Guyana Times - Monday September 20, 2021

P15

“Stop politicians who want to obstruct, hinder development” − Rodrigues Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

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Issue No. 4776

THE BEACON OF TRUTH MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

ExxonMobil to start drilling 2 more wells on Wednesday

Albion sugar workers’ protest

GAWU, GuySuCo reach agreement to end strike …workers will be paid difference of cut cane, punt target

PRICE

$80 VAT INCLUDED

WHAT'S INSIDE:

$100M P15 allocated to facilitate Onderneeming access road

Page 7

Goldsmith P10 beaten, robbed by armed men

Child Protection Week

3-year plan to curb child abuse to be launched Page 13

Education P8 Ministry to withhold NGSA results for students who fail to return textbooks

…country facing textbooks shortage – Manickchand

Sweetie P10 vendor robbed at gunpoint

This week, Human Services Minister Dr Vindhya Persaud will launch the “Every Child Safe” campaign, geared towards engaging communities to create safe environments for children

GTU dissociates itself from APNU/AFC MP’s derogatory jingle attack on Minister

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...now hoping for engagement with Education Ministry

Confrontation over access to koker ends in murder Page 13

12 more COVID-19 deaths …100 COVID-19 deaths in 19 days recorded …208 new cases, 33 in ICU Page 9

2 remanded on armed robbery, narco-trafficking P14 charges

27-year-old shot multiple times during heated row P11

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

NEWS

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS OPENINGS BRIDGE

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

Monday, Sept 20 – 03:30h – 05:00h and Tuesday, Sept 21 – 04:00h – 05:30h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Monday, Sept 20 – 16:05h – 17:35h and Tuesday, Sept 21 – 16:35h – 18:05h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY There will be sunshine during the day. Expect partly cloudy skies at night. Temperatures should range between 22 degrees Celsius and 32 degrees Celsius.

Winds: West South-Westerly to Westerly between 1.78 metres and 4.47 metres.

High Tide: 16:21h reaching a maximum height of 2.62 metres.

Low Tide: 09:57h and 22:12h reaching minimum heights of 0.59 metre and 0.56 metre.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2021

LOTTERY NUMBERS E

10 13 15 20 21 25

FREE TICKET

12 Bonus Ball

DAILY MILLIONS

02 10 16 17 21 LUCKY 3

6

3

1

5

Afternoon Draw

1

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Evening Draw

DRAW DE LINE

01 04 07 08 12 16 21 SUPER

PAY DAY

PAY DAY FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2021

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

COMMODITIES Indicators

US$

Change %

Crude Oil

$75.34/barrel

-0.44

Rough Rice

$248.36 /ton $504.80/ton

+0.13 -1.58

London Sugar

Live Spot Gold

USD Per Ounce

Bid/Ask

$1752.00

$1753.00

Low/High Change

$1750.80 -1.80

$1756.30 -0.10%

ExxonMobil to start drilling 2 more wells on Wednesday …Stena Carron, Noble Tom Madden among ships to be used

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sso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) is forging ahead with drilling two wells in the Stabroek Block, as part of its ambitious multi-well drilling campaign.

According to the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD), EEPGL will start exploration drilling at the Longtail-2 well from September 21 to October 31. They will be using the MODU Stena Carron, complemented with a number of other vessels, to drill the well which is 106.9 nautical miles from the coast.

Meanwhile, exploration drilling has already started on the Cataback-1 well and

will conclude on September 30. For this well, which is located 104.88 nautical miles from the coast of Guyana, the MODU Noble Tom Madden is being used.

Exxon has a high prospect of success at the Longtail-2 well given the past drilling history there.

It was only a few months ago that Exxon found 70 metres of high-quality oil reservoirs while drilling at the Longtail-3 well.

Longtail-3 followed on the success of Longtail-1, where oil was found by Exxon in 2018.

The Stabroek Block is 6.6 million acres (26,800 square kilometres).

EEPGL is the operator, and holds 45 per cent interest in the block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd holds 30 per cent interest, and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited, holds the remaining 25 per cent interest.

ExxonMobil has said it anticipates that at least six projects offshore Guyana will be online by 2027. A fourth project, Yellowtail, has been identified within the block with anticipated start-up in late 2025 pending Government approvals and project sanctioning.

This project will develop the Yellowtail and Redtail fields, which are located about 19 miles (30 kilometres) southeast of the Liza

Stena Carron, one of the vessels that will be used

developments.

The start-up of Liza Phase 2 remains on tar-

get for 2022, as the Liza Unity FPSO prepares to sail away from Singapore to Guyana later this year.

The Unity FPSO has a production capacity of 220,000

barrels of oil per day at peak rates. The hull for the Prosperity FPSO vessel, the third project at the Payara Field, is complete, and topsides construction activities have commenced in Singapore with a startup target of 2024.

These new projects continue to drive investment in the Guyanese economy.

More than 2300 Guyanese are now supporting project activities on and offshore, which reflects a more than 20 per cent increase since the end of 2019.

ExxonMobil and its key contractors have spent approximately US$388 million with more than 800 local companies since 2015.

ExxonMobil recently announced that it found 220 feet (67 metres) of high-quality oil in the Pinktail well offshore Guyana. It was explained that the Pinktail discovery, which was drilled by the Noble Sam Croft drill ship, is 21.7 miles southeast of the Liza Phase 1 project.

Additionally, Exxon was able to successfully appraise the Turbot-1 and 2 wells, where oil was previously found. In the case of the Turbot-2 well, drilling encountered 43 feet (13 metres) of net pay, separate from the oil previously encountered in the Turbot-1 well. (G3)

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guyanatimesgy.com

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

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

Sugar challenges

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ane cutters from Rose Hall, assigned to Albion Estate when the former was shuttered by the APNU/ AFC Government in 2017, downed cutlasses and protested last Friday. It appeared to be a “wildcat” strike since their union GAWU was not around and had not given the customary notice to management. But it was clear that the action could not have come as a surprise to the management of GuySuCo. Workers’ grievances had been made known from the beginning of the truncated crop, but the attempt to address them was obviously not successful.

Some of the workers, organised as Gang 17B, claimed that the weight of the cane that they were paid to cut and load at the rate of $1100/tonne was being recorded short at the factory and consequently, their wages on most days amounted to less than the $2000/day minimum wage.

This claim of “short weight” was a perennial one in the industry and decades ago it was agreed that a Sugar Union representative would scrutinise the scale readings during factory operations. There needs to be a clarification as to whether this system remains in place.

Another grievance expressed was that because of the extensive flooding of the cane fields from excessive rainfall, vines and other “obstacles” to the cutting of the canes had become inordinate. This resulted in extra effort and time being expended to complete the daily “task” of two-three beds of cane, harvested by three cane cutters, which would normally produce three tonnes per bed. This was also an old complaint going back to colonial times and over the years, the unions have wrested the right of extra compensation for “obstacles”. The workers claim this is not being paid.

But it appeared that this grievance of “short weight” had been raised before and management attributed it to the individual stalks of cane not being as heavy as before the floods due to new stalks sprouting from adventitious roots. The same volume of cane in the punts would not necessarily deliver the weights obtained before. The “solution” by management, which would have had to be accepted by GAWU, the workers’ union, was that after cutting and loading their tonnes of cane from 5am in the morning to 12 noon, the cane cutters would then have to move on to other tasks such as cleaning drains to “top up” their wages. This “solution” should have been a non-starter since after six hours of literally back-breaking labour, very few workers would have had the energy to accomplish the new tasks.

The following day, the 300-plus workers of 17B were joined by another 800-plus cane cutters from Albion proper and they protested along the Albion Road by blocking it and starting some small fires. Even though the management quarters are at the end of the same road near the factory, it took the intervention of the Region Six Police Deputy Commander to bring the Manager of the estate to parley with the aggrieved workers at the Albion Complex to defuse the situation. The Estate’s management and GuySuCo officials were supposed to have met yesterday to arrive at a mutual modus vivendi.

We believe that there has to be a comprehensive appraisal of the workers’ grievances balanced against the Corporation’s constraints to achieve an equitable settlement. The workers cannot be penalised for the poor cane yields and must be compensated for the additional labour expended to deliver the required tonnage. The extra compensation can be incorporated into the old “obstacle” agreement. But just as critical is the shortened crop from 20 to 12 weeks. Even in “normal” times, the sugar workers barely have money saved from “crop time” to carry them over to the next crop. This time they are already in the red.

There must be some arrangement to provide work for all of them during the “off” period, maybe to help resuscitate Rose Hall. Management, after all, has already bemoaned the depleted labour force and must not make workers feel exploited.

The late Imam Shaheed Mohamed Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret'd) Mark Phillips, along with former President Donald Ramotar and Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat, was among the persons that paid their final respects to the late Imam of the Queenstown Masjid, Shaheed Mohamed. The funeral service was held at the Muslim Youth Organisation (MYO) compound (Office of the Prime Minister photos)

Youth led innovation is important for Guyana’s transformation: Time to move beyond platitudes Submitted by UNICEF

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n April this year, more than 11,000 youth leaders from around the world gathered for the United Nations’ Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Youth Forum, the UN’s foremost platform for listening to the voices of the world’s 1.8 billion young people.

At the event, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said it was time for world leaders to “move beyond platitudes” about young people and commit to delivering a better future for them all.

Addressing Youth Forum delegates, the UN’s Youth Envoy, Jayathma Wickramanayake, said that the world’s 1.8 billion youth face issues “that no other generation has encountered,” including the climate crisis, conflicts, and systems of inequality that threaten young people’s lives and futures.

Acknowledging these challenges, the Secretary-General stated that world leaders should “not be surprised that both online and in the streets, young people have been expressing their impatience with the pace of change… and their frustration with injustice and poor governance.” He added that that “tangible improvements” are urgently required in education, employment, environmental protection, and digital connectivity in particular.

The annual International Youth Day observance on 12 August is “an opportunity to celebrate and mainstream young people’s voices, actions and initiatives, as well as their meaningful, universal and equitable engagement.”[1] But if we are we are serious about our own legacy, we must accelerate our work to bestow on young people a future worthy of their talents.

This is why the UN is implementing a global Youth Strategy that aims to significantly strengthen our capacity to engage young people and benefit from their views, insights, and ideas.

It is also the reason why the UN is putting young people at the centre of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and at the core of the global recovery from COVID-19.

Listening to young people in Guyana Young people in Guyana] constitute more than two thirds of the population but significant numbers are already at risk of being left behind. The youth unemployment rate for the first quarter of 2021 was recorded at 31.4%, and more young women are unemployed (41.9%), compared to young men (23.7%).

The proportion of youth (both young men and women) not in employment, education or training was 35.9%. Among young women, the rate is 45.6%.

Last year, to commemorate 75 years since the creation of the United Nations, the Secretary-General led a global conversation about “the future we want, the United Nations we need”.

Youth from Guyana joined more than one million people worldwide who voiced their aspirations in focus group conversations and in online surveys.

We heard young people in Guyana express their desire for a more inclusive, equitable, and harmonious society. They want to do motivating work and are interested in the development and uptake of emerging technologies. They are worried by levels of crime and gender-based violence that threatens the safety and wellbeing of girls and women and even boys. They are passionate about eliminating racism and all forms of discrimination against persons living with disabilities and other marginalized groups. They affirmed their expectation for quality health, education, and social services.

The UN wishes to collaborate with the Government, private sector and civil society to support and work with girls, boys and young women and men to realize the Guyana they want.

‘Not just for young people, but with them’ Right now, governments around the world are preparing for two landmark events that will have major implications for our

shared future and the lives of children: COP26 (the global climate conference) and the Global Food Systems Summit. Both demonstrate that we should be thinking not just about how to create a future fit for young people, but how to build a future with them, actively drawing on their talents and insights.

In fact, the theme of this year’s International Youth Day is all about how youth innovation for human and planetary health could help transform food systems. And in Guyana, today, we get a glimpse of how young people, the Government, and the UN, can work together to kick-start this transformation.

First, the importance of developing new types of food system (domestically, regionally, internationally) is already well-recognised in Guyana. Under H.E. President Irfaan Ali’s stewardship, Guyana is playing a leading role within CARICOM on agriculture and food security policy, while revitalization of Guyana’s domestic agriculture and aquaculture industries is a national priority.

Meanwhile, we know that young people are highly receptive to the use of new technologies in food production and attuned to the necessity for climate-smart production. In Guyana, we have seen how young entrepreneurs are already amongst those adopting new farming techniques such as vertical farming (hydroponics, aeroponics), organic production, and regenerative practices.

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is already helping young people start their own businesses in food production, processing, agro-tourism, agricultural supplies, marketing, and other associated fields. The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) supports economic enterprises in rural and indigenous communities under the Hinterland Environmentally Sustainable Agricultural Development Project. The World Food Programme (WFP) is active in the Caribbean and offers assistance to enhance food security.

Taken together, these components offer insights of glimpse of how governments, young Guyanese women and men, and the UN can work together to address the issues with today’s food systems. The potential of such cooperation is high and its urgency beyond question.

The UN’s commitment to youth in Guyana: our new cooperation partnership Food systems is just one example of how the UN is putting youth at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

UNICEF, the UN Children’s Fund, has taken a multi-sectoral approach to protecting children’s rights, through early childhood interventions, education and by supporting the introduction of the Juvenile Justice Act and helping with the creation of Children’s Courts. UNFPA promotes reproductive health and addresses adolescent pregnancies. UNAIDS works on prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS involving some of the most vulnerable population groups. PAHO/WHO supports Guyana’s health systems and services and has been active in addressing mental health issues that affect young people as well. UNDP supports young people in accessing ICT hubs and exploring innovation through digital means. UNESCO’s #iRespectU campaign aims to promote the meaningful participation and inclusion of young people in decision-making, with a particular focus on human rights and diversity. IOM and UNHCR work with government services and communities to enable migrants and refugees to be included in Guyana’s society and economy.

In 2021, as we emerge from a global pandemic, and confront the magnitude of the climate emergency, there are no more important stakeholders in our future than our young people. The UN will spare no effort in protecting them, and in soliciting their energy, ambition, and talent to create a better world for us all.

guyanatimesgy.com

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

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

Unions have active role in vaccination against COVID-19 Dear Editor, Workers’ Unions have an active role to play in getting workers around Guyana vaccinated against COVID-19 and making sure mandates are implemented as smoothly and as fairly as possible.

Safety and health are at the core of a Union’s role, and this pandemic is no exception. A pay check is meaningless if you die at work.

Functionally, official Union support or opposition to COVID-19 vaccine mandates is academic. Courts and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission have made it clear that employers can require vaccination as a condition of employment with or without a Union’s approval.

Everyone has suffered from this pandemic, but generally workers with Unions were able to stay safer on the job, and get paid for the risks they were assuming.

Rather than acting as an obstacle, Unions can help implement vaccine mandates because they can identify and resolve worker concerns about these programmes through the bargaining process.

While politics and weaponised disinformation have made this vaccine a controversy, it’s worth reiterating that vaccine mandates are nothing new. They’ve been mandated for the military since George Washington required smallpox vaccines during the Revolutionary War. Vaccines are required for healthcare workers, teachers, most first responders and many others — including flight attendants who fly international routes.

Nearly all schools require vaccinations for students to enrol.

It’s important not to let the controversy overwhelm the reality: It is obvious that most Americans sup-

port a coronavirus vaccine mandate. And it’s no wonder. More than 660,000 have lost their lives, millions have spent days or weeks in the hospital, and many suffer long-haul symptoms.

When one looks at the reality 660,000 have lost their lives, Guyana’s population is approximately 800,000 what a comparison.

Guyanese, teachers, Union leaders and Opposition politicians, we are no different from the majority of Americans. We’ve lost friends, family and too many workers. We’ve faced the destruction of our jobs.

COVID-19 is the threat.

There are proven strategies to mitigate that threat.

So I encourage Union members and Union leaders to be ready to implement vaccine mandates.

Throughout this pandemic, the No 1 priority of our Unions should have been to keep their members,

our communities and those they serve safe. COVID is mutating, it’s spreading to kids, and vaccines remain our best defence to protect people and prevent the spread of disease; prevent hospitals from overflowing; keep our economy functioning, plus reopen—and keep open—our schools for fulltime in-person learning.

The variant and ensuing rise in cases have changed the situation. More employers should consider vaccination policies, including mandates. And while we still believe the best way to increase vaccinations is through education and voluntary adoption, we must be in a position to work with our employers on workplace vaccination policies, including how they’re implemented—so people who need to be vaccinated can get accommodations, so everyone has access to vaccines and time to get them, and so no one is

penalised for medical or religious reasons. Moving forward, if possible, Unions can bargain the impact of these vaccination policies.

Workplace policies should be done with working people, not to them.

In fact, several Union affiliates around the world have already worked with elected officials, Education Ministries and other employers on vaccine or test policies. This once-in-a-generation pandemic calls for us to work together to keep people safe and put COVID-19 behind us.

As educators, healthcare professionals and public employees, we play an important role in our communities, and the overwhelming majority of us that are vaccinated. We must continue to advocate for masking, testing, and accurate science-based information about vaccinations to combat the rampant disinforma-

tion that’s literally killing Guyanese, vaccines work.

Vaccines are safe. And vaccines save lives.

As a General Manager for a utilities company, I am proud to report that our company has achieved 98 per cent 1st dose vaccination rate, with the expectation of 100 per cent at the end of the 2nd dose.

It is important that workers and management shoulder the shared responsibility to keep everyone safe and their livelihoods afloat. Having never experienced an outbreak of this scale, going the extra length to keep everyone safe has been worth the effort.

If companies do it for the business continuity, we do it for humanity; my fellow employees must be safe and must not be exposed to the virus.

Sincerely, David Adams

Govt has a responsibility to keep the nation safe, educated Dear Editor, Now that my responsibilities to the regional body the CXC are over, I am grateful that I can get back into that great opportunity of meaningful writing. The first issue that I would like to address is the present debacle between Government and a slew of trade Unions, prominent and not so prominent instrumentalities of the PNC, over the vaccination policy of the ruling Administration. They are up in arms against the Government’s policy to have the nation vaccinated against the dreaded coronavirus disease.

That motley crew are of the opinion that this vaccination instead of being a lifesaving measure, it would otherwise kill the people.

Quite an insane view when you analyse it in its entirety, yet it has gained traction in some quarters here to the point of inciting violent protests. The rallying call by the ragtag bunch is “my body my choice” in total defiance to the lifesaving vaccination programme promoted by the Government. So, it seems that there is likely to be an impasse in the coming days and months ahead between Government and Opposition.

Now, the “my body my choice” has nothing to do with a vaccine, rather it sounds more like a campaign rhetoric of the Opposition, because while they are making that political statement people are dying of corona which is worrying to all concerned. You cannot make bland statements of “my body my choice and a blunt

no to the vaccine” when you have no alternative solution to the pandemic. It is certainly irresponsible and foolish to make that assumption to a dying nation. So, the question remains, why make those statements when you have no substantive alternatives? It behoves me to conclude that their motive is to create fear and instability in our country, something that is wicked and sinful to say the least.

At this juncture I must bring this pertinent fact to the attention of the Opposition. Fact number 1: It is the Government’s responsibility to ensure the safety and wellbeing of its citizens at all times. Fact number 2: It is also the responsibility of the Government to ensure that the nation’s children are educated, two basic and relevant duties of any Government. Therefore, no opposing forces should interfere with those sacred responsibilities of the ruling party.

In that regard I have viewed the Opposition’s conduct as wicked and dangerous because the APNU politicians have all taken the vaccine including Granger himself, yet they are preying on the fears of their gullible supporters saying otherwise. It is now pellucid, that the PNC is still looking here and there in every conceivable corner to make trouble ever since they’ve lost the election.

Our nation’s kids have been out of meaningful instruction since January 2020, many of whom can be seen all over the place - without a face mask of course -

flaunting all COVID-19 protocols, they are not dying from COVID. However, since the call has been made for them to go back to school the asinine assault looms high on the Opposition’s agenda that they will suddenly die from the virus, if this is not the epitome of stupidity and backwardness then what is? What I dare say without fear of contradiction is that there seems to be a move on to generate a gene pool of illiterate and backward children in our country to whom they can call upon in times of protest. But that is not going to happen because of the erudite and forward-thinking Government that is in place. The Government cannot be derailed in its effort to bring this pandemic under control.

In the same vein I ad-

dress the utterances of some in the religious community.

There is this controversial “Apostle” in question who is calling on his followers to disregard the Government’s call for full vaccination. He too like his political counterparts are getting into the realm of politicising the pandemic, making these wild and reckless statements. So let me educate this pseudo prophet, instead of making these wild statements why shouldn’t he rely on the Omniscient God of the earth who has given man the wisdom to provide us with vaccines? I do believe we should!

Not making light of religion nor religious leaders (because I am a believer myself) but the point is this, ever since the pandemic I have never seen any religious healer claiming that

special ability to heal anyone from COVID. Should I ask the question, is their god dead? Is he so far away that he cannot hear nor see the suffering of his people? Of course not, then in all fairness, let us by faith trust in the omni-science of our God who has made man wise enough to provide us with a vaccine.

I call upon all Guyanese all across this great country to repudiate all state-

ments and actions of those opposed to the vaccination programme, COVID is not a political matter neither is it a joke. The pandemic is real and many of our friends and loved ones have gone to the great beyond because of it, so it is our bounding duty to at least cooperate with our Government and bring this deadly disease to a close.

Respectfully, Neil Adams

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

Page

Foundation

Porthole Scratch Art

Create a sea-inspired masterpiece using materials you can find at home. The porthole transforms your wall into a window into the sea. Plus, you’ll learn how to make your own scratch art surface. You can make a bunch of portholes and hang them up so that the room looks like a submarine!

Materials you’ll need paper plates scissors crayons coin tape

Procedure

Step 1: Gather your materials!

Step 2: Create your porthole frame by cutting out the centre of one of your paper plates.

Step 3: On a plate without a hole, draw your favourite sea creatures in one solid colour with a crayon. We chose a fish and a starfish! Colour the rest of the space on the plate with a white crayon. Tip: Stack the plate with the hole on top of the plate you just coloured to make sure you coloured all

the area you can see through the hole.

Step 4: Colour a thick layer of colour over the previous layer. For the best effect, use a different colour from the previous step. We used black to cover the starfish, orange to cover the fish, and blue to cover the white background. Experiment with different colours layer on top of one another. The scratch art will work as long as there are two layers of colour.

Step 5: You are ready to create your underwater scene. Use your penny to scratch designs such as fish, seaweeds, rocks, starfish, or whales! Use your imagination! Tip: Try using different materials, such as toothpicks, to scratch your designs.

Step 6: Once your art is complete, add your porthole frame with tape! Put the tape between the two plates along the edge so your porthole covers it. You can add bolts and other details to your porthole frame with your crayons.

Add a few pieces of masking tape to the back of the art and attach it to the wall.

Enjoy the view out of your porthole! (www. kiwico.com)

From A Moral Alphabet

By Hilaire Belloc D: The Dreadful Dinotherium he Will have to do his best for D. The early world observed with awe His back, indented like a saw.

His look was gay, his voice was strong; His tail was neither short nor long; His trunk, or elongated nose, Was not so large as some suppose; His teeth, as all the world allows, Were graminivorous, like a cow’s.

He therefore should have wished to pass Long peaceful nights upon the Grass, But being mad the brute preferred To roost in branches, like a bird.1 A creature heavier than a whale, You see at once, could hardly fail To suffer badly when he slid And tumbled (as he always did).

His fossil, therefore, comes to light All broken up: and serve him right.

MORAL If you were born to walk the ground, Remain there; do not fool around.

E stands for Egg. MORAL The Moral of this verse Is applicable to the Young. Be terse.

K for the Klondyke, a Country of Gold, Where the winters are often excessively cold; Where the lawn every morning is covered with rime, And skating continues for years at a time.

Do you think that a Climate can conquer

the grit Of the Sons of the West? Not a bit! Not a bit!

When the weather looks nippy, the bold Pioneers Put on two pairs of Stockings and cover their ears, And roam through the drear Hyperborean dales With a vast apparatus of Buckets and Pails; Or wander through wild Hyperborean glades With Hoes, Hammers, Pickaxes, Mattocks and Spades.

There are some who give rise to exuberant mirth By turning up nothing but bushels of earth, While those who have little cause excellent fun By attempting to pilfer from those who have none.

At times the reward they will get for their pains Is to strike very tempting auriferous veins; Or, a shaft being sunk for some miles in the ground, Not infrequently nuggets of value are found.

They bring us the gold when their labours are ended, And we—after thanking them prettily— spend it.

MORAL Just you work for Humanity, never you mind if Humanity seems to have left you behind.

Source: Complete Verse (1970)

What is your favourite sea creature?

Write a composition telling us why!

WORD SEARCH

NEWS

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Albion sugar workers’ protest

GAWU, GuySuCo reach agreement to end strike …workers will be paid difference of cut cane, punt target

GAWU President Seepaul Narine (left) and GuySuCo CEO Sasenarine Singh (right) signing of the agreement reached on Sunday

T

he Guyana Agriculture and General Workers Union (GAWU) and the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) reached an agreement on Sunday to ensure the workers are compensated for the difference between their usual productivity per punt and the actual canes cut and loaded or cut and stacked, bringing the strike at the Albion Estate to an end.

The meeting, which was held at GuySuCo, saw GAWU’s President Seepaul Narine and CEO of the sugar entity, Sasenarine Singh meeting to discuss an amicable solution as the conditions that led to the workers striking were discussed.

One of the issues that was discussed was the impact rain and floods had on the industry and which resulted in the canes having reduced rate. Cane cutters are paid based on the tonnes of cane harvested and Narine explained during the meeting that workers were completing their daily tasks but being paid less than usual.

“The Union shared that

the workers were responsibly completing their tasks but for their best efforts their earnings were curtailed. GAWU reminded the GuySuCo’s team that, in the past, the Corporation had compensated workers whenever their tasks were completed but their cane weights were not attained. From that point of view, the Union urged the GuySuCo to revert to known and established practices,” GAWU said on Sunday.

GuySuCo, the Union said, through its CEO, Sasenarine Singh, acknowledged that the situation at Albion was unusual. “He acknowledged the workers concerns as he noted that it required the cooperation of all stakeholders to ensure that production is maximised and the estate is able to recover from the serious setback arising from the floods,” GAWU stated, adding that GuySuCo proposed that workers be compensated for the difference between their usual productivity per punt and the actual canes cut and loaded or cut and stacked. GuySuCo’s propos-

al would take effect for this crop only at Albion, in light of the uniqueness of the situation.

“To receive the compensation, the workers would have to complete their tasks assigned. The agreement also places a limitation on the task assigned to workers in keeping with long-standing practices,” GAWU said.

GAWU’s President, Seepaul Narine shared that the Union was heartened that the corporation listened carefully and considered the concerns of the workers and the Union and that an agreement could be reached. He said this augurs well for worker/management relations and is hopeful for further improvement in the GAWU/GuySuCo relations.

Strike

Scores of cane harvesters attached to the Albion Sugar Estate downed tools on Friday morning to stage a protest over what they claimed is poor working conditions in the fields.

Moreover, the workers raised concerns over the re-

Deputy Commander, Superintendent Himhauth Sawh intervening on Saturday to have the roadway cleared

corded weight of the cane on the scales, contending that the figures are considerably lower than what they thought was harvested.

The workers staged their protest at Adelphi, East Canje. These workers are from the Rose Hall Sugar Estate but were not sent home when that estate was closed and as such, they were transferred to the Albion Estate.

On Saturday, the protests escalated to the point where they blocked a major roadway. Police in Region Six, however, managed to engage the workers and persuaded them to clear

the roadway, thus allowing a smooth flow of traffic.

Additionally, the Police arranged a meeting between the disgruntled sugar workers and the manager of the estate.

The Estate Manager,

Threbhowan Shivpersaud, then met with them and the meeting took place at the Albion Sports Complex. He told the workers that the current state of the canes in the field was as a result of the 65 days of the flood. (G3)

8 NEWS

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Education Ministry to withhold NGSA results for students who fail to return textbooks …country facing textbooks shortage – Manickchand

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ducation Minister Priya Manickchand has announced that National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) results will be withheld for students who do not return textbooks that were loaned to them.

Results for this year’s examination might be available by the end of October.

She made this disclosure recently while speaking with reporters on the side lines of an event held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC). “The students who got the textbooks in January of this year for Grade Six, if they do not return the textbooks… Then they cannot get their results either online or by the slip until their parents pay for them,” Manickchand said.

This is in keeping with the Ministry’s textbook policy which states, “Learners must return books before Progress

Reports/Examination Results/Recommendations/ References are uplifted.”

According to her, the Ministry was forced to adopt this policy to ensure that adequate textbooks and similar opportunities

are given to the next batch of Grade Six students. She added, “They are returning it so that we could give it to the new students who are coming in, in October.”

Speaking on the Ministry’s textbook poli-

cy, she added, “We have to be very clear. That sounds harsh for a person who is struggling, but if you are struggling the least you can do is put up these books because we cannot continue year after year to be investing in the same things.”

Manickchand said that there is a small amount of damage the Ministry caters for while noting that it is a very expensive enterprise to give everybody textbooks.

“And so we have to manage it very, very sternly and carefully to make sure it passes down,” she said.

Guyana has not procured textbooks in over three years which has resulted in a “big deficit”, the Education Minister revealed. In light of this, she said that the Ministry is currently in the process of procuring all textbooks needed at the primary level. (G1)

Workers’ woes…

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…in the cane fields our Eyewitness just read about one of the biggest “eye-pass” he’s seen in years. In fact, it amounts to “rass-pass”!! And this is against the cane cutters of Albion Estate, including more than 300 from Rose Hall Estate – who’d already suffered rass pass when Granger shut the latter down. To spite them for voting PPP! So what is the rass pass? For this you gotta know a bit about sugar – which some of you Dear Readers might be a tad ignorant (no insult intended!) about. Even though as Martin Carter reminded us, “We (all) come from the Nigger Yard”.

During the post-slavery “apprenticeship” and Indentureship periods, the sugar workers in the fields were assigned “tasks” – by the “drivers” – to complete daily. If they didn’t complete them, they had to do so the next day to collect the money agreed to for the task. No task, no money!! After Indentureship, the workers struck regularly – and were just as regularly killed for doing so – when their task assignments were violated. In the modern era, nothing much changed save after trade unions were recognised they’d bargain for the quantum paid per task - which was based on the tonnage of cane cut-and-loaded into punts.

And this is what has just hit the fan at Albion. The cane cutters there just came out to protest the gross abuse of their labour by management during this crop.

Seems that after cutting canes for which a team of three or four workers used to haul in seven or eight tonnes per day – from two or three “beds” of cane – this suddenly plunged to one-third of that, this crop!! And at a measly $1100/day for cutting and fetching a tonne of cane on their heads, this meant they were taking home a miserly $5000/ weekly. And as one worker pointed out, this didn’t even cover the meal they had to bring to work!!

The workers suspected they were being gypped on their cane weights at the factory, but management countered that the canes were lighter because of the floods. And for some reason – which your Eyewitness can’t fathom – the Union agreed that the workers would have to complete some other task in the fields - like cleaning trenches and drains – following their cane cutting-and-loading!! Well, after this rass pass, the cane cutters have had enough!!

Why in the world should they suffer for “light cane”?? Has management cut their salaries – or taken on additional tasks – because the industry can’t meet its targets??

Management is supposed to be meeting Union officials from yesterday to hammer out a new agreement.

They better come good or else they might just lose their entire workforce !

…and COVID-19 While sugar workers are up in arms over their starvation wages forced down their throats, in common with the rest of the working world and Guyana, they face the pressures from COVID-19. Unlike the developed world –- where almost half of their workforce can work remotely from their homes – we’re so underdeveloped that our workers have to be there in person to perform their basically manual tasks. Like picking up garbage, cleaning streets, showing up in offices, teaching in schools, etc… and being exposed to the deadly COVID-19 delta variant!

And it’s not just being in the job…they gotta use public transport – meaning minibuses – to get to and from their workplaces. There are some who complain that the Government must be more drastic in shutting down the country. Can these folks say from where the workers who’ll be affected get their daily bread and roti?

As such, we must become our brothers and sisters’ keepers: vaccinate and observe the physical protocols!

…and oil Now that the droplets have settled from the geysers of oil spouting from under our Atlantic, we’re beginning to appreciate that – from a workers’ perspective – most of it won’t see Guyana’s shores.

Our Private Sector Engine better start pulling soon!!

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

NEWS

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

12 more COVID-19 deaths recorded …100 COVID-19 deaths in 19 days …208 new cases, 33 in ICU

GUYANA COVID-19 DASHBOARD SEPTEMBER 19, 2021 UPDATE

NUMBER OF NEW CASES

208

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL ISOLATION

158

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN HOME ISOLATION NUMBER OF PERSONS IN COVID-19 ICU

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s Guyana continues to battle with a surge in both its COVID-19 cases and deaths, September is proving to be the deadliest month on record with 100 deaths in just 19 days.

On Sunday, the Health Ministry announced that Guyana recorded an additional 12 deaths, taking the total number of fatalities to 725.

The patients were admitted with COVID-19 like symptoms but died while receiving care at various medical institutions. Samples were taken at the time of admission which subsequently returned positive tests.

Three of them were partially vaccinated while eight were unvaccinated and one had an unknown vaccination status.

According to the daily statistics released by the Health Ministry, 208 new cases were recorded, taking the total num-

ber of confirmed cases to 29,553. There are 33 persons currently housed in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

Of the total number of confirmed cases, 25,000 have recovered. The Ministry said that 158 persons are currently in institutional isolation, 3637 in home isolation and three in institutional quarantine.

Thus far, 14,125 males and 15,428 females have contracted COVID-19.

New cases An analysis of new cases showed ten from Region One (Barima-Waini); seven in Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam); 51 in Region Three (Essequibo IslandsWest Demerara); 93 in Region Four (DemeraraMahaica); four in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice); six in Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne); 28 in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni);

two in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni); and seven in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).

Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) recorded no new cases.

Vaccination figures have shown that over 341,000 first doses have been administered across the country, with over 176,000 second doses. Guyana is currently offering the AstraZeneca, Sputnik V, Sinopharm and Johnson & Johnson jabs.

Pfizer-BioNTech is available for persons aged 12 to 17.

If anyone is displaying any of the symptoms associated with COVID-19 or needs any additional information, they are asked to contact the COVID-19 Hotline 231-1166, 226-7480 or 624-6674 immediately or visit www.health.gov.gy All Guyanese are reminded to observe the protocols of the COVID-19

3637 33

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL QUARANTINE

3

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (FEMALES)

15,428

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (MALES)

14,125

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES IN GUYANA SINCE 2020

29,553

NUMBER OF RECOVERED CASES

25,000

TOTAL 1st DOSE VACCINATED

341,600

FULLY IMMUNISED

176,695

TOTAL NUMBER OF DEATHS

725

DISTRIBUTION OF TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES SINCE MARCH 2020 REGION 1

1433

REGION 2

1023

REGION 3

3745

REGION 4

14,070

REGION 5

1029

REGION 6

2211

REGION 7

1533

REGION 8

484

REGION 9

2304

REGION 10

1721

HERE IS HOW YOU CAN BE SAFE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC Wear a face mask.

Keep a physical distance of at least 6 feet.

Wash your hands or use handsanitizer If you have any symptoms, call the COVID-19 Hotline.

GET MEDICAL ADVICE ON COVID-19 FROM MOH 24/7 HOTLINE NUMBERS: 2311166; 226 7480; 624 6674; 624 2819; 624 3067 OR 180/181.

emergency measures which emphasise the need for correct and consistent use of a face mask when leaving your home; the importance of maintaining the six feet physical distance from oth-

ers; and the need for good hand hygiene.

Persons with comorbidities have been continuously asked to continue taking their respective medications or treatment to control their

condition. The preventative measures and guidelines to protect against the virus must be adhered to since this category of person is at a greater risk if they contract COVID-19. (G2)

10 NEWS

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Sweetie vendor Goldsmith beaten, robbed at gunpoint robbed by armed men

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wo bandits, one armed with a gun, posing as customers held up and robbed a 44-year-old National Avenue, South Ruimveldt, Georgetown female confectionery vendor on Saturday.

The incident occurred just around 20:30h while the vendor was plying her trade.

Police say that the victim was vending when the two men rode up on a motorcycle and stopped, pretending to purchase items.

The pillion rider came off of the motorcycle and approached the woman while pointing a gun at her.

He demanded that she

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hand over all of her valuables.

Fearing for her life, the woman handed her cellphone valued at $55,000 along with $15,000 cash after which the suspects

made good their escape on the said motorcycle.

Checks were made to locate the suspects but this proved futile.

Investigations are ongoing. (G2)

goldsmith of Westminster, La Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara (WBD), was beaten and robbed by three armed men when they invaded his home on Saturday night.

The incident occurred at about 20:45h while the 49-year-old man was in the verandah of his home.

Police said as the man was sitting in the verandah, three men - one armed with a handgun and the others with knives - jumped his fence and immediately began kicking him to the face. They then entered his house where they held his wife and two children hostage while demanding

valuables.

The bandits ransacked the man’s home and carted off with an unknown quantity of gold jewellery, one black Lenovo laptop computer valued at $100,000, two black Amazon tablets valued at $40,000, one

black iPhone 5s cellular phone valued at $60,000, one BLU cellular phone valued at $30,000, and $50,000 cash.

They escaped on foot after committing the robbery.

Police are investigating the incident. (G2)

11 Berbice woman who was set on fire by husband dies NEWS

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

tacted the Police. By that time, however, he was already on his way to the US, having boarded an American Airlines flight on Tuesday.

The United States Embassy in Georgetown has said that through cooperation among the regional se-

Dead: Sandramma Raju called “Roma”

Charged: Ganeshwar Sheocharran

he Port Mourant Hospital Medical Laboratory Technician who was allegedly set on fire by her reputed husband died on Saturday evening.

Dead is Sandramma Raju called “Roma” of Miss Phoebe, Port Mourant Corentyne, Region Six. Medical officials confirmed that on Saturday, Raju, who suffered second-degree burns to 98 per cent of her body, had stopped speaking and was not responding and subsequently died at about 19:00h.

On September 18, five days after allegedly setting his wife on fire, 30-year-old Ganeshwar Sheocharran was charged and remanded to prison on an attempted murder charge.

Reports are that Sheocharran and Raju had

an argument on Sunday, September 12, and it continued into the wee hours of Monday, September 13.

Guyana Times was told that the couple and their fouryear-old daughter were alone at home when the incident occurred.

Sheocharran reportedly used a lighter to set his wife on fire, but she managed to put out the flames by rolling on the floor.

This newspaper was further told by relatives of the couple that Raju was living in an abusive relationship, but was reluctant to report incidents of violence to the Police.

Reports are that after committing the act, Sheocharran made arrangements to flee the country, but family members of Raju were alerted and they con-

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27-year-old shot several times during heated row

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27-year-old man was early Sunday morning, shot several times about his body during an argument with two men on a motorcycle at D Field Sophia, Greater Georgetown.

Police on Sunday said the incident occurred at around 00:15h while the victim was standing in front of Odingo Shop, on the southern side of the street.

The two men rode up on a red and white motorcycle from east of D Field Access Road and approached the victim.

An argument ensued between them and the pillion rider then drew a firearm from the front of his pants

waist and discharged several rounds at the victim which hit him about his body.

After shooting the man, the two suspects rode away on the motorcycle and the injured man was picked up and rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) where he underwent surgery.

His condition is regarded as stable though he sustained one gunshot to his chest, one to his thigh, one to his groin, one to his buttocks, one to his back and one to his lower abdomen.

Checks were made for the suspects but they were not located.

Investigations are ongoing. (G2)

curity offices of both Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, the Guyana Police Force’s Criminal Investigation Department, US Custom and Border Protection, the US Marshal Service and Caribbean Airlines, Sheocharran was denied

entry upon arrival in New York, and was sent back to Guyana.

US Ambassador SarahAnn Lynch has praised the operation, saying, “It is this kind of collaboration that will make our region safe for all Guyanese. Congratulations

to all who were involved, as the rule of law is our collective responsibility.”

Meanwhile, the case against Sheocharran is scheduled to be called again on October 6 and the charge will be upgraded to the capital offence of murder. (G4)

12 NEWS GTU dissociates itself from APNU AFC MP’s derogatory jingle attack on Minister MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

...now hoping for engagement with Education Ministry

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hree weeks after embarking on a protest against the Government’s vaccination policy, the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) has suspended its “Boots on the Ground” action to evaluate its approach.

GTU said it has advised its members that it will take a break from today,

September 20, 2021.

Recently, Education Minister Priya Manickchand said that the Ministry is willing to work with GTU for the betterment of students and teachers, but the Union must first “reorganise itself”.

Manickchand had said that she is of the view that Unions, once properly con-

ducted, were noble institutions that ought to be doing good work.

The Minister expressed that the “minute” a Union started introducing political content, it is not acting in the best interest of its members. Guyana has over 10,000 teachers.

“I am prepared to engage with the [GTU] or any

have great value once it operates as a Union.

Manickchand has repeatedly accused the GTU of being a political party. The Union’s General Secretary, Coretta McDonald, is an A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) parliamentarian.

Disassociation

Education Minister Priya Manickchand

other stakeholders as often as is needed for as long as is needed. At this stage, the Union has to decide if they want to engage with us. The Union has to understand its role and fight for itself. And if they are not prepared to do it, then teachers will see it,” she added.

According to the Education Minister, she hopes that the GTU “fixes itself” so that it can have relations with not only her and, by extension, the Education Ministry, but with other persons on the teachers’ behalf. She posited that the GTU would

The GTU also disassociated itself from the recent jingle, posted by Opposition parliamentarian Sherod Duncan, hurling insults to Minister Manickchand.

The Union said that protestoers, over the years, have always used chants which are levelled to create some degree of discomfort or gain traction at the time.

“These run high on the emotional position of protesteors and usually subsides when protesters disperse. However, in these modern times persons of the art take chants and use them to create memes and jingles which can go for long periods even though at the time of protest/demonstration, they were meant for that moment. On this basis, the GTU, as a professional body wishes to disassociate itself from the recent jingle which hurls deroga-

GTU President Mark Lyte

tory remarks at the sitting Minister of Education. We are of the view that political figures have taken this to another level,” the Union’s President Mark Lyte said in a statement.

Lyte also indicated that the GTU is open and hoping for engagement with the Ministry in the advancement of teachers’ interests.

Duncan posted a video with a jingle titled “Priya is a Wild Hog” taking derogatory jabs at the Minister. The jingle has since received widespread criticisms from both the Government and elements in the Opposition. (G2)

NEWS

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Child Protection Week

3-year plan to curb child abuse to be launched …as 1918 child abuse cases recorded in 6 months

loving and safe homes.

“Every Child Safe Campaign”

This week, Human Services Minister Dr Vindhya Persaud will launch the “Every Child Safe” campaign, geared towards engaging communities to create safe environments for children

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he Human Services and Social Security Ministry will soon launch an impactful threeyear programme and strategic policy that centres around public awareness, parenting, family relationships, and community involvement as well as age-appropriate education on child abuse matters for children and adolescents.

This is among several events to commemorate Child Protection Week which kicks off today, September 20, to September 26, under the theme “Together, Let’s Keep Children Safe”. In her remarks to commemorate the occasion, subject Minister Dr Vindhya Persaud said the safety of every child should

not be an elusive goal.

She said the launching of Child Protection Week underscores the urgent need for collaborative efforts to achieve this. The Minister revealed that there were some 1918 cases of child abuse at the end of June while noting that many cases remain unreported, allowing predators and perpetrators unfettered access to vulnerable children.

According to her, the increased and necessary usage of the internet during the COVID-19 pandemic has opened newer avenues for abuse, as does the hiatus from school as many children may be in closer proximity to their abusers.

“These scenarios man-

date the need to promote more public awareness of the signs of abuse, more education for children on their rights as well as avenues of safety and protection and critically, the overwhelming need for the adults at every level to report instances of child abuse responsibly.

And, yes, we need to encourage children to tell because they understand that they will not be dismissed but helped!” Dr Persaud said.

The Minister added that the 914 hotline has led to some increase in reporting and pleaded with members of the public to use this and other responsible forms of reporting. Importantly, she urged persons to desist from placing pictures of children

or anything that identifies a child who is being abused in the public domain.

This, she pointed out, “leads to stigma, more trauma and mental health issues for these children”. The Minister called on persons who may be aware of children in distress to call the 24-hour 914 hotline, or the Child Care and Protection Agency (CC&PA) on 2270979. Dr Persaud said that persons wishing to report a matter are not required to provide proof of abuse.

“If something just doesn’t seem right, it usually isn’t, so the CPA only requires the public to provide the location and identity of the child for us to intervene. While I stress reporting is key to

getting the process of intervention started, of equal importance is the optimum functioning of the supporting structures of law enforcement and justice.”

To this end, she said the Ministry has commenced intense training for law enforcement officers through the CC&PA as reports must be acted on with alacrity.

“Our own child protection officers are continually trained to provide necessary support to children and family.”

While interventions may require children to be removed to protective custody of the State, the Minister noted that every effort is made to reintegrate and remove children from institutions as early as possible to

Also, this week, the Ministry will launch its “Every Child Safe Campaign” with the intention of engaging communities in its efforts to create safe environments for children. Through this initiative, the Ministry intends to emphasise that child protection is everyone’s business.

“Everyone – teachers, relatives, friends, neighbours – each must play a role in ensuring that children are in a safe, secure environment, one that nurtures their abilities and enables them to turn into happy, productive adults,” Dr Persaud said.

This year’s Child Protection Week activities will involve parents and children and members of various communities, as well as multimedia messages featuring the children of Guyana.

According to Minister Persaud, the CC&PA can attest to the fact that children growing up in abusive households often replicate the very behaviour when they start their own families; and the cycle is perpetuated.

As such, she implored, “We must always remember that children deprived of love, encouragement, and safe environments can morph into adults filled with hate, poor self-worth, and intolerance. Let us do our bit – together, let’s keep them safe. Every child safe!” (G1)

Confrontation over access to koker ends in murder

…1 in custody

By Lakhram Bhagirat

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father of two is now dead and his brother injured after they were allegedly stabbed by a man to whom they denied access to a koker at Vreed-enHoop, West Coast Demerara (WCD).

Dead is 36-year-old Sigmond Gouveia of Vreeden-Hoop Jetty, WCD, and his injured brother, 37-year-old Neville Gouveia.

Police in a statement on Sunday said that Neville is employed as a security guard at the Dock Yard, Vreed-enHoop Stelling and Sigmond was there with him on Saturday night.

At about 23:10h a boat docked at the koker and a man exited before it departed.

Upon seeing him, Sigmond told the man that he could not use the area for passage.

There was a verbal confrontation and Sigmond advised the man to call the boat back so they could take him away, which he did.

Another argument ensued between them and the suspect dealt him a stab to his abdomen, causing him to fall to the ground in an unconscious state. Sigmond’s brother Neville, who was present, approached the suspect, however, he too received stab wounds to his right upper arm and chest.

The boat returned shortly after with over 10 persons on board, all of whom were armed with pieces of wood and cutlasses. They collected the suspect and headed across the river.

Both victims were picked up by the Police and taken to the West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH) where Sigmond was pronounced dead on arrival, while his 37-year-old brother was admitted as a patient.

In an interview with Guyana Times, the duo’s elder sister Tateka Beharry related that Sigmond had gotten home from work earlier in the night and visited his brother at his worksite. He

Dead: Sigmond Gouveia

asked Neville to accompany him home since he had a quantity of cash in his possession and did not want to risk going home alone.

Beharry said that she visited Neville in the hospital and he related that Sigmond sought permission from the

senior security guard for them to go to his home. The brothers went to Sigmond’s home and dropped off the cash.

“The one that die (Sigmond) told his wife that he going and follow his brother (Neville) right back by the (Vreed-en-Hoop) junction and

Neville Gouveia on his hospital bed

he coming back. So, she tell he don’t lock the door that she will get up and lock the door and which he end up and go with his brother till by the

boathouse and he decided to spend the night at the watch place,” Beharry related.

TURN TO PAGE 16

14 NEWS

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2021|| GUYANATIMESGY.COM

ExxonMobil aiming for support services sourced locally by 2022 …as Guyana builds oil & gas capacity to rival Trinidad & Tobago

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xxonMobil, which has largely sourced services from neighbouring Trinidad and Tobago for its operations in Guyana since it started exploration activities here, said that with the strides Guyana has made to build capacity, these services are likely to be sourced locally by 2022.

Exxon’s Country Manager Alastair Routledge recently spoke of this in another section of the media, where he said that Guyana has undergone drastic changes in its oil and gas capacity since the early days when the company made its first oil discovery in the Stabroek Block in 2015.

He had said that when Exxon started exploration there was no infrastructure or expertise in place locally to support the company’s operations. This had led Exxon to source these services from Trinidad and Tobago, which has been producing oil on a commercial basis since 1908.

According to Routledge, however, it is anticipated that this supply chain will have been moved from Trinidad to Guyana by next year so that these services can be accessed lo-

Exxon Country Manager Alastair Routledge

cally. When this publication contacted Public and Governance Affairs Advisor at Exxon, Janelle Persaud, she noted that a number of Exxon’s prime contractors have been expanding their services from Trinidad into Guyana.

“When we started operations most of the prime contractors were operating out of Trinidad… and they have steadily been moving those services into Guyana... and what Alastair is saying is that we hope to have moved all of those into Guyana in 2022,” she said.

Among these prime contractors are Halliburton - a

Saipem is one of Exxon’s prime contractors which has expanded its services to Guyana. Pictured here is its logistics base in Georgetown

United States (US)-based oilfield contractor that has been providing a range of drilling services to Exxon, Saipem - which has been providing installation services for Exxon’s Liza Phase 2 and TechnipFMC, which is in charge of installing the subsea system for the Payara oil field - Exxon’s third development in Guyana’s water.

Esso Exploration and

Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), Exxon’s local subsidiary, is the operator and holds 45 per cent interest in the Stabroek Block, while Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd holds 30 per cent interest and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited, holds the remaining 25 per cent interest.

Over in the Kaieteur Block, Exxon is the operator with a 35 per cent stake while Ratio owns 25 per cent. Cataleya Energy and Hess each also own a 20 per cent stake in the Kaieteur Block, while Westmount Energy owns stakes in Ratio (0.7 per cent) and Cataleya (5.4 per cent).

Meanwhile, Exxon also holds a 35 per cent stake in

the Canje Block, where it is also the operator. The oil giant’s co-venturers in the Canje Block are Total, JHI Associates Incorporated and Mid-Atlantic Oil and Gas. ExxonMobil has said it anticipates that at least six projects offshore Guyana will be online by 2027. A fourth project, Yellowtail, has been identified within the block with anticipated start up in late 2025 pending Government approvals and project sanctioning.

This project will develop the Yellowtail and Redtail fields, which are located about 19 miles (30 kilometres) southeast of the Liza developments.

The start-up of Liza Phase 2 remains on target for 2022, as the Liza Unity FPSO prepares to sail away from Singapore to Guyana later this year. The Unity FPSO has a production capacity of 220,000 barrels of oil per day at peak rates.

The hull for the Prosperity FPSO vessel, the third project at the Payara Field, is complete, and topsides construction activities have commenced in Singapore with a start-up target of 2024. (G3)

2 remanded on armed robbery, narco-trafficking charges

Remanded: Raphael Watts

$5,000,000 worth in ecstasy pills were seized during CANU’s operations in Georgetown

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man who allegedly committed an armed robbery in April was remanded to prison almost five months later.

Appearing before Magistrate Rhondel Weever at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts was 34-year-old Raphael Watts.

The charge against him alleged that on April 24, at

Hadfield Street and Louisa Row, Georgetown, while being armed with a gun, he robbed Towanna Ammon of 10 pennyweights of raw gold, cash, and other items totalling $3.3 million. The accused pleaded not guilty to the charge.

His lawyer, Dexter Smartt’s bail application was unsuccessful. Police Prosecutor Christopher

Morris told the court that the virtual complainant purchased raw gold on the day in question.

He said that the woman and a friend were on their way to a Chinese restaurant located between Hadfield Street and Louisa Row, Georgetown, to purchase a meal when they were held at gunpoint by two men on a motorcycle.

The men relieved Ammon of the items mentioned in the charge and then made good their escape. The woman reported the matter to the Police station and investigations led to Watts being arrested.

The robbery accused was remanded to prison and the case will be called again on October 15.

Meanwhile, Magistrate Weever remanded a 39-year-old Dutch national on a narco-trafficking

Remanded: Dwight Garconious

charge.

Dwight Garconious of The Netherlands was arraigned on charges for aiding the commissioning of trafficking in narcotics and possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking.

On Wednesday last, Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) ranks conducted operations between Corentyne, Berbice, and Georgetown where 3097 methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (ecstasy) pills were seized. The total

weight of these pills was 1.262 kilograms which is equivalent to 2.8 pounds.

A statement from the law enforcement agency said that the pills were concealed within two cornflakes boxes in transparent Ziploc plastic bags. The pills have a street value of $5,000,000. As a result of the drug bust, Garconious, three other males, and a woman were arrested.

CANU said that the Dutchman is the main suspect.

NEWS

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

“Stop politicians who want to obstruct, hinder development” – Rodrigues

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he People’s Progressive Partyled Government has no allegiance to ethnicity but rather its allegiance is to Guyana. This is according to Minister within the Housing and Water Ministry Susan Rodrigues.

She was at the time addressing a forum organised by the Junior Chamber International Guyana on Saturday in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) on a peaceful and sustainable Guyana.

Minister Rodrigues highlighted several projects and programmes implemented by the PPP/C, which give testimony to the Party’s non-allegiance to ethnicity.

She detailed several projects which ranged from the Government’s housing projects to opportunities in both the health and educations sectors.

These include its housing programme, which does not discriminate, the removal of a question which requires a person to state their orientation on a housing application form, the water distribution network, increases in pension and other allowances for senior citizens and the way per-

Minister within the Housing and Water Ministry Susan Rodrigues shares a photo with JCI President Kestine King and members of the Junior Chamber International Guyana on Saturday

sons get employment in the Public Service which she said can withstand any public scrutiny. The public health and education sectors offer equal opportunities for all Guyanese, she added.

She pointed out that any Guyanese can apply for a scholarship being offered by the Government regardless of a person’s ethnic, religious or social background.

“That is just a hand-

ful of projects and programmes and policies that we have implemented as a Government to demonstrate our commitment to every single Guyanese regardless of all of those perceived inhibitions or regardless of what we are told.”

She said having traced our history, the lie that we believed for decades to be racism and the cause of division among our people that there is inherent dis-

crimination in our system and that our people are divided - which continued post-independence, continues to be peddled today.

“If you start to pay attention to the issues and people start to really focus on issues and vote on issues our country will be a very different place.”

She said as Guyanese we need to start thinking independently.

“We have to put a stop

to politicians who want to obstruct and who want to hinder development. Our people have to judge parliamentarians and local officials; you have to judge them on output and deliverables.”

She pointed out that sections of the electorate should not be manipulated by politicians to feel guilty for supporting a political party that is outside of their ethnic grouping.

“We do not have allegiance to ethnicity. Our allegiance is to our country.”

“Our electorate must demand results, transparency and accountability while noting that decency must prevail in our Parliament and the attacks on women have to stop. We must vote on issues and not along racial lines. We have to break this generational curse,” she said while adding that young people are the key to ending this.

Noting that the youths in Guyana are its future, Rodrigues said they must lead the way.

“They must lead us into the future, a different future, a bright future for Guyanese and for Guyana.”

Meanwhile, President of JCI, Kestine King in brief remarks noted that a peaceful and sustainable Guyana is important as it improves the quality of our lives, protects our ecosystem and preserves natural resources for future generations while promoting unity, positive thinking, and collaboration for the common good of all.

She urged that we all strive for the desire of making Guyana sustainable and be our neighbour’s keeper in the aspiration of peace. (G4)

$100M allocated to facilitate Onderneeming access road

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esidents of the sand mining community of Onderneeming Sandpit, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), who protested the deplorable state of their access road over the past three days, were assured on Sunday by Public Works Minister Juan Edghill that the roads will be fixed.

Edghill met with residents and truck drivers at Rooster Resort, where residents expressed their displeasure with the state of the roads. This prompted Edghill to have a firsthand look at the state of the roads.

He told the residents that a project of $100 million was allocated by the Government to rehabilitate the Onderneeming Sandpit access road. He added that as of today, the engineer and truckers will work together as a team in order to fill the deplorable road in the community.

Edghill noted that when the road starts to deteriorate, the team will continue to maintain it until the project is awarded for the construction of the access road which will be advertising soon.

"Work on the road will commence shortly. For the time, the road will be filled with loam and sand by truckers utilising the road

Public Works Minister Juan Edghill engaging residents of Onderneeming Sandpit. Also in the picture is Regional Chairperson Vilma De Silva

to get their commercial business ongoing.

He added that he is cognisant of the situation and is aware of the effect it has on everyone, especially car drivers. The residents maintained that they had no other choice but to mount a protest action because their communities have been ignored for years.

Edghill, however, requested that they exercise patience as the extensive repairs will not be completed overnight. He noted that allocations were made for the construction of a new road to satisfy the residents and other persons utilising the road.

“We are just asking for you to be calm, we are just asking for your cooperation

Some of the residents at the meeting

and things will get done,” the Minister told residents.

Derick George, a resident of Onderneeming Sandpit told Guyana Times that he has been living in

the village for over 12 years and the road is always in a deplorable state.

"We received promises years ago and yet nothing has not done ... We the

residents would like the road to fix as soon as possible. When I was an NDC Councillor I worked with the Chairman for the past five years to get the road repair but nothing was done," George said.

George also told this newspaper that Regional Chairman Vilma De Silva along with the Regional Vice Chairman, Humace Oodit, had engaged residents during the second day of the protest and promised that loads of sand would be placed on the road to commence repairs and maintenance.

Meanwhile, a trucker who owns a private sandpit in the community related that over the past three to four weeks he had assisted

in the maintenance of the access road.

"This did happen, but as a result of the inclement weather, the aggregates were washed away and the road remains in the same state. However, during the protests that were staged by residents, we threw loads of loam and levelled it neatly. This will continue whenever the aggregate is wash away again," the trucker told Guyana Times.

The residents, however, bemoaned the action which stemmed from a trucker and a car driver, who they claimed had a confrontation on Friday. This upset the residents who then decided to barricade the bridge, denying trucks entry into the community.

16 NEWS

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

COVID booster use T&T Opposition tells Govt: may be expanded, US Hold off on property tax health officials say T

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op health officials in the United States have said broader approval of COVID-19 booster shots could be weeks away, after a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expert advisory panel this week recommended a third jab for a limited segment of the population.

The director of the National Institutes of Health said the FDA panel’s decision on Friday to limit Pfizer COVID-19 booster shots to Americans age 65 and older as well as those at high risk of severe disease was a preliminary step.

In an interview on Fox News Sunday, Dr Francis Collins predicted more wide-ranging approval for most Americans “in the next few weeks”.

Collins said the panel’s recommendation was cor-

rect based on a “snapshot” of available data on the effectiveness of Pfizer’s twojab regimen over time. But he said real-time data from the US and Israel continue to come in showing waning efficacy among more groups of people that will need to be addressed soon.

“I think there will be a decision in the coming weeks to extend boosters beyond the list that they approved on Friday,” said Collins, who also appeared CBS’ Face the Nation programme on Sunday.

Some rich nations, including the US and UK, are considering coronavirus booster shots amid a recent surge in cases linked to the highly contagious Delta variant. But the World Health Organization (WHO) this month called for a moratorium on booster

shots amid concerns about vaccine supplies to poorer nations, where millions have yet to receive their first jab.

A group of international scientists also said last week that even with the threat from the Delta strain, “booster doses for the general population are not appropriate at this stage in the pandemic”.

“Any decisions about the need for boosting or timing of boosting should be based on careful analyses of adequately controlled clinical or epidemiological data, or both, indicating a persistent and meaningful reduction in severe disease,” the scientists wrote in The Lancet medical journal.

Dr Anthony Fauci, who is US President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, on Sunday praised the FDA advisory board’s plan for covering a “good chunk” of Americans. But he stressed that “this is not the end of the story” based on data that was emerging and said the guidance would likely be expanded in the coming weeks to months.

People in the US who have received the two-dose Moderna vaccine or onedose Johnson & Johnson vaccine are still awaiting guidance on possible booster shots. (Al Jazeera)

he United National Congress (UNC) is renewing its call to Minister of Finance Colm Imbert to strongly reconsider implementing the property tax at this time.

The Opposition also wants him to think of the repercussions it will have on citizens.

At the Opposition's weekly media briefing at its Charles Street, Port of Spain, office, MP Michelle Benjamin said the Government must put the needs and livelihood of citizens first, especially in this pandemic.

“Now is not the time for this draconian tax. Some families have been living on social assistance in this pandemic, many of whom will not be able to pay any tax.

"This government needs to know families are still awaiting grants, families have deferred their mortgage payments."

In 2020, Imbert said over $15 million had been spent on hiring field officers to conduct assessments ahead of the implementation of the property tax.

In July, when asked if the Government would consider deferring the tax, the Prime Minister said, "There is never a right time tax to be collected.”

He said those who were benefiting from the State must also be ready to make their contributions.

On Sunday, Benjamin said Dr Rowley must say how the tax would benefit citizens at this time.

"Will property tax, at this time, guarantee a better supply of water? Would

MP Michelle Benjamin

it guarantee better roads?

Food prices are increasing.

Salaries, if they are still being paid, have been the same or have decreased.

Each day it is a struggle to keep afloat. As the saying goes, 'He who feels it knows it.' This government does not care."

She said the focus should have been on finding a way to cushion the impact on those severely affected by the pandemic and not on introducing new taxes and enforcing penalties.

MP for Caroni Central Arnold Ram also cautioned the government on making this move.

“There is no plan by the PNM to charter us through these tumultuous times except to tax the population and to continue the withdrawal from the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund.”

He said this option would not be a consideration if there wasn’t mismanagement and waste over the

years under the PNM administration.

On October 4, Imbert is expected to present the 2021/2022 national budget. Ram said it was the Opposition's hope that the population will not be saddled with new taxes.

“We are hoping they will re-think the implementation and enforcement of the property tax. We are hoping there will be some plan at the table in Parliament –short term, medium-term and long term plan –so that the country has something to look forward to.

"All these years they spoke of 'resetting the economy', 'turn it around' those are just nice phases for presentation with no realistic prospect of any expectation of these things being achieved.

"We are looking for something that is realistic, something that will move the country forward.” (T&T Newsday)

Confrontation over access...

Sigmond and Neville reportedly purchased one Guinness each before heading back to the worksite and a short while after they got there, they saw a boat speeding towards the Vreed-enHoop koker. At that point, the woman related, the senior security guard approached the man that disembarked the boat and confronted him.

“The senior watchman telling the boy not to bring your boat here because we don’t plant post fuh ayo these come and park you boat here and I tell you mustn’t come fuh pass through here,” she said.

Beharry said at that point, Sigmond jumped in and told the suspect that he was not allowed there. The suspect then whipped out

his phone and made a call and whilst on the phone, Beharry related, he took out a knife and started stabbing Sigmond.

Sigmond collapsed to the ground and called out to the other security guard and said “Ram, I just get jook bai” before losing consciousness. Neville then confronted the suspect, saying “Bai you just jook meh brother” after which the man turned his knife on Neville and stabbed him to his arm and rib area.

By that time, she said, the boat returned, filled with about 18-20 persons all armed with cutlasses and other weapons. The suspect boarded the boat and made good his escape.

The woman said that Neville is currently nursing a punctured lung and re-

FROM PAGE 13

mains in a stable condition at the West Demerara Regional Hospital.

She added that Sigmond was a boat builder and would ply his trade wherever the work was available but mostly with a local seafood company or in Suriname.

“He is not a violent person and that is the thing that beating us up. He is not a violent person and it is just because he stand up for his brother and he went and keep his brother company.

He didn’t deserve that,” the grieving woman said.

Beharry said that the Police related on Sunday afternoon that they have one person in custody as the investigation continues.

Sigmond leaves to mourn his wife and two children aged one and three years old.

NEWS

17

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

PM Rowley in Feds opt out of quarrel between NY and isolation after NJ over billions in COVID transit funding contact with COVID-19 N positive person

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ix months after recovering from COVID-19, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has a close encounter with the virus again.

He has been identified as a primary contact of someone with COVID-19.

The Office of the Prime Minister’s Facebook post on Saturday said Rowley was isolated and tested as required by existing health protocols.

He is fully vaccinated with the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine, while his test results are negative, he will remain in isolation until a second test is conducted next week.

Speaking to Guardian Media, Opposition Chief Whip David Lee said Rowley was part of a parliamentary sitting last week. He said while the Opposition was concerned, members were prepared to follow any guidelines given to them. Lee said he knew Rowley was in Parliament on Wednesday and if they needed to do anything.

At a PNM meeting on Tuesday night, Rowley had revealed that a minister and their entire family were in isolation.

MP for Tobago East Ayanna Webster-Roy confirmed on Saturday that she

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley

and her family had contracted the virus, with the exception of her nine-year-old son.

She posted on her Facebook page, “Today marks the fourth day of our 20-day mandatory quarantine period.

“On day four, we are nearly back to normal health. Apart from a mild fever during the initial phase, my son is symptom-free.

“My daughter and I both have some mild congestion still, but that is it! I am eternally grateful to God for His mercy and to all the health professionals who have interacted with me and my family since we were tested.”

Webster-Roy said she was also fully vaccinated with the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine in June.

(T&T Guardian)

ew York and New Jersey are in a spat over mass transit funding — and the feds are steering clear.

The two neighboring states, along with Connecticut, have $14.2 billion of federal money but can’t agree on how to spend it.

New York State officials want the money distributed according to each state’s mass transit operating costs, an equation that makes the share for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority more than six times bigger than the share for New Jersey.

Both acting MTA Chairman Janno Lieber and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy sent letters to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg last month, asking the Federal Transit Administration to step in and mediate negotiations.

But the FTA is not getting involved, said agency spokesman Steven Taubenkibel. “Federal public transportation law does not give the FTA the authority to make the determination on how these funds are sub-allocated among transit providers,” said Taubenkibel late last week.

Under two bills passed by Congress, the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act and the American Rescue Plan, the

The newly reconfigured 42 St Shuttle is pictured at Times Sq-42 St on Fri., September 10, 2021. (Marc A. Hermann)

$14.2 billion of mass transit relief is to be split among New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

The argument by New York officials is based on the MTA’s $17.5 billion annual operating budget, far larger than NJ Transit’s budget of roughly $2.6 billion.

The New Jersey governor said the funding should be split based on previous federal formulas that gave the MTA roughly 16% of the money available nationally, which New York officials have long argued is unfair.

The MTA carries roughly 40% of the country’s mass transit riders.

New York’s Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer said Congress intended for the MTA to receive roughly $10.5 billion from the two bills to cover massive hits from the pandemic. Those hits include a 50% reduction

in mass transit fares, which before COVID covered 38% of the agency’s costs. MTA officials say New Jersey’s proposal would shave roughly $700 million from that total.

Both sides have acknowledged they’ve reached a stalemate.

“Congress intended that

the last two Covid-19 emergency relief packages for transit be based on need, similar to FEMA assistance, not traditional capital funding formulas,” MTA spokesman Ken Lovett said in a statement.

“Even under New York’s proposed approach, New Jersey would receive three times as much per passenger as New York. We continue to reach out to our partners in New Jersey and Connecticut to resolve this dispute.”

New York, New Jersey and Connecticut must submit to the FTA an agreement to split the funds by Nov. 8 or else be ineligible for a $2.2 billion national pot of money allocated for transit agencies through the American Rescue Plan. The FTA spokesman said the agency “looks forward to a consensus being reached by all parties.” (Ny Daily News)

18

guyanatimesgy.com

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

Regional

Urologist: Minaj misinformed on testicular Dominica PM hails Cuba’s contribution to swelling and COVID-19 vaccines Caribbean COVID fight O

Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerritt addressing the 6th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC)

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s he gave special thanks to the Governments of Cuba and Venezuela for helping regional countries in their COVID-19 fight, Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerritt urged member nations of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) to focus on finding solutions to the myriad of problems facing the region.

Addressing the 6th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the

Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) on Saturday, he said Cuba’s assistance, in particular, has been significant.

“Without Cuba, every single Caribbean country would have had great difficulty in fighting this COVID pandemic. We have Cuban doctors and nurses and technicians working in our hospitals, ensuring that we can do everything possible to keep people alive — those who have been infect-

ed by COVID-19,” he said.

“We also want to thank the heroic people of Venezuela who in all of their challenges with the sanctions, have been able to reach out to us with PPEs and testing kits when many of us in the Caribbean were running very low or were unable to accessing those testing kits and PPEs because they were blocked in other parts of the world.”

He also commended Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador for “reviving CELAC” and expressed gratitude for that country’s solidarity with Dominica and the rest of the Caribbean.

Identifying the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, unemployment, poverty and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as among the challenges confronting nations in the 33-member regional bloc, Prime Minister Skerrit urged CELAC to redirect energies to solving these problems. (Excerpt from CMC)

US flies Haitian migrants back home from border

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he United States has started flying migrants out of a Texas border town that has seen an influx of mostly Haitian migrants over the past week.

Three flights landed at Haiti’s Port-au-Prince airport on Sunday, each carrying 145 people, the Associated Press reports.

About 13,000 would-be immigrants have gathered under a bridge connecting Del Rio in Texas to Mexico’s Ciudad Acuña.

They have been waiting in a makeshift camp in temperatures of 37C (99F).

An emergency US public

health order known as Title 42 allows authorities to expel most migrants before they can claim asylum.

Local officials have struggled to provide those in Del Rio with food and adequate sanitation.

Tom Cartwright, of the advocacy group Witness at the Border, who tracks US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) flights, told Reuters three flights left Texas – one from Laredo and two from San Antonio – on Sunday carrying Haitians back to Haiti.

Border Patrol Chief Raul L. Ortiz said 3300 migrants had been moved from the

camp to planes or detention centres.

“Over the next six to seven days our goal is to process the 12,662 migrants that we have underneath that bridge as quickly as we possibly can,” he told a press conference on Sunday.

He said the US was working with the migrants’ home nations or countries they had travelled through, to get them to accept their return.

While most of those at the camp are Haitians, there are also Cubans, Peruvians, Venezuelans and Nicaraguans present.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

ne of Trinidad and Tobago’s renowned urologists, Dr Lall Sawh says TT-born international rapper Nicki Minaj was misinformed about any link between testicular swelling, erectile dysfunction (ED) or impotence and COVID-19 vaccination.

Sawh said she reacted like a typical Trinidadian, “jumping to confusion” with misinformation.

Instead of “jumping to confusion”, Dr Sawh advised, however, she should use her extensive social media platforms to help men survive.

“In fairness to Nicki, like a typical Trinidadian, she got misinformation and she reacted, jumping to confusion. That is understandable.

“My message to her, though, is to use her influence with her social media followers to educate

Urologist Dr Lall Sawh

men properly. Encourage men to have their prostates checked.

“She could make a difference to the survival of men by getting them to get their prostate checked rather than going off on inappropriate and uninformed information.”

The rapper came under the spotlight in the past week when she tweeted that a friend of her cousin

Jamaican woman seriously injured in US hit-and-run

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olice investigators in Yarmouth, Massachusetts are searching for a driver involved in a hit-and-run incident that left a Jamaican woman seriously injured last week.

The 62-year-old woman, who was working in the United States for the summer, was flown to “a Boston-area hospital with serious injuries”, accord-

ing to a report from CBS Boston.

Reports are that on Tuesday, September 15, about 21:3h, the Jamaican was walking along Route 28 in West Yarmouth when she was hit by the vehicle.

The woman’s co-worker identified her to the Police.

Additional information led officers to make contact with the Jamaican woman’s brother who resided in an-

B

from two to seven people in each, had been impacted, and that 142 families had been affected from August 1 to September 17.

There were 95 new cases from 1,686 tests conducted by the Best-dos Santos Public Health Laboratory.

“And today’s positives also come from about 14 communities across the southern half of the island, as we’ve been saying before, this is where we are seeing the concentration, particularly along the urban corridor,” he noted.

Minister Bostic also spoke about the lives that had been lost due to COVID-19, especially those occurring over the last few days.

A 50-year-old man became the 58th death from COVID-19 when he passed away early Saturday morning. He was the sixth death for the week.

“This is a concern because we are trying desperately to protect lives, to save lives. And even though we had about six [deaths] within the past

other state.

Yarmouth Police Deputy Chief Kevin Lennon, told CBS Boston on Wednesday that the woman had “lower extremity injuries and head injuries” as a result of the incident.

“It’s sad somebody would hit somebody and then drive away especially with the extent of the injuries the person had,” Lennon said. (Jamaica Observer)

Regional trade unions reject LIAT offer

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egional trade unions representing former employees of the cash-strapped regional airline, LIAT, say they rejected the latest offer by Caribbean shareholder Governments to meet their financial obligations to the laid-off workers.

The airline laid off an estimated 90 per cent of its staff last year as part of a re-

structuring exercise and resumed operations on a much smaller scale.

Waterfront and Allied Workers Union (WAWU) President Donald Rolle said that the regional unions are united in seeking the millions of dollars owed to the workers and have rejected the latest offer from the shareholder Governments.

Barbados confirms widespread COVID-19 community transmission, mostly Delta variant

arbados Health and Wellness Minister, Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Bostic has announced that there is “widespread community transmission” of COVID-19, and that the country was being impacted by the Delta variant.

He also disclosed that many clusters existed in the south of the island.

Speaking at a COVID-19 update press conference on Saturday, Bostic said that the latest figures showed that 14 families, ranging

in Trinidad developed swollen testicles and became impotent after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.

Her comment drew international media attention, and laughter, as well as condemnation locally and abroad, from scientists and politicians – including Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh, who debunked her findings.

Sawh said many men who suffer from testicular enlargement or ED often ascribe blame to something or someone.

“The person who misinformed Nicki by blaming the vaccine must have had swollen testicles before.”

He said the swelling of the testicles is indeed a genuine male issue and is caused by a number of factors, including hydrocele infection, which is when fluid collects around the testicles, and cancer. (Excerpt from Trinidad Newsday)

week, for us, it is six too many,” the health minister said.

“We must expect that, regrettably, there will be some deaths. But I believe strongly that if we do all of the things that are necessary to help us in this situation, that we can save lives. And the best way for us to be able to do so is by taking the vaccine.

Unfortunately, all six persons who have died within the last week have been unvaccinated.”

(Excerpt from CMC)

Barbados Health and Wellness Minister, Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Bostic

“We had a meeting of regional trade unions that represent the members in the different islands and we have all concluded that we are preparing to write to the shareholder Governments a joint communique that will express our position as it relates to the offer on table by the Governments and shareholders,” Rolle said on the state-owned DBS radio.

“The offer on table which is to pay the LIAT workers 50 per cent of their redundancy pay and there is a component that involves compensation by issuing of lands and bonds.

“But the unions around the Caribbean have sort of rejected that in its entirety, but we are in negotiations with the Governments. We have a position and as it is now we are at opposite ends of the table,” Rolle said.

“I can say we are united as unions around the Caribbean…and that gives us some sort of solidarity in moving forward.

Redundancy does not come by 50 per cent, the employer has to pay the employee what is due by law”. (Excerpt from CMC)

guyanatimesgy.com

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

19

Around the World

OILNEWS OIL NEWS UK has plans to protect consumers from soaring gas prices – Business Minister

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ritain has plans in place to protect the market and consumers from soaring global gas prices, Business Minister Kwasi Kwarteng said on Sunday following a meeting with the head of energy regulator Ofcom.

A jump in gas prices has already forced several domestic energy suppliers out of business and has shut fertiliser plants that also produce carbon dioxide, used to stun animals before slaughter and prolong the shelf-life of food.

"If a supplier fails, Ofgem will ensure customers’ gas and electricity supply will continue uninterrupted," Kwarteng said on Twitter.

"If a supplier of last resort is not possible, a special administrator would be appointed by Ofgem and the Govt.

The objective is to continue supply to customers until the company can be rescued or customers moved to new suppliers."

Kwarteng said he had also met with the Chief Executive of CF Industries, the country's largest domestic supplier of CO2.

"We discussed the pressures the business is facing and explored possible ways forward to secure vital supplies, including to our food and energy industries," he said.

Kwarteng held emergency talks with executives from National Grid, Centrica and EDF on Saturday and is due to host a roundtable with energy industry and consumer groups today.

The Government has been moved to act after low gas storage levels, decreased supplies from Russia, demand from Asia, low renewables output and nuclear maintenance outages combined to more than triple European gas prices this year, hitting record highs.

Earlier Minister Alok Sharma told Sky News the Government was confident that soaring prices would not result in a risk to supply and that measures were in place to protect consumers from sudden price increases.

As well as domestic gas production in the North Sea, Britain also imports gas via pipeline from Norway, as well as the Netherlands and Belgium. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Russia's ruling pro-Putin party wins elections but loses some ground – early results

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ussia's ruling United Russia party was on course to secure a comfortable victory in a three-day parliamentary election despite losing some ground to its opponents, early results and an exit poll showed on Sunday.

With nearly 13 per cent of ballots counted, the Central Election Commission said United Russia had won just over 40 per cent of the vote.

Separately, an exit poll conducted by INSOMAR and published by Russia's RIA news agency predicted United Russia would win a little over 45 per cent of the vote.

Though that would amount to an emphatic win, it would be a weaker result than the last time a parliamentary election was held in 2016, when the party won just over 54 per cent of the vote.

United Russia has faced a slump in its popularity due to

malaise over years of faltering living standards and allegations of corruption from jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny which it denies. It was also contending with a tactical voting campaign organised by Navalny's allies.

Kremlin critics say the vote is a sham, given a pre-election crackdown which outlawed Navalny's movement, barred his allies from running, and targeted critical media and non-governmental organisations which the authorities regarded as hostile.

Golos, an independent election watchdog, said it had recorded many violations during the vote, including threats against observers and ballot stuffing, blatant examples of which circulated on social media, with some individuals caught on camera depositing bundles of voting slips in urns.

The Central Election

Johannesburg Mayor Jolidee Matongo killed in car crash

Israel carries out mass arrests of Palestinians after jailbreak

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sraeli forces have detained dozens of Palestinians in recent days in a campaign of mass arrests in response to an embarrassing high-security prison escape earlier this month.

According to figures from the PLO’s Negotiations Affairs Department and the Palestinian prisoners’ organisation Addameer, more than 100 Palestinians have been arrested since six high-profile Palestinian prisoners escaped from Gilboa prison in northern Israel on September 6.

“We have documented an average of 14 arrests per day in the occupied West Bank since the men escaped,” Milena Ansari from Addameer told Al Jazeera.

“This does not include the Palestinians arrested within Israel.”

All six men who tunnelled out of the prison are now back in Israeli custody after the final two Palestinians surrendered to troops in Jenin city early on Sunday.

Amid the manhunt for the missing men, Israeli forces carried out retaliatory raids against family members of the escapees in the Jenin area, which was already restive, arresting and interrogating them before releasing some.

The arrests and raids have also focused on Ramallah, Hebron, Nablus and surrounding villages.

A number of Palestinian children were also swept up in the latest wave of arrests.

Thirteen-year-old Mustafa Amira, from the town of Nilin near Ramallah, was arrested by Israeli soldiers last week while he was on village land close to a separation wall built by Israel to divide the area from settlements.

His father Khalil Amira told Al Jazeera that Mustafa and his cousin Muhammad, 15, were arrested and beaten by about 10 Israeli soldiers and held in detention overnight by Israeli Police without being given food or water. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

President Ramaphosa (L) said it is difficult to comprehend the death of the Mayor (R)

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outh Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa has paid tribute to the new Mayor of Johannesburg, following his death in a car crash aged 46.

Jolidee Matongo had been campaigning with Ramaphosa before the accident.

His vehicle collided with a van while trying to avoid a pedestrian who had run on to the road, local media report.

The pedestrian and the other vehicle's driver also died, while Matongo's two bodyguards are being treated in hospital for their injuries.

Matongo only became Mayor on August 10 following the death of his predecessor from COVID complications.

Local media report he was the son of a Zimbabwean migrant, and had been a political activist in South Africa since the age of 13, campaigning against apartheid -

a legalised system of racism that was in place at the time.

He was a member of the governing African National Congress (ANC), and was expected to be at the forefront of the party's campaign to win Johannesburg - South Africa's commercial capital in local government elections due on November 1.

In his tribute to the Mayor, President Ramaphosa said: "It is hard to comprehend this tragedy, given the vitality and passion with which Mayor Matongo interacted with me and residents of Soweto so shortly before his death.

"Nothing could prepare any of us for this sudden loss, which has deprived our nation's economic centre of its second executive mayor in two months."

Johannesburg is the main city in Gauteng, the economic hub of South Africa. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Members of a local election commission count ballots at a polling station inside Kazansky railway terminal after polls closed during a three-day long parliamentary election in Moscow, Russia, September 19, 2021

Commission said it had recorded cases of ballot stuffing in eight regions and that

the results from those polling stations would be voided.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Lava pours out of volcano on La Palma in Spain's Canary Islands

A

volcano erupted on the Spanish Canary Island of La Palma on Sunday, sending lava shooting into the air and streaming in rivers towards two villages from the Cumbre Vieja national park in the south of the island.

Authorities had begun evacuating the infirm and some farm animals from nearby villages before the eruption at 3:15 pm (1415 GMT) on a wooded slope in the sparsely populated Cabeza de Vaca area, according to the islands' Government.

Two hours later, with lava edging down the hillside from five fissures torn into the hillside, the municipality ordered the evacuation of four villages, including El Paso and Los Llanos de Aridane.

After nightfall, video footage showed fountains of lava shooting hundreds of metres into the sky, and at least

three incandescent orange rivers of molten rock pouring down the hill, tearing gashes into woods and farmland, and spreading as they reached lower ground.

One stream, several hundred metres long and tens of metres wide, crossed a road and began engulfing scattered houses in El Paso.

Spain's Civil Guard said it was helping to evacuate between 5000 and 10,000 people.

Canary Islands President Angel Victor Torres told TVE public television that no injuries had been reported so far.

La Palma had been on high alert after more than 22,000 tremors were reported in the space of a week in Cumbre Vieja, a chain of volcanoes that last had a major eruption in 1971 and is one of the most active volcanic regions in the Canaries. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Australia defends scrapping of French submarine deal, Macron and Biden to talk

A

ustralia on Sunday defended its decision to ditch a multi-billion-dollar order for French submarines and opt instead for an alternative deal with the United States and Britain, saying it had flagged its concerns to Paris months ago. Canberra's move enraged Paris, triggering an unprecedented diplomatic crisis that analysts say could do lasting damage to US alliances with France and Europe. It has also riled China, the major rising power in the IndoPacific region.

The United States has sought to assuage the anger in France, a NATO ally, and the French Government spokesman said on Sunday that President Emmanuel Macron would have a call with US President Joe Biden "in the next few days". Paris has recalled its envoys to Washington and Canberra for consultations.

Morrison said he understood France's disappointment over the cancellation of the order - valued at US$40 billion in 2016 and reckoned to cost much more today but reiterated that Australia must always take decisions in its best interests.

"This is an issue that had been raised by me directly some months ago and we continued to talk those issues through, including by Defence Ministers and others," he told a briefing.

Under its new trilateral security partnership, Australia will build at least eight nuclear-powered submarines with US and British technology.

The scrapped deal, struck with France's Naval Group in 2016, was for a fleet of conventional submarines.

The new trilateral deal has cast into doubt the united front that Biden is seeking to forge against China's growing power. (Excerpt from Reuters)

20

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

guyanatimesgy.com

ARCHIE

ARIES (March 21April 19)

TAURUS

DILBERT

(April 20May 20)

GEMINI (May 21June 20)

CANCER (June 21July 22)

PEANUTS

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

CALVIN AND HOBBES

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

SUDOKU

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)

Transparency will be vital if you want to make a change or do things differently. Once you have a plan in place and the support you need, it will be easy to reach your goal.

Indecisiveness will be your downfall. Do your research and be prepared to take advantage of an offer. Ask questions and get the lowdown. Be mindful of competitive situations and misleading people.

Think before you make a move. Refuse to let anyone bully you or push you in a direction you don’t want to go. Emotional blackmail will lead to mistakes that are difficult to rectify.

Think about what you want and follow through with your plans. A change you make will fetch compliments and acknowledgment for a job well done. Don’t lose sight of your personal goals.

Refuse to let anything limit what you can do. Speak up, and you’ll gain respect and receive the information necessary to move forward in a direction that suits your needs.

Take a unique approach to finding love and personal happiness, and you’ll alleviate stress. Distance yourself from the past by embracing what lies ahead. You will discover an inspirational path.

Go the distance. Leave nothing to chance and control every detail to ensure you get what you want. You can’t buy love and respect, but you can earn them by making smart financial decisions.

Use your imagination, and you’ll come up with a plan that encourages others to help you reach your goal. Listen to others’ input and find a middle ground that will encourage positive change.

Think before you act.

SAGITTARIUS Choose a path that will help (Nov. 23you get your way. If you try Dec. 21) to force others to see things the way you do, you will fall short of your goal. Honesty and integrity will be key.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

SOLUTION FOR LAST PUBLISHED PUZZLE AQUARIUS (Jan. 20Feb. 19)

Take an innovative route to separate yourself from the competition. A change will enhance the way others respond to you. Take physical action to get things done.

Bickering will accomplish nothing.

Pay attention to the task you are given. Getting along with others and promptly taking care of your responsibilities will be the best ways to get what you want.

An unexpected change will throw you off.

Take the initiative to show how much you care.

(Feb. 20- Love is in the stars, and March 20) your actions will speak louder than words. A kind gesture, a show of affection and commitment are favored.

PISCES

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

Kohli to step down as RCB Captain after IPL 2021

V

irat Kohli will step down as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) Captain at the end of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 season. The news was made public on Sunday evening, while the Chennai Super Kings v Mumbai Indians game in Dubai was in progress, by the franchise, and came three days after Kohli had announced that he would be giving up the captaincy of India’s T20I team at the end of the World Cup in OctoberNovember.

Kohli, who will turn 33 during the World Cup, became the regular captain at Royal Challengers in 2013; he has been a part of the franchise as a player since the inception of the IPL in 2008.

His 132 matches as Captain in the IPL is only behind MS Dhoni’s record of 196, and while he has never won the tournament, his best season as a batter was in 2016 when he not only grabbed the orange cap for the most runs but also helped the team reach the final, where they lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad. That was the solitary final for Royal Challengers under Kohli, but they did make the playoffs in 2015 and 2020 too.

In the media statement, Kohli pointed out that it had not been an “easy decision”, but that it was taken in the interest of the team. He also reiterated that he would remain with the team “until my retirement from the game of cricket”.

The development came on the eve of Royal Challengers’ first match in the second leg of IPL 2021, against Kolkata Knight Riders in Abu Dhabi on Monday. They are currently placed third on the points table after a strong start with five wins from seven matches.

ESPNcricinfo has learnt that Kohli had informed people close to him that he had wanted to free himself from the pressures of the planning and strategising that is required from a T20 captain. That led to him stepping down from both the positions, with India and Royal Challengers.

On Sunday, Kohli announced his decision to the Royal Challengers squad before their training session. “I’ve spoken to the squad this evening before the second leg of the tournament starts, to inform everyone that this is going to be my last leg in the IPL as Captain of RCB,” Kohli said in a video message put out by the franchise on social media. “I spoke to the management this evening, something that was on my mind for a while, as I recently announced stepping down from [India] T20 captaincy as well to manage my workload, which has been immense over the last so many years….

“And I want to be able to be continue to be committed to the responsibilities that I’m fulfilling and I felt I needed this space to refresh, to regroup and be absolutely clear in how I want to move forward. And also understanding that RCB is going to go through a transitional phase with the big auction coming in next year.”

Going by Kohli’s statement, it would seem that Royal Challengers would retain him before the 2022 auction.

“I’ve made it clear to the management that I can’t think of being in any other team than RCB and that has been my commitment from day one,” Kohli said. “I will continue to be an RCB player till I play my last game in the IPL. But it’s been a great journey of nine years of joy, frustration, moments of happiness and sadness, and I just want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for supporting me and be-

Chelsea beat Spurs to extend unbeaten run M

21

Virat Kohli

lievi n g in me relentlessly and unconditionally.

“And I will continue to be committed to play for this franchise as I said till the last day of me playing IPL… for you guys, for the fans, because of what you’ve done for me and how you’ve made me feel over the last so many years that is going to stay with me for the rest of my life.

“So thank you so much, this is just a little halt, it’s not the end of the journey. The journey will continue and it will continue the same way that it has for so many years.

Thank you.”

So far, under Kohli, Royal Challengers have won 60 of their 132 matches while losing 65. While his captaincy and tactical acumen have always been questioned, Kohli never let that affect his batting: no one in IPL history has hit more than the five centuries he has, or topped his tally of 33 half-centuries as Captain. He also leads the tally of run-scorers overall, with 6076 runs – from 191 innings, at an average of 37.97 and strike rate of 130.41 – and that of captains, with 4674 runs at an average of 43.27 and a strike rate of 134.11. (ESPNcricinfo)

Lingard scores stunner & De Gea saves injury-time penalty in Man Utd win

Chelsea have won their last three Premier League away games against Tottenham

C

helsea stretched their unbeaten Premier League run to five games as Thomas Tuchel’s team deservedly beat Tottenham.

After managing no shots on target in the first half, the visitors looked like a different team after the break and scored three second-half goals at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The Blues opened the scoring four minutes after the re-start, when Thiago Silva headed past Hugo Lloris from Marcos Alonso’s corner.

Half-time substitute N’Golo Kante added a second with his first goal in 49 league appearances, though his long-range effort took a massive deflection from Eric Dier.

Antonio Rudiger found the bottom corner in injury time to complete the win. Spurs started the game brightly and were the better side in the first half, but Nuno Espirito Santo’s side managed just two shots on target throughout and struggled to find a response after going behind.

Silva, Alonso, Rudiger, Romelu Lukaku, and Timo Werner all came close as the Blues enjoyed 10 second-half shots on target, but Lloris made a number of saves to deny them.

Chelsea are one of only three teams yet to lose in the Premier League this season, along with Liverpool and Manchester United. The victory lifts the Blues to joint top of the table, alongside Jurgen Klopp’s side. (BBC Sport)

ark Noble stepped off the bench for an injury-time penalty – and saw it saved – as Jesse Lingard’s stunning late goal secured victory for Manchester United against his former club West Ham. Lingard, who spent a successful loan spell at London Stadium last season, appeared as a substitute in the second half and with two minutes remaining, he cut on to his right foot and fired into the top corner.

Further drama followed as Luke Shaw was adjudged to have handballed in the box and David De Gea dived the right way David De Gea saved his first penalty in the Premier League since October 2014 on his 22nd attempt to push away the spot-kick that had been taken by Noble, who was making his first Old Trafford. The game was meandering towards touch after coming off the bench in the 95th mina draw until Lingard popped up to score superbly ute. and the England international did not celebrate Earlier in the contest, Cristiano Ronaldo had after being given a good reception by the home converted his fourth goal in three games since supporters. re-signing for Manchester United, poking home The return of Ronaldo seems to be an inspired from close range on 35 minutes after Lukasz move by Solskjaer as the Portugal internationFabianski had spilled the initial effort. al continued his impressive return and he could West Ham had taken the lead five minutes behave had more goals, as well as having a number fore that when Said Benrahma’s strike from outof penalty appeals turned down. Ronaldo flashed a side the area went in after taking a huge deflecshot straight at Fabianski and another effort was tion off defender Raphael Varane. brilliantly tipped wide by the Polish goalkeeper, Bruno Fernandes had seen a first-time strike who also kept out efforts from Shaw and Aaron superbly tipped on to the post by Fabianski, who Wan-Bissaka. made a string of saves for the home side.

West Ham forwards Nikola Vlasic and Pablo Victory ensures Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side Fornals both flicked efforts wide from promising remain unbeaten in the league this term with four positions and they had a golden opportunity to wins and a draw, while West Ham suffered their claim a point in the dying seconds. first loss of the campaign. The Red Devils were Andriy Yarmolenko’s cross hit Shaw’s outheavily criticised after a poor Champions League stretched arm and referee Martin Atkinson performance in Switzerland against Young Boys awarded the penalty after viewing the incident on in midweek and were looking like being left frusthe pitchside monitor. trated in London.

Declan Rice initially took the ball, but Noble But instead they maintained their incredible came on for Jarrod Bowen and assumed responrun away from home in the league and are now sibility, but his effort was brilliantly saved by De unbeaten in their last 29 top-flight games outside Gea. (BBC Sport)

22

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

IPL 2021:

Dwayne Bravo slammed 23 from eight balls

Bravo’s Chennai Super Kings beat Pollard’s Mumbai – Gaikwad hits match-winning 88

T

he Indian Premier League (IPL) returned in dramatic fashion as Chennai Super Kings staged a superb fightback to defeat defending champions Mumbai Indians.

Chennai were reduced to 24-4, effectively 24-5, because of an injury to Ambati Rayudu in Dubai. But opener Ruturaj Gaikwad batted through the innings for 88 not out from 58 balls to help them post 156-6.

Mumbai then never recovered from 37-3, closing on 136-8, to give Chennai victory by 20 runs. CSK, captained by India legend MS Dhoni and with England all-rounder Moeen Ali in their side, join Delhi Capitals at the top of the table, having won six of their eight games.

SCOREBOARD The IPL has restarted in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) having been postponed in May amid a surge of coronavirus cases in India.

Chennai are one of the IPL’s most successful teams – only five-time champions Mumbai have won more titles than the Super Kings’ three. However, when the 2020 version of the IPL was held entirely in the UAE, Chennai struggled, finishing seventh in the eight-team table.

That struggle looked set to continue when New Zealand pace pair Trent Boult and Adam Milne shared four wickets and Milne hit Rayudu on the elbow to effectively remove half of the batting line-up inside the six-over powerplay.

But Gaikwad rebuilt in a stand of 81 with Ravindra Jadeja, who made 26, before Dwayne Bravo blasted 23 from only eight balls, including three sixes.

Gaikwad, who was crucially dropped on 19 by wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock off the spin of Rahul Chahar, ended with four maximums, as Chennai somehow recovered to post a total way beyond Mumbai.

Mumbai falter without Rohit and Hardik

CSK Innings Ruturaj Gaikwad not out Faf du Plessis c Milne b Boult Moeen Ali c Tiwary b Milne Ambati Rayudu retired hurt Suresh Raina c Chahar b Boult MS Dhoni (c)† c Boult b Milne Ravindra Jadeja c Pollard b Bumrah Dwayne Bravo c Pandya b Bumrah Shardul Thakur not out

88 0 0 0 4 3 26 23 1

Extras (lb 3, w 8) 11 TOTAL (20 Ov, RR: 7.80) 156/6 Did not bat: Deepak Chahar, Josh Hazlewood Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Faf du Plessis, 0.5 ov), 2-2 (Moeen Ali, 1.3 ov), 2-3* (Ambati Rayudu, retired hurt), 3-7 (Suresh Raina, 2.6 ov), 4-24 (MS Dhoni, 5.6 ov), 5-105 (Ravindra Jadeja, 16.4 ov), 6-144 (Dwayne Bravo, 19.2 ov) BOWLING Trent Boult Adam Milne Jasprit Bumrah Kieron Pollard Rahul Chahar Krunal Pandya

O M 4 1 4 0 4 0 2 0 4 0 2 0

R W 35 2 21 2 33 2 15 0 22 0 27 0

MUMBAI INDIANS INNINGS (TARGET: 157 RUNS FROM 20 OVERS) Quinton de Kock † lbw b Chahar 17 Anmolpreet Singh b Chahar 16 Suryakumar Yadav c du Plessis b Thakur 3 Ishan Kishan c Raina b Bravo 11 Saurabh Tiwary not out 50 Kieron Pollard (c) lbw b Hazlewood 15 Krunal Pandya run out (Bravo/†Dhoni) 4 Adam Milne c sub (K Gowtham) b Bravo 15 Rahul Chahar c Raina b Bravo 0 Jasprit Bumrah not out 1 Extras (w 4) 4 TOTAL (20 Ov, RR: 6.80) 136/8 Did not bat: Trent Boult Fall of wickets: 1-18 (Quinton de Kock, 2.2 ov), 2-35 (Anmolpreet Singh, 4.6 ov), 3-37 (Suryakumar Yadav, 5.4 ov), 4-58 (Ishan Kishan, 9.2 ov), 5-87 (Kieron Pollard, 13.1 ov), 6-94 (Krunal Pandya, 14.4 ov), 7-134 (Adam Milne, 19.2 ov), 8-135 (Rahul Chahar, 19.4 ov) BOWLING Deepak Chahar Josh Hazlewood Shardul Thakur Moeen Ali Dwayne Bravo Ravindra Jadeja

Mumbai, winners in 2019 and 2020,

O 4 4 4 3 4 1

M 0 0 0 0 0 0

R 19 34 29 16 25 13

W 2 1 1 0 3 0

Kieron Pollard stood as Captain for MI with Rohit Sharma being absent (Photos: IPL/BCCI)

Ruturaj Gaikwad pumps a straight six

have now lost half of their eight games to lie fourth in the table. They were without influential Captain Rohit Sharma because of a hamstring problem, while all-rounder Hardik Pandya was also missing.

Without Rohit at

the top of the order, Mumbai lost De Kock and debutant Anmolpreet Singh to Deepak Chahar and the dangerous Ishan Kishan to Shardul Thakur. With Moeen’s off-breaks proving economical – he conceded only 16 runs from three overs – Mumbai never found any momentum in the chase.

And although Saurabh Tiwary ended on 50 not out, Mumbai needed 24 from the final over of the match, in which Bravo picked up two wickets to cap a fine all-round performance with 3-25. (BBC Sport)

Women’s ODI:

West Indies clinch super over thriller in final South Africa match - Guyanese Grimmond claims career best

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est Indies Women avoided a series whitewash against South Africa Women in the fifth and final CG Insurance One-Day International in Antigua. It was a dramatic encounter as West Indies restricted South Africa to 6-0 in the super over and won, ending on 10-1 off the final ball.

Batting first, West Indies Women posted 192-5 in their allotted 50 overs with the promising Rashada Williams hitting an unbeaten 78. She was supported by Hayley Matthews. For the South African Women, Nadine de Klerk claimed 3-33 in her 10 overs.

In response, South Africa Women were in cruise control, at 110-0 with Lizelle Lee hitting 61 and her fellow opener, Tazmin Brits scoring 48. Guyanese Sheneta Grimmond came and bowled her best spell ever, and she was supported by left-arm spinner Qiana Joseph. The Berbician Grimmond claimed 4-33 in her 10 overs while Joseph had 2-29.

South Africa required one from the final over, with Mignon du Preez on 46, but she was run out on the final ball of the 50th over, which meant it was a super over, with South Africa on 192-7. In the super over bowled by Deandra Dottin, she conceded six, as South Africa Women ended on 6-0. In reply, Dottin was run out for one, but Chedean Nation and Hayley Matthews ensured West Indies ended on 10-1 off the final ball of the super over. South Africa won the five-match ODI series 4-1.

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23 Shepherd speaks: Even your best will sometimes not get you where you want in life MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

By Brandon Corlette

N

o matter how hard things look, giving up is not an option. That is the message from Guyana Amazon Warriors star player in the 2021 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) season – Romario Shepherd.

The man from New Amsterdam, Berbice finished as the joint highest wicket-taker in the CPL, with 19 wickets (including the super over).

Despite his consistency and brilliance, he was not selected for the West Indies T20 World Cup squad.

Reflecting on his 2021 CPL, Shepherd said: “CPL 2021, I would say this was my breakout year. People always knew I was good, but some people never thought I was this good. I think what went well is the way I handled the pressure situations, the way I executed under pressure.”

Shepherd’s exclusion from the West Indies squad has certainly raised many eyebrows, including those of the President of Guyana, Dr Irfaan Ali. When I posted a question to Cricket West Indies (CWI) Lead Selector Roger Harper on the reason why Shepherd was not selected, it seems as though I bowled a googly to the Lead Selector.

His response was: “Of course, consideration Romario Shepherd had a top season for Warriors was given to Romario (Shepherd), because he ally appreciate the work that I have done.” was performing really well and um... of course, Shepherd, who has played seven One-Day Internationals consideration was given, and he just missed out on a spot.” for West Indies and six T20 Internationals, said playing at President Ali, who made direct contact with Shepherd, the international level remained his lifelong dream. described the cricketer as a superb talent, an all-rounder “Playing international cricket is every cricketer’s dream who has a great future ahead. Shepherd said it was a special feeling for the President to recognise his work. “It was and I’m no different; that is my dream – playing internaas special. It is a great feeling to know that the President re- tional cricket for the West Indies.”

Asked about how much he was looking to get back into the West Indies team, Shepherd responded: “Well, I knew heading in to CPL, if I was to get a shot in the World Cup squad, I had to do some great things, so my aim was just give it my best shot every single game. I went out there, and I tried and did my best, gave it my all and I finished as the joint leading wicket-taker.

“So sometimes in life your best will not be enough to get you to where you want to be, and this was one of those occasions. But I’m really proud of myself and I can really look back at all the games even when I didn’t do well and know that I did try my best,” Shepherd added.

Shepherd showed great skill, producing the goods at the death, with his yorker. When asked if he mastered this aspect of bowling, Shepherd replied: “Well, I guess you are one of the few people who can really relate to how hard I had to work on that skill. I wouldn’t say I’ve mastered it as yet, because it is something you have to keep working at.

But I think I’m getting to where I want the skill set to be, to have different options in the death.”

Reflecting on what went wrong for Warriors, Shepherd said: “I think our batting was not up to where we would have wanted it to be, but you know that is cricket. The guys really worked hard in the nets, so I can say they tried and did everything that was possible to get the results. I think in that semi-final, our bowlers could have done a better job with the score our batting unit fought hard for.”

Shepherd, who scored 109 runs with the bat, had an economy rate of 7.6 with best figures of 3-15 in nine matches at an average of 14.1.

Inaugural sport conference Walter Grant-Stuart slated for October 2 wins Victor Macedo Memorial Race F

Culture, Youth and Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr

T

he Culture, Youth and Sport Ministry is set to open its inaugural sport conference on October 2, creating a free space for sport associations to dialogue and improve their respective clubs.

This was announced by subject Minister Charles Ramson Jr on Thursday last. He said the conference would become an annual event.

“The objective of the sport conference is two purposed: it is to flesh out and finalise the details on the consultation on our sport academy. Our sport academy is going to be launched about four weeks after that (conference) or around four weeks after that.

“The second purpose of the sport conference is that the sport associations can talk to each other, so it is going to be panel-discussion driven, so we will have a full information session,” Ramson said.

The Sport Minister also told the media that since taking office, he has met with sev-

eral sport associations and organisations to discuss the conditions of and challenges at their facilities.

He said during the discussions he recognised that a huge gap existed between the Ministry and sport associations.

“It is very important to me having that monthly engagement with them (sport associations) and it was also great for them to talk to me ,but they were not talking to each other, and so this sport conference will be the vehicle for that.

“Some of the sport associations are bettering their administration than others and some have been able to employ different techniques that have been beneficial, and that have produced better outcomes,” he stated.

The initiative forms part of the Government’s commitment to reshaping sports locally and ensuring opportunities for all athletes in Guyana. (DPI)

resh from the Games in Japan, Guyana’s only Paralympian Walter Grant-Stuart made a grand return to the local scene, stopping the clock at three hours eight minutes and 20 seconds in the Victor Macedo Memorial Race.

The riders battled in sweltering conditions from Thirst Park, into the East Bank carriageway to the Linden-Soesdyke Highway, turning back at the Long Creek School junction and the Yarrowkabra junction, before retracing their route to the finish at Thirst Park.

In the open category, Grant-Stuart was followed by Christopher Griffith of Team Evolution, Andre “Padlock” Green (third); Curtis Dey (fourth); Alexis Mendes (fifth) and Alanzo Ambrose (sixth). In the Under-50 category, Grant-Stuart topped the charts, followed by Mendes, Kwame Ridley, Ralph Williams, and Jaikaran Sukahi in that order.

In the female category, Suzanne Hamilton came in first while Clevicia Spencer copped second. In the Over50 category, Talim Shaw was in first place, Kennard Lovell came in second and Garfield Larima, third. The lone juvenile was Ajani Cutting.

After the race, Grant-Stuart told Guyana Times Sport that it was a close finish, but he broke away from the pack at the final turn. The Paralympian said it was a good race and he was happy to return in style. He also reflected on his time in Japan at Paralympics, describing it as challenging.

The race, which had 44 starters, was given approval by the National COVID-19 Task Force, and the Guyana Police Force was on the ground.

The cycling season continues with several upcoming races. The most anticipated race is the lucrative “Ounce of Gold” event, which is set for Sunday, October 10, and riders should be at it again, with the race commencing outside Banks DIH, Thirst Park at 07:30h.

The “Ounce of Gold” race, arguably the most anticipated cycle race in Guyana, will turn back at the Coca Cola sign at Dora and at the Yarrowkabra junction.

(Brandon Corlette)

Walter Grant-Stuart celebrates in fine style after his victory

Top female rider Suzanne Hamilton

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

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

Shepherd speaks: Even your best will sometimes not get you where you want in life Page 23

Walter Grant-Stuart wins Victor Macedo Memorial Race Page 23

Women’s ODI:

IPL 2021:

West Indies clinch super Bravo’s Chennai Super over thriller in final South Kings beat Pollard’s Africa match Mumbai Page 22

See story on page 22

– Guyanese Grimmond claims career best Sheneta Grimmond claimed four wickets

– Gaikwad hits match-winning 88 Bravo claimed three wickets with the ball

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