involvedCompaniesin contract bundling
– Local Content Secretariat Mother
of 6-year-old son –
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jobs'
for children living with disabilities See story on page 8 Caricom’s 1st WTC to open in Guyana in February 2023 5 injured in NationalideasbrilliantsparksolutionsEnvironmentalgoingbuildingsaveFirefightersofOncologycapabilitiesGuyana’steamMountEssequibocollision5-vehicleinSinaiassessesforCentreExcellenceapartmentfromupinflamesatScienceFair Page3 Page12 P20 P28 Page26 Skeletal remains found on fishermanSurinamesebesuspectedforeshoreCorentynetomissing
Issue No. 5114 PRICE $140 VAT INCLUDED Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana THE BEACON OF TRUTH guyanatimesgy.com SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2022 WHAT'S INSIDE: Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana THE BEACON OF TRUTH PPP252827 Page7 P10 2020 General & Regional Elections Govt to launch probe into how confidential data on citizens ended up in hands of APNU/AFC
Shulinab
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fined
Village gets $10M to supply clay bricks for Reg 9's $1.8B housing development
President Dr Irfaan Ali was greeted by residents of Shulinab Village in South Central Rupununi on Saturday and he told them that his Government will ensure that more opportunities are available for their economic advancement is not easy, but the grant will assist to provide more care” parents could be $50M of 1 brutally stabbed to death in front 2,000 part-time programme to be launched soon as Govt rolls out cash grant
“It
2 SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM
3NEWS SUNDAY,
A s the housingcontinuesGovernmenttopushdevelop ment in hinterland com munities, President Dr Irfaan Ali has announced a $10 million investment for Shulinab Village to supply clay bricks to be used for the construction of homes in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo). The Head of State and a team of Cabinet Ministers along with other officials are on a three-day visit to communities throughout theOnregion.Saturday, President Ali told hundreds of South Central Rupununi residents gathered in Shulinab Village that his Government would ensure that more opportunities are available for their eco nomicAgainstadvancement.thisbackdrop, he explained that the $10 million project will see an order placed for the produc tion of 300,000 blocks from the communities in South Central Rupununi to sup port the hinterland hous ing“Yourprogramme.community ad vancement is the most im portant thing for us,” the Guyanese leader assured residents.Shulinab and other sat ellite villages in the vicini ty are known for producing clay bricks that are com monly used for construc tion in the region. This investment, the President said, is another demonstration of providing equitable opportunities for all “I'mGuyanese.nothing more than your chief servant...and we must as far as possible solve our human resource problem from right within the villages,” the Head of StateThisnoted.clay brick initiative comes just one day after President Ali announced on Friday in Lethem that some 600 landowners in Region Nine will be get ting $1 million each to help start construction works on theirWithhomes.a typical house in the region costing $3 million to build, the Government has also ar ranged for the addition al $2 million in financ ing to be made available by the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) and New Building Society (NBS) at 3.5 per cent inter est rate. Beneficiaries of this ini tiative will not be required to submit any collateral to the banks and will pay in stalments as low as $14,000 monthly.According to President Ali on Friday, these two initiatives alone amount to some $1.8 billion in invest ments being plugged into the housing drive in Region Nine.“Think about what that will now do for the busi nesses. And we have also attached a condition to this …that all the materi als and the labour must be procured locally.
BRIDGE OPENINGS WEATHER TODAYFERRY SCHEDULE
The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: 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 Sunday, Aug 28 – 17:10h – 18:40h and Monday, Aug 29 – 05:10h – 06:40h. Sunday, Aug 28 – 03:30 – 05:00h and Monday, Aug 29 – 04:00h – 05:30h. AUGUST 28, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM
Shulinab Village gets $10M to supply clay bricks for Reg 9's $1.8B housing development
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– 2,000 part-time jobs' programme to be launched soon President Dr Irfaan Ali greeting residents in Shulinab on SaturdayPresident Ali addressing residents of Aishalton in Deep South Rupununi, where he spent the night on Friday and participated in a community breakfast on Saturday morning
There will be sunshine during the day. Expect partly cloudy skies at night. Temperatures should range between 22 degrees Celsius and 31 degrees Celsius. Winds: South-Westerly to North North-Easterly between 1.78 metres and 3.57 metres. High Tide: 17:26h reaching a maximum height of 2.63 metres. Low Tide: 11:03h and 23:17h reaching minimum heights of 0.55 metre and 0.55 metre.
There has been the unjus tified condemnation, personal character assassination, and threats issued to Chairwoman Madam Justice (retired) Claudette Singh; the advance ment of frivolous petitions at the commission level, as well as the baseless criticism of the Register of Registrants (NRR) in an attempt to discredit. But these continuous and stu pid outbursts of hot air will not work this time around. It is important to note that it is GECOM’s authority to maintain the NRR, and de stroying the Current NRR will disenfranchise thousands of citizens and violate the court’s ruling, because persons can not be removed from the da tabase unless a death certif icate is provided to GECOM. Persons calling for the scrap ping of the current National Register of Registrants (NRR) are doing so out of a lack of understanding and/or appre ciation of the financial under taking and vigorous sustain ability efforts to secure and maintain this register, where in every single person in the database is included using their fingerprint biometrics and their Further,photograph.thedatabase for the current NRR began in 2008 in compliance with the urgings of the PNC, and is being complied since. Today it contains the names of both Guyanese living in Guyana and those living overseas, since the registration process was complemented by sever al terms of continuous cycles of registration done over the past 14 years using GECOM’s Registration Centers across the Thecountry.registration process begins with young persons at 14 years old, and when these persons attain the age of 18 years, those names are moved over to update the list of per sons eligible to vote. So, the database would today contain categories of citizens residing overseas or not at one fixed place in Guyana, and those in clude pilots, loggers, miners, Amerindians who go hunting, and overseas-based Guyanese - who would have all regis tered at their convenience in one of the continuous regis tration centres. Therefore, while we have approximate ly 750,000 persons living in Guyana, there are another 1,000,000 Guyanese living in foreign lands, who would have also registered before or while visiting home over the past 14 years, which accounts for the approximately 650,000 regis tered on the NRR. Further, every month, the General Registration Office provides GECOM with the confirmed list of persons who died, along with copies of their death certificates, to support the removal of those names from the NRR. It was Vincent Alexander who was the PNC’s lead Commissioner at GECOM who silently looked over the APNU/AFC affairs, and who took quick action in 2015. This was even before the PPP/C took up their seats in Parliament, to support hus tled amendments for the af firmative resolution of the National Assembly concerning the Continuous Registration Bill, to allow a period of Continuous Registration to give six months’ life to the List of Electors. The APNU/AFC were quick to use the same List to hold Local Government Elections in 2016 and 2018. And the same list was used for the National and Regional Elections in 2020. Then, APNU/AFC, along with the GECOM Commissioners and all the PNC members, includ ing Norton, praised the List and declared that the 2020 Elections were free and fair. Guyanese are fully aware of the fact that APNU/AFC made several failed attempts to swear in David Granger as President.Alexander cannot stand to speak of the GECOM Chair having misconceived the na ture of the body, which can go beyond interpreting and making decisions based on the law, which is a wish-washy argument. Alexander’s recent ‘motion’ is nothing but anoth er failed attempt to postpone LGEs. Immediately after the 2020 National and Regional Elections, the PNC cabal, along with the ‘dead-wood’ AFC, lauded the running of the elections. However, af ter their failed attempt to “rig” the elections, Alexander and his colleagues are criti cising Claudette Singh, while Norton is openly saying that the imminent Justice Singh is biased and cannot be trust ed. Norton's spineless calls for Justice Claudette Singh to re sign will fall on deaf ears. Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC, was recent ly very explicit that it is the responsibility of GECOM to hold free and fair elections; and GECOM has full respon sibility to produce the Official List of Electors. GECOM re cently successfully held a con tinuous registration process, and now the claims and ob jections exercise is in process.
Chief Justice Roxane George already ruled that it is unlaw ful and unconstitutional to re move from the List persons’ names who are registered, un less they are disqualified on grounds laid down in law. Norton and Alexander must be seen for either their hypocritical stand of conve nience, or deliberate myopic positions. The LGEs are due, and must be held as early as possible.
Dear Editor, Observers of the APNU/ AFC Coalition and Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton's pow er-driven mantra are view ing a strategy characterised by fuel-filled vendetta and hatred, which clouds his ob jective rationale and increas es conflict with the ideals of democratic leadership. There is perhaps a hopeful disqui et from previously prominent party strongmen and women against whom Norton seems to have spewed a continuous toxic blood feud with a com parative ethnic-poisoned dis like he often displays for key personnel of the current PPPC Government. Meaningless, to say the least, is an under statement!Equally supporting the reeling fragmentation un der the misguided Norton is the categorically distressed Vincent Alexander, whose sour disposition has become most extraneous to the fair ness required in today’s pol itics. Perhaps the link is based on their contextual fo cus, which still resonates with PNC rigging overtures of the 70s and 80s, which this cabal still wants to act out. It must be recalled that neither man was ever seen as top-tier. They both were unceremoniously removed from a tried senior position within the People’s National Congress, and perhaps they still aspire to utilise the con demned methodology of old. Notwithstanding the Constitutional and other rel evant legislative positions, to gether with the related rul ing of the courts, these men display a combined crea ture-like disposition, which undoubtedly targets the sup pression of the positive ef forts of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).
NeilSincerely,Kumar
4 SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2022 guyanatimesgy.com Views Editor: Tusika Martin News Hotline: 231-8063 Editorial: 231-0544 223-7230,223-7231,231-0544, 225-7761 Marketing: 231-8064 Accounts: 225-6707 Mailing address: Queens Atlantic Investment Estate Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown Email:marketing@guyanatimesgy.comnews@guyanatimesgy.com, hateIncendiaryspeech
In the last few years, the UN has taken notice of the dangers posed by “hate speech”, especially expressed through social “media” platforms that, paradoxically, deliver these speeches unmediated. In this space, this newspaper pointed out some of these dangers in Guyana, especially against a background of divisive, ethnicised politics that has characterised our polity since the 1960s. In June 2019, UN Secretary-General António Guterres pointed out: “Addressing hate speech does not mean limiting or prohibiting freedom of speech; it means keeping hate speech from escalating into something more dangerous, particularly incitement to discrimination, hostility, and violence, which is prohibited under international law.”
Norton and Alexander’s bitterness clouds their objectivity, making them irrelevant contributors to our democracy
President Dr Irfaan Ali took time for a photo opportunity with a group of youngsters at the August Games that were held in Aishalton, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), on Friday evening
This is very salutary advice for Guyana at this juncture of our history: when, once again, the results of our elections are being challenged with wild allegations against the incumbent Government, but those allegations are bereft of substantiation even as challenges before the judiciary. Starting with the return of free and fair elections in 1992, after twenty-eight years of rigged elections and authoritarian rule by the PNC, such claims have led to violence being inflicted on purported supporters of the PPP simply because they are Indian Guyanese. This is the essential consequence of hate speech that targets individuals and groups based on their origins. Following the 1997 elections, in which the PPP again won and the PNC lost, the latter’s protests resulted in hundreds of Indian Guyanese being mauled in Georgetown. Those protests segued into wider protests within a PNC “slow fyaah; mo’ fyaah” strategy, and saw armed bandits holed up in Buxton killing dozens of mainly Indian Guyanese civilians and the GPF. After the Aug 2, 2020 elections, riots once again broke out in Guyana, with the PNC amazingly alleging that the PPP rigged the elections from the outside. Even though the rest of the world – present through their representatives – asserted that it was the PNC that attempted the rigging. Now matters have again taken an ominous turn, with a platoon of PNC-aligned groups disingenuously hosting a virtual “symposium” to “discuss” the “Emerging Apartheid State in Guyana”. Taking opportunistic cover under the banner of “free speech”, they are yelling “Fire!” in a theatre that is packed after two years of hate speech in meetings, protests, and over social media. According to the UN, “Hate speech is a menace to democratic values, social stability, and peace. As a matter of principle, hate speech must be confronted at every turn, and be tackled to prevent armed conflict, atrocity crimes, and terrorism; end violence against women, and other serious violations of human rights; and promote peaceful, inclusive, and just societies. “The proliferation of hateful content online, coupled with easily shareable disinformation that digital communication enables, has raised unprecedented challenges for our societies, as Governments struggle to enforce national legislation in the virtual world's scale and speed. Unlike in traditional media, online hate speech can be produced and distributed easily, at low cost, and anonymously, while having the potential to reach a global and diverse audience in realtime. The relative permanence of online content is also problematic when hateful discourse can resurface and (re) gain popularity over time. In such a context, understanding and monitoring the dynamic of hate speech across the diverse online communities and platforms are key for shaping new responses; but efforts are often stalled, given the sheer scale and diversity of the phenomenon, current technological limitations of automated monitoring systems, and the opacity of online“Meanwhile,companies.thegrowing weaponisation of social media to disseminate hateful and divisive narratives - often promoted by online corporations’ proprietary algorithmic bias - has exacerbated the stigmatisation of vulnerable communities and exposed the fragility of our democracies worldwide. This has prompted increased scrutiny of internet players and questions on their actual role and responsibility in realworld harm. As a result, some States started to hold internet corporations accountable for moderating and removing content that they consider breaking the law, raising concerns about limitation of freedom of speech and censorship in return.”Our Government must take note, and take action.
The ethnic composition of the country must be addressed via “…using his deciding vote to vouch for Roxanne Myers, a less qualified candidate, who is African (see KN letter, the-matter/).com/2018/06/19/the-fact-of-www.kaieteurnewsonline.https://
Dear Editor
First the motor vehicle accident claimed the life of the bridegroom, leav ing his young bride nurs ing injuries, then the freak workplace accident took the life of an employee of one of the famous hard ware stores. There were two heartbreaking acci dents in one week! From accounts regard ing the collapsed rack, a company official indicated that the rack was a wood en structure “which stored light goods on top”. Just what these “light goods” were, and how light were the goods, I suppose will come out in the investiga tion.It was also report ed that the now deceased employee was retrieving items from a storage cabi net positioned underneath the rack when disaster struck. Does it have to be wondered whether placing the storage cabinet under the rack was a safety folly? Further, was the structure of the rack compromised or weakened in any way which went undetected? Young lives are lost, and heartbreak ensues. Sincerest condolences to the grieving families, and wishes for a full and speedy recovery for all those injured and scarred by these events.
small children were burnt out. Before us was the arriv al of JetBlue and several pas sengers who also had babies and small children who were crying and I spoke to a female Officer in Charge, she expressed that she could not make that decision to give babies prior ity and pointed out a gentle man to whom I spoke about the matter. The gentleman said it was a decision to be made at the discretion of the Immigration Officers themselves. I then asked to speak with the Immigration Officer in the cubicle, I was told I could not. I was then directed to seek assistance at the foreign nationals’ line as JetBlue passengers had already accompanied the Caricom National Section. I recall when we had the Cricket World Cup Immigration Officers were trained to process people within three to five minutes. This aggressiveness in pro cessing visitors or arrivals should have the same mo mentum and aggressiveness in the clearing of passengers, which I recommend. I wish to recommend that in the same manner that we have wheelchair passengers being given priority to clear immigration, persons with small children and babies be given the same kind of cour tesy. Children get agitated and scared, they could devel op anxiety which may cause them to cry and scream, as was the case on the 17th of August, 2023 whilst I was traveling.Itismy hope and prayer that the relevant authorities will see this letter and give thoughtful consideration to implementing a system to as sist these parents. Of course, if there is a mother and/or father with a baby or small child and they have ten or fifteen other members of the family those other ten or fif teen members should join the regular line, otherwise, it will take forever to process them through immigration. The aim here is not to at tack or critique anyone or any system but to edify. I hope to recommend improve ments be made to the cur rent system. The goal would be, to make the process easi er for parents with children to clear the immigration fa cility at our airport and save damaging our children with anxiety.
Children need facility at immigration
Yours Deodattruly,Singh
HajjiSincerely,DrRoshan Khan Snr
SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2022 5guyanatimesgy.com You can send your letters with pictures to: Guyana Times, Queens Atlantic Investment Estate Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown, Guyana or letters@guyanatimesgy.com 06:00 (Sign on) Jewanram Rel. Hour 07:00 Cartoons 08:00 Shekinah Ministry 08:30 Evening News (RB) 09:30 Fast n Loud S7 E14 10:30 Cartoons 11:00 D. Persaud Religious Program 11:30 Prime Series - Blippi’s Educational Ad ventures for Kids 12:00 Dharmic Ki Awaz 12:30 Movie - The Secret Sauce (2022) 14:00 Movie - George of the Jungle (1997) 15:45 Exxon Mobil AEMG Ep 26 16:00 Movie - You May Kiss the Bridesmaid 17:30(2022) The Healing Touch 18:00 Maths is Fun 18:30 Week-in-Review 19:00 Lucifer S3 E2 20:00 Riverdale S3 E13 21:00 Arrow S3 E15 22:00 Umbrella Academy S1 E3 23:00 Girl Boss S1 E4 23:30 Whose Line Is It Anyway? S16 E14 00:00 Sign off Sunday, August 28, 2022 COMMODITIES Indicators US$ Change % Crude Oil $100.99/barrel +1.63 Rough Rice $311.36/ton +0.80 London Sugar $559.90/ton +0.02 Live Spot Gold USD Per Ounce Bid/Ask $1739.10 $1740.10 Low/High $1733.90 $1759.40 Change 0.00 0.00 LOTTERY NUMBERS DAILY MILLIONSSATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2022 DISCLAIMER: WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ERRORS IN PUBLICATION. PLEASE CALL THE HOTLINE FOR CONFIRMATION - TEL: 225-8902 LUCKY 3 TICKETFREE 08 14 15 16 19 26C 1610 18133 15 6 1950606050304 Bonus Ball 27 DRAW DE LINE 13 14080402 15 16090701 PAY DAY PAYSUPERDAY 15 0 5 5 Afternoon Draw Evening Draw FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 2022 43 25 Afternoon Draw Evening Draw 2XFP Afternoon Draw Evening Draw SATURDAY, AUGUST 06, 2022
Two accidentsheartbreakingin1week
A final note is in or der, and for this I ask that Ogunseye cogitates on this: “In the past, each of us has made statements con demning African Guyanese atrocities against Indian Guyanese, and we condemn them even more strong ly now, as the violence be comes more brutal.” (Eusi Kwayana, David Hinds, and Andaiye in a letter to Stabroek News, September 1, 2002). It is indeed time to get real. It is not only GECOM and GPF, but also the Public Sector/Service and the Government Media that need this ‘balancing off.’
Dear Editor, I arrived at the Cheddi Jagan Airport, Timehri at about 11:40 pm on the night of 17th, 2022 after a tiring traveling session for adults and children from Jamaica. In transit in Trinidad and arriving home in Guyana was a painful experience for children at the immigration clearing facility. It is known that the world over onboarding aircraft, ba bies, and small children along with their parents are given priority to the board, and rightfully so. However, I must be fair; Guyana like other countries caters to per sons in wheelchairs but not to babies at the immigration facilities. This is from my regular travels and observa tion.On the 17th of August, 2022 we departed Jamaica at about 4 pm and were in tran sit in Trinidad for quite a while, we boarded Caribbean Airlines to Guyana by which time adults, babies, and
ShamshunSincerely, Mohamed Dear Editor, Dr Devanand Bhagwan, in his Aug 25 letter, com mented, “Should the com position of GECOM staff reflect what Guyana looks like?” Of course, his answer is “Absolutely!”Bhagwaninforms read ers that “Indians consist of approximately 40% of the population of Guyana; Africans about 30%; and Amerindians 10%. Therefore, the ethnic com position of GECOM ought to reflect this ethnic compo sition.”GECOM, I posit, must not be the only entity to consider.Ithink of the Guyana Police Force (and the Guyana Defence Force by extension) and you will see that Guyana does have a huge imbalance in terms of racial distribution in cer tain key areas. Just reflect on the following people who headed the Force sometime in theThesepast. Commissioners include Felix Austin, Carl Austin, Lloyd Barker, Balram Raghubir, Floyd McDonald, Laurie Lewis, Leroy Brummell, Henry Greene, Seelall Persaud, and Leslie James. Now we have Clifton Hicken. Need I make my point? So, Ogunseye may be right or wrong, I do not care. If he thinks that “the message is crystal clear… (and that) PPP/C wants the composition of GECOM staff to change – (as) there are there are too many Africans,” then he is on the right track. That is the way it should be. Ogunseye Deputycandidatejectingdid(ret’d)Ogunseyeandtion,DavidSeelallanGPF.So,dominationdapresstationracialthroughciesnalfaceclaimself-destructs.Hisunsubstantiatedisthat“evenintheofinternalandextercriticismofitspoliofexclusion,theparty,itsnewenforcerofquotas,heldnohesitoboldlyexpressandforwardwithitsagenofpoliticalandracialofthecountry.”againIreferhimtotheIremindhim,too,thaterstwhileCommissioner,Persaud,undertheGrangeradministrawasunceremoniouslyillegally‘sentonleave.’LikeBhagwan,IrefertowhatJusticeJamesPattersontoVishnuPersaud,rethehighestrankedforthepostofChiefExecutive Officer (DCEO) of GECOM”
6 SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM FEATURE DEWORMING (continued)
Last week I advanced the argument that im plementing a treat ment regime against worms in dogs and cats based on tablets/oral liquids/ inject ables administered as a sin gle dose purporting to kill all the many types of worms may not be the most appro priate way of removing the worm burdens that the ani mals are carrying. I maintain that the de worming regime must be aimed at specifically target ing the individual types of worms (or worms belonging to a particular group). There is enough data and empirical evidence, as well as clinic re cords, which will justify the deduction that “one size does not fit all”. Thus, it is prefer able to use a particular drug with its singular set of side effects (all have side effects) against, say, Similarly,Tapeworms.Irecommend a totally different drug, with a specific dosage rate and schedule, to be administered against Heartworms. Specific drugs that target the pleth ora of Roundworms are also indicated.Aproverbial spanner is thrown into the works when there comes along a “Miracle Drug” which is recommend ed for broad-spectrum treat ment against endo- and ec to-parasites. Ivermectin is such a drug. It truly rep resents a breakthrough in pharmacology, so much so that researchers (one from Japan and one from the USA) were awarded the Nobel Prize in the early 90s. This drug is now being used in India as a therapeu tic agent of choice against COVID-19. Other countries are implementing this drug within their anti-COVID treatment
small-anierinariansanIvermectinonlyinwellskinscombatticesinansOriginally,protocols.veterinaribeganusingIvermectintheirLargeAnimalpracasahelpfulmethodtoecto-parasitesontheofcows,horses,etc.,asasagainstwormswiththeanimals’bodies.Itwasamatteroftimebeforefounditselfallyforvetin malYoupractice.may ask: “If it is relatively easy to adminis ter Ivermectin to dogs and cats (and hamsters, snakes and stressed caged animals) with some degree of success, then why not implement this anti-parasitic strategy?” since the logic seems solid. Ivermectin, in fact, is cur rently being used as a ma jor therapeutic against pret ty much all worms. And since it can kill ticks, mites, etc., (parasites on the skin’s sur face), the Animal Health Assistants, Veterinarians, “breeders” and companion animal owners are all resort ing to its use as the drug of choice against ecto- and en do-parasites. Interestingly, the drug can be purchased over-the-counter (for oral or injectable administration) in at least one major livestock supplies establishment in Guyana (which also advertis es and markets metal spurs for fighting cocks to lacerate and destroy each other – all illegal).Iam cautioning against equating simplicity of admin istration with efficacy. I re call that when Ivermectin first emerged on the overthe -counter market, one of my respected colleagues decided to administer it to a litter of puppies. All the pups (Rottweilers, if my memo ry serves me right) died. It traumatised my colleague. He is made of sterner stuff, and perhaps with my coun sel, was able to overcome the trauma of that unwel come moment in his career. His overall contribu tions to animal ag riculture are im mense.The providedcountmentionedaforeacwastore affirm the ex treme importance for practi tioners to be trained on the use of certain drugs. They should not be used indiscrim inately without acquiring all the information on their use (and this is even more so when the drug is dubbed a “miracle drug”). My Clinic is perpetually dealing with cases of ill ef fects from incorrect deworm ing treatments, not lastly from the use of Ivermectin. It is my conviction that guid ance should be sought from competent professionals, who know all aspects of any drug’s usage and the science of that drug’s mode of action, before a decision is made to include any potentially potent drug in a therapeutic or prophylac tic deworming regime. A further issue is the use of Ivermectin against Heartworms in an unpre scribed manner. The vet ex amining your pet will not know if a single administra tion and quantity has been effective in killing all the Heartworms and their lar val stages. What is the opti mal interval between appli cations? The methodology should include doing a mi croscopic examination of the pet’s blood prior to the first application of Ivermectin, and then again at 2-3 weeks’ intervals.Regrettably, this is not done, particularly by Animal Health Assistants, who do not have equipment, partic ularly microscopes. Very few practitioners conduct tests. I shall discuss this mos quito-borne filarial disease in more detail in future articles. On the issue of deworming, I hope that my detailed dis course on the matter to date has served to illustrate that it is not a “simple” matter. Deworming protocols must be established by trained and competent technicians, ap plying scientifically-based methods with tested and proven medications.
2020 General & Regional Elections
Govt to launch probe into how confidential data on citizens ended up in hands of APNU/AFC
Attorney General Anil Nandlall
Polling documents carelessly stuffed into bags at the office of the Region Four Returning Officer, back in 2020
7NEWS SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM
The fact that immigra tion and registration data of citizens ended up in the hands of the then-rul ing A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) party in the af termath of the 2020 General and Regional Elections, will now be the subject of investi gations.This is according to Legal Affairs Minister and Attorney General Anil Nandlall, during the latest edition of his pro gramme “Issues in the News”, where he alluded to the fact that data that should have been in the custody of the au thorities, was used by APNU/ AFC to make false and politi cally charged claims against citizens.“Perhaps we should have done it before, but it is not too late. These concocted and fab ricated allegations continue to be made by that rigging ca bal who tried relentlessly to pervert those elections. They manufactured records from the Immigration Department and the GRO office,” the Attorney GeneralNandlallsaid. pointed out that back in 2020 when APNU/AFC first made its erroneous claims, the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) did investiga tions of its own. During its in vestigations, the PPP/C was able to find many of the per sons that APNU/AFC claimed were out of the jurisdiction or dead.In fact, many of these per sons came forward to protest against and dispute APNU/ AFC’s claims, which it had sub mitted to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM). This publication published sever al such persons, who had been accused by the then ruling par ty of being either dead or out of the jurisdiction when their vote was “Well,recorded.thePolice or the rele vant agency will have to inves tigate and tell the public where that documents came from and who was responsible for com piling them and upon whose directions they were compiled. That will happen very shortly, in a matter of days,” Nandlall said.Another frequent point of contention by the APNU/AFC is how 49 boxes in Better Hope/ LBI were missing statutory documents following the elec tions. According to Nandlall, however, it is on GECOM to investigate this issue. “Now, as I have estab lished the matter is now with in GECOM. Call [GECOM] if [there are any] doubts… is to call Mingo and call Lowenfield…and ask them to come out publicly and contra dict me…raise it as a matter for the commission to interro gate because it’s a GECOM is sue,” the Legal Affairs Minister saidNandlallsternly. also pointed out that it was the APNU/AFC while in power, that was the custodian of the electoral pro cess and would therefore be better able to answer to the whereabouts of the missing statutory documents, than his party.“But every one of the irregu larities that they are concocting and manufacturing, they want to throw at the PPP’s doorstep and the Government’s front door. But those are GECOM is sues,” Nandlall said. In fact, during the height of the confusion post-2020 elections, elections officials at tached to the office of the then Returning Officer for Region Four dlingturedClairmont(Demerara-Mahaica),Mingo,werecaponvideocarelesslyhanpollingdocuments.
Mingo has since been fired from GECOM. He is also fac ing electoral fraud charges be fore the court. The video was leaked at a time when APNU/AFC was claiming “electoral fraud” be cause the documents for sev eral polling places on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD), Region Four, could not be found.The areas from where the ancillary documents are missing include several of the People’s Progressive Party’s (PPP) strongholds. Among the missing documents are poll books, counterfoils, and the marked (ticked off) Official List of Electors.Thosedocuments were sup posed to have been stored in the ballot boxes, however, they were placed into bags instead. GECOM had said at the time that it checked the poll bags in hope of recovering those miss ing documents but they were not Asfound.such, it summoned the Deputy Returning Officers (DROs), who worked between Ogle to Lusignan to explain what transpired on Elections Day but those officers did not turn up to the meeting. GECOM did not publish to names of the DROs who delib erately missed the meeting. Subsequently, however, at least one Presiding Officer took to social media to claim that instructions were hand ed down by those in the upper echelons of GECOM, to not put the relevant documents in the ballot box.
Readers are invited to send their comments by email to eye@guyanatimesgy.com
Yes…Guyana’s a democracy, and, in democracies, political parties go after votes they missed in the last elections. Hence all this wooing of Amerindians and African Guyanese through the distribution of grants (floods, schoolchildren, housing) and lots of jobs and whatever else they can hand out!! Including footballs and cricket gear –complete with fields and facilities!! So now there’s a new complaint: the PPP wants to occupy all the political space!! Isn’t that what democracy’s all about?Bajan’s ain’t complaining about Mia getting all 30 seats in their Parliament!! …on AFC
For some reason that your Eyewitness couldn’t fathom, movies about zombies – the living dead – are flourishing in the make-believe world of cinema and TV. They’ve obviously inspired the “dead meat” AFC in their galvanic twitches!!
8 NEWS SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM
The foot falls… …in sugar?? Y our Eyewitness was intrigued by the headline “GuySuCo seeking private planters for 25% of land”. The first thought that came into his head (uninvited!!) was, “Does this mean we’re gonna cancel 25% of the orders for those horrendously expensive ‘articulated tractors’?” Was that the (cane) straw that broke the (cane) camel’s back?? Well, if not that, SOMETHING must’ve happened to usher in this seismic change of direction in our inaugural agricultural endeavour!! Not to harp on this, but unless we plebes are let in on the background of this change, we really can’t be commenting in an “informed” manner. And since the sugar industry is “Owned and Operated by the People of Guyana” – according to the signs that were erected in front of all the sugar estates!! – we should know, shouldn’t we?? Was it all the free advice to GuySuCo’s management that was being provided through the courtesy of our dailies??Agood chunk of that – including from this space –has suggested that ALL of GuySuCo’s land be leased to workers in 15-acre plots. Then let them be responsible for producing the cane that would be cut and loaded by them onto punts that are owned and operated by GuySuCo. It’s been proven that this is the size of farms that can be optimally cultivated by families. Remember the sainted Jagan and BBP? But, from the announcement, the 12,000 acres of land’s gonna be leased in minimum 1000-acre plots; meaning, 12 farmers max!! The devil, of course, is gonna be in the details of the arrangement!! The major detail, of course, being at what price will GuySuCo be accepting the cane? Going back to the days of Bookers, GuySuCo’s been trying to get a viable and sustainable cane-farming segment going. One of the major problems was that payment was based on the amount of sugar extracted from the farmers’ canes. This, of course, is completely dependent on the efficiencies achieved by the factories. Since Bookers’ days, the operations of the factories have all gone downhill!! At one factory, as much sugar was left in the molasses as in the crystals after the centrifuge!!Whyshould the farmers be penalised?? But, dear readers, being as perspicacious as you always are, you must be muttering, “Wouldn’t small farmers face the same challenges as the 12 big farmers??” Well…erm… no!! Small farmers will be paid on the WEIGHT of the cane they deliver to the punts. After that, GuySuCo’s on its own!! Now, you may ask, “Why not do the same for the big farmers?” Well, let’s see the Government changing THAT bit of legislation and be accused of favouring the “big boys”!!Incase you didn’t notice, elections are in the air!! …on campaigning And on that note, your Eyewitness is kinda amazed the PNC’s been knocked for SIX in the PPP’s blitzkrieg for votes. Right after Granger cried, “No mas…no mas” and threw in the white towel on Aug 2nd 2020!! And no…your Eyewitness didn’t miss the rightness of doing this right after Emancipation Day. Hadn’t Rodney, the prophet of emancipation, reminded us that African Guyanese came out of slavery with their dignity intact. And they shouldn’t allow two-bit poseurs like Burnham – much less his pale wannabe Granger – take that away?!!
The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Guyana Times’ editorial policy and stance
“There is a continuous analysis of the laws. We are young in this, we have just passed the local con tent legislation, so they will be continuously re viewed. There will be con tinuous analysis to deal with loopholes and to deal with areas in which peo ple think they can manipu late,” the President had in dicated.Guyana passed its local content laws in December 2021, and those de tail a series of measures geared towards ensuring that Guyanese and local ly-owned businesses bene fit from the oil and gas sec tor.
The secretariat warned that bundled contracts will not be measured as com pliance, especially if these contracts were awarded after the Local Content Act came into force. This means companies failing to achieve their minimum lo cal content level, as mea sured in Section 7(1) of the Act, will not be awarded a certificate of compliance.
It has previously been disclosed that despite the Local Content Act, oil and gas companies continue to come up with new ways to bypass the law. President Dr Irfaan Ali has previous ly said that his Government has to continuously review the local content legisla tion to address the loop holes that foreign compa nies use to manipulate the systems in place to ensure that Guyanese benefit from the oil and gas sector.
Companies involved in contract bundling could be fined $50M – Local Content Secretariat
GCCI TimothyPresidentTucker
According to Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, one of the schemes that companies have been us ing is to manipulate their junior Guyanese staff to fill up the legally-mandat ed quota for senior man agement staff, all while the junior staff continue to col lect their original salaries. Asked previously about how his Government in tends to deal with viola tors of the Local Content Act, President Ali had told Guyana Times that there are several ways to crack down on such manipula tive acts. He had hinted at the possibility of fur ther strengthening the lo cal content legislation to clamp down on such loop holes.
“By failing to achieve the minimum local con tent levels, the Contractor or Sub-Contractor will not be awarded the Certificate of Compliance by the Secretariat at the end of the calendar year,” the sec retariat“Withoutsaid. a Certificate of Compliance, it means that the Contractor or SubContractor has failed to carry out petroleum opera tions without the minimum local content requirement, thereby committing an of fence.” Companies failing to reach minimum local con tent requirements in the oil sector are liable to a $50 million fine. Persons like Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) President Timothy Tucker have been at the forefront of the fight against contract bundling.
T he Local Content Secretariat (LCS) has warned that it is cracking down on com panies who still engage in contract bundling, in cluding denying them the compliance certificate they need to avoid a $50 million fine. Contract bundling, the practice of companies ten dering for contracts in a way that excludes small and medium-sized compa nies, has been a topical is sue for some time. In a re cent statement, the Local Content Secretariat clari fied what it has been doing about the issue. For one, it was ex plained that they continue to have conversations with stakeholders, on issues such as contract bundling and lengthy payment peri ods. An August 16 meeting, for instance, resulted in a general agreement to push for contracts to be unbun dled and a thirty-day pay ment period for small and medium-sized businesses. That meeting, be tween Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat, also saw the Private Sector Commission’s Local Content Advisory Committee (LCAG) in at tendance. The very next day, the secretariat also is sued a warning to compa nies, of the consequences if they continue to bundle contracts.“The Government of Guyana, through the Ministry of Natural Resources, continues to dia logue with all stakeholders of Guyana’s petroleum sec tor, including the private sector. Such dialogue is aimed at ensuring that the goals of the Local Content Act are achieved to ensure Guyanese reap the benefits of this lucrative and rapid ly expanding sector. “Among the multitude of issues discussed, specif ic emphasis was placed on the bundling of contracts and lengthy payment pe riods. There was a gener al agreement to continue pushing for the unbundling of contracts as well as ex amining a thirty-day pay ment period for small and medium-sized businesses.”
Local Content Secretariat Director, Martin Pertab
FROM PAGE 3
Essequibo region over the past two days, which will continue today, also served as a platform for village lead ers to raise additional issues affecting them and make re quests for critical services.
Shulinab Village gets $10M to...
9NEWS SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM So the businesses will benefit, the communities will benefit, the labourers would benefit, the skilled workers would benefit, the block makers would bene fit – you all will benefit as a result of the investments the government is making,” he stated. It was revealed that from 2020 to now, the Housing Ministry has dis tributed some 400 house lots to residents in Region Nine and has already spent over $669 million for related works.The President pointed out that no other govern ments has done as much for hinterland and its peo ple’s development than the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C). In fact, he outlined that in addition to these new measures, residents in the region will also benefit from other measures tailored to benefit hinterland communi ties including the hinterland housing programme, the hin terland home improvement project, the hinterland sani tation project in which gov ernment is setting up septic tanks for households, as well as the programme that is targeting roofs replacements in hinterland communities. Moreover, Region Nine will also gain from other measures the government has introduced to push its housing drive. Last month, President Ali announced a special housing initiative that will see government construction homes for landowners at varying values with easy fi nancing through the banks. This is in addition to measures previously rolled out including distribution of free building materials and slashed interest rates on bank financing for home owners along with the re moval of VAT on certain con struction materials such as cement, sheetrock and con creteMeanwhile,boards. during Saturday’s visit to Shulinab, the Guyanese Leader also handed over four tractors to surrounding communities, a cassava mill, a chainsaw, brush cutters, fertilisers and seeds and sport equipment. These items were in re sponse to requests made at the recently held National Toshaos Conference (NTC) and from letters sent. According to the Head of State, the “items will help in the empowerment of com munities and building of ca pacity”. He further assured residents that he will contin ue to make himself and his Cabinet available for further discussions on resolving is sues in the Presidentcommunity.Ali was joined by Amerindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai, Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water Susan Rodrigues, and Local Government and Regional Development Nigel DharamlallTheteam has held a se ries of meetings at other lo cations including Sandcreek and Aishalton in the Deep South Rupununi, where res idents were updated on the Government’s development agenda including the provi sion of 2,000 part-time jobs for Region Nine residents. In order to cushion the rising cost of living, the gov ernment has been rolling out the part-time job initiative in various regions across the country. Under this pro gramme, persons are em ployed on a temporary ba sis in various fields within the public sector and paid $40,000Already,monthly.some 10,000 persons have benefited from the part-time job initiative throughout Guyana. These meetings in the Upper Takutu-Upper
The tractors handed over to communities in Region Nine on Saturday
5 injured in 5-vehicle collision in Essequibo
The motor car that was turning into the gas station
10 NEWS SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM
tion received, the white Mazda Axela, PRR 4866, being driven by Gordon Williams, also known as ‘Monkey Harry’, was head ing to Perseverance when it collided with a motor car that was turning into a gas station at the time. The Axela then crashed into three other vehicles that were parked in the parking lot of the super market, then spun sever al times before coming to a stop on the road. The injured persons were pulled from the wreckage by public-spir ited citizens and taken to the Suddie Public Hospital, where they were treated and admitted as patients. The driver of the motorcar has been detained as inves tigations continue.
The white Mazda Axela that was involved in the accident
F ive persons are being treated at the Suddie Public Hospital for various injuries they sus tained after a speeding car collided with several other vehicles on Friday in the vi cinity of H&J Supermarket and Sons Enterprise at Johanna Cecelia, Essequibo Coast, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam).Accordingtoinforma
Ravi Dev 11 SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM
Kenyan lessons in democracy Kenya went to the polls on Aug 9th, but the declared winner, William Ruto, has not been sworn in as yet. The declaration has been challenged in the courts by his veteran rival Raila Odinga, who lost his fifth attempt at capturing the Presidency. Kenya, like Ghana and Guyana, has very similar political challenges as ex-colonies of Britain that have attempted to institute parliamentary governance in their ethnically divided societies. Kenya has the “edge” over us, with 42 tribes but with 8 dominant ones that act like our “ethnic groups”. Gaining Independence in 1963 with the legendary Jomo Kenyatta (from the Kikuyu tribe) as PM, Kenya slid into one-party rule before he died in office in 1978. In 1966, Kenyatta’s deputy, Oginga Odinga, quit the ruling KANU, and politics became fractured, since Odinga’s Luo supporters and MPs rallied behind him when he launched the KPU. In our local politics, some have theorised that even if Jagan and Burnham had led us to independence together, our cleavages would have eventually manifested, as in Kenya. Kenya was transformed into a one-party state in 1969, when KPU was banned. KANU, as the only party, “won” all seats in 1969, 1974, 1979, 1983 and 1988 elections. After attending the 1970 Non-Aligned Summit in Lusaka, Zambia, Burnham visited several East African countries, such as Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, where he must have been inspired to deepen his de-facto one-party rule in Guyana. Kenyatta’s successor, Daniel Arap Moi, from a minority tribe, the Kalenjin, ruled with an iron fist until he was forced, as with Burnham’s successor Hoyte, to accept multi-party “free and fair” elections in 1992, following the end of the Cold War. And, as in Guyana, the ethnic fissures again erupted in the mobilisation of votes. Moi won the 1992 and 1997 elections, and groomed Jomo Kenyatta’s son Uhuru to take over the presidency. But when Moi stood down in 2002 for Uhuru Kenyatta to run, KANU was defeated by an opposition coalition led by Mwai Kibaki, a Kikuyu. Kenya had its first President from the Opposition. Oginga Odinga’s son Raila, who had lost the 1997 elections, was part of the coalition; but after the coalition collapsed prior to the 2007 elections, Uhuru backed Kibaki (all Kikuyu) against OdingaFollowing(Luo). the latter’s defeat, Kenya suffered its worst outbreak of ethnic violence when some 1300 persons were killed and 600,000 displaced. After a 2008 National Accord and Reconciliation Act was passed and a temporary power-sharing Government between Kenyatta and Odinga was instituted, the constitution was drastically amended in 2010 to accommodate a welter of innovations. Many of these are presently being touted in Guyana by the Opposition to have a more “inclusive” Government. Kenyatta and his running mate William Ruto (from the third largest tribe, the Kalenjin) were indicted by the International Criminal Court in 2011 for incitement of ethnic violence against Odinga’s supporter, but the charges were dropped for lack of evidence. In the 2013 elections, Kenyatta defeated Raila Odinga, whose party won the most seats in the National Assembly. In the 2017 elections, which Kenyatta and Ruto won, the complaints by Odinga had shifted to the validity and counting of the votes, and following his petition, the Supreme Court voided the elections. The law had been changed to mandate that election petitions had to be decided within 14 days, and, if necessary, new elections be held in 60 days. After great confusion and several resignations in the Elections Commission, Odinga withdrew from the new elections in protest, and Kenyatta was elected with 98% of the votes. And this brings us to their Aug 9th elections. By then Kenyatta had been barred from a third term, and under the guise of “power sharing”, he brought in Odinga in an ostentatious “Building Bridges Initiative”, signalled by a famous “handshake”. The estranged Ruto identified with ordinary Kenyans and ran as an outsider “hustler” against the “dynasties, and won by a whisker. Odinga filed his objection, and the court will rule within days. But whatever the decision, it is clear that, sadly, “this will not end well”. For Kenya and us, the aphorism of the architect of India’s Constitution, Ambedkar, is salutary: “However good a Constitution may be, if those who are implementing it are not good, it will prove to be bad.”
The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Guyana Times’ editorial policy and stance
infessedmanQuincyThirty-six-year-oldRoache,abusinesswhosubsequentlycontothecrime,remainsPolicecustody.AccordingtoPolicere ports, Dazzle and the sus pect shared a common law relationship and would of ten have domestic issues. However, the now deceased woman never made any re ports to the Police regarding this.However, on the day in question at about 23:40h, the deceased cousin who was at her neighbour’s house was awakened by loud screams coming from Dazzle. As such, the cousin imme diately opened the door and saw Dazzle running out of her yard and onto a bridge where she collapsed and remained motionless.Soonafter the accused ex ited the house, went to his minibus, and shouted: “Now y’all can call the Police, I done do what I had to do.” He then entered the mini bus and drove off. The injured mother of one was picked up and taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital where she was pronounced dead. The body was examined and at least 13 stab wounds were seen.The suspect later went to the Turkeyen Police Station where he confessed to killing his fiancé. He was then tak en to the Sparendaam Police Station where he told investi gators that he went through the deceased’s mobile phone and saw that she was con versing with another male. He stated that this led to an argument during which the deceased picked up a knife and cut him to his left middle finger. In retaliation, he took the knife away from her and dealt her several stabs about her body. When Guyana Times vis ited the scene, the dead wom an’s mother, Allision Dazzle, was surrounded by other rel atives as they were still in a state of shock. The aggrieved mother re lated that while details are still sketchy as to what might have led to her daughter’s de mise, she was just told that her daughter was stabbed several times and in an es cape bid, she collapsed and died.The woman explained that at the time of the inci dent, the now dead woman’s only child had to endure see ing his mother being stabbed to death.“His father kept holding him but he keeps crying be cause he is of age and un derstands that his mother is dead,” she Experiencingsaid. someone be ing stabbed is not easy, espe cially for a young child and as such, the grandmother is seeking the intervention of the relevant authorities to counsel him. The devastated moth er further stated that she was aware of the abuse her now-dead daughter encoun tered in the abusive and “con trolling” relationship. She re called that only recently, her daughter had confided in her and she had expressed inter est in leaving the suspect. Family members told this publication that the suspect was controlling and that it had gotten to the point where he had banned the now dead woman from visiting her mother, who lives a stone’s throwTheaway.mother described her daughter as a high-spirited and jolly person who did not deserve to lose her life in such a manner. As such, she is call ing for the man to feel the full brunt of the law.
Mother of 1 brutally stabbed to death in front of 6-year-old son
Asix-year-old boy watched helplessly as his mother was brutal ly stabbed to death on Friday evening by his stepfather, who accused her of being un faithful.Thedead woman has been identified as Tacina Dazzle, 28, a housewife of Lot 46 Ujamma Housing Scheme, La Bonne Intention (LBI), East Coast Demerara (ECD).
Tacina Dazzle and the suspect in happier times
12 NEWS SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM
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References ANNEX V –
Requirements for EPA Authorisation
assurance-system/https://euflegt.gov.gy/gtlas/guyana-timber-legality-2022Accessed:August25,2022https://euflegt.gov.gy/flegt-licence/Accessed:August25,2022 You
and stance ENDURINGGOVERNANCEFORESTGOODANDTRADE FLEGT
The EUTR requires that operators exercise due diligence when placing timber or timber products on the market. EUTR defines operators as any natural or legal person that places timber or timber products on the EU market. Improves business efficiency; Therefore, if you are an operator, you can place FLEGTlicensed products on the EU market, saving relevant time and work, and improving the efficiency of your business. Contributes to a better Guyana and sector Guyana will have a robust, audited system for tracking timber and verifying its legality throughout the supply chain – GTLAS. Guyana has also committed to making information about its forest sector publicly available, improving transparency. FLEGT Licensing Schemes also promote legal trade, a fair market, a multi-stakeholder process to improve forest governance, and contribute to social and environmental goals.
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Benefits of GTLAS and FLEGT Guyana’s timber products can enter the EU market.
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your ideas
our
* National Insurance Scheme The full list can be found on the website at gov.gy/gtlas/guyana-timber-legality-assurance-system/.https://euflegt.
Guyana has adopted and developed several initiatives, over the years, to strengthen forest governance and its forest sector, such as the creation of the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), and using its forests to forge a green economy based on low levels of deforestation, reduced carbon emissions, and climate resilience. In addition to the LCDS, Guyana has developed a Timber Legality Assurance System, which will see compliance with a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) established with the EU Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (EU-FLEGT), additionally strengthening compliance with local legislation.
W elcome back readers. Last week, we shared guidelines for operators in the forestry sector, focusing on waste management and other environmental considerations. Today, we take a look at another aspect of forestry operations involving agencies at the local and international levels. Forests cover approximately seventy-five (75%) per cent of Guyana, with four-fifths (4/5) of this vegetation being classified as State Forests. Forests are a source of support and sustenance for the people of Guyana, primarily rural and forest communities, and Amerindians. They serve multiple land-use functions, provide socio-cultural services, and are an integral part of Amerindian and local community culture. Forests are also an essential natural resource, contributing to Guyana’s economy, and assisting the country’s social and economic growth and development.
*
Primary agencies in the GTLAS
* Processing fee Detailed Project Summary Business Registration, or Certificate of Incorporation. documents that may be requested for issuance of a permit include: No objection from local government authority (Neighbourhood Democratic Council or Town Council); Central Housing and Planning Authority approval; and Any other permits or approvals from relevant Government entities. The Guyana Timber Legality Assurance System August 25, can share and questions sending to: “Our Earth, Our Environment”, C/O Communications, Environmental Protection Agency, Ganges Street, Sophia, GEORGETOWN, or email us at: eit.epaguyana@gmail.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram and subscribe to YouTube channel.
To issue FLEGT Licences, Guyana must ensure that it has a system that works in accordance with the national laws, so that only legally produced timber is exported to the EU and the world. The FLEGT Secretariat of the Guyana Forestry Commission is the official licensing authority for FLEGT Licences.
letters
The Guyana Timber Legality Assurance System (GTLAS) is at the heart of FLEGT and the VPA. GTLAS functions as a verification system that distinguishes between legally and illegally produced timber products. Therefore, compliance checks and supply chain controls (from harvesting to the local market or global destination market, including the EU) are central to ensuring that timber products are legal. GTLAS will also verify the legality of imported timber products.
FLEGT-licensed timber and timber products meet the due diligence requirements of the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR).
by
(GTLAS)https://forestry.gov.gy/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/ Annex-5.pdf Accessed:
reflect Guyana
* Environmental Protection Agency are:
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* Completed application form
Other
* Guyana Forestry Commission * Guyana Revenue Authority
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The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not necessarily Times’ editorial policy AND THE GUYANA TIMBER LEGALITY ASSURANCE SYSTEM
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Capturing innovative and fortryyouthssolutionslife-changingforGuyana,fromacrossthecounconvergedonSaturdaytheNationalScienceFair
Singh said this “mul tibrella” can be used any where. It would reduce the use of fossil fuel by bringing down cooking gas usage.
Abraham Zuil Secondary School and their cement project using plastic waste
finals and expo, bringing to gether a plethora of brilliant concepts.The Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) was transformed into a hub for creatives and school-aged children to bring their ideas alive, sparking attention on the impact these projects can have on the country.
From an eco-friendly ab sorber for oil spills to a riv er cleaning machine, a buzz was sure created from the science frenzy.
Singh, one of the students, detailed, “You place the food inside of it and it cooks with the solar light. We also have a bat tery that is stored at the bot tom in case of unfavourable weather. That will be used to operate a duplex point, which we can operate a mi crowave.”
The Anna Regina Multilateral also created the Husky Husk Absorber, us ing coconut and rice waste to develop a fast absorber for oil spills. After it mops up the oil spill, the waste can be squeezed out of the mate rial and it can be reused up to nine“Fortimes.many generations, waste from rice and coco nuts has been dumped in various areas, which result ed in pollution. We com bined these materials to make something absorb oil. Since Guyana is now an oil-producing nation, we are now prone to environmental threats, the most prevalent being oil spills,” explained Suria Walcott. Over at Robolife GY, a river cleaning machine was mapped out to skim off ac cumulated waste materials from large water surfaces. It uses existing technology to create a ‘floating bin’. A con veyor system would remove the waste and dispose of it properly. “In layman’s terms, it is a garbage bin on water. The first conveyor belt picks up the garbage from the wa ter and then a second con veyor belt would drop it in the bins. The idea is to just make the environment bet ter in terms of cleaner. We want Guyana to be a clean er and better place,” Micheal ThomasMeanwhile,shared. the University of Guyana’s Robotics Club brainstormed a semi-industrial robotic arm as they explored a lo cally made robotic kit for Guyanese students. A member of the club, Carlos Benn outlined, “We have created the first semi-industrial robotic arm and it is produced for educa tional purposes. In our coun try, we mostly import every thing and it goes into even robotics for the STEM kits. However, we’re thinking of a locally made robotics kit. In that way, you reduce pro duction and shipping costs.” Benn told Guyana Times that they want to see these robotic arms in schools, where teachers can be trained to use them. In six months, the aim is to have 10 across every administra tive region. Hailing from Region Six, Bush Lot Secondary School managed to formulate an environmentally friendly in cinerator to reduce the usu ally thick smoke which caus es pollution.Thereis a sprinkler sys tem, which uses water and calcium carbonate, to trap the harmful toxins before it can escape into the air. This produces a liquid that isn’t harmful and can be used to water plants among other activities.SaraReddock, a 15-yearold student, told this publi cation, “We don’t want any black smoke. So, we open the pipe, and the water trav els. As the smoke goes up, the water traps it.” Other innovations includ ed using discarded plastic bottles to create sturdier ce ment blocks. Another group of UG students also intro duced Ultimatus Electricus, which detects faults in the transmission immediately.
20 FEATURE SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM
A fast absorber using coconut and rice waste to address oil spills Robolife GY and their river cleaning machine
The ACCC coming alive for the National Science Fair
The Anna Regina Multilateral School dis played its “Multibrella”, an umbrella that can be used to trap sunlight and transform energy to conduct tasks. While providing shade like a normal umbrella, it was created with a section on top where food items can be cooked using solar cookers. There is another area that traps sunlight and creates solarChasinaenergy.
Environmental solutions spark brilliant ideas at National Science Fair
photo)
22 FEATURE SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM
Community-led and owned tourism establishments Iwokrama River Lodge, Karanambu Lodge, Caiman House, Surama Eco-Lodge and Rewa Eco-Lodge all act as blueprints for sustainable, community-led and owned tourism in Guyana. The Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) is active ly fostering inter-ministerial and multi-stake holder collaboration with sister governmental agencies, the tourism private sector, and do nors that make initiatives like these possible. From their management practices to their sus tainable lifestyle choices, these communities have embodied the true essence of what being community-led and owned means. Upon trav elling to these regions, travellers will notice that the GTA’s aim and continued success at preserving the ecosystems and Indigenous cul tures and heritage of the Rupununi region are what has allowed Guyana the opportunity to be awarded these global recognitions. Through the tourism potential garnered from international accolades, Guyana has since seen a significant increase in travellers as well as an increase in socio-economic benefits to the residents. Guyana is fully committed to con tinuing down this path. Whether it’s local or international travel, the existing and budding community-led and owned eco-lodges provide packed itineraries for travellers to enjoy the unspoilt beauty of Guyana. What’s even better is that these lodges manage community-based tourism on a whole other level by constructive ly using their natural resources and preserva tion of their traditional culture in a socially ap propriate manner. They provide opportunities for their people through research, training and employment.Travellers can take advantage of wildlife spotting in Surama or Rewa or experience the turtle conservation project and caiman tagging at Caiman House (weighing, measuring, tag ging and releasing) and Arapaima catch-andrelease fly fishing at Rewa. In 2020 and 2021 the GTA launched a num ber of new experiential tourism experiences. Of these, Warapoka, Santa Aratak Mission, St Cuthbert’s Mission, Bimichi Tours, Moraikobai and Wakapao tours are all Indigenous prod uct offerings that perfectly complement the Destination brand pillars – nature & wildlife, culture & heritage, birding, active exploration and conservation & SAVE travel. Travellers will be privy to one-of-a-kind insider experienc es that will engage all of the senses – from im mersion and active participation in the experi ence to storytelling and learning. Mutual respect and beneficial business ini tiatives are part of the sustainable journey of these communities that allow them to provide safe, comfortable and hospitable services to all travellers to Guyana. view of River Lodge, Rupununi Lodge (GTA
(Marceano Narine photo) Karanambu
CONTINUED ON PAGE 23 Aerial
Guyana is home to some of the world’s best examples of community-led and owned tourism. In fact, it is one of the only countries in the world where tourism that is led by Indigenous communities is a prima ry focus. With its diversity of wildlife, including over 820 species of birds, pristine rainforests and vast savannahs, Guyana’s Indigenousfocused tourism offerings are unmatched. These experiences have continuously contrib uted to Destination Guyana’s most notewor thy international recognition within the tour ismThesphere.country’s natural wealth – its diversi ty of people and abundant natural resources –are key contributors to what makes Guyana a unique, sustainable tourism destination and they must be preserved. Community-led and owned tourism is the perfect way to champion this form of sustainable tourism.
Iwokrama
The benefits community-led-and-ownedof tourism
The GTA is committed to further develop ing other community-led and owned tourism enterprises. Among the communities sched uled for a 2022 launch, the GTA has initiat ed product development within Capoey, Region Two; Tapakuma, Region Nine; Quarrie Village, Region Nine; Nappi Village, Region Nine; and Masakaenari, Region Nine. These communities have all since under gone various tourism-related training, as well as product development guidance coordinat ed by the GTA to independently yet safely host travellers and to create a successful tourism en terprise. Nature enthusiasts, birders and those interested in sportfishing will be welcomed to enjoy the beauty of these pristine, unspoilt Indigenous villages through exciting day tours and overnight packages. The GTA aims to estab lish a continuum for community tourism prod uct development and secure donor support for involving more Indigenous communities in tour ismItdevelopment.isnosecret that Guyana has and contin ues to work towards maximising the positive so cio-economic impacts and conservation outcomes related to sustainable tourism. The awards are just the first step. Sustainable tourism is a jour ney. It is renowned for its potential to contrib ute to the preservation of the natural and cul tural heritage upon which it depends, empower host communities, generate trade opportunities and foster peace and intercultural understand ing. Guyana is on the right path. This land of un matched, untouched rainforests, savannahs and exotic wildlife awaits.
Aerial view of Rewa Eco Lodge (Zachary Johnston photo)
The idea behind community-led and owned tourism is a simple one; communities that wel come travellers should benefit from those trav ellers. While the benefits of community tourism are vast, perhaps the most obvious, outside of the social and environmental benefits, are the eco nomic benefits. Community members can gain direct employment from tourism-related busi nesses, or establish their own small businesses that cater to travellers – hotels, restaurants, and tour operations. This creates an economic multi plier effect through local goods and transporta tion providers, guides and artisans. The sale of traditional handicrafts provides not only direct economic benefits but also helps with the preser vation of local cultures and traditions. Additionally, the revenue flowing into the community can slow practices that stress the en vironment like deforestation (for timber and ag riculture) and illegal wildlife hunting. These en vironmental benefits are supported by the strong incentives stemming from tourism, which active ly supports the conservation of ecosystems and pivots community involvement in sustainable practices. More significantly, the social benefits of com munity tourism, through cultural activities help to foster the preservation of cultural heritage and increase community pride. Funds can pay for schools, housing, medical supplies and oth er elements which will ultimately improve the quality of life within the community and prevent out-migration.
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Ongoing community-led-and-owned initiatives
GAWU Berbice representative Harvey Tambron
The workers protesting
Sugar workers down tools after NDIA stops funding cleaning of canals
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24 NEWS SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM Field workers attached to the Albion, Rose Hall and Port Mourant Sugar Estates downed tools for the past few days due to the lack of funds to pay them for clearing the canals. Venting their concerns, the workers took to the streets on Friday during which they requested to be returned to clearing the ca nals which fall under the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority. The 92 workers from the various estates were on Wednesday told that they would have to take up oth er jobs in cultivation since the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) will no longer be providing funds for the cleaning of ca nals.One of the workers, Winston Dey, who has been working as a recleaner for the past 11 years at the Albion Estate, related that at some point in time, they will have to return to the canals where they are paid a day’s pay to clean 300 rods. Dey along with others were reassigned to planting cane and weeding. “It is very hard because we have to do hand weeding work, we have to chop bush and different kinds of work, so we are asking for them to give us back our recleaning work. Right now it is hard for Asus.”recleaners, they clean canals to that the punts can traverse freely to transport fertilisers to the fields and also to transport canes to the factory.“What they told us is that they don’t have money to pay us as recleaners. They did not say anything about when the recleaning work leaves back what will become of it,” DeyAnotheradded. worker, Khemraj Jaikarran of the Rose Hall Estate recalled being told that he and the others would have to work as weeders. “They say the decision came from higher manage ment and they can’t do noth ing about it. They came and reach the Agri Manager and the Human Resource Officer and told us that the only al ternative work they have for us is to do weed and re lief, cut cane, plant cane, and clean punts,” he stated while urging the relevant authori ties to However,intervene.General and Agriculture Workers Union (GAWU) Berbice representa tive, Harvey Tambron during the protest explained that he received a telephone call from the field officer at Rose Hall estate on Wednesday informing him that man agement had stopped the recleaners from performing their normal duties. He said he met with workers and was told that there were no consultations on the issue. Tamdron re lated that a superintendent of works was present at the meeting.“Iasked the superinten dent if it was true that the cleaners that recleaners were being given different work to do and he said yes. I asked him if there was any consul tation or engagement with the workers and he said no. I called the Chief Industrial Relations Manager at the Georgetown office and he told me that there was an en gagement. So I told him that I have the superintendent here and he said that there was no engagement.”
Mount Sinai team assesses Guyana’s capabilities for Oncology Centre of Excellence
Sugar workers down tools...
A team of experts from Mount Sinai visited Guyana to assess the country’s current resourc es in oncology, amid plans to establish an Oncology Centre of Excellence. The Oncology Centre for Excellence has been dubbed a pivotal proj ect in enhancing cancer care not just for Guyana but the wider Caribbean. In July, the Government and officials from Mount Sinai discussed this initia tive, which will be execut ed through a public-private partnership.Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony recently stated that the team would have assessed the current resources in the health sys tem before a decision is tak en to develop the facility. “We have a team that came in because two of the projects that we’re working on is the Oncology Centre of Excellence that we want to build. The team came in with very skilled, high-lev el experts in oncology… They assessed what we cur rently have and they have been looking at what we will need to put in so that we can start working on de veloping that centre.”
“We have agreed that we will be focusing on diabetes because that is one of the non-communicable diseas es that has been affecting a lot of Guyanese. We want to build out a very strong system for treating diabe tes and we feel that once we can get that going, then it would help to prevent some of the other chronic diseas es,” Dr Anthony added.
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25NEWS SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM
Last week, another team from Mount Sinai was in Guyana in keep ing with the agreement that was signed in July –the National Health Care Initiative – a three-com ponent plan that focus es on enhancing the coun try’s primary healthcare services, improving pa tient care and management at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).Thecurrent project is to upgrade the Georgetown Public Hospital and over the next months, changes will be seen at the facility and in the operational con duct.“We’re working on sev eral fronts in the health sector. One area of work is to improve conditions at the Georgetown Hospital and to put a lot of sys tems in place. We have a team from Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital that is working directly with
the management of the Georgetown Hospital,” the Health Minister posited. The idea is to repli cate these changes at oth er regional hospitals. Meanwhile, a team is ex pected next week to ad vance talks concerning the establishment of a Cardiovascular Centre of Excellence.Thegroup of profes sionals has already re viewed the implementation of electronic medical re cords, assessed the current workforce and training pro grammes; and strength ened the various systems in theAfterMinistry.assessing the cur rent setting, recommenda tions are to be made for the necessary upgrades.
Guyana Times under stands that the NDIA had stopped refunding mon ies paid to recleaners to GuySuCo.“Thisleft us in shock because obviously man agement should have been able to know beforehand that the funds are being depleted and there will be no money to pay these workers,” Tambron said. The Union had prom ised to make every effort to ensure that the issue is addressed in a timely man ner. However, after sever al meetings between the Union and government of ficials, the Estate Manager on Thursday maintained that the situation re mained the same. “The estate needs to have the canals clean be cause we have the romp ers go in there which ser vice is the cane harvesters, we have a fertilizer, plants go in through the canals so the fertilizing gang will be affected as well as the planting gang. So the ca nals are a very important part of the estate's dai ly operations. If it’s every single day these canals are being used. Everything seems to be pointing to the Chief Executive Officer. Several managers told the workers that the decision came from the top point ing to the Chief Executive Officer, Tambron added. Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha report edly intervened and it was expected that the matter would have been resolved on Friday but nothing has been done. 24
Dr Persaud also listened to other concerns of the par ents and guardians about the challenges they face daily with the provision of care for their children liv ing with disabilities.
T he Government’s cash grant programme for children living with disabilities is changing the lives of parents who are finding it difficult to provide care and other medical ser vices for their children. On Friday, the Government initiative saw parents receiving a to tal of $100,000 from the Human Services and Social Security Ministry at the La Grange Masjid, West Bank DemeraraRamanre(WBD).Balwang, a mother of one, expressed gratitude for the initiative while adding that it will assist greatly to provide for her child, who attends the special needs school at Schoonord, WBD. She explained that it is not easy to look after a child living with a disability, but insisted that with the right form of Government assis tance – which is now being offered – it is manageable. Balwang noted that she is not working currently and cannot afford the ad ditional expense to hire an at-home babysitter. She further related that she spends her time managing her child reasonably well. “So, I try my best to man age with him and I want him to get better, that’s why I took the initiative to be at home,” she explained while stating that the cash grant is timely. “Well, I’m so happy and thankful. And I hope that the parents make use of it because it’s a good initia tive that the Government is doing. Because having a special needs child is not easy, and at least the grant will help Anotherus.”relieved parent, Tracy Pariaug, lauded the initiative, highlighting how it would help many parents to cope with certain situa tions. “I would like to thank the Government and our President for this invest ment and grant to special needs. We are looking for ward for more investments and resources for special needs. This grant will go a long way because tak ing care of a special need is very expensive. This grant will go a long way. Thank you so much,” she said.
26 NEWS SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM
“We’re also looking at training people to provide day and night care. I know that people who look af ter children with special needs, sometimes you get very tired because it’s very challenging. So, when we open day and night care services, those persons who run them will be trained,” the Minister added. Further she stated, “So, that you can leave your children safely, get a lit tle break, and come back and get them. I know these are simple things but they are big things for you. And we’re also looking at easy access to support aides –if you need wheelchairs… hearing aids. All of those things, just reach out to our Ministry and we’ll provide them free of cost.” Dr Persaud also told the parents that diapers will be provided for the special needsThechildren.special needs oneoff cash grant is part of the Government’s manifesto commitment to provide sup port to vulnerable groups. To further provide support to persons liv ing with disabilities, the Government is building an institution called the learn ing lab for them to be up skilled. From the budget ary allocation to the sector, new and improved health care facilities will be built to help persons living with disabilities, among other things.
Addressing concerns Human Services and Social Security Minister, Dr Vindhya Persaud was at the location and assured the parents and guardians that the Ministry is work ing relentlessly to assist. For persons who have yet to uplift their monies, Minister Persaud noted if their names were not on the first list, they will be on the second list and provided the locations for disbursement.
Human Services and Social Security Minister Dr Vindhya Persaud and one of the parents at the one-off special needs $100,000 cash grant distribution
“It is not easy, but the grant will assist to provide more care” – parents – as Govt rolls out cash grant for children living with disabilities
Parents and guardians at the special needs $100,000 cash grant distribution
27NEWS SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM
Anew pump station is being constructed at Adventure to provide faster drainage to a section of the Black Bush Polder, Corentyne, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).Thepumpwillalso pro vide drainage for Cookrite Savannah, which is con stantly being flooded thus affecting both animals and crops. In 2021, the Agriculture Ministry an nounced that $80 million would be spent on the con struction of a drainage pump station at Adventure. This, the Ministry had stated, would preserve ap proximately 5000 acres of rice cultivation by prevent ing flooding, and enhancing residents’ livelihoods. Work has started on the new pump station at Adventure. Region Six Chairman David Armogan explained that as soon as the pump is completed, it should be able to avert any major flooding in the Lesbeholden area, which is one of the four polders making up Black Bush.With the pump be ing installed at the head of Adventure, it will comple ment the koker that is al ready“Oncethere.that pump is com pleted, we should be able to avert flooding, especial ly in the Lesbeholden area. Then you know we are put ting down an additional pump through the Ministry of Agriculture at Number 43 Village and one at Eversham as well. The whole idea is not only Black Bush we are dealing with, we are dealing with the Cookrite Savannah as well. We have a lot of cat tle there and we have rice. So, once these pumps be come available, we can assist those people in the Cookrite Savannah by bringing water through Black Bush Polder and passing it through the drainage system there,” Armogan said. There is no system to get water out of Cookrite Savannah other than through Black Bush Polder. “We tried to do it through the 52 area but people are complaining that we are flooding them and so we had to revert to the old sys tem of passing the water through Black Bush Polder,” Armogan added.
The damage caused by the fire on Friday
Pump station being constructed at Adventure to drain BBP, Cookrite Savannah
Firefighters save apartment building from going up in flames
Construction of the pump station at Adventure has commenced
An apartment building at Friendship Public Road, East Bank Demerara (EBD) was saved by firefighters on Friday after flames were seen emanating from one of the apartments. The fire, according to a re lease issued by the Guyana Fire Service (GFS), was start ed by a child playing with a cigarette lighter. As a result of the quick re sponse from fire tenders from Diamond, EBD, the build ing sustained minimal dam age. According to reports, the GFS received a report of the fire at about 11:02h and the tender and a team of fire fighters were dispatched to the Uponarea. their arrival, they observed a mattress on fire in one of the apartments and without hesitation, dowsed the flames. The two-storey wooden and concrete struc ture is owned by 51-year-old YonetteNevertheless,Wiltshire. one bunk bed, two foam mattresses, one barrel and one electri cal fan were damaged by the blaze.The Guyana Fire Service vehemently advised the pub lic to exercise caution and to follow safety measures to avoid fires in the home. As a means of protecting homes from going in flames, the Fire Service advised that houses be equipped with fire preven tion and firefighting devices such as smoke detectors and fire extinguishers. Further, the GFS stated that children should be edu cated on the dangers of play ing with matches and light ers. In fact, the Fire Service stated that children should not be left unattended.
Preparations to estab lish a World Trade Centre (WTC) in Guyana – the first in the Caribbean Community (Caricom) region – are mov ing apace with the for mal opening scheduled for February 2023. This was revealed in a statement on Saturday from Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL), which had acquired the licence earlier this year to set up the facility in Georgetown.Duringa recent week long visit to New York, a team from DDL led by its Executive Chairman Komal Samaroo had extensive dis cussions with officials from the World Trade Centres Association (WTCA) that fo cused primarily on the proj ect. The WTCA officials in cluded General Counsel James Perry, and Deputy General Counsel Clark Lackert.The two teams met at the WTCA head office in New York City during which they had wide-ranging dis cussions on issues related to trademarks, geographic indication, market access, branding, global trade and investment policy, and strat egies for advancing the in terest of small enterprises to ensure their theChairmansustainability.Samaroousedopportunitytoupdate the WTCA top officials on progress being made with the retrofitting of the build ing on High Street, Kingston in Georgetown, which will serve as the World Trade Centre, and with plans for the branding and utilisa tion of the seven-floor facil ity. Much of the discussion focused on the programmes which the World Trade Centre in Guyana will ini tiate and its collaboration with the more than 300 cen tres in more than 100 coun tries to promote prosperity through trade. The WTCA officials also presented several gifts to the visiting delegation in cluding the WTCA flag and commemorative coin. With the World Trade Centre in Georgetown slat ed for opening in February next year, DDL disclosed that arrangements are also currently being put in place with several relevant agen cies and organisations in ternationally whose work focuses on promoting trade among small and medi um-sized enterprises. Last week’s high-lev el meeting followed a con ducted tour of the Freedom Towers which now house the World Trade Center, New York.“The visit and discus sions with the WTCA offi cials have given us a bet ter idea of how we can best leverage the work of WTC Georgetown not only to ex pand the market for DDL’s products but to promote trade and help facilitate market access for products from Guyana, particularly through training and infor mation sharing among small and medium-sized enter prises,” Samaroo indicated. He added, “I am con vinced of the tremendous benefit that a World Trade Centre in Guyana will of fer the business communi ty through its network of relationships with centres around the world. We are also looking at designating one floor of the facility as a tourist attraction, which will serve as a pleasant edu cational experience for both Guyanese and overseas vis itors.”During the visit to New York, the DDL team also held several media en gagements and paid cour tesy calls at the Guyana Permanent Mission to the United Nations and the Guyana Consulate. After months of negotia tions, DDL announced back in April that it had secured the licence to establish the WTC in the country. The local beverage giant had revealed that it would be transforming its building in High Street into the WTC, which will provide a range of opportunities for local busi nesses and organisations to enhance their networking capabilities globally. Since then, work had commenced on the interior redesign of the building. At the ceremonial hand ing over of the licence in April, Samaroo pointed out that the World Trade Centre in Georgetown will not only provide a service to all of Guyana but will also lead the efforts of businesses in the country with potential international partners ex panding trade and business relations around the world. “Guyana is a small coun try with a population of less than a million at present, therefore any business op eration that requires econo my of scale to be competitive cannot rely on the domes tic market only. It must be able to find markets in oth er countries around the world… It is my view that in the rapidly expanding eco nomic space in Guyana, in the future the World Trade Centre can serve the na tion and its businesses well in helping to realise its full potential while providing World Trade Centres around the world with access to po tential partners and busi nesses in Guyana. The op portunities are indeed enormous, but today is the first step in the process,” the DDL Chairman had stated. The WTCA stimulates trade and investment op portunities for commercial property developers, eco nomic development agen cies, and international busi nesses looking to connect globally and prosper locally. There are over 320 World Trade Centres in more than 100 countries on every conti nent
Caricom’s 1st WTC to open in Guyana in February 2023
The skeletal remains found at the Eversham foreshore T otal infections of COVID-19 in Guyana have reached 70,966, after an other 23 new cases were reported on Saturday. There are still 1278 con firmed deaths, with three persons in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The lat est statistics showed that four persons are in insti tutional isolation, 272 in home isolation, and three in institutional quaran tine.Additionally, a total of 69,409 persons have recov ered. However, over 250 active infections are still being monitored across the country. Meanwhile, 686,833 tests have been processed to date. Latest vaccination fig ures show that so far, 445,755 or 86.9 per cent of adults have taken the first dose, while some 345,481 or 67.3 per cent of persons are fully vaccinated. For 12 to 17-year-olds, 35,552 first doses or 48.7 per cent and 26,049 or 35.7 per cent second doses have been 27,08229;12-17;tohavethatenttionboosterfar.theirpersonsshot.returned2818esgorydrenVaccinationadministered.forchilinthefiveto11cateshows7681firstdosor7.5percent.Onlyor2.8percenthavefortheirsecondInaddition,72,410havereturnedforboostershotsthusAbreakdownoftheshotadministraamongstthedifferagecohortsreveals487boostershotsbeenadministeredpersonswhoareages11,674toages18-11,428toages30-39;toages40-59;and 21,739 to persons who above 60 years of age, ac cording to the Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony.Inthe Region of the Americas, that is Latin America and the Caribbean, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cas es has increased to 173 million while the death toll in the region has gone up to 2.8 Globally,million.there are 590 million confirmed pos itives with 6.4 million deaths.Ifanyone 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, 2267480 or 624-6674 immedi ately or visit www.health. gov.gy.
Missing Surinamese fisherman Wazir Shaw
28 NEWS SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM GUYANA COVID-19 DASHBOARD AUGUST 27, 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 23 NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL ISOLATION 4 NUMBER OF PERSONS IN HOME ISOLATION 272 NUMBER OF PERSONS IN COVID-19 ICU 3 NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL QUARANTINE 3 TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (FEMALES) 38,443 TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (MALES) 32,523 TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES IN GUYANA SINCE 2020 70,966 NUMBER OF RECOVERED CASES 63,120 TOTAL 1st DOSE VACCINATED 440,628 FULLY IMMUNISED 339,960 TOTAL NUMBER OF DEATHS 1278 DISTRIBUTION OF TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES SINCE MARCH 2020 REGION 1 2688 REGION 2 3134 REGION 3 8723 REGION 4 35,312 REGION 5 2572 REGION 6 6901 REGION 7 2655 REGION 8 921 REGION 9 4345 REGION 10 3715 HERE IS HOW YOU CAN BE SAFE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC Wear a face mask. Keep a physical distance of at least 6 Washfeet. your hands or use handIfsanitizeryouhave any symptoms, call the COVID-19 Hotline.
Over 250 active COVID cases being monitored – 23 new infections reported on Saturday, 3 in ICU
Theglobally.Association serves as an “international ecosys tem” of global connections, iconic properties, and inte grated trade services under the umbrella of a prestigious brand.The exclusive “World Trade Centre” and “WTC” branded properties and trade service organisations are supported by 15,000 WTC professionals that de liver integrated, reciprocal resources to meet the needs of small, medium, and large enterprises.
Skeletal remains suspected to be missing Surinamese fisherman found on Corentyne foreshore
T he skeletal re mains suspected to be that of a miss ing Surinamese fisherman were found on Saturday along the Corentyne fore shore in the vicinity of Eversham, Region Six (EastTheBerbice-Corentyne).discoverywasmade by a farmer who was tra versing the area. The farm er related that he observed a flock of vultures feast ing on what he at the time thought was a dead ani mal. However, he report edly went closer to inves tigate when he made the gruesome discovery. From all indications, the human skeleton was partially covered with sand. The Police were im mediately contacted and a team of investigators ar rived at the scene a short whilePoliceafter.in Berbice con firmed that there was no missing person’s report and as such, are working on the theory that the body could have floated from elsewhere and ended up at theHowever,foreshore.
back on August 9, Surinamese news network, Actionnieuws re ported that Wazir Shaw also called “Buddy”, a fish erman of Nickerie, had gone missing without a trace.Following the discovery of the body on Saturday, family members of the missing Surinamese fisher man reached out to author ities in Guyana and provid ed them with information about the missing man. It was reported that Shaw was last seen wear ing a tracksuit and had steel plates in his leg. This, relatives say, should as sist the Police in confirm ing whether or not the re mains found on Saturday are those of Shaw. At the time of the discov ery, the remains were par tially covered in a black or dark blue sweater suit. The remains were transport ed to the Skeldon Hospital Mortuary as investigations continue.
29 SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM
Puneet Jaigopaul, President of the East Bank Cricket Association, has indicated that the EBCA is particularly happy to receive this substantial donation of gear from the GCB, since the gear is important to the clubs. Well-equipped clubs provide encouragement to parents to send their children to participate in cricket training.
…Pledges to make Farm an Academy Centre
GCB President Bissoondyal Singh handing over donation of gear to EBCA President Puneet Jaigopaul
Sherfane Rutherford hit an even 50 for Patriots Andre Russell slammed 72 Russell’s 72 propels TKR to win, despite Rutherford’s blistering 50
The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) has shifted its gear distribution programme to the East Bank Cricket Association (EBCA) with a donation of more than one million dollars’ worth of cricket equipment.
GCB donates $1M+ worth of cricket gear to EBCA
Barbados are Regional U-15 Champions – Guyana places second Barbados crowned Regional U15 Champs
President Singh made this point, “We, at the GCB, recognise that EBCA have demonstrated strong leadership. In approximately one year, a lot of development works have been done, including the upgrade of the Farm Ground and the hosting of regular training sessions for players. We are proud of your achievements, and realize that many associations and committees are endeavouring to do likewise. This is a very good sign, and the GCB is immensely pleased that East Bank Demerara is producing national players.”
President Singh received resounding applause when he committed to making the Farm Community Centre ground an Academy Centre for males and females in the GCB’s Planned Academy Programme. Singh said: “We expect the EBCA to work collaboratively with the GCB and its affiliates to make GCB’s Academy Programme a Additionally,success.”he pointed out that there would be five Academies in Demerara, six in Berbice, and seven in Essequibo; and he said the Academies are designed to roll out a comprehensive plan previously never seen in Guyana. Further, President Singh said, “The Territorial Development Officer Colin Stuart will soon submit the detailed programme requirements and needs for Cricket Academies across the country. We are grateful for the cooperation from EBCA, and urge President Puneet Jaigopaul and his team to ensure that players, coaches, scorers, umpires and match referees across your Association put all efforts into improving their standards.”
with 24. Dave Mohabir made 17, while Adrian Hetmyer scored 14. In response, Trinidad managed only 72-5 in 15 overs. Batusingh top-scored with 19, while Guyana’s bowlers kept it tight, with Gainda, Arif Khan and Mohabir each picking up one wicket.Inthe previous match, Leeward Islands defeated Guyana. Guyana batted first and made 72-5 off 16 overs, with a topscore of 23 coming from Dave Mohabir. Leewards replied with 73-6 off 15.4 overs, to win by four wickets with just two balls to spare.Amoree Jones ended on 17 not out to take his team to victory.
Andre Russell was a man on a mission when it came to hitting boundaries for the Trinbago Knight Riders Men in their game against St Kitts & Nevis Patriots Men. Russell blasted the ball to all parts of the ground and skyrocketed to 72 from just 24 balls with eight SKYEXCH maximums and five fours before he was caught on the boundary by Jansen. The Patriots made a good comeback to calm the run-fest, meaning they needed 156 to win. The carrot of qualification for the Patriots was also dangling. Should they hit four sixes in the innings, they would qualify even if they lost this match. With three sixes down, Fletcher thought he’d found the magic fourth, but was caught by Seales on the boundary.
President Jaigopaul specially thanked President Bissoondyal Singh and other executives of the GCB for the inclusive and exceptional work being performed to develop and promote cricket across Guyana.
In just the next over, it seemed a done deal but some incredible acrobatics by Seales prevented the boundary and saw the end of Brevis and the Patriots were 44/3 after four overs.The very next ball clinched a semi-final spot off the bat of Rutherford and the pressure was off to win the game. Rutherford continued to dispatch sixes out of the ground and brought up his fifty in 14 balls.In the end he fell for 50. Jayden Seales’ expensive final over went for 21 runs but the Patriots fell three runs short in their chase. (CPL)
The presentation was made by GCB President Bissoondyal Singh to EBCA President Puneet Jaigopaul in the presence of executives and players of various clubs on East Bank of Demerara, and with GCB executives in attendance. In addressing those gathered for this occasion, the GCB President expressed delight at making what he referred to as “a significant donation”. He remarked that “the donation is important not only in monetary terms, but its value to the youth players involved in the game on East Bank Demerara, allowing them to participate in training sessions and matches without having to consider the additional burden of purchasing gear. “Consequently, we are happy that players took the time to attend this presentation, which tells us about your interest in the game and the exemplary work your executives are doing.”
SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 202230 B arbados have been crowned champions of the Regional Under-15 Tournament that was played in Grenada, while Guyana have finished the tournament as the runners-up team. Guyana ended the tournament with a win over the Trinidad and Tobago Under-15 team in their finalroundTheencounter.strong Bajan team defeated pre-series favourites Leeward Islands by 16 runs in the fifth and final round of matches at the National Cricket Stadium in Grenada, while Guyana won by 24 runs against Trinidad. Left-arm pacer Jakeem Pollard, fellow pacer R’Jai Gittens, and the consistent Akobi Crichlow-Byer each captured two wickets – all from three overs – thereby restricting the Leewards to 57-8 from their allocation of 15 overs as they replied to the Barbados total of 73 without loss. The Barbadians played unbeaten to end on 18.4 points in the rain-hit tournament and secure the title for the third time in four years, following back-to-back wins in 2017 and 2018. Guyana meanwhile, finished on 16.4 points. Leftarm spinner Arun Gainda claimed seven wickets in the tournament and copped the award for best bowler. In Guyana’s 24-run win against the Trinidadians, Guyana posted 96-5 in 15 overs, with Navin Boodwah top-scoring
T he Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) has looked into reports of ticket re sale in Guyana, and has issued the following state ment on Saturday: “It has been brought to our attention that there has been a number of so cial media posts claim ing there are a significant number of tickets for the Hero CPL final for unau thorised resale. We have investigated this situa tion, and have determined that the tickets photo graphed are not available for unauthorised resale. The tickets in question are part of an authorised corporate order, in line with other such arrange ments that have existed as standard processes of Hero“TheCPL.tickets in question have all been produced in person at the box office to confirm that they are still in the hands of the legit imate owner. Therefore, the social media post in question appears to be a false“Anyclaim.tickets found to be resold will be cancelled, and will not grant entry to CPL games”.
Roshon Primus scored 48Amir Jangoo losing his wicket
CPL addresses resale of tickets in Guyana
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The St Lucia Kings have defeated the Jamaica Tallawahs by 8 runs to keep alive their chances of securing a place in the semi-finals of the Men'sThe6IXTY.Tallawahs, who had scored 139 and 162 in their previous games, opted to field first after winning the toss;theandKings were able to post a challenging 109 for 5, based largely around Roshon Primus's 48 off 25 balls. Tobago's Joshua James was the pick of the Jamaica Tallawahs bowlers, taking 2 for 25 in his first game of the tournament.TheJamaica Tallawahs lost Kennar Lewis for 5, before Amir Jangoo and Rovman Powell put on 84 for the second wicket. Scott Kuggeleijn (2/18) bowled Jangoo for 44, and then had Powell caught for 34, to leave the Tallawahs needing 16 runs off the last over. Primus bowled the last over, and had Fabian Allen (1) caught by Jesse Bootan. Reifer smashed his next ball for four, but Primus only conceded three runs off his next four balls, to win the game for the Kings. The Kings have one win in three games, while the Tallawahs are already through despite the loss. (Loop News) Kings win to stay alive in the 6IXTY
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Captain Stafanie Taylor held the Warriors’ innings together
continued, with Kyle Mayers taking control in the next over and registering 23 runs, 17 of which came through the bowling of Chandrapaul Hemraj, while the other maximum came by way of the mysteryOdeanball.Smith managed to stop the carnage when he removed Mayers for 31, but the Royals rallied on, with Corbin Bosch and Harry Tector taking charge of things. And even though Tector fell for 14, Bosch (26) ensured the Royals won their game with a boundary and a maximum off Gudakesh Motie. The Royals ended their game on 111-4. Veerasammy Permaul bagged 2-12, Odean Smith took 1-7, and Gudakesh Motie took 1-25. The Warriors had set a total of 108 for victory earlier in the innings. Chandrapaul Hemraj had come out swinging, and he smashed 19 off 6; and when he fell, fellow opener Jermaine Blackwood followed suit. John Campbell then played an irresponsible shot at a crucial part in the innings, and that sent the Warriors reeling at 36-3. Shimron Hetmyer dug deep and played a captain’s knock, leading the scoring with 32 off 18 balls. Alongside the likes of Heinrich Klaasen, who scored 24 off 15 balls, this had propelled the Warriors to a formidable total.The Royals’ bowling was spearheaded by Ramon Simmonds with 2-9; while Corbin Bosch, Oshane Thomas and Justin Greaves had each bagged one wicket.
– as Royals cruise into semifinals
Both camps of the Guyana Amazon Warriors (GAW) proved to be plagued by ill-fortune as they contested the SKYEXCH 6ixty on Saturday, as the Female Warriors suffered back-to-back losses that were similar to those suffered by their male compatriots. Playing the same opposition once again, the Women Warriors found it difficult to post a competitive total against the Barbados Royals when they won the toss and opted to bat first at Warner Park in Basseterre, St Kitts and Nevis. Promoted up the order, Guyana’s Shemaine Campbelle and Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu found it difficult to spark a quick start for the Warriors. After hitting one boundary in her 9 from 8 balls, Athapaththu found herself walking back to the dugout, compliments of the Royals’ Quiana Joseph. A boundary in the third over off the bat of Warriors’ Captain Stafanie Taylor was the only one in four overs, as the female Warriors struggled to find the big shots that the SKYEXCH 6ixty is all about.Shakera Selman and Afy Fletcher of the Royals kept things tight in the middle, before their Captain Hayley Matthews sent Campbelle packing for 13 runs from 17 balls. At 2-34, with seven overs down, Taylor became conscious that the innings was getting away from the Warriors. Three boundaries later, she looked good for a late flurry that would get the Warriors to a competitive total. However, consistent wicket-taking by the Royals were the Warriors’ undoing. Chedean Nation went in the 9th for 2 runs, then Taylor had no choice but to go, after coming up short in pursuit of a single. Shabika Gajnabi fell prey to another run-out in the very next ball. In the fifth ball of the 10th, Zaida Jones found herself being choked by Selman’s bowling. The appeal came from bowler and wicket-keeper, and before Jones knew it, she was out LBW one ball shy of the Warriors’ allotted 10thWithover.58 runs to defend, the GAW Women came out hunting wickets. They were successful when Shamilia Connell got rid of Britney Cooper for 1 run, but that wicket made way for a formidable partnership between Matthews and South Africa’s Chloe Tyron, which eventually led the Bajan franchise home. Matthews entertained with 25 from 18 balls, including three 4s; while Tyron got the ball across the boundary twice in her innings of 27 from 21. The pair made overhauling the Warriors’ total look easy as they raced to 59 runs in 7.3 overs, and had 5 wickets to spare. With each Women’s team finishing with two victories in the preliminary round, it is unlikely that the Women Warriors would feature in the final of the Women’s 6ixty, given the other teams’ superior run-rate. The Women’s 6ixty Final will be played today at the same venue at 3pm local time, before the Men’s finals starts at 5.30pm.
The pair of Hayley Matthews and Chloe Tyron made the Warriors’ total inadequate Shemaine Campbelle playing a shot
Matthews, Tyron help Royals to victory over GAW Women
I t was a horrible day at the office for the Guyana Amazon Warriors men; they bowed out of the 6IXTY, having lost to the Barbados Royals, who were able to win by 2 wickets and secure a spot in the semifinals of that tournament.TheWarriors had lost to the Trinbago Knight Riders on Friday, and needed to win against the Barbados Royals if they were to stand a chance of placing in the top four. Even though they had won one game and lost the other, the Warriors remained in last position on the table with a daunting run rate of -2.000. Added to that, favour did not shine of them, as the Royals came out guns blazing to --four.placethemselvessecureainthetopTheirvictorybytwowicketssawthelikesof Rahkeem Cornwall and Kyle Mayers taking control of the game early on, and smacking Ronsford Beaton for 17 runs off the first over in their chase of 109 for victory. The duo further stamped their authority on the proceedings by smashing Warriors’ ace spinner Waqar Salamkheil for 15 runs off his over. Cornwall fell for 21 in the next over, but the destruction
Kyle Mayers led the charge for the Royals with 31 Ramon Simmonds dented the Warriors’ innings with 2-9 Chandrapaul Hemraj blasted a quickfire 19 Shimron Hetmyer played a captain’s knock of 32 off 18
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