Guyana Times - Saturday October 9, 2021

37 low-income families to soon receive house lots in Balthyock

P14

Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

Issue No. 4795

THE BEACON OF TRUTH SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2021

PRICE

Leticia Pact 3rd Summit

Protection of Amazon rainforest vital to future of planet − President Page 3

Govt files lawsuit, criminal charges against Digicel …company causing harmful over illegal use of spectrum interference to GTT, E-Networks − AG PS allegedly 3 killed in 2 days in caught bee attacks in Berbice in "bribe money" sting operation

$80 VAT INCLUDED

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Woman collapses, dies at Vigilance Magistrate’s P16 Court Motorcyclist's leg amputated following accident P11

Page 8

Pages 9 & 13

Page 16

Dead: Sirpaul Hemraj

Dead: John Sutherland

Dead: Dorothy Adams

100,620 Pfizer vaccines arrive from US Govt …4 more COVID deaths, 162 new cases

Labourer shot to heel during row over money P12 Malaria vaccine for children is a "step in the P14 right direction" – Dr Anthony …paves way for research on other parasitic diseases' vaccines

Superior Concrete Inc returns to P13 Guyana …after Directors expelled for visa violation earlier this year

Page 7

Woman who received P11 presidential pardon from Granger charged for fraud US Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch and Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony display the Pfizer vaccines which arrived at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) on Friday afternoon (US Embassy photo)

Guyana-Brazil regional meeting

Countries agree to heightened border patrols Page to fight drug trafficking, illegal mining 2

Police records to be digitised P15

2 NEWS

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Guyana-Brazil regional meeting

Countries agree to heightened border patrols to fight drug trafficking, illegal mining

Brigadier General Adriano Fructuoso of Brazil and Colonel Trevor Bowman of GDF affixed their signatures to the final minutes and new understandings at the conclusion of the meeting (GDF photo)

T

he militaries of Guyana and Brazil have agreed to instituting heightened border patrols aimed at curbing a number of criminal activities that are occurring on the border shared by the two countries.

The 24th Meeting of Military Exchange between Guyana and Brazil concluded late on Thursday with agreement on a number of new understandings aimed at advancing cooperation in areas of mutual concern.

“Among them, heightened simultaneous patrolling along the border strip, aimed at curbing ever-present cross-border criminal activities such as illegal mining, illegal airstrips, drug trafficking, illegal border cross-

Colonel Bowman in closing remarks

A member of the Brazilian delegation giving a presentation

ing, and the effects of climate change. Both delegations, in their presentations, found common ground and challenges, resulting in the recognition of the need for the development of a stronger mechanism for communica-

tion and coordination against these events,” the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) said on Friday.

This was the first time the exchange was held since the COVID-19 pandemic. It ran for two days,

and saw Brigadier General Adriano Fructuoso Da Costa, Commander of the 1st Jungle Infantry Brigade, heading the Brazilian Delegation while Commandant of the Guyana People’s Militia, Colonel Trevor Bowman, headed the local delegation.

Guyana and Brazil established diplomatic relations 53 years ago. When it comes to the border shared by the two countries, and when it comes to cross-border crime, Police are said to be on high alert for persons entering and leaving Guyana illegally by way of the Guyana-Brazil border in Region Nine.

The GDF has said the discussions were fruitful, and al-

lowed for both sides to examine and share strategies and agree on the way forward.

Brigadier General Fructuoso has said he felt the meeting had achieved its objectives, and he is confident that the new understandings would be executed. He expressed his appreciation for the warm welcome which his team received, which he said was testament to the strong bonds of friendship and good relations between the two countries.

“You have a friend in Brazil, and I wish your institution well as it works towards achieving all of its objectives,” he was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, head of the Guyanese Delegation, Colonel Bowman, has said he is satisfied with the conduct of the meeting, and gave personal assurances that he would spare no effort in ensuring that the good relationship which the two armies share is solidified and advanced.

“You accepted our invitation during these difficult times, and we have come here and we have met our objectives. This is evidence of the enduring nature of our friendship,” he asserted.

The 25th Meeting of Military Exchange is scheduled to be held in Brazil next year.

NEWS

3

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS OPENINGS BRIDGE

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

Saturday, October 9 – 04:00h-05:30h and Sunday, October 10 – 08:00h-09:30h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Saturday, October 9 – 06:00h-07:30h and Sunday, October 10 – 06:45h-08:15h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY Sunny conditions are expected in the day. Partly cloudy to clear skies are expected at night.

Temperatures should range between 21 degrees Celsius and 32 degrees Celsius.

Winds: North-Easterly to South South-Easterly between 1.78 metres and 4.92 metres.

High Tide: 06:16h and 18:29h reaching maximum heights of 2.80 metres and 2.85 metres.

Low Tide: 12:04h reaching a minimum height of 0.49 metre.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2021

LOTTERY NUMBERS L

06 11 15

17 22 28

FREE TICKET

14 Bonus Ball

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2021

DAILY MILLIONS

10 11 14 20 22 LUCKY 3

5

4

4

3

Afternoon Draw

8

3

Evening Draw

DRAW DE LINE

04 07 10 11 14 19 20 SUPER

PAY DAY

PAY DAY THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2021

03 05 11 16 17 13

08 10 11 17 20

2

3 Afternoon Draw

F

P Afternoon Draw

7

6 Evening Draw

F

P Evening Draw

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

COMMODITIES Indicators

US$

Change %

Crude Oil

$82.39/barrel

+0.53

Rough Rice

$247. 59/ton

-0.61

London Sugar

$510.50/ton

+0.39

Live Spot Gold

USD Per Ounce

Bid/Ask

$1757.10

$1758.10

Low/High Change

$1753.90 0.00

$1783.00 0.00%

Leticia Pact 3rd Summit

Protection of Amazon rainforest vital to future of planet – President “We, the countries of the Amazon, must play our part in averting environmental disasters and in arresting the climate crisis” – President Ali

P

resident Dr Irfaan Ali emphasised that protecting the Amazon rainforest is vital to the future of the planet and reaffirmed Guyana’s commitment to the Leticia Pact and its goals and objectives.

The President made the statements at the third annual summit, which was hosted virtually on Friday.

“The protection of our rainforest is vital to our future and that of the planet. We have an obligation to support regional environmental cooperation aimed at protecting our precious natural capital and in responding collectively to natural disasters which have regional impact,” the Head of State is quoted as saying by the Press and Publicity Unit of the Office of the President.

Friday’s event, which was attended by several Heads of Government, including the President of the Republic of Colombia, Ivan Duque Marquez, was held to reaffirm the principles and values of the treaty, which was signed by seven Amazon nations, including Guyana, in 2019 in the Amazonia city of Leticia, Colombia.

The Guyanese Head of State urged the summit to continue acting collectively in the face of threats that can harm their countries and the development of their citizens.

He said that each country has an obligation to protect its respective rainforest for its citizens and for the global population owing to the Amazon’s oxygen-generating capabilities.

The Amazon is the earth’s largest rainforest and carbon sink. It is home to 20 per cent of the world’s freshwater supply and 10 per cent of its biodiversity.

The President, who said that he was honoured to participate in the Summit, pledged Guyana’s commitment to the objectives of the pact and the country’s cooperation in implementing its action plan.

He said that the Summit was being held at a critical time, since the region was still facing the dire consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic while attempting to recover from its effect.

“Our region has been making efforts to intensify regional cooperation so that never again will we find ourselves in a situation in which overdependence on the developed world for solutions to major global crises leave us vulnerable and exposed,” Dr Ali said.

The President noted that he was heartened by the level of regional cooperation that has been triggered by the global health crisis, and said he believed that equally, the

participating countries could ensure greater regional environmental cooperation to help protect against the adverse effects of the global climate crisis.

“We, the countries of the Amazon, must play our part in averting environmental disasters and in arresting the climate crisis,” he said.

Enhanced development

President Ali lauded the Pact and its plan of action and said that they were instruments of regional environmental cooperation for combating deforestation, land degradation and for accelerating restoration, rehabilitation, and reforestation initiatives.

He also praised the Pact’s commitment to the empowerment of women and Indigenous peoples and their communities, which was vital to the conservation and protection of the rainforests and biodiversity.

However, he noted that the Pact was still in its infancy since it was signed only two years ago and must be given time to achieve its ambitions and become an effective mechanism of environmental collaboration.

“Regional environmental cooperation is no quick-

President Dr Irfaan Ali

fix solution. Regional cooperation takes time and requires sustained and painstaking efforts, especially in respect to ensuring consensus, coordination and common action,” Dr Ali noted.

The President said that while the region’s current priority was to combat the effects of COVID-19, it should not deflect attention from the Pact’s objectives and the implementation of its action plan.

“The process of recovery from the pandemic should be used as an opportunity to align our economies along a sustainable development path and to ensure that preservation and protection is a foremost development priority.”

Aligning with national objectives

The Head of State explained that environmental cooperation envisioned by the Pact might be short-lived or placed on a backburner unless the region’s development trajectories are aligned with the Pact’s objectives.

“Regional cooperation will enjoy greater success if its ambitions find increased traction in national development policies,” he stated.

As such, the President said, Guyana believes that it is necessary for all the countries to support the objectives of the Leticia Pact for the Amazon by mainstreaming its objectives in their national development strategies, especially in relation to maintaining sustainable levels of deforestation, protecting biodiversity, enhancing value-added production of forest products, increasing the decarbonisation of each economy and empowering women and Indigenous peoples and communities.

President Ali also reminded the Summit of Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) that will be broadened to incorporate wider environmental services, water resources management, climate resilience, biodiversity and the marine economy.

4

guyanatimesgy.com

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 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

Life skills for youths

I

t’s a fact that youths today make up the larger part of the population of almost every country in the world. This presents certain challenges for policy-makers to develop, implement and maintain programmes and activities which must be economically and socially oriented to satisfy their (youths’a) desires.

It is also well known that the absence of well-thoughtout programmes with respect to youth development impacts negatively on our young people, and sometimes even lead to them resigning themselves to lawlessness and other anti-social behaviours that are damaging to society.

Former Caricom Secretary General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, some time ago had said the majority of victims as well as perpetrators of crimes reported by the Police are young males 18 to 35 years old. He pointed to the fact that there are a number of socio-economic determinants of crime, the least of which is the high youth unemployment in the Region. This is surely reason to be concerned, as right away one would begin to worry about the kind of future these persons would have, and the contributions they would make to their societies, if any at all. Certainly, this is enough reason to cause governments and policy-makers to take a closer look at what is happening in their individual countries, and take steps to remedy the situation.

Certainly, there is a great need for intervention in order to combat the current challenges facing young people. In order to prepare young people for workplace success, job training programmes need to go beyond technical instruction and also teach “life skills” such as communication, reliability, and teamwork. This push to teach youths life skills has been validated by employers who have consistently reported that, above all, they want to hire employees who possess workplace-ready skills, such as communication, teamwork, motivation and responsibility.

Technical skills, they say, can be learned on the job.

In addition to teaching youths the life skills employers look for, there is need to introduce complementary life planning activities in this component. These activities help youths in assessing who they are, their aspirations for the future, and define realistic steps towards achieving these goals.

Guyana has a number of programmes geared towards equipping young people with various skills for the world of work etc. This is commendable, but more focus needs to be placed on combining teaching life skills with the various academic or technical subjects. Meaning, these programmes should include assessment and identification of ways to build competency and skills supportive of healthy behaviours, to help young people as they mature into adulthood.

Additionally, institutions such as the family and religious bodies need to take up their roles more seriously, as happened before. Historically, the older generation had managed to transmit their beliefs, values, traditions, customs and institutions to the younger members of their societies. This was achieved largely because of the impact of agencies of socialisation, such as the family, religion and the schools. Today, the impact of these institutions has been challenged and undermined by new forces, particularly television and the internet, and the pop culture as a whole.

Further, the role of the Private Sector should never be underestimated. There is need for funding for many crucial programmes aimed at creating better opportunities for young persons here. Such programmes, once effectively implemented, would see our young people become well equipped with the necessary skills to develop themselves, and in turn contribute to the overall development of the country. The Private Sector is one of the main beneficiaries of an educated and skilled workforce, and it should seek to invest in, and help to build the pool of, talent it wishes to draw from.

It is well accepted that progressive countries in the world have strong systems for engaging youths in policy formation and in creating or altering programmes designed to support youths.

We believe that if our young people are to make more mature and responsible judgments and engage in activities that are the hallmark of a socially productive adulthood, certain support systems for development must be present in the environment.

Teaching life skills is a good way to start.

caption

Prime Minister, Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips was presented with the Keys to the city by Commissioner of District 9 of Broward County, Dale Holness at a reception hosted on Thursday evening by the Guyana American Chamber of Commerce and DDL at the Hilton Garden Inn Hotel, Miramar, Florida (Office of the Prime Minister photo)

India/Gandhi and the World

Dear Editor, Among some of the many prominent members of society, I was honoured to be invited to a cultural event held at the Promenade Gardens to commemorate the 152nd birth anniversary of one of the world’s greatest leaders, Mahatma Gandhi.

First and foremost, I wish to express my gratitude to the Indian High Commission in Guyana and the Indian Government for always being intrinsically connected to Guyana’s history, legacy and culture. It is truly laudable that although still under British control at the time, India ensured that its citizens who arrived in Guyana were sent missionaries and prominent individuals to keep us informed about India, and to ensure its citizens remained true to the essence and value of the Indian culture.

This can be said about Dr KJ Srinivasa, India’s current High Commissioner to Guyana, and his efficient team; HE Mr V Mahalingam, Dr PV Joshi, and all those before them, who have ensured that the cultures, customs, faiths and values of our forefathers remain unscathed. Today, the impact of Indian culture is evident throughout Guyana and the Caribbean, even in Fuji, Mauritius, South Africa and many other countries.

As the Indian High Commission is well known for hosting informative and entertaining programmes, the event was truly memorable. I thoroughly enjoyed watching our youths in action; in poetry, songs, and dances. Among the most distinguishable qualities of

the Indian Culture Centre in Guyana is its openness to all Guyanese, which represents the spirit and legacy of Bharat/India. Through the tapestry of Indian civilisation, India has protected, guided, and raised our children, and has repeatedly provided grants, low-interest loans, roads, medical relief, scholarships, and friendship to Guyana - regardless of which Government is in power - so that all people, irrespective of race or religion, may prosper, despite being a country beset by its own problems.

Further, more should be said about the thousands of scholarships the Indian Government has offered.

It is wonderful that, rather than requesting that these scholarships be awarded exclusively to Indian descendants in Guyana, the scholarships are accessible to all Guyanese, and even individuals throughout the Caribbean, the Pacific, Africa, South Korea and other countries who qualify, including thousands for the ITEC programme.

In light of the foregoing, I am truly disappointed to note the complaints and criticisms expressed by some individuals opposing the proposed renaming of Middle Street to honour Mahatma Gandhi, despite the significant contributions the Indian Government and people have made to Guyana. One may also ask: how is it that none of us, whose ancestors came from India and made such significant contributions to the formation of our beloved country, Guyana, has ever complained about Mandela Avenue? This writer firmly

believes that in the same way Gandhi had a profound influence on Nelson Mandela, there should not be much objection if a street or location is named after him or any other icon, past or present.

It must also be noted that it was Gandhi who broke the yolk of colonialism through his nonviolent campaign to bring liberation to the ancient historic land of India/ Bharata. It was refreshing to listen to His Excellency President Dr. Irfaan Ali as he eloquently spoke about Gandhi’s place among the change-makers of history. In his remarks, President Ali presented himself as a stalwart of international peace and goodwill, which impressed the Universal Peace Federation and yours truly, as the National Chairman of the Universal Peace Federation.

In a nutshell, President Ali is certainly an emerging giant of peace walking in the path of Gandhi.

In his remarks, His Excellency expressed his view that India is a real cradle of cultures and a true bastion of human freedom and liberty. Gandhi’s sacrifice sparked a nonviolent revolution, and India became the first country in the British Empire to gain freedom, followed by hundreds of other nations across the world, including Guyana, seeking independence.

Gandhi’s legacy lives on in the minds of our own leaders: late Presidents Dr Cheddi Jagan and Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham, who fought for the cause of our own independence, as well as in the minds and hearts of other leaders in Trinidad and Tobago, the Pacific Islands,

Africa, just to name a few. We know from history that even the great Nelson Mandela was also inspired by Gandhi’s Satyagraha (nonviolent) struggles and revolutions, and kept a portrait of India’s famous half-naked fakir (beggar) in his house.

He was also an inspiration and mentor to the late great American nonviolent freedom fighter Dr. Martin Luther King, who stated that Gandhi had influenced him in his nonviolent revolution, which eventually delivered tremendous rights to African Americans who had suffered for hundreds of years.

Mahatma Gandhi, in my opinion, is/was the modern-day saint who lived the Bhagavad Gita. The Bhagavad Gita is a Holy Scripture for all peoples, not only Hindus/Sanatanists.

My life has been a reflection of Gandhi’s principles and philosophy, and consequently, I will never object to any location or street being named in honour of this extraordinary individual, or other heroes like him, past or present.

Former Yugoslav Leader Josip Broz Tito; Former President of Ghana, Mr. Kwame Nkrumah; the founding President of Tanzania, Mr. Mwalimu Julius Nyerere; Former Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mr. Patrice Lumumba, and other heroes, trade unionists, late politicians, and even one of our own stalwart politicians, Mr. Ptolemy Reid, are all notable examples.

Sincerely, Roshan Khan Sr

guyanatimesgy.com

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 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

Sugar workers and the good life promise under APNU/AFC

Dear Editor, First, let me commend and congratulate the PPP/C Government for the recent package given to sugar workers.

Why couldn’t APNU-AFC (PNC) do the same? I will answer that question - because of the mentally lazy system in the Opposition leadership and its MPs. The then Government could not have done that because they had, or should I say have, no clue or vision when it comes to agriculture, or should I say how to govern a country. All they were thinking of is enriching the top brass through whatever means.

In their 2015 campaign at Whim, Corentyne, Berbice, in front of Dr. Veerasammy Ramayya’s house, the coalition vowed and pledged that

they WOULD NOT CLOSE THE SUGAR INDUSTRY OR ANY OF THE ESTATES. They pledged and vowed that the sugar workers WOULDN’T LOSE THEIR JOBS. They pledged and vowed that they were going to ENSURE THAT SUGAR WORKERS BEING PAID MORE BECAUSE THEY ARE THE BACKBONE OF THIS COUNTRY AND THEY WILL ENJOY A GOOD LIFE. Well, soon after gaining the trust of the sugar workers, their families, relatives and friends that voted overwhelmingly for the coalition, they went and started their very well-planned destruction to the industry and its workers because of race baiting politics, and started to enjoy there is no good life as promised.

Due to the closing of the estates and the fact that workers lost their jobs, the economy plunged into what I will say depression. The spending power wasn’t there.

Things started to go downhill for Guyana under the coalition.

Those very workers that voted for the coalition in 2015 could not find jobs to sustain themselves and families. Things went haywire for many. Income was not possible. School drop out for their children was on the rise, and problems started to be embedded into their lives.

The promise of the coalition to sugar workers was just a cloud over their eyes, and the AFC leadership contributed 100% towards the workers’ destruction. Moses Nagamootoo, whom many now know as the “conniving

snake,” started his plans to ensure that the PNC destroy sugar and Guyana, while he enjoys the good life at the top.

Ramjattan had to do what he was told to do in defending the closing of the estates, and he had to return to Berbice weekly to talk on the television or keep meetings, or else he would have been fired by the PNC. He also contributed to the workers’ demise.

Today, because of President Irfaan Ali and the People’s Progressive Party/Civic’s solid leadership, we once again see the smiles on the faces of the thousands of sugar workers and their families.

The recent package that was announced by Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo is going to see a very significant

rise in the spending power of those very workers. The business sector is going to benefit tremendously, because the spending power will be there.

The economy will see more significant growth in 2022 when that package will start to be rolled out to the workers and their families.

The Ministry of Agriculture is headed by a man that knows about the sugar industry and agriculture in general. Hon Zulfikar Mustapha MP, continues to show his determination for this sector to grow by being on the ground very often and listening to the people.

We must all commend the Government for their vision for a better Guyana, where all of our people can live that good life under the PPP that was promised by the mentally lazy coalition in

2015.

The coalition has nothing educated to say that can even bring back an inch of the sugar workers to them, so they are now peddling what they have done to the sugar workers by saying that the PPP plans to close down the industry and that is why they are giving out those financial packages. It’s garbage that PPP is closing down the sugar industry.

Well, those mentally lazy Opposition won’t even get me to say a word on that, because they have no vision to counteract the great vision that the PPP has for a better Guyana.

Regards, Abel Seetaram Former AFC Executive and RDC Region 5 Councillor

GAWU has long advocated for collaboration Sol welcomes to promote sugar industry’s success lower excise taxes Dear Editor, The GAWU’s attention was drawn to a letter titled “GAWU must remember that all managerial staff were also affected”, which appeared in the sections of the media under the hand of “A human resources management observer”.

At the outset of the letter, the ‘observer’ pointed out that the pay structure proposed by the Hays group was implemented in 2015. However, this is not the case. As our records indicate, in the case of GAWU members, the results of the job evaluation exercise, conducted by the Union and the Corporation utilising the Hays framework, was implemented in mid-2012.

Maybe the ‘observer’ was confused, or got dates wrong.

It is also factually correct to say that no employee of GuySuCo received a pay rise from 2015 onwards.

This includes the workers in the fields, factories, and offices. Our Union has never disavowed such realities.

The ‘observer’ goes on to query whether severed senior staff would benefit from the Government’s recently announced grant.

We cannot speak for the Government, and it may be best to raise such queries through the appropriate channels. It is our view, though, that all workers, irrespective of their category and whether severed or not, should benefit from the grant approved by the Government.

Contrary to the “observer’s” seeming view, the GAWU holds that all employees of the GuySuCo are sugar workers, irrespective of the position they occupy in the industry. While our representation is naturally confined to our bargaining units, we have always upheld the principle of equal-

ity.

The ‘observer’ speaks about the Head Office workers who seldom benefit from representation.

Presumably, he/she speaks about the non-unionised categories, as the ‘observer’ would be aware that certain categories of employees at the Head Office are unionised within the GAWU, the GLU, and the NAACIE. On this score, we hasten to remind the ‘observer’ that the non-unionised staffers have the freedom of association, and it is their right to exercise or not to exercise such right.

The ‘observer’ goes on to speak about pay rises to public servants in the absence of performance reviews. It is our view that public servants are hard-working employees, and are deserving of pay rises, given their contribution to the society.

While, indeed, it was saddening that sugar workers

were treated begrudgingly by the Coalition, we, at the same time, do not detest the public servants for receiving pay rises.

Finally, we share the “observer’s” view that “[m] otivation is critical for all in the sugar industry”. We articulated this point on several occasions during the term of the Coalition, though it was ignored heartlessly.

We also agree with the observation that teamsmanship is required.

Unfortunately, at times we have recognised that the sincerity of the workers to attain such relations do not find reciprocation from the managerial quarters.

Nonetheless, we have long advocated collaboration among the various levels of the industry in order to promote its success.

Dear Editor, This open letter from the Women and Gender Equality Commission is addressed to Ministers Collin Croal and Susan Rodrigues, who have responsibility for Housing and Water.

The Women & Gender Equality Commission (WGEC) is appalled at the all-male, eleven-member Corporate Management Team of the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI), and seeks your intervention in correcting this gross contravention of Guyana’s principles and Constitutional provisions of Gender Equality.

• G u y a n a ’ s Constitution has made provision for Gender Equality since 1980 with Article 29:1.

• In 1981, Guyana signed and ratified the Convention to Eliminate

All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

• The Equal Rights Act (1990) was enacted to enforce Article 29:1 of the Constitution on the principle of equality between women and men.

• In 2003, the CEDAW was enshrined in Guyana’s Constitution and made enforceable under Article 154 A. • Guyana signed and ratified the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - which are the worldwide goals for all nations. SDG Goal 5 is the cross-cutting goal: “Gender Equality and Empower All women and Girls”, and promotes “Generation Equality” as its mandate.

The GWI needs to advance into the second decade of the twenty-first

century, and behave as if it is in step with Guyana’s Constitutional & Legal frameworks, and its global commitments that uphold gender equality.

It is a well-known statistic the world over that it is women who are mainly impacted by the provisioning of water; and where there is no consistent water supply within homes, they are the main burden-bearers of fetching of water etc. The latter situation applies to Guyana in many marginalised communities in urban, peri-urban, rural, and hinterland communities.

Women must be represented equally in all decision-making entities, especially those in which they are most affected.

The eleven-member, all-male GWI Corporate

Management Team is a blatant affront to all Guyanese, and contravenes Guyana’s Constitution and Laws which uphold gender equality. The WGEC calls for this anomaly to be immediately corrected to include gender participation of no less than what exists in the National Assembly.

Further, we wish to advise decision-makers to keep in mind the Sustainable Development Goal 5, in which 50-50 by 2030 is the expected outcome. Hence, there is an urgent need for all to re-educate themselves to this reality.

Dear Editor, Sol, the Shell licensee and authorised distributor of Shell fuels through its network of Shell-branded service stations in Guyana, assures its customers that the prices at the pump for its gasoline and diesel products will be reduced in accordance with the Government’s recent announcement of a cut in excise taxes on fuel.

This reduction in excise taxes will be applied to all fuels which were imported

by Sol subsequent to the announcement by the Minister of Finance. While the recently announced excise tax reduction took effect immediately, the lowered tax does not have an impact on products that were already purchased at the higher excise rates, and which are currently in storage by Sol.

As a result, in the shortterm, prices at the pump for gasoline and diesel, which were imported prior to the announcement, will be based on the previous excise taxes which that inventory attracted.

Earl Carribon, General Manager of Sol Guyana, reiterated, “Sol is committed to our customers, and we welcome the Government’s policies that have been designed to reduce the cost of fuel to consumers. We look forward to passing on any savings from the Government’s reduction in excise taxes to our customers, once the current inventory has been depleted.”

Sincerely, Earl Carribon General Manager, SOL

Granger, Lawrence not fooling Open letter to the Ministers of Housing and Water any true PNCR member Yours faithfully, Seepaul Narine GAWU President

Yours truly, Indranie Chandarpal On behalf of the Commissioners, Women and Gender Equality Commission

Dear Editor, David Granger and Volda Lawrence are not fooling anyone with their call for party unity and reconciliation.

They are both playing a dangerous political game with the membership of the party. I think, if anything, they should take several seats, because their speeches given at the 64th anniversary observance of the PNC were nothing more than electioneering and playing with the emotions of their comrades.

These speeches did not include anything of substance.

They were hurriedly put together, having no thought.

The fluff was presented.

Where was the proclamation to end the rigging that former President Sam Hinds hoped they would come around to for the sake of the party? This was the oppor-

tunity for them to say that, and it was missed. As Leader and Chairman of the PNC, I believe that they could have said the admission or referred to it, even though the Congress is coming up.

The cartoon which featured Lawrence, today on October, 5th 2021, serves as a reminder of the horrific past of the PNC. The political rubbish they said at the observance would not escape the intelligent minds in the PNC, who are waiting on these two leaders to step down or be removed from their jobs in the PNC. Sadly, Granger failed the party, and Lawrence made terrible choices at the last elections, which cost the party power. It’s unacceptable that not even an apology was given by these two.

Yours faithfully, Suraj Singh

6

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2021

Page

Foundation

H

ave you ever heard that plastic can be made out of milk? If this sounds like something made-up to you, you may be surprised to learn that from the early 1900s until about 1945, milk was commonly used to make many different plastic ornaments, including buttons, decorative buckles, beads and other jewellery, fountain pens, the backings for hand-held mirrors, and fancy comb and brush sets.

Milk plastic (usually called casein plastic) was even used to make jewellery for Queen Mary of England! In this activity you will make your own casein plastic out of hot milk and vinegar.

Materials

• Milk - (1 cup) • White vinegar (4 teaspoons) • Measuring cup • Measuring spoons • Optional: Thermos Mug or other heat-resistant cup large enough to hold at least 1 cup of milk • Paper towels • Spoon • Optional: Cookie cutters, glitter, food colouring, markers • Stovetop oven and pan or microwave and microwaveable container.

Procedure

NB: Adult supervision needed • Heat one cup of milk in a pan or stovetop until the milk is steaming.

Alternatively, you can microwave the milk in a microwaveable container by warming it at 50 per cent power for five minutes. It should be about the same

By Anonymous I've got a rocket In my pocket; I cannot stop to play.

Away it goes!

I've burned my toes.

It's Independence Day. temperature as you would want milk to be for making hot cocoa. Heat for more time if needed.

• If you cannot do the rest of the activity right away, store the hot milk in a thermos until it is needed.

• Add four teaspoons (tsp) of white vinegar to a mug or other heat-resistant cup.

• Add the one cup of hot milk to the mug. You should see the milk form white clumps (curds).

Think about: Why do you think the milk forms curds when it is added to the vinegar? What do you think they are made of?

• Mix the mug slowly with a spoon for a few seconds.

Think about: What happens when the milk and vinegar are mixed together? Why do you think this is?

• Stack four layers of paper towels on a hard surface that is safe to get damp.

• Once the milk and vine-

gar mixture has cooled a bit, use a spoon to scoop out the curds. You can do this by tilting the spoon against the inside of the mug to let excess liquid drain out while retaining the curds in the spoon. Collect as many curds as you can in this way and put them on top of the paper towel stack.

• Fold the edges of the paper towel stack over the curds and press down on them to absorb excess liquid from the curds. Use extra paper towels if needed to soak up the rest of the extra liquid.

• Knead all of the curds together in a ball of dough.

This is the casein plastic.

Think about: "How do the kneaded curds feel and look differently than the curds did originally?"

• If you want to make the casein plastic into something, you can colour, shape, or mould it now (within an hour of making the plastic dough) and leave it to dry

on paper towels for at least 48 hours. Once it has dried, the casein plastic will be hard.

Tip: To shape the plastic, the dough must be kneaded well. Moulds and cookie cutters work well, or, with more patience, the dough can be sculpted. Food colouring, glitter, or other decorative bits can be added to the wet casein plastic dough, and dried casein plastic can be painted or coloured with markers.

Clean-up To avoid clogging the sink discard any unused curds in the trash − do not pour them down the sink.

The Random House Book of Poetry for Children (1983).

reorganise into a long chain, curdling the milk. The white chunks are curds. You should have been able to use a spoon to separate the curds from most of the liquid. Additional drying of the curds with the paper towels should have made the curds ready to knead in to a ball and use as casein plastic, which can be moulded and decorated. (Teisha Rowland, PhD and Sandra Slutz, PhD, Science Buddies)

What happened?

When you added the hot milk to the vinegar, small, white chunks should have become visible in the mixture. This is because adding an acid, such as vinegar, to the milk changes the pH of the milk and makes the casein molecules unfold and

WORD SEARCH

NEWS

7

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

100,620 Pfizer vaccines arrive from US Govt …4 more COVID deaths, 162 new cases

GUYANA COVID-19 DASHBOARD OCTOBER 8, 2021 UPDATE

NUMBER OF NEW CASES

162

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL ISOLATION

169

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

US Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch and Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony with other officials as the vaccines arrived at the CJIA on Friday afternoon

T

he United States Government on Friday contributed another tranche of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines to Guyana through the COVAX mechanism, amounting to 100,620 jabs.

US Ambassador SarahAnn Lynch joined Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony and other officials to receive the consignment at the

to commence vaccination for children over 12 years of age. The double-dose vaccine has an efficacy of about 95 per cent and is one of two vaccines approved for children by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Government has been aiming to vaccinate 80 to 85 per cent of the population completely in order to reach herd immunity. Towards

per cent in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara); 80 per cent in Region Four (DemeraraMahaica); 70.1 per cent in Region Five (MahaicaBerbice); 72.6 per cent in Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne); 71.1 per cent in Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni); 44.3 per cent in Region Eight (PotaroSiparuni); 72.5 per cent in

3430 30

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL QUARANTINE

6

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (FEMALES)

17,557

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (MALES)

15,780

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES IN GUYANA SINCE 2020

33,337

NUMBER OF RECOVERED CASES

28,883

TOTAL 1st DOSE VACCINATED

366,190

FULLY IMMUNISED

220,017

TOTAL NUMBER OF DEATHS

825

DISTRIBUTION OF TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES SINCE MARCH 2020 REGION 1

1532

REGION 2

1257

REGION 3

4508

REGION 4

15,883

REGION 5

1166

REGION 6

2341

REGION 7

1689

REGION 8

520

REGION 9

2417

REGION 10

1927

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.

Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA).

She later commented, “I hope this donation encourages more Guyanese to take the jab. None of us is safe until all of us are safe; with COVID-19 infections unchecked, countries’ health-care systems are at risk of collapse, and we will see higher mortality rates, broader transmission, and the possibility of new variants spreading – continuing to put Americans and Guyanese at risk.”

In August, the US has sent 146,250 doses of the vaccine, enabling Government

this goal, it has been actively purchasing and securing vaccines through several sources.

In Guyana, 366,190 first doses have been administered, representing 71.4 per cent of the adult population.

Some 220,017 persons or 42.9 per cent have received their second doses.

Some 25,615 first doses have been administered to adolescents – 35.1 per cent of that population.

First-dose uptake is 78.2 per cent in Region One (Barima-Waini); 58.2 per cent in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam); 67.6

Region Nine (Upper TakutuUpper Essequibo) and 30.8 per cent in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).

In terms of second doses, the figure stands at 37.4 per cent for Region One, 36.4 per cent for Region Two, 39.5 per cent for Region Three, 49.3 per cent for Region Four, 43 per cent for Region Five, 44.1 per cent for Region Six, 38.6 per cent for Region Seven, 29.6 per cent for Region Eight , 46.1 per cent for Region Nine and 14.2 per cent for Region 10.

New deaths, cases

Four

more

patients

who were infected with COVID-19 have died, taking the country’s death toll to 825.

The latest fatalities include two women –- an 80-year-old woman from Region Nine and a 70-yearold from Region Four – who died on October 7. Later on October 8, a 65-year-old man died.

The fourth death was recorded since September 30 – a 38-year-old female from Region Four. Two persons were unvaccinated, one was vaccinated, and the status of the fourth is unknown.

New deaths were accompanied by 162 new infec-

tions, taking the total positive cases of COVID-19 recorded to date to 33,337.

There are 30 persons in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU), 169 in institutional isolation, 3450 in home isolation, and six in institutional quarantine.

This translates to 3640 active cases across the country while recoveries stand at 28,883.

A breakdown shows two new cases in Region One, 10 cases in Region Two, 17 in Region Three, 80 in Region Four, five in Region Five, two in Region Six, 11 in Region Seven, three in Region Eight, six in Region

Nine, and nine in Region 10.

If anyone is displaying any of the symptoms associated with COVID-19, or need any additional information, they are asked to contact the COVID-19 Hotline on 2311166, 226-7480 or 624-6674 immediately or visit www. health.gov.gy.

All Guyanese are reminded to observe the protocols of the COVID-19 emergency measures which emphasise: correct and consistent use of a face mask when leaving your home, maintaining six feet of physical distance from others, and good hand hygiene. (G12)

8 NEWS

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Govt files lawsuit, criminal charges against Digicel over illegal use of spectrum …company causing harmful interference to GTT, E-Networks – AG

Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC

D

igicel (Guyana) is being sued by the Government of Guyana over its unauthorised use of the 700 MHz and 1800 MHz telecommunications spectrums. Legal proceedings were instituted by Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC, and by the Telecommunications Agency, and filed at the Demerara High Court.

Nandlall is appearing on behalf of the Government, and Attorneys-at-law Devinda Kissoon and Natasha Vieira are representing the Telecommunications Agency.

They are seeking damages and exemplary damages in favour of the State in an amount not less than $200,000, arising from Digicel’s unlawful conduct.

The lawyers are also asking the court for an order disgorging all revenue and profits earned by Digicel arising out of its unlawful activity, and a corresponding order that an assessment hearing be held and evidence taken to determine the amount to be awarded to the State.

Further, they want the

Prime Minister Mark Phillips

court to declare that Digicel was and is unlawfully using spectrum in the 700 MHz and 1800 MHz frequency band, and is otherwise in breach of Sections 26(1)(e), 28(1)(a), 30(1), 31(1) (f), 48(1) and (2) (a), 67(b) and (c) and 68(1) of the Telecommunications Act of 2016, and Sections 9(4)(b)(i) and 10 of the Telecommunications (Spectrum Management) Regulations of 2020.

A permanent injunction is also being sought against the company to restrain it from using the 700 MHz frequency band without first obtaining the frequency authorisations and permissions that are required by the Act and Regulations.

Another injunction is being sought to restrain Digicel from using, transmitting, or otherwise accessing the 1800 MHz spectrum other than that portion of that band that was lawfully assigned to it by way of a frequency authorisation dated October 5, 2020, without first obtaining authorisation.

Inconsistent with APT band plan

Nandlall has said that, in

2001, Cel Star Guyana Inc., later acquired by Digicel, was issued with a cellular licence which led to the telecommunications sector developing into a duopoly, with only Digicel and GTT launching successful mobile services and competing within the market.

Nandlall said the duopoly remains in effect, and it is important to note that the Telecommunication Agency has implemented a policy decision to adopt the AsiaPacific Telecommunity (APT) band plan to segment the 700 MHz band to enable the most efficient use and orderly assignment of the spectrum.

The band plan divides the band into contiguous blocks of frequencies that are as large as possible, considering the need to avoid interference with services in other frequency bands, comprising two large blocks of 45MHz each, one for uplink transmission in the lower part and the other for downlink transmission in the upper part, with guard bands of 5 MHz and 3 MHz at their lower and upper edges.

Accordingly, Guyana’s adoption of the APT band plan resulted in the assignment of spectrum in multiples of 5, starting from 703-748 MHz (uplink) and 758-803 MHz (downlink).

On November 5, 2020, and November 6, 2020, as part of the Telecommunication Agency’s frequency monitoring exercises, it was discovered that Digicel was unlawfully using the 700 MHz band to transmit between the frequencies of 770 MHz and 785 MHz at its Waterloo Street and Kitty, Georgetown towers.

Despite the adoption of this band plan, a fact that is

ss

Still up in the air...

Y Digicel CEO Gregory Dean

known, or ought to have been known, by all telecommunications providers, Digicel proceeded to use the 700 MHz band in a manner that is inconsistent with Guyana’s adopted APT band plan, impairing the efficient usage of the spectrum, and denying the other carriers the opportunity to lawfully use their assigned spectrum within this frequency.

“Digicel’s unlawful use of spectrum encompasses approximately 717 to 732 MHz (uplink), and 770 to 787 MHz (downlink), which prevents the use of the first 15 MHz in the band (703-718 MHz), since the overlapping use causes severe interference,” the Attorney General pointed out.

As such, Nandlall disclosed, on November 23, 2020, Digicel was sent a cease-anddesist letter to cease the unauthorised use of the spectrum. Nandlall said that in response, instead of complying, Digicel, in wanton disregard of the laws of Guyana, demanded on December 2, 2020 that the letter be rescinded, stating that the unlawful use of spectrum was done in the “best interests of its customers.”

According to the lawyers, Digicel acknowledged the requirement of authorisation and the discretion of the Prime Minister by stating that “it remains Digicel’s desire to acquire the use of the spectrum on the basis of an authorisation issued by the Telecommunications Agency, which we appreciate has full and lawful control of matters related to spectrum, among others.”

Significant interference

The Government, on November 4, 2021, granted the following amendment to GTT’s frequency authorisation: 763-773 Tx/MHz 708-718 Rx/MHz. Nandlall added that both E-Networks and GTT accepted their assignments without objection. But Digicel, on August 16, 2021, filed judicial review proceedings against the Prime Minister to quash the aforesaid decision, in a veiled attempt to impel the Court and the Minister to endorse its unlawful act, being the unauthorized and previously undisclosed use of the 700 MHz spectrum, Nandlall submitted.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 9

…that PNC Congress our Eyewitness just loves a good mystery. But nowadays the genre seems to’ve withered on the (literary) vine, with the pickings getting slimmer daily.

How many times can he reread Agatha Christie, PD James, Sue Grafton, or even hard-boiled Raymond Chandler and Mickey Spillane. So, he entertains himself with the reallife mysteries that occasionally present themselves as he trawls the dailies for his ruminations.

No…he doesn’t get into those philosophical mysteries such as why Granger has pulled a Marlene Dietrich and secluded himself from the paparazzi and adoring fans some of whom had even thrown themselves in front of his car as it exited State House! He takes on more mundane cases, like the one presented in yesterday’s Stabber by a letter writer signing “name and address provided” (henceforth NAAP). “Regional Congress’ costs may limit participation and deliberations by PNC delegates” was the caption of the letter.

Now, you know your Eyewitness’s interest would be piqued by anything having to do with the PNC Congress!!

This was like red meat - especially when the author was too coy to declare who he was. And yes, it’s a “he”! Generally, the topics dealt with don’t have enough specificity to solve the mystery, but then that’s half the fun, no? So, let’s dig into the clues! Right off the bat, NAAP declared, “Since this is the first time during the term of this Executive that I am officially receiving a copy of an e-mail to CEC Members on any matter, albeit, an invitation to our Party’s anniversary.”

Your Eyewitness concluded that the fella’s a member of the PNC’s Central Executive Council, and is obviously pretty miffed about being kept out of the loop on the goings on in that body! Like, for example, when the CEC rapped Granger on the knuckles for making decisions unilaterally?

NAAP allowed that he was concerned about the upcoming Congress, and once again kvetched about being left out: “Regrettably, for reasons already stated, I considered it inappropriate to offer any uninvited comments, as by now it is obvious that my counsel was not needed.” Oooh!

Nothing like a PNC CEC member scorned!

Then came the nugget that cracked the case as far as your Eyewitness is concerned: “On reflection, however, it may be a grave dereliction of my duty as a former leader and as a COVID-19 survivor, still suffering from the longterm effects of the virus one year after, to remain silent.” A former leader of the PNC? One who’d contracted COVID-19 but recovered?

Who else could NAAP be but ROHC?? Who’d rigged Congress to anoint Granger as his successor!! Why’d he take the trouble to sign as NAAP? Another mystery!!

…that WCB Inquiry Your Eyewitness always liked Omar Khayyam’s line, “The moving finger writes, and having writ, moves on.”

Meaning that time moves on inexorably, regardless of our proclivities. Maybe it does, but, more mundanely, what about when the moving finger doesn’t write but simply moves on? What happens to those stories not recorded for posterity? Suppose some were wronged, how would justice ever be done for them?

And this is what troubles your Eyewitness about what happened on the Public Road of West Berbice, after Granger and Harmon riled up the folks of the villages where the murdered Henry cousins lived. The PNC leaders made the murders political by linking them to the elections, which they’d attempted to rig but had been stymied.

And in making it political, in Guyana that means “racial”.

And so it was that dozens of Indian Guyanese were beaten, battered, mauled, and had their vehicles and trucks damaged and burnt etc.

Will the finger move on without justice being done for them?

…the Brickdam fire And here we thought we had an open-and-shut case on the Brickdam Police Station arson, and we could move on with straightening out the lackadaisical attitude of the Fire Service.

The Police are back under scrutiny!

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

NEWS

9

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Another Berbice resident dies during bee attack

A

62-year-old male worker attached to the drainage and irrigation department of the Neighbourhood Democratic Council at Black Bush Polder, Corentyne was on Friday attacked and killed by bees in the backdam at Johanna, Black Bush Polder.

Dead is Sirpaul Hemraj, former Head of the Black Bush Water Users Association, and resident of Mibicuri South, Black Bush Polder.

Reports are that Hemraj left the Mibicuri NDC Office on his motorcycle in the company of two others, going to make checks on an excavator that was doing drainage works in the backdam.

Hemraj was sitting on his motorcycle while the other men were overseeing the work of the excavator when suddenly someone started to shout, “Bee!” Everyone began to run to safety, but Hemraj was left behind.

When the others returned to the location, they observed Hemraj lying on the ground covered in mud, with swellings about his body. He was rushed to the Mibicuri Public Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Hemraj is the third person to have died from a bee attack within two days in the region.

On Thursday, a 57-yearold man and a 58-year-old woman were killed during separate bee attacks in Berbice.

The first victim is John Sutherland of Eversham, Corentyne, Berbice, who was

housewife of Rotterdam, East Bank Berbice, who went to make a purchase at a shop in the village at around 17:46hrs

on Thursday.

Some ten minutes after she had left home, her husband was notified by a pass-

Govt files lawsuit...

Dead: Sirpaul Hemraj

attacked by bees at around 12:20hrs in a rice field.

Reports are that Sutherland and two other men were on a tractor in the rice field.

While one of the men was ploughing the field, Sutherland and the other man were sitting on the tractor when suddenly a swarm of bees descended on them.

While the other men ran for safety, Sutherland was left behind, and was attacked by the bees.

After the insects had dispersed, the other men saw Sutherland’s motionless body lying on the ground. He was taken to his home, and then to the Skeldon Public Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

One of the men is currently receiving medical treatment for stings he received.

The other incident involved Dorothy Adams, a

Digicel also commenced proceedings against the Telecommunications Agency, containing claims for similar reliefs against the parties as those against the Minister, as well as seeking to quash the cease-and-desist letter sent on September 23, 2021.

On September 9, 2021, the Chief Executive Officer of GTT wrote the Prime Minister stating that a portion of its spectrum was being used by another party in a manner that was hampering its ability to complete its preparations to transition. Several days later, E-Networks filed a similar complaint with the Telecommunications Agency, asserting that it was experiencing significant interference on its assigned spectrum in the 700 MHz bands.

In a subsequent letter, GTT said it needed to use the spectrum assigned to it, failing which it would suffer substantial losses and costs.

Nandlall and lawyers for the Telecommunications Agency submit that Digicel has adopted a similarly abusive stance in its use of the 1800 MHz spectrum, attempting to stymie its assignment, despite not paying spectrum fees for use of either spectrum.

Considering this, the lawyers argued, “Digicel’s unlaw-

ful use of spectrum is preventing E-Networks and GTT from deploying of services to tens of thousands of Guyanese.

Digicel’s operations will remain unaffected if required to cease its illegal use. The public interest is harmed by [its] continuing illegal acts.”

Owes $2B in licence fees

Digicel, despite being required to pay one per cent of its gross revenue as a licence fee for its cellular licence, has never paid the Government the imposed fee, currently estimated to be more than $2 billion, the Attorney General disclosed.

Even though the company was recently invoiced for a portion of the fees, Nandlall said, the money remains outstanding.

To this end, he argues that Digicel is disrupting the Telecommunications Agency and the Government’s efforts to liberalise the sector, warranting urgent and immediate court intervention.

“It is evident that Digicel has taken an abusive opposing stance to liberalisation, seemingly to impede competition and restrict the other operators from operating in their legally assigned spectrum.

Digicel has continued to utilise the 700 MHz spectrum – a service it activated post-liber-

erby that she had been stung by bees.

The husband went to his wife’s rescue, and she was

taken to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital, where she was pronounced dead on arrival.

FROM PAGE 8

alisation - despite numerous cease-and-desist letters, and it continues to defy the laws of Guyana…”

Even more egregious, Nandlall noted, is the fact that Digicel continues to use the spectrum in a manner that offends Guyana’s adopted APT band plan, and has not paid any spectrum fees for its unauthorised use of spectrum, illegally profiting thereby.

He said that Digicel is attempting to “unilaterally dictate” Government policy and usurp the decision-making process generally as it relates to the assignment of spectrum.

Moreover, Nandlall said that Digicel is currently offering services to the public and profiting, thereby being unjustly enriched. The Attorney General added that the injunctions sought are urgently warranted because the unauthorised use of spectrum

by Digicel is causing harmful interference to the business of GTT, E-Networks, and the telecommunications sector, with damages being an inadequate remedy.

Also, he said the State is being deprived of tax revenue. In the circumstances, he pointed out that Digicel has assets to satisfy the sum being sought for damages.

“The company owns sub-

stantial property in Guyana valued in excess of five billion US dollars, and [Digicel] has assets which exceed US$1,000,000 by way of real estate holdings and account receivables to satisfy this undertaking.”

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Digicel (Guyana), Gregory Dean, has been summoned to appear at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Friday, October 22, to answer to over a dozen charges which allege that the company engaged in the unauthorised use of various telecommunications spectrums.

The charges were instituted against Dean by Prime Minister Mark Phillips, who has responsibility for Guyana’s telecommunications sector, pursuant to the Telecommunications Act of 2016. It is alleged that on a number of occasions, Digicel illegally used the 700 MHz and 1800 MHz spectrums.

Some of the offences date back to 2020.

In court documents seen by this publication, the Prime Minister contends that the unauthorised use of the spectrums is in violation of Regulations 9(4)(b) and 11 of the Telecommunications (Spectrum Management) Regulations 2020, No. 5 of 2020. (Feona Morrison)

10 NEWS

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Dartmouth fatal shooting

Implicated cop remains under close arrest – PCA still reviewing file

T

he cop implicated in the fatal shooting of Essequibo businessman Orin Boston remains under close arrest as investigations continue.

This is according to a senior officer within the Guyana Police Force (GPF), who said the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) would make its recommendations based on its findings, which would determine whether or not the cop would be charged departmentally or through the court system.

Guyana Times was told the file on the shooting incident is still engaging the attention of the Chairman of the PCA, Justice William Ramlall.

When contacted, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum said the investigation is being done solely by the OPR, and not the Criminal Investigations Department (CID). He did not divulge any information with respect to investigation.

Boston, of Hoppy Street Dartmouth, Essequibo Coast, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), was shot by SWAT officers during a search of his home at about 4:40h on September 15. Boston was reportedly shot with a .223 calibre ri-

Chief Wendell Blanhum visited the family and promised to leave no stone unturned as they ordered an independent probe by the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR).

The Top Cop had also confirmed that the SWAT officer who fired the fatal shot has since been placed under close arrest as the investigation continues.

At a press conference hours after the shooting, Police Commissioner Nigel Hoppie indicated that Boston was killed as a result of intelligence gathered for an anti-crime operation.

He could not say what the Police were searching for when they entered the home of the bar owner.

Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum told reporters that

Boston had never been prosecuted by the Police.

An autopsy performed on the body of Boston revealed that he died as a result of haemorrhage and shock due to gunshot injuries to the chest. Dr Nehaul Singh, who conducted the post mortem, also stated that a single warhead was removed from Boston’s body.

This contradicts the first

report by the Police, which stated that the now dead businessman was shot to his arm following a confrontation with the SWAT team.

Following the report, Boston’s wife had refuted the claim that there had been a confrontation on the morning of the deadly shooting. In fact, she related that Boston was in his bed when he was shot and killed.

Duo busted with ganja in separate Police operations Dead businessman Orin Boston

fle, which is the standard weapon issued to the SWAT team.

As word of Boston’s death spread in the community, angry friends, relatives and villagers took to the streets to vent their disapproval.

They hauled fallen trees, old tyres and derelict cars to the middle of the main access road, and began their fiery protest, which lasted for several days.

They demanded justice and answers from the Police as to what intelligence they possessed that caused them to enter the dead man’s home.

Police Commissioner Nigel Hoppie and Crime

A

resident of Bartica, Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni), and a resident of Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), have been arrested in separate incidents following the discovery of a quantity of ganja in their possession.

In the Bartica incident, the Police have said that, on Wednesday, a 24-year-old man was arrested at Bartica with 62 grams of cannabis in his possession.

Based on reports received, on the day in question, at about 18:00h, ranks of the Bartica Police Station conducted a routine search on the passengers of an inbound speedboat and unearthed a transparent plastic bag that was hidden in the crotch of the 24-year-old.

Upon inspection, the Police discovered the cannabis, and the passenger claimed

The ganja that was found in possession of the man at Linden

ownership thereof.

The passenger was taken to the Bartica Police Station, where the drug was weighed in his presence and amounted to 62 grams. He has been arrested pending charges.

In the Linden incident, a 27-year-old male of West Watooka, Wismar, Linden was arrested after he was

The ganja found in the crotch on the man at Bartica

busted with 21 grams of cannabis in his possession at the Mackenzie Market square.

The Police have said that a party of ranks, acting on information received, went to the Mackenzie Market square and conducted a search on the suspect, who was seen in the area.

“A white plastic bag with eight small, bulky Ziplock bags containing leaves, seeds and stems suspected to be cannabis was found on his person,” the Police have said in a release.

The suspect was told of the offence, cautioned, and arrested. He remains in custody pending charges.

NEWS

11

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Motorcyclist’s leg amputated Woman who received Presidential Pardon from following accident Granger charged for fraud

Khemawattie Ramnauth

A

woman who had received a Presidential Pardon from former President David Granger in 2017 has been taken before Senior Magistrate Dylon Bess to answer charges of fraud and forgery.

Khemawattie Ramnauth of 51 Grove Public Road, East Bank Demerara appeared before Georgetown Magistrate Dylon Bess to answer a charge detailing that, between February 20, 2020 and August 24, 2020, at Georgetown, with intent

to defraud, she obtained $6.5M from Brian Perreira by falsely pretending that her name is Latchmin Shiwmabgal, the owner of a property situated at Block XXX, parcel 1107, part of South Ruimveldt, Greater Georgetown, and she was in a position to sell it, knowing same to be false.

Another charge she faces detailed that between February 20, 2020 and October 5, 2021, at Georgetown, with intent to defraud, she forged one

United States of America passport, #454099867, in the name of Shirley Shiwmangal with a picture bearing her likeness, purporting to show that same was issued by the United States Department of State, knowing same to be forged.

The defendant denied the charges, and was placed on $3 million bail.

Short facts read in court stated that Perreira lodged a report at the Police station after he handed over the money to the woman and later discovered that she was not the rightful owner of the property.

Following investigations, Ramnauth was arrested with a forged American passport on her person.

In February 2017, former President David Granger granted Presidential Pardons to Ramnauth and several other women who were serving time at the New Amsterdam Prison for various offences. These Presidential Pardons were effective from February 23, 2017, in observance of the country’s 47th Republic anniversary.

“It is expected that this expression of compassion and humanity by His Excellency will result in families being re-united, and the pardoned offenders leading good and useful lives hereon,” a statement from the then Ministry of the Presidency had stated.

(G1)

The minibus and motorcycle that were involved in the accident

A

motorcyclist who left his home in good health on Thursday morning ended up losing his limb to an accident that occurred at the intersection of C Field Access Road and Health Centre Access Road in Sophia, Greater Georgetown.

This accident occurred at around 08:30h and involved minibus BVV 6349, being driven by Ryan Singh, a 28-year-old man of Section C Sophia, Greater Georgetown and motorcycle CJ 8957, being driven by 22-yearold motorcyclist Damion

Benjamin of E Field Sophia, Greater Georgetown.

The Police have said that Benjamin was proceeding west along Health Centre Access Road on motorcycle CJ 8957, and whilst approaching the intersection with C Field Access Road, he failed to stop, and thus drove into the path of minibus BVV 6349, which was proceeding south along the eastern side of the C Field Access Road.

As a result, the front centre portion of the minibus collided with the motorcycle and both vehicles were dam-

aged, while the motorcyclist fell on the road and received injuries to his right leg.

He was picked up by public-spirited citizens in a conscious condition, and taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he was seen, examined, and treated for a crushed right leg, which was amputated.

A notice of intended prosecution was served on the driver of the minibus after a breathalyzer test conducted on him found no trace of alcohol in his breath.

Further investigations are ongoing. (G9)

12 NEWS

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Labourer shot to heel Motor car goes up in flames during row over money in suspected arson incident

A

19-year-old was rushed to the New Amsterdam Hospital after being shot to his leg during a row over money at My-My Dam in Angoy’s Avenue, New Amsterdam, Berbice on Thursday. He has been ad-

mitted a patient in stable condition. Based on information received, the teenager and the suspect’s brother had a misunderstanding over some money owed to him, and the argument quickly escalated into a scuffle between them.

Upon seeing the commotion, the suspect ran out of his yard with a shotgun in his hands. As the teenager realised that the man was armed, he attempted to escape, but the suspect discharged one round, hitting him to his ankle and causing him to fall to the ground. Upon hearing the gunshot, persons in the area ran out to enquire, and saw the teenager lying on the roadway. He was taken to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital, where he was treated and admitted a patient.

The matter was reported to the Police, and a manhunt has been launched for the suspect. Guyana Times understands that the Police have already taken statements from the injured teen and a friend who was with him at the time of the incident.

T

hirty-year-old Jermain De Freitas of Newtown, Enmore, East Coast Demerara (ECD) is now counting his losses after his motorcar went up in flames in the wee hours of Thursday.

Based on reports received, the black Toyota Primo motorcar, PTT 421, exploded at about 00:30h on Thursday, leaving the owner to believe that it was an act of arson.

The Police have said that the motorcar was parked in the victim’s yard when his reputed wife, who was asleep, reportedly heard a loud explosion. She immediately went to check, and

saw the vehicle on fire.

She immediately raised an alarm, and the Guyana Fire Service was summoned to the scene.

The fire fighters were able to put out the blaze, after which a reported was lodged with the Police. A probe into the suspected arson is underway.

Just about two months ago, three vehicles belonging to a businessman of Betsy Ground, East Canje, Berbice (Region Six: East Berbice-Corentyne) were set on fire.

It was reported that the businessman had parked his vehicles – a bus, car, and canter – on his premises and

had proceeded to the upper flat of his home. However, at around 20:00h on the day in question, he observed on one of his cameras that his motor vehicles were on fire.

As a result, he armed himself with his licensed firearms and ventured to the front of his yard, where he discharged several rounds in the air.

Subsequently, CCTV footage showed a male walking out of an access street situated to the west of the premises, and it was he who threw a substance on the vehicles and then lit them.

On man was later arrested for setting those vehicles on fire.

2nd suspect held for robbing cattle rangers

H

ours after a son was arrested for robbing two cattle rangers at Gurman Gate, Tain, Port Mourant, Corentyne, Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), his father, who was his accomplice, was arrested.

The victims, a 32-yearold and a 44-year-old, were in the wee hours of Thursday relieved of two haversacks and their contents and one torchlight.

It was reported that on the day in question, the two victims were on duty at Gurman Gate, Tain. They were in the guard hut when they were confronted by the two perpetrators, who dealt them several lashes about their bodies and relieved them of the items.

The matter was immediately reported to the Police.

Upon receiving information, the Police went to a home at Miss Phoebe, Port Mourant, where a 24-year-old male was seen lying in a hammock under the house.

During a search on the

The stolen items that were discovered by Police

premises, the haversacks belonging to the victims were found lying on a bench.

Further checks were made in the house, and three bicycles were found, two of which were identified by the victims as theirs.

The 24-year-old suspect was immediately arrest-

ed and placed into custody, while his accomplice was at large.

However, Police have since reported that around 11:45h on Thursday, the second suspect was arrested and remains in Police custody.

Information received is that the second suspect was

arrested after he turned up at the Whim Police Station to make enquiries about his son who was arrested in relation to the alleged robbery.

It was then he was positively identified by the victims, whereupon he was arrested.

Charges are expected to be laid shortly.

NEWS

13

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Superior Concrete Inc returns to Guyana …after Directors expelled for visa violation earlier this year

S

uperior Concrete Inc, whose Directors Richard Austin Shamlin and Ian Jones - were ordered to leave Guyana for flouting immigration laws, have returned; and this time they are working with the requisite authorities to legally set up their plant.

The company, in a statement, said it is leading the charge in developing a safe and responsible concrete company in Guyana. It said that because of Guyana’s newfound oil wealth and anticipated changes, it was attracted to set up operations here.

Superior Concrete has said it is here not only to “serve the budding oil and gas industry, but it will also aid in the country’s ongoing infrastructural development.”

Its Managing Director, Maxwell Snow, has said the company wants to capitalise on Guyana’s potential for change.

The company’s plant is a fully enclosed design, utilising advanced lasering technology which monitors the quality of the air in order to ensure air pollutants, primarily cement dust, are captured within the ‘silo’ filter system.

“Superior Concrete, in compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) standards, will put Guyana on the map as having the most stateof-the-art concrete batching plant in the Caribbean.

Beyond mitigating the hazards posed by cement dust, Superior Concrete Inc will also utilise a recycling system for excess concrete and wastewater, which will be repurposed and reused,” the

File photo: Minister Collin Croal and other officials meeting with representatives of the factory following the confrontation in May 2021

company said in its statement.

It further explained that the company has partnered with Guyanese-owned business Logistics GY Express as part of its local capacity-building programme, and added that it started capacity building through the apprenticeship programme for batch plant operators – a profession uncommon in Guyana. Further, the company has partnered with other local suppliers to provide trucks for its operations.

The company has said that it has since removed the controversial Shamlin, who was hostile to Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal earlier in 2021, when they served him a contravention notice for illegally setting up the concrete plant. Now, the company said, it is working with the appropriate agencies to achieve compliance. “…the company has obtained permits issued by

NIS and GRA, and have had their EPA notice published. The company will commence operations once they receive final approval from Central Housing and Planning Committee (Authority), through the Mayor and City Council.

This comes after the company received confirmation that their application for outline planning permission to establish their Concrete Batching Plant at a plot of land at the South-Eastern portion of Plate Area GIL2, Plantation Rome, Greater Georgetown, was deemed suitable for the proposed development by the CH&PA Planning Authority on the 23 September 2021,” it said.

In May, Guyana Office for Investment’s (GOInvest’s) Chief Executive Officer Dr Peter Ramsaroop had said that Government is currently working along with Superior Concrete to make its investment viable.

Illegal

It had previously been reported that foreign company Superior Concrete Inc had set up an illegal concrete plant at Houston Estates on the East Bank of Demerara (EBD). According to the reports, the company had set up operations at Houston without the requisite governmental approv-

als.

Richard Austin Shamlin, one of the Directors, was in May given 24 hours to leave Guyana. Shamlin had overstayed his time on his visitor’s visa. He was the second Director ordered to leave Guyana.

Shamlin had been hostile to Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal when he and officials from the CHPA had gone to the location to serve a third contravention order. Further, Shamlin had demanded that the Minister, CH&PA officials and the media leave the premises. However, the Minister had ignored him and engaged the media.

Ian Jones was the other Director of Superior Concrete Inc who was instructed by the Immigration Department to depart Guyana by May 19. In Jones’s case, it was discovered that his service was terminated by his previous employer in the oil sector, but he remained in Guyana on the work permit.

He, too, got into an altercation with housing officials,

and according to Croal in his interview with the media, it was Jones who had taken the first order to desist that was served by housing officials and thrown it to the ground in front of them.

Superior Concrete is not the only investor the Government has decided to work along with in order to regularise their investments. When the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) entered office in September of last year, it was to find that a number of companies had improperly acquired land from the former A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government following its loss of the NoConfidence Motion in the National Assembly.

These companies had included Cevons Waste Management, which used its land to build a new office on Mandela Avenue, Georgetown, as well as Car Care Enterprise, which acquired several acres of land at Plantation Ruimveldt, Greater Georgetown, below the market price. (G2)

Berbice housewife killed by Africanised bees

A

housewife of Rotterdam, East Bank Berbice died on Thursday after being attacked and stung by a swarm of Africanised bees.

Vishnu Persaud, reputed husband of the late 58-yearold Dorothy Muriel Adams, told the Police that at about 17:00h on Thursday, the woman went to a shop to make a purchase, and about ten minutes later, a passer-

by told him that his reputed wife was attacked by bees and was lying under a house close by.

Persaud said that without hesitation, he went to check on his wife, and saw her in a motionless state with marks of bee sting about her body. She was picked up and taken to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital, where she was pronounced dead on arrival.

Her body is presently lying at the New Amsterdam Public Hospital mortuary awaiting post mortem examination.

On the same day, it was reported that 57-yearold John Sutherland of Eversham Village, Corentyne, Berbice was killed after he was attacked

by Africanised bees. That incident occurred in the backlands of Eversham Village.

14 NEWS

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2021|| GUYANATIMESGY.COM

37 low-income families to soon receive house lots in Balthyock …Good Faith residents now have access to potable water

Minister within the Housing and Water Ministry, Susan Rodrigues addressing residents during the meeting on Friday

T

he Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) on Friday awarded a contract to the tune of $20 million to Shereaz Bacchus General Contractors, to clear and provide basic infrastructure to the Balthyock Housing Scheme, Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice).

The project will begin immediately, and, within two weeks, the authority will return to allocate house lots to 37 low-income families.

The scheme, which is located aback the Blairmont Sugar Estate, was initially developed with the intention of relocating informal settlers from the sea defence reserve under the agency’s relocation and regularisation programme.

In 2012, seven households were relocated from the reserve, and the households within the block were regularised. However, another portion of the area, comprising 37 lots, was not allocated due to the incompletion of infrastructure works.

Back in May this year, Minister within the Housing and Water Ministry, Susan Rodrigues, visited the area and was briefed on the situation by residents. As such, she committed to the resumption of the project.

CH&PA then commenced an inventory of the area to restart the programme.

“There are about fifteen households who are informal settlers, or what we know as squatters, still residing on

the reserve, who will be relocated here in the scheme,” Minister Rodrigues stated on Friday during a visit to the area.

The Minister noted that this will significantly improve the lives of the informal settlers, as they will now have reliable access to potable water, electricity and other amenities, as well as certificates of title/transports for the first time.

Speaking to the allocation of the remaining twenty-two lots, she added, “Priority will be given to residents in the area who have existing applications in our system to be allocated.”

Permanent Secretary of the Housing and Water Ministry, Andre Ally, related that the area is in line for major housing and water development with the investment of hundreds of millions of dollars. In this regard, he highlighted a $456 million housing project in Experiment, which will see land and drainage clearing and construction of access roads and bridges for allottees to begin occupation.

The Ministry is also undertaking projects in Number 79, Number 75 and several other areas.

Meanwhile, 20 households of Good Faith, Mahaicony, Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) have obtained access to potable water for the first time in sev-

The portion of land in Balthyock Housing Scheme where infrastructure works will commence

eral years. This follows a commitment to residents made by Minister Rodrigues during a visit to the area in May this year.

“I made a commitment to them that we would extend the project and expand the distribution networks to allow for those twenty families to have access to water for the very first time, and today we were able to deliver,” the Minister stated on Friday.

In addition to this, she noted that the distribution networks would also be expanded so that incoming house lot allottees would

have access to potable water upon occupancy.

Meanwhile in D’ Edward, remedial works to reposition an existing distribution network would commence in three weeks’ time.

After receiving several complaints, the Minister met with residents, who bemoaned the current situation. The residents are said to be receiving water from a network which currently runs through the property of other residents, resulting in a number of issues.

In bringing resolution to the issue, the Minister affirmed, “We have identified

some resources to relocate this network, and we’re going to run the pipes and provide the households here with individual connections for the first time.”

This announcement was met with much satisfaction from the residents. Upon completion, some 23 households will benefit.

Member of Parliament Faizal Jaferally, CH&PA Director of Community Development, Gladwin Charles; Supervisor of Works, Mohamed Khan; and other regional and technical personnel were also present at the outreach.

Malaria vaccine for children is “a step in the right direction” – Dr Anthony

…paves way for research on other parasitic diseases' vaccines

H

ealth Minister Dr Frank Anthony has lauded the successful creation and intended rollout of the malaria vaccine for children, labelling it as a step in the right direction to curtail the high numbers of annual deaths from this disease.

The World Health Organization (WHO) this week recommended widespread use of the RTS,S/ AS01 (RTS,S) malaria vaccine among children in sub-Saharan Africa and in other regions with moderate to high P. falciparum malaria transmission.

The recommendation is based on results from an ongoing pilot programme in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi that has reached more than 800,000 children since 2019.

On Friday, the Minister said, “I think we’re going in the right direction. Malaria, especially Falciparum malaria, has been responsible on an annual basis for close to half a million deaths.

Among those deaths every year you have about 360,000 children dying from Falciparum malaria. With this particular vaccine that they have developed, it is going to help reduce the amount of deaths that we’re seeing, and certainly it will improve conditions in those countries with high prevalence.”

He added that it is a hopeful picture for the health sector, promising ad-

ditional research for the formulation of vaccines for other parasitic diseases. The malarial vaccine is the first to be created against a parasitic disease.

“We’re very hopeful, and this particular vaccine in many ways represents a first, because it’s the first time that a vaccine against a parasitic disease has been developed and has proven to be effective. I think this is opening up avenues for more such developments, and we’ll probably be able to see research going in the development of new types of vaccines against parasitic diseases.”

WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has since dubbed this long-awaited vaccine “historic”.

“The long-awaited malaria vaccine for children is a breakthrough for science, child health, and malaria control… Using this vaccine on top of existing tools to prevent malaria could save

tens of thousands of young lives each year,” said the Director-General.

Malaria remains a primary cause of childhood illness and death in SubSaharan Africa. More than 260,000 African children under the age of five die from malaria annually. In recent years, WHO and its partners have been reporting a stagnation in progress against the deadly disease.

Based on the advice of two WHO global advisory bodies, one for immunisation and the other for malaria, the Organization recommended that the malaria vaccine be used for the prevention of P. falciparum malaria in children living in regions with moderate to high transmissions; and that the vaccine should be provided in a schedule of four doses in children from five months of age.

To date, more than 2.3 million doses of the vaccine have been administered in three African countries. (G12)

15 5-year study to analyse risk factors for suicide to begin in November G NEWS

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2021| GUYANATIMESGY.COM

uyana has embarked on a partnership with Columbia University to conduct a longitudinal study over the course of five years on the risk factors associated with suicide.

The study is being funded by the National Institute of Health in the United States, using the best researchers from Columbia University in conjunction with officials from the Health Ministry.

This was announced by Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony on Friday, as World

Mental Health Day (October 10) approaches.

“We’ll officially launch the study in November of this year…While they’re doing that, they will come up with programmes with how we can mitigate against some of these factors. That would be ongoing work. We also plan to do some additional studies with the help of Columbia University,” he informed.

The Minister used the opportunity to share that poor mental health was a contin-

Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony

Police records to be digitised is producing a bail bill… bail is one of the vexed questions in our country…”, he posited.

The Attorney General has said the Chief Parliamentary Council, along with others, is currently reviewing the legislation with regard to the pretrail bargain, since they are aware that the system is being misused.

Brickdam Station fire

Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall

F

ollowing last Saturday’s massive fire that devoured the Brickdam Police Station along with a plethora of case files, Government has announced plans to fully digitise all records of the Police Force in the country.

Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall, during launching of the Support for the Criminal Justice System programme on Thursday, said the initiative is aimed at ensuring sufficient service delivery.

“We will soon donate to the Police Force a large complement of commuters and printers, with express intention that they are to be used for the typing of statements which are to be used as the basis for prosecution in the courts across this country”.

According to the Attorney General, in the criminal justice system, the statements that are served are done in handwriting.

“Sometimes it makes the work very tedious and difficult reading. That, hopefully, will change, and this programme will donate to the Police Force that complement of equipment…to remove the handwriting of statements served in criminal processes across Guyana”, he explained.

Only recently, the Legal Affairs Ministry had undertaken to rehabilitate the court Superintendent’s office, which was housed at the Brickdam Police Station.

Nandlall noted that the recent fire would greatly delay progress in the criminal justice system, since most, if not all, documents that are related to criminal cases went up in flames.

“The burning down of the Brickdam Police Station will have a devastating impact

On Saturday last, fire consumed 80 per cent of

lockups to the Sparendaam Station on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD), where they were placed in a cell with the suspect.

During that time in the cell, the suspect allegedly informed the men that it was he who had started the fire which destroyed the station.

The two men alleged that the man told them that he took a piece of sponge, wrapped it on a piece of wire, and lit it with a ciga-

The Brickdam Police Station that was destroyed by fire

upon the criminal justice system, at least in the magisterial district of Georgetown… the Court Sup Office, which was accommodated in that building, is the custodian of most, if not all, of the files in the criminal justice system in the Georgetown magisterial district”.

Nandalal said each document would have to be reconstructed, and, if possible, would have to be borrowed from the Magistrates’ courts.

He posited that that task would be an expensive, time consuming and arduous one.

“It will result in more chronic delay…we are trying to bring speediness to the wheels of justice, and then there are those who wish to put a spoke in that wheel…

Those people of Guyana who are innocent or guilty, who are in the system, will now have to remain in the system… they will suffer the injustice”, he voiced.

He further added that the Government is currently putting systems in place to ease the pressure on the judicial system. Those systems include sentencing guidelines for offenders, along with a bail bill that is in its final stages.

“It is also this project that

the Police Headquarters at Brickdam. Among the facilities destroyed are the Property Room, Inquires Office, Traffic Department and Officers’ Mess. Just the barracks located on the western end and lining Manget Place remained intact, along with the Impact Building and the lockups.

Salvage records were saved, and the station’s arsenal of weapons was secure before the building was completely destroyed.

A suspect, according to Police, confessed on video to setting the Police Headquarters on fire after he was questioned by two of his cellmates. Based on reports, the suspect was recently arrested in connection with an alleged robbery-under-arms incident, and was placed in the Brickdam lockups prior to starting the fire.

The man told the Police that he became frustrated after being detained for a long period of time, and he then decided to start the fire.

The confession led Police to question all the prisoners at the Brickdam Station at the time of the incident.

The two informants were taken from the Brickdam

rette lighter before pushing it through a ventilation hole in the cell.

It is reported that the cell was connected to another room that had some documents in it, and that was how the fire was started. The suspect was later interviewed on camera, and he allegedly confessed again to Police.

However, Fire Prevention Officer Sheldon Sauns told the media on Thursday that no sponge was found at the site of the fire. He said samples of paper, wood, and bits and pieces of cloth, along with part of a lighter, were found.

Nevertheless, the 26-yearold suspect, who has been identified as Clarence Greene, appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in that Georgetown Magistrate’s court on Thursday, arraigned on two indictable charges of armed robbery and arson.

The first charge stated that on October 2, 2021, he robbed Chitrannie Ramkissoon of a cellphone valued at $160,000 while being armed with a gun. That same day, while being a prisoner at the Brickdam Police Station lock-ups, he unlawfully set fire to the Police Station. (G9)

uous challenge in Guyana, given the stigma attached to it or those who are suffering from it. So, the Ministry has activated measures to ensure that primary healthcare workers are equipped to detect such cases.

“It continues to be one of those diseases that sometimes is difficult to detect.

Even when it is detected, there is a stigma attached to it, so people don’t want to readily talk about these conditions. We have been working on doing more comprehensive programmes as it relates to mental health.

One of the things we have been working on is really to train physicians at the primary health-care level so that they would be more sensitive in the recognition of mental … illnesses,” Dr Anthony said.

He added, “As it is, there is probably a lot of people who would come to our primary care outpatient clinics and they would go unrecognised for things like depression and so forth. We want to get people trained to better recognise these conditions and once they do that, we’d then be able to catch these conditions much earlier. Hopefully, we’d be able to take preventative action so that the conditions do not escalate.”

Mental health conditions give rise to increased suicidal events. With a high suicide rate, the health official pointed out that action must be taken to reduce these numbers and curb future suicides.

“We know that a lot of people who are depressed can go on to have suicidal thoughts and then eventually can commit suicide.

Guyana still remains one of those countries with high rates of suicide and that’s still an ongoing problem. In 2017, the suicide rate was

24.6 per 100,000 population.

While these rates are a little bit lower than what it previously was, it is still relatively high. So, suicide continues to be a challenge for us and we have been working on trying to understand the risk factors for it and coming up with ways and means of how we can mitigate against suicide,” he outlined.

The World Health Organisation’s new Mental Health Atlas this week said there was a worldwide failure to provide people with the mental health services they need, especially at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic was highlighting a growing need for mental health support.

The latest edition of the Atlas, which includes data from 171 countries, provides a clear indication that the increased attention given to mental health in recent years has yet to result in a scale-up of quality mental services that are aligned with needs.

Issued every three years, the Atlas is a compilation of data provided by countries around the world on mental health policies, legislation, financing, human resources, availability and utilisation of services and data collection systems.

“It is extremely concerning that despite the evident and increasing need for mental health services which has become even more acute during the COVID-19 pandemic, good intentions are not being met with investment… We must heed and act on this wakeup call and dramatically accelerate the scale-up of investment in mental health, because there is no health without mental health,” said World Health Organisation Director General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

(G12)

16 NEWS

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

PS allegedly caught in "bribe Woman collapses, dies at Vigilance Magistrate’s Court money" sting operation

T

he Permanent Secretary of the Amerindian Affairs Ministry is being investigated by Police after she was reportedly caught in a ‘bribe money’ sting operation.

Reports are Sharon Hicks, of West Bank Demerara (WBD), was arrested at the Amerindian Affairs Ministry, Quamina and Thomas Streets, Georgetown after a businessman made a report to Police that she has been demanding money from him in order to get contracts.

She is being investigated by the Major Crimes Unit.

The businessman, who owns a security service, has claimed that the 42-yearold woman had demanded money from him before she approved payments for ser-

PS Sharon Hicks

vices provided.

He claimed that this was reportedly the practice that his father had to endure, but his father has since

died and he has taken over the business. However, after the matter was reported, marked notes were given to the contractor who then paid the PS. Guyana Times was told that after she collected the money, ranks from the Major Crimes Unit swooped down on her office and arrested her.

At the time of her arrest, Permanent Secretary Hicks was reportedly in possession of the envelope containing the marked money.

Meanwhile, the Amerindian Affairs Ministry in a statement on the matter said that on October 7, 2021 the Permane nt Secretary was sent on administrative leave pending the outcome of a Police investigation.

C

onfusion reigned on Friday at the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD) after a 58-year-old woman collapsed and died while attending court.

Guyana Times understands that the dead woman is Gloria Thomas, a

housewife of Vigilance South, ECD. Based on information received Thomas had accompanied her son to the court at around 09:30h for a case the police had against him.

However, while waiting for the court to begin, Thomas reportedly complained of feeling unwell

and she collapsed in the courtroom.

Despite efforts by the Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) who administered oxygen to the woman remained unconscious and was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where she was pronounced dead. (G9)

Breast Cancer Awareness Month…

GRPA collaborating with GTT to host pop-up clinic events

Fish vendor accused of stealing woman’s wedding band during fight

A

37-year-old fish vendor, accused of stealing a woman’s wedding band while she was in a fight with another woman, was on Friday charged with the offence of larceny from the person.

Tafivan Vieira of Meadow Bank, Georgetown appeared before Senior Magistrate Dylon Bess in that Georgetown Magistrate’s court and pleaded not guilty to the charge.

It is alleged that on September 26, 2021, at Meadow Bank Wharf, Georgetown, he stole from the person of Roma Munasar a gold wedding ring valued at $152,000 and one silver ring valued at $14,500.

On the day in question, Munasar was involved in a fight with another female at the Meadow Bank Wharf.

During that alteration, Vieira allegedly snatched the woman’s belongings and made good his escape.

A report was made to the Police, and following an investigation, he was arrested and charged with the present offence.

He has been placed on bail in the sum of $80,000.

Conditionalities of the

I

Tafivan Vieira

bail grant are that he lodge his passport with the court and report to the Ruimveldt

Police Station every week until the hearing and determination of his trial. (G1)

n continuous efforts at raising awareness and joining the fight against breast cancer, the Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association (GRPA) has collaborated with the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph company (GTT) to host popup clinics in several communities across the regions.

Services that will be offered include breast examinations, pap smears, VIAs, and prostate-specific antigen blood tests, all of which are free of cost.

The first location to have benefited thus far is the Dorothy Bailey Clinic located at South Road in Georgetown, where a pop-up clinic was held on Wednesday. The next location to be visited is the High Dam Health Centre in Region Five (MahaicaBerbice), where the clinic would be held on October 14.

In a statement, the GRPA expressed, “We are proud to be a GTT Pinktober beneficiary once more to provide

Cancer Screening Services for women and men through our Pop-up Clinics during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.”

The GRPA has further advised persons to stay tuned to their social media pages to be updated on when the clinic would be visiting the different regions.

Meanwhile, GTT noted, “We continue to raise cancer awareness and funds through our annual Pinktober initiative. We have recently unveiled a ‘Wall of Hope’ during our small Pinktober launch ceremony in the National Park.”

GTT added, “While we were unable to host everyone for the launch, given the COVID-19 pandemic, we were able to capture every moment to share with you.”

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GTT, Damian Blackburn, in a video release, stated that “Pinktober is something GTT has done for many years, and I look forward to the amazing work

that gets done and the amazing people through it. Not only are we here to deliver reliable connectivity and innovation to the country, we are here to be in and with the community and to help strengthen it through initiatives like Pinktober.”

Breast cancer occurs when some breast cells begin to grow abnormally, dividing more rapidly and increasing accumulation. They, in turn, form a mass, or lump, which can metastasize through the breast to lymph nodes and spread throughout the body.

In Guyana, early detection of breast cancer or cancer in any form is generally rare, according to doctors, since the culture is to address a problem when it arises.

Screening for breast cancer commences with a breast examination by a physician, after which either an ultrasound or mammogram is recommended. If a suspicious lump is discovered, then a biopsy is done.

NEWS

17

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

$4.5M in cocaine, ganja Autism school receives intercepted at Providence $500,000 from GPL

T

he Customs AntiNarcotics Unit (CANU) on Friday intercepted a vehicle with a quantity of cocaine and cannabis at Providence, East Bank Demerara (EBD).

CANU, in a release, stated that on the day in question, ranks – acting on information received from a citizen— intercepted the vehicle containing 522 grams of cocaine and 5.866 kilograms of ganja.

The estimated street value of the cocaine is $1.5 million while the estimated value of the ganja is pegged at $3 million.

The illegal substances were found hidden among cargo that was being transported at the time.

Following the operation, two persons were arrested as investigations continue.

This latest bust is an indication of the continued efforts to put a dent in the drug trade by the drug enforcement unit.

Retired St Rose’s Headteacher honoured after 24 years of service

Paula Hamilton with CEO of the Education Ministry, Dr Marcel Hutson

T

he old saying “give me my flowers while I’m still alive” came to life as heart-felt tributes with a few tears filled the Parc Rayne Inn on Thursday, as Paula Hamilton, recently retired principal of the St. Rose’s High School, was honoured after some 24 years of service.

A University of Guyana graduate with a Science degree in Biology/Chemistry, the retired headteacher is said to have continued to push herself by furthering her studies in several aspects, including acquiring a Master’s Degree in 2012, further boosting her abilities to take on the position as headmistress, which she attained in 2014 and served with distinction.

Several past students, the current Principal (ag) Rayon Tobin, Board of Governors’ (BoG) members (past and present), teachers, Education Ministry CEO Marcel Hutson and

officials, USA and Canada Alumni Association members via Zoom, family members and friends were all in attendance at this simple yet memorable tribute and dinner event.

Hamilton’s departure, and the legacy she has left, was described by the BoG as a “tough act to follow”, having excelled in ensuring that the school’s matriculation rate ensured that all students graduated with passes in both Mathematics and English, along with at least three other subjects at minimum on an annual basis at all external examinations.

She attained the 100 per cent matriculation rate almost every year, and never fell below 98 percent, with the exception of one occasion during her tenure.

This noteworthy achievement of having all graduating students achieve at least five subjects was further topped by notable top

performers both in Guyana and the Caribbean at external examinations emanating from St Rose’s High School also.

To this end, it was noted that this should be the focus of all principals at high schools within the education system in Guyana, as it would ensure that every child has the chance to succeed in life after leaving any high school here in Guyana.

Additionally, several beautiful cultural items honoured the retired principal, including 2008 graduate and charismatic singer Jackie Jaxx.

Alumni Associations of the USA and Canada which were in attendance via Zoom were noted as key role players in helping to organise the event.

The programme was chaired by well-known cultural and broadcast personality Mr. Russel Lancaster, himself a St Rose’s Alumnus.

T

he Step-by-Step Foundation Autism School on Friday received a donation of $500,000 from the Guyana Power and Light Incorporated (GPL) as that company celebrated its 22nd anniversary.

Each year, during the company’s anniversary month, a donation is made to a worthy cause in efforts to raise awareness.

The Step-by-Step Foundation Autism School was selected as a recipient for its efforts at providing education to children diagnosed with autism.

The donation was made at the Education Ministry’s Boardroom at Brickdam in the presence of Chief Education Officer (CEO) Dr Marcel Hutson; ViceChairman of the Step-byStep Foundation Autism School, Cynthia Massay; along with several tutors of the school and representatives of GPL. GPL’s Public Relations

Officer Natalie Pindar said the Step-by-Step Foundation Autism School “caught our attention because they are focusing on autism, a condition that is…not much is known about autism. And so, our partnership and moving forward in terms of us cementing a relationship with the Step-by-Step Foundation is really to bring awareness to the cause.”

Meanwhile, Vice Chair of Step-by-Step, Cynthia Massay, said, “We’re extremely grateful to GPL and the Ministry of Education for all the support they have been giving us over the past few years.”

Chief Education Officer Dr Marcel Hutson noted that the Education Ministry has a Special Education Needs (SEN) unit, which has an understanding of autism, and how children on the spectrum could be helped.

He revealed that the Ministry pays the employ-

ees of the Step-by-Step Foundation and assists with the development of the curriculum.

This is helpful to the Foundation, Massay said, because it has to host fund-raising activities to support its work.

CEO Hutson added that “Part of the Ministry of Education’s strategic plan has to do with making sure that our children who have special education needs, that those needs are attended to strategically, so that those children also could fulfill potential, because we learned a long time ago that notwithstanding the condition or the situation that the child may be facing, each child is born gifted.”

Dr Hutson said therefore that it is the Ministry’s intention to ensure that the gifting of each child is nurtured, so they could have an opportunity to impact their own lives and the nation positively.

18

guyanatimesgy.com

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2021

Regional

Facebook to act on illegal sale of Amazon rainforest F acebook says it will begin clamping down on the illegal sale of protected areas of the Amazon rainforest on its site.

The social media giant changed its policy following a BBC investigation into the practice.

The new measures will apply only to conservation areas and not to publicly owned forest.

And the move will be limited to the Amazon, not other rainforests and wildlife habitats across the world.

According to a recent study from the think tank

Ipam (Instituto de Pesquisa Ambental da Amazonia), a third of all deforestation happens in publicly-owned forests in the Amazon.

Facebook said it would not reveal how it planned to find the illegal ads, but said it would “seek to identify and block new listings” in protected areas of the Amazon rainforest.

In February, the BBC Our World documentary “Selling the Amazon” revealed that plots of rainforest as large as 1000 football pitches were being listed on Facebook’s classified ads service.

The Amazon rainforest is home to one in 10 known species on Earth

Many of the plots were inside protected areas, including national forests and land reserved for Indigenous peoples.

In order to prove the ads were real, the BBC arranged meetings between four sellers and an undercover operative posing as a lawyer claiming to represent wealthy investors.

One land-grabber, Alvim Souza Alves, was trying to sell a plot inside the Uru Eu Wau Wau Indigenous reserve for about £16,400 in local currency.

In response to the BBC’s

investigation, Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court ordered an inquiry into the sale of protected areas of the Amazon via Facebook.

Despite calls from Indigenous leaders to do more, at the time Facebook said it was “ready to work with local authorities”, but would not take independent action to halt the trade.

Now the company says it has consulted the UN Environment Programme (Unep) and other organisations to take its “first steps” in trying to address the issue.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

Landslides, street As Brazil passes 600,000 COVID-19 deaths, vaccines offer hope worst is over flooding in Tobago after

B

razil became the second country in the world to pass 600,000 COVID-19 deaths on Friday, a dark milestone for a government that has been sharply criticised for mismanaging the outbreak.

President Jair Bolsonaro has drawn the ire of health experts for his failure to implement measures to contain the pandemic. He has railed against lockdowns, aired scepticism about vaccines, and regularly refuses to wear a mask in public.

But despite Friday’s

tragic mark, there are now signs that infections in Brazil are finally ebbing, as the country ramps up vaccinations after a slow start.

More than 70 per cent of Brazilians have received a first dose, compared to 65 per cent in the United States, which passed 600,000 deaths in June.

“The rejection rate of vaccines is really low, it makes other countries jealous,” said Alexandre Naime Barbosa, head of epidemiology at São Paulo State University. “That’s really important for Brazil to con-

tain the pandemic.”

Brazil also appears to have been spared the worst of the Delta variant so far, with registered deaths and cases falling despite the arrival of the more contagious strain.

Deaths are down 80 per cent from their peak of more than 3000 per day in April, and Brazil no longer has one of the world’s highest daily death tolls.

The Health Ministry registered 615 new COVID-19 deaths on Friday, taking the total to 600,425 since the pandemic began.

Health experts speculate the early devastating effects in Brazil of the Gamma variant, also called P1, may have tempered the course of the Delta variant, which caused cases elsewhere to spike significantly.

“The enormous cost of lives we had with Gamma resulted in a portion of the population with partial immunity when Delta spread,” said virologist Fernando Spilki of Feevale University in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. (Excerpt from Reuters)

In Mexico, hundreds of migrants found packed in trucks

P

olice in northern Mexico discovered more than 600 Central American migrants hiding in three long cargo trucks headed to the United States late on Thursday, in one of the biggest round-ups of USbound migrants by Mexican authorities in years.

Video released by Police showed officers prying off a lock from a truck’s rear door and opening it only to find migrants in heavy coats and hoods huddled close together on the floor, nearly all of

them wearing face masks.

Almost 200 of the 652 migrants found in the non-descript white refrigerated trucks were unaccompanied children and teens, the Police said in a statement.

Waves of mostly Central American migrants as well as a recent surge of Haitians seeking entry into the United States have frustrated both US and Mexican leaders determined to reduce the massive human flow fleeing poverty, violence, and natural disasters

in their home countries.

A security source told Reuters the migrants found in the trucks were almost 90 per cent Guatemalans and had been transported to a nearby migrant centre in Tamaulipas where their legal status would be reviewed. Hondurans, Salvadorans, Nicaraguans and one migrant from Belize were also among those being processed, the source added.

On Friday, the migrants were given COVID-19 tests

and at least nine came back positive, though most have only mild symptoms, officials said.

The trucks were pulled over on a highway in the northern Gulf coast state of Tamaulipas, some 220 miles (350 km) south of McAllen, Texas, and near the sites of several gruesome migrant massacres in recent years blamed on drug gangs who fight over lucrative smuggling routes into the United States. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Chile Prosecutors to investigate President Pinera following Pandora Papers leak

C

hile’s Public Prosecutor said on Friday it would open an investigation into the sale of a mining project involving the family of President Sebastian Pinera after new details emerged about the transaction in the Pandora Papers leak.

Marta Herrera, head of the office’s anti-corruption unit, said the agency would investigate possible bribery-related corruption charges as well as tax violations.

The “Pandora Papers” are a cache of leaked documents that The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists say reveal offshore transactions involving global political and business

figures. Among them are documents that appear to outline a deal involving the sale of the Dominga mine, a sprawling copper and iron project that activists have long said would cause undue environmental harm.

The leak stirred controversy in Chile because it suggested the sale of the property, which involved a firm linked to Pinera’s family, was contingent on a favourable regulatory environment.

At the time, Pinera, a billionaire businessman, was in his first year of his first term in office.

Pinera earlier this week rejected the allegations in a televised statement and said that the details of the 2010

Chile’s President Sebastian Pinera and his friend, businessman Carlos Alberto Delano, ride their bikes in Zapallar, Chile, October 30, 2011

agreement were part of a prior judicial investigation that cleared him of wrongdoing.

Herrera said the new investigation would look more closely at the specifics of the deal.

Opposition lawmakers in Chile have said they will seek to launch impeachment hearings against Pinera over the Dominga case and the latest revelations. (Excerpt from Reuters)

heavy rain on Friday

T

here were landslides, street flooding and fallen trees on Friday in Tobago as a result of bad weather across the island.

Tobago Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) Director Allan Stewart told Newsday his team responded to eight incident reports before noon.

Heavy rain from 05:00h caused street flooding in the Canaan/Bon Accord, Castara, Mason Hall, Roxborough and Black Rock areas. TEMA also received five landslide reports by 10:00h.

Stewart said a house in Cradley Trace, just before Moriah, is on the verge of collapsing after a landside.

“We are paying close at-

tention to that resident to ensure we can mobilise a team if anything should occur.”

He said TEMA was working alongside the Division of Infrastructure, Quarries, and the Environment to clear part of the Bloody Bay main road which was blocked by a major landslide. Up to 15:00h Stewart said TEMA officials were still on site at Bloody Bay to remove the remaining debris.

The PTSC temporarily suspended its services to that area.

The division’s secretary Kwesi Des Vignes could not be reached for comment.

(Excerpt from Trinidad Newsday)

Blinken cautions Haitian migrants against “profoundly dangerous” trek to US

U

S Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Friday warned Haitian migrants that they would not succeed in reaching the United States, while his Mexican counterpart lamented that many had been tricked into undergoing the long trek with false hopes.

The top US diplomat visited Mexico to present a new joint security plan and mend ties with an ally increasingly relied upon by the Biden Administration to act as a buffer and stem the flow of migrants heading to the United States.

“The journey is profoundly dangerous and it will not succeed,” Blinken told a news conference in Mexico’s capital when asked about how the United States was ensuring humane treatment of migrants.

Blinken said US and Mexican officials were in “close contact” over a jump in Haitian migrants pass-

ing through Mexico, many having travelled from South America where they had initially settled. A border encampment in Del Rio, Texas in recent weeks grew at one point to 14,000 migrants, mostly from Haiti.

The United States has since expelled several thousand people to Haiti while allowing others to pursue US migration cases, while Mexico also recently began flights to send people back to Haiti.

Migrant rights groups have denounced deportations to Haiti, which is struggling with violence, poverty and political turmoil.

“Deportation to Haiti was not the right approach, was not humane,” the United Nations’ top refugee official Filippo Grandi said on Friday, adding that the United States and Mexico had sometimes deported people “without due process”. (Excerpt from Reuters)

guyanatimesgy.com

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2021

OILNEWS OIL NEWS Oil rises 4% in week as energy crunch shows no signs of easing

O

il rose on Friday, gaining about four per cent on the week as a global energy crunch boosted US prices to their highest in almost seven years as big power users struggle to meet demand.

Even with worldwide demand growing as economic activity rebounds from pandemic lows, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allied producers (OPEC+) this week said they would remain on the path of gradually bringing back production.

Meanwhile, the US Government said it was monitoring energy markets, but it did not announce immediate action to lower prices, such as a release from strategic petroleum reserves, which further supported the oil market.

Brent crude futures rose 44 cents, or 0.5per cent, to settle at US$82.39 a barrel. Earlier in the week, the global benchmark hit a three-year high of US$83.47.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose US$1.05, or 1.3 per cent, to end at US$79.35. That was the highest close for the U.S. benchmark since October 31, 2014.

US gasoline futures also closed at their highest since October 2014 on Friday.

"The fundamental backdrop is one of tight supplies that is going to continue to push these prices steadily higher," said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital in New York.

As energy markets have tightened in the face of improved fuel demand, many fear that a cold winter could further strain natural gas supplies. China ordered miners in Inner Mongolia to ramp up coal production to alleviate its energy crunch.

"As other energy prices like natural gas and coal keep pushing higher, upside risks to the oil market have started to build," said Bank of America's Christopher Kuplent. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Journalists who took on Putin and Duterte win 2021 Nobel Peace Prize

The combination picture shows Rappler CEO and Executive Editor Maria Ressa (left), and Russian investigative newspaper Novaya Gazeta's editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov

J

ournalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov, who braved the wrath of the leaders of the Philippines and Russia to expose corruption and misrule, won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, in an endorsement of free speech under fire worldwide.

The two were awarded "for their courageous fight for freedom of expression" in their countries, Chairwoman Berit Reiss-Andersen of the Norwegian Nobel Committee told a news conference.

"At the same time, they are representatives of all Journalists who stand up for this ideal in a world in which democracy and freedom of the press face increasingly adverse conditions," she added.

"Free, independent and factbased journalism serves to protect against abuse of power, lies and war propaganda."

Muratov dedicated his award to six contributors to his Novaya Gazeta newspaper who had been murdered for their work exposing human rights violations and corruption.

"Igor Domnikov, Yuri Shchekochikhin, Anna Politkovskaya, Stas Markelov, Anastasia Baburova, Natasha Estemirova – these are the people who have today won the Nobel Prize," Muratov said, reciting the names of slain reporters and activists whose portraits hang in the newspaper's Moscow headquarters.

In an interview with Reuters in Manila, Ressa called the prize "a global recognition of the Journalist's role in repairing, fixing our broken world". (Excerpt from Reuters)

19

Around the World

Afghanistan: Dozens killed in suicide bombing at Kunduz mosque

D

ozens of people have been killed in a suicide bombing at a Shia mosque in Afghanistan’s northeastern city of Kunduz during Friday prayers, the country’s worst attack since the Taliban took over control in August.

The Islamic State in Khorasan Province, ISKP (ISIS-K) claimed responsibility for the attack through its Telegram channels on Friday.

In a statement released on Telegram, the group said an ISIS-K suicide bomber “detonated an explosive vest amid a crowd” of Shia worshippers who had gathered inside the mosque.

Video footage showed bod-

ies surrounded by debris inside the Gozar-e-Sayed Abad Mosque that is used by people from the minority Shia Muslim community.

There have been conflicting reports about the number of casualties. The United Nations mission to Afghanistan said in a tweet the blast killed and wounded more than 100 people.

Dost Mohammad Obaida, the Deputy Police Chief for Kunduz province, also said at least 100 people were killed or wounded in the attack, adding that the “majority of them have been killed”.

“I assure our Shia brothers that the Taliban are prepared to ensure their safety,” Obaida said, adding that

The inside of the mosque after the bombing [Reuters]

an investigation was under way.

Meanwhile, the Staterun Bakhtar News Agency said at least 46 people were

killed, while more than 140 were wounded inside the mosque in the Khan Abad area of Kunduz city. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

US will accept WHO-approved COVID-19 vaccines for international visitors

T

he United States will accept the use by international visitors of COVID-19 vaccines authorised by US regulators or the World Health Organisation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said late on Friday.

On September 20, the White House announced the United States in November would lift travel restrictions on air travellers from 33 countries including China, India, Brazil and most of Europe who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. It did not specify then which vaccines would be accepted.

A CDC spokeswoman told Reuters Friday, "Six vaccines that are FDA authorised/approved or listed for emergen-

cy use by WHO will meet the criteria for travel to the U.S." Late on Friday, the CDC said that "earlier this week, to help them prepare their systems we informed airlines" of the vaccines that would be accepted and added "CDC will release additional guidance and information as the travel requirements are finalised."

Airlines for America, a trade group representing American Airlines Co (AAL.O), Delta Air Lines (DAL.N), United Airlines and others, said it was "pleased by the CDC's decision to approve a list of authorized vaccinations for travellers entering the U.S. We look forward to working with the administration to implement

this new global vaccine and testing framework by early November 2021."

Some countries had pressed the Biden administration to accept WHO-approved vaccines, since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized vaccines are not widely used in all countries.

The United States will admit fully vaccinated air travellers from the 26 so-called Schengen countries in Europe as well as Britain, Ireland, China, India, South Africa, Iran and Brazil. The unprecedented U.S. restrictions have barred most non-US citizens who were in those countries within the past 14 days.

The new COVID-19 vaccine requirements will now apply to nearly all foreign na-

tionals flying to the United States – including those not subject to the prior restrictions.

The CDC must still finalise and publish new contract tracing rules for international visitors, which it sent to the White House for review on September 15.

The CDC must also detail rules for exceptions, which include children not yet eligible for shots, as well as for visitors from countries where vaccines are not widely available.

The administration must also decide whether to admit visitors part of COVID-19 clinical trials or have recently contracted COVID-19 and are not yet eligible for vaccination. (Reuters)

Nations agree to 15% Facebook apologises minimum corporate as services including Instagram hit again tax rate

M

ost of the world's nations have signed up to a historic deal to ensure big companies pay a fairer share of tax.

Some 136 countries agreed to enforce a corporate tax rate of at least 15 per cent, as well as a fairer system of taxing profits where they are earned.

It follows concern that multinational companies are re-routing their profits through low tax jurisdictions to cut their bills.

Yet critics say a 15 per cent rate is too low, and firms will get around the rules.

UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak said the deal would "upgrade the global tax system for the modern age".

"We now have a clear path to a fairer tax system, where large global players

pay their fair share wherever they do business," he said.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), an intergovernmental organisation, has led talks on a minimum rate for a decade.

It said the deal could bring in an extra US$150 billion of tax a year, bolstering economies as they recover from COVID. Yet it also said it did not seek to "eliminate" tax competition between countries, only to limit it.

The floor under corporate tax will come in from 2023. Countries will also have more scope to tax multinational companies operating within their borders, even if they don't have a physical presence there. (Excerpt from BBC News)

F

acebook has apologised after again reporting problems with its services, days after a major outage hit WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook for hours.

The company said that a "configuration change" had impacted users globally.

It added that the incident was not related to the outage that saw its products taken offline for over six hours earlier this week.

Its Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and Workplace products had been affected, it said.

"We're so sorry if you weren't able to access our products during the last couple of hours," the company said in a statement on Friday evening. "We know how much you depend on us to communicate with one another. We fixed the issue – thanks again for your patience this week."

Earlier, web monitoring group Downdetector said that for a relatively short period of time on Friday there was an avalanche of messages from users reporting problems with Instagram.

Some of them immediately took to Twitter and other social media platforms to complain about the second Instagram disruption and share memes on the issue.

On Monday, Facebook – which owns WhatsApp and Instagram – blamed an internal technical issue for the major outage which not only affected the firm's services, but also employees' work passes and email.

The services were down from about 16:00 GMT until around 22:00 on Monday. (BBC News)

20

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2021

guyanatimesgy.com

ARCHIE

ARIES

Don't waste time second-guessing yourself.

(March 21You have more going for you April 19) than you realize, and the time to strike is now. Prepare your resume. Discuss your intentions and plans.

TAURUS

DILBERT

(April 20May 20)

GEMINI (May 21June 20)

CANCER (June 21July 22)

PEANUTS

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

CALVIN AND HOBBES

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

SUDOKU

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)

You can stabilize your life if you put in the effort.

Put in extra hours to help secure your position or head in a new and exciting direction. The future is yours to enjoy.

Pay attention to your health and well-being. Get the rest you need. Listen to your body, be disciplined when faced with temptation and focus on being physically fit.

Look for alternatives if the road ahead is rocky.

Dealing with people who will never see things your way is a waste of time. Pour your energy into something meaningful or creative.

Plan something special with friends or relatives. Catch up, share your thoughts and make suggestions. What you have to offer will bring you closer to the people you love most.

Charm will be your ticket to getting along with friends and family. Be a good listener, offer positive thoughts and enjoy doing something creative that allows you to use your skills to shine.

Associate with people who bring out the best in you. Pay attention to what you eat, how you spend your time and what you spend money on.

It's up to you to take responsibility for your happiness.

Share your story with someone who can offer sound suggestions. Personal growth will encourage you to take the path that provides peace of mind. Follow your heart.

Take control by making SAGITTARIUS decisions that will help you (Nov. 23gain perspective and make Dec. 21) necessary adjustments. Take care of your responsibilities to ease stress. Romance is on the rise.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

THURSDAY'S WORD -- UNANIMITY

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

Don't believe everything you hear. Getting into a discussion with a friend or relative will lead to an argument that can ruin your relationship. Bide your time and choose your words wisely.

Think matters through to find a way to appease anyone who gives you a hard time. Helping a loved one will bring you closer together. Romance is favored.

Don't be afraid to work hard.

Think twice before reacting to a situation you face (Feb. 20with a friend or relative. Be March 20) a good listener, and refrain from saying something you will live to regret. Tread carefully.

PISCES

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2021

21

Blitzes from Kishan, Suryakumar not enough to push Mumbai into the playoffs T

hey gave the ball, and their chances at qualification for the play-offs, an almighty whack; but, eventually, Mumbai Indians' defence of their title ended in their final league game of IPL 2021.

They had come into it needing to win by an unprecedented 171 runs, and although they eventually did win, that margin was always going to prove too much, despite the power-hitting and skill of Ishan Kishan (84 off 32) and Suryakumar Yadav (82 off 40).

Two batters who had not had the greatest time in this tournament rocketed Mumbai to a mammoth 235 for 9, but that still meant they needed to keep Sunrisers Hyderabad to 65 or less.

Sunrisers eventually made a decent fist of an impossible chase, ending at 193 for 8, to lose by 42 runs.

The result meant Kolkata Knight Riders qualified ahead of Mumbai, both sides on 14 points, but Knight Riders ending with a superior net run-rate. They will face Royal

Ishan Kishan blasted 84 off 32

Challengers Bangalore in the eliminator, while Chennai Super Kings take on Delhi Capitals in the first qualifier.

Kishan Impossible Mohammad Nabi opened the bowling, and the first ball that Kishan faced, the second

SCOREBOARD MUMBAI INDIANS INNINGS (20 OVERS MAXIMUM) Rohit Sharma (c) c Mohammad Nabi b Rashid Khan 18 Ishan Kishan †c †Saha b Umran Malik 84 Hardik Pandya c Roy b Holder 10 Kieron Pollard c Roy b Abhishek Sharma 13 Suryakumar Yadav c Mohammad Nabi b Holder 82 James Neesham c Mohammad Nabi b Abhishek Sharma 0 Krunal Pandya c Mohammad Nabi b Rashid Khan 9 Nathan Coulter-Nile c Mohammad Nabi b Holder 3 Piyush Chawla c Abdul Samad b Holder 0 Jasprit Bumrah not out 5 Trent Boult not out 0 Extras (b 1, lb 1, w 9) 11 TOTAL(20 Ov, RR: 11.75) 235/9 Fall of wickets: 1-80 (Rohit Sharma, 5.3 ov), 2-113 (Hardik Pandya, 8.3 ov), 3-124 (Ishan Kishan, 9.1 ov), 4-151 (Kieron Pollard, 12.5 ov), 5-151 (James Neesham, 12.6 ov), 6-184 (Krunal Pandya, 15.3 ov), 7-206 (Nathan CoulterNile, 17.2 ov), 8-230 (Piyush Chawla, 19.1 ov), 9-230 (Suryakumar Yadav, 19.4 ov) BOWLING Mohammad Nabi Siddarth Kaul Jason Holder Umran Malik Rashid Khan Abhishek Sharma

O-M-R-W 3-0-33-0 4-0-56-0 4-0-52-4 4-0-48-1 4-0-40-2 1-0-4-2

SUNRISERS HYDERABAD INNINGS (TARGET: 236 RUNS FROM 20 OVERS) Jason Roy c KH Pandya b Boult 34 Abhishek Sharma c CoulterNile b Neesham 33 Manish Pandey (c) not out 69 Mohammad Nabi c Pollard b Chawla 3 Abdul Samad c Pollard b Neesham 2 Priyam Garg c HH Pandya b Bumrah 29 Jason Holder c Boult b Coulter-Nile 1 Rashid Khan c & b Bumrah 9 Wriddhiman Saha † c & b Coulter-Nile 2 Siddarth Kaul not out 1 Extras (lb 2, nb 1, w 7) 10 TOTAL (20 Ov, RR: 9.65) 193/8 Did not bat: Umran Malik Fall of wickets: 1-64 (Jason Roy, 5.2 ov), 2-79 (Abhishek Sharma, 6.6 ov), 3-97 (Mohammad Nabi, 8.3 ov), 4-100 (Abdul Samad, 9.1 ov), 5-156 (Priyam Garg, 15.1 ov), 6-166 (Jason Holder, 16.1 ov), 7-177 (Rashid Khan, 17.2 ov), 8-182 (Wriddhiman Saha, 18.4 ov) BOWLING O-M-R-W Trent Boult 4-0-30-1 Jasprit Bumrah 4-0-39-2 Piyush Chawla 4-0-38-1 Nathan Coulter-Nile 4-0-40-2 James Neesham 3-0-28-2 Krunal Pandya 1-0-16-0

of the match, was slog-swept with extreme prejudice over deep midwicket, and he was away. Back at the top of the order, fresh off a 25-ball 50* in the last game, and with a clear mindset that Mumbai had to go from ball one to make their unlikely bid for qualification, Kishan seemed a different beast than the young man who had struggled so much that he was dropped from the XI. Manish Pandey - back in the XI and leading Sunrisers with both Kane Williamson and Bhuvneshwar Kumar nursing niggles - tried five bowlers in the powerplay, including Rashid Khan, but there was no stopping Kishan.

Siddarth Kaul was crunched for four consecutive boundaries, Jason Holder's first over disappeared for 22 runs, Umran Malik's pace was casually thwacked.

Kishan was on 63 off 22 at the end of a powerplay that yielded 83 for 1 for Mumbai.

He had reached fifty off just 16 balls, the quickest of IPL 2021, and the fourth-fastest of all time in the tournament.

The end of the powerplay didn't bring an end to the carnage, with even Rashid being smashed around.

Kishan looked on track for a century when the extra pace of Umran finally did him in, with a top edge to a short ball outside off nestling in the keeper's gloves.

By the time he fell, Mumbai had racked up 124 for 3 in 9.1 overs.

Suryakumar strikes Given the qualification scenario they faced, Mumbai seemed to have binned their careful match-up strategies and decided that the biggest six-hitter in the dugout walks out at the fall of each wicket.

That meant Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard came in at three and four, while Suryakumar arrived when Kishan fell, at No.5.

Where Kishan had hit his first ball for six, Suryakumar collected four, though he was helped by Holder not getting behind the ball at fine leg as Sunrisers' fielding wore a ragged look in the face of the furious assault.

Suryakumar didn't have other batters sticking with him long enough to form substantial partnerships, but he kept peppering the legside boundary with sweeps and

scoops that showcased both innovation and finesse.

If Suryakumar's pace seemed anything but extra hot, it was only because of what had come before.

He batted magnificently, matching Kishan shot for shot, given he didn't get the powerplay advantage. His fifty was raised in 24 balls, and he looked within striking distance of a century too, before holing out in the final over.

Roy, Abhishek put paid to Mumbai's hopes Just like they had done while batting, Mumbai started the bowling by going

all out, having attacking fields and giving the first couple of overs to Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah, the bowlers most likely to get wickets.

However, the newlyminted opening pair of Jason Roy and Abhishek Sharma took a leaf out of their opposition's playbook, going on the attack from the outset. Both men found their timing and range, having seen what hyper aggression could do in the first innings.

Rohit Sharma also rang in the bowling changes quickly, but Roy and Abhishek didn't let up. Although Bumrah got Roy with a well-targeted bouncer, the openers had

put on 64 in 5.1 overs. Two singles in that very over meant Mumbai's playoff hopes ended within Sunrisers' powerplay.

Pandey, who came in at No. 3, put on a display of his shot-making ability too, another man who had endured a tough IPL 2021 coming good at the end. But for Sunrisers, the weight of the Mumbai total was always going to be a bridge too far, even though they showed plenty of intent in their chase.

In the end, Mumbai got the victory, but not the result they wanted. (ESPNcricinfo)

Dwayne Bravo recalls special World Cup moment on his birthday

C

hampions Dwayne Bravo and Chris Gayle will be looking to make it “seventh heaven” when they turn out for the #MenInMaroon in the marquee ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The two legends have played in all six tournaments since inception of the World Cup in 2007 in South Africa, and would want to have maximum impact as they enter the seventh edition in the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

They later played in 2009 in England, 2010 at home in the Caribbean, 2012 in Sri Lanka, 2014 in Bangladesh, and the last edition in 2016 in India. Gayle is the undisputed king of T20 cricket, and the Universe Boss has dominated this format everywhere he has set foot on the planet. Bravo is not far behind with his expert bowling, and is a sharp thinker and tactician.

Back in 2012, Gayle adopted The Gangnam Style as the unofficial theme song for the team, and fans joined the global street party. For Bravo, it was an extra-special moment in time as the epic performance came on the night of his birthday. He had the pleasure of taking the catch to seal the sensational result. To savour the memory, he kept the ball, and still has it at home.

“It was my 29th birthday, and was a very special moment. It was the first time we won the T20 World Cup, and as players, we wanted to prove to the world we were the best, as individuals and as a team,” Bravo said.

“To do it on my birthday was special, and something I could never forget. I still have that ball at home… was a dream come true. A lot of people didn’t give us any chance, and picked four teams and didn’t have West Indies among their top four.

To win on that night against Sri Lanka on their home turf was a great end to the tournament, and we proved ourselves as a team.”

Bravo and Gayle have also had some other great moments in T20 World Cup tournaments.

None better than at Eden Gardens in Kolkata in 2016, when W e s t

Indies celebrated that famous victory over England with Bravo leading the

merriment with his song “Champion”.

Gayle is the only man to hit two centuries in the T20 World Cup. In his very first outing against South Africa back in September 2007, he set ablaze the Wanderers in Johannesburg with a sizzling 117 off just 57 balls.

It was just the kind of start that world cricket needed, and it set the trend for more of his power-packing pyrotechnic displays.

With a sense of occasion, and with an estimated global viewing audience of over 500 million eyes fixed to the Wankhede Stadium, Gayle set the tone for the tournament. It was magical and memorable as he muscled 11 mammoth sixes and lit up the Mumbai night sky to score 100 not out off just 48 balls.

Bravo recalled the moments.

“I remember I had a launch event in Mumbai and had my teammates and friends. We had a good start to the tournament, and we formed a great unit. Chris made a hundred and started the dance, and everyone was inspired and motivated…it became the anthem, and we did the dance and kept on winning,” the allrounder said.

“When we won the final, the song was the most played. It was a special moment for West Indian people around the world.

Everywhere we went there were celebrations. We want to do it again this time around.”

(Sportsmax)

22

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2021

KS Bharat's last-ball six powers RCB home − Glenn Maxwell fires again W

hat was essentially a dead rubber looked like it was slipping away from Royal Challengers Bangalore at 55 for 3 halfway into a chase of 165 against Delhi Capitals. But then two catches slipped through the hands of Shreyas Iyer and R Ashwin, and Glenn Maxwell made the most of the lives to set the scene for a blockbuster finish from KS Bharat.

It was still anybody's game when Royal Challengers needed 19 off 12 balls. Anrich Nortje, who had taken out both Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal in his first two overs, stepped up once again, bowling a fourrun penultimate over to leave Royal Challengers needing 15 off the final over, bowled by Avesh Khan.

Maxwell found the boundary off the first ball, and followed it with a double, to notch up his fourth half-century in his last five innings. The third ball was a terrific inswinging yorker which smashed Maxwell's boot, but he survived again, because this had pitched outside leg stump.

A leg-bye put Bharat on strike, and the next ball was a swing and a miss. Two of the penultimate balls, thanks to a misfield from Axar Patel in the outfield, eventually left Royal Challengers needing six off the last ball. Avesh went searching for another leg-stump yorker, but ended up bowling a full-toss down the leg side for a wide.

Avesh whisked short fine leg back for the last ball, and went for another yorker, but it came out as a full-

Srikar Bharat

ing him a crack at Shikhar Dhawan, but the left-hander picked him off for 15 off eight. Shaw, who had managed scores of 11, 10, 6, 18 in his first four innings in the UAE this IPL, hit form by driving and punching on the up in the powerplay, which yielded 55 runs overall for Capitals.

Shaw also lined up Yuzvendra Chahal for a pair of sixes, but the legspinner dangled one outside the batter's eyeline, and found sharp dip to have him holing out to sweeper cover for 48 off 31 balls.

Dhawan, too, had fallen by then, with Harshal Patel tricking him with his trademark loopy offcutter for 45 off 35 balls.

Having copped a George Garton beamer on his shoulder, Dhawan was spotted with an icepack after his dismissal, and subsequently didn't take the field in the

over, and began a repair job with a run-a-ball 26. Axar dismissed de Villiers in the tenth over, and could've got Maxwell (twice) soon after, had Ashwin and Iyer not dropped those chances.

Having been dropped on 6 and 16, Maxwell showed off his range once again, slogging and reverse-slogging the Capitals’ bowlers.

As for Bharat, he was a more sedate presence in the early exchanges against high pace, but then laid into Axar's left-arm darts, taking him for 25 off just nine balls.

With two right-handers in the middle, Ashwin bowled just a solitary over, which cost Capitals 11 runs.

Ripal stepped in for Ashwin, with his medium-pace giving up 22 in his three overs. Nortje maintained his machine-line accuracy at the death, but Avesh had a rare off day, as Bharat finished off the league phase of IPL 2021 with a last-ball six. (ESPNcricinfo)

SCOREBOARD

DELHI CAPITALS INNINGS (20 OVERS MAXIMUM) Prithvi Shaw c Garton b Chahal Shikhar Dhawan c Christian b Patel Rishabh Pant (c)† c †Bharat b Christian Shreyas Iyer c Christian b Mohammed Siraj Shimron Hetmyer c Kohli b Mohammed Siraj Ripal Patel not out

48 43 10 18 29 7

Extras (lb 3, nb 1, w 5) 9 TOTAL (20 Ov, RR: 8.19) 164/5 Did not bat: Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Avesh Khan, Anrich Nortje Fall of wickets: 1-88 (Shikhar Dhawan, 10.1 ov), 2-101 (Prithvi Shaw, 11.2 ov), 3-108 (Rishabh Pant, 12.4 ov), 4-143 (Shreyas Iyer, 17.4 ov), 5-164 (Shimron Hetmyer, 19.6 ov) BOWLING Glenn Maxwell Mohammed Siraj George Garton Yuzvendra Chahal

O-M-R-W 3-0-29-0 4-0-25-2 3-0-20-0 4-0-34-1

Harshal Patel Dan Christian

4-0-34-1 2-0-19-1

ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE INNINGS (TARGET: 165 RUNS FROM 20 OVERS) Virat Kohli (c) c Rabada b Nortje 4 Devdutt Padikkal c Ashwin b Nortje 0 Srikar Bharat † not out 78 AB de Villiers c Iyer b AR Patel 26 Glenn Maxwell not out 51 Extras (lb 2, w 5) 7 TOTAL (20 Ov, RR: 8.30) 166/3 Did not bat: Dan Christian, Shahbaz Ahmed, George Garton, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal Fall of wickets: 1-3 (Devdutt Padikkal, 0.5 ov), 2-6 (Virat Kohli, 2.1 ov), 3-55 (AB de Villiers, 9.3 ov) BOWLING Anrich Nortje Avesh Khan Axar Patel Kagiso Rabada Ravichandran Ashwin Ripal Patel

O-M-R-W 4-0-24-2 4-0-31-0 4-0-39-1 4-0-37-0 1-0-11-0 3-0-22-0

Assuria signs up to support Lady Jags’ World Cup journey

A Glenn Maxwell special: Don't try this at home!

chase.

Middle order absent

Attached at the hip: Srikar Bharat and Glenn Maxwell led RCB to a very fine victory

toss again, this time on the stumps. Bharat lined it up and shanked it over long-on to provide a throwback to Arun Karthik's last-ball six for Royal Challengers in the Champions League T20 almost a decade ago.

Perhaps if Royal Challengers had batted first and adopted a no-holdsbarred batting approach like Mumbai Indians had done in Abu Dhabi, their slimmest

of chances of making the top two might have stayed alive a tad longer. Match practice and fine-tuning aside, the game was dead from the moment they decided to bowl.

They will next run into Kolkata Knight Riders in the eliminator, while Capitals will face Chennai Super Kings in the first qualifier.

The Dhawan-Shaw show

Virat Kohli had thrown the new ball to Maxwell, giv-

After Dhawan and Shaw had put on 88 together in the first ten overs, the pitch slowed down, as did the rest of the Capitals batting line-up. They could muster only 76 in the second chunk of their innings, with Mohammed Siraj and the slower bowlers hiding the ball away from their swinging arcs.

Dan Christian bounced out Rishabh Pant, before Siraj had both Shreyas Iyer and Shimron Hetmyer holing out. Ripal Patel, who had retained his spot in the XI ahead of an overseas option, also couldn't get the ball away at the death, getting a run-a-ball seven.

Bharat, Maxwell punish sloppy Capitals

With the Royal Challengers openers falling cheaply, AB de Villiers came in as early as the third

L

eading insurance company Assuria has thrown its support behind the Guyana Football Federation as a sponsor of the senior women’s national team for the forthcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifiers.

“At Assuria, we take our corporate social responsibility very seriously. We’ve had a very fruitful relationship with the Guyana Football Federation for quite a number of years, with Mr. Forde at the helm of that organisation,” said Erwin Daniels, Head of the Life, Pensions and Health Departments at Assuria.

“This donation is another aspect of us giving back to the community. It is geared towards the medical needs and other enhancement needs of the footballers,” he said as he presented a cheque

for an undisclosed sum to Lisa Ahmad, Chairwoman of the GFF’s Marketing Committee.

The Lady Jags are preparing for a week-long training camp in Puerto Rico, between October 18 and October 24, with practice matches against the hosts scheduled for October 20 and October 23.

Guyana has been drawn in Group F of the CONCACAF W Championship qualifiers, with Trinidad and Tobago, Nicaragua, Turks and Caicos and Dominica.

The winner of the group will join the five other qualification group winners and automatic qualifiers Canada and the U.S. at the 2022 CONCACAF W Championships, which act as the region’s gateway to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup tournament.

“On behalf of the Guyana Football Federation, we want to thank Assuria for coming on board once again, to support the Lady Jags as they embark on these World Cup qualifiers,” said Ahmad. “We want to welcome Assuria again to partner with us as we embark on this journey.”

CLASSIFIED ADS TAXI SERVICE Elegant Cabs. 231-1494 / 226-4277, Cell #: 625-6600. 24 hrs.

A

VACANCY

Vacancy exists for: 1 Security Guard, 1 Handyman, 1 Female Office Clerk. Apply in person along with an application at 25 Second Street, Alberttown between Cummings and Light Streets. 227-5536 / 223-0504

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2021

Shepherd happy

to be part of exciting Abu Dhabi T10 League

O

ne of Guyana's rising stars, Romario Shepherd, will turn a new chapter in his cricket career when he turns out for the Delhi Bulls in the Abu Dhabi T10 League, starting from November 19.

The huge Berbician, who was the joint leading wicket- taker in the 2021 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL), has said he is happy to be included in this exciting tournament.

"I feel really happy to be part of such an exciting league, and team with some greats of the game," Shepherd said moments after he was snapped up in the draft.

The New Amsterdamer finished the CPL with 19 wickets (including the super over). Despite that consistency and brilliance, he was not selected for the West Indies T20 World Cup squad.

In a recent interview with this daily publication, Shepherd described his 2021 CPL as his breakout year.

“I would say this was my breakout year. People always knew I was good, but some people never thought I was that good.

I think what went well is the way I handled the pressure situations, the way I executed under pressure.”

In his career thus far, Shepherd has represented West Indies in six T20Is and seven 50-over matches. His fellow Guyanese

Sherfane Rutherford is also in the same Delhi Bulls team, which features the promising Dominic Drakes, Trinidadian left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein, Barbadian Nyeem Young, veteran Dwayne Bravo and wicketkeeper-batsman Devon Thomas.

England’s white-ball skipper, Eoin Morgan, is also in the Bulls set-up.

The 2021 Abu Dhabi T10, the fifth season following cricket’s fastest format, will feature an increased number of 90-minute matches played over the planned 15 days, as opposed to 10 days in previous seasons. Held with the support of Abu Dhabi and the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, the tournament’s fourth edition was organised despite the COVID-19 pandemic wreaking havoc worldwide. However, the impeccable health protocols and safety measures mean the league was held without any mishap reported. The league has attracted global attention, and continues to make giant strides, with a global television audience of 63.9 million, a 79.67% year-onyear increase.

The Nicholas Pooran-led Northern Warriors defeated the Delhi Bulls in the final to lift the 2020 trophy. (Brandon Corlette)

Persaud ecstatic at staging of highly-anticipated Bruster’s Real Ice Cream tourney …action to commence today from 12:30h

By Timothy Jaikarran

T

he Lusignan Golf Club will be hosting the Bruster’s Real Ice Cream golf tournament today from 12:30 hrs, and the fixture will see some of Guyana’s top players competing and having some much-needed fun in the sun.

President of the LGC, Patanjilee Persaud, has said he is extremely grateful to Bruster’s Ice Cream for playing its part in growing the sport. In a statement, Persaud said, “The tournament is a highly anticipated tournament. It will be fun, as the name Bruster’s suggests it all; the ice cream is full of flavour. The club is grateful for the sponsorship, one of the partners of Bruster’s is also the LGC Vice-President Paton George, he is a very exciting double-digit player.

You can expect some anticipated scores with him, sometimes he comes in and wins the entire field. So, we are excited on how the tournament is shaping up.

“As you know, the competition will be stiff, and everyone is expected to play their part. It is well anticipated, as you know; the owner always makes sure he shares his delicacy and favourite ice cream with the players that enter the tournament.”

The course is currently in pristine condition.

Because of it being dry, it may be able to add an extra 50-60 yards on your driving on the given day.

Chipping on a dry surface will be instrumental, hence the greens have to be watched. If the weather does change and there is a bit of rain before the tournament, the game’s play would expectedly be different.

Persaud noted that the course is in fine condition, as players are on the course practising in anticipation of the tournament as early as 05:15 hrs in the morning. He relayed that, for some time, golf was not on the charts because of the torrential rains, hence the Bruster’s tournament has attracted a lot of excitement.

In addition, the LGC is adding a long drive competition to the Bruster’s Real Ice Cream tournament, which will carry a prize value of a $1500 voucher. Other prizes on the card will be 6 trophies & 6 Bruster’s Ice Cream vouchers up for grabs. The first-place winner will cart off a trophy plus a $5000 voucher, while the second-place winner would receive a trophy plus a $4000 voucher. The thirdplace winner would receive a trophy plus a $3000 voucher. The best net front nine winner would receive a trophy plus a $1500 voucher, while the best net back nine winner would receive a trophy and a $1500 voucher. The player that gets nearest to the flag would receive a trophy plus a $1000 voucher.

23 RHT Namilco Thunderbolt Flour, Vitality Cricket teams hand over home to Naidu T GUYANATIMESGY.COM

he Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club’s (RHTY&SC’s) Namilco Thunderbolt Flour Under-21 and First Division teams, along with their Vitality Under-23 counterparts, last Wednesday handed over a home they constructed to Asst Secretary/CEO Simon Naidu.

The handing over of the home was the fulfillment of a commitment made by RHTY&SC Secretary/CEO Hilbert Foster to Naidu, who had sought Foster’s assistance to upgrade his family’s home, which was in a state of despair, and to construct a lower flat for him and his family to dwell in.

Foster has said that the RHTY&SC had, over the last 31 years, successfully completed thousands of projects, but was never involved in the construction of a home. He noted that

Simon Naidu

RHT Namilco Thunderbolt Captain Shawn Perreira handing over keys to the house to Simon Naidu

the club's parent body, the St Francis Community Developers, had assisted hundreds of less fortunate families to obtain houses, but this venture represented the first effort by the vibrant youth and sports club.

Foster, who is also President of the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB), recalled that Naidu had approached him for assistance for the project, and he readily agreed that the cricket teams would assist.

Club Secretary/CEO Foster has said that Naidu, as a 15-year -old, joined the RHTY&SC in 2015, and within one year was elected to the position of Asst Secretary/CEO, and over the last five years, has played a major role in the work of the club.

Now 21 years old, Naidu is currently responsible for the day-to-day operation of the club’s office, serves as a cricket manager at the junior section, and is also the Public Relations Officer of the Berbice Cricket Board.

Under Naidu's tenure, the BCB has developed the most progressive public relations campaign of any sports organisation in the country.

Foster has said that, with his young assistant in charge of the daily operation of the club, he has been able to focus on his other duties, both at the BCB and the other organisations of which he is part. He described Naidu as a visionary, hard-working and dedicated person, who serves others without looking over his shoulder for personal reward.

An emotional Naidu has said that joining the RHTY&SC in 2015 was the best decision of his life. A former member of the Albion Cricket Club, Naidu was encouraged to join the Rose Hall Town club by his classmate, West Indies under-19 player Kevlon Anderson. Naidu has said he never expected to be a part of the executive, but noted that under Foster’s leadership, youths are given the opportunity to perform, and the word failure is not part of the lexicon of the RHTY&SC.

Naidu has expressed gratitude to all the sponsors who came on board to assist; members of the club, especially the Namilco Thunderbolt Flour Under-21 and First Division teams, and the Vitality Inc Under-23 teams.

He has committed himself to working even harder to make sure that the club remains the leading club in the country.

Captain of the Rose Hall Town Namilco Thunderbolt First Division team, Shawn Perreira, handed over the keys to Naidu, and congratulated him on being a homeowner at such a tender age.

Perreira, a former national youth captain, stated that the RHTY&SC has had a positive influence on every single youth who has joined it since its formation in 1990, and he hailed Foster as a positive role model and father figure.

The two teams are respectively sponsored by the National Milling Company of Guyana, located at Agricola, EBD and Vitality Inc of Providence, EBD. Among the players in the teams are Kevin Sinclair, Kevlon Anderson, Clinton Pestano, Eon Hooper, Junior Sinclair, Shemaine Campbelle, Shabika Gajnabi, Sheneta Grimmond, Khemraj Mahadeo, Jonathan Rampersaud, Mahendra Gopilall, Jermey Sandia and Slyus Tyndall.

The RHTY&SC would like to express its gratitude to all its friends who came on board to support the construction of this home, including Dr. Puran Singh, Brian Ramphal, Bissoondyal Singh, Mr Kumar, GK Inc, Abbas K Hamid (Vitality), Michael Khan, Anasha Ally, Chandradat Chintamani, Rajendra Daniel Sadeo, Lucille George, Ave Ramzan, Romaro Samaroo, Farfan and Mendes, Bakewell, Faizal Jafferally, Hollis Schwiers, Sheik Mohammed, Shabika Gajnabi, Shimron Hetmyer, Zaeer Ali, Therbhuwan Jagdeo and Navendra Persaud.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2021

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

Page 23

Page 22

Shepherd

GFF Marketing Committee Chairwoman Lisa Ahmad receiving a cheque from Erwin Daniels, Head of the Life, Pensions and Health Departments at Assuria

happy to be part Assuria signs up to of exciting Abu support Lady Jags’ Dhabi T10 League World Cup journey Page 23

RHT Namilco Thunderbolt Flour, Vitality Cricket teams hand over home to Naidu See story on page 23

Persaud ecstatic at staging of highlyanticipated Bruster’s Real Ice Cream tourney

…action to commence today from 12:30h

GUYANA TIMES - www.guyanatimesgy.com, email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, NEWS HOTLINE: 231-8063 EDITORIAL: 223-7230, 223-7231, 231-0544, 225-7761 SPORT: sport@guyanatimesgy.com SALES AND MARKETING: 231-8064 - marketing@guyanatimesgy.com - PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY GUYANA TIMES INC.