Guyana Times - Friday, September 30, 2022

Extortion probe

Businessman charged for conspiracy to commit a felony

GNN website for over a year, and was given the website’s password and username by Rickford Burke to manage the website, and he sub sequently uploaded about five articles to the site,” the Police statement read.

Additionally, Police said Eleazar claimed that he had also sent other articles tar geting other persons to Bess and to Burke, who would then post the said articles to the GNN’s website and Facebook page.

GNN Facebook page.

Wayne then took out his computer and handed same over to Eleazar, who went to the website and attempted to remove the post, but then claimed that the password of which he was in possession was, for some reason, not working at the time.

As a result, the $1 million was handed over to the two journalists as a down pay ment, in keeping with their demands. The duo collected the money and indicated to the businessman that they would return sometime after to remove the post and col lect the outstanding money.

Dorwain

Bess, a 45-year-old busi nessman of Bel Air Park, Georgetown, was on Thursday charged for con spiracy to commit a felo ny, contrary to Section 33 of the Criminal Law (Offences) Act, Chapter 8:01.

Bess appeared before Magistrate Fabayo Azore at the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court, where two charges were read to him and he pleaded not guilty. He has been placed on bail in the sum of $100,000 on each of the charges, and conditions attached to his bail stipu late that he lodge his pass port and report to the Police every Friday, starting from September 30. The mat ter has been adjourned to November 1 for report.

On September 26, a wanted bulletin was issued for the businessman in rela tion to a Police investigation into the publication of a de famatory publication in an

effort to extort.

The businessman was implicated by Alex Wayne and Gary Eleazar, the two reporters who were arrest ed during a sting operation by Police as these reporters allegedly attempted to ex tort $1 million from an auto dealer.

Police, in a statement, said investigators conducted video and audio interviews with Eleazar on Sunday. According to Police, during the interview, Eleazar claimed that he was con tacted by Bess, who told him that a businessman was evading taxes on imported vehicles, and he subsequent ly wrote the article and sent same to Bess.

“Eleazar said Bess sent the article to Rickford Burke, where several paragraphs were added, and posted it on the Guyana News Network Facebook page and website.

Notably, Eleazar also said that he had access to the

“In particular, he said that Dorwain Bess told him that the article in ques tion was to threaten the businessman because of $100,000,000 that he had lost while they were in busi ness,” Police said in the statement.

As the Police intensify their probe into attempts to extort a whopping $90 mil lion from the local auto deal er, Eleazar and Wayne re main in custody.

It was revealed on Saturday that two report ers – Wayne, 49, of Huntley Village, Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara; and Eleazar, 41, of Da Silva Street, Newtown, Kitty, Georgetown – were arrest ed after they were caught during a sting operation ex torting money from an auto dealer in exchange for the removal of a “libellous” arti cle from a social media plat form.

The article was pub lished on the Facebook page of Guyana News Network (GNN), which purports to be a “news agency”, with

the auto dealer’s photograph and an allegation that he is involved in illegal activities – something which the deal er said is untrue and has caused him to be “embar rassed” and his “reputation to be tarnished”.

The site is said to be op erated by an overseas-based political activist.

A source close to the in vestigation told this publi cation on Sunday that the Police have since obtained voice recordings of the po litical activist, who has ties to the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) party, and the Guyanese businessman, both demand ing $90 million from the lo cal auto dealer in order to remove the article published about him.

In addition, the source also revealed to this pub lication that Eleazar, who has access to the social me dia page, and Wayne ap proached the auto dealer

separately and requested $10 million instead to re move the article from social media.

It was at this point that the auto dealer went to the Police on August 29 and filed a report about the extortion. This resulted in the Police setting up the sting opera tion to catch the two jour nalists, who are reportedly close associates of the over seas-based businessman.

The intelligence-led oper ation was conducted on the East Coast of Demerara at some time between 15:40h and 16:35h on Friday. During the sting operation, both Wayne and Eleazar went to the businessman to extort cash.

The two reporters were seen arriving at the location and going to the business man. The trio engaged in conversation, during which Wayne and Eleazar de manded $1 million in order to remove the post from the

However, as Wayne and Eleazar were about to leave, they were intercepted by the Police and told of the al legation. The officers then conducted a search, during which a portion of the money was found on Eleazar, while some was found on Wayne.

Additionally, two cellu lar phones and a laptop were immediately seized from the duo.

Wanted

On Thursday evening, Police issued a wanted bul letin for New York-based Guyanese Rickford Burke. The bulletin stated that Burke is wanted by the Police in Guyana for ques tioning in relation to con spiracy to commit a felony; to wit, publication of defam atory libel in order to extort money.

His address is list ed as Brooklyn, New York and Bartica, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).

bulletin issued for Rickford Burke

Charged: Dorwain Bess

Wanted: Rickford Burke

Charged: Gary Eleazer

Charged: Alex Wayne

BRIDGE OPENINGS

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Friday, September 30 –04:00h-05:30h and Saturday, October 1 – 22:00h-23:30h.

Govt to swiftly address shortage of Judges when Parliament reconvenes

Friday, September 30 –06:45h-08:15h and Saturday, October 1 – 07:35h-09:05h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Parika and Supenaam departure times – 05:00h, 10:00h-12:00h, 16:00h, 18:30h daily

WEATHER TODAY

Sunshine is expected during the day with clear skies at night. Temperatures should range between 22 degrees Celsius and 33 degrees Celsius.

Winds: North-Easterly to South South-Westerly between 1.78 metres and 5.36 metres.

High Tide: 07:10h and 19:21h reaching maximum heights of 2.61 metres and 2.65 metres.

Low Tide: 12:56h reaching a minimum height of 0.69 metre.

With the Judiciary long decrying the shortage of Judges across the country, the Guyana Government is looking to address this issue as soon as Parliament comes out of recess next month.

This commitment was made by Attorney General

Chief Justice; the Chairman of the Public Service Commission and any other members appointed to the Commission.

Nandlall disclosed on Thursday that only the nominee to fill the post of Chairperson of the Public Service Commission is out

Commission that holds that important constitutional function of expediting appli cations for the appointment of Judges who are to be ap pointed by His Excellency, the President,” the AG not ed.

As of March, this year, the Judiciary had a comple ment of a mere 13 Judges to preside over the three High Courts across Guyana. In fact, right in Region Six, the Berbice High Court has been without a land court judge for more than a de cade.

Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag), Justice Yonette CummingsEdwards had lamented back in March that this was inadequate. At the time, she was addressing a gath ering at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, where AG Nandlall was in atten dance.

“The pace at which cas

ous outcry by the Judiciary over the limited number of Judges and committed to have the situation ad dressed.

“The process to [appoint] and remove Judges from of fice is one that is outlined in the Constitution. It begins with the Judicial Service Commission and a process emanates – the Judicial Service Commission has to initiate it,” he had stat ed during an edition of his weekly programme – Issues In The News – back in November.

Meanwhile, only earli er this month, President Dr Irfaan Ali disclosed that ef forts were being undertaken to re-establish the JSC. He was at the time speaking with reporters on the side lines of an event, where he was asked about the sub stantive appointments of the Chancellor and Chief Justice (CJ).

“We’re not at the stage of addressing those issues as yet… I am trying to com plete the Judicial Service Commission; these things must be in place almost in stantaneously now that we have the clearance. We’re hoping to have the Teaching Service Commission ful ly constituted and in effect, we’re hoping to have the Public Service Commission fully in effect…then we’ll move our focus…,” the Head of State explained.

and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall, SC, on Thursday at the recom missioning of the Mibikuri Magistrate’s Court in Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne).

According to Nandlall, the shortage of Judges in the country is unacceptable.

“I want to assure you that as soon as Parliament resumes, the process to ac tivate the Judicial Service Commission [JSC] will move swiftly. In fact, all the preparatory works have been done,” he noted.

The National Assembly is currently in recess, which ends on October 10.

The appointment of judg es is done by the JSC, which has not been reconstituted since 2017.

The JSC plays a criti cal role in the appointment of new Magistrates and Judges and in its absence, this appointment process is significantly hampered.

Article 198 (1) of the Constitution of Guyana states that the mem bers the Judicial Service Commission must com prise the Chancellor of the Judiciary, who will be ap pointed as Chairman; the

standing. Nevertheless, he posited that efforts would be made to ensure that the JSC was reconstituted in order to carry out its man date, including the appoint ment of Judges.

“I am aware that what ever has to be done in Parliament has already been streamlined and soon as the National Assembly resumes… that process will be expedited and it is the Judicial Service

es are being filed and man aged today under the new rules have us all crying out for more Judges… The Attorney General is pres ent and I know he is taking heed of our cries. We have need for more than the 11 + 2 Judges that currently ob tains in the Supreme Court,” the Chancellor appealed, while adding “we also need more Magistrates”.

Prior to this, Nandlall had responded to a previ

The Judicial Service Commission’s powers in clude the power to make appointments, to remove and exercise disciplinary control over persons hold ing several legal offices in cluding – Commissioner of Title, Magistrates, Director of Public Prosecutions, Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, Registrar of the High Court, Deputy Registrar of the High Court, Registrar of Deeds and Deputy Registrar of Deeds – and offices connected with the courts. (G8)

Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall, SC

Editor: Tusika Martin

News Hotline: 231-8063 Editorial: 231-0544, 223-7230, 223-7231, 225-7761

Marketing: 231-8064 Accounts: 225-6707

Mailing address: Queens Atlantic Investment Estate

Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown

Email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, marketing@guyanatimesgy.com

We are all interconnected

September 5 each year is designated International Day of Charity by the United Nations.

The date was chosen to commemorate the anniversary of the passing of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 "for work undertaken in the struggle to overcome poverty and distress, which also constitute a threat to peace."

In any society that we dwell or live in, there will always be pockets of persons who are desirous of help in one form or the other. Poverty is not just limited to Third World or developing countries, it is a global phenomenon that exists in even the richest of countries. Pundits have articulated that once there is a disparity in the distribution of wealth, poverty will always be prevalent.

In so much as the causality may be open to debate and interpretation, the actuality of the condition remains, and the onus on the rectification of same should not lie solely on the governing institutions in place.

All of the world’s religions prescribe the need to render assistance in one way or another to those who are less fortunate. It was built into our cultural systems, and that knowledge was passed down from generation to generation.

However, this traditional norm, as we would describe it, has somewhat been diluted with the passage of time and with the modernist take on cultural assimilation.

Invariably, the day-to-day existence of those persons in the middle-income bracket and the proverbial rat-race to pursue wealth-generation as a medium to transcend class stratification have meant that the majority of families have focused more on building themselves over expending resources to help persons outside of their social ambit.

Nevertheless, according to the UN, “notions of volunteerism and philanthropy provide real social bonding and contribute to the creation of inclusive and more resilient societies. Charity can alleviate the worst effects of humanitarian crises, supplement public services in health care, education, housing and child protection. It assists the advancement of culture, science, sports, and the protection of cultural and natural heritage. It also promotes the rights of the marginalised and underprivileged, and spreads the message of humanity in conflict situations.”

There is no denying the benevolence of NGOs and other non-profit organisations that have contributed tremendously towards the social upliftment of those in need.

But their help is contextualised on a more macro-scale.

Beyond the support of the state, there is supposed to be the support of thy neighbour, the support of the village, the support from those who have enough that sharing would not have any effect on their economic footprint.

How do we ensure or bring about a resurgence in providing service to those in need? Well, fundamentally, it should start at the level of our education. Just as how we are taught togetherness and tolerance among races in school, education catered towards inculcating formative values that enshrine the need for us to care for each other must also be incorporated in the teaching curriculum from an early age.

We cannot account for the behavioural change in persons who are already entrenched with a particular perspective of thinking, but we can inculcate within the malleable minds of our young ones the need for them to extend their social and economic responsibilities beyond the confines of the family structure.

The bigger picture is that we are all interconnected. Realization of this fact through an “Edu-care-based” approached to learning will invariably set us on the right path.

Devonshire Castle killings

Dear Editor, Today is the 150th Anniversary of the killing of 5 indentured Indian la bourers and the wound ing of seven others by the Police on order of the planter class in 1872.

These state-sanc tioned killings for alleged labour violations were to continue with astound ing regularity until 1948 at Enmore, when another five were murdered. In to tal, fifty indentureds were murdered.

It was the unstated pol icy of the state in Guyana throughout the nineteenth century, and up to the mid dle of the twentieth, that “what’s good for sugar is

good for British Guiana (B.G.)”.

These killings had been preceded by a strike in July of 1869 at Plantation Leonora, when forty workers of the shov el gang disputed the wag es for work done, and it was alleged that they as saulted a manager. The planter class response was swift, after the protest was supported by fellow work ers: Police and troops were sent to Pln. Leonora. No shootings took place, but a Commission of Inquiry was established that made recommendations for bet ter labour relations. However, the Devonshire Castle protest

was a watershed event, as it represented the first time that Indian immi grants had been shot and killed by the Police. It was obvious that the Royal Commission’s recommen dations of 1870 were mere ly a palliative, and there were no lasting reforms of the system. From this point onwards, “strikes” would be deemed as “riots” at which the Riot Act could be read and the strikers shot dead.

But it was out of these protests against the plant ers who controlled the co lonial state that we even tually got independence. Even more ironic is that it was one immigrant, Parag,

who had been arrested for assaulting a Manager who had been charged that pre cipitated the challenge to the colonial order. He bravely cross-charged the Manager, and refused to show up in Court on Sept 30. His fellow immigrants massed outside the es tate, where the Police were summoned by the Manager and the Riot Act was read, then the deadly shots rang out. Maxidally, Kaulika, Beccaroo, Baldeo and Auckloo were killed.

Maybe Parag, who sur vived, was an ancestor of Minister Sonia Parag?

Sincerely, Ravi Dev

Whatever happened to the setting up of poison control centres?

Dear Editor, The Caribbean Voice lauds Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony and the Ministry of Health for the various initiatives under taken to address mental health in general and sui cide more specifically. We look forward to the speedy and holistic implementa tion of the updated mental health legislation across the health and social land scapes and a cogent plan to sensitise all Guyana as to its content, mandates and benefits.

Given that October is Mental Health Awareness Month, it would indeed be appropriate for the charge to be given during this month, and for the process of sensitisation to be un folded across the nation, starting perhaps with training for various stake holders, especially NGOs, along with media mes sages by influencers from various arenas, such as sports and entertainment.

Meanwhile, we also look forward to the vari ous suicide surveys being

carried out as soon as pos sible, so that the findings can drive suicide preven tion in tandem with sui cide prevention legisla tion. In this respect, we share this link to an online workshop that was held earlier this year. It was presented by retired UWI Toxicologist Dr Verrol Simmons of Trinidad & Tobago on ‘Pesticide Suicide First Aid’, and it provides immediate steps that can be taken to mit igate the effects of poison ingestion.

Also, we again urge the Honourable Minister to consider banning all paraquat-based pesticides and stepping up the dis tribution of strong box es to store all agri poi sons, so that every farmer would have such a facility. Incidentally, poison con trol centres were supposed to have been established across Guyana since 2016. Can an update on this be provided to the public?

Regards, Annan Boodram

Schoolchildren of Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) placing wreaths at the Devonshire Castle Martyrs' monument site at Cabbage Dam, Devonshire Castle. A memorial service was held for the five Indentured labourers who were shot and killed by colonial Police in 1872 after objecting to harsh conditions under the colonial rule. They were unjustly slaughtered by the authorities (Region 2 RDC photo)

GECOM press release does not reflect a consensus, unanimity of Commission

Dear Editor,

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), which up to recently was media-shy, has seemingly assumed a new disposition to the media, and has tak en to issuing press releases. That is a welcome develop ment. One is left to wonder if this new approach has been influenced by the pres ence of a new face on the Commission.

However, of great er concern are the false hoods and partisan na ture of the recent releases emanating from GECOM. Notably, they do not reflect a consensus or unanimity of the Commission, as I will demonstrate.

Quite recently, I had to

draw attention to the erro neous nature of a GECOM release and a release from the three PPP/C-appointed commissioners, both of which purported that I had accused the Chairperson of taking a decision not to ex tend the period for Claims when, in fact, a publisher of my letter attributed a head line to the letter that did not reflect its contents. The edi tors normally coin the head lines/titles for letters to the editor, yet GECOM and the three commissioners errone ously -- out of carelessness or propagandistic malintent – attributed the headline to me, and dwelt on what was in the headline, while ignor ing the content of my letter, which did not accuse the

Chairperson of the purport ed decision not to extend the period for Claims.

One such occurrence may be forgiven as an error or oversight. However, any recurrence can only be con strued as intentional and unethical, at least. This is undoubtedly the case with GECOM’s most recent press release, which sought to convey the impression that the Opposition-appointed commissioners were insist ing that GECOM conduct an investigation into electoral malfeasance, in defiance of the Chairperson’s “ruling” that such investigations are the sole purview of the High Court.

The first observation to be made in that regard

is that the Court does not investigate, it adjudicates; hence an investigation does necessarily not fly in the face of the constitution al provisions in relation to the jurisdiction of the High Court.

However, even if we as sume that I am wrong in my stated contention, that does not relieve GECOM and the PPP/C- appointed commis sioners of their notoriety.

The fact of the mat ter is that the call of the Opposition-appointed com missioners is for a review of GECOM’s operations to de termine whether there are in its system discernible weaknesses that need to be addressed if GECOM is to improve on its system in

Is the coalition serious about national unity?

Dear Editor,

Is the PNC, and by ex tension the Coalition, se rious about national uni ty? The PNC in Opposition has always used one strate gy; and that is: to incessant ly grind ‘corruption, racial discrimination and margin alisation’. This game plan is outdated and outmoded, and reflects the incompe tence which has embodied the PNC.

There is drastic need for an immediate metamor phosis, since this strategy has been the foundation on which racial disharmony is perpetuated. This very idea, which is implanted in the minds of PNC supporters, has always resulted in PPP supporters being targeted during protests engineered by the PNC. The mayhem which ensues: the burning, looting, damage to property, physical violence, rape and sexual assaults, will never allow the healing and uni fication process among the races to take place.

The PNC and its part ners are guilty instigators and perpetrators of racial strife and division among the races in Guyana, and it is time they put Guyana first. We cannot afford the old PNC baggage, there are other strategies which can be pursued; just learn from the master strategist Dr Jagdeo.

The Opposition is cry ing corruption, but where is the evidence? There must be more than a perception of corruption. When the PPP/C was in Opposition, Dr Jagdeo, in his weekly press conferences, would highlight the corrupt practices of the Coalition, and provide evi dence that is corroborated by the yearly Auditor General’s Report.

Moreover, where is the ‘racial discrimination and marginalisation’? The PPP/C Government has treated ev ery Guyanese in a fair and equitable manner. There is equal opportunity for em

ployment, access to educa tion, medical and health ser vices, housing, cash grants and subsidies, flood relief, et cetera. In addition, every community across the coun try is benefitting from the massive road and infrastruc tural drives which can be seen taking place on a dai ly basis. Again, let the PNC submit the evidence of mar ginalisation.

I would submit that it is only a lazy person who would not grab the many op portunities provided by this Government. Why blame the Government for your pov erty-stricken life, when you are the main architecture of that situation?

This Government has made tangible progress in its quest for One Guyana, and this can be seen from the numerous visits to PNC support-base areas across the country, where the Government has been reach ing out and resolving the is sues affecting the residents of those areas; some issues were resolved immediately.

These are not use less outreaches as were done by the Coalition when in Government. This Government has delivered, who can deny this?

The PPP has always been the bastion of democ racy and the prime mover for racial unity in this coun try. The PNC has always been the opposite. The PPP has always realized that since the two major political parties command the sup port of the vast majority of Guyanese, they have to be involved together to find ac ceptable solutions to existing problems.

Unfortunately, af ter failing for 5 months to rig the 2020 Elections, the PNC wants its supporters to believe that the PPP/C Government is ‘illegal’, and will not be recognized by it. To add insult to injury, the PNC wants its supporters to believe that it was the PPP which rigged the elec

tions! Ironically, the PNC is now seeking ‘redress’ in the Courts. The annals of this country are replete with graphic examples of the PNC’s past and recent misdeeds and atrocities in its quest for power. For the PNC, the end has always justified the means.

If the PNC has an iota of concern for fostering ra cial harmony, then it is in cumbent upon its leader ship to change its present course, embrace the PPP/C Government, and work to gether for the socio-econom ic progress of this country. The days of lies, deceit and violence are long gone. This country needs a responsi ble Opposition which would

work in the interest of all Guyanese, and the opportu nity beckons.

As a Guyanese, I am not asking for an apology for what the PNC did in the past, I am simply stating that Guyanese have suffered immensely, and it is our fun damental right to live in peace and harmony without any contrived strife. Guyana belongs to all Guyanese, and the vision for One Guyana must be supported. The spirit of togetherness and camaraderie seen at the Providence Stadium must pervade every stratum of this nation.

Yours sincerely, Haseef Yusuf

pursuit of the constitution al requirement for GECOM to “ensure impartiality, fair ness and compliance” in the conduct of elections.

It’s grossly mislead ing for GECOM to equate the call by the Oppositionappointed commissioners for: (1) GECOM to conduct an independent review to gain better understanding of the bases for allegations and occurrences, and to con sider if there are existing or potential weaknesses in the processes employed by GECOM for the conduct of elections; that (2)“rec ommendations be sought in an effort to improve on the methods employed in the electoral system, and to remove the bases for the possible recurrence of the maladies, procedural or otherwise, that occurred or may occur under the cur rent electoral process”, to a “call for GECOM to con

duct internal investigations into allegations of elector al fraud that were reported to have occurred during the 2nd March, 2020 General and Regional Elections.” (author’s emphasis)

GECOM is not only misleading the public on what is being called for by the Opposition-appointed commissioners, but is guilty of dereliction insofar as it is unprepared to review/ eval uate its own performance as a basis for enhancing its systems and its operations.

GECOM has embarked upon a campaign that is de signed to justify its inten tional omissions, such as a review of its operations and the introduction of biomet ric (finger-print) identifica tion at the places of poll.

Yours truly, Vincent Alexander GECOM Commissioner

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

Page Foundation

Scissors

Glue sticks

Colored paper

Line segments and rays

A line segment is a specific part of a line. It ends at two identified points.

A line segment is named by its two end points. Segment AB = Segment BA. AB = BA

A ray is a part of a line that extends from a specific point in only one direction. The specific point of a ray is called a vertex or an endpoint However, to identify a ray, you must use one other letter along the line’s path.

What you need

Black 12? x 18? paper for background White tempera paint for starry night

Creating the moon and stars:

Swirl a small brush in a circle to form the moon and splatter the white paint on the black paper to create the stars. It helps to water down the paint before splattering. This step takes about five minu tes. Set paper aside while you make the buildings.

You can also dig into your gift wrap box and se lect the odds and ends that will become windows,

smoke stacks and doors. And that is the trick for the kids…to encourage them to not copy their neig hbors work and create something unique to them.

Creating the skyscrapers:

It’s as simple as cutting out small squares and rectangles from the top and sides of each piece. Glue the skyscrapers as you go, going from one side of the paper to the next.

Adding windows and doors:

Cut strips of yellow construction paper the width of the windows and give a couple of strips to each student. You can cut the strips into small rectangles and glue them to the windows. Same for the doors. (Excerpt from deepspacesparkle.com)

Ray RS does not equal Ray SR, because the first point named in a ray shows the vertex, and Ray SR goes in the opposite direction of Ray RS.

Exercises: Solve

1) For the figure below, call the point of intersection of the diago nals O. List all the line segments in the figure.

2) For the figure below, count how many line segments there are. Do not include line segments that con tain another point. For example, the line segment CF contains the point G.

3) Name two rays from the image below.

By The BroThers Grimm

CONTINUED FROM THURSDAY

BE CONTINUED

WORD SEARCH

Dion Bascom’s charges

DPP asks that presiding Magistrate recuse herself from case

…says Magistrate wants prosecution to tender online video Police did not make

in particular, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum’s de bunking of the claims made by Bascom in regard to his covering up of the probe into the murder of Ricardo “Paper Shorts” Fagundes.

Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack has requested that Magistrate Leron Daly be removed from presiding over Police Sergeant Dion Bascom’s court case after she threatened to hold the Prosecutor, Police Legal Advisor Mandel Moore, in contempt of court.

On Wednesday, Magistrate Daly, who is hearing the three cyber bullying charges against Bascom at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, had given Moore 24 hours to produce a piece of video ev idence or be sent to prison for contempt of court.

The video requested by the court is from a press conference hosted by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) following the damning al legations made by Bascom;

Moore had previously been ordered by Magistrate Daly to produce the vid eo evidence, but when he showed up at the court on Wednesday, he failed to do so. It was then that the Magistrate threatened that if he did not obey her order, he could be sent to prison for contempt of the court. As such, an oral un dertaking to have the ev idence presented to the court by Thursday at 11:00h was agreed upon.

However, when the matter was called on Thursday, the presiding Magistrate informed the court of the DPP’s request to have her removed from the case.

In the letter, which was seen by Guyana Times , from Ali-Hack to Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag), Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards, it was explained that the Guyana Police Force (GPF) was not in possession of an original video copy of the press conference that was requested by the court.

Magistrate Daly had ordered the Police Legal Advisor to source the vid eo from online sourc es and present it as vid eo evidence in preparation

for the commencement of the trial, which is set for November 9.

However, the DPP ar gued in the correspondence to the acting Chancellor that the Police Legal Advisor could not produce a recording that the Police did not make and did not have possession of, to the court.

“In short, the Magistrate is insisting that the prosecution com ply with an order that is legally and physically in capable of compliance,” the DPP contended in the let ter.

Against this backdrop, Ali-Hack requested that the Chancellor consider ex ercising the power invest ed in her by Section 12 of the Summary Jurisdiction (Magistrates) Act, Chapter 3:05 and assign the case to

another Magistrate.

“I recognise that the Magistrate does not appear to have a personal interest in the matter; however, the conduct of the Magistrate thus far, in my respectful view, constitutes sufficient reason for the exercise of Your Honour’s statutory power. Should the Learned Magistrate continued to adjudicate in this matter, there is every likelihood that the case will not be af forded a fair hearing. This may not be a miscarriage of justice, but will inevita bly lead to legal proceed ings in the High Court,” the DPP informed Justice Cummings-Edwards in the letter dated September 28, 2022.

Magistrate Daly ad journed the matter on Thursday and indicat ed that a decision on the request for her removal would be announced at the next hearing in October.

Bascom has been placed on $300,000 bail by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan when he ap

peared in her Georgetown Magistrate’s Court slapped with three cybercrime-re lated charges alleging that twice, between August 13 and August 19, he used a computer system to trans mit electronic data with the intent to humiliate, harass, or cause distress to Superintendent Mitchell Caesar; and he did the same to Superintendent Chabinauth Singh on one

occasion.

Sergeant Bascom was among several persons ar rested by the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) on August 8, after a quan tity of cocaine was discov ered at a house on Norton Street, Georgetown.

While a charge for traf ficking in narcotics was laid against some of the persons, none was laid against Sergeant Bascom. Seemingly angered by his arrest, Bascom sub sequently made sever al Facebook live videos in which he made damn ing allegations of corrup tion against several se nior Police detectives and prominent businessman Azruddin Mohamed.

Bascom has alleged that Police ranks have ac cepted bribes and are “cov ering up” the murder of Fagundes. Police are yet to charge the perpetrators. He later deleted the posts out of fear for his family members’ lives.

DPP Shalimar Ali-Hack

Magistrate Leron Daly

Police Legal Advisor Mandel Moore

Essequibo Coast man busted with cocaine

An Essequibo Coast, Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam) man was caught with cocaine in the vicinity of a popular night club.

Reports are that about 04:30h on Thursday, ranks on mobile patrol on the Essequibo Coast arrested a 26-year-old man.

Police have since said that the patrol was in the vicinity of the Anna Regina Market near a popular nightclub and as they ap

proached the man, he at tempted to leave, but he was intercepted,

A search was conducted on his person, during which two pieces of foil paper con taining a whitish rock-like substance suspected to be cocaine were found.

Police said that the sub stance was weighed and amounted to 10 grams of suspected cocaine.

The man remains in custody at the Anna Regina Police Station pending charges.

DPP asks that...

Acting Police Commissioner Clifton Hicken and Crime Chief Blanhum have already de bunked Sergeant Bascom’s allegations, calling them

FROM PAGE 7

“malicious and untrue”, and Government had solic ited the assistance of the Regional Security System (RSS) to investigate the claims made by Sergeant Bascom.

The RSS, in pronouncing on the matter, made it clear that there was no evidence to substantiate Sergeant Bascom’s claims. The team also found that the two live recordings made by Bascom were in contravention of Section 19 (5) (a) of the Cyber Crime Act.

Businessman Mohamed, who, from the onset, had distanced himself from the allegations, has since filed a $200 million defamation lawsuit against Sergeant Bascom, in which he con tended in his Statement of Claim that the words and statements uttered by Bascom are all untrue, false, dangerous, disingen uous, malicious, irrational, unfair, unsubstantiated, unfounded, and baseless, thereby tarnishing and low ering his reputation.

Superintendent Caesar, through his lawyer, had also threatened to take le gal action against Sergeant Bascom if he did not remove the posts and offer him an apology and $50 million in compensation. (G8)

National…

…day of mourning

you know your Eyewitness isn’t one to mince words or pussyfoot around issues…and certainly not one as massive as the blow to the national psyche that was delivered by the Warriors when they meekly folded to the Tallawahs on Wednesday night. Your Eyewitness had predicted a victory – but it wasn’t based on mere sentiments. After they returned to Guyana at the bottom of the rankings for the final season games, he’d noted that the Guyanese fans – domestic and foreign – were gonna be there as never before to urge them on. Those fans have been most intimidating in all the previous years – and have grown in numbers.

Hey,

And this support was for the profound reason that cricket is intertwined with our history of struggle to announce (to the Imperialists in the beginning, and the rest of the world now) that we’re equal to everyone. Within the Caribbean territories, there was always a good-natured competition among us as to who’s better!! In cricket, the size of the island doesn’t matter – on the field, each of the eleven could achieve as much as the other!! So, regionally, the Caribbean teams were battling for local bragging rights – while internationally - esp against England and Australia -they were asserting our quest for equality.

Whether we like it or not, most accept that this T20 version of the game – most suited to our once-derided “temperament”!

– is now the dominant one. The T20 tail’s wagging the Test dog!! Well, back to the GAW tournament: the team rallied on the support of the fans, and won four games in a row, to catapult them to the second place in the season’s rankings, just behind the Barbados Royals. Their subsequent walloping by the Bajan Royals was excused by the fans as due to a possible loss of focus, because it was a dead rubber – meaning it was of no consequence on their entry to the first qualifier.

But Wednesday night’s game against the Tallawahs was different – the loser was gonna be kicked out of the tournament’s finals against the league-leading Royals. It was do or die. And the Guyanese fans once again trooped in – led by the President – to give them unequivocal and vocal support! But even before the game began, your Eyewitness felt something was amiss. Inexplicably, after winning the toss, the captain decided to send in the Tallawahs to bat!! Everyone knows that, after the first innings, the pitch would deteriorate and become harder to score on!! “Why, Hetty, why??” moaned fans in the stands.

After the Tallawahs scored a record 225 - with the captain in the outfield and not rallying his bowlers – and then sent himself at number 6, the fans knew it was all over.

Guyana deserves better!!

…change on LGBTQ?

A poll just conducted on behalf of SASOD shows that “53.9% of Guyanese” feel the law forbidding consensual sex between adult men ought to be changed. From the 1070 persons polled, 34.5% said they accept LGBTQ persons, 37.9% are tolerant, and 12% “hate” them! Another 15.6% had “no comment”.

While on the bright side, almost 75% of Guyanese at least “tolerate” LGBTQ persons, your Eyewitness is still alarmed that 12% actually HATE them!! Evidently, this is down from 25%, recorded nine years ago – but it is still astounding! Why would persons HATE other persons whose lifestyle they disagree with?? To call a spade a spade, it’s primarily two of our major religions, Islam and Evangelical Christianity, that actually forbid the practice. Some of their adherents project that stricture as “hate”. However, your Eyewitness is intrigued by the fact that both Islamic Pakistan and Bangladesh accept a “third sex” – which might be “trans”??

Be that as it may, your Eyewitness believes that all humans are God’s creation, and must be accepted in their diversity!!

…blanking??

Today is the 150th anniversary of the killing of 5 and the wounding of seven Indian Indentured labourers at Devonshire Castle. This marked the continuation of the extreme violence meted out during this “new form of slavery”.

Why was it blanked??

The cocaine that was found

After 2-year closure

Refurbished, digitalised Mibikuri Court reopens

The Mibikuri Magistrate’s Court

After a two-year closure as a re sult of bat infes tation and flooding of the court compound, the Mibikuri Magistrate’s Court in Black Bush Polder (BBP), Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) was on Thursday recommissioned.

The newly-opened court will make special arrange ments for traumatised vic tims by providing safe rooms where they can give evidence against perpetra tors.

Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan explained that all courts in Guyana would cater for traumatised vic tims by providing safe rooms where they can give their evidence if they do not want to be in the same space with the alleged per petrator.

The facility in BBP was renovated at a cost of $24 million and will service all 4500 residents of the four polders : Lesbeholden, Mibikuri, Johanna, and Yakasari.

The court was initial ly commissioned in 2012, however, because of bat in festation, it was closed in late 2019. During the pe riod the court was housed at the Whim Magistrate Court.

According to the Chief Magistrate, the Mibikuri Court was restored to its original state with better facilities added.

“The Judiciary is cog nisant of the fact that ac cess to justice is more than merely just providing a building to house a court and that a space should be

provided where court users can transact their business in a court-friendly, clean and comfortable environ ment.”

The recommissioned building now has facilities for persons in wheelchairs; it also has a recording sys tem that will ensure that any testimony is digital ly recorded. Victims of do mestic violence will also be able to give their evidence in a court-friendly environ ment.

Acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards ex plained the need for a court to serve the 4500 resi dents of the community of Mibikuri.

“And this is largely so when you are not assured of timely and affordable justice or legal avenues to deal with their legal issues. They would want to know that their cases are being dealt with and resolved by a fair and independent body and at the end of the day, their legal needs are met and they would have had a fair hearing and they enjoy a just result.”

The court will sit on Tuesdays and will be pre sided over by Senior Magistrate Alex Moore. Magistrates Renita Singh and Rabindranath Singh will also preside in the court when necessary. Magistrate Peter Hugh will also assist when the other Magistrates are on leave.

Access to justice

Meanwhile, Attorney General Anil Nandlall un derscored the importance

of access to justice, saying that the Government has been investing in improv ing the Judiciary.

“It is this institution – the rule of law, the ad ministration of justice that protects your freedom, that protects your liberty, that protects your proper ty, that protects life itself. So, it is as important as ev ery other facility that the Government is working to provide for the people of our country,” Nandlall pointed out.

The Mibikuri Magistrate’s Court is part of the Corentyne Magisterial District which includes the Whim, Number 51 and Springlands Magistrate’s Courts. (G4)

Guyana making strides in bridging digital divide –McCoy tells ITU Conference

Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister with re sponsibility for Public Affairs, Kwame McCoy has highlighted the strides be ing made by the Guyana Government in bridging the digital divide in the country.

He was at the time addressing global lead ers who gathered for the Plenipotentiary Conference 2022 of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) being held in Bucharest, Romania under the theme “Building Better Digital Future”.

The Conference is the highest policy-making body of the ITU. It is hosted ev ery four years and is the key event at which ITU Member States decide on the fu ture role of the organisa tion, thereby determining the organisation’s ability to influence and affect the de velopment of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) world wide.

While addressing a Ministerial Roundtable at the event, Minister McCoy explained that in keeping with its manifes to promises and gover nance policies, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government has fully committed its ener gies and significant por tions of the country’s re sources to transforming the telecommunication land scape of Guyana and build ing a technological knowl edge-based society, which ultimately seeks to bridge the digital divide between citizens and regions.

“While we persevere at home with localised pro grammes and projects that will impact our own na tional transformation out look, we are concomitant ly engaged in bilateral

cooperation and collective global efforts to build and promote common digital platforms for the benefit of all humanity.

“The social restrictions that became necessary over the past two years as a re sult of the COVID-19 pan demic, provided Guyana with an opportunity for us to introspect and deter mine the gap areas which needed to be addressed to wards the achievement of universal, secure, inclu sive and affordable access to the Internet for all cit izens, residents, and visi tors alike,” he stated.

McCoy further told the global leaders that Government has launched a campaign to provide free Internet service in public spaces, primarily focusing on underserved communi ties. So far, 300 sites have been established, benefit ing over 250,000 residents.

“As part of the master plan, our efforts at build ing a knowledge-based so ciety are already well un derway with the rollout of free Wi-Fi access and youth innovation cam paigns across the country, establishment of ICT Hubs in both urban and hinter land communities, pilot ing of smart classrooms in schools across every re gion, national expansion of our dedicated learning television channel, and the launch of a world-class ac ademic and skill-based on line scholarships acade my,” the Minister noted.

According to McCoy, digital social services plat forms that support women and youth entrepreneur ship and capacity building for enhanced cross-sector business and employment readiness growth, pension and other access for se niors, telemedicine services for Indigenous communi

ties across the hinterland, legal services, children and domestic violence protec tion services, legislative and law enforcement infor mation and services, and critical flood control and transport infrastructure systems – have all gone digital within the last year.

In fact, he pointed to the announcement just this week that for the first time citizens can book online their travel on river ferry services.

Additionally, the Minister also outlined ef forts to bridge the digital divide between the coast land and hinterland, stat ing that Government built its own satellite ground station to provide connec tivity services to over 160 locations in hinterland ar eas. The initiative benefits approximately 60,000 resi dents living in remote com munities nationwide.

On the issue of building capacity, Minister McCoy stated that 20,000 worldclass online academic and skill-based scholarships have been made available to citizens.

In closing, he affirmed Guyana’s commitment to partnering with the ITU and individual Member States for capacity build ing and collaborative ap proaches for Building a Better Digital Future.

“As we redouble our ef forts on the home front to emerge more digital ly synced with the rest of the world while empower ing our own citizens, we remain fully committed to regional and global solidar ity in keeping with our le gal and moral obligations to build frameworks that support an inclusive and sustainable digital future for all humanity,” he stat ed. (G8)

Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Public Affairs, Kwame McCoy, at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference (ITU PP22) in Romania

Over 10,000 students benefiting from daily breakfast in schools

With over 217 schools involved in the Ministry of Education’s breakfast pro gramme, some 10,300 stu dents are currently being provided with their first meal before classroom ac tivities begin.

At the launch of the Breakfast Programme at the West Ruimveldt Primary School on Thursday, Permanent Secretary of the Education Ministry, Alfred King, said this initiative ensures that

children are at their opti mal to perform well aca demically.

These efforts would en able breakfast for all Grade Six students. This means no child would be hungry when classes commence.

“We thought that we should go nationally to en sure that all Grade Six learners are involved in the school feeding programme. Once they get into the classroom, they stay there, they are happy, and they do well. That’s our intention.

To date, we have more than 10,300 learners on this pro gramme, which is tremen dous,” King expressed.

By the ending of October, the Ministry is aiming to extend its reach to about 500 more students. Through this initiative, students benefit from a nu tritious meal before they commence classroom activi ties. It is proven that learn ing and retention increases when children start the day with a meal.

Assistant Chief

Education Officer (Primary) Rabindra Singh has said this programme would ensure children come to school every day, and it eases the burden on par ents to prepare an ear ly meal. However, he said children would have to be in school 30 minutes before classroom activities begin, so that curriculum delivery is not affected.

“We have recognised the importance of being healthy, and we are now on board to give that sup port…This programme is going to help to ensure that you come to school;

and not only that, but this programme must not pre vent you, even a minute late, from delivering your curriculum. Therefore, it means you have to be here at least half an hour early every day,” Singh told the students.

Breakfast Coordinator Mahendra Phagwah add ed that officers from the Ministry would be doing routine checks to ensure that the quality of delivery remains to standard.

Phagwah told students, “We, at the Ministry of Education, would have contracted these cater

ers, and we need to know that they’re serving you well. That is our expecta tion…We also have officers who will be coming to the schools to ask questions, whether they come on time to serve you. We expect them to serve you quality meals.”

This year, $267 million is being expended on the breakfast programme so that every Grade Six child on the coast could benefit. Children living in the hin terland regions are already benefitting from a separate feeding programme. (G12)

Children in the Grade Six classes are benefitting from breakfast before classes

Schools being extended to place all NGSA learners – PS

The Education Ministry is making arrange ments to adequate ly place the larger volume of Grade Six students into secondary schools as these learners return to the class room on October 3.

This year, over 16,000 learners sat the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) and had to be placed by the Education Ministry in a secondary institution based on their performance. This represents 4,000 more students requiring place ments.

Permanent Secretary of the Education Ministry, Alfred King, told media oper atives on Thursday that work is ongoing to extend some schools within Georgetown.

This year, a larger number of students gained a place at the NGSA.

“The Government in itself is very proactive in terms of its policies in plac ing those additional 4,000 learners. From the 3rd, we’re expecting that all the learn ers would be in school…If you pass around (the prem ises of) QC or Bishops, you will see intentions to extend those schools by new spac es being created. Similarly, that is happening in and around Georgetown, which I rather suspect would roll out in time.”

Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary under scored that the Education Ministry is aiming to return to complete normalcy as dis

ruptions slowly fade. This is ongoing at not just the NGSA level, but at the CXC

level as well.

“Even with CXC, they tried their best to bring back the results a little bit ear ly to go back into the cy cle of applying for jobs and universities. It is the same with NGSA. We’re hopeful that with most of the dis ruptions almost over and ev erything is back to almost normal, that we go back to normal timetabling, so that there would be preparing for and getting into the Grade Six level from next year on wards,” King posited.

Since the pandemic, it has been reiterated that Education officials have been analysing policies and re sources for students to access education without any hin drances. This year, 16,223 students were registered for the 2022 NGSA sitting. Some 3355 students scored above 75 per cent, or in the fourth quartile ranking.

Additionally, some 3456 scored above 50 per cent. Social Studies recorded an increase in performance at 58.9 per cent, but also an in

crease in students scoring zero. As it relates to science, overall performance moved from 40.12 per cent to 45.45 per cent.

English saw a slight re duction in overall perfor mance at 64.8 per cent. For Mathematics, there was a slight reduction when com pared to 2021, with 34.7 per cent pass rate.

In 2022, more students were able to secure a spot in a national school when compared to previous years. (G12)

12-year-old reported missing found in Berbice …3 persons arrested

Three persons have been taken in cus tody after a missing 12-year-old child was found at their Corentyne home in Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne).

On Thursday, at about 00:50h, acting on informa tion received, Police went to a house at Whim Village, Corentyne and conduct ed a search. The child, a 12-year-old student of Wales Primary School, West Bank Demerara, was found at the house. The occupants of the home - a father, mother and

their teenage son - were all taken into custody at the Whim Police Station, where they are assisting with the investigations.

Just one day prior to this development, relatives had reported the child miss ing after she left her grand mother’s home on Monday morning to go to her aunt’s home, located just five min utes away, but never arrived; and her family was desper ately trying to find her.

Reports are that the girl, who hails from Sisters Village, West Bank

Demerara (WBD), has been living with her 74-yearold grandmother since her mother died some four years ago, while her father re sides at Enmore, East Coast Demerara. After she went missing, the family had con tacted the girl’s father, and he indicated that he had re ceived a call from his daugh ter the same day, asking if she could visit him. After ending the conversation with the child, her father said, he had made several efforts to contact her again, but all the calls had gone unanswered.

Permanent Secretary at the Education Ministry, Alfred King

16 days of Cricket Carnival wind down with Super Concert & Carnival Parade this weekend

– Guyana representative crowned Miss Cricket Carnival

As the 16 days of Cricket Carnival wind down, the vibes continue this weekend with three big events that are expected to be the highlight of the entire season.

Last evening, thousands of patrons flocked the Guyana National Stadium at Providence, EBD for the Beres Hammond Show, which also featured iconic Guyanese artistes Timeka Marshall and Samuel Medas, and Trinidad chutney sensation Ravi B, among others. This evening, the action continues with the playing of the final match of the 10th Edition of the Caribbean Premier League, which will see Barbados Royals clashing with the Jamaica Tallawahs. Whichever team lifts the trophy, it is anticipated that this match would be a true representation of “the biggest party in sport”.

The party would continue at the National Park with the ‘Stink and Dutty’ Jouvert, in which Young Brother, Tempa, Squid, and Deejay Cheem would perform live. Water and powder would be in abundance. And the action does not stop there, as all roads would lead to the Providence Stadium for the second Super Concert, which would be held on Saturday evening. Machel Montano, the King of Soca, would be the feature artiste in that concert.

Sharing the stage with him will be Jamaican hottest Dancehall artistes, Spice, and Skillibeng along with Tameka Marshall and upcoming Guyanese artiste, Jordon Pauline. General admission to the show is $5000 while VIP experience cost US$150.

After a relocking evening of soca vibes, the session continues

on Sunday at the Road Parade – carnival style. It will be one of the most colourful spectacles to bring the curtains down on the Cricket Carnival.

With several bands already confirmed to participate, the parade will kick off at Church Street, then into Irving Street, and make its way to the Kitty Round About.

The bands confirmed are Pulse Entertainment, Geneses, Boom Nation, Palm Court, and a band out of Florida USA. Already the designers are making sure that their revellers are properly suited and ready for the exciting event.

Some of the other events that rocked during the Carnival season are the Chutney Concert in Berbice, the Soca and Chutney Song Competition, The Regional Food Carnival, Soca and Wine and Team Mohamed’s Regatta.

Meanwhile, Miss Guyana Amel Griffith was crowned Miss Cricket Carnival 2022 when the pageant was hosted at the National Cultural Centre on Monday evening. Miss Guyana outshone her competitors to walk away with the inaugural title.

The other contestants were Miss St. Kitts and Nevis, Chalisa Parris; Miss Jamaica, Tyra Spaulding; Miss Barbados, Beviny Payne; Miss Trinidad and Tobago, Melanie Lawrence and Miss St. Lucia, Claire Marissa Smartt. The delegates competed in the carnival culture wear, bikini, talent, evening gown, and intelligence segments.

Miss St Lucia Claire-Marissa Smartt and Miss Barbados Beviny Payne were adjudged First and Second Runners up respectively.

Hundreds employed under Linden-Mabura Hill Road project

More than 100 Guyanese have found employ ment through the US$190 million Linden-to-Mabura Hill road construction project currently under way by Brazilian compa ny Construtora Queiroz Galvao S.A.

Conducting his first in spection of the multi-bil lion-dollar project on Wednesday, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill ex pressed satisfaction with the progress the team has made so far, and noted that

more employment opportu nities would be created for Guyanese.

“We have more than 100 locals employed on the project. They have done the grubbing and the clearance up to 40 kilometres along the road. There is also some excavation work be ing done, and more than 80 pieces of equipment have been imported,” he ex plained, according to a DPI report.

According to a DPI re port, Government has been investing heavily in the

Upper Demerara-Berbice Region 10, and providing thousands of jobs for res idents. Job opportunities have been made available in the housing and tele communications sectors, as over 150 persons have gained employment un der the Housing Ministry’s home construction drive in the mining town.

Hundreds more have been employed through the call centre initiative, with almost a thousand more taking advantage of the Government’s part-time

jobs initiative.

The Linden-to-Mabura Road project is another av enue for economic advance ment for residents and the region. Guyana signed the groundbreaking contract for the project in May this year, a venture which has been in the pipeline for de cades.

Works Minister Edghill has said the road would generate economic activi ty, and is only one aspect of the larger plan to secure transformation across the country.

“We will have the prop er reinforcement, and we will be able to get every ve hicle through the corridor, from Linden through to Lethem, on a consistent ba sis.” Minister Edghill has said. The project is expect ed to last for three years, and would boost trade and open massive avenues for business ventures be tween Guyana and Brazil. The first phase of the proj ect would see a two-lane highway being construct ed from sand and dirt to an asphaltic concrete surface.

The road would be approxi mately 121 kilometres long and 7.2 metres wide.

It will also include a cycle and pedestrian lane measuring 2 metres wide, along with 10 bus stops equipped with ramps for persons with disabilities.

Edghill was accompa nied by Senior Engineer at the Public Works Ministry, Sherod Parkinson, Hinterland Engineer Jeffrey Walcott, Chief Engineer Ron Rahaman, and other technical staff from the Works Ministry.

St Joseph Lab 1st to be certified to revised national laboratory standard

The Guyana National Bureau of Standards’ (GNBS) Certification Services Department on Thursday recertified the St Joseph Mercy Hospital Laboratory after it demon strated conformance to the requirements of the revised Guyana Standard (GYS 170:2021) – General re quirements for the opera tion of a laboratory.

This certification marks the first of the laboratories in Guyana to conform to the requirements of this updat ed standard. The certificate, which is valid for two years, along with a plaque was handed over to the laborato ry by Technical Officer with in the GNBS Certification Services Department,

Rosmarie Liliah, during a brief ceremony at the lab’s Parade Street, Georgetown location.

Receiving the certifica tion on behalf of the estab lishment was Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the hos pital, Deborah Ramsay.

In addressing those at the ceremony, Ramsay stat ed that the certification comes at a time when the hospital is celebrating its 77th anniversary.

She acknowledged the efforts of the laboratory team to ensure standards are maintained, and added that the certification along with the overall ISO 15189 certification the Hospital received in 2021 would be able to address crucial as

pects in the lab, including risks.

Meanwhile, Quality Manager of the laboratory, Nolan Hawke, stated that implementing standards re quires teamwork and good leadership. He added, “I am happy that the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Laboratory was able to step over to the revised standard, which in cludes pieces of the ISO 9001, ISO 15198, and the ISO 17025 international standards.”

Hawke is encouraging other labs to not be timid about adopting the require ments of the revised stan dard, because it would help to improve the overall na tional health care system.

On behalf of the GNBS,

Liliah congratulated the Lab for being the first to be certified to the revised national standard. She ad vised that impromptu au dits would be conducted by the Bureau to ensure that conformance to the require ments is maintained.

The scope of the certi fication covers hematolo gy, serology, biochemistry and microbiology, immu

nology, parasitology/urolo gy and Elisa/PCR. Through its laboratory Certification Programme, the GNBS monitors the operations of laboratories involved in testing, measurement and/ or calibration activities, to ensure that they are satisfy ing the criteria for certifica tion and the requirements outlined in the National Standard.

Laboratories which con form to the requirements of this standard are provided with formal recognition to attest that they have imple mented an effective labora tory management system, which aids their provision of accurate and reliable re sults to patients, medical practitioners, and other requisite medical results.

Road works ongoing along the Linden-Mabura trail

St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Laboratory staff posing with certificate and plaque

Deputy CEO of St Joseph Mercy Hospital, Deborah Ramsey, signing terms and conditions of the certification

Set solid and clear goals – PM tells Graham’s Hall Primary School graduating class

Prime Minister, Brigadier (Retired)

Mark Phillips reaf firmed the Government’s commitment to ensuring that Guyanese children have access to education and the best possible op portunities to lead the na tion forward.

“Our Government is proud of our children, as their hard work contin ues to showcase the best

Guyana has to offer. This Government is committed to ensuring that our chil dren gain access to higher quality education and op portunities as they move on to become the future leaders of Guyana.”

“Set solid and clear goals and stick to them,” the Prime Minister told the Graham’s Hall Primary School during its 2022 Graduation and

Closing Exercise, which was held on Thursday at the National Cultural Centre.

“Find a healthy bal ance between your work and leisure. But more than anything, press on,” the PM said.

Prime Minister Phillips also assured the nation’s youth that the Government would continue to play its role in developing the edu

cation system.

“We will continue to in vest in the enhancement of educational facilities in the country; we will continue to ensure better pay and skills develop ment for our teachers; we will ensure that we incor porate ICTs [Information and Communications Technologies] as a founda tion in education; we will ensure that opportuni

ties are provided through scholarships and grants, and we will aim to achieve free tertiary education to allow for greater advanced learning and qualifica tions for our people.”

He praised the grad uands’ teachers and par ents for their support of the youngsters’ academic endeavours, adding that they too share in their children’s success.

Construction worker charged for attempting to kill Linden businessman

Wismar Housing Scheme in Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).

It is alleged that Croal shot Somersall about 21:00h at the businessman’s home, where he operates a shop. According to reports, the two had a misunderstand ing around 19:00h the same evening and Croal left, but some two hours after, he re turned and allegedly opened fire on the businessman.

Aconstruction work er was on Thursday slapped with an at tempted murder charge and appeared at the Linden Magistrate's Court.

Calwyn Croal has been charged for attempting to kill Linden businessman Nigel Somersall.

Reports are that on September 23 the 53-yearold construction work er, of Lot 178 Blueberry Hill, Wismar, Linden, shot Somersall four times at

Somersall told Police that he then felt some thing hit him and he be gan feeling burning sen sations about his body. He was shot once to his ab domen and three times to his right hand. The busi nessman was rushed to the Linden Hospital Complex, where he underwent emer gency surgery. Police said two warheads and two sus pected 9mm spent shells were recovered at the scene by detectives.

On Thursday, Croal ap peared via Zoom before Magistrate Wanda Fortune, and the charge was read to him and he was remanded to prison.

The court was informed that Somersall was still hospitalised.

Charged: Calwyn Croal

Some of the graduating students (Education Ministry photos)

Prime Minister, Brigadier (Retired) Mark Phillips

Govt looking for contractors to finance, build Young Professional houses

The Government, through the Housing and Water Ministry’s Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), is looking to en gage private contractors or developers to finance and build houses under its ‘Young Professional’ pro gramme.

According to the CH&PA, the strategy in cludes the contractors fi nancing the construction of the units for beneficiaries who would be pre-qualified for allocation, pending ap proval for financing from the commercial banks. The banks will provide payment to the contractors or devel opers for the approved ap plication.

There are three design options for construction.

The first option is an open front patio flat build ing with three bedrooms (45’ W x 40’ L – 1719 sq. ft).

These houses must fea ture recessed ceiling to be constructed with mois ture-resistant sheetrock or PVC panel sheeting; the en tire building shall be tiled (bathroom, bedroom, living room, kitchen, patio); provi sion of 26-gauge pre-paint ed trapezoidal galvalume roofing; provision of an overhead water source; two complete washrooms; all windows shall be aluminum sash windows and sliding windows to the bathroom;

levelling of land to be in cluded; provision of an up per and low-level cupboard with granite countertop; provision of hot & cold pipe network; and the external walls shall be finished with troweltex.

Another option is an en closed front Patio with Arch flat house that also has three bedrooms (43’ W x 45’ L – 1634 sq ft).

These buildings will also feature recessed ceil ing to be constructed with moisture-resistant sheet rock or PVC panel sheeting; the entire building shall be tiled (bathroom, bedroom, living room, kitchen, pa tio); provision of 26-gauge

pre-painted trapezoidal galvalume roofing; provi sion of an overhead water source; two complete wash rooms; all windows shall be aluminium sash windows and sliding windows to the bathroom; levelling of land to be included; provision of the upper and low-level cup board with granite counter top; provision of hot & cold pipe network, and the exter nal walls shall be finished with troweltex.

The final design op tion is an elevated two-sto rey four-bedroom house (1478+862 = 2340 sq. ft).

Similarly, the features for these buildings include recessed ceiling to be con

structed with moisture-re sistant sheetrock or PVC panel sheeting; ground floor and first-floor sections with concrete floors shall be tiled; viz bathroom, bedroom, liv ing room, kitchen, patio; the first floor shall be lacquered timber flooring; provision of asphaltic shingles roof ing; provision of solar wa ter pressure pump system; two washrooms; all win dows shall be aluminium sash windows and sliding to the bathroom; levelling of land to be included; upper and low-level cupboard with granite countertop; provi sion for hot and cold pipe network inclusive of heat ing system, and the exter

World Maritime Day 2022

nal walls shall be finished with troweltex.

Interested contractors or developers are invited to sub mit a proposal to the Chief Executive Officer, Central Housing and Planning Authority, 41 Brickdam and United Nations Place, Stabroek Georgetown with: a cover letter detailing the Contractor/Developer’s in terest in participating in the partnership (this letter shall include the legal sta tus of the interested party); financial capacity to under take the construction of the houses, and capability and experience of Contractor/ Developer.

The CH&PA will as sess the responses to this Expression of Interest (EOI), and select those par ties who will be invited to negotiate/ participate in the Housing Development with the applicable terms and conditions being provided.

The executing agen cy of the Government, Ministry of Housing and Water’s Central Housing and Planning Authority, hereby invite Contractors/ Developers

The deadline for the sub mission of EOIs is Friday, October 14, 2022.

All EOIs should be placed in a sealed enve lope titled “Expression of Interest for the construc tion of Young Professional Houses 2022”, and be depos

ited by the submission dead line in the Tender Box at the CH&PA Brickdam office.

For additional informa tion, companies or individ uals can write the Chief Executive Officer of Central Housing and Planning Authority, or send an email subjected

‘Request for Clarification: “Expression of Interest for the construc tion of Young Professional Houses 2022” at sherwyng@ chpa.gov.gy

The Guyana Government is pursuing an aggressive national housing drive to deliver 10,000 allocations annually, and ultimate ly 50,000 by the end of its term in house. Already, the Ministry, through its flag ship ‘Dream Realised’ hous ing drive, has allocated over 11,000 house lots and has also constructed hundreds of housing units in various regions across the country in its first two years in of fice. Another 15,000 lots are slated to be distributed by the end of this year, with hundreds of other housing units being constructed.

In addition, the President Dr Irfaan Ali-led Administration has also im plemented a series of ini tiatives to push its housing programmes, including tax reductions and removal on building materials, as well as access to low-interest bank financing. (G8)

New technologies being pursued to ensure environmentally-friendly shipping – MARAD

The Government, through the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD), is pursuing new technologies to attain a safe and envi ronmentally-friendly ship ping industry.

This disclosure came as Guyana joined the world in commemorating ‘World Maritime Day’ 2022 on September 29, under the theme “New Technologies for Greener Shipping.”

The theme reflects the need to support a green transition of the maritime sector into a sustainable future, while leaving no one behind.

Director General of MARAD, Captain Stephen Thomas, on Wednesday said Guyana would spare no effort to obtain safer

and greener seas, as ships transport a vast majority of goods.

“Guyana’s ocean area is more than half of Guyana’s territorial area. Thus, we are endowed with the space to pursue greener shipping through the expansion of the blue economy and the implementation of sus tainable economic develop ment initiatives,” Thomas is quoted by DPI as saying.

In this regard, Captain Thomas said, the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030 un derscores the national vi sion for sustainable eco nomic development that would benefit future gen erations of Guyanese. The objectives of the LCDS in clude the stimulation of fu ture growth and the utilisa

tion of clean energy with a view to preserve the ocean and marine resources.

Additionally, Captain Thomas highlighted some

key elements for a green er approach, outlined by the Secretary General of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), Kitack Lim. This includes a global collaboration be tween countries relative to the sharing and distribu tion of information on best practices, and sensitisation campaigns.

The IMO has also been promoting technological solutions since the imple mentation of the green house gas reduction initia tive. To this end, a new fuel will be introduced to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In addition, new mea sures are being implement ed, such as slow steaming, implementation of sails, and efficient hull designs to further aid in reduction of

greenhouse gas emissions.

Captain Thomas said shipping plays a funda mental role in delivering green fuel globally, and will act as an enabler for Governments and indus tries to achieve greater prospects.

“The transition to new fuel alternatives presents enormous opportunities as well as transformation al challenges for all seg ments of the global econo my. Guyana will not be left behind, as MARAD is will ing to work with key stake holders to ensure that our energy transition aligns with international stan dards,” he explained.

Guyana signed the 2015 ‘Paris Climate Agreement’ which aims to achieve glob al climate reduction in

emissions by 2050. This is a demonstration of the Government’s commitment to the reduction of emis sions, which is crucial to the protection of the planet and future generations.

Meanwhile, MARAD has a number of activities to commemorate ‘World Maritime Day’ 2022. These include an exhibition being held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) displaying new innovations being made in the shipping industry.

The MARAD headquar ters will be illuminated in green and blue lights to raise awareness of this year’s theme. There will also be a ‘Dress Ship’ ex ercise, which will see ships honking their horns at spe cific intervals.

Director General of MARAD, Captain Stephen Thomas

Regional

Suriname Government considering citizenship by investment programme

The Surinamese Government is se riously looking at granting citizenship to for eigners who want to invest in the country, President Chandrikapersad Santokhi announced in Parliament on Thursday.

He disclosed that an ex pert team is studying the possibility of introducing a citizenship by investment programme as he point ed out that the population numbering just over half a million will not be able to achieve the desired devel opment and workers from other countries will also be needed.

Santokhi said the coun try has enormous potential in the agricultural sector, tourism and mining, espe cially in gold, granite, oil and gas, which would at tract foreign investment.

“And with the oil and gas, we look forward to the decision of the internation al oil companies regard ing the final investment decision which is project ed for the coming year,” he

President Chandrikapersad Santokhi

said, adding that further development of those sec tors not only requires sig nificant capital but also ex pertise and manpower that Suriname does not currently have in sufficient quantities.

“One fact is clear to me: with 600,000 people in Suriname, approximately 150,000 households, we will not be able to sufficiently de velop the indicated sectors, and therefore not be able to earn optimally for the fur ther development of our

country.”

Consideration is also be ing given to allowing compa nies to recruit workers from abroad under certain condi tions, Santokhi said.

He said both initiatives would make a positive con tribution to the earning ca pacity and further develop ment of the manufacturing sector, in keeping with the relevant international regu lations and the national le gal framework. (Excerpt from CMC)

International warnings grow over threat to democracy in Brazil

International warnings about efforts to “subvert democracy” in Brazil are growing, just days be fore voters head to the polls for a presidential election that has deepened divisions in the South American na tion.

Right-wing incumbent Jair Bolsonaro has suggest ed that he may reject the results if he loses, as most opinion polls have shown him trailing his left-wing ri val, former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The US Senate late on Wednesday passed a resolu tion backing a free election in Brazil and denouncing

“efforts to incite political vi olence and undermine the electoral process”.

The symbolic measure, adopted unanimously, calls on the United States Government to “immediate ly” recognise the outcome of the October 2 vote if it is de termined to be fair by inter national observers.

It also urges the Biden Administration to “review and reconsider the relation ship between the United States [and] any govern ment that comes to power in Brazil through undemocrat ic means, including a mili tary coup”.

The vote on Sunday

pits Bolsonaro against Lula, who an opinion poll this week showed held a commanding 13-percent age-point lead.

Several other candidates are also seeking the pres idency. If none wins a ma jority of the votes, a second round of voting is scheduled for October 30.

For months, Bolsonaro has been making unfound ed allegations that Brazil’s electronic voting system is vulnerable to widespread fraud – charges that rights groups fear may be setting the stage for him to dispute the results to stay in power.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Kingston Technical student killed during fight at school

A female stu dent of Kingston Technical High School was stabbed to

death during an alterca tion with her classmate on the school compound Thursday.

5.3 magnitude earthquake felt on Antigua & Barbuda

A5.3 magnitude earth quake has been re corded 63 kilometres (39 mile) North-North-East of Saint John’s, Antigua and Barbuda.

The quake which was also felt North East of Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis and North of Pointà-Pitre, Guadeloupe was recorded around 15:48h Eastern Time, according

to an initial submission by the UWI Seismic Research Centre.

The quake was record ed at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles).

Residents in Antigua mainly reported feeling the earth shake in St John’s and surrounding areas, as well as communities like English Harbour, Bolans, Urlings.

A few people in Barbuda have also reported feeling the earthquake.

This is the second record ed earthquake on Antigua in the month of September.

On September 4, the re search centre registered a magnitude 3.9 earthquake, 52.8 miles (85 km) East of Saint John’s, Antigua and Barbuda. (Excerpt from Antigua Observer)

Experts accuse Mexico of hampering new probe into 2014 student disappearances

The now deceased was reportedly in the 11th grade. (Jamaica Observer)

Apanel

of experts on Thursday accused Mexico's Government of blocking prosecutions in the 2014 disappearances of 43 student teachers, dealing a blow to President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador who vowed to clear up the case.

The Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI) said ele ments of the Government had interfered with the troubled probe into one of Mexico's most notorious hu man rights scandals.

"The concrete facts, cat egorically, are that there have been efforts to hold up the investigations," Angela Buitrago, one of the four GIEI members, told a news conference.

After taking office in 2018, Lopez Obrador cre ated a truth commission to examine the suspected ab duction and massacre of the 43 students in the south western city of Iguala. He appointed a special prose cutor and renewed the man date of the GIEI, which the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights formed in 2014.

His Government's lat est report, presented last month, called the disap pearances a "state crime". The findings led to the first charges against a for mer high-ranking official, ex-Attorney General Jesus Murillo, and more than 80 arrest orders for military, Police and Government offi cials as well as others.

Yet in subsequent weeks, 21 arrest warrants were withdrawn, the GIEI said, and the special prosecutor for the case resigned over

what Lopez Obrador called disagreements on proce dure.

The Mexican Attorney General's office did not re spond to a request for com ment on the GIEI's criti cisms.

GIEI member Francisco Cox said arrest orders were cancelled by officials unfa miliar with the case who did not inform the special pros ecutor, creating the impres sion that the reason was "unrelated to the investiga tion."(Excerpt from Reuters)

At least 12 Haiti prisoners dead for lack of food, medicine – official

At least 12 prison ers in Haiti have died for lack of food or medicine in the 30 days ending in mid-September, a Haitian official said on Thursday, adding the fig ure had likely risen since then owing to a gang block ade that has created crip pling fuel shortages.

Renan Hedouville, Head of Haiti's Office of Citizen Protection, said prisoners were dying of starvation or in some cases of prevent able diseases such as tu berculosis due to the wors ening condition of jails.

"Prisoners, people in de tention, people deprived of their freedom, are exposed to cruel, inhumane and degrading treatments," Hedouville, whose role is similar to that of an om budsman, said in a tele phone interview.

"When someone is jailed, the security of the person in the prison depends on the Haitian State."

The United Nations Security Council in a June report said that 54 prison deaths linked to malnutri tion were reported between January and April, and

that most prison deaths re sulted from a lack of food.

Hedouville's office and local human rights groups have not been able to deter mine whether more people have died in the last two weeks because the gang blockade has made it im possible to move around the country, he said.

It has also made it more complicated to feed prison ers, because family mem bers – who typically pro vide food for those in jail – cannot reach the facili ties.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Dominica’s Sexual Offences Act being challenged in court

The lawyer represent ing a gay man chal lenging Dominica’s Sexual Offences Act (SOA) that criminalises consensu al same-sex activities, says her client is being deprived of his constitutional right to freely associate is being in fringed upon by the existing legislation that dates back

to 1873.

Attorney Cara Shillingford Marsh told Justice Kimberly CenacPhulgence, who is presiding over the constitutional chal lenge matter, that her cli ents’ right to associate un der section I (b) that makes reference to freedom of con science of expression and as

sociation.

She told the High Court that there is a general right to associate with anyone and that section 11 also under scores and expounds on cer tain aspects of the right to associate.

During her two-anda-half-hour argument, Shillingford Marsh said sec

tion 11 states except with his own consent a person shall not be hindered in the enjoyment of his/her free dom of association and as sembly.

She argued that this al lows for the person to free ly associate with other per sons, particularly to form or belong to other associations

for the protection of his in terest.

Antigua-based attorney David Dorsett is represent ing the Attorney General.

The Minority Rights Dominica (MiRiDom) and the HIV Legal Network say they remain hopeful that the High Court there will follow Antigua and Barbuda and

St Kitts-Nevis in repealing laws that criminalise LGBT people in the Caribbean.

The case to end the crim inalisation of LGBT people in Dominica is supported by MiRiDom and the HIV Legal Network, working alongside the claimant whom they say “cannot be named because of risk to his safety”. (CMC)

Relatives of the 43 missing students of the Ayotzinapa teacher training college take part in a news conference held by members of a team of international independent experts (IGEI) in Mexico City, Mexico, September 29, 2022 (Reuters/Edgard Garrido)

Around the World

OIL NEWS

Oil settles lower after hitting US$90/ bbl as OPEC+ considers output cut

Oil prices settled lower on Thursday in choppy trading, rising above US$90 per barrel and then retreating as traders weighed a worsening economic outlook against potential Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries-plus (OPEC+) output cuts next week.

Brent crude futures settled down 83 cents at US$88.49 per barrel, after rising as high as US$90.12 during the session. US crude futures for November settled 92 cents lower at US$81.23 a barrel.

Leading members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+, have begun discussions about an oil output cut at their next meeting on October 5, three sources told Reuters.

One OPEC source told Reuters a cut was "likely", while two other OPEC+ sources said key members had spoken about the topic.

Reuters reported this week that Russia is likely to propose that OPEC+ reduce oil output by about one million barrels per day(bpd).

"Right now, the oil market is teetering between the Fedinduced demand destruction and tight oil supplies," said Ryan Dusek, a director in the Commodity Risk Advisory Group at Opportune LLP.

US stock markets tumbled on worries that the Federal Reserve's aggressive fight against inflation could hobble the US economy, and as investors fretted about a rout in global currency and debt markets.

"Amid so much uncertainty, seesaw trade may be common over the next week, unless we get more clarity from OPEC+ sources on the likely size of any adjustment and what it means for previous missed quotas," said Craig Erlam, senior markets analyst at OANDA.

The market also eased as the threat of Hurricane Ian receded with US oil production expected to return in coming days after about 158,000 bpd was shut in the Gulf of Mexico as of Wednesday, according to federal data.

In China, the world's biggest crude oil importer, travel during the forthcoming week-long national holiday is set to hit its lowest level in years as Beijing's zero-COVID rules keep people at home while economic woes curb spending.

Crude benchmarks remain on pace to notch weekly gains after a four-week losing streak. Early this week they rebounded from nine-month lows, buoyed by a dip in the US dollar index and a larger than expected US fuel inventory drawdown.

The dollar index dropped again on Thursday, easing off 20year highs, indicating some more risk appetite from investors.

Further support for oil prices could come from the United States announcing new sanctions against companies that facilitated Iranian oil sales.

"I think traders have almost given up on a nuclear deal being agreed and this announcement from the US appears to be a make-or-break move," said Erlam.(Reuters)

UN chief condemns Russia’s plan to annex Ukrainian regions

Russia’s

plan to an nex four Ukrainian regions would mark a “dangerous escalation” in the war in Ukraine that would jeopardise the pros pects for peace, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has warned.

“Any decision to pro ceed with the annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions of Ukraine would have no le gal value and deserves to be condemned,” Guterres told reporters at the UN head quarters in New York City on Thursday.

More than seven months since invading neighbouring Ukraine, Russia is poised to annex the four Ukrainian regions after holding refer endums there over the past

week that were slammed by the Government in Kyiv and its Western allies as illegal.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on

Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin would sign the annexation treaties today.

“I want to underscore

that the so-called referenda were conducted during ac tive armed conflict in areas under Russian occupation and outside Ukraine’s legal and constitutional frame work. They cannot be called genuine expression of the popular will,” Guterres said.

He described the planned annexation of the regions as having “no place in the mod ern world”.

“We are fully committed to the sovereignty, unity, in dependence and territorial integrity of Ukraine with in its internationally rec ognised borders,” he said, calling on Russia to de-esca late tensions.

“It is time to step back from the brink” and “end this devastating and sense less war”, he added.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

Finland closes border to Russian tourists

Finland is closing its border to Russian tourists from Friday – the last of Moscow's European Union (EU) neighbours to do so.

Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania all closed their borders to Russian tourists earlier this month.

But Russians will still be allowed to visit fami ly or for work and study in Finland, the Foreign Minister said.

The decision comes af ter the number of Russians arriving at the border surged following a call-up

of 300,000 military reserv ists by President Vladimir Putin.

Queues have formed at border crossings as people try to flee, including long lines at Russia's border into Georgia, which does not re quire a visa for travel.

Finland – which shares a 1300km (800-mile) border with Russia and does re quire a visa – also reported an increase in people try ing to cross the border fol lowing the partial mobilisa tion.

Speaking on Thursday, Finnish Foreign Minister

Pekka Haavisto told a press conference the mobilisation order had a "significant im pact" on its decision.

"The decision aims to completely prevent the cur rent situation of Russian tourism to Finland and the related transit through Finland," he said.

The move comes into force at midnight and also bans Russians with Schengen tourist visas from entering the country.

Haavisto also said the flow of Russians was seen as endangering Finland's international relations.

Russians visiting Finland will now need to ap ply for a visa in advance at a centre in Russia, with an in vitation either from a busi ness or personal contact.

Earlier this month, the EU also decided to make it more expensive and harder for Russian citizens to get visas by suspending a visa deal between the EU and Russia.

More than a million Russians have travelled to EU countries since the invasion of Ukraine in February. (Excerpt from BBC News)

India Supreme Court says amended abortion law covers single women

India's Supreme Court has said that all women, including those not mar ried, could get an abortion up to 24 weeks.

The court ruling came on a plea seeking clarity on the amended 2021 abortion law which listed several groups that did not include single women.

The court said all wom en, regardless of their mar ital status, were entitled to

safe and legal abortion.

It said that excluding single women in consensual relationships would be "un constitutional".

Abortions have been le gal in India since 1971, but over the years authorities have made strict rules for who can terminate a preg nancy because of the abor tions of millions of female foetuses, leading to a terri bly skewed gender ratio in

the country. Traditionally, Indians have shown a pref erence for male children over daughters.

Last year, the Government amended the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act (MTP) to al low several categories of women to seek abortions be tween 20 and 24 weeks.

The list included rape survivors, minors, wom en with mental disabilities,

women with foetuses that had major abnormalities and married women whose marital status had changed during the pregnancy.

The judgement on Thursday clarified that the amendment did not distin guish between married and unmarried women and that it must also include unmar ried women in consensual relationships. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Carolinas brace for Ian after hurricane batters Florida

Emergency crews strove on Thursday to reach strand ed Florida residents as Hurricane Ian trained its sights on the Carolinas af ter cutting a coast-to-coast path of destruction across Florida, leaving behind deadly floodwaters, downed power lines, and wide spread damage.

Ian, one of the stron gest storms ever to hit the US mainland, flood ed Gulf Coast communities and knocked out power to millions before ploughing

across the peninsula to the Atlantic Ocean, where it re gained strength ahead of another anticipated land fall in South Carolina on Friday.

Florida's death toll re mained uncertain amid scattered reports of casual ties.

President Joe Biden, speaking at Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) headquar ters in Washington, said Ian could prove to be the deadliest in state history.

"The numbers are still

unclear, but we're hearing early reports of what may be substantial loss of life,"

the sheriff's department confirmed multiple deaths, but did not have a firm fig ure. Authorities in Sarasota County were investigating two possible storm-related deaths, a sheriff's spokes person said.

A 72-year-old man in Deltona in central Florida died after he went outside during the storm to drain his pool, authorities said.

More than 2.6 million homes and businesses in Florida remained with out power. Governor Ron DeSantis said that Lee and

Charlotte counties, home to more than 900,000 people, were "basically off the grid". Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina were bracing for impact as Ian –which weakened to a trop ical storm during its trek across Florida –returned to hurricane strength by 17:00h ET (2100 GMT) af ter moving into the Atlantic Ocean, with maximum sus tained wind speeds of 120 kilometres per hour (75 miles per hour), the US National Hurricane Center said.(Excerpt from Reuters)

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has warned that Russia's annexation of occupied territories would mark an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine [File: Pedro Nunes/Reuters]

Biden said. In hard-hit Charlotte County, a spokesperson for

A family stands next to a damaged boat amid a downtown condominium after Hurricane Ian caused widespread destruction in Fort Myers, Florida, US, September 29, 2022 (Reuters/Marco Bello)

DAILY HOROSCOPES

You’ve got a good eye for invest ments, bargains and opportunities. Go over the fine print and find a path to vic tory. Trust your instincts, and focus on what you can accomplish. Engage in ro mance.

Don’t ignore what things cost or what others want from you. Know when to draw the line and set boundaries. Make your position clear and go about your business.

Seek out those offering exciting per spectives on what you do or plan to pur sue. The input others give you will open your eyes to many ideas that will help you move forward.

Take better care of your home, fam ily and health. Overindulgence will not solve problems or save you money. Pay attention to how you portray yourself. Moderation will improve your life.

Make plans with someone who shares your interests. Social events will allow you to share your thoughts, get sound feedback and adjust your objectives to ensure long-term success. Romance is favored.

Don’t believe everything you hear. Listen attentively so you can differenti ate between what’s fact and what’s fic tion. Be selective when it comes to choos ing friends, allies and partners.

23-Sept.

Focus on your appearance and how you carry yourself. Keeping fit and want ing to show off what you have to offer will draw the attention of someone who ap preciates you. Romance is encouraged.

Stick to what’s comfortable and to the people who put you at ease. You’ll be privy to information that will help you bring about positive change. Attend a seminar or conference.

Pump things up and get things mov ing. Your enthusiasm will help break up the monotony and draw dynamic peo ple to your side. Expand your circle of friends, and you’ll make valuable con nections.

Be a good listener, friend and ally. Offer down-to-earth suggestions and a helping hand, and you’ll boost your rep utation. Take a different approach to do mestic affairs.

You’re heading upward, and finan cial and personal gains are within reach. Expand your interests, and trust and believe in yourself. Domestic improve ments will lift your spirits.

Put an end to an emotional situation holding you back. Check out what’s pos sible and distance yourself from trouble. Put your energy where it counts and let go of your anger.

Injured Jasprit Bumrah in doubt for the T20 World Cup

India's

T20 World Cup campaign is facing the prospect of a huge set back, with spearhead Jasprit Bumrah in doubt for the tournament because of a back injury.

Bumrah travelled to Bengaluru on Wednesday to undergo fresh scans on his back, and the results are awaited. ESPNcricinfo un derstands a final decision on Bumrah's participation in the T20 World Cup will be taken in the next few days.

It is understood the BCCI's medical team has decided to wait for a few days and mon itor Bumrah to ascertain if he can work his way back to peak fitness, to be available to play at some point in the World Cup, even if not from the start.

Bumrah had missed the Asia Cup in August and September with a back inju ry, but was then picked for the subsequent home T20I

series against Australia and South Africa. He played the second and third T20Is against Australia on September 23 and 25, re turning figures of 1 for 23 and 0 for 50, before missing the first match against South Africa on September 28 be cause of back pain.

"Jasprit Bumrah com plained of back pain during India's practice session on Tuesday," the BCCI said on Twitter after the toss of the first T20I against South Africa. "The BCCI med ical team assessed him. He is ruled out of the first #INDvSA T20I."

PTI, however, reported on Thursday that the fast bowl er would miss the T20 World Cup, quoting a BCCI official who said Bumrah could be out of action for months.

"Bumrah is not going to play the World T20 for sure. He has a serious back condi tion," the BCCI official told

PTI. "It's a stress fracture, and he could be out for a pe riod of six months."

After the win against Australia in the second T20I in Nagpur, India captain Rohit Sharma had said it was good to see Bumrah bowling at "full throttle".

"Honestly, coming back after a couple of months, a back injury can be tricky," Rohit said at the post-match presentation on September 23. "So, we just have to give him more time. I am not go ing to analyse too much about how he bowled - it was good to see him on the park. Slowly and steadily, he is coming back to his rhythm, that's what he's been talking about when he is bowling in the nets as well. So, it was good to see him on the park, bowling full throttle."

If the latest setback is in deed a stress fracture of the

Fury calls on Joshua to sign fight contract by Thursday

Tyson Fury has urged Anthony Joshua to "give British fans what they want" and sign a contract for a heavyweight world-title fight with him in December.

WBC champion Fury, 34, had given fellow Briton Joshua, 32, an ultimatum to sign by Monday, but said on social media he has extend ed the deadline to Thursday.

However, Joshua's promot er, Eddie Hearn, has said he is "baffled" by Fury's latest demands.

“The ball is in your court, everything is done," said Fury. "We have [broadcast ers] BT, DAZN and ESPN all on the same page, they're happy with everything. If you have any dignity and pride about you, you'll get this contract signed today. I'm chucking you a massive bone, but I know I can punch your face in, so I'm willing to give you an opportunity. Let the British fans have what they want."

In an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live, Hearn responded by saying he had "absolutely no idea" what Fury was going to do next.

"I don't think we're a mil lion miles away, but I don't know really whether Tyson Fury wants this fight," add ed Hearn. "I think he just wants to fight Manuel Charr on 3 December, but I don't think anyone else wants that fight. Hopefully, we can keep moving forward. We'll carry on, and while there's hope, we won't stop trying.

"From either side, I can't fault the process of trying to get done the biggest fight in British history. The only thing I can fault is: we don't really know where we stand.

One minute the fight's off, the (next the) fight's on; one minute he's retired, one minute he's fighting Manuel Charr. He's just made an other offer to Derek Chisora. I don't know.”

Joshua's team have al ready verbally accept ed Fury's offer of a 60-40 purse split for a fight on 3 December, and television ex ecutives from BT Sport and streaming service DAZN were scheduled to meet on Monday.

Last month, Joshua failed to regain the WBA (Super), WBO and IBF belts in a rematch with Oleksandr Usyk, losing on a split deci sion.

"We are the B-side in this, whether right or wrong, because we accept ed that position as challeng er," added Hearn. "We also accepted a date that was quite frankly to a disadvan tage to Anthony Joshua, be cause he's just coming off a fight. But he was prepared to do it, and he's still pre pared to do it. We all real ly want to get it done. But I don't understand the dead lines that keep popping up on Instagram when these deadlines are not being ap

plied in negotiations, just on social media. It doesn't real ly help anyone."

Fury's promoter Frank Warren has said he does not know what is preventing the contract from being signed.

"Look, we can't go on for ever. Tyson is fighting on 3 December, whatever hap pens, but this is the fight we want and this is the fight we've worked hard to get over the line," he said on Talksport.

"I, for the life of me, don't know what is holding this up. At the end of the day, he [Joshua] is the boss. Instruct your team if you want the fight. I want them to pick up the phone, them to get the contract across, instruct their lawyers to speak to our lawyers and get it over the line. It's not rocket science."

Ukrainian Usyk, 35, said he plans to have three more fights before retiring, in cluding a unification bout with Fury, but Joe Joyce is now the mandatory chal lenger for Usyk's WBO title, after beating Joseph Parker on Saturday.

Fury's last fight was a sixth-round knockout victo ry over fellow Briton Dillian Whyte in April. (BBC Sport)

back, it will be Bumrah's sec ond such injury in the last three years. The fast bowler was diagnosed with a "minor stress fracture in his low er back" in September

Deepak Chahar - in their re serves for the World Cup.

es to their squad without ICC permission till October 15.

If Bumrah doesn't make the cut, he will be the sec ond major player that India will miss at the tournament, after allrounder Ravindra Jadeja was ruled out by a knee injury.

India are in Group 2 in the Super 12 round of the T20 World Cup, along with Pakistan, South Africa, Bangladesh and two teams from the qualifying round. India begin their campaign against Pakistan at the MCG on October 23.

India T20 World Cup squad: Rohit Sharma (capt), KL Rahul (vice-capt), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah*, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh.

2019, and it had sidelined him for about three months.

India have two fast bowl ers - Mohammed Shami and

Teams that have directly qualified for the Super 12 round of the tournament - as India have - can make chang

Reserve players: Mohammed Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Deepak Chahar. (ESPNCricinfo)

UEFA confirms it does not allow concussion substitution …after confusion over Beth Mead’s head injury

The

UEFA has said that concussion substitutes are not allowed in the Women's Champions League, after confusion following a head injury to Arsenal's Beth Mead in Wednesday's game against Ajax. Mead was forced off after a clash of heads with Ajax defender Lisa Doorn.

Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall has said he was told he could make a concussion substitution, before being in formed that it would not be allowed.

Brain injury chari ty Headway has criticised UEFA over the incident. "Arsenal team doctors fol lowed UEFA's concussion protocols, they rightly prior itised their player's welfare and prepared a concussion substitute, it is disappointing that this substitute was not allowed on to the pitch," Luke Griggs, the interim chief ex ecutive of Headway UK, said.

UEFA’s rules for the com petition state that teams can make a maximum of five sub stitutions within three stop pages - but there are no con cussion substitutions.

There are currently no UEFA competitions, includ ing the Men's and Women's Champions League, taking part in the ongoing trial of concussion substitutions by the International Football Association Board (IFAB).

The Premier League and

the Women's Super League are participating in the IFAB trial, which allows two per manent substitutions to be made in the event of head injuries, even if all replace ments have already been used. Not every league or competition is taking part in the trial, which was set up to safely manage any in-game head injuries.

"It is frustrating that UEFA are not expanding the use of concussion sub stitutes into more compe titions," Griggs has said. "Despite launching their con cussion charter last year and a concussion awareness cam paign, they have only allowed concussion substitutions in one competition - the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship finals."

England international Mead was taken off imme diately after the collision, as a precaution for concussion, and Eidevall said post-match

that he was preparing Lina Hurtig as a replacement be fore his side were forced to finish the game with 10 play ers in stoppage time.

"Don't worry, Meado's all OK!" Arsenal tweeted on Thursday. "Thanks for your concern and love, Gooners."

Griggs added: "Previously, we have seen instances of teams keeping players on the pitch after sustaining a head injury. Now we see a team doing the right thing, putting their player's safety first, and being penalised - forced to play the remainder of the match with 10 players.

Through these on-pitch decisions, UEFA are under mining their own concussion awareness and player wel fare campaign.

"They really missed an opportunity last night; we could have seen women's football lead from the front on this important issue." (BBC Sport)

Joshua lost the WBA (Super), WBO and IBF belts to Oleksandr Usyk in September 2021, but Fury still holds the WBC title

World Championship boxing…

Beth Mead [left] was forced off with a head injury in stoppage time

There are many questions surrounding Jasprit Bumrah’s recent injury

GOA to reactivate paying stipends to athletes, coaches

Through its social media handles, the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) has issued a call for Guyanese athletes and coaches to apply for stipends through Olympic Solidarity scholarships.

In a post titled ‘Guyana Olympic Association to re activate Athletes'/Coaches' stipends’, the GOA provid ed guidance on how ath letes could allow themselves the opportunity to become eligible for the prestigious funding. GOA wrote, “Major funding for athletes is pro vided via Olympic Solidarity Scholarships (available to only a few of the top-ranked athletes) and via Games Preparation Funding, when available. For the past few years, the Guyana Olympic Association has provided a

small stipend to athletes and coaches from funds received from PanAm Sports. This sti pend lapsed after the Tokyo Olympics, and is now being reactivated.

“Via email of September 23rd, National Federations have been asked to submit the following information by September 30, 2022: Coaches:

• Sport Discipline

• Name of coach recom mended

• Justification for sup port

• How will grant support to coach impact the member affiliate programme

• Which level target and number of athletes coach will be engaging

• Programme design ob jective aims

• Number of coach’s pre

vious recipients

• Any other supporting information to justify selec tion

Athletes:

• Sport Discipline

• Name of athlete recom mended

• Age of athlete

• Justification for sup port

• How will grant support impact the athlete’s develop ment and performance

• Athlete’s potential/re sume major performances

• Any other supporting information to justify selec tion

“We look forward to re ceiving responses on or be fore the September 30th deadline, so that disburse ments may begin as soon as possible”, the GOA has said.

Chess exhibition at Giftland Mall a success

bership to the recently formed Chess Club which is held at School of the Nations every Saturday from 10am to noon.

Females were also given the opportunity to register as members of the Guyana Women in Chess Committee, which will be rolling out more activities soon, thereby providing women and girls with opportunities to play and learn chess.

'THE BEST IN THE WORLD'

The Guyana Chess Federation showcased chess to members of the public last Saturday at the Giftland Mall at Turkeyen, ECD. The high light of the day was the si multaneous chess match in which ten of Guyana's top juniors took on FIDE Master Anthony Drayton, Guyana's top scorer for the men's team in the recent ly concluded FIDE Chess Olympiad in India.

Drayton played impres sively, taking on the skilled

juniors all at the same time, and Kyle Couchman was the only junior player who man aged a win against Drayton. Twelve-year-old Alexander Zhang and Jessica Callender also secured draws against Drayton.

Other participants in this simultaneous chess event were Micaiah Enoe, Waveney Johnson, Keron Sandiford, Italy Ton Chung, Mahir Rajkumar, 9-yearold Katelaya Sam, and 2022 Junior Champion Ricardo Narine.

Guyana’s top Junior and Senior chess players, male and female, will be at the Giftland Mall again this Saturday, October 1st, from 14:00hrs to 19:00hrs. Patrons will be given the chance to play Blitz and Rapid games, learn the ba sics of chess, purchase

Jamaica Reggae Boyz goalkeeper Andre Blake admits to enjoy ing the encounter against top team Argentina and football great Lionel Messi, despite coming away on the other side of a 3-0 defeat.

After starting the game on the bench, Messi's intro duction blew things wide open for La Albiceleste, who had already taken a 1-0 lead in the first half, courtesy of Julian Alvarez’s 13th-minute strike. With only 10 minutes to go, the Jamaicans seemed set to end their third straight en counter against the South Americans within a onegoal margin, but Messi had other ideas.

Blake initially foiled Messi twice, but could not do much against the Paris Saint Germain midfielder’s blast from the top of the area in the 86th minute, or his crafty free-kick three minutes later.

Ricardo Narine as well as top players Sasha Shariff, Maliha Rajkumar and Ethan Lee. Several parents also used the opportunity to register their children on the spot as members of the GCF, thus giving them free access to the Chesskid.com website.

Chesskid.com offers nu merous chess lessons, un limited chess puzzles, and the opportunity to play safely in rapid online chess games with other children.

The GCF also offers on line chess classes and mem

chess sets, and take part in chess-related quizzes and games to earn prizes.

Chess is easy to learn, and is known to improve discipline and increase cre ativity and logical thinking. Children learn good sports manship and develop friend ships through the common sport of chess.

The Guyana Chess Federation hereby extends its profound gratitude to the management and staff of Giftland Mall for provid ing the space to promote and showcase chess to the public.

“It’s a world-class team, that’s the easiest way to put it. It’s a different ball game. The quality of play and the speed of play, ev erything is a different lev el. But I enjoyed every mo ment of it, and it was a great experience,” Blake told the Philadelphia Enquirer.

“He’s the best in the world,” Blake said in his assessment of Messi. “I wish I was able to make those saves, but worldclass players do world-class things. It was definitely an honour and a moment I’ll

PROPERTY FOR SALE

House

Land for Sale

SERVICE

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

Throughout the day, chess players were able to stop by the booth to chal lenge Junior Champion

Guyana’s contingent at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where the last batch of stipends’ beneficiaries competed

cherish forever; not the mo ment that he scored, but being able to play against him and save a few of his shots.” (Sportsmax)

Kyle Couchman secured a win against Drayton

Anthony Drayton taking on junior players in chess games played simultaneously

-Jamaica Reggae Boyz goalkeeper Andre Blake wanted clean sheet, but honoured to play Messi, Argentina

Reggae Boy Andre Blake

GUYANATIMESGY.COMFRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2022 23 Final game of CPL 2022…

Royals, Tallawahs to electrify Providence Stadium

–– in this evening’s battle for supremacy

By Brandon Corlette

Having both demon strated consisten cy, determination and ruthlessness through out the 2022 Hero Caribbean Premier League matches, the Barbados Royals and the Jamaica Tallawahs will this evening confront each other in the ultimate bat tle for the right to claim ownership of CPL Championship Trophy.

Neither team should expect any favours when their epic en gagement commences at the Guyana National Stadium at Providence from 19:00h, and both captains, Kyle Mayers and Rovman Powell, are de termined to emerge victori ous after this mega clash.

For Powell, winning the CPL title would mean the world to him, while Mayers noted that his side is re freshed and is hoping for the final to go in their direction.

“It would mean the world to me. The past two seasons that I have captained the team, it hasn’t gone well for the franchise, so now for us to be in the final, for me to cap tain the team to the final, and maybe a CPL Championship, would go well for me person ally and go well for the fran chise,” Powell said at the pre-final media conference at Pegasus on Thursday.

As West Indies vice-cap tain, Powell is hoping that the Jamaican franchise, which is owned by a Guyanese busi nessman and coached by the legendary Shivnarine Chanderpaul, can ‘go all the way’.

“The Tallawahs hav en’t tasted victory for a few years,” he said of the fran chise that last won the title in 2016. “We have sat down and said we are a better fran chise than that; so, hopefully, given the opportunity tomor row (Friday), we will do our best to change that (losing streak). The guys are feel ing really upbeat. Barbados is a very strong team, possi bly the best team in the CPL so far, so the guys are upbeat about facing the challenge," Powell has said.

Powell was unable to give an update on Mohammad Amir, who left the field in the second Qualifier with an injury. He also noted that Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Sir Curtly Ambrose have been greatly inspiring to the team with their vast knowledge.

For their part, the inform Royals will be aiming to repeat that dominance they displayed against the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the first qualifier, where in Rahkeem Cornwall and Azam Khan decimated the bowlers.

"I think the guys came back well against Guyana. We started out the day be fore the game and we spoke about being positive, and we

came out on top. We have been relaxing, and hopefully tomorrow goes well," Mayers has said.

For the Royals, Mayers has led the batting charts with 337 runs. He is two runs behind Tallawahs' opener Brandon King (339). Rovman Powell has 267 runs, and he will be aiming to contribute more, as would the centuri on Shamarh Brooks. Imad Wasim and Amir have each taken 16 wickets, while

Jason Holder (16) and Obed McCoy (15) are among the leading bowlers this season.

TALLAWAHS SQUAD: Brandon King, Kennar Lewis(w), Shamarh Brooks, Rovman Powell(c), Raymon Reifer, Fabian Allen, Mohammad Nabi, Imad Wasim, Chris Green, Nicholson Gordon, Mohammad Amir, Shamar Springer, Amir Jangoo, Migael Pretorius, Joshua

ROYALS SQUAD: Rahkeem Cornwall, Kyle Mayers(c), Harry Tector, Azam Khan, Jason Holder, Corbin Bosch, Devon Thomas(w), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Hayden Walsh, Nyeem Young, Joshua Bishop, Obed McCoy, Oshane Thomas, Ramon Simmonds, Teddy Bishop, Justin Greaves.

Pee-Wee Football set for October return

Federation (GFF) acting Technical Director Bryan Joseph and Ministry of Education (MoE) represen tative Kurt Braithwaite, who touched on the devel opment of the sport through the Petra-organised tourna ment.

with such high quality over the years, even now, in most of our national teams, we’re seeing players who would’ve had the opportuni ty to play in the Petra tour nament.”

After a two-year hia tus, primary school footballers will have the opportunity to display their skills when the Courts Under-11 Pee-Wee tour nament reconvenes next Saturday.

24 primary school boys’ football teams hail ing from Georgetown, East Bank, East Coast and West Bank of Demerara will con verge on the Ministry of Education (MoE) Ground on

Saturday, October 8, for the kickoff of the Courts’ Pee Wee Under-11 Tournament.

This will be the tenth edition of the tournament, and St. Agnes Primary lifted the championship in 2019, before the COVID-19 pan demic interrupted proceed ings in the following years.

However, at Thursday af ternoon’s launch at the company’s Main Street lo cation, Courts’ Director of Consumer Finance, Richard

Allan, explained why the company readily jumped on board the staging of this competition this year.

“You know, we really strive to contribute to the communities in which we serve, as Unicomer Group. So, with this background of being involved in the com munity, we are proud of be ing part of this programme today. Again, I just want to commend everyone for the work that you’re doing

for the development of the young people. We know that the young people are the fu ture, and we really want to support such programmes such as this, for that type of development,” Allan re marked.

He also noted that his involvement is deeply root ed in his father’s love for the sport.

Also sharing remarks at the tournament’s launch were Guyana Football

“The best place that we can start football is at the grassroots level, and that’s what the Petra Organization would’ve been doing. Ministry of Education is on board with any project that will help with the development,” MoE’s Braithwaite re marked, “We have children from as far as Timehri, and teams also coming from (the) Coast, along with Region 3 and Georgetown. Hopefully, in time to come, we can have it extended to the other regions; but this is a good start.”

Joseph shared, “I have sentiments similar to Mr. Brathwaite’s that, after 9 years, I would love to see this become a national tournament, where it’s be ing done in all the regions. Because the Petra organi zation have organized and executed this tournament

Extending gratitude to Courts was Petra CoDirector Troy Mendonca. He also listed the priz es, which include trophies, medals and balls, and in the case of individual acco lades, football shoes.

“In this case, it provides a platform for these young kids to be involved in at an early age, that can realise their inner ability and tal ent, that otherwise would not have been. It gives an opportunity to interact with kids from different back grounds and help to de velop leaders in their own rights,” Mendonca later stated about the impact of the Courts Pee Wee tourna ment.

In addition to the afore mentioned prizes, Courts has committed to present each member of the win ning team with tablets.

The tournament is ten tatively set to conclude on November 19th.

James, Kirk McKenzie, Jamie Merchant

Courts Director of Consumer Finance, Richard Allan

MoE’s Kurt Braithwaite

GFF TD (ag) Bryan Joseph

Chris Green knows the conditions well at Providence

Jason Holder has taken 16 wickets so far this season (Photos: CPL/Getty Images)

Cornwall has shown his dominance in the last match he played

An update on Amir’s injury was not given at the press conference

Tallawahs’ bowling is led by Amir and Wasim

Having both demonstrated consis tency, determination and ruth lessness throughout the 2022 Hero Caribbean Premier League match es, the Barbados Royals and the Jamaica Tallawahs will this evening confront each other in the ultimate battle for the right to claim ownership of the CPL Championship Trophy.

Neither team should expect any favours when their epic engagement commences at the Guyana National Stadium at Providence from 19:00h, and both captains, Kyle Mayers and Rovman Powell, are determined to emerge victorious after this mega clash.

By Brandon Corlette

Courts’ Richard Allan making a presentation to Petra’s Nareeza Latif in the presence of Petra’s Troy Mendonca, GFF’s Bryan Joseph, Unicomer’s Katty-Ann Lewis, and MoE’s Kurt Braithwaite

Amazon Warriors inspire next generation through ExxonMobil engagement

Lifestories, motivational speeches, fun in the sun and overall unforgettable moments were on the cards on Tuesday, when the Guyana Amazon Warriors (GAW) interacted with the next generation of youth cricketers and athletes.

The engagement which was organized by ExxonMobil, fit perfectly into the Amazon Warriors’ annual effort to immerse themselves in charitable causes, especially surrounding chil

dren.

The ExxonMobil Guyana event sought to give the youngsters a chance to learn from their cricketing idols in a fun, interactive environment. The chil dren selected to attend hailed from vari ous schools around the country, cricket clubs and other organizations and was

hosted in the Marriott Hotel Parking Lot.

The initial panel set-up allowed the youngsters to quiz the cricketers about various aspects of life and the sport.

“The first disappointing call I received as a cricketer, it was when I was around 16,” Ronsford Beaton shared as he re counted one of his most disappointing experiences as a teen ager.

“I had my hopes up because then I did all the things that I need to do to prepare for the tournament. But when I received the call that I wasn’t selected, I was heartbroken.”

In a bid to enlighten the youngsters on how to deal with such, Beaton continued, “It was a sad feeling, but I overcame it as the days go by.”

Also opting to share valuable words of advice, was Saxacalli’s Keemo Paul.

“In life, there will be a lot of disappointments. There will be a lot of ups and downs, you know, life is never a smooth road but its how we deal with it and how you cope with it,” Paul openly shared.

“For me, I think family is important and I just want to en courage each and every one of you to just keep following your dreams, keep working hard, stay disciplined, stay grounded, and be humble always. No matter how far you reach in life, just try to stay as humble as possible and go step by step.”

Paul further stated, “When those disappointments come, just remember it’s not the end of the road.”

Following the verbal interaction concluded, it was time to hit the pitch in a mock-up cricket game. Additionally, the children also got the opportunity to take photos and get auto graphs from the GAW Players.

The amazon Warriors take a phot op with students from Queen’s College

“Cricket is much more than a game for us in Guyana, it is a passion, part of our culture and a unify ing force. As we celebrate “One Guyana”, the hosting of the CPL final will be an energis ing force. We are building a product that will be spectator-focused, integrated with our re gional partners for a global market. Cricket

Carnival is a fusion of entertainment and celebration that will be mind-blowing and unbelievably different from any other glob al cricketing event. We welcome all to the greatest celebration of music, pageantry, Caribbean vibes with a South American touch, and, of course, cricket played loud est.”

Onbehalf of the management, coach ing staff and players of the Guyana Amazon Warriors, I would like to welcome all the fans in our dear land of Guyana who will be coming out from today in numbers to fill our National Stadium in all our games – and those who could not get in because the tickets were all sold out with in a few days. In the ten years that the Hero T20 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) has been in existence, I can say – without any fear of being accused of exaggeration that you have been the most consistent in dem onstrating support for your team – and for CPL Cricket – in all of the territories.

And I repeat, the Guyana Amazon Warriors are your team and your vociferous support of your team in and out of the sta dium has proven to be their secret weapon – providing at crucial moments that rush of adrenalin that takes teams across the line from the agony of defeat to the thrill of victo ry. Your Guyana Amazon Warriors have re sponded by being the most consistent team in the last decade. And they have become known as a team that never say die.

This year, our season was bookmarked between the end of the month of August – the month we have commemorated as “Freedom Month” for more than a century and a half – and the end of September, which is the month we celebrate “Amerindian Heritage Month” in honour of our First Peoples. During that time, we West Indians have marked that freedom and indigenous ness by achieving success in several fields –but nowhere else more unique than in the culture we evolved in celebrating life itself. Maybe it is because, more than most other

A Message by Hon. Brigadier (Retired)

Mark Phillips, Prime Minister of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana

Guyana is a proud host of the highly-anticipated finals of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2022, the domestic Twenty20 cricket league played here in the West Indies.

We warmly welcome the teams, players, coaches, and their fans for the final leg of the tournament. The first game in Guyana is set for Wednesday, September 21, and will climax with the finals on Friday, September 30.

An exciting brand of cricket is ex pected from the six teams partici pating in the tournament namely, Jamaica Tallawahs, St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, Barbados Royals, Trinbago Knight Riders, St Lucia Kings, and, of course, the Guyana Amazon Warriors.

This is the 10th season of the CPL, but the first time that the finals are being held in Guyana. We anticipate an electrifying atmosphere from the wave of fans who will fill seats at the National Stadium in Providence to witness the games.

My fervent hope, like many Guyanese, is for our Amazon Warriors to draw inspiration from the games be ing staged in Guyana to finally reward their passionate and loyal fans by win ning the elusive CPL championship on home soil.

Notwithstanding, hosting the CPL is a special moment for Guyana.

As a result of the vision and invest ments of our Government, led by Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, the CPL finals were secured, particularly

given the socio-economic development benefits that cricket offers.

The CPL games in Guyana are paired with Cricket Carnival, a fun, vibrant and colourful medley of ac tivities held under the “One Guyana” theme.

This is the first of three annual CPL finals and Cricket Carnivals to be hosted by Guyana.

The CPL and the carnival events mean a lot to Guyana as our unwav ering drive is to bring people togeth er and to unify the country. There is no better way to achieve this than through sports and culture.

Both events fulfil the Government’s overall mission of promoting Guyana

as a top-tier international destination for investment, tourism, entertain ment, sports, food, and cultural activi ties.

There is something for everyone to enjoy, including music festivals, food shows, concerts, competitions, and or ganised tours.

More importantly, the Government’s intention through the events is to invest in its people as a springboard that will foster economic opportunities for every Guyanese.

In advance of the CPL, we noted that hotels were booked solid and nu merous economic opportunities have opened up for bed and breakfast ac commodations, vendors, restaurants, bars, transportation services, and tour operators.

Guyana is rapidly evolving as an oil and gas market, and our Government has mapped out a transformational de velopment trajectory that will ensure the diversification of our economy by using the gains from this natural re source for countrywide development.

We will continue to build out many new pillars so that our econo my will be resilient, strong and sus tainable. Combined, CPL and the Cricket Carnival is one such avenue Government has adopted as a unifying catalyst for economic growth.

On behalf of the Government and the people of Guyana, I am pleased to extend a warm welcome to thousands of visitors from across the globe, par ticularly our Caribbean Region.

places, our history has made us appreciate life more, since it could have been so easily taken from us. This year, we have launched a unique Cricket Carnival to bring it all to gether!

Cricket has been an integral part of Caribbean life, and as I have said in previ ous years, T20 might have been launched elsewhere, but its joie de vivre and all its synonyms – cheerfulness, cheer, light-heart edness, merriment, glee, gladness, happi ness, joy, joyfulness, joyousness, delight, pleasure, high spirits, good spirits, good hu mour, jollity, jolliness, hilarity, mirth, jovi ality, exuberance, elation, exultation, eu phoria, jubilation – declare it was “born” in the West Indies.

Once again, on behalf of your Guyana Amazon Warriors I ask that you join me as I say with all sincerity:

GO WARRIORS! – Let us celebrate the joy of Caribbean Cricket!!

“T

he 10th anniversary finals in Guyana will be the biggest finals the CPL has ever had. We’ll have sellout crowds to all the games, there’s going to be an extraordinary atmosphere. As I said, that coming togeth er of Carnival and cricket will never be seen better than in Guyana this year. So, for us it is all about, you know, enjoy ing what’s ahead. I think it’s going to be a phenomenal few days in Guyana, and I hope all the fans, both watching at home and in the stadium, will enjoy the experience.”

Guyanese Peters relishing experience with CPL marketing team

Afterworking at Digicel for 14 years, Guyanese Delon Justin Peters is enjoying working with the biggest party in sport, Caribbean Premier League. The businessman, who is also a sponsorship officer at CPL said he has learned valuable lessons during his journey from Digicel to CPL.

Peters had enjoyed working at Digicel but the party atmosphere in CPL and the fans are a joy. “Loving it. It is the best job I think I have had next to Digicel. I have worked at Digicel for quite a few years, so we were accus tomed to getting stuff done, but now being integrated into the sport, into cricket it is even more fun.”

“While I do not follow the games per se, it is always fun to see the people and enjoy themselves, and me being a big part of it, I enjoyed that,” Peters said.

The Guyanese, who is often spotted on television presenting cheques to fans of dif ferent CPL matches, gave an insight into his job with CPL. “I am one of the sponsorship officers at CPL, and our main focus is to make sure that the sponsor’s activations are prop erly integrated. That the sponsors get the right experience from their partnership,” Peters disclosed.

Equipped with 14 years of experience at Digicel, Peters was familiar with how things are done on an international level, through television.

“Coming from a Digicel background, I am familiar with how things are done internationally, but from a sporting perspective, I think I understand more sponsorship in its entirety, and then sports sponsorship, and then I under stand how TV works because some of us are sitting at home watching these things happening on TV, but we don’t know how these things work.”

“My role allows me to understand how it works when it works. The general knowledge in marketing in its entirety,” Peters explained.

How do you feel about Guyana hosting its 1st CPL Final in the tournament’s 10 year history?

SEON BOVELL

Response: Cricket is one of the most popular games in a majority of the countries. Born in Guyana, the immense interest of cricket has made it popular in many nations where it has become more of a passion, a dream and a part of their blood stream. Great stalwarts like Brian Lara, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Vivian Richards, Greg Chappell and a long list of popular cricketers have added greatness to the game, not to forget Sir Don Bradman. Though it takes on the nerves in nerve-clinching games, the game of cricket is itself a stress reliever and a great entertainment for millions of fans the world over. “Most games are skin deep, but cricket goes to the bone” is the saying that epitomises the fervour of cricket. Whether you win or lose the game or it ends in a tie, it is the game of cricket that always wins. So, to have the CPL finals here in Guyana for the first time is an immense step for our country as a whole. It will help showcase to the tourists what Guyana has to offer and make them want to return.”

SHIVANAND HARIPRASAD

Response: “When the tickets came out, you could have seen the crowds on the first day. As soon as the finals tickets were released, everything was sold out, so everyone is ready for this season and I’m sure for the next three years as well the same thing will happen.”

DELICIA GEORGE

Response: You know after years of it keeping in Trinidad, it feels as though we have accomplished a lot this year by securing the CPL Finals. Most Guyanese will get to step foot into the experience. It is a proud moment for all Guyanese.

PERNELL CHRISTIE

Response: To have the CPL Finals hosted here in Guyana was long overdue given the support that the Guyanese people show to cricket as a whole and not just the Amazon Warriors. I’m sure we will come out in our numbers regardless of which two teams will be in the Finals because at the end of the day, we all represent West Indies Cricket.

AREEB ALI

Response: It feels amazing. Cricket is such a great sport here in the country and we rally behind our teams through and through. Guyanese thirst for games to be played here so to have the finals being hosted is a dream come through. The Guyana Amazon Warriors have been to the final so many times and not won so maybe now they’re getting that last ingredient which is to play in their backyard and win.

SUNIL RAMLALL

Response: “I’m excited and I know my Guyanese brothers and sisters are ecstatic. You can have a look for yourself, the tickets that were released sold out a few hours after they became available. That tells you something, after a twoyear pause of CPL due to the pandemic, Guyana cricket crazed! We have the play-offs and finals for the next three years to go hand in hand with the Cricket Carnival and we all know the Warriors fans always think to themselves, “this year is we year!”

Response: “I feel an immeasurable amount of pride that the CPL finals are being hosted here after so many years. To be able to go and enjoy the sport itself with other fans in such an exciting atmosphere is honestly incredible. It would be even more amazing if Guyana makes it to the finals, because I would be able to support my favourite team in person. A victory in Guyana’s home turf would be poetic and iconic and I feel like this is the perfect time for us to win the title.”

Response: “As a sports fan to have the second most-watched T20 league final being hosted in my country is amazing – moreover, in its 10th anniversary, definitely is momentous. It’s investment in sports tourism for our country. I hope it’s a signal of the beginning of major investment in sports for Guyana.”

LAKANAND SINGH

Response: It is a wonderful feeling as a patriotic Guyanese citizen to have the finals being hosted, in a franchise that has reached the finals in almost every CPL tournament thus far. So, as a Guyanese fan it has been a long time coming to have the tournament hosted here and hopefull this is our lucky year.

VARSHA BOODRAM

Response: “Truly a great feeling. The Guyanese fans certainly welcome this inaugural event and look forward to the excitement of it. It will also be a memorable one if Warriors finally win on their home turf.”

ISHAKA JACKMAN

JENNIFER SAM

Scenes from Guyana Amazon Warriors home games at Providence

CPL 2022: Warriors, Royals, Kings and Tallawahs into playoffs

Knight Riders were knocked out of the Caribbean Premier League for the first time in the tournament’s ten-year history. Guyana Amazon Warriors handed TKR the knockout punch at Providence on a super Saturday to storm into the play-offs while Barbados Royals, St Lucia Kings, and Jamaica Tallawahs are the oth er teams into the final rounds.

Trinbago

The Warriors had a slow start to the season, suffering defeats away from home, but upon return to its home turf, the team dominated with clinical wins, especially against one of the most anticipated and talked about matches on Saturday evening.

During the home games, the magnificent Shai Hope and Afghanistan’s Rahmanulla Gurbaz scored half-centuries while other players chipped in.

Shimron Hetmyer has chipped in with runs on a consis tent basis, but he was not as dominant throughout the sea son. Leading the team for the first time, Hetmyer continues to learn from every game, and with the addition of Gurbaz and Shakib, the Warriors were in full flow at the crunch time of the season.

The dangerous Odean Smith who has often come and ex ploded at the end, has a strike rate of over 200 this season with the bat, while Keemo Paul has also chipped in at the end. Opener Chanderpaul Hemraj is due for a big score and that innings might come in the final games.

From a bowling perspective, the veteran Warrior, Imran Tahir has 10 wickets while Smith has seven wick

ets. Tabriz Shamsi, who departed for international duties, had claimed eight wickets in the five matches he played. Gudakesh Motie has been economical in his outings bowl ing some death overs, while the young Junior Sinclair has shown great promise.

“Fantastically well done by the boys. Don’t have enough words to express how great they were. Really really proud of them. Gurbaz came in and felt at home really. Back-to-back fifties - we can see he’s comfortable now,” Hetmyer said after the win against TKR.

Barbados Royals, the form team

The Barbaos Royals have shown dominance from the in ception of CPL 2022. Led by David Miller, and Kyle Mayers, Royals came and conquered. Mayers led the batting with more than 300 runs while South African trio, Miller, Quinton de Kock, and Corbin Bosch showed class with the bat. However, the trio departed for international duties, but Azam Khan stepped up when the team needed him.

In the bowling department, Jason Holder and Obed McCoy are star performers while Afghanistan ace spinner, Mujeeb Ur Rahman has been a threat to opponents.

The Royals who struggled to qualify in previous seasons, changed their management and looked like a stronger team this season.

Tallawahs flexing muscle

have carried the Jamaica Tallawahs this season.

Powell has been racking up half centuries while King was all royalty at Providence when he scored that brilliant century against the warriors. Raymon Reifer has been a silent contributor and he was also rewarded with a West Indies call-up at the 2022 T20 World Cup.

Pakistan’s duo Imad Wasim and Mohammad Amir has also been outstanding with the ball all season, impressing the Assistant Coach, and legend, Sir Curtly Ambrose.

Kings inspired by home support and Sammy

In the King’s camp, former West Indies Captain, Daren Sammy now head coach for the team has been an inspira tion to the team. The home support in St Lucia was impres sive as the batting of Johnson Charles, who has more than 300 runs this season.

Captain Faf du Plessis was impressive with a fantastic knock of a century at Providence and he continues to lead his troops well.

David Wiese has contributed all-around for his side while Alzarri Joseph has been a superstar with the ball. He has also been bowling at a serious pace this season. The four teams have shown differences in approach, and this sets up a close contest in the playoffs.

Now that the stage is set for the final showdown, the fans are hoping that their team goes through to the final which is set for Friday, September 30 at 19:00h.

West Indies players Brandon King and Rovman Powell

Guyana Amazon Warriors Barbados Royals

Jamaica Tallawahs

Lucia

Realising the CPL dream, 10 years down the line

By Jemima Holmes

Tenyears, to many, can seem like a very long time; but when you’re enjoying your favourite sport on a sunny day in the Caribbean, with some of the world’s most explosive talents waving back from the bound ary, your favourite tunes blasting loudly from several speakers, the prettiest cheerleaders grooving to the beat and of course, mouth-wa tering delicacies and drinks flowing freely, 10 years can pass ever so quickly.

And even for the most fanatical of partygoers or sport lovers, a constant factor every year for 10 years can get monotonous, bor ing, and dreary. Not the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) though.

Ticket sales for this year’s Hero CPL final in Guyana is testament to not only the tourna ment’s ability to keep the Caribbean engaged, but to the growth that a particular group hoped for, 10 years ago.

“The key thing for us was to differentiate and our key proposition was always well, what we’re looking to do is combine cricket with carnival. You know, we wanted to make sure that from a fan perspective, fans could come and watch our games – obviously enjoy great cricket, cricket always had to be the primary driver, but also have a good time, cre ate an atmosphere and a vibe that was truly Caribbean and the Caribbean people really bought into,” Hero CPL Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Pete Russell said about the vision of the tournament.

But things weren’t always as good as they are now, tick ets didn’t always go like hot cakes.

“The first game that we played, which was in Barbados, which was Barbados play ing St Lucia and actually four days before the game, we’d lit erally sold probably 200 tick ets, something like that. So, it wasn’t looking great. But we had a fantastic surge three days before and there was huge amount of marketing ef fort, lots of innovation was created by spon sors and ourselves,” Russell recalled.

“And I remember just looking at that first game, it was packed, it was absolutely packed and the vibe and the atmosphere was just amazing. And that sort of set the tone really for what was to come.”

Although for most, the Hero CPL is all about the game and ensuing entertainment, the work behind the scenes to produce the “Biggest Party in Sport” has been, and still is, arduous. Being an annual event, the CPL’s most difficult task is to keep fans engaged for 11 months, each year, when their tournament wasn’t in action.

Russell explained to this publication, “That is a challenge, of course, but I think that the key is to make the tournament as good as it can be. So, everyone’s experience when they go to a CPL game has to be I want more of that. I want to go back, I want to want to be part of a CPL game in the future. Because that’s obviously, you know, how you get peo ple to return in future years, but you have to give them not only value for money but a great entertainment experience.”

Sharing some of the entity’s secrets, Russell credited not only CPL’s motivation, but the role that franchises play.

“The one thing that I would say is what we’re very conscious of – and it’s a little bit like how NFL do it – you don’t want to saturate the market. You don’t want to be too much, do too much. You want everyone to have a great time, but at the end of it, want more.”

He said with a smile, “But, of course, what’s been fantastic over the 10 years is that there’s been great rivalries created within teams and between players across those teams, so, it is all about balancing.”

Touching on the CPL’s six franchises, Russell said: “The teams have learned over the years how to deliver on the pitch and off the pitch. So, there’s a huge amount that goes into it. And we’re very grateful for the team owners that we now have who we believe are second to none in terms of world cricket.”

Now, where would the CPL be without its sponsors? Before the famous Hero motor cycle was posted up in stadiums across the Caribbean, there were bottles of Limacol be ing distributed, right alongside tastes of El Dorado’s special brews and Republic Bank’s fan stand – a perfect picture of support.

Russell figures the CPL would be close to

we’ve had,” the CPL CEO went on to add.

Of course, by now the cat is out the bag; Guyana

Cricket Carnival, that in some ways can be seen as the celebration of CPL’s milestone. Ten years ago, the fusion of carnival and crick et was nothing but a vision, now it will engulf entertainment spots in Guyana.

“Well, His Excellency, the President has been a huge fan of CPL really from the early days and he’s always been very keen and obviously instrumental in in terms of getting the finals to Guyana. But what he was clear about was al ways to make sure that that carnival atmosphere, the car nival side of things was cre ated not just in the cricket ground but outside it,” Russell said in talking about Guyana “bringing to life” that dream.

Between the first final and the Cricket Carnival, Guyana is truly living the CPL dream.

Back in 2013, before the CPL even began, GAW Chairman Dr Ranjisinghi “Bobby” Ramroop had shared, “We believe in the transfor mative potential of CPL for the Caribbean Region. Not only does it promise to com pletely rejuvenate and revit alise cricket in the Caribbean, it has the potential to provide a tremendous economic and social boost as well.”

10 years on and truer words…

lost without the corporate boost.

“I mean, bluntly put, if you don’t have sponsors, you don’t have a tournament. They are the lifeblood from a financial per spective. So, you know, they’re very important, but, of course, you know, they don’t do it just out of largess, they do it be cause there’s a value to them to their business es and obvious ly, how they’re able to interact with their cus tomers.”

“We’re very proud of all the relationships

CPL CEO Pete Russell

The Hetmyer-led

GAW team is equipped with balance and skill

The Hetmyer-led GAW team are equipped with balance and skill

Shimron Hetmyer leads the Guyana Amazon Warriors into bat tle in the 2022 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

The former West Indies U-19 World Cup-winning Captain has a team equipped with balance and great skill. In the batting department, Hetmyer is expected to play a major role while the experienced overseas pros Paul Stirling, Colin Ingram, and Henrich Klaasen offer firepower.

GAW batting in focus

Hetmyer has 145 T20 matches under his belt and 2784 runs. He has an average of 26.26 and a healthy strike rate of 132.5. With 15 half-centuries and one century, the ultratalented Hetmyer will be a prize scalp for any opposition. He will remember his U-19 World Cup glory, and will have intentions of leading the Warriors to a title win at home.

Aggressive Irish opener Paul Stirling has been in red-hot form in 2022. The experienced opener has 306 T20 match es under his belt and 7628 runs. He has a strike rate of 142, with three centuries and 49 half-centuries in the T20

format. His experience and skill will certainly boost the Warriors’ chances of winning 2022 CPL.

South Africa’s wicket-keeper batsman Henrich Klaasen has played in 124 T20s and has 2335 runs, averaging 28. He has a healthy strike rate of 136.4 and having played in T20 tournaments around the globe, he is expected to shine bright in Warriors kit. Colin Ingram, another overseas pro, has 317 T20 caps with 7721 runs. Ingram, who is no strang er to the CPL, having played for Trinbago Knight Riders, has four centuries in this format and 47 half-centuries. His strike rate of 137.6 will certainly boost the middle order.

First-choice Guyanese opener Chandrapaul Hemraj, who scored a majestic century against Barbados Royals in CPL, entered this tournament in serious form. Hemraj has 33 T20s under his belt with 730 runs. He will be aiming to extend consistency and return to the West Indies colours.

West Indies’ number 1 One-Day International batsman, Shai Hope has been eager to strengthen his shorter format credentials. The very classy batsman played 54 T20s and has 979 runs with three fifties in the format. Given there is a chance of players being unavailable, Hope bats at the top of the order, a position he batted in the past for Barbados and the West Indies.

West Indies Test Vice Captain Jermaine Blackwood pro vides that balance to the middle order once the opportuni ty arises. He has played 27 T20 matches and has only 357 runs, but the Jamaican batsman with three Test centuries is capable of producing more.

Tahir leads versatile bowling group

Imran Tahir ages like fine wine. The 43-year-old vet eran has played 362 match es and has 453 wickets with best bowling figures of 5-23. He has a bowling average of 19.78, an economy rate of 6.9 and a strike rate of 12. Simply amazing. With 10 four-wick et hauls and three five-wick et hauls under his belt, Tahir has been a handful for all teams at the Hero CPL.

left-arm wrist spinner, has 195 matches to his name and 223 wickets. He has an average of 22.3, an economy rate of 7.28, and five four-wicket hauls.

Gudakesh Motie continues to climb the ranks, having made his international debut this year. He had a good de but season with the Warriors last year and was among the players retained. With seven T20s in his blooming career and eight wickets, Motie’s economy rate of 6.6 has shown his ability to bowl to big players and keep them quiet. His Albion clubmate, Veerasammy Permaul is also with the Warriors this season. He has played 89 T20s and has 61 wickets. Having shown his skills to bowl in the powerplay, Permaul has an impressive economy rate of 6.95.

Ronsford Beaton, Keemo Paul, Romario Shepherd, and Odean Smith are the seam bowlers for the GAW. Beaton, arguably the fastest of the lot, has 48 matches under his belt and has 42 wickets. He has best bowling figures of 4-9, and after remodelling his action, he will be hungry to show case his pace.

Smith and Shepherd, who were the top wicket-takers in the 2021 CPL, are hungry for more success. The West Indies all-rounders who also have prowess with the bat play im portant roles for Warriors. Smith has played in 50 T20s and has 55 wickets. He has best bowling figures of 4-30 at an av erage of 25.

Shepherd has 65 wickets in 56 matches at 22.7 with best bowling figures of 4-13 and an economy rate of 9. His bat ting strike rate of 153 and high score of 72* adds that bal ance to the Warriors team. The returning Paul, a son of the soil, has played in 81 T20s and has 70 wickets to his name. He is aiming to stay fit and focused to help Warriors clinch the championship at home. He is also among the few bowl ers in T20 cricket to claim a five-wicket haul. His best of 5-15 shows his quality.

Meanwhile, the emerging players, Matthew Nandu and Junior Sinclair are expected to show their talent when giv en an opportunity. Nandu is a West Indies U-19 top-order batsman, who scored a century against PNG in the recent World Cup in the Caribbean. The young Sinclair is a ver satile cricketer, who bowls off-spin and bats right-hand. electric fielder and announced himself at the senior stage, when he dominated the Guyana Harpy Eagles trial matches with his off-spin.

uphor ic scenes took

over Warner Park Stadium on Sunday, September 4, as the Trinbago Knight Riders Women rev elled in the team’s first Massy Women’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL) victory and a landmark achieve ment for past, current, and future female cricket ers across the Region.

Three years ago, the Hero CPL made its first attempt at including the Region’s female cricketers in the “Biggest Party in Sport”. In 2019, the League tested the waters with a twoteam T10 tournament, hosted solely in Trinidad and Tobago.

While the participating teams had their own spon sors, that tournament was nothing close to what the CPL would initiate as part of its 10th anniversary cel ebrations in 2022.

“Of course, you’ve got the Women’s CPL, which for me is going to be great because it’s the first time we’ve obviously done it in its franchise for mat,” Hero CPL Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Pete Russell had shared at the onset.

The franchise tournament was intended for more than just inclusion purposes, however, but rather as an opportunity to ignite the women’s game in the Caribbean Region.

Russell explained, “That’s where we see a growth opportu nity for the sport across the Region. We have a huge fan base; we’ve got a very large number of women and girls who come and watch the games. So, hopefully, by seeing women in action that will encourage them to go and play the game too.”

It is safe to say that after the conclusion of the women’s tournament, that vision is slowly being realised. Ranging from Quiana Joseph’s all-round heroics to get the Barbados Royals into the WCPL final, Deandra Dottin’s lone campaign for the Trinbago Knight Riders in said final, or the bravery of Shabika Gajnabi and Cherry-Ann Fraser as they put Guyana Amazon Warriors Women into positions of power, the WCPL was the perfect showcase for the talent of regional women.

From the players’ perspective, the Massy WCPL has been able to achieve all that it set out to do.

WCPL: The key to transforming the Women’s game

E“I think the whole reason and a lot of im portance in this tournament, is definitely the growth of young players, and I think the more young players we could have coming through a system like this, the better it’s go ing to be for West Indies cricket on a whole,” Barbados Royals and West Indies Women’s Captain Hayley Matthews shared about the potential of the tournament.

She added, “Obviously, we’re going to want young players developing, break out in tournaments like these and come into the West Indies set-up and, hopefully, on to the international level.”

Even further, Matthews believes that the inclusion of female international stars will do well to lend to the goal of bettering young regional talent.

Matthews related, “So, I think getting the opportunity to play with players like Chloe Tryon, the Suné Lusses and these very experienced players from overseas, I think the young players could hope fully pick their brains a bit, take the opportunity to try to learn from them.

“And hopefully, we’ll be able to have them progress a bit quicker than just being in a domestic set-up.”

Former West Indies Women’s Captain and Captain of the Guyana Amazon Warriors (GAW) Women, Stafanie Taylor wholly agrees.

“Hopefully, we could definitely give some young faces op portunity ‘cause sometimes it’s not all about winning, but also improve other players and I think that’s what you want,” Taylor shared.

“We have some young players in the group and we’ll defi nitely want to give them the opportunity on the stage, to show case what they could do,” the GAW Captain went on to relate.

The vision was clear and the execution, even better. It may take another 10 years, but the WCPL is sure to bring new, ex citing and refreshing talent to the West Indies Women.

Trinbago Knight Riders Women lifted the inaugural Massy WCPL trophy

Shabika Gajnabi and Cherry-Ann Fraser were among some of the exciting female talents on display

aspiring to be a top-notch venue

…MAJOR WORKS ON THE HORIZON

By TimoThy Jaikarran

The Caribbean Premier League (CPL) will be coming to Guyana and the ex citement is in the air. To add some more icing on the cake, the grand finale will also be held here. For the Everest Cricket Club, lo cated at Carifesta Avenue, this means that it will be used as a practice venue for the games which will be held at Providence Stadium.

President of the Club, Manzoor Nadir is ex tremely proud of this accomplishment as the club is taking the right strides in becoming a top-notch venue.

In a comment, he said, “The executive and members and I, yeah, a few years ago, decid ed that we have to take the club to the high est level in terms of its facilities where sport, recreation and the com fort of members are con cerned. And in this re gard, we had embarked and we have a pro gramme to upgrade all of our facilities to what we consider to be good inter national standards. This is a programme that saw us invest in our facilities for our people and also in vest in the facilities that will improve the comfort for our members. What are those in particular? We have built a very nice lounge – what we call the Baroda Lounge because the Baroda Bank gave us the resources to start our project. Our clubhouse

status, and we have a full report on that which we are now work ing to implement. The facilities for our patrons, not just the members, have tremendously improved our stands, we have excellent wash room facilities which exist for visi tors who come to watch a game.. an ordinary game at Everest.”

The Everest President further related that the club has worked assiduously to improve and keep the grounds. He boasted that the pitch was in tip-top shape and they have invested in a broadcast box, which is equipped with fibre-optic Internet facilities. He explained that there has been a lot that the

has gone through significant improvement in terms of its renovation to accommodate our guests. We have invested a tremendous amount of resources in preparing for safety is sues as a club. We have a brand-new metal fire escape. We asked the fire department to give us a review of our occupational safety and fire

club has done in the last 14 months and there is more to come.

“I must say that all of the work that we have embarked on [paid] not only the club div idends but also brought recognition to Guyana as a whole when the ICC [International Cricket Council ]-Cricket West Indies team visited in September of 2021. They were look

ing for two broadcast venues for cricket, in order for Guyana to qualify to host the ICC U-19 matches. We were very honoured that the ICC said that Everest is almost there to be a broadcast venue. We had to do a few oth er things which we gladly consented to do to bring us up to par and these were things like raising our northern sightscreen by four feet. So that when the batsman from the southern end is looking to North, there is enough cover age with black screen. We had to mount bars on top of those screens and run the electri cals to house the cameras for live broadcast. We also had to put in place additional wash rooms and urinals for the players, and we had to have at least two showers, two toilets, two urinals, and two hand sinks in both dressing rooms,” he shared.

Nadir also shared that a lot of work has gone into the venue and its improvements, something which he is proud of. He went on to share that aside from the ICC U-19 match es, the club has hosted the regional women’s tournament and other regional matches. He divulged that while at most times, other ven ues were unplayable, at Everest because of the work they continuously do, the club was able to provide facilities for training and they match the highest level, as the GCB Harpy Eagles had used the club’s facilities for train ing prior to their departure earlier this year

for the regional four-day tourna ment. As it relates to the club be ing chosen as one of the practice venues for CPL 2022, Nadir said that the club was extremely hon oured to be chosen.

“When Operations Director Michael Hall visited, he said Everest was a no-brainer, he felt so proud, with almost an instan taneous approval of the facility. But we know we have to do much more and for CPL, we are putting facilities in place which will stay in place, such as laundering tow els; when our sports people come, they can have a shower. We have a full kitchen at Everest: every thing we provide in terms of eat ing is provided on site and that kitchen is going to be expanded. We do have some concern with the pitch, as we saw in the Bangladesh series at Providence, we saw quite a bit of negative comments and that is because of the inclement weather, we had to cover the pitch. So, Everest will now have to look at bringing in the roll-on covers, that will put the tarpaulin directly on to the surface, but give breathing space between the tarpaulin and the pitch,” Nadir stated.

Going forward, he clarified that the club’s intention was to add more pitches on the square while expanding the field, so the northern boundary will go 40 feet to the north and the eastern boundary will go 30 feet to the east, which will add a tremendous amount of space. Nadir also shared that they will also be lengthening the pitches, which will require the club to take the square 10 feet to the north as there is little buffer zones between the stands and the boundaries.

“One of our prides at Everest is our hybrid power system that was installed and we don’t want to boast, but we will proudly say that Everest is, by far, the only club that has a sig nificant amount of energy consumption com ing from solar generation. So, we are looking at the environment, we’re looking at the club’s own contribution to development,” he said.

Everest Cricket Club President Manzoor Nadir

EVEREST

CPL's newcomer Paul Stirlingenjoying Caribbean atmosphere

The Caribbean Premier League (CPL) offers great vibes and an electric atmosphere. The general unique culture of the different Caribbean countries is often relished by the overseas players.

For Irishman Paul Stirling, he is relishing the different Caribbean countries in this, his maiden stint in the CPL. He is certainly enjoying the tournament, despite having a slow start. The 32-year-old, who has played in more than 300 T20 matches around the globe, said he enjoyed St Kitts and the general atmosphere.

When asked about the impact he is hoping to make, Stirling said he aimed to score runs at a fast rate. “I think just come here and score runs at a good rate. You have to weigh up every condition and speaking to the teammates, the conditions change in each island, not dramatically, but a little bit. Coming here to St Lucia, there was extra bounce and pace, so a few things like that, I heard so many good things about the competition, so I am really enjoying it,” Stirling said.

Historically, the Amazon Warriors are known for making the play-offs but not crossing the final hurdle. However, Stirling is confident of the group of players. “They seem to be do ing a lot of things right, which is showing, going to the finals each time, so they are desper ate to get one step further and win it this year. All you can do is keep putting yourselves in those positions, and eventually you will get across the line,” Stirling said.

The aggressive Irish opener has been in red-hot form in 2022. The experienced opener has 306 T20 matches under his belt and 7628 runs. He has a strike rate of 142, with three centuries and 49 half-centuries in the T20 format. His experience and skill will certainly boost the Warriors’ chances of winning the 2022 CPL.

Paul Stirling in the nets for Amazon Warriors in St Lucia (Brandon Corlette photos)