Guyana Times - Monday, October 17, 2022

BRIDGE OPENINGS

The Demerara Harbour Bridge

Monday, Oct 17 – 22:30h

and Tuesday, Oct 18

The Berbice Bridge will be closed

Monday, Oct 17 – 10:00h

11:30h and Tuesday, Oct 18

11:40h

FERRY SCHEDULE

Parika and Supenaam departure times

05:00h, 10:00h-12:00h, 16:00h,

WEATHER TODAY

Pres Ali urges men to play more active role in society

With the aim of hav ing males play a more active role in society, President Dr Irfaan Ali on Sunday announced the launch of the “1000 Men” programme that seeks to tackle issues affecting men is communities across the country.

This initiative, accord ing to the Head of State while addressing residents at the Leguan Masjid on the Region Three island, will be led by him and involve one thousand men from various sections of soci ety. These include the Joint Forces, the sport fraternity, the religious sector, the en tertainment industry, the teaching profession, com munity workers and farm ers as well.

President Ali explained that this “1000 Men” pro gramme is established to reverse the strategy used to deal with problems faced by young boys and men in society.

“The mission of this ‘1000 Men’ is to work in ev ery single community to eradicate hunger, to work in every single community to lift up those who are emo tionally [and] socially af fected. It is to change every society and bring positive living and positive life in every single community. It is to work against violence, it is to work at making men better at being good men, responsible men, responsi ble boys, responsible youth in our society,” he said.

Consequently, one thou sand males in leadership po sitions will be deployed all across the country to work with and fully integrate ev ery single man - both young and old - into the economic and social life of Guyana.

In fact, the President added that they will seek out males from communi ties to fill the workforce gap in critical sectors such as the construction industry, which is complaining of la bour shortage.

“Those who require training, we’re going to build a platform to give them training so that they can go and get the skilled jobs anywhere. There will be no excuse for men not to deliver on their responsi bility and deliver on what is required of us to deliver to the people in our societ ies and to our families,” he noted.

The Head of State fur ther posited that his Government, through this initiative, is on a mission to make a positive change in society. To this end, he outlined that all assets and resources required will be

deployed to ensure that all Guyanese in communities across the country are as sisted with their hardships.

This, he added, includes assisting those, especial ly males, who are in need of help to deal with men tal challenges, persons liv ing with disabilities and so on. The aim, the President contended, is to have males play a more active role in society.

“We are working on a programme to help every single community. It is refo cusing the thinking of men themselves to understand that we have to be an ac tive partner in making the changes we need in our so ciety. We have to sit down and network. Men need to network across the coun try to understand that vi olence against women, vi olence against children is not accepted and will not be accepted and cannot be ac cepted in our society. But we can’t do this unless we network together.”

“You see, genetically and psychologically, men hard ly share their emotional thoughts. But if we build a network in which you feel comfortable in speaking with persons within that network then it will help us,” he stressed.

Chief of Staff leading way President Ali went on to point out that this is an issue that is integral to a healthy society and if left unaddressed, then it will continue in the next gener

ation.

“We need to stop every single aspect that brings negativity to the male pop ulation,” he insisted.

At the time when President Ali was speaking about this programme in Leguan on Sunday, he had some of the leaders who will be spearheading this initia tive including the Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force, Brigadier Godfrey Bess; Deputy Commissioner of Police - Operations (ag) Ravindradat Budhram; for mer West Indies cricketer Ramesh Sarwan; Cricketer Lennox Cush, and religious leaders.

According to the Head of State, while organisa tions such as the Police and Defence Forces will be involved in this initia tive, work will have to be

done within to ensure that their members cultivate the type of societal change that they are trying to cre ate through this “1000 Men” programme.

“We have to start creat ing the positive mindsets, the positive attributes… I intend to reach far and deep in every community, in ev ery entity, in every insti tution to bring those who are ready to contribute and to do what they should be doing for the upliftment of humanity in our coun try. And all who are ready to be on board, they’re do ing it for… love for coun try. Understanding what love for country means; you can’t love your country if you hate those who are part of the country,” the Head of State asserted. (G8)

President Dr Irfaan Ali

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Changed political plot

It would appear that the politics of Guyana are changing. Long described as “ethnic censuses”, the elections have begun to display a degree of fluidity that suggests while the ethnic factor remains important, ethnicity might no longer be “political destiny”. Ethnicity was one of the identity markers, like religion and tribal affiliation, that went against the individualistic premises of liberalism of free-floating individuals who make rational choices to navigate their social world.

“Identity politics” posits there is no such thing as an “individual” personality outside of society. The feral children left on their own in jungles prove that even those “traits” assumed to be “human” have to be transmitted socially. “Individuals” are always the product of particular social environments that strongly influence the world views of those in those environments. In Guyana, the marker that was activated in the mobilisation for votes in democratic elections was “ethnicity”, related to culture and place of origin. “Ethnic politics” was born in Guyana where by the 1960s we ended up with three major parties that represented the three major ethnic blocks – PPP (Indian Guyanese); PNC (African/Mixed Guyanese) and the UF (Portuguese and Amerindians).

However, the same democratic imperative of agglomerating the highest possible numbers of voters to accede to office and power makes the size of the various ethnic groups in a society critical to the specific type of politics practised. If one ethnic group forms an absolute majority, very smaller groups will pragmatically become accommodative to the larger group. In Guyana, however, we had a situation where the two major blocs approached each other in size. The PNC, which also had demonstrable support from the key state coercive and bureaucratic institutions, never conceded legitimacy to the majority-supported PPP. When for its own strategic reasons, the US allowed the PNC to gain power, it turned a blind eye to the latter’s rigging elections – along with its supporters.

However, while the PPP returned to office in 1992 via “free and fair” elections, the demographic breakdown between the several ethnic groups inexorably changed because of heavy but differential emigration since the 1970s. No single group controlled an absolute majority: Guyana had become a nation of minorities. As such, a new kind of politics was demanded – a politics of downplaying ethnicity and reaching across the divides. This was exemplified in the 2011 election where the PPP could only muster a plurality of votes to secure the presidency and Government, but the Opposition APNU and AFC had a majority in the National Assembly.

Logic dictated the latter two parties form a pre-election coalition, which they did to win the 2015 elections. However, APNU lost the new plot and against all political logic, marginalised their AFC partner and alienated the Indian Guyanese votes they had brought in by shuttering four sugar estates. In the meantime, the PPP had intensified their courtship of “outside” votes and won the 2020 elections with 50.7 per cent. From the word “go”, they showed that they understood the new political logic, and on a “One Guyana” platform, launched a developmental agenda that ostentatiously courted support from the PNC’s traditional African/Mixed constituency. Very high-profile and well-publicised direct injections of funds and projects were initiated.

In the meantime, the PNC/APNU have doubled down on alleged “discrimination” by the PPP Government against African/Mixed Guyanese to the extent of them actually creating an “emerging apartheid state”. Now this is clearly over the top, but even if it is accepted, by consolidating those segments they will still be unable to obtain a majority to form a government after elections. The APNU/AFC have still not gotten the plot.

The second factor that is playing out is the “non-ethnic” “swing voters” who vote on issues and governmental performance. They were always there, but have now become significant on account of the new demographics. The PPP’s full-court press to secure crossover and non-traditional votes have rattled the APNU/PNC that have amazingly displayed displeasure that direct appeals are being made to their traditional base.

They need to take cognisance of the new political realities.

Wildlife numbers are down 69%

here’s how we can fix this crisis

By Marco LaMBertini

Thissummer was Europe’s hot test on record, with blistering heatwaves and wildfires accel erating emissions to rise to a 15-year high. Kenya is suffering the worst drought it has seen in more than 40 years while Pakistan is grappling with devastating floods, killing thousands of people and displacing millions.

Deforestation of the Amazon rain forest in Brazil has hit a six-year high and tropical storms are battering the Caribbean. Overconsumption by wealthy nations is causing the planet’s most vulnerable people to suffer, and nature is at a crisis point.

Sadly, that trend extends to the an imal kingdom. Published on Thursday, WWF’s Living Planet report captures a shocking drop in monitored wildlife populations across the globe — an av erage 69 per cent in less than a life time. Populations of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish are all shrinking.

The world’s tropical regions – some of the most biodiverse places on the planet – are seeing populations of their species plummet, with an average 94 per cent fall across Latin America and the Caribbean since 1970. During the same period, wildlife populations in Africa plunged by 66 per cent, while the Asia Pacific saw a 55 per cent drop.

Meanwhile, freshwater populations have seen an average 83 per cent fall. Our rivers, lakes and wetlands – the lifeblood of all human society – are dying. The health of these freshwater ecosystems is essential for one in 10 animals, but also for all eight billion of us humans who rely on them for every thing from farming and industry to the water we drink.

These shocking drops symptoma tise ongoing global neglect of biodiver

sity. Already, it is predicted that even if we limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), large parts of the Amazon and Africa could lose between half and three-quarters of their biodiversity.

Yet, such a catastrophic prospect would affect us all, whether it is our social stability or individual well-being and health. It also undermines basic human rights for those disproportion ately suffering the effects in the Global South.

It even affects us economically: WWF’s Global Futures study estimat ed that the decline of natural assets will cost the world at least US$406 bil lion a year – adding up to almost US$9 trillion by 2050 – roughly equivalent to the combined economies of the United Kingdom, France, India, and Brazil.

Despite Governments signalling that they are prioritising nature, we are currently seeing a lack of high-lev el political support and leadership to wards tackling the biodiversity crisis. An impressive 40,000 people, including 120 world leaders, attended the United Nations’ 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 26) in Glasgow last year, with some significant pledges made. Yet in the lead-up to the 15th biodiversity meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 15) in December, countries like Brazil are continuing to destroy natural habitats.

We need countries to come togeth er to secure an ambitious biodiversity agreement this December. It must be capable of driving immediate action on the ground. To secure a healthy, sus tainable future for people and wildlife, this must include an overarching goal of securing a nature-positive world by 2030 — meaning we end the decade with more nature than in 2020, not less.

Also important is the question of

who bears the responsibility of pay ing for international biodiversity pro tection. The consumption habits of wealthy countries are disproportion ately driving nature loss, so the world’s richest nations have a duty to provide financial support to developing coun tries.

Our economies must be trans formed so that natural resources and nature’s services, such as clean air and water, climate regulation or food polli nation, are properly valued. Our soci eties and industries must also shift to sustainable production and consump tion habits, particularly when it comes to food.

One of the most magnificent things about nature is its regenerative ability. It bounces back if we let it.

Some losses seem irreversible. Ship sturgeon, for example, were recent ly declared extinct in the European Danube River. However, we have the solutions to reverse biodiversity loss and the science and technology to help many other endangered species, whether it is the mountain gorilla, log gerhead turtle, or the common crane, flourish once again.

We can see where deforestation is happening in real time through satel lites, can predict which areas are the most important to conserve, and can use modelling to ensure the most effec tive conservation efforts are pursued.

A safer and more sustainable future for people and nature is still within our grasp, as long as political and corporate leaders step up to build a nature-posi tive society for all. (Al Jazeera)

(Marco Lambertini is Director General of WWF International. As head of the global nature conservation or ganisation, he works with world lead ers, corporate executives, and civil so ciety to forge a future in which people and nature thrive.)

As Guyana joins the rest of the world in celebrating World Food Day, the Agriculture Ministry in collaboration with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) hosted the annual World Food Day Exhibition at the Albion Community Centre Ground, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne). In photo, dancers performing at the launch of the exhibition

Los Angeles Declaration

Guyana to co-lead refugee resettlement committee

migration management; and 4) emergency response. Participants identified key workstreams under the first three pillars of the Los Angeles Declaration that will develop shared lines of policy action,” the State Department said.

It was explained that these countries volunteered to lead the various Action Package Committees, with each endorsing country committing to participate in at least one Committee to shape its commitments under the Los Angeles Declaration.

Having recently par ticipated in a Lima Ministerial meet ing earlier this month on the Los Angeles Declaration that was made to address challenges in irregular mi gration in the Western hemisphere, Guyana has been identified as the colead on refugee resettle ment.

There are a total of three pillars and 11 committees. According to the United States (US) Department of State in an update on the Lima Ministerial meeting, Guyana and Canada will be co-leading the refugee set tlement committee.

This committee is op erating under pillar two of the Los Angeles Declaration: “Regular Pathways for Migration and International Protection”. Also participating in that committee are Mexico, Uruguay and the United States.

Guyana was one of the endorsing countries that convened for the Lima Ministerial Meeting on the Los Angeles Declaration to discuss successes, oppor tunities, and next steps in addressing the challeng es posed by irregular mi gration in the Western Hemisphere.

“Endorsing countries identified concrete and ambitious commitments to maintain the momen tum of the Los Angeles Declaration initiative, pre sented during the Ninth Summit of the Americas in June 2022. The 21 endors ing countries agreed on pri ority areas for interven tions to create conditions for safe, orderly, and hu mane migration.”

“Partners agreed to work together to advance the pillars of the Los Angeles Declaration: 1) stability and assistance; 2) legal pathways; 3) humane

Minister of Foreign Affairs Hugh Todd, had at the time participated in the Ministerial Meeting of the Summit Implementation Review Group (SIRG) within the margins of the Organisation of American States (OAS) General Assembly.

The SIRG meeting dis cussed the results of the 9th Summit of the Americas along with the proposed calendar and working pro cedures within the frame work of implementation of the 9th Summit.

In his remarks, Minister Todd had reaffirmed Guyana’s commitment to the Summit process and committed to working with the Dominican Republic as they prepare to host the 10th Summit of the Americas.

Declaration

The Los Angeles Declaration, made on June

10, 2022 during the Ninth Summit of the Americas that the US hosted this year, proclaims that coun tries in the Region will combine their efforts to cre ate safe, orderly and hu mane conditions for regular migration, while strength ening frameworks for inter national cooperation.

Guyana for its part has been tackling the migration problem head on, particu larly as it relates to proper ly integrating Venezuelan immigrants fleeing the eco nomic crisis in Venezuela, into the Guyanese society.

Last year, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) rep resentative had pointed out that Guyana is home to an estimated 24,500 ref

The choice is before us

was a notable difference in the recent speeches given by President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping. Both Presidents addressed their respective countries. The USA was focused on regaining in ternal stability and unity, while China was focused on strengthening both internal management, development and external strategy. This stark difference speaks vol umes to the choice before our great nation. Guyana and all Guyanese must de cide how much longer they will continue upon the path of internal division, which hinders development and growth. If the choice is made to shift towards uni ty as one nation united and strong, then internal devel opment will be strength ened and our focus will be upon solutions and their

implementation instead of creating obstacles for those who are bringing progress that are from another par ty. China's homogeneous population allows for eas ier progress than that of a country with a multi-eth nic population, but we must find ways to truly embrace being One People who place being Guyanese above all else, who identify with One Nation, which is Guyana, with One Destiny where all citizens have a say and a share. Only then will we as a nation quickly achieve our true national potential

Alternatively, develop ment will be based on affil iation and each individual group's ability, a microcosm of what the world is and how it has developed. If histo ry is an indicator of what is possible, it is fair to say that community affiliation has stronger roots than nation

al affiliation at this stage of our national development. The debates in Parliament must lend themselves to overcoming such obsta cles by first defining the root cause of the division, which quite honestly has remained a white elephant in the room. Unfortunately, our nation is still in the de nial phase that comes be fore sincere reconciliation. This step is necessary for there to be an honest ef fort towards unity. Without it our national develop ment will reflect a society that is divided by cultural roots. This by no means is a terrible destination, but we must accept that this is the consequence of contin ued internal division and find ways to optimise this form of development where safe coexistence can flour ish. Thus, the renewed im portance and need for fo

cus on law and order, which quite honestly needs to be seriously relooked at. A na tion divided cannot police itself effectively if distrust along ethnic lines is flour ishing and those in charge of law and order are not re flecting the ethnic make up of the nation. A pending area of opportunity for the Government? Few would disagree that more must be done in this area.

The future of the country comes down to the choices we make. Are we truly com rades or are we Guyanese only after racial or politi cal affiliation? Either way we can be successful, but we must not fool ourselves as to which path, we have collectively decided to pur sue. The choice is before us. Choose wisely.

Best

ugees and migrants from Venezuela, including some 2500 Indigenous Warraus.

During a meeting with the UNHCR, Foreign Affairs Minister Hugh Todd had noted that the Multi-Agency Coordinating Committee continues to address the influx of mi grants from Venezuela. Additionally, he explained that efforts continue to fa cilitate the ongoing moni toring and other activities geared towards improving the lives of the migrants from Venezuela residing in Guyana.

The Multi-Agency Coordinating Committee is co-chaired by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and, Parliamentary Affairs and Governance and in cludes representatives of the Ministries of Education, Health, Home Affairs, Human Services and Social Security, Guyana Water Incorporation, Guyana Police Force, Guyana Defence Force, the Civil Defence Commission, International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the UNHCR.

Foreign Affairs Minister Hugh Todd as he addressed the summit

A scene from the Lima Ministerial Group meeting, while they were being addressed by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken

Page Foundation

This paper rangoli is perfect for slightly older kids who are able to work a little more me thodically and neatly.

Aline graph often shows how information changes as time passes. In a line graph, the steeper a line segment is, the more change there has been during that interval. The distance from one time to another is cal led an interval

Materials Coloured strips of construction paper

Craft paper

Toothpick

Craft glue

Scissors

Step 5: Take a loose coil and press the coil on any one point to form a teardrop shape. Glue the open end to secure the shape.

Step 6: Similarly prepare the rest of the loose coils. Use different colou red strips to create more tear drop shapes.

Method

Step 1: Select a colour for the centre of the quilled rangoli pattern and take a long strip. Use the tooth pick to coil the whole strip tightly.

Step 2: Take the coil and place it on a flat surface and allow it to loosen up freely.

Step 3: Select more strips for the next layer of the rangoli.

Step 4: Roll some loose coils with the strips.

Step 7: Use more strips to cre ate different shapes. You can go for basic lens shape, tight coils, twirl shapes.

Step 8: Prepare a piece of paper (white or cream will be great!). Glue the first loose coil on the centre of the paper.

Step 9: Grab teardrop (or lens) shapes for the next layer and glue them around the centre shape.

Step 10: For the third layer, glue the selected shapes in between

the shapes of the previous layer.

Steps 11: Continue to glue the prepared quilled shapes to create the quilled rangoli pattern. Be sure to keep the design and the colour combination nice and sound.

Step 12: Once you’re satisfied with the quilled rangoli pattern, use scissors to cut a round zigzag border around the quilled design. Isn’t it pretty? (redtedart.com)

In which year were the most dolphins seen?

Step 1: Look for the highest point on the graph (80).

Step 2: Look along the horizontal axis for the time that point relates to: 1999.

Exercises: Interpret

1) What number of

took 20 minutes

By The BroThers Grimm

Guyana being positioned to be a leader in renewable energy – Head of State …not just a leader in fossil fuel production

receiving the proposals from those interested in investing in this.”

“The opportunities this will create for transport and logistics, the services indus try, the construction indus try, the rental industry, are enormous. And will bring tre mendous benefits to the peo ple of this region,” President Ali said.

was scrapped by the coali tion Administration which had controlled the National Assembly by a one-seat Opposition majority.

The AFHP was the flag ship of Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS).

and Strengthening of the Department of Energy (EMISDE) programme.

There is also a 1.5MW

Bartica solar farm, which will cost $625 million and will soon be completed. (G3)

Guyana,

with the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project and other assorted renew able energy projects that are in the pipeline, is being posi tioned to not just be a leader in fossil fuel production, but a leader in renewable ener gy.

This is according to President Dr Irfaan Ali, when he spoke at the open ing of the sixteenth annu al Berbice Expo and Trade Fair at the Albion Sport Complex, Corentyne Berbice. According to the President, transforming Guyana into an energy leader is an im portant development pillar of the Government.

“Not only in fossil fuel, but also in renewable energy. The potential of the Amaila Falls Hydro project, the cata lysing of our gas field, to be an

important part in the supply of energy around the Guyana Shield corridor. And in all of this, Region Six and Five is well positioned to be the cen tre piece of growth and devel opment,” the President said.

The Government also plans to have an oil refinery built in Crab Island, Berbice.

According to the President, a new advertisement for Requests for Proposals will be launched for this project, which while not renewable in nature would still have im portant offshoots into differ ent sectors.

“As I speak to you to day, we’re about to launch a new ad for a Request for Proposals and that Request for Proposals is for a new 30,000-barrel refinery for na tional security to be built in Guyana, here in Region Six, in two months’ time we’ll be

Construction on the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project (AFHP) was sup posed to start this year, as Government continues to ramp up spending on renew able energy projects as well as upgrades to the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) infra structure. The expected com pletion date was to be 2027.

The AFHP will be based on a Build-Own-OperateTransfer (BOOT) mod el where the company will supply electricity to GPL Inc at a cost not exceeding US$0.07737 per kWh and where the company will pro vide the entire equity re quired by the project and undertake all the risks asso ciated with the project.

The revival of the 165-megawatt AFHP was one of the promises made by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic in its mani festo. The project was ini tiated under the previous PPP/C Administration, but

Amaila was expected to deliver a steady source of clean, renewable energy that would have been affordable and reliable, and was envi sioned to meet approximate ly 90 per cent of Guyana’s do mestic energy needs while removing dependency on fos sil fuels.

The AFHP was first identified in 1976 by the Canadian company Monenco during an extensive survey of hydroelectric power poten tial in Guyana. Various stud ies have since justified and strongly supported the con struction of the AFHP.

It was only a few days ago that a $362.4 million InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) funded contract was signed for a solar farm at Mahdia, Region Eight, that will benefit close to 3000 res idents and significantly re duce the State’s expenditure on heavy fuel oil.

The 0.65MW Mahdia so lar farm is being financed through a loan from the IDB, under the under the Energy Matrix Diversification

2 of 107 cases completed at Berbice Criminal Assizes

The Berbice Criminal Assizes commenced on June 21 with 107 cases listed to be heard but only two matters, one each for murder and rape of a child/sexual activity with a child under 16 years, were completed before Justice Brassington Reynolds.

In the murder case, the accused was found guilty by a majority jury verdict of 10 to 2 for the lesser of fence of manslaughter and was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment.

In the sexual offences matter, the accused was found unanimously guilty and sentenced to 10 years in prison on each of the two

counts. Both sentences will run concurrently.

This Berbice Criminal Assizes continues up to to morrow at the High Court

in that county.

During this time, the Essequibo Criminal Assizes commenced on May 17 with 65 cases listed to be heard.

Four cases for murder and attempted murder were completed before Justices Reynolds and Priya Sewnarine-Beharry in that county’s High Court.

Two matters for the offence of murder were completed before Justice Reynolds.

In one of the murder cases, the accused pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter and was sentenced to seven years and nine months’ imprison ment.

In the other murder matter, the accused was sentenced to 18 years’ im prisonment after the jury returned a verdict of guilty.

Meanwhile, one mat ter each for murder and at tempt to commit murder was done before Justice Sewnarine-Beharry. The accused in the murder cases pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of man slaughter and was sen tenced to seven years’ im prisonment, while the accused who was indicted for attempt to commit mur der was found guilty by the jury on the lesser offence of wounding with intent.

He is awaiting sen tencing. In addition,

the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) nolle prosequi a sexual offence matter because the com plainant gave a statement in which she indicated that she did not wish to pro ceed with giving evidence against the accused.

The Essequibo Criminal Session remains in prog ress up to October 25.

The Berbice October Criminal Assizes with 116 cases listed to be heard will commence on October 118.

The Essequibo Criminal Assizes will commence on October 25. (G1)

Keep on…

…kvetching

Your Eyewitness looked at the dozen protesters in front of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its supervisory Environmental Assessment Board (EAB) kvetching about the latter’s permits for companies storing wastes onshore without consulting citizens. Now, he’s got no problems with such protests – but wondered how many citizens they’d consulted before purporting to speak for “Guyanese” across our mudland!! A Baker’s Dozen persons were counted brandishing placards - but evidently 54 persons signed the petition they presented with their demands. So what happened with the other 41 that they couldn’t show up to picket?? Wasn’t important enough??

Now, from the experience of other countries – even the developed “advanced” ones – the disposal of wastes can’t be treated lightly. They really don’t just go away and almost inevitably impact communities in surrounding areas. So, yes…we need the people disposing of wastes to observe all necessary protocols. And it’s for this reason we need – and the Government established – the EPA and the EAB. The protestors are, therefore, assuming and asserting that the EPA and EAB aren’t fulfilling their mandates.

Now your Eyewitness wasn’t born yesterday and he’s quite aware that there can be “regulatory capture” of such entities by big players – who literally want to get away with murder to make a buck. That’s the guiding principle of neoliberalism, isn’t it?? But weren’t some such complaints taken to the courts where ‘satisfaction” was given?? Your Eyewitness remembers one in which an EPA permit to Exxon was limited by the Courts to five years. And didn’t the system work when a few months ago, the EAB overruled the EPA's decision to waive EIA for a radioactive storage facility at Coverden on the EBD??

Now there has been a blowback against some of the EPA protestors. From what your Eyewitness observed, the major gripe is that it’s the same small bunch of “woke activists” who protest. They jump on every bandwagon that arises from “foreign” – but noticeably only the “developed foreign” of the US and Britain left-leaning “progressives” –whether the “cause” is applicable to Guyana or not!!

Take, for instance, the call by some card-carrying members of the woke brigade for our oil to be left in the ground!! Seriously, are they for real?? We should worry about pollution in America while they created and are still sustaining it?? It’s this kind of off-the-wall thinking that turns off ordinary folks. Plus that these people wouldn’t ordinarily give them the time of the day!! The protestors should ground some more!!

But there was an interesting development exposed in the protest – former minister David Patterson – of gold band fame – holding a placard. So, what happened to the rest of the AFC or PNC??

There’s been a parting of ways??

…about dead and migrated voters

In addition to shrilly insisting that the PPP’s constructing an “emerging apartheid state”, the Opposition’s been maintaining that the PPP rigged the last elections. So, this became known to Mingo the day after the elections – after praising the conduct of the process! – by some clairvoyant process forcing him to pull out those spreadsheets and bedsheets??!! Well!! One prong of the “rigging charge” is that the PPP had dead and migrated folks voting. And this is some serious breach of the law – subject to equally serious sanctions!!

Now, a basic doctrine in law is “who asserts must prove”!! So now that GECOM’s passed on the list of names of those who committed the crime to the Police, shouldn’t the PNC cooperate so as to nail the PPP’s ‘treachery” to the wall? And not so incidentally, remove them from office?? But after GECOM asked the PNC for some more details so that the Police can go to addresses etc, they’ve REFUSED!!

Like with those mysterious SoPs!! Not too clever, eh??

…with cricket

The T20 World Cup’s gonna be launched as this piece is being written. After pulling off such a fantastic CPL T20 tournament ending, we Guyanese can see whether the Aussies can match us.

No can do!!

The High Court in Berbice

CCJ to rule Wednesday in Guyana’s election petition case

The Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) will deliver its ruling on Wednesday in Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo and Attorney General Anil Nandlall’s appeal against a decision of the Court of Appeal of Guyana in which it held that it had jurisdic tion to hear an election peti tion dismissed for improper service. On July 19, the re gional court heard a pletho ra of arguments in the case, before reserving its ruling, which it had promised to render in the shortest pos sible time. Hearing the case were CCJ Justices Jacob Wit, Winston Anderson, Maureen Rajnauth-Lee, Peter Jamadar and Denys Barrow.

In a 2 to 1 majority rul ing on December 21, 2021, the Court of Appeal took ju risdiction to hear an appeal against acting Chief Justice Roxane George’s decision to dismiss the election—filed by Monica Thomas and Brennan Nurse—based on improper service/non-ser vice on former President David Granger, a respon dent in the matter. The pe tition pursuant to Article 163 of the Constitution, which was dismissed on

January 18, 2021, was filed on behalf of the APNU/AFC and challenged the results of the March 2, 2020, na tional elections with the intent of having Granger declared the duly-elected President.

Acting Chancellor of the Judiciary Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards and Justice of Appeal Dawn Gregory had ruled that to oust the Appeal Court from hearing the appeal against the Chief Justice’s ruling would defeat the purpose of Article 163 of the Constitution. The Chancellor had noted that although she had consid ered all the precedents re lied on by Nandlall, they failed to invalidate the Court of Appeal’s jurisdic tion to hear the appeal. In

a dissenting judgement, however, Justice of Appeal Rishi Persaud had said that considering the unambig uous language of that con stitutional provision, as well as the fact that Justice George did not dismiss the petition on its merits, but rather because of procedur al errors, a right of appeal did not lie to the Court of Appeal.

Service

The manner of service is prescribed in Rule 9 (1) of the National Assembly (Validity of Elections) Rules, which imposes on the petitioners the statuto ry obligation to effect ser vice within five days after the presentation of the pe tition.

Having been filed on

September 15, 2020, the petition should have been served on Granger five days thereafter, which would have been September 21, 2020, since the fifth day –September 20, 2020 – was a Sunday. But in Nurse’s Affidavit of Service, it was stated that the petition, along with the relevant doc uments, was only served on Granger on September 25, 2020 – five days outside of the statutorily prescribed period.

At the Court of Appeal, Nandlall and Senior Counsel Douglas Mendes, who is representing Jagdeo, had argued that Article 163 of the Constitution bestows upon the High Court a pe culiar jurisdiction to hear election petition. They ar gued that there is no statu tory or constitutional juris diction given to the Court of Appeal to hear an election petition dismissed for pro cedural impropriety or any other reason not stated in Article 163 (1).

According to the two Senior Counsel, Article 163 constitutes the complete code of how election peti tions are to be determined, lists the types of issues that are to be raised by an elec tion petition, and also lim

its the grounds upon which appeals flow from the de termination of those issues.

Article 163, they submit ted, limit appeals to be filed from decisions coming from the High Court that are commenced by an election petition only to the deter mination of the questions identified in that constitu tional provision.

“The learned Chief Justice in her ruling struck out the petition on the ground that there was non-service. In her written decision, her honour stat ed that service within the time prescribed is a condi tion precedent to the hear ing and determination of an election petition,” the Attorney General had ar gued. He added, “The [Chief Justice] never determined the questions which the pe tition raised to be deter mined which are the ques tions raised in Article 163 (1) from which Article 163 (3) says an appeal lies to the Court of Appeal upon the determination of those questions or orders conse quential to the determina tion of those questions.” As such, Nandlall argued that with those questions hav ing not been determined, there is no right of appeal

in any other statute nor the Constitution upon which the petitioners can hinge their appeal.

But Roysdale Forde, SC, and John Jeremie, SC – who appear for the peti tioners – argued that the Court of Appeal does have jurisdiction to entertain the matter under Article 123 of the Constitution and the Court of Appeal Act.

Jeremie had previously submitted that his clients had properly invoked the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal to where an “auto matic right” of appeal lay as the High Court had de termined and made its pro nouncement on the election petition.

The petitioners contend that the elections were un lawfully conducted and/or that the results (if lawful ly conducted) were affect ed or might have been af fected by unlawful acts or omissions. They are also asking the court to declare that President Dr Irfaan Ali is illegally holding of fice. The results of a nation al recount of all ballots cast showed that the PPP/C won the general elections with 233,336 votes over the coa lition’s 217,920 votes. (G1)

Diwali symbolises upholding, sustaining peaceful society

in Guyana and the world that must be upheld.

“We must uphold peace. We must uphold the rule of law. We must uphold our de votion. We must uphold our love for humanity. We must uphold our values and princi ples that allow us to demon strate our love for humanity. We must uphold standing up for justice. We must uphold doing what is right in a glob al environment where what is wrong is so easy to succumb to.”

President

Dr Irfaan Ali on Sunday emphasised the importance of up holding basic tenants of so ciety such as peace and uni ty, which he said are integral concepts in sustaining a na tion.

The Head of State made this remark on Sunday eve ning at the 8th annual National Diya Light-up host ed by the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh/Hindus for Selfless Service (HSS) at Rahaman’s Park, Greater Georgetown, ahead of Monday’s obser vance of Diwali or Deepavali.

President Ali drew inspi ration from the words uttered by Head of HSS Guyana, Ravi Dev, who stressed that not just one group but a collec tive effort from all Guyanese is needed to bring “goodness” in society so that Guyana can reach its full potential.

According to Dev, this is one of the most important lessons that Dharma, which is the religious and moral law governing individual con duct in Hinduism, teaches.

“Dharma is that which upholds and that which sus tains… So, whatever you’re talking about, yourself, your life – if you’re talking about your village, if you’re talking about your community, if you’re talking about this na tion, if you’re talking about the world – it’s very easy to say what should you do if you follow Dharma, which is, ask if your action, will it uphold society, will it uphold our na tion, will it sustain our na tion? If the answer is yes, do it and if the answer is no, then abjure from your prac tice,” the HSS Head posited.

Flowing from this, President Ali shared that the concept of “upholding and sustaining” is critical to every aspect of national, and even global, life. He noted that if there is nothing to uphold then will be nothing to sus tain.

As Guyana embarks on celebrating this festival which symbolises “light over dark ness”, the Head of State said there are a number of things

President Ali further out lined that a unified Guyana – One Guyana – cannot be sustained if citizens do not uphold the values that make them Guyanese or collective ly uphold the ability to stand up for the truth, represent what is right and reject what is wrong. Similarly, he not ed that the country cannot be sustained in a unified way if its people do not uphold the Constitution and rule of law.

“What are we trying to sustain and uphold? We’re trying to uphold and sustain a society that is wedded in peace, that presents hope to its people, and that brings dignity to life that you live within that society. And this is exactly what Diwali symbo lises.

“It is the removal of dark ness and introduction of hope. It is the removal of indignity and bringing dignity into ev ery aspect of our life and what we do, and in the creation of hope and dignity, the end product is achieving a peace ful society, a peaceful home, a peaceful inner being. If we are not at peace, we cannot show peace. If the environ ment in which we live in does

not project peace, then we cannot demonstrate peace,” he stated.

The Guyanese leader went on to note that the light ing of Diyas in observance of Diwali is just the physical as pect of the auspicious festi val. Rather, he stressed, it is the inner light within oneself that must also be illuminated in celebrating the Festival of Light.

When this happens, ac cording to the President, people can see the image of peace, calmness, hope and dignity that one exudes.

“These are the critical as pects when we speak about the importance of Diwali. It speaks to both renewal, re newal of ourselves, renewal of our belief system, renewal of our commitment towards each other as human beings. Renewal of what we repre sent, a renewal of hope, a renewal of the spirit that binds us together. That is why [Diwali is not a one day] event because we are all weak and we need a period through

which we can be renewed, through which our spirits can be renewed, through which our body and our society and our community can be re newed. And this is another important aspect when you celebrate Diwali,” the Head of State said.

Moreover, President Ali also spoke of the collective need to cleanse society of at tributes that are negative such as racism and other scourges that hinder national unity. To this end, he under scored the importance of edu cation and social programmes such as Sunday’s Diya Lightup that displayed the rich cul ture of Hindus. The event was organised by the young mem bers of HSS and saw perfor mances by young people from various organisations.

According to the Guyanese leader, the country needs more displays such as this. He added that these import ant platforms allow the coun try to project the message and the embodiment of what society needs to create, and

how each culture and religion can contribute towards the achieving “One Guyana”.

“There are many paths that we can create in life. But Diwali teaches us the lesson and demonstrate the paths that must be created. When we speak about life overcom ing darkness, it is light creat ing a way through darkness that is different from what darkness offers. It is not just the physical life; it is remov ing what light offers against what darkness offers. So, it’s having hope over [fear]. It is having knowledge over ig norance. It is having free dom over bondage. It is hav ing unity over division. That is what the light must be able to create… Today, as we will turn the lights on, let’s also turn our hearts into moments of reflection and examine what small or big change may be necessary in achieving this part that we also want for our beautiful country and for our families,” President Ali stat ed. (G8)

…President says cannot sustain a unified Guyana if values are not upheld

President Dr Irfaan Ali speaking at the National Diya Light-up

Women accused of robbing man of $100,000 during skinny-dip

Police have arrest ed three women who are being accused of stealing a construc tion worker’s money after they went for a swim at Soesdyke Back Road, East Bank Demerara (EBD). The man was reportedly robbed of $100,000.

Reports are that the vic tim and one of the suspects, who is 18 years old, are known to each other, and they were at a night club, in Soesdyke Back Road, EBD.

While there, the man claimed that the woman introduced him to two oth er females, aged 20 and 21 and they began imbibing al cohol together.

He told investigators that at the time he had the

$100,000 in his back rightside pocket and $23,000 in a separate pocket, which he was using to buy the alco hol.

After spending some time at the night club, they left and went to anoth er drinking spot and sub sequently went for a swim at Shanta’s Creek. He said they all left the bar, and upon arrival at the Creek, both he and the females took off their clothes and left them on top of the car they used.

After swimming for a while, one of the women said that she was ready to go home and decided to exit the water and both he and the other two fe males were left swimming.

Reports are at about 05:45h on Saturday morning, the man and the three women left the location, and as he was dropping them home, he said that the friend who introduced him to the oth er woman said she want ed to stay with her friends instead of going to her Friendship, EBD home.

The man in a Police re port said that as he was about to drive off, he checked for the money but could not find it. As a result, he called one of the women on her cellular phone but his calls went unanswered. The man then went to the Timehri Police Station, where he made a report, and the women were taken into custody.

Essequibo Coast man jailed for damaging Police vehicle

Police in Regional Division Two (PomeroonSupenaam), arrested and charged a man who went berserk and damaged a vehicle that belongs to the Guyana Police Force (GPF).

Sildon Holder, a 22-year-old labourer of Hoppy Street, Dartmouth Essequibo Coast, Region Two, was arrested by Police for malicious dam age to property.

It was reported that the act was committed on mo tor vehicle PAB 8269, at tached to the Charity Police

Station. Holder appeared at the Suddie Magistrate Court on Tuesday, before Magistrate Dylon Bess.

He pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to six months’ imprison ment for the offence com mitted.

On Monday last, a video began circulating on social media of Holder in a street on the Essequibo Coast walking past the Police ve hicle that was parked on the corner of the road.

Suddenly, he was seen walking across the road and began kicking the back of the vehicle, which

Charged: Sildon Holder

resulted in damages. He was subsequently picked up by officers who were at the scene and taken into custody where he was lat er charged.

Sildon Holder kicking the Police vehicle

The Ministry of Health reported on Sunday that two more persons have tested positive for the novel coro navirus from 130 tests con ducted within a 24-hour period.

Consequently, active cases in Guyana are now 46. This includes one pa tient in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and the remaining per sons in isolation, that is, one person in institutional isolation and the other 44 persons in home isolation.

There is no one in in stitutional quarantine, ac cording to the Ministry’s updated COVID-19 dash board on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Guyana's COVID-19 death toll re mains at 1281 with no fa talities recorded thus far this month. The last fa tality was recorded on September 15 after an 88-year-old male from Region Four (DemeraraMahaica) died.

On the other hand, some 70,076 persons in the country have recovered from the life-threatening disease to date.

Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Guyana over two years

ago, a total 698,973 tests have been conducted coun trywide and of this, some 32,726 males and 38,677 females were found to be positive.

Both of the two new cas es – one male and one fe male – detected on Sunday were from the DemeraraMahaica region.

There were no new cas es recorded in the oth er nine regions across the country within the report ing 24-hour period.

Back in March, the Guyana Government had removed 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 vaccination figures show that so far, more than 447,300 adults or 87.2 per cent have tak en a first dose while over 347,200 or 67.7 per cent of persons 18 years and older are fully vaccinated.

For adolescents be tween the ages of 12 and 17, about 35,800 or 49.1

per cent of them have re ceived first doses and of that amount, some 26,300 or 36.1 per cent received a second dose.

Vaccines are also being administered to children in the five to 11 catego ry and so far, over 8800 or 8.7 per cent have gotten a first dose, while only about 4800 or 4.7 per cent of this cohort have returned for the second dose.

Moreover, in excess of 74,800 booster shots were taken to date by the vari ous age groups.

According to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) recent figures, some 620,878,405 con firmed cases were report ed globally along with 6,543,138 deaths.

In the Region of the Americas, that is, Latin America and the Caribbean, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has increased to 179,037,351 while the death toll in the Region has gone up to 2,845,159.

As it relates to vaccina tion against COVID-19, the WHO also reported that a total of 12,782,955,639 doses have been adminis tered worldwide. (G8)

GUIDELINES FOR POULTRY REARING

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a mandate to take necessary steps for the management, conservation, protection, and improvement of the environment. As such, it takes steps to prevent or control pollution; assess the impact of economic development on the environment; and promote sustainable use of natural resources. One step being taken by the Agency over the years is to develop regulations, strategies, action plans and guidelines to support its efforts to curb some of the more persistent environmental issues. This week we will examine the EPA’s Environmental Guidelines for poultry rearing.

With the growing fast-food industry in the country, the demand for poultry and its products has increased. Poultry rearing is a quick, convenient business that not only supports the local demand for poultry in the fast-food business; it also creates jobs and income generating opportunities which is of particular importance to small-scale farmers. An unfortunate fact though, is that if not done in the correct manner, poultry rearing can have negative consequences for the environment and human health. Poorly managed poultry rearing operations can result in odour nuisance, water and land pollution, and lead to human health conditions of the skin, eyes and ears. Further, waterborne diseases such as diarrhoea can be caused by polluted water emanating from poultry-rearing facilities.

In poultry rearing, certain considerations must be taken to prevent associated issues that have the potential to compromise the quality of the environment and human health. The EPA is regularly in receipt of complaints related to poultry rearing activities and more often than not, the business against which a complaint is made, started with a few chickens but then expanded to a large number of birds, without putting in place the necessary environmental, health and safety measures.

In this week’s article, we present the essentials of the Environmental Guidelines for Poultry Rearing. The objective of this article is to inform both farmers and consumers of the measures that must be in place in order to operate poultryrearing facilities to safeguard the environment and human health.

Who needs Environmental Authorisation?

If you plan to set up or are operating a poultry rearing operation with 500 birds or more, then you need to apply to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for Environmental Authorisation. It should be noted that the guidelines below should be considered even if less than 500 birds are being reared.

* Location

The best location for poultry rearing facilities is in agricultural areas where there are existing farmlands. Poultry rearing operations should be at least 50 metres (164 feet) downwind from residences, schools, hospitals, etc and water bodies.

* Housing

The poultry pen(s) should be designed to allow proper ventilation and enable workers to perform their task easily. The materials recommended for use to build pens include:

* Floors: Concrete

* Walls: Clay bricks, hollow blocks, lumber, round wood, staves, mesh or wattle. Walls should be boarded up to 0.30 m (1 ft) from the floor and continued to the roof with mesh or other suitable material for ventilation.

* Roof: Waterproof material e.g., aluminium sheets, galvanised sheets, palm, shingle etc. An overhang of 0.90 m (3 ft) is ideal.

There should be an effective drainage system around pens which allows all washings from the pen to run into the exit drains.

* Managing solid waste

Different types of waste are produced from poultry rearing operations and it is important to manage them, especially when large volumes are produced. This needs to be done to avoid causing discomfort to neighbours and workers at the poultry farm. Measures that should be taken to effectively manage poultry waste emanating from poultry rearing operations include:

* Feed storage - Feed should be kept in a specific area that is dry, well ventilated and meshed to avoid pests. Install storage racks 15-30 cm above the ground to prevent absorption of moisture and contamination.

* Keep animal waste dry - Instead of flushing with water, remove animal waste and bedding by scraping to ensure that it is kept as dry as possible when being removed. After scraping, the area should be washed with water - preferably with highpressure, low-flow nozzles - and disinfectant.

* Use manure as fertiliser - Instead of disposing chicken manure, collect it and use as a crop fertiliser; however, manure from sick birds should not be used for this purpose.

* Store manure - Manure that is to be disposed, should be stored in a roofed area and away from water bodies, floodplains, wellheads or other sensitive environments until it is ready to be disposed.

* Compost - Other wastes such as cardboard boxes, feathers, cleaning containers, etc, should be disposed of at an approved site or can be used in compost and reused as organic manure.

* Clean storage containers - Wash and disinfect containers used to store manure after you have emptied them – this is to avoid the build-up of pests and odour.

We advise all poultry operators to take these guidelines into consideration. If you are operating without a permit, we advise you to visit our office. Additionally, you can find the complete Guidelines on our website: www.epaguyana.org.

Join us next week for more on our Poultry Rearing Guidelines.

You can share your ideas and questions by sending letters to: “Our Earth, Our Environment”, C/O ECEA Programme, Environmental Protection Agency, Ganges Street, Sophia, Georgetown, or email us at: eit.epaguyana@gmail.com or follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Patentia mandir vandalised, murtis burnt

on Saturday evening crawled over the walls and through a win dow of a mandir in Patentia, West Bank Demerara, and de stroyed the place of worship’s altar.

Intruders

In a Facebook post on Sunday morning, a member of the mandir, Ravin Ramsuran said when worshippers went to the mandir on Sunday morning, they found the altar ransacked and burned.

“Our beautiful mandir was vandalized ... After fail ing to gain entry through the door ... The person/s broke the window, climbed down, and set fire to the altar which was completely destroyed. Two Lord Ganesha murtis among other damages.”

“I can't believe such sick and evil persons exist in the world. However, our Dharma is strong,” he said.

Meanwhile, after the post, several persons from the com munity and organisations de nounced the act, while plead ing with those in authority, to act quickly to bring the offend ers to justice.

“I haven’t seen anything done to stop it. We should have laws made to condemn such unethical behaviours. Laws are made and execut ed for everything else in this country except religion,” one person posted.

Two months ago, persons broke into a Hindu temple in Berbice and vandalised the re

The murtis that were destroyed by fire

ligious murtis. The members of the D'Edward, West Coast Berbice mandir discovered the event and called the Police. As per reports, the suspect was caught.

A member of the local com munity named Adrian (only name given) told the media

that when he entered the tem ple for a puja, he discovered that two of the murtis had been destroyed.

According to the man, a report was made to the Blairmont Police Station, and the suspect was apprehended but later released. (G9)

Businessman, employee in loan scam slapped with fraud charges

ed not guilty to all of the charges.

Last month, Allen and Bristol were remanded on a similar charge.

The charge to which the pair pleaded not guilty, stat ed that between November 2, 2021, and July 18, 2022, with intent to defraud, they obtained $1.1 million from Lindel Toney by falsely pre tending that they were in a position to lend her $45 mil lion.

In 2018, Allen was jailed for 36 months for forging a

manager’s cheque worth $26 million.

Allen was convicted of falsely obtaining $26 million worth of motor vehicles from Jeetendra Ram of Fantasy Auto Sales between December 2 and December 13, 2016, by forging a Republic Bank Limited manager’s cheque in favour of Fantasy Auto Sales.

The prosecution contend ed that, during that period, the parties had entered into an agreement of sale which stated that Allen would pur chase six motor cars from

the complainant and that he would use a manager’s cheque to compensate the large sum.

When Ram went to en cash the cheque, it was dis covered that it was forged.

Allen has appealed his conviction and sentence to the Court of Appeal of Guyana and is currently out on bail pending the hearing and de termination of that matter.

Bailey, according to re ports, was charged with larce ny and forgery back in 2015.

Abusinessman,

who was previously convicted of fraud and sentenced to 36 months’ imprisonment, and one of his employees faced over a dozen fraud charges when they appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts last week.

Chairman of Micro Business Developers and Consultancy Company, Clayton Allen, 62, and his employee, 59-year-old Nobert Bailey, were taken before Magistrate Leron Daly.

They denied the charges which alleged that between June and September 2022, at Georgetown, with intent to defraud, they obtained the sum of $5.5 million from 14 persons by falsely pretending that they were in a position to grant them loans.

Allen, of South Better Hope, East Coast Demerara (ECD), and Bailey of Great Diamond Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara (EBD), were remanded to prison un til November 18. They plead

Remanded: Clayton Allen

The sling the person/s used to enter the mandir

World Food Day

Guyana must act now to achieve potential of feeding Caricom – Agri Minister

ly to the very important vi sion of the Caricom Region to reduce the food import bill by 25 per cent by 2025.

The Government of Guyana therefore emphasises the need for increase in pro duction, good agriculture practices, better nutrition, improved livelihoods and a better life for all of us,” Mustapha said.

Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha

Guyana

must act now to achieve its tar get of contributing to a 25 per cent reduction in the Caribbean Community (Caricom) food import bill by 2025.

This is according to

and as the agriculture sec tor is being transformed, more nutritious food is pro duced for all and livelihoods are improved.

Noting that Guyana is in a different era, Mustapha pointed out that “the contex

He noted that in ensur ing food security, there will be scope for sustainable em ployment opportunities for youths, women and other vulnerable groups. This he said will both generate in come and improve liveli hoods.

“Food security should not stop at increasing pro duction but should be in clusive of increasing ac cessibility and improving nutrition for all Guyanese. The Government of Guyana is working on creating the enabling environment for sustainable food systems, ensuring intergeneration al equity and encouraging the strengthening of local food production and con sumption,” the Agriculture Minister said.

SoilCare Project

The forum and mini ex hibition on Sunday also saw the launching of SoilCare Project.

(NAREI) of the Ministry of Agriculture as a key im plementing partner of this Soilcare Project. I thank the FAO, Guyana Lands and Survey Commission and Partnership Initiative for Sustainable Management

has been only been able to digitalise 38 per cent of soil maps.

“This project will pro vide open-access National Soil Information (NSI) sys tems. It will expedite the digitalisation of the remain

such demonstration of this was through our pioneer ing role in the Caribbean through voluntary set ting, and endorsement at the highest level, of Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) targets and measures

Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha, who was at the time addressing a forum at Albion, Corentyne, Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne), as part of activ ities to observe World Food Day on Sunday.

Locally, this year, World Food Day is celebrated un der the theme “Leave no one Behind”.

The Agriculture Minister pointed out that World Food Day is an annual reminder for all to join forces against hunger as a unified body with dedication and com mitment.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has chosen as its theme, “Better Production, Better Nutrition, a Better Environment, and a Better Life for all”.

Mustapha said this theme is synonymous with the Guyana’s goals of achieving “One Guyana”, as no one will be left behind

tual framework of our world is nothing like that before us”.

He said there is a need to transform Guyana’s food systems in order to adapt to climate change.

“We have all witnessed the importance of a sustain able and growing agricul ture in light of the disrup tions to food supply during the pandemic and resulting from the Russia-Ukraine War. We are protecting live lihoods and planning for re covery.”

The number of people ex

The protect focus on re storing and promoting sus tainable use of terrestri al ecosystems, sustainable management of forests, combating desertification, and halting and reversing land degradation and halt ing biodiversity loss.

The Caribbean for Integrated Small Island Landscape Developing Restoration States (CSIDSSoilCare) has been imple mented to support initia tives of Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN).

for working with us on this important project. We have seen increasing demand for user-friendly soils informa tion.”

According to the Agriculture Minister, over the last seven years, NAREI

ing 101 soil maps, and at the same time enhance techni cal skills and the soil labo ratory.”

Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission, Enrique Monize, at the project’s launch, noted that since 1997, Guyana has been a party to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission has been the National Focal Point Agency to the UNCCD since 2003.

“Guyana remains com mitted to honouring our Convention obligations. One

in 2017.”

Monize said SoilCare also aligns with Guyana's Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030 where Government has pri oritised environmental pro tection, restoration and en hancement measures, and has pledged to give special attention to reducing land degradation.

“It is also in keeping with Guyana's Climate Resilience Strategy and Action Plan, which seeks to address the most signifi cant climate risks and resil ience actions and prioritis es building climate-resilient agriculture systems,” he added. (G4)

Unidentified man found dead at Stabroek bus park

periencing moderate or se vere food insecurity in Latin America and the Caribbean increased from 205.2 mil lion in 2019 to 267.7 million in 2021.

“Guyana must act now and create the environ ment to achieve our poten tial of feeding the Caricom Region. Guyana led by His Excellency President Ali, has and will contin ue to contribute positive

Mustapha noted that soil and water are essential to our food system. He said an estimated 95 per cent of our food is directly or indirectly produced on our soils.

“Therefore, I am hap py to include this project launch with our World Food Day celebration. I noted the many benefits of the proj ect and commit the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute

An unidentified man was on Sunday morn ing found dead on the pavement close to Royal Castle at the Stabroek Bus Park.

The discovery was made just after 06:00h. While de tails on the incident remain sketchy, Guyana Times was told that no marks of vio lence were seen on the body.

Regional Commander Simon Mc Bean confirmed

that the body was found, but did not divulge other details.

This is the second body that has been found this week. Last Friday, the body of a yet to be identified man was discovered behind the newly-built ANSA McAL building at Palmyra, East Canje, Berbice.

Reports are that this body, clad in green three-quarter pants and a light green jersey, was dis

covered in a crouched posi tion in a clump of bushes. The body’s feet were bare.

Police have said that the man’s body was examined for marks of violence, and it was observed that the skin from the right side of his face, right ankle, and right hand had seemingly been peeled off.

This body has been taken to a funeral home.

Quality Bilingual Education Programme celebrates 4th anniversary

October8, 2022 was a day of celebration as the Quality Bilingual Education Programme (QBEP) marked its 4th an niversary. The QBEP is a collaborative effort be tween the local communi ties of the South Rupununi, the Intercultural Bilingual Education Organisation (which is constituted under the aegis of the Jesuits in Guyana) and the Education Ministry. The programme aims to provide an inclusive, equitable and quality edu cation which affirms and re spects the culture and iden tity of Indigenous children in Guyana’s hinterland.

The event, which was held at the St John Berchman’s Catholic Church in Sawariwau, South Rupununi, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) was attend ed by representatives from

Deep South communities, officials from the Education Ministry and parents, teach ers, and students from the bilingual nursery schools in Maruranau, Sawariwau, and Karaudarnau.

Those who attended were treated to a variety of won derful cultural performanc es from students in the pro

gramme. These cultural performances highlighted the depth and impact of the programme in building the confidence of Wapichan chil dren to speak their mother tongue and celebrate their rich cultural heritage. The occasion also provided an opportunity for the IBEO to formally thank the resource

team members who have been voluntarily contribut ing cultural content for the programme and the nursery teachers for their hard work.

In his presentation, the coordinator of the QBEP, Silverius Perry, empha sised that even though the programme is celebrating 4 years, it has been 10+ years in the making. He urged those present to imagine what can be achieved in an other 40 years given the pos itive results in such a short

time.

During 2009-2011, the Jesuits serving in Rupununi asked the communities about their dreams and a quality and culturally relevant ed ucation emerged as a prior ity. A series of consultations with Wapichan communities gave birth to the QBEP. In July 2018, a Memorandum of Understanding be tween the MoE and the QBEP was signed to allow a two-year pilot of the pro gramme in nursery schools

in Maruranau, Sawariwau, and Karaudarnau.

Despite the difficulties caused by the pandemic, the programme has continued and due to the positive feed back, the MoE has decided to expand the programme to an additional 14 South Rupununi nursery schools pending an evaluation in 2023. The IBEO hopes to ex tend the programme into the primary level and conversa tions with the MoE about pi loting Grades 1 and 2 are in progress.

The IBEO is steered by a core team comprising Fr Joel Thompson, SJ, core team chair, Fr Ronald Fernandes SJ, superior of the Jesuits in the Interior, Silverius Perry, administrative coor dinator, Leah Casimero, ac ademic coordinator, Marva Hawksworth, education con sultant, Michella AbrahamAli (DCEO, NCN); Cheryl Stephens, Head Teacher in Karaudarnau, Gregory Thomas, Wapichan Literacy Tutor and Fr Paul Martin, SJ.

22 local start-up founders shortlisted for Guyana Innovation Prize

Twenty-two

Guyanese startup founders with outstand ing ideas in science, tech nology and agriculture have been shortlisted as the new cohort of Venture Fellows for the 202223 Guyana Innovation Prize pro gramme.

Launched in 2018, the Guyana Innovation Prize is an annual, nine-month-long programme, of fered by !nnovate Guyana and funded exclusively by Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT).

The Innovation Prize pro gramme provides expert inter national business coaching, tech nical support, and capital that help build upon and improve the Fellows’ efforts to bring their com mercially viable ideas to fruition.

Since its launch, the pro gramme has trained and coached over 50 Guyanese scientists, tech nologists and agriculturists, and has awarded eight of these innova tors with US$10,000 each to scale their ideas.

CEO of the Guyana Economic Development Trust (GEDT), Oslene Carrington, the compa ny under which !nnovate Guyana operates, said that the Guyana Innovation Prize was created to fill the gap between ordinary Guyanese who have breakthrough

ideas and the opportunities to bring real and new products to market.

"From our perspective, there are no barriers to innovating new, commercially viable ideas. This programme has been designed to support “innovation for all,” which is in keeping with one of GTT’s brand pillars," Carrington noted.

This year's cohort began the Innovation Prize programme in July 2022 with 31 shortlisted Venture Fellows, and is now fur ther shortlisted to 22, who are cur rently going through the second phase of the programme.

The stand-out Venture Fellows, who joined the programme in July 2022 are Master Grillers Charcoal Briquettes by Euclid Samuels, Geometry Tiferet Ugdala LLC by Gavin Palmer, Interlocking Construction Bricks by Abdul Subhan, Created Hands-Created Things by Verlyn Collins, Bringgy by Jay Carter, Vaxxil by Andrew Garnett, Dragonfly Geospatial by Brian Smith, Bug Feeds by Sarwan Scarce, Andy Investment Company by Quinn Smith, Click-n-Learn by Anthony Wills, Ctxog Design by Sean Griffith, Innovation for All by Feiasie Baksh, FemCare by Jaya Edwards, the Moringa Shop by Issac Safi, Infinity Power FDAP by Jamal Farley, Anahata Inc by

Kelly Brassington, CME Prep by Raule Williams, Fizuro Inc by Dorwin Kingston, GuyMart by

Shaquille Moseley, Tamarindus Indica by Dwayne Harris, To Go Services by Albert Jessemy, Urban

Agriculture by Neisha Vantrompe, and Biomaterials by Isidro Ubaldo Espinosa.

The

start-up

who have been shortlisted for Venture Fellows for the 2022-23 Guyana Innovation Prize

Regional

Canada, US send military equipment to crisis-torn Haiti

some 300 hospitalisations and at least 35 deaths, with experts warning the num bers are likely much higher than what is being reported.

The security equipment arrived as Haiti, the poor est nation in the Americas, is facing political turmoil and a coalition of gangs prevent ing the distribution of diesel and petrol. Most transport is halted, with looting and gang shootouts becoming increas ingly common.

T&T man survives mishap at sea

That decision almost cost him his life.

“When I went out I didn’t realise there was a strong cur rent at that point. Honestly, I have never had the experi ence of getting into a strong current before.”

In an attempt to get back to shore, Kalloo got into diffi culties.

Canada and the United States have sent se curity equipment, including tactical and ar moured vehicles, to Haiti to help the country tackle a po litical, economic and securi ty crisis, according to a joint statement.

“This equipment will assist the HNP [Haitian National Police] in their fight against criminal actors who are fomenting violence and disrupting the flow of criti cally-needed humanitarian assistance, hindering efforts to halt the spread of cholera,”

read the statement released on Saturday by the two coun tries.

The Pan American Health Organisation said last week that cholera is resurging in Haiti, with a rising number of confirmed and suspect ed cases, nearly a quarter of which are among young chil dren. With a concentration of cases in areas where violence is escalating, making access difficult, experts warn that the real scale may be much worse than expected.

There are more than 560 suspected cases of cholera,

In mid-September, gangs surrounded a key fuel ter minal to demand Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s resig nation and to protest a spike in petroleum prices after his Administration announced it could no longer afford to sub sidise fuel.

That move, coupled with thousands of protesters blocking streets in the capi tal of Port-au-Prince and oth er major cities, has caused crucial shortages, forcing hospitals to cut back on ser vices, petrol stations to close and banks and grocery stores to restrict hours. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Brazil to nominate ex-central bank governor to run IDB

Brazil plans to nomi nate former central bank governor Ilan Goldfajn to head the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB), a person famil iar with the matter said on Sunday, as Latin America's largest economy seeks to se cure its first presidency of the institution.

The Development Bank will elect its next President on November 20 after the ouster of Mauricio ClaverCarone in an ethics scandal.

Currently Head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Western Hemisphere department, Goldfajn led Brazil’s central bank un der former President Michel Temer, before handing the

reins to current chief Roberto Campos Neto in February 2019.

Goldfajn was recognised for his focus on controlling in flation and efforts to reform banking regulations that opened the door to greater competition in the Brazilian financial system.

Under Goldfajn’s tenure, the central bank began de veloping its Pix instant pay ment platform, which was launched under Campos Neto. The platform has been a massive success in the country, winning interna tional plaudits.

After leaving the cen tral bank, Goldfajn chaired the Board of Credit Suisse in Brazil before joining the IMF.

During IMF meetings in Washington, Brazil’s Government began drum ming up support for its nom inee.

Brazil is pushing the IDB, a major investor in Latin America and the Caribbean, to finance transnational in frastructure to support more exports from the region.

The United States, which nominated Claver-Carone, has said it will not make a new nomination. Mexico has already announced that it planned to nominate Alicia Bárcena, the former Head of the United Nations' Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). (Excerpt from Reuters)

Bishop Malcom Galt has died

Bishop Emeritus Malcolm Galt died peacefully on Sunday. He was 93.

A post on the Archdiocese of Port of Spain's Facebook page on Sunday said that Galt died at Our Lady of Fatima College Community, St James, Port of Spain.

Galt was appointed Roman Catholic Bishop of Bridgetown, Barbados in 1995. He served the Barbadian diocese for 20 years until his retirement in 2005, at age 75, as man dated by canon law. As of July, he was an ordained

priest for 67 years.

Galt, according to a 2005 report in the Catholic

News, said he wanted to be remembered "as the bishop who was close to his people, who was always approach able and always had time for them.

After his work in Barbados came to an end, he returned to serve the faithful in Trinidad, once again in Santa Rosa and at St Philip and St James in Chaguanas.

A Facebook post from the Archdiocese of Port of Spain said funeral arrange ments are being made. (Excerpt from Trinidad Newsday)

Karate instructor Mario Kalloo is accustomed to swimming 200 me tres out at sea as part of his daily exercise regime.

Challenging himself, Kalloo went beyond where he usually stops in the water at Macqueripe Bay and found himself in difficulty, resulting in him spending 12 agonising hours in a dark, insect-infest ed cave before help came his way.

Recalling his ordeal over the weekend at the St Augustine Karate Dojo and Keep Fit Centre where he teaches martial arts, Kalloo admitted he was lucky to be alive.

“I have to thank God,” he said, clasping his hands and giving praise to the Almighty.

Describing himself as a recreational swimmer, Kalloo, 63, a former prin cipal of the Blanchisseuse Secondary School and Vice Principal of St Anthony’s College, went to the beach on Friday to take his evening dip.

“I have been going to Macqueripe for over 40 years to swim,” he said.

After making a few laps across the bay “from a cave to the other side”, Kalloo said he got a burst of energy and de cided to go further out in the water.

“The water kept pushing me further out...about 500 metres. I know my strength.... you don’t take chances unnec essarily. I realised I could not swim through it. I looked for a way out...and the way out was a cave close by.”

Panicking and scared, Kalloo said he composed him self and swam to the cave.

When Kalloo did not show up at his Valsayn home, his worried wife called the Police and the Hunters Search and Rescue Team led by Vallance Rambharat who combed the beachfront, but they came up empty-handed.

At the crack of dawn on Saturday, Kalloo’s brother-inlaw John Horsfal used a kay ak and went in search of him.

“The minute I saw John coming towards me I felt so re lieved and happy. I knew help would have come.” (Excerpt from Trinidad Guardian)

12 shot dead in Mexico bar attack in gang-plagued state

down the assailants.

The motive behind the shooting was not immedi ately clear. An initial state ment by the city had put the death toll at 11.

Guanajuato, a major manufacturing hub and pro duction site for many of the world's top carmakers, has been convulsed in recent years by brutal turf wars be tween rival drug gangs.

Unidentified gun men opened fire in a bar in the central Mexican city of Irapuato on Saturday evening, shoot ing dead six women and six men, local authorities said, the second mass shooting in

the state of Guanajuato in less than a month.

Three people were in jured in the attack in the south of Irapuato, the city government said in a state ment, adding that security officials were trying to track

On September 21, gun men shot dead 10 peo ple in an attack at a bar in the Guanajuato town of Tarimoro, about 96 kilome tres (60 miles) southeast of Irapuato. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Some parents decide on class action suit against Barbados Education Ministry

The

State has a respon sibility to be trans parent and ask per mission from the ward, guardian or parent of a child in Barbados’s school system before doing anything that would encroach on privacy.

This is the view of so cial activist Winston Clarke, who was speaking during a protest by parents at Trevor’s Way in Bridgetown on Saturday against the con troversial Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) questionnaire which was re cently administered to 733

First Form students across six secondary schools.

Media reports out of Barbados state that “scores of parents have demand ed that the “illegal” scripts completed by their children be returned to them. The test quizzed the 11-year-olds on gender and sexuality-re lated topics and also gath ered information pertaining to the student’s parents.

“It is only because some body, a Journalist, leaked the story out that we have become aware of it. There is no transparency. When you

put your child into school you give them permission between the hours of nine and three to inculcate and give them with academia, ethics, morals, etc. If they do anything that is conflict ing or contradictory to what your principles are, then it’s distrust,” Clarke said.

Some of the parents in volved have decided they would like to file a class action lawsuit against the Education Ministry.

Bishop Emeritus Malcolm Galt

Police block a street during a protest against the Government and rising fuel prices, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti [Ralph Tedy Erol/Reuters]

Karate instructor Mario Kalloo

Around the World

Gunmen kill 11 at Russian army base in new blow to Moscow's Ukraine campaign

OPEC+ members line up to endorse output cut after US coercion claim

OPEC+

member states lined up on Sunday to endorse a steep production cut agreed this month after the White House, stepping up a war of words with Riyadh, claimed Saudi Arabia had coerced some other nations into supporting the move.

Washington noted on Thursday that the cut would boost Russia's foreign earnings and suggested it had been engineered for political reasons by Riyadh, which on Sunday emphatically denied it was supporting Moscow in its war with Ukraine.

The kingdom's Defence Minister, Prince Khalid bin Salman, also said the Oct 5 decision to reduce output by 2 million barrels per day - which was taken despite oil markets being tight - was unanimous and based on economic factors.

His comment was echoed by Iraq, OPEC's second largest exporter, and several other producer states.

"There is complete consensus among OPEC+ countries that the best approach in dealing with the oil market conditions during the current period of uncertainty and lack of clarity is a pre-emptive approach that supports market stability and provides the guidance needed for the future," Iraq's state oil marketer SOMO said in a statement.

Kuwait Petroleum Corporation Chief Executive Officer Nawaf Saud al-Sabah also welcomed the decision by OPEC+ - which includes other major producers, notably Russia - and said the country was keen to maintain a balanced oil markets, state news agency KUNA reported.

Oman and Bahrain also said in separate statements that OPEC had unanimously agreed on the reduction.

Algeria's Energy Minister called the Oct 5 decision "historic" and he and OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais, visiting Algeria, expressed their full confidence in it, Algeria's Ennahar TV reported.

Ghais later told a news conference that the organisation targeted a balance between supply and demand rather than a specific price.

Oil inventories in major economies are at lower levels than when OPEC has cut output in the past.

But some analysts have said recent volatility in crude markets could be remedied by a cut that would help attract investors to an underperforming market.

US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Thursday that "more than one" OPEC member had felt coerced by Saudi Arabia into the vote, adding that the cut would also increase Russia's revenues and blunt the effectiveness of sanctions imposed over its invasion of Ukraine.

Khalid bin Salman said on Sunday he was "astonished" by claims his country was "standing with Russia in its war with Ukraine."

"It is telling that these false accusations did not come from the Ukrainian Government," the king's younger son wrote on Twitter. (Reuters)

Russia

has opened a criminal investi gation after gun men shot dead 11 people at a military training ground near the Ukrainian border, authorities said on Sunday, as fighting raged in eastern and southern Ukraine.

Russia's RIA news agency, citing the Defence Ministry, said two gunmen opened fire with small arms during a firearms train ing exercise on Saturday, targeting personnel who had volunteered to fight in Ukraine. RIA said the gun men, who it referred to as "terrorists," were shot dead.

The incident in the southwestern Belgorod re gion was the latest blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin's "special military op eration" in Ukraine. It came

An instructor trains Russian newly-mobilised reservists at a shooting range in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in the Donetsk region, Russian-controlled Ukraine, October 10, 2022

a week after a blast dam aged a bridge linking main land Russia to Crimea, the peninsula it annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

Russia's Defence Ministry said the attackers

were from a former Soviet republic, without elaborat ing. A senior Ukrainian of ficial, Oleksiy Arestovych, said the two men were from the mainly Muslim Central Asian republic of Tajikistan

and had opened fire on the others after an argument over religion.

Reuters was not imme diately able to confirm the comments by Arestovych, a prominent commentator on the war, or independently verify casualty numbers and other details.

"As a result of the in cident at a shooting range in Belgorod region, 11 peo ple died from gunshot wounds and another 15 were injured," Russia's Investigative Committee said, announcing the crimi nal investigation. It gave no other details.

Some Russian indepen dent media outlets reported that the number of casual ties was higher than the of ficial figures. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Ebola in Uganda: Three-week lockdown announced for 2 districts

Athree-week lockdown has been declared in two districts of Uganda as the country bat tles an Ebola outbreak.

Bars, nightclubs, plac es of worship and entertain ment venues will be closed in Mubende and neighbouring Kassanda, and a curfew will come into force.

The move is a U-turn for Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni, who previously said there was no need for such measures.

This latest outbreak has killed 19 people among 58 recorded cases.

However, the real num ber of deaths and cases may be higher.

The outbreak began in early September in Mubende, about 80km (50 miles) from the capital Kampala, and has remained the epicentre.

President Museveni had previously ruled out lock downs, saying Ebola was not

Massive protest in Paris against inflation and climate crisis

Tens of thousands of protesters marched in Paris adding to grow ing defiance and anger about inflation, three weeks into a refinery strike that caused fuel shortages across France.

The demonstration against the rising cost of liv ing on Sunday was called by the left-wing political opposi tion and led by the head of the France Unbowed party, JeanLuc Melenchon.

It was a show of anger against the bite of rising pric es and to crank up the pres sure on the Government of President Emmanuel Macron.

Organisers called it a “march against the high cost of living and climate inac tion”.

As well as calling for mas sive investment against the climate crisis, they also de manded emergency measures against high prices, including freezes in the costs of energy, essential goods and rent, and for greater taxation of wind fall profits by corporations.

Some protesters wore yel low florescent vests, the sym bol of often violent anti-Gov ernment protests in 2018 that shook Macron’s pro-business centrist Government.

Opponents of Macron are hoping to build on the mo mentum created by the refin ery standoff that began at the end of September.

Transport strikes called for Tuesday threaten to dove tail with wage strikes that

have already hobbled fuel re fineries and depots, spark ing chronic gasoline short ages that are fraying nerves among millions of workers and other motorists depen dent on their vehicles, with giant lines forming at petrol stations.

Macron’s government is on the defensive in parlia ment, where it lost its ma jority in legislative elections in June. That is making it much harder for his cen trist alliance to implement his domestic agenda against strengthened opponents, and parliamentary discussion of the government’s budget plan for next year is proving partic ularly difficult. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

an airborne virus so did not require the same measures as COVID-19.

But on Saturday he halt ed all movement in and out of Mubende and Kassanda

districts for 21 days.

Cargo trucks will still be allowed to enter and leave the areas, he said, but all other transport will be stopped.

"These are temporary measures to control the spread of Ebola," he said in a televised address.

"We should all cooperate with authorities so we bring this outbreak to an end in the shortest possible time."

The President had al ready ordered police to ar rest anyone suspected of having the virus who re fused to isolate.

And he has forbidden tra ditional healers from trying to handle cases. In previous outbreaks, healers have been associated with hotspots for spread of the virus. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Iran prison fire kills 4, injures 61 as protests persist

Afire at Iran's Evin pris on late on Saturday killed four detainees and injured 61, State media reported, as anti-Government protests sparked by a wom an's death in Police custody continued on Sunday, includ ing at several universities.

Iranian authorities said on Saturday that a prison workshop had been set on fire "after a fight among a num ber of prisoners convicted of financial crimes and theft". Evin also holds many detain ees facing security charges, including Iranians with dual nationality.

Iran's Judiciary said four of those injured in Saturday's fire were in critical condition and that those killed had died of smoke inhalation, Iranian state media reported.

Protests sparked by 22-year-old Mahsa Amini's death on Sept 16 have turned into one of the boldest chal lenges to Iran's clerical rul ers since the 1979 revolu tion, with protesters calling

for the downfall of the Islamic Republic, even if the unrest does not seem close to top pling the system.

Demonstrations contin ued at several universities on Sunday, including in the cities of Tabriz and Rasht, to a heavy deployment of riot Police. Videos posted on so cial media showed students at a Tehran university chanting:

"Iran has turned into a big prison. Evin prison has be come a slaughterhouse."

Footage of the prison aired on state television hours after the fire apparently showed that calm had returned to the facility with inmates asleep in their wards. It also showed firefighters inspecting a work shop with fire damage to the roof. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Protesters hold signs at a demonstration, following the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died last week in Tehran after being arrested by Iranian morality police, in Berlin, Germany September 24, 2022

HOROSCOPES

Time spent with a loved one or some one you find informative and refreshing will give you a new outlook. Discussing what's bothering you will bring better days ahead.

(March 21-April 19)

SUDOKU

(April 20-May 20)

Stick to the truth, regardless of what others decide to do. Pay attention to de tail and you'll attract interest in what you discover. Choose a unique path that allows you to meet interesting people.

Stay focused on what's important to you. Keeping busy will help you dodge controversy. Don't trust someone trying to sell you something. Discipline will pay off.

(May 21-June 20)

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

Emotions will be difficult to hide. Be a good listener and refrain from overre acting if you don't like what you hear or see. Ask an expert if you are in doubt. There's no shame in seeking help.

Discuss your concerns. Being hon est regarding your likes and dislikes will bring you closer to a loved one. Don't let a change someone makes be a cause for alarm. Find a positive outlet.

Channel your energy into moneymak ing pursuits. Learning something new or making a professional change or longterm investment will pay off. Connect with someone supportive. A change of scenery will be welcome.

(Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

Trust and believe in yourself and your ideas. Doing something innovative will be educational and will prompt you to incorporate the things you enjoy doing most into your everyday routine.

(Sept. 23-Oct. 23)

Learn something that will bring you one step closer to a position or daily rou tine that makes you happy. Helping others will be draining, so keep a close watch on your energy level.

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

A joint venture will tempt you. Before you proceed, consider what it will cost. Set high standards. Nurture meaningful relationships and set time aside for ro mance. Don't be afraid to chip in.

Be explicit when asked about your qualifications. Don't embellish what you can do. A positive change requires hon esty and integrity to keep the peace. Keep life simple and affordable.

(Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

Take the initiative to lower your overhead. Select a healthy routine that keeps you physically, emotionally and mentally fit. Commit to a savings plan. Contracts and investments are looking good.

(Jan. 20-Feb. 19)

A problem at home will mount if you don't address issues quickly. Refuse to let your emotions take the reins when you need rational solutions. Do your dirty work yourself.

(Feb. 20-March 20)

Aclinical Real Madrid beat Barcelona in the 250th El Clasico to go top of La Liga and in flict their rivals' first league defeat of the season. Karim Benzema scored Real's open er after Vinicius Jr's shot had been saved into his path by Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Federico Valverde dou bled the champions' lead be fore half-time with a love ly 20-yard drive. Ferran Torres pulled one back from Robert Lewandowski's flickon, but Rodrygo settled it with a penalty.

The rivals started the day with seven wins and a draw from their opening eight games – but Real go three points clear now as they remain unbeaten.

This was the first away La Liga defeat in almost a year in charge of Barcelona for Xavi.

A big loss for Xavi?

Barcelona looked as if

they were on their way back to the top of Spanish football towards the end of last sea son when they beat Real 4-0 at the Bernabeu.

They gambled in the summer by spending a lot of their future earnings on signings. The club hoped it

would lead to instant suc cess, which would in turn lead to more earnings.

But they face early elim ination from the Champions League – and showed again how they are still behind their old rivals. This is only their first defeat of the sea

son – and they are still with in three points of the top spot in La Liga. But this is El Clasico – a game manag ers dare not lose.

Something for Xavi to think about is how they looked better after bring

ing on youngsters in Ferran Torres, Gavi, and Ansu Fati. Barca appeared down and out at 2-0 before those introductions. Fati's cross was flicked into the path of Torres, who scored his second Clasico goal at the Bernabeu of the year.

Fati then hit an acro batic volley which went just wide during their brief hope of grabbing a point – before Rodrygo settled the game.

Benzema wins the battle of the strikers

Benzema led Real Madrid to the Champions League and La Liga titles last season in a campaign which is likely to win him the Ballon d'Or.

He has had a slow scor ing start to this season though. His opener, to cap off a swift counter-attack, was only his fourth La Liga goal of the season.

The France international thought he had a fifth in the

second half with a fine fin outside the box – but he had not heard the whistle going for an offside as he celebrat ed with the home fans.

One man in flying form before Sunday's game was Barcelona's Lewandowski, who like Benzema is 34.

The two-time Best FIFA Men's Player netted nine goals in his first eight games in La Liga following a sum mer move from Bayern Munich.

But he lacked the clin ical finishing of Benzema this time out. Most notably he slid a cross over an emp ty net from close range and drilled a free-kick straight into the wall.

The Pole will score plen ty more goals this sea son, but for now Benzema showed he is still the top striker in El Clasico. (BBC Sport)

Deontay Wilder makes winning return with 1st-round knockout of Robert Helenius

Liverpool handed Manchester City their first Premier League defeat of the sea son thanks to a Mohamed Salah strike in an en thralling encounter at Anfield.

The Egyptian raced onto a long pass from Alisson with 14 minutes remaining before slot ting past Ederson to give the Reds just their third league win of the season.

City were frustrated to see Phil Foden’s sec ond-half goal ruled out fol lowing a VAR check for a foul by Erling Haaland in the build-up.

The result leaves Pep Guardiola’s men four points behind league leaders Arsenal, while Liverpool move up to eighth after a much-im

proved showing. A high-octane start to the game did not lead to many early chances, with Ilkay Gundogan forcing the first save from either goalkeeper in the 15th minute, but his hopeful strike from 25 yards was easy for Alisson to deal with.

Liverpool's first oppor tunity came through Diogo Jota, who could only place his header from a cross by Harvey Elliott straight at Ederson, before Andrew Robertson received the ball on the left of the pen

tested Alisson on two occa sions, also seeing a header loop over the bar.

The hosts should have been ahead shortly after the restart when Salah was played through on goal by Elliott, but Ederson got the slightest touch to it to tip the Egyptian's fin ish just wide of the righthand post.

City thought they were ahead moments lat er when Haaland burst through, forcing a save from Alisson before Foden put the ball in the net on the rebound, but referee Anthony Taylor ruled it out after the VAR asked him to check the moni tor, with Haaland hav ing fouled Fabinho in the build-up.

It was Liverpool who took the lead on 76 min utes when Alisson caught a Kevin De Bruyne freekick before launching it downfield to Salah, who outfoxed Joao Cancelo be fore finishing calmly past Ederson.

Former heavyweight world champi on Deontay Wilder knocked out Robert Helenius in the first round as the “Bronze Bomber” made a winning return to boxing in Brooklyn, New York.

The American, 36, was stepping into the ring for the

then when he reached, I at tacked."

He added: "We wanted to make this fun again. You can do this so long it can be a job, just something you are doing. We made it fun. It paid off big time."

Victory over Helenius, his former sparring partner,

Jr or Ukraine's Oleksandr Usyk, while he also wants to fight Britain's Anthony Joshua be lieving it would be "the num ber one fight in the world".

"Who's next? I'm down for whatever," Wilder said. "Andy Ruiz, Usyk or whatev

alty area after the City stopper had palmed away a James Milner cross, but the Scot fired his effort over the crossbar.

Bernardo Silva sliced a shot into the Kop from the edge of the box on the halfhour mark, while Haaland

Reds boss Jurgen Klopp was sent to the stands by Taylor late on after react ing furiously to the refer ee's refusal to award his team a free-kick, but it did not matter as Liverpool held on for a win that could turn around their slow start to the cam paign. (Sportsmax)

first time since his second successive knockout defeat by Tyson Fury last October.

He hit Finnish opponent Helenius flush in the face from his famous right hand with seconds left in the open ing round.

"It was a great night," said Wilder. "I had to take my time. I was making him reach. I wanted to be mobile, agile, and hostile. I set him up, allowed him to reach, and

at Barclays Center improved Wilder's record to 43-2 with one draw and 42 knockouts.

The back-to-back defeats by Fury were the first of Wilder's previously unblem ished career and stripped him of the WBC title he had held since 2015, and he had seri ously considered retirement in the months afterwards.

Next up, he could face fel low American and former world champion Andy Ruiz

er. I'm back. The excitement is back in the heavyweight di vision."

The inside story of Wilder's return

Wilder broke down in tears at his post-fight news confer ence as he discussed the dan gers of boxing. He referenced former boxer Prichard Colon, who suffered a life-altering brain injury during a bout in 2015. (BBC Sport)

Federico Valverde has scored three goals in Clasicos – one at Madrid, one at Barca and one in Saudi Arabia

Deontay Wilder walks away after knocking out Robert Helenius

Liverpool handed Manchester City their first Premier League defeat of the season

TCup without both Chris Gayle, whose West Indies fu ture is uncertain, and Dwayne Bravo, who has retired from international cricket. West Indies will also be without Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, and Shimron Hetmyer, who was recently dropped from the squad after missing a "re scheduled" flight to Australia.

tain, Nicholas Pooran is con fident his players can fire in unison to get the job done.

"I think it should be a bal ance with experience and younger players," Pooran said on the eve of West Indies' open ing game against Scotland in Hobart. "If you look at it, there were a lot of big names when we won those two World Cups

“If we stay together, it'll be fine” – Pooran backs West Indies to fire despite lack of big names

[2012 and 2016], but we also had a lot of big names in the last year's World Cup, as well, and we didn't qualify [for the

"Obviously, Australia won last year, and they didn't have too many big names, but they obviously had a team that was proven, and that was enough for them to win the World

"So, coming back to us, we don't have the big names, but we have formed a team here, and that's been really import ant. Once the guys play for each other and stay together,

In the absence of sever al senior players, West Indies are counting on their CPL stars Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Rovman Powell, Obed McCoy, Akeal Hosein and Shamarh Brooks, who was a late addition to the squad in place of Hetmyer, to do the job for them. The odds are stacked against West Indies – they first need to compete with Scotland, Ireland and Zimbabwe in the first round to progress to the main tourna ment – and beating them all to win their third T20 world title would "mean the world" to them, according to Pooran.

"Yeah, it [winning the ti tle] would definitely be some thing special," Pooran said. "Obviously for this group here, it's a new group, new faces, a

lot of younger players in the team. For us to obviously win this World Cup, it would be our biggest achievement as in dividuals.

"We are underdogs in this tournament [even though] we have won the tourna ment twice, and a lot of peo ple, a lot of media you see, a lot of people don't think we can even qualify, as well. So, it will mean a lot for us. We spoke about sticking this time together. Whether we win or lose, we're going to stick to gether as a group, so winning this tournament, yeah, obvi ously we need to work really hard, but it would mean the world to us."

"We don't have the big names, but we have formed a team here, and that's been re

ally important. Once the guys play for each other and stay together, it'll be fine."

West Indies haven't played Scotland before in a T20I be fore and, though their play ers have had a steady diet of T20 cricket, including the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), in the lead-up to the World Cup, Pooran was wary of Scotland.

"Yeah, it [Scotland] will be a challenge," Pooran said. "But our guys are confident. We've been here for over two weeks now. I think the guys are ready to go and acclimatis ing to these conditions. A lot of these guys haven't played in Australia. This will be the first time, but the guys are confident, they're happy. The preparation has been really

Cash pours in for Project “Cricket Gear for Young and Promising Cricketers in Guyana”

good, and we just can't wait for tomorrow to start our game."

West Indies' wildcard pick Yannic Cariah, the 30-yearold legspin-bowling all-round er, suffered a minor bruising after being struck on his bowl ing hand while batting against UAE in the warm-up fixture at the MCG on October 10. It remains to be seen wheth er he has recovered sufficient ly to play for West Indies on Monday.

During the two-match T20I series against Australia, West Indies had opted against pairing Mayers up with King at the top, promoting Johnson Charles instead. Pooran kept his cards close to his chest when he was asked about West Indies' potential combi nation for their opening fix ture.

"Yeah, we obviously have to select the team still," Pooran said. "It's quite early here in Australia. We haven't sat down and discussed who's playing tomorrow. The makeup of the team obviously varies due to the conditions here ob viously, here in Hobart which has been cold for a while now, we have to go back and look at it." (ESPNCricinfo)

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US-based Guyanese Raj “Rebels” Mathura is the latest per son to provide cash support of $20,000 to the Project “Cricket Gear for Young and Promising Cricketers in Guyana” initiative of Kishan Das of the USA and Anil Beharry, Special Technocrat with respon sibility for Governance, Marketing and Finance of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB).

Raj visited Guyana re cently during CPL 2022 and presented the cash to Beharry. “I am happy to assist with this noble ini tiative “ said Raj as he pre sented the cash. He is a top softball cricketer who participates in tourna ments in the USA, Canada and Guyana. Beharry ex pressed gratitude in re sponse.

Total cricket-related items collected so far un der the project: $270,000 in cash, two trophies, 12 cricket boots, 19 pairs of

batting pads, 25 bats, 15 pairs of batting gloves, 19 thigh pads, one pair of wicketkeeping pads, two arm guards, six crick et bags and three hel mets. In addition to the above, $600,000 worth of gear was donated by Sheik Mohamed, former national wicketkeeper-batsman.

To date, 40 young play ers from all three counties of Guyana have already benefited. In addition, two clubs in the Pomeroon area benefited from two used bats. Pomeroon, Leguan and Wakenaam Cricket Committees and Cotton Tree Die Hard also re ceived one box of red crick et balls each while the Rose Hall Community Centre Cricket Club (RHCCCC) received two boxes, 15 white cricket shirts, one pair of junior batting pads, one pair of wicket-keeping gloves and a set of stumps and bails. The Essequibo Cricket Board and now the town of Lethem also re ceived items..

Under the project, cricket-related items, used or new, is distributed free of cost to young and prom ising cricketers in Guyana. Skills, discipline, and ed

ucation are important characteristics of the re cipients. Talent spotting is being done across the country, and club lead ers also assist to identify

same.

Project Cricket Gear take this opportunity to thank Javed and Imran of West Indian Sports Complex,

of USA, Hilbert Foster, Bish Panday of P and P Insurance Brokers, Sean Devers, Trevis Simon, Årïêl J Tïlkú, Aaron Beharry, Leanna Bachan and Imran Saccoor, Devon Ramnauth, Teddy Singh, Romash Munna, Ravi Etwaroo, Kelvin Brijlall, Ravin Harkishun, Surendra Harkishun, Allan Mangru, Dennis Mangru, Vishal Mahabir, Sherman Austin, Huburn Evans, Rajendra Sadeo, Ramesh Sunich of Trophy Stall, Sheik Mohamed of Star Sports Awards and Trophies and Ajay Gainda of Cricket Equipment Guyana, Gajanand Singh, Peter Ramkissoon, Rabindranath Saywack, Roshan Gaffoor, Ameer Rahaman, Chin Singh, Denesh Chandrapaul, Dr Cecil Beharry, Davo Naraine of the UK and Latch Mohabir and family. Th media was thanked for the role it has been playing in promoting this venture. Distribution will continue. Anyone interested in con tributing to the initiative can contact Anil Beharry on 623-6875 or Kishan Das on 1-718-664-0896.

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GCB Senior Inter-county: Paul, Beaton, and Savory lead Essequibo into final

Eknauth Persaud at 8-1.

By Brandon Corlette at ProvidenCe

L

ed by four-wicket hauls from Keemo Paul and Player of the Match Ronsford Beaton, and a half-century from Kemol Savory, Essequibo defeated a strong Demerara team by 10 runs at the Guyana National Stadium at Providence.

After a match that was filled with drama and hardfought cricket , Essequibo's spirited win now sets up a clash against the defend ing champions Berbice in Tuesday's final of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) senior inter-county tournament, which is sched uled for a 14:00h start at Providence.

In the match, Essequibo, batting first, posted 156 all out, with Savory scoring 66,

while Demerara managed 146 all out in 31.1 overs, with Akshaya Persaud scor ing 36. Beaton claimed 4-38 while the spirited Paul had 4-50.

In the chase of 157, Demerara had lost Tagenarine Chanderpaul for a duck when he was trapped leg-before by the brisk Beaton. The national pacer, who has also played international cricket, con tinued to make the batsmen uncomfortable.

While Kevon Boodie put down a sitter, and despite Joshua Persaud driving Beaton down the ground, Beaton got the last laugh when he produced a short ball and removed Persaud caught at fine-leg for 13, with the scoreline reading 22-2.

A 50-run partnership for the third wicket between

Leon Johnson and Tevin Imlach revived the chase. Imlach departed for a prom ising 28, in what looked a harsh call, and, he was Paul's first victim at 73-2. Christopher Barnwell (03) then came and went cheap ly, clean-bowled by left-arm spinner Garfield Phillips.

The classy Johnson, who played some glorious shots in his 45-ball 29, an innings that was decorated with four boundaries and one six, fell to a short ball from Beaton at 88-5. Essequibo continued to fight, and wickets kept tumbling, de spite Sherfane Rutherford threatening with his 18, an innings that had two fours and one six.

It was the man from Cornelia Ida, Akshaya Persaud, who began his in nings with sweetly-timed boundaries off the danger

ous Beaton. The left-handed Persaud left the Essequibo supporters in awe with his stroke-play, in his innings of 36 from 30 balls that had six fours. He was, howev er, adjudged leg-before, to a ball that struck him fair ly high.

His wicket had the men from the Cinderella County jumping for joy, and Ricardo Adams dismissed Sankar as Demerara folded for 146 all out in 31.1 overs. Beaton claimed 4-38 in eight overs while Paul had 4-50. Paul, who is struggling with an ankle injury, showed deter mination and grit, taking short steps and bowling at a reduced pace.

Earlier, Essequibo won the toss and opted to bat first in sunny condi tions. Barnwell opened the bowling from the top end executed a perfect york er, to shatter the stumps of

It quickly became 34-3 when Boodie played a poor shot, slashing one to short cover and the next ball, Paul picked up his first ball and was caught at deep backward square.

Ronaldo Ali Mohammed produced that breakthrough over, to put Essequibo on top. Ricardo Adams then partnered Savory and the duo attempted to re build the innings, but that ploy failed, when Ricardo was caught for 12 off Ali Mohammed at 59-4 in 17.4 overs. Three runs later, the skipper. Antony Adams was trapped leg-before by the probing Barnwell for a duck.

The young Wazim Mohamed then came in and played fearlessly; he was the perfect foil for Savory. Mohamed made a flashy 22 from 30 balls, an

Kemol Savory followed up his first-round century with a patient 66

innings that included two fours and the innings' only six. The lower middle or der failed to complement Savory, who reached his half-century from 89 balls.

Promising leg-spinner Steven Sankar, who ended with 3-43 in his 10 overs, wrapped up the innings with Richie Looknauth, who had 2-25 in 7.2 overs. Savory, who scored a century in the first round against the GCB President's XI, was the final man dismissed for 66 from 119 balls, an innings that included one four. He bat ted for 191 minutes.

Ali Mohammed claimed 3-28 in his seven overs, while Barnwell had 2-23 in a collective bowling effort

Headaches for the selectors as Guyana Harpy Eagles squad announcement looms

By Brandon Corlette

The 2022 CG Insurance Regional Super50 is scheduled to commence on October 29, but the Guyana Harpy Eagles will start their campaign against Windward Islands Volcanoes from October 31 at Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad.

Based on reliable informa tion, the 14-man squad sub mission for all territories was set to be submitted to Cricket West Indies (CWI) this week. Barbados Pride had already submitted and announced their team to the public.

During the ongoing Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) senior inter-county tourna ment, the selection panel, led by Rabindranauth Seeram, was present at all the ven ues, which is a good sign, de spite the tournament being streamed live.

Some players have thrown their names into the selection hat with strong performances, while some of the notable play ers have shown their class.

Kemol Savory, who scored a century in the first round and had a solid innings against Demerara in the penultimate

match, has thrown his name into the selection hat as one of the young and upcoming play ers with little national experi ence, who should be in line for selection.

National players Leon Johnson and Anthony Bramble have also showed consistency, while Jonathan Foo, Shimron Hetmyer, Romario Shepherd, Veerasammy Permaul, Christopher Barnwell and the other incumbents had good showings at some point in the tournament.

Here is a look at my squad, and based on my selections, no major surprises should be expected when the selec

tors make the squad official. Keemo Paul was omitted from my squad because of his inju ry and the expected birth of his first child; Chandrapaul Hemraj, who sustained an in jury and missed the recent match against Essequibo, has been going through a rough patch and has been playing a lot of cricket. Given Hemraj is fit and ready to go, he will slot into the squad.

Why the inclusion of Foo and Barnwell?

Foo is no stranger to Guyana cricket. In fact, he was instrumental in Guyana's win at the Caribbean T20 champi onships in 2010. However, the 32-year-old has had his fair share of quiet seasons, but of recent, he has redefined him self while playing in the USA and in India.

Foo, who scored 71 in the opening round of the GCB in ter-county and had an unbeat en innings of 19 in the second round, scored 334 runs at his last Regional Super50.

Meanwhile, Barnwell has simply been the most consis tent batsman for Guyana at the Super50 level. He scored his maiden century in the 2021

season. The 35-year-old has been playing white-ball cricket in the USA, where he has been churning out the runs. While scoring 186 runs in the 2021 Super50, Barnwell scored 351 runs in the 2019 Super50 sea son, and 282 runs in the 2018 season. He also showed his skill with bat and ball during the ongoing inter-county tour nament, where he picked up crucial wickets and scored runs when needed.

Another good season for Kemol Savory

The 26-year-old Savory, who played six List A match es, scored an unbeaten cen tury in the first round, and followed that up with a pa tient 66. He has also shown his class with the gloves, and over the years, his fitness has improved. However, if the se lectors choose to go in anoth er direction with Tevin Imlach

senior glovesmen, that would not be a surprise.

The other players should be selected without question but given Beaton's fitness, Nial Smith or Clinton Pestano should get the nod. Smith, who had a strong start to his regional career, has been quiet in recent times, and he has not taken the ongoing inter-coun ty tournament by storm with wickets. Pestano has looked fitter this season, and he has had a good start to his region al career. He also claimed a hat-trick, in the 2018 season where he took 15 wickets.

Corlette's Guyana Harpy Eagles Squad for Regional Super50: Leon Johnson (Captain); Tagenarine Chanderpaul; Shimron Hetmyer; Kemol Savory; Jonathan Foo; Christopher Barnwell; Sherfane Rutherford; Anthony Bramble; Tevin Imlach; Romario Shepherd; Kevin Sinclair, Veerasammy Permaul; Gudakesh Motie, and Ronsford Beaton.

Reserves: Chandrapaul Hemraj, Clinton Pestano, and Nial Smith

Guyana Harpy Eagles Lead Selector Rabindranauth Seeram

Leon Johnson is expected to lead the Guyana Harpy Eagles once again

Christopher Barnwell cleans up Eknauth Persaud

Demerara bowlers had a collective bowling effort (Brandon Corlette photos)

Ronsford Beaton bowls during his Player-of-the-Match effort