorm in Gambia kills 10, displaces hundreds, Government says

E

ntire families wandered around the outskirts of Gambia's capital Banjul in search of shelter on Thursday, after an overnight windstorm levelled scores of houses in some of the country's western districts and claimed at least 10 lives.

"The wind destroyed the roof of my house ... and my situation is devastated because of lack of finance," said Amadou Marong, who was taken in by a neighbour after the winds carried off the sheet-metal roofing that protected him from the rain.

Many of the small African nation's coastal urban ar-

eas remained without electricity or running water on Thursday evening, after utility infrastructure was damaged by heavy winds, rain, and flooding.

At least 10 people were killed during the storm, which landed around midnight, and more than 1500 people displaced, according to Government figures.

"Any soul lost as a result of a disaster is a big loss to the country," Sanna Dahaba, who heads Gambia's Natural Disaster Management Authority, told a news conference on Thursday. (Excerpt from Reuters)

downstream nations Egypt and Sudan. Ethiopia says the project is essential to its development, but the Governments in Cairo and Khartoum fear it could restrict their citizens’ water access.

Thursday’s open session comes after Egypt and Sudan turned to the 15-member body as Ethiopia began this week the second stage of filling GERD. The Government in Addis Ababa insists the African Union (AU) should resume handling the talks.

On Tuesday, the UN called on the three countries to recommit to talks on the project’s operation and urged them to avoid any unilateral action.

“Solutions to this need to be guided by example … by solutions that have been found for others who share

waterways, who share rivers, and that is based on the principle of equitable and reasonable utilisation and the obligation not to cause significant harm,” UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’s spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, told reporters in New York.

Egypt and Sudan have been pushing Ethiopia to sign a binding deal over the filling and operation of the dam – situated on the Blue Nile and set to be Africa’s largest hydroelectric project when completed – while Ethiopia insists on guidelines.

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s Government, however, has said it will move ahead with reservoir-filling in the absence of a deal. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Canada will not welcome unvaccinated tourists for some time – PM Trudeau

F

oreign tourists who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 will not be allowed to enter Canada for quite some time because the Government is unwilling to jeopardise progress made on containing the virus, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday.

“I can tell you right now that’s not going to happen for quite a while,” said Trudeau, when asked by reporters when Canada would allow unvaccinated tourists to enter the country.

Canada, as of this week, has waived quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated citizens. But non-essential foreign travellers are still not allowed to enter despite pressure from the country’s hurting tour-

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

ism sector.

The United States does not have vaccine requirements for visitors. At this point talks about lifting border restrictions are focused on fully-vaccinated travellers, Trudeau said.

“The next step we’ll be looking at what measures we can allow for international travellers who are fully vaccinated,” he said.

“We will have more to say in the coming weeks.”

(Excerpt from Reuters)

20

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CALVIN AND HOBBES

SUDOKU

Don’t poke someone who is upset. Go about your business, and get involved in activities that help you dodge trouble. A kind gesture or word will help ease any tension.

Take care of your responsibilities before someone complains. Be aware of other people’s feelings, and take a moment to comfort someone who needs help or reassurance.

Choose your words carefully. Someone will misinterpret you if you aren’t clear. Let your actions reflect your statements. You won’t please everyone, but you will avoid a costly error.

Emotions will surface, leaving it up to you to make intelligent decisions. Get the lowdown before you make a move, and you’ll avoid making a mistake based on invalid information.

Pay attention, give praise and show your appreciation.

A kind gesture will ease tension and encourage others to share information with you.

You are better off not making a change unnecessarily.

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

You’ll have difficulty choosing between what you want and what you are supposed to do. Talk to someone you have helped in the past, and you’ll receive the help you need.

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

Listen to grievances, and be patient with others. The less fuss, the more you’ll achieve. Channel your energy into something that offers incentives and helps you gain the experience you desire.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)

Make environmental upgrades to your home or cut your overhead by eliminating something you no longer use or need. Look for alternative lifestyles that spark your interest.

Do something physical, SAGITTARIUS and you’ll feel good about (Nov. 23yourself. A healthy lifestyle Dec. 21) will help you dump bad habits and attract people striving to do their best. Love is favored.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

SOLUTION FOR LAST PUBLISHED PUZZLE AQUARIUS (Jan. 20Feb. 19)

PISCES (Feb. 20March 20)

Make positive changes at home, and it will bring you closer to the people you care about most. A meaningful relationship will reach new levels if you discuss your intentions.

Keep your distance from people known to take unnecessary health risks. Protect yourself and loved ones from precarious situations.

Romance is encouraged. Make plans for a fun, safe outing.

You’ll gain insight into what others want. Do what you can to accommodate them, but make sure you get what you want in return.

Share your feelings, and find out where you stand.

FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2021

21

Fraser-Pryce hopes to improve on 200m lifetime best in Monaco today S

helly-Ann FraserPryce is hopeful she will improve on her 200 metres lifetime best when she competes at the Diamond League’s Herculis meet in Monaco, where she goes up against Shaunae Miller-Uibo and Marie Josee Ta Lou today.

The 34-year-old 2012 Olympic silver medallist ran a personal best of 21.79 to win the half-lap sprint at the Jamaican national championships on June 27, but said there were things she could improve on before she went into the Olympic Games in Tokyo. She wants to focus on making those improvements when she races in Monaco.

“I know Monaco has a very good track and the last time I ran (the 200m) was in Kingston and I ran 21 and I definitely felt like there are phases in that race where I could have done better, so I am hoping to do that tomorrow,” said Fraser-Pryce while at a pre-meet press conference in Monaco on Thursday.

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce hopes to lead the 200m today

“I am working on phases that will give me the advantage.”

The four-time world champion revealed that she was in the best shape of her life and gave credit to her coach, Reynaldo Walcott, whom she said has helped put her in the position she now finds herself in.

“I’d definitely say I am in the best shape of my life

and what a time for that to happen. It’s been something that I have been working so hard towards to break the 10.7 barrier and to be able to do it under the conditions that I did, I know I am definitely able to go faster,” she said.

“My coach was actually a part of my old coaching system (at MVP) before he left, so I think what has made the difference

England charged by UEFA after “laser” penalty incident

The Denmark players line up during the Danish national anthem, which was booed by some England fans

U

EFA has charged England after a laser pointer was directed at Denmark keeper Kasper Schmeichel during Wednesday's Euro 2020 semi-final at Wembley.

Television pictures showed a green light on Schmeichel's face just before Harry Kane took an extra-time penalty.

Schmeichel saved the spot-kick, but Kane scored the rebound as England won 2-1 to reach Sunday's final against Italy.

England are also charged with causing a "disturbance" during Denmark's national an-

them and setting off fireworks.

"The case will be dealt with by the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) in due course," said a statement from European football's governing body.

There was some booing heard during the Danish national anthem and that has been criticised by Prime Minister Boris Johnson's official spokesman.

"We don't want fans to be booing teams," said the spokesman. "We want fans to be showing support and being respectful.

"UEFA are looking into

that, that's a matter for them, but it's not something we would want to see."

The Football Association and UEFA officials searched for the source of the laser pointer when they were first made aware of it being used during the first half of extra time.

However, they were unable to find those responsible.

Following the game the Danish FA representatives were asked if they wanted to make an official complaint, but said they did not wish to take the matter any further. (BBC Sport)

this year is focusing on the technique and that came through a lot of endurance work, because as a sprinter I was so focused on my turnovers and less about having big strides and maintaining towards the end, so I definitely think

that was where the difference was made, endurance, keeping my technique and changing my technique.”

She admitted that this has been an exciting year for her having achieved one of her main goals of running below 10.7 seconds, which has now given her more confidence in the pursuit of her ultimate goal of winning a third Olympic 100m title, something no other woman has done.

“I am definitely having fun. I’ve said for a long time that my dream was to run below 10.7, because I’ve been running 10.7s every year at every championship and to be able to break the 10.7 barrier is just something that I really wanted to do and now that I am able to do it, I feel so much more confident in my technique and being patient with the phases of the race and I think that has

definitely made the difference in terms of the 200m,” she said.

“To be able to stand on the podium at my fourth Olympics is definitely one of the goals and I am working so hard towards it, but as an athlete, I have always understood that you take it a day at a time, a step at a time, and I think coming here to Monaco to run this 200m will definitely put me in a position to make it happen.

“I am delighted that I even have this opportunity to contend, because not a lot of athletes get the opportunity to contend for a fourth Olympic Games and three Olympic gold medals, so I am excited about that opportunity and I am looking forward to it. Things have been going great so far, and I am relishing the moment, the excitement of what female sprinting has become.” (Sportsmax)

Haiti confident of success as group stage begins

H

aiti arrive at the CONCACAF Gold Cup with momentum gained from their 4-1 victory over Bermuda in the prelims to qualify for the main tournament.

This will be the eighth Gold Cup for Les Grenadiers, as the Haitian squad is nicknamed.

Unlike some other teams in the tournament, Haiti has full focus on the Gold Cup, since earlier this year the squad was eliminated from World Cup qualifying.

Though the team once won the earlier version of the CONCACAF tournament (in 1973), they have never won the modern version called the Gold Cup. Coach Jean-Jacques Pierre, who is a former Haitian national team player and is in his first year coaching the squad, will have the players looking to build on their dynamic play from t h e qualifying tournament.

With a mix of players from teams abroad in Europe sprinkled in with Major League Soccer members

and others from Caribbean clubs, Pierre has an intriguing ensemble to manage.

Haiti are coming off their best-ever participation in the 2019 Gold Cup, where the team reached the semi-finals. One of their best matches in the tournament was a thrilling comeback 3-2 quarter-final victory over Canada, who are one of their Group B opponents this year.

Haiti came up against eventual winners Mexico in the semi-finals, but fought hard i n a

1-0 extra-time loss, with the goal against them coming from a penalty kick taken by Raul Jimenez.

Frantzdy Pierrot was the break-out star for Haiti in the 2021pPrelims.

The forward, who plays in France’s Ligue 2, scored three of the team’s four goals in the match against Bermuda. Duckens Nazon, another experienced forward for Haiti who plays in Belgium, scored the final goal from the penalty spot.

Both also scored for Haiti in the team’s electrifying 2019 Gold Cup run, so the pair are likely to slide back into a scoring groove for the team once the tournament begins.

Having ultimately qualified on July 6, Haiti are a bit of a wildcard in Group B, since other coaches have not had much advance notice in order to prepare for the squad.

Haiti open

u p G o l d Cup play on July 11 against the United States.

(Sportsmax)

22

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2021

BCB congratulates Shepherd, Hetmyer on ODI selection A

few months ago, local cricket boards were questioning the non-selection of Guyanese players in the West Indies team. Shimron Hetmyer's contract snub as a result of fitness issues was a central topic of discussion.

Shepherd and Hetmyer, who have earned selection to the West Indies OneDay International (ODI) team to play Australia in Barbados, commencing on July 20.

The CG Insurance ODI Series between the Aussies and the West Indies will be

ball is 2:30pm (1:30pm Jamaica Time). There is great anticipation as this is Australia’s first tour of the West Indies since the tri-nation series back in 2016.

The series forms part of the International Cricket Council (ICC) ODI Super League, where both teams are aiming to win points to be one of the top seven teams that will secure automatic qualification for the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in India.

Below is the statement from BCB

BCB President Hilbert Foster

The President and members of the Berbice Cricket Board would like to congratulate our very own Shimron Hetmyer and Romario Shepherd on their well-deserved selection to

the West Indies ODI team for the upcoming tour of Australia to the Caribbean.

Shimron and Romario are among a breed of Berbice cricketers who are making us proud in the region and we are confident that they would keep the Berbice flag flying high.

Kevin Sinclair is in the West Indies 20/20 team while Sheneta Grimmond and Shabika Gajnabi are in

the West Indies A female team. Sadly, injury has kept Shemaine Campbelle from playing in the senior team.

There can be no doubt that the hard work of the BCB, along with all the clubs in Berbice, is bearing fruits. Only Berbice is producing players for the regional male team from Guyana and we would continue to work hard for more players to come forward. Congrats to you guys and we would be rooting for you and the West Indies team.

Osaka calls for “privacy”, “empathy” and “personal days”

N

Shimron Hetmyer

Fast-forward a few months, the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) is now extending congratulations to the Berbician duo of Romario

played at Kensington Oval in Barbados on July 20, 22 and 24, with all three matches scheduled as day/ night encounters. First

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aomi Osaka has called for "privacy" and "empathy" from the press when she returns to action, saying she never wants her personal medical history to be scrutinised again.

The Japanese player withdrew from May's French Open after avoiding news conferences to protect her mental health.

"In any other line of work, you would be forgiven for taking a personal day here and there, so long as it's not habitual," she wrote in Time magazine.

"Athletes are humans."

She continued: "You wouldn't have to divulge your most personal symptoms to your employer; there would likely be HR measures protecting at least some level of privacy.

"Perhaps we should give athletes the right to take a mental break from media scrutiny on a rare occasion without being subject to strict sanctions."

When Osaka did not fulfil her media commitments at Roland Garros, organ-

Naomi Osaka has been having a break from tennis since withdrawing from the French Open in May to protect her mental health

isers fined her.

Grand Slam organisers said she could face expulsion from the tournament should she refuse to take part in media duties.

The four-time Grand Slam champion then withdrew the following day, revealing she had "suffered long bouts of depression" since winning her first major at the 2018 US Open.

"I felt under a great

amount of pressure to disclose my symptoms - -frankly because the press and the tournament did not believe me," she said.

"I do not wish that on anyone and hope that we can enact measures to protect athletes, especially the fragile ones. I also do not want to have to engage in a scrutiny of my personal medical history ever again.

So, I ask the press for some

level of privacy and empathy next time we meet."

The four Grand Slams later said they wanted to "create meaningful improvements" in supporting players and that they empathised with the pressures players may face.

Osaka has not competed since the French Open, but is due to play at her home Olympics in Tokyo later this month. (BBC Sport)

CONCACAF hosts 1st in-person Congress since pandemic

T

he Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) held its 35th Ordinary Congress at the JW Marriott Hotel in Miami, United States, where delegates from its 41 Member Associations came together for a Congress for the first time since 2019.

CONCACAF President and FIFA Vice President Victor Montagliani presided over the Congress, alongside CONCACAF General Secretary Philippe Moggio and members of the CONCACAF Council. FIFA President Gianni Infantino attended and addressed the Congress, and Confederation of African Football (CAF) President and FIFA Vice President Patrice Motsepe was also in attendance.

The CONCACAF Member Association delegates approved the Confederation’s 2019 and 2020 audited financial statements.

President Montagliani commended all Member Associations for navigating

football opportunities for young people across the region, and we have built an entirely new women’s national team ecosystem which will begin in November this year.

Put simply, in CONCACAF we are putting football first,” added Montagliani.

A glimpse of the members at CONCACAF’s Ordinary Congress, of which Guyana’s Wayne Forde was a part

the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and outlined the many ways CONCACAF and FIFA supported Members and their communities during the global health crisis.

In his opening address, Montagliani praised the ongoing growth of football in CONCACAF. “As we come together for this Congress, in CONCACAF’s 60th anniversary year, I feel extremely positive and reflective, about what we

have achieved together,” said Montagliani.

“Our football has been transformed with new competitions like the CONCACAF Nations League, which vastly increases competitive opportunities for all Member Associations. And we have just started a Gold Cup which includes 24 CONCACAF men’s national teams – more than in any previous edition of our flagship tournament.

“Our development programmes are creating

Congress elections As part of this Congress, elections were conducted for the following FIFA Council positions * FIFA Council (Female Member); Sonia Fulford, Turks and Caicos, elected (unopposed) * FIFA Council (Caribbean): Luis Hernandez, Cuba, elected with 28 votes (Alfredo Whittaker, Cayman Islands, received 5 votes).

The CONCACAF Congress took place the day after the 2021 Gold Cup Preliminary Round matches which determined the final three teams who will compete in the Gold Cup Group Stage.

(CONCACAF)

FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2021

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

23

Leave Hetmyer alone – Pollard tells media …West Indies, Australia lock horns today

By Brandon Corlette

G

uyana's Shimron Hetmyer is arguably the most talked-about cricketer in recent times. From fans to cricket pundits, to past players and Journalists, Hetmyer has been a topic for discussion.

Being a Journalist, and a Berbician who played local cricket against Hetmyer, it is very pleasing for me to see the lefthander score runs and do well.

Whenever I pose a question about Hetmyer in a press conference, it is based on positive reasons, and writing when he fails or succeeds is essential.

Responding to a question posted by Guyana Times Sport in relation to the Guyanese Hetmyer, on the eve of the first T20I against Australia, Pollard said: "Again fellas, in all honesty we have 18 guys on the ground.

When Hetty (Hetmyer) was not playing, guys were asking his inclusion. Now he is playing, and he is trying to fulfil a role."

"Honestly, let's try to keep him out of the media for two to three days and let's see if he can perform. He is a guy that is

really talented and we have a lot of time for him and we want him to do well. All the time you guys put him out in the media for whatever reasons, let's please – I am just asking and begging from that perspective, and let him play and let us see if we can reap the rewards of his talent, because he has the talent and we are willing to work. We just want him to succeed," Pollard said.

In the three matches where Hetmyer returned to the West Indies team, he scored 57 runs in his innings with a high score of 33 against the South Africans.

During the South Africa series, West Indies Head Coach Phil Simmons said Hetmyer was one of the best players of spin in the team. “Hetty, I think, the situation eluded him. He started well against Shamsi and he is one of the guys that is the best player of spin in the team,” Simmons said in a virtual press conference after the third T20I. Pollard also spoke about the out-of-form Nicholas Pooran, stating that he was still finding his way at the highest level.

"Again a young individual, finding his craft, we know he is talented.

In any sportsman career, you are going to go through periods like this. So, this is an opportunity for us to be there for these youngsters and give them that hug and protect them and let them come out of it in a very nice way," Pollard said.

The West Indies Captain said that the team were willing to work with the youngsters, because it is known what these individuals can do in the future.

"We are going to stick with these guys and see what can happen, We know that these guys are talented and we know that they can take West Indies cricket forward," Pollard noted.

Australia have not played the West Indies in a 20-over match since the 2014 T20 World Cup and have not played a T20 in the Caribbean since 2012. Apart from their match at the 2019 ODI World Cup, the two teams have not met in any format since 2016.

The Aussies will lock horns with the West Indians from 19:30h local time today (Friday July 9) in St Lucia.

West Indies T20 squad: Kieron Pollard (Captain); Nicholas Pooran (Vice Captain); Fabian

Poole expresses confidence in youth boxing team

A

team of four youth boxers will soon head off to Mexico in a bid to qualify for the Youth Pan American Games. And National three-star Coach Terrence Poole, MS. is quite pleased with the venture.

Last week, Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) President Steve Ninvalle, who is also the Director of Sports, announced a four-member youth team that would represent Guyana at next week’s Qualifiers for the Youth Pan American Games later this year.

Now, Coach Terrence Poole, who is overseeing preparation and will travel with the team, echoed praises for the initiative taken by the GBA to give the young boxers a chance at development.

“I think it’s a very good initiative from the Guyana Boxing Association in terms of exposing our young boxers, graduate them into the different levels, until we reach the elite stage, where we can get more results from them,” Poole told Guyana Times Sport in an invited comment.

The three-star Coach has been working with the team, consisting of Alesha Jackman, Travis Inverary, Wayne Castello, and Patrick Harvey, and is confident about what they will be able to produce in Guadalajara, Mexico.

“So, it’s a good opportunity for these young boxers – going to a Junior Pan American Games, which there wasn’t. I think it’s a good effort; I think most of the boxers would’ve had that type of ability to perform and I can see us having qualifiers for the Youth Pan American Games,” the Coach opined.

Coach Terrence Poole, MS

Poole’s confidence is so high that he is sure the young boxers will medal.

He assured, “I know for

sure that there’s persons between there who would be qualifying there.”

The Youth Qualifiers in Mexico are scheduled to run from July 11 to July 19. On the other hand, the first-ever Youth Pan American Games are slated for November 25 to December 5 in Cali, Colombia, with three Guyanese athletes already qualified – table tennis player Miguel Wong and badminton players Priyanna Ramdhani and Akili Haynes.

The big boys will want to come good for West Indies

Allen; Dwayne Bravo; Sheldon Cottrell; Fidel Edwards; Andre Fletcher; Chris Gayle; Shimron Hetmyer; Jason Holder; Akeal Hosein; Evin Lewis; Obed McCoy; Andre Russell; Lendl Simmons; Kevin Sinclair; Oshane

Thomas and Hayden Walsh Jr. Australia squad: Aaron Finch (Captain); Ashton Agar; Wes Agar; Jason Behrendorff; Alex Carey; Dan Christian; Josh Hazlewood; Moises Henriques; Mitchell Marsh; Ben

McDermott; Riley Meredith; Josh Philippe; Mitchell Starc; Mitchell Swepson; Ashton Turner; Andrew Tye; Matthew Wade and Adam Zampa.

Travelling reserves: Nathan Ellis and Tanveer Sangha.

Tokyo Olympics: State of emergency could see fans kept away from Games

M

ajor events at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games could take place behind closed doors after Japan confirmed a new state of emergency would be imposed.

Chief cabinet secretary Katsunobu Kato said any event scheduled for after 21:00h (9pm) would be unable to take place in front of spectators.

Currently, major athletics events, including the women's and men's 100 metres finals on July 31 and August 1, are due to take place after that time.

"We are now having experts discuss regarding the event and spectators within the area of the state of emergency declaration," Kato said.

"The threshold is 50 per cent of capacity or 5000 people and, thinking about the time, the event should be ended around 9pm.

"In the case of Tokyo, the intensive measures, that is relying on the judgement of the

Governor.

"However, Tokyo is under a state of emergency declaration, so any event after 9pm is going to be without spectators.

"Having said that, specific counter measures, how to handle this is going to be discussed after July 12, when the state of emergency declaration is issued.

"We have to be thinking about the handling of the spectators.

"The contractor is the Tokyo prefecture and the implementor is the Olympic Committee.

"From this perspective, the Government will air its opinions, and at the end of the day, the implementer will make the final decision."

It is possible the entire Olympics will happen without spectators, local reports have suggested.

Should fans still be allowed in to venues, it seems likely scheduling will need to be

altered to avoid blue-riband events happening in front of empty seats after the curfew.

Bars and restaurants in Tokyo must close at 20:00h (8pm) under the restrictions, but events such as concerts will have a 9pm curfew.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has declared the emergency measures will be in place until August 22, amid rising coronavirus cases.

The Olympic Games, already delayed by a year, officially begins on July 23 with the opening ceremony, although softball and football start two days earlier.

Many residents of Japan have expressed opposition to the Games going ahead, given the influx of competitors, officials and media from overseas.

The Olympics are due to run until August 8, and are scheduled to be followed by the Paralympics from August 24 to September 5. (Sportsmax)

FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2021

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

England charged by UEFA after “laser” penalty incident

Pg 23

Leave Hetmyer alone –…West Pollard tells media Indies, Australia lock horns today

The Denmark players line up during the Danish national anthem, which was booed by some England fans

Pg 22

Poole expresses confidence in youth boxing team Pg 23

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