Guyana Times - Saturday October 2, 2021

P16

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THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Issue No. 4788

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2021

PRICE

Agriculture Month

Guyana’s diversified agriculture sector aims at slashing Caricom’s food imports by 25% by 2025 – President Ali See story on page 3

…says Guyana pursuing aggressive campaign to dismantle regional barriers to agricultural trade

Daughter, hitman sentenced to death for father’s murder

9-yearold dies after being struck by – public assistance recipients, persons with disabilities to also benefit 4-runner

One-off $25,000 cash grant payout for pensioners to commence Monday

See story on page 15

$80 VAT INCLUDED

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Gas station pump attendant, 3 others robbed by armed P2 bandits

September now deadliest month with 167 deaths

– as 4 more unvaccinated persons among 6 to succumb – 228 new cases recorded in 24h P16

GTT mounts “Wall of Hope” in the National Park as Pinktober 2021 P14 launched

See story on page 11

Father, son remanded for P12 kidnapping, beating Essequibo minibus driver

Page 13

GCCI wants local content legislation tabled before year end See story on page 7

– complains of local firms being bypassed for work

P9 Berbice businessman attacked, robbed by armed bandits

2 NEWS

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Gas station pump attendant, 3 others robbed by armed bandits

F

our people, including a pump attendant attached to the Chico Ramos Gas Station at Coldingen Public Road, East Coast Demerara (ECD), were on Thursday evening robbed by four unidentifiable males, who were all armed with handguns.

The 37-year-old male pump attendant was relieved of $50,000 in cash, while a 50-year-old self-employed male of Bush Lot Village, West Coast Berbice (WCB) was robbed of $75,000 in cash, a BLU cellular phone, and a grey A95 Samsung Galaxy smart phone.

A 29-year-old male truck driver of Bush Lot Village, WCB was also robbed of an iPhone 12 Pro Max, a Bluetooth headset, $50,000 in cash and a wallet containing his National Identification Card and driver’s licence.

In addition, a 23-yearold male, also of Bush Lot Village, was relieved of his valuables.

Police have said that on the day in question, at about 20:35h, the driver of motor lorry GPP 9555, along with two other occupants: a 50-year-old male and a 23-year-old male, stopped at the said gas station to pur-

The Chico Ramos Gas Station at Coldingen Public Road

chase fuel.

The driver and the two

occupants exited the vehicle and went to the western side

of the gas station to make the purchase at the mini

mart. While purchasing the fuel, the occupants observed that the engine of the motor lorry was turned off. They immediately walked back to the eastern side of the gas station, where the 50-yearold was confronted by one of the men, who demanded money and other valuables from him.

The suspect then dealt the 50-year-old one lash to his head with what appeared to be a handgun, then emptied his pockets. The suspect thereafter went into the cabin of the lorry and removed the phones and other items belonging to the two victims.

A second suspect then assaulted the 29-year-old driver, placing his hand into the man’s pockets and taking away his money.

The third suspect, the Police have said, placed his hand into the 23-yearold’s pocket and relieved him of his valuables as well.

Thereafter, he dealt him one lash to his forehead with the hand gun. The other occupants were also beaten.

After committing the act, the suspects ran and jumped into a silver car which was parked about 50 feet away from the service station, and made good their escape.

Following the incident, the victims made a report to the Vigilance Police Station via telephone, but were unable to identify the suspects because the area was dark.

An investigation has been launched.

NEWS

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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS OPENINGS BRIDGE

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

Saturday, October 2 – 01:30h-03:00h and 13:30h-15:00h and Sunday, October 3 – 02:00h-03:30h and 13:30h-15:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Saturday, October 2 – 14:00h-15:30h and Sunday, October 3 – 14:35h-16:05h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

Agriculture Month

Guyana’s diversified agriculture sector aims at slashing Caricom’s food imports by 25% by 2025 – President Ali …says Guyana pursuing aggressive campaign to dismantle regional barriers to agricultural trade

WEATHER TODAY

Sunny intervals and cloudy skies are expected during the day. Partly cloudy skies and thundery showers are expected at night. Temperatures should range between 22 degrees Celsius and 31 degrees Celsius.

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

High Tide: 13:52h reaching a maximum height of 2.23 metres.

Low Tide: 07:17h and 19:43h reaching minimum heights of 0.96 metre and 0.99 metre.

President Dr Irfaan Ali during a tour of the massive soya bean project in Ebini, Region 10

I

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2021

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021

DAILY MILLIONS

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

COMMODITIES Indicators

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Change %

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$245.124/ton $510.90/ton

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n the next four years, Guyana, with the assistance of more diversified crops, is aiming to reduce the Caribbean Community’s (Caricom’s) food import bill by 25 per cent, according to President Dr Irfaan Ali. “Guyana intends to become the agricultural heartland of the Englishspeaking Caribbean, and play its part in helping the Caribbean Community reduce its food import bill by 25 per cent by 2025,” the President said in his Agriculture Month message.

October is designated Agriculture Month, and this year it is being observed under the theme “Transforming our Food Systems: Achieving Food and Nutrition Security.”

The Head of State has said that Agriculture Month recognises the importance of the sector’s contributions to the Guyana economy, in addition to the critical role it plays in guaranteeing food security and supporting sustainable livelihoods.

He explained that agriculture has long been a mainstream of Guyana’s economy, and its contribution cannot be downplayed.

He added that, in 2020, the sector was responsible for 16.2 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and along with forestry and fishing, it accounts for 12.2 per cent of the national employment numbers.

“The sector makes a valuable contribution to the country’s foreign exchange earnings…and provides livelihoods for thousands of workers and their families,” the President has said.

Referring to the devastating May-June floods which crippled the agriculture sector and sent food prices through the

roof, the President said Government’s priority has always been, and remains, the rapid recovery of the sector. He posited that Government is supporting the restoration of the agriculture sector, with its distribution of flood and recovery among farmers.

“We are also reversing some of the ills of the sector. In just over one year in Government, we have also made progress in strengthening agricultural institutions, improving drainage and irrigation, providing

incentives to boost production and diversification, conducting countrywide engagements with farmers, and enhancing the business environment to drive agricultural growth,” the message related.

Outlining a 10-year mission, President Ali said the aim is to “secure an expanded, diversified and modernised, resilient and competitive sector.” Presenting the plan to achieve that aim, Ali said Government is expanding the productive sector with invest-

ments in large-scale cultivation, including that of soya and corn; high-yielding, pest-resistant and climate-resilient crop varieties aimed at making local agriculture more resilient; modernisation that would involve the establishment of modern farms and increase use of technology and more efficient farm practices. Diversification would include promoting increased aquaculture, and through the cultivation of new crops; and Guyana is also pursuing an aggressive campaign to dismantle restrictive regional barriers to the trade in agricultural produce, to foster increased agricultural exports and stimulate more production.

The President’s message also related that the transformation of local agriculture would involve an inclusive approach, which would include the active participation of the Government and the Private Sector, and continued engagements with farmers, agriculturalists, agronomists, veterinarians, food exporters/ importers, academia, the scientific community, and other stakeholders.

TURN TO PAGE 7

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guyanatimesgy.com

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2021

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

Breast Cancer E

ach year, October is designated Breast Cancer Awareness Month. On Friday, the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT) launched its annual initiative, ‘Pinktober’, during which a “Wall of Hope” was introduced for the first time. The wall is erected in the National Park.

However, also at the launch, it was stated that several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) will be offering VIA screening and several awareness webinars to educate persons on the deadly disease.

Just being a woman is the biggest risk factor for developing breast cancer. In fact, in a published article, United Statesbased Oncology Surgeon Dr Theophilus Lewis pointed out that all women were at risk for breast cancer, since the risks associated with developing the disease were not controllable.

During several events last year, it was revealed that age and family history were among the biggest risk factors for developing the disease. According to the Surgeon, while the incidence of a young woman developing the disease in her 30s is very small – 0.4 per cent - he is currently treating five patients, all under 30 years, for the disease. A rather unusual occurrence, according to the Oncologist.

This grabs the attention, since the focus on breast cancer usually starts when a woman turns 40; it was explained, too, that after this age, the incidence of developing breast cancer doubles, going from 0.4 to 1.46. With each passing decade, the risk factor increases, hence age is one of the primary risk factors for breast cancer.

One of the other important points highlighted was that estrogen is a driver for breast cancer, and what this means is that once a woman has a long exposure to estrogen, which is not interrupted by pregnancies, then the risk factor for developing breast cancer becomes greater.

Estrogen can be defined as a female steroid hormone that is produced by the ovaries, and in lesser amounts by the adrenal cortex, placenta, and male testes. Estrogen helps control and guide sexual development, including the physical changes associated with puberty.

This risk is especially pronounced in women who have menstruated very early (9 or 10 years old) and who menstruate into their 50s, and had been exposed to estrogen for many years. If, however, the years of exposure are broken up by pregnancies, this increased risk is considerably reduced, Dr Lewis said, even as he pointed out that a pregnancy is regarded as a protective period.

It was also explained that a woman who conceives and gives birth after the age of 34 or 35 would likely lose the protection from estrogen by that age, and would also be at high risk of developing cancer.

It is not usual for young women to develop breast cancer at a young age; when a woman is young, estrogen is stored in fat cells. The more obese a woman is, the more fat she is likely to be able to store. But although a woman stops making estrogen when she is older and begins menopause, the estrogen already stored in the fat makes her more at risk of developing cancer.

For this reason, Dr Lewis noted, developing breast cancer is not necessarily impacted by what you eat, but the amount of estrogen you are able to store. Other risk factors include family history.

Women with close relatives who have been diagnosed with breast cancer have a higher risk of developing the disease. If you’ve had one first-degree female relative (sister, mother, daughter) diagnosed with breast cancer, your risk is doubled.

Among the other risk factors, research suggests that women with low levels of vitamin D have a higher risk of developing breast cancer. Vitamin D may play a role in controlling normal breast cell growth, and may be able to stop breast cancer cells from growing.

Every woman wants to know what she can do to lower her risk of breast cancer. Some of the factors associated with breast cancer – being a woman, your age, and your genetics, for example – cannot be changed. Other factors – being overweight, lack of exercise, smoking cigarettes, and eating unhealthy food – can be changed by making choices.

By choosing the healthiest lifestyle options possible, you can empower yourself and make sure your breast cancer risk is as low as possible.

GTT’s CEO, Damian Blackburn cutting the ribbon at the “Wall of Hope” in the National Park to officially launch Pinktober 2021 on Friday. Other members of the GTT senior management team, sponsors and Pinktober partners were also present at the event

Train Police Officers to deal with domestic violence issues

Dear Editor, The first batch of Police officers recently graduating from the “COPSQUAD2000” initiative on how to handle domestic violence should set the stage for the re-engineering of Police training.

With this training should come a DV unit that would ensure structure, monitoring, evidence-gathering, evaluation, and accountability. Such a unit should incorporate: • Taking every report seriously, and eliminating Police laughing at, and mocking, complainants, causing them to be fearful and angry; ridiculing them, and telling them to go home and make up with their spouses. This kind of behaviour has resulted in too many victims simply refusing to report to the Police, claiming it’s a waste of time.

As well, who knows how many lives may have been lost by this attitude? To be noted also is that domestic violence is significant in Police families, but is deeply hidden, as victims do not think reporting to the Police station would get them anywhere - a perspective fostered by the perpetrators.

Often, victims seek escape by migrating illegally to other countries, but The Caribbean Voice is also aware of many instances in which the perpetrators – Police officers – abused and threatened families of their

victims.

•Interaction with complainants, using the right language and tone - perhaps emphatic communication - should be added to the “COPSQUAD2000” training. The expectation is to eliminate the language currently used, as referenced in the above paragraph.

•Investigations and follow-up that would see perpetrators prosecuted and reports not ducked because of bribery, as often happens; or Police themselves not acting as mediators after perpetrators buy them off. As well, consideration should be given to a mechanism that would ensure that cases still go to court, even if victims refuse to testify; and for this to be possible, necessary photos, medical assessments and eyewitness interviews ought to be part of the investigation, which must be timely.

The fact is that victims are sometimes bought off, or threatened along with their families, or both.

•Safety planning advise and referrals for needed services. Safety planning needs to be disseminated, as it provides victims with the capacity to seek escape and assistance, while keeping themselves and children safe and protected. And the services available, especially those offered by various Ministries, need to be known and utilised by vic-

tims. As it is, this is not the case currently.

Police also need to be trained to deal with the mentally-ill, as is the case in Jamaica, where there is also a push to have selected Police personnel trained as emergency medical technicians to enhance their ability to help the mentally-ill.

Guyana should also incorporate same as part of the mental health training. In fact, Police training should significantly focus on case care management models for mental health overall.

As well, isn’t it time for the Police to create a Child Abuse Unit within the Force? The Police are already part of the inter-disciplinary team that works along with the child advocacy centres, so it would be an extension of that training to ensure such officers are available at every Police station.

We also suggest training of Police to handle sexual abuse. For one, they should ensure that all complainants of rape and incest be immediately taken to hospitals, where one would expect that rape kits are available for the relevant tests. They should also be able to take needed photos to be used as evidence, and urgently get counselling for complainants.

As well, they must be able to use the right language and tone to question

victims, and this is where emphatic communication comes into play. Perhaps domestic violence and sexual abuse can be combined into a Victim Services and Support Unit.

We also suggest that a drug and alcohol abuse and addiction initiative, such as would be implemented in Trinidad & Tobago in partnership with the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD), include the Police.

Such a model can be implemented in partnership with NGOs, CBOs, governmental agencies, and possibly the Private Sector.

And to ensure that the Police are mentally and emotionally equipped to do their job, may we suggest that each division have at least two counsellors along with mobile counselling units in each of the seven divisions, so the Police can receive psychosocial support year-round on an ongoing basis? This would ensure that suicide ideation, domestic violence, sexual harassment and alcohol and drugs’ issues are addressed in a timely manner, while Police are provided with the wherewithal to enhance self-esteem, stress management, coping skills, relationship issues, abuse of every shade, and work conditions.

Sincerely, Caribbean Voice

guyanatimesgy.com

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2021

5

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

The PPP Government has Urgent alert: Pregnant women need the COVID-19 vaccines always been known for its ability to plan ahead Dear Editor, I am penning this short letter to say thanks to the forward-thinkers who are once again leading this great nation. As a resident of Georgetown, I do not think I could handle another episode of the 2005 flood.

I say that to say this: the construction of the Hope Canal following that flood has not been given enough praise. Recent flooding across the country and the devastating effects it has had on the agriculture and productive sectors have put some things into perspective for me to some extent. Before I go on, I want to thank President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali for the relief efforts that his government has extended to those who were affected.

I was not directly affected, but I followed the news and tried to get a sense of what took place in the most affected regions. Based on those reports, Region Four was the least affected region.

Following the 2005 flood, the then PPP Government saw the need for a massive water relief avenue, and embarked on

conducting the necessary studies. These studies were later presented to the relevant officials to secure the resources required for such a huge undertaking.

What some may not know is that, in 2014, that project was recorded as the largest ever funded with Guyanese resources, as it sought to offer a real solution to the risk of the failure of the East Demerara Water Conservancy. The Hope Canal project was, and is still, considered a major engineering construction achievement in this country. Built by Guyanese engineers and workers, it was recorded as one of the most significant inputs made towards addressing climate change challenges in Guyana.

Fast forward to 2021, and the Hope Canal is said to be the main reason Region Four was the least affected by the recent flood.

The then PPP Government knew that something like that could recur, and made a conscious decision to put mitigating systems in place. Following the construction of the Hope Canal, the idea was dis-

cussed to identify other vulnerable areas for similar structures to be built, but those ideas were quickly shelved in 2015 with the previous government took office.

Now that we are recovering and rebuilding the agriculture sector, both the President and the Minister of Agriculture have said that Government intends to have similar structures constructed in vulnerable areas in the country, to avoid a recurrence of what took place a few months ago.

I welcome such projects. The snowball effect that the recent flood had on the entire economy was somewhat crippling. The Government helped, and is still helping, with the flood Relief Grant, but I believe a long-term solution needs to be put in place, and the ongoing talks the Government is having about building these structures should continue, so that persons residing in those vulnerable areas can benefit.

Yours sincerely, Celestine Durant

The Opposition must get off that negative platform

Dear Editor, The Opposition have to get off that platform of negatives they are presently portraying; it is neither doing them nor the nation any good. A campaign of negativity tells everyone that the Opposition are bereft of ideas, and, as such, want their followers to be of that mindset also.

Pretty soon that irresponsible behaviour would backfire on them, and they would reap the rewards of their evil deeds.

A fledgling developing nation such as ours can ill afford the backwardness and pessimism that are coming from the Opposition; it is truly obnoxious.

What the people of Guyana want, or what they are looking forward to, is an Opposition who would come to the table with positive and progressive ideas that would augur well in the co-governance of this country.

I am looking at the report card of the Opposition, and what I see is a mountain of negatives: in agriculture, in education, in crime fighting; you name it, and the PNC are there as an irritat-

ing annoyance, standing in the way, ready to block the peaceful and progressive path of the Government. It is an irreversible obstructionist stance, taken ever since they lost the last general elections. This is a vivid example of their settled subversive way of thinking.

The highwater mark of their negativity comes across in the handling of the coronavirus issue. Their position has been most unfortunate, especially when they keep pushing that “My body my choice” position.

This has been the most reckless and irresponsible call to date, because it has succeeded in endangering the lives of so many people.

When a party can be so callous and heartless, it shows the depths to which they are prepared to go to score cheap political points.

They do not care about people, they care only about themselves; and in this regard, I view this as a crime against humanity.

People are dying while the political Opposition posture with this foolishness of “my body my choice.” But their efforts at obstructing progress will not succeed;

I repeat, their efforts at obstructing progress will not succeed, because with every negative effort to derail the process comes another progressive alternative set out by the Government.

Guyana is on the threshold of becoming the next Singapore of the world; with the fastest growing economy in the world, we will not be bogged down by the retrograde thinking of a minority. We are on an upward trajectory, and on this road, negative forecasters would not be accommodated, nor would they be allowed to impede our progress.

Respectfully, Neil Adams

Dear Editor, More than 160 expectant mothers have died from COVID, the USA’s CDC reported. Twenty-two of them died in August 2021.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on Wednesday September 29, 2021, issued its strongest guidance to date, urging pregnant women to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

The guidance comes as more than quarter of a million cases of COVID in pregnant women have been reported, 22,000 of whom were hospitalised in the USA, according to the CDC. According to reports from the CDC, a total of 161 pregnant women have died of COVID-19, with 22 deaths occurring in August.

Yet, less than a third of pregnant women have been vaccinated.

The new notice is meant to strengthen previous CDC guidance issued last month, when the agency first advised pregnant women to get the vaccine.

It’s well established that people with underlying health conditions, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, are at increased risk of developing COVID complications. Pregnancy has also been considered an underlying health condition.

The guidance extends to women trying to become pregnant, as well as those who have recently given birth or who may be breastfeeding.

Apparently, pregnant women are at risk of developing complications from COVID. Overwhelmingly, these complications have occurred in women who were unvaccinated. One complication of COVID during pregnancy is pre-term birth, which puts a newborn at risk as well.

In general, premature babies are more likely to have compromised respiratory function, because of their underdeveloped lungs.

But if a premature baby with underdeveloped lungs ends up with COVID (likely from exposure to the mother after birth), that newborn is at risk of developing additional breathing issues.

While it is rare, some of the youngest COVID patients had need to be placed on ventilators.

CDC Director Dr Rochelle Walensky strongly encourages those who are pregnant or considering pregnancy to talk with their healthcare provider about the protective benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine to keep their babies and themselves safe.

One must understand that communicating the risks of COVID to pregnant women is neither easy nor straightforward. Many doctors have confirmed that many such women are loathe to get the shots, sometimes falling prey to misinformation about the vaccines’ safety and effectiveness.

One recent study in the USA, however, showed no increased risk for miscarriage after at least one dose of the Moderna or the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines.

The miscarriage rate of the approximately 2,500 women in the study was about the same as would be expected in the general population.

In August, when the CDC released data confirming the vaccine’s safety for those who are pregnant and breastfeeding, cue our sigh of relief. Yet, many in this demographic and our country remain unconvinced and unvaccinated. As of August, data in the USA shows that only about one in every four pregnant women reported vaccination, yet there’s been a surge in severe cases of pregnant women contracting the virus since July, as reported by doctors and evidenced by an uptake in ICU admissions and deaths; highlighting the devastating impact of COVID-19 among pregnant women, who have an increased risk

of severe illness from the virus, along with higher chance of preterm birth and poor pregnancy outcomes.

However, recommendations are not enough to combat many pregnant women’s concerns about the vaccine.

The nine-month gap between its initial availability and formal safety sign-off exacerbated matters, creating a vacuum filled with confusion and misinformation.

However, getting vaccinated during pregnancy is the best way pregnant women can give protection to their newborn against COVID-19. Data shows there is no effect on fertility or miscarriage rates.

Beyond potentially keeping babies safe through protective antibodies, the vaccine provides crucial protective measures for vulnerable expecting parents.

Pregnant women with COVID do worse than their non-pregnant counterparts, including higher need for ventilator support and higher death rates. There must be a need to continue focusing on the proven benefits of vaccination.

There are plenty of pregnant women who have been vaccinated, with great outcomes. I hope that rates will continue to rise; we need more protection to mitigate the deaths we are seeing in pregnant unvaccinated women.

It would be great to have long-term data aggressively published across Guyana for women to see the benefits of the vaccines, with the evidences of safety for now.

Sincerely, David Adams

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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2021

Page

Foundation

By Edward Lear I On the top of the Crumpetty Tree The Quangle Wangle sat, But his face you could not see, On account of his Beaver Hat. For his Hat was a hundred and two feet wide, With ribbons and bibbons on every side And bells, and buttons, and loops, and lace, So that nobody ever could see the face Of the Quangle Wangle Quee.

D

ecorate some “racing sticks” and follow them down a stream/ drain.

What you need

Elastic bands (optional) Feathers (optional) Masking tape (optional) Paint (optional) Scissors Painting sponge (optional) Sticks Varnish (optional)

What you do

1. Prepare your sticks for the race You can have an impromptu stick race at any time by picking up sticks and racing them down a stream/drain.

Just stand on a bridge or in a stream/ drain and let the sticks go at the same time.

Another way to do this activity is to prepare your sticks beforehand.

Taping the sticks with masking tape allows us to have “racing stripes” on our sticks, before we paint them.

2. Paint your sticks and let them dry Each person in our family picked their favourite colour and painted a series of sticks. We did this in case we lost some sticks during the races. In the end, we never lost any sticks, so you might not need to paint so many.

We painted the sticks and let them

dry, then applied another coat to make sure our sticks were very colourful.

3. Remove the tape when the paint is dry Check out our awesome racing stripes!

4. Varnish your painted sticks If you put the painted sticks in the stream/drain, the paint will wash right off. But if you varnish them with a polyurethane water-based varnish, it keeps them shiny and colourful.

5. Find a fast stream/drain that doesn’t have too many obstructions You can wear rubber boots or waterproof shoes and stand in the stream/ drain. Or you could toss the sticks from a bridge above, if you can get down off the bridge quickly to chase your stick downstream/drain.

6. You could decorate your sticks with feathers We added colourful feathers because we found it difficult to see our sticks in the dark stream/drain at times. We attached them with elastic bands.

7. Practice releasing the sticks at the same time And get the sticks as close to each other as possible if you want a “fair” race. We found that even if the sticks were only a few feet apart in the stream/drain, it could dramatically impact which stick would go fast-

er. Experiment with your sticks in different parts of the stream/drain, both side-to-side and different starting points.

Learn about the parts of a stream/ drain Streams/drains will naturally form three parts: riffle – fast bumpy parts run – fast smooth parts pool – slow parts Try to identify those parts in your stream/drain. What causes riffles?

Most macro-invertebrates, or small stream/drain creatures, will seek shelter tucked under rocks. Where do you think you would find them in your stream/drain?

8. Rescue your sticks Sometimes your sticks will get stuck. That’s okay! You can rescue your sticks as long as the stream/drain is not too deep. Otherwise, it’s okay to let a stick float away. That’s why we made extras.

9. Make a finish line We showed the “finish line” by putting a longer stick across the stream/ drain in a pool, where the water was not running too fast. This allowed us to rescue our sticks safely, and resolved disputes about who “won.” But it’s not really about winning as much as enjoying a fun day outside in a stream/ drain! (rangerrick.org)

II The Quangle Wangle said To himself on the Crumpetty Tree, — "Jam; and jelly; and bread; "Are the best of food for me!

"But the longer I live on this Crumpetty Tree "The plainer than ever it seems to me "That very few people come this way "And that life on the whole is far from gay!"

Said the Quangle Wangle Quee.

III But there came to the Crumpetty Tree, Mr. and Mrs. Canary; And they said, — "Did ever you see "Any spot so charmingly airy?

"May we build a nest on your lovely Hat? "Mr. Quangle Wangle, grant us that!

"O please let us come and build a nest "Of whatever material suits you best, "Mr. Quangle Wangle Quee!"

IV And besides, to the Crumpetty Tree Came the Stork, the Duck, and the Owl; The Snail, and the Bumble-Bee, The Frog, and the Fimble Fowl; (The Fimble Fowl, with a corkscrew leg;) And all of them said, — "We humbly beg, "We may build out homes on your lovely Hat, — "Mr. Quangle Wangle, grant us that!

"Mr. Quangle Wangle Quee!"

V And the Golden Grouse came there, And the Pobble who has no toes, — And the small Olympian bear, — And the Dong with a luminous nose.

And the Blue Baboon, who played the Flute, — And the Orient Calf from the Land of Tute, — And the Attery Squash, and the Bisky Bat, — All came and built on the lovely Hat Of the Quangle Wangle Quee.

VI And the Quangle Wangle said To himself on the Crumpetty Tree, — "When all these creatures move "What a wonderful noise there'll be!"

And at night by the light of the Mulberry moon They danced to the Flute of the Blue Baboon, On the broad green leaves of the Crumpetty Tree, And all were as happy as happy could be, With the Quangle Wangle Quee.

WORD SEARCH

NEWS

7

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

GCCI wants local content legislation tabled before year end – complains of local firms being bypassed for work

E

ven as it has welcomed Government’s method and approach in establishing local content legislation, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) is pushing to have it tabled before the end of 2021.

In a statement on Friday, the GCCI noted, “The Chamber has been encouraged by the posture of the Government as it relates to local content, and calls on the Government to table Local Content legislation be-

fore the end of the year.”

This position was arrived at after the Private Sector body highlighted the overwhelming number of infrastructure work being handled by foreign-owned companies. This was coupled with the high volume of trucking, logistical and other support services which are being operated by foreign-owned companies, particularly as it relates to the oil and gas sector.

“The GCCI has been in receipt of several complaints

from its membership of cases in which they are being bypassed for work in favour of the aforementioned category of companies. This occurs in spite of the indigenous Guyanese enterprise being both commercially competitive and having the technical capability.

The Chamber reiterates that it remains supportive of foreign investment in Guyana. “We encourage, however, that this not be done at the expense and displacement of indigenous

Guyana’s diversified agriculture...

“The development of local agriculture is also pivotal to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). At the recently concluded UN Food Systems Summit, Guyana committed to focusing on concrete actions to build more sustainable, equitable and resilient food systems, and to accelerate progress towards the SDGs… Guyana’s agriculture sector is on a transformative pathway; an exciting future lies ahead,” he said.

On Monday, President Ali, on a visit to the soya bean and corn projects in Ebini, said sustainable food and agriculture is the country’s future.

The Head of State took an on-the-ground tour of the 115-acre soya bean and fiveacre corn pilot projects in Ebini, Upper Berbice River, where he was able to closely inspect the crops and evaluate their growth. The project is aimed at proving all raw materials for the production of livestock and poultry feed for the local sector.

The President was also given a progress report on the project and the plans for its expansion by David Fernandes of Bounty Farm, Alex Mendez of Dubulay Ranch,

and Shameer Mohammed of Royal Chicken.

President Ali also pointed out that the project would give the Government the chance to diversify the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo).

“We are already discussing how we can expand this partnership, and one of the things that we have always talked about in GuySuCo is to have diversification; and we are now discussing with the group how we can use one field in the next phase of the trial to do the same thing that we have done here; replicate the same thing, and then to see the cost efficiency, the operation efficiency, and the profitability; because this is not done for the love of it alone, it has to be profitable, it has to make financial and economic sense.”

The President had said that lands in the various estates would be examined and tested to see which can be viable to replicate the project and further diversify the sugar company.

Earlier in September, the President had announced that over 20 acres of land would become available to expand cash crop farming in Region Two (Pomeroon-

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Supenaam). He had indicated that this is in keeping with his Government’s mandate to place more emphasis on food production and agriculture.

Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha on Wednesday last said the “agriculture sector has what it takes to drive the economy post-COVID-19”.

He said the unprecedented impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have been felt not only in public health systems, but in the economy; it has amplified Guyana’s awareness of the importance of food security. Noting that Guyana is a food-secure country, he said Guyana had, in 1996, met the global hunger targets of the World Food Summit, and in 2000, the hunger target of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

According to the Minister, Guyana produces 59 per cent of the food it consumes, which means that its food-import dependence is 41 per cent.

However, he added that it is Government’s intention to reduce this import- dependence by creating an enabling environment for an efficient and competitive local manufacturing sector.

Guyanese companies,” the Chamber pointed out.

Just last week, Prime Minister Mark Phillips underscored that Guyana must leverage its growth in the oil and gas sector in a manner that is beneficial to all Guyanese, as he pointed towards the importance of a good Local Content Policy and a strong Natural Resources Act. As the chief guest at the launching of ChampionX Guyana Incorporated, an oil and gas associate company, he added that Government was working assiduously to ensure that Guyana did not repeat the mistakes of other oil-producing nations and fall victim to the Dutch disease.

After assuming office in August last year, President Irfaan Ali established a High-Level Local Content Panel to review policy initiatives on local content in the petroleum sector and provide guidance for the development of Guyana’s Local Content Policy and Legislation.

The panel, chaired by

GCCI President Timothy Tucker

Shyam Nokta, compiled and submitted the Local Content Report. Also on the panel were Carl Greenidge, Carvil Duncan, Anthony Paul, Kevin Ramnarine and the Natural Resources Ministry’s Legal Officer Sasha Rajkumar-Budhan.

The end product was a list of recommendations, and subsequently a draft Local Content Policy that the Government had released in February of this year.

The stakeholders’ consultation on Guyana’s draft Local Content Policy for its

petroleum sector started in February, and President Dr Ali himself opened the discussion, from which authorities were expected to receive feedback and comments for the finalisation of the critical document.

Approximately 140 stakeholders were engaged by the panel on the compilation of the report. The report outlines several recommendations to improve the country’s policies and legislation.

Among the key objectives of the Local Content Policy are: to enhance the skills and competencies of Guyanese citizens; promote maximum use of Guyanese in the petroleum sector workforce; maximise the use of locally sourced goods and services in the petroleum sector; enhance the capacity of Guyanese businesses and supply chains to become internationally competitive; enhance and make worldclass the training, technology, innovation and research and development base of Guyana, just to scratch the surface.

Pomeroon River boat mishap

Body of missing man recovered at Abrams Creek

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he body of 39-yearold Harry Mangal, who went missing after the canoe in which he was travelling collided with a wooden boat on Tuesday evening, was discovered at Abrams Creek, Pomeroon River on Friday.

Mangal, of Abrams

Creek, Upper Pomeroon, Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam), reportedly disappeared after he was thrown into the river following the collision of his canoe with a wooden vessel powered by a 15-horsepower outboard engine. He was reportedly returning

home when the accident occurred.

His body was pulled from the river by a team of Police officers and family members a short distance from where the accident occurred. The body has been taken to a funeral home to await a post mortem.

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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Democracy...

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…and its responsibilities here used to be a lot of hullabaloo about the return of “free and fair” elections on Oct 5th 1992 - after 28 years of rigged elections by the PNC and its enablers. And don’t even think of saying that it wasn’t 28 years since the 1964 elections weren’t rigged. That one was more massively rigged than a three-mast schooner!!

Imagine the British changing the rules of the (elections) game from the one they’d been using in their own country and every other colony from FPTP to PR - cause they’d already sold the plan for the UF to hitch up with the PNC and oust the PPP!!

Anyhow, we know now that democracy - like any other societal institution - depends on the participants being willing to observe the spirit of the rules. But because the PNC started out being rewarded by the British for gaming the system in their favour, they’ve never been willing to toe the democratic line. So, they rioted in 1997 when they lost - and the election was vitiated not because anything was found wrong with the election, but because they reneged on their agreement that ID cards would be required for folks to vote!!

But emboldened by their success in bringing the PPP government to its knees and to the table through violent street riots, they continued in this undemocratic and fascist manner for the next decade. It didn’t matter what concessions the PPP made - cutting its term of office by 2 years; holding new elections; developing PNC-identified communities etc - the PNC always wanted more. So, we had Hoyte’s slow fyaah; mo’ fyaah morphing into armed attacks on the state by some Buxton gunmen - until they were wiped out. By any means necessary, as Rodney used to say.

So, Guyanese have never been able to enjoy life in a normal democracy - the PNC made sure of that. But they eventually connived to convince a war-weary populace that they’d changed their stripes after they coalesced with the AFC. We now know how much of a farce that was!! Just as it had in the 60s, the PNC refused to play by the rules of democracy even among its coalition partners, who’d helped cover its stripes. The result was that the PNC used the opportunity to loot the state coffers as if there were no tomorrow!

And not many were surprised when the PNC blatantly tried to rig the March 2 elections to which they had to be dragged, kicking and screaming. They knew they had blown their chance! Or that they refused a declaration of results for five months to give Guyana the dubious distinction of another world record.

Can’t blame Guyanese for being “democracy” skeptics!! …and its discontents Even though the international community - including our sisters and brothers in Caricom - certified the March 2 elections as free and fair, the PNC and their proxies are still waging a scorched-earth strategy to oust the PPP Government once again. This time, they haven’t reached the “guns” stage as yet - but have been strenuously mobilising their base to get there. They’re using every trick in the book - with the race card coming out of their sleeves at every turn.

Can you imagine these wankers trumpeting that the PPP is killing out their supporters by injecting them with Gramoxone? Have they forgotten that the entire country knows that 90% of the nurses administering the vaccines are from their constituency?? But even your Eyewitness was floored by their latest stunt. They used the sudden death of a child to claim FALSELY that she’d just been injected with the Pfizer vaccine and that was her cause of death.

Is nothing sacred to these people? Even the passing of a child? …and education Now one PNC claim is they’re big on education for children. So why is it that they keep on destroying schools when protesting??

It’s now confirmed that the Mabaruma school was destroyed by arson.

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

NEWS

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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Guyanese oil workers receiving 10x less pay than Trinidadian counterparts – GAWU – describes practice as highway robbery, exploitative

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he wages of Guyanese in the petroleum industry have been placed under the spotlight in recent times, and on Friday, the Oil and Gas branch of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU) disclosed that these persons are paid some ten times less than their Trinidadian counterparts.

For the past weeks, the Union said, it has been in contact with its fraternal union, the Oil Workers Trade Union (OWTU) of Trinidad and Tobago. The OWTU is recognised as one of the foremost unions in our Caribbean

neighbourhood, and over the years has grown to speak on behalf of workers in that country’s oil and gas sector, removing exploitative practices as it brought improved working conditions and benefits to its membership.

GAWU had drawn to the public’s attention that workers in the oil and gas sector locally were earning pay rates equivalent to the national minimum wage.

“We bemoaned the situation, pointing out that, presently, the lowest earning wage in the public sector was $403 per hour, as against $255 per hour in the

oil sector. We pointed out, too, those workers were in receipt of allowances which had no scientific reasoning and could be withdrawn at any time. The practice, we surmised, was an attempt to subjugate workers. We also have spoken…about the absence of overtime payments to certain workers.”

GAWU added that workers were entitled to payment for 4,000 hours per annum, but were receiving less than 3,000 hours’ pay – what it considered a highway robbery and exploitative practice.

However, recent en-

Berbice businessman attacked, robbed by armed bandits

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60-year-old businessman of Belvedere Village, Corentyne, Berbice was on Thursday evening attacked at his home and robbed by two armed bandits.

The businessman’s losses include an undisclosed amount of cash, two Samsung Galaxy tablets, one Bluetooth Automatic box, a quantity of Digicel and GTT phone cards, and several personal documents.

Based on information received, the man had just finished doing his daily business, and was heading home in his vehicle. At around 19:18h, he pulled up on his bridge, and as he exited the vehicle to open the gate, he was confronted by two gunmen demanding his valuables.

The businessman hesitated to hand over his valuables to the bandits, causing them to beat him about his body with their guns.

One of the bandits then held on to their vic-

tim while the other went into the van and removed a bag which contained the businessman’s valuables. The perpetrators then escaped on two bicycles.

The victim was later escorted to the Port Mourant Public Hospital, where he was seen and examined by a doctor on duty, who treated and sent him away. Investigations are ongoing.

gagements between the two unions have revealed the stark disparities in rates-ofpay and conditions-of-work between Guyanese and unionised Trinidadian workers in the sector.

“In nearly all occupations, Trinidadian unionised workers obtained vastly superior pay rates. For instance, we noted, jobs such as rigmen, electricians, operators, mechanics, and other artisans receiving ten times more pay than their Guyanese counterparts. For some other jobs, the disparity was even greater,” the union said.

Additionally, the OWTU informed that, apart from pay, workers in the sector enjoy several allowances, such as on-call duty, overtime, subsistence allowance, overtime meal allowance, disturbance allowance, travelling allowance, offshore allowance, working out of base, travelling time, re-scheduling of established working day, among others.

Caribbean counterparts also benefit from deferred compensation plan, savings allowance, vacation travel grant plan, housing aid plan, pension plan, employees medical plan, and employees benefit plan. It demonstrates

GAWU President Seepaul Narine

that for workers to get what they rightly deserve, they need to be organised.

“In our conversations with the OWTU, we recognised that several of the benefits negotiated by that Union had been won by GAWU where our Union enjoys bargaining rights. We believe that in a sector which is responsible for a significant economic contribution, the workers who produce its wealth must be properly compensated for their efforts, rather than having the real wealth creamed off at the top. The GAWU, for the record, is not averse to enterprises in the sector. We wish

to see those enterprises succeed and become profitable,” the Union said.

In many enterprises, GAWU said, workers have expressed a strong willingness to become organized, since it would allow them to be treated in a fairer and dignified manner. Though workers recognise that reality, they also expressed apprehensions.

“In recent weeks, we have been studying the corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies of several foreign enterprises operating in the sector. Those policies which speak to a broad range of human rights, environmental, financial proprieties, among other things, have largely endorsed the ILO’s fundamental principles and rights at work. A chief principle regards the freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining.”

These principles have also been translated into freedoms enshrined in the Constitution of Guyana as well as the Trade Union Recognition Act. In the coming weeks, the GAWU and the OWTU will seek to further cooperate and jointly seek to strengthen the hand of the Guyanese workers in the oil and gas sector.

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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

NEWS

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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

9-year-old dies after being struck by 4-runner

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Police at the scene of the accident

ine-year-old Carlisa Lewis of Islington, East Bank Berbice became Guyana’s latest road fatality when she was struck down by a 4-runner along the Islington Public Road on Friday.

The Police have said that

at about 9:00h on Friday, motor vehicle PJJ 2394, driven by a resident of Glasgow Village, East Bank Berbice, was proceeding along the Islington Public Road when the child allegedly attempted to cross the road and ran into the path of the vehicle.

As a result, the front portion of the vehicle connected with the child, and she fell on the roadway and sustained injuries about her body and head. With assistance from her sister, the driver picked up the child in an unconscious state and took her to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital, where she was pronounced dead on arrival.

Her body is presently at the New Amsterdam Hospital mortuary, awaiting post mortem.

Meanwhile, the driver was arrested, and was subjected to a breathalyzer test which proved that there were no traces of alcohol in his system.

Speaking with Guyana Times, the dead child’s father, Carlton Lewis explained that

“They told the Police Officer that they saw what happened and the officer told them that they are too traumatised to relate what they saw,” the grieving father told this publication.

He stated that villagers later told him that the occupants of the vehicle were allegedly fighting at the time of

Dead: Carlisa Lewis

the accident was witnessed by Carlisa’s siblings who claimed that the child was in the corner of the road when she was hit.

the accident.

“People told me that the car was swaying from side to side as it was driving through the village,” the father stated.

He is requesting that the Police conduct a thorough investigation into the fatal accident. Carlisa was the fifth of six children.

TURN TO PAGE 12

12 NEWS

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Natural Resources Minister Father, son remanded for kidnapping, beating endorses International Essequibo minibus driver Energy Conference and Expo

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atural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat on Friday endorsed the International Energy Conference Expo Guyana 2022 (IECEG2022) slated for February 2022.

Minister Bharrat’s endorsement comes at a time when the conference continues to receive tremendous support from the local, regional and international business communities, regional Government leaders, and industry experts.

In a release, the Natural Resources Ministry stated that the Minister was pleased to be associated with the International Energy Conference and Expo under the theme “Charting a sustainable energy future”. The energy conference is expected to be held from February 15 through February 18, 2022 at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC).

In the statement, Bharrat related: “The hosting of this conference is timely and will further strengthen Guyana’s recognition as an emerging oil and gas leader and as a country with enormous potentials for investments and business opportunities. It is anticipated that this event will catapult Guyana into the spotlight that will continue on a path of economic and infrastructural transformation.”

Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat

The Minister pledged the Ministry’s and Government’s full support in hosting the energy conference and expo and said he remained committed to supporting the organisers of this very strategic event that is geared towards creating partnerships and prospects for all participants, both foreign and local.

The International Energy Conference Expo will act as a catalyst to promote, strengthen, and enhance local content, which is an integral component for oil and gas development in Guyana.

It is expected that the International Energy Conference Expo will showcase Guyana as the oil and gas investment destination, create and build effective in-

dustry relationships, provide the medium for local businesses to access collateral and joint ventures, which is in keeping with the goals and objective of the Local Content Policy.

The Government intends to highlight its complement of spin-off oil and gas investments in addition to national infrastructural projects in the short to medium term.

Interim Chief Executive Officer of the IECEG2022, Angenie Abel, said “This announcement by Minister Bharrat is a signal that we are moving in the right direction as we look to create the much-needed forum for the further development of Guyana’s energy sector.

The IECEG2022 team welcomes this announcement by the Minister of Natural Resources, and by extension the Government of Guyana.”

Abel added “This is just one of many more to come in the upcoming weeks and months leading up to February 2022. We have seen so far an outpouring of persons who want to have a seat at the table, from exhibitors to attendees who have so far started the pre-registration process.”

The registration portal for the conference and expo can be found on the IECEG’s website, www.guyanaenergy.gy.

Imran Khan displaying the injuries he received

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ays after they reportedly took matters in their own hands and administered a severe beating on a 25-year-old minibus driver, a father and his son were remanded to prison by Magistrate Christel Lambert after appearing before her at the Suddie Magistrate’s Court.

The accused, 37-yearold Stephen Atkinson and

18-year-old Jayson Atkinson, were not required to plead to the indictable charge, which stated that on September 27, 2021, they unlawfully assaulted Imran Khan, also called “Panko”.

They will make their next court appearance at the Anna Regina Magistrate’s Court on October 13, 2021.

It has been reported that Khan, of Walton Hall,

Essequibo Coast, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), was allegedly kidnapped on Monday evening and brutally beaten by three men and a woman.

Khan, a minibus driver, was reportedly at his home when, at about 20:30h, the kidnappers allegedly exited a white motorcar, stormed his house, bound his hands behind his back, and forced him into the trunk of their car.

During the ordeal, Khan’s mother was in the kitchen.

The kidnappers then allegedly took Khan to a road (ETI Road) leading to Lake Mainstay, where they reportedly gave him a sound thrashing. Reports are that one of the men was armed with a small white gun.

After the beating, the perpetrators took Khan to the Anna Regina Police Station, where several allegations were made against him, including rape.

Guyana Times understands that Khan was having a relationship with the daughter of Atkinson, who is under the age of 16.

9-year-old dies after...

Only recently, Traffic Chief, Senior Superintendent Ramesh Ashram, disclosed that there has been a decrease in road accidents by some 32 per cent, along with a 33 per cent decrease in deaths in the country.

“For 2020, to date last year, we had 102 accidents with 111 deaths. For the same period this year, we are having 69 accidents with 74 deaths. So, in accidents, we have a 32 per cent decrease, and 33% decrease in deaths”, the Traffic Chief revealed.

Further, he appealed to the general public to obey the traffic rules. The Traffic Chief lauded the installation of the CCTV cameras, since those have been assisting the Traffic Department in easily capturing events of fatal accidents as well as in curbing traffic offences.

“I could tell you that the CCTV (cameras are) helping us a lot, because we solve a lot of traffic offences with that on a daily basis. As long as it pops up on the phone or the CCTV centre and we

FROM PAGE 11

get it, we get the driver; and 90 out of 100 they do not dispute it, because when you show them, they realise it’s them,” he stated.

He has urged road users to not be reluctant in reporting persons who breach traffic laws, since, in most instances, especially in public transportation, persons sit silently as drivers break the traffic laws.

Investigations into the road fatality involving Carlisa Lewis are continuing.

13 One-off $25,000 cash grant payout for pensioners to commence Monday NEWS

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

– public assistance recipients, persons with disabilities to also benefit

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he Human Services and Social Security Ministry is all set to begin the massive rollout of the one-off $25,000 cash grant for pensioners, public assistance recipients, and persons living with disabilities on Monday, October 4, 2021.

Thousands from all across Guyana are expected to benefit with pensioners being able to collect their books for 2022 at the same time. The one-off vouchers will be valid until November 30, 2021 and persons are advised to cash them before then.

Subject Minister, Dr Vindhya Persaud and her team from the Ministry have been making every effort to enable a smooth distribution process and have been putting several systems in place to ensure

that the recipients can uplift the grants in an easy, uncomplicated manner.

This is following the announcement by President Irfaan Ali last month.

“I want to make this distribution safe, seamless and hassle-free for recipients and we are trying to avoid people having to make several trips to uplift these vouchers,” Dr Persaud emphatically stated, adding, “The process will allow persons to cash their October month voucher and uplift their $25,000 voucher at the same time, and for the first time, pensioners will be able to receive their pension books for the next year early, because the 2022 books will also be distributed at the same time,” Dr Persaud stated.

She is urging persons

to check the media and flyers which will be circulated in their communities so that they will know where and when to turn up. The Ministry’s social media pages are also regularly updated to reflect the schedules and other relevant, timely information that may be needed.

Dr Persaud has advised persons to use the entire week identified for their specific region to collect vouchers. She noted that overcrowding could be avoided if everyone did not turn up on the first two days of the exercise.

Importantly, she has also reminded that the initiative captures only persons who are registered on the Ministry’s database.

Times for direct payments, and those for remote and shut-in persons

Human Services and Social Security Minister, Dr Vindhya Persaud

will be communicated to pensioners by the officers in their regions. Shut-in pensioners are advised that the officers will visit their homes to deliver the vouch-

er, book, and pension as usual.

Regional schedules which include post offices and alternate venues in villages/communities – Moneygram, Western Union and SurePay are as follows: October 4-9 – Regions Four and Seven; Regions One and Nine will commence in some locations; October 11-16 – Regions Five and Six; October 18-23 – Regions Three and 10; and Region Eight will commence in some locations.

The hinterland regions – One, Eight and Nine – will be advised of specific delivery locations by the officers in their respective regions through the direct delivery system.

All pensioners who utilise the banking system are advised that the $25,000

will be deposited in their account in October. These pensioners are reminded that their life certificates must be presented every three months utilising the WhatsApp call system to ensure continuity of their monthly bank deposits.

If persons miss the specified periods in October, pension books and one-off cash vouchers will still be available throughout the month of November at the Ministry’s offices across the country, Minister Persaud pointed out.

Measures have been taken to have persons go to the post office or alternate venue closest to their address within their district.

Large tents with seating, sanitisers, masks and other measures aimed at keeping persons safe will also be in place at all venues.

FFTP makes donation to First Lady’s Menstrual Hygiene Initiative

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ood for the Poor (Guyana) Inc has donated 50,000 individual sanitary napkins to the First Lady’s Menstrual Hygiene Initiative.

This great initiative, which was launched in January, positively impacts the lives of girls and women since it is a meaningful step in the eradication of period poverty.

Chief Executive Officer of FFTP, Kent Vincent, has emphasised that FFTP is always at the forefront wherever there is a need for humanitarian assistance, and wherever there is a need to bring assistance to the poor and needy.

It is with this in mind that a decision was taken to support any ini-

First Lady Arya Ali received the donation from FFTP CEO Kent Vincent

tiative that is geared to help the underprivilege and that would bring needed assistance to the vulnerable in society.

“We are cognisant of, and applaud, the First Lady’s Menstrual Hygiene Initiative, which brings much assistance to young girls in schools all across the country.

Education, as we are aware, is key to bringing the poor out of poverty, and any programme or initiative that will help to keep our children in school is to be commended.

“It is therefore our great pleasure to announce that FFTP (Guyana) Inc. will be donating 15 pallets of sanitary napkins (which is about 50,000 individual nap-

kins) to the First Lady’s Menstrual Hygiene Initiative. We are sure that this will greatly assist you with your most commendable enterprise,” CEO Vincent added.

First Lady Arya Ali expressed gratitude to FFTP (Guyana) Inc for the generous donation, explaining that it would definitely take her initiative very far.

She emphasised the impact the donation would have, since many girls do not go to school because they cannot afford sanitary products.

She highlighted that this is a huge gender-based issue, and there is need to revolutionise feminine hygiene and end the taboo and stigma.

14 NEWS

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2021|| GUYANATIMESGY.COM

GTT mounts “Wall of Hope” in the National Park as Pinktober 2021 launched – NGOs to host awareness and screening activities in various communities

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he Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company on Friday fulfilled another promise to strengthen the community as it launched its annual Pinktober initiative during a small ceremony in the National Park.

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the company has again resorted to hosting a virtual 2021 Pinktober event to safeguard supporters.

The small launch saw GTT’s Senior Management Team, Pinktober Coordinator, along with representatives of the Health Ministry, Protected Areas Commission and several non-governmental organisations unveiling a “Wall of Hope” and ribbon cutting at the south entrance of the National Park.

Introducing the “Wall

GTT CEO Damian Blackburn leading a brief walk in the National Park at the launch of Pinktober 2021

of Hope” to this year’s Pinktober observance, Pinktober Coordinator Diana Gittens said the structure was mounted to allow cancer survivors, victims,

family, and friends to share positive messages to motivate and raise awareness even in the pandemic.

“While we may not be able to walk, run, or en-

gage in any social activities again this year, we know many persons traverse the National Park for various reasons. It is our hope they stop and share a message of hope, or stop and be uplifted by the messages persons will leave throughout this month,” Gittens said.

She encouraged supporters to come together once again in the spirit of unity to support cancer survivors and victims across Guyana by following and supporting the company’s month-long activities, in collaboration with the ministry and NGOs. “The NGOs will be offering VIA screening and several awareness webinars to educate persons on cancer,” Gittens said.

She highlighted that the company has sourced a range of new Pinktober items to help raise funds as it continues to provide tangible support to several charitable and outreach organisations that are on the frontlines of the cancer support fight.

“These items will be on sale at our retail stores and partners at economical prices. Persons can visit our website at gtt.co.gy/pinktoberbottle to order items,” Gittens said.

Speaking at the launch, CEO of GTT, Damian Blackburn, reminded of the company’s unwavering commitment to strengthen the community through initiatives like Pinktober.

“This is our fifth hosting of this initiative, and it

The “Wall of Hope” that was erected in the National Park

is a continued fulfillment of our promise to strengthen the community. that is one of the pillars in our recently launched “Together we Rise” brand position. Together we Rise underpins the hopes of Guyanese for a bright future, with strong communities. That is why we have mounted the “Wall of Hope” as a fitting gesture to launch this year’s Pinktober edition, as we come together in these very challenging times to offer each other support and to overcome the challenges that face us,” Blackburn added.

Offering congratulations to GTT on its fifth Pinktober initiative at the launch was Occupational Health and Safety Officer of the Protected Areas Commission, Rhonda Brotherson, who expressed gratitude to the company for its invaluable investment in cancer awareness.

“GTT continues to be a leader in demonstrating how the Private Sector can con-

tribute to nation building, not only by providing important products and services to ensure a better quality of life for Guyanese, but also in understanding their corporate responsibility to society, and the value of their contribution in areas of health and community building,” Brotherson said.

This year, GTT has outfitted the National Park with an eye-catching Wall of Hope, an attractively decorated entrance, colourful tree-wrappings, among other highlights to create an appealing atmosphere as it promotes cancer awareness and show its support during October.

Supporters are urged to follow GTT’s social pages, including Facebook, to stay updated on activities taking place throughout the month. Among the activities planned are Weekly Pinktober Happenings with local celebrities on Facebook, and Wear it Pink Fridays.

NEWS

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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Daughter, hitman sentenced to death for father’s murder T

he Demerara High Court on Friday handed down the death sentence to both Bibi Nazeela Habiboodean and Linden Lewis after a jury had found them guilty of the capital offence of murder.

Bibi, who is said to be in her 50s, had contracted Lewis, called ‘Bullet’, 34, to beat her 76-year-old father Habiboodean (only name given) in an effort to compel the elderly man to sign over his property to her.

It was reported that the businessman, of Ruby, East Bank Essequibo (EBE), was badly beaten at his home on February 14, 2008. The elderly man, who owned a gas station, died the following day while receiving treatment at a private city hospital.

Shortly after the businessman was killed, the Police had arrested Bibi and Terry Lewton, who was employed by her now dead father. However, they were both discharged in 2009 owing to insufficient evidence following a Preliminary Inquiry held at the Vreeden-Hoop Magistrate’s Court.

The murder of the pensioner had gone cold for several years, until 2016, when Police received new leads which led to the arrest of his daughter and the hitman.

That year, Lewis was arrested for questioning about the murders of Good Hope, East Bank Essequibo rice farm-

Sentenced to death: Bibi Nazeela Habiboodean

ers Mohamed and Jamilla Munir.

Police said he confessed to being the hitman in Habiboodean’s murder, and implicated Habiboodean’s daughter as the plotter. The woman later turned herself in to the Police in the company of her lawyer.

Professed innocence

Bibi and Lewis - who were prosecuted by Senior State Counsel Lisa Cave are the third persons to be sentenced to death for this year. They had initially denied the charge, which stated that between February 14 and 15, 2008, they murdered Habiboodean.

On Friday morning, Justice Sandil Kissoon summed up the evidence in

their trial and put the case to the jury for deliberation on a verdict. The jury deliberated for close to two hours, and emerged with the unanimous guilty verdicts at around 15:30h.

Bibi and Lewis, who appeared in court via Zoom from prison, have, however, maintained their innocence.

“With all due respect, members of the jury…to be honest with y’all, I know y’all is just human beings, and y’all seh y’all find me guilty. I still telling y’all me ain’t do nothing. To be honest with y’all, me ain’t get a fair trial. I gon left everything in the hands of God,” Lewis said in his address to the court.

“I am innocent of this offence,” said Bibi in her remarks.

Motivated by greed

Justice Kissoon, in his sentencing remarks, pointed to the horrific and tragic factual circumstances of the elderly man’s murder, which he said are without parallel in the memory of his court.

The Judge noted that both the “unthinkable” and “unspeakable” have occurred in this case.

According to Justice Kissoon, an elderly parent, a father of 76 years, who toiled and sacrificed over the years, was viciously and violently beaten to death in his home in the course of events “conceived, planned, and set in

Man robbed of cash, other items by bicycle bandits

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wo identifiable males on Thursday robbed a 42-year-old male driver of his belongings at Goed Fortuin Housing Scheme, West Bank Demerara (WCD).

The man was relieved of an LG 51s cellphone, one transition lens glasses, and $10,000 in cash.

The Police have said that, at about 19:00h on the day in question, the victim was driving a motorcar heading through the Goed Fortuin Scheme when he passed the

two men on a bicycle.

The victim told Police that, while driving, he heard one of the men shout, “Who is you, and why you coming through this area?” The driver claimed that he ignored the men and continued his journey with the intention of picking up a family, but he noticed the two men coming behind his vehicle.

One of the suspects started to hit the vehicle with his hand, causing the driver to stop. As he exited the vehicle, one of the suspects

tossed the bicycle they were riding at him. They then confronted the driver and dealt him several cuffs and kicks about his body, causing him to fall to the ground, where he was relieved of his valuables, including the cash from the vehicle.

They then made good their escape in an unknown direction. The matter was reported and the victim sought medical attention.

Checks were made for the suspects in the said area, but they were not found.

Tuschen man gets bail on gun, ammo possession charge

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wenty-eight-yearold Aslim Khan, also called “Aslam” of Block J, Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo (EBE), was on Friday released on $225,000 bail by Magistrate Faith McGusty at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on a firearm and ammunition possession charge.

Khan was reported arrested on August 29, 2021 with a firearm and several

rounds of matching ammunition. He was subsequently charged for unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition without being the holder of the relevant licences.

He pleaded not guilty to the charge when it was read to him and as such, was granted bail in the sum of $225,000. The matter was transferred to Leonora Magistrates Court for October 13, 2021.

Charged: Aslim Khan, also called “Aslam”

Sentenced to death: Linden Lewis, called "Bullet"

train by none other than his daughter.”

Bibi, Justice Kissoon said, was motivated by greed and an overwhelming desire for further financial and material wealth, and as a result procured, directed, and commanded Lewis to inflict violence on her elderly father to compel him to sign a document to grant her authority to deal with his interest in property.

“The rage and revulsion of society to this crime must be, and shall be, reflected in the sentence of this court,” Justice Kissoon said.

As the judge imposed the death sentence, everyone stood in silence.

Confession

Prosecution witness Police Inspector Devon Lowe had testified that Lewis give Police a caution statement in which he confessed to killing the businessman on the instruction of the businessman’s daughter, who had promised him $6 million, a house, a car, and a piece of

land.

Lewis, Inspector Lowe said, told ranks that Bibi wanted her father dead because, unlike her other siblings, she did not get any of his assets.

“He [Habiboodean] alone went sitting down in a chair, and he ask me what I doing in the house, and I tell he he daughter send me to kill him.

Then I start fuh cuff he up on he neck, chest and belly, and he stop move,” Inspector Lowe said as he read aloud Lewis’s statement in court.

Inspector Lowe testified that Lewis had told him that after he had killed the man, he asked Bibi about his $6 million payment and the other items she had promised him, but she told him that she had to go to the bank. According to the Police Inspector, Lewis related that the woman paid him only $5000.

The murder accused told Police ranks that shortly after, a man by the name of “John” gave him another $5000 and told him to go away in the “bush”, and that everything would be okay upon his return.

The Police witness said Lewis told him, “So I guh way to Puruni Backdam.

Two years after I come back, I hear the matter finish, and I ask John what happened to my car, my money, and house and land, and he tell me the money done on lawyer and tuck shop, and I ain’t got nothing to get. That was it, and I never ask back for anything, and I never see back the woman.

“Dem take advantage of me cause I deh young and didn’t thinking straight. I even hear my uncle Michael get $7 million from [Bibi] for

Murdered: Habiboodean

this same wuk. I did lash [her] father in he head with a wood, and I throw away the wood at the back of the yard,” Lewis had told detectives in the caution statement.

I never did that

However, Bibi, in her defence, denied knowing Lewis prior to her father’s death. Her lawyer, Roger Yearwood, had asked her, “Did you at any time tell [Lewis] that you would give him $6 million, house, land and car fuh done your father?” The woman responded in the negative.

Yearwood again asked, “Were you in any way involved in the death of your father?” Bibi answered, “Sir, I never do that, sir.”

In telling her side of the story, Bibi also refuted Inspector Lowe’s assertion of a confrontation being held between her and her co-accused at the CID Headquarters.

Lewis was represented

by Attorney-at-law Latchmie Rahamat.

Couple busted with ganja during Police operation

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man and woman were on Thursday arrested following the discovery of a quantity of ganja at their Betsy Ground, East Canje Berbice home.

Police have said that, acting on information received, a party of Policemen carried out a search at the home, during which a black plastic bag was discovered under the inner stairway that leads to the upper flat of the house. The bag contained a quantity of cannabis.

Further searches were carried out in the kitchen, and a dark grey bag containing two transparent Ziploc bags and three transparent plastic wraps containing a quantity of ganja was found under a sink.

As a result, the suspects were cautioned, arrested, and taken to the New Amsterdam Police Station. The cannabis was weighed in their presence and amounted to 847 grams.

Charges are expected to be laid shortly.

The ganja and an undisclosed sum of local currency found during the operation

16 NEWS

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

September now deadliest month with 167 deaths – 4 more unvaccinated persons among 6 to succumb – 228 new cases recorded in 24h GUYANA COVID-19 DASHBOARD

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he Health Ministry on Friday announced that six more persons who had tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) have died, moving the figure representing total deaths from the pandemic to 792. For the month of September, there was a whopping figure of 167 fatalities.

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

Among the deaths was one fully vaccinated person, while four were unvaccinated and the status of one was unknown. On September 26, a 45-year-old male from Region Three succumbed.

On September 30, an 85-year-old male from Region Seven; a 49-year-old female from Region Two; a 58-year-old female from Region Four; a 74-year-old female from Region Five, and a 57-year-old male from Region Four also died.

However, new statistics provided by the Ministry showed that 228 new cases were detected, thus taking the overall positive cas-

es to 32,055, of which 15,222 are males and 16,833 are females.

There are 30 persons in the specialised Intensive Care Unit (ICU), 142 in institutional isolation, 3651 on home isolation, and four in institutional quarantine.

The number of recoveries now stands at 27,440, while 319,070 persons have been tested to date.

The new cases were recorded in all ten administrative regions. One new case was detected in Region One (Barima-Waini); 21 in Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam); 60 in Region Three (Essequibo IslandsWest Demerara); 97 in Region Four (DemeraraMahaica); three in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice); three in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne); three in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni); two in Region Eight (PomeroonSupenaam); three in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) and 35 in Region 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice).

Vaccination

Meanwhile, adult first dose vaccination uptake stands at 359,222, or 70 per cent; while second dose up-

take stands at 199,978 or 39 per cent. Thursday also ended on a record number for vaccination, with 9,510 doses being administered.

A total of 24,460 first doses of the Pfizer vaccine has been delivered to adolescents, while second dose delivery has been pegged at 11,601.

Regional first doses show 76.8 percent for Region One, 57.3 for Region Two, 66.6 per cent for Region Three, 78.3 per cent for Region Four, 68.6 per cent for Region Five, 71.3 per cent for Region Six, 69.4 per cent for Region Seven, 44.1 per cent for Region Eight, 71.6 per cent for Region Nine and 29.7 per cent for Region 10.

In terms of second doses, the breakdown shows 34.8 percent for Region One, 33.5 per cent for Region Two, 35.1 per cent for Region Three, 44.8 per cent for Region Four, 41.3 per cent for Region Five, 39.6 per cent for Region Six, 34.7 per cent for Region Seven, 29.4 per cent for Region Eight, 39.3 per cent for Region Nine and 13.2 per cent for Region 10.

“To improve the vaccination rate, we have to get these numbers…second dose closer to 75 per cent.

Once we get that, we will

OCTOBER 1, 2021 UPDATE

NUMBER OF NEW CASES

228

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL ISOLATION

142

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN HOME ISOLATION

3651

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN COVID-19 ICU

30

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL QUARANTINE

4

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (FEMALES)

16,833

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (MALES)

15,222

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES IN GUYANA SINCE 2020

32,055

NUMBER OF RECOVERED CASES

27,440

TOTAL 1st DOSE VACCINATED

359,222

FULLY IMMUNISED

199,978

TOTAL NUMBER OF DEATHS

792

DISTRIBUTION OF TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES SINCE MARCH 2020 REGION 1

1482

REGION 2

1174

REGION 3

4253

REGION 4

15,392

REGION 5

1129

REGION 6

2293

REGION 7

1618

REGION 8

500

REGION 9

2364

REGION 10

1850

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

Keep a physical distance of at least 6 feet.

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

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

start seeing a turnaround with the cases,” said Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony during Friday’s COVID up-

date.

Hospitalisation numbers stand at 139, inclusive of 96 at the Infectious Diseases

Hospital. There are 30 persons in the Intensive Care Unit, along with 27 maternity cases.

Over 900 Guyanese to attend Indira Gandhi University through GOAL

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he Government of Guyana through its Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) initiative in collaboration with the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) on Friday held a virtual signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) and orientation for approximately 922 Guyanese students who will be attending the University.

Hailing from all 10 regions in Guyana, the awardees have a total of 25 programmes at their disposal.

The University is said to have the highest accreditation grade in India, an A++ from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).

Officials present at the signing were Public Service Minister Sonia Parag; GOAL Director, Professor Jacob Opadeyi; IGNOU Vice Chancellor, Professor Nageshwar Rao, and other key members of the University and GOAL. Minister Parag, in her remarks, reiterated that this initiative was part of President Dr Irfaan Ali’s vision which sought to provide youths with the opportunity to further elevate themselves and, by extension, the country.

“The whole point of going to those community outreaches was to listen to the people. And indeed, the President did listen to those persons when they said that

Members of the IGNOU after the virtual signing

they wanted a higher education. That their desire was to develop themselves and by extension, develop the country,” she highlighted.

Moreover, she encouraged the students to complete their chosen programmes to the best of their ability while highlighting that as the country embarked on massive development, its best resource was its human resources.

“As you pursue this new venture, you should definitely count it as a privilege, but you must also remember that it is the Government’s obligation to you. And also, you should utilise this opportunity that has come your way to the best of your ability,” the Minister further expressed.

“Guyana is also on a transformational cusp in all sectors and therefore, human resource in many skills is not only relevant but it’s necessary at this time. And so, you will contribute to that human capital or human resource which the country considers its most valuable asset.”

Meanwhile, Professor Rao stated that the journey, and official signing, was a historical moment for both institutions.

“It’s a great historic moment for both countries and also for both institutions.

The journey that has been started eight to ten months back, but now it has culminated to a formal proposal which is now revolved into a Memorandum of

Agreement.

“Only three months ago, Education Minister Priya Manickchand and the Government of India had discussions on how to move ahead as far as this particular collaboration is concerned…Our prime consideration is support services to learners of Guyana, offline as well as online learning,” he said.

The learners will be given all online and offline support needed to successfully complete their programmes with specific requirements.

Head of GOAL, Professor Opadeyi stated that the MoA was long awaited and he looked forward to the partnership and the support the students would enjoy.

IGNOU, established in 1985, is said to be the world’s largest university with the largest enrolment rate.

It regularly updates its

Public Service Minister Sonia Parag during the virtual signing on Friday

curriculum to keep up to date with the changing dynamics of learning and has fulfilled its mandate of providing accessible, equitable affordable and quality education for students around

the world.

A total of 1671 more Guyanese now have access to tertiary education. These persons are a portion of the 6000 GOAL awardees for the year 2021.

owned by Vanessa Phillips.

It is alleged that he suffered from hypertension, prostate cancer, and was in the habit of smoking.

On Thursday, at about 11:30h, another tenant complained about the stench emanating from the apartment the deceased occupied, and later sent her 13-year-old son to make

checks.

The lad found the man’s motionless body lying on the ground in his apartment, and the Police were summoned to the scene.

The body was examined, but no marks of violence were found thereon.

The body was later taken to the Pensioners Funeral Home to await an autopsy.

Linden pensioner found dead in apartment

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he Police have launched an investigation into the death of 71-year-old Dennis Harold Dey of Wisroc Housing Scheme, Linden, whose body was found on Thursday at his residence.

Based on reports received, the now dead man lived at the mentioned place in an apartment which is

NEWS

17

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Guyana-Brazil crossing now open for travel on Fridays …curfew remains from 22:30h to 04:00h

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ational Emergency COVID-19 measures have allowed for the Lethem Crossing to be open on Fridays to facilitate the movement of people between Guyana and Brazil.

The measures have been renewed, and will be in effect from October 1, 2021 until October 31, 2021, unless earlier terminated, extended or amended by notice of the Health Minister after an assessment of the prevailing public health conditions.

Further, it is stated that the crossing would remain open on Thursdays only to facilitate the transport of essential goods and services. Apart from these two days, the Takutu Bridge would not be open to traffic.

Notwithstanding, the Emergency measures (No.23) added that, “The Minister of Health may determine any other day and time when the crossing may be opened for any purpose.”

Other travel restrictions mandate that the Moleson Creek crossing between Guyana and Suriname shall be opened three days per week, and the Ministry of Public Works shall determine the days and times

when it shall be opened. No flights are permitted to and from Brazil.

Before any person is allowed to enter Guyana, whether by land or sea, that person shall present to the relevant authorities a negative Molecular PCR test taken within 72 hours of their arrival, along with proof of vaccination.

These emergency measures are made pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) (b) of the Direction by the President, given under the Public Health Ordinance, Chapter 145, and published in the Gazette, Legal Supplement – B, 16th March, 2020.

After a rapid assessment of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic was conducted by the Government, it has found the measures are needed to keep the population safe. The Order notes that the current measures are extended to allow for further assessments and consultations to develop updated protocols to aid in the combating of the COVID-19 spread.

Meanwhile, the curfew will continue from 22:30h to 04:00h throughout the

month of October. There is still restriction on social activities, where no one shall host or attend a private party, banquet, ball, reception, hotel swimming pool or waterpark, wage, vigil, club, discotheque, social club, civil organisation or association; fraternal society or any other social activity.

Sporting events require approval from the Ministry of Health.

For the Public and Private Sectors, employers shall ensure that the appropriate COVID-19 guidelines are prepared and implemented to reduce the risk of infections.

This includes vaccination, rotation of workers, screening, preventative measures before and after work, preventative measures while using transportation, sanitisation, social distancing, continuous monitoring, use of PPE, among others.

The measures have remained unchanged for essential services to operate 24 hours a day, and these include: hospitals, pharmacies, the Judiciary, Parliament, diplomatic corps, Disciplined Services, solid waste management,

The Lethem-to-Bonfim crossing

airports, hotels or other accommodations, energy services, mining operations, security services, telecommunication providers, fisherfolks, limited port operations, construction, post service and freight, funeral homes, among others.

In addition, from 04:00h to 21:30h, stakeholders will

Beepat’s introduces Presidente beer to Guyana

From L-R: Lakram de Lima, Presidente Brand Manager at Beepat’s; Jonathan Beepat, Executive Director of Beepat’s; Tiffany Bennett, Advertising and Promotions Coordinator at Beepat’s

B

eepat’s is proud to announce its new partnership with one of the world’s largest brewing companies, Annheuser Busch-Inbev (ABInbev), to bring the Presidente brand of beer to Guyana.

Presidente beer was originally created by Cervecería Nacional Dominicana in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Founded in 1929 by the American businessman Charles H. Wanzer, the company was initially dedicated to importing European beers, but in 1935 changed course and decided to brew its own beer, and that’s when Presidente was born.

Cervecería Nacional Dominicana was then acquired by AB InBev in 2012. Later, Presidente also began to be manufactured in the Saint Vincent brewery to integrate the brand within

Caricom countries.

Presidente is a beer closely linked to the nature of the Caribbean culture.

It has a great presence in markets all over the world. With a very refreshing golden lager liquid, with 5% alcohol; smooth and light, with notes of malt and hops, it is ideal to take on summer nights with friends.

Crafting a delicious beer like Presidente is half art, half science. It takes meticulously sourced ingredients to brew the complex and sophisticated flavours of the Caribbean.

That’s where Presidente’s brew masters shine. they preserve time-honoured recipes which allow the company to brew beers that are loved around the world; and it’s why they continue to brew for generations to come.

“Since the introduction of

Presidente in the Caribbean in 1990, we have explored uncharted territory and different markets, delivering new flavours, quality, and the best experience to our consumers, with the commitment to bring people together for a better world. We believe in Guyana´s growth and development, and understand that Beepat’s is the best partner to bring the Presidente experience to our consumers, “ Country Manager Malvina Cabral has said.

Presidente Guyana Brand Manager Lakram De Lima related, “Guyana can expect to see Presidente across the country in the coming months, and listen out for exciting promotions and deals. We have a lot in store for the Guyana market, and consumers can follow us @presidenteguyana and @ beepatsguyana on both Instagram and Facebook to be in the know of our activities.”

Beepat’s is a family-owned distribution company that has serviced Guyana over many decades with quality products. It is a household name most recognised for being the officially authorised distributor for Nestle, Connors Bros, Reckitt Benkeiser, Ozon soap powder, and more.

One of the Executive Directors of the company, Jonathan Beepat, has said, “We all know that Guyana is the subject of the world with our oil finds, and we have made a decision to expand our typical portfolio to better serve Guyanese and foreigners alike. We have done our research on Presidente beer, and believe it (is) an exciting and quality product with worldwide recognition. It is the first of a few beers we will be introducing to the market in partnership with AB-Inbev. Beepat’s have been providing quality products and service to Guyana for over 65 years, and we aim to continue that for many more to come.”

still be able to access services at banks, markets, supermarkets, grocery shops, gas stations, postal or shipping services, beauty salons, barbershops, hardware stores, clothing stores or other maintenance services.

In order to transport members of the public, the gazetted document also included that every operator and conductor of any public transportation service shall be vaccinated, and have in their possession an official identification document and their vaccination card, and shall produce these documents when requested to do so by a Police officer or anyone authorised by the Minister of Health.

Meanwhile, casinos, betting shops or cinemas can still operate, but only at forty percent capacity of the building or seating area.

Patrons will only be allowed entry upon possession of a vaccination card to show their immunisation status.

The operator of the casino, betting shop or cinema shall ensure that only vaccinated patrons are at their place of business, and those patrons have in their possession an official identification document and their vaccination card, which they shall produce when requested to do so by the operator or any person authorized by the Minister of Health.

The document states that any operator of a casino, betting shop or cinema who contravenes this provision commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to the penalty provided under Section 152 of the Public Health Ordinance.

Outdoor dining is permitted at restaurants at 60 per cent capacity and tables placed six feet apart.

Patrons at these businesses, except for children under 12 years, must be vaccinated and have in their possession an official identification document in addition to their vaccination card.

Decomposed body of minibus driver found in canefield

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everal days after he was reported missing, the decomposed body of 68-year-old Hardat Mangru was discovered in a canfield aback Enterprise, East Coast Demerara (ECD) on Thursday.

The Police have said that, following a missing person’s report made on September 28, 2021, an investigation launched led to the discovery of the deceased. Acting on information received, a party of Policemen went to the canefields at Enterprise Backdam and found the partially decomposed body of a male. As such, the family of the missing minibus driver was contacted, and the body was positively identified by the son of the deceased.

The body was examined,

Dead: Hardat Mangru

but no visible marks of violence were seen on the exposed parts. It has been taken to the Memorial Gardens Funeral Home to await a post mortem.

18

guyanatimesgy.com

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2021

Regional

Jamaican Opposition says no Ecuador to pardon to BoJ interest rate increase thousands after 118 die in worst-ever prison riot T he Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) says it is against the decision made by the Bank of Jamaica (BoJ) to raise interest rates to maintain the annual inflation rate of four to six per cent.

In a release on the issue, Opposition Spokesman on Finance, Julian Robinson said that the main reasons causing the inflation rate to breach the upper limit of six per cent are cost-push factors that are external to Jamaica and driven primarily by global supply chain issues.

“Increasing domestic interest rates at this time won’t

E

cuador is planning to pardon up to 2000 inmates in order to relieve overcrowding at its detention centers after 118 inmates died and a further 79 were injured in the country’s worst-ever prison riot earlier this week, an official said on Friday.

Bolivar Garzon, the director of the South American country’s SNAI prison authority, said the Government aimed to prioritise the elderly, women, and prisoners with disabilities and terminal illnesses in the wake of the clashes on Tuesday at the Penitenciaria del Litoral in the southern city of Guayaquil.

The country’s prisons are currently home to some 39,000 inmates, Garzon added.

Garzon said the riot, the latest in a wave of prison violence in the Andean country, was sparked by “a battle for control by organised crime groups”. Riots left 79 dead in February and 22 in July of this year.

Officials say gangs have alliances with transnational criminal groups and are

Members of the military gather outside of the Penitenciaria del Litoral, one of Ecuador’s largest prisons, after prisoners died in a riot, in Guayaquil, Ecuador, September 29, 2021

battling over drug trafficking routes.

Ecuador has sent 3600 Police and military reinforcements to prisons across the country to maintain order, Interior Minister Alexandra Vela told reporters on Friday.

She added that forensic units had identified 41 of the victims, and had delivered the bodies of 21 of the victims to their families.

Dozens of inmates’ relatives have gathered outside a Guayaquil morgue seeking information about their

loved ones. Authorities said at least six victims were decapitated.

Eduardo Montes, 60, was awaiting news of his 25-yearold brother Vicente Montes, who is due to be released in one month.

“They sent us a photo where you can see the head of one victim, and we believe it is my brother, but we do not know if he is really dead or if he is alive,” Montes said.

“I have hope that he is alive and that they release him.”

(Excerpt from Reuters)

influence those factors,” Robinson noted in the release.

He said many businesses that rely on imports of raw materials and finished goods are already facing significant increases in freight costs, and increased interest rates would put further pressure on them and ultimately on consumers, to whom the costs will be passed on.

“The Opposition recognises that there will be continued upward inflationary pressures in the short term while the global supply chain problems persist, but these should abate in the medium term,” he said.

“While the country is recovering from the devastating economic impact of COVID-19, it is important to maintain interest rates at a level that encourages investment and business expansion, which are necessary to achieve recovery in the shortest possible time,” Robinson stated.

“This increase in interest rates will drive up borrowing costs for businesses and consumers, who are already struggling to survive in a very challenging economic environment. This is highly undesirable,” he added. (Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

Colombia’s ELN rebels warn of ‘reprisals’ after commander killed

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olombia’s largest remaining armed group has warned of “reprisals” after a Government bombing killed one of its top commanders this week, prompting experts to predict a rise in attacks.

National Liberation Army (ELN) commander Angel Padilla Romero, better known by the alias Fabian, died in a Cali hospital after being injured in a military bombing on Colombia’s west coast, the Government announced on Tuesday.

The leftist group said in a statement on Thursday that they were “authorised” to “dis-

proportionately use force and explosives” in response to the attack, which took place on the ELN’s Western Front in a dense jungle municipality in Choco province.

Bogota dubbed the killing one of the “most important operations against the ELN in recent years” and on Thursday right-wing President Ivan Duque said the country would not be intimidated by threats from armed groups.

“As the supreme commander of the armed forces … I want to tell you that we will never give in to any threat from armed groups. We are fighting them and we will

continue to fight them with all our determination,” Duque said at an event in the coastal city of Cartagena.

The ELN statement did not mention any specific targets.

However, the group – estimated to have some 2300 active fighters – has a record of mounting attacks in rural areas where it operates, mostly on Government infrastructure, as well as one-off mass casualty bombings in the capital, Bogota. Civilians have been injured in past attacks, but most are aimed at security forces. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Bahamas, Cuba intercept hundreds of Haitian migrants at sea St Vincent mandates vaccination

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uthorities from the Bahamas and Cuba have said they stopped hundreds of Haitians attempting to reach the United States by sea.

The Royal Bahamas Defence Force said on Thursday it had deployed patrol vessels to the southeast Bahamas to defend against what it described as a “migrant surge” from Haiti.

Those vessels had intercepted more than 1000 Haitians over the past 10 days, it added.

“The Royal Bahamas Defence Force is once again urging individuals to refrain from making long treacher-

ous voyages on hazardous vessels, and in the process, risking the lives of many individuals,” it said.

Cuba’s Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, said this week an unspecified number of Haitian migrants had also arrived recently via boat on the coasts of its eastern and central provinces in a bid to reach the US state of Florida.

Both Cuba and The Bahamas said they would be repatriating the migrants to Haiti. The Royal Bahamas Defence Force said that repatriations were expected to begin on Thursday.

Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, has

grappled with widespread poverty and crime, worsened by earthquakes and hurricanes that have ravaged the country of more than 11 million people in recent years.

The recent assassination of President Jovenel Moïse has further exacerbated a continuing political crisis, adding to the country’s instability.

Earlier this month, President Luis Abinader of the Dominican Republic, which shares the Caribbean island of Hispaniola with Haiti, told the United Nations General Assembly that Haiti was “already becoming a regional problem”.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

for teachers and other school staff

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he St Vincent and the Grenadines Government has mandated that teachers and other school staff members be vaccinated against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

“On the basis of the advice which we have received, including advice from the medical authorities, those on the Health Services Subcommittee of NEMO (National Emergency Management Organisation), it was decided to put in these regulations, to include teachers as front-line workers,” Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves said.

He said that this would also apply to “those who’re working at the schools, the cooks and so on, everybody who comes in touch with children, students.

“There are basic reasons for this. First of all, there is an uptick in the number of persons who are contracting COVID, the positivity rate is in excess of 10 per cent,” Gonsalves said, adding that the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the country was rising. “”There were 12 deaths for a long time and just over a week, we have had eight, almost one a day. Now, that’s

Venezuela introduces new currency, drops six zeros

V

enezuela is set to debut a new currency that will feature six fewer zeros, a response to years of some world’s worst inflation.

The highest denomination of the Venezuelan bolivar had previously been a one-million bolivar note, currently worth a little less than US$0.25. That will now become a one bolivar note.

Introduced on Friday, the highest denomination for the new currency will be 100 bolivar, worth a little less than US$25.

Upon announcing the currency change in September,

Venezuela’s central bank said the bolivar “will not be worth more or less; it is only to facilitate its use on a simpler monetary scale”.

The change is meant to make cash transactions and accounting simpler, which are often complicated by a string of unwieldy zeroes.

The inflation had led banks to limit how much cash individuals could withdraw in a day, and forced many of the country’s residents to use either United States dollars or electronic payment methods.

It comes as Venezuela’s Gross Domestic Product or GDP has plummeted by 80

A man counts bolivar bills that amount to $1 at a bus stop in Caracas, Venezuela. [File: Ariana Cubillos/The Associated Press]

per cent since 2013 as the price of oil crashed and output dwindled during de-

cades of under-investment and Government mismanagement.

The bolivar has lost nearly all its value in just more than 10 years – shedding almost 73 per cent in 2021 alone.

While Venezuela’s central bank does not publish inflation statistics anymore, the International Monetary Fund estimates that the country’s rate at the end of 2021 will be at 5500 per cent.

As of Friday, seven one-million bolivar notes – the highest denomination and very hard to come by – were required to pay in cash for one loaf of bread. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

St Vincent Prime Minister, Dr Ralph Gonsalves

serious business,” Prime Minister Gonsalves said, adding that the positivity rate has moved from under five per cent and, in some cases, as low as one per cent to in excess of 17 per cent.”

The positivity rate is the percentage of persons testing in a particular reporting period as a fraction of the number of people tested.

“So there was that, the epidemiological situation, the way the numbers are rising and all that’s happening around us.

“Secondly, the fact that we have a number of young people, students who have been contracting COVID and parents and teachers have been calling and the general public for us to include teachers and on balance it was decided, yes, given what is taking place,” Gonsalves said, noting the decision is for the time of the public health emergency.

(Excerpt from CMC)

guyanatimesgy.com

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2021

19

Around the World

OILNEWS OIL NEWS

Biden visits Congress to lobby for stalled infrastructure bill

Oil settles near 3-year high ahead of OPEC+ meeting

O

il settled above US$78 a barrel on Friday, just shy of a three-year high reached earlier this week, on expectations that Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Ministers will maintain a steady pace in raising supply.

OPEC and allies, known as OPEC+, meets on Monday. The group is slowly unwinding record output cuts made last year, although sources say it is considering doing more to boost production.

Brent crude rose 97 cents, or 1.2 per cent, to settle at US$79.28 in its fourth weekly rise. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 85 cents to settle at US$75.88 in a sixth week of gains.

Brent has risen over 50 per cent this year and reached a three-year high of US$80.75 on Tuesday.

OPEC+ is facing pressure from consumers such as the United States and India to produce more to help reduce prices as demand has recovered faster than anticipated in some parts of the world.

"If OPEC+ sticks to the script and only delivers the planned 400,000 bpd increase in November, energy markets will shortly be seeing US$90 oil prices," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA, adding that any increase smaller than 600,000 barrels should boost prices.

Oil is also finding support as a surge in natural gas prices globally prompts power producers to move away from gas.

Generators in Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Middle East have started switching fuels. read more "The most likely reason for stable oil prices is that investors believe the supply-demand gap will widen as the power crisis worsens," said Naeem Aslam, analyst at Avatrade.

US energy firms this week added oil and natural gas rigs for a fourth week in a row as more storm-hit offshore units resumed service in the Gulf of Mexico. (Excerpt from Reuters)

US President Joe Biden flashed a thumbs up as he arrived for budget talks

U

S President Joe Biden has made a surprise visit to Congress one day after it delayed a crucial vote on his US$1 trillion infrastructure plan.

Part of his Democratic

Party refuses to move forward with the plan until Congress signs off on a separate US$3.5 trillion welfare and climate change bill.

The bill is at the heart of the party's agenda and passions are high as Biden ap-

A

clear what my future will be," she added.

The issue has become increasingly important as the rest of the world, whose aid money Afghanistan desperately needs, tries to gauge whether the new Taliban Government will give women and girls greater freedoms than the last time it was in power.

"The Ministry of Education is working hard to provide the ground for the education of high school girls as soon as possible," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told a news conference on September 21.

The ministry put a statement on its Facebook page on September 24 saying no decision had been reached on when girls would be able to go to school, but that work on the issue was continuing and information would be shared as soon as possible.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

get it done," Biden told journalists after the meeting.

The bipartisan US$1 trillion public works bill, which would apply to routine transportation, broadband, water systems and other projects, enjoys wide support but liberal (or progressive) Democrats are linking its passage to their more ambitious welfare and climate change bill.

That bill would raise taxes on corporations and the rich, investing the revenue in a broad array of social programmes, including early childhood education, universal preschool, Governmentfunded two-year college education, paid family and medical leave, an expansion of Government health insurance and environmental spending. (Excerpt from BBC News)

India imposes COVID UN chief tells Ethiopia's Abiy he does not accept restrictions on staff expulsions British nationals

Afghan girls stuck at home, waiting for Taliban plan to re-open schools s the weeks pass in Afghanistan, the new Taliban administration has yet to announce when it will re-open secondary schools for girls, leaving them stuck at home while their brothers return to class.

Two weeks since boys in classes above the sixth grade were told to go back to school, the Government says it is working on making it possible for girls to do the same.

"My request to the Islamic Emirate is that girls be allowed to go to school," said Marwa, a Kabul schoolgirl, using the term the Taliban use to describe their Government. "Also (female) teachers should be allowed to go to school and teach girls.

"I dreamt of becoming a top doctor to serve my people, my country, and my family and work in the community, but now it's not

peals to unruly Democrats.

Centrists want to downsize the package, while liberals push for more funding.

Ahead of Biden's visit on Friday, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, the Chairwoman of the House Progressive Caucus, praised the President as "deeply involved" in the budget negotiations.

Her comment comes amid criticism from some Democrats that Biden has taken a backseat in the intra-party talks.

However, after the roughly 30-minute meeting, Democrats emerged saying that Biden had not indicated his top line price tag, leaving the future of the vote uncertain.

"It doesn't matter whether it's in six minutes, six days, or six weeks, we're going to

People stand in line to receive food donations, at the Tsehaye primary school, which was turned into a temporary shelter for people displaced by conflict, in the town of Shire, Tigray region, Ethiopia, March 15, 2021

India has accused Britain of “discriminatory” measures against fully-vaccinated Indian travellers [File: Daniel Leal-Olivas/ AFP via Getty Images]

F

ully-vaccinated British nationals arriving in India will be subjected to a 10-day mandatory quarantine, in response to similar measures imposed on Indian nationals.

The move comes after India’s Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla called Britain’s decision not to recognise the Indian version of the AstraZeneca vaccine, known as Covishield, “discriminatory”. He had warned of reciprocal measures should London fail to reconsider.

Starting on Monday, all British arrivals – irrespective of their vaccination status – will have to present a negative COVID-19 test taken a maximum of 72 hours prior to departure, undergo a second test on arrival and a third eight

days later.

A mandatory quarantine period of 10 days will also be enforced, according to a Foreign Ministry official who spoke to The Associated Press news agency.

The British Government announced last month it would allow fully-vaccinated travellers to skip quarantine and take fewer tests, but only recognised vaccination under the American, British or European programmes or those authorised by an approved health body.

More than a dozen countries in Asia, the Caribbean and the Middle East made it to the list, but India’s programme was not included.

Similarly, no programme in the African continent was accepted. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

T

he United Nations does not accept Ethiopia's decision to expel seven senior UN officials as famine looms in the war-torn region of Tigray, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres told Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Friday.

Ethiopia declared the officials personae non grata on Thursday and gave them 72 hours to leave, but UN spokesman Farhan Haq said that doctrine cannot be applied to staff of the world body. Haq said the officials remained in the country.

In a note to Ethiopia's mission to the United Nations in New York, seen by Reuters, the UN Office of Legal Affairs said it had not received any information to back Ethiopia's accusation that the officials were meddling in internal affairs.

Ethiopia's Foreign Affairs Ministry later on Friday accused the UN officials of diverting aid and communication equipment to the

Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), violating security arrangements, failing to demand the return of aid trucks deployed to Tigray, and spreading misinformation.

War broke out 11 months ago between Ethiopia's federal troops and forces loyal to the TPLF, which controls Tigray. Thousands have died and more than two million people have been forced to flee their homes.

Guterres told the UN Security Council on Friday – in a letter seen by Reuters – that the United Nations would push Ethiopia "to permit these critical UN staff to resume their functions in Ethiopia and grant them the necessary visas".

Ethiopia's mission to the United Nations in New York told Reuters: "We urge the UN to expeditiously replace the expelled personnel to allow the continuation of our cooperation in providing humanitarian assistance."

(Excerpt from Reuters)

20

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2021

guyanatimesgy.com

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Do something that makes you feel proud. Taking part (March 21will help build confidence April 19) and give you the initiative to excel. Spend time working alongside someone you enjoy being with.

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SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)

You’ll scrutinize what others do, but before you criticize someone else, look inward. Focus on personal growth and self-improvement before trying to change someone else.

You’ll be up against someone who is demanding.

Be frank regarding what you want to happen; you will teach someone a lesson instead of learning one yourself. Do what’s best for you.

A confrontation will open your eyes to new possibilities. Don’t put up with people who don’t appreciate you or what you have to offer. Get involved in something that makes you feel passionate.

Don’t get worked up. It’s to your advantage to keep the peace and extend a welcoming hand to anyone in your domain. It’s time to take an adventure that will challenge you intellectually.

Plan something special for a loved one. Shake things up a bit and show everyone you aren’t as predictable as you seem. Step outside your comfort zone; you will be surprised how adaptable you can be.

Reorganize your space and spend time with someone who appreciates the same things as you. Refuse to let the past stand between you and your happiness. It’s time to move forward with your plans.

Too much of anything will cause friction with someone who cares about you. Review the choices before you and what you can do to make your life better. Attend an event or seminar that offers insight.

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Don’t take a risk. Ask questions, find out where you stand and make decisions based on what you know is doable. Don’t let a friend or relative make decisions for you or talk you into something that doesn’t suit your needs.

Balance and equality matter. Be accommodating, (Feb. 20- and ask for the same in reMarch 20) turn. You will capture someone’s attention if you choose a unique lifestyle. The opportunity to make a positive change is apparent.

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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2021

21

Rugby: Wales v New Zealand…

Cardiff's Rhys Priestland eases Wayne Pivac's fly-half worries

R

hys Priestland has eased some of Wales' fly-half worries before their 30 October encounter with New Zealand.

Cardiff colleague Jarrod Evans is in a fitness race for that game, while Dan Biggar and Callum Sheedy are unavailable. The pair will not be released by their English clubs to face New Zealand because the match is scheduled outside World Rugby's international window.

Priestland has passed head injury protocols to face Ospreys on Saturday.

Evans damaged his sternum after replacing 34-year-old Priestland in Cardiff's 33-21 victory over Connacht last Friday, and faces a minimum absence of four weeks. His injury is among the issues Wales coach Wayne Pivac is wrestling with before they face the All Blacks in Cardiff.

If Evans is ruled out, Priestland, Gareth Anscombe

and Sam Davies would appear to be Pivac's options for the All Blacks game, before Biggar and Sheedy return to face South Africa on 6 November.

Scarlets' Rhys Patchell has not played since October 2020, and is currently sidelined by a calf problem.

Gareth Anscombe played his first competitive game since August 2019 for Ospreys against Dragons on Sunday, after recovering from a serious knee injury, and again starts for the hosts against Cardiff.

The Ospreys fly-half impressed in his 70-minute display, scoring 12 points and creating the important third try for Luke Morgan.

The Wales coach was watching as Priestland was forced off after a minute with a head injury on his competitive debut, following his summer move from Bath.

Evans came on for Priestland before picking up his problem in an aerial

challenge.

Cardiff’s Director of Rugby, Dai Young, said: "Rhys has passed his return-to-play protocols throughout the week, so we're happy that he's been given the go-ahead to feature."

Young had earlier said that Evans's diagnosis was more encouraging than expected, as the region hopes he returns before the end of the opening block of league games on 23 October.

"It is good news on both," said Young. "We know Jarrod is not going to be available for a number of weeks. It was a sternum injury which looked really nasty, and he was in a lot of pain leaving the ground, and (he) went straight to hospital. He has had scans, there is nothing broken there, and no damage to any major organs, which is always a concern when somebody has a nasty chest injury.

"So it is just bruising,

which will take time to settle.

He is still in a bit of pain, but no lasting damage, which is the positive. You don't want your best players to be out for any length of time, but at least it's nothing too serious."

When asked how much rugby Evans would miss,

Young added: "A lot of it is down to pain management and how long things take to settle. We are definitely looking at a minimum of four weeks, and it could be longer.

"You just don't know with these types of injuries. You tend to have a better picture

after 10 days. If we get any rugby out of him in this block, it will be the later games. I am just pleased he is okay."

Ben Thomas, 22, who won his debut Wales cap against Canada in June, is on Cardiff's bench against Ospreys in Swansea. (BBC.COM)

“I think I can play a big role” TT Sport Minister Cudjoe − Cornwall would have welcomed opportunity to bowl in CPL

A

ntiguan cricketer and spinning all-rounder Rahkeem Cornwall believes he could have done well with the ball if he had been given the opportunity to bowl

during this year’s Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL), which climaxed in St Kitts on September 15.

Cornwall, who featured for losing finali s t s the St Lucia Kings, did not bowl a single over in this year’s tournament - a move which left some baffled, given his exploits with the ball for the senior West Indies Team thus far, albeit in Tests.

“For the last couple of CPL tournaments, I have not been bowling, so I don’t know what is the issue; but they never really gave me an explanation, so I just roll along with it.

Especially on these pitches, I think I can play a big role in the bowling department, but I just haven’t gotten the opportunity, and I really didn’t question it, I just looked at it for what it is,” he

said.

Amassing a total of 128 runs in six matches, with a highest of 43 in this year’s tournament, Cornwall said his main focus was to provide what the team wanted from the role he had been given.

“I always enjoy opening the batting, so I just go and express myself, and it’s an opportunity to get the team a good start in the powerplay, and I just try to go out and do it to the best of my ability. And as the tournament goes along, you know, the wickets are going to change, so you have to adapt and change your style of play,” he said.

Cornwall’s St Lucia Kings teammate Roston Chase was the tournament’s top scorer with 446 runs in 12 matches, with a highest of 85.

Patriots claimed their first ever CPL title when they defeated the Saint Lucia Kings by three wickets in a closely contested encounter at Warner Park.

(Antigua Observer)

pays tribute to Imran Khan and Jamilya Muhammad

TT’s Minister of Sport and Community Development, Shamfa Cudjoe

Imran Khan

T’s Minister of Sport and Community Development, Shamfa Cudjoe, has sent condolences to the families, relatives, friends and the sports fraternity on the deaths of Jamilya Muhammad and Imran Khan.

Muhammad died on Monday after ailing for some time, and Khan died of COVID-19 on Tuesday.

In a media release, Cudjoe said, “On behalf of the Government and people of TT, we salute these two stalwarts for their tremendous contributions to the development and promotion of sports particularly football, netball and cricket.

We thank them for everything they have done, and for giving distinguished and

diligent service to TT and the Caribbean.

May their souls rest in eternal peace.”

Muhammad was the former General Secretary of the TT Women’s League (TT WOLF), board member of the TT Football Association (TTFA), member of the Chips Sports and Cultural Club, member of the Royalty Basketball Academy, former women’s national Under-20 team manager, and a former netballer.

Khan was a former West Indies Cricket Board Manager of Marketing and Communications, who served regional cricket with distinction in various capacities. He was most recently involved in politics in his native Guyana.

(TT Newsday)

T

22

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2021

KL Rahul, bowlers lift Punjab Kings to 5th spot P

unjab Kings have the second wicket between kept their playoff Iyer and Rahul Tripathi hopes well and truly helped the Knight Riders alive by punishing Kolkata recover from the early loss Knight Riders for their of Shubman Gill’s wicket.

The Iyer-Tripathi combo off-colour fielding effort.

Mayank Agarwal made hit 12 fours and two sixes. a quickfire 40 after an ear- They took a particular likly re- prieve, KL Rahul ing to Fabian Allen's lefta n chored the 166 arm spin and Nathan Ellis's assortment of change-ups. chase with a Iyer's power-hitting 5 5 and Tripathi's ball 67, and shots over Shahrukh Khan midwickmade an unbeaten 22 in nine balls.

The result ensured that Knight Riders did not break away from the mid-table pack, with only two points separating the four teams between fourth and seventh.

It also confirmed Delhi Capitals' spot in the playoffs, as they can no longer finish below fourth.

That the KL Rahul led Kings had the charge to overwith 67 c o m e only a par total of 165 on a batting-friend- et and point kept ly surface was courtesy of Knight Riders' run rate death-overs bowling from around eight per over up Mohammed Shami and while they were around.

Arshdeep Singh.

But Ravi Bishnoi, the legAfter Venkatesh Iyer fell spinner on paper with a for a 49-ball 67 in the 15th penchant for bowling more over, Knight Riders could googlies, dismissed both make only 45 runs in 5.2 men. overs, finishing well short A wrong'un in the of a total near 180 that they 12th over had Tripathi were on course to achieve. slog-sweeping to deep midThe lack of batting time wicket, and then another for Knight Riders' mid- slog-sweep from Iyer in the dle and lower-middle or- 15th sent him back, after der came to the fore as his second IPL fifty and his Eoin Morgan and Dinesh highest score of the tournaKarthik could only make ment. run-a-ball scores of 2 and At the time, the score 11 respectively when the was 120 for 4, with 32 balls side needed quick runs. to go. With Nitish Rana in the middle, and Morgan, Karthik, Tim Seifert and Kings’ seamers pull things Sunil Narine to follow, a back after Bishnoi burst After being asked to bat, minimum of ten runs per a 72-run partnership for over was on.

However, Morgan was lbw to a full Shami ball in the 16th over, which went only for four. Arshdeep dismissed the dangerous Rana for 31 in the 18th. Shami then frustrated Karthik and Seifert in the 19th, and Arshdeep's boundaryless final over, which included his third wicket, gave Kings the momentum.

SCOREBOARD

Rahul anchors successfully With

Agarwal

back

Venkatesh Iyer scored 67

Ravi Bishnoi's strikes slowed down Kolkata Knight Riders

in the XI and finding the boundaries in the opening salvo of the chase, Rahul had the liberty of taking his time. It's a template he has followed since IPL 2020 with equal doses of praise and criticism. This time, Agarwal's runs at strike rate of almost 150 allowed Rahul's scoring rate to briefly slip under the radar. What helped Agarwal to get a solid score on his return to the team was a firstover drop by Morgan when the batter had hit a full ball straight to cover.

Arshdeep Singh bowled 3-32

Hassan hits 105 in Canada F

ormer Essequibo under-15 player Salim Hassan has expressed delight with his century (105) which enabled his team Leguan Warriors to a convincing 83-run win over Miss Phoebe Cricket Club recently in the 2021 Ontario Softball Cricket League (OSCL) 20-overs semi-final Regular Season competition match at Ashtonbee Park, Scarborough, Toronto.

Leguan Warriors were the eventual champions as well in the Consolation category beating Three Counties by 24 runs at the same venue last Sunday when they collided in the final.

In that grand finale, the right-handed hard-hitting middle-order batsman Hassan contributed a useful 46.

“I [am] happy to be on the winning team this year; I think we played competitive cricket and was not surprised we would have come out on top,” Hassan, who was born in Wakenaam,

Salim Hassan

related.

Quizzed on his continued participation for the Warriors next year, Hassan responded by saying: “Definitely, I will continue to play the game I love and will play some hardball cricket as well representing Appalo Cricket Club that features in the Etobicoke Cricket League tournament,” Hassan declared.

Hassan also scored three centuries before this one but in the USA where he first started playing professionally in North America. He came to Canada several years ago but was not active; only last year he opted to start taking a knock.

Meanwhile, the OSCL will be running off its fun-day with an All-Stars clashing with winner Mercenary also at Ashtonbee and a large number of Guyanese softball cricketers will be on show. Mercenary is the champion side having disposed of Canadian Legends.

KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS INNINGS (20 OVERS MAXIMUM) Venkatesh Iyer c Hooda b Ravi Bishnoi 67 Shubman Gill b Arshdeep Singh 7 Rahul Tripathi c Hooda b Ravi Bishnoi 34 Nitish Rana c Agarwal b Arshdeep Singh 31 Eoin Morgan (c) lbw b Mohammed Shami 2 Dinesh Karthik † b Arshdeep Singh 11 Tim Seifert run out (Mohammed Shami) 2 Sunil Narine not out 3

PUNJAB KINGS INNINGS (TARGET: 166 RUNS FROM 20 OVERS) KL Rahul (c)† c Shivam Mavi b Iyer 67 Mayank Agarwal c Morgan b Varun 40 Nicholas Pooran c Shivam Mavi b Varun 12 Aiden Markram c Shubman Gill b Narine 18 Deepak Hooda c Tripathi b Shivam Mavi 3 Shahrukh Khan not out 22 Fabian Allen not out 0

Extras (b 3, lb 1, w 4) TOTAL (20 Ov, RR: 8.25)

Did not bat: Nathan Ellis, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh Fall of wickets: 1-70 (Mayank Agarwal, 8.5 ov), 2-84 (Nicholas Pooran, 10.4 ov), 3-129 (Aiden Markram, 15.3 ov), 4-134 (Deepak Hooda, 16.3 ov), 5-162 (KL Rahul, 19.2 ov)

8 165/7

Did not bat: Tim Southee, Varun Chakravarthy, Shivam Mavi Fall of wickets: 1-18 (Shubman Gill, 2.2 ov), 2-90 (Rahul Tripathi, 11.3 ov), 3-120 (Venkatesh Iyer, 14.4 ov), 4-124 (Eoin Morgan, 15.5 ov), 5-149 (Nitish Rana, 17.4 ov), 6-156 (Tim Seifert, 18.4 ov), 7-165 (Dinesh Karthik, 19.6 ov) BOWLING Fabian Allen Mohammed Shami Arshdeep Singh Nathan Ellis Ravi Bishnoi

O-M-R-W 4-0-38-0 4-0-23-1 4-0-32-3 4-0-46-0 4-0-22-2

However, Rahul had made only 14 in 16 balls in the powerplay, and Agarwal's dismissal soon after - off Varun Chakravarthy - started to bring back old memories.

Nicholas Pooran and Aiden Markram failed to be the aggressive yin to Rahul's sedate yang, and were out for sub-20 scores.

With Rahul running out of batting partners and his strike rate still in the 120s, it appeared like the Kings would miscalculate another chase. But with six overs to go, Rahul finally started looking for big shots. He hit Tim Southee for a six in the 15th over to bring the rate down, and then struck two fours off the inexperienced Shivam Mavi in the 19th to bring the equation down to five off the last over.

But Rahul could not see off the chase himself. He was out on the second ball of the final over, when his big shot found long-off. A few balls earlier, he had survived a close call for caught after Tripathi slid along the ground in the deep to take a low catch. While the catch appeared fair in real time, the TV umpire adjudicated that the ball had hit the ground.

SRK downs SRK's team

While Rahul's innings ensured that there never was a situation when two new batters were at the crease, the team needed a cameo from somewhere to make up for Rahul's scoring rate.

And it came from the man who was playing his first game of the UAE leg.

Left out of the XI when the tournament restarted, Shahrukh replaced Harpreet Brar in the XI for

Extras (lb 2, nb 1, w 3) 6 TOTAL (19.3 Ov, RR: 8.61) 168/5

BOWLING O-M-R-W Tim Southee 4-0-40-0 Shivam Mavi 4-0-31-1 Varun Chakravarthy 4-0-24-2 Sunil Narine 4-0-34-1 Venkatesh Iyer 2.3-0-30-1 Nitish Rana 1-0-7-0

this game, and came in at No. 6 with the Kings needing 32 from 21 balls. His first shot was nearly four, cut off only by an acrobatic effort by Seifert at deep point. Then came a hook for six that had enough legs to just about beat Iyer's effort on the boundary line.

A cut in front of square off Southee soon followed, and his three boundary shots took him to 15 off seven balls.

However, it is the final over that worries every Kings fan. After too many close defeats over the last two seasons, the game was still not in their bag entering the 20th, more so when Rahul was out with them still needing four from four balls.

But Shahrukh was not going to take it down to the last ball. Mavi went length, Shahrukh slogged to deep midwicket, Tripathi failed to take the catch, the ball popped over the skirting for six, and the Kings took home the two points.

(ESPNcricinfo)

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23

Mercenary, OSCL’s All-Stars Petra Organisation saddened at tragic clash today at Ashtonbee loss of Joshua Denny

Co-Director of the Petra Organisation, Troy Mendonca

T

he Petra Organization has expressed its deep sadness at the untimely and vicious death of young footballer Joshua Denny, who had his life snuffed out by two bandits in Festival City, North Ruimveldt on Thursday 30th September 2021 at approximately 06:00 hrs.

Denny, a 19-year-old electrician, was on his way to work when tragedy struck.

The Perta Organization has said that Denny’s long relationship with that body started in 2012, when he represented the Redeemer Primary and North Georgetown Primary Schools as a Pee Wee football player in the Courts U-11 Pee Wee Football Tournament.

Denny then went on, a few years after, to represent the Lodge Secondary School,

Joshua Denny

participating in the Milo U-18 Football tournament and the Guyoil Tradewind Tankers Football league, wherein his team emerged as the 2019 league champions.

Also, and most notably, Denny was a key and critical member of the Lodge Secondary School team that beat tournament favourites Shiva Boys in the KFC Goodwill International Secondary School Football Tournament, ensuring that title remain in Guyana.

Denny, had even represented the Camptown Football Club with distinction at the senior level in the Turbo KO Tournament, and in the Limacol Football Tournament, to the delight of both his parents and the Petra Organisation.

Denny’s parents, particularly

his mom Afeah Denny, and his sisters had been present at most, if not all the games he participated in to see him play.

The Petra Organization has said it was pleased to see Denny’s transition from Pee Wee (primary) to secondary schools’ football, and then to the senior level as a disciplined football player. Denny remained a very focused, disciplined and hardworking youngster. He took his game seriously, and his academic pursuits also, by becoming a gainfully employed electrician.

“This young man, to our mind, exemplified what a young person can do to make progress in a society where there are challenges”, the Petra Organization has said.

The Organization says it therefore cannot begin to imagine how devastating this loss has been to Denny’s family, and the pain and suffering they are being made to endure at the hands of his assailants.

“We (Petra Organization) would nevertheless, and for a long time to come, mourn the loss of Joshie with his family, his friends, our Organization, the football fraternity and civil society. Heartfelt condolences are being expressed to his family, relatives, his school friends and colleague, and to those who knew him”, the Petra Organization has said.

Sankar's Auto Colour and Auto Works Golf Tourney set for today … tournament being held in commemoration of Mahatma Gandhi’s 152nd birth anniversary

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olfing action will continue at the Lusignan Golf Club (LGC) today, October 2 as the Sankars Auto Colour and Auto Works Golf Tourney is set to kick off with a bang.

The tournament will tee off at 12:30h and will be medal play over 18 holes net score shotgun start. The first-place winner will cart off a trophy plus a $5000 voucher, second place a trophy plus a $4000 voucher, and third place a trophy plus a $3000 voucher. For the best net front nine winner, a trophy plus a $1500 voucher are up for grabs, for the best net back nine winner a trophy plus a $1500 voucher, and for the player that gets nearest to the flag, a trophy plus a $1000 voucher.

The LGC has noted that players who participate in tournaments from

September 18 to October 25 will be eligible for consideration for free entry into the Guyana Open Tournament via a competition format.

Points for free entry will be awarded for the first 10 best net scores for each tournament. Points will also be awarded to the top five players for the day based on their net scores. The player who accumulates the most points at the end of the exercise will be declared the winner, and can participate in the Guyana Open without having to pay the tournament fee.

All participants are advised to contact the club’s manager on the day of the tournament to collect their score cards, pay the tournament fees, and proceed to their allocated tee boxes to tee off at 12:30h. All COVID-19 protocols will be

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xcitement galore is highly anticipated today at Ashtonbee (Reservoir) where Mercenary and an All-Stars XI will clash in a one-off match from 13:00h (1:00pm).

The game was organised by the Ontario Softball Cricket League (OSCL) to end the season, with their presentation and award ceremony occurring after the match.

According to OSCL President Ravin Babulall, the day promises to be exciting, since there will be other activities including kiddies games at the same facility.

Babulall also informed that the All-Stars fixture should be fascinating as well. Mercenary came out victorious in the recently-concluded OSCL’s 20over tournament beating Canadian Legends and carted off the prize for being the top team at the conclusion of the season, garnering the most points.

Avish Rukhram, Bobby Parasnauth, Yadram Bogh, and Richard Dias. These players will be on show again.

The leader stated that the encounter would be 20-overs-a-side and prizes are also up for grabs. The OSCL’s All-Stars team will be captained by Troy Gobin and he will have in the squad Devon Ramnauth, Rakesh Ramotar, Reyaz Prahalad, Wasim Parsram, Kelvin Shivrattan, Vic Mangal, Mike Kadir, Amit Arjune, Harrienarine Chattergoon, Zakir Khan, Daven Parsram, Rishi Samuel, and Akash Ala.

Joseph’s hattrick unable to save Hartford as UCC register comfortable win

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in effect.

The tournament is sponsored by the company as it observes the 152nd birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

This is another opportunity for them to showcase their brilliant talent and their winning combination.

The All-Stars side is made of players who represented various teams that participated in the competition as well.

Councillor Michael Thompson for the City Area of East Toronto is expected to grace the occasion, according to Babulall.

Mercenary have had a plethora of seasoned campaigners in their lineup. Among the names are Avinash Sookdeo, skipper Looknauth Ramsichit, Sunil Ramkissoon,

t was a day full of action in the CCL 2021 T20 Championship, as Hartford Eagles Cricket Club (HECC) went down to United Cricket Club (UCC) despite a hattrick from Kumar Joseph.

This win has now placed the UCC in fourth place after three games, while the HECC sit in third place after four games.

Hartford, having won the toss, and electing to bat first, were bowled out for 101 in this 20-over affair. The only Hartford batsman to make a decent score was Charan Guttikonda, with 26. No other batsman was able to make it past the 20-run mark.

Hartford struggled from the get-go, and never got going, thus it affected them in the long run. Some excellent bowling from the United Cricket Club saw this latter team win their first game after registering two back-toback losses.

Versammy Verappin bagged 3-17, while Neelam Holkar, Terry Henero and

Preetam Holkar each bagged one wicket to help their side with a comfortable total to chase.

Needing 102 for victory, United were in trouble from the initial stages of the game, Joseph showing that he wasn’t going down without a fight. Bowling the third over, he rattled his opponents mentally as he registered a hattrick to have United at 18-3. He continued to torture his opponents as he returned to bag another wicket, posting figures of 4-9 from his allotted four overs.

But, while Joseph had set the tone, he received no support from his fellow team mates, as United doggedly made it across the line in 18.4 overs, ending on 104.5.

Kawal Prashad and Ethan Nanku top scored with 36* and 26 runs respectively.

Thus far, from his two matches Joseph, has bagged 4 wickets, bowled a total of seven overs, and conceded only 17 runs at an economy rate of 4.15.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2021

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

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Petra Organisation Joseph’s hattrick unable saddened at to save Hartford as UCC tragic loss of register comfortable win Joshua Denny Sankar’s Auto Colour and Auto Works Golf Tourney set for today

…tournament being held in commemoration of Mahatma Gandhi’s 152nd birth anniversary

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