Guyana Times - Saturday, May 11, 2024.pdf

Corentyne man nabbed in Suriname slapped with attempted murder charge

GEA to host Electric Vehicle Expo at Tain Campus today

Dharamlall denies sexual assault allegations made by fmr staff

Baracara man charged for fatally shooting farmer in 2023 Kitty youth wanted for murder of teen Electrician gets 3 years for cocaine found in lunch bag

BRIDGE OPENINGS

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

Saturday, May 11 – 04:00h-05:30h and Sunday, May 12 –04:00h-05:30h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Saturday, May 11 –05:50h-07:20h and Sunday, May 12 – 06:25h-07:55h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY

Thundery to light showers are expected to prevail during the day and at night. Temperatures should range between 24 degrees Celsius and 31 degrees Celsius.

Winds: North-Easterly to East North-Easterly between 2.23 metres and 4.92 metres.

High Tide: 06:13h and 18:45h reaching maximum heights of 2.65 metres and 2.40 metres.

Low Tide: 12:18h reaching a minimum height of 0.59 metre.

Pres Ali announces employment opportunities, training, health interventions for Reg 7

– says Bartica to get 2 new mines, call centre being considered

Residents of the mining town of Bartica, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) will soon benefit from training activities to prepare them for full-time employment opportunities along with healthcare interventions.

This was revealed by President Dr Irfaan Ali during a visit to the mining town on Friday.

While addressing residents, the Head of State disclosed that two largescale gold mines were set to come into operation before the end of this year. As a result, he noted that training would be done for full-time employment of more than 700 persons who are needed to work in the mines.

“During the construction phase, we will need approximately 1500 workers and then more than 700 persons [to work in the mines]. I think they're already in discussion with the Mayor [of Bartica] and in discussion with different stakeholders here and that training programme will start very soon.

“So, these are things that we are working on so that we can expeditiously move towards the operationalising of those large-scale mines and the full-time employment of persons,” the President noted.

He further added that some young people from the area have also suggested the establishment of a call centre in the CuyuniMazaruni region. The Guyanese Leader said while this would be looked into, other factors would have to be taken into consideration such as the availability of labour.

“I'm going to ask the technical staff to look at the feasibility of establishing a call centre, ensuring that we have enough persons to be employed because one of the things is that when we are looking for labour, the labour is in very short supply across our country now,” Ali stated.

Food security

According to the Head of State, his Government is working on an ‘economic plan’ for every region across the country and they want to invest in CuyuniMazaruni’s economy to position the region as a prime

producer of goods and services for hinterland development.

To this end, he announced plans to expand honey production in Guyana. In Region Seven, the President said they are going to be supporting various communities to set up between 400 and 500 new hives by the end of this year to add to the country’s honey output.

“We already have a market for that honey production,” he told the residents.

In addition, the Government is also looking to have large-scale citrus farming in Region Seven, and according to Ali, “we have already identified the areas through which we want to expand citrus farming in this region. We're working now on the expansion of the sweet cassava programme, looking at high-yielding variety so that we can put the land to productive use.”

These are all efforts to aid in Guyana’s food security agenda that the Ali-led Administration has been pushing across the country since coming into office three years ago. In fact, the Head of State disclosed that to date, the Government has expended close to $500 million through the Agriculture Ministry to improve and increase the productive capacity in the Cuyuni-Mazaruni district so that the region could move closer to food sustainability and food security.

In education, he noted

that billions of dollars were expended on various initiatives such as the upgrade of school buildings. Another $1 billion for the Because We Care Cash Grant coupled with some $138 million in grants for teachers to access teaching aids and materials have also benefited children in the region.

President Ali also disclosed that the housing and water sector has also racked up a significant bill in the region with the establishment of new housing schemes and other facilities.

“So, if you look at housing and water, agriculture, and education; these three areas alone are $13 billion in investments. If you divide $13 billion by the number of residents living in Region Seven, then you will understand the magnitude of per capita the investment that we're making here in this region,” the Head of State posited.

He added that another $2.4 billion has been expended on road works across Cuyuni-Mazaruni that have completely transformed areas such as Bartica and another $15 billion to improve municipalities as well as other bodies that fall under the Local Government Ministry while spending on social services such as old age pension have also benefited residents.

“So, we're going to continue to make these investments to ensure that the people of this region continue to benefit from the in-

vestments we’re making,” the President added.

Health interventions

Meanwhile, Ali also highlighted plans to commence work on a new hospital in Bartica.

The Head of State also announced a Health Ministry-led outreach in the mining town next week that will see persons benefiting from the distribution of treated mosquito nets. Eye tests will also be available for residents and those in need of spectacles will receive vouchers valued $15,000. This Budget 2024 initiative targets pensioners and school-aged children.

In addition, the Ministry will also facilitate persons who require eye surgeries to go to the National Ophthalmology Hospital in Port Mourant, Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne).

Another intervention that President Ali announced on Friday is the fast-tracking of operations for women on the waiting list to have fibroid surgery. Next week’s outreach will also see female residents between the ages of 21 and 65 receiving an $8000 voucher to get screened for cervical cancer.

Apart from these interventions, President Ali also addressed several issues and concerns raised by residents from Bartica and surrounding communities in Region Seven. (G8)

Residents from communities across Region Seven at Friday’s meeting with

President Dr Irfaan Ali in Bartica

Editor: Tusika Martin

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Conception of motherhood

Tomorrow is the day set aside for us to honour our mothers. It is a cliche to say that every day ought to be “Mother’s Day” because of all that every mother has done for every living human being. Even the mother who abandoned a child had suffered excruciating pain to bring that child into this world. The biological foundations of motherhood have placed constraints on ever woman who bore a child ever since the species began – and even before.

Those constraints were given sociological significance in terms of defining the “woman’s role” in every society. Who would stay at home and “mind baby”? In the last century, there were many proposals to rectify that situation. The communes of the sixties were one variant: the children would be raised in a communal setting, and everyone would be “mothers and fathers”. Similar to the ones that had preceded them in the 19th century, this innovation also died on the vine. The communist countries of USSR and Eastern Europe also tried to break the stereotype of women “tied” to the role of motherhood, without success.

In the present, with the increasing number of women in the workforce, seen as an inevitable outcome of modern economic development, there is renewed interest in reformulating the role of “mother”. In China, which is leading the former Third World into this brave new world, a facility to care for children is part and parcel of every new factory constructed. Their five-decades-old policy of “one child per family” also played a big role in refashioning the relationship between mother and children. As Guyana embarks on a developmental path that is sure to give it a quantum leap into a modern economy and society with our oil revenues, these are issues that we should ponder over, and not – as usual – wait for them to ambush us.

But in the meantime, apart from the gifts that we, especially the men in our society, may offer our mothers today, we can also rethink our conception of motherhood, so that our mothers and all other mothers – present and future – can live happier, more satisfying lives. Today, violence against females has taken on epidemic proportions, and it does not appear that the official sanctions enforced by the forces of law and order are changing the status quo.

Days after Arrival Day, maybe it is time we take a leaf from the Eastern traditions, including that of India, which teach males to look at all women, excepting their wives, as “mothers”. For males, such a perspective would place females out of bounds to fulfil their sexual fantasies outside of wedlock. For women, they also would be in a position to earn respect from males as full and equal human beings, and not be defined only through the sexual relation.

This perspective was beaten out of the immigrants as they passed through the “total institution” that was the plantation, as were the relations of respect between males and females in the African population, which was forced to serve as slaves in the previous centuries. What replaced those norms was the use of violence as a salutary device to elicit compliance. With the society patterned on the hierarchical and patriarchal relationships of the plantation, it is not surprising that violence, especially against women and other weaker groups in the society, such as children, remain stubbornly entrenched.

It is a greater tragedy that Mother’s Day is celebrated today, when the entrenched attitude of viewing women as lesser beings is still dominant in many of those presenting their gifts. The mothers and their children are being socialised into believing that this single act of propitiation on this single day excuses and erases the other three hundred and sixty-four days of neglect, abuse, and even violence.

The point we are making is that: if women in general, and mothers in particular, are to be given their due honour, we must revise our conception of “motherhood”.

It's not about President Ali's dazzling dancing, but his dynamic dance

Dear Editor,

His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, as an Executive attendee at the PPP/C’s 32nd Congress, held last week-end at the ACCC, presented an entertaining item during the recreational time of the conference. It was a time not to showcase or highlight his more reserved talents, which are not opaque but transparent from his track record, but to participate in a performance which all can enjoy and empathise with.

He has been vilified for this act by fanatics, who are aligned with narcists, fascists and extremists, who probably fail to appreciate the lighter shade of work. Dr. Irfaan Ali is not only the President of Guyana, Leader of the PPP/C Party, and also the Finance Secretary, but he also holds many distinguished national, regional, and international positions. Apart from his honorable status, he is an ardent sportsperson, a politician, a philosopher, a philanthropist, an academic, a family man,

etc. But above all that, he is a simple, down-to-earth Guyanese who happens to be a humble person by design, and not by accident.

After all, his personality is moulded by the strength of a country upbringing from Leguan and Leonora, his influence from a disciplined family, and his motivation from cultural diversity. His mission is guided by the will of the people he aims to make a “One Guyana”, and his objective is to provide all Guyanese with peace, progress and prosperity.

He is perpetually cognizant of his role in all the variable capacities at all times, and at no one time would he jeopardize, compromise, or even aggrandise his portfolio to satisfy any agenda. His defining moment is shaped by his invaluable time spent with the ordinary man in the street on his numerous outreach programmes throughout the length and breadth of Guyana; where he can be in touch with the masses, listen to their problems, and resolve their

issues without any expectation or discrimination.

Intermission may be viewed as an interval that provides a break between periods of a programme or event to pave the way for a phase of inactivity from the original agenda. This pause may present an interlude of entertainment and refreshment which may include music, song, skit, dance, food, drinks, jokes, or a play. The occasion may be a sports game, a concert, a conference, a movie, or a meeting. The interruption is a direct intent to take a break. During that time, information may be disseminated, and it may be used as a moment for fund-raising too. At the famous Superbowl XXVII in Pasadena, California, the halftime show was performed by the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, on the 31st of January 1993, at the age of 34, and with a viewership of 133.4 million. The commercial time during the 1993 Super Bowl was priced at US$900,000 per 30 seconds.

Well-known for his in-

novative ideas, President Ali intentionally institutionalises his initiatives to incentivise incentives and inroads indicative of being inventive! His dynamic dance exemplifies the finer quality of dazzling dancing to leave the appreciative audience spellbound and gasping for more with their thunderous applause and cat whistles. But there is more to the dance than the dancing. All cultures have different forms of dancing, which can be interpreted through invocation and gesticulation, mirroring significant pertinence. As an informative performer, his artistic invigoration is indelible in representing the strength and intelligence of a youthful nation. His incredible movements incorporate the interruption of the laziness from the past sleeping administration and their inadequacies and productively invest in infrastructural autonomy, inclusive of industry and commerce by the private sector as the engine of growth.

This photo is another entry in the 58th Anniversary of Independence Photography Competition, #snapnshare58. It depicts the village of Annai, in the North Rupununi area of Region 9, with three hills in the background meeting the foothills of the Pakaraima Mountains (Photo by Nairon Williams)

Crossing the Kala Pani

Ravi Dev

After the emigrant indentureds were boarded, the ships sailed down the Hooghly River towards the Indian Ocean, some126 miles away. On their right, the last sight of their native land would be the mangrove forests – the Sundarbans or “beautiful Forests”. Almost every emigrant had never seen the ocean, and as they moved downriver, many of them shed tears as the enormity of their decision sunk in. On a few trips, the ship would dock at Port Madras, 844 miles away – as the last ship Ganges would do in 1917 -- and pick up some “Madrassi” emigrants.

The sirdars would then herd them down to their deck, where they would be assigned a 2’ x 6’ space for sleeping over the next four to five months to Br Guiana. The food in the depot was a precursor of the meals they would be served on the upper deck at 9am and 3pm daily.

By one account, “For breakfast, there was the first option of ‘choorah’ (flattened rice) and sugar, second option of biscuits, onion, chillies or mustard oil and salt, third option of ‘kitcherie’ (rice and dhal with butter) plus a chutney of lime juice, tamarind and sugar, and the last option of gram (lentils), with ghee, pepper and salt. These dishes were served interchangeably.

Dinner consisted of rice, dhal, curry vegetables, salt, potatoes or yams, pumpkins, onions (also described as ‘turkarie’) and preserved mutton with onion, pepper and salt.

On two days of the week, mutton was substituted for salt fish and the rice replaced by chápátis, while on the last day of the week, fresh mutton was prepared. Live sheep were kept in front of the forward deck house. In comparison to the depot, meat was served more often, and salt fish was a new feature as well. If the sea was rough, they would be given biscuits – which was totally foreign to them – below deck.

The sexual liaisons in the depots were now intensified with the attentions of the lascars and other crew members. The toilets were on the upper deck, where the sailors lived and frequented, and the women were in constant fear of being raped. One such rape was of a young 16-year-old girl, Maharani, who died after being raped on the Allan Shah in 1885. There are many reports, both of rapes of single women and some offering sexual favours for food and special treatment. The hospital on deck – run by a Ship’s Surgeon -- was always occupied, and very few ships did not suffer fatalities. The average rate in the beginning was 4%, and 3% after 1870.Their bodies were thrown overboard. Depression sometimes caused a few to throw themselves overboard to their death.

During the months it took to cross the more than 13,000 tumultuous miles from Calcutta to Georgetown, very strong bonds were formed between the emigrants, who called themselves “Jahaji Bjai” or Jahaji Behen” – brothers and sisters of the ship. On the plantations later, these bonds became equivalent to family/ blood bonds.

US-China competition is not about ideology

Dear Editor, Peeping Tom’s claim that the rift between China and the US is ideological is shallow and without merit. Tom’s principal claim is that the US-China conflict has gone beyond competition, and that at base, it is an ideological conflict. I must confess that I do not know what school of ideology Peeping Tom has in mind.

For Tom, the ideological battle lines are between liberal democracy and authoritarianism.

Tom has a basic problem here, because all ideologies are built on claims of ethical and moral superiority. I challenge Peeping Tom to tell us otherwise.

The United States can easily and credibly make the case that liberal democracy is superior to other forms of political ideologies because it guarantees free speech, free movement, the freedom to own property, and the right to freely elect representatives to political office, or to remove

them through free and fair elections. These freedoms are consonant to natural rights.

Based on the above, those who support liberal democracy can rightfully claim legitimacy.

I ask Tom what would China say, or what does it say, in defense of authoritarianism. Does the Communist Party of China actually admit to running an authoritarian state? Have the Chinese ever advocated authoritarianism as an

It's not about President Ali's

As an individual star, stealing the show with his sweet, rhythmic tapping beats his opponent at imitation and demonstrates the perfect timing in introducing projects to accommodate the development of the nation. Floating on inanimate clouds reflects the determination to take calculated risks and remain positive.

Impersonating himself only, Dr. Ali’s endurance to outlast and outclass the required musical item demonstrates the resilience of a nation to overcome any hurdles or impediments imposed by insurgents, internally and externally. His bravery to face the mixed crowd and to portray that role removes any doubt that he is the man for all seasons, and is ready to do

what it takes to work in the interest of all Guyanese. His gesticulations coordinate with the artistry of synchronization and his co-performers’ participation, reflecting his intelligence for teamwork and the involvement of all for the successful completion of any undertaking. The trouper’s appeasing smile was not fixed, but flourished from the response of his admirers, changing with the intensity of the scene and blossoming again with renewed accolades.

Dr. Irfaan Ali’s different modes paint a picture of the accommodation of changes, being responsive according to the needs, and exercising due care and attention as demanded. His unbroken concentration instills discipline as a fearless leader

IDEOLOGY? Did Beijing defend Tiananmen Square on the basis that “authoritarianism” is a good moral or even political basis to kill protesting citizens?

Jagdeo is correct that the US-China global situation is best characterized as geopolitical competition. A word of advice to Peeping Tom is in order: you need to study ideology before writing about it.

Sincerely, Dr Randy Persaud

dazzling...

who does not shun responsibility, but exercises caution in executing his duties.

As he dons his jacket and discards his hat, again, this indication affirms his selflessness and wanting to share because he cares. Greed, ego, or selfishness are not characteristics of a humble and simple Dr. Ali. Rather, the friendly, approachable and generous instrumental elements are factored in President

Irfaan Ali’s modest composition. It is not surprising, nor any wonder, that the man, who is a true son of Guyana’s soil, gained the most votes at the PPP/C Congress, and was willing, able and competent to qualify as a crowd pleaser, both as a performer and a politician for the people and by the people.

Yours respectfully, Jai Lall

SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2024

06:00 (Sign on) Inspiration Time

06:30 Cartoons

07:00 Evening News (RB) 08:00 Stop Suffering 09:00 Movie - Woody Woodpecker Goes to Camp (2024) 10:45 Indian Movie - Kaagaz 2 (2024) 13:00 Movie - Tomorrowland (2015) 15:15 Movie - Love's Abiding Joy (2006) 17:00 Payless Power Hour 18:00 Evangelistic Hour 18:30 Pastor Alvin Teaching 19:00 The Evening News 20:00 Movie - Curious Caterer: Foiled Plans (2024) 21:30 Stand-up Comedy 22:00 Movie - Darkness of Man (2024) 00:00 Sign off

Page Foundation

1. A plane is heading in a direction of 045o and changes course in a clockwise direction to 135o The angle through which the plane turns is (A) 45o (B) 90o (C) 135o (D) 270o

2. The volume of a cube with edges 10 cm is (A) 30 cm3 (B) 100 cm3 (C) 300 cm3 (D) 1000 cm3

CSEC MATHS

3. 2500 millimetres expressed in metres is (A) 0.25 (B) 2.5 (C) 25 (D) 250

4. A boy leaves home at 09:15h and arrives at school at 10:05h. If he travels non-stop at an average speed of 6 kmh-1 , how many km is his home from school?

(A) 2 km (B) 5 km (C) 6 km (D) 9 km

5. The marks obtained by ten students in a test marked out of 25 were:

14, 22, 15, 19, 19, 16, 24, 13, 20, 19

The range of marks was (A) 11 (B) 13 (C) 18 (D) 19

6. The area of a rectangle is53.6 cm2.If the length is multiplied by four and the width is halved, the area would then be (A) 26.8 cm2 (B) 53.6 cm2 (C) 107.2 cm2 (D) 214.4 cm2 7. 8.

9. Which of the following sets is represented by the relation f : x —> x2 + 3?

(A) {(0,3),(1, 4),(2,7),(3,12)} (B) {(0,3),(1,5),(2,7),(3,9)} (C) {(0,3),(1, 4),(2,5),(3,6)} (D) {(0,3),(1,1),(2, 4),(3,9)}

10. What is the value of the digit 3 in the number 2341? (A)3 (B) 30 (C) 300 (D) 3000

Choose the word that is closest to opposite in meaning to the indicated word

1. Distinguished (A) praised (B) attacked (C) contacted (D) interviewed

2. Probable (A) unlikely (B) impudent (C) undecided

(D) inevitable

3. Obscure (A) negative (B) important (C) insignificant (D) understandable

4. Compassionate (A) fussy

(B) cruel (C) indifferent (D) dissatisfied

5. Restrictiveness (A) strife (B) cruelty (C) permissiveness (D) competitiveness

6. Forgive (A) condemn (B) absolve (C) exonerate (D) pardon

7. Proper (A) right (B) unsuitable (C) correct

(D) appropriate

8. Pleasure (A) misery

(B) happiness (C) joy

(D) enjoyment

9. Separate (A) disperse

(B) scatter (C) unify (D) divide

10. Argument (A) Row (B) Quarrel (C) Fight (D) Agreement

WORD SEARCH:

House shoots down Opposition’s motion to establish select committee to review fees for house lots

Following a marathon debate that spanned two days, the National Assembly on Friday shot down a motion tabled by the parliamentary Opposition, calling for the “establishment of a Special Select Committee to review charges for house lots” for Guyanese.

A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Member of Parliament, Annette Ferguson presented the motion on Thursday evening, stating that the creation of the Committee would address several issues within the housing sector.

“It is prudent to ask ourselves whether in 21st century Guyana, Guyanese are being provided proper housing at affordable costs. The answer for me is ‘no’… This is a simple motion. The housing sector is in a dire state and if we can all come together to find a solution… pool our ideas together, and get civil society stakeholders on board, I believe that we will be able to solve the housing situation in this

tion of Government-built houses, claiming that “many of the houses being constructed are being done in a defective way”.

According to Ferguson, if the Committee is established, then it can determine alternative ways to solve the housing needs of the population and should be given a two-month timeline to do so. However, the parliamentarian did not provide any suggestions on what can be done.

This was pointed out by Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal, who, in rebuttal, argued that

no basis for the conclusion that it draws.

“The motion makes several claims and then it sets blame in the Ministry of Housing and Water and the Central Housing and Planning Authority without providing evidence that any policy on our part is responsible for the “financial constraints” [that Ferguson is claiming],” Croal contended.

The Housing Minister stated that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government already has a sound plan in place to ensure afford-

country,” she argued before the National Assembly.

Ferguson, who is a former Minister within the Housing Ministry, lamented the long time it took to obtain house lots and the high costs of these lands. She also highlighted instances of bureaucracy in the process and alleged corruption within the housing sector, among other things.

The Opposition MP further called for better quality control in the construc-

there was no need for such a committee and labelled the Opposition’s motion as one without merit.

“This motion is quite… confusing. In its present form, it is fundamentally flawed. This motion begins in vague speculation and then crashes to an illogical conclusion that is mind-boggling. There is no specificity in the motion, just words that spring together, and when you study what is presented, there is

able housing is provided to Guyanese – something that has proven to be successful given the progress made in the sector since its return to office in 2020.

He explained that currently, categories for house lots and houses from the Government are low-income, moderate-income, middle-income, and high-income.

These are allocated based on the applicant’s income and other factors, the

Minister noted, adding that in some cases, applicants request a change in their category and many times, these are facilitated.

Croal further revealed that from 2015 to present, the cost for low-income lots ranged from $92,000 to $250,000; moderate income from $300,000 to $700,000; middle income from $800,000 to $2,000,000; and high income from $2,000,000 to $6,000,000.

The Minister revealed that to date, the current PPP/C Government has distributed over 33,000 house lots, prioritising applications from 2019 and earlier. He said 91.8 per cent of these allocations benefited low-income Guyana at 43 per cent, moderate-income at 30 per cent, and middle-income at 18.8 per cent. The high-income allocation was a mere 8.2 per cent.

Additionally, he said individuals aged 21-35 represent 52 per cent of allocations while 45.8 per cent of allocations went to women, 27.6 per cent to males, and 26.6 per cent, joint applicants.

Croal further revealed that during its current term in office, the Government has developed over 50 housing areas. In contrast, he said, from 2015 to 2020, the previous Government only developed three, and their total allocation in five years was just 7534 – all of which

were honoured by the current Administration and those areas developed.

Additionally, the Minister said contracts have been signed for the construction of over 3000 houses, and to date, 1495 have been completed and handed over.

“The construction sector received new life under this PPP/C Government. No amount of spin…will change the achievements made by the Ministry of Housing and Water,” Croal said.

“This reflects our goal of reducing poverty and fostering inclusive growth…,” he argued, saying to Ferguson, “If you do care about the population, in three and a half years, I have never received a single complaint from you on behalf of anyone who is being faced with an issue.”

The Housing Minister further pointed out that in regions such as Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) and 10 (Upper Demerara-

Berbice), the cost of housing will be less than in Region Four (DemeraraMahaica).

Croal explained that prices are determined based on infrastructure, land size, and the market. He added that the house lots are already heavily subsidised by the Government.

Further, the Minister reminded that the administration has worked with the banks to expedite applications for mortgages and to lower interest rates. In fact, he noted that the banks were now lending as much as 100 per cent of the cost of building the house and they were using the land as equity.

In this regard, Croal argued that there was demand for house lots in every category and therefore, Ferguson’s motion has no merit.

“Given these facts, it appears that it is the folks on the other side of the House that desperately needed a Select Committee to help them manage the housing sector during their tenure… I strongly believe that this motion… is without merit, has no basis, and in fact, is a waste of all of our time,” Croal declared late Thursday night as he closed off the day’s session. Debates on the motion continued on Friday morning and ran until the mid-afternoon hours with presentations from several other speakers on both sides. However, the Opposition’s motion was eventually defeated.

(G8)

Housing Minister Collin Croal

Opposition MP Annette Ferguson

One of the housing projects presently underway

Baracara man charged for fatally shooting farmer in 2023

Timothy Charles De Yonge, a 63-year-old logger of Baracara Village, a Canje riverine com-

munity in East Berbice, has been remanded to prison for allegedly murdering a remigrant back in November 2013.

De Yonge appeared before New Amsterdam Magistrate Michelle Matthias and had

a charge read to him which detailed that Police are alleging that he murdered Titus Sutton, also called ‘Franky’ or ‘Preso’, a remigrant of Melanie Damishana, East Coast Demerara on November 8, 2023 at the Canje riverine community of Baracara.

De Yonge was not required to plead to the indictment, and has been remanded to prison until June 18.

In January 2014, police had issued a wanted bulletin for De Yonge, but he was arrested on April 20, 2024 during an intelligence-led operation, when police went to his home at Baracara and carried out a search which unearthed a suspected 12-gauge cartridge in a bag that was hung on the bedroom wall.

Friends…

…in need

With Mad Maduro amassing troops on our Essequibo border and launching a bridge over to Ankoko -where they’ve occupied our half since 1966 – he’s raising the ante on his annexation of two-thirds of our national territory.

While our Government’s been moving on all fronts – diplomatic, economic, judicial, and military – our preparations for deterring the madman by showing him he’s gonna get a bloody nose at a minimum isn’t quite there as at now. So, in cases like these, you need a friend –or friends – who can watch your back…and pack a punch.

De Yonge had reportedly shot Sutton following a dispute. Another man, 34-yearold Sherwin Mc Almont, called ‘Shut’, also of Melanie Damishana, had also been shot in the leg during that encounter.

They were shot at the home of De Yonge after they had gone there following a dispute that had developed between them.

Well, it looks like the US is stepping up to the plate for us as that friend in need. Ever since Mad Maduro turned green with envy at Exxon’s gushers of sweet light crude from under our coast – and threatened us with his warships – the Yanks have been daring him to be stupid. Mad Maduro’s mentor, Chavez, had already kicked out Exxon from their PDVSA heavy oil industry, and so our find was God’s justice to Exxon - and a poke in the eye for Mad Maduro!! Hell hath no fury like a dictator who can’t get his way!!

So, for the past few years – especially after West Point’s Big Mike Pompeo bitch-slapped the Granger gang from office, where they’d insisted on squatting after the Guyanese people had voted them out – there’s been a regular procession of US defence and military personnel through Port Georgetown. And it hasn’t been all firm handshakes and moral support!! We’ve purchased a couple of patrol boats from the States, a couple of aircraft from the Indians, an offshore patrol vessel from the Frenchies, and have conducted any number of joint exercises with the Yanks.

But as Mad Maduro started ramping up his military threat, so have the Yanks with their show of force. Following Gen Laura Richardson – Commander of US Southcom last year’s visit, was Major General Evan Pettus’s – also of the U.S. Southern Command – in February. And as we just finished celebrating Indian Arrival Day and the PPP’s Congress, came U.S. Marine Corps Major General Julie Nethercot’s, U.S. Southern Command Strategy, Policy, and Plans Director. Announced the US Embassy: “Maj Gen Nethercot’s visit to Guyana underscores the continued importance and unwavering commitment the United States places on the U.S.-Guyana bilateral defense and security partnership.”

And to make sure the madman in the west got the message, on Thursday, two U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornets from the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, which was off our shores, flew over Georgetown and its environs. It was a display of American might! The Super Hornet has an internal 20mm M61A2 rotary cannon, and carries air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles along with a variety of other weapons.

Take that, mad Maduro!!

…raising our capacity

But in the end – especially in international affairs –we can’t depend only on friends. After all, the maxim is “there are no permanent friends or permanent enemies – just permanent interests”!! As your Eyewitness has been pointing out, 300 billion barrels of Venezuelan crude trumps our 15 billion every day!! So, in the meantime, we gotta use the Americans’ chumminess - while our interests coincide - to boost our own capabilities. Up to now, they’ve promised “Military Support to Security, Stability, Transition and Reconstruction Operations; Military Financing; Military Sales; International Military Education and Training; Medical Support Training and Operations; Humanitarian Assistance, Civic Action and Disaster Relief Programs and Military to Military Exchange/Training Programs”!

That’s quite a mouthful, innit?? We gotta take up their offer and continue building up our GDF – army, air force and navy. Your Eyewitness supports – fervently – calls that have been made for a military base in our Essequibo – to which we should allow our American ally to have access. And we also gotta develop settlements there!!

…and war tactics

An example of the new forms of warfare is demonstrated by the Ruskies in Ukraine. They’ve been concentrating recently on taking out Ukraine’s powergenerating equipment and grid. Blackouts as a war tactic is as demoralizing as bullets!!

Charged: Charles De Yonge

Dead: Titus Sutton

Exxon, Ramps Logistics reps charged with submitting inflated invoice to GRA

…new customs broker will do fulsome review of work process - Exxon

Ramps' Business Development Manager

Mariska Jordan and a ExxonMobil (Guyana) representative Steve Gentry, as representatives of their respective companies, appeared on Friday before Senior Magistrate Leron Daly at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts and pleaded not guilty to a charge alleging that the two business entities had inflated an invoice submitted to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) for oil well equipment. The purported increase was from US$4.4 million to US$12.1 billion.

Jordan and Gentry had the charge read to them separately, were released on their own recognizance, and the matter has been adjourned to June 28.

During Friday’s hearing, ExxonMobil was represented by a team of lawyers headed by Senior Counsel Edward Luckhoo, while Senior Counsel Sophia Chote from the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago appeared for Ramps Logistics.

Attorney-at-Law Jason Moore represented the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), which is contending that, on November 16, 2023, Ramps Logistics submitted Customs declarations for a consignment of goods on behalf of ExxonMobil Guyana Limited. On the referenced declaration, the invoice value for the goods was stated as US$12,192,103,923.91.

Recognising that the invoice value was inflated, a detailed investigation was conducted, and it was determined, inter alia, that the actual cost of the goods imported was US$4,467,662 and not US$12,192,103,923.91 as declared to the Revenue Authority.

Further, the GRA stated, on the said declaration, Ramps Logistic falsely declared themselves as the supplier of the goods imported by ExxonMobil, when in fact the suppliers were Baker Hughes and Technip FMC. As such, on January 23, 2024, Ramps Logistics Inc was made to show cause why proceedings should not be instituted against the company.

In response, Ramps Logistic Inc. stated that the said false declaration was

prepared based on the information allegedly provided by ExxonMobil Guyana Limited through their KABAL System.

Did not compose erroneous declaration

In a statement following Friday’s court appearance, ExxonMobil said it learnt from the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) of a clerical error in a Customs declaration filed by its former broker in late 2023.

“EMGL did not compose the erroneous declaration, nor were we aware of this clerical error when the declaration was filed. However, this error did not give rise to any financial loss to the GRA nor the Government of Guyana. Furthermore, it is important to note that the information included in Customs declarations is separate from, and not used for, the calculation of cost recovery or tax statements, and therefore this error has had no impact in those areas either. EMGL has cooperated fully with the GRA in its investigation, including providing the agency with corrected information,” the statement read.

Additionally, the company said it is “dedicated to ethical practices, ensuring accuracy in all submissions; mistakes are promptly corrected when uncovered. Our commitment to continuous improvement is reflected in our proactive steps to prevent similar errors, which has included a fulsome review of the work process with a new customs broker.”

ExxonMobil Guyana President Alistair Routledge had previously told a media conference that steps have already been taken to clear up the discrepancy.

“It was corrected for the customs, and they’ve received that. The GRA has the correct number. Everything was caught early, and there were no issues; nobody suffered any loss. Everything was taken care of, and, as I said, we’ve updated our procedures and the checks that are made to make sure this sort of error is not repeated,” he explained.

GRA reviewing Weighing in on the issue, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo had reported that the GRA was reviewing old invoices submitted by the companies to ensure that there is no overstatement in those documents as well.

“This revelation has prompted the Government to take certain steps to ensure this was a one-off incident. We’re now ensuring that before we finalise any of the (cost oil) audits – the second audit - the GRA will go back and check all the back-invoices for the past several years, to see that there’s been no overstatement on any of these invoices,” Jagdeo detailed.

“This is a serious matter, and we’re taking it seriously,” the Vice President had stated. The second oil audit that he is referring to covers the period 2018 to 2020.

ExxonMobil, through its local subsidiary Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), has a majority 45 per cent interest in the Stabroek Block, and is the operator; while Hess Corporation holds a 30 per cent interest, and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited, holds the remaining 25 per cent interest.

ExxonMobil, along with its co-venturers, commenced production activities in the Stabroek Block in December 2019. Currently, production has been ramped up to over 600,000 barrels of oil per day at the Liza Phases One and Two, as well as the Payara projects, all of which account for the three floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels operating in Guyana’s waters offshore.

The current production figures would be further buttressed by the Yellowtail and Uaru developments, which are already underway and are each anticipated to contribute 250,000 barrels of oil following their respective start-ups in 2025 and 2026. Additionally, Whiptail, which was only recently approved, would further contribute to these production numbers when it gets underway in 2027.

Ramps' Business Development Manager

Mariska Jordan

Exxon Guyana’s Steve Gentry

Labour Minister urges GTU to return to bargaining table to find “middle ground”

Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton has weighed in on the current teachers’ strike, noting that the Government will be waiting for the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) to return to the bargaining table where both sides can continue discussions and possibly find middle ground.

Contending that the strike action is illegal, Hamilton pointed out that there was never a breakdown in talks during the negotiations between the Union and the Education Ministry, but rather, it was the GTU that decided to exit those talks.

Hamilton further stated that regardless of the Union’s requests, the labour act remains the same and applies to all workers.

“Somehow, people are attempting to treat the teachers’ strike as something different to any other labour relations matter, but it is not… the teachers are employees like all others… the teachers have an employer that is the Ministry of Education. Whether you work at GuySuCo or BOSAI or you work at any other company, the labour relations and the application of the labour act are the same and cannot be treated differently,” Minister Hamilton declared.

In this regard, the Minister highlighted that the only way in which the current situation could be resolved is through engagements with both parties, adding that these industrial matters were only resolved around a table where people consistently articulate views and positions and try to identify a middle ground that is favourable to both sides.

As such, he urged the GTU to return to the bargaining table with the Government, and further stressed that these issues could not be resolved via news articles, the court, or the streets.

“If you remember just a couple of weeks ago, it is the same party today that will call another strike who withdrew themselves from the engagement, because they could not and didn’t get what they think was important to be on the agenda… how do you negotiate in good faith?” he added.

He stressed that the two sides could have different points of view and requests, but finding common ground was important. He further said that no one gets all the things they ask for.

“Somehow, the people who represent the teachers think they must get all the

things they ask for. So, the proper thing in my view is for the Union to return to the bargaining table, because, at the end of the day, that is the only way in which labour relations matters are resolved,” the Minister stated.

He noted that the Education Ministry was still willing to engage the GTU to iron out ongoing issues while reiterating that the Government would deal with salary increases from 2024 and not from 2019, which was under the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) regime.

Teachers resumed their strike on Thursday, but this time around, there will be no protest involving placards outside Government build-

ings. Instead, those participating in the strike are reportedly staying at home until further notification from the Union.

In light of this development, President Dr Irfaan Ali has posited that over the last year, his Administration has seen an increase in cases in which the views and opinions of unions and associations have been hijacked by the political opposition. Notwithstanding that, he made it known that the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Government would continue working at the national and policy levels to improve the welfare and well-being of teachers.

He also maintained that the Government, through the Education Ministry, was prepared to negotiate a

multi-year agreement that begins in 2024 and goes beyond.

On the other hand, the GTU said, “There will be a total shutdown of the education sector until the demands of teachers are met.”

According to General Secretary Coretta McDonald, the strike action is aimed at negotiating better pay, improved working conditions, and increased benefits for teachers; and is not targeted against learners.

“We are either getting 2019-to-2023, or we are not taking anything else. Because starting from 2024 will bring us to what the CEO (Chief Education Officer) was telling us the other day about the figure he had to offer us, a single-digit figure which I’m sure was not even nine per cent. So, don’t let them tell us that they are prepared to talk from 2024 and onwards,” she declared.

“As teachers, the stand that we are taking here is not a stand against any of our learners, it is not a stand against any of our parents; we have no troubles with them…we have a struggle and a fight with the Government of the day.”

The resumption of strike action by the teachers has resulted from a breakdown of talks between the GTU

and the Education Ministry. Teachers returned to the classroom on March 6, following more than four weeks of protest; but, more decisively, following an agreement struck by the GTU and the Education Ministry after the intervention of Justice Sandil Kissoon, who appointed Senior Counsel Edward Luckhoo and Senior Counsel Robin Stoby as mediators following the deadlock.

It was decided that within 48 hours of the agreement, both sides would return to the table to discuss the requests of the GTU, as well as those of the Ministry, but talks again failed.

The Government, through the Education Ministry, has made it clear that it stands ready to engage the Union on the MultiYear Agreement from 2024 onwards, but the GTU is holding out that talks should cover the years 2019 to 2024.

The Government has already addressed over 20 issues affecting teachers, aimed at improving their working conditions and overall welfare. In fact, at the time of the last strike, President Ali had reminded that he had already met with teachers across the country and outlined the Government’s plan to improve their livelihoods.

GEA to host Electric Vehicle Expo at Tain Campus today

The Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) is set to host its signature Electric Vehicle (EV) Show and Tell Exhibition on Saturday at the University of Guyana Berbice (Tain) campus from 10:00h to 13:00h.

This exhibition aims to promote electromobility and encourage the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in the country. By showcasing the latest electric vehicle technologies, the event would provide an educational and interactive platform for EV auto dealers, owners, users, environmentally-conscious consumers and the public to engage in key developments in the electric transportation industry.

These trends encompass EV capabilities and battery range, cost-effectiveness and maintenance, as well as the expansion and use of EV charging stations, to name but a few.

Further, the GEA has established this event as part of its mandate to continue accelerating the transition to electric vehicles nationwide, mitigate climate change, and foster environmental sustainability.

The exhibition also presents an excellent opportunity for auto dealers such as Massy Motors (Guyana) Limited and MS Trading, alongside renewable ener-

gy company Green Power Solutions Inc., to not only display a range of environmentally-friendly cars and engage people residing in Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne), but also contribute to propelling the national vision for transition to electric mobility and energy security. With more than 200 electric vehicles now on Guyana’s roadways, the Government of Guyana has implemented several policies and initiatives to further enhance low-carbon transportation. Currently, electric vehicles, regardless of the power rating, attract zero rates of duty and taxes, and there is an increase in the write-down allowance applicable to all-electric vehicles to 50 percent annu-

ally, to support businesses that decide to invest in eco-friendly cars.

Additionally, there are six publicly accessible EV charging stations, and a total of 50 persons have been trained to service EVs. The continuous uptake of electric vehicles demonstrates the country’s gradual shift to eco-friendly transportation, and highlights the importance of fostering electromobility growth in Guyana.

The GEA held its inaugural EV Show and Tell Exhibition at the Amazonia Mall at Providence, East Bank Demerara in March. This initiative is a significant step towards building Guyana’s sustainable, low-carbon transportation sector.

Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton

Prime Minister Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips examining an electric vehicle (EV) on display during the GEA’s inaugural EV Show and Exhibition at the Amazonia Mall at Providence in March 2024

Every sale of State assets by PPP Govt was done transparently – VP Jagdeo

– says in contrast to shady sale of State assets under PNC

Addressing a longstanding narrative against successive People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Governments, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday insisted that every state asset the party ever sold to private buyers while in government was done in a transparent and accountable manner.

During his press conference on Thursday, Jagdeo responded to accusations

hurled by People’s National Congress Executive member Rear Admiral (retd) Gary Best in a missive, in which he defended his party’s handling of state assets during its 28 years in power pre1992.

Jagdeo, who was President from 1999 to 2011, during which time several assets were sold through the Privatization Unit of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments

Limited (NICIL), made it clear that such transactions by the PPP were always transparent and above board.

“Let me, first of all, say to the public in Guyana (that) every asset we sold from 1992 to 2011 is in a report that we tabled in Parliament. Every single entity we sold, how much we sold it for, to whom, what process we went through. We’re the party that stopped privatization when we came into office, and established a privatization unit, a board, and then you had to go to cabinet - a multi-layered system that allowed us to be able to transparently do any privatization,” he detailed.

The Vice President compared that with what occurred under the previous PNC Government by citing several examples, including the 1991 sale of Demerara Woods Limited to Lord

PPP/C Congress was funded entirely by Party funds, not State money – Jagdeo

General Secretary of the Peoples Progressive Party (PPP), Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, has refuted claims that the party’s 32nd Congress was funded by taxpayers’ money.

During his weekly press conference on Thursday, he noted that several fundraisers and other initiatives had been rolled out ahead of the Congress in order to raise money to offset expenses associated with hosting the event.

“Our Congress was funded entirely by party funds, and not State money. We’re not the PNC, that used to do all of these things; we are a different party,” he said.

Jagdeo alluded to several fundraisers hosted by the party, and volunteer work as two ways in which the successful event was pulled off.

The PPP Congress was

hosted from May 3 to 5 at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), and it had seen over 3000 delegates in attendance.

During the three-day event, delegates elected the members of the new Central Committee, and Jagdeo has been re-elected to serve as the party’s General Secretary as the party prepares for the 2025 General and Regional Elections.

Jagdeo has said that, during the event, the deliberations were fruitful and surrounded several topics, including corruption, the petroleum sector, equitable distribution of resources, job creation, health, housing, local government, the rebuilding of the youth and women’s arms of the party, public relations, and much more.

Confident of a win come 2025, Jagdeo has said: “Apart from positioning the

People’s Progressive Party to win the next elections, re-energizing its activists and supporters …[and] bringing people together, [this Congress] has also caused a major unhinging of the Opposition.”

He pointed to several articles, ads, and other materials churned out by Opposition members criticising the PPP since its Congress, and promised to tackle those criticisms headon.

“We are going to have a bulldozer to come down on the heads of those who distort our history, who will lie about us, who try to divide our people along racial lines…we have allowed that to happen as a party; and for too long, we have allowed them to hold back this country and the development of Guyana. So, we are not going to be apologetic about that,” Jagdeo emphasised.

Beaverbrook, an English aristocrat, for £9.7 million; along with a 50-year lease on over one million acres of rainforest.

According to the Guyana Journal 2007, Lord Beaverbrook would, just two months later, sell these assets for £61 million worth of equity, with the new complex becoming Demerara Timbers Limited.

“Contrast that with what they did. The Lord Beaverbrook. The GTC. They sold the GTC assets to Lord Beaverbrook. Just Google Lord Beaverbrook… they sold it, resold it for a major major set of money,” he declared.

“The Barama deal was shrouded in secrecy. GTT paid, I think, for 80 per cent of the assets. They paid

US$60 million. We already had US$5 million in the bank account at that time. So, the company made in a single year, I think, more money than that. But the key thing is it was not advertised for sale,” Jagdeo further explained.

From 1992 to 2011, the state assets that were privatized included Guyana Stores Limited (GSL), Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI), and the Guyana National Engineering Company (now Guyana National Industrial Company).

Guyana’s most recent attempt at privatization was the sale of the Marriott Hotel, for which the Government invited bids last year. The sale is still ongoing. In April of this

year, it was reported that the Government was weighing its options after United States businessman Ramy El-Batrawi, who had put in the highest bid to purchase the Guyana Marriott Hotel, passed away – possibly putting the deal with his company, X, LLC, in limbo. In May 2023, X, LLC emerged as the successful bidder with a US$90 million proposal to buy the Marriott Hotel located in Kingston, Georgetown. Apart from X, LLC, the only other company that submitted a proposal in the second bidding process was Integrated Group Guyana Inc., which had put in a US$86.1 million offer to buy the hotel. The Government had chosen the highest bidder to sell the hotel to. (G-3)

A section of the gathering at the PPP/C Congress

Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo

The National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited

President Dr Irfaan Ali on Thursday Batavia, Karrau, and Dagg Point in where he highlighted the various measures to help them to be self-sufficient income-generating opportunities for

Thursday visited the communities of in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), measures taken by the Government in food production and increase for households

Reg 6 records 27% increase in serious crime – Divisional Crime Officer

... says rape tops list with 33 so far for 2024

The Guyana Police Force (GPF) has recorded a significant increase in serious crimes in Division Six (East BerbiceCorentyne) with rape topping the list.

This is according to the Crime Officer for the Division, Assistant Superintendent Rawl Nedd, during a recent programme of "Police and You."

Nedd reported that while 81 serious crimes were recorded in the region last year, that number has already been surpassed this year, and has reached a staggering 103 reported cases. Among these cases, rape - especially statutory rapestands out as the most prevalent offence contributing to the surge.

“That’s a significant in-

crease, roughly a 27.2% increase in serious crime… but the area that would have caused our figures to reach that significant increase would have been rape, and predominantly statutory rape. Last year we had roughly 17 cases, and for this year, we already have 33 cases… Also, we’ve had four murders this year,” he said.

He added that the police are intensifying their campaigns in hope that it would help to decrease the crime rate in the region.

Nedd also expressed belief that the reason for the increase in rape cases is due to the fact that persons are now coming forward following the police engagement with the public.

“The more we educate

persons, the more persons are having confidence in us…We have engaged the public, we have improved, and we are intensifying our outreach campaigns towards sensitizing the public,” Nedd related.

The Crime Officer high-

lighted several other factors contributing to the rise in criminal activities. He cited instances of break-ins, which numbered 37 this year. He said these often occur due to homeowners leaving their residences vulnerable by either leaving doors unlocked or hiding keys under mats outside their houses.

“We’ve had cases in the Albion district, Number 51, and Canje areas where persons would leave their residence and go to other countries and have persons not looking in on their assets, and they find it broken… those are some of the challenges we are having, but to mitigate these things, we have police walking on the ground, doing checks and talking to neighbours,” he explained.

Meanwhile, the Regional Commander, Senior Superintendent Shivpersaud Bacchus, emphasised the importance of investing in security measures such as CCTV cameras to deter and detect criminal activity, particularly for individuals travelling abroad for extended periods.

“Break-and-entry were on the increase, and we put our strategies together to combat that…it was not an

alarming one, we are working assiduously with our crime prevention strategies and our pillars to have support from the communities…”, he explained. Moreover, the Commander expressed concern over the high rate of recidivism among released prisoners, noting that many individuals return to criminal activities within two weeks or less of their release. In response to these challenges, he highlighted the effectiveness of the "Eyes in the Sky" initiative, which utilises drones to monitor and capture individuals engaging in criminal activities. This initiative has proven successful in tracking down persons attempting to evade law enforcement officers following the commission of crimes. By deploying drones to surveil areas where suspects are believed to be fleeing, authorities can swiftly apprehend them, aiding in crime prevention and community safety.

“We are not targeting anyone, but once we realize that this is happening, these persons will be rearrested, charged, and placed before the court,” Commander Persaud has said.

As crime continues to pose a significant challenge in Region Six, the Guyana Police Force is urging residents to remain vigilant, and take proactive measures to safeguard their homes and communities. (G-9)

Corentyne man nabbed in Suriname slapped with attempted murder charge

Sasenarine Sankar, called “Barber” or “Wire” Sandy Persaud displaying her injuries to the media

Sasenarine Sankar, called “Barber” or “Wire”, 47, of Number 69 Village, Corentyne, who was wanted for attempted murder committed against Sandy Persaud was on Friday charged and remanded to prison.

Sankar who was apprehended in Suriname over the weekend after be -

ing on the run for almost one year, appeared before Magistrate Tuanna Hardy at the Albion Magistrate’s Court on Friday and was not required to plead to the indictable charge.

It is alleged that on April 5, 2023, with intent to murder, Sankar wounded Persaud.

Commander of the region, Senior Superintendent, Shivpersaud Bacchus

Assistant Superintendent Rawl Nedd, Crime Officer of Region six

APA meets with carbon credits scheme verifier Aster Global

– raises concerns about lack of information in Amerindian community about LCDS 2030

The Amerindian Peoples Association (APA) met on Tuesday with representatives of Aster Global, the firm that has been contracted to audit Guyana’s carbon credits scheme to ensure compliance with the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) Secretariat’s TREES (The REDD+ Environmental Excellence) Standard.

Aster Global was represented by Principal Scientist and Lead Auditor Kevin Markham, and Forester/GIS Remote Sensing Specialist Sandesh Shrestha. Accompanying them from ART, as observers, were the Director of Policy, Franklin Paniagua, and Senior Manager of Technical Engagement, Julia Paltseva; while the APA delegation was led by Executive Director Jean La Rose and other secretariat staff.

The discussion primarily focused on the status of Indigenous Peoples’ rights to their lands, particularly through the Amerindian

Land Titling (ALT) project, and their free, prior and informed consent about their full participation in Guyana’s carbon credits scheme.

The APA, with representation on the ALT Project Board, provided insights into the processes involved in titling and demarcation of Indigenous lands, and the pace of project execution. The APA also highlighted potential impacts on Indigenous Peoples’ access to their lands, and provided some insights into the effects of climate change on indigenous communities, and the need for a holistic approach to deal with this.

Aster Global’s representatives currently in Guyana are verifying conformance with TREES standards for the year 2022. They are engaging various stakeholders, including indigenous communities, to ensure transparency and inclusivity in the verification process.

The APA has reiterated its position: that it re-

mains crucial that environmental initiatives like the carbon credits scheme respect Indigenous Peoples’ rights to their land tenure, and adhere to FPIC principles for communities. The APA emphasized that it is not against the carbon credits initiative; rather, it is the process and general lack of information that are being objected to.

The APA told the verifiers that the lack of information in communities as it relates to Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy 2030 (LCDS) and the carbon credits scheme remains unaddressed by the Government and executing agencies.

During the meeting, Markham asked a series of questions surrounding concerns raised by the APA during its last meeting with Aster Global in June 2023.

The meeting was also used to elicit answers from Aster Global’s team about their work and how they ensure compliance with the TREE Standards.

Electrician gets 3 years for cocaine found in lunch bag

Mohamed Inshan, a 53-year-old electrician of Back Street North, Old Scheme Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo, has been slapped with a threeyear sentence for trafficking over five pounds of cocaine in July 2019, after Leonora Magistrate Zamilla AliSeepaul found him guilty of the offence of narcotics trafficking on Thursday last.

In addition to the sentence, he has been fined $30,000.

The case made against Inshan was that on July 23, 2019, ranks of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) were conducting surveillance exercises along the Parika Public Road, and observed a man handing over a bulky black bag to Inshan, who had then handed same to a third person, who had placed same in the back seat of a parked

Sentenced: Mohamed Inshan

car.

The three men had then left the location in two vehicles, which were later intercepted by CANU ranks. In the vehicle driven by Inshan, a black bag was found in a lunch bag, and it contained two brick-shaped objects which tested positive for cocaine.

The Customs AntiNarcotics Unit (CANU) contended that Inshan and the two others were busted with

2.264kg of cocaine at Parika, East Bank Essequibo.

Inshan and his two co-accused had reportedly been placed on $500,000 bail each by the then Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.

Inshan and three others had previously been implicated in the interception of 1.8 kilograms of cocaine at a house at Timehri Base Road, East Bank Demerara (EBD).

CANU had said its ranks had swooped down on that house and had unearthed the cocaine in a fire extinguisher. In that matter, the owner of the house, Dinesh Dias, had taken the rap and been sentenced to 48 months imprisonment and fined $15,000.

Dias, in taking the rap for the offence, had told the court that his friends did not know that the cocaine and ganja were at his house during the time of their visit.

Representatives of the APA and Aster Global after the meeting

GTA unveils initiatives to boost domestic tourism

In a bid to tackle the soaring prices of excursions within Guyana, the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) has launched several initiatives aimed at addressing the significant cost barrier faced by many local tourists.

GTA Director Kamrul Baksh unveiled some of these initiatives on Friday during the inaugural launch of the Independence Safari.

According to Baksh, in attempts to mitigate this issue, the GTA has created a wide array of excursion options within hinterland areas for local tourists to choose from.

“Last year a passport initiative was initiated where 40 experiences were available at heavily-discounted rates for the coastal regions we have created new experiences in hinterland areas – what that does is it diversifies the number of options for the local market to engage in, thus far the GTA has reaped great success

from these initiatives,” he expressed.

Baksh also mentioned that these initiatives have been carried out mainly, because the domestic market serves as a significant one for the GTA and by extension, the Tourism Ministry.

“The domestic market is an important market for us and here at the GTA and by extension, the Tourism Ministry of Guyana … we have prioritised that as well, so tourism is not only about persons coming into the country but also the local persons,” he explained.

Furthermore, he revealed that following this initiative, there has been an increase in domestic tourism, and within the past two to three years, the GTA has recorded the highest level of visits from locals, mainly because scores of campaigns have been advertised for the local market.

Alongside those efforts of diversifying the opportunities available for local tour-

ists, Baksh further revealed that the Authority has introduced several discounted specials for travellers.

“Summer is coming up fast on our heels and we are sure that you will see lots of tour specials during the periods of Cricket Carnival and the ICC World Cup happening in June,” Baksh stated, adding that they are not only looking to implement these discounted specials solely at peak periods but also off-peak periods and on

and some have already been carried out in Easter of 2024.

Tour prices in Guyana can vary depending on the duration, activities included, and the level of luxury. For example, a multi-day rainforest expedition with accommodation in eco-lodges and guided wildlife excursions can range from US$1500 to US$3000 per person.

holidays.

These discounted packages are set to be carried out through a seasonal period,

Shorter day tours focusing on specific activities like birdwatching or river cruises may cost between US$100 to US$300 per person. Additionally, customised or private tours may have higher price tags based on individual preferences

and requirements.

Rainforest Tours

The Rainforest Tour company was formed by Frank and Sabita Singh in 1995, where in the beginning, the business was run from their residence. Frank Singh had extensive knowledge of the country due to his previous business endeavours, and with that and his deep love for nature and the environment, they created a company that would focus on hospitality, customer satisfaction, and pure adventure. This concept has now put their company at the very top of the industry.

Corentyne man nabbed in Suriname...

The court was told that the woman was beaten and brutally chopped during a violent attack for which she was hospitalised.

Police Prosecutor Lance Corporal Shenell Matterson objected to bail on the grounds that after committing the act, the accused fled the jurisdiction. However, Sankar told the court that over the past year, he has been living at his Number 69 Village, Corentyne, Berbice address. Nevertheless, bail was refused and the matter was transferred to Springlands Magistrate’s Court for May

23.

Following the hearing, Persaud spoke with the media.

“For one year, he hide even though I was going through a lot of pain. I feel glad that he get catch. I have been looking forward for justice and I am getting justice. I am still going through pain, and I still have to go back to surgery for my hand; I don’t know if I would be able to use it. I have to do surgery for $450,000,” she said as she removed the bandage from her arm to display the injury caused by the chop

wound.

It had been reported that the 36-year-old Persaud, called “Baby”, of Number 69 Village, Corentyne, was found in the home with chop wounds to her shoulders, forearm, back, head, and feet; and she was also stabbed to the abdomen. The woman’s teenage daughter said her mother was a victim of constant physical abuse.

Persaud’s mother had also been lashed with a cutlass.

The barber had reportedly made several threats to Persaud’s life.

Director of GTA, Kamrul Baksh

Dharamlall denies sexual assault allegations made by fmr staff

– accuser lodges complaint with police

Less than 12 months following his resignation as a Government Minister and Member of Parliament, Nigel Dharamlall, an Executive Member of the People’s Progressive Party, finds himself embroiled in fresh accusations of rape and sexual assault.

The alleged victim, a 28-year-old woman who is a former employee of the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, has come forward with a detailed account of an alleged incident involving the former Government official.

The woman, during a press conference on Friday, announcing her filing of a comprehensive police complaint, and expressed her hope for a thorough investigation and eventual justice.

The woman alleges that she was raped on September 27, 2020 at the Anna Regina State House in the county of Essequibo. Recounting the incident, the woman explained that her alleged abuser, who was a Minister at the time, had invited her there to

be interviewed for a job. She claimed that, upon arriving, she was taken upstairs to a bedroom, where she was sexually assaulted.

“I don’t know why we diverted from the living room. At this point, he grabs my body and tries to kiss me on the mouth, pulling himself onto me. I immediately turned away and persistently said that nothing can happen because I am fully into women, and that this is not something I came here expecting to do, and can’t offer anything,” she explained.

“…my top comes off with him trying to see my breasts, and as I am sitting on the bed trying to put clothes on, he takes them off and we go back and forth. He finally starts to grind up against me, expecting our genitals to touch. I told [him] to stop and put his penis away. He says he needs to get something from me first. He starts to take my pants off and my underwear, but I insist on leaving my pants halfway on one leg, because I did not want to spreadeagle to this man. I couldn’t believe this was hap-

pening, and I stared at the ceiling and looked at a clock to the left of me. My dignity and sanity went out the window, and I was crushed,” the woman said.

She described feeling trapped and violated as she resisted the official's advances. The woman revealed to the media that she reported two separate incidents of sexual assault and rape to the police, one in 2020 and another in 2021.

“I was completely disassociated as this man goes down on me, and he used his tongue to have oral sex with my vagina and anus. I don’t know how long this goes on for, but I began to sob silently,” the victim detailed.

She also disclosed details of a second alleged incident that occurred in 2021 at a residence where the official was purportedly residing at the time. The woman admitted feeling intimidated before lodging her initial police complaint. An ongoing police investigation is underway.

Hours after the accusation surfaced, the former Government official issued a

statement vehemently refuting the claims made against him. He expressed awareness of the alleged victim’s press conference, where she levelled ‘malicious’ allegations against him. He began by outrightly denying each accusation put forth by the woman.

“For some while hitherto, I was privy to rumours that (named person) was making unsavoury comments in relation to me, but I made a deliberate effort to ignore them. I have known (name provided) personally for several years,

19th UN Forest Forum

and have always maintained a most civil and cordial relationship with her, including socialising on many occasions. Her demeanour towards me changed fundamentally after I rebuffed her advances and spurned her attempts to engage in an intimate relationship,” the statement said.

“Thereafter, (name provided) embarked on a campaign to malign and tarnish my reputation. This was manifested through several fake profiles on social media, surreptitious leaks of information to the traditional media, and a whisper campaign to anyone willing to listen. It really begs the question as to what has reignited this quest by (named person) to sully my good name, particularly at this time. Her latest attempt bears testimony to this.

“I have already engaged and instructed Attorneys-atLaw who are reviewing the statements made by (named person) with a view (to) instituting legal proceedings against her and other persons associated with propagating these falsehoods, as may be necessary.”

In June last year, Dharamlall was arrested at the Brickdam Police Station for questioning into rape allegations levelled against him by a 16-year-old girl. He was subsequently released on $1 million station bail.

According to the Police, the decision was based on advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack, following a statement from the teenager that was delivered to the police by her mother. The teenager indicated that she wanted no further action on the matter.

In light of that indication, the DPP concluded that in the absence of the victim’s complaint, there was no legal provision for the police to proceed with the matter.

The DPP also disclosed that consideration was given to the fact that the complainant had given a further statement to investigators that she wished to withdraw her complaint against Dharamlall, that her decision was not influenced by anyone, and that it was in her best interest to do so.

Min Bharrat supports calls for int’l community to make good on financial commitments

– says economic incentives must make forests worth more alive than dead

atural Resources

NMinister Vickram Bharrat represented Guyana at the United Nations’ Forests Forum, which took place at the UN’s Headquarters in New York.

There, he joined world leaders as well as ministerial counterparts and other colleagues from around the world, to call for greater urgency in global efforts to maintain the world’s forests.

During the ministerial meeting, Minister Bharrat remarked, “Too often, maintaining forests has not been a valuable choice for communities or countries. Inside this room, we understand this point. However, outside this room, too few people recognise that the entire world benefits from the ecosystem services provided by forests, and if we want those services to continue, economic incentives must make forests worth more alive than dead.”

The Minister further briefed attendees about the methods Guyana used to address the forgoing challenge, to which he highlighted Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). This national low-carbon blueprint sets out a model of how Guyana can balance economic development alongside conserving the country’s forests and biodiversity while being compensated for the same.

To this end, Bharrat shed

light on how this approach has enabled Guyana to conclude transactions of almost US$1 billion in payments for the climate services provided by Guyana’s forests, of which US$227 million stemmed from the bilateral deal with the Government of Norway and an additional US$750 million from the sale of ARTTREES credits made in 2023. He was keen to point out that the monies earned from climate/forest services are invested in sustainable climate change adaptation and mitigation measures. Equally important, he referenced that 15 per cent of all revenue earned will be allocated to forest-based and indigenous communities. To date, over $3 billion has been transferred

to the bank accounts of 232 Amerindian communities, which will support economic, social, and cultural advancement.

Additionally, he stressed that, “It is a false argument to say all finance should be public or all finance should be market-based. It is possible to achieve our shared goals via different pathways. In Guyana, we started with international public finance, but have since evolved into a market-based mechanism.”

Bharrat also supported calls for the international community to make good on financial commitments, as he referenced statements by Ghana, Brazil, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which have decried

continuous financial promises which have not been delivered.

Speaking later during a meeting hosted by the Government of Brazil and attended by representatives of other forested countries from around the world, he related,

“It is sad to see how many forest countries are working so hard to safeguard forests, yet time after time, are let down

The Guyana Police Force (GPF) on Friday issued a wanted bulletin for Keron Randy Boyer for questioning in connection with the murder of 16-yearold Benjamin Seaford, who was stabbed to death during an argument in Kitty, Georgetown.

Police stated that the 22-year-old wanted man is from Lot 65 Public Road, Kitty, Georgetown. It was reported that on Monday last, Seaford was fatally stabbed at about 00:45h at Gordon Street, Kitty, by Boyer.

Police stated that the teen and the suspect were at the corner of Lamaha and Gordon Streets, when an argument broke out between them. During the argument, the suspect reportedly whipped out a knife from the left side of his pants waist and dealt Seaford several stabs about

by those who promised finance for that work.

“Guyana is pleased to have made the progress we have, underpinned by our LCDS.

Others have asked us for help in sharing our experiences, and we will be glad to do so.

However, the bottom line is the world needs to face up to the fact that forests need to be valued for the ecosystem services they provide, while

his body.

Reports are that after being stabbed, the teen ran westerly on Gordon Street and collapsed about 100 feet from the intersection and the suspect then made good his escape.

also sustaining viable livelihoods for people. Some progress is being made through the United Nations and new compliance carbon markets, for example. But if the world is serious about addressing climate change, far more progress is needed urgently. Guyana will continue to play our part and stands ready to share our experiences as we also learn from others.”

The Police and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) were summoned and the teen was transported to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Anyone with information that can lead to the arrest of Boyer is asked to contact the police at telephone numbers 225-6940, 225-8196, 2267476, and 911, or at the nearest Police Station.

Murdered: Benjamin Seaford Wanted: Keron Randy Boyer

Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat

Former Government Minister and Member of Parliament, Nigel Dharamlall

Regional

60 injured in Buenos Aires train collision

At least 60 people were injured on Friday when a seven-car passenger train collided with a locomotive and an empty train car in Buenos Aires, local authorities said, without giving details of how serious the injuries were.

Firefighters, Police and ambulances were at the scene, helping evacuate people and take the injured to hospitals.

Television and drone footage showed the trains head-to-head on an overpass in the Palermo neighbourhood of the Argentine capital. The passenger train's first car derailed and was damaged in the collision.

Reuters reporters at the scene saw passengers being taken on stretchers to ambulances and helicopters waiting to transport the most seriously injured to city hospitals.

Rescue teams working on the site of a train collision in Buenos Aires, Argentina, May 10, 2024 (Reuters/Agustin Marcarian photo)

"Ninety ambulances were used on the scene, 90 passengers were transferred and attended to, of which 30 were referred with (the most serious categorisation) code red," Alberto Crescenti, head of the local emergency medical care system SAME told Reuters at the scene.

He said two passengers were taken by helicopter to the Santojanni hospital with head and thorax trauma. "They were lucid but as a precaution they were the first to be flown... In total, we treated about 100 passengers." (Excerpt from Reuters)

Cuba accuses online news site of US-backed plot to sabotage economy

Cuba's Government and independent online news site El Toque exchanged blows this week after State-run media accused the website of manipulating the black market currency exchange rate to impoverish Cubans and stoke unrest on the Caribbean island.

The El Toque site (eltoque.com) has enraged the Administration of Cuban President Miguel DiazCanel by publishing a rate in Cuban pesos for the greenback far higher than the two official levels set by his Government.

Cuba's State-run media

this week ratcheted up its long-running criticism of El Toque, claiming the site's currency tracker – by far the most widely used on the island – amounts to "financial terrorism".

"El Toque is secretly financed by the United States and establishes a false value of the peso in relation to the dollar," said a story in the State-run media outlet CubaDebate. "The strategy aims to foment (large-scale) protests in Cuba."

The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the allegations.

The spat over the currency tracker comes as Cuba's peso currency has lost nearly half its value against the dollar in 2024 alone, according to El Toque, a devastating freefall that has slashed the buying power of Cubans already rattled by economic crisis, inflation, and shortages.

Cubans covet increasingly pricey dollars as a safe haven against currency shocks, as well as for migration and purchase of food and fuel on an island increasingly dependent on the greenback. (Excerpt from Reuters)

PMs rap treatment of ex-CDB boss

St Lucia’s Prime Minister Phillip J. Pierre has criticised the removal of Dr Hyginus “Gene” Leon as President of the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), who tendered his resignation earlier this month after being sent on administrative leave in January.

“I want to put on record St Lucia’s full support for the work that Gene Leon did at the Caribbean Development Bank and to regret . . . what caused Gene Leon to resign,” Pierre said in a six-minute statement

to the St Lucia Parliament during a debate on a financial issue.

“We must stop treating our people like that based on conditions or based on circumstances that are foreign to us, Mr Speaker . . . .

“This is wrong. I said it was wrong from the beginning and I am happy that the Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines [Dr Ralph Gonsalves] has put on paper that it is wrong. My position from the start, but I was outvoted and it reached where it reached, Mr Speaker,” Pierre told

legislators.

Gonsalves had said “unsuccessful attempts” had been made to impugn the character of Leon, whom he described as “a distinguished son of our Caribbean civilisation from St Lucia”.

Last month, lawyers representing Leon gave the CDB until May 4 “to negotiate an amicable separation”, indicating also that their correspondence should be viewed “as our client’s pre-action protocol letter” regarding the entire situation . (Excerpt from CMC)

Peruvian President's brother arrested in graft probe as Rolex scandal spreads

Peruvian Police detained President Dina Boluarte's brother and lawyer on Friday amid a probe into alleged influence peddling, ramping up pressure on the Andean country's leader already being investigated over how she got pricey Rolex watches and jewellery.

Authorities searched over 20 properties, including the Lima home of Boluarte's brother Nicanor Boluarte, who is accused of leading a criminal organisation that influences the appointment of people in high positions on power.

Across town, the team of Prosecutors and Police raided the home of Boluarte's lawyer Mateo Castaneda, who is advising her in the case of alleged illicit enrichment involving Rolex watches and jewellery. Boluarte has denied the accusations.

Peru's justice department said it had ordered

the "preliminary detention of Nicanor Boluarte Zegarra and others for the term of ten days, part of an investigation for criminal organisation and influence peddling".

President Boluarte said at a forum on democracy that she trusts Peru's justice system, but did not make

reference to the arrests. "We are not going to be distracted by minor issues, we believe in justice," she said. Nicanor Boluarte, as he was transferred by the Police to a judicial unit, denied the allegations to reporters. "I am innocent... I deny absolutely everything," he said.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Argentines strike against spending cuts under Javier Milei

Ageneral strike against public spending cuts has affected most of Argentina, where schools, banks and many shops remained closed.

Train and metro services were suspended on Thursday, with a limited bus service running.

One of the main union leaders, Hector Daher, said the 24-hour strike was a wake-up call to President Javier Milei.

Daher urged him to review some of the cuts to subsidies and social programmes.

Milei, a right-wing economist who campaigned with a chainsaw to rep-

resent his desire to slash public spending, has begun implementing comprehensive austerity measures since coming into power in December.

He says his measures are necessary to reduce Argentina's public deficit and control the country's inflation rate, which is the highest in the world at nearly 300 per cent a year.

The President criticised the strike, saying his Government had already made many concessions to the unions.

His Government has trumpeted some successes since he came to power, with officials pointing to

falling inflation in recent months. But critics say it has come at a cost, with a slump in economic activity.

A government spokesman described the strike as "purely political", and said it "damages and complicates the lives of many people".

The unions, however, have accused Milei's cuts of doing the same.

"Far from being sustainable, [the cuts are] taking sectors of citizens to extremes that they will hardly be able to recover from if this continues," Daher said, according to the Diario Democracia newspaper. (Excerpt from BBC News)

T&T Attorney General refuses

to

pay Auditor General’s full legal costs

Attorney General Reginald Armour said Thursday that he gave Auditor General Jaiwantie Ramdass an undertaking that he was prepared to pay her legal fees for independent counsel on a specific matter she sought his advice on – but the Auditor General’s legal representative, Freedom Chambers, wants Armour to do more than that.

“I reiterated my commitment to pay legal fees for that which the Auditor General had requested and beyond that, I’m not prepared to commit the public purse to any more fees,”

Armour said during a post-Cabinet media briefing at Whitehall, Port-of-Spain, where the latest legal response from Ramdass was dealt with.

The Auditor General’s legal action has claimed that her rights have been breached. She is seeking protection under the law, plus payment of legal fees for advice to navigate the “multiple legal issues” that have arisen. This, following Government’s refusal to present her 2023 report to Parliament in April and its move to amend Sections 24 and 25 of the Exchequer and Audit (E&A) Act to extend

the time to send information on the 2023 accounts to the Auditor General by four months.

The impasse arose because the Auditor General’s 2023 report didn’t include a $2.6 billion sum that was sent in amended statements by Finance Ministry division officials after the 2023 accounts statements were delivered to her at the January 31, 2024 deadline. The $2.6 billion discovered in February, was understated due to difficulties with the Central Bank’s new electronic cheque-clearing system. (Excerpt from Trinidad Guardian)

Police Officers escort Nicanor Boluarte, brother of Peruvian President Dina Boluarte, as he leaves his home, after Prosecutors detained him for allegedly being part of a group that trafficked influence, according to the Attorney General's Office, in Lima, Peru, May 10, 2024 (Reuters/Gerardo Marin photo)

Around the World

OOIL NEWS

Oil falls on prospect of higher-for-longer US rates, stronger dollar

il prices fell by nearly US$1 a barrel on Friday as comments from US central bank officials indicated higher-for-longer interest rates, which could hinder demand from the world's largest crude consumers.

Brent crude futures settled at US$82.79 a barrel, down US$1.09, or 1.3 per cent. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled at US$78.26 a barrel, down US$1.00, or 1.3 per cent.

For the week, Brent logged a 0.2 per cent loss, while WTI recorded a rise of 0.2 per cent.

Dallas Federal Reserve President Lorie Logan on Friday said it was unclear whether monetary policy was tight enough to bring down inflation to the US central bank's two-percent goal.

Higher interest rates typically slow economic activity and weaken oil demand.

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic also told Reuters he thought inflation was likely to slow under current monetary policy, enabling the central bank to begin reducing its policy rate in 2024 – though perhaps by only a quarter of a percentage point and not until the final months of the year.

"The two Fed speakers certainly seemed to put the kibosh on the prospect of rate cuts," said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital.

The US dollar strengthened after the Fed officials' comments, making greenback-denominated commodities more expensive for buyers using other currencies. Higher-for-longer US interest rates could also dampen demand.

Oil prices were also under pressure from rising US fuel inventories approaching the typically robust summer driving season, said Jim Ritterbusch of Ritterbusch and Associates.

"Given the price decline of the past month and the weaker-thanexpected demand trends for US gasoline and diesel, some bearish demand adjustment would appear likely," Ritterbusch said.

Next week, US inflation data could influence Fed decisions on rates.

Oil drew little support from the US oil rig count, which is an indicator of future supply, despite energy services firm Baker Hughes data showing the number of oil rigs fell by three to 496 this week, their lowest since November.

Money managers, meanwhile, cut their net long US crude futures and options positions in the week to May 7 by 56,517 contracts to 82,697, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission said.

Data on Thursday showing China imported more oil in April than the same month last year also helped keep oil prices from moving lower. China's exports and imports returned to growth in April after contracting the previous month.

The European Central Bank, meanwhile, looks increasingly likely to start cutting rates in June.

In Europe, a Ukrainian drone attack set an oil refinery in Russia's Kaluga region on fire, RIA state news agency reported on Friday, the latest salvo from Kyiv in what has become a series of tit-for-tat attacks on energy infrastructure.

Conflict in the Middle East also continues after Israeli forces bombarded areas of the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Thursday, according to Palestinian residents, after a lack of progress in the latest round of negotiations to halt hostilities in Gaza. (Reuters)

UN General Assembly backs Palestinian bid for membership

The United Nations General Assembly on Friday overwhelmingly backed a Palestinian bid to become a full UN member by recognising it as qualified to join and recommending the UN Security Council "reconsider the matter favourably".

The vote by the 193-member General Assembly was a global survey of support for the Palestinian bid to become a full UN member – a move that would effectively recognise a Palestinian state – after the United States vetoed it in the UN Security Council last month.

South Africa asks World Court to order Israel's withdrawal from Rafah

South Africa has asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to order Israel to withdraw from Rafah as part of additional emergency measures over the war in Gaza, the United Nations's top court said on Friday.

In the ongoing case brought by South Africa, which accuses Israel of acts of genocide against Palestinians, the World Court in January ordered Israel to refrain from any acts that could fall under the Genocide Convention and to ensure its troops commit no genocidal acts against Palestinians.

Israel did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It has previously said it is acting in accordance with international law in Gaza, and has called South Africa's genocide case baseless and ac-

Palestinians sit next to their belongings as people flee Rafah after Israeli forces launched a ground and air operation in the eastern part of the southern Gaza city, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 9, 2024 (Reuters/Mohammed Salem photo)

cused Pretoria of acting as "the legal arm of Hamas".

In filings published on Friday, South Africa is seeking additional emergency measures in light of the ongoing military action in Rafah, which it

calls the "last refuge" for Palestinians in Gaza.

South Africa asked the court to order that Israel cease the Rafah offensive and allow unimpeded access to Gaza for UN officials, organisations provid-

ing humanitarian aid, and Journalists and investigators.

According to South Africa, Israel's military operation is killing the Palestinians of Gaza while at the same time starving them by denying humanitarian aid to enter.

"Those who have survived so far are facing imminent death now, and an order from the Court is needed to ensure their survival," South Africa's filing said.

The war has killed nearly 35,000 persons in Hamas-run Gaza, according to health authorities there. About 1200 persons were killed in Israel and 253 taken hostage on October 7 when Hamas launched the attack that started the war, according Israeli tallies. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Russian forces attack Ukraine's Kharkiv region, striking on new front

Russian forces launched an armoured ground attack on Friday near Ukraine's second city of Kharkiv in the northeast of the country and made small inroads, opening a new front in a war that has long been waged in the east and south.

Ukraine sent reinforcements as fighting raged in the border areas of the region, the Defence Ministry said, adding that Russia had pounded the frontier town of Vovchansk with guided aerial bombs and artillery.

"Russia has begun a new wave of counteroffensive actions in this direc-

tion," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told a news conference in Kyiv. "Now there is a fierce battle in this direction."

Ukraine had warned of a Russian buildup in the area, potentially signalling preparations for an offensive or a ploy to divert and pin down Ukraine's overstretched and outnumbered defenders. It was unclear if Moscow would develop the attack.

In its evening battlefield update, the Ukrainian General Staff said for the first time that Russia was also building up forces to the north of Kharkiv near the Ukrainian regions of Sumy and parts of Chernihiv.

has said

could be preparing a big offensive push this spring or summer. Kyiv's forces were prepared to

Floods kill 50 in northern Afghanistan’s Baghlan province

Cohen

Trump hush money judge urges prosecutors to rein in Michael

TAThe resolution "determines that the State of Palestine ... should, therefore, be admitted to membership" and it "recommends that the Security Council reconsider the matter favourably".

The Palestinian push for full UN membership comes seven months into a war between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and as Israel is expanding settlements in the occupied West Bank, which the UN considers to be illegal. (Excerpt from Reuters)

The assembly adopted a resolution with 143 votes in favour and nine against –including the US and Israel – while 25 countries abstained. It does not give the Palestinians full UN membership, but simply recognises them as qualified to join.

he Judge overseeing Donald Trump's criminal trial on Friday urged prosecutors to tell the former US President's estranged former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen to stop making public statements about the case before his expected testimony next week.

Todd Blanche, Trump's defence lawyer in the case stemming from hush money paid to a porn star, said Cohen, the star prosecution witness, had spoken on social media on Wednesday while wearing a T-shirt showing Trump, the Republican presiden-

tial candidate, behind bars.

Justice Juan Merchan suggested prosecutors tell Cohen that the request to refrain from public statements "comes from the bench" .He spoke at the close of the 15th day of the first criminal trial of a sitting or former US President.

Prosecutors with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office said they would pass along the message. Cohen's lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Judge's comments or the timing of his expected testimony.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

t least 50 persons have died in Afghanistan in flooding following heavy rain in the northern province of Baghlan, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry said, adding that the death toll may rise.

Ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qaniee told the Reuters news agency that there had been flooding in more than five districts in Baghlan after heavy rains, and that some families were stuck and in need of urgent help.

He added that two heavy storms had been predicted for Friday night.

“The Ministry of Interior has sent teams and helicopters to the area, but due to

a shortage of night-vision lights in helicopters, the operation may not be successful,” he said.

The toll was confirmed by local official Hedayatullah Hamdard, the head of the provincial natural disaster management department, who also told AFP that the death toll could rise.

Hamdard explained that heavy seasonal rains caused the flooding, and residents were unprepared for the sudden rush of water.

Emergency personnel were “searching for any possible victims under the mud and rubble, with the help of security forces from the national Army and Police,” he said. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Zelenskiy

Russia

meet Friday's assault, but Moscow could send more troops to the area, he told reporters. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Damaged buildings at the site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, May 10, 2024 (Reuters/Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy photo)

DAILY HOROSCOPES

(March 21-April 19)

Your energy will be propelled by emotions today, making it necessary to calm down and approach situations with an open mind and a kind heart. Anger will set you back.

Specify what you want. Be bold and ask questions or point out something that poses a problem. You can’t please everyone, but you can do what’s best for you. Take care of yourself.

(May 21-June 20) (April 20-May 20)

It’s what you do for others that will boost your profile. Someone will withhold information or try to take credit for something you are doing if you let them. Make your actions notable.

(June 21-July 22)

(July 23-Aug. 22)

(Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

(Sept. 23-Oct. 23)

(Oct. 24-Nov. 22)

(Nov. 23-Dec. 21)

Don’t be afraid to show your emotions. Your dedication and loyalty will shine through. Be honest about your feelings and transparent in your intentions. Romance is favored.

Watch your back when in competitive or challenging situations. Take your time, listen, observe and control your temper. Actions will take precedence over words. Kindness will lead to victory.

Live and learn, do things your way and put your heart and soul into what makes you feel passionate. You have the insight to make a difference. Learn from what you experience.

Chill for a moment and organize your thoughts. Look at every angle and consider your responsibilities before taking on something big. Manage your time efficiently and realistically.

Take the initiative, follow a creative path and enter exciting new territory. What you discover will encourage you to head in a direction that offers peace of mind and worthwhile connections.

Take care of domestic problems before they have a chance to fester. Make plans that include people you care about. The things you do for others will lead to rewards.

(Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

A challenge will allow you to show off your skills and stamina and boost your confidence. Take action instead of trying to convince others to see things your way.

(Jan. 20-Feb. 19)

Don’t neglect your responsibilities, as it will be essential to oversee every detail. Pay attention to domestic problems. Verbalize your thoughts and map out your next move before you proceed.

Communication is your key to getting what you want. Make your intentions clear and follow through with actions. Home improvement projects that make life easier are favored.

IPL 2024: Chennai Super Kings vs Gujarat Titans…

Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan break IPL records

– and hurt CSK's playoffs chances

Shubman Gill and B Sai Sudharsan have ripped up the Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) attack and the record books to keep Gujarat Titans' (GT) playoff hopes just alive. The result, however, has punctured CSK's chances and left them facing a tricky route to the playoffs.

CSK will meet Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Sunday afternoon at Chepauk. They will then run into a resurgent Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in their last league fixture, in Bengaluru on May 18. The defeat to GT means their qualification for the playoffs might come down to net run rates. CSK, though, still have the best

NRR among the three teams with 12 points, but one more defeat could leave the defending champions teetering on the brink.

GT captain Shubman Gill spent some time off the field in their successful defence of 231, because of cramps. But he had already handsomely contributed with the bat in a 210run partnership with Sai Sudharsan: the joint-highest opening stand in the history of the IPL. Along the way, Gill and Sudharsan pushed the IPL century count past 100.

The Gill-Sudharsan opening salvo Gill and Sudharsan are no Travishek. They are more orthodox top-order batters. But on a bouncy, red-soil Ahmedabad pitch on Friday, they showed that they can be just as destructive with their hitting. It was Gill who made the early running when he took left-arm fingerspinner Mitchell Santner for a four

and a six in a 14-run opening over. Then, in the final over of the powerplay, Gill played what was arguably the shot of the day. When Simarjeet Singh bowled a blameless back-of-a-length delivery on off, Gill used his gifts to make it look like a bad ball, and imperiously swatted it over mid-on for six.

Sudharsan, becalmed in the early exchanges, then caught fire, whacking Ravindra Jadeja for 21 off seven balls at a strike rate of 300. The presence of the spin-hitting Sudharsan meant Jadeja could not bowl more than two overs on the night. Ruturaj Gaikwad turned to Daryl Mitchell's cutters, but he was dispatched for 4-0-52-0.

Sudharsan accelerated so quickly that he and his captain had identical scores at the end of the 16th over: 96 off 48 balls. Gill was the first to bring up his hundred with a four, and Sudharsan joined him there with a six just four balls later.

cut short Gill's innings on 72 had he not dropped him at the long-off boundary. He ended up parrying it onto the rope for six. But he came back strong at the death with his defensive skills on show, and he had Shardul Thakur for company.

They kept hiding the ball away from the swinging arcs of the GT batters, and allowed them to score only 41 runs off the last five overs. Only one boundary

Deshpande, Thakur limit damage at the death

In the next over, however, Tushar Deshpande had both Sudharsan and Gill holing out in the space of five balls. Deshpande could have

was scored off the last three overs, but the chase was always going to be a tall order for CSK.

CSK fail to maximise the powerplay

It became even more difficult for CSK when they

were reduced to 2 for 2 within two overs. Rachin Ravindra, who was brought back into the team to beef up the top order, was run out for 1. On the very next ball, Sandeep Warrier bested Ajinkya Rahane in the battle of the Impact Players. Rahane fell for one off five balls.

Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, who had slid down to No. 3, then picked out one of the only two men on the boundary, off Umesh Yadav for a duck.

The early strikes prevented CSK from taking more risks, and they man-

Gujarat Titans (20 ovs maximum)

Sai Sudharsan c Dube

b Deshpande 103

Shubman Gill (c)c Jadeja

b Deshpande 104

David Miller not out 16

M Shahrukh Khan run out (Ravindra/Simarjeet Singh) 2

Extras (lb 1, w 5) 6

TOTAL 20 Ov (RR: 11.55) 231/3

Did not bat: Matthew Wade †, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Umesh Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Kartik Tyagi

Fall of wickets: 1-210 (Sai Sudharsan, 17.2 ov), 2-213 (Shubman Gill, 17.6 ov), 3-231 (M Shahrukh Khan, 19.6 ov) • DRS

BOWLING O-M-R-W Mitchell Santner 2-0-31-0

Tushar Deshpande 4-0-33-2

Shardul Thakur 4-0-25-0

Simarjeet Singh 4-0-60-0

Ravindra Jadeja 2-0-29-0

Daryl Mitchell 4-0-52-0

Chennai Super Kings (T: 232 runs from 20 ovs)

Ajinkya Rahane c Tewatia

b Sandeep Warrier 1

Rachin Ravindra run out (Miller) 1

Ruturaj Gaikwad (c) c Rashid Khan b Yadav 0

aged only 43 for 3 in the powerplay.

Mitchell, Moeen turn up the tempo

Daryl Mitchell then gave the chase a leg-up by repeatedly pumping the ball over the top. He even went after the GT ace spinner Rashid Khan, taking him for 18 off seven balls.

At the other end, Moeen struggled to pick Rashid's variations, but he lined up Noor Ahmad, the left-arm wristspinner, and walloped him for three successive sixes to start the 11th over.

Mohit closes it out for GT At 119 for 3 in 12 overs, CSK were in with a chance, until Mohit Sharma's intervention. Mohit struck with his second ball, a well-disguised knuckle ball which tricked Mitchell into skying a catch to long-off for 63 off 34 balls. In his next over, he dug an on-pace delivery into the surface and had Moeen holing out for 56 off 36 balls. Mohit also snagged Shivam Dube for 21 off 13 balls, and came away with 3 for 31 - the best figures on the day.

When GT and CSK last met at this venue, in a threeday IPL final last season, Mohit couldn't get the job done. On Friday, his execution was so good that CSK fell well short, despite MS Dhoni's cameo at the end.

(ESPNCricInfo)

Daryl Mitchell c Shahrukh Khan b Sharma 63 Moeen Ali c

Sai Sudharsan got to his hundred with a six

Sai Sudharsan worked the leg side

Shubman Gill made the IPL's 100th hundred

Shubman Gill started well

Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ moves to Linden

The Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Linden Championship will commence this evening at the Amelia’s Ward/Wisroc Car Park tarmac.

In the opening match, at 19:00hrs, three-time defending champion Swag Entertainment will lock horns with ABG, while the second match would pit Coomacka against Fearless at 19:40hrs.

In the third fixture, HiFlyers will take aim at the Spaniards at 20:20hrs, and Excuse the Rush would be tackling Tidal Wave in the fourth fixture at 21:00hrs.

The final two matches would pit Hardball against the Universal Ballers at 21:40hrs, and Super Strikers against Young Gunners at 22:20hrs.

The event will continue on May 17th at the Silver City Hard Court with another round of matches. V-Side and High Rollers would battle in the opening match, at 19:00hrs, while BB Ballers and Turf President would take centre stage at 19:40hrs.

The third encounter of the evening would pit Top Strikers against Double 6 at 22:20hrs, while One Side would lock horns with DC Ballers at 21:00hrs.

In the fifth fixture, Amoria would match skills with the Silver Bullets at 21:40hrs, while YMCA would come against Assassa Ballers in the final match of the evening, at 22:20hrs.

The winner of the tournament would walk away with

of consecutive titles

$500,000 and the championship trophy, and would also earn an automatic berth to the national championship, which is pencilled for August in Georgetown. Meanwhile, second-, third-, and fourth-place finishers will pocket $400,000, $300,000, and $250,000 respectively and the corresponding accolade.

This tournament is also sponsored by Colours Boutique, who have provided the playing kits for the entirety of the season.

Fixtures May 11th

19:00hrs: ABG vs. Swag Entertainment

19:40hrs: Fearless vs. Coomacka

20:20hrs: Hi-Flyers vs. Spaniards

21:00hrs: Excuse the Rush vs. Tidal Wave

21:40hrs: Hardball vs. Universal Ballers

22:20hrs: Super Strikers vs. Young Gunners

May 17th

19:00hrs: V-Side vs. High Rollers

19:40hrs: BB Ballers vs. Turf President

20:20hrs: Top Strikers vs. Double 6

Appadu consolidates position as Guyana’s top jockey for 2024

Jockey Ronaldo Appadu has consolidated his position as Guyana’s leading jockey for 2024.

Fresh from registering three first place wins at the Jumbo Jet Race of Champions meet, where he piloted Stolen Money to a remarkable victory in the feature event, young jockey Appadu has chalked up 74 points and earned G$879,375 in fees.

He has recorded nine firstplace wins, seven second-place wins, three third-place wins, and two fourth-place wins in 24 starts in 2024.

Veteran jockey Colin Ross sits in second place in the quest to be considered Guyana’s top jockey for 2024. He has chalked up 58 points, and has earned fees of G$717,950. Ross, who was the jockey of the year in 2023, has registered seven firstplace wins, six second-place wins, two third-place wins, and one fourth-place win in 24 starts this season.

Trinidadian jockey Kiran Razack has 38 points, while Yovin Kissonchand has 31 points. Nicholas Patrick has 26 points, Quinton Kellman has 24, Kevin Paul has 16, and Rico Hernandez has 14. They are the other jockeys trailing in terms of points this season.

The next race day is set for

July 1 at Port Mourant. The May 26 meet was cancelled earlier this week, organizers citing horse owners requiring more time to prepare horses.

Guyana Cup 2024 is set for August 11 at Rising Sun Turf Club. That grand meet will be organized by the Jumbo Jet Thoroughbred Racing

Guyana. All systems should be in place for the greatly anticipated Guyana Cup race day. This impending legislation is aimed at establishing a recognized Guyana Horse Racing Authority tasked with regulating major stables, officials, jockeys, and handlers.

The legislation initiative

Committee, and top horses are expected to feature. Importantly, the importation process for new horses has already begun.

Promoters and the relevant authorities are working towards having legislation in place to govern horse racing in

comes after previous attempts had been made in this regard in 2014, and key elements include provisions to address violations, expand the Authority’s membership, introduce term limits, and implement licensing for owners, jockeys, and trainers.

This development is expect-

ed to bring clarity, structure, and oversight to the horse racing industry in Guyana, marking a significant step toward its formal recognition and regula-

tion. The likes of jockeys Appadu and Ross will also have to adjust to new settings when the legislation comes into effect.

GABA U23 Championships 2024…

Stepping stone for “One Guyana” League

With the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association’s (GABA) U23 Championship underway since April 27th at the National Gymnasium, GABA President Jermaine Slater has emphasized the development of U23 basketball in a comment invited by Guyana Times Sport.

Slater, in declaring that the league is a stepping stone for the “One Guyana” Basketball League which commences in August, expounded, “This is the youth version of the ‘One Guyana’ League; the U23 version, where we will see the new skills. Some of these same players that you see playing here now might be available for the ‘One Guyana’ Basketball Premier League coming up in August. So, this is a stepping stone, building ground, and there will continue to be a building ground for the ‘One Guyana’ League.”

Touching on the good performances showcased in the league thus far, Slater said:

“Well, so far it has been surprisingly good, even though the youths haven’t many leagues recently, these couple groups of youths have been playing very well. They understand the game, the fundamentals of the game, and the teams are now charged to ensure that they have fundamental prac-

President of the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association, Jermaine Slater

tice sessions. If they don’t have fundamental practice sessions, they can’t enter ‘One Guyana’ League. So, now the teams are digging down in the training, so we can see it paying off in the U23 Tournament so far.”

The tournament kicked off with 12 teams being divided into two groups, named Group A and Group B, with a projected 34 games. The teams of Group A are: Stabroek Eagles, Leonora D-UP Rising Stars, Cummingsburg Bounty Colts, Lamaha Park/Springs Pepsi Sonics, North Ruimveldt Ravens, and Meadowbrook Nets.

The Group B squads are: Wortmanville/Werk-en-Rust Pacesetters, Black Caimans, Kwakwani Untouchables, Prospect Kobras, Alberttown Valhalla Knights, and Cummings Lodge UG Trojans. (Omar Mckenzie)

21:00hrs: One Side vs. DC Ballers

21:40hrs:

22:20hrs:

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Amoria vs. Silver Bullets

YMCA vs. Assassa Ballers

Flashback: Swag Entertainment would be aiming to secure an unprecedented fourth championship after winning a historic treble

Jockey Ronaldo Appadu

Flashback: Action from last year’s final between Swag Entertainment (yellow) and Universal Ballers

Appadu piloted Stolen Money to victory in the Race of Champions last month

– says GABA President Jermaine Slater

Golden Jags squad announced for Trinidad friendly

…Shabazz impressed with local squad

Jamaal Shabazz, Head

Coach of the Guyana se-

nior men’s national team the Golden Jaguars, has said the 24 players selected for the Trinidad and Tobago international friendlies on May 13 and 15 have impressed him during the KFC Elite League Season Six Round One and the rigorous training sessions this week.

Shabazz shared that the three goalkeepers, six defenders, eleven midfielders, and four forwards were drawn from clubs that included Guyana Defence Force FC, Slingerz FC, Guyana Police Force FC and Santos FC because they “showed they can do well locally, so now we’re going to give them a taste of international football.”

Both matches will be played at 7pm at the Hasley Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain, Trinidad. The players are all aiming to secure their spots in the final squad for the upcoming Concacaf Qualifiers for the World Cup 2026.

“These matches are going to answer some questions for some of these boys: if they are ready for international football or not, or if they need a little more time. In my judgement, the fact that we’ve selected them, I think they are. So, questions are going to be answered in terms of their performance,” Shabazz has

said.

The head coach noted that the team has a solid blend of players with prior international experience, who will provide a firm foundation alongside newcomers eager to leave their imprint on the team.

The roster includes some recognisable figures, such as defenders Jeremy Garrett and Curtez Kellman; midfielders Daniel Wilson and Leo Lovell; and forward Kelsey Benjamin.

Their contributions were integral to the Golden Jaguars' undefeated campaign in the Concacaf National League 2023/2024, which led to Guyana’s historic promotion to League A, achieved alongside Trinidad and Tobago.

The home-based players are four fresh talents with

Guyanese heritage, who hail from Canada, France and the United States and are making their debut appearances with the Golden Jaguars.

“We had four sessions, so it has gone well. They guys have been very enthusiastic. They have worked hard, they been on time, they have been disciplined. I can’t ask much more of them, other than now to go to Trinidad to carry the courage and confidence that they have shown in the training,” Shabazz has said.

Goalkeepers: Jamaine Cumberbatch, Amari Thompson and Simon Emmanuel

Defenders: Jeremy Garret, Curtez Kellman, Quincy Adams, Colin Nelson, Kevin Layne and Cedric

Golden Jaguars meet PM, Sport Minister before jetting off for friendlies

…Brazilian

friendlies being

considered - Ramson Jr

The local base of Guyana’s senior men’s national football team the Golden Jaguars, featuring a handful of international faces, will jet off for the Twin Island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago today, in anticipation of two international friendly games.

The Golden Jaguars will come up against Trinidad’s Soca Warriors on Monday, May 13 and Wednesday, May 15. As such, Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr., Director of Sport Steve Ninvalle, and a number of other stakeholders met with members of the team at the Arthur Chung Conference Center (ACCC) at Liliendaal on Friday afternoon.

There, the Sport Minister gave an overview of the Government’s role in the Golden Jaguars’ impending trip. Ramson Jr. divulged to media operatives on Friday, “We’re sending 30 persons over to Trinidad to play against their national team and their elite players there, and there’s a reason for that. You know, you can never improve your skills and your teamwork and your capabilities as a team if you’re not playing against better teams, and it’s no secret Trinidad has got a very good team.

“We want to take every

opportunity that we could, that is within budget, that we could use to increase our opportunities. They’re going to be having a number of matches against other countries as part of the League A programme, but this is part of how they will prepare themselves,” the Sport Minister added.

According to Ramson Jr, the push for better opposition for the Golden Jaguars does not end at Trinidad, since friendlies against a Brazilian opposition are being considered for the near future.

“I think where this is concerned, this is one of the ways where we can make a good investment into them going to practice against

Osborn.

Midfielders: Leo Lovell, Bevan Baker, Terique Mohammed, Amos Ramsay, Nicolai Andrews, Ryan Hackett, Simeon Moore, Daniel Wilson, Chris Macey, Darron Niles and Solomon Austin.

Forwards: Kelsey Benjamin, Marcus Tudor, Anthony Smith and Stephen McDonald.

The Golden Jaguars face a daunting path in the Concacaf Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Second Round, from June 2024 to 2025, in Group D alongside Panama, Nicaragua, Montserrat and Belize.

The qualification process has three stages involving thirty-two FIFAaffiliated Concacaf Member Associations. The first round

featured the lowest-ranked Member Associations — Turks and Caicos Islands, British Virgin Islands, United States Virgin Islands, and Anguilla.

In the Second Round, which includes the winners of the first round and the remaining twenty-eight participating Member Associations, Guyana will engage in a series of four matches split evenly between home and away fixtures.

Only the group winners and runners-up would progress to the third and final round of Qualifiers.

During the Final Round, second-round group winners and runners-up — totalling twelve teams — will be segregated into three groups of four teams each. These teams

would vie in six home-andaway matches across the FIFA international match windows of September, October and November 2025.

The winning trio from these groups would secure their slots in the prestigious World Cup.

Guyana Football Federation (GFF) President Wayne Forde and Head Coach Shabazz are focused on preparing the national team through consistent on-field action, which includes participation in international friendlies.

The objective is clear: the Golden Jaguars are striving to secure direct qualification for their inaugural World Cup appearance, alongside hosts Canada, Mexico and the United States.

Completing the official roster for the Trinidad and Tobago international friendlies are Assistant Coach Wayne Dover, Goalkeeper Coach Eon DeViera, Manager Rawle Adams, Equipment Manager Trevor Burnett, and Equipment Officer N-Zinga Maxwell.

“We ready to go on the doorstep of Trinidad and Tobago and take the fight to them,” Shabazz has said. The team is scheduled to leave Guyana for Trinidad and Tobago on May 11.

Test cricket returns to Providence as CWI confirms packed 2024 home schedule

Cbetter teams. We’re looking to have something against a team in Brazil later on, maybe in a month or two, depending on what the schedule looks like. But that’s on the cards right now. It’s something that the President and I have discussed, and it’s something at the level of the cabinet. It’s also discussed too,” Ramson Jr. disclosed.

Touching on this reinvigorated interest in the National team, Ramson Jr. says Government’s current investment in the team surpasses that of years prior. The Sport Minister explained, “The investment that we’re making now in the Guyana national football team, we’ve never made this level of investment before. That’s the reality. We are also making that commitment in a very sensible way too, which is about making sure that if we want to give ourselves an exceptional or distinct opportunity to succeed at the World Cup level, then they have to play better teams, and that’s something that we’ve been organizing.”

The Golden Jaguars are in preparation mode for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, which they will kickoff on June 6 against Panama.

ricket West Indies (CWI) on Friday announced an action-packed schedule for the West Indies Men, featuring three international home tours against South Africa, England and Bangladesh from May to December 2024. The home tours begin with a visit from South Africa for three (3) T20 Internationals (T20Is) at Sabina Park prior to the start of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The Proteas then return to the region after the West Indies Test Tour to England in July with a two (2) Test Match Series to be played in Trinidad and Guyana, followed by a second three (3) match T20I Series at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad ahead of the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

Following a white ball tour away to Sri Lanka in October, the West Indies would welcome England to the Caribbean for a whiteball tour consisting of three (3) CG United One Day Internationals (ODIs) and five (5) T20Is. The series will be played across Antigua, Barbados and Saint Lucia, with travel packages on sale from today at CWI’s Official Tour Operators.

Bangladesh then complete the action packed year with an all-format tour before Christmas, with two (2) Test matches in Antigua and Jamaica, three (3) CG United ODIs in St. Kitts, and three

(3) T20Is in Saint Vincent.

CWI Chief Executive Johnny Grave has said, “We are delighted to announce our West Indies Men’s Home Series for the remainder of the year, that will welcome South Africa, England and Bangladesh to eight of our host countries in the West Indies, including Saint Vincent for the first time since 2012. With significant improvements being made to the National Stadium in Grenada and Windsor Park in Dominica, we were unable to host international cricket there

this year, but we are already looking forward to returning to both venues in 2025. Fans can purchase tickets online from today for the first Series against South Africa in Jamaica, and with our official travel partners for the England Tour later this year, with all other tickets expected to go on sale in July after the ICC Men’s T20 World. We urge fans to rally behind our Men in Maroon as we strive for a historic third T20 World Cup title and seek to secure all important points in the ICC World Test Championship.”

Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr

Head Coach Jamaal Shabazz engaging Assistant Coach Wayne Dover

A look at the local contingent of the Golden Jaguars in training