WHAT'S INSIDE: Issue No. 5106 Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana THE BEACON OF TRUTH guyanatimesgy.com PRICE $100 VAT INCLUDEDSATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 2022 Hijacking, robbery spree Bandit dies 1 day after being shot by cousinmanRegionemployers–quarantinepersonspositiveAllPoliceCOVID-19mustMinisterto1beheadsCourtoverturns3-yeardrugtraffickingconvictionformotherof6100domesticabusesurvivorstobenefitfromMassy’sgroceryvouchers PPP10P141113CCJ butmother’supholdsstepfather,freesconvictionreducesjailtime Neesa Gopaul’s murder …says there is potential to fix logistics to aid food security agenda After almost 3 topaymentsbeginsCitydecades,HallNIS …aiming to settle $1B owed to GRA Caricom will Private“extra-regional”goifSectorsitsonopportunities–AliGovtironingoutfiscaltermsbeforeauctioningoffremainingoilblocks–VP storySeeonpage2 PPP in “readiness mode” for LGE this year – Jagdeo …slams Opposition Leader for bullying, threatening GECOM Chair See story on page 8 storySeeonpage7 P2 NeesaMurdered:LalitaGopaul Berbice Expo set for October 14-17 P16 Page9Page3
NEWS2 SATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM I n counting its moun tain of debts, the Georgetown Mayor and City Council is seeking to resolve the surplus of $1 billion that is owed to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).Mayor Ubraj Narine dis closed at a press conference on Friday that the Council engaged GRA about one week ago on pending finan cial matters. He identified that while the municipality owes $1 billion to the agen cy, GRA also needs to re turn monies owed for VAT paid for garbage collection. The Authority also operates in various areas without payingSincerevenue.both agencies have outstanding monies for each other, the Council is aiming to find a suitable resolution. The Mayor con tended that the Council is trying to establish a better relationship with agencies in its remit. “I believe it is over $1 billion owed to GRA by the Council. These are liabili ties that this Council took over. We took over $5 bil lion to $6 billion in liabili ties…Last week, when GRA and the Council met, we came to a conclusion and now we are trying to access more of those years of VAT that we paid to GRA so that we can do a set-off.” “While the GRA owe the City Council those monies, we also owe GRA. Beyond that, we also dis cussed that GRA is also oc cupying the avenue, which they’re not paying a reve nue. We’re also looking at Lamaha where the railway embankment is where GRA operates a parking lot and temporary license office… We’re looking for a good re lationship with GRA and other Government agen cies so that we can be able to work for the betterment of citizens of Georgetown,” Narine told the media. Dating back since 1994, the Council also owes the National Insurance Scheme in excess of $500 million. Payments have since re commenced and a plan is in place to ensure persons get their“NISmonies.has been owed by the Mayor and City Council since 1994. However, we met from the Board and payment commenced from our end to NIS. I believe a few staff already started to receive benefits from NIS.” When asked, Mayor Narine could not say why the NIS was not paid but asserted that he “came and met these liabilities”. A de cision was taken at the lev el of the Council to resume payments, which has now materialised.
Region 1 man beheads cousin
…aiming to settle $1B owed to GRA
AManawarin village, Moruca sub-region, Region One (BarimaWaini) man who beheaded his cousin on Wednesday has ingested a poisonous substance. Guyana Times under stands that at about 03:00h on Wednesday morning, the suspect committed the act on his cousin Ceon George. It is still unclear what might have led to the mur der. However, following the incident, the Charity Police Station was contacted and ranks were immediately dis patched to the village to in vestigate.Uponreaching the area, it was reported that Police found the suspect alone in a house. At the time, the sus pect was armed with a knife, cutlass, bow, and arrow. Upon forcing their way into the house, they discov ered that the suspect had consumed a poisonous sub stance before surrendering to theThePolice.body of Ceon George was transported to the Kumaka District Hospital where it remains at the mor tuary, while the suspect was taken into custody at the Acquero Police Station, Santa Rosa Village, Moruca. He was then referred to the Kumaka District Hospital where he remains in critical condition under PoliceThisguard.murder comes less than 2 weeks after 18-yearold Jude Christino was chased and stabbed to death following an argument at Kumaka Waterfront, Mabaruma, North West District.Itwas reported that the victim and two males were engaged in a heated argu ment; and in an attempt to escape the two men, the teen ran, but the suspects pur sued him. Christino was re portedly cornered, and the two men started to beat him. An eyewitness told Police that one of the men pulled out a knife and stabbed the victim to his neck, causing him to collapse. The sus pects then fled the scene, leaving the teen’s motion less body behind. Police were summoned to the scene, and the injured Christino was picked up and taken to the Mabaruma Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The two persons were later ar rested. (G9)
Georgetown Mayor Ubraj Narine
After almost 3 decades, City Hall begins payments to NIS
Chair
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo GECOM Chair Justice (retired) Claudette Singh Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton TURN TO PAGE 9
To this end, Jagdeo con tended during Friday’s press briefing that the PPP/C Government is not going to fall into Norton’s trap and act inPeople’singalactclaredthrownmediatelycourtdentonewilltotutionaltociselyonmoveit’s[Roxane“Theunconstitutionally.ChiefJusticeGeorge]ruledthatunconstitutionaltorepeople’snamebasedresidency.ThisisprewhatNortonwantsusdo,toactinanunconstimanner.Ifweweredoso,justimaginewhathappen.AllyouneedispersonwhoisnotresiinGuyanatogototheandchallenge,andimthatwillbeover[and]thatwillbedeunconstitutional.”“Sowearenotgoingtoinanunconstitutionmanner.We’renotgotobecomplicitwiththeNationalCongressthisissue…Norton doesn’t understand that it will be unconstitutional to remove people’s names from the voters’ list… We’re not going to support any pro cess that is unconstitution al. Now, Norton comes from a party that has a history of acting unconstitutionally in several instances,” the Vice PresidentNevertheless,noted. VP Jagdeo is of the view that Norton will backtrack on this posi tion once Local Government polls are called and will con test the “Nortonelections.can’t bully the Government or the coun try into not having Local Government Elections… Local Government shall take place. We don’t know the timing because we don’t control that [but] the PPP will participate. He now has to backpedal and backdown, basically, and contest the elections. I’m sure he will so don’t worry about all this big gyaff,” Jagdeo stressed. in “readiness mode” for LGE this year – Jagdeo Opposition Leader bullying, threatening GECOM
WEATHER TODAY There will be light rain showers during the day. Expect partly cloudy skies at night. Temperatures should range between 22 degrees Celsius and 31 degrees Celsius. Winds: South South-Westerly to West NorthWesterly between 1.78 metres and 4.47 metres. High Tide: 10:35h and 22:56h reaching maximum heights of 2.1 metres and 2.14 metres. Low Tide: 16:25h reaching a minimum height of 1.15 metre.
…slams
BRIDGE OPENINGS
The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Saturday, Aug 20 – 23:00h – 00:30h and Sunday, Aug 21 – 23:30h – 01:00h. 3
NEWS COMMODITIES Indicators US$ Change % Crude Oil $96.72/barrel +0.13 Rough Rice $307.35/ton +3.14 London Sugar $548.20/ton +1.73 Live Spot Gold USD Per Ounce Bid/Ask $1747.60 $1748.60 Low/High $1746.00 $1759.90 Change 0.00 0.00 LOTTERY NUMBERS DAILY MILLIONSWEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2022 DISCLAIMER: WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ERRORS IN PUBLICATION. PLEASE CALL THE HOTLINE FOR CONFIRMATION - TEL: 225-8902 LUCKY 3 FREE TICKET 03 04 10 14 19 21M 1616 21174 18 2 2051406090208 BonusBall 25 DRAW DE LINE 13 14080604 18 21161502 PAY DAY PAYSUPERDAY 10 9 8 1 Afternoon Draw Evening Draw THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2022 FRIDAY, AUGUST 19, 2022 91 26 Afternoon Draw Evening Draw 2X2X Afternoon Draw Evening Draw SATURDAY,
FERRY SCHEDULE
The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Parika and Supenaam departure times – 05:00h, 10:00h-12:00h, 16:00h, 18:30h daily Saturday, Aug 20 – 11:05h – 12:35h and Sunday, Aug 21 – 12:35h – 14:05h.
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo on Friday declared that the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Government is ready for the host ing of Local Government Elections (LGE) this year once the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has preparations in place. “We’re already gone on an election footing. We’d be ready were elections are held this year or next year. We don’t control when that happens, GECOM does but we’d be ready at any time,” the Vice President stated during a press conference on Friday.Local Government Elections in Guyana, which is constitutionally due ev ery two years, is long over due having been last held in 2019.According to Jagdeo, who is also the General Secretary of the govern ing PPP/C, as soon as the Elections Commission indi cates its readiness for Local Government polls, a date will be “GECOMset. would have to write indicating when they are ready. But [in] the People’s Progressive Party, I speak as General Secretary, I’ve already convened a meeting and we’ve already started working on our or ganisational structures around the country. We’ve put our party in a readiness mode,” he posited. Only this week, GECOM Chair, Retired Justice Claudette Singh assured that preparations are ongo ing for the hosting of Local Government Elections be fore the end of this year. But Leader of the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Opposition, Aubrey Norton has an nounced that they will not participate in and also threatened to block any elec tions from being held if the voters’ list is not cleansed. Since losing the March 2020 elections, the coalition Opposition has been claim ing that the list is bloated. Already, the GECOM Chair explained on Tuesday last that the upcom ing Claims and Objection Exercise, which will roll out on August 22, can be used to challenge the presence of any names on the list in ac cordance with the appropri ate Basedlaws. on a 2019 High Court ruling, GECOM can not remove any person from the National Register of Registrants (NRR) – from which voters’ list is compiled – unless they are dead or otherwise disqualified under Article 159 (2), (3) and (4) of the Constitution. Not falling Opposition’sintotrap
PPP
for
SATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM AUGUST 06, 2022
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Editor: Tusika Martin 231-8063 231-0544, 223-7230, 223-7231, 225-7761 231-8064 225-6707 address: Queens Atlantic Investment Estate Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown marketing@guyanatimesgy.comnews@guyanatimesgy.com,
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By Anton LA Fond L ike a deer yearning for running water, so must we, as a people, yearn for respect, so that mercy will flow from the Lord.In order to respect some one, you must first respect yourself. Since the origin or time, respect has propelled itself as a means of commu nication, and as life grad uated into a place of tur bulence, respect has faced a wicked form of impolite ness.Who would have thought that as the years rolled along, the grip on respect would have loosened itself, causing all to note how we, as a society, could feel such discomfort.Agrowing concern today is the lack of respect being paid to women in our soci ety.This avalanche of disor der has surely catapulted itself into a zone that has shown some disturbing ac tions.Women with disabilities are receiving quite a bit of disrespect, causing concern to beThenoticeable.absence of respect towards women with dis abilities is now something the whole of society has to pay serious attention to. Just imagine someone who is disabled has to endure ar eas of disrespect with no re dress.One might have thought that in this modern time, in tegrity towards women with disabilities would be a topof-the-line achievement, but as a matter of fact, integrity seems to have blown itself out of the waters of respect. The standards that are portrayed in society today leave one to wonder where we are heading with this despicable attitude. It can be easily detected and said that women with disabili ties must demand respect, but that is easier said than done.In the majority of in stances, when these wom en try to apply some form of resistance or act with resil ience, they are overpowered by verbal or physical influ ence.It was once said that if you apply kindness to any situation, respect will emerge. Now, with the trend set by society today, it could be said that wom en with disabilities are not justly treated. By saying so, it is simple to deduce that these women are slowly slipping into a state of low self-esteem. Provoked by the influx of disrespect, these wom en with disabilities are now facing an ugly period in theirQuitelives.a number of dis abled women have had to place their trust in the ones they are surrounded by, and when they are disrespected, they become deflated. A painful form of disre spect that has landed upon these folks is abuse. To en tertain the thought of men tal or physical abuse as it pertains to disrespect be ing cast upon someone who is disabled can only be de scribed as inhumane. Let us apply the tangent concept to this horrible act. For some odd reason, women with disabilities fall into a category that can only be described as distasteful ly crude. All this rapid form of abuse can be viewed as is advantageous, and must be stopped. Society has to be more concerned about the manner in which this level of respect has turned. Women with disabilities have to seek protection at the highest level in order for this onslaught of disrespect to discontinue.Respect,when men tioned, was once the pride of anyone’s life. There was a sign of pure happiness when you were respected. Now, even the women who once held the position of ensur ing that respect was main tained are feeling the brunt of this cold and sorrowful di lemma.Inasking the question: “What direction can be tak en to solve this painful situ ation?”, one thing is certain, it is that love for one anoth er has to resume. A conversation about hu mility and its importance will certainly interject the godly input that is so neces sary.
President Dr Irfaan Ali speaking with a shade house farmer during a guided tour of Trinidad and Tobago’s 2nd Agri-Investment Forum and Expo (OP photo)
The playing field of grat itude has to be manicured to the extent that respect for women with disabili ties can once more return to some semblance of balance or appreciation. This form of respect will only occur if society decides to make a concerted effort and give re spect where it is due. It was once said that if society can lean on the side of respect by only listening, then, and only then, would a huge percentage of this un pleasant behaviour be oblit erated. If listening is ap plied, then much more could be heard.Listening will bring about a loud source of un derstanding that is required for respect. Far too often, during heated discussion, which should entail some level of listening, disrespect shows its ugly head. Women with disabilities are victims of poor listening circumstances, and end up being disrespected. In concluding, anyone who humbles themselves will be humbled, and from humility, respect will shoul der every aspect of kind ness. Let us, as a society, conquer disrespect for our disabled women, and let the peace and light of God shine on us once more. Please remember to wash your hands, wear your masks, and keep up social distancing.Inthespirit of growth. (T&T Guardian)
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Mailing
Are women with disabilities respected in our society?
Neesa Gopaul’s death and the vulnerable Widespread condemnation that followed the public’s learning of the gruesome death of 16-year-old Neesa Gopaul in 2010 was deemed justified. However, 12 years later, there is again widespread condemnation, as her case has come to its final conclusion with the Caribbean Court of Justice ruling on Friday. Her stepfather has been freed, and her mother remains in jail, though not for long. The tale of this young girl’s life is disturbing, and her death is even more so. Indeed, the young girl could have been saved had the police and the Childcare and Protection Agency done their jobs, and other stakeholders, including school officials and villagers, done their part to protect her. Neesa’s death resulted from a systemic failure to protect her. It is very disturbing that the girl, in the latter part of her life, had endured a lot at home, and although people knew of this, they failed to help her. Her death therefore was simply the culmination of a series of sadistic events that plagued the young girl’s life. If one can recall that, in May 2021, subsequent to a meeting between Guyana’s First Lady and US Ambassador to Guyana Sarah-Ann Lynch, the US Embassy had issued a brief statement on issues the two discussed, to wit “…a vision for Guyana’s future, and the common areas of interest between the United States and Guyana”. A statement from the Office of the First Lady had specified that during the meeting, First Lady Arya Ali expounded the ‘One Guyana’ platform, which seeks to examine biological and environmental factors that cause individuals to be excluded from various aspects of society, in particular differently-abled persons and children. The interest the First Lady is taking in the vulnerable in society speaks volumes for her future engagements in the office she now holds consequent to her husband’s election to high office. Her interest in the welfare of the vulnerable in society, especially children, would most likely extend to the eradication of the practice of child prostitution and trafficking of persons in Guyana. If she investigates these atrocities, she would be distressed and disgusted at the inhumane and cruel actions of perpetrators who prey on the vulnerable and helpless in Unquestionably,society. she would strongly object to the practice wherein persons try to use children as prostitutes – male or female - especially since she feels so strongly about the protection of children and ensuring that they have the requisite quality of childhood that would ensure a healthy combination of mental, psychological, emotional and physical growth.Child prostitution and trafficking in persons are absolutely heinous crimes that proliferate worldwide, and in some societies, where poverty is dire, some parents feel driven to sell their own children for pittances – destroying their own children for temporary relief from their pecuniary circumstances.InGuyana many impoverished persons, especially children and females, have been lured away from their rural or hinterland homes with the promise of jobs, or by other means, only to sometimes find themselves in horrendous situations.Theprevious Government had been plagued by some Public Servants not delivering on their mandate. In the Child Protection Services, this lackadaisical, laissez-faire attitude was a contributory factor that led to the saga of suffering and eventual murder of Neesa Gopaul, which was condemned in no uncertain terms by former Social Services Minister Priya Manickchand.Manyhave tried and failed to eradicate this heinous scourge, even in societies more developed than ours, and it is highly commendable for Guyana’s First Lady to undertake this massive responsibility by which she seeks to provide a platform for empowerment/education and extrication from exploitation and abuse of the voiceless and vulnerable. Perhaps her zeal and passion may achieve what others have failed to accomplish – make Guyana a safe haven for the vulnerable in society.
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The following process and procedures are proffered for consideration and debate. When it appears to senior staff, heads of departments, or Permanent Secretaries that there is reasonable cause to believe that a staff member may have commit ted gross misconduct, or der eliction of duty, or is unable to perform the functions of his/her position as might warrant disciplinary action, the concerned head of de partment and Permanent Secretary, on their own ini tiative or upon receipt of a complaint from any source, in consultation with the head of personnel of the Ministry of the Public Service, should conduct a full investigation and hearing into the alleged misconduct or inability to function.Acommittee comprising the relevant head of depart ment, head of the Ministry’s personnel department, and the Permanent Secretary of the relevant Ministry should investigate the com plaint within fourteen work ing days of the receipt of the complaint, or from the date of initiation of disciplinary action, with due regard to natural justice principles. During the investiga tion and hearing, if it is con sidered expedient, the con cerned staff member should be suspended from duty on half pay for fourteen work ing days, and should be paid the amount withheld only if exonerated. The staff mem ber to whom the investiga tion relates should be free to represent himself/herself, and be allowed representa tion by any person at the in vestigation and hearing. The investigating com mittee should recommend to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of the Public Service such fair and appro priate disciplinary action by the end of the fourteen working days. The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of the Public Service shall, within 14 working days, consider the matter and make the appropriate rec ommendations to the Public Service Commission (PSC). The Public Service Commission should consid er the recommendations of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of the Public Service, and shall institute appropriate disciplinary ac tion, including suspension without pay for up to two months, or immediate dis missal for good and suffi cient cause, or termination of the employment contract.
Dear Editor, Appalling it is to read “Resisting the emerging apartheid state”. So, I am elated that Floyd Haynes has distanced himself from the ‘Cuffy 250’ forum that has chosen such a topic, lu dicrous and vexatious at its best.Haynes was candid and firm, declaring that he wrote the Chairman of the Committee, Norman Ng-AQui, “…protesting his inclu sion in the line-up of speak ers at the forum scheduled for August 21st, and calling for the immediate removal of hisHename.”also noted that he had not been asked, for mally or informally, to be part of the programme. In fact, so upset and uncom promising the man is that he “…expressed consterna tion that his name was in cluded on a list of speakers at this ‘Resisting the emerg ing apartheid state’ forum organised by the ‘Cuffy 250’ committee.Now,outside of lending my support to Haynes for his bold stand, I feel com pelled to hit at this ‘Cuffy 250’ group. They are a mere agent provocateur, and the actual topic is not just a bla tant denial of reality, it is very inciting, and can only be for the purpose of resur recting fading angst that was in the first place unjus tified. First, let me inform the perpetrators of this fallacy that Apartheid, as we know it, was rampant during 1948 to the early 1990s, and only in South Africa. Guyana at no time supported this kind of evil, and for sure nev er came close to practising it. As regards the ‘now’ and what this quack forum is seeking to do, it will not suc ceed, as it is clear that the PPP/C is most non-discrim inatory.For example, in the Apartheid system, Black South Africans could not own property. I ask now, “What is Guyana’s current drive? Is anyone being left out? I remind all that, very soon, residents of Golden Grove, East Coast Demerara will have legal right to lands they occupy in the back lands. This commitment came from Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall, SC, and Commissioner of the Lands and Survey Commission, Enrique Monize, just recent ly. In fact, it has already been agreed that residents will work along with the Government to get leases for the lands they occupy, a pro cess that the Government enacted some time ago, but which was not continued by the APNU/AFC leaders during 2015-2017. As a matter of fact, pre1992 PNC Governments never even gave something like this a modicum of con sideration. So, what will happen now is that, since the process had already be gun, all that needs to hap pen is an updating of the claims’ list, and I guess it is just a matter of time before the residents will be fully empowered.Howabout Melanie Damishana? It is the same. The AG, on behalf of the Government, made a prom ise to start the regularisa tion process for persons who are occupying untitled lands on the East Coast. Some even asked about what will happen when the process is completed and there are va cant lands. In response, the Minister said that “…once the process is completed and lands are available, persons from the area can apply for the vacant lands.” I hope someone stuff this down the throat of those making the claim that Guyana is an emerg ing Apartheid state in ef fort to cast aspersions on the PPP/C soregatedSector,issue.andNowGovernment.anotherexample,IhopethiswillsettletheIvisittheEducationwherethiswasseginSouthAfrica.NotinGuyana.Irecallthat when the PPP/C took office in August 2020, there was the resounding policy of ‘No Discrimination’ in the dis tribution of the ‘Because We Care’ cash grant. This sen timent was expressed by Minister of Education Priya Manickchand as she vowed that each child in the pub lic school system would ben efit from this yearly and ev er-increasing rollout. I raise up to the ‘Cuffy 250’ people that Priya emphasised that “Whether you’re African, Chinese, Indo-Guyanese, Amerindian, Portuguese, Mixed, you will leave here with your cash grant be cause we’re not asking about your ethnicity. This morning, whether you are Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Rastafarian, nothing or Bahá?í, once your children are in school, you will leave here with the cash grant.” She went on to state, “We are here to give every sin gle nursery, primary, sec ondary-age child who’s in a public school or applied to come to a public school this grant.”In contrast, let us re call what took place in November 2018. That was when erstwhile Minister of Public Health and Chairwoman of the People’s National Congress (PNC), Volda Lawrence, sounded the warning that “The only friends I got is PNC, so the only people I gon give wuk to is PNC, and right now I look ing for a doctor who can talk Spanish or Portuguese, and ah want one that is PNC.” Lawrence later apolo gised, but that apology did not erase her and her par ty’s duplicity and discrim ination, reflective of their hidden Apartheid. I think my point is well made, although I can pull more examples of PPP/C’s ‘One Guyana-No Discrimination’ policy and drive. So, in closing, I affirm the fact that Haynes de tailed that he “…completely reject(s) the phrase, ‘resist ing the emerging apartheid state’ to describe conditions in Guyana.” He stated that, “In my view, this state ment is a disservice to all Guyanese, as such, I wish to categorically disassoci ate myself from it. More im portantly, I am a firm sup porter of His Excellency the President of Guyana, and I am absolutely convinced that it is not part of the President’s agenda to cre ate any disparity based on race.”
You can send your letters with pictures to: Guyana Times, Queens Atlantic Investment Estate Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown, Guyana or letters@guyanatimesgy.com
NeilSincerely,Kumar
Hetmyer as skipper of GAW is a positive move
Dear Editor, The master batsman Shimron Hetmyer being ap pointed as Captain of the Guyana Amazon Warriors CPL Team is certainly a pos itive move. Hetmyer is one of the best batsmen in the Caribbean, and it is import ant that he asserts himself and bat at number three. The best batsman in any team should bat at three, and as captain, the onus is on him to make the judge ment call on his approach to batting, depending on the situation of the game. The Warriors could open their batting with the sound and competent Chandrapaul Hemraj and the attacking Paul Sterling. With Hetmyer at three, and the likes of Shai Hope and Jermaine Blackwood to fol low, the Amazon Warriors squad would benefit from the inclusion of several pow erful, hard-hitting, middle order and lower order bats men.Colin Ingram and Heinrich Klaasen would be useful when playing in the team. However, the likes of Odean Smith, Romario Shepherd and Keemo Paul could be electrifying at the end of the innings.
The affected staff mem ber may appeal any deci sion of the Public Service Commission to the Public Service Appellate Tribunal, which shall review the de cision of the Public Service Commission in keeping with the principles of fairness and natural justice. The Tribunal should con sider and render its decision within 28 working days from the date of appeal. The deci sion of the Appeals Tribunal shall be final and binding on all parties. With Samuelthanks,JGoolsarran
Yours truly, H Singh
06:00 (Sign on) Inspirational Time 06:30 Cartoons 07:00 Evening News (RB) 08:00 Stop Suffering 09:00 Movie - Two by Two: Overboard! (2020) 10:30 Indian Movie - Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal (2007) 13:30 Movie - Wedding Cake Dreams (2022) 15:00 Movie - Secondhand Lions (2003) 17:00 Payless Power Hour 18:00 Evangelistic Hour 18:30 Hepzibah 19:00 The Evening News 20:00 Islam for Guyana 20:30 Movie - Starting Up Love (2019) 21:54 Movie - Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) 00:00 Sign off Saturday, August 20, 2022
Debunking the evil of ‘Cuffy 250’
The Warriors’ batting looks very good on paper, and expectations are skyhigh that this year they could bring home the silver ware.In respect to the Amazon Warriors’ bowl ing, Smith, Shepherd, Paul, along with Tabriz Shamzi and Gudakesh Motie, are good enough, particular ly on the slow pitches in the Caribbean. The backup bowlers such as Ronsford Beaton, Imran Tahir and Veerasammy Permaul, along with Junior Sinclair, further strengthen the Warriors as a team that can win the CPL title this year. The fielding must be superb and very sharp. Certainly, Hetymer will set the pace. With excellent fielding, the team could save runs and put pressure on the opposing teams. Guyana will play their first match on September 3 against the Jamaica Tallawahs in Basseterre. The massive crowd support from the Caribbean people would be further enhance in Guyana with the Cricket Carnival.
Dear Editor, The current disciplinary process and procedures in the Public Service should be revisited and revised with a view to provide for a speed ier due process and natural justice for Public Servants, as outlined Disciplinaryhereunder.actions re late to an employee’s capac ity or conduct, which may breach the obligations in the employment relation ship to, for example, render faithful and honest service. Disciplinary matters should be promptly addressed by the management in the Public Service, and should be separate and apart from any criminal investigation and consequent action flow ing Thetherefrom.Public Service Management and Administration, the Ministry of Public Service, the Public Service Commission and the Public Service Appellate Tribunal should be concerned with the conduct of the employee in the employment relation ship; and act independently, and not rely on the outcome of any court case.
Revisiting, revising Public Service disciplinary process, procedures
SATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 2022 5guyanatimesgy.com
T he carter ran up and struck at the sparrow again with his hatchet; but away she flew, and the blow fell upon the second horse and killed him on the spot. “Unlucky wretch that I am!” said the carter. “Not wretch enough yet!” said the sparrow; and perching upon the third horse, she began to peck him too. The carter was mad with fury; and without looking about him, or caring what he was about, struck again at the sparrow; but killed his third horse as he done the other two. “Alas! miserable wretch that I am!” cried he. “Not wretch enough yet!” answered the sparrow as she flew away; “now will I plague and punish thee at thy own house.” The carter was forced at last to leave his cart behind him, and to go home overflowing with rage and vexation. “Alas!” said he to his wife, “What ill luck has befallen me!— My wine is all spilt, and my horses all three dead.”“Alas! husband,” replied she, “and a wicked bird has come into the house, and has brought with her all the birds in the world, I am sure, and they have fallen upon our corn in the loft, and are eating it up at such a rate!” Away ran the husband upstairs, and saw thousands of birds sitting upon the floor eating up his corn, with the sparrow in the midst of them. “Unlucky wretch that I am!” cried the carter; for he saw that the corn was almost all gone. “Not wretch enough yet!’ said the sparrow; “thy cruelty shall cost thee thy life yet!” and away she flew. exactly like dividing whole numbers except you have to know where to put the decimal point in your quotient. If only the dividend has a decimal point, put the decimal point in exactly the same column in the quotient.
By The BroThers Grimm CONTINUED FROM FRIDAY'S EDITION Dividing a decimal by a whole number is
Dividing
WORD SEARCH Page Foundation 6 SATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 2022 ◄
panaluminiumundernewspaperofthetocatchany water that splashes. Fill the pan with water, but not all the way to the top. Pour a little bit of one coloured oil mixture onto one area of the pan. Then repeat this with the other two colours, on different areas of the pan. What hap pens? Why do you think this occurs? To make your own artwork, lay a piece of con struction paper on top of the water. After 30 sec onds, carefully lift it off and see the effect of the colours on the paper. 3. Carefully remove your artwork from the mixture in the pan. Lay the wet paper flat on some newspaper, so the colours won’t run, and allow it to dry overnight. You can then use your artwork as a greeting card, wrapping paper, or to decorate your walls. (kids.sandiegozoo.org)
2. Put layers
2) 33.60 ÷ 1 3) 894.08 ÷ 2 4) 31.05 ÷ 11 5) 54.31 ÷ 23 6) 92.88 ÷
Example: Estimate 28.5 ÷ 2 Step 1: set up your division problem and put the decimal point in the proper place in the quo tient:2 ⟌28.5 Step 2:14.25Divide 2⟌28.5280500500 decimals by whole numbers Divide 1) 12.20 ÷ 7 7 You may have heard the old saying “oil and water don’t mix”, and while that may be true, when you combine the two, some pretty and interesting images can be the result. In a wildlife setting, oil spills can upset the nat ural balance of an environment and cause a lot of trouble for the animals and plants that call a habitat home. So it’s probably best that the com bination of the two should stay on the crafts table – and out of nature! Instructions White construction paper Aluminium roasting pan (like the ones they sell in grocery stores) A Measuringfork spoons 3 plastic cups Cooking oil Food colouring An apron or old shirt to protect your clothing PanNewspaperwithwater, cups with food colouring Method 1.Measure one tablespoon of cooking oil into each plastic cup. Choose three different colours of food colouring, and measure one teaspoon of each colour into its own cup (each cup will have one co lour in it). Stir the mixture in each cup with the fork (wipe it off between colours) until the food colouring is well mixed.
Exercises:
Ali …says there
Private
7 SATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM NEWS
If the regional private sector fails to act on the windfall of oppor tunities currently birthed from Caricom’s aggressive food security agenda, then Governments will be forced to look to foreigners to take up these prospects. This was the position shared by President Dr Irfaan Ali on Friday, during the second edition of the Agri Investment Forum and Expo, currently hosted in Trinidad andTheTobago.Guyanese President declared that the political will has already been estab lished in achieving food se curity and sustainability for the region. This is the time for the private sector to cap italise on investments, such as logistics, transportation and infrastructure to sup port the food security agen da. “We have to fix the insti tutions, the infrastructure. A lot of work is going on and this is where I want the re gional private sector to un derstand what an opportuni ty is. In my humble opinion, we have enough firepower in this region within the pri vate sector to form a consor tium and address the issue of transportation and fixing that problem...The leaders have already made it very clear. We are willing to sit with such a consortium and come up with a menu of mea sures and incentives that will allow you the space to operate in a very viable man ner and fixing the transport and logistics problem,” Ali underscored.Herelayed that Governments are creating the enabling environment for investments. But should the private sector fail to capital ise, then leaders will seek as sistance from outside the re gion.“We cannot sit back in the private sector and expect that the Government must create the environment all the time. The Government is an enabler to open up the opportunity. We have to stop working in a selfish way in the region at every level. The private needs to come togeth er and understand the scale of opportunities, scale their thinking up and go after the opportunities. If not, then you give the heads no other choice but to go extra-region al.”In the region, food dis ruption is among the grow ing trends, meaning that persons are unable to ac cess the required nutrition. Moreover, nearly half of the region’s population suffer from food Nevertheless,insecurity.Dr Ali un derscored that strides have been made through the re gional ministerial task force of achieving regional food se curity and driving a robust agricultural agenda. The Head of State relayed that Governments have taken the position to move forward with stakeholders who are on board with this agenda. “It is no longer talking about what can be done. it is doing what we have been talking about for a very long time. The new approach is a different mindset, a different way of thinking. The Heads of Government have agreed that if we are not all ready to move, then we must move with those who are ready. The time has come for us to demonstrate tangible results as we seek to create an en vironment in this region, in which we are not only food secure but we develop a sus tainable and resilient path to foodTogether,security.” Caricom is working on the goal of cutting the food import bill by 25 per cent by 2025. Ali identified that having the specific tar get to slash the food import bill speaks to the seriousness in which Governments are applying themselves within the region to fulfil this goal. “We understand the real ity. We live in a quite differ ent world than a year or two years ago. We live in a world in which climate crisis, ener gy crisis, inflation crisis, food security crisis confront us. And we live in a world with a very impatient population. As a region, we have commu nicated the global story and how the global challenges impact the lives of people in our region,” he underlined. Progress Guyana has established a food terminal in Barbados and similar discussions have been ongoing with Antigua, Jamaica, St Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago and other na tions in the region. The aim is to ensure that by 2024, the country is com pletely sufficient in feed pro duction using corn and soya. There is a performance mark of 61 per cent in poultry and an overall 80 per cent for livestock.AsofMarch of this year, Jamaica has achieved 26 per cent of their target, with sol id performances in onion and Irish potatoes. Trinidad has seen success in poultry, with 66,500 metric tonnes com pleted from an 83,000 met ric tonnes target by June. In St Lucia, fresh fruit, poul try and pork production has surpassed targets as of mid2022.Before the end of this year, Barbados’ aquaculture sector will commence pro duction.With this urgency, he questioned whether the peo ple in these countries un derstand the consequences of this global challenge. Ali added that in achieving this goal, leaders will be pres sured with burning issues as a result of global consequenc es. “There will be pressures in achieving the target of 25 by 2025. Every leader that sit before you, we have to deal with the imported inflation, rising cost of food, climate challenges, debt crisis and at the same time, we have to find the resources that are necessary for us to achieve these targets…We will have to make sacrifices collective ly in different areas if we are to achieve the target that we set ourselves.” (G12) President Irfaan Ali delivering his address at the Agri Investment Expo
Caricom will go “extra-regional” if Sector sits on opportunities –is potential to fix logistics to aid food security agenda
Readers are invited to send their comments by email to eye@guyanatimesgy.com
Bibi Shareema Gopaul’s conviction for the 2010 murder of her 16-year-old daughter was upheld by the CCJ on Friday
The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Guyana Times’ editorial policy and stance
By Feona Morrison
…in
From L to R: CCJ President Justice Adrian Saunders and CCJ Judges Maureen Rajnauth-Lee, Jacob Wit, Denys Barrow and Peter JamadarMurdered: Neesa Lalita Gopaul Freed: Jarvis Small
Defending Guyana… Carnival Land
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And President Ali should count his fingers after shaking hands!! …from within Now that we’re exploiting our 11 billion barrels of oil (and counting) - even with what might concededly be “crumbs” - when those crumbs are US greenbacks, they’ll soon add up into a pretty windfall for a nation of just 750,000!! Not too fine a division, eh?? And that’s why we gotta watch who – and how many - we let in!! Cause before you know it, we might end up with more Spanish-speaking than English-speaking citizens!! Notice the 2000+ Spanishspeaking kids in our schools?? And trust your Eyewitnessthat’s not the half of it!! We gotta have that immigration policy. For instance, do we really need folks from China and Trinidad to open up supermarkets across the country?? Is this a skill we lack?? So, in addition to that Residency Programme – that’ll give us the wherewithal to ensure we’re not being snookered - we should now establish criteria as to what kind of skills we’ll admit. Like engineers and moneybags!! Like the Canadians do!! …from without Back in March, we submitted our Memorial on the Venezuelan border controversy to the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Do we have a contingency plan when that madman in Caracas refuses the judgement in our favour??
The more than a de cade-old murder of 16-year-old Neesa Lalita Gopaul was settled on Friday with Guyana’s highest court—the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ)—overturn ing the conviction and 45-year prison sentence of the teenag er’s stepfather, Jarvis Small. The father of three is now a free man owing to the CCJ’s finding that he was “gravely prejudiced” at his trial back in 2015 before Demerara High Court Judge Navindra Singh. As for the girl’s mother, Bibi Shareema-Gopaul, 50, who had been jointly tried along with her 44-year-old lover, Small, while her con viction was affirmed, the re gional court reduced her jail sentence from 45 to 25 years, ordering that she be consid ered for parole “not before 15 years”. In affirming her convic tion, the CCJ ruled that based on the evidence presented by the prosecution, it was proven beyond reasonable doubt that she killed her child. Decomposed, stuffed in suitcase On October 2, 2010, the badly decomposed body with the head bashed in of the younger Gopaul was found stuffed in a suitcase in a creek at the Emerald Tower Resort, at Madewini, LindenSoesdyke Highway. Also dis covered were her passport, bank card, and other person al items.Thesuitcase was wrapped with rope and attached to dumb-bells in an appar ent effort to keep her body submerged. The straight A Queen’s College student was found weeks after she was reported missing from her Leonora, West Coast Demerara (WCD) home. Her cause of death was given as multiple blunt force trauma to the Shareema-Gopaulhead. and Small were initially sen tenced to 106- and 96-years’ imprisonment, respectively, after they were found unan imously guilty of the teen’s killing following a trial before Justice Navindra Singh at the Demerara High Court in March 2015. The pair short ly after lodged separate ap peals against their convictions and sentences at the Court of Appeal of Guyana, which in August 2021, affirmed their convictions but reduced their prison term to 45 years each. Dissatisfied with that de cision, they challenged the lo cal appellate court’s ruling at the CCJ, asking it to deter mine (i) whether their con victions were unsafe and (ii) whether the Court of Appeal of Guyana’s variation of their sentence to 45 years was man ifestlySmall,excessive.through his law yers, primarily argued that due to the prejudicial nature of the evidence, Justice Singh erred when he refused his ap plication, without giving rea sons, for the joint indictment to be severed, allowing for him and Shareema-Gopaul to have separate trials. The prejudicial evidence had to do with the prosecu tion’s main witness, Simone De Nobrega, who was also a cellmate of Shareema-Gopaul. De Nobrega had testified that the murder convict told her that it was Small who had killed her daughter by bash ing her head with a piece of wood.In relation to Small, there were three matters of evi dence: reports that he had sex ually assaulted the young girl, a pair of dumb-bells belonging to him that were found with the suitcase in which Neesa’s body was found, and his state ment that he did not murder her but he knew who did. Before the CCJ, the prose cution had contended that be cause the dumbbells found at the crime scene belonged to Small, this implicated him in the gruesome murder. Plot to kill Neesa As it relates to ShareemaGopaul, the CCJ said that the testimony of De Nobrega, who was at the time awaiting trial for offences related to obtain ing credit by false pretense, was that she met ShareemaGopaul in the lock-ups where the latter confessed her and Small’s role in Neesa’s mur der. De Nobrega testified that Shareema-Gopaul told her that she and Small had an extra-marital affair and that Small eventually encouraged her to kill her husband, Javed Gopaul, and she did by poi soning him. She further tes tified that Neesa subsequent ly found out about her father’s poisoning, made a report to the Police, and later talked about pursuing that report. As a result, ShareemaGopaul and her lover made plans to kill her daugh ter. On the day of the mur der, Shareema-Gopaul was driving her two daughters and Small in a car along the Linden-Soesdyke Highway. While the younger daugh ter was asleep, Small began strangling Neesa in the car. Her mother then stopped the car on a trail where Small took Neesa out of the car and bludgeoned her on the head with a piece of wood before placing her body in the car’s trunk.They then left the scene of the crime, leaving Neesa’s life less body overnight in the ve hicle.Shareema-Gopaul told her cellmate that on the ad vice of Small, she took person al items that belonged to her daughter from her home, such as her bank book, passport, and religious robe to make it appear as though the teen had run away. She also told her cellmate that she took a pair of dumb-bells that Small had given her and a length of rope to attach the weights to the suitcase in which they had planned to place her daughter’s body to keep it sub merged.Thelovers returned to the scene the next day and stuffed the girl’s body in the suitcase with the personal items before submerging it in a creek by weighing it down with dumb bells and rope. Gravely prejudiced In delivering its majority judgement, the CCJ strongly stated that De Nobrega’s ev idence should not have been placed before a jury trying the case against Small, and that it was a question for the jury whether they believed she was truthful in telling them what Shareema-Gopaul told her, and also how much of her story they believed. The regional court rejected the prosecution’s argument that the sexual assault allegations provided a motive for Neesa’s killing as it was “pure specu lation” that Small had the mo tive to kill her to avoid being prosecuted for sexual assault.
…evidence by mother’s cellmate “gravely prejudiced” Jarvis Small
It’s a good thing President Ali’s a citizen of Guyana…with the amount of time he’s been spending abroad to either defend or sell Guyana, he might be risking his residence status!! But hold it!! Unlike the Yanks, we don’t have Residence Status, where a Green Card gives us probationary citizenship, do we?? Maybe we should initiate something like that though…after the President had to defend our Local Content Secretariat’s refusal to certify Ramps Logistics on his visit to Trinidad to participate in their Agri-Investment Forum. Now, this takes a lot of chutzpah, doesn’t it?? Imagine this Trini Company snags the bulk of the logistics contracts from Big Oil by claiming they’d complied with our local content law. And has the brass balls to go to the media to complain that they’re being given a run around that they don’t qualify, since they don’t have the requisite percentage of ownership in Guyanese citizens’ hands. Then they’re forced to concede that he thought he was clever to’ve placed 51% of the shares of his local company with a “Guyanese” who’s merely born of a Guyanese parent but has never lived in Guyana – or has any intention of doing so!! Now, who did he think he’s fooling?? Maybe that’s why we should now formally impose that residency requirement!! But you know what?? Like the typical Trini, they figure we’re just a bunch of hicks – like the Guyanese who flooded Trinidad when Burnham had wrecked our country and we had to escape by any means necessary!! Well, this time nah lang time!! And we won’t be insulted anymore by the likes of Kamla, who asked snarkily at a Caricom meeting if the rest of the territories thought Trinidad was an “ATM machine”!! But what made matters weirder was that - as Pres Ali informed his inquisitors – most of the foreign investors raking in business from our fledgling oil industry are Trinis!! And THEY still haven’t removed all the barriers in their laws that prevent Guyanese from shipping our goods to their country!! Take, for instance, pharmaceuticals: They have hundreds of rules that discriminate against our products, not the least being their customs inspectors being in cahoots with Trini pharma companies. And so on and so forth!! Rowley now says all those barriers are being removed. But your Eyewitness doesn’t trust those Trinis farther than he can throw them. And have you seen those Trinis?? They’re not Number 3 in the World Obesity Rankings for nothing!! Can’t even throw them an inch!! So, at their AgriInvestment Forum, your Eyewitness hopes we don’t give away our land. They have oodles of that factor of production after shutting down sugar!!
Neesa Gopaul’s murder CCJ frees stepfather, upholds mother’s conviction but reduces jail time
SATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM 8 NEWS
Bully Further, the Vice President bashed the Opposition Leader for also trying to bully the GECOM Chair by calling for her resignation. In fact, he re called that on two recent oc casions, Norton had made some threats against Justice Singh – something, which he outlined, has not been con demned.“I’ve seen him on sev eral occasions say some of the most disparaging things about the Chair of GECOM. But what both ered me the most is that on two occasions, he has issued a not so veiled threat to the Chairman of GECOM and I’m shocked that civil soci ety and the international community has not respond ed to“Thatthis.”Norton has threat ened on more than one oc casions, the Chairwoman of GECOM, the head of an independent statutory body because he’s not hap py with her. He’s threat ening that if she’s not re moved, she’d have to face some consequences and not a single member of civil so ciety, the conscience of the country, nor anyone from the international communi ty has called him out on this threat,” Jagdeo asserted.
PPP in “readiness mode” for LGE...
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo
Govt ironing
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PAGEFROM 3
Nevertheless, he dis closed that Government would be writing to every international organisation to expose the Opposition Leader’s threats to the GECOM Chair. In response to the Opposition’s claims that she sides with the Governmentnominated Commissioners on the Elections Commission, Justice Singh told reporters last Tuesday that she always acts in con formity with the laws of Guyana.TheChairperson was ad amant that with her back ground as a former Judge, she always endeavours to make decisions fairly. “I am not aware that I do something like that. Anything I do, I do in accor dance with the law. And I try, as a former Judge, I al ways try to uphold the rule of law. But there will be crit icisms.”“Ifyou sit on the bench and you make an adverse decision, the party that los es would say you’re biased, you take a bribe, whatev er. So, there’s always a way they can criticise the deci sion. That’s up to them,” she asserted.Further, Justice Singh went on to add that “when the time comes, I will leave”.
– VP
“This is where we may have some delay, because we now need to determine the fiscal terms for the new prospecting licence. This brings me to that very, very contentious issue that we’ve had in the public domain: which is, the fairness of the contract and what the future take for Guyana will be; be cause the prospecting licenc es that will have to be issued to the successful bidders will have to outline those terms, and so it will say wheth er we will retain the 50/50 model; that is, after pre paring costs, the profit oil will be divided equally be tween the investor and the Government; what the roy alty rate will be, [and] what will be the other fiscal terms in the contract,” he stated. According to the Vice President, these details, though contentious, need to be determined very early, and so Government is swift ly working on a number of pieces.“[We are] trying to put all of this together in a frame work that is fair to the inves tor, so that they get a decent return on their capital. And that would promote acceler ated exploration, and then thirdly, importantly, would allow the country to enjoy a greater share of future ben efits, should we then pro ceed with production agree ments. So, this is a major issue that could slow down the auction a bit…the fiscal terms of the petroleum pros pecting licence that would have to be issued to a suc cessful bidder. That is the one that may be a bit more contentious, and that we’re working through at this stage,” Jagdeo posited. Working swiftly Despite that delay, how ever, Government is work ing swiftly to ascertain other aspects of the process before moving ahead with the auc tion. out fiscal terms before auctioning off remaining oil blocks
9 SATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM NEWS
The Guyana Government has now shifted auctioning of the remaining oil blocks off shore to year end, in order to facilitate the determination and completion of the fis cal terms that would be out lined in the new prospecting licence model for those ven tures.This is according to Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo during a press con ference on tion.availablecessfulwouldprospectingandfortsdelayedthatbutinhighly-anticipatedwasInitially,Friday.GovernmentexpectedtoholdtheauctionSeptemberofthisyear,VPJagdeoexplainedthatprocesshasbeenduetoongoingeftoironoutthetermsconditionsofthenewlicencesthatbesignedwithsucbidderswhentheblocksgoonauc
Dead: Andrew Newyear
10 SATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM NEWS
Arrested: Rawle Franklin
Arrested: Emmanuel Hale
Bandit dies 1 day after being shot by Police
Andrew Newyear, one of four bandits arrest ed by the Police on Thursday morning during a dramatic apprehension and rescue of a driver at Vryheid’s Lust Railway Embankment, East Coast Demerara (ECD), has died. Guyana Times under stands that Newyear died on Thursday evening while receiving treatment at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC).Ofthe four bandits ar rested by the Police in that incident, Newyear and Rawle Franklin were the two characters known to the Police. They both sustained gunshot injury during the ordeal, while their two oth er accomplices, Hamza Samuels and Emmanuel Hale, were Accordingarrested.to Police, Joshua Singh, a driver at tached to the Shamo Taxi Base at Vryheid’s Lust, Railway Embankment, East Coast Demerara, was res cued from the trunk of his car, which was hijacked by the four bandits. Singh told investigators he was in the driver’s seat of his uncle’s car, PSS 2705, when he was approached by three men, one of whom pointed a gun at him and ordered him out of the car. He said he complied, and the men ordered him to go into the trunk of the car, where they locked him in. He said that soon after, he felt the car crash into something, and thereafter he heard loud explosions, suspected to be gunshots. Police said that ranks at the Brickdam Operations Room had received a tele phone call that a white Allion with several per sons inside had committed a robbery on Lamaha Street, Georgetown. As a result, an ti-crime patrols were alert ed, and one of the patrols observed the motor car in question driving along the Agricola Access Road. That anti-crime patrol attempt ed to intercept the vehicle as it reached the Two Brothers Gas Station, but it sped away, resulting in the patrol pursuingAccordingit. to the Police, the car was travelling at a fast rate of speed when it suddenly made a turn onto Hunter Street to head in the direction of Mandela Avenue. The driver report edly lost control of the vehi cle, and it collided with the barriers and came to a stop. As such, four males then ex ited the car and began to run away from the scene. Rank said shots were fired by the men getting away, and they discharged a round in the men’s direction. A search was later conducted in the area, and Franklin was seen lying on the parapet bleed ing from injuries he had sus tained, while his accomplice Newyear was seen lying in a nearby yard with injuries. A 9mm pistol with a magazine containing three live rounds of matching ammunition was found at the scene. Franklin and Newyear were escorted to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where they were both receiv ing medical attention under Police guard, until Newyear passed away later in the evening.Last year, Newyear was arrested after being accused of stealing a motorcycle and evading the court for six months. Police are also ac cusing the suspects of car rying out several robberies on Wednesday night, prior to kidnapping Singh and hi jacking his car. (G9)
Arrested: Hamza Samuels
Hijacking, robbery spree
6 Freed: Valensia Carmichael FROM PAGE 8
It also decided that Justice Singh delivered an adequate warning, and the jury would have got ten the sense he was telling them to be careful in decid ing whether to believe De Nobrega. Manifestly excessive In addressing the sen tence handed down by the trial court, the CCJ held that the 106-year sentence imposed on ShareemaGopaul, with a starting point of 60 years, exceeded the life expectancy of a hu man being and was grossly disproportionate and mani festly excessive. It pointed out that how the trial court went about sentencing was contrary to the constitutional guaran tee of a fair hearing by an independent and impartial court as the disproportion ate and excessive penalty imposed was tantamount to inhuman and degrading punishment.Herresentencing by the Court of Appeal of Guyana was also reviewed. The regional court was keen to note that the local appellate court did not dis count pretrial custody in ac cordance with its guidance in Da Costa Hall v R. According to the CCJ, the sentence itself of 45 years, though not as gross ly disproportionate as the trial judge’s sentence, was still manifestly excessive, and the Court of Appeal did not indicate the period of in eligibility for parole consis tent with certain legislative intent.Inthe case at bar, the regional court noted that there were unique aggra vating factors, in that it was the murder of a child by her parent which was associ ated with the vulnerability of a minor, the betrayal of trust and responsibility by a parent, and the degree of violence used to commit the offence including the wan ton disregard for the per sonhood of the minor. Re-sentencing In tothereShareema-Gopaul,re-sentencingitfoundweregoodreasonsincreasetheupperlimit of the starting range to 22 years and to select a start ing point at the upper end of the new range. The Court then identi fied these considerations which would justify a stage two uplift relative to the commission of this offence: (i) there was a special re lationship of trust and re sponsibility; (ii) the degree of blunt force to the head; (iii) the method of disposal of the body; and (iv) the lack of any remorse by the moth er, and any evidence of mo tivation to murder her child. It also considered that it had appeared from the re cord that Shareema-Gopaul had no prior convictions, and she was at the time of sentencing undergoing re habilitation.TheCCJtermed these as “potentially mitigating cir cumstances”, adding that it also considered a special cir cumstance, the public inter est in the welfare and pro tection of Havingminors.regard to all these factors, it held that uplift of between five to eight years was justified and found that a fair and just sentence of imprison ment is 30 years with pa role eligibility not before 15 years would meet the peno logical objectives of sentenc ing. After the court deduct ed five years for the time the mother spent in pretrial custody, her final sentence stood at 25 Deliberatingyears.on the mat ter were CCJ President Justice Adrian Saunders and CCJ Judges Maureen Rajnauth-Lee, Jacob Wit, Denys Barrow, and Peter State.appearedCounselProsecutionsGossai.at-LawrepresentedwhileLeanderHughes,RonaldJamadar.Attorneys-at-LawDaniels,NigelandNarissarepresentedSmallShareema-GopaulwasbyAttorney-ArudranauthDirectorofPublic(DPP)SeniorShalimarAli-Hackonbehalfofthe
A mother of six, who had pleaded guilty to trafficking mari juana and was sentenced to three years’ imprison ment, was freed on Friday following a ruling by the Demerara Full Court. Valensia Carmichael, 39, of Heatburn Village, East Bank Berbice, was impris oned in 2019 by Magistrate Peter Hugh after admitting to trafficking 848 grams (1.8 pounds) of marijuana. Police Headquarters had said that the marijuana was found in a barrel at a home where the woman lived along with other persons on April 18, According2019. to reports, Carmichael and 10 others were arrested during a stop and search operation in the New Amsterdam Station district between 04:00 and 08:30h on April 18, 2019 Shortly after she was sen tenced, Carmichael through her lawyers, Tuanna Hardy and George Thomas, filed an appeal against her con viction and sentence with the Full PendingCourt.the hearing and determination of the ap peal, she was admitted to bail.Arguing that Magistrate Hugh erred in law by fail ing to consider the “unam biguous and voluntariness” of their client’s guilty plea, the lawyers asked the Full Court to quash her sentence andTheyconviction.contended that the mother of six pleaded guilty because her children were being held at the Police Station.“When the unrepresent ed [Carmichael] informed the Court that her two chil dren were at the Police Station as a part of the plea in mitigation that the ques tion arises as to whether the plea is a genuine, true, un ambiguous, and unequivocal plea or one which arises out of concern for the well-being of the two children who at the material time of the plea were at the Police Station and nothing stopped the Learned Magistrate from so enquiring,” her lawyers sub mitted.In the circumstances, they argued that the presid ing Magistrate failed to con sider the peculiar nature of the case, and passed an ex cessive sentence together with a fine. In allowing Carmichael’s appeal, the Demerara Full Court comprising Justices Sandil Kissoon and Brassington Reynolds, set aside her conviction and three-year prison sentence. (G1) Concerning the dumbbells found at the crime scene, the CCJ found that there was no evidence that Small had retained posses sion of the articles to have placed them with the teen ager’s body. In addition, the CCJ fur ther found that “it was im possible” to conclude that because Small said he knew about the girl’s killing that “he was the killer”. “As these were the only matters of evidence against Small, the court was sat isfied that the trial Judge [Justice Singh] should have upheld the submission that there was no case for Small to answer and directed his acquittal. The paucity of ev idence against Small would have been apparent at the beginning of the trial when the application was made by Small for a separate trial and when it was clear that evidence of a confession that [Shareema-Gopaul] had made to a cellmate was in admissible against Small and would be highly preju dicial to him,” the CCJ held. “This made it an excep tional case where the trial Judge ought to have direct ed that there would be sep arate trials,” the CCJ said adding “Small was gravely prejudiced by the joint tri al because he was convicted on the strength of evidence which was completely inad missible against him.” Given Neesa’s items that were found with her body, the CCJ rejected her mother’s argument that there was no material evi dence connecting her to her daughter’s killing. The court held, “a jury could reason ably find [they] came from [Shareema-Gopaul’s] home and were provided by her.”
CCJ frees stepfather, upholds mother’s...
11 SATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM NEWS
The girl’s murder had sent shockwaves through out the country.
Court overturns 3-year drug trafficking conviction for mother of
Replacing the percent age of imported food with local produce might create objections in the population, but it will ul timately make the Caribbean independent against inter national obstacles to acquire goods during crises. This was the position shared by Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr Keith Rowley during the open ing of the Agri Investment Forum and Expo. The Trinidadian Prime Minister shared that to carry a 25 per cent production rate in the region, it would mean replacing supply from outside the region. While this is antic ipated to create competition and bring about objections in the population, it will secure the region against challenges to sourcing food during inter national crises. Dr Rowley recollected in stances where Trinidad has faced hiked prices and the issue of preferential treat ment in the past when it was in need of supplies. The Caribbean carries a weighty food import bill of US$6 bil lion per annum, creating de pendence on other countries for basic food supplies. “We are required to re place our supply from outside of the Region. To do that, it would mean that those who are engaged comfortably, his torically and supply us from outside the Region could face new conditions. The new con ditions would be competi tion from what we are pro ducing locally. And do not be surprised if there would be among our populations, objec tions to local supply replacing imported supply. But if we do not aim to replace the import ed supply, then we are con demning ourselves to the va garies of the ups and downs of the international market and we will not be able to look af ter ourselves,” he voiced. The concept of eating what you grow and growing what you eat, Dr Rowley contended, will prove useful in the coming years and curtail the harsh re alities in supplying the Region with food from abroad. “We have to spend some time and resources in the head, teaching what we have lost. We took those things for granted. We have to make them fashionable again in the context of eat what you grow and grow what you eat. If you do that, you can insulate your self from a world that is harsh, unfriendly and quite disre spectful to people like us.” At the level of Caricom, he said Governments need to push forward this agenda to cushion from the “harsher months and years ahead”.
New approach Meanwhile, Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley sought to highlight the need for Caribbean house holds to adopt a new ap proach to nutrition and con suming what is produced locally to support the market. At the same time, she said Governments have a respon sibility to make food accessi ble and affordable. “We have to start eat ing what we grow and grow ing what we eat. And we have to do it, not only because of the economic requirements but because of the health re quirements…The reality is we don’t have a choice. Therefore, for the first time, we have the opportunity of production matching what we absolutely need.”She added, “We are fac ing a pivotal moment in Caribbean civilisation and it is up to us, not just as lead ers but as Caribbean people to embrace this opportunity and to ensure while others may be wondering what to do and how they are going to get through it, we have planned, we have secured. We have understood the battle both at the level of the smallhold er and large production enti ties to transform ultimately the production and agro-pro cessing.Inhis remarks, President of Suriname, Chandrikapersad Santokhi focused on emerging opportunities and bankable investments, adding that ag riculture is now at crossroads. “While we recognise the challenges, we must focus on the opportunities. The need for a complete transforma tion and realignment of the Region’s food system has nev er been so urgent. This re quires us as a Region to press the reset button as it relates to agriculture finance, rural infrastructure development, climate-smart agriculture, water management and use, agri-technology, cross bor der investments, fisheries, in tra-regional trade and food security,” the Surinamese President shared. The theme if the expo is, “Transforming Agriculture through Innovation and Investment” and it will con clude on Sunday.
Replacing imports will ease challenges to source food during global crises – PM Rowley
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Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley Trinidadian Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley
Surinamese President Chandrikapersad Santokhi
100
In an effort to support survivors of domestic abuse, the Massy Group of Companies has launched a $1.5 million Women’s Grocery Voucher Programme which would benefit 100 women.Dubbed “SAFE – Stop Abuse, Stay Empowered,” – this programme was launched on Friday, August 19, at the Massy Distribution Headquarters at Montrose, East Coast Demerara. Under this initiative, which is be ing undertaken in collabo ration with the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security (MHSSS), each of these 100 women would re ceive a grocery voucher val ued at $15,000. The project aims to assist women who are in abusive situations, and the MHSSS would screen and identify those 100 recipients. Senior Vice President of the Massy Group, Navindra Thakur, spoke about the Group’s corporate social re sponsibility projects rolled out over the years with specif ic intention to empower wom en, and committed the Group to continuing the SAFE gro cery voucher programme in the years ahead. He said that, over the years, the company has not been big on publicising its humanitarian works done to support suicide prevention, mental awareness and do mestic violence, but the pub lic would be seeing the works of the company, as the com pany is committed to dis charging its corporate social responsibility.“Wewant to ensure that people know what we do, so you’re going to see us in the press, you’re going to see us all over the place. Not be cause we’re now doing things, but we’re showing the pub lic that Massy has been do ing and is very committed to what we call the corporate so cial responsibility,” Thakur said during brief remarks at the event launching the gro cery vouchers initiative. HSSS Minister Dr Vindhya Persaud expressed excitement at the programme being off the ground, and said it is something she had al ways wanted to see executed. She said, “I am very hap py to have this collaboration with Massy, as it ensures that an initiative that I have long wanted to happen real ly manifest, in the sense that we are able to provide survi vors of domestic violence with the wherewithal to provide for themselves, with our sup port, when they are leaving theirFinancialhomes.” abuse occurs in almost every domestic abuse situation, and because of this, many people in such situations cannot provide for themselves; thus, they find it difficult to leave, the Minister explained.Minister Persaud said Massy’s financial contribu tion would help survivors to procure basic needs when they“Whenleave. somebody is in a really dark [situation], they’re thinking, ‘if I go out there, I leave familiarity, and I go out there or into what I hope is a better space and a place for me, what am I get ting?’“And so there came SAFE – Stop Abuse, Stay Empowered. And so, every woman who needs it will have access to a voucher to the worth of $15,000 as part of their survival kit,” the Minister has said. Further, she noted that the MHSSS would contin ue to seek more support for those affected by domestic vi olence.Meanwhile, Massy’s Assistant Vice President and Head of the Group’s Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Steering Committee, Christpen Bobb-Semple, shared that the objectives of the SAFE grocery voucher programme are twofold. The first objective is to empow er women by bringing them immediate relief, so they do not have to second guess and subject themselves to abusive and at-risk situations. The second objective is to provide counselling to women to engender positive coping behaviours. He also shared some of the activities the Group has embarked upon for 2022.Thevouchers are redeem able at any of the five Massy Stores located at Providence, Plantation Turkeyen, Montrose, Vreed-en-Hoop, and Ruimveldt.
From left: CEO of Massy Gas, Lekhnarine Shivraj; Snr Vice President of Massy Group, Navindra Thakur; Human Services and Social Security Minister Dr Vindhya Persaud; Assistant VP, Massy Group, Christpen Bobb-Semple; Permanent Secretary of the MHSSS, Shanielle Hoosein-Outar; and Gender Based Violence Specialist Dr Cona Husbands domestic abuse survivors to benefit from Massy’s grocery vouchers
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(G2) All COVID-19 positive persons must quarantine – Minister to employers GUYANA COVID-19 DASHBOARD AUGUST 19, 2022 UPDATE GET MEDICAL ADVICE ON COVID-19 FROM MOH 24/7 HOTLINE NUMBERS: 2311166; 226 7480; 624 6674; 624 2819; 624 3067 OR 180/181. NUMBER OF NEW CASES 44 NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL ISOLATION 12 NUMBER OF PERSONS IN HOME ISOLATION 451 NUMBER OF PERSONS IN COVID-19 ICU 2 NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL QUARANTINE 1 TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (FEMALES) 38,352 TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (MALES) 32,436 TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES IN GUYANA SINCE 2020 70,788 NUMBER OF RECOVERED CASES 69,045 TOTAL 1st DOSE VACCINATED 445,650 FULLY IMMUNISED 345,342 TOTAL NUMBER OF DEATHS 1278 DISTRIBUTION OF TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES SINCE MARCH 2020 REGION 1 2684 REGION 2 3123 REGION 3 8712 REGION 4 35,217 REGION 5 2567 REGION 6 6875 REGION 7 2650 REGION 8 917 REGION 9 4331 REGION 10 3712 HERE IS HOW YOU CAN BE SAFE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC Wear a face mask. Keep a physical distance of at least 6 Washfeet. your hands or use handIfsanitizeryouhave any symptoms, call the COVID-19 Hotline. Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony
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Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony has warned that all per sons who test positive for the novel coronavirus should quarantine as he addressed claims of employees being asked to work even though they have tested positive. Dr Anthony on Friday said that there are national guidelines as it pertains to persons who test positive for COVID-19. He noted that if someone tests positive for the virus, they should iso late themselves so as not to infect others, especial ly if they have contracted the subvariant of Omicron, BA.5, which is highly trans mittable.“There are national guidelines as it pertains to people who have tested posi tive. So, if you’ve tested pos itive, you have to isolate, so as not to infect others, espe cially with this particular subvariant of the Omicron, BA.5. It is highly trans mittable. So, if you’re next to someone who is infect ed with BA.5 and you are not wearing your mask or taking the relevant precau tions then you would get in fected,” the Health Minister said.“So, it is advisable that persons who have test ed positive to isolate from others so as to prevent the spread. If people are ig noring that and they go to work, they would, obvious ly, be spreading the virus in the workplace,” Dr Anthony warned. New cases Meanwhile, there have been 44 new COVID-19 cas es recorded in the last 24 hours, taking the number of active cases to 465 in the country. Guyana’s confirmed cases now stand at 70,788. An analysis shows one new case in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), 11 in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), 21 in Region Four (DemeraraMahaica), two in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), two in Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne), three in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), and four in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).Regions One (BarimaWaini), Eight (PotaroSiparuni), and 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) saw no increase in cases. From the dashboard, 12 persons are in institutional isolation, 451 in home iso lation, one in institutional quarantine, and two in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU). No vaccine shortage Meanwhile, Dr Anthony debunked accusations that there is a shortage in sec ond-dose vaccines for adoles cents. The Health Minister said that there are enough second-dose vaccines, spe cifically Pfizer vaccines for those who have already tak en the first dose. “We have adequate amounts of Pfizer vaccines,” the Minister confirmed, “and whatever you get as your first dose it is the same vaccine that is used as the second dose. So, we have enough vaccines so that any one requiring a first dose, or a second dose; we have enough at the various vacci nationThesites.”Health Minister not ed that maybe people are under the misconception that there are two different vaccines being administered to one“It’sperson.nota different vac cine. I think people are under the misconception that it’s two different vaccines. It’s not two different vaccines.” He said that the first dose vaccine is the same as the second dose vaccine and reiterated that there is no shortage of vaccines for any ageLatestcohort.vaccination num bers show that, so far, 445,650 or 86.9 percent of adults have taken a first dose, while 345,342 or 67.3 percent are fully vaccinated. For adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17, 35,523 or 48.7 percent have re ceived a first dose. Second doses stand at 26,028 or 35.7 percent. Vaccines are also available for children with in five to 11 years, whereby 7581 persons or 7.4 per cent have taken the first dose. Additionally, 2730 or 2.7 per cent have received a second jab. Meanwhile, in excess of 72,000 persons have returned for their first booster dose.
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certifies
Two compa nies in Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam) were certified by the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) on Thursday under its Made in Guyana Certification Mark Programme at Pomeroon Oil Mill Charity, Pomeroon, Essequibo Coast. The companies are Pomeroon Oil Mill Inc and Henvil Farm.
The event was also at tended by the Prime Minister’s Representative in Region Two Arnold Adams, President of the Essequibo Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ECCI) Sueann Sewnarayan, Vice Chairman of the Region Two Regional Democratic Council Humace Oodit and Communications Specialist at GMSA Travis Bruce. (G2) GNBS Executive Director (ag) Ramrattie Karan handing over the Certificate to General Manager Ronald Abrams in the presence of GNBS Technical Officer Latchman Mootoosammi; Tourism, Industry & Commerce Ministry Communication Officer Cordell McClure; GMSA President Rafeek Khan, Technical Advisor at Pomeroon Oil Mill Inc Dindial Sookhoo, and General Manager Eric Gomes
GNBS 2 Region 2 companies with “Made in Guyana” mark
Executive Director (ag) Ramrattie Karan handing over the Made in Guyana Certificate to proprietors of Henvil Farm Henry DaSilva and Vilma DaSilva
Executive Director (ag) at the GNBS, Ramrattie Karan lauded both compa nies for meeting the quali ty requirements of the pro gramme. She added that they will enjoy a competitive advantage in the local and international markets. At a simple ceremo ny, Communication Officer Cordell McClure, who was representing Tourism, Industry & Commerce Minister Oneidge Walrond, noted that the Made in Guyana Standards Mark will add to branding of local products.“Itallows the product to be identified as one that is consistent, one that is ex emplary and one that is rep resentative of the kind of standard that is expected globally,” he Pomeroonsaid.Oil Mill Inc was granted certification to use the prestigious mark on its Golden Brook Coconut Oil and its JUV Fragrance Oil.The company’s General Manager, Ronald Abrams, on receiving the certificate, noted that the achievement of certification is a proud moment for all employees. “This here is just the begin ning,” he stated as he sig nalled intention to pursue the implementation of more standards and quality. Present at the event was President of the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) Rafeek Khan, who congratulated the companies for moving to produce value-added prod ucts which meet quality re quirements.“Themark will help this company and certainly any other company which are considering it,” he told those gathered.The second compa ny to receive certification – Henvil Farm – is locat ed at Malborough, Lower Pomeroon River. Henvil Farm was established in 2011 and produces bottled coconut water which it also packages for other compa nies.Proprietor of the busi ness, Vilma DaSilva not ed that her company also continues to push for the implementation of more Standards and Quality in its business. “This presentation means a lot to me because I have worked…and the qual ity of coconut water speaks for itself,” she noted.
Berbice Expo and Trade Fair is set for October 14-17 at the Albion Sports Complex on theThisCorentyne.wasannounced by coordinator of the event, Tajpaul Adjodhea, on Friday during the official launch of the event, held at the of fice of the Central Corentyne Chamber of Commerce (CCCC) at Rose Hall Town, Corentyne, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).Thisexpo,returning af ter a two-year hiatus occa sioned by onset of the novel coronavirus pandemic, will feature a wide range of ex hibitors across the manu facturing, services and re tailThisindustries.year’s expo will be themed “Advancing food se curity through agriculture sustainability and innova tion.”
October 14-17
Speaking at Friday’s launch, CCCC President Mohammed Rafeek said 2019 seemed a long time ago.“Our Expo this year is a bit of a cross between the Agri Expo and our regular Expo. If you had gone to the Agri Expo at the Convention Centre - where we had that big gathering of the heads of the Caribbean, where they announced that they are going to reduce the cost of the importation of food to the Caribbean by 25 per cent by 2025 – (you would know) our Expo is focusing this year on agriculture, but also on business, tourism; and we would like this Expo to be one where the partic ipants can see rewards and the merit of going there.” Rafeek has said there is need for Government agen cies to play a big role in the Expo.“We would like the Central Housing (CH&PA) to come in and to be a part of this Expo, so that people going there will be able to make inquiries from them directly how they can be able to access a house lot. This Expo will have benefits for businesses to be able to improveRafeekthemselves.”pointedout that the offices of the CCCC at Rose Hall Town are set in such a way that Government agencies can utilise the premises to meet with busi ness persons and other members of the public. Region Six Chairman David Armogan, who offi cially launched the Expo, noted that the Expo is the largest single event in the Region; one which sees thousands of persons at tending over the four-day period.“Itnot only gives persons an opportunity to display their products, but it also gives families an opportuni ty to take their children and their relatives and friends… It is a family outing besides a Trade Fair, so it is a dou ble whammy,” Armogan noted.Meanwhile, Director of Business in the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, John Edghill, explained that Government would be supporting the Expo in a big way. He chal lenged the organisers to get commercial banks to par ticipate in the Expo, along with major investment play ers and persons who want to partner with others, and not just in Theagriculture.BerbiceExpo and Trade Fair was last held in 2019. That was the event’s 16th edition. (G4)
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Berbice Expo set for
Official launch of the Berbice Expo and Trade Fair 2022 Govt ironing out fiscal terms before... As it is, all of the areas po tentially that will be put out for auction have been iden tified. However, while there are 3D Seismic for some of these areas and 2D Seismic for others, there is no data for some Nevertheless,areas.
VP Jagdeo disclosed that Government is now in the process of mak ing a number of determina tions before August ends, in order to ensure it is in a state of readiness for the auction to occur later this year. This includes deciding wheth er to pursue a strategic Government /private part nership option, or put out all the blocks to be auctioned, or do a combination of both. Moreover, Government would also have to determine, by the end of this month, how to divide the available areas offshore Guyana into poten tial blocks, and what sizes the blocks should be. The Vice President re vealed that Government is seeking international techni cal advice in this regard. Another issue that has to be ironed out before the end of August is deciding on whether to allow existing companies in Guyana, partic ularly United States oil giant ExxonMobil, to participate in the auction; and if so, wheth er there would be a limit to the number of blocks one per son/company could have. “So, these are all the variables [that we are look ing at]. So, the timeline could be adjusted on the ba sis of how swiftly we can resolve this multiple of is sues, and that is what is currently ongoing within the Government, the tech nical work that’s been done. We’re getting some external help to do all of this prepa ration, so when we go to auction we can maximise the benefit to the country,” the Vice President outlined. Meanwhile, he highlight ed that works are also ongo ing behind the scene to de termine whether the 1986 Petroleum Act allows for an auction to be held, as op posed to the ‘first come, first served’ model that has been used in the local extractive industry.“Sowe have to ensure that our legislative regime supports this competitive process for securing future blocks,” Jagdeo stated. Earlier this year, Vice President Jagdeo had dis closed that Guyana had been the recipient of significant interest, particularly from Middle Eastern companies, to partner with the State in developing its remaining blocks. Guyana has long been ex pected to go out and auction oil blocks, both untapped and relinquished. Considering the more-than-30 oil finds that have been made by oil giant ExxonMobil in the Stabroek Block, the country is likely to be in a good posi tion to leverage the value of those blocks when the con text of the global oil and gas industry is considered. The relinquishment clause is typically included in contracts, so that compa nies can relinquish a portion of the block when the re newable period is up, there by allowing other companies to buy into the respective blocks.For the Stabroek and Canje Blocks, operators are required to relinquish 20 per cent of their blocks after the first renewal period; while those of the Demerara and Corentyne Blocks are expect ed to relinquish 15 per cent within this period. The Kaieteur Block’s re linquishment provision is said to be 25 per cent, then 20 per cent by the first re newal; with the Mahaicony and Roraima Blocks at 25 per cent. By the time of the first renewal of the Orinduik Block, the operators are not expected to relinquish any portion. (G8) FROM PAGE 9
Finland’s PM, Sanna Marin Rianna Victoria Mohammed, 26, of Curepe was gunned down while liming in Arima.
Chief Magistrate, Teddy St Louis, Wednesday said the Trinidadian crew of a Barbados-owned vessel had resorted to “excessive use of force” when they sought to have two brothers, includ ing Grenada’s World Javelin champion, leave the vessel lastTheweek.magistrate told the accused men that their ac tions could not be justified although a request had been made for Anderson Peters and his brother, Kiddon, to leave the Harbour Master party boat on August 10. The four men – the cap tain, Noel Cooper, 42; deck hand, John Alexander, 55; and sailors, Mikhail John, 35 and Sheon Jack, 28, had on Monday pleaded guilty to the charges of causing harm and grievous harm to the brothers, including Anderson, who earlier this month won gold at the World Championship in the United States and a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in the United Kingdom. The charges stem from a brawl on board the Harbour Master with video recording posted on social media show ing the athlete being throw into the sea. The Chief Magistrate fined each of the crew mem bers EC$3 500 for causing grievous harm to be paid forthwith or in default jailed for one year. On the charge of caus ing harm with violence they were each fined EC$2 000 also to be paid forthwith or in default, spend six months in jail.The four crew members were among six people origi nally arrested by the police. But on Monday, the prose cution withdrew the charges against 45-year-old sailor, Lance Wiggins, while the other person, 40-year old Abiola Benjamin, who was described as the cruise oper ations manager on the ves sel, also had the charges dropped after video footage was reviewed and the law enforcement authorities in dicated that he was trying to separate the men who were engaged in the scuffle. Apart from the criminal charges, the Trinidadians are also facing a civil law suit with the Javelin cham pion securing the services of attorney Derick Sylvester. According to official court documents sent to the Chief Immigration Officer, the Grenada Ports Authority, and Comptroller of Customs, the Harbour Master ves sel should not be cleared for sailing until they individual ly receive instructions from the Acting Registrar of the Supreme Court. (CMC)
The Social Democrat leader has previously said she was “spending an eve ning with friends” and that the videos were “filmed in private premises”. She ad mitted to having drunk al cohol. In addition to denying taking drugs, she said she did not witness any drug use by any “Neverattendees.inmy life, not even in my youth, have I ever used any drugs,” she saidMarin,Friday. who became the world’s youngest serv ing government leader in December 2019, had faced calls from members of her governing coalition as well as from the opposition to take a drug test after the videos emerged. In December 2021, she came under sustained crit icism after it was revealed she stayed out dancing un til the early hours despite having been exposed to COVID-19. A poll commis sioned by Finnish TV chan nel MTV3 at the time found two-thirds of respondents thought her night out was a “seriousMarin’smistake”.behaviour in the video has nonetheless been criticised by some as inap propriate for a prime min ister, while others have de fended her right to enjoy a private event with friends. Much of the criticism has centred around the fact that she was on duty as prime minister.Atatime when Europe has been unsettled by Russia’s war in Ukraine, Marin has also faced criti cism that her partying could interfere with her ability to quickly carry out her duties if a sudden crisis were to hit Finland.“Ifthere were to be a cri sis situation, I would know about it before midnight on a Saturday evening,” she told reporters, adding that the Finnish armed forces were well equipped to antic ipate any military crisis that might affect the country. Finland, which shares a long land border with Russia, has applied along with neighbouring Sweden to join NATO following Russia’s war on Ukraine. (Al Jazeera)
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The mother said her two sons have been plunged into grief, since Rianna was not just their sister but was like a second mother to them. Mohammed said she intends to seek revenge through prayer. “I will put on my hijab and go down on my knees every night and cry to my God,” she Riannaended.would have turned 27 on October 8. Commenting on one of Rianna’s pictures that had been circulating on social media yesterday, Mohammed wrote, “RIP my first born my princess, you left me without saying good bye your family will miss you forever and love you for ever.”Another person wrote, “Too much bloodshed in this little country now SIP Victoria.”Police are pursuing the case. (T&T Guardian)
Lashing out against pub lic criticism on social media that Rianna had been forced into a certain type of life style after her parents part ed ways, she said, “We are not rich people but we are not hand to mouth either. “People don’t know how much I went without to make sure my three chil dren had everything they wanted. As old as they are now, they only have to say I want…and their father and I will go all out to provide it for Mohammedthem.”
Trinis fined for “excessive use of force”
Defending Rianna’s character against those who were quick to label her, Mohammed said, “My daughter was not a slut. She fell in love with a demon.”
is also a mother to two boys, aged 18 andThe14. headstrong busi nesswoman, who admit ted her throat was raw yes terday after screaming all night on Wednesday, said, “People are saying on social media that she did what she had to do to survive. That is the biggest, nastiest, lie they could have said about my child. My child never needed for anything. She only had to ask. It was the most hurtful thing to say.”
Choosing her words care fully as she spoke of an al leged secret relationship Rianna had been involved in, Mohammed said she had pleaded with her numerous times to leave the married man.“I always told her… Rianna, you are beautiful, you are sexy, you don’t de serveThethis.”mother recalled urg ing her daughter to walk away and to fulfil her dream of marrying and providing grandchildren.Sayingshe and Rianna both had the same fiery per sonalities and often clashed on the issue, Mohammed cried bitterly as she said they were not on speaking terms when Rianna died. The grieving mother shared more intimate de tails regarding Rianna’s clandestine relationship, but said the situation came to a head in March, follow ing which Rianna claimed to have broken it off with the man.However, unknown to her and other relatives, Rianna continued with him. Mohammed said it was only following Wednesday’s killing that she learnt Rianna had disclosed to cer tain relatives and friends that she was being physical ly and emotionally abused and had been subjected to threats, both from the man and others close to him. Still processing the loss of her daughter, Mohammed said, “We cannot have moth er/daughter fights anymore. Like I said before, she was not perfect but her good ways outweighed her bad ways.”Having accepted an of fer for counselling from the TTPS, Mohammed said her daughter being gunned down like a “beast or a bigtime criminal” still feels surreal.Upto 3 pm yesterday, Mohammed said she had not been able to see her daugh ter’s body and she begged, “I need to see my daughter. I need to see her because I don’t know if somebody is lying to me and they just put up her picture…I think ing somebody being cruel and playing a prank on me.”
Finland’s PM takes drug test after party video is leaked
Saying she had spent much to ensure the former Pennywise Cosmetics em ployee completed a cosme tology course, as she always loved to do hair and makeup, Mohammed cried, “That person who took my daugh ter’s life is going to burn in hell.”“Rianna was not a per fect daughter, no human be ing is perfect,” Mohammed whispered, “She was loving. She was a wonderful per son. Yes, she liked to lime and party. What young lady or young man doesn’t?”
Relatives of mur der victim Rianna Victoria Mohammed say the young woman was not promiscuous, but rather loved life, loved to look pret ty and loved to party. Her only mistake, rela tives said, was that, “she fell in love with a Mohammed,demon.”26,of Mc Inroy Street, Curepe, was killed around 9 pm on Wednesday while liming with a male friend at Bolo Trace, Hoyte Avenue, Pinto Road,PoliceArima.said the cosme tologist was in the compa ny of a 37-year-old Coast Guard officer from Chattam when gunmen opened fire on them.Mohammed died on the spot, while the able-bodied seaman was grazed in the neck.Grieving the sudden loss of her eldest child and only daughter yesterday, Nalini Mohammed said while Rianna had never been a model child, she was cer tainly loved and spoilt.
Finland’s prime minis ter said on Friday she had taken a drug test and reiterated she had never used illegal drugs, following the publication of video foot age this week that showed her partying with friends. Sanna Marin, 36, also said her ability to perform her official duties had re mained unimpaired on the Saturday night in question and that she would have left the party had she been re quired to work. The leaked video, which shows Marin dancing and partying with a group of friends and celebri ties, has been shared wide ly on social media and local media, sparking criticism. “In recent days, there have been quite grave pub lic accusations that I was in a space where drugs were used, or that I myself used drugs,” Marin told a news conference.“Iconsider these accusa tions to be very serious and, though I consider the de mand for a drug test unjust, for my own legal protection and to clear up any doubts, I have taken a drug test to day, the results of which will come in about a week.”
Relatives blame ‘demon’ for murder of T&T woman
“No decision has been made by the President about accepting the offered resignation because this unforeseen situation must be carefully considered with all due care and from different angles.”
18 guyanatimesgy.comSATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 2022
Truth Commission faults Mexico military over 43 missing students
The United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) Friday announced that it is providing US$5 million to Haiti as the French-speaking country responds to humanitarian needs triggered by gang vi olence.The assistance comes amidst the killing of hun dreds of people since July in clashes between gangs in Haiti’s Cité Soleil, said the UN humanitarian agency (OCHA) spokesperson, Jens Laerke.Many others have been trapped in the fighting, as gang control over the high ways continues to grow. This has cut off their access to drinking water, food and health“Overall,care. we estimate that nearly 280,000 people are affected by this situa tion” Laerke added. With a current estimat ed population of around 300,000, Cité Soleil is one of the most deprived com munes in Port-au-Prince and its humanitarian needs were huge even before the current upsurge in violence. The UN has said that be tween July 8-17, over 471 people were killed, injured or unaccounted for. It said serious incidents of sexual violence against women and girls, as well as the gang re cruitment of boys, have also beenAroundreported.3000 people have fled their homes, including hundreds of unaccompanied children, while at least 140 houses have been destroyed or burnt down. Last month, Humanitarian Coordinator Ulrika Richardson called on all parties to end the deadly violence and ensure open a humanitarian corri dor to Cité Soleil, describ ing the needs as “immense” and “growing,” as a result of poverty, a lack of basic ser vices, and a recent spike in violence.Ahigh level of insecuri ty is compromising human itarian access to affected people, as well as to basic services such as health and education for between one million to 1.5 million people trapped in son.toneighbourhoods,gang-controlledaccordingtheOCHAspokesper
Cuba will send near ly 500 doctors to the Calabria region of southern Italy, Cuban state media reported this week, part of a broader programme that sends surplus medics from the communist-run is land to countries in need. State-run media outlet Cubadebate said Calabria had been suffering a short age of doctors since 2010, part of a countrywide healthcare crisis, and had been unable to fill the need any other way. “All the regions are try ing their best to hire doctors but are not finding any,” Cubadebate cited Calabrian
Surinamese Finance and Planning Minister resigns
Bahamas ganja farm lands 6 Jamaican men in prison for 36 months
S uriname President Chan Santokhi con firmed on Thursday that Minister of Finance and Planning Armand Achaibersing resigned. Santokhi said Achaibersing stepped aside for “a strictly personal rea son”.In a statement, he said “out of respect for the pri vacy and personal cir cumstances of Minister Achaibersing, this issue has been handled with care”.The resignation let ter was sent to President Santokhi on August 13. “The Head of State has indicated to Minister Achaibersing that the let ter will be treated with the most urgent attention and that the Minister’s personal situation is cer tainly understood,” the President said in a media statement.
In the meantime, the Government asked the pub lic to respect Achaibersing’s private circumstances and await further word on the matter. (Excerpt from Nation News)
Fires around major river torch wetlands, human health in Argentina UN to provide US$5M for humanitarian needs in Haiti
A member of the Peruvian Battalion serving with MINUSTAH guarding a facility on the edge of Cité Soleil and Cité Militaire in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, allowing people to come in and register (Photo: CMC)
(Excerpt from Jamaica Observer) Grassland fires near a key South American river delta pose grave dangers to nearby wet land ecosystems and human health, according to environ mental leaders, just a year after the water level of the once mighty Parana River dropped to a decades low. The wildfires around the major riverside port of Rosario, crucial to trans porting Argentina’s massive grains harvest, have trig gered alarm bells among or dinary residents as well as activists already concerned with prolonged drought worsened by this year’s scarce rainfall and under scoring the consequences of a
Cuba to send hundreds of doctors to Italy’s Calabria region
S ix Jamaican men on Thursday were sen tenced to two and a half years in prison in The Bahamas for the cultivation of more than four acres of ganja in the country. On Sunday, narcot ics Police reportedly ar rested Leroy Douglas, Walford Reid, Jermaine Jones, Devon Simpson, Bruce Palmer, and Everton Palmer after conducting two days of surveillance on the farm in North Andros. The men subsequently pleaded guilty to conspir acy to possess dangerous drugs with intent to sup ply, possession of danger ous drugs and cultivation of dangerous drugs in relation to the four-acre ganja farm that reportedly had 25,000 plants and 20,000 seed lings. The ganja had a street value of US$2.5 million, PoliceMagistratesaid. Samuel McKinney handed down concurrent sentences of two and a half years on each count to the men. Additionally, the convicted men, who had no legal rep resentation in court, were given the option of paying a US$7500 fine or spending an additional six months in prison.The men also pleaded guilty to drug possession in relation to the seizure of four grams of ganja that Police found while search ing their home, and were each fined US$250 or a month in prison. (Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)
Relatives of missing students held posters with their images during a march to mark the sixth anniversary of the 2014 disappearance of 43 students [Henry Romero/Reuters]
President Roberto Occhiuto as saying. “This problem is much more serious in Calabria.”Occhiuto separately con firmed the contract in a vid eo posted on social media. Cuba will send 497 doc tors of various specialties to the region in the com ing months, beginning in September, Cubadebate re ported.Around 40 countries across five continents, in cluding Italy, received Cuban medics during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the island na tion - home to just over 11 million inhabitants - has punched far above its weight in medical diplomacy. Since its 1959 leftist revo lution, Cuba has dispatched its “army of white coats” to disaster sites and disease outbreaks around the world in the name of solidarity. In the last decade, they have fought cholera in Haiti and Ebola in West Africa. Cuba has exported doc tors on more routine mis sions in exchange for cash or goods in recent decades, a top source of hard curren cy. The United States has criticised the programme, saying labour conditions are exploitative, a charge Cuba denies. (Excerpt from Reuters)
warmer, drier climate. The Parana River, South America’s second-longest waterway after the Amazon, saw its water level last year shrivel to its shallowest since 1944, according to official data, due to several drought cycles plus less rainfall in upstream Brazil. Its level re mains very low. A billowing haze caused by the wildfires, many set by farmers prepping the land for new crops, reached Buenos Aires, about 190 miles (300 km) south of Rosario, earlier in the week. The soot in the air provoked the ire of resi dents, with popular weather apps issuing forecasts that simply called for “smoke.”
Regional Atruth commission in vestigating one of Mexico’s worst hu man rights tragedies said that military personnel bore responsibility, either direct ly or through negligence, for the disappearance of 43 stu dents in 2014. The mass disappearance of the students sparked in ternational outrage over im punity in Mexico, and did lasting damage to the ad ministration of then-Pres ident Enrique Pena Nieto, particularly as internation al human rights experts criticised the official inquiry as riddled with errors and abuses.Mexico’s top human rights official, Alejandro Encinas, made a rare offi cial acknowledgement on Thursday that the students did not Encinassurvive.told a news con ference that Government in volvement in the disappear ance – including local, State and Federal officials – con stituted a “State crime”. “Their actions, omissions or participation allowed the disappearance and execu tion of the students, as well as the murder of six other people,” said Encinas, who is heading the commission and is also deputy Interior Minister.Despite extensive searches, the remains of only three students have been discovered and identi fied, Encinas said. The students, from a ru ral teachers’ college, went missing after they had com mandeered buses in the southern state of Guerrero to travel to a demonstration. Encinas said the army was responsible at least for not stopping the abductions because a soldier had infil trated the student group and the army knew what was happening at the time. According to an official report presented in 2015 by the government of Pena Nieto, the students were ar rested by corrupt police and handed over to a drug car tel.The cartel mistook the students for members of a ri val gang and killed them be fore incinerating and dump ing their remains, according to that report, which did not attribute responsibility to the military. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)
Earlier this month, thou sands took to the streets of Rosario to protest the fires, demanding enforcement of laws that forbid them. “Plant life around the riv er delta is terribly damaged,” said Roberto Rojas, the local director of emergency ser vices.He noted that some 28,000 hectares had already been torched prior the most recent fires, while total land lost to the flames has reached as high as 500,000 hectares in recent years. “With the climate like it is, so much wind and no rain, we can only wait to see how this story ends,” added Rojas. (Excerpt from Reuters)
The Hayat Hotel is a popular spot in Mogadishu and is frequented by Government officials and civilians [Somali National News Agency/ Twitter]
Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed officials from the UN’s nuclear watchdog should carry out inspections “as soon as possible” [Pavel Byrkin/Kremlin via Reuters]
Somalia: Attackers seize control of hotel in Mogadishu
Sweden: Man dies in shooting at Malmo shopping centre
Attackers seized con trol of a popular hotel in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, following two car bomb blasts and gunfire. Abdikadir Abdirahman, director and founder of Mogadishu’s Aamin ambu lance services, said late on Friday so far nine wound ed people were carried away from the hotel. “Two car bombs targeted Hotel Hayat. One hit a bar rier near the hotel and then the other hit the gate of the hotel. We believe the fight ers are inside the hotel,” said a police officer, who gave his name only as Ahmed. Two intelligence officers, who did not want to be iden tified, also confirmed the in cident.The al-Qaeda-linked alShabab armed group claimed responsibility for the attack, according to a translation by the SITE Intelligence Group. The assault triggered a fierce gunfight between secu rity forces and gunmen who were still holed up inside the building, said security official Abdukadir Hassan. “We don’t have the details so far but there are casual ties, and the security forces are now engaging with the enemy who are holed up in side the building,” Hassan said. The Hayat is a popu lar spot in Mogadishu in an area where several other ho tels are located, and it is fre quented by government offi cials and civilians. Al-Shabab has been fight ing to topple the Somali gov ernment for more than 10 years. It wants to establish its own rule based on a strict interpretation of Islamic law. Police officers were con ducting an operation aimed at stopping the attack, the state-run Somali National News Agency said on its Twitter account, citing a po lice spokesperson. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)
OPEC is keen to ensure Russia remains part of the OPEC+ group, Al Ghais said ahead of a Sept 5 meeting. Supplies could tighten again when European buyers start seeking alternative supplies to replace Russian oil ahead of European Union sanctions that take effect from Dec 5. “We calculate the EU will need to replace 1.2 million barrels per day of seaborne Russian crude imports with crude from other regions,” consultancy FGE said in a note. Data earlier this week showed US crude inventories fell sharply as the world’s top producer exported a record 5 million barrels of oil per day last week, with oil companies finding demand from European nations looking to replace Russian crude. However, the number of US oil rigs, an early indicator of future supply, was unchanged at 601 this week, according to Baker Hughes Co, as energy companies slowly increase production to pre-pandemic levels with shale oil output in September expected to hit its highest since March 2020. Money managers, meanwhile, cut their net long US crude futures and options positions in New York and London by 18,389 contracts to 154,824 in the week to Aug 16, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said. (Excerpt from Reuters) Oil prices down 1.5% for the week on recession jitters Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed that a team of independent inspectors can travel to the Moscowoccupied Zaporizhzhia nu clear plant via Ukraine. According to French President Emmanuel Macron’s office on Friday, Putin “reconsidered the de mand” that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) travel through Russia to the site, after the Russian leader himself warned fighting there could bring about a “catastrophe”. It specified Putin dropped his demand that the IAEA team travel to the site via Russia, saying it could ar rive via Ukraine. Meanwhile, United Nations chief Antonio Guterres urged Moscow’s forces occupying the Zaporizhzhia plant in south Ukraine not to disconnect the facility from the grid and potentially cut supplies to millions of Ukrainians. A flare-up in fighting around the Zaporizhzhia plant – with both sides blaming each other for at tacks – has raised the spec tre of a disaster worse than in Chernobyl. The Kremlin said in a statement earlier that Putin and Macron agreed offi cials from the UN’s nuclear watchdog should carry out inspections “as soon as pos sible” to “assess the real sit uation on the ground”. Putin also “stressed that the systematic shell ing by the Ukrainian mili tary of the territory of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant creates the danger of a large-scale catastrophe”, the Kremlin added. The warning of a nuclear disaster came just a day after Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Guterres, meet ing in the east Ukrainian city of Lviv, sounded the alarm over the intensified fighting, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged the UN to secure the site. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)
Oil prices steadied on Friday, but fell for the week on a stronger US dollar and fears that an economic slowdown would weaken crude demand. Brent crude futures settled at US$96.72 a barrel, gaining 13 cents. US West Texas Intermediate crude ended 27 cents higher at US$90.77. Both benchmarks fell about 1.5 per cent on the week. Oil briefly jumped in volatile trade on comments by Richmond Federal Reserve President Thomas Barkin who said the drive to raise rates also needs to be balanced with the impact rate hikes are having on the economy. But crude pared gains as investor concerns about upcoming rate hikes settled back in. Strength in the US dollar hit a five-week high, which also capped crude’s gains as it makes oil more expensive for buyers in other currencies. “Although the oil complex has been able to shrug off a strong dollar on any given session, extended strong dollar trends will pose a major headwind against sustainable oil price gains,” Jim Ritterbusch, of oil trading advisory firm Ritterbusch and Associates, said in a note. In a sign of easing oil supply tightness, the price gap between prompt and second-month Brent futures has narrowed by about US$5 a barrel since the end of July to under US$1. The spread for WTI has shrunk to a 39-cent premium from a nearly US$2 premium in late July.
China’s farmers struggle to save crops as heatwave, drought drag on
Around the World OIL NEWS
Putin allows inspectors to visit Russia-held nuclear plant
19guyanatimesgy.com SATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 2022
Naseebullah was hav ing dinner with his four children last week when he heard some noise outside his house. Sensing danger, the 60-yearold’s instincts as a former soldier kicked in. A recent retiree from lev ies forces in Pakistan’s re mote Balochistan province, Naseebullah rushed out of his small mud house in Muslim Bagh town – situat ed about 100km (62 miles) from Quetta, the provincial capital – only to hear a loud crash and the thunder of wa ter gushing towards him. “It had been raining nonstop anyway and we could not leave our house. But when I heard the noise of water rushing towards us, I ran inside the house and yelled to my family to stop everything and immediately leave,” he told Al Jazeera by telephone.While Naseebullah was able to save his family, some of his relatives were not as lucky.“My brother lived next door and he had some rel ative’s children also stay ing with him. As soon as we managed to leave the house, the flood came crash ing down and destroyed my house as well as my broth er’s, taking him and the peo ple inside away,” he said. Pakistan is ranked eighth among counties most vulner able to climate crises despite contributing less than one per cent to global carbon emis sions, according to the Climate Change Risk Index 2021. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) says since the be ginning of the monsoon sea son in mid-June this year, more than 650 people have died across the country and hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced, with no respite from na ture on the horizon. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)
Haitham Al Ghais, the new Secretary General of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, told Reuters he was optimistic about oil demand into 2023.
Rescue workers help residents evacuate from a flooded area caused by heavy rains in Balochistan’s Lasbela district [Hamdan Khan/AP]
“Left with nothing”: Record floods devastate Pakistan province
Aman has died and a woman is in hospital after a shooting at a shopping centre in Sweden, Police say. People at the Emporia shopping mall in the south ern city of Malmo fled in pan ic after hearing around 20 shots being fired, Swedish outlet TV4 said. Police have arrested a teenage boy and believe the shooting is related to gang tensions.Itcomes as Sweden gears up for a general election next month, where gang vi olence tops voters’ concerns. Sweden still has one of the highest rates of gun kill ings in Europe. An official Swedish Government report pub lished last year stated that four in every million inhab itants die in shootings each year in Sweden. In Europe the average is 1.6 people per million in habitants. This year shootings have also spread outside the country’s main cities, as gang violence - which Police say is often related to the shootings - spreads further afield. Poor integration of im migrants, a widening gap between the rich and poor, and increasing drug use are what Police say are the root causes of the violence. Earlier this year the Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson also said a lack of integration had led to gang violence. After a recent spate of shootings in the smaller city of Orebro, the local Police Chief said they now had more gangs - and they had become more violent. “Where maybe 10 years ago they gave someone a beating, they then switched to shooting each other in the legs,” Mattias Forssten told Reuters. “Now they shoot each other in the head.” (Excerpt from BBC News)
As the tinder-dry coun tryside along China’s Yangtze river basin withers under a heatwave that has lasted more than two months, veteran farmer Chen Xiaohua recalled the last severe drought to hit his crops more than 60 years ago. “This year is drier than 1960,” said Chen, 68, from his plot of land in the village of Fuyuan in the rugged ru ral fringes of the Chongqing region in China’s southwest. “The temperature is higher.” Chen’s small plot, sit uated close to the Yangtze river and its tributary, the Longxi, normally relies on fresh water from mountain streams, but that has dwin dled to nothing in recent days, drying out his main crops, which includes sweet potato. “In the past, at this time, August, sweet potato leaves grow very thick,” said Chen, wearing a wide-brimmed hat to protect himself from the fierce sun. “From August to September, sweet potato should bloom.” As many as 66 riv ers across 34 counties in Chongqing have dried up, state broadcaster CCTV said on Friday as weather service data showed a dis trict in the region to be the country’s hottest, hitting 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit).Rainfall in Chongqing this year is down 60 per cent compared to the seasonal norm, and the farmland in several districts is severe ly short of moisture, CCTV said, citing local government data. The local government also said crops in 10 districts were suffering badly. Forced to take emergen cy action to protect the au tumn harvest, China has sent specialist teams to vul nerable regions to better al locate water resources and devise action plans. (Excerpt from Reuters)
CALVINPEANUTSARCHIEAND HOBBES DILBERT guyanatimesgy.com20 SATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 2022
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SOLUTION FOR LAST PUBLISHED PUZZLE (Feb. 20-March 20) (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) (June 21-July 22) (July 23-Aug. 22) (March 21-April 19) (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) (May 21-June 20) (April 20-May 20) (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Personal gain is heading your way. Physical improvements will make you feel good and give you the confidence to speak your mind and follow through with your plans. A change will pay off. A disciplined approach to making de cisions will lead to victory. Refuse to let anyone interfere or confuse you. Stick to your plan and include only those willing to help you reach your objective. Emotions will be difficult to control. Pay attention to how you look and feel, and set up a healthy routine that will help you focus on fitness and spending time with people who live a healthy life style.A change will give you the jolt you need to move forward. Seeing how oth ers live and operate will open your eyes and inspire you to try something new. Consider making home improvements. Use your charm and do what you do best. You’ll drum up excitement and have others willing to follow you wherev er you go. Love and romance are on the rise. Spend time with someone special. Mull over your thoughts before you take action. A difference of opinion will surface if you don’t choose your words wisely. Maintain peace at work and at home. Discipline will keep you out of trouble.Assess matters, then adjust what isn’t working for you. Take control and don’t lose sight of your destination. Socialize, and you will broaden your cir cle of friends. Update your appearance. You may crave change, but don’t jump to conclusions or take a leap of faith without ample evidence that you are fol lowing the best path. Revisit life-chang ing experiences to gain insight into how to proceed.Youare ready to have some fun. Don’t be fooled by someone encourag ing you to do something that isn’t safe or in your best interest. Make personal growth, health and romance your prior ities.Verify information to ensure you ar en’t letting emotions cloud your deci sions. Rethink your motives and wheth er you need to make a change. When in doubt, sit tight and concentrate on health and fitness. Focus on what you want to achieve, and you won’t be disappointed. Look at the possibilities and put your energy where it will bring the highest return. Show love and affection. Problems will mount if you or some one close to you isn’t realistic. Consider what you are doing, then revise your ap proach to encourage others to see the benefits. Self-improvement is favored.
The Los Angeles Lakers' decision to give LeBron James a two-year contract extension worth $97.1million is as much about the player's brand as his ability, says sport finance expert Dan Plumley. James had been entering the final year of a contract worth $44.5m. His new deal includes a player option for the 2024-25 season. The extension takes the 37-year-old to $532m in guaranteed career earnings, which would mean he is the highest-paid player in the history of the league. Despite his increasing years, James is still one of the top performers in the NBA, averaging 30.3 points per game in the 2021-22 season. Speaking to Stats Perform, Plumley admitted he is surprised by the shortterm nature of the deal, not usually seen in US sports, but understands that the brand of the athlete is often as important as the ability. "I think that's now more the case than ever in ev ery professional sport," said Plumley, who is principal lecturer in sport finance at Sheffield Hallam University. "Every team's looking at how they can use their superstars across respective sports. "Of course, it's about - first and foremost - what they can do on the court, on the pitch; it's absolutely still about that. But the other side of it is: ‘What do they bring from a commercial side of things?’, and what's the brand associ ation, and what's the fit like, and how can the club or team leverage some of that against the superstars that they've got.
"It's absolutely the case with LeBron James. Of course it is! But I think it's the case across the board now for a lot of professional teams."With James approach ing 40 by the end of the twoyear deal, and with a histo ry of injuries, there appears to be significant risk in this investment for the Lakers, but Plumley thinks the risk would be worth taking if it produces a championship or two."I think that there's the risk…but there was also the risk of losing him and losing the asset and losing the brand association and the value that somebody like LeBron James brings with the Lakers, and every thing else he's got going on in his personal life as well," Plumley has said. "We know he's connected to Liverpool [Football Club, minority ownership] and the wider network that he op erates in, so there's that at play where you're balanc
R onaldinho has backed Gabriel Jesus to show he is one of the best players in Europe follow ing his transfer to Arsenal, whom he expects to seal a return to the Champions League. The Gunners splashed a reported £45 million to sign the Brazil forward from Manchester City, and Jesus has quickly made an impact, scoring a brace in a 4-2 win against Leicester City last weekend. Jesus's performances have helped Arsenal stand alongside City as the only Premier League sides to win their opening two matches of the season, providing an ear ly boost to Mikel Arteta's hopes of guiding the club to a top-fourRonaldinhofinish. believes Arsenal would not be the only one to benefit, as the legendary Brazilian feels Jesus has now been handed the platform to show he is one of the top players on the continent. "When Gabriel joined Manchester City, I said he would go on to be one of the best players in the world," Ronaldinho told the Mirror. "When he was given a chance, he showed what he was capable of; but at Manchester City he was never shown the love a play er of his quality deserves. "At Arsenal he has been given the chance to be the focal point. He has been shown the love by the coach and the fans, and already he is repaying that. This season, I expect big things from him; he will repay the love shown (to) him by showing he is not just one of the best players in the Premier League, but also in Europe," Ronaldinho has said. With the signing of Jesus, along with the captures of Oleksandr Zinchenko and Fabio Vieira, Ronaldinho is confident Arsenal can secure a return to the Champions League, at the"Arsenalminimum.will get back into the top four this season with the signings they have made. Maybe they can even achieve more, and chal lenge for the title," he add ed. "Manchester City look very strong, and they will be favourites, but in foot ball, anything is possible." (Sportsmax)
Q uickthorn cruised to victory in the Lonsdale Cup af ter three-time winner Stradivarius was forced to pull out before the race with injury. Ridden by Tom Marquand, Quickthorn led from the start, and won by a huge 14 lengths at York's EborStradivariusFestival. - who won the race in 2018, 2019 and 2021 - was withdrawn on the morning of Friday's rac ing at York because of a bruised foot. "I'm pretty blown away by him," said Marquand of 9-4 winner Quickthorn. The five-year-old stayer was second in both the Further Flight Stakes and Sagaro Stakes in April, be fore winning the Group Three Henry II Stakes at Sandown and the Group Two Prix Maurice de Nieuil at Paris Longchamp last month."Obviously, I've ridden him the last few times, and got a really good feel off him at Sandown and in France. When I pulled up in France, I felt like I had a couple of gears left, but ultimately, on these stayers you might be kidding yourself a bit. I could have broken his stride, but what's the point? He's an exuberant stayer with a full tank under him, and we went steady enough that he doesn't overcook it." Marquand added: "You almost wish the big guns were here, to see what might have happened. He also did it on ground that was probably quicker than ideal. I'm hugely excited for what the future might hold, as he's only just getting go ing."Trainer Hughie Morrison said Quickthorn would now be aimed at ei ther the Prix Royal-Oak, the Prix du Cadran (both at Longchamp) or Ascot's Long Distance Cup. (BBC)
LeBron James' deal is about 'brand' as well as ability, says sport finance expert ing the risk. From the play ing side of things, yes, the injury risk is there, but I think the Lakers felt that it was enough to get the next two years, where they could potentially win something again with LeBron, and that risk was far lower than los ing him. I think that's where they've ended up at. "With the NBA, we know that careers can go a little bit later versus other sports. I think when you balance that off, the Lakers have obvious ly arrived at the decision that it's better to keep him now for a couple of years than poten tially lose him." In terms of the wider fu ture of the NBA, Plumley un derstands there is danger in seeing deals increase in size, but believes basketball and other US sports will be safe from significant damage due to their closed nature and draft system. "I think there's always the danger that you see figures like this, and we know that the salary cap is there, and there will always be a limit on this," Plumley added. "But we've seen increases in the salary cap over time, which is not unusual when you think about the amount of mon ey coming in. So, if there's more money coming in, then there's an argument to raise the salary cap. "I think what teams will always be suggesting, and the way that side of things has gone, is that there's an expectation that they need to keep raising the salary cap. And that's always okay if you've got the money com ing in to support it; so, I think that will be the trade-off. "It's always a risk in any professional team sport. They are reliant on broadcasters and they're reliant on com mercial partners to generate that revenue at the league level. And while that's okay and growing, these little in creases in salary caps have been okay. The question al ways is, 'Where's the bench mark?', and if the benchmark has gone higher - because this is the biggest contract we've ever seen - then others will start to look towards that as the new benchmark. And I think that's just the risk in the background that you run. "American sports are a lit tle bit more protected in that sense, because of the nature of their league systems," he said. (Sportsmax) Jesus Quickthorn wins Lonsdale Cup at Ebor Festival
Gabriel Jesus Quickthorn Lonsdale Cup winner Stradivarius misses
has won the
at York
-as three-time
Ronaldinho expects “big things” from Gabriel
21SATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 2022
out - and backs Arsenal for Champions League return
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RankingFederationthethroughcreatedically3x3ofthe partic ipating teams in the re spective categories as at 1 August 2022. Guyana Men’s and Women’s 3x3 na tional teams would compete in the main draw. Guyana Men are placed in Group A, along with Guatemala and the United States, while the Women are placed in Group A, with Colombia and the United States. The GABF will shortlist and register a minimum of four (4) players and a max imum of six (6) players for each team that is eligi ble and available prior to the closing of the registra tion window, 4-27 October 2022.
LGC hosting medal play tournament today GABF confirms FIBA 3x3 AmeriCup 2022 registration
T he FIBA 3x3 AmeriCup 2022 will be played on 4-6 November 2022 in Miami, USA. The event will be played for all registered teams during those 3 days at the same venue, with the competition being split into a qualification draw and a main draw due to the num ber of registered teams. All registered teams will be ranked 1-17 (on the men’s side) and 1-12 (on the women’s side) in the FIBA 3x3 AmeriCup 2022, and will receive the correspond ing ranking points. In ac cordance with Art. 6-75 et seq. of the FIBA Internal Regulations, the teams of the hosting NF and the best-ranked teams in the respective category on 1 November 2021 are quali fied for the main draw. The pools were automat
A fter months with out competition be cause of the uncer tain weather pattern, the Lusignan Golf Club (LGC) will be hosting its first golf tournament today. The format of the game will be Medal Play Better Ball Scramble over 18 holes and shotgun start, and the action will commence at 12:30Forhrs.the medal play for mat, partner handicap cal culation will be 15% of high er partner’s handicap + 35% lower partner’s handi cap. There will also be priz es up for grabs from first to third positions in the form of vouchers.Theteam play will see both players tee off from the teeing area, they will then choose which player’s ball position they will con tinue to play from. Upon selection, both players will play from that position and then select again which po sition to play from. This will continue this way until the completion of the hole. Also, teams must use at least three (3) tee shots from each player over the 18 holes.Allparticipants are ad vised to contact the club’s manager on the day of the tournament to collect their scorecards, pay their tour nament fees, and proceed to their allocated tee boxes to begin playing at 12:30pm. Once on their respective tee boxes, players must await the sounding of the horn or siren as indication to begin teeingPresentationoff. of priz es will be held at the com pletion of the tournament at approx. 5:30pm. All COVID-19 protocols would be in effect.
22 GUYANATIMESGY.COMSATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 2022
Youth Basketball Guyana summer camp to end on August 25th
Part of the action By TimoThy Jaikarran Y outh Basketball Guyana (YBG) con tinue to occupy their calendar with a pletho ra of activities. One such is the YBG summer camp that began on August 8 and would conclude on August 25. According to YBG CoFounder Chris Bowman, after the weeks of intense training, participating ath letes would have a chance to showcase their skills on theBowmancourt. was asked about the current progress of the YBG, and he said, “Currently, we have our bas ketball summer camp go ing on. This is sponsored by our key development part ner, California to Guyana Basketball Foundation. It started on August 8, 2022 and will conclude on August 25, 2022, and will conclude with a challenge series, skills and 3x3 competition. “The camp caters for three sets of skills (from) Monday to Friday: Beginners 6-11, Girls, and intermediate and the ad vanced Boys age group.” Bowman explained that camps such as the one YBG is hosting are very import ant, as they relate to seri ous student athletes and those who want to get in volved in the game of bas ketball. He explained that it would be beneficial as it would further boost an in dividual’s skills during the off-season following a good season of basketball. He said he has noticed a lot of youngsters are seeking to up their game and get in volved in the sport. “Around the world, you would find…programmes such as developmental camps which would allow the first entry point for some, while for others it will offer them to upskill in their ability, so that when they step back on the court in the next season, they will be much more competitive,” he shared.Bowman reiterated that the camps are very import ant, as the YBG summer camp currently has a to tal of sixty persons to date, even as registration is an ongoing process. He relayed that YBG is very happy to provide this kind of ser vice, as YBG is year-round with the goal of develop ing athletes and nurtur ing talent. Hence, outside of the competitive season, the academy/summer camp is year-round, as it aids in developing the athletes over the three-week period.
SCOREBOARD NEW ZEALAND INNINGS (50 overs maximum) Martin Guptill c Brooks b Holder 3 Finn Allen b Holder 96 Devon Conway b Joseph 6 Tom Latham (c)†c Sinclair b Holder 0 Daryl Mitchell c Hosein b Sinclair 41 Michael Bracewell c Brooks b Hosein 6 Glenn Phillips c Pooran b Hosein 9 James Neesham c †Hope b Sinclair 1 Mitchell Santner not out 26 Tim Southee b Sinclair 4 Trent Boult c & b Sinclair 16 Extras (lb 2, w 2) 4 TOTAL 48.2 Ov (RR: 4.38, 221 Mts) 212 Fall of wickets: 1-13 (Martin Guptill, 3.4 ov), 2-30 (Devon Conway, 8.5 ov), 3-31 (Tom Latham, 9.4 ov), 4-115 (Daryl Mitchell, 29.5 ov), 5-150 (Michael Bracewell, 35.2 ov), 6-164 (Glenn Phillips, 39.1 ov), 7-165 (Finn Allen, 40.1 ov), 8-167 (James Neesham, 41.2 ov), 9-181 (Tim Southee, 43.4 ov), 10-212 (Trent Boult, 48.2 ov) Mayers--4-0-21-0;Kyle Jason Holder--9-2-24-3; Alzarri Joseph 10-2-47-1; Akeal Hosein 101-51-2; Yannic Cariah 7-0-260; Kevin Sinclair 8.2-0-41-4 INDIES (Target: 213 runs from 50 overs) Shai Hope †c Allen b Boult 16 Kyle Mayers c †Latham b Boult 0 Shamarh Brooks b Southee 0 Brandon King c Bracewell b Southee 2 Keacy Carty run out (Guptill) 16 Nicholas Pooran (c) b Boult 2 Jason Holder c Guptill b Southee 0 Yannic Cariah c Allen b Santner 52 Akeal Hosein c Southee b Phillips 11 Alzarri Joseph b Southee 49 Kevin Sinclair not out 3 Extras (lb 2, w 8) 10 TOTAL 35.3 Ov (RR: 4.53) 161 Fall of wickets: 1-3 (Kyle Mayers, 0.6 ov), 2-11 (Shamarh Brooks, 3.5 ov), 3-21 (Brandon King, 7.4 ov), 4-23 (Shai Hope, 8.1 ov), 5-26 (Nicholas Pooran, 8.6 ov), 6-27 (Jason Holder, 9.3 ov), 7-55 (Keacy Carty, 19.3 ov), 8-72 (Akeal Hosein, 23.4 ov), 9-157 (Alzarri Joseph, 34.2 ov), 10161 (Yannic Cariah, 35.3 ov) BOWLING: Trent Boult 6-118-3; Tim Southee 7-1-224; James Neesham 5-0-31-0; Michael Bracewell 7-0-33-0; Mitchell Santner 7.3-0-21-1; Glenn Phillips 3-0-34-1
BOWLING:
WEST
NZ vs WI, ODI Series: Game 2 of 3… Allen, bowlers help NZ level Series 1-1
INNINGS
…drivers impressed with condition of track Sheldon Bissessar Miguel Pustam Team Mohamed’s will be the team to beat I t was a night to remem ber for New Zealand even as it turned out to be a night to forget for the West Indies as the Men in Maroon gave away the sec ond ODI at the Kensington Oval. New Zealand were able to storm to victory by 50 runs, compliments of an excellent 96 from Finn Allen and tidy work by the bowl ers, despite Kevin Sinclair bagging his career best fig ures of 4-41 and Yannic Cariah (52) and Alzarri Joseph (49) posing threats as the game progressed. Chasing 213 for victo ry, West Indies were a defi nite shoo- in to take the se ries 2-0, but the Black Caps came with a fighting spir it and were able to repel them. The batting was hor rendous from the get-go, with West Indies failing to hold together any crucial partnership to give them selves a fighting chance. Kyle Mayers was the first to go, followed by Shamarh Brooks and Brandon King. Tim Southee struck twice and Trent Boult once to have West Indies at 3-21 in 7.4 overs. However, things took a turn for the worse when they were further re duced to 6-23 by over 9.3. Keacy Carty and Yannic Cariah had to try and hold their ground, but Carty fell for a defiant 16 off 30 balls. Trent Boult and Tim Southee continued to wreak havoc in the Windies camp, with Cariah and Joseph be ing the only standouts for the West Indies with 52 and 49 respectively. Trent Boult took 3-18, Tim Southee 4-22, Mitchell Santner 1-21 and Glenn Phillips 1-34. Earlier in the innings, New Zealand posted 212 all out in 48.2 overs. Finn
GET WITH THE TIMES Team Mohamed’s are the current holders of the quarter-mile record, which is 7.501 seconds. The sec ond fastest time is 7.515 sec onds, and that is also held by Team Mohamed’s, as is the third fastest time of 7.695 seconds. The first and second record times were created by the Nissan GTR “Godzilla”, while the third record was created by the Pro Mod Meanwhile,car. fans who were unable to pick up their tickets prior to race day would have no worries, since tickets would be on sale on Sunday at the South Dakota Track at Timehri. Tickets for the event cost $2000 for adults and $1000 for kids, while VIP and VVIP ar rangements cost $30,000 and $40,000 respectively.
… Sinclair's 4-41 in vain Allen was the main man, having shown some respon sibility as wickets tumbled around him. He was able to hold the fort until overs 40.1, scoring 96 off 117 de liveries. Darryl Mitchell was the only other batsman with a decent score, 41. The chief tactician for the West Indies was Kevin Sinclair, who collected his career best figures of 4-41, his last five overs proving to be key in deconstructing the Kiwi’s innings.Inthe opening parts of the game, Jason Holder and Alzarri Joseph were on point as they ended with figures of 3-24 and 1-47. Akeal Hosein chipped in with 2-51. Yannic Cariah scored a fighting 52 Kevin Sinclair bowled his career best figures of 4-41 Finn Allen scored 96Trent Boult picked up 3-18
GUYANATIMESGY.COMSATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 2022 23
Trinidadian racers confident ahead of International Drag Meet
All roads will inevi tably be leading to the South Dakota Circuit at Timehri, EBD this Sunday, when the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club (GMR&SC) hosts the year’s second International Drag Race Meet. The circuit will come alive as racers from all across the Caribbean seek to dominate the activities and create some upsets for the local daredevils. The contingent from the twin-island Republic of Trinidad & Tobago is rath er optimistic ahead of the action. Sharing his assess ment of the track, TT racer Sheldon Bissessar has said, “After landing, we decided to come and see what the track is like. It is very impressive; I think we will be able to run the cars pretty hard. The traction looks like it is going to be the way it is supposed to be, so we looking to go and put on a show with the other guys“Wehere.want to go and do some testing and be very well prepared for Sunday, and do something good: good ET’s, good MPH, and put on a big show for the crowd,” he revealed.Further, Bissessar relat ed that Team Mohamed’s GTR is very impressive and the twin-island republic’s drivers will have their hands full, and if they want to cause any upsets, they will have to workThehard. experienced Bissessar has noted that the TT drivers will be bank ing on their experience to try to remain on top despite the stiffAnothercompetition.TTdriver, Kevin Rebiero, who controls the 1JZ RX-7, is impressed with the condition of the track, and is expecting to do better in Guyana that he has done in his homeland. Rebiero is optimistic that his 1JZ will do well in comparison to the other drivers with the 2JZ. “We come to show the 2JZ guys what the 1JZ can do,” he shared. “It is man and machine at the end of the day, and anything can hap pen.”Miguel Pustam, who drives the Rail car, has said he is excited to commence testing. He is convinced that the circuit is in excel lent condition, and he said they intend to give Team Mohamed’s some competi tion.“The facility looks great. We are hoping that the test ing goes well, as the compe tition looks really stiff. It’s going to be a good little com petition for Team Mohamed’s cars, so come out and see it,” he posited.
GUYANA TIMES - www.guyanatimesgy.com, email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, NEWS HOTLINE: 231-8063 EDITORIAL: 223-7230, 223-7231, 231-0544, 225-7761 SPORT: sport@guyanatimesgy.com SALES AND MARKETING: 231-8064 - marketing@guyanatimesgy.com - PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY GUYANA TIMES INC. Sport is no longer our game, it’s our business Kevin Rebiero Trinidadian racers confident ahead of International Drag Meet …drivers impressed with condition of track Youth Basketball Guyana summer camp to end on August 25th Page 22 Page 23 Allen, bowlers help NZ level Series 1-1 …Sinclair's 4-41 in vain Page 23 NZ vs WI, ODI Series: Game 2 of 3…
