Guyana Times - Monday, October 10, 2022

Baby undergoes successful surgery to remove massive head mass at GPHC

of local doctors, last month, successful ly removed a mass from an 11-day-old baby girl at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

Ateam

Little Shailah Ariya Persaud was born on September 19 with a rare Neural Tube Defect (NTD).

The neural tube forms the early brain and spine. NTDs occur when the neural tube does not close properly. These types of birth defects de velop very early during preg nancy, often before a woman knows she is pregnant.

In a statement on Saturday, the GPHC explained that Altia Atkinson, a 34-year-old house wife of Reliance, Essequibo Coast, Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam), and her husband, Satesh Persaud, found out they were pregnant earlier this

year.

Atkinson, already a moth er of five healthy children, sought prenatal care at her community health centre. Her ultrasounds appeared normal and showed no cause for con cern. It was not until she was admitted for the delivery of her sixth child that the ultra sound showed some irregular ity. However, physicians at the Suddie Hospital were un able to determine if the mass/ growth they were detecting was growing on Alita or her unborn child.

The woman went on to deliver her baby, via cae sarean section (C-section), on September 19 at Suddie Hospital and was immediate ly referred to the Georgetown Public Hospital on account of a malformation that presented as a second head.

At just a few days old, Shailah was examined by Chief Neurosurgeon, Dr Amarnauth Dukhi, who quick ly diagnosed the baby with a neural tube defect. After MRI scans of the brain and cervical spine were done, Dr Dukhi con firmed a rare Cranio-Cervical Junction malformation, a com bination of the neural tube de fects of the brain and spine as one, a Myelomeningoceleencephalocele occurring at the back of the head where the brain joins the spinal cord.

“While neural tube defects are quite a common birth de fect, they usually occur on the head or the spine separately – in fact, the occurrence of en

cephalocele and myelomenin gocele together as one defect in the same patient is rarely de scribed in medical literature. In these uncommon cases the neural tube defect presents as sac-like protrusions on the brain and spine and are caused by the failure of the neural tube to close completely during foetal development, which may be attributed to several inter nal and external factors, main ly lacking the use of Folic Acid during pregnancy,” the GPHC explained.

According to the hospital, the management of encephalo cele and myelomeningocele is often associated with numer ous challenges including blood

loss, cardio-respiratory distur bances and hypothermia. It was further noted that surgi cal intervention is critical to prevent hemodynamic fluctu ations and excessive pressure on the sac which may result in premature rupture and even tual death.

To this end, Dr Dukhi led a multi-disciplinary team at GPHC on September 30 to sep arate this large malformation from the baby’s head and re pair the defect at the junction where brain and spinal cord are joined.

The GPHC revealed that “This tedious and complicat ed medical intervention for Shailah commenced first ly with the placement of VP shunt for the developing hy drocephalus that was also di agnosed. The large malfor

mation/mass, the size of the normal head was then careful ly separated from the head and upper cervical spine. This was followed by the reconstruction of the craniospinal junction’s defect to prevent the leakage of cerebrospinal fluid and allow for normal development of the brain and spinal structures”.

After the more than sixhour procedure, Dr Dukhi and his medical team deemed it a successful one.

Following seven days of neonatal post-operative care, little Shailah was discharged into her mother’s arms without any obvious neurological defi cits and is expected to lead a normal childhood.

However, close monitoring will be done to determine any difficulty in the child’s develop mental curve.

Little Shailah Persaud before (L) and after (R) the surgery

The medical team led by Dr Dukhi that conducted the 6-hour procedure to remove the head mass from the baby

Chief Neurosurgeon, Dr Amarnauth Dukhi with Shailah and her parents after the baby was discharged

BRIDGE OPENINGS

Govt to expedite work on new DHB – Pres Ali

The

Oct 10

16:30h-18:00h and Tuesday, Oct 11

FERRY SCHEDULE

WEATHER TODAY

In

the wake of the accident that resulted in four spans on the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB) being destroyed and inconveniencing thousands of residents on the West Bank of Demerara (WBD), President Dr Irfaan Ali inspected ongoing remedial works on Sunday.

During the inspection, he was briefed by bridge officials including DHB Corporation General Manager Wayne Watson. With President Ali ex pressing hope that light traf fic can be accommodated by Monday evening, Watson in formed the President that they are pulling out all the stops to get to a place of light traffic.

“Based on the current as sessment of the impact, we would have determined the amount of work that was com pleted thus far. We have confi dence that once we remove the reduction in space that we de tected on nine, eight and seven, we will have the bridge ready for light traffic. So that is our focus.”

“When we complete this, we’re going to do a little man ual pulling over of the bridge. Because the bridge went back by three to four feet. So, we have to pull that and then we’re going to do a general in spection. So, we’re going to close (span) 10 and we’re go ing to try and bring nine over,” Watson said.

However, President Ali sa luted the work that has been done thus far to repair the dam age and informed that talks are ongoing with respect to the new bridge.

A contract was awarded a few months ago and according to the President, they will try to expedite work on that bridge, which has a two-year time frame to complete once work starts.

“You guys are working 24 hours now, around the clock, for us to get back light traffic by Monday night. Let’s see how it goes. And that requires roundthe-clock work. We also have to relook now at the guidelines. We have bigger ships com ing in. We have faster vessels. And the bridge, really, is being nursed along at this stage in the bridge’s life.

“And we can’t every time there’s an impact, and this is one of the worst impacts we’ve ever had, when this happens then (it impacts) the fragility of the bridge, it needs continuous maintenance. And while we’re doing this, we’ll try to expedite the work on the new bridge. But one of the things with the frequent hitting of the bridge is that it is actually devouring

all our spare capacity. So, these are the challenges,” he said.

Traumatic

The moment the vessel hit the bridge is a moment that will live on for the bridge workers who were on duty on that fateful Saturday morn ing. The vessel in question is the MV Trade Wind Passion, a Panamanian fuel ship that was transporting fuel to the Guyana Oil Company (GuyOil). It was heading south and was the last of five vessels to cross the bridge, when it collided with the bridge.

According to Ahmad Khan, the mechanical maintenance engineer on duty at the time, they had to run for their lives once they noticed that the ship that was supposed to be navi gating between the bridge, was off course and barrelling to wards them.

“We had to run for our lives. Because it was a big ship. And we done know what is the im pact this thing would cause. So, I done, I tell everyone start moving off… there were people conducting welding. So, every one started moving off.”

According to him, they made the decision to clear the span and started moving to

safety within a minute as the ship approached. Of course, one crew member wasn’t so lucky. Andy Duke, a DHB Ship Supervisor, was directing the vessel through the retraction and attempted to get it to stop after realising it was out of alignment.

At the time of the incident, Duke was injured after he had to jump from his post to get out of the path of the vessel that eventually crashed into the bridge. He is currently hospi talised with a fractured leg.

New bridge

Back in May, a US$260 million contract for the new bridge across the Demerara River was signed. The con tract was awarded to a joint venture led by China Railway and Construction Corporation (International) Limited, which outbid four other pre-qual ified international compa nies that submitted propos als for the project. Over the past few months, the Guyana Government, through a team of specialists – legal and engi neering – was in negotiations with the Chinese company to fi nalise the terms of the contract.

The new bridge will be a

fixed 2.65-kilometre four-lane high-span cable-stayed struc ture across the Demerara River with the width of the driving surface being about 23.6 me tres.

The bridge, which features a bicycle lane, will bring an end to closures to vehicular traf fic with a 50-metre fixed high span to cater for the free flow of vessels uninterrupted. The river will be dredged along a 13.5-kilometre stretch to ac commodate large vessels.

Back in November 2021, Cabinet had granted its no-ob jection for the Chinese compa ny to construct the bridge us ing a Design-Build-Finance (DBF) model. The bridge will land aback Nandy Park, East Bank Demerara (EBD), on the eastern side and at La Grange, West Bank Demerara (WBD) on the western side.

Already, the Guyana Government has allocated some $21.1 billion in the 2022 Budget towards work on the bridge. It will have a lifespan of 100 years. This new bridge will replace the ageing float ing Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB), which has outlived its lifespan by several decades.

President Dr Irfaan Ali being briefed by the DHB General Manager on Sunday

Mechanical Maintenance Engineer Ahmad Khan

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Misogynist violence

Violence against women by men in our society continues unabated: molestations, beatings, rapes, maimings and murders of women of all ages, social strata, and races are now practically daily staples of our media. That the same pattern exists in other societies does not in any way make the phenomenon any less reprehensible but, as a matter of fact, suggests that its causes may lie deep in the male psyche itself.

The commendable efforts by our authorities to deal with the problem of male-against-female violence – either in domestic settings or in more anonymous random and brutal encounters – unfortunately, confront the consequences and not the deeper causes of the acts. The result is bound to be frustrating for the powers that be while deepening the cynicism of women that anything can be done to resolve the situation. There are, of course, several theories as to why men on the whole are more violent than women and these are all essentially variants of the “nature and nurture” arguments.

Since it does not appear likely that genetic reengineering of the male human is on the near horizon, we will have to revisit the “nurture” arguments – how the male psyche is formed and why it is so violence-prone and misogynic. In other words, we will have to re-examine and hopefully, come up with initiatives to alter our conceptions of what “manhood” ought to be.

Going back to the hoary theories about the early specialisation of the stronger male in the violent art of hunting other animals for food, we continue to inculcate in men the belief that they need to be tough, to prove their physical strength and never show emotions. This is the “macho man” ideal. In our own Caribbean setting, this ideal was exacerbated in the brutal world of slavery and bonded labour.

In the post-emancipation milieu, the best that we accomplished in modifying this image was to define “manhood” as a description of a man who was capable, managed his household, and had a strong sense of respect and respectability. Men were expected to be the providers and protectors and who were self-sufficient. This orientation was most inculcated in the middle classes, but of recent, the scions of these classes have made a U-turn and rejoined the underclass outlook that 'manhood' means someone who is tough; a player; competitive, acting as a protector and a virile male.

Men learn to deny their emotions and focus all their needs regarding physical affection and nurturing into the sex act. It is not surprising that, in the words of one researcher, they become “both emotionally incompetent and emotionally constipated”. “Manhood”, however, is still associated with power which, because of our oppressive past, is seen as capacity to dominate, to control; capacity to act in “masterful” ways – especially with women. The bequeathed image of “woman”, unfortunately, was that of a concubine, dedicated to serving the whims of the “master” – especially bearing and rearing his children.

Any variance by the woman from her perceived role in this scheme of things historically brought down the “rod of correction” by the man. Very sadly, most women also inculcated this perspective and accepted their abuse as proper – some even saw it as an expression of “love”! In Miguel Street, Naipaul recounted the story of the woman who oiled the cricket bat from which she received her weekly Saturday beating.

As a society influenced by the patriarchal structure, we still unrealistically hang on to the traditional definition of what it means to be a man irrespective of the high unemployment rate and weakened traditional values, compounded by the increase in the number of women who are educated. Men turn to violence against women as their sense of “manhood” is threatened by changes in the status quo – and the latter process is occurring at an ever-increasing pace.

In addition to redefining what “manhood” means in our society, especially as it relates to women, we will, however, have to devise positive ways for men to maintain their masculinity and to sustain their self-esteem.

Money around sport

By Dr AkshAi MAnsingh

The Caribbean Premier League (CPL) has completed its 10th year and its impact continues to be phenomenal, both on and off the field. The 10 consecutive years have been amazing. Not even COVID-19 was able to prevent the event, albeit with strict restrictions.

The CPL continues to provide re gional cricketers with lucrative pay packages. Additionally, host countries have benefited from the positive effects of direct and indirect sport tourism and the economic activity related to host ing a mega sporting event. Promoted as the biggest party in sport, it brings co lour and vibe to cricket. But even great er than that, it is the biggest regional event not only in sport but just the big gest regional event full stop! However, critics and unbeknownst observers have, intentionally or unintentionally, at times failed to consider the positive impact of the CPL outside of cricket.

Countries are invited to bid for the right to host matches and assist the franchises. Therefore, the onus is on the respective countries to capitalise on their investments. It is for the countries to make the best of this investment. However, there are countries who have indicated that there is no commercial value from the CPL, as with their ro bust tourist industry, hosting the CPL has nothing to add.

This, however, is a short-sighted perspective, as the recently-conclud ed CPL showed the attributes of play around sport. It was not just to 12,000 people who filled the Queen's Park Oval, or the 18,000 who filled the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad, or even the 14,000 who filled the National Stadium of Guyana that provided rev enue. The full stadia, in fact, provid ed atmosphere, fervour, and excellent photo opportunities for politicians and those seeking public exposure. The ma jor beneficiaries were those involved in activities around the cricket.

To start with, vendors both in and outside of the stadium, taxi drivers tak ing people to games or to attractions, restauranteurs, and hoteliers, all had a field day from St Kitts to St Lucia, Trinidad to Guyana. And this was not just from the over 200 persons direct ly involved in the CPL: teams and of

ficials, organisers and marketing staff of the CPL, television production crews and commentators, etc, but from the hordes of people who travelled for the cricket.

There were not just local patrons but people from Europe, North America and other Caribbean countries who flocked to these venues. Included were franchise owners, some of whom are wealthy businesspeople, Bollywood stars, and persons with interest not only in investing in regional cricket, but in the Region in general. This was the forum for them to enjoy cricket and enjoy local hospitality while exploring their next business venture or invest ment.

Guyana grabbed the opportunity to organise a spectacular festive event around its leg of the CPL matches, in clusive of the knockout and final stages. Guyana is a country where optimism abounds amongst its citizens, palpable when talking to persons in all spheres of life. The idea and execution of the cricket festival was sheer brilliance. Not only did they invest in hosting two weeks of cricket, but there was also a grand gala dinner commemorating the 10th year of the CPL, and separate concerts featuring the likes of Beres Hammond, Spice, Machel Montano, and Chutney Soca artistes. The nightly food fairs, night markets and commer cial activity exceeded the norm.

In fact, for the month of September, there was a 91 per cent increase in vis itor arrivals, with over 23,000 persons entering the country. The vast majority were visiting for the cricket and activ ities around cricket. Not only were all hotel rooms filled, but an organised sys tem whereby persons could stay in lo cal homes was successful. Not only did Georgetown benefit, but excursions into the interior of Guyana provided income to those who transported and those who hosted the hordes of visitors who paid handsomely for these excursions.

The energetic President, Mohammed Irfaan Ali, was the master mind behind Guyana hosting the final leg of the CPL and the cricket carnival. He attended all of the evening matches and sat among the crowd in the stands as opposed to occupying the comfort of the Presidential Suite. He socialised at venues in Georgetown, ensuring that all his citizens and visitors had per

sonal access to him. The way Guyana conducted itself during the two weeks of cricket begs the question now as to what was and is going through the minds of those who shun investment in the CPL.

The four countries that hosted CPL matches this year would have experi enced financial benefits from increased arrivals and their related econom ic activity. With side shows and other events put on privately (even by crick eters), the benefits would have exceed ed the norm. Guyana pivoted strate gically to capitalise on all the possible benefits of hosting a sporting event.

The West Indies missed this opportu nity in 2007 when it hosted the ICC World Cup. However, the approach tak en by Guyana can serve as a model for all future host countries.

The benefits of such investment are both tangible and intangible. Having spoken to the tangible, nation alism, patriotism, and even feelings of self-importance and self-worth are best brought out by war and sport. We are in a region where we do not believe in the former, but have not fully exploited the latter. Which politician would not want to be in the middle of a full sta dium where everyone is cheering and having a good time? Not only is there a good vibe, but there is enormous good will among all involved.

There is national exposure for those watching on television or witness ing events on the ground. The influx of a mix of people with diverse back grounds can only enhance the hosting country. For those players and visi tors from overseas, it sells the idea of returning for a prolonged holiday. For those involved in business, it provides an opportunity to introduce them to opportunities on the ground. Whereas only some of the intangible benefits are mentioned, many more remain uniden tified.

The opportunities around sport must be seized. The 10th edition of the CPL has provided a template for effec tive and efficient organisation for fu ture host countries. One hopes that all countries acknowledge the benefits that can be gained. It is not just about money made in sport, but money made around sport. (Trinidad Guardian) (Dr Akshai Mansingh is the Dean of the Faculty of Sport, UWI)

Ayia Napa Medieval Festival is celebrated with a series of events and activities aiming to explore and learn more about the medieval ages in Ayia Napa, Cyprus, from Oct. 8, 2022. The festival will last till Oct. 15. This George Christophorou/Xinhua photo shows participants perform during the parade on Saturday

NDP is a more realistic measure of economic growth for a country

Dear Editor,

It is customary for econ omists and statisticians to use several methods to track economic growth of a country and, the most wellknown and basic measure of economic output is of course GDP. However, with the passage of time, some economists have highlight ed limitations and biases in GDP calculation and it’s quite understandable that those who compute such figures are more suscepti ble to defend their quality and contend that alterna tive measures only margin ally alter the macro-picture of the economy.

Point in case; over the years numerous studies have proven otherwise to GDP as the main indica tor of economic growth. More so, criticisms of growth measures that cur rently predominate have to do with the almost en tire fixation on GDP as the key yardstick of econom ic growth, whereas great er emphasis should be giv en to NDP being a more realistic measurement. Of course, the most basic mea sure of economic output is GDP, which includes all ex penditures for investment.

However, that portion of business investment spending that is utilised to replace obsolete and ram shackle capital equipment – depreciation, whilst be ing necessary for maintain ing the level of output, it does not increase the econ omy’s capacities in the fi nal analysis. In fact, if GDP was to grow primarily as a result of more money being spent to maintain capital stock because of increased depreciation, then it could render a negative net effect on economic growth, (given that capital depreciation at times can be too prob lematic and, due to chang es in capital intensity and the need to write off capi

tal stock, GDP has become less useful due to the lack of real investments in the economy) where addition al resources are used to re place capital stocks, which are recorded in the nation al accounts, in such an eco nomic situation it does not imply that ordinary citi zens are better off as a re sult of higher GDP per se.

The applied technique is best geared to measure economic growth in Net National Product (NNP) which has a close correla tion with NDP. Of note, the difference between NDP and NNP is insignificant in a country with minor for eign ownership but rath er large in a country with high levels of foreign in vestments. However, this, of course, does not mean that GDP may not still be an applicable yardstick for certain purposes, such as measurement of the over all production, since depre ciation is part of the value added to economic output and more so, aggregate de mand is driven by gross in vestment, not a net invest ment.

Based on such analysis, NDP stands as a more re alistic measure of economic growth and for the nation al welfare of citizens. NDP is calculated by deducting capital depreciation from GDP, hereby placing NDP relevance and application for tracking the variables that are not usually asso ciated with “the new-styled economy” based on GDP and which, may not actual ly indicate the health of an economy, such as potential output and prospects for non-inflationary growth. Furthermore, NDP is con sidered a more appropriate measure of general welfare for the economy than GDP, since it captures the level of net income created by in ternal economic activities and is a precise measure of

sustainable growth.

In summary, for GDP to be an acceptable measure of economic growth, then capital depreciation should always be a share of GDP on a constant basis, which would cause GDP and NDP measures to coincide and supplement each other in tandem with their indepen dent growth output on the economy. However, in cas es under current econom ic conditions where the composition of investment is shifting towards short er-lived assets, such an economic environment will advance implications of placing greater emphasis on GDP, which would over shadow NDP resulting in overestimation as follows:

- The real rate of eco nomic growth for the coun try

- The level of increases in productivity

- The potential for in creasing wages & salaries without proper assessment of inflationary risks to the labour market and with commodity prices

- Business turnover & gross profits, hence creat ing artificial (illusions) in creases at the risk of inves tors in the money market.

Truly yours, Paul Ramrattan, CBMBA, MCBI, ICEA (Grad. Acct.)

An open letter to the so-called guardians of our oil wealth

Editor,

discourse today is an open letter to Glen Lall and all of his minions as it relates to oil deals with the Government of Guyana. So, let me start at the begin ning, are those who claim to be safeguarding Guyana's oil wealth aware of the fact that the deal struck some years ago was done by a legitimately elected Government?

Yes, the oil deal final ised between the then Government representative Raphael Trotman was le gitimately done and legal ly binding between oil gi ant Exxon Mobil and The Government of Guyana. This cannot now be dis regarded or glossed over. There can be no discussion on Guyana's oil deal with out taking this aspect of our history into account, this salient fact must be dealt with in any discussion.

This was a deal struck way before the no-confi dence vote of 2018 and as such was legally in force. This was not a bogus deal as some may want us to believe, or should I say a deal signed between BK International and Former Finance Minister Winston Jordan. Everything in the oil negotiations and subse quent signing was done in an atmosphere of legality between the Government and the oil magnate. So, the latest hue and cry of Glen Lall and his associates cry ing shame on the PPP/C Government about a lopsid ed oil deal is ill-advised and

misdirected.

If anyone is to be made accountable for the lopsided deal it is the PNC-led coali tion now in Opposition and no one else. This is the cabal that lied to the people and in turn squandered our na tion's sovereign wealth. So this foolishness where some fly-by-night experts and pseudo-experts are coming forward to hypocritically petition on our behalf, they should stop the crocodile tears and ask themselves what agenda they are re ally championing. Are they championing the Guyanese cause for a better oil deal, or are they on a political mile age campaign, or like I said, looking for a job?

I believe it is the latter, while some are definitely getting their newspapers sold, others are crying des perately to get a job here.

In either case, they need to think again. The new Black and Indian Christopher Columbuses of the day are exposing themselves rather than putting forward any thing of worth. Where were Glen Lall and oil experts when the coalition was in power? Were they in the fi nal stages of Alzheimer's Disease? And the answer

is, they were right here, in silent agreement with the PNC! These are the peo ple who let the people of Guyana down.

So, in closing, when peo ple go to the polls and vote a party into power, they are actually entrusting their future development in the hands of those individuals that form the Government.

You are asking them to sa credly manage our resourc es so that our lives can be improved, not only for us but for our children also.

The people of this great country saw the need and this caused them to vote the PPP/C into Government.

The people are quite satis fied with that party man aging our affairs, so we have placed our country in their safe hands. The PPP/C as a caring and de voted Government has in these last two years demon strated that they have the ability and wherewithal to govern fairly and equita bly. They have a cadre of men and women who can take this country to greater heights of development and prosperity.

Respectfully, Neil Adams

Page Foundation

Polygons cont’d

Two

polygons are congruent if their shapes and sizes are the same.

The sides and the angles in one polygon must exactly match the si des and the angles in the other. Congruent polygons do not have to face in the same direction. The best way to find out if two polygons are congruent is to measure the sides and the angles in both.

By The BroThers Grimm

Exercises: Identify the congruent polygons

Only a few will be affected by gas-toshore pipeline route – Min Bharrat

The Government of Guyana has over the past few weeks been engaging with residents who will potentially be af fected by the gas-to-shore pipeline route and accord ing to Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat, only a few persons will be inconvenienced by the route.

In a recent interview, Bharrat explained that when it comes to the ac quisition of land, they are avoiding residential land and are mostly focused on farmlands. According to him, he along with Attorney General Anil Nandlall, Housing Minister Collin Croal and Public Works Minister Juan Edghill have been meeting the farmers.

“The Attorney General is leading the process in terms of acquisition of land. Myself, Minister Croal and

Minister Edghill would have met with residents from the Crane area all the way down to the Wales area. We had two meetings. Saturday (last week) was the second meeting with the second set of residents, where we outlined the ben efits of the project.”

“We had the map of the pipeline route, we know the amount of land that is required, from each land owner and as you would re alise, we tried to avoid pri vate lands as best as possi ble. That is why we realise now that it is only a few persons are affected. And we also try, as best as pos sible, not to affect persons’ personal dwelling homes or pass the pipeline into a residential area. That has been avoided.”

According to Bharrat, the Government’s team of lawyers continue to engage

with the farmers and resi dents, to ensure that a mu tually beneficial agreement for acquisition is arrived at. He noted that while no residents’ dwelling will be affected, they would have met approximately 50 farmers so far who could be affected. Bharrat further explained that it is not the total land that will be af fected, but rather, sections.

“As we speak, we’re still working with those land owners to ensure we come to a process that is mutu ally agreed upon, by both Government and the land owners. That is the inten tion of Government, to en sure we do it through a consultative process and it is a mutual agreement between land owners and Government, at the end of the day.”

“The pipeline is just 12 inches. We’re just ensur

ing that we have enough space for the pipeline and the buffer zone. So, it’s not acquiring total land on the farms,” the Minister went on to explain.

The path that has to be cleared for the pipelines is in the vicinity of Nouvelle Flanders, West Coast Demerara, to Wales, West Bank Demerara (WBD). Already, Government has met with the West Coast landowners, and a team of lawyers was put together to negotiate with each prop erty owner or their legal representative to reach an agreement.

The gas-to-shore proj ect, which is pegged at more than US$1 billion, will feature approximate ly 220 kilometres of a sub sea pipeline offshore from the Liza Destiny and Liza

Unity Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels in the Stabroek Block to onshore.

Upon landing on the WCD shore, the pipeline will continue for approxi mately 25 kilometres to the Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) plant to be constructed at Wales. The pipeline will be 12 inches in diameter and is expected to trans port some 50 million stan dard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of dry gas to the NGL Plant, but has the ca pacity to push as much 120 mmscfd.

The main feature of the gas-to-shore initiative is a power plant that will gen erate 250 to 300 mega watts of power using nat ural gas from offshore, which will significantly re duce the cost of electricity

in Guyana. The aim is to deliver rich gas by the end of 2024 for the power plant while the NGL facility is slated to be online by 2025.

The gas-to-shore proj ect, which has a 25-year lifespan, is expected to employ up to 800 workers during the peak construc tion stage, as well as some 40 full-time workers during the operations stage, and another 50 workers during the decommissioning stage.

Currently, Guyana, Suriname, and Brazil are in talks on the establish ment of an energy corridor and unlocking the potential for a series of manufactur ing and industrial devel opments. Other Caribbean nations, such as Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados, are also looking to tap into this initiative.

AG Anil Nandlall, SC, and Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat along with other officials during a recent engagement with WBD residents who will be affected by the gas-to-shore project

parking meter project

Arbitrators still to be selected in $100M lawsuit filed against Govt

Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU/AFC) Government in 2016 for the installation of parking meters in the capital city.

While arbitration pro ceedings are ongo ing in the US$100 million lawsuit filed against Guyana by internation al company, Smart City Solutions (SCS) over the ter minated parking meter proj ect, lawyers for both sides are yet to agree on who will sit on the arbitration panel.

This was according to Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall during a recent in terview with uyana Times

“The arbitration process is ongoing. There are proce dural matters that are being attended to by the lawyers for both sides...including finding agreement on the personnel who will sit on the arbitra tion panel. The parties have to comply with a number of procedural steps.”

The Mayor and City Council (M&CC) of Georgetown had entered into a contract with the Mexican company under the previous A Partnership for National

With the M&CC, un der the then mayorship of Patricia Chase-Green and then Town Clerk Royston King, failing to implement the project, SCS is suing the Government through the Washington, DC-based International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)—an ar bitration institution estab lished by the World Bank Group to address legal dis pute resolution and concili ation between international investors and States.

At a previous sitting of the National Assembly, the Attorney General had re quested GY$100 million in supplementary funds for the Legal Affairs Ministry. Of the entire sum approved by the House, $3 million, Nandlall said, will be made as a depos it towards legal fees for law yers representing Guyana.

The law firm represent ing Guyana in the US$100 million lawsuit, Foley Hoag and Associates, “is of very high international standing”, Nandlall has said and is lo cated in Washington, DC. Foley Hoag and Associates, he pointed out, “has a repu tational record before tribu nals of that type that would be comparable with any oth er law firm in any part of the world”.

This law firm is also leading Guyana’s legal

team in the border dispute case with Venezuela at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Netherlands.

During his weekly pro gramme—Issues in the News—Nandlall had ex plained that the record and other evidential material re lating to the claim show that the circumstances and the conduct governing the ex ecution of the parking me ter project contract by mem bers of the M&CC can attract criminal liability.

“The requisite procedures laid down in the law under the Mayor and City Council Act and regulations and by laws were clearly not com plied with. A few persons, in my humble view, commit ted fraud upon the Council by entering into this trans action without the requisite endorsements as mandat ed by law… The Criminal Investigation Department is being activated and a crimi nal investigation will now be

launched into that matter,” he had said.

The parking meters were active in January 2017, but this was met with strong re sistance from the then PPP/C Opposition, private sector bodies, and ordinary citizens, who formed an organisation called Movement Against Parking Meters (MAPM) –which went on to hold some of the largest non-political protests ever seen in the city.

Amid public pres sure, the then APNU/AFC Government finally inter vened and suspended the by laws which paved the way for the implementation of me tered parking, thus effective ly halting the parking meter project. The project has since remained stalled.

Meanwhile, in January 2018, a ‘Parking Meter Renegotiation Committee’ at City Hall proposed a reduc tion in the parking fee from $500 per hour to $150 per hour.

Three months later, the then City Council approved amendments to the bylaws and had even appeared be fore the then APNU/AFC co alition Cabinet to discuss the changes to the contract, but the then Government never gave the green light for the project to recommence.

However, a new City Council was elected later that year, and current Mayor Ubraj Narine had told this publication back in April 2019 that he was in no rush to reintroduce the initiative.

Although the contract had already been renegoti ated, the Mayor also indicat ed that he would still need to further renegotiate with the investors before moving to re introduce the project.

Nandlall has maintained that the parking meter proj ect was entered into by the previous Government due to its incompetence and corrupt practises. He has promised that as long as he is Attorney General, he will ensure that Guyana receives the best le gal representation at every forum because citizens “de serve no less”.

Given the serious nature of the lawsuit, the Attorney General has made it clear that the Government will not leave the incompetent Georgetown M&CC to handle the case, because should SCS win, the company can levy on the historic City Hall.

Swinging…

…moods

Your Eyewitness must confess he’s challenged getting off the mood induced by Calypso Cricket and Cricket Carnival to segue into the religious festivals of Youman Nabi (Muslim) and Diwali (Hindu). Is he suffering from what they call “mood swings”?? The first two festivals invoked in his mind the Bacchanalian revelries of ancient Greece - where it was all about having good old orgies with “wine, women and song”!! But THAT was also “religious”, since the activities were dedicated to Bacchus, the Greek God of wine!!

Now, your Eyewitness used to think he liked a “sport” as much as the next man…but now he’s not so sure!! Back when he was a boy, his father would take him to the “ball” games that he looked forward to all year long. Not only for the cricket, but the whole ambiance of Bourda Cricket Ground. His mother would have woken up early to prepare snacks like “aloo balls” and the obligatory “sour”, fried rice and chowmein, roti and chicken curry!! And the males of the family would be off at the break of dawn!!

No, Dear reader, cricket wasn’t scheduled that early back then!! But prudence dictated getting there hours ahead since diehard fans from Berbice and outlying areas would’ve camped out overnight at Merriman’s Mall and would be lining up before dayclean!! Once in, his father would soon be surrounded by complete strangers who soon became as thick as thieves, as they partook of the “spirits” they’d added to their wives’ provisions!! Even before the first ball was bowled, the crowd would be in high spirits!! So, there’s really no objection from him about imbibing rum at the cricket ground! That’s even more West Indian than fast bowling – which only became our speciality after Clive Lloyd’s team took a hiding in Australia from Lillee and Thommo back in 1976-77. Not to mention the racist taunts.

What your Eyewitness is trying to figure out is this. With the connection now firmly made between cricket and those skimpily-clad young ladies gyrating throughout the matches, how long before female fans take the organisers to court to insist it’s discriminatory not to have just-as-skimpily-clad males gyrating?!! And the Cricket Carnival?? Your Eyewitness has already made his position that we oughtn’t to be cogging from those Trinis – up to their name, “Carnival”!! At least the Bajans called their jump-up “Crop Over” and the Bahamians “Junkanoo”!!

The thing is, when you copy, folks have a standard to measure you against – as opposed to when you’re original, you SET the standard!! So, as your Eyewitness wrenches his thoughts into a (more refined) plane, he simply asks the Cricket Carnival organisers this.

Work with our local creative artistes to produce something GUYANESE!!

…war reports

It’s been said that “the first casualty of war is the truth.” The corollary, of course, is that “the first weapon of war are lies”!! So what are we to make of what we’re being TOLD by both sides about the war going on in Ukraine since February?? First came the Russian Blitzkrieg that overran the friendly Donbas region abutting its western borders. That was undisputed even though the lies came fast and furious about the reasons for the Russian invasion!!

Then were claims and counter claims about “atrocities” and “mass burials” etc. These were inevitable under the circumstances – from both sides!! Now we’re in the midst of the Ukrainian counterattack where claims are being made about a Russian retreat. Has the Red Army gotten that soft?? Well, that Putin had to resort to threatening a nuclear strike has to confirm desperation about his troops’ capabilities!! That’s always a last option and not exercised willy nilly!!

Continue picking truth from lies!!

…in the new Cold War??

After a two-year COVID hiatus, the Chinese have confirmed they’ll DONATE a new stadium to Barbados. When it was originally proposed, the Brits had accused China of practising "debt diplomacy" by demanding Barbados dump the British Monarch as head.

Quid pro quo achieved??

Attorney

Anil

A parking meter on Regent Street, Georgetown

Pres Ali lauds Silvie’s for being “grounded in people” at 50th anniversary celebrations

their connection with ordi nary people. And up to today, the simplicity with which Bramanand continued this tradition must be celebrat ed, understood, and respect ed. And I want to say it is this type of humility and simplic ity, dedicated and commit ment that allows the com pany to celebrate 50 years today and will also ensure that you face the next [50 years] and beyond with the same strength of character, the same value system and same system of community,” he contended.

President

Dr Irfaan Ali has lauded Silvie’s Industrial Solutions for being a business that has been “grounded in people” over the past 50 years.

He made this remark at the company’s 50th anniver sary celebrations at Lusignan, East Coast Demerara (ECD), on Saturday evening.

The Head of State con gratulated the founders of the company – Rajendra Persaud and his wife Prampattie “Silvie” Persaud – and the current Chief Executive Officer, Bramanand Persaud, for this “tremendous achieve ment”.

According to the President, building and sustaining a business for 50 years is not an easy task especially in the changing global environment. He noted, more important ly, building and sustaining a business that is very compet itive within a family frame work also add to the complex ities.

“In 50 years, I’m sure this family can tell you all the les

sons from local market chal lenges, challenges in the taxa tion system, challenges in the global environment, supply chain challenges, changing their product portfolio to meet market needs, and the chang ing market requirements, but more importantly, ensuring that they build a business that was grounded in people. And I think that is one of the advantages of Silvie’s – the company itself is a household name. People would’ve grown to trust the company, trust their product, trust their style of management because they were able to create a direct relationship with you,” the Head of State posited.

President Ali recalled growing up with the Persaud family, being a schoolmate and close friend of the cur rent Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He related that he was welcomed by the family, who, despite being upper-class, never made him felt any dif ferent from them.

“They never lost their grounding, their identity,

Guyana’s leader further highlighted that outside of his significant contributions to the local private sector, Rajendra Persaud also played a major role in the Local Government system. He con tributed significantly and was heavily involved in the development of the commu nity and the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC).

President Ali outlined that it is with these traits of com mitment and drive that a me dium-sized enterprise such as Silvie’s stood the test of time, withstood the storm, and pen etrated markets to remain a vibrant leader in the sector.

He recalled that Silvie’s was the only company that offered credit to farmers and other operators who need ed very basic machinery and equipment to carry out their trades.

“They provided service and credit to all sectors of peo ple when it was not available anywhere else… As a country and as a people, we have a re sponsibility to celebrate with the company, this tremen dous achievement,” he assert ed,

Moreover, the Guyanese

leader further recognised ef forts by the company to ex pand its market to the Caribbean Region. He com mended Silvie’s for participat ing in the trade show at the Barbados ‘AgroFest’ back in Maybe.

“This was particularly a very pleasing moment to see that this company, that is family-oriented and commu nity-oriented now thinking strategically of positioning themselves in the Region, that is, the Caricom (Caribbean Community) Region, and be ing part of the development of Caricom and being a support of the food security drive.

Under the banner Silvie’s Variety Store, the company traded as a pharmacy, sports store, and stationery centre at Lot 31 High and Hadfield Streets, Georgetown, location. Though successful, the latter three ventures were eventu ally closed down as Silvie’s decided to focus its invest ment in the area of gold min ing, which was booming at the time.

In a significant rebrand, Silvie’s has since renamed its first location Silvie’s Automotive Solutions, and its second location, Silvie’s Industrial Solutions.

Together, the two branch es offer a wide array of ser vices across many markets such as construction, agri culture, vulcanising, mining, wash bays, food processing, and of course, it’s the flagship, automotive sector.

Now, Silvie’s is looking to expand its reach with a new branch at Henrietta, Essequibo Coast, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), which is expected to be opened later this year. Additionally, the company will be constructing a mega store on a four-acre lot at Good Hope, ECD, and ac cording to CEO Bramanand, this is slated for next year.

The CEO said at the an niversary celebration on Saturday that its team of some 40 employees has played a major role in the company’s success. He noted that Silvie’s has prided itself in pouring a

lot of training into its team and encouraged staff to con tinue their growth process.

Bramanand went on to outline that Silvie’s has aligned itself over the years with many other companies that played a major role in Guyana’s economy without thinking about them as poten tial competitor.

“We do not believe in that. We believe in an abundant mindset. We believe that there is enough to go around for ev eryone… Customers would buy from us and sell back our products across the country. It is something that we want to see happening more in our country because we believe that there is enough to go around for everyone and more businesses that open within this country is more employ ment and better for this coun try,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, Silvie’s Industrial Solutions was also praised by Georgetown Mayor Ubraj Narine, for setting an example as a law-abiding company in the city.

President Dr Irfaan Ali with his son Zayd

President Dr Irfaan Ali and his son Zayd joined the Persaud family to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Silvie’s Industrial Solutions on Saturday evening at Lusignan

Guyanese students cop several coveted awards at Hugh Wooding Law School

Guyanese students copped several cov eted awards when the Hugh Wooding Law School (HWLS) held its an nual graduation and award ceremony for its Class of 2022 on Saturday in Trinidad and Tobago.

The event marked their completion of the Council of Legal Education’s (CLE) two-year Legal Education Certificate (LEC) pro gramme - a prerequisite to practice law in Guyana and other Commonwealth Caribbean countries.

Shawn Shewram of the Hughes, Fields and Stoby Law Firm copped the Government of Guyana Prize for Best Performance by a student of Guyana.

For his outstand ing performance, he also walked away with four other awards: The Book Specialists Prize - Second Outstanding Year Two Student; The Cameron & Shepherd Prize - Best Performance in Civil Procedure & Practice I and Civil Procedure & Practice II by a Guyanese; The H Aubrey Fraser Memorial Prize - Best Performance in Ethics, Rights & Obligations of the Legal Profession and The Course Director’s Prize in Probate Practice & Procedure - Best Performance in Probate

Practice & Procedure.

Shewram was the University of Guyana (UG) Law Department’s best graduating student in 2020, having completed his Bachelor of Laws with dis tinction.

The former St Rose’s High School student was the country’s 2017 top per former at the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE).

This young man was the first recipient of the

Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)/Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) Business Studies Award. He also placed 10th na tionally at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) in 2015.

Meanwhile, Reon Miller, the Creative Director of PanJazz Concerts, took away The Miles Greeves Fitzpatrick, SC, Prize for being the best performing graduating Guyanese stu

dent in Legal Aid.

Joshanna Hopkinson, on the other hand, was rec ognised as the most out standing Year One HWLS student and the best per forming student in Evidence and Forensic Medicine.

For her efforts, she received The Peterson, Lambert-Peterson and Co Prize and The Justice Anthony and Justice Gillian Lucky Prize for Evidence & Forensic Medicine and The Council of Legal Education Prize and The Book Specialists Prize for Most Outstanding Year One Student.

Meanwhile, Akeeta Kingston was awarded The Book Specialist Prize for the academic year 2021/2022. This coveted prize is award ed to the second-best out standing Year One stu dent of Hugh Wooding Law School.

Copping The London House Chambers Prize and The SM Shah Memorial Prize for the academic year 2021/2022 was Dhuchanik Peters.

These highly desired prizes are awarded to the best performing student of

the Hugh Wooding Law School in the Legal Drafting & Interpretation Course.

Special Dazzell copped The Oswald J Wilson Memorial Prize for the ac ademic year 2021/2022. This award is given to the best performing student in the Landlord and Tenant Course.

The above-mentioned persons were part of 2022 HWLS Guyanese class which consisted of over 30 students, including four se nior Police officers.

The four officers are Deputy Commissioner of Police, 'Administration’, Calvin Brutus; Deputy Commissioner Law Enforcement, Wendell Blanhum; Assistant Superintendent Delon Fraser; and Assistant Superintendent Domnick Bess.

These recent law school graduates will be formal ly admitted to the Guyana Bar once their admission petitions are presented be fore, and accepted by a High Court Judge.

The CLE was created in 1971 to provide training in the Region rather than in

Britain to persons wishing to practice as lawyers in the Region.

It operates three law schools in the Region: The Norman Manley Law School in Jamaica, the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad – both estab lished in 1973 – and the Eugene Dupuch Law School in The Bahamas, which was established in 1998. (Fiona

Deputy Commissioner, Administration, Calvin Brutus (right); Deputy Commissioner, Law Enforcement, Wendell Blanhum (left); Assistant Superintendent Delon Fraser (second from left) and Assistant Superintendent Domnick Bess at their graduation ceremony

Shawn Shewram, the best graduating Guyanese student at the HWLS

Reon Miller

Dhuchanik Peters

Special Dazzell

Early Sunday morning fire destroys home of Reg 6 REO

who was at the time at his private residence in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica).

Early responders ex plained that after the fire men took a long time to arrive at the scene, they organised themselves and went into action.

They were forced to break the window of a vehi cle that was on the property and push it out of the yard.

An early morning fire of unknown origin on Sunday completely gutted the home of Region Six Regional Executive Officer (REO) Navindra Persaud.

The wooden structure,

Station in New Amsterdam and as such, contacted ex ternal authorities who used their internal communica tion system to get on to the local Fire Department.

The guard who was on duty at the time of the fire

Persaud, who arrived on the scene after the fire was extinguished, explained that despite the build ing being owned by the Government, he has suf fered enormous losses.

The REO told Guyana Times that he left home at about 9:30h on Saturday to travel to his personal home to spend some time. However, he received a tele

Government building but everything that was inside was owned by me including the stove, music set… The only thing they had was a sofa but every other thing was mine. I brought all my things from Georgetown,” the REO noted.

He said it was too early for him to estimate his los es.

“I can tell you that it is a lot because all my children have computers, laptops and other gadgets; they have quite a lot of gadgets, I can’t put a price on it and my wife’s jewellery.”

Persaud recalled that about two weeks ago, he was experiencing a volt age fluctuation and imme diately made a complaint to Guyana Power and Light (GPL). The team along with

the electricians from the RDC rectified the issue.

“They came and tight ened some stuff but I am not too certain if that could have triggered anything,” he said.

located at Strand and King Streets, New Amsterdam, is owned by the Regional Democratic Council and was occupied by the REO and family.

Reports are that the fire started in one of the bed rooms and engulfed the en tire building. At the time of the inferno, no one was at home. Police Commander Shivpersaud Bacchus, who lives next door, recalled see ing smoke emanating from the building and immedi ately raising an alarm.

Initially, he had difficul ties getting on to the Fire

stated that he did not know the emergency number for the Fire Department and as such, he contacted the REO,

phone call from the securi ty officer on Sunday inform ing him that the house was on fire.

“The building is a

Meanwhile, Region Six

Chairman David Armogan told this publication that he received reports of the fire and was informed that the firefighters took quite some time to arrive at the scene.

The car that was pushed out of the yard by early responders

Firefighters containing the blaze

Fire tenders at the scene on Sunday morning

The house after the fire was extinguished

Region Six REO Navindra Persaud

Divisional Fire Officer Clive McDonald

Govt seeking contractors to upgrade 72.43km Linden-Soesdyke Highway

Guyana moving to green, sustainable development in postal sector – PM

– as Providence Post Office commissioned

The Government, through the Public Works Ministry, is looking to pre-qualify con tractors and/or firms for the reconstruction of the Linden-Soesdyke Highway.

In an advertisement on Friday, the Ministry stat ed that the Government of Guyana has applied for fi nancing from the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) toward the cost of the proj ect and intends to apply part of the proceeds of this financing to payments un der the contract for the re construction of the LindenSoesdyke Highway.

The Ministry’s work services group (WSG) will be prequalifying contrac tors for the upgrading of the existing 72.43km twolane, single-carriageway, and rural arterial highway.

The scope of work en

tails milling of existing as phalt surface course, appli cation of varying pavement structures above the milled sections of pavement in clusive of asphalt, sand asphalt, and sub-base; full-depth pavement re construction in certain sec tions, construction of two roundabouts along the alignment, sidewalks ex tension to nine multi-span bridges, drainage work, and utility relocation, and installation of roadway lighting.

The tender document stated that prequalification will be conducted through prequalification procedures specified in the Islamic Development Bank’s guide lines for Procurement of Goods, Works, and Related Services, and is open to all bidders from eligible source countries, as defined in the

guidelines.

Interested eligible ap plicants may obtain fur ther information from and inspect the prequalification document at the Ministry’s Kingston, Georgetown of fice. A complete set of the prequalification document may be uplifted by inter ested applicants on the submission of a written ap plication or email.

Applications for pre qualification should be submitted in sealed enve lopes and delivered to the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board, Ministry of Finance, by November 23, 2022.

Earlier this year, a team from the IsDB visit ed Guyana on an appraisal mission for a US$120 mil lion loan request, paving the way for the upgrading of the major thoroughfare.

The

PPP/C Government is taking steps in the transition to a green and sustainable postal sector which includes the develop ment of a roadmap to build a sustainable future and foster social advancement and hu man well-being.

These were the senti ments of Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips on Friday at the of ficial commissioning of the Providence Post Office.

The occasion marked the 148th anniversary of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) and aimed to bring awareness to the postal ser vice’s role in the everyday lives of people and business es, as well as its contribution to global economic growth and development.

In a release to the me dia, the PM at the opening stated, “We live in a digi tal world, where technology dominates our lives. These technologies no doubt creat ed a greater preference for digital communication. As such, much like many tradi tional media, the post is re quired to build on innovative ideas to transform its opera tions”.

More so, he noted as the world faces a climate crisis,

these conditions call for a re flection on how operations are carried out in every area, including the postal sector.

“And so, with the theme ‘Post for Planet’, this year’s World Post Day observance calls for immediate consid eration of the adjustments that can be made. The post is uniquely positioned to as sist in the fight against cli mate change. To achieve this, there must be meaning ful partnerships between all stakeholders committed to building a sustainable green economy.”

Globally, postal operators have committed to halving their collective carbon emis sions by 2030, and citizens are demanding green prod ucts that are sustainably de veloped.

Some key areas of focus are green buildings, clean transportation, and reduced usage of water, fuel, and waste to achieve carbon neu trality.

The Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC) has demonstrated its commit ment to this initiative by investing in solar panels to be placed at the head of fice. This will be continued throughout the network of post offices across Guyana

to reduce their carbon foot print, and thereby mitigate the effects of climate change.

“Such small measures implemented over time will result in the changes nec essary for a sustainable green economy, and the Government stands ready and willing to support the GPOC in its measures,” the statement said.

The Providence Post Office was officially com missioned on October 7, on the occasion of World Postal Day. It will serve residents of Providence, as well as the surrounding communities.

Early Sunday morning fire...

“But I am not so sure that they would have been able to save anything be cause the house was en gulfed so quickly that would have made it diffi cult. I am really sorry that the REO would have lost a lot of his personal posses sion.”

Armogan said the REO would have used the long weekend to visit his private home and see his mother.

Divisional Fire Officer Clive McDonald said the call was received at 7:45h

at the operations room of the New Amsterdam Fire Service and within a few minutes two units were dispatched to the area.

He said when the fire fighters arrived the entire building was engulfed in flames.

“We immediately went into action to stop and sup press the spread of the fire.

Subsequently, another ve hicle was dispatched, that is the bowser that carries 3000 over gallons of wa ter, and firefighting activi

ty commenced.”

McDonald said initial investigations indicate that the fire was initial ly seen sometime between 7:20 -7:30h but the Fire Department received the call at 7:45h.

A probe has been launched into the origin of the fire. Meanwhile, the REO said alternative living arrangements will be made since he does not want his children to miss school.

(Andrew Carmichael)

The newly-commissioned Providence Post Office

Prime Minister Mark Phillips at the official commissioning ceremony

Scenes from the Guyana Police Force’s Gymkhana 2022 at the Bartica Community Centre Ground on Sunday

World

Caribbean youth body calls on regional policymakers to transform mental health systems

“There is no health without men tal health,” the Director General of the World Health Organisation said in the foreword to the 2022 World Mental Health report.

As countries around the world continue to relax COVID restrictions in an attempt to return to “nor malcy”, the lingering im pacts of the pandemic on mental health cannot be ig nored or reversed.

The COVID-19 pandem ic exacerbated an already underserved yet critical as pect of health and well-be ing, and children and young people were particularly af fected.

A rapid assessment of

adolescents and young peo ple in Latin America and the Caribbean revealed that 27 per cent report ed experiencing depression and 15 per cent experienc ing anxiety, over the course of the pandemic.

As persistent advocates for children and youth, the Healthy Caribbean Coalition’s (HCC) youth arm - Healthy Caribbean Youth - with support from regional youth organisa tions and allies, have de veloped the Caribbean Youth Mental Health Call to Action (CYMHCTA), un der the slogan, “There is no health without mental health,” to mobilise region al policymakers into prior itising the mental health

and well-being of this key demographic.

The CYMHCTA is offi cially being launched today - World Mental Health Day - and represents a culmina

TikToker facing drug trafficking charge further remanded ...as trial ongoing before City Magistrate

tion of months of collabora tive effort among regional youth and youth organisa tions.

The CYMHCTA em phasises four key calls in cluding Leadership - to prioritise the integration of mental health into ex isting health policies and emergency plans and en sure youth are meaning fully engaged in policy de velopment; Research - to inform mental health pro gramming and policies; Regulations/Policies - to protect children and youth from health-harming prod ucts, harassment, stigma and discrimination and Services - to support the mental health and well-be ing of children and youth.

The Call to Action was informed by near ly 50 consultations with youth, youth organisa tions and youth allies across the Caribbean in cluding the Pan American Health Organisation, and

as such, is a plea by youth, for youth to get the mental health support and resourc es they need and deserve. Fulfilment of the calls is well within countries’ man dates, as States have bind ing obligations, pursuant to their ratification of interna tional treaties, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), to respect, protect and fulfil children's health rights, in cluding their mental health and emotional wellbeing.

Youth Technical Advisor from the Healthy Caribbean Coalition, Pierre Cooke Jr called for action to protect young people’s men tal health. “We want this message to reach as far as the Prime Ministers of our countries in the Caribbean so that we can get policies implemented to protect our young people. More and more, we are seeing a gap in care for young people across the Region. This is why we are calling for lead ership, we are calling for improved research, we’re calling for all the things to ensure that mental health is protected as much as physical health.”

Now more than ever, the mental health of our Region’s young people needs to be a priority. We should not wait for the next pandemic or climate crisis.

Counselling Psychologist and Healthy Caribbean Youth member

Twenty-three-year-old

Lisa Ramnarine, who attempted to smuggle a quantity of cocaine through a DHL office was again re manded to prison as her tri al is ongoing before Senior Magistrate Leron Daly at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

Ramnarine, a popular TikToker of Hague, West Coast Demerara (WCD), has pleaded not guilty to the charge which alleged that on June 7 at DHL’s Fifth Street, Alberttown, Georgetown of fice, she had 540 grams of cocaine in her possession for the purpose of trafficking.

Her trial continues on October 20. Ranks of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) arrested the young woman who attempted to ship the cocaine hidden in a Havan Kund.

Reports are that CANU officers, acting on informa tion received, went to the DHL Headquarters and in tercepted a parcel containing a Hindu Havan Kund and other religious items.

“The officers examined the items and discovered a hidden compartment with

in the Kund, which was sus pected to contain narcotics. Further examinations deter mined that a substance sus pected to be cocaine was con cealed within the religious item,” CANU said.

It was reported that the sender’s information was re trieved from the package, and this led CANU ranks to Ramnarine, who was arrest ed and escorted to CANU Headquarters, where the item was dismantled in her presence and the illegal drug was revealed.

CANU had said the co caine had a street value of between US$2500 and US$2700 but would have been worth more had it reached its intended destina tion.

In a separate case, in February 2021, one person was arrested after CANU ranks had unearthed 294 grams of cocaine concealed in a box at the DHL Alberttown, Georgetown location.

Acting on information re ceived, the ranks conduct ed a search at the shipping business, during which they discovered a multi-coloured floral box.

Upon checking the box,

the cocaine was found in a false wall at the bottom.

During that same month, a Christianburg, Linden cou ple was arrested for attempt ing to ship cocaine concealed in fudge via DHL.

Shaka Nunes, a 36-yearold labourer, had pleaded guilty to a narcotic traffick ing charge and had received a four-year sentence along with a fine of $1.7 million.

As such, the charge against his wife was subse quently withdrawn. It was reported that on February 15, 2021, Nunes had given his wife a box filled with sev eral snacks and asked her to ship it to the United States of America (USA).

The DHL Georgetown branch summoned CANU about the suspicious pack age that had arrived from its Linden branch. This result ed in an inspection, and the field test conducted on the contents of the box revealed that the fudge contained 3.692 kilograms of cocaine.

As a result, CANU ranks visited the mailing address in Linden, where they met Nunes’s wife, who told them that her husband had given her the package to post.

from Antigua and Barbuda Alaina Gomes shared this sentiment and called for collaborative action.

“If mental health prac titioners and advocates get support from the Government and other or ganisations to see the ne cessity for the implemen tation of these policies, the introduction of research and essentially what the call is suggesting, we can and will find the resources to do it. We all just need to work together.”

We must learn from COVID-19 and initiate whole-of-Government, whole-of-society action to ensure that young people’s mental health is promoted and protected, that support and services are available and accessible to them, and that they themselves are meaningfully engaged in this movement.

“It is imperative, as we build back better from COVID-19 and that we do not let mental health slip through the cracks. From Healthy Caribbean Youth’s perspective, it is import ant that we act urgently, guided by evidence-based and youth-informed solu tions. The Caribbean Youth Mental Health Call to Action can serve as this guide.”

The theme of 2022's World Mental Health Day, set by the World Federation for Mental Health, is “Make Mental Health and Well-being for all a Global Priority”.

Corentyne boat owner hospitalised after bee attack

ACorentyne, Berbice boat owner is now hospitalised follow ing a bee attack in his yard on Saturday.

Injured is 47-year-old Harrynarine Ramdas, also called "Eno", of Corriverton, Corentyne, Berbice.

Based on reports re ceived, on the day in ques tion at about 14:30h, Ramdas had gone to urinate at the back of his yard when he was attacked by a swarm of bees. At the time, he was shirtless.

"After me done tek a leak, dem bee them start come from the sawmill over. And me na bin get on shirt and a whole sixty-some thing ah dem bite me from me head to me belly," Ramdas said in his native Corentyne dialect.

According to Ramdas, at the time of the attack, his nephew was some dis

tance away but he was not attacked.

After the attack, Ramdas was rushed to the Skeldon Hospital where he was treated and admitted. His condition is listed as stable.

According to the boat owner, there is a sawmill next to his house with sev eral derelict vehicles in the compound and he believes the bees inhabit them.

"Me scared bad, me can't

even trust fuh go at the back yard. And right now me get lil kids," he added.

Back in June, 71-yearold Winston Rigby of No 41 Village, West Coast Berbice (WCB), was killed after he and several others were at tacked by bees.

The incident, which oc curred at Onverwagt, WCB, left the victim’s broth ers, Kenneth Rigby of El Dorado Village, WCB, and 44-year-old William Rigby of Onderneeming, injured.

In addition, Basil Ramesh Davie of Bush Lot, Kenneth Hero of No 28 Village, Leon Bobb of Belladrum, WCB, Glenroy Fraser of No 22, Bel Air; and Charles Cadogan of Bel Air, WCB, were injured.

It was reported that the men were attacked while making their way out to the public road from the Onverwagt seashore.

Lisa Ramnarine and the religious pieces in which the cocaine was found

Injured: Harrynarine Ramdas

Delon Simpson’s aquaculture pitch earns him $1M in AmCham Shark Tank competition

Local entrepreneur

Delon Simpson of KUKKI Aquaculture has won $1 million to bol ster an innovative solu tion towards sustainable aquaculture in Guyana in the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) Guyana Business Pitch Competition.

On Wednesday last, AmCham Guyana in collabo ration with the US Embassy in Georgetown, hosted the final round of its Business Pitch Competition. Ten as piring entrepreneurs took the stage at the competition's grand finale to present their business pitch in the quest to win the prize money along with access to leadership coaching, networking oppor tunities, and a bevy of devel opmental resources.

The top ten contestants were selected through multi ple stages of interviews and evaluations from over 60 ap plications drawn from vari ous regions across Guyana. Their ventures represented a diverse range of industries, including agriculture, renew able energy, technology, and culinary.

While the competition was fierce, making it tough for the judges to narrow the field down to the top three contes tants, in the end, Simpson

of KUKKI Aquaculture was named the first-place win ner, followed by Sean Griffith of CTXOG Designs in second place, and Jamal Farley of InfinityPower FDAP in the third spot.

The second and third fi nalists also received cash prizes. However, all 10 final ists will receive a one-year membership to AmCham.

This Shark Tank event provided a platform for lo cal entrepreneurs to present their idea, product, or service to a panel of esteemed judges for investment consideration.

The panel of judges com

prised five of Guyana's most talented business execu tives, including Christopher Chapwanya – Chief Executive Officer of Sagacity; Clinton Urling – Owner of German’s Restaurant; Jennifer Prashad – Finance Director of C&V Caribbean Shipping Limited; Anand Beharry – Director of Edward B Beharry and Company Limited, and Brian Hall – Political and Economic Chief at the US Embassy in Georgetown.

The competition was or ganised with the aim of re inforcing AmCham Guyana and the US Embassy’s com

HIC challenged with no support from citizens – DCP

mitment to helping innova tive youth increase their com petitiveness and turn their ideas into commercial prod ucts and/or services.

Speaking at the finals, US Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch told all 10 finalists that they are all win ners since they not only ben efit from thoughtful advice from well-experienced and knowledgeable judges but

also from the mentoring and networking opportunities through the competition.

“Initiatives like this event serve as a platform to raise awareness of your business es and lay the bedrock foun dations for future innovation and development. Guyana is poised for tremendous growth, and we are counting on you to implement the ad vice from the judges to create flourishing businesses that support Guyana’s growth. The United States prioritises business development as an essential part of supporting a country’s path to economic di versification and sustainable development,” she posited.

The US diplomat outlined that pitch competitions like the one hosted by AmCham aim to foster a culture of in novation in business and fur ther strengthen the capaci ty of young entrepreneurs. It also reinforced the Embassy’s commitment to helping inno vative youth increase their competitiveness and turn their ideas into commercial products and services, she noted.

“This level of support for local entrepreneurs clearly

illustrates the importance of the private sector’s involve ment in Guyana’s transfor mation. The United States supports youth, women, and minority groups to improve inclusion in the social, eco nomic, and political spheres. We’re thrilled that the appli cation process was open to all Guyanese, and so many peo ple of diverse backgrounds participated in the competi tion...”

“As you go forward, my ad vice to you is to listen, learn, and act. In any new venture, it is wise to learn from the ex periences of others and your judges have significant expe rience. You are the future of Guyana’s private sector – the engine of growth here. I en courage you to think globally and act locally,” Ambassador Lynch urged.

The event was spon sored by GTT ConneX, SOL Guyana, Qualco Guyana, Scotiabank, HR Guyana, ActionINVEST Caribbean Inc, KOJAC, Prem’s Electrical, Guyana Logistics and Support Services, Georgetown American University, and Pinnacle Business Services.

The tendency of citizens to gloss over or ignore the works that are be ing done by the Hinterland Intelligence Committee (HIC) is now posing a challenge to the body.

During a sit down with several members to discuss their agencies’ collabora tion in this initiative, Deputy Commissioner of Police Calvin Brutus said that the committee would appreciate more support from the pub lic, rather than negative re sponses.

“There is a lack of appre ciation and understanding of citizens of what we are here to do. In that regard, we have sometimes negative respons es from citizens that will pre vent and obstruct the work of any one of the agencies.”

He said instead of ob structing the committee’s work, if citizens are unaware of the HIC’s responsibilities, they [the HIC] can try their best to provide clarity.

Meanwhile, Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Kemraj Parsram said that the body is on the cusp of finding ways of informing the public on its mandates, and what the body expects of them.

“We are not just talking about the general public, we are talking about the fuel suppliers, the forestry oper ators, and where and where they will be likely to be in reach of, and how they must come up the compliances.”

He said it is not always about bringing the high or long arms of the law, but it is the support to bring persons into compliance.

Meanwhile, Arapaima CoDirectors Gerald Gouveia Jr of Roraima Airways said that another recognisable chal lenge that the committee has is that of miscommunication and a mitigating factor of that is that they are able to com municate directly with stake holders.

“…this is especially with the communities and I think that it has a lot of potentials,” he said.

It was only on Friday last that the Commissioner of Police (ag), Clifton Hicken, resuscitated the Hinterland Intelligence Committee. The objective of resuscitating the hinterland intelligence was to enhance the security pos ture within the hinterland re gions.

Due to the COVID-19 pan demic, the HIC was unable to meet for over two years.

As such, the Commissioner said he sees the committee as being extremely important for intelligence sharing and crime-fighting in the hinter land.

The Hinterland Intelligence Committee is a multi-stakeholder body that collaborates in sharing infor mation with the aim of keep ing our hinterland communi ties safe.

The three winners and the judge panel of Amcham Guyana Business Pitch Competition

Arapaima Co-Directors Gerald Gouveia Jr of Roraima Airways

Deputy Commissioner of Police Calvin Brutus

EPA Executive Director Kemraj Parsram

“Human dignity must be protected” – Pres Ali

Similarly, he said that the Government’s role is to guide the holistic devel opment of the country and formulate policies and pro grammes to enhance the liv ing standards of the people. He said the Administration or religious community must not assume the role of imposing on peoples’ per sonal lives.

President

Dr Irfaan Ali has underscored the importance of the pro tection of human dignity, equity and respect in order to achieve peaceful co-exis tence.

The President was speaking at an event at the Meten-Meer-Zorg Masjid in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) in observance of Youman Nabi on Sunday.

Youman Nabi (Mawlid

al-Nabi) is observed by Muslims each year to cel ebrate the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad. Youman Nabi also rep resents the struggles for justice, peace and equality.

“Human dignity brings respect, it brings balance, it brings productivity,” President Ali said while ac knowledging the critical role the religious commu nity plays in bringing that balance.

“So, when we work as a Government to increase productivity to support the elderly, to support children going to school, to support the sugar industry, to sup port the fisherfolk, to sup port the rice farmers, to support those in Buxton. To build roads, to build health centres, to train nurses, to bring scholarships, that is part of bringing productiv ity, that is part of bringing a healthy human develop ment, human achievement, creating dignity and this is how the Government is inte grated into ensuring human dignity is created,” he said.

In reflecting and cel ebrating the life of the

Holy Prophet Muhammad, President Ali said that peo ple must understand that human dignity is funda mentally the way of life of Islam and many other reli gious structures.

“If you throw away food and your neighbour goes to bed hungry, you are not do ing justice to human digni ty. We must collectively un derstand our responsibility.

“And let me say this,

this is not a responsibility for the Government or the religious leaders or the dip lomats alone. This is not the responsibility of the rich be cause sometimes we think only the rich will be an swerable. Even if you don’t have anything you are re sponsible for achieving hu man dignity,” the President reiterated.

President Ali also in teracted with persons who

used the opportunity to highlight some of the is sues and challenges they are facing. Some of the is sues raised include pen sions, NIS benefits and sup port for persons living with disabilities. He has com mitted to sending a team led by the Minister within the Public Works Ministry, Deodat Indar, to meet with the residents and address their concerns.

Active COVID-19 cases at 63 after one new infection

T

he Health Ministry reported on Sunday that five more per sons have tested positive for the novel coronavirus from 146 tests conducted within a 24-hour period.

Consequently, some 71,380 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in Guyana to date. However, only 63 of these are cur rently active cases, that is, 62 persons in home isolation and the remain ing one person in institu tional isolation. One other person is currently in in stitutional isolation.

Additionally, there are no patients in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU), according to the Ministry’s updated dashboard.

Guyana’s COVID-19 death toll remains at 1281, with no fatalities recorded thus far in October.

Moreover, some 70,036 persons in the country have recovered from the life-threatening virus to date.

Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Guyana over two years ago, a total 697,522 tests have been conducted coun

trywide and of this, some 32,716 males and 38,664 females were found to be positive.

The one new case de tected on Sunday was from Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne). There were no new cases recorded in the other regions across the country within the report ing 24-hour period.

Back in March, the Guyana Government re moved most restrictions as the country recovers from the pandemic and re turns to normalcy.

Nevertheless, health authorities continue to urge persons to get vacci nated and for those qual ified to get their booster shots as an added layer of protection against the vi rus.

The latest vaccina tion numbers show that so far, more than 447,100 or 87.2 per cent of adults have taken the first dose, while over 347,000 or 67.7 per cent received a second dose.

For adolescents be tween the ages of 12 and 17, just over 35,800 or 49.1 per cent have received the first dose. Second doses

for this age cohort stand in excess of 26,300 or 36.1 per cent.

Vaccines are also being administered to children within five to 11 years, and so far, over 8700 of them or 8.6 per cent have taken a first dose, while more than 4700 or 4.6 per cent returned for their second jab.

Meanwhile, in excess of 74,600 persons have returned for their first, and in some cases second, booster dose.

According to the re cent figures of the World Health Organisation (WHO) , some 617,597,680 confirmed cases were re ported globally along with 6,532,705 deaths.

In the Region of the Americas, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has increased to 176,656,998 while the death toll in the Region has gone up to 2,841,376.

As it relates to vacci nation against COVID-19, the WHO also re ported that a total of 12,723,216,322 doses have been administered world wide.

President Dr Irfaan Ali addressing the gathering on Sunday

President Ali, Minister within the Public Works Ministry and Imam of the Meten-Meer-Zorg Masjid

Govt made great advances to improve, make mental health services more accessible – Dr Anthony

Guyana joins the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the rest of the world in observing World Mental Health Day on October 10 under the theme: “Making Mental Health & Well-Being for All a Global Priority.”

This annual observance is geared at raising aware ness and advocacy against the social stigma attached to mental health and oth er related illnesses. It also highlights the need for im proved and accessible men tal health services in our private and public health systems around the world. Mental Health problems ex ist in our lives and our com munities and can impact anyone and everyone.

The Government of Guyana through the Ministry of Health has made great advances to improve and make mental health services more accessible to the people of Guyana in the last two years.

Significant progress has

been made thus far with mental health legislation.

In July 2022, the Suicide Prevention Bill 2022 was tabled in the National Assembly for the first time. This addresses preventive measures to combat suicide and mental health aware ness. This bill also provides for the repeal of the section of the law that criminalis es persons who attempt sui cide.

In August 2022, the Mental Health Protection and Promotion Act were tabled and passed in the National Assembly there by replacing the archaic Mental Hospital Ordinance of 1930. This modern leg islation aligns with all the major international in struments relating to the rights of people with men tal illnesses. This new bill will see the establishment of a Mental Health Board, whose members among oth ers will include a human rights specialist, a user of mental health services and

Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony

a family member or caregiv er of a person with a mental health disorder. The Board will work to ensure the pro tection of the rights of peo ple with mental health dis orders.

Despite their indepen dence from the Ministry of Health (MOH), the Salvation Army and Phoenix Recovery Centre continue to receive funding through government subventions to

support their inpatient drug rehabilitation projects.

The MOH continues to expand research in mental health through its current partnership with several in ternational organisations.

Among those is a collab oration with Columbia University, Department of Psychiatry geared at exam ining the risk factors for mental health in Guyana.

We have also commenced

another collaboration with a Canadian charitable or ganisation, International Development and Relief Foundation (IDRF) to ad dress mental health in vul nerable communities. Plans are also ongoing for a part nership with the North Well University and Mount Sinai in several areas in cluding the expansion of the Ministry’s Resident Psychiatry Programme, in creasing training in the subspecialties of child and forensic psychiatry and also student exchange pro grammes for fellowships and observerships.

Apart from these suc cessful partnerships, the ongoing decentralisation of mental health services has seen the establishment of clinics at several regional hospitals and health centres in Regions Two, Three, Four and Five.

There has also been an expansion of psychiatry satellite clinics for adults across all Regions except

for Regions Six and Eight while children and adoles cent clinics have been estab lished across Regions Three, Four, Five and Six.

The Health Ministry has also established sev eral Mobile Psychiatry Clinics which cater for per sons with mental illness, who are unable to go to the hospital to receive medi cal treatment, and to facili tate admission if necessary.

Currently, this encompass es Regions Three, Four and Five, also facilitating the re-integration of discharged patients to their homes.

Additionally, Alcohol and Substance Misuse clinics have been established and cater for adults, children and adolescents.

The MOH will contin ue to work towards improv ing the quality of mental health services throughout Guyana. What has been ac complished so far are indi cators of the progress that will continue over the com ing years.

Youth involvement in agriculture important – young farmer

for him to pass on knowl edge to his students in a way that is easily digest ible.

“The way I practice, I rear chickens and pigs, and I do other stuff. I think, be ing a young teacher in the system, I think the stu dents understand it more, coming from me,” he ex plained.

production base and en sure food security.

“That’s a great invest ment when it comes from us moving from a tradi tional agriculture style to a more technological one because with the hy droponics, we get a faster yield and better profits, so I think it’s a good invest ment.”

investment and opined that much is being done for youth.

He also commend ed the work being done at the Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA) to ad vance agricultural knowl edge, and integrate young people into the sector.

proving livelihoods, and building rural economies that expand in step with fast-growing urban com munities,” the First Lady had said.

With Guyana now playing a vital role as the food basket of the Caribbean Community, and the de velopment of the agricul ture sector sitting high on the list of Government pri orities, it is important now more than ever, for young people to get involved in agriculture.

Twenty-one-year-old farmer Kristan Foster be lieves this to be true and has taken his place in the evolving sector.

He is currently study ing agriculture at the Cyril Potter College of

“The way the world is going right now, we are moving from traditional agriculture, and moving into more of a technological advance in agriculture. So no longer will [persons] be operating in that tradition al way. So, it’s good that we as young people can fol low up in this technologi cal world because we will catch on quicker,” he said.

The young agricultural ist said his passion for ag riculture has made it easy

Foster stated that he regularly keeps track of developments in the agri culture sector, and laud ed the Government’s ef forts to boost agriculture in Guyana.

“As the present [Agriculture] Minister would have said, Guyana was once the bread bas ket of the Caribbean, and they’re trying to push for us to earn that title again, so I think they are doing a great job.”

He made specific ref erence to the multimil lion-dollar investments made by the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) into non-tradi tional crop cultivation to further diversify Guyana’s

He suggested that the Government continue to push more of the modern style of agriculture, as it draws youth in and helps develop their interest in the field.

While he does not cur rently utilise a modern sys tem of agricultural produc tion, Foster expressed his hope that he would be able to do so in the near future.

“If I could get like arti ficial insemination at the pig farm, I would be able to get a better yield…. A better breed, more piglets, more meat via the artificial insemination.”

The young man high lighted the diversification being made in theoreti cal agricultural education through the Government’s

“In terms of GSA, the students who attend GSA are getting exposed to dif ferent sectors and career paths in agriculture. So, they can choose wheth er they want to become an agronomist, a veterinar ian, or something else,” Foster stated.

Earlier this year, First Lady Arya Ali in her key note address to the Caricom Youth in Agriculture Dialogue, stressed the im portance of youth involve ment in decision-making which will allow them to contribute to solutions that could lend to the develop ment of agriculture nation ally and regionally.

“Transforming the way youth view and engage in the agricultural sector is key to significantly in creasing employment, im

She also pointed out that President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, un derstanding the impor tance of young people in agriculture, launched the Agriculture and Innovation Entrepreneurship Programme to bolster the agriculture sector, empow er youths and create jobs.

Through this pro gramme, young people who graduate in the field of agriculture are afford ed the opportunity to plant high-value crops such as broccoli and cauliflower us ing shade houses.

At present, the PPP/C Administration continues to make major investments into the agricultural sec tor, in alignment with its goal to reduce the Caricom food import bill by 25 per cent by 2025. Guyana con tinues to make strides on its path to becoming the major food producer of the Caribbean Region.

Education (CPCE) and is an Agriculture Science teacher at the Vreed-enHoop Secondary School.

Agriculture Science teacher Kristan Foster

Regional

UN chief suggests rapid action force to help Haiti

United Nations Secretary General António Guterres has proposed that one or sever al countries send "a rapid action force" to help Haiti's Police remove a threat posed by armed gangs, according to a letter to the UN Security Council, seen by Reuters on Sunday.

Guterres is not suggest ing that the force be deployed by the United Nations. He said the 15-member Security Council should simply wel come such a force and notes that he may boost UN capac ity to support a ceasefire or humanitarian arrangements and ensure coordination of efforts with an international force.

Haiti last week said it would ask for a "specialised armed force" to help com bat crisis caused by a block ade of its main fuel port by a coalition of gangs that has crippled transport and forced businesses and hospitals to halt operations.

The blockade has also led

to a shortage of bottled wa ter, just as the country con firmed a new outbreak of cholera, the spread of which is controlled through hygiene and clean water.

The United States said on Saturday it was reviewing Haiti's request.

Guterres said a rapid ac tion force "would, in par ticular, support the HNP (Haitian National Police) pri marily in the Port-au-Prince

metropolitan area in secur ing the free movement of wa ter, fuel, food and medical supplies from main ports and airports to communities and health care facilities."

"To this end, the force would support the HNP's ef forts to remove the threat posed by armed gangs and provide immediate protection to critical infrastructure and services," he wrote. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Julia pummels Central America with rain

Tropical storm Julia was downgraded from a hurricane as it crossed the Central American coun try of Nicaragua after slam ming into its Caribbean coast early on Sunday morning and pummelling the region with rain, US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

The NHC maintained its warning of the "risk of life-threatening flash floods and mudslides across Central America and Southern Mexico" through Tuesday.

The storm made landfall early on Sunday near Laguna de Perlas, the NHC said. By 09:00h local time (1500 GMT) it was around 105 kilometres (65 miles) east of Managua, Nicaragua's capital. It is ex pected to emerge over the Pacific coast by Sunday night before moving north along the coasts of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala on Sunday and Monday, accord ing to the NHC.

The Nicaraguan national disaster system said in a tweet on Sunday morning that resi dents living in the path of the storm could expect intense

rains and wind, but reported no damage so far. Local media reported loss of electricity in coastal zones.

Colombia President Gustavo Petro said on so cial media on Sunday morn ing that Julia had left "light damage" on the country's Caribbean islands of San Andres and Providencia off the coast of Nicaragua.

"As soon as air operations are restored, aid will arrive," Petro said.

In high-risk zones in

Honduras, authorities de clared a red alert and called on residents to evacuate, as rains pummelled the coun try. In a Saturday tweet, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele declared Sunday as the "National Day of Prayer," calling on citizens to "come together to pray and ask for God's protection."

Guatemala activated 1855 shelters across the country, authorities said on Saturday, as it awaited heavier rains on Sunday afternoon. (Reuters)

Regional Education Ministers to meet

Caribbean Community (Caricom) Education

Ministers will meet in Guyana later this week to discuss the progress on the implementation of the Caricom Human Resource Development 2030 Strategy and key transformative ini tiatives for education quality and equality in the Region.

The 44th meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD)-Education on October 13-14 will be the first face-to-face meeting in two years.

The Guyana-based Caricom Secretariat said that ahead of the minis ters meeting, the Regional Coordinating Mechanism for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (RCM-TVET), and Caricom education officials met late last month to fine tune the agenda.

During that meeting, the Director for Human Development at the Caricom Secretariat, Helen Royer, ex pressed satisfaction that the education system has re turned to face-to-face teach

ing and learning modality.

“We should all be breath ing a sigh of relief that we are now in a better position to address the learning loss from the unprecedented dis ruptions created by the pan demic,” Royer said, empha sising the importance of securing the education sys tem against social and natu ral shocks.

She said developing the human resources in the Region was “a crucial en abler of sustainable econom ic development”. (Excerpt from CMC)

Jamaican schoolgirl on murder charge

AHigh Court Judge on Friday adjourned to November 9, the case of a 17-year-old Kingston Technical High School (KTHS) student charged with murder following the stab bing death of her fellow stu dent late last month.

Justice Feona FeareGregory, sitting at the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court, was told that a post-mortem report as well as statements were outstanding from the case file.

As a result, the student, who is being represent ed by Attorney Kymberli Whittaker, and made her first appearance since the in cident on September 29, was ordered to return to court on November 9.

Michion Campbell was stabbed during a fight be tween both students on the school compound. The inci dent has left students and teachers traumatised, with Education Minister Fayval Williams promising to roll

out a programme designed to help students de-escalate con flict.

Last week, Whittaker told the Gleaner newspaper his client is “understandably dev astated at the turn of events.

“The matter is not as clear cut as it seems. On Friday when it goes before the court, there are some legal issues that will come up, then we’ll have an understanding of the statements that are before the courts,” Whittaker told the newspaper. (CMC)

Venezuela floods kill 22 after heavy rains

Atleast 22 people died and 52 were miss ing after five small rivers in central Venezuela flooded due to heavy rains, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said Sunday.

The downpour on Saturday night swept large tree trunks and debris from surrounding mountains into the community of Tejerias, 67 kilometres (40 miles) south west of Caracas, damaging businesses and farmland, Rodriguez said in a televised address.

Pumps used to power the community's drinking water system were carried away in the flood waters, she said.

Rodriguez said that the priority was to locate people still trapped under mud and rocks throughout the town, while military and rescue personnel also searched the riverbanks for survivors.

"We have lost boys, girls," the Vice President said from a flooded street in Tejerias. "What has happened in the town of Tejerias is a tragedy."

The State television chan nel aired images of mud dy streets filled with tan gled tree branches and large rocks.

One of the flooded riv ers, the El Pato, swept away several houses, shops, and a slaughterhouse, according to

search and rescue authori ties.

Carlos Perez, Deputy Minister for the country's civ il protection system, said in a Sunday tweet that a thou sand rescuers were looking for victims in the area.

The downpour also caused landslides in three other cen tral states on Sunday morn ing, Rodriguez said, but claimed no victims.

The deaths bring the to tal killed in recent weeks to at least 40 owing to heavy rains caused by the La Niña weather pattern. Venezuela has faced flooding and land slides.

(Reuters)

Citizens counting losses after heavy T&T rains, floods

Lastweek's tropical wave known as Invest 91L brought with it thunderstorms, strong winds, lightning, landslides and flooding which resulted in one of the worst deluges in Trinidad and Tobago in re cent years.

People's properties were damaged, cars were swept away, and at least one life was lost in Lopinot when Teresa Lynch was swept away by floodwaters on Wednesday. Her body was found on Friday, leaving her family in heartache and pain.

Thousands of citizens have been left distressed and counting their losses in the aftermath. Hundreds of thou sands of dollars have already been spent on clean-up efforts by the authorities and that figure could run into millions of dollars after the operations are completed.

Rural Development and Local Government Minister

Faris Al-Rawi, in a brief message, said that his min istry was still in the middle of clean-up exercises and he could not give a cost. Last Thursday at a media brief ing, he said he received 145 reports of flooding and 30 re ports of landslides.

Chairmen from several regional corporations were

involved in clean-up exercis es as they worked vigorously to return their regions to preflood conditions.

Chairman of the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation Kwasi Robinson said the clean-up could cost his corporation at least half a million dollars. (Excerpt from Trinidad Guardian)

United Nations Secretary General António Guterres

Firefighters and rescue members work following floods due to heavy rains, in Las Tejerias, Aragua state, Venezuela, October 9, 2022 (Reuters/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria)

A family look out of their home surrounded by floodwaters

People in a vehicle drive past a fallen tree after Hurricane Julia hits the coasts with wind and rain, in Bluefields, Nicaragua October 8, 2022 REUTERS/Maynor Valenzuela

Around the World

NEWS

Kremlin praises OPEC+ for countering US 'mayhem'

TheKremlin on Sunday praised OPEC+ for agreeing production cuts that had successfully countered the "mayhem" sown by the United States in global energy markets.

The OPEC+ decision to cut oil production despite stiff US opposition has further strained already tense relations between President Joe Biden's White House and Saudi Arabia's royal family, Reuters reported on Saturday.

The White House pushed hard to prevent the output cut. Biden hopes to keep US gasoline prices from spiking again ahead of midterm elections in which his Democratic party is struggling to maintain control of the US Congress.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was very good that such "balanced, thoughtful and planned work of the countries, which take a responsible position within OPEC, is opposed to the actions of the US".

"This at least balances the mayhem that the Americans are causing," Peskov said, according to Russian news agencies.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said a decision by OPEC+ to cut oil production was "unhelpful and unwise" for the global economy, the Financial Times reported.

Peskov said that the United States had begun to lose its composure over the OPEC decision and was even trying to push additional volumes of its reserves into the market.

"They are trying to manipulate with their oil reserves by throwing additional volumes into the market. Such a game will not lead to anything good," Peskov said. (Reuters)

Protests grip Iran as rights group says 19 children killed

Ukraine war: 'Russian attack' on city claimed by Moscow kills 13

At least 13 people have been killed by Russian missile strikes on the south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian offi cials say.

Dozens more were wound ed, and several residential buildings destroyed.

The city is under Ukrainian control, but it is part of a re gion that Russia says it an nexed last month.

Zaporizhzhia has been hit repeatedly in recent weeks, as Russia hits back at urban ar eas after suffering defeats in the south and north-east of Ukraine.

Parts of the Zaporizhzhia region, including its nuclear power plant - which is around 52km (30 miles) from the cityhave been under Russian con trol since early in the invasion.

Ukrainian officials initial ly put the death toll at 17 but later revised it down.

The BBC's Paul Adams, who was recently in the city, said the buildings struck are not obvious military targets

and the attacks seem entirely indiscriminate.

More than 60 civilians are understood to have been killed

in and around Zaporizhzhia in the past nine days.

Ukrainian President Zelensky called the shelling "merciless strikes on peaceful people again".

"Absolute meanness," he said. "Absolute evil. Savages and terrorists. From the one who gave this order to every one who fulfilled this order. They will bear responsibility. For sure. Before the law and before people."

The Ukrainian region al governor in Zaporizhzhia, Oleksandr Starukh, said 12 Russian missiles had partially destroyed a nine-storey build ing, and levelled five other res idential buildings.

"There may be more peo ple under the rubble. A rescue operation is under way at the scene. Eight people have al ready been rescued," he said on Telegram. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Tiger that killed 9 people in India shot dead

Police in India have shot dead a tiger after it killed at least nine people in Champaran, Bihar state.

Dubbed the "man-eater of Champaran", the beast was killed after a hunt by around 200 Police officers and dis trict officials. Some officers pa trolled on elephants to find it.

The male tiger had been terrorising communities around the Valmiki Tiger Reserve.

India is home to more than 70 per cent of the world's wild tigers.

India's tiger reserves - pro tected areas where the ani mals can live - have not ex panded at the same rate as its

tiger population.

That has forced some big cats to turn to human-domi nated landscapes for survival, which leads to livestock, and sometimes people being killed.

The operation was led by Bihar Police, who surround ed a sugarcane field near the village of Sitaltola Baluwa to kill the three-year-old tiger known as T-104.

Kumar Gupta, chief wild life warden for the region, told the Times of India the tiger had been identified as "dan gerous to human lives".

Valmiki Tiger Reserve's director, Nesamani K, said the final hunt to find T-104 had begun on Saturday, short

Scotland independence vote could come next year, Nicola Sturgeon says

ly after news emerged that a mother and her child had been killed in a tiger attack.

Attempts to tranquilise the animal were unsuccessful and the tiger showed a "com plete lack of fear" when sur rounded by teams, Gupta add

ed.

T-104 was shot at 15:15 lo cal time on Saturday.

According to government data published in 2019, be tween 40 and 50 people are killed by tigers each year.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

Climate change: World aviation agrees 'aspirational' net zero plan

The world has finally agreed on a long-term plan to curb carbon emissions from flying.

at and the effects of contrails - the water-vapour trails pro duced by engines.

Protests

ignited by the death of a young woman in Police custody contin ued across Iran on Sunday in defiance of a crackdown by the authorities, as a human rights group said at least 185 people, including children, had been killed in demonstrations.

Anti-government protests that began on Sept 17 at the funeral of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in her Kurdish town of Saqez, have turned into the biggest challenge to Iran's clerical leaders in years, with protesters calling for the downfall of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

"At least 185 people, in cluding at least 19 children, have been killed in the na tionwide protests across Iran. The highest number of kill ings occurred in Sistan and Baluchistan province with half the recorded number," the Norway-based Iran Human Rights said on Saturday.

Authorities have de scribed the protests as a plot by Iran's foes, including the United States. They have accused armed dissidents amongst others of violence that has reportedly left at least 20 members of the secu rity forces dead.

Videos shared on social media showed protests in dozens of cities across Iran early on Sunday with hun dreds of high school girls and university students partici pating despite the use of tear gas, clubs, and in many cases live ammunition by the secu rity forces, rights groups said.

The Iranian authorities have denied that live bullets have been used.

Meanwhile, the semi-of ficial Tasnim news agen cy quoted Deputy Interior Minister warning of harsh sentences for those it referred to as rioters. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is confident a second referendum on Scottish in dependence could take place in October next year, she said on Sunday.

Britain's top court on Tuesday begins hearing ar guments for allowing a se cession vote without ap proval from British Prime Minister Liz Truss and her Government.

In a 2014 plebi scite, which the British Government approved, Scots rejected indepen dence by 55 per cent-45 per cent. However, the Scottish National Party argues the vote for Britain to leave the European Union two years later was a game changer.

Sturgeon argues that as voters backed pro-indepen dence parties in elections

for the Scottish Parliament last year, there was a man date for them to bring for ward a Bill to hold a refer endum on Oct 19, 2023.

Asked during an inter view on BBC TV wheth er she was confident that will happen, Sturgeon said: "Yes, I am confident that can happen."

"Let's wait and see what the court says. I am confi dent Scotland is going to be come independent."

Sturgeon has promised that defeat in the Supreme Court would mean the SNP would fight the next UKwide election, due to be held in 2024, solely on a platform of whether Scotland should be independent, making it a 'de facto' referendum.

Sturgeon said on Sunday that was a last resort.

from Reuters)

At a meeting in Montreal, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), pledged to support an "aspirational" net zero avia tion goal by 2050.

The plan, seen as a com promise by many, was accept ed by the 193 countries who are members of ICAO.

However green groups say the deal is weak and not legal ly binding.

When the world came to gether in Paris in 2015 to agree on a long-term plan to tackle climate change, two key industries were missing - avi ation and shipping.

The airline industry con tributes around 2.5% of glob al carbon emissions, but sci entists believe it has a much higher impact on climate change than this figure sug gests.

This is because of the mul tiple impacts of flying includ ing the altitudes planes fly

While it is not a global reg ulator of the airline industry, ICAO is the UN body that promotes co-operation among member states on air trans port. It cannot impose rules on countries, but national gov ernments usually abide by what is agreed at ICAO meet ings.

The air transport indus try has been under increasing pressure from consumers and scientists to try to find ways to decarbonise air travel for sev eral years, with limited suc cess.

At the ICAO triennial as sembly in Montreal, member states finally agreed to sup port a net zero target for 2050, despite grumbles from China and Russia.

At the meeting countries also agreed on changes to a scheme that would deal with a large part of the future emis sions from airlines through a system of carbon offsets. (Except from BBC News)

This handout picture taken and released by Ukrainian State Emergency Service shows a residential building damaged after a strike in Zaporizhzhia

A Police motorcycle burns during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic's "morality police", in Tehran, Iran September 19, 2022

HOROSCOPES

Finish what you start and proceed to the next project. Keep busy and use your energy wisely. Timing is everything in competitive situations. Know what's possible and develop a solid plan.

21-April

Stop and rethink your next move. Don't take on anything that isn't right for you. If someone asks for too much, don't be surprised. Instead, be ready to counter with what you are willing to do.

20-May

Take the initiative to get things done. An opportunity will come through some one you have worked with or previously met. Be open to suggestions, and you'll get the chance to show off your skills.

21-June

SUDOKU

(June 21-July

Keep your eye on what's happen ing around you. Not everyone will offer sound advice. Refuse to let anyone pres sure you into something expensive. If you feel the least bit unsure, relax and rethink.

You know what you must do and how best to reach your objective. Concentrate on personal improvement before you opt to help others. An emotional relation ship will require care.

23-Aug. 22)

Make things happen. If you crave change, stop hesitating and do some thing to make your dreams come true. Be innovative and share your ideas with someone you'd like to team up with.

23-Sept. 22)

Keep your thoughts to yourself. You'll learn more if you listen to others and base what you do on expert opin ions. Time is on your side. Personal im provement is encouraged.

(Sept. 23-Oct. 23)

Put more thought into how you han dle money. Investing in yourself, the way you live or how you earn your liv ing will put your mind at ease and point the way to a better future. Finish what you start.

(Oct. 24-Nov. 22)

Look on the bright side; it will help you eliminate negativity and recognize when someone is trying to take advan tage of you. Pay attention to the people and things you enjoy most.

23-Dec. 21)

Take a moment to assess what's hap pening around you. Learn from your ex perience when dealing with joint ven tures or shared expenses. The right move can save you money and improve your day-to-day.

22-Jan.

Negotiate on your behalf. Hard work will pay off; uncertainty will leave you in a questionable position. Be direct and confident, and good things will tran spire. Vividly describe your plans.

(Jan. 20-Feb.

Simplify your life and ease stress. Control what's next instead of letting others dictate what you can pursue. Believe in yourself, and follow the most inviting path.

(Feb. 20-March

Verstappen seals 2nd world title after dominance in Japanese Grand Prix

Max Verstappen

clinched a second title in extraordinary circumstances after dominating a Japanese Grand Prix truncated by heavy rain.

Verstappen headed Sergio Perez in a Red Bull one-two after Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who crossed the line second, was penalised for cutting the track and gaining an advantage on the last lap.

There was confusion after the race as to whether Verstappen had done enough to tie up the championship, because it was not immediately clear whether full points would be awarded for a race that ran just over half distance.

But governing body FIA said that reduced points only applied if a suspended race could not be resumed.

Awarding full points or threequarter points – as all the teams expected would be the case – was the difference between Verstappen leaving Japan as a double world champion, or having to go to the next race in the USA needing to gain one point on Leclerc and Perez to seal it.

Even Verstappen asked: "Are you sure?" when he was told he

was champion, reflecting the historical precedent that reduced points are awarded in such circumstances.

But it seems that this protocol was inadvertently left out of the rules when they were rewritten over last winter following the controversial Belgian Grand Prix, when a result was declared despite no racing taking place.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said this was "a mistake" and he was "certain"

the rules would be revised over the winter.

There can, however, be no question marks about the validity of Verstappen's championship, after he secured his 12th victory of the season in the same manner as he has taken control of the championship, by being a class apart from everyone else in his Red Bull car.

"It's crazy, very mixed emotions," said Verstappen, who was told of Leclerc's penalty and

his title victory during the podium interviews conducted by former F1 driver Johnny Herbert.

"Winning the championship, what a year we've had. It's incredible!

"I'm so thankful to everyone who's been contributing to the success, the whole team has been working flat out. Beside that, the work we did with Honda every year, constantly improving, gets very emotional especially here. I'm very proud we could do

it here.

"The first is more emotional, but the second is more beautiful. We're leading the constructors so we want to focus on that, to secure that."

The race was marred by a controversy over officials deploying a recovery vehicle on to the track while cars were still running after a crash on the first lap.

Drivers and team bosses united to call the decision from race control "unacceptable", eight years after Jules Bianchi lost his life after crashing into a tractor on the track.

The race was stopped shortly afterwards, leading to a two-hour delay while officials waited for the persistent rain to ease sufficiently for racing to resume.

When it finally did, Verstappen and Leclerc initially pulled away from the rest of the pack, but as the laps ticked by, Ferrari's tyre problems reared their head.

Leclerc dropped back from Verstappen and Perez began to reel in the Ferrari. Leclerc held him off for several laps and looked to have done enough, only to lock up at the final chicane on the last lap and cut the corner.

Leclerc held Perez off to the line, but was deemed to have gained an advantage by going off track and was demoted back behind.

"From lap five, it was all downhill," said Leclerc. "I really struggled with the tyres but after three, four laps we just destroyed them.

"Huge congrats to Max on his second championship. Max's title this year was just a matter of time. We expected him to win the title. Now we just use the last few races to become a better team."

Behind the top three, Alpine's Esteban Ocon held off Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes for the entire race, with Aston Martin's Sebastian Vettel doing the same to Fernando Alonso's Alpine.

Alonso made a stop for fresh tyres with just 15 minutes of race time remaining and dropped to ninth, reclaiming sufficient ground to finish the race right on Vettel's tail, but unable to pass.

Mercedes' George Russell climbed up to eighth from 13th, after being delayed by being stacked behind Hamilton in the pits when the field changed from wet to intermediate tyres, and the final points went to Williams' Nicholas Latifi and McLaren's Lando Norris. (BBC Sport)

Live cricket commentary in shambles – a lost art

Dear Editor, I am incensed and I take great umbrage with cricket commentary in the Caribbean, and more so, in Guyana. I am very piqued that for quite some time now, the ‘authorities that be’ seem bent of finding ‘pals’ and ‘past players’ to do the job, when real, live cricket commentary demands some exceptional skills. As a caveat, I do not know what obtains with the CPL. It seems as though it is a ‘Trini thing’. It also appears as if it is not about cricket, but about ‘fan/funfair’. So, let me address what really is quite upsetting to me.

First, there is no Naim Chan and this boggles the mind. Naim Chan is Guyana’s premiere radio cricket commentator, and he may even be so at the regional level. His years of experience, pleasant radio voice, simplicity and correctness of language use and descriptive ability of live play, all combine to make him a natural choice whenever the job has to be done. Naim is ‘true to the action’ on field and he paints a picture for his listeners. He does not commentate as though he is obligated to ‘stir excitement’ when there is none, and there

is no ‘urgency to ‘fill’ blank air,’ and thus run into verbosity. These traits, among others, are vital in cricket commentary.

I point employers (NCN in particular) to “How to talk Cricket: On Linguistic Competence in a Subject Matter,” by Andrew Pawley, who asks “What it takes?” and answers: knowledge of English language; excellent verbal communication skills; special grammatical rules; special prosodic or musical patterns; and exceptional fluency, ie, fewer than average unplanned pauses (among other features).”

Overall, he makes the point that the actual live coverage must be in congruence to the happenings as they unfold. What I have been getting of recent (especially from the Guyanese lot) is shocking. Since my list of complaints will be endless, I will mention a few ‘established irritations,’ and I do not mean mere ‘lapsus linguae.’

For one, the cacologies are just too frequent and numerous. I get so fed-up with defectively produced speech, socially abhorrent enunciation, and nonconformist pronunciation. For example, the number 33 is not ‘torti-

tree,’ and the first syllable of ‘to-wards’ does not rhyme with that of ‘co-wards.’ Then ‘Amazon’ is not ‘Amazone’ and ‘Warriors’ is not a rhyming partner of ‘barriers.’

How about the repeated solecism of ‘Guyana ‘is’ and ‘was’ and ‘has’? When Guyana, as a cricket playing unit, has to be the subject of the verb, then the corresponding verb agreement must be ‘are,’ ‘were,’ and ‘have.’ The team, Guyana, functions as a ‘collective plural,’ where pronouns for Guyana become, they (subjective), them (objective) and their (possessive). I can continue to enumerate, but I will now switch to the ‘horror’ listeners are subjected to, and this beats the ‘language crimes’ I just mentioned.

Editor, there seems to be a competition among Andrew Mason, Danny Morrison and Inderjeet Persaud regarding who is the most raucous, strident, tuneless and unmelodious of the lot, with our local boy ‘taking the cake’ by a long stretch. I mean, does ‘toss-spinning’ require a ‘manufactured’ strident piece of coverage? Cricket has more lull-spots than maybe all other on-field sports, yet when this

lot are on air, there is a false verbal excitement that is not reflected in what is taking place on the field.

Then there is this ‘lack of flow’ that makes for the coverage coming over as ‘poor reading.’ What was surprising, is that one of those guilty of this, in a PR interview, made mention that he worked alongside the late Tony Cozier. One of the essentials in cricket coverage I mentioned before is that of ‘capturing the game’ in real time, and I add with a vividness that allows listeners to ‘image’ the action.

The constant screaming overuse of hitting a ball ‘high and hard’ is sickening. Every shot in cricket has a name, and so too the strokes/shots played, as well as the position the ball goes to. Then the ‘would have’ phenomenon, popularised by most, if not all of our announcers and parliamentarians, has made an indelible mark on local users of the English language. The stupidity of this construction is obvious, and it leaves me hanging. ‘Would have’ is conditional and speaks of something that has not occurred, and so an explanation should follow. Yet I hear things like “Hetmyer

‘would have’ played for West Indies,” and ‘would have’ captained the West Indies under 19 team, when in fact the man did play and did captain. If he ‘would have ‘played, and ‘would have’ captained, then he did ‘not’ play and did ‘not’ captain. It is so dumb to hear that “They ‘would have’ spun the toss and the Warriors ‘would have’ won and chosen to field. The reality is that the Warriors won the toss and they have chosen to field.

Editor, according to Geoff Boycott, “Too much cricket (is) being played these days and too many retired players (are) joining the fray. From a ‘one commentator,’ we moved to two and now three. And most (are) saying the same thing over and over again.”

According to Richie Benaud and Jim Laker, (commentators should) “… say something that helps their (followers) watching or listening. Try to give the listener or watcher some knowledge or some idea or view that can enhance their viewing or listening. Don’t keep stating the obvious, but that’s what they do a lot … in radio you have to talk more. You have to draw a picture (but) there’s a lot more

talking and babbling on, and if there’s a silence, you’ve got the director in your ear saying “what’s happened, say something.”

My hope is that commentators will realise that their voice quality, mode, pace, cricket insights, and use of language in their presentation, have a great impact on listeners. It can generate enthusiasm, excitement or disappointment, anger, frustration, boredom.

Applying all of what I have just written, I hope for some level of change. I close by noting that under Minister Kwame McKoy’s present watch, there are at least (or supposed to be) four experts in the basic use of language. NCN has a CEO (Chief Executive Officer) in Neaz Subhan, an EIC (Editor-in-Chief) in Leeron Brummel, an adjoining head in Edward Layne (Department of Public Information) and Tajeram Mohabir (EIC at Chronicle). So far, quality and professionalism are far removed from international standards and expectations. Maybe the very heads need reassessment and placements.

Max Verstappen is the 17th man to become a multiple F1 world champion

Shreyas and Kishan give India dominating win in Ranchi and level series 1-1

Ishan

Kishan's career-best 93 and Shreyas Iyer's second One-Day International (ODI) century set up hosts India for a series-levelling win on a slow, dry pitch in Ranchi. The pair shared a 161-run stand – the second highest third-wicket partnership for India against South Africa –and aced a challenging chase. In the process, they completed the highest successful chase against South Africa since March 2017 and denied their visitors 10 points on the World Cup Super League table. South Africa remain in 11th place.

South Africa's attack was unable to control India's scoring rate and struggled with significant dew under lights after choosing to bat first. While Wayne Parnell and Kagiso Rabada made early inroads, Anrich Nortje and Aiden Markram could not find the right lengths, and Keshav Maharaj had a rare off day. Without Lungi Ngidi, who was swapped out of the XI for Nortje, South Africa did not have their best executor of the slower ball at their disposal. One look at India's bowling card showed how much they missed that.

Mohammed Siraj (3 for 38) threatened upfront, made a crucial breakthrough in the middle and was economical at the death as he led India's effort to contain South Africa. Only Reeza Hendricks and Markram's run-a-ball stand of 129 gave South Africa some momentum, but that partnership was sandwiched between a slow start and finish. South Africa were 40 for 2 in the opening powerplay and only managed 57 runs in the last 10 overs. Siraj delivered four overs upfront (124) and four from the 44th over (1-13) to bookend the innings.

He was well supported by Avesh Khan, who used the bouncer effectively, and the spin combination of debutant Shahbaz Ahmed and Kuldeep Yadav. In the end, India's six-man attack was much better balanced than the five-bowler pack they went with in the first ODI, and South Africa, who were without regular Captain Temba Bavuma and wrist-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi (both down with mild illness) were no match.

The ease with which India

reached 280 – with 25 balls to spare – could make South Africa's total look far off the mark. They lost both openers in the powerplay when Quinton de Kock reached for a wide Siraj delivery, but did not move across to meet it and chopped the ball onto his stumps, and Janneman Malan became Shahbaz's first international wicket: out lbw on review.

Markram's arrival led to Kuldeep being brought on, in the hope that the wrist-spinner would remove South Africa's number four for the fourth time in sixth matches. He beat Markram with drift and flight and reviewed an lbw shout off the eighth ball he bowled to him. Markram survived on umpire's call. Kuldeep was taken off after that over, in what appeared to have been a tactical misstep from the Captain, Shikhar Dhawan, and Markram doubled his score off the next 12 balls he faced.

By that stage, Hendricks had settled and looked comfortable, especially against the spinners, against whom he used his wrists and feet well. Hendricks' inclusion in the XI is particularly topical because he could not find a place in the team despite making four successive T20I halfcenturies on South Africa's tour to England in August. He went on to notch up a fifth half-century in six international innings, and fourth in ODIs. He has not played in this format in almost a year – when he was part of the team that took part in a washedout match in November 2021.

Fortunately for South Africa, he was in excellent touch.

Hendricks' fifty came up off 58 balls, after which he struck

the first six of the innings when he hit Kuldeep over wide-long on, but Markram almost didn't join him to the milestone. He was on 49 when he missed a pull and was given caught behind to Avesh. Markram reviewed immediately and UltraEdge confirmed he had not made contact with the ball. He went on to reach fifty off 64 balls.

South Africa were 157 for 2 after 30 overs and should have had 300-plus in their sights, but Hendricks pulled Siraj to deep midwicket on 71. In-form batter Heinrich Klaasen struck 30 off 26 balls but then mis-hit a Kuldeep

googly for Siraj to take running in from long-on, and Markram was out two balls later. That gave David Miller 12.4 overs to marshal the lower order, but he struggled to get going.

South Africa scored just 31 runs between the 40th and 45th over with only one boundary. Wayne Parnell tried to hit a Shardul Thakur slower ball over long-off but was too early through the stroke and was caught on the boundary.

The only other time South Africa found the rope before the penultimate over was when Siraj shied at the non-striker's stumps and missed. With no back-up, the ball went for four overthrows despite protests from the Indian fielders that the delivery should have been dead.

With eight balls remaining in the innings, Miller hit Thakur for back-to-back boundaries, but he could not hold on to strike for most of the final over. Siraj bowled Maharaj, who struggled to get the ball away throughout his stay at the crease, to finish with the second three-for of his 12-match ODI career.

South Africa's defence started fairly well when, for the second match in succession, Parnell removed Dhawan and Rabada got rid of Shubman Gill, though the pair had got India off to a decent start. Dhawan launched Bjorn Fortuin – tasked with opening the bowling with Parnell – over deep midwicket for six before Parnell took out his offstump. Gill hit five confident fours, including three through the covers, before Rabada took a low catch in his follow-through to dismiss him. India were 49 for 2 in the ninth over and 55 for 2 after the powerplay.

It was all Kishan and Shreyas from there as they targeted the left-arm spinners. Kishan stayed back in his crease to hit Maharaj over midwicket for two sixes in two overs while Shreyas enjoyed anything short of a length and showed off his cut shot. In perfect harmony, Kishan pierced the on-side and Shreyas the offside to control the chase.

Their partnership reached fifty when they brought up India's 100 with a six from Kishan off Maharaj, and it grew to a

century when Kishan smashed Fortuin over mid-off. They also attacked pace: Kishan pulling Rabada through deep square and Shreyas hitting Parnell for back-to-back fours off full deliveries that invited the drive. Nortje bore the brunt when Kishan took on his short ball for a pull through and then over midwicket, and when he pitched fuller, Kishan hoicked over the same region for a couple of sixes.

Kishan was all set for his first international hundred and was seven runs away when he holed out to deep midwicket off Fortuin. India still needed 70 runs off 15.3 overs and the job was mostly done.

Shreyas converted his halfcentury and brought up a hundred off 103 balls when he made room to a Rabada short ball and lofted it over extra cover. Three overs later, he hit the winning runs, steering Nortje through third for the 15th four of his innings. India sealed the chase with 25 balls remaining and took the series to a decider in Delhi on Tuesday.

(ESPNcricinfo)

Top Guyanese cricketers to feature in senior inter-county today

Mohammed Siraj 10-1-38-3

Washington Sundar 9-0-60-1

Shahbaz Ahmed 10-0-54-1

Avesh Khan 7-0-35-0

Kuldeep Yadav 9-0-49-1 Shardul Thakur 5-0-36-1

India

Shikhar

Parnell

Shubman

Fortuin

TOTAL

(Quinton

(RR:

Fall of wickets: 1-28 (Shikhar Dhawan, 5.6

By Brandon Corlette

Thetop cricketers in Guyana will be in action today at the Georgetown Cricket Club, Bourda and Everest Cricket Club in the opening round of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) senior male inter-county 50-over tournament.

Berbice, who are the defending champions of the tournament that was last played in 2014, will take on Demerara at Bourda, while Essequibo will play GCB President's XI at Everest Cricket Club. Both matches will commence from 09:00h.

With the matches being played on a National Holiday in Guyana, fans are expected to grace the event with their presence at the venues, but live streaming via the GCB Facebook/ YouTube pages will be provided to those unable to be present at the venues.

team will have a world of experience, with Captain Leon Johnson leading the charges while Christopher Barnwell, Vice Captain Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Tevin Imlach, Ashmead Nedd, and Akshaya Persaud are among the notable players for the city side.

The Essequibo team will be led by the consistent Antony Adams, while the likes of Keemo Paul and Ronsford Beaton are expected to feature at some point in the tournament. The GCB President's XI will have the services of Trevon Griffith, an experienced opener while West Indies youth player Matthew Nandu will be the Vice Captain. Notable young players are the highlight of the GCB President's XI, including the promising Mavendra Dindyal, Jonathan Rampersaud, Garfield Benjamin, and Shamar Joseph.

Foo; Anthony Bramble; Jason Sinclair; Romario Shepherd; Clinton Pestano; Junior Sinclair; Kevin Sinclair; Gudakesh Motie; Nial Smith and Demetri Cameron.

Reserves: Kelvin Umroa, Seon Glasgow, Nigel Deodat, Eon Hooper, Sylus Tyndall

GCB President's XI: Trevon Griffith (Captain); Matthew Nandu (Vice Captain); Zachery Jodah; Mavendra Dindyal; Jonathan Rampersaud; Kwesi Mickle; Garfield Benjamin; Raj Nannan; Ricardo Peters (wicketkeeper); Avinash Persaud; Akini Adams; Shamar Joseph and Keyron Fraser.

The reserve players are Suresh Dhanai and Leo Rayan Ramlakhan.

Nathan Persaud; Garfield Phillips; Eknauth Persaud; Haimant Singh; Wasim Mohamed; Kevin Christian; Ronsford Beaton and Keemo Paul.

Reserves: Joshua Jones, Leo Ryan Ramlakhan, Akini Adams, Avinash Persaud, Shane Wong, and Ricardo Peters.

Kock,

(Janneman Malan,

(Reeza Hendricks,

(Heinrich

5-215 (Aiden

BOWLING

Wayne

38.2

(Wayne Parnell, 46.2

(Keshav

BOWLING

Kagiso

Anrich

Keshav

Aiden

Berbice will be led by Test player Veerasammy Permaul while Shimron Hetmyer will also be available to play. Romario Shepherd, Jonathan Foo, Gudakesh Motie, Nial Smith, Junior Sinclair, and Kevin Sinclair are among the notable names in the star-studded Berbice team. Motie and Anthony Bramble are expected to be absent for the first round, but will return for the other fixtures.

Meanwhile, the Demerara

Both matches are expected to produce runs since the outfields at Bourda and Everest are relatively small. This tournament will be used as a yardstick to select the Guyana Harpy Eagles team to play the upcoming Regional Super50 tournament, that is tentatively set for Antigua and Barbuda and Trinidad and Tobago.

Berbice: Veerasammy Permaul (Captain); Kevlon Anderson; Shimron Hetmyer; Rampertab Ramnauth; Jonathon

Demerara: Leon Johnson (Captain); Tagenarine Chanderpaul (Vice Captain); Chandrapaul Hemraj; Tevin Imlach; Jeremiah Scott; Akashaya Persaud; Steven Sankar; Christopher Barnwell; Ashmed Nedd; Richie Looknauth; Ronaldo Ali Mohamed; Qumar Torrington; Derick Mc Calmont and Sachin Singh.

Reserves: Shamar Yearwood, Alvin Mohabir, Larrel Parks, Anthony Lim, Carlos La Rose, and Joshua Persaud.

Essequibo: Antony Adams (Captain); Ricardo Adams; Kevon Boodie; Quintin Sampson; Kemol Savory; Neiland Cadogan;

Shreyas Iyer celebrates his century

Essequibo Captain Antony Adams

GCB President's XI Captain Trevon Griffith

Demerara Captain Leon Johnson Berbice Captain Veerasammy Permaul

Guyanese female golfer cops Suriname Open prizes

B y T imo T hy J aikarran in S uriname

The action on the final day of the Suriname Open did not disap point as everyone brought their ‘A’ game.

Play commenced from as early as 06:00h as the different flights teed off. The Guyanese contingent played with much fervour and persistence as the business end of the tourna ment concluded. While the men did their job and med alled in their respective categories, it was Shanella London, who stole the show as she copped a plethora of awards. She won Flight D and took home the prizes for best net day one, lon gest drive days one and two and ladies’ overall best gross.

Meanwhile, the high light of the tournament came when 2021 Guyana

Open champion Avinda Kishore struck the golf ball some 300-plus yards to fur ther cement his standing in the hunt for the title, re ceiving a standing ovation from the players and spec tators.

Speaking at the con clusion of the tournament, Kishore said, “While it is confirmed that I won the best gross, I feel good as this is one of the best scores that I have ever shot in Suriname, since I am coming here over six to seven years. As it relates to the course, it is good, but the greens are a bit of

orable moment would be when he was able to hit the ball plumb on the number 18 hole. With the Guyana

his title, although he not ed that on the given day, it was up to the best man to win the title.

* Flight A – Tied for second Aleem Hussain with 69 points; Avinda Kishore, fifth with 68 points; Mike Mangal, sev enth with 61 points; tied for 10th, Rakesh Harry with 58 points; David Harry, 12th with 58 points; Vishal Harry, 13th with 58 points; Avinash Persaud, 15th with 58 points and Rabindranauth Persaud, 17th with 52 points.

* Flight B – 1st – Brian Hackett 70 points, 2nd Patanjilee Persaud 70 points, 6th Videsh Persaud 68 points, 7th Hardeo Ghanpat 67 points, 8th Paton George 67 points, 10th Guillermo Escarraga 65 points, 14th Rohan Albert 63 points and 17th Pope Emmanuel London among others.

* Flight C – Carlos Adams 3rd, Jordi Pinol 4th, Chet Bowling 5th

Giddings

Other awards:

* Best net day one –Shanella London

* Longest drive days one and two – Shanella London

* Ladies’ overall gross –Shanella London

* Longest drive day two – Avinda Kishore

* Men’s overall gross –Avinda Kishore

trouble, they have a few bumps, but it is good.”

Kishore went on to re late the challenges he faced playing over two glo rious days, explaining that he made no putts and was only able to hit the number one green once. He add ed that while the greens killed him, his most mem

Open a few weeks away, Kishore was confident that he would be able to defend

The results for the tour nament for the Guyanese players were:

* Flight D – 1st Shanella London

* Flight E – 3rd Eureka

The two days of ac tion were nothing short of a miracle, as the Guyana contingent poured their heart and soul into every stroke on the course. They showed dedication, and with that same mentality, they would now be focused on the Guyana Open, which is set for October 2930, 2022. As expected, golf ers from all over, including Suriname, will participate in the tournament at the Lusignan Golf Club (LGC), where they will seek to fend off the local side who will be vying for glory.

Windwards Volcanoes shortlist

26 for CG Insurance Super50

Andre

Fletcher, Sunil Ambris, and Shermon Lewis, who have all played senior white-ball cricket for West Indies, are in a 26-member Windward Islands Volcanoes squad to prepare for the regional CG Insurance Super50 tournament starting later this month.

Barbadians Justin Greaves and Tevin Walcott along with West Indies 2022 U19 World Cup players Ackeem Auguste, McKenny Clarke, and Teddy Bishop are also picked in the squad that will contest a Best of the Best series of 50-over matches starting this weekend.

At the end of the Best of the Best series, the Steve Mahon-led selection panel will announce a Captain, Vice

Captain, and the Volcanoes’ squad to play in the CWI CG Insurance Super50 in Antigua and Barbuda and Trinidad and Tobago from October 27 to November 20.

Bishop, 19, is one of five players from recently-crowned Windward Islands Super50 champions Grenada, called up, joining his Spice Isle Captain Darel Cyrus, Ryan John, Nicklaus Redhead, and Denis Smith.

Johann Jeremiah, leading scorer at the Windwards Super50 this past week while helping Grenada capture the title, is a provisional pick because of an injury. Fellow Grenadian Seandel Regis is named as cover for Jeremiah.

Windwards Volcanoes

Shanella London receives another accolade

Brian Hackett was first in his category

LGC President Patanjilee Persaud placed second in his category

Avinda Kishore copped the longest drive and best overall gross awards

Squad: Sunil Ambris, Alick Athanaze, Ackeem Auguste, Teddy Bishop, Roland Cato, Mckenny Clarke, Keron Cottoy, Darel Cyrus, Kenneth Dember, Shadrach Descartes, Larry Edward, Andre Fletcher, Justin Greaves, Kavem Hodge, Asif

Hooper, Ryan John, Shermon Lewis, Desron Maloney, Darius Martin, Preston McSween, Stephen Naitram, Gidron Pope, Nicklaus Redhead, Jerlani Robinson, Denis Smith, and Tevin Walcott. (Sportsmax)

Sunil Ambris, Andre Fletcher, and Shermon Lewis

Top Guyanese

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Guyanese female golfer cops Suriname Open prizes

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