Guyana Times - Monday, August 1, 2022

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

Issue No. 5087

THE BEACON OF TRUTH MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2022

Sod turned for €149M Paediatric and Maternal Hospital at Ogle

PRICE

$100 VAT INCLUDED

WHAT'S INSIDE: P19 Linden businesswoman, 12-year-old daughter robbed by gun-toting bandits

US report raises concerns over low prosecution rate in TIP cases in Guyana P8

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– project will usher in new era of public health investment

Pres Ali had to correct damaging falsehoods about Guyana's reputation in US See story on page 3

...will not allow anyone to play politics with Guyana’s future

Pres Ali assures Labour Minister African Guyanese urges African of inclusivity Guyanese to monetise cultural in Govt – as he pays homage to their contributions on Emancipation Day skills/talents Berbice teacher killed after losing control of motor car

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Banks’ Moscatoflavoured wine wins gold at 2022 Monde Selection P17 Quality Awards

Electoral fraud cases against former GECOM officials P18 adjourned until October

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Gun, ammo P18 found in car following highspeed chase

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MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

NEWS

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MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS OPENINGS BRIDGE

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

Monday, Aug 1 – 04:00h – 05:30h and Tuesday, Aug 2 – 04:00h – 05:30h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Pres Ali had to correct damaging falsehoods about Guyana's reputation in US ...will not allow anyone to play politics with Guyana’s future

Monday, Aug 1 – 06:10h – 07:40h and Tuesday, Aug 2 – 06:50h – 08:20h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY

There will be light rain showers during the day.

Expect light rain showers and thundery showers at night. Temperatures should range between 22 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

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

High Tide: 06:41h and 19:03h reaching maximum heights of 2.62 metres and 2.53 metres.

Low Tide: 12:39h reaching a minimum height of 0.62 metre.

SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2022

LOTTERY NUMBERS B

11 12 15

18 23 24

21

FREE TICKET

Bonus Ball

DAILY MILLIONS

09 10 18 21 23 LUCKY 3

2

3

3

7

Afternoon Draw

5

1

Evening Draw

DRAW DE LINE

02 05 08 11 18 20 21 SUPER

PAY DAY

PAY DAY

FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2022

04 05 06 08 09 13

01 03 12 15 17

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5 Afternoon Draw

FP Afternoon Draw

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6 Evening Draw

2X Evening Draw

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

COMMODITIES Indicators

US$

Change %

Crude Oil

$110.01/barrel

+2.61

Rough Rice

$303.66/ton

-0.14

London Sugar

$526.90/ton

0.00

Live Spot Gold

USD Per Ounce

Bid/Ask

$1726.30

$1763.30

Low/High Change

$1761.10 -4.20

$1767.60 -0.24

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President Ali and members of this delegation in the US along with US Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch and other officials

resident Dr Irfaan on Sunday lashed out at naysayers who have been making and spreading “reckless statements” about his recent visit to the United States and warned that he will not allow persons to play politics with Guyana’s future.

On the sidelines of the sod-turning ceremony for a Paediatric and Maternal Hospital, the Head of State made reference to articles that suggested he was “summoned” to the US which had “ulterior motives” in the region.

But President Ali contended that the US is a bilateral partner of Guyana just like the United Kingdom, China and Cuba. “[I] saw some headline with this relationship with the US, and I went there, and the US has ulterior motives in the region. Absolute nonsense! In all my discourse with all the partners, and we’re very frank [in our] discussions, ultimately what we represent is the best interest of Guyana, the partners will represent the best

interest of their country, and together we represent what is best in our relationship and the development of our relationship,” he pointed out.

Last week, President Ali led a team of Government officials to Washington, DC, where he had high-level engagements with a series of US leaders including Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken on a variety of areas.

One of the major outcomes of the visit was a US$2 billion Memorandum of Understanding signed between Guyana and the US EXIM Bank.

According to the Head of State on Sunday, this deal speaks to the seriousness of the relationship as well as the strong bilateral partnership and strategy that the US and Guyana are embarking on.

Moreover, the Guyanese leader noted that while those meetings held last week in the US capital were excellent, they were not without very hard work and little

sleep – something which he said the critics will never do to advance the development of Guyana.

“They will never put an ounce of energy behind what we did last week. Never!

It’s not easy. They believe it's easy to start at five in the morning and work and get back to the hotel just in time to review the next day and perhaps get a few hours’ sleep for the next meetings.”

“I have a little son too [whom] sometimes I don't speak to for three or four days because of the scheduling. Those behind the headline would never understand that because they don't have to put the work in behind that. They would never understand and I intend to speak about it because I'm beginning to get tired of the naysayers,” he posited.

In fact, the President highlighted that this pattern is now even more worrying since the attacks have become personal. This, he outlined, can damage the country’s reputation – something which the People’s Progressive Party/Civic

(PPP/C) Administration has been working tirelessly to repair since assuming office almost two years ago.

“In the middle of a very high-level important conversation with our bilateral partners, you have all these reckless statements… when we’re advancing specific cause and results for our country. What are they trying to achieve? I promised myself I will not address it but it had to because it must not continue without being addressed,” he stressed.

Moreover, President Ali further outlined that every US official that he requested to meet during his visit he met, with the exception of Congressman Hakeem Jeffries.

Jeffries, who is a representative of parts of Brooklyn and Queens in New York, which is home to a large Guyanese population, has been closely aligned with APNU/AFC Opposition supporters and makes public statements about discrimination in Guyana.

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MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2022

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

Emancipation Day

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oday is a historic day for all Guyanese but more so for Guyanese of African descent. It was on this day, 184 years ago that their enslaved forebears could finally cry – as Martin Luther King would do in 1963 – “Free at last; free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!” While slavery was a feature of all older civilisations – the Bible, for instance, is replete with references to the practice – and in Africa from where they were bought, the form it took in the various European Empires established following Columbus’s stumbling over the Americas in 1492 was “Chattel Slavery”.

Here, the slave was the personal property of the slave owner – as, say, cattle or a piece of furniture – and could be treated as such by the master or mistress.

The Spanish and Portuguese pioneered the “use” of enslaved Africans in Europe in the mid-fifteenth century in an innovation that created a new conception of what it meant to be “human” and invented the notion of “race”. Before then, it was obvious that various peoples had different physical characteristics, but for the first time these characteristics were linked with social evaluations of inferiority and superiority and indeed, a conclusion that Africans were not “fully” human. One line of thought, pioneered by a Spanish monk Bartholomew de Las Casas, suggested they were not even possessed of souls as were the Indigenous Peoples. Much of this was to justify African enslavement, which otherwise violated aspects of Christian egalitarianism. These early justifications of “race” spilled over into a notion of “purity of blood” which frowned on “miscegenation”. In the US, their “one drop’ rule declared that even one drop of African “blood” made the person African and “impure”.

This pernicious notion spread across the world with the European conquests and became the normative ideal of westernisation in the minds of populations as diverse as Mongolians and Hungarians. Last week, Hungarian PM Viktor Orban proudly declared that in contrast to Western Europe’s “mixed-race world” - where people mixed with arriving nonEuropeans – Hungary was not a mixed-race country. While this has created a furore and has been denounced by several European leaders, the invidious perception of “mixing” with “lower races” remains firmly entrenched. We saw this exhibited during the evacuation of African students from Ukraine when their war with Russia started.

These incidents also illustrate the European belief called the “grand chain of being” where the universe is organised hierarchically – with God (a white grey-bearded man) on top, followed, in descending order, by his angels, the white race then the yellow, brown, red and finally black ones, with the latter just above the apes and other animals. What is ironic is that for a long while, and even today, there are many non-white persons who accept their “place” in the order once there are others “below” them, not realising that they are accepting their subordinate status, which is decided by Whites. In Guyana during times of political conflict, these racial comparisons are routinely dragged out and hurled at each other evidently without any awareness that we are using categories invented by Europeans to rule all of us.

The British “made” slavery illegal in their colonies on August 1, 1838 – after a four-year “apprenticeship” during which earned wages were saved by some and used to purchase abandoned plantations. But the planters never reconciled themselves to accepting “free” labour. Their response to Emancipation took several forms, all designed to force the newly-freed Africans to work under conditions totally favourable to themselves. This was unacceptable to the Africans who then mostly left the plantations to create their own free lives.

The planters brought in Indentured labourers – Portuguese, freed West Indian Africans, “liberated” Africans, Indians and Chinese – who were contractually “bound” to work under specified conditions. As such, Emancipation Day should be a day of reflection for all Guyanese who should commit to create a One Guyana, in which all of us can share equitably in our national patrimony.

Only then will we be “free at last”.

Zarah Ann Gladys, six, rides her skateboard in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, July 26 (Reuters/Amr Alfiky)

messages

Contributions of African descendants to Guyana simply immeasurable – PPP/C

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he People’s Progressive Party (PPP) wishes to extend greetings to our Afro-Guyanese brothers and sisters across the country and in the diaspora on the occasion of Emancipation 2022, which marks the 188th anniversary of the formal abolition of slavery in British colonies.

Slavery remains the most cruel and inhumane system of subjugation and discrimination known to human history. The celebration of its abolition is the right and duty of every single human being.

This occasion once again provides another opportunity for all to reflect on the tremendous sacrifices made by our Afro-Guyanese ancestors who were brought inhumanely to this

land in chains to provide free labour for the sugar plantations.

They were stripped of their humanity and dignity and forced to toil long hours. Many were tortured and brutally killed for simply standing up for their rights. In their long and unyielding march for freedom, many battles were fought, including the Berbice slave rebellion led by our nation’s national hero, Cuffy.

When freedom finally came, the freed slaves and their descendants, though uneducated, demonstrated an exceptional degree of industry, thrift, and financial acumen and hence, were able to acquire large portions of land, which today remains the foundation of our village movement and subsistence cash crop

industry.

Indeed, the contributions of slaves and their descendants to every facet of life in this nation are simply immeasurable and it would be impossible to accurately capture in a mere statement of this nature.

As we celebrate this important historic and national occasion, we urge every Guyanese not only to reflect upon the herculean sacrifices of the slaves and their descendants, their incomparable struggles, and their remarkable achievements but also to use them as a source of inspiration and guide as we continue to work together to build a united country free from poverty.

Happy Emancipation Day to all.

Pay tribute to those who selflessly, valiantly advanced struggle for freedom – GAWU

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t has now one hundred and eighty-four (184) years since the descendants of enslaved Africans, who experienced successive generations of the brutality on the plantation, attained their full freedom as declared by the Emancipation proclamation. History recorded that the colonialists brought an end to slavery as a means of social and economic organisation in its colonies on account of several issues. The abolitionist movement and a growing consciousness of the inhumanity of slavery, undoubtedly, would have played a part.

As we observe Emancipation Day, we give recognition to the role and efforts of the many who resisted and rebelled against the cruel system of slavery. In as much as the purveyors of the dehumanising system of chattel slavery were dominant in main-

taining complete control and power it did not quell the undying spirit of our forefathers to resist the oppressive plantation life. Our forefathers and mothers were not merely passive onlookers awaiting the gift of freedom. But they rejected being the possessions of others. Our history is filled with several battles, which at times had a heavy human toll, as the fight for freedom from the shackles of enslavement advanced.

Today as the GAWU extends to all Guyanese best wishes on the occasion of Emancipation Day 2022 we pay tribute to those who selflessly and valiantly advanced the struggle for freedom. Indeed, Emancipation provides us the opportunity to recall yet again to our wretched history and the heroism of those who brought us to the point of freedom.

We have been bequeathed a proud

legacy of struggle and fightback to bring an end to domination and exploitation and for a fair and just life.

As we observe Emancipation Day 2022, the GAWU cannot ignore concerns that our people are once again shackled. Though of a different nature our working-people, especially, continue to face disadvantaged conditions, harmful practices, and disturbing situations. Indeed, the message of Emancipation holds a powerful message to our present-day situation. As in the past we are confident our peoples will once again win-out against those may seek to oppress and exploit them for their own selfish gains.

Let the spirit and message of emancipation be our guide as we face up to the new challenges and advance our cause for fairness, equity, and social justice.

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MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

We must ensure generations enjoy Afro-Guyanese must ensure sacrifices of freedom fighters serve to build a freedoms, benefits foreparents fought for pre-Emancipation – GPSU nation for all to live freely – APNU/AFC

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mancipation Day is celebrated annually on the first day of August. It is the day that the heroes of past slave rebellions that ushered in the end of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and brought freedom to the enslaved is celebrated. The celebrations follow the general concepts initiated by slaves freed on that memorable day August 1, 1838, one hundred and eightyfour years ago, where African menus and locally produced drinks, wine and spirits were enjoyed amongst singing of emancipation songs.

The annual observance of Emancipation Day is first and foremost a commemoration of the legislated end of slavery, but moreover a reminder of man’s brutality to fellow man, where large populations one racial group had had to suffer more than 400 years of injustice and abuse at the hand of another. The abuses included, but was not limited to the rape of the African continent’s natural and human resources, forcefully subjecting the human resources to bondage, dehumanisation, forced labour and sexual exploitation, destruction and relocation of segments of family units to different parts of Europe and the Americas, while stripping them of identities, dignity, generational linkages, religious beliefs, cultural norms, customs and practices, among other things.

The culmination of the tireless struggles for freedom from oppression and the ushering in of emancipation eventually meant that the remnants of those enslaved and their descendants would have the challenge of eking out a living within the territories they served, because of inabilities to return to their places of birth or origin. This meant that the former slaves had to find creative ways to earn a living. So, armed with savings from forced apprenticeship programmes allowed under the law between 1933 and 1938, the emancipated bought land and undertook skills in agriculture and various trades. Their high levels of education also made them suitable to serve within the Colonial Civil Service/Teaching Service and the Police Force.

Through this silent reminder that the blood, sweat and tears of our forefathers are on this land, Guyana, together we must ensure that generations of the present and future enjoy the freedoms and benefits so valiantly fought for during the years preceding emancipation and the blood spilled upon the land be not in vain. Let us not forget those who lived upon this land before us and witnessed the anguish of our forefathers, some suffering like them, and those that came as indentured labourers in the latter years to make a better life, but suffered under draconian laws,

akin to bondage. Let’s not forget the Almighty that delivered our nation from the clutches of the evil to our current status.

Believe that the Almighty would continue to bless this land and its peoples and destroy those, who seek to divide us.

GPSU therefore calls on the Government of Guyana to do its introspection on the public service, which culturally was largely populated by descendants of the abused.

A d d i t i o n a l l y , Government should have genuine commitment to enhance unity among the peoples of the country and take concerted action to eradicate the scourge of inhumane and undesirable factors that result in inequity and suffering within the nation.

GPSU also takes the opportunity to wish its members and citizens of Guyana, peace filled Emancipation Day 2022.

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appy Emancipation Day to the Guyanese people.

Today marks the 184th anniversary of the abolition of chattel slavery, one of the world’s most dehumanising systems of man by man.

The coalition salutes all Guyanese, especially those of African descent for whom Emancipation Day holds landmark significance. We therefore join in the celebrations and commemorations across the county.

In observing this Emancipation Day, we must always recognise that emancipation was not granted to enslaved Africans as a gift for them to enjoy for the first time.

Many Africans already lived freely in their homelands before they were captured, enslaved, and shipped across the seas.

Freedom and self-determination were therefore already birth rights of many Africans in Africa. The formal abolition of slavery in 1838 therefore must be properly and justifiably rec-

ognised as acknowledging and restoring that earlier freedom.

As Afro-Guyanese reflect on Emancipation Day 2022, they must take pride in the fact that history has shown that they are a people who are willing to make the ultimate sacrifices to defend and restore their dignities, rights, and freedoms; who are resolute and resilient in the face of great adversities; who always eventually emerge victorious over their oppressors; who see their unity as a core strength; who see hard work as a source of their self-worth and self-identity; and who are willing to coexist and cooperate with other races and ethnic groups in Guyana based on the ideals of mutual respect, shared burdens and responsibilities, shared prosperity, and a shared destiny.

Emancipation in 1838, however, never meant the end of the struggle for the freed Africans. In Guyana, it only marked the beginning of a new war of liber-

ation for economic opportunities and self-reliance; for full human rights; and for political self-determination. The earlier AfroGuyanese fully understood this. Soon after emancipation, they collectively started the Village Movement.

They purchased plantations to establish communities in which they sought to transform and better their reality.

While there have been many successes, that struggle continues. AfroGuyanese today must therefore re-commit themselves to the spirit of those who fought (such as Kofi, Quamina, and Damon) for the repossession of their freedom during enslavement. Afro-Guyanese must ensure that the struggles and sacrifices of these freedom fighters serve to build a nation in which all Guyanese can live a life free from want, inequality, discrimination, subjugation, and other indignities.

Once again, Happy Emancipation Day.

Monday, August 1, 2022

6:00 6:30 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 10:07 11:45 14:30 16:37 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00 23:30 0:00

(Sign on) Inspirational Time Cartoons Evening News (RB) Anthony Persaud's Emancipation Day Special Stop Suffering Movie - The Princess and the Frog (2009) Documentary - Becoming (2020) Movie - Fences (2016) Movie - Hidden Figures (2016) Inspector Gadget The Young & The Restless Monday Night Giveaways with DJ Stress The Evening News Love & Laughter The 100 S3 E8 The Resident S2 E9 The Ranch S4 E7 Whose Line Is It Anyway? S15 E4 Sign off

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MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2022

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Foundation

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Dividing whole numbers by fractions To divide a whole number by a fraction, you have to remember that a reciprocal is a fraction turned upside-down. For example, 3/7 is the reciprocal of 7/3 , and 7/3 is the reciprocal of 3/7 . To divide a whole number by a fraction, multiply the whole number by the reciprocal of the fraction.

Example: Divide: 2 ÷ 3/8 Step 1: Find the reciprocal of the fraction. The reciprocal of 3/8 is 8/3 .

Step 2: Multiply the whole number by the fraction's reciprocal. 2 x 8/3 = 16/3.

Remember

A whole number can always be expressed as a fraction, with 1 as the denominator. So 3 = 3/1 . When you divide a fraction by a whole number, you are really multiplying the fraction by the whole number’s reciprocal. So 10/32 ÷ 3 = 10/32 ÷ 3/1 = 10/32 x 1/3 = 10/96. = 10/96 can be reduced to 5/48.

Tools and materials: Scissors Round nose pliers Glue Gun Cardboard Printed fabric Earring starter pack or a pair of old earrings Cut the circles Using a sturdy piece of cardboard, trace two equalsized circles. You can use a plastic container lid or the bottom of a medium coffee mug as a guide.

Then, trace a smaller circle in the middle.

Next, to make the fabric hoop earrings, cut out the pieces as rims. Then glue two pieces together.

Working in increments, add a good amount of glue on the outer side of the cardboard.

Take a strip of fabric and loop it around the rim as you go along.

Pull the fabric tightly so that there are no gaps or loose bits. Continue this method until the whole hoop is encased with fabric. Now, repeat these steps to make the second earring.

Now, assemble the fabric earrings by adding

CONTINUED FROM SATURDAY

Exercises: Multiply 1) 2 ÷ 1/3

4)12 ÷ 3/8

2) 5 ÷ 1/4

5) 6 ÷ 1/12

3) 7 ÷ 2/9

6) 1/5 ÷ 2

In the morning when he awoke, he began to search over hill and dale for this pretty flower; and eight long days he sought for it in vain: but on the ninth day, early in the morning, he found the beautiful purple flower; and in the middle of it was a large dewdrop, as big as a costly pearl. Then he plucked the flower, and set out and travelled day and night, till he came again to the castle.

He walked nearer than a hundred paces to it, and yet he did not become fixed as before, but found that he could go quite close up to the door. Jorindel was very glad indeed to see this. Then he touched the door with the

By

the

the necessary hardware to turn them into cool, dangly earrings.

Tip: Use your round nose pliers to secure the gaps of the jump rings tightly.

Now, for the second style, cut out two squares from your cardboard.

Then, cut out fabric that will be just enough to encase the whole square.

Encase the fabric on the cardboard square by gluing it down accordingly. Make sure every side and corner is wrapped in fabric. Smooth out the fabric as you glue it to avoid any bumps or bubbles. Repeat this on the second cardboard square.

Tip: Allow the glue to dry before proceeding to the next step.

Cut the sides where needed.

On one of the corners, insert a headpin and curve the ends.

Then, add a jump ring and fish hook, and your beautiful square fabric earrings are complete. (upstyledaily.com)

Brothers Grimm

flower, and it sprang open; so that he went in through the court, and listened when he heard so many birds singing. At last he came to the chamber where the fairy sat, with the seven hundred birds singing in the seven hundred cages. When she saw Jorindel she was very angry, and screamed with rage; but she could not come within two yards of him, for the flower he held in his hand was his safeguard. He looked around at the birds, but alas! there were many, many nightingales, and how then should he find out which was his Jorinda? While he was thinking what to do, he saw the fairy had taken down one of the cages, and was making the best

of her way off through the door. He ran or flew after her, touched the cage with the flower, and Jorinda stood before him, and threw her arms round his neck looking as beautiful as ever, as beautiful as when they walked together in the wood.

Then he touched all the other birds with the flower, so that they all took their old forms again; and he took Jorinda home, where they were married, and lived happily together many years: and so did a good many other lads, whose maidens had been forced to sing in the old fairy’s cages by themselves, much longer than they liked.

The End

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MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Pres Ali assures African Guyanese of inclusivity in Govt – as he pays homage to their contributions on Emancipation Day A ssuring African Guyanese that his People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government is one that is committed to inclusivity and hearing their concerns, President Dr Irfaan Ali on the occasion of Emancipation Day paid homage to the contributions of the African community in Guyana.

In his Emancipation Day message, President Ali spoke of the inhumanity of slavery and the indelible contributions AfroGuyanese have made to Guyana, in all facets of national life, since then.

“Their legacy is secure.

Their future is assured.

I want to reassure our African-Guyanese brothers and sisters that my Government is committed to an inclusive future for all. Whatever concerns or grievances, you can be certain of a receptive and responsive Government.”

“No one is going to be left behind or left out of national development. Outreaches have already begun in communities across our country so that the people can join us in working to bring solutions,” the President said.

The President in his Emancipation Day message

paid homage to the sacrifices and struggles that the African ancestors endured in pursuit of freedom and human dignity, while also joining in saluting their undeniable contributions to national development.

According to the President, an inclusive future awaits all Afro-Guyanese.

“Emancipation Day of 1838 was a milestone in our country’s history. It signalled the demise in our country of the most repugnant and inhumane system known to humanity. And while Emancipation did not bring an end to colonial oppression, it struck a hefty

Pres Ali had to correct...

FROM PAGE 3

The Guyanese leader said he had instructed the Foreign Affairs Ministry and Guyana’s Ambassador to the US, Samuel Hinds, to request a meeting with the Congressman but he never responded.

“He has not responded to the Ambassador’s invitation. Ask yourself why. If you have all these concerns why you haven't attended a meeting that you were invited to? Stop playing politics with the future of a country.

This President will not allow it. I will speak about it and in stronger terms, I’ll speak about it,” Ali declared.

Building trust

Nevertheless, the Head of State pointed out the importance of building trust with development partners so that Guyana gets the support needed as it undertakes

this unprecedented transformational path. He said a lot of time is spent redefining that path.

According to the President, Guyana has to be a country and a people that the world trusts and unless this happens, then no one will want to do business here.

“We have to be able to build trust with our partners and I have been working hard every single day on the international circuit to build that trust, bring back that trust and confidence in our country. Let me tell the naysayers something, it is not easy to go into a room to hear about your country’s democracy records and election records as negative against your country. And we have to spend hours dismantling that negative perception about our country.

It is not easy and I sit there for hours, painstakingly positioning this country where it rightfully belongs.”

“Never believe that any of you have the right again to take this country back down that path and don't believe you’ll lecture me now because I have the unfortunate job of repairing the damage that you caused.

And I do so with great humility, honour, and pride because I know the vast majority of the people of this country stood up against it and worked hard against it and fought against this and stood up for what is right and they believe in what is right and know what is right and they will do what is right. And that is my greatest motivation at the end of the day,” the Guyanese leader contended.

President Dr Irfaan Ali

blow in the cause of human dignity and freedom,” the President said.

According to Ali, Guyana’s society changed on a fundamental level as a result of Emancipation. He noted that the abolition of slavery in the British colonies also opened the doors to immigrants from other parts of the world and triggered a process of social transformation.

“African Guyanese were at the forefront of that process. It was Africans who had laid the productive infrastructure of our country. After Emancipation, they expanded the peasantry, launched the Village Movement, and established economic enterprises.

They pioneered the education and local government.

Happy Emancipation Day 2022!” He further said.

It was only on Saturday that a team of nine Government Ministers went into the East Coast of Demerara (ECD) village of Melanie. According to one villager, in his life living in Melanie he has never

seen so many Ministers of Government visit the community at one time.

The outreach was led by Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips.

Among the Ministers present were Minister of Housing and Water Collin Croal, Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony, Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall, Public Service Minister Sonia Parag, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill, Local Government and Regional Development Minister Nigel Dharamlall and Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Public Affairs, Kwame McCoy. Among the developmental initiatives that will grace the East Coast corridor is a US$8 million water treatment plant, to be funded from supplementary funds the Government is seeking from the National Assembly, as well as a regional hospital at Enmore.

According to Croal, who

was in Melanie as part of a nine-member ministerial delegation, the range of the water treatment plant project will cover from Coldingen to Haslington on the East Coast of Demerara.

Meanwhile, the regional hospital was another East Coast initiative was referred to by the Minister of Health. According to Anthony, the Government will be building the regional hospital at Enmore as part of its drive to decentralise healthcare.

“We have a number of regional hospitals that we’ll be building, from all the way up in Skeldon right across the coast to Anna Regina and your neighbourhood. In Enmore. We will be building a regional hospital.

That regional hospital will have at least 75 in-patient beds. Would have a modern accident and emergency. Would also have modern laboratories, imaging suites.”

“And that imaging suite would not just consist of X-rays and ultrasounds, but we would also add to that imaging suite, a modern CT scan. So no longer would you leave here to go to Georgetown and then pay between $30,000 to $70,000 for a CT scan,” Anthony also explained.

There are also plans for the construction of a 256 -bed Paediatric and Maternal Hospital at Liliendaal, ECD. In fact, Dr Anthony revealed that construction is expected to commence this week.

President Dr Irfaan Ali himself turned the sod for this project on Sunday.

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US report raises concerns over low prosecution rate in TIP cases in Guyana

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hile Guyana remains at Tier One for the sixth consecutive year in the latest Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report released by the US State Department, officials have raised concerns about the low conviction rate of human traffickers, urging that the country “increase prosecutions and convictions in sex and labour trafficking cases, including for cases involving child victims.”

Although the Government meets the minimum standards for the elimination of TIP, the report, which was released earlier this month, noted the country did not convict any traffickers for the first time in four years.

Penalties were sufficiently stringent and, with respect to sex trafficking, commensurate with those prescribed for other crimes such as rape, the report said.

In 2021, it pointed out that the Government reported initiating investigations in 38 cases involving 57 suspects: 46 for sex trafficking and 11 for labour trafficking, compared with 31 new cases (23 for sex trafficking and eight for labour trafficking) in 2020.

According to the document, the Government continued one sex trafficking inves-

Retentions… …in African culture

O tigation from the previous reporting period.

According to the document, the Government also reported it initiated prosecutions against three suspected traffickers, one for sex trafficking and two for labour trafficking, compared with one new prosecution for sex trafficking in 2020 and three prosecutions in 2019.

For the reporting period, authorities ceased prosecution of one alleged sex trafficker following his death and continued prosecutions against two defendants, one for sex trafficking and one for labour trafficking—the latter case was dismissed in December 2021 for insufficient evidence.

“Authorities did not convict any traffickers, compared with convicting one trafficker for each of

the past three years. The Government did not report any new investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of government employees complicit in trafficking offences,” noted the report.

The report stated that in February 2022, the media reported accusations from 20 Venezuelan women that Police had assaulted and robbed them during a raid on a hotel where Police suspected trafficking was taking place. It further stated that the Government did not report on the appeal of a former Police officer convicted of sex trafficking and released on bail pending appeal in 2016; the appeal was still pending at the end of the reporting period.

Importantly, the report highlighted that “the Government reported both of these factors contributed to the low prosecution

rate”. According to officials, the Guyana Government also indicated that victims’ distrust in law enforcement, prosecutors, and the judicial system; the inability to guarantee the safety of victims and their relatives; language barriers; and delays in investigations were challenges in prosecuting trafficking.

“The judicial process remained slow, with trafficking and other major criminal trials taking an average of two years and up to three years to complete due to shortages of trained court personnel, postponements at the request of the defence or prosecution, allegations of bribery, poor case tracking, and delays in preparing cases for trial,” the report outlined.

Overall, the US gave Caricom countries mixed reviews for their efforts to combat TIP. During a panel discussion last week to mark World Day Against Human Trafficking which is held on July 30 annually, Second Vice President of the Guyana Association of Women Judges, Magistrate Christel Lambert urged human trafficking victims, especially undocumented persons, to come forward. She assured them that they will not be prosecuted for immigration-related offences.

This year’s World Day Against Trafficking in Persons was held under the theme: “Use and Abuse of Technology”. It focuses on the role of technology as a tool that can both enable and impede human trafficking.

Guyana’s commitment to preventing this form of serious modern-day slavery has seen the enactment of the Combatting Trafficking in Persons Act of 2005, which criminalises all forms of human trafficking, and prescribes adequately stringent prison sentences.

In Guyana, the crime is punishable by sentences ranging from three years to life in prison.

Human trafficking is the third largest criminal activity in the world behind guns and drug trafficking.

ne thing we’ve got to get out of the way is when we speak in Guyana – or the Caribbean – about “African” culture, we have a greater legitimacy to do so because our African citizens were brought from all parts of West Africa – from Angola in the south to Senegal in the north. This includes the Congo, Ghana, and Nigeria just to mention some of the more popular names. So, we can immediately appreciate that while in Africa – even within what we call Ghana today – there are dozens of ethnic groups or tribes, during the hundreds of years of enslavement those cultural differences were homogenised as the Whites tried to ground their culture out of them in totality.

But what’s not appreciated enough is that after the abolition of slavery in 1838, there were over 13,000 Africans brought directly from Africa and transported to Guyana to work as Indentured Immigrants!! That’s right – not as slaves but indentured servants – to drive down the wage aspirations of the freedmen and women – just like the other indentured!! So, how were they brought??

Well, after the Brits abolished the slave trade in 1807, and then enacted emancipation in 1838, other countries such as Brazil and Cuba – which continued with slavery – kept on shipping their African “cargo”. The British navy was assigned to patrol the coast of West Africa and intercept these slave ships.

The “liberated” Africans were sent generally to Liberia or Sierra Leone, from where they were persuaded to emigrate to the West Indies. One unintended consequence of this latter arrival when African cultural practices weren’t seen as a threat, was that after the Indentured Africans were distributed to plantations in all three countries, they became the nucleus and catalyst for the flowering of African culture. Among the new arrivals were Igbo, Kalabari, Mende, Temne, Mandinka, Yoruba and, above all, West Central Africans such as Kru and Congolese.

If we were to map the areas where there are more significant expressions of African Culture you can bet that some of the new arrivals were settled there in greater numbers – like in Bagotsville on the West Bank. After their Indentureship, some returned to Sierra Leone but, like other Indentureds, most remained. They gravitated to African Villages and bought lands where their immigrant drive for economic improvement soon made them exemplars.

Some African cultural retentions have spread in the wider Guyanese populace in the kind of food we eat. While we may think of foo-foo and conkie, let’s not forget that the entire repertoire of “ground provisions” dishes from soups (including metemjee) and “boil and fried” is of African provenance!!

So, today let us all celebrate this African heritage that is now “ours”!! …and climate change While your Eyewitness had been prepared – through the reports in the press – he was still shocked to read that rice and sugar production in the first half of this year declined by 53.1 and 47.7 per cent respectively!! Imagine half of our two major agricultural crops – which employ more than half of our workforce – wiped out!! While the suffering of the sugar workers has been in the news – note it’s only the estates being revived are mentioned. Imagine the plight of the others like at Skeldon!!

But rice!??! Most folks don’t realise that the vast majority of rice farmers – actually paddy farmers – cultivate plots of less than five acres – from which they barely eke out a subsistence existence. So, when they reap only half of their normal harvest, it means starvation time for them and their families. So spare a thought for them on this Emancipation Day! If the Government’s serious about diversifying into agriculture for “food security” for the region, shouldn’t they be taking care of these farmers?? …and reversions Isn’t it a wonderful sight to behold so many people garbed in their African Clothes?? Was a time when to wear them was seen as “backward” – but thankfully that’s all in the past!!

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

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

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Sod turned for €149M Paediatric and Maternal Hospital at Ogle – project will usher in new era of public health investment

President Dr Irfaan Ali joined officials on Sunday for the sod-turning ceremony of Guyana’s first Specialised Paediatric and Maternal Hospital

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resident Dr Irfaan Ali on Sunday joined officials for the sod-turning ceremony of a specialised €149 million Paediatric and Maternal Hospital that will be constructed at Goedverwagting, East Coast Demerara.

The facility, which will be financed by the United Kingdom’s export credit agency – UK Export Finance (UKEF), will be built and equipped in two-years’ time

by Austria-based Vamed Engineering. The company, which is partially-owned by the Austrian Government, is a global provider for hospitals and other facilities in the healthcare sector.

The low-rise Paediatric and Maternal Hospital will have 256 beds and will be a referral centre for women and children. It will specialise in maternal, neonatal, and paediatric care with a huge imaging suite for services such as CT scans and MRIs, a modern laboratory, and surgical suites.

Delivering the feature address on Sunday, President Ali stated that this hospital is not a standalone development but is specialised in critical care for two of Guyana’s most important groups – children and at-risk mothers.

“This facility is a specialised facility. It is not that the other health facilities would not have these services. But this will be a specialised hospital for these facilities

alone because women and children are critical components of the development of our country,” he stated.

According to President Ali, the hospital is a demonstration of the relations established between the two nations. As such, he said Guyana intends to strengthen these ties with the European country in order to tap into its vast technology capabilities in other sectors.

This, the President stated, will be important as Guyana seeks to adopt world-class standards for its infrastructure in order to position the country for regional traffic in the medical field.

“Whatever, we’re developing is for regional prosperity. So, our cardiac centre, our centre to deal with cancer, our centre to deal with research and development are positioned with standards and infrastructure that will make it a want to go to destination in terms of regional traffic,” the Guyanese leader posited.

New era in healthcare Meanwhile, Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony outlined that this project is reflective of the Ali-led Administration’s commitment to fulfilling its promise of improving healthcare delivery in Guyana to international standards.

“Today, we are at another milestone in the devel-

opment of public health in Guyana. The turning of the sod… would usher in a new era of public health investment in Guyana… it would be the [single] largest public health investment in the entire history of Guyana,” he noted.

Dr Anthony explained that even with massive investments and upgrades, the Georgetown Public Hospital – the country’s only referral hospital – is still limited in its capacity for certain services such as specialised paediatric care.

“We need to develop a facility that is going to be level five, that's the highest level, and offer sub-specialty care to our children if they need it. And also, we know from time to time there would be at-risk mothers and therefore, we also need to cater for these at-risk mothers,” he stated.

According to the Health Minister, the services that would be offered at this facility will not only be far-advanced but services that were never offered in Guyana before. He explained that the primary goal of expanding the healthcare services here is to make sure that Guyana reduces its morbidity rate, have less diseases and is able to treat diseases properly.

“That's the ultimate objective. So, the investments that we're making here is really people-cen-

tric investments to make sure that our people benefit from the highest quality of healthcare, world-class healthcare, and they will be able to access it right here in Guyana, free of cost so that you don't have to travel abroad… and I think that is extremely important,” the Minister stated.

Nevertheless, Dr Anthony stressed that this project would be a catalyst in changing the health landscape of the country and is the beginning of a wave of projects in the local health sector that will bring about total transformation.

In fact, he teased that in the next couple of weeks, many other similar projects will be rolled out across the country.

The Specialised Paediatric and Maternal Hospital was birthed from a Memorandum of Understanding between Guyana and Austria. The contract was signed just last month with Vamed for

a Design, Finance, Build (DFB) model.

Austrian Trade Commissioner for Guyana and the Caribbean, Andreas Schmid during Sunday’s ceremony, reassured that Vamed is experienced as a market leader in turn-key hospitals across the world.

He expressed hope that this facility will be the first step in long-lasting bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

“It is a direct result of the fundamental need to attend to the growing population and “mother and child care”, a vision of his Excellency, President Ali. This hospital is also an excellent example of a successful Government-toGovernment project which we are delighted to explore also in other areas of bilateral cooperation,” he stated.

The specialised hospital will be equipped with high-quality equipment sourced from the United Kingdom.

Active COVID-19 cases now at 619 after 15 new infections

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he Health Ministry reported on Sunday that 15 more persons have tested positive for the novel coronavirus within a 24-hour period.

Consequently, there are now 69,807 confirmed cases in the country. However, only 619 of these are currently active cases, that is, one patient in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and the remaining persons in isolation – 594 in home isolation and the other 24 in institutional isolation.

One other person is also currently in institutional quarantine.

To date, some 67,917 persons have recovered from the life-threatening virus thus far – 43 more recoveries than the figure reported the previous day.

Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Guyana over two years ago, a total 676,520 tests have been conducted countrywide and of this, some 31,993 males and 37,814 females were found to be positive.

Of the 15 new cases recorded on Sunday, seven were from Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), one

case from Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), and the remaining seven cases from Region Four (DemeraraMahaica).

There were no new cases recorded in the other seven regions across the country within the reporting 24-hour period.

After a prolonged period of declining cases, the Guyana Government, back in March, removed most restrictions as the country moves to recover from the pandemic and return to normalcy. But in recent weeks, there has been a spike in COVID cases here, which health authorities have attributed to subvariants of the Omicron strain, such as the BA.5.

To this end, health authorities are urging persons to get vaccinated and for those qualified to get their booster shots.

Latest vaccination figures show that so far, more than 443,977 or 86.7 per cent of adults have taken a first dose, while over 344,642 or 66.2 per cent of persons 18 years and over are fully vaccinated.

For adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17, just

over 35,379 or 48.5 per cent have received their first dose, while 25,881 or 35.5 per cent of them have returned for their second dose.

Vaccines administered to children within the ages of five and 11 years, have surpassed 6400 doses which is about 6.3 per cent of that age cohort. Second doses for this group are just over 1070 or 1 per cent.

In addition, in excess of 71,000 persons have returned for their booster shots thus far.

According to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) recent figures, some 572,239,451 confirmed cases were reported globally along with 6,390,401 deaths.

In the Region of the Americas, that is, Latin America and the Caribbean, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has increased to 169,953,836 while the death toll in the region has gone up to 2,786,222.

As it relates to vaccination against COVID-19, the WHO also reported that a total of 12,248,795,623 doses have been administered worldwide.

NEWS

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Pres Ali human-centred leadership praised by CIOG – on eve of 2nd anniversary of PPP/C ascension to office

CIOG Head Sheikh Moen ul-Hack

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n the eve of the two-year anniversary of the ascension of President Dr Irfaan Ali and the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government to office, the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana (CIOG) led tributes for the Government’s leadership.

In a statement on the occasion, CIOG recalled that at the time the President came to office, Guyana was a “fractured, hopeless and pessimistic” society. And yet in the time he has been in power, circumstances have combined to shape his presidency for the better.

“Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic was wreaking havoc globally resulting in almost six million deaths, loss of livelihood, and disruption of global supply chains.

Immediately, mechanisms were implemented to cushion the effects of the pandemic such as the provision of vaccine, cash grants and assistance to small and medium-size enterprises,”

CIOG noted.

“But while we are hopeful that eventually, the pandemic will wither away, the nation was confronted with the ongoing and equally pernicious threat of climate change which resulted in a massive flood along the coast of Guyana that saw damages to the effect of almost US$1 billion.”

CIOG noted that leadership was again put on display when the Government sought to bring immediate relief to those who were affected. However, CIOG pointed out that additional challenges arose when the war in Ukraine sent global market prices soaring and caused a disruption in global food chains and hikes in food prices.

“Whilst these events have set back development, under the leadership of His Excellency Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, Guyana continues to forge ahead on its developmental trajectory.

Today our nation is brimming with hope and opti-

mism towards building a “One Guyana” which will be achieved by the permission of God Almighty.”

“His Excellency’s ascension to office was a victory but he was not triumphalist, in fact, he immediately went about looking after the affairs of the State and healing the nation.

Today, his tenure in office so far has shown a strong vision for Guyana’s future, effective communication, selflessness, character and integrity. These are the hallmarks of great leadership and His Excellency has ticked off all of them,” the organisation said.

The organisation was full of praise for the Government’s focus on human capital development and improvements in healthcare and education. CIOG also praised the President’s ability to interact across several spectrums of society and across differences related to class, religion or race. According to the organisation, the President’s “common touch” comes naturally.

“This is a man who came from humble beginnings, achieved greatness but never once lost the common touch. This is what inspirational leadership is all about, building the confidence of the people and involving them in the development of our country,” CIOG said.

“His Excellency, through his One Guyana vision has deployed an effective mechanism for sustained religious and ethnic harmony, initiated programmes, policies and projects with di-

Banks’ Moscato-flavoured wine wins gold at 2022 Monde Selection Quality Awards

Employees of the Rum Factory/Winery and Quality Assurance Departments celebrate the success of the Monde Selection Quality Awards

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’Aguiar’s Moscatoflavoured wine, produced and bottled by Banks DIH Limited, has been adjudged for the Gold Quality Award at the Monde Selection 60th World Selection of Spirits and Liqueurs 2022 in Brussels.

Master Blender of Banks DIH Limited, Gregory Garraway said it is a proud achievement for

the product which is made exclusively from locally grown rice and sugar.

“This is a positive development for agro-processing in Guyana through the conversion of rice into value-added wine products, he added.

Meanwhile, the company’s Chairman, Clifford Reis, has been extensively promoting the use of locally produced raw materials

for products.

“Rice is used exclusively in the production of our wines including the D’Aguiar Moscato,” he said.

The D’Aguiar Moscato is produced in four flavours, Original, Pink, Watermelon, and Mango, and is sold throughout Guyana and exported to the Caribbean, North America, and Europe.

President Dr Irfaan Ali as he was sworn in on August 2, 2020

rect bearing on the lives of our citizens and without mincing words, leaving no doubt that our country is undergoing a seismic shift in its socio-economic development. He has reengineered the hearts and minds of our nation towards a higher calling.”

The organisation also took the opportunity to remind that the position of leader is a responsibility placed on the President’s shoulders via trust. They went on to urge the Government to continue to govern in the same human-centred vein with

which they have been operating.

The PPP’s first year in office got off to a feverish start, with a $330 million emergency budget passed within two months in office and a number of projects that had stagnated under the former A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government taking off.

One of the major concerns persons had with the former President David Granger Administration was the increase in the tax burden on the ordinary man. President Ali, in

the 2020 emergency budget, prepared in a record 29 days, made sure to roll back these measures.

Making good on an issue it campaigned on and criticised the former APNU/ AFC Government for, the President Dr Irfaan Aliled Government rolled back the imposition of Value Added Tax (VAT) and duties on mining equipment.

VAT was also removed from exports, cell phones, medical supplies, personal protective equipment (PPE) and building and construction materials, as well as pesticides and agricultural chemicals. VAT was also removed from the importation of stones as the construction sector sets up for a boom.

Other advances the Government has made have been in the area of infrastructure, healthcare and housing, where it distributed 3500 house lots in the first four months in office - an amount that was half the number of house lots distributed during the former Government’s five years in office.

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News

Electoral fraud cases against Gun, ammo found in car former GECOM officials following high-speed chase adjourned until October

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Clairmont Mingo

Keith Lowenfield

Roxane Myers

he election fraud cases filed against several high-ranking former Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) officials have been adjourned until October 6.

Those charged are former Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield, former Deputy Chief Elections Officer Roxane Myers, and former Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo.

The case for the prosecution is being led by Darshan Ramdhani, QC, while Senior Counsel John Jeremie and Attorneys-atLaw Nigel Hughes, Ronald Daniels, Konyo Sandiford,

Eusi Anderson, and Latoya Roberts are appearing on behalf of the three accused persons.

Lowenfield is facing three counts of forgery and three counts of misconduct in public office, while Mingo and Myers are facing separate charges for misconduct in public office.

Lowenfield’s election report claimed that the APNU/AFC coalition garnered 171,825 votes while the PPP/C gained 166,343 votes.

How he arrived at those figures is still unknown, since the certified results from the recount exercise supervised by GECOM and a high-level team from the

Caribbean Community (Caricom) pellucidly showed that the PPP/C won with 233,336 votes while the coalition garnered 217,920.

The recount exercise also proved that Mingo had heavily inflated the figures in Region Four—Guyana’s largest voting District, in favour of the then caretaker APNU/AFC regime.

In August 2021, GECOM voted to terminate Lowenfield, Myers, and Mingo.

The firing of these officials was met with much satisfaction by the Government which hailed it as a step in the right direction to restoring public confidence in GECOM.

Firearm and ammo

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wo men were arrested on Saturday after Police unearthed an illegal firearm and matching ammunition in a motor car following a high-speed chase.

Reports are that sometime around 16:30h on the day in question, acting on information received, a party of Police ranks on mobile patrol went to Agricola, Greater

Georgetown, where they saw a black motor car, PYY 2470, driving out of the community at a fast rate of speed.

The ranks gave chase and intercepted the car at Alboys Street, Albouystown, Georgetown.

A search was conducted on two males who were in the car – a 23-year-old businessman of Werk-enRust who was the driver

and a 26-year-old ‘Personal Assistant’ who is from B Field Sophia.

“Nothing unlawful was found on their persons, and a further search was carried out inside the motor vehicle during which the police ranks found one .32 pistol and six live .32 rounds in a magazine behind the driver’s seat.

Also, $311,700 in cash was found in a compartment in the vehicle near the steering wheel,” the Police stated in a release to the media.

The two men were arrested and escorted along with the firearm, ammunition, cash, and motor car to the Brickdam Police Station.

Police say that vehicle is registered to a businessman of High and Broad Street, Charlestown, but checks made to locate him were unsuccessful.

Nevertheless, the two men remain in custody as further investigations are ongoing.

Berbice teacher killed after losing control of motor car

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Dead: Sydney Cort

father of one was in the wee hours of Sunday killed after he reportedly lost control of the motor car he was driving along the Chesney Public Road, Corentyne, Berbice.

Dead is 34-year-old Sydney Cort, a teacher of First Street Ulverston Village, Corentyne.

Based on reports received, on the day in question at about 1:30h, Cort was allegedly speeding when he lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a utility pole, causing it to uproot. The vehicle then flipped several times before crashing into a fence and ended up in a yard under a shed.

The shed collapsed on the vehicle, which had turned turtle.

Guyana Times was informed that Cort died on the spot.

Sakeena Ally, who lives where the accident occurred, told the media that

The mangled car after the accident

she and her family were in their beds when they heard a loud explosion. She said upon checking, they observed that the fence of their yard was uprooted, and the post from their home and the shed where the family’s car was parked had collapsed.

Upon further investigation, she said they saw a mangled car with a man inside. As such, with the assistance of public-spirited citizens, Cort was pulled from the wreckage and rushed to the Port Mourant Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Guyana Times understands that prior to the accident, Cort had taken his young daughter home when he left to go “chill” with his friends. It was on his way back home that he was in-

volved in the accident.

While details remain sketchy, an investigation was launched into the accident.

Following Cort’s death, several persons stormed social media expressing condolences to his family. The man was described as a selfless and kind-hearted man who was very passionate and jovial when it came to his job.

One person in a Facebook post said: “He was and will forever remain a role model to many students, especially me. Sir Sidney was one of my primary school teachers and today, it's devastating news to hear of his passing.

He inspired me to become a teacher, and I'm sure he's looking down on all of us.

Only if RIP meant Return If Possible. Sleep on Sir”.

NEWS

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Labour Minister urges African Guyanese Linden businesswoman, 12-year-old daughter robbed by gun-toting bandits to monetise cultural skills/talents

Some of the staff members of the Ministry of Labour at the event

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he Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton, has encouraged young Guyanese of African descent to capitalise and monetise cultural skills and talents.

This was highlighted by the Minister during recent Emancipation celebrations hosted by his Ministry.

He said that while history is important it is equally as important for young AfroGuyanese to concentrate on the present and future.

“For you young people, what will take you for is concentrating on the now and the future, history is what it is, it is important, it is useful…. our culture, our arts it cannot be anymore, where drumming is just for sake the of drumming, dancing is just for the sake of dancing, we must reach to place whereby we can monetise whatever skillset we have and that is the challenge we have

before us,” he said.

Just recently, President Dr Irfaan Ali announced an action plan to enhance Guyana’s local entertainment industry to international standards, so young upcoming and other local artistes can have greater benefits.

The President had indicated that the Government is mulling various ideas to push the entertainment sector to the next level, which include having an artiste exchange programme with Barbados, propelling local artistes to be part of cruise liners’ entertainment programmes, investing in the gaps in the industry to ensure that persons from all genres can thrive, and a special initiative with the private sector to raise resources for priority areas.

A number of other initiatives surrounding dance and other talents were suggested

by President Ali. Meanwhile, Minister Hamilton highlighted that thanks must be given to the first Africans who were brought to Guyana as slaves and those who bared the struggle and fought for freedom so that their descendants can benefit from equal rights and opportunities.

“Every place in this country, every sector you have prominently represented people of African descent whose fore parents, they came on slave ships to this country and for that we must celebrate, we must applaud our fore parents for persevering so that today we can sit at the highest table, at the highest echelons of Government in this country that we call Guyana,” he said.

The Minister also spoke of the rapid development of Guyana under the “One Guyana” vision of the President and the Government as a whole.

“In the last 2 years this country has moved from one place to a next, that we never expected and we never believed it could move and that is what we of African descent must focus on, development,” the Minister explained.

He further urged all Guyanese as we approach Emancipation, to celebrate this national holiday together.

“Guyana is land of many races, many cultures, many religious beliefs and we have already crossed the threshold where we celebrate those days together as Guyanese people,” the Minister added.

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46-year-old businesswoman and her 12-year-old daughter of Proctor Road, Kara Kara, Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice), were robbed at gunpoint on Saturday evening by two masked men - one of whom was armed with a gun and the other with a knife.

The two suspects allegedly relieved the businesswoman of $350,000 in local currency, US$300, and other items.

Based on reports, the woman who owns the J & R Elite Variety Store which is located on Republic Avenue, Mackenzie, Linden, had closed her business place at 19:10h on Saturday and went to Rainbow City [another business place] to pick up barbeque and then to get Chinese food.

At the time, she was accompanied by her 12-year-old daughter. However, as they were making their way home, she reportedly observed a tall, slim-built male dressed in a light-coloured longsleeved shirt and dark-co-

loured pants.

The woman said she also saw a second male who is short, slim-built, and was dressed in a black longsleeved jersey, long black jeans with a black cloth covering his entire face. She said they both began walking towards her vehicle, which made her realise that something was amiss.

The Police stated that the woman immediately locked her vehicle but the taller man began to hit on the driver’s side window.

“The victim realised at that stage that the men were trying to rob her and she began to frantically honk on her vehicle horn. She reversed her vehicle out of the street while the male suspect was holding onto her door handle, but she hit a culvert, which is about 50 meters away from her garage, which caused her vehicle to come to a halt, while the said male fell into a drain,” the Police report said.

One of the men continuously banged on her window with what appeared to be a black handgun, which caused

the glass to shatter. He then pushed his hand inside the SUV, opened the door, and pointed the gun to her face, saying "pass de money".

On the other hand, the other suspect who fell into the drain came out and started to hit on the front passenger side window with a brick, also shattering it. He then pointed a knife at her daughter's face.

The victim claimed that she got scared and handed over her black handbag containing the money to the suspect, after being fearful for her and her daughter’s lives.

The suspects grabbed her handbag and made good their escape on foot. The Police were immediately summoned and while canvassing the area, they saw the two males that fit the description given by the victim.

Upon seeing the Police vehicle, the two suspects managed to evade them by escaping through a dark alleyway.

CCTV footage was extracted from the victim's security cameras and is being reviewed by investigators.

Investigations are ongoing.

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Around the World

Russia pummels Ukraine’s Mykolaiv, killing major grain exporter

A firefighter puts out a fire on a building after shelling in Mykolaiv, Ukraine

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eavy Russian strikes have hit the southern Ukrainian port city of Mykolaiv, killing the owner of one of the country’s largest grain-producing and exporting companies, the local Governor has said.

Oleksiy Vadatursky, founder and owner of agriculture company Nibulon, was killed along with his wife in their home, Mykolaiv Governor Vitaliy Kim said on Telegram on Sunday.

With its headquarters

in Mykolaiv, a strategically important city that borders the mostly Russia-occupied Kherson region, Nibulon specialises in the production and export of wheat, barley and corn, and it has its own fleet and shipyard.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described Vadatursky’s death as “a great loss for all of Ukraine”, saying the businessman had been in the process of building a modern grain market involving a network of transhipment terminals and elevators.

Three people were also wounded in the attacks on Mykolaiv, the city’s Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych told Ukrainian television, adding that 12 missiles had hit homes and educational facilities. He earlier described

the attacks as “probably the most powerful” on the city of the entire five-month-old war.

Up to 50 grad rockets hit residential areas in the southern city of Nikopol on Sunday morning, Dnipropetrovsk Governor Valentyn Reznichenko wrote on Telegram. One person was wounded.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces hit Russia’s Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Russian-held Sevastopol early on Sunday, the Crimean port city’s Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev told Russian media. Five staff members were wounded in the attack when what was presumed to be a drone flew into the courtyard at the headquarters, he said. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Guatemala detains Mexico declares drought in renowned journalist northern state of Nuevo Leon on money laundering, matter of “national security” blackmail allegations

Buckets are refilled with water by residents as a water truck distributes it outside houses at La Hacienda neighborhood in Guadalupe, in Nuevo Leon state, Mexico June 11, 2022 Police officers escort Guatemalan journalist Jose Ruben Zamora after being detained by Guatemalan authorities, in Guatemala City

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uatemalan authorities arrested a wellknown local journalist on accusations of money laundering and blackmail, according to a prosecutor in charge of the case, a move that has sparked outrage among human rights activists.

Jose Ruben Zamora Marroquin, an outspoken Government critic, was detained Friday night, said Rafael Curruchiche, head of the Special Prosecutor's Office Against Impunity (FECI) on social media, after Police raided his home and office earlier.

Speaking from a cell in a video posted to Twitter on Saturday by a journalist for local newspaper Prensa Libre, Zamora said he was beginning a hunger strike in a show of rejection to his persecution.

Zamora, 65, founded the newspaper elPeriodico in 1996, an outlet famous for investigations that have revealed several cases of Government corruption.

"I want to make it clear

that the arrest has no relation to his quality as a journalist, but to a possible act of money laundering in his capacity as a businessman," Curruchiche said.

An FECI assistant prosecutor, Samari Carolina Gomez Diaz, was also arrested for her possible participation in the crime of disclosure of confidential information, related to Zamora, Curruchiche added.

Curruchiche himself was included this month on the so-called Engel List, a list that names those the US Government considers "corrupt and undemocratic" actors in the region.

Zamora's arrest came amid a crackdown on prosecutors, judges, human rights activists, journalists and opposition officials by FECI, originally created to tackle investigations spearheaded by the later ousted UN-backed International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG).

(Excerpt from Reuters)

M

exico declared the water shortage in the northern state of Nuevo Leon a matter of "national security" on Friday as the region, home to Mexico's industrial capital, has been crippled by a worsening drought in recent months.

In a declaration issued Friday afternoon, the federal government said available water should be prioritised for public use, and said existing federal water concessions to private companies could be modified or reduced.

"We're going to be able to guarantee water (in the state of Nuevo Leon) eight to 10 more years," President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said earlier on Friday during his regular news conference.

Outrage has grown in recent months across the metropolitan area of Monterrey, home to some 5.3 million people, as authorities sharply limited water access to residents, even as commercial bottlers and

beer companies continued to extract what amounts to billions of gallons of water annually under federal concessions.

Heineken, which according to Mexico's national water authority CONAGUA holds permits in the area for 3.6 million cubic meters of water, said earlier this month it would hand over the equivalent of 20 per cent of the potable water used in its processes to residents.

Photos of canned water donated by Heineken went viral on social media in recent days, sparking criticisms from those who continue to lack water at home.

In June, authorities began curtailing access to running water across the metropolitan area to only a few hours each morning.

The water rationing has sparked sporadic demonstrations, with some residents protesting that they have gone stretches of days, and sometimes even weeks, without receiving running water at all.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

OILNEWS OIL NEWS OPEC Secretary General says Russia's membership in OPEC+ is vital for success of agreement

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PEC's new Secretary General said that Russia's membership in OPEC+ is vital for the success of the agreement, Kuwait's Alrai newspaper reported on Sunday, quoting an exclusive interview with Haitham al-Ghais.

He said OPEC is not in competition with Russia, calling it "a big, main and highly influential player in the world energy map", Alrai reported.

OPEC+ is an alliance of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies led by Russia.

Al-Ghais, Kuwait's former OPEC governor, will head his first OPEC+ meeting on Aug 3, in which the group will consider keeping oil output unchanged for September, despite calls from the United States for more supply.

Although, a modest output increase is also likely to be discussed, eight sources told Reuters last week.

AL-Ghais told Alrai that "OPEC doesn't control oil prices, but it practices what is called tuning the markets in terms of supply and demand," describing the current state of the oil market as "very volatile and turbulent."

He added of the recent hikes in oil prices: "As for me, I still stress that the recent rise in oil prices is not only related to the developments between Russia and Ukraine.

"All the data confirm that prices began to rise gradually and cumulatively, and before the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian developments, due to the prevailing perception in the markets that there is a shortage of spare production capacity, which has become confined to a few and limited countries," al-Ghais said.

Oil has soared in 2022 to its highest since 2008, climbing above US$139 a barrel in March, after the United States and Europe imposed sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

Prices have since eased to around US$108, as soaring inflation and higher interest rates raise fears of a recession that would erode demand.

Replying to a question about the factors that will affect oil prices by the end of the year, al-Ghais said: "In my view, the most important factor will be the continued lack of investments in the field of drilling, exploration and production."

"This will push prices in an upward direction, but we cannot determine the level they will reach." (Excerpt from Reuters)

Beirut silo collapses, reviving trauma ahead of blast anniversary

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art of the grain silos at Beirut Port collapsed on Sunday just days before the second anniversary of the massive explosion that damaged them, sending a cloud of dust over the capital and reviving traumatic memories of the blast that killed more than 215 people.

There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Lebanese officials warned last week that part of the silos - a towering reminder of the catastrophic Aug 4, 2020 explosion - could collapse after the northern portion began tilting at an accelerated rate.

"It was the same feeling as when the blast happened, we remembered the explosion," said Tarek Hussein, a resident of nearby Karantina area, who was out buying groceries with his son when the collapse happened. "A few big pieces fell and my son got scared when he saw it," he said.

A fire had been smoldering in the silos for several weeks which officials said was the result of summer heat igniting fermenting grains that have been left rotting inside since the explosion.

The 2020 blast was caused by ammonium nitrate unsafely stored at the port since 2013. It is widely seen by Lebanese as a symbol of corruption and bad governance by a ruling elite that has also steered the country into a devastating financial collapse.

One of the most powerful non-nuclear blasts on record, the explosion wounded some 6000 people and shattered swathes of Beirut, leaving tens of thousands of people homeless.

Ali Hamie, the Minister of Transport and Public Works in the caretaker Government, told Reuters he feared more parts of the silos could collapse imminently. (Excerpt from Reuters)

SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2022

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West Indies, India lock horns for 2nd T20I in St Kitts today

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ndia's T20 machine is purring again. All the talk coming from within the team – from the Coach to the Captain to the players – is that they haven't done much different. But it is fairly clear that the early exit from last year's T20 World Cup has led to some sort of a revolution.

From being a team that totally relied on their big bad top three – to the point that Virat Kohli once straight up lolled at the prospect of ever dropping Rohit Sharma – India are now front-loading their finishers just to shake things up a bit. Rishabh Pant has had a stint as opener in England.

Suryakumar Yadav too in the first T20I of this series.

India have also warmed up to the idea of picking superspecialists, with Arshdeep Singh forcing his way into the XI just to bowl his remarkably hard-to-hit yorkers at the death and Dinesh Karthik pretty much nailing his spot as the 12-ball 38 not-out guy. It's a brave new world out there.

And West Indies are still

Shimron Hetmyer and Obed McCoy are key members in the T20I team

trying to find their place in it.

They have the raw material for another world-beating team, but they haven't gained the kind of experience that Chris Gayle and company had under their belt when they took T20 batting and broke it down into the barest essential: sixhitting. So, in a way, all these games against seriously strong opponents, regardless of the result, are simply creating the next wave of Caribbean class.

But given there is a series on the line, and they did kind of

RHTY&SC to launch historic Kiddies Cricket Academy next Saturday at Area H Ground

Some members of the Kiddies Academy pose with the two Coaches

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he Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC) will create history in Guyana when it launches a Kiddies Cricket Academy on a permanent basis for more than 50 kids between the ages of six and12 at the Area H Ground.

The announcement was made by Club Secretary/CEO Hilbert Foster during the closing ceremony of the Club’s 2022 Cricket Academy at the Rose Hall Town Primary School in the presence of over 130 youths and several parents.

Foster stated that the idea for the Kiddies Academy came during the successful hosting of the recently-concluded Academy which attracted dozens of kids.

In discussion with the two coaches working with the kids, the management of the Club was informed that there was a lot of promising potential among the group to nurture.

After a cricket development meeting among executives, a decision was made to establish the Kiddies Academy which would be coached by Ryan Algu

and Davindra Ramdihal with support from Winston Smith and Delbert Hicks. Foster stated that while the initial membership would be 50, the Club was willing to expand that number. He disclosed that the Club would be financing the academy with the support of its senior members and all the needed equipment and gear have already been obtained. Special emphasis would be placed on the basics of batting, bowling, and fielding.

The Club would also organise trips to matches for the kids and they would also be exposed to dressing room situations with the different teams of the Club, so that they could learn quickly about the game.

Coach Algu expressed delight at the opportunity to work with the kids, and predicted that numerous national and regional players would emerge from the Academy.

Parents who are interested in their kids attending the academy can contact the Club on 3374562 for more information.

dominate the first 15 overs of the first T20I, these potential superstars will feel their own time is not too far away.

Form guide West Indies: LWWLL (Last five matches, most recent first) India: WLWWW Players to watch Harshal Patel had to make way in Tarouba, because conditions demanded three spinners. But now that the

T20 caravan has moved to Basseterre, he might find his way back into the XI. The 31-year-old seamer has an uncanny knack of bowling exactly the ball that batters don't want to face in the final overs. And a captain will want an asset like that more often than not.

Kyle Mayers' all-round ability means he is never too far from the spotlight. And the fact that he opens for West Indies means that he's the sort of player who can define a cricket match. He has already done so in the toughest format of the game – remember Chittagong 2021 – so figuring out T20 cricket shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Team news Playing just one spinner in Tarouba backfired on West Indies, so they may be tempted to look at bringing in Hayden Walsh Jr today.

West Indies probable XI: 1 Kyle Mayers; 2 Shamarh Brooks; 3 Nicholas Pooran (Captain & wicketkeeper); 4 Jason Holder;

Rovman Powell is in need of some runs

5 Rovman Powell; 6 Shimron Hetmyer; 7 Odean Smith; 8 Akeal Hosein; 9 Keemo Paul/ Hayden Walsh Jr; 10 Alzarri Joseph and 11 Obed McCoy. India rarely tinker with a winning combination, especially during a series that is still live, but will they need all three spinners again in Basseterre?

The quicks have taken 71 wickets in 10 matches there, averaging just 17.

India probable XI: 1 Rohit Sharma (Captain); 2 Suryakumar Yadav; 3 Shreyas Iyer; 4 Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper); 5 Hardik

Pandya; 6 Ravindra Jadeja; 7 Dinesh Karthik; 8 R Ashwin; 9 Ravi Bishnoi/Harshal Patel; 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar and 11 Arshdeep Singh.

Stats and trivia India have used seven openers in T20Is this year. Any one fancy Hardik Pandya adding to that number today?

Among Full Member teams, West Indies' death-overs economy rate of 11.71 this year is the third worst, behind South Africa and Bangladesh.

(ESPNcricinfo)

U-15 girls draw 1st CONCACAF development championship match with Danish logistics firm Blue Water Shipping to launch Guyana’s first U-15 nationwide league for girls this year – a landmark step in increasing participation across the country and developing young female talent.

Drawn in League B of the CONCACAF tournament,

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he Guyana U-15 girls’ national team drew 2-2 with their Turks and Caicos Islands counterparts on Sunday in their first game of the League B group stage of the CONCACAF Girls’ U-15 Championship, a developmental tournament taking place in Florida.

The innovative competition, designed to help all CONCACAF nations compete internationally against teams at a similar level of development to foster greater impact and improvement, brings together female national youth teams from across the region, including a guest team from Wales in the United Kingdom in League A. “We are happy for the opportunity to have our next generation of female players participate in this CONCACAF development tournament,” said Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Assistant Technical Director Bryan Joseph. “The staff have been working hard at getting the team ready both here and in

Guyana will now face the Cayman Islands today, August 1 at the Hillsborough County Tournament Sportsplex in Tampa, and then Nicaragua on August 3. The winners of each group plus the runnersup from League B will advance to the semi-final stage in the second tier of the tournament.

NBA and Celtics legend Bill Russell passes at 88 North America.”

Seventeen players were selected for the Guyana squad, which features nine domesticbased players, including up and coming stars from Kamarang, Santos, Fruta Conquerors, Guyana Police Force, Swan and Orealla football clubs.

The squad is being coached

by Delon Williams with Lady Jags stalwart Kayla DeSouza as his Assistant Coach and her international team-mate Natalie Nedd on goalkeeping coaching duties.

“The ongoing Blue Water U-15 tournament really afforded us the opportunity to scout new talent into the national set-up and we are very excited by what we've been able to find,” Joseph added.

“We want to be able to manage the expectations of this group of young ladies, especially since they are at the beginning of their international careers, but we also want to see good performances from the entire group over the course of the competition.”

The GFF has partnered

A

s a player, centre Bill Russell won a record 11 NBA titles and five NBA Most Valuable Player awards during a 13-year career with the Boston Celtics.

He captained America to Olympic gold in 1956 and he transcended the court by becoming the league's first black Head Coach and an equal rights pioneer.

"Bill Russell was the greatest champion in all of team sports," said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.

"The countless accolades he earned for his storied career with the Boston Celtics only begin to tell the story of Bill's immense impact on our league and broader society.

"At the height of his athletic career, Bill advocated vigorously for civil rights and social justice – a legacy he passed down to generations of NBA players who followed in his footsteps.

"I often called him basketball's Babe Ruth for how he transcended time. Bill was the ultimate winner and

Bill Russell won a record 11 NBA titles and five NBA Most Valuable Player awards during a 13-year career with the Boston Celtics

consummate team-mate and his influence on the NBA will be felt forever."

Russell was first inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 1975, then again as a coach in 2021 and his No 6 jersey is retired by the Celtics.

The NBA website says Russell "revolutionised defensive concepts" in basketball with his approach to the game. (Excerpt from BBC News)

22

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2022

Nizul Hussain plugs over $300,000 into Albion's 2022 Cricket Academy

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ormer Albion cricketer Nizul Hussain has ploughed over $300,000 into the Albion Community Centre Cricket Club as sponsorship for the Club’s 2022 Cricket Academy.

Hussain, a swashbuckling opening batsman who represented the Club at all levels over the years prior to migrating to the United States of America (USA), is now a successful businessman in Connecticut, USA. He owns Northeast Connecticut Renovation and Retailers Property Management.

A product himself of the Albion Community Centre Cricket Club’s Academy many years ago, Hussain, who also represented Berbice at the Under-15 and Under-19 levels, recently handed over the sponsorship cheque to former West Indies leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo, who is currently in the USA.

Nizul Hussain

The 20th edition of the Albion Community Centre Cricket Club’s Academy will be held from August 8 to August 13, 2022, at the Albion Community Centre.

More than 60 young cricketers between the ages of eight and 17 are expected to attend. Sessions will be held daily from 08:00h to 15:00h.

The morning session will comprise

lectures/discussion on topics such as the importance of education, discipline, public speaking, substance abuse, health and safety, motivation, the laws of cricket, while in the afternoon, participants would be exposed to the fundamentals of the game of cricket.

Former West Indies opening batsman Sewnarine Chattergoon, one of six Test cricketers produced

by Albion, has been appointed as the Head Coach for the academy. Apart from Chattergoon, the coaching staff will also include several prominent national cricket coaches.

The Club’s Secretary, Omarnauth Outar is the Chief Coordinator of the Academy, with his support staff being Simon Naidu, the Club’s Administrative Officer; Orvin Mangru, Treasurer; Dhanraj Arjune, Community Development Officer of Albion Estate and Chattergoon.

MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2022

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

23

– 135 youths graduate

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record total of 135 youths between the ages of eight and 18 on Friday graduated from the highly- successful Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC) Bakewell/ Busta 2022 Cricket Academy.

The Academy was the largest hosted by the Club since its first edition in 1991. Ramzan Koobir, a selectee of the national Under-15 team, was named Cricketer of the Academy and received more than $150,000 in prizes while national Under-19 female player Natasha Subramanie copped the best female award to take home $80,000 in prizes.

At the closing ceremony, Club Secretary/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Hilbert Foster stated that the success of the Academy surpassed every expectation of his executives and was a sign that the Club's future was assured.

Foster stated that the success was the result of early planning, visionary leadership, and the support of numerous sponsors.

The highlight was the presence of 35 kids and 32 young females who had never before played the game. This has resulted in the formation of Guyana’s first-ever female Under-19 club team and the setting-up of a historic Kiddies Cricket Academy.

During the Kiddies Cricket Academy, kids between the ages of eight and ten would receive weekly coaching from a battery of coaches at the Area H Ground. The Club, over the last two days of its Academy, received an unbelievable 82 applications from new members and all were approved by its cricket development committee headed by Ravindranauth Kissoonlall. Foster urged the graduates of the Academy to go home and continue putting into practice what they would have learnt from the five coaches and to develop a culture of hard work, discipline, and commitment to the game.

The RHTY&SC Secretary/CEO, who is also the President of the active Berbice Cricket Board (BCB), stated that the Club would also look into hosting other camps during the Easter holidays as the demand is very high among parents for their kids to get involved in sports.

Special thanks were extended to the five Coaches and trainers who supervised the players: Winston Smith, Delbert Hicks, Eon Hooper, Ryan Algu and Davindra Ramdihal, along with the support staff including chefs who prepared daily meals and snacks. Special mention was also made of Region Six Police Commander Boodnarine Persaud and his Community Relations Officers for assisting to get youths to the Academy from areas like Whim, Alness, Toopoo, and Fyrish.

Head Coach Smith described the Academy as the greatest achievement of his coaching career and stated that he was very impressed with the discipline and attitude of the students.

He hailed Foster and his supporting staff for their well-oiled organising machinery in pulling off the two-week event without a single glitch.

A total of $600,000 worth of prizes was distributed during the closing ceremony to the top performers including gold jewellery, electronic tablets, cycles, clothing, cricket uniforms and gear, food hampers, cosmetics hampers and household/kitchen utensils.

Every participant in the Academy also received a school bag with educational materials for the new September term as part of the RHTY&SC “Say Yes to Education” programme. The awardees apart from Koobir and Subramanie were: Best Batsman – Munesh Rampersaud Best Bowler – Raj Tika Under-15 player – Kamalchand Ramnarance Under-17 player – Nyron Hicks

Under-19 player – Deeraj Ramjit Wicketkeeper (male) – Sohail Mohabir Wicketkeeper (female) – Leah Kamlall Most Disciplined – Javon Conway Participants of the RHTY&SC Bakewell/Busta Cricket Academy pose with their Coaches and support staff Most Committed – Tandika Leitch Most Promising – Trisha Hardat Most Committed runner-up – Oma Matadin, Ms Malisa, Alianna Prass, Joanna Piggot, and Priya Mahadeo.

Special award – Dave Prittipal, Romesh Bharrat, Imran Mohamed, and Mario Butcher.

Kiddies – Talesh Narine, Azad Ali, Arin Algu and Shelsia Sydella.

Player of the Academy Ramzan Koobir Female Player of the Academy Natasha Subramanie receives her gifts from Coach Winston Smith

receives some of his prizes

MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2022

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

Guyanese badminton family continuing a proud legacy

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adminton runs in the blood for the Ramdhani family, represented at Birmingham 2022 by Narayan and Priyanna Ramdhani, a brother-sister team competing for Guyana.

Narayan, 24, made his Commonwealth Games bow at Gold Coast 2018, and now Guyana have earned a second berth, allowing his younger sister to join him at B2022 in England. They are competing together in the mixed doubles and individually in their respective singles events.

They were both coached by their father, Gokarn Ramdhani – an integral figure in badminton in Guyana as a player and President of the Guyana Badminton Association – until his untimely passing last year.

Now, the role of the siblings’ Coach has been taken on by his wife, Emelia, who is also the Secretary of the Association.

We caught up with the trio at Commonwealth Games Village at the National Exhibition Centre NEC (CGN) to find out more. “Growing up, they’ve always been around badminton, because their father was a national player

Team Guyana arriving at the Commonwealth Games

and their badminton coach.

They were always on the court,” Emelia explained. “As babies, they always had a music mobile that goes round in the cradle – we always had shuttlecocks in it, so they would always look up into that.

“Because of him, they went to all the different tournaments, he always had them around.

He got them scholarships, too, to study in Canada and to play badminton. He died suddenly 8 October last year with a heart attack, hence me being here [at the Games], because I’m filling his role.”

Emelia’s key role, they all joke, is keep the sibling rivalry

in check. So, how do the two young competitors, who have been playing together, Priyanna estimates, since “I was six and when he was 10”, iron out any differences?

“Since I'm the oldest and the better player...” Narayan laughed.

Emelia added: “[Priyanna] tries to listen, but she has her own way and her own opinions … But they always look out for each other.”

Opening Ceremony – Commonwealth Games: Day 0 “We have been playing a lot of tournaments, getting our ranking up. We’ve been training

hard for this … we’re happy to be here,” Narayan said.

“There’s a lot of top 20 players here, so the competition’s very hard ... we’re just trying to play our hardest, see if we can win a few matches, see how far we can go and gain experience as well.”

Priyanna said: “I’m very excited to be at the Commonwealth Games, because this is my first time qualifying for it. And this is my first time on this side of the world, in Europe. So far England has been amazing – good scenic views, the village has been nice … everyone is very friendly.”

Aside from excitement at competing, the youngest member of the family is also looking forward to checking out two iconic – but notably different – English sights.

“One place I want to go to is Buckingham Palace, I’ll make sure I do that. And I also watch “Peaky Blinders”, so I want to go to The Garrison [the Shelby family’s pub in the series, which is famously set in Birmingham].”

“They want to go to Small Heath,” Emelia added, as both her children proudly showed off their Peaky

Blinders phone wallpapers.

Two spots at Birmingham 2022 represent Guyana’s biggest achievement in badminton to date, but the family already have ambitions

beyond this summer, Emelia confirmed.

“Hopefully, we can qualify for the Olympics in 2024.” (birmingham2022.com)

...Lewis disappoints with 2nd-round defeat

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ith the Guyanese boxing team on a quest to break their 32-year jinx of no medals at the Commonwealth Games, Desmond Amsterdam ensured that they remained on the path of replicating, or bettering Wesley Christmas's 1990 performance.

Amsterdam, a Sergeant in the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), earned a split-decision victory over New Zealand's Richardson Emile yesterday to advance to the quarter-finals of the men's welterweight division at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.

The Americas Boxing Confederation (AMBC) Elite Bronze Medallist, prior to the Commonwealth Games, was adamant that he was capable of reaching the medal round.

He also added that he would make the most of his first Commonwealth Games, all while bringing glory to Guyana with his gloves.

Amsterdam has so far lived up to those words, as he was oozing with confidence as he entered the ring at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham.

Amsterdam took the first round, scoring 10's on three of the five judges' scorecards.

The second was close but

once again, Amsterdam was given the nod by three judges; the same results for the third and final round.

In fact, only Malaysia's Mazlan Amzah and Lee Innes of England scored the bout in favour of the New Zealand boxer.

Innes actually scored Emile as winning all three rounds.

Following his bout, Amsterdam said his victory was testimony to the hard work done with Coach Terrence Poole and sticking to the fight plan.

Light welterweight Colin Lewis had his bout against Colin Richamo from Mauritius, stopped two minutes, 34 seconds in the second round.

Lewis's fight was the first for the evening session at the NEC, and after learning of his compatriot's defeat, Amsterdam said he felt the pressure of ensuring a victory.

"I know that I was next and I know we had to get a win; can't get two losses one time, so I went out there and did my best. I know it wasn't my best, but I can assure you that in my next fight, I will be 100 per cent," Amsterdam said.

Asked about being one win away from securing a medal, Amsterdam said "that's all I've been thinking since I arrived. But right now, I'm thinking about it

Desmond Amsterdam, flanked by Coaches Terrence Poole (left) and Sebert Blake, following his victory at the Commonwealth Games

even more”.

Amsterdam became the first boxer, since Eon Bancroft, to make it past the round of 16.

At the 2014 Games in Glasgow, Scotland, Bancroft reached the quarter-finals of the men's welterweight contest, where he was eventually beaten by South Africa's Tulani Mbengewas.

Mbengewas went on to be defeated by eventual gold medallist Scott Fitzgerald of England.

Allicock in round-of-16 action today Keevin Allicock will take on Sri Lanka's Jeewantha Nisshanka in the Men's featherweight round of 16 at the 2022 Commonwealth

Games. It will be the last bout of a busy day in the ring at the NEC. Allicock advanced via a unanimous decision win over Kenya's Okoth Okongo in the round of 64, while Nisshanka will make his debut at the Games after receiving a first-round bye.

A victory today will put Allicock into the quarterfinals, where he will come up against the winner of the match between Charlie Senior (Australia) and Keoma-Ali AlAhmadieh of Canada.

The 2017 Youth Commonwealth Games silver medallist is making his debut at the Games, which were originally called the British Empire Games.

(By Rawle Toney in Birmingham, England)

Coach Garfield Wiltshire monitoring one of the training sessions with Guyana's squash team at the University of Birmingham squash courts

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fter reaching the round of 32 with his victory over Paul Kadoma of Uganda, Guyana's Jason-Ray Khalil's run at the men's singles championship at the Commonwealth Games came to a halt yesterday.

Khalil, facing Malaysia's Eain Yow on Court 1 at the University of Birmingham Squash facility, despite a valiant effort, was beaten 11-4, 11-2, 11-4.

It was certainly a better showing at the Commonwealth Games for Khalil this time around, as compared to his 2018 round-of-64 exit.

Earlier in the day, Mary Fung-A-Fat, who had a first-round bye, went down hard to Kaitlyn Watts of New Zealand in straight sets (11-2, 11-6, 11-4) in the round of 32.

Team Coach Garfield Wiltshire said he was pleased with the performances of Guyana's squash contingent. He stated that the team would now shift their attention to the doubles tournament, where they would "now look to an even better, improved performance" .

Guyana's squash team at the 22nd Commonwealth Games is made up of the Khalil siblings, Jason-Ray and Ashley, along with Fung-A-Fat and Shomari Wiltshire.

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