Guyana Times - Friday, November 18, 2022

BRIDGE OPENINGS

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

Friday, November 18 –00:00h-01:30h and Saturday, November 19 –01:00h-05:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Friday, November 18 –12:40h-14:10h and Saturday, November 19 –13:20h-14:50h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY

Sunny conditions are expected in the early morning hours, with light to thundery showers during the late afternoon hours and into the night. Temperatures should range between 22 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

Winds: Northerly to North-Westerly between 1.78 metres and 3.12 metres.

High Tide: 12:24h reaching a maximum height of 2.18 metres.

Low Tide: 18:19h reaching a minimum height of 1.05 metres.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2022 |

8% retroactive salary increase for public servants – President Ali

...permanent salary for health workers, Disciplined Services being reviewed

President Dr Irfaan Ali on Thursday an nounced an eight per cent salary increase for all public servants as his Government continues to im plement measures to improve the lives of all Guyanese.

In a live broadcast to the nation Thursday evening, the Head of State explained that this increase would be retroactive to January 1, 2022.

“My Government will be paying an across-the-board increase of eight per cent to public servants, teach ers, members of the disci plined services, constitution al office holders, as well as Government pensioners,” he declared.

According to the Head of State, work will commence immediately to ensure that this increase is processed and paid to eligible employees to gether with their December salary.

In addition, the President also indicated that further announcements would be made next week regarding specific categories of Public Sector employees.

“I have instructed those options be identified for ad justment to the salaries paid to a number of specific cate gories of Public Sector em ployees. These include, in the first phase, ranks of the Police Force, Prison Service, and Fire Service. Additionally, a similar exercise is currently being conducted and recom mendations being made in relation to specific categories of employees in our public healthcare system, including nurses, interns, doctors, and other healthcare profession als,” the Guyanese Leader said.

President Ali posited that his Administration contin ues to place high value on the hard work that Government employees do every day in delivering services to the people of Guyana. To this end, he contended that the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) regime is reso lutely committed to ensuring that the lives of all Guyanese are improved steadily in a tangible and demonstra ble manner as they work towards realising national prosperity for the benefit of everyone.

This, the Head of State pointed out, is evident in all the measures taken since the Party assumed office in August 2022.

In fact, he reminded that in Budget 2022 alone there were financial provisions to meet the cost of a public ser vice salary increase for this year.

“This commitment by my Government comes against the backdrop of the several other measures we have im plemented since assuming office, all with the aim of im proving disposable incomes to Public Sector employees and Guyanese at large,” he asserted.

Among these measures are the payment of a seven per cent across-the-board in crease to public servants in 2021; the restoration of the one-month tax-free year-end bonuses to the Disciplined Services totalling more than $1 billion per annum; an in crease of about 40 per cent in the monthly old-age pension from $20,500 to $28,000, pro viding a total pension payout of more than $21 billion to se nior citizens; and an increase of 55 per cent in public assis tance payments from $9,000 to $14,000 monthly, provid ing a total of more than $3 billion in annual income sup port to the beneficiaries.

Moreover, the PPP/C has also restored the cash grants to parents of school-aged chil dren, increasing the amount provided for each child to $30,000 and extending the programme to children at tending private schools. In total, this provides $6 bil

lion of direct cash transfers to the parents of 200,000 schoolchildren. It also in creased the minimum wage for Private Sector employees by 36 per cent to $60,147, in keeping with the recommen dations of the tripartite com mittee.

According to President Ali, these and other simi lar measures augmented the many other steps tak en by his Government to remove the punitive taxes that had been imposed by A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) on electricity, water, medical and educa tional supplies, basic house hold necessities, and basic construction materials.

Further cognisant of the extraordinary shocks expe rienced this year in relation to the cost of living especial ly arising from imported fac tors, President Ali reminded of a host of

other interventions made by his Administration to offset these.

“We implemented a num ber of measures to mitigate the effects of these imported shocks. These include remov al of the excise tax on fuel, capping the freight charges used in calculating import taxes, providing fertiliser and other support to farmers to boost food production, and direct cash transfers to espe cially vulnerable communi ties,” the Head of State not ed.

Since coming to office in 2020, the PPP/C Government has implemented a number of initiatives geared towards improving the livelihoods of Guyanese in the face of the global COVID-19 pandemic and the real impacts of cli mate change. These include the $25,000 COVID-19 cash grant per household in 2020; a $400 million special payout in 2021 to health workers on the COVID-19 frontline; and two tranches of one-off grants to old-age pension ers – $25,000 in August 2021 and $28,000 in October 2022.

The Finance Ministry had said last year’s seven per cent salary increase had benefited more than 50,000 public servants, teachers, members of the Disciplined Services, and Government pensioners. That retroac tive increase coupled with the substantive December 2021 salaries and pensions amounted to a whopping $10.5 billion. (G8)

President Dr Irfaan Ali

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Marketing: 231-8064 Accounts: 225-6707

Mailing address: Queens Atlantic Investment Estate Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown Email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, marketing@guyanatimesgy.com

Reintegration: teen mothers

Earlier this year, this newspaper reported that 38 adolescent mothers completed the reintegration programme though the Education Ministry.

These young mothers have a chance and opportunity to be gainfully employed and take care of their children. This opportunity, like the reintegration into the formal school system, gives adolescent mothers a prospect to a good education, thus providing them with the foundation to have a better life.

Sometime ago, after reports surfaced in the media that teenage girls, aged 13 and 15, from the Lower Pomeroon area, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), had become pregnant and had subsequently given birth to twins, there was much uproar about the lack of will at the level of policy-makers, and the lack of guidance at the social level, to help prevent teenage pregnancy. Also, this publication had reported, some time ago, of a 14-yearold girl, also from the Pomeroon River, who was hospitalised after she had tried to abort her unborn baby and had injured herself. This is a typical example of what happens when one becomes pregnant at a very young age, and possibly gets into a state of depression due to that pregnancy.

The fact that our students, who ought to be at school educating and preparing themselves to face life’s challenges, are engaging in such unwholesome and life-changing activities is very worrying. Our adolescents would certainly have to face the consequences of these poor choices later down the road. The resulting problems could be many; for example: severe health complications for both the mother and child, and serious social and economic problems.

The World Health Organization (WHO), in one of its reports, had stated that adolescents aged 10-19 years account for 11 per cent of all births worldwide, and for 23% of the overall burden of disease due to pregnancy and childbirth.

The Organization has reported that 14 percent of all unsafe abortions in low- and middle-income countries are among women aged 15–19 years. About 2.5 million adolescents have unsafe abortions every year, and adolescents are more seriously affected by complications than are older women.

Many health problems are particularly associated with negative outcomes of pregnancy during adolescence. These include anaemia, malaria, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, postpartum haemorrhage, and mental disorders such as depression.

Likewise, the social problems, both on families and the community, are many. Many girls who become pregnant have to leave school. This has long-term implications for them as individuals, their families, and communities. For example, when an adolescent girl becomes pregnant, her entire life is affected, as her focus can no longer be her academic studies; she would now have to dedicate all her energies and resources to child rearing and caring. In most cases, the male partner is also similarly affected.

That said, we believe that in many of these cases, especially in girls under 15, such pregnancies are not the result of a deliberate choice, but rather an absence of choices, and of circumstances beyond a girl’s control. Early pregnancies reflect powerlessness, poverty and pressures – from partners, peers, families and communities. Hence, there is need for approaches that build girls’ human capital; help them make decisions about their lives, including matters of sexual and reproductive health; and offer them real opportunities, so that motherhood is not seen as their only destiny.

Girls need to have access to both sexual and reproductive health services, and to the right kind of information, so that they can make informed choices about their own lives. In many communities, especially in the hinterland areas, these services are lacking.

In May 2011, the World Health Assembly adopted a resolution urging member states to accelerate actions to improve the health of young people. It included these specific measures: reviewing and revising policies to protect young people from early childbearing; providing access to contraception and reproductive health-care services; and promoting access to accurate information on sexual and reproductive health.

It is very commendable that the Education Ministry continues to help teen moms through the Re-integration of Adolescent Mothers programme. This affords teen mothers the opportunity to be productively employed, and for those who choose to reenter the formal school system, they can do so successfully.

Dear Editor, I refer to Mr Sherwood Lowe’s letter on the need to conduct another House-toHouse (HtoH) registration to clean up what he per ceives to be a bloated voters’ list. Mr. Lowe believes that HtH is the only method of registration that could lead to a clean voters’ list. He has minimised the impact of periods of “continuous registration” and “claims and objections” to update the existing voters’ list.

He cites a 2008 statement from GECOM to support his position: “The imperative to conduct House-to-House Registration was born out of the need for the creation of an indisputable NRRDB which could be used as the basis for the preparation of Electoral Lists that would be commonly acceptable by all stakeholders as being unblemished.”

While an HtH registra tion was conducted in 2008 to consolidate and start a fresh list, there has been no commitment or plan to in stitute subsequent HtH reg istration to replace the ex isting voters’ list.

Political leaders can not make decisions for GECOM. Under GECOM Chair James Patterson, an HtH registration occurred for 6 weeks before it was stopped. This process would have disenfranchised thou sands of voters living and working abroad. Residency is not a qualification for

voting. The PPPC and oth er political parties believe that the periods of “con tinuous registration” and “claims and objections” are adequate to provide a clean voters’ list.

This voters’ list, which has been described as “bloat ed” because it contains thou sands of Guyanese living and working abroad, does not create an unusual situ ation. Some countries allow dual citizenship, so that in dividuals living and work ing abroad can vote in their home country once they are above 18 years of age and are duly registered there (home country). In a few Caricom countries, citizens living and working abroad are entitled to vote by re turning home and casting their ballots. In Trinidad & Tobago (TT) the size of the voters’ list is equivalent to 81.1% of its total popula tion. In Barbados, the size of the voters’ list is equiv alent to 92.4% of the coun try’s population.

The size of Guyana’s voters’ list at 2020 elec tions was 84.0%. Guyana had 470,000 voting age persons in 2020, of which 460,352 voted. There were 660,988 registered voters, which meant that 181,000 Guyanese had been liv ing and working abroad at election time. Whether this number of voters should be removed from the vot ers’ list is a serious consti tutional issue, to which I

would return.

registration

Both Attorney General Mr. Anil Nandlall and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Ms. Gail Teixeira have stated that this is the same voters’ list - updated via “continuous cycles of reg istration” and “claims and objections” periods - that had been accepted by the PNCR and other political parties in the 2011 National and Regional Elections, when the PNCR won a ma jority in Parliament. It was the same updated list that was used for National and Regional Elections in 2015, and it was the same updated list that was used for Local Government Elections (LGEs) in 2016 and 2018. This updated vot ers’ list was also used as the basis for the 2020 National and Regional Elections.

The fundamental point is that neither the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Aubrey Norton, nor Mr. Lowe could produce evidence to show that the existing voters’ list, which has been updat ed through regular cycles of “continuous registration” and “claims and objections”, is deficient.

To claim that the voters’ list is bloated or deficient because Guyanese migrants are on it is not a smart po sition. The Honourable Chief Justice ruled in 2019 that those persons who are registered could not be re moved from the list except on death or on grounds set

out in Article 159 (3) and (4) of the Constitution.

The right to vote is a sig nificant constitutional one, and it is the greatest tool that electors have to influ ence public policy and pro grammes. To arbitrarily de prive them of this right is not only a violation of their constitutional right, but it is also a violation of natural justice.

To argue in the name of transparency and ac countability that President Desmond Hoyte moved to amend the Constitution to allow for election “integrity” (counting of ballots at poll ing sites) and “trust” (joint appointment of GECOM Chair by Government and Opposition) is not enough reason for the PPPC to agree to make similar con stitutional amendments. Trust and integrity are vastly different from de priving electors of their in alienable right to exercise their franchise. No other in dividual right is more im portant and sacred than the right to vote.

There are other critical issues that political parties should focus on, such as vot er education, improving the counting of ballots (which was a weakness identified by the Carter Center) at polling stations, revising the rules and protocols of the tabulation process, and timely declaration of poll tabulation results.

First Lady Arya Ali shared a photo with senior officers of the Guyana Defence Force’s Women Corps when they met to discuss social security programmes aimed at improving the lives of women and girls across Guyana. The First Lady also met with local NGO Dorcas Mending Hearts Ministry to discuss the same topic (Office of the First Lady photo)

Why discard continuous

that has been working well?

City Hall’s motion to pay former staff $30M

Dear Editor, I was gobsmacked when I learnt via the press re cently that a motion had purportedly been moved by the Mayor of Georgetown, and supported by a partic ular group of Councillors, for an officer formerly em ployed by the Georgetown Municipality, who was dis honourably discharged for several breaches in pro curement, accounting and management at the City Council, to be paid what is described as outstanding sums within 72 hours.

Mind you, this is no pet ty cash being referred to, but rather a whopping $30 million, and is being de manded by the very Mayor who, just a few weeks be fore, boldly announced that the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) owed the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) between $400 and $500 million in

unremitted Pay As You Earn (PAYE) income tax deductions that the munic ipality took out of its em ployees’ salaries but failed to pay over to the revenue collection agency.

That act is a clear viola tion of the laws of Guyana, and he seemed upset by court action that was threatened against the M&CC.

Additionally, the very Mayor has, over time, been pointing to hundreds of millions being owed to the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), the Guyana Water Inc (GWI) and the Guyana Power and Light (GPL), along with monies owed for pension, gratuity and other benefits to oth er employees, but which he seems in no hurry to remit.

This is in the midst of the Georgetown Municipality failing to sub mit audited and qualified

financials for decades, and the Office of the Auditor General recently report ing having quite a difficult time making sure public funds were properly spent, including amounts total ling $374.545 million that were provided by the then Ministry of Communities.

To make matters worse, or, as they say here in Guyana, to add insult to injury, the very officer for whom the Mayor is de manding this urgent pay out, and some of the very Councillors who are sup porting it, were in large measure responsible for the dire circumstances in which Guyana now finds itself; and that is: being confronted with a US$100 million lawsuit through a botched and controversial

parking meter deal. And I mean US$100 million!

It is just unimaginable that, with Georgetown being in its current sorry state and often being de scribed as cash-strapped, the Mayor would seem ingly be in such a hurry to have this former official paid before the life of this Council comes to an end; that is: to have the payout of more than thirty mil lion dollars made to a dis missed officer whose track record is well known to all and sundry.

Can the citizens of Georgetown ever look for ward to a better day in their Garden City?

Sincerely,

Anu

New PSA is a step in the right direction ahead of oil lease auctions

Dear Editor, The positive progress that the newly announced model Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) represents for Guyana cannot be un derstated. Whilst preserv ing the sanctity of existing deals – which brought inves tor interest when Guyana was still high risk – the new agreement provides the Government with opportu nity to ask for more reve nues and higher royalties, going forward.

risk and payoff potential in this industry.

The underwhelming off shore oil lease auction in Suriname last year showed the importance of maintain ing interest in an open bid ding process for developing oil countries. Suriname had bids on just three of its eight available blocks. Similarly, Brazil’s oil lease auction fail ures over the past two years have been attributed to con tract terms that caused com panies to shy away.

Bihari

The original contract was made at a time when decades of exploration had turned up no results, leav ing the territory in a pre carious position, with over forty failed wells and wan ing interest. Now, because of the initial risk taken, the Government is in a strong position with sought-after blocks.

Why discard continuous registration that...

A level of duplicitous be haviour is recognised here.

While the PNCR's partner, AFC, has cited the sup port of the Western dip lomatic missions for con stitutional reform, and while there is no guarantee that the thousands of "mi grant" voters would be dis enfranchised in this pro cess, the PNCR operatives have launched a bitter at tack on the British High Commissioner for suppos edly interfering in Guyana's internal affairs when she said that the existing vot ers' list can be used with ap propriate safeguards. When Congressman Hakeem Jeffries and NYS Attorney

FROM PAGE 4

General Letitia James in terfered in Guyana's inter nal affairs, that behaviour was deemed acceptable by the Opposition forces.

Finally, should the po litical parties ever decide to walk on the murky path in the expectation to remove thousands of Guyanese (mi grants) from the voters' list, it is recommended that they proceed to amend the Constitution by first con ducting a referendum on this subject. Let the peo ple decide! After the people speak, then Parliament can act accordingly.

Sincerely, Dr Tara Singh

What about the child seen clinging to the moving bus?

Dear Editor,

It was good to see the er rant minibus driver in a so cial media post -- of a school child clinging on to the back of the moving bus -- charged. But what of the child and his parents? Shouldn't they also be pulled in by

the Police for this danger ous act? After all, the child is quite big, and sensible enough to know what he did was wrong and has conse quences.

Sincerely, Shamshun Mohamed

Further, this new model contract shows the political will of the Government to think long-term. While some argue that the new PSA still insufficiently represents Guyanese, there must be a balance between calculable

The terms that the re spective Governments of Suriname and Brazil of fered were more generous to the country in theory, but they failed to inspire bids at auction, and so would likely never translate to real reve nue. The terms those coun tries presented did not offer enough security to offset the risks that companies consid er when placing multi-bil lion-dollar bets.

This is a lesson that crit ics of the Government might be wise to consider.

Yours respectfully, Gregory Lynch

Making Mist

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

Materials: Straw Scissors Glass of water

Instructions:

Cut a horizontal slit in a straw about a third of the way from the bottom of the straw. Leave enough of the straw connected so you can bend the straw at the slit without the bottom section breaking off.

Put the short end of the straw in the water, keeping the slit about one quarter of an inch above the water level.

Blow hard through the long section of the straw.

A spray of mist should come out the other end of the straw.

How it works:

Mist is nothing more than tiny little droplets of water suspended and moving in the air. Mist can cool through evaporation in a way similar to human sweat. Blowing air through the straw creates a low pressure zone that pulls up the wa ter from the glass. When this liquid meets the blast of air, it breaks up into a fine spray. This is a great activity to demonstrate Bernoulli’s

Principle.

Make this a science project:

Try different sized straws. Try cutting the slit at different lengths from the bottom of the straw. Spray same amounts of mist on different colors of construction paper. Place the papers in the sun and determine if one evaporates quicker than the others.

(science is fun)

How it Works:

Mist is nothing more than tiny little droplets of water suspended and moving in the air. Mist can cool through evaporation in a way similar to human sweat. Blowing air through the straw creates a low pressure zone that pulls up the wa ter from the glass. When this liquid meets the blast of air, it breaks up into a fine spray. This is a great activity to demonstrate Bernoulli’s Principle.

Make This A Science Project:

Try different sized straws. Try cutting the slit at different lengths from the bottom of the straw. Spray same amounts of mist on different colors of construction paper. Place the papers in the sun and determine if one evaporates quicker than the others.

EXPLORE TONS OF FUN AND EASY SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS!

The mouse, the bird and the sausage

CONTINUED FROM THURSDAY

By The BroThers Grimm

Govt ready with proposals for US EXIM Bank – Pres Ali …urges Private Sector to “think outside the box” to capitalise on opportunities

Reta Jo Lewis, was expected to visit Guyana early next year and he wanted these proposals to be already with the institution by that time.

“That’s how fast we’re looking to work and so, we want proposals to get in there before the Chair of EXIM comes here, so that we can find some strategic alliance and strategic areas in which we can have great cooperation in pushing some initiatives forward,” he stat ed.

The Guyana Government is pre paring a portfolio of Public Sector projects to be financed by the United States Export Import (EXIM) Bank, and is also calling on the local Private Sector to follow suit in order to take advantage of this op portunity for major collabo ration.

A high-level delegation from the US EXIM Bank – led by its acting Chief Banking Officer and Senior Vice President (Office of Small Business) James Burrows, and acting Senior Vice President (Office of Small Business) Tamara Maxwell – is currently in Guyana to enlighten local stakeholders on the opportu nities available at the Bank for them to tap into.

During a stake holder engagement on Thursday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, President Dr Irfaan Ali dis closed that Government would be proposing a num

ber of Public Sector initia tives for US EXIM Bank fi nancing.

“I know Government has already put together a port folio of projects that we’re looking to have EXIM in volvement in and those discussions would have started,” he told a packed audience of business stake holders.

Thinking stage However, the Head of State pointed out that he wanted to see the Private Sector moving at a similar ly rapid pace to take advan tage of the opportunities that the institution offers. He noted that the “thinking stage” has long passed and it was now time to be serious and proactive.

To this end, President Ali urged local businesses to ensure they put togeth er their proposals and sub mit them to the US EXIM Bank as soon as possible. He explained that the Bank’s President and Chairperson,

According to the President, Government is fulfilling its responsibili ty by creating the environ ment and opportunities for Guyanese businesses to grow through interventions such as having the highest level of the US EXIM here to talk about ways in which lo cal stakeholders could bene fit from its services.

He pointed out that the US EXIM Bank was very serious and committed to Guyana as a new emerging market.

State of readiness

“So, we have to be in a state of readiness. We have to be in a position to make use of the opportunities that EXIM has provided… I hope that the Private Sector would see this as an import ant step.

“The Private Sector also needs to understand that you have to be prepared. To be prepared, you have to make investments. You have to make investments in a consultant and in a techni cal person to write up your business plans, write up your proposals, and to have

comprehensive study as to what you want to achieve,” the Head of State outlined.

President Ali went on to outline that there were op portunities for collabora tions between Guyanese and US companies in a wide range of sectors locally that could be financed by the EXIM Bank. He added too that even the local financing institutions as well as the construction industry could tap into this opportunity.

“That is what the in ternational companies do. The US company can come and say we are coming with EXIM financing to do cap ital projects. There is noth ing wrong for you to ap proach the US company and say let’s work together in ap proaching EXIM for financ ing at this rate to get things done. So, it’s thinking out side of the box,” he asserted.

According to the Head of

State, these are the types of collaborations that would al low local companies to ben efit from what EXIM has to offer and to do so rapidly. To this end, he urged local Private Sector stakeholders to focus on specific areas to come up with proposals that would be supported by the Government if needed.

“So, I’m looking forward to seeing meaningful out come from these meetings,” the president stated.

EXIM Bank’s role in Guyana’s development

This visit by the US EXIM Bank officials fol lows the signing of a US$2 billion Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Guyana Government and the Bank back in July to finance infra structure, energy, telecom munications, water treat ment and sanitation, and

agriculture projects.

At Thursday’s stake holder engagement, Senior Minister with Responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh told the visiting delegation that Guyana was on an un precedented development path, which he noted the US EXIM Bank could play a role in.

“We are in a hurry to de liver development to the people of Guyana and we see important partners like the US EXIM Bank playing an extremely strategic role and highly-valued role in our de livery of development to the people of Guyana,” he stat ed.

Dr Singh highlighted that while many Guyanese companies were doing, or have done, business with US counterparts, they did not know of the opportunities available with the EXIM Bank.

President Dr Irfaan Ali

Senior Vice President (Small Business) at US EXIM Bank , Tamara Maxwell engaging local business operators during Thursday’s stakeholder’s engagement at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre

Ex-Policeman Joel Semple, who was previously charged with armed robbery, is back in court for the same offence.

The 27-year-old resident of Samatta Point, Grove, East Bank Demerara (EBD) has been arraigned before Principal Magistrate Judy Latchman at the Diamond/Golden Grove Magistrates’ Courts on a charge detailing that, on November 1, at Friendship, EBD, while armed with a gun, he robbed food vendor Denisa Sumir of $75,000, property of Azeez Burger.

In a video of the incident, a car was seen stopping in front of the food stall. A man exited the vehicle, walked up to the stall, and held the complainant at gunpoint before relieving her of the cash. The man then jumped into the vehicle and it sped off.

Semple has denied the charge, and has been placed on $100,000 bail. He has to return to court on December 12 to collect statements.

On October 13, 2020, Semple and two other men were charged for al legedly robbing pedal cyclist Demendra

out in Police uniform and was sitting in the front passenger seat of a

white motorcar that pulled up along side Yussuff, who was riding his bicy cle.

Ex-cop granted bail on armed robbery charge Connections...

Semple reportedly instructed Yussuff to pull over. Yussuff obeyed be cause he thought that Semple was an on-duty Police officer. The pedal cyclist was asked why he was not wearing a face mask, and was questioned about the contents of his pockets. When Yussuff told Semple that he only had cash, Semple demanded that he take out the money and place it on the bi cycle seat.

One of Semple’s accomplices had then confiscated Yussuff’s cell phone, and at that point the complainant be came suspicious and snapped a photo graph of the vehicle that had pulled up alongside him. He later reported the matter to the Police, and Semple and his accomplices were subsequently ap prehended at Estate Road in Uitvlugt, West Coast Demerara (WCD).

During his time in the Guyana Police Force, Semple had been sta tioned at the Brickdam Police Station, and had worked as an orderly at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. (G1)

…for Louisiana trade

When your Eyewitness heard about the visiting Louisiana trade delegation, two things come to mind – Bourbon St in New Orleans’ French Quarter, and the classic ballad “American Pie”. As Trip Advisor advises, “The partying never stops on Bourbon Street, the French Quarter's liveliest and wildest thoroughfare, where the rhythmic sounds of jazz, country western, Dixieland and sultry blues permeate the air. Brimming with life, you'll find everything from shopping to music to Cajun food to nightclubs.”!! No wonder it’s one of the favourite destinations of American college kids on Spring break!!

In “American Pie” - the definitive statement on the loss of American innocence - the chorus belts out: “We started singing bye-bye, Miss American Pie/Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry/Them good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye”. The “levee” is akin to our seawall, albeit the one in New Orleans keeps out the mighty Mississippi while ours does the same for the mighty Atlantic!! And like on our seawall, folks drive up to it to hang out and down whatever sorrows they may have in the “spirits”!!

So, your Eyewitness wondered whether someone from our Tourism Ministry thought about giving the Louisianas a tour of our (newly refurbished Georgetown) sea wall and offer them a rum-and-Coke!! The other thing that intrigued your Eyewitness was – believe it or not - how similar Louisiana and Guyana are apart from the levee and sea wall! First of all, we’re both seen as backwater kinda people who’re not quite up there with the high flyers in NYC or California. To be kind, the Louisianas are considered “good-ole-boy” rednecks while we’re - at best - “natives of a sh*thole country”!!

They’re also comparatively dirt poor – almost at the bottom of the barrel in the US - and depending for half of their budget on Federal Government handouts. They could teach us a thing or two in lobbying for aid!! Like us, they have oil off their shores – theirs is in the Gulf of Mexico - and maybe they could be asked to offer advice on oil refineries and manufacturing of plastics and what-not from natural gas. Exxon are big down there, and ship most of their crude from our Stabroek Block to their refinery in Louisiana. Pollution’s a big thing there, in addition to the fact that New Orleans is slowly sinking, and will eventually be inundated like Georgetown!!

But what’s interesting is that they’re big in rice and soya – the first in which we’re also big, and the second wherein we wanna be big!! Most important of all, they like their food HOT, HOT, HOT – whether it’s the Cajun (White) or the Creole (Black and Creole).

Hot peppers, anyone??

…for UK trade

Coincidentally, while we were hosting the good old boys (and girls) from Louisiana, a Trade Pact was signed between the UK and little ole us!! Imagine that!! Once the Brits just shipped in whatever their colonists wanted from the “Motherland”, and shipped out whatever they produced here with slave and then indentured labour!! Pact??

The colonial office decided on their lonesome what was good for us. Like potatoes, salt beef (and condensed milk!) for which we acquired a taste we’re yet to throw off!!

Your Eyewitness was intrigued that while for centuries we had to schlep up to Britain for our educational needs, the Pact caters for providing “educational technology to support the Government of Guyana’s vision for a world class, cuttingedge education sector, bringing EK Ed-Tech companies, and UK educational providers”!! There’s gonna also be “a joint plan to increase links between Guyana and the UK Agri-Tech business”.

Does this mean we might finally get a sugar refinery –even for the long-promised “Plantation White”??

…for WWIII?

After a missile hit Poland, Ukraine’s Zelensky insisted it came from Russia – so NATO should retaliate. The Russians denied the accusation which encouraged a WWIII.

Poland’s just confirmed the missile was Ukrainian!! Will they declare war on Ukraine??

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

Yussuff of $18,0000 while Semple had been dressed in Police uniform at De Kinderen, West Coast Demerara (WCD). Based on reports, Semple was decked

Robbery accused Joel Semple

Inquest into 2013 road death of pensioner to begin next week

Acoroner’s inquest into the death of 70-year-old pension er Chanderjit Sanichar, called “Canter”, who was killed in an accident on the Better Hope Public Road, East Coast Demerara (ECD) on June 23, 2015, is sched uled to commence next Wednesday, November 23, 2022, at the Sparendaam Magistrates’ Courts.

According to reports, Sanichar, called “Canter”, a fish vendor of Zohara Street, Better Hope, ECD, was killed after he was struck down by a motorcar driven by a Police Cadet Officer on June 23, 2013. The accident

occurred at around 05:00 hours.

According to a notice published by the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Judicature, Sueanna Lovell, six witnesses, including Police ranks, will give evi dence in the inquest before Magistrate Alisa George.

An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law ju risdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person’s death and to determine if anyone is to be held liable. This inquest will determine if Police Cadet Officer James Tappin is criminally accountable for Sanichar’s death. (G1)

Dead: Chanderjit Sanichar, called “Canter”

Private Sector wants expansion of local content services for Guyanese

…Dec 31 earmarked for review of first schedule

The Private Sector has on Thursday lobbied for an increase to the current 40 services which oil and gas companies and their subcontractors must procure from Guyanese, as prescribed in the Local Content Act.

The Private Sector Commission has held a Sensitization and Local Content Forum aimed at garnering feedback on the First Schedule of the Local Content Act. PSC Chairman Paul Cheong underlined that advocating for local content has always been high on the agenda, and evaluating the landscape has become even more par

amount.

The Private Sector Commission had formed its Local Content Advisory Committee, which works in conjunction with the Local Content Secretariat to keep the Private Sector informed and engaged on the topics of local content, while rais ing concerns facing local Private Sector bodies.

The first schedule to the Local Content Act sets out the minimum threshold and level for local content levels in relation to the procure ment of goods and services. There are 40 areas, with lo cal participation up to 100.

PSC Chair Paul Cheong is asserting that it is time

to expand these catego ries to maximise benefits for Guyanese. Cheong ex pressed, “We believe the time (is ripe)to expand those 40 categories, as now the capacity and the skill of Guyanese have expanded. Many companies have in vested and have established partnerships. It is now up to us to up our game and deliv er quality services in keep ing with the standards and requirements of the oil and gas sector.”

He commended the Natural Resources Ministry for addressing the payment period, but shared concerns in relation to contract bun dling.

“With regards to contract bundling, we will have come across cases where compa nies are issuing tenders for a minimum number of ser vices on the one contract, when specific areas could be competitively tendered for to allow local companies to participate. How can there be commitment to local con tent and the participation of Guyanese businesses in the value chain when there remain efforts to maintain contract bundling?” Cheong pointed out.

Capacity

Regarding the Private Sector calls, Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat recognis es there is a capacity deficit which should be analysed beforehand.

“We need to recognize that there is a capacity defi cit in Guyana. It is a fact. Nobody is to be blamed, be cause we are moving at such a speed sometimes it is hard to keep up. So, we need to ensure that we build capaci ty to truly benefit from local content. The Government is open to revising the sched ule, but do we truly have the capacity?” he asked.

In December 31, an as sessment of the first sched ule will be conducted to look at the 40 services current ly outlined for Guyanese.

Minister Bharrat added that this capital-intensive sector requires partner ships, as he said, “So we are genuinely competitive in nature, but we got to re alize the difference. We got to realize that we’re dealing with a sector that is very capital- intensive.”

Guyana is reaching un precedented heights, pro ducing 380,000 barrels of oil per day with a one-mil lion-barrel daily projection in some four years’ time.

Employment

During the forum, Senior Petroleum Coordinator Bobby Gossai placed em phasis on measuring how local content is impacting the population.

“The emphasis here is on wanting to measure, be cause we want to be able to present to you how much lo cal content has impacted on this economy, and we know by now that we are the fast est growing economy in the world. We are going to be a model type of economic system next year and into 2025,” he explained.

He added, “So, in terms of the procurement activi ties, for us, we want local content to be seen as an op portunity for procurement in Guyana not to be mea sured in any ad hoc man ner, but to be measured in a

direct manner as well as an indirect, if you are provid ing an interrelated service to a secondary business.”

Between January and June, over $310 million en tered the economy from reg istered stakeholders. Gossai pointed towards enhanced collaboration to have real time information to moni tor and evaluate. He added that employment is one of the key things to measure, and a pattern has already been observed. The sys tem is now reflecting more Guyanese and less migrant workers.

“Employment is one of the key things that we need to measure for the Local Content Secretariat and the local content reports that are coming in. In fact, what we have been doing is looking at a number of Guyanese against the num ber of foreigners that have been employed in sector. We have seen the change in pat terns, we will also see the projection of new hires for each year. What we want to make sure is that this is on a sliding scale for Guyana,” Gossai pointed out.

Through this engage ment, Private Sector stake holders have been able to share their individual views on how the 40 areas are per forming, and how they can be expanded. (G12)

Govt ready with proposals...

“The US EXIM Bank does not only do business with the Government side but has a vast portfolio of transactions that they’ve done around the world with Private Sector clients and has wide range of in struments to support busi ness-to-business trans action rather than solely Government-to-business transactions.

“We would like to see ac tual transactions done… We want to see actual deals concluded not only busi ness-to-business deals, but EXIM transactions done… Guyana is open for business to the world… We would like to see more US compa nies present in Guyana and playing a part in that trans formation,” Dr Singh stated.

Guyana office at US EXIM Bank

In response to these

calls, US EXIM Bank Senior Vice President Maxwell out lined that the institution’s seriousness in business col laboration with Guyana was evident in the fact that its highest-ranking officials were part of the visiting del egation.

According to Maxwell, being here has underscored the need for a ‘Guyana team’ at the EXIM Bank especial ly with the level of interest that has already been ex pressed by businesses.

“We saw all of the op portunities and we’ve met with a lot of businesses who, we know, is going to be calling on EXIM Bank… So, we have decided to cre ate a team that is only go ing to handle Guyana au thorisations, applications so that you’re not waiting for anyone to call you back. You have a complete under

FROM PAGE 7

standing and that they’re committed to making sure that the transactions com ing from Guyana are not missed and that everything is looked at,” Maxwell pos ited.

The EXIM Bank Vice President went on to explain the services available with in the institution and how Guyana companies, through partnerships with US busi nesses, could tap into these and vice versa.

While noting that the Bank offers small-scale as well as large-scale financ ing, Maxwell said these were available to specific countries that are open to business such as Guyana. In fact, she revealed that with in the last month, Guyana has moved one spot high er in the Bank’s rankings in terms of improved risk of do ing business. (G8)

PSC Chairman Paul Cheong delivering his address at the forum

Senior Petroleum Coordinator Bobby Gossai

Local content certification Govt concerned, putting systems in place to address companies “acting in bad faith” – Bharrat

oil and gas sector,” he said.

He has also said Government must ensure that its citizens are able to capitalize on the windfall of opportunities in the coun try.

Government will be putting sys tems in place to ad dress instances in which persons are showing up with Guyanese citizen ship and taking advan tage of the local content opportunities – a situation which Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat has labelled as acting in bad faith.

Comments from the Natural Resources Minister came in light of a court battle with Ramps Logistics (Guyana) in which Government was ordered to issue a Local Content Certificate to the company. Government has complied with the court or der, even as it seeks to ap peal the ruling.

The company, whose parent company is Trinidadian, had initially applied for certification in April, but that application was refused on June 8, af ter it allegedly had failed to meet the requirements of the Local Content Act 2021.

However, the com pany had said it divest ed 51 per cent ownership of its Guyana operations to Trinidad-based inves tor Deepak Lall, who has Guyanese parentage, to bring its operations in compliance with the Local Content Laws.

Finding that the com pany had indeed met the requirements for being a “Guyanese company”, the Chief Justice on Friday or dered that the company be issued the certificate.

Law-abiding Government Minister Bharrat ex plained that, as a law-abid ing Government, the cer tificate was issued, but not without apprehensions.

“We issued the cer tificate because we are law-abiding and we respect the rule of law. However,

there are reservations by the Government, and there are concerns by the Government that people cannot show up, or fall out of the sky, or appear after 70 or 80 years and say, ‘I’m Guyanese to the bone’. It cannot work like that!” the subject Minister voiced.

According to him, Government expects com panies to act in good faith, and not take ad vantage of opportunities that have been set aside for Guyanese. However, Minister Bharrat said such matters will be addressed as they arise.

“We expected people to act in good faith. We ex pected companies to act in good faith too, and not to resurrect people who were not born (here) and ap ply for a passport claiming they’re Guyanese. We ex pected some amount of pro fessionalism, we expected maturity, and we expected that companies would have acted in good faith; obvi ously they didn’t.

“We saw what played out, and we’re going to en sure that there are systems in place to deal with these matters as they arise. We can’t have people holding a Guyana passport but nev er pay a dollar tax in this country to develop this country to where it is to day,” the Minister assert ed.

Moreover, the Minister added that Government has put forward an opendoor policy for investors, since there are many op portunities in the country for parties to benefit from.

“We haven’t locked any foreign company out of Guyana. Some of them might run to the courts, but we are not unfair. Any(body) who knows the oil and gas sector knows that there are hundreds or thousands of services that are necessary to service the

“We’re serious about people trying now to acquire Guyanese passports just be cause of some family down the line, people who are not even born in Guyana. It is only fair that us here, who stayed and worked and toiled to develop this coun try, that we should bene fit first… We’re not afraid to speak on it, and our po sition is clear: the Local Content Legislation was de signed so that it brings ben efit to Guyana, Guyanese and Guyanese businesses,” he posited. (G12)

Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat

Cases of the coronavi rus are rising again, as are hospitalisa tions in Guyana, Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony has warned on Thursday.

For some weeks, the country was reporting minimal infections dai ly from the novel coronavi rus. However, the Health Minister has said there has been a different trend in the statistics, and this is a reminder that Guyana has not yet exited the pandem ic, and persons should con tinue wearing their masks.

“We are seeing an in crease in cases and increase (in hospitalisations), so peo ple ought to be very care ful, and when possible, they should use their masks…,” Dr Frank Anthony has in formed. “We’re still in a current pandemic, and we have to be mindful and take precautions. The virus that causes COVID-19 has many variants and subvariants. It’s continuously evolving, and based on the variants, we will see different types of clinical presentations.”

On Thursday, November 17, some 21 new cases of the novel coronavirus were reported by the Health Ministry, with 1281 report ed deaths to date. There are now 71,520 confirmed cases in Guyana; 32,786 of which are males and 38,734 are females. Across the coun try, 68 active cases are be ing tracked. Two persons are seeking treatment in the intensive care unit, two are in institutional isola tion, and 62 are in home isolation.

Meanwhile, 70,173 re coveries have been counted from the start of the pan demic to this week, and 704,440 tests have been processed.

Surveillance

At the Health Ministry, work is ongoing to devel op a strong surveillance network that can be used for COVID-19 and beyond. This is all in preparation for future pandemics and disasters.

“We have strengthened surveillance, so we would be

able to detect cases across the country if whatever the pandemic would be, we have a stronger system of surveillance. We have also formed a unit within the Ministry that can do rap id response, so this Unit is made up of epidemiol ogists, public health spe cialists, and we also have infectious diseases special ists,” Dr Anthony outlined. Should any situation arise, the team can be dispatched to examine symptoms, epi demiology, and make con clusions on how to respond.

“We are connected to the international health reg ulatory system. If we de tect anything new, we are obligated to report it; and again, if there is anything around the world, that is also reported to us,” Dr Anthony has informed.

The Health Ministry has been working with several multilateral institutions in relation to pandemic pre paredness, including hav ing discussions with PAHO/ WHO to strengthen exist ing systems. (G12)

Judge, QC’s acting Principal clash over assault of child …school’s Board launches probe

The Board of Governors of Queen’s College is probing an incident in which it is alleged that High Court Judge Navindra Singh was reportedly ag gressive with the school’s Deputy Principal over the way an altercation between his daughter and a boy –both students of the said school – was handled.

Contacted on Thursday, Education Minister Priya Manickchand declined to comment on the matter “at this time”, since it is being dealt with by the school’s Board.

“Queen’s College has a Board, and the Board has only today [Thursday] invit ed Justice Singh to respond to the allegation against him,” noted Manickchand in the telephone interview.

When Guyana Times phoned the Board’s Chairman, Marcel Gaskin, he would only say: “My statement is that the matter has engaged the attention of the Board, but I am not go ing to go into any details, be cause there are children in volved…”

The school’s acting principal, Candaice CaveStephen wrote a letter to the Board of the school, dat ed November 15, and to the Assistant Chief Education Officer (Secondary), Tiffany Harvey.

She claimed in the mis sive, seen by this publica tion, that on October 27 there was an incident be tween a male student and a female student, both of whom are in Grade Eight. The female student is the daughter of Justice Singh while the boy’s father is a se nior education official.

Both students, she re vealed, confirmed that the female was trying to enter a classroom when the male prevented her from doing so, by placing his arms across the door.

This resulted in the students pushing/hitting

each other, Cave-Stephen claimed.

According to CaveStephen, she instructed both students to apologise to each other and cautioned them not to repeat this kind of be haviour.

However, a few minutes later, the acting Principal re called, she received a phone call from Justice Singh, who expressed his dissatisfaction with how she resolved the matter.

Cave-Stephen claimed that when she attempted to explain why that course of action was taken, Justice Singh interrupted.

“Who do you think you are to have my child apolo gise to someone who hit her? I am recording you, are you saying that if someone hits my child she must not hit back? …This matter will be reported to the Police and I will bring the Police into Queen’s College to you,” the teacher claimed the Judge said.

The acting Principal said she replied “Noted, Sir” be fore ending the call. She said she then called the male stu dent’s mother, related the matter to her and how it was resolved, and implored her to talk with her son to en sure that there was not a re occurrence of the incident.

Police arrival

However, sometime af ter 11:00h on November 11, in the foyer outside the Principal’s office, CaveStephen related that she was approached by Justice Singh, who informed her that he and the Police have a meeting with her the said morning.

“I indicated to him that I have no meeting scheduled with him and any Police Officer and went into the of fice with two education of ficers with whom I had an other meeting at the time. I asked the Deputy Principal (ag) to inform Justice Singh and the Police Officers

that I will not be engaging them at the school and they should visit the Ministry of Education,” the acting Principal claimed.

However, according to the acting Principal of the school, the Deputy Principal (ag), Lenise Parker returned to her office in a ‘traumatised state’, claiming that Justice Singh, in the presence of the two officers, shouted at her, called her a liar, and was ag gressive.

She said an Assistant Commissioner of Police sent two officers over to the school to address the situation.

She then claimed that a relative of Justice Singh’s daughter went to the class room of the male student and “pushed” him, causing another issue to emerge.

A brief meeting was called and that issue was re solved.

However, this newspa per was told that the Judge did not take the Police to the school. In fact, after he reported the matter to the Police, a senior Education Ministry official advised that the Police visit the school. This newspaper was told that this was done to avoid the children being tak en to a Police station.

Guyana Times was also told that Justice Singh made several queries about the in cident, but his efforts were futile. This led to him going to the school for a meeting with the acting Principal.

This newspaper under stands that the male stu dent is also being investigat ed after it was reported that he was aggressive with other students.

The matter was report ed to the school’s Board, and the Deputy Principal was advised that some stan dard operating procedures as it relates to visits to the school by parents or others should be implemented, for the safety and security of the students and staff of the College.

QC’s acting Deputy Principal, Lenise Parker

High Court Judge Navindra Singh

GuyOil offers persons with disabilities equal employment opportunities

acted in law (Prevention of Discrimination Act of 1997 (Cap 99.08) and Persons with Disabilities Act 2010). According to the company, this is also in keeping with President Dr Irfaan Ali’s vi sion of the Government’s commitment to finding sus tainable solutions to the plight of Guyana’s disabled, with emphasis on empow ering PWDs economically, and socially enhancing their skills.

“GuyOil has effectively fulfilled a mandate in deliv ering ‘Excellence in Service’ to all stakeholders by its pursuit to represent diversi ty and equality in the work place,” the company has said in a statement.

The company noted that this collaboration was the brainchild of the Chairman

of GuyOil, Paul Cheong, who, in co-operation with the management of GuyOil, has now permanently em ployed two persons living with disabilities. According to the company, Peter Fraser has been employed as a maintenance/handy man and Ashshell Benn has been employed as a clerical staff. Additionally, Utam Kumar has been awarded a one-off gift from GuyOil and medical supplies as part of GuyOil’s Corporate Social Responsibility programme.

“GuyOil understands the difficulties persons living with disabilities are faced with daily, and has taken on the charge of leading by example by providing gain ful employment to the two persons so they may live full and productive lives while

simultaneously adding val ue back to their communi ty.”

A statement from the company has said they are advocating for corporate Guyana to replicate this ini tiative.

The

Commission

On Thursday, the com pany said this is predicat ed on the basis of equal employment opportunity en

Guyana Oil Company Limited (GuyOil) is collabo rating with the National

on Disability (NCD) to gainfully employ persons with disabilities (PWDs).

GuyOil Chairman Paul Cheong (far left); General Manager (ag) Molly Hassan (far right); newly employed staff Ashshell Benn and Peter Fraser; recipient of gift, Uttamkumar Isurdeen; and senior staff of Guyoil (Back)

180+ year-old St Patrick’s Church destroyed by fire …fire an act of arson – Fire Officer

Region Six,” the Fire Officer said.

One of the oldest churches in the country, St Patrick’s Anglican Church located in East Canje, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) went up in flames on Thursday morning.

The church, which was established more than 180 years ago, is one of the old est churches in the Diocese of Guyana and the third old est church in the county of Berbice.

The building was com pletely destroyed.

Fire was spotted at the Church located at Rose Hall, East Canje around 04:30h on Thursday.

However, by the time firefighters arrived, the building was completely en

gulfed in flames.

Reverend Father Ezra Minty, who is the parish priest of both All Saints and St Patrick’s, said services had not been held at the building for just over one year. Reports are also that the building was off-grid and has been without elec tricity.

He said when he arrived on the scene, firefighters were battling to put out the flames.

Battling fire Divisional Fire Officer Clive McDonald said there was not much firefighters could have done to save the building.

“Two tenders were dis patched and upon arriv

al, the crew made an as signment that the building was completely engulfed in flames. Immediately they went into action to suppress and stop the spread of fire,” he disclosed.

McDonald noted that the firefighters were able to get water from a nearby source.

“I believe that that fire based upon my experience and my knowledge in fire fighting, that fire was in that building a pretty long time because we know what does be in a church; the fire load is not much but the structure is an old struc ture –= a historical one, so, once a fire started in there, it will spread rapidly. It is sad to know that we have lost a historical building in

According to McDonald, fire investigators were able to find the origin of the fire which shows that it was de liberate.

Meanwhile, Reverend Father Minty said the building had been closed for about one year, because they were planning to reno vate the church and parish ioners were worshipping at All Saints and St Columbus Churches.

Reverend Fr Minty be lieves the fire was deliber ately set, pointing out that there were several breakins in recent months.

“We had a few breakins through one of the side doors,” he said.

He added that there were not many valuables in the building but church items were in the building: “We had washroom facili ties, the pews and of course,

the altar.”

Reverend Minty noted that although the church was more than 180 years old, over time the structure had been renovated and re paired.

“Up until as recent ly as seven years back, we put the concrete structure to the front and the two sides. It is a sad day for the Canje area knowing that the church represented a historic aspect of that area. Persons, from time to time, would talk to me about the significance of that church. This was not electrical, be cause there is no electrici ty to the building; it had to be set by someone and that is heart-rending,” the priest said.

According to the Reverend on Thursday morning, he was in con tact with the Head of the Anglican Diocese Right Reverend Charles Davison

who promised to discuss the way forward.

“In terms of how we will do that I cannot say at the moment, because I know funds are limited. However, due to the historical na ture of the building, I am hoping that as the priest, we can gather some funds from probably fundraisers or donors just to replace the building so that Anglicans within that area can have a place of worship. It is not only Anglicans, because as I was on the scene this morn ing, a Muslim man and a Hindu man came and they were talking about the his torical nature of the build ing. One of them said since he came to the area and lived over 60 years ago, he would attend the church even though he was a Hindu – they will come to church from time to time even if it is a funeral,” Reverend Minty related. (G4)

Ajoint operation by ranks of the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force’s Coast Guard on Thursday has led to the discovery of 17 acres of ganja with approx imately 27, 000 cannabis plants ranging from two to six feet in height.

Region Six Police Commander, Senior Superintendent Shivpersaud Bacchus said acting on infor mation received, ranks went to DeVeldt Village, Savannah along the Berbice River,

where they destroyed the cannabis sativa plants, three makeshift camps, one trailer, and two ploughs.

The estimated value of the cannabis sativa destroyed was $340,194,300.

Meanwhile, during a sim ilar operation at DeVeldt last month, $489 million worth of marijuana was destroyed and two shotguns were dis covered.

A 37-year-old farmer of Stewartville, West Coast Demerara (WCD), who was attending to the cannabis

plants, was arrested. He has since been placed before the courts.

This is not the first time Police have found cannabis being cultivated at DeVeldt. In September of this year, Police destroyed over 13, 700 kilograms (3000 lbs) of mar ijuana there and took four persons, including a juvenile, into custody.

Back in January 2021, after a raid by law enforce ment, three men escaped and a 12-gauge single-barrel shotgun, along with two live

12-gauge cartridges and one 12-gauge empty shell, were among the items found as $100 million was also burnt and destroyed.

In September 2020, five camps were also destroyed as Police discovered 337, 263 ki lograms of illegal plants with an estimated value of several billion dollars. Additionally, a 12-gauge shotgun and ammu nition and a cellular phone were also found.

Two years ago, during an other raid, Police discovered

five shotguns at a house in the same village.

CANU bust

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) seized a quantity of cannabis on the Corentyne.

The agency in a release said the drug was seized during an operation at Dukestown, Corriverton. It said during the operation, ranks observed three males fleeing toward the Dukestown

community, leaving behind two brown salt bags.

The men were subse quently apprehended and the bags were retrieved. A subse quent search of the salt bags revealed a quantity of sus pected cannabis.

The suspected narcotics were taken to CANU’s Office at Skeldon, Corriverton where it was tested positive for cannabis and amounted to 46.2 kgs.

CANU said the investiga tions are ongoing. (G4)

The

The cannabis field that was discovered by Police

State security chief among 5 dead in Mexico helicopter crash

The head of secu rity of the central Mexican state of Aguascalientes has died in a helicopter crash that killed a total of five people, the state's governor announced on Thursday.

The crash was captured on video shared on social media, showing the aircraft dropping vertically into the ground of an empty grass area.

All five people who died in the crash, including the minister of public securi ty Porfirio Javier Sanchez Mendoza, were on board the

aircraft.

The crash happened on Thursday morning in the north of the state.

The cause was being treated as an accident, Tere Jimenez, the state's gov ernor, said in a statement.

(Reuters)

Caption: Firefighters and members of security forces check covered bod ies where the head of secu rity of the central Mexican state of Aguascalientes has died in a helicopter crash, in Aguascalientes, Mexico November 17, 2022.

(REUTERS/Liberto Urena)

Around the World

Pelosi to step down from US House leadership, passing to a new generation

Nancy Pelosi, the trailblazing Democrat who as the first woman US House of Representatives speaker shepherded landmark legis lation and led two impeach ments, said on Thursday she will give up her lead ership role a day after Republicans secured control of the chamber.

Pelosi's allies quickly ral lied around Representative Hakeem Jeffries as her likely successor as the top House Democrat while Republicans prepared to in stall a speaker from their party who is expected to im pede President Joe Biden's legislative agenda. Her re placement will have to unite fractious House Democrats torn between centrists and an increasingly vocal left flank.

An 82-year-old California liberal, Pelosi made her announcement during a speech on the

House floor - drawing ap plause from Democrats even as many Republicans decided not to attend. She said she will not retire from the House but continue to represent San Francisco as she has done for 35 years.

"For me, the hour's come for a new generation to lead the Democratic caucus that I so deeply respect. And I'm grateful that so many are ready and willing to shoul der this awesome respon sibility," said Pelosi, who

MH17: 3 guilty as court finds Russia-controlled group downed airliner

ADutch court has found three men guilty of murder for shooting down a passenger jet over eastern Ukraine in 2014, killing 298 people.

The court found that a Russian-made missile sup plied from Russia and fired by an armed group under Russian control brought down flight MH17.

The men - two Russians and one Ukrainian - were found guilty in absentia and sentenced to life in jail. A third Russian was acquit ted.

The missile attack was one of the most notorious war crimes in Ukraine be fore allegations of atrocities there became an almost dai ly reality.

Many of the victims' rela tives believe if the world had reacted differently, and tak en a tougher stance against Russia eight years ago, the invasion of Ukraine and

the geopolitical instability that has followed could have been avoided.

The judges ruled that it was a deliberate action to bring down a plane, even though the three found guilty had intended to shoot down a military not a civil ian aircraft.

Oleg Pulatov was the only one of the four accused to have legal representation at the trial. The judges ac

quitted him, although they found he knew about the missile.

On 17 July 2014, 298 people, including 80 chil dren and 15 crew, board ed Malaysia Airlines flight 17 to Kuala Lumpur at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport.

The plane was cruising at 33,000 feet over Ukraine. It was the early days of Russia's efforts to control

parts of the country.

At the time this was a relatively low-level conflict zone, but fighting had re cently expanded into the air. In the preceding months a number of military planes had been shot down.

In response, Ukraine closed the airspace at lower altitudes - up to 32,000 feet. But planes were still cross ing the country.

The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 was flying 1,000 feet above this restricted airspace.

At 13:20 GMT, it lost con tact with air traffic control.

Of the 298 on board from 17 countries, 196 were from the Netherlands, 43 from Malaysia, 38 from Australia and 10 from the UK. They had packed for dream hol idays, an Aids conference, family reunions and more. In a flash, all plans for the future were obliterated. (Excerpt from BBC)

Haiti cholera outbreak worsens as cases rise

Haiti's cholera out break is wors ening, with con firmed cases jumping to more than 700 and chol era-related deaths to 161, the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) says.

Health officials are in vestigating a further 7,000 suspected cases.

PAHO head Carissa Etienne said half a million people were at risk of con tracting cholera.

The United Nations has appealed for nearly $150m (£127m) to help contain the

spread of the disease.

The current outbreak started at the beginning of October, when two cas es were confirmed in the greater Port-au-Prince area. Before those two cas es, there had not been any for more than three years.

Haiti had been chol era-free until 2010, when an outbreak spread from leaking sewage pipes from a United Nations base hous ing Nepalese peacekeepers.

Almost 10,000 people died as a result of the out

break. The UN later apol ogised for its failure to prevent the spread of the disease.

Cholera is contracted by eating food or drinking wa ter contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. It can affect children and adults, causing severe diar rhoea, and can kill within hours if left untreated.

The United Nations is calling for funding to pro vide clean water, hygiene and sanitation to slow down its spread.

The cholera outbreak is

particularly worrying be cause it comes at a time when Haiti is already mired in a security crisis.

Armed gangs control parts of the capital and heavy gunfights between rival gangs have disrupted food, water and fuel deliv eries.

According to the UN, nearly half of Haiti's popu lation are experiencing high levels of food insecurity.

Almost 100,000 peo ple have been displaced by the rising gang violence. (BBC)

has served as the top House Democrat for two decades and speaker from 20072011 and again from 2019 until the present.

Pelosi played a cen tral role in shepherding the legislative agenda of two Democratic presidents through Congress, even as she was vilified by many conservatives. She helped pass President Barack Obama's signature 2010 healthcare law as well as expansions of infrastruc

ture and climate spending and gun regulations un der Biden. She also presid ed as the House impeached Republican President Donald Trump in 2019 and 2021.

Biden in a statement called Pelosi "the most con sequential speaker of the House of Representatives in our history."

House Democrats are set to vote on their leaders on Nov. 30. Jeffries, of New York, would be the first Black lawmaker to lead one of the major parties' cau cuses in Congress. The No. 2 House Democrat, Steny Hoyer, endorsed Jeffries for the top leadership post and decided not to seek a leadership role in the next Congress.

Jeffries, 52, declined to comment on his plans, tell ing reporters: "Today is a day to celebrate the speak ership of Nancy Pelosi." (Reuters)

Israel PM-elect Netanyahu's deal plans to bolster settlements

between Israel's prime minister-elect and his far-right part ner reveals the likely next government's highly con troversial plans for settle ments.

Adeal

It includes moves to le galise dozens of outposts in the occupied West Bank.

If the plan becomes policy, it will set Israel on collision course with the Palestinians and its foreign allies.

Jewish settlements are widely seen by the inter national community as il legal, but Israel disagrees. Outposts though are illegal even under Israeli law.

Prime Minister-elect Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud par ty sent out a statement on Wednesday on what they agreed would go into the coalition agreement, which has yet to be signed.

It says they also decided to create Jewish religious seminaries in two evacuat ed outposts - Evyatar and Homesh.

That would inflame ten sions with Palestinians in nearby villages, which have seen regular protests against settlers trying to take over the land, often

leading to deadly clashes with Israeli soldiers.

"We don't care what was agreed, the people of our town will resist the settlers' presence," Dr Hutifa Badir from Beita, a village near Nablus and by the Evyatar outpost, told the BBC.

"We arm ourselves with the blood of martyrs and the wounded. We're com mitted to our land, and we will not give up on it what ever the cost." The deal be tween Likud and the Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party of extremist Itamar Ben-Gvir would also see new infrastructure.

A total of $500m (€484m; £425m) would be budgeted for settler bypass roads and the expansion of Highway 60, the main traffic route used by West Bank settle ments. These would con nect them more easily with towns and cities in Israel.

In addition, a pro posed law would set mini mum sentences for what is termed "agricultural crime". Palestinian activists say this would allow greater im punity when Israeli settlers attack or harass Palestinian farmers on their land.

(Excerpt from BBC)

Prime Minister-elect Benjamin Netanyahu

First woman US House of Representatives speaker, Nancy Pelosi

Judges were shown a reconstruction of the MH17 wreckage as part of the murder trial

DAILY HOROSCOPES

Look at what everyone around you is doing, and it will spark ideas. A partner ship or an adventure will improve your life. Make laughter a priority. Don’t be afraid to share expenses.

(March 21-April 19)

(April 20-May 20)

You’ve got what it takes to excel, so don’t just sit there watching the world pass you by; take the initiative and con centrate on getting things done. A rival may prove difficult.

Pace yourself. Don’t take on tasks that don’t belong to you or expect some one to come through for you just because you ask. Do your own thing, plan care fully and leave nothing undone.

(May 21-June 20)

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

Take everything you know and do well and put it to work for you. Bring loved ones together for a fun time or plan a romantic evening with someone special. Live, love and laugh.

Don’t hold yourself back because you don’t know what others plan to do next. Avoid joint ventures. Follow the path that leads to peace of mind and personal happiness. Do what pleases you.

Keep things in perspective. If you jump to conclusions, you will make a mistake. Be a good listener, and you’ll discover what really took place and how it might benefit you as well.

(Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

(Sept. 23-Oct. 23)

Reach out to a friend, relative or someone you consider an expert. Talks will lead to new beginnings and a change of scenery. Personal improvements will help build your confidence.

Do what others expect of you and keep the peace. Suggest an exciting al ternative to your usual weekend plans or connect with someone you haven’t seen in a long time. Romance is favored.

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

Charm will help you get your way. Plan to have fun with friends and enter tain on your turf. A partnership needs attention if you want help with your goals. Keep everyone updated.

Check out an investment that inter ests you, and you’ll come up with a sol id moneymaking plan. A change at home will lift your spirits and give you a rea son to plan something special.

(Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

(Jan. 20-Feb. 19)

Keep money matters to yourself. Consider what’s possible, and don’t make a move prematurely. Do your homework, but in the end, trust in your self, not in someone eager to take advan tage of you.

Listen to the experts and figure out what works best for you. You are better off following your instincts and sticking to what you know is a sure thing. Don’t let emotions cost you.

(Feb. 20-March 20)

The West Indian cricket commentator’s voice is vital: Reds Perreira

Many years ago, Lloyd Best picked his ide al West Indian tour ing team, and in addition to the 16 players, he selected Tony Cozier as the scribe and mouthpiece to tell the story to us back at home. Cozier, as we are aware, left us a while ago.

Today, meaning in the present, his colleague on many tours and Test se ries, Joseph “Reds” Perreira, continues to be very much with us, but has given up the microphone as a cricket broad -caster. I doubt, how ever, he will ever keep qui et about West Indies Cricket and cricketers. I suspect that Best, aware of the import ant re-interpretation of West Indian history and contem porary life by the generation of historians such as James, Williams and those who fol lowed, was making us aware of the importance of having a West Indian on spot to inter pret and relate our cricket to us here in the Caribbean, and

to counter those who have al ways been negative about our world.

As a young man, Reds had a bad case of stammer ing, and in the fullness of his career, he had a stroke.

Man United must terminate Cristiano Ronaldo's contract

However, neither could hush his voice and deter his pen from writing about the good, the bad, and what needs to be changed in our cricket.

The interests and pro fessional work of Reds have ranged over the 50-plus years of his career across many sports in broadcasting and administrative capacities. He (a native of Guyana) was once employed in St Lucia with the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, as head of its sports desk. You, the read er, may ask why am I mark ing the spot of the retirement of Reds from the broadcasting of cricket; after all, the man is still very much alive, and you know the West Indian tradi tion is to only record the en deavours of others as they are being carried away in a pine box.

viewpoint in the internation al propaganda war of nation alism and more. Over the several decades that I lis tened to the radio commen tary of Reds and Tony, they have been willing to tell the West Indian story in the face of the denigrating propagan da which has been carried out against West Indian teams and players.

Of great importance is the fact that I have never de tected in Reds and the others listed above the tendency to play along with the patron ising and culturally mini mising voices of commenta tors from other countries in their often-acidic statements against West Indian players and teams.

Only recently, I com mented on, and commended, Ian Bishop on his strength in answering the non-West Indian commentators who were making all too obvious negative and snide remarks about our cricket and play ers. It was for me a moment when the former fast bowl er reached a point where he could take no more of the stinging barbs of the nonWest Indians in the commen tary booth. Continuing forti tude by our commentators is vitally important to be heard in the booth from which Reds has now retired.

Danushka Gunathilaka granted AUD 150,000 bail

SriLanka batter Danushka Gunathilaka has been banned from using Tinder and his social media accounts after being granted bail while awaiting trial on charges of sexual in tercourse without consent.

Gunathilaka, 31, was ar rested in the early hours of November 6 at Sydney’s Hyatt Regency Hotel, where he was staying while the Sri Lankan team were in Australia for the T20 World Cup. He is facing four counts of sexual inter course without consent, and has not yet given a plea.

ties and had surrendered his passport. “There is no capaci ty demonstrated for him to be able to flee,” Thangaraj said. Bail was granted with an AUD 150,000 surety and various conditions, including Gunathilaka not using Tinder or any other dating apps. He’s also prevented from accessing his existing social media ac counts, unless in the company of his legal team.

McKinnon argued that the alleged victim could be at risk.

“This man was in her home, they walked to the address to gether,” she said.

Gary Neville has said Manchester United "know they have to terminate" Cristiano Ronaldo's contract.

In an interview with TalkTV, Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo said he has no respect for manager Erik ten Tag, and he feels "betrayed" by the club. He also criticised one of the club's owners and his former United team-mates Neville and Wayne Rooney.

Supporters have been critical of the striker, with some believing he is ruining his legacy at Old Trafford.

"He wouldn't have done this interview if he want ed a way back. He knew it would bring the headlines it has, and be the end of his Manchester United career," Neville told Sky Sports. "I'm wondering what Manchester United are doing, because the reality of it is they know they have to terminate Cristiano's contract, or they basically open up a prece

dent so any player can crit icise them in the future,” Neville has said.

"I agree with some of the things Cristiano has said, and many Manchester United fans will agree with many things Cristiano has said, but the reali ty is: if you're an employee within a business and say those things, your employ ment has to terminate; and Manchester United have to do that in the next few days."

Neville has said the club is also partially responsible for the way the relationship with Ronaldo has deteriorat ed. "They could have come together a couple of weeks ago and navigated a path way through what could have potentially been chop py seas to the shore, but it's not happened. They've both basically backed themselves into a corner," he added.

"Exits don't have to hap pen this way if both sides are proactive and mature." (BBC Sport)

I do so now because Reds is a product of a strong lit erary tradition of broad casting and writing on West Indian Cricket in civilisation al terms. James, Lamming, Michael Manley, Michael Anthony, many of our great calypso bards and others have expressed their views on the links between our society and the once-British game.

I also write about the re tirement of Reds from live commentary on cricket be cause, over the decades, he has been part of that tradi tion of understanding the links between cricket and our world; more so in a world that “don’t need islands no more”–Rudder.

The voices of Reds, Cozier, Holding and Bishop of the contemporaries are amongst those who have taken our cricket into realms of our un derstanding of our essential selves. As important as it was back then, when large seg ments of our society accept ed colonialism as part of our reality, voices such as Reds have been vitally import ant to express a West Indian

But before anyone thinks that I am attempting to free our cricket, cricketers, coach es, and administrators from penetrating criticism for obvi ous failings, I make a distinct difference between construc tive criticism of West Indies Cricket and the unpatriotic villainy of those who amongst us are induced into playing the “fool, fool” character of our history.

It’s important to now say thanks to Reds for his contri bution to West Indies Cricket through the international cricket broadcasting chan nels. We suffer without such a voice in the press and broad cast boxes to respond to the likes of the former Australian captain Ricky Ponting for his tagging of West Indies as be ing “disgraceful” when they were knocked out of the final 12 in the world T20 champi onships. It is in that context, therefore, I advocate that we should be grateful to a pa triot of West Indies Cricket, Joseph “Reds” Perreira. Voices such as his are need ed now more than ever; not for the purpose of making ex cuses for poor performanc es by players, coaches et al, but rather to know that not withstanding the more than seemingly unfixable prob lems of the day, we have to be respected as one of the great est of cricketing nations of the world, and that we can rise again. (Guardian)

Magistrate Janet Wahlquist granted Gunathilaka bail on Thursday in Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court, where he ap peared via audiovisual link from Parklea jail. Police pros ecutor Kerry-Ann McKinnon opposed bail on grounds that Gunathilaka is a flight risk and that he could endanger the safety of the complainant, who cannot be identified for le gal reasons.

Wahlquist said she would take into account how bail would be approached if Gunathilaka were an Australian citizen facing the same charges.

Murugan Thangaraj SC, counsel for Gunathilaka, agreed that would result in him being released. “Of course, he would be on bail in these circumstances,” Thangaraj said.

A Police facts sheet filed with the court said: “The com plainant tried to remove the accused’s hand by grabbing his wrist, but the accused squeezed tighter around her neck. The complainant was fearing for her life, and could not get away from the ac cused.”

In a Police interview after his arrest, Gunathilaka cor roborated some of the alleged victim’s story, but denied he had been violent, or that consent had not been given. Prosecutors allege the victim did not consent to sex without a condom, or any of the other sexual acts performed.

Thangaraj said Gunathilaka had complied with investigating authori

Thangaraj agreed the pair walked to her home togeth er, but said it was night time, Gunathilaka had never been to the area before, and they had walked for up to 15 min utes. “How will he remember where she lived in those cir cumstances, even if he wanted to?” Thangaraj asked.

The unidentified com plainant was being harassed via social media, and has had to close her accounts, McKinnon said. The harass ment was coming from ac counts with “Sri Lankan names”, she said.

Thangaraj said that was irrelevant. “He has not en couraged a single person to do a single thing,” he said. “She’s off social media, so that’s all stopped.”

Gunathilaka will be re quired to live at a specific ad dress, and report to the Police daily.

After matching on Tinder, meeting up for a date, and heading back to her Rose Bay home, the alleged victim claimed the cricketer refused to wear a condom, and choked her three times.

Gunathilaka travelled to Australia with Sri Lanka’s T20 World Cup team, but only played in their first game, before being ruled out of the competition with a hamstring tear. Sri Lanka were eliminated from the tournament on November 5, after losing their final match. Gunathilaka was due to board a flight back to Sri Lanka the following day. The case will return to court on January 12

Danushka Gunathilaka

Joseph Reds Perreira

Cristiano Ronaldo has criticised Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag in a TalkTV interview

Case of alleged sexual assault by Sri Lanka cricketer in Australia… -banned from using Tinder and his social media accounts

–– says former team-mate Gary Neville

tour to Australia; Day 1 of match against NSW, ACT…

Brathwaite, Brooks and Holder find early form

"Tage" Chanderpaul out on opening day due to illness

West Indies open

ers Kraigg

Brathwaite and Shamarh Brooks have each contributed half-cen turies in a total of 297 for 5 at stumps on day one of their tour match against Combined NSW and ACT.

With captain Brathwaite and Brooks getting on top of a young attack at Canberra's Manuka Oval,

which included recent Australian Under-19 rep resentatives Liam Doddrell and Jack Nisbet, the duo added 133 to the score.

Left-arm orthodox spin ner Riley Ayre had made inroads to have the tour ists at 207 for 5, before all rounder Jason Holder and Jermaine Blackwood took their side safely to the close of play.

SCOREBOARD

West Indies 1st Innings

Kraigg Brathwaite (c)c

Macdonald b Ayre 75

Shamarh Brooks c †

Vane-Tempest b Ayre 56

Raymon Reifer c

Attenborough b Ayre 21

Nkrumah Bonner c

Davies b Verma 15

Jermaine Blackwood not out 42

Kyle Mayers lbw b Francis 17

Jason Holder not out 50

Extras (b 9, lb 2, nb 1, w 9) 21

TOTAL 90 Ov (RR: 3.30) 297/5

Fall of wickets: 1-133 (Shamarh Brooks, 37.1 ov), 2-149 (Kraigg Brathwaite, 39.2 ov), 3-170 (Raymon Reifer, 47.2 ov), 4-180 (Nkrumah Bonner, 52.2 ov), 5-205 (Kyle Mayers, 61.6 ov)

BOWLING O-M-R-W

Liam Doddrell 12-1-64-0

Peter Francis 16-3-30-1

Hunar Verma 13-1-63-1

Jack Nisbet 12-2-27-0

Riley Ayre 26-5-70-3

Raf MacMilllan 11-4-32-0

boost to the visitors' hopes of challenging Australia. Brathwaite is the most experienced of the West Indies batters, and is 13th on the all-time Test list for his country with 4893 runs at an average of 34.45.

The 34-year-old Brooks did not make his Test de but until the age of 30, and has been in and out of the team in his short 11-Test career, which includes a maiden century against Afghanistan in 2019.

Brooks is yet to open in a Test match for West Indies, where he has bat ted at #3 or in the middle order. (ESPN Cricinfo)

Dwayne Bravo lauds Kieron Pollard on his IPL retirement

Dwayne Bravo has lauded Kieron Pollard on his deci sion to retire from the Indian Premier League.

Bravo was released by Chennai Super Kings on Tuesday, the same day his Trinidadian compatriot an nounced his retirement from the league.

Pollard will take up a po sition as batting coach of the Mumbai Indians, with which he won multiple IPL titles.

“To my best friend, my teammate, opponent. 13 years ago, I had a small part (to) play in introducing you to arguably one of the most successful IPL teams @mum baiindians,” said Bravo, who had been a teammate of Pollard’s, having played for the Mumbai Indians during the first three seasons of the IPL, before being picked up by CSK in 2011.

Jack Warner loses appeal against extradition from Trinidad

The Privy Council has ruled, in a unanimous ruling, that former FIFA VicePresident Jack Warner can be extradited from his homeland of Trinidad & Tobago to face corrup tion charges in the United States.

According to a report in Reuters, Warner’s lawyers were unsuccessful in their argument that his extradi tion was unlawful.

In an official statement following the ruling, Jack Warner stood by the FIFA decision to give preference to South Africa, Russia and Qatar to host World Cup Finals. He also not ed that FIFA sought to en sure hosting opportunities for the World Cup were shared as fairly as possi ble, with particular atten tion being paid to develop ing countries.

The following is the

statement, released by Mr Warner a short while ago, concerning the Privy Council ruling: “Since re ceiving the decision of the Privy Council, I have con ferred with my lawyers, and do wish to state that:

FIFA is an indepen dent association not affil iated to any government or country. At all times it sought, in the interest of football, to offer opportu nities to the widest cross section of the internation al community to host the World Cup.

“Particular attention was paid to developing countries who have been denied economic oppor tunity partly because for long periods they were un der colonial domination.

Against that back ground, FIFA gave pref erence to South Africa, Russia and Qatar to host World Cup Finals.

“Naturally, the United States of America and the United Kingdom, who had previously hosted the World Cup, were not se lected despite sustained lobbying. They were there fore not pleased, and thereafter began a cam paign against FIFA which resulted in the arrest and prosecution of sever al Executive Committee members of FIFA who had assembled for a meet

ing in Zurich. I note that several European coun tries, including France and Switzerland; several Latin American countries, including Brazil; and sev eral African and Middle Eastern countries have re fused to extradite their cit izens. Trinidad and Tobago is therefore an outlier.

“I have no banking ac count nor property in the United States. I have not transacted any business there. It is unfathomable how a New York District Attorney could commence a prosecution against me based solely on the fact that monies payable to me passed through the American banking system.

“Furthermore, it is in credulous that allegations of misconduct arising out

of a FIFA meeting held in Trinidad could be prose cuted in the United States, whereas in Trinidad itself it does not constitute crim inal activity.

“I continue to have con fidence in my team, led by Fyard Hosein, Senior Counsel, and I have ad vised them to continue to press my case on the three remaining stages of these proceedings. I have lived in this country for nearly eighty years, and I am con fident that I will continue to receive the love, affec tion, and respect that peo ple from all walks of life have always extended to me. I am certain I will pre vail in the end.

“For the time being, this is all I am prepared to say in this matter.” (CNC3)

“I saw you grow from a little boy from Maloney and then go to India to dominate the toughest T20 league. You became a household name around the world. I salute you on a fantastic career, (and) wish you all the best in the next chapter, as it’s a sad day for you and your fans, but we also celebrate what you have achieved.”

One of the marquee play ers for the Mumbai Indians since he signed in 2010, Pollard has scored 3,412 runs in 189 matches for the side, at an average of 28.67, with 16 half-centuries, while leading them to five IPL ti tles.

Bravo is expected to be re-signed by CSK at a low er price later this year.

(Sportsmax)

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Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard

West Indies have two tour matches before the

Kraigg Brathwaite

Jack Warner

60th National Cycling, Swimming, and Track and Field Championships launched

-15 districts to battle

The 60th National Cycling, Swimming and Track and Field Championships have been launched on Thursday after noon, November 17, and will be hosted by the Ministry of Education and the Guyana Teachers' Union from 27 November to 2 December 2022.

Both hosting entities are extremely excited to be engag ing in these activities after two years of the Championships having been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandem ic. Providing an overview of the upcoming events, Guyana Teachers’ Union President Mark Lyte has said that, over the course of six days, the na tion’s best student-athletes and teachers from the 15 dis tricts will be competing for medals and bragging rights in swimming at the National Aquatic Centre, cycling at the National Park, and athlet ics at the National Track and Field Centre at Leonora.

On Monday, November

for supremacy

28, the National Park and National Aquatic Centre will be packed with compet ing cyclists and swimmers, while all roads would lead to the National Track and Field Center from November 29 to December 2, 2022, for the

athletics leg of the champion ships.

Delivering brief re marks at the launch, Chief Education Officer Dr Marcel Hutson said the Ministry of Education has prioritised sports development in the

education system. He ex plained that sports form part of the Ministry’s agenda to produce well-rounded stu dents.

“We believe that signif icant investments were in jected by the Government

‘One Guyana’ President’s Cup football tournament…

of Guyana, through the Ministry of Education, for the development of sports in schools. So, this is a big thing on the agenda, because our National Strategic Plan speaks clearly to the promo tion of sports, because what

the whole man; speak to the body, the soul and the spirit.”

Dr Hutson has called on students to be support ive of their peers during the competition. He has also commended the National Management Committee for its dedication in ensuring the event is hosted.

Also delivering re marks was Banks DIH Communications Manager Troy Peters, who said that company has been these championships’ biggest sup porter over the years. He ex pressed the company’s ap preciation for being part of the event, and noted that the company remains commit ted to supporting the devel opment of Guyana’s youth through education and sport.

Present at the event were members of the Management Committee, the Deputy Director of Sport, Ms. Melissa Dow-Richardson, along with students and teachers from schools in Region Three.

Grove-Diamond, West R/vldt- Albouystown draw first blood in Region 4

Guyana Football Federation’s National Training Center (NTC) at Providence, EBD.

The first match com mences at 12.30h, and will see Highway challenging

Alberttown-Bourda, while Top Zone comes up against South Ruimveldt-Tucville at 15:00h.

The ‘One Guyana’ President’s Cup is a col

laborative effort between the Government of Guyana (GoG), the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), and the Kashif and Shanghai Organization.

The Region 4

(Demerara–Mahaica)

leg of the ‘One Guyana’ President’s Cup inter-ward football tournament got off to a scintillating start on Wednesday evening at the Georgetown Football Club (GFC) ground at Bourda.

A double header on the cards saw Grove-Samatta Point-Diamond and West Ruimveldt-Albouystown proving themselves worthy of advancing to the next round following respective victories.

Grove-Samatta PointDiamond, comprising play ers from those East Bank Demerara communities, snatched victory from the jaws of defeat after they found themselves trailing 1-0 from the ninth to the 72nd minute of their match against Sophia.

Sophia took the lead early,

after Tevin Browne expertly chipped the goalkeeper, and although the East Bank out fit looked more composed in the second segment, their ad vances were often thwarted. However, Devon Padmore eventually produced the equaliser for Grove-Samatta Point-Diamond.

In a bid to prevent the game from being decided by penalty kicks, both sides upped the ante, but the more experienced East Bank team prevailed under pres sure when, in the 76th min ute of the encounter, Sophia gave their opponents a pen alty kick opportunity by way of a foul in the box. Lloyd Matthews made no mistake, pushing the score to 2-1 in fa vour of Grove-Samatta PointDiamond.

The small but vibrant crowd that littered the GFC

ground stuck around for the second fixture, which turned out to be a one-goal thriller.

As West RuimveldtAlbouystown opposed Golden Grove-Melanie, there were near-misses galore as both sides struggled to fin ish. Golden Grove-Melanie did well to hold off West Ruimveldt’s continuous ad vances in the first half; but as had been the case in the first game of the night, experience came to the fore in the second half when West Ruimveldt’s Colin Nelson broke the ice in the 56th minute. Further pursuits of a goal proved fu tile for both sides, and the Georgetown team took the narrow 1-0 victory.

The Region 4 leg of the ‘One Guyana’ President’s Cup inter –ward tournament con tinues on Sunday, November 20, with a double header at the

Action between Grove-Diamond and Sophia on Wednesday evening

CG United Super50 Cup…

Jamaica defeat Guyana for place in final against T&T

–– Powell produces masterful, responsible century for Jamaica

Led by a masterful and responsible cen tury from captain Rovman Powell, Jamaica Scorpions defeated Guyana Harpy Eagles by three wick ets to reach the final of the CG United Super50 Cup in North Sound, Antigua.

Powell's unbeaten 105 helped Jamaica chase down 319 runs, the high est score of the 2022 season. In the chase, Jamaica lost Chadwick Walton (11) early to Nial Smith, but Brandon King and Andre McCarthy counter-attacked with a 69run stand for the second wicket.

McCarthy was removed for 22 by Gudakesh Motie after 12.4 overs, when the score was at 92-2, and after a great start, King departed for a 49-ball 64, after strik

ing seven fours and two six es. He held out to longon off the impressive bowling of Motie.

Powell and Alwyn Williams, however, added 103 runs for the fourth wick et to bat Scorpions to safe ty. Williams offered a return catch to Kevin Sinclair after scoring 45, which included four sixes in his career best List A innings.

Jamaican skipper Rovman Powell, who in reaching his half-century was dropped by Hetmyer,

then took charge and played some classical shots. Odean Smith arrived, and departed for 19 with the score at 285-7. The equation was then reading 34 need ed from 36 balls, and Powell slammed seven fours and three sixes in a responsible and impressive 105 from 92

balls.

Jeavor Royal struck the winning six in ending un beaten on 12 as Scorpions ended their innings on 3227 in 48.1 overs to seal the fi nal spot.

Earlier, Guyana Harpy Eagles won the toss and opted to bat first. Openers

Anthony

had a slow start, adding 39 runs for the first wicket.

Bramble departed for 22, while Savory scored a 34ball 15. The in-form Tevin Imlach made a promising 20, but was caught behind at 76-3. Leon Johnson, who made 30, added 37 runs with Hetmyer for the fourth wicket.

After Johnson's depar ture, Sherfane Rutherford joined Hetmyer, and the duo took the attack to the Jamaicans, adding 106 runs for the fifth wicket. The left-handed dup showed talent in capitalising on the poor fielding from the Jamaica Scorpions.

Rutherford, who was dropped on zero, went on to score a 43-ball 56. His in nings included two sixes and six fours before he was caught behind off Odean Smith, who eventually end ed with 5-65 in nine overs.

The dangerous Hetmyer, who had a poor season, deliv ered when it mattered. His 86 came off 76 balls and was decorated with eight fours

Odean Smith b Rutherford 19

Jeavor Royal not out 12

Total(7 wickets, 48.1) (13 extras) 322

FOW: 23/1 (3.3) Chadwick Walton 92/2 (12.4) Andre McCarthy 101/3 (14.6) Brandon King 204/4 (29.4) Alwyn Williams 214/5 (32.2) Peat Salmon 248/6 (37.1) Dennis Bulli 285/7 (43.6) Odean Smith

Bowling Romario Shepherd 8-0-61-0

Nial Smith 9.1-0-73-2

Gudakesh Motie 10-0-48-3

Kevin Sinclair 6-0-55-1

Sherfane Rutherford 5-0-35-1

Veerasammy Permaul 10-0-46-0

and three sixes. He was at tempting to go big over the leg-side when he was caught at short third-man by Brandon King. He departed with Guyana poised on 2506 in 43.2 overs.

Kevin Sinclair and Romario Shepherd dealt in boundaries, adding a brisk 63 runs for the seventh wicket. Shepherd departed after the rain-break for 28 from 16 balls, having pro duced an innings that in cluded three sixes.

Sinclair, who has shown improvement with the bat this season, took Guyana to the highest score of the sea son. Despite the lower order falling away, Sinclair stood tall, and ended unbeaten on 45 from 33 balls. His in nings was laced with three sixes and four fours. Guyana posted 99 runs in their last 10 overs.

The final of the CG United Super50 between T&T Red Force and Jamaica Scorpions will be played on Saturday November 19 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua from 14:00h.

Bramble and Kemol Savory

Guyana Harpy Eagles team was led by Leon Johnson this season

Shimron Hetmyer top-scored for Guyana Harpy Eagles Rovman Powell led the Jamaica innings with the bat