Guyana Times - Monday, February 19, 2024

Labour Ministry, USAID discuss partnership to empower, assist at-risk P11 youths

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

Issue No. 5647

THE BEACON OF TRUTH MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2024

Foundation laid for Qatari US$300M hotel on Carifesta Avenue

…Govt has every intention of creating more green spaces – Pres Ali

PRICE $100 VAT INCLUDED

WHAT'S INSIDE:

CANU officer injured in 3P14 vehicle accident

…slams into parked car, lands in tray of parked truck

Emergency P14 Medical Services launched in Region 3

Durey Lane P15 enhancement completion set for mid-March Page 3

Direct flights between Guyana, DR open up possibilities for tourism, business …as SKYhigh Dominicana starts operations here Page 7

“We should keep rigging elections” – Hamilton Green tells symposium on Burnham’s legacy

$11M water P15 supply system commissioned at Capoey …550 residents benefiting from improved access to water

See story on page 9

…in call for ousting of Govt

3 houses destroyed in weekend blazes

Hamilton Green

Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham

Page 10

Corentyne farmer killed in road crash

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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2024 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

NEWS

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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2024 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS

BRIDGE The Demerara OPENINGS Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Monday, February 19 – 00:30h-02:00h and Tuesday, February 20 – 01:30h-03:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Monday, February 19 – 12:40h-14:10h and Tuesday, February 20 – 13:40h-15:00h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY Light rain showers with instances of thunder are expected followed by sunny conditions in the late afternoon hours.

Clear to partly cloudy skies are expected at night. Temperatures should range between 22 degrees Celsius and 31 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East North-Easterly to Easterly between 3.12 metres and 5.36 metres.

High Tide: 12:42h reaching a maximum height of 2.09 metres.

Low Tide: 06:07h and 19:04h reaching minimum heights of 1.26 metres and 1.09 metres.

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COMMODITIES Indicators

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Rough Rice London Sugar

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he foundation has been turned for an almost US$300 million Georgetown Seafront Resort and Convention Centre. The massive hotel will be built on the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) Ground on Carifesta Avenue.

According to President Irfaan Ali, by yearend there will be the construction of several new hotels, at a cost of more than US$250 million, which will add more than 1500 world-class rooms to the local market. They include the 150-room Aiden Best Western, the 152-room AC Marriott at Ogle, the 172room Four Points Sheraton in Providence, the 136-room Hyatt Place at Providence on the East Bank of Demerara and the 150-room Courtyard

by Marriott.

“This is the quality of our eco-tourism product. We now have the type of investment that will supply the natural quality of our product. And I have no doubt that we will be able to build a world-class tourism sector. A tourism sector that would see the diversification of our economy, and the expansion of our economy.

The Head of State said, “for us, the tourism sector, the hospitality sector, the leisure sector is an important component of the overall development strategy. It’s an important component of the overall economic strategy. It’s an important component of the employment generation strategy, that includes high-quality jobs.” “(In Guyana) there is a lot of opportunity. We studied the markets for the last almost 12 months. The strategic relationship we have between Qatar and Guyana, which encouraged us to come and look at the market. And see the opportunities. And we found out that Guyana is the land of opportunities, not just in hospitality but in oil and gas, banking, healthcare, etc, which will come (God willing) after this investment,” Ramez Al-Khayyat, President and CEO of Power International Holding, said.

Green spaces

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2024

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Foundation laid for Qatari US$300M hotel on Carifesta Avenue …Govt has every intention of creating more green spaces – Pres Ali T

USD Per Ounce

Bid/Ask Low/High

$2019.80 $2011.70

$2020.80 $2021.50

Change

+6.70

+0.33%

With the sod turning on the NIS Ground at Carifesta Avenue, questions have been raised over the number of remaining green spaces in the city of Georgetown.

However far from reducing the number of green spaces, President Dr Ali assured at Sunday’s sod-turning that the Government has every intention of restoring Georgetown to its “Garden City” status and investing in more green spaces. He emphasised that a green city is at the core of the Government’s sustainable development plans.

“This investment goes into the overall plan of ensur-

An artist’s impression of the project

ing sustainable development.

Because part of what we want to achieve, is whilst we have these important, massive, transformational investment, that the essence of our country remains what we’re known for…that is a country that is naturally beautiful, green, returning the garden city to the status of the garden city. That is why we’re investing heavily, in the replanting of the city,” the President went on to explain.

President Ali pointed to the massive infrastructural upgrades the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government has been carrying out across the city. He also spoke of plans for further upgrades to the

what is critical.”

Balance

Meanwhile, Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister, Oneidge Walrond also emphasized the President’s message, pointing out that the Government’s decision to approve the project is rooted in the need to balance economic opportunities for the people of Guyana, with environmental considerations.

“Equally so, I assure the citizens of Guyana and the residents of Georgetown that our vision for development is a vision for sustainable development, into which is integrated our care for the environment for the benefit of future generations. This initiative

An artist’s impression of the interior design of the project

seawall.

“You’ve seen already, across the city. We’re building up the infrastructure. We’ve committed ourselves to revamping the entire drainage system. Reinvesting in the drainage system. Reinvesting in a new sewer system. And developing one of the most beautiful, green cities, that the world would have seen.

Naturally green city,” the President said.

“So that is what we’re planning for the seawalls, the boardwalk on the seawall.

The extension of the city is also becoming natural. Look at what is happening within the city itself. The urbanisation process is expanding, naturally. The borders of the city. And we are responding by putting in the necessary infrastructure to enhance this expansion. And that is

fits into a wider plan for the improvement and enhancement of the downtown seawall area. We’ve already seen the positive effects of the beautification of the lower Kingston area and the efforts led by our

First Lady.

“There are plans to have a boardwalk from lower Kingston to the Kitty Roundabout and possibly beyond. There are also plans for the enhancement of the National Park as a green space with the addition of walking trails through the various grounds and planting of trees. All of these enhancements are aimed at providing safe recreational areas for residents of, and visitors, to our capital city,” the Minister said.

According to Walrond, the sod turning should be evidence that the Government has a vision it is executing. And she assured the investors, Asset Group based in Qatar, United Arab Emirates (UAE), as well as other investors that the Government would continue to build an integrated framework for similar investments in the hospitality sector.

“The completion of this Georgetown Seafront Resort and Convention Centre will, at one stroke, result in more than doubling of rooms in first-class facilities within a distance of over a mile. It will add 400 rooms to the 330 rooms available at nearby facilities.

“Thus, on the completion of this hotel, we would have the better part of 1000 rooms, concentrated in this short stretch. This capacity would immediately impact, in a positive way, the feasibility of our hosting larger regional conferences and events, which is part of our strategy for the industry,” Walrond said. (G3)

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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2024

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

Resilience for One Guyana

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fter World War II, the State is considered to be the main actor in creating security to ensure the welfare of its people through the provision of economic benefits, social service, health, education, law, order, jobs, and infrastructure. Thus, the State continues to maintain its main role in the economic, political, social and cultural life for its citizens. Security comes from the Latin “securus” which means freedom from danger, fears and threats. There are two approaches to define security: the first is the traditional definition, namely the security of a State that can be secured by military forces from other countries and must be protected by the country with its military power. In this approach, the State is both a subject and an object in creating security; the second is the non-traditional definition, namely security which is focused on the security needs of non-State actors.

In the past decade, the concept of resilience is increasingly being used in conjunction with national security. The term has evolved from a purely academic and engineering interest to dedicated incorporation in national and international security policies. One example of the former is Bulgaria’s 2016 cybersecurity strategy “Resilient Bulgaria 2020”. The resiliencebased approach to cybersecurity, where resiliency is defined as “the ability to anticipate, withstand, recover from, and adapt to adverse conditions, stresses, attacks, or compromises on systems that use or are enabled by cyber resources, is turning into a defacto standard guiding both systems engineering and the search for adequate organisational arrangements. The United Nations embraced the concept at the beginning of this century. In 2005, the World Conference on Disaster Reduction adopted the “Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015”, which placed the focus on strengthening the resilience of nations and communities to disasters.

The uncertainty and the unpredictability of the security environment are another reason to embrace the concept of resilience. Given the broad spectrum of threats and security challenges, the proliferation of conventional and unconventional conflicts, the fuzzy boundaries between military, asymmetrical and hybrid threats, and the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, NATO for instance, turned to the need to enhance the resilience of each member state and the alliance as a whole.

Once the nature of resilience and policy goals are determined, consideration must be given on how to actually foster the type of resilience that one wants. Clearly, different expressions of resilience and the resilience of different elements of society (people, communities, infrastructure, companies, the economy, etc) require different resilience-building tools. Therefore, broad security policy focused on the need for resilience will only be as successful as the speci?city and application success of resiliencebuilding tools targeted at the various resilience sub-elements in a social system, whether social, technical, economic, military, or environmental.

In Singapore, for instance, building community resilience has become a fundamental objective in the national security discussion. The national approach to security through resilience is encompassed by the “Be As One” (2009-2011) concept and the Government’s “Let’s Stand Together” Facebook page, suggesting the importance of collective action in the prevention of threats. In deploying the resilience approach for “a cohesive society” and “an engaged people”, Singapore projects a central role for the citizen in addressing threats to the nation. This national security programme is overseen at the ministerial level, but is largely operationalised at the community level through a wide range of engagement and risk-communication resources.

The key commonality of most resilience approaches is that there is an emphasis on a role for the citizen based on the need to act as a “responsible” member of society. This “responsibilisation” of the population re?ects several driving factors: experience with disruptive events like terrorist attacks and natural disasters, coupled with an insuf?cient State emergency response; the inability to know and predict dangers, and prevent them from happening; the increasing costs of disasters; the privatisation of critical infrastructure; and lastly, there is a growing desire within civil society to be involved in managing and mitigating risks.

These concerns should become part and parcel of the Government’s “One Guyana” vision which ineluctably will have to deal with our resilience.

A carnival reveller performs the so-called "Fool’s Jump" during the traditional folklore procession "Narrensprung" in the Black Forest town of Rottweil in south-western Germany (Reuters)

Poland is again threatened by a tyrant. This time, Europe must not look away

By Simon Tisdall

R

ecent panicky talk of a third world war seems a tad overblown. Yet the specific threat posed by Russia’s aggressive, revisionist regime to eastern Europe is real and growing. As in the past, Poland is on the frontline of a battle for Ukraine that could easily spread.

Scrambling to shore up defences, the United Kingdom and European NATO States must decide: is this 1920 or 1939?

As all Poles know, the Battle of Warsaw, 104 years ago this August, ended in Marshal Józef Pi?sudski’s famous victory over the invading Red Army, which secured their country’s independence.

They called it the “Miracle on the Vistula”, after the river linking Poland’s main cities.

Vladimir Lenin lamented an “enormous defeat” for Bolshevik revolutionary ambitions in Europe.

September 1939 is remembered for the opposite reasons. Another totalitarian monster, Nazi Germany, was hammering on the door. Poles believed France and Britain would come to the rescue if they were attacked. But when Hitler invaded, an effective allied military response failed to materialise. Poland fell to fascism. Unspeakable horrors ensued. Poland recalls this two-part history, even if many in Europe do

not, and has learned the lessons. It has doubled its armed forces in the past decade. NATO’s largest European land army will be equipped with the latest US-made battle tanks and missiles. And since Russia’s invasion two years ago this month, Poland has vigorously supported Ukraine.

Warsaw’s basic strategy is twofold: convince Vladimir Putin, Russia’s predatory President, that further aggression along NATO’s eastern flank, including against Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, will not prosper; and persuade west European partners that they, too, must urgently up their game.

If unsuccessful in these aims, Poland’s impressive affirmation of confident nationhood in the post-Cold War period, and the economic “miracle” it has experienced since joining NATO in 1999 and the EU in 2004, will be at risk. The challenge facing the Polish people is potentially existential. The fear is of 1939 all over again. The idea of Poland taking the lead in Europe is unfamiliar, although it was the norm in the 16th and 17th centuries. Polish energy and ideas, while often misdirected under its previous hard-right Government, has put lacklustre politicians in Berlin, Paris and London to shame. Visiting Kyiv last month, Donald

Tusk, its newly elected Prime Minister, issued a bold rallying cry. “It is here, in Ukraine, that the world front between good and evil runs,” he said.

As Tusk, a former EU Council President, rebuilds bridges to Brussels dynamited by Eurosceptic predecessors, Europe is getting the message. In meetings last week, he and the leaders of France and Germany revived the socalled Weimar Triangle, a political, defence and security cooperation platform with pan-European applications.

“There is no reason why we should be so clearly militarily weaker than Russia...

Increasing [arms] production and intensifying our cooperation are absolutely indisputable priorities,” Tusk said. The EU should become “a military power” in its own right, he insisted. Significantly, Warsaw no longer dismisses French ideas about European strategic autonomy previously deemed harmful to NATO. The Polish drive for unity and greater integration comes amid deepening concern among European NATO members about US disengagement, should Donald Trump be re-elected President. Trump frequently disses NATO and the EU. He threatens to “encourage” Russia to attack member states he disapproves of. He is the elephant in the room at this weekend’s Munich Security

Conference.

Washington’s transatlantic commitments remain unchanged for now. Poland will co-host this spring’s NATO exercise, Steadfast Defender 2024 – the biggest since the Soviet collapse.

About 90,000 troops will rehearse a US reinforcement of NATO’s eastern flank in the hypothetical event of a Russian attack. Poland’s proactive engagement is also helping shift European security’s centre of gravity eastwards, as illustrated by last week’s visits to Poland and Bulgaria by David Cameron, the UK’s Foreign Secretary. But Brexit has gravely weakened British influence over Europe’s coming choices.

In contrast, the voices of Poland’s close neighbours are more widely heard.

Estonia caused a stir by predicting a Russia-NATO conflict “within the next 10 years” centred on the Baltic republics and Finland. The latter’s new Presidentelect, Alexander Stubb, is both hawkish and wary about Russia.

Will Europe heed these historically resonant warnings from the eastern frontier? Structural tensions between NATO and the concept of the EU operating in parallel as a separate, fully fledged military alliance are unresolved.

Expanded European security self-reliance is desirable and elusive.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2024

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

Teachers must have crucial conversations, confront brutal facts Dear Editor, I have been a strong advocate for better salaries and benefits for teachers both in Guyana and in North Carolina ,where the North Carolina Constitution prohibits collective bargaining and strikes for public sector workers. We do have a NC Association of Teachers ,but they have no bargaining rights or no rights to strike. In North Carolina, we have never gotten a 6.5 per cent raise. It’s always nothing, a small bonus, or one per cent to below five per cent, but mostly at the lower end. Twice in the past 30 years we had a five per cent increase. In North Carolina, if teachers ever

received raises of seven per cent , eight per cent and 6.5 per cent consecutively, teachers would think they died and gone to heaven.

The strike must not cause us to say and do silly things. If it is true that the GTU President said, “You can’t build roads and teacher hungry”, then that’s plain silly. (“GTU President says all citizens need a decent life” (KN, Feb 17, 2024). We need both massive infrastructural development as the Government has been doing, as well as a new system of income distribution that brings benefits to the working poor.

It’s not one or the other.

Similarly, Governments

Poland is again threatened by a...

FROM PAGE 4

Yet thanks to Putin and Trump, the terrible twins, EU-wide defence spending is rising fast. Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, said 18 of 31 NATO States will spend two per cent or more of Gross Defence Product (GDP) on defence this year, a sixfold increase on 2014 when Russia illegally annexed Crimea. Poland’s spending is nearer four per cent.

Political leadership, more than resources or even Trump, is Europe’s Achilles heel. The EU’s FrancoGerman “engine” is misfiring. Germany’s unpopular coalition, led by Olaf Scholz, faces a hard-right insurrection as next year’s federal election looms. In France, President Emmanuel Macron’s standing is much diminished. Britain has gone awol. And time is run-

ning out. Europe may have less than a year to “get its act together”, as one Polish official put it. Trump in the White House from January 2025 could deliver a lethal 21st-century stab in the back to Ukraine, shatter the transatlantic alliance, and provide his pal Putin with epic, historic revenge for the 1991 Soviet implosion he blames on the West.

To survive such a scenario, Europe may require its own political “miracle on the Vistula” – this time on the Spree, the Seine, the Tiber, and the Thames. And who knows? Maybe Poland’s Tusk, having heroically slain the dragons of reaction at home, will emerge as Europe’s new Pi?sudski.

(The Guardian) (Simon Tisdall is the Observer’s foreign affairs commentator)

have to think about the “whole boat” of all workers and not just one sector.

“Wukking obeah” will not bring results, just hilarity. Ask the Opposition who was doing that during the five months of rigging!

The commentary by Mr Ralph Ramkarran is quite instructive. He said, “The strike also comes at the wrong time to be successful – after the 6.5 per cent pay increase was announced for public servants late last year. This amount cannot be increased for teachers without creating severe imbalances in pay in the public service. An increase for teachers must mean an increase for all other public servants which the Government will not concede. Militant action could only have had potential if it had taken place before the increases were announced by the Government. A fight to the death would not have been necessary. It would have been enough if the GTU and other unions had expressed their views in as vigorous a way as they considered necessary to get the Government’s attention” ( Feb. 18, 2024).

I also liked what Mr Clinton Conway said: “… the teachers cannot continue for much longer. It has the potential to get out of control with devastating consequences. It must be nipped in the bud. It is time for the warring parties to sit down and talk, sit down and have critical conversations, sit down and have frank and honest discussions, sit down and eyeball each other across the table in an effort to bring back normalcy to the situation.”

In his bestselling book “Good to Great” ,Jim Collins uses the term “brutal facts” to describe the need for leaders to confront the realities of their organisations: “Leadership does not begin with just a vision. It begins with getting people to confront the brutal facts and act on the implications.”

Yet again, you want to create a culture in the organisation where people can tell you the brutal facts, which allows them to voice their opinions and feel valued within the team. Collins suggest that we engage in dialogue and debate, not coercion. He said we must build "red flag" mechanisms

whereby people would not hide the burning issues, but instead you want them to be able to present information to you that cannot be ignored. You want to empower them to raise issues as soon as possible, so that they can be corrected sooner rather than later.

Similarly, in “Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High” by Patterson and others, crucial conversations are the day-to-day conversations that affect your life.

Now, what makes one of your conversations crucial when opinions vary, stakes are high, and emotions run strong. What makes each of these conversations crucial – and not simply challenging, frustrating, frightening, or annoying – is that the results could have a huge impact on the quality of your life.

Patterson et al said, “Despite the importance of crucial conversations, we often back away from them because we fear we'll make matters worse. We've become masters at avoiding tough conversations.

Coworkers send e-mail to each other when they

should walk down the hall and talk turkey. Bosses leave voice mail in lieu of meeting with their direct reports. Family members change the subject when an issue gets too risky. We (the authors) have a friend who learned through a voicemail message that his wife was divorcing him. We use all kinds of tactics to dodge touchy issues.”

The GTU chooses to see their glass as half-empty, while the Government and Ministry want them to see the glass as half-full, as the Government has been willing to look at more duty-free concessions, free scholarships for teachers, house lots for teachers, and items beyond the collective bargaining agreement, etc.

As part of the brutal conversations, we must confront why 70 per cent of teachers show up for work daily (absenteeism and tardies) and why 40 per cent of our students are failing at NGSA and CSEC. Keep students at the centre always! Keep everyone accountable!

Sincerely, Dr Jerry Jailall

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2024

06:00 (Sign on) Inspiration Time 06:30 Cartoons 07:00 Evening News (RB) 07:30 Cartoons 08:00 Stop Suffering 08:30 Stay Woke 09:00 Guy's Grocery Games 10:00 Grand Designs 11:00 Paternity Court 11:30 Divorce Court 12:00 News Break 12:05 Indian Movie - Udta Punjab (2016) 14:35 Spongebob Squarepants 15:00 Indian Soaps 16:00 Drake & Josh S2 E12 16:30 Victorious S2 E4 17:00 The Young & The Restless 18:00 CNN 19:00 The Evening News 20:00 Love & Laughter 21:00 The Resident S5 E4 22:00 The 100 S7 E6 23:00 Queen of the South S1 E11 00:00 Sign off

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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2024

Foundation ◄

Page

Understanding percent Notice the term per cent has the smaller word cent in it. You know cents from dealing with money. Every dollar can be divided into 100 cents, that is 100 hundredths. Therefore, it probably will not surprise you that cent means hundredth. Per means by. A percent is a particular kind of ratio that is used to compare numbers to hundredths. The % sign is used to identify percents. However, a percent is really a decimal that goes to the hundredths place. A percent can also be expressed as a fraction, with 100 as the denominator.

by AJ Seymour

Examples

Remember:

Every percentage can be displayed as a percentage, a decimal, or a fraction with a denominator of 100.

Exercises:

Express the following as decimals and fractions

In this fun and easy cool science experiment, we’re going to trap a tornado in a bottle.

Materials:

Two 2-liter plastic soda bottles Metal washer Duct tape Water Glitter, beads, food colouring

Instructions:

Fill one of the bottles about three quarters of the way with water.

Add any glitter, beads, and food colouring you

want to the water. Be sure the beads are small enough to easily fit through the centre of the washer.

Centre the washer over the mouth of the bottle with water.

Now position the empty bottle upside down so its mouth is centred over the washer.

Use the duct tape to secure the bottles together.

Flip the bottles over so the empty one is on the bottom and observe what happens.

Flip the bottles one more time, but this time give the bottles a swirl and observe what happens.

How it Works:

When the bottles are flipped and positioned directly above one another, the water has a difficult time transitioning from the top bottle into the bottom bottle. When you twirl the bottles, a vortex is created that allows for an easier exchange of water and air between the bottles.

Make this a science project:

Add small items to the water like Styrofoam beads. Add sugar or salt to the water. Use vegetable oil instead of water. Try different sized washers. Try different sized bottles. (sciencefun.org)

A darling of the sun the great canoe Riding across the unquiet sequined sea By day and through the blowing velvet night Charting a path from the slow star ballet.

The startled Essequebo still lay drowned In its own channel and the sullen waste Usurper heaved beyond its far commands When Amalivaca came.

The circling sun had not yet swung his wheel Leaned still his light out of the eastward sky The day the fabled spate came to an end And the mantling flood contracted from the earth.

First King Roraima brought his forehead clear Towering behind with seaward-looking eyes And his huge shoulders rising from the waste Of seething waters steelfaced like a shield Which slowly sank.

Then Kukenaam And next Wei-assipuó they caught the sun And Ayanganna, so splendid in its pride And many a mountain more, whose name to tell Would make a hoarse deep music and would beg The storm for thunder, And while these islands stood On ocean-hooded resurrecting land Amalivaca came.

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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2024 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Direct flights between Guyana, DR open up possibilities for tourism, business …as SKYhigh Dominicana starts operations here

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SKYhigh Dominicana commenced direct flights between Santo Domingo and Georgetown on Sunday

ir connection between Guyana and the Dominican Republic has been significantly boosted with the commencement of direct flights between the two countries that not only open up a host of possibilities for tourism but also doing business.

SKYhigh Dominicana, a Santo Domingo-based airline, launched operations here on Sunday between the Dominican Republic’s Las Américas International Airport (SDQ) and Georgetown’s Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA). It will offer three flights weekly – Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday – via a comfortable Embraer 190 with 97 seats – 9 business class and 88 economy class.

At a simple ceremony following the inaugural flight from Santo Domingo to Georgetown on Sunday at the CJIA, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill said the introduction of this new airline was reflective of Government’s commitment to expand connectivity to and from Guyana.

He noted that the airline was not only offering Guyanese more destination options but its flight itinerary offered the best deal for both business and pleasure.

“So, those who [Sunday]

afternoon will be able to get up early [Monday] morning… and begin business, and they can get home back for the weekend, departing on Thursday. Or those who decided to come on Tuesday, could get business done and go back on Thursday. Or for the tourist ones who come to spend the weekend, get-

stated.

According to Edghill, in approving SKYhigh Dominicana’s operations in Guyana, Government considered the possibilities that will come from that destination. He noted that Guyana was particularly keen on tapping into the millions of tourists who visit the Dominican

Passengers on the inaugural direct flight from the Dominican Republic to Guyana being welcomed at the CJIA on Sunday afternoon

ting here on Thursday is a good thing. You enjoy a good Friday, a nice Saturday and on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, you depart to get back to your work on Monday. So, the days provide great opportunities for business, for recreation and for other engagements that will only make things better,” the Minister

Republic annually by twinning that’s country’s ‘sand and beach’ with Guyana’s eco-tourism product – its flora and fauna.

Similar sentiments were shared by Dominican Republic Ambassador to Guyana, Ernesto Torres Pereyra, who noted that the previous limited inter-

(L-R) SKYhigh Dominicana CEO Juan Chamizo; Vice President of the airline, Cesarina Beauchamp; Permanent Secretary of the Tourism Ministry, Sharon Roopchand-Edwards; Public Works Minister Juan Edghill; Dominican Republic Ambassador Ernesto Torres Pereyra; SKYhigh Commercial Manager Victor Nina; and CJIA CEO Ramesh Ghir

actions between his country and Guyana are now bridged by the direct flights being offered by SKYhigh Dominicana.

“Right now, our countries have never been closer… The visitor connection will also enable the implementation of a tourism product that has been discussed at the very high level about integrating our magnificent beaches and cultural richness of the Dominican Republic with the pristine and unspoiled rainforests and the biodiversity of Guyana. Recently, the Dominican Republic reached a milestone of 10 million tourists [in 2023 alone] and we are sincerely hopefully that a lot of these tourists will use the opportunity of this route to discover Guyana,” Ambassador Pereyra added.

Unprecedented

Meanwhile, SKYhigh Dominicana Commercial Manager Victor Nina noted that his company’s commencement of operations in Guyana was unprecedented as it directly linked Santo Domingo with Guyana. Nina further posited that the airline would not only connect Guyana to its 23 other des-

tinations but also to a myriad of other airlines that converge in Santo Domingo.

“Santo Domingo, as a natural hub that it is, is capable to improve Guyana’s possibilities to connect to not only to Santo Domingo but with a boomerang of destinations from the epicentre of the Caribbean, which is Santo Domingo… So, for us this is not only connecting Guyana to Santo Domingo which is very important to us as we will share, our culture, bonds and commercial business… but also connect with all the destinations and the rest of the world…. We are very excited about this new venture,” the SKYhigh official declared.

The introduction of this direct connection between Guyana and the Dominican Republic is a welcomed development in the business, aviation and, especially, tourism sectors. This is according to Permanent Secretary of the Tourism Ministry, Sharon Roopchand-Edwards, who added “The introduction of these services not only validates the strength of our tourism product but also offers greater connectivity for visitors and Guyanese. We will continue to advocate for

airlines to add Guyana to their routes, particularly direct flight options.”

She further noted that with SKYhigh operations opening up Guyana to the region, especially the Latin and Central American destinations. Government is also preparing local stakeholders with conversational Spanishspeaking skills. These include immigration and customs officers as well as tour guides.

SKYhigh Aviation Services is a Dominican Republic-based airline offering scheduled passenger and cargo services across the Caribbean, Venezuela, and the United States.

The current route network includes flights to Miami, Caracas, Maracaibo, Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Antigua, St Maarten, St Kitts, Anguilla, St Thomas, St Croix, Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Santiago and Havana, Cuba, among other destinations.

With a focus on safety, reliability, and exceptional customer service, Sky High is committed to connecting people and cultures while contributing to the economic development of the regions it serves. (G8)

8 NEWS

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2024 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Corentyne farmer killed in road crash

Playing…

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Dead: 28-year-old Lakchan Premkumar

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Crabwood Creek, Corentyne, Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne) farmer is now dead after he lost control of the car he was driving and crashed into a bridge along the Corentyne Highway on Sunday morning.

Dead is 28-year-old Lakchan Premkumar of Lot 126 Grant 1805 Crabwood Creek. Reports are that the accident occurred about 05:45h on Sunday.

Premkumar, who was driving motor car PAD 3731, was on his way to New Amsterdam when the accident occurred a stone’s throw away from the Albion Police Station.

According to the Police,

The car Premkumar was driving at the time of the accident

the cash crop farmer was proceeding west along the southern drive lane of Kilcoy-Chesney Public Road allegedly at a fast pace when he lost control of his vehicle and ended up on the northern side where he collided with a concrete bridge.

As a result of the collision, Premkumar was thrown from the vehicle into a drain.

He was picked up in an unconscious condition by a party of Policemen and taken to the Port Mourant

Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The dead man's wife, Lalita Lakram, told Guyana Times that Premkumar had left home about 05:00h on Sunday to participate in a bird whistling competition in New Amsterdam, some 60 miles away.

She said it was the wife

of one of his friends, who telephoned her and told her about the accident, but could not provide much detail.

The mother of one said she then called her husband’s cellular phone and a female answered it and told her that the accident occurred near the Albion Police Station and the Police took him to the hospital.

The woman said she then travelled to the hospital.

According to the now-widowed woman, there was a lot of blood on her husband’s body and there appeared to be injuries on the left side of his face.

“It is really bad; I just can’t face it... it’s really hard. His neck turned to one side; I don’t know if his neck broke.”

Premkumar loved birds and has several which he cherished. On Sunday, he was taking one of his best whistling birds to compete in the whistling competition when he met his demise.

The bird, which he had for two years, also perished in the crash.

Lakram said the bird, which was purchased for $300,000, now had a $1 million price tag.

Premkumar, who farmed in the backlands of Crabwood Creek, was known for growing beans, tomatoes, and cabbages.

Lakram recounted her last moments with her husband.

“He got up at 4 o’clock and went and bathe and drank a cup of tea I made for him and then I opened the gate and he hugged me and tell me he gone. That is the last word I hear from him,” the grieving woman said.

The couple had been together for seven years and has one child.

“Now it is just me and my son here and what little we have we have to try with it somehow,” she said (G4)

…both sides?

hile the Cold War that emerged between the US and the USSR is widely conceded to’ve created plenty of hot wars in the Third World where they competed for influence, it did offer some flexibility to countries that tried to play both sides against the middle.

For instance, if the US and the West could build the Volta dam to generate electricity in Ghana…hey!! then the USSR would do the same for Egypt with the Aswan Dam!! And so on and so forth!!

Now that we seem to be entering a new Cold War – this time between the US and China – what are some lessons our leaders might learn from the first go-around?

Well, one can be gleaned from our own entanglement in the 1960s. While Burnham had originally served the US’s interest to oust Cheddi – who couldn’t bring himself to declare he wasn’t a communist – he promptly embarked on his “co-operative socialist” path and befriended Fidel Castro and Cuba!! He received all sorts of help from Cuba including medical doctors. The latter, of course, was America’s bête noir ‘cause he flagrantly declared himself an ally of the USSR and thumbed his nose at the US from just 90 miles away!!

So, how did Burnham get away with courting the Cubans – and even offering them refuelling facilities for their troops fighting US-backed forces in Angola??

Well…simple: he had Cheddi – who by then had openly declared the PPP as a Communist Party – to point to as the alternative if he was removed!! So, the lesson for our present politicians?? Ensure that your opponents are unacceptable – or unpalatable – to the more significant power in our neck of the woods!! Which is the USA! So, right now when not ideology but economic alliance is the dividing line between the two rivals, the PNC under Aubrey Norton seems to’ve hobbled themselves as the party that signed on to China’s Belt and Road Initiative!!

The Americans consider the latter to be a Trojan Horse to let the Chinese Dragon into their spheres of influence – especially in their Monroe Doctrine-defined “backyard” of Latin America and South America. As even the PPP discovered, the Chinese keep on making offers that countries can’t refuse – so we’ll just have to wait and see who can play the game more adroitly!! A second lesson is that where the US has economic interests, they wanna ensure there’s the least turmoil – so that their businesses can keep on extracting profits.

Sadly, the PNC with its provocative and divisive strategy to fan racial fears –- which have led in the past to ethnic conflict – seems to’ve lost the plot once again!!

Those who forget the lessons of history… …musical chairs?

During Cold War I, we found out to our cost that the big powers – both of them – worked behind the scenes to oust Governments inimical to their interests. Sometimes they didn’t bother to stay under cover: like when the USSR invaded Hungary in 1956! And to show it can happen today and invasions had nothing to do with “ideology” – look how they just invaded Ukraine. A big power’s gonna do what a big power’s gonna do – and deal with the consequences!!

But they don’t normally admit these behind-thescenes manoeuvres – even when they’ve been confirmed by declassified files, etc!! When asked – “Don’t Tell!” is the rule!! In this, they’re aided in the cover-ups by survivors from their first ousters. Just read David Granger’s writings about that era and you’d never guess that the US and the CIA played the pivotal role to create ethnic conflict to ensconce Burnham in power!!

So, let us accept that right now, there are wheels within wheels turning – by one or the other wanna-be hegemon!! …Gulag Politics?

One of Putin’s opposition leaders – 47-year-old Alexei Navalny – just died while in prison. Some have quickly concluded he must’ve been killed on Putin’s orders. But with no base, Putin had nothing to fear. Shouldn’t have arrested him!!

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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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2024 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

“We should keep rigging elections” – Hamilton Green tells symposium on Burnham’s legacy …in call for ousting of Govt

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ormer General Secretary of the People’s National Congress (PNC), Hamilton Green, on Friday last suggested that election rigging be used to remove the ruling People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Administration from office.

He was at the time addressing a group of persons gathered for the LFS Burnham Foundation Annual Commemorative Symposium 2024 – an event organised to commemorate the 101st birth anniversary of Linden Forbes Burnham – former PNC leader and President of Guyana, whose legacy is largely attributed to his dictatorship-style leadership and blatant rigging of several elections. This started after Burnham won the 1964 elections. At the time, Green was the General Secretary of the PNC. He told the gathering at Friday’s symposium that earlier in the day, he had engaged another group during which he mentioned the rigging of elections to get the PPP out of government. “…It was Burnham’s wisdom which got him into office in 1964. I was General Secretary at the critical time.

And if, as I told one of the groups I met [Friday] morn-

ing, if they say he rigged elections, I say we should keep rigging to save us from these devils, these bastards, these demons that we have,” Green declared during the event that was livestreamed on Facebook.

In attendance at the event was the PNC-led A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Commissioner at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Vincent Alexander. The guest speaker was Attorney-at-Law Nigel Hughes.

During his remarks, Green proposed the use of the LFS Burnham Foundation building to not only “eulogise Burnham” but also educate young people on what needed to be done.

“As you speak to some young people, they have been so brain-washed and confused at the highest level…

Use every opportunity – if is six or seven young people in their teens – to sit them down and tell where we came from, where we are and what we need to do for tomorrow,” he stated.

Further suggesting that the PPP/C Administration could be pressured into calling snap elections, Green posited, “I’ve been in this business long and we have to begin prepara-

The gathering at the LFS Burnham Foundation Annual Commemorative Symposium 2024 on Friday

Hamilton Green

tions to deal with that prospect today.

“When things were going quiet Burnham called a young gentleman who was at the centre of Congress Place… and said ‘Why is the city so quiet?’ And that gentleman acted and brought Jagan to his senses when he had said to the workers ‘not a cent more’.

But that didn’t happen by accident, because at the centre of the political directorate, there are people who are in touch with the grassroots and all of us who spoke here today must leave here committed to put in the ambit of your control and influence six people, or seven, eight, nine, 10… and I leave that message, that plea with the Burnham Foundation so that we can save this country.”

Recalling that he was nursed into politics by his mother, the PNC politician contended that the same needed to be done with young people today. In fact, Green even offered his services to engage these young people.

“The history of this country suggests that the only people who deserve to be ‘pan tap’ (on top) are those whose ancestors suffered for centuries without a cent. We welcomed the indentured people, gave them an education and Burnham sought to unite the people, but based on the demographics, the new Indians were a larger group. They didn’t want that.”

“If the Captain on this Captain’s Deck is Bharrat [Jagdeo, General Secretary of the PPP/C and Vice President] and [President Dr Irfaan] Ali, who is being portrayed as a saint, they have to learn the language that they will un-

derstand, because if we don’t, we’ll betray the legacy of Burnham, Cuffy, Quamina and the Enmore Martyrs,” Green noted.

Blatant rigging

Under the Burnham regime, there was blatant rigging of the national elections in 1968, 1973, 1978/1980 and 1985 in the PNC’s favour. It was not until 1992 that the PNC was removed from office when the PPP won the elections and stayed in office until 2015.

However, when the PNCled APNU/AFC coalition, under the David Granger presidency, fell to a No-Confidence Motion (NCM) in December 2018, it went against the Guyana Constitution and did not go to elections until more than a year later on March 2, 2020.

In another attempt to

cling to power, the APNU/ AFC, after an almost smooth polling day, colluded with senior GECOM officials to rig the elections results – a move which plunged Guyana into five months of political deadlock.

Several international observer missions, including the United States-based Carter Center, and other global bodies, world leaders and even regional powers had called out the PNC-led regime for its blatant attempts to derail the election results.

This support from the international community coupled with strong and persistent pushback from local stakeholders ensured that democracy prevailed through a national recount that was supervised by the Caribbean Community (Caricom).

That 33-day exercise found that Clairmont Mingo, former embattled Returning Officer of Region Four (DemeraraMahaica) – Guyana’s largest voting district – had heavily inflated the figures in favour of the then incumbent coalition.

Mingo, along with former Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield and other GECOM staffers as well as PNC party activists, is currently before the courts facing several electoral fraud charges. (G8)

10 NEWS

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2024 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

3 houses destroyed in weekend blazes

The house that was destroyed by fire at Montrose, ECD

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ver the course of the weekend, a series of devastating fires wreaked havoc on properties across Regions Two, Four and Seven, leaving a trail of destruction.

The first of the three fires engulfed an unoccupied house in Montrose, East Coast Demerara (ECD).

The incident unfolded around 22:00h on Saturday, catching the attention of nearby residents as flames consumed the two-storey building, recently leased to a family of three.

The wooden two-floored structure was entirely gut-

ted.

Eyewitnesses recounted hearing sparking sounds emanating from the house before witnessing the rapid escalation of the fire, which had initially gone unnoticed since the family vacated the premises earlier in the week.

In the wee hours of Sunday, another fire erupted, this time in a two-storey concrete house located in Suddie Housing Scheme, Essequibo Coast, Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam). The blaze was seen in the building at 02:00h on Sunday at Lot 5 Suddie Housing Scheme.

The ruins of the Essequibo house that was destroyed by fire

There were no occupants in the house at the time of the fire.

The homeowner, Jason Narine, told Guyana Times that he received a call alerting him to the inferno, which resulted in an estimated $6 million in damage to the property.

“One of my neighbours called me saying my house is on fire. My family, including my wife and three children, used to reside here, but it’s been a while since we have not been here,” Narine said.

Intervention from Essequibo Fire Service

prevented further escalation.

Adding to the weekend's turmoil, an elderly woman narrowly escaped harm after her one-storey wooden home at Agatash, Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni) was allegedly set on fire.

Lucille King was in her home when the blaze

The house destroyed by fire at Agatash

started. She was taken to safety by residents that quickly responded.

All of the fires are being investigated by the Guyana Fire Service. (G9)

NEWS

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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2024 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Mazaruni Labour Ministry, USAID discuss partnership Prison escapee to empower, assist at-risk youths still at large

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lthough a joint operation is in effect to recapture convicted rapist Akeem Wong, who escaped from the Mazaruni Prison Compound in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) on Thursday morning, the man remains at large.

A team comprising Joint Services members are using water, air, and land patrols in a bid to find the escapee.

Wong and another inmate, Gilbert Gill were labouring in the bush in the custody of a prison officer.

While there, Wong asked permission to go defecate, and the officer permitted him to go into a nearby clump of bushes. About five minutes later, the officer went to check on Wong, but discovered that he had escaped. An alarm was raised.

The public has been urged to exercise caution and vigilance and report any sightings or information regarding Wong’s whereabouts to the authorities.

Wong was 27 years old when he was convicted in 2020 for raping a 14-yearold girl. He pleaded guilty to the charge, which stated that on June 30, 2017, in the county of Demerara, he engaged in sexual penetration of the child.

A probation report had

Escapee: Akeem Wong

stated that Wong, a resident of Half Mile, Wismar in Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), had been associated with persons of unsavoury character, and had been involved in many delinquent activities.

According to the probation officer, Police records showed that Wong was wanted for a murder which occurred in Mabaruma, Region One (Barima-Waini), and he was arrested only in 2018, after a wanted bulletin had been issued.

The probation officer had informed the court that Wong had told her he had also previously been charged for break and enter and robbery, but he claimed those charges had been dismissed. (G9)

he Labour Ministry and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) are in discussion to fortify a partnership aimed at empowering youths, particularly those who are in at-risk conditions or environments.

Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton; Permanent Secretary Mae Toussaint Jr Thomas-Meerabux; Chief Recruitment and Manpower Officer Yolanda Grant; Chief Executive Officer of the Board of Industrial Training (BIT), Richard Maughn; Senior Monitoring and Evaluation Officer Natecia Garraway, and other officials joined USAID officials for a meeting this week. The meeting focused on USAID’s current and planned efforts, particularly its USAID Youth Resilience Inclusion and Empowerment (Y-RIE) Programme, as well as an analysis of approaches to improve youth resilience, inclusion, and empowerment.

General Development Specialist for USAID/ Eastern and Southern Caribbean, Chloe Noble; Country Director Tiffany Daniels; Social Services Advisor Shaundell Shipley;

Officials of the Labour Ministry and USAID following fruitful discussions

Programme Manager Leota King and Programme Implementation Specialist Rondell Nedd were all members of the USAID/YRIE team.

Discussions were had about forming a partnership between the two entities to promote empowerment among at-risk youngsters by providing them with technical skills for employment and apprenticeship programmes given by BIT. It also complements the Central Recruitment and Manpower Agency’s services, such as its ‘job readiness’ programmes and counselling.

“With the goal of im-

proving youth support and building their resilience to crime and violence, a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) will be signed to formalise this cooperation and contribute to developing productive Guyanese citizens,” the Labour Ministry has indicated.

Less than one year ago, the United States Government launched its Y-RIE programme in Guyana, in an effort to guide youths into productive adulthood, away from a life of crime and violence.

Y-RIE is a youth-centred, systems-strengthening activity based on a public health approach to violence prevention and in-

corporates positive youth development approaches.

It targets youths at risk between ages 10-29. Over a five-year period, the project will be implemented in four Caribbean countries, including Guyana.

The intention is to collaborate with Government to improve social services provided to youth who are at a higher risk of involvement in crime and violence.

It also enhances coordination between social services and justice institutions, particularly around referral pathways, and promotes partnerships to support community crime and violence prevention efforts.

(G12)

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14 NEWS

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2024 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

CANU officer injured in 3-vehicle accident …slams into parked car, lands in tray of parked truck …2 EBD crashes leave extensive damage

Scenes from the 72 Village, Corentyne accident

Timehri, EBD, a towering 20-foot Superbet sign became the subject of a vehicular mishap, as a vehicle veered off course, striking a canter before

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The aftermath of the Number 72 Village, Corentyne accident

n officer attached to the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) is now nursing injuries after he was

which he slammed has been written off.

At the time, the man was returning to Georgetown and he was

ings about 05:30h.

The accident has left extensive damage to both structures and several vehicles parked in the vicin-

demolishing three concrete posts and a separation wall.

The impact caused significant structural damage, with nearly half of the

building's upper portion collapsing under the force.

As of now, it remains unclear whether any individuals sustained injuries in the Timehri accident.

Emergency Medical Services launched in Region 3

The accident at Herstelling

allegedly speeding along the Corentyne Highway on Sunday morning and crashed into two stationary vehicles.

At the time of the crash, he was driving a motor

the only occupant in the car and was carrying a firearm, which was retrieved after the crash.

Police are investigating.

Meanwhile, in the

ity.

Guyana Times was informed that police have apprehended the driver, who was allegedly intoxicated at the time of the incident.

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The ambulance that was given to Region Three

n a significant step forward for healthcare accessibility, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) have been officially introduced in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara).

Residents across a vast stretch from Ruimzigt, West

individuals in need can dial 912 to summon urgent medical aid.

In a release on Sunday, the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) said that the initiative reflected a concerted effort to close critical gaps in emergency healthcare provision, ensuring that commu-

Coast Demerara to Vesneck, West Bank Demerara now have access to vital assistance, with Ambulance #19 stationed and operational at the La Grange Fire Station.

The introduction of this service means that help is now just a phone call away –

nities have reliable access to lifesaving assistance precisely when it is most needed. With the launch of EMS in Region Three, residents can breathe easier, knowing that their well-being is safeguarded by a responsive and dependable medical support

The accident at Timehri

pickup, PRR 2272.

Reports are that the man lost control of the vehicle at Number 72 Village, Corentyne and slammed into a parked car, HC 3733, propelling the pickup into the air.

The pickup landed in the tray of a parked lorry, GJJ 7052.

Police said that the accident was categorised as minor.

However, the car into

wee hours of Sunday at Herstelling, East Bank Demerara (EBD), a truck wreaked havoc on the Herstelling Public Road as it ploughed into two build-

Two individuals were reportedly transported to the hospital for medical treatment as a result of the accident.

In another incident at

system.

Just two months ago, Matthews Ridge, Region One (Barima-Waini) received a boost in health, education, and youth and sports development.

A new ambulance and a minibus were officially handed over to the community by Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal, during an outreach at the Community Centre Ground.

During the small ceremony, Croal emphasised the Government’s commitment to enhancing the lives of its citizens, noting that Matthews Ridge residents were no exception.

“Matthews Ridge itself, whether you are coming from the other end…you will see a lot of development taking place, whether infrastructural or improving the lives of the people here,” Croal is quoted as saying in a Department of Public Information (DPI) report.

The ambulance was procured through the Health Ministry. The Matarkai sub-district is now equipped with three ambulances, at Baramita, Matthews Ridge, and Port Kaituma.

15 Durey Lane enhancement completion set for mid-March W NEWS

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2024 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

orks have commenced on the Durey Lane Enhancement Project, and its completion is set for midMarch 2024.

Once deemed a dumping haven, Durey Lane located in Campbellville, Georgetown is set for transformation into a family-oriented avenue, as part of efforts to clean up the capital city of Georgetown.

The small street that runs from east to west in Campbellville, begins at Middleton Street and crosses over Sheriff Street where it runs right into the Campbellville Fire Station at Stone Avenue, where it ends.

When completed, the area will comprise a walk-

Georgetown M&CC Director of Solid Waste Management, Walter Narine

way surrounded by palm trees, benches, a white picket fence, and an asphaltic concrete road for patrons to traverse to and from the

community.

The aim is for the area to be transformed into a recreational site for members of the community, students of

Works commence on Durey Lane

An artist’s impression of the completed Durey Lane Enhancement Project

the Campbellville Secondary School and a church housed opposite the site.

The design for the Durey Lane Enhancement project was conceptualised by Director of Solid Waste Management at the Georgetown Mayor and City Council, Walter Narine and is being funded by the Public Works Ministry, the Office of the First Lady and the National Enhancement Committee.

During a telephone interview with Guyana Times, Narine disclosed that the project was about seven per cent complete. However, he is positive that the entire project will be completed by mid-March.

So far, all the garbage at

the site have been removed, a walkway was constructed on the reserve that runs from Sheriff Street to Stone Avenue, and the canal was desilted, among other activities.

“We need to resurface the road because we still want to maintain that bypass from Sheriff Street to Stone Avenue and lastly, we need to plant some trees around… We are presently manufacturing the benches that will be installed later on, the picket fence will be laid down in another two weeks,” the Solid Waste Director disclosed.

Narine said the Georgetown Mayor and City Council is committed to maintaining Durey Lane

when it is complete.

Further, he disclosed that City Council is looking to collaborate with various Private Sector bodies to enhance other areas in Georgetown being flooded with garbage, due to their deplorable state.

The goal is to replicate the same enhancement at various areas such as the National Museum.

“We have a lot of dump sites, one by the National Museum. It’s very sad that an area such as that, a landmark area, people are dumping garbage in front the gate.

You have Stefan Street, opposite the gas station here on High Street; there are many sites,” Narine explained. (G2)

$11M water supply system commissioned at Capoey …550 residents benefiting from improved access to water

The well commissioning

Minister within the Housing and Water Ministry, Susan Rodrigues drinking water from the new system

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total of 550 persons residing in Capoey Village, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) have improved access to drinking water, following the commissioning of a $11 million water supply system.

The well component of the system, which is about 42 metres deep, was drilled

by Guyana Water Inc’s newly-acquired 421T PAT Rig. The scope of the project included the drilling of a new well; supply and installation of a distribution network and standpipes; installation of a solar panel; construction of a perimeter fence; installation of a sub-

mersible pump and well discharge and construction of a reinforced concrete base to support four 1000-gallon water tanks.

During the commissioning ceremony recently, Minister within the Housing and Water Ministry, Susan Rodrigues, disclosed that the water system was supplying 96 per cent of the village with treated water and was expected to serve the community for 100 years.

“All of the water that we distribute through the Guyana Water Inc is safe for consumption. It is WHO tested and we do test periodically… When you hear

The water supply system

us talking about transformation and bridging the gap between the coast land and hinterland that’s what we are talking about, reducing inequality so that all of our citizens regardless of your race, your religion, your geographical location that you have access to services and you have ac-

cess to infrastructure that will improve your lives,” Rodrigues stated.

Further, Rodrigues highlighted the employment opportunities the project generated for local residents and emphasised the need for community responsibility in maintaining the facility.

On this point, she disclosed that GWI planned to train two Community Service Officers (CSOs) to assist in the upkeep of the new water supply system.

“This is infrastructure, this well that we drilled in this community that is now providing 96 per cent of this community with potable water; that is infrastructure spending… These young people have been doing a remarkable job and I am very proud of the young team from GWI. I am proud of the motivation and progress they have been making,” Rodrigues added.

Since assuming office in August 2020, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic

(PPP/C) Government has drilled 75 wells, taking potable water supply in the hinterland from 46 per cent to 86 per cent by the end of 2023.

Through the 2024 Budget, another 40 wells will be drilled in Amerindian communities, as the PPP/C Government aims to achieve 100 per cent access to potable water for the hinterland by 2025.

Communities in Region Two set to benefit from enhanced water supply include Friendship, Mashabo, St Deny’s/Tapakuma Village, St Monica, Friendship, Dredge Creek, Baracaro, Bethany, and Wakapao.(G2)

16 NEWS

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2024 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Enhanced, upgraded IT labs handed over to Region 6 F

ood For The Poor (Guyana) Inc, in partnership with STARR Computer and St Francis Community Developers, handed over two new upgraded Information Technology Labs in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

According to FFTP, the labs, located at the New Amsterdam Technical Institute and the Guyana Police Force Training Academy, represent a significant investment in advancing IT education and skills development in the region. Each institution was also provided with equipment for their sick bay and their office, compliments of FFTP (Guy) Inc. Through a collaborative effort, FFTP provided crucial support by donating furnishings for the labs, ensuring that students and trainees have access to a comfortable and conducive learning environment.

STARR Computer contributed state-of-the-art IT equipment and tools, empowering learners with the latest technology and resources.

Additionally, St Francis Community Developers played a vital role by providing critical logistical support, facilitating the smooth implemen-

tation of the initiative.

FFTP (Guyana) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Andrea Benjamin shared, “I am thrilled to witness the impact of our partnership with STARR Computer, New Amsterdam Technical Institute, Guyana Police Force Training Academy, and St Francis Community

Developers. Education lies at the heart of progress and empowerment. As we invest in educational institutions, we invest in the future leaders, innovators, and problem-solvers of our society. This collaboration exemplifies our commitment to this belief. By upgrading the IT labs, we are

not just providing students with better infrastructure; we are equipping them with the tools and resources they need to thrive in a digital world.”

Benjamin further noted that by working hand in hand with all of the stakeholders, the collaboration was not only enhancing the delivery of education but also creating opportunities for students to engage with real-world challenges and solutions preparing them for the demands of the modern workforce. “Together, we have laid the foundation for a brighter future, one where education knows no bounds and where collaboration knows no limits,” she posited.

Corporate Sales/ Marketing Manager Penny Francis revealed that Starr Computer was honoured to partner with FFTP (Guy) Inc and St Francis Community Developers.

She explained that it was

through the support of the customers for the last 31 years that Starr Computer was able to make such a donation.

The event was a celebration of collaboration and a commitment to enhancing access to quality education and technology in the region.

Commander of Region Six, Shivpersaud Bacchus shared, "Thanks to this collaboration, we have become the first academy in the Guyana Police Force to offer computer repair training. This collaborative effort demonstrates a commitment to equipping law enforcement with cutting-edge technology. The enhanced IT facilities will undoubtedly bolster the Force's capabilities to better serving the community.”

FFTP (Guyana) is the largest charitable Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) in Guyana.

Guyanese student wins US$40,000 college scholarship

"She’s a very driven student” – teacher

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Wilby High School senior in Waterbury, Connecticut was selected as one of two students in the United States this

month to win a US$40,000 college scholarship.

The College Board awarded the BigFuture Scholarship to Amesha

Jainandan.

“I was really shocked. I didn’t expect it and I’m excited,” said Jainandan.

Jainandan is one of

Amesha Jainandan receiving her scholarship

two students to receive the scholarship this month.

BigFuture is the College Board’s college and career readiness website. It awards two scholarships every month to students around the United States.

Students are automatically entered to win the scholarship if they use the BigFuture website to: start a career list, build a college list, expand a college list, apply to college, search for scholarships, or apply for the FAFSA. “What we're rewarding students for is taking action

on their college and career journey,” said Bob Wolcott, the Associate Director of the College Board. The website is there to help students navigate the complicated college admissions process, according to Wolcott.

“A lot of first-generation college students just don't know where to begin. This BigFuture site organises that, and helps students on that path and gets them on the right track. So, we just want them to go and start to take the actions that they all should be taking,” said Wolcott.

Jainandan recently moved there from Guyana in South America. She had been applying to community colleges, but with the help of the scholarship, she said she may expand her search.

"She’s a very driven student,” said Stephanie Labonte, Jainandan’s English teacher at Wilby High.

“She’s very interested in furthering her career in business. She’s a great writer, really a great speaker,” Labonte added. “I think this is going to change her life.”

(NBC News)

NEWS

17

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2024 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Guyana set to host 53rd regional Libraries Conference in May G

uyana is set to host the 53rd Association of Caribbean Universities, Research and Institutional Libraries (ACURIL) Conference on May 12May 16, 2024 themed: “From metadata to big data: trends and hidden treasures in libraries, museums, and archives of the Caribbean.”

The University of Guyana Library, along with its local counterparts, is planning and executing the event, which will be hosted at the Pegasus Hotel in Georgetown.

The Annual ACURIL

Conference is being hosted for the first time in Guyana. It will bring together some 300 librarians, information professionals, archivists and exhibitors from across the Caribbean and Latin America to examine and discuss the current challenges of libraries in the Caribbean, and discover and debate new trends and ideas in the information world that would help to counteract some of the issues faced by libraries in order to help them to reposition themselves to remain relevant in the new information age. The event

The Guyana contingent in attendance at ACURIL 2023 in Jamaica; from left: Simmone LaRose, Donette Washington, Debra Lowe, and Somattie Sayrange

will also provide a forum for recognising excellence, creativity, and innovation

in libraries in an attempt to stimulate growth and development and sharing

of ideas and experiences in libraries.

The conference will en-

tail four days of engagement on the theme of innovative developments in the library and information fields, and will culminate with an Awards Ceremony that will honour library and information professionals from across the Caribbean region for their outstanding work in the field.

University of Guyana Vice Chancellor, Professor Paloma Mohamed Martin and several other academics and professionals in the library and information fields are expected to deliver presentations.

PAC green space Fire at French recycling enhancement gets plant housing 900 tonnes boost with new facility of lithium batteries S

A

s part of the National Clean Up Initiative led by President Dr Irfaan Ali, the Protected Areas Commission (PAC) is moving to enhance urban parks’ green space for Guyanese.

In addition to cleanup activities within the Botanical Gardens and the National Park, Chairman of the PAC Board of Directors and Foreign Secretary, Robert Persaud, witnessed the commissioning of a benab, which was donated by Essential Care Pharmacy and Global Health Care Supplies.

The benab is a new addition to the ongoing partnerships for the improvement of facilities and rehabilitation of infrastructure within the National Park, stemming from the Protected Areas Commission Board of Directors mandating management to change the outlook of the park and improve facilities for park users.

In this regard, the Protected Areas Commission’s Deputy Commissioner, Parmanand Persaud, stated that the National Park consists of over 50 acres, which are used for health and wellness, entertainment, family picnics, and sports. He

also revealed that the Park will soon commission a fully equipped outdoor gym, rehabilitation of the football field, and complete renovation of the children’s play area, which was adopted by the First Lady of Guyana.

These activities are all part of a comprehensive zoning and development plan for the park, which will be open for discussion in the coming weeks.

During the commissioning ceremony, the President of The Tourism Association of Guyana (THAG) and Member of the PAC Board, Ms Omadelle De George, commended the initiative by Essential Care Pharmacy and Global Health Care Supplies to invest in green spaces such as the National Park as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility. De George added that the new benab is a welcoming addition to the National Park, which will increase the expectations of visitors, particularly tourists. She also encouraged more Private Sector companies to partner with the National Park to adopt spaces and further enhance the aesthetics of the park. In addition, Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) Director Kamrul Baksh commended

Essential Care Pharmacy for this timely donation and the PAC Board of Directors and management for the ongoing transformation within the National Park.

Commenting on the donation of the benab, Deonarine Etwaroo, proprietor of Essential Care Pharmacy and Global Health Care Supplies, stated that as a park user, he saw an opportunity to give back to the National Park by constructing a new benab that will be used by all park users for relaxation. He revealed that he will continue to partner with the National Park to explore more areas for collaboration and the development of infrastructure.

Meanwhile, in delivering closing remarks, the Vice Chairman of the PAC Board of Directors stated that donations by the Etwaroo family have led to the development of green spaces within the park. He pointed out that the Government and the PAC Board were committed to the development of green spaces within urban parks and across the country.

Also present were other members of the Etwaroo family and staff of the PAC and the National Park.

ome 900 tonnes of lithium batteries were on fire at a battery recycling plant in southern France, authorities said on Sunday, sending a cloud of thick black smoke into the sky above the site.

The fire broke out on Saturday in a warehouse owned by French recycling group SNAM in Viviez, north of Toulouse, local councillor Pascal Mazet said in a statement on X. Lithium batteries are vital in electrical devices from phones to electric cars, but contain combustible materials which, combined with the energy they store, can make them vulnerable to catching fire when exposed to heat – a potential danger given the toxic materials their burning can produce.

In January 2023, a large fire broke out in a Normandy warehouse storing car components and thousands of lithium batteries, which was

Smoke rises from a warehouse fire, owned by French recycling group SNAM, which houses lithium batteries in Viviez, north of Toulouse, France, February 17, 2024 in this image obtained from social media (Adeba via Reuters)

brought under control without causing any casualties.

Firefighters said there were no indications of the release of dangerous air pollution.

French media showed thick smoke over the Viviez site and newspaper Le Monde reported that up to 70 firefighters were battling to get the fire under control.

Charles Giusti, a local official in the Aveyron prefecture which includes Viviez, said on

BFM television there was no danger to people living nearby.

The prefecture said in a statement overnight that while the fire was under control, it was burning slowly and was expected to last for several hours.

SNAM did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reuters)

18

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2024

guyanatimesgy.com

Regional

Mexicans turn out in droves Brazil’s Lula compares Israel’s war in Gaza with the Holocaust to “protect democracy” ahead of elections B

H

uge crowds filled Mexico City's main square on Sunday in support of the nation's electoral authority, accusing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of trying to weaken the body ahead of a presidential election in June.

The protests, one of several in recent years meant to "protect" the National Electoral Institute (INE), come after Lopez Obrador sent a sweeping package of constitutional reforms to Congress, which would include an overhaul of the INE. Organisers said 700,000 people turned out, which could mark one of the largest protests against Lopez Obrador as his Administration comes to a close.

The Mexico City government, which is controlled by Lopez Obrador's MORENA party, said just 90,000 people attended. The disparity in counting turnout has also occurred at previous pro-INE demonstrations.

Lopez Obrador has made it no secret the package is

Mexican Opposition groups hold a protest against the Government of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to 'defend democracy', in Mexico City, Mexico, February 18, 2024 (Reuters/ Luis Cortes photo)

meant to influence debate before June 2 voting in which his political successor Claudia Sheinbaum is likely to win, though the President has said it is unlikely most reforms will pass.

One would turn the INE into the National Institute of Elections and Consultations, which would take over the country's local electoral bodies and shrink the number

of counsellors heading the group. It would also require electoral judges be elected by popular vote.

"Authorities are seeking to eliminate (autonomous institutions), to subordinate them or take them over," Lorenzo Cordova, the former Head of the INE, said to the crowd.

"We've seen a ferocious attack against these institutions."

(Excerpt from Reuters)

razilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has accused Israel of committing “genocide” against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and compared its war in Gaza with Adolf Hitler’s campaign to exterminate Jewish people.

“What’s happening in the Gaza Strip isn’t a war, it’s a genocide,” Lula told reporters in Addis Ababa where he was attending an African Union summit on Sunday.

“It’s not a war of soldiers against soldiers. It’s a war between a highly-prepared army and women and children,” added the Brazilian President.

“What’s happening in the Gaza Strip with the Palestinian people hasn’t happened at any other moment in history. Actually, it has happened: when Hitler decided to kill the Jews.”

Led by Hitler, the Nazis systematically killed six million Jews during World

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva speaking during a press conference in Addis Ababa on February 18, 2024 (AFP Photo / Brazilian Presidency/Ricardo Stuckert)

War II. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said he would summon Brazil’s Ambassador for a reprimand over the remarks.

“No one will compromise Israel’s right to defend itself,” Katz said on X, adding that the envoy would be summoned today.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu de-

scribed the comments as “disgraceful and grave”.

“This is a trivialisation of the Holocaust and an attempt to attack the Jewish people and the right of Israel to self-defence.

Drawing comparisons between Israel and the Nazis and Hitler is to cross a red line,” Netanyahu said in a statement. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Bajan on UK holiday in critical condition after stabbing “Bob Marley: One Love” earns US$80M globally since release A

T

he “Bob Marley: One Love” biopic garnered an estimated US$80 million globally as of Sunday following its Valentine’s Day opening.

According to an article by the Associated Press (AP), the film made US$14 million in North America on the first day only; a record for a midweek debut.

The biopic, which focuses on Bob Marley’s life from 1976-1978, was made at a cost of US$70 million and distributed by Paramount Pictures.

It covers Bob’s survival of an assassination attempt, the production of the album “Exodus” while in exile in London, his cancer diagnosis and the “One Love” concert that the reggae legend

Kingsley Ben-Adir (left), the star of "Bob Marley: One Love," poses with Marley's son Ziggy at the premiere of the film, Tuesday, February 6, 2024, in Los Angeles (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

has been renowned for.

The story of Bob Marley, played by British actor Kingsley Ben-Adir, was told through recollections of his son Ziggy Marley; widow, Rita Marley, played

by British actor Lashana Lynch, and others who knew him well, AP said.

The film was shot in the United Kingdom and Jamaica. (Jamaica Observer)

the caste model: Six out of every 10 Argentines are poor," Milei, a libertarian, said in a social media post late on Saturday.

Milei took office promising to "dollarise" the economy, tame an annual inflation rate of more than 200 per cent, eliminate the fiscal deficit, and end benefits for Argentina's political dynasties, which Milei calls "the caste".

In December, his Government rolled out sweeping economic reforms, primarily a 54 per cent peso devaluation against the US dollar,

causing Argentines' incomes to collapse as prices shot up.

Other measures included slashing energy and transportation subsidies and rolling out tax hikes aimed at reaching fiscal balance.

On Friday, Argentina's Economy Ministry reported a January budget surplus of 518.41 billion pesos (US$620.85 million), the first time the number has been in the green since August 2012.

Reuters was not immediately able to see a copy of the report. UCA did not respond to a request for comment.

(Reuters)

2 8 - y e a r - o l d Barbadian man who was on holiday in the United Kingdom is now hospitalised in critical condition after being viciously attacked by two men four days after he arrived.

Tharel Thompson is a patient at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford in an induced coma.

One man has been charged with attempted murder following the attack which was described

by Barbados Deputy High Commissioner Mackie Holder as “unprovoked and random”.

The victim’s devastated

P

while he was at a restaurant with relatives.

Thompson said this was her son’s first trip to the UK. She said Tharel, her only child, worked as a lighting technician at IGM Stage Lighting.

“He loves to spend time with me mostly, his family and friends. He loves to try different foods at the restaurants I take him to, and motorbikes.”

A GoFundMe page has been started to help raise funds to pay for his medical treatment which was at £11, 000 and rising. (Excerpt from Nation News)

T&T Unions in uproar over SRC’s proposed pay hike for Govt officials

F Poverty in Argentina hits 20-year high at 57.4%, study says

overty levels in Argentina hit 57.4 per cent in January, the highest in at least 20 years, according to a report by the Catholic University of Argentina (UCA) cited by local media on Sunday.

According to the report, the devaluation of the peso currency carried out by President Javier Milei shortly after his inauguration in early December – and the price hikes caused by it – exacerbated poverty levels, which closed the year at 49.5 per cent.

"The true inheritance of

mother Yvonne Thompson, and his father Terrance Gibbs, of Regency Drive, Clermont, St Michael, flew to the UK to be by their son’s side.

Thompson told the Saturday Sun: “All my son wanted was to enjoy his holiday with his family and was looking forward to visiting scenery in London.

This tragedy has me completely broken, but I’m trying my best to stay strong for Tharel.”

She said her son arrived on February 8 and was supposed to return to Barbados on February 24. The incident occurred

our trade unions have condemned the Salaries Review Commission’s proposed salary increase for Government officials.

Vexatious, a slap in the face, insulting, an egregious injustice, gross disrespect and betrayal was how the trade unions described the recommended increases for several of the country’s top public officials, including Prime Minister, Dr Keith Rowley; President Christine Kangaloo; Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Cabinet Ministers. The Government may accept or reject the recommendation.

The SRC’s recommendations for these new re-

muneration packages come 10 years after MPs and Ministers got a pay hike.

The last pay hike was in March 2014 from the November 2013 recommendation of the SRC’s 98th report.

Prime Minister Rowley’s salary will see a huge hike once the recommendations of the Salaries Review Commission (SRC) 117th report that was tabled in the House of Representatives on Friday obtain the approval of the Cabinet.

Dr Rowley’s salary will increase from TT$59,680 to TT$80,000 a month.

The SRC, however, removed the duty allowance formerly received by Rowley of TT$8680, so the

effective increase is in the vicinity of TT$11,640.

Rowley’s entire remuneration package is subject to tax.

Annisette said while parliamentarians were in line for bigger and better pay packages, “the same principles, concepts and ideology must be handed down to the ordinary citizen, middle-class workers and low-income earners”.

He said while the SRC proposed a fatter pay cheque for Dr Rowley, “public servants are being forced into wage slavery, some even working two jobs to make ends meet.

You cannot have that kind of disparity and division within a society.” (Excerpt from Trinidad Guardian)

guyanatimesgy.com

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2024

19

Around The World

Israel sets March deadline for OILNEWS OIL NEWS Gaza ground offensive in Rafah I Canada’s oil

majors are sitting out energy M&A wave

A

fter a two-year hiatus triggered by the historic oil price crash of 2020, the US oil and gas sector saw a surge in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in 2023 despite a general slowdown in deal-making in many sectors.

Last year, the sector leveraged high stock prices and went on a US$250 billion buying spree, mostly aimed at securing lower-cost reserves that will help them deal with future challenges.

Much of the activity was crammed into the fourth quarter with Enverus Intelligence Research (EIR), a subsidiary of Enverus, reporting that Q4 recorded a massive US$144 billion in upstream M&A. During the quarter, US oil majors Exxon Mobil Corp, Chevron Corp and Occidental Petroleum struck deals worth a combined US$125 billion to acquire lowcost oilfields with breakeven oil price in the US$25 to US$35 per barrel range.

Merger mania has now hit high gear: Midland, Texas-based Diamondback Energy, Inc recently agreed to buy privatelyheld Permian producer Endeavor Energy Resources in a cash and stock deal valued at US$26 billion. What’s impressive here is that Diamondback Energy is only valued at US$31.8B (market cap). Interestingly, FANG shares have jumped more than 10 per cent after the deal was announced nearly a week ago, meaning the market views it favourably. Stock prices of the acquiring company, more often than not, tend to go down as the company has to pay a premium coupled with the high risk of failure (Harvard Business Review estimates 70 per cent to 90 per cent of corporate mergers fail).

A similar trend was observed in Canada’s oil patch where energy and power M&A hit a five-year high of US$70.4 billion, up 56 per cent from the previous year. However, another notable trend stood out: Canadian mid-tier producers Tourmaline Oil Corp, Peyto Exploration & Development Corp, Baytex Energy Inc and Crescent Point Energy Corp all managed to close deals while Canada’s biggest producers including Canadian Natural Resources Ltd, Suncor Energy Inc, Cenovus Energy Inc and Imperial Oil Ltd remained on the sidelines.

Experts are now predicting that it’s not very likely that Canada’s oil majors will continue sitting out the M&A wave since they are not immune from the factors driving consolidation, including investor fixation on growing operational scale and increasing reserves. Further, their balance sheets are in the best shape they’ve been in for years.

Last year, global consulting firm Deloitte predicted that Canadian oil prices would rally after the Trans Mountain (TMX) pipeline began transporting crude for export. Well, Canadian producers are in luck because the long-delayed pipeline is set to begin filling with crude in the current month, marking a key step toward start-up. The bulk of the 890,000 barrel-a-day line will, however, be filled in March and last about two-three weeks. Linefill, typically the first stage of startup, includes moving the first batches of oil from shippers. The first tanker to carry Trans Mountain oil will load in Vancouver in April.

The start-up of the expansion--now 98 per cent complete-will triple the pipeline’s capacity and reshape oil flows across the Americas. It’s also expected to spur exports to Asia and likely ramp up production of Canadian oil. Conceived more than a decade ago, the project has been handicapped by massive cost runups with costs having quadrupled to nearly US$31 billion. (Excerpt from Oilprice.com)

sraeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz has warned that unless Hamas frees all hostages held in Gaza by March 10 an offensive will be launched in Rafah.

It is the first time Israel has said when its troops might enter Gaza's overcrowded southern city.

Global opposition is growing to such an attack in Rafah, where some 1.5 million Palestinians are sheltering.

Earlier, the United Nations public health agency said a key Gaza hospital had ceased to function following an Israeli raid.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said it had not been allowed to enter Nasser hospital

in Khan Yunis, north of Rafah, to assess the situation.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) entered the complex on Thursday, saying intelligence indicated hostages taken by Hamas were being held there.

The IDF has described its operation in Nasser as "precise and limited", accusing Hamas of "cynically using hospitals for terror".

Speaking on Sunday, Gantz, a former Defence Minister, said: "The world must know, and Hamas leaders must know – if by Ramadan our hostages are not home, the fighting will continue everywhere, to include the Rafah area".

Ramadan – the Islamic holy month of fasting – this

The Hamas-run health authority reported casualties destruction in recent Israeli air strikes in Rafah

year begins on March 10.

Gantz added that Israel would act in "a coordinated manner, facilitating the evacuation of civilians in dialogue with our American and Egyptian partners to minimise civilian casualties".

and

With exactly three weeks to go before the start of Ramadan, reports from Rafah say that a few people are leaving, heading west towards the coast, but that most are still waiting, unsure what to do. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Ukraine accuses Russia of Papua New Guinea executing injured prisoners ambush: More than 50 shot dead in Highlands region at Avdiivka, Vesele

A

Ukrainian soldiers get out of a military vehicle in a location given as Avdiivka, Donetsk Region, Ukraine, in this screen grab taken from a video released February 17, 2024 (3rd Assault Brigade/ Handout via Reuters)

U

krainian authorities said on Sunday they had opened an investigation into alleged shootings by Russian forces of six unarmed Ukrainian soldiers in the city of Avdiivka, and two at a village in the same region, after Russia claimed full control of the city.

"An investigation into the shootings of unarmed Ukrainian prisoners of war in Avdiivka and Vesele has been launched," the prosecutor's office in Donetsk region said on its Telegram channel.

The prosecutors referred to information about "the execution of six prisoners" at a position in Avdiivka, adding that they were "seriously injured and awaiting evacuation". It said the information had been shared on Telegram, but did not name the source.

Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne quoted Ukrainian military spokesperson Dmytro Lykhoviy as saying: "There is still no possibility to confirm or refute"

the killings at Avdiivka, as an investigation was ongoing. However, he added it would not be the first time Russia had committed war crimes.

The Donetsk prosecutor's office said a video fragment taken by a drone showed a Russian soldier shooting two captured Ukrainian soldiers at close range at the village of Vesele.

"Not wanting to leave the prisoners alive, the occupier kills them with automatic weapons," the office added, without saying when the incident had occurred.

Earlier on Sunday, the official Telegram channel of Ukraine's land forces shared video apparently shot from a drone of people in uniform in a narrow trench.

An armed person the post identifies as Russian is seen approaching two uniformed people identified as Ukrainian and then discharging his weapon and apparently shooting them both. (Excerpt from Reuters)

t least 53 persons have died in an ambush in Papua New Guinea's remote Highlands region.

The victims were shot dead in Enga Province during a dispute between two tribes, a national Police Force spokesman told the BBC. Police are at the scene, but are yet to determine the "full information" of the event, he said.

The Highlands area has long struggled with violence, but these killings are believed to be the worst in years.

"This is, by far, the larg-

est [killing] I've seen in Enga, maybe in all of Highlands as well," Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary Acting Superintendent George Kakas said, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

"We're all devastated, we're all mentally stressed out. It's really hard to comprehend."

Escalating tribal violence – often over the distribution of land and wealth – last year lead to a three-month lockdown in the Enga Province, during which Police imposed a curfew and travel restrictions. (BBC News)

British Museum facing social media campaign to return Easter Island statue

T

he British Museum has been subject to a campaign by social media users in Chile demanding the return of a stone monument taken from Easter Island.

The museum has two moai statues which were taken from the Chilean territory of Rapa Nui, or Easter Island, in 1868.

The online campaign began after an influencer encouraged his followers to "spam" the museum's Instagram posts with "return the moai" comments.

The British Museum said it deactivated comments on one social media post.

The island of Rapa Nui, located some 3700 kilometres (2300 miles) from Chile's Pacific coast, is well renowned for its moai statues, which are said to embody the spirit of a prominent ancestor.

Dating back to between 1400 and 1650 AD, many re-

main on the island to this day, but several have been transferred to museums around the world – including the Hoa Hakananai'a in the British Museum's collection.

The statue, along with a second, smaller moai known as Hava, were given as gifts to Queen Victoria in 1869 by the Captain of HMS Topaze, Commodore Richard Powell.

The Queen donated the two statues to the British Museum.

There have long been calls to return the Hoa Hakananai'a, or "Stolen Friend", to Rapa Nui. The renewed campaign by Chilean social media influencer Mike Milfort saw many of his followers demand its repatriation in the comments section of several of the museum's Instagram posts.

Milfort regularly speaks about the moai in his viral videos. (Excerpt from BBC News)

20

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2024

guyanatimesgy.com

DAILY HOROSCOPES

ARCHIE

Don’t take on an emotional battle you aren’t ready to lose. Find out where your allies stand and don’t disclose information that someone may use against you.

(March 21-April 19) Don’t believe everything you hear.

Let your curiosity take the reins. Call on trusted allies to step in and help you turn your ideas into something tangible.

PICKLES (April 20-May 20)

(May 21-June 20)

PEANUTS (June 21-July 22)

Don’t learn things the hard way.

Question everything and everyone, and go to the source if you want the lowdown. Don’t feel you have to exaggerate to grab someone’s attention. Take a direct approach.

Work alongside people who share your concerns. You can make a difference if you take an innovative approach to change. Use your experience and intuition to drum up enthusiasm and support.

Someone you think you can trust will have a hidden agenda. Keep an open mind, but don’t sign on the dotted line unless you have read the fine print. A poker face will help when negotiating.

(July 23-Aug. 22) Changing your daily routine will give you more time to learn something new. Keeping up with trends will make you a valuable employee or community contributor. Don’t be shy.

CALVIN AND HOBBES (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

An energetic approach will ward off tension and help you bring about changes that will lower your overhead. A disciplined approach to money, health and legal matters will be necessary.

(Sept. 23-Oct. 23)

SUDOKU

Go on a learning expedition. Find out all you can before starting a discussion with someone who uses pressure tactics. Turn your attention to stabilizing your home environment.

(Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Emotional problems will escalate if you or someone close to you isn’t honest regarding intentions or feelings. Be sure to stick to the facts, be precise and ask questions.

(Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Don’t be afraid to test your options.

Let your heart and intuition guide you, and you will recognize and eliminate barriers. Avoid overreacting, overspending and making premature decisions.

LAST PUBLISHED WORD -- ASPECT

SOLUTION FOR LAST PUBLISHED PUZZLE

(Dec. 22-Jan. 19) When dealing with friends, relatives and associates, keep your wits about you. Someone will be unpredictable, misleading or ask for something you don’t want to deliver.

(Jan. 20-Feb. 19) A kind gesture will bring you joy and respect. An open-door policy will help you gain support to address issues that concern you. Take a disciplined approach to financial matters.

(Feb. 20-March 20)

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2024

21

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravindra Jadeja star in India's biggest Test win by runs I

ndia needed such a day.

Just to send the message out to those who had started believing they could be taken down at home. A team in transition, India have lost three Tests in a little over three years, two more than they did in the preceding eight years, but in Rajkot they delivered an emphatic shellacking to their latest challengers: the 434-run win was India's biggest by runs, and England's second-biggest defeat.

On a spring day, with not a cloud in sight, in front of a big crowd, the Indian batting took apart the visiting bowlers to set an impossible target, before the home bowlers turned the same pitch into a minefield.

Along the way, the batters broke a handful of records while threatening to break even more. It was a first showing of such dominance for this new set of batters.

And it gave India the series lead, 2-1, with two to play.

Yashasvi Jaiswal, who had retired-hurt on 105, came back to end up with a second-consecutive double-hundred, in the course of which he equalled the record for the most sixes in a Test innings and carried India to the record for most sixes in a Test. India also beat their own record for most sixes in a series with two Tests to spare in

Ravindra Jadeja took the final wicket to complete his five-wicket haul

this gig, of course.

Three decades after a young left-hand batter from Mumbai announced himself on the Test stage with consecutive double-centuries, Jaiswal emulated Vinod Kambli's feat and also became the third-youngest to two Test double-centuries.

His innings included 12 sixes and 14 fours, but he had to wait to come back as the first 90 minutes belonged to the nightwatcher.

Kuldeep Yadav absolutely bossed the early exchanges, hitting his first six in international cricket, defending properly, making England burn a review, running Shubman Gill out nine short of hundred, and eventually hurting Joe Root's

finger when he offered him the catch that got him.

In the company of his Mumbai senior but India junior, Test debutant Sarfaraz Khan, Jaiswal resumed watchfully before they both got into an exhibition and a competition of power-hitting and gap-find-

Yashasvi Jaiswal celebrates his second double-century in Test cricket

stump. Then he took down Root, who had been bowling down the leg side. When he hit Rehan for a six, four and a six in the 98th over, there was half a thought even he might get a chance to covert his two fifties on debut into a fifty and a hundred. Rohit Sharma, though, pulled the

out thanks to a sprint to the wicket from debuting wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel, who collected a throw on the half-volley and broke the wicket even while on the move. This was England's first opening stand of under 40 in the series.

In an eight-over spell

SCOREBOARD India 2nd Innings Yashasvi Jaiswal not out 214 Rohit Sharma (c)lbw b Root 19 Shubman Gill run out (Stokes/Hartley) 91 Rajat Patidar c Rehan Ahmed b Hartley 0 Kuldeep Yadav c Root b Rehan Ahmed 27 Sarfaraz Khan not out 68 Extras (lb 9, w 2) 11 TOTAL 98 Ov (RR: 4.38) 430/4d Did not bat: Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel †, Ravichandran Ashwin,Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj Fall of wickets: 1-30 (Rohit Sharma, 11.3 ov), 1-185, 2-191 (Rajat Patidar, 47.4 ov), 3-246 (Shubman Gill, 63.6 ov), 4-258 (Kuldeep Yadav, 71.4 ov) • DRS BOWLING O-M-R-W James Anderson 13-1-78-0 Joe Root 27-3-111-1 Tom Hartley 23-2-78-1 Mark Wood 10-0-46-0 Rehan Ahmed 25-1-108-1 England 2nd Innings (T: 557 runs) Zak Crawley lbw b Bumrah 11 Ben Duckett run out (Mohammed Siraj/†Jurel) 4

Ollie Pope c Sharma b Jadeja 3 Joe Root lbw b Jadeja 7 Jonny Bairstow lbw b Jadeja 4 Ben Stokes (c)lbw b Kuldeep Yadav 15 Ben Foakes †c †Jurel b Jadeja 16 Rehan Ahmed c Mohammed Siraj b Kuldeep Yadav 0 Tom Hartley b Ashwin 16 Mark Wood c Jaiswal b Jadeja 33 James Anderson not out 1 Extras (b 5, lb 4, nb 3) 12 TOTAL 39.4 Ov (RR: 3.07) 122 Fall of wickets: 1-15 (Ben Duckett, 6.1 ov), 2-18 (Zak Crawley, 8.2 ov), 3-20 (Ollie Pope, 9.4 ov), 4-28 (Jonny Bairstow, 11.1 ov), 5-50 (Joe Root, 21.5 ov), 6-50 (Ben Stokes, 22.5 ov), 7-50 (Rehan Ahmed, 24.4 ov), 8-82 (Ben Foakes, 35.5 ov), 9-91 (Tom Hartley, 36.1 ov), 10-122 (Mark Wood, 39.4 ov) • DRS BOWLING O-M-R-W Jasprit Bumrah 8-1-18-1 Mohammed Siraj 5-2-16-0 Ravindra Jadeja 12.4-4-41-5 Kuldeep Yadav 8-2-19-2 Ravichandran Ashwin 6-3-19-1

Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sarfaraz Khan celebrate the double-ton

ing. Jaiswal was the clear winner as Sarfaraz managed only 68 in a 172-run stand in just 26.2 overs.

Jaiswal's assault included a hat-trick of sixes off James Anderson, a sweep, an extra-cover drive and a bludgeon back down the ground. Memories of George Bailey were refreshed, the only other batter to hit Anderson for three consecutive sixes. Jaiswal reached 180 by the end of that over, and then slowed down in the approach towards 200.

That only gave Sarfaraz a chance to shine. He began his assault with slowsweeps to foil Rehan Ahmed's plan to bowl into the rough outside the leg

plug on the innings, setting England 557 in about 130 overs.

The result might never have been in doubt, but India needed to correct something at the start of the innings having gone for four half-century opening stands in the last five innings. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj were on the money, and the ball moved a little bit for them. The innings started with two maidens, Ben Duckett took 12 balls to get off the mark, and then looked for a risky single in the seventh over, which converted into a run-

split down the middle by tea, Bumrah tested the top order thoroughly. One of the balls seamed in past Zak Crawley's inside edge and got him lbw. After the tea break, R Ashwin was back in action after he had left Rajkot

on the second night to tend to a family health emergency.

Ashwin, though, was

not required to do much.

Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep were all over England. Ollie Pope was the first one to fall to spin, looking to cut but done in by quick turn and a sharp catch by Rohit at slip.

England lost the spine of their batting to the sweep, a shot that tormented India in Hyderabad. Jonny Bairstow, all at sea this series, and Root, who has bowled more overs than he has scored runs this series, chose balls too full for the shot, and were caught in front. Ben Stokes was done in by dip from Kuldeep.

Three wickets fell on the same score of 50. At the end of 25 overs, England were 50 for 7; that was by far England's slowest first 25 overs of an innings in the Bazball era, 74 being their previous lowest The difference in the quality of the two set of spinners was obvious. For India the ball did all sorts both with bounce and laterally, with a wicket never looking too far off. Ben Foakes and Tom Hartley frustrated India for close to half an hour, but Jadeja came back to take two of the last three wickets. It was the first five-for for an India spinner this series, to go with his first-innings century, at his hometown no less, to end a difficult week when a domestic dispute made its way into the news on a high.

In between those two wickets, Ashwin, who had made the long trip to Chennai and back, found a wicket, his 250th left-hand victim to go with 251 righthand ones.(ESPNcricinfo)

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GUYANATIMESGY.COM

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2024

Cotton Tree bowler Hassan aims to top charts in AJM T20 C

otton Tree Die Hard star bowler Waqar Hassan is a man on a mission, as he aims to top the wicket charts at the upcoming AJM T20 tournament, which bowls off on February 24 at Bush Lot Sports Complex, West Berbice.

Hassan, who ended with 17 wickets in the AJM second division tournament last December, and won the best bowler accolade, said he is also aiming to contribute with the bat.

“Well, the last tournament was very competitive,

show at the AJM Mash It Up T20 tournament on February 24: namely AJM defending T20 champions Cotton Tree Sports Club, D’ Edwards Sports Club, Achievers A and Bush Lot Sports Club.

The day’s activity will commence at 09:00h and the final will be played

Waqar Hassan will lead the Cotton Tree Die Hard bowling attack

Hassan spun webs during the last AJM tournament

and I really enjoy the game with ball especially with those five-wicket hauls. I’m looking forward to dominating again this tournament not with the ball

alone, with the bat as well.”

“The last AJM tournament I had a five-wicket haul along with a four-wicket haul as well.

I am mostly a left-arm spinner that contributes in

the bottom order with the bat as well, but during the tournament I did not have many opportunities with the bat, but I dominate with the ball,” Hassan said.

Hassan also continued his form after that AJM tournament, when he played the Jafarally T20 final against Achievers B and he was the best bowler and Man of the Match with figures of 4-27.

In the AJM final, which was held on Boxing Day, Hassan had 2-10 from four overs, a Player of the Match effort.

“From my perspective, I want to take the game more serious and yes, looking forward to win another title and be the leading wicket taker this tournament,” Hassan added.

Four teams in the West Berbice area will be on

Tickets go on sale this week for historic T20 Men’s World Cup

F

ollowing the conclusion of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 public ticket ballot which closed on February 7, tickets with remaining allocations go on sale in just a matter of days, on Thursday, February 22, which marks 100 days to the start of the World Cup, from 10 am Antigua Standard Time.

The blockbuster Men’s T20 World Cup event will be held in the West Indies and USA from June 1 to 29.

Tickets start at just US$6 and will be sold on a firstcome, first-served basis at tickets.t20worldcup.com.

A variety of ticket options will be available and accessibly priced. Fans will be able to purchase tickets to single or multiple matches, travel and hospitality packages, and limited venue specific packages for matches at Caribbean venues (subject to availability). Whether you are looking to attend a single thrilling match or immerse yourself in the excitement of multiple games, there is a ticket option for you.

Remaining ICC T20 World Cup tickets will go on sale this Thursday

Four types of ticket categories ensure fans can tailor their World Cup experience. All ticket categories and prices are available on the website.

“The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 is a oncein-a-lifetime opportunity for fans to witness the world's greatest cricket superstars in action in some of the world’s most inviting Caribbean and US destinations,” said Fawwaz Baksh, ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Tournament Director.

“Tickets are going to go

fast when general tickets go on sale, so if you want to be part of the action in person, we encourage all fans to secure their tickets as soon as they go on sale and be part of this historic ICC Men’s T20 World Cup celebration. It promises to be out of this world.”

Start planning your ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 experience today and get ready to purchase your tickets from February 22.

For further ticketing information visit tickets. t20worldcup.com.

under lights. There will be big screen, commentary and live scores at the venue with Crown Vibes International providing sounds.

This tournament promises a CPL atmosphere, the organisers have promised.

Cheerleaders will be on show, in addition to other

side attractions.

AJM Enterprise aims to develop cricket in the West Berbice area and provide quality entertainment to the cricket-loving population.

This event is sponsored

by AJM Enterprise and Jumbo Jet and powered by Banks DIH Limited.

Erling Haaland left visibly frustrated after rare, wasteful display for Manchester City

Haaland had plenty of chances to get on the scoresheet, but couldn't convert on Saturday

M

anchester City star Erling Haaland produced an uncharacteristic performance on Saturday, as the striker missed a plethora of chances in his team’s 1-1 draw against Chelsea.

Soccer fans have become accustomed to Haaland, arguably the best goal-scorer in the world, converting almost all of his chances in recent seasons, but the 23-year-old seemed to struggle in his latest English Premier League performance.

In total, Haaland took nine shots during the game against Chelsea – the highest number of attempts without scoring that the striker has taken since joining Manchester City in 2022.

His chances included three golden opportunities to score, including a glaring header from close range in the second-half which the forward blazed over the bar.

City teammate Rodri was able to somewhat spare Haaland’s blushes by rescuing a point for the league champion, his late effort canceling out Raheem Sterling’s opener for Chelsea.

Haaland, though, had enough chances to win the match and was visibly angry with himself at fulltime, pulling his shirt over his head and pushing a camera out of his face as he

made his way off the pitch.

“Next time he’s going to score,” City manager Pep Guardiola told reporters after the game, unconcerned about his striker’s performance.

“I was a football player and I played 11 years and scored 11 goals. One goal a season. These are my stats.

So I’m not a proper man to give advice about the striker and what they have to do.

“We create the chances, he had the chances and in the next game he is going to score […] It’s football, he’s a human being.”

According to the Premier League, the striker has missed the most “big chances” in the league this season (21), a record he shares with Liverpool forward Darwin Núnez.

Haaland is still the league’s top scorer, though, with 16 goals in 19 appearances.

Last season, Haaland broke a number of scoring records as he helped Manchester City win the league, Champions League and FA Cup. This year, City faces a real challenge for the league title and slipped down to third in the table after dropping points against Chelsea.

Arsenal sits one point ahead in second having played an extra game, with Liverpool four points ahead on top, also having played one more game than City.

Haaland will have a chance to get back on the scoresheet on Tuesday as Manchester City host Brentford in the league.

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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2024

23

UG commits to scholarships, better sport facilities, improved sport policies …as Awards ceremony hosted

T

he University of Guyana (UG) will take a step towards enhancing several aspects of sport in and around the institution according to several top officials.

These revelations were made at the recently-hosted Annual Sports Awards ceremony which saw several of the University’s outstanding athletes being honoured for their grit, determination and drive to be on top of their game.

During a simple ceremony hosted at the University’s Education Lecture Theatre, Turkeyen Campus, initiatives surrounding academic scholarships, improved sport facilities and a robust sport policy, were laid out by the University’s administration all aimed at seeing a strategic and more focused approach to the development of sports at the University.

UG’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Paloma Mohamed Martin congratulated all the athletes and urged them to keep aiming for high standards and to continue to represent their faculties, the University and country well. The VC said that in spite of limited resources, the University’s administration will continue to engage with its various development partners to acquire the resources needed to ensure that athletes are afforded the opportunity to develop themselves both in sports and academics.

The VC pointed to countries that are not so wealthy but they have managed to

The members of the University Games team were also recognised

identify, groom, support and create athletes who excel internationally. “We just don’t want to support athletes who are doing sports now, we want to make sure that we have an infrastructure, that we under-stand the infrastructure, the academic and policy architecture, and the way in which human beings who are able to excel and do the things that these athletes are able to, and what kind of an enabling environment is required for them to do this,” she explained.

According to the VC, the University is actively looking at several initiatives to push the development of sports. These include; enhancing the physical conditions for sports at the University’s campuses, setting the policy architecture in place that would see all students who desire to develop themselves in sports get an equal opportunity to do so, and offering students scholarships to advance their academic endeavours.

UG’s Registrar, Dr Nigel Gravesande noted that sports at a tertiary educational institution such as UG requires broad collaboration with various stakeholders such as students, the administration of the university, coaches, the various national organisations, “all coming together in a synergistic fashion” to complement the efforts of the University.

He said: “We are moving away from the notion that sports, once considered an extracurricular activity, is now being acknowledged by the administration and the students themselves, as being a vital component of a student’s holistic growth.”

Board Member of the Regional Anti-Doping Organisation and the evening’s Guest Speaker, Dr Karen Pilgrim underscored the importance of athletes being disciplined in everything that they undertake and to balance well their academic and sports endeavours. Dr Pilgrim lauded the University for the actions it

Professor Paloma Mohamed Martin (sitting centre, front row); Board Member of the Regional AntiDoping Organisation, Dr Karen Pilgrim (second from left, front row) and other senior University officials pose for a photo op with the awardees

is taking to ensure that students are provided with the necessary support to succeed in sports and academics.

Head of the UG’s Sports Department, Jaime Skeete, offered congratulations and best wishes to the athletes and noted that the department will continue to work with the Registry’s Students Welfare Division to ensure that athletes are given the opportunities and support they need to develop themselves.

Please see below for the full Trophies and Medals List: Inter-Faculty Cricket (Academic Year 2022-2023) Winner: University of Guyana Berbice Campus Runner-up: Faculty of Education and Humanities Best Batsman: Philbert Wilburgh (UGBC) Best Bowler: Davindranauth Sewnauth (UGBC) Inter-Faculty Dominoes (Academic Year 2019-2020) Winner: Faculty of

Education and Humanities Inter-Faculty Dominoes (Academic Year 2022-2023) Winner: College of Behavioural Sciences and Research – (Orrinthia Bishop, Talecia Benn, Latoya Lopes, Keshone Marshall, Jeneisa Massiah, Jammal Whitehead Runner-up: University of Guyana Staff – Brian Williams, Philbert Clarke, Mark Scott, Evard Semple, Melinda Williams, Devon Nurse, Renick Alleyne, Mitchroy Dennis UoG King and Queen Chess Tournament (Academic Year 2022-2023) Chess King Winner – Keron Sandiford Runner-up – Murphy Bagot Chess Queen Winner – Sasha Shariff Runner-up –Britney Bovell UoG King and Queen Scrabble Tournament (Academic Year 2022-2023) Scrabble King

Winner – Joel Persaud Runner-up – Kwasi Benjamin Scrabble Queen Winner – Cassidy Burnett Runner-up – Bhomini Babulall Outstanding Team Performance for Academic Year 2022-2023: University of Guyana Trojans Basketball Team World University Games Chengdu Delegation: Certificate of Participation (Noelex Holder, Shimar Velloza, Elishaba Johnson, Niran Bissu, Leoni Adams, Malinda Williams) University of Guyana Women in Sport Appreciation: * Ruth Sanmoogan – Outstanding Contribution and Performance in Sports from 2017 – 2021 * Female Participation in Sports Certificates – Odella Hilken and Keisha Higgins, Faculty of Education and Humanities

Top horses entered for Jumbo Jet’s Mashramani race …’Over the Bridge’ to play Mash as Champion Guyana bred Rachel entered

S

even of the country's leading imported horses will battle for the 'Mash' crown on Sunday (February 25, 2024) at Rising Sun Turf Club, Rising Sun, Berbice.

This showpiece on the nine-race card will see the horses pass the finish twice in the 1600-metre event sponsored by Jumbo Jet Thoroughbred Racing Committee (JJTRC).

It is expected to bring down the curtain for patrons to play 'Mas' in what is billed as a very competitive race.

At entry stage which started last week, Guyana Cup winner Easy Time and Sprint Classic winner Spankhurst headed the betting in the third race day of the new season.

However, recent imports, Phil In Echo, owned

by Nand Persaud, and Stolen Money, owned by

Dennis Deoroop's family, along with Deleep Esreepersaud's Bossalina, Slingerz’s Brazilian-bred El Tarzan, and Night Eyes Jessica's Pride round off the field.

This race is a handicap event, and Easy Time, being the highest classified horse (B3) in the race, will shoulder the top handicap impost of 126 lbs.

This means that the other runners in the race will be carrying less weight than Easy Time. The next highest classified horses are El Tarzan (D Class) and Bossalina (D2).

Bossalina, who on New Year’s Day, defeated Horse of the Year winner Spankhurst in a very rough race is set to announce that run wasn't a fluke. Her connection is confident that success wasn't a fluke and she will repeat the thrashing.

Top horses entered for next Sunday’s race

Meanwhile, Deoroop revealed that Stolen Money ran grand in defeat in both his starts and is a stronger horse for this event.

He explained that Stolen Money did not get time to settle in, from his arrival from Canada in December,

as the races on Boxing Day and New Year's Day came too quickly for the grey. Deoroop advised that Stolen Money has settled and is better prepared for this race. He warned, "He has an added advantage, because Stolen Money will

carry a lighter weight."

Newcomer Phil In Echo, unraced in Guyana, is relatively unknown but is a lovely looker. He comes with a big reputation from overseas. He is one of the two runners in the race from over the bridge. They

are the horses that will be the 'bandleaders' for their hometown supporters on horse racing Mash celebration race day.

The victory for horses will create a 'road march' for their supporters to be dancing to, as the sun sets on 'this side of the bridge' in the day's finale.

Either way, it will be a 'Mash' on Sunday. The card will highlight some possible future stars as several West Indian-bred three-year-olds will make their local debut on the card.

While the country's leading light, Rachel voted Champion Guyana-bred at last year's Horse of the Year Award ceremony is also entered to make her 2024 debut. And several three-yearold Guyana-bred horses will also compete on the card.

Post time for the horse racing ‘jump up’ will be 12:30h.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2024

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

Pg 23

Top horses entered

for Jumbo Jet’s Mashramani race …'Over the Bridge' to play 'Mash' as Champion Guyana bred Rachel entered Pg 23

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