Guyana Times - Saturday, September 3, 2022 by Gytimes

WHAT'S INSIDE: Issue No. 5120 Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana THE BEACON OF TRUTH guyanatimesgy.com PRICE $100 VAT INCLUDEDSATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2022 PP8P2P914 US$20M oil and gas training centre opens at Lusignan – Guyanese will now benefit from cuttingedge capacity-building on home soil – PM 200 house lots distributed on WCD A house lot recipient pulling the number to her lot from Housing Minister, Collin Croal during a distribution exercise on Friday at the West Demerara Secondary School, which saw scores of people in attendance Stigmatisation will prove difficult to detect, control monkeypox –Health Minister warns GuyaneseEsteemed Jurist Louise Blenman sworn in as Chief Justice of Belize 4 fatalitylatestisRegUnvaccinatedfindsinwasHighStVryheid’sganjaoverremanded$2.8MfindatLustGeorge’sSchoolfireelectricalnature–GFS4manGuyana’sCOVID-19 Fisherfolk cash grant Govt wants list to reflect Minbeneficiaries”–“realMustapha Page3 – 5 new housing developments being upgraded in Reg 3 Several villages in Regions 5, 6 inundated due to heavy downpour Page7 culturalmassiveoffkicksMonthHeritageAmerindianwithextravaganza Father of 2 feared dead after lightning strikes fishing boat in Berbice River Page16 Page9 P10 P11 Page14

Anthony was granted $100,000 bail with the con dition that he report to the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) Headquarters every Monday until the hearing and determination of his trial. The case was adjourned until October 25. Over the past few months, SOCU – an arm of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) – has charged several persons, including a woman, in relation to the package deliveryThesescams.romance scams are designed to defraud vic tims into sending money to accounts controlled by other persons in exchange for ex pensive gifts like high-end phones.Inmost cases, the scam mer adopts a fake online identity to gain the victim’s trust and affection. They then use the illu sion of a romantic or close relationship to manipulate and/or steal from the victim. The Head of SOCU, Assistant Commissioner Fazil Karimbaksh is once again calling on all Guyanese to be vigilant against pack age delivery and romance scams. He is also encourag ing everyone to report such scams immediately.

Nigerian national remanded, another on bail over package delivery scam Remanded: Matthew Ejike Nwachukwu

4 remanded over $2.8M ganja find at Vryheid’s Lust

NEWS2 SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

ANigerian national re siding in Guyana on Friday appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on a charge for his alleged role in an online ro manceMatthewscam. Ejike Nwachukwu of Nigeria and Wayne Anthony Halley of Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), were arraigned before Senior Magistrate Leron Daly. It is alleged that be tween August 20 and 29, at Georgetown, they conspired with each other to defraud Njema Nobel of $100,000 in cash by falsely pretending that they were in a position to deliver a package to her. Nwachukwu was re manded to prison after the Police prosecutor’s objection to bail regarding him being a flight risk was upheld by the Magistrate.

Four men, who were ar rested on Thursday following the discov ery of $2.8 million in import ed marijuana at a Vryhied’s Lust, East Coast Demerara (ECD) home, have been re manded to prison. Erwin Chappelle, 24; Doodnauth Bhagwandin, 35; Kevin Ramgoolam, 27; and Mark Barton, 29, were arraigned on Friday be fore Magistrate Ruschelle Liverpool at the Sparendaam Magistrates’ Courts. They pleaded not guilty to the charge which alleged that they had 1.750 kilo grams of marijuana in their possession for the purpose of trafficking. The case continues on September 20. Based on information re ceived, ranks of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) conducted an operation at a residence in Middle Street, South Vryheid’s Lust, where they intercepted a motor ve hicle with the four men. A search was done on the ve hicle during which four parcels of Cannabis sativa were unearthed. As such, the four men and the nar cotics were taken to CANU Headquarters, where the drug was weighed and amounted to 1.750 kilos. According to CANU, the drug known as “Kush” was imported into Guyana from North America.

US$20M oil and gas training centre opens at Lusignan

3 SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM NEWS COMMODITIES Indicators US$ Change % Crude Oil $93.02/barrel +0.71 Rough Rice $317.57/ton -0.18 London Sugar $572.30/ton +2.36 Live Spot Gold USD Per Ounce Bid/Ask $1712.50 $1713.50 Low/High $1698.80 $1719.40 Change 0.00 0.00 LOTTERY NUMBERS DAILY MILLIONSWEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2022 DISCLAIMER: WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ERRORS IN PUBLICATION. PLEASE CALL THE HOTLINE FOR CONFIRMATION - TEL: 225-8902 LUCKY 3 TICKETFREE 02 07 08 11 19 25H 1811 26157 16 5 1720611030302 BonusBall 28 DRAW DE LINE 08 12050302 14 16100201 PAY DAY PAYSUPERDAY 14 3 0 4 Afternoon Draw Evening Draw FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 02, 2022 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 02, 2022 75 76 Afternoon Draw Evening Draw 2X5X Afternoon Draw Evening Draw FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 02, 2022 G

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Saturday, Sept 3 – 22:00 – 23:30h and Sunday, Sept 4 – 11:00h – 12:00h. uyana’s first premier oil and gas training centre was officially opened on Friday, and ac cording to Prime Minister Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips, Guyanese can now benefit from an assort ment of cutting-edge capac ity-building courses without having to leave the country. Located at Lusignan on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD), 3t EnerMech Guyana Training Centre of Excellence is a joint ven ture between two Guyanese companies – Orinduik Development Incorporated and Windsor Technologies –and US-based 3t EnerMech, which is a strategic alliance between 3t Energy Group andThisEnerMech.Training Centre of Excellence combines expert instruction in-classroom training facilities, blended learning software and tech nology, and fully immersive simulators for high-hazard activity learning to empower and provide Guyanese with key skills and training cer tifications that are required to work in the offshore envi ronment.Speaking at the opening ceremony, Prime Minister Phillips pointed out that this ground-breaking facility would bring immense ben efits to Guyanese. He not ed that since the discovery of oil offshore, Guyana has undergone transformational changes to create a condu cive environment for the de velopment of the petroleum sector, and he said the abun dant and life-changing op portunities that the indus try offers must not bypass Guyanese.“Acrucial factor to the success of our nation lies in our people. We must ensure that we utilise the benefits of the oil and gas sector to build a bright future for this generation, the next gener ation of Guyanese, and be yond. To do that, we must undertake a culture of own ership, a culture where our local content – our people –can thrive, and that includes within the workplace itself,” PhillipsAccordingstated.to the Prime Minister, the Government has been continuously en gaging in the training of the local workforce to occupy im portant positions in the oil and gas sector and contrib ute to the building of this sector, and ultimately the development of Guyana. To this end, he posit ed that the establishment of this training facility strengthens a PPP mani festo promise to train thou sands of Guyanese at every level to create a national corps of managers and work force to chart the future di rection and effectively man age all the sectors in the country.“With you being the first entity with approval to de

WEATHER TODAY

Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Christian Brown, ex plained that this facility is the first regional ECITBaccredited centre, and is also Guyana’s first OPITOapproved facility.

While it has now offi cially opened, 3t EnerMech Guyana Training Centre of Excellence has been operat ing in Guyana over the past three years, and offering over 500 courses specifical ly designed to upscale the oil and gas EnerMech’ssector.

TURN

There will be light cloud and light rain showers during the day. Expect light rain showers and partly cloudy skies at night. Temperatures should range between 22 degrees Celsius and 32 degrees Winds:Celsius.

BRIDGE OPENINGS

dergoTrinidadUnitedelwouldPMleavepeopletiestoknowledge,requiresofthisparticipatetoenedresourcessectortrainingOrganisation-accreditedTrainingtotheoilandgasinGuyana,ourhumanarenowstrengthataglobalstandardactivelyandcompetentlyinthebuildingofnewandabundantareaourcountry.“Withanindustrythathighskillsanditisreassuringknowthatthesecapacicanbeimpartedtoourwithouthavingtotheirhomesoil,”thenoted.Previously,GuyanesehavehadtotravtotheUnitedStates,theKingdom,orevenandTobagotountrainingandsecure

liver Offshore Petroleum Industry

FERRY SCHEDULE

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South-Westerly to West South-Westerly between 1.78 metres and 3.57 metres. High Tide: 09:16h and 21:35h reaching maximum heights of 2.33 metres and 2.37 metres. Low Tide: 15:05h reaching a minimum height of 0.95 metre.

the necessary certifica tion to work in the oil and gas sector here. These in clude Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organisation (OPITO) and Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) tor.asGuyana’stry,globaltopplacetheseAccordingaccreditations.toPhillips,certificationswillGuyaneseamongthequalifiedplayersintheoilandgasindusthusfurtheraddingtogrowingpotentialapowerhouseinthesec

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Parika and Supenaam departure times – 05:00h, 10:00h-12:00h, 16:00h, 18:30h daily Saturday, Sept 3 –08:35h – 10:05h and Sunday, Sept 4 – 09:50h – 11:20h.

- Guyanese will now benefit from cutting-edge capacity- building on home soil – PM

Prime Minister Brig (ret’d) Mark Phillips, Cabinet Ministers and other officials join repre sentatives from 3t EnerMech Guyana Training Centre of Excellence at the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday

The trickle-down effects of crimes committed by rogue cops affect every Police rank, even those who have performed heroically in the line of duty, risking and sometimes losing their lives, who have given service to their country and their countrymen beyond the call of duty; so it is incumbent on those honest, dedicated and professional Police ranks to identify, isolate, and eliminate the criminals within their midst, so that the GPF once again becomes a highly efficient, trusted law-enforcement body that fulfills its mandate by protecting and serving the nation.

A journey with the Amerindians, the original inhabitants of Guyana

RegionalLocalFormerAffairs,MinistryFormerNormanSincerely,WhittakerAdvisor,ofAmerindianMinisterofGovernmentandDevelopment

The minibus conductors know all the traffic Policemen who take bribes, and their stories of persecution by those delegated to protect travellers from lawless road users who commit traffic violations that endanger lives are many. Amnesty should be offered to those who were coerced into paying bribes by the disreputable brigade of lawmen in exchange for their providing crucial and credible evidence in court.

The rogues in the GPF have to be weeded out by loyal and honest members of the Force themselves in sting operations, cognisant of the fact that defamation ensuing from the criminal actions of even one rogue cop impacts the reputation of the entire Force, not merely the renegades. The distrust of the public for the Police intensifies rather than wanes, and there are numerous instances when members of the public, fearing a negative response, prefer to suffer in silence rather than report crimes committed against them.

Taking pride Over the years, great efforts have been made to reprofessionalise and re-capitalise each arm of the Joint Services. Gradually, the ranks, with rare exceptions, began taking pride in their uniform and profession, with dire consequences for the criminal Administrationspopulation.changed, and there was a paradigm shift in the actions/inactions of the various ranks of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), again with rare exceptions, in direct correlation with the multiplicity of infractions of the law by lawmakers than in Government who were trampling on the Constitution in myriads of ways.After the PPP/C acceded to the nation’s administrative offices in August of 2020, the new Government, through strategic placement of senior ranks, once again embarked on a dynamic crusade to create a people-friendly, proactive Police Force. However, every organisation is a microcosm of the wider society, and the GPF is no different. Since the society at large has criminals rampaging in every community, so, too, rogue cops are defaming the entire Force and creating distrust between lawabiding citizens and the GPF. The rogues take bribes. In the past, some ranks have been accused, rightly or wrongly, of lending their weapons to bandits, and of setting free persons who were captured with great effort and at great risk to their fellow officers. They have even been accused of perpetrating criminal activities themselves, and it is only just that, when caught, they should be dealt with in ways more punitive than those meted to civilians, because they are supposed to be guardians of the laws of the land and protectors of the society, so their felonious actions are tantamount to crimes against the State, and consequently are treasonous.Someof these ranks disgrace their uniforms and the organisation to which they belong. They bring disrepute to the entire Force with their criminal actions, and should be dealt with condignly by their counterparts in the service, as in a case where one Policeman nabbed three bribe-takers.

Chief-of-Staff Brigadier Godfrey Bess inspecting the Ensigncy parade held at the Colonel Ulric Pilgrim Officer Cadet School (CUPOCS) Drill Square, Base Camp Stephenson, Timehri, on Thursday. During the ceremony, 22 aspiring officers, who met the standard and attained the rank of Ensign, were decorated

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:marketing@guyanatimesgy.comnews@guyanatimesgy.com, 4 Views guyanatimesgy.comSATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2022

Dear Editor, Villages spread across the ten administrative regions of Guyana, or over 83,000 square miles of our territory, are home to between 72,000 and 75,000 Amerindians. They are Guyana’s Indigenous people, the descendants of the origi nal inhabitants of our coun try.In these villages re side the nine Amerindian Peoples, or Tribes, viz: The Arawaks, Caribs, Warraus, Patamonas, Akawaios, Arecunas, Macushi, Wai-Wai and Wapishani; the earliest of whom came here over 5000 years BC, and lived, according to Guyanese Anthropologist Denis Williams, “along Guyana’s North West Coast and in the Orinoco Delta area of neighbouring Venezuela.” Each tribe came with their own distinctive identity and cultural heritage. These dis tinctions are to be found in their language, economic ac tivities, the nature and ex tent of their system of gov ernance, and more. And so, on the occasion of the 26th Anniversary of Amerindian Heritage Day (September 10, 2021) and, more extensively, Amerindian Heritage Month, September 2021, I am confi dent you would agree with me when I say they do have much to celebrate.Further, Amerindian Heritage Month has, since September 10, 1995, provid ed an annual occasion to cel ebrate.But how and when did Amerindian Heritage Month observations begin? What is it all about? Amerindian culture, art and craft, cuisine, music, dances, and other aspects of Amerindian traditional life style were kept alive when the late President Cheddi Jagan first designated September 10, 1995 as Amerindian Heritage Day in memory of Mr Stephen Campbell, the first Amerindian to enter the Parliament of then British Guiana. (September 10, 1957). And so we began to cel ebrate in 1995. In fact, His Excellency President Jagan and his Government deter mined that the entire month of September would be cele brated annually thereafter by all Guyana.Thecelebrations have ex panded over the post-1995 years to highlight the spe cial achievements of our Indigenous people, and in this regard, it does provide opportunity for all Guyanese and non-Guyanese to be able to view, experience, and be reminded of the culture of Amerindians in the vari ous villages and communi ties across our country. It’s a unique culture that most have grown to respect, cherish, and help to preserve. There are specific insti tutions which have helped to protect and preserve Amerindian artifacts that are specific to the Amerindian way of life; viz the National Museum, the Walter Roth Museum, the Benab at the Sophia Exhibition Site, and the Umana Yana, to name but a few. They all display an array of artefacts that are unique to the Amerindian way of life, the Amerindian architecture, and traditional knowledge of the people. Every September since 1995, an Amerindian village is designated Heritage Village. This rotation of the designated Heritage Village from year to year provides opportunity for all Guyana to experience and learn more of the culture and way of life of our Amerindian people. It is celebrated under a theme. Activities and events revolve around that theme. It allows them to market their village, its people, and what they have to offer in terms of goods and services. In short, Amerindian Heritage Month is also a medium for promot ing hinterland tourism. There is more to Amerindian Heritage Month than a mere name. It pro vides opportunity to showcase improvements in the lives of the people in the villages and communities. Amerindian Heritage Month 2021 is being celebrated under the theme: “Maintaining our Traditional Integrity; Celebrating our CulturalAmerindianIdentity”. Heritage Month celebrations pro vide opportunities for all Guyanese to participate and to share in the culture of our Indigenous People by bringing Amerindian people and their communities into the main stream of national develop ment.Thanks to the collective ef forts of the Government work ing with the National Toshaos Council and the Village Councils, our Indigenous People have realised for them selves and families wider choices in terms of the goods and services, and the quali ty of those goods and services, from which they have been able to benefit viz: education; healthcare; river, air and road transportation; the construc tion/extension of schools and dormitories; building of hos pitals, health centres/posts; and the furnishing of these fa cilities; training of teachers, health workers etc. These important services are extended to many, and a wider supply of quality goods is provided to our hinter land areas, where most of our Indigenous People live. Add to the above signifi cant infrastructural support such as new airstrips; exten sion /rehabilitation of a num ber of these airstrips; im proved roads; provision of river and land transport, viz ATVs and outboard engines, boats and life jackets for use by school children and other hin terland residents; radio sets, landline and cellular phone services for use in hinterland administrative centres and by schools, health centres, health posts, village offices and individuals, result ing in improved communica tion; provision of solar electric ity and use of solar electricity at these very institutions and even in homes; the provision of potable water by way of so lar pumps, water tanks/tres tles; the Hinterland Housing Schemes started in Regions 1, 2 and 9; the 2006 Amerindian Act that guides and informs what is done in the villag es and communities; moreso, with respect to governance and land ownership and use. For me, it has been a pleasure/productive period of my life…1976 to 2015, liv ing and working among our Amerindian brothers and sis ters in their villages and com munities. I have learnt a lot from them, and with much humility, I have no doubt they from me also. To our Amerindian com rades, I commend your con tribution to the development of Guyana; more significant ly, for keeping this dear and great land of ours intact so that we could all benefit. It’s all about Amerindian develop ment with culture and identi ty. They do have much to cele brate. Congratulations!

The law banning music from minibuses is constantly being flouted, even within hearing of Police ranks, most of whom ignore the cacophony because they feel that music, even the cacophonous and vulgar variety, is no crime, but is instead very enjoyable and should be tolerated, with anyone objecting being deemed a troublemaker. In this regard, they abdicate their responsibility to be guardians and enforcers of the law, regardless of personal opinions andThepreferences.travelling public is still being held to ransom because, if they complain about loud and crude music, speeding or overcrowding, they are most often abused, and sometimes even ejected from the bus.Sometimes, instead of respecting and heeding a request to turn down or off raucous and vulgar music, the volume is turned up to excruciatingly higher decibels. The public sometimes have no recourse, but to endure the assault on their hearing organ just to reach their destination.

Yours sincerely, Kit Nascimento

Arising from our repre sentation, the Ministry of Labour shares our view, and has confirmed its position in writing. Unfortunately, the Commission does not share thatInview.the circumstances, and in keeping with our CLA, we have sought to ad dress the dispute in keeping with the grievance proce dure. All we seek is to have the obligations within the agreement honoured. We trust that this brings clarity to the Union’s efforts to ensure that the rights of workers are respected.

Passing Rashleighof Jackson

Why is Mr Norton obsessed with the removal of the GECOM Chairwoman?

“The doors are wide open now to do all the train ing we need, not only for Guyana, but for the region here, within Georgetown. It’s a pivotal time, because now, with this centre, we can train Guyanese people in the roles across many skills, many competencies, to support all of the invest ments that are going with in our oil and gas sector,” Brown posited. In addition to the cur rent skills and competen cy training being offered, the centre would be add ing Basic Offshore Safety Induction and Emergency Training (BOSIET), and Firefighting and Emergency Response Training as well to its accreditation services.

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Dear Editor, The GAWU’s attention was drawn to Ms Pauline Wong’s letter appearing in a section of the media on September 1, 2022 regarding our efforts to bring respect to the Collective Labour Agreement (CLA) between our Union and the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC). It is alleged that our Union did not address is sues during the previous period. We, however, wish to place on record that all matters brought to our at tention were addressed at varying levels, including the Ministry of Labour. In one instance, delays in pay ment of salaries and oth er benefits were addressed with the then Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman.Inrespect to our rep resentation regarding the now terminated workers, we have not taken any differ ing approach; we have sim ply sought for the workers’ rights to be respected.

Yours

The EnerMech CEO out lined that more capital, re sources and training would be added to make sure the local oil and gas industry’s needs are met, while simul taneously developing the Guyanese talent pool and backing the country with a qualified workforce.

Dear Editor, There has been a long standing argument within the ranks of the Opposition: that the GECOM Chairwoman must demit of fice, and that she should do so immediately. It all stems from that party’s valiant ef fort to get the former jus tice to sign on to a fraudu lent declaration to make them winners of the March 2nd, 2020 General Election, which the alert justice did not accede to. This infuriated them, and from that day onwards, the Opposition have been singing that chorus: the Chairwoman must go. The point is: they want a chairperson whom they could control, or one that is a puppet on a string, easily swayed by their whims and fancies. It was their mis taken belief that they could have goaded her into signing an illegal document and seal the deal in that final chapter of their rigging apparatus. But that sordid arrange ment was met with a blunt no, which has caused them to turn on the Chairwoman with unconcealed venom. One must remember that the first call for a veri fication recount of the votes came from Justice Singh herself. The keen and eru dite judge was the person who initiated the call for a recount, in her own words, “We shall count the votes all over again, one by one.” She later would go on to say “I want not one dollar of the oil money”, judging from the fact that she knew the narrative the PNC would throw her way. A vast number of their followers peddle the false accusation that the Chairwoman took bribes, so the former justice was making it pellucid that that was not the case.You see, the mountain Norton would have to surmount is that Justice Singh was legal and aboveboard in her selection to office. Unlike her prede cessor, James Patterson, who was selected based on being a rubber stamp for the PNC, there was nothing un toward in Singh’s appoint ment. However, in all of this, Norton and the PNC’s remorse to this day would have been, “We should have done a more thorough back ground check to confirm her political leanings and whether she was into the rigging of a legitimate pro cess”. That is the irksome task that has him having nightmares right now. Finally, Justice Singh, with her many years of ex perience, would know who the PNC are. Who can know the PNC more than Madam Justice Singh; their lives, their propaganda, and de ceit? As a Guyanese, she would have witnessed it in her daily life, and more so in the courts, where she pre sided.The PNC has an onerous reputation for distorting the facts, and she would not sul ly her good reputation with such individuals. A point of note here is that Justice Singh was in the 1997 fiasco when Hoyte, having lost the election by a landslide, wanted to have a court overturn the results in his favour. Justice Singh was that judge who presid ed over that election peti tion. The point I am mak ing is: we are not going back into those years of fraudu lent results and rigged elec tions, and a very good start ing point is having a credible GECOMNortonChairperson.canblowhis top as loudly and as long as he likes, that would not change anything; we are going to stick with the rules.

“We are never going to achieve true local content if we don’t develop our human capital, our local capacity at the Private Sector level, so that Guyanese can bene fit from the oil and gas sec tor too. Because that is the cry that resonates through out the entire country as we travel around, and rightly so,” he stated.

Cordell CommunicationMcClure Officer Ministry of Tourism, Industry, Commerceand

GAWU seeks to have GFC respect CLA

Dear Editor, The Ministry of Tourism, Industry, and Commerce notes yet another article ap pearing in one of the daily newspapers on September 2, 2022, purporting to speak on behalf of agro-processors. This latest article makes the wholly untrue and inac curate assertion that there has been no response to what has been termed a “for mal inquiry [sic] as to wheth er Government of Guyana might be disposed to contrib uting to defraying costs as sociated with local agro-pro cessors and craftsmen and women’s participation” in the Florida International Trade and Cultural Expo andTheConference.factsare as follows: 1. On August 9, Mr. Wesley Kirton, communicat ing from a Gmail address, sent an email to Minister Walrond’s official address. In the email, Mr. Kirton en quired “whether there is any assistance the Government of Guyana could provide some of the small entrepre neurs who wish to partic ipate in this event.” This is the only correspondence that the Ministry and the Minister have received on the2.matter.Minister Walrond instructed Mr. John Edghill, Director of Business and Entrepreneur Development, to reach out to Mr. Kirton. 3. Mr. Edghill duly wrote to Mr. Kirton on August 26, indicating that the Ministry could not sponsor the event [for the agro-processors], and offered to meet with Mr. Kirton at a mutually convenient time to explore options for support in the future. To date, Mr. Kirton has not responded to Mr.FromEdghill.the above sequence of events, it cannot be said that there was no response to Mr. Kirton. It is well known that a fundamental principle of integrity in jour nalism requires balance, which is usually reflected in making genuine efforts to contact any person for their side of a matter before pub lishing adverse comments. Had that daily publication followed this basic principle and practice, the unfortu nate misrepresentations in the above article might have been avoided. On a final note, Minister Walrond and Minister Mustapha accompanied Vice President Jagdeo to a meeting with more than 100 agro-processors on August 30, 2022 at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre. It is instructive that at that encounter, which lasted for more than four hours, not a single one of those processors raised the issue of support for attendance at FITCE. Therefore, as well-meaning as Mr. Kirton’s initiative ap pears to be, the reality may very well be that the prior ities are different for the agro-processors’.

GAWUPresidentSeepaulfaithfully,Narine

Saturday, September 3, 2022

US$20M oil and gas training ...

Response to article

NeilRespectfully,Adams

Meanwhile, Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat pointed out that Guyana is blessed with human resources, and underscored the need to de velop this pool to fully real ise local content.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2022 5

Dear Editor, I was extremely sad dened to hear of the death of our former Foreign Minister Rashleigh Jackson, with whom I had the pleasure of serving in the Cabinet. Rashleigh Jackson was our Foreign Minister during the years 1978-1991. First as one of our senior dip lomats, and subsequent ly as Foreign Minister, he played an enormously im portant part in the building of our Foreign Service, along with, of course, Sir Shridath Ramphal, in the early days of ourRashleighIndependence.servedwith dis tinction as Ambassador and Permanent Representative for Guyana to the United Nations before his appoint ment as Foreign Minister, and I remember the critical role he served in our defence against Venezuela’s spurious claim against our territorial integrity.Fora tiny, newly- inde pendent developing coun try, and when Guyana was at the centre in our region of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the USA, and under economic and even military threat from our neighbour Venezuela, we should be forever grate ful for the fact that we were represented international ly with men of the calibre of Rashleigh Jackson. I extend my sympathy and condolences to his rela tives.

The Minister added, “Today is a true exam ple of local content. Today is a true example of how Guyanese are starting to establish themselves in the oil and gas sector along with international part ners, because we need the expertise, we need the in vestments, and we need the technology. And that is why we have always, as a Government, encouraged our local businesses, our lo cal entrepreneurs, to join in partnership in joint ven tures and consortiums, and to work with foreign inves tors to build facilities as thisInone.”addition to opening on Friday, 3t EnerMech Guyana Training Centre of Excellence also held the graduation of its first group of students. The 18 stu dents, who took the cours es through the Guyana Government’s GOAL ini tiative, graduated with the ECITB Level 2 certificate. One-third of those gradu ates are females. PM Phillips charged the group of young Guyanese to put their skills to use. “I congratulate the first cohort of participants who underwent training at this facility. May you take your skills and put them to their fullest use as you proceed in your daily tasks of helping to build a better Guyana.”

guyanatimesgy.com

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How it works: A regular mirror is flat and sends your reflec tion straight back into your eyes. The rounded scoop of the spoon bounces your reflection back at different angles and turns your reflection up side down. Make this a science project: Try different sized spoons. Try other reflec tive surfaces that are not flat. Try manipulating sheets of aluminium foil for different reflections. (sciencefun.org) 99 + 0 = 99 Power Up DistributiveMathsProperty and Identity The Distributive Property of Multiplication: When you multiply numbers, you may multiply by each separately, and then add their products.

WORD SEARCH Page Foundation 6 SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2022 ◄

By The BroThers Grimm

Example: 8 x (4 + 2) = (8 x 4 ) + (8 x 2) 48 = 32 + 16 Multiplication and division are closely related. When you learnt how to divide fractions, you were shown that division was the same as multiplication by a reciprocal. You can use the Distributive Property of Multiplication when you are dividing. But you may only use the Distributive Property when the addends are in the dividend. Identity elements are numbers in a problem that do not affect the answer. When adding, the identity element is 0. Any addend or addend + 0 will not change the total. In multiplication, the identity element is 1. Any factor of factors x 1 will not change the product. Subtraction and division do not have identity elements.

DistributiveMathsProperty and Identity

Identity elements are numbers in a problem that do not affect the answer. When adding, the identity element is 0. Any addend or addend + 0 will not change the total. In multiplication, the identity element is 1. Any factor of factors x 1 will not change the product. Subtraction and division do not have identity elements.

Exercises: Identify the property 1) 0 + 4 = 4 2) 6 ( 5 + 4) = 6 x 5 + 6 x 4 3) 16 + 0 = 16 4) 3 ( 4 + 3 + 4) = 3 x 4 + 3 x 3 + 3 x 4 5) 21 + 0 = 21 6) 99 + 0 = 99

Exercises: Identify the property 1) 0 + 4 = 4 2) 6 ( 5 + 4) = 6 x 5 + 6 x 4 3) 16 + 0 = 16 4) 3 ( 4 + 3 + 4) = 3 x 4 + 3 x 3 + 3 x 4 5) 21 + 0 = 21 6)

Distributive Property and Identity Upside Down S he went and opened the door, and the frog hopped in and followed her, step by step, to her chair. There he sat and cried, “Lift me up beside you.” She delayed, until at last the king commanded her to do it. When the frog was once on the chair he wanted to be on at the table, and when he was on the table he said, “Now, push your little golden plate nearer to me that we may eat together.” She did this, but it was easy to see that she did not do it willingly. The frog enjoyed what he ate, but al most every mouthful she took choked her. At length he said, “I have eaten and am satisfied; now I am tired, carry me into thy little room and make thy lit tle silken bed ready, and we will both lie down and go to sleep.”The king’s daughter began to cry, for she was afraid of the cold frog which she did not like to touch, and which was now to sleep in her pret ty, clean little bed. But the king grew angry and said, “He who helped thee when thou wert in trouble ought not afterwards to be despised by thee.” So she took hold of the frog with two fingers, carried him upstairs, and put him in a corner. When she was in bed he crept to her and said, “I am tired, I want to sleep as well as thou. Lift me up or I will tell thy father.”

Power Up DistributiveMathsProperty and Identity

The Distributive Property of Multiplication: When you multiply numbers, you may multiply by each separately, and then add their products.

CONTINUED FROM FRIDAY

Materials: Instructions:Spoon Take a large spoon with a shiny reflective fin ish.Hold the spoon up and look into the scoop area. Your reflection will be upside down.

Remember: You cannot use the Distributive Property when addends are in the divisor: 90 ÷ (4 + 2) does not = (90 ÷ 4 ) + (90 ÷ 2) because….. (90 x 1 6 ) does not = (90 x 1 4) + (90 x 1 2) 15 does not = 22.5 + 45 Find the answers to the following problems and tell which property they represent. Exercises: Identify the property 1) 0 + 4 = 4 2) 6 ( 5 + 4) = 6 x 5 + 6 x 4 3) 16 + 0 = 16 4) 3 ( 4 + 3 + 4) = 3 x 4 + 3 x 3 + 3 x 4 5) 21 + 0 = 21 6) 99 + 0 = 99

The Distributive Property of Multiplication: When you multiply numbers, you may multiply by each separately, and then add their products. Example: 8 x (4 + 2) = (8 x 4 ) + (8 x 2) 48 = 32 + 16 Multiplication and division are closely related. When you learnt how to divide fractions, you were shown that division was the same as multiplication by a reciprocal. You can use the Distributive Property of Multiplication when you are dividing. But you may only use the Distributive Property when the addends are in the dividend.

Power Up DistributiveMathsProperty and Identity

Power Up

In this fun and easy science experiment for kids, we’re going to turn our reflection upside down.

Exercises: Identify the property 1) 0 + 4 = 4 2) 6 ( 5 + 4) = 6 x 5 + 6 x 4 3) 16 + 0 = 16 4) 3 ( 4 + 3 + 4) = 3 x 4 + 3 x 3 + 3 x 4 5) 21 + 0 = 21 6) 99 + 0 = 99

The Distributive Property of Multiplication: When you multiply numbers, you may multiply by each separately, and then add their products.

Several villages in Regions Five (Mahaica/ Berbice) and Six (East Berbice/Corentyne) have been left inundated as a re sult of the heavy downpour that commenced on Thursday evening and continued into Friday morning. In Region Five, scores of persons at Ithaca were forced to paddle through several inches of water to get into and out of their yards, while oth ers had to make alternative arrangements for their ac commodation as flood waters poured through their homes. Residents have said the flood might have been caused by a koker that was not fixed in time to keep out the water. Water levels in both the Canje and Berbice Rivers have been rising as a result of continuous rainfall, and a number of households have been affected, as have been livestock, cash and other crops at had been invaded by the rising wa ter levels, the Regional Administration visited the area on Friday afternoon and engaged those affected. Regional Chairman of Region Five, Vickchand Ramphal, has since made ar rangements to have systems put in place to assist those who were Accordingaffected.toRamphal, all the affected residents would be provided with cleaning agents supplied by the Civil Defence Commission (CDC). He told <<Guyana Times>> that Prime Minister Mark Phillips has since been con tacted, and has pledged his support. An excavator would be deployed to the area short ly, and would assist with cleaning the internal drains. Moreover, a medical team would be deployed to the area to give the necessary assis tance to the community. In Region Six, sections of East Canje remained un der water on Friday evening.

Chairman of Region Five, Ramphal, meeting with residents

Vickchand

One flooded yards Region

Several villages in Regions 5, 6 inundated due to heavy downpour

of the

excavator working to clear a

Six

“The first time we had to throw away a chair. The freezer is on empty drink cases since the first (flood) last year. The people come around, and my mother gave them her name and they say they will look into it, and no body came back!” she ex plained.Joseph said they have to dump a gas stove that was damaged as a result of that flood. “The wall divider damage. Look how high the water is… those chairs in there we will have to throw away again. I could not go to work because the bathroom and toilet were under water, so I could not bathe,” the woman disclosed. Another resident, Mahadeo Indar, explained that the water from oth er communities would drain into theirs when there is heavy“Therainfall.water from Bun Bush (Burnt Bush) end com ing down here. Bun Bush don’t have any drainage right now, the drainage it totally shut down. We report it to the Council, and nothing happen ing,” he Desmondsaid. Balgobin, whose kitchen garden was under several inches of water, also related that his livestock has likewise been affected. “Four days now, and the water haven’t drained off as yet. This is the second flood, the first one was last week,” he declared.Someresidents have re lated that the flooding is a result of poor drainage, and they have blamed the work done by a contractor. “Since the hymac dig to make the street, they block the culvert mouth, and I went in and told the Overseer during the dry weather, and up to now they have not come and cleaned it; and this is two floods come and hit us, so the water taking very long to drain out,” he said. Indar explained that a contractor was engaged to re habilitate Burnt Bush Dam during a massive flood last year. During that period, the foundation of a street was created. He explained that the sand which was in place to construct the road was washed into the drain, caus ing it to be blocked. “They didn’t dig it back, so now, when the rains fall, ev erything running back this way,” he Followingdeclared.Friday’s epi sode of rainfall, sections of New Amsterdam, Ordinance Fort Lands and Number 2 Village have been inundated. Regional Executive Officer (REO) Navindra Persaud pos ited that residents in some of the affected areas have been contacted, and assistance should be provided to them through the CDC. (Andrew Carmichael)

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AfterIthaca.several

Water in one of the houses

The hardest hit area is New Street, Cumberland. Some residents say this is the sec ond flood to hit the area with in a very short period of time. Some persons were un able to go to work on Friday, as several inches of water re mained in their homes, while others were just hoping that the water would recede in a timely manner. Both crops and livestock have been af fected.Canje resident Jalisa Joseph explained that this is not the first time her home has been inundated.

An clogged canal Region

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Esteemed Guyanese Jurist Louise Blenman sworn in as Chief Justice of Belize

Foreign... …affairs Rashleigh Jackson just passed, at the age of 93. That some young’uns might ask (smarmily), “And who, pray tell, is Rashleigh Jackson?” reminds us of the profundity of Kahlil Gibran’s line – “The moving finger writes…and having writ, moves on.” And indeed it does, since the memory of Jackson has faded. So let your Eyewitness pay his (and it should also be the country’s) respect to a faithful servant of this country. If for nothing else, Jackson should be remembered as the longest serving Foreign Minister of Guyana – from 1978 to 1990. Before that, he was our Representative to the UN (1973-1978), and before that, the Permanent Secretary in the Foreign Affairs Ministry. It was he who oversaw the coordination of the secretariat that organised the “Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Non-Aligned Movement” in Georgetown in 1972!! He worked under his classmate Sonny Ramphal, who was the Foreign Minister then. That conference had to’ve been one of the biggest feathers in Burnham’s cap, as he used his Foreign Service to bolster his standing on the world stage!! Burnham was a megalomaniac, plain and simple, and Guyana – even being part of Carifta - was too small for him to strut. But he recognised that for him to achieve his ambitions, he needed competent Sherpas to help him climb to the top. And in addition to accomplished big brains like Shahabuddeen, Ramphal, Wills et al, he encouraged old bright boys like Jackson, who was at Queen’s when he briefly taught there, while waiting to go off to London on his scholarship. Jackson joined the Foreign Service in 1964, when Burnham took over the Government - courtesy of MI6 and the CIA - and worked his way to the top!! One has to also give Jackson credit for being one of the FIRST GUYANESE who saw the Foreign Service as a vocation, and not just as a way station to further his ambitions. And you know all those of whom your Eyewitness speaks!! And in this vein, what distinguished him from others was that he was a true-true patriot -- inspired to improve and protect the standing of Guyana in the international arena. We gotta realise that since China had received Nixon earlier that year, the whole tenor of the 1972 Conference had to be finely balanced about the goals of non-alignment. And the lessons learnt were astutely applied when Jackson moved on to the UN the next year. As Hoyte moved to reverse Burnham’s “co-operative” gears after 1985, Jackson played an underappreciated role in stabilising the ship of state. His reading of the global shifts had to’ve helped. By then he was a senior Minister, but not seen as a “politician”. He always was available to all succeeding Govts. RIP!! …lesson from Gorbachev Yesterday, your Eyewitness expatiated on the passing of Gorbachev. As he explained, the man’s heart was in the right place. He realised the USSRs’ problems were systemic – a lack of democracy and a fossilised, super-centralised economic system that was making them fall behind, rather than even catching up with the West. And this was after SEVENTY YEARS of the communist way!! So, why’d he fail, if he launched a revolution to fix the two deficits through Glasnost (openness) and Perestroika (retransformation??) The problem has to do with “revolutions”!! These attempts to make root and branch changes in one fell swoop – and, in most cases, very few societies can deal with the unintended consequences. Take the “openness” of the democratic process after 70 years of dictatorship: the chaos led to a drunken lout and demagogue like Yeltsin replacing Gorbachev!! And the economy falling into the hands of oligarchs, who took over the formerly nationalised industries. And this explains somewhat the stubborn remnants of the Burnhamite dictatorship!! It takes time.

Esteemed Guyana-born jurist Louise Esther Blenman was on Friday sworn in as Belize’s new Chief Justice, becoming the first female to hold the post in that Caricom mem berShestate.took the oath of of fice before the country’s Governor General, Froyla Tzalam, at Belize House in the capital city of Belmopan. She replaces Кеnnеth Веnјаmіn whо rеtіrеd іn Маrсh 2020. Before her appointment, Місhеllе Аrаnа асtеd аѕ Belize’s Сhіеf Јuѕtісе, but did not apply for the substan tive post. Justice Blenman will also be elevated to the Court of Appeal of Belize as a member of that court. According to the Government of Belize Press Office, earlier this year, the Office of the Prime Minister caused to be advertised the position of Chief Justice. As such, ads were placed on the Supreme Court of Belize’s website and were published regionally and through the Commonwealth Secretariat. The office of the Prime Minister received eight applications, none of which were by any Belizean applicant. The country’s Press Office said that an interview panel consisting of senior members of the Bar conducted inter views of the eight applicants and a report on the inter views and the vetting of the applications was prepared for Prime Minister John Briceno for him to make his decision.Inthat report and based on her qualifications, expe rience, and her interview, Justice Blenman, a retired Justice of Appeal of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, was recommend ed favourably to the Prime Minister, the statement add ed. Justice Blenman gradu ated from the University of the West Indies in 1986 with a Bachelor of Laws Degree (LL.B.) (Upper Second Class Honours). She later ob tained the Legal Education Certificate (LEC) from the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad in 1988. She was called to the Bar in Guyana, in 1988 and also served as a Magistrate in her native country. She is also the holder of a Master of Law Degree (LL.M.) with merit from the University of London.Justice Blenman has served in a variety of senior legal and judicial positions in the region of St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua, Barbuda, and Anguilla. She was a Justice of Appeal of the Eastern Caribbean Court which serves nine states and terri tories. The six independent states are Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts, and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, and the Grenadines, and three British Overseas Territories: Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, and Montserrat. “She, therefore, brings a wealth of experience having sat as a High Court judge for nine years and a Justice of Appeal for 10 years in the region. For more than six years she served as the Chairperson of the Judicial Education Institute of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and is a fellow of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute,” the Belize Press Office noted. She served as the Chairman of the Sentencing Guidelines Committee, has a wealth of experience in medi ation, is known for her dedi cation to the rule of law and public service, and most im portantly, for her timely de livery of judgements that have been cited in the courts in Belize.Justice Blenman is re nowned for her prolific judgement writing, many of which have been affirmed by the Privy Council. Under the Senior Courts Bill that was recently tabled in the National Assembly earlier this month, the restructured office of the Chief Justice of Belize is expected to be the judicial leader for both the Supreme Court of Belize and the Court of Appeal. Justice Blenman, who was a lecturer in law at the University of Guyana from 1992-2000, is the younger sister of Professor of Finance Dr Lloyd Blenman and the older sister of GuyaneseJamaican Attorney-at-Law Gloria Blenman-De Clou.

The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Guyana Times’ editorial policy and stance

Chief Justice of Belize, Justice Louise Esther Blenman

…tastes Yes…we gotta buy less foreign. But first we gotta get our tastebuds to appreciate local stuff. Even Burnham, who pushed “Buy Local”, lusted for – and sneaked in – condensed milk. He should’ve first ensured LIDCO produced milk to condense!!

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM 8 NEWS

200 house lots distributed on WCD

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Some 200 families have been allocated house lots in Stewartville and Meten-Meer-Zorg on the West Coast of Demerara in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara). This was done during an outreach at the West Demerara Secondary School on Friday, led by Housing Minister Collin Croal and a team from the Ministry’s Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA). Regional Chairman Ishan Ayube and Vice Chairman Omesh Satyanand were also pres ent.The outreach was geared towards addressing housing matters in Region Three. Allottees were allowed to pull their respective lot number and make an initial payment.In brief remarks, Minister Croal acknowl edged that the exercise is not sufficient to meet the housing demand in Region Three. However, he noted that in the coming weeks, a massive allocation exercise will be held in the region un der the Ministry’s flagship “Dream Realised” Housing Drive.Region Three has ap proximately 14,000 pending land applications. To meet this demand, the Minister said that new lands are be ing sought after and plans for the construction of some 500 low-income homes are progressing.Meanwhile, approxi mately $3.4 billion is being expended on infrastructur al development at five new housing developments in the region, namely: Cornelia Ida, Anna Catherina, Edinburg, Meten-MeerZorg, and Stewartville. These works include the installation of water supply networks and the construc tion of access roads, bridges, culverts, and drainage net works.Only Sunday last, the CH&PA handed over house lots in the new Stewartville Housing Scheme to 10 fami lies who are squatting at the Zeelugt Sideline Dam, East BankThatEssequibo.wasin keeping with a previous commit ment made by Minister Croal during an outreach to Region Three last month during which he assured residents that the agency is working to fast-track relo cation and regularisation in informal settlements. A total of thirteen per sons are squatting in the Zeelugt area, however, the other three persons have al ready been allocated house lots in Stewartville and oth er nearby schemes. It was noted that the area occupied by the infor mal settlers is nearby the community’s primary school and as such poses several is sues. The relocation is there fore expected to improve the environs of Zeelugt, while also improving the living conditions of the squatters. The new Stewartville housing scheme is already equipped with first-phase infrastructure and utilities such as roads, drainage net works, and Nevertheless,water. the Ministry on Friday further pointed to several incom ing Government projects for Region Three such as the Schoonord, West Bank Demerara (EBD) to Crane, WCD four-lane highway, which is being executed un der the Ministry of Housing andThisWater.proposed highway is expected to run 2.4 miles (3.9 kilometres). It will reduce traffic congestion along the West Bank and West Coast Demerara corridors, while at the same time modernise the country’s infrastructure and create avenues for hous ing and commercial develop ment.Moreover, in the com ing years, Region Three will also benefit from a new Demerara River bridge, as well as improvements in the education and health sec tors.

Some of the beneficiaries of the 200 house lots distributed at the West Demerara Secondary School outreach on Friday

A mother holding her child as she selects her lot number during Friday’s outreach The massive fire that destroyed the St George’s High School in Georgetown in July was “electrical in nature”, the Guyana Fire and Rescue Service said on Friday. “Based on our findings the fire was electrical in na ture and stemmed from an inoperable duplex recep tacle located in the Social Studies Department on the north-eastern wall of the building.”Though inoperable, it was said that electricity was going to the duplex recepta cle and the subsequent over heating of the insulation caused the plastic coating on the wire to melt, result ing in arcing and sparking which ignited nearby com bustibles and spread to the entireThebuilding.FireService is urg ing citizens to ensure elec trical appliances, outlets and wiring are of the correct standard as advised by the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS). These items should be ex amined regularly to ensure they are in proper working order.Citizens are also advised to equip their homes and businesses with fire extin guishers and smoke detec tors for the early detection and extinction of fires. Following the blaze, the Education Ministry com menced a registration pro cess for displaced students to ensure that they are placed in a school for the new academic year. Some of these schools are West Ruimveldt Secondary, South Ruimveldt Secondary, Plaisance Secondary, Dolphin Secondary, Freeburg Secondary, L’Aventure Secondary, Friendship Secondary, Ann’s Grove Secondary, Kingston Secondary, Covent Garden, and Cummings LodgeTheSecondary.woodenand concrete structure was destroyed by a ravaging fire that was lat er brought under control by the Fire Service after some time had been spent battling theOnfire.the day of the fire, a class with first formers was ongoing when both teach ers and students were alert ed by the cleaner that smoke was emanating from the Social Studies room. After the class had exited the building, the fire began spreading quickly, and soon engulfed the upper floor of the two-storey building. As a result of the blaze, 421 students and their teachers were displaced. St George’s High School was built in 1800 and was one of the oldest schools in the country.Meanwhile, Fire Chief Gregory Wickham had said that an earlier call to the Fire Service could have saved the building.

– 5 new housing developments being upgraded in Reg 3

St George’s High School fire was electrical in nature – GFS finds massive fire ripped through St George’s High School on July 20 (Don Singh photo)

By Shane MarkS

The National Stadium Tarmac was served with an excited crowd of spectators – some of whom travelled from Guyana’s most distant communities in the hinterland regions for the beginning of Amerindian Heritage Month, with a night-to-remember cultural extravaganza, on Thursday evening.Thenight kicked off with the arrival of President Dr Irfaan Ali and Prime Minister (Ret’d) Brigadier Mark Phillips, who were both received by a group of Indigenous soldiers.

Amerindian Heritage Month kicks off with massive cultural extravaganza

Macronan Albert Calvin Roberts Anez Donzus

The men who were dressed in their ceremonial uniforms saluted both the President and the Prime Minister upon their arrival.

President Dr Irfaan Ali and some of the delegates in the Miss Amerindian Heritage pageant

Headdresses were the fashion statements of the night as the Amerindian fashion piece sat on the heads of the spectators –President Ali was not spared of this cultural honour – as they expectantly eyed the many cultural performanc es of the Amerindian people.

The night paved on as the crowd got lost in the mu sic, dances, and most of all, the various Amerindian cui sines that were being offered by Amerindian entrepre neurs. Pepper Pot, Cassava Bread, Piwari, and many other Amerindian delicacies graced the booths of many exhibitors and eventually, the mouths of the persons at theThecelebration.nightwas a success; people came out in their numbers – not only people of the Amerindian race but also people from all walks of life. It was a cultural cele bration after all. However, during the event, Amerindian entre preneurs called for more in clusivity as it relates to the support, upliftment, and ex posure of their craft to both the hinterland and coastal communities.Though September is known as Amerindian Heritage Month, some of these Indigenous business men and women called for continuous support even af ter Amerindian Heritage Month comes to an end. Young entrepreneur Anez Donzus, who shares an art and crafts busi ness with her mother, said that he would like to see Amerindian businessmen and women participate in more expos across Guyana, not only at Amerindianthemed“Well,events.they [the Government] should in volve us in more exhibitions throughout the year, so that we can showcase our tal ent and our skills. Most of the time, during Heritage month, this is the way we get to showcase our craft. So, if we get to go to all the expos that they have, we can get to showcase our craft more,” Donzus said. In addition, Calvin Roberts started his food busi ness during the COVID-19 pandemic and shares simi lar sentiments with Donzus. Roberts also added that there should be financing of more cultural literacy pro grammes that would pro mote entrepreneurial skills among Amerindian people. “If there is one thing that I would like to see is like an establishment for the Indigenous people, maybe, some kind of structure set up where Indigenous peo ple can come out and can have their products on sale and display. That is some thing I want to see and of course, have more finan cial literacy programmes in the Indigenous community,” Roberts explained. On the other hand, many Amerindian businessmen and women, like many oth er entrepreneurs in the world struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic. Craft maker, Macronan Albert said that he had it bad during the COVID-19 pandemic. There were diffi culties maintaining his fam ily as his business is what brings in the revenue to sup port his family. “It put me down,” Albert said, “I sacrifice myself to do craft work. When I used to come the previous years, I used to get a little pocket piece to maintain my fami ly, but after the COVID take over, I couldn’t do anything else.”Albert is happy to be back out in the open, so he can continue to provide for his family. It was also a difficult two years for Donzus and her mom, as their handicraft business is their main source of income. She said they make a large portion of their income during Amerindian Heritage Month. Donzus is happy that the outdoor cele brations are back so that she and her mother’s hard work can be on display to the pub lic. “It was a difficult time for us because this is how we make our living, by sell ing handicrafts, especially during Heritage time. So, we are glad that we have the op portunity to come and show case our craft,” she said. This year’s Amerindian Heritage Month kick-off event saw the attendance of President Dr Irfaan Ali, Cabinet Ministers, Members of the diplomatic corps, rep resentatives from hinter land villages, and other of ficials. This year’s Heritage Month is being held under the theme “Celebrating our Traditional Culture While Building One Guyana.” According to Amerindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai, this theme is ap propriate. Pointing out the importance of Indigenous culture, she noted that it is personal, unique, and sa cred.

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Songs, poems, and cul tural dances were the main course of Thursday night’s celebrations.Theestimated hundreds of people were welcomed by an Indigenous prayer and spiritual cleansing as the cultural extravaganza be gan. Each of the perfor mances brought a feeling of joy, laughter, and a sense of dignity to the crowd. One performance in par ticular – a calypso, “Leh We Listen to Granny” by a mem ber of the Batavia Cultural Group – had the gathering in a fit of laughter because of its humorous message and talented vessel that per formed the musical piece. The calypso, “Leh We Listen to Granny”, tells a tale of an 80-year-old Amerindian woman who knows the solution to almost all of life’s problems, thanks to her unorthodox means of coming up with those solu tions. Now, don’t go looking for Granny, because even though she has “all the keys for the locks” as the calypso says, Granny is not real. Nevertheless, it was a treat for the crowd and prob ably a top contender for per formance of the night. Even the politicians were enjoying theSarahperformance.Fredricks from Mainstay/Whyaka Village in the County of Essequibo performed a poem written by her father, “I am Not Ashamed.” Fredricks paid homage to her Amerindian culture, owning the strides her ancestors made all those years ago. In the poem, she charged her fellow Amerindian brothers and sisters to not be ashamed of who they are. She encouraged them to embrace their Amerindian heritage and help contribute to building a “One Guyana”.

Fisherfolk cash grant Govt wants list to reflect “real beneficiaries” – Min Mustapha

The verification process is ongoing on the list of beneficiaries for the fisherfolk cash grant, in or der to ensure that it is reflec tive of the true recipients. President Ali had an nounced in May the rollout of one-off cash grants to the tune of $150,000, which will exclusively go to registered local fisherfolk, across the country. This included both licensed and unlicensed fish erfolks.Speaking with media op eratives in a recent engage ment, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha stated that after a robust verifica tion process, a transparent list will be created. “We have seen a number of names that were added onto the list that was posted around the country. Our offi cers and various stakehold ers were doing verification. I still want us to have max imum verification. I want a list that is very transpar ent, reflective of the number of fisherfolks in our country and the real beneficiaries,” MustaphaAccordingunderscored.to the Minister, the list has been sent to the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) for persons to make objec tions or request that their names be included. This will continue over the next week, and then the grant will be distributed.“Ihavesent back the list to various NDCs across the country, where there is a no tice in the daily newspapers for people to go and check their names, see if they want to make an objection or add a name. That will be done over the next week and hopefully by the end, we can have a verified list and we would pay the cash grant to theAlthoughfisherfolks.”reports suggest that the catches have been improving, fisherfolk were still finding it difficult to af ford basic household items for their families and the grant will be able to assist with those needs. The Government has noted that this special ad ditional measure is in light of the unique challenges be ing faced by fishermen, in cluding the low catches they continue to experience. President Ali had announced a series of ground-break ing measures, ranging from cash grants to households in the hinterland and river ine communities to the pro vision of free fertilisers for farmers, which are aimed at improving the lives of citi zens.Among the announce ments was the distribution of a one-off $25,000 cash grant to every household in the riverine and hinterland communities of the coun try. This measure, accord ing to Ali, would result in $800 million being pumped into the economy and would cushion the impacts of the rising cost of living.

Agriculture Minister Zulfikar MustaphaGuyanese fishermen

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SCENES FROM AMERINDIAN HERITAGE

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EXTRAVAGANZA

The Amerindian Affairs Ministry on Thursday evening hosted a cultural extravaganza to kick off Amerindian Heritage celebrations at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, East Bank Demerara (EBD). The month is being celebrated under the theme “Celebrating our traditional culture while building one Guyana” MONTH CULTURAL

The youths posing with senior officers

The Health Ministry on Friday reported that an unvaccinat ed Region Four resident is Guyana’s latest COVID-19 death.The deceased is a 70-year-old who succumbed on Thursday, September 1. This recent fatality now takes the death toll to 1279. However, new statistics released by the Ministry showed that 14 new corona virus infections have been detected, taking the con firmed cases to 71,076. Two persons are in institutional isolation, 209 in home iso lation and one in institu tional quarantine. There are two patients in the Intensive Care Unit. Additionally, 69,579 per sons have recovered while 688,648 tests have been pro cessed to date.

Stigmatisation will prove difficult to detect, control monkeypox

14 SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM NEWS

GPF distributes stationery items to Reg 8 youths

An effective way of dealing with the emerging monkey pox outbreak is eliminating any stigma against groups of people or aspects of the dis ease so that people can as sist in disease control. At a sensitisation semi nar on monkeypox reporting on Friday, Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony shared this position while noting that Guyana has built capa bilities to diagnose cases of monkeypox while guidelines have been However,developed.peoplewill not want to cooperate if they feel stigmatised. This will prove difficult for medical officers to conduct contact tracing to determine who was in con tact with the infected mon keypox patient. “If we put the stigma to this thing, the people who are the contacts are not go ing to cooperate with us, which makes it more diffi cult for us to be able to con tain this. Everybody in this chain, need them to help us. The people who are in contact with the infected patient, we need their co operation,” the Minister po sitioned.Moreover, the senior health official said the Ministry does not want peo ple to be fearful but rather, to understand and make the right“Wechoices.want to assure peo ple that even if they get sick, we have the mechanisms in place to help them. Coming into the facility, they can be diagnosed properly. We can test them and then we can treatOnethem.”ofthe epidemiolog ical findings in the mon keypox outbreak was that a large number of cases were among men who share sexual contact with other men. However, the Health Minister asserted that this does not mean other people will not contract the disease. Moreover, he suggested that health officials need to address this issue without stigmatising sections of the population.“Itdoesn’t mean that only men who have sex with men would have monkeypox. We have a whole set of other people who will get monkey pox if they are in close con tact with somebody infect ed…Now, what that means is that if we’re seeing it, we need to address it without stigmatising a part of the population. I think that is important.”Whilemonkeypox has been detected before, this time around it is causing ris ing infections in nonendemic zones in the world. Dr Anthony further add ed, “What is different with this current outbreak is that we’re seeing more spread outside of what was previ ously termed the endemic areas. Those areas used to be in the Congo and Western Africa. Outside of these en demic areas, you probably had a few cases and that is it. Now, we’re seeing many more cases spreading to many more countries.”

With the new school year to commence on Monday, 35 youths from the Micobie and Campbelltown Police Youth Groups in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) on Thursday received statio nery items as part of the Commander’s back-to-school initiative.Theschool items include haversacks, books and other school-relatedCommanderitems. Senior Superintendent Michael Kingston urged the youths to remain in school and take their education seriously. He also reminded them that education is the key to unlocking many successes and that it is also the move ment from darkness to light. He also stressed the need for the youths to be their broth er’sHekeepers.reiterated that for mal education is about gain ing the knowledge and skills needed to become a better person and create a better society to live in. Also at the event was Deputy SuperintendentCommander,Javon Hamer, who shared the same sentiments, adding that a proper education enables everyone to grow whether personally, profes sionally, or socially. He also said that it can awaken joy, curiosity, and a deep desire to solve prob lems and help others. Present at the hand ing-over ceremony was Community Relations Officer Sergeant Hakim and otherTherepresentatives.Commander also expressed gratitude to the sponsors.

– Health Minister warns Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony

Dr Anthony pointed out that the animal-to-human jump in diseases is becom ing more prevalent, causing increased infections and vi ruses.“This is not going to be our last challenge. We are seeing a lot of zoonotic dis eases, which occur in ani mals, jumping across to hu man beings. We’re seeing many more cases of this. Some of the theories are because human beings are coming closer to animals in terms of their habits and therefore, you can have these jumps,” he shared.

An analysis shows new cases dispersed among four administrative regions, with one in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara); 10 in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica); two in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) and one in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice). There were no new reported cases in the other regions. Vaccination figures show that so far, 446,000 or 86.9 per cent of adults have tak en a first dose, while some 345,757 or 67.4 per cent of persons are fully vaccinated. For adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17, 35,588 first doses or 48.7 per cent and 26,091 or 35.7 per cent second doses have been ad ministered.Vaccination for chil dren in the five to 11 cate gory shows 7844 first doses or 7.7 per cent. Only 3105 or three per cent have returned for their second shot. In ad dition, 72,526 persons have returned for their booster shots thus far. In the Region of the Americas, that is, Latin America and the Caribbean, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has in creased to 175 million while the death toll in the Region has gone up to 2.8 million. Globally, there are 601 million confirmed positives with 6.4 million deaths. 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.

GUYANA COVID-19 DASHBOARD SEPTEMBER 2, 2022 UPDATE GET MEDICAL ADVICE ON COVID-19 FROM MOH 24/7 HOTLINE NUMBERS: 2311166; 226 7480; 624 6674; 624 2819; 624 3067 OR 180/181. NUMBER OF NEW CASES 14 NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL ISOLATION 7 NUMBER OF PERSONS IN HOME ISOLATION 209 NUMBER OF PERSONS IN COVID-19 ICU 2 NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL QUARANTINE 1 TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (FEMALES) 38,491 TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (MALES) 32,585 TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES IN GUYANA SINCE 2020 71,076 NUMBER OF RECOVERED CASES 69,576 TOTAL 1st DOSE VACCINATED 446,000 FULLY IMMUNISED 345,757 TOTAL NUMBER OF DEATHS 1279 DISTRIBUTION OF TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES SINCE MARCH 2020 REGION 1 2688 REGION 2 3137 REGION 3 8734 REGION 4 35,378 REGION 5 2574 REGION 6 6923 REGION 7 2655 REGION 8 921 REGION 9 4346 REGION 10 3720 HERE IS HOW YOU CAN BE SAFE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC Wear a face mask. Keep a physical distance of at least 6 feet. Wash your hands or use handIfsanitizeryouhave any symptoms, call the COVID-19 Hotline. Unvaccinated Reg 4 man is Guyana’s latest COVID-19 fatality

The Vice President, at the same press confer ence disclosed that it is the PPP/C Government that has done more to empower and include Afro-Guyanese in Guyana’s development when compared to the pre vious Administration.

15 SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM NEWS

Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC

No apartheid system emerging in Guyana – AG

“It is a constitutional wrong. It is a crime under the Racial Hostilities Act for this type of language to be published at this type of narrative to be disseminated and as Attorney General, I consider it my duty to speak out against these sordid but serious constitutional atroc ities and human rights trav esty. This is a human rights travesty. They are pitting one human being against the other based upon race and appealing to people’s basal instincts. They want to make Indo-Guyanese the enemy of Afro-Guyanese,” the Attorney General said. Only recently, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo at a press conference called out IDPADA-G for using the cause of Afro-Guyanese to enrich themselves. During the press conference, he challenged the group to show how they spent almost $500 million they have re ceived from the Government to empower Guyanese.

T he recent appoint ment of the Board of Directors under the Natural Resources Fund Act showcases the PPP/C Government’s inclusivi ty and effort at ensuring transparency and account ability.Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall said the composi tion of the Board dismisses the idea that Guyana is an emerging apartheid state. The idea of Guyana be coming an apartheid state is being peddled by the International Decade for People of African Descent Assembly-Guyana. The group had proposed to have a discussion themed, “Resisting the Emerging ApartheidApartheidState”.is any sys tem or practice that sepa rates people according to colour, ethnicity, or caste, according to the Oxford Dictionary.During his week ly programme “Issues in the News”, the Attorney General pointed out that the recently appointed NRF Board of Directors is made up of one Amerindian, two Indo-Guyanese and two Afro-Guyanese.TheBoardof Directors is responsible for the manage ment of the monies derived from Guyana’s most valu able natural resource. The Attorney General said that to suggest Guyana is becoming an apartheid state is evil, destructive and most of all, unlawful and unconstitutional.“Thelawsand legal sys tem of Guyana outlaws rac ism and racial segregation of every type. The supreme law of the country says that no law shall discriminate. No action of the state shall discriminate. How can you have apartheid as a system emerging anywhere?”, the Legal Affairs Minister ques tioned.The attempt has also been described by the Attorney General as “bizarre” on the basis that many AfroGuyanese hold prominent positions in all sectors. He said in Government alone, many of the Ministries are led by not only AfroGuyanese Ministers but also Permanent Secretaries. He further pointed out that the Guyana Defence Force, the Guyana Police Force, and the Judicial System are all led by per sons of African descent.

Lawrence Gittens

The2022.World

A 54-year-old care taker must pay the State $100,000 af ter he was found with eight grams of cocaine on his per son. Lawrence Gittens of Croal Street, Georgetown, appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Friday where he pleaded guilty to trafficking the il licitAccordingdrug. to the prosecution’s facts, on September 1 at Hadfield Street, Georgetown, ranks on a Police patrol observed Gittens acting suspiciously and arrested him. During a search of Gittens’s person, the ranks found a quantity of cocaine in his left side pants pock et. In the end, Senior Magistrate Leron Daly sen tenced Gittens to pay a fine of $100,000 for the offence or in default one year in prison.Last month, a 57-yearold man of Middle Road, Vryheid’s Lust, East Coast Demerara (ECD), was jailed for six months after pleading guilty to a narcot ics-related charge. Michael Singh, called “Mikey”, ap peared before Magistrate Ruschelle Liverpool at the Sparendaam Magistrates’ Courts.Earlier in that month, a 29-year-old man was sen tenced to six months in prison on a similar charge. Tony Singh had ap peared before Senior Magistrate Leron Daly at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, where he pleaded guilty to traf ficking 3.9 grams of cocaine on August 10, 2022. He was given the option to pay a $30,000 fine or serve six months in jail for the offence. He opted for the latter, telling the court that he would smoke the il licit drug. As a result, the Magistrate also ordered that he be sent for rehabil itation.The Guyana Police Force (GPF) had stated that Police ranks searched Tony Singh and found a cigarette pack containing a quantity of cocaine in the crotch of his pants. The ranks were at the time carrying out oper ations at Bourda Street, Georgetown. As such, he was arrested, and escort ed to the Alberttown Police Station and later prosecut ed.

C aribbean Airlines has, for the sixth consecutive year, emerged as the “Caribbean’s Leading Airline Brand 2022” at the 29th Annual World Travel Awards. In addition, the airline also copped the enviable Caribbean’s Leading Cabin Crew Travel Awards was established in 1993 to acknowledge, re ward and celebrate excel lence across all key sectors of the travel tourism and hospitality industry. Today, the World Travel Awards™ brand is known globally as the ultimate hallmark of quality, with winners setting the benchmark to which all others aspire. In celebrating receipt of the award, the airline’s CEO, Garvin Medera, re lated “Caribbean Airlines is deeply heartened to receive these two awards, especial ly as we continue to recov er from the devastating im pact of the pandemic. He added, “We have dedicated 2022 to reset ting expectations, by focus ing more than ever on add ing value to the customer experience, and this com mitment is reflected in all aspects of our brand. A sig nificant element of the ser vice experience takes place on board and is executed by our cabin crew who spend the most time with our val ued customers. The fact that we have earned these two awards is inspiring and motivates us, to continuous ly improve what we do.”

54-year-old man fined for trafficking cocaine

World Travel Awards Founder, Graham E Cooke stated “Despite the un precedented challenges faced by the aviation in dustry, Caribbean Airlines has demonstrated unri valled resilience, allow ing it to rebound strongly and deliver excellent cus tomer service. Well done to Caribbean Airlines for win ning Caribbean’s Leading Airline Brand 2022 for the sixth year in succes sion, as well as being voted Caribbean’s Leading Cabin CrewRepresentatives2022." of the airline accepted the two awards at a gala ceremo ny held on August 31 in Montego Bay, Jamaica, which was attended by leading tourism stakehold ers from across the region and the Americas.

Missing: Narine Chandredeo

In-Flight & Catering Executive Manager Sherene Boatswain and Caribbean Airlines Cabin Crew Supervisor Norma Williams accepted the award for Caribbean’s Leading Cabin Crew 2022 on behalf of the airline Caribbean Airlines Jamaica General Manager Trudy Chin represented and received the award for Caribbean’s Leading Airline Brand 2022

O ne person is now missing and is feared dead after lightning struck a fishing vessel in the Berbice River on Thursday night. It is believed that the missing man was directly hit by the lightning bolt. The freak accident oc curred in the vicinity of Albion in the Berbice River whilst three men were in a small fishing vessel. The missing man has been identified as Narine Chandredeo, also called “Brother’, 28, of Fyrish Road, Corentyne, Berbice. He along with his brother Navindra, 29, and a worker whose name was given as “Romel”, were on the boat during a thun derstorm. Chandredeo, the owner of the boat, left home on Thursday morn ing on a short fishing ex pedition and was expected back on Friday morning. The man’s 25-year-old wife, Jameela Cyril, said that on Friday morning, the two surviving crew members returned. “They say how he fall off the boat,” Cyril said. According to Cyril, her husband had promised to return on Friday. “It all depends on if the fish running he gon throw back the seine and come back in the morning,” she said.Reports are that the lightning destroyed the hat which Chandredeo was wearing at the time. The part which remained was handed over to the Police.The missing man’s mother, Kamla Chandredeo, said she was able to speak with her oth er son. She was reportedly told that her missing son who owned the boat was pulling up the seine from the front of the boat while the two crew members were at the back. The aggrieved mother stated that based on re ports received, when the lightning struck, her son fell into the river. “Meh other son try to rescue he but ‘Romel’ hold he back,” the mother said she was told.The two surviving fish ermen told investigators that they carried out a search immediately but had difficulty doing so in the dark with only period ic light from lightning. The two men are being further interrogated by the Police. Meanwhile, the Coast Guard joined in the search for the missing man on Friday. The missing man has two children aged two and six.

CAL cops awards at World Travel Awards

16 SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM NEWS

Father of 2 feared dead after lightning strikes fishing boat in Berbice River

IOM hosts workshop to address migrant labour integration in Guyana

Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton IOM Regional Director for Central and North America and the Caribbean, Michele Klein-Solomon

17 SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM NEWS

T he MigrationOrganisationInternationalfor(IOM)led a private sector and labour migration stakeholder workshop to discuss poli cies regarding the safe and ethical recruitment of mi grants when filling gaps in Guyana’s labour force. The engagement was held at the Marriott Hotel in Kingston on Thursday. Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton referred to skills and educational training as the bedrock of develop ing necessary human cap ital.The Minister said as Guyana’s labour market becomes more dynamic, and the demand for tech nical skills increases due to the emergence of the oil and gas sector, the skills and educational training programmes offered in Guyana must also change.

IOM Regional Director for Central and North America and the Caribbean, Michele KleinSolomon underscored the importance of tackling the issue.She said the IOM will support the Government in ensuring the safe and or derly transition of Guyana as it becomes a hub for eco nomic growth and develop ment, and by extension, immigration.Shealso assured that this initiative would not take away jobs from Guyanese, but rather com plement the existing skills and other contributions of Guyanese nationals. “So, our goal as IOM in supporting the Government here is to help the Government in its development objectives linked not only to the oil and gas industry, but the employment in Guyana, the growth of the econom ic sector, its commitment to aligning its national de velopment plans with the sustainable development goals agreed by all the Governments of the world; and now, with the hope of attaining them by 2030,” sheThestated.effort to support mi grant integration into the workforce is funded by the US Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, as well as the intograntsingasandCommission,berscussionshopandDevelopmentPan-AmericanFund(PDF)theIOM.Thursday’sworkaimedtofosterdisamongmemofthePrivateSectorIOM,PDFtheMinistryofLabouritpertainstoupskillandreskillingmitobeintegratedGuyana’slabourforce.

“The key to our resource intervention is productivi ty, as this is a fundamen tal catalyst for economic growth and employment creation. Therefore, we must invest in training that seeks to raise produc tivity levels as it is essen tial not in itself, but as a means to achieving eco nomic and social prosperi ty,” the Minister stated. However, to optimise the employment potential and utilisation of public resources, the Government must have the data, in formation and statistics to inform policy and deci sion-making.Tothisend, the Ministry of Labour has partnered with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to carry out a study of the present and future re quirements for skills with in the oil and gas sector and the value chain. There will also be a manpower planning spe cialist from India working with the Ministry to assess the demand and supply of skills, among other things. “I am also pleased to in form you that the Ministry has sanctioned a study funded by the IOM for the skills demand in the con struction sector. So… we are making strides in the right direction to obtain the requisite data, infor mation and statistics to help us implement sound decisions and policy, in cluding what educational and training programmes we have to offer,” the MinisterRegardingsaid. the short age of skills and labour migration in Guyana, both President Dr Irfaan Ali and Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo have ac knowledged the possibili ty of importing skilled la bour. However, they have cautioned that this im portation needs to be done within a specified frame work so that it is managed effectively.

Argentina's Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner escaped unharmed on Thursday after a man fired a loaded gun at her that failed to go off inches from her head. The attack, which the Economy Minister called an assassination attempt, comes at a time of acute polit ical and social frictions inside Argentina.Ithappened as Fernandez de Kirchner stepped out of a car outside her Buenos Aires home, where hundreds of sup porters had gathered. Video footage showed a man hold ing a pistol next to her head. President Alberto Fernandez said the gun had been loaded with five bullets. "This is the most serious event we have gone through since Argentina returned to democracy," he said in a tele vised address, referring to the 1983 end of military rule. "A man pointed a firearm at her head and pulled the trigger. Cristina is still alive because, for some reason yet to be confirmed, the gun ... did not fire." Her suspected assailant, whom authorities identi fied as a 35-year-old man of Brazilian origin, was quick ly arrested by Police and the weapon seized. A divisive figure inside Argentina who was President between 2007 and 2015, Fernandez de Kirchner is on trial for corruption linked to public contracts awarded in the early Argentina2000s.is also mired in a deep economic crisis driven by spiralling debt levels and inflation that has triggered street protests. "When hate and violence prevail over debate, societ ies are destroyed and situa tions like these arise," tweet ed Economy Minister Sergio Massa, who was recently ap pointed to tackle the nation al crisis.Heads of state and polit ical allies around the region, including Chilean President Gabriel Boric, Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, Peru's Pedro Castillo and Brazilian presi dential candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, also denounced the Theyattack.expressed solidarity with Fernandez de Kirchner and voiced relief that she had not been hurt. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Argentina's Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner

Continuing on its win ning streak, Jamaica received three presti gious World Travel Awards Caribbean & The Americas 2022 on Wednesday. The island was named the Caribbean’s Leading Tourist Board 2022 for the 14th year in a row, the Caribbean’s Leading Destination 2022 for the 16th year in a row, and the Caribbean’s Leading Nature Destination 2022 at the first World Travel Awards cer emony since the lifting of the global travel restric tions in place because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“For Jamaica to have emerged as the leading des tination is a strong state ment that our team worked assiduously to make this happen. Our beautiful des tination has been a leader in the recovery of the glob al tourism industry due in large part to our destination assurance programme that allowed us to confidently welcome visitors back to our shores.”Director of the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) Donovan White said earn ing the highest marks for a tourist board and destina tion was a great honour.

“It’s a testament to the work of the JTB staff and all of our stakeholders, from the largest of hotel chains to our individual tour operators and craft persons, to be rec ognised like this and we are grateful,” he said. (Excerpt from Nation News) Jamaica has appoint ed a “special fact-find ing team” to investi gate the working conditions of Jamaicans employed on Canadian farms, after workers in the province of Ontario said last month that they faced “exploitation at a seismic level“.

In a statement shared on social media on Thursday, Jamaica’s Minister of Labour and Social Security Karl Samuda said a six-per son team would “travel to Canada to observe op erations and speak with workers on the farms, and provide a report to the Minister”.Thebrief statement did not provide any additional information, such as which farms the team members will visit or when the trip to Canada would take place.

“As it currently stands, [SAWP] is systematic slav ery,” the farmworkers said in their letter, which came just days before Samuda came to Canada to tour farms employing workers from Jamaica. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Jamaica takes home coveted tourism awards Jamaica sending team to Canada to probe work conditions on farms

Chile's Constitution vote puts Andean country at historic crossroads

“Further details will fol low,” it said. A group of Jamaican farmworkers sent a letter to Samuda in August denounc ing their treatment on two Ontario farms, which they likened to “systematic slav ery”.The workers, who were not named for fear of ret ribution, said they were in Canada under the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Programme (SAWP), a de cades-old scheme that al lows Canadian employers to hire temporary migrant workers from Mexico and 11 countries in the Caribbean to fill gaps in the country’s agricultural labour market. Foreign workers brought to Canada through SAWP can have jobs for up to eight months in the year, and many people have been com ing to the country for de cades under the programme.

Flooding in Trinidad

Argentina's VP Kirchner unharmed in point-blank attempted shooting

The work is part of a wider study funded by the

“This was a very power ful night for us because even though Jamaica has tradi tionally led in the field of awards, the feeling of satis faction is stronger this year because we all struggled and fought to recover from this pandemic,” Minister of Tourism Ed Bartlett said as he thanked the travel pro fessionals and consumers who voted for the island.

Between 50,000 and 60,000 foreign agricultural labourers come to Canada annually on temporary work permits [File: Christinne Muschi/Reuters]

Flooding hit multi ple areas of Southern Trinidad on Friday afternoon, sweeping away one vehicle along the San Fernando Bypass near South Park. The occupant of the vehi cle was rescued by Trinidad and Tobago Fire Service offi cials after being trapped in his B13 Nissan for over two hours.Strong afternoon thun derstorms dumped heavy rainfall across parts of western coastal Trinidad, with street and flash flood ing occurring across San Fernando, Marabella, Vistabella, Tarouba, Gasparillo, Couva, Gran Couva, and AccordingArouca.tothe Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management, they re ceived a report of residen tial flooding at Lopinot Road, Arouca with four sim ilar reports at Vistabella Road, Dondonaldson Street, Gasparillo and Montique Street, Marabella. A tree also fell along Pointe-a-Pierre Road, near the Augustus Long Hospital. Significant flooding also affected major roadways like the Solomon Hochoy Highway, with all lanes in undated at the Tarouba in terchange and southbound lanes affected at the Couva interchange.Justunder two weeks ago, one man was killed along the M2 Ring Road, Princes Town, following major flash flooding across parts of ThereTrinidad.areno alerts, watches, or warnings in effect for Trinidad and Tobago from the Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service at this time. (Excerpt from Trinidad Guardian)

18 guyanatimesgy.comSATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2022

Regional

S atellites recorded an other large meth ane leak at an off shore platform belonging to Mexico's Pemex in August, according to exclusive data shared with Reuters, even as pressure mounts on the state oil company to reduce theseThreeemissions.satellites re corded images of methane plumes at the Ku-MaloobZaap oil field cluster in the Gulf of Mexico during six days between Aug 5 and Aug 29, said Itziar Irakulis-Loitxate, a scien tist from the Polytechnic University of Valencia.

During these days, some 44,064 tons of methane were released into the at mosphere from the Zaap oil field in another "ultraemis sion", Irakulis-Loitxate es timated. This is equivalent to 3.7 million tons of CO2. Reuters was unable to determine the cause of the leak but experts have ex pressed concern over ailing infrastructure.Itcomesafter a peer-re viewed research paper in June, on which IrakulisLoitxate was the lead au thor, uncovered a mas sive methane leak last December at the same oil field cluster, Mexico's larg est by production volume.

Floods hit south Trinidad again

Scientists detect 2nd 'vast' methane leak at Pemex oil field in Mexico

European Space Agency, in which scientists are work ing to detect and quanti fy human-made emissions fromMethane,space. the main com ponent of natural gas, is considered a much more po tent driver of global warm ing in the short-term than carbon dioxide because it traps more heat in the at mosphere.Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is under increas ing pressure to clean up operations at Petroleos Mexicanos, as the world's most indebted oil company is formally known. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Chileans are set for a historic decision on Sunday: stick with a market-friendly Constitution dating back to military dicta tor Augusto Pinochet or ap prove a progressive new text that promises to shake up the Andean country's politi cal and social fabric. The copper-rich coun try is sharply divided, with polls indicating that the new text will get rejected, despite huge popular support for tearing up the Pinochet-era Constitution two years ago in the wake of months of fi ery protests against inequal ity. The vote is a crossroads for Chile, long seen as a bas tion of conservatism and market-orientated econom ic policy, which underpinned decades of growth and sta bility that also created stark inequality between rich and poor."This is about settling a historical debt in Chile, because despite economic growth and lower poverty, we have outstanding debts to do with inequality and social welfare," said Vlado Mirosevic, spokesperson for the approve Miroseviccampaign.saidthe new Constitution was key to over turning decades of inequali ty and put progressive rights and the environment at the heart of the country's social fabric.Nearly 80 per cent of Chileans voted to draft a new Constitution in October 2020. An elected 155-mem ber assembly, consisting of mostly independent and pro gressive constituents, then began drafting it the follow ing May, completing it earli er thisButyear.enthusiasm has waned as Chile's economy has felt the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, spiral ling inflation and the cur rency hitting historic lows. That's hurt support for the Constitution and its back er, progressive President Gabriel Boric. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Tory leadership: Voting closes in race to decide next PM around the world could ease.The index fell to 138 in August and is now lower than it was before Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The countries were both major exporters of crops includ ing sunflower oil, corn and wheat.

Oromiya has experienced years of violence amid ac cusations of neglect by the Federal Government in AddisOromosAbaba.account for more than a third of Ethiopia's to tal population of around 110 million. One resident, who spoke to Reuters by telephone but asked not to be named, said that locals had buried 22 people in one place, 15 in another, and five in a third spot.The second resident said he compiled a list of 46 dead. Both residents said the attackers, carrying rifles and numbering between 150-200 men, were speaking Amharic and wore a mishmash of Neitheruniforms.Amhara nor Oromiya's regional admin istrations' spokesmen re sponded to requests for com ment. (Reuters)

Siemens Energy, which normal ly services Nord Stream 1 turbines, said such a leak should not stop the pipeline from operating. It also said the Portovaya compressor station, where the leak was discovered, has other tur bines for Nord Stream to keep operating.

The contest began in mid-July, when Johnson was forced out by a ministerial revolt over a string of scandals

The UN's Food and Agricultural Organisation says July's UN backed deal to re-open Ukrainian ports has eased cereal and vegetable oil prices. That has meant more supplies have been able to reach international mar kets. The FAO's Erin Collier told the BBC that "prices came down for a mix of rea sons". Cereals have been the "main driver" of this year's growth in food prices, but Collier explained supplies are now increasing be cause "the harvest looks a little bit better, especial ly in Canada, the US and Russia". All three are ma jor exporters of wheat. For other food catego ries, "an easing of export restrictions helped bring down sugar and oil pric es, and weaker demand for certain products helped bring down meat and dairy prices", added Collier. The cost of food has been one of the biggest contribu tors to inflation around the world.This week the Eurozone reported inflation was run ning at an annualised rate of 9.1 per cent in August. Energy was the biggest contributor with increas es of 38.3 per cent but un processed food was next at 10.9 per cent. The most recent infla tion figures from the UK and the US paint a similar picture. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Oil prices rose on Friday on expectations that OPEC+ will discuss output cuts at a meeting on Sept 5, though concern over China's COVID-19 curbs and weakness in the global economy loomed over the market. Brent crude futures rose 66 cents to settle at US$93.02 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 26 cents to settle at US$86.87 a barrel. Both benchmarks slid 3 per cent to two-week lows in the previous session. Brent posted a weekly drop of 7.9 per cent, and WTI of 6.7 per cent. A weekly chart shows that U.S crude futures surpassed last week's high and have since retreated, and closed below last week's closing level. That is a bearish signal, according to Eli Tesfaye, senior market strategist at RJO Futures in Chicago.

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia - a group known as OPEC+ - are due to meet on Sept 5 against a backdrop of expected demand declines, though top producer Saudi Arabia says supply remainsOPEC+tight.islikely to keep oil output quotas unchanged for October at Monday's meeting, three OPEC+ sources said, although some sources would not rule out a production cut to bolster prices that have slid from sky-high levels hit earlier thisOPEC+year.

Gunmen kill more than 40 people in Ethiopia's Oromiya region – residents Voting has closed in the Conservative leadership contest to decide who will replace Boris Johnson as Prime Minister. The two contenders, Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, will find out which of them has won the ballot of Tory members at 12.30 BST on Monday.

Nord Stream 1, which runs under the Baltic Sea, had been due to resume op erating at 0100 GMT today after a three-day halt for maintenance.ButGazprom, the state-controlled firm with a monopoly on Russian gas exports via pipeline, said on Friday it could not safely re start deliveries until it had fixed an oil leak found in a vital turbine. It did not give a new time However,frame.

T he UN's Food Prices Index has fallen for the fifth month in a row, in a sign that one of the main pressures push ing up the cost of living

Truss, the Foreign Secretary, is the clear fa vourite to win, according to polls of Tory members. She has promised to deliver bil lions of pounds in tax cuts in an emergency Budget if she wins power. Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said he would cut VAT on energy bills for a year, but permanent tax cuts should wait until infla tion goes down. With the cap on domes tic energy prices set to soar in the autumn, what to do about rising living costs has dominated the contest in re centBothweeks.candidates have come under pressure to spell out how they would protect households from the rises, as well as give help to busi nesses, which are not cov ered by the price cap. Johnson left big spending decisions to his successor af ter his resignation in July, leading opposition parties to accuse the Government of paralysis. (Excerpt from BBC News)

R ussia has scrapped today’s deadline to resume flows via a major gas supply route to Germany, deepening Europe's difficulties in se curing winter fuel, after saying it had found faults in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline during maintenance.

UN FAO's global food prices fall for 5th month in a row

Gunmen killed at least 42 people in Ethiopia's Oromiya region, two residents who buried the bodies in mass graves said on Friday, the latest killings in the coun try's most populous region where escalating violence has left hundreds dead. The latest attack by an armed group against lo cal residents occurred on Tuesday, they said, in the Amuru district, around 370 km (230 miles) west of the capital Addis Ababa. They said the victims were all Oromos and de scribed the attackers as members of a volunteer militia known as Fano, mostly composed of ethnic Amharas. Clashes between the Oromo and Amhara, Ethiopia's two largest ethnic groups, have been rising in recent months.

this week revised market balances for this year and now sees demand lagging supply by 400,000 barrels per day (bpd), against 900,000 bpd forecast previously. The producer group expects a market deficit of 300,000 bpd in its base case for 2023.Meanwhile, Iran said it had sent a "constructive" response to US proposals aimed at reviving Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. The United States gave a less positive assessment.Thenews made some investors sceptical that a deal was imminent, which supported oil prices, said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures group in Chicago. G7 Finance Ministers agreed on Friday to impose a price cap on Russian oil, but provided few new details to the plan aimed at curbing revenue for Moscow's war in Ukraine while keeping crude flowing to avoid price spikes. US energy firms this week cut the number of oil and natural gas rigs operating for the fourth time in five weeks. The US oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, fell by five to 760 in the week to Sept 2, Baker Hughes Co said on InvestorsFriday.remain worried about the impact of the latest COVID-19 restrictions in China. The city of Chengdu on Thursday ordered a lockdown that has hit manufacturers such as DataVolvo.showed Chinese factory activity in August contracted for the first time in three months in the face of weakening demand, while power shortages and COVID-19 outbreaks also disrupted output. (Excerpt from Reuters) Oil climbs ahead of OPEC+ meeting next week

"Such leaks do not nor mally affect the operation of a turbine and can be sealed on site. It is a routine pro cedure within the scope of maintenance work," the company said. Moscow has blamed sanctions, imposed by the West after Russia invaded Ukraine, for hampering rou tine operations and main tenance of Nord Stream 1. Brussels says this is a pre text and Russia is using gas as an economic weapon to retaliate.Siemens Energy said it is not currently contracted to carry out maintenance work on the line, but is on standby.European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said earlier the EU should impose a price cap on Russian pipeline gas to foil what she said were President Vladimir Putin's attempts to manipulate the market.Russia has denied previ ous allegations of using gas as an economic weapon or manipulating the gas mar ket. (Excerpt from Reuters)

19guyanatimesgy.com SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2022 Around the World OIL NEWS

Pipes at the landfall facilities of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline are pictured in Lubmin, Germany, March 8, 2022

Russia scraps gas pipeline reopening, stoking European fuel fears

The winner will be for mally appointed Prime Minister on Tuesday by the Queen. They will then begin ap pointing Ministers to their newJohnson,Cabinet. who led the Tories to a landslide victo ry at the 2019 election, will remain in office until the transfer of power is com plete. The fractious campaign to replace him has seen the candidates regularly at tack each other's policies as well as the Tories' record in Government.

CALVINPEANUTSARCHIEAND HOBBES DILBERT guyanatimesgy.com20 SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2022

Don't trust others with sensitive in formation. Avoid over-the-top people and plans that can jeopardize you emo tionally, financially or legally. Choose to spend time making personal improve ments.

Follow the path that helps reveal the truth. Don't lose sight of your goal or the best way to reach your destination. An innovative idea will develop if you bring about change. Don't sit still.

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DAILY

You'll attract interest if you are open and honest about your long-term plans. A lifestyle change that encourages learn ing and getting healthy will result in at tention. Romance is favored. A precise assessment will relieve an emotional scene. Be clear about what you expect from others and what you are willing to offer. An update will cause un certainty regarding your work.

A change will give you a different perspective on life and what's best for you. Participate and make a difference, and you will encourage others to join in and make the world a better place.

A reserved attitude will buy you time. Listen, evaluate and plan your at tack. Leave no room for error and watch your enemies closely. Verify informa tion and take care of anything that could slow you down.

Put your effort where it counts and brings you the most joy. Fixing up your place or talking to people you find stim ulating will change how you do things moving forward. Romance is encour aged.Be

Keep the conversation going; you'll be the recipient of valuable informa tion. What you learn will open a window of opportunity if you follow instructions carefully. Love is favored.

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You've got what it takes to make things happen. Jump into action and start projects that will make your space more inviting. You have plenty to gain if you are direct about your intentions.

careful handling situations and people. Honesty must prevail if you want to avoid trouble. Embellishing a story or passing along rumors will cost you. Be careful while traveling. HOROSCOPES

Put things in order, let go of the past, stop worrying about the future and start living in the moment. Take care of un finished business and enjoy what life has to offer.

Put more thought into making and using your money. Time isn't wast ed when you live up to your promises. Strength and a desire to achieve your goal will boost your confidence.

SUDOKU

The MCC found that on average, 31.5 minutes were lost on each full day of play at the England-New Zealand Test series. Of this, the time taken to reset between overs was the major source of de lay,*with20 minutes taken in changing ends * four minutes were lost to reviews*three minutes lost to ball*checks/changestwo-and-a-half minutes lost to changing other equip ment* two minutes to move ments behind the bowler and adjusting sightscreens In comparison, the MCC's research found, "the aver age change between overs in Test cricket took 10-15 sec onds longer than in County Championship cricket… The average 'standard' change of over (without a new bowl er or batter) was 55 seconds in Tests and 45 seconds in countyBreakingcricket."down the time lost to the DRS process fur ther, the MCC noted "there were approximately 64 min utes lost during the series to the DRS, which consisted of the following: player discus sions where no review was taken (six minutes), play er reviews (47 minutes) and umpire reviews (11 min utes)."It took an average of 25 seconds for the fielding side to be ready to bowl the next ball after the DRS had con firmed an umpire's not-out decision."

Oleksandr Usyk did not confront Anthony Joshua during his post-fight rant

Drinks to go with the flow of the game, not interrupt it

On average, 31.5 minutes were lost on each full day of play in the England-New Zealand Test series

World champion Oleksandr Usyk says Anthony Joshua's post-fight rant was 'emotional'

"Drinks intervals should be taken immediately if a wick et falls or a DRS review is made within 15 minutes of their scheduled time, and not re-taken at the next scheduled break."

H eavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk believes Anthony Joshua was "over whelmed" by losing their rematch, branding his postfight antics as "emotional". Briton Joshua, 32, went on a lengthy rant after his points defeat to Usyk in Saudi Arabia, throwing two of the world titles out of the ring.Asked about Joshua's bi zarre behaviour, Usyk said: "I cannot say his behaviour was a disgrace, it was just emotional. I don't think he wanted to offend me." In the post-fight media conference, Joshua apolo gised for what happened, and Usyk, who retained the WBO, IBF and WBA (Super) titles with the vic tory, encouraged people to stop criticising his rival. "I think he was just over whelmed. It was too much to take, and he just started ranting," said the 35-yearold Ukrainian. "But I don't have any rancour towards him, and I want to tell peo ple that they shouldn't hold it against him; he didn't do anything bad. Emotions took over him, and he just spurted those words, but later he told me it was okay. Don't judge him for that. Instead, he needs support andUsykreassurance."alsorevealed what he said to Joshua when the two-time world cham pion confronted him in the ring about how he could have lost again, following another points defeat in September 2021. "He was simply ask ing how he, the strong guy, could have lost to me, the weak one," Usyk added. "I wanted to talk to him, I said, 'Ease up, man, let's just calm down. When I have time, I could come to see you in the UK, come to your gym, and we could spar together and stuff'." Asked if Joshua still has a boxing future after suf fering a third defeat of his career, Usyk added: "Of course he does! Why not? What"OK,nonsense!hehas lost, so what? It's not lethal. It's just a small respite to do some homework."

The MCC, through its World Cricket Committee, has called for the ICC to speed up re starts after DRS reviews, and tighten up the DRS pro cess itself; this in a bid to ad dress the issue of slow over rate in the game. The MCC, keeper of the laws of cricket, made the rec ommendations following re search into how much time was lost on each day's play during New Zealand's three Tests in England in June. It has also recommended that umpires enforce the laws of the game relating to pen alty runs for repeated time wasting more strictly, and to time drinks breaks better. The recommendations were made with a specific fo cus on Test cricket. How to make the DRS quicker

or time is being wasted in any other way", followed by five penalty runs for a re peatLawoffence.41.9 further says: "If the waste of time is during the course of an over, [the umpire will] direct the cap tain of the fielding side to suspend the bowler imme diately from bowling. The bowler thus suspended shall not be allowed to bowl again in that innings."

The MCC's research found that during the Tests, drinks were "taken at sched uled times regardless of what happened in the previ ous hour eg: even if wickets/ reviews meant drinks had been taken recently." To cut down on time lost to this, it said drinks inter vals should be adjusted to coincide with other natural ly occurring breaks in play.

Who's on the World Cricket Committee? Mike Gatting (chair), Jamie Cox, Suzie Bates, Alastair Cook, Kumar Dharmasena, Sourav Ganguly, Tim May, Brendon McCullum, Ramiz Raja, Kumar Sangakkara, Vince van der Bijl and Cricket West Indies president Ricky Skerritt. (Cricinfo)

21SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2022

The recommendations to streamline DRS process es were twofold: one, to en sure the players don't inad vertently waste time around reviews; and two, to en sure the umpires do not go through unnecessary steps during the review process. "In general, [the MCC recommends] ICC play ing regulations be reviewed to tighten the parame ters around when substi tutes are permitted onto the field of play; ie: with gloves, drinks etc," the MCC's state ment said. "More specifical ly, when a not-out decision is reviewed by the fielding side (or when an umpire re view is made with a notout soft signal), the fielding team should immediate ly return to their positions, and be ready to bowl the next"Battersdelivery.should also re main in the proximity, and prepare to recommence play. No drinks should be brought onto the field. If the decision is overturned to out, the fielding side will still have time to celebrate." To speed up DRS re views, the MCC recom mended that the "standard protocol should be cut short as soon as the TV production team is aware that it will be not-out. For example, time is often spent trying to dis cern an inside edge for lbws, only to see that the ball was missing the stumps. As soon as the ball tracking has been loaded, if it will result in a not-out decision, the TV um pire should be informed im mediately." Penalty runs for time wasting Significantly, the MCC wants umpires to more ac tively enforce the laws of the game that are concerned with time wasting. Law 41.9 and 41.10, which deal with delays by the bowling and batting side respectively, al low the umpire to issue an official warning if they "con sider that the progress of an over is unnecessarily slow,

Fury fight won't hap pen this year – Usyk Usyk now has 20 wins from 20 pro fights, and in tends to face WBC champi on Tyson Fury next in an undisputed heavyweight contest. But he revealed a meeting with the undefeat ed Briton will not happen before the end of 2022, as Fury has suggested. "It won't happen this year, that's for sure," said Usyk. "As I said earlier at the presser, I'm totally healthy, and don't have any injuries, but I have old trau mas which have resurfaced, and which need to be treat ed. I will need up to two months to recuperate."

Where exactly is time lost during a game?

Fury responded on Twitter to Usyk's com ments, insisting he was pre pared to take on the uni fied champion in April or August next year. After beating Joshua, Usyk had said he didn't want to fight again, unless it was against the 34-yearold.But he may now contin ue, whether Fury retires or not."We'll see. I don't want to make empty statements," added Usyk. "Look, I'm just not interested…I could still box with Tyson Fury or with [Deontay] Wilder, but that's where my interest ends." (BBC)

MCC TO ICC: SPEED UP THE GAME, penalise time-wasting, streamline the DRS process

Carlos Peterson-Griffith to compete in Barbados Strongfest over the weekend

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He is unaware of what ob stacles he will have to face, but he is prepared for the unexpected.Healso mentioned that this competition has been narrowed down because sev eral athletes won’t be able to make the strongman event. But, according to Griffith, the competition will be stiff, as the event is packed with lifters who are ‘ready to go’.

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Barbados Strongfest will be contested by Guyana's very own Carlos “The Showstopper” Peterson-Griffith over the weekend, with the talented Guyanese being set to guest lift in the powerlifting event today. Come Sunday, Griffith will step out of the guest lift ers limelight and gear up for his heart’s desire – the ‘strongman’ event. Day one of the event will consist of powerlifting, squat, deadlift and bench press, while day two will see the big guns coming out in the strong man, tyre flip, overhead press, farmer car ry, yoke carry, sandbag car ry/stone challenge and ket tle bell backward throw. In an interview with this publication, Griffith was asked to talk about this event, and he said, “For the Strongfest, firstly I will be competing as a guest lift er in the powerlifting event. However, all internation al lifters will be guest lift ers, we won’t be handed over cash prizes, we would be handed over a trophy and medals.“But for the Strongman (event), every single event will be consisting of cash prizes, so that is where my main focus will be at; that is one of my main aims.” The burly athlete has expressed extreme grat itude to his sponsors: Jamie McDonald of Fitness Express, Superior Concrete, MVP Sports, Space Gym, and those who wish to re main private. According to Griffith, he is grateful to his sponsors for making the journey pos sible.Superior Concrete, Guyana has been one of Griffith’s most recent spon sors. In a post on their so cial media page, the con crete company has said, “Sponsoring Carlos Petterson to travel to Barbados to compete in Strong Fest was an easy de cision for Superior Concrete.

Guyana Fire Service and the Guyana Prison Service are vying for bragging rights in this friendly yet fierce com petition.

22 GUYANATIMESGY.COMSATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2022

By TimoThy Jaikarran

The competition is being conducted on a round-robin basis, allowing each team to compete against one another. In the opening match es, the Guyana Fire Service defeated the Guyana Police Force 45- 38 points, while the Guyana Defence Force defeated the Guyana Prison Service 56–28 points.

West Indies Women’s vice-cap tain Anisa Mohammed has decided to take a six-month leave of absence from International Cricket.Mohammed requested to take a break from the game with immediate effect, after a hectic year of cricket both at home and away.

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Griffith is a dominant force on both the local and international scenes

The Inter-Services Male 2022bouncedChampionshipsBasketballoffonAugust31,attheBasketballCourt

Anisa Mohammed to take leave of absence from international cricket

TOURSSERVICE

“The reason why it has been narrowed down is due to late flights, and I have seen quite a lot of people dropping out of the race. So, myself, the Suriname del egates, and Trinidad, who will be bringing a powerful team for the powerlifting… I will perform among the top three in all of the segments, both strongman and power lifting, as that is my main aim,” he shared. Griffith reiterated his gratitude to his fans, and has urged them to stay focused, keep up the good work, and never let their guard down. He also encouraged them to stay strong; keep going; and, no matter what the situa tion is, remain positive. Also, representing Guyana at the competi tion are Junica Pluck, Julio Sinclair and Kean Andrews.

Not only does Carlos embody the physical characteristics a concrete company values; strength, power and longev ity, but he exhibits dedica tion and a commitment to excellence, which are values Superior Concrete holds in high esteem.” Griffith explained that his mindset for the competi tion is “100 percent ready”.

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The 33-year-old’s decision to take time away from crick et comes with the full support of Cricket West Indies (CWI). “Anisa has been a true stalwart of West Indies Women’s cricket for over a decade. We at CWI wish her well, and will provide any support she may require during this period away from international cricket, and look forward to welcom ing her back in March,” said the CWI Director of Cricket, Jimmy“CricketAdams.has given me all that I have, and I still love it as much as the first day I started playing. Therefore, this decision was not an easy one for me, especially with the T20 World Cup five months away. However, I must listen to my body and my mind: that I need to take time away from the game at this time. This is not a permanent goodbye, but rather a ‘see you soon’. “I wish the team all the best in all their forthcoming series, and I know Hayley will fulfil her role as captain, as I’ve seen her mature and grow as a person and cricket er,” Mohammed has said. Mohammed made her de but for the West Indies at the age of 13, at the Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifiers in Holland in 2003. She es tablished herself as the pre mier spin bowler for the West Indies Women, going on to be come the first cricketer, male or female, to take 100 T20I wickets, and ultimately to becoming the leading wick et-taker in the format, with 125 scalps. (Sportsmax)

Inter-Services Basketball Championships commence

at Base Camp Ayanganna, Thomas Lands, Georgetown. Teams drawn from the Guyana Defence Force, Guyana Police Force,

Griffith has been sponsored by Superior Concrete Inc Suriname #1 (U120kg) meeting Guyana #1(U93kg)

The Head of State also pledged Government’s support for the association's upcoming tournament.Thedelegation meeting the President was led by GNRA President, Brigadier Godfrey Bess, Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF). (Office of the President)

inclusive security posture for Cricket Carnival 2022, set to be held at the National Stadium at Providence, EBD from September 16, to October 1, Budhram2022.has said in a statement, “The security ar rangement for CPL is not only (a matter for) the Police, but it involves other stake holders. We have the Joint Services, which include the Fire, Army and Prison; then we have the Ministry of Health, the CDC, and the private security. The securi ty plans entail security for the teams arriving on the 19 September, throughout the games, and then on the de parture.”Budhram has said that fans coming to the games must be aware there would be two scanning entrances when coming into the stadi um, and searches would be done by Police and private security personnel at turn stiles.He also noted that per sons might be selling tick ets on the public road out side of the gates, and he has assured that Police ranks would be present to ensure order.“Coming through the main gates, a soft check will be done…to ensure you have your tickets and you do not have any prohibited items, before you enter into the turnstile. We want to im plore on fans who are com ing to the ground to ensure they have their tickets and no prohibited items. All li censed firearms must be lodged at the Police station,” he shared.Budhram also relayed that the gates of the stadi um would be opening two hours prior to the start of the games, which would al low fans good enough time to enter the ground. He also assured the public that while the cricket is ongoing, there would be adequate se curity on the roadways to ensure that persons who are walking are not robbed, or for those parking their cars, there is no vandalism. “On the match days, we will have the Fire Service on standby, and a medical team (would also be on standby). The CDC would also be pres ent, and we would have vol unteers as well. So, in the event that anyone needs ad vice or guidance, the volun teers will be able to assist,” Budhram has said. Budhram also ex plained that there would be Cricket Carnival events in Georgetown, West Demerara, at Linden, and in Berbice. He has ad vised persons to keep their ears out for any changes in terms of the cricket and the route to and from the stadium. Booths will also be set up in and around Georgetown to ensure that people are Budhramsafe.has given all assurance that security would be beefed up for the Cricket Carnival.

New Zealand Legends: Ross Taylor (C), Oram, Jamie How, Jason Spice, Kyle Mills, Styris, Bond, Dean Brownlie, Bruce Martin, Neil Broom, Devivch, Craig McMillan, Hopkins, Hamish Bennett, Aaron Redmond. West Indies Legends: Brian Lara (c), Danza Hyatt, Devendra Bishoo, Dwayne Smith, Jerome Taylor, Kirk Edwards, Marlon Ian Black, Narsingh Deonarine, Sulieman Benn,

GUYANATIMESGY.COMSATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2022 23 Deputy ForceplainedsibleheadsRavindradat'Operations'CommissionerPolice(ag)Budhram,whothetaskforceresponforsecurity,hasextheGuyanaPolicewillberollingoutan

Daren Powell, William Perkins, Dave Mohammed and Krishmar Santokie. Dario Barthley would be manager. Safety World Series cricket tournament 2022…

edition of this tournament by defeating Sri Lanka. The 22-day competition would take place at sev eral locations, beginning on September 10. Kanpur would host the tournament’s first match, while Raipur would play host to the two semifinal matches and the championship match on October 1. According to a press release, there are ad ditional locations in Indore andTheDehradun.New Zealand Legends are the new par ticipants in this edition. They will play alongside the legends of England, Bangladesh, South Africa, West Indies, India, Australia and Sri Lanka during the event.This event is primari ly played to raise aware ness of road safety in India and around the world. The squads announced thus far are: India Legends: Sachin Tendulkar (C), Yuvraj Singh, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Munaf Patel, S Badrinath, Stuart Binny, Naman Ojha(wk), Manpreet Gony, Pragyan Ojha, Vinay Kumar, Abhimanyu Mithun, Rajesh Pawar, Rahul Sharma.

Deputy Police Commissioner, 'Operations' (ag), Ravindradat Budhram His Excellency President Dr Irfaan Ali has pledged his ad ministration’s support to de velop competitive shooting in Guyana.This was done during a meeting with the exec utive body of the Guyana National Rifle Association (GNRA) at State House on Friday morning.

The name of every team member in the second edition of the Road Safety World Series (RSWS) tournament, which would be played in India from September 10 to October 1, 2022, has been announced.

Guyanese players Devendra Bishoo and Narsingh Deonarine are among the players included in the West Indies Legends team, which would be led by BrianTheLara.India Legends team, which Sachin Tendulkar would captain, would at tempt to defend the cham pionship it won in the first

Australia Legends: Shane Watson (C), Alex Doolan, Ben Dunk, Brad Hodge, Haddin, Stuart Clark, Lee, Bryce McGain, Callum Ferguson, Cameron White, George Horlin, Krejza, Hastings, Nannes, Nathan Reardon, Chadd Sayers.

During that meeting, President Ali commended the GNRA's shooters for "bring ing tremendous glory and success" to the country, and said the sport can contrib ute to the advancement of sports tourism in Guyana. To this end, he said Government would work with the associa tion to build a facility of inter national standard to support the expansion and growth of the sport of shooting.

Devendra Bishoo Narsingh Deonarine Road

President Ali pledges Government’s support to develop competitive shooting

GPF to roll out comprehensive security plan for Cricket Carnival 2022

Bishoo, Deonarine selected for West Indies Legends

GUYANA TIMES - www.guyanatimesgy.com, email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, NEWS HOTLINE: 231-8063 EDITORIAL: 223-7230, 223-7231, 231-0544, 225-7761 SPORT: sport@guyanatimesgy.com SALES AND MARKETING: 231-8064 - marketing@guyanatimesgy.com - PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY GUYANA TIMES INC. Sport is no longer our game, it’s our businessSATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2022 President Ali pledges Government’s support to develop competitive shooting GPF to roll out comprehensive security plan for Cricket Carnival 2022 Page 23► Page 23►