Guyana Times - Saturday, September 24, 2022

Police Sergeant dies by suicide after running over reputed wife with car

ASergeant attached to the Anna Regina Police Station in Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam) has taken his own life after he reported ly ran over his reputed wife with his car at Riverstown, Essequibo Coast.

The dead woman has been identified as 25-yearold Hannah Boston of Lima Sands, Essequibo Coast, while the Police rank was identified as Roure Francis.

Based on reports re ceived, the woman’s moth er turned up at the Police station and reported that the Sergeant was trying to kill her daughter.

Without hesitation, a team of Police ranks, including Commander Khemraj Shivbaran, pro ceeded to the location where the woman’s body was seen lying in a motion less state in a rice field in the area.

Upon inspection, there were several gap

ing wounds on her face.

However, Francis was later found in an uncon scious state in his motor car, a black Toyota Fielder bearing registration num ber PAB 8894, which was parked some 10 feet away from the woman’s body.

Both the man and wom an were taken to the Suddie Public Hospital where

Boston was pronounced dead while doctors tried to save Francis’s life but he subsequently succumbed.

Doctors confirmed that he would have ingested a poisonous substance.

While information re mains sketchy about the incident, eyewitnesses re lated that the woman and the man were engaged in a

heated argument in the car in which they were travel ling as it headed down the Riverstown Road.

As the car came to halt, the woman reportedly exit ed the car and it was then, the Sergeant struck her down and ran over her.

However, this incident comes just two days after a man killed his only son, chopped and lit his wife on fire before committing sui cide at Anns Grove on the East Coast of Demerara.

The incident has left Seon Scott, 21, a securi ty guard, dead; Sharon Scott, 53, injured; and her 57-year-old husband, Leon Bobb, dead by suicide.

It was reported that Bobb went berserk and chopped his son to death in his sleep, and then turned the blade on his wife, chop ping her to the neck and lighting her on fire.

Police said that the now dead man and his wife had an ongoing domestic dis

pute, in which he accused the woman of having af fairs. Bobb reportedly phys ically assaulted his wife on several occasions, causing their son to intervene in a bid to save his mother.

However, on Wednesday morning, it is suspected that the man killed his son while he was asleep to pre vent him from going to the rescue of his mother.

Police said when they responded to the scene, the young security guard was

found lying motionlessly on a mattress. A large wound was seen on the left side of his neck.

The suspect was then found lying on a bloodsoaked bed in a room, with a large wound to his ab domen and his intestines protruding, and one to his neck. He was taken to the hospital but later died.

Up until press time on Friday evening, it was re ported that Sharon is still battling for her life.

Dead: Police Sergeant Roure Francis

Photos from the crime scene

Dead: Hannah Boston

BRIDGE OPENINGS

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

Saturday, Sept 24 – 02:30 – 04:00h and Sunday, Sept 25 – 03:00 – 04:30h.

Saturday, Sept 24 – 15:50h – 17:20h and Sunday, Sept 25 – 16:20h – 17:50h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Parika and Supenaam departure times – 05:00h, 10:00h-12:00h, 16:00h, 18:30h daily

WEATHER TODAY

There will be sunshine during the day. Expect clear skies at night. Temperatures should range between 22 degrees Celsius and 33 degrees Celsius.

Winds: West South-Westerly to North NorthEasterly between 2.23 metres and 4.47 metres.

High Tide: 15:53h reaching a maximum height of 2.56 metres.

Low Tide: 09:28h and 21:44h reaching minimum heights of 0.66 metre and 0.62 metre.

Govt invites bids to market Guyana’s share of profit oil

– deadline for submission is October 11

The Guyana Government has in vited interested com panies to market Guyana’s crude entitlement from the Liza Destiny and Unity Floating, Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) ves sels operating offshore, in the oil-rich Stabroek Block, for the next year.

According to the Natural Resources Ministry, an Invitation for Bids (IFB) was issued earlier this week in search of a company or companies to competitively market Guyana’s profit oil.

Interested bidders desir ous of obtaining Requests for Proposals (RFP), consistent with the country’s procure ment guidelines, are being directed to the Permanent Secretary of the Natural Resources Ministry.

As per the bidding docu ment, marketers will also be responsible for providing all functions of marketing; as sessing regional and glob al demand centres; select ing customers and making appropriate transportation arrangements; providing support and guidance to the client – in this case, the Government of Guyana – in all operating and back-office responsibilities of managing these crude sales and each individual lifting whilst fa cilitating timely and cost-ef ficient crude oil operations; and supporting the client in the continued introduc tion of the grade to multi ple geographies and refin ery systems and providing benchmark performance comparisons of prices paid for the client’s crude.

In addition, the company will also have to work close ly with the client in under standing the behaviour and yields of the Liza blend and how these affect pricing dif ferentials; support the cli ent with market informa tion requests related to the demand, supply, pricing and trade in the oil market and crude oil trading capacity, and buttress the client in understanding and advocat ing for any operational con siderations that may affect the pricing of crude.

Companies that wish to submit bids must have de tailed knowledge, a respect ed marketing presence and a history in the global crude oil market, and other re quirements, the Ministry noted.

They must possess at least 10 years of experience in crude oil marketing and trading – within the last 10 years as a company; expe rience in crude oil trading and marketing volumes by geography over the last five years with verifiable sim ilar services with national oil companies and govern ments; and crude oil trading and marketing volumes of no less than twenty (20) mil lion barrels within the last

year.

Moreover, the crude mar keter has to have a duly-cer tified written statement con firming that the company does not have any director who has been convicted in any country for a criminal offence relating to fraud or any financial impropriety or criminal misrepresentation or falsification of facts re lating to any matter or any pending litigation the bidder may or may not have, among other key requirements.

The selected com pany will have to mar ket Guyana’s crude for 12 months, commencing in the last quarter of 2022.

The deadline for the submission of bids to the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board is 09:00h on Tuesday, October 11, 2022.

Previously, Saudi Aramco was contracted in September 2021 to market Guyana’s share of profit oil from ExxonMobil-led opera tions in the Stabroek Block over the past year.

The State-owned Saudi Arabian company, whose contract has now ended, was the lowest responsive bidder of the 15 shortlisted compa nies.

Guyana’s crude lift share was initially marketed by Shell Western, after which

Hess International market ed Guyana’s crude.

Guyana, with US oil gi ant ExxonMobil as the oper ator, began producing oil on December 20, 2019, in the Stabroek Block. Guyana’s oil revenues are being held in the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) at the New York Federal Reserve Bank, where it is earning interest.

With the Liza Destiny and Unity FPSO vessels op erating offshore, Guyana is entitled to 13 of 94 lifts from the oil-rich Stabroek Block this year.

With oil prices on the global market skyrocketing, it is estimated that Guyana will earn a whopping $1.1 billion from its total share of profit oil in 2022.

According to the Finance Ministry’s Mid-Year Report earlier this month, the country has already earned US$307 million in profit oil revenue during the first half of the year from the five lifts of crude entitlement.

In addition to the US$307 million earned from selling its share of profit oil, the country also received US$37.1 million in royalties in the first half of the year.

“Government anticipates 13 lifts of profit oil for 2022, and subject to the evolution of world market oil prices, now projects US$1.1 billion

from the sale of the coun try’s share of profit oil, and US$147.7 million in royal ties,” the mid-year report states.

When it comes to the money in the NRF, the re port reveals that the cu mulative balance, inclu sive of interest income, was US$753.3 million at the end of the first half of 2022.

The Guyana Government has budgeted to utilise a whopping $126.7 billion from the fund this year to accelerate the country’s de velopment. Already, some $83.3 billion or US400 mil lion have been withdrawn from the NRF and trans ferred into the Consolidated Fund.

The oil rich Stabroek Block, which is producing the oil, is 6.6 million acres (26,800 square kilometres). Exxon, through its local subsidiary EEPGL, is the operator and holds 45 per cent interest in the Block.

Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd holds 30 per cent inter est, and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, a whol ly-owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited, holds the remaining 25 per cent inter est.

ExxonMobil said it antic ipates at least six projects offshore Guyana will be on line by 2027.

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

More psychiatrists

Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony has sounded the call for there to be more psychiatrists in Guyana.

Locally, much discussion has been had recently about the mental health of citizens. While the topic was categorised as ‘taboo’ in many cultures, it came to the fore as the COVID-19 pandemic took centre stage.

A breakdown of the records at the Psychiatric Unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital shows that at least 490 persons are seen every month. At the outpatient clinic of the National Psychiatric Hospital in East Berbice, the Health Ministry’s figures show that another 200 patients are seen monthly.

Important to note is that there is an average of 40 new patients every month at the GPHC.

To quote the Health Minister: “I think we currently have about 16 psychiatrists in the system, and we obviously need to get more people in psychiatry. Mental health has definitely (been) shown to be one of those areas where we’ll have to train more staff, get more doctors to be working in this area. It’s something that we’ll have to offer more scholarships for people to specialise in mental health”.

With the passage of the Mental Health Protection and Promotion Act 2022 into law, the way has been paved for mental health services to be more accessible to Guyanese.

As part of the Bill, the Government is now required to give mental health patients access to care.

It is well known that the pandemic has taken a severe toll on the mental wellbeing of persons all over the world. Due to the lack of resources, many countries are unable to mount the kind of response that is needed to address the mental health challenges of their populations, and many are forced to scale back the level of response needed due to other areas competing for scarce resources.

According to a recent World Health Organization (WHO) survey, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted or halted critical mental health services in 93 per cent of countries worldwide, while the demand for mental health is increasing.

According to WHO, the survey, which was conducted from June to August 2020 among 130 countries across WHO’s six regions, showed that over 60 per cent of countries reported disruptions to mental health services for vulnerable people, including children and adolescents (72 per cent); older adults (70 per cent) and women requiring antenatal or postnatal services (61 per cent).

Additionally, 30 per cent reported disruptions to access for medications for mental, neurological, and substance use disorders. Approximately three-quarters reported at least partial disruptions to school and workplace mental health services (78 per cent and 75 per cent respectively).

WHO had previously highlighted the chronic underfunding of mental health. The Organization had pointed out that prior to the pandemic, countries were spending less than two per cent of their national health budgets on mental health, and were struggling to meet their populations’ needs.

The pandemic had increased the demand for mental health services; for example, bereavement, isolation, loss of income and fear had triggered mental health conditions, or exacerbated existing ones. Meanwhile, COVID-19 itself can lead to neurological and mental health complications such as delirium, agitation, and stroke. People with pre-existing mental, neurological or substance use disorders are also more vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infection. They may stand a higher risk of severe outcomes and even death.

It should be pointed out that although 89 per cent of countries reported in the survey that mental health and psychosocial support are part of their national COVID-19 response plans, only 17 per cent of those countries had full additional funding for covering these activities. This all highlights the need for more money for mental health. Spending two per cent of national health budgets on mental health is not enough, according to WHO.

As stated by WHO, those who do invest in mental health would reap rewards. Pre-COVID-19 estimates reveal that nearly US$1 trillion in economic productivity is lost annually from depression and anxiety alone. However, studies show that every US$1 spent on evidence-based care for depression and anxiety returns US$5.

We therefore support the need for scholarships to be offered to persons interested in this field of study.

By: Marwan Bishara

Theworld’s indifference to the prospect of a nuclear disaster, today, is frankly insane.

For the past few months, Western experts have downplayed the proba bility that the Ukraine war would lead to nuclear escalation between Russia and the West. Since Putin first put Russia’s nuclear arsenal on alert back in February, many experts have ar gued that he was merely posturing in a bid to throw his “adversaries off bal ance”.

However, Putin’s most recent threats of using such weapons — made in a televised speech on Wednesday morning — must not be taken light ly, regardless of his motivation or in tention. He said that Western offi cials have threatened Russia with nuclear weapons, a charge that US President Joe Biden denied during his speech to the United Nations General Assembly hours later. Putin also announced a partial mobilisation and his support for upcoming referen dums in four Russian-controlled re gions of Ukraine that could pave the way for their annexation by Moscow.

It’s one thing for the West to dismiss as irrelevant the threat of Putin firing, for instance, a secretary. However, any chance he may fire his nukes should be taken seriously, regardless of how re mote the possibility is.

In fact, the West has so far avoid ed imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine or transferring long-range missiles and other weapons that may threat en Russian territory for fear of the Kremlin’s retaliation against Europe.

Yet, the sophisticated military as sistance that the US and its allies have provided to Kyiv has begun to change the balance of power on the battlefield in favour of Ukraine. Russia’s mount ing losses in the past few weeks are clearly pushing Putin into a corner. He is angry, humiliated and is losing clout at home and abroad. That’s why

he has decided to mobilise 300,000 ex tra troops to try to reverse his setbacks in Ukraine.

However, as past Russian and American wars have shown – whether in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq or else where – a troops surge may win him time but won’t necessarily win him the war. That’s why he coupled his deci sion for a military surge with a nuclear warning, putting the West on notice: back off or face the consequences.

Hence the seriousness of Putin’s threat to use weapons of mass destruc tion. The threat is “not a bluff” as he put it, nor a bluster; it rather sounds desperate and deliberate. It is also the biggest escalation since the invasion began seven months ago and the big gest troop mobilisation since the end of the Cold War.

Some are now sounding a warning about Putin’s potential use of tactical nuclear weapons on the battlefield. Or as one analyst put it: “Russia is will ing to use nuclear weapons if Ukraine continues its offensive operations”. Indeed, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday that the Kremlin could use tactical nu clear weapons to defend its occupation of parts of Ukraine that it annexes.

In theory, the use of these weapons, which are short-range and designed for limited strikes, sounds implausi ble considering Ukraine’s geograph ic proximity and Russia’s nuclear doc trine which underlines the defensive use of nuclear weapons or when the very existence of Russia is threatened.

That’s why Putin’s sense of victim hood, real or imagined, makes the es calation ever more disturbing. In his speech on Wednesday, he portrayed his own destructive war on Ukraine as a Western conspiracy to destroy Russia — a NATO-led aggression against all Russians posing an existential threat to the country.

Whether he truly believes that or not is somewhat irrelevant. He has de monised the West and Ukraine, and is

marshalling Russian public opinion to wards a wider war with unknown con sequences.

Putin has also accused the Ukrainian Government of hold ing Europe hostage to a nucle ar Armageddon by bombing the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant under Russian control. The Ukrainians claim that it is Russia that is doing the shell ing.

This is truly and tragically unfor givable, lest we also forget that Eastern Europe and parts of Russia continue to suffer from the effects of Chornobyl, 36 years after the nuclear disaster at the Ukrainian nuclear plant.

In short, the danger of a nuclear calamity is real if the war continues to escalate, whether by design or de fault; whether stemming from strate gic or tactical use of nuclear weapons, or from the bombing of a nuclear plant.

None of it is inevitable and all of its totally avoidable. Nuclear powers have lost or ended conventional wars in the past without resorting to nucle ar weapons. That’s why world powers have a duty to stop the escalation and to seek a diplomatic solution sooner rather than later.

Putin may be directly responsi ble for this war of aggression against Ukraine, but the West’s insistence on NATO’s expansion to Russia’s border and its sabre rattling in Ukraine have also been terribly provocative and reckless.

The war has been a disaster for all, especially Ukraine. It will get worse. That’s why cooler heads must prevail. Before it is too late. Those still hoping to win must remember that there is no winning a nuclear war. (Al Jazeera)

(Marwan Bishara is an author who writes extensively on global poli tics and is widely regarded as a lead ing authority on US foreign policy, the Middle East and international strate gic affairs. He was previously a pro fessor of International Relations at the American University of Paris.)

From left: Guyana’s national cricket captain, Leon Johnson; Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo; President Dr Irfaan Ali; Chairman of the Guyana Amazon Warriors, Bobby Ramroop; and former national cricketer Steven Jacobs at the Guyana National Stadium on Thursday evening

Beware the prospect of a nuclear calamity World powers must take Putin’s threat seriously, stop the escalation and seek a diplomatic solution

Trio wanted by Police for $400M gold heist

As investigations in tensify into the $400 million gold heist, the Police have issued wanted bulletins for three other men for questioning in relation to the robbery.

Police are on the hunt for 22-year-old Mark Singh of Herstelling, East Bank Demerara (EBD); 27-yearold Andray Duncan of Grove, EBD; and 51-yearold Damien Brummel of Vreed-en-hoop, West Coast Demerara (WCD).

So far, 49-year-old Bhaloonauth Seegobin, called “Krishna”, and his 24-year-old son Satrohan Seegobin, called “Richie”, of Farm, East Bank

Demerara (EBD), were ar raigned at the Cove and John Magistrate’s Court.

Police stated that be tween December 2021 and January 2022, in the company of others, they stole 1000 ounces of raw gold, worth $400 mil lion, from a businesswom an of Mahaica, East Coast Demerara.

It was reported that the businesswoman discov ered the gold missing only when she went to check two weeks ago and immediately contacted the Police.

Bhaloonauth Seegobin has pleaded not guilty to the charge, and has been remanded to prison un

til November 1, 2022, but Satrohan Seegobin has pleaded guilty and has been

sentenced to four years’ im prisonment.

It was further report

ed that the businesswoman is a gold dealer who, over the years, has accumulated the raw gold and concealed same at a location within the confines of her home.

went on a spending spree. During the investigation, detectives recovered three motor vehicles – two cars and one canter – as well as a quantity of raw gold.

In addition, two Police officers stationed in Berbice, who had reported ly received a tip-off about the robbery, are present ly in custody after they al legedly took a $6 million bribe to sweep the crime under the carpet. Further, another person was arrest ed and the Police were able to recover $6 million in cash, along with two motor cars.

On Friday, the Police is sued the wanted bulletin for the others in connection with the gold heist.

Ethnic Relations Commission

Please note the following:

1. Former commission ers should not be reappoint ed in this new commission that is about to be re-creat ed. The reason is that many are tainted and have ulterior motives.

2. I have advised my Islamic constituent group ing that I am not up for elec tions, in order to give some new blood an opportunity to articulate and make an im pact positively in this coun try.

3. The ERC grouping to which I belonged did some marvellous pieces of work, at least in the begin ning, by the chairman, the Hon. Reverend Dr. General Bishop Oswald Smith.

4. We went throughout the country, met many in various meetings, and moti vated them about the impor tance of national cohesion, respect, and the under standing of people regard less of ethnicity, religion, and way of life. Little could have been achieved due to the rabid election process that was evolving, which ex posed many to their true co lours and who seemed to have lost the understanding of the concept and purpose of the ERC.

5. Many want to be reap pointed, as far as I know. To many, the stipend is lucra tive, plus there are the facil ities to tour, and great meals and accommodation, out-oftown allowances, etc.

6. The CEOs, previous and current, have both been exceptional, and I have great respect for them, the staff is also worthy of much respect and applause. I am ashamed to this day that there was one member of an ethnic group who was planted as a spoiler within the ERC, not for the purpose of creating cohesion and goodwill, until I intervened. After he contin ued at the beginning of meet ings, being given the priori ty to speak, sometimes not very intelligently, he would always attack the pre-2015 Government and say that Government was responsible for killing over 400 black peo ple. Also at that same time, I was being prevented from making very elegant quali ty remarks. With a Christian group, I had to intervene, and actually said that I was prevented from speaking. If all went well, that should be in the minutes.

There are about four persons who are always aligned as spoilers, as was observed by myself and oth er positive Commissioners as being completely proPNCR/ AFC/APNU, and they always had a tenden cy to vote along that line. In voting and discussions, one could see the alliances, the eye messages, and the lan guage that was being passed I have even refused a bo nus of a large sum, which in my opinion was not neces sary and should have been returned to the treasury as the end of the period was approaching. In my opin ion, there were attempts to spend as much money as they possibly could have. I refused to participate in the New Amsterdam event as a result. Again, that was with lavish food and the finest ho

tel, I doubt whether anything tangible was ever achieved.

I believe in the wisdom of the founding fathers and the concept of the Ethnic Relations Commission, i.e., the late former President Excellency Hugh Desmond Hoyte and then Excellency President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo.

In my opinion, it was a travesty that as the election season neared, I witnessed certain forms of ethnic hate and disrespect from ques tionable elements and real ized that a certain head of the organization was receiv ing directions externally, and politically to lead the ERC into a political direction. To me this is a betrayal of the philosophy and thought for the creation of the ERC. This I believe to the depths of my heart.

With all of that in mind because I was not in concur rence with the line they were taking, concerned about the brutalities of a certain ethnic population just after the elec tions in 2020. I was severe ly being attacked and even placed in the press to be cri tiqued. An arrangement was made through the deputy chairman Hon. Mr. Norman McLean Retd’ Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence who had arranged for the Chief of Staff of the GDF and the Commissioner of Police, to travel with us to meet the

parents and the citizens to bring a sense of calm. But low and behold, which I sus pect to be total politics the Chairman unilaterally post poned the visit with the ex cuse being fear, which it is alleged and believed by sev eral commissioners it was a political directive. I do not believe any leader of people can be so cowardly.

Please be reminded when we would have had an entire military and po lice brigades accompany ing us, with all of the above I sincerely believe that the speaker of Parliament and the Hon. The Minister of Parliamentary Affairs needs to be very cognizant of the points that I have made. We need real positive personali ties and not just those nom inated by constituents who might have ulterior motives for their constituents and not for the development and peace of the nation.

I recommend that the background of the individ uals being nominated be it ethnic, religious, trade union or whatever be thorough ly studied and assessed. We need only individuals who are truly interested in peace, harmony and national co hesion of our Dear Land of Guyana.

Sincerely, Hajji Dr Roshan Khan Snr

The two men were con tracted by the victim to con duct repairs to her home, during which they found the stash of gold, divided same between them, and

Anyone with informa tion about the trio’s where abouts is asked to contact the Police on telephone numbers 225-6940; 2258196; 226-7476, 911 or the nearest Police station. Hajji Dr. Roshan Khan, a former Commissioner of the Ethnic Relations Commission of Guyana, wish to submit some suggestions to be urgently considered by the Honourable Minister of Parliament and the Hon. Speaker of Parliament.

Wanted: Andray Duncan Wanted: Mark Singh Wanted: Damien Brummel

Metric Units of Mass

basic metric unit of mass is the gram (g). There are also mil ligrams (mg); centigrams (cg) and kilograms (kg).

Since you know about metric prefixes, probably make the following list

1cg =

All

Step

Sooner

or later, the life of every living thing comes to an end. But life itself is never-en ding. Take a close look at a fallen tree, and you’ll see.

What you do

Pack a kit that includes a journal or sketch pad, pencil, field guide, magnifying glass, and maybe a camera.

Take a walk in the park/woods with family or friends. (Let an adult know where you are going.)

When you find a log, imagine what might have caused the tree to fall, and when.

Touch the log. Is it moist or dry, soft or hard? Knock on it. Does it solid or hollow?

What do you see on, around, and under the log? Look for plants, li chens, and fungi. Also look for animals or their signs, such as empty seed shells or nut husks, fur or fe athers, tracks or scat (animal poop).

Peel back some bark to see what’s underneath.

Check for holes or tunnels in the wood. If you can roll the log to check underneath, be sure to care fully move it back in place.

Record what you find by sketching it or taking photos.

Visit again in different seasons and in follo wing years to look for changes. (rangerrick.org)

By The BroThers Grimm

CONTINUED FROM FRIDAY BE CONTINUED

Govt announces full-time contracts with gratuity for sweeper/cleaners

In a move to improve their working conditions and re muneration, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Cabinet has given its approval for sweeper/cleaners at all pub lic schools to be immediately em ployed on a full-time contract gratuity basis with a minimum wage level in the public service.

Under the chairmanship of President Irfaan Ali, Cabinet re cently instructed that steps be taken to regularise the manner in which sweeper/cleaners are em ployed and paid at public schools.

Sweeper/cleaners, work ers employed by the Education Ministry to maintain a clean and healthy environment in public schools, have long been pushing to also be considered regular em ployees in the public sector and receive similar benefits includ ing salaries. Currently, the min imum wage for public servants is $70,000.

According to Government on Friday, “This decision [by Cabinet] brings to closure a long outstanding matter which has af fected this category of workers in the public school system.”

In addition, it was noted that steps have also been initiated to address other pending anomalies in the salaries being paid to other categories of employees, includ ing some teachers who are affect

ed by inconsistencies in their pay grades depending on the year in which they were appointed.

“Government has already started working to take stock of this problem with a view to re solving it going forward,” it was announced on Friday.

These initiatives all form part of the PPP/C Government’s ongo ing efforts to improve the condi tions of employment of public sec tor workers.

In December 2020, Central Government employees received a one-off grant of $25,000, while in December 2021, they received an across-the-board seven per cent salary increase. This in crease was provided for teach ers, members of the Disciplined Services, constitutional office holders, as well as Government pensioners.

Additionally, the Government restored the one-month tax-free

bonus paid to members of the Disciplined Services, which had been discontinued by the APNU/ AFC while they were in office.

Meanwhile, this move by the Government to regularise sweep er/cleaners was lauded by the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU), which has been advocat ing for this over the years.

The Union said it is “hearten ing” that after decades of repre sentation, approval has been fi

nally granted for these workers to receive monthly salaries at the prevailing minimum wages of the public service.

“Our Sweeper/Cleaners are valuable human resources, who perform tasks critical to their wellbeing and performance of the nation’s children and the related workforce, ensuring safe, clean, and conducive environments for learning and work. Following the reopening of schools by the Government, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic also re quire Sweepers/Cleaners to un dertake more extensive and risky sanitisation tasks because of its potentially deadly impact,” it stated.

In the same breath, howev er, the GPSU expressed its dis appointment that the sweeper/ cleaners are being retained on a contract gratuity basis and not co-opted into the permanent pen sionable establishment.

“The GPSU had always clear ly expressed this requirement to Government, as it is considered most deserving to their security of tenure… The Government’s de cision to regularise the pay struc tures and recognise the need for superannuation benefits should have added some permanence to the perceived structure to ensure that retirement would come with some benefits,” the union noted.

Sweeper/cleaners previously protesting for better working conditions and benefits

NA man gets 29 months for possession of narcotics

ing five smaller black plas tic bags which each con tained ganja.

He and the canna bis were taken to CANU Headquarters, where the cannabis was weighed and amounted to 3.930 kg, which has an estimated street value of $3.5 million.

The Customs AntiNarcotics Unit is encour aging the general public to be aware of illegal activities occurring in and around their communities, and not be hesitant to report same to law enforcement officials.

Twenty-nine-yearold Andrew Samuel Sealey of Angoy’s Avenue, New Amsterdam, who has been busted with 3.9kg of cannabis by the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU), was on Friday sentenced to two years and nine months’ im prisonment, and fined $3.5 million.

His case was tried by New Amsterdam Magistrate Renita Singh, who exer cised her discretion and im posed on him a sentence of less severity, since he was a first-time offender.

It was reported that CANU officers conduct ed an operation at Patrick Dam, Angoy’s Avenue on September 20, during which they arrested Sealey with a plastic bag contain

Convicted fraudster, employee charged for defrauding woman of $1.1M

Convicted fraudster Clayton Allen and one of his employees, 59-year-old Nobert Bailey, have been slapped with a fraud charge on Friday.

When 62-year-old Allen, of South Better Hope, East Coast Demerara (ECD), and Bailey, of Diamond Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara (EBD), ap peared before Georgetown Magistrate Leron Daly, the Police detailed that between November 2, 2021 and July 18, 2022, with intent to de fraud, the duo obtained $1.1 million from Lindell Toney by falsely pretending that they were in a position to grant her a $45 million loan.

They both pleaded not guilty to the charge when it was read to them, and Police

Prosecutor Christopher Morris objected to bail be ing granted to the men on ground that there is an ac tive investigation of a matter of similar nature in which the men are implicated.

In addition, the prose cutor stated that Allen was convicted of fraud and was sentenced to 36 months’ im prisonment back in 2018.

Further, Allen was jailed in 2017 for defrauding anoth er woman, and Bailey had been charged with forgery and simple larceny in 2015.

However, Allen’s attor ney, Dexter Todd, made a bail application for his client on the ground of health is sues, and informed the court that he has since appealed Allen’s previous conviction and sentencing.

Moreover, Allen has maintained that he did not defraud Toney, but that the $1.1 million is equivalent to the 6 per cent processing fees for the loan application.

After listening to both the prosecution and de fence, Magistrate Daly re manded Allen to prison, and placed Bailey on bail in the sum of $300,000. Bailey was also ordered to lodge his travel documents at the court, and was instruct ed to visit the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters every Monday. The continuation of the matter is set for October 14, 2022.

Patience...

…and winning cricket

In life, you gotta look out for fair-weather friends; you know, the ones who’re never there when you need them.

It’s the same with some cricket fans: some root for “their team” only when the team’s winning, and the moment things go south, they start badmouthing not only the team – which is kinda impersonal - but individual members who might just be having a bad patch. And THAT, dear readers, invariably gets VERY, VERY personal!!

So, when the Warriors’ first five games didn’t exactly set the Tournament on fire – and certainly didn’t do them any good by anchoring the bottom of the rankings - your Eyewitness wasn’t surprised when some fans started washing their mouths on them. Par for the course. But now that they’ve returned home and returned to their winning ways by pulling off two of the most exciting games this season, the naysayers are suddenly jumping up and down like demented fowl-cocks who just spotted some hens!!

But let’s move past that and look at the big picture. As far as the Tournament’s concerned, your Eyewitness has already declared that, as always, the Warriors are gonna be there scrapping with the best of them -- for the simple reason that they got history on their side, with the pedigree for winning against all odds. So, your Eyewitness will keep the faith – as he did when he predicted they’d change things around as soon as they started their home games.

But wasn’t it great to see all our people once again cheering in unison for our Warriors?? And wasn’t it great to see youthful President Ali sitting in the (red) stands among the regular rank and file Guyanese to enthusiastically display his commitment to our team’s success? Not to compare, but can you see his predecessor doing that? But then, this is a President who also showed his groundedness in the interior by playing dominoes Guyana-style, meaning: hitting the ‘tickets” on the table with as much force as you can muster when winning!!

But it was the ordinary Guyanese who’d come out to support their “boys” who took your Eyewitness’s breath away!! This was the “secret” of the Warriors’ winning record on home ground – the Guyanese fans are the “12th man” who’s actually IN the game!! It’s at Providence that you can understand why one of CPL’s more popular tag lines is “Cricket Played Louder”!! Our fans show that they don’t need no two-bit shill to pump them up – they’re in natural sync to perform Mexican Waves or scream “Warriors!!!” in unison!!

Well, the Warriors have three more games to win –starting tonight, when they take on their old grudge-match rivals, the Trini Knight Riders.

Go, Warriors!! Mash dem up!!

…in development

One of the elementary topics they teach in school is that there’s a world of difference between economic “growth” and development. The first is just about more money flowing into the country’s business and government’s coffers, and the latter is all about how that money improves a lot of the people – if at all. Well, in Guyana, we’ve been getting lots of reports about our” phenomenal” growth rates – highest in the world!! But ordinary folks are complaining they’re still right where they were before the oil started flowing.

Now, your Eyewitness is very sympathetic to such complaints, but he’s gotta remind all and sundry that DEVELOPMENT TAKES TIME! If for nothing else than because it ain’t instant coffee!! More and higher-paying jobs?? Well, it’ll take time for that gas-to-shore initiative (for instance) to get going and spark the factories that’ll employ some of those folks at Wales!!

Ironically, part of the problem is it’s the politicians themselves who’re not making the difference between growth and development clear to the people!!

…is virtue?

Notwithstanding the foregoing, your Eyewitness doesn’t think “patience is virtue”. No, we gotta be impatient with impediments in our way – especially if they’re leaders.

Yup!! We gotta hold politicians accountable to deliver on their promises!!

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

The views Guyana

The narcotics found during the CANU raid

Andrew Sealey

Clayton Allen making his way to court in a previous matter

Some1,200 house lots in the West Coast Demerara corridor have been distributed by the Housing and Water Ministry on Friday during another leg of the ‘Dream Realised’ housing drive in Region Three (Essequibo IslandsWest Demerara). Hosted at the Uitvlugt Community Centre Ground, West Coast Demerara (WCD), the event

ministration, so we had a buildup of applications. The demand was very, very high in the housing sector, so we have a lot of work to do,” she said. “When we came into of fice, we found a backlog of approximately 14,000 pend ing applications in this re gion. So far, we have distrib uted approximately 4,000 house lots, thereby reduc ing our deficit here in the re

we also have an aggressive housing construction drive. You will see hundreds of houses being constructed in Region Three,” she has promised.

Accompanying the ad vancements in housing is

the commitment to better water quality for the region, as part of the Government’s five-year plan. By 2025, five new water treatment plants

bitious target, a strategic plan at the Guyana Water Inc, with which we’re pursu ing 100 per cent treated wa ter by 2025.” in Reg 3 housing drive

will be constructed in the re gion. She posited, “We know there are many challenges here with the quality of wa ter, but we have a very am

was attended by hundreds of persons. House lots were de livered in two areas: MetenMeer-Zorg and Stewartville, and allottees were from low to high-income categories.

Minister within the Housing Ministry, Susan Rodrigues, has said this dis tribution would move the Government one step close to reducing the deficit in Region Three, which has the second largest demand for

gion.

“We welcome the new ap plications as well, because we are continuously and al ways in pursuit of our na tional target of 50,000 lots in the first five years in office,” Rodrigues has expressed.

Apart from land distri bution, the Minister point ed to the robust effort to con struct homes. This, she said, is one of the fastest ways to assist persons to own their

house lots. She added that new applications are wel come.

“There was a lot of ne glect in the housing and wa ter sector in the previous ad

homes. “We especially like to support our young people to ensure that they realise their dreams. While we have been focused on reducing our pending applications,

Ministers Croal and Rodrigues facilitating the lot distribution to allottees

Deputy Director of Projects, Intakab Indarjeet, and a team of engineers meeting with contractors

Bank of Baroda staff get 24.6% pay hike

The Clerical and Commercial Workers Union (CCWU) and Bank of Baroda (Guyana) on Friday signed a three-year agree ment that will see workers receiving a wage increase of 24.86 per cent over this period.

The signing was facili tated between the two par ties at the Labour Ministry and spearheaded by Chief Labour Officer (CLO), Dhaneshwar Deonarine. Apart from the raise in sal aries, allowances will ac count for 24.56 per cent.

CCWU President Sherwood Clarke stated, “This agreement is historic when it comes to allowanc es and increases…Other than that, every time the anniversary date comes around, you get an incre ment above 10 per cent without going through an appraisal system.”

Other than these im provements, the Union President said they also in tend to engage the manage ment on grave areas of con cern that were observed.

Managing Director of the Bank, Anand Kumar

added, “I believe this is a very satisfactory offer or enhancement. It is for three years, from January of this year to 2024… Approximately 25 per cent growth is there on their salary and apart from this,

there are other benefits we have passed on to our em ployees.”

Moreover, employees will get a percentage re duction on interest for loans. The Manager add ed that the Bank has its

workers’ interests in good regard and is working to remedy issues when they arise.

Meanwhile, the CLO added, “We in the Ministry are always pleased when agreements of this nature

can be negotiated and ar rived at amicably…That is a type of collective bar gaining we encourage here at the Ministry because we believe in management doing well, we think the workers will do well. At the same time, we want to advocate for the work ers’ rights to be protected and that they get their fair share. We seek to balance that power.”

The Bank of Baroda (Guyana) Inc was one of the earliest overseas branch es. It was established in Georgetown, Guyana, on March 31, 1966. In 1999 the overseas branch in Guyana was converted to a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Bank of Baroda.

In 2012 the bank es tablished a branch in Mon Repos on the East Coast of Demerara. It now has two branches in Guyana.

Officials of the Ministry, Bank of Baroda, and the CCWU pose for a photo op post-signing of the agreement

Chicken smuggler ordered to pay $4.9M fine to GRA or serve 1 year in jail

millions of dollars through revenue losses.

Liquor and cigarettes

In a separate matter that is still being investi gated, officers attached to the GRA’s Law Enforcement & Investigations Division (LEID) on Thursday seized more than 82 cases of smug gled liquor and over 62 bales of cigarettes from a property at Atlantic Gardens, ECD.

The GRA has said these items are valued in excess of $20M.

In its brief statement, the tax body has emphasised that it would continue to maintain a “zero tolerance” approach against smuggling and other illegal activities, thereby allowing for a “level playing field for legitimate businesses and the collec tion of revenue”. As such, it is encouraging persons in

volved in such activities to cease therefrom, and bring themselves into compliance

with the nation’s tax, trade, and border laws.

Achicken

smuggler has been ordered to pay to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) the sum of $4.9M in fines, or alterna tively serve one year’s jail time. This ruling was hand ed down by a Georgetown magistrate, according to a brief statement issued by the GRA.

This defendant, Richie Shaw of McDoom, East Bank Demerara (EBD), has been ordered to pay a fine

enforcement officers by pass ing the commodity off as lo cal chicken. The GRA, how ever, with the assistance of experts from the Veterinary Public Health Unit of the Ministry of Health, man aged to prove the contrary to the court, which led to Shaw’s conviction.

In December 2019, more than 830lbs of chicken were seized by the Police and handed over to the GRA, following a shootout be

that is three times the val ue of the goods which he had attempted to smuggle. He was accused of knowing ly concealing uncustomed chicken, contrary to Section 218 (c) of the Customs Act, Chapter 82:01.

According to the GRA, on the day in question, the de

tween the law enforce ment officers and the smug glers at Belfield, East Coast Demerara. Reports had in dicated that the chicken was likely smuggled from Suriname. Then in February 2020, the GRA discovered a large quantity of smug gled chicken and alcohol in

fendant reportedly removed the quantities of smuggled chicken from their origi nal ‘Rockingham’ packages and concealed them in black bags in order to deceive law

a truck at Dazzle Housing Scheme, ECD.

GRA CommissionerGeneral Godfrey Statia is on record as saying that smug gling is costing the economy

Some of the smuggled items seized by the GRA

VicePresident Bharrat

Jagdeo on Friday rolled out the $150,000 one-off cash grant to the fisherfolk of Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) at the Mahaica Mahaicony AbaryAgriculture Development Authority (MMA-ADA).

Grants were distribut ed to over 805 fisherfolk in the Abary, Bath, Blairmont, Bush Lot, Mahaicony, One Door, Onverwagt, Rosignol, Three Door, Number Two, Number Three, Number Four, Number 11, Number 12, Number 29 and Number 37 Villages.

The distribution rep resents an approximate $120 million investment.

The Vice President told the large gathering of fisher folk that while the announce

ment of the grant was made a while back by President Dr Irfaan Ali, the Government had to take some time to ver ify the list of beneficiaries.

However, he explained that this is part of the Government’s efforts to cushion the effect of the ris ing cost of living due to a number of external factors, including the war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandem ic, which have affected the global supply chain.

In addition, he told those gathered that they need to acquire a second skill while noting that they can contin ue fishing even when doing so.

“We have a big shortage of carpenters – you can’t find a carpenter in Region Four; sometimes between $10,000

and $12,000 they demand per day, plumbers, electri cians and welders. We need a lot of welders – in a year you can be certified. In some places a certified welder can get US$2500 a month. That is the future.”

He pointed out that there is a great scope in the hospi tality industry and high-end agriculture.

“So, you can’t just go and fish because you will be left behind if you only have that skill. You have to make some sacrifices if you want to make some progress. Jagdeo assured that Government is prepared to provide the pro grammes and also pay for training.

“…so you can develop

yourself, I can assure you that,” he told the fishers.

He also made reference to the part-time jobs ini tiative which enables per sons to earn up to $40,000 per month for at least 10 days of work in Government Ministries and other agen cies, the COVID-19 and farmers’ flood relief grants, which were also part of ef forts to supplement house hold income.

“So, we’re trying to put more money into people’s pocket, expand employment. So that whilst we’re gener ating the big plans for the development of the coun try and creating better jobs, people can have a better life. To help the farmers we

have now given them some free fertiliser because their cost of fertiliser went up, so that we can help them also. So, we’ve been working with all the interest groups and we know that the fishermen too, they face difficulties,” Jagdeo noted.

Given the seasonal na ture of fishing, the Vice President urged fisherfolk to explore other options to earn, such as small business ventures, for which there is Government support.

“Our economy is shifting in a different direction, so we are preparing for that shift,” the VP noted as he highlight ed that a portion of the rev enues accrued from the oil and gas sector will be used for major transformational projects in the health, edu cation, infrastructure, agri culture and other sectors.

As it relates to the ha rassment of fishermen who

have to ply their trade in Surinamese waters, the Vice President said the Administration is aware of the challenges they face and will be writing the Caribbean Community (Caricom).

“I want to assure you, some of you may be fishing in those waters, we can’t tell them what to do, but we are not just going to be sitting on our hands,” he assured.

The Vice President also addressed a number of con cerns raised by the resi dents. He was accompa nied by Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha, Local Government and Regional Development Minister Nigel Dharamlall and represen tatives of the Agriculture Ministry.

The Vice President re cently spearheaded the dis tribution in Regions Six, Four, and Three. grant

Sameer Khan receiving his cheque from the staff of the Agriculture Ministry

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo greeting fisherfolk on Friday in Region 5

Rajendra Parmanmani receiving his cheque on Friday

Scenes from Guyana National Stadium

President Dr Irfaan Ali and Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo met with cricket fans at the Guyana National Stadium at Providence, East Bank Demerara on Thursday evening as those fans turned up in their numbers to see the clash between St Lucia Kings and the Guyana Amazon Warriors

Guyana’s active COVID-19 infec

tions have been on a decreasing trend, with only 105 cases being monitored as of Friday.

According to the health

Ministry’s dashboard, sev en new cases were detected. There are 71,311 confirmed cases – 32,682 males and 38,629 females.

No one is under inten sive care treatment. There

are five persons in institu tional isolation, 100 in home isolation, and zero in insti tutional quarantine. The country’s death toll also re mains at 1281. Meanwhile, 69,925 persons have recov

ered while 694,087 persons have been tested to date.

This week, Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony advised that persons should update their protection with booster doses, amid the de tection of newer COVID strains.

“What we will have to do is learn to live with the vi rus and at regular intervals, be boosted with the boost ers that are becoming avail able. That’s one of the rea sons they’re now changing to develop bivalent vaccines that would have parts of the ancestral strain and the cir culating strain,” he had vo calised.

This week, as the third UNGA of the COVID-19 pandemic was convened, it was highlighted that many countries are far from meeting global tar gets on vaccination cover age, testing rates, and ac

cess to treatments and PPE. The co-chairs of the ACT-Accelerator’s Council Tracking and Accelerating Progress Working Group warned that coordinated ac tion, sustained political will, and funding commitments are still needed, to save lives and combat the ongo ing threat of COVID-19.

The working group noted with concern that COVID-19 vaccination rates in low-income countries stand at 19 per cent, com pared to almost 75 per cent in high-income countries. It added that the roll-out of new lifesaving COVID-19 treatments including oral antivirals in low and low er-middle-income countries remains limited or non-ex istent.

According to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) figures, some 609 million confirmed cases

were reported globally along with 6.5 million deaths.

In the Region of the Americas, that is, Latin America and the Caribbean, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has in creased to 177 million while the death toll in the Region has gone up to 2.8 million deaths.

Symptoms of the corona virus include fever, cough, tiredness, diarrhoea, pains, sore throat, and loss of taste or smell. The more seri ous symptoms are difficul ty breathing or shortness of breath, chest pain, and loss of speech or movement.

If anyone is displaying any of the symptoms asso ciated with COVID-19, or needs any additional in formation, they are asked to contact the COVID-19 Hotline 231-1166, 226-7480 or 624-6674 immediately or visit www.health.gov.gy.

Assuria makes donation to Menstrual Hygiene

As part of their 10th anniversary cele brations in Guyana, Assuria has donated to the nationwide Menstrual Hygiene Initiative – an ini tiative of the First Lady.

As such, on Monday it handed over 50 boxes of sanitary pads – amounting to the tune of $175,000 – to First Lady Arya Ali at State House.

During the simple handing over ceremony, Assistant General Manager Patricia Persaud; Head of Department – Fire, Fiona Sooklall; and Head of Department – Finance, Alicia Van Brook Lord made the donation.

Assuria wishes to play

its part by contributing to the First Lady’s initiative to end “period poverty” across Guyana.

“This is the first time we’ve contributed to such an initiative that seeks to end period poverty. We be lieve it is a very good ini tiative. It is an initiative that benefits our young fe males and women in gener al, who have a part to play in the future of our country. Sanitary pads are a neces sity for women, and end up being an expense for women as well. Hopefully, this do nation will assist those in need. It is also part of our corporate social responsibil ity,” Persaud explained.

As the anniversary cele

brations continue, other do nations are expected to be made throughout the year.

“We started off the year by giving back to our valued customers, who have sup ported us since we’ve been operational in Guyana over the past decade,” the com pany stated in a release.

In addition, Assuria will make donations during the Christmas season and will launch its annual Christmas promotion very soon.

“The main culmination of our anniversary year cel ebrations will be the open ing of our new Head Office, which is under construction for the benefit and comfort of our customers and staff.”

Assistant General Manager Patricia Persaud; Head of Department – Fire, Fiona Sooklall; and Head of Department – Finance, Alicia Van Brook Lord made the donation to First Lady Arya Ali

Govt exploring options to reduce jail time for inmates

The Home Affairs Ministry and the Guyana Prison Service (GPS) are presently discuss ing ways in which they could undertake sweeping reforms designed to further reduce jail time for prisoners who have been demonstrating good behaviour.

At the 39th Anniversary celebration of the Guyana Prison Service - on Friday, September 23 - Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn ex plained that by focusing on rehabilitation strategies, these reforms touch every aspect of the prison system, from an inmate’s initial in take to his or her return to the community.

The current reforms at the prisons are targeted to address the core behavioural issues that result in crimi nality, and the goal is to re duce the likelihood that in mates re-offend either while being incarcerated or after their release.

“We talk about correction services and we talk about now. How do we reintegrate prisoners into society? How do we provide more services which would take us along that path? How do we rein troduce prisoners into the communities, where those who may have been victims of their actions would not feel aggrieved by any re introduction into the com munities?” the Minister ex plained. “How do we make the communities themselves safe and comfortable with the reintroductions? How do we reduce the length of time they might have to wait?” he

further explained.

He said that while the waiting time of the prisoners is not the fault of the pris on, the authorities are still thinking about how they can better the system.

Recently, a ‘Fresh Start’ programme was also launched for inmates who have served their time and would be going back into society.

“We talked about the nu tritional standards, food, the fruits, and all those things which the authorities have which will provide the ba sis for them being respect ed, and provide the basis for them to be reintroduced.

This ‘Fresh Start’ pro gramme is what we started giving out as a pilot, and I want to see many more pris oners benefiting from it as we go along…where prison ers leaving the institutions would have the ability, af

ter training in the prisons… to give them the tools of the trade…”, he said.

Minister Benn noted that both the prison system and society must view in mates as people who could have the ability to better themselves and become pro ductive citizens. He said the GPS is being urged to place more effort into rehabili tation of inmates, and not just keep them locked away. He said that by focusing on rehabilitation strategies, these reforms touch every aspect of the prison system: from an inmate’s initial in take to his or her return to the community.

The Minister has said he strongly believes that all in mates deserve opportunity to be rehabilitated and re integrated into society, and they should be offered the opportunity.

Guyana-Suriname ferry service recommences today

The MV Canawaima which serves the Guyana-Suriname route will recommence op eration today after being docked for repairs.

The authorities stated that there will be daily trav el between the two coun tries. “The vessel is sched uled to depart - Suriname at 10:00h and Moleson Creek Terminal Guyana at 10:30h at their respective local times.”

In addition, it was re lated that although there is one scheduled crossing dai ly, the service will contin ue to operate as traffic war rants, and as such, multiple trips may be facilitated if deemed necessary.

Nevertheless, the man agement apologised for any inconvenience caused by the brief break in service and looks forward to continuous support from the public.

Over the past 5 years,

the ferry has been drydocked from time to time on numerous occasions, and the resulting delays have been exacerbated by the ef fects of the COVID-19 pan demic.

The MV Canawaima was previously dry-docked for more than a year, and re turned to operation only in October of 2021. In March, it was out of operation for a week, in order to facilitate emergency repairs.

Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, re vised numbers from recent years, showing that only 496 lots were distribut ed in the region during the last administration’s fiveyear stint in office. During the International Building Expo in July, close to 3,000 persons received their lots from the Ministry. Now that there has been a turnaround in these numbers, other ma jor infrastructural works are also in the pipeline. These include the new Demerara Harbour Bridge, the fourlane roadway from Crane to Schoonord, and the gas-toshore project.

“You can see develop ment is happening at a rap id pace. We also will see, by the end of this year, the ten ders going out for new de velopment within MetenMeer-Zorg, Anna Catherina, Stewartville, Leonora, and

this will form part of our 2023 infrastructure programme,” he said. “Just for new infra structure, next year will be at least $4 billion injected in Region Three.”

Eight contractors who will be constructing the $11.8 billion Schoonord-toCrane 4-lane Highway vis ited the area on Friday, and were taken to their individ ual lots to determine access points, traffic management, and other logistics, as mobil isation for works is expected to start on Monday.

These contractors were also given the opportunity to get acquainted with the surveyor and engineers of the CHPA who will be su pervising each lot through out the project’s timeline. Additionally, an engage ment on environmental health and safety measures is slated for tomorrow.

The new four-lane high

way will significantly reduce commute time along the route and create avenues for housing and commercial de velopments. It features 4.1 kilometres of dual carriage way reinforced concrete roads with emergency lanes. Scope of works also includes the rehabilitation of 2.4 ki lometres of roadway, con struction of 2 roundabouts, 11 reinforced concrete box culverts, 36 pre-stressed bridges, and road signage and markings.

The contracts for the project were signed on September 7, 2022 by VR Construction Inc, Avinash Contracting & Scrap Metal Inc, L-Heureuse Construction and Services Inc, GuyAmerica Construction Inc, AJM Enterprise, Vals Construction, Puran Bros Disposal Inc, and JS Guyana Inc. house lots delivered...

MV Canawaima

Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn

Burma gets $64M in road upgrades

thoroughfare measured 964m in length and 12 feet in width in asphaltic con crete.

In 2019, the project was initially tendered but ter minated in 2022, due to the contractor’s poor perfor mance and efforts in com pleting the road.

The completed road works are part of the Ministry’s miscellaneous roads project.

Additionally, works on nine roads are ongoing in Region Five to be completed before year-end under the miscellaneous roads project. All works are being carried out in asphaltic concrete.

Over 16 households in Burma, Region Five, and surrounding communities are now ben efitting from $64 million in road upgrades as works con clude on the Champagne

mud road.

Minister within the Public Works Ministry, Deodat Indar engaged a new contractor last month to execute the road works. The Minister emphasised

the need for the works to be completed in an efficient and timely manner to the Ministry’s specifications.

The new contractor, Timehri Contracting, was tasked to rehabilitate the

Man wanted for money laundering

The Guyana Police Force (GPF) on Friday issued a wanted bul letin for Shamar Anphaney Barrow of Lot 55 Freeman Street, Georgetown, for ques tioning in connection with money laundering and other serious criminal offences.

Anyone with informa tion on the whereabouts of Barrow can contact the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) on telephone numbers – 225-3079, 2253084, or the nearest Police station.

The wanted bulletin comes in the wake of a July 25 statement by Attorney

General Anil Nandlall that the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) wants to intensify co operation with Guyana to secure more convictions in a range of crimes including money-laundering and traf ficking of narcotics.

According to Nandlall, the FBI team also listed countering the financing of terrorism, trafficking of nar cotics and firearms, tracing the proceeds of organised crime and forfeiture of as sets, trafficking in persons, and cyber-related criminal activities, as other areas of cooperation with Guyana.

These road projects in clude Lot 62: Rehabilitation/ Construction of Second Cross Street, Number 41 (NoPR). This road is being execut ed by H&S Construction & Maintenance to the tune of $20,253,030. The works be gan in May 2022 and are 75 per cent completed.

Meanwhile, Lot 64: Rehabilitation/Construction of First Cross Street, Kingelly (SoPR), is being ex ecuted by Romell Jagroop General Construction Services to the tune of $43,317,015 and is 65 per cent completed, while Lot 65: Rehabilitation/Construction of Parris Street, St John, is being rehabilitated by same contractor to the tune of $43,317,015 and is 65 per cent completed.

Lot 62: Rehabilitation/ Construction of Second Cross Street, Number 41 (NoPR), by H&S Construction & Maintenance to the tune of $20,253,030 and is 75 per cent completed while Lot 64: Rehabilitation/ Construction of First Cross Street, Kingelly (SoPR), by

Romell Jagroop General Construction Services to the tune of $43,317,015 is cur rently 65 per cent completed.

On the other hand, Lot 137: Construction/ Rehabilitation of De Hoop Line Top Street, De Hoop Mahaica (SoPR,) by K B & B Contractors to the tune of $51,560,260 is current ly 25 per cent completed while Lot 138: Construction/ Rehabilitation of Broom Hall Middle Walk Street, NoPR and SoPR, Broom Hall, Mahaicony, by Builders Supplies to the tune of $57,409,900 is currently 45 per cent completed.

Also, Lot 140: Construction/Rehabilitation of Road Network, Perseverance NoPR,

Perseverance, by M&B Construction to the tune of 88,123,900 is 15 per cent completed.

Residents are go ing to benefit from Lot 141: Construction/ Rehabilitation of Road Network, Shieldstown, by ACE Construction Services and Investment INC to the tune of $100,552,400 and is eight per cent completed while Lot 146: Construction/ Rehabilitation of Bachelor Street, Rosignol, by T&R Construction Services to the tune of $15,263,060 is 10 per cent completed.

These works are part of the Government’s interven tion to enhance the coun try’s infrastructure for the future.

Wanted: Shamar Barrow

Completed works on the Champagne mud road in Burma, Region Five

The condition of the road before works were completed

PM defends Govt’s unblemished track record of creating opportunities for all Guyanese

dermined by cowards?

As a Government, we are immovable in our position against APNU+AFC and its actors within GECOM embarking on open bandit ry against the will of the Guyanese people as they at tempted to rig the 2020 elec tions.

We will continue to sup port all legal means to pun ish those responsible for bringing shame and dis grace to our democratic pro cesses.

Mr Hinds is not a lone wolf.

tion of long-standing land issues among others.

Contractors from within Afro-Guyanese communities are benefiting directly from the infrastructural develop ment taking place as in the case of Buxton where 25 con tracts were recently award ed to repair bridges in the community.

households across the coun try.

We understand that homeownership is near and dear to all Guyanese. This desire is not unique to any particular group.

Inrecent weeks, Guyana has seen a vicious on slaught of claims from certain sections of society that have sought to ma lign the PPP/C Government for discriminatory policies against Afro-Guyanese.

Let me be clear. These accusations are base less and unfounded as our Government has demon strated through our policy framework that our trans formational development

ter penned by Nigel Hinds (KN: September 19, 2022) who introduced an absurd concept by alluding to sev eral unsubstantiated claims about the treatment of AfroGuyanese under the PPP/C Government.

He starts by explaining that racism is getting worse in Guyana, but offered no evidence to support this ri diculous claim.

Instead, he fumbles through his missive only to

The opposition and their confederates are busy cre ating mischief and drum ming up racial strife with in our communities. While they are doing so, the PPP/C Government is construc tively engaged with AfroGuyanese leaders, groups, and communities who were neglected and used under the APNU+AFC adminis tration.

These engagements have taken place in south ern Georgetown, Mocha/ Arcadia, Linden, Buxton, Golden Grove, and Melanie Damishana to name a few.

As an Afro-Guyanese my self from the town of Linden, I am proud to be part of the PPP/C Administration where all Guyanese, inclu sive of Afro-Guyanese, have equal access to opportuni ties and where national pol

That is why the Government is providing the steel for construction as well as a sling (fifty-six (56) 60lb burlap bag) of cement for beneficiaries constructing houses costing $6M and less, while persons constructing houses costing above $6M and up to $25M will receive two slings.

The interest rate for

Over 50,000 residents of Georgetown, Region Four and Bartica, Region Seven, are benefiting from im proved service delivery and quality as a direct result of interventions targeting the replacement of old transmis sion mains.

In Georgetown, work was focused on Vlissengen Road, Newtown Kitty, Mandela Avenue, and Cemetery Road.

Our social programmes are providing a safety net for all vulnerable Guyanese. We have provided a cash grant of $100,000 for each child

agenda will be achieved based upon the inclusivity of all Guyanese.

I understand race is an emotive subject for many Guyanese and that is why forces are seeking to exploit our fears, divide us as a na tion and rob us of the oppor tunities that are flowing as the world’s fastest-growing economy.

We in the Government will not be distracted by false narratives peddled by certain unsavoury charac ters which are designed to generate racial hostility and undermine our transforma tional agenda which is cre ating historic opportunities for all Guyanese.

We will continue to con front the lies, machina tions, and diversionary tac tics of those who want to see Guyana fail as a modern democratic state.

Most recently, my at tention was drawn to a let

arrive at a conclusion using his cocktail of lies as justifi cation for the APNU + AFC’s boldfaced attempt to rig the 2020 Regional and General Elections.

Desperation has set in for those peddling their rac ist agenda, because how else does a rational person ex plain a chartered accoun tant with possible political aspirations callously justify ing our democracy being un

In many cases, resi dents have confirmed that the PPP/C’s high-level min isterial visits to their com munities are the first such to be undertaken by any Government.

Arising from the visits are working solutions with residents to address commu nity needs such as improved roads, bridges, potable wa ter supply, access to agricul tural lands, and the resolu

icies and programmes are never influenced by race.

Our policies are non-dis criminatory.

I am honoured that I am part of a Government that has reinstated and in creased the “Because We Care” cash grant and uni form grant, benefiting thou sands of children in commu nities all across Guyana.

This programme was stopped by the APNU+AFC.

Benefits are across the board as our Government has removed VAT on water and electricity, basic food items and household neces sities, educational and med ical supplies, certain con struction materials, and most recently on building cement, sheetrock and con crete board.

The application of the freight cost adjustment for the calculation of import taxes, rolling back freight cost to pre-pandemic levels from 1 August 2021 until 31 December 2022, is estimated to save $10 billion for busi nesses and consumers.

Guyanese are taking ad vantage of the national parttime worker programme which was launched in May 2022 in Regions Two, Three, Five, Six, and 10, with some 9000 persons benefiting thus far.

Our Government has progressively lowered the Excise Tax on fuel from 50 per cent in February 2021 to 0 per cent in March 2022. This reduction has eased the burden of high fuel prices on

houses costing up to $9M is set to be reduced to 3.8 per cent while there will be no down payment requirement for houses and buildings costing $6M or less.

Under our Administration, we have seen over 16,000 house lots allocated under the flagship “Dream Realised” Housing Drive in Regions Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Nine, and 10.

We have reversed land lease fees across all sectors and water charges back to 2014 rates and reversal of land taxes and drainage and irrigation charges back to 2014.

In just two years in of fice, over 5000 Certificates of Titles and Transports were distributed and more than 1200 affordable hous ing units were constructed across Regions Three, Four, Six, and 10, with some 300 completed and handed over to low and moderate-income families, and young profes sionals.

More than $15.4B has been expended to support the expansion of water dis tribution systems, drilling of new wells, and providing improved level and quali ty of service, including firsttime access to water to more than 35,000 people in over 60 communities.

Over 10,000 new service connections were provided to support the rapid expan sion of the Government’s massive housing drive and homeownership programme.

with a disability regardless of ethnicity.

Some 1500 persons ben efited from the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security’s Eye Care drive which included free eye tests.

We have provided $1M in grants to 30 young persons to support creative ventures in literary arts, film, fashion and music.

Government has recent ly announced plans to invest $9M to cover studio time costs for the next 12 months at three local studios for mu sicians to record their music.

New hospitals and im proved healthcare deliv ery are once again national priorities set to benefit all Guyanese accessing public health facilities.

These are just a few of the opportunities and programmes provided by Government in the past two years that prove that no Guyanese is being denied access to opportunities from our Government.

Mr Hinds and others peddling race are in quick sand and are therefore run ning out of time as more Guyanese come to grips with the deceptive tactics of a few lonely voices.

These voices go cold when confronted with the facts as I have laid out above.

Let us continue to pursue a path that will bring us all together as One Guyana, as through our collective efforts we will be able to achieve our fullest potential as a nation.

Mandela Avenue-to-Eccles 4-lane highway

Brigadier (ret'd) Mark Phillips, Prime Minister of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana

Participants in a Board of Industrial Training, Information and Communication workshop in Mahdia, which was led by the Office of the First Lady

Regional

Hurricane Fiona pounds Bermuda as Canada braces for major jolt

Hurricane Fiona pounded the Atlantic island of Bermuda with heavy rain and winds on Friday as it tracked northward toward eastern Canada, where it threatens to become one of the most severe storms in Canadian history.

Fiona had already bat tered a series of Caribbean islands earlier in the week, killing at least eight and knocking out power for vir tually all of Puerto Rico's 3.3 million people during a swel tering heat wave. Nearly a million customers remained without power five days lat er.

The storm approached Bermuda as a Category 4 hurricane but diminished a notch to Category 3 as it passed west of the British territory early on Friday. Still, gusts reached as high as 103 miles per hour (166 kph), the Bermuda Weather Service said in a bulletin.

The Bermuda Electric Light Co, the island's sole power provider, said about 29,000 customers, more than 80 per cent of its cus

tomer base, had no electrici ty on Friday morning.

But Michelle Pitcher, the Deputy Director of the Bermuda Weather Service, said the territory appeared to be largely unscathed.

Many Bermuda homes are built with small shut tered windows, slate roofs and limestone blocks to with stand frequent hurricanes.

By Friday afternoon, Hurricane Fiona was about

475 miles (770 km) south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Canada's eastern coast, moving north at 35 mph (56 kph) with maximum sus tained winds of 130 mph (215 kph), the US National Hurricane Center said.

The storm was upgraded back to a Category 4 hurri cane on Friday, meaning it was capable of causing cat astrophic damage. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Teenage boy sentenced to life for rape, buggery and murder of 9-y-o girl

The teenage boy convicted of rap ing, buggering, and strangling to death a nineyear-old girl in 2018 has been sentenced to life in prison with eligibility for parole after 23 years and nine months.

Supreme Court Judge Justice Courtney Daye handed down the sentence on Friday afternoon, de scribing as "horrific " the offences by the youngster

whom he said allowed him self to be "overcome by this abnormal sexual passion towards a young child".

Daye said he went high er than the 20 years sug gested by the Director of Public Prosecutions be cause of the "gravity " of the offences, the age of the vic tim and the fact that the de fendant showed no remorse.

Allegations are that the boy sexually assaulted and killed the young girl, whom

he knew, after she accepted his invitation to pick apples as they walked home from school on June 5, 2018.

Her body was found near a guava tree, which is about 15-20 feet from the apple tree. A post-mortem re port presented in court last week showed that the child died of asphyxia caused by manual strangulation. She also had lacerations of the vagina and anus. (Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

Argentina Vice President slams corruption case as “staged fable”

Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has de livered a fiery fi nal word in her defence, calling corruption allega tions against her a “staged fable designed to drag me by the hair to this trial”.

In closing arguments before a federal court on Friday, Argentina’s pow erful Vice President also linked the judicial proceed ings to an assassination at tempt on her earlier this month, and suggested that some of the people behind the September 1 attack have yet to be apprehended.

“Until the first of September, I believed that this was all about stigma tising me, banning me,

denigrating me, defaming me. But as of the first of September, I realised that there may be something else behind all this,” she said.

“It’s like the judicial sphere is giving social li cence so that anyone can think or do anything.”

Friday’s hearing came just weeks after a man pointed a revolver at Fernandez de Kirchner’s head amid a crowd of sup porters who had rallied out side her Buenos Aires home in a show of support amid the corruption case. The at tacker pulled the trigger, but the gun did not fire.

The assassination at tempt drew widespread con

demnation but it has had a negligible effect on the pub lic’s opinion of Fernandez de Kirchner, with polls this month pegging her positive image rating at between 24 and 34 per cent.

Friday marked the last opportunity for Fernandez de Kirchner to defend her self before a panel of three judges in Buenos Aires.

She is charged with leading “an illicit organ isation” and “aggravat ed fraudulent administra tion” in a case that covers a period between 2003 and 2015 during which she and her late husband, Nestor Kirchner, occupied the pres idency of Argentina.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Mexico City mayor eyes history in bid to be 1st female President

ing back to her stint as the capital's Environment Minister when he was Mayor from 2000 to 2005.

"The President's proj ects must be consolidated, I share the President's vi sion of a Mexico with jus tice, and a Mexico where the welfare state must play a fundamental part in de velopment."

The country will elect its next President in June 2024, and Sheinbaum and other potential prospects including Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard have begun jostling for the MORENA candidacy, which is expect ed to be settled by late 2023.

St Lucia Friday called on manufacturers, ex porters and import ers of conventional weapons to live up to their commit ments as it urged the in ternational community to assist the Caribbean in fighting a surge in criminal activity and gun violence.

In his maiden address to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Prime Minister Phillip J Pierre told the international forum that while St Lucia and the rest of the Caribbean are not man ufacturers of conventional weapons, “our countries have been plagued by a prolifera tion of illegal small arms and light weapons, resulting in a surge in criminal activity and gun violence”.

He said St Lucia has al ways been a strong advocate of the international frame works, such as the United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All its Aspects (UN-POA) and the Arms Trade Treaty; which are two examples of multi lateral instruments aimed at mobilising international cooperation to curb the illicit trade in conventional arms and ammunition.

In his wide-ranging ad dress, Pierre said that the global community has reached a watershed mo ment in its history because, “we, the members of the United Nations have not ad

hered to the rules and princi ples of the organisation that we created 76 years ago, as a multilateral answer to man kind’s propensity to use arms against his fellow man, in stead of joining with him to turn them into tools for peace and development”.

Prime Minister Pierre said St Lucia and the rest of the Caribbean, despite their small sizes, a deliberate de sire to be a source of peace and friendship to all, despite their democratic traditions, and despite the earnest ef forts to make the develop ment of its people a primary objective, “we find ourselves in a world stacked against us and frustrating our develop ment at every turn. (Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, a trained physicist vying to become the country's first female president, is hoping her environmental creden tials and success in curb ing crime will help set her apart in the race for the top job in 2024.

Sheinbaum, a loyal ally of leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has held a slight lead over ri vals in recent opinion polls as she gears up to compete for the presidential candi dacy of the ruling National

Regeneration Movement (MORENA).

A strong supporter of so cial welfare programmes promoted by the President that have helped forge his power base and tackle in equality across the country, Sheinbaum, 60, is viewed by many inside the party as his obvious ideological suc cessor.

"I've been there (with Lopez Obrador) in the good times and the bad," she said in an interview with Reuters in the palatial city hall, pointing to a shared past with the president go

Lopez Obrador, who is barred by law from stand ing for a second term, has dominated national politics since taking office in 2018, and MORENA remains far more popular than the main opposition parties.

Were she to succeed him, Sheinbaum, whose mea sured scientific reserve con trasts with Lopez Obrador's combative approach to pol itics, said she was acutely aware of how symbolic the achievement would be for girls and women in Mexico and beyond. (Excerpt from

Reuters)

At least 7 dead after landslides in El Salvador

At least seven people have died and one was injured in El Salvador after rains triggered land slides, authorities said on Thursday.

Two adults and three chil dren were killed when a land slide buried their house in the municipality of Huizucar, ac cording to the country's civil

protection agency.

Authorities also reported two people died and a child was injured after a landslide covered a house in the town of Panchimalco, 18 kilome tres (11 miles) south of San Salvador.

"We had an incident in Huizucar, where unfortu nately five lives have been

lost," Civil Protection Director Luis Amaya said in an inter view with local radio.

The Civil Protection unit maintains an orange alert in 29 coastal municipalities of the country and a yellow alert throughout the territo ry as rains continue to affect the country. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Increasing wind pushes waves towards the south shore before the arrival of Hurricane Fiona in Bermuda, September 22, 2022

Mexico City’s Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum speaking during an interview with Reuters in Mexico City, Mexico, September 22, 2022

St Lucia calls on gun manufacturers to live up to their int’l commitments

OIL

Oilprices plunged about 5 per cent to an eight-month low on Friday as the US dollar hit its strongest level in more than two decades and on fears rising interest rates will tip major economies into recession, cutting demand for oil.

Brent futures fell US$4.31, or 4.8 per cent, to settle at US$86.15 a barrel, down about 6 per cent for the week. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell US$4.75, or 5.7 per cent, to settle at US$78.74, down about 7 per cent for the week.

It was the fourth straight week of declines for both benchmarks, the first time this has happened since December. Both were in technically oversold territory, with WTI on track for its lowest settlement since Jan 10 and Brent for its lowest since Jan 14.

US gasoline and diesel futures were also down more than 5 per cent.

The US Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a hefty 75 basis points on Wednesday. Central banks around the world followed suit with their own hikes, raising the risk of economic slowdowns.

"Oil tanks as global growth concerns hit panic mode given a chorus of central bank commitments to fight inflation. It seems central banks are poised to remain aggressive with rate hikes and that will weaken both economic activity and the short-term crude demand outlook," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at data and analytics firm OANDA.

The US dollar was on track for its highest close against a basket of other currencies since May 2002. A strong dollar reduces demand for oil by making the fuel more expensive for buyers using other currencies.

"We had the dollar exploding higher and pushing down dollar-denominated commodities like oil and growing fears over the looming global recession that is coming as the central banks raise interest rates," said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC in New York.

The euro zone's downturn in business activity deepened in September, a survey showed, suggesting a recession looms as consumers rein in spending and as governments urge energy conservation following Russia's moves to cut off European supply. Wall Street's main indexes slid more than 2 per cent on Friday as investors feared the US Federal Reserve's hawkish policy actions to quell inflation could trigger a recession and dent corporate earnings. The dollar index reached its highest in over two decades, pressuring oil prices.

Russia launched referendums aimed at annexing four occupied regions of Ukraine, raising stakes of the war in what Kyiv called a sham.

On the supply side, efforts to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal have stalled as Tehran insists on closure of the UN nuclear watchdog's investigations, a senior US State Department official said, easing expectations of a resurgence of Iranian crude oil exports. (Excerpt from Reuters)

“I am leaving Russia” young men flee draft, Finland to restrict entry

conference in New York.

Dozens of people have died after a boat car rying migrants and refugees from Lebanon cap sized off Syria’s coast, ac cording to the Syrian and Lebanese Governments.

On Friday, the Lebanese Transport Minister said that 71 people had died in Thursday’s disaster.

The Syrian Government had previously said that 20 survivors were being treated in Basel hospital in Tartous.

The Syrian Transport Ministry cited survivors as saying the boat left from Lebanon’s northern Minyeh region on Tuesday with be

tween 120 and 150 people onboard.

Samer Qubrusli, the Syrian Director General of Ports, said search operations were ongoing on Friday. He had previously said that rough seas and strong winds had made the rescue opera tion difficult.

The incident is one of the deadliest since a surg ing number of Lebanese, Syrians, and Palestinians have tried to flee crisis-hit Lebanon by sea to Europe.

Some of those who died on the boat were from Akkar, an impoverished region in the far north of Lebanon.

When

27-year-old Nikita watched Russian President Vladimir Putin announce a military mobilisation while visiting his uncle in St Petersburg, he decided to leave his homeland.

Two days later, he was crossing the border into Finland.

Oil plunges to 8-month low on strong dollar, recession fears Around the World

"It is just insane. All my friends (are) in danger," said the sound engineer, min utes after stepping into the Nordic country.

He had first fled Russia after the Feb 24 invasion of Ukraine for Turkey and had go back for a brief visit to get some papers. He now plans to return to Turkey.

Nikita was one of a doz en young men Reuters spoke to at the Vaalimaa

border crossing in south eastern Finland, their num ber growing in the days since Putin announced the call-up of 300,000 military reservists.

They were travelling on tourist visas, but said they were either not coming back or were considering not to.

Traffic into Finland over its border with Russia was heavy on Friday. But the Finnish Government, wary of becoming a major tran sit nation, plans to stop all Russians from entering on tourist visas within the com ing days, Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told a news

"All tourist travel will be stopped," Haavisto said.

Exceptions may still apply on humanitari an grounds, but avoiding the military conscription was unlikely to constitute grounds for asylum, he said.

The Finnish border guard said the number of Russians who had entered the previous day was more than double the amount who arrived the week before.

Finnish land border cross ings have remained among the few entry points into Europe for Russians after a string of countries shut both physical frontiers and their air space to Russian planes in response to Russia's in vasion of Ukraine. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Iran grapples with most serious challenge in years

Theeruption of nation wide protests in Iran following the death in Police custody of a 22-yearold Kurdish woman detained for allegedly failing to adhere to hijab (headscarf) rules is the most serious challenge Iran's leadership has faced in years.

While authorities say Mahsa Amini died from un derlying health reasons, her family and countless other Iranians believe she died as a result of having been beaten.

Protesters say that if they don't act now, they could fall victim to the same fate. At

least 30 people have been killed in the protests.

It has come at a time when Iranians are feeling particu larly fed up. Systematic cor ruption among Iran's polit ical elite, growing poverty with inflation at more than 50 per cent, deadlock in nu clear talks and lack of social and political freedom have left Iran's young and vibrant population feeling hopeless.

According to Iran's Social Security Organisation Research Institute at least 25 million Iranians were liv ing below the poverty line by June 2021. That number is

even higher now.

These are not the first protests in the history of the Islamic republic of Iran. But many observers believe there is something different about them.

More than anything, this is a woman's protest.

Civil liberties groups con tinually spotlight the sup pression of women in Iran, an entire part of society who have been the biggest losers of the Islamic revolution of 1979.

Iranian women were forced to wear hijab (head scarf) soon after the revolu

tion and have lost many of their rights, including right to travel, right to work and right to child custody over the age of seven. There was little objection to these changes from men at the time.

"The fact that many men are joining the protests shows that the society has shifted to more progressive demands," says Mehrdad Darvishpour, an Iranian sociologist based in Sweden.

The main slogan of protesters is "Woman, Life, Freedom", a call for equality and a stance against religious fundamental ism. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Cancer-killing virus shows promise in patients

Anewtype of cancer therapy that uses a common virus to in fect and destroy harmful cells is showing big promise in early human trials, say UK scientists.

One patient's cancer van ished, while others saw their tumours shrink.

The drug is a weakened form of the cold sore vi rus - herpes simplex - that has been modified to kill tu mours.

Larger and longer stud ies will be needed, but ex perts say the injection might ultimately offer a lifeline to more people with advanced cancers.

Krzysztof Wojkowski, a 39-year-old builder from west London, is one of the patients who took part in the ongoing phase one safe ty trial, run by the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust.

He was diagnosed in 2017 with cancer of the sali vary glands, near the mouth. Despite surgery and other treatments at the time, his cancer continued to grow.

The injections, given di rectly into the tumour, at tacks cancer in two ways - by invading the cancerous cells and making them burst, and by activating the immune system.

About 40 patients have tried the treatment as part

of the trial. Some were giv en the virus injection, called RP2, on its own. Others also received another cancer drug - called nivolumab - as well.

Lead researcher Prof Kevin Harrington told the BBC the treatment respons es seen were "truly impres sive" across a range of ad vanced cancers, including cancer of the gullet (oesoph agus) and a rare type of eye cancer. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr visited the home of a fam ily whose relatives were on board, as people gathered to pay their respects.

The family had buried two young girls on Friday morning, and were still wait ing for news about the fate of the girls’ two brothers, as well as their mother. The fa ther is in hospital across the border in Syria.

Thousands of Lebanese, Syrians and Palestinians have left Lebanon on boats over the past months seeking better opportunities in Europe. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

If rich nations think the pandemic is over, they should help lower-in come countries reach that point too, a senior World Health Organisation official told Reuters.

In an interview, WHO senior adviser Bruce Aylward warned that richer nations must not step back from tackling COVID-19 as a global problem now, ahead of future potential waves of infection.

"When I hear them say, 'Well, we're so comfortable here,' it's like, 'Great, now you can really help us get the rest of the world done'," said Aylward.

Aylward said that the group he co-ordinates, which focuses on equitable access to COVID-19 vac cines, treatments and tests worldwide, is not yet ready to move out of the emergen cy phase of tackling the pan demic and that countries need to be ready and have treatments in place for any further waves of infection.

"If you go to sleep right now and this wave hits us in three months... God - blood on your hands," he said.

He also stressed that Biden had a point domesti cally as the United States has good access to all COVID tools. It has also

not cut its global commit ment to fighting COVID, he added.

Aylward co-ordinates the ACT-Accelerator, a part nership between WHO and other global health bodies to help poorer countries ac cess COVID-19 tools. The effort, which includes the vaccine-focused COVAX, has reached billions of peo ple worldwide but has faced criticism for not acting quickly enough. There had been some speculation that the effort may wind up this autumn, but Aylward said it was simply changing its fo cus as the pandemic chang es.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Cars queue to enter Finland from Russia at Finland's most southern crossing point Vaalimaa, around three-hour drive from Saint Petersburg, in Vaalimaa, Finland, September 23, 2022

More than 70 dead after boat carrying migrants sinks off Syria

“Blood on your hands” if world steps back on tackling COVID now, WHO official says

SUDOKU

(June

SOLUTION FOR LAST PUBLISHED PUZZLE

(Oct.

(Feb.

Keep life simple. If you take on too much, you'll end up accomplishing little. Put your heart and soul into what you do best, and don't let anyone talk you into something that goes against your plans.

A change will lift your spirits and get you thinking about what you want out of life. Address issues that bother you and discuss your intentions with a loved one. Romance is featured.

Think before you engage in some thing based on hearsay. Go back to the drawing board, make some calls, be re sourceful and find out the truth, then you'll make more intelligent decisions.

Open your door to those who share your concerns. Discuss the possibilities and map out a plan that offers positive change. A shift at home will give you hope for a brighter future.

Take on a cause you believe in, and you'll meet someone who challenges you to expand your knowledge, interests and effectiveness when helping others. Your insight will boost your reputation.

Finish what you start, and you'll avoid complaints. Share your thoughts and plans with someone close to you, and you'll gain perspective regarding what's possible. Pay attention to detail.

Plan something special with some one who puts you at ease and encourag es you to be and do your best. Don't set tle for less when you can have so much more. Pursue something that gives you hope.

It's up to you to bring about change if you aren't happy. Revisit your dreams and consider how to set sail for your destination of choice. Use your built-in skills, knowledge and connections.

Rethink your plans. Don't let any one interfere or push you in a direction that isn't compatible with your dreams. Follow your instincts when it comes to how you intend to reach your goal.

Pay attention to money matters. Invest in your home and livelihood, and look for unique ways to use your skills. It's up to you to ensure you aren't head ing in a dead-end direction.

Change only what's necessary. Err on the side of caution, and refuse to let anyone talk you into something you don't want to do or cannot afford. Set your sights on home improvement.

You'll have plenty of opportunities to express your thoughts. Discuss your plans with a loved one. Working along side someone you know you can count on will lead to success. Love is on the rise. HOROSCOPES

DILBERT

Rohit, Axar help India level series in eight-over shootout

Rohit Sharma has smashed four fours and as many six es in his unbeaten 20ball 46 to help India over haul Australia's 90 for 5 in an eight-over contest in Nagpur.

The win means the se ries is now level 1-1, with the final T20I to be played in Hyderabad on Sunday. A wet patch in the outfield, thanks to Thursday's rain, delayed the start by twoand-a-half hours, and even when the umpires decided to go ahead, they did so by saying, "Although the con ditions are not perfect, they are safe to play".

Bolstered by the re turn of Jasprit Bumrah, India put Australia in, af ter winning the toss. With each bowler allowed up to two overs, India didn't need a sixth bowling option, so they decided to strength en their batting, bring ing in Rishabh Pant for Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Aaron Finch's 15-ball 31 and Matthew Wade's un beaten 20-ball 43 took the visitors to a competitive to

tal, despite Axar Patel con ceding only 13 from his two overs. India, however, had the advantage of knowing the target. While Adam Zampa threatened to derail their chase with three quick wickets, Rohit stayed calm to see his side through.

Finch blazes away, Wade ensures strong finish Hardik Pandya, bowl ing the first over of the in nings, found some move

ment in the air. But as one would expect in a shortened game, Finch paid little at tention to the conditions, and scooped the second ball over the keeper's head for four.

In the second over, Cameron Green was runout going for a quick single, before Axar pinged Glenn Maxwell's middle stump with an arm ball. The leftarm spinner did the same to Tim David in his next over

FA charges Ronaldo over phone incident involving Everton fan

to keep Australia in check.

Finch managed to hit Yuzvendra Chahal for a straight six in between Axar's two overs, but he had no answer for a searing yorker from Bumrah that flattened his leg stump. In fact, Finch ended up ap plauding the bowler after the dismissal.

Wade took some timehe was 7 off 7 - before hit ting Harshal Patel for two fours in the sixth over. But it was the final over that really lifted Australia, as Harshal struggled to get his length right. Wade con tributed 18 of the 19 runs scored off the last six balls, pulling two short ones over the leg-side boundary, and carving a high full toss over deep cover.

Rohit pulls it off for India Chasing 91, Rohit and KL Rahul were quick off the blocks. Rohit pulled Josh Hazlewood for two sixes in the opening over, and Rahul capped it with a flicked six of his own. In the next over, Rohit hooked Pat Cummins for another six, leaving

India needing 62 from six overs.

Zampa pegged them back by picking up three wickets - Rahul and Virat Kohli were bowled, and Suryakumar Yadav was lbw for a first-ball duck. But Rohit found back-toback fours off Sean Abbott to keep the asking rate un der control.

Hardik fell for a runa-ball 9, but Rohit steered the last ball of the seventh over, bowled by Cummins, behind point. With India requiring nine from the fi nal over, Karthik slogged Daniel Sams behind square leg for six, and then pulled a slower short ball between deep midwicket and deep square leg to seal the win.

SCOREBOARD

Australia (8 ovs maximum)

Aaron Finch (c) b Bumrah 31 Cameron Green run out (Kohli/AR Patel) 5 Glenn Maxwell b AR Patel 0

Tim David b AR Patel 2 Matthew Wade † not out 43 Steven Smith run out (HV Patel) 8 Extras (w 1) 1

TOTAL: 8 Ov (RR: 11.25) 90/5

Did not bat: Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins, Daniel Sams, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood Fall of wickets: 1-14 (Cameron Green, 1.3 ov), 2-19 (Glenn Maxwell, 1.6 ov), 3-31 (Tim David, 3.1 ov), 4-46 (Aaron Finch, 4.6 ov), 5-90 (Steven Smith, 7.6 ov)

BOWLING: Hardik Pandya 1-0-10-0, Axar Patel 2-0-13-2, Yuzvendra Chahal 1-0-12-0, Jasprit Bumrah 2-0-23-1, Harshal Patel 2-0-32-0

India (T: 91 runs from 8 ovs)

KL Rahul b Zampa 10 Rohit Sharma (c) not out 46

Virat Kohli b Zampa 11 Suryakumar Yadav lbw

b Zampa 0 Hardik Pandya c Finch b Cummins 9 Dinesh Karthik not out 10

Extras: (b 1, lb 1, w 4) 6

TOTAL: 7.2 Ov (RR: 12.54) 92/4

Did not bat: Rishabh Pant †, Harshal Patel, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal

Fall of wickets: 1-39 (KL Rahul, 2.5 ov), 2-55 (Virat Kohli, 4.2 ov), 3-55 (Suryakumar Yadav, 4.3 ov), 4-77 (Hardik Pandya, 6.5 ov)

BOWLING: Josh Hazlewood 1-0-20-0, Pat Cummins 2-0-23-1, Adam Zampa 2-0-16-3, Daniel Sams 1.2-0-20-0, Sean Abbott 1-0-11-0

WADA outlaws tramadol use from 2024

The World Anti-Doping Agency will add the painkiller tramadol to the list of banned sub stances for athletes in com petition from 2024 and has maintained its ban on can nabis after a review.

The decisions were tak en by WADA's executive committee after a meeting in Sydney on Friday and followed recommendations from the body's advisory group on the list of banned substances.

issued an apology on Instagram at the time, stating: “It’s never easy to deal with emotions in difficult moments such as the one we are facing.

“Nevertheless, we al ways have to be respect ful, patient and set the ex ample for all the youngsters who love the beautiful game.

“I would like to apolo gise for my outburst and, if possible, I would like to in vite this supporter to watch a game at Old Trafford as a

sign of fair-play and sports manship.”

Ronaldo has endured a disappointing time of things on the field for United this season, having started just one of their opening six Premier League matches.

He is currently away on international duty with Portugal, who face the Czech Republic on Friday ahead of hosting Spain next week in their Nations League dou ble-header. (Sportsmax)

"Tramadol abuse, with its dose-dependent risks of physical dependence, opi ate addiction and overdos es in the general population, is of concern and has led to it being a controlled drug in many countries," WADA said in a news release.

"Research studies fund ed by WADA have also con firmed the potential for tra madol to enhance physical performance."

Former England soccer goalkeeper Chris Kirkland said in July he had been driven to the point of sui cide by his addiction to, and abuse of, tramadol after us

ing the opioid to treat back injuries.

WADA said the delay in introducing the ban until 2024 was to allow the com munication of the implica tions of it to athletes, their entourages and medical staff.

The ban on cannabis came into focus last year when American sprint er Sha'Carri Richardson was ruled out of the Tokyo Olympics 100 metres’ event after receiving a one-month ban for using the drug in the wake of her mother's death.

WADA had just reduced

the bans for recreational drug use by athletes who tested positive out of compe tition from two years down to one to three months.

After requests from some "stakeholders", howev er, WADA agreed to review the cannabis ban but decid ed on Friday to maintain it because the use of the drug "violated the spirit of sport".

WADA said the level of the active agent of cannabis in a sample needed to trig ger a positive test in compe tition would require the user to be a "significantly im paired athlete or a frequent user”.

"WADA is aware of the diversity of opinions and perceptions related to this substance around the world, and even within certain countries," director general Olivier Niggli said. "WADA plans to continue research in this area in relation to (its) potential performance enhancing effects, its im pact on the health of ath letes, and also in relation to perceptions of cannabis from athletes, experts and others around the world." (Reuters)

Cristiano Ronaldo has been charged by The Football Association (FA) over an incident involv ing an Everton fan follow ing Manchester a supporter’s phone as he

Aaron Finch was knocked over by a searing yorker

Nicholas Latifi to leave Williams at end of season

Nicholas Latifi will lose his seat at Williams at the end of the year. The 27-year-old Canadian, who has raced with the team since the start of 2020, has struggled to compete with team-mates George Russell and Alex Albon.

Latifi has said: "Although we have not achieved the re sults we hoped we would, it's still been a fantastic journey."

Williams, who announced last month that Albon would stay with the team for 2023, have said they would name the British-born Thai's 2023 team-mate "in due course".

Williams Chief Executive Officer and Team Principal Jost Capito has said: "He is a great team player who has a great attitude towards his col leagues and work, and is well liked and respected through out the business."

Latifi came to Williams with substantial financial backing, thanks to his fa ther, the Canadian super market magnate Michael

Latifi. The high point of his career at Williams was at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix, when he ended a twoyear points drought for the team by finishing seventh in the Hungarian Grand Prix.

It was a race marked by a first-corner crash and the bi zarre sight of only one driver on the grid for the start, lead ing to a shuffling of the order that vaulted Latifi to run sec ond in the early laps, and he held on for his breakthrough moment.

Ironically, he finished one place ahead of Russell, who outqualified him 20 times in 22 races during the season.

in Hungary last year was a moment I'll never forget," re flected Latifi. "I will move onto the next chapter of my

Frater confident 'determined' Briana Williams will succeed at senior level

Titans Track Club coach and former Olympian Michael Frater is confident his new charge, Briana Williams, would be able to make the transition from star junior athlete to successful senior athlete, despite admitting that it has been difficult for former junior stars in the past.

The 20-year-old Williams recently announced her de cision to part ways with long-time coach Ato Boldon and join Frater and Gregory Little at Titans. As a junior, Williams was a world cham pion in both the 100m and 200m. Since turning pro in 2020, however, the athlete has failed to engineer any thing close to similar suc cess at the senior level.

Williams has made both the Olympics and World Championship teams, and has gone on to win 4x100m relay gold, but has, to date, only managed to secure a spot in the relay pool, and

missed out on individual ap pearances. At the Jamaica National Trials earlier this year, her time of 10.94, a new personal best, was good enough only for fourth spot.

In track and field, it isn’t uncommon for junior stars to fail to make the grade at the senior level, but Frater believes Williams has the mindset to join the likes of Usain Bolt and Veronica Campbell-Brown as world junior champions who went on to excel at the senior lev el.

“It’s hard for a lot of these athletes that do great things at young ages. A lot

outperformed him just as comprehensively as the Briton did.

Williams had hoped to replace Latifi with Australian Oscar Piastri, the reigning Formula 2 champion and Alpine's reserve driver this year, but Piastri has object ed to the team's attempts to place him at Williams, and will instead make his F1 de but for McLaren in 2023 alongside Lando Norris.

Another option for Williams is Dutchman Nick De Vries, who finished ninth at the Italian Grand Prix two weeks ago, when he was drafted in at the last minute after Albon was hospitalised for appendicitis. But De Vries - a Mercedes reserve driver and former champion of both Formula 2 and the all-electric Formula E series - is also in the frame for a move to Red Bull's second team, Alpha Tauri.

Both Pierre Gasly and Japanese Yuki Tsunoda are under contract at Alpha

Tauri for next season, but the Frenchman is of interest to Alpine, who are without a team-mate for Esteban Ocon, after losing Fernando Alonso to Aston Martin and Piastri to McLaren.

Red Bull motorsport ad viser Helmut Marko, who makes the company's driver decisions, is prepared to let Gasly go to Alpine if there is a suitable replacement.

Marko had wanted IndyCar race-winner Colton Herta, but he is not eligible for an F1 'super-licence', and De Vries has emerged as the leading candidate.

Other experienced drivers on the market for next season include Mick Schumacher, who is expect ed to lose his seat at Haas; and Alfa Romeo and Ferrari reserve, Antonio Giovinazzi.

Williams also have the option of promoting American Logan Sargeant, a member of their driver academy, who is lying third in the F2 championship this season. (BBC)

Battle of heavyweights ...

of them never surpass what they do,” Frater told the SportsMax Zone. “That's why most people will tell you that they prefer ath letes who weren’t teeing off at a young age,” he added.

“I think (that) with Briana’s attitude and dedication, though, it won’t be a prob lem for her transitioning to the next level; and as Coach Ato said, he may not have been able to spend enough time with her.

“For an athlete to be a world-class athlete, she has to get the full attention that she needs,” he explained. (Sportsmax) BACK PAGE ►

Hope, who scored a clas sic 59 at Providence and won the player of the match award, noted that it felt good to bat. He also noted that the team has self-belief. "Feels good to get out there and do what I love, which is batting. Missed a few games early on. We had self-belief, we wanted to stick to our plans and were confident of chasing them off. It's just about doing what the team requires, batting to a plan and I needed to up the strike rate, so that's what I did. I never played in front of such a great crowd, hopefully, we can get them more wins. Of course, you have to have it (self-belief about winning the title)," Hope said at the post-match.

Additionally, Gurbaz said he is enjoying his first outing in the CPL. "I really enjoy the people and the love they are giving us. I am ex cited to be here. We love the crowd and the crowd is real ly nice, they support us from start to end, the crowd is amazing," Gurbaz said.

Both the Warriors and TKR are at the bottom of the table with seven points, but a win will take one of these teams into qualification con tention. Will it be chicken curry or curry chicken? Time will tell.

TKR Squad: Tim Seifert(w), Leonardo Julien, Colin Munro, Nicholas Pooran, Kieron Pollard (c), Akeal Hosein, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Khary Pierre, Ravi Rampaul, Daryn Dupavillon, Anderson Phillip, Ali Khan, Tion Webster, Terrance Hinds, Jayden Seales, Mahesh Theekshana, Shaaron Lewis, Seekkuge Prasanna Guyana Amazon Warriors

Squad: Chandrapaul Hemraj, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shai Hope, Shakib Al Hasan, Shimron Hetmyer (c), Romario Shepherd, Gudakesh Motie, Odean Smith, Keemo Paul, Junior Sinclair, Imran Tahir, Ronsford Beaton, Jermaine Blackwood, Matthew Nandu, Veerasammy Permaul, Colin Ingram, Paul Stirling

TOURS

"Getting those first points

career with spe cial memories of my time with this dedicated team."

Russell's move to Mercedes at the end of 2021 has failed to im

prove Latifi's position. Albon has

2022 Suriname Open golf tourney set for October 8-9 in Paramaribo

…LGC players sharpening skills, says club captain Videsh Persaud

erybody is eager to partici pate in the Suriname Open, who is going over.”

Persaud also noted that as the captain of the club, his mindset heading into the Suriname Open is to keep a calm mind, as it would be important to en courage the other players to put their best feet forward and do their best in repre senting Guyana and making everyone proud.

By TimoThy Jaikarran

The Suriname Open golf tournament is set for October 8-9, 2022 in Paramaribo, and mem bers of the Guyana contin gent at this international tournament are currently putting in the hard work sharpening their skills to compete. This is according to Videsh Persaud, captain of the Lusignan Golf Club (LGC).

In an interview with this publication, Persaud had the following to say: “I think golf has been do ing great at the course. The course is shaping up nice

ly, the games are playing really well, and the weath er is holding out nicely for us and so on. So, it’s real ly great conditions, and it is coming up nicely. As for the players, I think they are coming up nicely sharp

ening their skills. Everyone is coming out, taking in the necessary practice, and par ticipating in tournaments, especially leading up to the Suriname Open.

“We are getting more influx of participants, so ev

Further, he explained that while this tournament would have a lot of players and many talents would be on display, he is optimistic that the many strong play ers in the Guyana contin gent would emerge victori ous at the end of the two-day extravaganza.

Pertaining to the course in Suriname, Persaud com mented, “The Suriname course is a smaller course that ours (Lusignan Golf Club), but for players to make their adjustments and tweaks, I think their fo cus should be on their short game. Because at Suriname course I think that is where you really have to put in the work, cause you need to be good in the short game, where you can get low scores.”

Persaud revealed that the LGC has often partic ipated in the Suriname Open, which had ceased be ing played because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But now, with most restric tions having been lifted, he is feeling great to be repre

senting his country. He also touted that all the players are excited to try their hand at the course and regain their feel of the game, as they are all real ly excited and looking for ward to participating in the Suriname Open.

Career-best returns for Ramharack, but West Indies edged out by 2 wickets

Off-spinner

Karishma Ramharack triggered a late collapse of the New Zealand Women’s team, but they held their nerve to come away with a two-wicket win in the sec ond CG United One-Day International match on Thursday.

In pursuit of 170 for victory at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, the vis itors appeared to be on course at 164-4 in the 37th over. However, leg-spinner Afy Fletcher knocked over top-scorer Maddy Green for 48, and that triggered a slide that saw four wickets tum ble for three runs in 17 balls.

Ramharack snatched ca reer-best figures of 3-22, the last three wickets, before New Zealand Women man aged to get home at the start of the 41st over. Experienced seam bowler Shakera Selman was also good at the top of the innings with 2-30 as she dismissed both open ers.

The results of this match have given the visitors an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, follow ing their victory in the series opener on Monday. Maddy Green won it for the visi tors off 78 balls, while add ing 66 for the fourth wicket with Lauren Down (33), and another 47 for the fifth wick et with Brooke Halliday (24).

Speaking to CWI Media

after the match, Shakera Selman said: “We didn’t have enough runs on the board. The pitch was conducive to run-scoring and we didn’t take advantage of that…one positive focus is that we get bowled out, so we just need to work harder and get that 200 total, because we see what we can do (with the ball) if we have enough runs.”

Earlier, West Indies Women made 169-9 off their 50 overs, with captain Hayley Matthews top-scor ing with a patient 46 from 82 balls, and the in-form Chinelle Henry chipping in with a breezy 30 from 35 balls.

The hosts had had a bad start when Rashada

Williams (13), Natasha McLean (4) and Shabika Gajnabi (7) fell cheaply, and the innings had slumped to 29-3 in the 11th over. Matthews did a repair job in a stand of 38 for the fourth wicket with Stafanie Taylor (10), and a further 47 for the sixth wicket with Henry, who hit five fours.

New Zealand’s Eden Carson, the off-spinner on debut, took 3-31. She hit Matthews in front, and then picked up another two wick ets as West Indies Women slipped to 129-7 at the end of the 39th over, before Fletcher (19) and Selman (18) put on a precious 36 for the eighth wicket. (Windies Cricket)

LGC Captain, Videsh Persaud

Golf Club Paramaribo will be the place to be, come October 8-9, 2022

By Brandon Corlette

Big rivalries abound in crick et: India vs Pakistan, England vs Australia. In the Caribbean Premier League, the biggest rivalry is between the Guyana Amazon Warriors (GAW) and the Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR), and these two heavyweight teams will lock horns at Providence today, Saturday September 24, from 19:00h.

According to TKR captain Kieron Pollard, he is expecting the Providence Stadium to be packed as the biggest ri valry in the biggest party in sport takes centre stage. Speaking after Thursday’s match which the TKR lost to the Patriots, Pollard said: "Game got away from us in the last four overs with the ball. That's what shows us what T20 cricket is. Need to do yorkers better. The next game is a must-win, and we expect a packed stadium. This is why we play the game."

Meanwhile, GAW captain Shimron Hetmyer has been ecstatic after his side chased down 195 against the Kings. "Coming home, we knew we had to do our best, and the guys continued to deliv er time and time again. Well done to the

guys. When you are chas ing 190-odd, you just tell the guys that you have nothing to lose. That was the thinking, and it worked for us. Bowling at night here is tough, and can't fault the guys. Faf played a top knock, one of the best that I've seen in a while. I just told the guys to enjoy them selves and give the crowd a prop er show, irrespective of how the result ends," Hetmyer said.

For the Warriors, Shai Hope has found form, scoring back-to-back fif ties. He has 175 runs this season at an average of 43.75. Despite not be ing dominant, Hetmyer has 196 runs this sea son, while Chandrapaul Hemraj, who is due for a big innings, has 142 runs.

In the bowling de partment, Imran Tahir has eight wickets while Romario Shepherd and Odean Smith each have sev en this season.

GAW take on TKR in battle of the heavyweights this evening

is much more than a game for us in Guyana, it is a passion, part of our culture and a unify ing force. As we celebrate “One Guyana”, the hosting of the CPL final will be an energis ing force. We are building a product that will be spectator-focused, integrated with our re gional partners for a global market. Cricket

Carnival is a fusion of entertainment and celebration that will be mind-blowing and unbelievably different from any other glob al cricketing event. We welcome all to the greatest celebration of music, pageantry, Caribbean vibes with a South American touch, and, of course, cricket played loud est.”

Onbehalf of the management, coach ing staff and players of the Guyana Amazon Warriors, I would like to welcome all the fans in our dear land of Guyana who will be coming out from today in numbers to fill our National Stadium in all our games – and those who could not get in because the tickets were all sold out with in a few days. In the ten years that the Hero T20 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) has been in existence, I can say – without any fear of being accused of exaggeration that you have been the most consistent in dem onstrating support for your team – and for CPL Cricket – in all of the territories.

And I repeat, the Guyana Amazon Warriors are your team and your vociferous support of your team in and out of the sta dium has proven to be their secret weapon – providing at crucial moments that rush of adrenalin that takes teams across the line from the agony of defeat to the thrill of victo ry. Your Guyana Amazon Warriors have re sponded by being the most consistent team in the last decade. And they have become known as a team that never say die.

This year, our season was bookmarked between the end of the month of August – the month we have commemorated as “Freedom Month” for more than a century and a half – and the end of September, which is the month we celebrate “Amerindian Heritage Month” in honour of our First Peoples. During that time, we West Indians have marked that freedom and indigenous ness by achieving success in several fields –but nowhere else more unique than in the culture we evolved in celebrating life itself. Maybe it is because, more than most other

places, our history has made us appreciate life more, since it could have been so easily taken from us. This year, we have launched a unique Cricket Carnival to bring it all to gether!

Cricket has been an integral part of Caribbean life, and as I have said in previ ous years, T20 might have been launched elsewhere, but its joie de vivre and all its synonyms – cheerfulness, cheer, light-heart edness, merriment, glee, gladness, happi ness, joy, joyfulness, joyousness, delight, pleasure, high spirits, good spirits, good hu mour, jollity, jolliness, hilarity, mirth, jovi ality, exuberance, elation, exultation, eu phoria, jubilation – declare it was “born” in the West Indies.

Once again, on behalf of your Guyana Amazon Warriors I ask that you join me as I say with all sincerity:

GO WARRIORS! – Let us celebrate the joy of Caribbean Cricket!!

“Cricket

WELCOME TO GUYANA, CPL 2022

Guyana is a proud host of the highlyanticipated finals of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2022, the do mestic Twenty20 cricket league played here in the West Indies.

We warmly welcome the teams, players, coaches, and their fans for the final leg of the tournament. The first game in Guyana is set for Wednesday, September 21, and will climax with the fi nals on Friday, September 30.

An exciting brand of cricket is expected from the six teams participating in the tournament name ly, Jamaica Tallawahs, St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, Barbados Royals, Trinbago Knight Riders, St Lucia Kings, and, of course, the Guyana Amazon Warriors.

This is the 10th season of the CPL, but the first time that the finals are being held in Guyana. We anticipate an electrifying atmosphere from the wave of fans who will fill seats at the National Stadium in Providence to witness the games.

My fervent hope, like many Guyanese, is for our Amazon Warriors to draw inspiration from the games being staged in Guyana to finally reward their passion ate and loyal fans by win ning the elusive CPL cham pionship on home soil.

Notwithstanding, host ing the CPL is a special mo ment for Guyana.

As a result of the vi

sion and investments of our Government, led by Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, the CPL finals were secured, particularly given the socioeconomic development bene fits that cricket offers.

The CPL games in Guyana are paired with Cricket Carnival, a fun, vi brant and colourful medley of activities held under the “One Guyana” theme.

This is the first of three annual CPL finals and Cricket Carnivals to be host ed by Guyana.

The CPL and the carnival events mean a lot to Guyana as our unwavering drive is to bring people together and to unify the country. There is no better way to achieve this than through sports and culture.

Both events fulfil the Government’s overall mis

sion of promoting Guyana as a top-tier international destination for investment, tourism, entertainment, sports, food, and cultural ac tivities.

There is something for everyone to enjoy, including music festivals, food shows, concerts, competitions, and organised tours.

More importantly, the Government’s inten tion through the events is to invest in its people as a springboard that will foster economic opportunities for every Guyanese.

In advance of the CPL, we noted that hotels were booked solid and numer ous economic opportunities have opened up for bed and breakfast accommodations, vendors, restaurants, bars, transportation services, and tour operators.

Guyana is rapidly evolv ing as an oil and gas market,

and our Government has mapped out a transforma tional development trajec tory that will ensure the di versification of our economy by using the gains from this natural resource for coun trywide development.

We will continue to build out many new pillars so that our economy will be resil ient, strong and sustainable. Combined, CPL and the Cricket Carnival is one such avenue Government has ad opted as a unifying catalyst

for economic growth.

On behalf of the Government and the people of Guyana, I am pleased to extend a warm welcome to thousands of visitors from across the globe, particular ly our Caribbean Region.

“The 10th anni versary finals in Guyana will be the biggest finals the CPL has ever had. We'll have sell out crowds to all the games, there's going to be an ex traordinary atmosphere. As I said, that coming together of Carnival and cricket will

never be seen better than in Guyana this year. So, for us it is all about, you know, en joying what's ahead. I think it's going to be a phenom enal few days in Guyana, and I hope all the fans, both watching at home and in the stadium, will enjoy the expe rience.”

By Jemima Holmes

In 2014, a lanky Guyanese lad from Cumberland, Berbice got another shot at represent ing the West Indies on the international stage, having played Under-15 cricket pre viously. Two years later, the same teenager achieved the unthinkable – the opportuni ty to lead that very Under-19 team that he was first select ed for, two years prior.

Upon his return from Bangladesh with the West Indies’ first Under-19 World Cup trophy and a smile that you could spot miles away, the Berbician lad was hailed as the “Captain of Destiny” by a Guyana Chronicle writ er – a title that is truly fit ting, six years down the road.

Of course, the individual needs no introduction. He is Shimron Hetmyer, Captain of the Guyana Amazon Warriors and only the sec ond Guyanese to hold the ti tle in the franchise’s 10-year history.

be played at the Guyana National Stadium.

I’d like to call that desti ny.

“I got the opportunity now to captain my side and captain my country as well; it’s something that I can’t wait to actually go out on the field and start doing,” Hetmyer told the Hero CPL’s media team prior to the com mencement of the 2022 sea son.

“Being here for a while I think, yes, I am ready,” the left-handed batsman added.

As one would expect, Hetmyer has been looking forward to his rise in the ranks for quite a while; may be even since his entry into the Warriors team in 2016, months after his World Cup glory. The then 19-year-old only played a single match for the Warriors, but two years later announced him self as the flamboyant bats man Guyana has come to know and love.

However, Hetmyer, who is still the youngest player to slam a Hero CPL century (having done so as a 21-yearold), is looking to bring more than boundaries and maxi mums to the table.

“I’m very excited actu ally. It’s something that I’m

a team player than just try ing to hit 6s and 4s basical ly.”

He continued, “So, I’m trying as much as possible to do as much as I can, in terms of being the captain, trying to help out as much as I can and just being there for the team.”

Of course, the captain cy hat is one that we have not seen Hetmyer taking on much, since 2016. Aside from occasional stints at the national level, Hetmyer has stayed far from leadership, but this time around, the challenge is what enticed him.

“I think it’s the experi ence really. Being around the West Indies team, I think I’ve learned a lot, in terms of how to go about doing stuff as someone in a leadership group. I’m just trying to do my best, in terms of trying to help the guys that are com ing up in their careers and who’re in the centre part of their careers. To really push on and really play more for the West Indies,” the 25-year-old said.

When it comes to pres sure situations, Hetmyer is pretty confident that there is enough support for his team to rely on.

On this topic, he relat ed, “It’s always good to know that there’s guys you could always go to and find out what they’re thinking and they could help you, in terms of field setting, who to bowl at a specific time, just to make sure that everything runs smoothly.

“There’s a lot of guys there that’s actually experi enced.”

plained, weighing the pres sures of performing at home and the captaincy, “Knowing that you’re playing at home, it’s always fun and exciting, but it’s also very challeng ing, because of the fact that you know you have to win, or there’s this pressure on you to win.”

Nonetheless, Hetmyer is very eager to get to the

Guyana leg of the Hero CPL.

He related, “[But] I really relish playing in Guyana, the crowd and so on and knowing the conditions that I’m playing in as well, so, all of that helps. It makes it just a little bit more exciting, a little bit more special when you actually win games in Guyana.”

“Winning the World Cup, it was just a breath-tak ing feeling. There were just so many different thoughts running through each and everyone’s head,” A young er Hetmyer had reflected to the International Cricket Council (ICC) back in 2020.

He went on to add, “Lifting the trophy, that was a feeling like no other, be cause being the first captain to do it and then having such a wonderful team and some great guys that I actually grew up with since Under-15 cricket, that made it even more special.”

And now, the GAW

Captain would love nothing more than to raise the Hero CPL trophy at the Guyana National Stadium.

“That’s something all Guyanese players, fans, ev eryone have been looking for ward to and more so myself, because I literally cannot wait to go back to Guyana and play some cricket.”

Think about it: a GAW team stacked heavily with Guyanese players, the Guyanese fans enthralled in the boisterous crowd as they revel in the glory of win ning their first Hero CPL trophy, at the first final to ever be played at their home ground. And, of course, they are being led in celebra tions by none other than the only captain who has led an Under-19 West Indies side to World Cup victory.

Some occurrences have destiny written all over them, and Shimron Hetmyer’s cap taincy is one of them.

This very year, as Hetmyer leads the local fran chise in the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL), the Amazon Warriors may have the opportunity to play their first CPL final at home, the first time that the final will

really looking forward to, to be honest and it’s something I think I could learn a lot from, in terms of taking my cricket forward. Like how to manage my innings, how to look after my team, as well. Just to be a little bit more of

One pressure situation that Hetmyer might not be able to escape that easily is the thousands of adoring fans in the Guyana National Stadium, holding strong to the hope that Captain Hetmyer would get their team over the line this time.

“It’s a little bit of both, to be honest,” Hetmyer ex

Hetmyer’s batting has also reflected his intent to lead well

Shimron Hetmyer is embracing the captaincy role

Shimron Hetmyer is no stranger to lifting trophies as captain

Shimron Hetmyer: The long-proclaimed “Captain of Destiny”

WhenPresident Dr Irfaan Ali boldly declared his intention in December 2021, to bid for the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) finals in Guyana, lit tle did anyone know that the Head of State had bigger plans in mind.

A grand celebration of Guyanese and Caribbean culture, an array of colours and costumes, coupled with the sport that the Region enjoys the most, was what he had in mind. And so, Cricket Carnival was birthed.

“The loudest it will ever be!” was the vow President Ali made on the evening of March 30, 2022, when he went on to announce the inaugural Cricket Carnival, a fusion of fete and cricket that has never been attempted in the Caribbean Region before.

Of course, the thought of Cricket Carnival sounds easy to those who may not have an intricate knowledge of the planning that has gone into the event, but, in six months the

Cricket Carnival planning committee has managed to pull it off.

Simply put, the main objective of Cricket Carnival is to diversify Guyana’s tourism product, but for other sectors like culture and arts, it is said to be the driving force that will put Guyanese creatives on the map.

Of course, coupled with the Hero CPL, it would be hard for tourists to resist and that fact has unfolded well for Guyana.

“By the time we announced, all the rooms in the hotels were booked up and so, we launched the Bed and Breakfast programme that added 300 new rooms, those are most ly taken up, sorry to say,” Tourism Minister Oneidge Walrond said about the response to Cricket Carnival.

She continued about the event’s future prospects, “In these next three years, this Cricket Carnival is only going to get big ger and bigger and we will be perfecting the

product every year. And, after three years, we will have a big surprise for you, it’s going to get even bigger.”

Culture, Youth and Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr has, however, offered a different perspective on the prospects of Cricket Carnival.

“From the performance arts area, those young people, they’re going to be able to get the biggest platform that they have ever had before. People from all around the coun try, the Region and the world will be here in Guyana and getting the opportunity to see our talent here. Getting them the name and face recognition that they would not have had otherwise,” he explained.

Ramson Jr further elucidated, “This is

an event that is streamed by 500 million people in the world, they get to see this. Five hundred million people tune in to the CPL finals and semi-finals. How would they have had that otherwise?”

Pegging the event as an outlet that will leap frog Guyana in sectors out side of agriculture and oil and gas, Ramson Jr also touched on the necessity of Government’s involvement.

He remarked, “What I want everyone to know, too, is that when we speak about Carnival, for us it’s Cricket Carnival, but Carnival in Trinidad, which has been the biggest in the Region, is not a Government-led process. It’s not the Government that budgets a significant sum of money, puts aside the mon ey to do all the events or puts together a committee that is chaired by the President and co-chaired by two Ministers.”

“It’s not done that way, but we’ve done it in this way, because we need to leapfrog the curve, so that we start to occupy space in a much more significant way,” Ramson Jr added.

And indeed, the Cricket Carnival has put Guyana on the map; flights in and out of the country are booked, hotels reserved to capacity, and tourists from all around the globe are mingling comfortably with Guyanese natives.

The only aspect left that will make it a perfect picture of success is the music, food, culture and not to forget, the cricket. Let the fete begin!

Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister Oneidge Walrond

Culture, Youth and Sport Minister, Charles Ramson Jr

A glimpse of what to expect at Cricket Carnival

The 10th edition of the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) has already brought the vibes and the atmosphere is immaculate. To make things even sweeter, the “Biggest Party in Sport” launched the Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL). The Guyana Amazon Warriors were selected as one of the three competing franchises as they possessed an exceptional line-up led by the one and only Stafanie Taylor. The squad comprised a well-balanced unit, with an equal balance of experience and youth.

Warriors Women’s batting strength

The team’s skipper, Jamaica-born Taylor emerged onto the international scene as a 17-year-old, hitting a 49-ball 90 on her T20 International debut against Ireland in 2008. In 2013, she became the only player in history, male or female, to ever achieve the number one OneDay International (ODI) ranking in both batting and bowling simultaneously. Taylor’s crown of glory came in 2016 when she led West Indies to the Women’s World T20 title. The talented allrounder has amassed a total of 5298 runs in the ODI format with a healthy average of 44.15 and a high score of 171. On the T20I scene, she has scored 3121 runs at an average of 35.87. With the experience of having led a team to a world title, Taylor was a definite fit for the Warriors camp, bringing a wealth of experience to the side.

Another important player was Sri Lanka’s very own Chamari Athapaththu. She is her country’s highest run scorer in the T20 format. She is a hard-hitting player and by no means, needs an introduction as her reputation precedes her. The attacking left hander has played 90 ODIs and scored 2840 runs at an average of 31.91 while in the T20I format, she has blasted 2079 runs from 98 matches at an average of 22.11 with a high score of 113.

The middle order was bolstered by Vice Captain Shemaine Campbelle. The explosive middle-order batter hails from Berbice and has captained her national team. She is enjoying a resurgence in international cricket. Campbelle is a veteran of 77 ODIs with an average of 20.25, scoring 1357 runs with a high score of 105. In her 91 T20Is, she has an average of 13.10 and can change a match in the middle overs when her bat gets hold of the ball.

Opener Rashada Williams is a Jamaican cricketer who plays for the Jamaica women’s national cricket team in the Women’s Super50 Cup and the Twenty20 Blaze tournaments. In January 2019, Williams was named in the West Indies squad for their tour of Pakistan. She is a right-handed batter and is a wicketkeeper as well; she has played 16 ODI matches thus far with a high score of 78 not out.

Another young talent in the Guyana Amazon Warriors Women’s side was Rachel Vincent, a Trinidadian cricketer who plays for the Trinidad and Tobago women’s national cricket team in

the Women’s Super50 Cup and the Twenty20 Blaze tournaments. In June 2021, Vincent was named in the West Indies A Team for their series against Pakistan. In the said series in Pakistan, she registered a high score of 56 on July 12, 2021.

Chedean Nation, who is Jamaican, is a right-hand middleorder batter, who has represented the West Indies in 59 ODI matches and has scored a total of 812 runs with a high score of 51. In the T20Is, she has played 38 matches, scoring 406 runs with a high score of 63. Her role in the GAW-W team was to cement the middle order and set the tone for the power hitters.

Zaida James, represents the Windward Islands Women and the West Indies A Women. In June 2021, James was named in the West Indies A Team for their series against Pakistan.

The St Lucian has scored 147 runs from four games in the Women U19 T20, 2022 tournament at an average of 73.50.

GAW-W’s all-round ability

Cherry-Ann Fraser is a Guyanese cricketer; the 23-year-old allrounder was added to the West Indies Women’s Twenty20 International squad in November 2019 as a replacement for the injured Stafanie Taylor.

In May 2021, she was awarded a central contract by Cricket West Indies (CWI) and on September 16, 2021, she made her ODI debut against South Africa, bowling 1-33 in her seven overs. She was picked to showcase her exceptional talent as she has the ability to pick up wickets at will and can score runs through all parts of the ground.

Shabika Gajnabi plays for Guyana and the West Indies. She is a right-arm medium bowler. In August 2019, she was named in the West Indies squad for their series against Australia. On the regional scene, she has dominated with both bat and ball, as she emerged the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Guyana Cricket Board’s Female Inter-County 50over competition, scoring 173 runs and taking five wickets. In the ODI format, she has taken 10 wickets while she has only taken one in T20Is.

Yet again, Captain Taylor appears on the list; she has shown her worth on the international scene and is one of the most sought-after players. With the ball, she has bagged 152 wickets at an economy rate of 3.52 in the ODI format while with the ball in T20Is, she has picked up 98 wickets at an economy rate of 5.66.

GAW-W’s bowling unit

The bowling unit is led by Ayabonga Khaka, the South African cricketer who plays for the national cricket team as a right-arm medium bowler. Khaka has played a total of 87 ODI matches and has bagged a total of 113 wickets at an economy rate of 4.14 with a best of 5-26. In the T20I format, she has played 42 games and picked up 37 scalps with a best of 4-23 at an economy rate of 6.43.

Kaysia Shultz is a Guyanese cricketer; the talented slow left-arm orthodox bowler is a main feature in the Guyana side as she has been representing the country since 2016. She was named in the West Indies squad for the Women’s T20I series against England, earning her maiden call-up to the team. Recently, she played for West Indies in a tour match against South Africa Women XI, and bowled figures of 1-23 off her six overs at an economy rate of 3.83.

Shamilia Connell is a Barbadian cricketer who represents the West Indies; the right-arm speedster has played a total of 56 ODI matches

and bagged 42 wickets at an economy rate of 4.62 with a best of 4-54. In T20Is, she has played 54 games and taken 36 wickets with a best of 3-14 at an economy rate of 6.54.

Karishma Ramharack is a Trinidadian cricketer who plays for Trinidad and Tobago and the West Indies as a right-arm off-break bowler. She made her T20I debut on February 3, 2019. She has played 14 ODI matches and taken eight wickets with a best of 2-18 at an economy rate of 4.40. In the T20I format, she has played seven games and taken seven wickets with a best of 3-8 at an economy rate of 6.59.

Isani Vaghela was the baby of the Warriors camp, Vaghela is 16 years of age and plays for the United States of America Women’s team. She is a right-hand batter and bowls right-arm medium pace. She was also named in America’s squad for the 2021 Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier tournament in Zimbabwe. On November 23, 2021, she played in America’s first match of the tournament against Bangladesh.

The 2022 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) is certainly a historic event. For the first time in the tournament’s history, a Women’s CPL was played, with three teams locking horns. While noting that this CPL signi fied growth of women’s cricket, Guyanese crick eter Kaysia Schultz said she was excited to rep resent the Guyana Amazon Warriors Women.

“It’s a great feeling to be a part of this his toric Women’s CPL, having a women’s franchise tournament in the Caribbean will surely grow women’s cricket,” the left-arm spinner said.

When asked about her expectations, the 25-year-old Schultz said she expected to see more fans support the women’s game. She also added: “In the future I’ll like to see more female

teams competing in the Women’s CPL, which will also widen the pool of Caribbean players.”

The Women’s CPL will certainly inspire more young female cricketers around the globe. According to Schultz, the CPL is a huge inspi ration for young Caribbean players to share the same dressing room with international stars.

“It’s a huge inspiration for young female cricketers to share the same dressing room with top international players and gain knowledge to develop our game, and even to young female cricketers aspiring to make a career out of crick et,” the humble spinner added.

When asked about her emotions when she first heard she was playing in the Women’s CPL, Schultz said it was a dream come true.

“A dream come true when I found out I was playing for my home franchise, it’s every cricketer’s dream to be play ing for their home franchise as well.”

Schultz, who finished with eight wickets in the Women’s T20 Blaze, which was held in Guyana earlier this year, said her goal was to capture the most wickets and help Warriors lift the trophy.

While the entire Women’s CPL is be ing played in St Kitts this year, Schultz has hopes of playing at Providence, in front of her family and friends. She explained that it would mean a lot for her.

By TimoTHy Jaikarran

The Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) fixtures for the 2022 season were announced with the best crick eting talents from across the Caribbean and from around the world set to be part of the Biggest Party in Sport. As such, local son of the soil, Chandrapaul Hemraj is set to turn out in his patriotic Guyana Amazon Warriors colours as he is eager to hit the field and showcase his talent before his home crowd.

The talented left hander in the 2021 edition had blast ed a scintillating 105 not out against the Barbados Royals, which he deemed as one of his most memorable moments.

“Being able to score a century last year definitely gave me the confidence going into this tournament, knowing I can score bigger at this level. I am very much prepared going into this tournament, I have it very clear. I understand my role and responsibility with the team, but you know as an opening batsman, I see myself as an entertainer and that’s what I’m going to do this season and I’m looking forward to entertaining my fans.”

In the 2021 edition of CPL, Hemraj was the third highest run scorer for the Warriors with 254 runs at an average of 25.40 with a strike rate of 133.68. In 2022, he played in the US Minor League and from his 11 games, he walked away

with 353 runs at a strike rate of 177.39 and an average of 35.30; he also scored two centuries in the league with a high score of 130.

As he has been playing minor league cricket during his off season, Hemraj came into the CPL with some form. In further preparation, he had been challenging himself to bat 12 to 15 overs every game. The fitter-looking Hemraj has been putting in the necessary work over the past few months as he prides himself on bringing out the best version of himself. “Over the last few months, I have been putting in a lot of work in the gym, a lot of strength work, been plac ing some emphasis on my diet and coming into this tourna ment I feel more prepared, mentally and physically. I don’t want to be overconfident, but I just want to be prepared,” he shared.

Hemraj has stated that one of the things he would be looking forward to is playing in front of his friends and fami ly and the huge crowd at the National Stadium. He revealed that the National Stadium was a venue where he enjoys batting and was optimistic that he would be able to help the Warriors bag some victories.

As it relates to how confident he is that the Warriors will lift the trophy, Hemraj explained that it is his belief that the process is very important for the team. He clarified that as much as one would like to look at the results and

that the team just needed to go through the process and once they get to the semi-finals, take it home for the fans.

The talented Guyanese also reiterated that for him, it was a privilege to represent the Warriors year after year as he stressed on the importance of playing in front of his friends and family. He stated that it was an honour to rep resent the Guyana Amazon Warriors and he has spent four years with them. He added that in this time, he has gained a lot of experience and he believes that now is the time to show some more maturity and have a good season.

Hemraj ended the interview by saying, “We all know that Warriors fans are one of the most passionate fans out there, but I think it’s time for us to deliver it. Time for us to give them what they have been asking for from the incep tion. We have a good bunch of players here, a good bunch of locals and international players and I’m very confident we are going to deliver this year.”

Chandrapaul Hemraj celebrates his century in the 2021 edition of CPL

For a company as large and successful as ExxonMobil, the practice of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is increasingly important.

For the oil and gas giant, its CSR knows no bounds, ranging from educational ini tiatives including STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), community projects and agriculture to, of course, sport.

Since ExxonMobil began consistent operations in Guyana, it has contributed heavily to several sport disciplines, such as athletics, basketball, cricket, football, hockey, motor rac ing, squash, tennis and volleyball.

Only this year, the company has resuscitated its Petra-organised ExxonMobil Under-14 Boys’ and Girls’ schools’ football tournament, which fills a critical gap in youth football

ExxonMobil has sponsored both the GAW Men’s and Women’s teams this year

development, between the Pee- Wee (Under-11) and Under-18 levels. ExxonMobil also eagerly hopped onboard as the title sponsors of the National Schools’ Basketball Festival, which has introduced and produced national youth players since 2006.

Not to mention the Guyana Amazon Warriors (GAW) will don the company’s logo for the sixth consecu tive year. Not only has Exxon thrown its support behind the men’s team, but its support for the women’s team in the inaugural Massy Women’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL) has been equally consistent.

To be frank, ExxonMobil is the perfect picture of sport involvement and develop ment, and the company is always elated to play the role.

“The many benefits of sport are wellknown, and we take our role as a part of the Guyanese community very seriously. That’s why we support sports at the youth lev el as well as raising our sponsorship of the Warriors,” ExxonMobil Guyana President Alistair Routledge shared as the compa ny announced its support for the Guyana Amazon Warriors’ Men and Women.

Similarly, Community Relations Advisor Ryan Hoppie shared at the commencement of the third ExxonMobil U14 football tour nament, “You know sport is very important for youth development, and we know that it brings both physical and mental benefits, but, also the camaraderie among players within the team!”

Additionally, given that the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) is return ing to Guyana, after being hosted in soli tary destinations during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, ExxonMobil is going all-out for sport once again.

There will be a booth at the Guyana National Stadium on every game day, where Guyanese patrons can interact and play games for chances to get their hands on prizes.

Aside from this, the company is plan ning activities where fans can meet Guyana Amazon Warriors players.

ExxonMobil’s hands-on approach to en suring sport development in the country is a great example of avid investment in sport development. One can only hope that more corporate entities will take a page out of Exxon’s book.

Earlier this year, ExxonMobil became the title sponsors of the National Schools' Basketball Festival

ExxonMobil’s Senior Director of Public and Government Affairs, Marcus Tripp was present for the kickoff of their Boys’ and Girls’ U14 football tournament

The Caribbean Premier League (CPL) is known as the biggest party in sport. During the COVID-19 pan demic, this was the first league to host a bio-secured tournament, and it was a success. The stands were empty, as fans were not al lowed, and the tournament was played in one country only. For the players, it was difficult, as they were not allowed to leave the hotel/ bubble.

Come 2022, the CPL is being played in four countries:St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana. The fans are back, and stands are filled to capac ity. Players are allowed to move around the different Caribbean countries, and even have their families with them.

The 2022 CPL has burst the bubble, and players, match officials, and own ers are relishing this expe rience. Moreover, the 2022 CPL was historic in nature, with the first Women’s CPL being played in St Kitts, and the newest format, 6IXTY being played in St Kitts as well.

From St Kitts to Guyana, fans are going wild for tick ets, which are high in de mand. This is according to the numbers and a re cent comment from CPL’s Head of Marketing, Chris Watson.

“Across all four of host locations this year, the sales have been really strong, and the reaction has been huge. Particularly in Guyana, the new box office

in Camp Street, the guys have seen great levels of interest, with some games sold out already. So, it has been a strong reaction.”

“Surprisingly, for some of the neutral games, 10 in the morning has been on sale, and it shows how hun gry fans are to come out to a more normal CPL,” he said.

“We have not been able to put on games in Guyana since 2019, so we are really excited to bring a more nor mal CPL this year.”

In recent interviews with fans at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in St Lucia, the excitement for the return of CPL has been over-the-roof. Fans from the United States of America, who are Guyanese by birth, noted that the CPL has the best atmosphere and it was good for them to see live ac tion again.

From a Guyanese stand point, the CPL carnival in Guyana has attracted a large number of tourists. A majority of the hotels are booked and this is evidence of the high level of interest for CPL 2022, the tourna ment where the bubble was officially burst.

Guyana Amazon Warriors Squad for 2022 CPL: Imran Tahir, Shimron Hetmyer, Tabraiz Shamsi, Odean Smith, Romario Shepherd, Colin Ingram, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Paul Stirling, Shai Hope, Heinrich Klaasen, Keemo Paul, Jermaine Blackwood, Gudakesh Motie, Ronsford Beaton, Veerasammy Permaul, Junior Sinclair, and Matthew Nandu.

A few fans from the United States of America came to witness the CPL live and direct (Brandon Corlette photos)

Fans were delighted with the return of CPL