Guyana Times - Saturday, April 15, 2023

feud turns violent: Pregnant woman, husband attacked, chopped

Demerara Harbour Bridge gets $73M motorised barge

In order to reduce costs and improve efficiency in terms of traffic management, a motorised barge and a self-loader lorry have been purchased for the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation to the tune of over-$110 million.

This multi-functional automated barge, which was refurbished from an old barge, is powered by two 300-horsepower mercury engines and will be used to transport equipment and tools during emergency repairs and/or scheduled maintenance works on the bridge. This would see the minimising of inconveniences to the travelling public as the

teams would no longer have to block traffic or close off the bridge entirely when executing works but would access via the Demerara River using the power barge.

Additionally, the barge also comes with a lifeboat – both procured at about $73 million – but only the barge has been delivered. It was built by Jagmohan Construction and General Supplies Inc during a sixmonth period.

While the power barge was acquired to primarily conduct maintenance and house equipment, General Manager of the DHBC, Wayne Watson explained too that it would also serve as a

means of transport in emergency cases.

“It was suggested that in the future if there is any need when we have the closure [of the bridge to do works, for example,] for replacing Span 9, this can also be used for taking commuters from east to the west side [and vice versa across the Demerara River]. So, it’s a multifunctional piece of equipment.”

He added too that the barge also contains tanks to transport fresh water that can be used for a number of things including cleaning the bridge.

Currently, there is only one seasoned operator for the power barge but Watson

noted efforts are underway to train at least six other operators.

The power barge, which was designed in-house by the DHBC technical team, is expected to be operational on a 24-hour basis.

Meanwhile, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill said this investment will bring about cost saving and greater efficiency.

In fact, he pointed out that when the bridge was damaged during the October 2022 incident, the rental of barges to effect repairs racked up expenses in excess of $12 million for just a few days of use.

“When we make these kinds of investments… it improves the fact that we can work on a platform on the water and we don’t have to congest the carriageway… so that the traffic can flow, and it has serious cost-savings implications,” Edghill

stated.

The Public Works Minister also expressed similar sentiments on the procurement of the self-loader lorry for the bridge company, which he said will enhance their capability to get things done at a faster rate and respond to incidents in a timelier manner.

The vehicle, which cost over $40 million, is expected to aid in the quick removal of vehicles from on the bridge in the event of an accident or mechanical failure. It will also be used during maintenance works to remove beams and other heavy equipment.

“When you check the figures of what we have been paying for rentals during the hours of maintenance to be able to lift heavy items, the cost has been skyrocketing. With the age of this bridge and the need for constant maintenance, the cost

of rentals became a matter of concern. Now, we have our own equipment… that can pull a 15-tonne vehicle onto the tray,” Minister Edghill stated.

The self-loader has a wrench and a retractable tray along with a crane. According to the DHBC General Manager, this vehicle was specially designed for the bridge company and is greatly needed.

Nevertheless, Minister Edghill went on to say that “Mr Watson… would have engaged me at different times on a number of initiatives: maintenance, traffic flow, orderliness of traffic, dealing with rush hour, managing to do maintenance while the bridge remains open. It would seem that himself and his team have a very good grasp of what needs to be done and they’re able to do it very efficiently.”

(G8)

Public Works Minister Juan Edghill and DHBC General Manager Wayne Watson, along with other officials, witnessing a demonstration of the newly-commissioned self-loader

The $73M power barge acquired for the Demerara Harbour Bridge

BRIDGE OPENINGS

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

Saturday, Apr 15 – 01:00h – 02:30h and Sunday, Apr 16 – 01:30h – 03:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Saturday, Apr 15 – 12:40h – 14:10h and Sunday, Apr 16 – 13:45h – 15:15h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY

There will be thundery showers during the day. Expect partly cloudy skies at night. Temperatures should range between 23 degrees Celsius and 29 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East North-Easterly to North-Easterly between 2.68 metres and 5.36 metres.

High Tide: 12:58h reaching a maximum height of 2.26 metres.

Low Tide: 06:28h and 19:07h reaching minimum heights of 1.09 metre and 0.86 metre.

“We have not paid a single cent to any secret investor” – Jagdeo on Marriott Hotel

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has once again rubbished allegations that there are secret investors in the Guyana Marriott Hotel, and reiterated that the facility is 100 per cent owned by the Government of Guyana.

He made these remarks in light of persistent allegations that Government is selling the State-owned Marriott Hotel in order to pay out private investors.

“This project is 100 per cent owned by the Government of Guyana… There has not been a single cent paid to any secret investor,” the Vice President insisted during a press conference on Thursday.

According to Jagdeo, at the time when the hotel was being built, a Hong Kong company that operates casinos wanted to invest in the project but they were driven away by the negative narrative that was being peddled.

Hence, the then Guyana Government was forced to take out a US$15.3 million loan from Republic Bank Limited to complement its equity in order to finance the completion of the hotel.

“The project was being developed as a PublicPrivate-Partnership, where there was an investor. At some stage, because of the assault, the investor walked away. So, you had to get a loan… So, Republic Bank produced a loan to the Government to conclude the Marriott – it’s a loan, as far as I know and that’s factual,” he posited.

The Vice President went on to explain that even if RBL had to seek investors to finance the syndicate loan to the Guyana Government, it does not mean that there are secret investors since the loan is solely with the commercial bank.

“The Government of Guyana owns the hotel with a loan… If you have a company and take a loan, the

bank don’t own your project,” he stated.

In the case with the Marriott Hotel, Jagdeo further noted that “…they raised the capital as the bank and then they make the loan. Republic Bank could have 100 investors [but] all our concern is, is that we have one loan from Republic Bank and we’re paying that loan. There is no secret investor,” the Vice President contended.

Back in December, the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) had invited bids to be prequalified for the purchase of the State’s shares in Atlantic Hotels Incorporated (AHI).

AHI is a State-owned special purpose company that owns the 197-room hotel that opened in 2015, whose financing structure had depended on a casino and entertainment centre to make enough money to repay up to US$30 million in debts to the bank and other creditors. But that addition to the hotel was scrapped.

Last month, Jagdeo had said that now is the right time to sell the Marriott Hotel, which is currently operating at a profit even without the casino and entertainment centre.

A portion of the money from the sale of the hotel will go towards repaying the bank loan.

“Once the loan is paid off, then all the other proceeds

will come into the coffers of the Government of Guyana [not to any secret investor],” VP Jagdeo noted.

So far, there have been eight Expressions of Interest (EoIs) submitted for the hotel. Interested bidders were required to have financial capability which NICIL had set as a minimum net worth of approximately US$250 million, audited financial statements for the last three financial years and letters of financial capability from a recognised financial institution.

AHI told another local newspaper last month that the EoI applications were received from diverse local, regional and international companies and consortiums.

The construction of the Marriott Hotel, which started in 2011, had sparked widespread controversy. At the time, Jagdeo was the President and his Administration had faced heavy criticism over the use of taxpayers’ monies to finance the hotel.

However, he explained last month that this was a necessary move to catapult the hospitality industry in Guyana at the time.

“The Government didn’t need to own a hotel at that time but the era was that we were not getting new hotels built and we had to trigger the investment,” he stressed.

According to the Vice President, now the ho-

tel is operating at a profit and provides some 500 jobs to Guyanese, directly and indirectly. He insisted that selling the Kingston, Georgetown hotel now would bring in “maximum value” to the State that could go towards triggering other investments in the country.

“There is no particular supreme benefit to Government owning [the hotel] …it’s a pure business decision [to sell now]… this is probably the best time when you can maximise the value before you get competition from seven other hotels coming into the market within a year or two,” he had noted.

Jagdeo pointed out last month that there was controversy surrounding the construction of the Marriott since persons thought it was going to be a “white elephant.” However, the Vice President said he is pleased that people are now seeing that “…the Marriott was a good decision and it’s a profitable venture. And without it, frankly speaking, I don’t know what we would’ve done in the last few years in terms of hosting people in this country.”

While in Opposition during the 10th Parliament, the APNU and AFC had individually criticised the construction of the Marriott Hotel. In fact, during the 2015 elections campaign, the coalition party had talked about selling off the multimillion-dollar tourism flagship project as well as making it into a hospital facility.

The US$58 million Guyana Marriott Hotel was completed in 2015, the same year ExxonMobil first found oil in Guyana’s waters. The hotel has since gone on to play an important part in Guyana’s developing oil and gas sector, as it being used to accommodate local and overseas offshore workers. It is also a prime venue to host numerous private and Statesponsored events. (G8)

The Guyana Marriott Hotel in Georgetown

Editor: Tusika Martin

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Climate change & school curricula

Globally, the topic of climate change is scarcely addressed in school curricula, and for years there has been much talk about the effect of climate change and the devastating impact it is having and is likely to have on communities and the world as a whole.

In fact, it could be argued that, on the global level, not many persons are educated about the issue, especially as it relates to the kind of impact climate change has on the environment and on individuals themselves. Citizens still do take the issue for granted, and do not pay much heed to the various messages about the need to change lifestyle patterns and so on.

Scientists have argued that the planet is indeed threatened by lifestyle patterns of individuals, and if persons continue to use resources the way we currently do, the planet’s reserves would be exhausted at an increasingly rapid pace. For many countries, there is still the challenge of getting everyone to not only understand and appreciate the idea of the need to work towards sustainable consumption, but also to take practical steps to move them in that direction.

Certainly, Governments can set the framework with their policies: set targets, define standards, give incentives to make companies go green. Businesses and industries, together with researchers, can provide the solutions; but, in the end, the consumers have the power of the purse, whether they buy green products or not. The highly touted green model reduces our ecological footprint, emits less greenhouse gases, uses less energy and raw materials, and can create new sources of growth and employment.

In essence, achieving economic growth and sustainable development requires that we urgently reduce our ecological footprint by changing the way we produce and consume goods and resources. As stated by UNDP, the efficient management of our shared natural resources, and the way we dispose of toxic waste and pollutants are important targets to achieving this goal.

Based on statistics, the world’s population is growing rapidly, as more than a billion new people will enter the middle class by 2050. Experts have predicted that if citizens do not change their consumption patterns, the global use of resources would be multiplied by 15, which is considered dangerous for our planet, as it would not be able to satisfy the needs of everyone.

At the individual level, every individual does play a crucial role in defining his/her own consumption patterns, and can, in a way, also contribute to the fight against climate change. For example, we can reduce the level of energy utilised, and the money that is saved on energy could instead be used to develop climate-friendly technologies and appliances.

Official records show that, on a global level, more than 70 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions are related to household consumption. While it is accepted that it is not an easy task to get persons to change lifestyles and to work towards a climate- friendly environment, the task would be much easier if people are educated about the role they can play, and the benefits of their own action.

Here, in Guyana, we still continue to dump garbage carelessly. For example, persons continue to dispose of plastics and Styrofoam items in a reckless manner, resulting in the clogging of drains and trenches.

The issue of recycling is becoming a major concern for both the general public and to the economy. For years now, calls for citizens here to dispose of their waste in a responsible manner have fallen on deaf ears, and the issue of garbage build-up continues to be repeated.

For sure, there is need for more effective public education campaigns on climate change, and to highlight the effects of poor environmental practices.

We believe that there is need for lifestyle changes among our citizens, and it would be very helpful if the schools and religious organisations, among others in every region, start the conversation with citizens about climate change and ecofriendly alternatives.

By GaBy Hinsliff

After four tense days, when you could almost feel the NHS holding its breath, striking junior doctors are preparing to return to the wards.

But the relief, such as it is for anyone who cares about the NHS, is only temporary. This week’s planned stoppage may be ending, but the strike very much is not. And judging by the increasingly personal nature of political briefings against the British Medical Association’s young turks, if anything, the two sides in this dispute look further apart than ever. And, worryingly, they seem to be separated by something more than money.

What makes the junior doctors’ strike different from other waves of industrial action is precisely that they are junior, and therefore young. This is Britain’s first, though almost certainly not its last, proper generation Z strike. Middle-aged ministers may be irritated by the junior doctors’ fondness for WhatsApping each other under the table during negotiations, or using crab emojis to symbolise their collective solidarity, but they should arguably have been better prepared for what they’re dealing with. After all, it was a Conservative government that largely created it.

For these are the disappointed children of a lost economic decade finally coming of age. They were still at school, pushing themselves for the A*s they needed to get into medical school, when the banks crashed and changed their lives in ways they couldn’t then have foreseen. Having done their training in an austerity era of pay freezes across the public sector, junior doctors are emerging in their mid- to late 20s into a world shockingly different from the one they thought they had been promised.

Doctors were the kids who always came top of the class at school, and while they expected the job to be stressful, they probably never dreamed they’d end up worrying about the cost of putting the heating on. They want what they feel they’re owed, which is the life they would be living if wages had kept relative pace with 2008 levels – but also, perhaps in some ways, the lives their parents had: ones where a career like medicine would be hard work but rewarding, where doing well at school reliably paid off, and where someone in a good professional job could take home

ownership pretty much for granted.

As the Oxford Professor of Primary Care, Professor Trisha Greenhalgh, tweeted this week, on a junior doctor’s salary of £15,000 in the 1980s, she was able to buy a London flat for £50,000; now the equivalent salary might be £35,000 but the same flat costs £600,000.

Meanwhile, junior doctors are starting out six figures deep in debt for medical degrees that Greenhalgh’s generation didn’t have to pay for.

True, all this can sound horribly entitled, especially to anyone who can only dream of earning the kind of salaries junior doctors may ultimately command if they go on to become consultants and take on lucrative private practices. The Government knows that, unlike nurses – who have rejected their own pay offer and announced a new 48-hour strike later this month – the junior doctors’ relative privilege is their Achilles heel. This presumably explains a flurry of well-sourced newspaper stories about their leaders’ often affluent backgrounds. (A decade ago, when some of today’s strike leaders had been applying, a quarter of medical school places went to the privately educated.)

But if this is one of the posher protests in union history, it nonetheless taps into a much more universal sense of generational injustice. The feeling that life is somehow going backwards is widely shared, not just by other young public sector workers – teachers, civil servants, social workers, legal aid lawyers – but also private sector workers squeezed by soaring rents, painfully expensive childcare, and lately rocketing inflation. It’s just that junior doctors have the confidence – and, thanks to the fact that lives depend on their work, the political clout – to push back.

With his peculiar gift for being years ahead of everyone else in spotting something but not quite being able to turn it into a soundbite, Ed Miliband started talking, way back in 2011, about the betrayal of what he called “the promise of Britain”, or the unwritten assumption that kids would be better off than their parents. What he correctly foresaw then, and what has become even clearer since, was the painful long-term consequences for the young of a crash followed by sluggish growth and falling living standards, compounded by an asset bubble pushing up housing costs. The young got a raw deal during that decade in part

because it was assumed they wouldn’t vote, but the strikes have shown that voting isn’t necessarily the only way of exerting influence.

What makes the junior doctors particularly powerful is that, as highly skilled workers, they have options. Their qualifications are sought after in Canada or Australia, where salaries aren’t just higher, but potentially stretch to a nicer way of life; decamp to Sydney and you can spend your days off surfing in the sunshine. Or you could just stay in rainy Britain, where Rishi Sunak was this week reminiscing about buying his first flat in an interview with the website ConservativeHome, while simultaneously confirming that national targets to build more houses – one of the few tools for boosting affordable supply – are being scrapped because grassroots Tories objected.

The big immediate risk to Government, however, isn’t youthful emigration to countries offering brighter prospects than struggling, sulking post-Brexit Britain. It’s older voters revolting as the consequences of industrial unrest work their way through the system. The economy stalled in February, thanks partly to public sector strikes. Sunak has promised to cut NHS waiting lists, but every operation cancelled on a strike day makes that harder. Put simply, he may need junior doctors now more than they need him, which is why the BMA’s call for ACAS to step in now and broker a compromise seems wise.

Nobody expects doctors to get a 35% rise overnight, but a fair deal might involve a pay uplift staggered over several years, plus some imaginative short-term thinking. Given how badly we need their skills, why aren’t we forgiving student debt for newly qualified doctors who stay in the NHS for a minimum period? Why are young medics expected to make such big contributions into what now looks like an overgenerous pension scheme? And could their total compensation package be weighted more towards salary when they’re young?

But even if a deal can be done, buying off junior doctors doesn’t solve the wider political problem for the Tories of a rising generation with good reason to feel betrayed reaching the age where it finally finds some leverage. Those crabs have pincers, and they’re only just starting to use them. (The Guardian)

(Gaby Hinsliff is a Guardian columnist)

Enhancement works ongoing at Water Street Roundabout in Georgetown (Office of the President photo)

The junior doctors’ strike is not just about pay – this is a generation that feels betrayed

Land preparation at Diamond underway for sea dam squatters’ relocation

Several families who are currently occupying a section of the East Bank Demerara (EBD) Sea Defence Dam, between Prospect and Diamond, were invited to another meeting with the Housing Ministry in order to ensure a smooth relocation process.

Chief Executive Officer of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), Sherwyn Greaves led the exercise along with the Community Development Director, Gladwin Charles, and staff of the Land Administration Department.

During the first meeting, which was held in January, the agency outlined the process for the relocation, stating that lands would be made available to persons as well as housing units. At Friday’s meeting, 48 families indicated their interest in acquiring the single flat two-bedroom units while another 32 expressed their interest in land for construction.

According to Greaves, an area at Diamond has been identified for those

interested in land and the land preparation has commenced. This engagement is expected to continue in the new week with another batch of families. Based on an inventory done by the Community Development Department,

there is a total of 317 structures; including 57 owned by Venezuelan immigrants; Little Diamond, 15 structures; Great Diamond, 49 structures; Grove, 96 structures; Herstelling Sea Dam, 86 structures; Farm Sea Dam,

45 structures; and Covent Garden, seven structures. Of the 317 structures, close to thirty are unoccupied.

Earlier this year, based on a commitment by President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, informal set -

tlers residing along drainage and sea defence reserves on the East Bank of Demerara were engaged on relocation, which will be spearheaded by the Ministry of Housing and Water – Central Housing and Planning Authority

(CH&PA) and the Ministry of Public Works.

With 784 squatters having been regularised in 2022, the Government is continuing its efforts to get squatters illegally occupying Government reserves into their own legally obtained homes by engaging squatters on the sea defence reserve along the East Bank of Demerara.

Housing Minister Collin Croal had made it clear that the relocation process should be completed within the next six months.

The squatters were to get four options under the relocation and resettlement programme. These include 1) being provided with an existing turn-key housing unit ready to move in, 2) access to an area at Great Diamond with the necessary infrastructural works already earmarked for persons desirous of building homes, 3) allocations at other schemes and 4) the Venezuelan immigrants will be assisted with building through the President Ali-led Men on Mission (MoM) initiative. (G12)

Sherod Duncan's disrespectful remarks against Seventh-day Adventists deserve condemnation

Dear Editor,

As I sit down to write this letter, I am filled with a sense of disbelief at the recent statements made by Member of Parliament Sherod Duncan during his programme 'In the Ring.'

In his criticism of the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church, he displayed a level of disrespect that is simply unacceptable. As someone who belongs to the Adventist faith, I take great offence at his remarks.

It is disturbing that his criticism was directed at the re-elected President of the Guyana SDA Conference, Exton Clarke, for his statement about President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali being "a spiritual man."

The SDA conference is currently holding its 6th Quadrennial Session, and both President Ali and Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton were invited to speak at the opening programme on Wednesday.

It is clear that MP Duncan has a personal issue with the Guyanese Leader, and it is beyond comprehension that he would choose this moment to launch an attack on the SDA Church.

As I reflect on Mr Duncan's words, I am filled with a sense of disgust. His behaviour was nothing short of whimsical, and his comments were unwarranted. As a Member of Parliament, I believe he should know better than to denigrate any religious leader, regardless of his personal beliefs.

I am strongly opposed to Duncan's statements, and condemn them in the strongest terms possible. His behaviour is a blatant example of religious intolerance and bigotry, and it is simply unacceptable in a society that values diversity and mutual respect.

Yours sincerely,

Kellon Rover Devoted Adventist

The sea dam occupants being engaged by the CH&PA

NGSA Math Questions

Govt announces plan to disburse 2023 funds to 55 organisations representing Afro-Guyanese

…as Court-ordered mediation fails in IDPADA-G’s case against Govt

system or on their own and they don’t settle, only come back and tell the court ‘We did not settle’,” she stated.

Court-ordered mediation to resolve the lawsuit filed against the Government by the International Decade for People of African Descent Assembly-Guyana (IDPADA-G) has failed and the matter will now be adjudicated by acting Chief Justice Roxane George, SC.

While the Chief Justice was keen to point out that “there is nothing to go to trial on”, when the matter was called again on Friday, she instructed the parties to file written submissions.

The case comes up again on June 13 at 13:30h for oral arguments/clarification.

Meanwhile, on Friday Attorney-at-Law for IDPADA-G, Dr Vivian Williams reported that despite talks between the parties, they were unable to arrive at a settlement. “The settlement talks have broken down irretrievably and I would like to first indicate,” he said.

When Williams attempted to reveal the reason for this, Justice George promptly interjected, telling him that she does not need to know why.

“No, I don’t need to know why they broke down…No, no, no. That’s not the court’s business. When the parties go to mediation whether through the court mediation

Nandlall, for his part, confirmed that talks between the Government and the IDPADA-G had indeed broken down. “We have been unable to arrive at a compromise that we intended to achieve by the mediation process,” he said. Moreover, Williams's request for a court order to bar the Government from making any disbursement was not granted, with Justice George advising him that the necessary application has to be made before she can consider his request.

Disbursement of funds

However, the Government in a statement on Friday afternoon said that it remains committed to honouring the objectives of the International Decade for People of African Descent, which spans the period, January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2024.

This Decade was proclaimed by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in accordance with UN Resolution 68/237 of 2013 and was fully supported by the Government of Guyana on December 23, 2013.

“As a demonstration of its commitment, the Government has allocated monies for the advancement of the objectives of the Decade since it assumed office in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 and will continue to so do until the end of the Decade in 2024. While a part of the budgeted sum for the year 2022 is, unfortunately, the subject of legal proceedings, the monies budgeted and appropriated for the year 2023 are not,” the Government said in the statement.

The Government said that it plans to disburse

the 2023 subvention to 55 organisations representing Afro-Guyanese across the country, who are the founding members of the International Decade for People of African Descent Assembly-Guyana to pursue the objectives of the Decade.

At the last court hearing on March 24, Williams had reported that he had made a proposal to the Government. While this was confirmed by Principal Legal Advisor Shoshanna Lall, she had told the court that the proposal had to be reviewed by Culture, Youth and Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr. Lall had also assured the court that the Government is committed to supporting the work of the International Decade for People of African Descent Assembly.

Wrongly excluded

In defending Government’s decision, Ramson has averred that he has been informed by numerous persons and organisations, and believes that although they are qualified for assistance from the subvention disbursed to IDPADA-G, they were wrongly excluded and deprived of benefitting from it.

In light of this, Minister Ramson said he requested the IDPADA-G to provide detailed records of how

the subventions have thus far been applied. In reply, he said, the organisation’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Olive Sampson, gave the Financial Statements for 2018, 2019, and 2020.

“These Financial Statements provided by the Applicant [IDPADA-G] reflected not only subvention monies, but included all income and expenditure of the applicant, and further, did not set out a detailed report of expenditure from the subvention, as specifically requested.”

However, an examination of the same, in my respectful opinion, corroborated and supported the disaffection and concerns expressed by the persons and organisations who complained to me.”

According to him, in 2018, the organisation received a subvention of $68,438,000.

In 2019, it received $100,000,000. In 2020, it received $107,223,607. In 2021, it received $100,000,000. And as of August 2022, it had received $66,666,672. The Minister informed that $100M has been set aside in the 2023 National Budget to support the activities associated with the observance of the International Decade for People of African Descent, 2015–2024.

Having taken into account the complaints and concerns highlighted by stakeholder organisations and persons, and given the public’s interest, the Culture, Youth, and Sport

Minister added, “I considered that I would be in breach of my fiduciary and statutory duties were I to make further disbursements of subventions to the [IDPADA-G], pending the resolution of those concerns.”

The IDPADA-G, chaired by Opposition-nominated Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM)

Commissioner Vincent Alexander, is ultimately seeking a court order to have its subvention reinstated.

Legitimate expectation

According to the IDPADA-G, there is a legitimate expectation, given the money was granted by the Government based on an undertaking, in the form of an annual subvention paid monthly. It has noted that the Government has committed itself to an annual subvention, which began under the APNU/

AFC Administration. The IDPADA-G has rejected Government’s claims that the monies are only benefitting its directors.

By withholding the monies, the IDPADA-G has argued, the Government has broken its legitimate expectation; therefore, the organisation is entitled to the intervention of the court on the violation of this legitimate expectation. It has argued further that withdrawal of the subvention is a breach of contract; that the withdrawal is an abuse of power; is unlawful and without basis; and that it was not given notice of the withdrawal, nor was it allowed by the Government to be heard regarding changing the decision.

Moreover, the IDPADA-G has contended that it is entitled to damages. Minister Ramson, Minister Nandlall and Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh are listed as the respondents in the organisation’s lawsuit which was filed in December 2022, months after the subvention was abruptly stopped.

The organisation was birthed out of representations made by former President David Granger on August 7, 2016, at a symposium organised by the Cuffy 250 Committee.

The Chief Justice has described the dispute over the monies as a “national embarrassment” and has also barred the parties from speaking publicly on the matter. (G1)

Chief Justice Roxane George, SC

Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC

Attorney-at-Law Dr Vivian Williams

GECOM ready for “smooth” Nomination Day on Monday

Making…

…noise

We all make noise when we’re happy, don’t we?? Celebrations have always been accompanied by noise – whether of music or of raised voices.

Can you imagine celebrating, say, hitting the lottery and not whooping it up?? Now, this ain’t no recent innovation, but goes back to the furthest antiquity! In the western tradition, remember the Greeks and Romans with their Dionysian and Bacchanalian revelries?? They even had gods of “sporting” and making noise!! And in every tribal culture, we made merry – noisily!! – around our campfires!! Heck!! Your Eyewitness bets that when those cave men brought back that deer from the hunt, they carried on like banshees!!

In preparation for the upcoming Local Government Elections (LGE), the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) said that all systems have been put in place for the smooth conduct of Nomination Day on Monday, April 17.

On that day, all political parties, voluntary groups, and individual candidates contesting in LGE 2023 are expected to submit their Lists of Candidates to the respective Returning Officer in the Municipalities and/or Neighourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) where they would be contesting. This will have to be done during the period of 10:00h to 14:00h on Monday.

GECOM is reminding all contestants to ensure that they prepare their respective Lists of Candidates using the prescribed statutory forms and adhere to other stipulated guidelines. These include ensuring that their list has a title, the requisite number of eligible candidates and nominators, and that their list bears the name, signature of each person and ID card number.

Those Lists of Candidates that do not conform to these statutory re-

quirements would be classified as defective and the representative of the list would be given an opportunity to correct those defects after Nomination Day.

According to GECOM, the statutory procedures following Nomination Day would ensure that all the legal requirements are met by the contestants in order for their Lists of Candidates to be approved to contest in the elections.

While the Elections Commission has already approved a total of 64 symbols, approval to contest in the elections is only guaranteed upon the submission and approval of the Lists of Candidates.

Nevertheless, GECOM said, “The Commission envisions a smooth Nomination Day process since it is confident in the ability of the staff at the respective offices to adhere to the legal provisions in the execution of their functions, and deliver quality and professional services.”

This is the first election that the electoral body will hold since the highly controversial March 2020 General and Regional Elections which ended up in a five-months deadlock after there were blatant at-

tempts to rig the elections.

However, a national recount exercise conducted found that Returning Officer for Region Four –Guyana’s largest voting district, Clairmont Mingo had heavily inflated the votes in favour of the then PNC-led A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government. The exercise also confirmed that the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) had won the elections with 15,000-plus votes more than the coalition party.

Since then, several senior and technical GECOM officials have been removed and slapped with electoral fraud charges for their role in the attempts to undermine the will of the Guyanese people. These include former Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield; his Deputy, Roxanne Myers; Mingo along with others.

Since then, GECOM has been working on restoring public confidence in the entity.

In February, Local Government and Regional Development Minister Nigel Dharamlall set Monday, June 12, 2023 as the date for the holding of the much-antici-

pated and long overdue Local Government polls in Guyana.

Earlier this week, GECOM invited domestic organisations/groups interested in mounting observer missions to monitor the elections to submit their applications in order to be accredited. The deadline for submission of applications is Friday, May 12.

The Elections Commission has been in preparation mode over the past few months as it gears up for the long overdue elections.

LGE, which are constitutionally due every two years, was last held in 2018.

At the November 2018 Local Government polls, the then PPP/C Opposition had secured 52 of the 80 Local Authority Areas (LAAs). This had followed the holding of the LGE in 2016, during which the PPP/C also claimed the majority of the LAAs.

PPP General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo has indicated that his party intends to contest all the LAAs across the country and has already finalised its List of Candidates for all these areas. Jagdeo had said the party is looking to take the reins in those areas that are traditionally PNCcontrolled especially the Linden, New Amsterdam and Georgetown municipalities.

While the governing party is gearing up for LGE, there is uncertainties surround the Opposition’s participation in the upcoming elections.

While the AFC has already opted out of the race, the APNU is still undecided on its participation in the upcoming Local Government polls. Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton, as recently as last week, indicated that the APNU is preparing for elections but is still undecided whether it will contest the elections.

At his press conference this week, Norton would only say his party has been preparing for “elections generally from day one” with the aim of preparing “Guyana for a new Government.” (G8)

But here we are in 2023 Guyana, and folks are complaining about noises that are driving them to distraction – and having them climbing up their walls!! What gives?? Imagine, our Minibus operators take the trouble to provide entertainment to their passengers – free!! - and some spoilsports call it “noise pollution”!! Can you believe it?? Now, dear reader, you may say that the bus drivers could keep the music low –but then you’d miss the entire point of being West Indian!! How in God’s name can you listen to Dancehall, or Soca or Chutney “low”?? Unless you’re going to a funeral, of course!!

Then there are the complaints about the music being played all night – and all weekend – at wedding houses. Especially those Indian-Guyanese 7-day weddings. Now, this ain’t anything new – is it? In the old days, the musicians would be playing live, and the entire village would be getting down like there was no tomorrow!! In fact, did you know that the entire bawdy Chutney genre – with its “rum till I die” in the Caribbean - originated from these wedding goingson? And with the ladies, even!! Maybe the problem is that nowadays everyone isn’t invited!!

But the loudest (yes, “loudest”!) complaints regarding the sounds of merriment and celebration are about our “rum shops”. Now, let’s be real. Even the Indigenous Peoples – who weren’t shanghaied to labour in our plantations back in the day – celebrated after hard work. Mashramani, they called it!! Now, you think they only worked one day a year?? If you said “yes”, that just shows how you’ve bought into the racist European stereotypes!! Now, don’t you think the slaves and indentured also wanted to celebrate after their gruelling stints in the fields? So, they turned to the rum shops that were conveniently provided by the ever-solicitous planter after emancipation!!

So, dear readers, the noise around us is part and parcel of our culture in our neck of the woods!! Aren’t we a “happygo-lucky” set of people?? And it’s part of the charm to those uptight folks from up north, whom we can fleece as tourists!! Get noisy!!

…connections

Well, they say all politics is local…but don’t tell that to our Opposition politicians!! Seems they’re determined to campaign more in Brooklyn than in Blairmont. Just last weekend, Al Sharpton – the US Black activist who thinks Dr King’s speech was “I have a scheme”!! – had his National Action Convention (NAC) in Times Square. And not one -but TWO - PNC leaders were in attendance!!

Now, Rev Al’s come a long way from his 1987 Tawana Brawley days, when he helped prosecute 6 white men for smearing faeces on the 15-year-old Tawana. However, he was convicted for defamation after the events were found to’ve been concocted – but he got national attention!! Now he draws hundreds of big names to events at his NAC “Hall of Justice”!!

Anyhow, what your Eyewitness sees is while the Opposition’s accusing the US of poking their noses in our affairs, they seem determined to lobby them to poke on their behalf!!

The US “might be a sonuvabitch” – but it’s OK when they’re OUR sonuvabitch”!!

…culture

Suddenly everyone and their uncle are coming out of the (diaspora) woodwork, complaining their efforts to promote “Guyanese Kulcha” aren’t being recognized by the Government. And here you’re obviously uncultured Eyewitness thought “Art is for art’s sake”!!

File photo: Supporters of the PPP/C and APNU in 2018 on Nomination Day for LGE

US$2M int’l pathology lab to be ready by October

Guyana will soon boast a pathology lab that meets international standards, which will in turn modernise the local healthcare sector by significantly slashing the time patients wait for certain diagnoses.

During a recent broadcast programme, Advisor to the Health Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy disclosed that the pathology lab should be ready by October this year.

The programme is being developed with support from Mount Sinai and has a price tag of US$2M.

“If you are going to have a high-quality cancer diagnostic service, if you’re going to have a transplant programme and for many diseases, you need to have a strong pathology lab,” Dr Ramsammy told this publication on Friday.

The Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) currently offers pathology services; however, samples are usually sent overseas for testing – a process that can result in patients waiting for weeks to get their results.

“If we have to do a transplant, we need certain tests to be done. At the moment, we have to send abroad…it costs us a lot of money and

Passengers make narrow escape after bus bursts into flames

then [there are] delays...,” Dr Ramsammy explained, as he described the importance of the investment into the modern pathology lab.

“Within three/four months, we should be able to procure the equipment and establish the lab and then work with our colleagues at Mount Sinai, to provide some of the technical support, like the interpretations and so on, because we don’t have…the pathologists to do this work, we have some, but we have to rely on others,” the health advisor noted.

“Our goal, is that we will engage both our patholo-

gists in Guyana and abroad, in the US, in Canada, in the Caribbean, in India and in China, to help us with the interpretations. Once this lab is in place, we will not need to send any specimen abroad anymore, so that’s…where we are right now.”

For now, the lab will be located at the GPHC as authorities focus primarily on getting the necessary equipment in place. But Dr Ramsammy revealed that the end goal is to house the lab in a separate building.

Meanwhile, training will soon begin to ensure locals can operate in the lab.

“With that lab, we would be one of the more modern pathology facilities…We don’t have the staff to support such a lab, so initially, four of our technicians will be trained in New York, at Mount Sinai. Two of them should be leaving the country in May, to be trained on how to process samples and so, and then two will go after the summer. We will also link our present pathologists with the patholo-

gists at Mount Sinai, those pathologists are coming to Guyana, during the period of May/June to begin the training programmes,” Dr Ramsammy disclosed.

“In the case of the human resource, that we don’t have right now, we are going to have partnerships with other universities because now, they will be able to read the images that we have prepared in Guyana and so we would not have that problem of transporting the samples to another country.”

Specialists

Meanwhile, during the broadcast programme, Dr Ramsammy had pointed to the need for more specialist doctors in the country.

“We need more of our young doctors to be trained so we could send them to the regional hospitals. None of our hospitals should be without specialists. We certainly need to train more trauma specialists…whilst we have nine radiologists now, our imaging diagnostic specialists, we need more, nine

is not sufficient,” he shared. According to Dr Ramsammy, before 2006, the only specialists in Guyana were either foreigners or Guyanese who had been trained in London, Canada, or India.

“We had a handful of specialists only in this country. Since 2006 we introduced the post-graduate programme, right here in Guyana, and today we train our specialists in 18 different areas.”

Meanwhile, the health advisor said with the multibillion-dollar Paediatric and Maternal Hospital in Goedverwagting, East Coast Demerara (ECD) coming, more specialised healthcare will be offered in-country.

“This should be a level five hospital…the highest level of tertiary care. It will have a cardiology department, with a CAT lab, it will have MRI [and] it will have an oncology department,” Dr Ramsammy said.

It is expected that the hospital will be completed in early 2025.

The minibus on fire

Passengers on Friday escaped unharmed after the minibus in which they were travelling burst into flames along the Ituni Trail, Region 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice).

The incident occurred at around 07:00h while the minibus was en route to Linden.

The driver said as he

was travelling along the trail, the bus made contact with a metal object on the roadway which then struck the gas tank.

The driver said he immediately stopped the vehicle to investigate and simultaneously, passengers began to exit the bus.

Shortly after, the vehicle burst into flames. No injuries were reported.

Health Advisor Dr Leslie Ramsammy

Family feud turns violent: Pregnant woman, husband attacked, chopped

Shakym Mathurine.

As such, she ran outside and jumped over her younger brother, who was lying on the ground. In the process, she was allegedly struck in the head and back. Shockingly, she claimed, her brother continued to attack her, despite knowing she was pregnant.

Man left for dead following hit-and-run on ECD highway

by detectives of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) as the attacker, according to Shantilee.

"This is premeditated murder! They want to frame my younger brother Shakym for a crime he didn't commit, to taking the pressure off from what they did," Shantilee said.

Afamily feud turned violent on Wednesday evening at Agricola, Greater Georgetown when a pregnant woman and her husband were allegedly attacked by her brother and his friend.

Shantilee Mathurine, a 25-year-old mother of three, claimed she was in her house with her husband, making dinner when she heard a commotion outside. Upon enquiring, she witnessed her older brother, Miguel Mathurine, chopping her younger brother,

Her husband, she said, went to her rescue and started to pelt bricks at the attacker to get him to stop, but the attacker ran off the scene and returned with one of his friends. While Shantilee, her husband and younger brother were unaware of their arrival, Miguel and his friend attacked and chopped Shantilee’s husband in his back and head.

Shantilee claims that her mother was also attacked and chopped in her head.

"Both of them came back, and they chopped my husband in his back one inch from his spinal cord, and in his head. My mother was chopped in her head too," the pregnant woman added.

Her brother Shakym, who also was injured during the attack, as been arrested

In an emotional plea on social media, Shantilee has called for justice, stating that both her brother Miguel and his friend, Steven King, need to be put on trial for their heinous crime. She further urged the Guyana Police Force to take action against the attackers and provide justice for the victims. "I couldn't believe my own brother would do this to me and my family. It's heartbreaking to see my daughter and my husband suffer. We need the Guyana Police Force to take action against the attackers, and provide justice for the victims," said the woman, who is still recovering from her injuries.

Meanwhile, all efforts to contact the Regional Commander of the district have proved futile.

Fifty-two-year-old Allan Downes of Oleander Gardens, East Coast Demerara, who has been a regular morning walker, was left for dead on the side of the roadway after being hit by a speeding vehicle. The incident occurred on the stretch of road between Oleander Gardens and Conversation Tree on Monday morning. Reports are that the man might have walked into the path of the vehicle, but his wife, Marysia

Downes, is certain that the report is false. Downes is presently battling for his life in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Georgetown Public Hospital.

Budhram Heeralall, driver of vehicle PAC 5314, reportedly fled the scene after the accident, according to Police officials, leaving Downes in critical condition. He was later

arrested, but has been released on station bail. No charges have as yet been laid.

A photograph that was taken shortly after the accident and was seen by this publication showed Downes lying in the corner of the highway, his body battered and bruised as if he were left for dead.

Shantilee Mathurine, who was allegedly chopped during the family feud

Injured: Allan Downes

The man was left for dead after the hit-and-run accident

ECD man arraigned for murder of Port Kaituma labourer

Forty-four-year-old Miguel Hutson, slapped with a murder charge, appeared before Senior Magistrate Dylon Bess at the Matthews Ridge Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.

Hutson, a businessman of Ann’s Grove, East Coast Demerara, is accused of the April 7 murder of Joel Ramitt, 24, of Red Hill, Port Kaituma, Region One (Barima-Waini). He was not required to plead to the indictable charge, and was remanded to prison until April 17, his next court date.

According to Police, on April 1, Hutson booked a room at an apartment complex, and remained there until April 7.

At about 23:00h on the latter date, he reportedly se-

cured his room and left, but a short while after, Ramjit was seen jumping through a window of Hutson’s room with a haversack on his back. Ramjit was cornered

Brothers remanded for murder of Berbice teen

and taken to Hutson, who identified the haversack as his.

Police have said that Hutson whipped out a knife from his pants’ waist and stabbed Ramjit once to his abdomen. Ramjit managed to run to the Port Kaituma Police Station, where he reported the stabbing incident. While at the station, Police ranks observed that Ramjit’s intestines were protruding, and they immediately rushed him to Port Kaituma Hospital, where he was admitted in critical condition.

Hutson was later arrested in his room, where a blood-stained black-handle knife, suspected to be the murder weapon, was found. Ramjit subsequently succumbed to his injuries. (G1)

Youth cleared of child rape charge by jury

A24-year-old man who had been on trial for allegedly raping a 12-year-old girl was acquitted by a jury after the panel returned a unanimous notguilty verdict on Thursday.

Triston Telford had been on trial for the offence of rape of a child under 16 before Justice Navindra Singh at the Sexual Offences Court in Demerara. The charge against the welder had alleged that he engaged in sexual penetration with the girl between December 1, 2018 and December 31, 2018 in Georgetown.

After the jury delivered its verdict, the trial Judge

informed Telford, who was present in court, that he was

free to do.

During his trial, the court heard that Telford allegedly penetrated the girl’s vagina with his penis for about 45 minutes. He had also allegedly threatened her prior to allegedly committing the act.

State Counsel Nafeeza Baig had appeared for the prosecution, while Attorneyat-Law George Thomas had represented Telford.

Telford was first charged in December 2020, and when he appeared before the Chief Magistrate, he was released on $150,000 bail and instructed to report to the Police periodically. (G1)

Two brothers were on Friday arraigned for the murder of 18-yearold Keon Byass, who was stabbed to death on theDukestown Public Road in Corriverton, East Berbice.

Charged are 21-yearold Rokeel Gordon and his 24-year-old brother Zeikeel Gordon, both labourers of Dukestown Corriverton, Berbice. They appeared before New Amsterdam Magistrate Renita Singh and were not required to plead to the indictment. They were remanded to prison, and will make their next court appearance on May 18.

The matter has been trans ferred to the Springlands Magistrate’s Court.

It was reported that, on Easter Monday, Byass was standing on the Dukestown Public Road when the two brothers approached him on a motorcycle. They were each armed with a cutlass, which they allegedly used to chop the victim about his body.

The injured Byass was rushed to the Skeldon Public Hospital before being transferred to the New Public Amsterdam Public Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries the following day.

Government Pathologist Dr Vivekanand Bridgemohan on the body of Byass gave the cause of death as shock and haemorrhage.

The victim and suspects had had an ongoing feud, wherein during a previous altercation Byass almost had his hand severed. The victim’s mother has told Guyana Times that had the Police done a better job on the previous reports, her son could have been alive today. Relatives of both parties were at court on Friday.

Freed: Triston Telford

Charged: Zeikeel Gordon Charged: Rokeel Gordon

Murder accused Miguel Hutson

| GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Over 200 participating businesswomen to benefit from new IT opportunities

Following the United Nations’ (UN) theme for International Women’s Day 2023, “DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality,” participants of “We Lift 3” will be introduced to new Information Technology (IT) opportunities, Human Services and Social Security Minister Vindhya Persaud told reporters on Thursday.

“We Lift 3”, a Human Services and Social Security Ministry initiative, is a twoday women-led business exhibition that opens on April 15 and 16 at the MovieTowne Parking Lot, and is set to surpass the scale and standards of the previous two iterations.

“The programme that is planned is entirely different from any other year [as] we are focusing on IT [since] the year by the UN has been earmarked as DigitALL,” Minister Persaud said. “So we’re doing a very special moment, or moments, with young women, making sure that they enter that space of digital technology using influencers from within the Ministry.”

From the first “We Lift” event to the third, the Ministry launched the Women’s Innovation and Investment Network (WIIN) app, a component of the WIIN programme that is dedicated to providing Guyanese women with the training and tools

to help them attain financial freedom and security.

“We Lift 3” is not only a chance for business owners to access a wider range of clientele but also to work on the marketing, packaging and promotion of their products. As such, the Human Services and Social Security Ministry is working to offer exhibitors an opportunity to sell their products on the WIIN app as well.

Adding to the Ministry’s programme to Guyanese women and female business owners, a new, free programme is set to launch at the weekend event.

“We are going to be launching a very, very exciting thing on the opening day

of We Lift 3 where women will have another opportunity handed to them free of cost,” Persaud said.

Persaud added that the vision going forward is to ensure that the country has more women trained in niche areas where they can fill voids that exist in their communities, more consortiums set up by women, more women getting into typically male-dominated fields, more women taking their products out of Guyana and more women having the opportunity to have the “Made in Guyana” seal assigned to them by the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS).

“There are lots of good things that I want to see

come out of this but more importantly is for women to not limit themselves, put themselves into a traditional box or [for] women not seeing themselves as bosses [or] entrepreneurs, to see themselves as being able to carve out their own identity and really make a name and a space for themselves in the country,” Persaud remarked.

“Because our country is on such a fast-paced course of development, I don't think any woman should lose out on this opportunity,” Persaud said.

“We Lift 3” runs from 11:00h to 18:30h each day.

The opening ceremony is at 11:00h today, with graduates of the WIIN programme

also participating in a graduation ceremony throughout the day.

“Bring out literally everyone because there's something for everyone. Walk in sample something really nice to eat and then meander all the way through till you find yourself picking up some good services that might be transformative in your life,” the Human Services Minister said, adding that admission into the event is free.

“Head to the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security's arena, learn about all our services, access it and if you've never thought about registering for WIIN then register on site,” Persaud said.

“We Lift 3”

Chinese Embassy, GPHC partner to boost healthcare sector

The Chinese Embassy in collaboration with the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) has partnered in a number of areas to boost healthcare services offered at Guyana’s premier medical facility. On Friday, the Government of China donated some $60M worth of medical supplies to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation to boost its operations.

During the ceremony, China’s Ambassador to Guyana, Gou Haiyan shared that given China’s experience in the healthcare sector, she believes there is a great opportunity for cooperation between the two countries.

“China has some technical advantages and rich experiences in the health sector so I believe there’s a bright future for healthcare cooperation between our two countries. There’s also very good and fruitful cooperations through medical teams through training, courses, scholarships and other ways. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, China has donated a total of 19 batches of medical supplies,” Haiyan Shared.

She also commended the Government’s decision to construct new healthcare facilities across the country and expand training for professionals, which will aid in the development of the sector. According to Haiyan, an-

Wastewater management to be addressed with CReW+ funding

…efforts to have 100% potable water by 2025 strengthened

other delegation from China will soon arrive in Guyana to conduct training on tropical chronic diseases with local health professionals.

“Next Monday another delegation from Southern Medial University of China will come to visit Guyana… for a training programme on tropical chronic diseases. China will continue to support the development of the medical sector [and] medi-

cal services in Guyana,” the Ambassador revealed.

Meanwhile, Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony shared that with the right type of equipment, the healthcare sector will be able to excel at its services. He added too that Guyana is aiming to become a hub for medicine within the Caribbean Region.

“We obviously as a Ministry of Health, are look-

ing for more and more collaborations. We have a vision of where we want to take healthcare in Guyana, we see ourselves in the next couple of years, to be a hub for medicine in the Caribbean Region. Over the next couple of years, we see ourselves being one of the leaders in medicine in the Caribbean Region,” Anthony said.

According to Anthony, Guyana can greatly benefit from the expertise of China to upgrade its healthcare system and implement new, technologically advanced systems, to better the lives of citizens.

“With the direction and the trends of medicine, we need to work with people that are on the cutting edge of doing medicine,” Anthony added.

Meanwhile, the GPHC also signed the Friendships Memorandum of Understanding with the Drum Tower Hospital in China, which will boost partnership. They also signed an agreement for a specialist training programme between the two countries.

Man left for dead following...

Although not a bone was broken on his body, according to his family, there was severe bleeding behind both knees, and a shattered front number plate indicated which part of the vehicle had struck him.

callous act. "This is just inhumane and reckless," she said. "My husband is fighting for his life, and this driver just left him there like an animal on the side of the road."

able. We need to hold reckless drivers accountable for their actions. We can't let this go unpunished."

Wastewater management will now be addressed by the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) as the country receives funding under the CReW+ Project (Caribbean Regional Fund for Waste Water Management) to focus on water solutions.

Chief Executive Officer of GWI Inc, Shaik Baksh on Friday indicated during the launch that the intention is to optimise the value and benefit to communities.

The project will span to address key issues, such as the sewage system in Kwakwani. A biodigester will be built there to utilise the wastewater. Under the Linden Water Infrastructure Programme, efforts will also be geared at bringing down water losses, which is affecting the level of service.

Monies have been also allocated for the national electronic database and monitoring of the sewage outflows in Georgetown. The latter will form the basis of a consultancy proposed to establish a wastewater treatment plant.

“Importantly also, we will use some of these funds

to protect the water source at West Watooka. This is a new water source which GWI will be exploiting very shortly, utilising water from the West Watooka conservancy and remove reliance on the Demerara River’s polluted water,” Baksh shared.

CReW+ is a partnership project funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) that is being co-implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

The main objective of the GEF CReW+ Project is to implement innovative, technical small-scale solutions in the wider Caribbean Region, using an Integrated Water and Wastewater Management (IWWM) approach and building on the sustainable financing mechanisms that were piloted through the Caribbean Regional Fund for Wastewater Management.

Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal indicated that all funding for the Guyana Water Incorporated has been geared at achieving

Sustainable Development Goal Six (SDG 6) by 2025, which speaks to clean water and sanitation for all.

“All the projects, all the funding that are coming to GWI is for us to achieve our SDG Six by 2025. That is what we’re working towards. Access to potable water across the entire country must be achieved within the next two and a half years. That tells you the level of work that GWI will be putting in and that you have a commitment by the President to ensure that the resources are made available for us to achieve those targets,” the Minister detailed.

United Nations Representative Stephanie Ziebell positioned, “Access to safe drinking water and sanitation are internationally recognised human rights, derived from the right of an adequate standard of living under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights…And we know that the efforts are being made in significant strides around the world and here in Guyana to achieve the sustainable development goals.” (G12)

Devastated by the incident, Downes’s wife has expressed her anger and disbelief at the driver's

The incident has left the community shaken and calling for justice. One resident has said the driver must feel the brunt of the law. "This is just unaccept -

Police have launched an investigation into the incident. In the meantime, Downes’s family and friends are praying for his recovery, and are hoping that justice will be served for the heinous crime committed against him.

Minister Collin Croal, GWI CEO Shaik Baksh and partnering stakeholders share a photo op

Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony, Chinese Ambassador Gou Haiyan and Advisor to the Health Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy standing with other healthcare officials behind medical supplies donated by China to two regional hospitals

Persons training to fix medical equipment under new biomedical programme

…to be employed full-time at facilities

Sparking career opportunities under its newly-launched Biomedical Programme, the Health Ministry has embarked on a quest to ensure that machines and other equipment at facilities are maintained and functioning to serve the public.

The Biomedical Programme is a collaborative effort between the Health Ministry, Public Service Ministry and Medical Aid International, where individuals were drawn from all across the country to be trained and later placed as full-time employees at health facilities.

At the launch on Friday, Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony shared that there are many instances where pieces of equipment are broken and there is significant downtime. Persons from the coastland would have to be dispatched to get them up and running again. This will now be rectified.

“When the instruments go down, there is nobody to fix them and that has become a really big problem for us. When we have a few

people in Georgetown, if something goes wrong in one of the regions, you have to wait until somebody get out into the region to help fix some of these things. It doesn’t take hours. It would take weeks and months for somebody to be able to get out there.”

He added, “We want to change that. That is why when we were selecting people, we ensured that in every region of Guyana, we have people. In this first cohort of students, we have identified people in all of the major hospitals.”

With new facilities being built, they should be manned properly, the Health Minister noted. In the past, heavy emphasis was placed in having adequate human resources to handle patients but having realised the importance of biomedical technicians and engineers, the focus has been expanded.

He shared that least one person should be present in every health facility but more importantly, the Ministry is carving out a career path which persons can build on. Some of these individuals are already employed by the Ministry.

Minister Frank Anthony; Advisor to the Health Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy; and other officials with the trainees what will become a major driver in developing structure in this area.”

Dr Anthony announced, “Once you are here and you’ve passed the course, there is a full-time job with the Ministry.”

Programme Director of Medical Aid International, Tim Beacon shared that this is a start which can lead to major outcomes in the health structure here in Guyana.

“With this programme, which is very well proven, we are privileged to be running this programme. This is just the start of

Advisor to the Health Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy said the biomedical landscape is changing in Guyana. Without technology, he added, the quality of

healthcare desired cannot be achieved.

Ramsammy shared that these investments are in keeping with the intention of making Guyana a leader in the health sector within the Caribbean Community (Caricom).

“We can’t provide the

high quality of care that we’re talking about unless we have our biomedical engineers. There was a time when we ran this sector with just people and their knowledge. We had very few pieces of equipment. That is changing in Guyana. (G12)

Watchman charged with murder of Anna Catherina fisherman

Remaldo Parris, a 23-year-old watchman of Parika Sea Dam, East Bank Essequibo (EBE), was on Friday remanded to prison for the murder of 26-year-old Munaf Azeez, a fisherman of Seaview, Anna Catherina, West Coast Demerara.

Parris appeared before Magistrate Zameena AliSeepaul at the Leonora Magistrate's Court and was not required to plead to the indictable charge. As such, he was remanded to prison and will make his next court appearance on May 11.

Azeez was fatally

stabbed on Monday during an argument with a group of men who accused him of chopping up their fishing net.

The argument quickly escalated, and in a sudden turn of events, one of the men pulled out a sharp blade and plunged it into Azeez's chest, leaving him gasping for air as he fell to the ground.

The authorities were alerted to the crime at around 8:00h on Monday, and their swift response led to the capture of the suspects. The young victim's family rushed to the scene, but it was too late, and Azeez was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

An autopsy later revealed that the cause of death was perforation of the heart and lung due to a stab wound. Parris is one of five individuals who were taken into custody in connection to Azeez's murder.

The attackers scattered in different directions, but their fate had already been sealed. The local Police patrolling the area caught one of the suspects as he attempted to flee the scene in his car, which led to the apprehension of the others.

Remanded: Remaldo Parris

Dead: Munaf Azeez

NGSA Science Questions NGSA S. Studies Questions

Answers for last published Science questions

2ai) The circulatory system

2aii) The heart

2b) Blood flowing at Q contains a high percentage of oxygen and a low percentage of carbon dioxide while the blood at R contains a high percentage of carbon dioxide and a low percentage of oxygen.

2c) The system referenced as being on page 6 is the circulatory system. During a period of intense exercise, your muscles work harder, so more oxygen and more energy is needed to fuel your body. So the lungs will, therefore, work faster to supply more oxygen and the heart will beat faster and harder (more strongly) to take more blood with food (fuel) and oxygen to the muscles.

3a) Crustaceans

3b) They both have six legs and bodies that are divided into three segments.

Answers for last published Social Studies questions

2a)

2b) Europe

2c) Atlantic Ocean

2d) His journey was voluntary.

3a) A Hindu wedding

3b) The tying of the bride and groom together

3c) Sari

Regional

China and Brazil reset ties with tech, environment accords, agree on Ukraine

Brazil reset its diplomatic ties with China, its largest trading partner, with a state visit on Friday where they agreed to boost investments and cooperation on technology and sustainable development, while urging peace talks in Ukraine.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and several of his Ministers signed the accords with President Xi Jinping and other Chinese officials in Beijing.

Xi said China has made relations with Brazil a diplomatic priority and the two countries should deepen practical cooperation in sectors including agriculture, energy, and infrastructure construction, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

"We have an extraordinary relationship with China, a relationship that every day gets more acute and stronger," Lula said before his meeting with Xi.

Brazil and China need to work together so that the relationship is not merely one of commercial interest, he

added.

The two leaders agreed that dialogue and negotiation are the "only feasible way" to resolve the war in Ukraine, according to a joint statement. They called on other countries to play a constructive role in promoting a political settlement between Ukraine and Russia.

Lula's visit follows four years of rocky relations with China under his far-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, when trade continued unaffected but investment by

US targets El Chapo sons, Chinese workers in sweeping drug action

United States authorities have targeted four sons of the notorious Mexican drug lord El Chapo – known as the “Chapitos” – as well as individuals connected to Chinese chemical firms in a sweeping action meant to address fentanyl trafficking.

On Friday, US Attorney General Merrick Garland called the drug enterprise run by the Mexican Sinaloa Cartel the “largest, most violent, and most prolific fentanyl trafficking operation in the world”.

work” as part of what she called a “relentless campaign to disrupt the production, the distribution, the trafficking of fentanyl”.

Officials said the Sinaloa cartel has been led in recent years by Ivan Guzman Salazar, 40, Alfredo Guzman Salazar, 37, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, 36, and Ovidio Guzman Lopez, 33 – all sons of notorious leader Joaquin Guzman Loera, also known as “El Chapo”, who is currently serving a life prison sentence in the US.

his extradition to the US.

All four were charged along with 24 others with fentanyl trafficking, weapons and money, among several other charges, which were brought forth in three separate federal jurisdictions: The Southern District of New York, the Northern District of Illinois, and the District of Columbia.

Chinese firms dropped.

In a new focus for bilateral relations, the two countries decided to strengthen cooperation in environmental protection and coping with climate change, and will set up a committee for this in their strategic partnership talks.

They agreed to act together with developing countries in international forums on climate issues while calling for increased financing for sustainable development projects. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Haiti

The United Nations (UN) and its partners are to launch an appeal for US$720 million to support more than three million people in Haiti where gangs, hunger and cholera have plunged nearly half the population into humanitarian need.

The 2023 funding appeal is the largest for the Caribbean country since the devastating 2010 earthquake and more than double the amount requested last year. The UN humanitarian affairs office (OCHA) said the number of Haitians who require aid to survive doubled over the past five years to 5.2 million and the aim is to reach 60 per cent, or 3.2 million people.

The full 2023

Humanitarian Response Plan, which will be launched on Wednesday, April, 19, comes at “a critical time”, said Ulrika Richardson, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti.

“With the situation in the country rapidly deteriorating, this year’s plan will address the most immediate humanitarian and protection needs while strengthening people’s and institution’s resilience to natural shocks,” she said, adding “at the same time, what the people of Haiti desperately want is peace and security, and we should all support efforts to that end”.

OCHA said the key driver of the crisis is gang violence, which continues to spread across the country.

It said an estimated 80 per

cent of the metropolitan area of the capital Port-au-Prince is either under the control or the influence of gangs.

“There is a constant climate of fear, especially in Port-au-Prince. Haitians put their lives at risk simply by trying to go to work, feed their families, or take their children to school,” said Richardson.

OCHA said armed violence disproportionately impacts women and girls, but boys are also affected.

Rape, including gang rape, and other forms of sexual violence is being used to terrorise the population, including children as young as age 10, the UN agency said. Meanwhile, many gangs also recruit children into their ranks. (Jamaica Observer)

Biden to host Colombian President Petro on April 20 – White House

US President Joe Biden will host a bilateral meeting with Colombian President Gustavo Petro, White House spokesperson Karine JeanPierre said in a statement on Friday.

"I am grateful to President Biden for his invitation," Petro said on Twitter. "It is a key moment to strengthen the relationship and mutual cooperation between both countries, not just in the fight against drug trafficking but in the protection of the Amazon, on cli-

mate change and on rural development."

The meeting will take place in Washington on April 20.

Petro has promised to end Colombia's six-decade conflict, which has killed at least 450,000 people, through peace deals or surrender agreements with leftist rebels, crime groups founded by former rightwing paramilitaries and gangs.

Petro, who took office last year, has derided the US-led war on drugs as a failure

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said the indictments “target every element of the Sinaloa Cartel’s trafficking net-

Three of those sons, Ivan, Alfredo, and Joaquin, remain at large, while Ovidio was arrested by Mexican authorities in January. He remains in custody pending

The individuals charged included “manufacturers and distributors” of the cartel’s fentanyl, “managers” of its armed security apparatus, and money launderers, as well several men identified as employees of companies in China “that manufacture fentanyl precursor chemicals”, authorities said.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Argentina's annual inflation rate soared to 104.3% in March, the official statistics agency said on Friday, one of the highest rates in the world, straining people's wallets and stoking a cost-of-living crisis that has pushed up poverty.

The inflation reading for the month came in at 7.7%, well above analyst forecasts of 7.1%, marking the fastest monthly rise since 2002 and piling pressure on the Government which is contending with angry voters ahead of elections in October.

"I try to think that someday we're going to be better off. But the inflation we're living with today in Argentina is terrible. It feels like never before," said Claudia Hernansaez, a publishing company employee.

"In my case, I have zero capacity to save."

The soaring prices have hammered salaries and spending power, pushed up poverty to near 40%, and dented the popularity of the governing Peronist coalition as general elections near.

The country, a major global grains exporter, is also grappling with one of

A customer walking past a greengrocery store as Argentina's annual inflation rate tore past 100% in February, the country's statistics agency said on Tuesday, the first time it has hit triple figures since a period of hyperinflation in 1991,

its worst droughts in history, that has hammered soy, corn and wheat crops, knocking billions off the economy from lost exports and fanning domestic prices.

"The number we see today represents the worst moment of the impact of the war on international prices and the worst drought in history in our country," presidential spokeswoman Gabriela Cerruti wrote on Twitter.

"We know, it hurts us,

it occupies us, how this affects daily life and every family," she added, saying the Government hoped a downward trend in inflation would be "reflected soon."

For now, every trip to the supermarket is a reminder of the country's inflationary crisis, the worst since 1991, which was the end of a period of hyperinflation. Retiree Juan Tartara said prices spiked with each weekly visit to the store. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Colombian businessman arrested in Venezuela's PDVSA graft probe – Minister

and called for a new international approach.

Colombia's Attorney General, who is critical of Petro's policies, has said the country risks losing US support because of rising coca output and the Bill to allow criminal gangs to surrender in exchange for lesser sentences.

Colombia's potential cocaine output rose 14% to 1400 metric tons in 2021 and the area sown with coca shot up 43% to 204,000 hectares (500,000 acres), the UN said in an annual report last year. (Reuters)

Venezuelan authorities have arrested Colombian businessman Alvaro Pulido in an ongoing investigation into alleged corruption at Venezuelan state-run oil company PDVSA, Venezuela's Communications Minister said on Friday.

Pulido was a financial operator linked to lawmaker Hugbel Roa, also arrested in connection with alleged corruption at PDVSA, Communications Minister

Freddy Nanez wrote on Twitter, without giving further details.

There have been dozens of arrests in recent weeks as President Nicolas Maduro's Government clamps down on alleged graft.

Over 50 people connected to PDVSA and other public companies have already been arrested.

Pulido was detained along with at least six others and arraigned before a court, images broadcast on state television showed.

The charges against them have not yet been outlined.

Pulido is under indictment by the US, which is offering a reward of up to US$10 million for information leading to his arrest or conviction for alleged money laundering.

He is an associate of another Colombian businessman and close ally of Maduro, Alex Saab, who has been held in the US since June 2020 on money laundering charges. (Reuters)

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva shaking hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping after a signing ceremony held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, April 14, 2023

'Zero capacity to save': Argentines buckle as inflation tops 104%

UN to launch US$720M support for violence, hunger plagued

over three decades ago, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, March 14, 2023

Oil rises, logs weekly gains after IEA predicts record demand

Oil prices were up on Friday and secured a fourth straight week of gains after the West’s energy watchdog said global demand will hit a record high this year on the back of a recovery in Chinese consumption.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) also warned that deep output cuts announced by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers led by Russiaa group known as OPEC+ - could exacerbate an oil supply deficit and hurt consumers.

Brent crude futures settled at US$86.31 a barrel, rising 22 cents, or 0.3%. West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) settled at US$82.52 a barrel, gaining 36 cents, or 0.4%.

Both contracts posted a fourth consecutive week of gains amid easing concerns over a banking crisis that struck last month and the surprise decision last week by OPEC+ to further cut output.

Brent is set to post a 1.5% weekly gain, while WTI was up 2.4% on the week. Four weeks of increases would be the longest such streak since June 2022.

In its monthly report on Friday, the IEA said world oil demand is set to grow by 2 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2023 to a record 101.9 million bpd, driven mostly by stronger consumption in China after the lifting of COVID restrictions there.

Jet fuel demand accounts for 57% of the 2023 gains, it said.

But OPEC on Thursday flagged downside risks to summer oil demand as part of the backdrop for its decision to cut output by a further 1.16 million bpd.

The IEA said the OPEC+ decision could hurt consumers and global economic recovery.

“Consumers confronted by inflated prices for basic necessities will now have to spread their budgets even more thinly,” it said in its monthly oil report. “This augurs badly for the economic recovery and growth.”

The IEA said it expected global oil supply to fall by 400,000 bpd by the end of the year, citing an expected production increase of 1 million bpd from outside of OPEC+ beginning in March versus a 1.4 million bpd decline from the producer bloc.

“The narrative has taken hold again of rising demand and relative supply tightness, and that’s what’s keeping oil buoyed,” said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC.

Also helping to boost prices was the US oil and gas rig count, an indicator of future supply, which fell for the third week in a row, according to Baker Hughes data. US oil rigs fell by two to 588 this week, their lowest since June 2022, while gas rigs fell by one to 157.

The US dollar index releases raised expectations that the Fed was approaching the end of its rate-hiking cycle.

Still, the greenback edged up on Friday, making dollardenominated oil more expensive for investors holding other currencies and limiting oil price growth. (Reuters)

Around the World

Ukraine forces pull back as Russia mounts ‘re-energised’ Bakhmut assault, UK says

Ukrainian troops have been forced to withdraw from some territory in the battlefield city of Bakhmut as Russia mounts a renewed assault there with intense artillery fire over the past two days, Britain said in an intelligence update on Friday.

“Russia has re-energised its assault on the Donetsk Oblast town of Bakhmut as forces of the Russian MoD and Wagner Group have improved co-operation,” it said, referring to Russia’s Defence Ministry and its main mercenary force.

“Ukrainian forces face significant resupply issues but have made orderly withdrawals from the positions they have been forced to concede,”

Britain’s military said in a daily intelligence update.

Wagner has taken the lead on the Russian side in the months-long battle, deadliest of the war for troops on both sides, but the mercenary group’s leader had complained

of poor support for his forces from the regular military.

“The Ukrainian defence still holds the western districts of the town but has been subjected to particularly intense Russian artillery fire over the previous 48 hours,”

the British update said.

It said Wagner units were now focusing on advancing in the centre of Bakhmut, while Russian paratroopers were relieving them in attacks on the city’s flanks.

Bakhmut, which held around 70,000 people before the war, has been Russia’s main target in a massive winter offensive that has so far yielded scant gains despite infantry ground combat of an intensity unseen in Europe since World War Two.

Capturing the city would be Russia’s first substantial victory in eight months. Moscow says it would open a route to capturing more territory in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, a major war aim. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Thousands receive diagnosis after 60 new diseases found

Thousands of children with severe developmental disorders have finally been given a diagnosis, in a study that found 60 new diseases.

Children, and their parents, had their genetic code - or DNA - analysed in the search for answers to their condition.

There are thousands of different genetic disorders.

Having a diagnosis can lead to better care, help parents to decide whether to have more children, or simply provide an explanation

for what is happening.

Taken individually the disorders are rare, but collectively they affect one in every 17 people in the UK.

The Deciphering Developmental Disorders study, conducted over 10 years in the UK and Ireland, was a collaboration between the NHS, universities and the Sanger Institute, which specialises in analysing DNA.

Among the findings, researchers discovered Turnpenny-Fry syndrome. It is caused by errors in one

genetic instruction within our DNA and leads to learning difficulties. It also affects growth, resulting in a large forehead and sparse hair.

The study analysed the genetic code of 13,500 families with unexplained disorders - and was able to give a diagnosis to 5,500 of them.

The results, published in

the New England Journal of Medicine, revealed 60 of those disorders were new conditions. Most were errors that had occurred spontaneously at conception, rather than being inherited.

Around a quarter of children in the study had their treatment changed once a clear diagnosis was given.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

NorthKorea an-

nounced on Friday it had tested a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), a development set to “radically promote” its forces, which experts said would facilitate missile launches with little warning.

Leader Kim Jong Un guided Thursday’s test, and warned it would make enemies “experience a clearer security crisis, and constantly strike extreme uneasiness and horror into them by taking fatal and offensive counter-actions until they abandon their senseless thinking and reckless acts”, North Korean state media said.

Analysts said it was the North’s first use of solid propellants in an intermediate-range or intercontinental ballistic missile, a key task to deploying missiles faster during a war.

South Korea’s Defence Ministry said North Korea was still developing the weapon, and that it needed more time and effort to master the technology, indicating that Pyongyang might carry out more tests.

North Korean state media outlet KCNA released photos of Kim watching the launch, accompanied by his wife, sister and daughter, and the missile covered in camouflage nets on a mobile launcher. A state media video showed the Hwasong-18 missile blasting off from a launch tube, creating a cloud of smoke.

French President Emmanuel Macron’s flagship pension reform will enter into force swiftly, officials said on Friday after it received the Constitutional Council’s approval despite months of street protests and strikes.

testers: “We are here, we are here, even if Macron does not want it, we are here.”

Florida’s Republican

Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a Bill banning most abortions after six weeks, paving the way for drastic changes in access to the procedure across the state.

Opponents argue six weeks is before many women know they are pregnant.

The law will not go into effect until a court rules on an ongoing legal challenge to the existing 15-week ban.

“We are proud to support life and family in the state of Florida,” the governor said in a statement.

He claimed the law would

“defend the dignity of human life and transform Florida into a pro-family state”.

The state has been a safe haven for those seeking abortion in the country’s southeast since Roe v Wade - which gave women in the US the constitutional right to abortion - was overturned last year. The state’s current 15week limit on abortion is one of the most lenient in the south-east, with many travelling from other states to Florida to have the procedure.

The six-week ban makes exceptions for abortions in

cases of rape or incest, as long as the woman can provide documentation such as a Police report or a restraining order.

DeSantis’ signed the Bill late Thursday night just hours after Florida’s Republican-led House of Representatives approved the ban on Thursday, with 70 voting for and 40 voting against. It had been passed in the state Senate on April 3.

The fate of the new sixweek abortion law is still contingent upon another ruling from Florida’s Supreme Court. (Excerpt from BBC News)

South Korea and the US air forces staged drills hours after the report, involving American B-52H bombers that joined F-35A, F-15 and F-16 fighter jets, Seoul’s Defence Ministry said.

“By deploying US strategic assets with increased frequency and intensity, the two countries will continue demonstrating our strong alliance’s will that we will never tolerate any nuclear attack from North Korea,” the Ministry said in a statement.

North Korea has criticised recent US-South Korean joint military exercises as escalating tensions, and has stepped up weapons tests in the past months.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

The legislation, which pushes up the age at which one can draw a pension to 64 from 62, remains deeply unpopular, and spontaneous protests broke out when the Constitutional Council’s decision was announced.

Protesters gathered outside Paris City Hall holding banners reading “climate of anger” and “no end to the strikes until the reform is withdrawn”, in a sign the Council’s verdict was unlikely to end widespread anger with Macron and his reform.

Some burnt trash bins as they marched through Paris, singing a chant popular with anti-Macron pro-

Opinion polls show a vast majority reject the policy changes, as well as the fact that the Government pushed the Bill through Parliament without a final vote it might have lost.

“All the labour unions are calling on the President of the Republic to show some wisdom, listen and understand what is happening in the country and not to promulgate this law,” the leader of the CGT union Sophie Binet said.

In a joint statement, unions said this was “the only way to soothe the anger in the country.”

But officials shrugged off the request, saying the text would be turned into law in the coming days. Labour Minister Olivier Dussopt said it should enter into force on Sept 1 as initially planned. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Ukrainian artillery fires toward the front line during heavy fighting near Bakhmut, Ukraine, April 13, 2023

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signs 6-week abortion ban into law

Protesters gather in front of the Paris City Hall after the Constitutional Council (Conseil Constitutionnel) approved most of the French Government’s pension reform, in Paris, France, April 14, 2023

Macron cleared to raise French retirement age, protesters vow to fight on

North Korea says it tested new solidfuel ICBM, warns of ‘extreme’ horror

DAILY HOROSCOPES

Pay attention to what’s happening at home. Take the time to reach out to someone experiencing difficulties. The information you offer someone will lead to an educational response.

(March 21-April 19)

Control your emotions before sharing your feelings. Using the wrong words will cause confusion and elicit a negative response from someone you don’t want to annoy. Learn to love yourself.

(April 20-May 20)

PEANUTS

(May 21-June 20)

Trust yourself and verify any information you receive before passing it along. Use the experience and knowledge you acquire to reach an understanding with a difficult rival.

Learn from experience and participate in something that hones your skills. Helping people will lead to connections you need to explore something you want to pursue. Full steam ahead!

(June 21-July 22)

Take the path of least resistance. If you concern yourself with trivial matters, you will miss the point and fall short of your goals. Recognize an opportunity and seize it.

(July 23-Aug. 22)

CALVIN AND HOBBES

(Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

It’s up to you to bring about change if that’s what you desire. Don’t sit in the background and let others make decisions for you. Step up, help others and be the leader whom everyone respects.

Channel your energy into something worthwhile. Don’t take chances when precision is what matters. Opportunities are within reach, but first, you must figure out how to make the most of them.

(Sept. 23-Oct. 23)

A change of plans will not align with your schedule. Address the situation with a compromise that shows your willingness to do your part. Your leadership ability will not go unnoticed.

(Oct. 24-Nov. 22)

Be careful what you wish for and whom you trust. Be fair, and you’ll ward off an ugly scene with a close friend or loved one. Play it cool when it comes to emotions today.

(Nov. 23-Dec. 21)

SOLUTION FOR LAST PUBLISHED PUZZLE

(Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

You know the rules and what others expect of you, so stick to the plan and finish what you start. Once you’re done, you’ll find it easier to enact positive changes at home.

Stick to what and whom you know and trust. Avoid situations that are emotionally exhausting. Be prepared to act, while taking precautions against injury. Avoid pointless arguments.

(Jan. 20-Feb. 19)

Rethink your strategy regarding health and fitness, and try something new and exciting that will motivate you to move more and sit less. A lifestyle change will pay off.

(Feb. 20-March 20)

Windies’ Nicholas Pooran tells injured Indian cricketer Rishabh Pant:

NicholasPooran has been where Rishabh Pant is at the moment. An accident similar to the one Pant was in late last year had put Pooran in hospital more than eight years ago. Pooran had required two surgeries, and it was a good six months before he could walk again.

Admitting the position Pant is in could leave him “depressed and frustrated”, Pooran is confident Pant would bounce back. Playing for Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2023, Pooran said he has been in touch with Pant, who would be out of action for at least the rest of the year.

Pant was present at his team Delhi Capitals’ home game against Gujarat Titans a few days back, but needed help to get out of the car and get to his seat at the Feroz Shah Kotla.

“It’s very challenging. It’s one where no one understands. Sometimes, I can remember…I have been chatting with Rishabh, obviously.

Both of us have a really good relationship. But there’s times when you go into a place where you’re very depressed and frustrated, because you want the healing process to happen so fast, but it’s difficult,” Pooran said ahead of Super Giants’ next game, on Saturday at home against Punjab Kings. On December 30 last

year, Pant was driving to see his mother in Roorkee in Uttarakhand when his car hit a road divider at around 5.30am. He escaped without life-threatening injuries even as his car went up in flames. He has since undergone knee-ligament surgery at a Mumbai hospital.

It was in January 2015, when he was just past his

19th birthday, when Pooran, while driving back from a training session at home in Trinidad & Tobago, swerved to avoid an oncoming car and drove into a sand heap and back on to the road, where another car rammed into him. He was knocked out, and regained consciousness only after reaching a hospital.

He required surgery to repair the left patellar tendon, which had ruptured, and on his right leg, to repair an ankle fracture.

Speaking from his experience dealing with the low phase, Pooran said, “Sometimes you don’t see progress. In life you want to see progress, you want it to happen so fast, but it doesn’t happen the whole time. It’s very challenging, but [you] need to believe in yourself.

“You just need to believe in yourself. He needs to spend time with himself and understand who are the people for him and who is against him. This is where you know who are your family and who are your friends.”

“Need to believe that whatever happened happened for a reason. Can’t question it, because you won’t get an answer. You need to believe in your God as well. Have faith in yourself, have faith in your hard work.”

And then, if all goes well,

things change for the better. For Pooran, it was seven months before he could start jogging again, and another month before he took part in his first net session.

“As soon as you see…that first step you take, once you can see that improvement, I think that’s when you become motivated,” he said. “Rishabh will come out of this. He’s a strong guy. He will come out of this, and he will be better. You just need to believe in yourself. He needs to spend time with himself and understand who are the people for him and who is against him. This is where you know who are your family and who are your friends.

“It’s a difficult period in anyone’s life. Everyone has different challenges. Challenges come in different forms and ways, but it’s a blessing in disguise [in a way], and you’ll figure it out. Everyone goes through challenges. He’ll get back up.” (ESPNCricinfo)

Brook's unbeaten century gives Sunrisers enough to trump Knight Riders

HarryBrook has put a string of low scores behind him with an unbeaten 55-ball 100 that included imperious hitting against pace and calculated strike rotation against spin.

Aiden Markram was equally destructive, scoring 50 off 26 balls as Sunrisers Hyderabad posted 228 for 4, the highest total of IPL 2023 so far.

In response, Kolkata Knight Riders were 96 for 5 in the 11th over, and in need of a miracle for the third game in a row. Nitish Rana's 41-ball 75 kept their hopes alive, and with 58 required from the last three overs, they had Rinku Singh and Shardul Thakur - their miracle-makers from the previous two games - in the middle. Rinku fought hard with an unbeaten 58 off 31, but this time it wasn't to be.

Brook shows his class Coming into this game, Brook had 29 runs in three innings, at a strike rate of 74.35. However, one felt it was only a matter of time before he stepped up; and on Friday he started, by hitting the first ball of the innings, bowled by Umesh Yadav, through the covers for four. He picked up two more fours in the over, pulling and scooping the bowler with little fuss.

Against Lockie Ferguson, he exposed his stumps and dispatched a slow full toss to the cover boundary. He used the same strategy in Umesh's next over with even better returns: two back-toback sixes. Thanks to Brook, Sunrisers raced to 43 for no loss in three overs.

Russell's double-strike Andre Russell hadn't

bowled this season so far, but it took him just one ball to make an impact. While Brook seemed unstoppable, Mayank Agarwal was struggling, and Russell ended his agony by having him caught at short third for 9 off 13 balls. Rahul Tripathi hit a couple of fours, but ended up top-edging a pull on the last ball of the over, giving Russell his second wicket.

In their spinners, Knight Riders found a way to keep Brook quiet. In the first six overs of the innings, Brook had smashed five fours and two sixes. In the next eightseven of which were bowled by the spinners - he didn't

find a single boundary, and instead focused on rotating the strike.

That, though, didn't mean Knight Riders could breathe easy. Markram took the baton and ransacked 42 off 22 balls against the spinners. He was severe on Suyash Sharma in particular, taking him for two sixes and a four in the 12th over of the innings. In the next over, he hit successive balls from Varun Chakravarthy for a four and a six, the second shot bringing up his half-century off 25 balls. He tried to go big on the next ball as well, but holed out at deep midwicket.

Brook brings up his 100

In the 15th over, Knight Riders re-introduced seam in the form of Ferguson, and Brook was back hitting boundaries, sending the bowler for four fours and a six in a 23-run over.

Abhishek Sharma, meanwhile, took over Markram's role and looted 32 off 16 against spin. He didn't even spare Sunil Narine, hitting him for a four and a six in the 17th over. Those were the only two boundaries Narine conceded in his 4-028-0. Abhishek faced just one ball of pace, and was out on that.

Brook kept picking up the occasional boundary, and moved to 95 off 52 with one over left. He was tiring by then, but found just enough energy to hobble a couple of twos and a single to bring up his hundred.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar dealt Knight Riders an early blow when Rahmanullah Gurbaz sliced the third ball of the chase to deep third. In the fourth over, Marco Jansen dented them further by removing Venkatesh Iyer and Narine off successive deliveries. Iyer, who came in as Impact Player for Suyash, hit a couple of boundaries before miscuing one to Markram at mid-on. Narine was cramped for room and was also taken at mid-on, leaving Knight Riders at 20 for 3.

Nitish Rana's counter-attack

It looked like Knight Riders would surrender without a fight, but their captain Rana resuscitated the chase. In the sixth over, he hit Umran Malik for 4, 6, 4, 4, 4, 6. Not every shot came off the middle of the bat, but the 28-run over helped Knight Riders end the powerplay on

a solid 62 for 3.

N. Jagadeesan gave Rana good support with his 36 off 21, before Mayank Markande had him caught at deep midwicket. Russell, who had walked off twice during the first innings with cramps, didn't last long either, holing out in the legspinner's next over.

At that stage, Knight Riders needed 133 in 9.5 overs. Rana and Rinku kept the fight on, adding 69 in 6.2 overs for the sixth wicket. The pair was also helped by some lapses in the field -

Rana and Rinku were both dropped once, and later Thakur was dropped twice. With 70 needed from 23 balls, Rana got two full tosses in a row from T. Natarajan. He smashed the first one for a six, but ended up hitting the second to sweeper cover, where Washington Sundar held on to the chance. Rinku hit three fours off Natarajan in the 19th over to reduce the equation to 32 needed off six, but as Rana himself said after the game, miracles don't happen every game. (EPSN Cricinfo)

SCOREBOARD

Sunrisers Hyderabad (20 ovs maximum)

Harry Brook not out 100

Mayank Agarwal c Varun b Russell 9

Rahul Tripathi c †

Rahmanullah Gurbaz b Russell 9

Aiden Markram (c)

c Russell b Varun 50

Abhishek Sharma c Thakur b Russell 32

Heinrich Klaasen †not out 16

Extras(nb 1, w 11) 12

TOTAL 20 Ov (RR: 11.40) 228/4

Fall of wickets: 1-46

(Mayank Agarwal, 4.1 ov), 2-57 (Rahul Tripathi, 4.6 ov), 3-129 (Aiden Markram, 12.5 ov), 4-201 (Abhishek Sharma, 18.1 ov)

BOWLING O-M-R-W

Umesh Yadav 3-0-42-0

Lockie Ferguson 2-0-37-0

Sunil Narine 4-0-28-0

Andre Russell 2.1-0-22-3

Varun Chakravarthy 4-0-41-1

Suyash Sharma 4-0-44-0

Shardul Thakur 0.5-0-14-0

Kolkata Knight Riders (T: 229 runs from 20 ovs)

Rahmanullah Gurbaz †

c Umran Malik b Kumar 0

Narayan Jagadeesan c sub (GD Phillips) b Markande 36

Venkatesh Iyer c Markram b Jansen 10

Sunil Narine c Markram b Jansen 0

Nitish Rana (c) c

Washington Sundar b Natarajan 75

Andre Russell c Jansen

b Markande 3

Rinku Singh not out 58

Shardul Thakur c Washington

Sundar b Umran Malik 12

Umesh Yadav not out 1

Extras (lb 2, nb 2, w 6) 10

TOTAL 20 Ov (RR: 10.25) 205/7

Fall of wickets: 1-0

(Rahmanullah Gurbaz, 0.3 ov), 2-20 (Venkatesh Iyer, 3.2 ov), 3-20 (Sunil Narine, 3.3 ov), 4-82 (Narayan Jagadeesan, 8.2 ov), 5-96 (Andre Russell, 10.1 ov), 6-165 (Nitish Rana, 16.3 ov), 7-197 (Shardul Thakur, 19.1 ov)

BOWLING O-M-R-W

Bhuvneshwar Kumar 4-1-29-1

Marco Jansen 4-0-37-2

T Natarajan 4-0-54-1 Umran Malik 2-0-36-1 Mayank Markande 4-0-27-2 Washington Sundar 2-0-20-0

“That first step you take, that’s when you become motivated”

Nicholas Pooran Rishabh Pant

Harry Brook slammed a ton

Andre Russell had an injury

Development in local sports…

Linden to get FIFA-and-ICC-standard venues

- Vice President Jagdeo

The mining town of Linden will be experiencing unprecedented transformation to accommodate international sports in the coming years.

At a press conference on Thursday, Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo confirmed that two grounds in Linden will be upgraded to FIFA and ICC standards for football and cricket respectively. Already, construction works are ongoing to upgrade the facility at Mackenzie, and the VicePresident confirmed that the facility, when refitted to ICC standard, would remain a multipurpose facility. He said upgrades at the Mackenzie Sports Club Ground would make it comparable with the Stadium at Providence, East Bank

Demerara, for cricket to be played at ICC standard.

“Linden will have both a FIFA- and ICC-standard

GCB Under-19 Inter-County Super50 tournament 2023…

Berbice beat Demerara in tense match

ground, to play both cricket and football. For the first time, we are developing three grounds in the town of Linden that will allow us to play international cricket and football,” Jagdeo said.

Currently, there is only one synthetic track in Guyana, located at Leonora, West Coast Demerara; and there is the National Stadium at Providence. Government has recently launched construction of a 10,000-seat stadium and multipurpose building at Palmyra in Region Six.

In the years to come, Guyana will be the hub for hosting sporting events in the Caribbean, as the Government of Guyana continues to build significant facilities.

- Essequibo crush Select XI after Vincent's hat-trick

Berbice defeated Demerara by 14 runs on the DLS method in the second round of the Guyana Cricket Board’s

Guyana gearing for Central American and Caribbean Games 2023

…AAG drops CAC ball

Nine sporting disciplines have qualified to represent Guyana at the 2023 edition of the Central American and

Caribbean Games, scheduled for staging from June 23 to July 8 in San Salvador, El Salvador, and in Santo Domingo, Dominican

Email: rbinvestmentinc@gmail.com

Kitts & Nevis Patriots last season

Republic.

The multisport, Olympiccycle event will see 37 nations from the CAC region competing in more than 54 sporting disciplines and events. Guyana will be participating in boxing, squash, badminton, swimming, table tennis, archery, basketball 3x3, hockey and athletics.

The newly-elected Executive Committee of the GOA has confirmed that experienced Sports Administrator Dr Karen Pilgrim will serve as Guyana’s Chef de Mission for the CAC Games.

The disciplines of squash, badminton, and table tennis have all qualified their male and female teams; basketball qualified their female 3x3 team; hockey, which will be played in the Dominican Republic, have qualified their male team; while boxing has qualified on the basis of their elite boxers’

rankings and performances in regional competition.

Guyana athletics team’s participation is currently in limbo because of the submission of an incomplete and inadequate Long List of biographical information on athletes and non-submission by officials of the AAG. This information is necessary to allow for the accreditation of their submitted list of athletes and officials into the CAC Games accreditation system within the deadline outlined by the Organizing Committee.

Despite repeated formal requests and extensions of deadline to the AAG for the provision of data on the named athletes, based on the Organizing Committee of the CAC Games’ requirements, the AAG has failed to comply.

The Organizing Committee of the Central American and Caribbean Games has indicated that,

due to the short timeframe before the Games, there would be no extension of deadlines for submission of athletes and official long list information, since they are battling logistical issues to ensure quality of the Games.

The GOA is still exploring ways to seek compliance from the AAG, in view of ensuring members of Guyana’s athletics team participate at the prestigious Games. With the qualification positions of the respective disciplines being outlined, the Guyana Olympic Association is currently working with the respective national federations to ensure that all the coordination elements are aligned for Guyana’s successful participation at the 2023 edition of the Games. The final names and composition of the respective sports disciplines will be revealed on finalization of their respective teams.

(GCB) Under-19 Super50 Inter-County tournament, which is sponsored by the Government of Guyana.

In a game which rain reduced to 30 overs, Berbice posted 118-8 in 30 overs, with Rampertab Ramnauth contributing 29 and Mahendra Gopilall 17. Bowling for Demerara, Mavindra Dindyal took 2-17 from three overs.

In reply, Demerara managed 108 all out in 28.3 overs while chasing a revised total of 123. Shamar Yearwood played a brave fighting innings of 41, which came off 73 balls. Demerara had required 15 from four balls when Yearwood was the final man dismissed, caught at third man off the bowling of Zeynul Ramsammy.

Earlier, Demerara's top-order were blown away by the Berbicians. Salim Khan was the pick of the bowlers, with 3-17 from six overs. Ramsammy had 3-24 in a solid bowling effort.

In the other match, Essequibo registered a comprehensive 96-run win against the GCB Select XI at Everest. Essequibo, batting first, posted 148 all out in 40 overs, while the Select XI managed 52 all out in 20.2 overs.

Ronaldo Schouten top-scored with 24 for Essequibo. Nityanand Mathura had 2-10 in four overs, while Rashad Gaffur had 2-14 from four overs. Off-spinner Matthew Pottaya also chipped in with 2-37 from his six overs, as Select XI used 10 bowlers.

In reply, Select XI slumped to 52 all out. Only Kevin Kisten reached double figures, as he scored 19. Pacer Bruce Vincent claimed 5-20 in five overs, including a hat-trick, while skipper Aryan Persaud took 4-1 in 5.2 overs.

The third and final round will bowl off on Sunday April 16. Berbice will play GCB Select XI at Enmore as stated initially, while Demerara will play Essequibo at GCC, Bourda.

Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo

Essequibo's Bruce Vincent claimed five wickets, including a hat-trick

The 2023 edition of the Central American and Caribbean Games is scheduled for June 23 to July 8 in San Salvador, El Salvador and in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

'Turbo' Jagdeo calls for Government to assist horse-racing

-welcomes any inquiry

The fate of horse-racing could change dramatically if Government were to intervene to get the sport developed as quickly as possible, owner/trainer/ administrator Therbhuwan 'Turbo' Jagdeo has declared.

He has said, "(In)no part of the world, horse-racing could survive without a betting system and other forms of income. We have neither."

Jagdeo has said he is making this appeal because of misinformation relayed by way of social media and because of a letter send to the press calling on the Minister of Culture, Youth, and Sport to conduct an inquiry into Sunday's race card staged at the Port Mourant Turf Club (PMTC) in Berbice.

An executive member of the PMTC Management Committee, Jagdeo described Sunday’s incident as unfortunate, and said, "I welcome any form of inquiry on the sport by any Government Ministry."

Jagdeo’s plea is: "We need a lot of resources, and only the Government can

help us to improve the sport and develop the various racing facilities. For example, we do not have sufficient stables at the racetracks to house horses entered to race. Those horses have to be held by their grooms until it is time to saddle, and this is impacting on their performance."

Sharing how he, Nasrudeen 'Junior' Mohamed and Fazal Habibulla have been struggling to stage a race card, and why racing is still taking place, Jagdeo declared: "Everybody believe horse-race make money. If my horses did not win on Sunday, I would have been at a loss in staging the day's card. After race day expenses and prize moneys paid out from the gate receipts, and sponsor money - which I haven't received as yet - me, as a horse owner, lost money."

Speaking about challenges promoters face, and how Government's intervention with grants could help them keep staging the sport, Jagdeo ex-

plained, "It's a high-maintenance sport. You are trying your best to entertain, and then this backlash. If anyone watch the recorded video of the race, they will realise how unfortunate this incident was. Yes, it's not nice, but look at the incident in the real context.

A horse fell, and when it fell it brought down another horse. The other horse was a long way behind, but the rider, instead of watching ahead of him, kept riding and his horse slammed

West Indies Legends attend Cool and Smooth T20 in Antigua

into the fallen second horse. How could the track and the sport be blamed for the rider's error?"

He continued, "Yes, we do not have a perfect system, but we are working on getting it right. We could get it right if we get help. On the whole, the sport needs

to be regulated."

Pointing out the immediate challenges, he advised, "We have to get people off the track and the parade ring. If they should get kick in the parade ring or a horse run into them on the track and somebody gets knock down, there will be an out-

cry for Government to shut down the track, and it will not be our fault."

Suggesting remedial measures, Jagdeo remarked, "We need turfites and owners’ full support. They should allow the horse to be the spectacle, and not them. If they get injured because of their carelessness, then the industry get blamed, and not them. They do not know how much we do to prevent these problems, and how best we try to prepare a good track, and what it costs us. Despite the changing weather pattern, there is only so much we, as private people, could do. We trying our best to bring the sport to the best standard to save the jobs of thousands, direct and indirect."

He predicted, "If this sport is given the support, we will be hub for Caribbean horse-racing. Our projection is to have invitational races to encourage the Caribbean and other racing jurisdictions in the USA to compete in our backyard."

He declared: "This is not wishful thinking; it will happen. A blessing in disguise is not the right thing to say, but Sunday's incident generated a lot of bad publicity. However, it gave us the opportunity to highlight the challenges we face. In the face of adversity, we have to grow stronger. We haven't given up. We will survive, and the sport will be second to none."

DCB U17 Inter-Assn tourney 2023…

Shioprasad, Deonarine, Harripersaud, Bani shine

Several legends of Antigua were present at yesterday’s CST20 opening ceremony which kicked-started the 2023 edition of the tournament.

Team Antigua and Barbuda Island Girls joined local cricketing royalty as Sir Vivian Richards, Sir Andy Roberts and Sir Richie Richardson at the ceremony. Sir Curtly is out of the country on other duties.

To get the tournament started, the Antigua Island Girls delivered the tournament's first ball.

Kevinia Francis bowled and Samara Emmanuel batted, with notable assistance from Sir Andy Roberts and Sir Vivian Richards. Chief Executive Officer of the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority, Colin James, and the Honourable Minister of Sport, Daryl Matthew, were present, with James speaking at the ceremony on the tournament’s importance to tourism in the country.

In his speech, James pledged long-term support of the Tourism Authority, and commented on the potential impact this tournament can have on tourism in Antigua. Owner of Cool and Smooth, Amer Hourani, and tournament coordinator Dario Barthley represented the tournament organizers at the ceremony, with Barthley commenting on where this tournament can go.

“With this being the tenth anniversary of the Cool & Smooth T20, we found it fitting to spread

our wings even further. Just to have these legends attending the opening ceremony and seeing the support they have provided us throughout the years, I think it speaks volumes about the impact this tournament can have. With the continued help from the Ministry of Sports, the support of the ABCA, and the push from the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority, we believe we have what it takes to make this tournament one of the most important in the Caribbean."

In the Demerara Cricket Board’s U17 Inter-Association Tournament that is partly sponsored by Team Mohamed’s, Nicholas Shioprasad and Romeo Deonarine each scored half-century, while Hemraj Harripersaud and Neeran Bani spun the East Coast Demerara side to victory.

Over at the Enmore Community Centre Ground, East Coast Demerara won the toss and elected to bat. They scored 244 for 7 from their allotted 45 overs.

Vice-Captain Nicholas Shiopersaud top scored with a well-constructed 69, while Captain Romieo Deonarine scored 56, Romel Persaud chipped in with 32, and Alex Datterdeen with 30 not out.

Bowling for West Demerara, Nityanand Mathura took 3 for 51, Sachin Balgobin supported with 2 for 33, and Alex Parag took 1 for 19.

In reply, West Demerara struggled to reach their target, and managed only 64 all out from 24.1 overs.

Opener Sachin Balgobin was the lone batter to reach double figures: 13.

Hemraj Harripersaud and Neeran Bani each collected 4 for 13, while Suresh Sugrim and Alex Datterdeen took 1 for 23 and 1 for zero respectively. East Coast Demerara won by 180 runs.

In the second round of this tournament, Georgetown will battle East Bank Demerara at Farm Ground, while East Coast Demerara will face Upper Demerara at Enmore.

Horse race organizers are calling for assistance from Government (Brandon Corlette photos)

Therbhuwan 'Turbo' Jagdeo

Legends and organizers at Thursday’s opening of the tournament at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium

Hemraj Harripersaud Neeran Bani

Nicholas Shioprasad Romeo Deonarine

Sir Vivian Richards assisting Samara Emmanuel (Photos: CST20)